Buffalo protester Martin Gugino is suing the city, its police department, and its mayor after charges were dropped against two cops who shoved him during a Black Lives Matter rally last year.

WKBW reports Gugino, 75, filed a civil lawsuit Monday against the City of Buffalo, Mayor Byron Brown, Police Commissioner Byron Lockwood, Deputy Police Commissioner Joseph Gramaglia, and Officers Robert McCabe, Aaron Torgalski, and John Losi. The suit accuses the defendants of violating Guginos constitutional rights and alleges forcible assault without warning by officers McCabe, Torgalski and Losi.

Gugino made national news in June when two Buffalo Police officers, McCabe and Torgalski, pushed him to the ground outside Buffalo City Hall. Video showing Gugino motionless and bleeding from the ear quickly went viral; outrage ensued as the Buffalo Police Department claimed in a statement he tripped & fell. Gugino was released from the hospital nearly a month later after suffering a fractured skull and brain injury.

The lawsuit accuses the cops of shoving him to the ground without warning and the other defendants of attempting to conceal their conduct. Gugino also says his rights to freedom of speech, peaceful assembly, petition the government for redress of grievance, movement, unreasonable seizures and freedom from the unlawful use of force by government agents, and to due process of law were violated.

Guginos attorneys are seeking a jury trial.

Torgalski and McCabe were charged with second-degree assault and suspended without pay shortly after the incident. The case was dropped when a grand jury declined to indict the BPD officers on felony assault charges, Erie County District Attorney John Flynn said last week.

These were not two especially bad officers, the whole system is wrong. Theyre all taught to do the wrong thing. Thats the problem that needs to be fixed, Gugino said in October.

Gugino, a longtime peace activist from Amherst, is a member of two nonprofits: PUSH Buffalo, which focuses on affordable housing, and the Western New York Peace Center, a human rights organization. He is also part of the Catholic Worker Movement and politically active on social media, frequently criticizing former President Donald Trump.

Gugino was also a part of Upstate Drone Action, a group that has protested the use of armed drones at Syracuse Hancock Airbase for a decade. Gugino attended at least one of the groups protests and was known for his dependable, quiet presence at many of the group members court appearances.
Denton, TX (76205)

Today

Showers and thunderstorms. High 79F. Winds SSE at 10 to 20 mph. Chance of rain 100%. 1 to 2 inches of rain expected. Locally heavier rainfall possible..

Tonight

Thunderstorms early, overcast overnight with occasional rain. Low near 65F. Winds S at 5 to 10 mph. Chance of rain 90%. 1 to 2 inches of rain expected. Locally heavier rainfall possible.
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The family of an 11-year-old boy from Texas who froze to death after the family's mobile home lost power during cold weather are suing the electricity companies involved to the tune of $100 million.

Cristian Pavon Pineda, 11, was found dead in his bed next to his younger brother Tuesday as temperatures plummeted into single digits and the family were unable to keep warm.

The lawsuit places the blame squarely at the region's utility companies, Power grid operator ERCOT and electricity provider Entergy, holding them responsible for the tragedy.

The Pineda family are accusing the providers of gross negligence and say the companies 'failed to warn people of the dangerous conditions and gave incomplete guidance to customers'.

The family of Cristian Pavon Pineda, an 11-year-old boy from Texas who ended up freezing to death after the family's mobile home lost power during freezing weather last week are suing the electricity companies involved to the tune of $100 million

An 11-year-old Texas boy who was excited at seeing snow for the first time died of suspected hypothermia in his family's mobile home just hours before Ted Cruz abandoned his state at the height of the storm crisis and jetted off on a luxury holiday to Cancun. Cristian Pavon Pineda pictured. A GoFundMe has been started by the family to help with burial costs

Cristian Pavon Pineda, 11, died Tuesday after his home in Conroe lost power at the weekend and temperatures plunged to single digits. Cristian had been excited to see snow for the first time Monday (pictured) after he moved to Texas from Honduras in 2019 to live with his mom

His devastated mother Maria Elisa Pineda told the Washington Post she went to check on him as he was huddled under a pile of blankets in bed and found him unresponsive. Pictured the trailer

Texas is the only state in the continental United States with an independent and isolated grid. It allows the state to avoid federal regulation - but also severely limits its ability to draw emergency power from other grids.

ERCOT, which operates the grid, saw 4.5 million of their customers without power during the cold snap.

There have been at least 30 deaths across the Lone Star State as a result of the extreme weather which also left people without potable drinking water.

President Biden declared a major disaster in the state and ensures federal funding is made available to individuals across the state, including assistance for temporary housing, home repairs and low-cost loans for losses on uninsured property.

Joe Biden's press secretary on Sunday confirmed the president may visit Texas 'as soon as this week'.

Jen Psaki said the president is 'eager' to help but added: 'He's also very mindful of the fact that it's not a light footprint for a president to travel to a disaster area. He does not want to take away resources or attention.

'And we're going to do that at an appropriate time in coordination with people on the ground. Could be as soon as this week,' she said.

Houston Mayor Sylvester Turner told CBS' Face the Nation that Biden can come anytime.

'We certainly would welcome him,' Turner said.

Other tragic deaths have been detailed this weekend. Three young siblings died alongside their grandmother in a house blaze after using a fireplace to keep warm.

Olivia, center, Edison, left, and Colette, right, Nguyen and their grandmother Le Loan, 75, died in the early hours of Tuesday morning during the blackouts

Firefighters were called out around 2 am and tackled the blaze but the four victims were confirmed dead. The children's mom Jackie Nguyen and a friend were also injured and taken to hospital

Olivia, Edison and Colette Nguyen and their grandmother Le Loan, 75, died in the early hours of Tuesday morning at their Sugar Land home in during the statewide blackouts.

It is unclear how the fire started or the fuel being used; the fireplace was downstairs, the home's bedrooms upstairs.

The children's aunt, Vanessa Kon, told The Daily Beast: 'We don't know what happened. We don't know why the lights went out like that. The city should have been prepared for it. Why was the power off? If the power wasn't off, this wouldn't have happened.'

Olivia was 11, Edison, 8, and Colette was 5.

Firefighters were called out around 2 am and tackled the blaze but the four victims were confirmed dead. The children's mom Jackie Nguyen and a friend were also injured and taken to hospital.

The family had been without power at their Sugar Land home for eight hours when the fire broke out.

Another man reportedly froze to death in his recliner chair with his 'nearly dead' wife by his side and a mother and daughter died from carbon monoxide poisoning as they bundled in their car in a garage.

Two older men were also found dead in their homes in the small West Texas town of Buffalo Gap in Taylor County, officials said.

The family had been without power at their Sugar Land home for eight hours when the fire broke out

Senator Ted Cruz has been mocked for sharing photos of himself handing out bottled water in a 'shameless' photo-op just days after he jetted off to Cancun with his family.

Late on Saturday night Cruz posted a series of pictures of himself on Twitter showing him delivering water to those in need together with the hashtag #TexasStrong.

The senator was forced to return from his Mexican beach resort vacation while millions of fellow Texans were left dealing with horrendous conditions.

The water shortage is affecting hospitals across the south. At one, workers stood outside to collect rainwater. Others stood in line at a running tap in a park.

Senator Ted Cruz tweeted a photo op late on Saturday night with the hashtag #TexasStrong. It only served to generate further anger online from those furious at the senator's recent behavior that saw him leave Texas for the beach in the midst of a crisis

It comes after Cruz decided to take take a trip to Cancun while his state was in crisis - he returned after a day

At the height of last week's storm, hospitals scrambled to care for patients amid record cold temperatures.

The icy blast ruptured water mains and contributed to at least 76 deaths nationwide. At least seven people died in Tennessee and four in Portland, Oregon.

A rural hospital in Anahuac, Texas, about 50 miles east of Houston, lost both water and power.

William Kiefer, CEO of Chambers Health, which runs the hospital along with two clinics and a wellness center, said the facilities resorted to backup generators and water from a 275-gallon storage tank. They refilled it three times using water from a swimming pool in the wellness center.

When temperatures were in the teens last Monday, a woman about to give birth walked into the hospital after she could not make it through the ice and snow to her hospital in suburban Houston. Emergency room staff delivered the baby safely, Kiefer said.

The City of Fort Worth Water Department with the assistance of volunteers from other city departments distributed bottled water at R.D. Evans Recreation Center on Sunday. Water was supplied to the public because numerous main breaks and the boil water mandate caused by the severe cold weather which effected North Texas in the past week

Volunteers organize a line to pass out cases of bottled water to desperate western Travis County, Texas residents out of tap water for several days due to last week's devastating Texas snowstorm

Drivers were only allowed one case per car after some waiting three hours on Sunday in Oak Hill, Austin

Volunteers including Elie Sierra pass out cases of bottled water to desperate drivers in Travis County, Texas

Volunteers including Ann Howard help to pass out cases of bottled water

Volunteer Elizabeth Murray helps hand water to local residents at Butler Stadium on Sunday after the city of Houston implemented a boil water advisory following an unprecedented winter storm in Houston

Volunteers deliver water to local residents in vehicles at Butler Stadium after an unprecedented winter storm in Houston

More volunteers are pictured delivering water to local residents in their cars at Houston's Butler Stadium

'It would have taken her another two hours to get to the suburban Houston hospital if our facility wasn't there,' he said. 'We can probably assume she would have had the baby in her car and the snow. Not a good situation.'

Water was restored Thursday, and operations had returned to normal on Sunday, he said. The health system plans to look into installing more sophisticated backup systems, he said.

Houston Methodist Hospital spokeswoman Gale Smith said water had been restored at two community hospitals in the system, which was dealing with an influx of dialysis patients after their local centers closed, she added.

After temperatures plunged as much as 40 degrees below normal last week, the forecast for the Houston area called for a high of 65 degrees on Sunday. The city lifted its boil-water advisory on Sunday afternoon.

About 30,000 Texans were still without power due to downed power lines and other equipment failures. Governor Greg Abbott said during a news conference that he expected all service to be restored by Sunday night or Monday.

Texas flags fly near an electrical substation on Sunday in Houston, Texas. Millions of Texans lost their power when winter storm Uri hit

The storm knocked out coal, natural gas and nuclear plants that were unprepared for the freezing temperatures. Even wind turbines that provide an estimated 24 percent of energy to the state became inoperable when they froze

Ambulances line up outside of St. David's South Austin Medical Center in preparation to transport patients in Austin, Texas, on last Wednesday. Earlier in the day, hospital officials said some patients at the facility would be moved to other hospitals in the area after the building began losing heat due to low water pressure

Russell Brown walks away in the snow after being discharged from St. David's South Austin Medical Center in Austin, Texas, on Thursday. Brown was discharged from the hospital that was evacuating some patients after it ran out of water and lost heat

Ba Le fills up a container of water at the Georgetown Community Center on Friday in Austin, Texas. The community center opened its door for people in need of clean water due to a 'boil water notice' that many Texans were experiencing. The first day Georgetown Community Center opened its doors, 49 different families came in need of water

Abbott also said he was concerned about the threat of massive electric bills after wholesale energy prices skyrocketed while power plants were offline. He said it would be the 'top priority' for the Legislature, and he vowed not to end the legislative session until lawmakers ensure that the state's power grid is retrofitted to handle extreme winter and summer weather.

Nearly 230,000 customers across the South were still without power as of Sunday, according to PowerOutage.us, a website that tracks power outages. Other large blackouts were in Mississippi, West Virginia, Kentucky and Oregon.

Memphis, Tennessee, saw 10 inches of snow last week. Memphis, Light, Gas & Water issued a boil-water advisory on Thursday out of concern that low water pressure caused by problems at aging pumping stations and water main ruptures could lead to contamination. The advisory was still in place Sunday; utility officials said they did not know when they might lift it.

About 260,000 homes and businesses were under the advisory. Hospitals and nursing homes have been forced to switch to bottled water. The Tennessee National Guard was supplying St. Francis Hospital with water.

Shoppers are seen wandering next to near empty shelves in a supermarket in Houston, Texas following winter storm Uri

The Houston Food Bank is pictured Sunday. Joe Biden's press secretary on Sunday confirmed the president may visit Texas 'as soon as this week'

Volunteers prepare to load food into cars during the Houston Food Bank food distribution at NRG Stadium on Sunday. Thousands of people lined up to receive food and water at a mass distribution site for Houston residents who are still without running water and electricity following winter storm Uri

Nearby Baptist Memorial Hospital took on some of St. Francis' patients, particularly those who need dialysis, said Dr. Jeff Wright, a pulmonary and critical care physician at Baptist. That hospital has a water purification system for dialysis and has water reserves for tasks such as cooking and bathing patients, he said.

'We have gallon jugs of water that were already stocked and ready to roll on day one,' Wright said.

Methodist Le Bonheur Healthcare also reported problems at some of its Memphis-area facilities due to water pressure problems and the boil advisory. The system is using tanker trucks to boost water pressure and relying on help from facilities that have not been affected.

City officials planned to distribute water bottles at several locations Sunday. Grocery stores struggled to keep shelves stocked with bottled water. Many restaurants remained closed.

In Washington, the White House said about a third of the COVID-19 vaccine doses delayed by the storm were delivered over the weekend.

The weather created a backlog of about 6 million doses as power outages closed some vaccination centers and icy weather stranded vaccine in shipping hubs. White House press secretary Jen Psaki told ABC's This Week that about 2 million of those doses have gone out.

Texas Rep. Michael McCaul told CNN's State of the Union that federal disaster relief can be used to repair burst pipes and flood damage and to help Texans hit with skyrocketing energy bills.

McCaul also criticized fellow Republican Sen. Ted Cruz's decision to take his family on vacation amid the crisis.

'When a crisis hits my state, I'm there,' McCaul said. 'I'm not going to go on some vacation. I know Mr. Cruz called it a mistake, and he's owned up to that. But I think that was a big mistake.'

Indeed, the states Republican leadership has been blamed for ignoring warnings that winter could wreak the havoc that it did, and for not providing local officials with enough information to protect residents now.

Power outages spiraled through the day Monday, ultimately cutting off more than 4 million people. Grocery stores shut down, and hotel rates skyrocketed.

Things got worse Tuesday; by Wednesday, some started to get their power back, but a new shortage emerged - drinkable water.

Frozen pipes burst across the state and the water that did come out of taps was often undrinkable due to dangerously low water pressure levels.

At one point, an estimated 13 million people were under a boil-water order, nearly half of Texas population.

At weeks end, as the cold weather began to loosen its grip, the power came back for most Texans.

But the effects linger: Some Texans on variable-rate power contracts faced electric bills in the thousands of dollars, leading the governor to hold an emergency meeting Saturday with lawmakers.

As Heidi marched out of the Houston airport with her kids and an unidentified boy - all of whom were wearing masks - at 6pm on Saturday night, DailyMail.com asked her several questions, all of which she refused to answer
Globe Newswire

Abstract: - Global Smart Ports Market to Reach $8. 2 Billion by 2027. - Amid the COVID-19 crisis, the global market for Smart Ports estimated at US$2. 1 Billion in the year 2020, is projected to reach a revised size of US$8.New York, May 31, 2021 (GLOBE NEWSWIRE) -- Reportlinker.com announces the release of the report "Global Smart Ports Industry" - https://www.reportlinker.com/p06032915/?utm_source=GNW 2 Billion by 2027, growing at a CAGR of 21.8% over the analysis period 2020-2027. Process Automation, one of the segments analyzed in the report, is projected to record a 20.3% CAGR and reach US$3.5 Billion by the end of the analysis period. After an early analysis of the business implications of the pandemic and its induced economic crisis, growth in the Artificial Intelligence segment is readjusted to a revised 22.1% CAGR for the next 7-year period. - The U.S. Market is Estimated at $614 Million, While China is Forecast to Grow at 21.4% CAGR - The Smart Ports market in the U.S. is estimated at US$614 Million in the year 2020. China, the world`s second largest economy, is forecast to reach a projected market size of US$1.4 Billion by the year 2027 trailing a CAGR of 21.4% over the analysis period 2020 to 2027. Among the other noteworthy geographic markets are Japan and Canada, each forecast to grow at 19.5% and 18.6% respectively over the 2020-2027 period. Within Europe, Germany is forecast to grow at approximately 15.3% CAGR. - Internet of Things Segment to Record 24.3% CAGR - In the global Internet of Things segment, USA, Canada, Japan, China and Europe will drive the 24.2% CAGR estimated for this segment. These regional markets accounting for a combined market size of US$288.7 Million in the year 2020 will reach a projected size of US$1.3 Billion by the close of the analysis period. China will remain among the fastest growing in this cluster of regional markets. Led by countries such as Australia, India, and South Korea, the market in Asia-Pacific is forecast to reach US$966.9 Million by the year 2027. - Select Competitors (Total 35 Featured) - ABBAbu Dhabi PortsAccentureGeneral ElectricIBMIkusi VelatiaPort of Rotterdam Port SolutionsRamboll GroupRoyal HaskoningScientific EnterprisesScientific Enterprises LtdTrelleborg ABWipro Read the full report: https://www.reportlinker.com/p06032915/?utm_source=GNW I. METHODOLOGY II. EXECUTIVE SUMMARY 1. MARKET OVERVIEW Influencer Market Insights World Market Trajectories Impact of Covid-19 and a Looming Global Recession 2. FOCUS ON SELECT PLAYERS 3. MARKET TRENDS & DRIVERS 4. GLOBAL MARKET PERSPECTIVE Table 1: World Current & Future Analysis for Smart Ports by Geographic Region - USA, Canada, Japan, China, Europe, Asia-Pacific and Rest of World Markets - Independent Analysis of Annual Sales in US$ Thousand for Years 2020 through 2027 and % CAGR Table 2: World 7-Year Perspective for Smart Ports by Geographic Region - Percentage Breakdown of Value Sales for USA, Canada, Japan, China, Europe, Asia-Pacific and Rest of World Markets for Years 2020 & 2027 Table 3: World Current & Future Analysis for Process Automation by Geographic Region - USA, Canada, Japan, China, Europe, Asia-Pacific and Rest of World Markets - Independent Analysis of Annual Sales in US$ Thousand for Years 2020 through 2027 and % CAGR Table 4: World 7-Year Perspective for Process Automation by Geographic Region - Percentage Breakdown of Value Sales for USA, Canada, Japan, China, Europe, Asia-Pacific and Rest of World for Years 2020 & 2027 Table 5: World Current & Future Analysis for Artificial Intelligence by Geographic Region - USA, Canada, Japan, China, Europe, Asia-Pacific and Rest of World Markets - Independent Analysis of Annual Sales in US$ Thousand for Years 2020 through 2027 and % CAGR Table 6: World 7-Year Perspective for Artificial Intelligence by Geographic Region - Percentage Breakdown of Value Sales for USA, Canada, Japan, China, Europe, Asia-Pacific and Rest of World for Years 2020 & 2027 Table 7: World Current & Future Analysis for Internet of Things by Geographic Region - USA, Canada, Japan, China, Europe, Asia-Pacific and Rest of World Markets - Independent Analysis of Annual Sales in US$ Thousand for Years 2020 through 2027 and % CAGR Table 8: World 7-Year Perspective for Internet of Things by Geographic Region - Percentage Breakdown of Value Sales for USA, Canada, Japan, China, Europe, Asia-Pacific and Rest of World for Years 2020 & 2027 Table 9: World Current & Future Analysis for Blockchain by Geographic Region - USA, Canada, Japan, China, Europe, Asia-Pacific and Rest of World Markets - Independent Analysis of Annual Sales in US$ Thousand for Years 2020 through 2027 and % CAGR Table 10: World 7-Year Perspective for Blockchain by Geographic Region - Percentage Breakdown of Value Sales for USA, Canada, Japan, China, Europe, Asia-Pacific and Rest of World for Years 2020 & 2027 Table 11: World Current & Future Analysis for Extensively Busy by Geographic Region - USA, Canada, Japan, China, Europe, Asia-Pacific and Rest of World Markets - Independent Analysis of Annual Sales in US$ Thousand for Years 2020 through 2027 and % CAGR Table 12: World 7-Year Perspective for Extensively Busy by Geographic Region - Percentage Breakdown of Value Sales for USA, Canada, Japan, China, Europe, Asia-Pacific and Rest of World for Years 2020 & 2027 Table 13: World Current & Future Analysis for Moderately Busy by Geographic Region - USA, Canada, Japan, China, Europe, Asia-Pacific and Rest of World Markets - Independent Analysis of Annual Sales in US$ Thousand for Years 2020 through 2027 and % CAGR Table 14: World 7-Year Perspective for Moderately Busy by Geographic Region - Percentage Breakdown of Value Sales for USA, Canada, Japan, China, Europe, Asia-Pacific and Rest of World for Years 2020 & 2027 Table 15: World Current & Future Analysis for Scarcely Busy by Geographic Region - USA, Canada, Japan, China, Europe, Asia-Pacific and Rest of World Markets - Independent Analysis of Annual Sales in US$ Thousand for Years 2020 through 2027 and % CAGR Table 16: World 7-Year Perspective for Scarcely Busy by Geographic Region - Percentage Breakdown of Value Sales for USA, Canada, Japan, China, Europe, Asia-Pacific and Rest of World for Years 2020 & 2027 III. MARKET ANALYSIS UNITED STATES Table 17: USA Current & Future Analysis for Smart Ports by Technology - Process Automation, Artificial Intelligence, Internet of Things and Blockchain - Independent Analysis of Annual Sales in US$ Thousand for the Years 2020 through 2027 and % CAGR Table 18: USA 7-Year Perspective for Smart Ports by Technology - Percentage Breakdown of Value Sales for Process Automation, Artificial Intelligence, Internet of Things and Blockchain for the Years 2020 & 2027 Table 19: USA Current & Future Analysis for Smart Ports by Throughput Capacity - Extensively Busy, Moderately Busy and Scarcely Busy - Independent Analysis of Annual Sales in US$ Thousand for the Years 2020 through 2027 and % CAGR Table 20: USA 7-Year Perspective for Smart Ports by Throughput Capacity - Percentage Breakdown of Value Sales for Extensively Busy, Moderately Busy and Scarcely Busy for the Years 2020 & 2027 CANADA Table 21: Canada Current & Future Analysis for Smart Ports by Technology - Process Automation, Artificial Intelligence, Internet of Things and Blockchain - Independent Analysis of Annual Sales in US$ Thousand for the Years 2020 through 2027 and % CAGR Table 22: Canada 7-Year Perspective for Smart Ports by Technology - Percentage Breakdown of Value Sales for Process Automation, Artificial Intelligence, Internet of Things and Blockchain for the Years 2020 & 2027 Table 23: Canada Current & Future Analysis for Smart Ports by Throughput Capacity - Extensively Busy, Moderately Busy and Scarcely Busy - Independent Analysis of Annual Sales in US$ Thousand for the Years 2020 through 2027 and % CAGR Table 24: Canada 7-Year Perspective for Smart Ports by Throughput Capacity - Percentage Breakdown of Value Sales for Extensively Busy, Moderately Busy and Scarcely Busy for the Years 2020 & 2027 JAPAN Table 25: Japan Current & Future Analysis for Smart Ports by Technology - Process Automation, Artificial Intelligence, Internet of Things and Blockchain - Independent Analysis of Annual Sales in US$ Thousand for the Years 2020 through 2027 and % CAGR Table 26: Japan 7-Year Perspective for Smart Ports by Technology - Percentage Breakdown of Value Sales for Process Automation, Artificial Intelligence, Internet of Things and Blockchain for the Years 2020 & 2027 Table 27: Japan Current & Future Analysis for Smart Ports by Throughput Capacity - Extensively Busy, Moderately Busy and Scarcely Busy - Independent Analysis of Annual Sales in US$ Thousand for the Years 2020 through 2027 and % CAGR Table 28: Japan 7-Year Perspective for Smart Ports by Throughput Capacity - Percentage Breakdown of Value Sales for Extensively Busy, Moderately Busy and Scarcely Busy for the Years 2020 & 2027 CHINA Table 29: China Current & Future Analysis for Smart Ports by Technology - Process Automation, Artificial Intelligence, Internet of Things and Blockchain - Independent Analysis of Annual Sales in US$ Thousand for the Years 2020 through 2027 and % CAGR Table 30: China 7-Year Perspective for Smart Ports by Technology - Percentage Breakdown of Value Sales for Process Automation, Artificial Intelligence, Internet of Things and Blockchain for the Years 2020 & 2027 Table 31: China Current & Future Analysis for Smart Ports by Throughput Capacity - Extensively Busy, Moderately Busy and Scarcely Busy - Independent Analysis of Annual Sales in US$ Thousand for the Years 2020 through 2027 and % CAGR Table 32: China 7-Year Perspective for Smart Ports by Throughput Capacity - Percentage Breakdown of Value Sales for Extensively Busy, Moderately Busy and Scarcely Busy for the Years 2020 & 2027 EUROPE Table 33: Europe Current & Future Analysis for Smart Ports by Geographic Region - France, Germany, Italy, UK and Rest of Europe Markets - Independent Analysis of Annual Sales in US$ Thousand for Years 2020 through 2027 and % CAGR Table 34: Europe 7-Year Perspective for Smart Ports by Geographic Region - Percentage Breakdown of Value Sales for France, Germany, Italy, UK and Rest of Europe Markets for Years 2020 & 2027 Table 35: Europe Current & Future Analysis for Smart Ports by Technology - Process Automation, Artificial Intelligence, Internet of Things and Blockchain - Independent Analysis of Annual Sales in US$ Thousand for the Years 2020 through 2027 and % CAGR Table 36: Europe 7-Year Perspective for Smart Ports by Technology - Percentage Breakdown of Value Sales for Process Automation, Artificial Intelligence, Internet of Things and Blockchain for the Years 2020 & 2027 Table 37: Europe Current & Future Analysis for Smart Ports by Throughput Capacity - Extensively Busy, Moderately Busy and Scarcely Busy - Independent Analysis of Annual Sales in US$ Thousand for the Years 2020 through 2027 and % CAGR Table 38: Europe 7-Year Perspective for Smart Ports by Throughput Capacity - Percentage Breakdown of Value Sales for Extensively Busy, Moderately Busy and Scarcely Busy for the Years 2020 & 2027 FRANCE Table 39: France Current & Future Analysis for Smart Ports by Technology - Process Automation, Artificial Intelligence, Internet of Things and Blockchain - Independent Analysis of Annual Sales in US$ Thousand for the Years 2020 through 2027 and % CAGR Table 40: France 7-Year Perspective for Smart Ports by Technology - Percentage Breakdown of Value Sales for Process Automation, Artificial Intelligence, Internet of Things and Blockchain for the Years 2020 & 2027 Table 41: France Current & Future Analysis for Smart Ports by Throughput Capacity - Extensively Busy, Moderately Busy and Scarcely Busy - Independent Analysis of Annual Sales in US$ Thousand for the Years 2020 through 2027 and % CAGR Table 42: France 7-Year Perspective for Smart Ports by Throughput Capacity - Percentage Breakdown of Value Sales for Extensively Busy, Moderately Busy and Scarcely Busy for the Years 2020 & 2027 GERMANY Table 43: Germany Current & Future Analysis for Smart Ports by Technology - Process Automation, Artificial Intelligence, Internet of Things and Blockchain - Independent Analysis of Annual Sales in US$ Thousand for the Years 2020 through 2027 and % CAGR Table 44: Germany 7-Year Perspective for Smart Ports by Technology - Percentage Breakdown of Value Sales for Process Automation, Artificial Intelligence, Internet of Things and Blockchain for the Years 2020 & 2027 Table 45: Germany Current & Future Analysis for Smart Ports by Throughput Capacity - Extensively Busy, Moderately Busy and Scarcely Busy - Independent Analysis of Annual Sales in US$ Thousand for the Years 2020 through 2027 and % CAGR Table 46: Germany 7-Year Perspective for Smart Ports by Throughput Capacity - Percentage Breakdown of Value Sales for Extensively Busy, Moderately Busy and Scarcely Busy for the Years 2020 & 2027 ITALY Table 47: Italy Current & Future Analysis for Smart Ports by Technology - Process Automation, Artificial Intelligence, Internet of Things and Blockchain - Independent Analysis of Annual Sales in US$ Thousand for the Years 2020 through 2027 and % CAGR Table 48: Italy 7-Year Perspective for Smart Ports by Technology - Percentage Breakdown of Value Sales for Process Automation, Artificial Intelligence, Internet of Things and Blockchain for the Years 2020 & 2027 Table 49: Italy Current & Future Analysis for Smart Ports by Throughput Capacity - Extensively Busy, Moderately Busy and Scarcely Busy - Independent Analysis of Annual Sales in US$ Thousand for the Years 2020 through 2027 and % CAGR Table 50: Italy 7-Year Perspective for Smart Ports by Throughput Capacity - Percentage Breakdown of Value Sales for Extensively Busy, Moderately Busy and Scarcely Busy for the Years 2020 & 2027 UNITED KINGDOM Table 51: UK Current & Future Analysis for Smart Ports by Technology - Process Automation, Artificial Intelligence, Internet of Things and Blockchain - Independent Analysis of Annual Sales in US$ Thousand for the Years 2020 through 2027 and % CAGR Table 52: UK 7-Year Perspective for Smart Ports by Technology - Percentage Breakdown of Value Sales for Process Automation, Artificial Intelligence, Internet of Things and Blockchain for the Years 2020 & 2027 Table 53: UK Current & Future Analysis for Smart Ports by Throughput Capacity - Extensively Busy, Moderately Busy and Scarcely Busy - Independent Analysis of Annual Sales in US$ Thousand for the Years 2020 through 2027 and % CAGR Table 54: UK 7-Year Perspective for Smart Ports by Throughput Capacity - Percentage Breakdown of Value Sales for Extensively Busy, Moderately Busy and Scarcely Busy for the Years 2020 & 2027 REST OF EUROPE Table 55: Rest of Europe Current & Future Analysis for Smart Ports by Technology - Process Automation, Artificial Intelligence, Internet of Things and Blockchain - Independent Analysis of Annual Sales in US$ Thousand for the Years 2020 through 2027 and % CAGR Table 56: Rest of Europe 7-Year Perspective for Smart Ports by Technology - Percentage Breakdown of Value Sales for Process Automation, Artificial Intelligence, Internet of Things and Blockchain for the Years 2020 & 2027 Table 57: Rest of Europe Current & Future Analysis for Smart Ports by Throughput Capacity - Extensively Busy, Moderately Busy and Scarcely Busy - Independent Analysis of Annual Sales in US$ Thousand for the Years 2020 through 2027 and % CAGR Table 58: Rest of Europe 7-Year Perspective for Smart Ports by Throughput Capacity - Percentage Breakdown of Value Sales for Extensively Busy, Moderately Busy and Scarcely Busy for the Years 2020 & 2027 ASIA-PACIFIC Table 59: Asia-Pacific Current & Future Analysis for Smart Ports by Technology - Process Automation, Artificial Intelligence, Internet of Things and Blockchain - Independent Analysis of Annual Sales in US$ Thousand for the Years 2020 through 2027 and % CAGR Table 60: Asia-Pacific 7-Year Perspective for Smart Ports by Technology - Percentage Breakdown of Value Sales for Process Automation, Artificial Intelligence, Internet of Things and Blockchain for the Years 2020 & 2027 Table 61: Asia-Pacific Current & Future Analysis for Smart Ports by Throughput Capacity - Extensively Busy, Moderately Busy and Scarcely Busy - Independent Analysis of Annual Sales in US$ Thousand for the Years 2020 through 2027 and % CAGR Table 62: Asia-Pacific 7-Year Perspective for Smart Ports by Throughput Capacity - Percentage Breakdown of Value Sales for Extensively Busy, Moderately Busy and Scarcely Busy for the Years 2020 & 2027 REST OF WORLD Table 63: Rest of World Current & Future Analysis for Smart Ports by Technology - Process Automation, Artificial Intelligence, Internet of Things and Blockchain - Independent Analysis of Annual Sales in US$ Thousand for the Years 2020 through 2027 and % CAGR Table 64: Rest of World 7-Year Perspective for Smart Ports by Technology - Percentage Breakdown of Value Sales for Process Automation, Artificial Intelligence, Internet of Things and Blockchain for the Years 2020 & 2027 Table 65: Rest of World Current & Future Analysis for Smart Ports by Throughput Capacity - Extensively Busy, Moderately Busy and Scarcely Busy - Independent Analysis of Annual Sales in US$ Thousand for the Years 2020 through 2027 and % CAGR Table 66: Rest of World 7-Year Perspective for Smart Ports by Throughput Capacity - Percentage Breakdown of Value Sales for Extensively Busy, Moderately Busy and Scarcely Busy for the Years 2020 & 2027 IV. COMPETITION Total Companies Profiled: 35Read the full report: https://www.reportlinker.com/p06032915/?utm_source=GNWAbout ReportlinkerReportLinker is an award-winning market research solution. Reportlinker finds and organizes the latest industry data so you get all the market research you need - instantly, in one place.__________________________ CONTACT: Clare: clare@reportlinker.com US: (339)-368-6001 Intl: +1 339-368-6001
Phoenix, NY  Last Christmas season, Brian Borchik gave his 5-year-old son hundreds of dollars as they ate breakfast one Sunday at the BVille Diner.

The young boys job? Give out $60 tips to every server in the diner.

For Borchick, 44, of Phoenix, thats the kind of cheer that brings him joy. His son loved it, too. And that was just Borchik acting on a whim.

When hes planning a giveaway, Borchik goes big: a free kitchen redo (with a free bathroom and a tree removal, to boot) or a $300 tip to a waitress hed never met before.

Since mid-December, Borchik estimates that his efforts have led to $35,000 in donated money and services.

Its a remarkable amount of charity for a man who works three jobs and asked his parents for a bailout only two years ago after a failed business venture.

But while 2020 was so hard for so many people, Borchik had maybe his best financial year yet. And he spared no time in giving away what he could.

I had a very good year last year when most people did not, he said. There are so many people just on the brink of giving up, that just a little thing can change their outlook. You never know what can be a catalyst to change someones life.

His method? Using social media to motivate people to help others. Its a tactic he honed while teaming up with others in 2012 to help Downstate families impacted by Superstorm Sandy.

This time, Borchik wanted to do something closer to home. The Syracuse native has lived in Liverpool, Baldwinsville and now Phoenix his entire life, except for a few years he spent away around college.

Borchicks first Facebook post in December drew $2,100 in donations. A day later, he started a campaign that raised $3,200 more. Contractors donated services, manufacturers donated tiles and other products.

Personally, hes donated about $1,500 in money and goods, plus countless hours of labor.

From the time I first posted, its consumed my life, Borchik said. Its most definitely wasnt just me. I was the roadmap on a journey a lot of people were taking.

A full-time Verizon employee, Borchik is assigned to the FIOS division during a pandemic when internet access is a necessity. He also flips houses at a time when the housing market has skyrocketed. And hes had time to do a dozen or so contracting gigs on the side.

Brian Borchik, of Phoenix, is a contractor, Verizon FIOS employee and rehabs houses.

So as Borchik drove home from work in mid-December, he couldnt stop thinking about a new idea: fundraising to put his contracting skills to good use -- for free.

He sought referrals from the village of Phoenix administrator, Jim Lynch. The charity projects focused on five houses: four smaller projects and one big project.

The big project involved a young family with a special needs baby. Through the grapevine, the family had asked for help repairing a kitchen ceiling, Borchik said.

But when Borchik showed up, he saw he could do much more: an entire kitchen rehab. And the family needed work done in the bathroom. So the family got a new bathroom, too. And an old tree in the backyard came down.

He did the work on nights and weekends, while still showing up 40 hours a week at Verizon.

After the renovation, Borchik says he still texts with the family, sharing their struggles and their triumphs. Ive cried with them probably more than I have in the past five years, he said.

The charity projects have ended, for now. Borchik said he needs to buckle back down on his other work. But that doesnt mean hes done looking for ways to turn money into joy.

His latest fundraising campaign was for $1,000 to use in more fun ways.

On Monday morning, Borchik wandered into the Brewer Union Cafe, in Brewerton. He had a plan. The cafe was hosting a Cookie for a Cause charity to benefit Francis House, the hospice care facility on Syracuses North Side.

Taking out cash, he offered a $200 donation to Francis House. But he had a second pile of cash: $300 for his waitress that morning.

Shut the front door! the waitress, Leslieann Webb, exclaimed. The she burst into tears of joy.

The cafe singled out Borchicks charity on its Facebook page. Webb wrote her own thanks.

Brian Borchik, your incredible generosity for Francis House was indeed a beautiful gesture, Webb wrote. When you followed it up with the most unexpected tip of a lifetime you shock me to the core. Im still trying to wrap my head around what happened today. To say Thank you just doesnt seem like enough. Please know how much it was appreciated. You have no idea what a difference you have made.

Thats the kind of thing that Borchik cant get enough of. He admires Derek Deso, a YouTube celebrity prankster who also gets kicks out of surprising needy kids with cool gifts, or Adam Weitsman, the Upstate businessman who has given away hundreds of thousands of dollars to charity.

Until this year, Borchik hasnt been able to do something like that himself. Now, he cant stop dreaming up new ways to spread cheer.

I might be asking again for some stuff, he said.

Staff writer Douglass Dowty can be reached at ddowty@syracuse.com or 315-470-6070.
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Suspected militants have ambushed a vehicle carrying four women activists from an NGO in the northwest region of Pakistan that borders Afghanistan, killing them and wounding the driver.

The attack occurred on February 22 in the village of Ippi in Mir Ali, a town in the North Waziristan district, Shafiullah Gandapur, the police chief of North Waziristan, told RFE/RL.

Shafi Ullah Khan, a district police chief, also confirmed the attack, saying security forces were scouring the area to find the attackers, who fled to nearby mountains. No one has claimed responsibility for the attack.

Officials said the victims were from the Sabawoon charity, which provides training to women interested in doing business from their homes and creates awareness among them about their rights.

The women activists traveled to Mir Ali from the town of Bannu in Khyber Pakhtunkhwa Province.

Pakistani militants have stepped up their activities in the region in recent months, raising fears they were regrouping in the former Taliban stronghold.

Militants also often attack Pakistani troops in the regions bordering Afghanistan.

Separately, armed men killed one person and kidnapped eight others in the Shewa subdistrict late on February 21. Police officials say government employees were among those kidnapped and that a search operation is under way. There has been no claim of responsibility so far.



Complaints have intensified among locals over the increasing incidents of targeted killings in North Waziristan over the past year.

Pakistani security forces conducted a massive anti-Taliban operation in the area in June 2014 and claim the area has been secured. However, local inhabitants complain that groups of armed men are making a comeback in the area.

With reporting by AP

DALLAS Like so many Texans, LaShonda McGrew spent most of Sunday dazzled by the rare blanket of snow that covered her suburban Fort Worth home. It was beautiful, she told her husband, as they spent the day listening to sermons, sitting next to the fire and preparing for the workweek.

As the evening approached, the warnings of a more serious weather event started to pop up. McGrew paid attention. She audited her food and water. She placed candles and flashlights with fresh batteries throughout the house. The family charged extra cellphone batteries.

At about 1:30 a.m. Monday, the power went out.

We were prepared for a few hours, she said on Friday, recalling the historic and catastrophic events of the week. But we werent thinking that it would never come back.

McGrew, her family and more than 3 million other Texans would spend the next several days enveloped in the horrendous winter storm that crippled the infrastructure of the nations second-largest state. For more than 48 hours, the family huddled around a fire in their living room, rationing food and cellphone batteries to stay connected with other kin and monitor the news.

To pass the time, McGrew  whose nickname is Sunshine  and her family looked at photo albums. They played cards and imagined their vacation to somewhere warm. Its gonna get better, they told each other.

It didnt.

In the same week: The McGrew family would join half the states population  about 13 million  as residents ran out of water or were forced to boil whatever dripped from faucets to ensure it was safe to drink.

Its like a bad dream, she said. Its hard to keep a good spirit when you dont know when things are going to end.

The cascading catastrophes not only tested McGrews disposition but also the wherewithal of all Texans.

Parents kept their children warm, bundled in layers inside running cars. Friends offered up couches. Families mopped up flooded apartments. People lived off cookies and cooked on ice-covered grills. They melted snow to flush toilets. Texans jammed phone lines of energy companies and broke web sites reporting outages. Politicians  if they didnt flee the state  pointed fingers rather than offer solutions.

As the snow and ice melts, the Lone Star State faces a host of questions  technical, political and cultural. What went wrong? Who is responsible? How does the state avoid another crisis? And perhaps the most heady: Is the era of Texas exceptionalism  and the long tradition of individualism and carpe diem  over?

They told us to be prepared, McGrew said, referring to local and state leaders and energy companies. But they were not prepared. Were suffering because they werent. Wheres yalls accountability? Were gonna have to pay for their screw-up.

The Feb. 11, 133-car pileup on Interstate 35W that killed at least six people was prologue to a chain of events that, all told, likely will add up to more than $20 billion  the most costly weather crisis in the states history.

The winter freeze  punctuated by two snowstorms  marked the first time all 254 counties were under a winter weather warning. The Dallas-Fort Worth area spent 139 consecutive hours at or below 32 degrees, tying the seventh-longest streak first set in 1942, the National Weather Service said Friday.

As several inches of snow began to accumulate throughout last Sunday, the Electric Reliability Council of Texas, the agency that manages the states power grid, warned of rolling blackouts if residents didnt turn down the heat.

Shortly after 4 p.m. on Feb. 14, Valentines Day, Dallas County Judge Clay Jenkins and a chorus of other local leaders began urging on social media for North Texans to conserve power.

The warnings were too late.

By 11 p.m., the Electric Reliability Council faced a stark choice: initiate short, controlled power outages or suffer a statewide blackout that could have lasted more than a month, officials said this week.

Local power distributors, such as Oncor Electric Delivery in North Texas, followed the directive and powered down neighborhoods with the goal of rotating outages.

It was suggested the rolling blackouts would last no more than 45 minutes. But a menacing mix of freezing temperatures, an unstable power grid, broken equipment, increased demand and diminished raw energy supplies prevented the rotation from happening as planned.

Many thousands of Texans were left without power for days. Oncor and the council, known as ERCOT, provided few details. Instead of powering peoples homes, these organizations fueled mass confusion with mystifying tweets from their social media accounts and jargon-filled news conferences. Clogged phone lines and crashed web sites where people were told to report outages provided no help.

Texans did what they could in the dark. They filled hotels to capacity. Others found refuge in warming stations, sleeping on buses. Some who stayed home lit small fires to huddle around. Too many had no choice but to layer up and pray.

Adriana Godines and her family in East Dallas went 40 hours without power. Her 10-year-old daughter, Andrea, woke up at night crying because she was cold.

We were some of the lucky ones, she said.

By Friday, power had been restored to nearly every Texan. But the state and its people were already facing the next disasters. Grocery store shelves are barren. Water, if its running, must be boiled in half the state. Homes, apartments and businesses are deluged.

Four feet of water flooded Friendship West Baptist Churchs resource center in southern Dallas, said the Rev. Frederick Haynes. The 30,000-square-foot building includes a food pantry and gently used clothing store.

Were trying to save as much as possible, he said. People are literally dying and suffering, who did not have to die and who did not have to suffer, if Texas had been responsible to regulate institutions that are supposed to keep us safe.

As the power crisis unfolded, multiple news outlets reported that it hadnt been more than a decade since Texas faced a similar crisis  a 2011 snow storm that collided with the Super Bowl.

Lessons were supposed to be learned. Changes were supposed to be made. But Texas kept being Texas.

There is a strong strain of individualism and risk-taking in Texas, said H.W. Brands, a historian at the University of Texas, Austin. Well do what we want to now and worry about the future later. This is a case in which the future blew in and hit the whole state.

Energy and infrastructure experts this week noted changes are necessary but cautioned against rushing to conclusions. It will be important to examine the entire system, they said. Unanticipated problems are likely to surface.

While Texas became the poster child for failed infrastructure this week, its not an uncommon phenomenon, said DJ Gribbin, a non-resident senior fellow at the Brookings Institute and former adviser to President Donald Trump.

Everyone ignores infrastructure until there is a huge failure, he said.

As part of the forthcoming investigation into what happened, Gribbin said, the state should not simply focus on broken equipment but think about its future as it deals with growth and new challenges.

Gribbin and Bruce Bullock, director of the Maguire Energy Institute at Southern Methodist University, said Texas deregulated system could work in its favor to innovate solutions and rebuild quickly.

Bullock warned that those proposing reforms must be apolitical  even after Texas power shortage became fodder for Democrats and Republicans.

The more politicalized this gets, the less likely we are going to have meaningful solutions, he said. Thats directed at all sides.

Time is of the essence since state lawmakers are in session until later this spring and wont return until 2023, unless the governor calls a special session. If there was ever political will to get something meaningfully done, now would be the time, said UT political scientist Victoria DeFrancesco Soto.

We dont need another study or a committee, she said. We need something thats passed and signed by the governor.

Fort Worth native Chequan Lewis said it will take more than updated infrastructure and new laws to fix the state.

Its important the rhetoric shift in our state, he said. I want leaders to be talking about solving problems together rather than pretend Texans would rather freeze to death than live in a regulated environment.

Lewis  now a Dallas-based lawyer, business executive and civic leader focused on equity  said the state doesnt have to abandon its Texas exceptionalism myth entirely. But the culture must evolve to meet the challenges of the 21st century, which are greater than any state can tackle.

Texas has the capacity for even more greatness as a state, he said. But we have to set that as the intention.

U.S. Rep. Beth Van Duyne, a Republican, is ready to help rebuild the states grid  and reputation.

Its personal for Van Duyne, who lost power for about three days and is now fixing broken pipes. As the temperature sunk to 42 degrees inside her home, she circled her fireplace with blankets and pillows, and played cards in between conference calls, checking on neighbors and constituents.

At one point, she also reread ERCOTs warnings before the Arctic blast. They clearly showed an overconfidence or profound misunderstanding of what we were facing, she said.

Van Duyne, who sits on the Houses infrastructure committee, pledged federal resources and a Lone Star comeback.

Texas will prove its exceptionalism in how well we respond, rebuild and create more secure energy generation and power infrastructure in the months ahead.



Nic Garcia of The Dallas Morning News wrote this story.

2021 The Dallas Morning News.

Distributed by Tribune Content Agency, LLC.
One of the armed robbers arrested following a shoot-out with police on Friday night after robbing a Harare businessman of US$10 000 had just been released in jail on bail pending appeal.

Blessing Bheura (29) was one of the six armed robbers, including a serving member of the Zimbabwe Republic Police, who violently resisted arrest when police pounced after they had robbed a businessman.

Police were forced to return fire. Four of the armed robbers were killed while Bheura and Tichaona Kariwa (33) of Domboshava were arrested.

Those that were killed are Constable Kudzai Kanjera (41) of ZRP Hatfield, Admire Nhetekwa (26), Brian Chibaya (37) and Tatenda Chari (35).

Police had received a tip-off that the robbers were planning to pounce on the businessman, and they ambushed them soon after the robbery. Bheura had been released last Tuesday on bail, just three days before the robbery.

He was on bail for an armed robbery in Murehwa while using a pistol that he had allegedly stolen from the safe in the house of a Waterfalls couple this year, before he started committing criminal activities.

Police said some of the suspects who died during the shoot-out were on their wanted list for committing a spate of armed robberies in and around Harare. This is not the first time that criminals released on bail have committed crimes before being rearrested.

Recently, 12 suspected armed robbers, including two ex-policemen, who were released on bail at the High Court last year, were on polices most wanted list for committing a spate of robberies in and around Harare and skipping bail.

A manhunt for the 12, and other wanted suspects, has since been launched although some are believed to have skipped the country.

They were once arrested, but disappeared after being granted bail by the courts, resulting in warrants of arrest being issued against them for violating the report conditions of bail or not turning up on their remand dates.

Those that were being hunted down include Alouis Nyamadzawo, Decide Rice, Godfrey Josi, Elijah Temai Vumbunu, Leonard Huni, Fanuel Chikadaya, Peter Mushipe, Conwell Kasambarare (28), Musafare Mupamhanga, Spicer Takawira and the two ex-cops Watson Magodhi (37) and Ayanda Gumbo (28).

Most of the suspects had previous criminal records. In March last year, a robbery gang comprising the two ex-policemen, Magodhi and Gumbo, a soldier and cellphone dealers, were arrested after being charged as members of the gang operating in Chitungwiza and Kuwadzana, using guns, machetes and axes. During its criminal operations, the gang stole $29 350, US$6 310 and R12 000 from five victims.

Recently, Musafare Mupamhanga, Conwell Kasambarare and Spicer Takawira, believed to be part of a gang that raided Mashwede Holdings and got away with over US$100 000, R42 000, $14 000 worth of fuel coupons, two firearms and 20 live rounds of ammunition, were recently released on bail in separate applications at the High Court.

The three, who operated with one of the most dangerous robbers in Zimbabwean history including suspected gang leader  Musa Taj Abdul  were released after the State consented on the basis that some of their co-accused were out on bail.

Kasambarare, Mupamhanga and their accomplice, Takawira, then applied for bail which was granted between May and October. Kasambarare was granted bail on May 26 while Takawira got his on August 19 last year.

Head of Special Anti-Corruption Unit (SACU) Mr Thabani Mpofu recently said the unit was concerned about the release on bail of dangerous criminals, sometimes before their initial trial and sometimes after conviction and jail sentences while their cases went on appeal. Herald


The first studies of Britains mass inoculation program showed strong evidence on Monday that the coronavirus vaccines were working as intended, offering among the clearest signs yet that the vaccines slash the rate of Covid-19 hospital admissions and may be reducing transmission of the virus.

A single dose of either the AstraZeneca vaccine or the one made by Pfizer could avert most coronavirus-related hospitalizations, the British studies found, though researchers said it was too early to give precise estimates of the effect.

The findings on the AstraZeneca shot, the first to emerge outside of clinical trials, represented the strongest signal yet of the effectiveness of a vaccine that much of the world is relying on to end the pandemic.

And separate studies of the Pfizer vaccine offered tantalizing new evidence that a single shot may be reducing the spread of the virus, showing that it prevents not only symptomatic cases of Covid-19 but also asymptomatic infections.


Year 2018 was an honor-filled year for Cole. He was named a Chicago Defender Man of Excellence and awarded the Chicago City Council Resolution Award. He was named one of Chicagos 20 most inspiring people by StreetWise Magazine and a Chicagoan of the Year by Chicago Magazine. There have since been other awards and with them increased visibility and donations. His organization seems to be on ever more solid footing. In two days in June it raised $1 million for small businesses hurt by looting, vandalism and the pandemic. He also contributed a commentary for the Tribune on the difference between protest and violence.
Covid-19 conspiracy theorists have proudly shared footage online of a rowdy wedding party forcing a police car to flee from a suburban street.

Intense video footage shows a Victoria Police Highway Patrol BMW drive towards a motorcyclist and dozens of young men standing in the middle of the road just north of Melbourne in Glenroy.

The police car turns on the sirens as the group circled the BMW and attempted to prevent it from moving down the road.

Video footage shared to Facebook on Sunday showed a Victoria Police Highway Patrol car drive towards a motorcyclist and dozens of young men standing in the middle of the road

The man behind the camera extends his middle finger to an officer sitting inside the car and continues to scream 'here', in reference to his gesture.

A man, who appears be dressed in his wedding suit, then presses half his body onto the bonnet and pounds the car with his fists.

There are others dressed for a formal occasion - with some combining formal clothes with sneakers and sunglasses.

The police car then began to reverse away from the group, with the man dressed in a suit chasing after the vehicle as if to shoo it away.

The group cheered as one man screamed: 'What you gonna do now you f**king pigs?'

As the police car leaves the scene, the man on the red dirt motorbike sped off in the same direction, apparently chasing the cops.

The man behind the camera displayed his rude finger at an officer sitting inside the car

A man, who was dressed in a wedding suit, pressed half of his body onto the bonnet

The footage of the rebellion was promptly picked up and circulated online by coronavirus deniers, who believe the pandemic is a hoax and part of a conspiracy to control the public.

Police have launched a manhunt for the men captured in the alarming vision and have urged anyone with information to come forward.

A police spokeswoman told Daily Mail Australia the incident caught on camera happened on Sunday afternoon, but trouble had been brewing earlier in nearby Dallas, which borders Broadmeadows.

'Police initially received reports of dangerous and erratic driving in the Dallas area about 11am but parties involved had dispersed before officers arrived,' she said.

Patrol units were dispersed to the area and located vehicles matching the earlier description of those involved in the Dallas incident in Glenroy at about 1pm.

It was then that tensions quickly escalated.

'A single police unit approached these vehicles and witnessed three motorbikes being ridden erratically before they were rushed by a group of people,' police said.

The police car then began to reverse away from the group, with the man dressed in a suit chasing after the vehicle

The Victoria Police Highway Patrol vehicle is seen reversing away from the group

'The group became increasingly aggressive and officers decided to reverse away for the safety of the group and themselves.'

The motorbike riders and those in the group fled the scene before additional police units arrived.

Minor damage was sustained to the police vehicle involved in the incident.

Police have confirmed detectives already have 'numerous strong leads' that are being investigated and are confident of identifying those involved.

'We will not tolerate this kind of irresponsible and dangerous behaviour,' the police spokeswoman said.

Anyone with information that could assist police with their enquiries is urged to contact Crime Stoppers on 1800 333 000 or submit a confidential report online.
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Just when you thought you could head indoors to be safe from the air pollution that plagues the Salt Lake Valley, new research shows that elevated air pollution events, like horror movie villains, claw their way into indoor spaces. The research, conducted in conjunction with the Utah Division of Facilities Construction and Management, is published in Science of the Total Environment.

In a long-term study in a Salt Lake-area building, researchers found that the amount of air pollution that comes indoors depends on the type of outdoor pollution. Wildfires, fireworks and wintertime inversions all affect indoor air to different degrees, says Daniel Mendoza, a research assistant professor in the Department of Atmospheric Sciences and visiting assistant professor in the Department of City & Metropolitan Planning. The study is unique, Mendoza says, combining a long-term indoor air quality monitoring project with paired outdoor measurements and research-grade instruments.

"We all know about the inversions," Mendoza says. "We all know how large of a problem wildfires are. But do we really know what happens when we're inside?"

The setup

Mendoza, who also holds appointments as an adjunct assistant professor in the Pulmonary Division at the School of Medicine and as a senior scientist at the NEXUS Institute, and his colleagues set up their air monitoring equipment at the Unified State Laboratories in Taylorsville, Utah. They placed three sensors to measure airborne concentrations of particulate matter: One on the roof to measure outdoor air, one in the air handling room--where the outdoor air comes in--and one in an office. The building uses a 100% outside air filtration system; this is not typical for most commercial buildings, which usually use some amount of recirculated air.

The sensors stayed in place from April 2018 to May 2019, just over a year. In the Salt Lake Valley, a year's air quality events include fireworks-laden holidays on Independence Day and Pioneer Day (July 24), smoke from wildfires throughout the West that settles in the bowl-like valley and wintertime inversions in which the whole valley's emissions are trapped in a pool of cold air.

Through it all, the team's sensors kept watch. Amid the expected events, however, a private fireworks show took place on Aug. 17, 2018, within five miles of the study building, providing an unexpected research opportunity. More on that later.

Inversions

Minute-by-minute outdoor and indoor air particulate matter measurements during a December 2018 inversion.

During a wintertime inversion event in December, as the Air Quality Index outdoors reached orange and red levels, the indoor air quality reached yellow levels and stayed there until the inversion cleared. In all, the pollution levels inside were about 30% of what they were outside.

That's not surprising, Mendoza says. During inversions, only around 20% of the air pollution is what's called primary pollution - the particulate matter that comes directly from combustion exhaust. The rest is secondary--formed as gases undergo chemical reactions under specific meteorological conditions and combine to form solid particulates. As soon as the air comes indoors, those meteorological conditions change.

"That changes the chemical environment for these particles and they actually dissociate," Mendoza says. "That's what we're suspecting is happening when these particles come into the building and that's why we don't observe them."

Wildfires

Minute-by-minute outdoor and indoor air particulate matter measurements during an August 2018 wildfire event.

In late August 2018, when three active wildfires were burning in California, indoor air pollution rose to about 78% of outside pollution levels.

"For nearly 48 hours," the researchers wrote, "indoor air quality reached levels considered problematic for health compromised populations and nearly reached levels considered unsafe for all populations."

It's important to note, though, that thanks to the building's air handling system, the air is still safer inside than outside.

The reason for the higher infiltration of particulate matter, Mendoza says, is that smoke particles are stable and don't break down in different temperature and humidity conditions.

"We see those particles travel straight through the system," Mendoza says, "because there's no specific filtration that blocks out these particles. Smoke particles can also be smaller in size; that's why they're so dangerous for us."

Fireworks

Minute-by-minute outdoor and indoor air particulate matter measurements during the 2018 Independence Day holiday.

Utah has two major fireworks holidays: July 4 and July 24 (Pioneer Day). But the researchers happened to catch a signal from a private fireworks event just a few weeks before the wildfire smoke event, providing an opportunity to see how fireworks shows, both large and small, affected indoor air quality.

The smoke from fireworks is somewhere between inversion pollution and wildfires. It contains primary smoke particles as well as the gases that can combine to produce secondary particulates, which can come from the chemicals used to produce fireworks' bright colors.

On the night of July 4, 2018, air quality sharply deteriorated once fireworks shows began and stayed in the red range, with spikes into the purple "very unhealthy" range, for about three hours. Indoor air quality reached orange levels, registering about 30% of the outdoor air pollution.

"It was only after 8 a.m. on July 5 that indoor air quality returned to pre-fireworks levels," the researchers write.

Minute-by-minute outdoor and indoor air particulate matter measurements during a private fireworks event.

The private fireworks show on August 17 lasted only 30 minutes, and although the scope was much smaller, the smoke was still enough to raise the indoor air quality index to orange for several minutes.

"Even a 'small' fireworks show did have a marked impact on indoor air quality," Mendoza says. That matters to people with respiratory challenges who can see large-scale, poor air quality events like inversions and fireworks holidays coming--but who might find private fireworks shows an unpleasant surprise.

The commercial building that the researchers studied is a somewhat controlled environment. Learning about indoor air quality in homes will be a greater challenge. "You have kids coming in with mud or with dirt on their feet, you have vacuuming and cooking. So that's going to be our next step." As many people are spending more time at home due to the COVID-19 pandemic, the research will hopefully help understand what actions people can take to improve their indoor air quality.

"There is a lot of opportunity to reduce the pollutants that reach occupants in buildings, both commercial and residential," says Sarah Boll, assistant director of the Utah Division of Facilities Construction and Management. "To me, that is the great part of this work--with more research it can point the way to protecting people indoors."

###

Find the full study here.

Tabitha Benney, associate professor of political science, was a co-author of this manuscript, along with Mendoza and Boll.
Credit: Pixabay/CC0 Public Domain

Hundreds of thousands of German pupils returned to schools and kindergartens for the first time in two months on Monday, despite fears of a third coronavirus wave fuelled by the British variant.

Schools and daycare centres reopened in 10 German regions, including the capital Berlin and the most populous state North-Rhine Westphalia.

Most schools are limiting the return to pupils attending primary classes one to three. Class sizes have also been halved, alongside other precautions such as mask-wearing and airing out rooms, but critics have questioned whether the timing is right for the reopenings.

In discussions with party colleagues on Monday, Chancellor Angela Merkel reportedly mooted plans for a step-by-step relaxation of measures in areas such as social contact, schools and restaurants and culture.

Merkel argued that relaxation measures should be strongly tied to testing, according to participants in the meeting.

Yet experts are warning that Germany could be at the start of a third coronavirus wave, as case numbers have begun to rise again in recent days.

On Monday, the nationwide seven-day incidence rate returned to 61 cases per 100,000 people after sinking to almost 50 in the past weeks.

"We're seeing that the numbers are climbing again. That's annoying, and it brings back some uncertainty," Health Minister Jens Spahn told public broadcaster ARD Sunday, urging "caution".

Children's wellbeing

Spahn had said last week that the more infectious UK variant of the coronavirus is spreading rapidly in Germany, where it now accounts for more than one in five cases.

Yet Families Minister Franziska Giffey defended the decision to allow schools to reopen on Monday.

"Taking the first steps to open things up is the right thing to do for children and their wellbeing," Giffey told broadcaster ZDF.

She admitted however that schools may have to close again in regions with a dramatic rise in case numbers.

Education policy falls under the remit of individual federal states in Germany, meaning school reopenings differ from region to region.

In Berlin, primary school pupils will have to wear masks during lessons, with class sizes reduced to half the usual size and classes alternating between school and remote learning.

Other states such as Saxony are offering a full programme, with classes split into strictly separated smaller groups.

In the northern city of Hamburg, meanwhile, schools remain largely closed until the beginning of March.

Many states are also planning to roll out regular tests for teachers, after Germany announced free antigen tests for all citizens from March onwards.

Teachers may also soon be moved into a higher priority category for inoculation.

Regional health ministers are set to discuss such a move on Monday, despite reservations from Germany's vaccination commission, which wants to prioritise patients and vulnerable people.

Explore further Germany urges 'caution' as COVID infections climb again

 2021 AFP
Kerrville, TX (78028)

Today

Mainly cloudy. A stray shower or thunderstorm is possible. High 82F. Winds SSE at 10 to 20 mph..

Tonight

Scattered thunderstorms early, then mainly cloudy overnight with thunderstorms likely. Low 66F. Winds SE at 10 to 15 mph. Chance of rain 60%.
A few days back, the anti-terror cell of Malwani Police arrested a Bangladeshi national from the Malwani area who had allegedly entered India illegally. Deputy Commissioner of Police (DCP) S. Chaitanya, PRO, Mumbai Police on Saturday told ANI that the police had retrieved fake documents from the Bangladeshi national's house. "The accused has been booked under Foreigners Act, 1946 and IPC sections related to forged and fake documents," he added.

Congress says BJP spreading 'Sangh Jihad'

On this, the ruling MVA government in the state has hit out at the BJP and claimed that the party had appointed the person in its minority cell. Maharashtra Congress chief Nana Patole on Saturday said that the BJP was "quick to give lessons in patriotism to everyone" and asked if the Citizenship Amendment Act, which provides for citizenship to non-Muslim citizens of neighbouring countries like Bangladesh, "did not apply" to the party. Congress spokesperson Sachin Sawant accused BJP of spreading 'Sangh Jihad'.

Even, Maharashtra Home Minister Anil Deshmukh said an office-bearer of the BJP is a Bangladeshi and had been staying in the country with fake documents. He said Rubel Jonu Shaikh, head of the BJP's north Mumbai minority cell, had obtained an Aadhaar card and PAN card but the Mumbai police had found that the 24 North Parganas address and school details in West Bengal he had furnished was fake. "I wonder how the BJP made him an office-bearer without checking his documents or verifying his credentials," Deshmukh said.

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Meanwhile, BJP vice president Chitra Wagh said her party would not defend any wrongdoing, if any, on the part of Shaikh but added the MVA government must show "similar enthusiasm" to find out similar cases in the NCP, Congress. A picture of Rubel Shaikh with BJP MP Gopal Shetty has also emerged on social media.

Reacting to the photo, Gopal Shetty said that the accused person "met me at my office and got a photograph clicked with me. A lot of people do that. But I believe if somebody has done anything wrong, then action should be taken against that person. I myself give information to the police about such people. We want CAA to be implemented so that illegal Bangladeshis living here can be sent back."

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Attorney General nominee Merrick Garland testifies during his confirmation hearing before the Senate Judiciary Committee in Washington, on Feb. 22, 2021 in Washington. (Drew Angerer/Getty Images)

AG Nominee Garland Says No Reason Why Durham Shouldnt Be Left in Place

Judge Merrick Garland, President Joe Bidens nominee for attorney general, said on Feb. 22 he sees no reason why special counsel John Durham shouldnt be left in place in order to continue his investigation into the origins of the Trump-Russia probe.

Garland also declined to make any firm commitments during his confirmation hearing before the Senate Judiciary Committee.

At one point, ranking member Sen. Chuck Grassley (R-Iowa) questioned him about what he would do with Durhams investigation.

I understand that he has been permitted to remain in this position, and sitting here today, I have no reason to think that was not the correct decision, Garland responded. The nominee also told the committee that he hasnt yet had a chance to speak with Durham.

I dont have any reason, from what I know now, which is really very little, to make any determination on that ground, he added. But I have no reason to think he should not remain in place.

While Trump-appointed U.S. attorneys have been asked to resign in recent weeks, U.S. Attorney David Weiss in Delaware, who is overseeing the tax probe of Hunter Biden, and Durham are expected to remain in office.

Garland also was pressed by Grassley on whether he would make Durhams report public. He ultimately declined to commit as to whether or not he would make the findings publicly available.

I am a great believer in transparency. I would, though, have to talk with Durham and understand the nature of what hes been doing and the nature of his report, he said.

Then-Attorney General William Barr said in December 2020 that Durham was making good progress with his investigation.

Durham, the U.S. attorney for Connecticut, is working in Washington on a regular basis, Barr said at the time. Durham was appointed by Barr as special counsel in October 2020; he was appointed last year to investigate the origin of the FBI and Department of Justice (DOJ) probe into Trumps 2016 campaign.

At one point during the hearing, Garland said he had agreed to the nomination as attorney general because Biden had said that decisions about investigations and prosecutions will be left to the Justice Department.

During the first day of a two-day hearing, Garland vowed to prioritize civil rights, combat extremist attacks, and ensure that the DOJ remains politically independent.

The attorney general represents the public interest, particularly and specifically as defined by the Constitution and the statutes of the United States, Garland said. I do not plan to be interfered with by anyone.

To date, Durham has interviewed officials from the FBI, DOJ, and the CIA regarding the early days of the Russia investigation, and has produced criminal charges against one persona former FBI lawyer who pleaded guilty to altering an email.

The Associated Press contributed to this report.
Maldives Foreign Minister Abdulla Shahid along with over 1,000 officers of the island nation will exchange views during an international virtual workshop on Good Governance Practices in a Pandemic conducted by the Ministry of Personnel, Public Grievances and Pensions.It is being organised days after External Affairs Minister S Jaishankar concluded his visit to the Maldives where he reaffirmed Indias commitment to security and signed a USD 50 million defence Line of Credit agreement with the strategically vital Indian Ocean island nation to boost its maritime capabilities.

The workshop, beginning on Tuesday, plans to provide a platform for information exchange and knowledge dissemination, a statement said.

The workshop between Civil Services Commission (CSC) of the Maldives and National Centre for Good Governance, Department of Administrative Reforms and Public Grievances (DARPG) will see participation of more than 1,000 officers from the island nation.

It will include sessions ranging from leadership and motivation, health and education in the Maldives in a pandemic, health sector in India in a pandemic, job skills and tourism in a pandemic, interpersonal skills and communication skills, digital practices and handling of public grievances to problem analysis and decision making.The address by chief guests will be delivered by Dr Jitendra Singh, Union Minister of State for Personnel, Public Grievances and Pensions, and Maldives Foreign Minister Shahid.

Esteemed participants from both the countries, including renowned academicians will participate in the workshop, it said.Day one will see a day-long academic exercise encompassing issues like leadership, health and education sector and tourism during the COVID-19 pandemic.

It will be moderated by V Srinivas, Additional Secretary, DARPG and DG, National Centre for Good Governance (NCGG), and inaugurated by Sanjay Sudhir, High Commissioner of India to the Maldives and Mohammed Nasih, Chairperson, Civil Services Commission of the Maldives.

The concluding session on day two will see a valedictory addressed by Dr K Shivaji, Secretary, DARPG followed by an address by Sudhir, the statement said.

Jaishankar, during his recently-concluded two-visit to the Maldives, handed over 100,000 additional doses of COVID-19 vaccine to the Foreign Minister and Health Minister Kerafa Naseem.

(Disclaimer: This story is auto-generated from a syndicated feed; only the image & headline may have been reworked by www.republicworld.com)
We hear it all the time: Stay strong. But what I love about the Christian walk is that the strength isnt ours to uphold. It's Gods. And Hes never dropped the ball, never lost a battle, and will forever use joy, songs, and truth to push us through the night.

As we rang in 2021 (likely at home with few, if any, friends over) we anticipated a better year  a year with more hope, less hurt, and a promise of ease. Unfortunately, the angst and tension of 2020 has carried over with little proof of going away any time soon.

With so much bottled-up anger spewing over, it seems that we need a chill pill, the kind of pill that comes from a heavenly pharmacy, but maybe its not the chill factor that we need. Perhaps, we can use the tension, the frustration, and yes, even our opinions to bring peace. But that takes a different sort of strength, not the Hulk-like power that smashes and crashes through problems (only to create a bigger mess), but rather, a strength that calls us to challenge sin and encourage one another.

Here are 20 Bible quotes from Scripture (all taken from the English Standard Version) that harness the right kind of power and strength:

Photo Credit:  Getty Images

God as the Source of Strength

1. Isaiah 41:10  Fear not, for I am with you; be not dismayed, for I am your God. I will strengthen you, I will help you, I will uphold you with my right hand.

While few Christians can locate the book of Isaiah in the Bible, they can quote this verse. Its a popular one, an easy one to memorize. Yet, its so easy to memorize that we forget to process the part that says God strengthens us. We neglect the reality that strength is something we must harness from a source, the Source, outside of ourselves.

2. Isaiah 40:29  He gives power to the faint, and to him who has no might he increases strength.

Odds are, youve had that fainting feeling this year. It might not be anything physical, but your mind and heart are face down on the ground, but God is the Lifter of our heads, a constant source of strength when ours is depleted.

3. Exodus 15:13  You have led in your steadfast love the people whom you have redeemed; you have guided them by your strength to your holy abode.

Forget a humble abode! When you remember that the same power of God that redeemed you is the same power that will bring you through and through, you have a holy, eternal abode, a place where youre forever safe.

4. Ephesians 3:16  That according to the riches of his glory he may grant you to be strengthened with power through his Spirit in your inner being.

When we think of heavenly riches, we often think of streets paved with gold, the entry gates lined with pearls. But what if part of those beautiful riches is the joy, love, and even strength that Christ takes from His heavenly realm and pours out on earth for us?

5. 2 Corinthians 4:16  So we do not lose heart. Though our outer self is wasting away, our inner self is being renewed day by day.

Once we realize that the outer self is wasting, that we are finite creatures, we can focus on whats eternal, the things that matter on the inside. From that perspective, Christ can shift our hearts and minds toward heaven.

God as the Protector of Strength

6. 1 Corinthians 10:13  God is faithful, and he will not let you be tempted beyond your ability, but with the temptation he will also provide the way of escape, that you may be able to endure it.

We need strength in the spiritual realm, just as our bodies need the physical strength to push through a long, grueling, 24-hour day. We can condition our physical bodies with stretches, calisthenics, and all the other gym life things, but when it comes to temptation, Christ uses His strength to shield and protect us.

7. 1 Chronicles 16:11  Seek the LORD and his strength; seek his presence continually!

As a former personal trainer, I can tell you with confidence (and science) that if you take anything more than a 2-week break from physical exercise, your muscle mass immediately decreases, your cardio capacity weans away, and your overall physical condition declines. Thats itonly 2 weeks for everything to go backwards. The same happens with your spirit. To be fully equipped, we have to seek The Lord and His strength daily.

8. Deuteronomy 20:4  For the LORD your God is he who goes with you to fight for you against your enemies, to give you the victory.

The best part, the most humbling part, of our faith is that Christ is the ultimate winner. The victory is His because the strength is His. As Christians, its our honor to use His strength to help mend hearts and souls on earth.

9. Isaiah 12:2  Behold, God is my salvation; I will trust, and will not be afraid; for the LORD GOD is my strength and my song, and he has become my salvation.

As a piano and ukulele player, Im always fond of Bible verses that incorporate Christs character with music and singing. He uses the simplest of things, like a song, as a means for us to feel the overwhelming presence of his power.

10. 2 Corinthians 12:9  But he said to me, My grace is sufficient for you, for my power is made perfect in weakness. Therefore, I will boast all the more gladly of my weaknesses, so that the power of Christ may rest upon me.

This is one of my personal favorite verses. Its centered on Pauls conversation in which he begs God to remove his thorn in the side. Yet, God knows that our weaknesses are the perfect avenue for His power. Beauty from ashes, right?

Waiting as Gods Tool for Strength

11. Psalm 31:24  Be strong, and let your heart take courage, all you who wait for the LORD!

I wish that I was a patience master, but Im nowhere close. Yet, this tug-of-war battle I wage with patience is the very place that God works on me the most, teaching me to wait on His strength thats actually been there all along. (Ive just been too worried, fast-paced, and stressed to even notice it.)

12. Psalm 138:3  On the day I called, you answered me; my strength of soul you increased.

Often, we assume that were the ones waiting on God. But what if God is waiting on us? Waiting on us to be still and know, to face the quiet and search our souls, to simply call on Him so that the strength of our souls is increased?

13. Isaiah 30:15  For thus said the Lord GOD, the Holy One of Israel, In returning and rest you shall be saved; in quietness and in trust shall be your strength.

Remember that last verse about waiting in the quiet? Yeah, God mentions this concept countless times as an avenue for strength.

14. Romans 5:6  For while we were still weak, at the right time Christ died for the ungodly.

Perfect timing is Gods thing; its what He loves to map out. If God waited for the perfect time to send His Sonamidst civil unrest, starvation, and an ultimate craving for the Savior, then He knows exactly when and where you need His strength. Just hang in there. His timing is never wrong.

15. 2 Samuel 22:40  For you equipped me with strength for the battle; you made those who rise against me sink under me.

You have to prep for the hard things in life. Not that you get a fair warning before bad, terrible things happen, but to trudge through the gray patches in life, you have to be equipped. You have to take time to put on the right armor, to prepare your mind. And that comes from patience, mixed with God as the source of your warrior attire.

Gods Strength as Our Joy

16. Romans 15:13  May the God of hope fill you with all joy and peace in believing, so that by the power of the Holy Spirit you may abound in hope.

Life is crazyno secret, right? But we all want joy and peace: the things that steady our heads and hearts. You can have both joy and peace, but only if you harness it through the Holy Spirit and the power He has to bring tranquility to your heart amidst the chaos of 2021.

17. Psalm 27:6  And now my head shall be lifted up above my enemies all around me, and I will offer in his tent sacrifices with shouts of joy; I will sing and make melody to the LORD.

When youre surrounded and really need that warrior attire, its already available. Joy is yours for the taking, and its as simple as shouting His praise, using His strength as a reason to lift a song.

18. James 1:2-4  Count it all joy, my brothers, when you meet trials of various kinds, for you know that the testing of your faith produces steadfastness. And let steadfastness have its full effect, that you may be perfect and complete, lacking in nothing.

If youre a Christian school kid like me, or have simply grown up in the church, you know these verses like the back of your hand. But do we really understand these verses? Or just check the box that weve memorized the Scripture? If we understand these words, then we believe that joy comes from hard times, and hard times are the breeding ground for Gods strength to prevail.

This is where miracles happen, where non-believers think, I dont know what this girl has, but whatever it is, I want it too.

19. Romans 12: 12  Rejoice in hope, be patient in tribulation, be constant in prayer.

We need hope and strength and joy to combat reality. No secret. But if were willing to accept that things wont always be easy, then perhaps were willing to accept that prayer is not only a necessity for our spiritual sanity, but a surefire way to experience a joy that subsides the scariest, worst thoughts and feelings that life might throw our way.

20. Psalm 5:11  But let all who take refuge in you rejoice; let them ever sing for joy, and spread your protection over them, that those who love your name may exult in you.

If you havent noticed yet, I love the Psalms. I love them because they are an honest depiction of the highs and lows we battle through in this Christian life. I love this verse because it reminds me that my strength isnt even mine to hold onto. Rather, my strength comes from His hiding place, a place where I am forever sheltered and safe because His strength covers me forever and ever, amen.

We hear it all the time: Stay strong. But what I love about the Christian walk is that the strength isnt ours to uphold. It's Gods. And Hes never dropped the ball, never lost a battle, and will forever use joy, songs, and truth to push us through the night.

Further Reading

Strength Bible Verses

20 Bible Quotes about Strength: Be Strong and Courageous!

Photo Credit:  Getty Images/doidam10

Peyton Garland is an author who uses her OCD, disdain for legalism, and obsession with Jesus rap to showcase just how good God's goodness is. She lives in the Atlanta suburbs with her boo, Josh, and their two furry babes, Alfie and Daisy.

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A paper recently published in the scientific journal Stem Cells and Development shares an important advancement in conservationone that may make the difference between survival and extinction for wildlife species that have been reduced to very small population sizes. Using fibroblast cells that have been preserved in San Diego Zoo Global's Frozen Zoo, scientists have been able to generate induced pluripotent stem cells of northern and southern white rhinoceroses. This important breakthrough is the first step in a complex process for generating gametes from deceased and non-reproductive individuals of these two subspecies.

"For the northern white rhino, which is functionally extinct, the only hope for survival may be in the creation of gametes from cells that were frozen in our labs decades ago," said Marisa Korody, Ph.D., lead author of the study and northern white rhino genetics scientist for San Diego Zoo Global. "What we have just done is taken the first step towards being able to bring this subspecies back to life."

San Diego Zoo Global has fibroblast cell lines from 12 individual northern white rhinos preserved in its Frozen Zoo. It is thought that the genetic diversity in those frozen samples may be enough to bring the species back from the brink of extinction using this new advancement. However, scientists point out that this emerging technology can only be used if the living cells from critically endangered wildlife species are saved for the future.

"When Dr. (Kurt) Benirschke created the Frozen Zoo more than 40 years ago, we did not know how important it might be for the future," said Oliver Ryder, Ph.D., director of Conservation Genetics at San Diego Zoo Global. "As species are placed increasingly at risk, we now recognize that what we have may be the key to saving these species. However, we will not be able to offer this technology unless we have saved cell lines the way we did with the northern white rhino."

Explore further Rhino genome results: Frozen Zoo collection has same diversity as living population

More information: Marisa L. Korody et al, Rewinding Extinction in the Northern White Rhinoceros: Genetically Diverse Induced Pluripotent Stem Cell Bank for Genetic Rescue, Stem Cells and Development (2021). Journal information: Stem Cells and Development Marisa L. Korody et al, Rewinding Extinction in the Northern White Rhinoceros: Genetically Diverse Induced Pluripotent Stem Cell Bank for Genetic Rescue,(2021). DOI: 10.1089/scd.2021.0001
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For Subscribers Why South Dakota county officials are shirking state-given water rights

Grant County could be the thirteenth county to repeal their drainage ordinance in the past decade.
PLANO, Texas, Feb. 22, 2021 /PRNewswire/ -- Toyota Financial Services (TFS) announced it is offering payment relief options to its customers affected by the winter storms that struck Texas earlier this month. This broad outreach includes any Toyota Financial Services (TFS) or Lexus Financial Services (LFS) customer in the designated disaster areas.

Toyota Financial Services cares about the safety and well-being of its customers, and wants to help those impacted by this natural disaster. Impacted lease and finance customers residing in the affected areas may be eligible to take advantage of several payment relief options, some of which include:

extensions and lease deferred payments;

redirecting billing statements; and

arranging phone or online payments.

Customers who would like to discuss their account options are encouraged to contact TFS or LFS.

Toyota Financial Services customers may call 800-874-8822 or contact TFS via email using the Mail Center function after logging into ToyotaFinancial.com.

Lexus Financial Services customers may call 800-874-7050 or contact LFS via email using the Mail Center function after logging into LexusFinancial.com.

We extend our heartfelt thoughts to those affected by these storms.

About Toyota Financial Services

Toyota Financial Services (TFS) is the finance and insurance brand for Toyota in the United States, offering retail auto financing and leasing through Toyota Motor Credit Corporation (TMCC) and Toyota Lease Trust. TFS also offers vehicle and payment protection products through Toyota Motor Insurance Services (TMIS). The company services Lexus dealers and customers using the Lexus Financial Services brand. As of March 31, 2020, TFS employed approximately 3,300 team members nationwide, and had assets totaling nearly $126 billion. It is part of a worldwide network of comprehensive financial services offered by Toyota Financial Services Corporation, a wholly-owned subsidiary of Toyota Motor Corporation. We announce material financial information using the investor relations section of our website (www.toyotafinancial.com) and SEC filings. We use these channels, press releases, and social media to communicate about our company, our services and other issues. While not all information we post on social media is of a material nature, some information could be material. Therefore, we encourage those interested in our company to review our posts on Twitter at www.twitter.com/toyotafinancial.

Media Contact: Derrick Brown (469) 486-9065

SOURCE Toyota Financial Services
Public transit officials will consider on Tuesday a significant revamp to the region's public transportation network aimed at shortening travel times for riders in New Orleans and Jefferson Parish.

The proposal, dubbed New Links, also hopes to strengthen interparish connections, long an unmet goal of the Regional Transit Authority and the Jefferson Transit systems.

To get more riders to jobs in the region within 20 minutes, the plan, developed by the New Orleans Regional Planning Commission, recommends shifts to more than 40 bus and streetcar routes in the two parishes.

At its Tuesday meeting, the RTA's board will take up consideration of the new plan, which has gone through several iterations since it was presented to community groups and the public during virtual meetings over the past year. The commission also will present its proposal to Jefferson Parish President Cynthia Lee Sheng's administration in the coming days for feedback.

"This plan was done by people who live here and work here, and ride the buses here," said Jason Sappington, the planning commission's deputy director.

Resolving the slow arrivals and late departures that have plagued public transit in the region has been a focus of RTA and JET officials for more than five years.

System leaders approved a multiyear strategic plan in 2017 that laid out the challenges riders face in getting to work and school, trips that for some can take hours. That document laid the foundation for the route-by-route study that eventually became New Links.

Creating better connections between parishes, officials then said, would help the RTA come closer to fulfilling its stated mission. While state lawmakers created the agency in 1979 to bridge gaps between Orleans, Jefferson, St. Bernard and St. Tammany parishes, parish participation has always been optional, and only Orleans Parish and the city of Kenner signed up.

Up for consideration is a plan that strengthens ties primarily between Orleans and Jefferson parishes, though St. Bernard leaders also advised on the document.

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Transit leaders would be tasked with getting 38% of all households in Orleans, Jefferson and St. Bernard parishes a transit line within a half mile of their home that runs every 20 minutes. As of February 2020, only 19% of households had that benefit. The plan would also increase the number of households with access to transit that runs every five to 15 minutes from 15% to 21%.

Residents living in far-flung parts of New Orleans would have better access to downtown. The three express lines that serve New Orleans East, for example, would be consolidated into two lines that run more frequently each day.

At Downman and Dwyer roads, buses that take riders straight into the Central Business District would run every 10 minutes.

Meanwhile, the site of the old Lake Forest Plaza shopping mall, long vacant, would become a bus hub for express and other lines.

Algiers and Gretna, now served by eight lines that run, at minimum, every 40 minutes, would see three lines consolidate into a single, CBD-bound route that runs every 15 minutes. Another two lines would morph into a single route that runs through Gretna and Algiers every half-hour, and that connects to the Algiers Ferry.

Service in the CBD would run on OKeefe Avenue and South Rampart Street, connecting to Elk Place via Common Street. That would allow for a connection to a potential transit hub at Basin Street.

Among other changes, the E1-Veterans-Airport line, which connects Louis Armstrong International Airport to downtown, would also run as a rapid service along Canal Street next to the Canal Streetcar, stopping only at major intersections.

Single bus ticket for Orleans, Jefferson transit to start in August The General DeGaulle-Tullis bus route makes its way over the Crescent City Connection onto the West Bank in New Orleans on Friday, May 23, 201

The planning commission proposal assumes a pre-pandemic budget for both the Orleans and Jefferson transit agencies but also offers several partially funded options should falling revenues lead the RTA and JET to adopt recommendations in piecemeal.

Funding was a chief concern of RTA leaders when the agency's board vetted a draft proposal in December.

A "60% funded" scenario would allow 39% of residents who live within a half mile of public transit to catch a bus every half-hour. Under an 80% funded scenario, 36% of residents would see a bus every 20 minutes.
New Delhi: Vice President M Venkaiah Naidu on Sunday called for making mother tongue the primary medium of instruction, at least until class 5.

He suggested that educating a child in a language that is not spoken at home can be a big impediment to learning especially at the primary stage.

Referring to multiple studies, Naidu said that teaching through the mother tongue in the initial stages of education can boost a child's self-esteem and enhance his or her creativity.

Describing the New Education Policy as a visionary and progressive document, he urged for implementing it in letter and spirit.

Speaking at the inaugural session of the webinar organised by the Ministry of Education and Ministry of Culture, the vice president focused on five key sectors to promote the use of mother tongue.

Apart from emphasising the use of mother tongue in primary education, the other highlighted areas are the use of local languages in administration, court proceedings and to deliver judgments in them, he said.

He also wanted gradual increase in the use of indigenous languages in higher and technical education, an official statement said.

The final emphasis was on everyone to proudly and preferably use their mother tongue in their homes.

Naidu said that with hundreds of languages coexisting, linguistic diversity is one of the cornerstones of India's ancient civilisation.

Highlighting the importance of mother tongue in governance, Naidu advised the need to increase their use, especially at state and local levels. Advocating an inclusive model of governance, he said, Only by communicating with the common person in a language he or she understands can we include him or her in the process of governance and development. Language of administration should be the language of the people."

Suggesting that language-inclusion should come at the higher levels too, Naidu gave the instance of Rajya Sabha, where a provision has been made for its members to express themselves in any of the 22 scheduled languages.

Naidu is also the Chairman of Rajya Sabha.

Addressing a gathering at a programme organised by Swarna Bharat Trust at Muchhinthal in Hyderabad earlier in the day on the occasion of International Mother Language Day, the vice president underscored the importance of using indigenous languages in higher education too. He highlighted the necessity of having local languages in the judiciary and courts in order to be accessible to the common man.

In the webinar, Naidu also expressed concern at the state of endangered languages that are at the risk of permanently getting lost. He reiterated the United Nations' warning that every two weeks a language disappears taking with it an entire cultural and intellectual heritage. He underlined that with 196 languages, India has the highest number of endangered languages in the world.

Naidu appreciated the Scheme for Protection and Preservation of Endangered Languages (SPPEL) of the Ministry of Education, in this regard.
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Boeing urged airlines to suspend the use of 777 jets with the same type of engine that shed debris over Denver at the weekend after U.S. regulators announced extra inspections and Japan suspended their use while considering further action. Ciara Lee reports

Video Transcript

- Boeing has urged airlines to suspend the use of 777 jets with the same engine type that shed debris over Denver at the weekend. US regulators have announced extra inspections, and Japan suspended use of the planes, there, while considering further action. The moves involve 777s with Pratt & Whitney PW4000 engines.

The right engine on a United Airlines jet failed on Saturday, scattering its protective outer casing over a residential area. United said the next day it would voluntarily and temporarily remove its 24 active planes of the type. Boeing said 69 of the model with the PW4000 engines were in service, and 59 were stored.

It comes at a time when airlines have grounded planes due to a plunge in demand, amid the health crisis. The manufacturer recommended that airlines suspend operating the 777 until US regulators identify the appropriate inspection protocol. It's another headache for the plane maker, after its 737 Max crisis, and comes after criticism of US Federal Aviation Administration oversight regarding the Max.

There were also issues for Boeing in the Netherlands on Monday. The Dutch Safety Board said it was investigating what had caused a Boeing 747-400 to lose parts of an engine, shortly after taking off from Maastricht Airport on Saturday. The cargo plane scattered mostly small metal parts over a southern Dutch town. It caused damage to cars and left one person with minor injuries.

DaVinci Gourmet, a global leader in the beverage industry, has announced further expansion in the Middle East, now offering a wide range of smart beverage solutions across Kuwait, Oman, Iraq, Egypt and the UAE.



Following the brands successful launch in Bahrain and Saudi Arabia in 2019, DaVinci Gourmet is bringing its innovative offering to other countries across the region in 2021.



DaVinci Gourmet is widely acclaimed for being a contemporary beverage brand that provides Barista created products, packed with higher fruit content ingredients to elevate the taste and texture of a drink with just a sip.



The brand has bought to the Middle East premium range, empowering baristas and mixologists to create limitlessly using the carefully crafted premium quality syrups, sauces, fruit mixes and beverage mixes, packed with rich flavours.



Innovation is at the centre of everything the brand does, offering phenomenal flavour & perfect form in every drink, whether icy cold or steaming hot.



DaVinci Gourmet crafted product range is made using higher fruit content and come in authentic fruit flavours as opposed to false sweetness, offering an enriching taste like no other. The brand sources their ingredients from around the world and meticulously oversees the operations all the way from sourcing, to production up until delivery of finished goods to ensure optimal quality.



The DaVinci Gourmet range comes in five different categories including Classic Syrups, True to Fruit Syrups, Sauces, Fruit Mixes and Powdered Mixes. DaVinci Gourmets exclusive Classic Syrups are made with finest ingredients to deliver truer flavour and aroma. True to Fruit Syrups are formulated with real fruit ingredients and come in unique flavours of Super Berries & Pomelo Grapefruit. The line is crafted with 100% pure cane sugar with high fruit content, thus retaining true flavour until the very last sip.



The signature sauces, that are available in the Middle East, are designed to expand the taste, quality and texture of a beverage instantly. They are preferred by baristas across the world for their ease of use, pumpability, solubility and unique flavour delivery in application. The fruit and powdered mixes are crafted with fruit puree blends and ingredients that provide a burst of flavour to any beverage, creating a richer experience.



We are thrilled to be setting sail into more regions in 2021, said Mat Baker, General Manager, DaVinci Gourmet.



Over the years, the Middle East has become the leading destination around the world in the field of innovation in food and beverage, with several international concepts paving their way through. Being one of the sole suppliers for numerous household name brands, our vision at DaVinci Gourmet through the launch across Kuwait, Oman, Iraq, Egypt & UAE, is to cater to the regions ever-growing beverage culture and varied taste buds, establishing the brand as a trusted partner to deliver delicious drinks to the end- customer.



Inspired by Leonardo DaVincis pursuit of perfection, the brand has been following the three tenets of craft, science and art when creating products such as their True to Fruit range of syrups and the Signature Sauces range. The DaVinci Gourmet brand was founded 30 years ago in Seattle, USA with a vision to provide the best tasting syrups and sauces for beverage industry professionals.



The DaVinci Gourmet range will be available across the Middle East starting March 2021 at leading coffee shops and online platforms.  TradeArabia News Service

Minister Cortes Attends Virtual Climate Change Meeting

The Minister for Sustainability, Environment and Climate Change John Cortes last week participated in a virtual meeting on Climate Change, in preparation for the Climate Change Summit (COP26) that will be held in Glasgow later this year.

The meeting was organised by the British Embassy in Rome and the Italian Environment Ministry, as the UK and Italy are co-hosts of COP26.

The meeting coincided with the 16th Anniversary of the entry into force of the Kyoto Protocol, the first global agreement on climate change.

Dr Cortes attended both as Gibraltar Environment Minister and in his role as Chair of the UK Overseas Territories Environment Ministers Council, having been nominated to represent the OTs by UKOTA, the UK Overseas Territories Association.

The meeting aimed at preparing the groundwork in achieving some of the main aims of COP26, those of encouraging greater action to preserve ecosystems and keep countries, communities and people safe from the impacts of climate change. The theme of the meeting was Nature is about our Earth, adaptation & resilience concern our Future: One Earth One Future.

Participants from around the world contributed to the discussion on achieving the following objectives:

1. To increase awareness of the complex ways in which natural sustainability, adaptation to climate change and building resilience are inextricably linked; they cannot be tackled in isolation.

2. To encourage countries and organisations to share information on the specific challenges they are facing, best practice and lessons learned. This includes the adoption of innovative systems in rural (agriculture and forestry), coastal and urban settings which deliver benefits for nature and adaptation & resilience.

3. To raise the profile of the Economics of Biodiversity review, encouraging governments, businesses and financial institutions worldwide to put a price on the value of natural resources.

4. To profile high-level initiatives designed to make nature and adaptation & resilience key themes of 2021 multilateral fora.

One major aim is to reconfigure the way that the economy is defined, with a growing movement to introduce the real value of biodiversity into economic models as set out in the recent Dasgupta Report on the Economics of Biodiversity https://www.gov.uk/government/publications/final-report-the-economics-of-biodiversity-the-dasgupta-review

Another, which is an extension of this, is implementing nature-based solutions to the climate crisis, by encouraging environmental projects which protect, enhance or restore ecosystems.

Dr Cortes contribution centred on the need for the international community in a post-Covid economic crisis to guard against any action which will be detrimental to the environment and to the Climate crisis, and that restoring the worlds economy cannot take precedence over dealing with the climate and biodiversity crises.

John Cortes commented, Nations around the world will be coming together once again trying to address the global climate and biodiversity crises. Gibraltar has a contribution to make, and I have the honour to be able to make the case also for island communities in the Caribbean and elsewhere which are particularly exposed to severe weather events and sea level rise provoked by humanitys failure to address the crisis. I sincerely hope that we will get positive outcomes from COP 26 and all these preparatory events.
The Telegraph

As the controversy around Naomi Osakas press-conference boycott grew, Osakas sister Mari tried to explain the thinking behind the decision  only to later retract her comments with the words Im sorry Naomi I probably made the situation worse. Osaka has been threatened with a default from Roland Garros  and suspension from future grand slams  if she does not climb down from her stand, which she seems to have taken with no warning or consultation, as far as the tennis authorities are concerned. When the four grand-slam events united on Sunday to put out a hardline statement, Osaka replied with a one-line tweet: anger is a lack of understanding. change makes people uncomfortable. Then Mari  who herself played professional tennis with limited success before retiring in March  entered the debate in a Reddit post. "Naomi mentioned to me before the tournament that a family member had come up to her and remarked that she's bad at clay, said Mari Osaka, who is 25. At every press conference she's told she has a bad record on clay. When she lost in Rome r1 [Round 1] she was not ok mentally. Her confidence was completely shattered and I think that everyone's remarks and opinions have gotten to her head and she herself believed that she was bad on clay. The post then went on add that Her solution was to block everything out. No talking to people who is going to put doubt in her mind. She's protecting her mind hence why it's called mental health. So many people are picky on this term thinking you need to have depression or have some sort of disorder to be able to use the term mental health. After Mari had made her post, she then received multiple replies suggesting that her younger sisters position was a misuse of the term mental health in order to seek a competitive advantage. Comment: Naomi Osaka's press omerta at French Open is diva behaviour at its worst She responded by deleting it and putting up another post that said Ok so I f---ed up. My words are coming across so horribly to a lot of people who think taking care of mental health is strategic. I didn't emphasise the fact that Naomi is dealing with a ton of s--- and honestly fighting for the care of mental health in my post so now a lot of people are taking it as She doesn't want to hear criticism. Osakas experienced Belgian coach Wim Fissette also joined the conversation on Monday. Speaking to German magazine Der Spiegel, Fissette said I don't think this announcement is about her personally. Naomi has the opportunity to use her status to address problems, to initiate things, and she wants to use that. "In the USA, the issue of athletes wanting more freedom in their dealings with the press is very topical right now. They simply don't want to be threatened with punishments if they don't feel well for a day or two. Naomi knows that it's important to talk to the press. She doesn't want to change things for herself alone. It's a matter of principle for her: she wants to bring about change here, too. This is a complex issue, but Osakas stand has not been helped by her lack of engagement. In the statement released by the grand-slam events on Sunday, they said that the Roland Garros teams asked [Osaka] to reconsider her position and tried unsuccessfully to speak with her to check on her well-being, understand the specifics of her issue and what might be done to address it on site. They received no response. It is also worth mentioning that, after her first-round loss in Rome to Jessica Pegula, Osaka was not requested for interview and thus did not have to give a press conference. She did answer questions on the eve of the match, but these were hardly hostile. They included enquiries about her Laureus Award for Sportswoman of the Year, her role as one of the new faces of Louis Vuitton and what co-chairing the Met Gala with Anna Wintour was likely to entail.
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AstraZenecas two-dose vaccine appears to grow more effective the longer the gap between doses, lending support to Australias decision to recommend a three-month wait between jabs.

The data comes from a new study, published on Saturday in the Lancet and led by the scientists who developed the vaccine, that found if the second dose was given less than six weeks after the first, vaccine efficacy at preventing symptomatic infections was 54.9 per cent.

If given at least 12 weeks apart, efficacy rose to 82.4 per cent.

Some of the first vials of the locally produced AstraZeneca vaccine.

That suggests British Prime Minister Boris Johnsons gamble, widening the interval between the two doses to increase the number of people with early protection, will pay off.
Were talking on the phone and hes explaining his spreadsheet to me and all of a sudden he gets a text, Palladino said. Hallie, I have 10 appointments that just came up for tomorrow for 65 and over. Would you be able to get 10 of your Englewood folks?
A pair of nuns who have so far raised over 77,000 in crowdfunding after being ordered to leave a site in West Cork broke Covid guidelines to attend an exorcism of the Dail before Christmas.

Mother Irene Gibson, of a group called the Carmelite Sisters of the Holy Face of Jesus, has been ordered to leave the compound at Corran South near the village of Leap in West Cork by next June.

That followed a 2019 conviction for breaching planning regulations in relation to the premises which she set up as a religious retreat in 2016.

She and her colleague, New Zealander Sr Anne Marie, attended the exorcism on December 8 at a time when inter-county travel was banned.

A video has appeared online which shows the exorcism and a subsequent Mass in Herbert Park.

The event attracted around 70 attendees despite outdoor gatherings at the time being limited to 15.

The Mass was said by Fr Giacomo Ballini, who told the crowd at the gathering that "no human power can take away the right to say Mass".

Fr Ballini is a member of The Society of St Pius Resistance, a splinter group of the controversial SSPX which was founded in 1970 by a former bishop who clashed with the Vatican over reforms.

Fr Ballini has been operating from a farmhouse in Drinagh, Co Cork.

Neither group is "in communion" with the Catholic Church and neither has sought any permission for its activities from the Diocese of Cork and Ross.

In the nuns' GoFundMe appeal, which had amassed 77,420 as of last night, they describe themselves as "zealously faithful to the True Catholic Faith according to Holy Tradition prior to Vatican II".

Donation

In one donation they were given 4,575 anonymously, while a considerable number of individual donations range from 200 to 1,000.

Earlier this month, Sr Irene posted on the GoFundMe page that the "outstanding charity toward our needs has finally made it possible for us to purchase some property".

"How has this been possible when the children of darkness have done their utmost to try and crush us?" she wrote.

"By spreading lies on local West Cork newspapers, on social media, and filing complaints about our fundraising campaign to local authorities, they have tried to prevent you, our benefactors, from helping us achieve our goal.

"Yet as Holy Scripture tells us, the light shines in the darkness, and the darkness did not overcome it. Cf. John 1:5. No matter how deep the darkness, it is never able to extinguish a light."

Sr Irene has not responded to a request for comment.
(ANSA) - ROME, FEB 22 - Italy's ambassador to the Democratic Republic of Congo, Luca Attanasio, and a Carabiniere, Vittorio Iacovacci, were killed in an attack on their UN peacekeeping convoy travelling from Goma to Bukavu in the African country on Monday, well-informed sources told ANSA.

Attanasio died in hospital of gunshot wounds, a high-ranking diplomat told AFP in Kinshasa.

Iacovacci was aged 30 and had been serving at the Italian embassy in the DRC since September.

The envoy's car was part of a MONUSCO UN peacekeeping mission convoy including the EU's delegation chief, sources said.

It was attacked with light weapons by a terrorist commando, local sources said.

The attack was an attempted robbery, rangers at Virunga National Park told various media outlets including The Jerusalem Post.

The attack took place at around 10 o'clock local (09:00 Italian time), near the town of Kanyamahoro.

Several armed groups operate in the area of the Virunga Mountains, between Congo, Rwanda and Uganda, and often target the rangers in the park, which is famous for its mountain gorillas.

The Italian foreign ministry confirmed the killings of Attanasio and the Carabiniere with "deep grief".

Foreign Minister Luigi Di Maio voiced "immense grief" after learning of what happened while he was at an EU foreign ministers' meeting in Brussels.

He voiced Italy's grief at the foreign ministers council meeting, before returning from Brussels to Rome.

He said Italy would make every effort to shed light on the incident.

He described Attanasio and the so-far unnamed Carabiniere as "two servants of the State who have been torn (from life) with violence while doing their duty.

"Today Italy mourns the loss of two of its sons and embraces their families, friends and colleagues at the foreign ministry and in the Carabinieri".

European Commission spokesperson Eri Mamer said the news of the attack was "extremely concerning, and we are following (the case) closely. The high representative (for foreign affairs, Josep Borrell), has conveyed his condolences to Italy. The (Italian) foreign minister is sharing information with his EU colleagues".

The United Nations Organization Stabilization Mission in the Democratic Republic of the Congo or MONUSCO, an acronym based on its French name, is a United Nations peacekeeping force in the Democratic Republic of the Congo (DRC) which was established by the United Nations Security Council to monitor the peace process of the Second Congo War, though much of its focus subsequently turned to the Ituri conflict, the Kivu conflict and the Dongo conflict.

The area has been racked by armed conflict for years. (ANSA).


The British government declared yesterday that every adult in the country should get a first coronavirus vaccination by July 31, at least a month earlier than its previous target, as it prepared to set out a cautious plan to ease the UKs lockdown.

The previous aim was for all adults to get a jab by September. The new target also calls for everyone 50 and over and those with an underlying health condition to get their first of two vaccinations by April 15, rather than the previous date of May 1.

The makers of the two vaccines that Britain is using, Pfizer/BioNTech and AstraZeneca, have both experienced supply problems in Europe. But UK Health Secretary Matt Hancock said we now think that we have the supplies to speed up the vaccination campaign.

The early success of Britains vaccination effort is welcome news for a country that has suffered more than 120,000 coronavirus deaths, the highest toll in Europe.

More than 17.5 million people, a third of UK adults, have had at least one vaccine shot since inoculations began on December 8.

Britain is delaying giving second vaccine doses until 12 weeks after the first, rather than three to four weeks, in order to give more people partial protection quickly.

The approach has been criticised in some countries  and by Pfizer, which says it does not have any data to support the interval  but it is backed by the UK governments scientific advisers.

News of the new vaccine targets came as Prime Minister Boris Johnson met senior ministers to finalise a road map out of the national lockdown.

He plans to announce details today.

The government has stressed that economic and social reopenings will be slow and cautious, with non-essential shopping or outdoor socialising unlikely before April.

Children will begin to return to school from March 8, the same date as nursing home residents will be able to have one visitor.

New confirmed cases, hospitalisations and deaths are all declining but remain high.

Mr Johnson says his reopening road map will follow data, not dates.
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Google had briefly banned political ads after the January 6 attack on the US Capitol

Google said Monday it would lift its ban on political ads on its platform imposed last month following the turmoil surrounding the violent uprising at the US Capitol.

A Google statement to AFP said the internet giant would from Wednesday lift the ban which was ordered to comply with its "sensitive events" policy.

"We will continue to rigorously enforce our ads policies, which strictly prohibit demonstrably false information that could significantly undermine trust in elections or the democratic process," the statement said.

The prohibition ordered January 13 notably blocked any ads which sought to undermine the credibility of the US presidential election ahead of Joe Biden's inauguration.

The internet giant said at the time it was pausing all political ads along with ads referencing impeachment, President-elect Joe Biden's inauguration or protests in Washington because they could be used "to exploit the event or amplify misleading information."

Explore further Airbnb, Google move to curb organized inauguration violence

 2021 AFP
Not long ago I wrote in these pixels that there is a beautiful stability to U.S. foreign policy. In general, thats a good thing. Consensus popular and elite sentiments toward policy discourage Washington from swerving too wildly when a new presidential administration assumes office, and especially when the White House or Congress changes hands between political parties. U.S. foreign policy tacks back and forth like a sailboat steering the same general coursea course that commands enduring support from society and state.

Sometimes, though, stability is an unlovely force. Bad ideas, as well as good, can command overwhelming support. In such cases, stability cements policies or strategies founded on an errant consensus. Well-advised course changes never take place.

Exhibit A: the nuclear-powered aircraft carrier USS Dwight D. Eisenhower and its strike group left port this past week on what naval specialists term a double-pump deployment. The new deployment comes on the heels of a 270-day cruise just last yeara cruise that included 206 consecutive days at sea to dodge the pandemic. USS Theodore Roosevelt embarked on its own double-pump deployment in December after the COVID-19 debacle that stranded the flattop in Guam last spring. It appears Eisenhower is bound for the Middle East judging from the words of Chief of Naval Operations Mike Gilday. Admiral Gilday predicts that, under new leadership, Washington will continue the practice of keeping a carrier on station in the U.S. Central Command area of responsibility more or less perpetually.

Such deployments bespeak strategic indiscipline. At its most fundamental, military strategy is about setting and enforcing priorities. Self-discipline helps the country get its way on what matters most without overspending its finite stock of martial resources. That means dispensing with worthy but less critical commitments. Inability or unwillingness to set and enforce priorities counts among the gravest sins makers of policy and strategy can commit.

Over the past three presidencies, Democrat and Republican, a consensus has coalesced around the idea that competing with Communist China should rank atop the United States list of strategic priorities. Russia comes second, while lesser contenders such as North Korea and Iran trail behind. The Trump administration formalized this hierarchy in the 2018 National Defense Strategy, and thus far, the Biden administration has evinced little desire to revise it. This is good. It reflects how Chinas rise to great power and penchant for domineering diplomacy have changed Asia and the world.

Unfortunately, the new consensus now coexists with an olderand incompatibleconsensus stressing the vital importance of the Persian Gulf region. I suppose we have Saddam Hussein to thank, or blame, for the Middle East orthodoxy. Before August 1990, when Saddams Iraq invaded Kuwait, the U.S. Navy and the Pentagon regarded the region as a strategic backwater and kept a force befitting a backwater on station there. A handful of surface combatants anchored the U.S. naval presence in the region until heavy forces started arriving in the Gulf region to reverse aggression.

Sailor conducts pre-flight checks on an EA-18G Growler on the flight deck of USS Dwight D. Eisenhower. (U.S. Navy)

And then stayed. Events seemed to ratify the regions importance after Desert Storm in 1991, when open war gave way to years of using naval and ground-based air power to enforce UN sanctions on Iraq. Then came 9/11, which gave rise to the global war on terror, a counterterrorist campaign centered on the broader Middle East. Then came 2003, when a U.S.-led coalition invaded and occupied Iraq. The consensus congealed further. And Iran was there all the while, supplying another impetus for deep engagement. Over time the Islamic Republic morphed into the primary reason given for keeping heavy forcesincluding one or even two carriersin the Gulf region at all times. The need for such a presence came to seem self-evident as the years passed.

That the United States fields eleven carriers comes as cold comfort. (Only ten are deployable until shipbuilders can get the new USS Gerald Fords gee-whiz technology functioning as designed.) How hard can it be to deploy one or two vessels out of ten? Well, only a fraction of the fleet is ready to deploy at any given moment. Take into account routine maintenance, major overhauls, training, and R&R timethe rhythm of a ships lifeand well upwards of three nuclear-powered aircraft carriers must be in the inventory to keep one U.S.-based carrier deployed to the U.S. Fifth Fleet, the Central Commands naval arm.

Do the arithmetic. Keeping even a single carrier in the Gulf region while trying to compete with China and Russia, ostensibly the United States chief foreign-policy threats, is bound to wear down the carrier fleet over time. Its doubly ironic that its Eisenhower making a double-pump deployment, considering the engineering woes that befell the ship in the past owing to overuse. Nor are Ikes troubles a one-off thing; maintenance problems also idled sister ship Harry S. Truman in recent years. Machinery ages prematurely with intensive use.

Chronological age matters just as mechanical age does. The first-in-class USS Nimitza vessel currently returning home after a wearisome ten-month deployment to the Fifth Fleetis pushing fifty. Fifty is not the new thirty for gray hulls; it is a ships dotage. Deploy an aging fleet too promiscuously and engineering difficulties like those suffered by Eisenhower and Truman verge on inevitable. In turn, adequate numbers of flattops may not be available to deter or fight China or Russia if the fleet is worn out from guarding against Iran. Sustaining too rapid an operating tempo constitutes a seriousand foreseeable, and self-inflictedimpediment to battle readiness.

Its time to downgrade the Persian Gulf region on the Pentagons list of strategic prioritiesand let the new, healthier consensus on China and Russia prevail. Lets align naval operations and force deployments with national strategy at long lastand husband resources for where they are needed most.

Carl von Clausewitz would have some tart words for Pentagon overseers. You might sum up the Prussian sages thoughts about when to siphon effort from top priorities thus: do not risk what matters most for the sake of what matters less. Clausewitz counsels against secondary undertakings unless they appear exceptionally rewarding, and unless they do not place more important priorities at risk. He measures risk in terms of resources. Only if the armed forces enjoy decisive superiority of resources in the primary theater should commanders countenance diverting resources to secondary endeavors. Otherwise they cannot afford a discretionary venture.

If commanders do not enjoy decisive superiority in the main theater and plunge ahead anyway, they run undue riskand court disaster.

Reward, risk, resources: these are Clausewitzs Three Rs for setting and enforcing priorities. Does countering Iran promise exceptional rewards for the U.S. Navy and the Pentagon, do the U.S. armed forces command decisive superiority over China and Russia, and can the armed forces keep up a Gulf aircraft-carrier presence without running grave risks in the strategic competition with those great-power rivals? Unless the answer to all three questions is a throaty yes, the Biden Pentagon should rethink the U.S. military posture in the Middle East.

Now looks like an auspicious time for some foreign-policy instability. Lets veer onto a newand strategically prudentpath.

James Holmes is J. C. Wylie Chair of Maritime Strategy at the Naval War College and coauthor of Red Star over the Pacific. The views voiced here are his alone.

This article appeared originally at 1945.
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Mumbai, Feb 22 : In an apparent case of suicide, Mohan S. Delkar, the Independent MP from the Union Territory of Dadra & Nagar Haveli, was found hanging in a Mumbai hotel room on Monday morning, shocking political circles.

Police prima facie suspect tribal farmer and Bharatiya Navshakti Party leader Delkar, 58, committed suicide as a detailed suicide note running into several pages, has been recovered from the scene, said an official.

The body of Delkar, who is believed to have reached Mumbai on Sunday night by road, was found by his driver this afternoon when he attempted to enter his room but failed, and then informed the hotel staff.

Police have registered an accidental death report and investigating how and why he arrived in Mumbai, checked into the Hotel Sea Green, an Arabian Sea-facing hotel on Marine Drive where his body was recovered this afternoon, who had gone to meet or may have interacted with him, and the motives behind the stunning suicide and other details.

"The Marine Drive Police team is at the spot. A suicide note has also been recovered Investigation is being carried out. Prima facie, it's a case of hanging, but the exact cause of death will be known only after the post-mortem is conducted," Mumbai Police's spokesperson, Deputy Commissioner of Police S. Chaitanya told IANS.

The suicide note, reportedly penned in Gujarati, is believed to contain certain clues behind Delkar resorting to the extreme measure, police sources said.

In his last speech in the Lok Sabha, the MP had accused the UT officialdom of harassment, insults, deprived him of addressing the people of his constituency, attempts made to book him in fake cases, etc, during the Covid-19 pandemic, which blocked his efforts to arrange the necessary aid to his constituents.

His body has been sent to Sir J. J. Hospital for the autopsy after which it is likely to be sent to his home in Silvassa, the capital of the UT.

Top police brass including Joint Commissioner of Police Vishwas Nangre-Patil, Additional Commissioner of Police S. Chaudhary and others rushed to the spot to direct and supervise the probe.

Popular as 'Mohanbhai' among his constituents, Delkar was a senior parliamentarian who represented the Union Territory of Dadra & Nagar Haveli, adjoining Maharashtra-Gujarat, for 7 times between 1989 and 2009 and again since 2019.

Delkar was elected as Independent in 1989, on a Congress ticket in 1991 and 1996 (Congress), as a Bharatiya Janata Party candidate in 1998, as an Independent in 1999, and as a BNP candidate in 2004, but lost to the BJP's Natubhai G. Patil in 2009 and 2014. After severing links with the Congress, he was elected to the 17th Lok Sabha in 2019 as an Independent.

Last year, he entered into a tie-up with the Janata Dal-United headed by Bihar Chief Minister Nitish Kumar, for the local bodies elections in the UT.

Survived by his wife, a son and daughter, Delkar was strong champion for tribals, launched the Adivasi Vikas Sangathan in 1985 and subsequently took his first steps in politics as a trade unionist in Silvassa.

In 1967, his father Sanjibhai R. Delkar was elected on a Congress ticket for one term but after the Congress split in 1969, threw in his lot with the breakaway INC(O) faction headed by Morarji Desai and lost the 1971 Lok Sabha polls as its nominee.

(Quaid Najmi can be contacted at q.najmi@ians.in)
For white collar workers who have made an easy transition to working from home, the prospect of a four-day work week, as proposed by Indias new labour codes, created some excitement recently. But for the bulk of Indias workforce working in the informal sector - and for many skilled workers too - the new proposal will mean little or even, potentially, worse conditions.

Indians are already among the most overworked workers globally. Gambia, Mongolia, Maldives, and Qatar (where a quarter of the population is Indian) are the only countries where an average worker works longer than an Indian worker, data from the International Labour Organization (ILO) shows. With a 48-hour working week, India ranks fifth among all countries for which ILO estimates actual mean working hours. The estimates are derived from household surveys conducted by national agencies. For most countries, the data refers to 2019 but for a few, it pertains to previous years.

View Full Image Graphic Mint





Despite their long hours, Indian workers are not making much money. India had the lowest statutory minimum wage of any country in the Asia Pacific region, except for Bangladesh as of 2019. Indias minimum wages are among the lowest in the world, except for some sub-Saharan African nations, according to the 2020-21 ILO Global Wage Report. Actual wage levels can differ from the statutory minimum wages across countries but the two tend to be closely linked, especially for blue collar workers.





Within India, it is the better-paid workers in cities who tend to work longer than their rural counterparts, data from the 2018-19 Periodic Labour Force Survey (PLFS) shows. Men work longer hours than women in both rural and urban areas, and for both men and women, the hours of work are longer in urban areas.





In 2019, India conducted its first time-use survey in two decades. That survey also finds similar trends. Men spent over four times as much time in their day on paid work as women, and urban men spent over an hour more than their male counterparts on paid work each day.

By Indias definition of hours worked, time spent on actual work, on travel between work locations, and on short bathroom or tea breaks is included, while time spent commuting to work and on longer meal breaks is not included. Since the data is derived from household surveys, it includes both formal and informal employment of all types.

But far from a four-day week, most Indian workers work nearly every day at the moment. Those who work for themselves work virtually every day. Even salaried employees work more than six days a week on average.





Labour secretary Apurva Chandra has said that some employers might want to give their employees a five or four-day week. Companies that choose a four-day week will have to provide three consecutive days of holiday, while potentially being allowed to institute 12-hour shifts for the four working days. The four labour codes were passed by Parliament in September 2020. The ministry of labour and employment brought out the first draft of the rules in December 2020 and received comments in January. The labour minister has said that they are considering the responses and working on the next draft. Representatives of labour unions have been pushing back against any increase in the weekly hours of work over 48 hours, but Chandra reiterated that the 48 hours limit would not change.

The new proposal for a four-day week will mean very little to most of Indias workforce as fixed hours apply only to the formal workforce, said Ashwini Deshpande, professor of economics at Ashoka University. Within the formal workforce, 12-hour work days, even if in work-from-home mode, could prove difficult for women who bear the bulk of the burden of unpaid domestic work and childcare, Deshpande said. Her research has shown that the gender gap in housework in India has not only returned to pre-pandemic levels, the gap has actually widened further. That said, there is an important conversation around leisure, and work-life balance that needs to take place in India," she said.

Data from the official time-use survey shows that Indians spend less than a tenth of their day on leisure activities, with women getting even less time than men to spend on leisure.





With seven out of ten workers in the non-farm sector in informal employment, seven out of ten salaried workers in jobs with no written contract, and over half in jobs that gave them no paid leave or social security benefits, changes to Indias new labour codes will at best provide some degree of flexibility to a small sliver of Indias overworked, underpaid workforce.

Rukmini S. is a Chennai-based journalist.

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New Delhi, Feb 22 : The Supreme Court on Monday said it cannot hold an inquiry into the phone conversation between former Andhra Pradesh High Court judge, Justice V. Eswaraiah and a suspended trial court judge in connection with land deals in Amravati.

A bench comprising Justices Ashok Bhushan and R. Subhash Reddy said the court cannot hold an inquiry to ascertain the exact transcript of the conversation between the High Court judge and the trial court judge, and the edited content.

"Let the (Andhra) High Court take a call. If suppose High Court wants to proceed, High Court will give a notice," the bench told advocate Prashant Bhushan, who was representing Eswaraiah. As Bhushan repeatedly insisted that the top court should set aside the High Court order, the bench noted that it will look into the issue and reserved the order.

The Andhra Pradesh High Court had ordered a probe into this conversation.

Bhushan vehemently contest the High Court order and termed it "very strange", as no crime was committed in having this telephonic conversation. He alleged the land deals involves relatives of a sitting Supreme Court judge.

Bhushan also objected to the participation of senior advocates Harish Salve and Kapil Sibal, who were appearing for different intervenors, while saying: "I have not edited anything out of that conversation." Salve said the affidavit filed by Bhushan's client makes matter worse, as it states that certain parts of the transcript may not be correct or edited. Sibal added that a table has been made of the conversations which the judge admits and the ones' he doesn't.

Justice Eswaraiah moved the top court challenging the High Court order, which said the conversation in question had allegedly disclosed a "serious conspiracy" against the judiciary.

He filed an affidavit following top court direction on January 11 to clarify his stand regarding his conversation with the suspended judge.

In a special leave petition, the former judge of the High Court contended the HC had erred in ordering an inquiry on the basis of an unverified pen drive to conclude a plot was hatched against the judiciary. Bhushan reiterated that there was no criminal conspiracy in the conversation and the transcript filed by the suspended judge shows that there was nothing to show that a crime was committed.

Bhushan told the Supreme Court that High Court was hearing cases related to Covid issues and the suspended magistrate filed an intervention application in which he annexed a pen drive and later leaked the conversation to media.
A retired BBC producer who worked on Question Time has appeared in court charged with possessing more than 800 child abuse images.

Victor Melleney, 75, who also worked on Panorama, is accused of possessing 832 indecent photographs of minors across a number of devices, including a laptop, two hard drives and a wifi dongle.

Melleney, from Kensington, west London, appeared at Kingston Crown Court today.

He denied one count of making the images between May 24, 2011 and October 15, 2018.

Victor Melleney, 75, (pictured) who also worked on Panorama, is accused of possessing 832 indecent photographs of minors across a number of devices, including a laptop, two hard drives and a wifi dongle

Melleney also denied an alternative charge of possession of the images on October 18, 2018.

Additionally, the former BBC producer also entered not guilty pleas to a charge of possessing an extreme pornographic image of a person having intercourse with an animal, and a charge of possession of a prohibited image.

He was granted conditional bail ahead of a pre-trial hearing on 11 June, ahead of his trial on 13 December.

Mr Justice Bryan warned him that if he failed to attend court for trial then it could go ahead in his absence.
A Place for All Conservatives to Speak Their Mind.
The petition drive against California Governor Gavin Newsom, organized on a right-wing basis by the state Republican Party, is on track to reach the 1.5 million signature threshold required to force a recall election later this year.

The recall organizers claim to have collected 1.7 million signatures as of February 17. The California Secretary of States office has validated 668,000 of those signatures thus far, and must have the full 1.5 million validated by March 17 to proceed with the recall election.

The campaign, which seemed destined to fizzle like previous earlier efforts, was given a new lease on life in November when a state superior court judge provided the campaign with an additional four months to meet its signature requirement due to public gathering restrictions related to the COVID-19 pandemic.

California Governor Gavin Newsom (AP Photo Rich Pedroncelli, File)

By contrast, the Socialist Equality Partys 2020 presidential campaign was granted no such leeway when its lawyers in California argued its signature requirement was impossible to meet in light of the ongoing global COVID-19 pandemic and the states countermeasures to it.

The recall drive is a thoroughly right-wing operation. Its organizers denounce Newsom, a Democrat, not for prematurely reopening businesses and schools and forcing educators and other workers back into unsafe workplaces in the midst of a deadly pandemic, but for imposing any restrictions at all that might limit corporate profits. This is combined with anti-immigrant racism and defense of police brutality.

The recall petition itself spells out these aims. It argues: Laws he [Newsom] endorsed favor foreign nationals, in our country illegally, over that of our own citizens. It continues: He has imposed sanctuary state status and fails to enforce immigration laws. He unilaterally over-ruled the will of the people regarding the death penalty.

Recall Gavin 2020, one of the two organizations behind the effort, writes on its website Are you troubled by the growing encroachments on the 1st Amendment; our right to speak our minds, to freely assemble, to congregate whether its at church or on the beach? Then join the Recall Gavin 2020 movement.

The other group behind the recall is known as Rescue California. They mention Newsoms dictatorial on-again, off-again shutdown orders on their website as the reason behind their cause.

The recall drive itself has its origins in ultra-right and fascistic militia groups like those which spearheaded the storming of the US Capitol on January 6, 2021, even if it has tried to cultivate a more respectable image since.

A Newsweek report published on January 28 found that the groups initially involved in pushing the recall included the Oath Keepers, the III Percenters and the Proud Boys. One such figure involved is Proud Boys member and recently-elected Sacramento County Republican Partys Central Committee member Jeffery Perrine, who was documented on social media demanding that illegal immigrants should have their heads smashed into the concrete.

Another, whose name appears on the recall petition among the 10 initial recall proponents is Daniel Seoane. On the main recall website, a biography for Seoane is left blank. However, the Newsweek report found that Seoane is a member of the III Percenters and was highlighted in one of the groups newsletters in an earlier attempt to recall the governor.

About $2.4 million dollars have been received from various sources to pay signature collectors and the recall organizers are hoping to gather several hundred thousand more in the next three weeks to withstand possible challenges from the secretarys office.

At least $150,000 from the state Republican Party and $250,000 from the national Republican Party have been donated to the recall organizers.

Prominent Republican figures such as former House speaker Newt Gingrich and former Arkansas governor Mike Huckabee have spoken out in favor of removing Newsom. Huckabee recently tweeted to his followers, Governor Newsoms shutdowns hold families hostage. Its time to go @GavinNewsom

Most additional funding came from large-dollar individual donations. The largest, $500,000, came from John Kruger, who runs an organization known as Prov 3:9 LLC. Kruger is a retired multi-millionaire investor, who, in his own words, works full-time to bring school choice to California, and fiscal reform, including religious school choice.

Proverbs 3:9 is a bible verse that tells the wealthy to use their riches to honor god, promising them even greater riches in return. It demonstrates the Christian fundamentalist basis of this right-wing political operation.

Various Silicon Valley executives and venture capitalists have also supported the effort. Many are upset with what they deem to be Newsoms slow pace of economic reopening.

Billionaire venture capitalist Doug Leone contributed $100,000 while the family of venture capitalist Dixon Dell also donated $100,000. Former PayPal executive David Sacks also supports the recall with multiple donations to the campaign. He tweeted, California is being eaten alive right now by D.As who wont prosecute, teachers unions who wont teach, and politicians who wont stand up to special interests.

Two Republicans have formally launched campaigns to replace Newsom: former San Diego Mayor Kevin Faulconer and 2018 gubernatorial candidate John Cox. Cox was Newsoms opponent in the 2018 election and has donated $50,000 of his own to the recall effort. An anti-abortion candidate, Cox previously stated, There is no separation of church and state in the Constitution.

Richard Grenell, Trumps former acting intelligence chief, has worked with recall organizers and is also expected to announce his candidacy. While Trump has not yet publicly weighed in on the recall, it is expected that he would support Grenell should the recall vote actually proceed.

There is precedent for this operation. In 2003, similar right-wing forces succeeded in forcing a recall election for Democratic Governor Gray Davis, only nine months after he had easily won reelection. Davis was recalled and Republican Arnold Schwarzenegger won the contest to replace him. In 2021, however, the political circumstances are somewhat different. Newsom was first elected in 2018 and is up for re-election in 2022. None of the Republicans seeking to replace him have the celebrity or financial backing of Schwarzenegger.

In 2003, there was a significant split among Democrats, as several entered the contest to replace Davis, including his own lieutenant governor, Cruz Bustamante, who finished second to Schwarzenegger with 31.5 percent of the vote. In 2021, no Democrat has yet entered the recall election, with the party concentrating on defending Newsom. The governor has also received support from the president after White House press secretary Jen Psaki told reporters the Biden administration was closely engaged with [Newsom] and his office in opposing the recall drive.

While defending Newsom as an officeholder, the Democrats have made clear they have no intention of opposing the actual politics of the recall movement.

Less than a week after Trumps supporters stormed the US Capitol to violently prevent the certification of Joe Biden as president, California Democratic Party Chair Rusty Hicks referred to the campaign as a coup associated with far-right conspiracy theorists. This recall effort, which really ought to be called the California coup, is being led by right-wing conspiracy theorists, white nationalists, anti-vaxxers in groups who encourage violence in our democratic institutions.

Exemplifying the complete spinelessness of the Democrats in the face of right-wing and fascistic provocations, Hicks quickly retracted his comments. My calling the recall a coup has become a distraction from an incredibly important conversation, he wrote. The words we use matter.

One is compelled to ask, how could it be that less than three years after the Democratic governor defeated his opponent in a lopsided contest by 62 percent to 38 percent and in which three months ago, Donald Trump lost to Joe Biden by an even larger percentage, by a statewide margin of more than 5 million votes, the sitting Democratic governor faces the prospect of losing office?

This turn of events only underscores that the Democrats offer no real progressive alternative to Trump and the Republicans as events during Newsoms tenure have amply demonstrated.

Under Newsoms leadership, the state has been plagued by its disastrous response to the coronavirus pandemic, a botched and inadequate roll-out of vaccines as well as delayed and cancelled unemployment checks for jobless Californians.

The governor recently announced that schools were safe for in-person learning and should be reopened as soon as possible, spurning the tens of thousands of teachers who are opposed to reopening schools in the midst of a deadly pandemic. He pledged $2 billion in state funding for schools to reopen and began lifting any and all stay at home orders while the coronavirus burned through the states population.

Beginning with open flouting of state lockdown measures by Tesla CEO Elon Musk, Newsom and the state government have allowed industries and businesses such as Tesla, Amazon and Tyson Foods to keep workers on the job indoors with little to no protections, leading to massive increases in coronavirus infections and deaths. Newsom has also done nothing to hold utility companies responsible for the wildfires they caused leading to hundreds of homes destroyed and dozens of lives lost.

These and other such failings have led to a massive decline in public support for the governor which the recall organizers were able to seize upon. According to a poll from the Public Policy Institute of California, support for Newsom declined from 66 percent in September to only 46 percent today.

The recall effort, however, is a right-wing power grab employing fake populism to obscure a thoroughly reactionary anti-working-class agenda. Workers should oppose the petition and its goal of replacing Newsom with an even more reactionary state executive who will dismantle all coronavirus restrictions. At the same time, workers should give no political support to Newsom, who acts on behalf of the White House and Wall Street in pushing for a full economic reopening regardless of the cost in suffering and death for the working class.
[February 22, 2021] Drug Discovery Informatics Market Size Worth $5.63 Billion By 2028: Grand View Research, Inc.

SAN FRANCISCO, Feb. 22, 2021 /PRNewswire/ -- The global drug discovery informatics market size is expected to reach USD 5.63 billion by 2028 registering a CAGR of 11.3% over the forecast period, according to a new report by Grand View Research, Inc. Use of drug discovery software for gaining market intelligence owing to several advantages, such as rapid drug design & synthesis, efficient tracking of disease evolution, and data integrity management, has increased significantly among the researchers in the recent years, driving the industry growth. Key suggestions from the report: The discovery workflow segment accounted for the largest share of 59.19% in 2020 owing to the increased focus of pharmaceutical companies on the development of novel drug candidates

The development workflow segment is expected to register the fastest CAGR from 2021 to 2028 owing to a rise in the number of drug candidates in the clinical development phase

The outsourced mode segment led the market in 2020; however, the in-house mode segment will generate the maximum revenue by 2028 growing at the fastest CAGR over the forecast period owing to high demand for such platforms & services across Asia Pacific countries

Led by the U.S., North America led the global market in 2020 due to the presence of key market players and established R&D infrastructure in the country

Key industry participants focus on strategic acquisitions to sustain the market competition

For instance, in January 2021 , Selvita acquired Fidelta to enhance its integrated drug discovery service offerings and expand business in the Europe market Read 150 page research report with ToC on "Drug Discovery Informatics Market Size, Share & Trends Analysis Report By Mode (In-house, Outsourced), By Workflow (Discovery, Development), By Services (Sequence Analysis Platforms, Docking), And Segment Forecasts, 2021 - 2028" at: https://www.grandviewresearch.com/industry-analysis/drug-discovery-informatics-market The growing demand for novel molecules is driving the adoption of informatics solutions targeted towards speeding up the entire drug discovery process by identifying rational drug molecules via the target macromolecule interaction. Companies operating in the market are receiving funding for expanding their drug discovery platforms, further supplementing the market growth. For instance, in September 2020, Ardigen signed an agreement with the National Centre for Research and Development to access its funding for developing novel technology. This technology was aimed at revolutionizing the development of T-cell receptors-basedtherapies for immuno-oncology. Ardigen has previously developed a neoantigen prediction platform namely, ArdImmune Vax, which deploys ready-to-use Artificial Intelligence (AI) and bioinformatics solutions for the identification of optimal sets of neoantigens as targets for adoptive cell therapies and cancer vaccines. In addition, chemical informatics solutions have gained considerable traction in the past year, particularly in addressing the needs associated with the recent Covid-19 pandemic.



For instance, a research study performed in January 2021 showcased the application of chemical digital solutions in accelerating the search of SARS-CoV-2 Mpro inhibitors by data analysis of previous activity data of SARS-CoV main protease (Mpro) inhibitors. In addition, the QSAR models helped in the data mining of molecules for rapid Covid-19 drug discovery. Hence, the need to facilitate drug development for Covid-19 is expected to propel the industry expansion over the coming years. Grand View Research has segmented the global drug discovery informatics market on the basis of workflow, mode, services, and region:

Drug Discovery Informatics Workflow Outlook (Revenue, USD Million, 2017 - 2028)

Discovery Informatics



Identification, Validation, & Assay Development Informatics





Lead Generation



Development Informatics



Lead Optimization





FHD Preparation





Phase IA





Phase IB/2

Drug Discovery Informatics Mode Outlook (Revenue, USD Million, 2017 - 2028)

Outsourced



In-house

Drug Discovery Informatics Services Outlook (Revenue, USD Million, 2017 - 2028)

Sequence Analysis Platforms



Molecular Modeling



Docking



Clinical Trial Data Management



Others Services

Drug Discovery Informatics Regional Outlook (Revenue, USD Million, 2017 - 2028)

North America



U.S.





Canada



Europe



Germany





U.K.





France





Italy





Spain



Asia Pacific



Japan





China





India



Latin America



Brazil



Middle East & Africa

&

South Africa List of Key Players of Drug Discovery Informatics Market Certara

Boehringer Ingelheim International GmbH

Infosys Ltd.

Charles River Laboratories

Eurofins DiscoverX Products

Jubilant Biosys

Selvita

Novo Informatics Pvt. Ltd.

ChemAxon Ltd.

Albany Molecular Research Inc.

Oracle

Accenture

Agilent Technologies, Inc.

Illumina, Inc. Find more research reports on Pharmaceuticals Industry, by Grand View Research: North America Digital Pathology Market  The North America digital pathology market size was valued at USD 365.8 million in 2020 and is expected to expand at a compound annual growth rate (CAGR) of 6.5% from 2021 to 2028.

The digital pathology market size was valued at in 2020 and is expected to expand at a compound annual growth rate (CAGR) of 6.5% from 2021 to 2028. Drug Discovery Outsourcing Market  The global drug discovery outsourcing market size was valued at USD 3.1 billion in 2020 and is expected to grow at a compound annual growth rate (CAGR) of 7.4% over the forecast period.

The global drug discovery outsourcing market size was valued at in 2020 and is expected to grow at a compound annual growth rate (CAGR) of 7.4% over the forecast period. Clinical Trial Imaging Market  The global clinical trial imaging market size was valued at USD 907.6 million in 2020 and is expected to expand at a compound annual growth rate (CAGR) of 6.1% from 2021 to 2028. Gain access to Grand View Compass, our BI enabled intuitive market research database of 10,000+ reports About Grand View Research Grand View Research, U.S.-based market research and consulting company, provides syndicated as well as customized research reports and consulting services. Registered in California and headquartered in San Francisco, the company comprises over 425 analysts and consultants, adding more than 1200 market research reports to its vast database each year. These reports offer in-depth analysis on 46 industries across 25 major countries worldwide. With the help of an interactive market intelligence platform, Grand View Research helps Fortune 500 companies and renowned academic institutes understand the global and regional business environment and gauge the opportunities that lie ahead. Contact: Sherry James

Corporate Sales Specialist, USA

Grand View Research, Inc.

Phone: 1-415-349-0058

Toll Free: 1-888-202-9519

Email: sales@grandviewresearch.com

Web: https://www.grandviewresearch.com

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Wombs: a new parental battleground

Every organism gets two copies of its genes, one from each parent, but they dont always have the same effect. Fathers primarily provide DNA. Having evolved solely to shuttle male DNA to an egg cell, mature sperm consist of little more than tightly compressed DNA, a cell membrane and a rapidly churning tail.

Eggs, on the other hand, contain DNA and other resources to help jumpstart the developmental process. Unsurprisingly, its not uncommon to find genes that cause problems when moms copies are defective, Malik said.

It's very easy to imagine maternal defects being the failure for mom to package all the goodies in her oocyte [egg cell] that the zygote needs to survive, he said.

Paternal-effect genes are rarer because during the earliest post-fertilization developmental phases, dads genes are still turned off while his DNA gets unpacked.

In mammals, it gets even more complex. Embryonic development occurs inside mothers bodies and draws on even more maternal resources. This evolutionary transition created a new battleground for conflict between the sexes, Malik said, as each parents goals for its offspring diverged a little more.

If you're not in a monogamous species, dads basically saying, Look, I have a limited opportunity to make these kids. I'm going to make sure that my kids sort of act like the aliens and extract maximum nutrition from mom, Malik said. And moms like, Hey, hang on, I'm planning to have a whole bunch of babies. You can't just pick up all of my resources, because then I'll have nothing left for the other babies.

Though Malik studies how genetic conflict shapes evolution, such as the genetic conflict between viruses and anti-viral proteins that block infection, genetic conflict in mammals was a new area for his lab.

Ours is a fly lab, he said. Ive never worked on mice, Ive never trained in mouse genetics.

As a Howard Hughes Medical Institute investigator with flexible funding, Malik was able to fund Molaros quest to understand these strange mammalian histones. But scientifically speaking, it was a little like sending him to an island and checking occasionally to make sure he had food and water, Malik recalled. At the beginning of the project, the island appeared to be waving distance from shore.

A new parental-effect gene

Mice have the H2A.B member of the short histone variant family of genes. When Molaro set up camp, the H2A.B protein was thought to be present only during sperm development, a process in which Molaro and Malik expected H2A.B to play an important role.

It didnt.

Two and a half years after editing H2A.B out of mouse DNA, Molaro found himself with a lot of negative results and no idea how H2A.B might function in reproduction. His island was starting to feel more like a raft floating out to sea.

But the team had missed something important.

The reason we were so fooled was that we never even considered the possibility that these genes might actually have a female role, Malik said.

Molaro and Malik Lab research technician Anna Wood bred males lacking H2A.B to females that also lacked the gene  and with one experiment, his island became a peninsula.

Compared to litters bred from two normal parents, fewer pups were born from these crosses, and about four times as many embryos didnt survive past implantation. Embryos in these litters were also about 30% smaller than normal. In Molaros previous experiments, the H2A.B from the mothers had masked the effect of losing paternal H2A.B, Malik said.

Further experiments strengthened the evidence that it was the parents histones that critically affected embryo development. Molaro was on solid ground at last.

It was not just that these embryos [from parents lacking H2A.B] were less viable, but they were actually at a disadvantage to their siblings, depending on who their father was. They were also at a disadvantage compared to the siblings, depending on who their mother was, Malik said.

H2A.B is one of the first parental-effect genes identified in mammals since the 1980s, Molaro said. He is now exploring several potential mechanisms by which parental H2A.B might affect embryo development in his own lab. He expects maternal and paternal H2A.B to act through different mechanisms.

Unusual histones give cancer a helping hand

As Molaro struggled to chart a course through the muddy waters of his H2A.B work, a collaboration with pediatric oncologist Sarthy and bioinformatician Chew helped form a lifeline. Sarthy was also studying histones, but in the context of cancer.

In cancer, classic histones can accumulate mutations that alter how they interact with DNA (a complex called the nucleosome). DNA often wraps more loosely around mutated histones, thereby creating less stable nucleosomes.

The short histone variants Molaro was studying also happen to wrap DNA more loosely, generating remarkably unstable nucleosomes. This makes it easier for sperm to remove their histones and replace them with even smaller proteins that facilitate the super-tight DNA packing they need in order to swim most efficiently. In cancer cells, relaxed DNA packing makes it easier to turn on genes that promote tumor development and progression.

I started thinking, even though these histones that Antoine is working on are supposed to be in testes only, maybe they could be turned on in cancers. And if they were, they might have the same effect as these mutant histones, Sarthy said.

Tumors often turn on genes that are usually turned on, or expressed, in specific tissues or during specific life stages.

Molaro was also interested in the potential connection between H2A.B and disease. With Chew, now a faculty member in the Cancer Institute of Singapore at the National University of Singapore, Sarthy and Molaro compared the natural genetic sequence of H2A.B genes and related short histone variants to the genetic sequences of cancer-associated mutated histones. They found that the natural histones had evolved the same changes seen in mutated cancer-associated histones.

The team also found that many types of tumors, particularly different kinds of B-cell lymphomas, turn on these short histone variants, suggesting that they also share unstable interactions between DNA and histones.

It was kind of a big surprise that so many different cancers had unstable nucleosomes, Sarthy said. In some cancers, people had thought, Oh, there are no histone mutations, so they don't have unstable nucleosomes. What we're finding is there's an entirely different way to get unstable nucleosomes.

It means that even tumors with very few mutations may still be able to create the loose DNA-histone interactions they need to turn on cancer-promoting genes, just by turning on normal histones in the wrong spot, he said.

We saw very little overlap between cancers with histone mutations or cancers that turn on H2A.B, Sarthy said. It suggests that many cancers need this property, but either a mutated histone or a short histone variant is enough to achieve it.

If you have both, the nucleosomes are too unstable, he said. There's a sweet spot that cancers trying to reach.

Its unlikely that H2A.B and related histones cause cancer by themselves. Instead, they work together with other genetic, molecular and cellular changes to promote cancer development and progression. In fact, Sarthy and his colleagues found that tumors that turn on short histone variants also have other changes in fundamental cell processes that could affect cancer development.

It suggests theres a functional consequence to this, Sarthy said.

Sarthy is working to understand this phenomenon in lymphomas and exploring ways to potentially target tumors that have unstable DNA-histone interactions or that have turned on H2A.B.

One avenue hes exploring, in collaboration with Hutch immunologist Dr. Marie Bleakley, is immunotherapy. The fact that H2A.B is never found outside sperm or eggs except in cancer makes it a great candidate target for selective cancer immunotherapy  that is, reprogramming a patients immune cells to recognize and kill cells carrying H2A.B.

If this finding leads to a new treatment, it would be the latest in a long line of discoveries about fundamental life processes that end up having profound impacts on human health.

You could argue that histones are probably one of the most fundamental proteins we have, Malik said. And yet we have these variants. You could say, Oh who cares about this weird evolution? Its only expressed in the testes. But these arent siloed problems. [These histones] affect early development, they can be expressed outside of the testes, and they can cause disease.
Mohamed Mustafa, the adviser to the Palestinian president for economic affairs, said on Monday that Egypt would help Palestine extract natural gas in the Mediterranean Sea and export it to other countries if needed.

Mustafas remarks to the Voice of Palestine (VOP) come a day after Egypt and the Palestinian Authority signed a memorandum of understanding on developing the Gaza Marine natural gas field.

The MoU was signed during a visit by Egypts Minister of Petroleum Tarek El-Molla to Ramallah and Israel, during which he met with Mustafa and Palestinian President Mahmoud Abbas.

Minister El-Molla also met with Israel's Energy Minister Yuval Steinitz in Jerusalem.

The Egyptian Natural Gas Holding Company (EGAS) will work with the Palestinian Authority on a deal to extract natural gas from the Mediterranean Sea and transport it to Palestinian areas, Mustafa said.

The natural gas surplus after extraction will be available for sale to the Egyptian side, he added.

Mustafa said Egypt can help Palestine export its natural gas thanks to Egypts infrastructure, factories and equipment required for the export process.

The natural gas can be transported via a pipeline from Gaza to Egypt and can then be exported, Mustafa explained.

So far, Egypt is the only country that has signed an MoU with the Palestinian side to develop the field.

The Gaza Marine natural gas field, located off the coast of the Gaza Strip, was discovered in 2000 in territory under the control of the Palestinian Authority. According to Reuters, it is estimated to hold more than 1 trillion cubic feet of natural gas.

Mustafa told VOP that the Palestinian attempts to extract the natural gas have always been thwarted by the Israeli stance, adding that his country is working with Egypt to develop the field as soon as possible.

Mustafa affirmed that the natural gas in the Mediterranean, especially off the coast of Gaza, is one of the most important natural resources from which Palestine seeks to benefit.

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The Conservative governments criminal indifference to the lives of some of the most vulnerable people in society has become ever more blatant as the pandemic crisis has unfolded. Earlier this month, the Mencap charity reported that people with learning disabilities were being told in January that they would not be resuscitated if they fell gravely ill with COVID-19.

Edel Harris, Mencaps chief executive, told the Guardian, Throughout the pandemic many people with a learning disability have faced shocking discrimination and obstacles to accessing healthcare, with inappropriate Do Not Attempt Cardiopulmonary Resuscitation (DNACPR or DNAR) notices put on their files and cuts made to their social care support.

A National Health Service DNACPR form (credit: WSWS media)

Its unacceptable that within a group of people hit so hard by the pandemic, and who even before Covid died on average over 20 years younger than the general population, many are left feeling scared and wondering why they have been left out.

A support worker, who works with people with learning disabilities, told the World Socialist Web Site, They should have a chance for life like anybody else. It is outrageous to have DNAR forms in these peoples files without taking into account their choices, wishes and beliefs. We managed to get some of these notices reversed last year.

Mencaps warning came two days after the UKs Office for National Statistics (ONS) reported that six in 10 of those killed by COVID-19 between January and November last year were disabled, despite making up just 17 percent of the study population. According to the ONS, the risk of death involving COVID-19 was 3.7 times higher for men and women with a medically diagnosed learning disability than for the general population.

For the disabled in general, including physical disability, the rate was 3.5 times higher for more-disabled womendefined by someone having their daily activities limited a lot by their healthand 3.1 times for more-disabled men. The risk for less-disabled women was two times greater and 1.9 times greater for less-disabled men.

Last November, Public Health England (PHE) reported that the COVID-19 death rate for disabled young people, aged 18-34, was 30 times higher than the rate for people in the same age group without disabilities.

Reports of the widespread placing of DNACPR notices on disabled people caused an outcry last year. Amnesty International condemned the practice in a scathing report, As if expendable: The UK governments failure to protect older people in care homes during the Covid-19 pandemic. The government was forced to sanction a review of the issue through the Care Quality Commission (CQC).

The WSWS commented last June, The COVID-19 death rate among disabled people is a result of deliberate policies pursued by the British ruling class. A barely concealed agenda of social euthanasia has found expression in numerous medical guidance documents published during the pandemic, which suggest that coronavirus patients can be denied or deprioritised for medical care solely on the basis of their age or existing mental or physical disabilities.

In its interim report last November, the CQC stated, In their interviews with relatives, care home managers, advocacy organisations and legal representatives, Amnesty found examples of the inappropriate or unlawful use of DNACPR formsincluding blanket DNACPR, their inappropriate individual use and recommendations for useby GPs, clinical commissioning groups (CCGs), hospitals and care homes. They also found that staff incorrectly interpreting DNACPR prevented people getting access to hospital care and treatment. Amnesty also highlighted that health and social care staff reported pressure during the pandemic to put DNACPRs in place without consultation.

The CQC acknowledged that the inappropriate placing of these notices had caused potentially unnecessary deaths. It is to publish its final report next month.

Appallingly high death rates among disabled people are the direct consequence of the governments herd immunity strategy, described as social murder in the British Medical Journal. The policy was bluntly summed up at the start of the pandemic by the reported words of Prime Minister Boris Johnsons advisor Dominic Cummingsherd immunity, protect the economy, and if that means some pensioners die, too bad.

Around the same time, columnist Jeremy Warner wrote in the Telegraph, From an entirely disinterested economic perspective, the COVID-19 might even prove mildly beneficial in the long-term by disproportionately culling elderly dependents.

The Tory government then discharged thousands of elderly hospital patients to nursing and care homes without carrying out a COVID-19 test. This led to massive outbreaks in care homes, causing tens of thousands of unnecessary deaths, accounting for a third of all COVID-19 fatalities during the first wave of the pandemic.

Disabled people have suffered the same brutal disregard for life, left with woefully inadequate support throughout the pandemic by a ruling class which considers them a drain on profits. Last November, disability equality charity Scope reported that one in five disabled people had their request to work from home, be furloughed or redeployed during the pandemic rejected. The government responded by shrugging its shoulders and saying it was the employers decision to make.

This month, Scope reported that disabled people had been cut off from support and that their mental and physical health was unravelling. Some 36 percent of disabled people surveyed reported that their health had been impaired by problems accessing food during the pandemic.

Another study this month, by Inclusion London, found that many disabled people have experienced reduced support due to high levels of support staff sickness, cuts to care packages, and increases in social care charges. Eighty-one percent reported problems accessing healthcare, and 36 percent problems accessing the community due to changes in the external environment, like streetscapes and the majority of services and support having moved online. These difficulties come on top of the constant cuts in welfare support for many disabled, seriously ill people, leading to numerous deaths.

Speaking to the WSWS, Simone Aspis, the director of disability charity Changing Perspectives, denounced the governments eugenicist agenda.

Its just absolutely outrageous that anybody could think about putting do not resuscitate notices in peoples files. Particularly, now, there are treatments available for people with Covid-19. Disabled people must have equal rights access to that. Nobody should be deciding who should get care depending on their impairment.

This is an opportunity for the government to use the herd immunity policy as a new form of eugenics for the Covid-19 situation. There just seems to be more and more pressure on disabled people who are not productive, who are not economically viable.

The calculated abandonment of the disabled has continued with the vaccine rollout.

According to the governments Joint Committee on Vaccination and Immunisation, people with a severe or profound learning disability are in priority group six of ten for receiving the vaccine, except people with Downs Syndrome, who are in priority group four. There is no special priority for people with a learning disability not considered severe or profound or for people with disabilities living in specialist care homes.

Last week, BBC Radio 2 presenter Jo Whiley pulled out of her usual radio show when her sister, Frances, who has a learning disability, was taken to hospital after becoming seriously ill from COVID-19 after an outbreak at her care home in Nottinghamshire.

Hours before, Whiley, 55, had revealed that she had been offered a vaccine before her sister, possibly due to being deemed her carer. She told BBC Radio 4s Today programme that Frances is in tier 6 [of priority for the vaccine] but she also has quite bad diabetes, which in my understanding puts her in tier four because she has an underlying health condition, so I would have thought that she would have been vaccinated, but that hasnt happened.

Whiley continued, This happens so oftenpeople with learning disabilities are neglected, they havent got a voice.

Frances Whiley was only offered a vaccine on Saturday. Jo said on Sunday, [My] mum got a message to say that she [Frances] could get vaccinated, but it's too late, she's fighting for her life in hospital. It couldn't be crueller."

For further information visit NHS FightBack
Unity and a fighting spirit were shown throughout Laredo and all of Webb County this week as organizations, leaders and complete strangers came together to aid the most vulnerable members of the community impacted by the freezing temperatures and power and water outages.

Pepe Gamez said he and his wife Diana Torres began donating whatever was possible, and they have held an event every afternoon since Tuesday giving away pozole at their restaurant Orange Pepper at 5517 McPherson Rd. Ste. 7A. Their efforts have gradually grown thanks to involvement from the community.

Now people are supporting with some money as they donate $5 here and there to buy more pizza for the people, and so do I with my own grain of sand by cooking pozole for the adults and those that like it, Gamez said. We plan to continue doing this until we cant as people have supported our efforts and what we do for the community.

Others have focused on donating items to help keep people warm during the freezing temperatures experienced this week.

We donated blankets, sweet bread and juices as well because we saw the great need that our community had in the wake of these difficult times as people were suffering through extreme cold weather and also some were going hungry, Alex Mejia said. It is not much, but I know that the people who did get something were very happy and that is my satisfaction to see their happy faces.

One main outlet for those trying to help others was social media. People were able to share where they were gathering to donate items, what items they needed and what they planned to give away. Several people used social media groups to spread information about where they could seek help and how they could contribute to the efforts of others.

During these difficult times, I am grateful and thankful that I live in a community that truly cares about each other, said Jessica Olivares, a local entrepreneur and creator of a local COVID-19 group. It is beautiful to see the outpour of help and concern for one another. The Covid-19 LRD Support group is really changing peoples lives. A united community can overcome any obstacle, and that is what our group is about.

Local leaders were also quick to get involved in the process of assisting community members.

When this first happened, we mobilized quickly, and I reached out to the South Texas Food Bank, and together we were able to distribute 1,000 cases of water on that first day as I was the first elected official to do such a thing, District IV Councilmember Alberto Torres Jr. said. We organized quickly, and at the Nixon High School parking lot we distributed 1,000 cases of water and food essentials from protein snacks to bread and other things to kind of help people keep going.

According to Torres, his efforts have also allowed the partnering of the city with various organizations and even local restaurants to make sure everyone in the area had hot meals.

Torres said the Webb County Democratic Party joined efforts to take aid all the way to Zapata, which experienced a complete blackout of the entire county for days. Many food items, blankets and other forms of assistance were provided.

As local political leaders joined in to help with the emergency efforts, so did various organizations. One of these organizations was Red Wing United.

We've been working with Alyssa Cigarroa and her team to provide relief to families during the blackout, Red Wing United leader Alec Martinez said. We have an emergency relief hub at 816 Market where we've been operating out of, preparing care packages, providing information and holding power banks for folks to charge their phones.

Martinez said the organizations efforts would have not been possible without the help of the many volunteers it has as they tirelessly have been on the lookout to help any individuals in need both in the streets and through social media.

Another area assisted by Red Wing United has been the small municipality of El Cenizo which saw a complete blackout of the town for approximately four days without power. Many people also had water troubles as pipes burst, and other people did not get the service until Wednesday morning. Nevertheless, residents from El Cenizo joined in the efforts to help those most in need.

The idea that you need a title to act is no longer true in contemporary society, El Cenizo resident and former commissioner Maximiliano Zapata said. We have seen community engagement and outreach being sparked by community members instead of public servants. Being that I have experience on both sides of the political spectrum, I must say that being a private citizen allows me to work without the burden of bureaucracy. Progress seems faster this way.

The organization used social media both to provide wellness checks to households and to use other sources to figure out who was in need.

On information provided by La Gordiloca, we went to an apartment complex by the public library on Calton to do wellness checks and provide care packages, Martinez said. Today, we're driving around delivering hot food and water to houses that need it.

Gamez, Mejia, the volunteers of Red Wing United, Olivares and Zapata are just a few of the people that united to help out the most in need during these vulnerable times. They represent how the community can come together in times of crisis.

They plan to continue their efforts even though normalcy seems to be returning for the majority of Laredoans and people around the county, and they assure they will help the community whenever possible.

Every time I can continue helping I will, because you never know. Today is all because of them; tomorrow it can be because of us, Mejia said.

Zapata stressed the impact community involvement can have compared to only relying on those in power.

I think that community engagement in times of distress is needed, Zapata said. However, I would urge people of El Cenizo and other communities to not only come together in times of tribulations but rather to develop a sense of solidarity even when we are not faced by misfortunes.

Ultimately, local leaders are extremely grateful and proud of the continued work by ordinary citizens gathering to lend a helping hand to their neighbors.

I want to personally thank everyone that has had a golden heart and has been very considerate of others, Torres said. This is a time when we come together, and we experience this during the week of Lent and as a Catholic where we sacrifice to show that we are grateful for what we have. We have seen those people do those acts of kindness when they are blessed to have water and blessed to have electricity, and they then turn around and they share the blessings and sacrifice on whatever they have to help the needy. These are the types of times when society and the people are put to the test.

jorge.vela@lmtonline.com
Jonathan Turley Identifies Jan. 6 as Date of Infamyfor Nancy Pelosi

Feb. 21 , 2021 (EIRNS)In an opinion column published in The Hill on Saturday, Feb. 20, attorney Jonathan Turley, who is also a professor of law at George Washington University Law School, stated that Senate Majority Leader Charles Schumer (D-N.Y.) captured the outrage of many citizens when he declared the Capitol riot last month to be the Pearl Harbor of this generation that will live forever in infamy. He went on to say that the comparison is apt, if viewed from the standpoint of a lack of preparation by the U.S. Congress itself, despite numerous warnings.

Law enforcement agencies in the Capitol have trained intensively for violent protests and possible breaches to the Capitol and other government buildings. Many were already on high alert, due to the protests in Washington during the previous summer. So, when the breach seemed to occur rapidly and easily, many were shocked.

Many troubling questions have arisen in the past weeks, including contradictory reports about who knew/did what and when. For example, Congress was warned repeatedly of possible violence on Jan. 6 by the Trump administration and law enforcement agencies. National Guard troops were offered to the Capitol days beforehand but declined. While large numbers of protesters were expected, Capitol Police deployed a ridiculously small force, with roughly 1,800 officers facing more than 8,000 rioters. District of Columbia Mayor Muriel Bowser (D) reportedly limited a Guard presence before the protests to help with traffic and crowd control.

Instead of pausing to consider these numerous conflicting reports, Turley points out that the Democrats instead rushed to a second impeachment trial, without holding any hearings before the impeachment trial, and then went for weeks without calling any witnesses.

He concluded his column, The second Trump impeachment drilled home a narrative that the riot was primarily the fault of one man, Trump, and by implication not the fault of others. Pelosi told MSNBCs Joy Reid that Trump should be charged as an accessory to murder because he instigated that insurrection that caused those deaths and this destruction.
Kyochon F&B's menu is seen on the screen of a mobile phone in this 2019 file photo. / Korea times file



Chicken restaurant franchise plans to expand overseas



By Kim Jae-heun



Kyochon F&B, the country's largest fried chicken restaurant chain, has achieved all-time-high sales surpassing 1 trillion won thanks to the COVID-19 pandemic, which has forced people to stay home and order food online.



The chicken chain also built additional distribution centers in accordance with the increasing demand for chicken orders across the country.



Kyochon F&B announced that its annual sales, combining those of all its franchises, came to about 1.3 trillion won. If only counting the revenue created by restaurants directly managed from the headquarters, it hit 447.6 billion won, which is also an all-time high in the company's history.



The fried chicken chain's operating profit increased by 4 percent rising to 41 billion won. Its profit in the second half of last year, in particular, skyrocketed by 68 percent to record 25.7 billion won, compared to 15.3 billion won, which it made in the first half.



One notable achievement is that only one franchise restaurant out of its 1,269 in the country closed in 2020. Franchise sales have soared by 14 percent year-on-year. The headquarters explained that this rise is due to the increased number of people ordering chicken at home amid social distancing measures.



Kyochon F&C has been delaying its plans to expand its global business because of the pandemic. Still, it managed to record 12 billion won in sales abroad. It currently operates 42 fried chicken restaurants in six countries, and it plans to advance into nine more countries, including Singapore as well as countries in the Middle East and Africa.



Kyochon F&B believes that this year will create the momentum for the company to develop in the global scene.



"This year marks the 30th anniversary of the company's founding. It is time for Kyochon to make its stronger presence on the international market. We will do our best to realize our vision of becoming a global food company by seeking new growth engines and strengthening our competitiveness through expanding infrastructure," Kyochon F&B CEO So Jin-se said.



Meanwhile, the chicken restaurant chain plans to complete construction of new distribution centers in Pyeongtaek, Gyeonggi Province, and in Gimhae, South Gyeongsang Province, during the first half of this year. These new distribution centers will allow Kyochon F&B to handle 200 more tons of chicken on average on a daily basis, which is more than double the amount of previous years.





STRATFORD  Bernard Jeanty turned 46 Friday but spent his birthday consulting with doctors instead of celebrating with family.

The Stratford resident and father of three has been a patient at Stamford Hospital for more than two weeks since a crash on the Merritt Parkway forced doctors to amputate his right leg above the knee.

People who heard about the accident and its aftermath and members of Jeantys church have stepped up to try to help a man described as a good man and strong church goer.

A GoFundMe page set up to raise money for the family  Jeanty; his wife, Wilda; daughters Darlyne, 25, and Beverly, 17; and a son, Giovanny, 16  had raised $22,595 of a goal of $65,000 as of Friday.

Weve gotten way more support than we expected, said Wadline Emmanuel, a niece who lives with them.

Jeanty, an Uber driver, was headed north on his way home about 9:30 p.m. Feb. 4 when he stopped to give a jump start to a vehicle that had broken down on the side of the road near Exit 31 in Greenwich, according to police reports at the time.

Jeanty was returning to his Toyota Highlander after rendering assistance when two approaching vehicles collided with each other, then with Jeanty, his vehicle and the one he had just jump-started, police said.

No other injuries were reported. State police are investigating. No charges have been filed.

Jeanty was rushed to the hospital for treatment  but his family initially had no idea what had happened to him, Emmanuel said.

Worried, the family reported Jeantys absence to the police.

Eventually the cops came by and told us he was in Stamford Hospital, Emmanuel said.

She said the family has been visiting as much as possible.

Hes still going through a lot of surgeries right now, Emmanuel said.

The absence of a bread-winner has hit the family hard.

He did everything for us, Emmanuel, 20, said.

Its unclear when Jeanty will get out of the hospital, but whenever it is, hell have to undergo extensive rehabilitation and physical therapy, his family said.

The family moved to Stratford from Bridgeport 12 years ago.

Friends from the French-Speaking Baptist Church of Bridgeport, where the family worships, have also stepped up.

The support has been very, very, very helpful, Emmanuel said. This morning, a few of the people from his church actually came over to clean the snow from our driveway.

Jeantys best friend, Joe Roche, said Jeanty would do the same for his own family whenever Roches truck-driving job drew him away.

Id call and let him know, Roche said. Hed come and help my wife clean out.

Roche said he befriended Jeanty through the church, which serves the areas Haitian community.

Jeanty is an usher and also sings in the choir.

Hes just very church-oriented, Emmanuel said. He does everything in the church.

Hes a very good guy, always trying to help people, Roche said. Hes my brother. Its just so hard for me.
As India-China agrees to 'total disengagement' at LAC, ex-Jammu Kashmir CM Farooq Abdullah on Monday urged Centre to talk with Pakistan to end terrorism in the Union Territory saying that 'friendship' held the key to development in the region. Previously too he had expressed this wish in the Lok Sabha - lamenting that border skirmishes were killing citizens in Kashmir. His Gupkar ally - Mehbooba Mufti too has urged the Centre and the Imran Khan government to 'rise above their political compulsions and initiate dialogue', amid 'mounting casualties' of both sides of the Line of Control (LoC).

Farooq Abdullah speaks in LS since release from detention; urges Centre to 'talk with Pak'

Here are instances when 'Gupkar alliance' has echoed Pakistan:

Pulwama attack

After the horrific attack in Pulwama which killed 40 CRPF jawans, in February 2019, Abdullah said, " Such (Pulwama) attacks will continue and will not come down till the Kashmir issue is resolved politically. Please don't beat us. We have no role in it (attack) and we are not with it (terrorism). We want to live with dignity, study and earn our two meals and do not wish to build castles."

In a similar vein, Pakistan PM Imran Khan said, "I want to say 2 things; first, what is the reason behind the kashmiri youth doing such things. Like how did they reach to this level that they are not scared anymore, there must be some reason. Do you really think the military was which till date didn't work, will work now?"

Mufti too echoed Khan's words saying, "Today 10-15 young men are joining militancy from each village because you (BJP) have suppressed their voices. People dont have an option left. They think one can either go to jail or pick up arms. Hence they think it is better to pick up arms and die."

Mehbooba Mufti claims 'J&K youth forced to pick up arms or go to jail, due to BJP'

Post-Balakot strike

After the Balakot airstrike by the Indian airforce, Pakistan PM Imran Khan said, "You are having elections this year, we understand shouting against Pakistan would boost your chances to win the election, amid the Lok Sabha election poll campaigning - where Pulwama and Balakot were key poll issues.

Similarly, Mufti said, "Ofcourse the war rhetoric has more to do with the impending elections than anything else.

Mehbooba Mufti laments over ceasefire violation casualities; calls for Indo-Pak dialogue

Post-Abrogation of Article 370

Both Gupkar alliance and Pakistan have termed the Abrogation of article 370, the bifurcation of Jammu-Kashmir into two Union Territories - J&K and Ladakh as 'unconstitutional'. The J&K Reorganisation Bill has been passed by both Lok Sabha and Rajya Sabha. Since then several other changes too have been made in the UTs - including changing domicile rules, integration of the J&K cadre with the Central cadre, scrapping of Roshni Act. The Gupkar alliance has opposed all these changes, demanding the restoration of statehood to Kashmir and restoration of Article 370. Pakistan PM Imran Khan has time and again lamented over the Abrogation of Article 370, often seeking international intervention, which has been thoroughly rejected.

Urging talks with Pakistan

Earlier in the day, Abdullah said, "If we want to finish it (terrorism), we have to talk with our neighbor." Quoting late PM Atal Bihari Vajpayee, he said, "you can change your friends but not your neighbours. This is the reality of the day. I appeal to the government to adopt the same approach as they had with China over the standoff in Ladakh and started the withdrawal of its troops. The same is needed here to pull out J&K from this (terrorism)."

Echoing him, Mufti too has urged the Centre and the Imran Khan to 'rise above their political compulsions and initiate dialogue'. Recalling the ceasefire signed by ex-PM Atal Bihari Vajpayee and ex-Pakistan PM Ge. Pervez Musharraf, she opined that would be a 'good place to start'. Both leaders' comments come amid multiple unprovoked ceasefire violations by Pakistan, which has been countered by the Indian Army. On the other hand, Pakistan PM has only fearmongered over India at all global stages, showing no inclination for curbing terrorism or initiate dialogue.

'Speak to Pakistan like you did with China; finish terror': Farooq Abdullah to Modi govt
Russian President Vladimir Putin and Belarusian leader Alyaksandr Lukashenka spent six hours together at Russia's Black Sea resort of Sochi on February 22 for talks on their stalled integration efforts.



Their meeting came as each faces mass protests at home and mounting pressure from the West over police crackdowns against opposition leaders and peaceful protesters.



The talks started at 3 p.m. local time. The two then went skiing together before continuing the talks during a formal working dinner.



The Kremlin press service said their agenda focused on the development of Russian-Belarusian relations in terms of a "strategic partnership and alliance," economic ties, energy, and integration within the framework of a union state.



During a part of the meeting that was open to the press, the two also discussed the delivery of supplies of a Russian coronavirus vaccine to Belarus.



At the start of the meeting, Putin said he was "delighted to reaffirm the level of our interaction, strategic partnership, and allied relations."



Russian media quoted Lukashenka as saying during the meeting that there were "maybe six, seven [integration] road maps left out of 33" that still needed to be hammered out within their broader "plan of action" on joint cooperation. "All the others are ready to be signed," he said.



Lukashenka has long sought to portray himself as a brake on Moscow's pressure to merge Belarus with Russia.



But seven months of unprecedented street protests since a disputed presidential election has put the Belarusian leader on the defensive and seemingly more reliant on Putin's support.



Their summit was held as the European Union is poised to adopt fresh sanctions against Russia and possibly Belarus, ramping up pressure over a host of issues that have drawn the two neighbors closer in recent months.

The EU has progressively imposed sanctions on Belarus in response to the violent repression of peaceful protesters, the opposition, and media since an August 2020 election the bloc considers fraudulent that extended Lukashenka's 26-year authoritarian rule.

Belarusian opposition leader Svyatlana Tsikhanouskaya claims to have won the vote. She is calling for the EU to take a tougher stance against Lukashenkas regime.

The last time Putin and Lukashenka met face to face was in mid-September 2020 in Sochi, when Belarus secured a $1.5 billion loan for its battered economy.

In recent years, Russia has pressured Belarus to take steps toward integration in order to cement a 20-year-old agreement to form a union state, only to be rebuffed by Lukashenka's defense of the nation's sovereignty.

However, the situation began to change after Russia helped prop up Lukashenka in the wake of the August presidential election, bringing the two sides closer over common threat perceptions.

Minsk understands perfectly how important it is now to be on the right side of the Kremlin, political analyst Artyom Shraibman wrote in an analysis for the Carnegie Moscow Center. Lukashenka has tried many times to show that he and Putin are in the same boat against the collective West, and that the recent protests in Russia are a continuation of those in Belarus."

Putin arrived in Sochi with the threat of new Russia sanctions looming from the EU and Washington over the detention of opposition politician Aleksei Navalny and evidence that the anti-corruption campaigner was poisoned with a Novichok-like nerve agent. Navalny blames his poisoning on Putin and FSB security agents.



Navalnys detention in January upon his return from life-saving treatment in Germany and subsequent crackdown on some of Russia's largest anti-government protests in a decade have prompted international outrage.

With reporting by dpa and TASS
It was the host side's protocol team, Urusky noted, who arranged the placement of foreign government officials during the inaugural ceremony.

Ukraine's Vice Prime Minister, Minister for Strategic Industries Oleh Urusky has scrambled to explain a photo showing him walking along with Vladimir Putin's ally and Chechnya leader Ramzan Kadyrov at the IDEX-2021 International Defense Exhibition in Abu Dhabi (UAE).

Earlier, Prime Minister Denys Shmyhal demanded "an urgent explanation" from Urusky, taking to social networks to express his concern over the unflattering image.

Read alsoUkraine's brand new combat UAV debuts at IDEX 2021 (Photo)"I don't see it possible to 'shy away' from officials of either the aggressor power or any other state, which would testify to insecure behavior and weakness of the Ukrainian side," he wrote on Facebook.

It was the host side's protocol team, Urusky noted, who arranged the placement of foreign government officials during the inaugural ceremony.

"The practice was applied, according to which, personal guests of the ruling family were placed in alphabetical order. At the same time, I'd like to add that I, personally, either during or after the ceremony, did not have (and am not going to have) any contacts with the head of the Russian delegation, namely R. Kadyrov," he said.

Also, Urusky stressed, the Ukrainian delegation pointed to the host side protocol service that such situations must not be allowed in the future.

Earlier, Urusky said the Ukrainian delegation at the IDEX 2021 showcased models of the Neptune ground anti-ship missile system, the Oplot main battle tank, the BTR-4 APC, the Sokol-300 (Falcon-300) reconnaissance strike drone, the Vilkha (Alder) high-precision MRL system, a Bohomol (Praying Mantis) missile boat, and Korsar ATGM.

Talk of Urusky's possible dismissal

On February 2, 2021, Chairman of the Verkhovna Rada Committee on Economic Development Dmytro Natalukha (Servant of the People) said signatures were being collected in parliament for Urusky's sacking.

Over 40 signatures had already been collected, he claimed, in the Servant of the People faction alone. Natalukha also alleged that the situation in space industry suggested a "corruption component," including in matters of personnel reshuffles.

On February 3, MP Oleksandr Kachura (SoP) said the issue of pushing forward with Urusky's dismissal would be considered at a faction meeting.

Reporting by UNIAN
A resident picks up food and daily necessities at Yeong Won Market in Yeongdeungpo District Office building in Seoul. The district office runs the market where needy residents can receive the necessities for free. Courtesy of Yeoungdeungpo District Office



By Bahk Eun-ji



The ongoing coronavirus pandemic is putting financial pressure on people, while some low-income families living in Korea, the world's 10th-largest economy, have apparently been unable to afford groceries.



Local governments have been working to help people who have been hit hardest and Yeongdeungpo District in southwestern Seoul has set up a store called "Yeong Won Market," which can be translated as "zero-won store," to extend a helping hand to residents whose livelihoods have been threatened by the prolonged pandemic. The district office opened three Yeong Won Market stores in spaces where it had been running food banks for low-income families.



The district office also explained that the name "Yeong Won" was chosen to signify a market for residents in Yeongdeungpo district, as well letting them know the items there are free of charge.



Items there include food products such as rice and instant noodles, and non-food items such as tissue paper, shampoo, soap and clothes. The items are donated by individuals and businesses.



While previously run food banks catered to people suffering from extreme financial difficulties and received state allowances for basic living, Yeong Won Market stores are open to any resident of the district who feels the pinch and they can take items worth up to 30,000 won ($27.20).



The district office did not install any anti-theft alarms or ID sensors at the stores and has entrusted residents to stop by if they feel they are eligible to use them. Visitors are only checked to see if they are Yeongdeungpo residents, while no other qualifications are reviewed. But if a resident visits the market for a second time or more, the person has to fill out a consent form seeking tailored consultation on welfare support available from a community center. In addition, they will be registered as regular users of food banks and markets according to the results of the counseling.



"The purpose of this project is to help residents in need and find those who have fallen through the cracks of the welfare system," an official of the district office said.



"If a resident visits the market again, it means they could be in real financial trouble and need help. There are people who have not been protected by social safety nets and we are trying to discover those people through the market."



"We ask for the cooperation of our residents so that neighbors who need support can get help as we ease the conditions on using the market," said Chai Hyun-il, head of the district office.



Over the last few years, multiple suicide cases involving financially struggling families have shed light on loopholes in the country's welfare safety net, the official explained.



In January last year, three family members in Gimpo, Gyeonggi Province  a 37-year-old woman, her eight-year-old son and her 67-year-old mother  were found dead inside their apartment. A note believed to have been written by the woman described their financial difficulties and they were not recipients of basic living allowances or other emergency state benefits.



A similar case occurred in December 2019 when a married couple in their 40s killed their two children and committed suicide in their home in Daegu after suffering from financial hardships. The couple reportedly applied for government subsidies. But they were rejected because their 20 million won housing rent deposit was included in a calculation of their assets.





Prime Minister Chung Sye-kyun, right, is briefed by an official at Yeongdeungpo District Office about Yeong Won Market, during his visit, Saturday. Yonhap
The City of Laredo on Sunday lifted the boil water notice that City Council had enacted on Wednesday for the Highway 359 area.

Like many other cities throughout Texas, Laredos water system was plagued by low pressure and outages last week. Freezing and fluctuating temperatures caused more than a dozen water main breaks, and electric outages affected the citys lift stations and water treatment plants, which were forced to work on generator power.

The Heights area had particularly low pressure, and residents off Highway 359, which is at the end of the line, was left with no water at all.

The Texas Commission on Environmental Quality did not mandate a boil water notice, but council voted to implement one for the 359 area as a precautionary measure. The opportunity for bacterial growth arises when the water pressure drops so low.

By Sunday, water was fully restored to the area, and water pressure was stable enough to lift the boil water notice, according to the City of Laredo.

In an email to the Texas Commission on Environmental Quality, the Utilities Department included the results of 28 water samples taken last week, 17 in the Highway 359 corridor, which all came back negative for harmful bacteria. Chlorine levels, water pressure and turbidity levels entering the distribution system were all within normal ranges, according to the citys reporting.

The affected subdivisions were: Vista Nueva, Fiesta, Las Flores, Royal Oaks, Southern Development Industrial Park, Concord Hills, Las Misiones and Lago Del Valle. Colonias outside city limits were also left without water, including: Tanquecitos I & II, San Carlos I & II, Pueblo Nuevo, Los Altos, Laredo Ranchettes, Ranchitos 359, Phoenix Subdivision, D-5 Acres and Las Blancas Subdivision.

These colonias were also under a boil water notice this summer due to low chlorine in the system. Utilities Director Arturo Garcia told council that this weeks low pressure was a separate issue.

As temperatures continue to rise, the city expects more water line breaks, and asks the community to conserve water to help alleviate the issue.

Julia Wallace may be reached at 956-728-2543 or jwallace@lmtonline.com
It has always been possible to love Frank Zappa and what he stood for even if you didnt love his music. And lets face it, nobody but Frank loved it all. Some of it was jangly and fussy and tuneless, some of it was brilliant, funny and influential. But you have to love a man who could put out 62 albums in his lifetime and still leave enough for 53 more since he died in 1993.

If there is one American musician who was overdue for a comprehensive documentary, thats Zappa  and this one doesnt disappoint. Its as messy as his music in parts, but that fits. It lacks an overall thesis, but thats neither compulsory nor even useful with Frank: his creative energy seemed inexhaustible.

Director Alex Winter (yes, that guy from Bill and Ted) ranges all over the map, with apparently free access to the archives: film, animation, sheet music, home movies, never-released home recordings, and of course, interviews with Frank and family and some of his most important collaborators.

Among rock musicians, Zappa was unique: no-one else was this prolific for so long, and without the use of hard drugs, and no-one else was as political, nor as smart and funny. Yes, he could be like a naughty school boy, but he fought like a wounded bear when Washington moved to impose censorship on albums. His interviews could be golden and not just oppositional, unlike so many of his cranky contemporaries. He liked debate.

What the film doesnt do is penetrate his emotional coldness, nor really evaluate his music. Some critics called him a joke; others said he was a visionary. Winter settles for he was great because he was his own man. If Zubin Mehta and the Kronos Quartet and John Lennon thought he was great, then he was great. Some of the hundreds who went through the Mothers of Invention thought he was great, too, until he sacked them; others continued to love him despite that.

A few things become clearer: he was precociously gifted, teaching himself to compose, arrange and notate at high school. He was a prodigious guitar player. His range of composition was extraordinary, from experimental rock to jazz fusion to classical. Winter doesnt ask how much of it will be played in a hundred years. He just assumes it will be, because Frank was great. He may be right.
Texas Gov. Greg Abbott speaks at a press conference at the Texas State Capitol in Austin, Texas, on May 18, 2020. (Lynda M. Gonzalez/The Dallas Morning News Pool)

Texas Blocks Utility Companies From Billing Customers or Disconnecting for Nonpayment After Sticker Shock Outrage

After outcry over skyrocketing energy bills following the severe cold snap that threw millions of Texans into the dark with no safe drinking water, Texas Gov. Greg Abbott said on Feb. 21 that the states utility regulators will temporarily ban power companies from billing customers or disconnecting them for nonpayment.

Texans who have suffered through days of freezing cold without power should not be subjected to skyrocketing energy bills, Abbott told reporters on Feb. 12 in San Antonio.

The governor said the Public Utility Commission of Texas will order electricity companies to pause sending bills to customers and will issue a temporary moratorium on disconnection of services for nonpayment.

He said the state will use the pause to find a way to protect utility customers.

The issue about utility bills and the skyrocketing prices that so many homeowners and renters are facing is the top priority for the Texas legislature right now, Abbott said.

Abbott called an emergency meeting with legislators on Feb. 20 after reports of many customers receiving bills for thousands of dollars for just a few days electricity service.

In Texass highly competitive deregulated electricity market, some retail providers offer customers prices pegged to daily wholesale rates or other forms of indexing. Under normal circumstances, this can mean lower prices, but after the cold snap squeezed grid capacity and led to a dramatic run up in wholesale electricity prices, some households have been hit with huge bills.

Ty Williams, a Dallas-area resident, saw his monthly bill soar from $600 last month to nearly $17,000 so far this month, according to local news outlet WFAA.

How in the world can anyone pay that? I mean you go from a couple hundred dollars a month  theres absolutely no way it makes no sense, said Williams, who added that the bill came from Griddy, an electricity retailer that pegs its prices to wholesale rates.

Griddy even urged its customers to switch providers in the short-term to avoid sticker shock.

If the forecast and prices are too extreme for you right now, we understand if you want to switch providers, Griddy stated in a blog post. While we value you as a member, we want what is best for your wallet and family even more.

The power outages and high bills have left officials scrambling for solutions and demanding reforms.

The bill should go to the state of Texas, Houston Mayor Sylvester Turner told CBS News in an interview on Feb. 21. When theyre getting these exorbitant electricity bills and theyre having to pay for their homes, repair their homes, they should not have to bear the responsibility.

Fort Worth Mayor Betsy Price told CBS that both the state and the federal government should help with the bills, while Sen. Ted Cruz (R-Texas) also called for action.

Texans shouldnt get hammered by ridiculous rate increases for last weeks energy debacle, Cruz wrote on Twitter. State and local regulators should act swiftly to prevent this injustice.

Cruz also shared an article by Forbes contributor Robert Bryce, who argued that climate change activists push to electrify everything would concentrate risks on the electricity grid and make Americans more vulnerable to future shocks.

The massive blast of Siberia-like cold that is wreaking havoc across North America is proving that if we humans want to keep surviving frigid winters, we are going to have to keep burning natural gasand lots of itfor decades to come, Bryce argued.

That cold reality contradicts the electrify everything scenario thats being promoted by climate change activists, politicians, and academics, he wrote, adding that attempting to electrify everything would be the opposite of anti-fragile.

Its an argument echoed by Jason Isaac, a former state representative and current director of Life:Powered, a project of the Texas Public Policy Foundation. Isaac told The Epoch Times American Thought Leaders program that while the power crisis has laid bare the need for reform, it should focus on targeted winterization mandates and backup energy generation, not sweeping regulation that would curtail Texass energy market independence.

There is some winterization thats needed. And thatll certainly take place, that will happen, he said. Absolutely, when these power plants were tripped offline and not being utilized, you have parts that arent moving, and those parts will freeze up.

To guard against extreme events like the recent cold snap, Isaac also suggested that policies could be put in place that would require reliable backup-generating facilities.

Basically, dispatchable electricity on demand. So if youre going to build a wind farm, thats fine. But youve got to put natural gas peaker plants, which are less expensive, smaller, and you can get those built quicker, he said.

Put those on the grid so that when the wind stops blowing, if you need to produce electricity for Texans, then youre going to have to do it by other meanswe cant just have this level of unpredictability, he said.

All power plants were back online this weekend and power was restored to most homes in Texas as the weather returned to normal.

Reuters contributed to this report.
Researchers in the United States have conducted a study demonstrating the real-world effectiveness of the recently approved Moderna and Pfizer/BioNtech vaccines at protecting against infection with severe acute respiratory syndrome coronavirus 2 (SARS-CoV-2)  the agent that causes coronavirus disease 2019 (COVID-19).

The team  from Nference in Cambridge, Massachusetts and the Mayo Clinic in Rochester, Minnesota says the findings are on par with the results reported in large phase 3 randomized clinical trials.

The results showed that the vaccines are effective at both preventing infection and reducing the severity of COVID-19.

Venky Soundararajan and colleagues also demonstrate that vaccination effectively protects individuals at the highest risk of becoming infected with SARS-CoV-2 and experiencing severe disease.

Building upon the previous randomized trials of these vaccines, this study demonstrates their real-world effectiveness in reducing the rates of SARS-CoV-2 infection and COVID-19 severity among individuals at the highest risk for infection, write the researchers.

A pre-print version of the research paper is available on the medRxiv* server, while the article undergoes peer review.

The two vaccines are being rolled out across the United States

In 2020, large phase 3 clinical trials demonstrated that the Pfizer/BioNTech BNT162b2 vaccine is 95% effective at preventing symptomatic COVID-19 and that the Moderna mRNA1273 vaccine is 94.1% effective.

Both of these vaccines are now being rolled-out across the Unites States, with priority given to those at high risk of infection or severe disease.

However, while these groups were not excluded from the phase 3 trials, vaccine efficacy has not been specifically demonstrated among them, says Soundararajan and colleagues.

It is thus critical to analyze outcomes of vaccinated patients to date to determine whether these vaccines are indeed effective in especially high-risk individuals.

Schematic illustrating the algorithms for participant selection and outcome assessment. (A) Design of study to compare SARS-CoV-2 infection rates in patients receiving COVID-19 vaccination compared to 1-to-1 propensity-matched unvaccinated patients (n = 31,069 per group). For each group, incidence rates were calculated to assess the efficacy of vaccination in preventing SARS-CoV-2 infection, as defined by a positive PCR test, with onset at least 36 days after the first dose or the date of study enrollment. Several other time windows were also evaluated for vaccine efficacy. (B) Design of study to compare COVID-19 disease severity in patients who were vaccinated prior to diagnosis with COVID-19 and had at least 14 days of follow-up after diagnosis (n = 191) versus 1-to-10 propensity-matched unvaccinated patients with at least 14 days of follow-up (n = 2,348). Severity outcomes (hospitalization, ICU admission, and mortality) were assessed within 14 days of PCR diagnosis.

What did the current study involve?

Now, the team has conducted a preliminary assessment of real-world vaccination outcomes in 62,138 individuals within the Mayo Clinic health system (including Arizona, Florida, Minnesota, Wisconsin) between 1st December 2020 and 8th February 2021.

The researchers assessed SARS-CoV-2 positivity and COVID-19 severity among 31,069 individuals who received at least one dose of either the Pfizer/BioNTech BNT162b2 or the Moderna mRNA-1273 vaccine.

One challenge inherent to such real-world analyses is the lack of a built-in placebo arm, which is essential to establish the expected infection rate during the study period and thereby to assess vaccine efficacy, writes Soundararajan and colleagues.

To address this shortcoming, the researchers used 1-to-1 propensity score matching to generate a cohort of 31,069 individuals who did not receive a vaccine by the end of the study period.

Distribution of the time from first vaccine dose to first positive PCR test, for the patients with at least one positive PCR test following vaccination. Patient counts for mRNA-1273 (Moderna vaccine) are shown in black, and patient counts for BNT162b2 (Pfizer/BioNTech vaccine) are shown in purple. For mRNA-1273, the mean time to positive PCR test following the first dose is 10.9 days (standard deviation: 6.9 days), and for BNT162b2, the mean time to positive PCR test following the first dose is 12.1 days (standard deviation: 9.1 days). Dotted lines indicate the recommended time for the second vaccine dose for mRNA-1273 (28 days) and BNT162b2 (21 days).

Vaccine efficacy reached 88.7%

Starting 36 days following study enrollment, the incidence of SARS-CoV-2 positivity among individuals who received two vaccines was 0.048 cases per 1000 person-days, compared with 0.43 cases per 1,000 days among unvaccinated individuals.

This corresponds to a vaccine efficacy of 88.7%, which the team says is in line with the previously reported efficacies.

Even in the first seven days following enrollment, the incidence of SARS-CoV-2 positivity was significantly lower among vaccinated individuals than among unvaccinated individuals (0.48 versus 1.0 case per 1,000 days), corresponding to an efficacy of 53.6%.

Efficacy then increased over subsequent weeks and reached its maximum during the sixth week after study enrollment.

How did disease severity compare between the two groups?

Among the vaccinated individuals who tested positive for SARS-CoV-2, the 14-day hospitalization rate was significantly lower than among the unvaccinated individuals who tested positive, at 3.7% versus 9.2%.

On the other hand, ICU admission rates were similar between the two cohorts, at 1.0% versus 1.3%, as were 14-day mortality rates, at 0.0% versus 0.085%.

However, the team says it is worth noting that none of the vaccinated patients who developed COVID-19 have died, including 59 individuals who were followed up for at least 28 days.

A strong real-world effect of vaccination

Our data demonstrate a strong real-world effect of COVID-19 vaccination on par with the results reported in each randomized trial, writes Soundararajan and colleagues. We emphasize that COVID-19 vaccines should be administered as broadly and rapidly as possible to the public and that the real-world efficacy of these vaccines should be continuously monitored as we move beyond Phase 1a of the distribution process, concludes the team.

*Important Notice

bioRxiv publishes preliminary scientific reports that are not peer-reviewed and, therefore, should not be regarded as conclusive, guide clinical practice/health-related behavior, or treated as established information.
Chair of Lietuva Committee on Foreign Affairs meets ruling party and opposition to discuss the crisis

By Veronika Malinboym

On February 20, Zygimantas Pavilionis, Chair of the Lietuva Committee on Foreign Affairs, held meetings with the ruling Georgian Dream party and the United National Movement opposition party to address the ongoing political crisis.Ahead of his arrival to the country, Zygimantas Pavilionis announced that his visit to Georgia would be aimed at meeting friends from political spectrum in order to "build bridges, heal common wounds and build common future in the EU and NATO." In his Twitter post, Zygimantas Pavilionis reinstated that Lithuanians have never abandoned Georgians, not even in the darkest hour.Earlier this week, the Baltic Times reported that the Board of Lithuanian Simas held an emergency meeting in which it has been decided to send Zygimantas Pavilionis in order to help the country find a way out of the current political deadlock. The media outlet also cited Zygimantas Pavilionis saying that he has some personal input in the country already, as, during the presidential term of Valdas Adamkus, Pavilionis was responsible for leading the Georgia group in the past Seimas. The politician then went on to say that he has friends on both [political] sides and will do his best in order to restore peace berween them.Upon his arrival to Georgia, Zygimantas Pavilionis met with the chair of the parliamentary committee of foreign relations, Maka Botchorishvili, as well as the chair of the parliamentary group of the EU integration, Nikoloz Samkharadze. He also spoke with the leader of the opposition United National Movement party, Nika Melia, who tweeted shortly after the meeting:Either Georgia goes with the Lithuanian way or it turns into Belarus. When we were entering the EU and NATO, left and right always worked together. We never imprisoned anyone. If repressions and conflicts continue, Georgias chances are killed.The current political crisis was caused by the recent Tbilisi court ruling which sentenced Nika Melia to be kept in custody as a result of his refusal to post the bail for his release. The Georgian Ministry of Interior then went on to temporarily postpone Melias arrest amidst the resignation of the Prime Minister Giorgi Gakharia who claimed that such a decision was caused by his inability to come to an agreement with a ruling party on Nika Melias case. Lithuanian Foreign Ministry is calling both the authorities and the members of the opposition to abstain from any actions that can cause further division of the society and refrain from "using force against the citizens."
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.
A bidding war for G4S has come to an end after both its suitors said their offers for the security company are final.

Canadian suitor Gardaworld said it will not be increasing its 2.35-a-share offer for the security company.

Gardaworld's final offer falls short of its American rival Allied Universal's 2.45-a-share bid, which was recommended to shareholders by the G4S board at the end of last year.

G4S takeover: Gardaworld said it won't increase its offer and Allied also said its offer was final

With Allied also confirming its current offer is final, the auction called by the UK Takeover panel to conclude the long-running takeover saga has come to an end.

Gardaworld boss said they would not increase their 3.7billion bid as they did not want to overpay for a company where 'systemic' corporate governance issues 'continue to come to light'.

Shares in G4S fell by around 10 per cent to 2.42 today as investors holding out for a better offer than that of Allied were left disappointed.

'The shareholder hold-outs need to accept that they are unlikely to wring any more out of this particular bid, and accept the money on the table now,' Michael Hewson at CMC Markets UK said.

Stephan Cretier, founder, chairman and chief executive of Gardaworld, said: 'There can be no better owner for G4S than GardaWorld, but we are disciplined buyers and we will not overpay for a company with systemic ESG (environmental, social and corporate governance) issues that continue to come to light.'

He added: 'A successful integration of G4S, a 530,000-employee platform operating in 85 countries, will require sizeable resources, addressing its issues will require greater investment, and, without satisfactory engagement from G4S, we have been unable to complete our due diligence.'

The bidding war has prompted a remarkable recovery in the share price, which was 70p in April. However, G4S shares remain much lower than the record highs of 2017, when they were trading at around 3.28.

The company has been involved in a series of scandals in recent years, including being blacklisted by Norway's sovereign wealth fund in 2019 because of the risk it has contributed to the ill-treatment of migrant workers in Qatar and the United Arab Emirates.

Last year, it reported a 91million loss after writing down the value of its cash handling business.

The race for G4S was kicked off in late September last year when Gardaworld made its first bid, valuing the company at nearly 3billion.

Two months later it upped its offer to just under 3.7billion, and reduced the acceptance rate it needed from shareholders to 50 per cent and one vote from 90 per cent.

A week later, Allied Universal entered the race with a 3.8billion bid which needed 90 per cent acceptance.
There was great We told you so! rejoicing among the surviving members of a group of old guys from the Hill neighborhood when I quoted a diligent historians findings that Ignazio Camposano made the first pizza in New Haven.

Thats right: Camposano Apizza came before Frank Pepes.

This revelation arose when Colin Caplan, who has written many books about New Haven history, spoke last December at the New Haven Museum. He was promoting his latest volume: Legendary Locals of New Haven.

I was there to write about his talk and had read his book. But I noticed Caplan didnt write, as is popularly believed, that Pepe made the first pizza in New Haven, and perhaps the first anywhere.

And so during the question-and-answer session, I asked Caplan why he had left this fact out.

He looked at me, smiled and then calmly, matter-of-factly, stated that pizza was invented in ancient Mesopotamia. Furthermore, he informed us, the first pizza maker in New Haven was actually Ignazio Camposano.

What? Who?

Caplan said he had gone back nearly 100 years in the city directories, which list all local businesses. And there, in 1917, was Camposanos bakery.

That was eight years before Frank Pepe opened his pizzeria (although he, too, had been a baker in New Haven since 1920).

Over the past week, Caplan, who is writing a book about New Haven pizza history, gave me lots of details about all this. He said Camposano came to America from Italy in 1909 and arrived in New Haven in 1914.

He was probably making pizza even before 1917, Caplan said, when that city directory listing appeared. All of the Italian bakers, he said, would have learned back in Italy how to make pizza.

According to Caplan, Camposanos first business location was on Donnelly Place, off Grand Avenue. In 1918, he bought a house at 64 Houston St. in Fair Haven, and built an oven in the back.

In 1923, Camposano returned to Donnelly Place but then in 1924 bought his first actual restaurant, at 98 Hill St., on the Hill. He was there from 1924-1935.

This was a restaurant with a bakery in the back, Caplan said.

If he opened a restaurant in 1924, he would have served pizza, Caplan asserted. Italians didnt just serve bread. So he beats Pepes by at least one year.

I definitely believe he was first, Caplan said of Camposano and New Haven pizza. He was baking before Frank Pepe; he was older than Frank Pepe.

Naturally, I wondered what todays Pepes owners think about this. I called over there and was directed to the development company but my request for comment at that headquarters drew no response.

Caplans history continued: in 1935, Camposano moved to 87 Hill St. He was nearby at 73 Whiting St. from 1944-1957; then the business moved again to Winchester Avenue. By then, Ignazios son, Anthony, was running the show. Caplan sent me an ad from 1944 for Camposanos Apizza when it was on Whiting Street: Oldest apizza maker in New Haven.

Caplan believes Camposanos closed in the late 1960s or early 70s. Caplan showed me Ignazio Composanos obituary in the New Haven Register, after he died in 1979 at 97. The headline called him pizza pioneer.

For his book, Caplan has spoken with Ignazios grandson, Ralph Abato, and Ignazios great-granddaughter, Beth Hunter. The Camposano family seems less worked-up about the who came first controversy than those old customers from the Hill. But theyre heartened to see Gramps getting long-overdue recognition.

Abato told me in an email: I am definitely in agreement with Colin that Gramps had the first pizza place in New Haven. But we never had any argument over that, even after Pepe said they were the first. We never made a fuss about it.

Abato remembers going to his grandpas restaurant for pizza and a soda. He said the pizza was delicious.

Hunter wrote to me in an email that shes too young to have known the pizza place but she said my Great Gramps made pizza for us often in their home.

My grandfather and Great Gramps would play pinocle cards while the food was cooking, and boy, did they get into it, she added. They would erupt into Italian that Im sure wasnt appropriate.

His old-time customers remember how Camposano loved those card games. When I visited Anthony Caponera, 87 (born in 1926), last week at his West Haven apartment, he recalled many visits to Camposanos at the Hill Street locations.

Iggy was not a businessman, Caponera said, He just made pizzas and he made em good. He told me: You want to make a good pizza, you gotta use good stuff.

He never killed himself working, Caponera added. He loved to play cards, him and his cronies. They started Friday night and went through the weekend.

Before Caplan disclosed the news about Camposano at the museum and I reported it, Caponera noted, It was always Pepes, Pepes, Pepes! We knew Iggy was first. Weve been arguing about this for a long time. This has set us free!

Contact Randall Beach at rbeach@nhregister.com or 203-789-5766. Do you have questions, feedback or ideas about our news coverage? Connect directly with the editors of the New Haven Register at AskTheRegister.com.
Armenia Investigative Committee: Fatal road accident, criminal case opened

Armenia deputy FM submits resignation

Chinese authorities allow families to have 3 children

Dollar devalues in Armenia

Stepanakert: Azerbaijan creates bridgeheads for pressure on Karabakh, expansion towards Armenia

Sergey Lavrov says Russia is ready to disconnect SWIFT

Armenia MFA spokesperson resigns

Republican Party of Armenia Vice-President: Our ratings are growing, but we have greater pretensions

Armenia acting PM's spokesperson responds to ex-FM

Armenia parliament majority leader: Refusing to debate with acting PM is manifestation of low self-confidence

Armenia State Revenue Committee, US Department of Justice sign Memorandum of Cooperation

Vardevanyan: Attempts made to create false grounds for obstructing Armenia bloc election offices legal activities

Lavrov says Russia is ready to resume dialogue with NATO

Armenia opposition MP on FM's resignation

India records lowest increase in COVID-19 cases in 50 days

Bright Armenia faction in parliament: No response to acting PM's proposal to deploy observers along Azerbaijan border

Ruling bloc MP: Acting premiers proposal does not limit Armenia in terms of cooperation with CSTO

Acting PM is proud of Armenian servicemens heroism, says parliament majority leader

Parliament majority leader: No border delimitation unless Azerbaijan army units leave Armenia territory

Outgoing Armenia acting FM opens brackets: My decision of resignation was conditioned by that very reason

Harutyunyan, Shoygu discuss tension on Armenia-Azerbaijan border

Iranian MFA says US has not imported oil from country since Clinton era

Court hearing on appeal against decision to drop March 2008 Yerevan tragedy case is rescheduled

Missing soldiers relatives block Yerevan street

Parliament majority leader: Armenia acting FM did not object, at Security Council meeting, to new document

Armenia Police: 2,581,093 people on voters list

Bright Armenia faction of parliament: No corridor through the country should be provided to Azerbaijan

Analyst: Armenia acting PM Pashinyan gave self-confessed testimony

Armenia national security finds about 1 kg of opium, detains Iran citizen driver and 2 others

182 hearing aids and 2 buses by benefactor Mikayel Vardanyan for students of Special Educational Complex

34 new cases of COVID-19 confirmed in Armenia

Updated voters list is posted on Armenia central election commission website

Armenia authorities provide considerable amount of subsidies ahead of snap parliamentary elections

World oil prices on the rise

MP explains his not being on Bright Armenia Party electoral list

UK new flagship set to be named after the late Prince Philip

US man who said he shot neighbor over loud music found guilty of attempted murder

Lamborghini company to be sold for $11.5bn?

China spacecraft docks with future space station

Lawyer: Armenia acting PM Pashinyan grossly abuses administrative resources during Lori Province visit

UN urges to investigate escalation of violence in Colombia

Malaysia to open mega-centers for vaccination against coronavirus

Police find  5 million in cash in London apartment

French citizen to face trial in Iran on spaying charges

Over 60 children in UK undergo surgery due to TikTok challenge

Iranian Central Bank governor dismissed

Armenian opposition: The one who liberated Artsakh will not go to debates with the one who sold it

Iranian energy ministry: Iraq to allocate $ 125 million of frozen funds for vaccines

No new COVID-19 cases reported in Artsakh

Iran and Iraq to intensify cooperation and are ready for joint investment projects

Armenia ex-PM says at least 2 more secret documents signed but not published yet

Indonesia frees Iranian tanker 4 months later

Mortar shelling in Afghanistan kills at least 10 civilians

Fire breaks out at West Virginia oil refinery in US

Second President of Armenia meets with residents of Ararat province

Iran ready to help improve the defense capability of Syria

Armenian acting PM invites ex-presidents for debates

European Parliament head proposes to strengthen sanctions on Russia

UK PM gets married in London

Armenia reports COVID-19 new 81 cases: 4 people die

EU countries invite US to issue joint statement against Russia

2 people die in Armenia road accident

Nigeria: Students taken hostage a month ago are released

61 quakes recorded in Congo per day

Syrian MFA: EU lost credibility due to blind obedience to US policy

Armenia ex-minister of emergency situations hospitalized with heart attack

Mher Grigoryan: Clarification of border points is possible only after withdrawal of Azerbaijani troops from Armenia

Suspicious deal: Whether there was profit from buying DNA IDs?

Armenia ex-president says current authorities are trying to blame Russia for defeat in war

4 people killed in Afghanistani bus attack

Robert Kocharyan: This war could not have happened, it was a consequence of the policy of the authorities

Kocharyan: I have to ask people how it happened that overwhelming majority elected this leader

Armen Gevorgyan presents 'Armenia' bloc program: We offer the concept of a working country

Biden's administration proposed to leave unchanged amount of financial support to Armenia

US Embassy in Baku calls on Azerbaijan to immediately release Armenian POWs

Luxembourg MFA calls on Azerbaijan to immediately release all Armenian prisoners

Russia peacekeepers climb to Armenia Gegharkunik Province village positions

Biden strongly condemns manifestations of antisemitism in US

Iran intensifies its diplomacy amid Armenia-Azerbaijan border tensions

Armenia acting PM on forthcoming snap parliamentary elections: We hope to get 60% of votes
Season 5 of Outlander begins tonight on SBS.

This screened on Pay TV a year ago.

Jamie Fraser must fight to protect the ones he loves, as well as the home he has established alongside his wife, Claire Fraser, their family, and the settlers of Frasers Ridge. This new mantle of responsibility sees him pitted against his godfather, Murtagh Fitzgibbons Fraser, a leader of North Carolinas Regulator Rebellion.

Season Five, Episode One:

Following celebrations in honour of Brianna and Rogers wedding, Governor Tryon reminds Jamie of his obligation to hunt down and kill Murtagh Fitzgibbons. He also expects Jamie to raise a militia to quell the Regulators if necessary. Brianna, meanwhile, is reminded of her past trauma when she inadvertently hears some devastating news.

Monday February 10:45pm on SBS.

Related
- UNI91103 is a nasal spray delivering niclosamide - a potent inhibitor of SARS-CoV-2 with in-vitro potency >40x higher than remdesivir - to the nasal cavity

- UNI91103 has been selected as the first agent to be trialed in a study by UK investigators

- If successful, data generated will be used for registration of the product

- The study will include approx.1,500 kidney patients to assess if UNI91103 can prevent patients from contracting symptomatic COVID-19 and / or reduce serious illness and death from the infection

- Kidney patients are considered a high-risk patient population that may not respond well to vaccination

- Niclosamide has been demonstrated to prevent fatal outcomes in an animal model of COVID-19 when administered intranasally1

HELLERUP, Denmark, Feb. 22, 2021 /PRNewswire/ -- UNION therapeutics A/S (UNION) has been selected by Cambridge University Hospitals NHS Foundation Trust and the University of Cambridge to trial UNI91103 (intranasal niclosamide) as a prophylactic treatment of COVID-19 in kidney patients, a vulnerable and high-risk patient population.

UNION has recently announced the expansion of its clinical program for COVID-19 with a niclosamide based nasal spray (UNI91103) to prevent and treat SARS-CoV-2 infection among people at risk. Kidney patients, in particular those on dialysis, are considered a particularly vulnerable patient population.



Following approval by the Medicines and Healthcare products Regulatory Agency (MHRA), the University of Cambridge has commenced recruitment to the PROphylaxis for vulnerable paTiEnts at risk of COVID-19 infecTion (PROTECT-V) trial.



A prophylactic treatment for vulnerable patients

"Niclosamide, the active ingredient of UNI91103, was recently identified as a potent inhibitor of SARS-CoV-2, the virus causing COVID-19, and is being developed by UNION for prevention and treatment of COVID-19," says UNION co-founder, Professor Morten Sommer2.

Studies have documented that SARS-CoV-2 replicates most rapidly in the nasal epithelial cells and suggest that initial replication of the virus in the nasal cavity then leads to infection of the lungs2. When administered to the nasal cavity prior to exposure to SARS-CoV-2, UNI91103 would prevent the virus from establishing in the nasal cavity and spreading to the lungs.

"For high-risk patient groups such as dialysis patients, patients who have had a kidney transplant, and patients with auto-immune diseases requiring immunosuppressive medications, COVID-19 can be very serious. In fact, one in five kidney patients receiving dialysis in hospital or who have a kidney transplant, who tested positive for the virus, died within four weeks," explains Professor Morten Sommer3.

The fastest route to benefit patients

Funded by LifeArc, Kidney Research UK, the Addenbrooke's Charitable Trust, UNION therapeutics and further supported by the NIHR Cambridge Biomedical Research Centre, the clinical trial is expected to enroll at least 1,500 high-risk subjects. Initially, trial participants will be randomised to receive either a placebo drug or UNI91103, both provided by UNION therapeutics, in addition to their standard of care.

LifeArc has made 27m available to support the global effort against COVID-19, of which 10m has been given to repurpose existing medicines.

"Repurposing already available drugs or those in the late stage of development offers the fastest route to bring benefit to patients at this critical time," says LifeArc CEO, Melanie Lee.

A promising option

The trial, led by the Cambridge University Hospitals NHS Foundation Trust and the University of Cambridge, involves researchers and patients from across the UK.



Dr. Rona Smith, who is leading the UK study, is senior research associate at the University of Cambridge and honorary consultant nephrologist at Addenbrooke's Hospital, says:



"Finding effective agents for treatment and prophylaxis is crucial for our ability to manage COVID-19 infection. We identified niclosamide as a promising option, and we look forward to testing it in this very critical patient population."

"The vaccine is a huge step forwards, but we know that the patients enrolled in this study may make less robust vaccine responses due to their underlying condition or treatment. Niclosamide may provide further protection against COVID-19 that doesn't rely on the immune system mounting a response," Dr Smith adds.

A persistent need for treatment and prevention

Currently a number of trials are taking place that are searching for an effective COVID-19 preventative treatment, but patients with impaired kidney function are largely excluded, despite being so vulnerable to the disease."Despite recent advancements with COVID-19 vaccines, UNION foresees a persistent need for prevention and treatment products targeting COVID-19. We are humbled and grateful for this extraordinary opportunity and look forward to collaborate with the PROTECT-V team to offer new prophylactic treatment options for some of the most vulnerable patients," says Kim Kjller, CEO of UNION, and elaborates:



"The reason why this particular patient group may not respond well to vaccines is due to a low serological response caused by a weak immune defense system. The immune system of these patient groups is weak because of their illness and/or because of the treatment they are receiving. This is why the mortality rates among high-risk patients are so devastatingly high. At UNION we see an urgent need for contributing a potential solution to these patient groups as the global vaccination roll-out might not be the answer for several patient groups at risk."



Sources

1. Brunaugh et al. BiorXiv 2020, DOI: 10.1101/2020.09.24.310490

2. Jeon et al. AAC 2020, DOI: 10.1128/AAC.00819-20

3. Renal Registry, UK





For further information



Morten Boesen

Chief Financial Officer

Phone: +45 2381 5487

Email: info@uniontherapeutics.com

Website: www.uniontherapeutics.com



Marie-Louise Jersin

Communications Manager

Phone: +45 3049 4957

Email: mlj@szpirt.com



About UNION

UNION therapeutics A/S is a privately held, clinical stage, pharmaceutical company dedicated to the development of novel treatments for inflammatory and infectious diseases. The Company is working on two complementary chemistry classes across immunology and microbiology and has multiple candidates in clinical development. UNION is headquartered in Hellerup (Denmark) and managed by an experienced, international team of pharmaceutical executives and biotech entrepreneurs. For more information please visit www.uniontherapeutics.com



About UNI91103

UNI91103 is a niclosamide based nasal spray in development for prophylaxis and treatment of COVID-19. SARS-CoV-2, the virus causing COVID-19, has been found to replicate most rapidly in nasal epithelial cells, and the sinonasal tract is thought to be an important site for infection as well as transmission. Niclosamide has been identified as a potent inhibitor of SARS-CoV-2 and has been demonstrated to prevent fatal outcomes in a murine challenge model of COVID-19 when administered intranasally. UNI91103 nasal spray is in development as a stand-alone product as well as in combination with UNION therapeutics' inhalation treatment product (UNI91104).



About Kidney Research UK

As the largest kidney research charity in the UK, nothing is going to stop us in our urgent mission to end kidney disease. We're here to be heard, to make a difference, to change the future. This is a disease that destroys lives. It must be stopped.

Over the past 60 years, our research has made an impact. But the incidence of kidney failure is rising, as are the factors contributing to it, such as diabetes and obesity. Today, we are more essential than ever. Kidney disease affects three million people in the UK, treatments can be gruelling and currently there is no cure. Only research will end this, and we are the ones to do it.

Find out more about our work: www.kidneyresearchuk.org



About LifeArc

LifeArc is a self-funded medical research charity. Our mission is to advance translation of early science into health care treatments or diagnostics that can be taken through to full development and made available to patients. We have been doing this for more than 25 years and our work has resulted in a diagnostic for antibiotic resistance and four licensed medicines.



Our success allows us to explore new approaches to stimulate and fund translation. We have our own drug discovery and diagnostics development facilities, supported by experts in technology transfer and intellectual property who also provide services to other organisations. Our model is built on collaboration, and we partner with a broad range of groups including medical research charities, research organisations, industry and academic scientists. We are motivated by patient need and scientific opportunity. Two funds help us to invest in external projects for the benefit of patients: our Philanthropic Fund provides grants to support medical research projects focused on the translation of rare diseases research and our Seed Fund is aimed at start-up companies focused on developing new therapeutics and biological modalities. Find out more about our work on www.lifearc.org or follow us on LinkedIn or Twitter .



About Addenbrooke's Charitable Trust (ACT)



Registered charity number: 1170103

Our purpose is to raise funds to make Addenbrooke's and The Rosie hospitals even better through improved patient care that allows more people to be diagnosed quicker and more accurately, to get the treatment they need in environments that support health, and to recover more quickly or get the support that they need over and above what would be possible through NHS funding alone. With the help of many generous supporters, we provide funds so that your local hospitals can offer the very best care day after day, year after year.

For further information about Addenbrooke's Charitable Trust's work visit www.act4addenbrookes.org.uk or follow us on Twitter @ACTcharity.



About NIHR Cambridge Biomedical Research Centre



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Mumbai, Feb 22 : The Bombay High Court has granted bail to P. Varavara Rao, one of the prime accused in Koregaon-Bhima case, on medical grounds for six months, here on Monday.

The bail order was passed by a division bench comprising Justice S.S. Shinde and Justice Manish Pitale in two separate matter pertaining to the 82-year-old ailing activist.

Rao, a revolutionary author and Left ideologue, was first arrested by Pune police on August 28, 2018 in connection with the case involving a conspiracy to assassinate Prime Minister Narendra Modi, which he and his family have denied.

Imposing conditions, the court directed that Rao must remain within the jurisdiction of the Special NIA Court, appear before the court whenever required though he could apply to seek exemption from physical appearance and advised him not to indulge in any kind of activities of which he was earlier accused in the police case.

When the Additional Solicitor-General Anil Singh sought a three-weeks stay on the order, the court rejected the plea given Rao's advanced age and his medical conditions.

The orders came on Rao's plea seeking bail and an application by his wife P. Hemlatha demanding the high court's intervention alleging violation of his fundamental right to health.

Observing that it is a "genuine and fit case to grant relief", the judges said given the health condition of the under-trial, "it would be inappropriate" to send him back to jail.

Presently, Rao is undergoing treatment at the Nanavati Hospital, Vile Parle (Mumbai) after the state government informed the court that it was ready to shift him to a private hospital as a special case.

The court also urged the lawyers to adopt a humanitarian approach while making their submissions in the case, given Rao's deteriorating health and advanced age.

In October 2020, P. Hemlatha had moved the Supreme Court which denied her relief but directed her to approach the Bombay High Court, and also requested the high court to consider his medical bail plea on priority.

At the previous hearings, Rao's lawyers Anand Grover and Indira Jaising argued that his medical conditions could turn critical if he was again sent back to Taloja Central Jail and would be violative of his fundamental right to health.

Grover said the Taloja jail hospital was ill-equipped to handle Rao's critical health condition while Jaising said his detention was "cruel, inhuman and degrading".

Representing the NIA, ASG Singh opposed the bail on grounds that the jail authorities are capable of extending all medical facilities as provided by the Nanavati Hospital, and the seriousness of the offences of national security under which Rao is charged must be taken into account while considering his bail plea.

Hailing from Telangana's Warangal district, Rao is a litterateur (author and poet), critic, orator, a former teacher, professor, college principal, who worked with the Union Ministry of Information & Broadcasting for some time and was jailed during the Emergency.

He also worked as an emissary for the Telugu Desam-led Andhra Pradesh regime in 2001 to negotiate peace between the government and a couple of banned Maoist outfits.

Rao was arrested from his Hyderabad home in August 2018 for the Elgar Parishad of December 31, 2017 and the subsequent caste riots in Koregaon-Bhima on January 1, 2018.

During his stay as an undertrial in Taloja Central Jail, he has been hospitalized several times, including once after testing positive for Covid-19.

-- Except for the title, this story has not been edited by Prokerala team and is auto-generated from a syndicated feed
[February 22, 2021] Panaya appoints Dana Averbouch as Chief Marketing Officer

HACKENSACK, N.J., Feb. 22, 2021 /PRNewswire/ -- Panaya, the leader in SaaS-based Change Intelligence for SAP, Oracle, and Salesforce today announced the appointment of Dana Averbouch as Chief Marketing Officer (CMO). She will join the company's Executive Leadership team and report to CEO David Binny. Ms. Averbouch will lead all aspects of Panaya's global marketing strategy and execution, including brand and performance marketing, community engagement, product marketing, advertising and customer lifecycle management. She will also work closely with technology and business teams to ensure that innovation within product roadmaps meets customer needs. "Panaya is known for its innovation, central to our DNA here at Panaya and Averbouch's appointment demonstrates our commitment to industry leadership," said David Binny, CEO. "As we rapidly scale, Averbouch's rich and innovative understanding of the marketing lndscape will enable Panaya to accelerate our momentum as organization increasingly look to us as their partner to deliver and accelerate change intelligence processes."



Ms. Averbouch also commented: "Today, more than ever, businesses are looking to accelerate delivery of application and business changes. No company does it better than Panaya and there is no better next step than to join in that endeavor. I'm thrilled to have the opportunity to work with this remarkable team as we accelerate the company's growth." Prior to joining Panaya, Averbouch delivered award marketing campaigns across the globe, most recently serving as Head of EMEA Marketing for Israel's largest company, NICE LTD. Averbouch is a seasoned marketing veteran with nearly 20 years of experience.

About Panaya Panaya enables organizations to accelerate application change and continuously deliver innovation with its Change Intelligence Platform. Panaya provides cloud-based application delivery and testing solutions that ensure collaboration between Business and IT. Enabling enterprise agility with faster release velocity and uncompromising quality, Panaya delivers an optimized user experience with end-to-end visibility of the application lifecycle. Since 2008, 3,000 companies in 62 countries, including a third of the Fortune 500, have been using Panaya to deliver quick quality change to enterprise ERP & CRM applications. View original content:http://www.prnewswire.com/news-releases/panaya-appoints-dana-averbouch-as-chief-marketing-officer-301232342.html SOURCE Panaya

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The Nagol is Back! VTOs guide to this years Nagol, plus where to stay and play in south, central and north Pentecost.
New Delhi:

A ten year old boy studying in a private school in Ghaziabad, died under mysterious circumstances after he allegedly slipped and fell on a corridor on the second floor of the school building on Tuesday. The boy, Armaan Sehgal, was a Class IV student at G D Goenka Public School in Indirapuram.

Armaan was rushed to Shanti Gopal Hospital in Ahimsa Khand 2 by school staff where doctors declared him dead on arrival. Doctors at the hospital, however, could not ascertain the cause of death. Later, the postmortem report carried out suggested that he died due to head injuries.

The boys family have accused the school authorities of being negligent as the boys clothes were wet and there was a possibility that the floor was slippery due to uncleared water.

According to the school management, Armaan collapsed while he was walking on a corridor on the second floor of the school building around 8am. "Armaan had to appear in a unit test on Tuesday. He went outside the classroom in which the examination was being conducted to fetch a pencil box which he had forgotten. While returning to the classroom, he fell down on the corridor and collapsed. A female teacher informed us about the incident. A male teacher immediately picked up the kid and we rushed him to Shanti Gopal Hospital," school principal, Dr Kavita Sharma, told TOI.

The boys family said that they were informed of the incident only after the boy was rushed to Shanti Gopal Hospital. They also told mediapersons that the school was trying to hide facts and is not giving a clear picture of the incident.

The police were informed about the incident through a memo from the hospital. An FIR was registered at Indirapuram police station against the school principal and manager on Tuesday evening under sections 304 (culpable homicide not amounting to murder) and 201 (causing disappearance of evidence) of IPC. "As per the autopsy report, the kid died as a result of head injury. He was late for an examination and was rushing towards the hall when he slipped and fell face down on the floor. However, there was definitely some negligence on the part of the school management," said Indirapuram SHO Sunil Kumar Dubey.

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HOMEL, Belarus -- A court in the southeastern Belarusian city of Homel has sentenced a 16-year-old youngster with a medical condition to five years in prison for participating in protests demanding the resignation of the authoritarian ruler Alyaksandr Lukashenka.

Judge Dzmitry Deboy of the Chyhunachny district court on February 22 sentenced Mikita Zalatarou, along with two other defendants -- 25-year-old Dzmitry Karneyeu and 28-year-old Leanid Kavalyou -- after finding them guilty of taking part in "mass civil disobedience."

Karneyeu and Kavalyou were sentenced to eight years and six years, respectively.

After the judge pronounced the sentences, Zalatarou, who has epilepsy, began throwing himself against the bars in the courtroom cage he and the other defendants were placed in, shouting "Let me out of here!"

His father said earlier that police had severely beaten his son right after his arrest in August 2020, and again while in pretrial detention.

Crisis In Belarus Read our coverage as Belarusians continue to demand the resignation of Alyaksandr Lukashenka amid a brutal crackdown on protesters. The West refuses to recognize him as the country's legitimate leader after an August 9 election considered fraudulent.

During the trial, the teenager also said that he had been beaten while in custody and deprived of the pills he needed to use on a daily basis to treat his medical condition.

"A prison guard told me when I asked for my medicine that 'you are political and therefore you will turn away,'" the boy said at the trial.

The three were arrested in the wake of nationwide protests that started after Lukashenka, who has run the country since 1994, was declared the victor of an August 9 presidential election.

The country's political opposition and many people in the country have said the poll was rigged.

Security officials have cracked down hard on the demonstrators, arresting thousands, including dozens of journalists who covered the rallies, and pushing most of the top opposition figures out of the country.

Several protesters have been killed in the violence, some were handed prison terms, and some rights organizations say there is credible evidence of torture being used by security officials against some of those detained.

Lukashenka has denied any wrongdoing with regard to the election and refuses to negotiate with the opposition on stepping down and holding a new vote.

The European Union, United States, Canada, and other countries have refused to recognize Lukashenka, 66, as the legitimate leader of Belarus and have slapped him and senior Belarusian officials with sanctions in response to the falsification of the vote and postelection crackdown.
A Delhi court has dismissed an anticipatory bail plea of Avinash Chander Mahajan, former independent director of Religare Finvest Ltd, in a case of alleged misappropriation of funds worth Rs 2,397 crores.

Additional Sessions Judge Sandeep Yadav said a futile attempt was made by Mahajan to distance himself from the alleged loans extended to 14 entities who were related to or controlled by or associated with promoters.

The court said Mahajan did not express any concern or opposed the alleged loan proposal which clearly established conspiracy with the promoters/other accused persons for alleged diversion of funds.

"Thus, the applicant not only approved loan but also ratified the same. Thus, a futile attempt was made by applicant to distance himself from the loans extended to 14 entities who were related to or controlled by or associated with promoters," it said in its order passed on February 20.

It further said Mahajan cannot run away from criminal liability and by his act, he has allegedly caused wrongful loss to RFL company and wrongful gain to the promoters.

"Applicant (Mahajan) miserably failed to discharge his duty and did not exercise due diligence amounting to criminality with respect to grant of loan by RFL to shell and only believed in the assurance of management and promoters for the approval of loans in respect of loan proposals.

"Investigation revealed that this omission on the part of applicants to diversion of funds for the benefit of promoters and their and thus caused loss to shareholders fund. Applicant even did not express any concern or opposed the alleged loan proposal which clearly establishes conspiracy with promoters/other accused persons for diversion of funds," it said.

The court added as per police reply, his custodial interrogation was required to unearth the conspiracy and role of conspirators.

"Police reply further records that being senior professional, applicant (Mahajan) deliberately turned blind eye in respect of the amount related party of promoters and thus caused wrongful loss to the company," it noted.

Police said that it was found during investigation that Mahajan was an independent director of Religare Enterprise Ltd (REL) and RFL at different times and was a member of Risk Management Committee (RMC) for disbursal of loans of Corporate Loan Book.

He was also a member of Related Party Transaction (RPT) and allegedly recommended/sanctioned loans to 14 entities out of 19 disputed loans which were eventually diverted/misappropriated in the capacity of member of RMC as well as RPT sub committee, police claimed.

Senior advocate Meenakshi Arora, appearing for Mahajan, said notice to join investigation was received by him from the investigating officer in July last year and he had responded to all queries raised in August 2020.

She further claimed the investigating officer did not consider it necessary to arrest him during the investigation spreading over a period of one-and-half years and neither in the FIR nor in the status report/reply filed by the police, it was stated that any financial benefit accrued to Mahajan.

Additional Public Prosecutor L D Singh, appearing for the police, opposed the bail plea saying the main role of Mahajan was to protect the interest of shareholders and to observe wrongdoing by the management of the company which he allegedly failed to do.

Advocate Sandeep Dass, appearing for RFL, submitted that as referred to various e-mails which are part of the charge sheet and in one of those emails another independent director had opposed giving loans and Mahajan allegedly approved the loan as part of RPT.

Malvinder, Shivinder, former CMD of Religare Enterprises Ltd (REL) Sunil Godhwani, Kavi Arora and Anil Saxena were arrested in the case by the Economic Offences Wing (EOW) of Delhi Police in 2019, for allegedly diverting RFL's money and investing in other

The EOW registered an FIR in March 2019, after it received a complaint from RFL's Manpreet Suri against Malvinder, Shivinder and others, alleging that loans were taken by them while managing the firm but the money was invested in other companies. ED lodged a money laundering case based on this.

(Only the headline and picture of this report may have been reworked by the Business Standard staff; the rest of the content is auto-generated from a syndicated feed.)
Vote Percentage of Parties in Puducherry2021: How did the parties fare

Puducherry Floor Test: CM V Narayanasamy loses trust vote in Assembly

India

oi-Ajay Joseph Raj P

New Delhi, Feb 22: Puducherry Chief Minister V Narayanasamy, who sought a confidence vote for his government, lost the trust vote on Monday. Earlier, the territorial Assembly met for a special session for a floor test of his five-year old government that has been reduced to a minority following resignations by ruling dispensation members.

Puducherry Congress-led govt falls | CM loses trust vote | Oneindia News

Moving the motion, the chief minister told the Assembly that his government had the majority. Apparently referring to former Lt Governor Kiran Bedi constantly being at loggerheads with him on administrative matters, he said that he had however, delivered for the union territory, including effectively handling the COVID-19 pandemic.

Coronavirus cases: India records over 14,000 new COVID-19 cases, 83 deaths in last 24 hours

He lashed out at Bedi, saying she had "conspired" against the government on matters including revenue generation. "Those rejected by people cospired to topple our government but we stayed firm due to our resilience," he said.

"We formed the government with the support of DMK and independent MLAs. After that, we faced various elections. We have won all the by-elections. It is clear that people of Puducherry trust us," CM Narayanasamy said.

According to reports, Chief Minister V Narayanasamy-led government now has 12 MLAs and the opposition's strength stood at 14 in the 33-member House.

Construction of new parliament building not necessary now: NCP leader Supriya Sule

Puducherry assembly now has seven vacancies, resulting in an effective strength of 26. The simple majority figure is 14 after Sunday's resignations.

Four Congress MLAs, including former ministers A Namassivayam and Malladi Krishna Rao, quit earlier, while another party legislator was disqualified for anti-party activities last year. The opposition had submitted a petition seeking a floor test to the lieutenant governor (L-G)'s office on February 18.

In the 33-member assembly, 30 are elected seats and three are nominated members belonging to the BJP. Presently, Congress has nine MLAs. These include assembly speaker SP Sivakolundhi, who is not allowed to vote unless there is a tie.
(Newser)  Five years after Barack Obama nominated him to the Supreme Court, Judge Merrick Garland is finally getting a Senate confirmation hearingfor a different role. Garland, nominated to be President Biden's attorney general, told the Senate Judiciary Committee Monday that his first priority would be the investigation of the Capitol riot, the Washington Post reports. In his opening statement, Garland vowed to fight both inequality and domestic terrorism. He said confirmation would be the "culmination of a career I have dedicated to ensuring that the laws of our country are fairly and faithfully enforced, and the rights of all Americans are protected." Read the statement in full via CNN. More:

A "heinous attack." Garland called the Jan. 6 assault on the Capitol "a heinous attack that sought to disrupt a cornerstone of our democracy: the peaceful transfer of power to a newly elected government."

Garland called the Jan. 6 assault on the Capitol "a heinous attack that sought to disrupt a cornerstone of our democracy: the peaceful transfer of power to a newly elected government." Oklahoma City experience. Before he became a federal judge in 1997, Garland was best known for his role in the investigation and prosecution of Oklahoma City bomber Timothy McVeigh, the Post notes. He told senators Monday that his experience would help him guide the investigation of the Capitol riot and other domestic terrorism.

story continues below

Grassley welcomes Garland . As chairman of the Judiciary Committee in 2016, GOP Sen. Charles Grassley refused to schedule a confirmation for Garland, but he gave him a warm welcome on Monday, the New York Times reports. "No one doubts that Judge Garland is qualified for the job," said Grassley, who is now the committee's ranking Republican. "I like you, I respect you, and I think you are a good pick for this job," Grassley told Garland.

. As chairman of the Judiciary Committee in 2016, GOP Sen. Charles Grassley refused to schedule a confirmation for Garland, but he gave him a warm welcome on Monday, the New York Times reports. "No one doubts that Judge Garland is qualified for the job," said Grassley, who is now the committee's ranking Republican. "I like you, I respect you, and I think you are a good pick for this job," Grassley told Garland. GOP hopefuls to quiz Garland . Politico reports that the Judiciary Committee members questioning Garland include four Republicans seen as potential White House contenders in 2024: Sens. Josh Hawley, Ben Sasse, Tom Cotton, and Ted Cruz, who is not self-quarantining after his trip to Mexico. Before the hearing, they said they would bring up issues including the Justice Department's investigation of Hunter Biden and New York Gov. Andrew Cuomo's handling of the pandemic.

. Politico reports that the Judiciary Committee members questioning Garland include four Republicans seen as potential White House contenders in 2024: Sens. Josh Hawley, Ben Sasse, Tom Cotton, and Ted Cruz, who is not self-quarantining after his trip to Mexico. Before the hearing, they said they would bring up issues including the Justice Department's investigation of Hunter Biden and New York Gov. Andrew Cuomo's handling of the pandemic. "I am not the president's lawyer." Garland said he would not allow politics to influence investigations and prosecutions, the Hill reports. "I can assure you that I do not regard myself as anything other than the lawyer for the people of the United States," he said. "I am not the president's lawyer." He said he had not discussed the Hunter Biden case with the presidentand he would never have taken the job if he thought there was any chance of Biden interfering with the Justice Department.

Garland said he would not allow politics to influence investigations and prosecutions, the Hill reports. "I can assure you that I do not regard myself as anything other than the lawyer for the people of the United States," he said. "I am not the president's lawyer." He said he had not discussed the Hunter Biden case with the presidentand he would never have taken the job if he thought there was any chance of Biden interfering with the Justice Department. Bipartisan support . The AP notes that Garland, who was known for building consensus during more than 20 years on the United States Court of Appeal for the DC Circuit, has strong bipartisan support and is expected to pass the confirmation process easily. More than 150 former Justice Department officials have written letters of support.

. The AP notes that Garland, who was known for building consensus during more than 20 years on the United States Court of Appeal for the DC Circuit, has strong bipartisan support and is expected to pass the confirmation process easily. More than 150 former Justice Department officials have written letters of support. Closing the door on the Trump era. Garland outlined ways he planned to move the department on from the Trump era, including working with Democrats on an investigation of the "shameful" family separation policy, the Hill reports. He also promised that the department's voting rights section would be more active and said he supported sentencing reforms that would allow authorities to focus on violent crimes and "not have such an overemphasis on marijuana possession."

(Read more Merrick Garland stories.)
Washington  Rep. Claudia Tenney, the last member of Congress to be seated after the 2020 election, is paying a price for her late arrival in the House.

Tenney, R-New Hartford, failed in her bid for a seat on the influential House Appropriations Committee, which controls billions of dollars in federal spending each year.

Instead, House Republican leaders assigned Tenney to open seats on two committees with lower profiles  the Foreign Affairs Committee and Small Business Committee.

Tenney said she will use her posts on those committees to advocate for businesses in Upstate New Yorks 22nd Congressional District, protect American workers and counter Chinas trade policies toward the United States.

Tenney said she will also work on the Foreign Affairs Committee to represent the interests of the districts diverse refugee population from countries that include Bosnia, Myanmar (Burma) and Vietnam.

Many of the refugees in my district fled violence or persecution, Tenney said in a statement. I am proud to represent these communities and will stand with them on the committee to advocate for democracy and respect for human rights around the world.

Tenney was sworn into office Feb. 11 after a legal battle against former Rep. Anthony Brindisi, D-Utica, that lasted three months after the Nov. 3 election.

The 22nd District seat was left vacant when House members took office on Jan. 3, pending the outcome of the court battle. The other House members received their committee assignments in the weeks that the eight-county district had no representation in Congress.

A state Supreme Court judge ordered county election boards in the 22nd District to certify the election on Feb. 5, with the final results showing Tenney had won by 109 votes.

Brindisi conceded the following week and dropped his appeal for a full hand re-count of all 326,568 ballots cast in the election.

During his one term in office, Brindisi served on the House Armed Services Committee, Veterans Affairs Committee and Agriculture Committee.

The 22nd District spans all of Madison, Oneida, Cortland and Chenango counties and portions of Oswego, Broome, Herkimer, and Tioga counties.

MORE ON THE NY-22 ELECTION

Oneida County elections commissioners resign after NY-22 mistakes

Rep. Claudia Tenney sworn into office to represent NY-22 in Congress

The race for NY-22 is over, but it made history for all the wrong reasons

Brindisi: New York should investigate massive disenfranchisement of voters

Got a tip, comment or story idea? Contact Mark Weiner anytime by: Email | Twitter | Facebook | 571-970-3751



We know exactly when the Viking Age began in England  it was more than 1,200 years ago  on June 8, 793. That was the day when invading Nor...
A further four deaths linked to coronavirus have been confirmed in Northern Ireland.

Four new deaths linked to coronavirus have been reported in Northern Ireland in the last 24 hours, the Department of Health has said.

This brings the total deaths in Northern Ireland to 2,036 as of 10am on Monday.

A further 187 positive cases of the virus have been reported, meaning there have been 111,166 positive cases confirmed in Northern Ireland since the start of the pandemic.

This includes 2,079 positive cases in the last seven days which shows a decrease of 24 compared to the previous week.

In Northern Ireland hospitals there are now 339 Covid-19 patients, including 140 patients in intensive care.

A total of 83 patients are on ventilators, including 41 with Covid-19.

Hospital occupancy is currently at 94% and there 44 active outbreaks of the virus in Northern Ireland care homes.

Read More

Meanwhile, the SSE Arena in Belfast is to be used as a vaccination centre for Northern Ireland's adult population.

It will open in April as a facility for those 60 and under, not already vaccinated through the health trust or GP programmes.

Health Minister Robin Swann hailed it as a "significant" step forward in the rollout of the vaccination programme across Northern Ireland.

"This will see everyone aged 60 and under being offered the vaccine - a monumental next step in a population-wide vaccination programme."

In addition to the SSE Arena, trusts will continue to operate large vaccination centres across Northern Ireland, with GPs running local vaccination clinics.
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Reportedly, the latest version of the YouTube for Android app now supports 4K HDR playback even on lower resolution Android smartphone displays.

Smartphone displays are now pushing towards 2K and 4K resolutions. But that is limited to flagship devices. Mid-range devices are stuck with 720p or 1080p at max.

These lower-end display devices do not have the functionality of streaming YouTube videos in the highest possible resolution. Well, that is because of certain limitations of the device which include a slow connection, a low-res display, DRM, paywalled subscriptions, etc.

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Even for Android devices that come with a 2K or 4K display, Google used to limit YouTube video streaming to 1440p on Android, although the videos were uploaded in 4K or more.

Thankfully, Google has addressed this issue, and you can now watch 2160p (4K) HDR videos on YouTube, even on 720p displays. 4K videos on 720p displays wont bring you much benefit, though, as hardware limitations are in place. Its even possible that Google made a mistake by allowing something like this.

FYI, this feature of watching the highest resolution on mobiles is already available for iOS users. With the latest update for YouTube, Android users will also join their iOS counterparts.

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A server-side update for the YouTube Android app version 15.06.35 brings the new feature

As per reports, a server-side update is rolling out for all Android users. Specifically, this high-res streaming feature was spotted with YouTube app version 15.06.35. However, the latest reports confirm that the app version also does not matter now.

Personally, I have checked whether this feature is live on lower-res displays, and found the feature to be working pretty fine. Even HDR content was playing pretty smoothly.

With the latest build installed, if the video that a user wishes to watch is uploaded in 4K HDR, then both options will show up in the quality section.

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Again, as already mentioned, this feature is available for any display. But it wont be much of use on lower-res displays, and you would simply waste your bandwidth.

The features first went live a few days ago on February 15, and now it seems like the new feature is available for everyone. Regardless of account, country, or app version, it is live across the globe.

If your YouTube app is not showing your high-res streaming options, then you can head over to Google Play Store to download the latest version of the YouTube for Android app on your phone.
(CNN) -- New data shows that the first dose of the Pfizer/BioNTech COVID-19 vaccine "provides high levels of protection against infection and symptomatic disease," Public Health England (PHE) said in a press release on Monday.

PHE's Siren Study, which was carried out on healthcare workers aged under the age of 65, found that one dose of the vaccine reduced the risk of infection by 72% after three weeks, while two vaccine doses reduced the risk of infection by 85%. This high level of protection extended to the B.1.1.7 coronavirus variant first identified in the UK in December.

Health workers were tested for COVID-19 infection every two weeks using PCR tests and twice a week with lateral flow tests, Dr. Susan Hopkins, strategic response director at PHE, explained, meaning "there was a lot of asymptomatic testing," she said.

"Overall we are seeing a really strong effect to reducing any infection: asymptomatic and symptomatic," Hopkins said during a press conference held by the UK's Science Media Centre on Monday.

PHE also analyzed routine testing data based on symptomatic disease in over 12,000 people, which showed that one dose of the Pfizer/BioNTech vaccine was 57% effective against symptomatic COVID-19 disease in those aged over 80 four weeks after the first dose. This increased to 88% one week after the second dose.

Early data has also shown that vaccinated people who are subsequently infected are far less likely to die of, or be hospitalized with, the virus. People over the age of 80 who were infected post vaccination were 41% less likely to be hospitalized with the virus and 57% less likely to die of it.

PHE predicted that protection against severe disease was likely to be over 75% in those who have received one dose of the Pfizer-BioNTech vaccine.

"The good sign is overall we are beginning to see a decline in hospitalizations and deaths in those vaccinated age groups [and] at least some is attributable to the vaccination program," Dr. Mary Ramsay, head of immunization at PHE, said during the press conference.

She said that while the UK's current lockdown had played a part in the decline in hospitalizations, "the faster speed in decline can be attributed in some aspects to the vaccination program."

In the PHE release, Ramsay cautioned that despite the encouraging signs "we don't yet know how much these vaccines will reduce the risk of you passing COVID-19 on to others," adding that vaccinated people should continue to follow stay-at-home orders.

The UK has placed its focus on vaccinating as many high-risk people as possible with the first dose.

UK Health Secretary Matt Hancock said it was "extremely encouraging" that data supported the UK government's "decision to maximize the number of people vaccinated with a single dose."

This story was first published on CNN.com, "UK study finds one dose of Pfizer/BioNTech vaccine reduces risk of infection by 72%"
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The Georgian leadership is not going to enter into negotiations with the opposition on early parliamentary elections, candidate for prime minister Irakli Garibashvili said addressing the deputies.

"We refuse any negotiations on early elections. This issue is closed and is not being considered," Sputnik-Georgia quotes the politician as saying.

He added that, in general, the authorities are ready to negotiate with any representatives of the opposition, except for the United National Movement, which is backed by ex-President Mikhail Saakashvili.
Xiaomi has confirmed that it will pair the Redmi K40 series with a 4,520 mAh battery, a downgrade from last year's Redmi K30 Pro. The company has teased more details about its upcoming 'double flagship' smartphones too, including a special Damascus steel-inspired design.

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Xiaomi has already revealed countless details about the Redmi K40 series, as we have reported. However, the company has since revealed more details about its upcoming flagship smartphones, including their battery capacities. According to a Weibo post, the Redmi K40 series will have 4,520 mAh batteries, which is smaller than the capacities of the Mi 11 and Redmi K30 Pro. Conversely, the Redmi K40 series will have a 20 mAh larger battery than the Redmi K30, or a 0.04% larger one in percentage terms.

Xiaomi has teased that the Redmi K40 series will feature a textured back panel, too. Apparently inspired by Damascus steel, we imagine that Xiaomi will reserve this design for the Redmi K40 Pro. The Pro model should receive a Snapdragon 888 SoC too, along with a Samsung E4 display, an OLED panel that will be capable of running at up to 120 Hz.

Additionally, the company has hinted that the Redmi K40 series will have an impressive macro lens. Apparently, this camera will have a 100 mm-equivalent f/2.8 aperture, as the teaser below shows. There are no details on how many megapixels the macro lens has though, and we cannot find any Xiaomi smartphones with an equivalent camera so far.
FatCamera / Getty Images

A homestead exemption is a legal mandate. It helps protect a home from seizure by creditors following a declaration of bankruptcy or the death of a spouse with ownership interest. In many states, the law also protects homeowners from higher property taxes. The amount of the homestead exemption, however, can vary significantly by state. Understanding how it works can keep you safe from financial disasters and put extra money in your pocket.

What Is the Homestead Tax Exemption?

A homestead is the primary residence of a homeowner. This type of tax exemption shields homeowners from excessive amounts of property tax. This is accomplished via a reduction in the assessed value of a home for property tax purposes.

Beyond the property tax exemption, many states implement a homestead exemption as a form of creditor protection. The homestead exemption makes a primary home a shielded asset so that if homeowners fall on hard times, they dont have to worry about having a place to live.

Related: New Homeowners: Heres What You Need To Know for Your Taxes

Who Qualifies For the Homestead Exemption?

Homestead exemption laws are state-enacted laws, so the specific requirements can vary. However, most states approve these exemptions only for the property owners primary residence. Exemptions usually extend to the spouse or surviving heirs of the property owner as well.

For example, any property owner in California can apply for a homestead exemption on their dwelling, which can include condos and mobile homes in addition to houses. Florida law requires that anyone applying for the exemption be a U.S. citizen or permanent resident and cannot have a concurrent homestead exemption in another state. Illinois allows homeowners to apply for a homestead exemption as long as someone with a legal interest in the property lives there full time. Some states, like Illinois and Florida, have additional homestead exemptions for widows, veterans and individuals with disabilities.

Story continues

A Guide: What Can I Write Off on My Taxes?

How Does Homestead Exemption Work?

In some states, like Florida, homestead exemption lowers property taxes for homeowners. Research your states homestead exemption to find out how much you could save on taxes. Other states, like Massachusetts, have homestead exemption laws to protect homeowners facing bankruptcy and other types of liens so that they dont lose their homes. Each state imposes its own limits and restrictions for the amount of the homestead.

In addition to the variance in state homestead exemption amounts, even the meaning of home can vary by state. For example, in California, structures such as mobile homes, boats and condominiums can be considered primary residences. In other states, only a free-standing home is covered by the homestead exemption.

In most cases, you have to apply for a homestead exemption. If youre not sure where to apply, contact your local property appraiser or tax collector. They can direct you to the proper authorities if the law in your state or municipality specifies a different process.

More for Homeowners: What Does Homeowners Insurance Cover?

How Does Bankruptcy Impact the Homestead Exemption?

If you need to file bankruptcy, your states homestead exemption might save your home from liquidation. State and federal bankruptcy laws allow creditors to reclaim some of the money theyre owed without leaving the debtor completely destitute.

For example, if you live in Massachusetts, the homestead declaration allows you to keep a larger percentage of the proceeds if you have to sell your house as part of a bankruptcy judgment. In some cases, however, you may not have to sell your home. This can happen if the amount of the exemption is greater than the amount of equity you have in your home.

Depending on where you live, you may be able to choose whether you want to use a federal or state homestead exemption when you file for bankruptcy. Some states allow homeowners to choose either the federal or state exemption amount, but others do not. To learn more about which option is available to you, consult a bankruptcy attorney in your state.

More From GOBankingRates

This article has been updated with additional reporting since its original publication.

This article originally appeared on GOBankingRates.com: What Is a Homestead Exemption on Your Taxes?
Minister-designate for Lands and Natural Resources, Samuel Abu Jinapor will take his turn before the Appointments Committee in Parliament on Wednesday, February 24, 2021.



Samuel Abu Jinapor will be in the "hot seat" to be grilled by the members of the Committee before his approval or otherwise.



Abu Jinapor, before his appointment as Lands and Natural Resources Minister-designate, was the Deputy Chief of Staff.



He is noted as one of the hardworking and astute Deputy Chief of Staff Ghana has ever witnessed and during his tenure, executed his duties to the delight of many Ghanaians.



He held the position for four years, from 2016 to 2020, effectively assisting the two-time Chief of Staff, Frema Opare.



It is believed the President appointed Abu Jinapor for the position of Lands and Natural Resources Minister-designate due to his outstanding performance at the Presidency.



Mr Jinapor, should he scale the vetting hurdle, will be walking into a designation that has been fraught with many challenges, ranging from land degradation, deforestation with the biggest being illegal mining and many other practices that define mans very existence on earth.



The magnitude of the task ahead of him is so huge that even some of the worlds wealthiest nations have struggled to deal with them.



There is empirical evidence to show that countries where law enforcement is even top notch, the issue of climate change and proposed policies to deal with same have decided the voting patterns of citizens because of the importance placed on them.



Ghanas environmental issues transcend just policy; they are about enforcement of existing laws and regulations.



It is hoped therefore that his exceptional qualities exhibited at the Presidency will be brought to bear in this new role.



Profile



Samuel Jinapor attended the Kwame Nkrumah University of Science and Technology (KNUST) and graduated with a Bachelor of Science degree in Physics in 2006.



He proceeded to the University of Ghana in 2008 earning a Bachelor of Laws in 2010 and further went to read LLB at Ghana School of Law, Makola, Accra.



He also holds a Master of Laws in Alternative Dispute Resolution from the Faculty of Law, University Of Ghana.



He was called to the Ghana Bar in 2012 as a Solicitor and Barrister of the Supreme Court of Ghana.



Abu Jinapor is a brother to John Jinapor, a former deputy Minister for Energy and Petroleum and a staunch member of the National Democratic Congress (NDC).



He was appointed a Deputy Chief of Staff in the year 2016 by President Nana Addo Dankwa Akufo-Addo.

Source: Ameyaw Adu Gyamfi/Peacefmonline.com/Ghana









Disclaimer : Opinions expressed here are those of the writers and do not reflect those of Peacefmonline.com. Peacefmonline.com accepts no responsibility legal or otherwise for their accuracy of content. Please report any inappropriate content to us, and we will evaluate it as a matter of priority.

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BIDV MetLife representatives received an AmCham CSR Recognition Award 2020

In the social distancing period of the COVID-19 pandemic last year, BIDV MetLife received a number of claims for insurance benefits under the circumstances of limited travel and difficulties in the verification process. However, with responsibility and the spirit of always putting clients interest first, BIDV MetLife overcame such limitations, quickly collected documents, made claim decisions, and paid for the clients families as soon as the paperwork had been completed.

One particular client had an accident and died in May, leaving behind their life partner and two school-aged children. BIDV MetLife had its staff quickly verify the information.

After collating the results, the company decided to pay accidental death benefit as in the contract terms with the aim to promptly help the family stablilise after the unexpected event, and ensure future education for the children.

Another client suddenly died while travelling abroad last year. The customers insurance contract did not specify the beneficiary  luckily, the client purchased life insurance from BIDV MetLife. After receiving the case, BIDV MetLifes Benefit Department helped the clients family complete the estate division agreement so that they could take advantage of the benefits as claimed in the contract.

Over the last six years, BIDV MetLife has paid almost VND36 billion ($1.56 million) in insurance benefits. In 2020 alone, BIDV MetLife successfully resolved 5,790 cases, paying around VND25.2 billion ($1.1 million).

Since its establishment in 2014, the top priority and mission that BIDV MetLife has pursued is to strive to bring the best for customers, and ensure customer service quality in any and all circumstances.

Not only focusing on taking care of and ensuring customer benefits, since entering the Vietnamese market BIDV MetLife has utilised corporate social responsibility (CSR) programmes to contribute to the communitys sustainable development and ensure social security in places where the company operates.

General director of BIDV MetLife Gaurav Sharma shared, The employees, clients, partners, and the community are our top priorities. We pursue the goal of always with you, building a more confident future, and turn this goal into a foundation to build a better and more humane future. Therefore, we always do our best to ensure that customers benefit as well as aiming at sustainable social activities, contributing to creating positive change for Vietnamese people.

BIDV MetLife has coordinated with BIDV branches in various provinces to jointly implement initiatives for the community such as awarding scholarships, gifting bicycles to underprivileged students who had made great efforts to achieve excellent academic, presenting new facilities for schools, and much more.

As a joint venture between MetLife Co., Ltd. (belonging to MetLife, the US leading life insurance corporation with 150 years of operation) and leading Vietnamese lender BIDV, BIDV MetLife participates in various CSR activities in the country with the budget mainly stemming from MetLife Foundation.

Since 2017, the Foundation in collaboration with partners including Trick up, Plan International, Habitat for Humanity, CEP, Room to Read, and the Special Olympics have supported $5 million through 10 initiatives and projects related to comprehensive finance.

Responsible to the utmost, BIDV MetLife has been honoured with a Corporate Excellence Award by Enterprise Asia  the leading non-governmental organisation on the continent in entrepreneurship  for pursuing the mission of providing the best service to customers, even in tough times like the current pandemic.

In addition to that, BIDV MetLife won the American Chamber of Commerce in Vietnam CSR Recognition Award 2020 in Hanoi last December. This was the fourth consecutive time that BIDV MetLife was bestowed the honour.
Rome: The Italian ambassador to Congo was shot dead on Monday (February 22) in an attack which targeted the convoy of the World Food Program (WFP).

The Foreign Ministry in a statement revealed that the Italian ambassador to Congo and an Italian Carabinieri police officer were killed during a visit near Goma in the eastern Republic of Congo.

In a brief statement, the ministry said Luca Attanasio and the officer were killed in Goma. They were travelling in a convoy of the UN stabilization mission in Congo.

The convoy of the officials was attacked near the town of Kanyamahoro at around 10:15 am (0815 GMT) and was allegedly a part of a kidnap attempt, the Virunga National Park stated.

The envoy, Luca Attanasio, "died of his wounds" after a convoy of the UN's World Food Programme (WFP) came under fire near Goma, the source told AFP in Kinshasa.

Two other people also died in the attack revealed Major Guillaume Djike, the army's spokesman in North Kivu province said, without identifying one of the casualties.
Beijing has rejected what it called "slanderous attacks" against China about living conditions for Muslim Uyghurs and other minorities in its western region of Xinjiang.



Chinese Foreign Minister Wang Yi told the United Nations Human Rights Council in Geneva that Uyghurs and other minorities living in Xinjiang enjoy freedom of religion and labor rights.



While other countries are considering possible actions over allegations that China is committing "genocide" against Uyghurs, Wang described Beijing's treatment of ethnic minorities in Xinjiang as a "shining example" of China's human rights progress.



Activists and UN rights experts say at least a million Muslims have been detained at camps in the remote region.



Beijing initially denied the existence of the camps. But faced with substantial evidence, it now claims the camps are there to provide vocational training. It also says the camps are needed to fight Islamic extremism.



Earlier on February 22, British Foreign Secretary Dominic Raab denounced what he described as torture, forced labor, and sterilizations against Uyghurs on an "industrial scale" in Xinjiang.



"The situation in Xinjiang is beyond the pale," Raab said.



Germany's Foreign Minister Heiko Maas said: "Our commitment to the Universal Declaration of Human Rights also leaves no room for the arbitrary detention of ethnic minorities like the Uyghurs in Xinjiang or China's crackdown on civil liberties in Hong Kong."

But Wang told the UN Human Rights Council that Beijing was conducting its counterterrorism measures in accordance with the law. He said Xinjiang was now experiencing "social stability and sound development" after four years without any "terrorist case."



He also said that 24,000 mosques are allowed to operate in Xinjiang.



"These basic facts show that there has never been so-called genocide, forced labor, or religious oppression in Xinjiang," Wang said.



U.S. President Joe Biden's administration In January endorsed a last-minute determination by the Trump administration that China had committed genocide in Xinjiang. Biden has said the United States must be prepared to impose costs on China.



The office of UN rights chief Michelle Bachelet is in the midst of negotiations of terms for a team of observers to access China.



Wang on February 22 invited UN monitors to scrutinize the situation in Xinjiang. But he did not provide a timetable for his invitation.



"The door to Xinjiang is always open," Wang said. "China also welcomes the High Commissioner for Human Rights to visit Xinjiang."

With reporting by Reuters and AFP
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A drink-driving policewoman has admitted to gross misconduct after smashing her car into a home after a lockdown family party where she allegedly had just learned of sex abuse claims against a relative.

PC Tasia Stephens, 24, failed a breathalyser test after crashing her car into a building less than two miles from the lockdown-breaching family event in the early hours of Sunday April 26 last year.

A misconduct hearing was told the South Wales Police officer was off duty on the Saturday evening when she attended the gathering at her aunt's home in Conway Road, Treorchy, South Wales.

South Wales Police officer Tasia Stephens, 24, (pictured) crashed her car into a building after leaving a lockdown-breaching party at her aunt's house in April last year

At the time of the incident, the UK was under strict stay-at-home rules, with people in Wales banned from meeting either indoors or outdoors with people they did not live with.

Case presenter Barney Branston told the hearing in Pencoed, Bridgend, that PC Stephens attended the house party contrary to coronavirus restrictions despite her having an 'expectation to enforce the law and take action against members of the public who break them'.

PC Stephens (pictured) failed a breathalyser after the crash in Treorchy, South Wales

Mr Branston also said PC Stephens 'took the extraordinary decision to drive after she knew she'd been drinking' and gave 'no thought to other road users'.

PC Stephens was said to have started drinking alcohol at the party where members of her family told her of historic sex allegations against a family member.

But despite appearing to be in 'good spirits' when she left at midnight, Mr Branston said PC Stephens nevertheless 'took a very poor decision to reach for her car keys and go for a drive'.

Mr Branston said PC Stephens drove around 500 metres down the road from her aunt's address where her vehicle was recognised by her on-duty police colleagues.

They stopped her for a short conversation but had 'no suspicion she was over the legal limit to drive'.

'She carried on driving for around 1.6 miles before crashing into a building in the early hours,' he said.

Mr Branston said members of the public who heard the sound of the crash in Gelli Road, Pentre, alerted police who found PC Stephens 'extremely upset, saying she wanted to kill herself' and made reference to the crime said to have been committed by a family member.

PC Stephens failed a roadside breath test and was taken to a police station where she was found to have 90 milligrams of alcohol in 100 millilitres of blood, with the legal limit to drive being 35mg of alcohol.

A misconduct hearing heard today that PC Stephens had just learned about sexual abuse claims against a relative before she left the party

On July 10 last year she pleaded guilty to driving under the influence of alcohol at Merthyr Tydfil Magistrates' Court where she was given a conditional discharge for 12 months and banned from driving for 15 months.

Saying PC Stephens had brought or would likely bring discredit to her force, Mr Branston said: 'She has expectation to enforce the law and take action against members of the public who break them.

'She chose to ignore the restrictions and undermined public confidence.'

PC Stephens told the hearing she accepted attending the house party, driving when unfit, and being convicted in court.

She also accepted each of the allegations amounts to discreditable conduct, and that taken together amounts to gross misconduct.

The case continues.
A large crowd of supporters on solidarity visit, Monday, to the embattled former governor of Imo State, Rochas Okorocha, cheered him on, with one of the speakers calling the senator the incoming president of the Federal Republic of Nigeria.

The visit was at Mr Okorochas private residence in Owerri, Imo State.

Mr Okorocha, who represents Imo West District, has been in a lingering political battle with his successor, Hope Uzodinma, since he left office as governor in 2019.

PREMIUM TIMES reported how the police on Sunday arrested Mr Okorocha during a fracas over the government sealing of a hotel, Royal Spring Palm Hotel, Owerri, belonging to his wife.

Some SUVs and other vehicles belonging to Mr Okorochas entourage were vandalised, and are still parked near the Royal Spring Palm Hotel.

The senators police orderly had a bloodied face after he was allegedly attacked with a machete.

The crowd, led by a faction of APC youth leaders loyal to Mr Okorocha, sang solidarity songs, while he stood, alongside other dignitaries, to watch.

The crowd sang for several minutes: On your mandate, we shall stand! On your mandate, we shall stand! On your mandate, we shall stand!

A man, identified as Kenneth Emelu, said to be one of the youth leaders, while addressing the crowd, praised as the father to the fatherless and the man we believe in.

The incoming president of the Federal Republic of Nigeria, he said to the senator.

And the crowd reacted with a thunderous shout.

You have the mandate of God in the year 2023 to be the president. Nobody in Africa or the whole world can stop the mandate of God.

We are here to encourage you, Sir, and to assure you that we are with you. We are with you in prayers  spiritually, physically, and politically, Mr Emelu said.

The youth leader, however, said the senator needed a lot of prayer for his presidential ambition.

All of us here have a duty to pray for His Excellency. The enemies there are too much. We are going to surmount them.

Amen! The crowd responded.

There is an ongoing debate on the propriety of zoning Nigerias presidency to the South-east, where Mr Okorocha hails from, in 2023.

The attack on the senator is because of 2023 election  Okorochas aide

Mr Okorochas personal aide, Ebere Nzewuji, told PREMIUM TIMES, Sunday, the feud between the senator and Mr Uzodinma is all about political vendetta and witch hunt by the latter.

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It is all about political vendetta and witch hunt, which is not far from the 2023 presidential election.

Senator Okorocha is seen as the brightest star to come from this part of the country, and some people outside the region are using his brothers there to embarrass him, he said.

Beyond Mr Nzewujis position, the origin of the feud between the two leaders could be traced to the 2019 governorship election in Imo where Mr Okorocha, then as governor, supported his son-in-law in another party, instead of Mr Uzodinma, who was the candidate of APC  Mr Okorochas party.

Mr Nzewuji called on President Muhammadu Buhari and political leaders in the country to intervene in the feud between Messrs Okorocha and Uzodinma.

Mr Okorocha, during the solidarity visit to him, appealed to his supporters to remain calm.

He said Governor Uzodinma is going in the wrong direction and might not end up well.

What happened (on Sunday) was a display of criminality in government and thuggery in governance.

He (Uzodinma) is creating unnecessary tension, he added.
CHAM, Switzerland, Feb. 22, 2021 /PRNewswire/ -- Landis+Gyr Technology Inc., a subsidiary of Landis+Gyr Group AG (LAND.SW) and Evergy Inc. have signed a 13-year contract that extends the smart grid services agreement for Evergy's Kansas Central and Kansas Central South utility operations and includes the addition of advanced meters to update and expand grid management capabilities.

The agreement aligns existing contracts for Evergy utility operating entities until 2034. Under terms of the agreement, Landis+Gyr will continue to provide hosting of AMI operating software, field maintenance and monitoring of network equipment. Additionally, Evergy will be installing new advanced meters throughout the term of the agreement to update residential and commercial services in select areas of its service territory.

"Smart grid technologies have a growing importance for our grid modernization efforts as we seek to transform our operations to a focus on clean energy. Not only are these initiatives important for increased efficiency, but they are also crucial to maintain a reliable and resilient grid in the future," said Jeff Beasley, Vice President of Customer Operations at Evergy.

Evergy utilities began deploying Landis+Gyr's Gridstream AMI network in 2010 and have since begun a process for updating older meters to meet new data and operational requirements.

"Our long-term relationship with Evergy has always been focused on solving operational challenges with technology and teamwork," said Prasanna Venkatesan, Landis+Gyr's Executive Vice President of the Americas region. "We're excited about the opportunity to work with Evergy on new ways to leverage their AMI technology to improve the customer experience and grid management for the next decade."

Evergy has deployed Gridstream Connect, a comprehensive IoT device platform built on a leading-edge smart grid network that connects intelligent devices, such as meters and sensors, across the utility distribution system. By leveraging hardware, software and application development, Gridstream Connect provides a strong and flexible platform for smart grid and utility IoT applications that support clean, reliable and affordable energy delivery, while helping manage a future-ready grid.

About Evergy, Inc.

Evergy, Inc. serves approximately 1.6 million customers in Kansas and Missouri. We were formed in 2018 when long-term local energy providers KCP&L and Westar Energy merged. We generate nearly half the power we provide to homes and businesses with emission-free sources. We support our local communities where we live and work, and strive to meet the needs of customers through energy savings and innovative solutions.

About Landis+Gyr

Landis+Gyr is a leading global provider of integrated energy management solutions for the utility sector. Offering one of the broadest portfolios, we deliver innovative and flexible solutions to help utilities solve their complex challenges in Smart Metering, Grid Edge Intelligence and Smart Infrastructure. With sales of USD 1.7 billion in FY 2019, Landis+Gyr employs approximately 5,500 people in over 30 countries across five continents, with the sole mission of helping the world manage energy better.

Contact

Landis+Gyr

Dan Jacobson | Regional Contact North America

Senior Marketing Communications Manager

Phone +1 320 307 7486

[email protected]

SOURCE Landis+Gyr

Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky has signed a decree putting into effect the decision of the National Security and Defense Council (NSDC) of Ukraine to impose sanctions on Verkhovna Rada member Viktor Medvedchuk for three years, the presidential press service said on Saturday.

"The decision of the National Security and Defense Council of Ukraine to use and amend special economic and other restrictions (sanctions) of February 19, 2021, as appended, shall enter into effect," the press service said.

NSDC Secretary Oleksiy Danilov has been tasked with monitoring the implementation of the decision, it said.

The decree enters into effect on the day of its publication.

On Friday, the NDSC made a decision to impose sanctions against 19 legal entities and eight individuals, including five Russian citizens and three Ukrainians. Medvedchuk and his wife Oksana Marchenko are among the designated Ukrainian individuals.

Ukrainian citizen Natalia Lavreniuk was also subjected to sanctions.

Konstantin Vatskovsky, Vitaly Donchenko, Sergei Lisogor, Alexander Maslyuk, and Mikhail Popov are the five designated Russians.

According to the NSDC decision, the sanctions against Medvedchuk envisage freezing of assets, restrictions on trade operations, the suspension of the fulfillment of economic and financial obligations, and the annulment of licenses to use subsurface resources. Transit of resources across the territory of Ukraine and the withdrawal of capital from the country are also prohibited.
HSBC is set to withdraw from U.S. retail banking, a source familiar with the matter told Reuters on Monday, as Europe's biggest bank seeks to dispose of a business that has long underperformed. The exit from the U.S. consumer business will form part of the lender's strategy update due on Tuesday, as Chief Executive Noel Quinn seeks to cut costs, boost fee income and continue the lender's shift towards Asia. The sale or closure of its around 150 remaining branches in the United States, after it shuttered 80 last year, would mark the end of HSBC's struggle to turn ...
New Delhi, Feb 22 : A social media war has erupted in poll-bound West Bengal. Supporters of the incumbent Trinamool Congress and the opposition Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) are clashing not just on the streets every day, but in the virtual space as well.

So, when the Trinamool Congress launched its 'Bengal wants its own daughter' hashtag, the BJP supporters went on the counter-offensive. The BJP launched its own campaign hashtag which said 'The people of Bengal want freedom from Mamata' that drew a massive response on social media.

The blueprint for the Trinamool Congress campaign is designed by political strategist Prashant Kishor and on the BJP side, it is done by IT Cell head and BJP's co-incharge for West Bengal Amit Malviya.

On Feb 20, the Trinamool launched a special campaign through some videos and a special Twitter hashtag in Bangla that translates into 'Bengal wants its own daughter'.

The BJP struck back with the song Pishi Jao (Aunt please go). Like the Trinamool Congress, the BJP, too used a Bengali hashtag that translates into 'The people of Bengal want freedom from Mamata'.

In a video, the BJP highlighted the poverty, bad roads, political violence and joblessness in Bengal. Its hashtag drew 237,967 tweets. This number is at least four times the tweets generated by the Trinamool hashtag, claims the BJP.

BJP's co-incharge for West Bengal unit, Amit Malviya, told IANS: "The people of Bengal are upset with the Mamata Banerjee government. They are expressing their anger on social media. The electorate of Bengal is raising the issues of poverty, joblessness, violence and lax health services on social media. So, the BJP's Twitter campaign is getting energised on its own."
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Ukraine had sent requests for international legal assistance, but the responses were either delayed or lacking factual information.

The Iranian side is refusing to disclose to Ukraine the names of those involved in the downing of a Ukrainian passenger jet outside the Tehran Airport on January 8, 2020.

That's according to Deputy Foreign Minister Yevhen Yenin who spoke with Ukraine 24 TV channel.

Ukraine, the diplomat said, had sent requests for international legal assistance, but the responses were either significantly delayed or lacking factual information.

"We insisted that Iran open the veil off those events, at least for a narrow circle of specialists. We also proposed that a joint investigation team be set up. We talked about conducting joint investigative action. But so far the Iranian side has not responded positively to these proposals," he declared.

"Moreover, they're still refusing to give us the names of suspected persons or those in respect of whom an indictment will be soon forwarded to court. They cite military secrets. Of course, neither the closed-door nature of trial, nor the delay in cooperation with Ukrainian law enforcement contribute to stronger confidence in the investigation pursued by Iran," the deputy foreign minister said.

Read alsoUkraine, Canada's top diplomats talk next steps on PS752 downing probePS752 downing in Iran: Background

On January 8, 2020, Kyiv-bound Boeing 737 passenger jet flight PS752, operated by Ukraine International Airlines, crashed in Iran shortly after takeoff from Tehran Airport.

All 176 people on board, including 11 Ukrainian nationals  nine crew and two passengers  were killed. Among victims are also citizens of Iran, Canada, Sweden, Afghanistan, Germany, and the UK.

Iranian President Hassan Rouhani admitted that the Ukrainian liner had been shot down as a result of an unintentional "human error," and promised to bring those responsible to justice.

On June 9, media reports said Iran had accused six persons in the PS752 downing case.

On July 20, the flight recorders were delivered to Paris and decrypted on July 21.

On July 24, it was reported that data from the black boxes had confirmed external interference with the aircraft's operation.

On October 23, Ukrainian Deputy Foreign Minister Yevhen Yenin said Iran would pay compensation to the relatives of victims of the UIA flight PS752 crash, but the process might last up to two years.

On December 9, however, Yenin said that Iran had withdrawn the offer to handle the payments to the families of those killed in the UIA plane crash.

In the middle of December, Canada expressed its position on the Iranian investigation into the downing of the Ukrainian plane, saying it is not credible.

On December 22, the Iranian news agency Tasnim reported that Iranian investigators, during a video conference, had provided representatives of other countries whose citizens were victims of the crash with a technical report on the UIA downing.

On December 23, Yenin said Ukraine had not received the report.

On December 24, Foreign Minister Dmytro Kuleba expressed concern that Iran was delaying the negotiation process on the case of the downed Ukraine International Airlines plane. He noted that Ukraine had not received a technical report from Iran on the plane downed almost a year ago.

On December 30, Iranian cabinet members reportedly agreed at a session to allocate US$150,000 or its equivalent in euros to each family of the victims of the Ukrainian plane crash in January 2020.

On January 7, 2021, Rouhani said all those responsible for the downing of the plane would be brought to justice.

The Canadian government and security agencies are reviewing an audio recording in which a man  identified by sources as Iran's foreign affairs minister  discusses the possibility that the destruction of Flight PS752 was an intentional act.

On Iranian Military Prosecutor's Office has completed a pre-trial investigation into the incident, Iranian media reported February 21.

Reporting by UNIAN
Khloe Kardashian might finally say "I Do" soon.

Amid the ongoing drama surrounding the Kardashian-Jenner clan, Khloe brought some positivity through a new post.

On Sunday, the "Keeping Up With The Kardashians" star posted a photo of herself while kneeling on a patio.

She dons a black bikini top and bottoms from SKIMS and complemented it with khaki boots from her Good American brand's new collection.

While her outfit is truly attention-seeking, the giant diamond ring on her ring finger took most of the spotlight.

Is Khloe Kardashian Engaged?

Fans and colleagues then began bombarding the comment section with questions about whether the KUWTK star is already engaged.

"Selling Sunset" actress Christine Quinn said, "Ok bling bling we see you."

The ring in question is a pear-shaped diamond with two smaller pave diamonds on its side. According to the Director of Communications at JamesAllen.com, Shannon Delany-Ron, the ring seemingly contains nine to 10 carats.

She also estimated the worth of the ring around $500,000 to $750,000.

Though this sparked engagement rumors, it was not the first time Khloe ever wore a similar ring.

In June 2020, she also wore a diamond ring during her 36th birthday. However, during that time, she did not comment on any engagement speculation back then.

Are Khloe, Tristan Back Want Second Child?

The recent rumor came after the couple hinted that they want to have a second child together.

An insider even told People that they want to give True a sibling already.

"Khloe and Tristan still want to give True a sibling. It's a big priority for both of them. They really want it to work out. Khloe is spending most of her time in LA while Tristan is working in Boston," the insider said.

Although Khloe visits Boston, she made it clear that she does not want to live there. She also considers True's well-being since she loves playing with her cousins in Los Angeles.

Khloe and Tristan dated in September 2016. In December 2017, the reality TV star that she was pregnant with their first child.

In April 2018, she gave birth to her first baby.

However, it was not smooth-sailing at all as Tristan caught himself in the middle of controversies. He reportedly cheated on Khloe multiple times, including an infidelity issue with Kardashians' family friend, Jordyn Woods.

See Now: Famous Actors Who Turned Down Iconic Movie Roles
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The Federal High Court in Abuja on Monday set aside the seizure of assets belonging to a businessman, Jimoh Ibrahim, whom the Asset Management Corporation of Nigeria (AMCON) accused of being indebted to the tune of N69.4 billion debt.

The ruling of the judge, Okon Abang, came only some days after his colleague in the Lagos Division of the court, Rilwan Aikawa, rejected Mr Ibrahims request to set aside the seizure order.

AMCON had, on November 4, obtained the interim seizure order from Aikawa of the Lagos Division of the Federal High Court.

The judge, on February 16, declined to vacate the interim order when approached by Mr Ibrahim.

But Mr Abang, in the Abuja division of the court, granted the businessmans request on Monday, agreeing with him that AMCON had obtained the interim order for the seizure of his assets through concealment of material facts.

The judge vacated all consequential orders earlier made by Mr Aikawa on November 4, 2020.

Mr Ibrahim, along with his NICON Investment Ltd and Global Fleet Oil & Gas Ltd, had urged Mr Abang to set aside the order for non-disclosure and misrepresentation of material facts.

They further prayed the court to order AMCON to pay N50 billion indemnity for alleged failure to conduct due diligence before obtaining the said order and for misrepresentation and concealment of fact.

AMCON on November 18, announced that it had taken over 12 assets belonging to the businessman and his firms.

The assets include the NICON Investment Ltd building Plot 242, Muhammadu Buhari Way, Central Business District, Abuja; NICON Hotels Ltd building at Plot 557, Port-Harcourt Crescent, off Gimbiya Street, Abuja and the building hosting NICON Lekki Ltd at No. 5, Customs Street, Lagos.
Credit: Unsplash/CC0 Public Domain

As the United States hit the grim milestone of half a million lives lost to COVID-19, it seems almost impossible to believe that an American company would bar its workers from wearing protective masks.

But it happened as recently as last March, when a major supermarket chain in Florida prohibited its employees from wearing masks, even as the virusaccompanied by a mounting sense of terrorwas spreading around the world.

At the time, 70-year-old Gerardo Gutierrez was working in a Publix grocery store in Miami Beach.

He died in late April, having contracted the coronavirus during the horrendous month of March, when residents of Italystunned by the disease's deadly spreadentered a nationwide lockdown and when the daily death toll in the United States was still in the hundreds, not thousands.

"We were all in a panic," said his daughter Ariane, the oldest of four siblings and the plaintiff in a wrongful-death suit against Publix.

The suit alleges that Gutierrez worked on the deli counter alongside a woman employee who coughed and had other symptoms of the virusand later tested positivebut Publix prohibited mask-wearing by its employees, fearing this would frighten customers.

"The result of it was, you know, my father passed away," his daughter told AFP at her home in Miami Beach.

"He had been going into work every day without any sort of mask or glovesand he was not allowed to have them."

On March 23, Miami Beach became the first city in Florida to order a lockdown and close its beaches.

But Publix waited until the first week of April before allowing its employeeson a voluntary basisto wear protective masks, according to the lawsuit.

That change came too late for Gutierrez, who was already seriously ill.

He was hospitalized on April 10, and 18 days later, his family and friends were saying their goodbyes over Zoom. He died that day.

"He loved to swim. He was active, he was very vital. He could have lived many more years," Ariane Gutierrez said, sharing iPhone photos of her father with visitors.

Two weeks ago, a judge rejected a plea by the supermarket chain to deal with the complaint as a workers' compensation claim, not a lawsuit.

Maria Brous, the Publix spokeswoman, did not respond to an AFP request for comment. The chain has more than 800 stores in Florida and hundreds more across the region.

Similar lawsuits elsewhere have faced a steep challenge, owing partly to the difficulty of proving the disease was contracted at work.

'We're still paying'

The messages coming out at the time about the new disease were confusing.

In early March 2020, Miami Beach was still in the middle of its peak tourist seasona time when students from across the country, on spring break, flood onto the local beaches to celebrate as if there were no tomorrow.

Much was made over how dangerous the uninhibited party scene there was at a time when a lot of the country was beginning to practice social distancing.

"It took a while for people to really just pay attention," said Ariane Gutierrez. "And we're still not over the hump."

That month, businesses were beginning to close, store shelves were being emptied, and there was a dangerous shortage of masks.

But public health officials decided not to recommend their use, to ensure that medical workers received sufficient supplies.

"The messaging at the beginning of the pandemic, doubts about the masks, that was a big strategic mistake," Purnima Madhivanan, a University of Arizona epidemiologist, told AFP. "That kind of mixed messaging really throws people off.

"We're still paying for it. Masks are critical."

Most troubling for health officials and scientists, mask-wearing took on a political tinge as then-president Donald Trump refused for months to wear one and sometimes mocked those who did.

Living with COVID

One lesson from this episode, the Arizona expert said, is that science is only as good as the messenger communicating it.

And that explains Americans' ambivalent attitudes toward mask-wearing.

Thus, a University of Southern California study in January found that while a large majority (80 to 90 percent) of Americans believed that masks provide effective protection against COVID-19, only half used them regularly.

That shows that "knowledge does not necessarily convert into a behavior," Madhivanan said.

People originally believed that warmer temperatures would kill the virus, that shopping bags needed to be disinfected, that race was a factorit turns out the real factor was inequalityand as a result, many people, including Gerardo Gutierrez, paid a heavy price.

Some things have changed (who still disinfects their cans of tomatoes?), but other practicesnotably mask-wearingneed to be "normalized" in the United States as they are in Asian countries, Madhivanan said.

The result: "We are going to have to live with COVID."

"There is never going to be a time when you can say you don't have COVID anymore," the epidemiologist said.

"We just have to learn how to manage it, just like influenza."

Explore further Follow the latest news on the coronavirus (COVID-19) outbreak

 2021 AFP
"Michelle is a phenomenal transactional lawyer with diverse experience across the high-growth technology sector," said Marc Jaffe, Global Chair of Latham's Corporate Department. "Her arrival further strengthens our market-leading capabilities advising clients with intellectual property strategy and commercialization, and the integration of business units and product lines in connection with mergers and acquisitions."

Tad Freese, Office Managing Partner of Latham & Watkins in Silicon Valley, added: "We're thrilled to welcome Michelle to our Bay Area team. She adds depth to our Data & Technology Transactions Practice as our work for clients continues to grow more complex and sophisticated. Michelle stands out for her significant depth of experience in a broad range of IP and technology transactions and data privacy matters."

Ms. Gross also has experience advising clients on technology and data initiatives, the development of privacy and data security policies, negotiating cybersecurity terms in commercial transactions, and advising on privacy and data security issues in connection with product development. She regularly advises on matters related to data rights, SEC cybersecurity disclosure, the General Data Protection Regulation (GDPR), the California Consumer Privacy Act (CCPA), the Children's Online Privacy Protection Act (COPPA), NYDFS Cybersecurity Regulation and CAN-SPAM, among other privacy and data security regulations.

"In a highly competitive and dynamic marketplace, our clients must develop, protect, share, and exploit their data, technology, and intellectual property. Michelle will offer valuable insights and skill to our clients and add tremendously to our team," said Gail Crawford, Global Chair of the firm's Data & Technology Transactions Practice.

Added Ben Potter, Global Chair of Latham & Watkins' Technology Industry Group and Global Vice Chair of the Emerging Companies Practice: "Michelle understands the complexity and opportunity inherent in technology deals, which fits well with Latham's approach of helping clients navigate every eventuality as they move through all stages of growth and across myriad issues and geographies. We have an incredibly deep tech practice and Michelle's arrival further reinforces our growth strategy in the Bay Area and reinforces our position as having one of the strongest technology teams in the U.S. and globally."

Ontiveros Gross said: "I was attracted to Latham's exceptional capability with depth and quality in every major technology hub in the world, and the firm's culture of teamwork and collaboration. Few firms can match Latham's broad and substantive technology expertise and client roster, and I look forward to joining this dynamic team where I see great potential for the long-term growth of my practice."

Ms. Gross joins from Mayer Brown LLP in the Bay Area. She received her JD from Columbia Law School in 2004 and a BS in Symbolic Systems from Stanford University in 2001.

About Latham & Watkins (lw.com)

Latham & Watkins delivers innovative solutions to complex legal and business challenges around the world. From a global platform, our lawyers advise clients on market-shaping transactions, high-stakes litigation and trials, and sophisticated regulatory matters. Latham is one of the world's largest providers of pro bono services, steadfastly supports initiatives designed to advance diversity within the firm and the legal profession, and is committed to exploring and promoting environmental sustainability.

Notes to Editors

1 Latham & Watkins operates worldwide as a limited liability partnership organized under the laws of the State of Delaware (USA) with affiliated limited liability partnerships conducting the practice in France, Hong Kong, Italy, Singapore, and the United Kingdom and as an affiliated partnership conducting the practice in Japan. Latham & Watkins operates in South Korea as a Foreign Legal Consultant Office. Latham & Watkins works in cooperation with the Law Office of Salman M. Al-Sudairi in the Kingdom of Saudi Arabia.

Contacts



Marc Jaffe, Global Corporate Department Chair, +1.212.906.1281

Tad Freese, Silicon Valley Office Managing Partner, +1.650.463.3060

Gail Crawford, Data & Technology Transactions Practice Global Chair, +44.20.7710.3001

Ben Potter, Technology Industry Group Global Chair and Emerging Companies Practice Global Vice Chair, +1.650.470.4809

Media Contact: Frank Pizzurro, (213) 891-7276

SOURCE Latham & Watkins

Related Links

http://www.lw.com


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Source: Xinhua| 2021-02-22 19:13:13|Editor: huaxia

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BAKU, Feb. 22 (Xinhua) -- No severe side effects have been registered throughout ongoing mass vaccination against COVID-19 in Azerbaijan, local medical experts has said, endorsing the safety of the China-developed CoronaVac vaccine.

"Since the inoculation program was launched in Azerbaijan (on Jan. 18), all health workers, including our staff, have been vaccinated," said Asiman Hasanov, executive director of the Baku Health Center, recently.

Hasanov noted that no severe side effects has been reported through the past four weeks among the recipients, and some health care workers have received the second dose.

"We have received enough vaccination requests from different population groups. In our center we have vaccinated members of 23 embassies and 14 international organizations," he told local media.

Senior citizens, health workers, law-enforcement staff and military servicemen are among the first to be vaccinated by what Maisa Heybatova, an infectious disease specialist here at a modular hospital, described as the "absolutely safe" vaccine procured by Azerbaijan.

"Our doctors were also injected with CoronaVac. And we have not yet received any complaint," she said, adding that the jab, which is developed by Chinese pharmaceutical firm Sinovac, has won trust from heath care workers.

Hande Harmanci, representative of the World Health Organization and head of its Azerbaijani branch, took the inoculation last Monday, local APA news agency reported.

Specialists decided that "the best vaccine for Azerbaijan is the vaccine of the Sinovac company" as it has passed clinical tests in many countries, Azerbaijani Health Minister Ogtay Shiraliyev said earlier.

According to the country's operational headquarters for COVID-19 prevention and control, Azerbaijan on Sunday registered 156 new COVID-19 cases, raising its total to 233,129. Enditem

Entrepreneur Says Communism Is Venom After Local Government Supports Cuban Relations

WOODINVILLE, Wash.A Cuban immigrant and entrepreneur described communism as a venom that would kill American society. His comments came after members of the Seattle City Council encouraged the Biden administration to strengthen ties with communist Cuba.

Julio Ortiz, 46, is the owner of the Twisted Cuban Cafe & Bar. He immigrated to the United States when he was 24 to escape the future, or lack thereof, under the restrictive communist regime in Cuba.

It obligated me to leave Cuba, to leave the country. So my culture, my mom, my dad, my family, and all the ideas and expectations and the future that I had planned up [were all left behind]. What future? Theres no future in Cuba. And thats the reason why I left, Ortiz told The Epoch Times.

He has authored an autobiography, Escape From Cuba, to tell his children and the world his story of living under a communist regime.

Ortiz now lives in Woodinville, a famous wine country in Washington just outside Seattle. Hes a self-made business owner, author, and art collector. His restaurant has a vibrant atmosphere with cheerful music and colorful Cuban paintings.

Before he left Cuba, he worked as a registered nurse. He originally was on track to become a doctor, but his dream was dashed when the Cuban communist regime decided they had enough doctors.

They dont care about your rights, they dont care about your freedom of speech, they dont care about absolutely [anything], he said. And thats the reason why I got out. They select who they want, whom they want to [allow] to go to school or not.

With his medical background, Ortiz gave his insight on communism.

I compared [it] to COVID-19, Ortiz said. I prefer to deal with the COVID-19 virus, even though its killing a lot of people, but its killing them fast. The communism kills people slowly; they kill your ideas, they kill your mentality. They kill your rights, they kill you, mentally, physically, energetically, until they could squeeze everything out of you.

The outside of the Twisted Cuban Cafe & Bar in Woodinville, Wash., on Feb. 14, 2021. (Echo Liu/The Epoch Times)

Ortiz shared his perspective on what communism would mean for the United States.

I think promoting Cuban communism in this country, not just Seattle, just in this country in general, it is just a way to kill our society, he said.

Ortizs comments came after two Seattle councilmembers voiced support for Cuban communism.

Councilwoman Teresa Mosqueda recently retweeted a post with a picture of former Cuban dictator Fidel Castro, saying the Seattle city council seeks medical, academic and pharmaceutical assistance from Cuba, and urges the Biden administration to remove Cuba from the state sponsors of terrorism list.

Nine days before President Joe Biden took office, the Trump administration labeled Cuba as a state sponsor of terror for international terrorism and subversion of U.S. justice. This action reversed the Obama-era decision from 2015 to improve relations with the communist nation.

In January this year, Mosqueda joined Seattle city Councilwoman Kshama Sawant, a member of the self-proclaimed Marxist organization Socialist Alternative, and passed a resolution calling for collaboration between the United States and Cuba. They were the earliest voices on the council calling to defund the Seattle Police Department by 50 percent, and they pushed the council to pass large payroll taxes on big businesses.

The resolution urges the new administration to take Cuba off the terrorist list, and it advocates for restoring full diplomatic relations with the country.

Communism destroyed my family, it destroyed all my opportunitiesin education, physically, mentally, psychologically. It destroyed everything, as it still destroys a lot of people in Cuba right now, Ortiz said.

Despite the damage inflicted on his family and life, Ortiz lives by the simple motto Never had a bad day in my life.

The back of a T-shirt with Julio Ortizs motto printed on it, on Feb. 14, 2021. (Echo Liu/The Epoch Times)

Thats also the slogan of his cigar club, a symbol of his new life here in the United States.

He said he hasnt been back to Cuba since publishing his book and knows trouble may await him there. Nonetheless, he wont shy away from the truth.

Its my life, and Id prefer to die instead of hiding it, he said.
Tucker Hill Air, Plumbing & Electric, a commercial and residential plumbing and HVAC service provider, has recently become a BBB Accredited Business, demonstrating the companys deep-seated commitment to serving customers with honesty and integrity.

BBB accreditation requires companies to abide by ethical business practices governing advertising, customer privacy policies, and customer service. This accreditation certifies a business is trustworthy because it has agreed to be held accountable by an independent organization.

Tucker Hill Air, Plumbing & Electric General Manager Ian Williams says, As a growing company, we remain committed to treating all customers with honesty and fairness  no matter how bumpy the road ahead may be.

According to the BBB website, Research shows that the BBB name and torch logo mean more than any other organizations name or symbol to people who are looking for reliable, ethical and trustworthy places to buy goods and services.

This new accreditation, Williams continues, is one aspect of our long-term customer service strategy designed to give our employees, managers, and executives a clear understanding of guidelines and expectations for ethical business practices.

Another benefit of BBB accreditation is its dispute resolution service. Companies that fail to resolve customer complaints can turn to BBB for professional arbitration. The BBB website states that, BBB has been helping resolve disputes for almost 100 years, and is a recognized leader in the design, development and implementation of dispute resolution programs.

Jeremy Prevost, CEO of Tucker Hill Air, Plumbing & Electric, explains, Mistakes and misunderstandings are inevitable for every business. But as a BBB Accredited Business, Tucker Hill Air, Plumbing & Electric will go above and beyond to ensure customers are heard and treated with respect.

Prevost adds, We look forward to developing many new, long-lasting relationships with local homeowners and businesses for years to come.

About BBB: BBB is a nonprofit, business-supported organization that sets and upholds high standards for fair and honest business behavior. Most BBB services to consumers are free of charge. BBB provides objective advice, free BBB Business Profiles on more than 5.3 million companies, 11,000 charity reviews, dispute resolution services, alerts and educational information on topics affecting marketplace trust. Visit bbb.org for more information.

About Tucker Hill Air, Plumbing & Electric: Tucker Hill Air, Plumbing & Electric is the industry leader in the Phoenix market for light commercial and residential HVAC, plumbing and electrical services. The companys licensed, bonded and insured technicians are available 24/7 and are highly trained, experienced and have passed a background check. Tucker Hill Air, Plumbing & Electric specializes in residential and commercial maintenance, repairs and installation of all air conditioning, heating, plumbing and electrical systems. The company is committed to industry leading customer service and provides daily training for both technicians and office staff. Tucker Hill Air, Plumbing & Electric is dedicated to serving seniors with honesty and professionalism.
Russia looks uninterested in cooperation with the EU.

The Council of the European Union has decided at the level of foreign ministers on a three-pronged approach to relations with the Russian Federation.

Vice President of the European Commission, EU High Representative for Foreign Affairs and Security Policy Josep Borrell announced this at a briefing after a meeting of the Council of the European Union at the level of EU foreign ministers.

Read alsoEmployee injured as unknown attacks Ukraine's Consulate General in Russia  journalist

"There is a shared assessment in the Council that Russia is drifting towards an authoritarian state and driving away from Europe," Borrell said.

In particular, according to him, the foreign ministers of the EU member states unanimously interpreted that the latest actions by Russia and responses indicate a clear signal that it is not interested in cooperation with the European Union, but, on the contrary, it [looks] interested in "confrontation and disengagement from the European Union."

In this regard, the foreign ministers on Monday, February 22, decided on a three-pronged approach to relations with Russia.

In particular, the EU will "push back when [Russia] infringes international law and human rights."

The second area of interaction between the EU countries is designed "to contain when [Russia] seeks to increase pressure on [the EU], including through disinformation and cyber attacks," and the third is "to engage when and on issues where we have an interest in doing so," he said.

Previous developments

After his visit to Russia in early February, Borrell said Russia was uninterested in a constructive dialogue with the EU. He said the Russian authorities did not want to use his visit to Russia to establish a constructive dialogue with the EU.

Later, Russian Foreign Minister Sergei Lavrov announced Russia's readiness to sever relations with the EU.

On the day of Borrell's visit to Moscow, the Russian Foreign Ministry declared employees of the diplomatic missions of Sweden, Poland, and Germany as persons non grata because of their participation in rallies in support of opposition leader Alexei Navalny. Poland, Sweden, and Germany responded by expelling three Russian diplomats.

On February 11, Borrell stressed there would be no normalization of relations between the EU and Russia without the fulfillment by the latter of the Minsk peace deal on Donbas.

Reporting by UNIAN
After just one year of life, Spains governing coalition is showing clear signs of fatigue. The Socialist Party (PSOE) is accusing its junior partner Unidas Podemos of behaving simultaneously like the government and the opposition. And the leftist group is charging the Socialists with failing to honor signed agreements on issues like capping the price of rent.

While there is no shared vision, ministers and political leaders from both groups agree on one thing: It cant go on like this.

Last week was especially tough. It began with a clash over equal rights policy involving the PSOE unilaterally registering initiatives for congressional debate on a subject that falls under the purview of the Equality Ministry, run by Unidas Podemos. Meanwhile, the PSOE is upset that its partner reached out to other parties in a bid to prevent its own Ley Zerolo equality project from even being admitted for discussion in the Congress of Deputies.

Several PSOE leaders said it would be frivolous to break with Unidas Podemos and risk constantly losing parliamentary votes

The week ended with a heated argument over statements made by some Unidas Podemos leaders expressing support for the rapper Pablo Hasel, who was recently jailed for social media posts praising terrorism. His arrest triggered several nights of protests and street violence in Catalonia and elsewhere.

But the deeper trouble lies above all in housing, pension reform and other decisions of an economic nature that require decisions on how to spend the 72 billion from the European recovery fund. This includes deciding whether the bulk of the funds should go towards large projects that would benefit big Spanish multinationals, or towards sectors with smaller companies.

Prime Minister Pedro Sanchez of the PSOE and his deputy Pablo Iglesias, the leader of Unidas Podemos, are due to meet in the coming days to try to reduce the tension, which is affecting all ongoing negotiations and interfering with the governments day-to-day operations, as several ministers have admitted.

But it is unclear whether a simple meeting will be enough to take the relationship in a different direction. While the party leaders still have some room for dialogue, it will be very difficult to reconcile the positions of Deputy PM Carmen Calvo and Equality Minister Irene Montero on the question of transgender rights, to name one example.

The situation has reached the point where a group of unaffiliated ministers who were appointed by the PSOE has internally suggested that perhaps the government would work more smoothly if PM Sanchez simply pushed out Unidas Podemos from the executive.

But this remains a minority opinion. Sanchez is reportedly very clear about the fact that this is no time to destabilize the government, which only has 155 seats in the 350-strong lower house of parliament, 21 seats shy of an absolute majority.

The deeper trouble lies above all in housing, pension reform and other decisions of an economic nature that require decisions on how to spend the 72 billion from the European recovery fund

In such a scenario, several PSOE leaders said it would be frivolous to break with Unidas Podemos and risk constantly losing parliamentary votes. As it is, the coalition has already had to seek support from other parties in the Congress of Deputies in order to pass legislation on key issues such as the budget.

Some ministers who are notably at odds with Unidas Podemos, such as Economy Minister Nadia Calvino, Social Security Minister Jose Luis Escriva and Defense Minister Margarita Robles, note that now that the budget has been approved, a PSOE government without Unidas Podemos could have a long political life because the leftist group would not have a lot of leeway to vote against the formers social initiatives.

But other government officials including Transportation Minister Jose Luis Abalos and Finance Minister Maria Jesus Montero, supported by PSOE leaders who are familiar with parliamentary negotiations such as Adriana Lastra, disagree. They point to the math and underscore that it would be impossible for the PSOE to govern with just 120 seats and Unidas Podemos sitting in the opposition.

And that is without considering the political cost to the PSOE of being viewed as responsible for breaking up an alliance that had created a lot of expectations among progressive voters.

Meanwhile, sources at Unidas Podemos admit that the situation has become untenable and that the accumulated tension is blocking several ongoing negotiations.

The group led by Iglesias has a long list of grievances and says that the PSOE is failing to honor its commitments. The latest example is on the subject of housing. On the day that the budget deal was sealed, Iglesias and Sanchez agreed to draft a law capping the price of rent in Spain. The agreement was made public. But now, according to the leftist group, the Socialists are stepping back from their pledge and only want to offer tax incentives instead of setting clear limits on abusive rent hikes.

The Hasel controversy

Street protests in Barcelona over the jailing of rapper Pablo Hasel.

Contrary to what it might seem, the controversy over the statements in support of the rapper Pablo Hasel is not the biggest problem for the relationship. Sanchez has clearly explained the different positions defended by each partner, as he does every time that a discrepancy arises on sensitive subject matter such as the monarchy. But both partners agree on the need to modify the penal code to eliminate prison terms for the kinds of crimes that Hasel has been convicted of.

It bears noting that this peak in internal tension has coincided with the worst possible week for the opposition: after performing dismally at the Catalan election, where it secured half as many seats as the far-right Vox, the conservative Popular Party (PP) announced that it is selling its national headquarters in Madrid, which have been named in an ongoing high-profile graft trial. And the liberal Ciudadanos (Citizens), which has lost 30 seats in the Catalan parliament after winning the previous election, is now caught up in an internal debate over whether it has a future or is instead entering a slow descent into oblivion.

Our great advantage right now is that there is nothing across from us, but thats not going to last forever, said a minister to illustrate the weakness of the opposition. And the big problem is Vox.

English version by Susana Urra

(Newser)  The BBC recounts a harrowing chapter in relations between North Korea and Japan, a stretch from 1977 through the early 1980s when North Korean agents abducted Japanese citizens to help train their spies. North Korea has since admitted to this and apologized, though critics say the North has not acknowledged the full scope of its strategy. By the Japanese government's official count, 17 citizens were taken. But analysts think the true figure might be more than 100, according to the story by Rebecca Seales and Hideharu Tamura. Their account focuses in particular on perhaps the most famous of these abducteesMegumi Yokota, who was snatched from a beach in 1977 at the age of 13 while walking home from badminton practice. And as the story explains, she was never supposed to have been taken.

story continues below

Two North Korean spies were on the beach that evening awaiting a pickup by boat when they were spotted by Megumi, who was tall for her age. Fearing their cover had been blown, and not realizing she was so young, the agents captured her, then locked her in the boat's hull for the return trip to the North. Once there, she was forced to learn Korean and to teach agents about the Japanese language and customs. The story tracks the efforts of Megumi's family to learn her fate, because they do not believe the North's explanation that she committed suicide in the 1990s. For one thing, ashes sent by the North did not match the DNA of Megumi's saved umbilical cord. Her father died in 2020, but the rest of Megumi's family still holds out hope of a reunion someday. (Read the full story, which tells of other families in the same predicament.)
Mauritius and India have the common ambition of working for a safe, secure and prosperous Indian Ocean, Mauritius Prime Minister Pravind Jugnauth said on Monday after his meeting with External Affairs Minister S Jaishankar during which they discussed a range of issues, including ensuring peace and respect for the rule of law in the strategically-vital Indo-Pacific region.

Jaishankar arrived here on Sunday from the Maldives on the last leg of his two-nation tour. "This morning I had a very fruitful meeting with Jaishankar where we reviewed several aspects of our cooperation and relationship and how best to move forward, Jugnauth while jointly addressing the media with Jaishankar.

Mauritius and India remain committed to working together bilaterally and as regional partners to enhance capacity for sustainable management of marine resources and to address challenges in the maritime domains, he said.

"We have the common ambition and responsibility of preserving and working for a safe, secure and the prosperous Indian Ocean, he said.

"Ensuring peace and respect for the rule of law in the Indo-Pacific region was one of the issues which I discussed with Dr Jaishankar during our meeting today, Jugnauth said, in a veiled reference to China.

India, the US and several other world powers have been talking about the need to ensure a free, open and thriving Indo-Pacific in the backdrop of China's rising military manoeuvring in the region. The Chinese military is also actively eying the strategic Indian Ocean region to step up Beijing influence.

China claims nearly all of the disputed South China Sea, though Taiwan, the Philippines, Brunei, Malaysia and Vietnam all claim parts of it. Beijing has built artificial islands and military installations in the South China Sea.

"I welcome the renewed commitment of the QUAD countries to upholding a rules-based international order under them respect for territorial integrity and sovereignty, the rule of law, transparency, freedom of navigation in the international waters and peaceful resolution of disputes, Jugnauth said.

"Adherence to these principles is crucial to the maintenance of peace and friendliness among nations based on the respect for the rule of law I have no doubt that the visit of Dr Jaishankar will add a new impetus to the excellent relationship between Mauritius and India, he said.

Quad ministerial is an informal grouping of four countries, namely, Australia, India, Japan and the United States. In 2017, the four countries gave shape to the long-pending proposal of setting up the "Quad" or the Quadrilateral coalition to counter China's aggressive behaviour in the Indo-Pacific region.

We have converging views on the need to work together to strengthen the rules-based international order, global governance and institutions including those of the United Nations system, Jugnauth said.

"India is helping more than 50 countries, including Mauritius, to boost space technology. We continue to look to India as an indispensable partner in building up air capabilities to derive benefits from space technology, he said.

(Disclaimer: This story is auto-generated from a syndicated feed; only the image & headline may have been reworked by www.republicworld.com)
As more people get vaccinated and states begin to roll back some of the restrictions put in place due to the COVID-19 pandemic  schools, agencies and workplaces are working on a plan on how to safely return to normal.
DUBAI (Reuters) - Delegations from the United Arab Emirates and Qatar met in Kuwait on Monday for the first time since an agreement last month to end a rift of more than three years, the UAE state news agency WAM said.

Saudi Arabia, the UAE, Bahrain and Egypt agreed in January at a summit in Saudi's al-Ula to restore diplomatic, trade and travel ties with Doha, which had been severed in 2017 over accusations that Qatar supported terrorism, a charge it denies.

"The two sides discussed joint mechanisms and procedures for implementing the al-Ula statement. They emphasised the importance of preserving Gulf kinship and developing joint Gulf action in the interest of GCC countries and their citizens, and of achieving stability and prosperity in the region," WAM said.

They thanked Saudi and Kuwait for their roles in ending the rift.

Since the agreement, air and travel links have resumed between Qatar and the four states. Each state is to arrange bilateral talks with Qatar to resolve individual issues.

A UAE official said after the agreement that restoring diplomatic ties would require time as parties work to rebuild trust.

Bahrain's foreign ministry said last month it had written to Qatar inviting Doha to send a delegation to Bahrain to start bilateral talks to implement the al-Ula agreement.

Qatar has not yet responded, according to comments made by Bahrain's foreign minister to a parliamentary meeting carried by state news agency BNA last week.

(Writing by Lisa Barrington; Editing by Giles Elgood and Ed Osmond)
Kanpur, Feb 22 : Bhim Army chief Chandrashekhar Azad was detained by the police on Monday while he was on his way to the Regency hospital to meet the Unnao victim, who is undergoing treatment there.

He was detained in apprehension of breach of peace.

Bhim Army supporters created a ruckus and staged a demonstration, demanding the immediate release of Azad.

Earlier, Azad met the family members of the two girls who died due to poisoning on February 17. He met the family members at a roadside eatery on the outskirts of the village, giving a slip to the police.

Azad had earlier warned that he would go to Unnao if the government did not shift the third girl to Delhi for advanced treatment.
Two rockets fell in Baghdads Green Zone, home to foreign embassies, on Monday. No casualties have been reported so far, according to Iraqs military and the US-led coalition.

A third rocket landed in the nearby al-Harithiya neighborhood, just west of the Green Zone. The rockets launcher was found by Iraqi security forces in al-Salaam neighborhood southwest of the citys center, Iraqs Security Media Cell said.

The attack is the latest in a long series of Katyusha rocket barrages against Western targets that renewed late last year. Some of the strikes have been claimed by suspected front groups for powerful Shiite militias in Iraq.

On Saturday night, at least four rockets landed at Balad air base, wounding a South African contractor for Sallyport, an American company that services Iraqs F-16s.

Last week, some 14 rockets landed in and around Erbils airport in the typically tranquil Kurdistan Region of Iraq. One contractor for the US-led military coalition was killed and nine others were injured, including an American military member. The grounds of Erbils airport house an air base used by the US-led coalition to defeat the Islamic State (IS).

A supposed group calling itself Saraya Awliya al-Dam, or the Guardians of the Blood Brigade, claimed credit for the Erbil strike. Some experts suspect the group could be a front for either Kataib Hezbollah or Asaib Ahl al-Haq, two of the most powerful Shiite militias in Iraq that are backed by Irans Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps (IRGC).

Such strikes have sporadically continued since the United States, Iraqi forces and Iraqs Popular Mobilization Units (PMU) crushed IS' hold on Iraqi territory.

A similar strike in 2019 killed a US citizen, leading to the United States bombing Kataib Hezbollah targets across Iraq. Days later, PMU representatives and supporters stormed the US Embassy in Baghdad. Then-US President Donald Trump ordered Qasem Soleimani, commander of the IRGCs expeditionary Quds Force, killed in a drone strike in Baghdad.

Iranian officials have vowed revenge for Soleimanis killing. Irans government typically denies involvement in the strikes.

Yemens Houthi rebels, also linked to the IRGC, have continued to launch aerial attacks into Saudi Arabia in recent weeks as the new US administration of President Joe Biden pushes for an end to the war in Yemen. At least two recent aerial attacks on Saudi Arabia have come during visits by senior US officials.

Meanwhile, the US administration is seeking to reenter the 2015 international nuclear agreement with Tehran to limit the Islamic Republics nuclear capabilities.

Iranian officials insist the scope of the proposed talks does not go beyond the original nuclear deal, which placed no restrictions on Tehrans ballistic missile or drone program.

The Trump administration unilaterally abandoned the agreement in 2018, replacing it with a regime of economic sanctions designed to roll back Irans influence in the Middle East. US and UN officials have cited evidence of Iran transferring missile and drone technology to proxies in Iraq and Yemen.

Washington has left a small residual presence of military forces in Iraq and Syria, nominally to mop up the remnants of IS sleeper cells. Particularly in Syria, the remaining troop presence offers US policymakers the added benefit of limiting Iranian proxies free access to strategic territory, as Israeli airstrikes hit Iran-linked targets suspected of transporting military hardware that could potentially threaten Israel.
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The 10 schools affected by the Hijab controversy in Ilorin are to remain shut pending the outcome of the State Government consultations with...

The 10 schools affected by the Hijab controversy in Ilorin are to remain shut pending the outcome of the State Government consultations with stakeholders on the use of the Muslim headgear in schools.

According to a statement made available to the News Agency of Nigeria in Ilorin on Monday, this is to avert any breakdown of law and order, while the government concludes the consultations with relevant stakeholders.

In the statement, the Secretary to the State Government, Prof. Mamman Jibril, urged members of the public to remain calm and peaceful.

Official pronouncement of governments position is likely this week.

The government urges parents, officials, and authorities at the affected schools to maintain peace and avoid making comments or doing anything that could cause further misunderstanding and heat up the polity, the government advised.
TALLAHASSEE, Florida  Conservative media icon Rush Limbaugh's talent was such that even in death he continues to provoke.

He has managed to open a battle front in the culture wars he's credited with creating as America's leading talk radio host. This time, it's over whether the state should recognize him with one of its most public honors.

Gov. Ron DeSantis last week said he would direct flags to be lowered to half staff after Limbaugh's body is laid to rest. He has authority to do so under state law, though it's unclear whether some local governments will comply.

Rush Limbaugh: Florida to lower flags to half staff for conservative talk show icon

Florida law directs the governors office to develop guidelines, but says flags may be lowered "upon the death of high-ranking state officials, uniformed law enforcement and fire service personnel, and prominent citizens."

The Governor's Office's own flag protocol, however, which was last updated in the first term of former Gov. Rick Scott, doesn't mention prominent citizens but does say "approval for displaying the flags at half-staff ... resides with the Governor."

The governors press office did not immediately respond Monday to a question about the flag protocol; DeSantis has directed flags to half-staff to honor law enforcement officers killed on duty, Navy members killed in a mass shooting in Pensacola and the late Supreme Court Justice Ruth Bader Ginsberg, to name a few.

Local officials respond to DeSantis' order

Nonetheless, Agriculture Commissioner Nikki Fried  a Florida Cabinet member and the only statewide elected Democrat  on Monday told offices under her control to disregard any order to lower flags to honor Limbaugh.

Limbaugh is widely mourned by conservatives, but his critics point to a history of his ridiculing people with disabilities, and his racist, anti-women and homophobic remarks.

"Lowering to half-staff the flag of the United States of America is a sacred honor that pays respect to fallen heroes and patriots. It is not a partisan political tool," Fried said in a statement. "We will not celebrate hate speech, bigotry and division ... Lowering the flag should always reflect unity, not division and raising our standards, not lowering them."

Story continues

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Her move follows a call to action by the mayor of Oakland Park in Broward County. Jane Bolin on Sunday released a statement criticizing DeSantis and calling on other officials, mayors, city commissions and city managers throughout Florida to protest what she called an outrageous and inappropriate gesture to the radio provocateur.

Once we cross that divide and say, Well, Im going to say Rush Limbaugh is a prominent citizen and Im going to lower the flag' ... to me, it just adds more to this political theater and is not what our country needs right now, Bolin said Monday.

Jane Bolin, mayor of Oakland Park

To comply with the order, Bolin added, would make one complicit in demeaning the flags' dignity.

Oakland Park, like Tallahassee, has a city commission form of government; Bolin is now mayor for a year as the position rotates among commissioners. Bolin is lobbying her four fellow commissioners to ignore the order to lower flags for Limbaugh if DeSantis issues one.

Tallahassee Mayor John Dailey, independently elected but with no more power than the four other members of the Tallahassee City Commission, said no decision has yet been made as to whether his city would comply with the order.

I know that lowering the flag to half-staff is something citizens take seriously ... I know in the state of Florida we do it to honor national leaders, military leaders and great Floridians, so we are researching our policies and procedures, Dailey said.

Tallahassee Mayor John Dailey spoke in downtown Tallahassee Sunday to answer questions after the Florida Capitol was largely quiet in the morning.

At the crux of the debate is what one thinks of Limbaughs decades-long run as the king of conservative talk radio.

In a statement put out by the Republican Party of Florida, DeSantis referred to Limbaugh as the GOAT, or greatest of all-time, of radio, of conservative media and of inspiring a loyal army of American patriots. Last week, at a campaign-style event in Limbaugh's home of Palm Beach, DeSantis called him "one of our own."

Theres not much that needs to be said; the guy was an absolute legend, the governor said. But from south Florida to the Panhandle, those who opposed Limbaugh said they found it outrageous DeSantis would honor him.

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DeSantis antagonist and Santa Rosa County attorney Daniel Uhlfelder, who has sued the governor and protested the state's COVID-19 policies by dressing as the Grim Reaper around the state, said he could think of anyone less worthy of the honor.

Death is a sad affair; I'm traveling the state trying to save lives, Uhlfelder said in a phone interview. But to lower the flag to honor this man is so disgusting. It's offensive."

James Call is a member of the USA TODAY NETWORK-Florida Capital Bureau. He can be reached at jcall@tallahassee.com. Follow on him Twitter: @CallTallahassee

This article originally appeared on Tallahassee Democrat: Florida to lower flags for Rush Limbaugh; Not all counties on board
Energy ministry: Ukraine seeking to quit coal to become climate neutral by 2050

The Energy Strategy of Ukraine until 2035 will also be revised taking into account climate challenges.

Reporting by UNIAN

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New Delhi, Feb 22 : The Deputy Chief Minister of Delhi, Manish Sisodia, said on Monday that around 10 lakh workers are working in the city of which only 1.31 lakh are registered under the Delhi Building and Other Construction Workers Welfare Board, availing the benefits being provided by the Delhi government.

To get the remaining over 8 lakh workers registered, the Delhi government on Monday initiated a month-long awareness campaign across the city.

Sisodia, who also heads the labour department of Delhi government, said, "Delhi government has several welfare schemes for poor labourers but a large number of them are unaware about them. They do not know even how to proceed to avail the benefits which are there in place for them. Therefore, the Delhi government has started a mass awareness and registration drive across the national capital. We will not only register them under the social welfare schemes, but we will also educate them about various welfare schemes and how to avail them." He further said that registration camps will be organised at 45 sites across Delhi, including 29 government schools and 16 major construction sites. Apart from these, mobile units would be deployed at the construction sites in each district so that workers don't have to forego their daily wage.

Delhi has 262 major labour chowks where workers assemble in search of work. The awareness campaign has been launched at all labour chowks with hoardings, posters and handbill distribution to encourage more and more construction workers to register at the registration camps in their nearby locations. There are many workers whose registrations have lapsed and they have been duly informed about renewing the same.

Meanwhile, Sisodia also appealed to the residents of the city to assist the construction workers and spread awareness about the mega registration drive so that maximum workers can avail the benefits.

Highlighting the various welfare schemes being provided by the Delhi government, Sisodia said that workers can avail Rs 3 to 5 lakh for house construction. Delhi government also provides Rs 30,000 under the maternity benefit scheme for women workers. They can get Rs 20,000 as loan for the purchase of work related tools and Rs 5,000 as grant for the purchase of work related tools.

Delhi government also provides Rs 1 lakh in case of natural death and Rs 2 lakh in case of death due to accident. They may also avail Rs 1 lakh in case of permanent total disability and a disability pension of Rs 3,000 per month.

Under the education schemes, they can avail benefits of between Rs 500 and Rs 10,000 per month for school education and higher education of their children. In other schemes, the workers can get Rs 35,000-Rs 51,000 as financial assistance for marriage, and Rs 3,000 per month as pension benefit.
(@ChaudhryMAli88)

The first power unit of Belarus' Astravets nuclear power plant is expected to be fully operational in April or May of this year after safety assessment procedures are concluded, Leonid Dedul, a high-ranking nuclear safety official said Monday

MINSK (UrduPoint News / Sputnik - 22nd February, 2021) The first power unit of Belarus' Astravets nuclear power plant is expected to be fully operational in April or May of this year after safety assessment procedures are concluded, Leonid Dedul, a high-ranking nuclear safety official said Monday.

"The expected date of acceptance is April-May. And then, according to the positive conclusion of the commission, it will enter into service," Dedul, who is the Deputy Head of the Nuclear and Radiation Safety Department of the Belarusian Emergencies Ministry (Gosatomnadzor), told reporters.

The power unit was inaugurated in November 2020 and has been entering service into the Belarusian power grid gradually and in an experimental run so far.

According to state news agency Belta, Dedul explained that the plant will not be fully made part of the country's power grid until it receives a series of positive assessments and relevant licenses from the agency's inspection commission.

Furthermore, Dedul said that Belarus is expecting two missions from the International Atomic Energy Agency (IAEA) this year.

"The next international inspection is scheduled for June-July. This will be the IAEA's International Physical Protection Advisory Service mission. An IAEA mission to assess the regulatory framework for nuclear and radiation safety will arrive in Belarus at the end of the year, if the epidemiological situation allows. Belarus demonstrates openness, we invite foreign experts," Dedul said, as quoted by Belta.

Built in collaboration with Russia's nuclear agency Rosatom, the Astravets-1 NPP went online on November 3 after around nine years of construction and testing. The VVER V-491 Pressurized Water Reactor, the largest joint project between the two neighbors, is the first in a series of power plants that will go online through 2022.
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If the struggle for 'social justice' helps more broke-ass locals of every demographic evade speed trap tickets . . . So be it.



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SHAWNEE, Kan. - Above board. That is what the Shawnee Police Department wants when it comes to racial bias complaints. Shawnee police told FOX4 they take these types of complaints very seriously. If someone believes they were pulled over in Shawnee simply because of the color of their skin, police look into it.
The myth (and phony math) of green jobs By Duggan Flanakin



Fool me once, Stephen King wrote, shame on you. Fool me twice, shame on me. Fool me three times, shame on both of us. His adage certainly applies to the myth (and fake math) of green jobs.



During the 2020 election campaign, Joe Biden asserted that more than 3 million Americans are already employed in the clean energy economy. He then boasted that, if executed strategically, our response to climate change can create more than 10 million well-paying jobs in the United States that will grow a stronger, more inclusive middle class  and not just in cities along the coasts.



That would make Joe twice as boastful as his former boss, who promised the 2009 $787 billion stimulus package would create over five million green jobs. Four years later, the Brookings Institution reported that, of the nearly 2.7 million green jobs [the Obama-Biden Administration] identifies, most were bus drivers, sewage workers and other types of work that dont fit the green jobs of the future description.



Energy analyst David Blackmon later reported that Obamas own Department of Labor acknowledged the initial failure to launch. DOLs September 2011 report, Recovery Act: Slow pace placing workers into jobs jeopardizes employment goals of the Green Jobs Program, noted that only a third of the allocated funding had been spent; a fifth of the degrees and certifications went to people with a single day of training; and half of the graduates had five or fewer days of training. Just 2% of program participants held their jobs for at least six months.



The Bureau of Labor Statistics counted oil industry lobbyists as holding green jobs! The septic tank and portable toilet servicing industry had 33 times more green jobs than solar electric utilities. The BLS had to admit in a June 2012 report, Green Technologies and Practices  August 2011, that they could identify only 854,700 green jobs, including janitors and cleaners.



What a sham! Shame on them for trying to con us.



David Kreutzer pointed out in a Heritage Foundation report that steel workers had the most green industrial jobs. Why? Most U.S. steel is recycled scrap, and some steel gets used in making wind turbines. The next largest groups were bus drivers, waste collectors and used-merchandise store employees  followed finally by engineering and architectural services. The much hated nuclear industry accounted for over 80% of the 44,000 green electric utility jobs. There were five times as many green jobs in social advocacy (environmentalist group lobbyists) as in renewable electric power.



Ah, but that was then  and this is now, you say. Right.



In January, the Associated Press reported on Bidens fuzzy math regarding his claim of creating 1 million new auto industry jobs  even if he actually replaces the 650,000-government vehicle fleet with electric cars and installs 500,000 new EV charging stations  all at taxpayer expense. Theoretically, a huge government buying program will lower EV costs, and the myriad of charging stations will lessen fears of being stuck in a hurricane evacuation in a vehicle you cannot quickly gas up. Theoretically.



But hold on! Every electric vehicle job will likely come at the expense of a gasoline-engine vehicle job, and every EV charging station will diminish jobs in pipeline, refining, gasoline retail, gasoline delivery, and other sectors. The AP story adds that industry analysts and the United Auto Workers union agree that EV manufacturing will likely mean fewer automotive jobs. One reason is that EVs have far fewer parts and are simpler to build, thus require fewer workers, and often just need a new $6,000 battery module. Another is that battery manufacturing is easily automated. But that is hardly the whole story.



Back in 2019, while losing over a fifth of its U.S. market share of sales over a 3-year period, General Motors admitted it already employed more non-union auto workers in China than union workers in the USA. The harsh reality is that there are 10 times more electric vehicle battery manufacturing facilities in Asia than in all of North America. Maybe Jinping Joe Biden is talking about the number of Chinese green jobs. Especially child and near-slave labor in Chinas mines and processing plants.



Other fact checkers have also found Biden Administration green jobs claims are mostly false.



Electric vehicles are just part of the Green New Biden Deal. Surrendering our economy to the Paris climate accords and its draconian environmental restraints is another. Abandoning oil, gas and coal  and very likely nuclear energy  and all the jobs those industries create is a third. Mr. Biden is merely following Germany and other European Union countries down the primrose path to economic suicide.



According to Deutsche Bank, climate policy regulation of Germanys automotive sector is triggering the biggest structural break in the industry in decades. A bank report explains that strict carbon dioxide limits for new passenger cars in the EU for 2021 and 2030 are forcing manufacturers to prematurely switch to higher cost electric vehicles. The resultant price increases, the bank predicts, will have a very negative effect on future employment in the Germany auto industry.



One reason is that the EUs CO2 limits for passenger cars and subsidies for electric vehicles are extremely inefficient [expensive] and hardly effective instruments to achieve emission reduction in the transport sector. While government incentives and mandates may push people toward buying government-favored vehicles, radical climate and energy policies decrease investment in energy-intensive sectors such as metals and chemicals. This will further increase the cost of new German cars.



Despite the push for green energy and electric vehicles, the German Trade Union Association reports that the number of green jobs in the German renewables sector had fallen from 300,000 in 2011 to just 150,000 in 2018. Many of these lost jobs were due to the collapse of Germanys solar power industry, as companies were forced out of business by Chinese manufacturers that undercut German prices  and had much easier access to raw materials.



The track record for American renewable industry jobs vis-a-vis Chinese competition has mimicked the German experience. A primary reason is Chinas near-monopoly on rare-earth metals essential for the Green revolution. Despite these realities, Biden climate envoy John Kerry recently said displaced American oil and gas workers can simply and easily go to work making solar panels.



Energy economist Tilak Doshi agrees the Wests fascination with renewables-only de-carbonization, and ultimately de-industrialization, is a recipe for economic suicide. He notes that Germanys green world involves behemoth wind turbines with blades made of petroleum-based, fiberglass-reinforced resins; motors built with iron and rare earths extracted, processed and smelted using fossil fuels; concrete that also requires fossil fuels; and factories run on coal and natural gas. Solar panels have the same pedigree.



The turbines and panels are installed in forests, grasslands, farmlands and coastal areas, where they destroy scenic vistas and wildlife habitats. Turbine blades kill endangered birds and bats.



The result of this save-the-planet zeal? Germany has a burgeoning 17% poverty rate, thanks largely to its shutdown of reliable nuclear and fossil fuel power plants and the resultant skyrocketing electricity prices for homes, factories, businesses and hospitals over the past 15 years.



Back in the USA, California operates the worlds fifth largest economy by importing most of its crude oil from overseas (despite massive in-state reserves) and a third of its electricity from other states (also for political expediency). As a result, Californians now pay 60% more than the national average for residential, commercial and industrial electricity, while enduring frequent rolling blackouts due to pricey weather-dependent energy and pathetic forest management. People and industries are fleeing the state.



And Team Biden-Harris (Harris-Biden?) wants to turn the rest of the United States into California!



Duggan Flanakin is director of policy research at the Committee For A Constructive Tomorrow (www.CFACT.org). Home
Depleted supermarket shelves have been in evidence since the protocol came into operation (David Young/PA)

A major food retailer has expressed concern over supplies of products to hospitals, schools and prisons as a result of the Northern Ireland Protocol.

It comes as Arlene Foster says the protocol has left the east-west relationships of the Belfast Agreement disrupted, pretty violently ahead of a debate in the House of Commons on Monday.

Henderson Group  which owns the Spar chain  warned about the potential disruption during a meeting with the former DUP agriculture minister Edwin Poots in January, after the end of the Brexit transition period on 31 December, UTV has reported.

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Speaking last month, Mr Poots had claimed there was a major crisis coming following the end of short-term grace periods currently in operation for moving retail products from Great Britain to Northern Ireland.

He added that suppliers had warned him that they would not be able to supply food to hospitals and schools.

Within the notes of the meeting which took place on 7 January between Mr Poots and retailers, one headline by Henderson Group read: [Concerns regarding food service  hospitality, disruption to supply to schools, hospitals and prisons].

Other retailers at the meeting, including Tesco, Sainsburys and Marks & Spencer also expressed similar concerns about a reduction in product ranges.

MPs today will hold a debate triggered by a DUP petition which is urging the government to remove the Northern Ireland Protocol.

Speaking on Good Morning Ulster Arlene Foster welcomed the debate.

Im very pleased to see the number of people who are going to be debating the petition, she said.

Costs and choice to consumers is continuing to be damaged here in Northern Ireland and of course the constitutional position of Northern Ireland - as is stated in the Act of Union and indeed the Belfast Agreement - have been damaged.

It is part of our five-point plan that we will work with other Unionists to send that very clear message around the Protocol and we will use all of our mechanisms to do that.

That tightrope...in terms of the Belfast Agreement has been shaken and has been shaken pretty violently by the protocol and therefore we need to get it balanced again and the way to do that is to replace the protocol.

There is not one unionist representative in Northern Ireland who believes in the protocol.

While the UK left the EU in January, Northern Ireland has remained in the EU's single market for goods under the Northern Ireland Protocol, meaning some checks are required on specific items moving from Great Britain into the region.

The DUP's petition, which received more than 140,000 signatures, claims that Northern Ireland is suffering real economic and societal difficulties as a result of the protocol.

Conservative MP and Chair of the Northern Ireland Affairs Committee at Westminster, Simon Hoare, however, said the debate was not likely to change anything.

There is no alternative [to the Protocol], he said.

We have heard for many, many years people talking about alternative arrangements. We need to make it work and make it work well.

It is of clear concern that there is a community within Northern Ireland who are not happy with it [the protocol], which is why we need to make sure those creases are ironed out, to make it work as smoothly as possible.

It would be the most naive person in the world who did not believe that in the delivery and operation of Brexit and the UK economy outside the European Union, the issues with regards to Northern Ireland, as our only land border with the European Union, was going to present the most enormous difficulties.

Im afraid the pigeons are coming home to roost. It has proved very difficult.
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Considerable consternation was occasioned in Melbourne yesterday morning in consequence of a rumor to the effect that Messrs. MMeckan, Blackwood and Co.s steamer, the Gothenburg, had been wrecked on Flinders Island, and that a large number of the passengers and crew had perished.

One of the earliest to receive official information on the matter was the Premier, to whom a telegram was sent from Queensland, stating the steamer had been wrecked on Flinders Island in a cyclone, on the night of the 25th, and adding that from a reliable source it had been ascertained that two of the boats had been picked up filled with passengers. Three boats, with ninety passengers, were still adrift. Another statement was made that four persons had been picked up, and that 107 had perished.

Mr Kerford at once sent a special messenger to Messrs. MMeckan, Blackwood and Co., not knowing precise locality where the wreck had occurred, offering, if necessary, to place the Victoria steamer at the service of the firm, with a view to relieving sufferers.

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For a time it was believed that the scene of the wreck was Flinders Island, in Basss Straits. It was found, however, that Messrs. MMeckan, Blackwood and Co. had received a telegram also, informing them of the disaster, and reiterating the statement that only four men out of the passengers and crew had been rescued.

As soon as the news became generally known the utmost anxiety prevailed amongst those who had friends and relations on board, and during the day the telegraph office and the offices of Messrs. MMeckan and Co. were besieged with persons desirous of obtaining information.
Posting about their day is a regular practice for Generations Y and Z, especially when they have something novel or exclusive to share. So, in the thick of a global pandemic, and with the shaky rollout of covid vaccines making them somewhat of a holy grail, its no surprise selfies featuring the coveted shot are infecting social media timelines.

It might engender envy, even outrage, especially if the person posting seems to have cut the line. But what if the intention was to encourage others to also get the shot? Does that make it OK?

Since the pandemic began, people around the world are increasingly living out significant portions of their lives online. But with 72% of the American public using some type of social media, according to the Pew Research Center, who sets the rules for proper social media etiquette?

"This is a totally new type of world to have a pandemic in," said Catherine Newman, the etiquette columnist at Real Simple and author of the book "How to Be a Person." One advantage of using social media, she said, is that people can create waves of public opinion from which everyone can benefit. Newman, who also volunteers at a hospice, was vaccinated and posted a selfie. She said the selfies can help address some of the public health mistrust issues that have contributed to vaccine hesitancy.

"I don't want to see a picture of your yacht on social media," she said. She'd rather see covid vaccine selfies but cautions users to be mindful of the caption they choose.

After all, nearly 500,000 American lives have been lost in the pandemic and stark disparities have emerged in vaccination rates  especially among communities of color and older adults who are in the highest risk categories.

It raises the question: Is posting a vaccine selfie on your social media account a faux pas or still par for the course?

Elaine Swann, a lifestyle and etiquette expert, a certified mediator in the state of California and the founder of the Swann School of Protocol in Carlsbad, California, echoed those precautions. "RNs and front-line workers have a very different story to tell than a 20-something-year-old who got vaccinated for some obscure reason," she said.

At the same time, she said, it's not necessarily clear how someone came to be eligible for the vaccine. A person could present young and healthy at first glance but could have a health condition or other qualifying criteria. "We don't know," she said. She advises that posters follow what she calls the three core values of manners: respect, honesty and consideration.

And the same goes for people reacting to the posts.

George Francois, 35, a center director at Children's National Hospital in Washington, D.C., chronicled his covid vaccination on Facebook. Looking at the overall death and infection rates in the African American community, he considered his post a public service. "I could inspire others to get it without having to talk to them directly," he said.

It's a sentiment shared by J. Shawn Durham, 44, an actor in Washington, D.C., and an unintentional "vaccine vulture." He got a call from a friend of a friend to get vaccinated after a scheduled patient missed their appointment  leaving a critical dose that otherwise might have gone to waste. "I am healthy. I am Black. I am scholastic, so I know about our history and the Tuskegee experiments," he said. And, given that history, Durham posted his selfies to "lead by example," he added. The white and the wealthy are getting vaccinated. I want Black people to want to get vaccinated too."

Francois didn't receive any backlash from his post and didn't think it was a big deal. "A lot of people post their HIV and covid test results," he said.

Bottom line: It's common among younger adults to publicly share things some older adults may consider to be far too personal.

"It's kind of tacky sometimes, I think, but there's a lot of misinformation out there," said Emilio Delgado, 31, who was born in Puerto Rico and now lives in D.C. He posted in part to foster confidence in the vaccine  to let his connections "see that someone they knew has taken it and didn't grow a third eyeball," he said of his hesitant followers. For that reason, he added, it was worth it.

Delgado, a local actor and patient instructor at the George Washington University School of Medicine and Health Sciences, had access to the vaccine because in this role of "standardized patient" he is often called in to role-play ultrasounds with fourth-year medical students. He makes the bulk of his income through such patient instruction and is frequently at the hospital  a place generally considered high-risk  so he'd rather be vaccinated.

For Signe Hawley, 34, a researcher and volunteer firefighter in the foothills of northwestern Boulder, Colorado, getting the vaccine  and posting about it  was an emotional experience.

Earlier in the pandemic, she made the difficult decision to pull back from her volunteer duties to protect her wife and 2-year-old daughter. But because she had been a first responder in her community, she became eligible for the vaccine sooner than expected. "I wouldn't cut the line," said Hawley. "But when given the opportunity, I wouldn't pass it up either."

For Hawley, the hardest side effect she faced after getting the vaccine was the depth of grief and sadness that surfaced surrounding the loss of her father, along with thoughts of all of the other lives lost "in the mismanagement of this," she said.

Her father, Joe Hawley Sr., 67, died in early April from complications of covid-19 at Norwalk Hospital in southwestern Connecticut. His family was not allowed into the intensive care unit at any time during his bout with covid. And her interest in volunteerism and service is something she inherited from her father, a "humanitarian at heart," who was involved and committed to the New England community where he lived.

"To be vaccinated for something that my father died from is so surreal," she said, her voice breaking. Sharing her story and the vaccine photo was a way to honor her father. "This is one step to lessening the impact of death and severe health complications with covid, but it's not the end of it," she said.

Ultimately, she said, the more people vaccinated the better off we all are.

"We're all posting this hoping to get buy-in," said national etiquette expert Diane Gottsman, an author and founder of the Protocol School of Texas, a company specializing in corporate etiquette training based in San Antonio. Know your audience, she advised. And another important reminder: Follow Federal Trade Commission guidelines, which advise against posting vaccination cards containing identifying information that could expose you to identity theft.
Akdeniz Chemson to produce 3,000 tonnes of zinc borate annually

Akdeniz Chemson, the global market leader in the field of PVC stabilizers under the OYAK umbrella, has initiated the first phase of its Izmir plant to produce zinc borate with an annual capacity of 3,000 tonnes. Akdeniz Chemson will become of the world's leading flame-retardant chemical manufacturers once this new plant commences operations, and will also complete the parallel capacity increase in zinc oxide, one of the main raw materials in zinc borate production, this month.

This press release features multimedia. View the full release here: https://www.businesswire.com/news/home/20210222005113/en/

(Photo: Akdeniz Chemson)

Following the merger in October 2020, Akdeniz Chemson, continues to invest in its chemical portfolio. Akdeniz Chemson aims to produce 3,000 tonnes of zinc borate annually by launching the first phase of its new plant in Izmir becoming one of the world's leading flame-retardant chemical manufacturers producing an inorganic additive with flame-retardant and smoke-proofing properties. Akdeniz Chemson will produce 6,000 tonnes of zinc borate annually in addition to its existing production capacity when the second phase of the investment is completed. It will also complete the parallel capacity increase in zinc oxide, one of the main raw materials of the production of this product later this month.

Manages its R&D process for the production of special chemicals

In line with its vision of becoming a global chemical portfolio company, Akdeniz Chemson began its first zinc borate production in 2018 with Akdeniz Kimya, pursuing its R&D process to produce of chemicals with high added value. To meet the rapidly developing market needs, Akdeniz Chemson has started the first phase of its new facility in Izmir. The company develops zinc borate products and designs production and process technologies in its R&D and Engineering departments.

Used against high temperatures

With its flame-retardant and smoke-proofing properties, the zinc borate is used especially in the production of fire-resistant products. It is also used in polymers and coatings, especially in PVC, nylon, and halogen polyester, high temperature-resistant plastics, fire-resistant cables and fabrics, electrical-electronic parts, paints, automotive-aircraft internal parts, paper, and the textile industries.

Akdeniz Chemson:

In October 2020, Akdeniz Kimya, one of the OYAK companies operating in the chemical industry, merged with the Austrian Chemson, which OYAK acquired in 2013. Following this merger, Akdeniz Chemson became the world's largest PVC stabilizer company. Reaching an annual production capacity of 250,000 tonnes with the merger, Akdeniz Chemson has become most comprehensive supplier of PVC solutions with its increased cross-product sales portfolio for the industries it serves. Selling to 110 countries, Akdeniz Chemson focuses on the markets including Europe, Russia, Turkic Republics, North Africa, Middle East, USA, China, Brazil, and Australia.

View source version on businesswire.com: https://www.businesswire.com/news/home/20210222005113/en/

Contacts:

For more information:

Gonul Bedir I Iz Iletisim I gonul.bedir@iziletisim.com I 0532 468 33 79

Isilay Cakir I Iz Iletisim I isilay.cakir@iziletisim.com I 0555 524 00 30
TURIN, FEB 22 - A 27-year-old Albanian man was arrested for attempted murder Monday after stabbing his ex-girlfriend, a 20-year-old Greek student, in the chest, abdomen and neck in Turin on Sunday night. Police said they had found the knife used in the attack. The woman was taken in serious condition in Turin's Mauriziano Hospital. She is now being treated in intensive care at another Turin hospital, Molinette, after a six-hour operation on her injuries there. Surgeons repaired wounds to her lungs, neck and chest. The attack took place in Largo Marconi, not far from the young woman's home. (ANSA).
Globe Newswire

Abstract: - Global Smart Ports Market to Reach $8. 2 Billion by 2027. - Amid the COVID-19 crisis, the global market for Smart Ports estimated at US$2. 1 Billion in the year 2020, is projected to reach a revised size of US$8.New York, May 31, 2021 (GLOBE NEWSWIRE) -- Reportlinker.com announces the release of the report "Global Smart Ports Industry" - https://www.reportlinker.com/p06032915/?utm_source=GNW 2 Billion by 2027, growing at a CAGR of 21.8% over the analysis period 2020-2027. Process Automation, one of the segments analyzed in the report, is projected to record a 20.3% CAGR and reach US$3.5 Billion by the end of the analysis period. After an early analysis of the business implications of the pandemic and its induced economic crisis, growth in the Artificial Intelligence segment is readjusted to a revised 22.1% CAGR for the next 7-year period. - The U.S. Market is Estimated at $614 Million, While China is Forecast to Grow at 21.4% CAGR - The Smart Ports market in the U.S. is estimated at US$614 Million in the year 2020. China, the world`s second largest economy, is forecast to reach a projected market size of US$1.4 Billion by the year 2027 trailing a CAGR of 21.4% over the analysis period 2020 to 2027. Among the other noteworthy geographic markets are Japan and Canada, each forecast to grow at 19.5% and 18.6% respectively over the 2020-2027 period. Within Europe, Germany is forecast to grow at approximately 15.3% CAGR. - Internet of Things Segment to Record 24.3% CAGR - In the global Internet of Things segment, USA, Canada, Japan, China and Europe will drive the 24.2% CAGR estimated for this segment. These regional markets accounting for a combined market size of US$288.7 Million in the year 2020 will reach a projected size of US$1.3 Billion by the close of the analysis period. China will remain among the fastest growing in this cluster of regional markets. Led by countries such as Australia, India, and South Korea, the market in Asia-Pacific is forecast to reach US$966.9 Million by the year 2027. - Select Competitors (Total 35 Featured) - ABBAbu Dhabi PortsAccentureGeneral ElectricIBMIkusi VelatiaPort of Rotterdam Port SolutionsRamboll GroupRoyal HaskoningScientific EnterprisesScientific Enterprises LtdTrelleborg ABWipro Read the full report: https://www.reportlinker.com/p06032915/?utm_source=GNW I. METHODOLOGY II. EXECUTIVE SUMMARY 1. MARKET OVERVIEW Influencer Market Insights World Market Trajectories Impact of Covid-19 and a Looming Global Recession 2. FOCUS ON SELECT PLAYERS 3. MARKET TRENDS & DRIVERS 4. GLOBAL MARKET PERSPECTIVE Table 1: World Current & Future Analysis for Smart Ports by Geographic Region - USA, Canada, Japan, China, Europe, Asia-Pacific and Rest of World Markets - Independent Analysis of Annual Sales in US$ Thousand for Years 2020 through 2027 and % CAGR Table 2: World 7-Year Perspective for Smart Ports by Geographic Region - Percentage Breakdown of Value Sales for USA, Canada, Japan, China, Europe, Asia-Pacific and Rest of World Markets for Years 2020 & 2027 Table 3: World Current & Future Analysis for Process Automation by Geographic Region - USA, Canada, Japan, China, Europe, Asia-Pacific and Rest of World Markets - Independent Analysis of Annual Sales in US$ Thousand for Years 2020 through 2027 and % CAGR Table 4: World 7-Year Perspective for Process Automation by Geographic Region - Percentage Breakdown of Value Sales for USA, Canada, Japan, China, Europe, Asia-Pacific and Rest of World for Years 2020 & 2027 Table 5: World Current & Future Analysis for Artificial Intelligence by Geographic Region - USA, Canada, Japan, China, Europe, Asia-Pacific and Rest of World Markets - Independent Analysis of Annual Sales in US$ Thousand for Years 2020 through 2027 and % CAGR Table 6: World 7-Year Perspective for Artificial Intelligence by Geographic Region - Percentage Breakdown of Value Sales for USA, Canada, Japan, China, Europe, Asia-Pacific and Rest of World for Years 2020 & 2027 Table 7: World Current & Future Analysis for Internet of Things by Geographic Region - USA, Canada, Japan, China, Europe, Asia-Pacific and Rest of World Markets - Independent Analysis of Annual Sales in US$ Thousand for Years 2020 through 2027 and % CAGR Table 8: World 7-Year Perspective for Internet of Things by Geographic Region - Percentage Breakdown of Value Sales for USA, Canada, Japan, China, Europe, Asia-Pacific and Rest of World for Years 2020 & 2027 Table 9: World Current & Future Analysis for Blockchain by Geographic Region - USA, Canada, Japan, China, Europe, Asia-Pacific and Rest of World Markets - Independent Analysis of Annual Sales in US$ Thousand for Years 2020 through 2027 and % CAGR Table 10: World 7-Year Perspective for Blockchain by Geographic Region - Percentage Breakdown of Value Sales for USA, Canada, Japan, China, Europe, Asia-Pacific and Rest of World for Years 2020 & 2027 Table 11: World Current & Future Analysis for Extensively Busy by Geographic Region - USA, Canada, Japan, China, Europe, Asia-Pacific and Rest of World Markets - Independent Analysis of Annual Sales in US$ Thousand for Years 2020 through 2027 and % CAGR Table 12: World 7-Year Perspective for Extensively Busy by Geographic Region - Percentage Breakdown of Value Sales for USA, Canada, Japan, China, Europe, Asia-Pacific and Rest of World for Years 2020 & 2027 Table 13: World Current & Future Analysis for Moderately Busy by Geographic Region - USA, Canada, Japan, China, Europe, Asia-Pacific and Rest of World Markets - Independent Analysis of Annual Sales in US$ Thousand for Years 2020 through 2027 and % CAGR Table 14: World 7-Year Perspective for Moderately Busy by Geographic Region - Percentage Breakdown of Value Sales for USA, Canada, Japan, China, Europe, Asia-Pacific and Rest of World for Years 2020 & 2027 Table 15: World Current & Future Analysis for Scarcely Busy by Geographic Region - USA, Canada, Japan, China, Europe, Asia-Pacific and Rest of World Markets - Independent Analysis of Annual Sales in US$ Thousand for Years 2020 through 2027 and % CAGR Table 16: World 7-Year Perspective for Scarcely Busy by Geographic Region - Percentage Breakdown of Value Sales for USA, Canada, Japan, China, Europe, Asia-Pacific and Rest of World for Years 2020 & 2027 III. MARKET ANALYSIS UNITED STATES Table 17: USA Current & Future Analysis for Smart Ports by Technology - Process Automation, Artificial Intelligence, Internet of Things and Blockchain - Independent Analysis of Annual Sales in US$ Thousand for the Years 2020 through 2027 and % CAGR Table 18: USA 7-Year Perspective for Smart Ports by Technology - Percentage Breakdown of Value Sales for Process Automation, Artificial Intelligence, Internet of Things and Blockchain for the Years 2020 & 2027 Table 19: USA Current & Future Analysis for Smart Ports by Throughput Capacity - Extensively Busy, Moderately Busy and Scarcely Busy - Independent Analysis of Annual Sales in US$ Thousand for the Years 2020 through 2027 and % CAGR Table 20: USA 7-Year Perspective for Smart Ports by Throughput Capacity - Percentage Breakdown of Value Sales for Extensively Busy, Moderately Busy and Scarcely Busy for the Years 2020 & 2027 CANADA Table 21: Canada Current & Future Analysis for Smart Ports by Technology - Process Automation, Artificial Intelligence, Internet of Things and Blockchain - Independent Analysis of Annual Sales in US$ Thousand for the Years 2020 through 2027 and % CAGR Table 22: Canada 7-Year Perspective for Smart Ports by Technology - Percentage Breakdown of Value Sales for Process Automation, Artificial Intelligence, Internet of Things and Blockchain for the Years 2020 & 2027 Table 23: Canada Current & Future Analysis for Smart Ports by Throughput Capacity - Extensively Busy, Moderately Busy and Scarcely Busy - Independent Analysis of Annual Sales in US$ Thousand for the Years 2020 through 2027 and % CAGR Table 24: Canada 7-Year Perspective for Smart Ports by Throughput Capacity - Percentage Breakdown of Value Sales for Extensively Busy, Moderately Busy and Scarcely Busy for the Years 2020 & 2027 JAPAN Table 25: Japan Current & Future Analysis for Smart Ports by Technology - Process Automation, Artificial Intelligence, Internet of Things and Blockchain - Independent Analysis of Annual Sales in US$ Thousand for the Years 2020 through 2027 and % CAGR Table 26: Japan 7-Year Perspective for Smart Ports by Technology - Percentage Breakdown of Value Sales for Process Automation, Artificial Intelligence, Internet of Things and Blockchain for the Years 2020 & 2027 Table 27: Japan Current & Future Analysis for Smart Ports by Throughput Capacity - Extensively Busy, Moderately Busy and Scarcely Busy - Independent Analysis of Annual Sales in US$ Thousand for the Years 2020 through 2027 and % CAGR Table 28: Japan 7-Year Perspective for Smart Ports by Throughput Capacity - Percentage Breakdown of Value Sales for Extensively Busy, Moderately Busy and Scarcely Busy for the Years 2020 & 2027 CHINA Table 29: China Current & Future Analysis for Smart Ports by Technology - Process Automation, Artificial Intelligence, Internet of Things and Blockchain - Independent Analysis of Annual Sales in US$ Thousand for the Years 2020 through 2027 and % CAGR Table 30: China 7-Year Perspective for Smart Ports by Technology - Percentage Breakdown of Value Sales for Process Automation, Artificial Intelligence, Internet of Things and Blockchain for the Years 2020 & 2027 Table 31: China Current & Future Analysis for Smart Ports by Throughput Capacity - Extensively Busy, Moderately Busy and Scarcely Busy - Independent Analysis of Annual Sales in US$ Thousand for the Years 2020 through 2027 and % CAGR Table 32: China 7-Year Perspective for Smart Ports by Throughput Capacity - Percentage Breakdown of Value Sales for Extensively Busy, Moderately Busy and Scarcely Busy for the Years 2020 & 2027 EUROPE Table 33: Europe Current & Future Analysis for Smart Ports by Geographic Region - France, Germany, Italy, UK and Rest of Europe Markets - Independent Analysis of Annual Sales in US$ Thousand for Years 2020 through 2027 and % CAGR Table 34: Europe 7-Year Perspective for Smart Ports by Geographic Region - Percentage Breakdown of Value Sales for France, Germany, Italy, UK and Rest of Europe Markets for Years 2020 & 2027 Table 35: Europe Current & Future Analysis for Smart Ports by Technology - Process Automation, Artificial Intelligence, Internet of Things and Blockchain - Independent Analysis of Annual Sales in US$ Thousand for the Years 2020 through 2027 and % CAGR Table 36: Europe 7-Year Perspective for Smart Ports by Technology - Percentage Breakdown of Value Sales for Process Automation, Artificial Intelligence, Internet of Things and Blockchain for the Years 2020 & 2027 Table 37: Europe Current & Future Analysis for Smart Ports by Throughput Capacity - Extensively Busy, Moderately Busy and Scarcely Busy - Independent Analysis of Annual Sales in US$ Thousand for the Years 2020 through 2027 and % CAGR Table 38: Europe 7-Year Perspective for Smart Ports by Throughput Capacity - Percentage Breakdown of Value Sales for Extensively Busy, Moderately Busy and Scarcely Busy for the Years 2020 & 2027 FRANCE Table 39: France Current & Future Analysis for Smart Ports by Technology - Process Automation, Artificial Intelligence, Internet of Things and Blockchain - Independent Analysis of Annual Sales in US$ Thousand for the Years 2020 through 2027 and % CAGR Table 40: France 7-Year Perspective for Smart Ports by Technology - Percentage Breakdown of Value Sales for Process Automation, Artificial Intelligence, Internet of Things and Blockchain for the Years 2020 & 2027 Table 41: France Current & Future Analysis for Smart Ports by Throughput Capacity - Extensively Busy, Moderately Busy and Scarcely Busy - Independent Analysis of Annual Sales in US$ Thousand for the Years 2020 through 2027 and % CAGR Table 42: France 7-Year Perspective for Smart Ports by Throughput Capacity - Percentage Breakdown of Value Sales for Extensively Busy, Moderately Busy and Scarcely Busy for the Years 2020 & 2027 GERMANY Table 43: Germany Current & Future Analysis for Smart Ports by Technology - Process Automation, Artificial Intelligence, Internet of Things and Blockchain - Independent Analysis of Annual Sales in US$ Thousand for the Years 2020 through 2027 and % CAGR Table 44: Germany 7-Year Perspective for Smart Ports by Technology - Percentage Breakdown of Value Sales for Process Automation, Artificial Intelligence, Internet of Things and Blockchain for the Years 2020 & 2027 Table 45: Germany Current & Future Analysis for Smart Ports by Throughput Capacity - Extensively Busy, Moderately Busy and Scarcely Busy - Independent Analysis of Annual Sales in US$ Thousand for the Years 2020 through 2027 and % CAGR Table 46: Germany 7-Year Perspective for Smart Ports by Throughput Capacity - Percentage Breakdown of Value Sales for Extensively Busy, Moderately Busy and Scarcely Busy for the Years 2020 & 2027 ITALY Table 47: Italy Current & Future Analysis for Smart Ports by Technology - Process Automation, Artificial Intelligence, Internet of Things and Blockchain - Independent Analysis of Annual Sales in US$ Thousand for the Years 2020 through 2027 and % CAGR Table 48: Italy 7-Year Perspective for Smart Ports by Technology - Percentage Breakdown of Value Sales for Process Automation, Artificial Intelligence, Internet of Things and Blockchain for the Years 2020 & 2027 Table 49: Italy Current & Future Analysis for Smart Ports by Throughput Capacity - Extensively Busy, Moderately Busy and Scarcely Busy - Independent Analysis of Annual Sales in US$ Thousand for the Years 2020 through 2027 and % CAGR Table 50: Italy 7-Year Perspective for Smart Ports by Throughput Capacity - Percentage Breakdown of Value Sales for Extensively Busy, Moderately Busy and Scarcely Busy for the Years 2020 & 2027 UNITED KINGDOM Table 51: UK Current & Future Analysis for Smart Ports by Technology - Process Automation, Artificial Intelligence, Internet of Things and Blockchain - Independent Analysis of Annual Sales in US$ Thousand for the Years 2020 through 2027 and % CAGR Table 52: UK 7-Year Perspective for Smart Ports by Technology - Percentage Breakdown of Value Sales for Process Automation, Artificial Intelligence, Internet of Things and Blockchain for the Years 2020 & 2027 Table 53: UK Current & Future Analysis for Smart Ports by Throughput Capacity - Extensively Busy, Moderately Busy and Scarcely Busy - Independent Analysis of Annual Sales in US$ Thousand for the Years 2020 through 2027 and % CAGR Table 54: UK 7-Year Perspective for Smart Ports by Throughput Capacity - Percentage Breakdown of Value Sales for Extensively Busy, Moderately Busy and Scarcely Busy for the Years 2020 & 2027 REST OF EUROPE Table 55: Rest of Europe Current & Future Analysis for Smart Ports by Technology - Process Automation, Artificial Intelligence, Internet of Things and Blockchain - Independent Analysis of Annual Sales in US$ Thousand for the Years 2020 through 2027 and % CAGR Table 56: Rest of Europe 7-Year Perspective for Smart Ports by Technology - Percentage Breakdown of Value Sales for Process Automation, Artificial Intelligence, Internet of Things and Blockchain for the Years 2020 & 2027 Table 57: Rest of Europe Current & Future Analysis for Smart Ports by Throughput Capacity - Extensively Busy, Moderately Busy and Scarcely Busy - Independent Analysis of Annual Sales in US$ Thousand for the Years 2020 through 2027 and % CAGR Table 58: Rest of Europe 7-Year Perspective for Smart Ports by Throughput Capacity - Percentage Breakdown of Value Sales for Extensively Busy, Moderately Busy and Scarcely Busy for the Years 2020 & 2027 ASIA-PACIFIC Table 59: Asia-Pacific Current & Future Analysis for Smart Ports by Technology - Process Automation, Artificial Intelligence, Internet of Things and Blockchain - Independent Analysis of Annual Sales in US$ Thousand for the Years 2020 through 2027 and % CAGR Table 60: Asia-Pacific 7-Year Perspective for Smart Ports by Technology - Percentage Breakdown of Value Sales for Process Automation, Artificial Intelligence, Internet of Things and Blockchain for the Years 2020 & 2027 Table 61: Asia-Pacific Current & Future Analysis for Smart Ports by Throughput Capacity - Extensively Busy, Moderately Busy and Scarcely Busy - Independent Analysis of Annual Sales in US$ Thousand for the Years 2020 through 2027 and % CAGR Table 62: Asia-Pacific 7-Year Perspective for Smart Ports by Throughput Capacity - Percentage Breakdown of Value Sales for Extensively Busy, Moderately Busy and Scarcely Busy for the Years 2020 & 2027 REST OF WORLD Table 63: Rest of World Current & Future Analysis for Smart Ports by Technology - Process Automation, Artificial Intelligence, Internet of Things and Blockchain - Independent Analysis of Annual Sales in US$ Thousand for the Years 2020 through 2027 and % CAGR Table 64: Rest of World 7-Year Perspective for Smart Ports by Technology - Percentage Breakdown of Value Sales for Process Automation, Artificial Intelligence, Internet of Things and Blockchain for the Years 2020 & 2027 Table 65: Rest of World Current & Future Analysis for Smart Ports by Throughput Capacity - Extensively Busy, Moderately Busy and Scarcely Busy - Independent Analysis of Annual Sales in US$ Thousand for the Years 2020 through 2027 and % CAGR Table 66: Rest of World 7-Year Perspective for Smart Ports by Throughput Capacity - Percentage Breakdown of Value Sales for Extensively Busy, Moderately Busy and Scarcely Busy for the Years 2020 & 2027 IV. COMPETITION Total Companies Profiled: 35Read the full report: https://www.reportlinker.com/p06032915/?utm_source=GNWAbout ReportlinkerReportLinker is an award-winning market research solution. Reportlinker finds and organizes the latest industry data so you get all the market research you need - instantly, in one place.__________________________ CONTACT: Clare: clare@reportlinker.com US: (339)-368-6001 Intl: +1 339-368-6001
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Reader suggestion, right-wing flexing and a theoretical fight that doesn't really understand the Supremacy Clause or how drones work.

Read more . . .

The last few years have seen quite the conversation where guns are concerned. On television, viewers have been told AR-15's are automatic weapons. And among some pundits, "semi-automatic" has been used as if to designate a very specialized kind of gun, rather than virtually every gun.
President Abraham Lincoln, seeking to avoid a civil war, ended his first inaugural address in 1861 by appealing to "the better angels of our nature."

Amid the divisive political climate of the past few years, a grassroots organization inspired by Lincoln's words has attracted about 44,780 members in all 50 states, including 751 members in Michigan.

Braver Angels (originally called Better Angels) formed in the aftermath of the 2016 presidential election with the intent of depolarizing politics.

The organization's stated pledge is as follows:

"As individuals, we try to understand the other sides point of view, even if we dont agree with it.

"In our communities, we engage those we disagree with, looking for common ground and ways to work together.

"In politics, we support principles that bring us together rather than divide us."

Ciaran O'Connor, chief marketing officer of Braver Angels, explained the genesis of the movement.

"We were just concerned with the growing polarization of the country and the fact that people were no longer seeing political opponents as wrong or misguided, but as enemies," O'Connor said.

Braver Angels proceeded to organize workshops around the country that seek to bring together those who disagree politically, O'Connor said.

"It's a workshop thats designed to help people better understand each other's perspective and reduce the stereotyped thinking we all do," he said.

The organization changed its name to "Braver Angels" last year.

"Part of it was that we wanted to emphasize the notion of courage and bravery," O'Connor said. "People think about respect and compassion and civility. But at a time when the country is so polarized, we think it really takes courage to do this work (of bridging divides). So thats why weve been talking about the braver angels of our nature, not just the better angels of our nature."

In Michigan, Sarah Brabbs, an author and speaker from Milan, is the co-coordinator of the state chapter of Braver Angels.

"After the election last (November), we had a spike (in interest from the public), and also after the 6th (of January when rioters stormed the U.S. Capitol)," Brabbs said. "Its just people desperate to do something positive to heal the fabric of the divide. Theres just more urgency."

For those who want to learn more, Brabbs recommends the online workshop "Depolarizing Within," which will next be held Saturday, March 6 from 1-3 p.m. Information and registration are at https://bit.ly/3aHPJ7n

A follow-up workshop to that is "Skills for Bridging the Divide" on Saturday, March 13 from 1-3 p.m. The registration link for that workshop is https://bit.ly/37z4O9l
Trust is the transaction.

Verivest LLC, a Portland, Oregon-based real estate technology company, today announced the launch of its online platform connecting passive investors with middle-market deal sponsors. Verivest moves beyond the popular crowdfunding model by providing independent due diligence of sponsors, including background checks, track record verification and ongoing portfolio monitoring.

Real estate investing suffers from a lack of transparency, says Verivest founder Lance Pederson, a 13-year veteran of real estate fund architecting. There are plenty of worthy, proven sponsors, but also bad actors who pass themselves off as worthy, proven sponsors.

Interest in alternative investments, including real estate, is on the rise. As middle-market real estate investing has become democratized over the past 10 years, accredited investors have turned to crowdfunding, online research, and word-of-mouth to find opportunities. Because these vehicles arent as regulated as the public markets, investors must often conduct their own due diligence on deal sponsors. Without an independent assessment, many of them have to rely on what the sponsor tells them, which may not be either true or accurate. A dishonorable sponsor who is excellent at marketing and sales or presumed to be trustworthy because of relationships and associations, can fool even the most sophisticated investors. This vulnerability in the process has played a part in many high-profile investment fraud cases.

Verivest allows passive investors to search the platforms network of sponsors by strategy, property type and risk profile. The platforms algorithm ranks results based on the extent to which the sponsors and their performance have been independently verified, surfacing the most thoroughly vetted opportunities to the top. Sponsors earn the status of Verivest Verified when all key principals have passed a background check and signed Verivests Code of Conduct, demonstrating their commitment to transparency and trust. They earn the status of Verified Gold when all their open opportunities are actively monitored, which demonstrates they are following the rules of the deals operating agreement and allocating money how they said they would.

Verified sponsors can list open deal opportunities and related information on Verivests site. Verivest does not, however, recommend any specific deals or provide any investment advice to investors. Nor does it receive any payment based on capital raised by Sponsors. Instead, Verivest relays each sponsors verified status and certain verified information about the sponsors, and sponsors pay Verivest fees for its listing, verification, and monitoring services.

In addition to enabling investors to make better decisions, the Verivest platform is also a boon to trustworthy sponsors. Committing themselves to independent verification increases their ability to find new investors and get funding for both current and future opportunities.

With his and his teams background in investment management, fund administration and accounting, Pederson has seen first-hand the benefits of this level of transparency. Building trust is difficult and time-consuming, says Pederson. With the launch of Verivest we are lifting some of that burden off the backs of investors and sponsors. Its a win-win that lets both sides focus on whats really important: the deals themselves.

To find out more, visit Verivest.com, or contact Lance Pederson at Lance@Verivest.com.

ABOUT VERIVEST

Verivest is a first-of-its-kind platform designed to bring transparency and trust to middle-market real estate investing. Sponsors are verified through background due diligence and portfolio monitoring, allowing investors to more confidently find, assess, choose, and monitor the right deals for their investment goals.

https://verivest.com/
Alicia Renee

Jazz vocalist Alicia Renee livestreams a performance from the balcony of the New Orleans Jazz Museum at 5 p.m. Tuesday, Feb. 23. Shes backed by Soul Rebels trumpeter Julian Gosin, funky saxophonist Khris Royal, bassist Chris Severin, pianist Yoshitaka Tsuji and others. The link is on its social media.

Brain Duster

A double-barrel improvisation project, Brain Duster doubles up on drums, bass and reeds. The lineup features Aurora Nealand, Brad Walker, bassists Matt Booth and James Singleton and drummers Doug Garrison and Mikel Patrick Avery. At 7 p.m. Wednesday, Feb. 24, at Broadside. Find tickets at the Broadside.

Southern Rep Pop-Up plays

Southern Rep Theatre presents a slate of new short plays in its THE POP-UP series at 7:30 p.m. Wednesday, Feb. 24. There are readings of work by Calvin Calkutta Winbish II, Brian Egland and Emma Schillage and music by Jean Velvet. Find the streaming link on Eventbrite.com.

"Arsenic and Old Lace"

A hit on Broadway and film, Arsenic and Old Lace is a dark comedy in which Mortimer Brewster seeks to marry a ministers daughter and is tripped up by his bizarre family, including a couple of spinsters who have been luring and knocking off old men. Janet Shea stars in the JPAS production at Jefferson Performing Arts Center at 7:30 p.m. Fridays and Saturdays and 2 p.m. Sundays from Feb. 26 through March 7. Find tickets at Jefferson Performing Arts Society.

Michot's Melody Makers

Though grounded in traditional Cajun music, fiddler Louis Michot spaced out a bit with his Michots Melody Makers band on last summers Cosmic Cajuns from Saturn album, featuring Mark Bingham. The band plays a live show at the outdoor space at Broadside at 7 p.m. Saturday, Feb. 27. Find tickets at the Broadside.

Augustin J. Correro goes behind the scenes in new book 'Tennessee Williams 101' As a co-director and co-founder of the Tennessee Williams Theatre Company of New Orleans, Augustin J. Correro often is asked to give talks abo
[February 22, 2021] Sitel Group to Provide Jobs to Displaced Venezuelans Through Impact Sourcing Partnership

MIAMI, Feb. 22, 2021 /PRNewswire/ -- Sitel Group , a global leader in end-to-end customer experience (CX) products and solutions, today announced its partnership with Tent, IAOP, BPrO (the Colombian BPO association) and eight other BPO organizations to launch the first impact sourcing initiative to support displaced Venezuelan refugees in Colombia. "Since 2017, our teams in Colombia have hired nearly 500 Venezuelan refugees," said Eduardo Endo, country manager, Sitel Colombia. "We are honored to support this vulnerable population with growing career opportunities and education programs as they build a new life here in Colombia. The COVID-19 pandemic has heightened the refugee crisis in Venezuela, and we're proud to be able to do our part for many of these immigrants." Sitel Colombia plans to hire an additional 300 Venezuelan refugees, an increase of 66%, over the next three years. Nearly 15% of Venezuelans have left their country searching for better opportunities in neighboring countries like Brazil, Peru and Colombia. "We're excited to welcome Sitel to the Tent family, and we are so proud of their efforts to hire Venezuelans in Colombia," said Yaron Schwartz, Head of Impact Sourcing at the Tent Partnership for Refugees. "Integrating refugees into a company's workforce isn't just good for society - refugees are hard-working, motivated employees who tend to stay longer with their employers. Companies stand a lot to gain by integrating this talented group of people." As part of its ongoing commitment to corporate social responsibility (CSR), Sitel Group continues its global support in the areas of education, health and wellbeing. "This partnership is a testament to our ongoing commitment to empower and enrich the communities in which we live and work," said Catherine Trujillo, Global CSR manager. "Connecting people across the globe with training, enrichment programs and career opportunities is not just core to our business; it's cor to our values."



For more than a year, Sitel Group has increased social inclusion in talent acquisition and provided long-term, sustainable employment opportunities to various candidates, including those who have lost their job during the pandemic or have been displaced due to the refugee crisis in Venezuela. Providing employment opportunities for Venezuelans in Colombia contributes to economic growth and provides pathways supporting socio-economic development. Employment opportunities at Sitel Colombia range from customer service representatives to leadership positions. Free English courses are available to all applicants. Interested applicants can visit jobs.sitel.com for additional information.

About Sitel Group As a global leader in end-to-end customer experience (CX) products and solutions, Sitel Group partners with the world's best-loved brands, from Fortune 500 companies to local startups, to design, build and deliver a competitive edge across all customer touchpoints. With 90,000 people working across the globe  at home, in contact centers and within MAXhubs  we securely connect brands with their customers over 4.5 million times every day in 50+ languages, driving our clients' digital CX strategies forward. Powered by our global strength, local expertise and proprietary technologies, we deliver tailored solutions to fit clients' needs through a consultative, customer-centric approach. EXP+, Sitel Group's Enterprise Experience Platform, is a flexible solution with complete cloud capability, designed to simplify the delivery of end-to-end CX services, while boosting efficiency, effectiveness and customer satisfaction. EXP+ creates a robust ecosystem by harnessing the power of four connected product families: Empower, Engage, Explore and Evolve. With our award-winning culture built on 35+ years of industry-leading experience and commitment to improving the employee experience, we improve business results by pairing innovative design thinking and digital solutions  including self-service, artificial intelligence (AI), automation and data-driven analytics  with the expertise, emotion and empathy of our people to Create Connection. Value Conversation. Learn more at www.sitel.com and connect with us on Facebook , LinkedIn and Twitter . About the Tent Partnership for Refugees With more and more refugees displaced for longer periods of time, businesses have a critical role to play in helping refugees integrate economically in their new host communities. The Tent Partnership for Refugees mobilizes the global business community to improve the lives and livelihoods of 30 million refugees who have been forcibly displaced from their home countries. Find out more at? www.tent.org Media Contact:

media@sitel.com View original content to download multimedia:http://www.prnewswire.com/news-releases/sitel-group-to-provide-jobs-to-displaced-venezuelans-through-impact-sourcing-partnership-301232548.html SOURCE Sitel Group

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Shahdol, Feb 22 : A BJP worker along with three others has been booked for allegedly abducting and raping a 20-year-old woman in Shahdol district of Madhya Pradesh, police said.

The police have registered a case against four people but there have been no arrests made so far.

A missing persons report about a 20-year-old girl was registered at the Jaitpur police station on Feb 18. The girl was found unconscious outside her home two days later. The victim told the police that four people abducted her from outside here home. She was kept at a farm house in Gadaghat for two days and allegedly drugged and gang-raped.

The accused then dumped her outside her home.

On the basis of the victim's complaint, the police have registered a case against BJP leader Vijay Tripathi and his accomplices, teacher Rajesh Shukla, along with Munna Singh and Monu Maharaj.

Superintendent of Police Avdhesh Goswami said: "A case has been registered against four people, but nobody has yet been arrested. The police are hunting for the accused. " KK Mishra, general secretary of the Congress's media department took a jibe against the alleged involvement of BJP leaders in the horrific crime. "BJP leader involved in gang-rape against a woman in Shahdol! Don't your party's leaders have a reputation of being unblemished, Mamaji [referring to CM Shivraj Singh Chouhan]..."
Entergy New Orleanss response to the winter weather that struck the region last week and ongoing concerns about the Sewerage & Water Boards power capacity will come under City Council scrutiny on Tuesday.

A joint meeting of the councils public works and utility subcommittees will also dig into a plan to switch the S&WB, which currently generates much of the power used by its drainage pumps and water system, to using Entergy as its primary power source.

Among the top items on the councils agenda are the rolling blackouts Entergy implemented in the city  and other utilities enacted elsewhere in the state  on Tuesday due to fears that the power grid was overtaxed amid frigid temperatures.

The utility has been criticized by City Council members and others for giving no warning ahead of the blackouts. Questions have also been raised about the fact that in New Orleans, the outage maps provided by Entergy showed the blackouts affecting primarily poor and predominantly Black neighborhoods.

+5 What are 'rolling blackouts'? Here's why Louisiana utilities are being asked to shut off power Rolling blackouts have left millions of customers in Texas without power this week, and on Tuesday night Louisiana residents began to experien

Council member Helena Moreno has pushed for Entergy to account for both those issues, something she and her office said will be pressed at the meeting.

Separately, the council is also expected to dig into why one of those planned outages cut power to the S&WBs water system. Problems were only narrowly averted because the S&WB had generators in place, according to WWL-TV.

Council member Joe Giarrusso, who chairs the public works committee, said the problem stemmed from the fact that the S&WBs water plant was not included in a list of locations where power should be kept on.

Entergy has a set of entities that are first priority, Giarrusso said. Those included hospitals and first responders. For whatever reason, the Sewerage & Water Board was not in those protected entities. Council member Moreno and I have separately spoken with Entergy to say that going forward S&WB has to be among those protected aspects.

Before the winter storms struck, the meeting was expected to solely feature the S&WB and focus primarily on its power system, which is currently limping along. As it stands, S&WB gets power from Entergy for about half of its drainage system but uses its own turbines to provide electricity on the uncommon frequency standard used by the rest of the pumps.

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New Orleans power restored; thousands elsewhere in state still waiting as cold lingers Power was back on for most New Orleans homes on Wednesday morning, though tens of thousands elsewhere in the state were still waiting for thei

Two turbines are out of service for repairs, leaving the S&WB with just enough power left to run its pumps at full capacity. That means that should any other power equipment fail  as happens frequently  the utility could be unable to run some parts of its drainage system.

The goal is to get those turbines up and running before hurricane season, according to a report the S&WB filed with the City Council. Another turbine the S&WB plans to install, for a cost of $18 million to $20 million, would serve to give the utility an even greater buffer.

All together, that would get the S&WB to a place where we dont have to keep having this discussion every few months, Giarrusso said.

But a longer-term plan would turn all of the existing turbines into a backup and using Entergy as its primary power source.

Texas is facing 'rolling blackouts.' Here's what that means and what could happen in Louisiana. Rolling blackouts have left millions of customers in Texas without power on Monday as electricity companies struggle to deal with the surge in

Switching to Entergy power would involve building a substation at the Carrollton Plant and using frequency changers to put the entire S&WB system on the electrical utilitys power.

Current estimates of the total cost of the project would be about $75 million and finding that money could be the next major hurdle, Giarrusso said.

The question now is what are available sources of money in buckets from available resources or potentially resources like the state and what else can be financed to otherwise get those things online, Giarrusso said.
ALGIERS - Thousands of demonstrators on Monday protested in Algiers and in the rest of the country for the second anniversary of the anti-government uprising of the 'Hirak' movement which in April 2019 led to the ouster of the former strongman of Algeria, Abdelaziz Bouteflika.

Protests continued after his fall.

Monday's demonstration was the largest recorded in the capital since the suspension of Hirak marches on March 13, 2020, due to the Covid-19 pandemic.
Blackwater founder and prominent Donald Trump campaign donor Erik Prince is accused of violating the United Nations arms embargo on Libya by working with a team of mercenaries to obtain military hardware to aid the offensive of rogue leader Khalifa Hifter in 2019, according to a UN report.

Prince, a former Navy SEAL and brother of former US Secretary of Education Betsy Devos, allegedly ran an $80 million scheme that involved delivering two armed gunboats, three attack helicopters and at least one military drone to Libya in 2019, as well as potential plans to create an assassination team to kill certain Libyan military commanders.

The UN investigators findings were first reported by the New York Times.

Prince denied the allegations in an interview with the New York Times on Sunday. Erik Prince didnt breach any arms embargo and had nothing to do with sending aircraft, drones, arms or people to Libya  period, he said.

According to the report, Christiaan Durrant, a former business partner and friend of Princes, traveled to Amman to purchase three US-made AH-1F Cobra helicopter gunships from the Jordanian government. The team also obtained electronic warfare equipment to jam enemy communications and a mobile command center.

The Cobras were packed in shipping containers and ready to be loaded onto Russian-built cargo planes before other Jordanian authorities intervened, blocking the transfer. Amman requires US government permission to resell American-made military hardware, and no formal permission had been granted, according to the UN investigation.

Members of the mercenary team reportedly told Jordanian authorities that they had received a green light from the highest levels of the US government, but calls placed to Washington did not support that assertion, the UN report said.

Durrant also called the White House several times as the plan fell apart, according to the newspaper.

Prince also intervened on behalf of the mercenary team, calling Jordanian officials with requests that the helicopters be handed over. Members of the group then discussed seeking gunships elsewhere, but raised concerns that doing so would entail considerable legal risk and that option was beyond the scope of the agreed contract.

Durrant denied to the Washington Post last week that he or his colleagues ever claimed the attempted acquisition had received US government permission, calling the UN report totally false in every part.

UN investigators suspect they were to be used to provide air cover for Hifters offensive against the UN-backed government in Tripoli, according to the report. But the mercenaries failure to obtain the helicopters ultimately scuttled the mission. Hifter reportedly reacted angrily to the teams inability to provide the promised air cover for his operation.

According to the Washington Post, the plan was then called off and a team of some 20 Western military veterans from South Africa, Australia, the United Kingdom and at least one American  a pilot  fled Libya for Malta.

Princes suspected ties to the aborted mercenary operation were previously reported by the New York Times and Rolling Stone.

Among the mercenary teams missions in Benghazi was deploying strike teams in inflatable, rigid-hulled gunboats to prevent Turkey from delivering weapons into the conflict on the side of the Tripoli-based Government of National Accord.

The reports raise serious questions about whether Princes alleged activities were sanctioned by the Trump administration.

Hifter, a former CIA asset who previously resided in Virginia, reportedly approved the proposal for Western-trained military personnel to aid his offensive against Tripoli. Among the proposals was one to deploy an assassination squad to take out western Libyan political and military leaders.

The mercenaries self-styled Opus Team was backed by two companies headquartered in Dubai, in the United Arab Emirates: Lancaster6 and Opus Capital Assets.

Durrant, a former pilot with the Australian Air Force, reportedly leads Lancaster6 and holds senior positions at Opus Capital Assets. He has denied involvement in the Libya mercenary operation, claiming instead to UN investigators that he partook in plans to set up a logistics hub in Libya for providing private protection for petroleum and gas facilities.

UN investigators accusations could leave Prince and his colleagues open to international sanctions. The international bodys arms embargo on Libya, in place since February 2011, forbids the transfer of military hardware into and out of the North African country.

Libya has been in a state of sporadic civil war since a popular uprising backed by NATO overthrew longtime dictator Moammar al-Gadhafi.

After slowly capturing nearly all of Libyas east and oil-rich south, Hifter, a former colonel in Gadhafis army, launched a surprise offensive to take the UN-recognized governments final stronghold at Tripoli.

Then-national security adviser John Bolton personally gave Hifter the tacit green light for that operation, the New York Times revealed last year.

The Trump White House also appeared to tacitly support the offensive in a statement shortly after it began.

But the assault drew greater Turkish military intervention, including weapons and mercenaries from the battlefields of Syrias civil war. It led Russia to send additional Wagner mercenaries on behalf of Hifter, leading the United States to push for a cease-fire as the Kremlin was poised to increase its military presence on the Mediterranean.

The US Defense Intelligence Agency reported that the UAE, which provides funds for Hifters war effort, has also financed at least some of Wagners operations in Libya.

Libyas cease-fire has held so far, though progress toward a political solution remains slow. Russia, Turkey and the United Arab Emirates have shown no sign of pulling foreign fighters from the country, despite a UN deadline last month.
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A 51-year-old man who chased and yelled racist slurs at a Black TriMet supervisor at a Southwest Portland transit station last year was sentenced to 18 months in prison for committing a bias crime.

Multnomah County District Attorney Mike Schmidt announced Thomas DeLongs sentence Sunday. DeLong pleaded guilty to one count of a bias crime, one count of menacing and one county of second-degree disorderly conduct stemming from the high-profile 2020 incident.

DeLong initially pleaded not guilty to charges. He told court officials at the time that he drank a little too much, and didnt mean to commit a felony, according to court documents. According to early reports involving the incident, DeLong missed a bus and then started chasing the supervisor around the property.

According to the district attorneys officer, the TriMet employee heard a TriMet driver called for help, and the driver left the Barbur Transit Station specifically to avoid DeLong.

DeLong was seen hitting the side of the bus. When he spotted the TriMet supervisor, he started screaming and running toward the man while clenching both hands into fists and swinging them in a circular fashion while chasing the TriMet worker.

DeLong was yelling racist slurs while chasing the man, who was eventually able to escape DeLong in a TriMet vehicle until police arrived

Beyond the 18 month prison sentence, DeLong also faces five years of probation and is prohibited from entering TriMet property. He also is barred from interaction with the TriMet employee and was ordered to undergo a drug and alcohol mental health evaluation.

 Andrew Theen; atheen@oregonian.com; 503-294-4026; @andrewtheen
Hirayama disease, also known as monomelic amyotrophy, Sobue disease or Juvenile non-progressive amyotrophy is a rare and incurable disease that was first described in 1959 by Dr. Keizo Hirayama, a neurologist, attached to the Chiba University School of Medicine in Japan. It mainly affects young males aged between 15-25 years, generally after they experience their adolescent growth spurt. Technically, it is termed as a lower motor neuron disorder.

Classical findings include muscle wasting (atrophy ) and weakness of the forearms and hands, either on one or both sides. There is, however, no change in sensation and the patient doesnt experience any pain. There may be involuntary muscle twitching (fasciculations), but these are rare. The disease usually progresses for 2-5 years before stabilizing or plateauing. After plateauing, improvement in the symptoms does not occur. However, it does not worsen either.

Even though Hirayama disease is regarded as a self-limiting and non-progressive disease, it can be severely debilitating is certain individuals. For this reason, early intervention is vital for halting disease-progression and reducing the severity of the disability.

Salient Features of Hirayama Disease

Muscle weakness in the hand and forearm

Muscle wasting in the hands

Usually affects the hands on one side (unilateral)

Legs are not affected

Occurs between the ages of 15-25 years

Occurs suddenly, progresses gradually for several years, then stabilizes

Pain or sensory changes do not occur



Epidemiology of Hirayama Disease

Hirayama disease predominantly occurs in Asian countries, especially in Japan, where it was first reported. Other Asian countries where the disease has been reported, include China, Malaysia, Taiwan, Sri Lanka, and India. However, very few cases have been reported from Europe and USA. In the case of India, most patients are from eastern and southern India, and to a lesser extent from northern India. The major affected states include West Bengal, Andhra Pradesh, and Telangana.

Clinical Presentation of Hirayama Disease

Hirayama disease generally starts at puberty and progresses to mid-teens and early adulthood, then reaches a plateau and does not progress any further. But by that time, irreversible damage has already been done to the hands, which become totally useless. Therefore, early diagnosis and medical intervention are vital.

The disease affects males more than females (male to female ratio - 3:1). In most patients, the right hand is predominantly affected at a ratio of 2.8:1, irrespective of hand dominance. However, in severe cases, both hands can be affected. This is especially evident in case of a rare condition called OSullivan-McLeod syndrome.

Hirayama disease progresses very slowly, usually up to 5 years, but sometimes, may be as long as 10 years. After this period, the symptoms stabilize, but in rare instances, they can persist till the age of 40 years. Other rare clinical features include worsening of symptoms upon exposure to cold (cold paresis), cold hands, muscle cramps, and occasionally tremors and twitching. However, there is no difficulty in passing urine.
(Natural News) Disha Ravi, the 22-year-old Indian activist who allegedly made an anti-government protest toolkit for climate child Greta Thunberg, has been arrested and could face life in prison.

After Greta was caught tweeting the toolkit by mistake, Indian authorities promised to get to the bottom of the situation and hold whoever made the toolkit for Greta and other celebrities accountable.

This toolkit was used by the likes of Rihanna and even Kamala Harris niece Meena as a pot-stirring weapon to raise ire against the Indian government. Its talking points centered around the deadly farmers protest in India, encouraging people in the West to support their uprising.

Ravi, who led the Indian arm of Gretas Fridays for Future protest movement, is now being investigated for sedition. Should she be found guilty, Ravi could spend the rest of her life in prison.

The Indian government also issued a public condemnation against vested interest groups that are trying to enforce their agenda.

In the toolkit document, which Greta accidentally tweeted to her 4.9 million Twitter followers, was a list of suggested posts for celebrities to tweet to rally their supporters to action. Some of them called for protests at Indian embassies, for instance, or other forms of civil unrest.

Delhi police officers say that Ravi was the one who shared the Toolkit doc with Greta Thunberg. Ravi also allegedly started the WhatsApp group where the document was first drafted and edited.

Later, she asked Greta to remove the main doc after its incriminating details accidentally got into public domain, law enforcement further revealed.

Greta and Ravi are not necessarily wrong in opposing new tyrannical agriculture rules in India

Greta was unsuccessful at deleting the incriminating document before many captured screenshots of it. These screenshots were widely shared online and quickly got into the hands of Indian police, who are now pursuing justice.

In Ravis defense, Shashi Tharoor, a member of parliament (MP) from the main opposition Congress party in India, said the activists arrest is the latest escalation in Indias crackdown on free expression and political dissent, as it seeks to stifle the farmers mass protests.

Tens of thousands of Indian farmers have stationed themselves around the capital city to protest new agricultural laws that they say will leave them poorer and at the mercy of large corporations. Greta and Ravi are standing in their defense.

On Jan. 26, Indias Republic Day, a violent clash occurred at the capital. Hundreds of police officers were injured and one protester died. Many of the farmers were also injured, though few details have been released about the full outcome.

After mistakenly tweeting, then deleting, the incriminating document, Greta tweeted another message that stated: I still #StandWithFarmers and support their peaceful protest. No amount of hate, threats or violations of human rights will ever change that.

According to reports, Indian police are planning to arrest even more people, including a Bombay High Court lawyer who has been deemed as absconding.

Greta, the precious darling, is definitely a messenger for the global ruling elite, wrote one of our own commenters. In September 2019, she gave a telltale speech on the climate crisis, winding it up with the unveiled prediction, To those who feel threatened by my message, things will change whether they like it or not.'

In retrospect, I took her to mean the COVID lockdown, this same commenter added. The rulers sent us forewarning in the body of a charming child. So apt.

Another, responding to this comment, noted that Greta is little more than an actress who merely reads the scripts she is given.

More related news about the left-versus-right fight and the struggle for power all around the world can be found at Collapse.news.

Sources for this article include:

NYPost.com

NaturalNews.com
New Delhi: At least six soldiers were killed in a plane crash in Mexico on Sunday morning. The incident occurred at around 9:45 am local time in the municipality of Emiliano Zapata in the state of Veracruz when a jet plane took off from the airport.

In a statement, the Ministry of National Defense (Sedena) said that the LearJet 45 aircraft with registration number 3912 crashed after taking off from El Lencero Airport.

"The Ministry's Air Accidents Investigation and Judicial Commission and the Inspection and Comptroller General of the Army and Air Force will carry out the corresponding expert reports to determine the possible causes of the event," the official statement from Sedena said.

Among the dead were the pilot and co-pilot of the aircraft.

The ministry said that most of the plane, except for the cockpit and tail, was destroyed as the aircraft came down in a field near the airport.

The cause of the accident was not immediately known.

Live TV
Metro Manila (CNN Philippines, February 22) - Voting 225-0 with six abstentions, the House of Representatives approved on third and final reading a bill that seeks to expedite the government's purchase and administration of COVID-19 vaccines.

This was after President Rodrigo Duterte certified as urgent the Senate Bill 2057 and House Bill 8648, with both measures ensuring the availability of national funds to compensate Filipinos in case they die or experience serious side effects after receiving anti-coronavirus shots.

Both versions seek to provide 500 million for the COVID-19 National Indemnity Fund that will be sourced from the contingent fund of the national budget.

The House bill also provides that local government units can only purchase vaccines through a multi-party agreement, involving the National Task Force, the Department of Health, and the vaccine supplier.

It allows provinces, cities, and municipalities to make an advance payment of 50% of the total cost to the vaccine manufacturers.

The bill also seeks to exempt vaccines from customs duties, value added tax, excise tax, donor's tax, and other fees.

Under the proposed law, the DOH is tasked to issue vaccine passports to record the vaccinations received by individuals.

The Senate will continue the discussions on the proposed measure on Wednesday afternoon.

Vaccines from Pfizer, AstraZeneca, and Sinovac were expected to arrive in the country as early as February. However, the arrival of the doses was delayed to due to different issues faced by manufacturers.

Vaccine czar Carlito Galvez, Jr. said Pfizer at the last minute asked for a bilateral agreement on their indemnification clause.

Meanwhile, Galvez said AstraZeneca is facing problems with its global manufacturing.

On the other hand, Sinovac was just issued Emergency Use Authorization on Monday.
Mercedes-Benz ruffled more than a few feathers when it confirmed the next-generation C-Class (called W206 internally) will downsize to a four-cylinder-only range. That means the fire-breathing, V8-powered C63 will lose half of its cylinders, and the silky-smooth straight-six that powers bigger cars will not be available. While all carmakers are trying to keep emissions in check, the German firm explained regulations weren't its only motivation.

"With the 3.0-liter [straight-six] engine, the front end would have grown by [two inches] in length, not to mention the higher axle load and its impact on driving dynamics," explained Christian Fruh, the W206's chief engineer, in an interview with Automotive News Europe. He added that plug-in hybrid technology (which adds a not-insignificant amount of weight, too) allowed his team to create a four-cylinder C-Class that offers a level of power comparable to one equipped with a six-cylinder engine. Smoothness and fuel economy are noticeably improved, too.

Electrification will come standard across the board, and it will take different forms, but going entirely electric is out of the question for the time being. Fruh pointed out the C-Class is built on Mercedes-Benz's modular MRA platform, which can't be fully electrified while keeping costs and dimensions in check. Making a C-Class that runs on batteries would have required significant changes like bigger wheels, additional ground clearance, or both, and the firm would have ended up with a Franken-sedan. Using the Electric Vehicle Architecture (EVA) that will underpin the EQS was ruled out, too, because adapting it would have gone "beyond the dimensional concept and budget of the C-Class."

Downsized, sharper-looking, and comprehensive redesigned, the 2022 C-Class will make its global debut online on February 23, 2021. Mercedes-Benz will stream the unveiling on its Mercedes Me digital platform starting at 2 p.m. European time, which is 8 a.m. in New York City and 5 a.m. in Los Angeles. Sales will start shortly after.

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Since the start of February, Nigerian stocks have been on a steady decline for reasons ranging from profit-taking in equities that have yielded returns over time, to reallocation of proceeds from shares sales to investment in other securities.

The price correction and volatility has induced a 5.25 per cent fall in the benchmark index so far this month.

Nevertheless, periods of downturn like the current one usually offer a good chance for investing since stocks are generally priced low. As the dividend season emerges, shrewd investors will also be looking to position for incentives beyond regular stock yields.

We have curated some stocks you should look out for this week based on market developments last week and a couple of fundamental factors.

PREMIUM TIMES Stocks to Watch is a selection of equities monitored for potential trading or investment. An investor may randomly assemble some stocks for investment purposes. But we have done some rigorous analytical evaluation to save you that hassle.

However, this is not a buy, sell or hold recommendation. You may have to involve your financial advisor before taking investment decisions.

UNITED CAPITAL PLC

United Capital tops our list for declaring a N0.70 dividend per share for 2020, 40 per cent higher than the N0.50 it paid shareholders for the previous year. Its Earnings Per Share (EPS) is N2.62 while its Price-to-Earnings (PE) ratio is 2.42, making it cheap for investment at a price of N6.35.

Investors desiring to benefit from the dividend payout must purchase the stock before the close of business on March 5.

AFRICA PRUDENTIAL PLC

Africa Prudential features on our list this week by virtue of its proposal of dividend per share of N0.50 for 2020. It currently sells for N7.30 per share, has an EPS of N0.88 and a PE ratio of 8.30.

PORTLAND PAINTS & PRODUCTS NIGERIA PLC

Portland Paints makes our list on account of its proposed merger with Chemical and Allied Products Plc.

Shareholders have the liberty to either receive the payment of N2.90 for every share held in Portland Paints as settlement for cancellation of their stake in the company at the end of the process or have every eight ordinary shares held in Portland Paints exchanged for 1 in the new enlarged entity to be called Chemical and Allied Products Plc.

Portland Paints current market price is N3.25.

ACCESS BANK PLC

Access Bank appears on our list for trading below its intrinsic value. It currently sells for N8.40, with an EPS of N3.08 and a PE ratio of 2.72.

FIDELITY BANK PLC

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Fidelity Bank makes our list for trading significantly below its real value. It is priced at N2.48 per share, with an EPS of N0.92 and a PE ratio of 2.70.

BETA GLASS PLC

Beta Glass features on our list for trading at its lowest price in 52 weeks. It sells for N50 per share.
Women are bearing a tremendous financial burden during the pandemic, primarily because of leaving the workforce, by choice or by force.

The Associated Press spoke with Suze Orman, personal finance expert and author of the podcast Women & Money, about how women can survive and emerge from this period. Responses were edited for length and clarity.

Q: A lot of financial advice is focused on savings and investing. But what advice do you have for people who are simply struggling to get by?

A: You first have to list everything you spend money on and determine the must-spends. Buying clothes or ordering something on Amazon, those are not a must-spend. Gasoline for a car, food at a grocery store, those are must-spends. List them in terms of priority  shelter and sustenance are the top.

Then, look at the must-spends and see what you can suspend. Federal student loan payments are suspended until the end of September. Mortgages you can suspend. If you are struggling, do not pay bills you do not have to pay if you can put them on hold.

Its important to take a really realistic look at your life, so that you dont keep kicking the can down the road. If you are going to owe your landlord eight months of back rent and you cant pay it, you have to start making a plan now for the day that happens.

I would pretend like tomorrow everything is back to where I owe student loan payments and I owe this and owe that and start downsizing and figure that out now.

Q: In some cases, people made some good financial choices during the pandemic  saving more, paying off credit cards, spending less. Do you think it will stick and are there any lessons you hope people take away from this?

A: While I would love to think these habits will stick, I do not. The easiest to thing to do in life is to forget and the hardest thing to do is remember.

I thought 2008 would teach people to have an emergency fund, not run up debt, to stop buying bigger houses and new cars all the time. I thought for sure that would happen. But as the stock market started to go up and go up, and they saw their 401(k) and statements expand, all of a sudden they felt rich again and they felt like they could do anything. They could go out to eat and could get bigger homes.

Even thought credit card debt has gone down...give it 10 years and this will just be whatever. A whole new group will be in their place (spending again).

I hope I am wrong.

Q: Even just a one-year employment gap can lead to a big decrease in earnings for women. For those that do return to the workforce, what can they do to make up for this period?

A: Its not just women, it is how are people going to make up for this lost year.

You have to look at this as an opportunity. The opportunity is that you learned you need emergency savings or savings account. Or that you keep your car for 10 or so years instead of getting a new one every few years.

You make up for it by spending less than you normally would spend. You also make up for it by being active with your money. You make up for it by understanding that you pay for taxes now and opt for Roth retirement accounts. You make up for it by not buying certain investments. And by making sure if you own a home making sure its paid off by the time you retire.

You have to take a hard core stance between what you can and cannot do so that you are okay. You cannot save the entire world until you save yourself. That is what we have to learn. This loss could lead to the biggest gains of your life.

Q: Why do you think women need financial advice specific to their gender?

A: Women are givers...it is their natural tendency to give, give, give.

I have done every talk show and met almost every celebrity out there. I cannot tell you the famous women out there who are so wealthy  Oprah excluded  who do not know about money.

But women are willing to admit when they dont know the answers. I have yet to interview a man or go over their finances who dont have answers to every question I have for them. But they are the wrong answers. Men are financial fakers.

Q: Some women say they need to learn more about money and investing. What do you tell them?

A: Lets get really real. Women say they need to do it. Its not about needing to do it. Its about wanting to do it. If they wanted to do it  are you kidding me? They could watch CNBC, they could read Barrons and there are financial books galore. Read my Women & Money book, listen to my podcast. Its an excuse. Its like saying I need to lose weight, OK, then do it.

Its not until you want to do it that you will do it. There is not a lack of resources out there. In this day and age you have a million ways you can go (to invest).

Do not tell Suze Orman that you dont know where to go to do this. You are just fooling yourself, and you are the one that is losing out.

Q. The pandemic is expected to set women back years in terms of economic security and representation in the workforce. Do you think that they, as a group, can recover from this?

A. Absolutely. I absolutely do. I do think it could be another rough year. I dont think it will be until March 2022 until we feel some normalcy. But I think women have the ability to recreate themselves all the time.

If you have what it takes to recover from a divorce  and most women do  or the death of a spouse, you can recover from a one or two year setback from a pandemic where the entire world was affected.

Emotionally you are not by yourself, its a world-wide phenomenon. You have emotional support. So you absolutely have what it takes to recover.

I believe if you learn the lesson that this taught you, you will emerge far richer, far stronger and more secure.
Britains royal family is bracing for a March 7 airing of an American television interview with the Duke and Duchess of Sussex, widely referred to as Harry and Meghan, amid reports that the content is explosive and will make for uncomfortable viewing for the British monarch and senior royals.

The interview with talk show host Oprah Winfrey was taped in California, a day before Buckingham Palace announced that the couple have decided not to return to the royal fold. They will continue to live independently in the United States, where they have struck lucrative deals to produce programming for both Netflix and Spotify and launched their own non-profit foundation.

CBS television insiders say the interview will likely widen the gulf between the couple and the royal household. And they warn it will likely go down as the most notorious interview featuring a member of Britains storied royal family since Harrys mother, the late Diana, Princess of Wales, gave her side of the story in 1995 about the collapse of her marriage to Prince Charles.

It was during the 1995 interview that Diana explained that her husband had maintained an affair with a previous paramour soon after their wedding. There were three of us in this marriage, so it was a bit crowded, she said. She also admitted to having affairs herself because of loneliness and the betrayal.

The Duke and Duchess of Sussex, who is pregnant with their second child, decided a year ago to walk away from their roles as working members of the royal family for a trial period, saying they wanted freedom to pursue their own projects and were aiming to become financially independent, something they have accomplished rapidly.

The pair, who chafed at the strictures of royal life, said they did not desire a complete severing of ties but were hoping for a bespoke half-in-half-out arrangement with Harry maintaining royal patronages and keeping his honorary military titles, including as captain-general of Britains Royal Marines. The titles are bestowed by Queen Elizabeth II.

Last week, the couple and Buckingham Palace, which was never happy with the bespoke arrangement, reviewed the trial separation and confirmed Friday that Harry and Meghan wont be returning to royal duties, a decision that makes final the couples split from the royal family.

It was also announced that Harry will be giving up his honorary military titles, which friends of the couple say has infuriated him. The statements about finalizing what has become known as Megxit were official in tone, but they also indicated the couple and Buckingham Palace are far apart and that the rift is likely to grow.

"Some will say the Sussexes have just stamped their feet again after they didn't get what they wanted, according to the royal correspondent of Britains Sky News, Rhiannon Mills. Others will criticize the royal firm for being too traditional, too old-fashioned and unwilling to work on a compromise with the couple. One thing it has done, which neither side would want, is ramp up the stories of a rift, which will potentially be stoked further by their interview with Oprah, she added.

According to royal reporters, Harry and Meghan did not inform Buckingham Palace that they were taping a television interview while negotiations between the couple and the royal household were ongoing  an omission that has added to alarm.

Britains red-top tabloid newspapers lost no time pivoting Sunday from the coronavirus pandemic and Brexit to Megxit.

Have they no respect? screamed the front page of Saturdays Daily Mail. The paper made much of the fact that the final break between the couple and Buckingham Palace coincided with the ill health of Prince Philip, who was admitted to the hospital last week.

The Sun reported that Harrys brother, Prince William, was left really sad and genuinely shocked over his brother Harry and Meghans petulant response to the queen as they officially quit the royal family. The Duke and Duchess of Sussex and Buckingham Palace lightly dueled in their statements about the meaning of public service.

But it is the timing of the Sussexes interview with Oprah Winfrey that is prompting worry in Buckingham Palace with courtiers fearful about what the couple will say and how that will rebound on Britains 94-year-old monarch. We dont need to hear any more from them now, a palace official told Britains The Sunday Times. Harry is sixth in line to Britains throne.

The collapse of his parents marriage became ensnared in a media frenzy with the tabloids adding insult to injury as much as they could. Both Charles and Diana, and their staffs, were drawn in, leaking against each other to try to manipulate the press coverage of their tumultuous separation and bitter divorce, say royal commentators.

And that appears to be happening again with households and staffs briefing against each other.

Some of the couples friends are worried that the interview with Oprah Winfrey may end up damaging Harry and Meghan. Royal interviews have often backfired. In 2019, the Duke of York, commonly known as Prince Andrew, gave an interview explaining his friendship with the late pedophile billionaire Jeffrey Epstein. He thought the encounter had gone well but it resulted in him having to withdraw from public life.

Diana also later said she deeply regretted her 1995 interview.

The couples bid to define a celebrity role for themselves sits badly with the royal family. Palace insiders fear an unleashed brand Sussex could eclipse Prince Charles and Prince William.

One of the royal familys uppermost fears is that Harry and Meghan will become increasingly outspoken now they are unmoored from the royal household risking blowback on the British monarchy,

Royals have to act differently from celebrities in order to ensure the standing and longevity of the institution, which relies on public goodwill to survive, a palace official told VOA recently.

On February 13, the US Senate voted to acquit former President Donald Trump for incitement of insurrection in connection with the attempted coup of January 6, marking a new milestone in the breakdown of American democracy.

Jacobin magazine, affiliated with the Democratic Socialists of America (DSA), has had next to nothing to say about the impeachment debacle and even less to say about the coup attempt and the ongoing threat of right-wing violence.

One article appeared on its site on the topic of impeachment on January 9, the day that impeachment proceedings began in the House of Representatives: What Trumps Impeachment Could Mean. The article did not even mention the January 6 coup attempt.

In this image from video, the final vote total of 57-43, to acquit former President Donald Trump of the impeachment charge, incitement of insurrection, in the Senate at the U.S. Capitol in Washington, Saturday, Feb. 13, 2021. (Senate Television via AP)

For more than a month, Jacobin did not publish a single article on the impeachment crisis, despite the fact that it was the most significant political development not only in the United States but around the world.

Finally, on February 17, four days after the Senate trial ended, Luke Savage penned a short article summing up the attitude of Jacobin to the whole affair. Titled Why the Democrats Tied Themselves in Knots During Donald Trumps Impeachment Trial, the article served to downplay the duplicitous role played by the Democrats during the trial in covering up the crimes of Trump and his enablers.

Following the same basic line as the previous article, Savage did not mention the events of January 6 or the threat of fascism. The words fascism, democracy, socialism and capitalism did not appear at all. Former President Donald Trump was mentioned only in passing in the last paragraph.

The basic political content of the article is summed up in the opening sentence: The Democrats confused and inept handling of the final state of the impeachment trial revealed the contradiction at the heart of the partys politics: whether its trying to represent bold change or simply a return to the pre-Trump status quo.

Savages characterization of the Democrats conduct of the Senate trial as confused minimizes its pernicious and reactionary character. Any serious analysis of the impeachment would reveal that the Democratic Party made a conscious decision, originating with the Biden White House, to limit the exposure to Trump and cover up the responsibility of elements within the military and the police, and, above all, the Republican Party for the January 6 attack on the US Capitol.

This involved deliberately protecting Trumps co-conspirators, including the 147 Republican House and Senate members who voted against the certification of Bidens election victory. No effort was made by the Democrats to expose the role played by their Republican colleagues,'' from Senators Ted Cruz and Josh Hawley, who provided the direct political cover for the insurrection, to Vice President Mike Pence and former Senate Majority Leader Mitch McConnell, who facilitated Trumps lie about a stolen election.

Not once during the trial did the Democrats seek to explain the political strategy behind the insurrection. They excluded any discussion of why the rioters were allowed to overrun the Capitol without any opposition from the tens of thousands of National Guard and federal military forces stationed in and just outside Washington.

The Democrats conduct of the trial conformed to Bidens feckless pleas for bipartisanship and unity summed up in the declarations of both Biden and House Speaker Nancy Pelosi of the need for a strong Republican Party. Any serious damage to the Republican Party would hamper the ruling class as a whole in carrying out its right-wing policies directed against the working class, beginning with the reopening of schools amidst the pandemic.

In pursuit of these policies, the Democrats are quite prepared to work with a party that is becoming an incubator for fascist forces.

For Savage and Jacobin, however, none of these events really matter because the episode will probably be soon forgotten. Brushing aside the political content of the impeachment, Savage asserts that the real question is whether the Democrats are going to change their ways and allow for some semblance of reform or return to the pre-Trump status quo. This complacent formulation assumes that the ruling class is committed to upholding the constitutional framework, that there is no danger of fascism or dictatorship, and that there is neither a possibility nor a need for socialist revolution.

Savage concludes by restating what he wrote at the beginning: that the Democrats are driven by two impulses that will continue to clash under the Biden administration. For the past four years, the back-to-brunch quest for normalcy of the Democratic mainstream has sat awkwardly alongside rhetoric about a country in the throes of multiple, exceptional crisestwo dissonant political narratives that show no sign of abating as the new political era begins.

The inevitable conclusion is that opponents of the bipartisan policies of mass death in the pandemic, austerity and militarism should strive to push the Democrats to the left.

At every stage of the crisis, Jacobin has insisted that there is no real crisis of American democracy, while covering up for the role of the Democrats. The lead was given by Jacobins founder and editor Bhaskar Sunkara, who, as the coup was still unfolding, tweeted that there was no advantage to calling the events a coup and insisted on the stability of US republican institutions.

The response of the Democrats to Trumps coup is bound up with the class interests that this party represents. It is a party of Wall Street and the military, which is fearful above all of the growth of opposition in the working class. In the aftermath of the impeachment, its mantra is look forward, not backward, as it collaborates with the Republican Party in enforcing the demands of the ruling elite, above all in relation to the pandemic.

Jacobin too wants to move on, continuing its role as helpful advisor and critic of the Democratic Party establishment, with its DSA co-thinkers increasingly occupying well-paid positions within the Democratic Party and the trade union bureaucracy. Hence its dismissal of the significance of the January 6 fascistic insurrection aimed at overturning the election and keeping Trump in office with dictatorial powers.

Those who make up the editorial board of Jacobin, speaking for privileged sections of the upper-middle class, are characterized by their complacency, opportunism and unseriousness. Everything they write is aimed at containing and undermining the growth of social opposition from below.
New Delhi: Hyundai Motor India is planning to increase its SUV portfolio in the country, owing to the growing demand in the segment. The company has consistently performed in this segment with the help of Hyundai Venue in the sub-compact category and Hyundai Creta in the compact SUV segment. The company managed to sell 1.8 lakh units of its SUV in 2020.

A top company official has emphasized Hyundai's plans to expand the SUV line-up, which has also been propelling the passenger vehicles segment. Hyundai is planning on launching a seven-seater SUV as well.

"The SUV segment is the market driver currently. We have an edge globally when it comes to SUVs. So, going ahead we are going to further strengthen our lineup in the country," Hyundai Motor India Ltd (HMIL) MD and CEO SS Kim told, according to a PTI report.

SUV sales have been witnessing a gradual uptick in the market share. The segment registered a 25% market share in 2019. In 2020, the share has increased to 29%. The total market share in just the first month of 2021 has reached 33%. With the introduction of more offerings in the segment from manufacturers, the number is set to increase further.

In terms of MPVs in the segment, Kim said, "There is market demand for multi seater vehicle so we are preparing some product and hopefully in the future we can introduce something new, not specifically a multi purpose vehicle (MPV) but a vehicle with multi seating configuration."

Commenting on exports, Kim said the pandemic has impacted the company's shipments over the last few months.

He however noted that with things getting better in many geographies across the world, the export volumes of the company would now be increasing substantially.

During the April-January period of this fiscal year, Hyundai led the segment with dispatch of 82,121 units, down 47.01% from the year-ago period.

Kim also noted that the company would continue to offer diesel products in the country as the demand for such models was very strong in some states.

"We will continue with production and sale of diesel cars in many segments. If a customer wants some product, we will give that as we are a customer centric organisation," he said.

On government policies, Kim claimed that initiatives like Production Linked Incentive (PLI) scheme would help the company further strengthen its overseas shipments.

"Government support is very important for the industry, not only in the domestic market but also for exports. From the company perspective we were the first OEM which started exports of Made in India products," he said.

With new players coming in, government support is all the more critical now, he added.

Kim noted that it would be very beneficial for the domestic auto industry if they could get some support from the government.

"Government is expected to give an outline of the PLI scheme in the first week of March, so we are very closely following that. We are committed to the Aatmanirbhar initiative and the PLI scheme will not only augment the growth in the industry but also project the country as a very strong manufacturing base," he said.

Regarding the second phase of the corporate average fuel efficiency (CAFE) and real-time driving emission (RDE) test norms, Kim said the implementation of the initiatives would lead to an increase in material costs, and it will eventually lead to price increase of vehicles as well.

"We are afraid that price increase will have a negative impact in terms of market demand and it could lead to a low demand scenario. So if the government decides for maybe one year or three year deferment that will be very helpful in the market recovery," he added.

The automaker has the required technology and would be ready to follow the regulations if the government decides to implement them from the original timeline, he added.

With inputs from PTI

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Massachusetts plans to offer all MassHealth recipients rides to and from their COVID-19 vaccine appointments, according to a bulletin that took effect last week.

The Executive Office of Health and Human Services plans to cover transportation services for all MassHealth recipients who cant easily get to a vaccine appointment, using vehicles from the states Human Transportation Office.

Companions who cant drive patients to a vaccine appointment can also get a ride if theyre helping patients who have a disability or helped get an appointment at a mass vaccination site and are seeking a shot at the same time.

Some MassHealth plans already cover transportation costs, such as MassHealth Standard, CommonHealth and CarePlus. Last weeks bulletin expands coverage to members in Family Assistance, the Childrens Medical Security Plan and MassHealth Limited who cant get to their vaccine appointments. Health Safety Net patients can also get free transportation through the state.

The bulletin took effect Feb. 17. The state plans to work with Human Services Transportation brokers, which include six regional transit authorities, to schedule rides to and from vaccine appointments.

Massachusetts has administered the first COVID-19 vaccine dose to more than 1 million residents, officials said Saturday. As of Saturday, 372,172 residents have received their second dose.

The state has several mass vaccination sites, ranging from Gillette Stadium in Foxborough to the Eastfield Mall in Springfield. In the past month, some sites have come under scrutiny by public health experts and lawmakers for the lack of public transportation options, distance from Black and brown neighborhoods and long lines in frigid weather.

The Baker administration has touted the work of regional collaboratives, such as those in Berkshire and Worcester counties, for a localized approach to the vaccine rollout. The state also sent vaccine doses to community health centers, but officials told hospital systems they would no longer receive new doses, even at their clinics, to ensure that the mass vaccination sites and pharmacies have enough.

The MassHealth bulletin expands who can access state-run transportation services for vaccine appointments.

Heres how it works:

MassHealth members who normally get transportation to doctors appointments can ask their doctor to submit a transportation request on their behalf. Those who dont can call the MassHealth Customer Service Center at 800-841-2900 and follow the prompts for transportation to a vaccine appointment until a representative responds.

MassHealth members requesting a ride will need to provide a MassHealth ID number, the location, date and time of the vaccine appointment, the pickup spot and a phone number or email address where the driver can reach the patient.

Once making the request, MassHealth members should be able to call a regional transportation broker to schedule an appointment as soon as the next day, though state officials recommend scheduling appointments at least three days in advance if possible.

When scheduling an appointment, MassHealth members will need to provide the reference number for the request, known as the P-1 reference number. Theyll have to schedule a ride to the vaccine appointment, as well as a ride home. State officials recommend patients schedule their pickup at least an hour later than their appointment time.

Massachusetts Human Service Transportation brokerage regionsScreenshot

The numbers for the brokers are

Armenia Investigative Committee: Fatal road accident, criminal case opened

Armenia deputy FM submits resignation

Chinese authorities allow families to have 3 children

Dollar devalues in Armenia

Stepanakert: Azerbaijan creates bridgeheads for pressure on Karabakh, expansion towards Armenia

Sergey Lavrov says Russia is ready to disconnect SWIFT

Armenia MFA spokesperson resigns

Republican Party of Armenia Vice-President: Our ratings are growing, but we have greater pretensions

Armenia acting PM's spokesperson responds to ex-FM

Armenia parliament majority leader: Refusing to debate with acting PM is manifestation of low self-confidence

Armenia State Revenue Committee, US Department of Justice sign Memorandum of Cooperation

Vardevanyan: Attempts made to create false grounds for obstructing Armenia bloc election offices legal activities

Lavrov says Russia is ready to resume dialogue with NATO

Armenia opposition MP on FM's resignation

India records lowest increase in COVID-19 cases in 50 days

Bright Armenia faction in parliament: No response to acting PM's proposal to deploy observers along Azerbaijan border

Ruling bloc MP: Acting premiers proposal does not limit Armenia in terms of cooperation with CSTO

Acting PM is proud of Armenian servicemens heroism, says parliament majority leader

Parliament majority leader: No border delimitation unless Azerbaijan army units leave Armenia territory

Outgoing Armenia acting FM opens brackets: My decision of resignation was conditioned by that very reason

Harutyunyan, Shoygu discuss tension on Armenia-Azerbaijan border

Iranian MFA says US has not imported oil from country since Clinton era

Court hearing on appeal against decision to drop March 2008 Yerevan tragedy case is rescheduled

Missing soldiers relatives block Yerevan street

Parliament majority leader: Armenia acting FM did not object, at Security Council meeting, to new document

Armenia Police: 2,581,093 people on voters list

Bright Armenia faction of parliament: No corridor through the country should be provided to Azerbaijan

Analyst: Armenia acting PM Pashinyan gave self-confessed testimony

Armenia national security finds about 1 kg of opium, detains Iran citizen driver and 2 others

182 hearing aids and 2 buses by benefactor Mikayel Vardanyan for students of Special Educational Complex

34 new cases of COVID-19 confirmed in Armenia

Updated voters list is posted on Armenia central election commission website

Armenia authorities provide considerable amount of subsidies ahead of snap parliamentary elections

World oil prices on the rise

MP explains his not being on Bright Armenia Party electoral list

UK new flagship set to be named after the late Prince Philip

US man who said he shot neighbor over loud music found guilty of attempted murder

Lamborghini company to be sold for $11.5bn?

China spacecraft docks with future space station

Lawyer: Armenia acting PM Pashinyan grossly abuses administrative resources during Lori Province visit

UN urges to investigate escalation of violence in Colombia

Malaysia to open mega-centers for vaccination against coronavirus

Police find  5 million in cash in London apartment

French citizen to face trial in Iran on spaying charges

Over 60 children in UK undergo surgery due to TikTok challenge

Iranian Central Bank governor dismissed

Armenian opposition: The one who liberated Artsakh will not go to debates with the one who sold it

Iranian energy ministry: Iraq to allocate $ 125 million of frozen funds for vaccines

No new COVID-19 cases reported in Artsakh

Iran and Iraq to intensify cooperation and are ready for joint investment projects

Armenia ex-PM says at least 2 more secret documents signed but not published yet

Indonesia frees Iranian tanker 4 months later

Mortar shelling in Afghanistan kills at least 10 civilians

Fire breaks out at West Virginia oil refinery in US

Second President of Armenia meets with residents of Ararat province

Iran ready to help improve the defense capability of Syria

Armenian acting PM invites ex-presidents for debates

European Parliament head proposes to strengthen sanctions on Russia

UK PM gets married in London

Armenia reports COVID-19 new 81 cases: 4 people die

EU countries invite US to issue joint statement against Russia

2 people die in Armenia road accident

Nigeria: Students taken hostage a month ago are released

61 quakes recorded in Congo per day

Syrian MFA: EU lost credibility due to blind obedience to US policy

Armenia ex-minister of emergency situations hospitalized with heart attack

Mher Grigoryan: Clarification of border points is possible only after withdrawal of Azerbaijani troops from Armenia

Suspicious deal: Whether there was profit from buying DNA IDs?

Armenia ex-president says current authorities are trying to blame Russia for defeat in war

4 people killed in Afghanistani bus attack

Robert Kocharyan: This war could not have happened, it was a consequence of the policy of the authorities

Kocharyan: I have to ask people how it happened that overwhelming majority elected this leader

Armen Gevorgyan presents 'Armenia' bloc program: We offer the concept of a working country

Biden's administration proposed to leave unchanged amount of financial support to Armenia

US Embassy in Baku calls on Azerbaijan to immediately release Armenian POWs

Luxembourg MFA calls on Azerbaijan to immediately release all Armenian prisoners

Russia peacekeepers climb to Armenia Gegharkunik Province village positions

Biden strongly condemns manifestations of antisemitism in US

Iran intensifies its diplomacy amid Armenia-Azerbaijan border tensions

Armenia acting PM on forthcoming snap parliamentary elections: We hope to get 60% of votes

Press Release

22 February 2021

Archer Capital, APG and GIC acquire future Madrid Edition for 205 million

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Private equity firm Archer Capital, Netherlands-based pension fund APG and Singaporean sovereign wealth fund GIC have agreed to acquire the 200-room Madrid Edition for a reported 205 million (~1 million per room). The forward sale was brokered by HVS Hodges Ward Elliott. Upon completion, the luxury lifestyle property will be the fourth Edition hotel in Europe, following London, Bodrum, and Barcelona. Institutional investors KKH Capital Property and US-based Perella Weinberg Partners originally acquired the 25,000 m2 site from Fundacion Montemadrid back in December of 2016 for a reported 80 million. At the time, the JV planned to convert the then office space into a 180-room hotel at a purchase value of 444,000 per room.

Mazabi Gestion acquires Menorca new-build for 20 million

Multi-family Spanish office Mazabi Gestion de patrimonios has acquired an unencumbered 128-room resort in Menorca for a reported 20 million (156,000 per room). The 4-star property is located adjacent to the beachfront in Sant Lluis. The recently constructed project has direct access to the beach, and Mazabi are reportedly in discussions with several operators to brand and operate the hotel. The group has been active recently, closing on the sale of the 230-room Iberostar Selection Santa Eularia in Ibiza for a reported 40 million (173,000 per room) and acquiring a 200,000 m2 farm in Formentera.

PHN acquires Regent Hotel Warsaw for 28.9 million from Cosmar

Polski Holding Nieruchomosci, of which the majority shareholder is the Polish State Treasury, has acquired the 246-room Regent Hotel

in Warsaw for a reported PLN 130.5 million (28.9 million - 117,000 per room). The seller, Cosmar SRL, is currently in bankruptcy and put the hotel up for auction last December. The new owner plans to continue to operate the property as a hotel.

A&G acquires Unico Madrid from Unico Hotels

Spanish private bank A&G has acquired the 44-room Unico Madrid from Unico Hotels for an undisclosed price. The luxury property includes a library, a wellness suite, and several F&B options, including the two Michelin star Ramon Freixa. It is located in the heart of the Salamanca district near Madrid's Golden Mile, surrounded by fine-dining restaurants and designer boutiques. Unico Hotels, which is owned by businessman Pau Guardans, will continue to operate the hotel under a 20-year lease. The lease is reported to include several buyback options for the operator.

Elysees Acacias sells Le Tsuba Hotel in Paris for 43 million

French hotel investor Elysees Acacias has sold Le Tsuba Hotel in Paris for a reported 43 million (524,000 per room). The 82-room limited service property is located in the city's 17th arrondissement, minutes from the Arc de Triomphe and the Champs-Elysees. It features a 1926 facade, a lobby bar and lounge and a fitness area. The interior design was inspired by the Japanese "tsuba," collectable and highly-decorated katana hand-guards.

Union Gruppen and Fram Eiendom acquire First Hotel MIllenium in Oslo

Institutional investor Oslo Finance has acquired the First Hotel Millenium in Oslo on behalf of a joint venture between Norway-based Union Gruppen and Fram Eiendom for an undisclosed price. The 114-room hotel is located in a prime downtown location near the Royal Palace and the National Theatre. The acquisition is in line with former acquisitions from both groups, who traditionally focus on real estate investments in Norway and Sweden.

US Government to Acquire Ballsbridge Hotel Dublin for new Embassy

The US Government has announced the acquisition of the former 232-room Ballsbridge Hotel in Dublin from Abu Dhabi-based sovereign wealth fund ADIA and Irish developer Chartered Land. The site is valued at an estimated 150 million (647,000 per room). The site is adjacent to the old Jury's Hotel and is expected to be converted from a hotel to a new US embassy. If the deal goes through, Chartered Land will rescind its current proposals for developing apartments, retail and a new hotel on the site.
[February 22, 2021] Brookfield Infrastructure Commences Cash and Share Offer to Acquire Inter Pipeline Ltd.

BROOKFIELD, NEWS, Feb. 22, 2021 (GLOBE NEWSWIRE) -- Brookfield Infrastructure Partners L.P. (NYSE: BIP; TSX: BIP.UN), together with its institutional partners (collectively, Brookfield Infrastructure) commenced its formal offer (the Offer) to acquire all of the outstanding common shares of Inter Pipeline Ltd. (IPL or the Company).

The notice and advertisement of the Offer appear in the Monday, February 22, 2021 editions of The Globe and Mail and Le Devoir, and the Offer is contained in the Offer to Purchase and Bid Circular (the Offer and Circular) and related documents, which have been filed with the Canadian securities regulators on SEDAR under IPLs profile at www.sedar.com . The Offer and Circular will be mailed to all IPL shareholders upon receipt of the list of holders of Common Shares previously requested by Brookfield Infrastructure from IPL. Under the terms and subject to the conditions of the Offer, each IPL shareholder will have the ability to elect to receive, per IPL share, C$16.50 in cash or 0.206 of a Brookfield Infrastructure Corporation (NYSE: BIPC; TSX: BIPC) class A exchangeable share (BIPC Share), subject to pro-ration. IPL shareholders may also choose to receive cash for some of their IPL shares and BIPC Shares for their remaining IPL shares, subject, in each case, to pro-ration. The share exchange ratio has been calculated based on the closing price of the BIPC Shares on February 10, 2021, the last trading day prior to the announcement of Brookfield Infrastructures intention to make the Offer. The Offer is fully financed, with maximum cash consideration of approximately C$4.9 billion (representing 76.2% of the Offers total consideration) and maximum aggregate number of BIPC shares issued of approximately 19 million (representing 23.8% of the Offers total consideration). The Offer is open for acceptance until 5:00 p.m. (Mountain Standard Time) on Monday, June 7, 2021. Offer Details The Offer is subject to certain conditions of completion, including receipt of all necessary regulatory approvals, customary approval by the TSX and NYSE in relation to the issuance and listing of the additional BIPC Shares contemplated by the Offer, absence of material changes to IPLs business, Brookfield Infrastructure owning not less than 66?% of the IPL Shares, calculated on a fully diluted basis, after taking up IPL Shares deposited under the Offer and not withdrawn (in addition to the non-waivable statutory condition that more than 50% of the outstanding IPL Shares, excluding IPL Shares beneficially owned by Brookfield Infrastructure, are deposited under the Offer and not withdrawn) and confirmation that the IPL shareholder rights plan will not adversely affect the Offer. Once the two-thirds percentage acceptance level is met, Brookfield Infrastructure intends, but will not be required, to take steps to acquire all remaining IPL Shares in accordance with applicable law. The Offer is not subject to any financing conditions, and the cash component of the Offer will be financed through existing capital commitments available to Brookfield Infrastructure. The BIPC Shares included in the Offer are the economic equivalent of units of Brookfield Infrastructure Partners L.P. (BIP) and are exchangeable for limited partnership units of BIP on a one for one basis. Brookfield Infrastructure encourages IPL shareholders to read the full details of the Offer set forth in the Offer and Circular, which contains the full terms and conditions of the Offer and other important information as well as detailed instructions on how IPL shareholders can tender their IPL shares to the Offer. Shareholders who have questions or require assistance in depositing IPL shares to the Offer, IPL shareholders should contact the Information Agent and Depositary, Laurel Hill Advisory Group, by telephone at 1-877-452-7184 (North American Toll Free Number) or 416-304-0211 (outside North America) or by email at assistance@laurelhill.com. Copies of the Offer and Circular, once filed, will be available without charge on request from the Information Agent and are available at www.ipl-offer.com or on SEDAR at www.sedar.com. Advisors Brookfield Infrastructure has engaged BMO Capital Markets and Barclays Capital Canada Inc. to act as joint financial advisors and McCarthy Tetrault LLP to act as its legal advisor in connection with the Offer. Laurel Hill Advisory Group has also been engaged to act as Brookfield Infrastructures strategic communications advisor and information agent. Brookfield Infrastructure is a leading global infrastructure company that owns and operates high-quality, long-life assets in the utilities, transport, midstream and data sectors across Nrth and South America, Asia Pacific and Europe. We are focused on assets that have contracted and regulated revenues that generate predictable and stable cash flows. Investors can access its portfolio either through Brookfield Infrastructure Partners L.P. (NYSE: BIP; TSX: BIP.UN), a Bermuda-based limited partnership, or Brookfield Infrastructure Corporation (NYSE, TSX: BIPC), a Canadian corporation. Further information is available at www.brookfield.com/infrastructure.



Brookfield Infrastructure Partners is the flagship listed infrastructure company of Brookfield Asset Management, a global alternative asset manager with approximately US$600 billion of assets under management. For more information, go to www.brookfield.com . No Offer or Solicitation

This news release is for informational purposes only and does not constitute an offer to buy or sell, or a solicitation of an offer to sell or buy, any securities. The offer to acquire IPL securities and to issue securities of Brookfield Infrastructure Corporation will be made solely by, and subject to the terms and conditions set out in the formal offer to purchase and bid circular and accompanying letter of transmittal and notice of guaranteed delivery.

NOTICE TO U.S. HOLDERS OF IPL SHARES Brookfield Infrastructure intends to make the offer and sale of the BIPC Shares in the Offer subject to a registration statement of BIPC and BIP covering such offer and sale to be filed with the United States Securities and Exchange Commission (the SEC) under the U.S. Securities Act of 1933, as amended. Such registration statement covering such offer and sale will include various documents related to such offer and sale. INVESTORS AND SHAREHOLDERS OF IPL ARE URGED TO READ SUCH REGISTRATION STATEMENT AND ANY AND ALL OTHER RELEVANT DOCUMENTS FILED OR TO BE FILED WITH THE SEC IN CONNECTION WITH THE OFFER AS THOSE DOCUMENTS BECOME AVAILABLE, AS WELL AS ANY AMENDMENTS OR SUPPLEMENTS TO THOSE DOCUMENTS, BECAUSE THEY CONTAIN OR WILL CONTAIN IMPORTANT INFORMATION. You will be able to obtain a free copy of such registration statement, as well as other relevant filings regarding BIP and BIPC or such transaction involving the issuance of the BIPC Shares and the underlying BIP limited partnership units, at the SECs website (www.sec.gov) under the issuer profiles for BIP and BIPC, or on request without charge from Brookfield Infrastructure, at 250 Vesey Street, 15th Floor, New York, New York, 10281-1023 or by telephone at (212) 417-7000. BIPC is a foreign private issuer and Brookfield Infrastructure is permitted to prepare the offer to purchase and takeover bid circular and related documents in accordance with Canadian disclosure requirements, which are different from those of the United States. BIPC prepares its financial statements in accordance with IFRS, and they may not be directly comparable to financial statements of United States companies. Shareholders of IPL should be aware that owning BIPC Shares may subject them to tax consequences both in the United States and in Canada. The offer to purchase and takeover bid circular may not describe these tax consequences fully. IPL shareholders should read any tax discussion in the offer to purchase and takeover bid circular, and holders of IPL Shares are urged to consult their tax advisors. An IPL shareholders ability to enforce civil liabilities under the United States federal securities laws may be affected adversely because Brookfield Infrastructure Corporation is incorporated in British Columbia, Canada, some or all of Brookfield Infrastructures officers and directors and some or all of the experts named in the offering documents reside outside of the United States, and a substantial portion of Brookfield Infrastructures assets and of the assets of such persons are located outside the United States. IPL shareholders in the United States may not be able to sue Brookfield Infrastructure or its officers or directors in a non-U.S. court for violation of United States federal securities laws. It may be difficult to compel such parties to subject themselves to the jurisdiction of a court in the United States or to enforce a judgment obtained from a court of the United States. NEITHER THE SECURITIES AND EXCHANGE COMMISSION NOR ANY STATE SECURITIES REGULATOR HAS OR WILL HAVE APPROVED OR DISAPPROVED THE BIPC SHARES OFFERED IN THE OFFERING DOCUMENTS, OR HAS OR WILL HAVE DETERMINED IF ANY OFFERING DOCUMENTS ARE TRUTHFUL OR COMPLETE. ANY REPRESENTATION TO THE CONTRARY IS A CRIMINAL OFFENSE. IPL shareholders should be aware that, during the period of the Offer, Brookfield Infrastructure or its affiliates, directly or indirectly, may bid for or make purchases of the securities to be distributed or to be exchanged, or certain related securities, as permitted by applicable laws or regulations of Canada or its provinces or territories.

Cautionary Statement Regarding Forward-looking Statements This news release may contain forward-looking information within the meaning of Canadian provincial securities laws and forward-looking statements within the meaning of Section 27A of the U.S. Securities Act of 1933, as amended, Section 21E of the U.S. Securities Exchange Act of 1934, as amended, safe harbor provisions of the United States Private Securities Litigation Reform Act of 1995 and in any applicable Canadian securities regulations. The words believe, expect, will derivatives thereof and other expressions which are predictions of or indicate future events, trends or prospects and which do not relate to historical matters, identify the above mentioned and other forward-looking statements. Forward-looking statements in this news release include statements regarding the expected mailing of the Offer and Circular. Although Brookfield Infrastructure believes that these forward-looking statements and information are based upon reasonable assumptions and expectations, the reader should not place undue reliance on them, or any other forward-looking statements or information in this news release. The actual outcome of future events could differ from the forward-looking statements and information herein, which are subject to a number of known and unknown risks and uncertainties. Factors that could cause actual events to differ materially from those contemplated or implied by the statements in this news release include the ability to obtain regulatory approvals (including approval of the TSX and the NYSE) and meet other closing conditions to any possible transaction, the ability to realize financial, operational and other benefits from the proposed transaction, general economic conditions in the jurisdictions in which we operate and elsewhere which may impact the markets for our products and services, the impact of market conditions on our businesses, the fact that success of Brookfield Infrastructure is dependent on market demand for an infrastructure company, which is unknown, the availability of equity and debt financing for Brookfield Infrastructure, the ability to effectively complete transactions in the competitive infrastructure space and to integrate acquisitions into existing operations, changes in technology which have the potential to disrupt the business and industries in which we invest, the market conditions of key commodities, the price, supply or demand for which can have a significant impact upon the financial and operating performance of our business and other risks and factors described in other documents filed by Brookfield Infrastructure with the securities regulators in Canada and the United States. Except as required by law, Brookfield Infrastructure undertakes no obligation to publicly update or revise any forward-looking statements or information, whether as a result of new information, future events or otherwise.



For more information, please contact: Media:

Claire Holland

Senior Vice President, Communications

Tel: (416) 369-8236

Email: claire.holland@brookfield.com Investors:

Kate White

Manager, Investor Relations

Tel: (416) 956-5183

Email: kate.white@brookfield.com Shareholder Questions / Tendering Assistance:

Laurel Hill Advisory Group

North American Toll-Free: 1-877-452-7184 (+1-416-304-0211 outside North America)

Email: assistance@laurelhill.com



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They kept the lights off, limited their use of electronics and scarcely watched television, except to catch up at night on the bone-chilling news of the winter storms brutalizing their area.

Like many other Texans, Houston resident David Astrein and his wife did what they could to save power last week, even while both were working from home with a 5-month-old son.

Having conserved power after briefly losing it twice during rolling blackouts, Astrein, 36, said he was shocked when he logged on to view his electric bill from his provider, Griddy: $2,796.85 since Feb. 1.

Ahead of the storms, the Electric Reliability Council of Texas, which manages around 90 percent of the state's electric load, underestimated how much power it would need. Because Texas is the only state that operates an independent electric grid, there was no emergency capacity. Supply could not keep up with demand, leading the Public Utility Commission of Texas, which regulates Texas utility rates, to raise energy prices in an emergency meeting Monday.

On the same day, the wholesale price of electricity spiked more than 10,000 percent, leaving many Texans with dizzying bills in the wake of the storms - ranging from four digits to one for more than $17,000.

"It's funny to say, but if you look at news outlets and social media outlets, you see pictures that are posted and I'm one of the lower bills," Astrein said. "To be thankful for that is actually crazy."

The state's unregulated market allows customers to pick their utility providers, with some offering plans that let users pay wholesale prices for power. Variable plans can be attractive to customers in better weather, when the bill may be lower than fixed-rate ones. Customers can shift their usage to the cheapest periods, such as nights. But when the wholesale price increases, the variable plan becomes the worst option.

"Everyone in Texas is about deregulation, and Griddy as a wholesale electricity provider is the most deregulated you can get," said Nicholas Milazzo, who is facing a $3,000 bill. "And this just goes to show why regulation is important because, sure, in the short term it's great, but then situations like this arise, where it just gets out of control."

People with exorbitant bills have demanded solutions. Texas Attorney General Ken Paxton announced that he is launching an investigation into the power failures, including the high prices. On Saturday, Gov. Greg Abbott convened an emergency meeting with Lt. Gov. Dan Patrick, Texas House Speaker Dade Phelan and other lawmakers to discuss what they could do to address the spike in costs for residents.

"It is unacceptable for Texans who suffered through days in the freezing cold without electricity or heat to now be hit with skyrocketing energy costs," Abbott said in a statement.

Rep. Michael McCaul, R-Texas, offered hope that the cost for individuals will be alleviated by federal assistance provided by President Joe Biden's emergency disaster declaration and the Federal Emergency Management Agency.

"The current plan is with the federal assistance to be able to help homeowners both repair - we have a lot of water leaks, a lot of water damage, pipes bursting - but also their electricity bills, as well," McCaul said Sunday during an interview on CNN's "State of the Union."

Meanwhile, Houston Mayor Sylvester Turner said on CBS News's "Face the Nation" that the state has emergency funds that can be used to help overwhelmed consumers.

"Those bills, those exorbitant costs should be borne by the state of Texas and not the individual consumers, who did not cause this catastrophe this week," Turner said.

A resident confronted the Public Utility Commission during the public-comments section of a meeting Friday, asking the commissioners whether they would change practices to aid customers after they had allowed the increased prices.

Commissioner Arthur D'Andrea responded that many utility customers have a fixed-rate plan, locking them into a set price per kilowatt-hour of electricity. But, he acknowledged, no one should be stuck with an unexpectedly and unreasonably high bill.

"Those customers would have really suffered," he said, "and that's something we have to look at."

It's not publicly known how many customers faced higher costs. Dallas County Judge Clay Jenkins tweeted Friday asking residents which companies they paid wholesale prices to. Hundreds replied, including people who sent screenshots of their bills.

"Variable rate plans are predatory as we all clearly are seeing now!" Jenkins wrote.

Expecting the increased wholesale prices, Griddy, a company offering variable-rate plans with a $9.99 monthly fee, urged its nearly 30,000 customers in an email to find a different provider.

The provider, which did not respond to a request for comment, said in a statement that it was aiming to be transparent by telling customers to leave.

"We intend to fight this for, and alongside, our customers for equity and accountability - to reveal why such price increases were allowed to happen as millions of Texans went without power," the company wrote.

Many customers who tried to switch said other companies were not immediately accepting new customers.

Milazzo, 31, said he got the email from Griddy minutes before the other providers were to wind up operations for the day. Because he gets his email on his phone, he scrambled and was able to find a new plan a few days later. But his parents, who are in their 70s and use Griddy, didn't immediately know of the email and increased costs. His bill is more than $3,000, while theirs is higher than $4,000.

Milazzo criticized the "price gouging," saying that electricity is a necessity and that companies should not be allowed to overcharge.

When Houston resident RonDeLu Robinson, 36, tried to find a new fixed-rate plan, she said, the costs for a contract were higher after the storms, leaving her with no option but to stay with her costly plan. Robinson, a nursing student, tried to conserve power during the storm as much as she could with her 78-year-old father living with her after his bypass surgery. She and her husband, Doug Robinson, 42, used less energy in February than they did the prior month. Still, their bill, typically around $100 a month, was more than $6,500 in 17 days.

Because Griddy is connected to customers' credit or debit cards to make automatic withdrawals, her credit card bill is now more than $2,500 - which she cannot afford to pay. She canceled her card before she could face more charges.

Her husband, a bookkeeper, said many are in the same situation and hope their high bills are addressed. But despite politicians' assurances about relief, RonDeLu is not optimistic.

"I'm assuming the worst," she said. "I'm assuming Griddy is going to take my collections for $6,500. I have really great credit, but I'm assuming they're going to ruin my credit, or we're going to have to sell a car, or I don't know what."
Authorities said Monday afternoon they found the body of a man who fell through the ice of a reservoir in Massachusetts over the weekend.

Personnel from public safety agencies in Wareham were trying to rescue the person who fell through the ice on a small bog reservoir near 786 County Road, the towns fire department said in a Facebook post around 5:30 p.m. Sunday.

Members of the fire department and divers from the Plymouth County Technical Rescue Team discovered the body around 12:30 p.m. Monday after calling off the search for the individual late Sunday and resuming it at daybreak Monday, according to Assistant Wareham Fire Chief Patrick Haskell.

Two people, friends of the person who died, were on shore. While the man found in the pond is believed to have gone swimming, the other two individuals did not go into the body of water, according to Lt. John Gerard of the Wareham Police Department, who spoke alongside Haskell and other officials in the town during a press conference Monday afternoon.

Obviously, this was not the outcome we were looking for, but we did recover the body of the male that had jumped into the water, Wareham Police Chief John Walsek said at the press conference.

The chief noted the mans next of kin of have been notified. The individual will likely be publicly identified by the Plymouth District Attorneys Office, according to Walsek.

The circumstances surrounding the mans death remain under investigation.

Its been a cold winter. We do have ice, but as we always say: No ice is safe ice, Haskell said at the press conference. We dont recommend that anybody goes on any open water ponds or anything like that.

If you really feel the need to go skating or be on ice, go to your local ice arena or something like that, he added.
Local Ellevate community leader speaking at an event in 2019. As a community committed to diversity and to lifting each other up, Ellevate created Raise Her Voice as a means to amplify the stories of others, to create space for shared reflection, and to spur action towards a world with equal access to opportunity.

Ellevate Network, the leading community for professional women, announces the speakers for the second year of its global campaign, Raise Her Voice: Untold Stories of Women in the Workplace, in honor of International Womens Day and National Womens History Month. Raise Her Voice aims to amplify the lived experiences and stories of women in the workplace. By tapping into the power of community and storytelling, the speakers for the campaign were chosen through a public voting process and will be highlighted at 10 virtual Raise Her Voice events hosted and led by local Ellevate community leaders, throughout the month of March.

After announcing the campaign, Ellevate Network received over 300 nominations from women across the globe. With over 6,000 votes cast, some of the selected Raise Her Voice storytellers include Adriana Dawson, Community Engagement Director at Verizon; Ara Tucker, SVP, Head of Talent and Culture at Audible; Ana Cespedes, Chief Operating Officer at International AIDS Vaccine Initiative; Jennifer Lee, Founder and CEO of United We Mask, and many more. The events will be hosted throughout March and the storytellers who will take the stage are as follows:

Flagship Event

March 11th 2021 6:00 PM EST

Adriana Dawson, Ara Tucker, Kristy Wallace, and Jessie Fream

International Event, hosted by local Ellevate Leaders from Dubai, London, and Toronto

March 21st 2021 7:00 PM GMT +04

Ana Cespedes, Belen Ruiz-Beato, Bobbi Trehan-Young, Romana Azaz, and Seanna Thomas

Midwest Event, hosted by local Ellevate Leaders from Chicago, Detroit, Madison, and Twin Cities

March 4th 2021 6:00 PM CST

Elise Elam, Jenn Bonine, Maria Zepeda, Michele Weldon, Saya Hillman, and Vonetta Wade

Northeast Event, hosted by local Ellevate Leaders from Boston, Central New Jersey, and Long Island

March 24th 2021 6:00 PM EST

Deirdre Dixon, Jennifer Lee, Lisa-Kay Davis, Mary Beth Simon, Susan Mazonson, and Toni Moore

Northwest Event, hosted by local Ellevate Leaders from Los Angeles, San Francisco, and Seattle

March 9th 2021 5:00 PM PST

Cindy Gross, Fawn Sanchez, Lindsay Johnson, Rasheda Hatchett, Sarah Duenwald, Traca Savadogo

Philadelphia March 3rd 2021 5:30 PM EST

Emily DeStefano, Jen Croneberger, Jennifer Lynn Robinson, Joyel Crawford, and Nicole Tranchitella

Southeast Event, hosted by local Ellevate Leaders from Ellevate Nashville and Charleston

March 18th 2021 6:30 PM EST

Daneen West, Nikesha Tilton, Tajala Battle Lockhart, Taneshia Kerr, Yasheka Foster

Southwest Event, hosted by local Ellevate Leaders from Ellevate Austin, Boulder, Denver, and Houston

Date TBD

Karen Edwards, Mona Andrews, Precious J. Stroud, Sarabeth Berk, Sheina Farooqui

Announcements regarding the dates of Pittsburgh and Phoenix locations, in addition to any updates regarding our featured speakers, will be available online through the Ellevate Network website.

Kristy Wallace, Ellevate Network CEO, shares that Data can help inform decisions but real stories change hearts and minds. To truly transform the culture of business, we must understand the lived experiences of those who work alongside of us every day. As a community committed to diversity and to lifting each other up, Ellevate created Raise Her Voice as a means to amplify the stories of others, to create space for shared reflection, and to spur action towards a world with equal access to opportunity. We hope that this global movement encourages more people to share their voice  we are listening.

Raise Her Voice events will be online and open to the press and general attendance. Tickets for the events can be acquired on the respective event listings found on https://www.ellevatenetwork.com/events.

About Ellevate Network

Founded in 1997 as 85 Broads, Ellevate Network is the largest community of women+ at work. A powerful coalition of ambitious and supportive women who believe there is strength in numbers, Ellevate is built on the premise of showing up for each other, helping everyone  no matter their background or aspirations  build a career they love, and mobilizing the collective power of women to change the culture of business. Ellevate also works with companies committed to diversity and inclusion and has a proven track record of changing business culture from the inside out.
Investigations of the Texas electricity crisis  a disaster with fatal consequences  are proliferating in the state and the Beltway.

Why it matters: The inquiries could bring regulatory changes to Texas' independent grid aimed at better preparation for extreme weather.

They could also bring new protections against massive power costs in Texas' freewheeling market that expose people to bills that reach thousands of dollars.

Driving the news: The various plans or calls for inquiries include...

Texas' public utility commission on Friday launched a probe of the "factors that combined with the devastating winter weather to disrupt the flow of power to millions of Texas homes."

Rep. Ro Khanna (D-Calif.), a key member of the Oversight and Reform Committee, tweeted he's launching an investigation that will include "why so many fossil fuel sources failed, why ERCOT wasnt better prepared, & who participated in the conspiracy to falsely blame renewables."

Texas Attorney General Ken Paxton on Friday formally demanded copies of communications and other documents from ERCOT and Texas power companies related to the event.

Sen. Tina Smith (D-Minn.), in a letter Saturday, urged federal energy and commodity regulators to explore the huge spikes in natural gas prices in multiple central U.S. states during the cold snap.

Catch up fast: The flurry of activity follows previously announced efforts and inquiries.

House Speaker Nancy Pelosi has said the House Energy and Commerce Committee is planning an inquiry, while Texas Gov. Greg Abbott has demanded a state legislative investigation.

The Federal Energy Regulatory Commission's sway over Texas' independent grid is limited. But it has begun looking more broadly at several states' power system performance in winter conditions and Chairman Richard Glick last week said he's open to new mandatory requirements that would cover Texas.

What's next: Via KXAN, an Austin NBC affiliate, officials from ERCOT and the public utility commission will appear before state lawmakers this week.

"The Texas House State Affairs Committee and Energy Resources Committee will hold a joint hearing on Feb. 25, as will the Senate Business and Commerce Committee," it reports.
Almost a year after Covid-19 shut down offices across America, many physical workplaces remain in stasis. But six months ago, Demerie Danielson was hired to help bring at least one industry back to working in person: the film industry.

Danielson, a registered nurse, left her job at an Albuquerque hospital for a brand-new position: Covid Compliance Officer for VIP StarNetwork, a health care contractor for major local movie and TV sets. It's a subsidiary of Inverse Medical, a medical equipment supplier. With her medical expertise in her back pocket, Danielson learned how to safely reopen a workplace on the fly--and has since done so for seven Netflix and Amazon Prime productions, including the upcoming film The Harder They Fall, starring Jonathan Majors and Idris Elba.

Her experience could prove crucial for America's business owners, especially those pondering their own return to the office amid the country's vaccine rollout. Here are Danielson's top four recommendations.

Tailor your solutions to your company's specific needs.

There's no such thing as a one-size-fits-all solution here, Danielson says. Each of her productions have different Covid-19 plans, customized to the number of people involved and the types of locations being used. As New Mexico's coronavirus guidance shifts month to month, she adjusts each film set accordingly, such as modulating the amount of sanitization on touch points like doorknobs as local cases have risen and fallen.

Start by gauging the risk, particularly around air circulation and ability to socially distance. Then build protocols around personal protective equipment, Covid-19 testing, and surface sanitization. When in doubt, Danielson adds, refer to your state's or city's local Covid guidance. "We're always going to want to make sure we have the proper filtration of air flow if we're inside of a building," she says. "We're going to always make sure we're keeping people socially distanced." But employees should know, she says, that your policies could shift at a moment's notice.

Prioritize quick-turnaround Covid-19 testing.

As vaccines are still sparsely available, your testing protocol could make or break your return to the office. Danielson typically divides workers into two categories: People who interact regularly with each other, and people who only visit in-person occasionally. Infrequent visitors need two consecutive negative tests before they show up to work, while regulars get tested every single day--sometimes multiple times per day.

The daily testing only works because VIP StarNetwork's labs can turn around test results in a matter of hours. Even a 24-hour turnaround, Danielson says, wouldn't be fast enough. Contracting with a private lab to achieve that goal is a potentially expensive proposition: Johonniuss Chemweno, CEO of both VIP StarNetwork and Inverse Medical, says his company typically spends 5 to 20 percent of a film's overall budget on Covid safety. One of Danielson's recent projects, Zack Snyder's upcoming Netflix movie Army of the Dead, has an estimated budget of $70 million.

Still, Danielson stresses that until you can afford to build a truly rigorous same-day testing program, you simply can't risk bringing your workers back on a daily basis. "If you don't have the opportunity to get your results in a matter of hours, you could possibly expose all the people within your business and have to shut them down," she says. "Shutting your business back down for days or weeks again is costly."

Plan for rule breakers.

Most of your employees will probably be just as dedicated as you are to staying safe and healthy, particularly if their ability to work depends on it. Some, however, could push the boundaries on your mask-wearing or testing policies, and you need a plan to deal with them in advance.

Danielson says that most protocol violations she's seen come from a place of habit--people accidentally behaving like they did pre-pandemic--so she rarely reacts angrily. Rather, she works to gain the offender's trust through honesty and education, explaining why the policies exist and how they connect to local positivity rates. Repeat offenders get sent home, as they've become health hazards for everyone else.

"You don't really get to say no," Danielson says. "You're going to have to do it if you want to work."

Stay strict, even as vaccines roll out.

It'll be tempting to relax your standards for vaccinated employees, especially as vaccines become more available to the general public this year. Not so fast, Danielson says: Until more is known about how well the vaccines are working, particularly against multiple new and highly contagious virus strains, you'll need to stay vigilant.
Cancer cells acquire growth advantages over normal cells in myriad ways. Changes in cell programming allow these cells to grow in an uncontrolled fashion, thereby forming the cancer mass. Hepatocellular carcinoma (HCC), being highly malignant and invasive with a high recurrence rate and drug resistant phenotype, is one of the most dreadful cancers. Understanding the underlying molecular mechanisms is crucial to design therapeutic interventions and to predict patient prognosis.

Cancer cells use metabolic, immunogenic, or growth-related strategies, which can be controlled by a number of alterations in the cell process. Of these, "post-transcriptional RNA modification" has recently sparked interest among cancer biologists. N6-methyladenosine (m6A) methylation, a type of RNA modification, remains the most abundant epigenetic (non-DNA related) modification in eukaryotic cells. Abnormal activity of proteins that handle m6A regulation has been linked to cancer hallmarks like invasion, metastasis, and drug resistance in several cancers including HCC. But does this correlation translate into a causative relationship? Can m6A modification influence the behavior of HCC and help predict prognosis?

To find out, a group of researchers from Fudan University, China led by Prof. Lun-Xiu Qin carried out a bioinformatics analysis to identify specific m6A signatures and associated regulators that can help predict metabolic state, disease severity, and prognosis of HCC. Talking about the importance of metabolic alterations, author, Prof. Qin says, "Our previous work has revealed how metabolism dysfunction can affect HCC invasion capacity and can be targeted for therapeutic interventions. Now, we wanted to know how they are caused."

In their new study published in Cancer Biology & Medicine, the researchers used data that collectively reflect epigenetic RNA modifications from public sources - The Cancer Genome Atlas (TCGA) database, the Gene- Expression Ominibus (GEO), and the International Cancer Genome Consortium (ICGC). A total of 605 samples were used. They were able to identify 23 m6A regulators from published literature, of which 13 have been reported in HCC. In addition, they also included m6A regulators linked to other cancers. The regulators were clustered into metabolic groups, and the biological processes across clusters were differentiated. They also developed a novel m6A score to quantify how much modifications happened in HCC, the association with other alterations that contribute to HCC pathogenesis, and the response to treatment with sorafenib (line of treatment for liver cancer).

The results were clear: there was a well-defined heterogeneity in m6A patterns between tumor and non-tumor liver tissues. Moreover, they found considerable differences in copies of the gene along with increased gene expression in m6A regulators across HCC and were able to group HCC cells into 3 clusters with distinct metabolic profiles.

The 3 distinct m6A modification patterns in HCC each had distinct metabolic characteristics. M6A cluster C1, which corresponded to lower expression of m6A regulators was characterized by metabolic hyperactivity, lower tumor stage, better prognosis, and lower response to sorafenib treatment. In contrast, m6A cluster C3 was distinct in its hyperactive mRNA methylations, higher expression of m6A regulators, and was characterized by hypoactive metabolism, advanced tumor stage, poorer prognosis, and a better response to sorafenib. The m6A cluster, C2, was intermediate between C1 and C3.

Highlighting their key findings with respect to HCC prognosis and treatment, authors state, "This is the first work exploring the m6A methylation heterogeneity in HCC. We were also able to identify certain m6A regulators as risk factors for poor prognosis, therefore suggesting the potential of the m6A landscape in predicting disease progression and outcomes."

Overall, this study enhances our understanding of how m6A regulators influence metabolic heterogeneity of HCC and provides novel insights into potential prognostic markers and response to treatment in patients with HCC.

###

Reference

Authors: Xiaotian Shen (1,2), Beiyuan Hu (1,2), Jing Xu (3), Wei Qin (1,2), Yan Fu (1,2), Shun Wang (1,2), Qiongzhu Dong (1,2), Lunxiu Qin (1,2)

Title of original paper: The m6A methylation landscape stratifies hepatocellular carcinoma into 3 subtypes with distinct metabolic characteristics

Journal: Cancer Biology & Medicine

DOI: 10.20892/j.issn.2095-3941.2020.0402

Affiliations:

(1) Department of General Surgery, Huashan Hospital & Cancer Metastasis Institute, Fudan University, China

(2) Institutes of Biomedical Sciences, Fudan University, China

(3) Shanghai Medical College, Fudan University, China

About Professor Lun-Xiu Qin

Lun-Xiu Qin, MD, PhD, is a Professor and Director at the Department of Surgery, Huashan Hospital, Institute of Cancer Metastasis, Fudan University. He is a founding member of the International Liver Cancer Association and the Chairman of Cancer Precision Treatment Society of China Anti-Cancer Association, among other roles. He is a recipient of many government awards and honors. He focuses on the surgical treatment of hepatobiliary diseases and the translational study of metastatic recurrence of liver cancer. He has published over 130 papers in peer-reviewed English journals.
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[February 22, 2021] Thrasio Increases European Commitment to 500 million; Announces Another Major German Acquisition

BOSTON and BERLIN, Feb. 22, 2021 /PRNewswire/ -- Thrasio announced that it is expanding its recent 200 million commitment to acquire German ecommerce businesses to 500 million to fuel its growth broadly across Europe. The company cited a robust pipeline of recently-competed European acquisitions including Bonstato, a German private label brand incubator known for its everyday products with a distinctive design standard and superlative reviews. The Bonstato deal showcases Thrasio's unique strengths to onboard a robust Amazon brand and immediately put its specialized teams to work simultaneously optimizing across multiple channels. At its purchase, Bonstato generated 96% of revenue from Amazon, which Thrasio has already diversified, launching products in the German and US marketplaces that have become top sellers in their categories and tripling the run rate revenue of the German-based direct-to-consumer (DTC) site. Thrasio teams have also added localized affiliate marketing in the US, a soon-to-launch US DTC site, and plans to take high performing products into retail, both in the US and across Europe. "With a team of 700+ strong and over a $1 billion raised in just the last month, Thrasio is the only buyer in the space that is truly a global omnichannel machine," says Ken Kubec, VP Acquisitions. "Scaling on all global Amazon marketplaces, DTC, retail, and other sales channels is a challenge that requires specialized expertise, all of which Thrasio has in-house. As a leading digital e-commerce acquirer and operator, we create an 'everybody wins' situationsellers receive more money through well-aligned earnout incentives and their high quality products end up in the hands of even more consumers, all over the world." Bonstato co-owner Max Winkler, who recently became a father and wanted to slow down the pace of his professional life, says that he and co-owner Frank Petri were thrilled to find Thrasio and secure a lucrative exit. "Thrasio was diligent and professional throughout the process. They clearly showed us the path to future growth which conviced us of their operational excellence and the adjusted earnings we were seeking. All of this has been confirmed by the expeditious closing, smooth transition, and the way that the business keeps on growing."



"We are set up to cross borders," adds Thrasio COO Stephanie Fox. "Entering new regions can pose challenges for entrepreneurs, and one thing that sets Thrasio apart is our international infrastructure and scale, which drives growth for local teams in every location. Even something that seems as simple as multi-language keyword optimization is inherently complicated and needs to take into consideration copyrights, legal complications, and a whole host of cultural nuances. We have the experience to handle what it takes; we are ramping up our international efforts quickly, starting in Europe and expect to continue expanding across the globe." Bonstato is a German brand incubator with three individual brands and a wide range of products designed in downtown Munich: bonAMICO , which offers pet-owner favorites including vehicle seat covers, pet beds, and grooming accessories; bonmedico , which sells ergonomic and orthopedic auxiliary products to promote a healthy lifestyle and relieve chronic pain; and bonVIVO , which offers a wide range of high-quality furniture and home accessories including tables, coffee/tea accessories, and floor chairs. The brand maintains a strong presence in the US market as well as the EU.

Amazon FBA sellers - in Germany, the US, or elsewhere - who are thinking of selling their business or who believe their products have viability to expand to Amazon's German or US marketplaces under Thrasio's management can start the evaluation process by contacting Sami Turkie and Kirsten Weber at acquisitions@thras.io or visiting https://thrasio.de. About Thrasio

As the largest acquirer of Amazon FBA brands globally, Thrasio boasts a massive innovation and experimentation platform that brings high-quality products to market across digital marketplaces and retailers globally. With the experience of evaluating 6,000 Amazon companies, acquiring 100 top-rated brands, and managing the scale of nearly 14,000 category-leading products, Thrasio's brands are more profitable, grow faster, and outperform almost every other seller on Amazon. Under Thrasio's management, Amazon native brands compete with top household name labels, quickly becoming the trusted items that consumers turn to for their everyday needs, including fitness equipment from Beast Gear , coffee essentials from Coffee Gator , and art supplies from Crafts4All . For more information, visit https://thras.io . View original content to download multimedia:http://www.prnewswire.com/news-releases/thrasio-increases-european-commitment-to-500-million-announces-another-major-german-acquisition-301232216.html SOURCE Thrasio

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Victoria has launched a royal commission into Crown Resorts flagship Melbourne casino just weeks after the Bergin Inquiry in NSW produced gob-smacking revelations during 60 days of public hearings last year about what was going on behind the scenes at the James Packer-backed group.

The most damning evidence from that inquiry date back even further, to a series of reports by The Age, The Sydney Morning Herald and 60 Minutes into Crowns affairs in July 2019, which led to the NSW probe.

Former Supreme Court judge Patricia Bergin found in her final report, released two weeks ago, that Crown is unfit to hold the licence for its new $2.2 billion casino on Sydney Harbour. Western Australia then launched its own inquiry with the royal commission powers into Crown Perth last week.

That made the Andrews governments position - to fast-track the five-yearly review of Crowns licence, conducted by the same gambling regulator that failed to stop the rot uncovered by this masthead and confirmed by Commissioner Bergin - untenable. That is especially the case given the evidence that most concerned Commissioner Bergin all traced back to Crown Melbourne, where the group makes 70 per cent of its profits. Here is what we know from the NSW inquiry:
Meeting with Amit Shah not about change of leadership: Karnataka Minister

Cyclone Yaas: Amit Shah to hold review meeting with Chief Ministers of states to be affected

Amit Shah slams Mamata for not attending cyclone review meet with PM

Lakshadweep MP says Amit Shah has assured draft laws won't be finalised without consulting locals

Amit Shah reviews COVID-19 vaccination drive

India

pti-Madhuri Adnal

New Delhi, Feb 22: Union Home Minister Amit Shah on Monday reviewed the ongoing COVID-19 vaccination drive in the country.

The review meeting was also attended by Union Health Minister Harsh Vardhan, Home Secretary Ajay Bhalla and top officials of the two ministries.

PM Modi inaugurates Kolkata Metro extension, several other railway projects in West Bengal

"Union Home Minister @AmitShah holds review meeting on progress of COVID-19 vaccination drive," a home ministry spokesperson tweeted.

There have been reports of sudden spike in the number of COVID-19 cases in states such as Maharashtra, Kerala, Punjab, Chhattisgarh and Madhya Pradesh recently.
MUNCIE, IN -- Three Detroit men were found dead inside of an apartment Friday night, according to the Associated Press. Muncie Police Chief Nate Sloan said the men have been identified as Adrian Demarlo George Jr., 30; Devonte Earl Hollis, 25, and Terence Thomas, 27.

Officers responded to the scene and discovered that three subjects were deceased, Sloan said.

Sloan went on to say all three men succumbed to injuries suffered after being shot. No arrests have been made in the shooting, but the Muncie police and other agencies are actively investigating the shootings. Autopsies were expected to take place over the weekend, the AP reports.

READ MORE:

Dog rescued from Detroit River after being stuck on ice for 4 days

Armed man dies after barricading in West Michigan barn, police say

It is full steam ahead for us says Great Lakes fishing company after Michigan DNR lifts 2021 restrictions

Former standout high school athlete dies in Ottawa County snowmobile crash
Sen. Ted Cruz wasn't the only elected official who wasn't in Texas last week.

The Dallas Morning News' Lauren McGaughy and Allie Morris broke the news that Texas Attorney General Ken Paxton traveled to Utah last week as the state faced unprecedented freezing temperatures that caused millions to lose power.

AFTER THE FREEZE: Anger toward Texas governor grows in deadly storm's wake

According to McGaughy and Morris, Paxton was in Utah by Wednesday afternoon to meet with Utah Attorney General Sean Reyes regarding an antitrust lawsuit against Google that several states are pursuing. The meeting was planned before the statewide emergency, but it is unclear why it was not rescheduled. Paxton's campaign spokesperson Ian Prior would not confirm when Paxton left for Utah or when he returned.

Paxtons spokesperson confirmed the attorney general's house also lost power, but said Paxton did not leave the state until after power had returned to most of the state, including his own home," McGaughy and Morris report.

However, Paxton posted a tweet Wednesday evening criticizing the Electric Reliability Council of Texas, or ERCOT, and announcing that his office would investigate the blackouts. Nearly 3 million customers were without power on Wednesday, the day Paxton was in Utah.

"ERCOT & other energy cos have slipped & fallen on their faces & its not the ices fault. They have left 3+ million homes w/o power for days, including my own," Paxton wrote.

LAWSUITS COMING FOR ERCOT: Conroe family files $100 million lawsuit after son's death during winter storm

ERCOT is a private nonprofit corporation, not an energy company. It is subject to oversight by the Texas Legislature and the Public Utility Commission, a state agency whose commissioners are appointed by the Texas governor. The attorney general also represents the Public Utility Commission in state and federal court.

The Attorney Generals Consumer Protection Division is also responsible for investigating price gouging reports in the state. Harris County saw more than 500 cases of price gouging during the winter storm as of Friday.

Paxton is currently under investigation by the FBI after several staffers alleged Paxton helped a campaign donor, the Houston Chronicle's Taylor Goldenstein reports. He has also been under indictment for felony securities fraud for five years.
What is coal pilferage case?

India

oi-Deepika S

New Delhi, Feb 22: The political temperature in the poll-bound West Bengal seems to be on the rise over CBI summons to TMC MP Abhishek Banerjee's wife in coal pilferage scam. The move has triggered a political slugfest with the TMC accusing the BJP of pursuing political vendetta and the saffron party urging it not to politicise the matter.

On Sunday, a CBI team went to the Kolkata residence of Abhishek Banerjee, TMC MP and Chief Minister Mamata Banerjee's nephew, serving a notice to his wife and his sister-in-law to join the probe in the coal pilferage case.

Leading the party's assault against the saffron party, Mamata Banerjee said they can't be cowed by such tactics.

'Don't try to intimidate us with jail; we have fought against guns and are not afraid of fighting against rats,' a fuming TMC supremo said at an event soon after the CBI action.

Coal pilferage scam: Trinamool MP Abhishek Banerjees wife responds to CBI notice

Challenging the saffron camp without naming them, the feisty TMC boss said they have not learnt to lose.

Just hours after the summons was served, Abhishek, in a tweet, said, 'If they think they can use these ploys to intimidate us, they are mistaken. We are not the ones who would ever be cowed.

'We have full faith in the law of the land,' he said, attaching a copy of the CBI notice in the tweet.

What is coal pilferage case?

The coal pilferage case dates back to November 2020. The CBI is investigating the theft of coal from the mines of Eastern Coalfields Ltd.

The probe agency had registered an FIR against Manjhi alias Lala, Eastern Coalfield Ltd General Managers Amit Kumar Dhar (of then Kunustoria area now Pandaveswar area) and Jayesh Chandra Rai (Kajor area) besides ECL Chief of Security Tanmay Das, Area Security Inspector, Kunustoria Dhananjay Rai and SSI and security in-charge Kajor area Debashish Mukherjee.

It is alleged that Manjhi is involved in illegal mining and theft of coal from leasehold mines of ECL in Kunustoria and Kajora areas, they said.

The CBI acted on information from "reliable sources" that indicated illegal excavation and theft of coal in the leasehold area of ECL in "connivance" with officials of ECL, CISF and Railways.

The notices served to Rujira and Menaka Gambhir has intensified the tense mood prevailing in the poll-bound Bengal.

Is Rujuira Bannerjee an accused in the case?

The name of Rujira Banerjee, the wife of Trinamool Congress (TMC) MP Abhishek Banerjee is not mentioned in the FIR. The officials of ECL, including its security staff, apart from unknown officials of Central Industrial Security Force (CISF) and the Indian Railways are named as accused.

"Information received from reliable sources has revealed that illegal excavation and theft of coal is being done by criminal elements from the leasehold area of ECL in active connivance of the officials of ECL, CISF, Indian Railways and concerned other departments," the CBI FIR has said.

So, why has she and her sister been summoned?

According to the reports, Rujuira and Menaka have been summoned as their names cropped up during investigations. However, there is no official confirmation about their role in the case.

The TMC has alleged that development came a day before a designated MP/MLA court summoned Union Home Minister Amit Shah in West Bengal in connection with a defamation case lodged against him by Trinamool Congress MP Abhishek.

"Just because their leader Amit Shah has been summoned in a defamation case and his scheduled date of appearance is on February 22. That is why the BJP is now using the CBI to divert attention and is pursuing vendetta politics," TMC leader Kunal Ghosh said.

BJP's rise in Bengal

The BJP has emerged as the ruling Trinamool Congress's main rival by winning 18 of the 42 Lok Sabha seats in West Bengal 2019 general elections, only four short of TMC's tally of 22.

With the BJP's strength increasing in the state in the last few years, its leaders are upbeat that the party will be able to end Banerjee's 10-year rule in the state polls.

PM Modi: India can be one of the best in defence export | Oneindia News

Election to the 294-member state Assembly is due in April-May this year.

For Breaking News and Instant Updates Allow Notifications

Story first published: Monday, February 22, 2021, 12:51 [IST]

TORONTO - Ontario labour inspectors are homing in on warehouses and distribution centres, but the site of a major workplace COVID-19 outbreak isnt included in the ongoing inspections: Canada Post.

Parcels and mail await delivery in the mail room at the Canada Post Gateway location in Mississauga, Ont., on January 24, 2018. THE CANADIAN PRESS/Nathan Denette

TORONTO - Ontario labour inspectors are homing in on warehouses and distribution centres, but the site of a major workplace COVID-19 outbreak isnt included in the ongoing inspections: Canada Post.

More than 300 employees at the postal services Gateway facility in Mississauga, Ont., have tested positive for COVID-19 since the start of the year and one employee has died. Canada Post advised customers across the country to expect delivery delays as the outbreak impacted operations at the central mail delivery hub.

But because Canada Post is a federally regulated Crown corporation, its inspection falls outside provincial jurisdiction.

The president of the national union representing postal workers said consistent standards should be applied to all workplaces, noting that the outbreak has had an "enormous impact on all postal workers."

"The virus doesnt distinguish between provincial and federal workplaces and neither should inspections," Jan Simpson, president of the Canadian Union of Postal Workers, said in a statement. "Workplaces and workers in the Peel Region have been hit hard by COVID-19. Its in everyones best interest that all workplaces be inspected to ensure the health and safety of workers."

Ontario Labour Minister Monte McNaughton said earlier this month that the ministry chose to focus on warehouses and distribution centres in Peel Region - the hard-hit region of the Greater Toronto Area - noting that such workplaces employ a high number of temporary and precarious workers.

"Every employer, I don't care  who they're owned by, knows the rules that they need to follow," McNaughton said in an interview when the warehouse and distribution blitz was announced on Feb. 10. "There's no excuses anymore."

In the first week of the inspection "blitz" in Peel Region, inspectors visited 59 warehouses and issued issued 10 tickets and one order. They found compliance was just over 64 per cent, according to the ministry.

However, McNaughton said the federal government has responsibility for the Canada Post workplace. He said all levels of government need to work together to make sure safety measures are in place.

"Its all hands on deck, every level of government has to pull their weight," he said. "I'm certainly ensuring that our ministry is doing everything possible to protect the health and safety of workers."

Employment and Social Development Canada confirmed in a statement that the federal labour program "engaged" with the Gateway Canada Post facility "several" times between March 1, 2020 and Feb.12, including "to investigate refusals to work, to conduct an inspection into the (preventive) measures implemented, as well as to investigate the death of the employee."

But it's unclear what, if any, enforcement took place on those visits, or how many of them occurred and when. The department said information on specific findings including tickets issued couldnt be shared publicly unless through an Access to Information request.

The department statement said it works with employers to help them fulfil legal obligations, but added that employers are "best positioned to determine the health and safety measures for their work environment in order to meet legislated requirements."

"Therefore, the Labour Program does not prescribe specific measures to be taken in any federally regulated workplaces," spokesperson Marie-Eve Sigouin-Campeausaid in a statement.

Peel Public Health, which also supported Canada Post in managing the outbreak by ordering asymptomatic testing of all workers among other measures, also declined to share specific findings.

"As this is an ongoing, active investigation we are not in a position to disclose any further details," Dr. Lawrence Loh, the regions medical officer of health, said in a Feb. 17 statement. "Canada Post continues to co-operate with our investigation, and our joint priority remains protecting the health and safety of impacted employees and our broader community at this time."

Tim Sly, an emeritus professor of epidemiology at Ryerson University, said the "tangle of power struggle" between levels of government is a recurring characteristic of public health crisis management in Canada that can erode the public's trust.

"It confuses everybody," he said. "The city says one thing, the province says something else, the feds say something else, and the public is going around in circles saying that nobody knows what they're doing."

This report by The Canadian Press was first published Feb. 22, 2021.
Four people were hospitalized after a possible drunk driver collided with an ambulance Monday morning, San Antonio police said.

According to police, the ambulance was driving on Culebra Road when a silver sedan turned into the ambulance at the Les Harrison Drive intersection. The sedan hit the emergency vehicle on the front driver's side, causing the ambulance to jump the media and crash into a fence near Easterling.
EUGENE, Ore.--Health officials across the country are facing an unexpected hurdle in achieving herd immunity: women in their 20's and 30's who fear the vaccine for COVID-19 causes infertility.

Dr. David Herrmann, an obstertrician at Women's Care in Springfield, said that these rumors have even caused the American College of Obstreticians and Gynecologists to release a statement saying this is untrue.

"This is not something that came up even in preliminary studies following to see if people have side effects from the vaccine," Herrmann said.

Lane County Senior Public Health Officer Dr. Patrick Luedkte says the vaccine has only been administered to the public for 8 weeks so this is an unfounded claim.

"The definition of infertility is the inability to get pregnant after 12 months despite trying. The first vaccinations in America occurred in December," Luedkte said. "I don't fault people for having these concerns. I think some of us might fault people when they have these concerns without any data at all."

He said that some of his patients have been showing concerns but he has been reassuring them that the studies dont prove this claim.

KEZI also spoke with Rebecca Conrad, the executive director of Bristol Hospice, who received her two doses of the vaccine while she was pregnant.

"I felt that because I do work with hospice patients with COVID-19, that the benefits outweighed the risks in terms of getting the vaccine," Conrad said.

A retired Justice of the Supreme Court, Justice William Atuguba, has admonished Ghanaians to embrace the outcome of the 2020 presidential election petition in good faith.



He said in the event that a section of the people were aggrieved by the verdict of the apex court, their actions must be within the confines of the law.



In an interview with the Daily Graphic last Saturday, Justice Atuguba indicated that court decisions on matters of this kind have various impacts and effects, depending on the circumstances in each country. What I will say is that even if anybody is aggrieved with the ruling, their reactions should be within the framework of the rule of law.



Asked about the call for the Chairperson of the Electoral Commission (EC), Mrs Jean Mensa, to mount the witness box, Justice Atuguba, who was the president of the panel of the Supreme Court that adjudicated the 2012 presidential election petition, said the court had the necessary wisdom in dealing with such matters.



On that score, he asked that people avoid directing the court on how to handle the issue, noting that such actions could lead to contempt.



The Supreme Court judges, including the Chief Justice, have been vetted and approved by Parliament, who are the representatives of the people, so it is important for all actors, particularly the lawyers and the adjudicators, to bear in mind at all times that the decision of the court involves the sovereign welfare of the people of Ghana, he said.



Background



Justice Atuguba was appointed Supreme Court judge on November 30, 1995 by former President Jerry John Rawlings.



He was first enrolled as a magistrate on October 3, 1974.



He worked as a private legal practitioner and served as a State Attorney before being appointed a Justice of the Supreme Court.



On countless occasions, Justice Atuguba acted as Chief Justice any time Justice Georgina Theodora Wood was outside the country on official duties.



Justice Atuguba became a household name when he led the nine-member panel of judges that adjudicated the 2012 Election Petition as its President.



They ruled in favour of the National Democratic Congress (NDC), giving impetus to the Electoral Commissions declaration of Mr John Dramani Mahama as the winner of the presidential election.



Integrity of Judiciary



During the 2013 petition at the Supreme Court, Justice Atuguba took a strong position against persons casting doubt on the independence and integrity of the Judiciary.



He noted that the country was solid but was breaking down because principles were being chopped down, indicating that such actions were bad for court proceedings.



We have a strong and solid independent Judiciary in this country which must be preserved, Justice Atuguba said, in apparent response to a challenge to his being a member of the panel constituted by Chief Justice Wood to hear the NDCs motion for joinder to the petition challenging the declaration of Mr Mahama as winner of the December 7, 2012 presidential election.



If we perceive the Judiciary not to be independent, we will be gambling with the destiny of this country, he stated after he and his colleagues had emerged from their chambers following a meeting with lawyers representing the parties in the case.



Visibly unhappy about the developments, Justice Atuguba said he did not want to be part of a group that gambled with the destiny of the country and turned to his colleagues, indicating: I do not think my colleagues want to be part of it.









Source: Graphiconline.com









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The Monday sought response of the AAP government on two pleas seeking vaccination of all the prisoners who were out on bail or parole before they surrender so as to prevent the spread of COVID-19 infection inside prisons.

A bench of Chief Justice D N Patel and Justice Jyoti Singh issued notice to the Delhi government seeking its stand on the pleas by March 26 and also asked it to take action on the issue "immediately".

Delhi government standing counsel (criminal) Rahul Mehra assured the bench that "there was nothing to worry about as everything is under control".

He also told the court that there has been "no outbreak of COVID-19 in the jails".

The bench directed the government to indicate in its affidavit steps it has already taken and what it proposes to take.

The court also remarked that the pleas appeared to be an excuse to keep the prisoners who were out on bail, parole or furlough, out for a longer duration.

The bench said when committing a crime or offence, such persons should know what all could happen when they are sent to jail by the courts.

One of the two petitions has been moved by a 63-year-old woman convict serving life imprisonment in a murder case who has sought that all prisoners, particularly those above 60 years who were out on bail, parole or furlough be vaccinated before their surrender.

In her plea, filed through advocate Amit Sahni, the woman has also sought vaccination of jail staff, security persons and all prisoners lodged in prisons in the national capital.

A similar plea has also been moved by four lawyers -- advocates Abhilasha Shrawat, Prabhash, Kartik Malhotra and Manav Narula -- seeking directions to the Delhi government to "arrange and facilitate COVID-19 vaccination to all the prisoners who were out on bail".

The two petitions have claimed that as on January 14, there were 16,396 inmates in the three prisons in Delhi which together have a capacity of 10,026 and therefore, there was not sufficient space for maintaining social distancing.

The petitioners have contended that with more prisoners scheduled to surrender in the coming days, there may not be sufficient space to keep them in quarantine for 14 days and therefore, it was necessary to vaccinate the prisoners who were out on bail, parole or furlough before lodging them back in the jail.

(Only the headline and picture of this report may have been reworked by the Business Standard staff; the rest of the content is auto-generated from a syndicated feed.)


House Democrats unveil full $1.9 trillion COVID relief bill with minimum wage increase.

WASHINGTON - House Democrats took another step Friday in their effort to advance a $1.9 trillion stimulus bill, releasing the full bill text, which includes an increase in the federal minimum wage to $15 per hour, $1,400 direct checks for Americans making $75,000 or less a year, an extension of $400 federal unemployment benefits and more money for small businesses struggling amid the pandemic.

The House bill closely resembles President Joe Biden rescue plan and includes more money for schools, vaccine distribution and funding for state and local governments. The bill is not expected to attract much if any, Republican support. On Friday, House Minority Whip Steve Scalise urged Republicans in an email to vote"no"on what his office called House Speaker Nancy Pelosi "Payoff to Progressives Act."

Once the House passes the legislation, it will next go to the Senate where Democrats hold the narrowest possible majority. The expectation is that some pieces of the bill will have to change in order to accommodate the rules for the budget process known as reconciliation, which allows Democrats in the Senate to pass the bill with just a simple majority. The Senate has a partisan split of 50-50, with Vice President Kamala Harris able to step in and act as the tie-breaking vote.

Pelosi has previously said that she expects the COVID-19 relief package to be on Biden desk by March 14, when some jobless benefits expire.

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Teachers posted to rural communities in Ekiti State have been found to always refuse their postings, making it difficult to ensure effective education in the areas.

It was gathered that some of the teachers often work their postings back to areas of their choice afterwards, denying rural communities of adequate teachers.

The teachers are those hired under the Ekiti State Universal Basic Education Board(SUBEB).

The teachers often complain of difficult terrains and inaccessible villages for their actions.

They also cite poor incentives and lack of basic amenities as well.

But the state SUBEB said it would no longer tolerate such practice, warning that teachers would lose their jobs.

The agency stated on Monday it would, henceforth, direct public primary school teachers who are refusing postings to rural areas to tender their resignation.

It lamented the lopsidedness created by how teachers have been resisting postings to villages, thereby concentrating them in the cities at the expense of rural schools.

The agency also said the board would undertake redistribution policy to correct the imbalance.

The SUBEB Chair, Femi Akinwumi, spoke at Ikogosi, Ekiti West Local government area, while flagging off a five-day training programme for primary schools Quality Assurance Officers held at the Ikogosi Warm Spring Resort Centre.

Mr Akinwumi noted that the standard of education had improved considerably in the state since 2018.

We dont have teachers in local areas while they are in surplus in our cities, particularly Ado Ekiti, he said.

This lopsidedness is a major problem and we have to embark on teachers redistribution. If we dont use radical approach, we wont go far.

We have teachers that are sufficient in primary schools, but the question to ask is, have those teachers in the villages committed crime?

The new policy now is, is either they honour the postings we are going to do or they tender their resignation.

Some believe they can influence, but in this exercise, we are going to transfer those who thought they are untouchable.

Mr Akinwumi said productivity and efficiency were necessary ingredients for schools to perform, adding that quality assurance is required to enhance quality teaching, for good performances by pupils in external examinations .

Ekiti has the best teachers-pupils ratio in Nigeria, which is 1 to 28. It is even 1 to 14 in our rural schools. With this, we have no reason why we should not have the best results in public examinations, he further noted.

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Quality assurance is the best way to achieve the best in any organisation. If we are doing much in all areas, but we cant monitor and ensure we are getting quality, then things will go wrong.

The Executive Secretary, Universal Basic Education Commission, Hamid Boboyi, represented by the Southwest Zonal Director, P. A. Oyedokun, described quality assurance as the best way to strengthen education at the primary level, being the foundation of every academic pursuit.

Effective school monitoring will boost the capacities and having these quality assurance officers will help in evaluating the performances of both pupils, teachers and schools in general, for better performances, he said.
Jaipur, Feb 22 : The 'young vs old' battle has been intensifying in the Rajasthan BJP as well as in the ruling Congress with the senior lobby upset because of the young brigade.

While Congress leader Sachin Pilot recently showed his strength in the farmers' rally organised in Chaksu in Jaipur district, the BJP's senior leader Vasundhara Raje is reportedly all set to take out her power yatra starting from Bharatpur on her birthday on March 8 to showcase her strength to the young team appointed in the state, which reportedly is not seeking her advice and views on any major party decision.

Surprisingly, former CM Raje and state BJP president Satish Poonia were together in Delhi on Sunday where the two faced each other after around seven months but both of them moved ahead without greeting each other.

While Raje represented the meeting as BJP national vice-president, Poonia attended the meet as BJP state's president.

Leaders from both camps on Sunday remained busy convincing party workers on how their respective leaders were given more attention by Prime Minister Narendra Modi and his team.

Raje in her message said, "Today attended the meeting of BJP national officials in New Delhi in the dignified presence of Prime Minister Shri Narendra Modi and National President J.P. Nadda. I also got an opportunity to meet the Honourable Prime Minister Modiji," she said.

Similarly, Poonia's team said, "PM Narendra Modi and J.P. Nadda praised the work of Satish Poonia and his state team soon after BJP state president presented a report of party structure, services undertaken, and results of Panchayati Raj and local body elections in the state." Poonia, BJP officials said, received a pat on the back by Modi who told other leaders how he has been working on the ground strongly despite being affected by COVID twice.

At a time when these leaders were meeting Modi in New Delhi, the MLAs from the Raje camp shot off a letter to party president and state party president alleging that they are not getting a chance to speak in Assembly and how this biased behaviour is troubling them.

This young vs old story doesn't end here and is being repeated in the ruling Congress too.

Soon after Pilot organised a huge 'Kisan Mahapanchayat' in Chaksu recently, the next day, Chief Minister Ashok Gehlot and his camp also organised a march to protest against the farm laws passed by the Centre.

Gehlot and PCC president Govind Singh Dotasara also kept a distance from Pilot's rally even after being sent an invite.

Speaking to IANS, Pilot confirmed that MLA Ved Prakash Solanki had extended an invite to Gehlot and PCC team.

On Monday, Om Thanvi, Founding Vice-Chancellor, HJ State University of Journalism & Mass Comm, who is considered quite close to Gehlot, stirred a hornet's net by shooting off a tweet, attacking Pilot. "Showcasing the same restlessness and unrestrained ambition under the guise of farmers. Then escaping from the party meeting. Its the party which organises large gatherings on such issues but not individual leaders. @RahulGandhi would not have asked for this fragmented farmer support," he alleged.

His tweet drew flak as many social media users reminded him of the norms he should have followed for holding a V-C's post, while others claimed that Pilot is the rising star of the state who gathers crowd on his own charisma.

So, as the 2023 poll battle is still far, however, the war over the CM face seems to be intensifying in both parties.

Raje has been CM twice while Gehlot is serving his third term as CM. Presently, both mass leaders are facing threats from the young leadership and all eyes are on who will be the CM face in the next Assembly polls in 2023.
Pandemic-Fueled Alcohol Abuse Creates Wave of Hospitalizations for Liver Disease

Women at greater risk because they metabolize alcohol slower and may face greater stress due to pandemic impacts

As the pandemic sends thousands of recovering alcoholics into relapse, hospitals across the country have reported dramatic increases in alcohol-related admissions for critical diseases such as alcoholic hepatitis and liver failure.

Alcoholism-related liver disease was a growing problem even before the pandemic, with 15 million people diagnosed with the condition around the country, and with hospitalizations doubling over the past decade.

But the pandemic has dramatically added to the toll. Although national figures are not available, admissions for alcoholic liver disease at Keck Hospital of the University of Southern California were up 30 percent in 2020 compared to 2019, said Dr. Brian Lee, a transplant hepatologist who treats the condition in alcoholics. Specialists at hospitals affiliated with the University of Michigan, Northwestern University, Harvard University, and Mount Sinai Health System in New York City said rates of admissions for alcoholic liver disease have leapt by up to 50 percent since last March.

High levels of alcohol ingestion lead to a constellation of liver diseases due to toxic byproducts associated with the metabolism of ethanol. In the short term, these byproducts can trigger extensive inflammation that leads to hepatitis. In the long term, they can lead to the accumulation of fatty tissue, as well as the scarring characteristic of cirrhosiswhich can, in turn, cause liver cancer.

Since the metabolism of alcohol varies among individuals, these diseases can show up after only a few months of heavy drinking. Some people can drink heavily without experiencing side effects for a long time; others can suffer severe immune reactions that rapidly send them to the hospital.

Leading liver disease specialists and psychiatrists believe the isolation, unemployment, and hopelessness associated with COVID-19 are driving the explosion in cases.

Theres been a tremendous influx, said Dr. Haripriya Maddur, a hepatologist at Northwestern Medicine. Many of her patients were doing just fine before the pandemic, having avoided relapse for years. But subject to the stress of the pandemic, all of a sudden, [they] were in the hospital again.

Across these institutions, the age of patients hospitalized for alcoholic liver disease has dropped. A trend toward increased disease in people under 40 has been alarming for years, said Dr. Raymond Chung, a hepatologist at Harvard University and president of the American Association for the Study of Liver Disease. But what were seeing now is truly dramatic.

Maddur has also treated numerous young adults hospitalized with jaundice and abdominal distension emblematic of the diseasea pattern she attributes to the pandemic-era intensification of economic struggles faced by the demographic. At the same time these young adults may be entering the housing market or starting a family, they find that entry-level employment, particularly in the vast, crippled hospitality industry, is increasingly hard to come by. They have mouths to feed and bills to pay, but no job, she said, so they turn to booze as the last coping mechanism remaining.

Women may be suffering disproportionately from alcoholic liver disease during the pandemic because they metabolize alcohol at slower rates than men. Lower levels of the enzyme responsible for degrading ethanol lead to higher levels of the toxin in the blood and, in turn, more extensive organ damage in women than in men who drink the same amount. (The CDC recommends that women have one drink or less per day, compared with two or fewer for men.)

Socially, the stress of the pandemic has, in some ways, particularly targeted women, said Dr. Jessica Mellinger, a hepatologist at the University of Michigan. Lower wages, less job stability, and the burdens of parenting tend to fall more heavily on womens shoulders, she said.

If you have all of these additional stressors, with all of your forms of support goneand all you have left is the bottlethats what youll resort to, Mellinger said. But a woman who drinks like a man gets sicker faster.

Nationwide, more adults are turning to the bottle during the pandemic. One study found rates of alcohol consumption in spring 2020 were up 14 percent compared with the same period in 2019, and drinkers consumed nearly 30 percent more than in pre-pandemic months. Unemployment, isolation, lack of daily structure, and boredom have all increased the risk of heightened alcohol use.

The pandemic has brought out our uneasy relationship with alcohol, said Dr. Timothy Fong, an addiction psychiatrist at UCLA. Weve welcomed it into our homes as our crutch and our best friend.

These relapses, and the hospitalizations they cause, can be life-threatening. More than 1 in 20 patients with alcohol-related liver failure die before leaving the hospital, and alcohol-related liver disease is the leading cause for transplantation.

The disease also makes people more susceptible to COVID-19. Patients with liver disease die of COVID at rates three times higher than those without it, and alcohol-associated liver disease has been found to increase the risk of death from COVID by an additional 79 to 142 percent.

Some physicians, like Maddur, are concerned that the stressors leading to increased alcohol consumption and liver disease may stretch well into the futureeven after lockdowns lift. I think were only on the cusp of this, she said. Quarantine is one thing, but the downturn of the economy, thats not going away anytime soon.

Others, like Lee, are more optimisticalbeit cautiously. The vaccine is coming to a pharmacy near you, COVID-19 will end, and things will begin to get back to normal, he said. But the real question is whether public health authorities decide to act in ways that combat [alcoholic liver disease].

Because people are just fighting to cope day to day right now.

This story was produced by KHN, which publishes California Healthline, an editorially independent service of the California Health Care Foundation.
Those of us who came of age in the West in the second half of the 20th century believe that race is a superficial attribute and that, as Martin Luther King said, people should be judged, not by the color of their skin, but by the content of their character. All races are equal, both morally and before the law. The left has jettisoned this principle, something made manifest in Edmonton, Canada, where a school district is hunting down the "hate-filled" anonymous White students who declared that "we are all equal and race should be ignored."

The Edmonton Public School Board, which has responsibility for the Strathcona High School, was horrified when a new account appeared on Instagram. The "Scona White Student Alliance" (sconawsa) introduced itself with sentiments that would have been considered normal just ten or twenty years ago:

White lives matter! Strathcona high school has been increasingly anti-white rather than pro black for the past few months. We have been forced to sit in our classes and listen to some clowns ranting how terrible and racist are all whites. Enough is enough, us students don't wish to be thought any of that social justice rubbish, we just want to be treated equally and be respected. Black people shouldn't be treated superior than white people, nor the other way around. We are all equal and race should be ignored, we must judge each other by our actions, not by the color of our skin. The most shocking thing to me about the statement is the execrable grammar. It's clear that the school, perhaps because of its racial obsessions, has abandoned its basic obligations to teach students to write in grammatically correct English.

In addition, the Instagram account posted Martin Luther King's famous "I have a dream" speech, which focused on character over color  and accused the school of reversing that prescription.

Had the leaders in the Edmonton Public School district been rational, decent people, they would have agreed with the students that all people are created equal, that our conduct matters more than our color, and that the students need to practice both their tact ("clowns" and "rubbish" may offend more than persuade) and their grammar.

But in Canada, which is about a year ahead of the United States when it comes to racial insanity, that's not what happened. Instead, the school board announced that it was going to hunt down and root out the "hate-filled" students who spoke of racial equality and the importance of character and conduct:

"The school has reported the account and has made Edmonton Police Service aware of it as well," a statement from the board to Global News said. "There is zero tolerance for hate-filled accounts and posts like this." Trisha Estabrooks, the school board chair, said Tuesday that she believes the post highlights the need to fight "systemic racism in our education systems." "We can't shy away from having these tough conversations in our classrooms, in our schools, and in our broader society," Estabrooks said. "This is an opportunity to have those tough conversations."

The indoctrinated students paraded before the media made all the right noises about equality being racist.

Incidentally, Trisha Estabrooks, the school board chair, cut her teeth working for CBC radio and television stations. For the uninformed, "CBC" stands for Canadian Broadcasting Corporation, Canada's version of the BBC. Those who hate the corporation's rampant leftism call it the "Communist Broadcasting Corporation."

It's also worth noting that Estabrooks is a very White woman married to a very White man. They are the parents of two charming-looking White children.

I look forward to the day when Estabrooks and her husband explain to those lovely (and clearly loved children) that their skin color is the most important thing about them, and that they are an inferior race. After all, if it's hate speech to resist the idea that Blacks are superior to Whites and to contend, instead, that all races are equal, the logical inference is that Whites are inferior to Blacks.

I can only imagine that Martin Luther King, looking down on the West from some heavenly cloud, weeps.
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ALBUQUERQUE, N.M.  New Mexico State University has developed a series of workshops designed to help New Mexicans better understand the emerging hemp industry and the new set of regulations surrounding it.

The first workshop, Cultivating a Hemp Based Business in New Mexico: Production, Processing and Profitability, will focus on research and business advice about growing and processing hemp, according to a news release from the university.

The virtual workshop will take place from 9 a.m. to 4:30 p.m. Thursday. In the morning, representatives from the New Mexico Department of Agriculture will present sessions on crop regulation, while the afternoon schedule will feature sessions on production, processing, business operations and marketing, the release said.

Presentations on growing hemp will touch on cultivation, soil health, pest management, plant diseases and processing options, and results from trials conducted across New Mexico will be shared, according to the release.

Other presentations include a discussion regarding the technical and business opportunities for hemp processing and manufacturing, as well as conducting feasibility studies, preparing budgets and general marketing considerations. Participants can select a session to attend the day of the event and will receive links to watch recordings from the other two sessions. Registration is $70. Current NMSU students can attend for $25. Online registration is available at www.hempbusiness.ezregister.com.

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Uiryeong County Office in South Gyeongsang Province / Uiryeong County Office's homepage





By Ko Dong-hwan







Oh Yeong-ho, former governor of Uiryeong County / Yonhap

The former Uiryeong County governor has been put behind bars for hiring a gangster to threaten a journalist who was critical of him when he was in office.







The Changwon District Court's Masan branch court on Feb. 17 sentenced Oh Yeong-ho, 72, to two years and four months in prison.







After Oh took office in July 2014, the journalist wrote three articles revealing allegations surrounding him, including possible violations of the Election Law.







The judge said Oh's acts of corruption were "nothing short of what has been portrayed in movies" and "seriously damaged the image of an elected public official." The sentencing also took into account the fact that the former governor refused to admit his wrongdoing and the reporter refused to forgive him.







Oh, who had run the South Gyeongsang provincial county until 2018, contacted a friend, a construction contractor, to ask if he knew anyone who could make the reporter stop writing such stories. The contractor acted upon the request, and in November that year, Oh was introduced to a gangster, who was notorious in the region and had a record of attempted murder and violence.







Over two meetings, Oh met the gangster and told him, according to Korean broadcaster KBS, "I want to kill that reporter but since I cannot, you take care of him instead." He offered 1 million won ($905) and helped him run a food distribution business under the control of the county.







After taking the money, the gangster repeatedly called the reporter to tell him to stop writing such stories. The reporter ignored the calls suspecting they were made by someone who disliked his articles. The gangster then visited a cafe the reporter was running and threatened him, telling him to stop criticizing Oh in the newpaper.







Other charges accepted by the Masan court included conducting 24 illegal financial transactions using another person's bank account to hide his assets.







Oh has been in prison since September 2020 when he was sentenced to nine months in jail for having embezzled 60 million won from the food distribution company to use for his election campaign in 2014.


KALAMAZOO, MI  Southwest Michigan First said it is making internal changes to increase diversity, equity and inclusion after the selection of former Michigan House Speaker Lee Chatfield as CEO led to public outcry from the community.

Chatfield announced his resignation as CEO on Monday, Feb. 22, morning, after being hired about a week earlier. He could not be reached for comment.

During a 10 a.m. Monday meeting at Southwest Michigan First, the board of directors accepted Chatfields resignation, according to a statement sent by the organization. As Southwest Michigan First begins the search for its next CEO, the organization said in the statement, it is committed to and will assure a process that is open, transparent and inclusive of those who depend on it to improve economic development and employment opportunities.

We recognize that increased prosperity has not often been experienced by our communities of color, Latinx communities and our LGBTQ+ community. We remain committed to increasing access to capital, entrepreneurial opportunities, leadership development programs and representation at board tables, Southwest Michigan First said.

The organization acknowledged the CEO selection first announced on Feb. 11 caused a great deal of disappointment by team members, community partners, investors, donors and board members.

Many have questioned our agencys commitment to diversity, equity and inclusion as well as our human capital and CEO search processes, Southwest Michigan First said in the statement. We welcome the conversations, challenging questions and opportunities to listen, learn and grow. What is abundantly clear is that our search process fell well below the standard expected by our board, our community partners, investors, donors and importantly, our Southwest Michigan First team.

Kalamazoo City Commissioner Erin Knott led a charge to call for accountability of Southwest Michigan First and Chatfield, asking organizations to pull funding from the group and championing a motion the City Commission ultimately approved for the city government to withdraw from the organizations Council of 100.

Mr. Chatfields resignation is indicative of the fact that the greater Kalamazoo community and the Southwest region have shown that we value diversity, equity and inclusion, Knott said Monday.

Those factors must be at the forefront when Southwest Michigan First hires its next CEO, she said.

Our community is watching and until we know that we are aligned, we will continue to keep the pressure up, Knott said, and she and others will continue the call to action to support specific changes to state civil rights laws that came up for discussion as Chatfield was hired.

Chatfield said previously, during a 2019 media interview, that he would not support a change to the Elliott-Larsen Civil Rights Act expanding anti-discrimination laws to include sexual orientation and gender identity. The former lawmaker noted at the time he does not believe anyone should be discriminated against, but said he believed the proposed change would have infringed on religious beliefs.

In 2017, the Southwest Michigan First Board of Directors voted to support the amendment to expand the Elliott-Larsen Civil Rights Act, and the group supports it today, according to Mondays statement from the organization. The group did not provide additional information about that vote.

Southwest Michigan First Managing Partner Heather Smith Baker, who sent the statement to MLive, referred to the original statement when asked follow-up questions.

The organization indicated in the statement it would make changes to the larger organization, including promising to create a new position to focus on diversity, equity and inclusion as well as a committee of board members to oversee that effort.

Words, policies, and actions matter, Southwest Michigan First said in the statement. We believe that communities, individuals and organizations get better when we engage in tough important conversations about discrimination and racism. Southwest Michigan First is committed to the conversations and actions necessary so that all in our community prosper and are free from the debilitating impact of discrimination of any kind.

The first step in our agencys journey is to establish and appropriately resource an executive level position for Diversity, Equity and Inclusion at Southwest Michigan First. Additionally, we will create a Diversity, Equity and Inclusion Board Committee to make certain that all of our human capital policies, procedures and practices mirror the expectations made clear by our community partners, investors, donors, board members and team members.

With humility, we apologize to all who we have disappointed, Southwest Michigan First said.

Chatfield faced criticism for his politics and other issues as he began the CEO job. Residents and public officials criticized his political stance as House Speaker and said he blocked civil rights legislation from coming up for debate. Others said Chatfield had a lack of experience to do the job.

Knott made a motion that was unanimously approved by the Kalamazoo City Commission on Feb. 15 to pause its membership and pull the $10,000 in annual funding the city sends to the economic development group.

Knott, who is gay, has urged Chatfield to reach out to his former colleagues in the legislature to ask them to expand the Elliott-Larsen Civil Rights Act to protect sexual orientation, gender identity and expression without any carveouts or exceptions, as a way to signal his values aligned with the community.

Knott is the executive director of Equality Michigan. She said Chatfields hiring has led to momentum in talking about making change to state law.

It definitely gave us an opportunity to lift up his past record, particularly when he served as the speaker, and to draw attention to the fact that we still can be discriminated against, lose our jobs, be denied access to housing, kicked out of a restaurant or a coffee shop, simply because of who we are or who we love, Knott said.

MLive reached out to several members of the Southwest Michigan First board of directors to ask about the hiring. Though some could not be reached for comment last week, including Southwest Michigan First Board President Aaron Zeigler, others did respond.

L. Marshall Washington, the president of Kalamazoo Valley Community College, announced his resignation from the Southwest Michigan First board last week, citing the controversy caused by the CEO hiring. Western Michigan President Edward Montgomery, a member of the Southwest Michigan First board, said the CEOs policy positions dont align with WMUs values.

Read more:

Kalamazoo Promise latest to cut ties with Southwest Michigan First

Kalamazoo hires director of diversity, equity and inclusion

Kalamazoo Community Foundation ends membership with Southwest Michigan First over misalignment of values and vision

Western Michigan president: Southwest Michigan First CEOs policy positions dont align with WMUs values

Former House Speaker says politics not a factor in new role at Southwest Michigan First

Two personnel have been suspended for illegally detaining a senior citizen in connection with a cheating complaint, police said on Monday.

The SHO of Narela police station and an assistant sub-inspector were placed under suspension on Sunday evening and sent to district lines, they said.

The action was taken against the two police personnel after the senior citizen filed a habeas corpus petition in the matter, a senior police officer said.

"The allegations levelled against the police personnel will be looked into and an inquiry into the matter is underway," he said.

(Only the headline and picture of this report may have been reworked by the Business Standard staff; the rest of the content is auto-generated from a syndicated feed.)
Jacqueline Jossa and Dan Osborne did not break lockdown rules by travelling from Essex to Yorkshire to visit a puppy over the weekend, a police investigation has concluded.

The actress, 29, and the former TOWIE star, 29, were met with criticism from fans after they embarked on a eight-hour round trip to the Total K9 facility in Cottam, Driffield, to see their new pet with their daughters Ella, six, and Mia, two, last week.

However, Essex and Humberside Police ruled the journey a 'legitimate' business trip after influencer Dan explained that he stopped off at the dog breeder while he was travelling for his competition company Prize Paradise.

Details: Jacqueline Jossa and Dan Osborne did not break lockdown rules by travelling from Essex to Yorkshire to visit a puppy over the weekend, a police investigation has concluded

A statement from Humberside Police said: 'On Friday 19 February, we were made aware of reports of an alleged breach of coronavirus regulations.

'Working alongside our colleagues from Essex Police, the claims were thoroughly investigated and a number of enquiries were carried out. Officers have spoken to those involved.'

The tattoo shop owner decided to check in with Total K9 about whether their Rottweiler would be suitable for his young children.

They added to The Mirror: 'It was found that those concerned had travelled for legitimate business purposes and no breaches were found to be committed.'

Meeting: The actress, 29, and the former TOWIE star, 29, embarked on a eight-hour round trip to the Total K9 facility in Cottam (pictured with daughters Ella, six, and Mia, two)

Fans had criticised Dan - who also shares son Teddy, seven, with ex Megan Tomlin - for his flaunted infraction, before he furiously hit back, shockingly telling his detractors to 'go f*** yourselves'.

Earlier in the month, the reality star posed with the pup and added a caption reading: 'Look who we did an 8 hour round trip to go visit.'

A journey from the heart of Essex to Driffield takes around three hours and 50 minutes to complete.

Following the initial post, he revealed that while their dog was trained, the family would continue to visit the facility before the pup joins their household.

The revelation didn't sit well with a number of fans, who lashed out at the star  prompting him to hit back in a self-recorded video, taken as he sat in his car.

No rule-breaking here! Essex and Humberside Police ruled the journey a 'legitimate' business trip after Dan explained he stopped off at the dog breeder while he was travelling for work

On this particular occasion, he claimed his job took him to Yorkshire, so he decided to take his wife and children along with him to meet the new puppy.

He then insisted that his wife and children remained in the car and didn't come into contact with anyone during the long road trip.

He said: 'Now if I did just go and buy a big dog and didn't meet it and had it in the house with the kids without meeting it I would stick and people saying, 'Why are you buying a rottweiler without letting it see your kids first?".

'So I can't win in this situation. We went outside, looked at a puppy and then drove home. We were in a car, we are not causing any problem to anyone else.

'There is no problem with what I did. I don't know why Total K9 have had the police down there, it's ridiculous.'

He added: 'I know I shouldn't have to but I'm just clearing it up. I know 99 per cent of people understand like normal humans but to the one per cent of not normal human beings, there's your explanation.

'It's not a big deal, it's not like, "Oh my God, we're breaking the law". Jesus Christ, it's ridiculous.'

He then addressed the people who he said had been calling him a barrage of insulting names in reaction to the news, by ranting: "Go f*** yourself.

'You don't know me, I don't know you, you wouldn't call me it to my face, so don't do it over social media.'

Hitting back: The revelation didn't sit well with a number of fans, who lashed out at the star  prompting him to hit back in a self-recorded video, taken as he sat in his car

The government website currently states: 'Under UK COVID-19 restrictions, you must stay at home. You must not travel, including abroad, unless you have a legally permitted reason to do so. It is illegal to travel abroad for holidays and leisure.'

Dan made no secret of the trip to Yorkshire as he shared but later deleted the post detailing the journey and the length of time taken to visit the puppy, who they have since made an Instagram page for under the handle @tysonorottie.

He then explained that the eight-week-old dog would remain at Total K9 to be trained by the experts, while they would visit regularly.

Lengthy trip: A journey from the heart of Essex to Driffield takes around three hours and 50 minutes to complete

Details: The government website currently states people 'must stay at home' unless they 'have a legally permitted reason to do so. It is illegal to travel abroad for holidays and leisure'

Dan wrote on another post: 'He will be trained by Total K9 with visits from us, then will join the mad Osborne house permanently.'

Total K9 have had a host of other celebrity clients including Lauren Goodger's two Black Cavalier King Charles Spaniel, who have since been rehomed.

The institution provides Pet and Working Dog Behavioural and Obedience Training and has packages starting from 300 per week.

In November last year, Jacqueline revealed she went to a therapist during the first COvID-19 lockdown, amid her marital woes with husband Dan.

Big reveal: He then explained that the eight-week-old dog would remain at Total K9 to be trained by the experts, while they would visit regularly

Their pup: They have since made an Instagram page for under the handle @tysonorottie

The actress and I'm A Celebrity... Get Me Out Of Here! winner shed light on the time when she moved out of the home she shares with Dan.

She told The Sun: 'It felt like everybody wanted to watch me fall apart. I kept it in for a while, but then over lockdown it was a really good time and place for Daniel and I to go through everything  an opportunity for us to talk through it all.'

'For me, this meant turning to therapy. And because of that, I couldnt be in the same house as Dan. There was no big argument or bust-up, and there were no other girls. Moving out was literally how I had to deal with it.'

Jacqueline also addressed the women who have sold stories about her husband's alleged infidelities: 'Listen, you cant stop the bitches selling stories  that is fact, I know that. They can say what they want, Daniel and I know the truth.'
A murder investigation has been launched following the fatal stabbing of a man in Tottenham today.

Police were called to reports of a man, believed to be in his 20s, who had been stabbed in West Green Road, North London, at around 4pm today.

The man was pronounced dead at the scene despite the efforts of police officers and the London Ambulance Service who attended. His next of kin have been informed.

A crime scene remains in place on West Green Road, Tottenham, North London, where a man in his 20s was stabbed to death at around 4pm today

A crime scene remains in place on West Green Road, where another stabbing of a teenager took place just two days ago.

Armed police joined paramedics at the scene of the earlier attack on West Green Road in Tottenham, at the junction with Willow Walk just after 9pm on Tuesday.

The wounded youngster was treated at the side of the side of the road by air ambulance crews before being rushed to hospital, where his condition was described as life-threatening.

Witnesses said a police air support helicopter was scrambled to hunt for the knifeman, who made off from the scene.

Today Local residents will see an increased number of officers conducting high-visibility reassurance patrols in the area.

Another stabbing took place on the same West Green Road in Tottenham on Tuesday, with armed police joining paramedics at the scene

The Metropolitan Police said in a statement today: 'Police were called at approximately 16:00hrs on Monday, 22 February to reports of a man, believed aged in his 20s, stabbed in West Green Road, N15.

Officers and London Ambulance Service attended but despite the efforts of the emergency services, he was pronounced dead at the scene.

'There have been no arrests and enquiries into the circumstances are ongoing.

'Anyone with information that could assist police is asked to call 101 or tweet @MetCC and quote CAD4438/22Feb. Alternatively, call the independent charity Crimestoppers anonymously on 0800 555 111.'
WEST READING, Pa., Feb. 22, 2021 /PRNewswire/ -- Tower Health today announced that P. Sue Perrotty, retired bank executive and community leader, has been named interim president and CEO of Tower Health. Perrotty, a member of the Tower Health board of directors since July 2019, replaces Clint Matthews, who has announced his retirement after 10 years of service to the organization.

"During Clint's tenure, Tower Health has become a healthcare leader focused on improving the health of communities throughout the Reading and greater Philadelphia region. The Board thanks him for his service," said Tom Work, chair of Tower Health's Board of Directors. "Sue has built an incredible reputation as a dynamic leader with compassion and integrity. Having served on our Board since 2019, she uniquely understands our organization and path forward."

Perrotty brings decades of leadership experience in the banking and finance industries to her new role. Over the course of her career, Perrotty has overseen multi-billion-dollar corporate integrations, managed several mergers and advised businesses of all sizes in the Reading community, Philadelphia and beyond. She is a noted expert on corporate governance and serves as an independent director of several businesses, including the publicly traded Global Net Lease, Inc.

"I am honored to have been given this responsibility as we collectively chart a smart future for Tower Health," said Perrotty. "As we move forward, I want to focus on listening to members of the clinical, support and administrative teams  the people that make Tower Health such a special place. In the weeks and months ahead, we'll be guided by our commitment to our mission of providing high-quality and affordable care to the communities we all call home."

After a 27-year career in banking, culminating as executive vice president and head of Global Operations for First Union Corp., Perrotty retired from the industry and went on to serve as chief of staff to Pennsylvania First Lady, Judge Marjorie Rendell.

"Sue is a born leader who possesses a rare capacity for synthesizing facts and problem-solving, with an analytical ability second to none. She is also a keen listener with excellent people skills," said former First Lady, Judge Marjorie Rendell. "I was fortunate to have her as my overqualified chief of staff and she remains my go-to source of advice and counsel to this day. I see her as the perfect person for this position."

"Sue has the unique ability to empower those she works with to think big and achieve things they never would have thought possible. Combined with her listening and tremendous people skills, she makes great things happen," said Samuel McCullough, former CEO for nearly 20 years of Meridian Bank and current chairman, president and CEO of Griffin Holdings Group LLC. "When we worked together, she was instrumental to our growth and success, and she remains a trusted confidant. Simply put, she always gets the job done and makes those around her better."

An active member of the community, Perrotty has led boards and capital campaigns for Albright College, her alma mater, as well as the United Way of Berks County, the Olivet Boys and Girls Club and the Berks County Community Foundation. Perrotty has also been recognized among Pennsylvania's 50 Best Women in Business, and as an Outstanding Philanthropist by the Association of Fundraising Professionals' Berks Regional Chapter.

About Tower Health

Tower Health is a strong, regional, integrated healthcare provider/payer system that offers leading-edge, compassionate healthcare and wellness services to a population of 2.5 million people. With approximately 14,000 team members, Tower Health consists of Reading Hospital in West Reading; Brandywine Hospital in Coatesville; Chestnut Hill Hospital in Philadelphia; Jennersville Hospital in West Grove; Phoenixville Hospital in Phoenixville; Pottstown Hospital in Pottstown; and St. Christopher's Hospital for Children, a partnership of Tower Health and Drexel University in Philadelphia. It also includes Reading Hospital Rehabilitation at Wyomissing; Reading Hospital School of Health Sciences in West Reading; home healthcare services provided by Tower Health at Home; and a network of 27 urgent care facilities across the Tower Health service area. Tower Health offers a connected network of 2,200 physicians, specialists, and providers across more than 230 convenient locations. For more information, visit towerhealth.org.

SOURCE Tower Health

(BPT) - In the early part of the COVID-19 pandemic, many areas of the country banned nonessential medical procedures in an effort to slow the spread of the disease. As a result, many physicians saw fewer patients for routine medical care, such as physical exams and screenings. A recent survey by The Physicians Foundation polled 3,513 physicians and found 41% saw volume decreases of 26% or more in their practices.[1]

The impact on cancer screenings was even more profound. For example, screenings for prostate cancer  one of the most commonly diagnosed cancers in men in the United States  dropped by 56% by the peak of the pandemic in April according to a recent study published in JCO Clinical Cancer Informatics. The study used a large medical claims clearinghouse database representing 5-7% of the Medicare fee-for-service population to characterize changes in the utilization of cancer care services and gain insight into the impact of COVID-19 on the U.S. cancer population.[2],[3]

Last year, we saw many patients deciding to either reschedule or completely forgo preventative care in our office to avoid the risk of COVID-19 infection, said Neal Shore, M.D., F.A.C.S., Medical Director, Carolina Urologic Research Center. There was also a noticeable decline in the number of prostate cancer screens we conducted which, as a physician treating men with this cancer on a daily basis, makes me concerned that prostate cancer may not be detected in its earlier stages when outcomes are typically better for the patient.

In the case of localized prostate cancer, the five-year relative survival rate is estimated to be 100 percent after diagnosis, according to the National Cancer Institutes Surveillance, Epidemiology, and End Results Program (SEER) database.[3] For advanced prostate cancer types, such as metastatic castration-sensitive prostate cancer (mCSPC), which is prostate cancer that has spread to other parts of the body and responds to treatment to lower testosterone or castration-resistant prostate cancer (CRPC), which is prostate cancer that no longer responds to treatment to lower testosterone, the outlook is not as good. According to the same SEER analysis, only about 30 percent of men diagnosed with mCSPC will survive five years post-diagnosis and other studies have shown that men with CRPC have a median survival of between 9 and 30 months.[3],[4] This contrast in survival outcomes highlights why early prostate cancer detection is so critical.

In advanced prostate cancer treatment, a goal is to slow the spread of cancer cells in the body. All men have hormones known as androgens (the most common androgen is testosterone), which can fuel prostate cancer growth. For those with metastatic CSPC and CRPC, physicians may prescribe a treatment called a novel hormone therapy. These therapies interfere with the connection between androgens and androgen receptors. This can help slow cancer cell spread. Novel hormone therapies are paired with another treatment called androgen deprivation therapy (ADT) which reduces the total amount of testosterone in the body. Together, these therapies work to slow the spread of prostate cancer.[5]

XTANDI (enzalutamide), a prescription treatment approved by U.S. Food and Drug Administration (FDA), is an example of one of these novel hormone therapies, and is just one potential treatment option that patients can discuss with their doctors. XTANDI is FDA-approved to treat three forms of advanced prostate cancer: mCSPC (prostate cancer that has spread to other parts of the body and responds to a hormone therapy or surgical treatment to lower testosterone), nmCRPC (prostate cancer that has not spread to other parts of the body and no longer responds to a hormone therapy or surgical treatment to lower testosterone) and mCRPC (prostate cancer that has spread to other parts of the body and no longer responds to a hormone therapy or surgical treatment to lower testosterone). XTANDI may cause serious side effects, including seizure, a condition involving the brain called Posterior Reversible Encephalopathy Syndrome (PRES), allergic reactions, heart disease, and falls and fractures, and more. See Important Safety Information below, and talk to your doctor or pharmacist.

While my goal is to detect prostate cancer as early as possible, this does not always happen, particularly with ongoing concerns around COVID-19 delaying periodic check-ups, continued Dr. Shore. When a man does present with or progress to mCSPC or CRPC, there are treatment options like XTANDI they can discuss with their healthcare providers.

While COVID-19 continues to be a concern for many men across the country, organizations like the American Cancer Society recommend talking to your provider who can discuss whether screening is recommended and help balance the risk and benefits of being screened now or postponing. To learn more about prostate cancer and XTANDI, visit https://www.xtandi.com/.

What is XTANDI?

XTANDI is a prescription medicine used to treat men with prostate cancer that:

no longer responds to a hormone therapy or surgical treatment to lower testosterone

OR

has spread to other parts of the body and responds to a hormone therapy or surgical treatment to lower testosterone

It is not known if XTANDI is safe and effective in females or children.

Important Safety Information

What should I tell my doctor before taking XTANDI?

Tell your doctor about all your medical conditions, including if you:

Have a history of seizures, brain injury, stroke, or brain tumors.

Have a history of heart disease, have high blood pressure, or have abnormal amounts of fat or cholesterol in your blood (dyslipidemia).

Are pregnant or plan to become pregnant. XTANDI can cause harm to your unborn baby and loss of pregnancy (miscarriage).

Have a partner who is pregnant or may become pregnant. Males who have female partners who are able to become pregnant should use effective birth control (contraception) during treatment with XTANDI and for 3 months after the last dose. Males must use a condom during sex with a pregnant female.



Are breastfeeding or plan to breastfeed. It is not known if XTANDI passes into your breast milk.

Take other medicines. XTANDI may affect the way other medicines work, and other medicines may affect how XTANDI works. These include prescription and over-the counter medicines, vitamins, and herbal supplements. Do not start or stop any medicine without talking to your doctor.

How should I take XTANDI?

Take XTANDI exactly as your doctor tells you. Take your prescribed dose once a day, at the same time each day. XTANDI can be taken with or without food. Swallow XTANDI capsules or tablets whole. Do not chew, dissolve, or open the capsules. Do not cut, crush or chew the tablets. Your doctor may change your dose if needed.

Take your prescribed dose once a day, at the same time each day. XTANDI can be taken with or without food. Swallow XTANDI capsules or tablets whole. Do not chew, dissolve, or open the capsules. Do not cut, crush or chew the tablets. Your doctor may change your dose if needed. Do not change or stop taking your prescribed dose of XTANDI without talking with your doctor first.

If you are receiving gonadotropin-releasing hormone (GnRH) therapy, you should continue with this treatment while taking XTANDI unless you have had surgery to lower the amount of testosterone in your body (surgical castration).

If you miss a dose of XTANDI: Take your prescribed dose as soon as you remember that day. If you miss your daily dose, take your prescribed dose at your regular time the next day. Do not take more than your prescribed dose of XTANDI each day.

Take your prescribed dose as soon as you remember that day. If you miss your daily dose, take your prescribed dose at your regular time the next day. Do not take more than your prescribed dose of XTANDI each day. If you take too much XTANDI: Call your doctor or go to the nearest emergency room right away. You may have an increased risk of seizure if you take too much XTANDI.

What are the possible side effects of XTANDI?

XTANDI may cause serious side effects including:

Seizure. If you take XTANDI, you may be at risk of having a seizure. Avoid activities where a sudden loss of consciousness could seriously harm you or someone else. Tell your doctor right away if you lose consciousness or have a seizure.

Posterior Reversible Encephalopathy Syndrome (PRES). If you take XTANDI you may be at risk of developing a condition involving the brain called PRES. Tell your doctor right away if you have a seizure or quickly worsening symptoms such as headache, decreased alertness, confusion, reduced eyesight, blurred vision or other visual problems. Your doctor will do a test to check for PRES.

Allergic Reactions. Allergic reactions have happened in people who take XTANDI. Stop taking XTANDI and get medical help right away if you develop swelling of the face, tongue, lip or throat.

Heart Disease. Blockage of the arteries in the heart (ischemic heart disease) that can lead to death has happened in some people during treatment with XTANDI. Your doctor will monitor you for signs and symptoms of heart problems during your treatment. Call your doctor or go to the emergency room right away if you get chest pain or discomfort at rest or with activity or shortness of breath during your treatment with XTANDI.

Falls and Fractures. XTANDI treatment may increase your risk for falls and fractures. Falls were not caused by loss of consciousness or seizures. Your doctor will monitor your risks for falls and fractures during treatment with XTANDI.

Your doctor will stop treatment with XTANDI if you have serious side effects.

The most common side effects of XTANDI include:

Weakness or feeling more tired than usual

Back pain

Hot flashes

Constipation

Joint pain

Decreased appetite

Diarrhea

High blood pressure

XTANDI may cause fertility problems in males, which may affect the ability to father children. Talk to your doctor if you have concerns about fertility.

These are not all the possible side effects of XTANDI. For more information, talk to your doctor or pharmacist.

Call your doctor for medical advice about side effects. You may report side effects to the FDA at 1-800-FDA-1088 or www.fda.gov/medwatch.

For further information, please talk to your doctor and click here to see Patient Information and Full Prescribing Information for XTANDI.

This article is sponsored by Astellas.



[1] The Physicians Foundation. 2020 Survey of Americas Physicians. https://physiciansfoundation.org/research-insights/2020physiciansurvey/ Accessed 01-04-2021. [2] Patt D, Gordan L, Diaz M, et al: The Impact of COVID-19 on cancer care: How the pandemic is delaying cancer diagnosis and treatment for American seniors. JCO Clin Cancer Inform 2020;4:1059-71. [3] National Cancer Institute. Cancer stat facts: prostate cancer. https://seer.cancer.gov/statfacts/html/prost.html. Accessed 05-04-2020 . [4] Kirby M, Hirst C, Crawford ED. Characterising the castration-resistant prostate cancer population: a systematic review. Int J Clin Pract 2011;65(11):1180-92. doi: 10.1111/j.1742-1241.2011.02799.x. PMID: 21995694. [5] American Society of Clinical Oncology. ASCO Answers: Prostate Cancer (2018). http://www.cancer.net/sites/cancer.net/files/asco_answers_guide_prostate.pdf. Accessed 09-02-2020.

This sponsored article is presented by Brandpoint.
The International Seabed Authority is currently developing regulations to govern the exploration and exploitation of the mineral resources of the international seabed (known as the Area). This governance framework will include a financial mechanism for the distribution of any benefits that might arise from seafloor mineral exploitation, as required by the UN Convention of the Law of the Sea (UNCLOS).

The current proposal for this mechanism focuses substantially on the financial burden facing contractors and fails to consider the potential environmental and socio-economic harms adequately, according to the Institute For Advanced Sustainability Studies E.V. (IASS).

IASS has issued a policy brief arguing that a fundamentally different and comprehensive approach is required.

Drawing on concepts of sustainability, climate change, biodiversity, and circular economics, this approach emphasizes the importance of safeguarding the natural capital of the deep ocean. The social, cultural, and environmental impacts of seabed mining in the Area need to be fully reflected in economic assessments of proposed mining activities. This would enable any potential benefits to be adequately identified andshould the activities proceedequitably shared. The payment mechanism is a means to ensure that all humankind, including future generations, enjoys the benefits of its shared stewardship of the Area. The mechanism must accordingly reflect the wider aspirations of the United Nations Convention on the Law of the Seas (UNCLOS). IASS Policy Brief

The new IASS Policy Brief, A Comprehensive Approach to the Payment Mechanism for Deep Seabed Mining, published in cooperation with the German Federal Environment Agency (UBA), presents three recommendations to ensure that future deep seabed mining would be to the common benefit all humankind, as required by international law.

Reflect the risks to the deep-sea environment. The deep ocean is a complex environment that provides numerous ecosystem services. A holistic accounting system based on true cost and natural wealth is needed to capture impacts on ecosystem resilience and identify any potential financial benefits. The financial mechanism should reflect all costs and risks associated with mining in the Area. Be inclusive of stakeholder interests. The payment regime must be designed with foresight and be sufficiently responsive to the concerns and priorities of diverse stakeholders, including indigenous and civil society actors as well as future generations. Deliver optimal returns to Humankind. The payment regime needs to be designed with the interests of Humankind, and in particular of developing countries rather than contractors at its center. Ensuring optimal returns requires a financial model that delivers best possible cost structures and timing.

The authors propose that the financial mechanism can and should be developed further so that it reflects the risks to the deep-sea environment, is inclusive of all stakeholder interests, and can deliver optimal returns to humankind as a whole. This would enable stakeholders to assess the costs and benefits of potential seabed mining activities fully and impartially before engaging in this endeavour. IASS Policy Brief

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Australian Prime Minister Scott Morrison gives the thumbs up after receiving a COVID-19 vaccination at Castle Hill Medical Centre in Sydney, Australia on Feb. 21, 2021. (Mark Evans/Getty Images)

Australia Begins CCP Virus Vaccine Rollout

Australia began rolling out vaccinations against the CCP virus on Monday, after a soft launch on Sunday, saw some frontline workers and the elderly, along with Prime Minister Scott Morrison, receive the Pfizer jab one day ahead of schedule.

Aged care resident Jane Malysiak, 84, from Marayong in New South Wales (NSW), was the first person in Australia to receive the Pfizer/BioNTech COVID-19 vaccine on Sunday.

Morrison said it was a landmark day for Australia amid the pandemic.

We have always made our own Australian way through this pandemic and have done so with considerable success compared with so many other countries around the world, he said. This vaccination program launches us down our path out of the COVID-19 pandemic in 2021.

Australian Prime Minister Scott Morrison (R) joins aged care resident Jane Malysiak (L) as she receives the first COVID-19 vaccine in Australia during a visit to Castle Hill Medical Centre to preview the COVID-19 vaccination program on Feb. 21, 2021. (AAP Image/Joel Carrett)

The vaccine will be provided to Australians free of charge, with 60,000 doses slated for priority populations first.

Since the vaccine will be first given to those most at risk, the government has released an eligibility checker so people can find out in which phase theyll be able to get the jab.

You can find it at australia.gov.au, Health Minister Greg Hunt said.

The federal government, which is responsible for aged care facilities, will administer vaccinations at 240 facilities across 190 locations nationally this week.

A vile of the Pfizer/BioNTech COVID-19 vaccine is seen at Castle Hill Medical Centre in Sydney, Australia, on Feb. 21, 2021. (Mark Evans/Getty Images)

Australia has a comprehensive plan to offer the Pfizer/BioNTech and AstraZeneca vaccines to all Australians by the end of October this year.

According to Reuters, the AstraZeneca shot is a viral vector vaccine, where a specially engineered virus that usually causes chimpanzees to get the common cold delivers genetic instructions to the human body of what the SARS-COV-2 looks like, including its spike proteins which are jutting out from the new coronaviruss surface.

This then provides a preview of the disease to instruct a persons immune system to design antibodies that can neutralize the real virus if the individual is ever infected.

While the Pfizer/BioNTech vaccine uses a new technology that packs messenger ribonucleic acid (mRNA) into tiny fat droplets, which then instruct a humans cells on the specific spike protein.

States began to roll out vaccinations on Monday, starting with registered nurse Zoe Parker in Queensland.

Queensland Chief Health Officer Jeannette Young, Queenslands first vaccine recipient Zoe Park and Queensland Minister for Heath Yvette DAth at Gold Coast University Hospital in Gold Coast, Australia, on Feb. 22, 2021. (Glenn Hunt/Getty Images)

Parker was the first to receive the Pfizer vaccine at Gold Coast University Hospital, where the states first case was reported 391 days ago.

Queensland Health Minister Yvette DAth declared the vaccine a new weapon in the fight against COVID-19, the disease caused by the CCP (Chinese Communist Party) virus, commonly known as the novel coronavirus.

Gold Coast University Hospital is the first of six vaccination hubs and sites being set up by Queensland Health.

To the south of Queensland, in New South Wales, Premier Gladys Berejiklian told reporters it was a truly exciting day and a game-changer to see the vaccine being rolled out.

The NSW government expects to vaccinate 35,000 people across three hospital locations around Sydney over the next 3 weeksbeginning with 1,200 on Monday at Royal Prince Alfred Hospital (RPA) and Westmead and Liverpool hospitals.

At first, the Pfizer/BioNTech vaccine will roll out from Monday, followed by the AstraZeneca vaccine, from March, according to the Australian governments immunisation strategy.

Vaccinations will be administered through health hubs and hospital vaccination clinics in each state and territory and aged care and disability care facilities across the country.

A vile of COVID-19 vaccine is held by Advanced Pharmacist Rachael Raleigh at Gold Coast University Hospital in Gold Coast, Australia, on Feb. 22, 2021. (Glenn Hunt/Getty Images)

The Australian government has secured 150 million doses of the vaccines, with over 50 million AstraZeneca doses being manufactured in Melbourne.

People will initially get the AstraZeneca vaccine at GP respiratory clinics, general practices that meet specific requirements, Aboriginal Controlled Community Health Services, and state-run vaccination clinics, the prime minister and health minister said in a joint statement on Sunday.

Both the Pfizer/BioNTech and AstraZeneca vaccines require two separate doses for a person to be fully immunisedPfizer/BioNTech 21 days apart, and AstraZeneca 12 weeks apart.

Australias Chief Medical Officer Paul Kelly and Chief Nursing and Midwifery Officer Alison McMilan, and personnel from the Australian Defence Force and Australian Border Force, were also vaccinated on Sunday alongside Morrison.
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New Zealand's Devon Conway smashed an unbeaten 99 off 59 balls as the Black Caps finished their 20 overs on 184

A Devon Conway-inspired New Zealand set Australia a challenging target of 185 in the first Twenty20 international in Christchurch on Monday.

Conway smashed an unbeaten 99 off 59 balls as the Black Caps finished their 20 overs on 184 for five after losing the toss and being put in to bat.

Jhye Richardson was the pick of the Australian bowlers, taking two for 31, while Daniel Sams ended with figures of two for 40.

ns/jfx
JTA )  Shlomo Hillels life spanned the length and breadth of Israels immigrant story and he played a critical role in many of its chapters.

Hillel, who died Feb. 8 at 97, helped smuggle Iraqi Jewish immigrants into pre-state British Mandate Palestine and then brought more in in the states first years. His family fled Iraqs horrors and he married a woman fleeing Europes horrors. His son married an Ethiopian Israeli, whose aliya Hillel, as a minister in the government, greenlighted.

A New York Times obituary on Sunday detailed how Hillel, who was born in Baghdad, executed at least four undercover operations in the pre-and post-state years in various guises  including as a British businessman  to spirit out Iraqi Jews.

In one instance, negotiating with the then-Iraqi prime minister, Tawfiq al-Suwaidi, a cousin of Hillels joined the meeting. The cousin did not recognize Hillel.

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Altogether, Hillel was responsible for the aliya of at least 120,000 Iraqi Jews, saving an ancient community from predations that would follow when Saddam Hussein became dictator in the late 1960s and targeted the tiny remnant with persecution and executions. There are fewer than 100 Jews left in Iraq.

He came from a great generation, a generation that fought with its hands for Israels independence and its existence as a safe haven for the Jewish people, The Jerusalem Post quoted Israels president, Reuven Rivlin, as saying. He worked to bring immigrants to Israel from the Middle East in varying and many ways, both openly and in secret, and many owe them their immigration and ensuing lives in this country.

Hillel moved to pre-state Palestine in the 1930s after his father witnessed troops celebrating the massacre of hundreds of Assyrian Christians and wondered whether Jews would be next. They soon were: A Nazi-inspired pogrom in 1941 murdered hundreds of Jews.

Hillel married Temima Rosner, a refugee from Vienna. His son, Ari, married an Ethiopian immigrant, Enatmar Salam, whom he met in college. They eventually realized that Aris father had greenlighted Salams aliya when he was interior minister in 1977.

Ari Hillel, delivering a eulogy for his father, called that a miracle. How many times has a person been rewarded for his actions already in this world? he said.

Hillel is survived by his son and three granddaughters. His wife died in 2011 and his daughter Hagar, a noted researcher into the Arab Jewish press, died in 2005.

Even not taking into account his critical role in bringing Iraqi Jews to Israel, Hillels career placed him at every juncture of Israels birth and growth. He was at various times spy for the Mossad, a founder of a kibbutz, a member of the Knesset for the Labor Party, the Knessets speaker, the chairman of United Israel Appeal, a member of the pre-state Haganah militia, and an ambassador to a number of African countries.

His thirst for public service was never quenched. Merav Michaeli, the recently elected head of the Labor Party, asked him not long ago to take an honorary slot on its list ahead of the March elections  parties traditionally reserve unrealistic spots for elder statesmen.

Hillel accepted on Feb. 4. Last Thursday, Shlomo Hillel joined the party list to close it out ahead of the next Knesset election, and tonight he is gone, Michaeli wrote on Twitter on Feb. 8.
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Virginia School Board Asks Supreme Court to Review Transgender Ruling

A school board in Virginia is asking the Supreme Court to review its policy requiring students to use the bathroom that corresponds to their biological sex at birth after lower courts found the policy unconstitutional.

The case is Gloucester County School Board v. Grimm. The board filed its petition for certiorari, or review, with the Supreme Court on Feb. 19, arguing that its bathroom policy raises a pressing federal question of national importance.

The appeal comes after the U.S. District Court for the Eastern District of Virginia and the U.S. Court of Appeals for the 4th Circuit ruled that the school board violated Title IX of the Education Amendments Act of 1972 and the Equal Protection Clause by forbidding Gavin Grimm, who was born female, from using the same high school restrooms as boys. Grimm has since graduated from the school and is now an activist in California.

I graduated four years agoit is upsetting and disappointing that Gloucester County continues to deny who I am, Grimm said in a statement. Trans students in Gloucester County schools today should have the respect and dignity that I was denied. Whether its using the right restroom or having transcripts that reflect who we are, we all deserve to go to a school thats free of harassment and discrimination.

The 4th Circuit ruled that the board continued to discriminate against Grimm, while schools across Virginia and across the country were successfully implementing trans-inclusive bathroom policies, again, without incident. The court added, It is time to move forward.

But the school board argues that it has a strong case.

For school officials, as for parents, the question of how best to respond to a teenager who identifies with the opposite biological sex is often excruciatingly difficult, the board states in the petition.

On the one hand, the teenager deserves and needs everyones compassion. On the other hand, allowing the teenager to use multi-user restrooms, locker rooms and shower facilities reserved for the opposite sex raises what this Court has acknowledged to be serious concerns about bodily privacyfor the teenager and others.

Unfortunately, the 4th Circuit and now the new Biden administration have interpreted the Supreme Courts 2020 decision in Bostock v. Clayton County as imposing a one-size-fits-all solution to this vexing problem: According to them, even schools that lack sufficient facilities or resources to ensure the bodily privacy of all their students are still required by Title IX and the Fourteenth Amendment to allow biologically male teenagers into multi-user girls restrooms, locker rooms and showers, and vice versa.

Neither Title IX nor the Equal Protection Clause mandates such a sweeping rule, and only this Court can reverse decisions adopting it in a growing number of circuits, supported now by the incoming Administration.

In a dramatic departure from the legal status quo, the Supreme Court ruled 63 in the Bostock case on June 15, 2020, that under Title VII of the Civil Rights Act of 1964 employees cant be fired from their jobs because of sexual orientation or gender identity, as The Epoch Times previously reported. Title VII prohibits employment discrimination based on race, color, religion, sex, and national origin, but doesnt mention sexual orientation, preference, or identity.

The ruling was a defeat for the Trump administration. During oral arguments in the case, then-Solicitor General Noel Francisco said, Sex means whether youre male or female, not whether youre gay or straight.

A lack of linguistic clarity has clouded legal issues in recent years as the concepts of sex and sexual identity or gender have become difficult to separate. Despite the distinct meanings of sex and gender, many institutions and individuals use gender to mean biological sex.

But that ruling in Bostock v. Clayton County embraced the concept of gender identity, which conservative critics say is a radical political invention not based on science.

The American Civil Liberties Union contests the school boards latest appeal.

No student deserves the kind of treatment Gavin endured while in high school, said Eden Heilman, legal director of the ACLU of Virginia.

Courts have ruled time and again that transgender students must be protected from discrimination, yet Gloucester County schools continue to deny basic respect and dignity for its students. Over the last six years, Gavins case has inspired many people to advocate for inclusive policies in their communities, and were proud to continue working with [Grimm] toward equal rights for all trans students.
SUV

The luxury carmaker filed trademarks for two different names with the United Kingdom Intellectual Property Office in February 2021, as CarBuzz reports. One of them is for the Silent Shadow, believed to be used for the first all-electric Rolls-Royce, while the second one is for the Seraph name. Just like the Silent Shadow, the Seraph filing covers "automobiles and their parts."The Seraph name isn't entirely new. Rolls-Royce first introduced it in 1998 for a full-size, 5.4-meter sedan that replaced the iconic Silver Spirit. It was actually called the Silver Seraph, and it emerged in an era when Rolls-Royce and Bentley were being operated by the same company. The Silver Seraph was identical to the Bentley Arnage save for the front grille and the engine.While the Arnage featured a twin-turbo V8 unit, the Silver Seraph was fitted with a 5.4-liter V12, which made it the first 12-cylinder model from the brand since 1939. The Silver Seraph remained in production for only four years, being discontinued when the license for the Rolls-Royce marque was sold to BMW, which created the modern Rolls-Royce Motor Cars company.The trademark suggests that Rolls-Royce plans to bring the Silver Seraph back to life. However, it's not yet clear where such a model will fit into the lineup. You see, the Silver Seraph was replaced by the Ghost , and Rolls-Royce just unleashed the second-generation model in 2020. The current Ghost isn't going away for a few good years, so the modern Seraph is unlikely to return as a replacement.Rolls-Royce could actually use the name for a different model, such as a replacement for either the Dawn or the Wraith . Both are fairly old as of 2021 and will be redesigned soon. Of course, the Seraph could also return as a special-edition version of an existing Phantom or Ghost model. Or, if you're up for wilder speculation, maybe Rolls-Royce is prepping a secondalongside the Cullinan?Either way, of all the iconic Rolls-Royce nameplates from the past, Seraph seems like a weird choice. A company like Rolls-Royce would normally look to distance itself from the years it operated under the same roof with Bentley, but maybe I'm looking at this the wrong way.

STOCKHOLM, Feb. 22, 2021 /PRNewswire/ -- Ocean Yield ASA (the "Company" or "Ocean Yield") has today notified Nordic Trustee, who is acting as bond trustee for the above mentioned bond issue (the "Bond Issue") that the Company exercises the call option in accordance with the bond agreement to prepay NOK 200,000,000 outstanding under the Bond Issue. Settlement will take place on 8 April 2021.

Following the prepayment, NOK 250,000,000 will be outstanding under the Bond Issue OCY04, of which Ocean Yield has repurchased NOK 23,000,000 in the market.

This information is subject to the disclosure requirements pursuant to section 5-12 of the Norwegian Securities Trading Act.

Company contact:

Eirik Eide (CFO), Tel +47 24 13 01 91

Investor Relations contact:

Marius Magelie (SVP Finance & Investor Relations), Tel +47 24 13 01 82

This information was brought to you by Cision http://news.cision.com

https://news.cision.com/ocean-yield/r/exercises-option-to-prepay-nok-200m-on-bond-issue-ocy04,c3293198

SOURCE Ocean Yield
San Antonio surpassed 190,000 total coronavirus cases Sunday, but the pandemics spread in the region continued to abate.

After a week of limited coronavirus testing due to the winter storm and power outages, city officials reported 77 new coronavirus cases and no new deaths  relatively low numbers even as new cases and deaths have been on the decline here since January.

San Antonios hospitals are also seeing improvements. The number of people hospitalized with COVID-19 dropped to 595 from 615 Saturday. A month ago, there were more than twice as many such patients in Bexar County.

On ExpressNews.com: A guide to getting vaccinated in San Antonio

Eighty-two of those patients were admitted in the past 24 hours. About 15 percent of all patients have COVID-19, less than half as many as in mid-January, when hospitalizations peaked.

Of all patients with COVID-19 in San Antonio, 232 currently require intensive care, the same as on Saturday, and 137 need a ventilator to breathe, four fewer than on Saturday. Those figures have dropped significantly since the post-holiday surge and are back to where they stood in mid-December.

Our hospital numbers continue to improve, and that is encouraging, Mayor Ron Nirenberg said in a statement. We can continue to push them lower if we all mask up, maintain social distancing, and exercise proper sanitary measures.

We cant relax yet, he added. We must stay focused on preventing the spread of coronavirus.

On ExpressNews.com: State of the pandemic in San Antonio, in Texas and across the U.S.

While there were no new deaths reported Sunday  an improvement from the seven deaths reported Saturday  city officials added 88 previously unconfirmed deaths to the total. The deaths occurred between July 2 and Feb. 1.

And in addition to the 77 new cases, officials reported 3,421 cases from backlogged lab reports, all from more than two weeks ago.

Since the pandemic arrived in the region nearly a year ago, 193,461 San Antonians have tested positive for the coronavirus, and 2,492 have died from COVID-19.

Additional information about COVID-19, testing, vaccines and more is available on San Antonios coronavirus website, www.covid19.sanantonio.gov.

andy.picon@hearst.com | Twitter: @andpicon

Source: Xinhua| 2021-02-23 01:27:33|Editor: huaxia

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BEIJING, Feb. 22 (Xinhua) -- Chinese President Xi Jinping said Monday that China stands ready to work with Egypt to expand cooperation in such areas as infrastructure construction, production capacity, and science and technology, and lift their comprehensive strategic partnership to new levels.

Xi made the remarks in a telephone conversation with his Egyptian counterpart, Abdel-Fattah al-Sisi.

Noting that Egypt is both the first Arab country and the first African country to establish diplomatic ties with the People's Republic of China, Xi pointed out that the China-Egypt relationship serves as a model of China-Arab and China-Africa solidarity and win-win cooperation.

China has always placed Egypt in an important position in its overall foreign policy, and is a reliable friend and partner of Egypt, he stressed.

China supports Egypt's efforts in safeguarding its national sovereignty, independence and territorial integrity, and supports the Egyptian people in pursuing a development path that suits their national conditions, Xi said.

He added that China is ready to work with Egypt to consolidate political mutual trust, firmly support each other, strengthen coordination and cooperation in international and regional affairs, and jointly safeguard multilateralism and international fairness and justice.

Since the onset of the COVID-19 pandemic, China and Egypt have provided each other with anti-epidemic emergency supplies, which has fully demonstrated their true friendship in time of adversity, Xi noted.

China, he said, stands ready to work with Egypt to increase vaccine cooperation, cement international solidarity against COVID-19, and promote the building of a global community of health for all.

Xi pointed out that despite the pandemic, China-Egypt practical cooperation has maintained a sound momentum of development, with major cooperation projects moving forward in an orderly manner and positive progress having been made in cooperation in such areas as law enforcement security and aerospace.

China and Egypt should better synergize their development strategies and promote cooperation within the framework of the Belt and Road Initiative, he said, adding that China supports more Chinese businesses investing in the Middle East country.

For his part, Sisi extended warm congratulations on the 100th anniversary of the founding of the Communist Party of China.

Noting that this year marks the 65th anniversary of Egypt-China diplomatic ties, he said the two countries enjoy a profound traditional friendship and a solid and friendly relationship, and cooperate closely in international affairs, which has effectively promoted the interests of both nations.

Sisi said that Egypt firmly supports China's principled positions on issues involving Hong Kong, Xinjiang and Taiwan, firmly supports China safeguarding national sovereignty, security and unity, and firmly opposes interference in China's internal affairs under the pretext of human rights.

Egypt, he added, welcomes more Chinese enterprises to invest and do business in Egypt and stands ready to make concerted efforts with China to further enhance their comprehensive strategic partnership.

Sisi thanked China for providing valuable support for Africa and developing countries all along in their fight against COVID-19, and voiced his hope for closer vaccine cooperation with China. Enditem
Raising children has never been simple. But raising children who understand and embrace the love of Christ, especially in a sinful and ever-changing world, is a monumental task. So just what do our children learn about faith, the gospel, and Christ by watching us? As sinful humans, theres no way we can be perfect parents. But understanding what our children see, along with prayer and Biblical guidance, can help us to raise up a child in the way he should go (Proverbs 22:6).

Here are five important things our kids learn about faith from watching us.

1. How to View the World

By faith we understand that the worlds were framed by the word of God, so that the things which are seen were not made of things which are visible (Hebrews 11:3).

How we look at the world around us is shaped by our faith. Our children will often take on what they are taught at a young age and their worldview will be shaped early because of how we guide and teach them.

While we desire to share a biblical worldview with the next generation, the task is big. There are groups everywhere trying to cut down truth and undermine Gods word and way of looking at the world. Parents now more than ever have their work cut out for them to teach and train their children in the ways of the Lord. The foundation of how one looks at the world shapes the way they look at everything.

2. How to View Themselves

In Him we have redemption through His blood, the forgiveness of sins, according to the riches of His grace (Ephesians 1:7).

Self-esteem issues are constantly on the rise. When I was growing up you had to measure up or you would be cut from the team. Not everyone got a trophy and awards were reserved for special occasions. We knew if we wanted to be recognized, we needed to work hard, be an example for others, and follow the guidelines.

Now, we have a generation that is telling our children everyone is a winner. Everyone gets an award. Everyone is the best. While I can see why some might like this kind of all-inclusive praise and prosperity that boosts self-esteem, it is opposite of the gospel. Not everyone is a follower of Jesus. Not everyone goes to heaven. Only those who choose to follow Jesus and receive His gift of salvation will walk through the gates of heaven hearing, Well done.

While we want to praise and lift up our children, we also need to be honest with them. You are only a child of God if you have received forgiveness for your sin through the blood of Jesus. Then, and only then can you have a right view of self  forgiven and whole  a winner and resident of heaven.





Photo credit: Unsplash/Aaron Burden

3. How to View Others

And the second is like it: You shall love your neighbor as yourself (Matthew 22:39).

Looking at others is something babies begin early on. They gaze with wonder into mom and dads eyes. They find out who their family is and who they can trust. As they grow they begin to see others and develop thoughts and understanding for how to view other people in the world around them.

The Bible is clear to view others through the lens of love, but so often we get it wrong. Generation after generation has struggled to embody this unbiased view of others with love. While we dont want to excuse sin or be tolerant of all things good and evil, we can still love.

Its a tall task to pass on a proper view of others to the next generation. It requires living by example, showing love to the rich and poor. It means we put others first and teach our children to give others a chance to win, succeed, go first, or take our place in line. Its not an easy lesson in a selfish world. But with a biblical worldview, it can be accomplished.

4. How to View the Church

From whom the whole body, joined and knit together by what every joint supplies, according to the effective working by which every part does its share, causes growth of the body for the edifying of itself in love (Ephesians 4:16).

Have you heard the statistics are rising of youth who leave the church after graduation? Its astounding to me that so many church-going children dont hold onto the faith of their fathers. But then, I hear the stories of abuse, scandals, and mistreatment and I kind of begin to understand.

How can we do a better job of passing our faith down without the anger, bitterness, and resentment that will turn our children away? I think the answer lies in providing a clear education of what the church is supposed to be and how we can contribute our part to the church. Church was never designed as a consumer institution. Its purpose is not for believers to attend, be fed, and receive. The church is a group of believers who work together for the glory of God. When one member doesnt do their part, the whole suffers.

When we teach our children the reality of the effects of sin in the body of the church, they will be more equipped to do their part to work hard toward edifying the church through good works rather than contribute to the pain through sin. There will always be sin, scandals, and abuse, but our children do not have to be part of it. We can be part of the solution as we live by example, passing down a proper practice of what it means to be a member of the church and edify the body of Christ.





Photo credit: Unsplash/Kelly Sikkema

5. The Lens Through Which They Raise the Next Generation

Tell your children about it, Let your children tell their children, And their children another generation (Joel 1:3).

Maybe you are raising your children the same way you were raised. Or perhaps you are raising them opposite to your upbringing. Either way, the way you raise your children will affect how your children raise your grandchildren. They will either cling to and love the way you raised them, clinging to faith and paying it forward. Or they will resent the harsh rules without relationship, the hardcore lies of saying one thing and doing another, and the many other detrimental possibilities.

Either way, the way a child is brought up directly affects the way they impact the next generation. I take this as a great challenge to raise them up right, to offer truth, to give grace, to teach relationship with Jesus over rigid rule following. While I want my children to follow the rules, I more so want their hearts to know God. Then they will follow out of a relationship with God of their own volition, not because I forced them. Their relationship with God is the thing that will last and impact the next generation for good.

Related articles

4 Heartfelt Prayers for my Childrens Protection

What Does the Bible Say about How to 'Train Up a Child'?

7 Motivational Scriptures for Parents



Photo credit: Getty Images/monkeybusinessimages

Micah Maddox is a womens event speaker, Bible teacher, and author of Anchored In: Experience a Power-Full Life in a Problem-Filled World. She is passionate about helping women find purpose, peace, and calm in our chaotic world. Micah is on the Proverbs31 Ministries First5 Writing Team. As a pastors wife and mother of four, she contributes her time to her family and local church serving as a womens ministry leader. Micah loves to give a voice to hurting hearts and writes and speaks to the one who needs encouragement. You can connect with her at micahmaddox.com or on YouTube. You can find her book here.
San Francisco school officials plan to vote Tuesday on a proposal to end 40 years of bus contracts with First Student Inc. and choose a new provider, Zum Services, whose consultant recently left a top job with First Student and downloaded its competing bid into his email account while joining its rival.

The San Francisco Board of Education introduced a resolution on Jan. 19 to award Zum, the bus contractor for the Oakland Unified School District, a five-year contract for $152 million. That was $17 million less than the bid by First Student, which describes itself as the largest school transportation company in North America, with 42,500 buses.

A final vote is scheduled Tuesday, but First Student has asked the board to put the contract on hold while the company pursues its legal case against Zum and its consultant, Mark Frith.

Frith was First Students day-to-day general manager in Northern California from March 2019 until December 2020 and presented the companys contract renewal bid to the school board on Dec. 9. A day later, he signed a consulting agreement with Zum, and the following day, after announcing his departure, he downloaded First Students bid into his private email account, First Students lawyers said in court filings.

Frith then took part in presenting Zums bid to the school board in early January. In its tentative decision, the board said the bid was preferable in cost savings and other aspects, rejecting First Students contention that its competitor lacked the needed experience in large-scale student transportation, bus maintenance and contracts with drivers unions.

Frith and Zums chief operating officer, Vivek Garg, have both filed sworn statements denying that Frith had provided any confidential information to Zum. But in a temporary restraining order Jan. 25, San Francisco Superior Court Judge Ethan Schulman said First Student has shown it will likely succeed on the merits of its trade secrets claim.

Frith improperly took First Students confidential, proprietary and/or potentially trade secret materials contained in documents that Frith emailed to his personal email account from his First Student email account during his employment at First Student, Schulman said.

He did not cite any evidence that Frith had shared any of that information with Zum, but ordered him to keep the information sealed and not to access it personally, disclose it to anyone or destroy it while the case continues.

First Student later added Zum as a defendant in the suit. If the school board awards the bus contract to Zum, First Student could challenge the agreement in court.

The school district improperly allowed Mr. Frith to participate in Zums oral presentation and was aware that there was a conflict of interest but did not recuse Mr. Frith from the presentation, First Students lawyers said in court papers. Who could reasonably doubt he shared (First Students trade secrets) with Zum?

That argument was rejected by Lynne Bourgault, a lawyer for the school district.

First Student alleges that the Districts procurement process was tainted by collusion and conflicts of interest, but provides no evidence that Zum had access to or relied upon any of First Students confidential or proprietary information in its proposal, she said in a letter during school board proceedings Feb. 3.

Jeffrey Judd, a lawyer for Frith, did not say why Frith had copied First Students bid into his private account after leaving the company, but said his client denies using or disclosing any trade secrets and looks forward to vindicating himself in court.

This case is really about First Student trying to use the legal system to interfere with a former employee exercising his fundamental rights under California law to obtain employment elsewhere, and impede an emerging competitor from continuing its recent success in bidding for contracts, Judd said.

Bob Egelko is a San Francisco Chronicle staff writer. Email: begelko@sfchronicle.com Twitter: @BobEgelko
Source: Xinhua| 2021-02-22 09:33:14|Editor: huaxia

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Libya's new Presidency Council and Prime Minister meet with the Libyan Joint Military Commission in Tripoli, Libya, Feb. 21, 2021. Libya's new Presidency Council and prime minister on Sunday held the first meeting in the capital city of Tripoli to discuss the formation of a new government. The council also met with the Libyan Joint Military Commission to discuss the reopening of the coastal road between the cities of Misurata and Sirte, as stipulated by a Libyan cease-fire agreement, the statement said. (The Information Office of the Libyan Prime Minister/Handout via Xinhua)

TRIPOLI, Feb. 21 (Xinhua) -- Libya's new Presidency Council and prime minister on Sunday held the first meeting in the capital city of Tripoli to discuss the formation of a new government.

"The president of the Presidency Council and his two deputies stressed the importance to select competent individuals (for the new government) who can lead to the upcoming elections, and achieve justice and comprehensive national reconciliation," the Presidency Council said in a statement.

The council also met with the Libyan Joint Military Commission to discuss the reopening of the coastal road between the cities of Misurata and Sirte, as stipulated by a Libyan cease-fire agreement, the statement said.

Earlier this month, the Libyan Political Dialogue Forum (LPDF) selected a new interim executive authority for the country, which was accepted by all parties involved.

Mohammad Younes Menfi was appointed as the president of the new Presidency Council, while Abdul Hamid Mohammed Dbeibah was named as the new prime minister.

The new executive authority's main task is to prepare the country for the upcoming general elections on Dec. 24, 2021, as agreed by the LPDF. Enditem
Source: Xinhua| 2021-02-22 21:56:40|Editor: huaxia

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ROME/NAIROBI, Feb. 22 (Xinhua) -- Italy's ambassador to the Democratic Republic of the Congo (DR Congo) Luca Attanasio was killed in an attack on his diplomatic convoy by unknown assailants, Italian officials said Monday.

"I received with dismay the news of the vile attack that struck an international convoy a few hours ago near the city of Goma (in the DRC), killing Ambassador Luca Attanasio, carabiniere (one of Italy's national police forces) Vittorio Iacovacci, and their driver," President Sergio Mattarella said in a statement.

He added that "the Italian Republic is in mourning for these civil servants who lost their lives."

"Two civil servants have been torn from us with violence... the circumstances of this brutal attack are still unclear and no effort will be spared to shed light on what happened," Foreign Minister Luigi Di Maio wrote in a Facebook post.

News of the deadly attack sparked reactions from various leaders, including European Council President Charles Michel, who wrote on Twitter that he is "shocked by the attack on a convoy in the DRC and the lives lost, including those of the Italian ambassador and a military serviceman."

Earlier Monday, officials of the Virunga National Park in the east of DR Congo said that the Italian ambassador was killed during an attack on a World Food Program (WFP) convoy in the Park.

According to park officials, the ambassador's bodyguard, the driver and several others were also killed in the attack. Several other members of the convoy were seriously injured by gunshot wounds.

The attack was part of an attempt to kidnap UN personnel from the convoy, according to the same source. Enditem
West Virginia Democratic senator Joe Manchin made news on Friday night when he announced his opposition to the confirmation of Neera Tanden, President Bidens pick to run the Office of Management and Budget. Tandens overtly partisan statements will have a toxic and detrimental impact on the important working relationship between members of Congress and the next director of the Office of Management and Budget, Manchin said in a statement. For this reason, I cannot support her nomination.

If Manchin really means what he said  if his opposition is rooted in principle and not an attempt at political triangulation  then he should also reject the nomination of Xavier Becerra to run the Department of Health and Human Services. Becerras transgressions are far graver than Tandens gratuitously insulting tweets, and his confirmation would have a much more toxic and detrimental impact on the country.

As California attorney general, Becerra has been an exceptionally ruthless aggressor in the culture wars. He has attempted to use the power of the state to crush a wide array of average Americans  from religious dissenters to pro-life pregnancy counselors and independent journalists.

In 2017, Becerra filed felony charges against the pro-life activists and citizen-journalists who had gone undercover to expose Planned Parenthoods gruesome practice of selling the body parts of aborted babies to biotech companies. Becerra had not gone after animal-rights activists for similar investigative tactics. In response to Becerras actions, one writer at the left-wing magazine Mother Jones called the Planned Parenthood videos a legitimate investigation, and no level of government should be in the business of chilling it. Becerra was rebuked by the liberal editorial page of the Los Angeles Times for his disturbing overreach.

In 2018, Becerra and the State of California were smacked down by the U.S. Supreme Court in the case NIFLA v. Becerra over a state law forcing pro-life pregnancy centers to advertise abortion.

Story continues

In 2019, Becerra aggressively opposed the merger of two religiously affiliated hospital chains in California because the resulting consolidated chain could reduce access to both abortion and gender-reassignment surgeries.

In 2020, Becerra was rebuked for his zealous defense of a California law requiring abortion coverage in insurance plans offered by churches. The Office of Civil Rights at the Department of Health and Human Services ruled that Californias abortion mandate violated a federal law known as the Weldon amendment, which prohibits federal funding of states and localities that force health providers and insurers to participate in or cover abortion. Becerra refused to comply.

In 2021  in the middle of a once-in-a-century pandemic  it is hard to think of a worse choice than Becerra to run the Department of Health and Human Services.

To fight the pandemic, the Biden administration needs a health and human services secretary who has the broad trust of the public, but its going to be impossible for Becerra to earn the trust of those who constitute nearly half the country and believe (with reason) that Becerra wants to crush them and drive them from the public square. Democrats only need to imagine the difficulty that a culture warrior such as Rick Santorum would have in convincing the residents of Berkeley, Calif., to trust the science about the benefits of a new vaccine. (The comparison is not entirely fair to Santorum: The former GOP Pennsylvania senator was a lightning-rod in the culture wars, but he had some experience with health policy and wasnt nearly as zealous as Becerra.)

Whats just as bad as Becerras lack of trust from the public is his lack of relevant experience. He has no experience in public health or medicine or at the Department of Health and Human Services. He lacks executive experience running a large and complex organization  the kind of experience that would be useful as the government distributes vaccines and adapts to new variants of the virus.

Any Biden nominee to run HHS will share the presidents liberal views on abortion and transgender issues, but Becerras record guarantees that he will use HHSs broad rulemaking authority to aggressively wage a culture war and alienate many Americans. There is nothing Becerra can say at his confirmation hearing on Tuesday that can erase that record.

Many of Bidens other nominees show that the president is more than capable of selecting qualified Cabinet members with bipartisan credibility. Treasury secretary Yellen, Secretary of State Blinken, and Secretary of Defense Austin were each confirmed by overwhelming bipartisan Senate majorities.

It has been befuddling to many of Bidens friends and foes alike that he chose an unqualified ideologue to run HHS during a pandemic. A majority of the Senate should reject Becerra and give Biden an opportunity to try again.

More from National Review
Emily In Paris creators may have convinced members of the Hollywood Foreign Press Association to nominate the show for a Golden Globe after wooing them with a VIP trip to the City Of Lights.

The voting body behind the Golden Globes came under fire after nominating the lighthearted Netflix romp for an honor while snubbing critical darlings like HBO's I May Destroy You.

And now one possible reason has been revealed by the Los Angeles Times, who reported that 'more than 30' of the HFPA's 87 members were flown out to visit the set of the Darren Star-created series while it was filming in 2019.

'They treated us like kings and queens,' one HFPA member told the paper.

C'est chic: It's been reported that the creators/studio behind Emily In Paris gifted over 30 members from the Hollywood Foreign Press Association luxury trips to visit set while the show filmed the City Of Lights

During the trip the group was reportedly treated to two nights at the $1400-a-night, five-star Peninsula Paris hotel as well as a meeting and lunch at the historic and private Musee des Arts Forains, all courtesy of Paramount Network.

Though HFPA members weren't the only ones who attended according to the Times' sources, their organization's rules specifically forbid members from accepting gifts from producers or studios that are worth more than $125.

A studio insider privately denied flying anyone from the HFPA to Paris to Us Weekly, telling the outlet the event was fairly standard.

The source explained that the event's attendees stayed at the Peninsula under a discounted group rate and their meals consisted of a modest buffet-style breakfast and a buffet-style lunch.

Reports of the gifted trip came after the HFPA caused a ruckus with its February 3rd Golden Globe nominations.

In hot water: The voting body behind the Golden Globes came under fire after nominating the lighthearted Netflix romp for an honor while snubbing critical darlings like HBO's I May Destroy You

The suite life: During the trip the group was reportedly treated to two nights at the $1400-a-night, five-star Peninsula Paris hotel as well as a meeting and lunch at the historic and private Musee des Arts Forains, all courtesy of Paramount Network

Both critics and casual culture connoisseurs were surprised to see Emily star Lily Collins and the Darren Star-created series earn nods while things like Michaela Coel's I May Destroy You and Black ensemble casts like Da 5 Bloods, Ma Raineys Black Bottom, Judas And The Black Messiah, and One Night In Miami were overlooked in the main categories.

And even some inside the organization are saying they agree with the criticism.

'There was a real backlash and rightly so  that show doesn't belong on any best of 2020 list,' another member of the HFPA admitted to the LA Times.

'It's an example of why many of us say we need change. If we continue to do this, we invite criticism and derision.'

Emily writer Deborah Copaken shared a similar perspective while reflecting on the show's nom in a piece for The Guardian, writing: 'That I May Destroy You did not get one Golden Globe nod is not only wrong, its what is wrong with everything.'

Overlooked: Both critics and casual culture connoisseurs were surprised to see Emily star Lily Collins and the Darren Star-created series earn nods while things like Michaela Coel's I May Destroy You (above) and Black ensemble casts like Da 5 Bloods, Ma Raineys Black Bottom, Judas And The Black Messiah, and One Night In Miami were overlooked in the main categories

'Yes, we need art that reflects all of our colors, not just some. But we also need to give awards to shows (and music and films and plays and musicals) that deserve them, no matter the color of the skin of their creators.

'How anyone can watch I May Destroy You and not call it a brilliant work of art or Michaela Coel a genius is beyond my capacity to understand how these decisions are made.

Before the Globes debacle, leading lady Collins called general criticism about the series 'disheartening' but 'a gift' back in November 2020 to Vogue Arabia.

'As disheartening as it sometimes is to read these things, its also a gift,' the daughter of Genesis rocker Phil Collins said: 'Youre being allowed to improve.'

People can see how Emily In Paris fares at the 78th Golden Globes Awards when they take place Sunday, February 28th at 5pm PST/ 8pm EST.
But Minnesota transportation officials drew a line in the snow, excluding it from a list of 50 finalists that are part of an online poll that ends on Friday. The winners will be used to name a plow in each of the states eight regional transportation districts.

It was meant to be a fun and lighthearted contest, Jake Loesch, a spokesman for the Minnesota Department of Transportation, said in an interview on Sunday night. Theres certainly a time and place for political expression. A snowplow naming contest might not be the appropriate place for that.

Mr. Loesch alluded to the fuss over the Abolish ICE name on Friday on Twitter.

I love our @MnDOT snowplow naming contest a lot but also did not anticipate that in creating it, I was sentencing myself to a lifetime of apologizing that peoples fav submission wasnt on the final 50, Mr. Loesch said, adding that being born in MN has prepared me for this very well #opesorry.

Plowy McPlowFace and variations like Snowy McSnowface and Plowy McPlowerson were the most popular submissions, and Plowy McPlowFace made the list of 50 finalists. That appears to be a nod back to Boaty McBoatface, the name internet users in Britain overwhelmingly favored for a $287 million polar research ship in 2016. Britains Science Ministry ultimately disregarded the 124,000 votes and instead named the vessel for the naturalist David Attenborough.

Other nominees on the list alluded to Minnesota culture, places or people: The Truck Formerly Known as Plow, Purple Snow, F. Salt Fitzgerald, Lake Snowbegone, Plowin in the Wind, Mary Tyler More Snow, Flake Superior and Tator Tot Hotdish. Quite a few were allusions to Star Wars: Snowbi Wan Kenobi, Luke Snowalker, C-3pSnow and Darth Blader.
The United States and Canada accounted for 11 percent of Indias crude oil imports in Januarya record-high share of North American crude for the worlds third-largest oil importer, Reuters reported on Monday, citing data obtained from trade sources.

Indias total crude oil imports last month averaged around 4.8 million barrels per day (bpd), down from a three-year high in December, but slightly up compared to January last year.

In December 2020, Indias crude oil imports were estimated to have jumped by 29 percent compared to November and by 11.6 percent compared to December 2019, to more than 5 million bpd. This was the highest import level in almost three years.

In January, Indias imports eased from December, but demand for crude oil from the United States and Canada increased as gasoline demand rebounded.

According to Reuters estimates, Indias imports from the United States nearly doubled month over month to 367,000 bpd in January, making the U.S. Indias fourth-largest supplier of crude oil after Iraq, Saudi Arabia, and the United Arab Emirates (UAE). Imports from Canada also doubled to 142,000 bpd.

At the same time, the share of the Middle East in Indias imports dropped to 61 percentthe lowest level in eight months, due to reduced supplies out of the two top suppliers, Iraq and Saudi Arabia, which have limited some exports as part of the OPEC+ pact.

India, which relies on imports for around 80 percent of its oil consumption, is seeking to diversify purchases as much as possible to take advantage of lower prices from some regions.

In recent months, India has been sourcing more and more oil in spot deals with exporters outside of the Middle East after the biggest OPEC producers have tightened global crude supply as part of the OPEC+ pact. Indian refiners have boosted imports from exporters such as the United States and West African OPEC producer Nigeria, which sell lighter crude grades yielding more gasoline, according to Bloomberg data.

Charles Kennedy for Oilprice.com

More Top Reads From Oilprice.com:
A 49-year-old Montgomery County man has been identified as the driver killed in a wreck Sunday afternoon on Route 378 in Bethlehem.

Eric M. Henthorn of Whitemarsh Township was pronounced dead at 3 p.m., about an hour after the wreck in the northbound lanes of the highway, just south of the Eighth Avenue interchange, the Lehigh County Coroners Office said in a news release.

The vehicle Henthorn was driving struck a guard rail and rolled over, the coroners office said.

No other vehicles were involved. It wasnt immediately clear what led to the crash. Route 378 was shut down for several hours between between the Eighth Avenue and Main Street exits as authorities investigated.

The crash remains under investigation, but the coroners office on Monday ruled the cause of death was blunt force head trauma and the manner of death was accidental.

Those with information or who might have witnessed the accident are asked to call the Bethlehem Police Department tip line at 610-691-6660 or email Bethlehem Police Officer Matthew Vanic at mvanic@bethlehem-pa.gov.

In addition to the coroners office and Bethlehem police, the Lehigh County District Attorneys Office is also assisting in the investigation.

Please subscribe now and support the local journalism YOU rely on and trust.

Nick Falsone can be reached at nfalsone@lehighvalleylive.com.
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Blown away by an online fundraiser far exceeding its goal, Brandi Palmer said her family is incredibly thankful for those who supported them.

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"Blown away" by an online fundraiser far exceeding its goal, Brandi Palmer said her family is incredibly thankful for those who supported them.

Brandi and husband Kyles five-year-old daughter, Aubrey, has an appointment to receive heart surgery in Edmonton next month.

GOFUNDME Parents Kyle and Brandi Palmer are seen with their girls Aubrey, 5, and Lexi, 3. The parents are joining Aubrey for a trip to Edmonton on March 1, where the girl will receive heart surgery.

Including two weeks of quarantine upon their return home to Manitoba, the trip will put Kyle  the familys chief breadwinner  out of work for a month.

To help the family out during these trying times, friend Alana Goossen set up a GoFundMe page on Feb. 13 called "Aubreys Heart Journey."

As of Sunday, the fundraiser had passed its $2,000 goal, hitting $3,635.

In response to the campaigns fast success, Goossen said she was happy to see the family in need receive the help they deserve.

Aubrey, she said, is "a tough kid and she has been through a lot."

Brandi said funds in excess of the $2,000 goal would still go to help with costs associated with medical appointments, with followup trips to Winnipeg already scheduled alongside a number of checkups and the potential for more surgeries.

All things considered, she said Aubrey is doing well.

"Mornings are OK, but by afternoon shes pretty tired  we dont do much in the afternoon, we just chill."

Born Jan. 15, 2016, Aubrey was diagnosed early on with a congenital heart defect known as tetralogy of fallot and has been subject to numerous medical stays since birth.

The youngster experienced one "excellent, normal year" until the summer of 2018, when she began struggling again.

Although the family initially blamed the hot summer temperatures, a cardiologist confirmed her heart was working harder than it should due to a re-emerging issue.

This meant a return to Edmonton in April 2019 in an effort to resolve the problem without invasive surgery, which proved unsuccessful.

From then, theyve been waiting for Aubrey to become "sick enough" to receive surgery, which brings the family to next months appointment.

The pandemic has complicated this latest trip to Edmonton, Brandi said, noting although she and Kyle are allowed to be in the hospital, their youngest daughter, Lexi, 3, has to stay home in Brandon with her grandparents due to restrictions on the number of visitors.

Thats in addition to the two-week quarantine upon their return home to Manitoba.

Thankful for the donors who have come forward, including a number of generous strangers, Brandi said shed like to see people turn their attention to another local family in need via another GoFundMe campaign.

As reported in today's paper, Shaleena Bola and Garrett Hall have two young children currently facing health difficulties.

"I kind of want attention to go to them," Brandi said.

"Weve reached our goal, so I want them to reach their goal as well."

As of Sunday night, their fundraiser had also surpassed its goal.

Bolas uncle, Martin Hales, who started the campaign, said the $10,000 goal was somewhat arbitrary and that excess funds would still go toward helping the family.

 tclarke@brandonsun.com

 Twitter: @TylerClarkeMB
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Warsaw has called on Moscow to take needed actions to restore Ukraine's territorial integrity and compensate for losses inflicted in the occupied territories.

Minister of Foreign Affairs of Poland Zbigniew Rau wrote this on Twitter, Ukrinform reports.

For 7 years Crimea and Donbas have remained under Russian occupation. Poland stands by the victims and urges Russia to comply with international law, to restore territorial integrity of Ukraine and to compensate for human rights abuses on the occupied territories, he wrote.

As reported, Poland has supported the Revolution of Dignity from its very beginning. In the international arena, Warsaw has actively opposed the occupation of Crimea and the Kremlin's war in Donbas

On February 20, the seventh anniversary of the beginning of mass shootings on the Maidan, commemorative events took place in Kyiv and abroad to honor the Heroes of the Heavenly Hundred.

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10 bishops issue a message: calls for no bloodshed and a return to dialogue and hope for democracy. A pressing invitation to reconciliation, in unity with Buddhists.

Yangon (AsiaNews) - In the escalation of violence by the junta and rising resistance from the population, the bishops of Myanmar released two days ago - after the death of Mya Thwate Thwate Kaing and other demonstrators in Mandalay - a message signed by all of them and dated February 21, 2021. It asks that there be no bloodshed anywhere and that the violence in the streets stop. The appeal is aimed above all at "those in power", to return to dialogue and still give the nation the hope of peace and democracy. The letter is strongly aligned for non-violence - also in support of the appeals from the Buddhist side - and for democracy. Three weeks ago, an open letter from Card. Bo had been judged by priests, nuns and faithful, too "neutral" and good-natured towards the junta. However, the current message follows some aspects of the letter from Card. Bo. Meanwhile, in many events, priests and nuns are present (see photo: today in Myitkyina). Here is the complete text of the message (translation by AsiaNews).

Dear Brothers and Sisters of Myanmar and those in power. Greetings of peace to each one of you.

We, Catholic Bishops representing sixteen Catholic dioceses, spread all over the country, send this appeal to specially those in power, pleading for restraint in the streets and return to dialogue This comes amidst deep anguish and pain of witnessing more blood in the streets. The sad and shocking recent events have brought huge sorrow to our nation.

The heartrending scenes or youth dying in the streets wound the conscience of a nation. This nation has a reputation of being called a golden land. Let not its sacred ground be soaked in fraternal blood, Sadness or parents burying their children has to stop. Mothers' tears are never a blessing to any nation.

Just a month ago, this nation held in her heart a great promise: dreams of enhanced peace and robust democracy. Despite the onslaught of global pandemic, the nation held an election. The world admired our capacity for managing our differences. Today the world weeps with us, shattered by the fragmentation of this nation once again. Our youth deserve better.

With prayers in our hearts, we plead with all the stakeholders, return to dialogue. Be a nation known for its pristine spiritual spring, let us invest our energy in reconciliation. Healing needs to start with release of detained leaders.

We Join with the reverend "Ma Ha Na" monks and urge the leaders to heed their warning: Myanmar can become history and wiped off the map o! the world, if we cannot solve problems in a peaceful way! We concur with their call tor reconciliation through dialogue.

Urgently, the recourse to violence has to stop. The past lessons warn us violence never wins. Seventy-two years after independence, those in power need to invest in peace. The peace dividend will heal this nation. Give peace a chance. Peace is possible, peace is the only way.

With prayers and best wishes for peace.
A disaster of colossal dimensions continues to unfold in the US state of Texas. More than 14 million people are still without clean waterthat is, more people than the populations of entire countries such as Portugal and Belgium.

The collapse of the electrical infrastructure aggravated what would already have been a significant hardship for many Texans. Given the usually arid and humid subtropical climate, many Texans lack adequate cold weather clothing, such as warm coats and boots suitable for the snow that blanketed vast areas of the state over the past week-and-a-half, with temperatures only now beginning to warm.

With pipes frozen and power flickering out, countless horrific stories surfaced from across the state. Families listened in the dark as raw sewage backed up into bathtubs and out of toilets. Burst water mains flooded homes and destroyed priceless family photo albums and heirlooms. Icicles dangled from ceiling lights.

Jose Blanco, right, fills a cooler with water from a park spigot as others wait in line in Houston. (AP Photo/David J. Phillip)

Long lines formed outside grocery stores where the shelves had already been stripped bare. Gas stations ran out of gas. Dialysis patients missed their appointments. Calls for emergency assistance went unanswered. Hospital workers struggled to unload patients in parking lots choked with snow.

Many residents fled to hotels to escape the freezing temperatures in their homes, only to wake up to blaring alarms as their hotels water mains burst. The residences, roads, bridges, schools, and workplaces were simply not built for freezing weather.

This catastrophe hit a population that was already reeling from a year of runaway coronavirus infections and the economic devastation accompanying the pandemic. Efforts to distribute the coronavirus vaccine ground to a halt.

Freezing, coughing and sneezing, families huddled into hastily established warming centersdoubtless accelerating the spread of the disease. And the desperate efforts to stay warm inevitably resulted in tragedy, such as the heartbreaking deaths of a grandmother and three children in a house fire in Sugar Land, Texas.

Texas is the second most populous state in the United States, with 29 million residents. Significant sections of American heavy industry, telecommunications and energy infrastructure, food production and logistics operations have been built up in the state as corporations took advantage of cheaper labor, available land and virtually no regulations. The massive working class in Texas, drawn from all over the world, is gathered in huge metropolitan areas such as Houston, the fourth largest in the US, San Antonio, the seventh largest, and Dallas, the ninth largest.

The Texas catastrophe is a man-made disaster, the latest in a long line of similar disasters, including the California energy crisis (20002001), Hurricane Katrina (2005), the Houston flood disaster in 2017 and many others.

The latest disaster in Texas is the product of corporate greed and a decades-long conspiracy between state politicians and the energy conglomerates designed to squeeze the states population for as much profit as possible.

The conspirators cut off the Texas energy infrastructure from the national grid, the better to avoid national regulations that would have mitigated the impact of this months winter storm. The dangers were known, especially since a 2011 winter storm produced a similar cascade of blackouts.

The Texas energy racket is the product of decades of privatization and deregulation, including a key measure sponsored by a Democrat, Steven D. Wolens, and passed by the state legislature in 1999 known as Senate Bill 7. The measure was backed by the subsequently disgraced energy company Enron. The set-up it established was used to generate countless billions in profits that flowed through Wall Street and into the pockets of the ultra-rich.

This profit-making scheme was the direct cause of the wave of blackouts across the state this month: energy production could not be maintained on account of the failure to prepare and adequately insulate the energy-producing infrastructure, and the isolated Texas grid could not keep up with the surging demand on account of the freezing temperatures.

The same capitalist principle is behind the disaster in Texas and the catastrophic response of the government to the coronavirus pandemic: profits are prioritized over measures needed to protect human life. The brunt of the consequences, as always, fall on the shoulders of the working class. Texas has seen 42,000 deaths from the coronavirus, and while the death toll from the collapse of the energy and water infrastructure remains uncertain, the official count has climbed to 58.

The response of the ruling class to the disaster was best summed up by Tim Boyd, the Republican mayor of Colorado City, Texas, who shouted with bloodthirsty glee on social media that only the strong will survive and the rest will perish.

No one owes you [or] your family anything, he declared, nor is it the local governments responsibility to support you during trying times like this! A swift popular outcry forced his resignation, but he remained unrepentant.

Boyd blurted out what is essentially the policy of all capitalist governments at every level all over the world to any disaster.

The experience of the Texas catastrophe will leave its inevitable mark on popular consciousness both inside and outside of Texas.

Outrage against the boasting, swaggering band of reactionaries and ignoramuses who constitute the Republican Party leadership in Texas is entirely justified, including that directed against US senator and Trump co-conspirator Ted Cruz, who took a luxury vacation to Cancun at the height of the crisis. The climate change-denying Texas Republicans, blinking in the global spotlight, are now flailing around with wild assertions that the crisis is actually the fault of renewable energy.

Meanwhile, the Democrats are attempting to posture as critics, hoping to become political beneficiaries of the Texas disaster. Among them are Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez and Cory Booker, who recently staged a highly publicized fund-raising stunt in which $3 million was raised for Texas charities, an insignificant sum in comparison with the scale of the disaster.

In states like California, the most populous American state, the Democrats have been the ones to preside over the decades-long decay and neglect of essential infrastructure, in line with the Clinton-era policy of an end to big government, i.e., deregulation, and privatization across the board.

It is high time for the working class to say to the capitalist oligarchy: Enough! Every time that we left you and your political accomplices in charge, the result was a total catastrophe. Every time we entrusted a social problem to youlike fighting the pandemic, maintaining the infrastructure in Texas, addressing climate change, or trying to make progress towards social equalityin every case, you failed to do anything but enrich yourselves. Your time is up! Now it is time for a different class to take the wheel.

The Texas catastrophe, part of a pattern of similar catastrophes stretching back decades, is an indictment of the whole capitalist social order. The capitalist system has proven again and again impervious to science and reason, pathologically irrational, incapable of lifting a finger to address any social problem, feasting on bigger and bigger profits as thousands die every day.

The catastrophe in Texas, coming amidst the coronavirus pandemic, which has killed half a million people in the United States, makes the urgent case for the abolition of the capitalist system and its replacement with socialism.

The Socialist Equality Party insists that those responsible for the catastrophe must be held accountable, including through arrests and prosecutions. The negligence and greed of the directors and executives of the energy conglomerates and their accomplices in the state government led directly to death and destruction that will doubtless reach into the tens if not hundreds of billions of dollars in cascading economic ramifications.

The huge profits that were reaped from the Texas energy racket over the preceding decades must be traced and recovered, including from the Wall Street banks and hedge funds through which they flowed. The proceeds must be used to compensate the victims and repair the damage.

The energy conglomerates themselves must be confiscated, taken out of the hands of the capitalist oligarchs and transformed into democratically-controlled public utilities. The profit motive of the oligarchs can then be replaced with scientific planning to address climate change, shift to renewable energy, and develop more robust infrastructure in advance of future extreme weather.

Climate change, which is likely to produce more and more extreme weather events, together with infectious diseases are challenges requiring global coordination and planning.

The fight for these measures requires the mobilization of the principal social force that would benefit from their implementation, the international working class, which confronts a parallel struggle in every sphere of social and economic life around the world.

The labor of the working class is the foundation of modern human civilization, and the experience of the global pandemic has only underscored its fundamental social role, with the term essential workers entering popular parlance.

The fight for working class power means a fight to develop socialist consciousness in the working class and a break from the whole rotten framework of bourgeois politics, which is implicated from top to bottom in catastrophe after catastrophe.

The fight for socialism in turn requires the development of an independent political leadership committed to socialist principles, organized globally and representing the whole historical continuity and accumulated experience of the international workers movement since the development of scientific socialism in the time of Karl Marx. This is the embodied in the Socialist Equality Party in the US and its sister parties around the world in the International Committee of the Fourth International.
Federal aviation regulators have ordered United Airlines to step up inspections of all Boeing 777s equipped with the type of engine that suffered a catastrophic failure over Denver Saturday. United says it is temporarily removing those aircraft from service.

The announcements on Sunday come a day after United Airlines Flight 328 had to make an emergency landing at Denver International Airport after its right engine blew apart just after takeoff. Pieces of the casing of the engine, a Pratt & Whitney PW4000, rained down on suburban neighbourhoods.

The plane with 231 passengers and 10 crew on board landed safely, and nobody aboard or on the ground was reported hurt, authorities said.

The Federal Aviation Administration FAA Administrator Steve Dickson said in a statement on Sunday that based on an initial review of safety data, inspectors concluded that the inspection interval should be stepped up for the hollow fan blades that are unique to this model of engine, used solely on Boeing 777 airplanes".

The National Transportation Safety Board said in a separate statement that two of the engine's fan blades were fractured and the remainder of the fan blades exhibited damage . The NTSB did caution that it was too early to draw conclusions about how the incident happened.

Video posted on Twitter showed the engine fully engulfed in flames as the plane flew through the air. Freeze frames from different video taken by a passenger sitting slightly in front of the engine and posted on Twitter appeared to show a broken fan blade in the engine.

United is the only US airline with the Pratt & Whitney PW4000 in its fleet, the FAA said. United says it currently has 24 of the 777s in service. United says it will work closely with the FAA and the NTSB to determine any additional steps that are needed to ensure these aircraft meet our rigorous safety standards and can return to service.

The NTSB said the cockpit voice recorder and flight data recorder were transported to its lab in Washington for the data to be downloaded and analysed. NTSB investigations can take up to a year or longer, although in major cases the agency generally releases some investigative material midway through the process.

Airlines in Japan and South Korea also operate planes with the Pratt & Whitney engine. Japan Airways and All Nippon Airways have decided to stop operating a combined 32 planes with that engine, according to Nikkei.

Nikkei reported that Japan's Ministry of Land, Infrastructure, Transport and Tourism also ordered the planes out of service, and the ministry said an engine in the same PW4000 family suffered unspecified trouble on a JAL 777 flying to Haneda from Naha on December 4. It ordered stricter inspections in response.

Also read: Airbus CEO calls for trade war ceasefire, easing of Covid travel bans
The Department of Defense Office of Inspector General is going to evaluate the selection of Huntsville, Ala., for the U.S. Space Command headquarters.

The selection of Redstone Arsenal in Huntsville raised eyebrows when it was announced in January, days before President Donald Trump left office. Many expected Colorado Springs would win the headquarters as it's home to Space Command's temporary headquarters and was its former headquarters from 1985 to 2002.

Analysts including Todd Harrison, director of the Aerospace Security Project at the Center for Strategic and International Studies, said the decision might have been politically motivated.

More: Space Command makes unexpected selection for new HQ

"Given all of the questions about the selection process since the decision was announced, it is not surprising that the Inspector General has launched an investigation," Harrison said Monday in an email. "This will help clear the air about allegations over improper political influence in the decision making and whether the selection criteria were followed."

On Friday, the DOD said it will evaluate if the Department of the Air Force, which led the site selection process, complied with DOD and Air Force policies, used objective and relevant scoring factors, and calculated the cost and other scoring factors accurately and consistently among the six candidate locations.

The six locations being considered as finalists were: Albuquerque, N.M., Bellevue, Neb., Cape Canaveral, Fla., Colorado Springs, Colo., Huntsville, Ala., and San Antonio, Texas.

Harrison said this investigation "will not likely be the last word on the subject."

"A separate issue is whether the site selection criteria and weighting were the right criteria to begin with," he said. "That is something the new leadership in the Pentagon will have to determine. I had questions from the beginning about why the cost of the move was such a small part of the overall score  just 15 percent. That is something the new administration may want to revise."

The Department of the Air Force declined to comment, saying it was under investigation.
Supercars are works of art, and that is a fact. Whether were talking exterior or interior design and performance, they stand out for striving for perfection  and, more often than not, attaining it. The Bugatti Chiron is a good example of this quest for automotive perfection and, at nearly $3 million, it comes with a price to match.Supercar replicas rarely get the same amount of attention as the real thing, and for a very good reason: unless you have incredible levels of skill, replication perfection is a tough job. Replica-making is not for the faint of heart unless they get into it for the LOLs, like this Aussie did with his Cybertruck replica Every once in a while, you come across individuals so immensely talented that their work deserves to be on the same footing as the original that inspired it. Just last week, we talked about a very talented team from Vietnam that makes supercar replicas out of cardboard or fiberglass and composite glue. Their latest, a Ferrari 499 GTB , is powered by the engine from a water pump and cost just $1,000 to make entirely by hand, but even so, its a testament to what can be achieved with lots of dedication, talent and drive.But even that piece pales by comparison to what you can find in Thailand. Two hours from Bangkok is a place called the Scrap Metal Art Thailand museum, which is a workshop plus museum that displays the work of talented artists from all over the country. These days, were used to hyperbole as a common means to draw attention, but theres no exaggerating the merits of these artists.At the end of last year, CB Medias Chad traveled to Thailand to check out the most unique Bugatti Chiron in the world and, for whatever reason, his video is just now going viral. You will find it at the bottom of the page  every second of its 9-minute length is worthy of your attention. Scrap Metal Art Thailand was founded in 2012 and, since then, its been shipping art pieces to over 40 countries, including to royals in UAE and Kuwait. As Chad says, art pieces made here sell for anything between $3,000 for a life-size one and $30,000 for the giant ones  think of a giant statue of Bumblebee or any other Transformer you fancy, or a mammoth.They also make incredible supercar and superbike replicas there. You can see the Chiron in question in the video, starting at the 5-minute mark: made of still-identifiable pieces of scrap metal and car parts, it stands out for the electric blue color and incredible attention to detail (which even includes a fake engine). Its doors dont open and, needless to say, its not drivable, but even so, it looks almost real. Chad learned that itd been commissioned by a Swedish gentleman and that it was days from being shipped to its next home.Right next to it, Chad found a second Chiron, this time done in a more Mad Max-inspired fashion. This one has opening doors, real car seats, and a metal dashboard, bearing a very decided worn look that would perfectly suit a post-apocalyptic universe. This one, too, is life-size.Other two standout cars in the video are a Mercedes 300SL Gullwing made almost entirely out of nuts and bolts and other small pieces, welded together to create a lacework look and a Ferrari 250 GTO that was still under construction. But go through the official website of the museum and youll surely find a bunch more because, clearly, theyre looking to build something for every taste. Seeing how theyre not short on skill, their effort is successful.For instance, they also have a Lamborghini Veneno replica called #6 because it is the 6th in the world and a very convincing Jeep Wrangler Rubicon replica that combines the lacework style with an all-metal interior and actual wheels.If cars are not your thing, they also do superbikes, Harleys, and several variations of Ghost Rider , in addition to Transformers, superheroes (Spiderman, Thor, Iron Man, the likes), Predators, Aliens, and everything else you could think of, from lions to raging bulls.The museum says that most of their statues are made up of only five parts and that they can be disassembled for shipping in as little as 15 minutes. Once put together, they stand very stable without bolting and are weather-protected, in case youre thinking about putting them outside. Shipping is done either via water or by air, and theres a money-back guarantee. Food for thought in case youre thinking about making your home or front yard a bit more artsy.
In writing Why Nation-Building Matters, Keith Mines makes the bold claim that the nation-building efforts of the United States are its best hope for creating and preserving national security. He argues the United States is most secure when sovereign governments interact according to a rules-based order that allows for strong, precise, and coordinated responses to a myriad of global issues such as terrorism, pandemics, human migration, and global climate change. Using his more than thirty-five years of firsthand experience, as a soldier, special forces officer, foreign affairs officer, and diplomat, Mines makes a compelling case for why America should lead from the front and remain committed to governance and the Westphalian order. He brings the reader along through post conflict negotiations and development in all the usual placesIraq, Afghanistan, and Somaliaas well as a few outside of the usual international aid circuit in Haiti and El Salvador. He provides a view into the tough trade-offs faced every day by local and national actors in underdeveloped and war-torn nations who seek to make their own corner of the world a more secure place.

Why Nation-Building Matters fills an important seam in the institutional capacity building literature by connecting academic titles and concepts with the personalities and decisions of figures carving out lives in post conflict societies. Mines furthers a claim the United States should not only attempt nation-building, but that success in this regard is imperative for the coming century. U.S. policy makers, legislators and diplomat readers will gain an hands-on perspective of the hard lessons learned through Mines experience in American interventions, while international allies and partners will better understand the nuances that lead to intervening and the decisions therein. The book is a compelling narrative with vivid implications for the next generation of policy makers as they consider what constitutes success or failure in future interventions.

From the beginning, Mines explains, This is fundamentally and unabashedly a book about nation-building.[1] He acknowledges the mixed consensus within the academic, pundit, and think-tank communities on how the United States should implement its aims and forcefully argues for his concept of nation-building as the intrusive intervention of a foreign power that requires a coordinated whole of government effort to produce results. Those opposing this strategy call for a precise application of counterterrorism training led by the United States military directed towards creating viable local and national police forces to counter security threats within the partner nation with little involvement in other political or economic institutions. Mines contends this limited engagement strategy is destined to fail, because political and economic instability over the long term will negate any short-term security wins.

Mines builds on Nadia Schadlows analysis that the United States almost universally achieves its initial military objectives but fails to consolidate these military gains into political stability.[2] From his experience as a member of the Coalition Provisional Authority in Iraq, Mines shows how an emphasis on security at the cost of governance manifested as instability in the reconstruction period. Based on his experience in Afghanistan as the senior civilian representative in Mazar-e Sharif, Mines explores how the international community failed to invest the necessary resources and support following the Bonn Agreement and Loya Jirga in 2002. This failure enabled spoilers on the periphery to destabilize the legitimacy of the government over the ensuing years. In both cases there was a window within which to capitalize on creating a new political solution, but the United States and its partners failed to take advantage of these opportunities. This is why nation-building matters.

NATION-BUILDING IS A WHOLE-OF-GOVERNMENT EXERCISE AND REQUIRES ATTENTION AND RESOURCES EQUAL TO, IF NOT GREATER THAN, IN TIMES OF WAR.

The book is divided into three types of capacity building campaigns in roughly chronological order through eight U.S. interventions. The first section covers the efforts of the United States during the Cold War in Colombia, Grenada, and El Salvador. In using these examples, Mines identifies a number of conditions necessary for international interventions to succeed. First, governance will not take root without the support of the host nation and a functioning political agreement. Next, nation-building is a whole-of-government exercise and requires attention and resources equal to, if not greater, than in times of war. Finally, nation-building must include representation from all members and sections of the host population. Mines returns to these first hard lessons learned at the conclusion of his book and re-emphasizes the simple conditions requisite for successful nation-building.

The second section covers the peacekeeping campaigns and humanitarian interventions of Somalia, Haiti, and Darfur. These examples of institutional failure present interesting implications for the United States as it wrestles with a methodology for intervening in humanitarian crises. History suggests a tipping point exists where humanitarian suffering prompts a moral obligation to act. The United Nations acknowledged this condition following the atrocities in Rwanda and Bosnia and chartered its responsibility to protect principle in 2005.[3] The most recent implementation of this principle occurred in 2011 with U.N. Security Council Resolution 1973 to establish a no-fly zone over Libya.[4] While endorsing the U.N. charter, the United States has not formalized a similar concept in its own doctrine regarding interventions. At the conclusion of Why Nation Building Matters, Mines provides a strong critique of the capacity building architecture of the United States and offers holistic changes to its current fractional strategy, going so far as to recommend the creation of a Bureau of Civilian Security Assistance as the single American institutional lead for nation-building.[5] As the world grapples with populist movements and failing states, the lessons from these three experiences suggest calls for intervention following civil war and humanitarian crisis will only increase in the future.

The third and final section of Why Nation-Building Matters touches on what will be the enduring challenge to western societies national security over the coming centurythe rise of ungoverned space. Using his time in Iraq and Afghanistan, Mines describes in detail the tensions inherent in nation-building that are well studied in the academic literature. Using Iraq, he illustrates the dilemma of Michael Barnett and Christoph Zurchers peacebuilders contract.[6] This model covers the intervening coalitions desire for creating a new political compact in the post conflict society. Mines explains how political institutions and governance take substantial time and effort to create which is in tension with the more immediate need to create jobs and spark economic activity. He uses the superphosphate fertilizer plant in Al Qaim and the Ramadi glass factory as illustrations revealing the struggle to get functional jobs online even with substantial support from stakeholders across the society. This drive for job creation requires the coalition of peacebuilders to partner with the same national and subnational elites from the prior regime who still hold the means of capital and production. Unfortunately, this partnership may reinforce the pre-conflict political reality and work against the intention of a new political solution.

UN Peacekeepers (peacekeeping.un.org)

A second lesson gleaned from Iraq is the transition from the Coalition Provisional Authority to the new Iraqi government. Fundamental to any nation-building program are the questions of how long we stay and how we leave. David Edelstein titles this quandary as the duration dilemma. It covers the tension that exists between the benefits of stability, financing, and security provided by the intervening coalition balanced against the will of the people to govern themselves.[7] In the Iraqi case, Mines demonstrates how a rush to hold elections was an ill-guided metric to gauge institutional viability. Contributing factors of anti-interventionist attributes of coalition partners and the Iraqi peoples desire to govern themselves led to a transition that occurred before the new government institutions could take hold. In this instance, the Coalition Provisional Authority transitioned after 14 months of governing the country to the interim Iraqi government. The fledgling government was unable to provide security and stability which resulted in a recommitment of coalition forces over the following years. Finally, in a postmortem of his time in Afghanistan, Mines articulates Edelsteins footprint dilemma.[8] Too small a presence in 2002 led to a failure to secure the periphery of the country, which led to a resurgence of violence that directly contradicted the newly formed governments perception of control. As a result, the pendulum swung to the opposite end and resulted in a footprint of more than 100,000 coalition forces in the country by 2010, thus destroying any legitimacy of the Afghan government. Why Nation-Building Matters closes an important gap in the academic literature of capacity building and governance by filling in the human stories that good governance protects. Mines connects the intellectual titles of national and sub-national elites with personalities like Minni Minawi and Mohammed Arif, political actors attempting to navigate an opaque post conflict world as they make decisions that ripple across society. This book connects programs like the Barrios Military Academy exchange with the stories of these soldiers who trained in the United States and then returned to El Salvador to fight against guerrillas in their homeland. Mines illustrates how sustained commitment over decades, not years, leads to governance and stability. The individual human dimension resident in all social compacts is the enduring characteristic uniquely covered throughout his book. Why Nation-Building Matters is particularly appropriate now as the United States develops its national security strategy from counterinsurgency to great power competition, because it provides insight into the competing interests resident in building partner capacity within fragile states. The 2018 National Defense Strategy (NDS) and supporting counterterrorism strategy are aligned towards strengthening American national security through integrated partnerships around the globe. The counterterrorism strategy argues that local solutions from sovereign states are an effective deterrent to ungoverned space and help mitigate the development of extremist organizations. It seeks to enable these solutions through augmenting partner nations capabilities across law enforcement, military, and security services.[9] Mines description of El Salvador in the 1980s and Somalia in the early 1990s will be eerily similar to the experience of diplomats and foreign affairs officers implementing the National Defense Strategy today. FUNDAMENTAL TO ANY NATION-BUILDING PROGRAM ARE THE QUESTIONS OF HOW LONG WE STAY AND HOW WE LEAVE Mines does not present a new way of thinking or present a new model for nation-building in the future. But he does ask the reader to consider how and why the United States continues to intervene abroad. How do Americans evaluate the necessary and prudent work conducted on their behalf? What is the result of the blood and treasure invested in their name? Ungoverned space and post conflict societies will remain a persistent threat, most recently demonstrated by instability in the Western Sahara, Tigray, and Nagorno-Karabakh conflicts. The United States must come to terms with a taxonomy and evaluation criteria for future nation-building interventions. While an interesting and engaging narrative of his personal experiences, Why Nation-Building Matters suffers as an objective analysis due to the author's targeted attempt to persuade the reader of the need for more American involvement worldwide. Missing from the work is analysis or description of when the United States should not attempt to intervene. In his epilogue, Mines captures his view of American interventionism succinctly with the claim that full spectrum power needs to be deployed across the entire range of the contest, from pre-conflict, through conflict, fully into post-conflict, and with a strong, capable component for the lengthy post-post conflict.[10] However, Mines own accounts provide evidence of the mixed-record of success for Americas nation-building endeavors and the woefully underdeveloped policies upon which it attempts to create partners institutional capacity. The unique cultural, political, and economic involvement requisite in nation-building should preserve its use to only the most opportune scenarios and not as the standard procedure for American engagement with fragile and failing states. As a whole, Why Nation-Building Matters provides a vivid account of the United States nation-building successes and failures over the past 40 years. Keith Mines breadth of firsthand experience covers all aspects of building partner capacity: from training counterinsurgency forces as a special operations detachment commander in Honduras to advising Ambassador Ryan Crocker on the governance and security of nine northern provinces in Afghanistan. The insights and hard lessons learned come from a career dedicated to challenges of institution building. Perhaps appropriately, Why Nation-Building Matters ultimately leaves us in the same position as where we began; reaffirming that the process of creating governance and functioning institutions is hard but worthwhile.

Brian Mathews is a U.S. Army officer studying at Georgetown University as a member of the Joint Chiefs of Staff internship program. The views expressed in this article are the authors alone, and do not reflect those of the U.S. Army, the Department of Defense, or the U.S. Government.

This article appeared originally at Strategy Bridge.
He has recently been showing off his impressive designs on social media after teaching himself how to crochet.

And Tom Daley, 26, and his toddler son Robert, two, wore matching black and white handmade cardigans in a cute gallery of pictures uploaded by the Olympic diver.

Tom held hands and cuddled and kissed his little boy who he shares with his director husband filmmaker Dustin Lance Black, 46.

Mini me: Tom Daley displayed his latest crochet creation on social media on Sunday as he and his toddler son Robert, two, wore matching black and white hexagon cardigans

Tender: The Olympic diver, 26, kissed and cuddled his beloved son in a sweet gallery of images

Passion project: Tom wrote about his method on his crafting Instagram page

The adorable shots show Tom and Robbie walking through a park dressed in the same cardigan and black jeans.

In one picture, the athlete picks up his blond son and snuggled into him for a kiss, while in another he looks on fondly as Robbie plays on his bike.

Tom captioned the pictures: 'A SUNDAY STROLL...P.S. I made us the matching cardigans @madewithlovebytomdaley'.

He also wrote: 'I made Robbie and I a matching black and white hexagon cardigan! I made two hexagonal pieces and then joined them, adding sleeves and a collar after!'

Playtime: The adorable shots show Tom and Robbie enjoying a Sunday stroll and in one shot, he looks on fondly as Robbie plays on his bike

Tom wrote: 'I made two hexagonal pieces and then joined them, adding sleeves and a collar after! Thanks for the help @byamylondon'

A sweet moment: No doubt Robert was feeling snug and warm in his new knitwear

He tagged his new Instagram account in the post where he uploads all of his new creations.

Tom, who appears to have returned to the UK after his stint at an Olympic training camp in Turkey, previously posted a video of himself crocheting on his sunbed.

Earlier this month, he posted a snap on his crochet Instagram account while posing in an eye-catching multi-coloured jumper and his underwear.

The athlete took to his Instagram Stories and posed in the impressive knitted design while crouching on the ground.

Impressive: Earlier this month, the athlete sported this colourful crochet creation on social media as he posed in his underwear

Posing in his pants, Tom wrote alongside the photo: 'Some colour for your rainy Saturday!'

The TV star has been in lockdown with Dustin and their son in Southwark, London.

The couple - who tied the knot in May 2017 at Bovey Castle in Devon - welcomed Robert via an American surrogate in June 2018 and plan to have more children.

They recently shared a series of loved-up snaps together, with Tom captioning the post: 'When you make your Husband take pictures with you'.

Couple: The TV star has been in lockdown with his husband, filmmaker Dustin Lance Black, 46, and their son in Southwark, London

New arrival: The couple - who tied the knot in May 2017 at Bovey Castle in Devon - welcomed their son via an American surrogate in June 2018 and plan to have more children

Tom started showing off his colourful creations on a new Instagram account leading to speculation that he could be turning it into a business venture.

The star shared pictures of his knitted tea cosy, a chunky jumper and a poncho which he made for his son Robbie, two.

The @madewithlovebytomdaley account also shows pink baby booties and the toddler's blue bobble hat.

It is unclear if fans will be able to buy his creations.

Hobby: Tom has been showing off his impressive knitting and crochet designs on his new Instagram account @madewithlovebytomdaley

Creative: The two-time Olympic bronze medallist previously showcased another of his creations as he revealed he has crocheted his own pair of swimming trunks

The two-time Olympic bronze medallist started knitting to help him relax during lockdown  and he's not the only celebrity that turned to this craft.

Tom said: 'Worrying about when things might go back to normal can be exhausting. My happy place is now on the sofa with knitting needles.'

But he admitted his screenwriter husband Dustin joked that being with him was like being wed to a grandmother.


Scientists at the University of Queensland have developed an ultraviolet 'television' display, fashioned to help researchers understand better how animals see the world.

So far, standard monitors on devices like televisions or computer screens have been used to show visual stimuli in animal vision studies, but none of them has been able to test ultraviolet vision, which is the ability to know wavelengths of light shorter than 400 nanometres.

Human Televisions

Dr Samuel Powell from the Queensland Brain Institute's Marshall laboratory made it known that this new technology will help uncover the secrets of sight in all sorts of animals, such as birds, fishes and insects.

Dr Powell said "Human televisions normally make use of three colours which are red, blue and green to create images, but the recently-developed displays have five, which includes violet and ultraviolet. By making use of this display, it is now viable to show animals simple shapes, to test their ability to different colours apart, or their viewpoint of motion by moving dot patterns. We fondly call it the 'UV-TV', but I doubt that anyone would want to have one in their home!"

ALSO READ: Vampire Squid Fossil Strayed During the Hungarian Revolution Found

Netflix Resolution, Not Anytime Soon

Someone would have to put on sunglasses and sunscreen while watching it, and the resolution is pretty low, so don't expect to be watching Netflix in ultraviolet anytime soon as the resolution is 8 by 12 pixels in a 4 by 5-centimetre area.

This very low view is sufficient to show dot patterns to test fish perception, in what is known as an Ishihara test, a colour perception test for colour blindness which would be known to anyone who has been tested for colour deficiencies. In this Ishihara test, humans read a number masked in a bunch of coloured dots, but as animals can not read numbers back to us, they are trained to mark the 'odd dot' by pecking, out of a field of differently coloured dots.

New Technology Will Widen Researcher's Understanding

As reported by Dr Karen Cheney from UQ's School of Biological Sciences, she said "this new technology will allow researchers to widen their understanding of animal biology."

Dr Cheney stated that there are different colour patterns in nature that are unseen to us because we cannot detect UV. For illustration, bees make use of ultraviolet patterns on flowers to locate nectar, and fish can recognise individuals using ultraviolet facial patterns. They have recently started studying the vision of anemonefish or clownfish popularly known as Nemo which have Ultraviolet-sensitive vision, unlike humans.

Ultraviolet Television

The study has already shown that the white stripes on anemonefish or clownfish also reflect UV, so we think ultraviolet colour signals may be used to identify each other and maybe taking part in signalling dominance within their social group. "Who knows what other findings we can now make about how certain animals behave, think and interact"

This new technology (ultraviolet television) according to Dr Cheney, allows them to have a better understanding of how animals see the world, thereby giving answers to significant questions about animal behaviour.

RELATED ARTICLE: Here's How Ants Walk Backward to Find Home

For more news, update about how to understand animals and similar topic don't forget to follow Nature World News!
New Delhi, Feb 22 : A boat carrying 90 Rohingya refugees and three Bangladesh crewmen drifted into India's territorial waters on Monday, with calls for immediate rescue mounting from UN agencies and humanitarian groups.

The boat has a satphone and the crew confirmed to humanitarian group 'Arakan Project' the presence of 65 Rohingya women and girls, five children below the age of 2 and 20 men.

"Since the boat's engines stopped functioning six days ago, it has been drifting towards India's Andaman islands from its course.

"The Rohingyas boarded the boat south of the Bangladesh seaside town of Cox's Bazar on 11th February and was headed towards Southeast Asia when its engines broke down," Chris Lewa, director of the Thailand-based "Arakan Project" told this writer.

Lewa, who has long association with the Rohingyas through her humanitarian project to provide relief of the hapless refugees often stranded in hostile host countries or at sea, said eight of these 90 refugees have already died.

"They have no drinking water or food left, so they are drinking sea water in desperation. That is why some of them are collapsing.

"Only the Indian navy or coast guards in Andamans can save them," said Chris Lewa, adding her organisation have informed the UNHCR and the Western embassies in Dhaka about the "huge humanitarian crisis" over the boat people.

She said the boat's crew have said they have seen Indian naval patrol crafts near the area.

But Indian navy sources said they were "trying to ascertain the identity of a boat that seems to have drifted into Indian waters off the Andaman coast".

They promised details later.

So Lewa said she was considering a direct appeal to the Indian government, especially the Indian Navy and coast guards deployed in Andamans to intervene.

"Indian coast guard patrols have traced the Rohingya boat 40 km east of Rangat in the Andamans. They should save the inmates by taking them to safe shelter with food, water and medical treatment," said Chris Lewa.

The exact coordinates of the boat at 10.30 a.m. Indian time on Monday was shared when the 'Arakan Project' managed to reach the crew of the boat.

"They told me that three onboard the boat died on Saturday and five on Monday -- all victims suffered from acute diarrhoea after consuming sea water," said Chris Lewa.

UN High Commissioner for Refugees (UNHCR) had appealed for immediate rescue of the Rohingya refugees on this boat.

The United Nations High Commissioner for Refugees or UNHCR says it received reports of an "unconfirmed number of Rohingya refugees aboard a vessel in distress as of the evening of Saturday 20th February".

It urged the countries in the area, meaning India, Bangladesh and Myanmar to begin an immediate search.

"Saving lives must be the priority," said Indrika Ratwatte, the director of the UNHCR Regional Bureau for Asia and the Pacific said in a statement.

"In line with international obligations under the law of the sea and longstanding maritime traditions, the duty to rescue persons in distress at sea should be upheld, irrespective of nationality or legal status. We appeal to all governments to deploy their search and rescue capacities and promptly disembark those in distress." "Many are in a highly vulnerable condition and are apparently suffering from extreme dehydration," Ratwatte added.

"We understand that a number [of] refugees have already lost their lives and that fatalities have risen over the past 24 hours." Hundreds of thousands of mostly Muslim Rohingyas have been living in refugee camps in Bangladesh since they were forced out of Myanmar in a brutal military crackdown in 2017.

Muslim-majority Malaysia has long been a favoured destination for the group who are among the world's most persecuted peoples. And although boat journeys have declined in recent years, governments around Southeast Asia have tightened borders during the COVID-19 pandemic.

There are currently some 102,250 Rohingya registered with the UNHCR in Malaysia but rights groups say there are many more who are undocumented. Neither Malaysia nor Indonesia are signatories to the UN convention on refugees.

UNHCR said it would provide humanitarian assistance and quarantine measures for those who were rescued, in line with public health protocols.

"The fact that refugees and migrants continue to undertake fatal journeys accentuates the need for immediate and collective regional response to search, rescue and disembarkation," the agency said.

-- The story has been published from a wire feed without any modifications to the text

I am deeply humbled to have been nominated by my peers for acceptance into this group of distinguished legal professionals.

Over the past 27 years, attorney Steven Shamah, Esq., has garnered praise from clients and peers for his legal acumen, diligence, and tenacity while practicing at law firms and on behalf of corporations in the Miami, Florida and Washington, DC areas. The Lawyers of Distinction is pleased to announce that GEICO Senior Counsel, Steven Shamah, Esq. has been certified as a distinguished 2021 Member of Lawyers of Distinction. I am deeply humbled to have been nominated by my peers for acceptance into this group of distinguished legal professionals, said Mr. Shamah.

Mr. Shamah is a graduate of the University of Miami School of Law, a member of the Florida Bar, the Federal Bar for the Southern District of Florida and the Association of Corporate Counsel. Mr. Shamah currently practices as a corporate generalist with significant experience in the areas of litigation management, contract drafting and review, insurance law, compliance, intellectual property, technology licensing, marketing, real estate and aviation.

Lawyers of Distinction is recognized as the fastest growing community of distinguished lawyers in the United States. Members are accepted based upon objective evaluation of an attorneys qualifications, license, reputation, experience, and disciplinary history. Lawyers of Distinction is recognized as the fastest growing community of distinguished lawyers in the United States. Members are accepted based upon objective evaluation of an attorneys qualifications, license, reputation, experience, and disciplinary history. Please see https://www.lawyersofdistinction.com/how-to-become-a-member/ for further details concerning membership qualification.

Connect with Mr. Shamah via LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/in/steven-shamah-2ba37a24/
OECUSSE, East Timor (AP)  East Timor abruptly postponed the trial Monday of a defrocked American priest facing allegations he sexually abused young girls at a childrens shelter he ran in a remote enclave in East Timor  one of the most Catholic places on Earth.

Soon after Richard Daschbach, a former missionary from Pennsylvania, arrived in the courtroom, judges said they needed more time to make revisions to documents and asked the 84-year-old defendant to return on Tuesday.

The former priest is charged with 14 counts of sexual abuse of children under the age of 14, as well as counts of child pornography and domestic violence, according to the countrys Prosecutor General.

The case against Daschbach represents East Timors first child sex case brought against a priest, but it has been complicated by his hero status and loyal devotion from followers.

Allegations that Daschbach was abusing children at his shelter first surfaced three years ago.

An official at the Catholic church in East Timors capital, Dili, said Daschbach was defrocked in 2018 after he confessed to the abuses. Former donors also said he admitted it to them, but the ex-priest has not admitted to it publicly.
President Joe Biden on Monday will order flags on all US federal buildings to be lowered to half mast in commemoration of the imminent half million mark in the country's death toll from Covid-19, the White House said.

Press Secretary Jen Psaki told reporters the gesture would last five days.

Short link:


Infrared scans have revealed Norwegian artist Edvard Munch was the author of hidden graffiti on his 1893 painting The Scream.

The inscription near the top left corner reads 'kan kun vre malet af en gal mand', which translates from Danish as 'can only have been painted by a madman' and was thought to have been later added by vandals.

Following years of speculation, the National Museum of Norway has confirmed that the small and barely visible sentence was actually by the artist himself in about 1895.

Munch made the inscription with a pencil after a medical student said The Scream was the work of a mentally disturbed individual.

There are several unique versions of The Scream by Munch  two paintings, two pastels, several lithographic prints and a few drawings and sketches.

The two most well-known versions are the paintings, suspected to have been created in 1893 and 1910.

This 1893 version in question  which was stolen in February 1994 and recovered three months later  is located at the National Gallery in Oslo, which forms part of Norway's National Museum.

Infrared photography at the National Museum of Norway. Following years of speculation, curators at the National Museum of Norway have confirmed that a small and barely visible sentence on Edvard Munch's The Scream was penned by the artist himself

1994 THEFT OF THE SCREAM In February 1994, two men broke into the National Gallery, Oslo, and stole its version of The Scream, leaving a note reading: 'Thanks for the poor security'. The gallery refused to pay a ransom demand of $1 million in March 1994. Norwegian police set up a sting operation with assistance from the British police (SO10) and the Getty Museum and the painting was recovered undamaged on 7 May 1994 Ten years later, the 1910 version of The Scream was stolen, but later retrieved, albeit badly damaged. Advertisement

The inscription translates today from Danish, which was 'more or less the same' as Norwegian in the 19th century, according to the National Museum.

Using infrared technology to analyse the handwriting and comparing it with Munch's notes and letters, as well as details of events surrounding its first public showing, curators can now conclude that the writing is Munch's.

The inscription is hard to notice at first glance, which is why the question of who its author is has been overlooked.

The fact that Munch is referring to himself in the third person, and that the inscription can be interpreted as an act of vandalism on a masterpiece, likely added to the confusion regarding its author.

'The writing is without a doubt Munch's own,' said Mai Britt Guleng curator at the National Museum.

'The handwriting itself, as well as events that happened in 1895, when Munch showed the painting in Norway for the first time, all point in the same direction.'

One of the most famous paintings of the modern era, The Scream is interpreted as the ultimate representation of anxiety and mental anguish.

Munch, who suffered anxiety much of his life, was inspired one evening by 'the enormous, infinite scream of nature' and a sunlight that turned the clouds 'a blood red'.

The two most well-known versions are the paintings, suspected to have been created in 1893 (pictured here with the inscription marked) and 1910

The inscription reads: 'Can only have been painted by a madman'. The fact Munch refers to himself in the third person may have accounted for the uncertainty regarding its author

As he painted, Munch experimented to find the exact colours to represent his personal experience, using bold synthetic pigments to make 'screaming colours'.

The catalyst for the inscription is thought to be an incident in 1895 when Munch exhibited the painting for the first time in his native Kristiania (later Oslo).

The work provoked furious criticism and public speculation on Munch's mental state.

At a discussion night at the Students Association, where Munch is believed to have been present, the young medical student Johan Scharffenberg questioned Munch's mental health, claiming that his paintings proved he was not of sound mind.

It is likely that Munch added the inscription in 1895, or shortly after in response to the judgement on his work.

Munch was profoundly hurt by the accusations and returned to the incident again and again in letters and diary entries.

Both his father and sister suffered bouts of depression and Munch was finally hospitalised after a nervous breakdown in 1908.

This 1893 version was stolen on February 12, 1994, the opening day of that year's Winter Olympics in Lillehammer.

The two male thieves broke through a window of the National Gallery, cut a wire holding the painting to the wall and left a note reading: 'Thanks for the poor security'.

The fragile painting was recovered undamaged at a hotel in Asgardstrand, about 40 miles south of Oslo, on May 7, 1994 and returned to the National Gallery.

Visitors will be able to see the painting and the inscription upon it when the painting goes on display in the National Museum's new building, due to open in Oslo in 2022.

The Scream will be displayed with a number of Munch's most iconic works, such as Madonna, The Dance of Life and Self-Portrait with Cigarette, in the new Munch room.

'New research adds greatly to our experience of artworks,' said Karin Hindsbo, director of the National Museum.

Norwegian painter Edvard Munch (pictured). Many of Munch's works depict life and death scenes, love and terror, and the feeling of loneliness

'We will never be finished with Munch's art. Every time we ask a question about his works, new answers and perspectives comes up.'

It's thought Munch painted The Scream a final time in 1910 (the exact date is not known).

This version, which was famously stolen from Oslo's Munch Museum in 2004 but recovered in 2006, was the subject of a study published in published in Science Advances last year.

Curators revealed that moisture in the air is triggering the degradation of the 1910 masterpiece, which is preserved in a protected storage area in the Munch Museum.

An international team used 'the world's biggest X-ray'  the European Synchrotron Radiation Facility in Grenoble, France  to analyse paint micro-flakes from The Scream.

Cadmium sulphide, used as a pigment in the original paint, becomes oxidised and fades under high humidity conditions, they found.

It was thought light was to blame for colours of the painting gradually fading, which is why it has been mostly kept in near darkness  but humidity is its major threat.
Arkansas Governor Asa Hutchinson stands on stage prior to the start of the second day of the Republican National Convention at the Quicken Loans Arena in Cleveland, Ohio, on July 19, 2016. (Alex Wong/Getty Images)

Arkansas Governor Urges Biden to Coordinate COVID-19 Vaccine Distribution With States

Arkansas Gov. Asa Hutchinson is calling on President Joe Biden to grant states greater control of COVID-19 vaccine distribution.

During an appearance on CNNs State of the Union on Sunday, the Republican governor suggested that Biden administration officials arent doing enough to communicate effectively with state officials. He said that this has caused confusion, and in some cases, COVID-19 vaccines have been sent to locations that have already received shipments from the federal government.

Give it to the states, well get it out  its easier to coordinate that way, Hutchinson said. Were going to continue to increase getting those doses out.

His remarks came just days after he and a group of bipartisan governors addressed a letter (pdf) to Biden on similar issues.

The National Governors Association on Feb. 15 asked the president for enhanced reporting and coordination between federal and state governments on COVID-19 vaccine distribution efforts.

It asked the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) to distinguish between several federal distribution programs in its reports data on vaccine distribution so as to provide more clarity on which efforts are state-run and which efforts are federally-run.

The letter also asked that federal decisions about pharmacy use and Federally Qualified Health Centers be coordinated with state governments.

Due to the anxiety created by the demand and supply of the vaccine, it is imperative that the American people fully understand the process, the governors, led by New York Democrat Andrew Cuomo and Hutchinson, wrote. States also need visibility into the federal vaccination efforts at the facility level happening in our borders.

Hutchinson said just days earlier: I emphasized one particular point and thats the states need to take the lead in vaccine administration and we dont need to have duplicate programs that are hard to coordinate.

Biden has vowed to vaccinate 100 million Americans against COVID-19, the disease caused by the CCP (Chinese Communist Party) virus, in his first 100 days in office. According to the CDC, more than 75. 2 million doses of the two authorized mRNA vaccines have been distributed as of Feb. 21, and 63 million total doses have been administered.

One vaccine is made by Pfizer and BioNtech; the other is made by Moderna, with assistance from U.S. health officials. Pfizer is authorized in people as young as 16, whereas Moderna is for people over 18 years old.

At least 11 states have seen delays in the rollout of vaccines due to severe winter conditions, with many forced to shut vaccination sites and reschedule appointments.

Thousands of appointments have been rescheduled in New Jersey, New York, Maryland, Missouri, Georgia, Kansas, Mississippi, Kentucky, New Hampshire, Texas, and Alabama, ABC News reported last week.

The Biden administration didnt immediately respond to a request for comment by The Epoch Times.
Guatemalan American author-illustrator Juliet Menendezs debut book Latinitas: Celebrating 40 Big Dreamers, features profiles and childhood portraits of 40 influential Latinas, following them from their early footsteps to making their dreams come trueand history, too. Menendez is also a passionate educatora former dual/bilingual language, art, and Spanish teacher in a variety of settingsas well as a Paris-trained designer, illustrator, and painter. Today, she spends her time sketching, painting with her favorite watercolors, and dreaming up her next childrens titles. PW spoke with Menendez, who lives in Guatemala City, about how she initially created Latinitas especially for her students but hopes these profiles and portraits will dare readers of all ages and cultures to dream big.

Can you tell us about your time as a teacher and how it has influenced your writing/illustrating Latinitas for middle graders?

I began my teaching career as a NYC Teaching Fellow and taught in elementary schools in Upper Manhattan as a dual/bilingual language classroom teacher for children in first, third, and fifth grades. My students were mainly Dominican, Puerto Rican, and Mexican. I found that I needed more materials that referenced their unique cultures, so I created snippets and stories about my students with images that looked like my students, and this led me to creating the illustrations that would become my book.

After some time in the classroom, I went to LInstitut Superieur des Arts Appliques in Paris. I ran out of money after my first year and never got to finish my degree, but I stayed in Paris to teach art in a bilingual, i.e. French and English, program with middle and high school students.

When I returned to the States, I started teaching art part-time, so I could have time to create books. I worked as an art teacher in Catholic schools, pre-k through eighth, in Upper Manhattan, and was a Spanish teacher through the Global Language Project.

As an art teacher, I taught all kinds of art spanning different countries and continents using diverse cultural references and influencesfrom Latinx, African, Islamic, to Indian. I also taught different techniquescollage, painting, printmaking, and sculpture and exposed my students to the art and the artists in their own communities. I wanted them to have a solid base and well-rounded art experience.

While teaching Spanish, I created a curriculum that taught the language through both historical and cultural lenses, and aligned it to Common Core Standards for math, science, and social studies.

For example, I taught shape names through the lens of architecture in Argentina by integrating the historical influences of different immigrant groups; ecosystems in the Sierra Nevada through the lens of the only Indigenous group that was never conquered by the Spanish, the Kogi in Colombia; and transition words in storytelling by using one of the only surviving Mayan texts after the Spanish conquest, the Popol Vuh.

Researching and creating this curriculum allowed me to teach my students about different cultures, cultural movements, to show them the reason for speaking Spanishand to introduce them to the beautiful people and culture.

It sounds like the seeds for Latinitas were planted early on in your career. What was the initial spark to actually begin?

While creating stories and illustrations for my students where they could see themselves, I got the idea that I might like to illustrate and write a book someday. And then, when I walked through the halls of my school, I would see posters depicting people like Ben Franklin, Martin Luther King Jr., and Salvador Dali. I wanted to see posters that showed individuals that looked like my students, that represented their backgrounds, and that were people they could look up toand that they could see themselves in. So, I started creating posters depicting strong Latinx women as children.

But I couldnt stop there. Creating these posters for my students inspired me to write the stories behind them. That was when I started digging and creating the collection that would be the beginning of Latinitas.

You seem to be a champion for representation and inclusion by placing both at the forefront of your teaching and writing. Can you talk about why that matters to you so much, and why it should for all of us?

At any age an inclusive environment is important, but it is especially important in early childhood as learners start out to find their place in the world, where they can see themselvesand all of the possibilities for them. When children can see an extremely wide variety of possibilities, this allows them to imagine a huge range of things that they can be.

For me, its not just about seeing yourself represented, its about knowing how important it is for you to be there: that your cultures contributions have been and are essential. Its seeing someone who is like you who has made amazing accomplishments through history, and that you can do this, too. These things help children find a place, and a purpose. This is the whole idea behindand my hope forthe book and the readers.

Can you expand upon your hopes for readers, and the diverse landscape at large?

I want my readers, whether they are Latinx or not, girls or boys, etc., to feel a place in the narrative, a purpose in their own lives, and to become a part of the story. Id like them to think this is their story, your story, and my story. We are all part of this world and this narrative. And, because of this, there will be many more storiestheir stories. I want my readers to realize that all of the Latinitass contributions are part of who we are today.

As for the diverse landscape, I hope that my book can show a range of the many Latinx cultures across the U.S. and in Latin America, and spark an interest in the readers to want to learn more about these women and these cultures. I included my extensive bibliography at the end of the book so they can learn more about the Latinitas. Additionally, I hope that there will be more stories and books written about these women, and interest in their work.

How did you decide to make Latinitas a collection of stories vs. individual books?

I was actually first interested in making small books about each of these women. Maybe someday I will. But, for now, I found a real value in putting the stories together, in chronological ordercreating a sense of history, a feminist history. I thought that this would allow the reader to see how the stories unfolded and built on one another.

How did you choose the 40 Latinx women with such a broad representation of cultures, backgrounds, and professions?

To start, I chose to focus my energies on Latinx women because many of the stories I read had them on the sidelines, and relegated to footnotes, when they were incredibly important and central to history! So, I decided to focus on Latinx women whose stories were not being told. I also thought about what professions I wanted my students to learn about. I looked at the womens inspirations and accomplishments, and whether they were people that I would like my students to look up to, and if they were beautiful people. I defined beauty as people who saw the light in others and brought that same light to their lives and the lives of others. I wanted to tell the stories of women throughout history who uplifted their communities and wanted all women to advance.

To do this, I read everything I could find about them. It became a magical scavenger hunt. I wrote letters to people, discovered rare books, and located pages from a dissertation. For Susana Torres, the architect, I was able to interview her. Her support for the project and my research, and her own childhood story, inspired the way I would approach each of the stories.

On top of the 40 Latinitas profiled in your collection, you also included 11 others in your back matter, and a generous bibliography. How did you know when to stop researching and start writing?

I definitely found myself in a rabbit hole of research at times. But, as I researched these women, I knew I was done when I felt connected to them, understood on some level where they were coming from, and felt like I knew why they did what they did. I knew that if I felt this connection, I could transmit it to the reader.

As a teacher, Ive always been able to find things in what I teach that fascinate me, and then figure out how to fit them into the Common Core Curriculum Standards to share this passion and transmit it to my children. With this research, I was also able to do that in my writing.

Who and what inspired you in your childhood? What were the seeds that made you take the leap like the Latinitas to become an artist and a teacher?

I grew up in a family of artists all around me. My father is an architect, and my mother is an artist. It was natural to have all kinds of paints, paper, markers, pens, and architectural pens around me. I so wanted to use my fathers architectural pens, but I could only look at them. So, I had a lot of artistic influences that helped plant seeds in me as a kid.

As for the teaching seed, I had a neighbor, Mrs. Oltman, in the U.S., and when I was growing up she offered to teach me piano in exchange for good company and a cup of tea at the end of each lesson. I wasnt a great piano player because I had a problem reading the music, but I had a good ear. To help, she would play the music for me, and I learned that way. And this continued for many years. Later on, she even found me a piano from a retirement community that was giving it away. She loved piano so much that she made such a huge effort to share that love with me. That ability to transmit something that you love so much to someone else is what l learned from her. I try to do this with my writing, illustrating, and teaching. It was such a gift to me that she showed me.

Like Mr. Rogers once said, A great gift of any adult to a child, it seems to me, is to love what you do in front of the child. Let them catch the attitude that thats fun. Because you know attitudes are caught, not taught.

Mrs. Oltman also taught me not only to share what I love with others, but also to make a contribution to others in your community. This affected me in a way that I wanted to be just like her.

These early seeds gave me the sparks to take my own leaps, the opportunities to discover the things I wanted to do, and the doors to many wonderful thingslike the Latinitas! Thank you, Mrs. Oltman!

Once a teacher, always a teacher. Are you currently working with kids virtually? Do you have any plans to continue teaching and/or working with kids in the future?

Yes, you are right! I love teaching, and I will always be a teacher. Most recently, while living in Antigua, Guatemala, I was volunteering with public school children to help supplement their literacy and art curriculum. Also, prior to the pandemic, I was planning a series of literary workshops for the national library in Guatemala City. But, unfortunately, the workshops have been put on hold. When it is safe to return, I look forward to getting back into the classroom again. Until then, I have some virtual visits lined up with Page Turners Make Great Learners, an Open Book Foundation, and Novel Neighbor. These visits will be my first time teaching virtually. Im very excited!

Do you have any advice for other teachers or librarians who might dream of writing stories inspired by, or to inspire, their students?

I would say to write what they are the most passionate about, to read to discover what affects and moves them, and to see if they could do that in their own writing. Im still figuring it out.

Whats next for you? Is there a sequel to Latinitas in the works?

I am currently working on illustrating two new books. One is written by April Pulley Sayre, and the other is written by Margarita Engle. Im also working on my first picture book that I am both writing and illustrating. There is no sequel to Latinitas in the works yet, but you never know.

Click here to read about Juliet Menendezs publishing journey, including finding an agent and publisher for Latinitas.

COLUMBUS, Ohio - Fool the novel coronavirus once and it can't cause infection of cells, new research suggests.

Scientists have developed protein fragments - called peptides - that fit snugly into a groove on the SARS-CoV-2 Spike protein that it would normally use to access a host cell. These peptides effectively trick the virus into "shaking hands" with a replica rather than with the actual protein on a cell's surface that lets the virus in.

Previous research has determined that the novel coronavirus binds to a receptor protein on a target cell's surface called ACE2. This receptor is located on certain types of human cells in the lung and nasal cavity, providing SARS-CoV-2 many access points to infect the body.

For this work, Ohio State University scientists designed and tested peptides that resemble ACE2 enough to convince the coronavirus to bind to them, an action that blocks the virus's ability to actually get inside the cell.

"Our goal is that any time SARS-CoV-2 comes into contact with the peptides, the virus will be inactivated. This is because the virus Spike protein is already bound to something that it needs to use in order to bind to the cell," said Amit Sharma, co-lead author of the study and assistant professor of veterinary biosciences at Ohio State. "To do this, we have to get to the virus while it's still outside the cell."

The Ohio State team envisions delivering these manufactured peptides in a nasal spray or aerosol surface disinfectant, among other applications, to block circulating SARS-CoV-2 access points with an agent that prevents their entry into target cells.

"With the results we generated with these peptides, we are well-positioned to move into product-development steps," said Ross Larue, co-lead author and research assistant professor of pharmaceutics and pharmacology at Ohio State.

The study is published in the January issue of the journal Bioconjugate Chemistry.

SARS-CoV-2, like all other viruses, requires access to living cells to do its damage - viruses hijack cell functions to make copies of themselves and cause infection. Very rapid virus replication can overwhelm the host system before immune cells can muster an effective defense.

One reason this coronavirus is so infectious is because it binds very tightly to the ACE2 receptor, which is abundant on cells in humans and some other species. The Spike protein on the SARS-CoV-2 surface that has become its most recognizable characteristic is also fundamental to its success in attaching to ACE2.

Recent advances in crystallizing proteins and microscopy have made it possible to create computer images of specific protein structures alone or in combination - such as when they bind to each other.

Sharma and his colleagues closely examined images of the SARS-CoV-2 Spike protein and ACE2, zooming in on precisely how their interactions occur and what connections are required for the two proteins to lock into place. They took notice of a spiral ribbon-like tail on ACE2 as the focal point of the attachment, which became the starting point for designing peptides.

"Most of the peptides we designed are based on the ribbon contacting the Spike," said Sharma, who also holds a faculty appointment in microbial infection and immunity. "We focused on creating the shortest possible peptides with the minimum essential contacts."

The team tested several peptides as "competitive inhibitors" that could not only securely bind with SARS-CoV-2 Spike proteins, but also prevent or lower viral replication in cell cultures. Two peptides, one with the minimum contact points and another larger one, were effective at reducing SARS-CoV-2 infection in cell studies compared to controls.

Sharma described these findings as the beginning of a product-development process that will be continued by the team of virologists and pharmaceutical chemists collaborating on this work.

"We are taking a multipronged approach," Sharma said. "With these peptides, we have identified the minimal contacts needed to inactivate the virus. Going forward we plan to focus on developing aspects of this technology for therapeutic purposes.

"The goal is to neutralize the virus effectively and potently, and now, because of the emergence of variants, we're interested in assessing our technology against the emerging mutations."

###

This research was supported by Ohio State institutional startup funds.

Sharma and Larue are inventors on a provisional patent application covering this technology. Other co-authors, from Ohio State's colleges of Pharmacy, Medicine and Veterinary Medicine, are Enming Xing, Adam Kenney, Yuexiu Zhang, Jasmine Tuazon, Jianrong Li, Jacob Yount and Pui-Kai Li.

Contact:

Amit Sharma,

Sharma.157@osu.edu

Written by Emily Caldwell,

Caldwell.151@osu.edu
Canadian pastor refuses bail conditions following arrest over church breaking COVID-19 restrictions Church says its being obedient to the Lord, sees actions as end to destructive lockdowns

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The pastor of a church in Canada remains in police custody for the fourth day on Saturday after being charged with violating Albertas COVID-19 rules and refusing to comply with his bail conditions.

Pastor James Coates of GraceLife Church in Edmonton, who remained in custody as of early Saturday, held services for three consecutive weeks after the church was ordered to close at the end of January for reportedly violating restrictions on maximum gathering capacity and not following physical distancing, according to CTV News Edmonton.

Police initially arrested Coates after he held services for a second time, on charges of allegedly violating the Public Health Act, but later released him after serving an undertaking with conditions.

On Sunday, police and health officials attended the service and found that the pastor continued to defy his release conditions, and he was charged a second time.

The pastor turned himself in to police on Tuesday, according to the Edmonton Journal, which reported that he was charged with two counts for contravention of the Public Health Act and also charged for failing to comply with a condition of his undertaking.

Officials attended the GraceLife Church to assess compliance in relation to conditions issued to the pastor on Feb. 7, police said in a statement Wednesday. Observations were made that the pastor was not complying with his undertaking release conditions, and the church was not in compliance with the public health order.

It added, Following a bail hearing before a justice of the peace, Coates was to be released on conditions. He remained in custody overnight after refusing to agree to those conditions. This morning in Stony Plain provincial court he continued to refuse to agree with those conditions.

Coates attorney James Kitchen, who works with the Justice Centre for Constitutional Freedoms, said: His first obedience is to his Lord, is to his God. And normally, obeying Jesus and obeying the government go right in hand. The governments forcing him into a position where he has to choose between disobeying God and obeying government, or obeying God and disobeying government.

The church said in a statement that 11 months ago, when government guidelines initially required churches not to gather in-person, they complied and held services online. Then, in June, when the health emergency was lifted, they began holing in-person worship services.

"When COVID-19 first appeared, we shifted to livestream and abided by most of the new government guidelines for our gatherings. But when the first declared public health emergency ended, we opened our doors and returned to nearly normal gatherings on Sunday, June 21, 2020," Grace Life Church said in the statement on its website.

"We did so recognizing COVID-19 was much less severe than the government had initially projected. This sentiment was reflected in the assessment of the premier of Alberta, who deliberately referred to COVID-19 as 'influenza' multiple times in a speech announcing the end of the first declared public health emergency," the statement continues.

The church explained that, in July, after two separate individuals who attended its gatherings had tested positive for the virus, leaders initiated contact tracing and tested many of the congregants. They found that no transmission had occurred, but "out of an abundance of caution, we shifted exclusively to livestream and shutdown all other ministries for two weeks."

Afterward, the church resumed gatherings and reports that after holding services for 28 consecutive Sundays, there have been no reports of transmission of COVID-19 linked to its services.

The church stressed that it's not gathering in defiance of the government, but instead in "obedience to our Lord and Savior Jesus Christ."

GraceLife Church said people were afraid and convinced of the efficacy of the government's ongoing lockdowns due to misinformation and fearmongering, especially by mainstream media. So fearful, in fact, they have been convinced that yielding up their civil liberties to the government is in their best interests.

About 129,000 people, or less than 3% of the population of Alberta, have tested positive for the coronavirus, the church said, adding: "It is also vital to highlight that more than 99% of those who contract the virus will fully recover.

We believe  churches should open, businesses should open, families and friends should come together around meals, and people should begin to exercise their civil liberties again. Otherwise, we may not get them back. ... We believe love for our neighbor demands that we exercise our civil liberties.

GraceLife Church said their actions are not aimed at perpetuating the longevity of COVID-19 or any other virus that will inevitably come along.

If anything, they explained, we see our actions as contributing to its end  the end of destructive lockdowns and the end of the attempt to institutionalize the debilitating fear of viral infections. Our local church is clear evidence that governmental lockdowns are unnecessary. In fact, it is also evidence of how harmful they are. Without going into detail, we recently lost the life of one of our precious congregants who was denied necessary health care due to government lockdown measures.

The Justice Centre for Constitutional Freedoms has written to Alberta Premier Jason Kenney to withdraw the health orders, which it says unfairly discriminate as between restaurants and houses of worship.
[February 22, 2021] SSI Named Pioneer 250, Part of CRN's MSP 500 PHILADELPHIA, Feb. 22, 2021 /PRNewswire/ -- Systems Solution, Inc. (SSI), a leading provider of IT solutions for business and industry, has once again been named as one of the CRN Managed Service Provider (MSP) 500. SSI earned recognition as a Pioneer 250 company in the magazine's 8th annual list that highlights exceptional managed services providers, which was unveiled Feb. 16 on the publication's website. SSI has earned a reputation for being among the top Managed Service Providers and Consultants in North America by providing dynamic IT support solutions for industry-specific businesses. The company's team has spent decades accruing the knowledge they need to anticipate and stay current with the newest trends in IT support and services. SSI was selected for the MSP Pioneer 250 list for providing cutting-edge approaches to delivering managed services, empowering organizatins to leverage complex technologies, keeping a strict focus on their core business without straining their budgets. As a company with over 100 employees and nearly 35 years in business, SSI has been successful helping clients navigate the changes in business technology and creating value. As the industry becomes more and more commoditized, SSI differentiates through exceptional customer service, client engagement, focusing on standards, and aligning with clients' business goals. According to Richard Wein, President and CEO, "SSI is honored to be recognized as part of the CRN 500 group. It's a testament to the hard work, expertise and dedication that the SSI team exemplifies on a daily basis." The list, released annually, recognizes the leading North American solution providers that have demonstrated innovative and forward-thinking approaches to managed services. These services help end users improve operational efficiencies and navigate the ongoing complexities of IT solutions, while maximizing their return on IT investments. The MSP 500 list will be featured in the February 2021 issue of CRN and online at www.CRN.com/msp500. About SSI:

SSI is a leading provider of managed IT services and cyber security services in the United States. The company's products and services include Managed IT Services, Cyber Security Services, Network & Data Security, Backup & Disaster Recovery, Cloud Managed Services, Hosted Desktop, Hosted Applications, Virtualization/Migration, Network Engineering, Mobile Device Management, Virtual CIO, Office 365, and VOIP Phones. SSI is headquartered in Philadelphia and has Data Centers in Pennsylvania and Nevada and supports organizations world-wide.

www.ssi-net.com View original content to download multimedia:http://www.prnewswire.com/news-releases/ssi-named-pioneer-250-part-of-crns-msp-500-301230202.html SOURCE Systems Solution, Inc. (SSI)

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Gulf Capital, a leading growth markets alternative investment firm, has announced that it has successfully completed the sale of its 70% stake in Turknet Iletisim Hizmetleri (Turknet), the leading alternative internet service provider in Turkey, to a consortium of buyers including the incumbent Celebiler Family and Re-Pie Portfoy Yonetimi (Re-pie).

The sale generated a significant return for Gulf Capital Credit Opportunities Fund which focused on providing growth capital to companies in the Middle East, North Africa and Turkey.

The investment in Turknet builds on Gulf Capitals strong track record in investing in technology companies and in those that provide next-generation digital connectivity, said the company in a statement.

Turknet, led by Cem Celebiler, is a pioneer in the alternative Internet Service Providers (ISP) sector in Turkey and has spearheaded numerous developments in the Turkish broadband sector.

During Gulf Capitals ownership, Turknet increased its subscriber base by over 200% and its ebitda by over 150% in USD terms, which collectively generated an industry leading return on Turknets invested capital.

With a seat on the board and an active involvement in formulating the companys strategy, Gulf Capital played a significant role in Turknets growth journey.

It was instrumental in implementing best-in-class corporate governance practices and in assisting in the overall growth strategy of the Company. Gulf Capitals support also helped roll out a hyper-fast broadband network in Turkey and to dramatically increase the subscriber base.

On the strategic sale, CEO Dr Karim El Solh said: "Our investment in Turknet was part of Gulf Capitals strategy to back talented management teams that lead promising companies in high growth sectors, especially those that support the global digitalisation trend. Gulf Capital has been one of the most active investors in the technology, broadband connectivity and fintech sectors."

Turknet is a good example of a high-quality technology company whose growth trajectory has accelerated, especially post pandemic, he stated.

"After a seven-year holding period, we believe it is the right time for us to exit and realise value for our investors, while at the same time paving the way for the companys next-stage growth. We believe the Celebiler Family will continue shaping the Turkish broadband space by pioneering new developments and achieving tremendous growth in Turknets subscriber base and we wish them all the success on their next phase of growth," he added.

Turknet CEO Cem Celebiler said: "Working closely with Gulf Capital over the past seven years provided us with a valuable support in strategic and financial decision making. This acquisition will bring the Celebiler Family into a majority position in Turknet, reflecting our strong confidence in the future of the Company and the growth opportunities presented by the Turkish broadband space."

"We are thankful for the unwavering support of Gulf Capital and their significant contributions to the success of Turknet over the last seven years. The next chapter of our growth journey will be with Re-pie, the largest Turkey-based alternative fund manager, he added.

Gulf Capital Managing Director Omar Rifai said Cem and the management team have successfully led the growth in Turknets market share and brand equity by focusing strongly on execution and customer service.

"We are excited for the Celebiler Family as it continues to lead Turknet into its next phase of growth. Gulf Capitals investment in Turknet is a good example of how structured equity and mezzanine investments can support entrepreneurs in emerging markets in their growth journey," he added.
American black comedy flick, Me, Myself & Irene did fairly well at the box-office front and gained immense popularity for its filming and shooting locations. Starring Jim Carrey and Renee Zellweger in the lead roles, the 2000's film was directed by the Farrelly brothers, Peter and Bobby. If you want to know more details about Me, Myself & Irene filming locations, we've got you covered.

Me, Myself & Irene shooting locations

The lead character Charlie Baileygates's house shown in the film was 21 Mollusk Drive, on Point Judith in the village of Galilee. As mentioned in Movie Locations, after the film's success, the small house was redeveloped in 2004 and now a much larger residence stands on the spot. In the film, Charlie Baileygates' house location is stated as Narragansett Bay, southwest of Newport.

The maximum scenes of Me, Myself & Irene were shot in Vermont and Rhode Island, the United States of America. According to My Champlain Valley, multiple scenes were shot in Waterbury, Williston and Burlington. The hotel shown in the film is located in Burlington. The road trip also starts from the same part of Vermont.

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Charlie and Layla marry at the Church of St John the Evangelist, Washington Street at Willow Street, in Newport, Rhode Island, before she runs off with the chauffeur, leaving Charlie with three kids to bring up. The gas station and train station scenes were shot at Essex Junction, Vermont, USA. The police station scene was actually shot at a Town Hall in Williston, Vermont.

All cafe and restaurant scenes were captured at Richmond, Vermont. Me, Myself & Irene's cow shooting scene was filmed at Johnson in Vermont. Other Me, Myself & Irene shooting locations include Waterbury, Colchester, Milton and South Burlington in Vermont. Locations situated in Rhode Island that were used for filming are Galilee, Jamestown, Narragansett, New Port.

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The 2000's release also stars Chris Cooper, Robert Forster, Richard Jenkins, Daniel Greene, Anthony Anderson, Jerod Mixon and Mongo Brownlee. Me, Myself & Irene follows the story of a state trooper named Charlie, who suffers a psychotic breakdown, which further results in a second personality, Hank. This is lead star Carrey's second film with directors Farrelly brothers, since Dumb and Dumber, released in 1994.

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Get the latest entertainment news from India & around the world. Now follow your favourite television celebs and telly updates. Republic World is your one-stop destination for trending Bollywood news. Tune in today to stay updated with all the latest news and headlines from the world of entertainment.




Video by Cho You-bin, Oh Jung-meen

Following the recent tragic deaths of migrant workers, civic groups are calling on the government and municipalities to take action to improve the poor living conditions facing farm workers.

In December, a Cambodian migrant worker in her 30s was found dead in a makeshift vinyl greenhouse home at a farm in Pocheon, Gyeonggi Province.

Initial autopsy results showed the direct cause of her death to be liver disease, but it was revealed that she had been living in a sandwich panel construction built inside a vinyl greenhouse with a broken heating system which experts say could have worsened her condition.

The day she died was when the temperature dropped as low as to minus 20 degrees Celsius in the village.

And not long after her death, another Cambodian man was found dead in a greenhouse dorm earlier in February. The cause of his death is yet to be known.

In response, the Ministry of Justice announced Tuesday that employers and provincial governments hiring seasonal migrant workers this year will be banned from using vinyl greenhouses as living quarters for their employees.

Meanwhile, farm owners are resisting, arguing that the measures will tear down their already hard-hit business, as they are heavily dependent on foreign workforce due to labor shortages.

According to government data, more than 30 percent of the farm businesses using migrant workforce failed to meet minimum requirements for living standards for their foreign employees.
KYODO NEWS - Feb 22, 2021 - 15:41 | All, Japan

An annual ceremony was held in western Japan on Monday to push the country's claim to Takeshima, a group of islets controlled by South Korea, but on a smaller scale due to the coronavirus pandemic.

The ceremony in Matsue has been held every Feb. 22 since 2006 after the Shimane prefectural government designated the day as "Takeshima Day" in 2005, a century after a Cabinet decision was issued placing the islets in the Sea of Japan under the prefecture's jurisdiction.

The islets, called Dokdo in South Korea, cover a total land area of 0.2 square kilometer and lie northwest of Shimane Prefecture's coast. They consist of volcanic rock with little vegetation or drinking water but are located in rich fishing grounds.

South Korea has stationed security personnel on the islets, located roughly 200 kilometers from either country, since 1954 and taken effective control of them.

Shimane Gov. Tatsuya Maruyama bashed South Korea's "continued moves to make the occupation of Takeshima an accomplished fact" as "highly regrettable" during the ceremony, which was also attended by Yoshiaki Wada, a Cabinet Office parliamentary vice minister.

At a press conference in Tokyo, Japan's top government spokesman, chief Cabinet secretary Katsunobu Kato, stressed the islets are "an inherent part of the territory of Japan in light of historical facts and based on international law."

Referring to the attendance of Japanese officials at the ceremony, South Korea's Foreign Ministry said in a statement it is a "useless" provocation over the islets and should be stopped immediately.

"Dokdo is historically, geographically, and under international standards, clearly our territory, meaning that the Japanese government must stop making unfair claims right away and face history with a humble stance," the ministry said.

This year's ceremony was limited to some 220 participants, about half the number in previous years, to prevent the spread of the coronavirus.

Police set up barricades to head off right-wing activists who set up nearby to give speeches arguing Japanese ownership of the islets.

The annual event came as tensions simmer between the neighboring Asian countries over compensation issues related to Japan's 1910-1945 colonial rule of the Korean Peninsula.

Bilateral ties sunk following rulings by South Korea's top court in 2018 to compensate groups of South Koreans for forced labor under Japanese control.

Last month, a South Korean court ordered the Japanese government to pay damages to a group of former "comfort women" over their treatment in Japanese military brothels.

Japan argues that all claims related to Japan's colonial rule including the issue of comfort women were settled under the 1965 bilateral agreement.

While the governments of the two countries acknowledge that their separate 2015 agreement to "finally and irreversibly" solve the comfort women issue stands, Seoul says it has neither the right nor the authority to prevent the victims themselves from raising concerns.

The central government has dispatched a Cabinet Office parliamentary vice minister to the Takeshima ceremony for nine straight years to signal its position on the territorial row.

Related coverage:

South Korean former "comfort woman" asks gov't to bring issue to ICJ

Japan urges South Korea to "immediately" act over comfort women ruling

Japan demands "concrete" actions from South Korea to mend wartime row
Two drilled specimens of the bivalve Nymphalucina occidentalis and close-ups of drill holes. Credit: Drs. Adiel Klompmaker and Neil Landman.

New research unveiled the earliest evidence of octopus predation in the fossil record. The evidence consists of tiny holes drilled in the clams they preyed upon during the Cretaceous period about 75 million years ago.

Dr. Adiel Klompmaker, curator of Paleontology at the Alabama Museum of Natural History, and Dr. Neil Landman, curator emeritus of Fossil Invertebrates at the American Museum of Natural History, detailed their findings in a recently published paper in Biological Journal of the Linnean Society.

Octopuses from the Octopodoidea superfamily are a versatile group of marine predators comprising more than 200 species today. As these soft-bodied cephalopods do not fossilize easily because they decay rapidly, only a single body fossil species from 95 million-year-old Cretaceous rocks in Lebanon is known.

Unlike other modern cephalopods, octopodoids leave behind tiny oval-shaped drill holes in many shells of their molluscan and crustacean prey. These octopuses then inject a venom through the hole that paralyzes and relaxes the prey's muscles to facilitate consumption.

"These holes provide a great opportunity to track their presence and behavior in deep time, even though their body fossils are absent," Klompmaker said.

Such holes have been documented from the fossil record up to 50 million years ago until now.

The team's findings document the oldest recognized drill holes made by octopodoids, found in nearly 75 million-year-old bivalve shells from the Cretaceous period in South Dakota. This shows the ability of these animals to drill their prey evolved early in the evolutionary history of Octopodoidea, a remarkable 25 million years earlier than was previously known.

Klompmaker discovered the drilled shells in the collection of the American Museum of Natural History in New York in October 2018.

The octopus Muusoctopus johnsonianus at a modern cold seep off Grenada. Credit: Courtesy of Drs. Adiel Klompmaker and Neil Landman with permission of the Ocean Exploration Trust Inc.

"I could not believe what I saw initially, but after cleaning and studying the specimens carefully, later on, we became convinced that these holes are the oldest evidence of predation by octopuses," Klompmaker said. "I was not specifically searching for holes made by octopuses, so it was a great surprise. This goes to show the importance of maintaining and exploring museum collections."

The fossil bivalve specimens now stored in a museum were once living in a shallow ocean. Nearly 75 million years ago, a broad seaway covered much of North America, called the Western Interior Seaway. Most of the ocean bottom was featureless with occasional signs of life such as fish swimming by and occasional gigantic clams on the seafloor.

"However, methane bubbled up from the bottom in spots, forming rich diverse communities called methane cold seeps, with ammonites, sponges, starfish, crabs, snails, sea urchins, crinoids, clams, fish, and, as it turns out, octopus," Landman said.

Even though octopuses are commonly seen in today's cold seeps, evidence of the presence of Octopodoidea had never been found in fossil seeps. Klompmaker and Landman's research thus adds a new predator to the ecosystem of ancient cold seeps.

The team's findings also mean Octopodoidea contributed to the rise of shell-destroying predators during a revolution of predators and their prey in the Mesozoic era, 252 to 66 million years ago, called the Mesozoic Marine Revolution. During this time, predators such as marine reptiles, teleost fish, some sharks, and decapod crustaceans became more abundant and diverse, putting extra pressure on their prey. In response, prey such as gastropods and brachiopodsand ammonites fortified their shell.

Klompmaker and Landman argue more research can be done on drill holes made by Octopodoidea. Little is known about how common this type of predation was, where these octopuses lived through time, and how they behaved toward their prey.

To continue this line of research, Klompmaker worked with Alex Kittle, mollusks collection manager at the Delaware Museum of Natural History, on predation by octopuses on cowries living in Florida 2 to 3 million years ago. In another recently published paper in Palaeogeography, Palaeoclimatology, Palaeoecology, they found cowries are commonly drilled by octopuses and these predators aimed for the muscle.

"It is very possible that new evidence of predation by octopods can also be discovered in fossil shells from Alabama and other places in the world," Klompmaker said.

Explore further Holes drilled in shells point to bigger predators picking on small prey

More information: Adiel A. Klompmaker et al. Inferring octopodoid and gastropod behavior from their Plio-Pleistocene cowrie prey (Gastropoda: Cypraeidae), Palaeogeography, Palaeoclimatology, Palaeoecology (2021). Journal information: Palaeogeography, Palaeoclimatology, Palaeoecology Adiel A. Klompmaker et al. Inferring octopodoid and gastropod behavior from their Plio-Pleistocene cowrie prey (Gastropoda: Cypraeidae),(2021). DOI: 10.1016/j.palaeo.2021.110251
Shenandoah, IA (51601)

Today

A few showers this morning with overcast skies during the afternoon hours. High 71F. Winds SSE at 5 to 10 mph. Chance of rain 30%..

Tonight

A few clouds. Low near 50F. Winds light and variable.
While negotiating with foreign vaccine providers, Vietnam will accelerate vaccine purchases to ensure that all people have access to Covid-19 vaccines.

The Politburo and the Secretariat of the Communist Party of Vietnam (CPV) have approved the proposal of the Ministry of Heaths Party Committee Party Civil Affairs Committee on buying Covid-19 vaccines.

Accordingly, relevant agencies are responsible for organizing the purchase and use of Covid-19 vaccine while promoting the research and production of vaccines in the country.

Health Minister Nguyen Thanh Long told a meeting last Friday that to ensure adequate vaccination for the population, Vietnam needs 150 million doses of vaccine by 2021.

Deputy Minister of Health Tran Van Thuan

Under agreement between the Ministry of Health and the COVAX Facility, COVAX will supply 30 million doses of vaccine for Vietnam in 2021, mainly in the second half of the year.

COVAX will buy vaccines from a number of companies and provide them to people in 90 countries. Vietnam will be among the first to get the vaccines.

UK company AstraZeneca has also committed to delivering 30 million doses to Vietnam this year. AstraZeneca's vaccine was the first licensed for conditional import by the Vietnamese Ministry of Health.

The first 204,000 doses of AstraZeneca vaccine are expected to be available in Vietnam on February 28.

In 2021, Vietnam will have at least 60 million imported doses of vaccine. The Ministry of Health is negotiating with other companies such as Pfizer and Moderna, and Russia to have more vaccines.

Minimizing administrative procedures for vaccine imports

Deputy Minister of Health Tran Van Thuan told VietNamNet that the fund for buying COVAX's vaccines will come from many sources, mainly from the State budget, both centrally and locally. There are also other legitimate sources, including the support of benefactors and businesses.

The purchase of vaccines must comply with the law and the plan approved by the Government. The Ministry of Health is only a specialized agency. Two days ago, we submitted to the Government the plan to buy vaccines, Deputy Minister Thuan said.

Local governments that want to buy vaccines for their people must also go through the Ministry of Health to submit to the Government for approval, so vaccines will be regulated to ensure fairness.

In order to have more vaccines, the Ministry of Health is calling on domestic agencies to find other sources of vaccine and coordinate with the Ministry of Health to import vaccines.

In urgent conditions, the Ministry of Health will minimize administrative services and implement rapid licensing within five days only.

For 30 million vaccine doses from AstraZeneca, the firm chose VNVX as its distributor in Vietnam. VNVX has a nationwide vaccination system and has allowed people to place orders for Covid-19 vaccines.

Deputy Minister Thuan said the fund for buying 30 million vaccine doses from AstraZeneca is covered by VNVX, but VNVX has to follow the plan of the Ministry of Health to ensure the vaccination program is implemented fairly and effectively.

Currently, the price of AstraZeneca vaccine in Europe is $2.16/dose. The price in Vietnam has not been announced, but a VietNamNet source revealed that the price per dose is about VND200,000 (about $9).

Who will be vaccinated first?

Vaccine Nanocovax has completed the first phase of clinical trial.

After the vaccine arrives in Vietnam, the Ministry of Health will submit to the Government for approval the vaccination plan, based on the World Health Organization (WHO) recommendations and relevant legal regulations on infectious disease prevention. Priority will be givent to epidemic-hit and high-risk areas, front-line people in fighting the epidemic such as health workers, soldiers, and police officers who work at quarantine zones.

For the vaccines provided by COVAX, the WHO has set a priority for vaccination: frontline health workers, followed by vulnerable groups such as the elderly with underlying conditions.

The WHO Vietnam Office is assisting the Ministry of Health to develop a national Covid-19 vaccination plan to send to COVAX.

Vietnam to produce own vaccine by end of 2021

Deputy Minister Thuan said that in parallel with purchasing foreign vaccines, Vietnam is accelerating research and production of vaccines in the country at Nanogen, IVAC and Vabiotech.

Nanogen has completed the first phase of the clinical trial for Nanocovax vaccine, and is expected to start the second phase trial at the Military Medical Academy and the HCM City Pasteur Institute on 560 volunteers.

IVAC and Vabiotech have announced the recruitment of volunteers and planned to start the first phase of clinical trial in early March.

"In case of emergency, the Ministry of Health will minimize the process on the basis of ensuring safety, how to get the fastest results," Deputy Minister Thuan said.

To prepare for the third phase trial of Nanocovax vaccine, the Ministry of Health has discussed with the embassies of India, Indonesia, Bangladesh ... for the trial of the vaccine in these countries to ensure safety and scientific basis.

"If the test goes smoothly and it proves effective, it is expected that by the end of this year, we can have the first vaccine Covid-19 produced by Vietnam," Deputy Minister Thuan said.

Dr. Nguyen Ngo Quang, Deputy Director of Department of Science, Technology and Training of the Ministry of Health, reported to Deputy Prime Minister Vu Duc Dam at a meeting last Friday that during the first phase of trial, Nanocovax vaccine was safe and has no adverse effects.

The vaccine provides very good immunogenicity, but there are differences between the doses of 25mcg, 50mcg and 75mcg. There is no official comparison data yet as the time is short and the number of samples is small.

Quang said that in the second phase, with the participation of the Ho Chi Minh City Pasteur Institute, the trial period can be shortened to three months instead of six months as originally planned.

So far, the number of volunteers registered for the second phase has reached nearly 1,000 people. Standards for choosing volunteers in phase 2 are relaxed, including people over 65 years old, people with chronic diseases such as diabetes, hypertension...

If the first injection is given at the beginning of this week, the second injection for phase 2 will be completed at the end of March, and the evaluation results will be available at the end of April. If the research data meets the requirements for safety and immunogenicity, testing in phase 3 may start in mid-May 2021 on 10,000-30,000 people.

In phase 3, the decision to immediately vaccinate Vietnamese people in high-risk groups such as anti-epidemic forces, airport staff, flight attendants... will be made by the Ethics Council, based on the results of clinical trial phase 2.

Nanogen is capable of producing 70 million doses of Covid-19 vaccine a year, while IVAC can produce 30 million doses per year.

Since early 2020, when the Covid-19 epidemic broke out, large corporations in Vietnam such as Vingroup, Sun Group, T&T, and IPPG have donated hundreds of billions of VND for epidemic prevention. They also have donations to make ventilators, and research and manufacture vaccines in the country. Local groups are ready to support the Governments call for their contributions to buy vaccines. Many foreign-invested companies have also expressed their desire to contribute to the Covid-19 vaccination program in Vietnam. Suntory PepsiCo, URC, LaVie, Nestle and others said that they are willing to fund all of their employees and their families to be vaccinated. This will contribute to repelling the Covid-19 epidemic, and bringing life back to a normal state, thereby ensuring the development of production and business activities. Tran Thuy

Thuy Hanh
WASHINGTON, Feb. 22, 2021 /PRNewswire/ -- U.S. Representative David Trone (D-Md.), along with Reps. Guy Reschenthaler (R-Pa.), Teresa Leger Fernandez (D-N.M.), and David McKinley (R-W.V.), has introduced the bipartisan Opioid Patients' Right to Know Act to help prevent opioid addiction across the country that is based on the success of the New Jersey Patient Notification Act.

The New Jersey law, authored and passed in New Jersey in 2017 and since replicated in 18 states, requires prescribers to notify patients or their parents and guardians about the addictive nature of opioids, as well as non-opioid alternatives available, prior to prescribing an opioid.

"Every American has the right to be warned about the highly addictive qualities of opioids  and made aware of effective non-opioid pain relief alternatives  especially right before an opioid is prescribed," said Elaine Pozycki, the Chair of the Partnership for a Drug-Free New Jersey (PDFNJ) and Founder of Prevent Opioid Abuse, a national organization working to educate patients and parents about the risks of opioid-based pain relievers and the availability of non-opioid alternatives. "The Opioid Patients' Right to Know Act provides a proven prevention measure, and I urge Congress to move speedily to adopt it."

The Opioid Patients' Right to Know Act would create a grant program to incentivize states to require prescribers to discuss the addictive qualities of the drugs with patients and inform them of alternative treatment options before prescribing them for acute pain.

The New Jersey Patient Notification Act has had a profound impact on the state's fight against the opioid epidemic, according to a study of the law commissioned by PDFNJ and conducted by Dr. Andrew Kolodny, Medical Director of Opioid Policy Research at Brandeis University's Heller School for Social Policy and Management.

The study's promising results found that prior to the enactment of the law only 18 percent of the participants warned patients about the risk of opioid addiction when prescribing opioids. Following the law's passage, 95 percent routinely warned patients about the risk of addiction.

"These findings show that very few opioid prescribers were warning patients about the risk of addiction before New Jersey required them to do so, and since the law was enacted, the results speak for themselves," Kolodny said. "It is much easier to prevent opioid use disorder in the first place than it is to treat it. One of the best ways to do this is by making sure prescribers, patients and parents understand how highly addictive opioids are before a first prescription is ever written or filled. This legislation will save lives."

New Jersey State Senator Joseph Vitale (D-Middlesex), prime sponsor of the New Jersey law, is encouraged by the introduction of the Opioid Patients' Right to Know Act.

"I am proud that what we have done in New Jersey to prevent opioid dependency and addiction can serve as a model for the country," he said. "We must continue to support and improve access to prevention, treatment, education and recovery efforts for patients, parents, and families from the very first point of contact, oftentimes with a physician, so we can reverse the rapid trend of opioid-related addiction and deaths. We have a shared responsibility to take action."

"Opioid addiction is on the rise, made even worse by the COVID-19 pandemic, and we need to take steps to prevent it from happening in the first place," said Trone, the bill's sponsor and a member of the Commission to Combat Synthetic Opioid Trafficking . "This bill will help ensure that patients have the knowledge to make informed decisions about what treatment option is right for them."

National organizations supporting the Opioid Patients' Right to Know Act include: Prevent Opioid Abuse (POA), Collaborative for Effective Prescription Opioid Policies (CEPOP), Mothers Against Prescription Drug Abuse (MAPDA), Partnership to End Addiction, Shatterproof, Addiction Policy Forum, FED UP!, Physicians for Responsible Opioid Prescribing (PROP), and Voices for Non-Opioid Choices.

To read bill text, click here .

To read a bill summary, click here .

SOURCE Partnership for a Drug-Free New Jersey

Mayfield Police Arrest Three On Various Charges

By West Kentucky Star Staff

According to the Mayfield Police Department, officers were assisting a motorist in the roadway when a second vehicle approached their location. Police said there was a strong odor of marijuana coming from the second vehicle, so an officer ordered them to pull over.



Marijuana and two firearms were reportedly found inside the second vehicle. All three men inside the vehicle were arrested.

MAYFIELD - Three Mayfield men were arrested Friday following a traffic stop.

Thirty-six-year-old James Siddell had an active warrant. He's charged with possession of marijuana, possession of drug paraphernalia, tampering with physical evidence and violation of conditions of release.

Twenty-year-old Damion Siddell also had an active warrant. He's charged with tampering with physical evidence, burglary, criminal mischief, fleeing or evading police, wanton endangerment, disregarding a stop sign and speeding.



Twenty-six-year-old Richard Tyler is charged with disregarding signals from officers directing traffic, license to be in possession, tampering with physical evidence and possession of marijuana.



All three were lodged in the Graves County Jail.

President Joe Biden departs after attending Mass at Holy Trinity Catholic Church in the Georgetown neighborhood of Washington on Feb. 20, 2021. (Patrick Semansky/AP Photo)

Biden to Hold Moment of Silence for 500,000 US COVID-19 Deaths

President Joe Biden on Monday will hold a moment of silence for the 500,000 Americans that are said to have died with COVID-19.

A running tally of people in the United States dying with the disease was near 499,000 as of Monday morning. Official data from the U.S. government, which lags behind, says that there have been just under 466,961 deaths involving COVID-19 as of Feb. 13.

Biden in the evening will deliver remarks on the lives lost to COVID-19, according to the White House.

Afterwards, he, First Lady Jill Biden, and Vice President Kamala Harris and her husband, will hold a moment of silence and candle lighting ceremony at sundown in the South Portico.

The 500,000 mark will come about a month after the death toll hit 400,000.

Bidens pick to head the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, who was later confirmed, said Jan. 17 that the United States would see over 100,000 COVID-19 deaths in the month ahead.

By the middle of February, we expect half a million deaths in this country, Dr. Rochelle Walensky said, in a projection that proved to be accurate.

That doesnt speak to the tens of thousands of people who are living with a yet uncharacterized syndrome after theyve recovered. And we still yet havent seen the ramifications of what happened from the holiday travel, from holiday gathering, in terms of high rates of hospitalizations and the deaths thereafter. So, yes, I think we still have some dark weeks ahead.

Biden administration officials have urged Americans to keep wearing masks and social distancing as the death toll rises, even as over 43 million people have received a COVID-19 vaccine, with nearly 19 million getting two shots. Theyve also offered glimmers of hope. Biden said last week he thinks the United States will be approaching normalcy by Christmas, though a top adviser said Sunday masks may still need to be worn into 2022.

(L-R) Douglas Emhoff, Vice President-elect Kamala Harris, Jill Biden and President-elect Joe Biden look down the National Mall as lamps are lit to honor the nearly 400,000 American victims of the COVID-19 pandemic, at the Lincoln Memorial Reflecting Pool in Washington on Jan. 19, 2021. (Chip Somodevilla/Getty Images)

Biden, Harris, and their spouses held a similar ceremony for COVID-19 victims at the Lincoln Memorial on Jan. 19, the day before Biden and Harris were sworn into office.

After being inaugurated, Biden signed an executive order mandating people wear masks in federal buildings and on federal lands.

Biden was seen maskless at the memorial.

Biden broke his future rule because he was celebrating an evening of a historic day in our country, White House press secretary Jen Psaki previously said.

Biden spent Saturday visiting the late Sen. Bob Dole (R-Kan.) before going to church and getting updates from national security advisers and other members of his administration. Biden told reporters that Dole was doing well.

Biden didnt speak to reporters on Sunday.

Biden is slated to hold a virtual bilateral meeting with Canadian Prime Minister Justin Trudeau on Tuesday, about a week after Harris met with Trudeau. Bidens schedule this week also includes a virtual discussion with essential workers and virtual remarks to the National Governors Association, as he continues to primarily stay in Washington amid the COVID-19 pandemic.

A new proposed Tennessee Bill grants biological fathers to prevent an abortion of unwanted babies, overruling the mother's intentions to have the baby aborted.

Two Tennessee lawmakers have proposed a bill that allows biological fathers to hinder a pregnant woman from aborting their unborn babies. If the bill is passed, it will take effect on July 1 this year.

Sponsored by Republican Senator Mark Pody and Republican Representative Jerry Sexton, the Senate Bill 494/HB1079 would "give a man who gets a woman pregnant the veto power to an abortion by petitioning a court for an injunction against the procedure," USA Today reported.

The SB494/HB1079 also "requires the petitioner to execute a voluntary acknowledgement of paternity that is not subject to being rescinded or challenged."

The move to pass this law comes after Tennessee lawmakers passed restrictive abortion laws in 2020, which was met with legal challenges from abortion rights groups.

Sen. Pody was concerned that under the current abortion laws, the biological fathers have little to no control over the woman's decision to abort unwanted babies. He said, "I believe a father should have a right to say what's gonna be happening to that child. And if somebody is going to kill that child, he should be able to say, 'No, I don't want that child to be killed. I want to able to raise that child and love that child.'"

According to The Blaze, the Tennessee bill will not require the father to "provide DNA evidence to prove that the petitioner is the biological father of the respondent's unborn child."

Sen. Pody explained that under the new bill, no DNA evidence is required if the pregnant woman acknowledges the petitioner's fatherhood. He also explained that under the law, the man who claims fatherhood will be responsible for child support and other parental obligations and "under any circumstance" cannot rescind or challenge the paternity of the child after the baby's birth.

The bill, which makes an exception for mothers whose lives are in medical danger, does not indicate any exception for cases when the child was conceived as a result of rape or incest, unlike other restrictive abortion laws.

The proposed Tennessee bill that gives biological fathers the power to stop women from aborting unwanted babies has immediately drawn criticism from abortion rights advocates, including the American Civil Liberties Union of Tennessee. ACLU Tennessee Executive Director Hedy Weinberg called the proposed bill an "unconstitutional legislation" born out of a "condescending mindset" that believes "men should control women's bodies."

Sen. Pody's proposed Tennessee bill that gives biological fathers the power to stop women from aborting unwanted babies was passed on second consideration on February 11 and has already been referred to the Senate Judiciary Committee. Rep. Jerry Sexton sponsored the Tennessee bill in the House of Representatives, where it passed first consideration. In July 2020, Republican Tennessee Governor Bill Lee signed a heartbeat bill into law that prevents abortions to be carried out once a heartbeat has been detected.

Gov. Lee said during the 2021 State of the State address that his state is "one of the most pro-life states in America" and that he is committed to protect unborn children, "the most vulnerable in our community." He retiterated, "I am strongly pro-life, and I will continue to defend this position."
BEIJING - China's top diplomat called Monday for new U.S. President Joe Bidens administration to lift restrictions on trade and people-to-people contacts while ceasing what Beijing considers unwarranted interference in the areas of Taiwan, Hong Kong, Xinjiang and Tibet.

Chinese Foreign Minister Wang Yi delivers his opening remarks at the Lanting Forum on bringing China-U.S. relations back to the right track, at the Ministry of Foreign Affairs office in Beijing on Monday, Feb. 22, 2021. Wang called on the U.S. Monday to lift restrictions on trade and people-to-people contacts while ceasing what Beijing considers unwarranted interference in the areas of Taiwan, Hong Kong, Xinjiang and Tibet. (AP Photo/Andy Wong)

BEIJING - China's top diplomat called Monday for new U.S. President Joe Bidens administration to lift restrictions on trade and people-to-people contacts while ceasing what Beijing considers unwarranted interference in the areas of Taiwan, Hong Kong, Xinjiang and Tibet.

Foreign Minister Wang Yi's comments at a Foreign Ministry forum on U.S.-China relations come as Beijing presses the new administration in Washington to drop many of the confrontational measures adopted by former President Donald Trump.

Trump hiked tariffs on Chinese imports in 2017 and imposed bans and other restrictions on Chinese tech companies and academic exchanges as he sought to address concerns about an imbalance in trade and accusations of Chinese theft of American technology.

Trump also upgraded military and diplomatic ties with Taiwan, the self-governing island democracy claimed by China as its own territory, while sanctioning Chinese officials blamed for abuses against Muslim minorities in Xinjiang and a crackdown on freedoms in Hong Kong.

We know that the new U.S. administration is reviewing and assessing its foreign policy," Wang told diplomats, scholars and journalists at the Lanting Forum. "We hope that the U.S. policy makers will keep pace with the times, see clearly the trend of the world, abandon biases, give up unwarranted suspicions and move to bring the China policy back to reason to ensure a healthy, steady development of China-U.S. relations."

While Biden has pledged reengagement and a more civil tone in U.S. diplomacy, its unclear whether he will make any fundamental changes in Washingtons policies toward Beijing. China faces more opposition than ever in Washington due to its trade record, territorial disputes with neighbours, and accusations of technology theft and spying. Taiwan enjoys strong bipartisan support, as do criticisms of Chinas human rights record, especially on Hong Kong, Xinjiang and Tibet.

In his first address before a global audience Friday, Biden said the U.S. and its allies must prepare together for a long-term strategic competition with China."

Competition with China is going to be stiff. Thats what I expect, and thats what I welcome, because I believe in the global system Europe and the United States, together with our allies in the Indo-Pacific, worked so hard to build over the last 70 years," the president said in remarks delivered virtually to the annual Munich Security Conference.

Asked about Biden's comments, Chinese Foreign Ministry spokesperson Wang Wenbin said Monday that China is willing to continue to work with all parties to uphold the principle of openness and inclusiveness."

As is standard in Chinese foreign policy, Wang put the onus for improving relations squarely on the shoulders of the U.S. and offered no direct proposals for major breakthroughs, even while encouraging increased dialogue.

Wang said China has no intention to challenge or replace the United States" and is ready to peacefully coexist and seek common development.

Wang urged the U.S. to stop smearing" the reputation of China's ruling Communist Party and to stop conniving at or even supporting the erroneous words and actions of separatist forces for Taiwan independence and stop undermining China's sovereignty and security on internal affairs concerning Hong Kong, Xinjiang and Tibet."

He said the U.S. should reactivate all levels of dialogue that he said the U.S. had effectively halted under the Trump administration, and boost co-operation on major bilateral and international issues. The COVID-19 pandemic, climate change and the global economic recovery are the three biggest issues on which the sides can co-operate, he said.

On trade, Wang said China would defend the rights of U.S. companies while hoping the U.S. would adjust its policies as soon as possible, among others, remove unreasonable tariffs on Chinese goods, lift its unilateral sanctions on Chinese companies and research and educational institutes and abandon irrational suppression of China's technological progress."

The U.S. should also lift restrictions on media, educational and people-to-people exchanges to reverse sharp declines in numbers of Chinese studying in the U.S. and visits by Chinese for tourism or business, Wang said.

I hope that the two sides will work together to steer the giant ship of China-U.S. relations back to the course of sound development toward a bright future with boundless prospects," he said.

While the tone taken toward the U.S. by high-ranking diplomats such as Wang, senior foreign policy adviser Yang Jiechi and President Xi Jinping himself appears more positive than under Trump, China's Foreign Ministry spokespeople have remained frequently combative.

At a briefing on Friday, spokesperson Hua Chunying contrasted the freak winter weather striking Texas with the robust social and economic interactions seen in China over the just-passed Lunar New Year holiday, without offering any sympathies.

All this has given us a deeper understanding of what human rights truly mean and how to better protect them," Hua said. We are more convinced that we are on the right path and have every confidence in the future."
Earlier, Health Minister Maksym Stepanov announced that the first batch of 500,000 doses of the vaccine was already being transported from India to Ukraine.

Ukrainian Deputy Health Minister Svitlana Shatalova has said Ukraine is expecting the arrival of the first batch of AstraZeneca COVID-19 vaccine any day now.

"Any day now, the first batch of COVID-19 vaccine is expected to be delivered to Ukraine. Let me remind you that drugs from AstraZeneca have already arrived at their destination and are currently on a direct route to Ukraine. Vaccination will be launched according to the approved schedule," Shatalova told an online briefing on February 22.

Read alsoUkraine strikes deal for supply of 500,000 doses of Indian COVISHIELD vaccineCorona vaccination for Ukraine: Background

On February 21, Ukrainian Health Minister Maksym Stepanov announced that the first batch of 500,000 doses of the AstraZeneca vaccine was already being transported from India to Ukraine.

The batch, he said, was currently being transported to Mumbai from where it would be picked up by a cargo plane to be delivered to Ukraine, with a stopover in Istanbul, Turkey.

Reporting by UNIAN

On Feb. 15, the World Trade Organization (WTO) finally appointed a new director-general. This handover will help the WTO resume its functions as soon as possible and play a greater role in global efforts to fight the pandemic and repair the economy, among other things. More importantly, the WTO is now faced with a rare opportunity for reform. All WTO members, including China, share an expectation that the current state of bilateral trade war will be restored to a multilateral system for trade dispute arbitration so that the authority and efficacy of multilateral trade is protected and strengthened.

The global economy is still hurting from the Covid-19 pandemic, which has yet to be completely controlled, presenting multilateral trade with immense challenges. Such times cry out for the WTO to step up and lead. Yet, there are major member states that hold dissenting opinions on WTO reform, effectively tying the organizations hands. Unilateral and protectionist ideologies are flaring up around the world, forming a destructive feedback loop with the WTOs inaction on major issues. As trade wars are intensifying, the WTO stands aside and watches.

Under the Trump administration, the U.S. successively blocked adjudicator appointments to the Appellate Body of the World Trade Organization, leaving the Appellate Body in a state of paralysis from late 2019. Meanwhile, director-general candidate Ngozi Okonjo-Iweala would have won unanimous support much earlier but for the intervention of the Trump administration. It wasnt until Joe Biden took office that the dispute over the appointment was finally resolved.

The widely favored new director-general now faces serious challenges. Since assuming office, Okonjo-Iweala has put forward three priorities: combating Covid-19, reforming the WTO dispute settlement mechanism, and improving the WTOs work processes. None of these tasks will be easy, especially considering action on the latter two will require consensus among all WTO members. The most urgent priority is getting the WTO its teeth back  accelerating Appellate Body adjudicator selections and appointments by the principle of full consensus. It wont be easy, but theres no other way.

The WTO has been the cornerstone of the global trade system since the conclusion of World War II, but its principle of consensus has hampered its efficiency. The organization is largely incapable of balancing the complex interests of developed and developing countries. After the fruitless Doha Development Round, fundamental and comprehensive reforms of the WTO were stalled.

Meanwhile, the launch of higher-standard trade systems such as the Comprehensive and Progressive Agreement for Trans-Pacific Partnership (CPTPP) has put the WTO in an awkward marginalized position. Some have even claimed that the WTO is dead. No one is giving ground, competitors are turning into enemies, and the WTO has been left to fade into the sunset. Calls for WTO reform are gradually gaining traction.

Although the need for reform is indeed urgent, haste must not lead to waste. If reforms fail to respond to the major issues of our times, it will inevitably spell the end for the WTO. Its dilemma, however, is more a sign of severe turbulence in the global economic and trade landscape, where the WTO often becomes a battle arena for major powers. Holding aside differences and engaging in sincere cooperation is easier said than done.

It can be seen, however, that in recent years, the WTO has been pushing to formulate rules for the specific fields within its reach, for instance, signing and executing the Trade Facilitation Agreement, concluding negotiations on the expansion of the Information Technology Agreement, and keeping multilateral negotiations going in such areas as e-commerce. These are all gratifying fruits of the existing WTO framework. But the world will pay more attention to major WTO reforms regarding, for example, Special and Differential Treatment (SDT) of developing countries or the market economy status. Any major reform will entail a long process, requiring rational expectations from both WTO members and the public.

The best bet for all member states is to advance WTO reforms in a constructive way, gradually establishing rules and systems rather than brashly setting off alone or withdrawing from organizations and treaties. The WTO has been presented with a golden opportunity: theres a new director-general in office, a U.S. president who is clearly more open to multilateralism and international cooperation than his predecessor, a growing consensus in support of reform. The WTO should seize this valuable chance to push reform forward and make itself the backbone organization supporting the next round of globalization.

As an important member state and the worlds second-largest economy, China would do well to follow a three benefits principle when it comes to proposed reform: Does it support Chinas high-quality economic development? Does it help put economic globalization back on track? Is it conducive to the formation of the new global order characterized by the growing strength of emerging economies?

Bearing these questions in mind, China should respond in both word and deed, putting forth feasible and constructive solutions. At the same time, China will firmly oppose certain countries attempts to use the WTO as a means to isolate and contain China. Actually, China does not hold any rigid positions. In terms of SDT of developing countries, China maintains its position as the worlds largest developing country, but enjoys little SDT in light of the nations comprehensive rise. China has stressed that it will not be pursuing flexibility it does not need, demonstrating a pragmatic and responsible attitude.

The most important thing for China now is to speed up the pace of domestic reform and opening up to align with the higher standards of the international system of trade regulation. In recent years, China has redoubled its liberalization efforts, especially in finance. In 2020, amid the raging Covid-19 pandemic, China continued to make notable breakthroughs in opening up. It signed the Regional Comprehensive Economic Partnership (RCEP), concluded negotiations on the China-EU Comprehensive Agreement on Investment (CAI), and declared it is actively considering joining the CPTPP.

The deepening of WTO reform dovetails with Chinas long-term reform and opening up goals. For everything from industrial subsidies and state-owned enterprise reform to intellectual property rights, China both can and should establish higher labor and environmental protection standards geared toward best international practices.

This year marks the 20th anniversary of Chinas accession to the WTO. Chinas WTO membership has been key to its economic take-off in the new century. The future of the WTO depends on a consensus among major world powers, particularly China and the U.S. The two countries need to bridge their disagreements and actively participate in WTO reform by dialogue and negotiation. This is not only in the interests of both countries; it will also bring benefits to the entire global governance system and enhance the well-being of people worldwide. It is what a responsible power would do.

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SPRING ARBOR, MI -- Spring Arbor University invites the community to virtually watch a film on conversation about race in America as part of its Black History Month events.

The film, American Neighbor: A Courageous Conversation about Race in America, is available to watch from 7 to 9 p.m. Thursday, Feb. 25. Hosted by Simon Greer and Kevin Brown, Spring Arbor Universitys chief diversity officer, the event is sponsored by the universitys Office for Institutional Diversity and Office of Intercultural Relations.

Discuss Black history and culture at these Jackson-area Black History Month events

The film captures the journey of a group that travels down the Mississippi River, stopping in nine cities for conversations about race in America.

Once the film is over, a discussion will explore how someone can engage and have an impact on their community.

Click here to register for the virtual viewing.

Read more:

Artifacts being revealed as part of Black History Month celebration in Jackson

Flint students virtually tour historically Black colleges and universities for Black History Month

Black History Month 2021 events planned for the Grand Rapids area
A 62-year-old Pennsylvania man was arrested last week over claims he called U.S. Rep. Katherine Clarks district office in Malden and threatened the lives of her and one of her staffers, according to federal authorities.

Harry E. Miller was indicted by a federal grand jury in Pittsburgh on three counts of sending threatening communications in interstate commerce in connection with threats made to Clarks office as well as the office of U.S. Sen. Richard Burr of North Carolina, U.S. Attorney Scott W. Bradys office announced in a statement last Friday.

Authorities claimed Miller, who lives in Ross Township, a suburb of Pittsburgh, called Clarks Malden office from Pennsylvania on or around Aug. 19, 2019. The man is accused of saying he was willing to abolish government by spilling blood by taking out four to five democrats, including Clark.

Miller is also accused of threatening to start shooting Black people to keep them in line and calling the congressional staffer on the line an [expletive] who will die in his forthcoming civil war, according to the U.S. Attorneys Office.

Threatening to injure members of Congress is a crime, not protected-speech, said Brady said in his offices statement. As the events of the past year show, there are individuals intent on harming our public servants and law enforcement. We will vigorously and proactively investigate, disrupt and prosecute those individuals when they violate federal law.

Prosecutors claimed several months later, on or around Jan. 7, 2020, Miller called Burrs office in Washington, D.C. and said he was going to put a bullet in the senators head.

The man, authorities said, made another call to Burrs office the same day that was transferred to an individual in Tennessee. During the call, Miller is accused of saying that if he traveled to D.C., he would be willing to shoot four or five senators in the head, noting his statement was not a threat but a promise.

The threats alleged in this indictment were aimed at sitting lawmakers and crossed a line, said FBI Pittsburgh Special Agent in Charge Michael Christman. The First Amendment does not give people the right to threaten anyone. Rest assured the FBI takes all threats seriously and will stop at nothing to let those who threaten violence know what the inside of a jail cell looks like.

Miller appeared in U.S. District Court on Friday before Chief Magistrate Judge Cynthia Reed Eddy, who released him on a $25,000 unsecured bond, according to the U.S. Attorneys Office.

The Federal Bureau of Investigation and United States Capitol Police led the investigation that resulted in Millers indictment, authorities noted.

The mission of the United States Capitol Police is to protect the Congress, the U.S. Capitol, and all who work and visit here. We take all threats against Members of Congress very seriously and investigate them fully, said Yogananda D. Pittman, acting chief of the U.S. Capitol Police.
Burma China Warns West Over Myanmar Coup, Interference

Anti-Myanmar military regime protesters have gathered in front of the Chinese Embassy in Yangon every day since mid-February. / The Irrawaddy

Beijing mouthpiece Global Times warned Western countries and other US allies in the region, including Washingtons Quad partners India, Australia and Japan, not to treat Myanmar as their pawn in a geopolitical rivalry, saying it would not do the country good, but risked dragging it further down into the abyss.

The paper said that some hostile forcesboth in and outside of Myanmarare deliberately making use of this opportunity to spread rumors against China and stoke hatred to distance Myanmar from China, Myanmars largest trading partner and close neighbor.

There have been daily protests in front of the Chinese Embassy in Yangon since the military staged a coup and overthrew the elected government in Myanmar.

Chen Hai, Chinas ambassador to Myanmar, said earlier that the current situation in the country is absolutely not what China wants to see, amid growing anger toward Beijing among Myanmar people due to its perceived support for the military regime.

China has described the Myanmar militarys takeoverinternationally condemned as a coupas a major cabinet reshuffle and along with Russia blocked a recent effort by the UN Security Council to condemn the coup.

Responding to accusations that China is sending technicians to help the military build an internet firewall, Chen said that these are completely nonsense and even ridiculous accusations.

Chinese aircraft arriving in Yangon are making routine cargo flights carrying seafood and other export goods, he said, referring to rumors on social media that China has been flying in IT experts tasked with building the firewall for the military regime.

Last week, a Myanmar military spokesperson rejected the accusation that it was accepting help from China, claiming the military has enough experts of its own should it decide to build an internet firewall.

Global Times said Western forces are making use of the current sentiment in Myanmar to spread rumors through Hong Kong secessionists and local NGOs, while inside Myanmar, misunderstandings among some people toward China are being manipulated by radical groups.

Crowds of protesters have gathered daily in front of the Chinese, Russian and US embassies. This week, several dozen young people held a protest in front of the Singapore Embassy. Singapore Foreign Minister Vivian Balakrishnan said the bloc can play a discreet, constructive role in facilitating a return to normalcy and stability in Myanmar, but he also reiterated ASEANs non-interference policy.

In front of the Chinese Embassy, one placard held up by a protester read: China!!! Please support Myanmar people but not junta. In front of the US Embassy, protesters held up signs calling for intervention: We need the US army.

Many placards appear well made and carry well-written messages in English.

Global Times cited several Chinese scholars as saying that civil society groups in Myanmar accepted funding and training from the West and said, It is not a secret.

US foundations provide money to Myanmar domestic organizations  maybe $100,000 or $200,000 each time, said a scholar from Myanmar who preferred to remain anonymous, Global Times reported. Two weeks ago in the Global Times a Chinese scholar said the US may also adopt a color revolution approach to Myanmar, but the scholar did not elaborate further.

In retrospect, a pattern can be seen whereby Chinese companies investing in Myanmar have bought local media and advertising space to promote Chinese propaganda. China also provides arms and logistic support to ethnic rebel forces along the China-Myanmar border.

China is the second-largest investor in the country after Singapore.

You may also like these stories:

Millions Expected to Join General Strike in Myanmar on Monday to Oppose Regime

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Monday, February 22, 2021

Sergio Arcacha Smith, an anti-Castro Cuban, was sent to New Orleans from Miami as a delegate to the Cuban Democratic Revolutionary Front. In the 1950s, he had been a Consul for Cuba in Madrid, Rome, Mexico City and Bombay (now Mumbai).

New Orleans States-Item, December 22, 1960

Arcacha then started the Crusade to Free Cuba (New Orleans States-Item of December 1, 1961).

For the last three months in 1961, he had an office at 544 Camp Street in New Orleans. Here is an excerpt from the statement of Sam Newman (who owned the building) to Garrison on January 18, 1967:

Arcacha Smith left New Orleans in 1962 after being suspected of stealing money from the organization. He moved to Miami, and then Houston (where he sold advertising), and ultimately settled in Dallas, where he was selling air conditioners.

He was not in Dallas then JFK was assassinated.

Here is a letter form his employer in Dallas.

However, Arcacha Smith was a person of interest to Jim Garrison who suspected a connection with Lee Harvey Oswald. After all, a few of Oswald's pro-Castro pamphlets (from the Fair Play for Cuba Committee) handed out in August 1963, bore the same address, 544 Camp Street, that Arcacha's organization had back in 1962. And Garrison had two witnesses, Jack Martin and David Lewis, who had seen Oswald and Arcacha together in 1963 at Mancuso's restaurant at the corner of the building.

There were two problems with that theory - first, Martin and Lewis were crackpots, and second, as we have shown above, Arcacha had left New Orleans and was living elsewhere.

This hasn't stopped conspiracy theorists from believing that Arcacha was involved in the assassination. James DiEugenio, in an essay entitled "Rose Cheramie: How She Predicted the JFK Assassination," makes the case that "Arcacha's involvement [in the assassination] was likely operational" (page 237 in The Assassinations, edited by James DiEugenio and Lisa Pease).

Here is his evidence (page 235):

My head hurts from reading that paragraph - all sourced from other conspiracy books - but, as DiEugenio says, "If this is true, it provides a nexus point between Dallas and New Orleans, not just for the Cheramie story, but also for the assassination itself."

What is the evidence that "Smith got into the lucrative drug and prostitution business that ran interstate from Miami to Dallas"?

But, given his involvement in drugs and prostitution, it would have been "natural" for Smith to hook up with Jack Ruby, right?

As they in the television ads, but wait, there's more!

Emilio Santana was a burglar in New Orleans who was of interest to Garrison because he was friends with Miguel Torres, his partner in crime. Torres was of interest because he once had dinner with Sergio Arcacha Smith - and well, propinquity comes into play.

Here is an excerpt of Garrison's first memo on propinquity dated February 10, 1967.

Garrison questioned Santana who told him he was a CIA agent.

Santana was not CIA. But, as DiEugenio tells the story, he moved to Miami. And in Miami lived Bernardo de Torres, who helped Garrison in the initial stages of his investigation. DiEugenio believes de Torres was an infiltrator, and that he "has pictures of Dealey Plaza in a safe deposit box. These pictures were taken during the assassination of JFK." DiEugenio says that quote comes from an HSCA report, but no further details are provided, and I cannot find that report.

DiEugenio has two more pieces of incriminating evidence against Arcacha Smith.

The first comes from Richard Case Nagell, who was a patient at the Medical Center for Federal Prisoners in Springfield Missouri. He told Garrison investigator that he had a secret tape. Here is an excerpt of William Martin's report to Jim Garrison (memo dated April 18, 1967):

That tape has never been found. But to DiEugenio, the fact that Nagell said Arcacha was part of the plot is enough to incriminate him. DiEugenio also believes that "Q" refers to Carlos Quiroga, another anti-Castro Cuban living in New Orleans.

The last piece of incriminating evidence comes from an HSCA interview of State of Louisiana police officer Francis Fruge. Here is an excerpt from his interview on April 7, 1978:

When I first read this, I thought well, clearly Fruge has no direct knowledge of any of this, he's just repeating a rumor. But, to DiEugenio this is important information (page 237):

So, there you have it - the sewer map, the never-ever-seen De Torres photos, and the never-before-heard Nagell tape, are all the evidence you need to incriminate Sergio Arcacha Smith in the assassination of JFK.

But wait, there's more.

Why are the maps of the Dallas sewer system important. It's because DiEugenio wants to support the Garrison theory that there was a shot from the sewer on Elm Street.
Slate has relationships with various online retailers. If you buy something through our links, Slate may earn an affiliate commission. We update links when possible, but note that deals can expire and all prices are subject to change. All prices were up to date at the time of publication.

This excerpt is adapted with permission from What Doesnt Kill You: A Life With Chronic Illness - Lessons From a Body in Revolt by Tessa Miller. Published by Henry Holt and Company. Copyright  2021 by Tessa Delheimer-Miller. All rights reserved.

I was eating dinner with Greg on a humid July night when I felt the first blister. Greg and I hadnt known each other long and were in the early days of dating. Wed met by chance weeks earlierjust after Id moved out of a shared apartment with a man I had been engaged to marry.

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I tend to touch my face a lot when I speaka nervous thingand at some point on this date with Greg, my fingers grazed my left cheek, tracing the bone to where it meets the jaw, just below the ear. I discovered a small, tender bump. It popped when I pressed it, leaving clear fluid on my fingertips. I felt another one just above my right eyebrow. Pop.

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The next day, hundreds of the little red blisters speckled my face, shoulder blades, chest, and groin. I snapped pictures of the spots and sent them to Greg and Mom: Holy shit.

They itched incessantly, but even worse, every red dot sent a sharp, shooting pain into the muscle and bone beneath it. Each bump felt deeply tethered to the layers of flesh below, like a plant to its roots. This was nerve pain, the emergency room doctor explained, a signature symptom of varicella zoster, the virus that causes chickenpox.

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Fucking chickenpox.

A week earlier, Id gone to a walk-in clinic for a urinary tract infection I couldnt kick and a child, 8 or 9 years old, in the waiting room had the rash. I jokingly sent a text to Greg: Theres a kid here with chickenpox. Knowing my luck, Ill get it! Well.

Usually, varicella is spread through close contact (i.e., the blisters themselves), but it can also spread via aira cough or sneeze from someone whos infectedor a contaminated surface. Its easy for people with compromised immune systems to catch, and dangerous. See, healthy immune systems not only try to protect you from getting sick in the first place, they also help fight off bugs when you do catch something. But when your immune system is actively suppressed, like mine, it cant protect you well from getting sick in the first place. I have Crohns, a chronic disease that causes my immune system to attack the digestive system. Crohns cannot be cured, but the symptomswhich range from bloody diarrhea to vomiting to intestinal blockagescan be kept at bay with regular infusions of a medicine that helps my immune system not attack my own body. The trouble is that when my immune system is supposed to fight an actual invader, it sputters but doesnt start. Chickenpox puts even healthy adults at risk for serious complications like pneumonia and meningitis, though for most, it remedies in a week to 10 days.

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I fought the goddamn chickenpox for almost three months. (Vaccinate your kids, people.)

The first couple of weeks were miserable. My fever stayed high and I was constantly itchy and sore. The antiviral medication valacyclovir (the same stuff used to treat herpeschickenpox, shingles, cold sores, and genital herpes are all related) made me queasy. As one patch of spots would crust, a new patch would pop up. Greg changed my cold washcloths and gently dabbed my spots with calamine lotion. He held me up to take sips of Gatorade. He even put the bedsheets in the freezer to help cool me down. I slept day and night, waking only to check my temperature and apply calamine lotion. (I later asked Greg why he took such round-the-clock care of me when we barely knew each other. Because I loved you, he said.)

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I blamed myself for getting the chickenpox. It all goes back to when I went to youth group at age 13. My mom and dad had recently split up and I was seeking somethingstability, probably, and rebellion against my nonreligious, occasionally Buddhist dad. My town was small, white, and conservative, which meant there was a church on every block. I chose the biggest, loudest one: the Baptist church. The Baptists were scriptural literalists who taught me a lot over the following years, such as: salvation is the sole way to heaven, virginity is a girls most prized possession, N SYNC is the devils music, girls should only hug boys sideways so the boys can avoid contact with those wicked breasts, Catholics are probably going to hell and Buddhists are definitely going to hell, gayness can be cured, man is the head of the church and the household, the Bible is the one book anyone needs to read (and really, only men need to read it), we have to pray for George W. Bush, and unborn babies are the Lords army and must be protected at all costs. In the church, girls and women were not complex beings. We were virgins or whores; the virgins grew up to be mild-mannered wives and mothers while the whores existed to lead men astray.

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I was almost glad that with the chickenpox, my punishment was visible, a kind of biblical plague of boils.

I was invested for about two yearslong enough to be baptized and go on a mission trip to the Bahamas where my only qualification was being whitebefore I snapped out of it. This brand of religion was and is toxic, hypocritical, and rooted in white supremacy, sexism, and homophobia. In return for my time with the church, I got a lot of free pizza and a good look at everything I never want to be as a human. But there are two things that have stuck with me from those years: one, an encyclopedia of hymns that pop into my head at completely inappropriate moments, like when my dog finally poops after sniffing 600 spots in 20-degree weather. Our God is an awe-some God / He reigns from Heaven above / With wisdom, power, and love / Our God is an awesome God! And, two, this idea that were punished for our sins. Though I had long abandoned allegiance to any higher power, I thought the chickenpox might be the universes karmic punishment for leaving my fiance and soon after falling in love with Greg. In a backward way, I was almost glad that with the chickenpox, my punishment was visible, a kind of biblical plague of boils. I realize this is an irrational line of thinking, but sometimes brains deal with things in illogical ways.

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Reality is less apocalyptic, if also a little harder to accept. I dont have much control over my body. I went to a walk-in clinic and wound up with chickenpox because I happened to be there at the same time as an unvaccinated kid. Que sera sera.

Around week three with the chickenpox, Greg found a spot on his stomach and another on his face. His mom, when he called her, couldnt remember if hed had the rash as a child. And since he was in his 20s by the time the chickenpox vaccine came around, he never got the shot. So, just a few weeks after meeting, we were both down with adult chickenpox. While Greg didnt get many spots, he was slammed with fever and aches for a week straight. But then, he felt better.

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I, meanwhile, had to be hospitalized. Each time I finished a course of antiviral meds, the rash came back in new patches. My immune system wasnt picking up the slack, so the infectious disease doctor recommended I be hospitalized and put on stronger IV antivirals. I was isolated, of course, and any staff that hadnt already had chickenpox had to be gloved, masked, and gowned to enter the room. I knew some of the nurses and other staff from my IBD-related stays, and they couldnt believe my bad luck. Youre too young to be so sick all the time, theyd say. Next to my bed was a giant air filter that sucked up the potentially pox-contaminated air and filtered it elsewhere; its loud hum helped me sleep. I spent a week there, eating pudding and watching the Rio Olympics, before the doctor cleared me to continue antiviral pills at home. Still, it took another several weeks of medication and a slow taper before I stopped sprouting new spots.

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I have chickenpox scars across my chest and shoulder blades that have faded into white, scattered stars. A deep, perfectly round one on my forehead pisses me off every time I catch it in the mirror because its a reminder that my world is smaller than it used to be, and that while Ive come to terms with my chronic illness, I will always be at risk. But sometimes good things are to be, too: Four months after I found that first pox blister, Greg asked me to marry him with a $200 ring in the parking lot of the Queens Center Mall. From the start, Greg has given me the gift of feeling safe.
An Emirates Airlines Boing 777 arrives from Brussels to deliver Pfizer-BioNTech COVID-19 coronavirus vaccines shipment at Dubai International Airport in Dubai, United Arab Emirates, early Sunday, Feb. 21, 2021. As the coronavirus pandemic continues to clobber the aviation industry, Emirates Airlines, the Middle East's biggest airline is seeking to play a vital role in the global vaccine delivery effort. (AP Photo/Kamran Jebreili)

The belly of the Emirates plane that touched down in Dubai early Sunday from Brussels was stuffed with precious cargo: tens of thousands of doses of the Pfizer-BioNTech vaccine.

The arrival was part of an effort by the Middle East's biggest airline to pivot from shuttling people to shipping cargoand grabbing a central role in the global vaccine delivery race.

As the coronavirus pandemic continues to clobber the aviation industry, the disaster has hit long-haul carriers like Emirates hardest. So the airline is ferrying around the very substance it hopes will get passengers back into its seats and revive the flagging travel sector.

Over the weekend, workers scurried around the tarmac at the Dubai International Airport, unloading several aluminum containers crammed with vaccine vials and dry ice into a vast florescent-lit cargo terminal. The key transit hub, previously used for the global shipment of pharmaceuticals, is now at the center of a growing vaccine supply network based in the United Arab Emirates. State-owned carrier Emirates already has delivered millions of doses to Latin America, South Africa and Egypt from major manufacturing hubs in India and elsewhere.

With 15,000 square meters (161,458 square feet) of refrigerated storage space, the sprawling facility can help maintain the required temperature controls for two of the leading COVID-19 vaccines that use the new vaccine technology messenger RNA, or mRNA. The Pfizer-BioNTech vaccine, reported as being 95% effective, must be preserved at the frigid temperature of negative 70 Celsius (minus 94 degrees Fahrenheit).

A Pfizer-BioNTech COVID-19 coronavirus vaccines shipment is offloaded from an Emirates Airlines Boing 777 arrived from Brussels at Dubai International Airport in Dubai, United Arab Emirates, early Sunday, Feb. 21, 2021. As the coronavirus pandemic continues to clobber the aviation industry, Emirates Airlines, the Middle East's biggest airline is seeking to play a vital role in the global vaccine delivery effort. (AP Photo/Kamran Jebreili)

On the one hand, the federation of seven emirates is accelerating efforts to import vaccines despite supply lags. The country, which boasts the world's second-fastest inoculation drive behind Israel, relies most on a vaccine made by state-backed Chinese firm Sinopharm. It also offers residents a variety of other choices, including Pfizer, Russia's Sputnik V and most recently AstraZeneca-Oxford University's jab made in India.

Emirates also is assembling a wide-ranging supply chain across the world, catering particularly to countries in Africa and the Middle East that lack the proper infrastructure to store and transport the shots. Vaccine inequality has become a growing concern as wealthy countries vacuum up the lion's share of doses, leaving poorer ones even farther behind in combating the public health and economic effects of the pandemic.

Earlier this month, Dubai's international port operator DP World and Emirates announced the creation of a "vaccine logistics alliance," which plans to move millions more doses around the world via the company's vast network of ports and Dubai's airport, a crucial east-west transit point.

A Pfizer-BioNTech COVID-19 coronavirus vaccine shipment is offloaded from an Emirates Airlines Boing 777 that arrived from Brussels to Dubai International Airport in Dubai, United Arab Emirates, early Sunday, Feb. 21, 2021. As the coronavirus pandemic continues to clobber the aviation industry, Emirates Airlines, the Middle East's biggest airline is seeking to play a vital role in the global vaccine delivery effort. (AP Photo/Kamran Jebreili)

A Pfizer-BioNTech COVID-19 coronavirus vaccines shipment is offloaded from an Emirates Airlines Boing 777 that arrived from Brussels at Dubai International Airport in Dubai, United Arab Emirates, early Sunday, Feb. 21, 2021. As the coronavirus pandemic continues to clobber the aviation industry, Emirates Airlines, the Middle East's biggest airline is seeking to play a vital role in the global vaccine delivery effort. (AP Photo/Kamran Jebreili)

A Pfizer-BioNTech COVID-19 coronavirus vaccine shipment is offloaded from an Emirates Airlines Boing 777 that arrived from Brussels to Dubai International Airport in Dubai, United Arab Emirates, early Sunday, Feb. 21, 2021. As the coronavirus pandemic continues to clobber the aviation industry, Emirates Airlines, the Middle East's biggest airline, is seeking to play a vital role in the global vaccine delivery effort. (AP Photo/Kamran Jebreili)

A shipment of Pfizer-BioNTech COVID-19 coronavirus vaccines is moved inside a temperature-controlled container after being offloaded from an Emirates Airlines Boing 777 that arrived from Brussels to Dubai International Airport in Dubai, United Arab Emirates, early Sunday, Feb. 21, 2021. As the coronavirus pandemic continues to clobber the aviation industry, Emirates Airlines, the Middle East's biggest airline, is seeking to play a vital role in the global vaccine delivery effort. (AP Photo/Kamran Jebreili)

A shipment of Pfizer-BioNTech COVID-19 coronavirus vaccines is offloaded from an Emirates Airlines Boing 777 that arrived from Brussels to Dubai International Airport in Dubai, United Arab Emirates, Saturday, Feb. 20, 2021. As the coronavirus pandemic continues to clobber the aviation industry, Emirates Airlines, the Middle East's biggest airline, is seeking to play a vital role in the global vaccine delivery effort. (AP Photo/Kamran Jebreili)

A shipment of Pfizer-BioNTech coronavirus vaccines is offloaded from an Emirates Airlines Boing 777 that arrived from Brussels to Dubai International Airport in Dubai, United Arab Emirates, Saturday, Feb. 20, 2021. As the coronavirus pandemic continues to clobber the aviation industry, Emirates Airlines, the Middle East's biggest airline, is seeking to play a vital role in the global vaccine delivery effort. (AP Photo/Kamran Jebreili)

A Pfizer-BioNTech COVID-19 coronavirus vaccine shipment is offloaded into a refrigerated storage space at Dubai International Airport cargo terminal, in Dubai, United Arab Emirates, early Sunday, Feb. 21, 2021. As the coronavirus pandemic continues to clobber the aviation industry, Emirates Airlines, the Middle East's biggest airline is seeking to play a vital role in the global vaccine delivery effort. (AP Photo/Kamran Jebreili)

A man checks a shipment of Pfizer-BioNTech COVID-19 coronavirus vaccines after being offloaded into refrigerated storage from an Emirates Airlines Boing 777 that arrived from Brussels to Dubai International Airport in Dubai, United Arab Emirates, Saturday, Feb. 20, 2021. As the coronavirus pandemic continues to clobber the aviation industry, Emirates Airlines, the Middle East's biggest airline, is seeking to play a vital role in the global vaccine delivery effort. (AP Photo/Kamran Jebreili)

"I think we're in a key strategic location to be able to deliver these vaccines to the developing countries that really can't get them," said Julian Sutch, commercial development manager at the Emirates cargo storage facility. "We know in the first world we'll be able to get a hold of these vaccines, but it's critical that everyone does."

The UAE's push comes as vaccine diplomacy gains traction around the world, with countries like China doling out doses as part of ambitious political and business efforts.

The oil-rich UAE, seeking to deepen its influence and draw positive headlines abroad, has delivered free Sinopharm shipments to Egypt, a key Arab ally, and the Indian Ocean island nation of the Seychelles. On Sunday, with the help of a Emirati-based rival to Palestinian President Mahmoud Abbas, 20,000 doses of the Sputnik V vaccine landed in the impoverished Gaza Strip from the UAE.

 2021 The Associated Press. All rights reserved. This material may not be published, broadcast, rewritten or redistributed without permission.
(Newser)  It hasn't been a good couple of years for Boeing, but the beleaguered airplane manufacturer had just started to turn things around, getting its Boeing 737 Max back up in US skies and trying to move on from the crisis surrounding that plane model. Now, a backslide after a United Airlines flight on Saturday suffered engine failure and rained debris down onto neighborhoods near Denver. The plight of Flight 328, which completed a safe emergency landing with no injuries in Denver after the right engine on the Boeing 777 caught fire, now has Boeing calling to ground all 777s with a certain type of engine, and for United to conduct inspections of all of its 777s with that engine, per the BBC and the AP. The issue involves 128 jets equipped with Pratt & Whitney 4000-112 engines, and that company is now sending its own team to work with investigators to find out what happened in the air over Denver.

story continues below

Initial inspections to Flight 328 indicate fractures and other damage to the engine's hollow fan blades, per the National Transportation Safety Board. United, the only US carrier using 777s with this type of engine, has pulled the aircraft out of service. The FAA says airlines in Japan and South Korea also fly 777s with this engine. The majority of 777s have GE Aviation engines, not Pratt & Whitney models, per the New York Times. Meanwhile, the Guardian reports another Boeing plane, the 747, is also drawing attention after engine parts fell from a Longtail Aviation cargo plane headed to New York soon after takeoff Saturday from the Maastricht airport. Small metal parts fell from the skies into the Dutch town of Meerssen, causing minor injuries to one person on the ground and damaging vehicles. That plane landed safely in Liege, Belgium, with witnesses saying they saw an engine on fire. (Read more Boeing stories.)
https://www.aish.com/jw/id/Arab-Nurse-Recites-Shema-to-Jewish-Patient-Dying-of-COVID.html

Ibrahim Mahir learned about the Jewish prayer at university. He recently used his knowledge to perform a meaningful act of kindness.

Ibrahim Mahir is a Muslim nurse who heads the corona ward at the Emek Medical Center near Afula, Israel.

Rabbi Shlomo Galster, an elderly patient under his care, endeared himself to Mahir and the other members of the staff with his kindly demeanor. Again and again, Gelaster would thank the doctors, nurses, and aides for their support and care. And he would shower blessings on them all.

The rabbi's condition deteriorated and the family was summoned from their hometown to bid him a final farewell. Mahir and the others hoped that the family would be there with him during his last moments, but they were caught in heavy traffic which held them back.

When it became apparent that the family was not likely to make it in time, Mahir undertook to fill the gap as best he could. Taking the Hebrew prayer book that was always next to the rabbis bed, he recited a final Shema Yisrael in the rabbi's ear during his final moments.

By the time Rabbi Shlomos family managed to reach Afula, it was too late. Mahir sensed their despair. He told the rabbis daughter, Meirav, what he had done.

I dont know whether its alright because Im Muslim, but I took his prayer book and said Shema with him before he died.

Meirav thanked him from depths of an anguished heart.

Even Prime Minister Binyamin Netanyahu called Ibrahim Mahir to salute his act of kindness.

After the shiva, the daughter contacted Mahir to tell him how it had comforted her to know that the last words her father heard in this world were those of the Jewish declaration of faith, Shema Yisroel.

How did Mahir know about Jewish prayers and rituals?

During an interview on Israeli radio, Mahir explained: I took two courses on Judaism when studying for my M.A. in Ben Gurion University. I dont know the whole prayer, but I know theres a prayer that Jews say towards the end of life  Shema Yisrael. So I stood by the head of his bed and said Shema Yisrael.

When Meirav phoned to thank him again, she assured Mahir that he had done the right thing.

She told me how it had comforted her during the traditional week of mourning following the death of a close relative, it warmed my heart.

Sometimes we on the staff are the last voices a patient hears, especially during the pandemic, with its closed wards. We need to be there for our patients, not only as caretakers, but even more so, as decent, compassionate human beings. Thats what is needed and thats what well continue doing.

When interviewed by Israels Reshet Beit, Meirav said, My father was an Orthodox Jew, a hassid of Chabad. He couldnt stop talking about the devoted care all the staff members provided, to everyone. He always used to say: Peace starts here.

The staff knew they were appreciated, and they responded in kind.
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The program for reconstruction and construction of regional airports in Ukraine will cover a total of 16 cities.

"The program for the development of regional airports, in particular in Uzhgorod, Chernivtsi, Poltava and a total of 16 cities in Ukraine [will be carried out]," President Volodymyr Zelensky said during a speech at the All-Ukrainian Forum "Ukraine 30. Infrastructure", an Ukrinform correspondent reports.

He reminded, in particular, that the reconstruction of an international airport in the city of Dnipro had recently begun, and that an international airport was planned to be built in Zakarpattia region - between Uzhgorod and Mukachevo.

The President also informed that a new civilian airport would be built in Donbas. "A location between Luhansk and Donetsk regions will be determined, and this year we will definitely start to design a new airport for these two regions," Zelensky said.

He added that the airport would be built to handle the civilians.

The Mariupol Airport currently cannot be used to provide air services in the region as it is dangerous, Zelensky noted.

As reported, this year it is planned to allocate UAH 2.4 billion from the state budget for the development of regional airports, of which UAH 1.4 billion will be spent on the construction of a new airfield in Dnipro city, UAH 1 billion - on the construction of airports in Rivne, Kherson and Vinnytsia cities. In addition, another UAH 30 million has been allocated for the design of a new airport in Zakarpattia region.

l
A batch of 20,000 doses of the Russian Sputnik V anti-coronavirus vaccine has been delivered from the United Arab Emirates to the Gaza Strip, the Asharq Al-Awsat newspaper reported on Sunday, TASS reports.

According to the local health authorities, a vaccination campaign among medical personnel and people with chronic diseases will kick off on Monday.

According to the newspaper, the vaccines reached the Gaza Strip via the Rafah checkpoint at the border with Egypt. It became possible thanks to the efforts of Mohammed Dahlan, a Palestinian politician and former Fatah leader in the Gaza who has been living in exile in the United Arab Emirates for many years. The delivery was sponsored by the UAE.

The first batch of 2,000 doses of the Sputnik V vaccine was delivered to the Gaza Strip from Ramallah on February 17. The delivery was initiated by Palestinian President Mahmoud Abbas and was transported via the Kerem Shalom crossing point at the border with Israel after approval of the Israeli side.
Cindy Crawford stepped out in the afternoon following her 55th birthday.

The supermodel was spotted taking a shared walk to pick up coffee in Miami with her daughter Kaia Gerber on Sunday.

The mother-daughter walk comes not long after the businesswoman posted a duo of photos to her Instagram account to commemorate her special day.

Stepping out: Cindy Crawford was spotted going for a coffee run on Sunday afternoon; her trip comes just after her 55th birthday celebrations

Crawford was dressed in a blue denim shirt that she paired with a set of cropped jeans that were slightly darker in color.

The supermodel took no chances with the winter weather as she kept a black sweater and a tan scarf tied around her waist and neck, respectively.

Her brown sunglasses served to complement her gorgeous brunette hair, which flowed in the breeze as she strolled down the city's streets.

She finished off her leisurely outfit with a pair of white Birkenstock sandals.

Taking it easy: The supermodel wore a blue denim shirt and a slightly darker pair of jeans as well as a set of Birkenstock sandals during her coffee run

Getting some snaps: Crawford's daughter Kaia accompanied her mother during the coffee run and was seen taking a few photos on the way

Crawford's 19-year-old daughter opted for comfortable clothing choices as well, as she wore a pair of blue jeans and a white t-shirt.

The model also wore a pair of white sneakers to match her shirt and carried her belongings in a brown leather bag.

The runway fixture had combed certain parts of her shoulder-length brunette hair behind her ears before stepping out with her mother.

Just hours before the mother-daughter duo went on their coffee run, Crawford shared an image from the previous night as well as a childhood photo to her Instagram account.

The night before: Crawford posted a duo of photos to her Instagram account on Sunday morning, one of which showed a birthday cake she had received during the previous night's celebrations

In the more recent photo, the supermodel was pictured smiling during a candlelit dinner where she had been presented with a large cake.

She contrasted her new snap with an older picture of her as a child during a birthday celebration where she had also received a cake.

Crawford also wrote a small message in the post's caption to thank many of her 5.1 million followers who had wished her well on her special day.

'From this... to this in a blink of an eye! Thank you for all my birthday wishes. I am so filled with gratitude for my family and friends. I know each year, each day, is a blessing,' she wrote.

Looking back: The supermodel contrasted her first image with a photo of her as a child; a birthday cake was also visible in the snap

The previous day, her daughter had made a birthday post of her own to her respective Instagram account.

Gerber's photo showed her mother in her early adulthood; the model also wrote a brief message to let Crawford know how much she meant to her as a parent and a role model.

She wrote, 'happy birthday beautiful mama...to the person who always makes me do a double take, the woman who gets more beautiful every year, and the mother I can only hope to be like one day...@cindycrawford I love you.'

A Place for All Conservatives to Speak Their Mind.
The European Unions EU4Business initiative has presented an article on export dynamics in food processing in Armenia. The article reads as follows:

Despite the economic challenges of 2020 due to the COVID-19 pandemic and the war in Artsakh [(Nagorno-Karabakh)], a number of sectors in Armenias food processing industry reported export growth in the first quarter of the year. For example, the export of dried fruits and vegetables climbed by 59% in Q1 2020 to 300 tons against 188.6 tons in Q1 2019. The export of canned food increased by 18% to total 10,517 tons against 8,859 tons. The marketing strategy and capacity of Armenian companies are key to promoting local products abroad. Since 2017 the Ready to Trade project has been contributing to improving the Armenian companies marketing capacity. The project is being implemented by the International Trade Centre and supported by the European Union under its EU4Business initiative.

As part of the Ready to Trade project 13 beneficiary companies have received marketing assistance in different directions: development of internationally competitive branding and packaging, modern websites with e-commerce features, and Social Media marketing support.

Despite the challenges of 2020, the exports of our dried fruits did not drop, notes Lukashin Agricultural Association Director Vardges Davtyan. We even managed to access new markets: we exported organic dried fruits to the UK and ended the year with export growth. As part of the Ready to Trade project we will soon have a new website with e-commerce features. It will help us to connect with international partners and increase sales volumes.

Vardges adds that knowing the competitive edge of local products and presenting it the right way is vital for export. For example, dried Sateni apricots contain less sugar, which makes it safer for diabetic consumers and more competitive in the international market. It was due to this competitive advantage that Lukashin Agricultural Association managed to export large volumes of dried apricots to the United Kingdom.

Economic difficulties of 2020 led to a drop in our sales and revenues. The marketing support of the Ready to Trade project was very opportune in this situation, Deputy Director of Ar Phyto Pharm company Armine Asiryan says. We will soon have a new premium-class packaging for our new line of herbal teas with original packaging and design solutions.

Reindert Dekkert, an international expert at the Centre for the Promotion of Imports from Developing Countries (CBI) describes digital trade shows and digital marketing campaigns as the most effective tools for overcoming the challenges of 2020. Mr. Dekkert is providing marketing consultancy to a number of local SMEs in the food processing sector.

A winning pricing strategy, certificates, compelling branding, reliable supply chains and effective customer communication are essential for boosting exports to international markets. A customer-friendly and sustainable packaging which enhances the products shelf life is also key to ensuring competitiveness and success, adds the expert.

The marketing assistance provided as part of the Ready to Trade project helps companies in the food processing sector strengthen their positions in the existing export markets and access new ones. In 2021 the project beneficiaries are looking to boost their exports to the European Union, China, and United Arab Emirates.
[February 22, 2021] VoIP-Pal Reports Denial of its Petition for Writ of Mandamus

BELLEVUE, Wash., Feb. 22, 2021 (GLOBE NEWSWIRE) -- VoIP-Pal.com Inc. (VoIP-Pal, Company) (OTCQB: VPLM) reports that the Court of Appeals for the Federal Circuit (CAFC) has denied their petition for Writ of Mandamus with the United States Court of Appeals for the Federal Circuit challenging the decisions of the U.S. District Court for the Northern District of California in Case Nos. 20-CV-02460-LHK, 20-CV-02995-LHK and 20-CV-03092-LHK.

Emil Malak, CEO of VoIP-Pal, said, We are obviously disappointed with this ruling. Our case is an example of how difficult it is for a patent owner to receive justice in the current climate in the federal courts. In spite of our technology being validated by winning twelve IPR challenges at the USPTO, the Northern District of California repeatedly sides with the Silicon Valley. We do not believe a judge that has referred to our patents as a cancer should be allowed to preside over our case. We are not going to back down from this fight. Currently, we are assessing all of our options on thebest way to proceed. I have often said that we will not quit and will continue to see this fight through to fruition. Patience is a virtue



About VoIP-Pal.com Inc.

VoIP-Pal.Com, Inc. (VoIP-Pal) is a publicly traded corporation (OTCQB: VPLM) headquartered in Bellevue, Washington. The Company owns a portfolio of patents relating to Voice-over-Internet Protocol (VoIP) technology that it is currently looking to monetize. Any forecast of future financial performance is a forward looking statement under securities laws. Such statements are included to allow potential investors the opportunity to understand managements beliefs and opinions with respect to the future so that they may use such beliefs and opinions as one factor among many in evaluating an investment. While the Company believes in the circumstances that legal action is needed to monetize its patents, patent litigation involves various risks and uncertainties that could affect its ability to monetize the patents. We recognize that it is impossible to predict the specific outcomes of litigation.

Corporate Website: www.voip-pal.com IR inquiries: IR@voip-pal.com IR Contact: Rich Inza (954) 495-4600





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by Melani Manel Perera

Catholics have protested over the slow pace of the investigation, possible cover-ups, and lack of compensation. Hundreds of people lost their lives in the premeditated attack, bemoans a leader of the silent protest. We will not bow our heads until justice is done, says prelate.

Colombo (AsiaNews)  Members of the Katuwapitiya Catholic parish staged a protest against the slow pace of the investigation into the 2019 Easter Sunday attacks. Card Malcolm Ranjith, Archbishop of Colombo, Auxiliary Bishop Anthony Jayakody, and several priests expressed their support for the initiative.

Catholics in Katuwapitiya are upset by the lack of clarity on the part of the government, which has not yet released the findings of the Presidential Commission nor paid out any compensation to the victims.

During last Saturdays rally, the families affected by the tragedy protested against the government panel appointed to review the report drafted by the Presidential Commission.

The latter is still secret, and people are increasingly demanding truth and justice almost two years after the facts.

Marching in silence, protesters called for the truth of the report to be revealed and perpetrators exposed, holding banners in Sinhala and English saying No more committees, We cant wait any longer, We have had enough!

Speaking to AsiaNews, 46-year-old K Chandrani Fernando, who lost her husband in the attacks, wonders what is the big problem that the government cannot tell the truth found by the Presidential Commission? What is the use of a new panel to study the report?

On Easter Sunday two years ago, she, her husband and daughter went to church to attend Mass, not sacrifice their lives. Like them, that is what all the other faithful did at the celebration. But hundreds of innocent people lost their lives to a bomber devoid of any humanity, Chandrani said.

Our people did not simply die, they were killed in a planned manner. Why? Because some people in the government knew about the attack early. Why did we not now about it? This is a big crime.

On behalf of all our victims, I urge the government to take the necessary steps to give a monthly remuneration to those who need it, Chandrani said. After giving only one million rupees (US$ 5,200), the government did not pay attention as to whether the victims were alive or dead.

Chandrani is grateful to Card Ranjith for standing for justice with the victims and their families, helping them with support and works, as well as providing them with shelter together with the Cine-Star Foundation.

The cardinal briefly spoke at the protest, calling on the authorities to publish the report as it is and we will decide what to do. We do not accept the cabinet committee.

We need to find out who is behind all the forces that planned and carried out these bombings. The president promised us justice, the prelate told the crowd.

 We will not bow our heads to leaders without getting justice, he added, we will continue to fight for our rights. Reveal all the proposals made by this commission and then take action to implement those proposals.

President Gotabaya Rajapaksa appointed the committee last Friday, chaired by National Security Minister Chamal Rajapaksa. It is expected to submit a report by 15 March.

Image: African Press Organisation

Standardised security regulations

Community cooperation and empowerment

To safeguard LNG operations and ensure sustainable project development, oil and gas players must join forces with local government to co-implement standardised security regulations and foster community cooperation that showcases tangible benefits and prioritises local empowerment.In recent months, there has been a proliferation of security threats to Mozambiques LNG industry with the rise in militant Islamic group attacks in the Cabo Delgado region  home to the countrys large-scale LNG developments. To mitigate the threat to its operations, French major Total even withdrew staff from its LNG site in January. The situation in the region has, therefore, emphasised the need for standardised security regulation which, if implemented effectively, can establish an investor-safe environment and safeguard operations.According to C Derek Campbell, CEO of Energy & Natural Resources Security, a primary regulatory and operational challenge in Africa is the lack of a consistent security framework that guides owners and operators of critical energy infrastructure on how to ensure resiliency and continuity of assets and operations.Through the implementation and execution of security-specific regulation, Mozambique can establish a protected business environment for stakeholders and stimulate sectoral growth. Additionally, the increase in physical security threats has brought attention to the benefits of government collaboration with LNG developers. In a bid to address rising attacks, Total signed a memorandum of understanding with the government of Mozambique in August 2020, which saw the in the establishment of a joint taskforce to ensure the security of LNG project activities. This form of collaboration demonstrates the advantages of security cooperation and has the potential to increase safety on-site.In addition to institutionalising a security framework, dealing with security risks should go beyond established risk management protocols. One of the primary drivers of community unrest and retaliation concerns the lack of socioeconomic development directed towards the local population. To prevent this trend and ensure long-term, sustainable development, LNG projects have a critical role to play in establishing community cooperation through mutual beneficiation.The oil and gas industry should work with the Mozambican government to ensure that benefits of natural gas monetisation extend beyond short-term job creation and projected government revenues. Instead, LNG projects should ensure immediate and tangible benefits for local communities through outreach programs and oil money-management strategies, including an agreed upon percentage of LNG revenue set aside for local communities.Community outreach programmes and the establishment of mutual LNG benefits comprise effective strategies that will transition Mozambique from reacting to attacks and crises to proactively preventing violence and setting the stage for a more secure future.The sustainability of LNG project developments can often be determined by community support, achieved through community empowerment and active participation. As mentioned, increases in physical security threats and vandalism can often be attributed to poverty alleviation, socioeconomic development and higher standards of living not being realised, despite significant energy potential.Therefore, by prioritising local content and capacity building through the training of and outreach and skills transfer to the local community, LNG projects can not only safeguard operations, but also ensure long-term success of projects.I already believe that community members stand to benefit from Totals Mozambique LNG and other gas initiatives because of the long-term opportunities they will create to ease the areas widespread energy poverty, support capacity building and contribute to economic diversification and growth. Communities could invest fund returns into programmes that translate into improved quality of life and job opportunities. As a result, disenfranchisement, desperation and violence would decrease," says NJ Ayuk, executive chairman of the African Energy Chamber.Mozambiques ongoing security threats can be addressed through community participation and cooperation, as well as reinforced through security regulation and government support. In this way, LNG projects can not only ensure the safe continuity of operations, but also facilitate increased investment in the country and long-term industry success. The success of the country lies not only in the success of its energy industry, but in the energy industrys ability to translate LNG revenues into tangible socioeconomic benefits.
CLEVELAND, Ohio  A good-government advocate frowns on the practice of Mayor Frank Jacksons administration of dropping potentially sensitive announcements into evening postings typically devoted to the coronavirus pandemic.

Contacted about the practice by cleveland.com and The Plain Dealer, Ohio Common Cause Executive Director Catherine Turcer said the administration risks spawning suspicions that it is trying to hide information from the public.

One of the things thats really important for the public is not to just get information but to get information in a timely way, Turcer said. If something comes out in the middle of the night, people might view it suspiciously.

The postings -- distributed by email to media and others and often not until after 8 p.m. -- began nearly a year ago as a way for the administration to report the most up-to-date number of COVID-19 cases each day.

More recently, however, the administration has used the posting to mix in other announcements unrelated to the pandemic, including disclosures that the mayors utilities director, and a public health commissioner facing possible discipline, had resigned.

Jackson spokeswoman Latoya Hunter Hayes acknowledged that the daily postings have grown in scope. Its sort of an end of the day roundup, she said, adding that the evening post is supposed to be added to a Straight From City Hall blog online by 9 a.m. the next day.

That doesnt always happen, though.

Last Thursdays briefing didnt appear on the blog until Friday afternoon, after cleveland.com and The Plain Dealer inquired about it. Wednesdays briefing was still not visible on Friday afternoon.

Hunter Hayes later messaged on Friday to say staff had gone through the blog to make sure postings were showing up properly and were correcting the problem.

But neither Wednesdays nor Fridays briefings were visible online Monday morning.

She added that the administration also communicates with the public via social media and interactive Town Hall-style meetings, and still puts out separate news releases on occasion.

But the releases she cited reported on a snow parking ban, student scholarships, the retirement of a deputy police chief and the hiring of a consultant for the West Side Market - matters generally more benign than the resignation of a member of the mayors cabinet.

Councilman Brian Kazy, who chairs the Utilities Committee, raged that he discovered the announcement of Robert Davis resigning as the director of public utilities five items deep on Page 3 of a briefing that wasnt distributed until nearly 9:30 p.m.

That same day, Jan. 7, the briefing also disclosed another bit of news unrelated to the pandemic  what the city paid to provide police during the presidential debate at the Cleveland Clinic last September.

In a recent interview with cleveland.com, Jackson acknowledged that the City Council should have received a heads up on the departure of Davis. More recently the evening posting was used to announce Davis successor.

Turcer said posting announcements during business hours maximizes the chances of both the public and the media of taking notice, guards against accusations of secrecy.

Its both a practical choice  and a good policy choice, she said.

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Colombian authorities are searching for two individuals wanted for the murder of a Peruvian teenager who was thrown off a bridge after they asked him what country he was from.

The suspects, who are believed to be Venezuelan nationals, confronted Silvano Cantaro on a vehicular bridge in the department of Cauca, where they recorded him being cornered against a guardrail.

One of the men instructs the 19-year-old to 'speak clearly' and to 'talk right' before his accomplice tells him to focus the cellphone's camera on Cantaro.

Silvano Cantaro appeared on a video being confronted by two men, who according to Colombian authorities may be Venezuelans, and being asked what country he is from before he replied he is from Peru. One of the suspects then flipped him over a bridge guardrail before they took off running

Silvano Cantaro was reportedly convinced by a Colombian man named Andres to visit Medellin, Colombia, where he could but clothes at a discounted rate and then take it back to Peru where he could sell it for much more.

He then asks Cantaro where he is from before the defenseless teen said he was from the central province of Huanuco.

The assailant subsequently questions Cantaro, 'what country are you from,' and he says, 'from Peru.'

The man proceeds by stepping up to Cantaro and flipping him over the guardrail, sending him crashing down to what appears to be a forest area in the Cauca municipality of Mercaderes. He then tosses Cantaro's backpack off the bridge.

The suspect behind the camera takes off running and exclaims, 'delete it. what's dead is dead,' before the video is cut off.

The Colombian National Police announced Saturday that it had discovered a body that matched Cantaro's description.

Cantaro worked at a market in Huanuco where he met a Colombian man named Andres and a Venezuelan man who had convinced him that he could make more money if he traveled to Medellin, Colombia, where he could purchase clothes and sell them at a higher price back home.

Silvano Cantaro is grabbed and tossed over a bridge in Colombia after he was asked by two individuals what country he was from. After replying he was from Huanuco, Peru, one of the suspects grabbed him and flipped him over the bridge's guardrail. The 19-year-old's body was discovered by authorities on Saturday

A suspect's video captures the moment 19-year-old Peruvian national Silvano Cantaro is tossed off a bridge in Colombia

Cantaro rounded up $1,400 and left his home for Colombia on January 25, although Colombian immigration officials don't have any information of his entry in their database.

However, Cantaro's business trip went awry when he contacted his sister Janet Cantaro on February 10 and asked if she could wire him money because he had been extorted and left homeless by Andres, according to Peruvian newspaper El Comercio.

'He said, "'Janet, please, I was left with nothing here. Send me money please,'" she recalled.

'It was 8:00pm. I told him that tomorrow morning I would deposit it to him, to send me the account and that I was going to do what was possible. The next day he was no longer connected. I wrote to him, I called him and he no longer answered the phone.'

Peruvian newspaper El Correo reported that Janet Cantaro said she later called her brother's phone and that she spoke to Andres, who informed her that Silvano Cantaro was fine.

No arrests had been reported as of Monday.
The Upper Thumb saw a jump in its coronavirus cases with an additional 33 cases being reported by the state Feb. 22 over a two-day period.

According to the state, Huron County saw an increase of 10 confirmed cases since Saturday, bringing the county to 1,618 confirmed cases and 55 deaths.

Tuscola County saw an increase of 13 cases, bringing the county total to 2,801 confirmed cases and 127 deaths.

Sanilac County saw an increase of 13 cases, bringing the county to 1,822 confirmed cases and 72 deaths.

According to state testing data, Huron County saw a test positivity rate of nearly 27% Feb. 21, with 16 positive tests out of 60 processed.

Tuscola County saw a test positivity rate of 6.1%, with five positive tests out of 82 processed.

Sanilac Countys positivity rate was 4.7%, with eight positive tests out of 172 processed.

The state had an average positivity rate Feb. 21 of 4.4%.

Statewide there were 1,484 confirmed cases and three deaths reported since Saturday. Michigan has had 581,403 confirmed cases and 15,362 deaths since the start of the pandemic. According to the states latest estimates, 529,080 people had recovered from the coronavirus as of Feb. 19.

According to the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, there were 449,722 new coronavirus cases reported in the last week across the nation. Since the start of the pandemic there has been nearly 28 million coronavirus cases and nearly 500,000 COVID deaths in the country.

CDC data shows Michigan is ranked 18th for total number of cases in the last seven days with 7,313. Leading the country is California with 42,068.

For more information on the coronavirus and vaccination efforts visit www.michigansthumb.com/coronavirus-vaccine-tracker-huron.
SACRAMENTO, Calif. (AP)  California health officials say inspectors found "significant deficiencies" at the state's new coronavirus testing laboratory.

The state said in a preliminary report Monday that a fraction of 1% of the more than 1.5 million tests performed at the Valencia Branch Laboratory have had problems. But Health Secretary Dr. Mark Ghaly said "one incorrect test result is one too many."

Massachusetts-based diagnostics company PerkinElmer, which operates the lab under a $1.4 billion state contract, says the deficiencies found in a December inspection "have long since been resolved."

The state health department also is investigating whistleblower allegations of incompetence and mismanagement, including reports of workers sleeping on the job. The company says those concerns are "misplaced."
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The Minister of Defence, Bashir Magashi, a retired major general, has described the crash of the Nigerian Air Force King 350 plane as an unfortunate national disaster.

Mr Magashi stated this in a statement by his Special Assistant on Media and Publicity, Mohammad Abdulkadri, on Monday in Abuja.

The News Agency of Nigeria (NAN) reports that all seven air force personnel on board died in the crash on Sunday.

The minister said he was pained by the tragic accident, adding that the death was an unfortunate depletion of the nations human capital asset.

Mr Magashi said the death of the officers and airmen in the line of duty would never be forgotten in the annals of the militarys efforts to end the nations insecurity.

The minister commiserated with President Muhammadu Buhari, the nation and Nigerian Air Force in particular, as well as the families of those who paid the supreme price while serving the nation.

He prayed for the repose of the souls of the deceased and the fortitude to bear the national calamity.

Also, the President of the Senate Ahmad Lawan expressed shock over the crash of the aircraft.

Mr Lawan said this in a statement by his Special Adviser, Ola Awoniyi, in Abuja.

ALSO READ: Nigerian Air Force reveals identities of personnel killed in plane crash

He condoled with the families of those killed in the accident, praying that God would comfort them in their time of grief.

He also commiserated with the Nigerian Air Force (NAF) and called for reinforcement of safety measures to prevent future occurrence.

Similarly, the House of Representatives Committee on Air Force has also commiserated with NAF and families of victims of the ill-fated aircraft.

The Chairman of the Committee, Shehu Koko (APC-Kebbi), in a condolence message, commiserated with President Muhammadu Buhari, the Commander-in-Chief of the Armed Forces.

Mr Koko, representing Maiyama/Koko/Besse Federal Constituency of Kebbi, said the committee was deeply touched by the development.

The legislator pledged to work with the Chief of Air Staff (COAS), Oladayo Amao, to unravel the remote cause of the crash.

He prayed to God to comfort the bereaved families and grant the departed souls eternal rest.

The Chief of Air Staff has ordered an immediate investigation into the incident.

He also urged Nigerians to remain calm and await the outcome of the investigation, for further information.

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Beyond barbecues and ceremonies: Recognizing Memorial Day

For many, Memorial Day weekend is about gathering with family and grilling or attending a parade. Some find a more personal way to honor the holiday.


The Covid vaccination drive was scheduled to begin at 10am at the Wine and Olive museum in Almendralejo, a town of 33,855 people in Badajoz province in Spains western Extremadura region. But people began to arrive half an hour earlier. The mood at the venue, which was converted last week into a vaccination center, was a mix of hope and nerves. It was time to vaccinate adults who need daily assistance but do not live in care facilities. Some waited outdoors, sitting in their wheelchairs, others inside of cars. All were accompanied by their carers. Lorenzo Garcia, a 93-year-old man in a wheelchair, summed up the general feeling: I will no longer be afraid of the bug.

Under a scorching sun, two police officers controlled the atypical traffic to the museum. A few meters away, nurse Manuel Romero waited at the entrance. He explained that the adults would be vaccinated in order of the list: 24 people every 30 minutes. Since the first vaccination day for this priority group was held last Tuesday, impatience has been growing for the next one. Despite this, everyone remained respectful.

Family played a key role on the day. Ines Guerrero wrapped a scarf around her mother, Carmen Alvarez, who suffers from Alzheimers disease. She gently explained to her 86-year-old mother that she was one of the fortunate people who would receive the first dose of the Pfizer-BioNTech vaccine: The day has finally come! Next to her was Ana Guijarra, a 74-year-old woman with reduced mobility. She was able to move thanks to her walker and husband, Manuel Retamar, who was there to support her like he has been doing every day for the last 30 years.

Carmen Alvarez, 86, before receiving the Pfizer vaccine. Roberto Palomo

Extremadura last week took on the challenge of vaccinating 7,000 adults with need for daily care who are not in residences, and their professional carers in a week. This group included people who need help to carry out basic tasks, recognized as Grade III dependents under the Law of Dependency, those who have asked to be recognized in this category and those who, without having made any request, are accredited with suffering from a disease which requires them to have significant support measures.

Thanks to the support of family and health workers, the vaccination day was surprisingly easy, said the coordinator of the drive, Paula Salamanca. Red Cross teams, which facilitated up to 300 trips to the center, were also key. Salamanca said that it all comes down to teamwork: If one of us fails, we all fail.

Vaccination in cars

Brothers Manolo and Antonio Garcia, who brought their father Lorenzo to the vaccination drive, confessed that they were expecting something chaotic. Their 93-year-old father, who is in a wheelchair and requires constant attention after suffering a stroke eight years ago, was vaccinated in their car. It has all gone smoothly, said Manolo. The logistics of a vaccination drive are always the same: four nurses administer the vaccine and provide Sintrom, an anticoagulant, to the patients who need it; an official checking the list; a doctor and two coordinators. Jose Angel Seguet, the officer at last Tuesdays drive, said the process works like a well-oiled machine.

It begins with the Extremadura regional government, which sends the list of adults living with a disability to different health areas. According to Seguet, everyone on the list is then given a date to get vaccinated in the next seven days. Timing is key, a delay can derail everything, he explained. The coordinator of the vaccination campaign, Ceciliano Franco, who is in direct contact with the central Health Ministry, described it as a triple challenge  a large number of people must be vaccinated in a short amount of time, those set to be vaccinated have limited mobility and there is the novelty of vaccinating in cars to deal with.

Nurse Yolanda Sanchez prepares a dose of the Pfizer vaccine. Roberto Palomo

The nursing teams agreed with Franco: It was a promising challenge and it has gone better than we hoped. Francisco Gonzalez, a 54-year-old with multiple sclerosis, said he was a bit scared when he arrived, but he received the vaccine with a big smile thanks to the astronauts dressed in white. Nurse Luis Brajones, with two face masks on, explained that it was not only a logistical challenge, but also a human one, given the delicate health of the adults. But the nurse said they were prepared for all eventualities: We came equipped to the teeth. Defibrillators, adrenaline, saline solution  but so far there have been no complications.

Many families had hoped their loved ones would be able to get vaccinated at home. This option was considered by the Spanish Medicines Agency (AEM), but according to the coordinator Franco, in Extremadura, practically no one has received the vaccine at home. Sources from the Health Ministry said that while the possibility was being discussed, it was eventually ruled out due to the Pfizer vaccines requirements. According to Marige Peguero, who has vaccinated more than 100 adults with need for daily assistance, the Pfizer vaccine can be damaged if it is moved and doses can also be lost: It has an ultra-cold conservation temperature and very little stability outside of these conditions.

Criticism over decision to only vaccinate professional carers

During the vaccination drive, 77-year-old Isabel Antunez asked two nurses coordinating the process: Why are you not going to vaccinate me? The health workers responded firmly: We are following the official list. Antunez has been caring for her 54-year-old son Francisco, who has multiple sclerosis, for years and was upset that she would not receive the jab: It doesnt make sense, I live side by side with him.

On February 8, the Health Minister confirmed that non-professional carers would be left out of the priority vaccination phase  a decision 58-year-old Jose Garcia, who looks after his parents, also thought was illogical.

Francisco Gonzalez, 54, and his mother Isabel Antunez, 77, at the vaccination drive in Almendralejo. Roberto Palomo

Around 134,000 people care for a dependent family member in Spain, of which 90% are women, according to data from the Association of Social Service Managers and Directors. Many of these carers are afraid of contracting the coronavirus and leaving their loved ones without any support. As Antunez explained: I dont have the money to pay for professional help.

The Health Ministry said it understands the problem, but explained that professional care workers typically see more than one patient: By moving around so much, they get infected more. The ministry added that the priority is the health of the dependent adult. In Extremadura, meanwhile, last week ended with the vaccination of 7,000 dependent adults and a pleased team of health workers: Whats important is vaccinating well and fast.

English version by Melissa Kitson.
Chinese Regime Worried That the Northeast Will Erupt in Protest Due to Economic Stagnation: Insider

As people in northeastern China grow increasingly dissatisfied with the central governments neglect of the regions economic development, authorities are worried that mass protests could soon break out, according to an insider.

The insider, who requested anonymity in order to speak freely, formerly worked for a senior official at the Chinese Communist Partys United Front Work Department (UFWD). The agency is in charge of persuading Chinese people domestic and abroad to agree with the Partys policies and maintain the Partys rule.

While the insider caught up with his former superior during Lunar New Year, the latter revealed the central governments chief concerns.

Both the Cyberspace Administration of China (CAC) and the United Front Work Department (UFWD) is monitoring the enormous amount of resentment that northeasterners have toward the central government. They [authorities] are working hard to censor the public opinions and prevent tensions from escalating, the insider said. The CAC is Chinas chief internet censorship authority.

A view of the state-owned Sujiawan colliery in Fuxin city, northeast Chinas Liaoning Province on Feb. 16, 2005. (China Photos/Getty Images)

Northeastern China is made up of three provinces: Liaoning, Jilin, and Heilongjiang. About 40 years ago, the region contributed about 14 percent to the countrys Gross Domestic Product (GDP). But that figure has dropped to five percent in 2020.

Roughly 107.9 million people live in the region, or about 8 percent of the countrys total population.

But the population is declining, as the local birth rate has plummeted (0.61 percent in 2019) and hundreds of thousands relocate to other regions for better economic opportunities.

The Chinese government is worried that northeastern China will follow Tibet and Xinjiang and seek independence, the insider said. This is one of the biggest concerns that the regime has right now. For centuries, Tibet and Xinjiang were self-governed regions under the Chinese empire. After the Party invaded those areas, the Chinese regime subjected the local population to brutal suppression, which in turn triggered dissent against its rule.

The insider also explained that northeastern China was being ignored due to political infighting within the Party.

A truck (C) stuck in the mud next to an oil rig (R) in Daqing, northeastern Chinas Heilongjiang Province on May 2, 2016. (Nicolas Asfouri/AFP via Getty Images)

Rise and Fall

Northeastern China is rich in coal, petroleum, iron, and other natural resources. It also has fertile soil. During the early 20th century, under warlords and as a puppet state of the Japanese empire, Manchukuo, the region built up heavy industry, advanced telecommunication networks, and over 4,300 miles of railroads.

After the CCP took over China in 1949, the area slowly developed energy, mining, auto and aircraft manufacturing, and agricultural-related businesses.

In the 1980s, when China began economic reforms and foreign imports skyrocketed, domestic sectors lagged behind. Then, in the late 1990s, the Chinese government issued new policies that led to several million workers in northeastern China losing their jobs.

When Hu Jintao was Chinese leader from 2002 to 2012, the region gained more support from the central government and welcomed a new period of development.

But its economy started a steep decline around 2014.

Rusted oil pump parts at a scrap yard in Daqing, northeastern Chinas Heilongjiang Province on May 2, 2016. (Nicolas Asfouri/AFP via Getty Images)

Biased Policy

Chinas central government has the power to decide where to devote more resources and investments.

The insider said the senior UFWD official told him that cities can develop quickly if the central government issues favorable policies, and provides land, manpower, and investment to them.

Conversely, those regions not favored by the regime will likely not flourish. The official gave the example of Dalian and Shenyang in northeastern China, which have large populations but have failed to flourish economically.

At present, nine cities are designated as national centers, meaning they receive significant investment from the central government: Beijing, Tianjin, Shanghai, Guangzhou, Chongqing, Chengdu, Zhengzhou, Wuhan, and Xian.

Shenyang and Changchun from northeastern China are among those running to become the tenth national center.

Though the region spans over one million square kilometers, or about seven times the size of New York state, it doesnt yet have a national center.

According to data issued by Chinas National Bureau of Statistics, the total amount of fixed assets investment in China increased by 5.1 percent in 2019. But the fixed assets investment figure actually dropped three percent for the northeastern region. By comparison, central Chinas figure increased by 9.5 percent.

A worker is dragging ice blocks on the frozen Songhua river in Harbin, China, on Dec. 11, 2019. (Noel Celis/AFP via Getty Images)

Infighting

The insider explained that locals believed Chinese leader Xi Jinping was not willing to develop the northeastern region due to his rivalry with former powerful official Bo Xilai, who moved up the political ladder while serving in the officialdom of Liaoning Province.

People in northeastern China have great anger toward Xi Jinping. Their resentment is becoming more and more intensified, acute, the insider quoted the senior UFWD official as saying. The officials there are dissatisfied with Xi as well.

When Xi came to power in 2012, the Party was dominated by a faction loyal to former Party leader Jiang Zemin. The faction was planning a coup, to have the Jiang loyalist Bo Xilai usurp Xi. The plan did not bear fruit.

After Xi took the reins, Bo fell from grace in a dramatic episode involving his former lieutenant attempting to seek asylum at an American consulate and his wife being suspected of killing a British businessman.

Bo was removed from office and expelled from the Party on corruption charges. In 2013, he was sentenced to life imprisonment.

Northeasterners believe that Xi is discriminating against the region due to the regions past affiliation with Bo, the insider explained. The northeast is a victim of factional struggles.
Algerias Christians hope that a one-two punch may reopen their churches.

Last December, a letter from the United Nations asked the North African government to give account. And this week, popular protests resumed after crackdowns and a pandemic-related hiatus.

Two years ago, Protestants cheered when the Algerian Hirak (Arabic for movement) forced the resignation of then 82-year-old president Abdelaziz Bouteflika following his announcement that he would run for a fifth term in office. Protests continued, however, as the ruling clique was slow to make changes.

Hirak supports human rights, and I have no doubt they will help the churches, said Youssef Ourahmane, vice president of the Algerian Protestant Church (EPA). And the letter from the UN shows something else is wrong, and now they will have to deal with it.

The seven-page missives language reads like a teacher scolding a recalcitrant student.

Please explain in detail the factual and legal basis that justified the closure of the 13 places of worship and churches, stated the letter, written in French. Please provide information on the re-registration procedure of the [EPA], and explain the reason why this has not been finalized to date.

Signed by three UN experts specializing in the freedom of religion and belief, peaceful assembly, and minorities, the now-open letter represents the latest chapter of international advocacy for the persecuted Protestants of Algeria.

The nation ranks No. 24 on the Open Doors World Watch List of the most difficult countries for Jesus followers. Only three years ago, it ranked No. 42.

2020 was a very difficult year for us Protestants, who have been deprived of our places of worship, said Salah Chalah, president of the EPA. [But] we love our country and we regularly pray for its prosperity.

Algerian Protestants number between 50,000 and 100,000 believers, with the great majority concentrated in the Atlas Mountains region populated with Kabyle, a non-Arab indigenous ethnic group.

Besides the 13 churches forcibly shut down, the UN noted 49 other Protestant places of worship threatened with closure. It also rebuked the physical force used against church members, as well as discriminatory treatment against Christians in airports and other border crossings.

In 2018, the Algerian government denied Christians were persecuted, stating churches were closed for nonconformity with the laws.

But in October 2019, Chalah was one of several kicked and beaten with batons while protesting the closure of the Full Gospel Church of Tizi-Ouzou, 60 miles east of the capital, Algiers. Three hundred of the congregations 1,200 members gathered in solidarity as 20 police officers sealed the doors of what was understood to be Algerias largest church.

May everyone know that we have been beaten and abused for one reason onlyour Christian faith, Chalah said at the time. And because thats the cause of our pain, were proud of it.

The EPA was founded in 1974 and officially recognized in 2011. But while a 2006 ordinance guaranteed non-Muslims the protection of the state, it also stipulated that worship can be conducted only in buildings approved for that purpose by the National Commission for Non-Muslim Religious Groups.

To date, not one church has received permission.

Furthermore, the EPA must reapply for its own licensing every four years. In 2014, the application was ignored. In 2018, when new paperwork was submitted, leaders were told to deal first with their 2014 file.

Ourahmane, age 65, has been a Christian for over 40 years. Earlier in his ministry, the security forces told him the church was free to do whatever it wantedexcept mass street evangelism campaigns.

Bouteflika was an autocratic secularist of sorts, far warier about Muslim threats to his rule. In 2015, for example, 900 illegal mosques were shuttered, with 55 kept under surveillance. Much of his popularity was won by ending a decade-long civil war that began in 1992 after the military overthrew the democratically elected Islamic Salvation Front.

But as the president aged without a clear plan of succession, the authorities were left vulnerable to pressure. Ourahmane believes that pressuring churches is simply one of many cards the government uses to stay in power.

It was Angela Merkel of Germany, he said, who intervened to win the EPAs 2011 registration.

Continuing a Western bid for legitimacy, amendments to the constitution in 2016 strengthened the right to practice religion. But needing to shore up its religious credentials, one year later the government campaign began against Protestant churches. Three were reopened in the second-largest city of Oran, however, following complaint by the US ambassador.

But the Hirak movement likely pushed the government to reestablish conservative popular support, resulting in the current total of 13 church closures. And although COVID-19 restrictions have been removed for mosques and some foreign-populated Catholic churches, no Protestant congregations have been permitted to open.

To win the hearts and minds of the people, they have to show they are good Muslims, Ourahmane said. But they want to win the hearts and minds of the West, too, so now is the time for pressure.

It is unclear if the Algiers government is calculating correctly.

According to a new Arab Barometer survey, 3 in 4 Algerians believe freedom of expression should be guaranteed, and 2 in 3 believe democracy is always the preferred system of government.

But in terms of religion, there is less clarity. An Arab Barometer survey two years ago found that while 44 percent of Algerians believed their country would be better off with more devout people in government, 43 percent believed religion is a private matter that should be separate from public life.

And though only 42 percent said that religious leaders should have some influence over public policy, this figure has risen from 23 percent in 2011, when the Arab Spring began.

The anniversary of the Hirak movement is February 22, and in advance the government dissolved parliament, called for new elections, and released 60 detained activists as part of its pledge to implement protester demands.

But its earlier efforts to do so fell flat.

President Abdelmadjid Tebboune was elected amid little fanfare and Hirak rejection. And a new constitutionthat removed guarantees for freedom of consciencepassed by a 21 margin, but with only 15 percent turnout amid a Hirak boycott.

Ourahmane believes there is strong support for Christian freedom among the Kabyle, who comprise 5 million of Algerias 40 million population. And while maybe 10 percent of Arab Algerians would actively support their rights, most would not be concerned either way.

But if the US pressed Algiers for the full components of human rightsincluding religious freedomhe thinks Algerians would even support the imposition of sanctions.

Wissam al-Saliby, UN advocacy officer for the World Evangelical Alliance (WEA), warns unilateral action is not the solution. Sanctions are a stick, while he says the carrot of diplomatic, economic, and security cooperation could be better utilized by the worlds liberal democracies on behalf of human rights.

To further such consensus, last year the WEA, EPA, and the World Council of Churches scheduled a side event at the Human Rights Council meetings in Geneva, Switzerland. Cancelled by COVID-19, it would have received the personal attendance of the UN special rapporteur for freedom of religion and belief, Ahmed Shaheed.

A similar letter from the UN to Algeria in 2018 went unanswered.

Algeria is a country of concern, Shaheed told CT after the cancelation, mentioning both Christian converts and heterodox Muslims. The state must ensure that all communities can freely practice their faith and provide the legal status necessary for effective functioning.

The WEA also wrote a letter on behalf of Algerian Protestants and has been at work in Geneva to alert diplomats to the issues involved. Having Shaheeds endorsement, as well as heavyweight advocates like Amnesty International and Human Rights Watch, raises the churches case significantly.

Even the European parliament, whose political parties are sometimes wary of religious freedom issues, took a stand.

When nations prioritize human rights in their foreign policy, Saliby said, the global political environment becomes favorable toward religious freedom.

But more is needed.

Despite UN and civil society pressures, he said, there has been insufficient diplomatic pressure by governments to encourage Algeria to reverse course.

At least this time they answered the UN, though the response is not yet public.

Protestant leaders, however, place their faith elsewhere.

I would like to ask all Christians in the world to continue to pray for us, said Chalah. But I also want to reassure them that the flame of our faith is always lit.

As it is for Ourahmane, waiting to see how God will work.

I have no doubt that one day the church in Algeria will have total freedom, he said. God can use different means to do thiswhether the UN, or Hirak.
Passavant Area Hospitals Healthy Jacksonville collaborative will partner with other groups to provide a drive-through food distribution event.

It will start at 3 p.m. Friday at Spirit of Faith Soup Kitchen, 105 E. Dunlap St. No pre-registration is required, but those participating should wear a face covering and clear space in the trunk of their vehicle so volunteers can safely load food.

Participants are asked to line up on East Street between Walnut and Wolcott streets.

Food is being provided by Dot Foods in partnership with Central Illinois Foodbank.

 Rochelle Eiselt
Australian Prime Minister on Sunday (local time) received the first dose of the Pfizer COVID-19 vaccine along with Australia's CMO Professor Paul Kelly to give further confidence to Australians in these vaccines that have been tested and approved by medical experts.

Taking to Twitter, said, "Pleased to get my #COVID19 vaccine today along with Australia's CMO Professor Paul Kelly to give further confidence to Australians in these vaccines, which have been tested and approved by our medical experts, are safe and effective."

"Our #COVID19 vaccination program is underway! These are the 1st Australians to get vaccinated ahead of the rollout getting underway tomorrow. Our first priority is to protect our most vulnerable and frontline workers, who are protecting all of us. Getting vaccinated does just that," he wrote in a subsequent tweet.

Meanwhile, the total number of cases reported in Australia is 28,928, while the death toll stands at 909, according to the Johns Hopkins University.

(Only the headline and picture of this report may have been reworked by the Business Standard staff; the rest of the content is auto-generated from a syndicated feed.)


BAMAKO (Reuters) - Mali's government has created a body to open talks with Islamist militants whose insurgency has made vast portions of the country ungovernable, the interim prime minister said on Friday, in the face of objections by France.

A year ago ousted former president Ibrahim Boubacar Keita said his government was prepared to negotiate with al Qaeda-linked militants. National talks in the aftermath of the August coup that overthrew Keita endorsed that policy.

"Dialogue is not an exclusive solution, but rather an additional means of bringing back into the bosom of the Republic those who left it, often for existential reasons far removed from any fanaticism," said interim Prime Minister Moctar Ouane.

The statement did not provide details of the makeup of a negotiating body.

Former colonial power France, which has 5,000 troops in Mali, has previously signalled opposition to negotiating with Islamist groups that did not sign a 2015 peace deal it considers a framework for restoring peace to northern Mali.

France is searching for an exit strategy after getting bogged down in a counter-insurgency operation in the Sahel which has cost billions and seen 55 French soldiers killed.

The violence is persisting with signs it is spreading to coastal West Africa.

Chad will deploy some 1,000 troops to the tri-border region of Niger, Burkina Faso and Mali to reinforce national armies, sources said last week.

(Reporting by Tiemoko Diallo; Writing by Hereward Holland; editing by Grant McCool)
RJD leader on Monday drove a tractor to reach the Bihar assembly, in an expression of solidarity with those opposing the farm laws and protest against spiralling rise in prices of petrol, diesel and cooking gas.

The leader of the opposition also flayed the Nitish Kumar government in the state for keeping mum on the issue of oil price rise and claimed that agriculturists in Bihar were often forced to sell their produce at rates less than half of the MSPs because of the abolition of APMCs.

Yadavs tractor ride, in which he was joined by some party colleagues including RJD general secretary and MLA Alok Mehta, began at his residence, right across the road from the chief ministers bungalow.

"We expect a proper statement from Chief Minister Nitish Kumar on the skyrocketing prices of oil which he has acknowledged but stopped short of commenting on. He must also explain what have the farmers gained by abolition of agricultural produce market committees (APMCs) in Bihar. Many cultivators are forced to sell their produce for Rs 700-800 as against the minimum support price (MSP) of Rs 1800," Yadav told reporters.

He also expressed disappointment over the Speakers rejection of their proposal to mourn, on the floor of the House, the death of more than 260 farmers who have died in the course of the agitations and said, his tractor ride was aimed at reminding the powers that the much-used slogan "Jai Jawan Jai Kisan" sought to accord the same respect to agriculturists as soldiers guarding the countrys borders.

Yadavs tractor ride to the assembly, situated about a kilometre away, was marked by harried security personnel scampering along, clearing the traffic for the leader of the oppositions vehicle, until it was stopped at the gates of the Vidhan Sabha premises.

The young RJD leader wondered whether rules prevented him from taking the vehicle right up to the portico. Security personnel requested him to alight pointing towards the rush of cars of other legislators and officials and the obstruction being caused by the tractor.

Yadav, thereafter, walked to the assembly building where MLAs of the Congress and the CPI(ML), the RJDs alliance partners, had staged demonstrations to highlight the plight of farmers.

He, nonetheless, asserted "we had taken out a tractor rally last year, soon after the farm bills were passed evoking resentment from the farmers. We will continue with such measures till the government is compelled to take a sympathetic view of farmers demands".

Congress MLA Shakeel Ahmed Khan stood with a contraption shaped like a weighing scale with packets of food grains and pulses hanging from either side.

Those belonging to the ultra-Left CPI(ML) stuck to the conventional mode of placards inscribed with slogans.

(Only the headline and picture of this report may have been reworked by the Business Standard staff; the rest of the content is auto-generated from a syndicated feed.)
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Source: Xinhua| 2021-02-23 07:02:25|Editor: huaxia

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QUITO, Feb. 22 (Xinhua) -- Ecuador on Monday reported detecting 295 new cases of COVID-19 infection in the previous 24 hours, bringing its total caseload to 274,968 since the first case was detected on Feb. 29, 2020.

According to the Ministry of Public Health, in the same period, 11 more patients died from the disease, raising the confirmed death toll to 10,807. This is in addition to another 4,740 deaths that were likely caused by the disease.

The capital Quito, located in the Pichincha province, is the epicenter of the pandemic in Ecuador, with 89,251 cases of COVID-19, 94 more than Sunday.

Local authorities blame the sustained increase in infections on lax individual discipline and the flouting of social distancing rules aimed at containing the pandemic.

Over the weekend, more than 3,000 people attended an Andean music concert in the indigenous community of Peguche, in Otavalo, north Imbabura province, despite a temporary ban on large public gatherings.

As of Saturday, Ecuador's positivity rate in COVID-19 testing was at 28 percent, according to the ministry. Enditem
Megachurch raises $2M to provide counseling to those battling depression during COVID-19

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An Arizona megachurch has raised nearly $2 million since November to help people receive counseling services as they cope with the stresses of an election season and pandemic.

Through the Press On campaign, Christs Church of the Valley (CCV) used Pushpay as the primary mechanism to raise funds to cover the cost of counseling for those struggling with mental health.

Tyler Kurbat, director of marketing and communications for the 12-campus church, said the idea for the Press On campaign was sparked during a sermon planning meeting at the end of 2019 to discuss an upcoming series called Lets Talk About It.

The emphasis of the series was mental health during the election year. And at the time, they had no idea a pandemic was also on the horizon.

It hit me that we had the opportunity to lean into mental health, Kurbat said. If you reframe the way you look at depression, right in the middle is the rallying cry and an invitation into hope. If you deemphasize just a couple of letters, press on pulls through

And thus, the Press On campaign was born.

In an average year, its probably one in five people (who deal with mental health)," Kurbat said. "But this year its one in two, which means that if its not you, its probably someone you love. We have the opportunity to lean into that and provide some support."

Scientists are tracking an increase in depression and anxiety since the beginning of the pandemic.

In December 2020, over 42% of people reported anxiety or depression symptoms in a U.S. Census Bureau survey. According to Nature.com, this was an increase of over 11% from the previous year.

Mental health [problems are] skyrocketing, Kurbat said. At the same time, financial uncertainty, financial stresses are also climbing. We had the opportunity as a church to jump in and fill that gap.

The church-wide Press On effort began in November as the holiday season was beginning.

According to CCV's Life Training Pastor Rachael Schmidt, over 4,000 people have responded through the Press On campaign and over $1.98 million has been raised.

Schmidt, who oversees pastoral care and spearheads the project, said CCV covers 80% of the cost of 10 counseling sessions and covers half the cost of the next 10 sessions.

Schmidt vets each of the counselors before referring an individual to ensure they align with biblical values.

People have reached out to CCV regarding Press On from across the nation and around the world.

Many evangelistic opportunities have also resulted from the initiative and people have given their lives to Christ.

The fruit from these stories has blown me away, Schmidt said.

Mental health is not always a topic discussed in the church. However, CCV brought it to the forefront and has invested in helping remove barriers and streamline access to counseling.

This conversation is just getting started, Kurbat said. With technology at our hands like Pushpay and with social media , we can really begin to create some programs and experiences where these things are scalable.

Schmidt said the church has been openhanded with resources and has helped other churches develop the same model in their communities.

It was amazing how God sort of set the table for us, led our leadership to know that this is a topic that is important , Kurbat said. The opportunity was to remind our congregation and also non-believers that youre seen, youre not alone, and that theres help because really theres a tremendous opportunity to destigmatize these topics and provide some actual hope.

A study published by the Society for Human Resource Management last year found that 35% of U.S. workers battled depressive symptoms amid the coronavirus pandemic. However, few sought professional help.

A recent survey conducted by the U.S. Centers for Disease Control and Prevention found that 63% of 18 to 24-year-olds reported symptoms of anxiety or depression. Meanwhile, 25% reported increased substance use and another 25% say they considered suicide.

Mental Health America reports a 93% increase in people participating in anxiety screenings in 2020 compared to 2019 and a 62% increase in depression screenings.
Credit: CC0 Public Domain

If depression is making it more difficult for some unemployed people to land a job, one type of therapy may help, research suggests.

In a new study, 41% of unemployed or underemployed people undergoing cognitive behavioral therapy (CBT) found a new job or went from part- to full-time work by the end of the 16-week treatment for depression.

Those who had a job but found it difficult to focus on and accomplish work tasks because of depression said the treatment helped to significantly reduce these problems.

"For the most part, researchers have focused on showing that therapy relieves symptoms of depression," said Daniel Strunk, co-author of the study and professor of psychology at The Ohio State University.

"But reducing symptoms isn't the only goal people have when they start CBT. Many are hoping to find a job or improve their productivity at their current job. Here we found that therapy can help people achieve these goals, as well."

Strunk conducted the study with Iony Ezawa and Graham Bartels, who were graduate students at Ohio State when the study was conducted. The research was published online this month in the journal Cognitive Behaviour Therapy.

This study involved 126 people who participated in a 16-week course of CBT at the Ohio State Depression Treatment and Research Clinic.

CBT teaches coping skills that help patients counteract and modify their negative beliefs, Strunk said.

"It works on the idea that people with depression invariably hold these overly negative views of themselves and their futures," he said.

"For example, if an unemployed patient doesn't get one job they interviewed for, they may think 'no one is ever going to hire me.'"

In this study, 27 patients were seeking to improve their employment status (land a job or go from part- to full-time) at the beginning of treatment. Eleven of them (41%) had succeeded by the end of the 16 weeks.

"It is hard to say exactly how good this success rate is since we don't know how many would have gotten jobs without the treatment," Strunk said.

"But the findings were encouraging and suggest that the CBT is having an impact."

CBT had a clear impact for those who had jobs and reported at the beginning of the treatment that depression was hurting their effectiveness.

"Working patients reported at the end of treatment that they were much more successful at concentrating and accomplishing tasks at their jobs," he said.

Findings showed that one way CBT had this effect was by reducing patients' "negative cognitive style," or the extent to which patients view negative events in overly pessimistic ways, according to Strunk.

"CBT helps patients overcome these views by teaching them that the experience of depression is not their fault and that they can take steps to improve their concentration and accomplish work more successfully even when experiencing depressive symptoms," Strunk said.

More information: Iony D. Ezawa et al, Getting down to business: an examination of occupational outcomes in cognitive behavioral therapy for depression, Cognitive Behaviour Therapy (2021). Iony D. Ezawa et al, Getting down to business: an examination of occupational outcomes in cognitive behavioral therapy for depression,(2021). DOI: 10.1080/16506073.2021.1875039
The Philippines' drug regulator gave emergency approval Monday to the Chinese-made Sinovac coronavirus vaccine, with the first doses set to arrive this week -- but health workers will not get the jab due to its comparatively low efficacy

Manila, (APP - UrduPoint / Pakistan Point News - 22nd Feb, 2021 ) :The Philippines' drug regulator gave emergency approval Monday to the Chinese-made Sinovac coronavirus vaccine, with the first doses set to arrive this week -- but health workers will not get the jab due to its comparatively low efficacy.

CoronaVac is the third vaccine approved for emergency use in the country, but so far none have been delivered and President Rodrigo Duterte's government is under fire over the delayed rollout.

Beijing has agreed to donate 600,000 doses, which will arrive in the next three to five days, officials said -- despite misgivings over its safety and effectiveness.

"It is decided... that the benefit of using the vaccine outweighs the known and potential risks," said Eric Domingo, head of the food and Drug Administration.

The CoronaVac can be given to "clinically healthy" adults aged 18 to 59, but was not recommended for frontline health workers or the elderly, he said.

Presidential spokesman Harry Roque said workers considered essential to the economy and soldiers were likely to receive the first jabs.

Although trials in Turkey found CoronaVac to be 91.25 percent effective, other, more robust trials in Brazil only demonstrated an efficacy rate of around 50 percent.

Roque defended the push to use the Sinovac vaccine, saying "it's better than not having protection at all." Many world leaders have been among the first in their countries to receive jabs to boost public confidence.

But Duterte preferred to wait for a different Chinese vaccine made by state-owned Sinopharm, Roque said, citing the president's old age.

The Sinopharm vaccine was secretly given to members of Duterte's security team last year even though it had not been approved for use.
Today host Allison Langdon has been off the air for two weeks after injuring herself filming a hydrofoiling segment on the Gold Coast.

And on Monday, she surprised her co-host Karl Stefanovic by Zooming into the breakfast program to discuss her recovery and scheduled return.

Karl, 46, couldn't resist making a joke about his 41-year-old colleague's recent absence, greeting her with: 'We thought you were dead!'

Scroll down for video

'We thought you were dead!' Karl Stefanovic (left) cracked a shocking joke when Allison Langdon (right) made a surprise appearance on the Today show on Monday, weeks after her hydrofoiling accident. Pictured with Karl is fill-in co-host Sylvia Jeffreys

'That's a bit harsh!' Allison gasped, before telling viewers: 'We talk all time!'

'I am going a little bit stir crazy at home,' she said of her recovery, adding that she was seeing a physio three times a week.

Allison explained she 'still can't do very much' but said she was hoping to return to the Today show in a couple of weeks.

She joked that the hydrofoiling accident was Karl's fault - it wasn't - and reminded her colleagues that she expected to be waited on hand and foot when she returns.

Health update: 'I am going a little bit stir crazy at home,' Allison said of her recovery, adding that she was seeing a physio three times a week

Friendly banter: She joked that the hydrofoiling accident was Karl's fault - it wasn't - and reminded her colleagues that she expected to be waited on hand and foot when she returns

Last week, Allison revealed she was finally back home after having knee surgery following her accident in Queensland two weeks earlier.

She shared a photo to Instagram of herself with her children, Mack, four, and Scout, two, and captioned it: 'So nice to get home to these two.'

Allison underwent surgery days after seriously hurting her knee while filming a watersports segment for the Today show on the Gold Coast earlier this month.

Back home: Last week, Allison revealed she was finally back home after having knee surgery following her accident in Queensland two weeks earlier. She shared this photo to Instagram of herself with her children, and captioned it: 'So nice to get home to these two'

During a pre-recorded segment, the Today co-host 'badly' injured her leg while hydrofoiling - a relatively new watersport also known as foil surfing.

Dramatic footage of the accident showed Ally being pulled from the water by her life vest by two male rescuers.

She was taken to hospital where she received treatment and flew back to Sydney on February 5 ahead of her operation.

Extreme sport: Allison underwent surgery days after seriously hurting her knee while filming a watersports segment for the Today show on the Gold Coast earlier this month

In a statement to Daily Mail Australia at the time, Channel Nine described what had happened as 'an unfortunate accident'.

'After nearly an hour of incident-free filming of a segment about hydrofoiling, Ally fell awkwardly as she headed back to the marina at the end of the shoot,' they said.

The statement added that both Karl and Ally had a 'comprehensive safety induction and a thorough run-through of all aspects of hydrofoiling.
Have You Seen This? Baby calmed by Imperial March

Update, Feb. 24 5 a.m.: The pair have been found safe.

The Contra Costa Sheriff's Office tweeted Kimberly Meeks and her son were located Tuesday morning. No other details were released.

---

Authorities are seeking a Discovery Bay mother and her young son after police say the boy's father went on a deadly crime spree. Kimberly Meeks, 31, and her 4-year-old son may be in danger, police say. They also released an image of the vehicle they may be traveling in, a dark-colored Audi SUV with the California license plate 8UKN742.

Authorities say the boy's father is Darryon Williams, 26, who was arrested in Richmond after a police chase late Saturday, the Contra Costa Sheriff's Office said in a statement.

Antioch Police/Handout

Williams was apprehended after police said he opened fire on first responders around 9 p.m. Saturday on the 1900 block of Auto Center Drive in Antioch. Restaurant workers in the area told KPIX they called 911 for a man experiencing stomach pain, and as firefighters and parademics attended to the man, shots rang out.

Authorities said a gunman twice drove by the restaurant and fired at people before speeding away. A firefighter and a paramedic suffered non-life-threatening gunshot wounds and have been released from the hospital.

Things can always happen at any scene, Contra Costa Fire Capt. Joe Ottolini told KPIX. I believe this is our first incident where a firefighter has actually been struck by a bullet.

Williams was taken into custody after a police chase ended in him allegedly crashing into a parked car. After Williams' arrest, officers carried out a welfare check on a home in nearby Discovery Bay. Michael Iliff, 64, was found dead inside with apparent gunshot wounds, authorities said. Williams was named a suspect in the death.

Williams was questioned and then booked into jail on an $11 million bail, the sheriffs office said. He's charged with one count of murder and ten counts of attempted murder. It's unclear whether he has an attorney who could comment on his behalf.
Dr Anthony Nsiah Asare, the presidential advisor on health says no Ghanaian will pay for the cost of the COVID-19 vaccines.



Speaking on the Asaase Radio, Dr Nsiah Asare said, What I will say first is that its free to the ordinary citizen. Any Ghanaian who is going for the vaccine will not pay anything for it. Im sure somebody will ask; what about those who can pay?



All what we are saying is that if the private sector wants to be part of this, there should be private sector financing. The private sector should try and give the money and the government will bring the vaccines in.



Dr Nsiah Asare said the government was expecting a batch of the COVAX vaccines first and we are supposed to get about 20% of those vaccines which are about six million.



We are also getting vaccines from bilateral organisations. We are also getting vaccines from the private sector which have agreed to give vaccines for the corporate organisations, but they will also give the government the same amount of vaccines, he added.



Russias RDIF sovereign wealth fund said on Saturday (20 February) that Ghana had granted emergency authorisation for the use of the Sputnik V vaccine against COVID-19, becoming the 31st country to do so, and the fifth country in Africa, Reuters reports.

Source: asaaseradio









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London: Prince Philip, the husband of Queen Elizabeth, is OK, Prince William said on Monday (UK time) after his 99-year-old grandfather spent a sixth night in hospital.

Philip, the Duke of Edinburgh, was admitted to hospital on Tuesday as a precautionary measure after feeling ill with an ailment that was not related to COVID-19.

Prince William visiting the Corn Exchange Vaccination Centre in Kings Lynn, England. Credit:Getty

Yes, hes OK, theyre keeping an eye on him, William said on a visit to a vaccination centre in eastern England. Royal reporters said he delivered his message with a wink.

The Duke was admitted to the private King Edward VIIs Hospital in central London after feeling unwell for a short period, Buckingham Palace said, and was kept in over the weekend for further observation.
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Sacha Baron Cohen moved Down Under with his Australian wife Isla Fisher last year.

The pair have settled into their new home, blending in with the locals as they enjoyed a day out with their children in Sydney on Sunday.

The Borat star, 49, and his Wedding Crashers actress wife, 45, headed out to a small, secluded beach.

Beach babes: Sacha Baron Cohen moved Down Under with his Australian wife Isla Fisher last year. The pair have settled into their new home, blending in with the locals as they enjoyed a day out in Sydney on Sunday

Taking advantage of a hot and sunny weekend, the couple got comfortable as they lay towels down on the sand and enjoyed a picnic they'd brought in a cooler bag.

Isla shaded her famous face with a large, wide-brimmed straw hat and a pair of sunglasses.

She wore a simple black T-shirt, which was tucked into a pair of floral patterned Lycra tights in a three-quarter length.

Nice views: The Borat star, 49, and his Wedding Crashers actress wife, 45, headed out to a small, secluded beach

Looking good: Isla shaded her famous face with a large, wide-brimmed straw hat and a pair of sunglasses

The star completed her look with a pair of black sneakers and skipped the accessories.

Isla wore her red hair down and straight under her hat, and went makeup free for the casual outing.

As she walked along the sand with her comedian husband, the stunner carried a tiny pair of black sneakers belonging to one of their children.

Casual: Isla completed her look with a pair of black sneakers and skipped the accessories

Settling in: Taking advantage of a hot and sunny weekend, the couple got comfortable as they lay towels down on the sand

Munchies: They later settled down to enjoy a picnic, which they'd brought in a cooler bag

Safe: Sacha kept COVID-safe with a white face mask, which he wore during his time on the beach, as well as back to the car upon departure

Pants man: The Ali G star wore a long-sleeved blue shirt and a pair of grey jogging bottoms, which he rolled partway up his legs

Barefoot beauty: He completed his look with a black cap and a pair of sneakers in the same colour, which he took off while walking on the sand

Sacha kept COVID-safe with a white face mask, which he wore during his time on the beach, as well as back to the car upon departure.

The Ali G star wore a long-sleeved blue shirt and a pair of grey jogging bottoms, which he rolled partway up his legs.

He completed his look with a black cap and a pair of sneakers in the same colour, which he took off while walking on the sand.

Anyone thirsty? Isla offered her family bottles of water as she sat on the sand

Minder: She held onto a unicorn tote bag which belonged to one of her children

Locals: Isla and Sacha relocated from Los Angeles to Sydney in December

Isla and Sacha relocated from Los Angeles to Sydney in December last year.

And while it's been widely speculated that they moved Down Under to escape the coronavirus pandemic ravaging the US, new reports claim they were actually fleeing America's tumultuous political climate.

'They didn't want to raise their kids in Trump's America,' an insider told The Sydney Morning Herald of the couple's decision to move to Australia on Sunday.

The couple have since enrolled their three children at a school in Sydney.
The Golden Ghetto is awash in sketchy plague schemes.

Recently, Rep. Davids offered hope of help to local victims via this presser:

Davids Calls on SBA to Investigate Fraudulent Small Business Loans

This morning a Prairie Village blogger/huckster hack is attempting to charge suburban Internets rubes for access to the freebie content . . .


The Telegraph

Ministers have failed to take advantage of the UK's freedom from EU regulations since Brexit, despite the Prime Ministers pledge to take back control of red tape, a new think tank report has said. A new report from the Institute for Government (IfG) argues that Whitehall departments are too "siloed" from each other, preventing ministers from changing laws to reflect Britain's departure from the EU. The think tank points to Mr Johnsons declaration on Christmas Eve last year that the UK had taken back control of every jot and tittle of our regulation in a way which is complete and unfettered. But despite that promise, most EU legislation is still on the UK statute books, after being copied over into domestic law during the Brexit process. Experts say a "bonfire" of regulations in the coming years is unlikely because of costs associated with changing them in UK law. The report's authors said the Government had approached regulatory divergence from Europe "like a game of Space Invaders  played blindfolded," risking costs to British businesses and unintended consequences. They called for Downing Street to issue clear guidance to government departments on how they should approach the freedom to set out new regulations, and reform the processes for approving them. They also point out that, over time, the UK will diverge from the EU in its regulations as European standards change and are not automatically in line with Britains. The UK should develop a system to keep track of regulatory developments in the EU that will affect Britain to avoid any unintended consequences from that process, they argue. Joe Marshall, a researcher at the IfG, said: "Gaining the ability to do things differently from the EU was a key aim of Brexit  and there are clear benefits to be won. But the governments siloed approach to regulatory reform risks ad hoc changes and unintended consequences that threaten businesses with new costs and could destabilise the union. Jill Rutter, another author, said: The government must ensure it invests the time and effort needed to make the necessary trade-offs involved and avoid unintended consequences.
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The second round of Nigers presidential election kicked off on Sunday, as Nigeriens cast their ballots between a ruling party stalwart and a former president touted as the first peaceful succession between two elected presidents.

President Mahamadou Issoufou ends his two terms, and respecting the constitution, he will not run for another.

Mohammed Bazoum, candidate of Nigerien Party for Democracy and Socialism (PNDS), received the majority of the the first round in December but, at 39 per cent, it was not enough for an outright victory.

The 61-year-old is a close associate of incumbent Issoufou, as they created the PNDS political party together. Bazoum served as foreign minister and interior minister under Issoufou, and was an elected member of parliament beginning in 1995.

His main contender, Mahamane Ousmane, of the Democratic and Republican Renewal Tchanji party, took 17 per cent of the votes cast in the first round.

At 71 years old, Ousmane is veteran of Niger politics. He was the first democratically elected president in 1993 before he was overthrown in a coup detat in 1996. An economist by training, he also served as the president of parliament.

Niger poll observers predict that, despite heated speeches from both candidates during campaigning, the election should be carried out in a peaceful manner.

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Lebanon: new magistrate heads probe on port's explosion Tareq Bitar: 'I will not let justice be diverted'

(ANSAmed) - BEIRUT, FEBRUARY 22 - A new Lebanese judge, Tareq Bitar, is the head of the investigation on the explosion at Beirut's port on August 4 in which over 200 people died. The appointment of the 46-year-old magistrate, who already headed the criminal court of Beirut and hails from northern Lebanon, comes just a few days after the removal of Fadi Sawan, the judge who had headed the investigation since the beginning.



Sawan was removed over the past few days after the supreme court accepted the appeal filed by two former ministers, who were formally accused of being responsible, together with the outgoing premier Hassan Diab, of the disaster caused by the explosion of 2,750 tons of nitrate ammonium stocked for seven years in the port's hangar, In the port's explosion on August 4, 2020, 204 people died, over 6,000 were injured and 300,000 lost their home.



Talking to the media in Beirut, judge Tareq Bitar assured that he did not intend to give in to pressure during his investigation: "I will go where the law and rights take me", he was quoted as saying by the newspaper L'Orient-Le Jour. "Nothing will be able to stop me. I will not let justice be deviated".



So far the investigation has led to the arrest of 25 people including port officials and low and middle-ranking members of the security services. In December, Premier Diab and three former ministers were formally charged of "neglect" and "negligence". None of these high-ranking officials have been formally questioned.



Over the last few days groups of activists and family members of the victims staged protests in front of Beirut's tribunal, demanding a UN-sponsored international investigation. (ANSAmed).




Photo: (Photo : Mike Coppola / Getty Images)

Kim Kardashian and Kanye West are reported to have opposing parenting ideas even before their divorce rumors.

In a recent report, PEOPLE Magazine compiled some of the opposing parenting ideas of the two celebrities. These include their place to live, their daughter's makeup interests, and even the clothes being worn by their children.

Despite their opposing parenting ideas during their marriage, they make sure that they put their kids first during the divorce.

ALSO READ: Blake Shelton on Being a Stepdad to Gwen Stefani's Children: "There's Definitely Nothing Easy About it."



Here are some of the differences in the celebrity couple's parenting styles and ideas:

The number of kids

Before Kim Kardashian files for divorce, she and Kanye West already have four kids. Their eldest, North, is already seven years old. The couple's second child, Saint, is already five years old. Chicago, the second daughter, is three years old. Their youngest, Psalm, is turning two years old this May.

In separate instances, when asked about the number of kids, the celebrity couple had different answers.

Kim said that she is fine with their four children. Although she loves being a mom to her four children, Kardashian mentioned that she has already added kids to the family. She said, "I'm definitely done, though, and feel four is my limit. I believe that everyone needs so much attention, and I need to be available to give it to everyone."

However, Kanye West said that he wants seven kids. He once mentioned in an interview with James Corden, "The richest thing that you can have is as many children as possible."

ALSO READ: Bradley Cooper and Irina Shayk Are Co-Parenting Goals to 3-Year-Old Daughter

Moving to Wyoming

The family is based in Los Angeles, but Kanye bought a ranch in Wyoming. According to reports, West dreams of moving to Wyoming with his family. Kim was even the one who mentioned this in an interview with Jimmy Fallon.

However, in the same interview, Kim Kardashian also stated that she is not ready to leave Los Angeles. She said, "I love L.A., so I envision summers, I envision some weekends, but yeah, we love it. It's like the prettiest place you've ever seen in your entire life."

ALSO READ: Celebrity Couple Enrique Iglesias and Anna Kournikova Celebrate Third Baby's First Birthday

Their daughter's style and preferences

Kim Kardashian observed that their eldest daughter, North, likes makeup. The celebrity mom says that whenever she receives a lot of makeup, she hands in some of them to her daughter.

However, she ensures that her daughter's "form of expression" has some boundaries. Kardashian explains, "I want her to express herself, but I want her to be appropriate, too."

On the other hand, Kanye West often does not agree. According to Kim, West stopped North from using makeup until she is a teenager.

In terms of the clothes that North is wearing, Kim Loves how the little girl is always creative. But Kanye West says he does not like North wearing crop tops.

ALSO READ: Kim Kardashian Is Not Wearing Her Wedding Ring in a Recent Photos; Spark Divorce Rumors
A look at some of the major movers in London on Monday

( ) climbed 16% to 12.89p after it provided an update on its dispute with the Republic of Slovenia.

The Republic of Slovenia has notified Ascent that it should be in a position to respond formally to the proposed settlement terms by March 19, and has asked the parties on the other side of the dispute to hold off any arbitration proceedings before then.

Ascent and its partners have acceded to this request.

3.25pm: IAG higher after British Airways gets liquidity boost

PLC ( ) was 3.0% higher at 1790.65p after it revealed that its British Airways arm has reached two financing arrangements that will increase total liquidity by 2.45bn.

On December 31, the flag carrier received commitments for a five-year Export Development Guarantee term-loan of 2bn underwritten by a syndicate of banks, partially guaranteed by UK Export Finance (UKEF).

The airline has also agreed with the Trustee of New Airways Pension Scheme (NAPS) to defer 450mln of pension deficit contributions due between October 2020 and September 2021, normally paid in monthly instalments of 37.5mln.

2.30pm: share price wilts after GardaWorld sticks to its guns

PLC ( ) dived 9.8% to 242.6p after bidder GardaWorld refused to raise its offer from 235p per share.

The decision appears to leave the way clear for Allied Universal, which has offered 245p a share for the security services firm that is still best-remembered for making a complete hash of its London Olympics gig.

The shareholder hold-outs need to accept that they are unlikely to wring any more out of this particular bid, and accept the money on the table now, with the shares falling back sharply in early trade, suggested Michael Hewson at CMC Markets.

1.35pm: Directa Plus shares on a charge

( ), up 12% at 145p, was on a charge after signing agreements with NexTech Batteries, a lithium-sulphur (Li-S) batteries company.

The graphene-based products producer and supplier inked a supply agreement and a strategic research & development agreement with the US firm.

Direct Plus said these agreements follow on from the memorandum of understanding signed with the Nevada, US-based company in October.

12.40pm: makes the grade

PLC ( ), up 11% at 86.5p, was wanted after it completed trials and tests for the manufacture of battery-grade spherical graphite.

The trials and tests were conducted in tandem with a globally recognised German manufacturer of spheroidisation and micronisation equipment, achieving significant results in the end product.

The company has commissioned development and optimisation for the first in a series of commercial-scale 3,000 tonne per year spherical graphite manufacturing plants with a German specialist and initiated discussions with prospective buyers, including automobile majors, battery and anode manufacturers.

11.45am: Echo Energy asks for more time to redeem its loan notes

( ) slipped 7.5% to 0.68p after it published plans to restructure its bond obligations.

The upstream oil and gas company focused on Latin America wants bondholders to extend the maturity of the notes by three years to May 2025.

It also wants to move all cash interest payments on the notes before the maturity date, i.e. pay all the interest due when the bonds are redeemed.

10.50am: Image Scan slumps as big orders dry up

( ) slumped 11% to 2.45p after it said in a trading update that the pandemic continued to hit its order intake.

The specialists in the field of real-time X-ray imaging for the security and industrial inspection markets said the security business had been hit particularly hard, with larger, multi-unit orders by its government customers drying up.

Smaller portable X-ray orders have continued to be received and have included several from significant new customers, such as the Royal Air Force order announced in January.

9.55am: Catenae soars as it is invited to participate in government's digital identity initiative

( ) shares shot up 42% to 2.7p after the company was asked to participate in a government digital identity scheme.

The developer of a secure, blockchain-driven COVID passport system has been asked to participate in a government initiative to make it quicker and easier for people to verify themselves using modern technology.

The consultation is being carried out by the Department for Digital, Culture, Media and Sport (DCMS) as it develops its Digital Identity Policy.

9.00am: Clear Leisure soars as it welcomes new substantial shareholder

( ) rose 32% to 1.65p after it took advantage of recent share price strength to tap the market again.

Having raised 680,000 less than two weeks ago by placing shares at 0.6p, the company has raised 1mln, this time by placing shares at a penny each with an individual investor, John Story, giving him an 11.14% stake.

Ordinarily, issuing shares at a discount would lead to the share price fall but Clear Leisures share price is currently defying gravity thanks to its cryptocurrency development plans.

If involvement in cryptocurrency enterprises is a sure way at the moment to garner interest, so is any connection with coronavirus diagnostic tests, which explains the 15% rise to 210.9p for the share price of ( ).

The company put out a statement noting the recent press speculation about the UK Government take-up of Avacta's lateral flow SARS-CoV-2 rapid antigen test and noted that the test in question was an anterior nasal swab test, not (as press reports asserted) saliva-based.

Avacta continues to be in dialogue with the Department of Health and Social Care and with other organisations in the UK and abroad, with a view to the future supply of its rapid antigen test. It is prioritising the full clinical validation of its nasal swab-based SARS-CoV-2 rapid antigen test as a pre-requisite for CE marking and broad commercialisation.

Proactive news headlines

( ), the developer of a secure, blockchain-driven Covid passport system, has been asked to participate in a government initiative to make it quicker and easier for people to verify themselves using modern technology.

( ) said it has signed a commercial supply and collaboration deal with ePIC Blockchain Technologies which it said will allow it to receive priority access to state-of-the-art ASIC mining machines.

CentralNic Group PLC ( ) said it has agreed to acquire Wando Internet Solutions GmbH, a Berlin-based social marketing, display advertising and search engine marketing (SEM) advertising technology company, for an initial consideration of 5.4mln (4.7mln).

Sativa Wellness Group ( ) said its Bath and Bristol Goodbody clinics booked up to 27,000 a day in Covid testing revenues in December as it announced the opening of a tenth in-pharmacy facility and plans for a further twenty.

Base Resources Ltd ( ) generated revenue of US$72.8mln from its mining operations in Kenya in the six months to 31 December 2020. EBITDA came in at US$33.9mln, while net debt was cut by US$50mln.

( ) has received the processed high-resolution airborne electromagnetic and magnetics geophysics survey data and associated maps and report over the Dotted Lake property on the north limb of the Schreiber-Hemlo greenstone belt in Ontario, Canada.

( ) has helped create a joint venture to provide teleradiology reporting services and increased reporting capacity in Australia, New Zealand, the UK and Ireland.

Condor Gold ( )( ) has started a 5,000 metre diamond drill programme at the Cacao prospect at the La India project in Nicaragua. Cacao is located four kilometres from the planned processing plant at the fully permitted La India mine.

( ) said it has signed a supply agreement and a strategic R&D agreement with NexTech Batteries Inc, a lithium sulphur (Li-S) batteries company based in Nevada, US.

(LON:NQMI, ) said it has signed an agreement with Australian gold miner for the detailed evaluation and potential processing of lead and silver-rich stockpiles at the Sunbeam project, located at the companys Ukalunda tenement in North Queensland, Australia.

( ) has received ministerial consent for the transfer of title, being the final condition of closing on the acquisition of a 75% interest in the Eclipse gold project, located 55 kilometres north-east of Kalgoorlie, Western Australia.

"We are pleased to have now completed the acquisition of a 75% interest in Eclipse, said Empire director Mike Struthers.

PLC ( ) said it has filed an application with OTC Markets Group Inc for its shares to be cross-traded on the OTCQB Venture Market under the ticker GULDF, which it said will make its shares more widely available to North American investors.

( ) said it had made a positive start to its current year as it swung into profit in its first quarter. In its results for the three months to December 31, the aquaculture specialist reported an adjusted operating profit from continuing operations of 1.3mln compared to a 1.1mln loss a year ago, while revenues climbed to 29mln from 24.7mln.

( ) financial results for 2020 confirmed strong growth in revenues and gross profit, which rose by 49% and 83% respectively.

PLC ( ) has successfully completed trials and tests for the manufacture of battery grade spherical graphite, used in the anode of lithium-ion batteries. The trials and tests were conducted in tandem with a globally recognised German manufacturer of spheroidisation and micronisation equipment, achieving significant results in the end product.

Chariot Oil & Gas Limited ( ) has inked a collaboration agreement with Subsea Integration Alliance for the Anchois gas development project in Morocco.

(CVE:FO, ) told investors it is exiting non-core assets in Canada, assigning its interests to a large Canadian-based company.

Litigation Capital Management Limited ( ) has secured a US$50mln credit facility to provide the company with additional investment capital that will be used to pursue growth opportunities.

( ) said its 18.8% stake in Pulsiv Solar is now valued at 4.1mln following the latters latest equity fundraising and debt conversion, up from 3.6mln at the end of June.

VietNam Holding Limited ( ) said in its monthly investor report that business and consumer confidence continues to thrive in Vietnam, although there was a small wobble in January when profit-taking following a resurgence in coronavirus cases prompted profit-taking, resulting in the fund's net asset value (NAV) easing 1.7% over the course of the month. The NAV has rebounded in February.

PLC ( ) has appointed Panmure Gordon as Nominated Adviser with immediate effect. Panmure Gordon will also continue to act as financial adviser and joint broker to the company.

( ) announced the appointment of Charles 'Chuck' Fremont Osborne Jr to the board with immediate effect. Fremont, who has been in the role of chief financial officer since April 2019, has "significant capital markets experience coupled with a strong knowledge of financial operations within the pharmaceutical industry", said chief executive Richard Hullihen.

( ) has hired New York-based EAS Advisors to introduce institutions and funding, as the explorer works to advance mining and exploration projects in sub-Saharan Africa.

Silence Therapeutics PLC (LON:SLN) announced that the company's management will present business updates at two virtual investor conferences in March: the Cowen 41st Annual Health Care Conference at 10.20am on Monday 1 March; and the HC Wainwright Global Life Sciences Conference, on demand on Tuesday 9 March 2021.

PLC ( ) announced on Friday the introduction of its share option plan 2021 for executives and selected senior management, designed to promote the retention, recruitment and incentivisation of the Company's leadership team. Up to 11,194,030 new ordinary shares may be issued under new options granted under the plan, which represents approximately 2.5% of the company's issued ordinary share capital.

( ) said that on 1 March 2021 it will publish its full year results for the financial year ended 31 October 2020.
In a network of rock shelters along the Kimberley, right at the tip of Western Australia, there are paintings thousands of years old. A gallery of echidnas, goannas, fish, yams, hand prints, silhouettes, stencilled boomerangs and lots of kangaroos.

They share a style: life-sized and realistic recreations of the things the artist saw in their day-to-day lives on the land of the Balanggarra traditional owners.

Traditional owner Ian Waina inspects a painting of a kangaroo that is more than 12,700 years old. Credit:Peter Veth and the Balanggarra Aboriginal Corporation

The depictions often sit behind layers of other paintings, peeking out from the past. Thats partially how scientists know they are the oldest rock paintings by Indigenous Australians.

But how old, exactly? Ten thousand years? Fifty thousand? The paintings have resisted every dating technique thrown at them. They, and the lives of the people who once painted them, seemed destined to remain just out of our reach. But then a team of scientists hit on a new idea: stop focusing on the painting, and start focussing on what lies beneath.

SACRAMENTO, Calif., Feb. 22, 2021 /PRNewswire/ -- The new year is off to an industrious start with Jay King, CEO and President of the California Black Chamber of Commerce (CBCC), announcing a statewide partnership with the National Association of Minority Contractors, Northern California (NAMCNC), under the direction of its Northern California Chapter President, Pete Varma. The two organizations intend to spearhead a plan to direct support, education and contracting opportunities to Minority/Women Business Enterprises construction trades throughout California. Together both CBCC and NAMCNC will act as catalysts, building relationships between corporations seeking subcontracting opportunities and underrepresented small businesses. The CBCC is the largest African American non-profit business organization, representing hundreds of businesses, affiliates and Chambers of Commerce in California while the NAMC is the oldest minority construction trade association in the United States.

Jay King, CEO and President of the California Black Chamber of Commerce (CBCC) has announced a statewide partnership with the National Association of Minority Contractors, Northern California (NAMCNC), under the direction of its Northern California Chapter President, Pete Varma. The two organizations intend to spearhead a plan to direct support, education and contracting opportunities to Minority/Women Business Enterprises construction trades throughout California.

The construction industry workforce in the United States is made up of over 25 million Black, Indigenous and People of Color (BIPOC) employees. The representation of BIPOC in critical roles has never been more crucial. While there are some corporations that are actively promoting inclusion and diversity in the awarding of work contracts, many are not, due to the inability to properly target these candidates. Both King and Varma hope to mitigate this disproportioned workforce by stimulating a productive environment of inclusive hiring tactics, targeted training programs, and by forming partnerships with owners, developers and prime contractors.

"This last year has been a tumultuous one for the building and construction trades. Within this key industry group, no one has felt the crippling effects of the pandemic more than minorities, women, the disabled veteran-owned and especially the Black-owned construction trades," expressed Pete Varma, NAMCNC President. "As a result, this segment has faced additional roadblocks when it comes to talent acquisition, strategic partnerships and the opportunity to effectively scale their construction business."

"Recognizing this, NAMCNC has developed a Pre-Apprentice Construction Labor-Ready program. NAMCNC is filling the gap of labor shortage by educating and training young men and women from underserved communities, foster youth, high schools/ adult schools and others. Coupled with our Contractor Readiness program, which includes financing, bonding, and growth strategy, we are priming our members for success. NAMCNC is enthusiastic about our constituents and works towards creating a more representative and equitable workforce. Our alliance with the CBCC positions us to be even more of service," cites Varma.

NAMC is made of more than 50 Hall of Fame legacy contractors and builders, with a combined annual project capacity of over a billion dollars nationally. As a leading voice for minority trade workers, NAMC also provides assistance/guidance to undocumented workers in the construction industry. Corporations, owners, developers, city, county and federal agencies all must change their policies to ensure the growth and opportunity for the under-represented contractor workforce. CBCC and NAMCNC are focused on influencing the legislation of each local municipality, so that they are more encouraging and focused on minorities, disabled veterans and women-owned businesses, all while improving the culture of the construction industry they effect.

"Our economy is being rebuilt after a year of unrelenting devastation, from the pandemic and the many protests that have taken place throughout the Trump Presidency. But we don't want to focus on the divide, we want to build the bridge of coming together," cites CBCC CEO and President, Jay King. "With 95% of our (African American) businesses existing as one employee, financial literacy is the chamber's foundational mission alongside of ensuring that our small and micro business owners are included in the rebuilding process of our communities and economies."

"Pete and I will mobilize all key opportunities to represent on behalf of these entities, to ensure they are not overlooked and partner them with other sole proprietors from all of the other disadvantaged groups who have similar issues, so that we can create a culture of allies, not adversaries, and comrades instead of competitors," King continues. "This we believe will be the beginning of a conversation that should be had across America in every business sector in the country. We want to be inclusive of all Americans so we can make 'America Great for Once.'"

Pete Varma serves as President of National Association of Minority Contractors Northern California Chapter, Vice President of Nokatu Construction (an America Indian General Contractor firm) and President of Intraline, Inc. Varma serves on Caltrans Statewide Small Business Council, Standing Committee, emphasis: Small Business (SB), the Disadvantaged Business Enterprise (DBE) and Disabled Veteran Business Enterprises (DVBE) and Chair for Caltrans Statewide Small Business Council-Construction Committee and member of African American DBE Participation Committee for the California Department of Transportation. He also serves and advocates on behalf of Minority, Women and Disabled Construction Trades to the California High Speed Rail and to the BART Small Business Advisory Council. Varma's development teams are made up of local talent that utilize community-based resources. Varma has devoted over 30 years to construction management services, allowing all motivated members of each community an opportunity to affect its growth.

Jay King was elected president of the California Black Chamber of Commerce in June of 2019, working tirelessly as an advocate for African American small business owners. His community involvement includes sitting on the Cal Trans Small Business Council, Chairman of the African American DBE, Participation Committee for the California Department of Transportation, as well as holding seats on the Small Business Council for the Department of General Services (DGS) and the California High Speed Rail project. Other organizations include Commissioner on the Sacramento Police Commission, organizer of the North Sacramento Leadership Council, and founder and spokesperson for the Greater Sacramento Financial Literacy Group.

Both Jay King and Pete Varma are encouraging corporations and contractors alike to reach out to them for additional information. Contact the California Black Chamber of Commerce (https://www.calbcc.org/home ) via email at [email protected] or at 916-467-8878. Contact the National Association of Minority Contractor, Northern California Chapter (http://www.namcnc.org/) at [email protected] or at (877) 791-1630.

jazzmyne Public Relations

323-380-8819

e-mail: [email protected]

web: www.jazzmynepr.com

SOURCE California Black Chamber of Commerce; National Association of Minority Contractors, Northern California
It provides an opportunity to detail the reforms and changes to our business to deliver the highest standards of governance and compliance, and an organisational culture that meets community expectations, she said. Reverend Tim Costello, chief advocate for the Alliance for Gambling Reform, said he was thrilled. For nearly 20 years Ive been saying we need a royal commission, and I didnt think Id live to see it. Maybe I can now depart in peace. He said Mr Finkelstein was a really good appointment. But he warned that it was unlikely Crown would lose its licence as a result of the royal commission. However, Crown would still be feeling quite comfortable, he said, pointing out that the Andrews government had extended its licence to 2050. During the Bergin inquiry, Premier Andrews said of course we wouldnt be cancelling Crowns licence. ... [so] we know Crown still have a fair bit of protection. He said Victorians had lost confidence in Crown and in the governments ability to govern Crown.

Federal MP Andrew Wilkie, elected on a gambling reform platform a decade ago to a seat in Tasmania, said the royal commission was the only credible option left to the Andrews government. For decades a series of Victorian governments, Liberal and Labor, have profited from the organised crime run out of the states only casino ... A judicial inquiry can hopefully also get to the bottom of the political protection racket that has plagued this issue. Anti-gambling campaigner Stephen Mayne said the royal commission also needed to compel current and former Victorian regulators and key political figures, including Jeff Kennett, Daniel Andrews and former gaming minister Marlene Kairouz to give evidence, broadening on the work of the Bergin inquiry, which focused more on Crown personnel. Issues worthy of exploration include evidence of Crowns lobbying and political power, including through the regular political donations that it makes and the long line of political figures that it has hired to influence the political and regulatory process, he said. State opposition gaming spokeswoman Steph Ryan said the government had been shamed into calling a royal commission.

This is the royal commission Daniel Andrews didnt want to have, she said. Never before have we seen a royal commission announced at 4.30pm on a Monday by a junior minister with the Premier nowhere to be seen. Former state gambling regulator Peter Cohen said the royal commission was inevitable because of what the NSW inquiry had uncovered, and that Mr Finkelstein needed to look at the relationship between the state and the Commonwealth when it comes to money laundering responsibility. NSWs 18-month inquiry into Crown, conducted by former Supreme Court judge Patricia Bergin, examined evidence of the casino operator facilitating money laundering through its bank accounts, going into business with junket tour partners linked to triad organised crime gangs and disregarding the welfare of its staff in China before 19 were arrested there in 2016. Commissioner Bergins final report this month found these failures made Crown unfit to hold a casino licence in NSW, with its core problem being poor corporate governance, deficient risk management structures and processes and a poor corporate culture. The scathing report led to the resignation of Crowns chief executive, Ken Barton, and four directors including former AFL boss Andrew Demetriou.

Ms Horne said the Victorian Commission for Gambling and Liquor Regulation had been examining the 800-page Bergin inquiry report since it was handed down in early February. Weve gone through that report line by line and understood our commercial contracts and got the legal advice as to what the most appropriate response to those findings are, Ms Horne said. Loading Replay Replay video Play video Play video What we need to appreciate as well, though, there are hundreds of people, thousands of people, working in Crown. We need to make sure that were protecting jobs, but also were doing it in a way where a casino is operating in a suitable manner. Crown will continue to hold its licence while under investigation by the royal commission. Despite repeated questioning, Ms Horne would not yet commit to accepting all of the recommendations, including any about whether Crown was fit to hold its gaming licence.

She said there was a lot of water to go under the bridge and the government would be working with the royal commission to see what the findings would be and then stand ready to act. Western Australia launched an inquiry with the same powers of a royal commission into Crowns Perth casino last week, leading to accusations the Andrews government was dragging its feet given the most concerning evidence related to Crowns flagship Southbank casino. The Victorian government has for years resisted an independent investigation into Crown, despite damning evidence aired in media reports and tabled in Federal Parliament. Ms Horne defended the casino regulator, saying it had been conducting reviews every five years into Crowns suitability to hold a licence. Loading

However, the Auditor-General in 2017 found the regulator had not been properly scrutinising money laundering by high rollers at Crown. Inspectors from the VCGLR were simply not paying sufficient attention to key areas of risk, the states financial watchdog found at the time. Ms Horne has flagged splitting the VCGLR and establishing a separate casino regulator in response to the findings made by the Bergin inquiry. She said there would be a government-led investigation into the effectiveness of the regulator and how it could be reformed. The gambling and liquor regulators were merged in 2012; it had been beset by a lack of leadership, training of staff and reduction in funder under the previous government, the Auditor-General found in 2017. Since receiving [that] report, the government has taken advice about the most appropriate way to proceed in Victoria, the statement said. Loading

Establishing a royal commission will ensure the most appropriate access to information regarding Crown Melbournes suitability to hold the casino licence given the commissions powers to compel witnesses and documentation. The government had already established a review of Crowns suitability to hold its licence. That review will now occur in parallel with the royal commission. The royal commission will establish the facts and the government and the [state regulator] will take any necessary action at the conclusion of the investigation. We will not tolerate illegal behaviour in our gaming industry. with Ashleigh McMillan
By Laura Cohen

New Jersey is on the brink of legalizing and decriminalizing cannabis, fulfilling the will of the people made manifest in the decisive yes vote on the November 2020 ballot.

The last step to legalizing and decriminalizing cannabis for adults hinges on a key question thats been the subject of intense debate: how should New Jersey handle youth possession and use?

A bill that clarifies youth consequences for cannabis and alcohol possession has reached the floor of the Legislature, and its passage would clear the way for Gov. Phil Murphy to sign the cannabis decriminalization and legalization bills on his desk into law. This bill is critically important, not only for its centrality in ending cannabis prohibition but because it finally confronts the punitive criminal consequences and fines for young people using alcohol and cannabis in our state.

I have represented thousands of children and adolescents. As a distinguished clinical professor of law at Rutgers Law School in Newark, directing both the Criminal and Youth Justice Clinic and the Center on Criminal Justice, Youth Rights and Race, I have witnessed the often-lifelong harms wrought by contact with police, courts, and juvenile detention.

It doesnt have to rise to the level of punishment for the criminal legal system to traumatize young people. Police interactions and court involvement alone inflict harm and place tremendous burdens on both kids and their families.

These harms disproportionately impact Black and brown children. New Jersey has the highest rate of Black-white racial disparity in youth incarceration in the nation. Black children are 30 times as likely to be incarcerated as white youth. These disparities stem from the initial decisions of individual police officers, and they grow across the continuum of system involvement.

Only 13% of New Jerseys children are Black, yet Black youth accounted for 24% of juvenile marijuana possession arrests in 2018, despite equal usage rates. Black youth arrests have gone up 6% since 2001, from 18%, and in the same time, the number of white juvenile marijuana arrests dropped 6%.

The legislation (S3454) takes substantial steps toward reducing the harms of the current criminalized response to cannabis and alcohol possession, and I urge New Jersey lawmakers to pass this bill and for Governor Murphy to sign it into law.

Beyond the current legislation, New Jersey must ultimately go further in ways the bill does not address, through a public health approach to cannabis use by young people, similar to its stance toward tobacco. Rather than adopting policies and procedures that will single out the youngest and most vulnerable New Jerseyans to receive the harshest consequences, New Jersey should use public health education strategies and connections with community-based services to discourage underage cannabis use without law enforcement or court referrals.

In the meantime, S3454 takes two key steps to bring New Jersey closer to a more equitable and rational youth justice system.

First, S3454 eliminates fines for youth. Last year, New Jersey eliminated fines and fees in juvenile court, and S3454 builds on that progress by removing fines for youth cannabis and alcohol possession and use. Juvenile fines reinforce inequities by propelling youth of color and youth in poverty deeper into the legal system, compared to wealthier white peers.

Unpaid fines can lead to long-term negative economic consequences from civil judgments and lien, and they often force young people and their families to choose between paying off fines and paying for rent, food, or  ironically  treatment for substance use.

Importantly, S3454 connects youth to community-based supports, such as programs that provide mentorship, wraparound case management, and mental health intervention, among other services, rather than punitive penalties that have been a hallmark of aggressive enforcement of prohibition. The legislation lays out a warning system for youth under age 21 that gradually escalates consequences for youth cannabis and alcohol possession and use, based on the offense and past record.

Criminalization fails in deterring youth drug use and creates other, more serious harms. This shift to a public health approach is a more compassionate, effective, and research-based response.

As an attorney and advocate, I have worked for years with community members, advocates, and lawmakers to mitigate the harms of a youth justice system that often harms young people instead of helping them. We owe it to New Jerseys young people to do better. The New Jersey Legislature and Governor Murphy can take a meaningful step toward this goal by passing and signing into law S3454 as swiftly as possible.

Laura Cohen is director of the Criminal and Youth Justice Clinic, professor, and Justice Virginia Long Scholar at the School of LawNewark where she teaches courses in juvenile justice.

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A State Department spokesman has said the United States will hold Iran "responsible" for a rocket barrage on February 22 that targeted the U.S. Embassy in the Iraqi capital.



But it said it won't "lash out" in response.



Iraq's army said earlier that there were no casualties when the embassy, within Baghdad's heavily fortified Green Zone, was targeted by the rockets.



It said there was only minor property damage, including a damaged vehicle.



Iraqi security officials said three rockets were fired at the U.S. Embassy. They said one rocket fell within the perimeter of the vast embassy complex and another fell in the nearby residential neighborhood of Harthiya just outside of the Green Zone.



Iraqi officials said the rockets had been launched from the Al-Salam neighborhood to the southwest of the Green Zone.



There was no immediate claim of responsibility for the attack.



Baghdad's Green Zone houses foreign embassies as well as the seat of Iraq's government.



The rocket barrage was the third attack to target the U.S. presence in Iraq in a week.



A contractor working for the U.S.-led coalition in Iraq was killed and several other civilians were wounded by a rocket attack outside Irbil International Airport in northern Iraq on February 16.



A little-known Shi'ite militant group that calls itself the Guardians of Blood Brigade claimed responsibility for that attack.



On October 20, rockets wounded employees of a U.S. defense company at Balad Air Base in Salahaddin Province about 70 kilometers north of Baghdad.



The U.S. Embassy had been a frequent target of rocket attacks during the administration of U.S. President Donald Trump. The pace of attacks slowed during the weeks before President Joe Biden took office. But attacks recently have become more frequent.

Based on reporting by AP and Reuters
Things are going from bad to worse for Korea's three smaller, struggling automakers Ssangyong, GM Korea and Renault Samsung.

According to the Korea Automobile Manufacturers Association on Sunday, Hyundai sold 47,059 cars and Kia 37,045 in January to rank an unassailable first and second. But they were followed by foreign carmakers, with Mercedes-Benz in third with 5,918 cars and BMW in fourth with 5,717 cars.

Then came Ssangyong with 5,648, GM Korea with 5,162 and Renault Samsung with 3,534.

It is rare in a patriotic market like Korea for two foreign brands to rank so high, and the reason is that they recently released popular models like a new addition to the Mercedes E-Class and BMW 5 Series.

By contrast customers seemed to be giving up on what they see as the sinking ships of the smaller Korean carmakers. In addition, Renault headquarters in France also recorded a net loss of 8.46 billion euros last year due the coronavirus pandemic and is sacking 15,000 workers by 2025.

Ssangyong filed for court receivership December and is seeking a last-ditch bailout from U.S. auto retailer HAAH Automotive Holdings. It hopes to sign an investment agreement and then ask for yet another loan for a capital increase from state-run Korea Development Bank. But in the meantime its factories have stopped operations because suppliers who have not been paid are refusing to deliver parts.

One of GM Korea's factories also had to cut production by half due to a shortage of parts and is looking for a way out through cooperation with component makers.

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NEW HAVEN, Ind. (AP)  Cabooses generally havent been seen as the last car of freight trains for many years.

The crew members they used to house and the jobs done by those crews have been taken over by technology, said Kelly Lynch, vice president of the Fort Wayne Railroad Historical Society.

And, though the romance of riding in a cozy home on rails remains, some children today may never have seen an actual little red caboose, he said.

Now, Fort Wayne-area residents and visitors can see one up close because of a years-long restoration project spearheaded by the nonprofit railroad historical society.

To some old-timers, the refurbished Wabash No. 2543 caboose might look familiar  it stood for decades in Fort Waynes Swinney Park beginning in 1957, along with a Wabash steam locomotive. In 1984, the caboose became a part of the railroad historical societys collection in New Haven.

The intention was to save the caboose. But the approximately 100-year-old specimen became a victim of its age  and its construction.

Unlike later 20th-century cabooses made mostly of metal, this caboose was made mostly of wood. That makes it rare  one of only two remaining wooden Wabash cabooses  and in need of painstaking work.

To restore the car, it would need to be disassembled, board by board. It was like stripping it down to a skeleton, Lynch said.

But railroad historical society members and other volunteers were undaunted, and during the last three years, 90% of the structure was replaced.

A thousand pieces of new lumber were placed. Several curved and arched beams were handmade for the interior roof  because the inside of the caboose also was wood-paneled.

David D.J. DePanicis, a school director from the Youngstown, Ohio, area with a woodworking background, became project director, leading volunteers in more than 5,000 hours of work.

This project a year ago was at a stage with no roof, no walls, no siding, a cupola that was falling apart, no windows, nothing, just a bare frame and a floor, DePanicis said, adding that, as he started taking the caboose apart, wood crumbled to pieces in his hands.

But the society has such a great variety of people that jobs could get done, DePanicis said. Restoring the caboose was a lot like building a house with your best friends.

In its day, the caboose would have served as an office and living quarters. Crews looked out for signs of trouble, handled switches and brakes and kept track of paperwork regarding shipments.

This caboose contained a wrought-iron stove, a desk, a sink and water closet and bench seating along the sides that doubled as bunks where crews could sleep.

The interior was painted a light green commonly used by railroads, and the exterior was matched to Wabashs characteristic brownish-red from photographs. Authentic decals were placed on the exterior.

As to where the caboose traveled while in service, thats difficult to determine, Lynch said.

We suppose it spent some time in Canada and Detroit, which were part of the Wabash system. But we have photos of it parked by General Electric, now Electric Works, so we know it spent time in Fort Wayne, Lynch said.

The restoration cost about $5,000, he said, but many materials, including a rubber roof, were donated. The project was partly funded by a Buy a Board campaign.

The caboose now is planned to be not just a static display but a working museum  becoming part of the societys rail excursions, including the annual Santa trains popular with families. All of the braking has been restored, DePanicis said, so the caboose is safe as well as attractive.

DePanicis already has a picture in mind  moms, dads and children gathered around the stove and Santa at his desk waiting to hear Christmas wishes.

The amount of work that has gone into this is just stunning, he said.

Seeing them enjoy this car the way it would have been, he added, makes it worthwhile.

__

Source: The Journal Gazette
As millions in Texas were left without power, food, clean water or shelter into the weekend, the record-breaking winter weather which hit last weekend left devastation across North America. Nightly below-freezing temperatures gripped cities in northern Mexico, particularly those on the border of Texas, while the provinces of Quebec and Ontario in Canada have been hit by two powerful snowstorms last week alone. The impact of these events internationally has proven disastrous, as power blackouts, road and school closures and deaths continue.

A review of the trajectory of Winter Storm Uri, as it has unofficially been named by the Weather Channel, shows its broad impact. Starting on February 13, a frontal storm off the coast of the Pacific Northwest started to spread southeast at a rapid speed culminating above the Rocky Mountains on the same day. As it moved further south and southeast, the storm began to develop more as it reached Oklahoma and Texas, all the way to northern Mexico. On February 16, the storm strained northern Mexicos power grids to such an extent that 4.7 million homes and businesses in Mexico lost power.

While the storm moved rapidly through the southeast United States and into Mexico, on February 16 the storm developed another low-pressure center in the north and moved rapidly toward the northeast. The storm quickly broke in half, with one half moving northwards through Quebec while the original storm system continued toward the northeast United States.

A truck drives past a highway sign Monday, Feb. 15, 2021, in Houston. A frigid blast of winter weather across the U.S. plunged Texas into an unusually icy emergency Monday that knocked out power to more than 2 million people and shut down grocery stores and dangerously snowy roads. (AP Photo/David J. Phillip)

In Canada, the storm passed through Quebec, Ontario, and finally into Newfoundland. While bus lines closed in Toronto and schools closed temporarily in Halton and Durham, the densest snowfall in Ontario was around 30 cm in St. Catherines and Hamilton along Lake Ontario. Another snowstorm, fueled by moisture from the Gulf of Mexico and pushing northwards with the current storm in the United States, brought more snow to Ontario this weekend.

Intersecting with the ongoing crisis of the global COVID-19 pandemic, the storms impact on US transportation infrastructure contributed to delayed shipments of the Pfizer vaccine to Canada by at least one day this week, according to CBC News. Pfizers vaccine is shipped from its facility in Puurs, Belgium to Canada through Louisville, Kentucky by air. A significant buildup of snow and ice shut down distribution from United Parcel Service Worldport, the corporations gigantic shipping hub located at the Louisville Muhammad Ali International Airport.

Residents of Mexican towns along the Texas border have been experiencing the similarly dire consequences of their US neighbors. While temperatures have begun to return to normal, last week was one of catastrophic conditions in northern Mexico. Over the course of the week, temperatures dipped to as low as -18 degrees Celsius (0 degrees Fahrenheit) in the cities of Nuevo Leon, Coahuila, Tamaulipas, and Chihuahua, on the Texas border. Over a dozen people have died. Photos taken in the border town of Ciudad Juarez show people walking through heavy falling snow while others show workers huddled near makeshift fires on the streets to stay warm.

The rolling blackouts in seven northern Mexican states were the outcome of the close economic relationship between Mexico and the US. Due to adverse weather conditions earlier this week, Mexico was unable to import a quarter of the four billion cubic feet of natural gas it receives daily from the US. As a result, hundreds of thousands of mainly working class residents in northern Mexico had their power shut off. Roughly 60 percent of all electricity in the country is generated through natural gas and, as of 2019, 96 percent of Mexicos natural gas imports come from the United States.

As well as impacting homes and small businesses, the sharp reduction of natural gas imports into the country has also had an immediate effect on Mexican steel and aluminum plants. According to S&P Global Platts, Mexican steel and aluminum producers were under pressure to reduce natural gas consumption, but many of them ended up suspending production as operating with lower gas levels was unsustainable and lossmaking for them.

The effects of this halt in production could have a number of consequences, including the delay of sizeable back orders and new orders of steel and aluminum to be exported abroad. Aluminum product prices in general are expected to rise amid the robust demand from auto makers. Like their brothers and sisters in the US, hundreds of workers at these plants could also face speedup to make up for lost production time as well as job and wage cuts as a result of the disruption to the production of profits.

On February 17, Mexican President Andres Manuel Lopez Obrador (AMLO) announced that to offset this loss of natural gas, the country would immediately increase the output of oil and coal to generate electricity. However, rolling blackouts across northern Mexico were in effect at least until the end of the weekend. In his statement, AMLO made sure to blame the frigid weather in Texas for the shortage of natural gas but declared there would be no retaliation on the part of Mexico for the current energy crisis.

Echoing the callousness of his US counterparts in the ruling political establishment, AMLO placed the burden of the social disaster squarely on the backs of the working class, telling workers and residents Thursday to help us by consuming less and switch off extra light bulbs during the peak evening hours ... to be totally sure that our electricity system is maintained and that we dont suffer from blackouts. Touted as a left-wing and progressive president by the media and pseudo-left groups worldwide, AMLOs true class character is on display once again in his dismissal of the suffering of workers and complete subservience to the interests of the global energy corporations.

Unable to receive the needed energy from US sources, the Mexican government has sought to secure gas supplies from Asia. As of Thursday, it was reported that two Malaysian-flagged tankers carrying liquefied natural gas were set to arrive in the Mexican ports of Altamira and Manzanillo. According to the Mexican government, additional cargoes are expected to reach Mexican ports from Asia in the following days.

On one hand, the crisis triggered by Winter Storm Uri showcases the international character of the ruling class criminally inadequate response. As all of North America experiences the ravaging effects of the storm on homes and businesses alike, the ruling class utilizes the flow of natural gas and other energy sources to fuel the private profits of massive energy corporations.

As the decay of capitalism continues to produce catastrophes of a global character, including the exacerbation of naturally occurring storms through man-made climate change, the ruling class continues to respond by prioritizing the wealth of a few billionaires over the health and lives of billions of workers.

On the other hand, the social crisis brought on by the storm highlights its solution, which lies in the mobilization of the worlds resources and the international working class to coordinate the production and distribution of energy to the billions who need it.

In contrast to the profit interests of a handful of wealthy oligarchs, the stock markets and the banks, the working class united across national boundaries must fight to put an end to the control of energy for private profit and instead put forward a program to fight for public control over the production and distribution of the worlds energy supplies to fulfill social need. The demand must be raised for the major energy companies in every country to be placed under the democratic control of the international working class.
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ROCHESTER, Minn. - A 21-year-old man is facing charges after allegedly pulling a knife on an employee at the warming center.

Police said Carson Zavala checked into the center Friday night and made comments about having a gun.

Staff had him check his pockets to disprove the statement before he allegedly pulled out a knife and began chasing a 27-year-old victim.

The victim ran into the women's shower to get away and Zavala then used a fire extinguisher to try to gain access.

Another staff member stepped in before taking the knife from Zavala. He fled before being taken into custody near Domino's on 3rd Ave. SE.

He's facing charges of second-degree assault and disorderly conduct.
COPENHAGEN, Denmark, Feb. 22, 2021 /PRNewswire/ -- Novo Holdings A/S, a world-leading life science investor with a focus on long-term, sustainable value creation, today announced that it has agreed to acquire Altasciences from Audax Private Equity.

Founded in 1992, Altasciences is a leading, fully-integrated, early drug development services platform, providing the pharma and biotech industries with a trusted partner for drug development, from preclinical safety testing through clinical proof-of-concept studies. In the past decade, the company has grown both organically and through acquisitions to have a significant presence in the preclinical safety testing, clinical pharmacology, bioanalytical, CRO services, and CDMO markets. Headquartered in Laval, Canada, Altasciences operates six facilities in the U.S. and Canada and employs over 1,300 people.

The company's full-service, integrated offering is uniquely tailored to the needs of small and medium-sized biopharma sponsors, which are expected to account for an increasing share of the growing pipeline of drugs in development. The acquisition by Novo Holdings will help Altasciences continue its impressive growth trajectory, including further domestic and international expansion.

Altasciences' executive management team, led by CEO Chris Perkin, will continue to lead the business following the acquisition.

Abhijeet Lele, Senior Partner, Head of Principal Investments in the U.S. at Novo Holdings, said: "The Altasciences team has done an impressive job of building an innovative company that plays an essential role in bringing innovative drugs to patients and is well-positioned to capture share in the fast-growing market for drug development services. We are excited about this investment and look forward to leveraging our network to continue growing Altasciences in collaboration with the management team."

Chris Perkin, Chief Executive Officer of Altasciences, added: "This is an exciting day for Altasciences. We are very pleased to be partnering with Novo Holdings in the next phase of our exciting journey, given their exceptional reputation, track record, and broad portfolio of high-growth healthcare companies. We look forward to continuing our ambitious growth plans and commitment to providing clients with value-added services that offer a new paradigm of drug development outsourcing."

The transaction is subject to customary closing conditions and is expected to close in the first half of 2021. Goodwin Procter LLP served as legal advisor to Novo Holdings. Harris Williams served as lead financial advisor with Rothschild & Co. and Edgemont Partners serving as co-advisors to Altasciences. Kirkland & Ellis LLP served as legal advisor to Altasciences.

About Novo Holdings A/S

Novo Holdings is recognized as a world-leading life science investor with a focus on creating long-term value. As a life sciences investor, Novo Holdings provides seed and venture capital to development-stage companies and takes significant ownership positions in growth and well-established companies. Novo Holdings also manages a broad portfolio of diversified financial assets. For more information: https://www.novoholdings.dk/

About Altasciences

Altasciences is a forward-thinking, mid-size contract research organization offering pharmaceutical and biotechnology companies a proven, flexible approach to preclinical and clinical pharmacology studies, including formulation, manufacturing, and analytical services. For over 25 years, Altasciences has been partnering with sponsors to help support educated, faster, and more complete early drug development decisions. Altasciences' integrated, full-service solutions include preclinical safety testing, clinical pharmacology and proof of concept, bioanalysis, program management, medical writing and biostatistics, all customizable to specific sponsor requirements. Altasciences helps sponsors get better drugs to the people who need them, faster. https://www.altasciences.com/

SOURCE Novo Holdings
Judge Merrick Garland, President Joe Biden's nominee to be U.S. Attorney General, speaks in Wilmington, Delaware, on Jan. 7, 2021. (Kevin Lamarque/Reuters)

Bidens AG Pick Says He Has Not Spoken to President About Hunter Biden Probe

President Joe Bidens nominee for U.S. attorney general, Merrick Garland, said during his Senate confirmation hearing Monday that he has not spoken with the president about the investigation into his son, Hunter Biden, but insisted that any Justice Department probes will be free of political interference.

Sen. Chuck Grassley (R-Iowa) asked Garland if hes talked to the President about any Hunter Biden investigations.

I have not, Garland replied, adding that, the President made abundantly clear in every public statement before and after my nomination that the decisions about investigations and prosecutions will be left to the Justice Department.

That was the reason that I was willing to take on this job, Garland said. So the answer to your question is no.

Hunter Bidens tax affairs are currently the subject of a federal probe.

I learned yesterday for the first time that the U.S. Attorneys Office in Delaware advised my legal counsel, also yesterday, that they are investigating my tax affairs, Hunter Biden said in a statement in early December. I take this matter very seriously but I am confident that a professional and objective review of these matters will demonstrate that I handled my affairs legally and appropriately, including with the benefit of professional tax advisors.

Biden told CNN in an interview in early December that, as president, he wouldnt interfere in any Justice Department probes.

Im not going to be telling them what they have to do and dont have to do. Im not going to be saying go prosecute A, B, or CIm not going to be telling them. Thats not the role, its not my Justice Department, its the peoples Justice Department, Biden said at the time.

During Garlands confirmation hearing, Sen. Dick Durbin (D-Illinois) alleged that the Justice Department had become politicized during President Donald Trumps tenure.

Under attorney general Sessions and Bill Barr, the Justice Department became an arm of the White House, committed to the interests of President Trump, said Durbin, who chairs the Senate Judiciary Committee.

Durbin said he has every confidence in Garlands ability to oversee the Justice Department, calling his nomination one of the most critical in Department history, calling it an existential moment after four tumultuous years of intrigue, controversy, and brute political force.

I would not have taken this job if I had thought politics would have any influence over prosecutions or investigations, Garland told lawmakers, asserting his commitment to a Justice Department free of political interference.

The president has promised that those decisions will only be made by the attorney general, and that is what I plan to do. I do not plan to be interfered with by anyone. I expect the Justice Department will make its own decisions in this regard, Garland said.

Garland, a federal appellate judge and former prosecutor, is widely expected to win Senate confirmation. He has said he plans to prioritize civil rights and combating domestic terrorism if confirmed.
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Honda has prepared a more reliable and powerful engine in order to "leave Formula 1 with a bang" at the end of 2021.

That is the news from technical boss Toyoharu Tanabe, although he admits to being happy that Red Bull will continue to use Honda-based engines after the Japanese manufacturer quits officially at the end of this year.

"This is the best solution for everyone involved," he told Speed Week when asked about Red Bull's in-house engine deal.

"I am glad that we can support Red Bull Racing and Alpha Tauri in this way and also contribute something to Formula 1. In a way we will stay connected to the sport, as is worthy of our history in Formula 1," the Japanese added.

For the final official season, though, Honda has pressed its foot on the throttle to fast-track the engine that was originally scheduled only for 2022.

"We want to leave Formula 1 with a bang," Tanabe-san said.

"When nobody was talking about corona, our plan was to use this engine in 2021. Then came the pandemic, then the lockdown. We decided to postpone the introduction of this engine until 2022.

"But then the group management decided to leave Formula 1 at the end of 2021, so we changed the plan again and accelerated development," he revealed.

"It was not easy to get the timing right with all of these changes, but we did it. We want to do our best before we say goodbye."

He said the new engine is currently performing well on the test benches.

"In order to increase performance and reliability, we worked on the combustion engine, the turbocharger and the energy recovery," said Tanabe. "We also tried to install the engine in the car in an even better way.

"The findings from the test benches meet our expectations."

(GMM)
A man is in a critical condition after being shot in Belfast  the second shooting in the Northern Ireland capital this month.

Police received reports of gunfire in the Hopewell Crescent area of north Belfast at around 11.15pm on Sunday.

Arriving at the scene, officers and ambulance crew found a man suffering from gunshot wounds.

He was taken to hospital for treatment, where his condition was last night described as critical.

Detective Inspector Phillips said: "We received a report around 11.15pm that a man had been shot in the Hopewell Crescent area of the city.

"Officers attended along with colleagues from NIAS. A man in his 20s has been taken to hospital where his condition is described as critical.

Mr Phillips asked for "anyone who was in the area at the time or who may have any information which may assist us with our inquiries" to contact police.

Members of the public can dial 101 or contact Crimestoppers anonymously on 0800 555 111.

Sunday night's shooting is the second in north Belfast this month.

A man was shot dead in the lower Cliftonville Road area on 2 February.

The victim was later named as Daniel McClean, whom a Belfast court in 2019 linked to dissident republicans.

Mr McClean, who was in his 50s, was shot dead in his car, with locals reporting that up to five shots had been fired.
COVID-19's impact on efforts to combat gross human rights violations will be a major focus of the 46th regular session of the UN Human Rights Council.

The four-week session, which starts Monday in Geneva, will be held virtually because of the pandemic. It will kick off with a three-day high-level segment when nine heads of state and other dignitaries from more than 130 countries will address the UN Human Rights Council by video.

UN officials say the vast majority of their statements are expected to focus on COVID-19. The pandemic also will be the theme of a special panel discussion Monday on the fight against racism and discrimination and its exacerbating effects on these efforts.

Human Rights Watch executive director Kenneth Roth says the council should examine how various governments have used the pandemic as a pretext to entrench their power by cracking down on the opposition.

He cites the example of Hungarian Prime Minister Victor Orban, who seized power for a while to rule by decree without parliamentary legislation. "Another example was the recent elections in Uganda, where President [Yoweri] Musevani used the pandemic as a pretext to preclude campaigning by his main opponent, Bobi Wine," he said. "The repeated use of deadly violence, the arrest of people, the repeated arrest, the national beating of Bobi Wine. You know, many of this just using the pandemic as pretext."


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Donald Trump offered North Korean leader Kim Jong Un a ride home on Air Force One after a summit in Hanoi two years ago, according to a new BBC documentary.

Kim and Trump first engaged in a war of words and mutual threats, before an extraordinary diplomatic bromance that featured headline-grabbing summits and a declaration of love by the former US president.

But no substantive progress was made, with the process deadlocked after the pair's meeting in Hanoi broke up over sanctions relief and what Pyongyang would be willing to give up in return.

According to a BBC documentary, "Trump Takes on the World", the US president "stunned even the most seasoned diplomats" by offering Kim a lift home on Air Force One after the 2019 summit in Vietnam.

If Kim had accepted the offer, it would have put the North Korean leader -- and probably some of his entourage -- inside the US president's official aircraft and seen it enter North Korean airspace, raising multiple security issues.

In the event, Kim turned it down.

"President Trump offered Kim a lift home on Air Force One," Matthew Pottinger, the top Asia expert on Trump's National Security Council, told the BBC, it reported at the weekend.

"The president knew that Kim had arrived on a multi-day train ride through China into Hanoi and the president said: 'I can get you home in two hours if you want.' Kim declined."

For his first summit with Trump in Singapore in 2018, Kim hitched a ride on an Air China plane, with Beijing keen to keep North Korea -- whose existence as a buffer state keeps US troops in the South well away from China's borders -- firmly within its sphere of influence.

During the Singapore summit, Trump gave Kim a glimpse inside his presidential state car -- a $1.5 million Cadillac also known as "The Beast" -- in a show of their newly friendly rapport.

But last month Kim said the US was his nuclear-armed nation's "biggest enemy", adding that Washington's "policy against North Korea will never change" no matter "who is in power".

North Korean official media have yet to refer to Joe Biden -- who beat Trump in last year's election -- by name as US president.

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Here's what you need to know: Monday, Feb. 22
M&A

Tick tock: How Perspecta decided on its sale to Veritas

Roughly five months went by after Veritas Capital asked in July 2020 for a waiver from its agreement with Perspecta that governed how the private equity firm could try to buy the company.

The Perspecta board of directors granted Veritas that waiver on Jan. 6, though before that Veritas was able to give ranges of what it thought the government technology company was worth.

After Jan. 6, Veritas submitted three bids over the next 20 days and its final offer prevailed over a competing bid by unnamed government contractor in the final round, according to regulatory filings posted Friday.

The final offer by that contractor called Company A in the filing came in at $28.50 per share in cash and stock, while Veritas last and winning bid was $29.35 per share in all cash.

A second government contractor labeled Company B also showed interest in an acquisition of Perspecta over the fall and winter of 2020 and outlined broad terms of such a deal at various points. That pursuit ended in late December.

Perspectas proxy filing, of which we clipped the relevant 30 pages here, is a required disclosure they must make ahead of a yet-unscheduled shareholder vote on Veritas proposal to acquire the company.

The six-month period between Veritas first request and sealing the deal also represents the amount of time its CEO Ramzi Musallam was not a participant in any meeting of Perspectas board of directors, of which he is a member but was recused from board deliberations for this situation.

Veritas owned two of the three businesses that helped launch the publicly-traded Perspecta in 2018. The private equity firm holds 14.4 percent of the stock today.

Perspectas third-largest shareholder was a second significant player in this story. Jana Partners, the activist hedge fund founded and led by Barry Rosenstein, holds 8.6 percent of the stock and first disclosed its Perspecta holdings in June 2020.

Representatives from Jana met with Perspecta CEO Mac Curtis and then-board Chairman Mike Lawrie twice in March. A third meeting happened in July with Curtis and other Perspecta senior executives. Curtis became chairman in August.

That July 16 meeting is when Jana put forth options they thought could help increase Perspectas shareholder value, including a sale of the company or other transformative transaction.

By my count, Curtis and his Perspecta colleagues briefed Jana representatives on the contractors performance and outlook three more times after that.

For what its worth, Curtis told investors in a November earnings call that Perspecta believed its stock was undervalued and the board was looking at how to remedy that.

August is apparently when the interest from other contractors who wanted to buy Perspecta began to kick off. Company As CEO told Curtis in one phone call an unsolicited proposal to acquire Perspecta was on the way.

Perspectas board then instructed Curtis to work with the companys financial advisers to see who else may be interested in a transaction.

Curtis then separately called the chief executives of two other GovCon companies -- Company B and a Company C -- that Perspecta was expecting a bid from Company A.

Perspecta was confident in itself as a standalone company but at least wanted Companies B and C to evaluate the possibility of a transaction, Curtis told both of those CEOs.

Company C decided not to go forward. Company B then made its interest known to Curtis in a Sept. 14 letter and in an Oct. 3 phone call between both CEOs.

Oct. 6 indicates when Perspectas board began to discuss due diligence in a potential transaction. The board determined varying degrees of that activity should take place with Companies A and B, plus Veritas.

Veritas and Musallams first contact regarding Perspectas willingness to grant the waiver happened in July 2020, but the Perspecta board determined that was premature the following month.

Musallam sent a letter in September to Perspectas lead independent director Phil Nolan outlining a valuation range of $28.00-$30.00 per share in cash in a potential acquisition.

A second unnamed private equity firm showed some interest in Perspecta. That PE firm attended presentations from Perspecta management and was sent a bid process letter in December outlining how to put forth a proposal. No offer from that PE firm is detailed in the proxy filing.

Veritas and Company A got the same letter, along with a draft merger agreement. Dec. 23 is when Company B ended its pursuit.

Company A gave a presentation to Perspectas board on Jan. 19 on a strategic plan for the combined company.

Multiple rounds of bids took place with Company As final bid made on Jan. 25. Veritas made two more offers, including the final and winning bid the next day.

Then we all found out on Jan. 27 that Veritas won the race for Perspecta, which apparently took a multiple-blind approach in this process.

No details of conversation between Musallam, Veritas and Curtis. Nolan represented Perspecta to Musallam. Curtis represented Perspecta to the prospective strategic buyers.
Air Arabia Egypt, a leading low-cost carrier in the region, has announced plans to launch direct service to Muscat, Oman, from the capital city Cairo, flying twice a week starting from March 11.

These flights, all Airbus A320s, will operate on Mondays and Thursdays. Flight No E5 753 will depart Cairo International Airport (CAI) at 12.55pm and arrive in Muscat International Airport at 6.35pm. On return, Flight No E5 754 will take off from Muscat at 7.25pm and land in Cairo at 10.05pm.

Customers can now book their direct flights on Cairo-Muscat route through Air Arabias website besides call centre or travel agencies.

Since Covid-19 outbreak, Air Arabia said its customer journey has been upgraded to include all safety measures that are in line with the highest international measures.

Air Arabias entire fleet is fitted with HEPA cabin air filters, which help to provide a safer and healthier environment for passengers. Customers are always requested to comply with the conditions and requirements of the countries of departure and destination, it added.-TradeArabia News Service
Nigerian university students started returning to classes in January for the first time in nearly a year.

The federal government had on March 19, 2020, ordered all schools to close due to the COVID-19 pandemic.

The authorities said they were concerned about how to reopen the schools without exposing students and lecturers to the virus.

In June 2020, the Presidential Task Force (PTF) on COVID-19 issued a 52-page document containing safety protocols and guidelines for school reopening.

The Minister of Education, Adamu Adamu, on October 2, 2020, eventually gave the green light for schools to reopen, based on the COVID-19 safety guidelines issued by the PTF.

But the announcement came while the Academic Staff Union of Universities (ASUU) was on a strike that started shortly after the COVID-19 outbreak.

By the time the university lecturers eventually called off their strike on December 23, 2020, the second wave of the pandemic was underway, further pushing back the reopening plans.

The government finally directed the schools to start reopening from January 18 after a protracted debate.

It was a tough decision for the government to allow students back to schools amid the spike in COVID-19 infections and deaths. It has even been tougher for the school authorities who now have to contend with a disrupted academic calendar and ensuring safety from COVID-19 on campuses.

PREMIUM TIMES, over three weeks, monitored compliance with the COVID-19 guidelines and basic safety procedure at some universities across the country. The exercise revealed several gaps in the management of the COVID-19 safety protocols in most of the universities visited.

Some lecturers were reluctant to return to the classrooms for fear of contamination. Poor internet access and concerns about widening achievement gaps were also making virtual learning, which is another option for teaching, extremely difficult to explore in the universities.

The Secretary to the Government of the Federation and Chairman of the Presidential Task Force (PTF) on COVID-19, Boss Mustapha, at a recent press briefing, said the reopening of schools was contributing to the spike in COVID-19 infections in Nigeria due to the flouting of safety guidelines.

Below are situation reports from some of the universities our reporters visited for this report.

Federal University, Oye-Ekiti (FUOYE)

When the Federal University, Oye-Ekiti (FUOYE) reopened on January 19, the COVID-19 safety guidelines immediately became an issue on the campus.

Two unions had accused the schools management of being lackadaisical in providing safety and washing equipment as well as enforcing the guidelines.

Apart from the science laboratories and administrative blocks, there is no running water in any other department in the school.

There is no water even in the toilets. Most of them are always locked and student do their business at the back of buildings, Iretomiwa Dele-Yusuff, the president of the schools Union of Campus Journalists, told PREMIUM TIMES.

At the main gate and in some strategic points of entrance, there are water basins and buckets but no water in or near them.

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The security guards at the main gate enforced wearing of face masks before allowing access to the campus, but students and visitors who do not have face masks can avoid the gate and use a bush path. On the school premises, there was no enforcement of wearing of the material.

Social distancing was also not maintained in the classrooms with some students not also wearing masks.

Campus journalists reported that officials of the Nigerian Centre of Disease Control (NCDC) during a visit disrupted lectures over lack of social distancing in the classrooms.

The Dean of Student Affairs, Dosu Malomo, however, told PREMIUM TIMES it was not the NCDC that did this but the Ekiti COVID-19 taskforce.

Mr Malomo refused to speak further on COVID-19 management in the school, instead referring our reporter to the universitys spokesperson, Adeyinka Ademuyiwa, who said he would get back to the reporter but never did.

Meanwhile, some lecturers had not resumed classes while some had opted to conduct classes online.

I am taking six courses, two of them physically while four are online, Miss Dele-Yusuff, the campus journalist and an English Language student, said.

She said the online classes would have been a better option if not for the poor internet network in the school and the surrounding areas.

Dissatisfied with the management of COVID-19 safety protocols, the Non-Academic Staff Union (NASU) of the school threatened to embark on a strike until things were put in order.

A group of departmental governors, class captains and students were also organising a boycott of classes at the time of our reporters visit.

University of Abuja

The Federal Capital Territory (FCT) is the second city most impacted by COVID-19 in Nigeria with over 18,000 infections and about 134 deaths. Yet, enforcement of safety measures at the University of Abuja is weak, PREMIUM TIMES observed.

There are no handwashing equipment or hand sanitisers at the main gate and temperature checks on people were not carried out before they were allowed into the campus.

Wearing of face masks was also randomly adhered to as many students were seen either wearing them wrongly or not at all in the school premises.

Also, there were no cleaning equipment in the administrative and school blocks. However, there were temperature checks and small hand sanitisers at the senate blocks and the vice chancellors office.

Some students told our reporters that exams started a fortnight ago without social distancing being enforced in the classrooms.

Security officials told our reporter that the vice-chancellor was in a meeting with officials who would have taken questions on COVID-19 protocols in the school.

Nasarawa State University

Safety measures and protocols were in place when our reporter visited Nasarawa State University (NSUK), Keffi in Nasarawa State last week. Officials checked the temperature of people at the gates and the entrance of any block in the school premises.

There were hand sanitisers and water and soap for handwashing at strategic points.

The two-metre rule was strictly maintained as the students observed social distance in the classrooms, although the measure was not fully complied with outside.

University of Ibadan

Many universities resumed in January but lectures were yet to resume at the University of Ibadan when our reporter visited.

Only postgraduate students were on the campus while the undergraduate students were expected to resume on February 20.

Even when lectures fully resume, some lectures will still be held virtually as some of the COVID-19 measures are not yet being enforced.

While handwashing and temperature checks were in place, social distancing was not being enforced.

University of Ilorin

The University of Ilorin in Kwara State can stand as a model for COVID-19 safety protocols management. The situation there was a sharp contrast to what was observed in FUOYE and many other universities.

The school management was actively using social media platforms, especially Twitter and Youtube, to disseminate information on COVID-19 safety and protection.

There were hand washing equipment and temperature checks at strategic points and entrances to the school. Also, social distancing and proper wearing of facemasks were being enforced by a student taskforce inaugurated ahead of the reopening.

Wisdom Okonko, a member of the taskforce, said the members ensure students followed the guidelines while in the school premises.

On his Twitter account @wisdom_okonko, he shared a picture of how the committee was inaugurated on January 27 by the COVID-19 committee of the university.

We have to maintain all the measures. Wearing of facemasks, regular washing of hands and maintenance of social distancing must be kept. The taskforce is actually working, a student told our reporter.

Private Universities

Some of the private schools visited in Abuja were rigorously enforcing the COVID-19 safety protocols.

Modern handwashing equipment containing water, soap and sanitisers were strategically positioned within and outside Baze University in Abuja.

Wearing of facemasks was compulsory as no student was seen without one during the visit by our reporter.

Social distancing was also maintained and signposts in strategic locations carry information on COVID-19 safety.

It was the same scenario at Nile University also in Abuja.
President Joe Biden has called China the United States most serious competitor, and made clear that he is ready to face the challenges China presents:

Well confront Chinas economic abuses, counter its aggressive course of action to push back on Chinas attack on human rights, intellectual property and global governance.

President Biden also said that the United States is ready to engage with China from a position of strength.

Secretary of State Antony Blinken said in a recent CNN television interview that a position of strength means strong alliances: Thats a source of advantage for us - not denigrating our alliances, he said. It means showing up again in the world engaging. Because if we dont, China fills in.

Secretary Blinken also emphasized that engaging from a position of strength means standing up for our values: Not abdicating them when we see the abuse of the rights of the Uighurs in Xinjiang or democracy in Hong Kong, said Secretary Blinken. It means making sure that were postured militarily to deter aggression, and it means investing in our own people so that they can compete effectively.

In a telephone call between Secretary Blinken and Chinas top diplomat Yang Jiechi, Mr. Blinken stressed that the United States will continue to stand up for human rights and democratic values in Hong Kong, Tibet and Xinjiang. He noted that the United States will work with its allies and partners in defense of our shared values and interests to hold the PRC accountable for its efforts to threaten stability in the Indo-Pacific, including across the Taiwan Strait. He also pressed China to join the international community in condemning the military coup in Burma.

The President has been very clear that he wants to put and will put and is putting human rights and democracy back at the center of our foreign policy, Secretary Blinken told CNN. And so, whether its China, or any other country where we have deep and serious concerns, this will be something that is front and center.
An Arkansas police officer was shot and injured at a McDonald's on Saturday as he confronted a kidnapper who had snatched a 14-year-old girl from North Carolina.

The abductor, William Robert Ice, fired multiple times at officer Cody Carpenter before fleeing the scene and later being found dead from an apparent self-inflicted gunshot wound.

Carpenter, the injured cop, was airlifted to hospital but is said to be 'in good spirits given the circumstances' and is expected to make a full recovery.

The girl, named as 14-year-old Savannah Childress who went missing from Denton, North Carolina, over a week ago, was found safe.

Arkansas police officer Cody Carpenter, pictured, was injured in the line of duty while confronting a kidnapper who had abducted a girl from North Carolina

William Robert Ice, 38, of Jackson Center, Pennsylvania, shot an Arkansas police officer when he was confronted after his SUV was recognised as being linked to a child abduction case. He was later found in his car with a self-inflicted gunshot wound to the head

The gunfire broke out after Ice's SUV was found at the fast-food restaurant around 8pm on Saturday in Lonoke, about 27 miles from Little Rock.

Ice, of Jackson Center, Pennsylvania, initially complied with orders to step out of the vehicle, but then aimed a gun and began shooting at the officers.

Carpenter was hit, while his colleague Brandon Ray, who was uninjured, returned fire as Ice got back in his vehicle and fled the scene.

Ray is on administrative leave pending an investigation, but Lonoke officials said they expect him to make 'an honorable return to duty' once the inquiry is complete.

An Arkansas State Trooper later spotted the SUV and pursued it until the vehicle became disabled in a snowbank. The 14-year-old girl fled from the vehicle and was recovered safely by a state trooper.

Inside the SUV, a trooper found Ice critically injured from what preliminarily appears to be a self-inflicted gunshot wound. Ice later died at a Little Rock hospital.

The amber alert for Childress was cancelled at around midnight on Sunday, and the Aware Foundation - which focuses on missing and endangered people - later confirmed that she was safe.

Ice was also wanted by Pennsylvania law enforcement authorities in connection with other child predator cases, according to Arkansas State Police.

In addition to the kidnapping, he was wanted for charges of sexually assaulting a 14-year-old in Pennsylvania, Mahoning County Human Trafficking Task Force said, according to The Dispatch.

14-year-old Savannah Childress (pictured) who went missing from Denton over a week ago, was found safe after she fled from Ice's car

The Davidson County Sheriff's Office also said that Ice had been communicating with young girls in Alamance County.

Arkansas State Police, working with sheriff's deputies in Davidson County, North Carolina, and with the North Carolina State Bureau of Investigation determined the girl had been kidnapped.

As of Sunday afternoon, the wounded officer was said to be in a stable condition, with Childress set to return home that day.

She had been missing since February 11, having last been seen by her father at around 7 a.m. when she left their Denton home.

At 8.35 a.m., she logged off her virtual classroom, and her parents reported her missing when she didn't show up to pick her younger sibling up from the bus stop.

Detectives found Childressm had been communicating with Ice online and that their messages had been explicit.

They said that the suspect utilized practises that are commonly used by sexual predators. Ice took Childress from her home on February 11, detectives said.
By Kevin K5 Michels, edited by Stephen Chapis

Following his previous article about the evolution of the nose art on the CAF Gulf Coast Wings B-17 Texas Raiders, Kevin K5 Michels recently submitted another excellent article that detailed the history behind the famous one-wheel pass performed by Texas Raiders at air shows across the country.

Donning his distinctive flat-brim straw hat, an otherwise non-descript elderly man would leave his home for a daily 5-mile walk, telling his beloved wife that he was going out to chase girls. He would return four hours later. Not because he was slow, but because the gregarious extrovert socialized with literally everyone along the way. Known to all as the Colonel, he was a pillar of society in this seaside community of San Clemente, California.

The New York Times has only so much space in its newspaper, and thus holds a high bar for its obituary section. Robert Eli Thacker warranted nearly a full page. Born February 21, 1918, Robert died peacefully at home on November 25, 2020 at the age of 102, leaving a gaping hole in his community and a broken heart in the chest of everyone he touched during his incredible life.

You could be forgiven for not knowing the name Robert Thacker, since you are unlikely to live in San Clemente. But I can almost guarantee that you know one or more of his exploits. Thacker was most famous for flights that originated or terminated in Hawaii. One of each in fact (hint, hint). Thacker was also a 31-year Air Force officer who flew combat missions in World War II, Korea, and Vietnam. During his amazing career, Thacker was awarded two Silver Stars, three Distinguished Flying Crosses, ten Air Medals, and the French Croix de Guerre with Palm. Robert Eli Thacker was truly extraordinary. In retirement Robert let no grass grow under his feet, continuing to contribute society and industry while being given a long list of awards and accolades. In total, Robert Thackers life was one many aspire to, but few achieve.

Early Life

Robert Eli Thacker grew up in the farming community of El Centro, California as the second of three children. He attended a local community college where he earned an associate degree in Engineering. He signed up for the Armys Air Cadet program, eventually winning his wings in the summer of 1940. The newly commissioned 2nd Lieutenant Thacker was first assigned to the 88th Reconnaissance Squadron where he flew twin-engine B-18 Bolos from Hamilton Field, California and Douglas Airfield, Utah. On March 3, 1941, Robert married his college sweetheart, Betty-Jo Smoot, and it lasted for the next 70 years.

On December 3, 1941, Lt. Thackers story gets interesting. He was ordered to go to Boeings plant in Seattle and pick up a brand-new B-17E, but Thacker had no time in B-17s or any four-engine aircraft for that matter. However, orders were orders, and Thacker managed to get the B-17E back to Douglas Airfield in one piece. Two days later the squadron was flying endurance tests with the new aircraft when Douglas got socked in by weather, forcing Thackers flight to divert to divert to Tucson, Arizona. Upon landing they received odd orders to refuel immediately and report to Hamilton Field and await further orders. No sleep for the crews that night.

Flight To Hawaii

Upon arriving at Hamilton, they were given orders to fly to Clark Field, Philippines to bolster the islands defenses. The B-17s were to leave that night, giving the crews less than half a day to prepare, thus depriving them of yet another nights sleep. The Fortresses were quickly modified and equipped for a long over-water flight, which is to say that they swapped as much dead weight for fuel as possible. The brand-new aircraft were loaded with 50-caliber machine guns, but since there was no action expected until they neared the Japanese-controlled areas of the Pacific, they remained in their crates. The plan was to uncrate them and load up and take on ammunition at one of the waypoints. Given everything that was known at that moment, it was a good plan. Unfortunately, the flight departed Hamilton on the evening of December 6, 1941.

A total of fourteen B-17s were scheduled to depart that night, but two aborted due to mechanical issues, leaving eight B-17Es and four B-17Cs to make the 14+ hour flight to Hickam Field on the Hawaiian Island of Oahu. Thacker was the aircraft commander of B-17E, USAAF #41-2432, which had been named The Last Straw. As the bedraggled crews, having already gone more than 24 hours without sleep, droned towards Hawaii, their watches clicked over past midnight. It was now December 7, 1941. On Oahu, the Army requested, and subsidized, Honolulus KGMB radio station to remain on the air all night, so the B-17s navigators could use the signal as a homing beacon. As we know today, the Japanese used that broadcast for the same purpose. Unbeknownst to the B-17 crews, they were about to become unwitting participants in one of historys most notorious events.

Thoroughly exhausted and with nearly empty fuel tanks, twelve crews and their B-17s arrived over Oahu at almost the same time as the first wave of Japanese attackers. Mass confusion reigned. Hickams air control tower initially cleared the B-17s to land, but then frantically directed them away. As the Japanese attack got underway, anti-aircraft gunners fired on the Japanese aircraft and the B-17s! Without enough fuel to orbit and wait out the attack, the Fortress crews spread across the island looking for alternate landing fields.

An experienced pilot today can appreciate what happened next, especially when one considers that Thacker was just 23 years old, had been awarded his wing just 18 months prior, and was about to attempt just his fourth or fifth landing ever in a B-17. In a 2018 interview, Thacker described himself at that moment as being wholly unqualified to fly the plane. Now he was under attack, out of fuel and out of options, so he lined up his B-17 for a crosswind landing on the airfields short runway. While on final, three Zeroes swooped in and shot the right main landing gear to pieces. Despite the deck that was stacked against him, Thacker got the plane down in one piece, ground-looped at the end of the runway and brought the plane to a halt. With his wits still about him Thacker ordered his men to take cover in the adjacent swamp rather than a nearby hangar. Over the next hour both the hangar and flight line were destroyed by Japanese attackers in a series of massive explosions. Thacker was one of only three B-17 pilots to land his plane at Hickam Field as planned. The others were 1st Lt. David G. Rawls in B-17E USAAF #41-2434 and Lt Brandon in B-17E USAAF #41-2433.

In 1970, Hollywood released the blockbuster movie Tora! Tora! Tora! In that movie a B-17 is shown making a crash landing with one wheel down during the attack. Of the twelve B-17s that arrived that day, it is Thackers landing that is best depicted by that epic scene. Since 1972 the Gulf Coast Wings B-17 Texas Raiders has re-created that event in the Tora Tora Tora airshow, keeping history alive lest we forget the sneak attack on that fateful Sunday morning. Until now, you may not have known the name of the original pilot and even fewer knew how young or green the pilot was that somehow performed like a veteran professional under the worst conditions. Of the twelve B-17 command pilots that flew into Pearl Harbor that day, half of them did not survive the war. Robert Thacker, at 102 years of age, was the last one standing. Salute!

World War II Service

Thackers B-17, along with several others were quickly repaired and flew local sea patrols for the next couple of months. On February 18, 1942 Thackers crew, along with five others, flew to Australia where they became part of the 19th Bomb Group (BG) and began flying combat missions from Port Moresby, New Guinea in the Southwest Pacific Theatre.

Thacker flew 49 bombing and reconnaissance missions with the 19th BG, with the latter missions regarded as the most dangerous. Thackers tour in Port Moresby was during a time when the theatre lacked just about everything a combat force needed to conduct operations. He was quoted as saying that there were many times that while aloft his aircraft represented the entire USAAF offensive force in the theatre. Thacker was promoted to Captain in March 1942.

The fate of The Last Straw is notable. She served valiantly in the 7th, 5th, 19th, and 43rd BGs before being transferred to 54th Transport Command on August 12, 1943. Written off in December 1945, The Last Straw quite literally from the very first minute of the war until the very last. The American taxpayers certainly got their moneys worth from 41-2432!

In December 1942, Capt. Thacker returned to the States and assigned to Pyote AAF, Texas where he spent four months training B-17s crews bound for the European Theater of Operations. This time period is notable because it confirms that Thacker was instrumental in training and preparing the fledgling 381st BG for duty with the 8th Air Force. By the time he left Pyote, Thacker had been promoted to Major.

In May 1944, Maj. Thacker was given command of the 547th Bomb Squadron (BS) of the 384th BG at Grafton Underwood in Northamptonshire, England. Thacker was soon promoted to Lieutenant Colonel and served as Group Operations Officer and Deputy Group Commander. Thacker flew 28 combat missions with the 384th, frequently as group or wing leader. On one notable mission he commanded a formation that included over 2,500 bombers. According to Thacker, The line of bombers was so long that the last planes were taking off from England as the first bombs were being dropped on target.

With the European air war winding down, Thacker was ordered to Okinawa to prepare for the Mighty Eighths transfer to the Pacific, and while on his way to the U.S. by ship, the world celebrated V-E Day. Thacker was at Wright Field in Dayton, Ohio when the atomic bombs were dropped, quickly bringing about an end to the war and nullifying his orders to report to Okinawa.

Being at the right place at the right time, Thacker attended the Wright Field Experimental Test Flight Academy, where he unwittingly found himself in the same class with Bob Hoover and Chuck Yeager and the trio became lifelong friends. Upon graduation, Thacker was assigned to the Accelerated Service Test Division One where he would wring out the newest aircraft the USAAF had to offer. However, it was a test flight in 1947 that brought him everlasting fame.

Flight From Hawaii

Hickam Field was a recurring pivot point in Robert Thackers life, but in 1947 it was to take part in aviation fame rather than infamy. Lt. Col. Thacker worked with North American Aviations engineers to prepare P-82B Twin Mustang, USAAF #44-65168 for a world record long distance flight attempt. To save weight, armor and weapons were removed and its internal fuel capacity was increased by 400-gallons, an increase of 70%. In addition, a quartet of massive 310-gallon drop tanks were fitted under the wings. The intent was to fly the aircraft nonstop from Hawaii to New York, an unprecedented feat for the time. Christened Betty-Jo, after Thackers wife, the aircrafts gross takeoff weight was 30,000 pounds, nearly half of which was fuel, was a full 5,000 pounds over the manufacturers design maximum load capacity, also a world record at the time.

At 3:30pm on February 27, 1947, Thacker and his co-pilot, Lt. John Ard, coaxed Betty-Jo off Hickam Fields runway and headed east for LaGuardia Airport, New York, which lay over 14 hours and 5,051 miles away. Several technical problems emerged in flight, most famously a mechanical glitch that prevented three of the four drop tanks from being released once they were empty. The unwelcome extra drag and troublesome induced yaw could have led to a failure of the flights objectives, but fortunately the skilled and experienced test pilots overcame these issues as well as other unexpected challenges. At 11:08am on February 28th, Thacker and Ard touched down at LaGuardia airport with just 62 gallons (thirty minutes) of fuel remaining. Enough fuel for just another thirty minutes in the air.

Average speed for the flight was 350-mph. Today, nearly 74 years later, two of Betty Jos records still stand: 1) longest non-stop flight by a propeller driven aircraft, 2) fastest non-stop flight from Hawaii to New York by a propeller driven aircraft.

Today, at the National Museum of the U.S. Air Force at Wright-Patterson AFB in Dayton, Ohio, there are two North American Twin Mustangs on display. The first is a black F-82G night fighter, and the other is Betty-Jo, which was turned over to the museum in 1957. On display in front of Betty-Jo is a display case with Lt. Col. Robert Thackers A-2 jacket and the flight boots he wore during the flight.

Later Career

As a career Air Force man, Thacker went on to the Air Command and Staff School in 1948. During the Korean War, Thacker flew bombing missions in the B-29 Superfortress. Nearing retirement during the Vietnam War, Thacker, who was then a full Colonel, contributed by flying high-altitude, classified reconnaissance missions snooping for nuclear fissionable material in the atmosphere.

In 1970, after 31 years of tireless and valiant service, Colonel Robert Thacker retired from the Air Force. He and Betty-Jo moved to the coastal town of San Clemente where they would live out the rest of their lives. Robert was very active in his community, served as an advisor to the aviation industry all while pursuing his hobby of flying radio-controlled model airplanes. Robert was so skilled with his model aircraft that aerospace companies often contracted with him to build  scale models of various designs they were working on. Adding to a long list of honors, Thacker was inducted into the Academy of Model Aeronautics Hall of Fame in 2010. Sadly, Betty-Jo passed away in 2011. They are survived by thier daughter, Barbara.

Later Career

As a career Air Force man, Thacker went on to the Air Command and Staff School in 1948. During the Korean War, Thacker flew bombing missions in the B-29 Superfortress. Nearing retirement during the Vietnam War and now a full Colonel, Thacker contributed by flying high-altitude, classified reconnaissance missions snooping for nuclear fissionable material in the atmosphere.

In 1970, after 31 years of tireless and valiant service, Colonel Robert Thacker retired from the Air Force. He and Betty-Jo moved to the coastal town of San Clemente, CA just south of Orange County, a place they would call home for the rest of their lives. Robert was very active in his community, served as an advisor to the aviation industry all while pursuing his hobby of flying Radio-Controlled model airplanes. Robert was so skilled with his model aircraft that aerospace companies often contracted with him to build  scale models of various designs they were working on. Adding to a long list of honors, Thacker was inducted into the Academy of Model Aeronautics Hall of Fame in 2010. Sadly, Betty-Jo passed in 2011. They are survived by a daughter, Barbara.

To learn more about the B-17 Flying Fortress Texas Raiders and the CAF Gulf Coast Wing visit www.b17texasraiders.org
WILMINGTON, Del. (AP)  The Delaware judge presiding over the Weinstein Co. bankruptcy has rejected a request by four women who have accused disgraced film mogul Harvey Weinstein of sexual misconduct to put her approval of the companys bankruptcy plan on hold.

The judge issued a one-page order Wednesday denying the request for an emergency stay while the women challenge approval of the plan in federal district court in Delaware.

Attorneys for the four women responded Friday by asking the district court to put the plan confirmation on hold while it considers their appeal.

According to a bankruptcy court filing, the plan has been substantially consummated, with an effective date of Thursday.

The plan is being challenged by producer Alexandra Canosa and actresses Wedil David and Dominique Huett, who have accused Weinstein of sexual assault, and a former Weinstein Co. employee who claims she was subjected to a hostile work environment.

Attorneys for the objectors say the plan includes overly broad releases from liability for third parties such as insurance companies and former Weinstein Co. officers and directors. They also argue that it contains a provision that unfairly prevents non-consenting sexual misconduct claimants from pursuing their claims.

The bankruptcy plan provides about $35 million for creditors. Thats about $11.5 million less than under a previous plan, which was scrapped after a federal judge in New York refused to approve a proposed $19 million settlement between Weinstein and some of his accusers. The settlement in that purported class-action lawsuit was a key component of the initial bankruptcy plan.

Roughly half of the approved settlement, about $17 million, is allocated for a single sexual misconduct claims fund, down from about $25.7 million allocated for three separate categories of sexual misconduct claims under the previous plan.

Another $8.4 million goes to a liquidation trust for resolving non-sexual misconduct claims, and $9.7 million will be used to reimburse defense costs for former company officials other than Weinstein. The plan also releases those officials from liability for tort claims related to Weinsteins conduct.

Holders of sexual misconduct claims will receive 100% of the liquidated value of their claims if they agree to release Harvey Weinstein from all legal claims. A claimant who elects not to release Weinstein but to retain the option to sue him in another court would receive 25% of the value of her bankruptcy claim.

Weinstein is serving a 23-year prison sentence after being convicted by a New York jury for the rape and sexual assault of two women. He also has been charged in California with rape, forcible oral copulation, sexual battery by restraint and sexual penetration by use of force. Those allegations involve five women and stem from events in Los Angeles and Beverly Hills from 2004 to 2013.

Copyright 2021 Associated Press. All rights reserved. This material may not be published, broadcast, rewritten or redistributed.
Kurdish militia YPG have wounded six people in a car bomb near the Turkish border, writes Zaman Al-Wasl.

At least six people were wounded in a car bomb detonated in an opposition area near the Turkish border, local activists said Saturday.

The blast of Sajo village near Azaz town has followed a series of attacks by the powerful Kurdish Peoples Protection Unit (YPG) militia on Turkish-held areas in the past few weeks since US President Joe Biden came to the Oval Office.

Firefighters rushed to a fire that broke out after the explosion that damaged surrounding shops and houses, Anadolu Agency said.

Northwestern Syria is administered by a self-styled opposition government.

Turkey considers the Syrian Kurdish YPG as terrorists for their links to a decades-long Kurdish insurgency inside Turkey that has killed tens of thousands of people. The same fighters were the United States partners on the ground in fighting the Islamic State group.

This article was edited by The Syrian Observer. The Syrian Observer has not verified the content of this story. Responsibility for the information and views set out in this article lies entirely with the author.

Behind the scenes, tensions between Canberra and Wellington have been building for years, with Ardern repeatedly criticising Australia for deporting Kiwi citizens. But it is the question of how to handle the growing assertiveness of China that has caused the biggest tensions. In January, New Zealands new Trade Minister Damien OConnor suggested Australia should speak with more respect and diplomacy towards China. Shortly after the television interview, Morrison and Ardern spoke on the phone. It wasnt a dressing down; the Australian Prime Minister calmly stated his frustrations with the comments and Ardern was receptive to his concerns. A few weeks earlier the countrys Foreign Minister Nanaia Mahuta had offered to mediate a truce between Canberra and Beijing, saying both parties will have to be willing to come together and concede in some areas where they are currently not seeing eye to eye. It was a remarkable proposition that a minister just months into the job could solve one of the thornier diplomatic problems in the world.

Morrison, Foreign Minister Marise Payne and senior Australian diplomats could barely hide their frustration at Mahutas and OConnors comments. They believe it was harmful to the regions security and an awful case of false equivalence that sent a bad message to regional allies, according to senior figures in the government familiar with the matter. Loading Australia has been slapped with billions of dollars in trade strikes from Beijing over the past year and the Chinese government has refused to return phone calls from Australian ministers. The last thing Canberra needed was its close ally sending a signal to the region that Australia and New Zealand were not united. While Morrison let Ardern know of his concerns, OConnor phoned his counterpart, Dan Tehan, to apologise days after the interview on American business channel CNBC in which he made the remarks. Senior officials in the Department of Foreign Affairs and Trade were then told there wouldnt be a repeat of OConnor and Mahutas comments; the rookie ministers had apparently been reined in. In her first major speech as foreign minister last week, Mahuta called Australia our only formal ally and an indispensable partner across the breadth of our international interests.

Senior figures in the Morrison government separate Arderns public criticisms of Australia over deportations and citizenship revocations from the comments from OConnor and Mahuta on China. Arderns criticisms have always centred on issues affecting New Zealand, while the interventions from her ministers had nothing to do with her country and were deeply unhelpful to Australia. There is an appreciation that Ardern has been speaking out in favour of her countrys national interest, and a bit of Australia-bashing in her country always plays well domestically. While the leader-to-leader relationship remains warm, there is a growing list of areas where the trans-Tasman relationship is straining. Credit:Matt Golding Meanwhile, there are senior figures in the Australian government who question whether the deportation of New Zealand nationals who have been living in Australia for years is worth the blowback. Some also believe Morrison should accept Arderns offer to resettle refugees presently being held on Manus Island and Nauru to send a strong message that the two countries can work together on people movement issues.

Trans-Tasman relations stretch back to before Australia was a country. While the ANZACs were formed in the First World War, soldiers from Australia and New Zealand have been fighting together since the Boer War. Australia is New Zealands largest trading partner overall, when goods and services are taken into account. But there remains significant unease in Canberra over New Zealands positioning on China. Canberra was put off last month by New Zealand being the only member of the Five Eyes intelligence-sharing arrangement not to be in a joint statement criticising the arrests of pro-democracy figures in Hong Kong. While New Zealands participation in the intelligence network is not under imminent threat, senior officials within the Australian government have in recent months jokingly referred to the Four Eyes as a putdown to Arderns government. Loading They also see the Kiwis as having a lack of ambition on the world stage. New Zealand is hosting the Asia-Pacific Economic Cooperation forum this year, and the Australian government has been pushing for it to hold some of the meetings in person in October or November, including with world leaders. Canberra is yet to hear back on this.

The friction has been exacerbated by the departure of Winston Peters, the New Zealand First leader who was the deputy prime minister and foreign minister in Arderns first term. The maverick MP left the scene after Ardern won government in her own right in October. Peters was arguably the biggest friend of Australia inside the government and was a strong supporter of the Five Eyes intelligence-sharing arrangement. It says a lot that Winston held the show together on foreign policy, but he really did to a large extent, one senior Australian official says. With Peters gone and Ardern in total command of her government, it is suspected OConnor and Mahuta were trying to state positions they thought their prime minister held. Loading Australian officials hope that New Zealands reticence to join other allies in criticising China will now subside for a few reasons. Firstly, Ardern will likely feel more comfortable in adopting a strong stance towards China now that she will be sharing it with new US President Joe Biden, rather than the divisive Donald Trump.
Olivia Munn is opening up about how her wellness routine has changed since being diagnosed with the autoimmune disorder fibromyalgia.

The 40-year-old activist and actress revealed her health condition in an exclusive interview with People on Monday and explained how she is keeping her body, mind and spirit in check.

Her interview comes after the Newsroom star recently called on the internet to help track down an assailant who attacked her friend's mom in New York City.

Health scare: Olivia Munn revealed that she has been diagnosed with fibromyalgia in an exclusive interview with People on Monday and explained how she is keeping her body, mind and spirit in check

'I wasn't really sure what was going on with me,' Munn revealed of her ongoing health battle. 'I was going through a lot of different ailments for years and not knowing what was happening.'

The X-Men star worked with a collection of five doctors from UCLA to determine that what she was suffering from was fibromyalgia.

According to the Mayo Clinic, the autoimmune disorder is 'characterized by widespread musculoskeletal pain accompanied by fatigue, sleep, memory and mood issues.'

It has no cure but medications and things like stress reduction can help alleviate the symptoms.

'I wasn't really sure what was going on with me,' Munn revealed of her ongoing health battle. 'I was going through a lot of different ailments for years and not knowing what was happening.'

'I had to change my wellness routine pretty significantly. I had to be super thoughtful about what I put into my body,' Olivia told People.

'I had to start eating gluten-free, dairy-free and sugar-free  I had to cut out a lot of things that I was used to having every day and things that I really loved.'

The overhaul in her lifestyle wasn't easy particularly because she was schedule to go to Italy - the land of pasta, pizza, wine and cheese - the very next day after being diagnosed.

'If you can imagine getting diagnosed with an autoimmune disorder and then the very next day flying to Italy to film for a month and being told you can't have any sugar, any dairy, any gluten,' she said.

'I had to change my wellness routine pretty significantly. I had to be super thoughtful about what I put into my body,' Olivia told People. 'I had to start eating gluten-free, dairy-free and sugar-free  I had to cut out a lot of things that I was used to having every day and things that I really loved.'

Ultimately, the choice was clear for the Oklahoma native. Her doctors laid out a grim future for her if she didn't make better choices.

'I had no choice, I was feeling so bad,' she said. 'I had to really listen to the doctor's orders and cut all these things out.'

Munn said the one of the pieces of advice that stood out to her the most throughout this process was a doctor who told her to start practicing mindful eating.

'He said, 'You need to really work on your gut health, but the most important thing I can tell you is that whatever you eat, you need to really love it', she recalled.

'It's not just about eating the healthy things and you're not liking it. You have to find what you love to eat and drink because that will make a difference, because all the research has shown that when you're happy, you create chemicals that are good for your whole body and your gut health as well.

'I had no choice, I was feeling so bad,' she said. 'I had to really listen to the doctor's orders and cut all these things out.'

'When you are unhappy and you're doing things that you don't like, you're eating things you don't like, you will create other things in your body that are not good for you. In order to keep yourself healthy, you have to find things that you enjoy,' ' she revealed. 'That was so impactful for me.'

Last week, Munn made headlines when she called on web sleuths for their help in tracking down an assailant who attacked her friend's mom and it remarkably worked.

On Tuesday, Olivia took to Twitter to express her gratitude for those anonymous people who aided the NYPD in identifying the man, Patrick Mateo, who was arrested and charged with assault and harassment.

Mateo was taken into custody after a video emerged of a suspect violently shoving a 52-year-old Asian woman to the ground on a New York City street.

Doing her part: Last week, Munn made headlines when she called on web sleuths for their help in tracking down an assailant who attacked her friend's mom and it remarkably worked

'This is the guy you guys helped @nypd find and arrest,' Munn penned on Twitter along with a video of the incident. 'This is him attacking my friends mom who is a petite 5-foot-3 Chinese woman. F**k this guy,' she added. 'The internet is undefeated. Thank you thank you thank you'

Patrick Mateo, from Queens, New York, was picked up by the New York Police Department on Thursday and charged with assault and harassment, according to TMZ.

The NYPD said the 52-year-old woman was outside a bakery on Roosevelt Avenue in the Flushing section of Queens around 2 p.m. Tuesday when the suspect got into a verbal dispute with her and pushed her.
Brooklyn, New York, Feb. 22, 2021 (GLOBE NEWSWIRE) -- According to a new market research report published by Global Market Estimates, the Pigmented Concrete Market will grow with a CAGR value of around 7 percent during the forecast period [2021 to 2026]. Pigmented concrete is the decorative cement used in the remodeling and renovation of the infrastructure. They are highly recommended in the construction and renovation of driveways and sidewalks. Minimal maintenance along with high-cost effectiveness will drive the pigmented concrete demand. Meeting government standards on cement quality and durability has imposed a positive product adoption in the public infrastructure.



Browse TOC on Global Pigmented Concrete Market - Forecast to 2026" https://www.globalmarketestimates.com/market-report/global-pigmented-concrete-market-2739

Dyes pigmented concrete holds the most potential in flooring application

Glossy finish, aesthetic appearance, and high moisture resistance are key attributing factors to drive dyes cement demand in the industry. Commercial building floors are expected to have more strength, resistance, and easy maintenance. Thus, these dye pigments are the best suitable solution for the commercial flooring market. The construction companies are keen on replacing their traditional flooring material such as marble, granite, and linoleum with these glossy finish floorings.

Large number of remodeling activities in the residential sector

Change in lifestyle along with high expenditure on home maintenance has positively driven the decorative concrete demand in the residential sector. Less costing as they can be applied on the existing surface accompanied by short processing duration will influence the industry expansion in this segment.

A shift in consumer trends towards contemporary style walls, patios, and pool decks has boosted the product demand. Moreover, an increase in preference for customized floorings in the backyard and pool areas has open new opportunities for product applicability.

High demand in the Asia Pacific construction market

The booming real estate industry accompanied by the renovation of airports, hospitals, and other public infrastructure will lead to further market expansion. China, India, South Korea, and Japan are projected to be key contributing countries. Heavy investment in public infrastructure to attract foreign investors will fuel the regional demand.

Mergers & Acquisitions are noted in the industry

The industry giants are keen on acquiring and collaborating with the local manufacturers to expand their reach. For instance, by the end of 2021, PPG Industries will complete its acquisition of a Finland-based company i.e. Tikkurila. The company is a renowned manufacturer and distributor of decorative paints and coatings in Finland. In September 2020, Arkema acquired Ideal Work, an Italian decorative flooring company. With this acquisition, the company will strengthen the Bostik expansion in the decorative flooring market.

PPG Industries, 3M Company, BASF SE, The Sherwin-Williams Company, DUPONT, RPM International, Huntsman International LLC, Sika AG, Arkema S.A., Boral Limited, RPM International Inc., and Ultratech Cement Limited are some of the key players in the industry.

Other key identified players are Heidelbergcement AG, CEMEX, Covestro AGElite Crete Systems, MAPEI Corporation, Parchem Construction Supplies, and Dex-O-Tex, and Neocrete Technologies Pvt Ltd. among others.

Request a sample copy of the report @ https://www.globalmarketestimates.com/market-report/global-pigmented-concrete-market-2739

Type Outlook (Revenue, USD Million, 2019-2026)

Stained

Dyed

Paint

Tinted sealers

Integral colour

Dry shake colour hardener

Application Outlook (Revenue, USD Million, 2019-2026)

Walls

Floors

Driveways & Sidewalks

Pool Decks

Patios

Others

End-Use Outlook (Revenue, USD Million, 2019-2026)

Residential

Non-Residential

Regional Outlook (Revenue, USD Million, 2019-2026)

North America

The U.S.

Canada

Europe

Germany

UK

France

Italy

Spain

Russia

Rest of Europe

Asia Pacific

China

India

Japan

South Korea

Australia

Rest of Asia Pacific

Latin America

Brazil

Argentina

Mexico

Rest of Latin America

Middle East & Africa

Saudi Arabia

UAE

South Africa

Rest of the Middle East & Africa




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Jimmy Vielkind covers New York Gov. Andrew Cuomo for the Wall Street Journal, and for the past year, he has been showing up to the state capitol in Albany for the governors press conferences. For the first half of the pandemic, these junkets would happen every day. Ostensibly, the governor was there to give an update on the states coronavirus response. But he would also dole out dad jokes and show off his penchant for graphic designhe reportedly makes his own PowerPoint slides. One day, the governor rolled out a giant Styrofoam mountain range his staff had crafted, a visual metaphor for the coronavirus surge in the state. People not just in New York but around the world got to see some of the quirks of Andrew Cuomo, says Vielkind.

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This quirkiness became part of a lovable public persona for the governor, during a time of crisis. But Vielkind says there is this other side to the governora side that has not been on display quite as publicly over the past year. Cuomos aides have previously said that he can be a bully, but he gets stuff done, Vielkind says. One of the governors longtime confidants, a guy named Steve Cohen, said during his 2018 reelection campaign: Your bully is my champion. 

The governors bullying side started creeping back into view as the year wore on. Democrats in New York had been congratulating Cuomo, calling him a pandemic hero. Now, they are calling the governor out. On Mondays episode of What Next, I spoke with Vielkind about how Cuomos fortunes changed so drastically. Our conversation has been edited and condensed for clarity.

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Mary Harris: It is criticism of New York States coronavirus response that has irritated Cuomo to the point of lashing out. Specifically, criticism of how the governors office has been counting the deaths of COVID patients in nursing homes. Take me back and explain how a simple data error could lead the governor to reveal a less savory side of his personality, a side of himself hes managed to keep under wraps, at least for the last few months.

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Jimmy Vielkind: You have to start in the first weeks of March, where there were really lots of unknowns. Gov. Cuomo had just presided over a slow glide shutdown of the state, which finally came to pass on March 20.

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It took him a while to make the decision.

There was a week of incremental closures. Different people have debated whether he could have or should have acted faster, but that was his decision point No. 1. Decision point No. 2 was concern about hospital capacity. Cuomo talked time and time again about images that he saw from Italy, where hospitals were overrun, where patients were outside on gurneys or stuffed into hallways, and people were essentially being turned away. And he said so often that that was his biggest fear.

So in that environment, hospital executives talked to the governors team and said, We have a problem. We have patients who no longer need to be hospitalized, but theyre sitting in our beds because we have no place to discharge them. They normally would get discharged to nursing homes. But the nursing homes were saying, Were really scared. We dont want these COVID-positive patients. You have this tension between nursing homes and hospitals. And what New York state did was it listened to the concerns of hospitals. So on March 25, the state health department issued a directive saying that a nursing home could not refuse to admit a patient it would otherwise be able to care for solely on the basis of being positive for COVID-19. Now, nursing home operators said this was effectively an order to take these patients in; some of them immediately objected. They immediately said, Hey, were concerned this is going to exacerbate the spread of COVID-19 in our facilities. But the order stood.

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Was there evidence that it did exacerbate the spread of their facilities?

This is where it gets tricky. We know that thousands of patients were transferred from hospitals into nursing homes around the state between March 25 and May 10, when this health department directive was modified/rescinded/reversed. The question is: Did the coronavirus come to nursing homes as a result of this? In July, the state health department put out a report, which looked at the dates of death and the dates of first positive cases in nursing homes around the state. Its conclusion was that in most nursing homes, the first introduction of coronavirus happened before any of these patients were transferred, before the directive was issued on March 25

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It was staffers bringing it in.

They concluded that it was staff-created because the infection rates in nursing homes correlated with the surrounding community. Obviously, a nursing home doesnt exist in a bubble. People who work there have somewhere else to live, and the health department said this was actually the factor, even though nursing home operators said from the beginning, Hey, this order is not helping; its only hurting. And to this day, there are operators who say that they believe it contributed to the spread, if not, in some instances, was the primary cause of the spread.

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Its unclear even now whether this policy forcing nursing homes to take in COVID-positive patients affected New Yorks total death toll. Thats because of a rather grim calculus: Its possible that additional deaths in nursing homes were actually offset  because freeing up hospital beds allowed more coronavirus patients to be treated. What we do knownow at leastis that COVID deaths in nursing homes werent being tallied correctly. Thats because, if a patient became so sick they were transferred back to a hospital, that death was counted as a hospital death, making it nearly impossible to understand just how much the virus was ravaging long-term care facilities. Tell us about that.

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This kind of thing doesnt come up in the regular course of life. Not until there was a pandemic did the state think about reporting causes of death and cross-referencing records with hospitals to figure out who died from what and who lived where initially. They just wanted to know who was dying. And so the easiest way to do that was: Where did this person die? And that basically came down to hospitals and nursing homes. Instead of trying to reconcile those data sets at the outset, when little was known and when they were building these reporting systems on the fly, state officials said, Look, this is the quickest, easiest way to do this.

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But this data just didnt make sense to a lot of people. Lawmakers in Albany asked to take a look and so did a public policy shop called the Empire Center, which filed a freedom of information request. The governors office kept those requests at bay. But meanwhile, New Yorks attorney general, Letitia James, was investigating too.

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By the end of the year, you have the Cuomo administration in this pattern where theyve refused the request from lawmakers, theyve refused public records requests from the Empire Center and others, and theyre just in this holding pattern at the same time as a larger chorus of people is calling for these data to be released. And the attorney general is wrapping up her report.

Things really start moving again on Jan. 28, when Attorney General Letitia James issued a report that says, We think that your official recorded tally of nursing home deaths is about 50 percent low. So that prompted the health department to finally release these data that people have been asking for for months. And the result was that it was between 45 to 50 percent low and that close to 4,000 people died in hospitals or out of facilities after they were found to have COVID-19 and transferred out of a long-term care facility.

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What was the governors reaction as this report came out from the attorney general?

He at first said that this confirmed his figures were true. He said that the number of deaths was always accurate. Its just how they were reported and where they were attributed to. His point was that whether someones death was recorded as happening in a hospital or whether it was recorded and attributed to a nursing home didnt matter. He said, Who cares? They died. A lot of people really reacted negatively to his tone and what some describe to me as the dismissiveness and flippancy. And it only seemed to steel his critics.

So flash-forward two weeks and legislators who had requested that data finally got a meeting with some top aides to the governorincluding Dr. Howard Zucker, the health commissioner, and Melissa DeRosa, who is essentially the governors chief of staff. And in that meeting, she told lawmakers that the Cuomo administration didnt release the data that they were looking for because they were busy responding to the federal probe. And also they were concerned that if they put out the data that it would be politicized by Donald Trump, who had been attacking the governor and other Democratic governors in tweets in August, and they didnt want to give him fuel for his fire.

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After that reporting came out that Comos chief of staff had basically said there were political reasons for this decision, it seems like the governor changed his tone a little bit. Is that fair?

Yes, the reaction to that was big. But on Feb. 15, the governor didnt apologize. He said that the data should have been released sooner. And he also said that everybody involved in the response had done the best that they could, that they were all working hard and they were all in uncharted territory.

Im glad you said he didnt apologize.

He didnt apologize, and he was even asked point blank, Do you have anything to apologize for? And he said, Apologize? People who know Cuomo, including some of his critics, say hes just not ever going to say anything like that. Hes sort of constitutionally incapable of making a statement like that.

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What weve seen in the past few days is continued questions about why this data was not released earlier. And weve also seen tactics that the Cuomo administration has used since Cuomo took office in 2011 bursting into public view. Assemblyman Ron Kim, one of the leading critics here, recounted a phone call that he had with Cuomo in which, according to Kim, the governor threatened to ruin his political career. According to Cuomo, those threats were not made, but the governor did say that he had talked to him about issuing a statement about what happened in that private meeting with Melissa DeRosa.

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I mean Ron Kim called Cuomo a bully.

He called him an abuser on The View. And thats not new. That has been sort of true in New York politics for a long time. But the world is changing. This kind of behavior in all kinds of different forms is not as easily excused as it once was. So Republicans started talking about possibly impeaching the governor. Members of the Democratic Party were talking about stripping away some of the authority they delegated to Cuomo in March to handle the pandemic, and it sounds like Democrats who control the state Senate are going to act coming up this week.

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How would the governor losing his emergency powers affect New Yorks coronavirus response moving forward?

Thats an open question. At this point, the days of commanding schools to shut down with 48 hours notice and, you know, closing bars and bowling alleys, those are generally behind us. It seems that this action is largely symbolic. People close to the governor and others have noted that the nursing home situation had nothing to do with his emergency powers.

Im trying to figure out, looking at how this has played out, how much of whats going on is a PR problem for the governor and how much of it is a real problem for constituents? The number of deaths in nursing homes in New York, is it notable? Does New York stand out among other states?

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Cuomo talks about the share of pandemic deaths in nursing homes versus other facilities and how New Yorks share is actually lower than some other states. Of course, that statistic is of no comfort to someone whose loved one passed away. What some political observers have said is that the cover-up is worse than the underlying action. And so the fact that Cuomo and the state delayed the release of this data for so long, that they had to be forced to release the data, and that their explanations for the delay changed over time has led people to conclude, in the words of the Republican leader in the state Assembly, that the governor put public relations ahead of public health. And I think that is why this is coming to the fore now in a very significant way.

Is Cuomo in trouble?

Thats a good question. Whats happening is the bloom is coming off the rose in the eyes of voters and in the eyes of officials and lawmakers about his pandemic response.

Do you think Cuomo is going to be remembered as a successful executive when it comes to COVID?

I think its far too early to say. We already saw one preliminary poll, which showed that Andrew Cuomos job approval had slipped since January. Well have to see what happens in the next poll now that theres been more information. But hes not going to face voters until a primary election in June of 2022. A lot can happen, and we all know that voters memories are short.

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Former prime minister Kevin Rudd has denied he was physically restrained from punching the Chinese negotiator during heated climate change talks in Copenhagen a decade ago.

His former British counterpart, Gordon Brown, who sat alongside Mr Rudd and other world leaders during the failed 2009 United Nations Climate Change Conference negotiations, made the allegation in left-wing British newspaper The Guardian.

Former Australian prime minister Kevin Rudd says Gordon Browns account of the climate talks is an urban myth. Credit:WPA Pool

In a review of a new book, How To Avoid A Climate Disaster by software developer and philanthropist Bill Gates, Mr Brown said the talks ultimately failed because of both the reluctance of the United States to make legally binding commitments and a deep suspicion from China, India and other emerging economies of any obligations they believed might threaten their development.

So determined were they to avoid binding commitments that they rejected Europes offer to unilaterally bind itself to a 50 per cent cut in its emissions, Mr Brown wrote.
100%

Website themindunleashed.org uses latest and advanced technologies like: JQuery. It is very popular on the web, it's within the 1 million most visited websites of the world at position 98294 by Alexa. It supports HTTPS and GZIP compression. The main html page has a size of 217713 bytes (212.61 kb uncompressed) and 36487 bytes (35.63 kb compressed).

This CoolSocial report was updated on 2021-02-22, you can refresh this analysis whenever you want.
Before the Democrats weaponized the Wuhan virus against the middle class, small businesses were one of the most important economic engines in America. Now that the Democrats are in charge, they're making a second strike against small businesses with a proposed $15 minimum wage law  and Rep. Ro Khanna, a California Democrat, thinks any small businesses that can't comply shouldn't exist.

The U.S. Small Business Administration's FAQ sheet about small businesses (that is, businesses with fewer than 500 employees) stated that in 2016, there were 30.7 million small businesses in America, constituting 99.9% of all firms, 99.7% of all firms with paid employees, 47.3% of private-sector employees (60 million people), and 40.7% of the private-sector payroll. From 2000 to 2018, they accounted for 64.9% of new net job creation. Big corporations sucked up the oxygen with advertising, political donations, and name recognition, but small businesses employed Americans.

It's hard to find current numbers on small business closures, but by September 2020, nearly 100,000 small businesses had permanently closed across America. By year's end, in New York and New Jersey alone, nearly one third of all small businesses were gone. These closures predominate in Democrat-run states, which embraced lockdowns.

So what do the Biden administration and the Democrat-controlled Congress want to do? They want to raise the national minimum wage to $15.00. Of course, as the New York Times said in 1987, the real minimum wage is zero. Whether businesses replace workers with technology or just shut down, if it becomes too expensive to hire employees, they won't. And it's the case that the Congressional Budget Office predicts that a $15.00 federal minimum wage mandate would cost 1.4 million jobs over the next four years.

The national minimum wage is also a ludicrous idea because it ignores entirely the fact that different parts of the country have different costs of living. For example, in November 2019, the average cost of renting an apartment in California was $2,542, and the average estimated income was $85,750. Meanwhile, in West Virginia, the average cost of renting an apartment was $866, and the average estimated income was $59,999. Walmart can accommodate a standardized minimum wage across the nation, but small businesses in states with low costs of living cannot.

That doesn't matter, though, to Democrats, as Rep. Ro Khanna (net worth $27 million), a Democrat representative from the San Francisco Bay Area, made clear. It's notable that the Bay Area's cost of living is extraordinarily high, even for California. Thus, during the lockdowns, with prices dropping, a two-bedroom apartment in San Francisco was over $4,300 a month.

The Bay Area's disconnect from America may explain why Khanna went onto CNN and said the equivalent of "let them eat cake." According to Khanna, small businesses that can't afford to pay their employees $15 per hour shouldn't exist:

Abby Phillip: I know that you feel very strongly like many progressives about the minimum wage issue. Right now, at the same time, businesses, both large and small, are struggling in this pandemic economy, more than 9 million jobs have been lost in the last year, and they still aren't back, and the problem is particularly acute in industries like retail and foodservice, which are more likely to pay minimum wage. I think the question that a lot of Republicans are posing and perhaps some moderate Democrats is timing. Is now the right time to increase it to $15? I should say the bill has stages, of course, but immediately it would go up about 30% right now. Is now the right time to do that? Khanna: Abby, it's absolutely the right time to give working Americans a raise. Let's look at the facts. Amazon raised their wage to $15 nationally, not regionally. They have more jobs today. It didn't hurt job creation or business. Target followed. They also did it nationally, more jobs. Phillip: Large businesses like Amazon and McDonald's, for example, can and perhaps should pay more, but I'm wondering what is your plan for smaller businesses? How does this, in your view, affect mom and pop businesses who are just struggling to keep their doors open, keep workers on pate roll right now? Khanna: Well, they should be doing it by paying people low wages. We don't want low-wage businesses. Most successful small businesses can pay a fair wage. If you look at the minimum wage, it increased with worker productivity until 1968, and that relationship was severed. If workers were actually getting paid for the value they were creating, it would be up to $23. I love small businesses, I'm all for it, but I don't want small businesses that are underpaying employees. It's fair for people to be making what they're producing. I think $15 is very reasonable in this country.

Khanna and his ilk rule by sweet theories, ignoring cruel realities.

Image: Ro Khanna. YouTube screen grab.
The immediate return of prisoners of war and civilians, including women, remains an extremely pressing issue and requires an immediate solution, Armenian FM Ara Aivazian said at the 46th session of the UN Human Rights Council.

His statement comes as follows:

Mme President,

Mme. High Commissioner,

Distinguished Members of the Human Rights Council,

Ladies and Gentlemen,

Allow me to join previous speakers in congratulating Ambassador Nazhat Shameem Khan on her election as the President of the Human Rights Council, and to wish her success in this important endeavor.

The very fact that in the time of unprecedented humanitarian crises this body has continued its work and fulfilled its mandate, speaks about the centrality of human rights protection as one of the key deliverables of multilateralism.

Throughout its first year of fully-fledged membership in the Human Rights Council Armenia ensured targeted and constructive engagement reflecting our principled position on prevention of genocide and unwavering stance on fight against impunity for this heinous crime, worked on strengthening the mechanisms aiming to protect forcibly displaced population, religious and ethnic groups and their cultural heritage, as well as to combat hate speech and hate crimes.

It is particularly encouraging that the HRC biennial resolution on the Prevention of Genocide, which my country has an honor to initiate, enjoyed a wide cross-regional support and was adopted by consensus. The evolutionary development of this resolution derives from the most urgent need to address the number of pertinent challenges such as the need to effectively prevent and address grave human rights violations and serious breaches of international humanitarian law, patterned forms of discrimination, exclusion of protected groups based on their ethnic, racial, national or religious background, hate speech and incitement to violence, justification, biased accounts and denial of the past crimes.

The COVID-19 pandemic brought grave challenges. It shattered the very foundations of healthcare, economic and social protection systems. Fully cognizant about extreme vulnerability of the people residing in the areas of armed conflicts, Armenia was among the first states that unconditionally supported Secretary Generals call for Global ceasefire in response to COVID-19.

Mme. President,

Unfortunately, Azerbaijan not only neglected the call by the Secretary General and consequent Security Council resolution 2532 but exploited and weaponized the global pandemic to launch a full-scale military aggression against the people of Nagorno-Karabakh. The leadership of Azerbaijan did not make a secret that it aimed at erasing all traces of Armenians from Artsakh and with the direct involvement of Turkey and latters affiliated foreign terrorist fighters perpetrated mass atrocities against Armenians. Thus the horrors of the unpunished Genocide against Armenians of the last century reoccurred in another forms of mass atrocities in our region under the incitement and complicity of the same perpetrator.

The use of force to suppress the right to self-determination is a strict violation of the UN Charter, which clearly states that all international disputes must be settled by peaceful means.

It is even more deplorable that the mercenaries and foreign terrorist fighters were widely used in a violent attempt to suppress human rights of Armenians of Artsakh including their right to self-determination, something that was acknowledged by a variety of international actors including special procedures of this august body.

Throughout 44 days of the offensive in a flagrant violation of international human rights law and international humanitarian law Azerbaijani army committed horrendous crimes and atrocities deliberately and systematically targeting civilian infrastructures, including schools, hospitals, maternity wards, markets, roads, communication systems and other facilities, as well as vandalizing and destroying the Armenian cultural and religious heritage on the territory of Nagorno-Karabakh, including churches, cross-stones and various monuments.

Being a significant component of the Armenian identity, the Ghazanchetsots Cathedral in Shushi, Artsakh, was severely damaged after two air raids conducted by the Azerbaijani military. This deliberate attack on the historic symbol of the cultural and religious heritage of Artsakh is a gross violation of international law and the continuation of a pattern of the destruction of Armenian cultural memory by Azerbaijan, aimed at the eviction of Armenians from Artsakh and the destruction of the Armenian cultural presence thereon.

Mme President,

The execution of Armenian civilians in Hadrut region of Artsakh captured by the Azerbaijani military is one of the most egregious cases of the war against the people of Artsakh, which has already been defined by the UN High Commissioner for Human Rights as a possible war crime.

Unfortunately, aggression against Nagorno-Karabakh has shown that UN early warning mechanisms didnt work, which means that we must continue our activity for their further improvement, including within the framework of the HRC review process.

The UN absence from Nagorno Karabakh has been one of the aggravating factors of the lack of international protection. Armenia is of strong conviction that the humanitarian access to Artsakh should not be subjugated to any political considerations and emphasizes the significance of the universal application and protection of human rights for all people irrespective of the status of the territory where they reside.

One of the hallmarks of this was that Azerbaijan made extensive use of social media platforms to intimidate the Armenian population. With the endorsement of the high level leadership, the Azerbaijani officials and armed forces share videos on social media platforms, which constitute evidence of degrading, inhuman and cruel treatment of the Armenian POWs and civilian detainees, including their humiliation, physical abuse, mutilations, ISIS style beheadings.The perpetrators of the war crimes who publicly boast about decapitations of Armenians have been decorated with the high State awards, including national hero titles.

Against this background is highly disturbing the fact that Armenian POWs and hostages remain in Azerbaijani custody, now nearly four months after the signing of the Trilateral ceasefire statement on November 9, 2020. However, Azerbaijan has failed to fulfill the commitment to return all PoWs and civilian detainees and it continues to keep a number of them in captivity.

The immediate return of the POWs and civilians, including women remains an extremely urgent issue and requires an instant solution.

Mme. President,

I would like to take this opportunity to express my gratitude to those countries and organizations that spared no effort both during and post-war period and provided humanitarian aid to Artsakh, as well as input their full diplomatic and political potential.

The plea for justice and peace for the people of Artsakh must be urgently addressed. The people who fought for their right to live, right to determine their future free of coercion and occupation at this very moment continue to face existential threat in the land of their ancestors.

I thank you.
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Security was high at a polling station in Niger's capital on Sunday as voters cast their ballots in the second round of the countrys presidential elections.

This came as seven people died and three were seriously injured when a vehicle of the National Independent Electoral Commission (CENI) exploded while passing over an explosive device in the Tillaberi region, in the country's west.

Authorities confirmed the attack but did not specify if it was targeting the CENI team or if the device was put in place earlier by terrorists operating in the zone.

The winner of Sunday's vote will succeed President Mahamadou Issoufou who is stepping down after serving two terms, in accordance with Niger's constitution.

Former foreign affairs minister Mohamed Bazoum, who received about 39% of the vote in the first round, is running against former president Mahamane Ousmane, who won nearly 17% of the vote, according to the National Independent Electoral Commission.

Issoufou's decision to respect the constitution has been widely hailed and paves the way for Niger's first peaceful, democratic transfer of power since its independence from France in 1960.

The West African nation has seen four coups.

Nigers next president will have to deal with major problems, including rising attacks linked to Islamic extremists.

(Disclaimer: This story is auto-generated from a syndicated feed; only the image & headline may have been reworked by www.republicworld.com)
New Delhi:

The Indira Gandhi Institute of Medical Sciences (IGIMS), Patna, has asked its employees to declare if they are virgin and if they are having only one living wife in a marital status declaration form.

In a photograph of the declaration form distributed to the employees, the premium government medical college and hospital tweeted by the ANI read, That I am bechelor /widower /virgin.

The declaration form has spelling and grammatical errors. According to the form spelling of bachelor is written bechelor.

The government institute further in the marital declaration form also wants to confirm if a married person is only married to one woman or a woman is married to a man who has no other wife other than the declarer.

Also Read | Patna: Man carries son's body on shoulder after hospital refuses ambulance



The declaration reads, That I am married and have only one wife living.

In the third question, the institute asks, I am married to a person who has no other wife living or That I am married and have more than one wife.

NewsNation.in tried contacting the Indira Gandhi Institute of Medical Sciences administration in connection to the marital declaration form to learn the reasons behind.

For all the Latest India News, Download News Nation Android and iOS Mobile Apps.
The Indian Medical Association (IMA) on Monday said that it shocked over Patanjali Ayurveda's "blatant lie of WHO certification" for Coronil tablet, which the company claims is an evidence-based medicine to fight COVID-19. And it also demanded clarification from the Union Health Minister Harsh Vardhan regarding the medicine, saying, "Being Health Minister of the country, how justified is it to release such falsely fabricated unscientific product..."

The reactions from the IMA came after World Health Organisation clarified that it has not reviewed or certified the effectiveness of any traditional medicine for the treatment of COVID-19.

Patanjali Ayurved launched ayurveda-based Coronil on June 23 last year and last week the company released a statement that said: "Coronil has received the Certificate of Pharmaceutical Product (CoPP) from the Ayush section of Central Drugs Standard Control Organisation as per the WHO certification scheme."

Following this WHO South-East Asia in a tweet said: "@WHO has not reviewed or certified the effectiveness of any traditional medicine for the treatment #COVID19."

IMA on Monday issued a statement demanding clarification from Harsh Vardhan saying: Being Health Minister of the country, how justified is it to release such falsely fabricated unscientific product to people of the whole country...can you clarify the time frame, time line for the so-called clinical trial of this said anti-corona product?"

"The country needs an explanation from the minister. The Indian Medical Association will also write to National Medical Commission for seeking suo moto explanation for his blatant disrespect to the code of conduct of Medical Council of India," the IMA said.

"Indian Medical Association is shocked to note the blatant lie of WHO certification...," it said.

However, after the WHO notification, Patanjalis managing director Acharya Balkrishna later tweeted, "We want to clarify to avoid confusion that our WHO GMP compliant COPP certificate to Coronil is issued by DCGI, Government of India. It is clear that WHO do not approve or disapprove any drugs. WHO works for building a better, healthier future for people all over the world (sic)."

Haridwar-based Patanjali Ayurved had also released what it claimed was research work supporting Coronil's efficacy in COVID-19 treatment.

The announcement regarding the Ayush certification for Coronil and release of a research paper calling it the "first evidence-based medicine for COVID-19 by Patanjali" was done at an event here attended by Vardhan.

(With inputs from agencies)

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Stranded Australians could be brought home more quickly as hotel quarantine programs expand after mass vaccinations of border and quarantine staff began on Monday.

Just over 13 months since COVID-19 reached Australia, thousands of aged care residents, healthcare workers and quarantine staff rolled up their sleeves on the first full day of phase 1a of the nationwide vaccination program.

Quarantine, Border Force and healthcare workers all began receiving their first COVID-19 vaccines on Monday.

But Australia has no plans to make vaccines broadly available to stranded citizens before their return, and the two-week quarantine requirement will remain in place for now, irrespective of the vaccine rollout.

Health Minister Greg Hunt said the government was looking to expand the number of quarantine places as the vaccine was rolled out.
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In prison: Alexei Navalny was jailed on February 2 in Moscow. Photo: Reuters

Russia wont release Kremlin critic Alexei Navalny unless its leadership gets hit with painful personal sanctions, says his close ally.

European foreign ministers are expected to agree today to impose sanctions on allies of Russian President Vladimir Putin in response to the jailing of Mr Navalny.

Mr Navalny was arrested last month on his return from Germany following treatment for poisoning with what many Western countries say was a nerve agent.

He was jailed in Moscow on February 2 for violating parole on what he and the Western countries said were trumped-up charges.

He lost an appeal on Saturday.

Leonid Volkov, who is Mr Navalnys chief of staff, said at the weekend that he believed Mr Putin would consider releasing him only if hit by sanctions.

Putin is a dictator, but he is quite rational, said Mr Volkov.

If the upsides of having Navalny in prison become less than the downsides, he will change his decision, he added.

If many of his closest allies become unhappy, this can be dangerous to Putin and this could lead him to decide to change his mind, Mr Volkov added. Or maybe not  but sanctions is the best thing that Europe can do now.

Mr Volkov visited EU officials in Brussels yesterday at the invitation of Lithuania, where he has been sheltering since 2019. Mr Volkov told policymakers to use the language of power towards the Russian government, because he believes Mr Putin sees bridge-building attempts by the West as a sign of weakness.

Asked to comment on Mr Navalnys political future after Saturdays court decision, Kremlin spokesman Dmitry Peskov said: It is absolutely none of our business.

Mr Navalnys allies have published a list of 35 people they believe should be sanctioned. His supporters were now gearing up to organise a huge peaceful protest in Russia this spring, Mr Volkov said.

Mr Navalnys organisation would then attempt to prevent Mr Putins party from achieving a comfortable win at elections in September by campaigning for its rivals, said Mr Volkov.
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Nicola Sturgeon has claimed there is not a shred of evidence that Alex Salmond can show to prove there was a conspiracy against him, as she said she hopes he turns up to a committee to be scrutinised.

The former first minister is alleging his successor has misled Parliament and breached the ministerial code.

A committee is probing the Scottish Governments botched handling of harassment allegations against him  which saw Mr Salmond win a 512,000 payout following a case at the Court of Session in Edinburgh.

First Minister Nicola Sturgeon claims to be looking forward to giving evidence next week (Jeff J Mitchell)

MSPs on the Committee on the Scottish Government Handling of Harassment Complaints have previously decided against publishing a submission the former first minister made to a separate inquiry, which is considering whether Ms Sturgeon breached the ministerial code.

The Scottish Parliamentary Corporate Body (SPCB) concluded on balance it would be possible for the document to be published.

First Minister Nicola Sturgeon said: The Scottish Government made a mistake in the application of its complaints procedure.

I am as keen as anyone to learn lessons from this and, next week, I will relish the chance to give my evidence to the Committee and answer all the questions that have been asked of me.

This week, the Committee at last takes oral evidence from Alex Salmond.

I hope he turns up and, at long last, his claims are scrutinised.

There have been claims of plots, collusion and conspiracies.

What we have not seen is a shred of evidence to back these wild claims up.

Now, in front of the Parliament, the burden of proof is on Alex Salmond.

It is time for insinuation and assertion to be replaced with actual evidence.

And if, as I fully expect, there is no evidence, because there was no conspiracy, then people will draw their own conclusions.

While the former first ministers submission to the Hamilton Inquiry has not been published as yet by the committee it has been made public online.

The former SNP leader claimed that Parliament has been repeatedly misled on a number of occasions about the nature of the meeting he had with Ms Sturgeon at her home on April 2 2018.

Ms Sturgeon has insisted throughout that she did not breach the ministerial code which sets out how government ministers should behave.

Mr Salmond claimed that while Ms Sturgeon had told MSPs that she first learned of allegations against him at that meeting this was untrue and is a breach of the ministerial code.
National Institutes of Health director Francis Collins tells "Axios on HBO" that the Trump administration deserves credit for the "breathtaking" speed of COVID vaccine development.

The big picture: The fact that it "got done in 11 months from when we first knew about this virus is at least five years faster than it's ever been before before," Collins said.

Get market news worthy of your time with Axios Markets. Subscribe for free.

"The Operation Warp Speed, for which I give a great deal of credit to [former HHS Secretary Alex Azar], was a effort that many of us were not initially convinced was going to be necessary. And it was thought about as a Manhattan Project."

"Those words were used sometimes to describe what needed to happen in order to get all parts of the government together in an unprecedented way to test up to six vaccines in rigorous trials ... so that if any of those trials happen to work, you would already have doses ready to go into arms."

The bottom line: "That effort and the recruitment of Dr. Moncef Slaoui was an incredibly important step forward that the administration deserves credit for, because that did motivate a lot of actions, a lot of coordination."

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Matthew Busch / Bloomberg

The direction for crude oil prices this week will be determined by the impact that the harsh winter weather had on the U.S. energy sector, but keep an ear on the OPEC chatter, analysts said.



A bout of freezing rain was followed by sub-freezing temperatures across the U.S. Gulf Coast last week, shuttering four of the largest refineries in Texas. In total, more than 20 oil refineries across the south were affected, while frozen well heads and pumps temporarily shut in as much as 40 percent of total U.S. crude oil production.



The price for Brent crude oil, the global benchmark for the price of oil, rallied some 3 percent through Wednesday, but retraced its steps later in the week as weather in the South returned to norms of around 60 degrees. Brent finished the week at $62.91 per barrel. West Texas Intermediate, which rose above $61 a barrel during the week, also retreated, settling Friday at $59.24.



Tamas Varga, an analyst at London oil broker PVM, said it could be weeks before operations for Gulf Coast refineries return to normal.

RELATED: Is the oil market rally getting ahead of itself?



If that is the case, product supply to the East Coast will be disrupted, he said. Refinery disruptions could still lead to elevated wholesale prices in gasoline and other petroleum products, which would trickle down to the consumers across the country.



New York state gasoline prices jumped 10 cents on the week, according to the travel club AAA data,s did those in Texas, which typically has some of the lowest prices at the pump in the nation because of its proximity to the dense network of refineries.
NEW ORLEANS (AP)  Progress is being made to restore electricity across parts of Louisiana and Mississippi that have experienced outages this week as a result of freezing cold temperatures, but challenges remain in getting water services restored.

According to PowerOutage.us, about 38,370 customers were without power in Mississippi as of Sunday morning and roughly 14,840 were without power in Louisiana. Crews have been out in force in recent days to restore power after temperatures plummeted earlier in the week. Rising temperatures across the region are also helping.

Entergy, which provides service to customers in roughly half of Mississippi's counties, said Friday that it expected most of its customers to regain service by the beginning of next week, the Clarion-Ledger reported Sunday. In a news conference Friday, President and CEO of Entergy Mississippi, Haley Fisackerly, also warned customers to slowly ramp up their usage once their electricity comes back so they don't overload their systems, the newspaper said.

The state's Department of Health canceled drive-thru coronavirus vaccinations in three counties Sunday  Adams, Lee and Washington  as a result of weather, the department reported on its Twitter feed. They said those appointments are being rescheduled.

Communities in both states are still working to restore water services after the freezing temperatures iced equipment and caused water lines to burst. In the Mississippi capital of Jackson, a boil water advisory is still in effect as officials worked to restore water to city residents after the storm left most of the city with little or no running water last week. City officials Saturday delivered water to elderly and homebound residents in the city of about 161,000 residents.

In a statement posted on the city's Facebook page Saturday, officials said the pressure, measured as pounds per square inch, needed to reached 90 psi at one location and 80 psi at another but as of Saturday evening was only at 55 psi. The statement said there was no definitive timeline for getting the system back to normal.

Low and no water pressure is still impacting residents across Jackson but we are continuing to see signs of progress. There is still no definitive timeline for when it will be restored, but crews are continuing to work to get water pressure increased across the system. We are also hopeful that weather improvements will help," the statement read.

As of Saturday evening, there were 13 water main breaks in the city, the statement read.

Many Louisiana cities have also been hammered with water delivery problems as a result of the icy temperatures.

In southwest Louisiana where residents were still recovering from hurricanes last year, many residents last week were left struggling with no water after pipes burst around the region. The City of Lake Charles said on its Facebook page Sunday that it was continuing to see a return to normal water pressure. The National Guard was slated to distribute bottled water to residents Sunday at the Lake Charles Civic Center.

Water distribution sites are also slated for Sunday in Shreveport and more rural areas of Caddo Parish that have also struggled with water problems as a result of the storms.

State officials are also urging residents who were affected by the cold weather this week to fill out a survey so that state and local officials can get an idea of the extent of the damage.
New Delhi, Feb 22 : The National Investigation Agency (NIA) on Monday filed a supplementary chargesheet against two Lashkar-e-Taiba (LeT) terrorists, who had actively participated in conspiracy meetings for targeted killings of important personalities belonging to the Hindu community in Bengaluru, Hubli and Nanded.

An NIA spokesperson said here that the agency has named Sabeel Ahmed aka Motu Doctor and Asadulla Khan aka Abu Sufiyan under several sections of the Indian Penal Code and the Unlawful Activities Prevention Act (UAPA).

The official said that NIA's investigation has established that the accused persons are members of the proscribed terrorist organisation LeT.

Both Ahmed and Khan were involved in criminal conspiracy along with other accused persons in supporting and furthering the cause of LeT in Damam and Riyadh, Saudi Arabia.

"They had actively participated in conspiracy meetings in which terrorist activities like targeted killings of important personalities belonging to the Hindu community in Bangalore and Hubli in Karnataka and Nanded in Maharashtra were planned," the official said.

A case was registered in Bengaluru on August 29, 2012 pertaining to a conspiracy hatched by the members of LeT and Harkat-ul-Jehad-e-Islami (HuJI) to commit subversive activities and wage war against the Indian government.

According to the NIA, the terrorists had procured illegal arms and ammunition for targeted killings of important personalities belonging to the Hindu community in Bangalore, Hubli, Nanded and Hyderabad to disturb communal harmony and strike terror in the society.

The NIA had earlier filed a chargesheet against 17 accused persons in connection with the case.

An NIA special court in Bengaluru had earlier convicted 13 accused persons on September 16, 2016 with five years imprisonment and fine for their involvement in offences under several sections of the IPC, UAPA, Arms Act and Official Secrets Act.

The official said that the trial is continuing against three accused persons chargesheeted earlier and further investigation against six absconding accused persons is gouing on.
US, Britain seek new WHO look into possible origins of COVID-19 in China

Journalists arrested for questioning Chinas version of Galwan clash

India

oi-Vicky Nanjappa

New Delhi, Feb 22: China is said to have arrested three bloggers for questioning the official Chinese version of the Galwan Valley clash on June 15 last year.

Reports said that investigative journalist Qiu Ziming was arrested at Nanjing on Saturday.

Qiu questioned the number of dead declared by the Chinese government. While China had officially claimed that four had died in the clash, the journalist was skeptical and suggested that more had been killed in the clash.He also questioned why it took so long for the Chinese state to acknowledge the deaths, when the Indian side had immediately acknowledged that its soldiers had been martyred.

China for first time discloses names of soldiers killed in Galwan Valley clash

PM Modi: India can be one of the best in defence export | Oneindia News

Reports also said that another journalist was arrested for a similar reason in Beijing on Sunday. A third person was detained for a week in Sichuan after posting content that insulted the PLA soldiers.

For Breaking News and Instant Updates Allow Notifications

Story first published: Monday, February 22, 2021, 12:41 [IST]


President Donald Trump's senior adviser Stephen Miller waves to supporters prior to a Marine One departure from the South Lawn of the White House in Washington, on Aug. 6, 2020. (Olivier Douliery/AFP via Getty Images)

Trumps CPAC Speech to Focus on Countering China, Dismantling Big Tech Monopoly, Reopening Schools

Former President Donald Trump in his first public appearance since leaving the White House will lay out an optimistic vision for America and focus on standing up to China, reviving U.S. manufacturing, dismantling the monopoly of Big Tech, reopening schools, and securing the border, among other topics, according to former Trump senior adviser Stephen Miller.

Miller, who has recently spoken to the president, outlined Trumps upcoming speech in an interview aired on Sunday in response to a question about Trumps potential run for the White House in 2024 and his first speech after leaving office.

I have had the opportunity to speak to the President, and hes very excited to make his upcoming address to CPAC, where you will hear him lay out his positive vision for the future of this country, a vision where we stand up to China, as the President was doing before he left office, and reclaim our manufacturing, a vision where our schools are open and our border is closed to illegal immigration, a vision where the Big Tech monopoly is dismantled and free speech and free expression and free thought can reign, because thats what this country is about, Miller told Maria Bartiromo on Fox News.

Hes going to present an optimistic vision for a country where communities are safe, where criminals are behind bars, and where everybody can earn a decent high-paying wage and produce products here in the United States, where they should be made, not in China, not overseas.

Millers outline of the speech suggests that Trump is watching the Biden administration closely, since the topics align with some of the major executive actions of President Joe Biden since he took office. Biden and a number of his appointees are facing criticism over what appears to be a softer stance on China than the one under the Trump administration. The current White House is also struggling to maintain a clear message on when schools will reopen and is dealing with internal and external blowback after wiping out Trumps tough policies on illegal immigration.

Miller, the architect of the Trump administrations immigration policy, said earlier in the interview that Bidens actions on immigration are madness.

The legislation put forward by President Biden and congressional Democrats would fundamentally erase the very essence of Americas nationhood for the first time, I believe, in human history, Miller said. This legislation proposes sending applications to previously deported illegal immigrants and giving them the chance to re-enter the country on a rapid path to citizenship. This is unheard of.

Trumps remarks on Big Tech and free speech will be particularly significant because Twitter, Facebook, and other social media platforms banned him before he left office. Since being silenced on the platforms, Trump has not made any public appearances. The president made his first comments to the media on the day of the passing of iconic conservative radio talk show host Rush Limbaugh.

CPAC, the largest annual gathering of conservative activists, will take place in Orlando, Florida, from Feb. 25-28. Trump will deliver his speech on the last day of the conference. Trump delivered several speeches at CPAC while he was in office.

Current Trump senior adviser Jason Miller told Newsmax on Feb. 20 that Trumps speech will also chart the course for the future of the GOP.

I think what youre going to hear President Trump talk about next Sunday on the 28th is the future of the Republican Party and the number of lessons that we learned in 2020, where we saw President Trump bring in a record amount of African American voters, Latino American voters on the GOP side, bigger numbers than weve seen in modern Republican presidential history, Miller said. We have to keep these voters engaged in the party.

Janita Kan contributed to this report.
(Newser)  The U. stood Sunday at the brink of a once-unthinkable tally: 500,000 people lost to the coronavirus. A year into the pandemic, the running total of lives lost was about 498,000roughly the population of Kansas City, Mo., and just shy of the size of Atlanta. The figure compiled by Johns Hopkins University surpasses the number of people who died in 2019 of chronic lower respiratory diseases, stroke, Alzheimers, flu and pneumonia combined. Its nothing like we have ever been through in the last 102 years, since the 1918 influenza pandemic, the nations top infectious disease expert, Dr. Anthony Fauci, said on CNN's State of the Union. The first known deaths from the virus in the US happened in early February 2020, both of them in Santa Clara County, Calif. It took four months to reach the first 100,000 dead.

story continues below

The toll hit 200,000 deaths in September and 300,000 in December. Then it took just over a month to go from 300,000 to 400,000 and about two months to climb from 400,000 to the brink of 500,000. Joyce Willis of Las Vegas is among Americans who lost family members during the pandemic. Her husband, Anthony Willis, died Dec. 28, followed by her mother-in-law in early January. They are gone. Your loved one is gone, but you are still alive, Willis said. Its like you still have to get up every morning. You have to take care of your kids and make a living. There is no way around it. You just have to move on. Despite efforts to administer coronavirus vaccines, a widely cited model by the University of Washington projects the US death toll will surpass 589,000 by June 1. "People will be talking about this decades and decades and decades from now, Fauci said on Meet The Press.

(Read more coronavirus stories.)
HEFEIEvery Saturday, 73-year-old Zhao Guihua takes her thermos, notebook and smartphone with her on the bus to go to a special course.

In a classroom in a residential community in Hefei, Anhui province, Zhao and her 30 classmates, all senior citizens and most wearing reading glasses, learn how to shop on their smartphones.

"We offer a course that teaches senior citizens how to use their smartphones to scan health-tracking QR codes, make online purchases, register for hospital visits, and shoot short films for the videosharing app TikTok," course founder Liu Li said.

Liu, 40, has been providing services for the elderly for 10 years. After learning that many of them are confounded by the use of digital devices in their daily lives, she set up the smartphone course in August to help them cross the digital divide.

Official data shows that by the end of 2019, some 150 million Chinese citizens age 60 and older still hadn't used the internet.

While the COVID-19 outbreak helped accelerate the development of the digital economy and technologies, it also highlighted the barriers many older people face in accessing smartphone services.

"During the epidemic, scanning a health-tracking QR code is required when going to the supermarket or taking a bus," 63-year-old course participant Liu Shaomin said.

"As I didn't have a smartphone, I couldn't do many daily chores."

Instructor Huang Zhen said the course started with the basics of smartphones, and the learners were all very enthusiastic. Some lessons were at metro stations, hospitals, parks or shops to give the learners real-life experiences.

Over several months, the number of course participants grew from about 10 to more than 60, with the ages ranging from 60 to 90.

"Now I can read the news, buy train tickets and book tickets for tourist attractions on my smartphone," Zhao said. "Scanning health-tracking QR codes is also a piece of cake for me."

The first thing Liu Shaomin did after starting the course was to buy a smartphone. Now, after more than 20 lessons he has acquired many skills. "I can do many things that young people do, such as making payments on WeChat, scanning health-tracking QR codes, and taking notes on my smartphone," he said.

Central authorities have also moved to help elderly people cross the digital divide. Last month, the Ministry of Industry and Information Technology launched a yearlong nationwide campaign to make online applications more elderly friendly.

"In the development of society, senior citizens can't be left unattended. They may lag behind for a while, but when we help them clear the barriers, they will catch up," Liu Li said.

Xinhua
The Nagol is Back! VTOs guide to this years Nagol, plus where to stay and play in south, central and north Pentecost.
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I hope they stumble upon the picture of the white-haired man taken shortly after his release from a state prison in Pennsylvania. I wonder if they would realize that he was once just like them, and that they could end up like him.
The Amfi data on mutual fund flows for January saw the debut of a new equity fund categoryflexicap funds. This category was notified by Sebi in November 2020 after a change in the definition of multicap funds gave rise to the need for a category that followed a more flexible investment mandate in line with the strategy followed by multicap funds before the change in rules.

With the new rules kicking in as of 1 February, fund houses could choose to re-categorize erstwhile multicap schemes as flexicap schemes if they wanted to continue with the earlier style.

A majority of the schemes have chosen to move to the new flexicap category and fund houses such as Axis and Kotak have filed draft prospectus to launch schemes under the multicap category.

How should investors approach this transition and choose between the two categories?

Flexicap and multicap funds will have portfolios that are constructed to different mandates, and investors should have different risk and return expectations from them.

Multicap funds will now invest at least 25% each in large, mid and small cap segments. While fund managers still have 25% elbow room to give the portfolio an edge by hiking exposure to the segment they believe will do well, it takes away their ability to reduce exposure to a segment expected to do poorly, thus making the fund riskier.

Given the illiquidity in the small cap segment of the market, a 25% allocation in the small cap segment, with the option to go up as high as 50%, may be too risky for most investors," said Melvin Joseph, a Sebi-registered investment adviser and founder of Finvin Financial Planners.

The flexicap category of equity funds, on the other hand, will invest at least 65% of the total assets in equity investments without any defined limits in terms of exposure they should take to large, mid or small cap segments of the market.

The experience of investors in multicap funds in their earlier flexible avatar was that many of these schemes chose to be large-cap heavy. This means they may underperform when the mid and small cap segments of the markets take a lead. There is also the risk of the fund manager going wrong in their reading of the risk and return profile of the different market segments.

If you have the erstwhile multicap fund in your portfolio, then check which of the two categories the fund has chosen. The decision of the fund to switch to the flexicap category will mean that the fund intends to continue with its existing flexible portfolio strategy.

If the fund chooses the new multicap regime, it would mean a change in risk and return assessment of the fund since the portfolio will now have to align to the revised rules. Also, check if there are other changes in the investment management strategy.

For example, Aditya Birla Sunlife Equity Fund, an erstwhile multicap fund, has chosen to move to the flexicap category and has also altered its investment mandate to add international equity to its investment universe.

In this case, investors need to assess their comfort with global stocks in their portfolio.

Understand the portfolio strategy

For investors with limited investible surplus, a flexicap or multicap will work as a good first investment that gives them exposure to different segments of the stock market. They now have the option to choose between the flexible portfolio strategy of flexicap funds and the fixed allocation strategy of multicap funds. Use this opportunity to understand the investment strategy before making an investment decision.

If its a flexicap fund, understand how the fund interprets this flexibility. Does it intend to dynamically alter the portfolios exposure to the different segments of the market according to expected performance? Or does it intend to seek suitable investment opportunities irrespective of whether it is in the large, mid or small cap space? Or if the fund intends to have a preference for a certain segment, say large caps, with some exposure to the other segments depending upon the market valuations?

If investors are not comfortable with the fund manager having the flexibility to decide on segment exposure and would like a more structured portfolio with greater visibility, then the multicap category is what they should consider.

However, the rigidity of the exposure that the category has to take may make the fund riskier.

What should investors do?

Consider a change in the category of equity fund if the needs of your goals from your investments have changed.

If a change is called for, first make it in the new money that the investor is bringing in. For the existing investment, consider the impact of exit loads and taxes and execute it as part of the periodic rebalancing exercise in the investors portfolio," says Renu Maheshwari, a Sebi-registered investment adviser, CEO and principal adviser, Finscholarz Wealth Managers LLP.

looking for A longer investment horizon?

A change of category will mean that you have to realign to the risk and return parameters of the new category. If you are considering a switch to a multicap fund, you may require a longer investment horizon as compared to a flexicap fund given the larger exposure to mid and small cap segments of the market. Investors looking to benefit from the long-term growth prospects of mid- and small-sized companies may find this a good way to participate. Or, it may be used to capitalize on an upturn in the mid and small cap segments with the allocation to large caps acting as a safety buffer.

An SIP in a small cap fund may be a better way to take exposure to this segment in line with the investors risk profile rather than as a part of a larger ticket multicap investment where the exposure may go as high as 50%," said Joseph.

A large-cap oriented flexicap fund may be suitable for investors looking for a stable ride with mid and small caps giving a boost to returns. On the other hand, flexicap funds that look at actively managing segment allocations in line with expected performance may be suitable for those investors who are willing to take greater risks for better returns.

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NongHyup Financial Group Chairman Son Byung-hwan speaks during its management strategy meeting at its headquarters in Seoul, Feb. 3. Yonhap



By Lee Min-hyung



NongHyup (NH) Financial Group is trying to decide on whether to reduce its dividend offerings, as financial watchdogs ratchet up pressure on the firm to maintain financial soundness by scaling down its profit returns amid the pandemic uncertainty.



In 2020, the group paid dividends worth 500 billion won ($450.7 million) to its sole shareholder  the National Agricultural Cooperative Federation (NACF). NH's dividend payout ratio last year reached 28 percent.



But it remains unclear whether the company will be able to keep a similar level of dividend offerings this year, as other commercial banking groups are cutting their rates down to around 20 percent amid authorities' growing pressure. The Financial Supervisory Service (FSS) recommends major financial holding firms here provide no more than 20 percent of their net incomes to shareholders for dividends.



KB Financial Group and Hana Financial Group decided recently to abide by the FSS guideline. NH along with Shinhan and Woori are set to make their decisions sometime early next month.



Expectations are NH will follow the footsteps of KB and Hana and reduce the ratio in the end, as the watchdog cannot offer any preferential treatment for NH simply due to its contribution to the NACF.



Unlike other banking groups, NH offers all the dividends to the NACF, the mother company of NH Financial. The NACF then shares the dividends with NH's union groups which consist of farmers and those involved in the agricultural federation nationwide.



NH's dividends are, therefore, used as a pillar to support the growth of the nation's rural industries. But the scale of the support for them is expected to be reduced this year if NH chooses to accept the so-called 20 percent dividend rule from the watchdog.



NH is still struggling in an internal review over whether to accept the call, as it cannot satisfy both the authorities and farmers' groups. NH is worried that its possible decision to cut dividend offerings may end up driving agricultural groups into a corner when they are still suffering from the effects of the virus shock.



NH was ranked as the fourth-largest financial holding firm by net profit as of the end of 2020. It moved up one notch from the previous year's fifth place by chalking up 1.73 trillion won in net profit on expanded non-banking earnings.



As the group's business structure is no different from its rivals, industry watchers expect the group to accept the authority's call in the end.



"NH will likely abide by the guideline at a time when its competitors are doing so against their free will," a source said. "Most financial holding firms do not want to accept the guideline, but will reduce their dividend offerings amid escalating pressure from watchdogs."



The source added, "Returning a proper amount of dividends to shareholders is crucial for major banking groups to defend against a possible stock price fall. But they decided to cut the ratio. NH will be no exception at this critical juncture."



The French government on Sunday (Feb 21) accused the Green mayor of Lyon of insulting French butchers and harming the health of children by keeping meat off the menu for school lunches in the city.

Mayor Gregory Doucet defended the decision, saying the idea of having a single menu without meat was to ensure a smooth service at lunchtimes during the social distancing enforced by the COVID-19 crisis.

But the government pounced on the mayor, who was one of a number of Green politicians to win control of major cities in last year's local elections seen as a drubbing for the party of President Emmanuel Macron.

Lyon is also seen by many as the culinary capital of the country, famed for its hearty meat-based cuisine.

"Let's stop putting ideology on our children's plates," Agriculture Minister Julien Denormandie wrote on Twitter.

"Let's just give them what they need to grow well. Meat is part of it," he said, adding that he had asked the region's prefect, the state-appointed top local official, to overrule the move.

Interior Minister Gerald Darmanin said it was an "unacceptable insult" for French farmers and butchers.

"We can see that the moralising and elitist policy of the Greens excludes the popular classes. Many children often only get to eat meat at the school canteen." Doucet hit back on Twitter, saying that the measure has been taken "solely" due to the health crisis and adding that his right-wing predecessor as mayor Gerard Collomb had taken "exactly the same measure" during the first wave of the pandemic.

He said that the menu - which includes fish and egg products - was "balanced for all our schoolchildren".

Doucet is not the first of the new breed of Green mayors to court controversy.

Last year the new Green mayor of Bordeaux Pierre Hurmic decided to do away with the city's traditional Christmas tree as part of his pro-environment agenda, saying he was "not going to put dead trees in our squares."

And Doucet himself raised eyebrows by saying the most French of sporting events - the Tour de France - was "macho and polluting" and not welcome back in the city as long as it was not "environmentally responsible."
With vaccinations scheduled to begin next month, relief agencies rush to prepare the ground, writes Al-Souria Net.

Medical agencies and relief organizations are working in Idleb and the countryside of Aleppo to secure coronavirus vaccines, amid news of the possibility of starting the vaccination process next month.

The director of the vaccination program in the Assistance Coordination Unit, Muhammad al-Salem, told Alsouria Net, on Sunday, that it was agreed with the concerned authorities to supply the vaccine to 20 percent of the population, adding that the first batch would be 120 doses, sufficient for 60 people.

Dr. Rami Kilzi, Head of Community Programs at the Ministry of Health in the Interim Government, said that coordination is underway with all concerned actors, the most important of which are UNICEF, the World Health Organization (WHO), and the Syria Immunization Group in order to secure the vaccine.

Kilzi added that the approved vaccine is the one by British AstraZeneca ASZ, indicating that the vaccination drive will take place in three stages.

He stressed that the first phase will cover 20 percent of the population this year, in three or four batches, and priority will be given to health workers, those suffering from chronic diseases, and adults over 55 years of age.

Kilzi expected the arrival of the first batch of the vaccine in late March or early April, explaining that the initially proposed number of doses is about 1,700,000 doses for 850,000 people.

Kilzi called on the people in the northwestern regions of Syria to continue adhering to the preventive measures and not be complacent, and to cooperate with vaccination teams to take the vaccine upon its arrival, in order to preserve their safety and that of those around them.

The Minister of Health of the Syrian Interim Government, Dr. Maram al-Sheikh, said, last Friday, that the epidemic has receded, and the curve has registered a clear decline during the last four weeks, as there was only one new case recorded in the previous days.

This article was translated and edited by The Syrian Observer. The Syrian Observer has not verified the content of this story. Responsibility for the information and views set out in this article lies entirely with the author.

Three people were killed and three others injured following a violent confrontation at a karaoke parlor in the northern Vietnamese province of Hoa Binh on the weekend.

Senior Lieutenant Colonel Bui Van Chieu, head of the police unit in Luong Son District, Hoa Binh confirmed to Tuoi Tre (Youth) newspaper that the incident occurred in Hoa Son Commune on Sunday evening.

At around 7:00 pm, a group of 13 people arrived at Luxury karaoke shop, Chieu elaborated.

A confrontation later broke out, during which a man attacked many people with a knife.

Two women and one man were killed on the spot, while two other victims were injured.

The attacker then stabbed himself with the same knife.

He was admitted to the hospital along with the two wounded victims.

An eyewitness stated that the attacker showed signs of being high on crystal meth.

Further investigation is ongoing.

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IF you have absolutely no urgent or emergency need to be outdoors today, then remain at home.

Should you take a chance and decide to tempt fate, then it may most likely result in you being stopped and questioned by police officers and members of the Defence Force, or even find yourself charged and taken before a court.
[February 22, 2021] Karma Metrix by Avantgrade Helps Websites Measure and Improve Their Eco-sustainability

BALERNA, Switzerland, Feb. 22, 2021 /PRNewswire/ -- The climate emergency is the great challenge of our generation, a top priority for states and companies: Karma Metrix is an innovative algorithm with an artificial intelligence heart that aims to measure the eco-sustainability of websites and help reduce their impact on the environment. Like plastic, the web also pollutes: according to the Global Carbon Project, in 2020 the Internet was the fourth country in the world for energy consumption, behind only the United States, China and India. The reasons? The energy needed to operate the servers and the inefficient ways of building and maintaining web pages. To make a site more eco-sustainable, the irst step is to measure the actual energy efficiency and the C02 emitted. Karma Metrix can quantify the "ecological performance" of a website through an algorithm that weighs 23 website efficiency factors compared to the world median built on over 9 million sites, both desk and mobile.



In case that the Karma test highlights a CO2 emission too high or that can be improved, Karma Metrix allows identifying the critical areas on each page of the site on which to intervene to increase energy efficiency, consequently reducing polluting emission. The Karma Metrix - Energy Efficient Website certificate certifies both the energy efficiency class and the CO2 emissions of the entire website. Many companies that want to combine attention to the environment with digital have included the "Karma result" in the ESG (Environmental, Social and Governance) indicators and in the annual corporate sustainability report (CSR).

Karma Metrix - Energy Efficient Website is an idea of www.Avantgrade.com, a Swiss company specializing in artificial intelligence applied to algorithms. "In an increasingly digitalized world, Karma Metrix - Energy Efficient Website is an immediate tool capable of raising public awareness on issues of digital sustainability," declares Ale Agostini creator of the Karma Metrix. "The goal is that by 2022 every company in the world will measure and improve the energy efficiency and sustainability of the web presence." If you want to know quickly how eco-sustainable one of your web pages is, visit our site and make the demo of Karma Test at this link: https://bit.ly/3u5W6Jg Logo - https://mma.prnewswire.com/media/1438292/Avantgrade_Karma_Metrix_Logo.jpg



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DALLAS (AP)  Warmer temperatures spread across the southern United States on Saturday, bringing some relief to a winter weary region that faces a challenging clean-up and expensive repairs from days of extreme cold and widespread power outages.

In hard-hit Texas, where millions were warned to boil tap water before drinking it, the warm-up was expected to last for several days.

The fallout included busted water pipes and shortages of clean drinking water, the closure of the Memphis airport and hospitals struggling to maintain sanitary conditions.

Linda Nguyen woke up in a Dallas hotel room Saturday morning with an assurance she hadnt had in nearly a week: she and her cat have somewhere to sleep with power and water.

Power had been restored to her apartment on Wednesday but on Thursday evening Nguyen, a 27-year-old who works in real estate, arrived home from work to find a soaked carpet. A pipe had burst in her bedroom.

Its essentially unlivable, she said. Everything is completely ruined.

At least 69 deaths have been blamed on the weather, including that of a man at an Abilene health care facility where the lack of water pressure made medical treatment impossible. Officials also reported deaths from hypothermia, including homeless people and those inside buildings with no power or heat. Others died in car accidents on icy roads or from suspected carbon monoxide poisoning.

A Tennessee farmer died trying to save two calves from a frozen pond.

President Joe Bidens office said Saturday he has declared a major disaster in Texas, directing federal agencies to help in the recovery.

About 260,000 homes and businesses in the Tennessee county that includes Memphis were told to boil water because of water main ruptures and pumping station problems. Restaurants that could not do so or did not have bottled water were ordered to close.

Water pressure problems prompted Memphis International Airport to cancel all incoming and outgoing Friday flights, but the passenger terminal was expected to reopen by midafternoon Saturday.

The storms left more than 300,000 still without power across the country by Saturday morning, many of them in Texas, Louisiana and Mississippi.

More than 50,000 Oregon electricity customers remained without power Saturday, more than a week after an ice storm ravaged the electrical grid. Portland General Electric had hoped to have power back to all but 15,000 customers by Friday night but the utility discovered additional damage in previously inaccessible areas.

Oregon Gov. Kate Brown had the National Guard go door-to-door in some areas to check on residents welfare. The worst ice storm in 40 years knocked out power to more than 350,000 residents at its peak.

In Jackson, Mississippi, most of the city of about 161,000 lacked running water. Crews pumped water to refill city tanks but faced a shortage of chemicals for treatment because icy roads made it difficult for distributors to deliver them, Mayor Chokwe Antar Lumumba said.

He said the citys water mains are more than 100 years old and not built to handle the freezing weather that hit the city as multiple storms dumped record amounts of snow across the South.

We are dealing with an extreme challenge with getting more water through our distribution system, said Lumumba.

The city was providing water for flushing toilets and drinking, but residents had to pick it up, leaving the elderly and those living on icy roads vulnerable.

Lisa Thomas said her driveway on a hill in Jackson was a sheet of ice. Her husband, who is on a defibrillator and heart monitor, has only enough heart medication to get him through Sunday because she hasnt been able to go to the pharmacy.

People are in dire need here, Thomas said.

Paul Lee Davis got to the front of the line at a water station set up by city officials only to have the water run out. He was still waiting for it to be replenished three and a half hours after arriving.

We need water, the stores all are out. I dont see what choice we have, Davis said.

The water woes were the latest misery for people across the South who went without heat or electricity for days after ice and snow storms forced rolling blackouts from Minnesota to Texas.

Texas electrical grid operators said electricity transmission returned to normal after the historic snowfall and single-digit temperatures created a surge in demand that buckled the states system.

Smaller outages remained, but Bill Magness, president of the Electric Reliability Council of Texas, said the grid now can provide power throughout the system.

Texas Gov. Greg Abbott ordered an investigation into the failure for a state known as the U.S. energy capital. ERCOT officials have defended their preparations and the decision to begin forced outages Monday as the grid reached breaking point.

The rolling blackouts resulted in a lawsuit filed Friday in a Nueces County court at law in Corpus Christi, claiming ERCOT ignored repeated warnings of weaknesses in the states power infrastructure.

A Dallas law firm alleged ERCOT and the American Electric Power utility caused property damage and business interruptions during the cold wave.

Also, Texas Attorney General Ken Paxton issued civil investigative demands to ERCOT and electric utility companies, vowing to get to the bottom of this power failure. The investigation will cover power outages, emergency plans, energy pricing and more related to the winter storm.

The large-scale failure of Texas power companies to withstand the winter storm left multiple millions of Texans without power and heat during lethal, record-low temperatures across the state, Paxtons office said in a statement.

In many areas, water pressure dropped after lines froze and because people left faucets dripping to prevent pipes from icing, authorities said.

As of Friday afternoon, more than 1,300 Texas public water systems and 159 counties had reported weather-related operational disruptions affecting more than 14.9 million people, according to Texas Commission on Environmental Quality spokeswoman Tiffany Young.

More than 1 million gallons (3.8 million liters) of water was being trucked Friday to the Texas capital. But Austins water director, Greg Maszaros, implored residents to minimize the use of home faucets because theres still a lot of unknowns as we pressurize the system.

In Dallas, David Lopez said the plumbing company he works for received more than 600 calls for service over the last week.

Its pretty much first come, first served, said Lopez, as he and a colleague manhandled a new water heater out of their van on Friday. Everyones got emergencies.

Houston residents probably will have to boil tap water until Sunday or Monday, said Mayor Sylvester Turner.

Water service was restored Friday to two Houston Methodist community hospitals, but officials still were bringing in drinking water and some elective surgeries were canceled, spokeswoman Gale Smith said.

St. Jude Childrens Research Hospital in Memphis said it was forced to switch to bottled drinking water and bagged ice and that staff and patients were washing with hand sanitizer and no-rinse bathing wipes. All non-urgent surgeries were postponed.

Rhodes College in Memphis said Friday that about 700 residential students were being moved to hotels in the suburbs of Germantown and Collierville after school bathrooms stopped functioning because of low water pressure.

Central Arkansas Water in the Little Rock area asked customers to conserve water to help protect its system as the ground began to warm and pipes thawed. The city of Hot Springs warned Thursday night that its water supply was critically low and also asked customers to conserve.

A broken pipe at the Museum of Discovery in Little Rock flooded its building, causing extensive damage to theaters, galleries and offices and killing one display animal, a blue-tongued skink lizard.

More than 192,000 Louisiana residents  some still struggling to recover from last Augusts Hurricane Laura  had no water service Friday, according to the state health department. Tens of thousands more remained under boil-water advisories.

Bulk and bottled water deliveries were planned for the hardest-hit areas with a focus on hospitals, nursing homes and dialysis centers, Louisiana Gov. John Bel Edwards said, adding that he was hopeful that warmer weather expected during the weekend would speed up repairs.

In the Louisiana community of Hackberry, Nicole Beard said her boyfriend crawled under his house to try to fix a broken water line but couldnt because he didnt have the right parts and it was too dark. She was using bottled water and sent her two daughters to stay at another home.

People are still just struggling over here, she said.

Scolforo reported from Harrisburg, Pennsylvania.

About the photo: City of Austin Water Utility workers Joey Putman, left, to right, Damian Cruz and Salvador Tinajero repair a broken water main near 11th and Red River streets in Austin, Texas, on Friday, Feb. 19, 2021./ (Jay Janner/Austin American-Statesman via AP)

Copyright 2021 Associated Press. All rights reserved. This material may not be published, broadcast, rewritten or redistributed.
By Bahk Eun-ji



Han Se-kyung is a children's book writer who started her literary career in 2003 when she was teaching at an elementary school.



After working as a teacher for 31 years, Han retired in February 2019 to write books and opened a one-woman publishing house, Story-I.





Han Se-kyung /Yonhap
By Yang Sheng, Chen Qingqing and Liu Xuanzun

Patriotism and profound respect toward the People's Liberation Army (PLA) martyrs who sacrificed their lives to defend China's territory in the Galwan Valley conflict with India in June 2020 have been the hottest topics trending on Chinese social media networks in recent days, but Chinese authorities and the public are demonstrating sophistication of not letting antagonism overwhelm rationality.

Chinese analysts said the high-profile commemoration of four PLA soldiers shows that there is an unshakable consensus shared by the mass public - unconditional support for the military to defend national sovereignty and territorial integrity, and the Chinese government also hopes the public will understand that stability and prosperity of the country, even in an era of peace, comes at a cost, sometimes even the lives of the soldiers to protect the nation.

India should learn that this kind of public opinion could turn into a huge force to be reckoned with against any foreign aggression, and if India doesn't appreciate China's sincerity in easing border tensions and engages in aggression further, India will again be the side who pays a heavy price, said experts.

Lin Minwang, a professor with the Institute of International Studies at Fudan University, said that it is human nature for Chinese people to have negative sentiments toward India after the details of Galwan Valley skirmish were released, but unlike New Delhi who continually hyped its nationalism and populism against China, Beijing didn't play up public sentiment against India.

In the firsthand official information released by the PLA Daily on Friday, China used the words "foreign forces" instead of "Indian troops".

This is to minimize the unnecessary impact that could in turn embarrass India and disturb the ongoing disengagement process, Lin said, adding that "But unfortunately, India could mistakenly interpret this as 'China is afraid of India,' so strength is actually much more useful to deter further provocation from the Indian side," Lin said.

China and India reportedly held the 10th round of corps commander-level talks on Saturday, and Chinese analysts predicted on Sunday that the two countries' troops could further disengage at other previous hot spots after smooth disengagement at the northern and southern banks of Pangong Tso days earlier.

Nationwide commemoration

More stories in detail about the fallen heroes in the border clash continued circulating on Chinese news sites and social media over the weekend, arousing the collective empathy and commemoration of the Chinese public, and rendering the heroic spirit in peaceful days much more valuable, many Chinese netizens said.

A comment wrote by a netizen that went viral on Sina Weibo, a Chinese Twitter-like social media platform, read "Near sunset, I was eating my rice and drinking coke as usual, and I couldn't understand why these strong soldiers got killed. I woke up at the night and suddenly realized: They died for us."

The hashtag "They died for us" got 1.47 billion views and was discussed more than 181,000 times on Weibo, which has become the hottest topic on the social media network in recent days.

Song Zhongping, a military expert and TV commentator told the Global Times that every country needs to eulogize its heroes, especially during a peaceful era, in which people likely forget the peace and stability they are enjoying is hard-won, and "we also need to be aware that the world is not peaceful, and there are heroes who are risking their lives to protect us and ensure China remains peaceful and safe every day."

After the remains of four PLA martyrs were brought back to their hometowns by a Y-20 military transport aircraft, local governments in East China's Fujian, Central China's Henan, Northwest China's Gansu and Shanxi held funeral honor ceremonies for the four martyrs. Local veteran affairs offices administered a one-off sum of compensation for the families of the martyrs and qualified family members started to receive regular compensation, according to China Veterans, a magazine under the Ministry of Veterans Affairs.

The local veteran affairs offices also designated officials to take care of family members of the martyrs and assist them in solving difficulties in their daily lives. The public has been paying close attention to the situation of injured PLA officers and soldiers, as well as the family members of those four martyrs.

Qi Fabao, a regimental commander of the Chinese military who bravely fought in the Galwan Valley border clash and suffered severe head injuries has recovered well and took pictures with his friends on Saturday, smiling, a video posted by Ankang Television in Shanxi on Sunday showed.

When battalion commander Chen Hongjun sacrificed his life in the hard-fought battle during the clash, his wife was five months pregnant. With the help of local veteran affairs authorities, she was provided with conveniences during her pregnancy. After Chen's son was born on October 25, 2020, local authorities helped the family acquire household registration in Xi'an, the capital city of Shaanxi, according to media reports on Sunday. The local government in Northwest China's Shaanxi Province also helped Chen's wife find a job at a conservatoire after learning that she holds a master's degree in vocal music.

Some stories shared by their family members, friends, teachers and classmates kept touching the hearts of many, as those martyrs, just like many ordinary Chinese, who could be sons, fathers, friends and even a fiance who was very excited to marry his beloved one.

While Chinese society commemorates the martyrs, several individuals have angered the public by defaming the heroic martyrs who defended the border. Some were immediately detained by local police in accordance with the law.

On Saturday, Beijing's Haidian district police bureau detained a netizen who spread multiple rumors and unsubstantiated claims in a WeChat group smearing the border soldiers. Nanjing police in East China's Jiangsu detained a Weibo influencer with the pen name "Labi Xiaoxin" surnamed Chou, on the suspicion of provoking insensitive arguments. His account, with more than 2 million followers, has also been shut down by Sina Weibo.

Experts said that patriotism and firm support toward the military who defend the country is the consensus widely shared by Chinese people, so India, and any other foreign force, should learn that China's sincerity in easing tensions doesn't mean China will tolerate or be afraid of aggression.

Timeline of China-India border clash Graphic:Global Times

What should India learn?

China didn't immediately release information about the PLA's casualties and combat details after the clash in June 2020, because China doesn't want to escalate tensions, said Chinese experts, and if China had done what India did last year - using the clash to incite nationalism and hatred domestically, the two militaries wouldn't have the chance to disengage as they have today, the experts noted.

When Chinese and Indian troops began to disengage in the border region, China had the opportunity to tell its people and the world the truth by releasing details and videos about the clash, without further worsening the situation. This is a goodwill gesture that India should appreciate since China has remained rational and calm upon handling this matter, the experts noted.

In contrary to the majority of Indian media reports, which appeared to misinterpret the message conveyed by China commemorating four martyrs and further instigated anti-China sentiment, the Indian military and government both acted in a restrained manner with no apparent irrational moves in response to the disclosure of the heroic deeds from five PLA soldiers in the clash, which is a good sign, according to Chinese experts on India issues.

"The mentality of ignorance and arrogance from Indian netizens led Indian side to believe it's unacceptable to disclose the truth of the border clash, but until now, there's no overreaction from the Indian troops or government, which has created certain conditions for both sides to 'heal their wounds' amid deteriorating relations," Qian Feng, Director of the Research Department at the National Strategy Institute at Tsinghua University, told the Global Times on Sunday.

"Although we believe China helped India save face after Indian troops were beaten badly by the PLA, India is unlikely to appreciate this, and border conflicts in the future are still possible, so China should be fully prepared. In communicating with India, strength is much more useful than sincerity," Song said.
IF you have absolutely no urgent or emergency need to be outdoors today, then remain at home.

Should you take a chance and decide to tempt fate, then it may most likely result in you being stopped and questioned by police officers and members of the Defence Force, or even find yourself charged and taken before a court.
WASHINGTON  Sen. Ted Cruz got comfortable in his seat behind a wooden dais Monday morning, ready to question Merrick Garland for what is expected to be a contentious confirmation hearing for attorney general.

The Texas senator was fresh off a trip to Mexico that was cut short after he was fiercely criticized for leaving his state in the middle of a crisis. Taking off the Texas flag face mask that he donned in the airport as he returned Thursday to his home state  where millions were still without power and water after a brutal winter storm  Cruz peppered President Joe Biden's nominee with questions about whether politics would sway the Justice Department.

Questions about Cruz's trip have continued to circulate on social media after photographs showed him handing out bottled water to Texans over the weekend. Some questioned whether he should be quarantining after leaving the country.

Related: United Airlines investigates Ted Cruz's flight information 'leak'

The Centers for Disease Control and Prevention recommends getting tested for COVID-19 three to five days after traveling and staying home for seven days to quarantine, even if you test negative after a trip. It ranks Mexico as having a "very high" level of COVID-19, meaning travelers should avoid the country because of the risks posed by COVID-19 spread.

Jessica Skaggs, a spokeswoman for Cruz, said the senator tested negative both before his return flight to Texas on Thursday and again on Sunday, before he traveled to D.C. to return to work at the U.S. Capitol.

Sen. Ted Cruz, R-Texas, is seated prior to a Senate Judiciary Committee hearing on the nomination of Judge Merrick Garland to be U.S. Attorney General on Capitol Hill, Monday, Feb. 22, 2021 on Capitol Hill in Washington. in Washington.

While Cruz should be still quarantining under CDC guidelines because it hasn't been seven days since his return, essential workers like lawmakers are allowed to continue doing their duties if they are symptom-free.

Lawmakers on both sides of the aisle have continued to travel back and forth to their home states and, when returning to D.C., have largely not been quarantining.

Members of Congress were offered the COVID-19 vaccine late last year amid continuation of government efforts.

Story continues

At that time, Cruz said he would not immediately take the vaccine in hopes of getting it first to seniors and others in need. He has since received his first dose of the vaccine, his spokeswoman said. A second dose is needed to be fully immunized.

More than 60 lawmakers have tested positive for COVID-19 since the pandemic started ravaging the country about one year ago. A member of Congress, Rep. Ron Wright, R-Texas, and member-elect, Luke Letlow, R-La., have died after contracting the disease.

Video: Senator Ted Cruz flew to Mexico on vacation amid Texas' icy weather crisis

Cruz, after returning from his quick Mexico trip, said it was a "mistake" to go and said he was just trying to be a good husband and father to his two daughters, who were also weathering the freezing temperatures.

"In hindsight, I wouldn't have done it," Cruz said Thursday night, adding it had been his "intention to work remotely," but it became "more compelling" for him to return as controversy grew about the trip.

More: Fact check: Image claiming to show 2016 Ted Cruz tweet on climate change and Texas is fabricated

About 18,000 customers in Texas were still without power Monday, a number that's gone down significantly from the 4 million who were in the dark last week as freezing temperatures left some dead and forced many to huddle together for warmth. Problems with accessing clean drinking water have persisted after pipes burst in the frigid temperatures.

During Monday's hearing, Cruz highlighted the Fast and Furious scandal under President Barack Obama's Attorney General Eric Holder and the relationship between an attorney general and a president, then asked Garland whether he would be Biden's "wingman."

"I can assure you, I do not regard myself as anything other than a lawyer for people of the United States," Garland replied. "I am not the president's lawyer. I am the United States' lawyer."

This article originally appeared on USA TODAY: Sen. Ted Cruz is not quarantining after return from Mexico
The Telegraph

Ministers have failed to take advantage of the UK's freedom from EU regulations since Brexit, despite the Prime Ministers pledge to take back control of red tape, a new think tank report has said. A new report from the Institute for Government (IfG) argues that Whitehall departments are too "siloed" from each other, preventing ministers from changing laws to reflect Britain's departure from the EU. The think tank points to Mr Johnsons declaration on Christmas Eve last year that the UK had taken back control of every jot and tittle of our regulation in a way which is complete and unfettered. But despite that promise, most EU legislation is still on the UK statute books, after being copied over into domestic law during the Brexit process. Experts say a "bonfire" of regulations in the coming years is unlikely because of costs associated with changing them in UK law. The report's authors said the Government had approached regulatory divergence from Europe "like a game of Space Invaders  played blindfolded," risking costs to British businesses and unintended consequences. They called for Downing Street to issue clear guidance to government departments on how they should approach the freedom to set out new regulations, and reform the processes for approving them. They also point out that, over time, the UK will diverge from the EU in its regulations as European standards change and are not automatically in line with Britains. The UK should develop a system to keep track of regulatory developments in the EU that will affect Britain to avoid any unintended consequences from that process, they argue. Joe Marshall, a researcher at the IfG, said: "Gaining the ability to do things differently from the EU was a key aim of Brexit  and there are clear benefits to be won. But the governments siloed approach to regulatory reform risks ad hoc changes and unintended consequences that threaten businesses with new costs and could destabilise the union. Jill Rutter, another author, said: The government must ensure it invests the time and effort needed to make the necessary trade-offs involved and avoid unintended consequences.
Apps like DoorDash and Uber Eats have provided restaurants a flood of customers in the pandemic. Now a host of food-ordering tools, along with some restaurants, are finding ways around those apps and the commissions they charge.

DoorDash Inc., Uber Technologies Inc.s Eats and Grubhub Inc. can charge restaurants up to 30% of every ordera chunk many owners say dents profits even as more orders come in.

A new crop of services is promising online ordering at a lower cost to eateries, by letting the restaurants arrange more deliveries themselves.

Chipotle Mexican Grill Inc., Shake Shack Inc. and a growing number of chains have acknowledged the cost of app-based delivery orders, and many say they intend to address it. Local governments from New York to Seattle have enforced rules capping delivery-app fees, in an effort to rein in restaurants costs while the health crisis keeps people home.

The pain over app commissions is not new the pandemic just exacerbated it," said Andrew Wang, the founder of Spread, a website that charges restaurants $1 per order and markets itself as a cheaper and more restaurant-friendly alternative to the big apps.

Mr. Wang says restaurants give Spread lower prices for menu items. Restaurants say they typically mark up on popular apps to make up for the commissions that those services charge.

Delivery is an expensive logistical undertaking. DoorDash and Uber Eats have trimmed their losses as orders have surged, but have yet to post a yearly profit. Grubhub has incurred new losses, in part as commission caps weighed on its bottom line.

Some new players say they can steer enough orders to make it worthwhile for the restaurants to organize their own deliveriesas pizza shops and takeout businesses have long doneor to outsource deliveries to a partner. Lyft Inc. has said it is exploring such partnerships with restaurants.

Whether these alternatives can grab market share, or turn profits, is an open question. Makers of the new crop of services say they save both restaurants and consumers money, because restaurants arent marking up menu prices to offset commissions and they can charge customers smaller delivery fees.

Sales on third-party food-delivery services are more than double what they were prior to the pandemic, with levels of demand staying high, according to an analysis of credit- and debit-card data from Earnest Research. DoorDash, Uber Eats and Grubhub have registered the biggest growth, though smaller delivery companies such as Chowbus and Ritual Technologies Inc. logged year-over-year increases in December and January, the data shows.

Long John Silvers LLC, the nearly 700-unit fast-food chain, plans to introduce a system later this year for customers to order directly on the companys website, with delivery handled by a third-party delivery service.

We didnt want to continue to deal with these companies," Stephanie Mattingly, the chains chief marketing officer, said of the big delivery apps. They are the necessary evil for us right now."

The bigger apps say they are taking steps to help. DoorDash recently started building websites for small restaurants that enable customers to order directly from eateries. Rather than taking a commission, DoorDash charges restaurants a flat fee to deliver orders placed via those sites. Consumers also typically pay apps for the cost of delivery. Uber Eats has started a similar feature. Grubhub said it is building apps for chains and will make similar services available free to independent restaurants in coming months.

All three apps say they have spent millions of dollars to support small restaurants through grants and free promotions. DoorDash said it waived commissions for eateries with five or fewer outlets in the early months of the health crisis. Grubhub said it suspended commissions for independent restaurants for the first few weeks of the pandemic. Uber Eats said it has halved commissions for restaurants doing their own deliveries through mid-this year.

Spreads Mr. Wang, who helped Groupon Inc. launch its delivery service, has tried to surf growing consumer sentiment against commissions, designing cartoons and stickers that show the downsides of the bigger apps practices. Hes encouraged restaurant partners to pack them into orders.

Half of the 150 restaurants on Spread make their own deliveries, Mr. Wang said. They set their own delivery fees for customers, he said, often pricing lower than the big apps to encourage more orders. The New York-based company works with a partner to complete the other orders.

Fare, a New York-based delivery service started by catering company CaterCow, offers diners a limited selection of eateries to order froma play to drive volume. Fares restaurants deliver themselves, with owners and managers doubling up as delivery drivers. Deliveries are made at preset times during lunch or dinner, which helps restaurants keep costs down.

It isnt the best if you want your food in the next 20 minutes," said Chief Executive Sean Li. The service is a better bet for people who like ordering their meals in advance, he added.

Similar to Spread, restaurants on Fare often display lower prices for menu items than on other apps because Fare doesnt charge them a commission. It does charge customers a service fee, similar to the big apps; Mr. Li said customers still pay less overall than they would on apps such as DoorDash and Grubhub.

Fare has partnered with about a hundred restaurants since launching in June last year, Mr. Li said.

Some restaurants are taking on more online business in an attempt to bypass the apps.

Portillos Hot Dogs LLC struck a delivery deal with DoorDash in 2017, but began steering some business toward its own app during the pandemic. The 63-unit chain put some idled workers on delivery duty and started handling larger to-go orders.

Drivers arrive on customers doorsteps in Portillos uniforms, and workers are tipped directly. There is a benefit in controlling the entire experience," said Nick Scarpino, the Chicago-area companys senior vice president of marketing.

Large restaurant chains can negotiate better commissions with delivery apps but say they are feeling the pinch of order-handling fees.

Chipotle is among restaurants introducing new pickup services designed as an alternative to third-party deliveries. Customers can pull into a parking spot at the restaurant, tap an app and an employee brings the order to their car. CEO Brian Niccol said many customers prefer to pick up their food themselves.

Its faster and by the way, you can avoid the delivery fees," Mr. Niccol said in an interview this month.





This story has been published from a wire agency feed without modifications to the text.

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Chandigarh, Feb 22 : Punjab Pradesh Congress Committee (PPCC) President Sunil Jakhar on Monday said Chief Minister Amarinder Singh would lead the party in the 2022 Assembly polls, as the people of the state had reposed their faith in his leadership with their landslide verdict in the Congress' favour in the recent civic polls.

While participating in the event for the launch of various developmental projects worth Rs 1,087 crore by the Chief Minister, under the Smart City and AMRUT schemes, Jakhar said, "the Congress party's sweeping victory in the civic polls has not only revalidated Amarinder Singh's leadership in the state but was an endorsement of the faith of Punjabis in his future leadership also".

He said the state Congress had already launched mission "#Captainfor2022", and the next election would be fought under his leadership.

Lauding the Chief Minister, Jakhar said Amarinder Singh had led the state in very difficult times and the people were well aware of his massive contribution.

"Punjab is perhaps facing its worst ever crisis - Covid-19, farmers' unrest due to the 'black' farm laws, coupled with an unfriendly Union government - and only Captain Amarinder Singh has the vision and leadership qualities to steer the state out of it," he said.

Lambasting the Union government for its stepmotherly treatment to Punjab, Jakhar said the Centre had resorted to all kinds of measures, including economic blockade, to punish the state for supporting the farmers' agitation.

He said the federal structure of the country was under extreme threat under the BJP-led NDA government. He also questioned the recent decision of the Union government to refuse permission to a 'jatha' to go to Nankana Sahib in Pakistan and accused the Centre of being biased against the state.

Jakhar also urged the Chief Minister to ensure that the Congress manifesto for 2022 should promise making Amritsar - the 'Guru ki Nagri' - an iconic city.

"Amritsar should be made as one of the best cities in the world on the lines of the Vatican," he said.

Punjab Youth Congress President Barinder Singh Dhillon termed the inauguration of these projects as a grand start after the victory in the municipal elections.

He said the landslide victory reflects the enormous faith the people of Punjab have in the leadership of the Chief Minister.
Fords plant in Romania could produce electric cars in the coming years in the context of Ford Europes new strategy to reduce carbon dioxide emissions, Stuart Rowley, president of Ford Europe has implied, according to local reports.

The plant in Craiova is a success story. We launched the new Puma there at the beginning of last year. The model is a hit in the market, and most units delivered use mild-hybrid technology. We will return in the coming months with details about the future, Rowley told Ziarul Financia, according to romania-insider.com.

Ford Europe last week announced a plan to invest US$1bn at its plant in Cologne, Germany, to produce an electric car for the European market in 2023. It will be designed on the same platform as Volkswagen ID.3.

Separately, according to the reports, the automaker said Josephine Payne would take over as president of Ford Romania and general manager of the Craiova factory, starting 1 April, 2021. Payne will replace Ian Pearson, who will retire on 1 May after 31 years with Ford.


Warmer temperatures and breezy conditions will persist through the week across much of the Bay Area, bringing coastal temperatures to the upper 60s, and 70-degree weather inland.

Temperatures across the region will rise early in the week, with daily averages reaching the lower 70s before falling overnight into the 40s.

For much of the North Bay, highs will flirt with 80 degrees, said National Weather Service meteorologist Anna Schneider. Overall, temperatures in the Bay Area are as much as 10 degrees more than what is typical for February.

Strong offshore winds are forecast through Thursday morning, and northeasterly winds are expected to reach peak speeds at the highest elevations on Wednesday, potentially mixing down to the valleys and gusting up to 30 mph. In San Francisco, gusts may reach 25 to 35 mph.

Meteorologists said offshore winds will create dry conditions in the region, but recent rains have fended off concerns of new wildfires.

Even though were still below for the winter, weve gotten enough rain that we dont have those concerns, Schneider said. If this were happening in the summer and the fall, we would be a little bit more worried.

Higher elevations in the North Bay mountains and the East Bay hills will experience increased wind Tuesday evening, with gusts reaching 55 to 60 mph. In the Santa Cruz Mountains, winds will reach 20 to 35 mph, peaking with 45 mph gusts.

Strong gusts could knock down trees or limbs in cities, which could result in power outages. Temporary outdoor structures, such as medical tents, should be secured, especially those on the downwind side of nearby mountains, forecasters said.

The region will cool off as low-pressure systems approach the Bay Area through the second half of the week. Dry and occasionally breezy conditions are expected to continue through February with an increased chance of rain in early March, meteorologists said.

Vanessa Arredondo is a San Francisco Chronicle staff writer. Email: vanessa.arredondo@sfchronicle.com Twitter: @v_anana
PHILIPSBURG:--- Nurse Claudette Rijff became the symbol of St. Maarten's battle against the Coronavirus pandemic when she took the first official jab of the Covid-19 vaccine live on Facebook this morning. The vaccines were provided by the Government of the Netherlands as part of the kingdom-wide response to the pandemic.

Nurse Rijff works at the White and Yellow Cross Care Foundation (WYCCF). She is among those front liners who have been keeping the virus at bay from some of the country's most vulnerable - its elderly and differently-abled residents.

After receiving the jab in the muscle of her arm administered by fellow Nurse Nancy, Nurse Rijff was monitored on camera for 15 minutes for any reaction to the jab. None noted, she received her vaccination "passport" and is now due for her second jab in three weeks to build her immunity to 95 per cent against Covid-19 as promised by the vaccine.

The rollout of the Covid-19 jab is a major relief for WYCCF clients, the nurses, and the rest of the team. It means as more of both groups get the jab, they are steps closer to hugging their loved ones, that dearth of physically affection has been absent for almost a year.

Frontliners in the medical field also begun receiving their first jab today. This will continue until all are covered by the vaccine.

Everyone residing on St. Maarten - citizen or non-citizen - is eligible for the free Covid-19 jab. The only requirement is the registration process. Registration is possible online via the government website or by collecting and filling out a paper form available at various locations on the Dutch side.
Voddie Baucham reveals he was within an hour or so of death in heart failure battle

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Beloved Southern Baptist preacher Voddie Baucham Jr. said a series of setbacks to his treatment for heart failure, including multiple weather delays, left him within an hour or so of death.

In a statementreleased on Instagram Sunday, the father of nine, who previously detailed how the winter storm that devastated Texas delayed his journey to the Mayo Clinic in Florida, said he and his wife, Bridget, can only continue to marvel at the Lords providence and rejoice in His goodness that kept him alive during the ordeal.

My condition is much improved, and we have a clear, aggressive, and promising treatment plan, Baucham wrote. According to the doctor that brought me in (actually, his wife picked us up and rushed us to the E.D., but that's another story for another time), I was in the final stages of a catastrophic event, and within an hour or so of death.

When we look back at the amazing work of the missionary doctor in Lusaka who stabilized me (and saved my life), the GoFundMe, canceled flights, weather delays, my vitals during the Joburg to Doha flight, a last-minute itinerary change to Jacksonville, and the fact that Mayo was expecting and waiting for me upon arrival (including the paramedic who checked me in and said, Im trying not to go all fan-girl right now, it is impossible to deny the hand of our Sovereign God and the way he shepherded us.

Baucham, 51, first announced his battle with heart failure just over a week ago on social media.

The founder of Voddie Baucham Ministries, who is also a board member of Founders Ministries and founding faculty member of the Institute of Public Theology, said he felt unwell at the end of a preaching tour this winter in Zambia before realizing he had heart trouble.

I thought I had just worked too hard (17 preaching dates in 18 days, 7 sessions the last 3 days, etc.). However, as it turns out, I was experiencing heart failure! he noted in his statement.

He said he first noticed the symptoms at the end of December when he and his wife returned to Dallas after her mother's passing.

I experienced fatigue, and shortness of breath, among other things. However, I chalked it up to traveling with heavy bags and restrictive masks (not the trifecta of a hereditary heart defect, last Februarys mysterious pneumonia, and untreated sleep apnea), he noted.

News of Bauchams illness has attracted global attention and support. He explained Sunday in his post that he was receiving care from some of the top doctors in the world in the field of heart failure at the Mayo Clinic.

A GoFundMe campaign raising funds to cover his medical expenses was inching towards $1.4 million in donations as of Monday morning.

The Lord uses Voddie to feed my soul and I'm sure, the souls of countless others. I'm praying for God to mercifully heal him and allow him to stay here amongst us a good while longer. Please Lord Jesus! wrote Kathleene Gabriel, one of the more than 12,500 donors to the campaign.

Reacting on Twitter to Bauchams latest update, Thomas Ascol, president of Founders Ministries who also serves as senior pastor of Grace Baptist Church in Cape Coral, Florida, wrote on Twitter Sunday night: God is writing a great story in our brothers life. Keep praying!
Loneliness is a risk factor associated with adolescents being drawn into compulsive internet use. The risk of compulsive use has grown in the coronavirus pandemic: loneliness has become increasingly prevalent among adolescents, who spend longer and longer periods of time online.

A study investigating detrimental internet use by adolescents involved a total of 1,750 Finnish study subjects, who were studied at three points in time: at 16, 17 and 18 years of age. The results have been published in the Child Development journal.

Adolescents' net use is a two-edged sword: while the consequences of moderate use are positive, the effects of compulsive use can be detrimental. Compulsive use denotes, among other things, gaming addiction or the constant monitoring of likes on social media and comparisons to others.

"In the coronavirus period, loneliness has increased markedly among adolescents. They look for a sense of belonging from the internet. Lonely adolescents head to the internet and are at risk of becoming addicted. Internet addiction can further aggravate their malaise, such as depression," says Professor of Education and study lead Katariina Salmela-Aro from the University of Helsinki.

Highest risk for 16-year-old boys

The risk of being drawn into problematic internet use was at its highest among 16-year-old adolescents, with the phenomenon being more common among boys. For some, the problem persists into adulthood, but for others it eases up as they grow older. The reduction of problematic internet use is often associated with adolescent development where their self-regulation and control improve, their brains adapt and assignments related to education direct their attention.

"It's comforting to know that problematic internet use is adaptive and often changes in late adolescence and during the transition to adulthood. Consequently, attention should be paid to the matter both in school and at home. Addressing loneliness too serves as a significant channel for preventing excessive internet use," Salmela-Aro notes.

It was found in the study that the household climate and parenting also matter: the children of distant parents have a higher risk of drifting into detrimental internet use. If parents are not very interested in the lives of their adolescents, the latter may have difficulty drawing the lines for their actions.

Problematic net use and depression form a cycle

In the study participants, compulsive internet use had a link to depression. Depression predicted problematic internet use, while problematic use further increased depressive symptoms.

Additionally, problematic use was predictive of poorer academic success, which may be associated with the fact that internet use consumes a great deal of time and can disrupt adolescents' sleep rhythm and recovery, consequently eating up the time available for academic effort and performance.

###

Information about the publication:

Toth-Kiraly, Istvan, Morin, Alex, Hietajarvi, Lauri & Salmela-Aro, Katariina (2021). Longitudinal trajectories, social antecedents, and outcomes of problematic internet use among late adolescents. Child Development, Early View https:/ / doi. org/ 10. 1111/ cdev. 13525

The University of Helsinki researchers conducted the study in cooperation with researchers from Concordia University, Canada.

The study was supported by the Academy of Finland, Horizon 2020 (ySKILLS), Social Sciences and Humanities Research Council of Canada and Concordia University.

Contact information:

Professor Katariina Salmela-Aro,

University of Helsinki,

katariina.salmela-aro@helsinki.fi,

phone +358 504155283
LastPass is one of the most reliable applications that could store passwords, keep them secure for users, and automatically fill-in all login needs whenever asked by a website or application.

However, users are opting for a free version of the application and in the past week, the service is now requiring people to pay for the subscription and functions.

Because of that, many users opted for free applications which meant looking for alternatives that provide the same features and functions as LastPass, without the monthly or yearly subscription fee. Several of these free password manager applications include Bitwarden, Zoho Vault, and other apps that provide the same service.

If the user has already found a replacement candidate for its password management choice, chances are they would already leave LastPass in favor of the new application.

Read Also: 'Silver Sparrow' Malware Found Hidden in 30K M1 Mac Units -Is it Dangerous?

Why Should You Delete Your Account Before Leaving?

Wait for a couple of minutes before doing so and forgetting your LastPass account. Some users immediately leave the platform by logging out directly and never returning to the website or application, which may cause plenty of potential risks for one's identity, login, and saved passwords through its website and services.

According to How to Geek, to ensure maximum safety, have no passwords in other services, and other problems soon, users would have to deactivate or delete the account from LastPass's website.

Moreover, deleting the account would ensure that there are no leftover trails or data from LastPass's servers regarding one's log-in details.

LastPass: How to Delete Your Account

LastPass provides an easy way to use the function of deleting one's account and getting rid of any traces of users on its servers. Users would only need to head to the LastPass Account Deletion page to get started.

There are several options in the account settings website of LastPass, but choose the "Delete" button to get started.

Users would need to Login their LastPass account and use the Master Password details to successfully access the account deletion.

Users would be advised by LastPass to export data and download it to one's computer to gain access to a file that has all the stored passwords, usernames, email addresses, and other log-in requirements. This data can be used on other password manager applications including BitWarden, and more.

LastPass would then ask users for confirmation if the account would be deleted. It would give another final warning which users would agree to both occasions to proceed with the account and data deletion.

After the account deletion, users would be taken to another page that details how to uninstall the desktop application for Windows and macOS. After uninstalling on its respective operating systems, users would need to restart the computer.

Related Article: 5 Best LastPass Alternatives: Bitwarden, Zoho Vault, and MORE Free Apps for Password Management!

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Written by Isaiah Alonzo

 2021 TECHTIMES.com All rights reserved. Do not reproduce without permission.
BY Anthony Wesaka and Ephraim kasozi

A total of 238 witnesses have been linked to give evidence in the supreme court petition in which NUPs Robert Kyagulanyi aka Bobi Wine seeks to nullify president Musevenis January 14th victory.

Daily monitor has seen a cocktail of affidavits, written witness statements prepared by four parties in the Bobi Wine case.

There are 185 affidavits in defence of Musveenis victory, 53 witness statements in support of Bobi Wines case against Museveni, Electoral commission and Attorney General.

Some of the key witnesses include; ministers, security chiefs, polling officials, lawyers and members of parliament and a former presidential candidate.

All witnesses have written statements and forwarded them to court for consideration when the case kicks off later this week.

However the solicitor General Franks Atoke has questioned the integrity of 10 affidavits and branded them as forgery after a handwriting expert confirmed a mismatch of the signatures.

The affidavits with disputed signatures include one filed by Geoffrey Turyamusima, a lawyer on Bobi Wines legal team.

Some of the Witnesses for the NRM party include the secretary general kasule Lumumba, Minister Esther Mbayo among others.

Witnesses for Bobi Wine include; MPs Francis Zaake, Paul Mwiru, Gerald Karuhanga and Joseph Kabuleta, a former presidential candidate among others.

The attorney general has lined up the Chief of Defence forces Gen David Muhoozi and AIGP Edward Ochom as some of the witnesses.

The electoral commission has lined up number of witnesses including the acting secretary Alex Mulekwa.
President Donald Trump greets Rep Steve Scalise(L) R-LA upon arrival at Louis Armstrong New Orleans International Airport in Kenner, Louisiana on January 14, 2019. MANDEL NGAN/Getty Images

House Minority Whip Steve Scalise refused to say that the election was not "stolen" from Trump.

Scalise conceded that Biden is the "legitimate" president.

But he baselessly claimed that some key states violated the law in administering the election.

Visit the Business section of Insider for more stories.

House Minority Whip Steve Scalise, the third highest-ranking Republican, on Sunday refused to admit that the 2020 election wasn't "stolen" from former President Donald Trump.

Repeatedly pressed on the issue, the Louisiana lawmaker attempted to have it both ways by eventually conceding that President Joe Biden is a "legitimate" president, but baselessly insisting that a few key states violated the law in their election administration.

Trump and his allies have failed to provide any evidence to support their false claims of widespread voter fraud. In dozens of unsuccessful lawsuits, Republicans have made unsubstantiated claims of double-voting, voting by non-citizens, and votes cast on behalf of dead people - all of which have been rejected by the courts. Trump's own attorney general, William Barr, announced in December that the government had not found any evidence of widespread fraud in the 2020 elections.

"Clear this up for me," ABC News host Jonathan Karl said to Scalise. "Joe Biden won the election. He is the legitimate president of the United States. The election was not stolen, correct?"

"Look, Joe Biden's the president," Scalise replied. "There were a few states that did not follow their state laws. That's really the dispute that you've seen continue on."

Many Republicans, Scalise included, continue to claim that Georgia, Pennsylvania, Michigan, and Wisconsin - four swing states Trump lost - implemented illegal election procedure changes. These tweaks were designed to make voting safer during the COVID-19 pandemic, but GOP lawmakers allege that they allowed for widespread voter fraud.

Story continues

State officials have repeatedly rejected these claims and condemned the politicians making them, and the Supreme Court threw out a related lawsuit brought by the Texas attorney general. Republicans had lost 59 of 60 lawsuits they brought by January 6, the date that Congress convened to certify the election results and a pro-Trump mob stormed the Capitol in an insurrection inspired by the president.

When Karl pressed Scalise to concede that Biden is "the legitimate president of the United States," Scalise agreed that "once the electors were counted," Biden became the legitimate president. But he again refused to say the election wasn't stolen.

"Once the electors are counted, yes, he's the legitimate president," Scalise said. "But if you're going to ignore the fact that there were states that did not follow their own  laws, that's the issue at heart, that millions of people still are not happy with and don't want to see happen again."

Scalise's comments come just a week before Trump is scheduled to take the stage at the annual Conservative Political Action Conference (CPAC) and will reportedly reassert himself as the leader of the Republican party. Scalise said he recently met with Trump at Mar-a-Lago during a fundraising trip to Florida.

Scalise's office didn't immediately respond to Insider's request for comment.

Read the original article on Business Insider
Credit: Unsplash/CC0 Public Domain

What are variants? We asked Divya Shah, Epidemics Research Lead, to explain how variants happen, what they mean for treatments and vaccinesincluding for COVID-19and how we can prevent them.

What are mutations, variants and strains?

Although the terms viral mutants, variants and strains are often used interchangeably, they generally hold different meanings.

To spread, a virus needs to infect a host, replicate and produce lots of copies of itself.

When a virus replicates it doesn't always manage to produce an exact copy of itself. This means that, over time, the virus may start to differ slightly in terms of its genetic sequence. Any changes to the viral genetic sequence during this process is known as a mutation and viruses with new mutations are sometimes called variants. Variants can differ by one or multiple mutations.

When a new variant has different functional properties to the original virus and becomes established in a population, it is sometimes referred to as a new strain of the virus. In short, all strains are variants, but not all variants are strains.

Are variants more dangerous than the original virus?

All viruses mutate. Most mutations are harmless and do not affect the properties of the virus. However, some mutations give the virus a selective advantage, increasing the likelihood that it will go on to infect another person.

Mutations which have a selective advantage could be ones which result in greater viral sheddingthe release of infectious virus particles into the environment, for example when we talk, cough or sneezeor they enable the virus to evade the body's immune responses.

Potential consequences of new variants include:

change in transmissibility

difference in disease severity

ability to evade detection by viral diagnostic tests

reduced susceptibility to treatments

ability to evade natural or vaccine-induced immunity.

Credit: Wellcome Trust

Do variants affect current treatments and vaccines?

Variants have the potential to make current treatments and vaccines less effective.

The influenza virus, which causes flu, is known to be a frequently mutating virus. Every flu season, we see several different influenza variants in circulation, which means that existing vaccines need to be updated so they are effective against the new variants.

Some individual mutations may reduce the virus' sensitivity and vulnerability to human antibodies (part of the immune response) and could therefore make a vaccine or treatment less effective.

So should we be worried about COVID-19 variants?

There have been many mutations of the virus (SARS-CoV-2) that causes COVID-19 since it was first identified in Wuhan.

Currently, there are three variants of concern:

Are the variants impacting the effectiveness of existing COVID-19 vaccines and treatments?

Many COVID-19 vaccines target the spike protein. A virus that accumulates numerous mutations in the spike protein may be able to evade natural or vaccine-induced immunity.

There is ongoing research being conducted to test the efficacy of existing vaccine candidates against a range of variants. Vaccine developers may be able to update their candidates to make them more effective against new variants.

Early lab data suggests that the new variantsespecially those first identified in South Africa and Brazilmay not respond to the first COVID-19 monoclonal antibodies (mAbs). Designed to bind to the spike protein of the virus, like a key in a lock, the mutations found in the variants mean that the key (mAbs) no longer fits the lock (spike protein). While this would be a disappointing setback, this class of treatments still holds great promise for COVID-19 and work is underway to develop combination and second-generation antibody treatments.

There are suggestions that the variants of concern are more prevalent in peoples' noses and throats. This results in a higher viral load, making it easier for the virus to spread between hosts, continue to replicate, and potentially produce new mutations.

This is why it is important to continue to invest in development of a variety of vaccines and treatments to increase the chance of having tools that are effective against new variants.

How are variants tracked?

Due to the potential for a mutation to change the properties of a virus, we need to monitor variants closely to determine if they pose a greater risk of transmission, severe disease or evasion of current interventions.

Since the 1980s we've been monitoring and sequencing influenza (flu) virus strains through global networks, to enable adaptation of the flu vaccine every year.

This is done through genetic sequencing of a virus, and the collection of epidemiological and clinical data. Scientists monitor any changes to a virus' genome. Any concerning changes are reported and shared broadly so that public health interventions and policies can be adapted to limit the spread of a new variant nationally and worldwide.

What are countries doing to track the spread of the COVID-19 variants?

Genomic surveillancethe way in which we track and monitor virusesvaries internationally. This is a concerning because we know that virusessuch as SARS-CoV-2do not respect geographical borders and new variants spread across countries. Lack of international genomic surveillance also leads to gaps in data and poses the risk of new harmful variants emerging and spreading undetected.

The GISAID Initiative promotes global rapid sharing of genetic sequencing and relevant epidemiological data associated with the COVID-19 pandemic. This data enables researchers and health authorities to determine if the new variant poses a greater risk of transmission, severe disease or evasion of current interventions. Collection of this data will also help target vaccines and therapeutics development and help monitor their impact when they are introduced.

On the flip side, if an increase in cases is noticed somewhere that cannot be explained or linked to a super-spreader event (for example, a workplace outbreak), health authorities may review the genetic surveillance data to look for mutations that could have caused the increase.

Can we prevent variants emerging?

The more virus that is in circulation, the more opportunity it has to replicate and mutate, potentially producing new variants of concern. Suppression of the spread of the virus will reduce the number of new variants from emerging, while also protecting populations from spreading existing variants of a virus.

To limit spread, we should:

follow public health interventions, such as social distancing and handwashing

increase global capacity to monitor and sequence the virus to track and flag any significant changes

prioritize equitable distribution of vaccines and treatments worldwide. If only a few countries have access to these, the virus will remain active, continue to spread and increase the risk of new variants emerging that evade current treatments and vaccines.

Explore further Follow the latest news on the coronavirus (COVID-19) outbreak
One of the most significant PPP policy changes that Biden will do is give more to small minority-owned businesses. Most smaller establishments have been crushed by the pandemic and driven out.

Last Monday, changes in the policies regarding the Paycheck Protection Program (PPP) will be enacted. One of the changes that will follow the PPP is that any business with 20 or fewer workers is part of the priority. Another is that it is minority-owned.

Joe Biden announced these changes as part of the Paycheck Protection Program (PPP) to benefit these specifically own establishments. Since the pandemic's start, many businesses need such assistance to stay afloat, reported The Hill.

PPP timeline and relevant changes

According to the Biden Administration's official statement, they set up a 14-day schedule that starts February 24 and ends on March 9. In this period, all businesses with 20 or fewer employees could apply for the Paycheck Protection Program (PPP), said senior Biden officials. In these two weeks, those with more than 20 workers cannot apply yet. This period will only strictly allow smaller businesses to apply to help them survive.

Not only those who will get the PPP was modified, but also how much will be doled out by the program. A new loan calculates a formula for sole proprietors, independent contractors, and self-employed individuals to get the amount they need. Significant changes from the past formula are needed to customize the best amount required to keep them running based on Biden's changes.

Also read: Trump Says Unemployed People Will Get Enhanced Benefits Without States Paying Part of the Cost

However, there will be some restrictions that were in place to restrict misleading dole-outs that will be removed. These will be restrictions that are non-fraud felony convictions that will disqualify receiving funds. Another is whether delinquency in payment of federal student loans was incurred.

Some new guidelines about clearing those non-citizen small business owners who are green card holders or holding a US visa can apply for PPP loans. Nothing has been stated but will be announced.

Equity and the PPP program

Sources say that all these changes in the assistance program push equity to benefit everyone affected by the COVID-19 pandemic. It wrecked over 400,000 small establishments that took away millions of jobs because they could not cope.

One administration source said that small businesses are essential to cities and towns. They provide jobs for many Americans that are struggling in hard times. The administration, according to officials, is deploying measures to kick-start the economy.

One of the drawbacks of the Paycheck Protection Program (PPP) is relief did not reach the small guys first all over the United States. Minorities were marginalized as more prominent companies got the bigger cut through a connection which minorities lacked. Many small businesses suffered while big ones benefited more.

After reports of wealthy Trump donors getting millions in relief meant for small businesses, the administration is now refusing to disclose where the PPP money went. It's unacceptable.



The American people deserve answers. https://t.co/F2n3PA7RZU  Joe Biden (@JoeBiden) June 15, 2020

Treasury Department lending program is a product of bipartisan CARES act that Donald Trump signed. Unfortunately, the data shows that bigger businesses got to apply before the smaller ones, though no fault of the past administration. But now, the next version of the PPP program will have ways to equalize.

Last December, the House passed another PPP funding, with half of the funds deployed for distribution. Biden is looking out for the small guys to get PPP loans first.

Related article: Not All Maine Businesses Eligible for PPP Loans Round Two by January 11

@ 2021 HNGN, All rights reserved. Do not reproduce without permission.
Bidens Misinterpretation of Chinese History May Affect US Policy Toward China

Commentary

When CNN asked U.S. President Joe Biden about his China policy during a televised event held in Milwaukee on Feb. 16, he said he couldnt discuss it in just 10 minutes. Biden then made bizarre remarks. He not only misinterpreted Chinese history but also justified Communist Party leader Xi Jinpings authoritarian policies. The direction of the new administrations China policy is truly concerning.

If you know anything about Chinese history, it has always beenthe time when China has been victimized by the outer world is when they havent been unified at home, Biden said.

So the centralto vastly overstate itthe central principle of Xi Jinping is that there must be a united, tightly controlled China. And he uses his rationale for the things he does based on that.

His statements are surprising because such rhetoric usually comes from the Chinese Communist Party (CCP). No wonder former U.S. Secretary of State Mike Pompeo immediately said Biden was echoing Chinese propaganda with regards to the CCPs human rights abuses against minorities and political dissidents.

The history that Biden was referring to is the past 71 years in Chinathe shameful history after the CCP seized power. Biden was born in 1942. Its not unusual for him to lack knowledge about Chinese history. In fact, most Americans and even many Chinese people dont understand Chinese history. The CCP has tampered with Chinese history textbooks and deceived generations of Chinese with their inaccuracies.

A visitor takes photos at a burial site at Nanjing Massacre Memorial Hall in Nanjing, in eastern Chinas Jiangsu Province, on Feb. 11, 2014. The Tokyo shrine and the memorial hall in Nanjing, as Nanking is now called, are physical embodiments of divergent views of history that still strain ChinaJapan relations, 70 years after the war. (AP Photo/Alexander F. Yuan)

Bidens statement, when China has been victimized by the outer world refers to incidents that only happened after the CCP seized power. In fact, the last time China was victimized by outsiders was during the War of Resistance against Japanese aggression during World War II. The CCP may also consider the Korean War as the last time China was victimized. However, the Korean War was supported by the CCP, and the outside world didnt invade China.

The CCP sees China as the victim when it was isolated from the world before the United States developed diplomatic relations with Beijing. However, the CCP had ousted U.S. ambassador to China John Leighton Stuart and turned itself to the communist camp of the former Soviet Union. It stood on the opposite side of Western democracies and closed itself off. During the Korean War, the CCP army supported the North Korean troops invading South Korea. The United Nations condemned the aggression of the Chinese troops and dispatched soldiers from 21 countries to aid South Korea. The CCP continued to fight the U.N. forces. How can such a government expect to be recognized by other countries?

After the CCP and the former Soviet Union feuded, military conflicts between the two occurred. The former Soviet Union threatened to use nuclear bombs on China. This may be regarded as some kind of being victimized. In fear, the CCP rebelled from the communist camp and pretended to no longer be enemies of Western democracies. Only then did U.S.China diplomatic relations develop and the CCP regime become recognized by the international community.

After U.S.China diplomatic relations were established, Western society opened its doors and actually embraced the Chinese communist regime. How did the outside world victimize China? I dont understand why Biden would put it that way.

In contemporary history, China was victimized most by the Japanese invasion of its borders. The Chinese nation became unexpectedly united as never before as warlords united to counter the invasion, but not with the CCP. The CCP armed itself and played the role of a separatist to divide the nation.

When the country was badly hit on July 7, 1937, the CCP instructed Zhang Xueliangs troops to detain then-national leader Chiang Kai-shek, and tried to put him to death. But the CCP had to release Chiang because then-Soviet leader Joseph Stalin needed Chiang to lead the war against Japan. According to Bidens interpretation, the CCP should have been well aware of the need for unity in the event of a foreign invasion; but the CCP was precisely the traitor.

Today, China hasnt been victimized by the outside world. In 2020, the CCP continued on its aggressive path of global domination through its wolf warrior diplomacy, and it tried to conceal and manipulate facts about the source of COVID-19, which led to a pandemic. The international community wants to hold the Chinese regime accountable for the pandemic. Is the CCP being victimized or is it victimizing the world?

The CCP regards the United States as its greatest enemy, but the United States has actually been its victim. Its indeed puzzling to hear that Biden would refer to the CCP as the most serious competitor rather than an enemy.

Looking at Chinas long and true history, before 1949 when the CCP took over, for 5,000 years China hasnt been tightly controlled, as Biden put it. There were the Hundred Schools of Thought in Chinese history. A large number of people believed in Buddhism, Taoism, and Confucianism. The mainland was first united in the Qin Dynasty, but Qin was a short-lived dynasty because it violated the providence by trying to rule with strict laws. Unlike the dictatorship of the CCP, past dynasties had governed the people with benevolence, and each kept China on the world stage for hundreds of years. There has never been so-called tight controlthe way the CCP is ruling China. Bidens tightly controlled China doesnt exist in authentic Chinese history.

Even the former Kuomintang (KMT) government, which the CCP has always slandered, had allowed the CCPs official newspaper Xinhua Daily to operate and publish. Lu Xun, who was repeatedly praised by the CCP, had been writing articles cursing the KMT, but he was still allowed to publish articles at will. After the KMT government retreated to Taiwan, it finally realized democracy in Taiwan. Bidens tightly controlled China only occurs in the mainland under the control of the CCP. The CCP cant wait to tightly control Hong Kong, and the next step is to tightly control Taiwan. As far as the truly tightly controlled China is concerned, why is Biden trying to justify the rationale of the CCP leaders?

Biden said, Culturally, there are different norms that each country and, their leaders are expected to follow.

In response to this statement, Sen. Bill Hagerty (R-Tenn.) wrote on Twitter, Why is our President making excuses for Communist Chinas predatory acts?

Biden doesnt know Chinas history and certainly doesnt know Chinas true culture. The tightly controlled China has never been a part of traditional Chinese culture. The CCP has almost completely destroyed traditional Chinese culture with its socialist and communist ideologies, or Party culture, that have been harming the country and the people. The Chinese culture that Biden refers to and perceives is actually the Party culture of the CCP.

As the president of the United States, how can Biden determine an appropriate policy toward China based on such misunderstandings?

I believe there are people in the Biden administration who really know Chinese history and culture, and I hope theyll speak up soon. It needs to be pointed out that the Biden team hasnt been able to clearly distinguish the CCP from China, and the CCP regime from the Chinese people. Bidens words show that he makes no distinction between traditional Chinese culture and CCP culture, which is indeed concerning. This could be the result of the infiltration of the CCPs Confucius Institutes in the United States, and of course, Xi Jinping will also try his best to promote the CCPs rhetoric to Biden.

Biden and his administration should learn about the real history and culture of China, but not through the Confucius Institutes.

Zhong Yuan is a researcher focused on Chinas political system, the countrys democratization process, human rights situation, and Chinese citizens livelihood. He began writing commentaries for the Chinese-language edition of The Epoch Times in 2020.

Views expressed in this article are the opinions of the author and do not necessarily reflect the views of The Epoch Times.
California's vaccine efforts slowed  even came to a halt in some locations  last week, as vaccine centers shuttered and appointments were delayed because of winter storms in other parts of the country hindering shipment doses.

While vaccine sites are reopening, getting an appointment this week could be tough as counties and health care providers catch up from last week.

"Obviously the impacts of this extreme weather have had an impact here in the state of California, as it relates to our supply," California Gov. Gavin Newsom said at a Sunday press conference, KTVU reported.

Many of the vaccine sites across the Bay Area temporarily closed last week, including Moscone Center and City College of San Francisco.

Moscone Center won't be reopening until Thursday at 11 a.m. and will resume normal daily hours Friday, with appointment slots opening up at 8 a.m. The site was originally supposed to open today, but the city was forced to push it back a few days as supply remains low.

Sonoma County said its shipment of 5,100 doses of the Moderna vaccine that were expected last week was delayed by the Midwest storm.

"We are now expecting it to arrive today," Matt Brown, a spokesperson for the county, wrote in an email. "As a result of the delay, three clinics over the weekend or today had to reschedule about 1,500 total appointments."

Napa County is in a similar situation, and 2,000 doses of the Moderna vaccine scheduled to arrive last week never made it.

"Our call center reached out via phone and email to reschedule between 860 and 900 second appointments that were supposed to take place today and tomorrow," Janet Upton, a spokesperon for Napa County said. "They have all been rescheduled to this Thursday and Friday. We should know today or tomorrow if they are going to arrive this week or not."

Santa Clara County said that while a number of Moderna doses destined for the county were delayed due to weather, the county was able to facilitate existing appointments with vaccine on hand.

"The delays have not had a significant effect on vaccination distribution thus far," the county said in a statement. "Continued delays could result in cancelled appointments."

Health care providers were also impacted by shipment delays, and Sutter Health said it did not receive already allocated doses of Modernas COVID-19 vaccine that were en route to California.

"Because of this delay, we are in the process of rescheduling Moderna second-dose vaccine appointments for some patients," Monique Binkley Smith, a spokesperson for Sutter, wrote in an email. "Additionally, due to ongoing supply issues from the state, our capacity to schedule new vaccination [appointments] is constrained. At this time Sutter Health has paused scheduling new first dose appointments for COVID-19 vaccination due to a lack of vaccine supply. As soon as more vaccine is made available to us, we will reopen appointments.

SFGATE reached out to all nine Bay Area counties for this story and will continue to add updates as we hear back.
The University of Colorado School of Medicine on the Anschutz Medical Campus in Aurora is stepping up for under-represented members of the health profession, announcing on Monday the Charles J. Blackwood, MD, Endowed Memorial Scholarship .

The scholarship is named for the medical school's first Black graduate and will initially help at least four students of color, though the school intends to grow the endowment in perpetuity to support more scholars. The endowment already is one of the largest scholarship funds for the CU School of Medicine.

CU reports taking in $1.4 billion in research funding during last fiscal year The University of Colorado awarded approximately $1.4 billion in federal, state, international and foundational research funding to its campuses during the 2019-2020 fiscal years, the fourth consecutive year in which grants exceeded $1 billion.

So far, private donors have put in more than $1 million. Major contributors include Centura Health and Colorado Permanente Medical Group. The CU School of Medicine matched it with another $1 million, while University of Colorado President Mark Kennedy pledged $1 million in university support, as well.

The initiative is led by the Mile High Medical Society, which is a group of Black health professionals focused on addressing health disparities, which attracted the attention and support of Dr. John Reilly Jr. dean of the CU School of Medicine.

We need more diversity among health care providers to improve the quality of care for everyone in our community, Dr. Terri Richardson, a member of the Mile High Medical Society and an internist at Kaiser Permanente, said in a statement Monday morning. This scholarship fund will make it possible for more students to achieve their dreams and our medical system will be improved by their contributions.

CU Anschutz turns in high-profile research on children, bipolar disorder Researchers at the University of Colorado Anschutz Medical Campus in Aurora brought notable 

When the Mile High Medical Society launched its fundraising campaign, Reilly pledged to help raise money.

Donate to the scholarship fund or learn more by clicking here.

Born in Trinidad in Southern Colorado, Blackwood graduated from the medical school in 1947, finishing in the top 10 of his class, after receiving an undergraduate degree in chemistry from CU Boulder. He died in 1993.

We are proud to honor Dr. Blackwood, who was a pioneer in the medical profession and who remains an inspiration for our students today, Reilly stated Monday. We are grateful to the Mile High Medical Society, Centura Health, Colorado Permanente, and the many other contributors to this scholarship fund because it is so important to our future.

In a press release, CU noted that only 6% of men enrolled in American medical schools this year are Black, while 9% of female students are. At CU, the overall number is 6.6%, or 52 out of 788, the school said.

We have been actively working to improve the quality of care in our community in many ways, Reilly continued. Last year, our faculty joined with a partner to open a federally qualified health center that is serving our neighbors in Aurora. We have been offering scholarships to boost diversity in our medical school.

CU researchers chronicle abortion denials for Texas minors Two University of Colorado researchers led a study published on Thursday which found that up

"We have a program that provides an incentive to departments in recruiting diverse faculty. We are having success, but we can do more. Great care for others begins with listening closely to what people need and then dedicating our full effort to making it happen.

Leagues of the Black Democratic Legislative Caucus of the General Assembly applauded Monday's announcement.

"The creation of the Charles Blackwood Endowed Memorial Scholarship is an institutional milestone and a powerful leadership move by the CU Anschutz Medical campus," said Rep. Leslie Herod of Denver, who chairs the influential caucus. "I am very proud to be a University of Colorado alum who has fought my entire career for critical state/private partnerships such as this one."

Herod pledged that she and her legislative colleagues "look forward to doing our part" to support a more equitable health care system in Colorado.

Sen. James Coleman of Green Valley Ranch thanked CU for its leadership, as well.

"These scholarship dollars will pave the way for hope, academic opportunity, and a future where Colorados health care workforce reflects the community it serves," he stated.

Sen. Janet Buckner of Aurora called the scholarship fund "an incredibly bold first step" and thanked CU leaders by name for working tirelessly to raise the donations.


Air Serbia is prepared to compete against the growth of low cost airlines which are expected to recover faster from the travel downturn caused by the pandemic than their legacy counterparts. Responding to a question at last weeks CAPA Critical Thinkers summit, Air Serbias General Manager for Commercial and Strategy, Jiri Marek, said, We will compete [against Wizz Air] by being faster and Wizzier. The low cost airline, which boasts a base in Belgrade, plans to launch two new routes from the city this coming summer season, down from the initially planned nine new services, but will also expand in the region with a new base in Sarajevo from which it will launch a number of key routes. Last year when Wizz Air initially announced plans to commence flights from Belgrade to Sandefjord near Oslo, Air Serbia introduced services to the Norwegian capital within a month. Air Serbia is prepared to compete against the growth of low cost airlines which are expected to recover faster from the travel downturn caused by the pandemic than their legacy counterparts. Responding to a question at last weeks CAPA Critical Thinkers summit, Air Serbias General Manager for Commercial and Strategy, Jiri Marek, said, We will compete [against Wizz Air] by being faster and Wizzier. The low cost airline, which boasts a base in Belgrade, plans to launch two new routes from the city this coming summer season, down from the initially planned nine new services, but will also expand in the region with a new base in Sarajevo from which it will launch a number of key routes. Last year when Wizz Air initially announced plans to commence flights from Belgrade to Sandefjord near Oslo, Air Serbia introduced services to the Norwegian capital within a month.





Air Serbia increased its market share from Belgrade Airport this January by accounting for 53.1% of all passengers carried. It represents growth of over eleven points from the 42% passenger share in January 2020, although fewer airlines now operate flights to the Serbian capital compared to a year ago. The recorded result represents an outcome of strategic planning and quick traffic adjustments to all the changes taking place on the market. The past year was marked by the coronavirus pandemic, which led to a significant reduction in air traffic, but Air Serbia, even in such circumstances, managed to achieve good results in terms of load factor on a large number of routes, Mr Marek said. He added that the collapse of Montenegro Airlines did not significantly impact Air Serbias result because the company only had a 4% market share at Belgrade Airport in January of last year. With its expansive network of direct and codeshare destinations, Air Serbia contributes to Belgrade continuing to be the main gateway of the entire region to Europe and the world, the General Manager for Commercial and Strategy noted.





Air Serbia currently operates flights to 26 destinations out of Belgrade, and one from Nis. In a statement, the carrier said it responds to competition by acting fast. Air Serbia further solidified its position as a regional leader by showing readiness to quickly react to all changes in the market environment. Several days before the collapse of Adria Airways, Air Serbia increased its frequencies and capacity to Ljubljana, while when Montenegro Airlines ceased operations in December 2020, it did the same to Tivat and Podgorica. Air Serbia is currently the leading airline in terms of flights to Montenegro and connects the country with the world through Belgrade, Air Serbia noted.








United Airlines flight UA328 returns to Denver International Airport with its starboard engine on fire after it called a Mayday alert, over Denver, Colo., on Feb. 20, 2021. (Hayden Smith/@speedbird5280 via Reuters)

Investigators Release Early Results of Probe Into Exploding Engine on United Flight

A federal agency in charge of travel safety said Sunday preliminary findings of a probe into the engine that exploded last week revealed two fan blades were fractured.

A Pratt & Whitney PW4077 engine on a United Airlines-owned Boing 777-200 exploded shortly after the plane took off Saturday from Denver International Airport.

Pilots were able to maneuver the flight to safety with no injuries or deaths, but the sudden detonation has caused widespread concern and immediately triggered an investigation.

The National Transportation Safety Board said that early findings show the Pratt & Whitney had two fractured fan blades. One was fractured near the root and an adjacent blade was fractured about mid-span.

A portion of one blade was embedded in the containment ring.

The remainder of the blades were damaged at the tips and leading edges.

In addition, the inlet and cowling, which covers the engine, were separated from the engine.

Despite the detonation, the plane suffered only minor damage, investigators found.

In this image taken from video, the engine of United Airlines Flight 328 is on fire after experiencing a right-engine failure shortly after takeoff from Denver International Airport, in Denver, Colo., on Feb. 20, 2021. (Chad Schnell via AP)

A man looks over debris that fell off a plane as it shed parts over a neighborhood in Broomfield, Colo., on Feb. 20, 2021. (David Zalubowski/AP Photo)

The early findings are subject to change as the investigation progresses and, as such, no conclusions about the explosion should be drawn from them, the board stressed. Analysis of what happened, along with conclusions and a probable cause, will come later.

Investigators continue to examine the engine, airplane, and the photographs and video taken by passengers aboard United flight 328, the board said.

Workers at the boards laboratory in Washington are analyzing the cockpit voice recorder and flight data recorder.

The board is being assisted in the probe by the Federal Aviation Administration (FAA), United Airlines, Boeing, Pratt & Whitney, the Air Line Pilots Association, and the Independent Brotherhood of Teamsters.

The FAA said Sunday that it was issuing an emergency directive mandating immediate inspections of Boing 777s in the wake of the explosion, which will likely mean some of the machines will be removed from service.

Based on the initial information, we concluded that the inspection interval should be stepped up for the hollow fan blades that are unique to this model of engine, FAA Director Steve Dickson said in a statement.

Boing, meanwhile, recommended airlines ground all 777s that have the same engine as the one on Saturdays flight until the FAA identifies the appropriate inspection protocol.

Boeing said it supported the FAAs action, as well as a similar decision by the Japan Civil Aviation Bureau.

We are working with these regulators as they take actions while these planes are on the ground and further inspections are conducted by Pratt & Whitney, the company said.

Jack Phillips contributed to this report.
Amidst the raging controversy regarding the opening of an office by members of the Lesbians Gays Bisexuals Transgender Queer and Intersexed community (LGBTQI), President Nana Addo Dankwa Akufo-Addo has ordered for the swift closure of same at Tesano in Accra.



A combined team of heavily armed police accompanied by armed National Security officials in mufti trooped the alleged LGBTQI premises and ordered all operations and activities to cease with immediate effect.



Additionally, all persons occupying the building were also asked to vacate the premises.



According to mynewsgh, the closure was confirmed by ardent critic of the LGBTQ community who is the Executive Secretary of the National Coalition for Proper Human Sexual Rights and Family Values.



Moses Foh-Amoaning had earlier called on the government to close down the newly opened LGBT office in Tesano.



Further explaining the development, Mr Foh-Amoaning noted that his outfit, which comprises of the Christian Council and the Catholic Bishops Conference, the Muslim community as well as the traditional community would do everything in their power to fight the LGBTQI agenda in the country should President Akufo-Addo fail to heed the numerous calls to bring conclusion to the matter.



In a related development, the Kwabenya Traditional Council in the GA East Municipality of the Greater Accra Region has threatened to burn a house at Ashongman, a community within the Kwabenya District and under the Traditional Council after the premises allegedly hosted a meeting of Lesbians, Gay, Bisexual, Transgender, Queer and Intersex community members.



According to the Public Relations Officer of the Traditional Council who is also the Kwabenya Musuku Manhene, Nii Mensah Dza Nyomo 1 the said house hosted the members of the group on Wednesday, noting that it had not been the first.



He lamented the occurrence as unacceptable during a press conference addressed by the Traditional Council in Accra.







Source: ghanaweb.con









Disclaimer : Opinions expressed here are those of the writers and do not reflect those of Peacefmonline.com. Peacefmonline.com accepts no responsibility legal or otherwise for their accuracy of content. Please report any inappropriate content to us, and we will evaluate it as a matter of priority.

Featured Video
WASHINGTON - Former congressman Mark Walker learned early as a Southern Baptist pastor that you can't make everyone happy when preaching before thousands.

"If you say anything that has any conviction to it, you are at risk of losing people," he said.

It's a lesson that has come in handy as he campaigns as a Republican for a U.S. Senate seat in North Carolina, trying to win over a party that has been losing people on both edges because of the defining divide that emerged after President Donald Trump encouraged a Jan. 6 protest at the U.S. Capitol that turned violent.

"There are many people who have turned their back on the Republican Party because they didn't feel their elected officials stood up enough for Trump," Walker said of what he has heard in recent weeks as he tours the state.

Yet others are leaving because of Trump's actions, reflecting an outrage that recently led the state party's senior politician, Sen. Richard Burr, to vote to convict the former president of inciting an insurrection.

"Just in the last day or so I've had several people tell me or call me or email me about how they are going to do the same thing," said Robert Orr, a former North Carolina Supreme Court justice and onetime Republican gubernatorial candidate, who announced his resignation from the party last week. "With these people leaving, it really just reinforces that it's a Donald Trump cult, and most people don't want to be a part of it."

Big donors in the state are also going to ground, with local billionaire Jim Goodnight, who gave heavily to the Republican House and Senate efforts last year, signaling that none of his money henceforth will go to candidates who "did not support the integrity of the election process, which is so vital to our democracy," according to a spokesman.

Less than two months after a pro-Trump mob ransacked the U.S. Capitol and highlighted the extent to which the former president retains his grip on the GOP's most ardent supporters, the early jockeying ahead of the 2022 race to replace Burr is exposing the inherent challenges in rebuilding a coalition that can win in closely contested states.

The risks for a deeply pro-Trump party were clear in the GOP's stunning losses in two Georgia runoffs in December, and now Republican leaders are struggling to avoid a similar setback in another changing Southern state. Adding to the complexity is the prospect of a Trump family member, daughter-in-law and North Carolina native Lara Trump, entering the race, as party leaders assess how to balance the desire to energize those who believe that Trump's election defeat was illegitimate and suburban moderates dismayed by the former president's behavior.

The Republicans' dilemma comes as Democrats face their own challenges now that Joe Biden is president. The last time a president gained House and Senate seats for his party in a midterm election was 2002, after the Sept. 11, 2001, terrorist attacks. The GOP worry - and the Democratic hope - is that the insurrection of Jan. 6 will have a similar effect.

"We have to pay particular attention to unaffiliated voters," North Carolina GOP Chair Michael Whatley said. "We have to pay particular attention to college-educated voters. In any swing district in North Carolina, you have to make sure you're selling to the middle while also playing to your base."

The Republican State Central Committee called for a censure vote against Burr, which passed unanimously, after Whatley concluded that he needed to prevent the drip-drip of counties passing separate resolutions against the senator, according to two Republicans with knowledge of his thinking.

Democrats are hoping the divide becomes too heavy to bear in the coming Senate race, given the party's growing weakness in suburban areas and the heavy dependence on Trump's provocations to drive turnout in rural areas. The nightmare scenario for Republicans is a repeat of the Georgia special elections in January, in which some Trump supporters stayed home amid Trump's anger over his loss in the state, while Black and suburban voters remained motivated to cast their ballots for Democrats in opposition to Trumpism. The twin Democratic wins gave the party effective control of the body.

"There is a universe of voters that is big enough to cause Republicans to lose that will only get out to vote for the cult leader," said John Anzalone, a pollster for Biden who has done extensive work in the South. "Everyone believes this is going to be the most exciting and entertaining Republican primary season in modern history."

The state GOP apparatus is trying to push itself away from intraparty squabble, which continues to thrive on party message boards across the state, activists say, as some Republicans call for further condemnation of Burr and his supporters in the party. Elected leaders in the state have been trying to refocus the political debate on more unifying issues of school reopening and religious freedom.

A recent appeal from the state party asked nothing more than that voters "stand with us to take back the Republican Senate majority by voting RED."

Whatley, the state chairman, is one of the Republicans seriously considering adding his own name as a Senate candidate, according to two people familiar with his planning, along with former governor Pat McCrory and Rep. Ted Budd, who voted to reject the electoral college count on Jan. 6. Former White House chief of staff Mark Meadows, who served in Congress from North Carolina, has ruled out a run, according to an adviser, who spoke on the condition of anonymity to discuss the plans.

Complicating matters further is that Lara Trump may run. She grew up in Wilmington and spent large parts of 2016 and 2020 campaigning through the state.

Three Trump advisers familiar with her deliberations said they consider it unlikely that she runs for the seat, even though Sen. Lindsey Graham, R-S.C., floated the idea of her candidacy after Burr's vote to convict. A spokesperson for Lara Trump said she continued to consider a Senate campaign, without giving a time frame for her decision.

Since boosting her candidacy in a television interview, Graham said he had spoken with her.

"She said she appreciated the compliment. Like everybody, she has some interest but she has to balance that against family. I think she's trying to do that," Graham said. "I don't know what she'll do, but I think there will be more people filing in the primary. I just want to make sure we put our best team on the field."

Walker, the only declared candidate, said he had not been swayed by Graham's initial comments about Lara Trump, though he said he welcomed her to the race. He said he hoped to eventually win the support of the former president's entire family, a posture likely to be adopted by all the Republican candidates.

"Lindsey's opinion is kind of like the weather," Walker joked. "If you don't like it, it is going to change in 24 hours."

Some of former president Trump's fiercest supporters in the state, like freshman Republican Rep. Madison Cawthorn, have endorsed Walker, as have Sens. Tim Scott, R-S.C., and James Lankford, R-Okla., despite a record of tension between Walker and Senate Minority Leader Mitch McConnell, R-Ky.

Michael Luethy, a consultant for Budd, says Lara Trump's entry in the primary would reshape the field, but the general election presents other challenges.

"The new growth here in the state of the unaffiliated voters is a concern," he said. "The party definitely has to unite with a forward-looking vision if we are going to attract those voters. A circular firing squad is going to hurt us."

Doug Heye, a former aide to Burr, said the data he's seen suggests that most of the thousands of Republican voters who've dropped their registrations in recent weeks have been from the prized suburbs - where elections are often won and lost in North Carolina and other competitive states. He expects the state party's censure vote of Burr to accelerate the shift.

"It's another sign of the party signaling to unaffiliated voters or those Republicans who saw enough in November or certainly on Jan. 6 that the North Carolina Republican Party isn't interested in their vote," Heye said. "It scares off voters, and the party gets smaller, which also means they're getting Trumpier."

Of the more than 20,000 who have left the party since the November election, according to data compiled by Michael Bitzer, a professor at Catawba College, the majority have re-registered as unaffiliated. Republicans have made some offsetting gains, however: During the same period, about 13,000 Democrats have changed their registrations, including about 4,500 who have registered as Republicans. Comparable data from January 2017 shows that the number of defections from both parties is much higher now.

Complicating the landscape further is uncertainty about who will make up the electorate in the next election, when Trump's absence from the ballot will deny Republicans and Democrats their most prominent recent incentive to vote.

Democrats were shocked last year by the turnout the president was able to drive in the smaller counties of the state. The 72 counties with less than 50,000 likely voters each accounted for 1.5 percentage point more of the final vote count than models had predicted, said Jill Normington, who advised Democratic Senate candidate Cal Cunningham, who lost to Republican incumbent Thom Tillis.

She said that coalition probably would not materialize in 2022 without Trump on the ticket. "I don't think any embracing of Donald Trump from the Republican side means you can repeat that turnout," Normington said. "One of the reasons it worked is that he was the epicenter of basically everything. The press was enamored of covering every fire he lit."

That escalates the desire for Republicans to bring in other voters. They are hopeful that the same diminished focus on Trump could open the door to improving their margins among Black and suburban communities. Walker, in particular, has been talking up his support for criminal justice changes and historically Black colleges and universities - positions Trump also adopted in an effort to appeal to those groups.

"You just can't be a bomb-thrower, and you can't be someone who is willing to lie down at the first liberal challenge," Walker said, describing his strategy for winning the GOP nomination and the general election.

Paul Shumaker, a longtime Republican strategist in North Carolina who has worked for Burr and the former governor McCrory, acknowledged the pinch his party finds itself in, but he said the midterm elections are "about anger management and failed expectations for the party in control of the White House."

"If they overreach, the unaffiliated voters gravitate back to the Republicans," he said. "If they don't overreach, they will go into the midterms facing a suppressed voting base themselves."

As Republicans focus on the traditional off-year themes of overreach and Democratic policy failure, Democrats are hoping to keep the race framed around what they anticipate will be Biden's success on the coronavirus and the economy - as well as the Republican divisions.

Morgan Jackson, a Democratic strategist in North Carolina whose clients include Gov. Roy Cooper, said it's notable that Trump did two percentage points worse in the state in 2020 than he did in 2016, even with the surge in GOP turnout. That's evidence of shifting suburban alliances and proof that most of the college-educated, younger voters rushing into the state are not Republicans, he said.

Jackson also said the heavy Republican turnout was fueled in large measure by occasional voters from rural counties without college degrees - people, he said, who were attracted to Trump's "crazy talk" and are loyal to him, not the party.

"Republicans are in a really bad spot," he said. "The only way you can replicate that turnout is to double down on the crazy talk, and that turns off swing voters. And meanwhile they are kicking out people who don't pledge their fealty to Donald Trump. That's a lot of Republicans."

- - -

The Washington Post's Lenny Bronner contributed to this report.
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Kanpur: Bhim Army Chief Chandrashekhar Azad has been held on Monday (February 22, 2021) in Uttar Pradesh's Kanpur while he was on the way to meet a Dalit minor girl who is undergoing treatment after allegedly being positioned by two youths. Chandrashekhar Azad was reportedly detained in the apprehension of breach of peace.

Following his arrest, several Bhim Army supporters have been protesting and demanding the immediate release of Chandrashekhar Azad.

This is to be noted that three minor Dalit girls of the Unnao district were allegedly poisoned and found in an unconscious state in a field on Wednesday night. Two of them have died and the third is being treated at a hospital in Kanpur. As per the latest reports, the 16-year-old girl has started showing considerable improvement and has regained consciousness and is in a stable condition.

"She was taken off ventilator support and even ate some food on Sunday," IANS quoted DIG Preetinder Singh as saying.

He added, "The girl, however, is still not in a condition to record statements or narrate the incident. The doctors are constantly monitoring her condition and administering necessary medical assistance to her."

Inspector Kakadeo, Kunj Bihari Mishra told IANS, "Once she fully recovers enough, her statement will be recorded before a magistrate. Her family members were allowed to see her from the glass partition of the ICU."

The police has so far arrested two accused in the case and said that the incident was the fallout of a one-sided love affair.

(With inputs from agencies)

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LIKE virtually every other country in the world, Cuba has not escaped the cruel ravages of the lethal novel coronavirus. Since the beginning of February, it has seen its case count rise, imposed a curfew in Havana and witnessed its death toll slowly tick upward. But it has fared well overall (with less than 300 deaths) when compared with other countries in the wider region.

Opinion

LIKE virtually every other country in the world, Cuba has not escaped the cruel ravages of the lethal novel coronavirus. Since the beginning of February, it has seen its case count rise, imposed a curfew in Havana and witnessed its death toll slowly tick upward. But it has fared well overall (with less than 300 deaths) when compared with other countries in the wider region.

Most people have no idea, though, that the tiny Caribbean country (with a population of 11 million) is currently developing four (yes, four) coronavirus vaccine candidates. Indeed, it is the only country thus far in Latin America to be doing so.

For those a bit more knowledgeable about things Cuban, they know something about Cubas world-class biotechnology sector (along with its state-owned biopharma industry). In fact, Cuba has been developing effective vaccines, pharmaceuticals and drug cocktails for a bevy of ailments  such as cancer, meningitis and HIV-AIDS.

In addition, Cuban doctors, nurses and health specialists (all with extensive expertise in treating infectious disease) have been assisting less-developed countries in the global south with their pandemic strategies to both treat and mitigate the deadly virus. Some 3,700 medical professionals (part of the so-called army of "white coats" that Cuba sends abroad) have been deployed to ostensibly save lives (by treating over one million patients by the end of December) in close to 40 countries, including Barbados, Italy, Mexico and South Africa.

According to Ralph Gonsalves, the prime minister of Saint Vincent and the Grenadines, "They (the Cubans) are lifesavers." And as the chairman of the CARICOM bloc of countries, he went on to note, "In some countries, they constitute the backbone of the response to the pandemic."

For the Cubans, the key drivers are indeed international solidarity, kinship with the developing world and a strong sense of responsibility to offer humanitarian assistance whenever they can.

On the subject of vaccines itself, Cuba is hoping to deliver 100 million doses of its Soberana (sovereign) II vaccine this year, starting the inoculations in April. (Because there are not sufficient cases of COVID-19 infection in Cuba, the final human trials of Soberana are now taking place in Iran.) As Eduardo Martinez, the president of BioCubaFarma, explained, "Cuba will be one of the first nations to immunize its entire population."

The remaining 70 million vaccine doses will be shared with a handful of other countries (India, Iran, Vietnam and Venezuela, to name a few). What has not been finalized yet is what Cuba will charge these nations for these life-saving vaccines. Given the gravity of the pandemic situation, though, it may very well depend on the financial wherewithal of the individual countries themselves.

According to Vicente Bencomo, the director of Cubas Finlay Vaccine Institute, "Cubas strategy in commercializing the vaccine represents a combination of whats good for humankind and the impact on world health. We are not a multinational where a financial objective comes first." Whatever revenues are collected from the vaccine sales will most likely be put back into covering the costs of Cubas domestic education, health-care and pension programs.

Recently, Prime Minister Justin Trudeau raised the possibility of securing additional coronavirus vaccines in telephone calls with both U.S. President Joe Biden and Vice-President Kamala Harris. But as far as we know, his request generated an unenthusiastic or non-committal response from the U.S. side.

So with serious political pressure building, Canada has even sought to tap into the so-called COVAX facility (to which Ottawa has pledged hundreds of millions of dollars)  a World Health Organization-inspired international partnership  which was largely created to deliver costly vaccines to low- and medium-income countries.

As Trudeau himself remarked, "Our contribution was always intended to access vaccine doses for Canadians, as well as to support lower-income countries." Of course, the politics and optics of this move dont exactly reflect positively on the Liberal government  or on Canada, for that matter.

Perhaps the Canadian government might want to think about approaching Cuba to help out with our current vaccine shortages. After all, Canada has had a mostly constructive diplomatic and economic relationship with Cuba  to say nothing of the Trudeau family connection to the Castro brothers  even before the 1959 Cuban Revolution.

Im sure that the Cubans would be willing to entertain the idea.

Peter McKenna is professor of political science at the University of Prince Edward Island in Charlottetown.

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Angry protesters holding signs reading 'Cancun Cruz must resign' and 'Cruz's lies cost lives' descended on the senator's $2million Houston home on Sunday following his Mexican jaunt.

About 30 protesters from the group Houston United Front Against Fascism showed up outside his family home where he lives with his wife Heidi, daughters Caroline, 12 and Catherine 10, and dog Snowflake in the River Oaks neighborhood at around 1pm.

They chanted 'He he, ho ho, Ted Cruz needs to go' and held banners decrying his actions after he jetted off to Cancun on Wednesday as Texans froze to death in their homes.

In a reference to the family's pet dog, Snowflake, who was left behind when they flew to Mexico, one person held a sign reading: 'Hey, Snowflake... We hate him too!'

The senator returned to the storm-ravaged state less than 24 hours later and his wife flew back with his daughters Catherine, 12, and Caroline, 10, on Saturday evening.

About 30 protesters from the group Houston United Front Against Fascism showed up outside the house he shares with his wife Heidi and two daughters in Houston

In a reference to the family's pet dog, Snowflake, who was left behind when they flew to Mexico, one person held a sign reading: 'Hey, Snowflake... We hate him too!'

The protesters chanted 'He he, ho ho, Ted Cruz needs to go' and held banners decrying his actions after he jetted off to Cancun on Wednesday

Protesters are seen standing outside Ted Cruz's $2 million home in the River Oaks neighborhood of Houston, Texas, on Sunday

The senator returned to the storm-ravaged state less than 24 hours after he left and his wife flew back with his daughters Catherine, 12, and Caroline, 10, on Saturday evening. Protesters are seen outside his home, left and right, on Sunday

Cruz at first claimed he was being a 'good dad' by accompanying his family and their friends to Cancun before admitting he regretted going. A protester is seen carrying a sign reading 'Traitor Ted'

It is not known whether the senator, the wife or their children were at home at the time of the protest. A woman holds a sign calling for 'Mattress Mack' to become senator. Jim 'Mattress Mack' McIngvale, a Texas furniture store owner, opened his business as a shelter for those left without power in the state earlier this week

A protester holds a sign reading: 'Dear Canada, if you keep sending us this weather, we're gonna send Ted Cruz back to you! You have been warned!

Law enforcement are pictured outside the senator's Houston home as the protesters gathered following his Mexico jaunt

Police officers stand guard outside the property on Sunday, although it is not known whether the family were home at the time

There was a large police presence outside the $2 million Houston property after Ted Cruz sparked outrage with his trip to Mexico

Protesters have given dubbed the Texas senator 'Cancun Cruz' after his brief trip to Mexico on Wednesday

Cruz at first claimed he was being a 'good dad' by accompanying his family and their friends to Cancun before admitting he regretted going.

It is not known whether the senator, the wife or their children were at home at the time of the protest.

At one point a Houston police officer went up to the chanting protesters with a decibel meter in his hand to measure the noise, while about 20 other local Houston police officers stood by observing the demonstration.

Event organizer, Dr. Donald Michael Smith, 66, a retired professor at the College of the Mainland, told DailyMail.com: We are protesting out in front of Ted Cruzs house today for several reasons, he first abandoned the state in case of emergency while people were dying to fly to Cancun and then was caught in a pack of lies and he contributed to the siege on the attack of the US Capitol on January 6, he needs to resign now.

Hes an embarrassment to the state of Texas.

We cant wait for him to be voted out in three or four years, he needs to leave now.

We are going to be out in front of his house as often as we can, until he resigns.

The same day Cruz returned back from Cancun, New York congresswoman Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez flew into Houston and raised $4 million in donations to help Texas recover from the winter storm. Ocasio-Cortez has called for Cruzs resignation in the past over the Capitol riot.

Cruz was one of the ringleaders of the so-called 'treason caucus' who supported a House GOP effort to challenge Electoral College votes in key swing states, which lent weight to former President Donald Trump's claims that widespread voter fraud robbed him of a second term.

Cruz was mocked on Saturday for sharing photos of himself handing out bottled water in a photo-op.

Late on Saturday night Cruz posted a series of pictures of himself on Twitter showing him delivering water to those in need together with the hashtag #TexasStrong.

In three photographs, Cruz could be seen placing the packs of water in a back seat and trunk of people's cars, however it is not known exactly where and when the pictures were taken.

Senator Ted Cruz tweeted a photo op late on Saturday night with the hashtag #TexasStrong

In three photographs, Cruz could be seen placing the packs of water in a back seat and trunk of people's cars

Cruz posted the pictures to his Twitter account late on Saturday night and was roundly criticized for doing so

It is not known exactly where and when the pictures were taken. He was roundly mocked for posting it

Millions of Texans were still without safe water on Sunday and officials are fielding angry complaints over shockingly large power bills spawned by a cold weather crisis that Houston's mayor said was ultimately preventable.

The frigid air mass that paralyzed parts of the southern and central United States early in the week claimed more than 70 lives, left millions temporarily without power and froze water lines.

'All of what happened this week was foreseeable and preventable,' Houston Mayor Sylvester Turner told CBS's 'Face the Nation,' saying it had long been clear that the independent electric grid in Texas was vulnerable to extreme weather.

Turner said Houston, the fourth-largest US city, still needed both plumbing supplies and plumbers, but was making progress in restoring service.

Both Houston and nearby Galveston on Sunday lifted orders for residents to boil drinking water.

Heidi stayed at the popular but pricey $300-a-night Ritz Carlton resort - where the wintry chaos enveloping Texas appeared far from everyone's minds

Heidi is seen having fun in the sun in Cancun while Texans froze to death in their homes this week

Heidi and her family appeared to be met by a security detail when they returned to Houston on Saturday, but the senator was nowhere to be seen

As Heidi marched out of the airport with her kids and an unidentified boy - all of whom were wearing masks - at 6pm, DailyMail.com asked her several questions, all of which she refused to answer

Cruz - seen at Cancun airport on Thursday before his flight back to Texas - was slammed for blaming the trip on his daughters

But some 28,000 households remained without electricity on Sunday, the poweroutage.us website said, and many Texans were suffering an added insult: residential electric bills sometimes running into the thousands of dollars, with one as high as $16,000.

While most of the state's utility customers are on fixed-rate plans, some had signed up to variable-rate plans that can save money in fair weather but produce explosive increases in frigid temperatures.

Governor Greg Abbott met with legislators of both parties Saturday to discuss the billing problem and said, 'We have a responsibility to protect Texans from spikes in their energy bills.'

For his part, Turner said 'those exorbitant costs (should be) borne by the state of Texas, and not the individual consumers who did not cause this catastrophe.'

President Joe Biden on Saturday issued a major-disaster declaration for much of the state, providing badly needed financial and administrative aid.

Water is loaded into cars at a City of Houston water distribution site. The drive-thru stadium location was set up to provide bottled water to residents on February 19

Nancy Wilson boils water in her home in Houston on February 19. Millions of Texans were still without safe water on Sunday

His spokeswoman Jen Psaki said Sunday that Biden hoped to visit Texas 'as early as this week' if he could do so without interfering with recovery efforts.

Michael McCaul, a Republican congressman from Texas, said the financial impact of the weather crisis could equal that of Hurricane Harvey, a devastating 2017 storm that caused an estimated $125 billion in damages.

He said Biden's emergency declaration could provide funds to help users pay their exorbitant electric bills.

State and local officials have demanded investigations of how the power crisis unfolded so disastrously.

A US senator, Tina Smith, a Democrat of Minnesota, has called for a federal investigation. She said spot prices of natural gas had spiked by up to 100 times normal rates, and utilities passed the higher rates on to customers.
Pittsfield Shelter at Methodist Church on the Horizon

PITTSFIELD, Mass.  As the city moves further in 2021, local advocates are working to resolve social issues of the past year, and many years before.

First United Methodist Church on Fenn Street is hoping to welcome guests to its new homeless shelter in April. The 40-bed facility will be administered by ServiceNet, which currently runs the emergency COVID-19 shelter at the former St. Joseph's High School.

"We're expecting that ServiceNet will start to occupy the space in about April 1, that they will then give notice to the owner of the Barton's Crossing building and locate their entire operation in a new shelter," the Rev. Ralph Howe said. "[Barton's Crossing] looks OK from the outside but it is an old building, and it's old equipment, and so they're happy to be moving on."



Though homelessness in Pittsfield was not new to 2020, it was exacerbated by the novel coronavirus pandemic.



In September, Pittsfield planners approved the shelter's location in the churcch after an approval delay and a lengthy amount of conditions. It was originally aimed to open early this year, but regulatory delay and the onslaught of the COVID-19 surge slowed the process.



Howe explained that the completion bid papers done by the project's architect were just finished, so the bid for completion work will go out shortly.



"It's all pretty much finished ready," he said. "They brought in a new line for the sprinkler system and all sorts of massive plumbing, and then bathrooms and laundry have to be installed. You know, finish work, putting the floors down, hanging the doors and all that kind of stuff. So, they should get back the bids on that within about a month."



At the same time, the city granted the church $100,000 for the project. Using this grant, all of the labor has to unionized, which Howe said is good, but on the downside, the organization also has to prove it has the funds secured to complete the project.



The first source of funding came in an appropriation from the commonwealth in December 2019, which was spent by June 2020.



Howe doesn't have an exact number for the ultimate cost of the shelter. He said the church has contributed some money as well as other donors, resulting in more than $100,000.



"So that $200,000 is in and then $100,000, so they're not completely sure how much it's going to cost over that," he said. "That's why getting the bids back will clarify how much we have to get, and then they'll be going to funders. It's probably, I don't know. $50[000] to $75,000 more."



Since coming to Pittsfield around 2011, Howe said, ServiceNet has been looking for a building to satisfy the needs of a shelter because of the current one's poor condition. First Methodist is a small congregation with a large building suitable for inhabitants and has an interest in helping the community, so it was able to work out an agreement that benefits both the church and ServiceNet.
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EMILY ST. LAWRENCE, Chariho girls lacrosse, senior: St. Lawrence tied a school record for goals in a game with nine in a win over Smithfield. St. Lawrence scored 17 goals for the week and has 32 for the season.

CARLY CONSTANTINE, Stonington softball, sophomore: Constantine singled home Shea OConnor with the winning run to hand Waterford, the states No. 2 ranked team at the time, its first loss of the season. For the week, Constantine was 5 for 15.

GREG GORMAN, Westerly baseball, junior: Gorman, a junior, hit a massive home run in a win against Barrington. The homer went over the fence in center field and landed in a nearby road. Gorman was 3 for 3 with four RBIs in the game. He is hitting .571 with 10 RBIs for the season.

BRADIN ANDERSON, Wheeler baseball, freshman: Anderson, a freshman, pitched a complete-game shutout to beat Grasso Tech. Anderson struck out three to earn the first win of his varsity career.

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The agreement will allow Evolution to fund sampling and metallurgical and process testing of the stockpiles, which are located at NQ's Ukalunda tenement in North Queensland, Australia

(LON:NQMI, ) said it has signed an agreement with Australian gold miner for the detailed evaluation and potential processing of lead and silver-rich stockpiles at the Sunbeam project, located at the companys Ukalunda tenement in North Queensland, Australia.

The Aquis-listed metals producer said the agreement will allow Evolution to fund an initial comprehensive sampling programme and conduct metallurgical and process testing of the high-grade component of the Sunbeam stockpiles. The deal also includes options for Evolution for the processing of all or some of the stockpiles into saleable concentrates on a cost and revenue sharing basis.

The Sunbeam project includes the historic Sunbeam mine, which produced around 600,000 ounces of silver with bonanza grades of up to 37,000 grams per tonne, as well as surface stockpiles containing approximately 180,000 tonnes of material from historic mining activity, of which an estimated 48,000 tonnes are expected to contain high grades of contained silver based on prior sampling.

Evolution owns the Mt Carlton gold and silver mining operation, which has a processing plant located around 80 kilometres from the Sunbeam project.

"The conclusion of this agreement represents an important step forward in moving forward NQ's efforts to commercialise our North Queensland mining properties. We are excited to be working with the team at Mount Carlton and Evolution and I look forward to the capabilities and resources they bring to this shared development opportunity. Not only does this mean we can look to commercialise these stockpiles against a robust silver market environment, but it also opens the path to further potential exploration at Sunbeam", NQ Minerals chairman David Lenigas said in a statement.

Shares in NQ were trading at around 6.2p on Monday morning on the Aquis exchange.
Regarding This is a Texas problem, not a clean energy problem, (A13, Feb. 18): In a time of crisis I have called your office over five times asking what you are doing to help people of the 2nd Congressional District of Texas, and yet to have a single phone call answered by a member of your staff, or a single call returned.

I woke up Tuesday morning and it was 34 degrees in my apartment, and the first tweet I see from you begins, [F]or all the sanctimonious leftist who think How is pointing a finger across the political aisle useful to your constituents? Do you think someone like me who was freezing while wearing two layers of clothes, under three blankets, and not having much of anything to eat due to not being able to cook due to no electric cares about what you think about the left?

Sir, why is your Twitter feed not filled with useful information like where people can find warming centers or where to find a warm meal? This is the information we, your constituents, need. We need information on what is going on with electricity. Many of us were without TV or radio due to the power outage and are relying on information we find online through our phones, and the place we go to is Twitter.

Randall May, Houston

They really dont care, Do U?

Regarding Perry says Texans willing to suffer blackouts to keep feds out of power market, (Feb. 17): As I watch the abject misery unfolding across the state, it is important for people to remember who stepped up to help people and who played politics. I find the conduct by present and past governors unsurprising but deplorable. Gov. Greg Abbott goes on Fox News to smear wind power instead of focusing all his energy and powers on helping people  and that includes speaking to them in their freezing neighborhoods across the state. Rick Perry  what a work of art  says Texans are willing to go a few days without electricity to keep regulation out of our power systems. Just a brain-dead pronouncement  but not a surprise from him. Then there is Sen. Ted Cruz saying we have a problem here and then running off to vacation in Mexico. Do these leaders, past and present care about you? Id say the answer is mighty clear.

Les Finalle, The Woodlands

Any regrets, Elon Musk?

Regarding Legislators call for boost in fossil fuels, (A1, Feb. 19): I wonder how many companies will rethink locating to Texas now that we have shown we dont have a reliable power grid?

John Williamson, Sealy
As the South carried on with recovery efforts in the wake of a devastating winter storm, hospitals around the region grappled with water shortages as the South experienced low water supply on Sunday

During the height of the storm, hospitals were left struggling to care for patients in the middle of the record cold, snow, and ice that battered numerous portions of the country more accustomed to going through winter with light jackets and short sleeves. The snowstorm did not only cause ruptured water mains, knocked out power to millions of utility customers but also caused 76 deaths.

Half of the reported deaths happened in Texas. While at least seven individuals died in Tennessee and in Portland, Oregon, they recorded four deaths.

According to Fox news, in Anahuac, Texas, which is around 80 kilometers or 50 miles east of Houston, a rural hospital in the area did not only experienced low water supply and low power supply, but they totally lost it.

In addition, the CEO of Chambers Health, William Kiefer, which runs the hospital along with two clinics and a wellness center, stated that the facilities resorted to backup generators and water from a 275-gallon storage tank. They added that they refilled it three times while using water from their wellness center's swimming pool.

Read also: Texas Officials Caution Residents of Carbon Monoxide Poisoning in Wake of Winter Storm Uri

Kiefer also added that on Monday, when temperatures were in the teens, a woman who is about to give birth walked into the medical facility after she could not make it through the snow and ice to her hospital in suburban Houston. The CEO of Chambers Health also shared that an emergency room staff delivered the baby safely.

Moreover, Kiefer stated that if their medical facility was not in the area, it would have taken another two hours for the woman to go to the suburban Houston hospital. The CEO also mentioned that they previously assumed that if she went to the suburban Houston hospital, she would have had the baby inside her car in the middle of the snow, and it is not a good situation for her, The Eagle-Tribune reported.

The head of the medical facility also stated that the water was restored on Thursday, while the operations had returned to normal on Sunday. The medical facility also plans the possibility of the installation of sophisticated backup systems.

The spokeswoman of Houston Methodist Hospital, Gale Smith stated that the low water supply had been cleared after it was restored at two of the system's community hospitals. Smith also mentioned that the system is dealing with an influx of dialysis patients after local centers closed.

After temperatures plunged as much as 40 degrees below normal compared to the previous week, the forecast for the Houston area on Sunday was called for a high of 65 degrees or 18 degrees Celsius. The city lifted its advisory about water boiling on Sunday afternoon after the restoration of some ruptured water mains which caused the low water supply.

Hundreds of cars are still lining up at NRG Stadium in order to receive water and food from the Houston Food Bank. Aside from those individuals who are lining up, the bank also delivered supplies to vulnerable citizens, which includes seniors and the disabled, US News reported.



Related article: Texas Family Files $100M Suit Against Power Companies After 11-year-old Died of Hypothermia Amid Winter Storm

@ 2021 HNGN, All rights reserved. Do not reproduce without permission.

I don't want to read voice memos for two hours. Pass

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lol that trailer isnt the hook they think it is.



i dont know why but i just dont care that much about this. its not shocking to me that celebs pay 5x the median annual salary to get their privileged kid into college. im more distracted/disgusted by the wealth inequality on display and the disparity in justice for something like this versus lower income parents who fake an address to get their kid in a better school district etc.

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Same! I havent been able to care all that much this entire time. It was almost funny that they got caught but even that isnt satisfying when you compare the slap on the wrist to the lifetime in jail a Black mother gets for lying about her sons address so he can go to a school that isnt in a distract drawn entirely to disadvantage PoC.



Ppl kinda get irritated when I go on my soapbox rant about education and school district lines but I have a larger soap box rant about accessibility in the arts and how theyre white interests only due to how expensive and unattainable they are for lower income folks. The arts are incredibly important and not only does our bullsht way of marginalizing the already marginalized fuck their education up, it also excludes so many potential dancers, gymnasts, musicians, etc purely bc their parents cant pay hundreds of extra dollars a semester





WHEW sorry haha

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no way, keep on that soapbox. my husband is a public school teacher in a low income school district and the disparity with the neighboring rich white suburban districts is disgusting, and covid has made it so so much worse.

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This story can be summarised with one line from a Rihanna lyric - "you're only sorry that you were caught". It's not deep or clever, and I'd rather have a look at the dodgy behind the scenes of university processes on every level than this.

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I don't know why we're supposed to be shocked about any of this. Nepotism is as old as time itself. The only people who are surprised are those who think hard work will guarantee results  and even then only the people who are unfortunately naive enough to think things will change.

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Yeah, sometimes I get confused about where the line is drawn. I guess with these cases it's that coaches were straight up lying/faking about them being athletes and taking away potential spots from other, real athletes?



But in general, isn't it the norm for rich people to donate millions of dollars and it's just sort of expected their children will get in because they're ~legacy.~



I think I need to learn more about the actual scandal, because some parts seemed not that different from what normally goes on. The same story of the rich getting richer and perpetuating their privilege.

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have the schools suffered any consequences from this?

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lol good one

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Everything youve heard is true. But you havent heard everything.



Thank you for the offer but after much thought, I've decided that now is not the best time to watch a documentary about old information. I hope that you keep me in mind for future tv shows that are more in line with what I'm looking for, like a new season of Grace and Frankie.



Edited at 2021-02-22 03:28 pm (UTC)

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like a new season of Grace and Frankie

yes

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person 1: she's a waterpolo player

person 2:

...

but she's not



THE FUCKING SUSPENSE

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Its so seriously Low stakes right in that response

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Did they steal that Varsity Blues scandal name from us???? I thought ontd came up with that.

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Lmao! No, unfortunately. I think it's the actual name/code the FBI used while investigating the scandal.

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no, that was the official FBI codename for the operation

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lol i wanna know who in the FBI picked it out because it's so good

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Olivia Jade is probably crying somewhere because she thought she was finally able to get people to forget about her involvement

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Remember when trailers were good and made you want to watch the thing they were advertising?

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This feels like a year too late. So much stuff has happened since then that it just feels so low stakes in comparison.

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maybe laci mosley managed to scam her way into this doc too. it was so funny seeing her on the abc (?) or whatever.

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I don't know, I'm more into true crime when it's white collar like this. Especially when it exposes rich white people. As has come up in other recent posts, the true crime obsession with murders/missing people that seem to forget the victim and glorify the criminals and "internet sleuths" is less appealing to me now. Making insane conspiracy theories/profiting off of people like Elisa Lam and actual murder victims seems gross (I'm looking at you, My Favorite Murder).



Though I doubt Netflix is going to reveal anything truly new about this. This has been covered in other shows, and it seems like it will get the Netflix treatment of rehashing things, but giving it a bias/direction, and making it more famous since it's on a platform that reaches such a huge global audience.

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If they don't divert that case to systemic favouritism and bribery in the US education system, noone will care. LOL

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Kolkata: Taking its coal smuggling probe directly into West Bengal chief minister Mamata Banerjees family ahead of the Assembly elections, the Central Bureau of Investigation on Sunday served summons to her MP nephew Abhishek Banerjees wife Rujira Banerjee Narula, as well as her sister Menaka Gambhir, in the high-profile case, asking them to be ready to face questioning at their residences within an hour for their suspected role in overseas financial transactions relating to the illegal trade.

In the afternoon, a CBI anti-corruption team, mounting heat on the TMC supremos family, knocked on the doors of Santiniketan, the palatial South Kolkata residence of Mr Banerjee which is guarded by a strong Kolkata police contingent, and served the summons under Section 160 of the Criminal Procedure Code to his wife.

In the summons at her 188A Harish Mukherjee Road home in Kalighat, CBI additional superintendent of police (ACB) Umesh Kumar told Ms Narula:

Whereas it appears that you are acquainted with the circumstances of the case noted below. which I am investigating under Chapter-XII of the Code of Criminal Procedure 1973, the undersigned along with CBI team will visit above address on 21.02.2021 at 1500 hrs. You are hereby requested to remain present on 21.02.2021 at 1500 hrs at above mentioned address for the purpose of answering certain questions relating to the case.

A similar notice was also delivered to Ms Gambhirs residence at Anandapur, off the EM Bypass in the city, at around same time. But the CBI team was told Ms Narula and Ms Gambhir were not at home then. The CBI team left an officers number for the two sisters to call back. Till evening, the CBI had not got any response, sources said.

Recently inducted BJP leader Shubhendu Adhikari claimed at a rally that Anup Majhi alias Lala, the absconding kingpin of the coal smuggling case, used to deposit around Rs 36 lakhs monthly to the Kasikorn Bank account of Madam Narula in Bangkok, Thailand. Tweeting a copy of the CBI summons at 4.15 pm, Mr Abhishek Banerjee alleged: At 2 pm today, the CBI served a notice in the name of my wife. We have full faith in the law of the land. However, if they think they can use these ploys to intimidate us, they are mistaken. We are not the ones who would ever be cowed down.

The CBIs calculated move, a day before Prime Minister Narendra Modis day-long visit to West Bengal on Monday, when he is likely to announce a slew of new Central projects, came two days after a court summoned Union home minister Amit Shah to appear in person or through his representative on Monday in a defamation case filed by Mr Banerjee against him for levelling wild allegations about him.

Mocking Mr Banerjee for his repeated challenge that he would go to the gallows if the allegations of corruption were proved against him, Mr Adhikari said: I request Tolabaj Bhaipo not to go to the gallows right now. There are a lot more left to be seen."
An Israeli diplomat is upset with Saturday Night Live for a joke the popular NBC show made about Israels coronavirus vaccination campaign.

On Saturday, a comic joked that Israel has only vaccinated its Jewish citizens during its Weekend Update segment.

Israel is reporting that they vaccinated half of their population, and Im gonna guess its the Jewish half, said Saturday Night Lives Michael Che.

Israels ambassador to the United States and United Nations accused the show of bigotry in response, saying Israelis of all religions are being vaccinated.

Im a big fan of humor but, perpetuating antisemitism is just not funny, said Gilad Erdan in a tweet to the show. Your joke is ignorant-the fact is that the success of our vaccination drive is exactly because every citizen of Israel - Jewish, Muslim, Christian-is entitled [to] it. Apologize!

The joke alluded to the differences between the COVID-19 vaccine rollout in Israel and the Palestinian territories. Israel is leading the world in vaccines administered per capita. As of Sunday, 50.5% of Israelis have received at least one dose of the vaccine, according to Oxford Universitys Our World in Data.

The vaccine rollout in the Palestinian territories has been much slower. The Palestinian Authority only began vaccinating Palestinians in the West Bank in early February after receiving a batch from Israel, while Israel began vaccinating its citizens in December. Gaza received its first vaccines last week when Israel allowed a shipment in and began administering doses on Monday.

Israeli citizens of all religions are eligible to receive the vaccine. Palestinian citizens of Israel as well as Palestinian residents of east Jerusalem have received doses alongside Jewish Israelis. Some Israeli mayors are currently offering incentives to both Arabic-speaking and ultra-Orthodox Jewish communities to receive the vaccine due to their relatively lower vaccination rates.

The United Nations regards the West Bank and Gaza as Palestinian territory occupied by Israel, though Israel disputes the position. The Palestinian Authority has international recognition and administers some areas of the West Bank. The Palestinian group Hamas runs Gaza internally. Israel maintains control over the West Banks borders and Israel and Egypt control Gazas borders.

Israeli settlers in the West Bank were able to receive the vaccine at the same time as citizens in Israel proper.

Israel disagrees that it bears responsibility for vaccinating Palestinians, saying it falls to the Palestinian Authority. Some human rights groups argue Israel is responsible as an occupying power.

Al-Monitors efforts to reach Saturday Night Live were unsuccessful.


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We knew that the Biden presidency would be a disaster for America, but how bad can it really be? During his so-called campaign, he never even hid his agenda, and now, with unprecedented overuse of executive power, he pushes it down America's throat.

In my recent article "Feudalism returns to America?," I outlined some general economic and socio-political trends that dominate in America and that indicate an establishment of neo-feudalism. Joe Biden's policies accelerate them, bringing up a world of almighty lords regulating "commoners'" lives by decree, with new clergy explaining from our small screens how much lords care about their loyal subjects...er, constituency.

As Voltaire once said, history never repeats itself  man always does. Even though America was never a feudal society, it doesn't mean that it can't be. What we are observing right now is a new form of aristocracy developing in the United States and beyond, as wealth in our post-industrial economy is concentrated in ever fewer hands. We are seeing those hands overwhelmingly giving and aligning with the Democratic Party, as their believes closely collide  such as those on foreign trade, climate change, and migration. Society is becoming more stratified, with decreasing chances of upward mobility for most of the population, whose well-being has been exacerbated by economic restrictions imposed as a response to COVID-19 pandemic, and which is to getting hit even harder with Biden's "progressive" policies. Simultaneous with the new "aristocratic" ruling class rises a class of new clerisy that provides intellectual support of the emerging system  the media, academia, and celebrity influencers (pop culture). The model of liberal capitalism is losing appeal around the globe for different reasons, and new doctrines are arising in its place, including ones that lend support to a kind of autocracy, elitism, and socialism that drastically curtail the capitalist methods and achievements. They do not offer reform; they insist on a complete demolition. The first structure of the "old" system to go is democracy.

Fascization is often mentioned as the dominating trend of the American political process, and a recent article from Dennis Prager, "I now better understand the 'good German,'" is often cited on conservative blogs. In that article, Prager tries to rationalize the ease with which tens of millions of Americans have accepted irrational, unconstitutional, and unprecedented police statetype restrictions on their freedoms, including even the freedom to make a living, as well as acceptance by most Americans of the rampant censorship on all major social media platforms. The answer found was the power of long-going brainwashing that turns people into an obedient herd; those who hold "deviant" opinions conclude that keeping their heads down is only a reasonable survival strategy. Thus, fascization is a political part of the much larger trend. Big Tech's censorship and persecution of conservatives are needed to create a general submission to the arising order. Your freedom of speech comes costly.

The "cancel culture" dominated the whole of 2020 and is likely to boom in 2021. But there was another, even more disturbing process unfolding covertly, and even more damaging to a liberal democracy, but great for the neo-feudal order. This process was explicitly detailed in the shocking article titled "The Secret History of the Shadow Campaign that Saved the 2020 Election," published by Time. To get a clue on how deep and wide the establishment conspiracy  the author uses this world in a positive sense  against Trump was, it is certainly a must-read.

Here are a couple of the revelations to get a taste:

There was a conspiracy unfolding behind the scenes, one that both curtailed the protests and coordinated the resistance from CEOs. Both surprises were the result of an informal alliance between left-wing activists and business titans.

Here is what this alliance achieved:

Their work touched every aspect of the election. They got states to change voting systems and laws and helped secure hundreds of millions in public and private funding. They fended off voter-suppression lawsuits, recruited armies of poll workers and got millions of people to vote by mail for the first time. They successfully pressured social media companies to take a harder line against disinformation and used data-driven strategies to fight viral smears. They executed national public-awareness campaigns that helped Americans understand how the vote count would unfold over days or weeks, preventing Trump's conspiracy theories and false claims of victory from getting more traction.

Why they did it: "They were not rigging the election; they were fortifying it."

Got the irony? An article dedicated to the real conspiracy against the popular president being re-elected points out that the president spreading information about that conspiracy was a threat to the success of the conspiracy to save democracy from Trump! Because what can be more democratic than "a well-funded cabal of powerful people, ranging across industries and ideologies, working together behind the scenes to influence perceptions, change rules and laws, steer media coverage and control the flow of information," as it is put in the Time article?

As the conclusion, the author, relieved, writes: "Democracy won in the end. The will of the people prevailed. But it's crazy, in retrospect, that this is what it took to put on an election in the United States of America." Clearly, for the establishment, democracy is a rule of the Democrats (and Republicans aligned with them) and nothing else. The alienation of the Washington insiders from the ordinary Americans who felt dissatisfied with political corruption and their deteriorating economic state brough Donald Trump to power  "the redneck revolt" in 2016 was akin to the peasant rebellions in the Middle Ages. A sophisticated, well organized cabal of lords who control finances and the flow of information curb it with all their might four years later.

"Civilizations are fragile, impermanent things," wrote the historian Joseph Tainer. Amid our civilization's considerable period of success and stability, we may not recognize that things are shifting dangerously until it's too late.

Follow Veronika Kyrylenko, Ph.D. on Parler (@KyrylenkoV)  when it's back online  or LinkedIn.

Image via Max Pixel.
Pikes Peak Area Crime Stoppers is asking for the publics help finding the following people for whom felony arrest warrants have been issued.
FORT LAUDERDALE, Fla., Feb. 22, 2021 /PRNewswire/ -- Water is life. It isn't just a statement, it's also the motto of an up-and-coming bottled water brand south of the equator. Located out of Pokeno, New Zealand, Pure NZ takes delivering fresh, clean water to never-seen-before levels. In the words of the brand, it knows that "pure water, uncontaminated and mineral rich, to some equals the value of gold."

With this water-first perspective, the staff at Pure NZ has dedicated itself to delivering the freshest water in a convenient and sustainable fashion. The Kiwi brand has remained relentlessly committed to this high-minded goal ever since it was founded just over a decade ago.

From its genesis, Pure NZ focused on more than shallow corporate social responsibility messages and marketing content filled with empty platitudes about environmental ethics and sustainability. Instead, the company immediately went all-in on creating real change. It put its money where its metaphorical mouth was by creating a dedicated bottling facility that was purpose-built for and remains solely dedicated to bottling water in rPET bottles.

Furthermore, this state-of-the-art bottling plant was built right over an underground aquifer, allowing the company to bottle the crystal-clear liquid of life right at its source. Between the natural product itself and its utterly sustainable packaging, Pure NZ has taken the New Zealand beverage industry by storm.

It has already been audited for the Woolworths Supplier Excellence Program (WSEP). In addition, it has received the Australasian Bottle Water Institute (ABWI) certification and was also awarded the ABWI "Order of Excellence."

As if dominating its home market with the best bottled water products money can buy wasn't enough, Pure NZ continued to lay ambitious plans that stretched far beyond the borders of Middle Earth. With a popular sustainably sourced and packaged product in hand, the company has dedicated itself to a growing international market of thirsty consumers.

Of particular note is its recent push into the North American market. The United States is an area that is well known for an obsession with health and wellness, luxury experiences, and prepping for the unknown  not to mention an enormous amount of bottled beverage consumption. The region presents an incredible potential for this burgeoning bottle water company to meet needs and make a difference. From quality H2O to eco-friendly overtones, there's no knowing how far this expertly helmed operation from the Land of the Long White Cloud will go in its mission to deliver sustainably sourced liquid life to the world.

Please direct inquiries to:

Werner Stillman

(954) 743-8392

[email protected]

SOURCE Pure NZ
Source: Xinhua| 2021-02-22 20:30:50|Editor: huaxia

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KABUL, Feb. 22 (Xinhua) -- Afghanistan's lawmakers approved on Monday a 473-billion-afghani (about 6 billion U.S. dollar) national budget for 1400 fiscal year on the Persian calendar beginning Dec. 21, 2020, local media reported.

"The Afghan parliament on Monday approved the current fiscal year's budget with majority of votes after weeks of tensions between the two state branches over the document," the Tolo news TV reported.

The parliament rejected the budget draft twice over about 20 disputed points, according to the news report.

The report said that out of the budget, 311 billion afghani will be allocated for ordinary budget while the remaining 162 billion afghani for development budget. (1 U.S. dollar equals 78.25 afghani) Enditem

The COVID-19 pandemic has made the kirana store digitisation a reality. With social distancing becoming the norm and consumers not wanting to step out of their homes, the ubiquitous neighbourhood kirana store owner not just delivered products at the consumer's doorstep but also made his merchandise available to her through his app. The consumer has been able to view the kirana store's merchandise online and place her order digitally. While e-commerce marketplaces such as Amazon and BigBasket substantially grew their businesses in the last one year, the humble kirana store owner also did his bit to enable consumers to shop online. A recent report by the retail tech company, SnapBizz, endorses the trend saying over a million kirana stores went digital in 2020.

"Their stores have gone online by accepting online payments, ordering supplies online, managing inventory, etc. The technology cover now enables them to leverage their strengths like proximity, personal touch, and flexibility further to acquire new customers effortlessly," explains Prem Kumar, Founder and CEO, SnapBizz. The report says that around 75 per cent kirana stores are inclined towards having an online presence.

Also read: Indian e-commerce industry likely to reach $90-100 bn in 3-4 years: Flipkart Group CEO

When organised retail came to a halt during the lockdown and supply chain and distribution mechanisms ceased to function, it was the kirana stores that came to the rescue of the consumers. There are myriad instances of kirana store owners physically picking up stocks from distributors and making them available for their consumers. No wonder, the Snapbizz report says that 80 per cent of the kirana stores saw exponential growth in their business. There was a 50 per cent spike in spends in the food category at the kirana stores in March last year, a lot of consumers were hoarding food. Though the percentage of spends on food has dropped over the months, the number of consumers buying food products from kirana stores is 18 per cent higher than the pre-lockdown days.

Kumar of Snapbizz says that the new-age kirana store owner wants to position himself as a one-stop concierge service for his consumers. "Apart from delivering groceries, several kirana store owners have also started offering a basket of other services such as plumbing, electrical and so on. On the SnapBizz network, we have created a link at the backend so that the grocery merchant's catalogue also has meat and fish from a reliable source and the delivery happens." Several kirana stores in Ahmedabad have also started keeping branded pots and pans on display at their stores. If a consumer expresses interest in buying, the kirana store owner sources the product from the brand and delivers it to the consumer's home.

Around 60-70 per cent of the grocery bills in India are below Rs 200, and it is only the good-old neighbourhood grocer who can service orders as low as that. A large e-grocer will need an order size of at least Rs 1,500 to breakeven. The neighbourhood grocer apart from servicing small orders is now getting ready to fight the onslaught of the deep-pocketed organised retail biggies by offering a plethora of other services.

Also read: Amazon onboards 1 lakh local shops, kiranas to deliver orders this festive season
Barriers to adopting new technologies threaten the recovery for SMEs, especially in hard-hit rural areas, according to new research conducted by University of Limerick economist Stephen Kinsella for Vodafone.

The study found that nearly three in five small businesses have a willingness to invest in digitisation but face several hurdles including high cost, low trust in suppliers and a lack of in-house capabilities to implement digital strategies.

As a result, just 19pc of smaller Irish firms are highly digitalised, while just 24pc of larger firms are.

The report found that although technology has helped many businesses adapt throughout the pandemic, many SMEs are now recognising the need to make significant changes to their digital infrastructure, but lack the capacity to make them.

Digitalisation was identified as a key driver for this recovery, with noteworthy growth potential for Irish SMEs who engage in digital transformation, said Vodafone Ireland CEO Anne OLeary. However, as has been captured, due to the demographic make-up of Irish SMEs, of which the vast majority are micro-businesses, their ability to make the capital investment required is challenging.

Therefore, as the cornerstone of Irelands economy and a core driver of post-pandemic economic recovery, it is of the utmost importance that financial support and practical policies are in place to allow SMEs invest in digitalisation and compete with EU and global SMEs within the digital economy.

The research chimes with similar findings from Bank of Irelands monthly Economic Pulse survey.

Bank of Ireland found firms identified infrastructure as a headwind for the recovery, with telecommunications topping the list for areas needing investment, given demand for e-commerce and increased remote working.

The survey found 36pc of firms believed telecoms in their region required further investment  twice the figure in pre-Covid surveys.

Overall, the survey found economic sentiment has improved over the last month as businesses and households have begun to look past the current lockdown towards a future recovery.

The survey found that 46pc of households believe the economy will get better in 2021, up from a figure of 35pc in January. Four in 10 said unemployment was likely to fall as well.

Meanwhile, businesses were downbeat about the current economic situation under lockdown and post-Brexit disruption, but most were expecting an improvement in activity and hiring as the year progressed.

Both consumer and business sentiment were up on the month as households and firms looked towards the economic recovery now that the vaccine roll-out is under way, said Loretta OSullivan, Bank of Ireland chief economist. Of course, it will be a while before we get back to normality and it may be that some of the pandemic-induced changes to the way we live, work and shop persist, with longer lasting implications for the economy.

The Economic Pulse surveys 1,000 households and approximately 2,000 businesses on a range of topics including the economy, personal finances and business activity.
For the second year, the pandemic has prompted Spoleto Festival USA to waylay its highly anticipated, world premiere opera.

"Omar," a newly commissioned, Charleston-connected work that involves a celebrated creative team, was initially set to debut on May 22, 2020. It was then moved to this year's lineup. It is once again on hold due to the coronavirus pandemic now in its second year.

Over the past few weeks, the festival staff has worked closely with the creative team and with the MUSC Health Back2Business team, weighing and considering various scenarios to devise a way to safely mount the production. However, it ultimately determined that the necessary paring down and reconfiguring would compromise the work, which has been in the making for four years.

A fool's errand

"Until recently, we had not gotten to the point of addressing concerns of performance," said Nigel Redden, general director of Spoleto Festival USA. They had figured out inventive ways to adjust the production, keeping the chorus separate from principals and one another, that "brilliantly used what were necessary precautions ... that were all the more moving."

However, Redden said the festival felt that as a nonmedical entity, the continued medical assessment of staging an opera, one that originally involved 100 people on stage, was "a fool's errand."

Additionally, he felt the required adjustments to the audience size would not honor the subject and teller of the story, Omar Ibn Said.

Enslaved in Charleston

The opera, which has direct connections to the festival's home of Charleston, is based on the autobiography of Said, a Muslim scholar born in 1770.

Said was captured in Senegal at the age of 37 and brought to Charleston in 1807. There, he was enslaved and remained as such in the Carolinas until his death in 1863. Much of what is known today about him comes from the life story he penned in Arabic in 1831. It is considered the only surviving, unedited autobiography of an enslaved Muslim in the United States.

The opera, which is co-commissioned and co-produced by Spoleto Festival USA and Carolina Performing Arts at the University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill, traces Saids spiritual journey from Africa to his capture and enslavement in the Carolinas.

"I feel in some ways he revealed something about himself, and we have an obligation to take this to as large a group of people as possible," said Redden, citing passages in Said's book in which he urges the people of the Carolinas and America to listen to his story. It is also a story that Redden himself underscores as being very important in this country.

Sharing his story

To tell that story, Grammy Award-winning musical artist Rhiannon Giddens was tapped to write the libretto and score, working closely with co-composer Michael Abels to develop the score. Festival Resident Conductor and Director of Orchestral Activities John Kennedy is set to conduct and Charlotte Brathwaite is director.

When "Omar" was originally to premiere in 2020, it was to be the first production mounted in the College of Charleston's Sottile Theatre following the completion of its multimillion-dollar renovation.

Due to the pandemic, the premiere was then postponed to 2021. Now, after assessing the feasibility of presenting the work in light of the continued constraints and safety considerations resulting from the pandemic, it has pushed once again and will premiere during the 2022 festival.

In the interim, the festival will continue hosting its free "Exploring Omar" digital conversations, which feature international experts from fields including religion, education, culture and the arts who mine the historical and cultural significance of the work. The series is part of the festival's ETC (Engaging the Community) initiative.

Spoleto ETC will present the virtual "Justice for Omar" at 6 p.m. March 9. Renowned choreographer and director Bill T. Jones will be in conversation with Charleston Poet Laureate Marcus Amaker to address how writers, visual artists and performers exhibit freedom of expression and how they have and can respond to Black trauma. Tamara Butler of the Avery Research Center at the College of Charleston serves as moderator.

Spoleto Festival USA is in the process of finalizing the 2021 festival, which takes place from May 28 to June 13. According to the organization, plans are under way that explore hosting the majority of events at outdoor venues. While the details are not firmed up and the opera is shelved this year, Redden promised the signature mix of theater, dance and music of all kinds that patrons have come to expect.

Looking forward

The 2021 festival represents Charleston's first foray back into a full-scale festival since the pandemic. Details of this year's program, postponed from the organization's traditional January release date, will be announced April 5. Tickets go on sale to the public April 13.

The opera is arguably Redden's final grand production in his role as general director of Spoleto Festival USA. In September, he announced his retirement after leading the charge in that position over the course of 35 years. His retirement will be effective in October.

Now, that swan song will have to wait.

Redden said that while he's sorry he won't be the general director when the work premieres, he is still heavily involved in the planning for the 2022 festival.

He'll be there as a spectator, as he was back in 1984, when he was so taken by what he saw that he determined he'd like to run it.

For more information on Spoleto Festival USA and to register for Spoleto ETC events, visit spoletousa.org.
Organizers behind Dauphins Countryfest held their Annual General Meeting on Thursday, during which they reviewed 2020 operations and looked ahead to the future.

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Organizers behind Dauphins Countryfest held their Annual General Meeting on Thursday, during which they reviewed 2020 operations and looked ahead to the future.

The long-running country music festival was cancelled in early April of last year due to the COVID-19 pandemic, with many would-be attendees rolling their tickets over until next time, according to general manager Rob Waloschulk.

"The support of our ticket holders and especially our Countryfest members who have stuck with us through this has been phenomenal," he said in a news release Friday. "We could not have done it without this support."

Despite the disappointment of having to cancel their 30th-anniversary festival, Waloschuk said the tone of Thursdays meeting remained positive, especially since some key financial institutions and corporate sponsors have stuck by their side.

"We have also been able to take advantage of several federal and provincial COVID-19 related support programs, such as the Canada Emergency Wage Subsidy, the Canada Rent Subsidy, the Manitoba Bridge Grants, etc to help offset the negative financial impact of not being able to hold the 2020 festival or any of our Countryfest Presents events," he said.

This weeks AGM also saw the addition of two new directors, Colette Hykawy and Ron Hedley, to the existing Countryfest board.

In terms of whats going to happen for 2021, Waloschuk said his team is still working behind the scenes and hopes to publicly divulge their plans to patrons at a later date.

"Like every other event, we are hoping to receive more detailed direction from government officials," he said. "We look forward to sharing that information with our festival goers when we are able."

According to the official website for Dauphins Countryfest, organizers are still hoping to put something together for July 1-4 this year.

The current 2021 lineup for this festival includes Paul Brandt, Johnny Reid, Dean Brody, Dallas Smith, Chad Brownlee, Emerson Drive, Terri Clark, Alan Doyle, Jess Moskaluke, Madeline Merlo, Corb Lund, Aaron Pritchett and The Reklaws.

Dauphins Countryfest organizers have been holding a music festival annually on the July long weekend since 1990, with last years event the sole exception.

 The Brandon Sun
Democratic Unionist Party (DUP) and Ulster Unionist Party (UUP) of Northern Ireland, of pro-British identity, are seeking legal action against the post-Brexit border plan, leader Arlene Foster said on Sunday. The party aims to challenge the Northern Ireland (NI) protocol, as the EU-UK struggles to find a trade balance with respect to the shipment of British goods to Northern Ireland. Cargoes transporting UK shipment to Northern Ireland have been imposed with severe checks as North shares a border with EU member-state Ireland, and UK abandoned the EU's economic structures on Dec. 31 after Brexit. In an official statement released Sunday, DUP Leader Arlene Foster, Deputy Leader and Peer Nigel Dodds, Westminster Leader Sir Jeffrey Donaldson and Westminster Chief Whip Sammy Wilson said that they were joining the unionists from across the UK to challenge the Northern Ireland Protocols compatibility with Act of Union 1800, the Northern Ireland Act of 1998 and the Belfast Agreement.

Read: UK, EU Hold Meeting In London In Bid To Calm Post-Brexit Trade Turbulence

Read: All The Adults In UK To Get Vaccinated By The End Of July: Boris Johnson

Violation of Belfast Agreement

The Act of Union is the unfettered trade across the UK, which, the Northern Ireland ministers demand throughout the region under the Good Friday Agreement (GFA), or Belfast Agreement, which states that there would be no change in the policies without the consent of the majority whether Northern Ireland should remain in the UK or united Ireland. Ahead of the post-Brexit NI protocol debate to draft an agreed mechanism in the House of Commons, Norths First Minister said, that she was going to legally challenge the two-pronged legal and political assault on GFA. Furthermore, leaders threatened judicial review proceedings, saying that neither the Northern Ireland Assembly, the Northern Ireland Executive nor the people of Northern Ireland consented to the UK Prime Minister Boris Johnsons agreed post-Brexit trade protocols. They certainly did not consent to the arrangements for those checks being determined by a power over which we have no democratic say, read the statement issued by Democratic Unionist Party (DUP).

DUP Leader Arlene Foster, also urged the Government to trigger article 16 that would rupture the east-west relationship. Her remarks came ahead of a debate in Westminster, pushed by DUPs Parliamentary e-petition that questioned the flawed and deeply damaging NI Protocol.On Monday, Parliament will debate the e-petition I tabled calling for the triggering of Article 16 and unfettered trade from GB-NI. Over 140k have signed the petition with the 100k signatures threshold for a debate surpassed in just over 24hrs, Foster said in the statement.

Read: UK Health Secretary Says Cases Of South African And Brazil Variants Falling

Read: UK Speeds Up Vaccinations: All Adults Get 1st Jab By July 31
Attorney general nominee Merrick Garland told the Senate during his confirmation hearing Monday that he would pursue an investigation of the Capitol riots above those who occupied and damaged the building.

The top appeals court judge and former prosecutor made the assurance when questioned at his hearing about whether the department under his watch would pursue matters 'upstream.'

'We begin with the people on the ground and we work our way to those who were involved and further involved. We will pursue these leads wherever they take us. That is the job of a prosecution,' he said.

He was asked by Sen. Sheldon Whitehouse (D-R.I.) whether he was willing to look 'upstream from the actual occupants who assaulted the building in the same way that in a drug case you would look up-street from the street dealers to try to find the king pins.'

He wanted assurances that Garland wouldn't refrain from looking at funders, 'ring leaders' or 'aiders and abettors,' and got the assurance that Garland would not hold back.

Whitehouse did not mention anyone specific  following an impeachment of former President Donald Trump for 'incitement of insurrection' that resulted in an acquittal.

The riots were a focus for Democrats now in control of the panel. Chairman Richard Durbin of Illinois brought up the 230 arrests and 500 investigations in what he called the largest and most complex investigation in the agency's history.

Judge Merrick Garland takes the oath at the start of his hearing to serve as attorney general under President Joe Biden. Lawmakers brought up his Supreme Court nomination, which never got a hearing five years ago, at the start of Monday's hearing

It was just one area where Garland got grilled over how he would conduct himself and the department he hopes to lead following a tumultuous four-year period where Trump put the independence of DOJ to the test.

He found himself receiving multiple questions from Democrats about whether he would act differently than Trump attorneys general Bill Barr and Jeff Sessions  while getting questioned by Republicans about the Russia probe and ongoing investigations of alleged misconduct by law enforcement.

On another matter, he told Republican Sen. Charles Grassley of Iowa he had not discussed an agency probe of Hunter Biden on tax matters with the president who nominated him.

Garland avoided commenting on former FBI Director James Comey, who has infuriated lawmakers in both parties for his actions during the Clinton email probe and the Russia probe.

He provided assurances that he was not primed to act against the John Durham probe that started under the Trump administration, and expressed his view that the AG represents the 'public interest.'

He repeatedly gave assurances that the role of the Justice Department is not to take cues from either the president or the legislature on whom to prosecute and when.

Judge Merrick Garland, President Joe Biden's pick to be attorney general, arrives on Capitol Hill for his confirmation hearing, in Washington, Monday, Feb. 22, 2021

'I do not plan to be interfered with by anyone. I expect the Justice Department will make its own decisions in this regard,' he said under questioning.

Sen. Ted Cruz (R-Texas) was one of several Republicans who questioned Garland about whether he would hold up norms and rules rather than giving way to political interference. Cruz brought up alleged 'targeting' of conservative groups by the IRS during the Obama administration, which he said featured a DOJ that was 'politicized and weaponized.'

Sen. Josh Hawley of Missouri, who faced blowback after joining a challenge that would have prevented millions of votes from being counted even after the Jan. 6th riot, referenced the Capitol and actions in Portland, Oregon and asked Garland whether an attack on federal property was an act of 'domestic terrorism.'

'If you are confirmed, will you resist the calls and efforts by political groups to politicize the Department of Justice, to use political targeting, will you adhere to the statute down the middle and enforce the law fairly and equally?' he asked Garland.

The line of questioning from Republicans who failed to forcefully confront President Trump when he publicly threatened to fire his own administration or demanded probes of political enemies drew mention from Democratic panelists.

Said Hawaii Democratic Sen. Mazie Hirono, appearing by zoom: 'Since we just had a president who didnt think the rule of law applied to him, Im glad to hear so many of my Republican colleagues are asking you whether you, as attorney general, will follow the rule of law.'

Trump himself issued a statement Monday after a Supreme Court ruling on his tax returns that called the Mueller probe a 'hoax' and called the two impeachments inspired by 'Crazy Nancy.'

Garland choked up after a long series of questions by Sen. Cory Booker about racism in the justice system. Asked to talk about his own background, Garland briefly grew emotional.

'I come from a family - my grandparents fled anti-semitism and persecution. The country took us in,' he said, pausing. 'I feel an obligation to the country to pay back. This is the highest, best use of my own set of skills, to pay back. And so I want very much to be the kind of attorney general that you're saying I could become.'

Garland finally got his hearing before the Senate Judiciary Committee Monday  five years after Barack Obama first nominated him to be a justice on the U.S. Supreme Court.

Instead, Garland appeared before the committee as Joe Biden's choice to be attorney general, a position that would have him oversee a number of fraught investigations  including one into the Capitol riots that could ensnare President Donald Trump, and one of the finances of Joe Biden's son, Hunter.

The last time Garland was nominated by the White House for a job, Republicans wouldn't even meet with him.

Sen. Richard Blumenthal (D-Conn.) outside the hearing Monday called Garland 'as sure as bet' as one can have for confirmation.

His hearing got off to a contentious start, as new panel chairman, Sen. Richard Durbin of Illinois, denounced the leadership of the Trump Justice Department, which he said brought the nation 'to the brink.'

He called out 'four tumultuous years of intrigue, controversy and brute political force.' He said the department 'became an arm of the White House' designed to advance the interests of 'President Trump his family and his political allies.'

Durbin recounted the riots of January, and told Garland it would fall to him 'to prosecute all of the individuals responsible.'

Sen. Charles Grassley, the top Republican on the committee, began his own remarks alluding to the bitter confirmation fight over now Supreme Court Justice Brett Kavanaugh, Donald Trump's nominee who made it on the court even though Garland did not.

Grassley, a prior chairman, acknowledged that 'it's true that I didn't give Judge Garland a hearing.'

'I also didnt mischaracterize his record. I didnt attack his characer. I didnt go through his high school yearbook. I didn't make his wife leave the hearing in tears,' he said.' Grassley called Garland 'a good pick to lead the Department of Justice.'

Under questioning, Grassley sought to get Garland to commit to supporting John Durham's probe of alleged FBI misconduct during the Crossfire Hurricane investigation  leaving wiggle room as the senator pushed him to commit to provide time and resources to the probe created under AG Bill Barr.

'Sitting here today I have no reason to think that that was not the correct decision' to keep Durham's probe in place, he said.

Pressed on whether he meant Durham would only be removed for cause, Garland responded: 'I really do have to have an opportunity to talk with him.'

'I dont have any reason from what I know now  to make any determination on that ground,' he said. ' But I dont have any reason to think that he should not remain in place.'

Garland said he had not discussed the Hunter Biden case with President Biden.

He said that Biden has. made 'abundantly clear' that 'decisions about investigations and prosecutions will be left to the Justice Department.'

'That was the reason that I was willing to take on this job. So the answer to your question is no,' he responded.

'Judge Garland's extensive legal experience makes him well-suited to lead the Department of Justice, and I appreciated his commitment to keep politics out of the Justice Department,' Sen. John Cornyn, R-Texas, said in a statement before the hearing began.

'Unless I hear something new, I expect to support his nomination before the full Senate.'

Judiciary chair Sen. Richard Durbin called out 'four tumultuous years of intrigue, controversy and brute political force' at DOJ under President Donald Trump

Sen. Charles Grassley (R-Iowa) attacked Democrats for how they handled the confirmation hearing of Justice Brett Kavanaugh

Monday's was the first hearing since Democrat Dianne Feinstein relinquished the top spot, yielding to Sen. Richard Durbin as panel chair amid criticism of her handling of key moments in confirmation fights

Bidens choice of Garland reflects the president's goal of restoring the department's reputation as an independent body.

During his four years as president, Donald Trump had insisted that the attorney general must be loyal to him personally, a position that battered the department's reputation.

Garland's high court nomination by President Barack Obama in 2016 died because the Republican-controlled Senate refused to hold a hearing.

Garland will inherit a Justice Department that endured a tumultuous time under Trump - rife with political drama and controversial decisions - and abundant criticism from Democrats over what they saw as the politicizing of the nation's top law enforcement agencies.

The department's priorities and messaging are expected to shift drastically in the Biden administration, with a focus more on civil rights issue, criminal justice overhauls and policing policies in the wake of nationwide protests over the death of Black Americans at the hands of law enforcement.

Garland was nominated to the Supreme Court in 2016, but never received a hearing

Mitch McConnell was largely responsible for blocking Garland's path towards SCOTUS

The Supreme Court vacancy ultimately went to Neil Gorsuch, one of three conservative justices appointed during Donald Trump's presidency

Garland plans to tell senators the department must ensure laws are 'fairly and faithfully enforced' and the rights of all Americans are protected, while reaffirming an adherence to policies to protect its political independence, with the attorney general acting as a lawyer for the American people, not for the president.

The Justice Department on late Saturday released a copy of Garland's opening statement.

Garland will also confront some immediate challenges, including the criminal tax investigation into Biden's son, Hunter, and calls from some Democrats to investigate Trump, especially after thousands of pro-Trump rioters stormed the U.S. Capitol on January 6 as Congress was meeting to certify Biden's electoral win.

Garland, in his prepared remarks for the Senate committee, calls the insurrection a 'heinous attack that sought to distrust a cornerstone of our democracy: the peaceful transfer of power to a newly elected government.'

A special counsel's inquiry started by William Barr, while he was attorney general, into the origins of the Trump-Russia investigation also remains open. It will be up to Garland to decide what to make public from that report.

Garland was at the center of a political firestorm five years ago as part of a Republican gamble that eventually shaped the future of the Supreme Court.

As Obama's nominee to replace the late Justice Antonin Scalia, who had died unexpectedly in February of 2016, Garland was a moderate choice and generally well liked by senators.

But Majority Leader Mitch McConnell said hours after Scalia's death that he would not consider any Obama nominee - and that the voters should decide by picking a new president that November.

McConnell's entire caucus went along. Many declined even to meet with Garland, even though some privately questioned the gambit.

It was a huge political risk. Democratic presidential nominee Hillary Clinton was ahead in most polls and could have easily nominated someone more liberal than Garland had she won the White House.

But she did not, Trump did and Republicans were elated as they voted to confirm Neil Gorsuch as a justice a year later.

The bet later paid off unexpected returns as the Senate remained in Republican hands for the next four years and Trump had the opportunity to nominate two additional conservative justices, Brett Kavanaugh and Amy Coney Barrett, reshaping the political balance of the court.

Before the high court drama, Garland had been repeatedly praised by some Republicans as exactly the sort of moderate nominee they could support.

The criticism, such as it was, came from liberals, who had hoped Obama would pick someone more progressive, or diverse, than Garland.

Vermont Sen. Bernie Sanders, then seeking the 2016 nomination against Clinton, said he wouldn't have chosen Garland. Liberal activist groups were tepid in their support.

Sen. Lindsay Graham, R-S.C., was one of a handful of senators who met with Garland, but didn't budge from his position that a president should not choose a Supreme Court nominee in an election year.

Graham reversed course when his party had the chance, ramming through Coney Barrett's nomination in record time during a global pandemic with just weeks to go before the 2020 election, which his party then lost.

Graham said in a tweet that Garland would be a 'sound choice' to lead the Justice Department. 'He is a man of great character, integrity, and tremendous competency in the law.'

Garland is a white man, but two other members of the Justice Department leadership, Vanita Gupta and Kristen Clarke, are women with significant experience in civil rights.

Their selections appeared designed to blunt any concerns about Biden's choice for attorney general and served as a signal that progressive causes would be prioritized in the new administration.

Garland is an experienced judge who held senior positions at the Justice Department decades ago, including as a supervisor in the prosecution of the 1995 Oklahoma City bombing.

But he is set to return to a department that is radically different from the one he left. His experience prosecuting domestic terrorism cases could prove exceptionally handy now.

Garland probably will face pressure from civil rights groups to end the federal death penalty after an unprecedented run of capital punishment during the Trump administration.

Thirteen federal executions were carried out in six months, and they became superspreaders during the coronavirus pandemic.

There could be questions, too, about the department's handling of a federal criminal and civil rights investigation examining whether members of New York Gov. Andrew Cuomo's administration intentionally manipulated data about nursing home coronavirus deaths.

The new chairman of the Senate committee handling the nomination, Sen. Dick Durbin, D-Ill., said Garland was well deserving of the post.

'And in light of his past treatment of the United States Senate, his day before the microphones is long overdue,' Durbin said.

Confirmation hearings haven't been an issue for the Biden administration yet.

So far, eleven nominees have received hearings and seven Cabinet nominations have been confirmed, with none being blocked.
[February 22, 2021] Valneva Initiates Phase 3 Clinical Lot Consistency Study for its Single-Shot Chikungunya Vaccine Candidate

Saint-Herblain (France), February 22, 2021  Valneva SE (Valneva or the Company), a specialty vaccine company focused on prevention of infectious diseases with significant unmet medical need, today announced that it has initiated the clinical lot-to-lot consistency Phase 3 study for its single-shot chikungunya vaccine candidate, VLA1553. This study will run in parallel to the ongoing, pivotal Phase 3 study, VLA1553-301, which includes the determination of seroprotection based on an immunological surrogate1. The objective of this study is to show manufacturing consistency of the vaccine by demonstrating that three consecutively manufactured lots elicit equivalent immune responses measured by neutralizing antibody titers on Day 29 after vaccination. Study volunteers will be followed for a total of six months. Juan Carlos Jaramillo, M.D., Chief Medical Officer of Valneva, commented, This study initiation signifies another important step in the development of VLA1553 towards licensure. The chikungunya virus continues to represent a major public health threat, and we are working as fast as we can to bring a preventive solution to those who need it most. We would like to thank our employees, partners and study participants for making this trial possible despite the ongoing COVID-19 pandemic. VLA1553 is the only chikungunya vaccine candidate in Phase 3 clinical trials. The sponsor of the first chikungunya vaccine Biologics License Application (BLA) to be approved in the U.S. will be eligible to receive a Priority Review Voucher (PRV)2. About Chikungunya

Chikungunya is a mosquito-borne viral disease caused by the chikungunya virus (CHIKV), a Togaviridae virus, transmitted by Aedes mosquitoes. Infection leads to symptomatic disease in 72-92% of humans after 4 to 7 days following the mosquito bite. While mortality with CHIKV is low, morbidity is high. Clinical symptoms include acute onset of fever, debilitating joint and muscle pain, headache, nausea and rash. 4.1%-78.6% of infections develop into chronic arthralgia (> 3 months). Chikungunya virus often causes sudden large outbreaks with high attack rates, affecting one-third to three-quarters of the population in areas where the virus is circulating. The highest risk areas of infection for travelers are places where chikungunya virus-carrying mosquitos are endemic, including the Americas, parts of Africa, and Southeast Asia. As of September 2020, there have been more than 3 million reported cases in the Americas3 and the economic impact is considered to be significant (e.g. Colombia outbreak 2014: $73.6 million4). The medical and economic burden is expected to grow as the CHIKV primary mosquito vectors continue to further spread geographically. There are no preventive vaccines or effective treatments available and, as such, chikungunya is considered to be a major public health threat. About VLA1553

VLA1553 is a live-attenuated, single dose vaccine candidate for protection against chikungunya disease and currently tested in clinical Phase 3. VLA1553 has been designed by deleting a part of the chikungunya virus genome. As a live-attenuated vaccine, VLA1553 is particularly well suited to target long-lasting protection.

Valneva is the first company to advance a chikungunya vaccine candidate into Phase 3. The sponsor of the first chikungunya vaccine Biologics License Application (BLA) to be approved in the U.S. will be eligible to receive a Priority Review Voucher (PRV) 5.

VLA1553 would expand Valnevas existing travel vaccine portfolio and as such, Valneva intends to commercialize this vaccine, if approved, leveraging its existing manufacturing and commercial operations. The global market for vaccines against chikungunya is estimated to exceed $500 million annually by 20326.

VLA1553 Phase 1 data in 120 volunteers were published in The Lancet Infectious Diseases7. The vaccine was well tolerated at the dose level selected for Phase 3. No vaccine-related serious adverse events were reported during 12 months of follow-up. Neutralizing antiboies were developed in 100% of volunteers within 14 days after a single vaccination and were maintained up to one year. Based on these encouraging results, Phase 3 testing was initiated in September 2020. The program was granted Fast Track designation by the U.S. Food and Drug Administration (FDA) in December 20188 and PRIME designation by the European Medicines Agency (EMA) in October 20209.





About Phase 3 study VLA1553-302

VLA1553-302 clinical lot-to-lot consistency Phase 3 study is a prospective, multicenter, randomized, pivotal Phase 3 study comprising approximately 400 participants aged 18 to 45 years. Lyophilized VLA1553 will be administered as a single intramuscular immunization. Equivalence of immune responses will be determined based on neutralizing antibody titers. The primary objective of the study is to evaluate a pair-wise comparison of the 95% CI on the ratio of GMTs on Day 29 after vaccination in the three vaccine lots. The two-sided 95% CI on the GMT ratio should be within 0.67 and 1.5.

Study volunteers will be followed for a total of six months and overall, the study is expected to last approximately eight months. Additional information, including a detailed description of the study design, eligibility criteria and investigator sites, will be published on ClinicalTrials.gov.

About Valneva SE Valneva is a specialty vaccine company focused on prevention of infectious diseases with significant unmet medical need. The Company has several vaccines in development including unique vaccines against Lyme disease, COVID-19 and chikungunya. Valnevas portfolio includes two commercial vaccines for travelers: IXIARO/JESPECT indicated for the prevention of Japanese encephalitis and DUKORAL indicated for the prevention of cholera and, in some countries, prevention of diarrhea caused by ETEC. Valneva has operations in Austria, Sweden, the United Kingdom, France, Canada and the U.S. with over 500 employees. Valneva Investor and Media Contacts

Laetitia Bachelot-Fontaine

Director Investor Relations &

Corporate Communications

M +33 (0)6 4516 7099

investors@valneva.com



Teresa Pinzolits

Corporate Communications Specialist

T +43 (0)1 20620 1116

communications@valneva.com Forward-Looking Statements This press release contains certain forward-looking statements relating to the business of Valneva, including with respect to the progress, timing and completion of research, development and clinical trials for product candidates, the ability to manufacture, market, commercialize and achieve market acceptance for product candidates, the ability to protect intellectual property and operate the business without infringing on the intellectual property rights of others, estimates for future performance and estimates regarding anticipated operating losses, future revenues, capital requirements and needs for additional financing. In addition, even if the actual results or development of Valneva are consistent with the forward-looking statements contained in this press release, those results or developments of Valneva may not be indicative of their in the future. In some cases, you can identify forward-looking statements by words such as "could," "should," "may," "expects," "anticipates," "believes," "intends," "estimates," "aims," "targets," or similar words. These forward-looking statements are based largely on the current expectations of Valneva as of the date of this press release and are subject to a number of known and unknown risks and uncertainties and other factors that may cause actual results, performance or achievements to be materially different from any future results, performance or achievement expressed or implied by these forward-looking statements. In particular, the expectations of Valneva could be affected by, among other things, uncertainties involved in the development and manufacture of vaccines, unexpected clinical trial results, unexpected regulatory actions or delays, competition in general, currency fluctuations, the impact of the global and European credit crisis, and the ability to obtain or maintain patent or other proprietary intellectual property protection. In light of these risks and uncertainties, there can be no assurance that the forward-looking statements made during this presentation will in fact be realized. Valneva is providing the information in these materials as of this press release, and disclaim any intention or obligation to publicly update or revise any forward-looking statements, whether as a result of new information, future events, or otherwise. 1 Valneva Initiates Phase 3 Clinical Study for its Chikungunya Vaccine Candidate VLA1553 2 https://priorityreviewvoucher.org/

3 PAHO/WHO data: Number of reported cases of chikungunya fever in the Americas. https://www.paho.org/data/index.php/en/mnu-topics/chikv-en/550-chikv-weekly-en.html . Last accessed 13 Oct 2020.

4 Cardona-Ospina et al. 2015, Trans R Soc Trip Med Hyg 109:793-802.

5 https://priorityreviewvoucher.org/ 6 VacZine Analytics Chikungunya virus vaccines Global demand analysis. February 2020 7 Wressnigg et al. 2020, Lancet ID;20(10):1193-1203.



8 Valneva PR: Valneva Awarded FDA Fast Track Designation for Chikungunya vaccine candidate

[9] Valnevas Chikungunya Vaccine Candidate Awarded EMA Prime Designation



Attachment 2021_02_22_VLA1553_L2L_Phase3_Initiation_PR_EN_Final



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Research leader for the health benefits of Amanita Muscaria mushrooms

Engaged in pre-clinical trials on the companys proprietary extract AME-1

Well funded after recent equity raise

What does:

Ltd ( ) ( ) ( ), formerly Duncan Park Holdings Corporation, is a Canadian health supplement company dedicated to protect, restore and regain a healthier body and mind through the production of products derived from artisanal, medicinal and psychedelic mushrooms.

The Toronto-based companys first line of products will be derived from the unique and famous looking psychedelic medicinal mushroom Amanita Muscaria, and its psychoactive compound Muscimol.

is targeting the creation of premium mushroom-derived products that have the potential to become a leading North American brand in the emerging functional food category. It is in the process of developing a line of Amanita muscaria-derived water-based extracts (AME-1) in teas and capsules designed to help with three health objectives: promote stress relief, relaxation and assist with restful sleeping.

The Amanita Muscaria mushroom, which grows wild throughout the temperate and boreal regions of the Northern Hemisphere, is easily recognizable with its red and white cap and has been used in traditional healing practices for centuries, according to the company.

Amanita Muscaria has three main components that activate the nervous system: ibotonic acid, muscimol and muscazone. Isolating muscimol compounds have been shown to treat stress and anxiety, ease muscular pain and promote restorative sleep.

is led by CEO Jeffrey Stevens, the former president and chief operating officer of Datametrex AI Limited (CVE:DM), who has more than 20 years of capital markets experience in addition to structuring multiple M&A transactions and building successful businesses.

How is it doing:

In March 2021, Psyched Wellness announced that it had signed an additional agreement with its contract research organization (CRO) partner, KGK Science, to further study the anti-inflammatory nature of its proprietary Amanita muscaria extract AME-1.

The aim of the study is to explore the anti-inflammatory properties of AME-1 extract and demonstrate activities that may enhance digestive barrier function and immunity.

Earlier in the same month, the company said it had submitted a provisional patent application with the US Patent and Trademark Office to cover its unique extraction processes for its AME-1 extract.

Also in March, Psyched Wellness reported positive results from its Maximum Tolerated Dosage (MTD) study of AME-1 conducted by KGK Science. The study, which was the first set of thorough toxicology assessments on the company's AME-1 extract, summarized the maximum tolerated dose and LD50 thresholds for AME-1 while clearing the way for the next step of pre-clinical studies involving a 14- and 90-day oral toxicity to further identify a safe, effective dose for human consumption.

And in February, Psyched Wellness provided an update on a study focused on determining the effectiveness of the company's AME-1 extract and the active compound muscimol from the Amanita Muscaria mushroom for potential dual antioxidant and anti-inflammatory properties.

The company noted that an initial set of preclinical tests examining potential allergenicity have been completed and results demonstrate that AME-1 does not have any allergenic properties in an in-vitro cell-based mast cell model, adding that subsequent studies are being conducted to further support these findings, while antioxidant and anti-inflammatory studies are also underway.

Previously, highlights from the toxicology assessment conducted by KGK Sciences had shown a great potential and a clear path for the company to move forward with the development and scale-up of its unique extract, according to Psyched Wellness.

The company also reported that it has submitted an application with the United States Patent and Trademark Office (USPTO) to register the trademark AME-1 in connection with the company's extraction technology.

Psyched Wellness believes that AME-1 will be the base for its future Amanita Muscaria product lines in both the health and wellness and the pharma side, and the company said it will continue to identify novel uses for AME-1, as well it will look to build a patent portfolio around AME-1 for new pharmacologically-optimized psychedelic medicines.

On the financial front, in February Psyched Wellness closed a bought deal private placement for total gross proceeds of C$6.6 million, after issuing 21.3 million units to subscribers at a price of $0.31 per unit.

The company said proceeds from the offering will be used to fully fund pre-clinical trials and continue its scientific research of AME-1 and of its potential benefits for people suffering from serious mental and physical health issues, as well as for general corporate purposes.

And in January Psyched Wellness stock was selected as one of the 17 companies in the US and Canada to be included in the first psychedelic exchange-traded fund, managed by Horizons ETF Management, which began trading on January 26 under the ticker PSYK on the NEO Exchange.

What the analyst says:

Proactive Research analyst Ed Stacey published an update on Psyched Wellness on April 14, saying the company is developing a range of dietary supplements, starting with a tincture, using a mushroom called Amanita Muscaria, which has psychedelic properties but has never been a scheduled substance in the US or Canada.

The company has plans in place for a rapid ramp-up of manufacturing via a contract manufacturing organisation, and distribution through bricks and mortar retailers and e-commerce channels. We expect first commercial revenues in 4Q 2021 and scaling up during 2022, the analyst wrote.

Stacey noted that Amanita Muscaria has been used since ancient times for medicinal or spiritual purposes in many different cultures, and formed the basis of the ritual beverage soma  the drink of the gods.

The company plans to use its mushroom-based health supplements to promote a healthier body and mind.

The Proactive Research analyst pointed out that the functional mushrooms market is a large and growing segment in consumer health, currently running at around US$30 billion per year globally.

And while psychedelic mushrooms are believed to offer physical and mental health benefits when consumed at low doses, Stacey cautioned there are significant obstacles, as varieties such as psilocybe mushrooms (magic mushrooms) are illegal in most jurisdictions.

The products will require regulatory approval only as novel foods, rather than a more time-consuming pharmaceutical trial process that would be required if Psyched Wellness wanted to market Amanita Muscaria products as medicines rather than wellness products, Stacey concluded.

Inflection points:

Completing pre-clinical trials and rodent testing for safety and efficacy of AME-1

Establishing sales channels for its products in Canada, the US, and Europe

US Food and Drug Administration and Health Canada approval to sell AME-1 as a health supplement

What the boss says:

Commenting on the companys Muscimol antioxidant and anti-inflammatory study, Psyched Wellness CEO Jeffrey Stevens said in a statement: The research from these studies supports what we already believe-that this special compound will have therapeutic benefits.

He added: It is our job to continue to work hard to uncover AME-1's potential, and our research and development team will continue to examine all potential ways that Amanita Muscaria can have positive impacts on health and wellness.

Contact Sean at sean@proactiveinvestors.com
Hours after a bomb threat forced police officials to evacuate the state police headquarters in Harrisburg on Monday, the building was declared safe.

There were no devices found in the building after a lengthy search by canine teams, according to Trooper Megan Ammerman.

Explosives detection canine teams from PSP and Pa. Capitol Police have completed a thorough search of Department Headquarters. No explosive or other dangerous devices were found, and personnel are returning to the building. The investigation into the threat is ongoing. https://t.co/jsE71gjmHI  PA State Police (@PAStatePolice) February 22, 2021

Personnel was able to return to the building. There is an ongoing investigation into the threat itself.

The original threat was made around noon, to the departments headquarters in the 1800 block of Elmerton Avenue in Susquehanna Township. Elmerton Avenue was closed during the search.

Police posted about the threat and evacuation on social media.

Read more PennLive:
A known pastor re-released an article showing 7 reasons why Christian leaders fall, in light of the recent controversy surrounding RZIM and its late leader, Ravi Zacharias.

"Why do they fall? They fall for the same reason that all Christians fall," Pastor Shane Idleman, founder and lead pastor of Westside Christian Fellowship in Southern California, wrote in an article for Charisma Magazine. He originally posted the article in his official website.

"Each of us are drawn away by our own evil desires and enticed. When these desires are acted upon, they lead to sin (James 1:14-15)," he explained. "Sin has a life cycle-it either grows or withers, depending on whether we feed or starve it."

He then quoted the prolific Puritan author, John Owen, "Be killing sin, or sin will be killing you."

Idleman then wrote outlined seven ways or reasons Christians can fall into sin:

"It will never happen to me"

Pastor Idleman reminded believers to be careful even if they think they are standing firm, as stated in 1 Corinthians 10:12.

"Pride goes before destruction, a haughty spirit before a fall" (Prov. 16:18), he quoted before explaining why believers should value humility more than pride as pride opens the door to unwise decisions and it ignores convictions.

"Pride says, "I've never committed adultery. It will never happen to me."

Humility says, "By the grace of God, I haven't, but I can,"" Idleman explained.

He also added that Christians can find strength by admitting their weaknesses, as per 2 Corinthians 12:10b, which says "For when I am weak I am strong."

"I'm too busy"

He explained how all people are susceptible to putting God second and ministry first, adding that people can be too busy to cultivate a prayer life that places God as our top priority.

Men who pray better have a better life because it's hard to fall "when you're always on your knees," praying to God, Idleman said. But people are often too busy doing too many things and forget that God should always come first.

"Nine times out of 10, when a leader falls, he or she has no meaningful prayer or devotional life," Idleman added.

"Holiness is compromised"

Pastor Idleman described holiness as a vital weapon of defense against evil, as stated in Ephesians 6:14. But holiness should be rooted in "brokenness and humility, not legalism."

A low view of holiness will damage a believer's morality, which will in turn cause him to choose to "rationalize instead of repent."

Idleman says he's convinced that the media in today's society play a big role in the decline of holiness as Hollywood has a bigger influence than that of the Holy Spirit.

"We cannot fill our mind with darkness all week and expect the light of Christ to shine in our lives," he added.

"Many build unhealthy relationships with the opposite sex"

Believers should be highly aware of this area, Idleman said. Those who are married and are attracted to someone else, for example, should immediately take action to remove themselves from that situation because adultery begins with small compromises.

"Don't fight sexual desires; don't entertain them-flee," he said, citing 1 Corinthians 6:18.

"We fail to strengthen weak areas"

Challenges in life often tempt humans to seek comfort in alcohol and other unholy things.

"The enemy uses "opportune times" to draw us away from God (Luke 4:13.) The line is so thin that it is often hard to determine when we cross over." Idleman said.

Weak areas such as alcohol, drugs, adultery, anger, etc., are opportunities for evil to tempt believers. These areas should be strengthened and exposed through repentance. Christians should then install safeguards and seek accountability.

"Accountability is often breached or minimized"

Accountability adds a safeguard in the battle against sins, but it is not bulletproof. Believers should focus their hearts on honoring God's Word.

Evil likes to work in darkness and deceit, exposing the weaknesses of Christians, that is why it is imperative for believers to tell people they trust about their struggles and ask them to pray with them and ask them the hard questions that are often uncomfortable asking, such as a person's private life.

"The greater our influence, the greater the need for accountability: spiritually, financially, and relationally," Idleman added.

"Loneliness becomes an excuse"

Feeling a sense of entitlement, especially for Christian leaders, often leads to bad decisions due to hardships from the ministry that took a toll on them.

Believers can become jealous of those who seem to have "all the fun" but don't live by God's rules.

Idleman quoted Oswald Chambers who said: "God buries His men [and women] in the midst of paltry things, no monuments are erected to them; they are ignored, not because they are unworthy, but because they are in the place where they cannot be seen."

Pastor Idleman then encouraged believers with a Bible Verse from Luke 17:10 which states, "So you also, when you have done everything commanded you, say, 'We are unprofitable servants. We have done our duty."

God gave pastors the privilege to serve Him and proclaim His Word of Truth to others, Idleman said. For these reasons, pastors must not allow frustrations and hardships to lead them down the wrong path.

Idleman reminds Christian leaders to take time to examine themselves and repent of any sin. The process might be painful, but it will result in a "fruit" that far outweighs the effects of the sin being exposed and revealed. He then cited Numbers 32:23, which says:

"But if you will not do so, behold, you have sinned against the Lord; and be sure your sin will find you out."

Idleman encourages Christians to repent of any and all sin. Repentant people take full responsibility for their actions, and do not excuse themselves. Excuses, he said, "need to stop before healing can occur."

Genuine repentance might not feel good and will not give believers room to use "but" when asking for forgiveness, but it is always better to "live in God's healing arms of forgiveness rather than to live broken outside of His will."

For the truly repentant, Idleman says " God's grace will see you through."
Trump Reacts to Supreme Court Letting NY Prosecutor Obtain His Taxes

Former President Donald Trump on Monday said New York officials investigating him are participating in a continuation of the greatest political Witch Hunt in the history of our Country, after the Supreme Court ruled that a New York prosecutor could obtain Trumps tax returns.

For more than two years, New York City has been looking at almost every transaction Ive ever done, including seeking tax returns which were done by among the biggest and most prestigious law and accounting firms in the U.S. The Tea Party was treated far better by the IRS than Donald Trump, Trump said in a statement.

The Supreme Court never should have let this fishing expedition happen, but they did. This is something which has never happened to a President before, it is all Democrat-inspired in a totally Democrat location, New York City and State, completely controlled and dominated by a heavily reported enemy of mine, Governor Andrew Cuomo. These are attacks by Democrats willing to do anything to stop the almost 75 million people (the most votes, by far, ever gotten by a sitting president) who voted for me in the electionan election which many people, and experts, feel that I won. I agree! he added.

The nations highest court decided not to take up an application from Trumps lawyers for a hold on releasing Trumps tax returns and other financial records. The application was made after an appeals court ruled last year that Trump needed to turn over the records.

Manhattan District Attorney Cyrus Vance, a Democrat, is seeking the information as part of a probe that he has said little about publicly.

In a brief statement following the ruling, Vance said: The work continues.

Manhattan District Attorney Cy Vance speaks at a press conference in New York City on Feb. 24, 2020. (Angela Weiss/AFP via Getty Images)

Other New York Democrat officials, such as New York Attorney General Letitia James, have launched probes or taken action against Trump or his business in recent years, as they argue hes broken the law.

In one example, New York City Mayor Bill de Blasio is moving to cut off ties between the city and the Trump Organization, which runs popular ice rinks.

Trump on Monday called the targeting part of a new phenomenon of headhunting prosecutors and attorneys general, who he alleged try to take down their political opponents using the law as a weapon.

The phenomenon is a threat to the very foundation of our liberty, he said, adding: Thats what is done in third world countries.

Even worse are those who run for prosecutorial or attorney general offices in far-left states and jurisdictions pledging to take out a political opponent. Thats fascism, not justiceand that is exactly what they are trying to do with respect to me, except that the people of our Country wont stand for it, Trump continued.

In the meantime, murders and violent crime are up in New York City by record numbers, and nothing is done about it. Our elected officials dont care. All they focus on is the persecution of President Donald J. Trump. I will fight on, just as I have, for the last five years (even before I was successfully elected), despite all of the election crimes that were committed against me. We will win!


TICKERS: UEC

Source: Streetwise Reports (2/22/21)

Amir Adnani, president and CEO of Uranium Energy Corp., in this interview with Streetwise Reports, discusses the creation of the U.S. Strategic Uranium Reserve, the large structural deficit in uranium, and what actions the company is taking to supply the reserve and position itself as long-term fundamentals underlying the market continue to strengthen.



Streetwise Reports (SWR): A historic and bipartisan bill by the U.S. Senate Committee on Environment and Public Works approved a bill that includes establishing a U.S. strategic uranium reserve. Can you give us the background and immediate impact for the U.S. uranium sector and Uranium Energy Corp. (UEC:NYSE AMERICAN)?

Amir Adnani (AA): The bill provides strong support for the nuclear energy industry as a whole and would codify the creation of the U.S. Strategic Uranium Reserve. The Biden administration platform has included nuclear power as a component of its clean and low-carbon energy plan to help support its climate and national security goals.

The Uranium Reserve was introduced as a strategy recommendation in the April 2020 Nuclear Fuel Working Group's (NFWG) report published by Department of Energy, "Restoring Americas Competitive Nuclear Advantage." The NFWG recognized that the U.S. had become almost entirely dependent on foreign supply, with more than 40% of requirements being imported from state owned organizations in Russia and other former Soviet Union countries. The establishment of the UR is critical to preserve domestic uranium mining, necessary for U.S. defense applications as well as providing a complete supply chain for the domestic industry.

The Uranium Reserve designed by the NFWG is outlined as a 10-year $1.5 billion program in the White House FY 2021 budget. In December, the U.S. federal government omnibus spending bill passed by Congress includes $75 million for initial funding for the Uranium Reserve. This is a very positive step forward for the domestic uranium mining, with clear bipartisan and bicameral support.

SWR: What would be the procedures for the U.S. Reserve to purchase uranium and how would companies compete?

AA: The Department of Energy has announced in prior communications that the Uranium Reserve program will be sourced through a competitive bid process and we anticipate they will implement it with various prequalification criteria such as requirements for U.S. producers to have all their major permits and domestic ownership.

UEC is well positioned to supply the Uranium Reserve with our U.S. low cost in-situ recovery (ISR) projects. We have the largest U.S. resource base of fully permitted ISR projects in Texas and Wyoming and we are looking forward to participating in the program.

SWR: Aside from the strategic reserve, what supply and demand factors favor an increase in the price of uranium?

AA: The long-term fundamentals underlying the market continue to strengthen. Currently, we see an annual gap of about 40 million pounds between uranium production and utility requirements. Current forecasts show this structural deficit persisting at least through 2026 and then expanding further to almost 70 million pounds per year by 2030. While secondary supplies have been filling the void, those supplies are not a sustainable long-term supply source. There are different estimates on timing, but it is clear secondary supply (that includes inventory drawdowns) will be insufficient to fill the projected gap between supply and demand, and new production will be required. As this transition evolves, the market will become more production cost driven as opposed to inventory driven.

Higher priced contracts that have supported high production costs are continuing to roll out of producer and utility supply portfolios. These higher priced contracts are not replaceable with current market prices below production costs for the vast majority of Western producers. This will likely continue the trend of production cuts and deferrals until prices rise sufficiently to sustain long-term mining operations.

In the U.S., some of the foreign state-owned enterprise (SOE) supply is also likely to be reduced. Last year, the U.S. Department of Commerce negotiated an amendment to the Agreement Suspending the Antidumping Investigation on Uranium from the Russian Federation that reduces America's dependence on Russian natural uranium concentrates up to 75% from prior levels. Due to a prolonged weak pricing environment from an influx of price insensitive supply from SOEs, U.S. production is now less than 1% of the U.S. requirements.

On the demand side of the equation, further upside market pressure also appears likely to evolve as utilities return to a longer-term contracting cycle to replace expiring contracts. Over the longer term, there continues to be underlying and increasing demand building, as the globe continues a push towards carbon free energy goals. Those goals will require the 24-7, base load, clean energy that nuclear power provides as part of the overall supply mix. A good example of that policy messaging came from Japan's energy minister recently, who said he considers nuclear energy "indispensable" if the country is to meet its net-zero carbon emission goals.

Exacerbating the overall supply picture is lead times for new production typically range from seven to 10 years or longer. The market appears to be within the time frames required for investment to bring new supply online to meet those lead times. However, prices are not yet at levels that incentivize future production, increasing the probability of the potential for less supply than the market is currently pricing in. All things considered, we believe the supply and demand fundamentals should continue to exert upward pressure on uranium prices.

SWR: UEC has the Hobson central processing plant in Texas and several properties located in the vicinity of the plant. What is your near-term production plan when uranium prices improve?

AA: Hobson is the centerpiece in UEC's hub and spoke production strategy with our low-cost satellite ISR operations all within relatively short trucking distance. The plant is fully licensed and currently on standby with an annual production capacity of 2 million pounds of U3O8. The spokes of our strategy include the Palangana, Burke Hollow, Goliad, Salvo and Longhorn ISR projects. With an improvement in uranium prices that justify production, we plan to restart the plant with uranium loaded resins originating first from Palangana and then followed by Burke Hollow. We have applied for a license amendment with the Texas Commission on Environmental Quality to increase the Hobson production capacity to 4 million pounds per year.

SWR: Palangana is a past-producing mine; what are the advantages associated with this project?

AA: Our Palangana ISR project is fully permitted and has operated successfully with cash costs at $21.77 per pound U3O8 that should be indicative of our other South Texas ISR projects with similar geology. With the short lead times associated with this project, when market conditions warrant, we are planning to turn this project on first for delivery of uranium loaded resins to the Hobson Processing Plant for the production of U3O8.

SWR: UEC recently announced that it is going to advance the Burke Hollow project. What is UEC's goal to achieve there this year?

AA: Fully licensed, Burke Hollow's initial production area in South Texas is the newest and largest ISR wellfield being developed in the U.S. We recently announced the restart of wellfield development and resource delineation drilling to advance and expand the project's resources. In this year's drilling campaign, we will also complete the Production Area Authorization #1 (PAA-1) monitor well ring to include the two newly identified trends from the last campaign.

In total there are now five fronts or trends within PAA-1 that we have identified. We estimate that approximately 45 additional exterior monitoring wells will be installed to accommodate the trend extensions, complementing the 76 monitor wells previously installed. We plan to drill at least 30 exploration and delineation holes to further define the five mineralized fronts in PAA-1.

Advancing and expanding Burke Hollow's resources strategically dovetails with our plans to participate in supplying the U.S. Uranium Reserve as outlined in earlier sections of this interview.

SWR: What is the status of the Reno Creek property in Wyoming?

AA: Our fully permitted Reno Creek project in Wyoming has Measured and Indicated resources that total 26 million pounds U3O8 and Inferred resources that total another 1.49 million pounds. This project has all of its major permits and is the largest permitted, pre-construction ISR uranium project in the U.S. We are expecting to bring this project online after the Burke Hollow project, depending upon market conditions.

SWR: Is there anything else you would like investors to know about Uranium Energy Corp.?

AA: UEC is unique in being a 100% unhedged developer that will offer leverage and reward to our shareholders as the uranium price appreciates. We intentionally avoided restrictive contracting and did not deplete our resources during the bottom of the price cycle and instead used the time to expand our portfolio with accretive acquisitions.

We now have the largest U.S. resource base of fully permitted ISR projects in Texas and Wyoming of any U.S. based producer. UEC is positioned as the U.S. leader in low-cost, environmentally friendly and fully permitted ISR projects with a production profile of 4 million pounds per year. The low-impact, low cost ISR method of uranium recovery is the most environmentally friendly way to mine uranium, which is now responsible for approximately 50% of global production.

While we have a solid balance sheet and great projects, the bedrock of the company is a highly regarded senior management and production team, possessing a wealth of experience in both U.S. and international uranium mining as well as government policy. Spencer Abraham, our chairman, served as the tenth U.S. Energy Secretary in the George W. Bush Administration, devising and successfully implementing the first national energy policy in the U.S. since the 1980s. Our Executive VP, Scott Melbye, is the newly elected president of the Uranium Producers of America and has over three decades of industry experience with uranium majors.

We are excited about the company prospects in 2021 with our Burke Hollow Production Area development, looking forward to the Department of Energy procurement process for the strategic Uranium Reserve and eager to see the market adapt to the large structural deficit that currently exists.

SWR: Thank you for your insights.

[NLINSERT]

Disclosure:

1) Patrice Fusillo conducted this interview for Streetwise Reports LLC and provides services to Streetwise Reports as an employee. She owns, or members of her immediate household or family own, shares of the following companies mentioned in this article: None. She is, or members of her immediate household or family are, paid by the following companies mentioned in this article: None.

2) The following companies mentioned in this interview are billboard sponsors of Streetwise Reports: Uranium Energy Corp. Click here for important disclosures about sponsor fees. The information provided above is for informational purposes only and is not a recommendation to buy or sell any security.

3) Amir Adnani is the president and CEO of Uranium Energy Corp. and owns securities in the company. He had the opportunity to review the interview for accuracy as of the date of the interview and is responsible for the content of the interview. 4) The interview does not constitute investment advice. Each reader is encouraged to consult with his or her individual financial professional and any action a reader takes as a result of information presented here is his or her own responsibility. By opening this page, each reader accepts and agrees to Streetwise Reports' terms of use and full legal disclaimer. This article is not a solicitation for investment. Streetwise Reports does not render general or specific investment advice and the information on Streetwise Reports should not be considered a recommendation to buy or sell any security. Streetwise Reports does not endorse or recommend the business, products, services or securities of any company mentioned on Streetwise Reports.

5) From time to time, Streetwise Reports LLC and its directors, officers, employees or members of their families, as well as persons interviewed for articles and interviews on the site, may have a long or short position in securities mentioned. Directors, officers, employees or members of their immediate families are prohibited from making purchases and/or sales of those securities in the open market or otherwise from the time of the decision to publish an article until three business days after the publication of the article. The foregoing prohibition does not apply to articles that in substance only restate previously published company releases. As of the date of this article, officers and/or employees of Streetwise Reports LLC (including members of their household) own securities of Uranium Energy Corp., a company mentioned in this article.
EACH AND EVERY DAY, my colleagues and I hear about how New Hampshires high property taxes are an unsustainable burden on hardworking Granite Staters. According to a recent report from US News and WalletHub, New Hampshire has the third-highest property tax rates in the country. For young wor

Seychelles Hoping For EU Tax Blacklist Removal This Year

by Lorys Charalambous, Tax-News.com, Cyprus

22 February 2021

The Seychelles Ministry of Finance has said it is confident that it will be removed from the EU's list of non-cooperative jurisdictions when it is next reviewed.

In a February 16 statement, the Ministry said: "The Seychelles has taken the key steps in reforming its territorial tax regime to address concerns of the European Union (EU). Together with addressing the concerns of the Global Forum on Transparency and Exchange of Information for Tax Purposes, these changes are intended to ensure that the Seychelles is removed from the EU's list of non-cooperative jurisdictions later this year."

The Ministry explained that the Business Tax (Amendment) Act, 2020, which was enacted on December 28, 2020, will narrow the scope of the exemption from tax for foreign income. The Ministry said, specifically, it will ensure the following applies for large companies:

Activities performed abroad by a permanent establishment of a Seychelles company will be exempt from tax in the Seychelles, with income from activities that are not sufficient to qualify as a permanent establishment remaining taxable.

Foreign income received on Seychelles-based intellectual property will be taxable in the Seychelles, with a territorial exemption for income from patents (and equivalent rights) related to the level of research and development undertaken in the Seychelles connected to the creation of that patent;

Foreign passive income will be exempt under the territorial regime where the Seychelles company receiving the passive income has adequate economic substance in the Seychelles;

Any foreign income that is subject to tax in the Seychelles, such as companies with insufficient economic substance or on non-patent intellectual property, will be taxed in the Seychelles, with a credit for foreign taxes incurred.

The new conditions apply only to those companies which (with their affiliates) exceed a size threshold. The purpose of this size threshold is to exclude small companies that do not have an impact on the EU market, the Ministry said.

The Act also updates the definition of "permanent establishment" to align with the latest model definitions of the Organisation for Economic Cooperation and Development (OECD) and the United Nations, said the Ministry.

Further, the Ministry outlined the work the territory has been undertaking on tax transparency, having been rated only "partially compliant" by the OECD Global Forum in 2020.

Work has continued to strengthen availability, access, and exchange of information for tax purposes, the Ministry said, in particular on beneficial ownership information and access to accounting information. For instance, the Ministry said The Beneficial Ownership Act, 2020, came into operation on the August 28, 2020, and ensured that the definition of beneficial owner satisfies the Financial Action Task Force (FATF) and OECD requirements.

The Ministry said: "The above steps mark a critical point in the work on tax policy reform and the revised regime is now the subject of discussion with the EU's Code of Conduct Group and the Global Forum. Once the new rules on availability of information have been passed, the Seychelles will test the system with firms to build a track record under the new system. Following the success of such testing, the Seychelles will be reviewed by the Global Forum, with the view to achieving a rating of 'Largely Compliant' or above [necessary for removal from the EU tax blacklist]."

"The timing of this review means that the Seychelles will not be in a position to satisfy the requirement of a 'Largely Compliant' rating by the time that the EU's non-cooperative jurisdiction list is reviewed by the Economic and Financial Affairs Council of the EU in their meeting this week."

"Consequently, discussions with the Code of Conduct on the final details of the territorial regime are ongoing, with a view to the removal of the Seychelles from the non-cooperative jurisdiction list at the next review point in October 2021."
If you were looking for the Charlestown Democratic Town Committee website and ended up here, try this





Got news tips, gossip, suggestions, complaints?E-mail us: progressivecharlestown@gmail.com We strive to avoid errors in our articles. Our correction policy can be found here
The new law allows for the release of anyone arrested and charged with a criminal offense, including those charged with felonies, while they await the conclusion of their cases  no detention at all. If judges determine an accused defendant is a flight or public safety risk who must remain behind bars, the bill requires judges to justify their decisions with a written finding as to why less restrictive conditions could not be offered. And each time the detained defendant has a court date, the judge must make justifications.
[February 22, 2021] KEY Difference Media Pitches Token Sale of ethbox (supported by DuckDAO): nearly 12x oversubscription in under 24 hours

Republic of Panama, Feb. 22, 2021 (GLOBE NEWSWIRE) -- (via Blockchain Wire) Every possibility brings with it an equal adversity; this is the balancing scale of business and life. But when you know the industry as we do, you can take risks as wild ducks do, to the delight of ducks in the community. - KEY KEY Difference Media promotes ethboxs upcoming token sale, supported by DuckDAO. ethbox, is an up and coming secure escrow service designed for ultimate security while DuckDAO is one of the most prestigious organizations in the blockchain space.

KEY Difference Media helps a business create an authoritative presence across the Internet with its full suite marketing campaign. Overhead expenses are reduced while delivering optimum results. Powered entirely by data, strategy planning takes the guesswork out of the picture.

Supporting ethbox will bolster the implementation of an innovative solution to completely alleviate any risk of loss while sending cryptocurrency. Transactions will be secured by incorporating encrypted two factor authentication into the puzzle.

Honed from calling the shots at 14 years old, Karnika E. Yashwant (Mr. KEY) recalls tips culled from 18 years experience when faced with another challenge like this forthcoming token sale.





Establish trust

Trust comes because the information mentioned by the brand is validated by the viewer. Either by 3rd party recommendations like Doctor recommended, or social proof, or when its endorsed by others, or when we can state facts that they can verify, or other means of subtle trust building by the colors, shape, structure, words, and more. Content Marketing positions one as an authority, a master, a mentor, someone who teaches. It positions one as stable, investing into the cause, consistent and disciplined. If done right, it brings out a lot of trust signs subconsciously and consciously.

Integrate that trust your messaging, marketing communication, and in all forms of content. Be clear on what you want to say and say it loud, over and over and reach your audience in channels they prefer, in content types that they like to consume.

You improvise; you grow What you can do as a business owner is to plan for the best approach. What an expert can do is to use data, stats, experience, history and future projection, trends, timings to do the best that is required. You will not hit your hard cap with these initial funds invested in marketing. Thats obvious. This is going to help you take further steps, position yourself strongly, validate in the market, and it will help to raise more funds to reinvest and repeat it until the hard cap is met. So its a cycle.

If you look at traditional companies, they do it with seed, angel, series A, B, and so on. In this case, you do it in shorter, faster rounds. But the goals are the same. As funds come in, you grow faster. From there, you continue to raise even more funds. Yes, its wrong to raise more funds than whats needed and its even worse to raise funds without progressing. In a traditional business environment, when you try to raise future funds, the new investors will evaluate your past progress to decide if its worth their risk. The same applies here.

Raising funds is a very valid model Raising more funds is not bad by itself, but the premise that you can raise funds without showing much for it is wrong. As long as your business expenses are justified, progress is verifiable, growth is happening, raising funds is a very valid model to grow your business as every tech giant has done. But none of those tech giants raised it all in one sweep, but overtime. More so now, to compete with other blockchain startups, traditional established non-blockchain business giants in the same niches, businesses or industries that will become obsolete with your products increased usage, etc., you do need more funds, but with time and progress.

At this point, the growth doesnt need to just be on a product/research level, but should instead be focused on marketing and audience growth to create growth in community size and confidence. Success is built one right step at a time, not just a series or random steps. Focus on the right steps. Every word matters, as its an opportunity to impress your brand in your audiences mind.

One right step a day, and you can be above the clouds with a flag pole on the peak down the line. At the time of this writing, there has been overwhelming feedback and great response from DuckDAO and the duck community over the ethbox Whitepaper, and testing the beta. In 24 hours nearly 10x private sale forms oversubscribed (~8mil for 700k private sale).

Contact:

Karnika Yashwant

CEO

KEY Difference Media

+918695999780

key@keydifferencemedia.com















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Volunteers have searched swampy trails hoping to find clues as to the whereabouts of a mom-of-three who disappeared from her California home seven weeks ago amid purported marriage troubles.

Maya Millete, 39, was last seen at her residence in Chula Vista on the afternoon of January 7.

Maya's husband of 21 years, Larry, reported her missing three days later. Detectives noticed that Maya's car was still parked outside the property at the time.

Maya's mysterious vanishing has sparked a large-scale police investigation, and piqued the interest of concerned community members.

On Sunday, local woman Lauren Ireland spearheaded a volunteer search of hiking trails in Spring Valley - around 12 miles from Maya's home.

Dozens of volunteers joined in, canvassing a swampy riverbed in the hopes of coming up with clues.

'We want to do some more intensive searching in the embankments and not just on the trails themselves. We want to go down, potentially, where there could be a body missing or hiding,' Lauren told FOX5.

Maya 'May' Millete, 39, was last seen at her Chula Vista residence by family on the afternoon of January 7

On Sunday, local woman Lauren Ireland spearheaded a volunteer search of near hiking trails in Spring Valley - around 12 miles from Maya's home

Dozens of volunteers joined in, canvassing a swampy riverbed in the hopes of coming up with clues

Meanwhile, Maya's sister, Maricris Drouaillet, and brother-in-law, Richard Drouaillet, have also organized their own local search parties in a bid to keep the disappearance front page news.

Maya's husband, Larry, was noticeably absent from Sunday's search. He has also chosen not to partake in any activities organized by his in-laws.

It has been previously reported that Larry has retained a lawyer and is no longer cooperating with police in their investigation.

Earlier this month, the Drouaillets told DailyMail.com that Maya and Larry had been having marriage problems prior to her disappearance.

'For a year or two, it has been kind of rocky relationship,' Maricris said of her sister's marriage with Larry. 'They even tried marriage counseling.'

'When we do have a get together they would be there arguing... and then another time, they would be close again. Like oh ok, they worked it out. So it had been like that for the last year.'

Richard added: 'They argued a lot and it was a little bit uncomfortable. It was weird because Larry was acting different. He wasn't acting like Larry. He was acting different... They were done. The relationship was done. You could just tell.'

Maya Millete is pictured with her husband, Larry. The couple were reportedly having marriage problems prior to the mom-of-three's disappearance

Maya and Larry are pictured with their three children

However, Maricris told DailyMail.com that she does not harbor ill feelings towards Larry and his family.

'I don't want to cut ties with them,' she stated. 'I don't want to burn bridges. They are still family.'

She previously told NBC7 that she 'can't imagine' Larry harming her sister.

Maricris told the news network that she hopes her brother-in-law joins in the search for Maya.

'Show that you do care for my sister. Show that you do love her. That's all I'm asking.'

In a text message penned over the weekend Larry told FOX5 he is 'praying and still hoping for the best.'

Detectives say there are currently no persons of interest in the investigation.

Maya is described as being 5'2' and 105lbs with brown hair. She has tattoos of musical notes on her clavicle and a tattoo of a hummingbird on her back.

Anyone with information on her whereabouts is asked to call Chula Vista Police Department at 619-691-5151 or Crime Stoppers at 888-580-847.
New laws are being brought forward to crackdown on gangs grooming children to commit crimes, according to the Justice Minister's plan for 2021.

Helen McEntee published the report today, which outlined her intention to divert young people away from crime and antisocial behaviour.

Part of that plan would involve a new law specifically targeting adults who use children to participate in criminal activity.

Stronger legislation and additional resources will also support An Garda Siochana in tackling the organised crime gangs dealing in misery, the report said.

The justice system will not back down in its determination to take on the gangs, nor will it let them take hold of our young.

Gardai currently need special permission from the DPP to charge a child aged 14 or under for a crime. Most cases involving a teenager under 16 are dealt with by youth diversion programmes rather than the courts.

Read More

This new legislation would allow for those who groomed the children to be charged for their crimes and see sentences of up to five years imprisonment.

This is not the only way the government intends on disrupting the recruitment of children into criminal gangs.

They will continue to roll out the Greentown project pilots, which will evaluate progress to ensure youth justice interventions are making the greatest impact in the communities concerned.

The Minister also aims to publish a new Sexual Offences Bill to strengthen protections for victims of domestic, sexual and gender-based violence.

Our reforms in this plan mean victims of sexual, domestic and gender-based abuse will be supported by the criminal justice system, and their abusers punished, Ms McEntee said.

They, like all victims of crime, will know that our system is there to serve them when they are at their most vulnerable.

I firmly believe that future generations will look back on the scourge of domestic, sexual and gender-based violence and ask why it was tolerated as a lesser form of crime or abuse for so long. That period is over.

Part of the ministers plan involves launching a public awareness campaign for the higher education sector around the meaning of consent. She also wishes to develop an awareness campaign on consent for broader society.

Ms McEntee also wants to try and better tackle terrorism, both in Ireland and abroad, a process she says will involve the help of other European nations.

The fight against organised crime stretches beyond our borders and An Garda Siochana work closely with their international colleagues to break the networks of serious criminals and prevent them from inflicting misery in our communities, the report said.

In order to that, the minister intends on supporting an effective system of extradition in accordance with legislation. She also wishes to support the European Arrest Warrant.

Theres also to be a review on existing Garda powers in relation to dangerous weapons, including knives, to ensure Gardai have the necessary legal tools to protect local communities.

Read More




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SAN DIEGO, Feb. 22, 2021 /PRNewswire/ -- BioAtla, Inc., a global clinical-stage biotechnology company focused on the development of Conditionally Active Biologic (CAB) antibody therapeutics, today announced the publication by Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences (PNAS) that describes the design and functionality of therapeutic antibody candidates utilizing BioAtla's proprietary CAB technology making them active only in the acidic tumor microenvironment while binding is reversibly inhibited in healthy tissue. This improved tumor targeting utilizes a newly discovered chemical switch system and is shown in animal models to provide for potent anti-tumor activity with markedly reduced toxicity to normal tissue, indicating a widened therapeutic index.

The peer reviewed paper, "Generating Tumor-selective Conditionally Active Biologic Anti-CTLA4 Antibodies Via Protein-associated Chemical Switches" by Hwai Wen Chang, Ph.D., Gerhard Frey, Ph.D., Haizhen Liu, Ph.D., Charles Xing, M.S., Lawrence Steinman, M.D., William J. Boyle, Ph.D., and Jay M. Short, Ph.D., describes the application of CAB technology in the context of the preclinical development of BioAtla's immuno-oncology based CAB-CTLA4 antibody candidates, as well as several CAB antibodies directed against other important oncology targets. "CAB antibodies utilize a newly discovered switch mechanism that allows them to be active only in the tumor microenvironment and not active under normal physiological conditions. CAB antibodies demonstrate reduced peripheral toxicity and therefore are expected to provide a wider therapeutic window compared to traditional antibodies currently available for cancer therapy, potentially enabling higher dosing and longer treatments for improved efficacy," stated co-inventor Jay M. Short, Ph.D., Chairman, Chief Executive Officer and co-founder of BioAtla, Inc.

The CAB technology capitalizes on the well-established Warburg Effect that through a glycolytic process leads to an acidic external tumor microenvironment. Extracellular pH levels in tumors have been measured to be as low as pH5.8 compared to the tightly controlled, alkaline, pH7.4 of blood, with even higher pH in healthy tissues. Glycolytic metabolism is also the basis of the established PET scanning technology for cancer detection for tumor types. CAB proteins have increased binding activity as the pH in the microenvironment becomes acidic, while being inactive in normal physiological environments. BioAtla scientists discovered a novel chemical switch mechanism involving physiological-occurring chemicals, such as bicarbonate and hydrogen sulfide. These molecules are negatively charged at physiological conditions and interact with positive charged areas on the protein surface. Under acidic conditions of the tumor microenvironment they are neutralized and released from the protein surface, uniquely allowing CAB antibodies to bind to their target and attack the tumor cell. BioAtla refers to this novel physiological mechanism, used for generating CABs, as Protein-associated Chemical Switch(es) or PaCS mechanism.

CAB antibodies belong to a novel class of tumor-selective therapeutics that do not require the addition of a protective group and irreversible enzymatic activation in the tumor that is used with prodrug designs. The CAB-CTLA4 candidates described in the paper showed substantially reduced binding at pH7.4 compared to binding at pH6.0, while the comparable Ipilimumab analogue (IpA) binding showed no dependence on pH, thereby leading IpA to bind and attack normal cells, which results in dangerous on-target off-tumor toxicity. In comparison, multiple CAB candidates demonstrated substantial binding differentials between pH6.0 and pH7.4 conditions ranging from 9-fold to over 175-fold by ELISA, which is expected to lead to an improved therapeutic index and the potential improved clinical risk benefit in future therapies. The ability to design CAB tumor target binding for a specific range of pH conditions demonstrates the flexibility provided by the PaCS mechanism and the CAB technologies. Selection of a CAB antibody candidate is based upon strong differential pH binding between tumor and normal cells that can lead to increased anti-tumor potency with reduced toxicity, while maintaining a low immunogenicity risk and efficient manufacturing characteristics.

In addition to the development of CAB-CTLA4 discussed in the paper, BioAtla has successfully generated several CAB antibodies against multiple targets including EpCAM, Her2, Nectin-4, and CD73. The proprietary technology has also successfully been used for the development of ADCs and T-cell engaging bispecific antibodies. The ability to design conditionally active therapeutics with stronger selectivity over narrower pH ranges using the PaCS mechanism offers the opportunity to greatly enhance both the safety and potency of future therapies for solid tumors.

Potential for additional therapeutic modalities and disease targets

It is expected from the studies described in the paper that there is a potential for other yet to be identified PaCS molecules in disease related microenvironments, whether controlled through pH, concentration, or other molecular characteristics (intra- or intermolecularly) for enhancing a drug's therapeutic index. Potential new therapeutic candidates addressing these opportunities are not limited to antibodies, but also include small molecules, encompassing lipids, sugars and nucleic acid-based agents or drugs. Further, it is expected that PaCS protein-chemical systems are important naturally occurring regulatory systems linked to a range of disease-related microenvironments, including cancer, inflammation and cellular senescence.

About BioAtla, Inc.

BioAtla is a global clinical-stage biotechnology company with operations in San Diego, California, and Beijing, China. Utilizing its proprietary Conditionally Active Biologics (CAB) technology, BioAtla develops novel monoclonal antibody and other protein therapeutic product candidates designed to have more selective targeting, greater efficacy, and more cost-efficient and predictable manufacturing than traditional antibodies. BioAtla has extensive and worldwide patent coverage for its CAB technology and products with more than 250 issued patents and more than 200 pending patent applications worldwide. Broad patent coverage in all major markets include methods of making, screening and manufacturing CAB product candidates in a wide range of formats and composition of matter coverage for specific products. BioAtla has two CAB programs currently in Phase 2 clinical testing in the United States, BA3011, a novel conditionally active AXL-targeted antibody-drug conjugate (CAB-AXL-ADC), and BA3021, a novel conditionally active ROR2-targeted antibody-drug conjugate (CAB-ROR2-ADC). BioAtla's investigational CAB CTLA-4 antibody, BA3071, is subject of a global co-development and collaboration agreement with BeiGene Ltd. for its development, manufacturing and commercialization. BA3071 is a novel, CTLA-4 inhibitor that is designed to be conditionally activated in the tumor microenvironment in order to reduce systemic toxicity and potentially enable safer combinations with checkpoint inhibitors such as anti-PD-1 antibody.

Learn more at www.bioatla.com.

Contact:

Richard Waldron

Chief Financial Officer

BioAtla, Inc.

[email protected]

858.356.8945

SOURCE BioAtla, Inc.

Related Links

http://bioatla.com


For history buffs, there's nothing better than a surprise on "Antiques Roadshow." Every once in a while, someone drops by with a personal story better than anything found in the history books.

In Season 25 of the show, available on the PBS video app, the appraisers revisited a trip to Orlando, Florida in 2007 when they got a visit from none other than Cecil Stoughton, the first-ever official White House photographer, who documented the personal and public lives of President John F. Kennedy and his family.

He brought a number of photographs to the appraisers on "Antiques Roadshow," including a private photo of the Kennedy family along with perhaps one of the most famous photographs of the 20th Century.

Stoughton began his career in World War II as an officer with the Army Signal Corps' Motion Picture Unit. He was later transferred to the White House Army Signal Agency on the day of Kennedy's inauguration in 1961. It was Stoughton who began the tradition of documenting the lives of the First Family, both in public and behind closed doors.

Related: A Vietnam Vet Is Literally Floored by the Value of His Rolex on 'Antiques Roadshow'

The presidential photographer was present in Kennedy's 1963 motorcade in Dallas, Texas where the 35th President was assassinated. Stoughton was in the fifth car from the front of the motorcade.

"I heard three very distinct reports," Stoughton tells the appraiser Francis J. Wahlgren from Chicago's Hindman Auctions. "Sounded like rifle shots. Didn't know where they came from. A few minutes later, I was standing outside the operating room door there. I had seen Vice-President Johnson leaving the hospital and I asked where he was going."

"The president is going to Washington," came the reply.

Stoughton knew then that it meant President Kennedy had died. The photographer then grabbed his camera and departed for Air Force One.

It was Army photographer Stoughton who took the now-famous photograph of Lyndon B. Johnson being sworn in as President aboard Air Force One. Jaqueline Kennedy, still covered in her husband's blood, was by his side. It was the only photo of the event.

Lyndon B. Johnson taking the oath of office aboard Air Force One at Love Field Airport two hours and eight minutes after the assassination of John F. Kennedy, Dallas, Texas. Jackie Kennedy (right), still in her blood-soaked clothes, looks on. (The White House/Cecil W. Stoughton)

Stoughton brought an original print of that photo, signed and inscribed by President Johnson to be appraised by Wahlgren. Not only that, he also brought an original print of Johnson signing the now-famous photo for Stoughton.

Aside from bringing an original print of that famous photo, Stoughton also brought personal photos he took of the Kennedy Family in 1962, signed by the president and the first lady, a Christmas gift from Jacqueline Kennedy.

Wahlgren valued the photo aboard Air Force One at $50,000. The personal photo of the Kennedy Family was valued at $25,000. Stoughton, 87 years old at the time of the show's 2007 filming, would die on Nov. 3, 2008 from complications surrounding emphysema, diabetes and pneumonia.

-- Blake Stilwell can be reached at blake.stilwell@military.com. He can also be found on Twitter @blakestilwell or on Facebook.

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Lets stand back for a moment from this awful pandemic and consider what has been done to us.

No previous governments in peacetime, and very few in wartime, have curtailed personal freedoms to the extent that ours have been suppressed over the past 11 months.

We cant meet our nearest and dearest. We are obliged to stay at home unless we have a very good reason not to.

No previous governments in peacetime, and very few in wartime, have curtailed personal freedoms to the extent that ours have been suppressed over the past 11 months. Pictured: Boris Johnson runs with his dog Dilyn in Westminster

We are not allowed to go to pubs or restaurants, or to have our hair cut or visit the cinema.

We are unable to venture abroad or travel in our own country. Schools and universities have been closed.

Most of us have accepted these and other violations of our liberties as the price that must be paid to defeat Covid.

But we dont want the Government ever to forget how enormous these unprecedented measures are.

The old Boris Johnson  the easy-going newspaper columnist who became Mayor of London  wouldnt have forgotten.

He would have been appalled by this massive extension of state power, and done his utmost to reverse it at the earliest opportunity.

But the stern Boris Johnson on show in the Commons yesterday afternoon, and later at the No 10 press conference, didnt demonstrate much regret at the painfully slow relaxation of a lockdown which, according to Oxford Universitys Blavatnik School of Government, is the strictest in the developed world.

That optimistic, freedom-loving Boris has disappeared, and I wonder whether we will ever see him again.

The doleful characters who have finished him off are the unaccountable scientists of Sage, led by chief medical officer Professor Chris Whitty. The PM has been transported from boosterism to gloomsterism in a year.

The doleful characters who have finished him off are the unaccountable scientists of Sage, led by chief medical officer Professor Chris Whitty (pictured left with chief scientific adviser Sir Patrick Vallance

Of course I realise how desperate he is to avoid a fourth lockdown. I can see that, having promised us the sunlit uplands prematurely before, he doesnt want to repeat his error.

I know how horrified he has been by the recent high death toll. I suspect his own brush with death last April has made him hang back.

So I am not a crazy lockdown sceptic who thinks we can instantly get back to normality. Most of us understand the need for caution, and for feeling our way carefully towards resuming something like the life we once enjoyed.

But the roadmap for England unveiled by the Prime Minister yesterday was not merely excessively cautious and laborious. At its heart it contains a piece of dogma which is proof of blinkered and stubborn thinking. I am amazed Boris should have fallen for it.

The dogma is that however quickly infection and death rates fall, the country will be bound to follow the four five-week steps beginning on March 8.

Nothing can happen sooner than the scientists have ordained. But if they dont like the look of the data, the steps could happen later.

What if Covid recedes over the coming weeks more quickly than scientists expect? A few of them have had the grace to say recently that they have been surprised by the speed of the fall in infection and death rates.

Well, the answer is that nothing will change if expectations are exceeded  the Prime Minister made that clear yesterday. England will proceed to unlock at the stately pace demanded by the epidemiologists, however fast rates fall.

An unknowable number of pubs, restaurants, and hotels  which cant open indoors until May 17 at the earliest  will be forced to close for good even if the vaccination rollout drives down numbers. Look how quickly rates have fallen in recent weeks.

On January 20, there were 1,820 Covid reported deaths in the UK. Two days ago, and almost exactly a month later, there were 178.

But the roadmap for England unveiled by the Prime Minister yesterday (pictured) was not merely excessively cautious and laborious. At its heart it contains a piece of dogma which is proof of blinkered and stubborn thinking

Admittedly, recorded numbers usually go down over the weekend, but the rapid decline is startling.

It is the same story with UK infection rates  down from a high of 68,053 on January 8 to 10,641 two days ago.

Hospital admissions stood at 4,576 on January 12 versus 1,304 five weeks later on February 18.

The consensus is that most of this rapid fall can be attributed to the effects of lockdown, with vaccinations becoming more of a factor in the past week or so as they become effective.

But with nearly 18million jabs already administered, and a daily rate of over 500,000 achievable, vaccinations are bound to play an increasingly important role in lowering numbers.

Indeed, a single dose of either the Pfizer or AstraZeneca jab reduces a persons risk of developing Covid severely enough to need hospital treatment by between 85 and 94 per cent, according to a study by Public Health Scotland.

Its a reasonable assumption that death and infection rates and hospital admissions will continue to decrease quickly, though some epidemiologists suggest that the return to school on March 8 (one bright point in this otherwise grim package) will slow down the decline.

Yet such is the rigidity of mind of Professor Whitty and Co that, however quickly numbers drop, it wont make any difference.

We must proceed stage by pre-determined stage, regardless of the speed of the viruss retreat. And if companies go bust in the meantime, and the nation goes mad, so be it.

Im surprised that someone as intelligent as Boris should have been taken in by such specious thinking.

He can surely work out the folly of cleaving to painful and damaging restrictions even if they are shown to be unnecessary.

Another thought: If people can see the unreasonableness of a policy, they may be reluctant to obey it.

Instructed by behavioural scientists, rather than relying on his diminishing common sense, Boris is confident that the majority will continue to be compliant. I wouldnt bank on it in all circumstances.

For example, why should three vaccinated friends from different households have to wait until March 29  five weeks away  before they are allowed to meet outside (where the chances of spreading the virus are anyway thought to be minimal)? This is where the arbitrary and irrational removal of our freedoms becomes intolerable.

Is it all hopeless? Are we destined to crawl at a snails pace towards some semblance of freedom as the economy stutters and Government borrows further billions of pounds, which our children and grandchildren will be required to pay back when Boris Johnson has long been forgotten? It certainly seems so.

Cabinet critics such as the Chancellor, Rishi Sunak, have apparently caved into Boris and the autocratic scientists.

There are some rebellious Tory MPs but not enough of them to make a difference with Labour backing the Government.

Sir Keir Starmer idiotically advised the Prime Minister yesterday to listen to the chief medical officer and chief scientific officer rather than to critical Tory MPs. Thats democracy!

No, the next few months look bleak. My only hope is that Boris Johnsons capacity for independent thought has not been totally snuffed out, and that if he sees Covid in rapid retreat he wont insist on dragging out our return to a normal life.

All right-thinking people would applaud him for being flexible. I cant pretend its a great hope on my part, but it is based on a memory of the old Boris, who championed freedom and never wanted to run with the herd.
Modi later launched a slew of railway projects at another event in Chinsurah, where chief minister Mamata Banerjee was absent, though she was invited.  PTI

Kolkata: Pitching for the BJP to come to power in West Bengal, Prime Minister Narendra Modi on Monday urged people to let the kamal (lotus) bloom in the coming Assembly election to bring asol poriborton (real change) which will replace the evils of the syndicate raj through cut money, tustikaran (appeasement) and tolabaji (extortion) culture of the ruling Trinamul Congress with the all-round development of the state.

A BJP government has to be formed in Bengal not only for mere poriborton (change) in power but for asol poriborton (real change) here. The lotus needs to bloom here so that asol poriborton, for which our young generation is waiting, is ushered in, Mr Modi told a massive BJP rally at Chinsurah, Hooghly, on his second trip to the state in two weeks.

Reiterating that the people have already made up their mind to oust the TMC from power, he also said the states infrastructure development has always been the Centres priority. Mr Modi gave a fresh example of the state governments lethargy on implementing yet another Central welfare scheme, after PM Kishan Samman Nidhi and Ayushman Bharat, under chief minister Mamata Banerjees rule.

He alleged: The Jal Jivan Mission has been underway across India to connect households in villages with a pipeline for smooth water supply. It is more important for Bengal because it has over 1.45 crore rural households. You will be shocked to know about the situation they have pushed Bengal into. Out of 1.45 crores, only two lakh rural households have tap water supply. So far 3.60 crore such households have been connected with water supply nationwide. After the Central government put pressure on the state government here, the figure of two lakhs grew to nine lakhs under the scheme. It is not known how many more years will pass in view of the pace at which the state government is working.

Complaining of corruption by the ruling TMC in the project, Mr Modi claimed: Shouldnt the people of Bengal, the poorest of the poor, get to drink pure water? The Central government in Delhi gave more than Rs 1,700 crores to the TMC for water supply to all the households. Out of the amount, the state government spent only Rs 609 crores, hushing up the rest Rs 1,100 crores.

It shows, the PM observed, with the TMCs latest campaign -- Bangla Nijer Meyekei Chay (Bengal Wants Its Own Daughter), about Ms Banerjee as the CM again -- on his mind, the TMC government have no care for the people, especially the sisters and daughters of Bengal. Arent those who feels thirsty for water the daughters of Bengal? Shouldnt the daughters of Bengal get water? Should those meting out injustice to the daughters of Bengal be pardoned?

Mr Modi later launched a slew of railway projects at another event in Chinsurah, where chief minister Mamata Banerjee was absent, though she was invited. This was the second time in a row when the Trinamul Congress supremo, despite being invited, skipped Mr Modis event.
A look at some of the major movers in London on Monday

( ) climbed 16% to 12.89p after it provided an update on its dispute with the Republic of Slovenia.

The Republic of Slovenia has notified Ascent that it should be in a position to respond formally to the proposed settlement terms by March 19, and has asked the parties on the other side of the dispute to hold off any arbitration proceedings before then.

Ascent and its partners have acceded to this request.

3.25pm: IAG higher after British Airways gets liquidity boost

PLC ( ) was 3.0% higher at 1790.65p after it revealed that its British Airways arm has reached two financing arrangements that will increase total liquidity by 2.45bn.

On December 31, the flag carrier received commitments for a five-year Export Development Guarantee term-loan of 2bn underwritten by a syndicate of banks, partially guaranteed by UK Export Finance (UKEF).

The airline has also agreed with the Trustee of New Airways Pension Scheme (NAPS) to defer 450mln of pension deficit contributions due between October 2020 and September 2021, normally paid in monthly instalments of 37.5mln.

2.30pm: share price wilts after GardaWorld sticks to its guns

PLC ( ) dived 9.8% to 242.6p after bidder GardaWorld refused to raise its offer from 235p per share.

The decision appears to leave the way clear for Allied Universal, which has offered 245p a share for the security services firm that is still best-remembered for making a complete hash of its London Olympics gig.

The shareholder hold-outs need to accept that they are unlikely to wring any more out of this particular bid, and accept the money on the table now, with the shares falling back sharply in early trade, suggested Michael Hewson at CMC Markets.

1.35pm: Directa Plus shares on a charge

( ), up 12% at 145p, was on a charge after signing agreements with NexTech Batteries, a lithium-sulphur (Li-S) batteries company.

The graphene-based products producer and supplier inked a supply agreement and a strategic research & development agreement with the US firm.

Direct Plus said these agreements follow on from the memorandum of understanding signed with the Nevada, US-based company in October.

12.40pm: makes the grade

PLC ( ), up 11% at 86.5p, was wanted after it completed trials and tests for the manufacture of battery-grade spherical graphite.

The trials and tests were conducted in tandem with a globally recognised German manufacturer of spheroidisation and micronisation equipment, achieving significant results in the end product.

The company has commissioned development and optimisation for the first in a series of commercial-scale 3,000 tonne per year spherical graphite manufacturing plants with a German specialist and initiated discussions with prospective buyers, including automobile majors, battery and anode manufacturers.

11.45am: Echo Energy asks for more time to redeem its loan notes

( ) slipped 7.5% to 0.68p after it published plans to restructure its bond obligations.

The upstream oil and gas company focused on Latin America wants bondholders to extend the maturity of the notes by three years to May 2025.

It also wants to move all cash interest payments on the notes before the maturity date, i.e. pay all the interest due when the bonds are redeemed.

10.50am: Image Scan slumps as big orders dry up

( ) slumped 11% to 2.45p after it said in a trading update that the pandemic continued to hit its order intake.

The specialists in the field of real-time X-ray imaging for the security and industrial inspection markets said the security business had been hit particularly hard, with larger, multi-unit orders by its government customers drying up.

Smaller portable X-ray orders have continued to be received and have included several from significant new customers, such as the Royal Air Force order announced in January.

9.55am: Catenae soars as it is invited to participate in government's digital identity initiative

( ) shares shot up 42% to 2.7p after the company was asked to participate in a government digital identity scheme.

The developer of a secure, blockchain-driven COVID passport system has been asked to participate in a government initiative to make it quicker and easier for people to verify themselves using modern technology.

The consultation is being carried out by the Department for Digital, Culture, Media and Sport (DCMS) as it develops its Digital Identity Policy.

9.00am: Clear Leisure soars as it welcomes new substantial shareholder

( ) rose 32% to 1.65p after it took advantage of recent share price strength to tap the market again.

Having raised 680,000 less than two weeks ago by placing shares at 0.6p, the company has raised 1mln, this time by placing shares at a penny each with an individual investor, John Story, giving him an 11.14% stake.

Ordinarily, issuing shares at a discount would lead to the share price fall but Clear Leisures share price is currently defying gravity thanks to its cryptocurrency development plans.

If involvement in cryptocurrency enterprises is a sure way at the moment to garner interest, so is any connection with coronavirus diagnostic tests, which explains the 15% rise to 210.9p for the share price of ( ).

The company put out a statement noting the recent press speculation about the UK Government take-up of Avacta's lateral flow SARS-CoV-2 rapid antigen test and noted that the test in question was an anterior nasal swab test, not (as press reports asserted) saliva-based.

Avacta continues to be in dialogue with the Department of Health and Social Care and with other organisations in the UK and abroad, with a view to the future supply of its rapid antigen test. It is prioritising the full clinical validation of its nasal swab-based SARS-CoV-2 rapid antigen test as a pre-requisite for CE marking and broad commercialisation.

Proactive news headlines

( ), the developer of a secure, blockchain-driven Covid passport system, has been asked to participate in a government initiative to make it quicker and easier for people to verify themselves using modern technology.

( ) said it has signed a commercial supply and collaboration deal with ePIC Blockchain Technologies which it said will allow it to receive priority access to state-of-the-art ASIC mining machines.

CentralNic Group PLC ( ) said it has agreed to acquire Wando Internet Solutions GmbH, a Berlin-based social marketing, display advertising and search engine marketing (SEM) advertising technology company, for an initial consideration of 5.4mln (4.7mln).

Sativa Wellness Group ( ) said its Bath and Bristol Goodbody clinics booked up to 27,000 a day in Covid testing revenues in December as it announced the opening of a tenth in-pharmacy facility and plans for a further twenty.

Base Resources Ltd ( ) generated revenue of US$72.8mln from its mining operations in Kenya in the six months to 31 December 2020. EBITDA came in at US$33.9mln, while net debt was cut by US$50mln.

( ) has received the processed high-resolution airborne electromagnetic and magnetics geophysics survey data and associated maps and report over the Dotted Lake property on the north limb of the Schreiber-Hemlo greenstone belt in Ontario, Canada.

( ) has helped create a joint venture to provide teleradiology reporting services and increased reporting capacity in Australia, New Zealand, the UK and Ireland.

Condor Gold ( )( ) has started a 5,000 metre diamond drill programme at the Cacao prospect at the La India project in Nicaragua. Cacao is located four kilometres from the planned processing plant at the fully permitted La India mine.

( ) said it has signed a supply agreement and a strategic R&D agreement with NexTech Batteries Inc, a lithium sulphur (Li-S) batteries company based in Nevada, US.

(LON:NQMI, ) said it has signed an agreement with Australian gold miner for the detailed evaluation and potential processing of lead and silver-rich stockpiles at the Sunbeam project, located at the companys Ukalunda tenement in North Queensland, Australia.

( ) has received ministerial consent for the transfer of title, being the final condition of closing on the acquisition of a 75% interest in the Eclipse gold project, located 55 kilometres north-east of Kalgoorlie, Western Australia.

"We are pleased to have now completed the acquisition of a 75% interest in Eclipse, said Empire director Mike Struthers.

PLC ( ) said it has filed an application with OTC Markets Group Inc for its shares to be cross-traded on the OTCQB Venture Market under the ticker GULDF, which it said will make its shares more widely available to North American investors.

( ) said it had made a positive start to its current year as it swung into profit in its first quarter. In its results for the three months to December 31, the aquaculture specialist reported an adjusted operating profit from continuing operations of 1.3mln compared to a 1.1mln loss a year ago, while revenues climbed to 29mln from 24.7mln.

( ) financial results for 2020 confirmed strong growth in revenues and gross profit, which rose by 49% and 83% respectively.

PLC ( ) has successfully completed trials and tests for the manufacture of battery grade spherical graphite, used in the anode of lithium-ion batteries. The trials and tests were conducted in tandem with a globally recognised German manufacturer of spheroidisation and micronisation equipment, achieving significant results in the end product.

Chariot Oil & Gas Limited ( ) has inked a collaboration agreement with Subsea Integration Alliance for the Anchois gas development project in Morocco.

(CVE:FO, ) told investors it is exiting non-core assets in Canada, assigning its interests to a large Canadian-based company.

Litigation Capital Management Limited ( ) has secured a US$50mln credit facility to provide the company with additional investment capital that will be used to pursue growth opportunities.

( ) said its 18.8% stake in Pulsiv Solar is now valued at 4.1mln following the latters latest equity fundraising and debt conversion, up from 3.6mln at the end of June.

VietNam Holding Limited ( ) said in its monthly investor report that business and consumer confidence continues to thrive in Vietnam, although there was a small wobble in January when profit-taking following a resurgence in coronavirus cases prompted profit-taking, resulting in the fund's net asset value (NAV) easing 1.7% over the course of the month. The NAV has rebounded in February.

PLC ( ) has appointed Panmure Gordon as Nominated Adviser with immediate effect. Panmure Gordon will also continue to act as financial adviser and joint broker to the company.

( ) announced the appointment of Charles 'Chuck' Fremont Osborne Jr to the board with immediate effect. Fremont, who has been in the role of chief financial officer since April 2019, has "significant capital markets experience coupled with a strong knowledge of financial operations within the pharmaceutical industry", said chief executive Richard Hullihen.

( ) has hired New York-based EAS Advisors to introduce institutions and funding, as the explorer works to advance mining and exploration projects in sub-Saharan Africa.

Silence Therapeutics PLC (LON:SLN) announced that the company's management will present business updates at two virtual investor conferences in March: the Cowen 41st Annual Health Care Conference at 10.20am on Monday 1 March; and the HC Wainwright Global Life Sciences Conference, on demand on Tuesday 9 March 2021.

PLC ( ) announced on Friday the introduction of its share option plan 2021 for executives and selected senior management, designed to promote the retention, recruitment and incentivisation of the Company's leadership team. Up to 11,194,030 new ordinary shares may be issued under new options granted under the plan, which represents approximately 2.5% of the company's issued ordinary share capital.

( ) said that on 1 March 2021 it will publish its full year results for the financial year ended 31 October 2020.
February 22, 2021





You might be wondering why you sometimes see blog[.]example[.]com and shop[.]example[.]com on your browser. These are examples of subdomains and, in this post, we explored what is a subdomain and their use casesboth the good and the bad.







What Is a Subdomain?

A subdomain is a child of a main or root domain that keeps websites organized. The subdomain store[.]yourwebsite[.]com, for instance, is a subdomain of yourwebsite[.]com. Subdomains are quite helpful, as they allow you to divide your websites into different sections, among other uses. In fact, you can create as many subdomains as you need.

However, threat actors are also known to ride on the functionalities of subdomains to launch cyber attacks.

Constructive Usage of Subdomains

Now that you know what is a subdomain, you may already have an idea on how it is used. Below are some of the positive ways subdomains help organizations.

Assign Aliases to Different Servers

Before the emergence of the World Wide Web, subdomains were used (and are still used) to help organizations identify the specific function of the Internet. For example, they use ftp[.]yourwebsite[.]com to point to a companys File Transfer Protocol (FTP) server, and smtp[.]yourwebsite[.]com for its outbound email server.

When the World Wide Web was created in the early 1990s, the subdomain www[.]yourwebsite[.]com was used for the organizations web server. These days, some websites have already dropped the www subdomain.

Allow Clients to Manage Services Independently

Web service providers assign subdomains to their clients so they can manage their accounts. The e-commerce provider Etsy (News - Alert) is a good example. When you create an account with Etsy, you will be assigned an Etsy subdomain (e.g., shopname[.]etsy[.]com). To further illustrate, lets use the subdomain lookup tool by WhoisXML API to see some examples of Etsy subdomains.

Aside from Etsy, you would typically see Zendesk, WordPress, Netlify, and other web service providers assign subdomains to their clients.

Organize Websites

Among the most common uses of subdomains is to organize websites. Here are a few widely used subdomains for websites:

blog[.]yourwebsite[.]com to host blogs

shop[.]yourwebsite[.]com dedicated to a sites online shop

help[.]yourwebsite[.]com for the companys help center

login[.]yourwebsite[.]com where customers can log in

Target (News - Alert) Different Audiences

Subdomains can also provide targeted content to different audiences, which is specifically helpful to global companies that have non-English-speaking customers. Wikipedia, for instance, has subdomains for every language available on the site, such as the following:

en[.]wikipedia[.]org (English)

es[.]wikipedia[.]org (Spanish)

de[.]wikipedia[.]org (German)

id[.]wikipedia[.]org (Indonesian)

Malicious Uses of Subdomains

In a perfect world, subdomains can only be used to benefit an organization and its clients. But in reality, threat actors can abuse subdomains for their malicious campaigns. Here are some ways subdomains can be maliciously used.

Phishing

Phishers have learned to use subdomains in their campaigns. In November 2020, for instance, they were seen using redirector websites with custom subdomains for the target. The subdomains would include the recipients username and the companys domain name to make the email appear legitimate.

For example, if the target is someone named Bob who is working for Your Company, the subdomain would look something like this: bob[.]yourcompany[.]abc[.]com where abc is any domain name.

Domain Shadowing

In some instances, cybercriminals dont need to use the targets username and company domain name in the malicious subdomains. Instead, they would try to gain access to a legitimate domain and create random subdomains for use in malicious campaigns.

Here is an example: If threat actors can access weebly[.]com and create malicious subdomains, such as emalloffice[.]weebly[.]com (WARNING: this was found to be a valid phish on Phishtank so do not vist), they would often attempt to evade content filters since Weebly is a legitimate web hosting service.

Subdomain Takeovers

Threat actors can quickly take over a subdomain, especially those that are not adequately protected. What they can do to start with is look for subdomains that return a 404 error page, then they can add it to their repository. At this point, they can host their own content on the subdomain.

---

As you can see, subdomains are a double-edged sword. They can be used for the good of an organization, but threat actors can also use them for nefarious activities. For this reason, constant monitoring of subdomains is recommended to ensure that they are well-protected and updated.
SALEM, Ore. -- A bill in the Oregon Legislature proposes major reforms to the state's criminal justice system.

House Bill 2002 is a sweeping measure that would scale back the system's reach, from limiting what offenses send a person to jail, to reforming mandatory minimum sentences, to reducing the number of people on parole.

Shannon Wight, deputy director of the Partnership for Safety and Justice, one of the groups that requested the bill, said the changes are needed.

"Those are the part of the bill that actually kind of shrink the system, limit its impact because we know it's grown too big," Wight contended. "It's become like the mental health default, the addiction default."

Wight pointed out the bill came together in the wake of George Floyd's death.

She emphasized it would save money to be reinvested in things like culturally-specific services.

Other groups involved in the effort include the Latino Network, Coalition of Communities of Color, and Red Lodge Transition Services.

House Bill 2002 has a public hearing scheduled in the House Judiciary Committee Thursday.

Morgan Godvin, a commissioner on the Oregon Alcohol and Drug Policy Commission, spent time in Oregon jails and a federal prison for her opioid use disorder.

She said her personal experience opened her eyes because she saw many women churned through the system, being released and re-arrested again and again.

"It was making them less safe," Godvin argued. "Jail was destabilizing their lives. They were losing their housing, they were losing their job, and then being released back into the exact same circumstances from which they came."

Godvin helped craft the bill's parole piece. She stressed the current program negatively incentivizes people, relying on sending them back to jail. The bill would allow for tele-reporting to supervisors and limit the complexities of parole.

Wight added reforming mandatory minimum sentences is important because it unties the hands of judges. She noted, nonetheless, people who commit crimes need to be held accountable.

"Part of what we're saying with these reforms is, let's go back to a system that allows judges to look at the individual circumstances of those crimes and make decisions that are based on what accountability makes sense for that person and for that victim," Wight concluded.

The bill would also increase funding for community-based victim services.
LONDON: Two U.K. studies released Monday showed that COVID-19 vaccination programs are contributing to a sharp drop in hospitalizations, boosting hopes that the shots will work as well in the real world as they have in carefully controlled studies.

Preliminary results from a study in Scotland found that the Pfizer-BioNTech vaccine reduced hospital admissions by up to 85% four weeks after the first dose, while the Oxford-AstraZeneca shot cut admissions by up to 94%. In England, preliminary data from a study of health care workers showed that the Pfizer vaccine reduced the risk of catching COVID-19 by 70% after one dose, a figure that rose to 85% after the second.

This new evidence shows that the jab protects you, and protects those around you, U.K. Health Secretary Matt Hancock said. It is important that we see as much evidence as possible on the vaccines impact on protection and on transmission and we will continue to publish evidence as we gather it.

The studies were released as British Prime Minister Boris Johnson laid out plans Monday to ease a lockdown that has shuttered pubs, schools and nonessential shops since early January. The vaccine rollout is critical to returning the country to some sense of normalcy. More than 17.5 million have received one vaccine dose so far  more than a third of the U.K.'s adult population.

Britain has had Europes deadliest coronavirus outbreak, with more than 120,000 deaths.

Public Health England said its study of health-care workers suggest the vaccine may help prevent virus transmission as you cannot spread the virus if you do not have infection." The findings are based on COVID-19 testing conducted every two weeks that detects infections whether or not someone shows symptoms.

Broader testing in the overall population showed that the Pfizer vaccine was 57% effective in preventing symptomatic illness in people over 80 three to four weeks after the first dose. That rose to more than 85% after the second dose. Overall, hospitalizations and death should be reduced by over 75% after one dose of the vaccine, Public Health England said.

The agency said it is still monitoring the impact of the AstraZeneca vaccine, but early signals in the data suggest it is providing good levels of protection from the first dose."

U.K. regulators authorized widespread use of the AstraZeneca vaccine on Dec. 30, almost a month after they approved the Pfizer vaccine.

The Scotland study was conducted by scientists at the University of Edinburgh, the University of Strathclyde and Public Health Scotland.

The preliminary findings were based on a comparison of people who had received one dose of vaccine and those who hadnt been inoculated yet. The data was gathered between Dec. 8 and Feb. 15, a period when 21% of Scotlands population received their first vaccine shot.

These results are very encouraging and have given us great reasons to be optimistic for the future, said Professor Aziz Sheikh, director of the University of Edinburghs Usher Institute. We now have national evidence  across an entire country  that vaccination provides protection against COVID-19 hospitalizations."

About 650,000 people in Scotland received the Pfizer vaccine during the study period and 490,000 got the AstraZeneca shot, the Usher Institute said. Because hospitalization data was collected 28 days after inoculation, the data on hospital admissions came from a subset of 220,000 people who received the Pfizer vaccine and 45,000 who got the AstraZeneca shot.

Outside experts said while the findings in Scotland are encouraging, they should be interpreted with caution because of the nature of this kind of observational study. In particular, relatively few people were hospitalized after receiving the vaccines during the study period.

Stephen Evans, a professor of pharmacoepidemiology at the London School of Hygiene & Tropical Medicine, urged those making political decisions about the pandemic to be cautious.

It will be important that euphoria, especially from political sources that do not understand the uncertainty in the numerical values, does not cause premature decisions to be made, he said Cautious optimism is justified."

Earlier this month, Israel reported encouraging results from people receiving the Pfizer vaccine. Six weeks after vaccinations began for people over age 60, there was a 41% drop in confirmed COVID-19 infections and a 31% decline in hospitalizations, according the countrys Ministry of Health.

____

Follow all of APs pandemic coverage at https://apnews.com/hub/coronavirus-pandemic, https://apnews.com/hub/coronavirus-vaccine and https://apnews.com/UnderstandingtheOutbreak

This story has been published from a wire agency feed without modifications to the text. Only the headline has been changed.

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Pilot Scott Bahan in a Piper Cherokee small plane as it taxis to the icy runway in Alton, New Hampshire on Lake Winnipesaukee

Pilots comfortable with an icy landing can now use a runway on a frozen lake in the northeastern US state of New Hampshire.

The 2,600-foot strip at Alton Bay on Lake Winnipesaukee opened to the public earlier this month when the ice became at least 12 inches thick.

On Saturday, almost 20 inches of solid ice was measured.

It is the only ice runway approved by the Federal Aviation Administration in the United States and is not for the faint-hearted.

"Ice is slippery. We get that a lot from the pilots," said airport supervisor Carol Niewola of New Hampshire's aeronautic transportation department.

"Turning, stopping, those are all really difficult moves that are very easy to do out on paved or grass runways, but here on the ice it can be very different.

"There is a little bit of snow cover on the ice that gives it just a little bit of grip, but it's not very good," she added.

The runway did not open for take-offs and landings last year because the ice was not thick enough.

Paul LaRochelle manages the airport and goes out every day to measure the ice's thickness.

"We won't drive our trucks out here without having at least 12 inches of ice. If we have 9 inches here, 12 over here, 10 down there, we don't open. Not until we're even everywhere," he said.

The New Hampshire Department of Transportation helps manage the runway and provides LaRochelle with a crew of workers.

They clear the runway of snow and ensuring planes take-off, land and park safely.

Explore further NTSB considering technology to avoid accidents, close calls

 2021 AFP


GOOSE CREEK  Century Aluminum is starting to replace equipment at its Mount Holly site as part of a deal with electricity provider Santee Cooper that will let the smelter increase capacity and hire more workers over the coming years.

Craig Conti, Century's chief financial officer, told analysts during a conference call last week that the company will spend about $5 million during the first quarter of this year to restart part of a second pot line at the smelter. All told, the manufacturer plans to invest $50 million this year to increase Mount Holly's aluminum-making annual output capacity to 140,000 tons. The company expects capacity will reach 170,000 tons per year  or 75 percent of full production  by the time the expansion is finished.

Most of the early work will involve replacing some of the pot line's electrolytic cells where aluminum is formed. Those components fail over time and Century had not been replacing them because of the uncertainty over a new deal with Santee Cooper.

"We purposely have not rebuilt cells as they have normally failed over the last four plus years," CEO Mike Bless told analysts. "We need to fully rebuild all the cells in the pot line that's been operating plus half of the other line to get to 1 pot lines."

Bless said the company is "moving forward aggressively on the rebuild process" and plans to hire 70 more people as part of the capacity expansion. The Mount Holly smelter, located off U.S. Highway 52 near Goose Creek, currently employs about 300 workers.

The increased capacity is the result of a new contract with Santee Cooper that will let Century purchase all of the power needed for Mount Holly  about 300 megawatts  at a fixed price through at least 2023. The new contract is expected to take effect in April.

Santee Cooper has said it is developing an "experimental" rate for the plant that would cover costs but not shift any of Mount Holly's expense to other customers.

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Power costs have been contentious in past years, with Century threatening to shut down the Berkeley County site if a better price could not be negotiated. In 2015, Century blamed high electricity prices for a 50 percent reduction in capacity at the smelter, causing 300 job losses.

Bless, who has been critical of Santee Cooper in the past, praised the Moncks Corner-based power provider last week.

"Our colleagues at Santee Cooper were really creative in helping us mutually reach this point, and we're quite appreciative of their substantial commitment of time and resources," he said, adding the new three-year deal gives both sides plenty of time to work toward a more lasting solution.

He also thanked Mount Holly's employees for maintaining their focus on safety and production in recent years even as the plant's future has been uncertain.

"The real credit for getting us to this point goes to our people at Mount Holly in managing the plant consistently through an extraordinarily difficult period," Bless said. "Obviously, they had the issues caused by the pandemic. And those were exacerbated by the uncertainty over whether we could find a sensible power contract to run the plant post December 2020. We're very grateful for their commitment and we're now excited to give them the opportunity to rebuild and expand the plant."

Chicago-based Century is the largest remaining primary aluminum producer in the U.S., with the Mount Holly smelter and two more in Kentucky. The U.S. once was one of the world's largest producers with 22 aluminum smelters. The number of operating plants has dwindled from 14 in 2011 to six today.
Facebook tried to restart negotiations with Nine and News Corp just a day after banning news on its Australian site.

The US social media giant blocked Australian users from seeing and sharing local news last Thursday, in response to a new law to make tech giants pay media companies for news content on their sites.

Facebook, helmed by founder Mark Zuckerberg, also accidentally blocked the pages of domestic violence helplines, charities, government pages, and Covid information.

Facebook tried to restart negotiations with Nine and News Corp just a day after banning news on its Australian site. Pictured is Nine's blocked Facebook page

Just a day after the online blackout, Facebook contacted Nine (pictured) and News Corp to discuss commercial deals

But just a day after the online blackout, Facebook contacted Nine and Rupert Murdoch's News Corp to discuss commercial deals, an inside source told the Sydney Morning Herald.

Two weeks before Australian news content was pulled off Facebook, the two media outlets were in talks with the tech behemoth.

But it's unlikely News Corp or Nine will be able to reach an agreement with Facebook this week because no significant changes were discussed during the second negotiation phase.

As Facebook restricts the sharing of news in Australia, Google is striking a series of deals to pay for local journalism.

The Guardian was the latest publisher to sign an agreement with Google.

The internet giant has already struck multi-million dollar deals with Seven West Media, Nine, News Corp, and Australian Community Media.

Finance Minister Simon Birmingham is confident media bargaining legislation will sail through parliament without any more amendments to appease Facebook.

The proposed bargaining code is bound for the Senate after the government spent the weekend trying to negotiate a resolution with Mr Zuckerberg.

Senator Birmingham said there were some promising signs following the fresh round of talks.

'We would urge Facebook to acknowledge that it should behave as we would expect any other re-publisher of content to behave,' he told ABC radio on Monday.

The minister made it clear there would be no further changes to satisfy the social media giant.

It's unlikely News Corp or Nine will be able to reach an agreement with Facebook this week because no significant changes were discussed during the second negotiation phase

Facebook also inadvertently removed the pages of domestic violence help lines, charities, government pages and Covid information

'We think the bill as it stands - that passed through the House of Representatives and into the Senate - is a bill that meets the right balance and serves the purpose of ensuring that Australian-generated news content by Australian news organisations can and should be paid for,' he said.

'Google has managed to do that with many media companies, there is no reason Facebook can't do and achieve what Google already has.'

Senator Birmingham directed his department to pull all digital advertising from Facebook until the company lifts restrictions on viewing news and information in Australia.

'It is my expectation that we will pull back from advertising on Facebook while they undertake this type of terrible activity of pulling down sites inappropriately, of seeking to exert power or influence over our democratic systems,' he said.

'We won't tolerate that and we will be standing firm on the legislation and also looking at all of those advertising arrangements.'

Finance Minister Simon Birmingham is confident media bargaining legislation will sail through parliament without any more amendments to appease Facebook

Labor supports the temporary ban on Facebook advertising, which has been imposed at various departments.

Facebook's vice president of public policy Simon Milner said Australians news could make a comeback on the website.

'On the issue of is this permanent, it really does depend on what law comes finally into effect. Once it goes through the Senate, our understanding was that the government had made its final amendments,' he said.

'If the law continues to make it unviable for us to have news on Facebook, there's no basis on which we can change this. If the law were to change then that creates opportunities for us to feel confident about being able to have news on the service without being unfairly penalised by this law.'
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[February 21, 2021] EZVIZ unveils the C8C, its first-ever outdoor pan/tilt Wi-Fi camera, taking a step forward in all-around home protection

The C8C showcases unparalleled usability for outdoor conditions, providing rotational views, AI-powered human detection, active defense, and smart night vision. LOS ANGELES, Feb. 22, 2021 /PRNewswire/ -- EZVIZ, a global innovator in home intelligence, has strengthened its product offerings with its first outdoor pan/tilt camera C8C. Designed to overcome challenges in outdoor surveillance and protection, the C8C boasts powerful features including panoramic monitoring, AI-powered human shape detection, color night vision, and event-triggered active defense. It is an all-in-one camera that records, detects, and deters effectively in the face of property security needs. Compact and attractive, the orb-shaped C8C fits in any home environment. With a 360-degree field-of-view, the camera easily takes in views across large outdoor spaces The pan and tilt features help overcome blind spots in monitoring that many outdoor cameras suffer from. Furthermore, the camera comes equipped with a noise-cancelling microphone. Users can easily maneuver the C8C using the EZVIZ App on their mobile device to see and hear what's going on. The C8C also has two external antennas for enhanced Wi-Fi connections and is IP65-rated to deliver long-standing, high-performance even in wind, rain, or snow.



To solve the industry-wide headache in late-night monitoring, the C8C features a full-color night vision mode by way of professional optical lenses and two built-in spotlights. By illuminating the environment, the C8C renders colorful scenes even at night. This supplemental lighting can be turned on manually, again using the EZVIZ App, or can be set to trigger automatically through EZVIZ's smart night vision mode. When Smart Mode is enabled, the camera will detect movement and switch the video display from black-and-white to full-color. Monitoring everything that happens outdoors is a complex practice. EZVIZ has sought ways to reduce false or irrelevant alerts, as well as provide an active defense system. To do so, EZVIZ programmed an advanced AI algorithm into the C8C camera so it can recognize and detect human shapes intelligently. When strangers trespass on the property, alerts will be sent to users' mobile devices and a strobe light will be activated on the spot for deterrence.

"We believe the C8C will become a must-have for many homeowners since it solves multiple security problems all at once, and combines functionalities in a great design," said Lexie Zhang, product manager of EZVIZ's outdoor pan/tilt camera range. "It is flexible in installation and versatile in use, and the pan-tilt feature will bring people a whole new experience in outdoor monitoring." Like all other EZVIZ products, the C8C boasts easy control, live viewing, and video playback using the free EZVIZ app. All videos are recorded in 1080p high-definition and efficiently compressed with the H.265 standard. Users can either store footage on the camera's local micro-SD card or subscribe to EZVIZ's CloudPlay for cloud storage, which now provides a free trial for up to 30 days. Learn more about EZVIZ. Photo - https://mma.prnewswire.com/media/1393154/EZVIZ_first_outdoor_pan_and_tilt_camera_C8C.jpg

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Having refused COVID-19 hit the country for months, alleging that the disease was defeated by prayers, Tanzanias leader on Sunday acknowledged that there was a covid problem within the nation. Addressing the local press on February 21, President John Magufuli asked citizens to wear locally manufactured masks and take health safety precautions amid fears of COVID-19 spread and surge in the confirmed cases. Magufulis remarks, admitting the grim situation, comes after the vice president of the semi-autonomous island region of Zanzibar, passed away due to the COVID-19 infection, the political party told reporters. Another death of the presidents chief secretary was suspected to have been caused due to respiratory disease, although the officials are yet to make a public announcement about the cause of death.

In a state televised address, attending the funeral ceremony of his political counterpart, the Tanzanian president without naming COVID-19, told citizens to pray for 3 days in order to mitigate an unidentified respiratory illness that has spread in the country. Calling [COVID-19] illness a challenge for his government, the leader said that people must trust God. Last year, as the pandemic ravaged most of the western nations, Tanzania declared itself covid free after organising a mass prayer for 3 days, following which President Magufuli refused to impose a lockdown, as he reopened schools, allowed sporting events, public activities, and religious congregations. Further, he halted testing, and all public campaigns to create awareness about the COVID-19 pandemic precautionary measures.

Tamko la Balozi Donald Wright Kuhusu Kifo cha Makamu wa Kwanza wa Rais wa Zanzibar Seif Sharif Hamad.

Soma zaidi https://t.co/QEpPauvUz9

----



Statement from Ambassador Wright on the passing of Seif Sharif Hamad, First Vice President of Zanzibar.

Read more https://t.co/dbmAlWdEBm pic.twitter.com/4rXhplnSMx  US Embassy Tanzania (@usembassytz) February 18, 2021

Read: With Heavy Hearts, Italians Mark Year Of COVID-19 Outbreak

Read: China Approves 16 Locally-made Covid Vaccines For Clinical Trials

WHO calls situation 'concerning'

In what created a stir among world leaders, and the world health organization (WHO), Tanzania stopped reporting confirmed cases of the novel coronavirus since April, last year, and urged citizens to opt for traditional African remedies in case of symptoms. Condemning President Magufulis approach, which defied science-based facts, Director-General Tedros Adhanom Ghebreyesus appealed to the health authorities to take a robust action against the pandemic. Tedros, denouncing the Tanzanian leaders downplaying of the deadly virus, urged the country to start a mass vaccination campaign. However, long denying the impact of the disease and covid-related deaths, Tanzanias leader insisted that the nation would defeat coronavirus with Gods help. Joining calls of WHO, the US, and its local Catholic church berated Tanzanias political administration calling the situation in the country concerning.

Meanwhile, on February 20, the WHO chief held a meeting with the WHO Director for the African Region Dr. Matshidiso Moeti, wherein, he insisted that Tanzania scales up the public health measures against COVID-19, starts vaccination, and shares data in light of reports of COVID-19 cases. The WHO, meanwhile, also urged Tanzania to take precautions as several Tanzanian travellers tested positive for the virus at borders of other countries. This situation remains very concerning. I renew my call for Tanzania to start reporting COVID-19 cases and share data. I also call on Tanzania to implement the public health measures that we know work in breaking the chains of transmission, and to prepare for vaccination, Tedros said at a press conference.

Read: After Losing A Company To COVID, Owners Seek The Next Gig

Read: Could A Nasal Spray Help Kill Coronavirus? Here's What Experts Say
Yves here. Finally, the officialdom is taking interest in excessive influence that Google and Facebook wield in advertising and as media players, even if the original impetus was RussiaRussia. But the whinging generally hasnt produced much in the way of remedies. Heres an exception.

By Lynn Parramore, Senior Research Analyst at the Institute for New Economic Thinking. Originally published at the Institute for New Economic Thinking website

Most people know that Google dominates the online search market, but did you know that the company has become the biggest player in the digital ad market? Thats a problem not only for consumers, but potentially for society as a whole, argues former digital advertising executive Dina Srinivasan.

Last year, Srinivasan gained attention for her paper The Antitrust Case Against Facebook, which explained how the tech giants market dominance can harm the public, even though the product is ostensibly free. Now she focuses on Google and the enormous advertising empire that has grown into the companys biggest money-maker. In her new paper, Why Google Dominates Advertising Markets, Srinivasan analyses the digital ad market and argues that Googles monopolization and the giant regulatory gaps on matters like transparency and conflicts of interest have created an anti-competitive environment that can be harmful to newspapers, consumers, and, ultimately, democracy itself. She proposes that fairness can be restored by using principles applied to financial market regulation.

Lynn Parramore: After years of inaction, were seeing lots of headlines on antitrust actions against Big Tech. The Federal Trade Commission and the attorneys general of 48 states and territories have filed antitrust cases against Facebook, charging that it is able to abuse users data and violate their privacy. There are also several parallel suits against Googles search dominance and chokehold on the advertising market. A good deal of the impetus to these suits comes from work that a number of researchers, including you, have done. How has our knowledge about both antitrust generally and Google and Facebook in particular changed over the last few years?

Dina Srinivasan: I think we have caught up with the fact that there is no such thing as a free lunch. Free does not necessarily mean good for the consumer. Free also doesnt mean that there arent any antitrust problems in the market. For a long time, we thought we could simply ignore the social network and search markets because they were free to the consumer. Now we have historic antitrust cases brought in both markets. 48 attorneys general have initiated antitrust action against Facebooks zero-cost social network to defend a peoples privacy. Thats fantastic.

In online advertising markets, were catching up with the fact that these markets operate and look like other electronically traded markets. This new perspective helps one understand when and why certain trading conduct is good or bad.

LP: Lets talk about how the online advertising market works for the ordinary person. Say Im waiting for the train and pull out my phone. I read a newspaper article about a recipe and then click on a cookbook ad. Whats been happening with ads while Ive been doing my thing?

DS: In the milliseconds that it takes for that newspaper article to load, theres a complex trade that concludes in the background. As soon as you visit that newspaper website, the newspapers sell-side middlemancalled an ad server in online advertising marketsroutes the empty ad space on that page to multiple ad exchanges.

Each exchange races to sell that ad space to the highest bidder in its little auction, hosting an auction and determining the highest bidder. An important point here is that the bidders here are not advertisers like Procter & Gamble or your local dry cleaner but these advertisers buy-side middlemen. You see, advertisers cant bid directly on these new exchanges, just as you cant bid or transact directly through the New York Stock Exchange.

After all the exchanges conclude their auctions, they send the highest bid back to the newspapers ad server. This sell-side middleman should then declare the highest bidder the winner of the newspapers ad space. That winners ad is then fetched and displayed to you on the page just in time for the page to finish loading. You probably didnt notice anything happened at all: you just see advertisers ads alongside that recipe you are reading about.

LP: What is Googles role in this advertising market? How did it influence what happened when I was online?

DS: Google operates the largest sell-side middleman, the ad server, the largest exchange, and the largest buy-side middlemen that bid on exchanges on behalf of advertisers large and small. This means that Googles sell-side determines whether and how to route the newspapers ad space to the different exchanges. Googles exchange then determines whether and how to let various buy-side middlemen representing advertisers bid on the ad space. Because Google has an overwhelming share of the buy-side market, this means that Google can often be the biggest bidder in Googles own exchange.

LP: How important to the company are Googles advertising activities compared to its search model?

DS: Pretty important, as a graph[1] from my recent paper in the Stanford Technology Law Review illustrates. The critical thing to note here is that by owning the sell- and buy-side of the wider advertising market, Google can steer or allocate trades to its own properties, like Google search or YouTube. Trade allocation problems are also common in financial markets.

Share of Google Ad Revenues Going to Google vs. Non-Google Properties 2004-2019

LP: Its not difficult to see how Googles dominance of online searches might harm me: When I search for something online, Google can show me what it wants me to see, like a service it owns. But how do I get harmed by what Google is doing vis-a-vis online advertising?

DS: The invention of electronic trading is supposed to make the process of trading more efficient: less running around, less paper, fewer phone conversations. In the online advertising market, when an advertiser spends a million dollars purchasing ad space trading on exchanges, collectively, the trading intermediaries take 30-50 percent of that. So, the newspaper has to forgo a 300,000-500,000 dollar commission on those one million dollars-worth of ad trades. Thats a lot for an electronic trading market.

Consumers ultimately suffer, too. When newspapers have less money to invest in content or payroll, people have to pay more for subscriptions or newspapers go out of business and consumers have less news. Neither end is good for the business of news or democracy. And, when advertisers pay more for that ad space that they are buying, those costs are ultimately passed onto consumers in the form of higher prices for goods and services.

LP: You point out that Google gets away with all kinds of stuff that companies in other electronic trading markets are prohibited from doing. In financial markets, for example, we have rules against front running, insider trading, and order flow routing. Why is Google able to do things they cant?

DS: Because we have not yet imposed trading rules in online advertising markets. There are no rules. We dont regulate conflicts of interest. So, everything that does not fly on Wall Street, can possibly fly in ad markets. For example, for a long time, Googles sell-side intermediary, DoubleClick, preferentially routed publishers ad space to Googles exchange, even though Googles exchange charges more than other exchanges. Googles exchange also preferences Googles buy-side bidding in Googles exchange, with speed and information advantages. That also distorts competition.

LP: Youve suggested that we could tackle failures in the online ad market by taking a few pages from the financial market regulation playbook. How would that work?

DS: We need to manage conflicts of interest: The company that runs an exchange cant also operate on the buy- or sell-sides of the market. Alternatively, require those companies to have firewalls between business divisions, prohibit data leaking from one division to another, and prohibit the preferential routing of order flow. That is, manage those conflicts. But managing conflicts, as opposed to simply prohibiting them, would be a bigger lift for governments. For that reason, I think the first approach is superior.

LP: What are the biggest challenges to this type of regulation?

DS: Id say politics.

There are also some changes related to browsers and privacy in the industry that present new challenges. Googles Chrome browser will start to handle some of this ad trading process. So, after we implement those conflicts of interest rules between the buy- and sell-sides, and the exchanges, we now have a browser problem. How should we think about this? I think the answer here should follow the same path: We need to manage conflicts of interest, either through structural separations or conflicts of interest regulation (firewalls, etc.), and require disclosures and trading transparency.

Footnote

[1] Reprinted by permission of the Board of Trustees of the Leland Stanford Junior University, from the Stanford Technology Law Review at 23 Stan. Tech. L. Rev._(forthcoming 2020). For information visit: https://journals.law.stanford.edu/stanford-technology-law-review. Also, see: Srinivasan, Dina. Why Google Dominates Advertising Markets, Stanford Technology Law Review

Vol.24:1 (2020): 122.

https://law.stanford.edu/wp-co
The relationship of a woman and her former partner feared dead after a suspicious fire gutted a unit south of Brisbane on Monday morning will form part of a police investigation, just weeks after a domestic violence order had been issued by a court.

Chief Superintendent Brian Swan said police had been unable to find a man and a woman, both 49, believed to have been in the scorched unit on Myola Street, Browns Plains.

A man and a woman, both aged 49, are believed to have perished in a house fire at Myola Street, Browns Plains. Credit:Nine News

Emergency services were called to the fire before 4am, which police later said was being treated as deliberately lit based on early investigations.

A silver ute found in a nearby car park, believed to be connected to the man, was also declared a crime scene.
The day after the incident, the police said the girl disobeyed commands to put her feet in the car. An officer was then "required" to spray an "irritant" in the handcuffed girl's face, the department said.

Gov. Andrew Cuomo condemned the officers' actions in a statement following the incident.

"As a human, this incident is disturbing and as a father, it's heartbreakingthis isn't how the police should treat anyone, let alone a 9-year-old girl," the statement said. "Rochester needs to reckon with a real police accountability problem, and this alarming incident demands a full investigation that sends a message this behavior won't be tolerated."

Brouk's legislation would amend the model law enforcement use of force policy and every use of force policy established to prohibit the use of any chemical agent against a minor, including oleoresin capsicum, pepper spray or tear gas.
A 95-year-old former Nazi concentration camp guard was deported from the United States and arrived Saturday in his native Germany, where he was being held by police for questioning, authorities said.

The U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement agency said in a statement that Friedrich Karl Berger, a German citizen, was sent back to Germany for serving as a guard of a Neuengamme concentration camp subcamp in 1945. The case was investigated by the U.S. Department of Justice.

German authorities confirmed Berger arrived Saturday at Frankfurt and was handed over to Hesse state investigators for questioning, the dpa news agency reported.

Berger was ordered expelled by a Memphis, Tennessee, court in February 2020.

German prosecutors in the city of Celle investigated the possibility of bringing charges against him, but said in December that they had shelved the probe because they had been unable to refute his own account of his service at Neuengamme.

Berger admitted to U.S. authorities that he served as a guard at a camp in northwestern Germany, which was a subcamp of the Neuengamme concentration camp, for a few weeks near the end of the war but said he did not observe any abuse or killings, Celle prosecutors said.

Celle prosecutors asked for him to be questioned again upon his return to Germany, however, to determine whether accessory to murder charges could be brought, police said.

In recent years, German prosecutors have successfully argued that by helping a death camp or concentration camp function, guards can be found guilty of accessory to murder even if there is no evidence of them participating in a specific killing.

According to an ICE statement, Berger served at the subcamp near Meppen, Germany, where prisoners -- Russian, Polish, Dutch, Jewish and others -- were held in atrocious conditions and were worked to the point of exhaustion and death.

Berger admitted that he guarded prisoners to prevent them from escaping. He also accompanied prisoners on the forced evacuation of the camp that resulted in the deaths of 70 prisoners.

Berger has been living in the U.S. since 1959.
Meghan Markle and Prince Harry made a donation to a Texas women's shelter that was impacted by Winter Storm Uri.

Through the Archewell Foundation, the Duke and Duchess of Sussex donated to the Genesis Women's Shelter & Support in Dallas.

The shelter's roof was damaged during back-to-back winter storms that hit the state earlier this month.

The amount of the donation has not been disclosed, but according to shelter representatives, the money will go towards helping them repair their facility.

Meghan Markle and Prince Harry made a donation to the Genesis Women's Shelter & Support in Texas that was impacted by Winter Storm Uri earlier this month

The shelter's roof (pictured) was damaged during back-to-back winter storms that hit the state earlier this month. The amount of the donation has not been disclosed, but according to shelter representatives, the money will go towards helping them repair their facility

'Today, the news of our damages reached Prince Harry and Meghan, The Duke and Duchess of Sussex! Through their nonprofit, they are supporting us by replacing the roof at our transitional housing facility & helping us meet our immediate needs. THANK YOU, ARCHEWELL FOUNDATION!' the shelter tweeted Sunday evening.

Jan Langbein, CEO of Genesis Women's Shelter & Support said in a statement: 'In spite of the devastating winter storms here in Texas, our hearts have been warmed by the support and generosity of people from all 50 states and five foreign countries.

'Today, we were notified that through the actions of The Duke and Duchess of Sussex's nonprofit, Archewell Foundation, Prince Harry and Meghan will make a donation to help us get back on our feet,' Langbein said.

Langbein added: 'Not only will this gift provide for our critical needs, it shines an international spotlight on violence against women and children, letting survivors know that they are not alone.'

The organization, which provides services to women and families who have experienced domestic violence, had to close its doors for the first time this month its 35-year history due to widespread power outages in Texas.

'For the first time in our history of more than 35 years, our shelter had to be completely shut down due to an extended total power outage,' the group shared in an Instagram post.

The organization, which provides services to women and families who have experienced domestic violence, had to close its doors for the first time this month its 35-year history due to widespread power outages in Texas. Damage from burst pipes is seen at the shelter

In a tweet, the shelter wrote: 'Today, the news of our damages reached Prince Harry and Meghan, The Duke and Duchess of Sussex! Through their nonprofit, they are supporting us by replacing the roof at our transitional housing facility & helping us meet our immediate needs'

'Additionally, the pipes burst in our transitional housing unit Annie's House, flooding apartments, offices and the on-site school.'

The news of the donation comes just days after Queen Elizabeth said the pair will remain His and Her Royal Highness, although they are not permitted to use those titles on a day-to-day basis as they are no longer working members of the Royal Family.

A spokesman for the Sussexes said there was absolutely no question they had wanted to retain the positions they had lost, adding: They do respect the decision but they always made clear they were committed to doing the roles.'

In response to the decision, the Sussexes said: 'We can all live a life of service. Service is universal.'
Union organizers say Amazon is offering workers a bonus to quit their jobs ahead of the deadline for a union vote at the companys Bessemer fulfillment center. The company, however, says its a seven-year-old program that is offered to employees throughout Amazon who are eligible.

Officials for the Retail, Wholesale and Department Store Union say Amazon workers in Bessemer received notification this past weekend that they were eligible for bonuses of $1,000 or more if they quit their jobs.

Balloting began this month for a mail-in vote among more than 5,000 Amazon workers at the companys fulfillment center in Bessemer. The votes will be counted in late March. If approved, the workers would be represented by the RWDSU.

Here is full coverage of the Alabama Amazon unionization effort

RWDSU President Stuart Appelbaum said the bonus application deadline ends only a few days before the union vote is scheduled to be counted.

It demonstrates how terrified Amazon is of its workers getting a voice in the workplace, he said. I think whats really significant about this offer is theyre seeking to remove the workers who dont want to accept whats going on at Amazon and want something different. These are the people who would be most likely to vote for the union, and they wouldnt be counted if they quit.

The union and others have made several allegations that Amazon is attempting to stifle support for organizing among employees. Organizers with the RWDSU accused the company of working with Jefferson County to change traffic lights near the fulfillment center to prevent members from talking to employees. Employees said Amazon has been forcing them into mandatory training sessions where they hear about union dues and how unions will jeopardize their job status.

A coercion complaint was also filed this month against the company over a website Amazon created in connection with the union vote. The RWDSU denied filing the complaint.

According to Amazon, the bonus program, known as the Offer, has been part of the company since 2014. It is open only to some regular hourly employees who have completed one continuous year and have been through at least one peak season, which would be the holiday shopping season. Employees with more experience are offered higher bonuses. Its not open to reserves, interns, corporate or subsidiary employees. Associates are not eligible for rehire if they accept the offer.

The company said the offer is being made available from Feb. 24 through March 16 to all eligible North American employees. At the programs creation, Amazon said an employee staying in a job they dont like isnt healthy for the employee or the company.

Amazon spokesperson Brittany Parmley said the offer is part of several programs designed to help employees achieve their personal and professional goals.

While we hope employees stay with and grow their careers at Amazon, this is a voluntary program thats designed to provide extra support for those who decide that Amazon isnt part of their long-term career plan, and its been offered every year since 2014, Parmley said.
Vedanta on Monday said G R Arun Kumar has resigned as chief financial officer (CFO) of the company.

The company will announce the effective date of relieving of Kumar and details of the successor in due course, Vedanta Ltd said in a filing to BSE.

"The board has taken note of the resignation of GR Arun Kumar from the post of Whole-Time Director & Chief Financial Officer of the company to pursue career outside of the Group," Vedanta said.

Kumar has made invaluable contribution towards the company's growth and its transformation journey during his tenure of close to eight years, it added.

Vedanta Ltd, a subsidiary of Vedanta Resources Ltd, is one of the world's leading diversified natural resource companies with business operations in India, South Africa, Namibia, and Australia.

Vedanta is a leading producer of oil and gas, zinc, lead, silver, copper, iron ore, steel, aluminium and power.

Also read: Vedanta invites bids for sale of natural gas from Rajasthan block

Yerevan and Moscow are working on the possibility of redeploying a certain formation of the Russian 102nd military base in Gyumri to eastern Armenia, Armenian Defense Minister Vagharshak Harutyunyan told RIA Novosti.

"Probably, it is more correct to speak about the possibility of redeploying any military formation from the Russian military base in the eastern direction of Armenia (taking into account its expansion), and in this context, the issue is being jointly worked out," the minister said.

Also, according to him, additional functions have been imposed on the border guards in Armenia to ensure the security and protection of the country's border with Azerbaijan. "I have no doubt that close and effective cooperation has been established between the border services of our [two] countries [Armenia and Russia], as well as the fact that all the tasks set for the Russian border guards in Armenia will be fulfilled at the highest level," Harutyunyan added.

"Before the [recent] conflict in Nagorno-Karabakh [(Artsakh)], the Russian () Border Guard Department staff in Armenia was responsible for ensuring the security and protection of the border of the Commonwealth of Independent States passing through the territory of the Republic of Armenia. Today the situation has changed significantly," the minister said.
President Bidens secretary of defense today publicly backed the Air Force decision-making process that named Alabama the best site for the permanent headquarters of the U.S. Space Command.

Defense Secretary Lloyd Austin communicated to Air Force leaders that he supports their decision-making process about the preferred location of Space Command headquarters, Pentagon press secretary John Kirby said in a statement today.

Austins statement follows an announcement Feb. 19 that the Defense Departments inspector general will begin a probe of how Huntsvilles Redstone Arsenal was picked as the best site. That probe came after political leaders in Colorado asked for a review. Colorado is site of the commands temporary headquarters and a finalist to be its permanent home.

Kirby said Austin, an Alabama native, understands they will not make a final decision until 2023, and he looks forward to staying informed as they work through those deliberations.

Alabama Gov. Kay Ivey also issued a statement today welcoming the review. Ivey said her state is confident the decision was based on merit.

Former Air Force Secretary Barbara Barrett announced Jan. 13 that the service was recommending that U.S. Space Command be relocated from Colorados Peterson Air Force Base to Huntsville.
Kiwi insurer Tower announced it has agreed to pay $14m in cash to ANZ to acquire and assume ANZs rights and obligations relating to servicing a portfolio of insurance underwritten by Tower. This transaction enables this portfolio to be brought into the Tower Direct business.

Tower provided insurance for ANZ and National Bank customers between 1990 and 2009 and continues to cover over 23,000 people under those policies. On completion of the acquisition these customers will be insured directly by Tower under a Tower branded policy. These customers have always been insured by Tower under these policies and that is not changing as a result of this acquisition. No steps need to be taken by existing customers.

Blair Turnbull, Tower CEO, says the deal delivers positive value for Tower and its shareholders by ending all future ANZ commission payments on the portfolio. Premiums from the ANZ portfolio contributed $40m in FY20 to Towers Gross Written Premium. The agreement also enables the migration of these customers to Towers leading cloud-based, digital platform which delivers operational efficiencies for the company and offers customers a more expansive and modern product range.

We have a tried and true method to migrate customers from legacy platforms and products to our new technology, which improves the customer experience and delivers scale efficiencies. We adopted this successful acquisition strategy with Youi NZ, Club Marine and now ANZ, said Turnbull.

Turnbull says that the acquisition means these customers will now have access to Towers leading digital and data technology that provides simple and rewarding experiences for customers. We will be deepening our relationships with these customers, with increased engagement and access to modern and innovative new products, as well as enabling them to go online to understand and manage all aspects of their insurance.

No regulatory approvals are required to proceed under the agreement and the acquisition is unconditional, with completion expected to take place on 12 March 2021.

Please see the link below for details:

Tower to acquire ANZ legacy portfolio

Source: Tower Limited

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MESA, Ariz., Feb. 22, 2021 /PRNewswire/ -- ATLIS Motor Vehicles, Inc. and Clemson University have partnered to advance development of electric-vehicle batteries that charge faster, last longer and can be scaled to fit a variety of vehicle classes.

ATLIS, a startup company based in Arizona, is developing battery cells and packs to power the Atlis XP Platform and XT pickup truck. The associated battery research is being jointly executed at the Clemson Nanomaterials Institute (CNI). To further advance the technology, ATLIS and Clemson executed a three-year master research agreement led by CNI founder and director Apparao Rao, an expert in nanomaterials, the R. A. Bowen professor of physics, and a Fellow of four prestigious societies  the American Physical Society, American Association for Advancement of Science, National Academy of Inventors and the Materials Research Society. Rao's research is focused on understanding and exploiting the properties of nanomaterials for energy harvesting and energy storage.

At CNI, Professor Rao along with his research associates and students will assist ATLIS with further development of their battery technology. Unlike existing cell designs, the ATLIS battery will utilize custom coatings to strike a balance between energy and power. These coatings, coupled with a special mechanical construction, will lead to optimized energy capacity and reduced charging time.

"I was presented the opportunity to partner with ATLIS through one of my former students who is now an engineer at ATLIS," said Rao. "Through this collaborative effort, I have not only been able to utilize my proficiency in nanomaterials to assist in further developing this superior cell technology, but I have also had the opportunity to provide an atmosphere where my students and postdoctoral researchers can experience firsthand the steps taken by industry to develop a product and bring it to market. This partnership highlights that CNI is a hub where academia-industrial partnerships are fostered by bringing faculty researchers together with industry partners to create new technologies."

ATLIS is developing an all-electric XT pickup truck with the goal of outperforming gasoline and diesel-powered pickup trucks with a 500-mile range battery that recharges in less than 15 minutes. The ATLIS battery-cell technology features a minimum number of components, thus reducing assembly cost and complexity, while providing an ultra-fast charging structure. ATLIS aims to utilize formulations developed by the joint research team, through this partnership, to improve the overall function and structure of the battery with the intent to adapt the findings for use in future vehicle offerings.

"This is an exciting example of how collaborative efforts between scholars and practitioners can benefit both our academic and entrepreneurial stakeholders", said Mark Hanchett, Founder and Chief Executive Officer of ATLIS. "Our team along with Clemson's CNI researchers will be conducting critical research to bring innovative battery technology to market."

"Industry collaborations like this nurture commercial innovations, help us maintain unique research facilities, and provide excellent educational and networking opportunities for students," said Tanju Karanfil, Clemson University vice president for research. "I am excited to see the impact ATLIS and Dr. Rao and his team have through this research."

The CNI is located at the Clemson University Advanced Materials Research Laboratory in Anderson County. The Institute specializes in studying the fundamental properties and applications of a broad range of nanomaterials and is developing cutting-edge multidisciplinary research that can widen the frontiers of nanoscience and significantly impact industrial technologies. Established in 2013, CNI contains approximately 5,000 square-feet of research space and houses a variety of synthesis and characterization equipment. Currently, CNI has seven active agreements with industrial partners, and nearly 10 faculty members, 25 students and postdocs use the facility for various collaborative projects.

"CNI is an excellent example of capabilities that exist in Clemson's research enterprise that can be leveraged by industrial partners to create collaborations that have an eye toward creating new technologies," said Chase Kasper, Director of Business Development at the Clemson University Research Foundation (CURF), which provides technology transfer and industry engagement support for Clemson's research enterprise. "The partnership between ATLIS and CNI is another example of how CURF is actively engaged in creating linkages and formalizing relationships with industry partners. We are very excited to see how the CNI and ATLIS will work together to advance and shape the future of the electric truck."

About Clemson University

One of the most productive public research universities in the nation, Clemson University attracts and powerfully unites students and faculty whose greatest desire is to make a difference in the lives of others. A Carnegie R1 research institution ranked among the best national public universities by U.S. News & World Report, Clemson is dedicated to teaching, research and service. Our main campus, located in Upstate South Carolina, sits on 1,400 acres in the foothills of the Blue Ridge Mountains, along the shores of Lake Hartwell. We have a presence in every South Carolina county through research facilities, economic development hubs and innovation campuses. Through the research, outreach and entrepreneurial projects led by our faculty and students, Clemson University is driving economic development and improving quality of life in South Carolina and beyond. For more information, go to clemson.edu or visit us on Facebook, Instagram or Twitter.

About ATLIS Motor Vehicles

ATLIS is a mobility technology company developing products that will power work. The ATLIS innovators are building an electric vehicle technology platform for heavy and light duty work trucks used in the agriculture, service, utility, and construction industries. To meet the towing and payload capabilities of legacy diesel-powered vehicles, ATLIS is developing proprietary battery technology and a modular system architecture capable of scaling to meet the specific needs of the all-electric vehicle. For more information visit www.atlismotorvehicles.com .

SOURCE ATLIS Motor Vehicles

Related Links

http://www.atlismotorvehicles.com


WASHINGTON (Reuters) - Republican U.S. Senator Susan Collins on Monday said she would vote against Democratic President Joe Biden's Office of Management and Budget (OMB) nominee Neera Tanden, further imperiling her confirmation.

"Neera Tanden has neither the experience nor the temperament to lead this critical agency. Her past actions have demonstrated exactly the kind of animosity that President Biden has pledged to transcend," Collins said in a statement. "The OMB needs steady, experienced, responsive leadership. I will vote against confirming Ms Tanden."

The moderate Republican's rejection comes after Democratic U.S. Senator Joe Manchin on Friday announced he would not vote for Tanden, putting her nomination in doubt in the 50-50 divided chamber.

Biden on Friday said he still had confidence there would be enough votes in the Senate to confirm Tanden, who has been criticized by Republicans and some Democrats over past harsh comments on social media.

Both Collins and Manchin cited her Twitter posts in their statements. Tanden, an Indian-American who would be the first woman of color to lead the agency, apologized to senators at her confirmation hearing.

Representatives for the OMB and the White House did not immediately respond to a request for comment.

At least one Republican vote would be needed to secure her role as OMB director, if all other Democrats stay on board, since they control 50 seats in the chamber and Vice President Kamala Harris can break a tie.

(Reporting by Andrea Shalal; writing by Susan Heavey; Editing by Catherine Evans)
Its no secret that theres been a rash of crime and violence downtown, Reilly said. There are big numbers of people who come down to this part of the city on Thursday through Saturday nights. People are inebriated and theres a lot of drug use going on down here, and it can get chaotic at times. I would like to see a stepped-up security presence in our hospitality corridors to prevent these types of things from happening.
Ban on travel between regions extended until March 27 "Indispensable to continue with the restrictions" - Speranza

(ANSAmed) - ROME, FEB 22 - Premier Mario Draghi's cabinet on Monday approved a decree extending a ban on travel between Italy's regions until March 27.



The ban, part of the restrictions aimed at combatting the spread of COVID-19, was imposed by the past government of ex-premier Giuseppe Conte and was set to expire Thursday The new decree also extends the rule under which no more than two adults, and their children aged under 14, can visit another person's private home.



"It is indispensable to continue with the restrictions with the (spread of the COVID) variants," said Health Minister Roberto Speranza.



Regional Affairs Minister Maria Stella Gelmini promised that Draghi's executive would make "timely" decisions on COVID restrictions in agreement with the regional governments.



One of the criticisms directed at Conte's government was that decisions on coronavirus restrictions were frequently announced at the last minute, giving businesses little time to adapt or meaning that costly preparations made in view of restrictions being eased were for nothing. (ANSAmed).




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About 300 miles off the coast of Morocco, a tiny archipelago seems like Portugal's take on the classic Hawaiian getaway.

For one, there's a noteworthy cultural connection between Madeira and its Pacific counterpart: Immigrants from this autonomous region of Portugal introduced the ukulele to Hawaii in the 19th century. Then there's the tropical volcanic landscape, with terrain ideal for hiking and mountain biking. Now, both island destinations are hoping to attract remote workers to help prop up their largely tourism-driven economies, which have struggled throughout the ongoing pandemic.

In mid-December, Hawaii kicked off a long-term stay program for 50 out-of-staters to work remotely there. Madeira, which has maintained relatively low infection rates, launched a program earlier this month that takes the concept to another level - converting infrastructure in one coastal town to launch a community for digital nomads.

Digital Nomads Madeira Islands is akin to a summer camp for grown-ups. The program provides a free co-working space and helps find accommodations, which nomads rent privately. Organizers have dubbed it the first "digital nomad village" in the European Union.

A privileged class of workers have used the disruption of the pandemic and subsequent surge in remote work to become nomads. For some, it's been an experience fraught with "covid grief," "travel shaming" and even a few controversial deportations. Responsible nomads have temporarily chosen a new home base, but many are planning their post-pandemic moves. Digital nomad advocates say these new workers signal a much larger wave set to break as soon as travel restrictions ease.

"People are taking advantage of this new freedom they have to travel and work from different places," says Goncalo Hall, a nomad and remote work consultant who first pitched the idea of a digital nomad village to Madeira's authorities in September.

[Thinking about a remote-work trip? Consider these tips first.]

At first, Hall framed the village as a way for struggling communities to replace lost tourism revenue. But he sees this pandemic pilot of around 100 nomads - most of whom have come from throughout the European Union, all required to show negative coronavirus tests on arrival - as the start of a growing trend.

"I think this new remote work wave will allow more and more people to [become digital nomads]." At this point, he suggests, it's only inevitable.

- - -

The pandemic has accelerated several predictions that Japanese technologist Tsugio Makimoto made 2 decades ago in his book "Digital Nomad," one of the first-known uses of the term. In the late-'90s, Makimoto said the digital revolution would eventually eliminate the need to live near your employer - or have an employer at all.

In the case of Madeira, thousands of people from around the world have expressed interest in joining the program in Ponta do Sol - far more than the few hundred the organizers originally expected. Of those respondents, about 50 percent decided to become nomads because of the pandemic, Hall estimates.

Newer nomads say the pandemic pushed them to take a more location-independent approach to their careers - sometimes out of necessity.

"The pandemic forced me to stop and reflect on my life, and gave me the time to develop as a 'travelprenuer,'" Kesi Irvin said in an email. After covid-19 eliminated Irvin's job as a host on sailing charters, she quickly had to pivot. As she had already built an audience on Instagram for her travel content, she decided to become a full-time blogger, relocating to Budapest in September.

Pandemic travel restrictions have halted the rapid pace of most nomads. But with increasing concerns over the aviation industry's carbon footprint, as well as the negative impact of overtourism, some nomads plan to slow their roll even when they're able to travel more freely. It's a travel style sometimes referred to as "slowmad."

"I actually was never a fan of the country-hopping, fast-paced rhythm of some travelers," Gabby Beckford, a co-founder of the Black Travel Alliance, said in an email. She is better known on Instagram and TikTok as @packslight.

A year ago, Beckford quit her 9-to-5 engineering job to travel, but the pandemic kept her working remotely from her parent's house in Virginia. At the start of 2021, she decided she "couldn't stay home for another year," so she relocated to Dubai. There, she says, she's keeping an eye on the case counts. "With the vaccine rolling out," she says, "I'm giving myself a bit of time to see how things evolve." In the meantime, she is making a plan for what countries she might "'slowmad' through" once the public health conditions permit her to make her next move.

- - -

Nomads before the pandemic were mostly a niche group of millennials, many of whom promoted the #DigitalNomadLife on Instagram. They would live out of carry-on suitcases and often cross borders every few weeks, a pace set by the limits of short-term tourist visas.

This was an era of the "bromads" and the "life-hacking" popularized by self-help authors like Timothy Ferriss, who wrote the 2007 bestseller "The 4-Hour Workweek: Escape 9-5, Live Anywhere and Join the New Rich." Ferriss preached a gospel of "geo-arbitrage" - the idea that money goes further in "cheaper" places than San Francisco or New York.

If "overtourism" defines the negative effects of an overwhelming number of tourists, then "overnomadism" seems like an apt way of describing what happened when this young class of jet-setters descended on popular destinations, from Bali and Berlin to Barcelona and Chiang Mai, Thailand. With destinations trending online and the influx of short-term rentals driving up rent, some cities began cracking down on Airbnb to tackle this brand of global gentrification.

But the economic crisis and covid-19 pandemic seems to have changed the tone in many destinations. A new category of "digital nomad visas" might make it easier for foreigners to legally stay in one place for longer periods of time. The visas also allow countries to target more mindful nomads in the process.

Last summer, Estonia became the first country to announce a digital nomad visa, which authorities believe appeals to a different type of traveler. "If you are the kind of digital nomad who would like to build long-lasting business relationships and friendships, a digital nomad visa can certainly get you into a more relaxed head space for when you approach social interactions," says Florian Marcus, digital transformation adviser at the government agency e-Estonia.

So far, the tiny Baltic country has seen more than 10,000 people sign up for more information about its visa.

Related programs, including Barbados' "Welcome Stamp" to Greece's tax breaks for "digital migrants," signal the international enthusiasm for allowing these highly mobile workers to stick around longer than most earlier nomads were permitted to. Croatia, a popular spot for nomads during the pandemic, recently approved the first foreigner, an American, for its new 12-month visa program.

"Right when the pandemic started, I was asked the question what we can do to turn Croatia into a year-round destination," Jan de Jong says. The Netherlands-born, Zagreb-based entrepreneur wrote an open letter on LinkedIn last summer to Croatia's prime minister. "Seeing a global trend of remote work being accelerated by covid-19, my thoughts were to start welcoming remote workers to Croatia."

His viral post ultimately inspired the country to become among the few in Europe so far to approve a temporary residence permit for digital nomads. "Many more countries will follow," he predicts.

Before the pandemic, Madeira's tourism sector was booming, with more than a million annual visitors. When designed with participation from locals, nomad villages have the potential to bring in similar revenue as seasonal tourists, but with a smaller number of longer-term visitors, Hall says. He says the community partnerships might help this new wave of newbies avoid making "the same mistakes" pre-pandemic nomads commonly made such as "traveling too fast" and "not having a positive impact [on the locals]."

"These new people can learn from the more experienced people," Hall says. "I don't want all OGs. That would be Bali again. And I don't want all newbies, either. That would be a weird environment. This new mixture is actually quite fun."
New Delhi, Feb 22 : Prime Minister Narendra Modi said on Monday that there was a time when the Tejas project was to be closed in the files, but his government revived it and today the indigenous fighter jet project is flying in the sky with glory.

"India is aggressively working to enhance its capabilities and capacities. There was a time when our own fighter jet project was being closed in the files. But my government believed in the engineers and scientists and today the Tejas project is flying in the sky with glory," Modi said during a webinar for the effective implementation of the provisions of the Union Budget for the defence sector.

"We have century-old experience when it comes to making arms and ammunition. During World War I and II, India supplied weapons and defence equipment. But post-Independence, due to many reasons, the situation deteriorated. Today, even for small arms we are relying on imports. We are now one of the largest defence importers, which is not a matter of pride," he said.

Expressing faith in India's engineers, scientists, innovators and researchers, Modi said that the country is now prepared to change the scenario of dependency on imports.

The Prime Minister also said that few weeks ago, an order worth Rs 48,000 crore was placed which would benefit many inb the MSME sector.

The government has awarded a contract worth Rs 48,000 crore to the Hindustan Aeronautics Limited (HAL) for supply of 73 MK-1A Tejas jets and 10 MK-1 trainer aircraft to the Indian Air Force.

The Prime Minister also talked about a ban on 100 items for import till 2024.

"The Centre has made a list of 100 items for import embargo. It makes us 'Aatmanirbhar' as our manufacturing capability will improve, and reliance on other countries will reduce and there'll be job creation," he said.

Modi also said that without the private sector, the defence manufacturing ecosystem can't flourish in the 21st century.

-- The story has been published from a wire feed without any modifications to the text
Two Car Park Party shows in April expected to sell out fast

TICKETS went on sale at 8am this morning (Monday, February 22) for Car Park Party Horrible Histories, which is back at the racecourse in April, due to the demands of children - and parents - across the country.

The drive-in tour is visiting 15 locations across the UK, including Newbury Racecourse on Tuesday, April 13, at 2pm and 5pm. Tickets went on sale this morning.



Having staged their Covid-safe production to delighted audiences at the racecourse last summer, Birmingham Stage Company and Coalition Agency have added 25 Horrible Histories  Barmy Britain shows to the Car Park Party Easter line up alongside David Walliams Billionaire Boy.



The theatre show features Queen Boudicca, King Henry VIII, Guy Fawkes, Dick Turpin, Queen Victoria and more historical characters from our barmy past.



Actor/director Neal Foster from Birmingham Stage Company said: Im over the moon to be back on tour with Barmy Britain after its hugely successful tour last summer. Its weird and wonderful to be performing in car parks and to see the audience having fun behind their windshields. We cant wait to get back out there.



Horrible Histories Live on Stage is based on the bestselling books written by Terry Deary, illustrated by Martin Brown and published by Scholastic. It first launched in 2005 with the world premieres of Terrible Tudors & Vile Victorians. Since then, the Birmingham Stage Company has produced 18 different Horrible shows, performing to over three million people in the UK, including the longest running childrens show in West End history, with its record-breaking series Barmy Britain. Horrible Histories Live on Stage has also become a worldwide phenomenon, performing in Hong Kong, Singapore, Dubai, Qatar, Oman, Abu Dhabi, Bahrain, New Zealand and Australia, where it performed in the Concert Hall of the Sydney Opera House.



Terry Deary is the author of Horrible Histories which is the worlds bestselling childrens history book series. The series is illustrated by Martin Brown. There are over 80 Horrible Histories titles with sales over 30 million in 40 countries. Deary is also the author of over 300 fiction and non-fiction books for young people.



This fantastic show entertains all ages with its hysterical historical journey through the barmiest bits of British history.



carparkparty.com.

Tuesday 13th April Newbury Racecourse (2pm & 5pm)

For all media enquiries please contact Warren@chuffmedia.com on 07762 130510

Car Park party will be adhering to all the current Covid-19 social distancing guidelines to ensure everybody has an enjoyable and very safe experience:



It is an organised gathering whereby it is known in advance those who are attending, enabling contact with attendees before, during and after the event.



No different from people attending other social-distanced events, the expectation is that people will already be attuned to the measures required.



There will be traffic management team on site and all vehicles will be parked two metres apart.



Tickets will be scanned through the windows, so no human contact necessary.



There will be a range of food and beverage offering available at the event and we will be adhering to all the COVID-19 government guidelines.



Toilet facilities will be provided with social distancing health and safety management and sanitization measures in place.




A tiny, round adhesive plaster on Eliza Attwoods upper arm marks her place in history.

When I go home tonight Im going to tell my children about this, said the St Vincents Hospital wards-person supervisor moments after she walked out of the Royal Prince Alfred Hospitals COVID-19 vaccination hub on Monday.

St Vincents Hospitals Eliza Attwood, right, and Rachel Macfarlane, left, (left) after receiving their COVID-19 vaccination on Monday. Credit:Kate Geraghty

Ill tell my great-grandchildren that I was there, that I was one of the first people to get the shot. She missed too many of her childrens sports games and concerts to work through the pandemic, she said.

About 1200 frontline quarantine and healthcare workers received the COVID vaccination on Monday. Within three weeks more than 35,000 frontline personnel will have had their first dose of the Pfizer vaccine via Sydneys three vaccination hubs run by RPA, Westmead and Liverpool hospitals.
External Affairs Minister on Monday called on Mauritius President Prithvirajsing Roopun during which the two leaders discussed the "super special" bilateral relationship.

Jaishankar, who arrived here in India's strategically key maritime neighbour in the Indian Ocean region on Sunday night from the Maldives on the last leg of his two-nation tour, met the president after concluding talks with Prime Minister Pravind Jugnauth and Foreign Minister Alan Ganoo.

"Thank President Prithvirajsing Roopun for receiving me. Warm discussion on our super special' relationship. Expressed satisfaction at the impact it has made on the lives of the people," Jaishankar tweeted.

He also met the Leader of Opposition, Dr. Arvin Boolell, and emphasised India's strong and consistent support to the development of Mauritius.

The minister also held talks with Mouvement Militant Mauricien Party leader & former prime minister Paul Berenger on growing India-Mauritius ties. "Conveyed India's continued commitment to progress & development of Mauritius," he tweeted.

Jaishankar accompanied Health Minister Dr. Kailesh Kumar Singh Jagutpal to the new ENT hospital built with the Indian assistance. "Glad to see that it plays a key role in Mauritius' fight against COVID," he tweeted.

"#VaccineMaitri in action, this time in jabs. Stopped by at the Covid Vaccination Centre at Victoria Hospital using Made in India vaccines," he said in another tweet.

India sent 100,000 doses of 'Made in India' COVID-19 vaccines to Mauritius immediately after it rolled out its own vaccination program.

On Monday, Jaishankar handed Prime Minister Jugnauth over an additional 100,000 doses of vaccines while asserting that India's helping hand was always over the horizon - responsive, resolute and reliable.

(Only the headline and picture of this report may have been reworked by the Business Standard staff; the rest of the content is auto-generated from a syndicated feed.)
A Delhi court on Monday sent 21-year-old climate activist Disha Ravi, arrested in connection with allegedly being involved in sharing a "toolkit" on social media related to the farmers' protest, to one day police custody.

Chief Metropolitan Magistrate Pankaj Sharma allowed custodial interrogation of Ravi after police said she was required to be confronted with co-accused.



Ravi was produced before the court on expiry of her three-day judicial custody.

The court on Friday had sent her to judicial custody after police had said her custodial interrogation was not required for the time being.

The agency had said that it would seek her further custodial interrogation once co-accused -- Nikita Jacob and Shantanu Muluk -- join the interrogation on February 22.

Ravi was arrested by Delhi police on February 13 from Bengaluru.

(Only the headline and picture of this report may have been reworked by the Business Standard staff; the rest of the content is auto-generated from a syndicated feed.)
Mike Pence at CPAC last year in National Harbor, Maryland. Alex Wong/Getty Images

Mike Pence will not be attending the conservative conference CPAC this year, an organizer said.

Former President Donald Trump is the highest-profile guest, alongside many of his allies.

CPAC was once a mainstay of establishment conservatism but is increasingly loyal to Trump.

Visit the Business section of Insider for more stories.

Former Vice President Mike Pence has declined an invitation to the Conservative Political Action Conference, where former President Donald Trump is scheduled to make his first public speech since leaving office.

The conference is set to open Thursday in Orlando, Florida, and is one of the year's most important conservative political gatherings.

As one of the highest-profile conservatives in the US, Pence is usually a prominent speaker at the event.

Matt Schlapp, the organizer of CPAC, told USA Today that Pence declined an invite. The news was reported earlier by Politico.

Schlapp expressed regret at Pence's absence, saying "conservatives want to hear his take on the current threats posed by socialism and this radicalized Democrat party."

A source close to Pence told CNN the former vice president was looking to stay out of the public eye for six months.

The news that Pence would not be attending came after Trump was confirmed on Saturday as a speaker at the event.

Trump's relationship with Pence deteriorated fast after the November election, reaching a nadir around the Capitol riot on January 6.

Pence had refused to attempt to block the congressional certification of Joe Biden's victory in the 2020 election, ignoring prompts from Trump, because he did not have the constitutional authority to do so.

During Trump's impeachment trial, senators were presented with evidence that Trump knew of the danger Pence was in during the riot even as he continued to attack Pence on Twitter.

Supporters of the president chanted "Hang Mike Pence!" during the riot, furious that he did not try to block the process.

Story continues

While Trump skipped Biden's inauguration, Pence attended it.

Intermediaries, including Ivanka Trump, have stepped in to try to repair relations between them.

Insider reported last week that CPAC appeared to be siding with Trump in the battle for the soul of the Republican Party that erupted after the riot.

While the Republican grassroots and some lawmakers have remained loyal to Trump, a smaller number of influential Republicans, including Senate Minority Leader Mitch McConnell, are seeking to distance the party from the former president.

Read the original article on Business Insider

Is it fair or even patriotic to threaten states that do not conform to the Democratic Socialists' mandate to control the outcome of Free and Fair elections enacted by constitutionally guaranteed states' legislatures?

Yes, all elections must be federalized so that the whim of the majority political party can set the standard for all elections.

No, Our Founders purposefully decentralized elections by guaranteeing only states' legislatures the independent right to enact Free and Fair elections.
A space station supply ship named after the Black NASA mathematician featured in the movie Hidden Figures rocketed into orbit Saturday, the 59th anniversary of John Glenns historic launch.

Northrop Grummans Cygnus capsule  dubbed the S.S. Katherine Johnson  should reach the International Space Station on Monday following its launch from Virginias eastern shore.

Johnson died almost exactly a year ago at age 101.

Mrs. Johnson was selected for her hand-written calculations that helped launch the first Americans into space, as well as her accomplishments in breaking glass ceiling after glass ceiling as a Black woman, Frank DeMauro, a Northrop Grumman vice president, said on the eve of liftoff. A homework assignment for all of you is to go watch that movie after the Cygnus launch.

Johnsons numbers contributed to the Feb. 20, 1962, flight in which Glenn became the first American to orbit the world. Contributions to the success of Glenns flight by Johnson and other Black women were depicted in the 2017 film. They worked at NASAs Langley Research Center in Hampton, Virginia, 100 miles from the launch site at Wallops Island.

Northrop Grumman launched the 4-ton shipment for NASA in the early afternoon from Wallops, where temperatures were just above freezing. The Antares rocket was visible from the Carolinas to Connecticut, at least where skies were clear.

This will be the space stations second delivery in less than a week. A Russian capsule pulled up Wednesday with apples and oranges, among other things.

Oh, we love fresh food!!! tweeted Japanese astronaut Soichi Noguchi. He noted that the space station flew over Virginia just 10 minutes ahead of Saturdays launch.

Noguchi and his six U.S. and Russian crewmates can expect more apples once the Cygnus arrives, along with tomatoes, nuts, smoked salmon, Parmesan and cheddar cheeses, caramels and coconut strips.

The capsule also holds 120,000 tiny roundworms for a muscle experiment, as well as off-the-shelf computer equipment to increase data processing speed at the space station. Also flying: radiation detectors intended for NASAs astronaut moon-landing program, and a new system to convert more of the astronauts urine into drinking water.

It is Northrop Grummans 15th station supply run for NASA. SpaceX is NASAs other shipper.

___

The Associated Press Health and Science Department receives support from the Howard Hughes Medical Institutes Department of Science Education. The AP is solely responsible for all content.
John McAreavey has spoken at length for the first time about his grief following the murder of his late wife, Michaela Harte.

Michaela was tragically killed at 27-years-old while the two were honeymooning in Mauritius in 2011.

John is now married to Tara Brennan and they welcomed their first child last October.

The GAA player said he would never use the term "moving on" when it comes to his late wife, and the trauma from her death leaves him worried that Tara will be "taken" from him.

Speaking to Brian Dowling on his podcast Death Becomes Him, he said: "I haven't really spoken publicly about my grief in that many settings in the past 10 years. It was a worldwide story. I think the fact that it was so tragic, that's what caught people's attention. We were only married a number of days before. At a time when you should be in the most perfect bliss of your life, your honeymoon, for something so tragic to happen, it's almost incomprehensible to people. People just felt so sorry for me and for our families."

He said "nothing can prepare you for grief" and that 10 years after the death of Michaela he would never use the term "moving on". "This concept or notion of moving on in life, always really bugged the life out of me," John said. "For me, it was always about moving forward with this being a part of my life. Trying to move forward in life, and have a place for this grief in my life, and it didn't give me the guilt that if I was trying to move forward in life, trying to have a life after the death of Michaela that I wasn't putting it into a box."

During the conversation about grief, the Co Down man spoke about the trauma of Michaela's murder on him.

"I had visions of what happened to Michaela come to me every day for a long time," he said. "They would come at the most random times, there didn't have to be something that triggered them. I could just be in class and they would come.

"Rather than trying to block them out, after a while, I said, 'I'm going to think about this for a while now that it's come into my mind. I'm going to think about it. I'm going to give it two or three minutes and then I'm going to say I'm done thinking about that now and I'm going to move forward with my day'."

He said he was a "very sad person" for a long time after Michaela's death, and that while the "wound" will always be there he is now in a place where there is "calmness, there is love, there is joy."
Focused on technologies that eliminates or moderates need for biologics

Has developed Safe Entry Stations to test for coronavirus symptoms

Two US patents filed for symptom screening technology and two more for remote patient monitoring

What Predictmedix does:

Predictmedix Inc ( ) ( ), formerly known as Cultivar Holdings, is an artificial intelligence (AI) company, which is developing disruptive tools for impairment testing and health care aimed at use across various workplaces and by law enforcement agents.

The technology uses facial and voice recognition to identify both cannabis and alcohol impairment by utilizing multiple features along with numerous data points.

Amid the current coronavirus (COVID-19) pandemic, the team realized the same multi-spectral imaging and AI methods could be deployed to identify virus symptoms and has developed its Safe Entry Stations. People walk through modules (like a tunnel) linked to cloud software and, within fractions of a second, a green or red light appears, identifying those who are exhibiting symptoms.

The firm's technology is focused broadly on four areas - impairment, infectious disease, mental health and remote patient monitoring/telehealth. Dr Rahul Kushwah, president and COO of Predictmedix says the market opportunity across this spectrum is enormous - up to an eye-watering US$300 billion.

The company was co-founded by Kushwah, a former Professor at the University of Ottawa's medical school and a scientist with the government of Canada (National Research Council) turned entrepreneur, and capital markets specialist Sheldon Kales who is a serial entrepreneur and has led the transition of several companies from private space to public trading.

How is it doing:

Predictmedix has had an eventful start to 2021, announcing on February 4 that it was partnering with Juiceworks Exhibits (JUICEWORKS) and Wellness for Humanity to deploy its Safe Entry Stations at the Super Bowl festivities in Tampa, Florida. Developed by infectious disease clinicians and data scientists, Safe Entry Stations are powered by Artificial Intelligence and operate in an autonomous and time-efficient fashion.

The company said E11EVEN Miami, the world's first and only 24/7 ultra-club known for presenting up close & personal live performances while playing host to some of the biggest celebrities in the world, including Drake, Kendall Jenner, Miley Cyrus, Leonardo DiCaprio, and Sting, among others, would be hosting two of five parties taking place at WTR, a 20,000-square-foot outdoor space located on The Godfrey property.

Rigorous safety protocols were being used to protect partygoers, staff and all involved throughout the entirety of the weekend. Prior to entering the space, attendees passed through the Safe Entry Station, which screened them for multiple symptoms associated with COVID-19. If the Safe Entry Station did not clear the attendee, they would then have an additional level of testing provided by Wellness 4 Humanity through a rapid antigen test that provided results in 15 minutes.

On February 16, the company updated shareholders on the deployment of its technology at the parties in Tampa Bay. The company said three units were deployed in total and over 6,000 individuals were scanned. One of the individuals at the event tested red and was subject to a rapid antigen test immediately after, which later confirmed a diagnosis of coronavirus (COVID-19), it added.

At the start of December 2020, Predictmedix had revealed that Wellness 4 Humanity, one of the first organizations to offer coronavirus (COVID-19) testing to support communities, was deploying the Safe Entry Stations at Simon Malls Houston Galleria, an upscale shopping mall located in the uptown district of Houston, in Texas. The Galleria is Texas largest shopping mall with more than 400 stores.

And in a January 25 2021, corporate update, the company noted that its Safe Entry Station was to be showcased in a live event on January 26 in New York City at Wellness4Humanity's flagship location at 225 West 34th Street near Pennsylvania Station.

Elsewhere in January's corporate update, Predictmedix also said it had successfully deployed its technologies for beta testing with major partners in North America and Asia, including Fortune 500 firm India Oil, MGM Hospital COVID-19 ward (one of the largest COVID-19 hospitals in Mumbai, India) and water company Flow Water Inc, it noted.

It noted that prospective clients in the US are particularly interested in a solution that can detect metal as well as infectious disease symptoms. Predictmedix said it and Juiceworks were working with one of the largest metal detector manufacturers in North America to design such a solution.

The company also announced that it had signed a letter of intent (LOI) with one of the largest North American business consulting firms over business development initiatives and said that a definitive sales agreement and was also in discussions with major corporations to start cannabis and alcohol impairment testing pilots in North America, while marketing and sales efforts had ramped up to identify beta partners targeting strategic sectors in North America.

Meanwhile, in November 2020, Predictmedix announced a tie-up with India's premier defence technology company, Paras Defence & Space Technologies Ltd. in a bid to launch its technology in the government and public sector in South Asia. Paras is already a registered vendor to almost all the government and public sector departments in India.

Predictmedix will work alongside the group to launch its infectious disease symptom and impairment screening technologies within these sectors. Paras manufactures defence electronics and space application products. It offers defence automation and control, rugged displays, computing, sensors, missile motors, rockets, telescopes, guns, and ammunition, special-purpose machinery.

Inflection points:

Further news on Safe Entry Station deployments

More details on a letter of intent with a North American business consulting firm

News on discussions with major corporations to start cannabis and alcohol impairment testing pilots in North America

What the boss says:

Announcing the company's India tie-up in November 2020, Dr Rahul Kushwah, chief operating officer of Predictmedix said; "We are extremely excited to partner with Paras as not only are they the premier defence technology company in India but they also have an established presence in the government and the public sector."

"We will be leveraging their expertise not only for fabrication but also to target this significant business opportunity," he added.

Contact the author at jon.hopkins@proactiveinvestors.com
A 10 million support package is being delivered to Northern Irelands two largest airports.

Belfast International Airport and Belfast City Airport have been hit hard, with the cancellation of many routes amid coronavirus restrictions.

Stormont Finance Minister Conor Murphy said his department is in the process of implementing a 10 million package of support for the Belfast airports, while Infrastructure Minister Nichola Mallon is providing 1.2 million for the City of Derry Airport.

Keeping the airports open is the first step to supporting the businesses that work with them, he told MLAs.

He said his department is also holding 150m aside for potential additional business rate relief in the next financial year.

Regional airports will be considered as part of that, he said.

Mr Murphy said he has received bids for additional support for the taxi industry and understands support may be sought for travel agents.

It really is for all the departments who have responsibility for those sectors to bring bids forward, he said.

Meanwhile, Mr Murphy also told MLAs that he hopes an independent fiscal council will be approved by the Executive shortly.

It is set to look as what potential economic, policy and revenue raising levers could be used by the Executive.

He said the council will be operational as soon as the Executive approves it, which he said he hopes will be in a matter of days.

The council is among commitments that were made in the New Decade New Approach deal in January 2019.
Edelman has appointed Ashutosh Munshi, the networks Head of Brand for India, into the role of Head of Brand for Asia Pacific. In this capacity, Munshi will report to Edelmans Global Chair of Brand and F&B, Megan Van Someren, as well as Stephen Kehoe, CEO of Edelman Asia-Pacific.

The appointment follows a year of growth for the agencys Brand practice, both globally and in the region. In line with the findings of Edelmans Brand Trust research, the regional leadership role aims to help brands reimagine how they earn consumer trust amidst a changing landscape. Munshi is tasked with overseeing the launch of new regional capabilities for the Brand practice, involving stronger integration and collaboration across Edelmans strategy, creative, data and analytics, influencer, digital and public relations capabilities.

As we look ahead at the new year and at the continuous shifts in consumer expectations, how brands behave matters more than ever before, says Van Someren. The time is now for brands to step up and put trust at the helm - and not just through communication, but through action and advocacy.

We are delighted to have Ashutosh take on this new role, to which he brings over twenty years of experience integrating and delivering strategic, creative and insight-driven work. Work that achieves tangible and measurable business outcomes for client partners.

Kehoe adds: Our Brand Practice at Edelman continues to lead the industry. Whether it is Adidas in China, GSK in Australia, Oatly in Hong Kong or PepsiCo in India, our Brand team in Asia-Pacific continues to produce award-winning work for our clients.

As a testament to our talent and commitment to grow from within, I am proud to see Ashutosh now take the lead in launching new regional capabilities for our Brand practice, setting the bar higher in areas of brand obsession, curiosity and excellence.

An industry and Edelman veteran, Munshi joined the firm 18 years ago and has worked in its Mumbai, London and New York offices during this time. As Head of Brand for Edelman India and Regional Client Lead on the Unilever business, he has led the markets Brand and Creative teams on the creation of new communications products for authentic influencer marketing, brand campaign risk assessments and the firms earned creative capability.

This year has seen a paradigm shift in how brands need to communicate and engage with consumers and society at large, says Munshi. At Edelman, we believe that it has become even more critical for brands to navigate these changes, in order to earn attention and play a larger role in society. This involves adopting a marketing approach reset that places action at the core, striking the right tone with earned-centric creative ideas, and using trusted voices and credible peer channels. I look forward to bringing this thinking to our clients across the Asia-Pacific region.

Throughout his tenure at Edelman, Munshi has led teams and work win industry honours in the areas of Public Relations (Campaign India, Campaign Asia, Sabre Awards), Creativity (Cannes Lions, Spikes Asia, Tambuli) and Creative Effectiveness (Effie Awards). He has been recognised by industry bodies for his talent and expertise, serving as a Cannes Lions panellist and juror at Marketing and PR awards, including the APAC Effie Awards. He has also been named in Reputation Todays 40 under 40 List of Communications Professionals in India and The Holmes Reports 2016 Innovator 25 Group in Asia-Pacific.

Rakesh Thukral, Managing Director of Edelman India, adds: Under Ashutoshs leadership, we have developed a brand marketing offering in India that delivers creative solutions to earn attention and trust, and therefore drive true impact for our clients. With his expanded role, we look forward to taking this vision to the next level, in India and across the region.
Two of them were set free on Sunday and Monday in accordance with court orders.

The National Security Service (NSS) charged Ara Saghatelian, a former chief of the Armenian parliament staff, Karen Bekarian, a veteran pundit and former lawmaker, and two other men with calling for violence and criticizing government actions in breach of martial law declared during the autumn war in Nagorno-Karabakh.

In a statement, the NSS claimed that the group led by Saghatelian did that through a Facebook page opened in the name of a certain Gagik Soghomonyan. It cited in particular the fake Facebook users abusive statuses blaming Prime Minister Nikol Pashinian for Armenias defeat in the war, branding him a traitor and insulting his supporters.

The Facebook page continued to be updated after the arrests.

All four suspects denied any connection with Gagik Soghomonyan. Lawyers representing them dismissed the accusations as politically motivated.

A Yerevan court sanctioned on Sunday the two-month pre-trial arrest of Saghatelian, who had also run a government-funded public relations agency during former President Serzh Sarkisians rule. His lawyer said he will appeal against the decision.

Another, little-known suspect, Aram Sargsian, was also remanded in custody.

At the same time the court ordered Bekarian and the fourth suspect, Mher Avagian, released from jail. Avagian heads a non-governmental organization called the International Center for the Development of Parliamentarianism.

Bekarian described the criminal case as political persecution when he spoke to reporters following his release on Monday.

When you cant understand the essence of the case, cant understand what is being prosecuted, when you see no logic [behind it] you quickly realize that the [investigators] motive is completely different, he said.

Bekarian used to represent Sarkisians Republican Party (HHK) in Armenias former parliament. He is a co-founder of the Qaryak Media company comprising a TV channel, a radio station and an online news website. All three media outlets are highly critical of the current government.

Representatives of the HHK and other opposition groups strongly condemned the arrests.

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The Kano State Government has awarded contracts for drainage and street light in two local government areas of the state.

This was contained in a statement issued on Tuesday by the Bureau for Land Management, signed by its spokesperson, Auwal Ado.

It listed some of the projects to include the provision of drainage and interlock tiles in Bichi Local Government Area.

The statement said the drainage and tiles would cover the road linking Sanka Quarters in Kofar Sidi Ahmed, Kofar Dan Iya Aminu and Kofar Wambai in Bichi.

ALSO READ: FG signs 25MW power deal for Kano Free Trade Zone

It also said that the government had awarded contract for the provision of street lights on France-Zungeru road, and Lamido road among others in Kano metropolis.

The statement said the contract was signed on behalf of the government by the Permanent Secretary of the Bureau, Muhammad Yusuf, while Aliyu Ibrahim, signed for the contractor, Tiamin Multi-Service Global Limited.

(NAN)
Two Birmingham residents are behind bars after an armed robbery at a Moody business.

A Moody police officer on Saturday night responded to a report of a holdup at the Family Dollar, police said. An officer patrolling the area had actually spotted the suspect vehicle as it was leaving the store but before the robbery had been called in.

As the vehicle turned onto the roadway, the officer noted it had no lights on and decided to make a traffic stop. When he activated his lights and siren for the stop, the vehicle attempted to flee. At the same time the officer was trying to stop the vehicle, the robbery call was dispatched.

Officers, believing that vehicle may be involved, launched a pursuit. The chase traveled through Moody, onto I-20 and into Irondale. It ended when Irondale officers successfully deployed spike stripes and deflated the tires on the suspect vehicle. Police said the two suspects ran from the disabled vehicle but were quickly taken into custody.

Cash believed to have been taken from the Family Dollar, two handguns and clothing - including a mask and jacket seen on one of the suspects in store security video - were recovered from the suspect vehicle.

The St. Clair County Sheriffs Office and Leeds police assisted Moody and Irondale police.

Maurice Todd, 21, and Deja Robinson, 20, both are in custody. They are charged with first-degree robbery and attempting to elude law enforcement. Bond is set at $61,000 each.

Olivia Bowen has been accused of flouting lockdown rules after Alex's stepdad was spotted in the background of her Instagram stories.

The Love Island star, 27, played dumb when an upset fan contacted her about a family member outside of her household appearing to be at the couple's Essex mansion on Sunday  but Olivia told her 'I don't know what you're talking about.'

Alex, 29, whose family is from Wolverhampton, appeared to have his stepdad visit this weekend  despite families being unable to mix indoors as a result of the current national lockdown.

'People breaking the rules is just so unfair': Olivia Bowen has been accused of flouting lockdown rules after Alex's stepdad was spotted in the background of her Instagram stories

On Sunday, Olivia shared a now-deleted Instagram story of her smiling alongside the caption: 'Does anyone else just get so happy in the sun?'

But fans were quick to notice a man in the background of the post they believed to be Alex's stepdad.

One fan confronted Olivia on the apparent rule break, messaging her directly on Instagram to voice her concerns.

She said: 'Hi, just wondering why you have people outside of your family at your house? I would love to be able to see my family and seeing other people breaking the rules is just so unfair.'

Spotted: Alex, whose family is from Wolverhampton, appeared to have his stepdad visit despite families being unable to mix indoors as a result of the current national lockdown

'What person?': Olivia played dumb when an upset fan contacted her about a family member outside of her household appearing to be at the couple's Essex mansion on Sunday

Olivia responded: 'Not sure what you're talking about' while the fan continued: 'The person in the background of your latest story.'

'What person?' Olivia said, to which the fan replied: 'Alex's stepdad.' Olivia said: 'Haven't seen anyone.'

The fan probed: 'Do you not think acting ignorant is just selfish? Like I've not even been rude,' prompting Olivia to say: 'I'm not because I don't know what you're talking about.'

Olivia quickly removed the incriminating Instagram story from her profile.

A spokesman for the couple told MailOnline Alex's stepdad is a 'carpenter by trade who has been doing some joinery woodwork, alone, for their house this weekend.'

The couple, who met on Love Island in 2016, were called out on Sunday night for being one of many reality stars to be claiming handouts through the coronavirus furlough scheme.

Married: The Love Island couple were called out on Sunday night for being one of many reality stars to be claiming handouts through the coronavirus furlough scheme

They appear on a government list of claimants with their business OAB Fashion Ltd despite being believed to be Love Island's biggest earners with a combined net worth of approximately 4.4million.

2017 Islander Gabby Allen, 28, also came under fire for taking government money for 'amusement and recreation activities' firm GDA Enterprises Ltd, despite being worth an estimated 1.3million.

Olivia previously slammed her fellow reality stars for 'flaunting' their foreign holidays online  and making the pandemic harder for everyone else at home.

Speaking to MailOnline this month, Olivia said: 'You have to make sure you are going out there for the right purposes, like for work and I do feel there's a lot of flaunting going on, which makes it harder for everyone.

'You don't have to share; do you know what I mean? You don't have to share you in a bikini on the beach.

'It's just not a necessary thing and it doesn't look like work. It's a hard one but at the end of the day people are going to do what they want and we've just got to let them get on with it.'

Her comments came after TOWIE's Yazmin Oukhellou, 26, had continued to post bikini pictures of herself on Instagram despite claiming she relocated to Dubai for 'work purposes.'

Prime minister Boris Johnson is preparing to unveil England's 'roadmap' out of lockdown in a statement to Commons on Monday afternoon.

Though many restrictions, including mixing indoors, and pubs and restaurants being closed, are thought to be remaining in place until at least May.
Rights groups say Cambodias government must help those who return to earn a living.

Authorities in Thailand deported more than 200 Cambodian migrant workers Monday as both Bangkok and Phnom Penh began enforcing new regulations to stem the spread of the coronavirus pandemic in their nations.

The move prompted rights groups to call for assistance from Cambodian Prime Minister Hun Sens government to offset expected financial difficulties for the deportees.

Um Sophal, the Police Commissioner for Banteay Meanchey provincewhich borders Thailandtold RFAs Khmer Service that all of the deportees returned by foot to Cambodia through the OBey Chorn and Malai border checkpoints.

They were all taken to places to isolate for 14 days in the various districts and the seat of Banteay Meanchey province, Serey Sophorn, he said.

Earlier this month, Thailands Ministry of Labor reported that nearly 120,000 Cambodian workers have registered to work for up to two years in the country since announcing the requirement on Jan. 15 and warned it would take action against any foreigners who fail to do so by Feb. 14. The ministry said the move is part of efforts to prevent the spread of the coronavirus within Thailands borders.

Dy Thehoya, a migration program official with Cambodian labor watchdog Central, told RFA at the time that more than 400,000 Cambodians are believed to be working illegally in Thailand and said around three-fourths of them could be thrown out of the country or detained after the registration deadline passes.

On Monday, Sum Chankea, Human Rights Coordinator for local rights group Adhoc in Banteay Meanchey, said the Cambodian migrant workers were returned home because they faced economic hardship amid the pandemic and unemployment for many months in Thailand.

Returning by themselves costs money. Therefore, if they surrender themselves to the Thai authorities, the Thai police will transport them to the border areas free of charge, he said.

The return comes as Hun Sen issued an order to arrest and hold in pre-trial detention people who cross the border to find work in Thailand and return home.

People end up working abroad without receiving wages, subject to humiliation and imprisonment, because of human traffickers and labor exploiters, the prime minister said.

We must take strict measures to apprehend them all and minimize the problem. This is a way to respect human rights. Then, let human rights workers deal with these bad guys.

Recent restrictions

In the past several days, Hun Sen has ordered a high-alert troop deployment along the Thai-Cambodian border in Pailin, Battambang, Banteay Meanchey and Udor Meanchey provinces to stop people from crossing the border and to enforce a 14-day quarantine policy.

From the end of 2020 to Feb. 15, 35,665 Cambodian migrant workers have been returned to Cambodia from Thailand. Among them, the Ministry of Health determined that 90 had contracted COVID-19the disease caused by the coronavirus.

Due to the pandemic, hundreds of thousands of Cambodian migrant workers, especially undocumented workers, have found themselves stuck in Thailand. Many have lost their jobs and face strict controls on movement.

Officially, there are about 1.8 million Cambodians working in Thailand, of which more than 400,000 labor illegallymostly for plantations, landscaping companies, and private homes. The Center for Alliance of Labor and Human Rights (CENTRAL) has said that undocumented workers bring the total to more two million.

Thailands strict immigration measures have already left many illegal Cambodian migrant workers unable to earn enough to feed or house their families.

Even those who are registered to work in Thailand say it has been difficult earning a living during the pandemic, as the economy struggles, and jobs have dried up.

Adhocs Sum Chankea called on the government to assist Cambodian returnees saying they will otherwise face difficulties earning a livelihood. He added that the government should send agricultural and economic experts to help train them to farm and start businesses so that they can fend for themselves back home.

Reported by RFAs Khmer Service. Translated by Sok Ry Sum. Written in English by Joshua Lipes.
Both chambers of the Italian parliament have supported votes of confidence in the new government of Mario Draghi by substantial majorities. It received the backing of 262 votes to 40 opposed, while the Chamber of Deputies voted by 535 to 56 votes in favour of the government.

The 73-year-old former head of the European Central Bank formed a government last week including all major national parties, apart from the fascist Fratelli dItalia, from the far-right Lega to the social democratic Democrats (PD). Some key ministries will be led by non-aligned technocrats. The business lobby group Confindustria and the trade unions promised the government their support.

Draghi delivered a programmatic address to the Senate last Wednesday in which he invoked national unity and national responsibility. He said that no adjective was necessary to define his government. It is simply the countrys government, he claimed. He appealed to the populations spirit of sacrifice and the duty of citizenship, and added, Today, unity is not an option, but an obligation.

Handover of government from Giuseppe Conte to Mario Draghi (Image: governo.it/CC-BY-NC-SA 3.0 IT)

However, his government does not embody the unity of the country, but rather the closing of the ranks of a ruling elite in a country that is deeply divided and heading towards a social explosion.

Draghi was not being careless when he compared his government to the governments of the immediate post-war period, when political forces that were far apart, if not contradictory collaborated. At that time, the Communist Party, led by Palmiro Togliatti, joined a right-wing bourgeois government to suppress the socialist strivings of the working class and save Italian capitalism.

Draghi made clear to the assembled senators how deep the crisis facing Italian capitalism is and that they would risk a social uprising if they failed to back his government.

According to the prime minister, there had been 92,522 deaths and 2,725,106 infections since the beginning of the pandemic, although the official figures are undercounts. Under health care workers alone, 120,000 were infected and 259 have died. As a result of the pandemic, the life expectancy for the entire population has fallen between one-and-a-half and two years, while the decline is between four and five years in areas hit especially hard by the virus. There has not been a comparable decline since the Second World War, stated Draghi.

Draghi cited figures from Caritas on the social consequences of the crisis, which showed that between May and September last year, the percentage of the new poor increased from 31 percent to 45 percent. Almost every second person who turns to the Caritas is doing so for the first time, he said. Among the new poor, the percentage of families with young children, women, young people, and people of working age is increasing.

Last year, the number of employees fell by 444,000. Mainly women and young people have been impacted so far, but workers with permanent contracts could soon be out of work.

The impact on social inequality is grave and has few historical precedents, Draghi continued. Without any interventions, the Gini coefficient, which was 34.8 percent in 2019, would have increased by 4 percentage points in the first six months of 2020. The Gini coefficient is a measure of inequality in income distribution. This increase would have been larger than the cumulative increase during the two last recessions, he added.

The pandemic has also had severe consequences for schools. Of the 1.7 million students in secondary schools, only 61 percent were able to participate in distance learning during the first week of February.

This unprecedented emergency situation demands of us a decisive and swift course towards unity and engagement, concluded Draghi. But apart from a vaccine plan and a comprehensive debate about the reform of our health service, he announced no measures to contain the pandemic.

Leading experts, like the pandemic adviser to the health minister, Walter Riccardi, and the well-known virologist Andrea Crisanti have called for a lockdown of several weeks to stop the spread of the dangerous British variant of the virus in Italy. The fact that some ministers had thus far resisted such measures had caused tens of thousands of deaths, Riccardi told the Italian media.

But Draghi rejects a lockdown and is sticking firmly to the previous course, which prioritises profits over human lives. He intends to use the pandemic and the misery it has produced to fundamentally restructure Italys social and economic system and implement measures that have previously failed due to working class opposition.

Draghi is an expert at this. Already in the 1990s, he privatised state-owned companies and cut social spending as general director in Italys Finance Ministry so as to ensure Italy was fit for the euro. After a lucrative spell at the investment bank Goldman Sachs, as head of the European Central Bank he was jointly responsible for the brutal austerity dictates that destroyed the living standards of the population of Greece and other countries. At the same time, he flooded the financial markets with trillions of euros.

While Draghi devoted just a few sentences to the pandemic, he spent the largest portion of his Senate speech explaining how he intends to boost corporate profits. In this, he based himself directly on the European Union.

This government emerges on the basis of our countrys membership in the European Union and the Atlantic alliance, he informed the senators. Supporting this government means sharing the irreversibility of the decision for the euro, it means sharing the view of an increasingly integrated European Union. In international relations, his government would be firmly pro-European and Atlantic and better structure and strengthen the strategic and essential relationships with France and Germany.

Draghi intends to use the European Unions coronavirus bailout fund, from which Italy is entitled to 210 billion in subsidies and loans, as a lever to reform the country. The purpose for which the funds will be used must be approved by the EU Commission in each case.

The EU fund has the cynical name Next Generation EU, and Draghi also sought to justify his austerity plans with references to the responsibility for the younger generation. All waste today is an injustice we impose on future generations, robbing their rights, he said.

Draghi repeatedly stressed that the funds are not aimed at ameliorating social misery, but to modernise the economy. The government will have to protect the workers, he said. But it would be a mistake to protect all economic activities to the same degree. Some of them will have to change, even radically. And the choice of which activities to protect and which to accompany through transformation is the difficult task that economic policy must face in the coming months.

The economic policy answer to the pandemic will have to be a combination of structural policy that facilitates innovation, finance policy that facilitates the access of businesses with the capacity to grow to capital and loans, and expansive monetary and budgetary policies that facilitate investments and create demand, he stated. A significant factor would also be the development of the ability to attract national and international private investmentin other words, low wages.

Draghi did not address the issue of domestic policy. On refugee policy, he merely briefly noted that the building of a European policy of repatriation for people who have no right to international protection is decisive. But the very fact that the right-wing extremist Lega, which advocates the establishment of a police state, is sitting around the cabinet table with Draghi underscores that his government is preparing for a confrontation with the working class. There is no other way to impose its right-wing programme.

Tata Motors, Indias leading automotive brand, today launched its premium flagship SUV  the all-new Safari. Anarresting design, unparalleled versatility, plush and comfortable interiors, and powerful performance of the Safari perfectly cater to the modern, multifaceted lifestyleof the new age SUV customersand their desire for the perfect combination of prestige and sophistication along with expression and thrill.The new Safari is now available for purchase at your nearest Tata Motors dealership at a starting price of INR 14.69 lakhs (ex-showroom Delhi) for the 6/7 seater.

Tata Motors also unveiled the Adventure persona of the Safari with an expressive and rugged look offering more options for customers to select the SUV that best matches their personality. The Adventure persona will be available in a distinct Tropical Mist colour, inspired by the rich and diverse flora present across the vibrant landscapes of our country

Speaking on the launch of the new Safari, Mr. Guenter Butschek, MD and CEO, Tata Motors said, The Safari as our new flagship is connecting the aspirations of the discerning and evolved SUV customers. It tops the New Forever range of cars and SUVs launched in 2020 and marks another milestone in Tata Motors strategic transformation. The new Safari is an impressive endorsement of our stated intend of enhancing presence in the faster growing market segments.Its exceptional build quality and premium finish, power and performance augment the brands iconic legacy and amplify the key traits of the New Forever range - safety, style, drivability and best-in-class features. We will make the Safari rule the Indian roads once again.

Mr. Shailesh Chandra, President  Passenger Vehicles Business Unit, Tata Motors, said,Safari had introduced Indiato the SUV lifestyle and in its contemporary avatar, the new Safari is in-sync with the multifaceted lifestyles of todays SUV customer. With its plush interiors, state-of-the-art connectivity and premium features, the Safari not just blends in but ups the lifestyle quotient several notches higher. With the introduction of the Adventure persona, customers have more choice to select the Safari that best complements their individual personality to Reclaim Your Life.

The Safari is extremely versatile, delivering great comfort and assurance, be it intra city commute, expressway cruising or the un-explored paths in the hinterland.With a powerful 2.0 litre turbocharged Kyrotech engine and its 2741 mm wheelbase, the Safari will come with signature Oyster White Interiors paired with the Ashwood finish dashboard, a majestic panoramic sunroof, along with 6 and 7-seater options, which will come with an 8.8-inch floating island infotainment system.

As with all Tata Motors products, the Safari consists of a variety of safety features such as all disc brakes, electronic parking brake and an advanced ESP with 14 functionalities. Coupled with the Boss Mode providing enhanced ride comfort, the Safari sure does give the executive customers a living room style ride experience. Furthermore, the vehicle will be available inadditional colour options of Daytona Grey, Tropical Mist and Orcus White along with the signature Royal Blue.

Taking the style quotient a little higher, the newly introduced Adventure persona will come with R18 black tinted charcoal grey machined alloys and an all piano black finish in its grille, roof rails inserts, outer door handles along with a Safari mascot placement on the bonnet. On the interiors, the Adventure personalooks plush with signature earthy brown interiors, dark chrome interior accents on air vents, knob, switches, inner door handle and instrument cluster along with a piano black interior pack on steering wheel, grab handles, floor console frame and IP mid pad finisher. The all-new Safari will be available in nine variants, starting from XE and going up to the XZA+.

In its new avatar, the Safari takes forward the brands rich legacy by combining Tata Motors Impact 2.0 design language with the proven capability of OMEGARC, the architecture derived from the renowned D8 platform from Land Rover - the gold standard of SUVs worldwide.The OMEGARC, architecture has already proven its mettle with the success of the Harrier.

SUVs is the fastest growing passenger vehicle segment in the country and the new Safari will accelerate the momentum gained by the companys consistently growing SUV sales which have resulted in a growth of 20% YTD when compared to the same period last year.

In a challenging year, Tata Motors has exhibited a stellar performance in the passenger vehicles market last year, by clocking in over 23,000 unit sales every month successively from October 2020. Furthermore, in Q3FY21, the Tata Motors PV business posted its highest sales in the last 33 quarters. The rising demand can be attributed to the BS6 range, which was launched last year, under the New Forever philosophy of the company. Demand was visible across all products of the New Forever range, including the premium hatchback Tata Altroz and the BS6 Harrier, which stole the show.
The IPO price will be determined following a book-building process

Fix Price has confirmed plans to float on Londons main market with a dual listing on the Moscow Exchange.

The Russian discounter said the IPO price will be determined following a book-building process, though it is believed it could raise as much as US$1bn and be valued at more than US$6bn (4.3bln), with admission earmarked for next month.

The launch consists of global depository receipts offered by some existing shareholders of the company, including Luncor Overseas and LF Group DMCC, which are investment vehicles owned by co-founders Artem Khachatryan and Sergey Lomakin respectively, and a subsidiary of .

The founding shareholders will retain a significant interest in the company post-IPO, the firm said. Lomakin and Khachatryan currently each own 41.7%.

The retailer will make changes to its corporate governance structure to align with international practices, starting with the appointment of three independent non-executive directors.

They will be Alexander Tynkovan, who founded Russian electronics retailer M.Video, Elena Titova, who has over two decades of experience in investment banking, and Gregor Mowat, an experienced audit and accounting professional.

Fix Price has more than 4200 stores across Russia and has been growing sales rapidly. In 2020, revenues increased by 33% to r190.1 bn (US$2.6bn), with net profit of r17.6bn.

Like-for-like sales have risen at double-digit rates every quarter for the past four years.
Believe it or not, Korea is still a country that is behind the times when it comes to Human Rights and the mental awareness of sexual education, exploration, identities and more.

Although that is a different (and loooong) story altogether, the recent censorship by SBS has caused a stir of controversy amongst the LGBTQIA+ community of Korea and outsiders aware of the issues as well. Korea aired the famous story of Queen's Freddie Mercury through the wonderful film "Bohemian Rhapsody," which captures his fame alongside his struggles with drugs, sexual orientation and his life's work.

It was aired on the Lunar New Year weekend as a yearly special program for families to enjoy. However, due to Korea's concern for younger viewers, their censorship lies require that explicit sexual scenes should be censored. However, a simple kiss scene between two men at a bar was censored and viewed as being unnatural sexual behavior. It makes you wonder how gay dramas like these will air on Korean TV is this continues...thoughts?

Now, the surprised public is responding (or possibly fighting back) to Korea's close-minded censorship rules as a popular Gay YouTube Couple MangoCoupleTV initiated this jaw-dropping trend with the intention that "Every Kiss is Equal" through the "The Bohemian Kiss Challenge." Check out the trending video down below!

As you can expect, the Bohemian Kiss Challenge involves two same-gendered people reenacting the scene or simply kissing with the hashtag. Many were surprised to see how many LGBTQIA+ Koreans got involved and made many question just how big (and powerful) the gay scene in Korea truly is. Many other accounts and famous gay couples have already posted and shared their kisses on social media, specifically Instagram, and it has caught the attention of many.

Although the Korean government has yet to respond themselves or change anything about the censorship, SBS responded, saying "It was edited after serious and careful consideration that it was a Lunar New Year special film broadcast by a public broadcast station to viewers 15+ in the evening. There were no special intentions."

Currently, the challenge is a unique way to showcase that gay couples exist and aren't something to be shamefully hidden from the public. What do you think of Korea's censorship laws and this playful challenge? Leave your thoughts in the comments down below!

We're always interested in hearing about news in our community. Let us know what's going on!

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A Russian medical worker administers a shot of Russia's Sputnik V coronavirus vaccine to 75-year-old Maria Piparinen in a local rural medical post in the village of Ikhala in Russia's Karelia region, Tuesday, Feb. 16, 2021. Piparinen and other elderly residents were relieved when they heard that doctors were finally bringing a few doses of the coronavirus vaccine to their remote, snowy village. (AP Photo/Dmitri Lovetsky)

Maria Piparinen and other elderly residents of Ikhala were relieved when they heard that doctors were finally bringing a few doses of the coronavirus vaccine to their remote, snowy village in the Russian region of Karelia, near the border with Finland.

Otherwise, the 75-year-old said she would have had to hire a car to take her 10 kilometers (6 miles) to the town of Lakhdenpokhya, because the bus no longer runs there.

And besides, "I called the clinic in Lakhdenpokhya, but  they told me (all the slots in) February were booked already," Piparinen told The Associated Press.

The village of wooden housescarved out of a dense forest of fir trees about 20 kilometers (12 miles) from the Finnish border and 100 kilometers (60 miles) north of St. Petersburgis one of several in the Karelia region where Russia's vaccination campaign has arrived in recent weeks.

More than 18,000 people have gotten their first dose of the Sputnik V vaccine in the region of 600,000 that was hit hard by COVID-19.

At one point in December, Karelia recorded a daily average of 75.7 cases per 100,000 people, the highest rate in Russia as a whole, which had been averaging 18.8 recorded cases per 100,000.

"When you watch TV and see how people are suffering  you don't want that. You want to live a little longer," said 74-year-old Galina Shilova, one of Ikhala's nearly 700 residents. Some of those getting the shots last week at the makeshift clinic had to make their way cautiously along snowy footpaths.

A medical car carrying COVID-19 vaccines drives to the village of Ikhala in Russia's Karelia region, Tuesday, Feb. 16, 2021. Russia's rollout of its coronavirus vaccine is only now picking up speed in some of its more remote regions, although experts say the campaign is still moving slowly. (AP Photo/Dmitri Lovetsky)

The goal is to vaccinate 290,000 people, or 60% of the region's adults, by summer, said Karelia Deputy Health Minister Galina Matveyeva.

Russia took pride in being the first country to approve a coronavirus vaccine, although it faced criticism for doing it before completing the advanced testing necessary to ensure Sputnik V's safety and effectiveness. It began vaccinations in December, another global first, but now lags behind a dozen nations that have been using vaccines developed in the West and China.

Russian authorities don't regularly release data on vaccination rates, but the number who have gotten at least the first shot appears to be somewhere between 2 million and 3.2 million.

On Feb. 10, Denis Logunov, deputy director of the Gamaleya Center that developed Sputnik V, said 2.2 million Russians, or less than 2%, had received their first dose of the two-shot vaccine and more than 1.7 million had gotten both shots. An analysis of regional media reports by AP found that some 3.2 million had gotten their first shot as of last week.

A medical worker carries a thermal bag with vaccines from a clinic in Lakhdenpokhya to drive to Ikhala, one of several remote villages in the village of Ikhala in Russia's Karelia region, Tuesday, Feb. 16, 2021. Russia's rollout of its coronavirus vaccine is only now picking up speed in some of its more remote regions, although experts say the campaign is still moving slowly. (AP Photo/Dmitri Lovetsky)

That compares with over 43 million people in the U.S., or about 13.2%, who have gotten their first shot, and 18.8 million who have gotten both in a campaign that has had its own difficulties.

Russia's slow rollout has raised questions in the West as more countries have agreed to buy millions of doses of Sputnik V.

The Russian Direct Investment Fund that bankrolled the vaccine's development and is marketing it abroad didn't respond to a request for comment on how many doses are going to other countries.

Media reports indicate about 20 countries ordered a total of over 200 million doses, said Elena Subbotina, consultant with Central & Eastern European Team of CBPartners, a global health care strategy consulting firm.

On Friday, an African Union-created task force said Russia has offered 300 million doses of Sputnik V.

An elderly woman walks to a local rural medical post to get a Sputnik V vaccine in the village of Ikhala in Russia's Karelia region, Tuesday, Feb. 16, 2021. Russia's rollout of its coronavirus vaccine is only now picking up speed in some of its more remote regions, although experts say the campaign is still moving slowly. (AP Photo/Dmitri Lovetsky)

"I must say we still wonder why Russia is offering theoretically millions and millions of doses while not sufficiently progressing in vaccinating their own people," said European Commission President Ursula von der Leyen on Feb. 17.

Kremlin spokesman Dmitry Peskov said Russia's vaccination campaign is going at "normal" rates.

The drive has picked up speed but is still rather slow, said Alexander Dragan, an independent data analyst who monitors regional vaccination rates.

"Between the beginning of January and now, the vaccination rate has increased 10 times. During the New Year holidays, some 13,000 people a day were being vaccinated, and over the past nine days, I estimate that shots were being given to 135,000-145,000 people daily," Dragan said. "In absolute numbers, it looks impressive ... but in proportionate numbers, it's very modest, because one should keep in mind Russia's population of 146 million."

A Soviet-era steam locomotive pulls a retro train taking tourists to the Ruskeala natural park from the city of Sortavala, Karelia region, Russia. Russia's rollout of its coronavirus vaccine is only now picking up speed in some of its more remote regions. The experts blame the slow rollout on limited supplies of the vaccine, logistical difficulties in distribution and continued hesitance among some Russians. (AP Photo/Dmitri Lovetsky, File)

Dragan's estimate suggests the vaccination rate last week was about one-fourth of that in the U.S.

Health Minister Mikhail Murashko has announced plans to vaccinate 60% of the population by the end of June.

Experts and the media point to limited supply, distribution logistics complicated by its having to be stored and transported at minus-18 degrees C (minus-0.4 F), and hesitance among those wary of its rushed approval.

"It's supply-side or demand-side issues, and my guess is, it's a little of both," said Judy Twigg, a professor of political science at Virginia Commonwealth University specializing in global health.

Logunov, of the Gamaleya Center, said 7 million doses have been released for domestic use, another 1 million are expected by the end of February, and 10 million are planned to be produced in March.

A medical car moves along a snowy road carrying COVID-19 vaccines heading to the village of Ikhala in Russia's Karelia region, Tuesday, Feb. 16, 2021. Russia's rollout of its coronavirus vaccine is only now picking up speed in some of its more remote regions, although experts say the campaign is still moving slowly. (AP Photo/Dmitri Lovetsky)

The Health Ministry allocates the doses. While Muscovites can get vaccinated on the day they decide to do it, long waits have been reported in other regions.

In Karelia's capital of Petrozavodsk, patients told AP they waited more than two weeks. Residents of Sortavala, a town about 300 kilometers (185 miles) west of Petrozavodsk, complained on social media in early February about being unable to sign up.

Regulations state that vaccines must be administered by a team including a physician to examine recipients and offer help in case of an adverse reactionsomething that can also constrain the drive because of a limited number of available physicians.

Karelia has received 23,392 doses in total, 4,200 of which arrived last week. Matveyeva, the deputy health minister, said the region can store about 30,000 doses at once at minus-18 degrees C, limiting how many vaccines they can receive.

A medical worker prepares a shot of Russia's Sputnik V coronavirus vaccine in a local rural medical post in the village of Ikhala in Russia's Karelia region, Tuesday, Feb. 16, 2021. Russia took pride in being the first country to approve a coronavirus vaccine, although it faced criticism from aboard for doing it before completing the advanced testing necessary to ensure Sputnik V's safety and effectiveness. (AP Photo/Dmitri Lovetsky)

For last week, 250 doses were allocated to the Sortavala district and the neighboring district, an area that is home to 42,000 people, including those in Ikhala. A team led by Dr. Alexander Romanov, Sortavala hospital head, brought 10 doses to Ikhala on Tuesday.

When the outbreak surged in the fall, it didn't spare Ikhala, where 60 infections were registered.

"November, December, Januaryit was something," said Tatyana Tikhonova, the village paramedic.

Hamlets in Karelia, some of which became part of the Soviet Union after it fought a war with Finland in 1939-40, might appear to be cut off from more populated parts of Russia but actually are connected.

"Residents have relatives that work in cities and come to visit their parents, grandmothers and grandfathers on weekends and holidays, bringing the coronavirus with them," said Dr. Irina Garmina of the Sortavala hospital.

A Russian medical worker administers a shot of Russia's Sputnik V coronavirus vaccine to Galina Shilova in a local rural medical post in the village of Ikhala in Russia's Karelia region, Tuesday, Feb. 16, 2021. "When you watch TV and see how people are suffering  you don't want that. You want to live a little longer," Shilova said. (AP Photo/Dmitri Lovetsky)

A medical worker preparing a shot of Russia's Sputnik V coronavirus vaccine is seen through a window of a local rural medical post in the village of Ikhala in Russia's Karelia region, Tuesday, Feb. 16, 2021. Russia took pride in being the first country to approve a coronavirus vaccine, although it faced criticism from aboard for doing it before completing the advanced testing necessary to ensure Sputnik V's safety and effectiveness. (AP Photo/Dmitri Lovetsky)

Medical workers treat a coronavirus patient in a COVID-19 unit of a hospital in Sortavala, Karelia region, Russia, Tuesday, Feb. 16, 2021. Russia's rollout of its coronavirus vaccine is only now picking up speed in some of its more remote regions, although experts say the campaign is still moving slowly. (AP Photo/Dmitri Lovetsky)

A medical worker walks into a coronavirus ward in a hospital in Sortavala, Karelia region, Russia, Tuesday, Feb. 16, 2021. Russia's rollout of its coronavirus vaccine is only now picking up speed in some of its more remote regions, although experts say the campaign is still moving slowly. (AP Photo/Dmitri Lovetsky)

Snow coats the village of Ikhala in Russia's Karelia region, Tuesday, Feb. 16, 2021. Russia's rollout of its coronavirus vaccine is only now picking up speed in some of its more remote regions, although experts say the campaign is still moving slowly. (AP Photo/Kirill Zarubin)

Alexander Romanov, chief physician of the hospital in Sortavala wearing protective gear looks through a window of a local rural medical post in the village of Ikhala in Russia's Karelia region, Tuesday, Feb. 16, 2021. Russia's rollout of its coronavirus vaccine is only now picking up speed in some of its more remote region. Romanov acknowledged that "the number of vaccinated people is not high," but is convinced more doses will arrive soon. (AP Photo/Dmitri Lovetsky)

Snow coats the village of Ikhala in Russia's Karelia region, Tuesday, Feb. 16, 2021. The village of wooden housescarved out of a dense forest of fir trees near the Finnish border and north of St. Petersburgis one of several in the Karelia region where Russia's slow rollout of its vaccination campaign has arrived at last. (AP Photo/Kirill Zarubin)

An elderly man leaves a room after getting a shot of Russia's Sputnik V coronavirus vaccine in the clinic in Petrozavodsk, Karelia region, Russia, Monday, Feb. 15, 2021. Russia took pride in being the first country to approve a coronavirus vaccine, although it faced criticism from aboard for doing it before completing the advanced testing necessary to ensure Sputnik V's safety and effectiveness. (AP Photo/Dmitri Lovetsky)

Tikhonova told her patients when the doses were coming to Ikhalamostly the elderly with conditions putting them at risk for the virus. One declined because she believed she had already had COVID-19 and didn't want the vaccine without getting tested first.

Romanov acknowledged that "the number of vaccinated people is not high," but is convinced more doses will arrive soon.

"In the nearest future, when the region gets the sufficient amount of the vaccine, we will continue this work and expand the vaccination geography," he said.

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Chattanooga natives and other media personalities Mariah Huq, Juanita Ingram, Reco Chapple, DJ AONE and Sammie Bush, Jr. have endorsed Wade Hintons campaign for mayor of Chattanooga.

Mariah Huq, Juanita Ingram, and Reco Chapple - all Chattanooga natives - and DJ AONE and R&B artist Sammie have joined the Hinton campaign to help elect the first black mayor of Chattanooga.

These endorsements come on the heels of the launch of Women for Wade and the release of Mr. Hintons inclusive economy, affordable housing and COVID-19 recovery plans.

Ms. Huq and Ms. Ingram both detailed why they support Mr. Hinton in statements to the press:

We have a chance to elect the first black mayor of Chattanooga and we cant sit on the sidelines, said Ms. Huq. Electing Wade will be a historic moment and he is the only candidate who can meet this moment. Chattanooga is facing hard times but Wade has the experience in the public and private sectors that ensures he will be ready to lead on day one. From helping our city recover from COVID-19, to expanding minority owned small businesses and reimagining public safety - Wade is the clear choice and I am happy to lend my support to him.

I am proud to help elect the first black mayor of Chattanooga, said Ms. Ingram. This will be a historic election and we cant sit on the sidelines. Chattanooga has made a lot of progress but too many inequities still exist. Wade has the policies and plans to ensure that he will address these issues and help us recover from this pandemic more equitable and inclusive.

These endorsements come two days after Mr. Hintons Weekend of Action that encouraged early voting across the city.



About the Supporters:



Ms. Huq, of Married to Medicine fame, started her career in Chattanooga in local news and has made a name for herself as a star in the hit Bravo series. She is also known across the country for her philanthropic work and as an entrepreneur.

Ms. Ingram, Esq is the founder of Purpose Productions. Ms. Ingram is originally from Chattanooga and is an alumna of Tennessee State University and the University of Memphis. She is an internationally acclaimed celebrity known for starring in the TV series Save my Soul, producing the talk show Legal Notion, creating and staring in The Expats International Ingrams, and for her global and local philanthropic work in founding the Dress for Success Greater London and Chattanooga affiliates.

DJ AONE is a tour DJ for multiple artists, including J LO, and fellow Mr. Hinton supporter, Sammie. He is known for his work with Kandi Burruss of xscape, the Real Housewives of Atlanta, and Lil Scrappy.

Sammie, a chart topping R&B artist, has seen many of his songs on Billboards Top 100. He has worked with artists like Lil Wayne, Soulja Boy, and Bow Wow. Sammie has been nominated for multiple industry awards including a BET Award and a Teen Choice Award.

Reco Chapple, a native of Chattanooga, is a graduate of Tennessee State University. After moving to Atlanta, he made a name for himself with a distinct style and personality. With a decade as a fashion designer under his belt, he has turned his company "House of Chapple'' into a household name. He dresses the likes of Kelly Roland and Michelle Williams of Destiny's Child, Comedian Ricki Smiley, and Actress Tasha Smith. On television he was a contestant on Bravo's "The Fashion Show'' Season 1.
A life-size drawing of a kangaroo in Australia is over 17,000 years old, according to a new study, meaning it could be one of the oldest rock paintings on the continent.

Experts from the University of Melbourne have been working to confirm how old a number of ancient artworks are in the Kimberly Region of Western Australia.

The two-metre long kangaroo is painted on the sloping ceiling of a rock shelter on the Unghango clan estate in Balanggarra country, the team said.

Using radiocarbon dating of mud wasp nests that were underneath and on top of 16 similar paintings in the region, the team confirmed the kangaroo was 17,100 to 17,500 years old.

This makes it the oldest confirmed in-situ painting in Australia, according to study author Dr Damien Finch, who pioneered the new wasp-based dating technique, and the country's oldest intact rock painting.

Traditional owner Ian Waina inspecting a Naturalistic painting of a kangaroo, determined to be more than 17,000 years old based on the age of overlying mud wasp nests

The painting is one of a number of 'motifs' discovered in the same area and part of a wider selection of ancient art currently being dated in Australia

However, its 17,500 year age is not a patch on the oldest painting ever discovered by archaeologists - that title goes to an artwork from Indonesia, the painting of a wild pig dating back 45,000 years.

The age of the previous oldest painting isn't known, but Australian indigenous art is one of the oldest unbroken art traditions in the world with over 100,000 sites found.

The oldest single piece dates back 28,000 years and was painted on a fragment of rock, rather than a cave wall.

This image shows the lower part of the painting on the sloping ceiling of a 17,500 year old kangaroo - thought to be the oldest in-situ cave art in Australia

Earlier researchers looked at the stylistic features of the kangaroo painting and others around it, as well as the order in which they were painted.

They were able to work out from there that the oldest style of painting is what's known as the Irregular Infill Animal or the Naturalistic period, which started around 28,000 BC and often features life-size animals.

Using the radiocarbon dating of 27 mud wasp nests, collected from 16 similar paintings, researchers placed the kangaroo painting at between 17,500 and 17,100 years old

This kangaroo is a typical example of paintings in this style, Finch said, adding that 'this makes the painting Australia's oldest known in-situ painting.'

'This is a significant find as through these initial estimates, we can understand something of the world these ancient artists lived in, he added.

'We can never know what was in the mind of the artist when he/she painted this piece of work more than 600 generations ago, but we do know that the Naturalistic period extended back into the Last Ice Age.'

Traditional Aboriginal owner, Ian Waina, recording the 17,300 year old painting of a kangaroo

This discovery tells the research is a lot more about the people that lived at the time as they can see that the environment would have been cooler and drier than today.

The research team based in Western Australia's Kimberley region are part of the continent's largest rock art dating project.

Led by Professor Andy Gleadow from the University of Melbourne, it involves the Balanggarra Aboriginal Corporation, the Universities of Western Australia, Wollongong, and Manchester, the Australian National Science and Technology Organisation, and partners Rock Art Australia and Dunkeld Pastoral.

Side of the rock shelter housing the 17,300 year old kangaroo

A 3 metre long painting of a snake along Kimberley rock shelter wall with many other paintings painted over it. The illustration of the snake is directly below the painting

USING MUD WASP NESTS TO WORK OUT THE AGE OF ANCIENT ARTWORK Researchers found that charcoal incorporated into mud wasp nests could be used to identify the age of ancient artworks. This is because the nests have a non-trivial inherited or inbuilt age at the time of construction. They are made from the same materials and surrounding rocks likely used in making the artwork. Samples from the nests undergo radiocarbon dating to determine how old the material used is, and then corrected for the inbuilt age of the nest itself. This allows the researchers to calculate a rough age for the art based on materials in nearby nests. Advertisement

The team, including Dr Finch and his colleagues, detailed how rock shelters have preserved the Kimberley galleries of rock paintings, many of them painted over by younger artists, for thousands of years.

Dr Finch said it was rare to find mud wasp nests both overlying and underlying a single painting.

For this painting they were able to sample both types to establish the minimum and maximum age for the artwork.

Dr Finch said: 'We radiocarbon dated three wasp nests underlying the painting and three nests built over it to determine, confidently, that the painting is between 17,500 and 17,100 years old; most likely 17,300 years old.'

Dr Sven Ouzman, from University Western Australia's School of Social Sciences and one of the project's chief investigators, said the rock painting would unlock further understanding of Indigenous cultural history.

He added: 'This iconic kangaroo image is visually similar to rock paintings from islands in South East Asia dated to more than 40,000 years ago, suggesting a cultural link - and hinting at still older rock art in Australia.'

Cissy Gore-Birch, chair of the Balanggarra Aboriginal Corporation, said partnerships were important to integrate traditional knowledge with western science, to preserve Australia's history and cultural identity.

Ms Gore-Birch said: 'It's important that Indigenous knowledge and stories are not lost and continue to be shared for generations to come.

Rare depiction of a human figure from the oldest style of painting in the Kimberley. The inset shows the figure which has a wasp nest over the fingers at the top left. From the age of the wasp nest we know this painting is more than 9,000 years old

'The dating of this oldest known painting in an Australian rock shelter holds a great deal of significance for Aboriginal people and Australians and is an important part of Australia's history.'

The next step for the researchers is to date further wasp nests in contact with this and other styles of Kimberley rock art to establish more accurately when each art period began and ended.

This study was published in the journal Nature Human Behaviour.


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One rainy morning you leave for your sisters hospital to pick up a prescription for morphine. She is six years younger than you and she has stage four cancer, and the pain behind her ribs will not let her sit or walk or sleep. In a metal chair outside the doctors office, below a halting ceiling fan, you work on your masters dissertation, a novel about a nine-year-old boy searching for his missing friends. The room is full of the voices of patients and caregivers, and the light is artificial but mercifully dim. Your feet are planted on earth, but you feel untethered, as if you are a leaf let go by a tree. Time like a river warps around you. Your dissertation is due in a week. You can ask your university for an extension, but you want it to be over. You have already given this degree two years of your life, and almost the entirety of your savings. You suspect you are too old to be doing this.

When you were young your parents hoped you would be a doctor and, all these years later, you wish you had listened to them. Your creative writing degree and your novel cannot cure disease. You always knew this but only as you knew the warmth of a distant flame. Now sparks char your skin and around you is the smell of smoke and your fingers snag against the words you type.

On your way back with the morphine pills, you text a friend and say, how can I write about a boy who is happy? You text your husband, who is in a different time-zone and perhaps still sleeping, and say, I will never be happy again. At a traffic junction you see a woman cursing passers-by, her hands slapping their helmets, her spit streaking the windscreens of cars, and you know shell reappear as a character in this novel you may or may not finish.

You reach home and you wait with your sister for the morphine to dampen her pain. What story can you tell of this moment that infuses it with meaning or shape or form? When you were a child you spent your summer holidays at a grand-aunts house and after you returned home you heard her call out to you for days, but one morning the sound became indistinct and then altogether disappeared. On a scale of one to ten your sisters pain becomes seven and then five and you should be relieved but all you can think about is how quickly time erases voices and words. Every memory is a photo curling and fading within a frame.

In your family you do not share feelings or fears. A man once chastised you for saying sorry and thank you. Youre not American, he said. Why would you speak like that? You sit with your laptop in the dark and write about this boy darting through the alleys of an unnamed settlement on the outskirts of an unnamed city. He is a naive, energetic child who, upon learning about the disappearances of children in his neighbourhood, contrives a story that he is a detective and, in this way, convinces himself that he is invincible.

You consider loss only through his lens. You chafe at the notion that a fictional character must be created from authorial experience, or that art has value only if rooted in autobiography. This boy, your main narrator, lives solely in your mind, but he is also separate from you. But because he witnesses the grief of others, you foolishly hope that he can instruct you on how to live, or that some meaning that has eluded you will reach you through his consciousness. Characters, unlike you, may have epiphanies.

You submit your dissertation.

View Full Image The cover of the Indian edition of 'Djinn Patrol On The Purple Line', published by Penguin Random House India.

2.

There are weeks when you dont write because words dont appear to contain the same efficacy as, say, morphine, and your sister should be buying clothes on the internet like anyone else her age and not researching clinical trials of drugs with mysterious-to-you combination of numbers affixed to their unpronounceable names. There are weeks when you write because you are wondering about the fate of the boy in your novel, and the yarn he has spun, and you wish to discover if his story can save him (and even in your most hopeless moments you still hope that perhaps by extrapolation, by some unimaginable miracle, maybe hell save you). Your novel is simultaneously your life and an escape from its stranglehold. It inhabits two opposing spaces and, in brief moments of clarity, you worry that what you are writing cannot be a novel. You imagine serious writers considering the rhythm and cadence of their sentences, the shape of their scenes, the inventiveness of their narrative arcs, and you, meanwhile, alternately furious and depressed and befuddled, seeking an emotional truth that possibly cant be found within the margins of a Microsoft Word document. How can this work? But then two years pass and you complete your novel and it is picked up for publication and people write to you to say, you must be so thrilled, and you agree because you think it would be churlish to disagree. Your horrors must remain as invisible as your dreams.

When the pandemic forces an early end to your book events, others express commiserations, but a part of you is relieved to be granted permission to retreat. Like driftwood you washed up on the shore of various cities, marked and bruised and perhaps even hollowed out by time. You have been here before. You are practised in the art of wearing anxiety such that it merges with your skin, and bargaining with gods you dont quite believe exist. For three years now, you have registered the passage of time as the ticking of a clock, a familiar sound that the turning of your life has rendered sinister. You are an expert at grieving that which has already been lost or may soon be lost.

Established wisdom tells you, dont take decisions in the middle of seismic changes in your life, or dont write in the middle of grief. You read an article in which the reviewer remarks that they found a certain novel by a celebrated novelist perplexing, until they realised that the novelist had been deeply depressed at the time of writing it. You sympathise with the novelist. You know of no other way to exist but to make and remake the world in your stories. The boy whose capers you followed for two years is now enclosed within your book. You imagine he brings to its pages a kind of clarity, though you also fear that the central image is distorted, as if you are underwater and looking at a yellow orb that may or may not be the sun. You can call this murkiness a failure of the craft or of the imagination or you can say its honest. You hope the boy and his story suggest a way of being in a world where nothing is certain and youre always only a hairs breadth away from vanishing. And you must insist, that too has to count for something, right?

Deepa Anappara is the award-winning author of the novel Djinn Patrol On The Purple Line, shortlisted for the JCB Prize for Literature 2020.

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Utrechttoday announced that it has completed the acquisition of Profit4SF, a Dutch-based technology and management consulting company specializing in Salesforce enterprise implementations for its customers across the Netherlands. With this transaction, Atos re-affirms its ambitions to grow its expertise on Salesforce technologies across the globe, following the acquisitions of Eagle Creek and Edifixio in 2020.

On an operational level, the acquisition will enhance Atos' Salesforce offering by bringing experienced consultants to the Atos team and strengthening the Salesforce Global Practice created by Atos to bring customers the full benefits of the world's first customer relationship management platform. Founded in 2013 and headquartered in Utrecht, Profit4SF has more than 30 employees, who collectively own more than 160 Salesforce certifications. Recognized as a Platinum Salesforce Partner in the Netherlands, the company has a proven track-record of successfully implementing Salesforce projects for its customers, leveraging its wide portfolio of services from consulting to development, integration and support.

"I am delighted to welcome Profit4SF into the Atos group. It fits perfectly with our acquisition strategy and strengthens our position in Salesforce expertise both in the Dutch region and globally. Combining Atos' leadership and comprehensive portfolio with Profit4SF's strong mid-market experience and solid customer base in the Netherlands will bring immediate value to our customers, partners and teams", said Peter 't Jong, Head of Atos in The Netherlands.

Profit4SF CEO and Co-Founder Leo Leijenaar explains: "This operation opens a new chapter in Profit4SF's history. Over the past 7 years, we've worked to become one of the leading Salesforce partners in the Dutch market and built a solid reputation of being a highly valued partner, based on more than 350 successful Multi-Cloud projects. By joining Atos, we can support our national and international customers on their digital journey by strengthening their organizations through data-driven trading and providing a superior customer experience."

***

About Atos

Atos is a global leader in digital transformation with 105,000 employees and annual revenue of over  11 billion. European number one in cybersecurity, cloud and high performance computing, the Group provides tailored end-to-end solutions for all industries in 71 countries. A pioneer in decarbonization services and products, Atos is committed to a secure and decarbonized digital for its clients. Atos operates under the brands Atos and Atos|Syntel. Atos is a SE (Societas Europaea), listed on the CAC40 Paris stock index.

The purpose of Atos is to help design the future of the information space. Its expertise and services support the development of knowledge, education and research in a multicultural approach and contribute to the development of scientific and technological excellence. Across the world, the Group enables its customers and employees, and members of societies at large to live, work and develop sustainably, in a safe and secure information space.

Contacts:

Investor Relations: Gilles Arditti | gilles.arditti@atos.net | +33| +33 (0)6 37 63 91 99

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Bohner said he did not know what type of weapon was used in the stabbing and that no additional details, including a possible motive, would be immediately released on the attack, which state police are still investigating.
He will compete on the PDC Pro Tour for the very first time

Jason Heaver. Pic: Lawrence Lustig/PDC

NEWBURY has another darts player to represent the town as Jason Heaver secured a PDC Tour Card at the Qualifying Schools Final on Monday.

Heaver will compete on the PDC ProTour for the first time after he came through the field in the UK Qualifying School to win a Tour Card on day two.

A production planner who has previously qualified twice for the UK Open as an amateur, Heaver hit back from 3-1 and 4-2 down in his final against Alan Soutar to win four straight legs in a 6-4 triumph.

Heaver edged out Lewis Williams 6-5 in their last-four clash, averaged 100 in a win over Martin Lukeman and also defeated former Tour Card holders Andrew Gilding and David Pallett on the day.

It feels absolutely amazing, said Heaver. I never thought I was going to do this today but it felt brilliant.

Im over the moon. I never thought I was going to get here, playing in this, going through today is brilliant. I really am looking forward to it.

Im going to be a dad again in nine weeks, so lets see what the future holds!

Heaver will now be competing on the Pro Tour along with Luke Humphries.

In March 2020, the 46-year-old reached the second round of the UK Open before losing 6-4 to Kyle McKinstry on the main stage in Minehead.
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TORONTO, Feb. 22, 2021 (GLOBE NEWSWIRE) -- Gran Colombia Gold Corp. (TSX: GCM; OTCQX: TPRFF) (Gran Colombia) announced today that it has acquired 33,666,666 common shares (Common Shares) of Denarius Silver Corp. (formerly ESV Resources Ltd.) (Denarius or the Issuer) (TSX-V: DSLV) in connection with the completion of the Reverse Takeover Transaction, as more particularly described below.



Zancudo Transaction

On February 19, 2021, the Issuer completed a share purchase transaction (the Zancudo Transaction) with Gran Colombia pursuant to which the Issuer acquired certain mining assets (the Zancudo Mining Assets) located in the Municipalities of Titiribi, Angelopolis and Armenia, Department of Antioquia, Colombia. The Issuer acquired the Zancudo Mining Assets pursuant to a share purchase agreement dated November 20, 2020 among Gran Colombia, the Issuer, Gran Colombia Gold, S.A. (GCG Panama) and Gran Colombia Gold Titiribi Corp. (GCG Titiribi), whereby the Issuer purchased from GCG Panama, a wholly-owned subsidiary of Gran Colombia, of all of the issued and outstanding shares of GCG Titiribi, which holds title to all of the Zancudo Mining Assets through its Colombian branch, Gran Colombia Titiribi Sucursal Colombia. The Zancudo Mining Assets were acquired by the Issuer for CA$12,150,000 which was satisfied by the issuance by the Issuer to Gran Colombia of an aggregate of 27,000,000 common shares having a deemed price of CA$0.45 per common share.

Amalgamation Transaction

Concurrently with the completion of the Zancudo Transaction, on February 19, 2021 the Issuer completed a three-cornered amalgamation (the Amalgamation Transaction) with 1255269 B.C. Ltd. (Guia Antigua Co.) and 1270702 B.C. Ltd., pursuant to which the Issuer acquired certain mining assets (the Guia Antigua Mining Assets) indirectly owned by Guia Antigua Co. and located 130 kilometers northeast of Medellin in the Segovia-Remedios mining district, Department of Antioquia. The Amalgamation Transaction was completed pursuant to an amalgamation agreement dated November 20, 2020 (the Amalgamation Agreement), whereby the Issuer acquired Guia Antigua Co. in exchange for the issuance of an aggregate of 15,000,000 shares of the Issuer to the shareholders of Guia Antigua Co.

Story continues

Prior to the completion of, and in connection with, the Amalgamation Transaction, Guia Antigua Co. completed a private placement offering (the Private Placement) on November 9, 2020 to raise aggregate proceeds of CA$8,403,774 through the sale of 18,675,053 subscription receipts (individually a Subscription Receipt and collectively, the Subscription Receipts) at a price of CA$0.45 per Subscription Receipt. Gran Colombia acquired 6,666,666 Subscription Receipts for total cost of approximately CA$3,000,000. Each Subscription Receipt automatically converted into one common share of Guia Antigua Co. immediately prior to completion of the Amalgamation Transaction. Upon satisfaction of the escrow release conditions in the Amalgamation Agreement, a total of 18,675,053 common shares of Guia Antigua Co. were issued to holders of Subscription Receipts and such common shares were subsequently exchanged for common shares of the Issuer in connection with the completion of the Reverse Takeover Transaction (as defined below).

Reverse Takeover Transaction

The concurrent completion of the Zancudo Transaction and the Amalgamation Transaction (collectively, the Reverse Takeover Transaction) constituted a reverse takeover under the policies of the TSX Venture Exchange (the Exchange). Upon the completion of the Reverse Takeover Transaction, the Issuer changed its name to Denarius Silver Corp. and will commence trading on the Exchange under the symbol DSLV on or about March 1, 2021. Upon completion of the Reverse Takeover Transaction, Denarius has 93,117,915 common shares issued and outstanding.

Following the completion of the Reverse Takeover Transaction, Gran Colombia has acquired a total of 33,666,666 common shares of Denarius. Prior to the Reverse Takeover Transaction, Gran Colombia did not hold any securities of Denarius. The common shares acquired by Gran Colombia represent approximately 36.15% of the issued and outstanding common shares of Denarius.

The common shares of Denarius acquired by Gran Colombia are presently being held only for investment purposes. Gran Colombia may from time to time in the future increase or decrease its ownership, control or direction over securities of Denarius held by it, through market transactions, private agreements or otherwise, the whole depending on market conditions, the business and prospects of Denarius and other relevant factors.

Gran Colombia has filed an early warning report (the Early Warning Report) pursuant to applicable securities laws in connection with the completion of the Reverse Takeover Transaction. A copy of the Early Warning Report, to which this news release relates, will be available under Denarius profile on SEDAR at www.sedar.com. To obtain a copy of the Early Warning Report, please contact Amanda Fullerton, Corporate Secretary, at Gran Colombias office at 401 Bay Street, Suite 2400, PO Box 15, Toronto, Ontario M5H 2Y4 or by calling (416) 360-4653.

About Gran Colombia Gold Corp.

Gran Colombia is a Canadian-based mid-tier gold producer with its primary focus in Colombia where it is currently the largest underground gold and silver producer with several mines in operation at its high-grade Segovia Operations. Gran Colombia owns approximately 44% of Aris Gold Corporation, a Canadian mining company currently advancing a major expansion and modernization of its underground mining operations at its Marmato Project in Colombia. Gran Colombias project pipeline also includes an approximately 18% equity interest in Gold X Mining Corp. (TSXV: GLDX) (Guyana  Toroparu), an approximately 36% equity interest in Denarius Silver Corp. (TSX-V: DSLV) (Colombia  Guia Antigua and Zancudo) and an approximately 26% equity interest in Western Atlas Resources Inc. (Western Atlas) (TSX-V: WA) (Nunavut  Meadowbank).

Additional information on Gran Colombia can be found on its website at www.grancolombiagold.com and by reviewing its profile on SEDAR at www.sedar.com.

Cautionary Statement on Forward-Looking Information:

This news release contains "forward-looking information", which may include, but is not limited to, statements with respect to anticipated business plans or strategies. Often, but not always, forward-looking statements can be identified by the use of words such as "plans", "expects", "is expected", "budget", "scheduled", "estimates", "forecasts", "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. Forward-looking statements involve known and unknown risks, uncertainties and other factors which may cause the actual results, performance or achievements of Gran Colombia to be materially different from any future results, performance or achievements expressed or implied by the forward-looking statements. Factors that could cause actual results to differ materially from those anticipated in these forward-looking statements are described under the caption "Risk Factors" in the Company's Annual Information Form dated as of March 30, 2020 which is available for view on SEDAR at www.sedar.com. Forward-looking statements contained herein are made as of the date of this press release and Gran Colombia disclaims, other than as required by law, any obligation to update any forward-looking statements whether as a result of new information, results, future events, circumstances, or if management's estimates or opinions should change, or otherwise. 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. Accordingly, the reader is cautioned not to place undue reliance on forward-looking statements.

For Further Information, contact:

Mike Davies

Chief Financial Officer

(416) 360-4653

investorrelations@grancolombiagold.com




When the Navy holds its daylong stand-downs to address the extremist ideologies that leaders say have infiltrated the military ranks, sailors across the fleet will be required to reaffirm the oath they took to the U.S. Constitution.

All Navy personnel -- uniformed and civilian -- will have to repeat the oath of enlistment or office and discuss what actions betray that promise during the virtual or in-person learning sessions that must be held by April 6. The stand-downs will focus on the "damaging effects of extremism" and how to eliminate it, Chief of Naval Personnel Vice Adm. John Nowell wrote in a service-wide message.

"As public servants, we took an oath to the Constitution and we will not tolerate those who participate in actions that go against the fundamental principles of the oath we share, particularly actions associated with extremist or dissident ideologies," Nowell wrote.

Read Next: Marine Veteran the Latest Charged in Capitol Breach

The Navy is the first military service to reveal what leaders will cover during the military's upcoming stand-downs. Defense Secretary Lloyd Austin ordered the one-day events last month after dozens of veterans and service members were arrested in connection with the Jan. 6 riot at the U.S. Capitol.

Stand-downs are typically held after accidents to ensure safety protocols are being met, but military leaders have used them to address other problems, such as sexual assault or suicides. Pentagon spokesman John Kirby called the arrests following the Capitol siege a "wake-up call" for defense leaders.

Whether extremists are in the ranks is no longer debatable, he added this week. "It's really just about to what degree," Kirby said.

Navy leaders can access service-provided a discussion guide and slides to help prepare for the upcoming stand-downs. The discussion guide stresses that troops' freedom of speech and right to peaceful assembly are protected by the First Amendment. However, the document adds, "these important rights are not unlimited in their protections."

"Vandalizing government property and storming a police barrier is not an exercise of First Amendment rights," the guide states. "...Understanding that we support and defend the Constitution of the United States, not a supervisor, political appointee or person occupying a political office."

Lawyers representing some former and current military personnel accused of entering the U.S. Capitol on Jan. 6 have argued that their clients were following President Donald Trump's directions.

Commanders can tailor the discussions they have with their personnel, but all must include the group reaffirmation of the oath of enlistment and discussions about what it means. They must also address the responsibility leaders at every level have to report and investigate signs of extremism, and the findings of a Navy task force that recently made dozens of recommendations about how to end racism in the ranks.

Adm. John Aquilino, the head of U.S. Pacific Fleet, held one of the service's first stand-downs with members of a West Coast carrier strike group on Feb. 8, after hate symbols were found aboard two of the group's ships in a matter of weeks.

"We are all sailors, we are all shipmates, and we are here to serve our nation and defend the Constitution," Aquilino told the strike group's crew members. "I owe you a safe place to work so that you can execute your mission and fulfill your oath."

The Navy's slides for the stand-down include several anecdotal examples of behavior prohibited in the ranks. These range from a Marine who was discharged after posing in blackface on social media to a soldier who faced federal charges for distributing information on building improvised explosive devices, and expressed a desire to travel to Ukraine to fight with a paramilitary group with neo-Nazi sympathies.

While most troops perform their duties with integrity, the slides add, "recent events have shown that we must be ever vigilant in our efforts to identify and combat such ideology within the ranks and organizations."

-- Gina Harkins can be reached at gina.harkins@military.com. Follow her on Twitter @ginaaharkins.

Related: 'They Know All About It': Pentagon Report Details Military Reach of Supremacist Groups
Despite Jewels skyrocketing profits as the leading grocer in Chicago, its contract proposals fall far short of honoring the hard work these essential workers have done throughout the pandemic, pouring thousands of hours into overtime to keep Jewels grocery stores stocked for Chicagoans while putting their own health at risk, Mike Cales, secretary-treasurer of Teamsters Local 710, said in an emailed statement Monday. In response to that dedication, its shameful that Jewel is trying to increase the cost of workers healthcare coverage, after ending hazard pay back in July.
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Jerry Tyson is a recording engineer and owner of a regional location recording business in the Greater Delaware Valley of Pennsylvania and Southern New Jersey; he is also a photographer of large groups, contributor to Lighthouse Digest Magazine and on-air segments heard on the daily broadcast of Southwest Radio Ministry (SWRC.com). He has completed his new book A Level of Love, a heartwarming opus that shares the quaint and poignant circumstances of a college student that inspires faith and hope in life.

Marty has no idea when he makes his normal stop at a local diner how much his life will never be normal again.

It is the little things in life that bring the big surprisesunplanned meetings, a piece of mail, a phone call, an act of kindness, a smile, a helping hand. For Marty, a college student moonlighting in telephone solicitation, the pretty new waitresss smile is the unexpected and pleasant end to a long day. And its also the beginning of some serious changes in his life.

Previously, he has always thought that his life is on a straight course in achieving his goal of becoming an officer of the law. But in his future is more than a diploma. Lets add mystery, intrigue, and more than a few life-altering surprises.

Taking Christian fiction to a different level, author Jerry Tyson weaves a tale that challenges Martyand, by extension, youto determine the values that shape lives.

Published by Page Publishing, Jerry Tysons thought-provoking masterpiece opens up hearts and minds to the unequivocal presence of divine guidance that can bring meaning and fulfillment in every persons life.

This book is truly a relatable and inspiring work that will encourage the readers in life and faith.

Readers who wish to experience this work can purchase A Level of Love at bookstores everywhere, or online at the Apple iTunes Store, Amazon, Google Play, or Barnes and Noble.

For additional information or media inquiries, contact Page Publishing at 866-315-2708.

About Page Publishing:

Page Publishing is a traditional, full-service publishing house that handles all the intricacies involved in publishing its authors books, including distribution in the worlds largest retail outlets and royalty generation. Page Publishing knows that authors need to be free to create, not mired in logistics like eBook conversion, establishing wholesale accounts, insurance, shipping, taxes, and so on. Pages accomplished writers and publishing professionals allow authors to leave behind these complex and time-consuming issues and focus on their passion: writing and creating. Learn more at http://www.pagepublishing.com.

The Syrian Observer sat down for an interview with the former US ambassador in Damascus Robert Ford to discuss his opinion on the new US administrations role in Syria.

Robert Ford, the former US ambassador in Damascus when the uprising started in 2011, talks to our editor-in-chief Wael Sawah.

In a recent article in Foreign Affairs, Robert Ford, former US ambassador in Damascus, calls the new US Administration to engage more with both Russia and Turkey to have them take on the anti-Islamic State (ISIS) burden. In relatively controversial comments, he says that while Russia is a far from perfect partner, its support for Syrian President Bashar al-Assad makes it the right force to take over the counter-ISIS fight. He adds that the US has invested more than needed in supporting the Autonomous Administration of North and East Syria and that this has created widespread frustration over Kurdish political dominance among Arabs.

In this interview, Robert Ford talks with our editor-in-chief Wael Sawah about his views on where the Syrian conflict is heading and what future US policy could be.

The recommendation you made in your recent article, featured in Foreign Affairs, has instigated serious concerns among the anti-Assad Syrian elite. In particular, you recommend that it would be better to let Russia and Turkey secure their national interests by taking on the anti-ISIS burden. This is a blatant call for the Biden Administration to withdraw from Syria, not only militarily, but also politically. Will such a step not undermine the United States role as a leader of the free world?

My strong recommendation that the US withdraw from Syria is about American national security interests, not Russian interests. Let us be frank: (1) Russia, along with Iran, have long been the Assad governments key partners; (2) Nothing the US has done in the past ten years has changed that; (3) geo-strategically eastern Syria is not, and never was, a vital area for American national security interests. As you well know, no one from the American embassy even visited eastern Syria for years prior to 2011, and yet we never considered that to be a danger for American interests. By contrast, some make the argument that US assistance to the opposition, and to the YPG [Peoples Protection Units] and SDF [Syrian Democratic Forces], and especially material assistance to them, has increased Assads dependency on Russia and Iran. I am not sure I would go that far  after all, Turkey, Qatar, Saudi Arabia, and others also provided material assistance to the opposition too, not just the Americans. Realistically, however, the presence of some hundreds of US soldiers patrolling in Hassakeh and Deir-ez-Zor province will not diminish Russian and Iranian influence.

Syria has symbolized Russias recent return as a major global player, but in your article, you call for working more, rather than less with Moscow in Syria. What do you think are Russias core interests in Syria? Couldnt the US seek to weaken Russia on the Syrian front as a means to have more leverage in its relations with Moscow?

Well, if the US withdrew from Syria, Russia would be obliged to increase its military presence to manage the additional territories in eastern Syria where it would operate. That would cost the Russians more in terms of men, material, and money. By contrast, the existing presence of US forces has not done much to cost the Russians extra resources. And the Russians can continue paying the costs of its operations in Syria. We should be honest about that.

And let me add one last very honest point. China is now Americas biggest foreign challenger, not Russia. The world is different from how it was 15 years ago or 10 years ago. America does not now, and never did, have huge interests in Syria. Our interests in Syria were not as great as they were in Saudi Arabia or even Egypt, for example. It would be better for the Americans to see Russia as relatively neutral in the competition between the US and China. I do not understand why we would aggravate relations with Russia about Syria, where we have few interests, and we have a new, and serious geostrategic competition with China where Russian neutrality would be better for us. The US has worldwide interests and Syria is not at the center of them. I would like Syrians to understand this so that they can make their own calculations about what they should do in their conflict. The worst accusation against me is that I gave Syrians the impression the Americans would fight Assad for them in 2011 or 2012. You were there and you will recall that I cautioned every Syrian I met that the US air force would not come; I reminded them about our bitter Iraq war experience. But I accept that many did not believe my words, especially after the visit to Hama even though I told the Hamwis that they had to maintain only peaceful protests and the Americans would not intervene militarily. And sooner or later, the US forces will leave eastern Syria because American resources are not unlimited. So let us be extremely honest with Syrians now.

Yes, but is the best way to achieve a political solution to leave the country to Russia?

In the end, we cannot fix Syria. I do not know if Russia can, but Russia has some advantages that the US does not. It has open diplomatic channels with all the actors in the conflict, while the Americans have no communications with Damascus and Tehran. But that does not mean that the Russians have the ability to fix Syria. Actually, I doubt they will. Still, even if they cannot fix Syria that will not be a reason for us to stay. In the end, we have to be realistic  a low level of fighting could continue for many years, and the Syrians will have to learn to live with that until they are ready to make compromises.

So you are talking here about the military withdrawal, not the political role?

Yes. I object to sending soldiers with an indefinite mission or timeline. What victory is there in northeastern Syria for us? The Russians have a different set of calculations in Syria: they have a historic presence and relationship with the Syrians.

You are tackling Syria from other countries perspectives: Iran, Russia, and China. Isnt Syria a problem in itself that needs to be tackled independently?

Of course, every country matters. The question is where is the line? I think the line lies in our security interests. We do not have security interests in Syria. There is a moral issue, but we cannot address that without considering our interests. From a geostrategic perspective, the United States now is weaker than it was 10 or 15 years ago. We are compelled to reduce our commitment and need to be selective in where we send our troops, Afghanistan, Iraq, Syria? We need to be selective.

So what about the US role as the leader of the democratic world, does this not have consequences and responsibility?

It cannot be the policy of intervening militarily to spread democracy. Take Myanmar for example. There is no way that the US will intervene there to defend democracy. Again, we need to be more selective.

And I have said that many times since 2011. I never stopped to repeat that there would be no intervention in Syria. If we did we would be there forever.

Your analysis barely mentions the Iran dimension of the US presence in Syria. Isnt the US presence in the Northeast and in the Tanf area an important part of the wider US regional strategy to counter Iran?

You are right that I didnt mention Iran in my article. Iranian forces are not physically present where the Americans operate. Should anyone be surprised that because of the US presence in Tanf the Iranians have established a strong position in Albukamal? Most analysts think that Iranian influence has grown, not diminished, in the past four years despite the American presence in Tanf. And who is trying to limit the Iranian influence in eastern Syria? American soldiers patrolling around Qamishli and Hassakeh or the Israeli air force? Again, lets be honest.

Some might argue that in your analysis you make cynical proposals focused on narrow US interests with little regard to the massive destruction and human rights violations perpetrated by the Assad regime. Isnt the Biden Administration supposed to offer something different from Trumps in terms of its outlook on the world and on defending human rights?

In the end, the Obama Administration was a public witness to the Syrian governments atrocities. And American diplomats and colleagues, like you were, witnessed that the demonstrations in 2011 were almost all peaceful. But we didnt fix the problem of government atrocities. We havent even fixed the problem of the regime using chemical weapons. And Biden, like Trump, wont start a new big war in Syria against Assad. You live in the US and you know most Americans will not support that, especially because Russia and Iran will escalate to match American escalation. As I have said many times America cant fix Syria. If you dont believe me, please just look at the last ten years.

Democrat presidents like Carter and Clinton raised the banner of human rights. Republican George W Bush fought heavily for democracy. Do I have the right to understand that you want Biden to recoil from these two areas? Do you want Biden to be a mixture of the worst part of Obama and Trump?

I absolutely do not want military forces to promote democracy. See what happened in Iraq. I have always been against the war in Iraq before it happened, and after that when I was deputy ambassador there after the war. See Afghanistan. We have been there for 20 years. What have we accomplished? Intervention does not change bad governance. It is a fact.

You co-authored an op-ed in Newsweek with Wael Zayat, another diplomat who worked in Syria and is of Syrian descent. In your article, you focused on Idleb. Is your advice to Biden to use micropolitics rather than macropolitics?

My advice is not to mix humanitarian assistance with politics. Avoid politics as much as possible. We need to find new mechanisms to send our assistance to the people in need.
An early-morning shooting in Selma left a 38-year-old man dead.

Selma police were notified about 2:15 a.m. Sunday by Vaughan Regional Medical Center that a gunshot victim had shown up by private vehicle to the hospitals emergency room, according to Selma police.

Officers arrived on the scene to find William Smith III sitting in the passengers seat of a 2005 Chevrolet Tahoe suffering from a gunshot wound to the back of the head. The victim was pronounced dead at the hospital.

The driver of the vehicle  Markeith Rayford - told investigators the incident happened in the 600 block of King Street. He said they were traveling south on King Street when someone opened fire on them, striking Smith.

Dallas County District Attorney Michael Jackson said the deadly shooting is the citys second this year. Selma police are continuing the investigation. No arrests have been announced.
Belarus will take additional steps to ensure national security should the West keep stoking tensions, the defense minister's assistant, Maj. Gen. Oleg Voinov, told foreign military attaches on Monday

MINSK (UrduPoint News / Sputnik - 22nd February, 2021) Belarus will take additional steps to ensure national security should the West keep stoking tensions, the defense minister's assistant, Maj. Gen. Oleg Voinov, told foreign military attaches on Monday.

"It was noted that if Western countries continue the policy of escalating tensions, the Republic of Belarus reserves the right to take a number of additional steps in the area of national security in 2021," Voinov was quoted by the press service as saying at a briefing for the accredited attaches in Minsk.

Last August, Western countries refused to recognize President Alexander Lukashenko's reelection for a sixth term as legitimate and slapped sanctions on Belarusian officials. The West, meanwhile, maintains contacts with ex-candidate Svetlana Tikhanovskaya, who fled to Lithuania after the election and whom the opposition considers to be the true winner.
New Delhi:

Former union minister Santosh Mohan Dev on Wednesday passed away at his home town Silchar in Assam following kidney and other ailments at the age of 83.

The Congress veteran was Heavy Industry Minister in the UPA-I government led by former prime minister Manmohan Singh.

"He passed away at 6.06 AM this morning," Dev's daughter and Congress MP Sushmita Dev told PTI from Silchar.

The seven-time Congress MP is survived by his wife and four daughters, including Sushmita.

Dev was first elected to the Parliament in 1980. Out of the seven term as the Lok Sabha MP, he has represented Silchar, Assam, five times and twice from Tripura.

Dev was the union minister of state for communications during 1986-1988 and the minister of state for home from 1988-1989.

He was also the union minister of state for steel (independent charge) in the PV Narasimha Rao government in 1991.

For all the Latest India News, Download News Nation Android and iOS Mobile Apps.
A Mercer County man who was wanted in Pennsylvania after authorities say he sexually assaulted a 14-year-old girl died in Arkansas Sunday following a multi-state manhunt and a shootout with police.

Arkansas State Police found William R. Ice, 38, critically injured from an apparent self-inflicted gunshot wound on Highway 31 Saturday, WPXI is reporting.

Ice, who was also accused of abducting a child in North Carolina and shooting a police officer in Arkansas, died Sunday at a hospital in Little Rock, WTAE is reporting.

According to reports, Ice was wanted in Mercer County, where police say he sexually assaulted a 14-year-old girl. He also had a pending case against him from the Human Trafficking Task Force in Ohio, who arrested Ice last year after he was accused of going into an apartment to meet someone he thought was a young girl, reports indicate. Authorities say he tried to run over a police officer before he was caught, according to reports.

The multi-state manhunt began when police say he kidnapped a 14-year-old girl in North Carolina Feb. 11, reports indicate. His SUV was spotted Saturday night by authorities in Lonoke, Arkansas, near Interstate 40.

According to reports, police ordered him to get out of his SUV, but he started firing at the officers, striking one of them. A second officer shot back, but Ice got in the SUV and drove off, reports indicate.

Police chased him until he got stuck in a snowbank. When they caught up with him, they found him inside the SUV with an apparent self-inflicted gunshot wound, reports indicate.

The 14-year-old North Carolina girl was a passenger the SUV, and she has been reunited with her family, reports indicate.

The officer who as shot is in stable condition.
Windows are a leading cause of raptor injuries, but homeowners can help

VANCOUVER, BC, Feb. 22, 2021 /PRNewswire/ - Solaris Resources Inc. (TSX: SLS); (OTCQB: SLSSF) ("Solaris" or the "Company") is pleased to report assay results from a series of additional holes from the ongoing diamond drilling program at its Warintza Project ("Warintza" or "the Project") in south-eastern Ecuador.

Highlights from recent drilling are listed below and results are summarized in Tables 1 and 2. An updated 3D model will be posted on the Company's website when available.

Highlights

Four additional holes, as detailed below, have returned long intervals of high-grade mineralization starting from surface, extending the limits of mineralization to the west and northwest





SLS-10 was an extensional hole collared at the western limit of drilling and drilled to the west, returning 600m of 1.00% CuEq (0.83% Cu, 0.02% Mo, and 0.12 g/t Au), including 546m of 1.06% CuEq (0.88% Cu, 0.03% Mo, and 0.12 g/t Au) from surface , significantly extending mineralization in this direction





, significantly extending mineralization in this direction The high-grade interval of 600m of 1.00% CuEq reported in SLS-10 corresponds to a high conductivity anomaly reflecting sulphide stockwork mineralization that continues to the west for a further 1.5km at or near surface and is being targeted in follow-up extensional drilling that is now underway





of 1.00% CuEq reported in SLS-10 corresponds to a high conductivity anomaly reflecting sulphide stockwork mineralization that continues to the west for a further 1.5km at or near surface and is being targeted in follow-up extensional drilling that is now underway SLS-11 was an extensional hole collared in the southeastern portion of the current Warintza Central drill pattern and drilled to the northwest into an open area, returning 688m of 0.57% CuEq (0.39% Cu, 0.04% Mo, and 0.05 g/t Au) from surface





SLS-12 returned 736m of 0.74% CuEq (0.59% Cu, 0.03% Mo, and 0.07 g/t Au) from near surface, extending mineralization into an undrilled, open area between the eastern and western drilling at Warintza Central





extending mineralization into an undrilled, open area between the eastern and western drilling at Warintza Central SLS-13 stepped out approximately 100m beyond the western limit of Warintza Central drilling and was drilled north into an open area, returning 462m of 1.00% CuEq (0.80% Cu, 0.04% Mo, and 0.09 g/t Au) from surface, with the hole ending prematurely in strong mineralization





beyond the western limit of Warintza Central drilling and was drilled north into an open area, returning To date, 17,400 metres have been drilled at Warintza Central in 21 holes of which results have been reported for 13; drilling is ongoing with six rigs currently operating and six more being added by mid-year, which will lead to a commensurate increase in the pace of results being reported

Mr. Jorge Fierro, Vice President, Exploration, commented: "Our drilling continues to demonstrate significant extensions of mineralization at Warintza Central with the latest results extending high-grade mineralization to the west, a direction in which the high-conductivity anomaly that correlates to high grade mineralization at Warintza Central continues for a further 1.5 km at or near surface and is being targeted in ongoing and planned drilling."

Table 1  Warintza Central Assay Results

Hole ID Date Reported From (m) To (m) Interval (m) Cu (%) Mo (%) Au (g/t) CuEq (%) SLS-13 Feb 22, 2021 6 468 462 0.80 0.04 0.09 1.00 SLS-12 22 758 736 0.59 0.03 0.07 0.74 SLS-11 6 694 688 0.39 0.04 0.05 0.57 SLS-10 2 602 600 0.83 0.02 0.12 1.00 Including 56 602 546 0.88 0.03 0.12 1.06 SLS-09 122 220 98 0.60 0.02 0.04 0.71 Including 122 168 46 0.96 0.03 0.05 1.09 SLS-08 Jan 14, 2021 134 588 454 0.51 0.03 0.03 0.62 SLS-07 0 1067 1067 0.49 0.02 0.04 0.60 SLS-06 Nov 23, 2020 8 892 884 0.50 0.03 0.04 0.62 SLS-05 18 936 918 0.43 0.01 0.04 0.50 SLS-04 0 1004 1004 0.59 0.03 0.05 0.71 SLS-03 Sep 28, 2020 4 1014 1010 0.59 0.02 0.10 0.71 SLS-02 0 660 660 0.79 0.03 0.10 0.97 SLS-01 Aug 10, 2020 1 568 567 0.80 0.04 0.10 1.00

Notes to table: Grades are uncut and true widths have not been determined.

Table 2  Collar Locations for New Drill Holes

Hole ID Easting Northing Elevation (m) Depth (m) Azimuth (degrees) Dip (degrees) SLS-13 799667 9648029 1499 468 0 -80 SLS-12 800124 9648035 1568 782 265 -62 SLS-11 800191 9648059 1570 860 280 -65 SLS-10 799765 9648033 1571 690 293 -77 SLS-09 800266 9648209 1493 500 0 -89

Notes to table: The coordinates are in WGS84 17S Datum.

Technical Information and Quality Control & Quality Assurance

Sample assay results have been independently monitored through a quality control/quality assurance ("QA/QC") program that includes the insertion of blind certified reference materials (standards), blanks and field duplicate samples. Logging and sampling are completed at a secured Company facility located in Quito, Ecuador. Drill core is cut in half on site and samples are securely transported to ALS Labs in Quito. Sample pulps are sent to ALS Labs in Lima, Peru and Vancouver, Canada for analysis. Total copper and molybdenum contents are determined by four-acid digestion with AAS finish. Gold is determined by fire assay of a 30-gram charge. ALS Labs is independent from Solaris. In addition, selected pulp check samples are sent to Bureau Veritas lab in Lima, Peru. Solaris is not aware of any drilling, sampling, recovery or other factors that could materially affect the accuracy or reliability of the data referred to herein.

Qualified Person

The scientific and technical content of this press release and the sampling, analytical and test data underlying the scientific and technical content has been compiled, reviewed, approved, and verified by Jorge Fierro, M.Sc., DIC, PG, Vice President Exploration of Solaris who is a "Qualified Person" as defined in National Instrument 43-101 Standards of Disclosure for Mineral Projects. The data was verified using data validation and quality assurance procedures under high industry standards. ZTEM data quality was validated by a qualified external professional.

On behalf of the Board of Solaris Resources Inc.

"Daniel Earle"

President & CEO, Director

About Solaris Resources Inc.



Solaris is advancing a portfolio of copper and gold assets in the Americas, which includes: a high-grade resource with expansion and additional discovery potential at the Warintza copper and gold project in Ecuador; discovery potential on the grass-roots Tamarugo project in Chile and Capricho and Paco Orco projects in Peru; exposure to US$130M spending / 5-yrs through a farm-out agreement with Freeport-McMoRan on the Ricardo Project in Chile; and significant leverage to increasing copper prices through the 60%-interest in the development-stage La Verde joint-venture project with Teck Resources in Mexico.

Cautionary Notes and Forward-looking Statements

This document contains certain forward-looking information and forward-looking statements within the meaning of applicable securities legislation (collectively "forward-looking statements"). The use of the word "will" and "planned" and similar expressions are intended to identify forward-looking statements. These statements include statements regarding our intent, or the beliefs or current expectations of our officers and directors, including statements made with respect to future drilling plans, that an updated 3D model will appear on the Company's website when available, that six more drill rigs will be added by mid-year; and that the addition of these drill rigs will lead to commensurate increase in the pace of results being reported. Although Solaris believes that the expectations reflected in such forward-looking statements and/or information are reasonable, undue reliance should not be placed on forward-looking statements since Solaris can give no assurance that such expectations will prove to be correct. These statements are based on a variety of assumptions including assumptions made about the Company's ability to advance exploration efforts at the Warintza Project; the results of such exploration efforts; and the Company's ability to advance its projects and achieve its growth objectives. These statements also involve known and unknown risks, uncertainties and other factors that may cause actual results or events to differ materially from those anticipated in such forward-looking statements, including the risks, uncertainties and other factors identified in the latest Solaris Management's Discussion and Analysis and Annual Information Form available at www.sedar.com. Furthermore, the forward-looking statements contained in this news release are made as at the date of this news release and Solaris does not undertake any obligation to publicly update or revise any of these forward-looking statements except as may be required by applicable securities laws.

(1) No adjustments were made for recovery as the project is an early-stage exploration project and metallurgical data to allow for estimation of recoveries is not yet available. Solaris defines copper equivalent calculation for reporting purposes only. Copper-equivalence calculated as: CuEq (%) = Cu (%) + 3.33  Mo (%) + 0.73  Au (g/t), utilizing metal prices of Cu - US$3.00/lb, Mo - US$10.00/lb and Au - US$1,500/oz.

SOURCE Solaris Resources Inc.

Related Links

https://www.solarisresources.com


The Telegraph

Ministers have failed to take advantage of the UK's freedom from EU regulations since Brexit, despite the Prime Ministers pledge to take back control of red tape, a new think tank report has said. A new report from the Institute for Government (IfG) argues that Whitehall departments are too "siloed" from each other, preventing ministers from changing laws to reflect Britain's departure from the EU. The think tank points to Mr Johnsons declaration on Christmas Eve last year that the UK had taken back control of every jot and tittle of our regulation in a way which is complete and unfettered. But despite that promise, most EU legislation is still on the UK statute books, after being copied over into domestic law during the Brexit process. Experts say a "bonfire" of regulations in the coming years is unlikely because of costs associated with changing them in UK law. The report's authors said the Government had approached regulatory divergence from Europe "like a game of Space Invaders  played blindfolded," risking costs to British businesses and unintended consequences. They called for Downing Street to issue clear guidance to government departments on how they should approach the freedom to set out new regulations, and reform the processes for approving them. They also point out that, over time, the UK will diverge from the EU in its regulations as European standards change and are not automatically in line with Britains. The UK should develop a system to keep track of regulatory developments in the EU that will affect Britain to avoid any unintended consequences from that process, they argue. Joe Marshall, a researcher at the IfG, said: "Gaining the ability to do things differently from the EU was a key aim of Brexit  and there are clear benefits to be won. But the governments siloed approach to regulatory reform risks ad hoc changes and unintended consequences that threaten businesses with new costs and could destabilise the union. Jill Rutter, another author, said: The government must ensure it invests the time and effort needed to make the necessary trade-offs involved and avoid unintended consequences.
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Pune, India, Feb. 22, 2021 (GLOBE NEWSWIRE) -- According to the report, Electric Trucks market size is projected to reach notable value by 2028. Electric Trucks Market to Gain Impetus from Increasing Demand from Logistics Department.

The global electric trucks market size is projected to gain momentum on account of the increasing demand from the transportation sector to suffice to the travel needs of the growing population worldwide. Electric trucks run on batteries and are designed for delivering cargo.





Request a Sample Copy of the Research Report: https://www.fortunebusinessinsights.com/enquiry/request-sample-pdf/electric-trucks-market-102512





Electric Trucks Market: Rising Integration of V2X Connectivity Solutions to Spur Opportunities

The increasing population, rise in urbanization and industrialization and the expansion of various businesses are the key factors promoting the global electric trucks market growth. In addition to this, the increasing awareness about environmental degradation has propelled the governments of various nations to impose stringent regulations on carbon emission control. This, coupled with the rise in prices of fuel is expected to add a boost to the overall growth of the market for electric trucks.

The impact of the novel coronavirus is devastating. The increasing patient pool and lack of enough medical staff and facilities have put the healthcare sector in a difficult situation. Most of the other businesses are temporarily shut owing to the imposition of lockdown phase by the government of various nations. Some other sectors are barely able to manage meagre revenue by operating within the four walls of their homes.

On the contrary, the high cost of electric vehicles, coupled with the lack of a reliable charging infrastructure may cause hindrance to the market in the coming years. Nevertheless, zero emission caused by electric trucks and favorable government policies are likely to help create lucrative growth opportunities for the market in the coming years.





Click here to get the short-term and long-term impacts of COVID-19 on this Market.

Please visit: https://www.fortunebusinessinsights.com/electric-trucks-market-102512





The global market for electric trucks is classified on the basis of truck type, electric vehicle type, application, and region. Based on truck type, the market is categorized into light-duty trucks, heavy-duty trucks, and medium-duty trucks. On the basis of electric vehicle type, the market is segmented on the basis of plug-in hybrid, hybrid electric, and battery-electric. With respect to segmentation by application, the market is bifurcated into municipal, and logistics.





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Region-wise, Asia Pacific is holding the largest electric trucks market share and is likely to continue so in the forecast period. This is accountable to the increasing efforts by the governments of various nations under this region to control the quality of air., especially in China and Japan. On the other side, the market in Europe is likely to showcase significant growth in the coming years on account of the rise in inclination towards hybrid and electric vehicles, to meet the emission control regulatory standards of the region. Furthermore, the market in North America will witness steady growth attributed to the rise in the number of OEMs, heavy investment on technological advancements and vast presence of vehicle charging infrastructure.

BYD Company Limited

Tesla, Inc.

Navistar International Corporation

Hino Motors Ltd.

Dongfeng Motor Corporation

Rivian

Daimler AG

PACCAR Inc.

AB Volvo





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Global Electric Trucks Market Segmentation:

By Truck Type:

Light-duty Trucks

Medium-duty Trucks

Heavy-duty Trucks

By Electric Vehicle Type:

Battery-Electric

Hybrid Electric

Plug-in Hybrid

By Application:

Logistics

Municipal

By Geography:

North America (USA, Canada)

Europe (UK, Germany, France, Italy, Spain, Scandinavia and Rest of Europe)

Asia Pacific (Japan, China, India, Australia, Southeast Asia and Rest of Asia Pacific)

Latin America (Brazil, Mexico, Rest of Latin America)

Middle East & Africa (South Africa, GCC, and Rest of Middle East & Africa)





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Have a Look at Related Reports:

Motorized Quadricycle Market Size , Share & COVID-19 Impact Analysis, By Type (Light Quadricycle (L6e) and Heavy Quadricycle (L7e)), By Application Type (Household and Commercial), By Propulsion Type (Internal Combustion Engine and Electric) and Regional Forecasts, 2020-2027

Micro Electric Vehicles (EV) Market Size , Share & COVID-19 Impact Analysis, By Type (Lead Acid Battery, Lithium-Ion Battery), By Application (Commercial Use, Personal Use, Public Utilities), and Regional Forecast, 2019-2026

Automotive Diagnostic Scan Tools Market Size , Share & COVID-19 Impact Analysis, By Product Type (On-Board Diagnostics (OBD), Electric System Analyzer, Others), By Vehicle Type (Passenger Car, Commercial Vehicles), and Regional Forecast, 2020-2027



Off-Highway Vehicle Engine Market Size , Share & COVID-19 Impact Analysis, By Power Output (HP) (Construction: Less than 100, 101-200, 201-400, More than 400; Agriculture: Less than 30, 31-50, 51-80, 81-140, More than 140), By Fuel Type (Diesel, Gasoline, Others), and Regional Forecast, 2020-2027

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Labor has accused Prime Minister Scott Morrison of leading a dont ask, dont tell culture or being part of the cover-up of an alleged rape in a ministerial office after three more women have come forward with allegations of sexual assault or harrassment by the same Liberal staffer Brittany Higgins has accused.

Ms Higgins is expected to make a statement to police on Wednesday afternoon outlining allegations she was raped in March 2019 in the office of then-defence industry minister Linda Reynolds.

Labor has accused Scott Morrison of presiding over a dont ask, dont tell culture after the Liberal staffer Brittany Higgins, inset, said she was raped in Parliament House. Credit:Alex Ellinghausen/The Project

Another woman has told The Australian she was raped by the same man in 2020, while the newspaper reported on Monday a third woman has given a statutory declaration outlining allegations of sexual assault by the man during the 2016 election campaign.

A fourth woman on Monday told the ABCs Four Corners she had made a formal report against the man at a Canberra police station on Sunday.
Gujarat Municipal Corporation election results will be announced on February 23. The election to the six municipal corporations was conducted on February 21, Sunday. Municipal corporation elections are conducted by the State Election Commission every five years.

The five-year terms of these six Gujarat Municipal Corporations ended in December 2020, but the elections were put off due to the COVID-19 pandemic.

Elections to six municipal corporations in Gujarat were conducted in a peaceful manner amid tight security and adherence to COVID-19 norms on Sunday, with an average turnout of about 42 per cent.

Polling for a total of 144 wards across six civic bodies- Ahmedabad, Surat, Rajkot, Vadodara, Bhavnagar and Jamnagar, was held on Sunday.

Ahmedabad recorded the lowest turnout of 38.73 per cent, while Jamnagar recorded the highest turnout of 49.86 per cent.

The main contest is between the BJP, which has ruled the six corporations for the last several terms, and the main opposition Congress.

Apart from the BJP and Congress, for the first time, Arvind Kejriwal's Aam Aadmi Party (AAP) is contesting from all six cities.

Following the municipal corporation elections, the elections for municipalities and panchayats will take place on February 28, and counting of votes will be done on March 2.

Also read: Bihar Budget 2021: Govt to award Rs 25,000 to girls who pass intermediate exams
Paris Hilton has been head-over-heels for Carter Reum since their whirlwind romance began in late 2019.

And the pop culture icon recently said a resounding 'yes' after her beau popped the question.

She gushed as she recounted Carter's beach proposal and talked about having kids with her husband-to-be in their first joint interview on her upcoming iHeartRadio podcast This Is Paris, which premieres February 22.

Wedding bells: Paris Hilton gushed as she recounted fiance Carter Reum's beach proposal and talked about having kids with her husband-to-be in their first joint interview on her upcoming iHeartRadio podcast This Is Paris, which premieres February 22

The 40-year-old gave People a sneak peek at the premiere episode, in which she 'was very surprised' when Carter, 40, proposed on a private island, while celebrating their February birthdays.

She originally thought he was going to pop the question on their one-year anniversary in December: 'When it didn't happen, I didn't say anything but I was a little bummed.'

Paris, who wore a very appropriate white dress and glittering Vera Wang Eyewear sunglasses for her engagement, admitted she dropped some hints, but her future groom told her: 'When I do ask you, it's going to be something even more amazing than this, so you'll see soon.'

She recalled that 'he got down on one knee' as soon as they got to beach, after he told her to get dressed up so they could take some photos together.

Surprise proposal: The 40-year-old gave People a sneak peek at the premiere episode, in which she 'was very surprised' when Carter, 40, proposed on a private island, while celebrating their February birthdays

Family affair: 'I just started shaking and crying because I was so excited, so happy,' the Simple Life star said, revealing he invited her family on the trip to celebrate: 'It was so nice that he thought to have our families there to celebrate the moment'

False alarm: She originally thought he was going to pop the question on their one-year anniversary in December: 'When it didn't happen, I didn't say anything but I was a little bummed'

'I just started shaking and crying because I was so excited, so happy,' the Simple Life star said, revealing he invited her family on the trip to celebrate: 'It was so nice that he thought to have our families there to celebrate the moment.'

She said they 'can't wait' to start a family together, after recently revealing they've begun in vitro fertilization: 'It's something we've talked about a lot ever since we've been together. First the wedding, then the babies.'

The Stars Are Blind artist also answered whether or not she'll take his last name: 'I'm going to take it, but I feel like a hyphenated thing like Paris Hilton-Reum, because my name is just my name. I like it.'

It comes after they celebrated their first anniversary in early December with a video montage of their whirlwind romance.

She captioned the Instagram video with a sweet tribute: 'Happy 1 year Anniversary my love! I love that we celebrate our love every month! I can't believe it's only been a year. It feels like I've been with you a lifetime! I have never felt so close to another person in my life.'

Parents-to-be: She said they 'can't wait' to start a family together, after recently revealing they've begun in vitro fertilization: 'It's something we've talked about a lot ever since we've been together. First the wedding, then the babies'

Household name: The Stars Are Blind artist also answered whether or not she'll take his last name: 'I'm going to take it, but I feel like a hyphenated thing like Paris Hilton-Reum, because my name is just my name. I like it'

One year strong: It comes after they celebrated their first anniversary in early December with a video montage of their whirlwind romance

Red carpet debut: Paris made it Instagram official with Carter last April, after they were first romantically linked in January at a Golden Globes after party (pictured in January, 2020)

Paris made it Instagram official with Carter last April, after they were first romantically linked in January at a Golden Globes after party.

She told The Sunday Times in August of the the author/entrepreneur: 'I feel like my grandmother sent him to save me. I love him so much. Finally, I've found my perfect match, someone I want to spend the rest of my life with and have a family with.'

The House of Wax actress has previously been engaged three times, to model Jason Shaw, 47, from 2002 to 2003, Greek shipping heir Paris Latsis, 38, in 2005 and actor Chris Zylka, 35, in 2018.

Paris added: 'I've said "he's the one" before just because I always wanted to portray, "I'm so happy with the perfect life, the perfect boyfriend," but I never truly felt that. I was just acting.'
RICHMOND, Va. - Democrats who control the House of Delegates moved closer Monday to requiring that public schools across Virginia offer full-time in-person instruction as soon as this summer, advancing a bipartisan bill as Republicans turned up political pressure.

The bill goes significantly further than a version Democrats introduced last week that would have required schools to offer an in-person option but did not mandate a full weekly schedule as communities wrestle with the coronavirus pandemic.

Under the new language, schools would have to provide in-person instruction "for at least the minimum number of required instructional hours." The bill would require school boards to come up with a plan that follows health guidelines from the federal Centers for Disease Control and Prevention "to the maximum extent practicable."

It also mandates that teachers and school staff be provided access to the coronavirus vaccine, which they are currently eligible for, and makes allowances for teachers or students with health issues to use remote instruction. Any school system suffering a serious outbreak could resort to virtual-only school.

The legislation would go into effect July 1 - potentially affecting summer school programs - and would expire after the coming school year.

Republicans on the House Education committee - which approved the bill Monday with a bipartisan vote of 17-3 - pushed for an emergency clause to make the requirements immediate. But Democrats resisted, saying school systems need time to prepare.

Democratic Gov. Ralph Northam has called for all school systems to offer an in-person teaching option by March 15, and some systems have already reopened schools. But the legislation would create a presumption that fully open schools are the default and virtual learning is an option, instead of the other way around.

"We want to ensure that, come the fall, that we do have a certain amount of a baseline that schools are meeting, and we do want to ensure that there's no kind of backsliding," said Del. Schuyler VanValkenburg, D-Henrico, who introduced the measure. A high school civics teacher, VanValkenburg added that "it's important that kids can go to school."

The bill is a substitute for one that already passed the full Senate with bipartisan support. That bill, sponsored by Sen. Siobhan Dunnavant, R-Henrico, consisted of a single line that simply required schools to reopen. Dunnavant consulted with VanValkenburg in creating the new version.

House Democrats have been reluctant to issue a blanket mandate, citing concerns raised by teachers' unions as well as the skepticism of communities of color, which have been particularly hard-hit by the coronavirus.

But Republicans have pressed the topic relentlessly, making it an issue in the upcoming elections for governor and all 100 seats in the House of Delegates. As the coronavirus vaccine has become more widely distributed, parents around the state have increasingly called for schools to reopen, in part over concerns that children are not learning well through virtual classrooms.

"Some, at least, of our Democratic colleagues are either seeing the light or feeling the heat at this point," House Minority Leader Todd Gilbert, R-Shenandoah, said Monday on WRVA radio.

He added that Republicans will continue trying to give the bill an immediate effective date, though Democrats have enough votes to pass it as written without GOP support. The full House is set to debate the measure later this week. If they approve, it would go back to the Senate, which would have to sign off before the measure could go to Northam to be enacted.

Northam's office declined to say whether he would sign the bill, but a spokeswoman said the governor had spoken with VanValkenburg and believes it would "align" with his expectations.

"The Governor appreciates efforts to ensure school reopening is consistent with health guidelines, respects the constitutional authority of school divisions, and prioritizes the safety of students, teachers, and staff," spokeswoman Alena Yarmosky said in a written statement.
NEW YORK, Feb. 22, 2021 /PRNewswire/ -- American Jewish Committee (AJC) and the National Association of Attorneys General (NAAG) are partnering to combat antisemitism in the United States.

On February 24, AJC staff will engage NAAG members in a virtual training session, "The People v. Hate: Standing Up for Humanity through Combating Antisemitism." The AJC-led training dovetails with District of Columbia Attorney General Karl A. Racine's 2021 NAAG Presidential Initiative to unite all attorneys general across the United States to counter hate and hate-related violence nationwide.

"Educated, motivated law enforcement agencies are critical for effectively combating rising antisemitism in the United States," said Melanie Maron Pell, AJC Chief Field Operations Officer. "Attorneys general are elected officials uniquely positioned to lead in confronting this societal problem, the hate targeting Jews."

Avi Mayer, AJC Managing Director of Global Communications, and Holly Huffnagle, AJC U.S. Director for Combating Antisemitism will present the findings of AJC's groundbreaking State of Antisemitism in America report and Translate Hate, AJC's widely used glossary of commonly used antisemitic terms and tropes, to help further the work of attorneys general in identifying and responding to incidents.

"We must fully understand the extent of hate to prevent violent attacks that terrorize our communities," said D.C. Attorney General and NAAG President Karl A. Racine. "Standing up against hate is the responsibility of all of us, especially elected leaders. Attorneys General, as the chief law enforcement officers in their jurisdiction, are ready to tackle hate, including antisemitism, in all its forms. We're grateful to AJC for sharing their report and findings with us, and we look forward to working together to bring awareness to this issue."

AJC's 2020 report, based on parallel surveys of the American Jewish and general populations, revealed that 88% of Jews considered antisemitism a problem today in the U.S., 37% had personally been victims of antisemitism over the past five years and 31% had taken measures to conceal their Jewishness in public.

In the first-ever survey of the general U.S. population on antisemitism, AJC found a stunning lack of awareness of antisemitism. Nearly half of all Americans said they had either never heard the term "antisemitism" (21%) or are familiar with the word but not sure what it means (25%).

Translate Hate (AJC.org/TranslateHate) is an innovative digital resource aimed at enabling Americans of all backgrounds to recognize and expose antisemitic language and images and recommends actions to take against hate speech.

Participants in the training will gain a deeper understanding of the range of antisemitic conspiracies, tropes, and symbols, and, importantly, the multiple sources of antisemitism emanating from the right, left and religious extremists.

For more than 115 years, AJC, the premier global Jewish advocacy organization, has raised awareness about defining antisemitism, identifying hate incidents targeting Jews, and providing guidance to national, state and local authorities on bringing to justice perpetrators of hate crimes.

AJC and AG Racine have been working together to support the Jabara-Heyer NO HATE Act that aims to incentivize state and local municipalities and law enforcement to track and prosecute hate crimes. They urge members of Congress to pass this important measure and President Biden sign it to law.

SOURCE American Jewish Committee

Related Links

http://www.ajc.org


Guwahati, Feb 22 : Prime Minister Narendra Modi on Monday dedicated to the nation Rs 3,222 crore five mega gas and oil based projects and education in Assam.

While speaking at an impressive public gathering at Silapathar in eastern Assam's Dhemaji district, the Prime Minister said that the Centre and Assam government are working together for the all-round development of the state and maximum welfare of the people. Asserting the need to continue with the double engine of Centre and state government to expedite development in Assam, he said : "The Assam government is taking forward all sectors and would soon implement the national education policy whereby the local people will be able to get medical and engineering education in the local language." Modi said : "Those who ruled for decades since Independence believed Dispur was too distant from Delhi. Dilli ab door nahi, aapke darwaaze par hai (Delhi is not faraway now, it stands at your doorstep. The earlier governments adopted a step-motherly approach to Assam's north bank (of Brahmaputra River) and neglected connectivity, health, education, infrastructure and industry." While addressing the gathering Union Minister for Petroleum and Natural Gas Dharmendra Pradhan said that Rs 95,000 crore will be invested in Assam's gas and oil sector for the projects initiated by the Prime Minister on Monday.

Pradhan said that the earlier Congress-led UPA government headed by Prime Minister Manmohan Singh despite him representing Assam in the Parliament, did nothing to utilise the gas and oil resources for the benefit of Assam and the country.

The Prime Minister dedicated the nation the INDMAX Unit at Indian Oil's Bongaigaon Refinery, Oil India Limited's Secondary Tank Farm at Madhuban in Dibrugarh district and a Gas Compressor Station at Hebeda Village (Makum) in Tinsukia district.

The INDMAX unit at Indian Oil's Bongaigaon Refinery leverages the technology developed indigenously by Indian Oil-R & D to produce a higher LPG and high-Octane Gasoline yield from heavy feed stocks. The unit will increase the Refinery's crude processing capacity from 2.35 MMTPA (million metric tonnes per annum) to 2.7 MMTPA.

Its commissioning will also significantly enhance LPG production from 50 TMT (thousand metric tonnes) to 257 TMT and the Motor Spirit (Petrol) production from 210 TMT to 533 TMT.

Oil India Limited's Secondary Tank Farm has been built for safe storage of about 40,000 Kilo Litres of Crude Oil, and the separation of formation water from Wet Crude Oil. The Rs 490 crore project will also have a Dehydration unit with an operating capacity of 10,000 Kilo Litres per day.

The Gas Compressor Station at Makum in Tinsukia district will increase the nation's crude oil production capacity by nearly 16500 Metric Tonne per annum. Built at Rs 132 Crore, the station comprises 3 Low-Pressure Booster Compressors and 3 High-Pressure Lifter Compressors.

"These projects would usher in an era of energy security and prosperity and open bright avenues of opportunity for local youth. They are in line with the Prime Minister's vision of "Purvodaya" to drive Eastern India's socio-economic growth," an official release said.

PM Modi also inaugurated the Dhemaji Engineering College and laid the foundation stone for Sualkuchi Engineering College in Dhemaji district.

The Dhemaji Engineering College has been built on 276 bighas of land, at the cost of about Rs 45 Crore. It is the seventh Government Engineering College in the state and will offer B.Tech courses in Civil, Mechanical and Computer Science. The Sualkuchi Engineering College, whose foundation stone was laid, will be built on 116 bighas of land at a cost of about Rs 55 crore.

Assam Governor Jagdish Mukhi, Chief Minister Sarbananda Sonowal and state Finance and Health Minister Himanta Biswa Sarma also spoke in the gatherings.

-- Except for the title, this story has not been edited by Prokerala team and is auto-generated from a syndicated feed
(This Feb. 22 story corrects to clarify Google's position, paragraph 5)

By Emma Pinedo

MADRID (Reuters) - Alphabet's Google is negotiating individual licensing deals with a divided Spanish news industry that could allow the U.S. tech giant's news service to resume in the country, three sources close to the matter told Reuters.

Google News, which links to third party content, closed in Spain in late 2014 in response to legislation which meant it had to pay a mandatory collective licensing fee to re-publish headlines or snippets of news.

Now the thorny issue is back on the table as Spain prepares to implement the 2019 European Union copyright directive by June. While that requires Google, Facebook and others to share revenue with publishers, the government could allow the companies to negotiate individual deals with content providers.

Spain's Culture Ministry said the government was working on a draft bill, but declined to give further details.

A spokeswoman for Google Spain said publishers should be free to choose their own business model. "The copyright law should not make it mandatory to put a paid licence in place," she said.

Facebook faced a backlash from publishers and politicians last week after blocking people in Australia from accessing and sharing news, escalating a dispute with the government there over a planned law that would require it to share revenue with content providers.

The EU rules, however, do not force online platforms to pay for links posted to their news site by publishers, the main grievance for Facebook in Australia, so their implementation could pave the way for a series of deals.

"Google is in talks with Spanish editors about the possibility of taking part in the Google News Showcase programme," a source familiar with the process said, referring to the proposed new name for the service.

Two other sources said some preliminary agreements had already been reached, pending details of the new legislation.

Story continues

STATUS QUO

Google recently agreed to pay $76 million to a group of 121 French news publishers, infuriating many other local outlets, which deemed the deal unfair and opaque.

Some Spanish publishers represented by the AMI media association, such as El Mundo owner Unidad Editorial, are in favour of maintaining the current system which gives publishers the right to levy licensing fees through a collective management entity.

AMI general director Ramon Alonso said the model allows for a transparent and fair negotiation with Google and others, and prevents the exclusion of some publishers.

But others, including CLABE that represents 162 associates with around a thousand news outlets including leading digital brands such as El Espanol or Eldiario.es, say they can reach a better deal on their own and should be free to choose.

"We are trying to ensure that these agreements benefit as many companies in the sector as possible," said Juan Zafra, CLABE secretary general.

The Independent Regional Press Association (AIE), a founding member of AMI, said in a letter published in all of its outlets on Monday that it had been "seriously harmed" by the existing model, which brought no income from content and made Spain "a global digital exception".

Meanwhile, Microsoft and European media groups on Monday urged EU regulators to require online platforms to seek arbitration in disagreements over how to share revenues with news publishers.

(Reporting by Emma Pinedo, editing by Andrei Khalip, Kirsten Donovan)
Bengaluru, Feb 22 : A day after a big rally by Panachamsalis, a powerful subsect within the dominant Lingayat community in Karnataka, Chief Minister B.S. Yediyurappa on Monday fielded two of his cabinet ministers -- Mines and Geology Minister Murugesh R. Nirani and Small Scale Industries Minister C.C. Patil -- to defend him.

Both the ministers came down heavily on Kudalasangama math seer Basava Jaya Mruthyunjaya Swamy and BJP leader Basanagouda Patil Yatnal, accusing them of 'dancing to the tune of the Congress'.

Addressing a joint press conference here, Nirani accused the BJP legisaltor from Vijayapura of being the 'B-team of Congress' in organising such a rally.

"From the beginning, Yatnal has been attacking CM Yediyurappa. He is not behaving like a BJP legislator, instead he is acting like a Congress leader all through the agitation. Ever since the agitations of the Panchamsalis began, it has become a forum to attack Yediyurappa rather than seeking any relief for the community," he said.

Nirani further said that Yatnal got elected as an MLA because of Yediyurappa's charisma and had became the Union minister during late Prime Minister Atal Bihari Vajpyee's tenure due to his support.

"Yatnal has no moral right to criticise the Chief Minister. Let him prove his worth by resigning as a BJP MLA and get re-elected as an Independent from his constituency," Nirani said.

Referring to Sunday's rally and Yatnal's outburst, Nirani maintained that the convention was held with the sole purpose of pressing the demand for 2A reservation but 'some people' misused the platform for their selfish and political ends and tried to mislead the community.

"Yatnal and few other leaders made the rally look like a Congress event. It is condemnable. The Chief Minister has already instructed the Backward Classes Commission, which is a quasi-judicial (quasi-government) body, to conduct a study and submit a report on this issue," he said.

During the Panchamasali Lingayat rally on Sunday, Yatnal had dared Nirani and Patil to resign from their ministerial posts if the CM failed to take steps to include the community under 2A reservation in the OBC list. Hearing this, both had walked off the stage in a huff, as the crowd had booed them during their speeches.

Responding to this, Nirani said that Yatnal had no right to seek his resignation. "I have been elected by the people of my constituency and I became a minister with the blessings of the CM and the party high command. If Yatnal has guts, let him prove it by resiging and recontesting the elections," he said.

Nirani and Patil both observed that it was not right on anyone's part to set deadlines for the government, as decisions like giving reservation can't be taken in a hurry.

"The government needs to follow certain rules and procedures before taking a decision. We need to trust the Chief Minister, and the seers must call off their dharna and stop issuing warnings to the government," Nirani said.

Panchamsalis form nearly 60 per cent of the Lingayt community and for the last few months, they have been consistantly demanding that their community be brought under the 2A category within the backward classes in the state.

Although Yediyurappa is considered to be the tallest leader of the Lingayat community in the state, he does not belong to this susbsect. Therefore, his team carefully chose Nirani and Patil, who belong to the Panchamsali subsect, to defend him.

The Panchamsalis led by two of its powerful seers - Kudalasangama Panchamasali Peetha seer Basava Jaya Mruthyunjaya Swami and Swami Vachananand Guru of Veerashaiva Lingayatha Panchamasali Jagadguru Peetha in Harihara - had even launched a month long 'padayatra' from Kudalasangama covering a distance of 700 km. The padayatra traversed through various villages and towns that are dominated by the Panchamsali subsect.

The rally was held in Bengaluru on Sunday, throwing traffic out of gear for several hours. Both the seers and several hundreds of people are sitting on a dharna at the Freedom Park, setting March 4 as the deadline for Yediyurappa to announce his final decision on the matter. The community leaders have threatened to launch a 'fast unto death' protest thereafter.
Humble ISD school board election set for May 1

The candidates running for four Humble ISD board seats have been finalized, with Election Day set to take place on May 1. Early voting will begin Monday, April 19 and continue until April 27.

School board members are volunteers, who serve without pay, and are elected for four-year terms. Four of the boards seven seats are up for reelection this year.

The deadline to submit applications closed at 5 p.m. Feb. 12. There are a total of 19 candidates running for the four positions. They are:

Position No. 1: Edgar Clayton, William A. Epperson, Robert A. Sitton, Rebecca Tribo

Position No. 3: Wilbert C. Baker, James C. Banks, Liz Diaz, Jesse Givens, Clint D. Horn, Chris Parker, David O. Popoola, Donte Washington

Position No. 4: Janie Branham, Marques A. Holmes, Lonnie Jackson, Ken Kirchhofer, Chase Stevens

Position No. 5: Andrea Glazebrook, Martina Lemond Dixon

Trustee positions 1 and 5 feature incumbents Robert Sitton and Martina Lemon Dixon, respectively. The remaining positions do not have sitting incumbents re-running.

Any registered voter who resides in Humble ISD is eligible to vote in the Humble ISD school board election.

Humble ISD has finalized a list of early voting times, which are as follows:

Weekdays: Monday, April 19, through Tuesday, April 27, from 7 a.m. to 7 p.m.

Weekends: Saturday, April 24, through Sunday, April 25, at times to be set by Harris County.

On Saturday, May 1, polls will be open from 7 a.m. to 7 p.m.

Voting locations within Humble ISD will be posted at humbleisd.net when confirmed by the county. All voting locations in Harris County will be posted at harrisvotes.com. Humble ISD is working in partnership with Harris County to conduct the election. For more information about the Humble ISD school board election, visit humbleisd.net/domain/9812.
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After the International Atomic Energy Agency (IAEA) chief's recent trip to Iran, the two sides agreed to hold off on some of the harsh measures Iran had planned to adopt in response to the US withdrawal of the 2015 nuclear deal. Irans hard-liners, who had passed a bill that would reduce Irans cooperation with the IAEA, have cried foul.

Rafael Grossis announcement in Vienna after his trip to Iran has relieved many observers who closely monitor the nuclear crisis with Iran. A December 2020 bill called the Strategic Action to Remove Sanctions called on Iran to suspend their voluntary implementation of Additional Protocols of the nonproliferation treaty on Feb. 23. Iran had agreed to the Additional Protocols, which gave the IAEA broader access to Irans nuclear program, in 2003. The understanding between the IAEA and Iran, which was discussed with the Hassan Rouhani administration, has given the two sides a three-month window.

Mojtaba Zolnour, head of parliaments National Security and Foreign Policy Committee, said in response to the decision, The administration does not have the right to make decisions or arbitrary actions. He said Rouhanis promise that Iran will return to its full commitments whenever the United States reenters the Joint Comprehensive Plan of Action (JCPOA) shows weakness.

Zolnour said Rouhani going behind the scenes to make a deal with the IAEA is an insult to parliament and also a clear violation of the bill. He said there should be a legal case opened against the president and anyone else who was involved in the decision with the IAEA. He referred to the Rouhani administration as servants of the West and said parliament should not pass another bill until the current bill is fully implemented.

Members of parliament voted on a National Security and Foreign Policy four-point report, which called the IAEA and Iran joint statement a clear violation of parliament's bill to remove sanctions. The report called on Rouhani and all individuals involved in violating the parliamentary bill to be introduced to the judiciary. The report was approved with 221 votes in favor and six votes opposed.

Parliament speaker Mohammad Bagher Ghalibaf said additional protocols would indeed be suspended and no additional access to the IAEA would be permitted. While Ghalibaf is a conservative, his criticisms were much milder than Zolnours.

Kazem Gharibabadi, Irans ambassador to the United Nations, said parliaments bill would be fully implemented. He also denied rumors that the joint Iran-IAEA statement would give the IAEA extra access to Irans nuclear program. The three-month extension was simply monitoring the maintenance of information of some activities and equipment, he said, adding if the sanctions are removed, Iran will hand over this information to the IAEA  but if the sanctions are not removed, Iran will delete the information.

Rouhani and his administration will be out of office in June. If reentry into the JCPOA is not negotiated, it appears unlikely the next administration will be so keen to continue searching for opportunities for compromise.

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Seven persons were killed after a military plane crashed in Abuja, Nigeria's capital on Sunday, an official said.

Ibikunle Daramola, the air force spokesperson, confirmed the crash in a statement in Abuja, saying that "a Nigerian Air Force (NAF) Beechcraft KingAir B350i aircraft crashed while returning to the Abuja Airport after reporting engine failure enroute Minna", capital of the Niger state in the country's central-north region, Xinhua reported.

"First responders are at the scene. Sadly, all 7 personnel on board died in the crash," Daramola said.

According to the spokesperson, the Chief of the Air Staff Oladayo Amao has ordered an immediate investigation into the incident, urging the public to remain calm and await the outcome of the investigation.

A source at the Accident Investigation Bureau (AIB) told Xinhua that the voice recorder of the aircraft had been found.

"From the voice recorder found, we can tell that the pilot did not declare Mayday. He obviously thought he would make it to the runway which is 400 metres away from here," said the source who preferred to be anonymous.

First responders, including the fire service and local residents in Bassanjuwa, a farming community near the airport, had a hectic time putting off the fire and searching for the victims.

One military source told Xinhua that the jet was on a surveillance mission to the Niger state, where scores of students and residents were kidnapped in Kagara town of the state on Wednesday.
[February 22, 2021] Dr. Wayne A. I. Frederick Elected to Battelle Board of Directors

Battelle announced today that Dr. Wayne A. I. Frederick, current president of Howard University and the Charles R. Drew Professor of Surgery, has been elected to the Battelle Board of Directors. Initially, he will serve in an advisory role and become a full voting member in 2022. This press release features multimedia. View the full release here: https://www.businesswire.com/news/home/20210222005468/en/ Dr. Wayne Frederick (Photo: Business Wire) Frederick was appointed the seventeenth president of Howard University in 2014 and has been responsible for advancing the university's commitment to student opportunity, academic innovation, public service, and fiscal stability. He has overseen a series of reform efforts, including the expansion of academic offerings, establishing innovative programs to support student success and the modernization of university facilities. He previously served as provost and chief academic officer. "Wayne's combination of medicl expertise and business acumen will bring a unique and valuable perspective to Battelle's board and help to advance Battelle's mission," said Board Chairman John Welch. "We're delighted he's joining us and look forward to his insights and contributions."



"I'm honored and excited to join the Battelle board," said Frederick. "Battelle is a unique organization bringing innovative technologies and solutions to rapidly changing markets including healthcare, environmental and national security. My stewardship of Howard University with its diverse pipeline of STEM researchers will complement Battelle's mission. I look forward to being a part of this incredible organization as a member of its board." Frederick received his B.S and M.D. from Howard University. Following his post-doctoral research and surgical oncology fellowships at the University of Texas MD Anderson Cancer Center, he began his academic career as associate director of the cancer center at the University of Connecticut. Upon his return to Howard University, his academic positions included associate dean in the College of Medicine, division chief in the Department of Surgery, director of the Cancer Center and deputy provost for Health Sciences. He also earned a Master of Business Administration from Howard University's School of Business in 2011.

"Wayne's strong background in healthcare and medical education aligns so well with Battelle's mission and strategic priorities," said Battelle President and CEO Lou Von Thaer. "He will be a valuable addition to our board and I look forward to working with him for many years." Frederick is the author of numerous peer-reviewed articles, book chapters, abstracts, and editorials and is a widely recognized expert on disparities in healthcare and medical education. His medical research focuses on narrowing racial, ethnic and gender disparities in cancer-care outcomes, especially pertaining to gastrointestinal cancers. He currently serves on the Board of Directors for the Federal Reserve Bank of Richmond and Humana Inc. About Battelle Every day, the people of Battelle apply science and technology to solving what matters most. At major technology centers and national laboratories around the world, Battelle conducts research and development, designs and manufactures products, and delivers critical services for government and commercial customers. Headquartered in Columbus, Ohio since its founding in 1929, Battelle makes the world better by commercializing technology, giving back to our communities, and supporting science, technology, engineering and mathematics (STEM) education. For more information, visit www.battelle.org. View source version on businesswire.com: https://www.businesswire.com/news/home/20210222005468/en/

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SAN FRANCISCO, Feb. 22, 2021 /PRNewswire/ -- Invitae Corporation (NYSE: NVTA), a leading medical genetics company, today announced that members of its management team will present at The Cowen 41st Annual Healthcare Conference on Tuesday, March 2, 2021 at 2:50 p.m. Eastern /11:50 a.m. Pacific.

The live webcast of the fireside chat may be accessed by visiting the investors section of the company website at ir.invitae.com. A replay of the webcast will be available shortly after the conclusion of the fireside chat.

About Invitae

Invitae Corporation (NYSE: NVTA) is a leading medical genetics company, whose mission is to bring comprehensive genetic information into mainstream medicine to improve healthcare for billions of people. Invitae's goal is to aggregate the world's genetic tests into a single service with higher quality, faster turnaround time, and lower prices. For more information, visit the company's website at invitae.com.

Contact:

Laura D'Angelo

[email protected]

(628) 213-3369

SOURCE Invitae Corporation

Related Links

http://www.invitae.com/


Armenia Investigative Committee: Fatal road accident, criminal case opened

Armenia deputy FM submits resignation

Chinese authorities allow families to have 3 children

Dollar devalues in Armenia

Stepanakert: Azerbaijan creates bridgeheads for pressure on Karabakh, expansion towards Armenia

Sergey Lavrov says Russia is ready to disconnect SWIFT

Armenia MFA spokesperson resigns

Republican Party of Armenia Vice-President: Our ratings are growing, but we have greater pretensions

Armenia acting PM's spokesperson responds to ex-FM

Armenia parliament majority leader: Refusing to debate with acting PM is manifestation of low self-confidence

Armenia State Revenue Committee, US Department of Justice sign Memorandum of Cooperation

Vardevanyan: Attempts made to create false grounds for obstructing Armenia bloc election offices legal activities

Lavrov says Russia is ready to resume dialogue with NATO

Armenia opposition MP on FM's resignation

India records lowest increase in COVID-19 cases in 50 days

Bright Armenia faction in parliament: No response to acting PM's proposal to deploy observers along Azerbaijan border

Ruling bloc MP: Acting premiers proposal does not limit Armenia in terms of cooperation with CSTO

Acting PM is proud of Armenian servicemens heroism, says parliament majority leader

Parliament majority leader: No border delimitation unless Azerbaijan army units leave Armenia territory

Outgoing Armenia acting FM opens brackets: My decision of resignation was conditioned by that very reason

Harutyunyan, Shoygu discuss tension on Armenia-Azerbaijan border

Iranian MFA says US has not imported oil from country since Clinton era

Court hearing on appeal against decision to drop March 2008 Yerevan tragedy case is rescheduled

Missing soldiers relatives block Yerevan street

Parliament majority leader: Armenia acting FM did not object, at Security Council meeting, to new document

Armenia Police: 2,581,093 people on voters list

Bright Armenia faction of parliament: No corridor through the country should be provided to Azerbaijan

Analyst: Armenia acting PM Pashinyan gave self-confessed testimony

Armenia national security finds about 1 kg of opium, detains Iran citizen driver and 2 others

182 hearing aids and 2 buses by benefactor Mikayel Vardanyan for students of Special Educational Complex

34 new cases of COVID-19 confirmed in Armenia

Updated voters list is posted on Armenia central election commission website

Armenia authorities provide considerable amount of subsidies ahead of snap parliamentary elections

World oil prices on the rise

MP explains his not being on Bright Armenia Party electoral list

UK new flagship set to be named after the late Prince Philip

US man who said he shot neighbor over loud music found guilty of attempted murder

Lamborghini company to be sold for $11.5bn?

China spacecraft docks with future space station

Lawyer: Armenia acting PM Pashinyan grossly abuses administrative resources during Lori Province visit

UN urges to investigate escalation of violence in Colombia

Malaysia to open mega-centers for vaccination against coronavirus

Police find  5 million in cash in London apartment

French citizen to face trial in Iran on spaying charges

Over 60 children in UK undergo surgery due to TikTok challenge

Iranian Central Bank governor dismissed

Armenian opposition: The one who liberated Artsakh will not go to debates with the one who sold it

Iranian energy ministry: Iraq to allocate $ 125 million of frozen funds for vaccines

No new COVID-19 cases reported in Artsakh

Iran and Iraq to intensify cooperation and are ready for joint investment projects

Armenia ex-PM says at least 2 more secret documents signed but not published yet

Indonesia frees Iranian tanker 4 months later

Mortar shelling in Afghanistan kills at least 10 civilians

Fire breaks out at West Virginia oil refinery in US

Second President of Armenia meets with residents of Ararat province

Iran ready to help improve the defense capability of Syria

Armenian acting PM invites ex-presidents for debates

European Parliament head proposes to strengthen sanctions on Russia

UK PM gets married in London

Armenia reports COVID-19 new 81 cases: 4 people die

EU countries invite US to issue joint statement against Russia

2 people die in Armenia road accident

Nigeria: Students taken hostage a month ago are released

61 quakes recorded in Congo per day

Syrian MFA: EU lost credibility due to blind obedience to US policy

Armenia ex-minister of emergency situations hospitalized with heart attack

Mher Grigoryan: Clarification of border points is possible only after withdrawal of Azerbaijani troops from Armenia

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It provides an opportunity to detail the reforms and changes to our business to deliver the highest standards of governance and compliance, and an organisational culture that meets community expectations, she said. Reverend Tim Costello, chief advocate for the Alliance for Gambling Reform, said he was thrilled. For nearly 20 years Ive been saying we need a royal commission, and I didnt think Id live to see it. Maybe I can now depart in peace. He said Mr Finkelstein was a really good appointment. But he warned that it was unlikely Crown would lose its licence as a result of the royal commission. However, Crown would still be feeling quite comfortable, he said, pointing out that the Andrews government had extended its licence to 2050. During the Bergin inquiry, Premier Andrews said of course we wouldnt be cancelling Crowns licence. ... [so] we know Crown still have a fair bit of protection. He said Victorians had lost confidence in Crown and in the governments ability to govern Crown.

Federal MP Andrew Wilkie, elected on a gambling reform platform a decade ago to a seat in Tasmania, said the royal commission was the only credible option left to the Andrews government. For decades a series of Victorian governments, Liberal and Labor, have profited from the organised crime run out of the states only casino ... A judicial inquiry can hopefully also get to the bottom of the political protection racket that has plagued this issue. Anti-gambling campaigner Stephen Mayne said the royal commission also needed to compel current and former Victorian regulators and key political figures, including Jeff Kennett, Daniel Andrews and former gaming minister Marlene Kairouz to give evidence, broadening on the work of the Bergin inquiry, which focused more on Crown personnel. Issues worthy of exploration include evidence of Crowns lobbying and political power, including through the regular political donations that it makes and the long line of political figures that it has hired to influence the political and regulatory process, he said. State opposition gaming spokeswoman Steph Ryan said the government had been shamed into calling a royal commission.

This is the royal commission Daniel Andrews didnt want to have, she said. Never before have we seen a royal commission announced at 4.30pm on a Monday by a junior minister with the Premier nowhere to be seen. Former state gambling regulator Peter Cohen said the royal commission was inevitable because of what the NSW inquiry had uncovered, and that Mr Finkelstein needed to look at the relationship between the state and the Commonwealth when it comes to money laundering responsibility. NSWs 18-month inquiry into Crown, conducted by former Supreme Court judge Patricia Bergin, examined evidence of the casino operator facilitating money laundering through its bank accounts, going into business with junket tour partners linked to triad organised crime gangs and disregarding the welfare of its staff in China before 19 were arrested there in 2016. Commissioner Bergins final report this month found these failures made Crown unfit to hold a casino licence in NSW, with its core problem being poor corporate governance, deficient risk management structures and processes and a poor corporate culture. The scathing report led to the resignation of Crowns chief executive, Ken Barton, and four directors including former AFL boss Andrew Demetriou.

Ms Horne said the Victorian Commission for Gambling and Liquor Regulation had been examining the 800-page Bergin inquiry report since it was handed down in early February. Weve gone through that report line by line and understood our commercial contracts and got the legal advice as to what the most appropriate response to those findings are, Ms Horne said. Loading Replay Replay video Play video Play video What we need to appreciate as well, though, there are hundreds of people, thousands of people, working in Crown. We need to make sure that were protecting jobs, but also were doing it in a way where a casino is operating in a suitable manner. Crown will continue to hold its licence while under investigation by the royal commission. Despite repeated questioning, Ms Horne would not yet commit to accepting all of the recommendations, including any about whether Crown was fit to hold its gaming licence.

She said there was a lot of water to go under the bridge and the government would be working with the royal commission to see what the findings would be and then stand ready to act. Western Australia launched an inquiry with the same powers of a royal commission into Crowns Perth casino last week, leading to accusations the Andrews government was dragging its feet given the most concerning evidence related to Crowns flagship Southbank casino. The Victorian government has for years resisted an independent investigation into Crown, despite damning evidence aired in media reports and tabled in Federal Parliament. Ms Horne defended the casino regulator, saying it had been conducting reviews every five years into Crowns suitability to hold a licence. Loading

However, the Auditor-General in 2017 found the regulator had not been properly scrutinising money laundering by high rollers at Crown. Inspectors from the VCGLR were simply not paying sufficient attention to key areas of risk, the states financial watchdog found at the time. Ms Horne has flagged splitting the VCGLR and establishing a separate casino regulator in response to the findings made by the Bergin inquiry. She said there would be a government-led investigation into the effectiveness of the regulator and how it could be reformed. The gambling and liquor regulators were merged in 2012; it had been beset by a lack of leadership, training of staff and reduction in funder under the previous government, the Auditor-General found in 2017. Since receiving [that] report, the government has taken advice about the most appropriate way to proceed in Victoria, the statement said. Loading

Establishing a royal commission will ensure the most appropriate access to information regarding Crown Melbournes suitability to hold the casino licence given the commissions powers to compel witnesses and documentation. The government had already established a review of Crowns suitability to hold its licence. That review will now occur in parallel with the royal commission. The royal commission will establish the facts and the government and the [state regulator] will take any necessary action at the conclusion of the investigation. We will not tolerate illegal behaviour in our gaming industry. with Ashleigh McMillan
Emma Coronel Aispuro, the wife of Mexicos most notorious drug trafficker, best known as El Chapo, was arrested Monday and charged with helping her husband run his multibillion-dollar criminal empire and plotting to break him out of prison after he was captured in 2014.

Ms. Coronel, a former beauty queen, had been under investigation for at least two years by U.S. federal authorities for being an accomplice to her husband, Joaquin Guzman Loera, who was convicted in 2019 at a trial in Brooklyn of masterminding a huge drug conspiracy and was subsequently sentenced to life in prison.

Court documents filed in Ms. Coronels case said she relayed messages for Mr. Guzman that helped him make drug shipments from 2012 to 2014 and evade capture by the legions of American and Mexican authorities who had been pursuing him for years. Evidence emerged at Mr. Guzmans trial that Ms. Coronel was also a chief conspirator in a sophisticated plot to break him out of the Altiplano prison in Mexico by digging a nearly mile-long tunnel into the shower of his cell.

Ms. Coronel, 31, is a dual U.S.-Mexican citizen with roots in both Southern California and the city of Culiacan in Mexicos Sinaloa State, which has long served as the base of operations for Mr. Guzmans drug organization, the Sinaloa cartel. She was taken into custody at Dulles International Airport, near Washington, and is scheduled to make an initial appearance on Tuesday in the U.S. District Court for the District of Columbia. Her lawyer, Jeffrey Lichtman, who also represented Mr. Guzman, declined to comment on the arrest.
Source: Xinhua| 2021-02-23 05:50:27|Editor: huaxia

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The UN envoy to Syria Geir Pedersen (L) meets with Syrian Foreign Minister Faisal Mekdad in Damascus, Syria, on Feb. 22, 2021. Pedersen said on Monday that he is having "comprehensive and extensive" discussions with Mekdad. (Photo by Ammar Safarjalani/Xinhua)

DAMASCUS, Feb. 22 (Xinhua) -- The UN envoy to Syria Geir Pedersen said on Monday that he is having "comprehensive and extensive" discussions with Syrian Foreign Minister Faisal Mekdad.

Pedersen told reporters in Syria's capital Damascus that the discussions they touched upon the issues related to the UN Security Council resolution 2254 which maps out a political solution in Syria.

"I just concluded my first round of discussion with Foreign Minister Mekdad this morning. It was a very extensive round, very comprehensive ... but so far so good," he said.

Mekdad and Pedersen also discussed the need to ensure no foreign interference in the work of the Syrian Constitutional Committee, state news agency SANA reported.

Pedersen's visit to Damascus comes after his trip of shuttle diplomacy to Russia, Iran, and Turkey that concern themselves with the Syrian issue.

The pro-government al-Watan newspaper said on Sunday that Pedersen held talks in Moscow regarding the future of the Syrian Constitutional Committee and its expected sixth round of talks in March in Geneva.

According to al-Watan, Pedersen hinted at the end of the fifth round of the Committee's talks that the Syrian government delegation was hindering the talks.

The Syrian Constitutional Committee was formed in 2019 to discuss and rewrite the Syrian constitution, but no progress has been made so far. Enditem
President Biden often professes a belief in redemption. Republicans, whose party has an elephant as its symbol, have long memories. When it comes to Neera Tanden, whom Biden nominated to head the White House Office of Management and Budget, something has to give in that tug-of-war.

It didnt take long for the opposition party to discover evidence that Tanden, a keenly partisan operative from the Clinton wing of the Democratic Party, on numerous occasions had failed to live up to the new presidents standard for unity and decency in government. Using Twitter as her platform, she described Sen. Susan Collins of Maine as the worst, Sen. Tom Cotton of Arkansas as a fraud, and said that vampires have more heart than Sen. Ted Cruz. She linked Bernie Sanders to Russia and while calling Senate Republican Leader Mitch McConnell Moscow Mitch. She also compared him to Voldemort.

Tanden has since said shes sorry, including a specific apology for that comparison of the current minority leader to the evil undead wizard. But Sen. Joe Manchin isnt satisfied. The swing-vote Democrat from West Virginia announced Friday that he would oppose her nomination. I believe her overtly partisan statements will have a toxic and detrimental impact on the important working relationship between members of Congress and the next director of the Office of Management and Budget, Manchin said in a written statement.

This makes Manchin the first Democrat to oppose one of Bidens Cabinet nominees. It also signals that White House officials cant automatically count on getting their nominees through a 50-50 Senate, even with Vice President Kamala Harris able to cast tie-breaking votes. If the Tanden nomination is troubled, some were whispering over the weekend, what about the presidents other controversial picks, such as Xavier Becerra to lead Health and Human Services?

Tanden's chances were further damaged Monday when Collins, considered a possible Republican vote in favor of confirmation, announced her opposition. "Congress has to be able to trust the OMB director to make countless decisions in an impartial manner, carrying out the letter of the law and congressional intent. Neera Tanden has neither the experience nor the temperament to lead this critical agency," Collins said in a statement. "Her past actions have demonstrated exactly the kind of animosity that President Biden has pledged to transcend." (Mitt Romney added his voice to the "no" chorus on Monday, saying through a spokesman that Tanden's "thousand mean tweets" are at odds with a "return to comity and respect.")

Still, Biden was bullish when asked about his imperiled, and previously impolite, OMB director-designate, telling reporters Friday, I think were going to find the votes to get her confirmed.

On Monday, White House spokeswoman Jen Psaki doubled down on White House support, tweeting: Neera Tanden=accomplished policy expert, would be 1st Asian American woman to lead OMB, has lived experience having benefitted from a number of federal programs as a kid, looking ahead to the committee votes this week and continuing to work toward her confirmation

Over the weekend, a source inside the confirmation effort told RealClearPolitics that Biden thinks Tanden would be an incredibly successful budget director as far as helping turn our economy around during this time of crisis. And gauging from her strong backing, ranging from the business community to the labor movement, he's not at all alone.

Tanden has already had over 35 meetings with senators from both parties. She is also scheduled to meet with Sanders, who now chairs the Senate Budget Committee, which is expected to vote on her nomination this week. The Biden team has pointed to backing for Tanden from across the ideological spectrum.

Mark Holden, formerly the general counsel of the libertarian-leaning Koch Industries, sent a letter of support to the chairmen of the Senate Homeland Security and Governmental Affairs Committee and Senate Budget Committee.

Ms. Tanden and I do not agree on many issues. But even when we did not agree, I found her to be a person of principle who would listen respectfully and respond thoughtfully, he wrote in a letter. There were other letters too, from the U.S. Chamber of Commerce, the Communications Workers of America, and one signed by more than 100 public health experts, all backing her nomination.

They were addressed to the committee chairmen involved, specifically Sens. Gary Peters and Sanders  the kind of public correspondence designed to put pressure on them, as is normal on Capitol Hill. But the Biden team has something else working for it: outside Republicans advocating publicly to forgive Tanden.

For instance, they can point to support from Bill Kristol, the editor at large of the conservative Bulwark magazine, who wrote that Tanden was the right person for the job -- despite her history of unkind words -- because everyone should want a tough-minded OMB head.

Kristols noisy and incessant opposition to the previous Republican president doesnt make him the best advocate on Tandens behalf. But former Indiana Gov. Mitch Daniels, who served as OMB director under George W. Bush, remains popular among conservatives, giving extra weight to his support of Tandens nomination

Now the president of Purdue University, Daniels wrote an op-ed in The Washington Post in which he noted that Republicans certainly have legitimate grievances after Senate Democrats forced over 300 cloture votes to obstruct Trump nominees. He wrote also that Tanden tweeted or otherwise emitted a number of unkind, personal nastygrams aimed at some of those who now will consider her nomination.

His assessment? Shame on her. But his larger conclusion, one in line with Bidens crusade for a return to decency, was that in the recent toxic wasteland of national affairs, if we disqualify everyone who ever unleashed a smarmy or juvenile cheap shot, wed have very few people left in Washington.

Daniels is not naive about how D.C. works. Nicknamed Mitch the Knife while OMB director, he related some of his own personal battles with Tanden when she headed the liberal Center for American Progress. Once, he writes, her organization had him kicked off a panel because of his previous disagreements with her over policy.

But that is in the past, Daniels wrote. The future can be more bipartisan: Confirmation of Tanden in particular would demonstrate a willingness, not seen often in recent days, to overlook the personal and the petty, to honor the biblical injunction and return no one evil for evil. Im presuming here that senators are, as they frequently claim to be, troubled by the harshness and crudity of our current political discourse. So, heres a chance to demonstrate it, along with a degree of magnanimity.

Daniels own magnanimous overture gave some hope over the weekend to some of Bidens lieutenants, who circulated his words among interested parties. They know that the fight over the previously ill-tempered nominee could be emblematic of things to come. Their preference, of course, is that the Senate accept Tandens apology and move on. But thats now up to the very people Neera Tanden insulted.
The construction of the PerfectSwell  Surf Technology venue was accomplished in the year that has seen highly disruptive business conditions affecting world travel and challenges to productivity. In cooperation, licensee Surf Stadium Japan (SSJ) and AWM overcame supply chain and logistics challenges to deliver thousands of components. The civil works were completed in a record 389 days.

During AWM commissioning, never-before-seen innovations will be put through the paces. 'Temporal Distortion', a newly invented wave design feature allows for new dimensions of hydrodynamic control. "Temporal Distortion will lead to an entirely new selection of waves for both high-performance and learning applications," said William McFarland, AWM Surf Programmer. "It will add shifting elements to the surf creating a more dynamic wave overall." Other new features include upgrades to the system's power response. "Start-up test results confirm that the enhanced performance response has been achieved." said Lead Engineer Miquel Lazaro.

PerfectSwell Shizunami demonstrates how high-performance surf can be achieved in urban, surf-centric, relatively smaller footprint locations, referred to as 'surf arenas'. This scalability demonstrates how PerfectSwell Surf Technology can be deployed globally in varied applications. "Surfing is in the Olympics for the first time only once. This is a watershed moment for the sport." said Bruce McFarland, AWM Founder. "PerfectSwell Shizunami provides a consistent platform for athlete training, exhibitions, and events leading up to the Olympic Games."

An opening date will be announced once the travel ban to Japan is lifted and AWM can commission PerfectSwell Shizunami.

About American Wave Machines

American Wave Machines, Inc. surf technology is protected by 39 patents in 11 jurisdictions. SurfStream venues have capacity of 100's while PerfectSwell surf pools are 1 acre plus with capacity in the 1,000's. Since 2007 over 4,000,000 sessions have been enjoyed at American Wave Machines locations around the globe.

About Surf Stadium Japan

Surf Stadium Japan is a Corporation founded on principals of community and giving back. Surf Stadium Japan will further the strong surfing spirit that is already thriving in Shizunami.

[email protected]

SOURCE American Wave Machines, Inc.

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Meteorologists in Wyoming have warned that low levels of precipitation across the state could increase the threat of wildfires over the summer.

Tim Troutman, a meteorologist at the National Weather Service office in Riverton, told the Wyoming Tribune Eagle on Wednesday that the state is experiencing its worst drought since 2012, the same year the state recorded one of its more active wildfire seasons.

In 2012, fires in Wyoming burned 875 square miles and cost the state about $100 million to contain. Officials have said more moisture now can help prevent similar conditions later in the year.

If we begin to get more moisture into the area, and more snow and rain, that definitely can alleviate conditions, Troutman said.

It is unclear if the state reached its desired precipitation threshold.

Weather officials have said it snowed less than 4 inches last month in Cheyenne where the average monthly snowfall for January is 5.9 inches. The city also recorded less than half the precipitation it did this time last year.

Thats definitely indicating weve been in this strong La Nina pattern, and its definitely continuing, Troutman said, referring to the weather pattern that has caused the drought in Wyoming and other parts of the U.S. West.

Copyright 2021 Associated Press. All rights reserved. This material may not be published, broadcast, rewritten or redistributed.

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File photo of a Mahindra Roxor utility vehicle with a mounted turret blasting souvenir balls and t-shirts into the crowd during a game between the Detroit Tigers and Chicago Cubs at Comerica Park on Aug. 22, 2018 in Detroit, Michigan. (Duane Burleson/Getty Images)
MEDFORD, Ore.  Oregon's plan to make increasingly more seniors eligible for the COVID-19 vaccine throughout February keeps rolling forward, despite an overall supply shortage and shipments delayed by severe weather across the county.

Monday marks the date that seniors 70 and older become eligible, with the full populated of people 65 and older set to become eligible on March 1.

Throughout last week, winter storms in northwest Oregon and throughout the country delayed shipments of the vaccine  another wrinkle for the already limited supply of doses in the U.S.

Jackson County Public Health reiterated on Monday that there are more seniors who want the vaccine than there will be doses available "in the coming weeks," so eligibility will not necessarily translate to an available appointment.

"Jackson County Public Health and our healthcare partners are encouraged by the number of people wanting to be vaccinated, and we are all eager to provide the vaccine," the agency said. "We appreciate the community's patience; we are all doing the best we can  as fast as we can  with the available resources we have."

Klamath County was able to hold some preliminary vaccinations for seniors over the weekend, although there are no doubt many seniors 70 and older in the area who are still seeking their first doses. According to Klamath County Public Health, there are an estimated 10,222 people aged 70 or older in the county.

"It will be weeks, perhaps months, before everyone who would like to be vaccinated will have access to vaccine," the agency said. "Please be patient. There is not a registry for those who would like to be vaccinated. Individuals must contact the vaccine provider for an appointment and available vaccine."

There are not currently any more mass vaccination clinics planned in southern Oregon counties, though that will likely change in the weeks ahead.

If you are located in Jackson County and are eligible for the vaccine, Jackson County Public Health has provided the following avenues for seeking an appointment:

Asante: Schedule an appointment by calling 541-789-2813 and press option #2.

Providence: If you are a patient of the Providence Healthcare System, to schedule an appointment call 541-789-2813 and press option #2.

La Clinica: If you are a patient of La Clinica, are uninsured, have no regular doctor, or speak primarily Spanish, you can call to schedule an appointment: 541-618-1300.

Jackson County Public Health: All appointments have been booked at this time. We will open the appointment request up once there is availability.

Fred Meyer Pharmacy: Schedule an appointment by filling out the COVID-19 Vaccine Appointment Scheduler or call 1-866-211-5320

Safeway/Albertsons: Find out about vaccine availability and schedule an appointment by using the online registration tool at Safeway/Albertsons Pharmacy COVID-19 Vaccine Page

Costco: Find out about vaccine availability and schedule an appointment by using the online registration tool at Costco COVID-19 Vaccine Page.

Health Mart Pharmacies: Find out about vaccine availability and schedule an appointment by using the online registration tool at Health Mart COVID-19 Vaccine Page.

Klamath County gave the following information about the status of doses for their residents:
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C4XD is a pioneering Drug Discovery company combining scientific expertise with cutting-edge Drug Discovery technologies to efficiently deliver worldleading medicines, developed by partners for the benefit of patients. Its commercially attractive portfolio ranges from early-stage novel target opportunities to late-stage Drug Discovery programmes ready for out-licensing to partners. The company's business model focuses on replenishing big pharma discovery pipelines and driving returns through revenue generating pre-clinical licensing deals.

In 2018, C4XD successfully out-licensed a pre-clinical programme in addictive disorders to Indivior in a deal worth up to $294m, which is now in a Phase I clinical study.

In 2021, C4XD signed an exclusive worldwide licensing agreement with Sanofi worth up to 414 million, for C4XDs oral pre-clinical IL-17A inhibitor programme.
 SCOTUS grants cert on yet another intricate Armed Career Criminal Act issue | Main | Notable quotables on criminal justice issues from AG-nominee Merrick Garland during his confirmation hearing 

February 22, 2021

"Teaching Drugs: Incorporating Drug Policy into Law School Curriculum (2020-21 Curriculum Survey Update)"

The title of this post is the title of this great new updated report authored by multiple researchers with The Ohio State University's Drug Enforcement and Policy Center (DEPC) now available via SSRN. This document is an updated version of a great prior report with the same title, and both reports are the product of the collective great work of many DEPC folks with input from many legal academics and staff. Here is the abstract for this latest version of this report:

Despite the significant impact of laws and policies surrounding controlled substances, few classes in the typical law school curriculum focus on either basic legal doctrines or broader scholarship in this field. This gap in law school curricula is especially problematic given the shifts in the landscapes of legalized cannabis and hemp, as well as the range of legal and policy responses to the recent opioid crisis. To continue our efforts to better understand how law schools currently approach these issues and to identify how drug policy and law could be better incorporated into law school curricula, we conducted a third survey of all accredited law schools in the U.S. The 2020-21 survey followed two previous annual surveys and a workshop of legal scholars who work in this space. The surveys and 2019 workshop were designed to identify law school courses currently taught and the primary obstacles to teaching this subject matter. The results show that the vast majority of law schools do not teach courses touching on drugs or the evolving legal structures around cannabis, and this is true even for law schools located in states with legalized cannabis markets.

February 22, 2021 at 04:50 PM | Permalink

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Questions swirl around the available COVID vaccines. Some are medical questions and some are legal questions. The most common legal question is, Can employers require the vaccine?

An employers legal ability to require the vaccine is outside the scope of this article; employment attorneys are the most qualified to answer this question. This articles focus is the insurance implications if the vaccine is mandated by the employer.

Even if the employer can legally require employee vaccinations, employers must consider all relevant factors arising from the decision before making a final decision. Insurance and the availability of coverage is a financial reality that must be considered as part of the discussion.

Who is to Blame

Manufacturers can be subject to strict liability and are thus charged with producing a product that is not defective and/or does not have an unreasonable risk of causing harm. Pharmaceutical (vaccine) manufacturers are subject to the same standards.

But there is one caveat regarding COVID vaccine manufacturers, vaccine manufactures are immune from legal liability  at least temporarily  under the PREP Act. More detailed information on the PREP Act is available from the Congressional Research Service.

Further, it is unlikely the government will accept legal liability for any injury or death resulting from the vaccines. Additionally, some states have extended immunity to include those who administer the vaccine (doctors, pharmacists, etc.).

If the injured person cannot go after the manufacturer, the government or the administrator, who is next? If the employer required the vaccinations  the answer is somewhat obvious, the employer. An employer that required the vaccine may be the only party that CAN be sued and potentially held liable for the near future.

Is Coverage Available

If, as a provable result of the vaccine, an employee dies or becomes seriously ill in the next few months or years (while the liability protection is in place), the employer that required the employee be vaccinated may find themselves on the defendant end of a lawsuit. Employers mandating vaccination may find themselves in court.

If an employer does end up in court, is there any insurance coverage available to cover the defense and/or any award granted? Three possible coverage options come to mind immediately:

Workers Compensation;

Employers Liability; and

Employment Practices Liability.

How might these coverages respond to a vaccine-related death or injury of an employee if the employer requires the vaccine? Lets undertake a quick overview of each.

Workers Compensation

To be compensable under workers compensation the injury must arise out of and be in the course and scope of employment. Further, an occupational illness or disease that causes death or injury is compensable only if the illness, disease or resulting is peculiar to the industry or job. More detail on compensability in workers compensation is available within the VU article, Occupational Illness and Compensability.

Can death or severe injury/illness from an employer-required vaccine meet the requirements for compensability? Although getting the vaccine was FOR work, it does not appear to arise out of and in the course and scope of THE work. Additionally, the illness or death is not peculiar TO THE WORK, the result is one to which members of the entire population (members of the general public) may be subject. (Specific details on each of these requirements for compensability is found in, Occupational Illness and Compensability.)

Clearing the hurdles necessary to create a compensable injury under workers compensation coverage may prove extremely difficult. Given the application of and requirements for compensability currently applied in workers compensation, there does not appear to be protection provided by the workers compensation policy.

Employers Liability

Part Two of the workers compensation policy is employers liability. This is an often overlooked or even ignored gap filler between workers compensation and general liability few agents understand. An Employers Liability primer is available within the Big Is Virtual University research library.

Employer negligence and an ultimate finding of legal liability on the part of the employer are key requirements before employers liability coverage is triggered. If the employer is not negligent in causing the injury or illness, employers liability does not respond. To be considered negligent, the injured party must prove:

The employer owed a duty; The employer breached the duty; An injury occurred; and The employers breach of duty was the proximate cause of the injury.

(Note: A more detailed explanation of legal liability is available in the article, How Does a Person Become Legally Liable.)

Proving negligence by requiring a vaccine may be difficult. The manufacturer has the duty to produce a safe vaccine, safety of the vaccine is not within the employers control. It seems unlikely the employers liability key trigger is tripped and thus it seems unlikely employers liability coverage will respond. Additionally, there are other limitations with employers liability coverage that may also preclude coverage.

Employment Practice Liability

Because there is no standard Employment Practices Liability (EPL) coverage form, anticipating how an EPL policy may respond to an employer requiring the vaccine could be more complicated, but then again, maybe not.

EPL is a type of named peril coverage. Although the term named peril is most commonly associated with and applicable to property coverage, it can be used to describe some liability coverages, especially management liability coverages. An EPL policy responds only to Wrongful Acts, Wrongful Employment Acts or whatever the subject policy calls the acts covered by the policy. What qualifies as a covered act is specifically listed in the policy. Thus, its a named act or named peril coverage.

If the act leading to the lawsuit is not named, the policy is not triggered and there is no coverage. Add to this a specific Bodily Injury exclusion found in most EPL policies and the EPL does not appear to provide any coverage if the employee develops an illness or dies from a required vaccine.

However, the EPL policy may be triggered if the employee is fired for refusing to take the vaccine. Further, most EPL policies provide coverage for hostile work environments, so even if the employee isnt fired, but the employer shames, withholds promotions or commits other such actions, the EPL may respond if the employee sues.

EPL may respond to a suit related to the taking or not taking of the vaccine, but it most likely will not respond to any injury or death that results from a required vaccine.

Insurance Realities

Whether an employer can require the vaccine and under what conditions are topics that must be addressed by employment attorneys. But if the decision is made to require vaccines for employment, the business owner must consider the possible financial consequences if an employee is sickened by or even dies as a result of the vaccine.

Considering the requirements and provisions of the most relevant insurance policies discussed in this article, the employer may have NO insurance protection if they are sued and ultimately held responsible for any illness or injury an employee suffers as a result of required vaccinations.

Employers must make a business decision regarding vaccines. One factor that must be considered during the decision-making process is the potential financial consequences from the seeming lack of any insurance protection. The reality of this lack of insurance protection could prove very expensive for the employer.

Disclaimer: This information is to be construed as an opinion only based on a current understanding and application of the various policies. This should not be taken as legal advice or a definitive response by the various insurance carriers and policies. Laws vary and may be modified over time.
IQ banker, an innovative pioneer and global leader in corporate finance and financial modeling workflow platforms used by the worlds leading financial firms, is proud to announce it has licensed its latest best-in-class product to S&P Global Market Intelligence. The recently-launched Merger Model  Powered by IQ banker, a powerful platform that makes in-depth M&A analysis easy and efficient, now incorporates S&P Globals financial modeling methodologies and its premium financial sector data. It is now available and lives inside S&P Globals flagship product, Market Intelligence, as the newest and one of the most cutting-edge products within their platform.

IQ bankers M&A Modeling Platform is a powerful and fully-interactive tool that facilitates the in-depth analysis of the impact of M&A deals. With its impressive design, user-friendly interface, and interactive controls, IQ bankers platform is an easy-to-use tool to model M&A deals and effectively and seamlessly examine the pro forma financial impact. The cutting-edge platform allows financial analysts, M&A professionals, and CFOs to customize a set of assumptions and run accretion/dilution analysis in real-time, deal value calculation and consideration breakdown, pro forma analysis of financial statements, regulatory capital analysis, sensitivity analysis, and profitability analysis. In addition to assessing deals instantaneously, the platform also offers ways to spot desired target or buyer companies, analyze multiple scenarios, and filter deals to discover the most suitable options. Scenarios and assumptions can be saved and replicated seamlessly.

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Once again our leaders are forcing a false trade-off between public safety and business investment.

First, they stood idly by as spilled plastic pellets washed on our beaches.

Sen. Sandy Senn introduced a bill that would require basic safeguards, such as containment and reporting of spills. It has yet to garner support to move forward.

Instead, legislators are promoting a bill that would exempt chemical plastic recyclers from having to pay for cleanups when an accident occurs.

Rather than adopt a sensible polluter pays approach, they want citizens to live with the contamination and taxpayers to foot the bill for cleanup.

Our natural environment contributes more than $20 billion a year to the state economy. Clean air and water directly impact our quality of life. We should welcome industries that enhance these assets, not incentivize trashing them.

ALYS CAMPAIGNE

Wayne Street

Mount Pleasant

Cold weather turbines

I have no knowledge of the kind of wind turbines in use in Texas. I have, however, traveled quite a bit and seen turbines in areas that have much colder weather than Texas.

Were some of the Texas turbines bought with no consideration of freezing weather conditions?

Most of Germany has wind turbines, as does much of the Midwest, and these dont seem to have issues with cold weather.

People who are trying to blame the current problems on green power need to be educated.

Its not green power, its the people buying the windmills without researching their susceptibility to cold weather.

Take a lesson from Cervantes. Dont tilt at windmills.

M. LYNN MOUT

Gray Lane

North Charleston

Scott wrong on education

Sen. Tim Scotts Friday commentary shows he is still wrong on education.

Public funds should be used for public schools. Religious and other private schools should be funded with private funds.

And, Mr. Scott should know that it is important to listen to what teachers think.

JOE MCFALLS

Lazy River Drive

Charleston

Impeachment absurd

Sen. Lindsey Grahams rationale for his acquittal vote of former President Donald Trump is not nearly as absurd as the Houses rationale for his impeachment.

ROBERT G. CURRIN JR.

Palmetto Pointe Lane

Edisto Island

Cruz did right thing

Although I do not agree with Sen. Ted Cruzs politics, I must defend his family vacation to Mexico during a deadly winter storm in his home state of Texas.

Having been a commanding officer with my hometown fire department for 28 years, I came to the conclusion that a high-ranking politician cannot be of any help during a natural disaster.

Having politicians with their security details staying in the center of such a disaster binds emergency personnel who are urgently needed to help those in desperate need.

If their decisions or approval are needed for certain actions, a phone call or online meeting would work instead.

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I recommended that every family who was able to travel safely should leave the area and wait until infrastructure has been restored and let professionals do their work.

Sen. Cruzs actions are judged politically, but technically, he did the right thing.

MARKUS DAMWERTH

South Boulevard

North Charleston

All heartbeats matter

The state Legislature passed a bill banning most abortions and Gov. Henry McMaster signed it into law Thursday.

This law says that after the first eight weeks of conception, it is illegal to terminate a pregnancy with the exception of incest, rape or jeopardy to the mothers health.

I am against abortion and believe that all life is sacred and should be protected and nourished.

There is, however, the question of the quality of life.

For a number of years, I testified in court in cases dealing with charges of child abuse and neglect.

In addition, I worked with foster care families where children were placed for their own protection.

Why dont we begin with children who are already born?

Like it does in so many other statistics, South Carolina ranks near the top in the percentage of children in foster care. The reasons are legion, but as so often is the case, most of those children come from low-income families.

Why punish women who agonize with an unwanted pregnancy?

Why does our state Legislature not address the real reason of child abuse and neglect, which in many cases is related to poverty?

I am sure my few words of caution will do little, if anything, to change minds. But maybe a few will agree and look at the bigger picture.

In addition to the fetal heartbeat, lets agree that all heartbeats matter, most of all, those who are already here and are not wanted.

Rev. HARTMUT FEGE

Bent Tree Lane

Pawlyes Island

Navigating connector

The Friday editorial supporting restriping the Isle of Palms connector must have been written by people who do not use the connector on a regular basis, especially in the summer months.

First, there already is access for walkers and bikers, and if one lane for those works on the Ravenel, then why not here?

The editorial says its time for people to have an alternative way to get to the beach. Please send me the pictures of all the large families walking across the connector while hauling coolers, chairs, tents, skim boards, fishing rods, etc., on a 95-degree day, all while avoiding speeding cars and trucks. At the top of the connector, traffic often backs up and accidents occur on a regular basis.

To say this is not connected to the parking dispute is disingenuous at best.

The state Department of Transportation is making it clear that the island needs to do business its way or face the wrath of bureaucracy.

I live on IOP as well as walk and ride a bike. I can figure out how to do it just fine without making the connector a dedicated biking trail.

RICK FURLANO

Waterway Boulevard

Isle of Palms

Humans are virus

The recent articles and opinion pieces about the removal of the 300-year-old Meeting Tree, clear-cutting of trees in the I-26 median and various road-widening and development projects in the Charleston area reinforces something I have long suspected: The human race has become a virus spreading upon the face of the Earth, and outbreaks of disease such as COVID-19 are examples of natures immune system trying to protect itself against us.

LOUISE BRITTON

William Battle Court

Edisto Island
A senior leader of a terrorist network has been jailed after sparking a manhunt that caused nine-hour tailbacks in Dover.

The man, known as LF, is part of the banned al-Muhajiroun (ALM) Islamist group formerly led by Anjem Choudary.

The government proscribed ALM as a terrorist group in 2006 but no one has ever been prosecuted for membership.

Supporters have carried out atrocities including the London Bridge attack, 7/7 bombings and the murder of Lee Rigby, while others plotted attacks and fought for Isis, al-Qaeda and the Taliban abroad.

A High Court case heard that Choudary had been unable to remain as a key leader in ALM because of his 2016 prison sentence for inviting support for Isis, and strict licence conditions after being freed.

It said that LF had resumed the role of senior leader in his absence, along with others.

He was made subject to Terrorism Prevention and Investigation Measures (TPIM), which allow wide-ranging restrictions to be placed on people deemed to pose a terrorism risk by the security services, even if they have not committed a terror offence.

The Old Bailey heard that on 15 September, LF cut off his electronic monitoring tag and disappeared from his home in Northampton after burning documents.

Prosecutor Kate Wilkinson said that security operations were put in place at British ports to prevent him from leaving the jurisdiction, causing nine-hour tailbacks towards Dover.

She said LF, who cannot be named for legal reasons, had been due at a court hearing on the day he disappeared for a review of a previous suspended sentence.

Judge Leonard QC jailed LF for three years and two months on Monday. He received two years and four months for breaching the TPIM, and an additional 10 months for violating the conditions of a 2019 court order.

 Anjem Choudary released from prison

It is clear to me that the conditions imposed were necessary to cope with the threat you pose, the judge said.

LF had avoided jail for breaching a previous TPIM on the condition that he committed no further offences within two years and abided by all requirements.

Judge Leonard said LF had fled his home because he feared he would be imprisoned at the 15 September court hearing for failing to fully comply with a deradicalisation programme.

Im sure it was in your mind when you left in the early hours of the morning of 15 September that you were not coming back, he told LF. Fortunately you came to your senses and gave yourself up.

The judge said that police operations to prevent him fleeing the country had caused significant disruption to legitimate travellers.

He described LF as one of the senior leaders of ALM, and said he had a leading role in communication and logistics.

The Old Bailey heard that LF had used online talks to encourage people to travel to Isis-controlled territories.

After his first TPIM expired in October 2018, he returned to London and set up a Twitter account where he continued to publish extremist views.

LF declared that the Islamic concept of a covenant of security had been broken, meaning that attacks on the UK and other countries hosting Muslims were allowed, the court heard.

London Bridge attack ringleader Khuram Butt was a member of ALM at the same time as LF (Channel 4)

Security services found he had met ALM members on a number of occasions in London and other locations, twice hosting them in his own home.

A new TPIM was imposed in November 2019 after he was found to be acting for the benefit of ALM and in possession of Islamist extremist material, including some condoning violence.

A psychiatric report said that the extreme restrictions, which prevent LF from living with his wife and two young children, had put strain on LF and that he was suffering a moderate depressive episode during the incident in September.

But Judge Leonard told him that it was because of your behaviour and stated beliefs these measures were imposed on you.

In mitigation, defence barrister Catherine Oborne said LFs motivation in absconding was not to engage in terrorist-related activity or criminal activity.

Having been relocated to a different city, he missed his family and young children, she added.

The order had imposed strain on his relationship with his family and particularly his wife, looking after two small children on her own.

Officers visited LFs home for a welfare check at around 10.30pm on 14 September, after probation officers raised concerns about his low mood.

Ms Wilkinson said LF would not let police enter his home but made arrangements for them to pick him up for the court hearing the next day.

UK news in pictures Show all 50 1 /50 UK news in pictures UK news in pictures 6 May 2021 A group of five Sisters from Carmelite Monastery in Dysart cast their vote in the Scottish Parliamentary election at Dysart Community Hall, West Port, Dysart PA UK news in pictures 5 May 2021 Leader of the Labour Party Sir Keir Starmer (centre) with West Midlands Metro Mayor candidate Liam Byrne (far right) and Labour Deputy Leader, Angela Rayner (far left) during a visit to Birmingham, whilst on the election campaign trail PA UK news in pictures 4 May 2021 Artists Heather Ackroyd and Dan Harvey stand within 100 oak saplings which form part of a living art installation entitled Beuys' Acorns by the UK-based artist duo, outside the Tate Modern in London PA UK news in pictures 3 May 2021 Scottish Liberal Democrat leader Willie Rennie feeds the Gentoo penguins during a visit to Edinburgh Zoo on the campaign trail for the forthcoming Scottish Parliamentary Election on May 6 PA UK news in pictures 2 May 2021 Chelsea players celebrate their fourth goal during the Womens Champions League semi-final second leg against Bayern Munich, at Kingsmeadow Stadium in south west London. The Blues won the game 4-1, (and the tie 5-3 on aggregate) sending them through to their first Champions League final AFP/Getty UK news in pictures 1 May 2020 Demonstrators during a march through London during a 'Kill the Bill' protest Angela Christofilou UK news in pictures 30 April 2021 Shoppers queue outside Primark in Belfast as shops reopen and hospitality is able to open outdoors in Northern Ireland where lockdown restrictions have begun to gradually ease PA UK news in pictures 29 April 2021 Specialist operators at the Royal Air Force Museum Cosford, near Telford, Shropshire, clean the Hawker Hunter aircraft displayed within the museum's National Cold War Exhibition, during annual high-level aircraft cleaning and maintenance PA UK news in pictures 28 April 2021 Millions of tulips in flower near Kings Lynn in Norfolk, as Belmont Nurseries, the UK's largest commercial grower of outdoor tulips, offers socially-distanced visits to its tulip fields at Hillington to raise funds for local charity The Norfolk Hospice Tapping House PA UK news in pictures 27 April 2021 Paula Laughton checks one of the newly installed Lego models in the new Lego Mythica land at Legoland Windsor Resort PA UK news in pictures 26 April 2021 A red panda rests on a tree at Manor Wildlife park, which reopened its doors as lockdown restrictions continue to ease, in Tenby, Wales Reuters UK news in pictures 25 April 2021 Sheep climb the hillside as flames from a moor fire are seen on Marsden moor, near Huddersfield AFP via Getty UK news in pictures 24 April 2021 Supporters protest against Manchester United's owners, outside English Premier League club Manchester United's Old Trafford stadium in Manchester AFP via Getty UK news in pictures 23 April 2021 People enjoy the warm weather at City Hall near Tower Bridge in central London PA UK news in pictures 22 April 2021 Uyghurs during a demonstration in Parliament Square, London, which is being held ahead of a House of Commons debate, bought by backbench MP Nus Ghani, on whether Uyghurs in China's Xinjiang province are suffering crimes against humanity and genocide PA UK news in pictures 21 April 2021 People walk at the Taihaku Cherry Orchard in Alnwick REUTERS UK news in pictures 20 April 2021 People stand in front of anti Super League banners outside Anfield as twelve of Europe's top football clubs, including Liverpool, launch a breakaway league Reuters UK news in pictures 19 April 2021 Women enjoy sunny weather in Greenwich, amid the coronavirus disease (COVID-19) outbreak, in London, Britain, Reuters UK news in pictures 18 April 2021 Stephen Maguire (right) of Scotland interacts with Jamie Jones of Wales during day 2 of the Betfred World Snooker Championships 2021 at The Crucible, Sheffield PA UK news in pictures 17 April 2021 Prince Philip, Duke of Edinburghs coffin, covered with His Royal Highnesss Personal Standard arrives by Landrover Defender at St Georges Chapel carried by a bearer party found by the Royal Marines during the funeral of Prince Philip, Duke of Edinburgh at Windsor Castle Getty Images UK news in pictures 16 April 2021 Scotland's First Minister, Nicola Sturgeon, checks the teeth of "Dentosaurus" during a visit to the Thornliebank Dental Care centre in Glasgow, as she campaigns ahead of the 2021 Scottish Parliamentary Election AFP/Getty UK news in pictures 15 April 2021 Myanmar's former ambassador to the UK, Kyaw Zwar Minn, outside his residence in north west London. The ambassador has been barred from entering the Myanmar embassy in Mayfair after he was removed from office PA UK news in pictures 14 April 2021 People take part in coronavirus surge testing on Clapham Common, south London. Thousands of residents have queued up to take coronavirus tests at additional facilities set up after new cases of the South African variant were found in two south London boroughs. 44 confirmed cases of the variant have been found in Lambeth and Wandsworth, with a further 30 probable cases identified PA UK news in pictures 13 April 2021 The core of the Milky Way becomes visible in the early hours of Tuesday morning as it moves over Bamburgh Lighthouse at stag Rock in Northumberland PA UK news in pictures 12 April 2021 Rebecca Richardson (left) and Genevieve Florence, members of the Aquabatix synchronised swimming team, during a practice session in the swimming pool at Clissold Leisure Centre in north London, which has reopened to the public. Many facilities have reopened in the latest easing of lockdown include pubs and restaurants who can serve outside, non-essential shops, indoor gyms and swimming pools, nail salons and hairdressers, outdoor amusements and zoos PA UK news in pictures 11 April 2021 A pub staff pins up a sign announcing the reopening of the Fox on the Hill pub on Denmark Hill in London EPA UK news in pictures 10 April 2021 The Death Gun Salute is fired by the Honourable Artillery Company to mark the passing of Britain's Prince Philip, Duke of Edinburgh, at the The Tower of London AFP via Getty UK news in pictures 9 April 2021 A man arrives to lay a bunch of flowers outside Buckingham Palace in central London after the announcement of the death of Britain's Prince Philip, Duke of Edinburgh. - Queen Elizabeth II's husband Prince Philip, who recently spent more than a month in hospital and underwent a heart procedure, died on April 9, Buckingham Palace announced. He was 99. AFP via Getty Images UK news in pictures 8 April 2021 Cousin Pascal ridden by James King clears the chair on their way to winning the 4:05 Pool via REUTERS UK news in pictures 7 April 2021 Deliveroo riders from the Independent Workers Union of Great Britain outside Deliveroo headquarters in London, as they go on strike in a dispute for fair pay, safety protections and basic workers rights PA UK news in pictures 6 April 2021 Waves crash over the walls next to Seaham Lighthouse in Durham PA UK news in pictures 5 April 2021 Lusamba Katalay (third from left), the husband of Belly Mujinga joins activists at a vigil at Victoria station in London to mark the first anniversary of the death of railway worker Belly Mujinga who died with Covid-19 following reports she had been coughed on by a customer at London's Victoria station PA UK news in pictures 4 April 2021 People spend Easter Sunday at Hengistbury Head, Bournemouth Jake McPherson/SWNS UK news in pictures 3 April 2021 A woman looks into the camera as she attends a 'Kill the Bill' protest in London EPA UK news in pictures 2 April 2021 Members of the Bamburgh Croquet club play a game following the easing of COVID-19 restrictions in Northumberland, Britain Reuters UK news in pictures 1 April 2021 A family walks in St Nicholas' Park in Warwick, the hot weather which baked much of the UK this week is set to give way to a chilly Easter weekend. PA UK news in pictures 31 March 2021 A woman adds a heart to the National Covid Memorial Wall in London EPA UK news in pictures 30 March 2021 Jamie Klingler from Reclaim These Streets speaks to the media in Clapham Common, south London, after a review by the Chief Inspector of Constabulary Sir Thomas Winsor concluded that Metropolitan Police officers did not act inappropriately or in a heavy-handed manner at the vigil PA UK news in pictures 29 March 2021 An aerial photo shows people playing tennis at the Mersey Bowman Lawn Tennis Club in Liverpool northwest England on March 29, 2021, as England's third Covid-19 lockdown restrictions ease, allowing groups of up to six people to meet outside. - People in England rushed outside Monday to enjoy sports, picnics and other previously prohibited activities, as the nation entered the second phase of its coronavirus lockdown easing thanks in large part to a successful vaccination drive AFP via Getty Images UK news in pictures 28 March 2021 A walrus sleeps on the slipway of Tenby Lifeboat station at Tenby, Wales Reuters UK news in pictures 27 March 2021 Demonstrators attend a protest against a new proposed policing bill in Manchester Reuters UK news in pictures 26 March 2021 Gallery technicians display Andy Warhol screenprints Queen Elizabeth II, from: Reigning Queens screenprint in colours, 1985, left, and Queen Elizabeth II, from: Reigning Queens (Royal Edition) screenprint in colours with diamond dust, 1985, right, at Christies auction rooms in London AP UK news in pictures 25 March 2021 A member of staff, in the pool, cleans the bottom of the pool during pre-opening preparation and cleaning of Charlton Lido, south London, following its closure due to lockdown PA UK news in pictures 24 March 2021 Scottish Green Party co-leaders Patrick Harvie and Lorna Slater on the local election campaign trail in Edinburgh. PA UK news in pictures 23 March 2021 Care home staff at Westbourne House care home in Sheffield hold a minute's silence during the National Reflection day, The first anniversary of the first UK lockdown Tom Maddick / SWNS UK news in pictures 22 March 2021 The sun rises over "The Couple" by artist Sean Henry, which sits off the coast at Newbiggin-by-the-Sea in Northumberland PA UK news in pictures 21 March 2021 A man driving with his family in Jersey captured the moment a meteor streaked across the sky on his cars dash cam SWNS UK news in pictures 20 March 2021 Police officers detain a demonstrator during a protest against the lockdown in London Reuters UK news in pictures 19 March 2021 A parakeet eats a cherry blossom in St. James's Park, London, Britain Reuters UK news in pictures 18 March 2021 Highland cattle lock horns at the National Trusts Wicken Fen Nature Reserve in Cambridgeshire PA

At four minutes to 1am that night, the monitoring company received an alert that his electronic tag had been tampered with or removed, she added.

Police officers attended the address, arriving at 1.20am. There was no answer at the door, they could hear the phone ringing within the property and an alarm coming from electronic monitoring equipment.

Ms Wilkinson said police had to break the door down, even though they had keys to the property, because steps had been taken to stop them getting in.

They found that papers had been burned, and that LF had left his approved mobile phone and the tracking tag, which he had removed.

He did not attend his court hearing or check in with a monitoring company as required by his TPIM later that day.

The Old Bailey heard that on 14 September, LF had arranged for a taxi to collect him at 1am and drive him to London for 100.

He was missing until 11.30am on 16 September, when LF handed himself in by asking his solicitors to contact police and tell them he was outside a Sainsburys supermarket in Charlton, southeast London.

LF was found sitting on a bench, and with an unapproved mobile phone, and was arrested.

The court heard he had breached his first TPIM by buying a DVD player without permission, failing to report on occasions in 2018, and having conversations with banned associates at his father-in-laws funeral.

LF has previous convictions for fraud and offensive weapons possession.
Food Network star Guy Fieri has expanded his Flavortown brand into Upstate New York for the first time.

The Diners, Drive-Ins & Dives host has opened a delivery-only restaurant service called Guy Fieris Flavortown Kitchen in the Capital Region town of Colonie. Its the chains second location in the state, along with a Times Square restaurant in New York City.

The Times-Union reports the business is a ghost restaurant operating out of existing brick-and-mortar eateries, with more than 120 locations in 25 states and Washington, D.C. Orders from the Albany-area Flavortown Kitchen actually come out of Buca di Beppo, located at 44 Wolf Road in Colonie, N.Y.

According to the Courier Times, the Colonie restaurant is one of 26 locations that opened in the Atlantic region this month.

Guy Fieris Flavortown Kitchen menu offers more than a dozen items, including shareable-size appetizers like Jalapeno Pig Poppers and S-M-Cheesesteak Egg Rolls; the Bacon Mac N Cheese Burger; the Chicken Guy! sandwich; Cajun Chicken Alfredo; the Crazy Cuban Sandwich; Chicken Parm-eroni; and desserts like the New York-style Cheesecake Challenge.

The restaurant is open daily from 10:30 a.m. to 9:30 p.m. Orders can be placed through its website, guysflavortownkitchen.com, or delivery services like DoorDash, Grubhub, Postmates and Uber Eats.

Fieri, who opened his first restaurant in California in 1996, has also celebrated others businesses on television since winning The Next Food Network Star in 2006. Triple D, for example, has featured Central New York eateries like Funk n Waffles, Evas European Sweets, Kitty Hoynes Irish Pub & Restaurant, Byblos Mediterranean Cafe, Pastabilities and the former Empire Brewing Co.

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KYODO NEWS - Feb 22, 2021 - 13:38 | All, Japan

Japan's transport ministry ordered Japan Airlines and All Nippon Airways to ground more than 30 aircraft equipped with Pratt and Whitney engines after a United Airlines plane with the same power plant caught fire after take-off from Denver over the weekend.

The airlines had already taken the planes out of service -- 13 operated by JAL and 19 by ANA -- before the Ministry of Land, Infrastructure, Transport and Tourism issued the order Sunday.

A Pratt and Whitney PW4000 engine powering a Boeing 777-200 bound for Honolulu failed on take-off Saturday, scattering debris over a residential area near Denver. The plane was able to return to Denver airport and land safely.

The grounding of the 32 planes caused a cancellation of one JAL flight from Okinawa Prefecture's Naha to Tokyo's Haneda on Sunday. JAL and ANA said they are substituting other aircraft and there will be no flight cancellations from Monday onwards.

On Dec. 4, an engine on a JAL plane operating a Naha to Haneda service experienced trouble, forcing the aircraft to make an emergency landing. It was the same Pratt and Whitney engine and the ministry had since instructed JAL and ANA to inspect aircraft using the power plant more frequently than usual.

The ministry said it is investigating whether additional measures are required to ensure the safety of the engines.

JAL and the ministry concluded that the incident in December was caused by fan blade damage.
Left jobless by the pandemic and a fire that destroyed her sewing machine, Nomaqhawe Dlomo polished off a hefty portion of maize meal and vegetables dished out at a community centre in a Johannesburg township.

Days earlier, the cabbage and pumpkin on her plate were strewn in a pile of discards from South Africa's largest fresh produce market, waiting to be incinerated.

Around one third of food produced in South Africa ends up in landfill, according to the World Wide Fund for Nature, amounting to around 10 million tonnes of waste per year.

"People throw away food that we can make use of," said community centre manager Khetiwe Mkhalithi, who has seen an increase in those needing to be fed since coronavirus hit.

Charities have long been lobbying the government to revisit food redistribution laws in a country where more than 11 million people went to bed on an empty stomach even before the pandemic.

"The legal liability of what happens with the produce lies with the producer," Hanneke Van Linge, head of food rescue group Nosh, told AFP.

"So a lot of farmers, retailers and hotels don't want to give away their wasted food because they fear litigation."

But the economic ravages from almost a year of rolling coronavirus restrictions have booted food producers into action.

Many more are now reaching out to soup kitchens and feeding schemes with much-needed donations.

"We are building relationships... so that we can do this on a more formal basis rather than skirting from the outside," Van Linge said.

- 'Diabolical' waste -

A distinctive smell of rot wafted from 480 bags of browning cabbage heads rejected by food inspectors patrolling Johannesburg's City Deep market.

After convincing the seller to donate the lot, Van Linge ushered in a small team of volunteers to lug out the pallets before market authorities could intervene.

Usually reluctant, traders have been more forthcoming since coronavirus hit, despite the risk of being fined for giving away food deemed "unfit for consumption".

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Van Linge is careful not to cause trouble.

"Let's clean the loose leaves off before loading," she instructed. "If there are cabbage leaves flying everywhere it just attracts more attention."

Forklifts in the background noisily crunched into crates of bruised avocadoes and softened tomatoes, dragging them to a truck shortly headed to a dumpsite.

"I can't watch," Van Linge flinched. "It's diabolical."

Nosh has rescued around 880 tonnes of produce in the past 10 months, around four times more than over the whole of 2019.

While the cabbage was being loaded, Van Linge's phone lit up with a message from a wholesaler offering sweet potatoes past their sell-by date.

A school also reached out to donate dozens of untouched lunch packs.

Produce from the market is driven to a nearby warehouse and sorted by volunteer chefs.

They removed the rotting cabbage exteriors and rinsed the heads underneath, still firm and white.

"Normally people regard a cabbage like this as rotten," said Jane Gqozo, 43, a former restaurant worker who now manages the warehouse.

"They don't know you can rescue these vegetables and give them to someone else."

- 'Nothing to take home' -

Back at the community centre, pensioners attended a late morning church service as large pots of maize meal simmered over glowing coals.

The site usually hosts a handful of elderly township dwellers in the mornings and afternoon activities for children after school.

But as lunch hour rolled around, working-age men and women walked through the gates, babies in tow, seeking a meal.

"Because there is hunger during this Covid time the whole community comes here," Mkhalithi said, adding that these days up to 1,500 people can show up at the centre in a single day.

That demand would have been impossible to meet without donations from a food waste redistribution network set up in April, which has since provided close to 1.5 million meals in and around Johannesburg.

"Most are people who have lost their jobs," said Mkhalithi. "They have got nothing to take home."

A survey of hunger during the pandemic found that 47 percent of South African households ran out of money to buy food last April, the first month of lockdown.

Oxfam meanwhile estimates that over two million people have slipped into food insecurity since the outbreak started.

"The economic fallout has been carried by the poorest," said South Africa food security researcher Tracy Ledger.

"Those are the people who were most struggling to feed their families in the first place."

Dlomo, 39, was one of many at the centre who became solely reliant on soup kitchens last year.

Her husband lost his job at a fast food joint during lockdown, when neighbours also stopped coming to visit her for odd sewing jobs.

The couple had already used up their meagre savings when a fire razed their makeshift home in September.

"Here there is something I can put on the table for my children," said Dlomo. "I'm desperate for food and a shelter."

sch/tgb
JERUSALEM (AP)  The Israeli government on Monday approved a plan to offer $50 million in compensation to the families of hundreds of Yemenite children who disappeared in the early years of the countrys establishment.

But the announcement received a cool reception from advocacy groups that said the government had failed to apologize or accept responsibility for the affair.

Stories about the missing children have circulated in Israel for years. Hundreds of newborn babies and young children of Jewish immigrants from Arab and Balkan countries, most of them from Yemen, mysteriously disappeared shortly after arriving in the country.

Many families believe their children were taken away and given to childless couples of European backgrounds, both in Israel and abroad. Although previous inquiries have dismissed claims of mass abductions, the suspicions have lingered and contributed to a long-simmering fault line between Jews of European origin and those of Middle Eastern backgrounds.

This is among the most painful affairs in the history of the state of Israel, Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu said. The time has come for the families whose infants were taken from them to receive recognition by the state and government of Israel, and financial compensation as well.

Arriving from Arabic-speaking countries in the Middle East and North Africa after Israels establishment in 1948, many Mizrahi, or Middle Eastern, immigrants were sent to shantytown transit camps and largely sidelined by the European, or Ashkenazi, leaders of the founding Labor party. This painful experience contributed to widespread Mizrahi support for the Likud party, now led by Netanyahu.

Among the immigrants were more than 50,000 Yemenite Jews, often poor and with large families. In the chaos that accompanied their influx, some children died while others were separated from their parents.

But many say the reality was far more sinister, that the establishment kidnapped these children to turn them over for adoption by Ashkenazi families in the belief that they could give them a better life. In later years, families reported being mailed military induction notices and other documents for their supposedly dead children, raising more suspicions.

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Three high-profile commissions dismissed the claims and found that most children died of disease in immigration camps. The final one, in 2001, said it was possible that some children were handed over for adoption by individual social workers, but not as part of a national conspiracy. However, citing privacy laws, it ordered the testimonies it collected be sealed for 70 years.

Under Monday's decision, the government will pay 150,000 shekels, or about $45,000, to families in cases where it was determined a child had died but the family had not been properly notified or where the burial site was not found.

Families where the fate of the child is unknown will receive 200,000 shekels, or about $60,000.

In a statement, the government said it expresses regret and recognizes the suffering of the families. But activist groups said the decision did not go far enough.

Amram, an advocacy group that has collected testimonies from some 800 affected families, said the decision failed to include an apology and was reached without proper dialogue with the families.

Without this component, a process of correction and healing isnt possible, it said. Amram repeatedly demands that the state of Israel take responsibility for the severe injustice."

Rafi Shubeli of Forum Achai, an advocacy group that represented dozens of families, accused the government of imposing a solution on the families and failing to accept responsibility or say who caused their suffering.

He also said families who have not already filed claims would be unable to seek compensation and accused the government of refusing to disclose documents related to the affair.

Our struggle will continue, he said. This affair isnt going away.
Indian pharmaceutical companies Bharat Biotech and Biological E. Ltd said on Monday they could quickly rework their COVID-19 vaccine products to fight new variants once their genetic sequence is known.

In recent months, India has confirmed the presence of the variants first identified in Brazil, Britain and South Africa, which are believed to explain an upsurge in cases in the Indian states of Maharashtra and Kerala.

In all, India has reported more than 11 million coronavirus infections, the highest number in the world after the United States, and about 156,000 deaths.

"As we are seeing a lot of resurgence of cases, we are picking up samples from hotspots and clusters and we are trying to sequence them," Nivedita Gupta, deputy director-general of the state-run Indian Council of Medical Research (ICMR), told the BioAsia conference.

ICMR and Bharat Biotech have collaborated to develop India's first homegrown COVID-19 vaccine, which, along with another licensed from AstraZeneca and Oxford University, is being used in the country's immunisation campaign that has covered more than 10 million people since mid-January.

India is the world's biggest maker of vaccines, and its companies have promised to produce billions of doses of COVID-19 shots.

Bharat Biotech Chairman Krishna Ella said his company would mainly need data from the ICMR or the World Health Organization on the genetic sequence of any variant to quickly make an effective vaccine.

Speaking at a conference organised by the state of Telangana, home to India's vaccine hub Hyderabad, Ella said a product to tackle the South African variant could be made in 15 days and would not require any change to the manufacturing process.

Biological E. Managing Director Mahima Datla said there was no need to be "overly concerned" about the mutations.

"Eventually we don't know which variant of the virus, which mutants will take over, but we think that it's prudent to work on technologies that address the new variants as well," she said.

Biological E., which is developing a vaccine with Houston's Baylor College of Medicine and Dynavax Technologies, recently completed Phase 1/2 clinical trial in India, Datla said.

Its product uses the recombinant-protein technology in which a harmless agent is used to stimulate an immune response in cells.

"Once you know the variant, when it's sequenced, it is fairly quick to deploy into a vaccine," said Datla, whose company will also contract-manufacture Johnson & Johnson's shot.

This story has been published from a wire agency feed without modifications to the text. Only the headline has been changed.

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STOCKHOLM, Feb. 22, 2021 /PRNewswire/ -- Securitas, the world's leading intelligent protective services partner, has acquired Dansk Brandteknik A/S, a leading Danish fire and safety company that specializes in fire and safety services and equipment, including related consulting and training services. The acquisition will significantly enhance Securitas' protective services capabilities in Denmark and is in line with the Group's strategy of doubling its security solutions and electronic security sales by 2023. The purchase price is approximately MDKK 110 (MSEK 149) on a debt-free basis.

In 2020, Dansk Brandteknik's annual sales were more than MDKK 60 (MSEK 81), of which 70 percent were on a recurring monthly revenue basis. The company has a nationwide presence in Denmark with 40 employees and approximately 7 500 business clients, mainly in the small- and medium-sized enterprise (SME) segment, with high client retention rates.

Peter Karlstromer, Divisional President Security Services Europe: "We are very happy to welcome Dansk Brandteknik's team to Securitas and are looking forward to working together. Dansk Brandteknik is one of the strongest players in their space selling products and services as a solutions offering, fitting perfectly with Securitas' strategy of providing protective services bundled as security solutions. We can now package fire technology and consulting with our broader product portfolio, which is especially relevant for the SME space where we have an ambitious growth strategy. Our larger business clients will also benefit from this expanded offering, and we see major cross-selling opportunities in the client portfolios of both Dansk Brandteknik and Securitas."

The acquisition-related costs are expected to be MSEK 6, to be recognized in 2021 and 2022. The acquisition is expected to be accretive to EPS as of 2021 and will be consolidated in Securitas as of February 22, 2021.

This press release is available at www.securitas.com

Further information:

Investors: Micaela Sjokvist, Head of Investor Relations +46 76 116 7443; [email protected]

Media: Helena Andreas, SVP Communications & People +46 10 470 30 20; [email protected]

Securitas is your intelligent protective services partner. We base our protective services on customer-specific needs through different combinations of on-site, mobile and remote guarding, electronic security, fire and safety and corporate risk management. Everywhere from homes to airports, our 355 000 employees are making your world a safer place.

This information was brought to you by Cision http://news.cision.com

https://news.cision.com/securitas/r/securitas-acquires-leading-fire-and-safety-company-in-denmark,c3293347

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Britain to challenge China at UN over Xinjiang

People hold placards during a protest in London in support of the Uighur people in Xinjiang. File photo: AFP

Britain will on Monday call for the United Nations to be given "urgent and unfettered" access to Xinjiang to investigate reports of abuses in the region.



British Foreign Secretary Dominic Raab will also mark Britain's return to the UN Human Rights Council as a voting member by condemning the rights record of fellow council members China and Russia and will raise concerns about Myanmar and Belarus, his office said.



On China, Raab will refer to reports of abuses in Xinjiang, including torture, forced labour and forced sterilisation of women. "They are taking place on an industrial scale," he will say, according to his office.



"The UN High Commissioner for Human Rights, or another independent fact-finding expert, must  and I repeat must  be given urgent and unfettered access to Xinjiang," he will say.



China has been widely condemned for setting up complexes in Xinjiang that Beijing describes as "vocational training centres" to stamp out extremism and give people new skills. China's critics have called them concentration camps.



The United Nations has said at least 1 million Uighurs and other Muslims have been detained in Xinjiang. (Reuters)
The Monday asked the AAP government, prison authorities and the State Legal Services Authority (DSLSA) to reply on a plea seeking extension of emergency parole to prisoners above the age of 65 and prone to COVID-19 infection due to certain ailments and medical condition.

A bench of Chief Justice D N Patel and Justice Jyoti Singh issued notice to the Delhi government, Director General (DG) Prisons and DSLSA seeking their responses by March 26 to the plea by a lawyer.

Advocate Amit Sahni, also a social activist, has urged the court to direct that in the interest of inmates and jail administration, the aged prisoners be directed to surrender after all others prisoners.

The plea has said social distancing is not feasible in jails here as they are already overcrowded and the prisons have been extremely affected by the pandemic.

It has sought direction to the authorities that the prisoners, who are COVID-19 infected, should quarantine themselves at their place before surrendering.

It has also said Delhi jails have a capacity to retain 10,026 prisoners and presently around 14,000 inmates are already lodged there, excluding around 4,000 of them who were released on interim bail or emergency parole.

Sahni has also referred to the Supreme Court's January 21 order extending the stay on October 20 last year order of the by which interim bail granted to undertrials in view of the COVID-19 pandemic ended and they were directed to surrender on various dates.

The plea has said as the matter is scheduled to come up for hearing before the apex court on February 25, the directions issued by the top court relating to extension of interim bail to the undertrial should also be applied to the prisoners released on emergency parole.

On the last date of hearing, the DSLSA had said that if the petitioner wanted the apex court's order to be applicable on paroles, he should approach the top court.

The petition has also said that the Director General (Prisons), Tihar Jail, despite being a party to the proceedings in the Supreme Court and being aware that the matter is pending before the apex court, had issued a circular directing prisoners to surrender on their due dates with effect from February 7.

The situation in Delhi jails is not such that one room/ barrack can be provided to each infected prisoner because a number of inmates are lodged together in a single barrack/room, it has contended



The jail administration considering the overall situation must be directed that the prisoners above 65 years of age and those who are suffering from ailments be not asked to surrender for a further period of eight weeks because senior citizens are prone to infection. Further the prisoners who have misused the liberty of emergency parole may be denied such benefit, the petition has said.

(Only the headline and picture of this report may have been reworked by the Business Standard staff; the rest of the content is auto-generated from a syndicated feed.)


A 16-year-old Dalit girl was allegedly raped by two men here, following which the accused were arrested, police said on Monday.

The incident took place on Friday night when the minor was standing outside her house.

Rape

Jai Hind (23) and Ashish Sen (22) forcibly took her to a secluded place and allegedly raped her, SHO Sunil Kumar Tiwari said.

The girl later narrated her ordeal to her elder sister who filed a police complaint and on the basis of that, an FIR was registered on Sunday, the SHO said.

Both the accused were arrested and the girl was sent for a medical examination, he added.
Positive cues from  which accounts for 56.5 per cent of global crude steel production  are likely to keep demand-supply in balance and provide support to prices.

All eyes have been on China, which opened last week after New Year holidays, as it was widely expected that prices would recover post-holidays after the weakness in January.

Jayanta Roy, senior vice president, ICRA pointed out, barring last year when Covid-related restrictions affected China's steel demand in February 2020, historical trends show a typical upward movement in post-new year festivities.

Chinas opening post-holidays was keenly awaited, especially in the wake of the sluggishness in the market in January. After peaking at $770 a tonne for hot rolled coil (HRC) in December, Chinese prices dropped to $625 a tonne in January 21. However, it recovered to $645 a tonne in February.

In India, too, the rally paused after peaking in January. Long product prices were reduced by secondary producers that account for two-third of production in the segment, from mid-January and in February, primary producers dropped prices. In flat products, there was softness in the trade segment.

But a strong opening in could boost sentiment and bring stability to prices. opened on a strong note after the holidays on February 18; data sourced from SteelMint showed that Dalians most traded May 21 iron ore futures contract climbed by RMB 60 to close at RMB 1,131 a tonne ($174.35). Rebar futures on Shanghai Futures Exchange (SHFE) surged by as much as RMB 125 and HRC (hot rolled coil) moved up by RMB 100.

Ranjan Dhar, chief marketing officer, AM/NS India, said, The cues from China look favourable so far, on account of futures for HRC and iron ore, that opened positively.

Jayant Acharya, director (commercial & marketing), JSW Steel, explained that if overall raw material prices remain elevated it would reduce margins in China and provide a floor for So there should be stability around prices, he added.

A secondary producer in the long product segment also said that the sentiment had improved in the last 10 days and the strong opening in China was a positive.

There are other positive indicators too emerging from China that could augur well for India.

Acharya pointed out, There are three messages coming out of China: an increased focus on moving towards green steel and reducing pollution, which would contain inefficient production.

There is a move to contain exports (there is a possibility of reducing export rebates from 13 per cent to nine per cent) and a forecast that demand in China will rise slightly in 2021.

This will increase export prices to the extent of reduction in rebate and help bridge the gap between Chinese and the rest of the world. Also lower/ balanced exports would be good for the globally, he added.

Dhar said that giving further impetus to the positive sentiment was yet another possible infrastructure push by China that would revive demand for construction material in that country.

Additionally, with the pollution curbs, China could resort to importing billets from countries like India. In the initial months of the lockdown in India, all major steel producers had exported billets and China accounted for the lions share.

In Q1, billet exports from India had stood at 2.3 million tonnes; it dropped to 1.1 million tonnes in Q3 as domestic demand picked up. Steelmakers expect demand to remain strong in the home market, even though prices had seen some pressure.

In India, I am optimistic about demand prospects, being supported by macroeconomic growth. Newer segments are showing signs of recovery like commercial vehicles, yellow goods, infrastructure, etc, Dhar said.

The signs of weakness in the trade segment were on account of traders trying to book profits on material brought in October, November and December. I think, by February-end, they should have reduced considerable inventory. I am not concerned as long as demand remains good, he added.

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Nearly one million unemployed Australians will enjoy a $50 boost to their JobSeeker payments once the coronavirus supplement ends, the government is set to announce on Tuesday.

Scott Morrison is expected to announce a permanent increase to the dole for when the $150-a-fortnight boost to the payment expires on March 31 .

The prime minister is seeking cross-party endorsement for the permanent change, which would mean the payments would never return to their pre-pandemic $40-a-day.

It means dole-seekers will receive more than the original $560-a-fortnight for singles, which was in place before the pandemic, but lower than the current $710.

The government is set to announce the end of the coronavirus supplement first put in place in March of last year (pictured, people are seen in Centrelink queues in Gold Coast)

Mutual obligations will remain in place - meaning the unemployed will have to prove they are looking for a job and take part in work for the dole schemes, according to the AFR.

Those rules are set to get more strict in exchange for the higher payments, reports suggest.

There are 877,600 people unemployed nationally and 166,416 Youth Allowance recipients, according to the Australian Bureau of Statistics's January figures.

The change will mark the end of the fortnightly supplement to JobSeeker first announced when the Covid-19 pandemic took hold last year.

The supplement's original rate was $550 a fortnight - effectively doubling the JobSeeker rate - before being reduced to $250 after six months and $150 from January 1.

The government is adamant the coronavirus supplement will end as scheduled, but confirmed it is looking to increase the rate of JobSeeker rather than allowing it to return to $40 a day.

'In terms of the rate and its future, we will consider that in the normal expenditure review committee process, and that's what we're doing right now,' Treasurer Josh Frydenberg said.

Social advocacy group Anglicare Australia said its polling of service agencies across the country showed 100 per cent of respondents said any cut would see more people needing help.

Pictured: Treasurer Josh Frydenberg. The government is instead expected to announce a small permanent increase to the pre-pandemic dole rate

New figures show 785,000 jobs were created in the past seven months, while the unemployment rate dropped from 7.5 per cent in July to 6.6 per cent

'The old rate of JobSeeker was frozen for decades, leaving hundreds of thousands of people trapped in poverty,' Anglicare executive director Kasy Chambers said.

'When the government raised the rate last year, it righted that wrong.'

The JobSeeker supplement was introduced alongside JobKeeper, with the latter provided as a lifeline to businesses impacted by coronavirus restrictions to help retain staff.

Treasurer Josh Frydenberg (pictured) while welcoming figures showing a decrease in JobKeeper recipients said some sectors will need support once the pandemic-inspired scheme cuts out

Recent figures from the Australian Taxation Office showed more than 2.13 million Australians were no longer receiving JobKeeper payments at the end of December.

There were 1.54 million employees eligible for the wage subsidy between October and December last year, down from 3.6 million between April and September.

The biggest decrease came in Western Australia, the Northern Territory and South Australia while Victoria reported the smallest decrease.

'What these numbers show is a broad based recovery in the Australian labour market much better than we expected, even through the pandemic last year,' Mr Frydenberg told ABC radio.

LATEST JOBKEEPER FIGURES JobKeeper registrations between the first phase (April to September) and second phase (October to December) were down in: - Retail trade (68 per cent) - Accommodation and food services (52 per cent) - Education and training (50 per cent) - Wholesale trade (71 per cent) - Construction (48 per cent) Advertisement

JobKeeper will end on March 28 - six months later than first planned - but Mr Frydenberg conceded sectors like tourism, aviation and international education were still struggling and would need support once the pandemic-prompted scheme cuts out.

Mr Frydenberg said 785,000 jobs had been created in the past seven months, while the unemployment rate has dropped from 7.5 per cent in July to 6.6 per cent in December.

But ACTU secretary Sally McManus said the education, tourism and manufacturing sectors continue to be 'smashed' by the coronavirus pandemic.

'What we say is JobKeeper should be extended for those businesses that are still affected by the coronavirus, through no fault of their own,' she told the ABC.

Ms McManus said the support should continue 'for as long as the pandemic is with us'.

Shadow treasurer Jim Chalmers says the government not only has to focus on supporting businesses through the pandemic but deal with the broader issues of stagnant wages, underemployment and job insecurity.

'It's not a recovery if it's built on the back of less secure work or weaker wages growth.'
(Natural News) U.S. states are now moving to quickly rein in abuses by Big Tech. Spurred by various motivations, such as fighting censorship, increasing data privacy protection or simply raising revenue by punishing cash-flush companies that have grown rich through their dominant market positions, these states are now looking to take on Big Tech.

Texas, Nebraska and Florida are all working on legislation that would limit social media companies abilities to moderate content based on political views. Florida, in particular, would penalize social media companies that deplatform candidates during an election.

States look to keep Big Tech in check

In the face of Big Tech companies seeming moves to suppress conservative voices, Texas state Sen. Bryan Hughes has worked with Gov. Greg Abott and other state legislators to reintroduce a bill that prevents companies from moderating user content based on political viewpoints.

We filed a bill about this during the last session two years ago, it passed the Senate did not make it through the House, Hughes said in an interview with WFAAs Inside Texas Politics on Sunday, Feb. 7. So the bill were getting ready to file will say that if a company discriminates against you, deplatforms you, blocks you, kicks you off based on your viewpoint, based on your politics, your religion, based on viewpoint discrimination, it will give you a way to get back online.

Hughes explained that the previous bill looked at different options for how users could bring discrimination lawsuits against big tech companies.

What we would like to do is to give any Texan whos being discriminated against, the option to bring an action and we think that will get Facebooks attention, get Twitters attention, and cause them to start treating Texans fairly, Hughes added.

The Texas bill follows a Florida proposal that directly penalizes Big Tech companies that deplatform a candidate during an election. The new bill would fine companies $100,000 a day until the candidates access to the platform is restored.

The Florida bill also targets companies that promote certain political candidates, requiring the former to record such endorsements as political campaign contributions at the states election commission.

Nebraska has also recently introduced legislation that seeks to fine social media platforms. Introduced by state Sen. Curt Friesen, the new bill is similar to the Florida bill in that it would impose fines on social media companies caught violating Nebraska users free speech rights.

They arbitrarily decide whats fit for their platform or not, Friesen told the Omaha World-Herald. I dont think theyve applied it fairly across the board.

Senators in Capitol Hill also looking to hold Big Tech accountable

As states move to keep big tech in check, some Democratic Senators in Capitol Hill are looking to do the same.

Sens. Mark Warner, a former Virginia tech entrepreneur; Mazie Hirono of Hawaii and Amy Klobuchar of Minnesota have recently introduced a bill targetting Section 230 of the 1996 Communications Decency Act (CDA). The latter is the provision of the CDA that shields social media companies from liability in relation to content posted on their platforms by third parties.

Called the Safeguarding Against Fraud, Exploitation, Threats, Extremism and Consumer Harms Act (SAFE TECH Act), the bill would end Section 230 protections for ads or paid content. It would allow victims to seek court orders that would allow Big Tech to be sued in some situations where theyre currently immune from litigation.

How [Big Tech companies] operate has a real-life effect on the safety and civil rights of Americans and people around the world, as well as our democracy, Klobuchar stated. Holding these platforms accountable for ads and content that can lead to real-world harm is critical, and this legislation will do just that.

Section 230 has provided a Get Out of Jail Free card to the largest platform companies even as their sites are used by scam artists, harassers, and violent extremists to cause damage and injury, added Warner in a statement.

But the bill stops short of repealing Section 230 altogether as some critics, including both former President Donald Trump and President Joe Biden, have called for in the past.

Follow BigTech.news for more on the latest moves to rein in the power that these companies hold.

Sources include:

TheEpochTimes.com 1

FoxBusiness.com

TheEpochTimes.com 2

NebraskaLegislature.gov

Omaha.com

FoxNews.com
Laredo College has received a grant from the Texas Workforce Commission to offer local businesses an opportunity to train workers during the pandemic.

Through the Skills Development Fund COVID-19 Special Initiative Grant, TWC will assist businesses in Texas in fast training to upgrade their employees current skills or train new employees in a new skill. Laredo College applied for the funding and was awarded the maximum $250,000 available under this initiative.

The trainings will be administered by the Laredo College Economic Development Center and the LC Continuing Education Department. The college works with representatives from the TWC Office of Employer Initiatives to apply for the funding and once the funds are awarded, they continue to provide support throughout the duration of the grant.

Our Laredo College Economic Development Center and Continuing Education Department remain at the forefront of workforce training in our region, Laredo College President Dr. Ricardo J. Solis said. The pandemic has underscored the need for more worker retraining, and our institution is proud to be a vital part of the recovery of our small business community. These trainings will assist in the revitalization of our economy by equipping workers with new skills.

The trainings will be targeted to three main industries: healthcare, logistics and any small business. However, our staff will assist any business that needs training. Specific courses will be offered for each industry and all will be able to benefit from customer service, COVID-19 related courses, professional truck driving and Microsoft Office management.

Businesses can train new and incumbent employees as well as their furloughed or laid-off employees. To apply for this training, a business must be current with all TWC employee taxes. Each qualifying employee can have up to $2,000 of training funds covered.

There is no limit as to how many employees can be trained for any business. This means that at least 125 employees will qualify, but the number may vary since not every employee will use the full amount allotted per employee. Trainings will be continuous until all funds are exhausted.

The Laredo College Economic Development Center looks forward to bringing this wonderful opportunity to our local business community during this critical time, Laredo College Senior Director of External Affairs Michael Gonzalez said. I am incredibly proud of my team for constantly seeking out different available funding sources to better assist our community and strengthen workforce development and expansion in South Texas.

For more information, businesses can send an email to edc@laredo.edu. An informational webinar will take place on Wednesday, March 3 at 10 a.m. Local employers interested in applying can register for the webinar can visit laredo.edu/edc and find the registration link under COVID-19 Resources.
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The Chief of Army Staff, Major General Thomas Oppong-Peprah, has said the Ghana Armed Forces (GAF) is relying on partnerships to ease the accommodation burden currently facing the institution.

He said accommodation for troops remained a major challenge to the GAF due to an increase in the number of army personnel over the years.



At the inauguration of a 50-bed capacity outpost at Tinsugu community in Bawku last Friday, the Chief of Army Staff indicated that even though the government was making efforts to solve the accommodation challenges through the construction of new blocks for personnel, the GAF continued to engage in partnerships to supplement the efforts of the government.



"With the increased number of the Ghana Armed Forces over the years, the accommodation deficiency has correspondingly widened. In spite of efforts by the government to bridge the accommodation gap, the Ghana Army continues to embark on public and private partnerships as a way of easing the burden in the short term," he stated.



The project



Major General Oppong-Peprah indicated that as part of the partnership strategy, Geoplast Ghana Limited had agreed to fully fund and construct the 50-bed outpost for the 11 Mechanised Battalion to augment the accommodation situation in the Battalion.



The accommodation will surely help to improve the welfare and morale of troops, and it is, therefore, highly welcome," he added.



The Chief Executive Officer ) of Geoplast Ghana Limited, Mr Francis Osei Bonsu, acknowledged that the company funded and constructed the project as part of its corporate social responsibility to the GAF.



He said the outpost was going to strengthen the security to promote peace and unity in Bawku and its surrounding communities.



The 50-bed accommodation facility



Advice



The Chief of Army Staff, however, urged troops who were going to occupy the facility to ensure a maintenance culture to promote the sustainability of the facility.



Major General Oppong-Peprah urged occupants of the facility to take stringent measures to protect the facility against flood and other environmental conditions common in most of the GAF facilities.



The Commanding Officer, 11 Mechanised Battalion, Lieutenant Colonel Michael Mintah-Agyemang, expressed appreciation to Geoplast Ghana Limited for assisting the Battalion with the accommodation facility.



He said the facility was going to ensure that troops were well sheltered to ensure rapid mobilisation.









Source: Graphiconline.com









Disclaimer : Opinions expressed here are those of the writers and do not reflect those of Peacefmonline.com. Peacefmonline.com accepts no responsibility legal or otherwise for their accuracy of content. Please report any inappropriate content to us, and we will evaluate it as a matter of priority.

Featured Video
The ancient Mesopotamian site of Ur in Iraq will be the stage for an inter-religious prayer service held by Pope Francis next week.

An event local archeologists hope will draw renewed attention to the place revered as the birthplace of Abraham.

Popular with Western visitors in the 1970s and 1980s, Ur is scarcely visited today after decades of war and political instability shattered Iraq's international tourism industry.

The global health crisis has also kept local tourists away.

The state board's Antiquities and Heritage archaeological director is Ali Kadhim Ghanim.

"We are counting on the Pope's visit, because it will increase the number of tourists in the city of Ur. Not only tourists, but we believe there'll also be more Christians making a pilgrimage."

Located about 200 miles south of the capital Baghdad, the site is made up of a pyramid-style ziggurat and a residential complex.

It was excavated about 100 years ago by Leonard Woolley, a Briton who recovered treasures rivalling those found in Tutankhamen's tomb in Egypt.

But little work has since been done on one of the world's oldest cities - a place where urban dwelling, writing and central state power began.

The father of Judaism, Christianity, and Islam, Abraham is described in the biblical book of Genesis as having lived in the city.

Now it's hoped that the Pope's visit will attract international attention to the site to fund restoration works on its palaces and temples.

Video Transcript

- The ancient Mesopotamian site of Ur in Iraq will be the stage for an inter-religious prayer service held by Pope Francis next week. An event local archaeologists hope will draw renewed attention to the place revered as the birthplace of Abraham. Popular with Western visitors in the 1970s and '80s, Ur is scarcely visited today after decades of war and political instability shattered Iraq's international tourism industry. The global health crisis has also kept local tourists away. The state board's Antiquities and Heritage archeological director is Ali Kadhim Ghanim.

Story continues

ALI KADHIM GHANIM: [NON-ENGLISH SPEECH]

INTERPRETER: We're counting on the Pope's visit because it will increase the number of tourists in the city of Ur, not only tourists, but we believe there will also be more Christians making the pilgrimage.

- Located about 200 miles South of the capital, Baghdad, the site is made up of a pyramid-style ziggurat and a residential complex. It was excavated about 100 years ago by Leonard Woolley, a Briton who recovered treasures rivaling those found in Tutankhamen's tomb in Egypt. But little work has since been done on one of the world's oldest cities.

A place where urban dwelling, writing, and central state power began. The father of Judaism, Christianity, and Islam, Abraham is described in the biblical book of Genesis as having lived in the city. Now it's hoped that the Pope's visit will attract international attention to the site to fund restoration works on its palaces and temples.
Posted Monday, February 22, 2021 9:20 am

In light of studies that found pregnant women are at greater risk of contracting  and dying from  COVID-19, researchers are calling for action from any states that don't have pregnant women at or near the front of the line for vaccinations.

Dr. Kristina Adams Waldorf, an OB-GYN with the University of Washington School of Medicine, coauthored research recently published in the American Journal of Obstetrics and Gynecology. The findings are driven by data from 35 hospitals and clinics in Washington that are responsible for 61% of approximately 86,000 deliveries each year throughout the state.

A study published last week on COVID-19 infection rates among pregnant women found the rate among pregnant women was 70% higher than in similarly aged, non-pregnant adults.

The findings were presented in light of an earlier study published in late January, which found that three of 240 pregnant women evaluated as part of the research died of coronavirus.

According to the study, the three were from minority groups and had other health conditions, such as obesity and hypertension.

Some states, including Washington and Idaho, include pregnant women in Phase 1 vaccine distribution, citing pregnancy as an at-risk medical condition in accordance with Centers for Disease Control and Prevention guidelines.

In Washington, pregnant women are included among those eligible for vaccination during Phase 1B Tier 3, which is estimated to begin sometime in the spring/summer, according to the state's vaccination timeline.

As of Feb. 12, the state was in Phase 1B Tier 1.

Idaho, meanwhile, has pregnant women under Group 3 in the state's vaccine distribution plan, which  according to the state's latest timeline  is scheduled for sometime around March or April.

"The higher infection rates in pregnant patients, coupled with an elevated risk for severe illness and maternal mortality due to COVID-19, suggests that pregnancy should be considered a high-risk health condition for COVID-19 vaccine allocation in Phase 1B all across the United States," Adams Waldorf said. "The time to act is now."

The Washington State COVID-19 in Pregnancy Collaborative led by Adams Waldorf and Erica Lokken, an epidemiologist at the UW School of Public Health, identified 240 pregnant women who acquired COVID-19 from March 1 through June 30. The Washington hospitals and clinics evaluated in the study contribute only 1.4% of annual births across the country.

The three deaths, however, represented 6.7% of all maternal deaths associated with COVID-19 counted across the United States through mid-October, according to the study, which found the mortality rate was approximately 13 times higher in pregnant mothers aged 20 to 39 than in similarly aged individuals with COVID-19 who were not pregnant.

As of the end of January, the Spokane County Regional Health District did not have conclusive data to confirm there have been any coronavirus-caused deaths of pregnant women, representatives said. A representative from Providence Sacred Heart Medical Center declined to comment. Representatives from MultiCare Health System did not return a request for comment.

Other findings included that most of the 240 pregnant mothers evaluated in the study experienced mild COVID-19 symptoms and recovered, as only one in 11 developed severe or critical symptoms. Twenty-four were hospitalized specifically for COVID-19 symptoms.

Demographically, 126 of the 240 patients (approximately 52%) reported Hispanic ethnicity, according to the study. Another 21.3% were white, non-Hispanic women, 8.3% were Black and and 3.3% each were American Indian/Alaska native, Asian or native Hawaiian/other Pacific Islander.

Among minority groups across the U.S., Adams Waldorf said the reasons why they are "disproportionately impacted" by COVID-19 include how they often live in denser households or work in essential jobs and cannot work from home. Some communities, she said, did not get the public health message early enough, while others have a lack of trust in the federal government.

"Our data indicates that pregnant people did not avoid the pandemic as we hoped that they would, and communities of color bore the greatest burden," said Adams Waldorf, the study's senior author.

"We were disheartened to see the higher infection rates in communities of color, as well as in patients with limited English proficiency."

In light of the studies, Adams Waldorf is encouraging pregnant women to discuss the risks and benefits of COVID-19 vaccination with their care providers.

For her part, Adams Waldorf said she believes "the benefit of getting vaccinated far outweigh the risks."

"If you have a 1 in 80 chance of dying if you get COVID-19," she said, "that's pretty stark when you're young."
The suspect's victims were 11 to 14 years old.

A 47-year-old Lviv resident, former head of the "Children of Christ" society, is facing trial on charges of grooming and molesting underage girls.

The suspect's name is Roman Moskovchenko, Hromadske has learned.

A total of 11 criminal proceedings have been launched against Moskovchenko, which cover 147 episodes of sexual offenses allegedly committed since 2005 against six girls aged 11 to 14.

From 2003 to 2018, the man worked as external relations coordinator at the School-gymnasium of St. Sophia. The facility's management granted him permission to hold meetings of the Children of Christ society at the school's premises. The site, as well as another location belonging to the church of St. Michael the Archangel, were presumably crime scenes, the investigation believes.

Among the victims were both children from full families, as well as orphans and children deprived of parental care.

The Christian Society, headed by Moskovchenko, would organize Christian children's camps, deliver lectures for children on religious topics, visit boarding schools and orphanages bringing gifts and performing.

At the suspect's home, investigators found and seized digital media carrying photos and videos which detectives say indicate that the suspect had committed sexual offenses against minors.

Five girls who had been minors at that time spoke out against the suspected offender.

Psychiatric examination has confirmed the suspect's sanity.

Roman Moskovchenko does not plead guilty. According to the lawyer, he tried multiple times to commit suicide during the pre-trial probe, so the defense claims their client requires another psychological and psychiatric examination.

If found guilty, Moskovchenko faces up to 15 years in prison.

Reporting by UNIAN

Kremlin critic Alexei Navalny, who is accused of slandering a Russian World War Two veteran, stands inside a defendant dock during a court hearing in Moscow, on Feb. 20, 2021. (Press Service of Babushkinsky District Court of Moscow/Handout via Reuters)

Germany Urges EU to Prepare Sanctions on Russia Over Navalny

BRUSSELSGerman Foreign Minister Heiko Maas on Monday urged his EU counterparts to give the green light to sanctions against Russian officials responsible for jailing Kremlin critic Alexei Navalny and cracking down on pro-democracy activists.

German Foreign Minister Heiko Maas speaks to the media as he arrives to attend an EU Foreign Ministers meeting in Brussels, Belgium, on Feb. 22, 2021. (Yves Herman/Pool/Reuters)

Berlins call paves the way for sanctions to be imposed next month in what the 27-member bloc says should be seen as a message to President Vladimir Putin that debate and protest must be allowed in Russia.

I am in favor of ordering the preparation of additional sanctions, of listings of specific persons, Maas said as he arrived in Brussels. He said sanctions were pressing because Navalny had not only been sentenced to a prison term earlier this month, but also to serve this term in a labor camp.

Diplomats expect the EU to impose travel bans and asset freezes on allies of Putin next month, once experts have gathered evidence to withstand any legal challenges.

A group of EU foreign ministers met Navalnys chief of staff Leonid Volkov in Brussels on Sunday to build their case for punitive steps against Russia, which is already under Western economic sanctions after its 2014 annexation of Crimea.

EU foreign ministers will also hold a video call with U.S. Secretary of State Antony Blinken later on Monday.

We cannot turn a blind eye to blatant breaches of human rights violations in Russia, Lithuanian Foreign Minister Gabrielius Landsbergis said after Sundays meeting.

Slovak Foreign Minister Ivan Korcok echoed the mood of many EU diplomats, saying on arrival in Brussels on Monday: I do not see that the European Union is responsible for the confrontational course that Russia has taken.

Navalny was detained after returning to Russia from Germany last month and jailed on Feb. 2 for violating the terms of parole on what he says was a politically motivated conviction. Moscow denies wrongdoing and accuses the EU of meddling in its affairs.

In Germany Navalny had been recovering from being poisoned with a military-grade nerve agent. Navalny said Russian state security agents had put the poison in his underpants, something the Kremlin denied.

Pressure for sanctions has grown since Moscow infuriated European countries on Feb. 5 by expelling German, Polish, and Swedish diplomats without telling the EUs foreign policy chief, who was in Moscow for a visit.

Still, Maas said he believed the EU needed to keep up some kind of diplomacy with Moscow.

At the same time we need to talk about how to keep up a constructive dialogue with Russia, even as relations certainly have reached a low, Maas said.

By Robin Emmott and Sabine Siebold
New Delhi: The Ayush ministry on Monday said Patanjalis good manufacturing practices (GMP) certificate does not vouch for the efficacy of the drug for any disease condition. The clarification comes a day after the World Health Organization (WHO) said in a tweet that it had not reviewed or certified any traditional medicine to treat or prevent covid-19.

Patanjali has only a GMP certificate from the apex drug regulator, the Drug Controller General of India (DCGI), and a manufacturing licence from the Uttarakhand state government as a prophylactic drug," a senior Ayush ministry official said, seeking anonymity.

A GMP certificate does not amount to a guarantee that the particular medicine in question is for prevention or treatment of covid-19. However, this is a prophylactic drug and may be useful in boosting immunity, but the ministry does not endorse it as a cure for covid. Any country importing AYUSH products conduct its quality tests before importing. There are separate departments to ensure the quality of a drug for exports," the official said. The Ayush ministry had earlier categorised Ayurvedic Coronil tablets as an Immuno-booster.

The officials comments however, contradicts claims made by the Haridwar-based Ayurvedic company. Patanjali said on Friday that Coronil has received the ministrys nod as per the WHO certification scheme, and was the first evidence-based medicine to fight coronavirus. Patanjali owner Yoga Guru Ramdev had also said that Coronil is highly effective in boosting immunity and controlling covid-19. He claimed that the ministry had also recognised Coronil tablet as medicine for supporting measure for covid-19" and can be used for prevention, treatment as well as post-covid phase treatment.

In an apparent response to the claim, the WHO, without naming the drug, said on Friday that it has not considered the drug for treating covid. WHO has not reviewed or certified the effectiveness of any traditional medicine for the treatment #COVID19," the WHO said in a tweet on Friday.

The DCGI issues certificates of pharmaceutical products (CoPP) and certificates of GMP for medicinal products meant for exports.

CoPP is mandatory in many countries that require WHO accreditation for pharmaceutical products being imported. As laid down by WHO, the GMP certification is necessary for the quality of pharmaceutical products moving in international commerce.

After the controversy broke, Patanjalis managing director Acharya Balkrishna clarified that the certification was in order to to avoid confusion".

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According to a new research published by Polaris Market Research the worldwide smart fleet market is anticipated to reach around USD 629.5 billion by 2026. In 2017, the automotive segment dominated the global market, in terms of revenue. In 2017, North America accounted for the majority share in the global Smart Fleet market.

The increasing need to track and monitor fleets to increase operational efficiency, and reduce costs drives the Smart Fleet Market growth. Organizations are increasingly adopting smart fleet systems to increase efficiency, and manage high volume of fleets. The growing need for high speed networks further accelerates the adoption of smart fleet systems. Other factors driving the market growth include growing need to reduce operational costs, increase profitability, and avoid road congestions and accidents. New emerging markets, increasing need to monitor driver behavior, and growing safety concerns are factors expected to influence the market in the coming years.

Request for a sample of this research report @ https://www.polarismarketresearch.com/industry-analysis/smart-fleet-management-market/request-for-sample

North America is expected to lead the global Smart Fleet market during the forecast period. Significant investment by organizations to improve the fleet operations coupled with favorable regulations regarding transportation safety drive the growth of smart fleet in this region. Technological advancement and introduction of advanced smart fleet systems by the market players has increased the acceptance of smart fleet systems in the region. Asia-Pacific Smart Fleet Market is expected to grow at the highest CAGR during the forecast period. This is due to economic growth in countries such as China and India, and increasing investments in increasing fleet efficiency. Expansion of global players into these countries to tap market potential boosts the market growth.

The various mode of transportation covered in the report include automotive, rolling stock, and marine. Use of smart fleet solutions in automotive sector offers remote monitoring, fuel management, remote diagnostics, and route optimization among other functionalities. Increasing safety concerns, and government regulations regarding vehicular emissions support the growth of this segment.

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The well-known companies profiled in the report include Cisco Systems, Inc., Robert Bosch GmbH, Denso Corporation, Sierra Wireless, Inc., Orbcomm, Inc., Siemens AG, Zonar Systems, Inc., IBM Corporation, Continental AG, OTTO Marine Limited, Harman International Industries, Inc., Globecomm Systems, Inc., and Globecomm Systems, Inc. These companies launch new products and collaborate with other market leaders to innovate and launch new products to meet the increasing needs and requirements of consumers.

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Polaris Market Research is a global market research and consulting company. We provide unmatched quality of offerings to our clients present globally. The company specializes in providing exceptional market intelligence and in-depth business research services for our clientele spread across different enterprises. We at Polaris are obliged to serve our diverse customer base present across the industries of healthcare, technology, semi-conductors and chemicals among various other industries present around the world.

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With a little bit of effort, you can save money on car insurance. Installing safety devices and maintaining a clean driving record will help you lower the insurance premiums, said Russell Rabichev, Marketing Director of Internet Marketing Company.

Car insurance policies can cost as much as several thousands of dollars per year. It might not look much, but for many families, car insurance can be a burden. Some are even considering dropping coverage.

Drivers who consider dropping coverage should follow the next tips on how to save on car insurance:



Graduate a defensive driving course. Very young drivers are charged extra on their insurance policies. Insurance providers consider than teens are high-risk drivers because they lack driving experience. Also, statistics show that teen drivers are more likely to be involved in car accidents. Teen drivers can lower their insurance rates by enrolling and graduating a defensive driving course.

Clean driving record. Drivers who manage to avoid parking tickets, speeding tickets, at-fault accident convictions, DUI incident convictions, and other traffic violation penalties for a period that is between three to five years can get a safe driving discount. However, drivers who got some tickets present in their driving records should talk with a lawyer and check if they can be expunged.

Install safety devices. Many modern vehicles come equipped with the latest safety devices. Drivers who do not own a modern vehicle can improve the safety of their vehicles by installing aftermarket safety devices. Rear cameras, safer seatbelts, tracking devices, and other devices will help policyholders save money on car insurance. However, policyholders should ask their insurers what safety devices are approved and how much money they can save after installing them.

Get a low-mileage discount. Drivers who are using their vehicles to commute to work on short distances can qualify for a low-mileage discount.

Obtain a loyalty discount. Policyholders who are loyal to the same insurance provider for a number of years can get a loyalty discount upon renewing the insurance contract.

Bundle policies with the same insurer. Policyholders who insure two or more vehicles to the same provider can gain a multi-car policy discount. Also, policyholders can insure their cars policies with different insurance products like homeowner's insurance, life insurance, health insurance, or even boat insurance. In this case, drivers who insure two or more different insurance products will get a multi-policy discount.

For additional info, money-saving tips, and free car insurance quotes, visit http://compare-autoinsurance.org.

Compare-autoinsurance.org is an online provider of life, home, health, and auto insurance quotes. This website is unique because it does not simply stick to one kind of insurance provider, but brings the clients the best deals from many different online insurance carriers. In this way, clients have access to offers from multiple carriers all in one place: this website. On this site, customers have access to quotes for insurance plans from various agencies, such as local or nationwide agencies, brand names insurance companies, etc.
Union defence minister Rajnath Singh on Monday said the government will soon be adding more products to the list of hardware that cannot be purchased from foreign suppliers, even as Prime Minister Narendra Modi assured the industry that the military hardware, which Indian firms were capable of designing and manufacturing in the country, will not be procured from abroad.

Both Modi and Singh were speaking at an event hosted by the Confederation of Indian Industry and the Society of Indian Defence Manufacturers on the budget proposals to boost domestic manufacturing of defence hardware.

Singh said about 70,000 crore of the capital allocation of 1.35 trillion for the defence sector will be reserved for domestic procurements. He added that the government will bring out a new list of military hardware that India will not source from foreign companies. Currently, there are 101 items on the list that was made public last year.

We now intend to notify the next list of items and would also request secretary, DMA (department of military affairs), that they should consider including certain spares currently being procured from outside so that we could indigenize the same," Singh said.

Singhs announcement is in line with Indias plans to reduce its dependency on defence imports and ensure that Asias third largest economy becomes a manufacturer of armaments.

Singh also said the defence ministry was working on the delays in capital acquisition. We will make efforts to complete the defence acquisition within two years, instead of the existing 3-4 years being taken on the average."

Modi urged local firms to take the initiative not only in manufacturing but also in developing the latest hardware. I want to assure you that all procurements in the defence sector that can be designed and made in India by an Indian public sector or private sector firm, that will not be procured from outside, we will have this approach," Modi said.

He said the defence budget has kept aside funds to buy arms exclusively from Indian companies. I would like the Indian companies to consider design and development of hardware along with manufacturing."

At the biennial DefExpo last year, Modi had said that the industry must set a target to export $5 billion of military hardware by 2025.

Under the Atmanirbhar Bharat programme, the government unveiled a slew of measures aimed at promoting manufacturing to make India self-reliant. In defence, the cap on foreign ownership was raised to 74% to attract overseas investment.

That India figured consistently among the worlds top arms importers was not a matter of distinction, Modi said on Monday. Among the steps taken to boost local manufacturing was a list of 101 platforms that India has decided to source locally, he said.

In government terminology, this is called a negative list," Modi said.

But in my view, in the terms of self reliance, it is a positive list because it is based on this that our domestic manufacturing will become strong, job creation will improve, it will cut dependence on foreign nations and is a guarantor of the sales of India-made products in India, Modi said.

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Bob Stannard writes a regular column for the Bennington Banner. The opinions expressed by columnists do not necessarily reflect the views of the Brattleboro Reformer.
AWD

Offered by Hong Kong-based Contempo Concept Limited for the princely price of 728,000 HK dollars, which translates to $93,900 at current exchange rates, serial number 351 is one of the nicest survivors out there. One of 170 cars specified with the WR Sport upgrade package, this ultra-rare Impreza rocks a Prodrive High Wing with integrated third brake light.Based on the GC body style, which means sedan in Subaru jargon, the RB5 is optioned with the Prodrive Performance Package and suspension kit. Exclusively offered in the United Kingdom, the special edition further stands out in the crowd with the help of PIAA front driving lights, a quick-shifting short shifter for the five-speed manual transmission, a de-catted performance exhaust system with a backbox, intercooler piping from Prodrive, a more aggressive mapping of the engine control unit, and red-stitched floor mats.Blue Alcantara, map lights, air conditioning, and a serialized plaque are worth mentioning as well, along with the Impreza Turbo 2000RB5 and Prodrive stickers on the trunk lid. According to the selling dealership, this car has racked up 3,614 miles (5,816 kilometers) by 2001.Stored in a heated garage in the UK, then sent to Hong Kong , the rally-bred sedan currently shows 4,070 miles (6,550 kilometers) on the digital odometer framed by the 160-mph (257-kph) speedometer. As you can tell from the photo gallery, every panel and trim piece looks mint.Described as truly outstanding in a period test drive by Evo Magazine, the RB5 takes its mojo from a 2.0-liter boxer from the EJ family. 237 horsepower and 258 pound-feet (350 Nm) of torque may not come as much by todays standards, but its more than enough to enjoy this blast from the not-so-distant past on a sunny day or in nefarious weather.
Unfortunately, our website is currently unavailable in your country. We are engaged on the issue and committed to looking at options that support our full range of digital offerings to your market. We continue to identify technical compliance solutions that will provide all readers with our award-winning journalism.
PHILIPSBURG:--- The suspect police arrested Wednesday night Bernal Louingston Neale for the murder of Rhonda Thomas remains in police custody confirmed spokesman for the Prosecutors Office Roderick Gouverneur. The suspect appeared before the judge of instruction on Friday and was given 8 days extension in pretrial detention.

Bernal Neale is a national of Nevis, better known as the fisherman is also a local musician and resides on St. Maarten since he was a teenager. Neale is well known to police as several women filed cases of abuse against him, in 2006 Neale's permanent residency permit was revoked by former Lt. Governor Franklin Richards because Neal was accused of abusing his ex-wife, a minor, and a girlfriend with weapons. Neale filed an appeal with the courts and won that case.

On Monday, February 15th police found the body of Rhonda Thomas in her Beacon Hill home. Police said she died of foul play. Rhonda Thomas taught Art at the Methodist Agogic Center for almost 10 years, she also worked at Sonesta Maho as a security guard and interior decorator.

A candlelight vigil is scheduled for Wednesday, February 24th at the Caribe Lumber ballpark from 6 pm to 9 pm. Persons attending the vigil are asked to respect all COVID-19 guidelines.

The relatives of the late Rhonda Thomas have since launched a Gofundme fundraising to assist them with the expenses they are currently facing.
Head teachers can also request brand new laptops purchased with donations

Schools can today sign up for free laptops and data cards courtesy of Mail Force.

Invitations are open for vital kit to help pupils right across the UK.

The charity set up by the Daily Mail announced its three-pronged action plan last week after raising more than 10.7million in cash and computers to help disadvantaged lockdown pupils.

Thanks to a new partnership with Vodafone, schools can apply to benefit from 150,000 free SIM cards which will provide approximately 18million hours of online learning in total.

Schoolboy Dan Aslam (pictured) has his own laptop thanks to a Mail Force donation to Saint Georges Catholic College, Southampton

Head teachers can also request brand new laptops purchased with generous donations from Mail readers which have flooded in since the charity launched its campaign last month.

Donation ends Dan's battle to do GCSE work Dan Aslam does not have his own laptop so has been struggling to complete his GCSE work with a pen and paper plus his mobile. The 15-year-old said: I do it on my phone or I print out stuff. Essays arent easy to write on the phone but I write them by hand and photograph them. I have to send in assignments once a week. His family does have a laptop but he kindly lets his older sister and younger brother use it. However, now Dan has his own device thanks to a Mail Force donation to Saint Georges Catholic College, Southampton. The charity gave seven tablets on top of 75 laptops from the Department for Education. Dan said: Thank you, it will be a big help. Advertisement

An additional 10,000 refurbished laptops donated by firms will also be available, with thousands more to follow.

Schools with pupils most likely to be impacted by the 'digital divide'  which has seen children who cannot easily get online fall behind during the pandemic  will be prioritised.

One in four parents fear their children are struggling to complete online lessons and schoolwork because of poor internet connection, according to a recent YouGov survey. Some have no online access at all while many in deprived areas rely on a mobile phone using a costly 'pay as you go' tariff.

The Vodafone SIM cards being given away from today can be inserted into a mobile phone which then serves as a wi-fi hotspot for other nearby devices such as laptops and tablets.

Each SIM provides 30GB of free data  about 120 hours of live video lessons  and is set to see a pupil through about nine weeks of remote learning.

Vodafone already handed out 350,000 free SIM cards last year in its generous Schools Connected programme.

Now Mail Force is using some of the money donated by readers and philanthropists to extend the programme even further.

The new partnership with Mail Force means 500,000 pupils will be given the help they need to get online.

The move was welcomed by Education Secretary Gavin Williamson, who thanked 'the Mail and great British businesses such as Vodafone who have really stepped up to the challenge'.

Vodafone and Mail Force have also been working with the Department for Education to support disadvantaged children. These efforts have seen a million devices delivered.

In another major step, Mail Force's growing cache of laptops will be available for schools to request from this afternoon.

The charity has authorised buying more than 10,000 brand new machines.

Another 10,000 devices have been donated by companies and refurbished to make them suitable for remote learning. Schools can apply for free SIM cards at www.vodafone.co.uk/mailforce.

For computers, schools in England can apply through the Department for Education at https://get-help-with-tech.education.gov.uk/start. In Scotland, Wales and Northern Ireland, we welcome applications from education authorities, multi-academy trusts or charities. Register at www.mailforcecharity.co.uk.
Former President John Dramani Mahama has refueled his legal pursuit to have the Chairperson of the Electoral Commission (EC), Mrs Jean Adukwei Mensa, testify in the 2020 presidential election petition at the Supreme Court.

When the highest court of the land resumes sitting on the petition today, it will deal with two applications by Mr Mahama (petitioner), both geared towards ensuring that the Chairperson of the EC testifies in court.



The first is a review application challenging the courts ruling not to grant permission to the petitioner to reopen his case in order for his lawyers to subpoena Mrs Mensa to appear before the court and testify, while the second is an application for stay of proceedings urging the court to put the petition on hold until the final determination of the review application.



Lawyers for the petitioner filed the two applications last Thursday shortly after the apex court had dismissed another review application by Mr Mahama which was challenging the courts decision not to compel Mrs Mensa to testify.



Review



It is the petitioners contention that the courts decision of February 16, 2021 not to allow him to reopen his case in order to subpoena Mrs Mensa was fraught with fundamental errors of law, which had occasioned a grave miscarriage of justice to him.



Among other things, Mr Mahama argues that the court did not take into consideration Section 72 of the Evidence Act, 1975 (NRCD 323), which he said would have allowed him to call Mrs Mensa to testify, subject to the discretion of the court.



He contends that the court rather relied on a subsidiary legislation  Order 38 Rule 3E (5) of C.I. 47, as amended by C.I. 87, to decide that the EC had the right to call or not to call witnesses.



The ruling was in fundamental error in subjecting statutory provisions in the Evidence Act, 1975 to the provisions of subsidiary legislation, specifically Order 38 Rule 3E (5) of C.I. 47, as amended by C.I. 87, and has occasioned a grave miscarriage of justice to the applicant (Mahama), the petitioner avers in his statement of case.



Mahamas pursuit of Jean Mensa



Former President Mahama, the presidential candidate of the National Democratic Congress (NDC) in the December 7, 2020 election, filed the petition on December 30, last year to challenge the outcome of the election, in which the EC declared President Nana Addo Dankwa Akufo-Addo the president-elect.





He has made the need for the Chairperson of the EC to testify one of the cardinal principles of his case, with his lawyers arguing that Mrs Mensa has a duty to account to Ghanaians for her stewardship over the December 7, 2020 election.



However, he has not been successful in his first three attempts to get Mrs Mensa into the witness box.



In the first move, lead counsel for the petitioner, Mr Tsatsu Tsikata, objected to a decision by the EC (first respondent) to close its case without adducing any evidence, a strategy that meant that Mrs Mensa, the only potential witness on record for the EC, would not testify.



Lead counsel for the EC, Mr Justin Amenuvor, had submitted that Mr Mahama had not provided any substantial evidence to back his petition and, therefore, there was no need for his client (EC) to adduce any evidence, with Mrs Mensa as its witness.



On February 11, this year, the court overruled the objection by Mr Tsikata, with the explanation that it had no powers to compel any party in a case to adduce evidence if the party had chosen not to do so.



Mr Mahama then filed an application seeking permission to reopen his case to enable his lawyers to subpoena Mrs Mensa to testify on his behalf as a hostile witness.



That was dismissed by the court on February 16 on the basis that the petitioner had failed to demonstrate what evidence he was seeking from the Chairperson of the EC and how that evidence would aid his cause, or the determination of the petitioner.



It is this ruling that the current application for review is seeking to change.



On the same day, lawyers for the petitioner filed a review application challenging the decision of the court not to compel the Chairperson of the EC to testify.



The court dismissed that review application last Thursday. Shortly after the courts decision, the petitioner filed the current review application against the courts decision on February 16 not to allow him to reopen his case.



Petitioners case



In his petition, former President Mahama contended that no candidate won the 2020 presidential election and, therefore, the declaration of President Akufo-Addo as the winner of the election by Mrs Mensa was null, void, unconstitutional and of no legal effect.



He argued that as per the results announced by Mrs Mensa on December 9, 2020, no candidate garnered more than 50 per cent of the total valid votes cast, as required by Article 63(3) of the 1992 Constitution.



Former President Mahama, therefore, wants the Supreme Court to declare the declaration on December 9, 2020 as null and void and also order the EC to conduct a run-off between him and President Akufo-Addo.



He has also accused the EC of engaging in vote padding by deducting some of his votes and adding it to that of President Akufo-Addo.



Respondents answers



In their answers, President Akufo-Addo and the EC argued that the petition was incompetent, lacked merit and raised no reasonable cause of action.



It was their contention that the petition did not even meet the requirement of a presidential election petition, as stipulated in Article 64 (1) of the 1992 Constitution and was, therefore, incompetent.



That, they argued, was because the petition made no allegation of infractions in the election at any of the 38,622 polling stations and 311 special voting centres.















Source: Graphiconline.com









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Featured Video
New Delhi: Actor John Abraham starrer action movie 'Attack' is all set for a theatrical release on August 13, 2021. John took to Twitter to share this news. "Attack" - a taut, action entertainer with a strong storyline...a genre I love! In theatres, this Independence Day..Release Date- 13th August 2021," read Johns's tweet.

'Attack' is jointly produced by John Abraham, Jayantilal Gada and Ajay Kapoor. The film is a story of rescue by an attack team led by a lone ranger played by John. It is written and directed by debutant Lakshya Raj Anand.

Talking about the movie, Jayantilal Gada said, "We are delighted to release this fascinating action entertainer on the Independence Weekend. By planning to bring it to theatres on 13th August 2021, we are standing by film exhibitors and theatre owners who have survived a very difficult year during the COVID-19 crisis. John and his production house have conceived a phenomenal film and people will flock to watch it on the big screen!"

Apart from Attack, John Abraham will be seen alongside Shah Rukh Khan and Deepika Padukone, in Yash Raj Productions Pathan. The movie is expected to release in 2022.

(With inputs from IANS)

Palmdale, CA (93550)

Today

Plenty of sunshine. High 98F. Winds N at 5 to 10 mph, becoming W and increasing to 15 to 25 mph..

Tonight

Clear skies. Low 66F. Winds SW at 15 to 25 mph.
A truck transports bottles from Coca-Cola on the outskirts of Moscow on Aug. 6, 2014. (Reuters/Maxim Shemetov)

Coca-Cola Has Employees Train on How to Be Less White: Whistleblower

Coca-Cola employees are apparently required to take training on how to be less white to combat racism, according to photos posted online by an alleged whistleblower.

Its not exactly clear where the photos were captured. The images show training titled: Confronting Racism. Understanding what it means to be white. Challenging what it means to be racist.

Be less oppressive, be less arrogant, be less certain, be less defensive, be less ignorant, be more humble, listen, believe, break with apathy, break with white solidarity are listed as means to become less white, according to the photos. It doesnt elaborate on how to accomplish those things.

In the U.S. and other Western nations, white people are socialized to feel that they are inherently superior because they are white, one of the slides claims. Research shows that by age 3 to 4, children understand that it is better to be white.

The slide appears to conclude: Try to be less white.

Harmeet K. Dhillon, a conservative lawyer, wrote that the slides appear to show blatant racial discrimination against white people. Conservative political commentator Candace Owens called on employees to file lawsuits against the corporation.

If a corporate company sent around a training kit instructing black people how to be less black, the world would implode and lawsuits would follow, she wrote on Twitter. I genuinely hope these employees sue @CocaCola for blatant racism and discrimination.

Coca-Cola issued a statement on its website about the photos and attempted to distance itself from the material.

The video and images attributed to a Coca-Cola training program are not part of the companys learning curriculum, reads a statement from the company titled Statement on The Coca-Cola Company Diversity, Equity & Inclusion Training.

The Atlanta-based firm added: Our Better Together global training is part of a learning plan to help build an inclusive workplace. It is comprised of a number of short vignettes, each a few minutes long. The training includes access to the LinkedIn Learning platform on a variety of topics, including on diversity, equity, and inclusion. The video in question was accessible on the LinkedIn Learning platform but was not part of the companys curriculum. We will continue to listen to our employees and refine our learning programs as appropriate.

Coca-Cola confirmed to Newsweek that the course is part of its training.

 BREAKING: Coca-Cola is forcing employees to complete online training telling them to try to be less white. These images are from an internal whistleblower: pic.twitter.com/gRi4N20esZ  Karlyn supports banning critical race theory in NH (@DrKarlynB) February 19, 2021

On Feb. 19, Karlyn Borysenko, an activist who supports the banning of critical race theory, posted the images from an internal whistleblower.

Officials at Coca-Cola didnt immediately respond to a request by The Epoch Times for comment.

The slides appear to draw heavily from critical race theory, a Marxist-inspired ideology that reinterprets history as a struggle between white people and other races, labeling peopletypically whitesas the oppressors and all other ethnicities as the oppressed on account of their skin color. The theory echoes the Marxian division of society based on class and reimagines class struggle based on race, gender, and sexual orientation.

The theory has crept into public schools, universities, workplaces, and the federal government in recent years. It has triggered warnings from free speech advocates and conservatives, with former President Donald Trump issuing an order in 2020 that banned training sessions for federal employees based on critical race theory.
As expected, Aleksei Navalny lost two court cases on February 20: Judges rejected his appeal against a prison sentence on a parole-violation claim he calls absurd and found him guilty of defaming a World War II veteran in a case he said was a Kremlin propaganda stunt. What's behind the decisions and what's next? RFE/RL senior correspondent Robert Coalson joins host Steve Gutterman to discuss.
DUBAI, UAE, Feb. 22, 2021 /PRNewswire/ -- CFI Financial Group, a leading online trading services provider, has announced a new partnership with the famous Middle Eastern TV presenter and celebrity Georges Kordahi.

The Popular media figure, Georges Kordahi will be the new brand ambassador and the face of CFI in the MENA region and the Arab world. The partnership with Kordahi will help further boost CFI's image and expand its brand awareness given Mr. Georges' popularity, charisma and mass appeal across the Arab World.

Kordahi has been part of the Arab media world for over 40 years. CFI and Georges Kordahi are synonymous. With his record of achievements, confidence, courage and control, he fully embodies the CFI brand and its values.

Hisham Mansour and Eduardo Fakhoury, the founders and managing directors at CFI Financial Group, said: "The partnership with Georges and CFI is an ideal move that will not only spread the CFI name farther but also introduce different concepts to the masses including the importance of investing, financial literacy and risk management. Mr. Georges' appeal and large audience is a strategic factor that will help CFI further secure its place as one of the leading providers of trading services across the Arab region and the entire world."

"I am very pleased to announce my new partnership with CFI. CFI is a renowned, trusted & respected brand for online trading that has helped thousands of clients access the financial markets for over 22 years with superior services and highly competitive conditions. CFI is a global company with many entities around the world and I am glad to be associated with them and look forward to a long-term and mutually beneficial relationship" said Mr. Georges Kordahi.

In addition to the partnership with Mr. Georges Kordahi, CFI is also in partnership with Oliver Rowland, one of the main drivers for the Nissan E.Dams Formula E team and an Official Sponsor of the Nissan E.Dams Formula E team.

About CFI Financial Group

The CFI Financial Group is an award-winning global financial markets provider with over 22 years of experience, and regulated entities in London, Larnaca, Beirut, Amman, Dubai and Port Louis. The group is focused on providing an unrivaled and superior trading experience to private and institutional investors with multi-asset access, personalized and dedicated support, powerful analytics and daily market analysis and highly advanced trading infrastructure with an expansive suite of trading platforms. For more information, please visit www.cfifinancial.com .

About Georges Kordahi

Georges Kordahi is a well-known TV presenter of Lebanese origins. Georges was the host of the Arabized version of the highly popular TV show "Who Wants to Be a Millionaire" and hosted many other successful TV shows in the Arab world. Throughout his career that extends over 40 years, he achieved wide recognition starting from Lebanon TV to Monte Carlo Radio in Paris then MBC FM London.

He received many honors in the Arab World and was chosen as a UN Goodwill Ambassador for environmental issues by Secretary General Kofi Annan. Kordahi used his stardom to support charities in advancing their efforts for the public good in the Arab World.

SOURCE CFI Financial Group
Source: Xinhua| 2021-02-22 19:53:13|Editor: huaxia

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VIENTIANE, Feb. 22 (Xinhua) -- One of the four remaining COVID-19 patients in Laos was permitted to return home after showing negative for the virus in the second round of testing.

The country's 43rd case of COVID-19 was discharged from hospital in northern Laos' Bokeo province after recovery from the virus, Deputy Director General of the Department of Communicable Diseases Control under the Lao Ministry of Health Sisavath Soutthaniraxay told a press conference in Lao capital Vientiane on Monday.

The patient is a 29-year-old man who traveled from Thailand and arrived in northern Laos' Bokeo province on Jan. 18, and he was treated in the hospital since Jan. 22.

As of Monday, Laos has tested 111,365 suspected cases with 45 positive cases, and 42 patients have recovered.

Laos announced its first two COVID-19 confirmed cases on March 24 last year. Enditem
President Joe Biden has scrapped former President Donald Trump's more complicated version of the citizenship test, the administration confirmed Monday, over fears that it 'may inadvertently create potential barriers' to naturalization.

A policy memo sent out by U.S. Citizenship and Immigration Services said that after April 19, the Trump-approved 2020 version of the test will no longer be in use, and the Biden administration will use the 2008 version instead.

On December 1, the Trump administration rolled out a 20-question test, with applicants needing to answer 12 questions correctly to become U.S. citizens.

After April 19, citizenship applicants will only be able to take the 2008 exam, which has fewer questions than the 2020 exam that former President Donald Trump's administration doubled the length of

President Joe Biden's administration is reverting to the 2008 version of the citizenship test, instead of the 2020 version that President Donald Trump's team implemented before he left office

The previous test was only 10 questions long - and six questions needed to be answered correctly.

Overall, the 2020 version of the test pulled from 128 possible civics questions, while the 2008 test came from a pool of 100 questions.

'Multiple commenters noted that there was little advance notice before implementation of the 2020 civics test, which raised concerns about limited time for study and preparation of training materials and resources,' read a policy alert document from USCIS.

To ensure immigrants won't face similar whiplash as the administration reverts back to the 2008 test, applicants who filed after December 1 and before March 1 and are scheduled to have an interview before April 19 may have the choice to take either test.

Critics of the Trump test believed it showed a conservative bias.

For example, questions about who a U.S. senator or a U.S. House member respresents were answered using the term 'citizen' as opposed to person.

The 14th Amendment of the Constitution says that representatives are apportioned by 'the whole number of persons in each State' - and makes not distinction in regards to immigration status.

However, the Trump administration fought in court to have the census only apply to citizens, so the question mirrored the administration's ideal policy.

Northwestern University law professor Steven Lubet wrote in Politico Magazine that the test could include up to five questions on the Federalist Papers, which are 'revered' by modern conservatives.

But the over-reliance of Federalist Papers' questions included one that was inaccurate.

Immigrants were asked to name a document that influenced the U.S. Constitution.

Among the 'correct' answers was the Federalist Papers, but as Lubet pointed out, the Federalist Papers were written to urge adoption of the Constitution, and so they couldn't influence the Constitution itself.

A question that includes the Second Amendment could also lead to confusion as it asks, 'What are three rights of everyone living in the United States?'

'Everyone' doesn't have the right to a firearm, as federal law doesn't grant that right to a convicted felon.

Mumbai: To check the rising COVID-19 cases, the officials in Maharashtra have been taking strict measures against those flouting COVID-19 guidelines. In view of the surge in coronavirus confirmed cases, a resort owner along with the parents of a newly-wed couple were held for violating COVID-19 safety norms in Palghar.

A team of District Magistrate and superintendent of police (SP) had raided the marriage function going on in a resort and found that they were not following the COVID-19 safety norms. The officials then took the owner of the resort and the fathers of the bride and the bridegroom to the police station.

Earlier, the Brihanmumbai Municipal Corporation (BMC) had also filed a police complaint against a Gymkhana and a Recreation centre for not adhering to COVID-19 guidelines. As per the complaint, a wedding ceremony was held at the recreation centre on Sunday (February 21, 2021) in which around 350 people participated without following social distancing norms.

This is to be noted that the political, religious and social gatherings have been banned in Maharashtra from Monday. A new lockdown has also been imposed in some areas amid a spike in coronavirus confirmed cases.

Maharashtra's Chief Minister Uddhav Thackeray on Sunday said that the daily COVID-19 cases in the state had risen to almost 7,000 from about 2,000 in January. He also demanded stricter measures from Monday to contain the spread of the virus in Maharashtra's four districts and added that the new coronavirus-related restrictions could be imposed beyond these districts if needed.

Uddhav Thackeray in a televised address said, "The second wave has been knocking on our door. Whether it has come or not will be confirmed in the next eight to fifteen days."

Maharashtra on Sunday reported 6,971 new COVID-19 confirmed cases, whereas 2,417 people recovered from the virus in the past 24 hours.

According to the state's health minister Rajesh Tope, Maharashtra's COVID-19 count has now surged to 21,00,884, of which, 19,94,947 have recovered and 51,788 have succumbed to the virus. The state still has 52,956 active coronavirus cases.

(With inputs from agencies)
Nothings more magical than one of TVs happiest families visiting the happiest place on earth. For two episodes of Full House, titled The House Meets the Mouse, the Tanner family traveled from their San Francisco home to Disney World.

During this vacation, cast members visited several rides throughout the theme parks, including those in Hollywood Studios, EPCOT, and Magic Kingdom.

Full House Episode Titled The House Meets The Mouse | Walt Disney Television via Getty Images Photo Archives/Walt Disney Television via Getty Images

Which Disney World rides did the Full House cast go on?

After riding the Prince Charming Regal Carousel too many times, the older Tanner sisters wanted to ride Splash Mountain. Because Michelle was the princess for the day, however, this was her top pick from Magic Kingdom.

Splash Mountain in Frontierland

This was the ride that Stephanie Tanner wanted to go on, even though Michelle was against it, at first. As one of the thrill rides in Frontierland, the Tanner family paid a visit to Splash Mountain in Magic Kingdom. This is one of the many mountains of the theme park, along with Space Mountain and Big Thunder Mountain.

Indiana Jones Epic Stunt Spectacular in Hollywood Studios

It used to be Disney-MGM Studios, complete with The Chinese Theatre as the centerpiece. For this episode, the Tanners visited this theme park now referred to as Hollywood Studios, even stopping by the Indiana Jones Epic Stunt Spectacular.

It was in this live show that DJ envisioned Steve  again. Well, as DJ said, Indiana Jones was so brave and handsome just like her boyfriend back in San Francisco. It was only natural for her to jump out of her seat when she thought that Steve was hurt.

RELATED: Steve From Full House and Fuller House Was Actually the Original Voice of Aladdin in Disneys Animated Movie

Dumbo the Flying Elephant in Fantasyland

As one of Disneys most iconic rides, it was only fitting that some of the Full House cast members hopped on Dumbo. Kimmy Gibbler even had the opportunity to air out some of her shoes. This wasnt great for Aunt Becky and Uncle Jesse, who were riding in the elephant behind her.

RELATED: From Full House to Modern Family Here Are a Few Series With Disney World and Disneyland-Related Episodes

The characters stayed at the Grand Floridian Resort & Spa

When the Tanners flew to Orlando, they stayed at a Disney Resort Hotel  the Grand Floridian Resort & Spa. This is the same hotel that Steve checked in to after missing DJ so much that she appeared in his side dish.

Its also the location where Uncle Jesse serenaded Rebecca after their fight. There were a few other Disney-related filming locations for these episodes. When Danny tried to propose to Vicky the first time, the couple danced at the Germany pavilion in EPCOT.

When he tried a second time, the two were eating at EPCOTs Coral Reef Restaurant. His third time asking, Danny Tanner and his family are standing in front of Cinderellas castle for Uncle Jesses performance.
Having lived a life of grace, compassion and love, Stephen Guy Dardick, passed away peacefully at age 86 in hospice surrounded by his family on February 21st after battling both Parkinsons and Alzheimers diseases. Stephen, born in St. Louis to Harry and Goldie Dardick was the youngest of three accomplished brothers (the late Mal and Sam). Upon finishing University City High School, Steve started dating Marilyn Bindler, his future wife, business partner best friend and love of his life.

Stephen graduated from Washington University with a degree in business. A graduate member of the ROTC program, Stephen was promptly commissioned as an officer  1st Lieutenant Dardick  in the U.S. Army. Stephen and his new bride were stationed in El Paso and Chicago before retiring from the Army and returning home to St. Louis where they raised a family and operated womens specialty clothing stores.

Stephen, a generous spirit with limitless patience, was the rock of support and guidance for his family. With his attentive ear, eager smile and understanding nature, Steve amassed a wealth of friends  his extended family, frequent travel companions and a support system to the end.

Steve lived a full life and most important to him, left a devoted legacy. He is survived by his wife of 65 years, Marilyn, his three children Keith, Janis (Jonathan Frank) and Jill Perez (Fernando Perez) and had six grandchildren, Julia Dardick Leonard (Tyler), Alex Dardick, Jordan Frank, Jessie Frank, Eevie Perez and the late Zak Carroll  the greatest beneficiaries of his charm, warmth and, above all, ever present love.

The family asks in lieu of flowers, donations be made to the Alzheimers Association or Parkinsons Foundation. Please visit bergermemorialchapel.com for more information.

BERGER MEMORIAL SERVICE
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Cork County Council has taken precautionary measures ahead of a Status Orange Rainfall Warning issued by Met Eireann, closing County Hall as well as putting up flood barriers in Fermoy and Mallow.

The national weather forecaster has predicted very heavy rain forecast for Monday night and throughout Tuesday for Cork County, which is likely to cause further river and surface water flooding.

Rainfall totals of 50 to 80mm have been forecasted, with higher levels in mountainous regions.

The ESB Hydroelectric dam at Inniscarra is currently releasing water at approximately 150 cubic metres per second and Cork County Council has been advised that the discharge will increase beyond this level and this is likely to lead to flooding of roads, land and property downstream.

The Council is at its highest levels of preparation and has deployed crews to several known risk locations in all parts of the county. Crews are currently clearing inlets and gullies across Cork County. Sandbags and pumping arrangements will be in place across several locations in known problem locations.

The Ross Road in Skibbereen will be closed in order to facilitate the opening of an inlet and flood barriers have been erected in Fermoy and Mallow with the early warning systems in place.

Cork County Council is advising road users to exercise extreme caution as driving conditions may be hazardous with surface flooding possible or fallen trees and branches.

Motorists are advised to avoid driving through flowing or standing water and to exercise caution during heavy rain. Motorists are also asked to be conscious of cyclists and pedestrians.

Due to a risk of flooding, Cork County Hall will be closed to the public Monday, Tuesday, and potentially Wednesday on a precautionary basis due to the risk of flooding. This is due to the predicted rainfall and saturated land in the catchment area of the river Lee.

The Council is advising property owners to take precautions in low lying areas or areas susceptible to flooding.

Issues such as fallen trees, flooding and road damage should be reported to the Councils Emergency Out of Hours number (021) 4800048. In the event of disruption to power supply, the ESB Networks can be contacted at 1850 372 999. Fallen or grounded wires should be avoided, and the public are advised call ESB in assisting with the identification of location of fallen wires. Disruption to water supply, should be dealt with by contacting Irish Water on 1850 278 278.

Cork County Council will continue to monitor this situation and updates will be provided on www.corkcoco.ie and on the Councils social media channels @Corkcoco.
Kentucky Police Officer Fired for Allegedly Giving Officers Information to Black Lives Matter Protesters

A police officer in Kentucky was fired on Feb. 19 over allegations he provided a Black Lives Matter organizer with information about other officers in the department during protests last year.

Lexington Police Officer Jervis Middleton was fired after a unanimous vote by the Lexington-Fayette Urban County Council, according to local reports. The council found Middleton guilty on two of three counts of violating operational rules.

Officer Middletons conduct during a highly stressful and potentially vulnerable time during the history of our communitythe most significant policing event in our community in 20 yearsdemonstrates that he should no longer be a police officer, Keith Horn, a lawyer with the city, told the Lexington Herald-Leader.

Middleton challenged his termination and said the information didnt jeopardize officers safety and was free speech. Middleton, who is black, said he faced racial taunts and discrimination in the department. The American Civil Liberties Union (ACLU) division in Kentucky also weighed in.

The ACLU of Kentucky is concerned (the) Lexington-Fayette Urban County Council fired Officer Jervis Middleton amidst longstanding calls for a radical transformation of policing and transparent relationships with the public, said Executive Director Michael Aldridge in a statement to Kentucky.com.

While Officer Middletons actions may warrant some level of disciplinary action, it is particularly concerning he was more swiftly investigated and harshly punished for sharing non-critical information than officers who use excessive force against protesters or create the culture of racism and hostility Middleton reported to no avail.

Lexington Police Chief Lawrence Weathers said a police disciplinary board recommended that Middleton be fired after he shared information with Black Lives Matter and allegedly lied about it, according to the Herald-Leader. The paper also reported that Middleton used police resources to look up information about a woman who he was allegedly involved with.

I felt like the discipline he received last time should have been a message to him and allow him to come back and become the officer that I know he can be, Weathers said. After this, I just cant see him coming back. To me, it was a violation of trust and a violation of the position of a police officer. He was supposed to protect the public but he should also protect his fellow officers.

Investigators wrote that Middleton advised protest organizer Sarah Williams that certain officers and command staff were racists and directed her to call them out during the protests last year.

He also provided her copies of sensitive law enforcement only communications, including emails and text messages which outlined staffing, operational, and deployment plans. Based upon conversations between Ms. Williams and Officer Middleton, it is reasonable to believe that he knew what she would do and how she would use it against the officers and the agency once she received it, they wrote.

There were also incidents where Officer Middleton actively encouraged Ms. Williams [tp] curse out and use the personal information he provided in a manner to embarrass the officers involved.
(Bored Panda) Julian Rad is a 29-year-old Austrian award-winning wildlife photographer who captures the most adorable shots of squirrels, rabbits, wood mice, hamsters and other small animals in their natural habitat.












Prime Minister said on Monday that the governments announcement last August of a negative list, consisting of 101 defence items embargoed progressively for import, was actually a positive list under the Aatmanirbhar Bharat (self-sufficient India) programme.

This is a positive list that will increase our manufacturing capacities, generate new employment, reduce dependence on imports, and will give a guarantee to the products being manufactured in India to be consumed in India, Modi said.

The PM was addressing a webinar the Ministry of Defence (MoD) organised in partnership with major industry chambers in the backdrop of a Rs 21,327 crore increase in the defence capex allocation for the year 2021-22.

The MoD has billed this as a historic 18.75 per cent increase in capex allocation. However, if the figure is compared with the current years revised estimates, the increase is a notional Rs 550 crore.

Modi underscored the opportunities the government has created for the private sector by bifurcating the capital procurement budget into separate domestic and foreign procurement routes. This had been done in order to reserve a significant portion of the defence capital budget for domestic procurement.

MoD has planned to invest about 53 per cent of the outlay for financial year 2021-22 on domestic procurement. That is about Rs 70,221 crore for domestic defence procurement during 2021-22, Defence Minister said.





Private sector leaders, however, were apprehensive that the defence public sector undertakings (DPSUs) would capture most of the indigenous capital procurement. Baba Kalyani, head of Bharat Forge, pitched for transparency in the share of DPSUs vis-a-vis the private sector.

Mahindra Groups S P Shukla pitched for raising the private sectors share of capex to at least 15 per cent in 2021-22 and to 25 per cent by 202324.

Singh said that indigenous design and development was being promoted by according the highest priority to acquisitions under the Buy (Indian  Indian Designed, Developed and Manufactured) procurement category.

During the current financial year, Rs 75,000 crore worth of Acceptance of Necessity (AoN) have been accorded out of which 87 per cent relate to Make in India acquisitions, said Singh.

Addressing the defence industrys concerns about prolonged procurement time frames, he said: MoD is also working on bringing down the delays in timelines of capital acquisition. We will make efforts to complete defence acquisitions within two years instead of the existing three-four years being taken on the average.

Referring to the embargo on the import of defence equipment, Rajnath said the Negative List of 101 items provides a long-term visibility on defence procurement plans.

We now intend to notify the next list of items The embargo on imports is planned to be progressively implemented between 2020 to 2024, said the defence minister.

Chief of Defence Staff General Bipin Rawat said the military was willing to accept indigenous items, as long as they were operationally viable. It was not necessary that the items should be on the Negative List.

Shukla, of Mahindra Group, urged the MoD to initiate at least 10 procurements in the bracket of Rs 500-Rs 2,000 crore each in FY22 to energise the domestic defence manufacturing.
Beyond barbecues and ceremonies: Recognizing Memorial Day

For many, Memorial Day weekend is about gathering with family and grilling or attending a parade. Some find a more personal way to honor the holiday.
[February 22, 2021] DigiPlex Expands in Denmark with Major Data Center Campus Outside Copenhagen

COPENHAGEN, Feb. 22, 2021 /PRNewswire/ -- DigiPlex, the Nordic leader for sustainable, scalable, and secure data centers, has acquired a plot of 110,000 m2, secured enough renewable power to support the development, as well as onsite water, planning and building permissions to construct five data centers for a major new campus site. This second DigiPlex datacenter site in Denmark will feature waste heat recovery technology to feed into the existing district heating system as part of a significant environmental sustainability commitment. The campus will be constructed in Hje-Taastrup municipality to the west of Copenhagen in an area surrounded by industrial developments and is part of "The Finger-Plan" development' strategy of the Greater Copenhagen Area. DigiPlex has secured enough electricity supply for the first phase, with an option to increase this to as much as 100MW as the campus grows. Five water-cooled data centers are planned with the majority of water requirements met by onsite wells and rainwater. This is in-line with DigiPlex' commitment to reduce demand on mains water supplies. As part of the agreement DigiPlex will build a lake to collect rainwater for use in cooling as well as contribute to a storm-water basin to benefit the local community. Two cycle tracks and upgrades and extension to local roads will also be delivered as part of the development. "We are seeing huge interest in sustainable data center development in the Nordic region and continue to invest to capitalize on this trend. The acquisition of this major plot, plus the Norwegian land acquisition we announced last month, further strengthens DigiPlex ability to rapidly meet the need for data center capacity from hyperscalers as well as local and international businesses requiring ultra-sustainable, cost effective colocation facilities," said Wiljar Nesse, CEO of DigiPlex. "Through close collaboration with all parties we already have power agreements, access to water, and all necessary building regulation approvals in place. We are ready to start campus construction and are already in discussion with a number of potential international customers." "We are very happy to welcome DigiPlex to Hje-Taastrup. Their data center campus will not only bring jobs, but also add value to the municipality. DigiPlex which is an environmentally sustainable datacenter will create development and invest in our local infrastructure and ecosystem. I'm also very pleased to announce that DigiPlex has kindly agreed to contribute to water reservoirs and to upgrade local roads as well as building new cycle paths. This will benefit the whole community", commented Michael Ziegler, Mayor of Hje-Taastrup. "Data center developments such as DigiPlex' are exactly what we aim for to bring the advantages of the digitalization to Danish economy. The high-value services will cement Denmark's already established reputation as a perfect location for these enablers of the sustainable digital economy. We are pleased to see DigiPlex expanding its current footprint in Denmark to now also include Hje-Taastrup," commented Maria Tarp, Director, Invest in Denmark. Carl H. Petersen of the CRT companies, who is selling the land, added; "It was important to us that the new owner added value to the land and to the local community. In DigiPlex I know we have found the perfect owner. The company's plans complement local development priorities, create opportunity for citizens and will deliver a highly sustainable campus and over DKK 22 million in infrastructure upgrades." DigiPlex has a total of seven data centers in the Nordic region, and opened new centers at Fetsund and Hobl last year. An additional center is under construction at Fetsund and 100,000 m2 of land has been purchased for an additional campus outside Oslo at Treklyngen industrial park in Ringerike. For more information, please contact: Elisabeth Lennhede, Head of Communications, DigiPlex, +46 70 33 22 705, elennhede@digiplex.com Peter Hyer, Head of Communications, Hje-Taastrup Municipality, peterHoe@htk.dk Kim Schultz, Special Advisor, Invest in Denmark, kimsch@um.dk Carl H. Petersen, Landowner, the CRT companies, chp@carlh.dk CONTACT: Elisabeth Lennhede

Head of Communications

+46703322705

elisabeth.lennhede@digiplex.com

This information was brought to you by Cision http://news.cision.com https://news.cision.com/digiplex/r/digiplex-expands-in-denmark-with-major-data-center-campus-outside-copenhagen,c3293053 The following files are available for download:







https://mb.cision.com/Main/7526/3293053/1376884.pdf DigiPlex Expands in Denmark with Major Data Center Campus Outside Copenhagen https://news.cision.com/digiplex/i/dc2-illustration-hoje-taastrup-municipality,c2880047 DC2 Illustration_Hje-Taastrup municipality https://news.cision.com/digiplex/i/borgmester-michael-ziegler-hoje-taastrup-kommune,c2880030 Borgmester Michael Ziegler Hje-Taastrup Kommune https://news.cision.com/digiplex/i/maria-tarp-director-invest-in-denmark,c2880031 Maria Tarp Director Invest in Denmark https://news.cision.com/digiplex/i/carl-h-petersen-of-crt,c2880027 Carl H Petersen of CRT https://news.cision.com/digiplex/i/wiljar-nesse--ceo--digiplex,c2880028 Wiljar Nesse, CEO, DigiPlex

View original content:http://www.prnewswire.com/news-releases/digiplex-expands-in-denmark-with-major-data-center-campus-outside-copenhagen-301232346.html SOURCE DigiPlex

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A costume version of a Brazilian mascot introduced in the 1980s to promote vaccines for children has sparked controversy on social media after it was likened to the hood Ku Klux Klansmen are known to wear.

Brazilians are defending the attire of mascot 'Ze Gotinha', or 'Little Droplet,' after a Twitter user blamed Brazilian officials for not doing their due diligence after two people in the mascot costume were photographed with children receiving medical care.

'Brazil's vaccine mascot could maybe have gone through a couple more levels of checks and approvals,' @RoxxaneLaWin wrote.

Recent photos of individuals resembling Ze Gotinha, a mascot created by the Brazilian Health Ministry in the 1980s, created a bit of controversy on social media after a Twitter user compared the version of the costume to the attire used by members of the Ku Klux Klan

Twitter user @RozanneLaWin took the Brazilian government to task after several individuals hired to promote vaccines among parents and children wore a version of Ze Gotinha's costume that she thought resembled the hood used by KKK clansmen

Ze Gotinha (center) during a January 22 event at Tom Jobim International Airport in Rio de Janeiro where the Brazilian Health Ministry celebrated the arrival of the COVID-19 vaccines. Ze Gotinha is a mascot created by the government health agency in 1986 that then promoted awareness of the polio vaccine among children and their parents

Her deleted tweet drew a wave of attacks on social media in Brazil. Twitter users blasted her remarks and defended the individuals who were hired to represent Ze Gotinha.

'As a Black Brazilian, I just saw Ze Gotinha. We literally don't give a s*** for what North Americans think about it, because is just Ze Gotinha for us,' @Winxyzinha wrote.

After taking a closer look at the versions of the costumes that were used, another Twitter user suggested @RoxxaneLaWin owed Ze Gotinha an apology for comparing it to the KKK and the white supremacy rhetoric it continues to promote.

'He's a Brazilian icon and it was designed to be a polio vaccine drop and created to encourage kids to not be afraid. The costume you posted was a low budget from [an] extremely poor region. We are very proud of this mascot,' @10_conto wrote.

'Plus we ARE familiar with the horrors of KKK. Luckily this organization itself wasn't strong here, although we have faced - and still face - white supremacists groups. But the point is that your post was disrespectful and it shows lack of cultural knowledge. Period.'

Ze Gotinha was created in 1986 by artist Darlan Rosa after the Brazilian Health Ministry held a nationwide contest throughout its schools to find its name. The public health agency then deployed the mascot as part of a massive campaign to raise awareness in parents and children for polio vaccinations.

Twitter user @marcolindu wrote: 'Ze Gotinha is a very successful mascot for the polio vaccination. It really made a difference in the acceptance of the vaccine by kids and parents and represents a big victory in Brazil's fully public health system. We are sorry if it generates discomfort, but we are proud of SUS [National Health System].'

Another Twitter user lamented @RoxxaneLaWin's KKK comparison.

'Ze Gotinha is literally just a drop with arms, legs and eyes. It's designed to look friendly,' @duchannesheda tweeted. 'It's sad that the costume looks something else but this is all this Brazilian health symbol is.'

Ze Gotinha was created in 1986 by artist Darlan Rosa after the Brazilian Health Ministry held a nationwide contest throughout its schools to find its name. The public health agency then deployed the mascot as part of a massive campaign to raise awareness in parents and children for polio vaccinations.

The mascot made an appearance during a Health Ministry event that marked the arrival of the Oxford/AstraZeneca COVID-19 vaccine.

One of the Twitters users who was bothered by the Ze Gotinha mascot costume comparisons to the KKK called on President Joe Biden to introduce an American version.

'The U.S. should consider its own Droplet Joe mascot to make the vaccination process less scary for our children; it appears to work wonders in Brazil. #COVID-19,' @HollyBriden wrote.
John McAreavey has spoken at length for the first time about his grief following the murder of his late wife, Michaela Harte.

Michaela was tragically killed at 27-years-old while the two were honeymooning in Mauritius in 2011.

John is now married to Tara Brennan and they welcomed their first child last October.

The GAA player said he would never use the term moving on when it comes to his late wife, and the trauma from her death leaves him worried that Tara will be taken from him.

Expand Close John McAreavey and his late wife Michaela McAreavey on their wedding day / Facebook

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Whatsapp John McAreavey and his late wife Michaela McAreavey on their wedding day

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Speaking to Brian Dowling on his podcast Death Becomes Him, he said: I haven't really spoken publicly about my grief in that many settings in the past 10 years.

"It was a worldwide story. I think the fact that it was so tragic, that's what caught people's attention. We were only married a number of days before.

"At a time when you should be in the most perfect bliss of your life, your honeymoon, for something so tragic to happen, it's almost incomprehensible to people. People just felt so sorry for me and for our families.

He said nothing can prepare you for grief and that 10 years after the death of Michaela he would never use the term moving on.

He explained that he would never move on with his grief but move forward with this in my life.

"This concept or notion of moving on in life, always really bugged the life out of me, John said.

"For me, it was always about moving forward with this being a part of my life. Trying to actually move forward in life, and have a place for this grief in my life, and it didn't give me the guilt that if I was trying to move forward in life, trying to have a life after the death of Michaela that I wasn't putting it into a box.

During the conversation about grief, the Co Down man spoke about the trauma of Michaelas murder on him.

"I had visions of what happened to Michaela come to me every day for a long, long time, he said.

They would come at the most random times, there didnt have to be something that triggered them. I could just be in class and they would come to me.

Rather than trying to block them out, after a while, I said, Im going to think about this for a while now that its come into my mind. Im going to think about it. Im going to give it two or three minutes and then Im going to say Im done thinking about that now and Im going to move forward with my day.

He said he was a very sad person for a long time after Michaelas death, and that while the wound will always be there he is now in a place where there is calmness, there is love, there is joy.
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Fans will soon be allowed to return to Devils games.

Gov. Phill Murphy announced on Monday indoor venues that can fit more than 5,000 people will be allowed to start admitting up to 10% capacity for sporting events, starting on March 1. The Devils and Prudential Center will welcome fans back for the first time in nearly a year when they host the New York Islanders on March 2.

The Devils have been preparing for the admittance of fans throughout the COVID-19 pandemic, and they have been in constant communication with Murphys office during their planning. Government officials have visited Prudential Center several times over the past few months.

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The team is expected announce details on how season-ticket holders and the general public can purchase tickets later on Monday.

This is a day toward which our entire staff has been planning, working and looking forward to for the past 11 months, Devils president Jake Reynolds said. Those who enter the building will feel confident that our process and protocols are focused on making their safety the number one priority. That includes maximizing social distancing, minimizing contact and using products and technology to ensure the wellbeing, safety and enjoyment of our fans and attendees.

The fans journey has been developed to provide consumer confidence from the street to the seat, and we cant wait to feel their energy welcome them back to the Prudential Center to cheer and celebrate Devils victories in person.

Unlike New York regulations, which require a negative PCR coronavirus test from fans within 72 hours of attending a game, Prudential Center wont require a negative PCR test.

Fans will need to pass a temperature check upon entry, and masks will be required at all times. Concession stands will be open, but any food or drinks must be consumed in an individuals seat, not on the concourse or other common areas.

Prudential Center has already been fitted with new signage to encourage hand washing, social distancing and other safety measures for fans. When fans arrive at the building, event staff members will direct them throughout the arena.

In order to avoid any crowding around entrances, tickets will come with scheduled times and gates for fans to enter the building. Elevators wont be available for use, except for fans with ADA needs and their immediate party.

To limit crowding upon entry, fans will be assigned a specific time and entrance to use when they purchase their tickets. Seating will be spread throughout the lower and upper bowls.

Seton Hall could also welcome fans to home games after that date, and the Prudential Center has given the program the ability to follow the same regulations. However, Seton Hall has just one scheduled home game in March, and the program has not announced any plans regarding that game.

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Chris Ryan may be reached at cryan@njadvancemedia.com. Follow him on Twitter @ChrisRyan_NJ. Find NJ.com Devils on Facebook.
Queen Elizabeth II will appear on television to celebrate the Commonwealth on March 7 -- the same day as her grandson Harry's eagerly-anticipated but controversial interview with Oprah Winfrey will air.

She will share her annual message to mark Commonwealth Day, which is on March 8 this year, in a special programme on BBC One that will replace the usual annual service, which has been cancelled due to the coronavirus pandemic.

Her appearance will come just hours before Harry and his wife Meghan tell the world about why they left the royal family, in a move that has reportedly angered its remaining members.

Westminster Abbey, where the annual service was to have been held, said Monday the programme will also involve Harry's father Prince Charles, elder brother Prince William, and other senior royals.

Harry and Meghan announced last week the "intimate" interview with the US chat show host, in which they are expected to air their grievances about how they were treated inside the family following their fairy tale wedding in 2018.

Shortly after revealing the interview, Buckingham Palace announced the couple had permanently quit royal duties, just over a year after they rocked the monarchy by announcing plans to "step back" from their roles.

The Queen ordered the Duke and Duchess of Sussex, as they are formally known, to relinquish their honorary titles and patronages following the confirmation that they would not be returning as working royals.

The couple relocated to the United States last year, in a move dubbed "Megxit" by the British press, and have since embarked on several commercial ventures there including lucrative tie-ups with the streaming platforms Netflix and Spotify.

They announced on Valentine's Day that they are expecting their second child, and also hit the headlines earlier this month when Meghan won her high-profile privacy claim against a British newspaper group for publishing a private letter that she wrote to her estranged father.

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Victoria has launched a royal commission into Crown Resorts flagship Melbourne casino just weeks after the Bergin Inquiry in NSW produced gob-smacking revelations during 60 days of public hearings last year about what was going on behind the scenes at the James Packer-backed group.

The most damning evidence from that inquiry date back even further, to a series of reports by The Age, The Sydney Morning Herald and 60 Minutes into Crowns affairs in July 2019, which led to the NSW probe.

Former Supreme Court judge Patricia Bergin found in her final report, released two weeks ago, that Crown is unfit to hold the licence for its new $2.2 billion casino on Sydney Harbour. Western Australia then launched its own inquiry with the royal commission powers into Crown Perth last week.

That made the Andrews governments position - to fast-track the five-yearly review of Crowns licence, conducted by the same gambling regulator that failed to stop the rot uncovered by this masthead and confirmed by Commissioner Bergin - untenable. That is especially the case given the evidence that most concerned Commissioner Bergin all traced back to Crown Melbourne, where the group makes 70 per cent of its profits. Here is what we know from the NSW inquiry:
SYRACUSE, N.Y.  Juanita Nelson beamed as she stepped out of the Peoples AME Zion church, having just received the second dose of the Covid-19 vaccine.

I didnt even feel it, Nelson, a Black woman in her 80s, said of the needle entering her arm.

She and others interviewed at the church last week expressed relief, a sense of finally feeling protected against a virus that has killed many of their peers.

More than 270 people received their second doses of the vaccine that day. They were hand-picked by their own community as part of a pop-up vaccine clinic. Public health officials are relying on those clinics as the primary way to narrow the racial disparity in who is getting the vaccine here.

Community and government leaders are turning to churches, community groups and other frontline services to be the leaders and role models in making sure vaccines are getting into the arms of people of color.

Just 2.6% of eligible Central New Yorkers who got the vaccine are Black, according to state data. Thats less than half of the states goal for the region and lower than the average of other Upstate regions. The most recent state data, however, does not include numbers from a pop-up clinic in Syracuse last week.

In Onondaga County, 6.7% of vaccine recipients are Black in a county where 10.6% of the population is Black, according to the countys latest data.

The disparity persists across the state and country, and the virus still poses a lethal risk, especially to communities of color. African-Americans have died from the coronavirus at almost three times the rate of white people.

The difficulty with getting vaccines to non-white groups  according to local nonprofits, Black community leaders and would-be vaccine recipients  comes from lack of access and long-held skepticism of health-care providers by those groups.

Syracuse Common Councilor Latoya Allen, for example, hasnt yet decided whether shell take the vaccine. She stressed she was only speaking for herself and that others can make their own health decisions. But she described fear at being in the front wave of vaccine recipients.

A lot of minorities were dying from the coronavirus. So, naturally, when the vaccine comes out, people are like: All the minorities, you guys should take it first, she said. And its like, no. Dont experiment with us.

To help inoculate vulnerable Black people from the virus, local Black leaders said they are walking a tightrope. They are trying not to push so forcefully that people get suspicious while also recognizing that the disparity will continue to grow without any action. So theyre hoping subtle pressure will lead more people to decide to sign up.

You cant take the approach for populations who have an ingrained, historic, valid distrust of the medical system and just say, You have to do this. You have to, said Sharon Owens, deputy Syracuse mayor and member of a statewide vaccine equity task force. What I want to be a part of is making sure your decision is based on accurate information.

That means efforts at myth-busting and hosting virtual information sessions, she said. The approach relies on personal networks and trusted community members, like church leaders, doctors or public housing officials, instead of politicians, officials said.

And, when people finally decide to get a vaccine, it should be easy to find one, hence the vaccination clinics in churches or community centers in predominantly Black or Hispanic neighborhoods. The mass vaccination areas like the OnCenter can be intimidating for some folks, said Denise Welch, an assistant program manager at the National Black Leadership Commission on Health.

8 Onondaga County strives to reduce racial disparity in who gets the vaccine

People have a fear of going to some of the bigger places, like the OnCenter, like the fairgrounds, like the hospital, she said. So, take away that fear and put some of the vaccines in our community, places that people are already familiar with and that they frequent already.

The pop-up clinics have played the biggest role in reducing the disparity between white and non-white vaccine recipients, said Dr. Indu Gupta, the countys health commissioner. According to county data, 1,464 people at the pop-up clinics have gotten at least one dose of the vaccine. The vast majority of them are elderly and people of color.

Nearly 85 percent of the 20,504 first doses administered through the county health department have gone to white people.

The disparity would widen if the county only operated the mass vaccination centers at places like the New York State Fairgrounds and the OnCenter, said County Executive Ryan McMahon in an interview. He said he, like other officials across the state, needs more vaccines for everyone and especially those in marginalized communities.

We need more supply, he said. What were recognizing is that the minority communities, theres a level of hesitancy to participate in the mass vaccination sites. We know we have to play an active role in engaging with these communities, and were talking to the state about more dedicated supply to these efforts.

In the meantime, hed like more discretion to divert some of the 1,900-or-so vaccines a week from the state that go to mass clinics to the targeted sites, he said. The county is best-suited to know where vaccines should go, he argued.

We would love to have full discretion because were on the ground, he said.

Clinic volunteer Kathy Faber-Langendoen, left, helps a woman sign up for the clinic last Monday.

Skepticism over the vaccine

At a recent virtual meeting featuring local public health officials and doctors, the session went over the allotted time limit because the 100-or-so participants had so many questions.

The relatively quick arrival of the vaccine was a common fear. Vaccines from Pfizer and Moderna were produced in less than a year, though they met federal requirements for safety.

In interviews, local organizations that work with seniors on the South and Near West sides say they often hear concerns from would-be vaccine recipients about how quickly the vaccine became available.

They say it shouldnt fall on Black people to be the guinea pigs, even if theres no evidence that such a conspiracy exists.

Some vaccine skeptics in interviews also cited the infamous Tuskegee experiment in 1947. Thats when Black men in Alabama were given placebos as part of a study to determine the effects of untreated syphilis, even though penicillin was known to be an effective treatment.

At least 28 of the men died of syphilis, and many others suffered blindness or insanity as the illness progressed without treatment.

Roy Neal, 70, jumped at the chance to get the Covid-19 vaccine when he heard about it at his church. He got his second dose shortly after Nelson. His brothers are skeptical of the vaccine because they remember what happened in Alabama, he said.

I think that since I stepped out and got it, eventually theyll come around. Theyll wait and see if I grow horns, he said with a laugh, and then offered advice: Do it yourself and just encourage them. It wasnt painful. Be an example.

A week later, Neal felt great, according to his wife Grace Keeley-Neal. He didnt grow any horns.

Deputy Mayor Owens, who is Black, said she is hoping for more examples like Neal  people who will spread the word to others in their lives. But that doesnt mean shes shouting from rooftops that people need to take the vaccine.

In personal conversations and her work on a state task force, she has focused on trying to educate the vaccine skeptics about how to make the right decision for themselves. Often, she tells people just to talk to their doctor, who they trust.

And, if it comes up, she also speaks about her own experience battling the virus last month. She spent three days in the hospital with a raging fever, difficulty breathing and chills. Three members of her family also got sick. Shes still battling Covid fog, she said.

Im here as a witness that Covid is real. I watched it go through my family. I watched it insidiously affect each one of us differently because of our own underlying health issues, she said.

And so when asked by an individual about the side effects (of the vaccine), I dont disparage their fear. I recognize their fear. I acknowledge their fear. And I just say that you have to be informed. Speak to your doctor. But I can definitely tell you that COVID is something you do not want to have.

In a recent interview, she coughed and used an inhaler  lingering effects of the virus that put her in the hospital and affected at least four of her family members.

All the residual side effects that I heard about are real. Im well enough to not be in the hospital, well enough to be back home and not be wrapped up in a blanket anymore, but Im definitely still going through the life of the virus in my body, she said.

Knowing someone who had the virus is a powerful motivator, officials said. Four of the six vaccine recipients who spoke to Syracuse.com at the AME Zion church knew someone who had Covid.

But for those who dont have personal experience, local officials are hoping theyll hear from a trusted loved one or professional. Thats the way to overcome skepticism, officials said.

A familiar place

At the most recent pop-up clinic  the Boys and Girls Club on the Near West Side  Deborah Whitty, 65, got her vaccine. Shes a security guard for Syracuse Housing Authority and, until recently, was skeptical of the vaccine.

But she has diabetes and high blood pressure, so she asked her doctor at a previously scheduled appointment about the vaccine. He told her to get it.

I trust him, and I hope that he doesnt guide me in the wrong way. Sometimes you gotta trust somebody, said Whitty, who is Black. The world  we dont know who to trust and believe.

Gupta, the health commissioner, said she hopes more people like Whitty will speak to their doctors.

People listen to their own peers. People listen to their community, which is important, and that way (we can address) the vaccine hesitancy. People do feel uncomfortable, she said. Im hoping these people who are here today getting vaccinated, they will make other people convinced by the time more and more vaccine comes.

The pop-up clinic Thursday on the Near West Side served about 200 people. If they couldnt drive to the clinic themselves, they got rides from family members or various community programs, like PEACE Inc.

When they arrived, they filled out registration forms and then were shepherded into the gym. Medical staff raised green flags to call a person over to get vaccinated.

The county teams up with the state and the vaccine equity task force to come up with the right place: somewhere familiar in a community with high vulnerability and low mobility. They make a pitch to the state about how many people they can vaccinate, their demographics and which community organizations will help the effort, Gupta said.

The vaccines that are distributed to the pop-up clinics are in addition to the weekly allotment given to the county, officials said.

Organizations approached the county to say theyd be able to find people to receive the vaccine, Gupta said. Those organizations often find people who are eligible and walk them through signing up on ONList, the countys vaccine pre-registration list for those over age 65.

Pastor Daren Jaime relied on relationships with South Side organizations and churches to find more than 270 elderly people, most of them non-white, to receive vaccines at a recent pop-up clinic.

Pastor Daren Jaime at the AME church said he coordinated with other local churches and organizations to distribute around 270 vaccines. Organizations included the Dunbar Center, the Syracuse Model Neighborhood Facility and Jubilee Homes.

The people who are here, there was a grassroots reach-out, he said. Thats how we were able to amass the number here. Having good relationships and being able to talk to all these people, we were able to get them in the door.

So far, there have been four such clinics held at Toomey Abbott Towers, Dr. Weeks Elementary School, the Peoples AME Zion Church and the Boys and Girls Club. Its not yet clear when or where the next one will be.

The hope is to have a permanent clinic in these neighborhoods, once the vaccine supply is steady enough and word spreads well enough that people will show up, officials said.

Nelson, the woman in her 80s who got the vaccine at the AME church, said shes trying to help with that effort.

I try to talk them into it, because its for their sake, and for the people who come around them, too, she said as her daughter helped her into a car to go home. Hopefully everyone will get it so we can get back to normal.

Contact reporter Patrick Lohmann at PLohmann@Syracuse.com or (315)766-6670.
Source: Xinhua| 2021-02-23 02:31:34|Editor: huaxia

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BEIRUT, Feb. 22 (Xinhua) -- Lebanon registered on Monday 1,541 new COVID-19 cases, raising the total number in the country to 356,597, the Health Ministry said.

Meanwhile, the death toll from the virus went up by 47 to 4,387.

Lebanon started its vaccination campaign over a week ago, as health experts urge people to register for vaccination in a bid to protect against COVID-19. Enditem
The Connected for Shared Prosperity Forum was held at Jumeirah Himalayas Hotel in Shanghai by Huawei, Global Mobile Association (GSMA), Center of Environmental Economics of Fudan University, and The Paper. Participants joined both online and in person to discuss the value of digital technologies in sustainable development for a better, connected world, representing organizations from around the world, including international industry regulators and think tanks from China, Malaysia, Spain, Thailand, Hungary and Portugal. More than 1000 guests from over 50 countries attended the conference online.

Chen Lifang, Huawei Senior Vice President and Board Member, delivered a keynote speech titled Believe in the Power of Technology where she described how technology can be used as an engine for human progress. While calling on individuals and businesses to think big and act small, Chen reiterated her support of the UNs sustainable development goals and building a green, innovative and inclusive world. The full text of her speech can be found below:

Weve all had mixed feelings about 2020. The pandemic has changed our lives. Many things we took for granted no longer exist and our values have changed. My biggest takeaway from the past year has been just how hard it is for society to reach a consensus. There seems to be constant conflict and disagreement, from deciding if its necessary to impose lockdowns to debating if its worth it to wear a mask.

Today, weve come together to discuss the United Nations 17 Sustainable Development Goals. I, personally, believe that technology is crucial to advancing these goals, and together, we must do two things to fully unleash the power of technology and drive sustainable development.

Our first challenge will be to reach an honest consensus on whether technology is an engine of human progress.

Looking back over history, weve seen how large social changes happen in lockstep with breakthroughs in science and technology. But today, technological advancements are hyped and politicized, sometimes demonized. Many have stopped believing in the power of technology because of fear and distrust. Some are going to great lengths to hinder the development of technology.

I recently read a report, which said that any important digital platform that is dominated by China will be highly dangerous to the US if not effectively contained and that 5G was one such platform.

5G is a standardized technology defined by its high bandwidth, low latency, and broad connectivity. It helps traditional industries transform and can benefit all. Wide-scale 5G deployment can already be seen in multiple industries around the world. Every-day consumers are benefiting from 5G experiences, while industrial use in seaports, mines, and the transportation sector is increasing operational efficiency. Is this a bad thing? I dont think so.

If we claim that technology is critically important but its development is ideologically wrong, this will only result in division, confusion, and regression.

We must reach a global consensus on this issue and believe in the power of technology to leverage it for the benefit of the society.

Of course, there is always the danger that someone will abuse a new technology. This is not a new concern. But since the industrial revolution, we have seen how establishing rules to manage technological risks can safeguard us. Through rules, technological developments can transcend national boundaries and improve the livelihoods of all without incurring undue risk. We are entering a digital era, and many are hard at work creating the governance rules for cyber security, privacy protection, and trusted AI that will keep us safe. For the rest of us, its time to be confident and open to technological development.

Our second challenge will be taking resolute action to make technology truly effective/ and create value for all.

It may be hard to reach a consensus, but it is easy to shut down technology. For enterprises, believing in tech can start from something small. For example, lets look at the minimum viable product concept. Typically, MVP refers to the product development stage where what youve made just meets the most critical of user requirements while using the smallest amount of resources. That MVP can then be constantly iterated and refined after its launch.

Building broad consensus is difficult, so we can draw on this MVP concept to help technological advancement continue. By focusing on the limited common understanding we have right now and by keeping in mind what resources are actually available, we can drive progress step by step. Iteration means perfect. Fostering conflict will mean stagnation.

Huawei has always supported technological advancement. We believe, ultimately, tech benefits humanity. We also believe digital tech will help the UN achieve its SDGs. Already, Huawei has explored many applications of digital tech guided by the SDGs.

Huaweis Smart PV solution is being widely used in more than 60 countries to reduce carbon emissions by 148 million tons. This is the equivalent of planting more than 200 million trees. In Ethiopia alone, we have helped our customers deploy over 400 solar power stations, reducing carbon emissions by 2,850 tons. In China, we have also helped build the worlds largest solar stations dedicated to agriculture and fishing in Ningxia and Shandong provinces.

Whats more, Huawei and UNESCO launched the Open Schools program over the course of a three-year partnership, to help schools in Egypt, Ethiopia, and Ghana improve their digital skills with online education.

Every one of these examples, every single connection, every gram of emissions reduced, every watt of electricity saved, every small improvement weve made, couldnt have been achieved without small advances in tech. This is the value tech brings to the world.
Bhopal, Feb 22 : The budget session of the Madhya Pradesh Legislative Assembly commenced on Monday where Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) MLA Girish Gautam was elected unopposed as the Speaker of the Assembly. Gautam had filed his nomination for the Speaker's post on Sunday.

As soon as the session began, the process of electing the Assembly Speaker was completed first.

Madhya Pradesh Chief Minister Shivraj Singh Chouhan and other party leaders proposed to make Gautam, a BJP MLA from Deotalab Assembly constituency, the Speaker of the Assembly.

The Leader of Opposition in the Assembly, Kamal Nath, had already announced that Congress will not field any candidate for the Speaker's post so Gautam was elected unopposed. Chouhan and Kamal Nath led Gautam to the Speaker's chair and congratulated him.

The budget session is taking place following the necessary Covid-19 protocols and will continue till March 26.

The budget for the financial year 2021-22 will be presented on March 2.
A corpse decked in marigold flowers waits for its turn on the pyre on the ground at the Manikarnika Ghat in Kashi on Feb. 12, 2021. (Venus Upadhayaya/Epoch Times)

An Ancient City for Cremation Deals With the Pandemic

VARANASI, IndiaPyres burn 24 hours on the banks of the river Ganges in Kashi, a city where Indians have been coming to cremate the bodies of their loved ones for thousands of years because they believe it can liberate the soul of the departed.

As the pandemic struck India, Kashi (the name used by devout Hindus for Varanasi) saw fewer corpses reaching its shores, but the ones who came included those who died because of the virus. The arrival of those who had died from COVID-19 affected the cultural forms and the business of death. With lockdown restrictions easing, things in Kashi are returning to the ancient ways.

The holiest cremation ground of the Hindus, Manikarnika ghat, which is thousands of years old, stood busy on Feb. 12, with a dead body arriving every five minutes, carried on the familys shoulders through the narrow lanes on the slope of the ghat, or bank, that led straight to the river.

Those carrying the dead repeated a Hindu chant that reinforces the belief in God and the afterlife.

While corpses wrapped in bright clothes and decked with flowers waited for their turn on the pyre, a group of young men stood guard at the sacred bonfire, which burns 24 hours a day and lends fire to every pyre.

Their job is to keep it burning, and they remain present there, despite the pandemic.

This is a dhuni [sacred fire] lit by Lord Shiv himself 3,500 years ago, said Sundar Yadav, 21, a merchant who sells many varieties of wood for families to choose from for the cremation.

Rajesh Chaudhary stands near the dhuni, or sacred fire, that lends fire to every pyre at the ancient Manikarnika ghat in Kashi on Feb. 12, 2021. (Venus Upadhayaya/Epoch Times)

Yadav said that previously, about 300 to 400 dead bodies would come to Manikarnika from around India every day for cremation, but this changed during the pandemic.

During the pandemic, this decreased to 50 to 100 every day, and were mostly from areas from 16 miles around, Yadav said, adding that the overall business was also hit because the accompanying people were fewer in number.

Its believed that the day the dead stop coming to Manikarnika, the world will meet a holocaust.

That sounds logical because the day a holocaust happens, no one will come to Manikarnika, Ravi Shankar Shukla, 43, a priest and classical musician from Kashi, told The Epoch Times at the Assi Ghat, another bank on the river Ganges where cremation rituals are done.

He said Manikarnika is known as Mahashamshan, which means the best of all crematoriums since prehistorywhere fire and pyres dont stop burning.

Manikarnika cremation ground finds its mention in Kashi Mahatmya [scripture] in the Shiv Puran, said Shukla. Purana, which in Sanskrit means ancient, is sacred literature and has been in existence for at least 2,500 years.

Kashi has seen many disasters and epidemics. Look at how crowded the city is even today, said Shukla, who noted that many people had died of COVID-19 in the major Indian cities of Mumbai and Delhi.

When people come to us to perform rituals, they only tell us the name and the date of the death. We dont note the cause of the death in our records. It can be hurtful to divulge the cause of death. Its therefore impossible for him to know how many have been the result of COVID-19, he said.

Twelve generations of Shuklas family have served as priests performing rituals on the banks of the Ganges in Kashi.

People still come looking for Shukla because his forefathers had served them as priests, and the family holds these peoples ancestral records. Some Brahmin families such as Shuklas in Kashi own genealogy records of people from around India for centuries.

Sundar Yadav at the wood market behind the ancient Manikarnika cremation ground at the banks of the river Ganges in Kashi on Feb. 12, 2021. (Venus Upadhayaya/Epoch Times)

Rituals and Culture

Death means rituals among Hindus, and on the banks of the Ganges, priests sit performing rituals that are done during or after the cremation and differ according to the type of death.

There are rituals for those who die natural deaths, rituals for those who die in accidents, alterations for married and unmarried women, and different rituals for children. The pandemic posed an obvious question: How would the ancient city of cremations culturally deal with death due to the CCP virus (also known as the novel coronavirus)?

The pind dan is done on the first day of the death. It represents the dead merging with the five elements. After 10 days, the ganth dan is done on the pipal tree [sacred fig or the bodhi tree], Rakesh Tiwari, 52, a priest at the Assi Chat said, explaining the death rituals done for a souls liberation, which finish by the 13th day.

When my neighbor died due to coronavirus, his body was taken straight from the hospital in a sealed coffin to the electric crematorium. The authorities put a lock on the door to quarantine the family for 14 days. Where then is an opportunity to do the rituals?

They can only chant Ram nam satya hai, a chant commonly uttered when carrying a dead body.

Half a mile from where Tiwari sat, Aarti Sharma, 56, sat outside her small grocery shop at the entrance lane to the Assi Ghat. Her husband, a bank employee, had died from COVID-19 on Sept. 4, and Sharma hadnt yet come to terms with it.

People give a customary bath to a corpse at the ancient #Manikarnikaghat at the bank of #ganges in #kashi on Feb. 18, 2021. We bring you a story of worlds most ancient crematoriums.#EpochTimes pic.twitter.com/kDLns18Cti  Venus Upadhayaya (@venusupadhayaya) February 18, 2021

After death, the bodies of the dead are traditionally carried on the shoulders of their sons and near relatives. But due to the pandemic, only Sharmas two sons would carry the body, as no one else would come near. They found it difficult to carry the body of their 187-pound father on their shoulders by themselves.

Her son Vikas Sharma said: I almost fainted in the PPE suit in the ambulance. I was in grief, and everything felt suffocating. I have lent a shoulder to so many dead from my relatives and neighbors but couldnt believe what was happening to us.

Two bold neighbors eventually lent a hand, and the four managed, with effort, to carry the body to the electric crematorium, which requires minimal expense. In normal times, its not preferred by most, as emotional families want to give their loved ones the best ritualistic send-off.

God should never show such a time even to enemies. It felt like our own people were not our own, Sharma said.

Rakesh Tiwari, a priest sits at the Assi Ghat bank of the Ganges waiting for pilgrims at the ancient city of Kashi on Feb. 12, 2021. (Venus Upadhayaya/Epoch Times)

What Is to Be Done for the COVID-19 Dead?

Just a mile away from Tiwari and Shukla, smoke emerged from the electric crematorium at the Harish Chandra ghat, where generally those who suffered mutilation are cremated, and where CCP virus casualties also are cremated.

Mohit Mehrotra, the caretaker of the government-run crematorium, was dressed in a white blazer, in stark contrast to the traditionally dressed priests on the banks.

He sat in a large hall on a table with two attendants. Behind him, large windows open to the Ganges while on his right stood two electric crematorium chambers, the furnaces of which could be seen from the boats plying with pilgrims on the Ganges.

Outside the gate, a dead body lay on the ground, as according to tradition it should lie on the earth. Many relations stood mourning by the wall.

During the time of the pandemic, the administration ordered us to take only the COVID bodies. From July last year, we were every day getting over seven to eight bodies. Now its almost none, Mehrotra said, adding that more than 74 percent of the dead have come from the city and the rest from around the state, but no COVID-19 victim has been brought to Kashi from other parts of India.

The youngest that Mehrotras team cremated was 14 years old and the oldest was 70.

The ashes of the COVID patients were also immersed into the Ganges, Mehrotra said when asked what happened with the ashes of dead cremated at the electric crematorium.

When the body is cremated, it becomes one with the five elements. The ashes are immersed in the Ganges and merge with the soil. This means the body came from the soil and went back to the soil.

A Brahmin priest gets ready at twilight for performing rituals at the Assi Ghat at Kashi on Feb. 12, 2021. (Venus Upadhayaya/Epoch Times)

Brahmins Reminiscence

A priest or a Brahmins household runs by the donations given by those coming for rituals, Tiwari said. During the lockdown, the banks remained closed to the dead and the pilgrims for almost a year, leaving him with almost nothing.

A Brahmin does Shrad [death rituals], with Shradha [devotion] and not with material interests in mind. Now people think How much will I earn? Thats why pandemics like these are happening, Tiwari said.

As Tiwari sat on a wooden bench under a bamboo umbrella, a woman sat to the side performing a daily ritual while another sat on the ground reading the epic Ramayana.

They have taken a sankalap [vow]. A sankalap is taken for which a ritual is done, Tiwari said. He repeated a few Sanskrit words spoken in sankalap prayers, Kali yugey Kali prathama charney, meaning that in the first phase of the age of darkness, death and destruction will begin.

Families get ready for cremations on the bank of the river #ganges at Harish Chandra Ghat in #kashi on Feb. 18. (A pyre burns in the foreground and another is getting ready behind). #EpochTimes pic.twitter.com/Ydyj7t2TjY  Venus Upadhayaya (@venusupadhayaya) February 18, 2021

Isnt it happening today? People are dying due to such novel and different causes.

Shukla said that the dharmic (religious) traditions in India believe that death is the biggest truth of life, but no one likes it.

Its a fact. What people do to live and what people do to diethat you find in Kashi, he said, adding that all traditions, including the Hindu calendar, were designed keeping in mind the concept of the continuity of life after death.

Since the lockdown was lifted, these rituals of life and death have started to come back to the river banks of Kashi.

A pyre burns on the Harish Chandra ghat (bank) of the Ganges in the ancient city of Kashi on Feb. 18, 2021, while mourners watch. (Venus Upadhayaya/Epoch Times)

A pyre burns while a few others get ready on the Harish Chandra ghat (bank) of the Ganges in the ancient city of Kashi on Feb. 18, 2021. (Venus Upadhayaya/Epoch Times)
The helicopter sent to Mars by NASA to explore the Red Planet from the sky has 'phoned home' and is working great, according to the space agency.

Named Ingenuity, it rode to Mars strapped to the belly of the car-sized Perseverance rover that will trundle along the Jezero crater in search of ancient alien life.

NASA mission control in Southern California received the first status report from Ingenuity late on Friday via the space-based Mars Reconnaissance Orbiter.

Ingenuity will remain attached the belly of Perseverance for between 30 and 60 days before it detaches and makes its maiden flight - assuming it survives the brutal average -90C overnight temperatures found on the Red Planet.

The first act of Perseverance  which has been based on the blueprint of Curiosity and is the seven feet tall, nine feet wide and weighs 2,260 pounds  will be to release its accompanying Ingenuity helicopter (pictured in an artist impression) within the next 60 days

NASA shared an exciting image shot by the sky crane that shows Perseverance, nicknamed Perky, slung beneath and attached to mechanical bridals  moments before making landfall. NASA believes this image will become an iconic picture of spaceflight history

The downlink confirmed that the helicopter, and an electrical box on the rover that routes and stores communications with Earth, were both performing as expected.

'There are two big-ticket items we are looking for in the data: the state of charge of Ingenuity's batteries as well as confirmation the base station is operating as designed,' explained Tim Canham, Ingenuity project lead at JPL.

The base station works to command heaters to turn off and on and to keep the helicopter's electronics working within an expected range, he added.

A full scale model of the experimental Ingenuity Mars Helicopter, which was carried under the Mars 2020 Perseverance rover and could make its first flight in a month

'Both appear to be working great. With this positive report, we will move forward with tomorrow's charge of the helicopter's batteries.'

Once the batteries have been charged by Perseverance and mission control are happy it is working as expected, the little craft will be released.

NASA will then work to ensure the helicopter is able to charge its batteries through its onboard solar panels and that it can survive the hard freezing Martian nights.

 Slide me  Perseverance beamed back its first image of the crater moments after NASA established radio contact with the rover (left). The rover beamed a new image back without the camera lens that shows the Martian landscape in full colour

Ensuring that Ingenuity has plenty of stored energy aboard to maintain heating and other vital functions while also maintaining optimal battery health is essential to the success of the Mars Helicopter, the space agency explained.

Initially Perseverance will give Ingenuity a 'one-hour power-up' that will boost the rotorcraft's batteries to about 30% of its total capacity.

A few days after that, they'll be charged again to reach 35%, with future charging sessions planned weekly while the helicopter is attached to the rover.

Now NASA knows the rover and helicopter can 'phone home' they'll compare charging data on Mars to data from charging while travelling to the planet.

Perseverance's primary goal is to look for 'biosignatures'  signs of past or present microbial life  as well as gathering rock samples which will be picked up by another mission in 2026. However, it is equipped with a host of tools which will perform a variety of tasks

NASA's Ingenuity helicopter preps for its 'Wright brothers moment' NASA is set to fly where no one has flown before  Mars' atmosphere. Named Ingenuity, the craft will fly at an altitude that is similar to 100,000 feet on Earth, allowing it to gather geology data in areas the rover can't reach. NASA is comparing this mission 'to the Wright brothers moment,' as it will be the first time in history an aerial vehicle has flown on another world. It will first spend up to 60 days charging strapped to the Perseverance rover, before being released. If it survives the hard -90C Martian night, NASA will make the first flight attempt within 30 days. 'Since the Wright brothers first took to the skies of Kill Devil Hills, North Carolina, December 17, 1903, first flights have been important milestones in the life of any vehicle designed for air travel,' NASA said in a statement Advertisement

After Perseverance deploys Ingenuity to the surface, the helicopter will then have a 30-Martian-day (31-Earth-day) experimental flight test window.

If Ingenuity survives its first bone-chilling Martian nights  where temperatures dip as low as minus 90 degrees Celsius  the team will proceed with the first flight of an aircraft on another world.

If Ingenuity succeeds in taking off and hovering during its first flight, over 90% of the project's goals will have been achieved.

If the rotorcraft lands successfully and remains operable, up to four more flights could be attempted, each one building on the success of the last.

'We are in uncharted territory, but this team is used to that,' said MiMi Aung, project manager for the Ingenuity Mars Helicopter at JPL.

'Just about every milestone from here through the end of our flight demonstration program will be a first, and each has to succeed for us to go on to the next. We'll enjoy this good news for the moment, but then we have to get back to work.'

Assuming Ingenuity is succesful, future Mars missions are likely to include an aerial component in the form of a rotorcraft - descendants of Ingenuity.

'These advanced robotic flying vehicles would offer a unique viewpoint not provided by current orbiters high overhead or by rovers and landers on the ground, providing high-definition images and reconnaissance for robots or humans, and enable access to terrain that is difficult for rovers to reach,' NASA explained.

NASA's $2.2 billion Perseverance rover and accompanying helicopter successfully landed on Mars on February 18 following a 239 million-mile journey.

The rover survived the 'seven minutes of terror' when it endured tumultuous conditions that battered the craft as it entered the Martian atmosphere and approached the surface.

After landing, two of the Hazard Cameras (Hazcams) captured views from the front and rear of the rover, showing one of its wheels in the Martian dirt

NASA's Mars Reconnaissance orbiter also captured amazing images of Perseverance, showing it attached to the sonic parachute moments after shooting through the Martian atmosphere like a comet

Perseverance touched down at the base of an 820ft-deep (250m) crater called Jezero, a former lake which was home to water 3.5 billion years ago.

The Martian surface is littered with craters but what makes Jezero Crater so special is that it has an inflow and outflow channel, which suggests it was filled with water some 3.5 billion years ago.

New data, photos, videos and audio is being sent back to Earth by Perseverance all the time, with NASA set to reveal more at 19:00 GMT on February 22, 2021.
Jessa Seewald announces she's pregnant with baby No. 4, 21st Duggar grandchild

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Jessa Duggar Seewald announced Thursday that she's pregnant with her fourth child and is due this summer. This will be the 21st grandchild for Jim Bob and Michelle Duggar.

The "Counting On" reality star is in her second trimester and said the pregnancy is going smoothly.

Jessa Seewald shared an ultrasound image of her baby's side profile on Instagram to announce her pregnancy.

Were looking forward to summertime, and heres our #1 reason! Thank you, God, for this precious gift! #RainbowBaby," Jessa Seewald wrote.

In a statement, the couple said: The pregnancy is going smoothly, and both baby and Jessa are doing well. We are so grateful to God for the precious gift of a new life! The kids are delighted, and we can hardly wait to welcome this little one into our arms this summer.

The term rainbow baby," which was used in Jessa Seewald's post, describes a pregnancy that follows an infant loss or miscarriage.

After the heartbreaking loss of a baby last year, were overjoyed to share that another little Seewald is on the way, the couple said, referencing the miscarriage they suffered.

Jim Bob and Michelle Duggar, the patriarch and matriarch of the "19 Kids and Counting" dynasty, now have 19 grandchildren from their eight married children.

Kendra Caldwell Duggar, Josephs Duggars wife, is expected to deliver her third child, a girl, later this month, which will be the 20th Duggar grandchild.

Kendra Duggars daughter will be their 11th granddaughter for the Duggar family and the ninth consecutive birth of a girl. Jessas sister, Jinger Duggar Vuolo, and her husband, Jeremy, just welcomed their second daughter, Evangeline Jo, in November.

If Jessa Duggar follows the trend and has another daughter, her baby will be the 10th consecutive granddaughter.

The Seewald family resides in northwest Arkansas near family and were married on Nov. 1, 2014. They share three children, Spurgeon Elliot, 5, Henry Wilberforce, 4, and Ivy Jane, who will turn 2 on May 26.

With their first three children, the Seewalds kept their gender secret until their births. This time, their two sons also want in on the secret, though Jessa said she knows they would probably slip and spoil the surprise. The couple hasn't yet decided whether they will keep their preborn baby's gender a secret this time.

Spurgeon and Henry are very excited, Jessa Seewald said. They understand. We have little pregnancy apps on my phone that we look at and they get to see updates of the babys progress and growth.

But their youngest child, Ivy, doesn't yet understand what's happening, she added.

Were really excited to see Ivy step into her role as a big sister. I think she is going to be great at that, she said.

The Seewalds are evangelical Christians and frequently share their faith. In January, Ben Seewald was ordained as a pastor.

TLCs series "Counting On," the "19 Kids and Counting" spinoff, follows the lives of the Duggar children and their families. The release date for season 12 hasn't been announced.
South Korean Hyundai Corporation is preparing to start negotiations on the possible localization of high-tech production in Ukraine.

"Hyundai also plans to begin detailed negotiations on the possibility of investing in Ukraine and transferring technologies to localize the production of complex technologies," said Eun Soo Choi, Vice President of the Commercial Transport and Energy Division of Hundai Corporation, during the All-Ukrainian Forum "Ukraine 30. Infrastructure" on Monday.

He also stated that Hyundai Corporation is inviting Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky and representatives of the Ukrainian government to visit Hyundai's facility in Korea.

The South Korean Hyundai Corporation will allocate $2 million in grant funds for the development of a pre-feasibility study for the construction of a high-speed European-gauge railway network (1,435 mm).
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Health Minister of Ukraine Maksym Stepanov said on Sunday that he personally supervised the first batch of AstraZeneca coronavirus vaccines for Ukraine from the manufacturer.

"Today I have personally supervised the shipment of the first batch of AstraZeneca (CoviShield) vaccines from the manufacturing plant in the Indian city of Pune. Some 500,000 doses of vaccine are going to Ukraine, and will be further distributed among the regions according to the plan of the Ministry of Health," Stepanov wrote on his Facebook page.

The vaccine is now being transported to Mumbai, he said.

"Further - a long journey by cargo plane with a stop in Istanbul and the vaccine will arrive in Ukraine one of these days. During transportation, all temperature requirements that are necessary to preserve the quality of vaccines will be met," the minister wrote.

He also noted that Oxford/AstraZeneca is a joint development of the University of Oxford and the British-Swedish company AstraZeneca, which has manufacturing facilities in India. The COVID-19 vaccine is marketed under the name CoviShield and has been re-qualified by WHO and recommended for emergency use. Serum Institute supplies its products to 140 countries around the world.
BEIJING, Feb.22--Recently, China unveiled the details of the Chinese casualties involved in the border clash with the Indian military in Galwan Valley. The five PLA heroes touched all Chinese people. However, some Web users in China openly slandered and insulted the heroes without any evidence in order to get network traffic.

According to recent media reports, a person surnamed Qiu in Nanjing, East Chinas Jiangsu Province, smeared the five heroes sacrificed or injured in the clash to cause an internet sensation on February 19. Being an Internet celebrity with more than 2.5 million followers on social media platform Sina Weibo, he caused an online furor by what he said. Qiu was arrested by local police on Saturday.

On February 20, a Web user in Beijing surnamed Chen published many messages slandering heroes on WeChat groups and was thus arrested on the same evening.

Besides, on February 21, a 25-year-old Web user surnamed Yang in Mianyang, Southwest China's Sichuan Province, turned himself in to the local police and confessed his misdeeds for having insulted the martyrs the day before. He was given seven days of detention, according to a statement by the local police .

According to Article 26 of the Law of the People's Republic of China on Protection of heroes and martyrs , Civil liability is born in accordance with law for insulting, defaming or otherwise infringing on the names, likenesses, reputations, or honor of heroes and martyrs, that harm the societal public interest; where it constitute a public security administration violation, the public security organs will give public security administrative sanctions in accordance with law; where a crime is constituted, pursue criminal responsibility in accordance with law .

The police stated that cyberspace is not a lawless void and the police will resolutely punish the behavior of slandering and insulting heroes without factual basis according to law. In recent years, the persons involved in defaming heroes and martyrs have received severe punishment, fully showing that the Chinese rule of law has zero-tolerance for similar words and deeds.
In a network of rock shelters along the Kimberley, right at the tip of Western Australia, there are paintings thousands of years old. A gallery of echidnas, goannas, fish, yams, hand prints, silhouettes, stencilled boomerangs and lots of kangaroos.

They share a style: life-sized and realistic recreations of the things the artist saw in their day-to-day lives on the land of the Balanggarra traditional owners.

Traditional owner Ian Waina inspects a painting of a kangaroo that is more than 12,700 years old. Credit:Peter Veth and the Balanggarra Aboriginal Corporation

The depictions often sit behind layers of other paintings, peeking out from the past. Thats partially how scientists know they are the oldest rock paintings by Indigenous Australians.

But how old, exactly? Ten thousand years? Fifty thousand? The paintings have resisted every dating technique thrown at them. They, and the lives of the people who once painted them, seemed destined to remain just out of our reach. But then a team of scientists hit on a new idea: stop focusing on the painting, and start focussing on what lies beneath.
A witch-hunt". Thats how Amnesty International India described the Union governments decision to freeze its bank accounts on 10 September. Two weeks later, the human rights organization announced it was closing its India offices.

The Union government described the name-calling as a ploy" to divert attention from the organizations illegal activities. Amnesty International India, it said, was under the scanner because it had violated provisions of the Foreign Exchange Management Act and the Foreign Contribution (Regulation) Act (FCRA). Amnestys India director, Avinash Kumar, however, maintains the crackdown was an outcome of its calls for transparency and accountability, most recently for the human rights violations in this years Delhi riots and in Kashmir. For a movement that has done nothing but raise its voices against injustice, this latest attack is akin to freezing dissent," says Kumar.

Former Amnesty employees and civil society organizations agree. The crackdown, they say, fits into the pattern of a regime seeking to stifle dissenting voices. But, they add, the foundation was laid long before the Bharatiya Janata Party-led government came to power in 2014. All the laws used against dissent todayfrom the Unlawful Activities (Prevention) Act to the FCRAare the legacies of the previous (Congress-led) government," says Shailesh Rai, who was policy director at Amnesty International India until 2019.

In 2012, Rai says, then prime ministerManmohan Singh had blamed the protests outside the Kudankulam nuclear power plant in Tamil Nadu on foreign interests". Between 2011-13, the state government booked nearly 9,000 protestors under various sections of the Indian Penal Code, including sedition.

As it is doing now, Amnesty International India had faced a fund crunch in February 2014, months after it accused security agencies of human rights violations in the Adivasi areas of central India. The Congress government froze the transfer of half a million dollars to the organization, citing concerns" about its income from foreign sources.

Whats changed after 2014 is the sharpening of the attack," says Rai. These are far more brazen and frequent. Because the government is confident in its majority, it sees it fit to go after activists. There are troll armies used to build pressure and delegitimize (dissent). Many more media organizations (are) toeing the government line too."

The Union government and civil society organizations have long endured an uneasy coexistence. Over the past six years, though, activists say new rules have increased the compliance burden and allow for bureaucratic overreach. The latest example they cite is from the just-concluded Parliament session, which saw the government amending the FCRA to ban the transfer of foreign funds from one FCRA-registered NGO to another.

The CBI raids on Citizens for Justice and Peace (CJP), Amnesty India, Lawyers Collective and Greepeace are heavy-handed tactics," claims Aakar Patel, former director of Amnesty International India. They dont want civil society to work."

Every successive government has had a deep suspicion and distrust of the civil society organization," says Amitabh Behar, chief executive officer of Oxfam India. Earlier, the relationship was that (the state says) you survive and we will try to monitor, regulate, and sometimes use the bureaucracy and the state apparatus against you. Now its more like, fall in line or we wont let you exist. If you are running a hospital, orphanage or giving things to the poor, its okay. But you cant get into holding power to account."

The governments insistence on transparency" in the NGO sector, he suggests, smacks of double standards. Civil society is regulated by the charity commissioner, the ministry of home affairs, the income-tax department as well as donors, while there is complete opacity around initiatives like PM-CARES and electoral bonds.

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By Jo Sheppard

The Senate voted 57-43 on Saturday to acquit Trump of the impeachment charge of inciting an insurrection at the nations Capitol on Jan. 6.

Many of us witnessed on our screens as President Donald Trump addressed the hundreds of protesters gathered for the Stop the Steal rally. He told them they would have to fight to take back their country but he would be with them. He told them to go to the Capitol where Congress was convened.

We all saw the insurrection on our screens, watched the terrorists with their Trump shirts and flags, their Stop the Steal banners, many of them outfitted for battle with weapons.

We watched as they broke through the barriers and then windows and doors to enter the Capitol where Congress was convened to vote on the acceptance of the results of the 2020 Presidential election. The terrorists could be heard chanting Hang Pence. Hang Pence.

Yes, they were targeting the Vice President of the United States. Others shouted Kill Pelosi and broke into her office. Yes, they were out to kill the Speaker. It was an ugly scene.

One policeman died from injuries sustained from being beaten by the terrorists. Others died afterwards as a result of the riots. One terrorist was shot and killed. Only because of the heroic action of Capital Police and Secret Service were the Vice President, his family, Nancy Pelosi, and the other members of Congress and their staff members able to get to safety as the mob closed in on them.

We also watched as the president and his family watched the action and appeared to cheer the terrorists on. Eric Trump took selfies and laughed.

In the weeks since, many of the terrorists have defended their actions saying that President Trump called them to action. Others have been identified as Proud Boys and other extremist groups. Today, the majority of Republican senators have proven their loyalty to Donald J. Trump overrides their loyalty to their country, their constituents, and their sacred offices.

None of us is safe when one man holds such power and commands such loyalty from the leaders who are supposed to represent we, the people. Trump can do what ever he wants and he knows it. It was just affirmed by the senators he commands.

This is how fascism begins. If you are not afraid, you truly are not paying attention.

Jo Sheppard writes from Harrisburg
The completion of ongoing infrastructure projects in the UAE along with various supportive measures launched by the government in 2020 to revive the economy will have a positive impact on the real estate market going forward, according to leading real estate advisors Savills.

Abu Dhabi witnessed a positive momentum at the beginning of 2020 following the important government measures including the opening of the market to foreign investors allowing them to buy property and land within designated zones, stated Savills in its latest research report analysing the state of the UAE real estate market.

The report provides a comprehensive snapshot and outlook of the residential, office and industrial sectors in Abu Dhabi, Dubai and Sharjah, it added.

Savills Middle East CEO Steven Morgan said: "Real estate activity in the UAE during 2020 was severely disrupted by the Covid-19 pandemic. The lockdown measures introduced following the outbreak of the virus led to a near standstill in transaction activity across all asset classes."

"Sales and leasing activity across office, residential and warehousing developments reached an all-time low. However, as companies and individuals adjusted to the new living and working patterns, we started observing off shoots of growth by end of April and early May," stated Morgan.

"The introduction of stimulus packages by the Central Bank was a shot-in-the-arm to the property market once lockdown restrictions were eased. We witnessed a gradual increase in demand, especially across the residential sector in H2 2020," added Morgan.

According to him, a relaxation in Loan to Value (LTV) laws encouraged more investment appetite into the sector.

Banks also increased their exposure to real estate and the construction sector, and a spike in re-mortgage activity was witnessed due to attractive borrowing rates and other promotional discounts, he added.

Developers utilised this policy to further incentivise buyers with attractive payment plans, discounts and innovative schemes such as rent-to-own. This led to stable transaction activity throughout 2019 and Q1 2020.

However, the drag in the oil economy and investments as well as necessary lockdown measures, severely impacted transaction activity during Q2 2020, which started to gradually recover from Q3 onwards.

In Dubai, the residential sector has performed relatively well despite the lockdown measures and economic hardships brought by the Covid-19 pandemic. A key trend that has emerged in 2020 is the demand for ready units which has outstripped off plan sales for the first time in four years.

The bulk of this demand was observed for villa and townhouse developments as the market witnessed a shift in occupancy patterns away from apartment living, said the property expert.

Sharjahs transaction activity and asset pricing were severely impacted by the pandemic. During the first half of the year, developers were pushed to focus on delivering and handing over existing projects.

As market activity started to gradually recover from Q3 onwards, projects that were nearing completion benefitted from the improved investment activity, it stated.

Additionally, the growing interest and activity in emerging locations such as New Sharjah have remained strong in 2020.

The occupier profile of the capital Abu Dhabi continues to be dominated by companies from the oil and gas sector and government entities, it added.

The drop in demand and price of brent crude oil in 2020 resulted in a very challenging year for the office market with an increase in vacancy levels across office developments and micro-markets.

The demand for office real estate in Dubai remained polarised during 2020. We witnessed existing multinationals negotiating better lease terms with their landlords and a few companies relocating and downsizing to cut cost.

However, a uniform trend that was observed across all companies was the evaluation of their medium to long term office space requirements in the wake of increased flexi-working, including an extended work from home arrangement. New enquiry levels dropped during H1 2020 to gradually recover in H2.

In Sharjah, the demand for office space remained low during 2020 owing to limited corporate demand, lack of new market entrants and the addition of new supply.

However, following close to three years of downward pressure, rents for the most part, amongst the mid-end to high-end markets stabilised during 2020 with only some marginal declines being witnessed across the city.

The demand for office is also gradually shifting towards new developments across New Sharjah. The market is still at a nascent stage, but it is anticipated to evolve as a preferred hub for corporate offices going forward.

Various initiatives that were implemented by the Abu Dhabi Government over the past few years to promote the role of industries in the emirates economy have had a positive impact.

In a recent report on world competitiveness, the capital has been ranked 9th globally and 2nd regionally in economic performance and 12th for government efficiency. It has stepped up its efforts to support the local economy in 2020 as well.-TradeArabia News Service
Source: Xinhua| 2021-02-21 23:17:43|Editor: huaxia

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The outgoing Nigerien President Mahamadou Issoufou casts his vote at a polling station in Niamey, Niger, Feb. 21, 2021. Voting for the second round of Niger's presidential election began on Sunday as more than 7.4 million Nigeriens are expected at polling stations to choose the successor of the outgoing president Mahamadou Issoufou. (Xinhua)

NIAMEY, Feb. 21 (Xinhua) -- Voting for the second round of Niger's presidential election began on Sunday as more than 7.4 million Nigeriens are expected at polling stations to choose the successor of the outgoing president Mahamadou Issoufou.

The voters would choose their new leader between Mohamed Bazoum, candidate of the ruling Nigerien Party for Democracy and Socialism, and Mahamane Ousmane of the Democratic and Republican Renewal, the opposition party.

Voters cast their ballots in 26,000 planned polling stations in 16 electoral constituencies across the country. The polling stations will be closed at 7 p.m., according to the Independent National Electoral Commission.

After voting at the Niamey City Hall, Mahamadou Issoufou was delighted that "the peaceful alternation that has been lacking in Niger for decades will be realized". "I am proud to be the first democratically elected president (in the country) to be able to pass the baton to another democratically elected president," he said.

To face the immense challenges the country is confronted with, "we must build strong and stable democratic institutions," he said.

He said he hoped this second round of the presidential election will be a free and transparent ballot.

For his part, the president of the Independent National Electoral Commission (CENI), Issaka Souna, hoped that his compatriots come out and assume their participation which makes it possible to choose a President of the Republic.

He reassured in a press briefing that all arrangements have been made for a good organization of the poll.

In addition, Issaka Souna reminded the public that it is the CENI which holds the right on the proclamation of provisional results, and it is the Constitutional Court which holds the right to make final validation. "I would like us together to build a society of peace and democracy," he said.

Namadi SAMBO, former Vice-President of Nigeria, head of the Observation Mission of the Commission of the Economic Community of West African States (ECOWAS), after visiting some polling stations in Niamey, said he was very impressed by the discernment and good organization that characterize this election. "Our mission is satisfied with the organization and we hope that it will continue in the same way until the end of the poll, when the Nigerien people celebrate their democratic achievement," he said.

In Niamey, voters came out in large numbers as long lines of voters ready to fulfill their duty were visible outside polling stations on Sunday afternoon. Security forces are deployed at all voting sites. No major incidents were reported on Sunday afternoon in other parts of the country.

All polling stations is scheduled to be closed at 7 pm, except Diffa and Bilma departements, where the closing time is scheduled for 6 pm, according to CENI. Enditem
CAMBRIDGE, Mass., Feb. 22, 2021 /PRNewswire/ -- Cogent Biosciences, Inc. (Nasdaq: COGT), a biotechnology company focused on developing precision therapies for genetically defined diseases, today announced the appointment of Todd E. Shegog to its Board of Directors. Todd currently serves as the Chief Financial Officer for Forma Therapeutics and has more than 25 years of financial, operations, corporate strategy, and compliance expertise in the biotechnology and pharmaceutical industries.

"We are pleased to welcome Todd to Cogent Biosciences' Board of Directors," said Andrew Robbins, Chief Executive Officer and President of Cogent Biosciences. "Todd brings a depth of finance experience and expertise to the Board and will be a great addition to our team as we advance our lead program, CGT9486, into new clinical trials for patients with systemic mastocytosis and GIST in 2021."

Prior to Forma Therapeutics, Todd most recently served as Chief Financial Officer for Synlogic, where he directed the company's financial strategy and management as well as facilities and information systems. Before Synlogic, Todd served as Senior Vice President and Chief Financial Officer at Forum Pharmaceuticals, where he was responsible for finance, operations, and information systems during their pursuit of innovative therapies for schizophrenia and Alzheimer's disease. He also served as the Chief Financial Officer of Millennium Pharmaceuticals, Inc., now Takeda Oncology, where he was responsible for management of the company's financial resources, corporate planning, financial reporting, and compliance.

"I am thrilled to join the Cogent Biosciences Board of Directors as the company advances further into the clinic with CGT9486 in 2021 and beyond," said Mr. Shegog. "I look forward to partnering with the Cogent Biosciences' leadership team to provide guidance on the future development of the company and help advance the mission of finding meaningful therapeutic solutions for patients suffering from debilitating genetic diseases."

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Todd earned a Bachelor of Science degree in electrical engineering from Lafayette College and an MBA from the Tepper School of Management at Carnegie Mellon University.

About Cogent Biosciences, Inc.

Cogent Biosciences is a biotechnology company focused on developing precision therapies for genetically defined diseases. The most advanced clinical program, CGT9486, is a selective tyrosine kinase inhibitor that is designed to potently inhibit the KIT D816V mutation as well as other mutations in KIT exon 17. KIT D816V is responsible for driving systemic mastocytosis, a serious disease caused by unchecked proliferation of mast cells. Exon 17 mutations are also found in patients with advanced gastrointestinal stromal tumors (GIST), a type of cancer with strong dependence on oncogenic KIT signaling. Cogent Biosciences is headquartered in Cambridge, MA. Visit our website for more information at www.cogentbio.com. Follow Cogent Biosciences on social media: Twitter and LinkedIn.

Forward Looking Statements

This press release contains forward-looking statements within the meaning of the Private Securities Litigation Reform Act of 1995, including, but not limited to, statements regarding: discussion of the company's business and operations; projected cash runways; future product development plans; upcoming results from clinical trials including from its lead program, CGT9486. The use of words such as, but not limited to, "anticipate," "believe," "continue," "could," "estimate," "expect," "intend," "may," "might," "plan," "potential," "predict," "project," "should," "target," "will," or "would" and similar words expressions are intended to identify forward-looking statements. Forward-looking statements are neither historical facts nor assurances of future performance. Instead, they are based on our current beliefs, expectations and assumptions regarding the future of our business, future plans and strategies, our clinical results and other future conditions. New risks and uncertainties may emerge from time to time, and it is not possible to predict all risks and uncertainties. No representations or warranties (expressed or implied) are made about the accuracy of any such forward-looking statements. We may not actually achieve the forecasts disclosed in our forward-looking statements, and you should not place undue reliance on our forward-looking statements. Such forward-looking statements are subject to a number of material risks and uncertainties including but not limited to those set forth under the caption "Risk Factors" in Cogent Biosciences' most recent Annual Report on Form 10-K filed with the SEC, as well as discussions of potential risks, uncertainties, and other important factors in our subsequent filings with the SEC. Any forward-looking statement speaks only as of the date on which it was made. Neither we, nor our affiliates, advisors or representatives, undertake any obligation to publicly update or revise any forward-looking statement, whether as result of new information, future events or otherwise, except as required by law. These forward-looking statements should not be relied upon as representing our views as of any date subsequent to the date hereof.

Cision

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When negative comments are made about President Joe Bidens stutter, it puts the ableism that people with disabilities, like Aimee Sterk and her son Theo, face everyday on a national scale.

Bidens stutter has often been a point of criticism by political opponents who equate his disability with cognitive decline or dementia.

It equates disability with being less than, and that a person with a disability cant or shouldnt be president or hold any position or job, said Aimee Sterk, a program manager at the Michigan Disability Rights Coalition, who also has has mental and physical disabilities. So, it is to me, its harmful to equate that his stutter makes him less than or that any disability makes a person less than.

Comments, social media posts and cartoons criticizing President Joe Bidens stutter are hateful and damaging, said Theresa Metzmaker, the executive director of the Michigan Disability Rights Coalition based in East Lansing. Metzmaker said she expected Biden to experience discrimination based on his disability because U.S. society has a history of ableism.

The world is not a safe place for a lot of identities, Sterk said. That causes concern for her 4-year-old son, Theo, who has a stutter. Theos stutter is improving, but there were times it would take a minute for him to express a short sentence.

Adults often talk over Theo or are impatient, Sterk said. Theo is owed patience because he wants to share his thoughts, she said.

Aimee Sterk, right, of Jenison, laughs while her son Theo, 4, smiles for a portrait after getting snow in his boots from a deep snowbank in Jenison, on Wednesday, February 17, 2021. (Mike Mulholland | MLive.com)

Sterk and her son, who live in Ottawa County, watch videos about the president, but she must be cautious about which ones.

Weve had to actually be careful what videos we look at about the president and his stutter too, because some of it does portray this as like a disability that he overcame, not a part of who he is, Sterk said.

Theo goes to speech therapy, but Sterk wants her son to know that if he doesnt change his stutter, thats OK. His stutter is a part of who he is, she said.

The overcoming narrative is equally as damaging, said Sharon Emery, a former journalist who stutters. Emery said it is wrong to compare Biden to people like her who still stutter every day. Emery is currently writing a memoir about her stutter and its impacts on her life and journalism career.

People with disabilities dont exist to inspire us, but they do show us what all kinds of people can do so they expand our knowledge that way, and they show us the value of human diversity, said Emery.

Biden did overcome the severity of his stutter, but this is something often misunderstood about stuttering, said Caryn Herring, a speech pathologist and doctoral candidate at Michigan State University who stutters. Many view stuttering as something outgrown in childhood, or something that can be overcome with enough work, she said.

This isnt the case for everyone, Herring said. Praising Biden or others for overcoming their stutter can send the message that a person who cannot stop stuttering is at fault.

I think it says a lot (about) sort of the way we view stuttering. That its something that we should overcome, and thats not how I view it, Herring said. I dont think theres anything wrong with it. Its just the way that I talk.

It would be more meaningful if someone who openly stutters became the president without having to overcome it first, Herring said.

For Herring, it was clear to her that on occasion Biden was not forgetting what to say but was instead dealing with a stutter. She said she wished the president would have explained that, rather than talking about his stutter in past tense.

Viewing a stutter as a psychological problem is a common misconception, said Dr. Scott Yaruss, who has specialized in stuttering for more than 25 years. People who stutter have a difference in how their brain processes speech and language, not a difference in emotions or nervousness, he said.

Sometimes people who stutter are indeed nervous, just like the rest of us, because theyre not sure if their words are going to come out, said Yaruss, a professor at MSU. But its the stuttering that causes the nervousness, not the other way around.

Yaruss spends a lot of time trying to educate the public on stuttering. With Bidens recent win, he has corrected those who continue to say Biden has dementia, he said.

When opponents of the president talk about Bidens stutter in a negative way it is hurtful to the stuttering community, Yaruss said.

They have spent their whole lives already trying to help people see that theyre not intellectually deficient, Yaruss said. They dont have dementia. Theyre not just anxious, and this just amplifies that.

But it isnt just stuttering, people in general lack disability awareness, Sterk said. Society places this community in the other category, she said.

Sterk wants people to see disability as a beautiful and natural part of life. People should challenge their own ableism because we can build communities where everyone is included, she said.

Yes, there are definitely losses that I have because of my disabilities, but there have also been gifts and it is how I see and operate in the world, Sterk said. So, it doesnt have to be an area of shame, and we dont have to only look at pity or its only OK to have a disability if youre overcoming every aspect of it.
Following the profound shock and sadness we all felt in learning of Karl Stoltzfus untimely passing last November, there was an understandable concern over what his death might mean to the continuation of various historical aviation projects he had initiated. Such questions are never easy to articulate without seeming self-serving or callous, but Stoltzfus had been such a driving force in the restoration of Columbine II, President Eisenhowers Lockheed VC-121 Constellation, that it was only natural for changes to occur. However, following staff-reductions on the project a couple of weeks ago at Dynamic Aviation, wild speculations began to spread on social media, which is never a healthy scenario, so we felt the need to help tamp down such nonsense.

Noted Constellation historian, Ralph Pettersen, has been following this restoration since its inception (as have we), but his recent conversation with Dynamic Aviations CEO, Michael Stoltzfus (Karls son), should help set the record straight on Columbine IIs present situation. Rather than duplicating his efforts, we asked Pettersen if we could reproduce his excellent report for our readers, and we were grateful to receive his permission

Columbine II Restoration  February 2021 Update

by Ralph Pettersen

The aviation enthusiast community was shocked when word spread on Saturday February 6, 2021 that Dynamic Aviation had reduced the staff working on the restoration of Columbine II in Bridgewater, Virginia. The former presidential Constellation had been rescued from an Arizona boneyard in 2015 by a team from Dynamic Aviation. From the beginning company CEO Michael Stoltzfus and his father, founder Karl Stoltzfus, shared a vision for the future of the iconic aircraft. However, Karl was the driving force behind the technical restoration of this unique aircraft. With his untimely passing in November 2020, many feared that the company may have decided to walk away from the project. The memory of how Lufthansa CEO Carsten Spohr had shut down the Starliner restoration project in March 2018 was still fresh in the memory of many in the enthusiast community.

Ive been following the project since its 2015 inception and have made annual trips to Dynamic Aviation to visit with Karl and to check on the projects progress. Karl considered the aircraft Americas Airplane and that it belonged to the American public. His vision was to restore the airplane and then showcase it around the country at airshow events. He thought it important that the American public be aware of the airplanes history and specifically he hoped to inspire Americas younger generation to appreciate aviation history with the hope of inspiring them to pursue careers in aviation.

Shortly after my June 2020 visit to Bridgewater, I had a lengthy conversation with Michael who clearly shares his fathers vision concerning the aircraft. With this in mind I contacted him on Monday February 8th and, during our telephone conversation, he assured me that he and the Dynamic Aviation team still share Karls vision and are totally committed to the restoration of the aircraft. He reminded me that the six-year project has seen ebbs and surges in activity and Fridays force reduction was an adjustment that needed to be made to ensure the eventual success of the project and stay on balance with the company as a whole. He explained that a small number of key employees are still assigned to the project and will continue to work on the restoration. Michael said that the pause was required to take stock in the project and was not permanent. With that in mind, some of the employees with critical skills have been reassigned to the revenue side of the company and could be brought back at a later date.

Michael reiterated that he considers Columbine II to be one of the most iconic and unique aircraft in the world and is fully committed to his fathers vision of completing its restoration to a flightworthy condition. After talking to Michael, I feel comfortable saying that I expect to see Columbine II back flying, just not as soon as I would have liked. Id like to thank Michael for taking the time to share his thoughts about the project.

We wish to thank Ralph Pettersen for his permission to reproduce his report here. For those with an equal fascination for the status and history of every surviving Lockheed Constellation, please do visit his remarkable website HERE it is an extraordinary resource for detailed information on these magnificent survivors!
Gloria Ramirez lit gas-powered heaters as some of the countrys top politicians toured her East End home to see the damage caused by last weeks arctic weather.

Family photos  years of history that would be lost lost if the wrong pipe burst  lined every inch of her walls. U.S. Rep. Sylvia Garcia, D- Houston, advised Ramirez not give up in getting FEMA to reimburse for damages by taking pictures, keeping receipts and making sure her voice is heard.

Changes needed to be made so Houstonians have a better quality of life, said longtime Second Ward advocate Jessica Hulsey, who led the home tours. Residents want to enjoy their homes, but also have them stay in good condition to pass on to their children when its time. The freeze was another reminder that older, un-insulated homes are not built to withstand extreme weather, she said.

On the steps of the Houston Food Bank Saturday morning, Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez, D-New York, delivered a clear message: Disasters dont strike everyone equally.

You already have so many families in the state and across the country on the brink that they cant afford an emergency to begin with, Ocasio-Cortez said. This can set people back for years, not just days.

Now Playing: Video: Laura Duclos

Before traveling to Houston at Garcias invitation, Ocasio-Cortez raised more than $3 million to distribute to Texas organizations focused on food insecurity, elder care and homelessness. All funds raised will go toward these local nonprofit organizations, she said.

The country is rallying around the state of Texas to rebound from this tragedy, she said, but there must be policy decisions so this kind of preventable devastation never happens again.

The Houston Food Bank, which stocks smaller food pantries in the city, will receive a large portion of the funding, she said. At the food bank, no one has to prove they need assistance.

Documented, undocumented, no matter your income or housing status, you can get help here, Ocasio-Cortez said.

Jackson-Lee said she has seen decades of neglect by the state when it concerns vulnerable and marginalized populations. Much of Garcia and Jackson-Lees districts went days without power or potable water this week, they said.

A lot of vulnerable people, essential workers, marginalized people, a lot of documented or undocumented, they are our residents, they are our brothers and sisters, Jackson-Lee said. We know so many of them suffered hardships even more than I imagined.

Ocasio-Cortez stayed in Houston Saturday knocking on doors in Garcias district, which spans from Pearland to Aldine, to see in person the extent of the winter storms damage. She said their privilege as COVID-vaccinated public servants prompted her to travel to Texas.

Elizabeth Conley/Staff photographer

In southeast Houston near Hobby Airport, the representatives visited with Kory Haywood, 26, and his 29-year-old wife, Dolores Lozano. The couple moved into the neighborhood at the start of the pandemic and said they have lived through two disasters already in their first year as homeowners.

During the week, the couple packed up the meat in the refrigerator and freezer in a cooler and took it from one friends house to another depending on who had power and room.

With water boiling on the stove and dishes in the sink, the storms lingering effects were evident. A pipe burst in the laundry room but was quickly fixed by Lozanos father, she said. However, Haywood isnt totally sure their problems are over.

I hope theres not a lot of water in the walls that we dont know about, Haywood said.

Both Congressman Al Green and Garcia called for a full independent investigation into the Electric Reliability Council of Texas, and the Texas Legislature should consider joining the national grid.

julie.garcia@chron.com

Twitter.com/reporterjulie
Aspiring Model With Down Syndrome, Aged 5, in Her Element as She Walks in Fashion Shows

An aspiring child model with Down syndrome is encouraging other children to trust that we all are beautiful in our own, unique way.

Francesca Rausi, 5, has always loved the spotlight. Her mother, Michelle, a 44-year-old beauty therapist and semi-permanent technician with her own salon on the Mediterranean island of Malta, is encouraging her daughter to chase her dreams, knowing that Francescas ventures are helping raise awareness of Down syndrome in the process.

Francesca with her parents (Courtesy of Michelle Rausi)

Francesca was the first toddler with Down syndrome to take part in competitions, Michelle told The Epoch Times via email. She has since modeled worldwide for various charity events and has won several titles. The little girl once got the opportunity to walk beside Madeline Stuart, the first professional model with Down syndrome, and most recently at Tim Tebows Night to Shine extravaganza.

She even got a like from the actor Dwayne Johnson [on social media], said Michelle.

(Courtesy of Robert De Carlo via Michelle Rausi)

Michelle learned she was pregnant with Francesca on her 39th birthday, calling it, the happiest day of my life. Her baby girl was born on Oct. 14, 2015.

After an amazing nine months carrying her, I still remember clearly that beautiful face, Michelle recalled. I felt like I knew her forever. I had an amazing experience giving birth and my husband helped me a lot.

Learning that Francesca had Down syndrome was a shock, at first. We felt the world is coming on top of us, but it was only for a day, said Michelle. The next day, me and my husband said, Francesca is our blessing, and we are going to do everything for her to achieve in her life.'

The family welcomed a camera crew into their home to give an interview for TV when Francesca was a toddler. Francesca was absorbed. [She] wanted to see what they [were] doing, and we could see that she is going to like cameras, said Michelle.

When Francesca turned 2, one of Michelles friends, a modeling mentor, encouraged the mom-daughter duo to attend a fashion show. When she saw the catwalk she was so happy and so confident, and there we realized that this was something she wanted to do, Michelle recalled.

Since that moment, confident Francesca has been a regular on the catwalk, walking in fashion shows, charity shows, and even competitions. She holds several titles, including Junior Top Model, Best Photo Model, Mini Miss Christmas 2019, Junior Cute 2020, Mini Miss Summer 2020, and Miss Junior Valentine 2021which is the most recent title added to her list of accolades.

On Nov. 8, 2020, Francesca won the Best Photogenic award at a socially-distant competition and even walked away with second place overall. Michelle shared photos on Instagram.

I cant explain the excitement I feel every time I see her so happy on the catwalk, she always puts tears in my eyes with joy, said Michelle. When Francesca sees the catwalk she will change into a model, and the happiness on her face is indescribable.

What I really admire is that when she comes in from the catwalk she tells me, Mum Im so lucky,' Michelle reflected. She really appreciates everything.

Francesca with her mom, Michelle (Courtesy of Michelle Rausi)

Besides capturing the hearts of her audience, Francesca has a very busy schedule that includes taking ballet, music, and drama classes. She is about to embark on gymnastics too. Additionally, Francesca attends a mainstream school with typical children, said Michelle, and is thriving.

The family is also actively involved with the Down Syndrome Association and regularly gives television interviews to create more awareness. Francesca is also an ambassador for Wouldnt Change A Thing in Malta, an organization created to spread awareness and resources.

The aspiring child model also has a popular Instagram page, managed by her mom.

As a proud mom of Francesa who has achieved so much already, Michelle urges: For all the people out there, try to get to know people with Down syndrome. You will learn a lot from them; they can be your best friends or your best colleagues.

To other parents of differently-abled children, Michelle advises: Live day by day, stop thinking what will happen when they grow up because you end up losing the moment.

Treasure every moment, she said, always work for their independence, and be ready for a beautiful journey.

(Courtesy of DV Photography via Michelle Rausi)

This story was last updated in February 2021.

Share your stories with us at emg.inspired@epochtimes.com, and continue to get your daily dose of inspiration by signing up for the Epoch Inspired Newsletter here: TheEpochTimes.com/newsletter
Should Shakespeare Be Purged From English Curricula?

Commentary

A recent article in School Library Journal (SLJ), titled To Teach or Not to Teach: Is Shakespeare Still Relevant to Todays Students? reports that many English teachers want Shakespeare removed from school curricula to make room for modern, diverse, and inclusive voices.

After all, Shakespeares works are full of problematic, outdated ideas, with plenty of misogyny, racism, homophobia, classism, anti-Semitism, and misogynoir.

After reading the article, I can only conclude that students shouldnt be subject to anything these teachers might have to say about the Bard.

Calls for the end of Shakespeare are nothing new. A 2015 article in The Conversation alleged dismissively that dead white men clog up reading lists and dominate the syllabus, singling out Shakespeare as a preeminent example. In 2016, students at the University of Pennsylvania removed a picture of Shakespeare and replaced it with a portrait of black lesbian poet Audre Lorde.

In the SLJ article, a number of teachers explain their antipathy to the worlds greatest writer. While some are concerned mainly with his difficulty, others condemn him outright in drearily familiar terms. Jeffrey Austin, the English and Language Arts department chair at an Ann Arbor, Michigan, high school, objects to the alleged whiteness of the claim that Shakespeare is universal.

A professor of English at Arizona State University notes that Shakespeare was a tool used to civilize Black and brown people in Englands empire. An Alberta teacher has rejected Shakespeare in favor of Indigenous authors. Romeo and Juliet has been replaced by a Hartford, Connecticut, teacher with authors who look and sound like my students.

For these teachers, it seems, learning to read literature has become a project of identity politics, in which the purportedly marginalized are to replace white male authors, and in which appropriately progressive political attitudes are to be affirmed.

Have the dismissive teachers actually read Shakespeare? Even a cursory analysis of one of his best-loved and most accessible tragedies, Othello: The Moore of Venice (1604), should be enough to undermine simplistic claims about Shakespearean whiteness. The plays eponymous hero is a respected black (Moorish) general in the Venetian army. Othellos high status both in the created world of the play and in Shakespeares estimation (for a tragic hero must be a man capable of nobility) complicates easy judgments.

As the play opens on a night-time scene, we are introduced to the plays villain, Iago, and his dupe, Roderigo, who repair to the home of Brabantio, a local nobleman. The two men hope to pit Brabantio against their enemy Othello by evoking sexualized and bestial images of Othello and Brabantios daughter Desdemona, telling the agitated father that, Even now, now, very now, an old black ram / Is tupping your white ewe.

Upon discovering that indeed his daughter is not at home (she has eloped with Othello), Brabantio is frantically convinced that she must have been drugged or made a victim of sorcery. Why else would a high-born Venetian woman have run from her guardage to the sooty bosom / Of such a thing as [Othello], to fear, not to delight.

Here is the racism of the plays society, highlighted by Shakespeare as evidence of Iago and Roderigos malevolence and Brabantios hypocrisy. But their racial animosity is contrasted with the attitudes of other characters with whom the audience is encouraged to identify when Brabantio appears before the Duke of Venice, interrupting his war council, to make his charge against Othello.

When the Duke gives Othello the chance to speak in his own defense, Othello calmly promises to explain with what conjuration and what mighty magic he won his bride.

Shakespeare gives the dignified Othello the first outstanding speech in the play, a declaration about the power of love to obliterate differences of race and experience. Othello and Desdemonas love flowered after the foreign-born soldier told her of his lifes suffering.

She loved me for the dangers I had passed, he concludes, And I loved her that she did pity them. / This only is the witchcraft I have used.

The extraordinary resonance and dexterity of the speech are striking, with the word witchcraft and its cognates, for example, shifting and shimmering within the scene, changing from a literal reference to sorcery to an apt metaphor for the astonishing magic of transformative love. The insight into human feeling, expressed in incomparably arresting language, is central to Shakespeares enduring appeal.

As the story of Othello unfolds, Othellos faith in Desdemona is tested and ultimately destroyed in horrifying and revealing scenes of malevolent deception. In the plays riveting climax, in which Othello kills the person he loves more than himself, the play touches the perennial heart of the human experiences of love, jealousy, envy, and betrayal. In one sense, race hardly matters at all; where it does matter, its dealt with honestly and humanely.

Only a meager and undiscriminating mind could contend, as one of the teachers did, that there is nothing to be gained from Shakespeare that couldnt be gotten from exploring the works of other authors.

Millions of people the world over have disagreed. The influential 19th-century abolitionist and orator Frederick Douglass, himself a former slave, made abundant allusions to Shakespeare in his speeches and was known to attend Shakespeare performances at local Washington theaters. He even participated enthusiastically in readings of Shakespeare with a local Shakespeare club, according to an article on the Folger Shakespeare Library website.

Douglass would almost certainly have been appalled that 21st-century black students are being denied, in the name of equality, the educational opportunity he embraced.

No less an authority than the co-founder of the NAACP and the first black American to earn a doctorate, W.E.B. Du Bois, wrote in the early 20th century of his love for great writers and the irrelevance of race.

I sit with Shakespeare, and he winces not, he stated, in what would today be derided as an expression of multi-racial whiteness. Du Bois went on, Across the color line I move arm in arm with Balzac and Dumas.  I summon Aristotle and Aurelius and what soul I will, and they come all graciously with no scorn nor condescension.

He would have been disgusted that todays students are taught that scorn and condescension are precisely what their attitudes to white male authors should be.

Peoples across the world have freely chosen to read, perform, watch, translate, and adapt Shakespeare, unbothered by the Bards whiteness. According to the New York Public Library webpage, Shakespeares plays have been translated into more than 100 languages. More than 70 non-English language films have adapted the plays for the movie screen.

In the past decade alone, versions of Romeo and Juliet have been performed in at least 24 countries. A Winters Tale was performed in Iran in 2003 to an ecstatic reception. Loves Labours Lost was performed in Afghanistan in 2005. One researcher reports on adaptations of Shakespeare in South Africa, Russia, Japan, and China.

No one forced these vastly different peoples to choose Shakespeare. They did so because the plays offer meanings that transcend cultural differences. To deny students the chance to appreciate his greatness is a gross act of racial bigotry.

Teachers so intellectually enfeebled and ideologically possessed that they can only reduce Shakespeare to formulas are likely beyond the reach of reasoned argument or artistic appreciation, and are better off not teaching Shakespeare at all. Shakespeare will survive his neglect in todays classrooms.

Janice Fiamengo is a professor of English at the University of Ottawa. Her latest book is Sons of Feminism: Men Have Their Say.

Views expressed in this article are the opinions of the author and do not necessarily reflect the views of The Epoch Times.
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President Donald Trump gestures during the Turning Point USA Student Action Summit at the Palm Beach County Convention Center in West Palm Beach, Fla., on Dec. 21, 2019. (Nicholas Kamm/AFP via Getty Images)

Trump Is the Republican Party Both Now and in the Future: Jason Miller

Jason Miller, a senior adviser to former President Donald Trump, said Sunday that Trump is fully committed to the Republican Party and will work to have it retake the House and Senate in 2022, adding that Trump embodies both the present and future of the GOP.

Miller made the remarks in an interview on Australias Sky News on Sunday, in which he dispelled rumors that Trump would launch his own MAGA party and reiterated the former presidents commitment to the GOP.

The Republican Party is now torn in terms of whether to have Donald Trump in its future. Is Donald Trump committed to the Republican Party? asked host Sharri Markson, in the context of a rift in the GOP between those who want Trump to play a major role in the partys future and those that want to purge him from its identity.

Miller confirmed that Trump is absolutely committed to the GOP and that he has his sights set on helping it win back majorities in both the House and Senate. He added that not only does Trump see his political future as part of the GOP, but Trump is the Republican Party.

What a lot of folks are starting to realize here in the States is that President Trump really is the Republican Party, Miller said, adding, He not only is the current aspect of the party, hes the future of the party.

Jason Miller, adviser to former President Donald Trump, carries a witness list to the Senate Chamber during the fifth day of the impeachment trial of former President Donald Trump on Capitol Hill in Washington on Feb. 13, 2021. (Greg Nash  Pool/Getty Images)

Millers remarks come as some prominent Republicans are calling on the GOP to firewall Trump.

Arkansas Gov. Asa Hutchinson told CNNs State of the Union on Sunday said it would hurt the GOP if its members let him define us.

Maryland Gov. Larry Hogan, in a Feb. 19 interview with Katie Couric, former host at CNN, CBS, and NBC, said that the Republican Party is at the beginning of what is going to be a long and, you know, difficult battle for the soul of the Republican Party.

Hogan argued that unless we can return to some sanity, it would be difficult for the Republicans to win majorities in the House and Senate or retake the White House.

There are a number of us who are trying to return to a more traditional, commonsense, conservative party, a more Reaganesque bigger-tent party that can appeal to, with a positive message that we can try to work with the Democrats on. But theres a whole lot of others who are wanting to take us down this path that has no chance of success, Hogan said, arguing that a GOP that embodied Trumpism would lack the broad appeal needed to win general elections.

Is the Republican Party now, squarely, the party of Donald Trump? Couric asked.

I think it has been and, I think, it perhaps still is, but I think his influence is slowly beginning to diminish, Hogan replied.

Recent polls show that Trumps grip on the GOP remains strong. A Quinnipiac University poll showed that three-quarters of Republicans want Trump to play a prominent role in the GOP. Meanwhile, a Suffolk University-USA Today poll found that nearly half of Republicans said they would abandon the party and join a new party if Trump was its leader.

We feel like Republicans dont fight enough for us, and we all see Donald Trump fighting for us as hard as he can, every single day, a Republican and small-business owner from Milwaukee told the newspaper. But then you have establishment Republicans who just agree with establishment Democrats and everything, and they dont ever push back.

In what would be his first public appearance since leaving office, Trump plans to deliver a speech at the upcoming Conservative Political Action Conference (CPAC), which will take place in Orlando, Florida, from Feb. 25-28.

Former Trump senior adviser Stephen Miller said that the former president will lay out an optimistic vision for America and focus on standing up to China, reviving U.S. manufacturing, dismantling the monopoly of Big Tech, reopening schools, and securing the border.

Trump is also probably interested in running for office in 2024, according to his daughter-in-law and former senior adviser Lara Trump.
As news is given the boot from Facebook, YouTubers, politicians and conspiracy theorists are seizing the moment to push their own agendas.

YouTube star Jordan Shanks claims Facebook's decision to ban mainstream news is a 'golden opportunity' for his followers to control the narrative on the platform.

He boasts 800,000 on his social media channel 'FriendlyJordies' and has already used his platform to become an influential political force  and in September led an influential campaign against a NSW Government policy that would have seen laws for the protection for koala habitat weakened.

He is also an ardent supporter of the Labor Party.

In his private Facebook group called 'The Common Sense Brigade,' Shanks encouraged his followers to create a network of local community Facebook groups.

'We want boomers/others to join them and the groups to become genuine community hubs that just so happen to be controlled by Common Sense Brigadiers,' he said.

'At the moment, you can control the narrative on Facebook,' he said. 'We were originally going to make this plan just for the top ten seats the Labor party could win in the next election. We were going to get alternate [Facebook] groups going.'

'You have pretty much exclusive access on the tool the boomers check out,' he said. 'The Murdoch press can't compete at the moment, you can make these groups.'

Shanks' comments come amid concerns that fake news and misinformation was dominating the platform following the ban on credible news outlets.

Dozens of pages and groups dedicated to promoting conspiracy theories have continued to operate.

Among those include a group dedicated to promoting the baseless conspiracy that the 1996 Port Arthur massacre was staged and another containing false information about the soon-to-be released coronavirus vaccine.

'I'm very concerned about Facebook become a site for more misinformation,' Dr Alex Wake, RMIT University's senior lecturer in journalism told Daily Mail Australia. 'All you need to do is log on to your local community page to see all sorts of incorrect information being posted - and no way of correcting with a credible news source.'

Politicians are still able to post their views unfiltered on Facebook, too, with Pauline Hanson, Anthony Albanese and Mark Latham all sharing controversial posts amid the news ban.

Liberal backbencher Craig Kelly spruiked coronavirus misinformation to his 90,000 Facebook followers, before being banned for just a week.

'I laughed today when I saw that politicians could live stream straight to the public without any people to hold them to account,' Dr Wake said. 'It's the kind of power that is used by dictators.

'One of the nice things about Facebook was that people could bring in a variety of perspectives not just from their own state, but from around Australia and around the world.'

YouTuber Jordan Shanks has encouraged his followers to create local Facebook groups to 'control the narrative' on the platform amid the news ban

Facebook's ruthless decision to block Australians from seeing or posting any links to domestic or foreign news outlets on its platforms was a response to a planned law requiring it to pay for news shared on its site

Facebook's decision to block Australians from seeing or posting any links to domestic or foreign news outlets on its platforms was a response to a planned law requiring it to pay for news shared on its site.

Its argument is that it, and other social media organisations, should not be governed by rules and restrictions that apply to other publishers and broadcasters.

Shanks has been contacted for comment.
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As turf wars rage among the staff at No. 10, a battle- weary Boris Johnson has sued for peace with one of Parliaments most senior MPs.

In July the PM removed the Tory whip from Julian Lewis in an act of revenge, after the rebellious member for New Forest East stood against Johnsons preferred candidate, Chris Grayling, for chairmanship of the influential Commons Intelligence And Security Committee.

Whats more, he committed the cardinal sin of actually winning.

Downing Street had assumed Grayling would be a shoo-in, but there was a revolt among MPs as he had no experience in security and had been ridiculed by many MPs when, as Transport Secretary, he gave a contract to a company which owned no ferries to provide ferries in the event of a no-deal Brexit.

In July the PM removed the Tory whip from Julian Lewis (pictured) in an act of revenge, after the rebellious member for New Forest East stood against Johnsons preferred candidate, Chris Grayling, for chairmanship of the influential Commons Intelligence And Security Committee

The dud deal cost the taxpayer 80 million, and the hapless minister was saddled with the nickname Failing Grayling.

Since Lewiss victory, however, the work he and his committee have been doing on the danger of Chinese involvement in cybersecurity has attracted the PMs admiration, and last month Boris quietly asked him to rejoin the Tory parliamentary party. Lewis was delighted to comply.

But some things dont change. When the Opposition proposed two amendments to the National Security and Investment Bill shortly afterwards, the independent-minded Lewis voted against the Government.

As turf wars rage among the staff at No. 10, a battle- weary Boris Johnson (pictured) has sued for peace with one of Parliaments most senior MPs

Pop track to pep up Sir Keir

Is the Tony Blair revival back on after Labour leader Sir Keir Starmers underwhelming showing in recent weeks?

Top music publisher Blue Raincoat has acquired the rights to Things Can Only Get Better, the D:Ream floor-filler that was the theme song of New Labours 1997 landslide.

Emma Kamen, the publishers head of business development, says the anthem is a song people will always want to hear  joyous and catchy in equal measure.

Perhaps Sir Keir, depressing and forgettable in equal measure, should employ it to add some pep to his next display of oratory.

Its FIREWORKS for the Swires

Sasha Swire, whose Diary Of An MPs Wife was a deserved bestseller, has been recalling the time her husband, Hugo, a keen shooting man, decided to dry off some wet cartridges on the Aga in their Devon home.

Old Etonian Swire, a junior minister in David Camerons government, then put them in the microwave.

The resulting scene could have come from the Chinese New Year, according to Lady Swire in the New Statesman, complete with a terrified dog yelping under the kitchen table.

Swire wrote: I slap my forehead and sigh deeply. Im not exactly a celebrity now but dear God, please get me out of here soon or at the very least get him out of here.

No wonder Hugo Swire never made the Cabinet.

Amid the brouhaha over the withdrawal of patronages from Harry and Meghan, there was a queue of broadcasters trying to persuade Gyles Brandreth, who wrote a book about his long-time friend Prince Philip and the Queen, to speak about the Sussexes. Brandreth, a former Tory MP, tweeted: Thanks for asking, but Ive nothing to say on the subject. I have given up Harry and Meghan for Lent.

Amid the brouhaha over the withdrawal of patronages from Harry and Meghan, there was a queue of broadcasters trying to persuade Gyles Brandreth (pictured), who wrote a book about his long-time friend Prince Philip and the Queen, to speak about the Sussexes

Political quote of the week: Great Grimsbys former Labour MP Austin Mitchell says: Ill believe Boris got a good fishing settlement when he poses on Grimsby docks in a southwester proclaiming plaice in our time.

Lord Frosts appointment to the Cabinet as minister in charge of relations with the EU is another feather in the cap of the fee-paying Nottingham High School (currently 5,148 per term).

The formidable Brexit negotiator is the third pupil who started at the school between 1976 and 1978 to make the Cabinet, alongside Ed Balls, a former Labour education minister, and Sir Ed Davey (remember him?), the Lib Dem leader who was in David Camerons Coalition Cabinet.

Other former pupils include Ken Clarke, the former Tory Chancellor, and Geoff Hoon, who was a Labour Defence Secretary. Is NHS the new Eton?

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Mashrabia gallery - an Italian cultural bridge in Cairo Launching artists in a conservative market for 50 years

(ANSAmed) - CAIRO, FEBRUARY 22 - Despite the cold relations between Italy and Egypt due to the cases of Giulio Regeni and Patrick Zaki, and with all the economic difficulties of a private structure, an Italian-led art gallery in the heart of Cairo is continuing to pursue its long history of cultural mediation between the two shores of the Mediterranean.



The contemporary art gallery Mashrabia, founded in the Egyptian capital in the 1970s, has been led for about three decades by Italy's Stefania Angarano.



Its website recalls that "the gallery has undertaken a pioneering role in the promotion of plastic art through the presentation of non-Egyptian artists in Egypt and the promotion of young local talents both in the North African country and abroad".



"By breaking with the dominating artistic tradition, the predilection for innovative languages devoid of any decorative component as well as the originality and strength of artwork have always been the criteria for a rigorous choice of artists and their oeuvres", the website noted. "The constant promotion of affirmed artists and the search for new talents has permitted the creation of a permanent collection that is rich and diversified and of a service of artistic consulting both for private clients and for businesses".



"Mashrabia was mainly born from the desire to create a bridge between Europe, the West and Egypt", Angarano told ANSAmed. She arrived in Cairo in 1990 with a scholarship in Arabic studies, with a degree in aesthetics and work experience in art galleries in Italy.



The only gallery that can be described as 'Italian' in Cairo, Mashrabia deals with a very conservative public of collectors that buys few works of art by youths and tries to find the work of already consolidated artists, the gallerist noted.



The works on display in her gallery, which is located close to the iconic Tahrir square, are paintings, new media, installations and sculptures", or "nearly all the aspects of the contemporary", said Angarano, admitting however that she loves paintings in particular.



Despite bureaucratic and economic obstacles, Mashrabia has worked with passion to promote cultural exchanges, inviting to exhibit in Cairo artists from Italy - like sculptor Marco Magrini - from the rest of Europe, from Iraq, Syria and Morocco.



The gallery has also presented for the first time in 2015 Egyptian artists at the Bologna Art Fair, which was also a success in terms of sales, said Angarano. Since then Mashrabia has participated several times in the Beirut Art Fair and the 1:54 African Art Fair in London and Marrakesh, with a new selection of artists.



A memorable exhibit in Cairo was Invisible Presence: Looking at the Body in Contemporary Egyptian Art organized by Angarano in 2009 at the complex Samaa Khana, renovated by another Italian, professor Giuseppe Fanfoni, with installations, videos and performances held in the wooden theater by rotating dervishes.



The cultural mediation of the Milanese gallerist also extends to books through the publishing house "Beba Editions" which she has founded. It has translated into Arabic prominent contemporary writers like Valeria Parrella, Francesco Piccolo, Gianrico Carofiglio, Niccolo Ammaniti and many others.



(ANSAmed).





Kolkata: The Kolkata Police's detective took over the drug case of the West Bengal Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) Yuva Morcha leader Pamela Goswami. She has been arrested for possession of cocaine.

Pamela Goswami, the state secretary of Bharatiya Janata Yuva Morcha (BJYM), was also reportedly taken by the sleuths of the city police to the parlour she allegedly owns in the New Town area. They conducted the search on the premises in her presence.

Earlier on Saturday, she was sent to police remand till February 25 by an NDPS court.

During the hearing, Goswami called it a conspiracy and said she was being falsely implicated.

She demanded the arrest of another party leader Rakesh Singh and called for a CID investigation in this matter.

'Rakesh Singh sent a man to put pouches (cocaine)," she alleged.

However, Singh claimed that Goswami had been 'brainwashed' by the Kolkata Police and the ruling TMC and said that he was not in touch with her for over a year. He also said that he was ready to face investigation by any agency.

Meanwhile, Kolkata Police has also issued a summon under section 160 CrPC to Singh in the connection with Goswamis drug case. He has been asked to appear before the police on Tuesday (February 22).

Goswami, a former fashion model and small-time actress, was arrested along with a friend, Prabir Kumar Dey, and her personal security guard from south Kolkata's New Alipore area on Friday after nearly 90 gm of cocaine valuing lakhs of rupees was allegedly found from her handbag and car.

(With inputs from PTI news agency)



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(@FahadShabbir)

ABU DHABI, (UrduPoint / Pakistan Point News / WAM - 22nd Feb, 2021) Cabinet Secretary for the Ministry of Interior and Coordination of National Security in Kenya, Dr. Fred Okengo MatiangI, visited this Monday Wahat Al Karama, Abu Dhabis national and cultural landmark designed to commemorate the sacrifices and heroic deeds of UAE martyrs to defend their homeland and protect its achievements.

Upon his arrival, he was welcomed by Sheikh Khalifa bin Tahnoun Al Nahyan, Executive Director of the Martyrs' Families' Affairs Office, at the Abu Dhabi Crown Prince's Court.

He attended the Guard of Honour ceremony, then laid a wreath at Martyrs' Monument, made up of 31 panels leaning on one another in a symbol of solidarity between the leadership, people and soldiers of the UAE.

Afterwards he went on a tour across Wahat Al Karama and listened to a detailed explanation by Sheikh Khalifa bin Tahnoun about the different sections in Wahat Al Karama, which embody the bravery and heroism of UAE heroes, as well as the nations noble values.

The tour was concluded by a word written by the Cabinet Secretary of Kenya in the visitors log, expressing his utmost respect and appreciation for the brave martyrs of the UAE.
Brattleboro, VT (05301)

Today

Cloudy skies. High 61F. Winds NW at 5 to 10 mph..

Tonight

Partly cloudy skies early will give way to cloudy skies late. Low around 45F. Winds light and variable.
New York, Feb 22 : The Joe Biden and Kamala Harris White House is scrambling to find Republicans who can put Neera Tanden, the Indian American nominee for White House Office of Management and Budget, over the finish line, as opposition to her candidacy intensifies on both sides of the aisle in 50-50 Senate.

As of Monday morning, at least two senators have decided they will vote against Tanden. That leaves Biden and Harris to hunt for at least one Republican to vote yes. Kamala Harris holds the tie breaking vote.

It's payback time for lawmakers who were attacked by Tanden for years on social media. In a 50-50 Senate, multiple kingmakers are now flexing muscle and settling old scores.

"Neera Tanden has neither the experience nor the temperament to lead this critical agency," said Republican senator Susan Collins of Maine, becoming the second senator ready to sink Tanden's chances.

Tanden had once tweeted that Collins is "the worst." The first blow came from within the Democratic party, when West Virginia Senator Joe Manchin slammed Tanden.

"I believe her overtly partisan statements will have a toxic and detrimental impact on the important working relationship between members of Congress and the next Director of the Office of Management and Budget," Manchin said in a statement.

In earlier weeks, Manchin has been angered by VP Harris too. He hit back hard after Harris' off message interview to a TV station where she framed the Covid-19 relief plan as something she and Biden would deliver to the American people, without even a nod to the delicate bipartisan balancing act involved.

Biden is said to have called Manchin to calm him down. It was Harris' first brush with the political reality of an evenly divided Senate, where her tie breaking vote will work its magic only when at least 50 others play ball in the 100 member chamber.

If Tanden sinks, Manchin would have landed his first blow. If Tanden squeezes through, it means the White House would have to go all out to find at least a single Republican backer, assuming all other 49 Senate Democrats vote for Tanden.

Biden said last week he would not pull Tanden's nomination. "I think we are going to find the votes and get her confirmed," Biden said.

The Senate Budget Committee is scheduled to vote on Tanden's nomination this week. If confirmed, Tanden would be the first woman of colour and first Indian American ever to lead the OMB.

-- The story has been published from a wire feed without any modifications to the text
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Parts of central Pennsylvania could see up to 5 inches of snow Monday in what could best be described as a quick-hit storm, the forecasters say.

According to the latest bulletin from the National Weather Service Office in State College, snow should arrive just in time for the morning commute. The agency has issued a winter weather advisory to be in effect from 8 a.m. to 3 p.m.

Everyone in the area should see some degree of snow by 9 a.m., the feds say.

Overall snowfall totals should range from 3 to 5 inches, with Schuylkill and Sullivan counties seeing the largest amounts, according to the weather service. AccuWeather says most of the midstate will see 1 to 3 inches.

It might look like a blizzard at times, the weather service warns. Its advisory states snow could briefly fall heavily but ease off by early afternoon.

One inch per hour snow rates are possible around 11 a.m. to 1 p.m., the advisory says. Plan on slippery road conditions.

That snow will be followed by a lot of melting.

AccuWeather and the weather service will take a significant leap, perhaps even into the 50s, in the next few days, with not a flake to be seen.

A high of 45 is expected for a partly sunny Tuesday, followed mostly sunny Wednesday with a high of 53, a 44-degree Thursday and a 42-degree Friday, the feds predict. AccuWeather agrees with that forecast within a degree or two and expect that warming pattern to continue as we head into March.




The BBC has issued almost a million letters to homes here since the first lockdown threatening people with heavy fines for not having a TV licence.

Households are still being chased - sometimes every couple of weeks - for the 157.50 fee, even while society remains shut down and many are out of work.

It can also be revealed that more than 1,000 people have been hauled through the courts for not having a TV licence since last March.

It has led to calls for a more compassionate approach at a time when many are struggling financially and emotionally.

People Before Profit MLA Gerry Carroll said: "It is morally repugnant that during a global pandemic the BBC sees no issue with sending threatening letters which endorse court proceedings for people who cannot pay their TV licence."

The licence, which rises to 159 from April, is required by households watching or recording programmes while they are being broadcast, including streaming services such as Amazon Prime Video and Now TV.

Free TV licences for over-75s were abolished last August.

The BBC contracts TV Licensing inspectors for collection and enforcement, with most debt collection duties farmed out to Capita.

Those whose cases are pursued risk a court prosecution and a fine of up to 1,000 plus costs and an offender levy.

Between March 16 and December 31 last year, 1,133 defendants were dealt with by courts here for not having a TV licence - 256 were found not guilty.

TV licence offences accounted for around 6% of the 18,586 cases disposed of by Magistrates Courts in this time. In some cases the offences will have occurred prior to last March.

Court lists show that TV licence cases are still happening, with cases listed locally over the next week.

Meanwhile, the BBC is pushing families to pay up, with more than 3,000 letters sent every day to households here.

The letters, emblazoned with red capital letters, threaten that inspectors are investigating why that address has no licence and warning of a potential 1,000 fine.

The BBC said 945,994 letters were sent from March to the end of December to unlicensed addresses.

The figures refer to letters sent, not the number of addresses mailed, as unlicensed addresses are likely to receive multiple letters. Some homes receive several letters a month.

The BBC admitted correspondence has been sent to the homes that previously held a free over-75s licence, but said these were not enforcement letters. Across the UK, almost 26.5m letters have been sent since last March.

West Belfast MLA Mr Carroll said many people would be angered by the heavy-handed approach.

He added: "We are in the middle of an Earth-shattering pandemic that has left more and more people destitute. People have lost wages and their jobs and we have witnessed a rise in people using food banks.

"The upper management of the BBC seem oblivious or immune to the pressures faced by most communities during the pandemic, otherwise why would they issue these letters?



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"I also have to question why the scheduling of TV licence cases is seen as urgent during a pandemic, when we still have so many other cases of injustice still not heard in the courts."

The BBC confirmed the number of letters issued to households has been increasing year-on-year.

In 2016/17, 977,803 letters were sent to addresses here, rising to 1,243,425 by 2019/20. Around the UK, it increased from 28,592,886 in 2016/17 to 34,301,989 in 2019/20.

Explaining its enforcement procedures, the BBC said: "'TV Licensing' is a trade mark used by companies contracted by the BBC to administer the collection of television licence fees and enforcement of the television licensing system.

"The majority of the administration of TV Licensing is contracted to Capita Business Services Limited ('Capita')."

TV Licensing said: "We recognise this is a tough time for people and offer many ways to pay including weekly cash payment schemes.

"Last year we launched a new payment plan giving greater flexibility if payments are missed to help support customers. We also worked with almost 500 third sector organisations across the UK to offer advice to people who might be struggling to pay for their licence."

It said letters are "a cost-effective way to inform people of changes to their licence and encourage those who need to buy a licence to do so".

It added that all visiting is currently suspended in line with coronavirus restrictions, and no visits have been authorised to anyone who previously held a free over-75s licence.

The Department of Justice said it was unable to stop court cases.

It explained: "TV licensing is a non-devolved matter. Decisions to prosecute in relation to TV licenses are, therefore, a matter for TV Licensing.

"In accordance with guidance issued by the Lord Chief Justice, court hearings are being held remotely where possible."

A nightclub bouncer has been jailed for repeatedly assaulting a drunken customer during a fracas in which another doorman was glassed.

Dublin Circuit Criminal Court heard that Galin Genov (54) continued to be employed as security up to last March despite another conviction in 2018 for an assault in September 2015.

Two months after that assault Genov punched Sean McEvoy when he thought the victim had pushed another member of the nightclub security after a third doorman had been glassed.

The doormen were escorting Mr McEvoy and others from the premises at the end of the night when another man, not Mr McEvoy, smashed a glass to the back of one man's head.

During the chaos that followed doormen were focused on the assailant and Mr McEvoy stood back out of the way, the court heard. As the second doorman came to help out his colleagues he lost his footing and fell into the back of the defendant.

Cathal O'Braonain BL, defending, told the court that his client then turned around and saw Mr McEvoy with his hands outstretched and concluded that he had pushed his colleague to the ground,

He reacted by punching Mr McEvoy and made a significant error of judgement, counsel said.

The victim sustained a chipped tooth, soft tissue damage to the face and cuts over his eye. He received 30,000 in a civil claim against the nightclub, the court heard.

Genov with an address at the Russell Court Hotel, Harcourt Street, Dublin 2 pleaded guilty to assault causing harm at Dicey Reillys bar, Harcourt Street, on November 29, 2015.

The court heard that he has not come to any garda attention since this incident. In 2018 he was convicted in Dublin District Court for an assault committed in September 2015 and also in the course of his duties, the court heard.

Judge Elma Sheahan said she acknowledged the difficult job doormen had in dealing with inebriated people late at night.

She said she accepted that defence submissions that the injured party was mouthing off at Genov a little before the assault are consistent with the CCTV played in court.

However it is the role of the defendant and his training to deal with such situations in a non-aggressive manner and to de-escalate situations such as these, she said.

She noted Genov had succeeding in getting Mr McEvoy to the exit of the premises without reacting to the verbal aggro. She said when a third party attacked another bouncer, Genov believed the victim had contributed to this and punched the victim three times to the head and face.

She noted Genov is a tall strong individual and the assault had some ferocity.

She said that at the time of this assault the defendant had been involved in a separate assault during the course of his work and this was an aggravating factor.

While he had not being convicted of that assault he was on notice of his behaviour and a need to deal with it in advance of the latter assault.

Mr O'Braonain told the court that Genov continued to work in security with the same employer up until the Covid-19 lockdown began last March.

Judge Sheahan said his plea of guilty, his record of contributing to society with a good work history and testimonials from his employer were mitigating factors to be taken into consideration.

She suspended the final eight months of a prison term of 20 months on condition he be of good behaviour for the full term.

Additional Evidence

Counsel submitted to the court that his client was placed in a very difficult position on the night and had just witnessed his colleague get glassed from behind from a member of the group Mr McEvoy was in.

Garda Niall Cunningham agreed with counsel that his client's job is a difficult one which can involve having to make decisions in heated situations.

Mr O'Braonain said that over the course of a decade in the job his client had experienced a similar incident every two months and more minor incidents on a weekly basis.

Judge Sheahan said that it was an aggravating factor that the assault was carried out in the course of Genov's work, which was to ensure safety of people attending.

She noted that this was a repeated assault and wasnt just one punch in response to what Genov perceived to be circumstances at the time

He is trained to show restraint, she said, noting the gross disparity between his sober position and the position of the victim who was under the influence of alcohol at the time.
The French government has accused the Green Party mayor of Lyon of insulting the country's butchers and 'putting ideology on children's plates' after he banned schools in the city from serving meat.

Mayor Gregory Doucet defended the decision, saying the idea of having a school dinner menu without meat was to ensure a smooth service at lunchtimes while social distancing measures are in place.

The new 'one-time menu measure' means that children will be not be given a choice when it comes to their starter, hot dish and dessert.

Doucet said it would help speed up the lunchtime queues and enable teachers to manage the two-metre rule during the pandemic.

The French government has accused Lyon's mayor Gregory Doucet of insulting the country's butchers and 'putting ideology on children's plates' after he banned schools in the city from serving meat

But the government pounced on the mayor, who was one of a number of Green politicians to win control of major cities in last year's local elections seen as a drubbing for the party of President Emmanuel Macron.

Lyon is also seen by many as the culinary capital of the country, famed for its hearty meat-based cuisine.

'Let's stop putting ideology on our children's plates,' Agriculture Minister Julien Denormandie wrote on Twitter.

'Let's just give them what they need to grow well. Meat is part of it,' he said, adding that he had asked the region's prefect, the state-appointed top local official, to overrule the move.

Interior Minister Gerald Darmanin said it was an 'unacceptable insult' for French farmers and butchers.

'We can see that the moralising and elitist policy of the Greens excludes the popular classes. Many children often only get to eat meat at the school canteen.'

Mayor Gregory Doucet defended the decision, saying the idea of having a school dinner menu without meat was to ensure a smooth service at lunchtimes while social distancing measures are in place (file photo)

Doucet hit back on Twitter, saying that the measure has been taken 'solely' due to the health crisis and streamlining food distribution without any ulterior motive to promote a specific lifestyle.

He added that his right-wing predecessor mayor Gerard Collomb had taken 'exactly the same measure' during the first wave of the pandemic.

He said that the menu - which includes fish and egg products - was 'balanced for all our schoolchildren'.

Lyons municipal education assistant Stephanie Leger said the menu 'is the only menu that allows no child to be excluded'.

'This choice makes it possible to keep a balanced meal and a school catering service accessible to the 29,000 children every day,' she wrote on Twitter.

Doucet is not the first of the new breed of Green mayors to court controversy.

Last year the new Green mayor of Bordeaux Pierre Hurmic decided to do away with the city's traditional Christmas tree as part of his pro-environment agenda, saying he was 'not going to put dead trees in our squares.'

And Doucet himself raised eyebrows by saying the most French of sporting events - the Tour de France - was 'macho and polluting' and not welcome back in the city as long as it was not 'environmentally responsible.'
22 February 2021

Ascent Resources plc

("Ascent" or the "Company")

Slovenia Dispute Settlement Update

Ascent Resources Plc (LON: AST), the onshore Caribbean, Hispanic American and European focused energy and natural resources company, provides an update on Ascent Resources Plc and its subsidiary Ascent Slovenia Ltd. (together "the Investors") dispute with the Republic of Slovenia under the UK-Slovenia Bilateral Investment Treaty and the Energy Charter Treaty.

As announced in prior updates (on 22 October 2020, 5 February 2021 and 11 February 2021), the Investors remain in direct negotiations with the Republic of Slovenia with a view to potentially settling their claim in an amicable manner in the short term. Further to the continuing negotiations and ongoing exchange of correspondence, the Republic of Slovenia notified the Investors on 19 February 2021 that it shall be in a position to respond formally to the Investors' proposed settlement terms by the 19 March 2021, and has accordingly requested that the Investors do not initiate any arbitration proceedings before the 19 March 2021. The Investors have as a consequence agreed to postpone the initiation of international arbitration until at least such date, and expect that settlement discussions will conclude around the end of this four week period with a view to signing binding settlement documents as soon as practical thereafter.

The Investors reiterate that, although they continue to sincerely hope that an amicable solution can be found to the present dispute, at this stage there can be no certainty that an amicable settlement will be achieved with the Republic of Slovenia and fully reserve all of their rights and remedies arising out of Slovenia's treaty breaches should an attractive settlement offer not be forthcoming. Further updates will be made in due course.

Enquiries:
Armenia is interested in expanding the 102nd military base of the Russian armed forces' Southern Military District in the eastern Armenian city of Gyumri, Armenian Defense Minister Vagharshak Harutyunyan told Sputnik on Monday

YEREVAN (UrduPoint News / Sputnik - 22nd February, 2021) Armenia is interested in expanding the 102nd military base of the Russian armed forces' Southern Military District in the eastern Armenian city of Gyumri, Armenian Defense Minister Vagharshak Harutyunyan told Sputnik on Monday.

"The issue of expanding and strengthening the Russian military base on the territory of the Republic of Armenia has also been on the agenda. And the Armenian side has always been interested in this for a simple reason that the base is included at full strength in the United Group of Forces of the Armenian and Russian armed forces. And, therefore, the expansion of the base' capabilities automatically leads to the increase of the joint group's potential that operates on a bilateral basis in the Caucasus region of the collective security," the minister said.

Harutyunyan stressed that the Russian defense ministry took into account the recent developments in the region and made the right decisions regarding the expansion of the base' capability, adding that there was no need to establish a second Russian military base in the country.

"As for the deployment of an additional military unit of the Russian armed forces on the Republic's territory, I think that there is no urgent need for this. Furthermore, the legal framework between our states has set out the status and regulates the activities of only one Russian base," Harutyunyan said.

The minister added that Russia and Armenia considered the relocation of some unit from the Russian base further to the east of Armenia.

"It would be probably more accurate to talk about the possibility of the relocation of some military unit from the Russian military base to the eastern direction in Armenia. In this regard, the respecting joint consideration of the issue is going on," Harutyunyan said.

Russia's 102nd base of the southern military district has been stationed in Armenia since 1995. In 2010, Moscow and Yerevan signed an agreement on the extension of Moscow's lease of the military facility until 2044.

ANSAmed - Weekly diary from February 22 to February 28

(ANSAmed) - ROME, FEBRUARY 22 - The following are the main events scheduled in the Euro-Mediterranean area from February 22 to February 28: MONDAY FEBRUARY 22 SPAIN - Quarantine measures begin for all arrivals from Brazil and South Africa.



ALGIERS - Second anniversary of the anti-regime protest movement of sub Saharan Africa.



VILAMOURA (PORTUGAL) - EU, meeting of labor ministers.



TUESDAY FEBRUARY 23 ATHENS - Doctors' protest to demand higher wages due to the Covid-19 pandemic.



GENEVA - UN Human Rights Council with Josep Borrell, High Representative of the European Union for Foreign Affairs and Security Policy.



BRUSSELS - Meeting of European affairs ministers.



WEDNESDAY FEBRUARY 24 MADRID - Premier Pedro Sanchez addresses Parliament on the pandemic.



THURSDAY FEBRUARY 25 BRUSSELS - European extraordinary summit in videoconference dedicated to health, defense and security.



FRIDAY FEBRUARY 26 TRIPOLI - Last deadline for the formation of the government of interim premier, Abdel Hamid Dbeibah.



RABAT - Commemoration of the 60th anniversary of the death of King Mohammed V, who was succeeded by son Hassan II (until March 2).



ROME - G20, video conference meeting of finance ministers and central bank governors.



SATURDAY FEBRUARY 27 No major events scheduled SUNDAY FEBRUARY 28 No major events scheduled (ANSAmed).




Bank of Queensland chief George Frazis says buying ME Bank for $1.325 billion will give the lender the technology, scale and diversity it needs to more aggressively take on the big four in their heartland of home loans and small business banking.

BoQ on Monday launched a capital raising to fund the all-cash acquisition of ME, a 27-year old challenger bank based in Melbourne that is owned by some of the countrys biggest industry super funds.

George Frazis, CEO of Bank of Queensland, said the deal would deliver sustainable profit growth. Credit:Paul Harris

In buying ME, BoQ is set to double the size of its retail bank, and leapfrog second-tier rivals to emerge with the sixth biggest loan book in the country, narrowly behind Macquarie Bank.

Mr Frazis said the game-changer deal would create a bank that was more efficient, less skewed towards capital-intensive business lending, with less exposure to customers in Queensland.
Johann Chuckaree is the epitome of the modern Indo-Trinidadian.

The 31-year-old is a proud descendant of East Indian indentured labourers. Prays to Jesus Christ. And plays the pan.

The Woodbrook-born musician exuded equal passion for all three during a virtual sitting with the Kitcharee on Thursday night.


Credit: TiPES/HP

Imagine abrupt shifts of the tropical monsoons, reductions in Northern Hemisphere rainfall, and strengthening of North Atlantic storm tracks within decades. These are some of the impacts that climate scientists expect if the Atlantic Meridional Overturning Circulation (AMOC), which redistributes heat from equatorial regions to the Northern Hemisphere, suddenly tips into a dormant state as a result of global warming. The consequences would drastically alter conditions for agriculture, biodiversity, and the economy in large parts of the World.

A model study by Johannes Lohmann and Peter D. Ditlevsen from Physics of Ice, Climate, and Earth, The Niels Bohr Institute, the University of Copenhagen, Denmark, now suggests the AMOC, and potentially other climate sub-systems approaching tipping points might tip long before anticipated because of rate-induced tipping. The work, published today in PNAS is part of the TiPES project funded by the EU Horizon 2020.

Time matters

There is a growing concern among climate scientists that several climatic sub-systems might tip irreversibly and abruptly to a new state if atmospheric CO 2 -levels are pushed beyond still yet unknown thresholds. These sub-systems include the ice sheets of Antarctica and Greenland, the Amazon rainforest, the Asia-Australian monsoon, the sea ice of the Arctic Ocean, and the AMOC.

In addition, it is still uncertain whether rate-induced tipping effects might also occur. These effects manifest themselves as a tipping of the system to a new state even before a theoretical threshold in the external conditions (such as the atmospheric CO 2 levels) is reached. In rate-induced tipping, the rate of changenot the amount of changeis the important factor. This is because tipping occurs more readily when the system's conditions change rather quickly.

To study rate-induced tipping in the climate system Dr. Johannes Lohmann investigated the phenomenon in a complex ocean model, Veros.

Inherently unpredictable

First, the model's tipping threshold at very slow increases of North Atlantic freshwater input was identified. Then, a series of experiments were carried out, where the freshwater input was increased at varying rates, but only to levels below the tipping threshold. The results clearly showed the characteristics of rate-induced tipping.

Specifically, when the ocean model was subjected to increases in freshwater input to the North Atlantic, which simulated accelerating melt from the Greenland Ice sheet over time scales of 10 to 150 years, the AMOC had a strong tendency to tip to a dormant state before its threshold was reached.

It also appeared that due to the chaotic dynamics of the ocean model, the rate-induced tipping was highly sensitive to minute changes in the initial conditions and the rate of change of meltwater increase. This makes the tipping threshold fuzzy. Therefore the qualitative fate of the ocean circulation, i.e. whether it will collapse or remain like the modern state, remains inherently unpredictable.

Worrying, if real

The occurrence of rate-induced tipping in a global ocean model gives important evidence that one or more climate sub-systems may tip from being pushed too quickly as a result of global warming. Whether this is indeed a reality remains to be shown across more models in the climate model hierarchy.

However, the findings point to fundamental limitations in climate predictability and corroborate the need to limit CO 2 emissions in order to stay away from dangerous and unpredictable tipping.

"It is worrying news. Because if this is true, it reduces our safe operating space," says Johannes Lohmann.

Explore further Setting up an alarm system in the Atlantic Ocean

More information: Johannes Lohmann el al., "Risk of tipping the overturning circulation due to increasing rates of ice melt," PNAS (2021). Journal information: Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences Johannes Lohmann el al., "Risk of tipping the overturning circulation due to increasing rates of ice melt,"(2021). www.pnas.org/cgi/doi/10.1073/pnas.2017989118
Seafood giants call for port closures to illegal catches

Big seafood players are calling for action to combat the scourge of illegal, unreported and unregulated (IUU) fishing, including closing all ports and supply chains to illegal fishing.



In their publicly released Statement on Traceability and Port State Measures, the groups call for a combination of private sector and government actions to help transform the transparency and accountability of seafood supply chains and block landings of IUU catch.



There must be nowhere to land and nowhere to sell fish and seafood that is caught illegally, remarks ambassador Peter Thomson, the UN secretary generals special envoy for the ocean and co-chair of Friends of Ocean Action.



I applaud this initiative by seafood sector leaders and urge others to support their efforts in 2021, as well as call upon all countries to work towards full implementation of Food and Agriculture Organizations (FAO) Port State Measures Agreement.



Ending IUU fishing is essential to ensuring a sustainable blue economy and the maintenance of a thriving ocean. This is a critical target of the Sustainable Development Goal for the Ocean, SDG14.



The five groups releasing the statement are Seafood Business for Ocean Stewardship (SeaBOS), the Global Tuna Alliance (GTA), the International Seafood Sustainability Foundation (ISSF), the Global Dialogue on Seafood Traceability (GDST) and the Global Sustainable Seafood Initiative (GSSI).



These platforms include over 150 companies from across the seafood value chain, making this one of the largest seafood industry calls for action on record.



The joint statement urges global companies to endorse the industry standards released by the GDST last year, to globally improve seafood traceability.



It also calls on governments to ratify and implement robust control measures aligned with the Agreement on Port State Measures (PSMA), a powerful international treaty that requires port inspections and other measures to prevent IUU catch from being brought ashore.



The coalition of marine industry stakeholders expresses that the synergies of these actions would go far in preventing IUU catch from reaching markets or even being landed in the first place.



Last September, ocean lobby groups and NGOs were left reeling following the latest European Commission proposal for Baltic fishing limits for 2021.



While the plans to preserve fish stocks were promising, the lobby groups flagged that overfishing is still far too high, leaving the overfished population with no chance to recover.



The joint statement calls on companies worldwide to endorse the industry standards released by the GDST last year, to globally improve seafood traceability.



Eliminating IUU is an essential precursor of sustainability, as flagged by Andrea Weber, director of corporate responsibility at Metro and industry chair of the GTA.

The value of our coalitions collaborative call to action cannot be overestimated, stresses Susan Jackson, president, ISSF. Real change for more sustainable fisheries can only come through unified and consistent appeals to the worlds fisheries managers.



Better access to verifiable information about the origin of fish products is essential to the future of the seafood industry, adds David Schorr, co-chair of GDST. Global alignment around the GDST standards will dramatically improve traceability across the entire sector, while also making it more affordable and business-smart.



By working together to support the implementation of the PSMA and GDST 1.0, companies and governments can have an enormous impact in favor of legal, sustainable and responsibly-sourced seafood.



The aquaculture sector has faced similar backlash for its unsustainable practices in developments this month. Intensive farming practices by salmon producers have cost the industry almost US$50 billion since 2013, according to a recent report from social and economic research company Just Economics.

 FoodIngredientsFirst.com

Theme(s): Fishing Craft, Gear and Fishing Methods.
Lara Bingle and her husband, Sam Worthington, enjoyed a fun family outing with their three children on Sunday.

The couple spent time with their sons, Rocket, five, Racer, four, and a baby boy whose name is yet to be revealed, at Sydney's Parsley Bay.

The 33-year-old model cut a casual figure in black jeans and a matching T-shirt as she walked along the sand.

Family fun! Lara Bingle and Sam Worthington looked every inch the doting parents on Sunday as they enjoyed a beach day with their three sons in Sydney

Lara tied her short blonde hair in a bun and concealed her gaze behind sunglasses.

Sam, 44, also opted for an all-black ensemble comprising jeans and a T-shirt as he kept a watchful eye on Rocket and Racer.

After a fun day at the beach, the family of five visited an ice-cream stand and bought sweet treats.

Out and about: The couple spent time with their sons, Rocket, five, Racer, four, and a baby boy whose name is yet to be revealed, at Parsley Bay

Soaking up the sun: The 33-year-old model cut a casual figure in black jeans and a matching T-shirt as she walked along the sand

Chic: Lara tied her short blonde hair in a bun and concealed her gaze behind sunglasses

They then sat on a large rock and relaxed for a while before heading home.

The Worthingtons arrived back in Australia with their children last month.

Reports surfaced last year that Lara and Sam were planning to move Down Under on a permanent basis after spending years living in the U.S.

Treat: After a fun day at the beach, the family of five visited an ice-cream stand

Chill-out time: They then sat on a large rock and relaxed for a while before heading home

Back home: The Worthingtons arrived back in Australia with their children last month

The pair welcomed their most recent addition, a baby boy whose name is yet to be revealed, in June last year.

Lara and Sam began dating in 2013 and married in secret a year later.

The mother of three recently told Marie Claire her body was 'meant to have kids' and she would 'happily' have more in the future.

Family: Reports surfaced last year that Lara and Sam were planning to move Down Under on a permanent basis after spending years living in the U.S.
The number of settlements in big money personal injury actions slumped by a third last year as the pandemic left the courts unable to schedule hearings for hundreds of cases.

There were over 1,000 fewer settlements of High Court injury actions in 2020 compared to the average in previous years, according to an analysis conducted by courts and company data provider Courtsdesk.

The High Court deals with personal injury actions where damages in excess of 60,000 are sought.

Relatively few personal injury cases actually go to trial, with the vast majority usually being settled without a hearing.

However, in practice, settlement talks have only tended to occur close to or sometimes on the day for which a hearing is set.

The widespread adjournment of cases involving witnesses last March due to public health concerns meant personal injury actions did not receive hearing dates.

Consequently, the usual pressure to hold settlement talks, brought about by the setting of a court date, was not there.

According to data gathered by Courtsdesk just 2,195 High Court personal injury actions were settled last year compared to 3,568 in 2019, 3,680 in 2018, 3,441 in 2017 and 3,405 in 2016.

The number of settlements last year was at its lowest level since 2012 when 2,268 cases were settled.

Courtsdesk said the number of settlements last year was 1,042 fewer than the average figure seen from 2012 to 2018.

Last June, the President of the High Court, Ms Justice Mary Irvine, sought to tackle the mounting backlog of personal injury cases, which at that stage had grown to 320, by urging lawyers and insurers to begin holding settlement negotiations.

The judge said because of the practice of waiting for a hearing date before entering negotiations, cases were being left "in limbo" as they were neither being fought nor settled.

She expressed concern that plaintiffs were being held out of money they would in normal times have already received through settlements. She feared this was causing economic hardship and unwarranted additional mental or physical suffering.

But the judge also said she was not asking defendants to settle claims where they contested liability or believed the sum claimed to be excessive or even possibly fraudulent.

The High Court data shows more than half of cases in which settlements were reached last year were settled after Ms Justice Irvines intervention.

In recent weeks, only urgent cases have been allowed to go ahead amid Level 5 restrictions.




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Armenia Investigative Committee: Fatal road accident, criminal case opened

Armenia deputy FM submits resignation

Chinese authorities allow families to have 3 children

Dollar devalues in Armenia

Stepanakert: Azerbaijan creates bridgeheads for pressure on Karabakh, expansion towards Armenia

Sergey Lavrov says Russia is ready to disconnect SWIFT

Armenia MFA spokesperson resigns

Republican Party of Armenia Vice-President: Our ratings are growing, but we have greater pretensions

Armenia acting PM's spokesperson responds to ex-FM

Armenia parliament majority leader: Refusing to debate with acting PM is manifestation of low self-confidence

Armenia State Revenue Committee, US Department of Justice sign Memorandum of Cooperation

Vardevanyan: Attempts made to create false grounds for obstructing Armenia bloc election offices legal activities

Lavrov says Russia is ready to resume dialogue with NATO

Armenia opposition MP on FM's resignation

India records lowest increase in COVID-19 cases in 50 days

Bright Armenia faction in parliament: No response to acting PM's proposal to deploy observers along Azerbaijan border

Ruling bloc MP: Acting premiers proposal does not limit Armenia in terms of cooperation with CSTO

Acting PM is proud of Armenian servicemens heroism, says parliament majority leader

Parliament majority leader: No border delimitation unless Azerbaijan army units leave Armenia territory

Outgoing Armenia acting FM opens brackets: My decision of resignation was conditioned by that very reason

Harutyunyan, Shoygu discuss tension on Armenia-Azerbaijan border

Iranian MFA says US has not imported oil from country since Clinton era

Court hearing on appeal against decision to drop March 2008 Yerevan tragedy case is rescheduled

Missing soldiers relatives block Yerevan street

Parliament majority leader: Armenia acting FM did not object, at Security Council meeting, to new document

Armenia Police: 2,581,093 people on voters list

Bright Armenia faction of parliament: No corridor through the country should be provided to Azerbaijan

Analyst: Armenia acting PM Pashinyan gave self-confessed testimony

Armenia national security finds about 1 kg of opium, detains Iran citizen driver and 2 others

182 hearing aids and 2 buses by benefactor Mikayel Vardanyan for students of Special Educational Complex

34 new cases of COVID-19 confirmed in Armenia

Updated voters list is posted on Armenia central election commission website

Armenia authorities provide considerable amount of subsidies ahead of snap parliamentary elections

World oil prices on the rise

MP explains his not being on Bright Armenia Party electoral list

UK new flagship set to be named after the late Prince Philip

US man who said he shot neighbor over loud music found guilty of attempted murder

Lamborghini company to be sold for $11.5bn?

China spacecraft docks with future space station

Lawyer: Armenia acting PM Pashinyan grossly abuses administrative resources during Lori Province visit

UN urges to investigate escalation of violence in Colombia

Malaysia to open mega-centers for vaccination against coronavirus

Police find  5 million in cash in London apartment

French citizen to face trial in Iran on spaying charges

Over 60 children in UK undergo surgery due to TikTok challenge

Iranian Central Bank governor dismissed

Armenian opposition: The one who liberated Artsakh will not go to debates with the one who sold it

Iranian energy ministry: Iraq to allocate $ 125 million of frozen funds for vaccines

No new COVID-19 cases reported in Artsakh

Iran and Iraq to intensify cooperation and are ready for joint investment projects

Armenia ex-PM says at least 2 more secret documents signed but not published yet

Indonesia frees Iranian tanker 4 months later

Mortar shelling in Afghanistan kills at least 10 civilians

Fire breaks out at West Virginia oil refinery in US

Second President of Armenia meets with residents of Ararat province

Iran ready to help improve the defense capability of Syria

Armenian acting PM invites ex-presidents for debates

European Parliament head proposes to strengthen sanctions on Russia

UK PM gets married in London

Armenia reports COVID-19 new 81 cases: 4 people die

EU countries invite US to issue joint statement against Russia

2 people die in Armenia road accident

Nigeria: Students taken hostage a month ago are released

61 quakes recorded in Congo per day

Syrian MFA: EU lost credibility due to blind obedience to US policy

Armenia ex-minister of emergency situations hospitalized with heart attack

Mher Grigoryan: Clarification of border points is possible only after withdrawal of Azerbaijani troops from Armenia

Suspicious deal: Whether there was profit from buying DNA IDs?

Armenia ex-president says current authorities are trying to blame Russia for defeat in war

4 people killed in Afghanistani bus attack

Robert Kocharyan: This war could not have happened, it was a consequence of the policy of the authorities

Kocharyan: I have to ask people how it happened that overwhelming majority elected this leader

Armen Gevorgyan presents 'Armenia' bloc program: We offer the concept of a working country

Biden's administration proposed to leave unchanged amount of financial support to Armenia

US Embassy in Baku calls on Azerbaijan to immediately release Armenian POWs

Luxembourg MFA calls on Azerbaijan to immediately release all Armenian prisoners

Russia peacekeepers climb to Armenia Gegharkunik Province village positions

Biden strongly condemns manifestations of antisemitism in US

Iran intensifies its diplomacy amid Armenia-Azerbaijan border tensions

Armenia acting PM on forthcoming snap parliamentary elections: We hope to get 60% of votes
President Donald Trump waves as he boards Marine One on the South Lawn of the White House in Washington on Jan. 20, 2021. (Alex Brandon/AP Photo)

Poll: About Half of Republicans Would Drop GOP If Trump Created New Party

Around half of Republican voters would abandon the GOP if former President Donald Trump created a new party, according to a new poll.

About 46 percent of Republican respondents said they would abandon the Republican Party to join a Trump-backed party, a Suffolk UniversityUSA Today poll found. Only 27 percent said they would stay with the party, while the rest were undecided.

We feel like Republicans dont fight enough for us, and we all see Donald Trump fighting for us as hard as he can, every single day, a Republican and small-business ownerwho wasnt identifiedfrom Milwaukee told USA Today. But then, you have establishment Republicans who just agree with establishment Democrats and everything, and they dont ever push back.

Half of the respondents said the GOP should become more loyal to Trump, while only 1 in 5, or 19 percent, stated that the party should become less loyal to Trump and more aligned with establishment Republican politicians.

Another poll, released earlier this month via YouGov, said that 33 percent of Republicans who participated in the survey said they would join a Trump-led breakaway party. Another 37 percent said maybe they would join the new party, while the remaining 30 percent said they would stick with the GOP.

A recent Hill-HarrisX poll reported that 64 percent of Republicans said they would either join or might join a MAGA Party or Patriot Party led by Trump. Thirty-six percent of respondents said it would be more likely for them to stay with the Republican Party.

If Trump were to split from the GOP and create his own party, polling suggests he might well create the second largest political party in the country, knocking the GOP down to third place, Dritan Nesho, CEO and chief pollster at HarrisX, told Hill.TV.

The recent slate of polls and their findings suggests that Trump still enjoys overwhelming support among Republican voters and will likely remain a mainstay in the party. The former president hasnt formally declared whether he will run for president in 2024; he has said that he would support GOP primary candidates who espouse his Make America Great Again ethos.

Meanwhile, the former president is currently embroiled in a war-of-words with Senate Majority Leader Mitch McConnell (R-Ky.). McConnell had suggested in an opinion article that Trump could face criminal prosecution for his Jan. 6 speech, prompting Trump to issue a blistering missive against the Kentucky Republicans leadership.

Trump is scheduled to speak at the Conservative Political Action Conference on Feb. 28. A senior adviser, Jason Miller, told Fox Business over the weekend that the former president will focus on fighting against Big Tech monopolies, standing up to the Chinese Communist Party, and creating jobs.
INDIANAPOLIS (WLFI)  National FFA Week is officially underway. The week celebrates more than 760,000 FFA members nationwide.

Tri-County Junior Senior High School graduate, Blayne Vandeveer, serves as the Indiana FFA State Northern Region Vice President. He serves alongside seven other FFA Indiana Representatives including Indiana FFA President, Julia Hamblen.

Hamblen said the FFA leaders will be going to different parts of the state to celebrate and educate other about FFA. They have in-person visits, as well virtual visits.

Its a time when students are able to celebrate our organization, said Vandeveer. As well as educate people who may not be involved in the organization about the importance of it.

Vandeveer said Indiana has 212 FFA chapters throughout the state of Indiana. He believes the organization serves as an opportunity to educate others about agriculture.

Certain chapters will have certain events throughout the week to educate the schools that those chapters are housed in, said Vandeveer. Theres also the opportunity to do a lot of community outreach, where FFA members can spread good will.

FFA State President, Julia Hamblen, said throughout National FFA Week there are a lot different events going on.

This year is especially different because we know a lot of schools are still lenient on visitors, but others dont want visitors at all due to COVID protocols, said the FFA State President.

Were lucky enough that we were able to open up to in-person visits, said Hamblen. But we also got to open up to virtual visits as well.

Each FFA State Representative created their schedule for National FFA Week.

For me personally, Im going to be staying around the area of our leadership center, said Vandeveer. So Johnson County all the way over to district seven, which bumps up against the Illinois state line.

Both of the state representatives are going to use this week to promote the FFA organization as a whole.

They said being a member of FFA has many different positive aspects.

It really allows students to take advantage of the different opportunities it has and allows them to pick certain areas to focus on, said Vandeveer. It also allows them to try new things to figure out what their interest are for later on after high school.

The northern region vice president says FFA provides a lot of opportunities for members. He believes the organization provide a great learning experience.

We have stuck true to our roots with agriculture and farmer based with livestock and crops but we are expanding to include more people, said Vandeveer. It allows more people to be involved in agriculture and learn more of what we're about.

Getting more people involved with agriculture is exactly what happened when Julias high school started its FFA chapter back in 2017.

My school is pretty big, we have about 250 kids per class, said Hamblen. I was very surprised when we had over 400 members within my first year involved in agriculture classes and members that wanted to get involved even though only a handful of us were involved in agriculture.

Julia went to school in Shelbyville, where she was a member of the Shelbyville FFA chapter.

It really was eye opening to see all of my friends who werent involved in farming what so ever do contest like livestock judging and skillathon, said Hamblen. It really showed first hand that you dont have to be directly involved within agriculture to succeed in the FFA.

Vandeveer and Hamblen are looking forward to a week filled with educating everyone about FFA.

There's something I truly believe for everyone, said the Indiana FFA State President. Whether you're directly involved with agriculture or not, you can do a lot of pretty amazing things to prepare for your future in the FFA.
KYODO NEWS - Feb 22, 2021 - 23:18 | Japan, All

Taiwan's Digital Minister Audrey Tang joined an online meeting Monday with young people in the northeastern Japan prefecture of Fukushima to discuss challenges facing the area affected by a nuclear disaster in 2011 before its 10th anniversary.

Asked how Fukushima is seen by people outside Japan, Tang, a well-known computer programmer, said many are still carrying the horrific image of the nuclear accident, triggered by the massive earthquake and tsunami of that year, and that information on any recovery in Japan's northeastern region since then has not been widely shared in the world.

It was the first time Tang has joined such a virtual event with young people in the prefecture and Taiwan. About 100 people, including high school and university students, attended the event, which lasted about an hour.

During the event, organized by a group of Fukushima University students, one Japanese participant asked how disaster-derived prejudices should be resolved, in reference to groundless beliefs such as that Fukushima people are radioactive, which haunt many residents even after nearly 10 years since the crisis at the Fukushima Daiichi nuclear plant.

Tang responded by saying such prejudices come as the result of peoples' ignorance and the best way to resolve the situation is to let them know the truth.

Known worldwide for playing a pivotal role in bringing the spread of the novel coronavirus under control in Taiwan, Tang also stressed the importance of people loving themselves and staying strong.

COVID-19 has rocked the education world this year in ways few could have imagined.

Some kids are in school and some have never set foot in one at all this year. Some have received in-person instruction, switched to remote learning during a COVID-19 outbreak, and then gone back to the classroom. Some districts have opted for hybrid schedules, where students attend a couple days a week and are remote on other days, to limit the number of kids in classrooms.

With all these changes and disruptions to the way instruction traditionally has been delivered, some educators are questioning the wisdom behind the federal governments decision to require state assessments to be administered this year.

This is as common sense as it can be, said Cumberland Valley School District middle school teacher Jake Miller. Were in a pandemic. The kids are not in school like they were before but were expected to measure them like they were before.

Miller is among those who have spoken out against a federal mandate requiring state assessment tests this year.

He even launched a petition drive on Change.org to urge President Joe Biden and key congressional leaders to suspend or waive the federal testing requirement this year. In the course of a week, it gathered over 1,400 signatures.

On it, Miller lists 12 reasons why the state exams should be suspended, including the added anxiety these tests pose for already stressed-out students; safety risks posed by having students gather in school to take the paper-and-pencil tests; and concerns about the exams setting up students for failure.

These are the reasons that Cumberland Valley School District teacher Jake Miller listed on a Change.org petition for why he and nearly 1,400 others, as of Monday, think the federal state assessment mandate should be waived this year.

Testing is a pretty big hindrance in an average year but not so substantial that it would defeat my teaching, Miller said.

But Miller said it would be much more challenging to administer the Pennsylvania System of School Assessments this year, with his school working on a hybrid schedule where he teaches in-person classes to half his students two days a week and assigned them work to do online for the other three. I would probably lose three weeks or more of class time, he said.

State lawmakers appear sympathetic to this dilemma.

As part of a law passed last year, the General Assembly granted the Pennsylvania Department of Education the authority to request relief from the U.S. Department of Educations requirement that students in grades three to eight and in high school be administered a state assessment. They also waived the state requirement for using the exams for teacher evaluations and assessment-related graduation requirements.

Thus far, the federal department has not granted assessments waivers to any state that has requested them this year, as it did last year just after the onset of the pandemic. But on Monday, it did issue guidance urging states to consider ways they can do the assessments differently this year.

That includes extending the testing window and moving assessments to the summer or fall; giving the assessment remotely, where feasible; and shortening the state assessment to make testing more feasible to implement and prioritize in-person learning time. It also is allowing states to request a waiver from the test participation requirement that mandates 95% of students in a grade take the state exam.

The Department of Education is committed to supporting all states in assessing student learning during the pandemic to help target resources and support to the students with the greatest needs, said Ian Rosenblum, acting U.S. assistant secretary for elementary and secondary education and a one-time member of former Gov. Ed Rendells Cabinet.

We also recognize that at a time when everything in our education system is different, there need to be different ways that states can administer state tests like moving them to the fall so that precious in-person learning time this year can be spent on instruction. Balancing these priorities is the best approach.

The department also recognizes that individual states may need additional assessment flexibility based on the specific circumstances across or within the state, according to a news release it issued on Monday about its assessment guidance. It states the department is prepared to work with states to address their individual needs and conditions while ensuring the maximum available statewide data to inform the targeting of resources and support.

With the testing window now just weeks away, area superintendents are struggling to figure out how to administer the tests. The tests must be given either as a paper-and-pencil exam or online exam under the supervision of a proctor in a school or other secure setting.

Some have called for the assessment tests to be held as scheduled to gauge if students are falling behind, and to understand how much ground has been lost.

Several groups, including The Education Trust, the National Urban League and the National Center for Learning Disabilities, wrote a joint letter to the U.S. Department of Education, imploring officials to require the assessment tests. They said, states and school districts have a duty to serve our most vulnerable children by doing all they can to assess the impact of the pandemic.

We cannot improve what we do not measure, and if we do not measure the opportunity gaps being exacerbated during COVID19, we risk losing a generation of young people, the groups said in the letter.

Not the right time

I do know why people are interested in getting that assessment, said Cumberland Valley School District Superintendent David Christopher. People are worried about student learning loss. Of course, were worried about that as well. Its not that were not concerned about it. We just dont think that exam is going to be a good measure of that.

The PSSAs, given annually to students in grades three through eight, and the end-of-course Keystone Exams given to high school students, serve as measuring sticks that allow parents, taxpayers and communities to gauge the performance of their public schools. The exams are slated to be given in April.

State assessments have been a requirement for many years, but they took on more importance two decades ago with the enactment of the federal No Child Left Behind law to gauge achievement gaps across racial and socioeconomic lines.

But in the middle of a pandemic, educators offered a multitude of reasons why mandating these exams is a bad idea.

For one, its the long-held complaint that the state tests takes valuable time away from instruction. This year, that is an even bigger concern.

Harrisburg Superintendent Chris Celmer said students in his district have been learning remotely all year. Currently, 39% of public schools in Pennsylvania are still fully remote, with just 20% operating fully in-person and the rest in some hybrid format.

If we have an opportunity to bring students back in the spring, Celmer said, we want to bring them back for learning. Every minute we can have a student in person should be spent on active teaching and learning, not testing, especially this year.

Weeks of in-person instruction time could be eaten up for schools operating in a hybrid model.

In a year when students are already so behind and have missed out on so much classroom time already, we just think that is not the right way to go, said Pennsylvania State Education Association spokesman Chris Lilienthal.

Big Spring School District Superintendent Richard Fry said the federal government's refusal thus far to waive its school accountability mandate on states is "absurd."

Big Spring School District Superintendent Richard Fry went so far as to call it absurd.

Were sitting firmly in the wait-and-see mode and hope relief comes, he said. If it doesnt, its not going to be a pretty situation. I imagine it wont be a pretty situation in any district.

Besides, the educators say its not like students are not being tested.

Christopher said teachers are giving curriculum-based assessments in their classrooms. Additionally, his and other districts continue to administer national assessment tests to track student progress.

I think those things are going to be more valuable to us, Christopher said. We certainly will be doing them in the fall to identify whether there are gaps we need to make up for kids because theyve had learning loss.

Impact on the kids

Cumberland Valley School District reading specialist Carol Yanity voiced concern about the impact the hours-long assessments have on students, since the tests take place over a few days.

If you remember taking your SATs, its very much like that for the students but five days of that type of pressure, she said.

Over the course of her 14 years as a reading specialist, Yanity said she has seen the detrimental impact of standardized testing on students self-worth in a typical school year, let alone one so disrupted by this pandemic.

In response to the argument made by some testing advocates that we wont know how far behind the students are unless they take the test this year. My response is that the so-called benchmarks that they are claiming that students are falling behind have been set by the companies that create and sell standardized tests, Yanity said. Our students deserve better.

Even in a typical year, the standardized tests take a toll on students mental health, said Lilienthal of the Pennsylvania State Education Association. Teachers and support staff regularly share stories of seeing students suffer panic attacks and experience anxiety to the point they get physically ill when it comes to the state exams.

In a year thats been fraught with so much anxiety for students already with this pandemic and the constant disruption in the normal flow of the school year, pushing ahead with high-stakes testing at this time is just the last thing we should be doing, Lilienthal said.

Miller, the Cumberland Valley middle school teacher, said by refusing to allow states to seek an assessment waiver, its like federal government officials are intent on pulling the rug out from under students  and for what reason?

So they can say look how bad this is? he said. Some of the left will weaponize it to say this is why we need to flood schools with money. Some on the right will weaponize it to say look at these teachers. They should be fired along with their unions.

Personally, he said he doesnt care what the assessment results show for his district, which typically fares well on the state exams. Its about the well-being of his students that concerns him.

Miller said he shared that with a former student to see if his concerns are well founded. The former student wrote back saying this year has been especially hard on students and added, I know so many kids who have had mental health issues just from these new conditions.

Miller said after reading that, it put the wind in my sails and led to him posting the petition calling for the federal government to put state testing on hold.

A worry for all of us

Pennsylvanias PSSA testing schedule is currently set to begin on April 19 and end May 7.

State education department spokeswoman Kendall Alexander said the department is planning to expand the [testing] window to allow schools flexibility to test within their local health and safety guidelines. We are working with school leaders and stakeholders to determine the dates.

She said the department also is allowing schools to test small groups of students to accommodate the need for social distancing, cleaning and scheduling.

But school officials remain adamant that waiving the requirement is the better way to go this year.

Berks County superintendents, along with PSEA and other state associations representing other segments of the public school community, have sent letters to the Biden Administration and U.S. Sens. Bob Casey Jr. and Pat Toomey, urging them to waive the assessment requirement.

A spokesman for Toomey said the educators concerns have been shared with the Senates education oversight committee and they are awaiting a response as to whether additional action is expected.

A spokeswoman for Casey said, We havent been in touch with the Biden Administration on this issue.

Christopher, Cumberland Valleys superintendent, said he recognizes the tough position federal officials are in.

If you say theres not going to be assessments, does that cause districts, maybe some districts to take their foot off the pedal? he said. I think theyre worried about that. Because there are districts, from our understanding, where students were really not getting a lot of education. It really has not been great. Its a worry for all of us.

Mark DiRocco, executive director of the Pennsylvania Association of School Administrators, said he also has heard about advocacy groups for students with special needs who want the testing done to establish a baseline to determine how much learning loss has occurred.

He understands that desire to see where kids are academically but thinks the state testing could be at the very least, postponed to the fall when students will presumably be able to be back in school five days a week.

Theres nothing sacred about a spring testing, DiRocco said. We just dont think its wise to try to force districts, to somehow if youre using a hybrid program or some other model, to force everyone back in school to do testing. Its more of a logistical challenge than most people understand and were hoping that the federal government will provide a waiver.

Theres also a degree of unfairness to it as well, said Fry, Big Springs superintendent.

Fry doesnt dispute the need to assess where students are academically  and says districts have done that and will continue to do it.

But in a school year that has been so disjointed, Fry said, Do we need a standardized state assessment system that was built on the traditional 181-day face-to-face schedule to do that? That doesnt jibe. It doesnt line up.

*This story was updated Monday evening after receiving information from the U.S. Department of Education about guidance it just issued to states.

Jan Murphy may be reached at jmurphy@pennlive.com. Follow her on Twitter at @JanMurphy.
Sputnik V COVID-19 vaccine / AFP-Yonhap



By Nam Hyun-woo



Attention is growing on who will form a consortium with GL Rapha and manufacture Russia's Sputnik V COVID-19 vaccine in Korea, as delegates from the Russian Direct Investment Fund (RDIF) visited the company's plant in the Gangwon Province city of Chuncheon and plan to announce the members of the consortium as early as Tuesday.



According to GL Rapha and its subsidiary Hankook Korus Pharm, Monday, a team of delegates from RDIF visited Hankook Korus' plant in the city for on-site validation of its manufacturing facilities.



An official at GL Rapha said the RDIF has completed its process of selecting possible consortium partners and is planning to name them by Feb. 23.



GL Rapha signed a contract manufacturing organization (CMO) deal with RDIF in November last year to manufacture over 150 million doses of the Sputnik V vaccine per year. The Korean company has been manufacturing Sputnik V since December.



To boost manufacturing volume, GL Rapha has been seeking to form a consortium of Korean drug manufacturers, with expectations flying that eight to nine domestic CMO partners including BINEX and ISU Abxis are being tapped as potential partners.



Initially, GC Pharma, one of the largest pharmaceutical companies in Korea, had also been mentioned as a potential member of the consortium, but the GL Rapha official said that was never the case.



"The deal with RDIF states that GL Rapha is a strategic partner in manufacturing Sputnik V in Korea and the host of the consortium, meaning we are exclusive," the official said. "Given the size of GC Pharma, the company was not involved in the talks in the first place."



In a letter revealed by GL Rapha, RDIF confirmed that GL Rapha is "a strategic host to form the consortium in Korea" and "a strategic partner to handle the production of Sputnik V and to provide to RDIF and/or authorized buyers."



BINEX is a biotech firm providing contract development and manufacturing services and has plants in Incheon and in Cheongju, North Chungcheong Province. ISU Abxis has a plant in Yongin, Gyeonggi Province. The analysis of the Phase 3 clinical trials data of Sputnik V published in the Lancet has demonstrated a 91.6 percent efficacy against COVID-19. The vaccine has been approved in 29 countries including Russia and Argentina.


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An Iraqi civilian wounded in a rocket attack targeting the Arbil airport in northern Iraq last week has died, authorities in the Kurdistan region said Monday, raising the toll to two dead.

On February 15, more than a dozen rockets were aimed at a military complex inside the Arbil airport that hosts foreign troops deployed as part of a US-led coalition helping Iraq fight jihadists since 2014.

But many of the rockets struck all over the city's northwest, including in residential districts, where they wounded five civilians.

One of them died on Monday, said the spokesman for the autonomous Kurdistan region's health ministry, Bajjar Mousa.

' One of the wounded getting treatment at the hospital has died. We could not save his life despite several days of trying,' Mousa told AFP.

The second death was a foreign civilian contractor working with the US-led coalition, the alliance's spokesman said.

The spokesman could not confirm the fatality's nationality but told AFP he was not American. Nine others working at the military base were wounded.

The attack was the first in nearly two months targeting Western military or diplomatic installations in Iraq, after dozens of similar incidents last year that were blamed on pro-Iranian Shiite factions.

A shadowy group calling itself Awliyaa al-Dam (Guardians of Blood) claimed the attack and in a follow-up statement vowed to keep targeting US forces in Iraq.

The violence was condemned by the United Nations, which called it 'reckless,' as well as a host of countries.

Short link:



Dr. Anthony Fauci, President Joe Bidens chief medical adviser for COVID-19, said Sunday that Americans may still be wearing masks outside their homes a year from now, even as he predicted the country would return to a significant degree of normality by fall.

I want it to keep going down to a baseline thats so low there is virtually no threat, Fauci said on the CNN program State of the Union, referring to the number of cases nationally that would make him comfortable enough to stop recommending universal masking. If you combine getting most of the people in the country vaccinated with getting the level of virus in the community very, very low, then I believe youre going to be able to say, for the most part, we dont necessarily have to wear masks.

Fauci appeared on a series of TV news programs Sunday morning, where he was quizzed on the dangers of variants of the coronavirus, the schedule of the nations vaccine rollout and when vaccination would allow more students to return to schools.

On this last question, Fauci said on Fox News Sunday that he hoped high school students, far fewer of whom have gone back to classrooms compared with younger children, would be eligible for vaccination in the fall.

Thats why we are pushing on those studies, to get them vaccinated, he said of teenagers, who are the subject of clinical trials by Pfizer and Moderna. That will likely occur in the fall; I cant say its going to be on Day 1 of when school starts in the fall term.

Vaccinations for younger children, however, likely will not be before the beginning of the first quarter of 2022, Fauci said.

On the hotly debated question of whether people should wait longer than the recommended three or four weeks to get a booster vaccine, or even skip the second dose, Fauci said on NBC News Meet the Press that it was prudent for people to stick to the prescribed schedule.

There are enough unknowns in that, particularly the durability of the protection, he said.

He added that while new data suggesting people who have had COVID could get enough protection from one dose was really quite impressive, it might be complicated to document who has had the virus.

He also addressed the subject of the mutated variant of the coronavirus identified in South Africa. In clinical trials involving the AstraZeneca-Oxford vaccine in that country, patients who were inoculated were not protected from mild or moderate illness caused by the variant, known as B. 1.351. Fauci said on Fox News Sunday that while it is rare in the United States, if it becomes more dominant, we may need a version of the vaccine thats effective specifically against it.

With the United States expected to surpass 500,000 deaths from COVID-19 in the coming days, Fauci told Chuck Todd on Meet the Press that we havent seen anything even close to this for well over 100 years, since the 1918 influenza pandemic, adding, People will be talking about this decades and decades and decades from now.

This article originally appeared in The New York Times.
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Elijah McClain, 23, was killed by three white police officers in Colorado days after he suffered a heart attack and was declared brain dead following a violent arrest. On August 24, 2019, someone called 911, saying he 'looked sketchy' and was wearing a ski mask and waving his arms

An investigation into the arrest of Elijah McClain criticizes how police handled the entire incident, faulting officers for their quick, aggressive treatment of the 23-year-old black man and the department overall for having a weak accountability system.

The 157-page report from an independent investigation commissioned by the city of Aurora, in Colorado, was released Monday. It finds 'two contrasting stories' of what happened to McClain, who was not suspected of committing any crime.

One based on officers' statements where they describe a violent struggle. And another based on body camera footage in which McClain can be heard crying out in pain, apologizing, explaining himself, and pleading with the cops.

Massage therapist McClain died in August 2019 after someone reported him as suspicious as he walked down the street wearing a ski mask. He suffered cardiac arrest and later was taken off life support.

The report finds that finds police had no legal basis to stop, frisk or use a hold on McClain and calls the post-event investigation into his death 'flawed'. Paramedics who administered ketamine did so 'without conducting anything more than a brief visual observation', the report adds.

It was this 'flawed' report from detectives that was used by the Attorney's Office to clear the officers involved in the arrest of wrongdoing.

The report recommends the police department conduct several reviews, including of how its officers are trained to decide whether to stop, frisk and arrest people, and urges the city to consider overhauling how it reviews incidents.

Aurora Police has said it will not comment on the report. Elijah's mother Sheeneen said: 'Aurora is responsible for Elijah's tragic death by virtue of its employees' unlawful and unconscionable actions.

'At every step of the way - from their initial stop of Elijah through the involuntary injection of an extremely dangerous drug for no medical reason - Aurora officials indisputably violated Mr. McClain's constitutional rights.'

McClain's father, LaWayne Mosley, said: 'This report confirms what we have been saying from the start. The Aurora police and medics who murdered my son must be held accountable.'

Police were called after someone reported a suspicious person wearing a ski mask and waving his arms in Aurora

McClain died in 2019 after being put in a neckhold and being injected with ketamine as a sedative after someone reported him as suspicious as he walked down the street wearing a ski mask.

His family said he had been wearing the mask as he was anemic and felt the cold.

His death drew renewed attention last year amid the national reckoning over police brutality and racial injustice and prompted several investigations, including a probe into possible criminal charges by the Colorado Attorney Generals Office.

Aurora asked outside investigators to look into the actions of police, firefighters and paramedics in McClains arrest and also at relevant policies and practices.

In the report, the investigators said their task was to try to help prevent another tragedy like McClains death, not assign blame.

The report notes 'neither the caller nor any of the officers involved identified a crime that [McClain] was suspected of committing at the time that he first came to the officers' attention'.

It adds: 'The speed at which these officers acted to take Mr. McClain into custody, their apparent failure to assess whether there was reasonable suspicion that a crime had been committed, and the unity with which the three officers acted suggest several potential training or supervision weaknesses.'

'The body worn camera audio, limited video, and Major Crime's interviews with the officers tell two contrasting stories.

'The officers' statements on the scene and in subsequent recorded interviews suggest a violent and relentless struggle.

'The limited video, and the audio from the body worn cameras, reveal Mr. McClain surrounded by officers, all larger than he, crying out in pain, apologizing, explaining himself, and pleading with the officers.'

McClain died in 2019 after being put in a neckhold and being injected with ketamine as a sedative after someone reported him as suspicious as he walked down the street

McClain is reported to have said at one point: 'Forgive me...you all are phenomenal, you are beautiful.'

He adds: 'I'm an introvert, please respect the boundaries that I am speaking.'

KEY FINDINGS FROM THE INDEPENDENT INVESTIGATION INTO ELIJAH MCCLAIN 'Neither the caller nor any of the officers involved identified a crime that [McClain] was suspected of committing'

'Based on the record available to the panel, we were not able to identify sufficient evidence that Mr. McClain was armed and dangerous in order to justify a pat-down search'

The report states that officers used force on McClain 'within seconds of exiting their cars'

'Aurora Fire appears to have accepted the officers' impression that Mr. McClain had excited delirium without corroborating that impression through meaningful observations or diagnostic examination of Mr. McClain'

'In addition, EMS administered a ketamine dosage based on a grossly inaccurate and inflated estimate of Mr. McClain's size. Higher doses can carry a higher risk of sedation complications, for which this team was clearly not prepared'

'Body worn camera audio, limited video and...interviews with the officers tell two contrasting stories'

The post-event investigation was 'flawed'

'The Aurora Police Department's Major Crime/Homicide Unit investigation of the death of Mr. McClain raised serious concerns for the Panel and revealed significant weaknesses in the Department's accountability systems' Advertisement

Aurora Police Officer Nathan Woodyard was first on the scene; he was later joined by officers Jason Rosenblatt and Randy Roedema.

No officer involved in the arrest has lost his job as a result of the incident; in November 2019 it was announced no charges would be filed.

Rosenblatt was later fired for replying 'haha' to an image of other Aurora cops re-enacting an chokeholds near where McClain was held, The Denver Post reports.

The report also suggests that District Attorney Dave Young's review of the case failed to assess the officer's conduct and 'did not reflect the rigor' of a police investigation 'that one would expect' when assessing whether a crime was committed.

Young's review of the case did not find sufficient evidence to press criminal charges in McClain's death, according to a June 2020 statement by the District Attorney's office.

In January, Colorado Attorney General Phil Weiser announced he opened a grand jury investigation into McClain's death as part of his investigation, saying it provided an 'investigative tool' to compel testimony and require the production of documents. Weiser's office is also conducting a civil rights investigation into Aurora police, its first one under a police reform law passed after George Floyd's death in Minneapolis set off protests.

Last year, the U.S. Department of Justice and FBI also announced they had been reviewing McClain's case for a potential federal civil rights investigation since 2019.

The report states: 'Upon review of the evidence available to the Panel, Officer Woodyard's decision to turn what may have been a consensual encounter with Mr. McClain into an investigatory stop  in 3 fewer than ten seconds  did not appear to be supported by any officer's reasonable suspicion that Mr. McClain was engaged in criminal activity.

'This decision had ramifications for the rest of the encounter.'

They add: 'Based on the record available to the Panel, we were not able to identify sufficient evidence that Mr. McClain was armed and dangerous in order to justify a pat-down search.'

The report states that officers used force on McClain 'within seconds of exiting their cars'.

They sustained that force 'over an extended time period, including two attempted carotid holds,' the report adds, with EMS waiting 'almost seven minutes after arriving to interact with Mr. McClain'.

The report notes EMS' 'first contact was to administer the sedative ketamine'.

It also details audio recordings that reveal McClain made desperate pleas as he struggled to breathe.

'The audio of the incident records Mr. McClain crying out in pain, apologizing, vomiting and at times sounding incoherent,' the report says.

'His words were apologetic and confused, not angry or threatening. He became increasingly plaintive and desperate as he struggled to breathe.'

The report adds: 'In looking at this single incident, the panel has insufficient information to determine what role, if any, bias played in Aurora Police officers' and EMS personnel's encounter with McClain.

'However, research indicates that factors such as increased perception of threat, perception of extraordinary strength, perception of higher pain tolerance, and misconceptions of age and size can be indicative of bias.'

A protester raises a sign that states 'I'm just different' during a march from the site where McClain was arrested to the precinct where the officers who arrested him are stationed in Aurora, Colorado, U.S., July 3, 2020
Bloomberg

(Bloomberg) -- Its nearly two months since turbulence erupted around China Huarong Asset Management Co.At the end of March, its 4% perpetual dollar bond was trading at 102 cents on the dollar as investors figured the January execution of former chairman Lai Xiaomin for bribery put a line under past wayward behavior. But the failure of the company to release 2020 results by a March 31 deadline, and a subsequent report by mainland media Caixin that the firm will restructure, sparked weeks of turmoil. The same bond is now at 57 cents.The heart of the matter is whether the central government will rescue a state-owned company thats integral to the smooth running of the financial system. While there are signs Beijing wants to ensure China Huarong can repay its debts on time, uncertainty prevails.Heres a look at the key events for China Huarong:May 28The company has wired funds to repay $978 million of notes maturing within the following week, according to Bloomberg News, the biggest bond payment since the 2020 results delay.May 27Liang Qiang, who currently heads another bad-debt manager, is on track to become president of China Huarong, reports Bloomberg News.May 24China Huarong dollar bonds climb after the managing editor of Caixin Media wrote in an opinion piece that the asset manager is nowhere near defaulting on its more than $20 billion of offshore notes.May 21Some of China Huarongs thinly traded onshore bonds slump after having held up better than the companys dollar-denominated notes, signaling broadening concern about the firms financial health.May 18China Huarong has transferred funds to repay a $300 million note maturing May 20, Bloomberg News reports, the first dollar bond to come due since the delayed 2020 results. Prices for the firms dollar bonds slump earlier in the day after the New York Times reports China is planning an overhaul that would inflict significant losses on both domestic and foreign China Huarong bondholders.May 17The company has reached funding agreements with state-owned banks to ensure it can repay debt through at least the end of August, by which time China Huarong aims to have completed its 2020 financial statements, according to a Bloomberg News report. That as at least two of its onshore bonds see big price declines in recent days, worrying some investors.May 13The firm says its prepared to make future bond payments and has seen no change in the level of government support, seeking to ease investor concerns after a local media report that regulators balked at China Hurarongs restructuring plan.May 6The company says it transferred funds to pay five offshore bond coupons due the following day, its latest move to meet debt obligations amid persistent doubts about its financial health.April 30China Huarong breaks its silence, with an executive telling media it is prepared to make its bond payments and state backing remains intact. The official also says the weeks rating downgrades have no factual basis and are too pessimistic.April 29Moodys Investor Service downgrades China Huarong by one notch to Baa1, adding the firm remains on watch for further downgrade. The cut reflects the companys weakened funding ability due to market volatility and increased uncertainty over its future, according to the statement.April 27China Huarong units repay bonds maturing that day. The S$600 million ($450 million) bond was repaid with funds provided by Chinas biggest state-owned bank, according to a Bloomberg News report.April 26Fitch Ratings downgrades China Huarong by three notches to BBB while dropping the companys perpetual bonds into junk territory. The lack of transparency over government support for the firm may hamper its ability to refinance debt in offshore markets, Fitch said.April 25China Huarong says it wont meet an April 30 deadline to file its 2020 report with Hong Kongs stock exchange because auditors needed more time to finalize a transaction the company first flagged on April 1. Securities and asset-management units said in the days before that they wouldnt release 2020 results by months end.April 22The China Banking and Insurance Regulatory Commission asks lenders to extend China Huarongs upcoming loans by at least six months, according to REDD, citing two bankers from large Chinese commercial lenders.April 21China is considering a plan that would see its central bank assume more than 100 billion yuan ($15 billion) of China Huarong assets to help clean up the firms balance sheet, according to a Bloomberg News report. Peer China Cinda Asset Management Co. was said to be planning the sale of perpetual bonds in the second quarter.April 20China Huarongs key offshore financing unit says it returned to profitability in the first quarter and laid a solid foundation for transformation. Reorg Research reports that regulators are considering options including a debt restructuring of the unit, China Huarong International Holdings Ltd.April 19Huarong Securities Co. says it wired funds to repay a 2.5 billion yuan local note.April 16The CBIRC says China Huarongs operations are normal and that the firm has ample liquidity. These are the first official comments about the companys troubles. Reuters reports Chinese banks have been asked not to withhold loans to Huarong.April 13Fitch and Moodys both put the company on watch for downgrade. The finance ministry, which owns a majority of Huarong, is considering the transfer of its stake to a unit of the countrys sovereign wealth fund, Bloomberg News reports. Chinese officials signal they want failing local government financing vehicles to restructure or go bust if debts cant be repaid.April 9China Huarong says it has been making debt payments on time and its operations are normal. Bloomberg News reports the company intends to keep Huarong International as part of a potential overhaul that would avoid the need of a debt restructuring or government recapitalization. S&P Global Ratings puts China Huarongs credit ratings on watch for possible downgrade.April 8China Huarong is preparing to offload non-core and loss-making units as part of a broad plan to revive profitability that would avoid the need for a debt restructuring or government recapitalization, Bloomberg News reports.April 6Selling gains steam in China Huarongs dollar bonds, following a holiday in China. Huarong Securities says there has been no major change to its operations, in response to a price plunge for its 3 billion yuan local bond.April 1China Huarong announces a delay in releasing 2020 results, saying its auditor is unable to finalize a transaction. Stock trading is suspended and spreads jump on the firms dollar bonds while China Huarong tells investors its business is running as usual. Caixin reports the company submitted restructuring and other major reform plans to government officials and shareholders.More stories like this are available on bloomberg.comSubscribe now to stay ahead with the most trusted business news source.2021 Bloomberg L.P.
Survivors of COVID-19 may only need one dose of the vaccine to be fully protected, a new study suggests.

Researchers from the Fred Hutchinson Cancer Research Center in Seattle found that, in blood samples of people previously infected with the coronavirus, a single shot of the inoculation boosted antibodies and other immune system cells by up to 1,000-fold.

What's more, the vaccine was found to protective against the South African variant of the virus, which is more contagious that the original strains.

The results are consistent with those of several others that have been published over the last few weeks - suggesting that the right supply of vaccine doses could be freed up so that more people can be immunized more quickly.

It comes as Dr Anthony Fauci, the nation's top infectious disease expert, says the data of these studies look 'impressive,' and that, if the analysis holds up, health officials may consider letting coronavirus survivors get one vaccine dose.

Researchers looked at blood samples of 10 people previously infected with coronavirus who received one shot of the Pfizer-BioNTech or Moderna vaccine (file image)

COVID-19 survivors had boosted levels of immune system cells (far left) and a 1,000-fold increase in levels of neutralizing antibodies against the original strain (middle) and the South African variant (far right)

Dr Anthony Fauci (pictured) said on ABC on Monday that the data of these studies are remarkable, but need to be examined more carefully

For the study, published on pre-print server medRxiv.org, the team looked at blood samples from 10 coronavirus survivors who donated plasma.

Each one had blood samples examined before and after a single dose of either the Pfizer-BioNTech or the Moderna vaccine.

Results showed a significant jump in the levels of two types of white blood cells - B and CD4+ T cell responses, which help mediate immunity.

There was also a 1,000-fold increase in levels of neutralizing antibodies.

'[This is] a massive, massive boost,' lead author Dr Andrew T. McGuire, an immunologist at Fred Hutchinson Cancer, told The New York Times.

''It looks pretty clear that we're boosting their pre-existing immunity.'

Researchers also examined whether the antibodies generated by the vaccine would neutralize the original strain from Wuhan, China, and the South African variant known as B.1.351.

They found samples from all of the participants neutralize the original strain, the variant and coronavirus that caused the SARS epidemic in 2002-2003.

The team says it's not sure how long the booted level of antibodies will endure , but 'hopefully, they'll last a long time, McGuire told The Times.

The findings are similar to several studies, including one by the Icahn School of Medicine at Mount Sinai in New York that looked at 109 people after receiving coronavirus vaccine doses, 41 of whom were previously infected with the virus.

COVID-19 survivors had antibody levels 10 to 20 times higher after just one shot and about 10-fold higher after a second shot

In another paper, from the University of Maryland, researchers looked at the antibody responses of 59 previously infected healthcare workers who receive a single dose of the Pfizer or Moderna vaccines.

The results showed that those who had had COVID-19 earlier in the pandemic had statistically significant higher levels of antibodies than those without, and 'had a classic secondary response to a single inoculation'.

With more than 28 million confirmed cases - and the CDC suggesting that actual figure is closer to 83 million - it could mean that vaccine doses are freed up for those who have never been infected.

The daily average of vaccinations has fallen to 1.2 million per day, but it still appears President Joe Biden will reach his goal of 100 million shots in arms in the first 100 days of his term

Currently, 43.6 million people - 13.5% of the U.S. population - have received at least dose and 18.8 million - 5.7% of the population - have received two doses

It comes as Fauci, the director of the National Institute for Allergy and Infectious Diseases, was asked about the findings on Good Morning America on Tuesday.

Fauci said the data are remarkable, but that the results need to be examined more carefully before federal regulators issue any guidance suggesting survivors receive just one dose.

'Superficially, looking at it, it looks really quite impressive that if you have gotten infected and then get a single dose of the vaccine that the response you get is extraordinarily high,' he told George Stephanopoulos.

'So when we look at all that data and analyze it...if it holds true, we're always open to considering that in people who do get infected, that they may only need one dose. But you really want to look at the data first before you make any policy decisions.'

Currently, 43.6 million people - 13.5 percent of the U.S. population - have received at least dose and 18.8 million - 5.7 percent- have received two doses.

The daily average of vaccinations has fallen to 1.2 million per day, but it still appears President Joe Biden will reach his goal of 100 million shots in arms in the first 100 days of his term.
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On February 16, Cambodian Prime Minister Hun Sen signed a sub-decree to set up a National Internet Gateway (NIG).

The Cambodian government initially proposed the NIG in July 2020 with the stated goal of controlling and monitoring online traffic. The system will route all international internet traffic through a single entry point.

According to the 11-page decree released on February 17, the NIG is intended to facilitate and manage domestic and international internet connections, to enhance national revenue collection effectively, to protect national security, and to maintain social order."

A government-appointed operator tasked with setting up the system will work with other authorities to block and/or disconnect any network connections deemed to undermine those goals or violate "morality, culture, traditions, and customs.

The NIG operator will report directly to the Ministry of Posts and Telecommunications.

By February 2022, all internet service providers (ISPs) will have to route their traffic through the national gateway. Internet users will be required to fill out identification verification forms provided by ISPs. Apart from controlling and monitoring online traffic, Cambodian authorities will also be able to cut off access to the internet.

Critics warn Cambodia is seeking to set up its own version of Chinas Great Firewall, which strictly monitors and censors content that appears online. The Voice of America reported that Cambodias government proposed the system amid growing international criticism of its crackdown on the countrys civil society and political opposition, with Hun Sen increasing his grip on power while his rivals face criminal prosecution.

Government spokesperson Phay Siphan dismissed those concerns, saying the government was acting within its rights and duties to establish the NIG to maintain social order, the independent Cambodian news outlet VOD reported.

When we first drive a car, we have to follow the traffic law, he said. [Is there] any country which does not control the Internet? The USA and England have it, and they have spent a lot of money on counterterrorism, so Cambodia made this sub-decree by learning from other countries.

Siphans comparison is misleading. While regulations governing the internet exist throughout the world, the degree of control being sought by the Cambodian government far exceeds that in the U.S., where free speech protections are paramount.

Laura DeNardis, an internet governance scholar, professor and interim dean of the School of Communication at American University in Washington, D.C., told Polygraph.info the NIG runs contrary to how the internet is designed.

Funneling internet traffic through a single gateway is fundamentally incompatible with how the internet works globally, both in design and practice. Such a governance choice potentially creates a concentration point for censorship and surveillance, but also a point of vulnerability for hackers, outages and foreign espionage, DeNardis said.

Other tech-focused associations and experts voiced similar concerns.

In December 2020, the Asian Internet Coalition (AIC), an association of leading internet and technology companies, warned that the NIG would not enhance Cambodias internet connectivity, as claimed by the government.

What it does is grant the Government extraordinary powers to arbitrarily block online content or network connections. Undermining citizens rights to internet access raises grave concerns about freedom of expression, media censorship, and user privacy, the association said in a statement.

New York-based Human Rights Watch (HRW) warned that the NIG could have a chilling effect on online communications.

Cambodias National Internet Gateway is the missing tool in the governments toolbox for online repression, said Phil Robertson, HRWs deputy Asia director. Its no coincidence that after shutting down critical media across the country, the Hun Sen government has now turned its attention to online critics, just in time for the nationally organized commune elections due in 2022.

Citing the Johannesburg Principles on National Security, Freedom of Expression and Access to Information, the Thomas Reuters Foundation said restrictions on the rights to freedom of expression and information on nation security grounds are illegitimate if they are a pretext for protecting the government or concealing information about the government.

Hun Sens track record raises concern that the NIG will be abused to censor criticism or block access to sensitive information, the foundation said.

The U.S. government-funded human rights group Freedom House ranked Cambodias internet as partially free in its Freedom on the Net 2020 report.

A reliable and diverse information space has been undermined by website blocks, the revocation of online news outlets licenses over critical reporting, and content manipulation, the report stated.  [I]nternet users continued to face pretrial detention and convictions for other online activity.

In the first three months of 2020, 17 people, including opposition activists and a 14-year-old girl, were arrested for sharing information about the coronavirus online in Cambodia.

A woman was arrested for dressing provocatively while selling products on Facebook. Numerous others have been detained and/or imprisoned for uploading political posts.

In December 2020, two rappers were jailed for posting songs critical of the government on YouTube. Youth activist Kong Raiya was incarcerated for advertising T-shirts online bearing the name and words of murdered activist Kem Ley.

The crackdown extends offline, with activists from the banned opposition Cambodia National Rescue Party (CNRP) regularly assaulted, most recently on February 16.

Mass trials of opposition figures began in January, with 121 people affiliated with the CNRP charged with treason or incitement.

CNRP leader Kem Sokha is currently on trial for treason. The United Nations Working Group on Arbitrary Detention said the case had clearly resulted from the exercise of his right to take part in the government of his country.

Apart from being a tool of censorship, critics say the NIG is also technically deficient and will create security concerns.

The AIC said that creating a bottleneck for all international internet traffic could deteriorate internet speed and increase cybersecurity risks, impacting all internet users in the country, including any Cambodian business that has an online presence.

The association added that the decision to deny Cambodians internet connection alternatives risked dampening innovation, foreign investment and the growth of Cambodias nascent digital economy.

DeNardis agrees.

Considering that the digital economy and the political sphere are so dependent on the internet, this choice could backfire by creating a technical vulnerability. Architectures of decentralization, redundancy, and interoperability are a far more responsible choice for security, the economy, and society, she said.

The Phnom Penh-based Cambodian Center for Human Rights noted that the likely throttling of internet speeds caused by such bottlenecking had discouraged other governments attempts to create NIGs, including Thailands national internet gateway proposal, which was scrapped in 2015.

The United States has long operated under an internet model whose controls bear little resemblance to Cambodias plan. In its 2020 report, Freedom House ranked the U.S. the seventh-most free out of 65 countries, accounting for 87% of global internet traffic.

The report did note the U.S. had experienced four consecutive years of decline, spurred by increased surveillance of social media by federal and local law enforcement, targeted harassment and even spurious criminal charges for their posts or retweets, and the arbitrary and disproportionate response by the administration of U.S. President Donald Trump to halt transactions with the Chinese-owned TikTok and WeChat on national security grounds.

Still, the U.S. internet is relatively free and is not subject to state censorship or anything like Cambodias National Internet Gateway.

The OpenNet Initiative, a collaborative partnership between the University of Toronto, Harvard University, and the SecDev Group, noted that many U.S. government attempts to regulate internet content have been barred on First Amendment grounds. (The First Amendment of the U.S. Constitution guarantees the right to freedom of speech, religion, assembly and presenting grievances.)

In contrast to much of the world, where ISPs are subject to state mandates, most content regulation in the United States and Canada occurs at the private level, the OpenNet Initiative said.

In 2013, the U.S. Federal Communications Commission estimated the U.S. had roughly 7,800 internet providers, half the global total at the time. More recently, BroadbandNow, which aggregates information on internet providers, estimated the number of U.S. internet providers at 2,758. That tally excludes unlicensed wireless operators and local overbuilders  firms that build fiber-optic and cable internet over existing telephone and cable companies.

In April 2020, Cambodias TRC said 68 internet and nine mobile service providers were operating in the country. Nevertheless, Siphan called the internet in Cambodia disorderly.

In the United States, an internet service provider can only be compelled to shut down by a court order. That, coupled with the large number of ISPs, makes an internet kill switch in the U.S. largely unfeasible.
New Delhi:

A gunbattle broke out between the Delhi police and criminals near Connaught Place's Shivaji Stadium late on Wednesday night. After the encounter police have arrested three of the assailants but one has gone absconding.

A huge amount of arms and ammunition have also been recovered from their possession.

The reasons of the encounter however still remain unknown. But according to the sources, police have started an investigation into the encounter and more details are expected to come up later in the day.

No one was reported injured in the incident.

Delhi's crime rate has increased in recent times and the Delhi Police had recently arrested a man who had threatened to blow up the iconic Red Fort.

ALSO READ: Notorious gangster Ajay Dabas who fled from police custody arrested

The Delhi police has also tightened secrurity following intelligence inputs about possible attacks by terror outfits on foreigners in the Hauz Khas Village. The security has been beefed up in view of recent incidents of terror attacks on foreign tourists in various European countries.

READ: Sunanda Pushkar case: HC asks Delhi Police to submit report in 3 days

A pandemic-besieged hospital on the edge of the Navajo Nation says it has been the focus of a cyberattack.

The nonprofit operator of Rehoboth McKinley Christian Hospital in Gallup issued a brief statement acknowledging unauthorized activity on its computer network.

Hospital spokeswoman Ina Burmeister says hospital operators have hired private investigators and taken other undisclosed measures to prevent further unauthorized activity.

The scope and consequences of the intrusion were unclear.

Former hospital employee Cassandra Martinez says she sought emergency services at the hospital on Feb. 7 and that hospital personnel were unable to access her online records.

A wave of digital assaults has been taking U.S. health care providers hostage as they contend with the COVID-19 pandemic.

In September 2020, a ransomware attack paralyzed a chain of more than 250 U.S. hospitals and clinics, with related outages that delayed emergency room care.

Burmeister declined to comment on possible responses by law enforcement.

We will fully comply with our legal obligations, including contacting any impacted individuals, as appropriate, the hospital said in a statement.

Rehoboth McKinley Christian Hospital and an adjacent hospital run by Indian Health Service have been wrestling with stubbornly high coronavirus infection rates in a city that serves as a trading post for remote areas Navajo Nation.

In McKinley County, which encompasses Gallup, there has been roughly one infection confirmed for every four residents since the outset of the pandemic. The virus death rate is above six per 1,000 residents.

Copyright 2021 Associated Press. All rights reserved. This material may not be published, broadcast, rewritten or redistributed.

Topics COVID-19 Cyber
Washington, (UrduPoint / Pakistan Point News - 22nd Feb, 2021 ) :Boeing confirmed Monday that dozens of its 777 aircraft were grounded globally after the engine of a United Airlines plane caught fire and scattered debris over a suburb of Denver, Colorado.

It is a fresh blow for the beleaguered US aviation giant that was forced to ground another fleet of planes after a series of deadly crashes.

Boeing said Monday that 128 of it 777 planes with Pratt & Whitney engines will stop flying after the fire Saturday that forced the United Airlines plane to make an emergency landing.

"I have just had confirmation that all the 777s equipped with this engine have been grounded," a spokeswoman for the planemaker told AFP in a text message.

Flight UA328 had been headed from Denver to Honolulu when it experienced engine failure shortly after departure.

A video shot from inside the plane -- which had 231 passengers and 10 crew on board -- showed the right engine ablaze and wobbling on the wing of the Boeing 777-200.

Residents in the Denver suburb of Broomfield found large pieces of the plane scattered around their community.

Its front cowling, which landed in the front yard of a house, was entirely missing as the aircraft returned to Denver airport.

There were no injuries on the plane or on the ground, authorities said.

- Stepped-up inspections - The US Federal Aviation Administration had ordered extra inspections of some passenger jets after the incident.

Steve Dickson, the head of the regulator, said he had consulted with experts, signalling the planes would likely be removed from the air.

"I have directed them to issue an Emergency Airworthiness Directive that would require immediate or stepped-up inspections of Boeing 777 airplanes equipped with certain Pratt & Whitney PW4000 engines," he said in a statement.

Dickson added that a preliminary safety data review pointed to a need for additional checks of the jet engine's fan blades, which were unique to the engine model and only used on 777 planes.

Officials from the FAA met with Pratt & Whitney and Boeing representatives on Sunday evening, he added.

The US National Transportation and Safety Board also said it is investigating the incident, while United Airlines, Asiana, Japan Airlines and All Nippon Airways grounded their planes earlier.

Japan's transport ministry had earlier said it had ordered stricter inspections of the engine after a Japan Airlines 777 plane flying from Haneda to Naha experienced trouble with "an engine in the same family" in December.

Asiana Airlines, South Korea's second-largest carrier, had also said it would not fly any of its seven currently operational 777s.

- Fresh blow for Boeing - The engine failure is unwelcome news for Boeing following several high-profile accidents.

The manufacturer's 737 MAX was grounded worldwide in March 2019 after 346 people died in two crashes -- the 2019 Lion Air disaster in Indonesia and an Ethiopian Airlines crash the following year.

Investigators said a main cause of both crashes was a faulty flight handling system known as the Maneuvering Characteristics Augmentation System, or MCAS.

Boeing was forced to revamp the system and implement new pilot training protocols.

This month the aircraft made its first commercial flight in Europe since the grounding, after the continent's air safety regulator EASA approved the return of the 737 MAX.

The FAA and Britain's Civil Aviation Authority have also cleared the aircraft for flying again.

The 737 MAX was a big hit with airlines, becoming Boeing's fastest-selling aircraft until its grounding, which has now been lifted.

After the Covid-19 crisis decimated demand, airlines cancelled hundreds of orders for the plane.
Justice delayed is justice denied--all of us have heard this but in DNA show on Monday our report will make you question if justice delayed can be considered true justice after all. Even after the delay of years, if the court gives the right verdict still many lives are affected due to the delay. Today we will tell you about a mother who has been sentenced to death and post-independence in India, Shabnam is likely to be the first woman to be hanged. Meanwhile, her innocent son is demanding the right of his mother.

READ | UPs Shabnam may be the first woman to be hanged after India's Independence

The case belongs to the Amroha district of Uttar Pradesh where a girl named Shabnam had killed all 7 people of her family because she wanted to marry her boyfriend and her family was against the marriage. Shabnam felt that if she killed her family she will be able to get married and the property will also be in her name.

But Shabnam was arrested with her boyfriend after the crime and both of them were sentenced to death by the Amroha court in 2010. Since then 13 years have passed and Shabnam gave birth to a son in jail in December 2008. The child wants the law of the country should spare the life of Shabnam. The child has also made an appeal to President Ram Nath Kovind to commute the death sentence of his mother. Now the question is whether Shabnam will be hanged or not? A mother always saves children from every difficulty but in this case, will the son save his mother?

In April 2008, seven people of Amroha were killed. A daughter killed seven people including her parents, brother-in-law, sister and an 11- month-old. The girl's name was Shabnam and she did this work together with her lover Salim. Shabnam was a postgraduate girl whereas Salim was a class 8 pass.

The family did not agree to this relationship but Shabnam wanted to marry Salim as well as wanted the property for her safe future. So, Shabnam gave the family sleeping pills in tea. When all of them became unconscious, the duo killed everyone together. First Shabnam told the police that the dacoits have killed her family and they escaped because she was sleeping on the roof while the rest of the family below. But the case was opened within five days and both Shabnam and Salim were arrested.

Shabnam is currently locked in Rampur Jail which has applied a petition from Amroha's District Court to issue a death warrant for the hanging of Shabnam. In this case, there is a hearing in Amroha's district court on Tuesday.

In December 2008, this child was born in jail. According to the law, the child should be kept with the mother for 6 years. After spending 6 years and 7 months, the second chapter of this child's life started. After 6 years the child could not stay in jail. But neither her uncle and aunt left nor Salim's family wanted to adopt the child. At this juncture, husband-wife Usman and Vandana came forward for the custody of the child. Usman was two years junior to Shabnam in college.

Meanwhile, this house in Bawankhedi village of Amroha is once again bustling. Now Shabnam's uncle aunt is living here. After 13 years, the memory of this incident has also become a little blurred. Perhaps this is why family and neighbours are now demanding that she be not hanged.

Mathura is the only jail in Uttar Pradesh, where there is a hanging area for women and was built in 1870 in Mathura jail. But no woman has been hanged since 1947. According to sources, the area is being repaired. The noose has been ordered and other Shabnam lawyers are looking for legal options to defend. Shabnam has decided to donate the property.

This news is a great example of how serious the consequences are if justice is delayed. Shabnam and Salim were sentenced to death by the district court of Amroha in 2010 after two years in the 2008 murder case. After that, the case went to the Allahabad High Court and then to the Supreme Court but the execution of the sentence remained intact. In this case, Shabnam's mercy petition has been dismissed by the President in 2016. But there are still many legal options left.

India is among those countries in the world where the conviction rate is the lowest. The Indian Penal Code means that the punishment for crimes under the IPC is only 40 per cent. Surprisingly, the Conviction Rate is continuously decreasing in India. In 2016, the conviction rate in cases of serious crime was 46 per cent, which has now come down by about 5 to 6 per cent. According to the National Crime Records Bureau or NCRB, in 2016, 5,96,000 people were convicted for serious crimes, while 6,78,000 people were acquitted.

The biggest reason for this is that our justice system works at a much slower pace than the whole world. There are currently more than three and a half crore cases pending in Indian courts. As of November 2019, the number of pending cases in the Supreme Court is around 54,,000, about 44,75000 in different high courts and 3.14 crore cases in lower courts.

At the time of the crime, Shabnam was a 25-year-old daughter but did not fulfil the duty of being a daughter. She didn't tremble while killing her mother but her son is praying to the President for his mother.
By Chris Bragg | Times Union, Albany

Albany, N.Y.  It remains unclear why the chairman of New Yorks ethics commission resigned. But the decision certainly seemed abrupt.

On the afternoon of Feb. 10, Michael K. Rozen had been scheduled to lead a subcommittee meeting of the Joint Commission on Public Ethics. But just hours before it was set to begin, Rozen sent an email stating he was resigning after serving six years in the position.

To critics of Gov. Andrew M. Cuomo, the timing suggested he was tightening control over JCOPE, two days after news broke of a rare investigation initiated by the watchdog panel that would touch Cuomos office. In addition, not long before he resigned, Rozen is said to have expressed openness to filling the long-vacant post of JCOPE executive director with a candidate without close ties to Cuomo  which would be a first in the panels decade-long existence.

Whatever the reason for Rozens exit, Cuomo had the unilateral power to replace him and appoint a new chair. He immediately named Camille Joseph Varlack, an attorney who served in the governors administration for four years. A review of Varlacks resume reveals deep involvement in a Cuomo program that  like JCOPE  has been touted as a good-government initiative, but has in the view of critics been used to keep a lid on scandals.

In 2015, longtime Cuomo aide Linda A. Lacewell set up a little-noticed program spanning the executive branch. Lacewell, at that point in the post of chief risk officer for the Executive Chamber, embedded highly paid senior attorneys in two dozen state agencies.

I hired them and put them there, Lacewell said in 2018.

They were to be the eyes and ears of the governors office, on alert for ethical pitfalls. They would quickly report back to Lacewell, allowing Cuomo to better control and direct agency actions. Varlack was part of this network of administration attorneys, and quickly rose in the ranks, eventually taking over Lacewells position as chief risk officer.

When announced, New Yorks first-ever statewide ethics, risk and compliance initiative was framed as bringing a private-sector risk management model to state agencies and public authorities. But for the governors office, the job also means managing negative information that might come to light  a practice now exploding into public view during the scandal over Cuomos suppression of nursing home death data.

Lacewell, now the superintendent of the state Department of Financial Services, leads Cuomos Covid-19 task force that is a focus of the Brooklyn U.S. Attorneys recently initiated investigation into the administrations handling of the virus in nursing homes.

A function of special counsels embedded at state agencies, according to sources speaking on condition of anonymity, has been helping flag and manage potentially troublesome Freedom of Information Law requests filed with those agencies by the media and others  exactly the sort of requests that are at the center of the administrations controversial handling of nursing homes during the coronavirus pandemic. Cuomos administration often drags out, by months and even years, the release of public records.

When Varlack joined the Cuomo administration in May 2015, it was as an officer in Lacewells new risk management program, serving as the Department of Financial Services special counsel for ethics, risk and compliance. Varlack was quickly promoted to a job in Cuomos office, where she became Lacewells deputy director of the recently created program. She was promoted to director of state operations and chief risk officer before leaving for a private law practice in April 2019, according to her LinkedIn profile.

Varlack has become chair of JCOPE as it has endured years of increasing criticism over the perception that its actions  as well as its penchant for inaction  are dictated by Cuomos office.

Cuomo senior advisor Richard Azzopardi said that Varlack, a former prosecutor in Brooklyn and the first Black woman to lead JCOPE, had helped build and run a nation-leading statewide ethics program, which helps reduce risk and elevates standards of integrity.

Additionally, she brings much needed diversity as the chair of JCOPE and we are honored she agreed to serve, Azzopardi said.

Minister of Defense

Lacewell, a veteran of the same Brooklyn U.S. attorneys office thats now probing the coronavirus task force, has a reputation as an especially loyal and combative aide in an administration known for those traits.

In 2018, on the witness stand in Manhattan federal court, Lacewell was asked how she came to be referred to as Cuomos Minister of Defense.

Testifying in the 2018 corruption trial of former top Cuomo aide Joseph Percoco, who is serving a six-year prison sentence, Lacewell explained that while other top Cuomo aides would rush down the political playing field scoring points, her job was to make sure they dont fall into a pitfall or trap for the unwary.

My role was principally on what we call the defense side, Lacewell said. And so I would typically be in the room to focus on ethics and risk  and potential reaction from the public or the press.

Lacewell testified that the ethics, risk and compliance initiative was meant to reduce the potential liability posed by dozens of state agencies handling billions of dollars in contracts. Her team of agency lawyers kept Cuomos office abreast of those risks, allowing the Executive Chamber to quickly direct responses to emerging threats  whether cyber, litigation or financial  as well as Freedom of Information Law requests.

Embedding senior lawyers at two dozen key agencies who reported back to Lacewell would save taxpayer money and protect integrity across the state, Lacewell testified. The agency lawyers each have the title of special counsel for ethics, risk, and compliance. The initiative derived from a direct conversation with Cuomo, Lacewell said.

Lacewell testified that she had done similar work volunteering her time for Cuomos political campaign, examining the optics of campaign donations from companies seeking state government contracts. A main motivation for this practice, Lacewell again stated, was avoiding public criticism from the media and good-government groups.

Percocos defense attorney, Barry Bohrer, asked Lacewell if her work as Cuomos Minister of Defense meant her job was to protect the reputation of the office.

Protecting the employees, the governor, and the public trust, Lacewell said.

One accomplishment touted by Lacewells initiative is New Yorks Open FOIL program, which allows the public to easily submit open records requests at more than 50 agencies. Azzopardi called it an award-winning, first-in-the-nation online platform which improves transparency, efficiency and ease of use for FOIL requestors.

But streamlining and centralizing the process also allows the governors office to more immediately flag potentially problematic requests filed at state agencies, which then often face the lengthy delays.

Among other recent accomplishments, Cuomos office said the special counsels led efforts to flag fraudulent unemployment claims that saved the state billions, and vetted the credentials of 80,000 medical volunteers assisting with Covid-19.

Azzopardi said many of the special counsels are former prosecutors and any challenge to their integrity or commitment is outrageous and whoever you are talking to doesnt know what they are talking about.

Lets be clear, the inclination that they somehow impede the FOIL process is wrong, Azzopardi said. They are neither gatekeepers nor decision makers in the FOIL process.

Reached by phone, Lacewell referred the Times Union to her agencys press office, which declined to make her available for an interview.

Lacewell has a long history of screening Cuomos official records. In 2012  after the Times Union filed a request seeking documents from Cuomos term as attorney general  Lacewell visited the State Archives five times, sign-in sheets showed. The State Archives housed records from Cuomos attorney general tenure, and Lacewell ended up personally pulling dozens of folders so they could not be scrutinized.

Legal layers

When Lacewell testified during the Percoco trial, private attorney Judith Mogul was sitting in the courtroom. At one point, Mogul emerged from the audience to argue that a Cuomo document was legally privileged information. Mogul stated that she was representing Lacewell in personal and professional capacity.

Mogul at the time was a principal at a New York City law firm, Morvillo Abramowitz, that has a deep history of navigating Cuomo through legal trouble. The white-collar firm has represented the Executive Chamber during three criminal investigations, including the Buffalo Billion-related trials as well as one civil matter.

In total, Morvillo Abramowitz has been paid $670,000 by Cuomos campaign, and $3.2 million by state taxpayers. The cost might be more, except that Mogul  who billed hundreds of hours working for Cuomo while at the law firm  was hired away by Executive Chamber in early 2019 as a $173,000-a-year special counsel.

In her current post, Mogul is now the boss of the Executive Chamber staffer who leads the ethics, risk and compliance initiative that Lacewell founded. And Mogul is one of the two staffers in the governors office who principally interacts with JCOPE, according to the agencys general counsel Monica Stamm.

At the ethics agencys most recent meeting in January, Stamm said that in the Executive Chamber, she primarily interacts with Mogul and Julia Kupiec, a special counsel and ethics officer for Cuomo.

Varlack, who did not respond to requests for comment, is a former Executive Chamber colleague of both of those Cuomo liaisons to JCOPE. And Mogul was the attorney for Lacewell, Varlacks former boss.

As chair, Varlack will be tasked with working with JCOPE staff and setting the agenda for meetings. She will also presumably lead the the now-20-month search for an executive director to lead the agency.

Since JCOPE was founded in 2011, all three of the agencys top staffers had previously held positions working under Cuomo  a pattern that has fed the public perception that the ethics agency lacks independence from the governor. Though similar complaints of coordination with elected officials have at times been leveled against non-Cuomo appointees to the panel, the governor names more commissioners to JCOPE than any other leader does.

Cuomo-appointed JCOPE commissioners have been pushing for Stamm  a Cuomo staffer when he was state attorney general  to be promoted to the executive director position. But the six legislative appointees have resisted hiring anyone with close ties to Albanys political infrastructure, and Stamm has not gained the necessary eight commissioner votes needed.

At a panel discussion held last week by the New York City Bar Association, Stamm said she did not actually know Cuomo well, noting that since working in Cuomos attorney general office, she has held a job at JCOPE for nine years. She argued that all three prior JCOPE executive directors were eminently qualified, and that it was a misconception that Cuomo exerts undue influence.

I think that people tell that story, and manipulate that story, but I think If you looked at the work that we do, you dont really see that playing out, Stamm said. There hasnt been any interference that the public is concerned about.

A setback

In the days before Rozens abrupt replacement as chairman, several issues were swirling related to JCOPE and Cuomo.

Three days before Rozen resigned, the Times Union reported that although JCOPE approved the October publication of Cuomos most recent book, American Crisis: Leadership Lessons from the Covid-19 Pandemic, Cuomos office wouldnt answer a question about whether, in seeking the agencys approval, the governor submitted all information that JCOPE says is required of state employees.

Then, two days before Rozen resigned, the Times Union reported that JCOPE was investigating the Syracuse-area firm COR Development  a company at the center of the Buffalo Billion scandal that rocked the Cuomo administration.

Meanwhile, with Cuomos six commissioners unable to push through Stamms appointment as executive director, Rozen before his resignation expressed openness to hiring a former judge to the position, a source said. Such a candidate might have been acceptable to JCOPEs legislative appointees looking to back someone with more distance from Cuomos orbit.

Before Rozen resigned, commissioners had gotten the green light to check the references of three finalists for the post. With Rozen gone, its unclear where the process stands.

Reached last week, Rozen declined to answer questions.

Azzopardi, the Cuomo advisor, did not answer specific questions about whether the governors book deal, the COR Development investigation or JCOPEs executive director search contributed to Rozens departure.

I dont follow every one of these wild theories, but he resigned and we thank him for his service, Azzopardi said.

The status quo may serve Cuomos interests: Over the past 20 months, Stamm has been serving as JCOPEs de facto executive director. Even if she cant win the votes to be formally promoted, the Cuomo commissioners preferred candidate is still running the agency.

JCOPE Commissioner Gary Lavine, a Senate Republican appointee to the body, has been a vocal advocate for making JCOPE more independent of Albanys political establishment.

Rozens resignation hinders those efforts, he said.

It does not serve the public interest to leave the (executive director) position open. Its been open already for an extended period of time, Lavine said. The resignation of Chairman Rozen  in my view  is a setback in the process.

World should take firm action against Myanmar's military junta



It is appalling to see Myanmar's armed forces stepping up a bloody crackdown on citizens protesting the Feb. 1 military coup. Over the weekend, the country's security forces began to open fire on protesters, resulting in several deaths.



According to Myanmar's local media, thousands of demonstrators gathered to hold a disobedience campaign in Yangon. Hundreds of security forces fired live rounds and rubber bullets to disperse workers who were staging a walkout in a shipyard in Mandalay, Myanmar's second-largest city, Saturday, killing at least two and injuring around 30. The death toll increased to four as of Sunday.



More worrisome is that the troops were purportedly from the same unit that engaged in a massacre of the Rohingya people in 2017. A woman in her 20s, who was shot in the head Feb. 9 during a rally in the capital, Naypyidaw, died Friday, unable to be revived from a coma.



Protests have continued since the coup d'etat. Concerns are growing that the brutal crackdown may result in more bloodshed. To prevent tragic consequences from occurring, the international community needs to pay more attention to developments in Myanmar and apply more pressure on the military to undo its coup and restore civilian rule.



Despite the bloody crackdown, the security forces have largely failed to quell the demonstrations calling for the restoration of democracy in the Southeast Asian country. The military junta should bear in mind that it cannot reverse the march toward democracy which the Myanmarese started to end five decades of military dictatorship. It should respect the results of the November 2020 general election in which Aung San Suu Kyi's National League for Democracy (NLD) won 83 percent of the seats up for grabs. It must stop its crackdown on demonstrators calling for democracy.



The United States and European Union have reacted promptly and strongly to the coup, expressing regret over the military's action and demanding that it immediately stop its bloody suppression. We urge other countries to join international efforts to condemn the junta in its bid to return to military rule.



Korea's foreign ministry issued a statement urging the military to refrain from using violence against protesters. Yet the Moon Jae-in government should take more proactive steps to help Myanmar restore civilian rule in collaboration with other countries. Most of all, the military should be held accountable for firing at unarmed citizens, which cannot and should not be condoned under any circumstances.



We strongly support the Myanmarese who are fighting bravely for democracy. They cannot forget that the military killed thousands of people in 1988 during their pro-democracy struggles; yet their aspiration for democracy seems to be too great to be suppressed by any bloody crackdowns.



The military junta has arrested more than 500 figures who participated in the disobedience campaign, and frequently shuts down internet connections. The international community should mobilize all possible means to stop the military's anachronistic actions immediately.






Side-by-side photos show the NYPD officers arresting a suspect in New York on Feb. 16, 2021 (L) and protesters hurling petrol bombs at police in Hong Kong on Aug. 25, 2019.

(People's Daily OnlineOn Feb. 16, a New York Police Department (NYPD) officer was filmed repeatedly punching a 50-year-old suspect in the head as he was pinned down on the ground by three other officers at the South Ferry subway station in New York City.

The bystander filming the video was heard saying Oh my God as additional officers with police dogs arrived at the scene to keep other pedestrians away from the scuffle. After being posted online this past Thursday, the clip was soon widely shared across social media, with many accusing the NYPD of engaging in police brutality.

CNN reported on the news story amid the uproar, pointing out that since it has not reviewed an unedited copy of the video, there was no indication of what happened before the video began or during edited portions.

These cops were doing exactly what was asked of them: enforcing the transit system rules, NYC Police Benevolent Association president Patrick Lynch was quoted by CNN as saying.

It is good to see that CNN is attempting to adopt an objective and fair position in reporting on US police enforcement, using multiple sources and avoiding an undue overreliance on out-of-context fragments of information.

Unfortunately, this journalistic principle seems to enjoy short shrift when applied to the counterparts of American law enforcement in China.

During an illegal protest in Hong Kong on Aug. 25, 2019, CNN released a story headlined Police Use Petrol Bombs and Water Cannons Against Hong Kong Protesters, along with a widely circulated video, blaming HK police for their actions against protesters.

It turned out that the video was not only comprised of out-of-context fragments, but was nothing more than a clumsily devised patchwork -- the petrol bombs, as revealed in an original video clip, were hurled by the protesters instead of the police.

Such erroneous news coverage is not rare in CNNs reporting on China, including on issues such as Hong Kong and Xinjiang. CNN, which flaunts that it is working hard to ensure that its reporting is fair and balanced, has apparently deviated from its principles, which epitomizes the media outlets naked double standards and hypocrisy.

Respecting the truth in news reporting should be applied beyond the border. One can only hope that a global news media outlet like CNN could at last drop its ideological bias and take on a genuinely objective and fair attitude toward China, just like what they purport to promise, and much along the same lines as their reporting on US cops.
Mahindra Group Chairman Anand Mahindra took to his Twitter today to impart some Monday motivation. He shared an inspirational video of a 91-year-old woman who teaches children with special needs.

Mahindra shared the video with the caption, "A desire to serve & be useful. Courage to follow that conviction. The capacity to reinvent herself. The ability to look only for the silver lining. And a quiet & joyful acceptance of what she has received from life."

He added, "So this is what it means to be truly powerful. #MondayMotivaton"In the BBC news video that Mahindra shared, 91-year-old Lakshmi is seen narrating her story of how she started working when she was 67, after her husband's death. Lakshmi who works at a special needs school in Bangalore started working at an age when most people retire but her zest and will to work beats many younger people.

Lakshmi said in the video that she wanted to be a doctor and tend to the sick, however, the restrictions on girls during those times barred her from pursuing her goals. She also said that she loves the independence girls are getting nowadays.

Replying to Anand's tweet Sriram Vishwanathan, a Twitter user wrote, "Anand this is my aunt (Mother's sister) Glad you find her story inspiring !"

Mahindra reverted to Vishwanathan's tweet and said, "What a privilege to be her nephew! And your mother must be a remarkable person as well...@1sriram"





A desire to serve & be useful. Courage to follow that conviction. The capacity to reinvent herself. The ability to look only for the silver lining. And a quiet & joyful acceptance of what she has received from life. So this is what it means to be truly powerful. #MondayMotivatonpic.twitter.com/QLU8M9C8EU  anand mahindra (@anandmahindra) February 22, 2021

What a privilege to be her nephew! And your mother must be a remarkable person as well... @1sriramhttps://t.co/T6ykAuDU89  anand mahindra (@anandmahindra) February 22, 2021

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(Photo : Screenshot from YouTube/ESO) A 'Valheim' guide on how to stay warm in the mountains.

The best weapons in "Valheim" are crafted through guck, a material which you can find in Swamp. On the other hand, you might consider traveling in the mountains, but you should first know how to stay warm in the wintry mountain before proceeding.

Without further ado, let's get to know how to farm guck and how to maintain warmth through getting warm clothing and using a Frost Resistance Mead.

How To Farm Guck in The Swamp

Getting guck will not be an easy task. Sometimes, you can see it up a tree, so it will require you some mechanical skills to get it. Remember that you cannot hit it with your arrow, so follow this comprehensive guide.

First, you need to gather wood that is enough to build a small house and wooden chair. You are also required to get an ax. Search in the swap and look for the Gucksacks that are glowing green in the trunks.

You now have the guck to build your house and the chair. They are necessary for you to reach the Gucksacks in the tree and the only way to do that is through climbing.

Make sure there are no obstructions like straying creatures around the area. If you think that the area is now cleared of a possible hindrance, now climb up and continue axing the Gucksack. You can rotate to find more Gucksack in trees then dismantle the equipment to regain the wood.

According to ScreenRant, you can use Guck for different purposes: for material crafting, fuel use, and dyeing buildings. As a fuel, the guck is helpful as your light source near the Forge. As a dye, it will level up your Comfort level by one point.

Now for crafting equipment, you can use guck to obtain Draugr Fang, a powerful weapon that can poison opponents as well as pierce them. To know more about the item recipes, refer to the following:

Standing Green-Burning Iron Torch (requires 2 iron and 2 guck)

Green Banner: (requires 6 leather scraps, 2 fine wood, and a guck)

Draugr Fang: (requires 20 silver, 10 ancient bark, 10 guck, and 2 deer hide)

Read Also: 'COD': Cold War Firebase Z Guide: How to Capture Mimics in Firebase and Find the Secret Crate

How To Stay Warm using Frost Resistance Mead

Surviving the frosty Mountain biome in "Valheim" is not easy compared to other survival games. You will walk through the freezing field which could damage you especially if you have no suitable clothing for the terrain. The next guide is about staying warm through the use of certain attire and potion.

When you begin digging silver ore, you will need an armor that retains heat so you will no longer use an anti-freeze potion. But first, how can you stay warm using Frost Resistance Mead?

To get the potion, you need to craft it using a fermenter and cauldron. If you do not know yet how to brew the mead, click here. The application of the mead will linger for 10 minutes so you can withstand the harsh, cold conditions in the mountains.

After learning how to brew the mead, remember these objects which will help you create a Frost Resistance Mead.

Dandelion

10 Blueberries

10 Raspberries

10 Honey

How To Acquire Warm Clothing

According to Pro Game Guides, you will first need the recipe for the mead before obtaining a warm outfit. Now, you can rely on either Wolf Fur Cape or the Wolf Armor Chest so you can stay at body temperature while braving the chilling environment.

If you want to craft a Wolf Armor, take note of these materials that you will gather. These three will produce a Wolf Armor Chest:

20 Silver

5 Wolf Pelt

Chain

Meanwhile, these materials will make you a Wolf Fur Cape:

6 Wolf Pelt

4 Silver

Wolf Trophy

If you are having a hard time making a Wolf Fur Cape, you can craft a Lox Cape, which has the same advantage as the former. It will protect you from cold. To craft it, you need these:

6 Lox Pelt

2 Silver

Loxes are bigger compared to wolves. They are described as reptiles with a wool-like feature like yaks. Just remember that they can also swim in the water, so your crafted boat can be destroyed by them.

Related Article: 'Valheim' Guide: How To Find Silver Without Wishbone

This article is owned by Tech Times.

Written by Joen Coronel

 2021 TECHTIMES.com All rights reserved. Do not reproduce without permission.
A NSW Police officer has told a parliamentary inquiry obstacles in overseas jurisdictions do not support calls to introduce an offence for coercive control.

Chief Inspector Sean McDermott said challenges of translating behaviours into evidence resulting in low prosecution and conviction rates in the UK should give lawmakers pause for thought in considering alternatives to creating a new criminal offence.

He was among domestic violence academics, community workers and legal experts to appear at the first hearing of the parliamentary inquiry into coercive control in domestic relationships. Fifty different representatives will appear over the three-day inquiry.

Head of Domestic Violence NSW Delia Donovan. Credit:Louise Kennerley

NSW Attorney-General Mark Speakman announced the inquiry in March last year, while a subsequent discussion paper garnered more than 100 submissions to inform how the state could move to criminalise coercive control.
BRUSSELS - European Union foreign ministers agreed Monday to impose new sanctions against Russian officials linked to the jailing of opposition leader Alexei Navalny, and expressed concern that the government in Moscow appears to see the 27-nation bloc as an adversary.

BRUSSELS - European Union foreign ministers agreed Monday to impose new sanctions against Russian officials linked to the jailing of opposition leader Alexei Navalny, and expressed concern that the government in Moscow appears to see the 27-nation bloc as an adversary.

We reached a political agreement to impose restrictive measures against those responsible for (Navalny's) arrest and sentencing and persecution, EU foreign policy chief Josep Borrell said after chairing their meeting in Brussels. He gave no details about the sanctions, but said that he hoped they would be finalized in about a week.

German Foreign Minister Heiko Maas speaks to the media as he arrives for a meeting of EU foreign ministers at the European Council building in Brussels, Monday, Feb 22, 2021. European Union foreign ministers on Monday will look at options for imposing fresh sanctions against Russia over the jailing of opposition leader Alexei Navalny as the 27-nation bloc considers the future of its troubled ties with the country. (Yves Herman, Pool via AP)

Borrell suggested that those targeted wouldn't include oligarchs close to President Vladimir Putin, as Navalny's supporters have requested.

Navalny, 44, an anti-corruption investigator and Putins most prominent critic, was arrested in Moscow last month upon returning from Germany, where he spent five months recovering from a nerve-agent poisoning that he blames on the Kremlin. Russian authorities have rejected the accusation.

Earlier this month, a court sentenced Navalny to two years and eight months in prison for violating the terms of his probation while recuperating in Germany. The sentence stems from a 2014 embezzlement conviction that Navalny has rejected as fabricated.

The European Court of Human Rights has also ruled that its unlawful. Navalnys arrest and imprisonment have fueled a huge wave of protests across Russia. Authorities responded with a sweeping crackdown, detaining about 11,000 people, many of whom were fined or given jail terms ranging from seven to 15 days.

There is a shared assessment in the Council that Russia is drifting towards an authoritarian state and driving away from Europe," Borrell told reporters.

Given Moscow's apparent path of confrontation and disengagement, Borrell said the bloc will work on three tracks: pushing back when Russia infringes international law, containing it when it pressures the EU, and engaging on issues that are in Europe's interests.

So far, EU countries have been deeply divided over their approach to Moscow. Russia is the EUs biggest natural gas supplier, and plays a key role in a series of international conflicts and key issues, including the Iran nuclear deal, and conflicts in Syria and Libya.

European heavyweight Germany has strong economic interests there, notably the NordStream 2 undersea pipeline project, and a number of countries, including France, are also reluctant to wade into any sanctions battle over Navalny.

We need Russia to resolve many international conflicts, and so that will also be a question we must deal with: How is it possible to maintain a constructive dialogue with Russia, even though relations between the EU and Russia have certainly reached a low point? German Foreign Minister Heiko Maas said.

The meeting came two weeks after Borrell was publicly humiliated by Russian Foreign Minister Sergey Lavrov during a trip to the country. Russia expelled diplomats from Germany, Poland and Sweden, accusing them of attending a rally in support of Navalny.

Borrell found out about the move by social media. The three retaliated by each declaring a Russian diplomat persona non grata. Criticism of Borrell initially mounted, but Lavrovs behaviour now seems to have united the Europeans, at least publicly, in their opposition to Moscows attempts to further divide them.

We confirmed our unity as our greatest asset, Borrell said. At the same time, we must define a modus vivendi to avoid permanent confrontation with a neighbour who unfortunately seems to have decided to act as an adversary."

U.S. Secretary of State Antony Blinken joined the ministers via videoconference for part of their meeting, with talks focusing on Russia but also China. Borrell said the exchange was very, very encouraging," and showed Washington's willingness to not only renew ties but to join in global leadership on the coronavirus, economic recovery, climate change and protecting democratic values.

Geir Moulson in Berlin contributed to this report.
TDT | Manama

The Daily Tribune  www.newsofbahrain.com

Companies in Bahrain should change the way they operate their businesses, says a top business leader.

Jamal Fakhro, the Managing Partner of KPMG Bahrain and First Vice Chairman of the Shura Council, said it was time for Bahrains businesses to think about talent management and recruit people who can work at a lower cost by using new technology.

He was speaking at a webinar organised by the Bahrain India Society (BIS) on The Road to Recovery-- Transforming Risks to Opportunities.

The meeting was chaired by Raj Damani, BIS chairman, who welcomed Fakhro, Indian Ambassador Piyush Srivastava, BIS Founder Chairman and former Labour and Social Affairs Minister Abdulnabi Al Shoala, and other guests.

We have been financing and funding our deficit through borrowing.

Our total debt is expected to reach 12.5 to 13 billion dinars by the end of this year, said Fakhro.

Because of the current pandemic and broken oil prices, 2021 is not looking good. We are way behind our target.

Since March last year, more than 75 per cent of our staff have been working from home.

And we found them efficient. Companies must start working with their banks on restructuring their loans, Fakhro said.

We should also think about new succession plans.

The new generation can do businesses better, he added.

BIS general secretary Madhavan Kallath introduced the speaker. Damani thanked the speaker for making the session interactive.
Lockdown restrictions continue to be eased in the UK according to the roadmaps of the various devolved nations.

As domestic travel for one household becomes possible once more, many Brits are wondering when they can stay in a hotel or B&B again.

Here are the key questions and answers.

Are hotels currently open?

The ban on leisure travel between England, Scotland and Wales has now been lifted. Most hotels in England and Wales are still closed - a few have remained open for key workers and for those with no other alternative.

Follow Covid news live: Latest lockdown updates

The government advice reads: Guest accommodation providers such as hotels, B&Bs and caravan parks may remain open for the specific reasons set out in law, including where guests are unable to return to their main residence, use that guest accommodation as their main residence, need accommodation while moving house, are self-isolating as required by law, or would otherwise be made homeless as a result of the accommodation closing.

However, all tourist accommodation, including hotels and B&Bs, was permitted to reopen in Scotland from 26 April.

When might hotels reopen?

Hotels and B&Bs can open on 17 May at the earliest in England and Wales, which is also the date that international travel will be unlocked.

Scotlands tourist accommodation, including hotels, has been able to open (with restrictions in place) since 26 April.

Northern Irelands stay at home order was lifted on 12 April, replaced with stay local. Hotels and indoor attractions can open from 24 May.

When might self-catering accommodation open?

Self-contained accommodation, where there are no shared facilities for guests, reopened from 27 March in Wales and 12 April in England. Stays are permitted for single households or support bubbles only.

Scotlands self-catering accommodation reopened, along with the rest of the tourist industry, on 26 April.

Northern Ireland has allowed self-contained accommodation to reopen since 30 April.

When might overseas travel be allowed?

The government has confirmed that international travel can restart from 17 May in England - which is also the date that hotels and B&Bs will be allowed to reopen - under a traffic light system, with countries classified as green, amber or red and assigned restrictions accordingly.

For the moment, international travel for all but the narrowest of essential reasons remains illegal.

Any travellers returning to the UK from overseas must present a negative test for coronavirus that has been taken within three days of departure (or longer if an en route stop is involved). Quarantine is currently mandatory for all overseas arrivals except for those from Ireland.

The government has also imposed mandatory hotel quarantine for arrivals from the countries on the governments red list". The aim is to limit the spread of new variants of coronavirus.

Scotland and Wales have not yet given a date for the restart or international leisure travel; Northern Ireland guidance currently states: You should carefully consider your holiday and travel options, in light of the continuing Covid-19 threat.

A 'staycation' is one way of mitigating the risks - while also supporting the local economy.

You should not travel unless it is essential. If you do have a permitted reason to travel, you will have to isolate for a period of 10 days on your return home.

What is hotel quarantine?

The UK government has contracted 4,600 rooms in 16 hotels, with more available if necessary, for travellers from "red list" countries.

Travellers self-identify in advance. Everyone from red list countries must pre-book a room through a dedicated online portal, at a cost of up to 1,750pp (less for couples or families staying together). For a single traveller the price works out at 159 per night.

Heavy penalties apply to anyone who misrepresents where they have visited or who fails to go into hotel quarantine when they should.

The package price includes transport from the airport to the government-approved facility (the hotel), three meals a day, security and testing. During the stay, quarantinees will undergo two Covid tests: one on day two, the next on day eight. Those who test positive are likely to have their stay extended, unless hospital treatment is needed.

The cost for additional people in the same room is significantly less than the single traveller rate. A second adult pays 650, and it costs 325 for a child aged five-12. Over 12s are counted as adults, under fives are free.

Travellers are not free to choose either their hotel or their room.

In Scotland the system is different, with all international arrivals required to complete hotel quarantine.

What are hotels doing to limit the spread of Covid-19?

Hand sanitiser stations abound, while reception staff are kept safe behind plastic screens. In-room minibars have been removed and rooms are deep cleaned between guests, as well as being left fallow for up to 72 hours in some cases.

One-way systems have been introduced and doors modified to enable digital rather than physical keys. Staff are given regular health and temperature checks, with some employees put in bubbles that work the same shift patterns to limit any potential virus spread.

A number of properties have signed up to one of two schemes designed to outline best practice for hotels here in the UK. Both the AAs Covid Confident programme and Visit Britains Were Good To Go industry standard give accommodation providers a detailed guide on how to change the way they operate to protect both staff and guests.
Labor has accused Prime Minister Scott Morrison of leading a dont ask, dont tell culture or being part of the cover-up of an alleged rape in a ministerial office after three more women have come forward with allegations of sexual assault or harrassment by the same Liberal staffer Brittany Higgins has accused.

Ms Higgins is expected to make a statement to police on Wednesday afternoon outlining allegations she was raped in March 2019 in the office of then-defence industry minister Linda Reynolds.

Labor has accused Scott Morrison of presiding over a dont ask, dont tell culture after the Liberal staffer Brittany Higgins, inset, said she was raped in Parliament House. Credit:Alex Ellinghausen/The Project

Another woman has told The Australian she was raped by the same man in 2020, while the newspaper reported on Monday a third woman has given a statutory declaration outlining allegations of sexual assault by the man during the 2016 election campaign.

A fourth woman on Monday told the ABCs Four Corners she had made a formal report against the man at a Canberra police station on Sunday.
A recent poll on Sunday reveals that if former President Donald Trump created his own political faction, 46% of Trump's voters would abandon the Republican Party. At the same time, some GOP members appear to split with the former President.

Poll reveals Trump voters to supports him if makes his own Party

The Suffolk University/USA TODAY poll reveals 27% of respondents will stay with the GOP even though Trump formed his own party, some who voted for Trump in 2020, but another 27% say they are uncertain what they will do.

Shortly after Trump left office on January 20, rumors circulated that he was considering forming his own party that focused on the 'America First' platform independently from the GOP, as per Daily Mail. However, when the Senate impeachment trial loomed and concerned Republican senators might turn against him, his staff immediately knocked out certain whispers.

Arkansas Governor Asa Hutchinson said Sunday that Trump 'would not determine our future' and said he would not support him if the former President runs for the White House again in 2024. "He will only define our party if we let him define our party," the Governor warned.

Among the 1,000 Trump supporters surveyed on February 15-19, one in five said the party should dismiss Trump and realign itself more with the Republicans of the establishment, while half said the party should raise its allegiance to the former President.

'We feel like Republicans aren't fighting enough for us, because we all see Donald Trump fighting as hard as he can every single day for us,' a 27-year-old Milwaukee Republican, Brandon Keidl said in an interview after his survey. 'But then you've got Republicans from the establishment who only cooperate with Democrats from the establishment and all, and they never fight back.'

A margin of plus or minus 3.1 percentage points appeared in the poll, while 54% of those polled suggest they have more loyalty to Trump than they do to the Republican Party. This year, the Conservative Political Action Conference is another example of the GOP leaning further towards the party's Trumpism.

The Conservatives' annual meeting will begin in Orlando, Florida, on Thursday and conclude on Friday. On the final day as the keynote speaker, Trump will make remarks at the meeting, his first public speech since leaving Washington on January 20. On the other hand, former Vice President Mike Pence refused an invitation to appear at this year's conference.

Read also: Third Stimulus Check: Lawmakers Start Considering Biden's Proposal Following End of Trump's Impeachment Trial

Trump to cement grip on the Republican party

Next weekend, Donald Trump will make his first big public speech at the Conservative Public Action Conference since leaving the White House. According to the Telegraph, by attending the conservative calendar's signature event next weekend, the former President will strengthen his hold on the Republican party.

In his first public address since his address to supporters ahead of the January 6 Capitol Riot, Trump will be one of the speakers at the Conservative Public Policy Conference in Orlando, Florida. In the Republican calendar, the meeting, known as CPAC, is arguably the most critical event.

Read also: Donald Trump's Letter to Joe Biden Before Leaving Office Goes Viral; But It's Not Genuine

Lara Trump: Donald Trump is the head of the Republican Party

When addressing his upcoming speech at CPAC, Lara Trump, Donald Trump's daughter-in-law, and former senior advisor called the former President the "head of the Republican Party."

During a Fox News' Justice appearance with Judge Jeanine on Saturday night, Lara Trump said: "Look, he is the head of the Republican Party," referring to Trump. The former President is the one everyone will continue to look to help them get across the bridge, she added.

Trump is scheduled to speak at CPAC in Florida next week in his first major public appearance after leaving office in January.

In previous years, Trump appeared at CPAC, although it was uncertain whether he would speak until Saturday at the conference after his 2020 presidential election defeat.

This year, the annual conservative conference, which typically happens near Washington D.C., was relocated to Florida to circumvent strict restrictions on coronavirus imposed in the region. In late 2020, statewide coronavirus restrictions were lifted in Florida, Newsweek via MSN reported.

Read also: YouTube Removes Former President Trump's Interview After Repeating Election Fraud Claims

@ 2021 HNGN, All rights reserved. Do not reproduce without permission.

You can make a case that the U.S. state with the brightest long-term economic future is Texas.

Its a more affordable place to live than much of the Northeast or West Coast and still has powerful ways to draw new residents, including a thriving cultural scene, a diverse population and top research universities. Its elementary schools and middle schools perform well above average in reading and math (and notably ahead of Californias), according to the Urban Institute.

These strengths have helped the population of Texas to surge by more than 15 percent, or about four million people, over the past decade. In the past few months, two high-profile technology companies  Oracle and Hewlett-Packard Enterprise  have announced they are moving their headquarters to the state, and Tesla may soon follow. As California was in the 20th century, Texas today looks like a state that can embody and shape the countrys future.

But Texas also has a big problem, as the world has just witnessed. A useful way to think of it is the fossil fuel problem.

Thisll happen again

Even with its growing tech and health care industries, the Texas economy revolves around oil and gas. And those fossil fuels have created two threats to the states economic future.
About 70% of the world's main crops depend on insect pollination. Climate change is already affecting the abundance and distribution of insects, which could cause geographical mismatches between crops and their pollinators. Crops that rely primarily on wild pollinators (e.g., crops that cannot be effectively pollinated by commercial colonies of honey bees) could be particularly in jeopardy. However, limited information on plant-pollinator associations and pollinator distributions complicate the assessment of climate change impacts on specific crops. To study the potential impacts of climate change on pollination of a specific crop in North America, we use the case of open?field tomato crops, which rely on buzz pollinators (species that use vibration to release pollen, such as bumble bees) to increase their production. We aimed to (1) assess potential changes in buzz pollinator distribution and richness, and (2) evaluate the overlap between areas with high densities of tomato crops and high potential decrease in richness. We used baseline (1961-1990) climate and future (2050s and 2080s) climatic projections in ecological niche models fitted with occurrences of wild bees, documented in the literature as pollinators of tomatoes, to estimate the baseline and future potential distribution of suitable climatic conditions of targeted species and to create maps of richness change across North America. We obtained reliable models for 15 species and found important potential decreases in the distribution of some pollinators (e.g., Lasioglossum pectorale and Augochlorella aurata). We observed geographical discrepancies in the projected change in species richness across North America, detecting important declines in the eastern United States (up to 11 species decrease for 2050s). After overlapping the maps of species richness change with a tomato crop map for the United States, we found spatial correspondence between richness declines and areas with high concentration of tomato crops. Disparities in the effects of climate change on the potential future distribution of different wild pollinators and geographical variation in richness highlight the importance of crop?specific studies. Our study also emphasizes the challenges of compiling and modeling crop?specific pollinator data and the need to improve our understanding of current distribution of pollinators and their community dynamics under climate change.

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Unfortunately, our website is currently unavailable in your country. We are engaged on the issue and committed to looking at options that support our full range of digital offerings to your market. We continue to identify technical compliance solutions that will provide all readers with our award-winning journalism.

Toujours vent debout contre les militaires qui ont pris le pouvoir et qui ont refuse de co-diriger le pays avec eux, les partis et associations du M5 remobilisent leurs troupes, demandent une rectification et une bonne gouvernance.

Le palais de la Culture de Bamako, lieu du meeting, a ete un moment quadrille par les forces, et les militants du M5 ont hesite au depart a se rendre a la manifestation. Tout est rentre ensuite dans lordre, avec 2 heures de retard sur le programme prevu. Les partisans du M5 ont ensuite plante le decor de la rencontre.  Cest une demonstration de force, on veut montrer aux gens que le M5 existe bel et bien , explique un militant.

Contre la transition politique en cours, de nombreuses critiques ont ete formulees.  Notre deuxieme exigence est la realisation daudits majeures, a declare a la tribune Konimba Sidibe, lun des responsables du M5. Audit des finances publiques et de la dette interieure de lEtat, audit des institutions de la Republique, la presidence, lAssemblee nationale et toutes les autres institutions. 

Le M5 demande egalement une rectification de la transition et la dissolution du Conseil national de transition, le CNT qui joue un role dorgane legislatif. Dans la foule presente, des voix se sont egalement levees pour demander la liberation pure et simple de personnalites arretees dans le cadre  dune tentative de destabilisation de lEtat .

Source: https://www.rfi.fr/fr/afrique
PARIS  In a desperate appeal to Frances government, some 10 Frenchwomen who joined the Islamic State and are now being held in detention camps in Syria began a hunger strike on Saturday, protesting the governments refusal to bring them home for trial.

The women are among dozens of French mothers and their 200 or so children who have been detained by Kurdish forces for at least two years in squalid camps, and are in a state of legal limbo.

We decided to stop feeding ourselves, regardless of the risks, until we meet the right people to get answers about our future, one of the women said in a voice message obtained by The New York Times.

Two French lawyers representing the women confirmed the hunger strike in a statement released on Sunday evening.
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(Newser)  An expectant father was killed when a device he was building for a gender reveal party exploded, police in New York said Monday, per the AP. Christopher Pekny, 28, was assembling a device for his child's gender reveal party in the Catskills town of Liberty when it exploded just before noon Sunday, police said. Pekny was killed by the blast and his 27-year-old brother, Michael Pekny, was injured. Michael Pekny was treated for his injuries at an area hospital. The death is the latest in a string of tragedies blamed on faulty gender reveal devices in recent years. A Michigan man was killed earlier this month when he was struck by shrapnel from a gender reveal cannon being used at a baby shower, authorities said. Another gender reveal device sparked a wildfire that burned thousands of acres and killed a firefighter in southern California last year. (Read more gender reveal party stories.)
Feature Article

'Forward' jet-tracking components installed at RHIC's STAR detector

New calorimeters will give scientists a glimpse of the internal structure of protons and nuclei in particle smash-ups at the Relativistic Heavy Ion Collider

DOE/Brookhaven National Laboratory

A view through the STAR endcap magnet at the new calorimeter components installed in the "forward" direction. These components will allow physicists to measure and reconstruct the energy of jets from particles emerging close to the beamline.

Just prior to the start of this year's run at the Relativistic Heavy Ion Collider (RHIC)--a U.S. Department of Energy Office of Science user facility for nuclear physics research at DOE's Brookhaven National Laboratory--a team of scientists, engineers, technicians, and students completed the installation of important new components of the collider's STAR detector. This house-sized particle tracker (the Solenoidal Tracker at RHIC) captures the subatomic debris created when atomic nuclei collide so scientists can learn about the building blocks of matter. The new components will expand STAR's ability to track jets of particles emerging in an extreme "forward" direction, meaning close to the beamline through which the particles travel as they collide.

Forward jet detection will be important for learning how the internal components of protons and neutrons--quarks and gluons--contribute to the overall properties of these building blocks of matter.

"Jets are excellent surrogates for quarks and gluons," said Brookhaven Lab physicist Elke-Caroline Aschenauer, who leads the STAR forward upgrade. "If you measure the energy of all the particles that make up a jet, then you basically know everything about the quark or gluon that produced that jet during the collision--its energy, direction, and spin." Measuring many jets will allow scientists to map the 3-D structure of the proton, including the arrangement and spin of the quarks and gluons within.

Some of the Brookhaven Lab Collider-Accelerator Department staff who helped with the installation of calorimeter components at STAR (left to right): Edward Dabrowski, Adrian Timon, Matthew Ceglia, Travis Herbst, and Dennis Carlson.

The new equipment won't be used for physics measurements until next year's run of RHIC experiments at high energy. But having the major components--two kinds of calorimeters--installed for this year's low-energy run gives physicists a chance to calibrate the equipment and work out any kinks.

"We can use this time to get all the data-acquisition systems running, test the read-out channels, and commission our trigger setup"--the system that decides, in a fraction of a second, which collisions to record and which to toss, Aschenauer said.

Separated by space and time

Meeting the deadline for the start of this year's RHIC run in the midst of a global pandemic was no small task.

"We wanted to have lots of academic 'users' of the STAR experiment and their students go to Brookhaven to assemble and install the components, but with COVID, that became very complicated," said Oleg Tsai, a STAR user from UCLA and the creative mind behind the forward detector design.

Instead, the project moved forward as a collaboration separated by space and time.

"STAR users at universities across the country worked to build and test components with students--including some who lived too far from home to travel during lockdown," Tsai said.

This image shows one half of the hadronic calorimeter (260 blocks). In the front one can see the electromagnetic calorimeter with all its readout electronics and cables fully installed.

To maintain social distance, "we naturally split off into morning and afternoon groups," said David Kapukchyan, a graduate student who helped assemble components at the University of California, Riverside. "We had to leave notes for each other so that each group knew what they had to do for their time in the lab."

"This experience has given me great insight into how detectors of this size come together and the amount of work it takes to build them," he added.

That satisfied a key goal for Scott Wissink, a STAR user and physics professor at Indiana University, who coordinated the proposal to fund this work through the National Science Foundation's Major Research Instrumentation (MRI) program, which specifically included support for student participation at the ten universities that made up the project consortium.

"In addition to buying materials and equipment, we also requested funds to support the technical workforce required at the individual universities, and especially to provide opportunities for students to get involved in the testing and assembly of the components," he said. "This experience will not only ensure that we have the right equipment to carry out the measurements, but will also prepare them to lead the next generation of physics experiments."

Assisted assembly

"The pieces were produced and delivered from everywhere in the world--Indiana, Pennsylvania, California, Illinois, Texas--even China and Japan. When we couldn't get toilet paper we were getting scintillators," Aschenauer noted, describing special plastic that detects particles of light. Then all the pieces--tens of thousands of components--had to be assembled and installed in a Lego-like fashion, layer by layer, she said.

Some students were ultimately able to help.

One half of the hadronic calorimeter, made of 20 x 13 towers, with the first two readout electronics boards installed and the all the signal cables bringing the light from the photon sensors to the readout boards.

"I had plans to come to Brookhaven for my doctoral studies before the COVID pandemic hit," said Erik Loyd, another grad student at UC Riverside. "Though my travel was initially delayed, I ended up moving to New York and quarantining for a month before coming to the Lab to help with installation."

But with far fewer students available than in normal times, the project leaders turned to technicians in Brookhaven's Beam & Experimental Services (B&ES) group and the Collider-Accelerator Support (CAS) group for additional assistance.

Brendan Hoy, a member of CAS, noted that his group's round-the-clock duties typically consist of responding to real time equipment issues--troubleshooting and performing corrective maintenance on things like power supplies and magnets--as well as building, installing, and maintaining various electronic systems around the complex. "The work we do maintaining STAR power supplies and the electronics-centric nature of my regularly assigned duties mapped on to this detector install very well," he said. "Given the uniquely difficult circumstances that 2020 brought to us all, I found the opportunity to work on a project outside of the normal scope of my role to be a welcome one."

"The Collider-Accelerator Department (CAD) technicians, working with the STAR Technical Support Group, did a great job installing the calorimeters and their support structures," said Rahul Sharma, STAR's chief engineer. "The work went twice as fast as originally anticipated, with groups working in alternating shifts in the morning and afternoon to stack multiple layers of the detector blocks. It was a real challenge to try coordinate all this for over three months to complete the installation."

"We had to overcome many challenges while building these detectors in such a tight location and time frame," said Travis Herbst, a technician in B&ES. "Due to the limited space, we had to install a temporary conveyor belt that allowed us to transfer almost 10,000 steel absorber blocks weighing 15 tons and 20,000 pins used to hold them together under the beam line so we could build the detectors on both sides."

An array of 520 calorimeter towers, each consisting of 36 steel absorber blocks interleaved with scintillator tiles and the pins that hold them together.

Adrian Timon, another B&ES technician, added: "We also had to maintain social distance during all the working hours needed for installing the detector while inspecting and keeping all of the blocks and pins cleaned of debris or deformity, as such defects could cause problems with the detector's internal structure."

"The most amazing thing for me was all these minor details that you don't read about in a textbook when they describe these calorimeters," said UC Riverside's Kapukchyan, who also travelled to Long Island for the assembly. "You read about the physics of how particles lose energy and how to calculate it, but all these minor construction details, like how to correctly unspool cables, are left out. Being involved [through all stages of this project] was a great experience for me and will certainly help me in my future endeavors," he said.

Pushing science forward

The now-complete Lego-like calorimeter assemblies will be joined, after this year's run, by a few additional components--two kinds of tracking detectors for discerning particles with different electrical charges. The whole system will then be ready to collect physics data in the 2022 RHIC run.

Positioned at one end of the STAR detector's barrel-shaped Time Projection Chamber, the calorimeters and trackers will capture jets that emerge at angles very close to RHIC's beamline, exiting at that end of the barrel. Studying those particular jets is important because they give scientists access to the quarks and gluons that carry either a very high or very low percentage of the proton's (or nucleus's) overall momentum.

Jets produced by scattering off the three main valence quarks that make up a proton carry a large percentage of the particle's overall momentum. But a proton is much more complex than those three main quarks. Inside there is a teeming microcosm of quark and antiquark pairs that flit in and out of existence. Gluons--aptly named because they glue the quarks together--are even more mysterious. They split and multiply and, at high energies, may completely dominate the structure of the proton. Each of these gluons carries a tiny percentage of the proton's overall momentum. But because there are so many of them, scientists believe their combined influence plays an outsized role in establishing the proton's properties. Hence the motivation to study jets generated by these "low-momentum-fraction" gluons.

"These measurements will help us search for evidence that the gold ions we collide at RHIC become dense walls of gluons, and that this saturated state of gluons is responsible for key properties such as proton spin and mass, as suggested by many of the findings we've already observed at RHIC," Aschenauer said.

The measurements will also help lay the groundwork for jet-tracking at the future Electron-Ion Collider (EIC). The EIC is a new state-of-the-art DOE nuclear physics facility to be built at Brookhaven Lab in collaboration with Thomas Jefferson National Accelerator Facility (Jefferson Lab) to expand scientists' reach into the frontiers of nuclear physics.

"The hadronic calorimeter design we are talking about for the EIC has components that are basically identical to the one that is part of this upgrade, so that part of this project serves as a prototype for future EIC detector components," Aschenauer said.

###

The STAR Forward Upgrade receives funding from several sources. University partners' contributions to the calorimeter system were funded by the National Science Foundation; contributions by scientists and technical staff at Brookhaven Lab were funded by the DOE Office of Science, which also supports RHIC operations. Development of the tracking detectors (yet to be installed) is partially supported by funding from the National Natural Science Foundation of China, the Ministry of Science and Technology of China, the Chinese Ministry of Education, Key Laboratory of Particle Physics and Particle Irradiation of China, the Higher Education Sprout Project by Ministry of Education at National Cheng Kung University.

Brookhaven National Laboratory is supported by the U.S. Department of Energy's Office of Science. The Office of Science is the single largest supporter of basic research in the physical sciences in the United States and is working to address some of the most pressing challenges of our time. For more information, visit https://www.energy.gov/science/ .

Follow @BrookhavenLab on Twitter or find us on Facebook.
When the need for an immediate loan arises, the urgency of the situation may not permit a thorough authentication of the lender. However, this can have dire consequences these days since several fraudulent apps offer funds within five minutes, sometimes even instantly, but cannot be trusted as legitimate lenders.

In such a scenario, borrowers may find themselves interfacing with illegal collection mechanisms.

Also Read | How to make Indias bad bank workable

It is for this reason that the Reserve Bank of India (RBI) encourages borrowers to exercise prudence and caution while opting for such lending partners, ensuring as best they can, that the app of their choosing is backed by a verified company.

In this piece, we take a look at what borrowers can do

Know your lender

Just like lenders perform Know Your Customers (KYC) for each application they receive, borrowers must know their lender before applying for a loan. Identify companies that are registered with the RBI. Legal RBI licensed lenders to follow a strict set of guidelines, a code of conduct, in working with borrowers and ensuring the best possible experience for everyone. If a lender is not RBI Approved or doesnt have Indian incorporation, it most likely is unauthorized and is not bound by privacy rules," said Anil Pinapala, Founder & CEO, Vivifi India.

Check the website

A majority of the illegal Chinese lending apps do not have listed websites, and this must be treated as a red flag. Even if the website is listed, borrowers should check that the company is registered with the RBI or works with a bank/ Non-Banking Financial Company (NBFC) which is registered with the RBI," Pinapala said. Furthermore, check the Company Identification Number (CIN) and details of the Certificate of Registration (CoR) with RBI. Also, if a lender doesnt have a website do not download the app.

Identify grievance redressal

Another way of identifying legal lending apps that are legitimately tied to RBI-registered NBFCs is to check if they also list a Grievance Redressal Mechanism on their website. Verified lenders are required to adhere to various regulatory guidelines on KYC and Collection Practices which are designed to protect the customers.

Check the reviews

Finally, it is prudent to go through the app reviews on the play store or app store as this will give you insights into the worries or concerns of the lenders previous/existing borrowers. It is also crucial to download the app from the app store and never directly from the lenders website.

No transparency in loan interest or fees, coercing borrowers to take immediate action, and promising guaranteed approval without a creditworthiness check are a few other red flags to watch out for," Pinapala said.

While there are numerous innovative, technologically advanced lenders striving to improve access to credit and financial inclusion, the presence of illegal lending apps can ruin your finances. The onus is, thus, on both lenders and borrowers to remain vigilant and follow the best practices when opting for a loan via digital lenders.

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Told it has been 'magical' to be at home with her baby daughter during pandemic

Fashion mogul Jade Holland Cooper has hailed her baby daughter Saphaia Isabella as a 'dream' and that life as a new mother has been 'absolute joy'.

The owner of fashion and lifestyle brand Holland Cooper, 34, and millionaire husband Julian Dunkerton, 55, boss of clothing brand Superdry, welcomed their first child together in November last year.

In an interview with Hello! magazine, Holland Cooper told it has been 'magical' to be at home with her baby daughter during the pandemic, while Julian told how 'incredibly fortunate' he feels to spend quality time with his family.

Fashion mogul Jade Holland Cooper has hailed her baby daughter Saphaia Isabella as a 'dream' and that life as a new mother has been 'absolute joy'. Pictured, Jade and husband Julian Dunkerton, 55, holding up a scan ahead of the birth

In an interview with Hello! magazine, Holland Cooper said it has been 'magical' to be at home with her daughter after she and her husband welcomed their first child together in November last year

'It was perfect timing', she said, 'If it hadn't been for Covid, there'd have been so many people here every five minutes coming to see her. As a new mum, it's important to have time as a family to bed in.

'Having that solely with her has been magical. 'She's a dream. She's the smiliest, most content little person. An absolute joy.'

Julian said he has loved seeing his wife become a first-time mother, saying: 'I've been working from home, which gives me an opportunity in between Zoom calls and meetings to see Jade and Saphaia, which is wonderful. I feel incredibly fortunate.'

Jade gave birth to her daughter in London last year. Revealing the news to her 60,000 followers on Instagram, Jade wrote: 'Welcome to the world my darling, Saphaia Isabella Dunkerton, Weighing 7 pounds 9 ounces.'

Holland Cooper announced the birth of their first child with a selection of adorable images of their 'little angel'

Posting black-and-white images of her daughter online, Jade commented: 'I cant describe the overwhelming feeling of joy and love. And so the next chapter of life begins.'

Ahead of the birth Jade announced the pregnancy with a picture of herself, holding up a scan of her baby girl, with the caption: 'I could not be happier. We are having a baby girl and I am going to be a mummy.'

She added: 'It has been such a blessing in an otherwise difficult and gloomy time. To have been able to spend my first three months of pregnancy at home has been amazing.

'Hats off to all the pregnant ladies out there: it can be a rollercoaster of emotions, but we are super excited for the next phase.'

Jade married Julian, who is worth an estimated 441million, in a lavish ceremony in the Cotswolds in August 2018. The pair are pictured on their wedding day

Jade married Julian, who is worth an estimated 441million, in a lavish ceremony in the Cotswolds in August 2018. She was serenaded at the ceremony by Idris Elba and Craig David.

The multi-millionaire couple relocated to London weeks ago to be close to the private hospital where Jade planned to give birth.

Baby Saphaia can look forward to an opulent nursery as their Georgian manor house home has a spa, a gym and sauna, and boasts the biggest private swimming pool in the country.

The designer set up her eponymous brand Holland Cooper 10 years ago, which specialises in sexy tailored tweed jackets, 599 leather trousers and luxurious fur-trimmed capes.

The designer set up her eponymous brand Holland Cooper 10 years ago when she started selling her designs at a stall at the Cheltenham Festival. Pictured, Holland Cooper attending the festival

She started selling her designs at a stall at the Cheltenham Festival ten years ago, in echoes of her husband who co-founded Superdry in 1985 from a market stall in Cheltenham.

'I've never met anyone as inspiring. He's an amazing human being,' she told The Times. 'I need to be with someone who doesn't say, "Have you earned enough money now?". I just can't think like that.'

Fashion tycoon Dunkerton sold just under 50 million of shares in Superdry to fund a divorce settlement to his first wife, Charlotte Abbot, with whom he has a teenager daughter and step-daughter.

Last year the entrepreneur led a revolt to oust the board of Superdry in which he owns a 17.4 million stake.

This is the consequence of the big lie that we heard in the postelection period about the election being stolen when it was a free and fair election, said Ed Yohnka, the American Civil Liberties Union of Illinois director of communications and public policy. So now the obvious pushback is to try to limit peoples ability to cast their ballot. When you look at many of these proposals what you will see is that they are targeted at people of color and people of lesser means.
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War crimes suspect Alieu Kosiah shot and killed a teenage boy in Voinjama in 1994, a man claiming to have witnessed the incident, told the Swiss Federal Criminal Court on Saturday.

The 43-year-oldthe sixth of seven plaintiffs to testify to Kosiahs guilt since his trial began in December last yeartold the three presiding judges that Kosiah led a gang of rebels on a weekly killing spree, a routine that he called Black Monday.

Kosiah invented the weekly killings of civilians as retaliation for the death of one of his men at a battle with the Lofa Defense Force, a militia formed to avenge their kinsmen, in Zorzor.

The boy who was murdered had refused to join other civilian captives in a car, the witness said.

Kosiah asked Are you not going? The boy said, I am not going, the witness told the court.

He took the pistol and shot the boy. They left the boy there and took off.

Black Mondays only ended when Kosiahs superiors in the United Liberation Movement of Liberia for Democracy (ULIMO) ordered him to stop the killings, the plaintiff said. The event has been the focus of nearly all of this weeks witnesses. These witnesses have distinguished that event from Black Friday, which they say happened in Foya.

The murder of the boy is one of 18 murders Kosiah is charged with. The former general of ULIMO is also accused of looting, forced transportation, rape, sexual enslavement, recruiting of a child-soldier and cannibalism. Instances of eating human hearts, including that of a schoolteacher have been detailed in the proceedings this week.

Kosiah denies any wrongdoing, saying he was not in Lofa County during the time the crimes were allegedly committed. He faces a maximum 20-year imprisonment if convicted here in the central European country that

borders Austria, France, Germany and Italy.

At one point the witness pointed to the army green jacket that Kosiah was wearing in the courtroom. He said it looked like the one that Kosiah had worn when he killed the boy. Kosiah, who had yelled interjections during the testimonies of earlier witnesses, did not look at the witness and instead flipped through pages of a large file on his table.

Slaughter them

In his appearance on Saturday the sixth plaintiff also told the court Kosiah ordered two Krahn fighters beheaded in Voinjama when ULIMO split into two. The group had been established in May 1991 by refugees and runaway soldiers of the Armed Forces of Liberia (AFL). It entered Liberia four months later via Lofa and gained ground against the National Patriotic Front of Liberia (NPFL), led by future president Charles Taylor.

But in 1994, a leadership dispute led to two factionsULIMO-K, led by Alhaji Kromah and ULIMO-J by Roosevelt Johnson. Liberias Truth and Reconciliation Commission (TRC) found the division was eventually fatal to both

organisations.

Kosiah told the rebel to slaughter them, he said, adding that War Bus, a Mandingo ULIMO fighter, cut off the heads of the prisoners of war. They displayed the head of one of the men at their checkpoint in Kolahun.

The plaintiff, who is now a teacher, said he was forced to carry looted goods for ULIMO on two occasions. He said many young men were forced by rebels under Kosiahs command to carry coffee, cocoa and palm oil stolen from villagers to ULIMO camps.

In the first incident, the plaintiff said Kosiahs men allegedly commanded him and 10 other civiliansincluding his brotherto carry palm oil, cocoa and coffee from Voinjama to a town five hours away at the Guinea border.

He told the panel hearing the case that Kosiah ordered the transport. He told his soldiers Anyone who tried to escape, kill the person and bring the report to me, the teacher told the court of Kosiah he said sat on porch of a building where the items were kept. He carried a six-gallon container of palm oil, guarded by rebels armed with AK-47 rifles, rocket-prepared grenades (RPG) and machines guns, he added. His brother managed to escape before they reached their destination. (He died of natural causes in 2009.)

The second time the plaintiff said he was forced to transport looted goods was for a two-day journey from Voinjama to Sorlumba on the Guinea border. The group was made up of 10 civilians who were guarded by 17 rebels, including War Bus and six child-soldiers. He said he and the other captives had only a handful of rice in the two days and had no rest between their daylong walk from the countys capital to Kalahun, midway in the journey.

Wearing a yellow shirt and jeans, the man sang a Mandingo song he claimed Kosiah and his men sang when they occupied Lofa.

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Sister Musu, lie on my back lets go and do our work. In 1990, we were running away. Now we return as lions. They referred to guns as Sister Musu, he said. It was the same song that the fifth witness had recited for the court the day before becoming emotional as he tried to sing it.

Responding to prosecution questions about the TRC and why he did not tell his story there, the sixth plaintiff said he would have loved to tell the TRC his story but the commissions statement takers did not offer him an opportunity.

He said he joined the case brought against Kosiah in Switzerland, with the support of victims group Civitas Maxima and its Liberian partner Global Justice Research Group because I want justice, he said. If you dont have money in Liberia, you dont get justice.

His testimony corroborated that of the five other plaintiffs who testified last week, most of whom had flown in from Liberia to testify. New Narratives has agreed to the plaintiffs request to conceal their identities because they have a credible fear of retaliation for their role in this case.

Cross-examination

The sixth plaintiff was one of two witnesses who identified Kosiah in a photo of ex-ULIMO commanders in a pretrial investigation in the Swiss capital of Bern in 2015.

Kosiahs lawyer Dmitri Gianoli made a number of attempts to poke holes in the mans testimony, part of the strategy he has used throughout this trial to raise doubt in the prosecutions case. The man had clear answers for every question.

In one instance, Gianoli asked the man why he could not escape while allegedly transporting the items. The man said he did not escape for fear that NPFL rebels in the area could mistake or accuse him of being a ULIMO fighter.

But I thought you said ULIMO controlled Lofa, Gianoli pressed him. They only controlled the central towns, not the bushes, the man replied.

In another, Gianoli questioned him on the canoes used to transport the items at Sorlumba across the Makona River into Guinea. The defence attorney sought to prove that his version of the story did not corroborate with earlier witnesses who spoke about ferries. However, the man said the goods he spoke of were light enough for canoes.

Having told the court that he did not know any ULIMO rebels other than Kosiah and War Bus, Gialoni quizzed him on whether he knew a long list of rebelsDeadly Prey, Scarred Faced Kaba, Daykue, Sixty Kpannah, Captain One Eye, Deadly Killer, and Mammie Wata, to name some. The witness answered no to each name.

Seven Liberians filed the case against Kosiah in November 2014. He has been in custody ever since, an unusually long prison wait for a trial, a point Kosiah himself raised in earlier outbursts. The seven are called private plaintiffs under Swiss law.

The last of them is expected to testify visually from an undisclosed location in Monrovia on Tuesday. Eight prosecution and four defence witnesses are expected to testify before the trial ends on March 5.

Kosiah is the first Liberian to face trial for crimes allegedly committed in the Liberian Civil War (1989-2003), which killed an estimated 250,000 and displaced a million. It is also historic in Switzerland, the first of such case in a civilian court. Switzerlands only other war crimes case was held in 2001 when a military court found Fulgence Niyonteze, a former mayor of an Rwandan town, guilty for his role in the countrys 1994 genocide and sentenced him to 14 years.

Kosiahs trial will continue on Monday, with the defendant taking the witness stand once again to be cross-examined by prosecution lawyer Andreas Muller and plaintiffs lawyers Alain Werner and Romain Wavre.

This report was produced in collaboration with New Narratives as part of the West Africa Justice Reporting Project.
A top ruling Chinese Communist Party (CCP) official in charge of Hong Kong has warned that only "patriots" will be allowed to hold public office in future, suggesting that the authorities are ruling out even a limited form of political opposition.



"Hong Kong after the return to the motherland will be governed by patriots, and [government] power must only be wielded by patriots," Xia Baolong, vice chairman of the Hong Kong and Macao Affairs Office (HKMAO), said in a Feb. 22 speech reported on the office's website.



Xia said having pro-China figures in charge was "an inevitable requirement" of the 1997 handover of Hong Kong to Chinese rule.



"Hong Kong's governing power can only be wielded by Chinese who love the motherland and Hong Kong: only then can China resume its sovereignty over Hong Kong," he said.



"There is no room for ambiguity," Xia said, hitting out at lawmakers' use of their oaths of allegiance to make political points; actions which saw six pro-democracy members stripped of their seats in the Legislative Council (LegCo) in recent years.



"If you allow anti-China forces to take over the governance of Hong Kong step by step and to do whatever they want, they do things that endanger national security and disrupt Hong Kongs prosperity and stability," Xia warned.



"To be a patriot is to love the People's Republic of China."



China imposed a draconian national security law on Hong Kong on July 1, 2020, in a move that outlaws public criticism of the authorities and any overseas fundraising or political contacts, as well as slogans linked to the 2019 pro-democracy movement.



Political analysts said Xia's speech -- which came after similar comments from CCP general secretary Xi Jinping at the end of January -- likely signaled an end to participation in elections by pro-democracy candidates.

'They will always find excuses'



Central and Western district councilor Fergus Leung -- who was arrested at the end of last year for taking part in democratic primaries the government said were illegal -- said previous disqualifications of pro-democracy candidates and lawmakers alike had shown which direction the city's political life is headed in.



"They will just keep on adding criteria [for participation], so they will always be able to find excuses to prevent Hongkongers who support freedom and democracy from participating in politics," he said.



"I think the chances of pro-democracy candidates or political parties being allowed to run in elections are looking very slim indeed now," said Fung, whose candidacy for the now-postponed 2020 LegCo elections was rejected by the authorities because of his political views.



"All of this from Xia Baolong today is just a way to come up with a plausible reason to completely exclude democrats from future elections," Leung said.



Political commentator Johnny Lau agreed, saying he fully expects changes to the electoral system to favor pro-China candidates.



"Back in the day, they brought in proportional representation to help the weaker, pro-Beijing candidates gain a certain number of seats," Lau said. "Now, that system is working in favor of democratic candidates ... so they will need to get rid of it."



"This is definitely about being able to control the outcome of elections," Lau said.



Chief executive Carrie Lam said the policy of only allowing "patriots" to hold political office was about "preventing those who want to collude with foreign forces to push Hong Kong into the abyss."

A 'clear message' from Beijing



Lam said Hong Kong has political parties that do not support government policies but are still patriotic.



She said examples of non-patriots would include "a person who feels that Hong Kong could be independent, a person who prefers to collude with another overseas authority to subvert the power of the Central Government and the Hong Kong [government]."



Officials on the democratic island of Taiwan hit out at Xia's comments, and called on the CCP to make good on its promise of a "high degree of autonomy" for Hong Kong.



"The message being sent from Beijing is very clear," the island's Mainland Affairs Council (MAC) said.



"But if the CCP claims to implement [the promises of autonomy], it should protect and respect the right of the Hong Kong people to freedom and democracy," a spokesperson said.



Since Xi called for "patriotism" in Hong Kong politics, the city's government has confirmed that members of the District Council, which saw a landslide victory for pro-democracy parties in November 2019, will be required to swear oaths of allegiance.



Claims that oaths of allegiance weren't honored have been used to strip several elected LegCo members of their seats, eventually prompting the mass resignation of the entire opposition camp in December 2020 in protest.



District councilors have told RFA that the administration has been doing everything in its power to undermine the councils since the last election, to the extent of denying funding and setting up 'shadow' councils staffed with Beijing's supporters.



Reported by Lu Xi and Man Hoi Yan for RFA's Mandarin and Cantonese Services. Translated and edited by Luisetta Mudie.
South Africa: KZN condemns brutal murder of two police officers

KwaZulu-Natal Acting Transport, Community Safety and Liaison, MEC Kwazi Mshengu, has tasked police to leave no stone unturned in their search for the assailants who killed two off-duty police officers in execution-style in Taylors Halt, near Pietermaritzburg.

According to reports, Sergeant Makhosaze Mdlangathi, aged 33 and Sergeant Mfikelwa Mtolo, aged 36, were driving to Mtolos homestead when they were ambushed by unknown suspects on Sunday night. About 30 pistol and rifle cartridges were found on the scene.

Mdlangathi and Mtolo had multiple gunshot wounds on their bodies and their firearms were not found on the scene. The motive for the killing is unknown at this stage, and no arrests have been made.

Sergeant Mdlangathi was stationed at Plessislaer Police Station and Sergeant Mtolo was stationed at Richmond Police Station.

In a statement on Monday, Mshengu condemned the callous murder of the two police officers and tasked police to launch a manhunt for their killers.

It is disturbing that our police officers continue to be killed in such a brutal and senseless manner. We condemn the heinous double-murder of Sergeant Mdlangathi and Sergeant Mtolo who were both very young and had a lot to offer the police service, Mshengu said.

He said the murder of the two officers comes days after another police officer was shot and killed, while protecting a gender-based violence (GBV) victim, which clearly demonstrates that police continue to be targeted.

As prescribed in the Constitution, police are there to protect, prevent, combat and investigate crime therefore an attack on police is a direct attack on the state and this has serious consequences on law enforcement deployments because the state invests a lot of money in police training and education.

The threat to the lives of police members will not be tolerated and we urge police to defend themselves by all means necessary should they be under any attack, Mshengu warned.

The MEC also expressed his sincere condolences to the families of the fallen members. He said he was confident that police will speed up the investigation surrounding this heinous killing and leave no stone unturned so that the perpetrators can face the full might of the law.

Police are appealing to anyone who may have information on the whereabouts of the suspects to contact them on the MySAPS APP or on the SAPS Crime Stop number 08600 10111. All information received will be treated with confidentiality.  SAnews.gov.za

This story has been published on: 2021-02-22. To contact the author, please use the contact details within the article.

India on Monday extended a USD 100 million Line of Credit to to facilitate the procurement of Indian defence equipment, as the two countries signed a landmark Comprehensive Economic Cooperation Partnership Agreement following talks between External Affairs Minister S Jaishankar and Prime Minister Pravind Jugnauth here.

Jaishankar, who arrived here in India's strategically key maritime neighbour in the Indian Ocean region on Sunday from the Maldives on the last leg of his two-nation tour, reviewed comprehensive and important bilateral relationship during his meeting with the Indian-origin prime minister.

"Our discussions, I believe, were very productive and forward looking, and we really reviewed all aspects of the relationship as well as status of implementation of various projects," Jaishankar said while jointly addressing the media with Prime Minister Jugnauth.

"A special USD 100 million defence Line of Credit has also been signed today which will enable the procurement of defence assets from India as per the needs of your Government. These initiatives underline once again that the Security of is the security of India; in the prosperity of Mauritius is our prosperity, he said, reaffirming India's SAGAR policy.

Mauritius is one of India's key maritime neighbours in the Indian Ocean Region and occupies a special place in the Prime Minister's vision of SAGAR' (Security and Growth for All in the Region).

The two sides also signed an agreement which will provide for a Dornier aircraft and an Advanced Light Helicopter Dhruv on lease to Mauritius on gratis basis for two years, helping shore up its capabilities to patrol and monitor its extensive maritime domain more effectively.

Describing it as "a special day in our special relationship", Jaishankar said India is privileged to have entered into a Comprehensive Economic Cooperation and Partnership Agreement (CECPA) with Mauritius.

"This agreement is India's first-such agreement with an African country It will provide a timely boost for the revival of our post-COVID economies and also enable Indian investors to use Mauritius as a launch-pad for business expansion into continental Africa helping the prospect of Mauritius emerging as a hub of Africa'," he said.

Jaishankar also conveyed warm greetings from Prime Minister Narendra Modi to Prime Minister Jugnauth.

"I conveyed to the Prime Minister an official invitation from Prime Minister Narendra Modi to visit India at a mutually convenient time. I also extended a warm invitation to my friend and counterpart Foreign Minister Alan Ganoo to visit India at the earliest opportunity," he said.

He handed Prime Minister Jugnauth over 100,000 additional doses of commercially procured Made in India' COVID-19 vaccines.

"As one of our key priority partners, 100,000 doses of Made in India Covid-19 vaccines also reached Mauritius immediately after we rolled out our own vaccination program in IndiaAn additional 100,000 doses of vaccines also reached Mauritius today," he said, asserting that India's helping hand was always over the horizon - responsive, resolute and reliable.

He assured Prime Minister Jugnauth that India will be a ready partner in his government's efforts on post-COVID economic recovery and revival of livelihoods.

"Despite challenges, it is impressive that all five development projects announced by India in 2017 under the Special Economic Package, have been completed. These include phase I of the Metro Express project, the new Supreme Court building, the new ENT hospital, the supply of electronic tablets for Mauritian school children and 956 Social Housing Units, which will be made operational soon," he said.

He also said that he discussed the issue of Chagos Archipelago with Prime Minister Jugnauth and he assured him of India's steadfast principled support on this issue as has been demonstrated in the past.

The minister hailed the deep emotional and cultural ties "between our people" and said the vibrancy of the Mauritius society and its traditions and the two sides enduring bonds of democracy and pluralism will always bind them together.

Jaishankar also called on Mauritius President Prithvirajsing Roopun during which the two leaders discussed the "super special" bilateral relationship.

"Thank President Prithvirajsing Roopun for receiving me. Warm discussion on our super special' relationship. Expressed satisfaction at the impact it has made on the lives of the people," he tweeted.

He also met the Leader of Opposition, Dr. Arvin Boolell, and emphasised India's strong and consistent support to the development of Mauritius.

The minister also held talks with Mouvement Militant Mauricien Party leader & former prime minister Paul Berenger on growing India-Mauritius ties. "Conveyed India's continued commitment to progress & development of Mauritius," he tweeted.

Indian-origin people constitute nearly 70 per cent of the population of Mauritius. Their ancestors were sent there as indentured labourers during the British rule.

Earlier, Jaishankar held talks with Foreign Minister M Alan Ganoo during which they reviewed the "excellent bilateral relations and successful development partnership.

"Reviewed our excellent bilateral relations & successful development partnership. Reiterated that India will be a ready partner in Mauritius' economic recovery & revival efforts," Jaishankar tweeted.
Workers from the Philippines have been recruited to work on farms in Jersey to plug the gap left in the wake of Brexit.

Growers had feared that Jersey Royal potatoes would be left to rot in the fields after farm workers, many of whom were Polish, abandoned the island after the EU referendum.

Farmers say the void has finally been filled by Filipino workers who were 'keeping the farming industry going' on the Channel Island.

Filipino workers at work on Manor Farm, which specialises in growing Jersey Potatoes

Peter Le Maistre, president of the Jersey Farmers Union, explained that the impact of Brexit had led to more farm workers being recruited from further afield.

He said: 'Since the Brexit vote in 2016 the economy has improved significantly in Poland compared to when they first came to work in Jersey around 2001.

'So it was getting more and more difficult to find workers from Eastern Europe. A couple of years ago we started to look around for another source of labour.'

Mr Le Maistre said that a contact of the union in Jersey had heard of Filipino workers being employed through an agency in Scotland and Northern Ireland.
Supreme Court declines $100M Episcopal Church property case, lets breakaway diocese's victory stand

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The U.S. Supreme Court has declined to hear an appeal from The Episcopal Church over a dispute with a breakaway Texas diocese leadership over an estimated $100 million in church property.

In orders released Monday, the high court denied certiorari in the combined cases of All Saints Episcopal Church v. Diocese of Fort Worth and The Episcopal Church et al. v. Diocese of Fort Worth.

As a result, an earlier ruling awarding the 60 church properties to the breakaway diocese that voted to leave the denomination over theological differences on issues like same-sex marriage and the ordination of women will stand.

The breakaway diocese's Bishop Ryan Reed said the court's decision marked "a turning point" for the diocese.

"After directing so many resources to this dispute, we can now put our entire focus on Gospel ministry and Kingdom work," Reed said in a statement. "We are nearing completion on a strategic plan that will keep us focused on sharing the transforming love of Jesus Christ and our mission to equip the saints for the work of ministry."

The Christian Post reached out to The Episcopal Church for comments on the decision. A response is pending.

In 2008, a majority of the Fort Worth Diocese voted to leave The Episcopal Church over the overall liberal theological direction of the mainline Protestant denomination.

A prominent example was the ordination of The Episcopal Churchs first openly gay bishop, the Rev. Gene Robinson, which resulted in other churches and dioceses leaving the denomination.

The Fort Worth diocesan leadership then decided to join the Anglican Church in North America, a more theologically conservative denomination.

Years of litigation followed over who rightfully owned the approximately $100 million in church property  the mainline denomination or the departing Texas-based diocese.

The Episcopal Church argued that it controlled the property via the Dennis Canon, which labeled all church properties as being held in trust for the denomination's benefit.

In 2018, the Fort Worth Court of Appeals ruled in favor of The Episcopal Church. The court noted that the parties agreed that the corporation held legal title to all property in dispute.

Individual members of a parish may decide to worship elsewhere; a majority of individual members of a parish or diocese may decide to do so, stated the ruling, in part.

But when they leave, they are no longer Episcopalians as identified by TEC; they become something else. And that something else is not entitled to retain property if that property, under the terms of the deed, is held in trust for a TEC-affiliated diocese or congregation.

In May 2020, Texas Supreme Court partially reversed the earlier ruling against the breakaway group, citing changes made to the dioceses constitution and canons in 1989.

While it is true, as TEC says, that the dioceses organizational documents prohibited the adoption of canons inconsistent with the national churchs constitution and canons, revocation is not inconsistent with a revocable trust, wrote Justice Eva Guzman for the state supreme court.

Moreover, in the twenty years between revocation and eruption of a dispute over the property, TEC lodged no objection to the amended canon and does not now contend the 1989 amendment is invalid for any other reason than purported inconsistency.
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(TNS) - If everything goes according to plan, much of California could come close to herd immunity levels of vaccination by late summer. Within weeks, the effects could be dramatic: very low case rates, people comfortably allowed to gather again, maybe even some looser rules around mask-wearing.Of course, little about this pandemic has stuck to the plan.Between the emergence of new coronavirus variants, unreliable vaccine supplies and uneven access to the doses available, it may take months or even years longer than anyone would like to hit herd immunity. It's possible California, the nation and the world may never get there.That would be unfortunate, but not necessarily disastrous. The vaccines at hand are powerfully good at preventing severe illness, even with the variants that appear to be somewhat resistant, and they can be retooled to match the virus as it mutates. Vaccines will almost certainly reduce hospitalizations and deaths from COVID-19, and that could make the pandemic much more tolerable in the coming months, long before it's technically over."I'm hopeful we will be vaccinating the general public in a broader perspective by early summer. And we should see correspondingly wonderful impacts by early fall," said Dr. Catherine Blish, a Stanford infectious disease expert.Blish is still optimistic about herd immunity  even if she, like most of her peers, has no idea how long it will take to get there. "The important thing to remember is we're going to need to be patient," she said.Herd immunity occurs when enough of a population is immune to a virus that it is no longer able to spread. Measles is a good example: Enough people in the United States are vaccinated that the virus causes a problem only when cases are brought in from other countries and happen to reach communities that are under-vaccinated, leading to local outbreaks.It's not clear exactly how many people will need to be vaccinated to reach herd immunity with the coronavirus; Dr. Anthony Fauci, the nation's top infectious disease expert, has estimated 70% to 85%. But it's a moving target, based on how protective vaccines are against new variants and other factors, including the effectiveness of the vaccines on children and how long immunity lasts. Children are unlikely to be eligible for shots until early next year, but studies have found that they are not driving the pandemic.Regardless of what the final percentage is, and assuming vaccine supply becomes more reliable, many parts of the U.S. could get close to herd immunity in six to eight months.Along the way, counties should see a continued, notable decrease in hospitalizations and deaths. Some experts believe the vaccines are already helping, with fewer outbreaks in nursing homes in particular. The effects should become more apparent in the next month if counties continue to reopen the economy and hospitalizations don't climb again  though there's a risk of a fresh surge in cases if more-infectious variants get a foothold, public health officials warn.Once communities reach herd immunity, new cases should fall fast. If the Bay Area were an island, after it had vaccinated about 80% to 90% of residents, then the pandemic could be over in two weeks, said Dr. George Rutherford, a UCSF infectious disease expert.But global ties mean that even after the region or the state, or even the country, hits herd immunity levels, the coronavirus will remain a threat  but a less life-altering one. If communities can drive cases down to just a handful a day, then they can quickly isolate and contain new infections that are imported and prevent outbreaks."How would we live if there were 10 or 20 cases a day or even 100 cases a day in the United States? We would be enjoying life considerably," said Dr. John Swartzberg, a UC Berkeley infectious disease expert. The U.S. currently reports well over 50,000 cases a day. "That's what we can get to with herd immunity."Assuming herd immunity is achievable, there are several variables that could slow it down. One unknown is how long immunity lasts after people are vaccinated. Some infectious disease experts fear immunity could start to wane in just a few months, which would mean the first round of people to be vaccinated will need boosters before the final groups get a single dose. But most experts believe immunity probably lasts longer than that, maybe years.Variants could complicate things and could even make herd immunity an impossible goal if the virus mutates too fast for vaccines to keep up. But even in that case, the vaccines probably would prevent most serious illness and the coronavirus could end up similar to influenza, in terms of how it affects day-to-day living and the impact on health care systems.The most concerning variants so far are from South Africa and Brazil, both of which have been identified in small numbers in the United States; two cases of the variant from South Africa have been found in the Bay Area. Those variants reduce the effectiveness of vaccines, and they also may be able to evade natural immunity from previous infection. That may mean more people need to be vaccinated or need boosters for the population to reach herd immunity."The current vaccines will still make a dent. They just maybe can't tout the 95% effectiveness necessarily," said Shannon Bennett, chief of science at the California Academy of Sciences. "But I would take 60% in a heartbeat."The bigger concern with variants is what's to come  if the ones that already have emerged are able to partially evade vaccines, what happens if future variants escape completely? That reasoning is part of the rush to get as many people vaccinated as quickly as possible, because the less the virus can circulate, the less it can mutate into something more dangerous.The vaccine rollout has been notoriously bumpy in the United States. Many county and city leaders have said they have the staff and other resources to be able to reach nearly all of those approved for vaccination by late summer. But those plans are based on supply, which is ramping up but has been hampered by everything from government disorganization to winter storms. It's also unclear what proportion of the population will decline to take the vaccine, even if it is eligible.Many public health experts are ramping up calls to prioritize vaccine for communities hit hardest by the pandemic. Focusing on those neighborhoods is important for two reasons: to protect the people who have already suffered the most, and to speed up the climb toward herd immunity."You want your vaccinations to break cycles of transmission," said Dr. Kirsten Bibbins-Domingo, vice dean for Population Health and Health Equity at UCSF. "The virus has not been hiding. We know where it's been. So go there and vaccinate everyone there.""The slow vaccine rollout, the rise of the variants, and then this extremely uneven distribution makes me really think we won't reach effective herd immunity in the short term, or maybe ever," she said.Public health officials said they're aware of the need to vaccinate communities with the highest case rates, and many counties have opened clinics in those neighborhoods. Last week, health officials opened a one-day-a-week pop-up vaccination clinic in Gilroy, which has the highest rate of infections in Santa Clara County.Gilroy resident Patricia Lugo, 57, showed up with her 83-year-old mother Wednesday so they both could get vaccinated; Lugo qualifies as her mother's primary caregiver. Lugo said she's kept them extremely isolated to avoid infection, but she was nervous about the vaccine being so new and about side effects. She'd made two previous appointments for the shot and canceled.The arrival of the variant from South Africa in the Bay Area finally convinced her. Plus, she wants to set an example for her four adult sons, who have reservations about getting vaccinated. She knows that until they're all vaccinated she can't hug her children and grandchildren. And her community, too, can't recover."I want everybody to get it so we're all safe and our lives can get back to normal," Lugo said a few minutes after getting her first shot. "Today I decided to get over my fear. This is what I need to do."Erin Allday is a San Francisco Chronicle staff writer. Email: eallday@sfchronicle.com Twitter: @erinallday___(c)2021 the San Francisco ChronicleVisit the San Francisco Chronicle at www.sfchronicle.comDistributed by Tribune Content Agency, LLC.
Media Statement by the Sionsoar-Etechwin JV on the northern islands power project

The undersigned consortium (SINOSOAR-ETECHWIN JV) is the pre-winning bidder for the mini-grid project in three islands in northern part of Sri Lanka. Recently the consortium learned from the media that a third party protested against the decision of the Sri Lankan Cabinet on the ground of so-called "self-security", and concocted a series of false information inconsistent with the facts, which seriously affected the consortiums reputation and legitimate rights. Meanwhile, it could also damage the credibility and image of the Government of Sri Lankan (GOSL) for attracting foreign investment and contractors. To ensure a correct understanding of the facts, we make the following clarifications and statements on related issues:





I. About the facts of the Project and the International Competitive Bidding

With a concept of uplifting the life style of approximately 10,000 rural inhabitants living in Delf, Analative, Nainativu outer islands, and promoting renewable energy, a loan proposal was submitted to Asian Development Bank (ADB) from the previous Government of Sri Lanka (GOSL) in September 2015. The main content of the project is to build a wind-photovoltaic-energy storage hybrid power generation system to replace the original Diesel generator power supply, strengthen the improvement of electricity conditions for residents on the islands, make full use of renewable energy to reduce the cost of fuel power generation, and provide green, continuous and stable power.ADB approved this loan project numbered SRI- 3409 to support the reliability of the local power supply. As the executing agency, the Ceylon Electricity Board started the project implementation in 2016.

Initially this project was advertised on 16th November 2017 inviting the international bidders to participate under the guidance of ADB and GOSL. However, in the 1st international bidding process, the procurement was not success due to none of the bidders comply with the qualification criteria. Hence, the bid was re-tendered on 27th June 2019 with the same ADB Procurement Guidelines allowing International bidders to participate and submit their proposals. The Consortium has submitted its proposal on 18th September 2019 as international bidder, finally passed the bidding evaluation and got the Cabinet award approval on January 18th 2021, and now is waiting for the issuance of the final award letter. The winning bidder shall complete the project within 2 years (730 days) under the supervision and management of the employer (Ceylon Electricity Board) and then handover to CEB.

On January 18th, 2021, the project award was approved by the Cabinet of incumbent GOSL, but the final award letter was delayed due to interference from outside.

II. The consortium solemnly states hereby:

1. Tens of thousands of poor people in northern Sri Lanka will benefit from this project, which is the common wish of the previous and present governments of Sri Lanka. The politicization of the project goes against the interests of the people and does not meet the manifesto of current government.

2. The project is funded by the Asian Development Bank, in full accordance with the international bidding procedures. Every step is open and transparent.

3. According to the bidding regulations, the consortium is only responsible for the construction and handover of the project. All moves are under the complete supervision and management of the employer-Ceylon Electricity Board. There is no so-called security concern issue raised by third parties.

4. The consortium strictly abide by the laws and regulations of Sri Lanka and the relevant requirements of the Asian Development Bank as well as the Ceylon Electricity Board. At the same time, we firmly oppose any outrageous interference by any third party without legal and factual basis. The consortium sincerely hopes that the GOSL will strictly follow the international bidding procedures to implement the project, and protect the legitimate rights and interests of the contractor, as well as its own credibility and international reputation.




Brattleboro, VT (05301)

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Gurugram, Feb 22 : Congress activists on Monday held a protest in Gurugram against the Central government over the rising diesel and petrol prices.

Hundreds of party activists took out a procession from Sohna Chowk to Rajiv Chowk in old Gurugram. The protesters carried pamphlets and placards with slogans against the fuel price hike.

Attacking the Bharatiya Janata Party-led Central government over the rising prices of petrol and diesel, former Haryana Minister and Congress leader Sukhbir Kataria blamed the Central government and the BJP-led Manohar Lal Khattar government in Haryana and sought an immediate rollback of the increase in the prices of petroleum products. He asserted that under the BJP dispensation, prices of other products like dal, rice and sugar are continuously increasing.

"The people were battling coronavirus pandemic and the Central government has increased price of diesel and petrol. The fuel price has crossed Rs 100 per litre in several states. It's like the Central government and the state government don't even think about the problems faced by the common man," Kataria said.

"The government is profiteering at the expense of the people, it is an example of extorting money from people," he added.

We urge the Centre through this protest to rollback the rise in excise duty on petrol and give its benefit to the people, Kataria said.

Kataria claimed that more than 200 farmers have died at the borders of the national capital during the protests but the Central government is still adamant over the three contentious farm laws.
Tata Motors has finally launched the new Tata Safari in India. The company has introduced the SUV at an introductory price of 14.69 lakh (ex-showroom Delhi). Bookings for the SUV began earlier this month and the company promised deliveries to commence soon after the launch.

The top variant Adventure Persona automatic variant has been priced at 21.45 lakh (ex-showroom Delhi). In comparison, the Tata Harrier starts at 13.99 lakh (ex-showroom Delhi) and the top variant of the five-seater SUV goes up to 19.24 lakh (ex-showroom Delhi).

The car will be offered in six different trims and a total of eleven variants including the newly introduced Adventure Persona edition. The car will be sold in three colours for the standard variant which includes Royal Blue, Orcus White and Daytona Grey. Interested buyers can book the new Safari by paying 30,000. Bookings can be done via Tata Motors dealerships as well as through the official online site.

View Full Image Introductory prices of the new Tata Safari

The company has also launched an Adventure Persona edition of the Tata Safari SUV. The new edition will be available in Tropical Mist colour. The special edition SUV comes with earthy brown interiors paired with dark chrome.

View Full Image The Harrier base design

Here's a list of variants and the difference between them:

The base XE variant offers dual airbags, all-disc brakes, electronic stability program along with hill hold control and rollover mitigation.

offers dual airbags, all-disc brakes, electronic stability program along with hill hold control and rollover mitigation. The Multi Drive Modes and touchscreen music system starts from XM variant onwards.

onwards. The XT variant offers features such as iRA connectivity, fully automatic climate control and a panoramic sunroof.

offers features such as iRA connectivity, fully automatic climate control and a panoramic sunroof. The top of the line XZ variant offers xenon HID projector headlamps, terrain response modes, six airbags, electronic parking brakes with auto hold, 8.8" touchscreen infotainment with 9 JBL speakers and a subwoofer, powered driver seat and diamond cut 18" alloy wheels.

In terms of interiors, there are multiple seating configurations available with the new Safari. The company is offering a six-seater version with captain seats whereas the bench seat version can accommodate seven passengers.

The new Safari is powered by a 2-litre diesel engine that can churn out 170 PS of power. The engine is either mated with a six-speed manual or automatic transmission.

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DUBLIN, Feb. 22, 2021 /PRNewswire/ -- The "Hand Sanitizer Market: Global Industry Trends, Share, Size, Growth, Opportunity and Forecast 2021-2026" report has been added to ResearchAndMarkets.com's offering.

The global hand sanitizer market reached a value of US$4.2 Billion in 2020. Looking forward, the publisher expects the global hand sanitizer market to decline during the forecast period (2021-2026).

Hand sanitizer, also known as hand antiseptic, is a foam, gel or liquid-based sanitizing agent that is applied on hands for removing various disease-causing pathogens. It is applied for preventing diseases caused by the transmission of germs and infections through hands.



Ethyl alcohol, isopropyl alcohol or a mixture of both is the most commonly used active ingredient in hand sanitizers. Alcohol acts as an antimicrobial that is effective against bacteria and various viruses. Hand sanitizers also contain humectants that retain the moisture in hands and do not remove natural oils from the skin despite repetitive use. They are widely considered as a more efficient and gentler option for the skin as compared to the commonly used soap bars.



Growing awareness about hand hygiene is one of the key factors driving the market. Owing to increasing inclination toward health and wellness, consumers are now adopting precautionary measures to prevent contracting any disease. Hand sanitizers are crucial in preventing the transmission of infections, owing to which they are gaining preference among the expanding health-conscious consumer base.



Furthermore, hand sanitizer dispensers are increasingly being installed in schools to combat health issues such as diarrhea, cough, cold and other related infections among students.



Additionally, the introduction of fragrant and perfumed hand sanitizers that give a pleasant scent to hands while maintaining hygiene, coupled with the launch of environment-friendly and natural product variants, is also propelling the product's demand.



Moreover, the market is also being driven by various innovations in formulations and dispenser designs such as touchless dispensers that increase the product's aesthetic value, thus escalating the probability of its sales.



Key Questions Answered:



What was the global hand sanitizer market size in 2019?

What will be the hand sanitizer market outlook in the coming years?

What are the major hand sanitizer industry drivers?

Who are the leading hand sanitizer industry players?

Which is the largest regional market for hand sanitizers?

What will be the hand sanitizer industry growth rate during the next five years (2020-2025)?

Which is the leading distribution channel in the hand sanitizer market?

What is the major product type of the hand sanitizer market?

What is the dominant end use segment of the hand sanitizer market?

Key Topics Covered:



1 Preface



2 Scope and Methodology

2.1 Objectives of the Study

2.2 Stakeholders

2.3 Data Sources

2.4 Market Estimation

2.5 Forecasting Methodology



3 Executive Summary



4 Introduction

4.1 Overview

4.2 Key Industry Trends



5 Global Hand Sanitizer Market

5.1 Market Overview

5.2 Market Performance

5.3 Impact of COVID-19

5.4 Market Breakup by Product Form

5.5 Market Breakup by Product Type

5.6 Market Breakup by Distribution Channel

5.7 Market Breakup by End Use

5.8 Market Breakup by Region

5.9 Market Forecast



6 Market Breakup by Product Form

6.1 Gel

6.2 Foam

6.3 Liquid

6.4 Spray

6.5 Others



7 Market Breakup by Product Type

7.1 Alcohol-Based

7.2 Non-Alcohol Based



8 Market Breakup by Distribution Channel

8.1 Pharmacy Stores

8.2 Departmental Stores

8.3 Online Stores

8.4 Others



9 Market Breakup by End Use

9.1 Restaurants

9.2 Schools

9.3 Hospitals

9.4 Household Purposes

9.5 Others



10 Market Breakup by Region



11 SWOT Analysis

11.1 Overview

11.2 Strengths

11.3 Weaknesses

11.4 Opportunities

11.5 Threats



12 Value Chain Analysis



13 Porters Five Forces Analysis

13.1 Overview

13.2 Bargaining Power of Buyers

13.3 Bargaining Power of Suppliers

13.4 Degree of Competition

13.5 Threat of New Entrants

13.6 Threat of Substitutes



14 Price Analysis

14.1 Key Price Indicators

14.2 Price Structure

14.3 Margin Analysis



15 Competitive Landscape

15.1 Market Structure

15.2 Key Players

15.3 Profiles of Key Players



Reckitt Benckiser Group PLC

The Himalaya Drug Company

Procter and Gamble Company

Henkel AG & Company

KGaA

Unilever NV/PLC.

Vi-Jon Laboratories Inc.

Gojo Industry Inc.

Chattem Inc.

Kutol Products Company Inc and 3M Company

For more information about this report visit https://www.researchandmarkets.com/r/e5zrgi



Media Contact:

Research and Markets

Laura Wood, Senior Manager

[email protected]



For E.S.T Office Hours Call +1-917-300-0470

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For GMT Office Hours Call +353-1-416-8900



U.S. Fax: 646-607-1907

Fax (outside U.S.): +353-1-481-1716

SOURCE Research and Markets

Related Links

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Texans who lost loved ones and suffered property damage during last weeks winter storm have started to file lawsuits against the Electric Reliability Council of Texas, holding the grid operator responsible for failing to maintain power for days as outside temperatures plunged below freezing.

But seeking monetary damages may be in vain. ERCOT has sovereign immunity, a well-established legal principle that protects governmental agencies from lawsuits. ERCOT, a private nonprofit corporation overseen by the Texas Legislature and the Public Utility Commission, is the only grid manager in the country with such protections.

A pending decision by the Texas Supreme Court, however, could change that. Justices on the states highest court are expected to rule this year on a case between Dallas utility Panda Power and ERCOT that could strip the Texas grid operator of its sovereign immunity, leaving it open to lawsuits that ERCOT has said could cripple the agency.

The ruling by the high court will have widespread implications in the wake of last weeks blackouts. It would not only determine whether Texans can use the legal system to hold ERCOT accountable for power outages that led to more than 48 deaths and billions of dollars of property damage, but also the future of ERCOT and the states power markets if the court opens the door to the likely flood of lawsuits.

On HoustonChronicle.com: ERCOT, Entergy sued for $100 million

Now Playing: Video: Houston Chronicle

On Saturday, Houston attorney and former mayoral candidate Tony Buzbee filed a $100 million lawsuit against ERCOT and utility Entergy Texas, claiming that widespread blackouts contributed to the suspected hypothermia death of an 11-year-old boy in Conroe. On Friday, Dallas-based law firm Fears Nachawati filed suit against ERCOT and another utility, American Electric Power, seeking unspecified damages for property damage and business interruptions caused by rolling blackouts.

Certainly, the courts decision here will have implications for viability claims against ERCOT related to this weeks event, said Ben Mesches, a lawyer with the firm Haynes and Boone and the lead appellate attorney representing Panda Power against ERCOT. We certainly believe that ERCOT should be transparent, accurate and accountable in court. That is the central issue and question before the court.

ERCOT declined to comment on Sunday.

Brandon Rottinghaus, a political science professor at the University of Houston, said a ruling against ERCOT is a long shot, given the Supreme Courts conservative majority is unlikely to overturn a 2018 Dallas appeals court decision in favor of maintaining the grid managers immunity. He said, however, that political pressure should mount on the justices  who face re-election in Texas  to hold ERCOT accountable for the catastrophic power failure and its deadly and devastating consequences.

The political rhetoric around ERCOT and the weather emergency has embraced transparency and accountability, Rottinghaus said. A ruling that holds ERCOT immune from such lawsuits may run against that. It could be a political liability.

Panda Power filed suit in 2016 against ERCOT, alleging the grid operator issued seriously flawed or rigged energy demand projections that prompted the Dallas power company to invest $2.2 billion to build three power plants early last decade. The plants ended up losing billions of dollars, with one forced into bankruptcy.

ERCOTs reports calling for more power generators came in the aftermath of a major ice storm in February 2011, which crippled Texas power plants and forced rolling blackouts across the state.

Panda Powers case was halted in 2018 when an appeals court in Dallas asserted ERCOT was protected from lawsuits by sovereign immunity. The Texas Supreme Court in June 2020 said it would review the appellate court decision, heard the case in September 2020 and is expected to render a decision before it recesses in June.

On HoustonChronicle.com: Can ERCOT be held accountable?

Justices will have to strike a delicate balance with the decision. If justices issue a broad ruling that opens ERCOT to massive lawsuits, it could destabilize Texas electricity markets because of the potentially huge costs. At the same time, if justices let ERCOT off the hook, it could spell the end of their time on the bench when voters go to the ballot box, Rottinghaus said.

ERCOT, in court filings, argued that it needs immunity from lawsuits because it is funded by transaction fees paid by power generators. A big damage verdict, ERCOT argued, would mean it would have to allocate the cost among the generators, which in turn, would pass it along to consumers in the form of higher electricity prices.

ERCOT does not receive taxpayer funding.

The goal of sovereign immunity is for the government to function in risky situations without having to fear a barrage of lawsuits, Rottinghaus said. For people who are unhappy about this, theyre going to have to find some solace in regulatory reform or find a different entity to direct their lawsuit toward.

More than 4 million Texans  including 1.4 million CenterPoint customers in the Houston area  were without reliable power for days during the power failure last week. The rolling blackouts created a cascading ripple effect, causing water systems to fail, food to spoil and homes, businesses and schools to suffer billions of dollars of property damage from frozen and broken water pipes.

More than 48 deaths in Texas, including at least 30 in the Houston area, have been linked to the blackouts, including from prolonged exposure to freezing temperatures, loss of essential medical devices and carbon monoxide poisoning as people sought warmth by running cars, portable generators and barbecue grills indoors.

On HoustonChronicle.com: Winter 2021 wrought the power crisis of a lifetime. Will it spur reform?

A lot of people are looking for some kind of justice and cant get it, Rottinghaus said. Suing the government is a high-risk enterprise. As the adage goes, you cant fight City Hall.

Includes previous reporting from L.M. Sixel, Marcy De Luna and Anna Bauman.

paul.takahashi@chron.com

twitter.com/paultakahashi
Iran must refrain from any provocation as Washington steps up efforts to salvage the 2015 nuclear deal with Tehran, the head of US forces in the Middle East told AFP.

"I would think this would be a good time for everybody to behave soberly and cautiously, and see what happens," General Kenneth McKenzie said in an interview Sunday during a visit to Oman, from where he flew close to neighbouring Iran in a helicopter.

"I do believe we will be prepared for any eventuality, however."

US President Joe Biden's administration, European powers and Iran have boosted attempts to revive a 2015 deal that has been on the brink of collapse since Donald Trump withdrew from it three years later.

On Sunday after talks in Tehran, UN nuclear watchdog chief Rafael Grossi announced a "temporary solution" to allow Iranian facility inspections to continue.

The four-star general, head of the US Army Central Command (Centcom) which covers the region urged Iran not to undertake any "nefarious activities" in a bid to rebuild trust.

"I think they would want to be recognised as a responsible member of the family of nations and a stable member in the region," McKenzie said.

The US accuses Iran of destabilising the region through financial and military support for Shiite militant groups, especially in Iraq, Lebanon and Yemen.

Washington also accuses Iran's elite Revolutionary Guards of disrupting maritime traffic in the strategic Strait of Hormuz, a chokepoint through which a fifth of world oil output passes.

The Strait of Hormuz was the focus of the US general's visit to Oman, officially intended to make contact with the country's new chief of staff, Rear Admiral Abdallah Ben Khamis al-Raissi.

On Saturday, he visited Oman's rugged peninsula at the naval base at Khassab, which controls maritime traffic in the strait from its side, flying over the sea towards the Iranian island of Qeshm.

"We were about 28 miles (45 kilometres) across the channel and we were looking at Qeshm island," he said.

"It was a hazy day, couldn't see it," he added with a grin.

The visit passed off peacefully but security was tight, and the general did not rule out that Tehran would try to avenge revered Iranian general Qasem Soleimani, killed in an US drone strike in Baghdad in January 2020.

"I think there's still a risk that they might entertain that as a course of action," he said.

"Look, we constantly assess our force protection here in the region. We look at that very hard. So I'm confident that we're ready for anything."

But he said he was not fearful himself that he was at risk of being attacked.

"I'm an old Marine general," he said. "There's been a risk for me many times in many places. I'm confident that we have good force protection measures in place."

Last month, a Twitter account linked to Iran's supreme leader Ayatollah Ali Khamenei posted a call to avenge Soleimani that appeared to target former US President Donald Trump.

In Iraq in recent months, several rocket attacks that Washington blames on pro-Iran factions have hit bases used by the US military.

The Sultanate of Oman is a US ally, which has several air bases in the country, with the navy using the southern port of Salalah.

It has often acted as a mediator between Iran and its regional enemies, and played a key role in facilitating talks involving the US that led to the 2015 nuclear deal.

Oman, with a population of 4.5 million, is also a neighbour of Iran -- and international sanctions against Tehran have hit Muscat's economy by impacting trade.

Oman's ruler, Sultan Haitham, ascended to the throne in January 2020 after the death of his cousin, Sultan Qaboos, modern Oman's founding father.

Qaboos transformed the former Arabian Peninsula backwater into a modern nation with a staunch policy of neutrality and non-interference.

Sultan Haitham has made several changes to government and reshuffled the military leadership since he came to power, but he has vowed not to change the sultanate's policy.
The guy who could save our republic: Arizona Attorney General Mark Brnovich By Rachel Alexander

During a time when many Republican officials have been unwilling to do anything to battle election fraud, a few are holding firm. Last year, Arizona Attorney General Mark Brnovich got involved with six election lawsuits, including successfully suing the Democratic County Recorder when he tried to send out mail in ballots to everyone in Maricopa County. Brnovich wrote to the Maricopa County Board of Supervisors a few days after the election urging them to more than double the hand audit. He also filed an amicus brief in support of the Arizona State Senate demanding that the supervisors turn over the Dominion voting machines for inspection. Now, hes taking on the DNC in a case at the Supreme Court that is going to determine whether states can take measures to combat election fraud. Oral arguments are scheduled for March 2. This will likely determine whether the election fraud we saw in the presidential race can continue or whether states will be able to stop it. The litigation arose before the 2016 election and involves two laws Arizona implemented against election fraud. Two separate cases were consolidated, Brnovich v. Democratic National Committee and Arizona Republican Party v. Democratic National Committee. One law requires that a ballot be thrown out if it was cast in a precinct other than the one matching the voters home address. The other law bans ballot harvesting, where third parties (with a few obvious exceptions including close family, household members and caretakers) are allowed to turn ballots in. The DNC sued Arizona over the two laws, claiming racism (no surprise). The federal district court judge and a three-judge panel in the Ninth Circuit Court of Appeals sided with Arizona, but the full Ninth Circuit panel overruled the smaller panel. In order to prove racial discrimination under Section 2 of the Voting Rights Act, there must be proof of a substantial disparate impact. There is no evidence of this. The district court found that the out-of-precinct policy had no impact on 99.9% of non-minority voters and 99.8% of minority voters. So the DNC is attempting to get the court to ignore the word substantial to get around this. Brnovich said in his brief that doing so would lead to chaos. For example, one slight change in voting laws could increase Hispanic voter turnout by 2% while decreasing black turnout by 2%. As for the ballot harvesting ban, the DNC (and Arizonas Democratic Secretary of State Katie Hobbs) failed to provide any purported evidence of racial discrimination. Ten senators, led by Ted Cruz, filed a brief supporting Arizona. The Trump administration also filed a brief in support of Arizona, saying the laws do not promote racial discrimination in voting. Surprisingly, when Biden first took office his administration supported that position. Since then, Deputy Solicitor General Edwin Kneedler backtracked slightly and said in a letter to the court that the administration disagrees on a few points, but didnt go any further than that. The Biden administration basically agreed that our voting laws dont violate Section 2 of the Voting Rights Act, Brnovich told The Daily Signal. If banning ballot harvesting is racist, then 19 other states must be racist too since they also ban the practice. Most states also require citizens to vote at their assigned precinct. We saw plenty of evidence from the 2020 election where unscrupulous Democrat activists harvested ballots from voters, coerced them into filling them out or filled them out for them, and turned them in. Project Veritas caught activists taking advantage of elderly Somali immigrants in order to add votes for Rep. Ilhan Omar in Minneapolis. Project Veritas also caught the Biden campaigns Texas Political Director Dallas Jones harvesting ballots from dead people, homeless people and nursing home residents. There are countless more stories like this. It is a real problem. This is a key decision because if laws like this can be struck down for being racist, you could make the argument that a lot of election integrity laws could be struck down as racist. Lets say common sense precautions such as requiring extra poll watchers from both parties results in 1% fewer minority votes. That is so small it is statistically insignificant. But under the Democrats standard, that tiny difference would constitute racism. We may not have been able to defeat election fraud in the 2020 election in time; they broadsided us. But it is imperative to stop it or Republicans may never hold significant offices again. It is the single most important issue we must focus on right now. The future of our country hinges on this decision. Brnovich is going to be under one of the most horrendous attacks by the left we have ever seen. They already have their sights on him. He was the first state attorney general to sue Google. He filed a lawsuit immediately after Biden took office over the administrations 100 day freeze on deportations. He led several amicus briefs defending the Second Amendment and religious liberty. Hes taken on the higher education establishment and continues to fight them in state court. And before becoming AG, he served as director of the Center for Constitutional Government at the Goldwater Institute. This will be one of the biggest political fights of our lifetime. Although the Biden administration has backed down on the case, the so-called conservatives on the Supreme Court have proven they cannot be trusted. Most political fights are fought very publicly in the legislative and executive arenas, which is where most major policy is made. The Supreme Court only accepts about 80 cases each year, but a handful of its cases have profound implications. This is the sleeper case no one knows about that may end up like a Roe v. Wade. Disclaimer: The author worked with Mark Brnovich at the Arizona Attorney Generals Office in the early 2000s before he became Attorney General. 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.mericano, ParcBench, Enter Stage Right and other publications. Home
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Bloodlands

Rating:

Chris Packham's Animal Einsteins

Rating:

The location of a remote beauty spot in the Northern Ireland crime thriller Bloodlands (BBC1) is being kept secret by producer Jed Mercurio.

He fears a tourist stampede could trample the isolated nature reserve, one of 100 islands in Strangford Lough, southeast of Belfast.

Jed needn't have worried. Bloodlands does for the Ulster tourism industry what disaster movie The Poseidon Adventure did for cruise ships.

For a start, that island is a lump of barren turf in an icy lake. It's probably great for gulls looking for a place to nest where weasels and foxes can't get their eggs. But it's an awkward spot to choose for burying bodies.

Bloodlands does for the Ulster tourism industry what disaster movie The Poseidon Adventure did for cruise ships

Cold Feet star James Nesbitt plays Tom Brannick, a veteran copper whose wife Emma disappeared more than 20 years ago. She was an undercover agent investigating terrorism, and the rumour is she was bumped off by a serial killer in the police force.

Acting on a tip-off that her grave is on the island 'between the bothy and the tree', Brannick turns up at dawn with a spade and a forensics team (a 'bothy' is a hut, if you don't speak Norn Iron).

But our hero digs in the wrong place. He fails to spot that there are, in fact, not one but two trees on this blasted rock. Some detective. Meanwhile, the serial killer is back in business, leaving his signature calling card  a picture postcard of two derelict cranes on a deserted dock. Wish you were here, or what?

Jed's really going out of his way to make sure no one who sees Bloodlands will ever want to visit the Six Counties. Why couldn't he choose a card showing the Giant's Causeway, or that mural of the Derry Girls on the side of a pub?

Jumbo gift of the weekend: The pupils of primary school teacher Kath Crawley picked retirement presents for her on Ant And Dec's Saturday Night Takeaway (ITV). They included a scented candle 'smelling of elephants'. Very fragrant! Advertisement

The first episode of this four-part thriller ended with Brannick and his partner Niamh (Charlene McKenna) raiding a tatty rural hotel, decorated in Fawlty Towers chic. The carpets were nylon and the doors were plywood. You didn't need to see the breakfast buffet to know it would be cold scrambled eggs and that juice made from dried orange powder.

Nesbitt has two modes as an actor, Tough Guy James and Lovable Jim. He was displaying his full range here  eyes narrowed as he ransacked the office of a former IRA chief, then goofy smile as he played the doting dad who drops in to surprise his student daughter at every hour of the day.

The plot doesn't make a lot of sense, though it rattles along so briskly that we don't have to worry too much. Bloodlands won't be the most memorable serial of the year . . . but the Northern Ireland Tourist Board will be quite glad about that.

If you're looking for something memorable, try brain training with a chimp. Chris Packham showed us on Animal Einsteins (BBC2) how apes can not only count but remember a nine-digit sequence flashed up on screen for just half a second.

This extraordinary experiment featured on The Chasers Road Trip on ITV last month but Chris explained the science behind it far more clearly. Early humans probably had photographic memories, like chimps, he said  but our brains ditched that skill to make room for language.

Humans fared badly in this fascinating round-up on animal intelligence, the first of six. A two-year-old New Caledonian Crow proved better at solving puzzles and making tools than a five-year-old child.

It has taken our species just 1,000 generations, Chris pointed out, to go from stone knives to Mars missions.

Give the crow 1,000 generations of evolution and it, too, might be capable of anything. Birds have a head start  they won't need to invent the aeroplane.
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A lecturer with the University of Port Harcourt, Rivers State, was on Sunday abducted by gunmen in the state.

A first class traditional ruler was similarly abducted on Sunday in the state.

The lecturer, identified as Jones Ayuwo, teaches in the Department of Linguistics and Communications Studies.

The victim was said to be returning from a meeting with members of his local language Bible translation committee when he was abducted along Andoni-Ogoni Road, Rivers State, according to the News Agency of Nigeria (NAN).

Three journalists, who covered the committees meeting, were also attacked in separate incidents, while returning from the event.

The journalists, who work with the Rivers State Television, had their phones, video camera and other valuables forcefully taken from them by some hoodlums.

The spokesperson for the University of Port Harcourt, Samuel Kpenu, confirmed the lecturers abduction. He said no contact has been established yet with the suspected kidnappers.

In a related development, suspected gunmen also on Sunday kidnapped a traditional leader, Aaron Ikuru of Ikuru Town in Andoni Local Government Area of Rivers State.

A witness said the traditional ruler was forcefully taken away from his palace by the gunmen.

The police spokesperson in Rivers, Nnamdi Omoni, confirmed both abductions. He, however, said he was yet to get details of the incidents.

Kidnapping, which appears to be on the increase daily, has become one of the dominant crimes in several Nigerian states.

(NAN)
For Subscribers Why South Dakota county officials are shirking state-given water rights

Grant County could be the thirteenth county to repeal their drainage ordinance in the past decade.
Adam Samrov is the sports editor and part-time news reporter for the Bennington Banner. He has been at the Banner since 2008 and sports editor since 2010. He can be reached at asamrov@benningtonbanner.com
Rep. Diego Hernandez, a three-term Portland Democrat whos been embroiled in controversy for months following multiple allegations that he created a hostile workplace for women, told OPB News on Sunday he is resigning, the news organization reported.

Hernandez was facing the possibility of being the first legislator expelled from the Legislature in Oregon.

A day earlier, Hernandez lost a last-ditch court effort aimed at blocking the legislative vote on his expulsion, which could have occurred as soon as Tuesday. A judge blocked his request for an order to block the vote, declining to interfere in the Legislatures disciplinary process.

Hernandez did not immediately respond Sunday night to an email or phone call from The Oregonian/OregonLive.

According to OPB, Hernandez said he had resigned so the Legislature can do its work and so he can move forward with my life and focus on my health and family.

An independent investigators report released last month stated that at least three women said Hernandez had created a hostile workplace through continued pressure on the women to have a romantic relationship despite their having told him they were not interested and having asked him to stop.

Hernandez maintained that he believed his interactions with two of the three women were welcome.

Top Democratic lawmakers, such as House Speaker Tina Kotek and now Secretary of State Shemia Fagan had previously called for Hernandez to resign. On Feb. 5, Senate President Peter Courtney called for Hernandez to step down. Gov. Kate Brown similarly called for his resignation in recent days.

The independent investigation continued through the November election, where Hernandez was reelected despite the accusations.

Some of Hernandezs colleagues posted their reactions Sunday.

Rep. Rachel Prusak, a Democrat who represents Tualatin and West Linn, posted a statement to social media networks applauding the unambiguous findings in the report and saying Hernandez violated standards governing workplace safety and respect. Im glad Representative Hernandez made the decision to resign and hope restorative justice can begin for ALL involved, she wrote on Facebook and Twitter.

Rep. Lisa Reynolds, a Democrat representing Portlands west side, said she was relieved to see his resignation. I hope those harmed by his actions can feel a little more peace and that they are getting the help and support they need, she posted to Twitter.

--Andrew Theen; atheen@oregonian.com; 503-294-4026; @andrewtheen
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At the Tribune we have a group of reporters, programmers and graphics folks who work to present the best data to show the impact of the coronavirus in the Chicago area and Illinois. We use sources like the Illinois Department of Public Health, the CDC, Johns Hopkins University and the COVID Tracking Project. We also use data that the New York Times and Associated Press collect on cases and vaccinations. We recently revamped some key features in our data pages and wanted to share that with you here.
The former commissioner of the FDA has said he believes the downward trend in coronavirus infection rates will continue until the summer.

Dr. Scott Gottlieb said that despite new variants of the virus springing up which still creates a risk of infection, he believes that rates will continue to fall.

Daily average deaths and hospitalizations have fallen to their lowest levels since before the Thanksgiving and Christmas holidays.

There were 1,286 daily deaths recorded in the last 24 hours with figures now at their lowest since October 23, at the start of this winter's wave of infections.

Former FDA commissioner Dr. Scott Gottlieb said that the US will likely 'continue to see infection rates decline into the spring and the summer.'

The number of daily cases, hospitalizations and deaths are all now falling

On Sunday, the number of people currently in hospital with the virus was 56,159 marking 40 straight days of falling hospitalization numbers.

'This has taken a tragic toll on the United States, but we should be optimistic, in my view. I think we're going to continue to see infection rates decline into the spring and the summer. Right now, they're falling quite dramatically. I think these trends are likely to continue,' Gottlieb, who sits on the board of Pfizer, told CBS News.

'With rising vaccination rates and the fact we've injected about a third of the country, that is enough protected immunity. If you look at the counties in New York and New Jersey that had greater than 45% prevalence, meaning more than 45% of the population was infected going into the winter, they really didn't have much of a winter surge.

'Once you get to about 40% of the population with some sort of protected immunity -- you don't have herd immunity because it will continue to transfer, but it will transfer at a much slower rate,' Gottlieb explained.

RN Robert Villa (right) gives a Moderna Covid-19 vaccine to Armando Montes at the newly opened City of Los Angeles vaccination site at Pierce College

There has now been 40 straight days of falling hospitalizations

Gottlieb said that he believes Pfizer and other companies that are manufacturing vaccines will be able to 'prepare much better for the fall' and develop boosters for the new variants of the virus that are circulating.

'I think we'll have the spring and the summer to work this out. I don't think we'll ever reach total herd immunity. Hopefully we will vaccinate the older population to protect them from dying from this, but this will continue to spread.'

Gottlieb also said he believed this fall might be the right time for school children to also receive the vaccination.

'I think it is possible this vaccine gets moved into the high school population in the fall. We have seen the spread more in the high schools than the elementary schools. There is less risk in the grade-school-aged children. I don't believe this vaccine will get moved to 12-and-under into the fall.

'It may be a question of trying to reformulate the vaccines at a lower dose for the younger kids because they develop a more robust immune response to the vaccine,' Gottlieb theorized.

Motorists and passengers wait in line for their Covid-19 vaccinations administered by members of the National Guard at a joint state and federal COVID-19 vaccination site on the campus of California State University of Los Angeles in Los Angeles on Wednesday

More than 28 million COVID-19 cases have rocked the US since the virus arrived in the country almost exactly one year ago.

The virus' effect was so severe it has taken a full year off the average life expectancy in the United States, the biggest decline since World War Two.

So far, less than 15 per cent of the US population has received at least one vaccine dose, with nearly 43 million getting at least one shot and nearly 18 million getting a second shot, US statistics show.

Some locales are easing restrictions, such as on indoor dining, and moving to reopen schools even as millions await their shots, sparking debate over the safety of teachers, students and others.

The total number of people who have died in the U.S. fro the virus is fast approaching 500,000

Financial pressures also continue to weigh even as economists express optimism for the year ahead.

Congress is weighing Biden's $1.9trillion coronavirus relief package, with the House of Representatives expected to vote on it this week and the Senate seeking to pass it before March 14.

The White House said on Sunday it was planning a memorial event in which Biden would deliver remarks.

A White House spokesman said the president along with first lady Jill Biden, Vice President Kamala Harris and second gentleman Doug Emhoff would hold a moment of silence on Monday and there would be a candle-lighting ceremony at sundown.
The oppositional Movement to Save the Motherland is holding its second rally in Yerevan, the first was held on February 19, the media sources report.

According to Sputnik Armenia, several thousand people are participating in the protest. Accompanied by law enforcement officers, they walk from Arabkir Park to France Square in the center of the capital. There, the protesters are going to hold new actions. It is clarified that they are now trying to paralyze traffic in the city.

The main demand of the demonstrators is the resignation of Nikol Pashinyan's government.
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An early Monday morning fire has damaged the much-loved San Francisco bar Pacific Cocktail Haven.

Firefighters arrived to the scene of a one-alarm fire at the bar, at 580 Sutter St., at 3:20 a.m. The fire was contained by 4 a.m. No one was injured.

The San Francisco Fire Department told SFGATE in a statement that the bar sustained "moderate damage" from the fire. An Instagram video posted by proprietor Kevin Diedrich early Monday showed plumes of smoke emanating from the building.

The fire is currently under investigation, the San Francisco Fire Department said in a statement on Twitter. Still, it remains unclear what the cause of the fire was.

Pacific Cocktail Haven, beyond its tropical concept and recently introduced Filipino fare hosted by the pop-up Pinoy Heritage, also hosts the acclaimed Christmas pop-up bar Miracle at PCH. The charming offering continued in 2020, despite the coronavirus pandemic altering its format.

Bartender Diedrich's latest project, the tiki-themed Kona's Street Market, is slated to open this Thursday  and he is intent on not postponing Kona's opening despite the damage to PCH.

"Nope, I'll open [Kona's] on time," Diedrich told SFGATE over text message. "Doing all my best to keep both going."
A man is in a critical condition in hospital after being shot in north Belfast late last night.

The Police Service of Northern Ireland (PSNI) said in a statement it had been called about 11.15pm to a report of a shooting in the Hopewell Crescent area of the city.

Officers attended along with the Northern Ireland Ambulance Service and the man, in his 20s, was taken to hospital for treatment.

Detective inspector Tom Phillips asked for anyone who was in the area at the time or who may have any information which may assist us with our inquiries to contact police on 101 or anonymously via independent charity Crimestoppers on 0800 555 111.
CMG recently released a feature television series "Poverty Alleviation", recounting how China has lifted millions out of poverty. The first episode features an overview of how the Chinese leadership fulfilled its solemn promise of lifting all rural residents living below the current poverty line out of poverty by 2020.

'Up and Out of Poverty'

China launched large-scale poverty relief programs in 1982. Xi Jinping was sent down to work in the county of Zhengding, Hebei Province at that point in time. From March 1982 to May 1985, Xi worked as deputy secretary and then secretary of the CPC Zhengding County Committee. Some of his speeches and articles from this period were published in his book "Up and Out of Poverty."

As Xi wrote: "I worked hard during the two years in Ningde Prefecture, along with the people and Party members there. I always felt a sense of unease. Poverty alleviation is an immense undertaking that requires the efforts of several generations."

He then brought his dream of poverty reduction to the center of China's political life.

Targeted poverty alleviation, a new strategy

The number of poor people recognized by the Chinese government counted 99.89 million at the end of 2012  a population larger than all but a few countries.

In November 2013, during an inspection tour of Hunan, President Xi first raised the concept of "targeted poverty alleviation."

This concept of tailoring relief policies to different local conditions became a guiding principle in China's fight against poverty.

In November 2015, at the Central Conference on Poverty Alleviation and Development, Xi further pointed out that poverty alleviation should focus on four issues  who exactly needs help, who should implement poverty alleviation initiatives, how poverty alleviation should be carried out, and what standards and procedures should be adopted for exiting poverty.

To address these issues while carrying out targeted poverty alleviation, about 800,000 officials were sent on frontline poverty-relief missions, working at local levels.

'No one will be left behind'

By the end of 2016, there were more than 43 million people, or about 3 percent of China's population, living in poverty. However, to lift up the remaining poor population, many of whom lived in areas without roads, clean drinking water or power, would be the toughest.

"Eradicating poverty has always been a tough battle, while eradicating poverty in extremely poor areas is the hardest fight of all," Xi said.

The country in 2017 demarcated three regions and three prefectures, including the Tibet Autonomous Region and the Nujiang Lisu Autonomous Prefecture in Yunnan Province, as the poorest areas in the country. More resources were allocated to these areas.

"On the march towards common prosperity, no one will be left behind," Xi had promised.

'Two assurances and three guarantees'

At the end of 2018, the nation's impoverished population was reduced to 16.6 million, taking the poverty alleviation journey to the "last mile." But poverty alleviation work in China still faced many challenges.

Some local authorities and departments fudged or exaggerated their poverty alleviation statistics to score political points.

Speaking at a symposium on the fight against poverty in April of 2019, the Chinese president called for efforts to resolve prominent problems in assuring the food and clothing needs of the rural poor population are met and guarantee they have access to compulsory education, basic medical services and safe housing, referred to as the "two assurances and three guarantees."

The ministries then launched an extensive campaign to resolve outstanding problems and at the end of 2019, 5.2 million people's "two assurances and three guarantees" issues were solved.

Reached anti-poverty goals despite COVID-19

The year 2020 was no ordinary year for China and the world. The COVID-19 pandemic coupled with floods in southern China posed daunting challenges to the national fight against penury.

According to the World Bank, the COVID-19 pandemic is estimated to have pushed an additional 88-115 million people into extreme poverty in 2020, which means global extreme poverty is expected to rise for the first time in over 20 years.

President Xi stressed at a symposium on securing a decisive victory in poverty alleviation in March 2020 that lifting all rural residents living below the current poverty line out of poverty by 2020 is a solemn promise made by the CPC Central Committee, and it must be fulfilled on time.

The country took stronger and more effective measures to ensure the full eradication of poverty on schedule. More efforts were made to minimize losses caused by natural disasters, and speed up the restoration of production and living orders in disaster-stricken poor areas.

Ministers also stepped up monitoring and gave timely assistance to prevent people from falling back into poverty.

In December 2020, President Xi announced that after eight years of unremitting efforts, all rural poor population have been lifted out of poverty and nearly 100 million poor people have shaken off poverty.

Original articlehere.

SOURCE CGTN


[February 22, 2021] NationsBenefits Advances Consumerization of Healthcare with Its OTC Benefit Solution

NationsBenefits, a leading supplemental benefits company, announced today it will guarantee delivery within two business days on all over-the-counter (OTC) product orders received by 12 p.m. ET starting January 1, 2022. The decision to begin offering guaranteed delivery comes at a time when the company is expanding its operations to include additional distribution centers as part of the business's growth strategy and commitment to serving national, regional, and local health plans and their members. Health plan members have the same expectations when buying OTC products as they do when shopping online. The COVID-19 pandemic has put e-commerce at the forefront of retail. Consumerism, or the consumption of goods and services, has sparked a cultural shift prompting an increase in demand across all categories. OTC products, for example, are in particular high demand and the company has seen an exponential increase in online, phone, and mail orders in the past year as a result. "It's critical that members with OTC benefits receive their products with the same expediency and quality they expect when shopping with the largest global retailers," said Michael Parker, Chief Operating Officer of NationsBenefits. "We are proud to offer an unparalleled experience and introduce two-day guaranteed delivery at no additional cost to the health plans and members we serve." It is estimated that about 93% of Americans prefer to treat their minor ailments with OTC medicines before seeking professional care.1 With the role of technology being a central part of everyday life for more seniors aging in place, enabling quick and convenient ordering of OTC products with fast and guaranteed delivery can have a beneficial effect on their quality of life. With NationsOTC, order fulfillment is made simple and convenient. NationsOTC provides CMS-compiant, OTC benefits administration services to health plans seeking an affordable, comprehensive solution in supplemental OTC services and product fulfillment. Hundreds of brand-name and generic products, health and wellness items, first-aid supplies, and a variety of foods are available with home delivery at no additional cost. The company also offers essential products like nitrile gloves, face masks, hand sanitizer, and much more to help health plans prevent the spread of COVID-19. Customizable programs complete with at-home care kits and benefit carryover are available to support members' health and well-being.



When health plans partner with NationsOTC, their members can enjoy a modern e-commerce experience. When logging into a secure portal, which can be fully branded or cobranded for participating health plans, members have: Robust search options that give them the ability to filter, sort and search by category, pricing, wallet, and more

that give them the ability to filter, sort and search by category, pricing, wallet, and more Product recommendations based on individual needs

based on individual needs Expandable product detail pages complete with 360-degree images

complete with 360-degree images Benefit tracking to see available dollars to spend on plan-approved products

to see available dollars to spend on plan-approved products Order tracking with carrier details and frequent status updates More online features are coming soon, and the company's distribution centers will fulfill product orders around the clock, 365 days a year.

NationsBenefits is committed to improving the overall health of its customers and maximizing the quality of care and health outcomes for more than 20 million members in the U.S. About NationsBenefits NationsBenefits provides managed care organizations with customizable healthcare solutions designed to help members achieve a better quality of life through a diverse offering of supplemental benefits. Our continuum of care, exceptional service delivery, and technological innovations include a growing suite of benefit offerings aimed to attract and retain enrollees while creating strategic, financial, and service-level advantages for health plans and partners. Currently, NationsBenefits is proud to provide solutions in hearing, over-the-counter (OTC) management services, Personal Emergency Response Systems (PERS), optimized companion care (OCC), and health insurance sales and services. For more information, visit NationsBenefits.com 1 Source (News - Alert) : Consumer Healthcare Products Association (February 2021) available at https://www.chpa.org/about-consumer-healthcare/research-data/otc-use-statistics View source version on businesswire.com: https://www.businesswire.com/news/home/20210222005632/en/

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ALBANY  State lawmakers on Monday concluded two days of interviews with a slew of candidates for four available seats on the state Board of Regents.

"We appreciate them stepping forward and putting their names into the mix for this volunteer position which is so important," said Shelley Mayer, chair of the state Senate Education Committee.

On Feb. 11, lawmakers questioned several candidates for the vacant 12th Judicial District previously represented by Betty Rosa, who left her position as chancellor of the Board to become commissioner at the state Education Department.

Legislators took an interest in Armina Vega-Ferrer, a recently retired Mercy College professor, for Rosa's former seat which covers the Bronx. Like Rosa, Vega-Ferrera is a Bronx native with expertise in bilingual and multicultural education.

"I'm a teacher and a teacher of teachers, and I'm passionate about the teaching profession and the quality of education for New York children," Vega-Ferrer said in her remarks.

Rosa in January was unanimously voted by her colleagues to head the state agency on a permanent basis following a tumultuous year marked by the resignations of multiple top education officials and new challenges brought on by remote learning and the COVID-19 pandemic.

Last week, legislators also heard from Regent-at-Large Luis O. Reyes and Regent Elizabeth Hakanson, of the 5th Judicial District, which includes Syracuse. Both members are up for reelection and are seeking another term.

"To me, it's not only a difficult time but it's a very special time because the Board of Regents has a new chancellor, Dr. Lester Young ... and was elected just two weeks ago unanimously, and as of Monday Dr. Betty Rosa is state education commissioner," Reyes said. "It's a very dedicated and experienced team, and both of them were elected unanimously" demonstrating unity and cohesion on the board.

The Board of Regents is made up of 17 volunteer positions, 13 representing judicial districts, and four at-large members. They are elected by the Legislature and have the power to shape educational policy in New York. Regents meet monthly and serve five-year terms.

Before the pandemic, the Board was considering creating alternatives to the Regents exams. For more than a century, passing a series of Regents tests has been a precondition for an accredited high school diploma in New York.

Rosa and Lester W. Young, Jr. have said they plan to focus on equity and narrowing persistent gaps for unserved student populations.

Several candidates on Monday vied for the seat representing the 7th Judicial District, which covers the city of Rochester and is currently held by board Vice Chancellor T. Andrew Brown.

Brown, who was first elected to the board in 2012 and had served as vice chancellor since 2016, will leave at the end of the month to focus on a new role as president of the New York State Bar Association.

Candidates for the Rochester seat include Elaine Spaul, a long-time educator and advocate for homeless youth, who said restorative practices can be an "antidote" to institutional racism.

Another candidate, A. Dirk Hightower, a psychologist and faculty member at the University of Rochester, discussed the importance of educating "the whole child."

Lawmakers also spoke to Nahoko Kawakyu O'Connor, a University of Rochester professor whose expertise is in using qualitative assessments to measure learning and mixing those methods with traditional testing.

"One of the greatest challenges I see organizations have is not being able to identify what it means to be successful," Kawakyu OConnor said. "I don't believe (standardized tests) are demonstrating the outcomes that we want in our state... it's convenient, but we need a little bit of a more complex evaluation system that includes qualitative measures."
Vaccine czar Carlito Galvez apologizes as delays hound the COVID-19 vaccine arrivals in the country. But what is the main reason for this? The Health department says manufacturers need assurance that no suits will be filed against them if their vaccines exhibit signs of side effects.
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Lendlease has extended its partnership with the countrys largest super fund in a deal to sell a 25 per cent stake in the retirement living business, estimated to be worth about $460 million.

Aware Super will now have a stake in 75 retirement villages that are home to more than 16,000 residents across the country.

Lendlease has been looking to sell down its interest in the business for some time. It has a growing relationship with Aware in a $1 billion project in East Brooklyn, New York and Lendlease Americas Residential Partnership that invests in urbanisation projects across Chicago, Boston, New York and Los Angeles.

Lendlease-owned Bernborough Ascot Retirement Village in Brisbane.

Under the deal, Aware will also be involved in the development of new assets. The business will remain under the Lendlease brand as will the management of the retirement villages.

Large scale 5G rollout is expected in Vietnam in 2021. Do you think that the existing 4G infrastructure is qualified enough to assist in wide implementation?

Denis Brunetti, president of Ericsson in Vietnam, Myanmar, Cambodia, and Laos

Vietnamese operators have showcased adequate preparedness in terms of infrastructure and network coverage to enable the commercial launch of 5G services later in 2021. We have proudly partnered with MobiFone, Vinaphone and Viettel in providing the 5G experience to the Vietnamese people across selected geographic areas in Hanoi and Ho Chi Minh City.

Leveraging our 4G installed base across Vietnam, which is 5G ready, Ericsson is well positioned to enable service providers to seamlessly and efficiently transition from 4G to 5G.

What are some of the valuable activities Ericsson has been carrying out worldwide that Vietnam can learn from to find success on its digital infrastructure journey?

With over 67 per cent of multinational companies expected to relocate their manufacturing hubs to the Asia-Pacific region by 2025, we believe that Vietnam has a great opportunity of attracting much of this smart manufacturing investment. Ericsson has been deploying technology across the world to realise this vision of smart manufacturing, and we intend to bring the learnings from these use cases to Vietnam.

For example, Ericsson and Audi have been collaborating to expand the horizons of tomorrows factories with 5G tech. We have taken factory automation over a wireless network to the next level with 5G Ultra-Reliable Low-Latency Communication (URLLC). Cutting the cables is the real game changer in enabling Industry 4.0 and with that, Ericsson and Audi successfully tested 5G URLLC capabilities with real-life industrial automation applications at an Ericsson lab last year. We also launched 5G car manufacturing in Germany with Vodafone and e.GO.

Elsewhere, Ericsson US 5G Smart Factory is part of a new wave of manufacturing plants that has the potential to add between $1.5-2.2 trillion to the global economy annually by 2023.

Here in Vietnam, we are also planning to invest in various smart city initiatives, partnering with other Swedish companies through Business Sweden as well as our mobile operator customers.

Others global technology giants are gearing up their plans to expand in the local market. What makes Ericsson different from the rest?

Ericsson is a technology leader in 5G. Pioneering customers around the world have selected us as their 5G partner  today, we power 5G commercial live networks across five continents. We have close to 130 commercial 5G agreements or contracts with unique service providers, of which about 80 are live networks.

We have the right portfolio in place to enable customers to deploy 5G networks in all main frequency bands for global deployments and utilise their valuable spectrum assets in the fastest and most efficient way.

In total, we have shipped six million 5G-ready (hardware) radios to our customers since 2015, which gives us and our customers a unique advantage, including our mobile communication service provider customers in Vietnam. This is currently the most installed 5G-ready radios in the industry. This enables our customers to faster migrate to 5G and efficiently protects their past investments in 4G.

Ericsson has a portfolio that can adapt and scale to introduce the relevant capabilities that enterprises and industries require, from private networks designed to meet mission critical requirements to fast and secure wireless for Industry 4.0 use cases. Ericsson will continue to lead and play an active role in the development of ecosystems that work towards co-creating technological advancements and solutions that adds value to industry and society.

What are the latest preparations of Ericsson to further support Vietnam in the 5G rollout?

We are fully aligned with the recently released National Strategy for Industry 4.0, focusing on increasing the positive impact of the digital economy, industry digitalisation, smart city development, high-tech foreign investment, and elevated labour productivity growth rates and cybersecurity in this country.

5G mobile network capabilities will play a pivotal role in achieving this vision, supporting an accelerated adoption of Industry 4.0 across the nation. Vietnam has taken the right approach by aiming to initially deploy 5G in major urban areas and high growth industry zones, eventually bringing the benefits of digital transformation to key industries, such as manufacturing, transport, energy, healthcare, and agriculture.

People and enterprises are beginning to experience the benefits of a 5G for the first time and with it, we are moving technological boundaries forward to create the biggest innovation platform ever. We will see new consumer and enterprise/industry services, new use cases for the digitalisation of industries and new business opportunities across all economic sectors.

Ericsson recognises the need to lead the market in forging strategic 5G ecosystem partnerships that include cross-industry players, bringing them together with mobile service providers to deliver compelling digital transformation engagements and new revenue streams.

As a trusted long-term strategic partner in Vietnams ICT industry, we have been working with mobile communication service providers to ensure Vietnam is at the forefront of 5G developments in the region and globally, sharing our technical capabilities, market insights, and innovative thought leadership.
CENTENNIAL, Colo., Feb. 22, 2021 /PRNewswire/ -- NioCorp Developments Ltd. ("NioCorp" or the "Company") (TSX:NB) (OTCQX:NIOBF) is pleased to announce that it has formally exercised an option-to-purchase agreement on a key land parcel associated with the Company's Elk Creek Superalloy Materials Project. Once the purchase is finalized, NioCorp will own the surface land on which the Project's mine infrastructure and supporting operations will be located once sufficient project financing is obtained to allow the Project to proceed. The land purchase will also give NioCorp ownership of the mineral rights to more than 90% of the Project's Mineral Resource and Mineral Reserve.

NioCorp Chief Operations Officer Scott Honan personally delivered this morning NioCorp's option exercise to the southeast Nebraska landowner. Further details of the purchase were not made public at the request of the landowner.

@NioCorp $NB $NIOBF #ElkCreek #Niobium #Scandium #Nebraska

For More Information

Contact Jim Sims, VP of External Affairs, NioCorp Developments Ltd., 720-639-4650, [email protected]

About NioCorp



NioCorp is developing a superalloy materials project in Southeast Nebraska that will produce Niobium, Scandium, and Titanium. Niobium is used to produce superalloys as well as High Strength, Low Alloy ("HSLA") steel, which is a lighter, stronger steel used in automotive, structural, and pipeline applications. Scandium is a superalloy material that can be combined with Aluminum to make alloys with increased strength and improved corrosion resistance. Scandium is also a critical component of advanced solid oxide fuel cells. Titanium is used in various superalloys and is a key component of pigments used in paper, paint and plastics and is also used for aerospace applications, armor and medical implants.

Forward-Looking Statements Disclaimers



Certain statements contained in this document may constitute forward-looking statements, including statements regarding NioCorp's expectation that it will close on the purchase of the land parcel mentioned. Readers are cautioned that such forward-looking statements involve known and unknown risks, uncertainties and other factors that may cause a change in such assumptions and the actual outcomes and estimates to be materially different from those estimated or anticipated future results, achievements or position expressed or implied by those forward-looking statements. Risks, uncertainties and other factors that could cause NioCorp's plans or prospects to change include risks related to the Company's ability to operate as a going concern; risks related to the Company's requirement of significant additional capital; changes in demand for and price of commodities (such as fuel and electricity) and currencies; changes in economic valuations of the Project, such as Net Present Value calculations, changes or disruptions in the securities markets; legislative, political or economic developments; the need to obtain permits and comply with laws and regulations and other regulatory requirements; the possibility that actual results of work may differ from projections/expectations or may not realize the perceived potential of NioCorp's projects; risks of accidents, equipment breakdowns and labor disputes or other unanticipated difficulties or interruptions; the possibility of cost overruns or unanticipated expenses in development programs; operating or technical difficulties in connection with exploration, mining or development activities; the speculative nature of mineral exploration and development, including the risks of diminishing quantities of grades of reserves and resources; and the risks involved in the exploration, development and mining business and the risks set forth in the Company's filings with Canadian securities regulators at www.sedar.com and the SEC at www.sec.gov. NioCorp disclaims any intention or obligation to update or revise any forward-looking statements whether as a result of new information, future events or otherwise.

SOURCE NioCorp Developments Ltd.

Related Links

http://www.niocorp.com


A suspected oil spill off the coast of Israel has been described by officials there as one of the most severe ecological disasters to hit the country.

Chunks of tar began washing up on Israel's Mediterranean coastline last week and the spill is threatening wildlife and their habitats. There were also reports of tar being found in the seas off neighbouring Lebanon.

Authorities are still trying to establish the source of the oil, although it is thought to have come from a passing ship.

Members of the public are being warned to stay away from the beaches while volunteers and soldiers clean up the waste.

Israel's Nature and Parks Authority (NPA) said it would take a "long period of time" for the clean-up operation to finish.

"The enormous amounts of tar emitted in recent days to the shores of Israel from south to north caused one of the most severe ecological disasters to hit Israel," NPA said in a statement on Sunday.

"According to field assessments, it is evident that these complex and strenuous operations will be required to continue over a long period of time," the Nature and Parks Authority said.

Israel's Environmental Protection Ministry is investigating the cause of the oil spill, believed to have taken place between 6-10 February.

On Monday, the ministry released a court-issued gag order on all details of the investigation into the party responsible.

The ministry said it received no prior warning from any international organisations about the spill.

Thousands of volunteers, soldiers and park rangers are taking to the beaches to help repair the coastline.

Green bags filled with tar-coated shells and detritus quickly piled up on the beach. The ministry and environmental groups estimate at least 1,000 tons of tar washed up on the coast.
While many residents suffered through horrendous conditions amid the power outage that crippled the area beginning Feb. 16 and lasting hours to days across the region, at least one area church opened its doors for those seeking refuge.

That is when the staff and congregation at Harvest UMC in Missouri City got to work.

According to a news released, prepared by Lindsay Peyton, Missouri Citys Sienna resident Katrina Holm lost power at her home for 40 hours after the rare winter storm hit Texas. As soon as her utilities were restored, her thoughts shifted to her church, The Harvest UMC, where she also serves as Director of Business Operations. Holm and her father went to check on the building. As soon as she realized it was warm inside, she went to work turning the church into gathering place for neighbors without water or power.

Senior Pastor Jeff McDowell was quick to laud the efforts of Holm and the entire staff.

Its not the work that is usually done by people with her title, McDowell said. But in a crisis, all The Harvest staff swings into action.

Holm reported that at least half of the home in her Sienna neighborhood were without power. She said after the electricity went out at her home it would intermittently be restored. Then she went to the church.

Once I realized it was warm in the church, it was on my heart that we needed to do something, Holm said in the news release. People were freezing. The church is so embedded in the community. We needed to step up and get out there.

Then, on the morning of Tuesday, Feb. 16, The Harvest began posting to social media.

We have power and heat and warm coffee for anyone who needs it! Lots of outlets to charge your devices too, the post read.

Residents heeded the call. Between 30 and 40 people showed up to charge devices and warm up. Some people were able to continue working thanks to the churchs WiFi. Congregation volunteers brewed coffee and served snacks until the evening when they were able to order pizzas.

The church remained open for those seeking refuge, even providing a place to sleep for those who couldnt go home. Classrooms became makeshift bedrooms with people using their own blankets and air mattresses. The congregation provided bedding for those who needed it.

According to the release, among those seeking help were some elderly residents who needed electricity for oxygen machines.

That made me feel good, Holm said. This is why were doing this, so they dont have to worry. It felt like, even if we were able to help one person, it was well worth it.

Among the other service opportunities the church contributes to include Fort Bend Family Promise, which helps meet the immediate needs of homeless families; Lunches of Love at The Harvest, which packs lunches for critically hungry students in Fort Bend ISD; and its English as a Second Language ministry, which focuses on teaching English to parents and adult family members of students at Heritage Rose Elementary and Baines Middle School.

Harvest UMC is located at 9029 Sienna Ranch Road in Missouri City. For more information go to www.harvestumc.org or call 281-778-2434.

rkent@hcnonline.com
A Sunday afternoon shootout in western Birmingham left two people wounded.

West Precinct officers responded shortly after 4 p.m. to two locations - the Chevron at 1800 31st Street Southwest and the 6600 block of Court M - on report of a person shot at each location.

Officer Truman Fitzgerald said both victims were taken to UAB Hospital with life-threatening injuries.

At this time, officers believe the individuals shot may have exchanged gunfire and wounded each other. There are no additional suspects.
Yangon: Businesses shut in Myanmar on Monday in a general strike called to oppose the military coup and thousands of protesters gathered in towns and cities despite a chilling message from the junta that confrontation would cost more lives.

On Sunday, hundreds of people attended the funeral in the capital Naypyitaw of Mya Thwate Thwate Khaing, a young woman who became a symbol of resistance after being shot in the head on February 9 while protesting.

Anti-coup protesters fill the main road during a rally in Mandalay on Monday. Credit:AP

On Saturday, two more protesters were killed when police opened fire in the city of Mandalay, marking the bloodiest day in the campaign for the restoration of democracy.

Yet, three weeks after seizing power, the junta has failed to stop daily protests and a civil disobedience movement movement calling for the reversal of the February 1 coup and release of elected leader Aung San Suu Kyi.
New Braunfels Utilities on Sunday afternoon lifted its boil water notice after the utility said it had successfully achieved system-wide Texas Commission on Environmental Quality minimum pressure requirements.

NBU water customers had been under a boil water notice since Wednesday after the system had experienced low water pressure and outage issues brought on by last week's brutal winter storms and power outages.

The lifting of the boil water notice came after NBU said it took the necessary corrective actions to restore the water's quality for drinking water or human consumption purposes and provided TCEQ with laboratory test results that indicated that the water no longer required boiling before use.

For customers who do not have water pressure, NBU recommends they check for any signs of a leak inside or outside of the home and ensure that the customer shutoff has not been closed.

The customer shutoff is typically located on the house side of the water meter box.

Those who still do not have water pressure should call NBU's control center number at 830-60-8800.

High bill plans

NBU on Sunday also said it had put a plan in place to help residential and commercial customers minimize the impact of high bills related to weather-related water leaks brought-on by last week's winter storm.

In a press release, NBU said it to make a one-time adjustment to all residential and commercial water and wastewater accounts to assist or aid customers who may have higher bills due to freeze-related leaks or unusually higher usage for faucet dripping in order to prevent freezing at their home or business.

"Our customers have had to endure unthinkable hardships due to this extreme weather event. We understand their concerns and want to do all we can to help our community by easing the impact of their next bill," said NBU Chief Executive Officer Ian Taylor in a statement.

Electric bill monitoring

Regarding electricity, NBU said the financial impact of last week's unprecedented winter weather emergency has not yet been fully calculated but warned it might be considerable.

"We are involved and monitoring what is happening at the state level," the press release stated. "New Braunfels Utilities has maintained affordable electric rates and continues to make that a top priority. Just like other Texas utilities, NBU experienced unusually sharp increases in the costs of fuel."

The impact of last week's winter weather event is something that will continue into the foreseeable future," NBU said.

"While fuel charges are normally passed on to customers, NBU is pursuing every financing tool within our ability to spread the financial impact over years," the utility said. "Spreading out the costs, if approved, will minimize the impact to customer affordability, which is important since everyone in our community and beyond has already been through a very difficult time."

NBU said it would continue working with its board and the New Braunfels City Council to "find the most financially reasonable solutions for our community" as prices stabilize and the utility assesses the final financial impact of last week's storms.
By Howard Schneider

WASHINGTON (Reuters) - Over the past year Federal Reserve Chair Jerome Powell has engineered the largest economic rescue in U.S. history, thrown a controversial lifeline to companies hard hit by the coronavirus pandemic and steered a sweeping labor-friendly revamp of monetary policy that any presidential administration would welcome.

Is it enough to earn the 68-year-old former investment banker four more years as the head of the U.S. central bank?That question will get increased attention during this, the final year of Powell's term, and the conversation may start as early as this week when the Fed chief delivers his semi-annual update on the economy in two hearings before Congress.

The testimony before the Senate Banking Committee on Tuesday and House of Representatives Financial Services Committee on Wednesday will be Powell's first since President Joe Biden and his fellow Democrats took control of the White House and Capitol Hill.

While the body of work Powell can show Biden on monetary policy is extensive - so much so that there'd seem little reason to replace him when his term expires next February - he may face scrutiny over the Fed's moves to relax regulations on financial institutions.

Those steps were often opposed by the left flank of the Democratic Party as well as Fed Governor Lael Brainard, a 59-year-old economist who is seen as the most likely person to replace Powell if Biden decides to put out a "Help Wanted" sign.

Brainard is prominent in Democratic policy circles and has played a key role in shaping Fed policy since she was appointed to the U.S. central bank in 2014 after serving in the Obama administration's Treasury Department.

Senators Elizabeth Warren and Bernie Sanders are among the progressives who opposed Powell's appointment as Fed chief in 2018, as did then-Senator Kamala Harris, who is now Biden's vice president. The hearing on Tuesday before the Senate Banking Committee, of which Warren is a member, may provide a gauge of how deep that opposition still runs.

Story continues

"Is there anything else this White House could, if it was inclined to, ask of the Fed? Not much," Alan Blinder, a former Fed vice chair who is now a Princeton University professor, said of a central bank that is locked firmly into a pledge to get the economy back to full employment as fast as possible. That's also the Biden administration's top economic priority.

"Biden is going to be quite happy with the performance of the Fed chair. The market is going to be quite happy with the performance of the Fed chair. (Treasury Secretary and former Fed chief Janet) Yellen will only have good things to say. But there will be Democrats urging him to replace Powell with a Democrat."

POLICY OR POLITICS?

Politics traditionally has not been a concern when it comes to the Fed, an institution expected to stay out of Washington's partisan battles, and one where U.S. presidents have often crossed party lines to reappoint their predecessors' picks for the central bank's top job. Along with guiding U.S. monetary policy, the Fed chief is perhaps the most influential official in global finance.

Reappointing Powell would restore a bipartisan approach, as well as continue policies that, step by step, have been elevating issues Biden often cites, including advancing racial equity.

A moderate by temperament, Powell over the past two years had the Fed delve deep into how the central bank influences the job market. In the end, policymakers not only decided they could do much more to champion the cause of attaining maximum employment - one of the central bank's two statutory mandates - but redefined the concept as something that needed to be "broad-based and inclusive."

"Powell is fully committed to the president's priorities of getting the economy back to full employment as fast as possible, and easing the financial stress on low-income households and disadvantaged groups," said Moody's Analytics economist Mark Zandi, who expects Powell to get another four-year term.

Enter the politics.

Powell, a Republican, past private equity executive, and native of the suburban professional class enclave of Chevy Chase, Maryland, was first appointed to the Fed's Board of Governors in 2012 by then-President Barack Obama. He has spent more time than his predecessors cultivating lawmakers https://www.reuters.com/article/usa-fed-powell-idUKL2N1X41LG from both parties https://fingfx.thomsonreuters.com/gfx/editorcharts/USA-FED-POWELL/0H001QEH677G/index.html in Congress. Those relationships could mean, for Biden, a potentially pain-free reconfirmation for a key economic policy maker in broad alignment with the president's agenda - and stability where it matters.

But Powell was also the man former President Donald Trump promoted to replace Yellen, in a move that not only broke the bipartisan mold, but did so in favor of someone with arguably lesser economic credentials.

At the time, Powell had hoped to become the Fed's vice chair to oversee financial regulation, a role well-aligned with his career as a Wall Street lawyer and investor. His leap to the top job was unexpected, and he would readily acknowledge Yellen's influence over his own understanding of the position.

After a year in which the Fed itself has discussed openly its institutional weaknesses in diversity as well as past blindness to how its policies failed many workers, there may be more than a few calls for Biden to put his mark on the central bank's leadership.

Dennis Kelleher, president of the Better Markets think tank and a member of the Biden transition team on the Fed and regulatory issues, said Powell can be lauded for his handling of the current crisis but should also be held to account for the central bank's regulatory decisions - terrain where Brainard's dissenting votes "are a very good road map to where and how far they got the deregulation wrong."

For example, under Powell and Randal Quarles, the Fed's vice chair for supervision, the central bank has rolled back restrictions on certain trading activities by banks and given them more advance information about their annual stress tests. A Trump appointee, Quarles' term expires in the fall, giving Biden yet more scope to reshape the Fed."When you add up the deregulation by the Federal Reserve under the Trump administration it amounts to a significant weakening of critical financial protection rules, and Chair Powell should be required to answer to that," Kelleher said. "It is not the case that there are just one or two or three people who can do that job."

(Reporting by Howard Schneider; Editing by Dan Burns and Paul Simao)
After a decline in coronavirus deaths and cases, W.Va. Gov. Jim Justice has loosened pandemic restrictions on businesses. Do you agree with the timing, or do you think it's still too soon to relax restrictions?
By Jamie Freed and David Shepardson (Reuters) - U.S. regulators announced extra inspections on Boeing Co 777 jets using the same type of engine that shed debris over Denver on Saturday, while Japan went further and suspended their use while it considers what action to take. The regulatory moves involving Pratt & Whitney 4000 engines came after a United Airlines 777 landed safely at Denver International Airport on Saturday after its right engine failed. United said on Sunday it would voluntarily and temporarily remove its 24 active planes of the type from its ...
Rhonda Britton typically gets invited to preach at white churches one month of the yearFebruary.

Shes happy to accept those invitations during Canadas African Heritage Month, but its also clear to her that annual sermons from one black person are not enough to address the problems of racism in the country or in the church.

My job is to prepare the hearts of people who have been wounded. People have been traumatized, and people are living with trauma, said Britton. You cant just deliver one sermon a year.

Now Britton, a black woman who pastors a historically black Baptist church in Halifax, Nova Scotia, is going to be doing a lot more than an annual black history sermon. She has been elected the first black woman to serve as president of the Canadian Baptists of Atlantic Canada (CBAC).

Canadians have not been as divided as their neighbors in the United States about police violence and racism, and Canadian Baptists are not as caught up in quarrels over critical race theory as their southern counterparts. But Brittons election nevertheless comes at a time when the more than 450 CBAC churches in the Atlantic provinces of New Brunswick, Nova Scotia, Prince Edward Island, and Newfoundland are turning a critical eye toward their own history.

The Baptists hope to reckon with past racism, address continuing systemic issues, and work toward an equitable and inclusive future. Britton will do her best to help lead the way.

Britton said shes already seen progress since she moved to Nova Scotia from Florida in 2002. She didnt expect to find many major differences between the United States and Canada, but she noticed one right away.

Ive never been as black as Ive been in Nova Scotia, Britton said, laughing.

Image: Courtesy of Rhonda Britton

Black people make up about 3.5 percent of the Canadian population, compared to about 13.5 percent in the US. In New Glasgow, where Britton lived, it was rare to see any black people outside a few neighborhoods.

She was more surprised, she said, when members of white churches started to meet her and one of the questions they regularly asked was whether they were allowed to visit her church, which is one of the 20 historically black Baptist churches in the region.

Cant you walk into any church you want to? she would ask.

Britton learned that though the churches werent officially segregated, many white people honestly didnt know if they could worship at a black church. In many ways, the churches reflected Canadian history of de facto segregation.

Canadians have long prided themselves on being a historic destination of black people fleeing American slavery on the Underground Railroad. When enslaved people in the US ran to freedom, many ran to Canada.

But recently the country has started to consider other, less-flattering parts of the past. Black Canadians have often been treated as second-class citizens, barred from full equality in Canadian society.

This February, during African Heritage Month, Nova Scotia premier Stephen McNeil attempted to right a historical wrong by repaying a 1946 fine that was levied against Viola Desmond, a black woman who refused to give up her seat in the whites only section of a theater.

Peter Reid, executive minister of the CBAC, says that looking back, its clear the church wasnt immune from the culture of racism. Occasionally, you can see the structure of racism built in the very brick and wood of the Baptist churches.

Some of our churches, when they were first built, he said, the balconies were designed for black folks.

The association has apologized for these wrongs and has sought to reconcile with those who have been mistreated. In 2017, the CBAC issued a formal statement decrying any past and current forms of racism.

Reid said its a work in progress.

While overt racism is rarely seen, Reid believes a more subtle racism does persist in some areas. He believes its something that the church simply shouldnt ignore.

I think the kingdom of God is all about diversity, and we share this space with every race, every group of people around the world, he said. We have to learn to walk in humility and own those things.

With Brittons leadership, CBAC hopes to continue building on a number of collaborative efforts and conversations that started in 2020 in response to the death of George Floyd in Minneapolis. Approximately 20 CBAC pastors put together a video offering encouragement to African United Baptist Association churches in the wake of the tragedy, and at a local level many predominantly white churches showed support and held joint events with black churches.

The biggest plan, right now, is a listening session, during which white pastors will be able to hear from black pastors about their experiences as black people living in Canada.

Were going to listen and let them do the talking, Reid said. Then we want to pray together.

At the CBAC seminary, Acadia Divinity College in Wolfville, Nova Scotia, similar conversations are happening. President Anna Robbins said calls for equality havent gone unnoticed and the school sees its need for more diverse voices around the table. As part of this, the school has appointed a lecturer on racial justice, Lennett Anderson, pastor of Emmanuel Baptist Church in Hammonds Plains, Nova Scotia.

Youre not occupying your social role as a church by simply being silent, she said. The churchs voice needs to be heard. There are times when a voice of solidarity is important. I think our churches in Atlantic Canada are starting to get more of a sense of that.

Robbins said she is encouraged to see a willingness and readiness to learn. Britton, too, feels positive about the steps the Canadian Baptists are taking.

I hope that during this time I can help with the establishment of ongoing conversations about racial equity in the churches, she said.

For her, this is a way the Baptist church can better live up to the calling of Scripture.

I dont understand how you can say that youre a Christian or that you hold to the tenets of Scripture without understanding that youre supposed to be looking out for the least of these, she said. Youre supposed to be a voice for the marginalized.
Roman and a woman were taken into custody about 1:40 a.m. Saturday after authorities tied them to the hijacking of at least two vehicles  including one occupied by sisters who are retired police officers  before they holed up in a Villa Park motel, where one of the suspects refused to surrender to SWAT officers for several hours, Chicago police said.
In Auroville, a few years ago, a bed-ridden woman was watching Fif Fernandes attentively as she sang and pranced around, playing on her ukulele. When the woman, who was living with dementia, finally smiled, Fernandes asked, What did you do as a child?" The woman beamed and drifted into a childhood memory, when as a four-year-old she would travel on a bullock cart with her father to get an ice lolly. The lolly melted and dripped down my chin, and then down my clothes, and then it broke and fell," she recalled just before her thoughts meandered elsewhere.

It is established that dementia rates are rising worldwide. According to the World Health Organization, 50 million people already suffer from dementia, with 10 million new cases being added every year. India itself has about 4.1 million cases, as The World Alzheimers Report 2015 notes. Experts believe this number may be higher, since many cases go undiagnosed, with people ascribing forgetfulness to old age. In such a scenario, clinic clowns, or clowns working in healthcare spaces, can be harbingers of joy to the elderly. Studies show that they induce positive emotions and a sense of well-being among patients.

Fernandes is one of the handful of trained clinic clowns in India. After practising for over 30 years in Canada, she moved to Auroville and co-founded MeDiClown Academy in 2013 with her husband, Hamish Boyd, also a therapeutic clown. The academys work entails training and conducting workshops for individuals and organizations. The couple also visits people of all ages in hospitals and senior homes across cities. Music is a huge part of what we do," says Fernandes. It brings back beautiful memories for the elderly."

View Full Image Fif Fernandes of MeDiClown Academy.





Once she is in an elderly persons room, she observes pictures on the wall, a favourite pillow or a dress, which can be used in conversation. Once she has forged a connection, Fernandes recreates stories related to those objects through her clowning skills.

Once, for instance, an elderly woman with dementia told Fernandes that as a nine-year-old, she would walk to the village school with her four sisters. One day, when we reached school late, we covered up by saying that the milk pot broke at home and that delayed us," recalls Fernandes. The teacher believed the five sisters and gave them a glass of milk each. In the evening, she told their mother, who was angry with the children for lying. Fernandes took cues from the story and enacted it for the lady with her colleagues. The elderly love to go back to their childhood and like the freedom to laugh and be silly with clowns," chimes in Boyd.

Such exercises are significant for people with dementia; they often feel lost because they cant remember things. Families keep checking about facts and dates, without realizing the trauma and agitation it can cause," explains Fernandes. Role- playing their narratives, under their direction, gives them the power to be in control without being challenged about their memory. We never tell them something could not have happened, however surprising it may appear."

Clowning in hospital settings was first started in North America in 1986 by Michael Christensen, co-founder of the New York-based Big Apple Circus. Karen Ridd (Robo the Clown), a child life specialist, simultaneously founded Canadas first therapeutic clown programme at the Winnipeg Childrens Hospital. The practice later spread to Europe.

Since the 1990s, it has played a particularly significant role in Germany, where one in five citizens is over 65, and almost 10% of the seniors have dementia. Take Arnsberg, a city of 73,000 that is considered a model for inclusion of the elderly. It has nine trained clinic clowns like Julia Wille, who goes by the clown name of Mia Mumpitz and visits senior homes at least once a month.

The process has a therapeutic value for clowns too. Wille, 46, found her calling in clowning more than four years ago, during a long spell of clinical depression. I saw a picture of a clinic clown in a newspaper and instantly knew the road ahead for myself," she recalls. She works at an assisted living facility in Arnsberg but has been doing honorary clowning work at elderly care facilities. Clowning has kept me in good mental health without medication," she says.

View Full Image Sheetal Agarwal of Clownselors at work.





One cheerful morning in July, Mia Mumpitz entered Helena Desols room at the St Anna home with a loud and affectionate Hola", a red clown nose covering her own, hair pulled up into ponytails and lips defined with red gloss. Spain-born Desol, who is 80, lost the ability to speak a few years ago but squealed with delight on seeing her. Like a long-lost friend, Mumpitz enclosed her in a hug. Desol wrapped her left arm around Mumpitzits her good side, ever since she suffered a paralytic attack.

Mumpitz then broke into a song, placed her hands on her waist and began the footwork. Eyes brimming with joy, Desol swung back and forth in her armchair and hummed along.

About a third of the 90 residents at St Anna have dementia, and benefit from clown visits," says Dagmar Freimuth, the leader of social service at St Anna. Willes clowning gently persuades elderly people to participate in her activities. Sometimes, though, all it takes is a gentle touch to reduce their agitation and anxiety caused by dementia," Wille says.

One of the residents of St Anna stopped talking to everyone after his sisters death but opened up after the clowns cajoled him, recalls Wille. An old lady always shooed me away, however hard I tried talking to her, but one day I happened to sing a song from her childhood and that was it. I am always welcome in her room now," Wille smiles.

Johannes Foster, who trained to be a clinic clown three years ago at the age of 72 and now volunteers as Clown Berti in Arnsberg, interjects with another story. There is a woman, Foster says, who would never respond to the clowns, but the last time she saw him in the lounge, she said, Have a nice day!" Foster smiles, I think she is coming around."

Fernandes has seen similar results in India, where medical clowning is still in its infancy. There are only a handful of individuals and groups working in Mumbai, Chennai and Bengaluru. Like Sheetal Agarwal, a former teacher who got into clowning in 2016 and founded Clownselors, now heads a team of 15 regular volunteers in Delhi. Then there is Humanitarian Clowns, which has had 250 volunteers visiting hospitals and old-age homes for the past eight years in Vellore and sometimes Chennai.

Generally, however, the absence of training institutes means clinic clowns are untrained and doing voluntary work. Which is why, in August 2019, MeDiClown Academy started its first 600-hour course on medical clowning with 11 students, to educate participants on art, storytelling, yoga, music and improvisation. We want medical clowning to become a respectable profession in the country," says Boyd.

Students learn about patient psychology, dealing with care facilities and working in tandem with a medical team. However," emphasizes Fernandes, the most important thing for clowns is to know how to make a connection with their heart."

Priti Salian is a freelance journalist who has covered human rights, social justice, development and culture issues in India, Germany and Uganda.

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A former cop is claiming the NYPD and FBI are linked to the murder of Malcolm X, according to a confession letter from his death bed.

ABC reports Ray Wood, a former New York City Police Department officer who was working undercover on the day of Malcolm Xs death, wrote a letter dated Jan. 25, 2011, admitting he participated in actions that in hindsight were deplorable and detrimental to the advancement of my own black people.

The letter was released on Saturday, a day before the 56th anniversary of the civil rights leaders assassination on Feb. 21, 1965.

My job was to infiltrate civil rights organizations throughout New York City, to find evidence of criminal activity, so the FBI could discredit and arrest its leaders, Wood wrote. Under the direction of my handlers I was told to encourage leaders and members of civil rights groups to commit felonious acts.

Woods handler allegedly sought to have two key members of Malcolm Xs security detail arrested by federal agents in a Black terrorist group plot to bomb the Statue of Liberty, the Liberty Bell and the Washington Monument, leaving the former Nation of Islam leader vulnerable. Malcolm X was shot to death in New Yorks Audubon Ballroom days later.

... At that time I was not aware that Malcolm X was the target, Wood wrote.

According to NBC, Wood gave the letter to his cousin, Reggie Wood, when he feared cancer would take his life a decade ago and told him to hold it until after his death. Ray Wood went into remission and ultimately survived until November 2020.

For 10 years, I have carried this confession secretly in fear of what could happen to my family and myself if the government found out what I knew, Reggie Wood said.

Three members of the Nation of Islam were convicted of Malcolm Xs murder, but three of Malcolm Xs daughters joined civil rights attorney Ben Crump on Saturday to demand officials reopen the case in light of the new evidence.

ABC reports the New York City district attorneys office launched a new investigation into Malcolm Xs death and those convicted after the release of the Netflix documentary Who Killed Malcolm X? last year.

Several months ago, the Manhattan District Attorney initiated a review of the investigation and prosecution that resulted in two convictions for the murder of Malcom X. The NYPD has provided all available records relevant to that case to the District Attorney. The Department remains committed to assist with that review in any way, the NYPD said in a statement.

The FBI has not commented.

Wood said he regrets his involvement, but acted under duress and fear. He said he tried to resign after witnessing repeated brutality at the hands of my coworkers (Police)... Instead I was threatened with arrest by pinning marijuana and alcohol trafficking charges on me if I did not follow through with the assignments.

It is my hope that this information is received with the understanding that I have carried these secrets with a heavy heart and remorsefully regret my participation in this matter, Wood wrote.
.......... .......... .......... .......... .......... .......... .......... .......... .......... .......... .......... .......... .......... .......... .......... .......... .......... ..........

As a labor of love, I am the chairman of a nonprofit that raises money to support educational programs for schoolchildren in the border region.

We recently had a board meeting to approve our 2021 budget. This meeting reinforced how difficult planning is during the COVID-19 pandemic. Many of our activities are contingent on the timing of the vaccine rollout. Venues for fundraising events have to be booked ahead of time and deposits made. We had deep discussions as to the odds of our world returning to a somewhat normal condition where more certain planning could be made.

Now imagine being a company operating in the global market, making production input purchases from suppliers and dealing with buyers, each facing the same uncertainty you are in  planning for the future in order to keep the company operating and trying to eke out a profit.

Years ago, the planning cases I did with groups in my MBA program were very useful in helping me navigate through business cycles throughout the years. However, no business case I imagine could approximate the horrible combination of a global pandemic, supply chain disruptions, protecting employees and having to navigate through trade wars that we are currently facing.

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................................................................

Global companies have several choices that they can make to mitigate any disruptions to their supply chains. The first is to carry more inventory of production inputs or of finished product that you are distributing.

This presents a few issues. A company will have to spend money upfront on inventory that it will not turn for a while. This will disrupt cash flow by tying up capital. Secondly, a company will have to make arrangements to house the extra inventory or lease/build additional space. Finally, there is a saying in production that for every square foot of inventory you are carrying, a square foot is not being used to produce a product.

Over the years, companies have moved to maximize every square foot in their plant for production, which can generate profits versus inventory, which is a cost.

Companies can also establish production/supply operations in countries where major customers exist. This entails having the capital to lease/buy space in the foreign country. It also involves operating in a foreign business culture, which could necessitate bringing in locals to help set up and manage the operation. In my profession, I recruit companies to the U.S. from other countries. Some have extensive business experience in American business culture. However, others are new to operating in the U.S. and I have witnessed severe culture shocks related to laws, logistics, accounting, finance, and taxes.

Managing the workforce either by increasing or decreasing employees to try to manage the future is another option. Increasing the workforce implies that a company is betting that the pandemic is in its final stages and pent-up demand is going to lift the economy. However, last year it was predicted that we would start to see the end of the pandemic in October. This then changed to the first quarter of 2021. Now, it is predicted that the COVID vaccine will not be available for all people residing in the U.S. that want it until summer. There are reports stating that at least 75% of the residents of the U.S. will need to be vaccinated in order to develop herd immunity that will successfully minimize the spread of the virus, thus letting normalcy return. Many Americans are already stating that they will not be vaccinated if the given the opportunity.

Decreasing your workforce to be cautious about the future economy also has its downsides. If employees are laid off, the company will probably have to increase the percentage of unemployment taxes that it is required to contribute. Finding good employees who are skilled, trainable, and a good fit is a challenge every HR manager faces. If the economy starts to grow in 2021, a lot of companies are going to be competing for the same pool of talent. This may make it difficult for firms who have laid off employees to ramp up their operations and take advantage of increased demand.

Companies can also set up contingency supply options with customers to help them neutralize risk in the future. This can be accomplished by offering customers better pricing or terms if they buy in larger amounts. This of course depends on the customers capital and ability to store more product. However, this is an option that will allow a company to have its customers share in the storing of inventory in order to deal with any supply chain disruptions.

Finally, a company can choose what seems to be the average human beings preferred strategy: Do nothing and hope for the best. This is an option that does not work particularly well, especially when dealing in the global market. Managers that poorly plan dont stay in their positions for long. However, even as much as the pandemic has taught us about dealing with uncertainty, many companies will fail because they are not proactive in managing the future and all of the surprises it promises to bring.

Jerry Pacheco is the executive director of the International Business Accelerator, a nonprofit trade counseling program of the New Mexico Small Business Development Centers Network. He can be reached at 575-589-2200 or at jerry@nmiba.com.
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The South-East Governors Forum said it has waded into the feud between the former governor of Imo State, Rochas Okorocha and his successor, Hope Uzodinma.

PREMIUM TIMES reported how the police on Sunday arrested Mr Okorocha during a fracas over the government sealing of a hotel, Royal Spring Palm Hotel, belonging to his wife.

Mr Okorocha, who is currently a senator, has been released from the police headquarters, Owerri, where he was briefly detained and asked to respond to a complaint filed against him by the Imo State Government.

Both the police spokesperson in the state, Ikeokwu Orlando, and Senator Okorochas personal aide, Ebere Nzewuji, confirmed to PREMIUM TIMES that the senator was released on Sunday night.

The Chairman of the forum, David Umahi, in a statement signed by his media aide, Francis Nwaze, on Monday, said that the forum was already handling the issue between Senator Okorocha and Governor Uzodinma.

Mr Umahi, the governor of Ebonyi State, said contacts have already been made to resolve the feud and assured that both parties have agreed to a truce.

South-east leaders are capable of settling their disputes internally instead of washing their linen in public.

We sue for calm among the supporters of both leaders to ensure a timely and amicable resolution of the disagreement, the statement said.

Mr Umahi urged Imo residents to conduct their businesses peacefully and in accordance with the law.

They should also shun provocative statements as we work towards restoring normalcy to the situation, the governor added.

Since he left office as governor in 2019, Mr Okorocha has been having a political battle with his successor, Mr Uzodinma.

Both men are members of Nigerias ruling party, APC.

Mr Okorochas aide, Mr Nzewuji, said, Sunday, the feud between the senator and Mr Uzodinma is all about political vendetta and witch hunt by the latter.

It is all about political vendetta and witch hunt, which is not far from the 2023 presidential election.

Senator Okorocha is seen as the brightest star to come from this part of the country, and some people outside the region are using his brothers there to embarrass him, he said.

Mr Nzewuji called on President Muhammadu Buhari and political leaders in the country to intervene in the feud between Messrs Okorocha and Uzodinma.

(NAN)
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HONG KONG, Feb. 22 (Xinhua) -- Chief Executive of the Hong Kong Special Administrative Region (HKSAR) Carrie Lam and some senior officials of the HKSAR government on Monday received their first shots of the COVID-19 vaccine ahead of a mass rollout starting later this week.

"I feel good and as you can see there is no adverse effect," Lam said at a press briefing shortly after getting the jab.

Chief Secretary for Administration Matthew Cheung, Secretary for Justice Teresa Cheng and Secretary for Food and Health Sophia Chan of the HKSAR government were among the officials receiving the vaccine on Monday.

Lam said she is confident in the vaccine and hopes the inoculation of government officials will let residents feel safe to get the vaccine.

Hong Kong will launch the vaccination campaign for its around 7.5 million residents from Friday as one million doses produced by Sinovac Biotech arrived last week after being approved for emergency use.

People in priority groups including health workers, the aged and cross-border truck drivers can book their two shots online from Tuesday.

Lam called on the public to actively participate in the vaccination program to let the coronavirus epidemic be contained at an early date so that the severely-battered economy can revive and cross-border travel can return to normal.

Apart from the Sinovac vaccine, one million doses developed by Fosun Pharma and BioNTech are expected to be shipped to Hong Kong by the end of this month.

The HKSAR government has secured a total of 22.5 million doses of COVID-19 vaccines, enough to cover Hong Kong's entire population.

The vaccination comes at a time when Hong Kong is grappling with the fourth wave of the coronavirus epidemic.

Hong Kong's Center for Health Protection reported 16 new confirmed cases of COVID-19 on Monday, taking the total tally to 10,884. Of the new infections, 13 were locally transmitted, including four untraceable cases.
PORT LOUIS : India on Monday offered a $100 million line of credit to Mauritius to facilitate procurement of defence assets and the two countries signed a Comprehensive Economic Cooperation Partnership Agreement following talks between External Affairs Minister S Jaishankar and Mauritius Prime Minister Pravind Jugnauth here.

"SAGAR policy reaffirmed. Pleased to witness, along with PM @JugnauthKumar, the exchange of $100 million Defence Line of Credit. Will facilitate procurement of defence assets, guided by the needs of Mauritius," Jaishankar tweeted.

The two sides also exchanged letters on provision of Dornier aircraft and Dhruv helicopter by India to step up Mauritius maritime monitoring capabilities.

"A special day for our special relationship. Privileged to witness along with PM @JugnauthKumar the signing of Comprehensive Economic Cooperation Partnership Agreement. Indias first such agreement with an African country," Jaishankar said in another tweet.

"Will help focus on post-pandemic economic recovery. Enable business expansion and greater investments," he added.

"A reliable partner, a responsive friend. Welcome the exchange of cooperation instruments on construction of Renal Transplant Unit, Solar Power Plant and on Consumer Protection & Legal Metrology," he tweeted.

Jaishankar, who arrived here in India's strategically key maritime neighbour in the Indian Ocean region on Sunday night from the Maldives on the last leg of his two-nation tour, also handed him over 100,000 additional doses of commercially procured Made in India COVID-19 vaccines.

"Indias helping hand - always over the horizon. Symbolically handed over 100,000 additional doses of commercially procured Made in India Covid vaccines," he tweeted.

He also conveyed warm greetings from Prime Minister Narendra Modi to Prime Minister Jugnauth. "Commend management of the pandemic under his leadership," Jaishankar tweeted.

"Comprehensive discussions on the status of implementation of various infrastructure projects. Appreciate the efficiency of the Mauritius side in taking them forward," he said in another tweet.

During his visit, Jaishankar will review all aspects of bilateral relations, ongoing implementation of various infrastructure projects being carried out by India in Mauritius, and hold discussions on bilateral, regional and global issues of mutual interest including India's assistance to Mauritius.

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SAN RAFAEL, Calif., Feb. 22, 2021 /PRNewswire/ -- Students in project-based learning (PBL) classrooms across the United States significantly outperform students in typical classrooms, according to four studies released today by Lucas Education Research, a division of the George Lucas Educational Foundation (GLEF), along with researchers from five major universities.

In the first study ever reported on project-based learning and Advanced Placement results, research scientists at the Center for Economic and Social Research at USC Dornsife found that students taught AP US Government and AP Environmental Science with a PBL approach outperformed peers on exams by 8 percentage points in year one of a randomized controlled trial, and were more likely to earn a passing score of 3 or above with the chance to receive college credit. In year two, PBL students outperformed peers by 10 percentage points.

"The evidence is clear, rigorous PBL results in a significant boost in academic achievement for students from many different backgrounds." - Kristin De Vivo, Lucas Education Research Tweet this

The yearlong curricula were developed by University of Washington professors alongside Seattle and Des Moines area teachers. For example, in one of the five projects in the AP Government course, students answer the question, "What is the proper role of government in democracy?" by conducting a presidential campaign, taking on the roles of candidates, lobbyists and media. In the first of five projects in AP Environmental Science, students explore sustainability by conducting a personal environmental impact audit and developing a proposal to reduce consumption.

In a second study, researchers at Michigan State University (MSU) found that third-grade students in PBL classrooms from a variety of backgrounds scored 8 percentage points higher on a state science test than students who experienced typical science teaching methods. These effects held regardless of reading level. The third-grade curriculum offers students the chance to contribute to solving problems in their communities, such as how to help local birds survive.

"By making sense of the world and finding solutions to complex problems, students see that science is meaningful and personally valuable," said Joseph Krajcik, Lappan-Phillips Professor of Science Education and Director of the CREATE for STEM Institute at Michigan State University.

Another group of researchers from the University of Michigan and MSU found that second graders gained 5-6 months more learning in social studies and 2 months more in informational reading after receiving project-based instruction. The students were from low-income backgrounds and from underrepresented racial and ethnic groups. The curriculum has four projects, including a civics unit where students develop a proposal to persuade government officials to make improvements to a public space, such as a local playground.

In the fourth study, Stanford University researchers found that sixth-grade students using a PBL science curriculum performed significantly better on state assessments in mathematics and English language arts when compared with students not using the curriculum. English language learners in the PBL classrooms scored up to 28 percentage points higher than their peers on a language proficiency test after completing projects, such as one on thermal energy where students engineer a solar oven so a neighborhood food truck can bake cookies or design gloves for fishermen working in frigid waters.

"These results demonstrate that well designed experiences with PBL, as well as practices that support equitable collaboration and subject-specific language development, can boost the engagement and learning achievement of historically underserved students, including English language learners," noted Linda Darling-Hammond, president of the California State Board of Education and Professor of Education, Emeritus at Stanford.

Policy makers, educators, and administrators are encouraged to consider project-based learning as a lever for increasing student learning and equitable outcomes.

"The evidence is clear, rigorous PBL results in a significant boost in academic achievement for students from many different backgrounds," said Kristin De Vivo, executive director of Lucas Education Research.

"Education is the foundation of our democracy," said George Lucas, chairman of GLEF. "Project-based learning offers students rigorous academic experiences that take them beyond the boundaries of textbooks and lectures. In the process, they learn critical thinking skills and the competence to solve problems in the world around them."

Detailed information and videos about the research are available at Lucas Education Research and Edutopia. The curricula in each of the four studies are open-sourced and free. Lucas Education Research, a division of the George Lucas Educational Foundation funded the research.

About the George Lucas Educational Foundation

The George Lucas Educational Foundation is dedicated to transforming prekindergarten through 12th-grade education so all students can acquire the knowledge, attitudes, and skills necessary to thrive in their studies, careers, and adult lives. Founded by filmmaker George Lucas in 1991, it is a nonprofit, nonpartisan, private 501(c)(3) foundation that welcomes all who are devoted to improving education.

SOURCE Lucas Education Research

Related Links

http://www.lucasedresearch.org


Source: Xinhua| 2021-02-22 21:36:29|Editor: huaxia

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Airport workers offload Chinese-donated COVID-19 vaccines at Robert Gabriel Mugabe International Airport in Harare, capital of Zimbabwe, Feb. 15, 2021. (Xinhua/Shaun Jusa)

China vows to continue to provide support and assistance within its capacity and in accordance with the needs of Africa.



BEIJING, Feb. 22 (Xinhua) -- China has provided COVID-19 vaccine aid to Equatorial Guinea and Zimbabwe and will aid 19 more African countries as part of its commitment to make vaccines global public goods, Foreign Ministry spokesperson Wang Wenbin said Monday.

China will also support enterprises to export COVID-19 vaccines to African nations that urgently need, recognize and have authorized the emergency use of Chinese vaccines, Wang said.

The aid is a clear manifestation of the China-Africa traditional friendship, he said, adding that China will continue to provide support and assistance within its capacity and in accordance with the needs of Africa.

Meanwhile, China welcomes and supports France and other European and American nations in providing vaccines to help Africa fight the pandemic, Wand told a press briefing.

He made the remarks when asked to comment on French President Emmanuel Macron's remarks at the Munich Security Conference that Europe and the United States should immediately provide enough COVID-19 vaccine doses to Africa, otherwise African countries may choose to purchase vaccines from China and Russia, with that "the strength of the West will be a concept, and not a reality." 
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Restaurants will no longer be allowed to sell pre-packaged meals through arrangements with supermarkets and other outlets, as Prime Minister Dr Keith Rowley definitively closed this loophole yesterday.

Rowley said this would not be allowed to continue, as it defeats the purpose of the public health regulations. Restaurants and street food vendors were among those businesses ordered to close to limit the movement of people and curb the spread of Covid-19.
The wife of Joaquin 'El Chapo' Guzman has been arrested at Washington DC's Dulles Airport and charged with drug trafficking, with an informant accusing her of masterminding a $3 million plan to break him out of Mexico's jails before he was extradited to the US in 2017.

Emma Coronel Aispuro, a 31-year-old former beauty queen with both U.S. and Mexican citizenship, was detained on Monday in the first major cartel detention of Joe Biden's administration.

She will appear in court on Tuesday before Judge Harvey G. Michael, charged with participating in a conspiracy to distribute cocaine, methamphetamine, heroin and marijuana for importation into the U.S.

According to prosecutors, she helped run her husband's drug empire between 2014 and 2017, and she also participated in two plots to spring him from prison - one in 2015 - which was successful - and another in 2016, while he was awaiting extradition to the US, which was not.

While she is undoubtedly a high profile arrest for the authorities, she is far from being a major player in her own right.

Many suspect that prosecutors will lean heavily on her to 'flip' - something which, for someone so embedded in trafficking culture, may not come easy.

The U.S. government's case is helped by an informant, named only as 'Cooperating Witness 1,' who testified that they were given $100,000 by Coronel to help his escape from prison when he was recaptured in 2016, and $1 million in total.

Emma Coronel, the 31-year-old wife of 'Chapo' Guzman, was arrested on Monday

Coronel is seen leaving court in Brooklyn on July 17, 2019, after her husband was sentenced

The informant also claims that Coronel oversaw a plan by which a further $2 million was sent to bribe Mexico's head of prisons to send Guzman from a prison in Ciudad Juarez back to Altiplano, where he would once again be busted out of jail.

According to the indictment, Coronel 'stated to Cooperating Witness 1 that approximately $2 million had been paid to the Mexican official who oversaw the Mexican prisons to facilitate the transfer.'

Mike Vigil, a former DEA agent who worked undercover in Mexico, told DailyMail.com that Coronel was 'a narco princess' deeply enmeshed in the world of trafficking.

After Guzman was re-arrested in Mexico in January 2016, Coronel is alleged to have engaged in planning the additional jail break, before he was eventually extradited to the U.S. in January 2017.

'She was not a distributor, or a money launderer, or involved in logistics,' said Vigil.

'But she did things he ordered he to, like passing messages.'

Vigil pointed out that all her alleged involvement took place prior to his extradition to the United States - authorities in the U.S. were well aware of her role, and so have prevented her continued help of him while behind bars.

She is not believed to have been allowed to see him inside the Colorado prison.

Vigil said that her current focus was on their daughters, and spending his money, noting: 'She's not involved any more.'

He added: 'So did she participate? Yes.

'But these charges are related to things that she did in the past. It's not like she's branching out on her own.'

Coronel is charged in a one count criminal complaint with a conspiracy to distribute one kilogram or more of heroin; five kilograms or more of cocaine; 1,000 kilograms or more of marijuana; and 500 grams or more of methamphetamines for unlawful importation into the U.S.

Guzman's lawyer, Jeffrey Lichtman, told DailyMail.com he is representing Coronel.

Joaquin 'El Chapo' Guzman (center) came up through the ranks of the defunct Guadalajara Cartel before going on his own and co-founding the Sinaloa Cartel

Guzman and his wife are pictured in a courtroom sketch from January 31, 2019

For Coronel, born in California, trafficking was a family affair.

Her father Ines Coronel Barreras was a mid-ranking lieutenant in the Sinaloa Cartel, as was her brother, Omar.

FBI intercepts of Guzman's phone showed him discussing business in 2011 with Ines - the father-in-law groveling to the man he repeatedly refers to as 'senor'.

'Make sure you delete everything every time we're done chatting,' Guzman reminds his wife, when she takes the phone back.

Ines and Omar were both arrested in April 2013.

Coronel married Guzman in 2007 in La Angostura, Durango, and gave birth to their twin girls on August 15, 2011.

The girls, Emali and Maria Joaquina, were born at Antelope Valley Hospital in Lancaster, California - on their birth certificates, the father's name was left blank.

Coronel is pictured with Emali and Maria Joaquina, born in 2011, in February 2018 in New York

Coronel was a teenage beauty queen when she met Guzman, who was her father's boss

Her Instagram post reads: 'To know who you are, you have to know where you come from and, after, where you are going'

The wiretaps showed how intricately Coronel was involved in her husband's business, with the pair discussing by text the price per kilo of drugs and liaising about impending police raids on their properties.

'Our Kiki is fearless,' Coronel writes, in January 2012, with reference to Maria Joaquina.

'I'm going to give her an AK-47 so she can hang with me.'

On January 24, 2012, he tells her: 'Love, whenever you guys see suspicious-looking cars let me know right away so I can get them checked out, love.'

She says that the security team saw some strange vehicles, but 'they were told they were from the government'.

He replies: 'I am told that they are following you, darling. You just go ahead and lead a normal life, that's it. They just want to see if you are coming to where I am.'

A week or so later, she says that she's been told her home will soon be raided.

'Let me check and see what's going on,' he replied. 'Do you have a gun?'

She replies that she has one he gave her.

Shortly after, he responds: 'They are doing a thorough check for me.'

She remarks: 'I hope it won't be today. I have a headache.'

Coronel is pictured with members of her father's legal team on January 17, 2019, in Brooklyn

During his trial, Coronel was a constant presence - the drug lord waving goofily at her across the courtroom, and blowing kisses.

She sat through hours of testimony from his former mistresses, and from former associates who turned against him.

Coronel herself treated the trial as a fashion parade, turning up every day in a striking new outfit. She announced afterwards that she was launching a fashion collection.

In November 2019 Coronel was in talks to join the VH1 reality series Cartel Crew.

TMZ obtained photos of her on a yacht, as another cast member - Michael Corleone Blanco, son of Colombian drug dealer Griselda Blanco - pulled up alongside her boat.

The series ended in December 2019, however, and it does not appear that she filmed any scenes beyond the yacht one.

The promo shows Blanco speeding up to a yacht where Coronel is waiting

Coronel is accused in the court documents of having been in contact with Guzman's sons, known as 'Chapitos', who are currently believed to be running the Sinaloa Cartel.

Four of Guzman's 15 known sons - Ivan, Jesus, Ovidio and Joaquin Jr - are all referenced in the charging documents.

Ovidio was captured in October 2019 in Culiacan, a stronghold of the Sinaloa Cartel. He was then released amid a full-scale shootout with cartel members in broad daylight that left cars burning and civilians running for cover, in a case which sparked huge controversy for Mexico's president, Andres Manuel Lopez Obrador.

Vigil, the former chief of international operations for the DEA, who spent 20 years infiltrating Mexican and Colombian cartels, told DailyMail.com that investigators would now be trying to use Coronel to entrap other, bigger, fish.

Coronel, said Vigil, will be pressed as to the whereabouts of the sons and of Ismael 'El Mayo' Zambada, the 73-year-old who was Guzman's right-hand-man.

'They have cooperating witnesses who claim that she was liaising with the sons,' he said.

'And they know that she is very devoted to her daughters, so she won't want to be separated from them.

'They'll be really pressuring her to flip.'

Others were intrigued by the timing of Coronel's arrest, relating to activity that, according to the charge sheet, stopped in 2017.

Several pointed out that her high-profile detention came only months after the debacle of the arrest of Mexico's former defense minister, General Salvador Cienfuegos.

Cienfuegos, who served under former president Enrique Pena Nieto, was accused by the U.S. authorities of taking bribes in exchange for protecting drug cartel leaders.

He was arrested at the request of the Drug Enforcement Administration in Los Angeles in October.

However, a month later the Justice Department agreed to hand him back to Mexico, in a move that stunned many within the State Department and internationally.

Mexico promised to try him in Mexico, with Marcelo Ebrard, the foreign minister, saying 'it would be very costly' for Mexico to 'do nothing' after having asked for the charges against the former defense chief to be dropped and for him to be returned home.

'It would be almost suicidal,' Ebrard said.

Yet in January Mexico declared that Cienfuegos had been exonerated and would face no further charges.

Arturo Sarukhan, Mexico's ambassador to the US from 2007-13, tweeted that Coronel's arrest was 'likely related to a tightening of screws in the aftermath of the Cienfuegos debacle.'
Just as India was patting itself on the back for bending its corona curve and looking forward to life as usual after a year-long nightmare, the risk of a nasty second wave has mutated into a significant threat. Fresh surges of covid infection have been reported from parts of Maharashtra, Kerala, Punjab, Madhya Pradesh and Chhattisgarh. An Indian variant of coronavirus is thought to be responsible for most of these, raising the spectre of Britains experience with a more virulent strain afflicting us too. Our sense of relief over the past few weeks was back-stopped by two bits of good news. One, our daily case count seemed in terminal decline, having slid sharply from its peak of above 95,000 in mid-September to less than 9,000 by early February. And two, armed with outsized capacity for vaccine production, touted as the worlds largest, we had embarked on a vast vaccination drive. Neither is a cause for comfort any longer. Daily cases are back in five digits and state-given jabs have failed to pick up pace more than five weeks after the Centres effort began. While the US has achieved 19 doses for every 100 citizens, our jab tally is yet to reach 1% of Indias population. This places us in a precarious position. Before the pandemic gets a chance to flare up again, the government should let private services get into the act.

The relative task efficiency of the private sector is beyond doubt. On Sunday, while urging the government to grant it an active role in the exercise, Wipro founder and philanthropist Azim Premji put a figure to what that could translate to. By his estimate, as reported, 500 million people can be vaccinated in 60 days should private participation now be allowed. If Serum Institute of India (SII), which churns out the Oxford-AstraZeneca vaccine under the name Covishield, starts supplying various hospitals and clinics with vials at 300 per shot, they could administer them at a service charge of 100 each. Premjis suggestion on pricing seems to assume a government subsidy, as SIIs low price was only for bulk supplies to the Centre and the company had stated that Covishields market price would be 1,000 per dose. However, the costing aspect of his proposal need not detain us. The urgency right now is to immunize as many Indians as quickly as possible, and for this to happen, we cannot afford not to let a vaccine market emerge. Scarcity could possibly have justified a state monopoly, but the statements of producers show that vial availability is not a constraint. Then what explains the governments insistence on its own apparatus to give us jabs?

One clue may lie in health minister Harsh Vardhans rhetoric about a week ago. Who would take the blame, he demanded, if shady operators started making money off fake jabs? The very tone of it betrayed a distrust of the markets ability to do its job. In a country that sells thousands of approved life-savings drugs through chemists licensed to act as guarantors of product authenticity, the ministers argument was particularly baffling. Indeed, at a time when the government has been extolling the virtues of private enterprise, its vaccine policy looks like a throwback to the licence raj. It must give up the pretence that just over 11 million jabsgiven at a rate of about 300,000 dailyqualify as success. They do not. State laxity has made our August deadline to shield 300 million of Indias most exposed and vulnerable look like a fantasy. Its time to get real.

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Jade Holland Cooper has described her baby daughter Saphaia as "a dream".

The owner of fashion and lifestyle brand Holland Cooper, 34, and husband Julian Dunkerton, 55, the founder of clothing brand Superdry, welcomed their first child together in November.

Holland Cooper told Hello! magazine: "It was perfect timing. If it hadn't been for Covid, there'd have been so many people here every five minutes coming to see her.

As a new mum, it's important to have time as a family to bed in. Having that solely with her has been magical. She's a dream. She's the smiliest, most content little person. An absolute joy.

Dunkerton said he has loved seeing his wife become a first-time mother, saying: "I've been working from home, which gives me an opportunity in between Zoom calls and meetings to see Jade and Saphaia, which is wonderful. I feel incredibly fortunate. I have absolutely loved watching her become a mother. She was really worried pre-birth  however, she has taken to it so well. She is the best and most loving mother any child could ask for."

Holland Cooper added she has also enjoyed seeing her husband with their baby, saying: "He's a natural with babies, and to have somebody as equally besotted as you is wonderful. It's one more thing that we can share and love together. She's in a very privileged environment so our task is to make sure she's grounded.

"Hopefully she will aspire to do something herself, she will want to achieve, and will understand the value of being driven to do something every day. But the most important thing is to have a proper childhood. I spent all my time outside, on the farm, with ponies and chickens, making dens. That's what I want for her - not to obsess about material things, but to find enjoyment from simple, outdoor things."

The full interview is in Hello! out now.
Press Release

February 22, 2021 Transcript of Interview with Senate Minority Leader Franklin M. Drilon

ANC's Headstart with Karen Davila Q: Both the House and the Senate are hoping to pass the COVID-29 vaccination program bill. Do you believe that it will be passed today? SFMD: Yes, Karen. It will be passed by today especially if we already have on hand the certification of the President as to the urgency of the measure. There are some amendments but I don't think it is such of nature that the passage of this would be delayed. We have some provisions which are different from the House, so there must be some coordination to harmonize without going to the bicam. Hopefully we can settle those differences today and pass the bill on second and third reading from both houses and send it immediately to the President within the week. Q: The versions have differences on the cap on LGU procurement. Tell us what version will prevail? SFMD: Firstly, the difference is the volume of the vaccine that can be procured. In the HoR version, there is no limitation as to the volume of the vaccines that can be procured by the LGUs. The Senate imposes a 50 percent cap on the targeted population, because the targeted population is only 70 percent of the total population in a city or province. The restriction in the law is that the LGUs can only procure the equivalent of 35% of the total population or 70% of the targeted population. Q: Why is a cap necessary? The HoR just let it open. SFMD: This is suggested as an equalization provision so that the richer provinces cannot just buy everything that they can afford. In any case, 50% of the targeted population is about 35% of the total population. That's a limitation imposed on the LGU-purchased vaccine, because of the fear of the limited supplies of the vaccines, those who can afford can just purchase without regard to the need of other LGUs. Q: Another aspect of this bill, once it is signed into law, is the immunity from suit or liability. Do you need a law for this? SFMD: There is no immunity from suit but it is an indemnification against liabilities. The agreements can provide for what we call a free and harmless clause, meaning, the manufacturers, by expressed consent of the state and by provision of indemnification agreement, can provide a free and harmless cause to the manufacturers. In fact, Pfizer and AstraZeneca, based on news reports, have submitted indemnification forms to the Philippine government and once this is signed, there's a free and harmless clause. The manufacturers are free from liability, not suits. Q: The law does not protect any pharmaceutical company from suits but only from liability, but how will you define liability if suits are not included? SFMD: Suits can be included. But what is critical is the free and harmless cause from liability, because damages can be filed against the manufacturers for any damage caused by the vaccine. Remember, the Dengvaxia controversy. Why suddenly the manufactures require an indemnity clause? Because of their experience on the way the Dengvaxia controversy was handled against Sanofi. In fact, there are statements made by Sec. Galvez that number one, we are the only country that an indemnity agreement is required and this is because of the dozens of cases filed by PAO chief Acosta. Q: In the beginning, it was made to believe that the WHO Covax facility was requiring an indemnity agreement. Is it the WHO Covax facility or is it Pfizer and AstraZeneca? SFMD: I have no personal information on that but I would not be surprised if both Covax and Pfixer and AstraZeneca would require the same free and harmless clause being included in the supply agreements. Q: Is this the reason why we still really don't have the vaccines? SFMD: I do not know if this is the only reason. Q: We keep hearing that we need an indemnity agreement, but is it really the only reason? Singapore, Myanmar, Laos, Indonesia, Cambodia, and Vietnam, they are already inoculating. SFMD: Now you include Bangladesh, much poorer than us and a few other countries. To me, this is not the only reason. I think just like the way COVID-19 pandemic was handled, there is mismanagement in handling the supply agreements. Of course, there are certain aspects that cannot be blamed on the government. For example, the sudden demands for the indemnity agreement as a result of the Dengvaxia-Sanofi cases. There are a lot of other factors. For example, our refusal to make advanced payments. This is authorized under the law. These are commercial transactions and with the supply very tight, we have to fall in line. This is just the reality in this situation. The manufacturers are commercial establishments and they have their own interest to protect; and requiring an advance payment is something we cannot complain about. We have to cue and we are last in the cue because of our failure to make an advance payment early enough. These alleged indemnity agreements are not the cause of these delays. If this is the cause, we should have been informed as early as July of last year. The fact that this is only foisted to us last week is an indication that the supply agreement is not the cause of the delays. Unfortunately, I have already seen in the media some blame being put on Congress for failing to pass his law. That's totally unfair. There are indemnity agreements that have been signed in some instances and that was without a law. It is the mismanagement of this entire process that caused the delay in our procurement. Q: You say it is really the mismanagement of the process but are our laws too restrictive? Did we really need a law or some kind of exemption to pre-pay? SFMD: No. Under a law, we are allowed to pre-pay in case of emergency situations. The pandemic is an emergency situation which allows us to pre-pay beyond the 15% that is authorized under the law. I repeat, the 15% is allowed under the law but in cases of emergencies, this can be increased. There is no need for a law. Q: If there is no need for a law, why is pre-payment included in the bill? SFMD: Just so we can let these things move, para wala ng diskusyon, okay, let's do it. But I maintain that as an emergency procurement, you can go beyond 15 percent. In fact, that is cited in the proposed measure. The Senate bill cites the provision of the auditing code which allows the advance payment beyond 15%/. The other thing that I must highlight is that in this law, only the DOH and the national task force can purchase vaccines and no other entity can purchase the vaccines. Given that this is an emergency situation, the power to purchase medicines is located only in the DOH and the task force. You cannot purchase it on your own, again, because of the situation. It imposes a provision which will impose a, in effect, a price uniformity. The LGUs and the private sector cannot offer prices higher than that offered by the NTF to entice the supply. There is also that limitation. Apart from that, the law also provides for a prioritization of the sectors where the vaccines would be applied given the supply is limited. Basically, we talk about the medical workers, indigents, senior citizens, and in the private sector, they included essential economic workers. For the private sector, the importation of vaccines cannot be used for sale. Finally, please note that the free and harmless clause in the law would apply only to vaccines validly procured. If the vaccine is validly procured, then the medical workers and whoever are involved in the procurement and administration of the vaccines are not liable unless they are grossly negligent or guilty of misfeasance. This only applies to validly procured vaccines, not to smuggled vaccines. Q: Section 9 of this bill is the indemnification fund and the Senate version sets aside P500M. You did say that this was unnecessary. SFMD: That's correct. To me the contingent fund is precisely placed there to answer for contingencies which were not predicted at the time the budget was crafted. The contingent fund can be tapped. Although Senator Recto cited no need for the P500 million because, according to Sen. Recto, there are enough reserved funds in PhilHealth to answer for this. Q: Doesn't this (indemnity fund) ease anxiousness of fear? SFMD: I agree, Karen. That is why I suggested the contingent fund, because it would allay fears. It will also improve the confidence level of the citizenry on the vaccines. It will encourage more people to avail of the vaccines. Remember that according to surveys, 1 out of every 2 would not want to be vaccinated. In fact, it is higher in the NCR. What does this mean? This means lack of confidence in the vaccine. That's why I have been saying we must improve our communication. The news reports that are coming out are so conflicting. It does not enhance the people's confidence in the vaccines. Again, you are correct that this half a billion pesos placed there would increase the confidence of our people that they have funds to look to in case something happens to them. Also, for the medical workers, given the controversy generated because of the Dengvaxia resulted in PAO chief Acosta filing cases all over the place. Kawawa itong health workers who are made defendants in these cases, because they cannot avail of lawyers from the government. They had to spend for their own lawyers. They were only doing their jobs. Not only that they have to spend on their own on one case, they have cases spread all over the Philippines. These poor medical workers, because of this strategy adopted by Acosta, are now spending their own funds - I am not saying they are not liable - but it almost borders on harassment when you filed cases all over the place. Q: Would the Philippines sending out an indemnity agreement be dependent on the law being passed? SFMD: No, because the President can bind the country. It does not need a law to hold the manufacturers free and harmless except where they are negligent. The President has full power to bind the country. Q: Sec. Galvez said that the Philippines has already signed the indemnity agreements. This particular delay, is it a delay coming from the Philippines or is it a manufacturing issue? SFMD: To me, the indemnification requirement is borne out by the events that transpired in Sanofi, especially Sec. Galvez said that news of warrants of arrest against Sanofi officials came out, then suddenly this requirement was imposed. Really, it should be looked at in the context of the way Acosta handled the Sanofi controversy. Q: On the use of Sinovac vaccines SFMD: You cannot use Sinovac without an EUA. There is no debate, you cannot use Sinovac vaccines regardless of its safety and efficacy, unless an EUA is issued by the FDA. That is the law. Q: Some say that we did focus on more Western vaccines. Could the Philippines and China work together to work on Sinovac. SFMD: You cannot grant that kind of a discretion. There are certain standards imposed on the issuance of an EUA and this cannot be subject to diplomatic solutions or governments working together, because that is a safety and health measure imposed by the law in exercise of the police power to protect our population. If documents were submitted on time, there is no question that our FDA will be working on this. Why couldn't Sinovac haven't submitted the documents last year? Why was it only in February and up to now it is not even complete? The FDA is obligated under the law, they have no choice but to re-examine this. Q: You believe in the end, the reason that we don't have vaccines is because of mismanagement and the refusal of the government to pre-pay earl on? SFMD: Yes, will all due respect to Sec. Galvez, who is trying his best, really, it's the whole process that we are not able to manage the pandemic better that we are in this situation. Even the President asked, where are the vaccines? This is already a sign of exasperation. Bakit wala pa ang bakuna hanggang ngayon kung saan yung ibang bansa na mas mahirap pa sa atin, katulad ng Bangladesh, ay mayroon ng vaccines. You cannot help but wonder why, if poorer nations, presumably whose systems are not any better than us, can move faster. Q: On shifting to MGCQ SFMD: I have always believed that the matter of the quarantine, whatever kind of quarantine is imposed, should be based on science and evidence, not on anything else. It must be part of a general plan. The difficulty that we had at the start of the pandemic is we keep in imposing quarantine restrictions without a pan. We keep on imposing quarantine all over the place. We have no tracing facilities in place which could have effectively prevented the spread of the virus. We did not have in place. In fact, up to now I doubt if we hired enough people to do contact tracing. Again, I repeat it should be based on science and evidence. Number two, there should be a unity. There must not be discordant voices. The differences in opinion do not augur well for the confidence of the people. Nahihilo yung mga tao. The extent of the influence on the behaviour of the people would depend on the credibility of the people who are making announcements. Q: On the vaccination passport. Do you see this as a possible bias against those who may not want to take the vaccine? SFMD: That's a valid argument. In fact, to me, I don't see the need for this passport to be issued to everyone who is vaccinated. We have a certificate issued to us when we travel to countries exposed to the virus. It is only issued to those who are required, not to everyone who is vaccinated. This must be reviewed. Q: Although the WHO did say that they are discussing, many Western countries are going to require some proof of vaccination before you travel. SFMD: If it is required by the country of destination, no question about it. But to require the issuance to, assuming, 70 million Filipinos, is something that I haven't heard of. That is the most practical argument against this. We are not objecting to the issuance of the passport per se. what we are saying is do not require it of every 70 million Filipinos or so. Q: Do we need Bayanihan 3? SFMD: I do not know. First, let me make this clear. When we have the budget, the common misconception is we can already spend. No, the budget is nothing more than an authority to spend public funds. The question that should be raised is, first, we already have three laws which provide authority to spend for public funds (Bayanihan 2, GAA 2020 and GAA 2021). How much have been released and how much have been disbursed? These are important factors before we decide. Q: On Cha-cha SFMD: The proposed amendment is, "unless otherwise provided by law." So, the amendment does not change policy. It maintains the present policy in the Constitution unless otherwise provided by law. This is not a silver bullet which will bring investment in. No way. What we can do is pass certain economic measures which remain pending, including the proposed amendments to Public Service Act and the Retail Trade Rationalization Act. I have filed bills in these two aspects. Again, I would repeat the proposed amendment will simply say "unless otherwise provided by law." It only allows the Congress to change policies without amending the Constitution. There is no expressed amendment to any so-called restrictive provisions of the Constitution. Q: Clearly, by the end of the day you are seeing that the COVID-19 bill will be passed. SFMD: Yes, even if I am in the opposition, this is a bipartisan measure and we will support it. We will support it with proper safeguards and correct principles but we will support it. In fact, I have requested that I be made co-author even though I am the minority leader, because we want to show our people that when it comes to this matter there is unity in government.

Charlotte's Web, the Colorado company that developed a medical marijuana strain that drew hundreds of parents of epileptic children to our state, will give away $1 million in products in honor of its namesake, who died earlier this month.
ALMATY, Kazakhstan -- About a dozen people, mainly women, have picketed the Chinese Consulate in Kazakhstans largest city, Almaty, to continue to push their demands for the release of relatives held in China's northwestern region of Xinjiang.

The demonstrators on February 22 held pictures of their relatives detained in China and large posters with slogans urging the Chinese government to "end genocide" and release all "innocent people from reeducation camps" in Xinjiang.

"I came here to demand the immediate release of my younger brother, Qalypbek Babam.... He was arrested after he publicly performed a verse called Kazakhs' Sorrow in 2019 and has been held incommunicado ever since. Authorities in Xinjiang have not given any information about the charges against my brother, while his trial has yet to be held. I am deeply concerned for his life," one of the protesters, Kumisqan Babam, told RFE/RL.

Another protester, Gulnur Qosdauletqyzy, told RFE/RL that she and some other protesters have been picketing the consulate almost daily for more than two weeks, but no Chinese Consulate officials have come out of the building to meet with them.

Over the weekend, one of the protesters, Baibolat Kunbolatuly, was released from a detention center in Almaty after he served a 10-day prison term he received for "violating the law on mass gatherings" after picketing the consulate earlier.

In recent years, many similar protests have taken place in Kazakhstan, with demonstrators demanding Kazakh authorities officially intervene in the situation faced by ethnic Kazakhs in Xinjiang.

The U.S. State Department has said as many as 2 million Uyghurs, Kazakhs, and members of Xinjiang's other indigenous, mostly Muslim, ethnic groups have been taken to detention centers.

China denies that the facilities are internment camps.

People who have fled the province say that thousands of ethnic Kazakhs, Uyghurs, and other Muslims in Xinjiang are undergoing "political indoctrination" at a network of facilities known officially as reeducation camps.

Kazakhs are the second-largest Turkic-speaking indigenous community in Xinjiang after Uyghurs. The region is also home to ethnic Kyrgyz, Tajiks, and Hui, also known as Dungans. Han, China's largest ethnicity, is the second-largest community in Xinjiang.
One year after the Hanau murders, when right-wing extremist Tobias Rathjen killed nine strangerseight men and one woman aged between 20 and 37the background to this crime has still not been clarified.

The authorities are sticking to their version of a confused lone perpetrator, who also injured six others, some seriously, in the attack. Many unanswered questions point to links to right-wing terrorist networks that reach deep into the state. The murders are the result of profoundly right-wing politics.

For the bereaved, the enumeration of the names of those killed (#Saytheirnames) is more than a duty to prevent the memory of their loved ones from being cast into oblivion. It is a symbol for the active fight against right-wing terrorism. They want to ensure that Hanau is not a transit station, but the final terminus of right-wing terrorism, as the father of one of those killed put it.

Hanau victims, mural under the Peace Bridge in Frankfurt am Main

The victims were:

 Hamza Kenan Kurtovic (20), who had just completed his training as a warehouse clerk.

 Said Nesar Hashemi (21), a Dunlop worker and trainee technician. He had the postcode of his birthplace Hanau-Kesselstadt tattooed on his arm only a few hours before the murder.

 Vili Viorel Paun (22), a courier service driver. He had watched the killer commit the first murders and followed him by car to Hanau-Kesselstadt to prevent worse but was shot dead in a car park.

 Ferhat Unvar (23) had just completed his apprenticeship examination as a heating technician but would have liked to study further. He revered Tolstoy and Dostoevsky. On his Facebook page in 2015, Unvar wrote the sentence, We are only dead when we are forgotten.

 Sedat Gurbuz (29), owner of the Midnight Bar on Hanaus Heumarkt, was known for his generosity.

 Fatih Saracoglu (34), was killed on the street in front of the Midnight bar when he tried to raise the alarm.

 Kaloyan Velkov (33), a family man, was shot dead in the La Votre bar where he was working behind the counter.

 Mercedes Kierpacz (35), a single mother of two children, was about to get pizza for them when she was shot.

 Gokhan Gultekin (37) a bricklayer, was about to get married. His father Behcet Gultekin had terminal cancer and had to bury his son before his own death.

Shortly after the crime, the Attorney Generals Office took over all investigations. The background has still not been clarified publicly in any way to this day. Today, one year after Hanau, we are just as far along as we were on the first day, Ajla, Hamza Kurtovics sister said in a detailed feature by the culture editorial team from broadcaster Deutschlandfunk. To this day, we dont know what really happened. Not a single question has been answered, she says.

Unanswered questions

First, there is the question of how the murderer could kill unhindered for such a long time. He managed to visit several crime scenes one after the other. First, he entered the La Votre bar and the Midnight Bar on Heumarkt in the centre of Hanau, in the state of Hesse, where he gunned down a total of three people. He then drove to Hanau-Kesselstadt to kill six more people in the Lidl car park, in a kiosk and the Arena bar behind it. Unhindered, he returned to his parents house, where the police only entered at three in the morning. They found the killer and his mother shot dead.

As several eyewitnesses have said, the 110 emergency number could not be reached for a very long time. This probably cost at least Vili Viorel Paun his life. Vili had watched the first murders from his car. He drove after the killer and tried to call 110 three times, but no one answered. Then the killer stopped in front of him in Kesselstadt, got out and came back to Vilis car, where he shot him through the windscreen.

Several other witnesses did not get through on the emergency number either. Survivors from the first crime scene tried for 20 minutes before they managed to pass on the registration number of the mass murderers vehicle. But even after that, Tobias Rathjen was not stopped.

Flowers at the crime scene, Heumarkt in Hanau, on February 20, 2020

Only a few days ago, the public prosecutors office started investigations into a locked emergency exit at the Arena bar. Time and again, relatives had pointed out that the victims escape route in this shisha bar had been cut off. Reportedly, due to an earlier police order, the door was locked to prevent patrons from escaping through the back door during frequent police raids.

Further, the personal details of the killer and his father raise serious questions. Tobias Rathjen, 43, had been known to the authorities as a racist, right-wing extremist and psychopath for at least 18 years. There have been four legal proceedings against him in which he was accused of various offences related to drugs and violence since 2002. Time and again, he also filed complaints with the attorney general and the Hanau Public Prosecutors Office, claiming that he was being spied on by a secret organisation. As a result of such a letter to the Attorney Generals Office, he was forcibly committed to a psychiatric ward in 2002.

So, he was anything but a blank slate. Despite all this, the killer held a firearms licence that permitted him to own several highly dangerous weapons and to train as a sniper. In the year before the bloody deed, Rathjen took part in several combat training exercises, including shooting exercises in Slovakia. Six months before the night of the murders in Hanau, Rathjen had openly posted a 24-page confession on the internet. In it, the Trump supporter fantasised about how many Germans were pure-blooded and worthy and had developed bizarre genocidal plans, according to which, the populations of more than two dozen states, including half of Asia and several cultures from North Africa and Israel, were to be completely annihilated.

Also, in summer 2019, the relevant authority in Gelnhausen granted the killer permission to significantly expand his hunting licence. This occurred even though only a few days before, the same authority had come under public criticism, having not refused a gun licence to the known racist who carried out the July 2019 murder attack on the Eritrean Bilal M. in Wachtersbach.

Rathjens father Hans-Gerd, 73, has also played an extremely dubious role. The senior citizen, who continues to live undisturbed in Hanau-Kesselstadt, shares his sons conspiracy fantasies and had already attracted attention as a fanatical racist. As early as March 2017, he demanded to be served only by German employees in the citizens centre of the city of Hanau; bringing a German shepherd dog, allegedly as protection against foreigners.

On the night of the deadly assault, the police briefly arrested the older Rathjen, but then released him. According to his statement, he was fast asleep and did not notice anything, but a neighbour saw him handling his sons car in the street after the shootings.

According to a report by Der Spiegel, the killers father not only displayed the same paranoia as his son but also expressed the same racist sentiments. For example, he had demanded that the memorials to those killed by his son be removed, describing them as incitement of the people, and he had insulted Hanau Mayor Claus Kaminsky because he had said that those murdered were no strangers. The father also demanded the return of his sons murder weapons and ammunition and demanded that his internet site be reactivated.

It only became known late in the day that the elder Rathjen had made a submission to the public prosecutors office claiming his sons name and that of his family had been unjustly besmirched. He based this on the specialist literature of Mr. Thilo Sarrazin, according to which my country has been abolished. The letter contained a serious threat: Restitution will require several lives.

(Sarrazin, formerly a long-time leading member of the Social Democratic Party, SPD, and state finance minister in Berlin, is the author of the anti-Muslim screed Germany Abolishes Itself.)

Demonstration after the murders in Hanau, February 22, 2020

All this has been made public by the bereaved groups and their lawyers, but not by the investigating authorities. The relatives believe Rathjen senior is a ticking time bomb and have filed criminal charges against him. They say he most likely knew about and approved of the planned crime at an early stage, and that he may have been involved in his wifes murder. In any case, he has since openly threatened further homicides.

All these clues together paint a picture. The Hesse state authorities allow such ticking time bombs to go completely unchecked. On the night of the murder, the Hanau police let the cold-blooded murders happen over a long period and only intervened very late on. And the public prosecutors office, state interior ministry and other authorities have been trying for a year to let the investigations fizzle out. The questions arise: What do they have to hide? What friends or sympathisers did father and son have within the state apparatus? What connections and right-wing networks are being covered up?

To date, the Hesse police have not spoken to the relatives of the victims, allegedly because the investigation is still ongoing. Ajla Kurtovic, Hamzas sister, said she was stunned that the police did not answer a single question. Her family had not been told where her brother was for a week. She would never have believed that investigations could be so slow.

In fact, after the night of the murders, the authorities gave the victims relativesbut not the father of the killeran official public endangerment warning. Etris Hashemi, brother of the slain Said Nesar Hashemi, reported on this in the Tagesthemen news broadcast last Thursday.

Etris himself had survived a bullet to the neck but was left with serious injuries. He had received a public endangerment warning when he was able to leave the hospital. He was told not to take revenge, not to commit a crimethat I should lie low, as Etris said. I took that as an insult at the time. For me, it goes without saying that I would not commit a crime in this country. And then after months, almost a year, we get to hear that the father is making such racist comments!

The political issues

The Hanau murders did not come out of the blue. As Hanau Mayor Claus Kaminsky (SPD) admitted on the anniversary: I think the state has a great debt to pay here. But so far, clearly more is coming to light through the families than through the state itself.

It is intolerable hypocrisy that last Friday evening, Federal President Frank Walter Steinmeier (SPD) called for a common fight against racism. Dont let the evil deed divide us! the president called out to those present at the commemoration ceremony in Hanau.

However, he did not name the real people responsible: the politicians of the federal and state governments. After all, it was none other than Federal Interior Minister Horst Seehofer (Christian Social Union, CSU) who coined the catchphrase about immigration being the mother of all problems. It was also he who announced at an Ash Wednesday political gathering that the government would fight to the last bullet against allowing immigration into the German social welfare systems.

Brutal deportations are regularly carried out not only by the grand coalition of the Christian Democrats (CDU/CSU) and SPD in Berlin, but also by the Hesse state government, in which the Greens sit alongside the CDU and the Left Party-governed Thuringia. Most recently, the coronavirus pandemic has shown that all parties are implementing the policies of the far-right Alternative for Germany (AfD).

Nevertheless, the killing of the Hanau Nine had a special dimension: it was an open attack on the working class. Hanau-Kesselstadt is mainly home to working class families who originally came from Italy, Turkey, Bosnia and Romania and, later, from Syria and Afghanistan, and whose children were born and grew up here.

Their parents worked in construction or at Dunlop, Heraus technology group, electrical engineering company BBC and other Hanau industrial firms, many of which have since closed. The younger ones work in Frankfurt am Main, at the airport, in the Opel auto factories or the supply industry. In Hanau-Kesselstadt, everyone knows each other and feels they belong. It was against this international, proletarian neighbourhood that the fatal shootings were directed.

Here is also the key to understanding the unanswered questions. At the latest since 2014, with the turn to German militarism and an aggressive foreign and security policy, official politics have become less and less compatible with the needs of working people. The very existence of an alert and potentially rebellious working class poses a constant threat to the ruling politicians.

The World Socialist Web Site and the Sozialistische Gleichheitspartei (Socialist Equality Party, SGP) strongly oppose the fascist drive. The SGP demands the dissolution of the Office for the Protection of the Constitution, as the German secret service is called, an immediate halt to deportations and the closure of all deportation camps and for equal democratic and social rights for everyone living here.

In its election statement, the SGP writes: Mass death, social inequality and war are incompatible with democracy. This is why the ruling elite around the world is turning to authoritarian forms of rule. ... The threat from the right is particularly acute in Germany. The police, army and intelligence agencies are infested with right-wing extremist terrorist networks that enjoy support from the highest levels of the state. Despite the deadly terrorist attacks in Halle, Hanau and other places, and the murder of Kassel District President Walter Lubcke, the leaders and backers of these fascist structures remain free men. ... The AfD was systematically built up by the political establishment and media.

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New Delhi, Feb 22 (UNI) India on Monday entered into a Comprehensive Economic Cooperation and Partnership Agreement (CECPA) with Mauritius enabling Indian investors to use the archipelago as a launch-pad for business expansion into continental Africa.

The CECPA is Indias first-such Agreement with an African country will also help Mauritius emerge as a hub of Africa.

India also extended a USD 100 million line credit to fund purchases of defence equipment from India.

"Today is indeed a special day in our special relationship," said External affairs minister S Jaishankar, announcing the agreements in Port Louis after meeting Prime Minister Pravind Jugnauth and Foreign Minister Alan Ganoo.

The CECPA, which was signed by Commerce Secretary Anup Wadhawan and Mauritius Foreign Secretary Haymandoyal Dillum, provides preferential access to Mauritius for bulk of the trade and also for many aspirational items for the future into the Indian market of over a billion people.

These include frozen fish, speciality sugar, biscuits, fresh fruits, juices, mineral water, soaps, bags, medical and surgical equipment, and apparel.

The current global imports of India on these products is well over USD15 billion. This is therefore a significant opportunity for Mauritius to benefit from access to the Indian market.

Just to illustrate some of the benefits, Mauritius will get preferential access for export of 40,000 tonnes of sugar into India at an early time frame.

Similarly, there will also be access for the export of 7.5 million pieces of apparel.

As regards trade in services, India has offered 95 sub-sectors from 11 broad services sectors.

Services contribute some 76 per cent of the GDP of Mauritius, and CECPA will surely boost the dynamism of the services sector in Mauritius, said Jaishankar.

The CECPA could also facilitate Indian investment in the Services sector in Mauritius, especially in the ICT sector as Indian companies could benefit by leveraging the bilingual prowess of Mauritius for investments in Francophone Africa.

"I am also happy today to see that the agreement which will be providing for a Dornier aircraft and an Advanced Light Helicopter Dhruv on lease to Mauritius on gratis basis for 2 years, helping shore up its capabilities to patrol and monitor its extensive maritime domain more effectively.

A special US$ 100 mn Defence Line of Credit has also been signed today which will enable the procurement of defence assets from India as per the needs of the Mauritius government," said Jaishankar.

These initiatives, he said, underlined once again that the "security of Mauritius is the security of India; in the prosperity of Mauritius is our prosperity."

The EAM also reiterated India's support to Mauritius on its effort to retrieve the Chagos islands from Britain.

Prime Minister Jugnauth said Mauritius values its defence cooperation with India, including in capacity-building, coastal surveillance, and deterrence to piracy and illegal fishing.

Three other agreements covered the setting up of a renal transplant unit at the Jawaharlal Nehru Hospital with Indian support, creating an 8-MW solar farm to help Mauritius achieve its target of generating 35 per cent of total energy from renewable sources by 2025, and cooperation on consumer protection.

Jaishankar handed over 100,000 doses of Covid-19 vaccines commercially procured by Mauritius, which had received another 100,000 doses as a grant last month.

UNI SRJ SHK1904
Gurugram, Feb 22 : Police are yet to identify the culprits in the murder of a 24-year-old man who was shot dead on Monday in Firoz Gandhi Colony of Gurugram.

However, CCTV footage has captured the incident which went viral hours after the crime.

The CCTV visuals showed two unidentified armed assailants wearing face masks who executed the crime and escaped on foot.

The armed assailants fired dozens of bullets into the victim and on the SUV in which he was seated.

According to the police, the victim Manish had no criminal record and used to run a dairy farm in Basai village.

Sources said that the SUV was owned by an advocate identified as Babu of Firoz Gandhi Colony. The victim had borrowed the SUV to travel somewhere.

They also said that the advocate was involved in a murder case in Gurgaon village in 2012 which was registered at Sector-5 police station. The probe team is investigating the matter from this angle as well.

"We are trying to ascertain the cause of the murder. The reason behind the murder will only be known after the investigation is complete. The body has been kept in the mortuary for medical examination. The deceased's family do not suspect anyone in the crime. A case of murder has been registered against unknown persons at New Colony police station," said Preet Pal Sangwan, ACP (crime).
Alabama Gov. Kay Ivey has said its important that any proposal to expand gambling in Alabama be presented in a way thats clear to voters and that shell let people know if she believes thats not happening.

Speaking briefly to reporters this morning after a ceremony to proclaim today as Supermarket Employees Day, Ivey answered questions about Sen. Del Marshs proposed constitutional amendment for a lottery and five casinos.

Marsh introduced the bill on Feb. 11. The Senate discussed it that day and is expected to resume debate and possibly vote on the bill Tuesday.

So far, from what you can tell, do you think it has been a transparent process? a reporter asked the governor.

So far. Well keep watching. Ivey said. I think Senator Marsh will be addressing that more tomorrow when they come into session.

Ivey was asked whether she supports a lottery and five casinos.

So far as I know, yes, the governor said.

The governor also said this morning the state would monitor any moves by the Biden administration and Congress that could provide more federal funding to support Medicaid expansion in Alabama. Ivey and the Republican-led Legislature have opposed expanding Medicaid. Thirty-eight states have expanded Medicaid to cover low-income families under the Affordable Care Act.

Ivey spoke on the Capitol steps with people in the grocery business to recognize employees in the retail food industry, which provides about 70,000 jobs in the state. The governor said that while many people have worked from home during the pandemic, grocery store employees have not had that option and have continued to show up every day to take care of customers and keep stores clean and shelves stocked.

This has been an incredible effort by these heroes in our community, Ivey said. She presented a proclamation to Ellie Taylor, president of the Alabama Grocers Association.

Ivey has not supported expanding gambling in Alabama since she became governor in 2017. But last year she appointed a study group to gather facts about a lottery and other ways to expand gambling. Ivey said she wanted to give lawmakers and voters the information to settle issues that have stalled in the Legislature for years.

The study group issued a report in December that did not recommend or oppose gambling expansion but concluded that Alabama gets no benefit from the gambling in the state now. Ivey has since said Alabama can benefit from an expansion of gambling done the right way. All four states that border Alabama have lotteries to help support education and other programs,

Voters will have the final say if legislators approve a bill. Alabama voters rejected a lottery in 1999, but no lottery bills have made it through the Legislature since.

Marshs bill would apply the states net revenue from a lottery to college scholarships for high-demand careers. Money from casinos would be applied to expand access to broadband internet, support health care and mental health care, and support the state General Fund.

The Legislative Services Agency estimated the lottery and casinos could raise net revenue for the state of $450 million to $670 million. Read the fiscal note, which describes how the money would be used.

Related: Gambling bill tops list of tough issues when Alabama Legislature returns to work.

Ivey was also asked today about the chances for any new consideration of Medicaid expansion in Alabama.

Alabama is one of 12 states that have not expanded Medicaid as allowed under the Affordable Care Act.

Studies have estimated that expansion would reduce the number of people without health insurance in Alabama by about 300,000 people. Those would include people from households who earn too much to qualify for Medicaid but dont have insurance through an employer and dont qualify for subsidies to help them buy insurance on the healthcare marketplace. People who earn less than the federal poverty level dont qualify for the subsidies.

Ivey has said expansion would be irresponsible without a stable source of funding to pay the states share of the cost.

Related: Why hasnt Alabama expanded Medicaid during the pandemic?

Marshs gambling bill would dedicate a portion of revenues to rural health care, a provision Marsh said he added at Iveys request. Asked today if that money could be used to help expand Medicaid, Ivey said she did not think that would be a good decision.

You cant fund essential services of government with an unsteady source of funding, Ivey said.

President Biden is trying to strengthen the Affordable Care Act after efforts to repeal it failed during the Trump administration. Congress is considering legislation that could provide more funding to help Alabama and other states expand Medicaid under the ACA.

Ivey was asked whether such moves by the Biden administration or Congress could result in new consideration to expand Medicaid.

As the president works on this and they develop another plan for expanding Medicaid, well certainly take a look at it and make the best possible decision for the people of Alabama, Ivey said.
Source: Xinhua| 2021-02-23 05:18:45|Editor: huaxia

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HAVANA, Feb. 22 (Xinhua) -- Nearly half a million Cuban children will be vaccinated against polio starting Monday as part of an annual campaign to prevent the disease, eradicated on the island since 1962, the Ministry of Public Health said.

In its report, the ministry outlined that this week about 330,002 children under three will receive a first oral dose, while 124,288 nine-year-old children will receive a booster dose.

Due to the COVID-19 pandemic, immunization will be conducted under strict health protection measures, including the use of new vaccination sites in conjunction with polyclinics to avoid overcrowding.

Poliomyelitis is caused by the poliovirus, which can lead to acute flaccid paralysis and notable motor disabilities in children.

In the last 60 years, the Cuban health system has managed to eliminate tetanus, meningitis, Haemophilus influenzae type b, typhoid fever and meningococcal disease, which are no longer a health problem in the Caribbean nation at rates of less than one per million inhabitants. Enditem
While millions of Texans languished without power last week, a dozen of their state representatives were trying on powers trappings. Political power, that is.

The dozen members, among 34 committee chairs appointed by House Speaker Dade Phelan last week, will be heading House committees for the first time. Phelan named 21 Republicans and 13 Democrats. Five committee chairs are women and 14 are either Black, Hispanic or Asian American. State Rep. Joe Moody, a veteran El Paso Democrat, will return as speaker pro tem.

Diversity is a good thing, of course  as are fresh perspectives  although theres one category we wish the speaker had ignored: ideologues more interested in scoring political points than in getting things accomplished for their fellow Texans. A few of Phelans choices proudly wear the capital I on their chests.

The most glaringly bad choice among Phelans ideologues is state Rep. Briscoe Cain, a member of the hard-line conservative Freedom Caucus. The Deer Park Republican flew to Pennsylvania after the November election to offer assistance to Rudy Giuliani and other members of the misbegotten legal team trying to toss out millions of votes. Cain would have fit right in with Giuliani, Sidney Powell, Jenna Ellis and other cranks and conspiracists who called themselves former President Trumps elite strike force team. He is not fit to chair the House Elections Committee, particularly during a session where Gov. Greg Abbott and Cains Freedom Caucus cohorts have vowed to do all they can to make it harder, not easier, for Texans to cast their ballots.

Phelan also named one of Cains fellow Freedom Caucus members, Fort Worth Republican Matt Krause, as chair of the General Investigating Committee. Krause replaces state Rep. Morgan Meyer, R-Dallas, who will now serve as chair of Ways and Means, the committee that writes the tax laws. (Another member of the Freedom Caucus, state Rep. Kyle Biedermann, a hardware-store owner from Fredericksburg, has filed a bill seeking to form a committee to prepare Texas to secede.)

State Rep. Todd Hunter as chair of the all-important House Redistricting Committee is also a questionable choice. Hunter will lead the once-every-decade process to redraw the states political maps. Its not that the veteran Corpus Christi Republican doesnt have the experience; in fact, his experience is the problem. The last time Hunter got his hands on the map-making computers, back in 2011, he helped draw racially gerrymandered districts in Nueces County (Corpus Christi). So ruled federal judges, who called out Hunter specifically for his efforts to further undermine Latino voting strength. Given his tendencies, Hunter is likely to succumb to the temptation to gerrymander enough congressional districts to help the GOP regain control of the U.S. House in the 2022 mid-terms.

Phelans other choices were not particularly surprising. Fortunately, they weren't alarming either. In fact, they seemed to reflect the speaker himself in the initial weeks of the session: conservative, to be sure, but prepared to use the powers of government to address the state's needs.

At a time when Texas is facing unprecedented challenges  a pandemic, a devastated economy, a rickety health care system and now the lingering effects of a weather catastrophe  one criterion will determine whether Phelan has chosen wisely: Will his committee chairs use their knowledge, wisdom and experience to benefit the people of Texas or will they play political games, choosing ideology over the common good? We suspect the speaker is well aware that long-suffering Texans are in no mood for games.
A teacher who groomed and then married a former primary school student 34 years his junior has been deregistered.

The man, who cannot be identified, told the tribunal that he immigrated to New Zealand with his wife but she later died.

The man first came upon the primary school student, who cannot be named for legal reasons, in a rural village of New Zealand's North Island when she was just 11 years' old and he was her 45-year-old teacher.

He taught her through Years 7 and 8, at the end of her primary school years.

A teacher has been deregistered in New Zealand after engaging in grossly inappropriate grooming behaviour with a primary school student including giving her jewelry (stock image)

The Teacher's Disciplinary Tribunal heard that from the ages of 11 to 13, the girl, who had needed extra learning support, had been groomed socially and given jewelry and money by the teacher - who was seen holding hands with her.

The girl's younger cousin told the Tribunal that when her cousin was in Year 8, she would sometimes stay back after class to talk to the teacher.

'Her evidence is that she saw their hands touching a few times and when she walked in there would be an awkward silence and they would look at her and shuffle apart,' the tribunal said.

The conversations that she overheard between the pair were not normal and at the end of Year 8 the teacher had given her cousin money and jewellery, she said.

Despite being only in Year 4 herself at the time, the teacher also gave her $5 and some earrings, she told the Tribunal.

The girl's mother didn't know anything was wrong until her daughter was 18. She thought her daughter was at Hawkes Bay (pictured) with friends but police turned up on her doorstep saying her daughter was with the older teacher

The teacher's lawyer said there were inconsistencies in the younger cousin's testimony, however, and the tribunal found there was insufficient evidence to prove that the teacher engaged in any serious misconduct while his future wife was still at his school.

Once the girl left primary school, the teacher regularly saw her outside of school hours, inviting her to his house to play on his jet ski.

The girl's mother was not suspicious of her daughter's relationship with the teacher while she was at school.

Her parents told the tribunal that they only found out about the relationship six months after their daughter had left college, aged 18.

The mother discovered something was wrong when a police officer turned up in 2017 to ask where her daughter was.

The mother thought her daughter was in Hawke's Bay with friends - but the police said she was with the teacher.

Then, to her horror, she found contraceptive pills in her daughter's drawer.

Shockingly, the girl told her mother that her former teacher would not have sex with her until she was on the contraceptive pill.

The girl's father told the Tribunal he had asked her daughter if she wanted to go to Australia to have a chance at a better life, and his daughter said yes.

When her parents sent her over to live in Australia with her brother, they set her up with money and a car - however her brother sent her home in September 2017.

The teacher turned up in Australia looking for her - and got angry when told she had gone back to New Zealand, her father said.

The father said after a week back at home his daughter left for the teacher's house.

A month later his daughter said she and the teacher were moving to China - but that she didn't really want to go.

The father said his daughter had appeared scared.

The man married his former primary school student, when he was 54 years old and she was just 20. (stock image)

He tried to drive away with his daughter and ended up in a physical fight with the teacher who tried to stop him.

The Teachers Disciplinary Tribunal found that the man's behaviour was 'at the most extreme end' of serious misconduct for years, and the only appropriate penalty was cancelling his teaching registration.

The man later married the girl when she was 20 years old and he was 54.

Both the teacher and his former student told the Tribunal their relationship only began after the girl turned 16.

The former student described her wedding day and marriage as 'the happiest time of her life', saying he former teacher 'means the world to me'.

'He treats me with total respect; he supports me in everything that I want to do and comforts me when I'm feeling low ... . I've always been treated as an equal, a mature adult, his best friend and partner,' she said.

The girl's younger cousin said when she would walk in on her Year 8 cousin and her teacher, 34 years older, they would shuffle apart and look at her in awkward silence (stock image)

Despite saying her relationship was one of equals, the girl had no money of her own or any goods in her own name.

The teacher owned the house they live in, their car and all their goods and the girl told the Tribunal she had to ask for money for clothes or groceries.

They moved to China where the teacher tutors English, and the girl told the tribunal that while he is at work she stays home to cook and clean.

The tribunal found the former student was 'totally dependent' on the teacher financially, socially and emotionally.

'Her role in the relationship is about fulfilling his needs and wants. The power imbalance now that they are married is as significant as it has always been,' the tribunal said.

'We do not accept the submissions that the respondent takes steps to mitigate that. Quite the opposite. He has taken Student C away from her whanau and friends to the other side of the world.'

'When they return to New Zealand, she sees her friends only in his presence in his home.'

'His behaviour is about power and control not partnership and reciprocity.'
Source: Xinhua| 2021-02-22 10:21:16|Editor: huaxia

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TRIPOLI, Feb. 21 (Xinhua) -- The UN secretary-general's Special Envoy for Libya Jan Kubis on Sunday condemned an assassination attempt on the UN-backed government's Interior Minister Fathi Bashagha in the capital city of Tripoli.

"Special Envoy for Libya Jan Kubis condemns and expresses grave concern over the serious security incident, targeting MoI Fathi Bashagha," the UN Support Mission in Libya (UNSMIL) tweeted.

"Such reckless acts pose threats to stability and security and aim at derailing the political process and other efforts in support of Libya and its people," the UNSMIL said.

Kubis called for a full, rapid and transparent investigation into the incident "that once again proves how important it is to keep all the arms only in the hands of the legitimate authorities."

Bashagha survived the assassination attempt on Sunday when gunmen opened fire on his convoy in the west of Tripoli, the interior ministry said in a statement.

The minister's security guards fired back at the gunmen, killing one of them and capturing two others, while one guard was injured, according to the ministry.

Libya has been suffering insecurity and chaos since the fall of the late leader Muammar Gaddafi in 2011. Enditem
CAY HILL:--- Staff of the St. Maarten Medical Center (SMMC) were among the first recipients of the COVID-19 vaccine on Monday, February 22, 2021, at the Auxiliary Care Facility (ACF) located across SMMC.

SMMCs vaccination administration plan, created and managed by the Hygiene and Infection Control Department, sees six (6) staff members being vaccinated in intervals of thirty (30) minutes. The first group to be vaccinated consisted of SMMCs Medical Director and Outbreak Management Team Chairman Dr. Felix Holiday, Anesthesiologist Dr. Yelena George, Emergency Room Physician Dr. Jane Niamut, Jr Manager Patient Care Nurse Christina Jacobs, ER Supervisor Nurse Bert Weewee, and Infection Control Supervisor Nurse Glenda Severin. In addition to vaccinating their staff, SMMC has also agreed to vaccinate staff from the Ambulance Department and St. Maarten Laboratory Services (SLS) and is assisted by AMI Expeditionary Healthcare.

The process of staff being vaccinated sees staff pre-register by filling out the mandatory Collective Prevention Services (CPS) consent form and a Medical History form before their appointment. On the day of their appointment, staff go to the ACF 15 minutes before their scheduled appointment time to have their temperature taken and have the information on both forms verified. Once this is completed, the staff member goes to the waiting room where the process is explained to them once more.

When all six staff of the group have arrived and have been explained the process, the first in line goes into the inoculation room where the vaccine is administered by a Nurse. After the vaccine has been administered, the staff member is then monitored for fifteen (15) minutes by another Nurse. If the staff member has a history of anaphylaxis or fainting after vaccinations, they are monitored for a longer period. During monitoring a Physician is also present in case of any adverse reactions. After fifteen minutes have passed with no reaction, the staff member is then discharged by the Physician. The staff member is also given a date when they must return for their 2nd dose to render the vaccine 95% effective, which means the risk of getting severely ill after contracting COVID-19 is reduced to 5%.

The process of getting vaccinated is one that requires logistics and precision and I applaud our team for the incredible job they did and the smooth operation that they put together in two weeks, remarked Dr. Holiday. I received my first vaccination today and everything went smoothly and I feel great. I am once again encouraging everyone to get vaccinated! Vaccinations save lives and it could save yours!

SMMC thanks their staff, AMI Expeditionary Healthcare, Cay Hill Pharmacy, the Vaccination Management Team, CPS, the Government of St. Maarten, the Government of the Netherlands, and the Police Force of St. Maarten for their contributions in making the vaccination administration a success. SMMC also encourages the public to sign up to receive the vaccine via https://bit.ly/3tOsJLa or using a form that can be collected at CPS at the Vineyard Building, the Division of Labor Affairs public service center in Simpson Bay, or at the Government Administration Building
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As a credentialed teacher serving as a volunteer school board member, I make every effort to respond to every email. Every single day I am talking to parents on the phone, answering their questions about distance learning, and trying to find them resources and support. The reason Im here is because Im committed to making sure every student and family at the San Francisco Unified School District is supported.

Six weeks ago, I became president of the school board. Since day one, my priority has been to reopen our citys public schools safely. As soon as possible.

There have been many distracting public debates as weve been working to reopen our schools. School renaming has been one of them. It was a process begun in 2018 with a timeline that didnt anticipate a pandemic. I acknowledge and take responsibility that mistakes were made in the renaming process.

We recognize we need to slow down. And we need to provide more opportunities for community input. We are working with educators at all levels to involve and educate our school communities about the renaming process. We are realizing, especially now, it will take time and energy to get that right.

We are deeply grateful for the work of the renaming committee and many schools are as well. They are excited about the opportunity to uplift communities that have previously been underrepresented. Our students need to attend schools where they feel valued and seen. This work is anti-racist and were proud of that.

But reopening will be our only focus until our children and young people are back in schools. Were canceling renaming committee meetings for the time being. We will be revising our plans to run a more deliberative process moving forward, which includes engaging historians at nearby universities to help.

In the meantime, this is the last time Ill comment publicly on renaming until schools are reopened. We will not be taking valuable time from our board agendas to further discuss this, as we need to prioritize reopening. Word choice matters, and in the midst of a heated crisis, I think that all of us acknowledge it can be easy to say the wrong thing. I want us to focus our time and actions where they matter most. On the safety of our children, and on safely getting them back into schools.

I know students and families are suffering and I want you to know that I hear you and see you. And I know I speak for many of my colleagues on the school board, and our partners across the city.

Above all, we understand that students and families are frustrated. And we understand the physical and mental health strain that they are under. As I talk to parents, I have heard how hard it is to worry about your child shutting down and their struggle to stay motivated in distance learning. Ive also heard from many families who worry that their stress of eviction, food insecurity and immigration status is having an impact on their well-being. This is all hard, too, when their children may have been thriving at school before the pandemic started.

Were in negotiations to get the work on returning to in-person learning done and Im committed to working with city partners to get vaccinations, testing and other resources we need.

Im going to share as much information with parents as possible as this process moves forward. And I have faith and confidence that we will get this right. Together. As we say in Spanish, Pueblo unido, jamas sera vencido. Our kids are counting on us.

Gabriela Lopez is the president of the San Francisco Board of Education.
(Sharecast News) - Condor Gold has started a 5,000 metre diamond drill programme at the Cacao prospect of La India Project in Nicaragua, it announced on Monday.

The AIM-traded firm said Cacao is located four kilometres from the planned processing plant at the fully-permitted La India mine, adding that it was a potential satellite deposit to the already-permitted La India, America and Mestiza open pits.



It said the programme had three main objectives, with the first being to increase the inferred mineral resource on the Cacao vein.



Secondly, it said it would increase the strike length of the vein towards the Santa Barbara prospect three kilometres away, and thirdly would prove the structural geological model that Cacao represented a dilational opening between two major basement feeder zones.



Cacao already hosted an inferred mineral resource of 662 kilotonnes at 2.8 grams of gold per tonne for 60,000 ounces of gold, defined by Condor from 2,890 metres of drilling in 2019.



It described Cacao as a "highly prospective" target, sitting on a "major" dilational opening between two major feeder zones, adding that the vein was one of the thickest in the district, comparable to the main La India nein, with mineral textures said to be "identical" to La India.



Isolated exposures of quartz veins in bedrock and colluvium suggested the Cacao structure extended for between three and four kilometres, with samples from active artisanal mine workings in the Rio Viejo, about 1.6 kilometres along strike from Cacao, returning assays of up to 11.6 grams of gold per tonne.



A hot spring deposit, or 'sinter', at Cacao indicated minimal erosion, with the entire epithermal system preserved.



The board explained that sinter is the rock found at the top of an epithermal boiling zone.



Higher grades were located at depth at Cacao, with Condor saying that previous drilling indicated an improving gold grade at depth, suggesting the presence of a boiling-related bonanza zone.



Mineralisation was open down-dip and along strike, with historic drilling demonstrating "broad zones" of gold mineralisation, with intercepts including 7.85 metres at 3.75 grams per tonne, 7.85 metres at 2.95 grams per tonne, and 17.1 metres at 1.74 grams per tonne.



The principal vein showed "excellent" continuity, the board said.



Underlying felsic, glassy volcanic rocks were expected at depth, which Condor described as "a more favourable host" for veining, for example at La India, adding that the andesite or felsic contact could be "especially favourable" for veining and bonanza grade.



"Condor has successfully permitted a new processing plant of up to 2,800 tonnes per day, along with the associated mine site infrastructure, and is currently completing detailed engineering studies to make the project 'shovel ready'," said chairman and chief executive officer Mark Child.



"Initial production is expected to be 120,000 ounces of gold per annum from three permitted open pits.



"In parallel, Condor is now embarking on the exciting second part of its strategy: demonstrating the potential for a five million ounce gold district with the initial focus on a 5,000 metre drilling programme at Cacao."



Child said the company considered that the "significant" potential of Cacao was now demonstrated by its 2,890 metres of drilling, resultant Inferred Mineral Resource of 662 kilotonnes at 2.8 grams of gold per tonne for 60,000 ounces of gold, and subsequent geological interpretation.



"Cacao is open at depth and along strike in both directions.



"The vein width is comparable to the best intersections at La India and the hanging wall of the vein is increasingly stockworked, as at La India.



"Structurally controlled ore shoots, as at La India, are to be expected in this major dilational, and continuous, vein."



At 1131 GMT, shares in Condor Gold were up 0.87% at 50.99p.
An Australian high school is handing out 'pronoun badges' to their students so they can tell others whether to call them he, she, or they.

Redcliffe High School in Brisbane's northeast introduced the badges to promote inclusion among its transgender and non-binary students.

The pins - which were trialed last week by its LGBTIQ students - come in three different versions and are labelled either she/her, he/him or they/them.

Redcliffe High School in Brisbane has introduced 'pronoun badges' to promote inclusion among its transgender and non-binary students

'Pronoun badges are as simple as they sound: they're badges with different pronouns on,' the school wrote in a Facebook post.

'However, their purpose is to display to everyone what those who are wearing them define themselves as. They're also so that people know what to refer to the wearer as.'

The school was praised on social media for its inclusive approach.

'Redcliffe High is setting the standard for acceptance,' one person wrote.

'Fantastic idea. Helps all teachers, especially relief teachers, and kids to know upfront,' another wrote.

Pronoun badges were previously used by Victorian public servants to encourage them to use gender-neutral terms.

'Pronoun badges are as simple as they sound: they're badges with different pronouns on,' the school wrote in a Facebook post

The school in Brisbane's north-east trialed the scheme last week among its LGBTIQ students. The pins come in three different versions and are labelled either she/ her, he/ him or they/them

Staff in 2018 were issued with stick-on badges with the pronouns to help promote the 'They Day' initiative.

Victoria's Opposition spokesman Tim Smith at the time slammed the 'They Day' initiative.

'The Department of Health needs to spend more time on running hospitals and less time on gendered pronouns,' he said.
Source: Xinhua| 2021-02-22 01:35:01|Editor: huaxia

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Ugandan President Yoweri Museveni (R) meets with Yang Jiechi, a member of the Political Bureau of the Communist Party of China (CPC) Central Committee and director of the Office of the Foreign Affairs Commission of the CPC Central Committee, in Entebbe, Uganda, Feb. 21, 2021. (Photo by Hajarah Nalwadda/Xinhua)

ENTEBBE, Uganda, Feb. 21 (Xinhua) -- Ugandan President Yoweri Museveni met with visiting senior Chinese diplomat Yang Jiechi here on Sunday.

Yang, a member of the Political Bureau of the Communist Party of China (CPC) Central Committee and director of the Office of the Foreign Affairs Commission of the CPC Central Committee, conveyed Chinese President Xi Jinping's cordial greetings to Museveni and congratulated him on winning re-election in the presidential election.

Yang said that with the personal care and promotion of the two heads of state, China-Uganda relations have developed smoothly. China supports Uganda in pursuing a development path suited to its national conditions and stands ready to work with Uganda to further deepen political mutual trust, enhance the complementarity of development strategies, expand practical cooperation within the framework of jointly building the Belt and Road Initiative and implementing the outcomes of the Beijing Summit of the Forum on China-Africa Cooperation, and push the bilateral comprehensive cooperative partnership to a new height.

China is ready to continue cooperation with Uganda in fighting the epidemic and jointly promote the building of a community of common health for mankind, said Yang.

Yang said that China and Uganda have always supported each other on issues involving each other's core interests and major concerns, and opposed interference in other countries' internal affairs in the name of human rights and democracy. China is willing to work with Uganda to firmly safeguard the international system with the United Nations as the core and the international order based on international law.

Museveni asked Yang to convey his sincere greetings to Chinese President Xi Jinping, thanked China for its selfless help in infrastructure construction, agriculture and anti-epidemic efforts for a long time, and appreciated the important positive role of China's experience in developing Africa's economy and improving people's livelihood on the continent.

He said that Uganda attaches great importance to the traditional friendship between Uganda and China, welcomes China's expansion of investment in the country, expects more products to enter into the Chinese market, and is willing to work with China to build the Belt and Road Initiative with high quality, so as to promote greater development of the comprehensive cooperative partnership between Uganda and China.

Museveni stressed that Uganda abides by the one-China principle, opposes foreign interference in China's internal affairs, and is willing to strengthen coordination and cooperation with China in international and regional affairs.

Yang also met with Ugandan Foreign Minister Sam Kutesa and other cabinet members on Sunday. Enditem
Pennsylvanias positive test rate for the coronavirus is still dropping, continuing a pattern over the past two months, Gov. Tom Wolfs office said Monday.

The positive test rate for COVID-19 fell to 6.5% for the week of Feb. 12-Feb. 18, down from 8% during the previous week. The positive test rate has now dropped for 10 consecutive weeks after reaching a high of 16.2% in December. The declining positive test rate is an encouraging sign, but health officials have said a positive test rate higher than 5% is a source of concern.

While the majority of Pennsylvanias counties are still showing a substantial spread of the virus, the number of counties with high transmission is also dropping. For the first time in weeks, more than a third of the states counties are no longer seeing substantial spread of COVID-19.

Statewide, 40 of Pennsylvanias 67 counties are still showing substantial spread, according to Wolfs office. The Wolf administration uses three categories to gauge the transmission of COVID-19: low, moderate and substantial.

Last week, the Wolf administration said there was substantial spread in 51 counties. There had been substantial transmission in every county of the state through much of December and January.

Following these proven public health practices, our mitigation orders, and most importantly, the resilience of our fellow Pennsylvanians to unite against COVID-19, Pennsylvania is seeing encouraging data relating to less COVID-19 spread within the community as we report lowered statewide positivity rates as well as lowered case counts, Wolf said in a statement.

Still, Wolf urged residents to continue measures such as wearing masks and maintaining social distancing. And he also implored residents to get the COVID-19 vaccine when you are eligible.

A closer look

Coronavirus cases and hospitalizations have been dropping in recent weeks. Less than 2,000 people are being treated for COVID-19 in hospitals, according to the Pennsylvania Department of Health. Earlier this winter, the number of hospitalizations peaked at more than 6,300.

State officials have urged school officials to evaluate the extent of community spread of COVID-19 in determining whether students should be in school or educated remotely. Still, local school leaders retain the authority to decide if schools should hold classes in person, remotely or with a hybrid approach.

Only three counties have low transmission of COVID-19, but 24 counties are now in the moderate range. Heres a look at the level of transmission in Pennsylvanias counties.

Low: Cameron, Fulton and Sullivan

Moderate: Allegheny, Armstrong, Bedford, Blair, Butler, Cambria, Clarion, Clearfield, Crawford, Elk, Fayette, Indiana, Jefferson, Mercer, Montgomery, Potter, Somerset, Susquehanna, Tioga, Venango, Warren, Washington, Westmoreland and Wyoming

Substantial: Adams, Beaver, Berks, Bradford, Bucks, Carbon, Centre, Chester, Clinton, Columbia, Cumberland, Dauphin, Delaware, Erie, Forest, Franklin, Greene, Huntingdon, Juniata, Lackawanna, Lancaster, Lawrence, Lebanon, Lehigh, Luzerne, Lycoming, McKean, Mifflin, Monroe, Montour, Northampton, Northumberland, Perry, Philadelphia, Pike, Schuylkill, Snyder, Union, Wayne and York

COVID-19 vaccines

Pennsylvanias vaccine rollout has been the source of much criticism, with lawmakers and advocates for seniors saying the states distribution has proceeded too slowly.

The rollout suffered another setback last week when state officials said some providers mistakenly gave out second doses of the Moderna vaccine as first doses (both the Moderna and Pfizer vaccines require two shots). As a result, tens of thousands could be delayed in getting first or second doses of the Moderna vaccine, officials said. And the winter storms have also delayed some shipments, state officials said late last week.

Pennsylvania had some encouraging news on vaccine Monday. The state said it will get 225,890 first doses of COVID-19 vaccine this week, about 40,000 more first doses than last week.

More than 915,000 Pennsylvanians have contracted the coronavirus and more than 23,600 deaths have been died to COVID-19, according to the state health department.

Most of those who are infected with the virus deal with relatively mild symptoms and some never get sick. But doctors and healthcare officials say COVID-19 carries potentially serious health risks to everyone, particularly seniors and those with chronic health conditions.

More from PennLive

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A 'staggering' medi-hotel breach that put Adelaide at risk of another Covid outbreak has been revealed.

Two male cleaners mistakenly entered through a back door of the Pullman Hotel on February 6.

The pair were supposed to be cleaning an apartment across the street, but instead entered the Pullman despite being an out of bounds 'red zone'.

They were forced to undergo 14-day quarantine while health officials looked into how they were able to set foot in the hotel.

The building was blocked off to all members of the public to avoid spreading the virus from returning travellers quarantining inside.

Two male cleaners mistakenly entered through a back door of the Pullman Hotel on February 6

The building was blocked off to all members of the public to avoid spreading the virus from returning travellers quarantining inside.

It's not known if the cleaners, who tested negative to Covid, faced any fines or disciplinary action over the breach.

It's also unclear if the men will be made to foot the $3,000 bill for each of their stays in mandatory quarantine.

Opposition health spokesman Chris Picton said the breach shows 'just how lax CBD medi-hotel security can be and why we need permanent facilities'.

'It is beyond shocking that two people can just wander into our state's major medi-hotel without being stopped,' he told The Adelaide Advertiser.

'Three months after the Peppers Hotel outbreak, this staggering breach raises very serious questions about the government's security measures.'

Cases at Peppers were linked to a growing cluster in Parafield in Adelaide's northern suburbs, which sent the city into lockdown for three days in November.

In January it was revealed almost 100 private security guards at the state's medi-hotels were fired or stood down for a wide range of shocking protocol breaches.

An SA Police report recently given to a state parliamentary coronavirus committee disclosed that dozens of guards were stood down for shocking blunders.

One guard was sacked after they were suspected of being drunk as they smelt of alcohol while on duty.

A second was fired after they impersonated an Australian Defence Force officer so they could park at a medi-hotel for free.

Another was dismissed after they uploaded a video on social media filmed at a medi-hotel while one was sacked for being disorderly.

In January it was revealed almost 100 private security guards at the state's medi-hotels were fired or stood down for a wide range of shocking protocol breaches

The final sacked security guard was caught sleeping on the job while guarding a floor where guests were in government-mandated quarantine.

Another 22 guards were lucky to avoid the same fate and were instead suspended for nodding off while on the job.

Around 35 were stood down for not wearing the correct personal protective equipment while another 30 were busted using their mobile phones while on duty.

In November, a security guard at the Peppers Hotel was identified as the state's 'patient zero' who ultimately plunged SA into a strict lockdown.

It was initially believed the outbreak came from an infected cleaner at the medi-hotel.

Premier Steven Marshall said CCTV taken from the Adelaide hotel confirmed that no staff member had been in the wrong place at the wrong time.
The number of Illinois residents who have been fully vaccinated  receiving both of the required shots  reached 571,260, or 4.48% of the total population. Over the past seven days, the state averaged 55,499 vaccines administered daily.
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[February 22, 2021] Investor Group Nominates Nine Highly-Qualified Independent Candidates for Election to Kohl's Board

Macellum Advisors GP, LLC (together with its affiliates, "Macellum"), Ancora Holdings, Inc. (together with its affiliates, "Ancora"), Legion Partners Asset Management, LLC (together with its affiliates, "Legion Partners"), and 4010 Capital, LLC (together with its affiliates, "4010 Capital" and, together with Macellum, Ancora and Legion Partners, the "Investor Group") today issued an open letter to shareholders of Kohl's Corporation (NYSE: KSS) ("Kohl's" or the "Company") and announced the nomination of nine highly-qualified, independent candidates for election to the Company's Board of Directors (the "Board") at the 2021 annual meeting of shareholders (the "2021 Annual Meeting"). The Investor Group is deemed to beneficially own, in the aggregate, 14,950,632 shares of the Company's common stock, including 3,481,600 shares underlying call options currently exercisable, constituting approximately 9.5% of the Company's outstanding common stock. In the letter, the Investor Group highlights the following: Poor retail execution and strategy have led to stagnant sales and declining operating margins. The Board has overseen a long list of sales and margin driving initiatives which have created no meaningful value for shareholders. As a result, Kohl's has suffered from stagnant sales, market share loss, declining gross margins and bloated SG&A - all of which has contributed to operating income margins declining from 11.5% in 2011 to 6.1% in 2019. In 2019, Kohl's earned nearly $1 billion less in operating profit, or ~44%, less than it did in 2011, despite similar total sales and $6.6 billion in cumulative capital expenditures. Long-tenured Board with insufficient retail experience and lack of any material share ownership is an impediment to serving shareholder interests. Until the recent addition of a new director last week, likely in response to our recent private engagement, the Board's average tenure was approximately 10 years. We also believe the Board lacks relevant retail expertise. Despite this long average tenure, the Board collectively owns just ~0.5% of Kohl's outstanding shares, which the Investor Group believes has prevented proper oversight of management and shows a lack of alignment with shareholders' interests. Excessive executive compensation and poor alignment between pay and performance. The Board has developed and implemented a compensation plan that has increased total compensation despite deteriorating results. From 2010 to 2019, Kohl's top five executives have increased their total compensation from $20 million to $30 million, despite relatively flat sales and a decline in operating profit by ~42% over the same period. Systemic inability to achieve stated goals. Many of the initiatives Kohl's is currently targeting to improve performance were the focus of the "Greatness Agenda" Kohl's delivered to investors in 2013. The agenda called for $21 billion in sales and $1.9 billion in operating profit by 2017. Those targets were missed by 9% and 25%, respectively, by 2017. By 2019, the operating profit target was missed by 36%. Kohl's has tremendous potential with the right Board and leadership in place. Kohl's has a valuable and dedicated workforce of more than 120,000 employees that can thrive under the right strategic plan. The Investor Group has identified significant opportunities to generate improvements in sales and margins through changes in merchandising, inventory management, customer engagement and expense rationalization, as well as the potential to unlock $7-8 billion of real estate value trapped on the Company's balance sheet. The Investor Group proposes a strong slate of directors with extensive retail, turnaround, capital allocation and strategic experience, who are well-positioned to create significant shareholder value. The Investor Group's diverse slate of retail experts will be focused on repositioning Kohl's for profitable growth and efficient capital allocation, and instituting best-in-class corporate governance. With the right Board and strategic plan in place, the Investor Group believes that the Company has the potential to generate more than $10 in annual earnings per share (EPS) within the next few years. In the coming months, the Investor Group looks forward to sharing a detailed plan, developed together with its director nominees, that it believes could drive a material increase in Kohl's stock price. A sale-leaseback program for $3 billion of real estate, combined with a properly executed large share repurchase program, could be at least 25% accretive to EPS. The full letter can be found here https://createvalueatkohls.com/wp-content/uploads/2021/02/KSS-Letter-to-Stockholders.pdf. Additional information can be found at https://createvalueatkohls.com/. About Macellum Macellum Advisors GP, LLC, together with its affiliates (collectively, "Macellum") have substantial experience investing in consumer and retail companies and assisting such companies in improving their long-term financial and stock price performance. Macellum's historical investments include: Collective Brands, GIII Apparel Group, Hot Topic, Charming Shoppes and Warnaco, among other companies. Macellum prefers to constructively engage with management to improve its governance and performance for the benefit of all stockholders, as we did with Perry Ellis. However, when management is entrenched, Macellum has run successful proxy contests to effectuate meaningful change, including at The Children's Place Inc., Christopher & Banks Corporation, Citi Trends, Inc. and most recently at Bed Bath and Beyond Inc. About Ancora Ancora Holdings, Inc. is an employee owned, Cleveland, Ohio based holding company which wholly owns four separate and distinct SEC (News - Alert) Registered Investment Advisers and a broker dealer. Ancora Advisors LLC specializes in customized portfolio management for individual investors, high net worth investors, investment companies (mutual funds), and institutions such as pension/profit sharing plans, corporations, charitable & "Not-for Profit" organizations, and unions. Ancora Family Wealth Advisors, LLC is a leading, regional investment and wealth advisor managing assets on behalf families and high net-worth individuals. Ancora Alternatives LLC specializes in pooled investments (hedge funds/investment limited partnerships). Ancora Retirement Plan Advisors, Inc. specializes in providing non-discretionary investment guidance for small and midsize employer sponsored retirement plans. Inverness Securities, LLC is a FINRA registered Broker Dealer. About Legion Partners Legion Partners is a value-oriented investment manager based in Los Angeles, with a satellite office in Sacramento, CA (News - Alert) . Legion Partners seeks to invest in high-quality businesses that are temporarily trading at a discount, utilizing deep fundamental research and long-term shareholder engagement. Legion Partners manages a concentrated portfolio of North American small-cap equities on behalf of some of the world's largest institutional and HNW investors. About 4010 Capital 4010 Capital is a value-oriented investment manager with substantial experience investing in the consumer discretionary sector. 4010 Capital employs comprehensive fundamental analysis to invest in companies which it believes are trading at a discount to intrinsic value and have a pathway to improving operating performance. CERTAIN INFORMATION CONCERNING THE PARTICIPANTS Macellum Badger Fund, LLC, a Delaware limited partnership ("Macellum Badger"), Legion Partners Holdings, LLC, a Delaware limited liability company ("Legion Partners Holdings") Ancora Holdings, Inc., an Ohio corporation ("Ancora Holdings") and 4010 Capital, LLC, a Delaware limited liability company ("4010 Capital"), together with the other participants named herein, intend to file a preliminary proxy statement and accompanying WHITE proxy card with the Securities and Exchange Commission ("SEC") to be used to solicit votes or the election of its slate of highly-qualified director nominees at the 2021 annual meeting of shareholders of Kohl's Corporation, a Wisconsin corporation (the "Company").



MACELLUM BADGER, LEGION PARTNERS HOLDINGS, ANCORA HOLDINGS AND 4010 CAPITAL STRONGLY ADVISE ALL SHAREHOLDERS OF THE COMPANY TO READ THE PROXY STATEMENT AND OTHER PROXY MATERIALS AS THEY BECOME AVAILABLE BECAUSE THEY WILL CONTAIN IMPORTANT INFORMATION. SUCH PROXY MATERIALS WILL BE AVAILABLE AT NO CHARGE ON (News - Alert) THE SEC'S WEB SITE AT HTTP://WWW.SEC.GOV. IN ADDITION, THE PARTICIPANTS IN THIS PROXY SOLICITATION WILL PROVIDE COPIES OF THE PROXY STATEMENT WITHOUT CHARGE, WHEN AVAILABLE, UPON REQUEST. REQUESTS FOR COPIES SHOULD BE DIRECTED TO THE PARTICIPANTS' PROXY SOLICITOR. The participants in the proxy solicitation are anticipated to be Macellum Badger, Macellum Badger Fund II, LP, a Delaware limited partnership ("Macellum Badger II"), Macellum Advisors, LP, a Delaware limited partnership ("Macellum Advisors"), Macellum Advisors GP, LLC, a Delaware limited liability company ("Macellum GP"), Jonathan Duskin, Legion Partners Holdings, Legion Partners, L.P. I, a Delaware limited partnership ("Legion Partners I"), Legion Partners, L.P. II, a Delaware limited partnership ("Legion Partners II"), Legion Partners Special Opportunities, L.P. XV, a Delaware limited partnership ("Legion Partners Special XV"), Legion Partners, LLC, a Delaware limited liability company ("Legion LLC"), Legion Partners Asset Management, LLC, a Delaware limited liability company ("Legion Partners Asset Management"), Christopher S. Kiper, Raymond T. White, Ancora Holdings, Ancora Catalyst Institutional, LP, a Delaware limited partnership ("Ancora Catalyst Institutional"), Ancora Catalyst, LP, a Delaware limited partnership ("Ancora Catalyst"), Ancora Merlin, LP, a Delaware limited partnership ("Ancora Merlin"), Ancora Merlin Institutional, LP, a Delaware limited partnership ("Ancora Merlin Institutional"), Ancora Catalyst SPV I LP Series M ("Ancora SPV I Series M"), a series of Ancora Catalyst SPV I LP, a Delaware limited partnership ("Ancora SPV I"), Ancora Catalyst SPV I LP Series N, a series of Ancora SPV I ("Ancora SPV I Series N"), Ancora Catalyst SPV I LP Series O, a series of Ancora SPV I ("Ancora SPV I Series O"), Ancora Catalyst SPV I LP Series P, a series of Ancora SPV I ("Ancora SPV I Series P"), Ancora Catalyst SPV I SPC Ltd Segregated Portfolio G, a Cayman Islands segregated portfolio company ("Ancora Segregated Portfolio G"), Ancora Advisors, LLC, a Nevada limited liability company ("Ancora Advisors"), Ancora Alternatives LLC, an Ohio limited liability company ("Ancora Alternatives"), Ancora Family Wealth Advisors, LLC, an Ohio limited liability company ("Ancora Family Wealth"), The Ancora Group Inc., an Ohio corporation ("Ancora Inc."), Inverness Holdings, LLC, a Delaware limited liability company ("Inverness Holdings"), Frederick DiSanto, 4010 Partners, LP, a Delaware limited partnership ("4010 Partners"), 4010 Capital, LLC, a Delaware limited liability company ("4010 Capital"), 4010 General Partner, LLC, a Delaware limited liability company ("4010 General Partner"), Steven E. Litt, Marjorie L. Bowen, James T. Corcoran, David A. Duplantis, Margaret L. Jenkins, Jeffrey A. Kantor, Thomas A. Kingsbury, Margenett Moore-Roberts and Cynthia S. Murray.

As of the date hereof, Macellum Badger directly beneficially owns 273,611 shares of Common Stock, par value $0.01 par value per share, of the Company (the "Common Stock"), including 56,400 shares underlying long call options currently exercisable and 1,000 shares in record name. As of the date hereof, Macellum Badger II directly beneficially owns 8,443,121 shares of Common Stock including 1,943,600 shares underlying long call options currently exercisable. As the investment manager of Macellum Badger and Macellum Badger II, Macellum Advisors may be deemed to beneficially own the 273,611 shares of Common Stock beneficially directly owned by Macellum Badger, including 56,400 shares underlying long call options currently exercisable and 8,443,121 shares of Common Stock beneficially owned directly by Macellum Badger II, including 1,943,600 shares underlying long call options currently exercisable. As the general partner of Macellum Badger, Macellum Badger II and Macellum Advisors, Macellum GP may be deemed to beneficially own the 273,611 shares of Common Stock beneficially owned directly by Macellum Badger, including 56,400 shares underlying long call options currently exercisable and 8,443,121 shares of Common Stock beneficially owned directly by Macellum Badger II, including 1,943,600 shares underlying long call options currently exercisable. As the sole member of Macellum GP, Mr. Duskin may be deemed to beneficially own the 273,611 shares of Common Stock beneficially owned directly by Macellum Badger, including 56,400 shares underlying long call options currently exercisable and 8,443,121 shares of Common Stock beneficially owned directly by Macellum Badger II, including 1,943,600 shares underlying long call options currently exercisable. As of the date hereof, Legion Partners I directly beneficially owns 1,891,990 shares of Common Stock, including 567,900 shares underlying long call options, Legion Partners II directly beneficially owns 111,360 shares of Common Stock, including 43,000 shares underlying long call options, Legion Partners Special XV directly beneficially owns 108,400 shares of Common Stock, including 25,900 shares underlying long call options, and Legion Partners Holdings directly beneficially owns 100 shares of common stock of the Company in record name and as the sole member of Legion Partners Asset Management and sole member of Legion LLC, Legion Partners Holdings may also be deemed to beneficially own the 1,891,990 shares of Common Stock beneficially owned directly by Legion Partners I, including 567,900 shares underlying long call options, 111,360 shares of Common Stock beneficially owned directly by Legion Partners II, including 43,000 shares underlying long call options, and 108,400 shares of Common Stock beneficially owned directly by Legion Partners Special XV, including 25,900 shares underlying long call options. As the general partner of each of Legion Partners I and Legion Partners II and co-general partner of Legion Partners Special XV, Legion LLC may be deemed to beneficially own the 1,891,990 shares of Common Stock beneficially owned directly by Legion Partners I, including 567,900 shares underlying long call options, 111,360 shares of Common Stock beneficially owned directly by Legion Partners II, including 43,000 shares underlying long call options, and 108,400 shares of Common Stock beneficially owned directly by Legion Partners Special XV, including 25,900 shares underlying long call options. As the investment advisor of each of Legion Partners I, Legion Partners II and Legion Partners Special XV, Legion Partners Asset Management may be deemed to beneficially own the 1,891,990 shares of Common Stock beneficially owned directly by Legion Partners I, including 567,900 shares underlying long call options, 111,360 shares of Common Stock beneficially owned directly by Legion Partners II, including 43,000 shares underlying long call options, and 108,400 shares of Common Stock beneficially owned directly by Legion Partners Special XV, including 25,900 shares underlying long call options. As a managing director of Legion Partners Asset Management and managing member of Legion Partners Holdings, Mr. Kiper may be deemed to beneficially own the 1,891,990 shares of Common Stock beneficially owned directly by Legion Partners I, including 567,900 shares underlying long call options, 111,360 shares of Common Stock beneficially owned directly by Legion Partners II, including 43,000 shares underlying long call options, and 108,400 shares of Common Stock beneficially owned directly by Legion Partners Special XV, including 25,900 shares underlying long call options and 100 shares of Common Stock beneficially owned directly by Legion Partners Holdings. As a managing director of Legion Partners Asset Management and managing member of Legion Partners Holdings, Mr. White may be deemed to beneficially own the 1,891,990 shares of Common Stock beneficially owned directly by Legion Partners I, including 567,900 shares underlying long call options, 111,360 shares of Common Stock beneficially owned directly by Legion Partners II, including 43,000 shares underlying long call options, and 108,400 shares of Common Stock beneficially owned directly by Legion Partners Special XV, including 25,900 shares underlying long call options and 100 shares of Common Stock beneficially owned directly by Legion Partners Holdings. As of the date hereof, Ancora Catalyst Institutional directly beneficially owns 553,445 shares of Common Stock, including 113,200 shares underlying long call options. As of the date hereof, Ancora Catalyst directly beneficially owns 43,867 shares of Common Stock, including 9,600 shares underlying long call options. As of the date hereof, Ancora Merlin Institutional directly beneficially owns 549,030 shares of Common Stock, including 113,200 shares underlying long call options. As of the date hereof, Ancora Merlin directly beneficially owns 48,283 shares of Common Stock, including 9,600 shares underlying long call options. As of the date hereof, Ancora SPV I Series M directly beneficially owns 601,401 shares of Common Stock, including 116,800 shares underlying long call options. As of the date hereof, Ancora SPV I Series N directly beneficially owns 424,050 shares of Common Stock, including 80,800 shares underlying long call options. As of the date hereof, Ancora SPV I Series O directly beneficially owns 417,670 shares of Common Stock, including 79,600 shares underlying long call options. As of the date hereof, Ancora SPV I Series P directly beneficially owns 423,820 shares of Common Stock, including 85,200 shares underlying long call options. As of the date hereof, Ancora Segregated Portfolio G directly beneficially owns 592,000 shares of Common Stock, including 122,000 shares underlying long call options. As of the date hereof, 422,259 shares of Common Stock were held in a certain managed account for which Ancora Advisors serves as the investment adviser to (the "Ancora Advisors SMA (News - Alert) "), including 103,800 shares underlying long call options. As of the date hereof, 7,198 shares of Common Stock were held in a certain managed account for which Ancora Family Wealth serves as the investment advisor of certain separately managed accounts (the "SMAs"). As the investment adviser to the Ancora Advisors SMA, Ancora Advisors may be deemed to beneficially own the 422,259 shares of Common Stock held in the Ancora Advisors SMA, including 103,800 shares underlying long call options. As the investment adviser to each of Ancora Catalyst Institutional, Ancora Catalyst, Ancora Merlin, Ancora Merlin Institutional, Ancora SPV I Series M, Ancora SPV I Series N, Ancora SPV I Series O, Ancora SPV I Series P, and Ancora Segregated Portfolio G, Ancora Alternatives may be deemed to beneficially own the 553,445 shares of Common Stock beneficially owned directly by Ancora Catalyst Institutional, including 113,200 shares underlying long call options, 43,867 shares of Common Stock beneficially owned directly by Ancora Catalyst, including 9,600 shares underlying long call options, 48,283 shares of Common Stock beneficially owned directly by Ancora Merlin, including 9,600 shares underlying long call options, 549,030 shares of Common Stock beneficially owned directly by Ancora Merlin Institutional, including 113,200 shares underlying long call options, 601,401 shares of Common Stock beneficially owned directly by Ancora SPV I Series M, including 116,800 shares underlying long call options, 424,050 shares of Common Stock beneficially owned directly by Ancora SPV I Series N, including 80,800 shares underlying long call options, 417,670 shares of Common Stock beneficially owned directly by Ancora SPV I Series O, including 79,600 shares underlying long call options, 423,820 shares of Common Stock beneficially owned directly by Ancora SPV I Series P, including 85,200 shares underlying long call options and 592,000 shares of Common Stock beneficially owned directly by Ancora Segregated Portfolio G, including 122,000 shares underlying long call options. As the investment adviser to the SMAs, Ancora Family Wealth may be deemed to beneficially own the 7,198 shares of Common Stock held in the SMAs. As the sole member of Ancora Advisors, Ancora Inc. may be deemed to beneficially own the 422,259 shares of Common Stock held in the Ancora Advisors SMA, including 103,800 Shares underlying long call options currently exercisable. As the sole member of Ancora Family Wealth, Inverness Holdings may be deemed to beneficially own the 7,198 shares of Common Stock held in Ancora Family Wealth. As the sole member of each of Ancora Alternatives and Inverness Holdings and the sole shareholder of Ancora Inc., Ancora Holdings may be deemed to beneficially own the 553,445 shares of Common Stock beneficially owned directly by Ancora Catalyst Institutional, including 113,200 shares underlying long call options, 43,867 shares of Common Stock beneficially owned directly by Ancora Catalyst, including 9,600 shares underlying long call options, 48,283 shares of Common Stock beneficially owned directly by Ancora Merlin, including 9,600 shares underlying long call options, 549,030 shares of Common Stock beneficially owned directly by Ancora Merlin Institutional, including 113,200 shares underlying long call options, 601,401 shares of Common Stock beneficially owned directly by Ancora SPV I Series M, including 116,800 shares underlying long call options, 424,050 shares of Common Stock beneficially owned directly by Ancora SPV I Series N, including 80,800 shares underlying long call options, 417,670 shares of Common Stock beneficially owned directly by Ancora SPV I Series O, including 79,600 shares underlying long call options, 423,820 shares of Common Stock beneficially owned directly by Ancora SPV I Series P, including 85,200 shares underlying long call options, and 592,000 shares of Common Stock beneficially owned directly by Ancora Segregated Portfolio G, including 122,000 shares underlying long call options, 422,259 shares of Common Stock held in the Ancora Advisors SMA, including 103,800 Shares underlying long call options currently exercisable and 7,198 shares of Common Stock held in the SMAs. As the Chairman and Chief Executive Officer of Ancora Holdings, Mr. DiSanto may be deemed to beneficially own the 553,445 shares of Common Stock beneficially owned directly by Ancora Catalyst Institutional, including 113,200 shares underlying long call options, 43,867 shares of Common Stock beneficially owned directly by Ancora Catalyst, including 9,600 shares underlying long call options, 48,283 shares of Common Stock beneficially owned directly by Ancora Merlin, including 9,600 shares underlying long call options, 549,030 shares of Common Stock beneficially owned directly by Ancora Merlin Institutional, including 113,200 shares underlying long call options, 601,401 shares of Common Stock beneficially owned directly by Ancora SPV I Series M, including 116,800 shares underlying long call options, 424,050 shares of Common Stock beneficially owned directly by Ancora SPV I Series N, including 80,800 shares underlying long call options, 417,670 shares of Common Stock beneficially owned directly by Ancora SPV I Series O, including 79,600 shares underlying long call options, 423,820 shares of Common Stock beneficially owned directly by Ancora SPV I Series P, including 85,200 shares underlying long call options, and 592,000 shares of Common Stock beneficially owned directly by Ancora Segregated Portfolio G, including 122,000 shares underlying long call options, 422,259 shares of Common Stock held in the Ancora Advisors SMA, including 103,800 Shares underlying long call options currently exercisable and 7,198 shares of Common Stock held in the SMAs. As of the date hereof, 4010 Partners directly beneficially owns 39,000 shares of Common Stock, including 11,000 shares underlying long call options. As the investment manager of 4010 Partners and co-general partner of Legion Partners Special XV, 4010 Capital may be deemed to beneficially own the 39,000 shares of Common Stock beneficially owned directly by 4010 Partners, including 11,000 shares underlying long call options and 108,400 shares of Common Stock beneficially owned directly by Legion Partners Special XV, including 25,900 shares underlying long call options. As the general partner of 4010 Partners, 4010 General Partner may be deemed to beneficially own the 39,000 shares of Common Stock beneficially owned directly by 4010 Partners, including 11,000 shares underlying long call options. As a managing director of 4010 Capital, Mr. Litt may be deemed to beneficially own the 39,000 shares of Common Stock beneficially owned directly by 4010 Partners, including 11,000 shares underlying long call options and 108,400 shares of Common Stock beneficially owned directly by Legion Partners Special XV, including 25,900 shares underlying long call options. As of the date hereof, Marjorie L. Bowen directly beneficially owns 27 shares of Common Stock. As of the date hereof, none of James T. Corcoran, David A. Duplantis, Margaret L. Jenkins, Jeffrey A. Kantor, Thomas A. Kingsbury, Margenett Moore-Roberts or Cynthia S. Murray own beneficially or of record any securities of the Company. View source version on businesswire.com: https://www.businesswire.com/news/home/20210222005287/en/

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Schumer made remarks about Texas over energy crisis that has taken lives. The severe cold snap struck and disabled the power grid that utilized green energy.

Instead of offering solutions for the beleaguered state that is openly Republican, this comes off as negative. Climate change is a fact, and the state used alternative sources that proved unwise.

Texas crisis

As the Lone Star State suffered the effects of the worst cold snap in a long time. Chuck Schumer, the Senate Majority Leader from New York, offers remarks that Texas did not fully consider climate change. The Texas energy crisis is only one of the grabbing headlines, reported The Blaze.

Texas hit by a deep freeze

Millions of Texas homes were in a literal deep freeze that caused misery and deaths last week. The cold storm came unexpected, and the state came to a standstill. It is those rare weather occurrences that overwhelmed unprepared the state, leaving many cold and in the dark.

One of the alleged causes is the Electric Reliability Council of Texas (ERCOT) that has been the main supplier of electricity for millions of Texans. They are reported to have shortcomings that led to weaknesses in the state power grid.

According to the Texas Tribune, Texas was close to running on zero and having a total power outage with existing problems. Citing that the prior signs showing that ERCOT was close to a big shutdown and left many with no power for months.

Also read: The Bottom Water Changes the Climate Extremely and Impacts it Severely

The New York Post said that the Lone Star State is the only one in the U.S. to have its facilities that included a stand-alone electric grid. But it did not do any weatherizing and was not under federal oversight, said the source. Otherwise, the ERCOT functioned autonomously from the federal government.

Left without power and not heat, many Texans died from the extreme cold, but the exact number was not determined yet. Outlets have reported deaths, but it will take time for that.

Schumer' statement

The Democrat from New York said that Texas now knows its mistake over its decisions relating to energy. He then shifted his criticism to the officials whom he accuses as responsible. Calling them ignorant of climate change and how to deal with it.

Governor Abbott thought Texas could run an electrical grid that ignored the climate crisis.



It was not resilient.



The federal investigation by @FERC and @NERC_Official must look into how Governor Abbott's policies in Texas have failed and exacerbated the winter storm crisis.  Chuck Schumer (@SenSchumer) February 22, 2021

He severely called the efforts to undermine the state's attempts to build an energy grid they thought was good enough. Saying they discounted climate change as a factor when he spoke about it.

Texans shouldn't have to face a spike in their energy costs.



To quickly address this issue I held an emergency meeting today with legislative leaders to begin crafting solutions.



We are working to fix this fast.#txlegehttps://t.co/qYrQq1J5ho  Greg Abbott (@GregAbbott_TX) February 21, 2021

He was saying that Texas was not resilient enough and is now paying for their error dearly. They should learn from this costly lesson, he added.

Bashing the Texan officials in his statement for ignoring what climate change can do, this is a critical factor in their power grid design. Schumer leaned on the state hard and stressed climate change is real and what happened in Texas should be avoided. He added that he made similar bills to improve such intrastate. Hitting Texas over the energy crisis is not very constructive.

Related article: Bill Gates Plans to save the World from Climate Disaster

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After the success of their last collaboration Article 15, Ayushmann Khurrana and Anubhav Sinha are reuniting again for another film titled Anek. The actor is currently busy shooting for this project in North-east India.

Amid this, Ayushmann recently took to his Instagram page to announce the release date of this movie. The actor revealed that Anek will be releasing in theatres on September 17, 2021. Ayushmann wrote, "Naam #ANEK, lekin release date ek! Milte hai aapse 17th September 2021 ko!"

Have a look at his post.

Earlier, Ayushmann had announced the commencement of this film's shoot by sharing his rugged look from the film. In the still, the Bala actor is seen sporting a new hairstyle along with an eyebrow slit. Spilling the beans about his new look, Ayushmann had revealed that the idea of sporting an eyebrow slit was suggested by him to Anubhav as he wanted to create a distinct look for Anek.

While not much is known about the film's plot, buzz is that Anek is Anubhav Sinha's most expensive and big-scale film till date. The makers have roped in international action director Stefan Richter who has designed action sequences for films like The Hitman's Bodyguard and Don 2.

Talking about the ambitious scale of this project, Ayushmann had earlier shared, "Anek is the biggest film of my career in terms of scale, and Anubhav Sinha is leaving no stone unturned to give the audience a huge big-screen experience with his vision. It is true that Stefan Richter has been roped in for our film. He comes in with a wealth of knowledge and has been an architect for big scale action movies around the world. With his craft, the action sequences of Anek will match global standards and give audiences a thrilling visual experience. Anubhav sir and Stefan are making me do something that is extremely new for me. As an artiste, I relish doing different things and constantly explore myself. Anek is taking me on a new journey that I'm really enjoying."

Well, we are looking forward to see Ayushmann Khurrana in this new avatar in Anek.

Besides this Anubhav Sinha directorial, Ayushmann has one more film scheduled for a theatrical release this year. The actor's upcoming movie Chandigarh Kare Aashiqui co-starring Vaani Kapoor, will be hitting the big screens on July 9, 2021.

ALSO READ: Ayushmann Khurrana On Shooting In Shillong For Anek: Blown Away With How Picture Perfect It Is

ALSO READ: Ayushmann Khurrana Was Overwhelmed With The Love From People In North East During Anek's Shoot
Court grants agency two more months to complete probe into terror case

NGT forms 5-member panel to investigate on violation of environmental norms by JSW

Plot to kill Hindus in Bengaluru, Nanded, Hyderabad: NIA charges two Lashkar operatives

India

oi-Vicky Nanjappa

New Delhi, Feb 22: The National Investigation Agency has filed a chargesheet in connection with a Lashkar-e-Tayiba conspiracy case.

The NIA filed the chargesheet against, Dr. Sabeel Ahmed alias Motu Doctor of Bengaluru and Assadullah Khan of Hyderabad.

The case pertains rto the conspiracy hatched by the members of the Lashkar-e-Tayiba and Harkat-ul-Jihadi Islami to commit subversive activities and wage war against Government of India.

They had procured illegal arms and ammunition for targeted killings of important personalities of Hindu community in Bangalore and Hubli in Karnataka, Nanded in Maharashtra and in Hyderabad, Telangana to disturb the communal harmony and strike terror in society.

Two associates of Lashkar arrested in J&K

Investigation established that accused persons Dr.Sabeel Ahmed and Asadulla Khan are members of proscribed terrorist organisation Lashkar-e-Tayiba. They were involved in criminal conspiracy along with other accused persons in supporting and furthering the cause of outfit in Damam and Riyadh, Saudi Arabia. They had actively participated in conspiracy meetings in which terrorist activities like targeted killings of important personalities of Hindu community in Bangalore and Hubli in Karnataka and Nanded in Maharashtra were planned.

The background:

Dr Motu was a mysterious character when the National Investigation Agency (NIA) started its probe into an assassination plot at Bengaluru.

According to the details of this plot, a group of boys had decided on targeting several Hindu leaders and journalists.

Further probing found that the plot extended to Telangana and Maharashtra as well.

During the course of the investigation, it came to light that a doctor based in Saudi Arabia was also part of the plot.

The various transcripts that the investigators collected found that this person was being referred to as Dr Motu.

The NIA had claimed that this person was Dr Sabeel Ahmed, the brother of Kafeel Ahmed an accused in the Glasgow (UK) terror plot.

Dr Sabeel Ahmed who was also questioned in connection with the Glasgow attack was deported to India after that incident.

When the NIA had identified Dr Motu for the first time and it was reported in the media, there was a denial issued by him. He had said that he was given to understand that he had taken part in some meetings in Riyadh in connection with this plot.

This is a ridiculous allegation against me and I deny all the charges he had said at that time.

The NIA in its chargesheet states that Dr Sabeel Ahmed was a key player in the plot.

The NIA accuses him of being part of meetings and also making financial and logistic support in connection with this plot.

In all the NIA has named 25 persons in the chargesheet on the ground that they were planning on killing Hindu leaders in Karnataka, Telangana and Maharashtra.

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Story first published: Monday, February 22, 2021, 16:49 [IST]
HOUSTON - (Feb. 22, 2021) - Governments with strong female representation are more likely to deliver on campaign promises, according to new research from Rice University.

"The Effects of Women's Descriptive Representation on Government Behavior" by author Jonathan Homola, an assistant professor of political science at Rice, examines campaign promises and subsequent policymaking by parties in power in 10 European countries, the United States and Canada along with data on women in party leadership and elected offices.

The study also showed that promises are even more likely to be kept when women in government assume leadership roles.

Homola said the research demonstrates the importance of women playing part in the policymaking process. Voters "are usually very well-informed about broken and partially fulfilled promises" and will hold candidates accountable in the voting booth, he said.

"Women may in fact be more effective at this process than men, even when faced with the same institutional challenges," he said.

In future studies, Homola hopes to research how greater female government representation impacts passage of legislation related to women's issues.

Homola used data from the Comparative Party Pledge Group (CPPG) for his analysis. The CPPG identifies pledges in party platforms and evaluates the extent to which they are later fulfilled. The European countries included in the study were Austria, Bulgaria, Germany, Ireland, Italy, the Netherlands, Portugal, Spain, Sweden and the United Kingdom.

###

The paper, which will appear in an upcoming edition of Legislative Studies Quarterly, is available online at https:/ / doi. org/ 10. 1111/ lsq. 12330 .

This news release can be found online at news.rice.edu.

Follow Rice News and Media Relations on Twitter @RiceUNews.

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Located on a 300-acre forested campus in Houston, Rice University is consistently ranked among the nation's top 20 universities by U.S. News & World Report. Rice has highly respected schools of Architecture, Business, Continuing Studies, Engineering, Humanities, Music, Natural Sciences and Social Sciences and is home to the Baker Institute for Public Policy. With 3,978 undergraduates and 3,192 graduate students, Rice's undergraduate student-to-faculty ratio is just under 6-to-1. Its residential college system builds close-knit communities and lifelong friendships, just one reason why Rice is ranked No. 1 for lots of race/class interaction and No. 1 for quality of life by the Princeton Review. Rice is also rated as a best value among private universities by Kiplinger's Personal Finance.

Contact:

Jeff Falk

713-348-6775

jfalk@rice.edu

Amy McCaig

713-348-6777

amym@rice.edu

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Brittany Higgins has found herself on the receiving end of a barrage of shameful comments accusing her of 'crying wolf to make money out of her stupid behaviour' after going public with claims she was raped inside Parliament House.

Ms Higgins last week alleged she was raped by a male colleague - who has since been sacked as a Liberal party staffer - inside Defence Minister Linda Reynolds' office in 2019 when she was just 24 - but felt pressured to stay silent to keep her job.

On a video Prime Minister Scott Morrison posted to Facebook over the weekend from Sydney's northern beaches, a number of viewers seized the chance to discredit the claims made by Ms Higgins.

They used the comments section to question why it 'has taken her almost two years to say anything' and demanded to know how Ms Higgins allowed herself to 'get so drunk she passed out'.

Brittany Higgins (pictured) went public last week with the allegation she was raped by a male colleague inside Defence Minister Linda Reynolds' office in 2019

Ms Higgins has since come under attack from Facebook users after revealing the allegations

'That woman consented the moment she got drunk and willing went to a out of bounds empty office. What was she thinking they were going to do. Have tea and biscuits??,' one person wrote.

'Women who think their career is the most important part of their life are dreaming. IF she was raped will (sic) then she chose her career over getting a man accountable for his actions.'

Another said: 'I do not condone what has happened to this girl BUT why she was so drunk that she passed out in this job she waited all her life for. Does she bear any responsibility for what happened?'

One person claimed Ms Higgins 'made a lot of poor decisions that night' and questioned 'why did she go there in the first place?'.

The vile online comments directed to Ms Higgins came to light on Monday, as a fourth woman levelled sexual assault allegations at the sacked Liberal Party staffer.

Two more women accused the former government worker of rape after Ms Higgins went public last week, and now a fourth alleged victim has taken her story to Canberra police on Sunday.

Labor frontbencher Michelle Rowland said revelations of a fourth victim were 'deeply disturbing'.

'There now appears [there was] an alleged serial rapist on the loose in the ministerial wing of Parliament House,' she told Sky News on Monday.

Brittany Higgins' (pictured) allegations will be formally stated to police on Wednesday

Facebook users demanded to know why 'it has taken her almost two years to say anything'

'How on earth have we gotten to this position where we now have the Prime Minister saying he didn't know and no-one thought it was prudent to tell him?'

The fourth woman, who wishes to remain anonymous, told the ABC the 'really sleazy' alleged rapist stroked her thigh on a night out in 2017.

Ms Higgins' claim, which will be formally stated to police on Wednesday, opened the floodgates for others to share their stories.

The latest woman to come forward was with colleagues at Canberra's Public Bar in 2017 when the alleged rapist touched her thigh uninvited.

She said it was not the first or last time she received unwanted advances from male colleagues.

'By that time, I was just so used to sexual harassment I just brushed it off,' she said.

After speaking to officers from the local police station on Sunday afternoon, the woman said she received a call from the Australian Federal Police's Sexual Assault and Child Abuse Team.

They asked her to make a formal statement with them later this week, she said.

The third woman said she was assaulted while working as a coalition volunteer during the 2016 election campaign.

She was barely out of school at the time of the attack, which allegedly occurred after a night out drinking with the then-political staffer.

During the night out, she claims he bought her several rounds of 'double strength' vodkas and three tequila shots.

Scott Morrison also believes the culture within Parliament House has to change as he and his government remain under scrutiny over the handling of the matter. Pictured with Ms Higgins

Ms Higgins (pictured) said she felt pressured to stay silent in order to keep her dream job

The boozy night prompted the young volunteer, who had never been drunk before, to vomit in the nightclub bathroom.

When everybody else had left, the woman said she told him she was going to catch an Uber home, and he suggested they go back to his hotel room 'around the corner' instead, and he would 'look after her', she told The Australian.

After they arrived, she passed out while laying on his bed and allegedly woke up with her clothes undone and the staffer allegedly lying on top of her.

The woman, who was a virgin, said she was uncertain as to whether he was conscious or sleeping, but she bolted from the room into the hotel lobby toilet, where she discovered she was 'bleeding'.

Feeling embarrassed and ashamed, the woman made her way home and did not tell police, her family or friends.

'I believe his actions on the night of 29 June and the morning of 30 June constitute sexual assault, because he performed or tried to perform sexual acts on me whilst I was severely intoxicated and unable to provide valid and informed consent,' she told The Australian.

'I later realised I was so drunk, I was not able to give any consent.'

'Hearing Brittany Higgins' story, it was so eerily similar, it made me think this person has a pattern of behaviour.'

Minister for Defence Linda Reynolds is seen during Question Time in the Senate chamber at Parliament House in Canberra last week, after Ms Higgins' allegations were made public

The second alleged victim claimed she met the ministerial advisor in 2016 when he was working for Senator Reynolds during the election campaign.

'We went back to my place and we were kissing we were going to have sex and I said he had to wear a condom,' she said.

'He refused and we argued and I told him five or six times that we couldn't have sex unless he wore a condom. I was drunk and he just got on top of me, I said no, and then he was inside of me and I kept saying no.'

A family friend of the woman confirmed to The Australian she had made the same allegations to her after the alleged rape.

Ms Higgins' bombshell allegations have rocked Canberra as the Morrison Government plunges into damage control and calls mount for systematic reform of working conditions for parliamentary staffers.

As Ms Reynolds and the Prime Minister's Office spent the past few days grappling with the political crisis, a second woman came forward to claim the same man assaulted her in 2020 after they went out for a meal and drinks.

An independent review into the workplace culture in Parliament and the Coalition has been launched, as Ms Higgins prepares to make a statement to the Australian Federal Police later this week.

Mr Morrison's office has come under scrutiny after claiming it was not aware of the rape allegations until last week, sparking questions about why Senator Reynold's office had failed to pass on the information.

Until recently Ms Higgins worked for Employment Minister Michaela Cash (together in Parliament's Great Hall)

Senator Reynolds has known about the alleged rape for more than two years but did not inform the prime minister to respect Ms Higgins' privacy and welfare.

Ms Higgins accused Mr Morrison of using 'victim-blaming language' during his response to the revelations, with the Prime Minister later apologising to the former Coalition staffer.

On Saturday, after another woman spoke out, Mr Morrison said he was 'sickened' and that the incident is 'very distressing'.

'These events truly do sicken me,' he said.

'I think we have a problem in the parliament and the workplace culture that exists there that we must continue to improve.'

The second woman was allegedly assaulted by the same man in late 2020.

The woman argued that if the government had adequately dealt with the incident involving Ms Higgins in 2019, her assault would never have occurred.
There has been some progress by companies that have rigorous targets. In a report last month, Science Based Targets, which was started by the environmental groups and hundreds of businesses brought together by the United Nations, said the 338 large companies around the world for which it had sufficient emissions data collectively reduced their emissions by 25 percent between 2015 and 2019.

Often large companies in the same industry have very different records.

For example, Walmart discloses its targets for emissions reductions and the progress it has made to the CDP, including a goal for emissions from its suppliers, and its plan has been vetted by Science Based Targets. But Costco doesnt expect to have commitments to reduce emissions until the end of next year. Costco executives declined to comment.

Netflix is often compared to technology giants like Google and Microsoft. But Netflix has yet to set a target for reducing the emissions caused by its offices, production activities and the computer servers it uses. Climate action is important, and well announce our plans in the spring, which will include targets based on climate science, the company said in a statement.

Slashing emissions is difficult. Businesses must reliably measure how much carbon dioxide and other greenhouse gases they are responsible for. Then companies have to find cleaner energy sources without hurting their operations. Where they cant find cleaner substitutes, businesses often pay others to reduce emissions or remove carbon from the atmosphere.

The task gets even harder when companies begin the process of reducing so-called Scope 3 emissions  pollution caused by suppliers and customers. At oil companies, for example, Scope 3 would include emissions from cars that use gasoline.

BlackRock, with $8.7 trillion of assets under management, including stakes in many companies, clearly faces a daunting task. The company doesnt directly own most of the shares or bonds it buys  it manages them for pension funds, other corporations and individual investors  limiting how much climate activism it can pursue. In addition, most of its investment products track indexes like the S&P 500, so it inevitably ends up managing stocks of fossil fuel companies.

Many Wall Street firms have made pledges to get to net zero emissions from their lending and other financial activities but have not made clear whether that goal applies to the stocks and bonds they manage for customers. BlackRocks decision to include all the assets it manages could pressure other financial giants to make similar commitments, but it could rankle fossil fuel industries and their political supporters in Congress.
National chairman of the Social Democratic Party (PSD) Marcel Ciolacu told a plenary sitting of the Chamber of Deputies on Monday that Prime Minister Citu borrowed 600,000 euros in the 10 minutes he spoke during a Prime Minister's Question Time debate.

"Mr Prime Minister, you spoke for about 10 minutes. During all this time you got Romania indebted by 600,000 euros; 1,000 euros per second, money stolen from the pockets of every Romanian that will be paid for by our children and grandchildren. Mr Citu, you have no money to give the back pay to the miners in the Jiu Valley, although in the election campaign you found 2 billion only for the PNL mayors in electoral bribe. To top it all, that was of no use to you because you lost the elections. Give the money to the people urgently. Stop mistreating them, this is money earned and deserved by the miners," Ciolacu told a Prime Minister's Question Time at a plenary sitting of the Chamber of Deputies.
[February 22, 2021] Advisor Chooses Ameriprise for Independence and Financial Planning Capabilities

Financial advisor Ellie Tobin Stubbs recently joined the independent channel of Ameriprise Financial, LLC (NYSE: AMP) from TIAA-CREF Individual & Institutional Services, LLC, in Barre, Vermont with $64 million in client assets. Stubbs joined the firm for the opportunity to become independent, align with a firm focused on delivering comprehensive financial advice to clients, and to join forces with Ameriprise private wealth advisor Denise Palmer, ChFC, CLTC. This press release features multimedia. View the full release here: https://www.businesswire.com/news/home/20210222005718/en/ Financial advisor Ellie Tobin Stubbs recently joined the independent channel of Ameriprise Financial, LLC. Photo courtesy of Stubbs. Stubbs considered many firms, evaluating each one's model of independence, financial planning capabilities, resources to help deepen relationships with clients and develop new ones, culture, and product platform. She found Ameriprise rose to the top in each of those categories and was impressed by how Ameriprise field vice president <>Michael Sondak and his team would partner with her to add value to her clients through the use of the firm's capabilities.



"I was looking for a firm to support the comprehensive, compassionate way I serve clients. Ameriprise has the solutions my clients need to reach their goals, including a good selection for those that value socially responsible investing," said Stubbs on her decision to move firms. Stubbs and Palmer have known each other for over twenty years, bonding over their passions for socially responsible investing, philanthropy and helping clients feel more confident about their financial futures. They stayed in touch over the years, and found the right synergies were in place for them to work together.

"Denise's team members are smart, dedicated, and effuse passion for financial planning. They are an incredible team of women who want to grow to serve more clients with integrity, which aligns with how I work with my clients," said Stubbs on joining Palmer's team. "And, I saw that Denise's team is reflective of the broader culture at Ameriprise. I attended a virtual recruiting event last fall and was impressed by Ameriprise's support for and commitment to women advisors." Palmer's practice was established in 1996 and manages $100 million in client assets. The team also includes associate financial advisors Sara Blondin, MBA, CRPC and Gina Hilton-VanOsdall, BFATM. More than 4,300 financial advisors have joined Ameriprise since 2008.1 To find out why experienced financial advisors are joining Ameriprise, visit ameriprise.com/why. For more information, or to find an Ameriprise financial advisor, visit ameriprise.com/why. About Ameriprise Financial At Ameriprise Financial, we have been helping people feel confident about their financial future for more than 125 years. With extensive advisory, asset management and insurance capabilities and a nationwide network of approximately 10,000 financial advisors, we have the strength and expertise to serve the full range of individual and institutional investors' financial needs. Ameriprise Financial Services, LLC is an Equal Opportunity Employer. Ameriprise Financial Services, LLC. Member FINRA and SIPC.  2021 Ameriprise Financial, Inc. All rights reserved. 1 Company data as of Q2 2020 View source version on businesswire.com: https://www.businesswire.com/news/home/20210222005718/en/

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A new COVID-19 variant has been detected in Nigeria, the Director-General of the Nigeria Centre for Disease Control (NCDC), Chikwe Iheakwazu, has said.

Mr Iheakwazu while speaking at Mondays weekly briefing of the Presidential Task Force (PTF) on COVID-19 said the new variant dubbed B.1.525 was first discovered in a sample collected on November 23 from a patient in Lagos State.

He said the B.1.525 variant, which has spread to a few other countries, has not been classified as a variant of concern.

So far, this has been detected among cases in five states in Nigeria. B.1.525 cases have also been reported in other countries in travellers from Nigeria, a statement by the infectious disease agency shows.

He said researchers and scientists are working hard to understand if the variant has any impact on transmissibility, severity, immunity, diagnostic and already approved vaccines.

The B.1.525 variant contains a genetic change called E484K, also found in the Brazilian and South African variants, BBC reported.

The variant has been seen in other countries like Denmark and the United States.

Public Health England (PHE) has said there is no evidence that the mutations in the new variant make the virus more transmissible or cause severe disease.

UK variant

Mr Iheakwazu said Nigeria has now confirmed 54 cases of the B.1.1.7 COVID-19 variant within its borders.

He said the cases were found between November 2020 and February 2021.

He noted that scientists are monitoring the strain to understand its circulation rates in the country.

We have confirmed 54 cases of the B.1.1.7 COVID-19 variant between November 2020 and February 2021, Mr Ihekweazu said.

That is a significant number out of the 400 we have sequenced since the beginning of the outbreak.

The B.1.1.7 COVID-19 variant was first detected in the United Kingdom and has spread to over 80 countries in the world.

Mr Ihekweazu said Nigeria is scaling up its sequencing capacity to help it understand ongoing transmission.

He said about 100 samples will be sent to the Africa Centre of Excellence for Genomics of Infectious Diseases (ACEGID), at the Redeemers University in Ede, Osun State for sequencing every week.

The NCDC boss urged the public to continue to adhere to all non pharmaceutical measures put in place to limit spread of the virus.

While sequencing is important for us to understand the situation, handwashing, physical distancing and the proper use of face masks are very important to prevent the spread of the virus, he said.

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Nigeria has recorded over 150,000 COVID-19 cases and over 1,800 deaths from the virus.
Restaurants will no longer be allowed to sell pre-packaged meals through arrangements with supermarkets and other outlets, as Prime Minister Dr Keith Rowley definitively closed this loophole yesterday.

Rowley said this would not be allowed to continue, as it defeats the purpose of the public health regulations. Restaurants and street food vendors were among those businesses ordered to close to limit the movement of people and curb the spread of Covid-19.
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The Egyptian Ministry of Interior has recently granted citizenship to three stateless individuals who were born in the south Sinai Peninsula.

In a decision issued Feb. 11, the Ministry of Interior said it was granting Egyptian citizenship to three brothers who had no nationality  namely Salem Halil Nasr Salem, born in south Sinai on Sept. 25, 1977; Radhia Halil Nasr Salem, born in south Sinai on Sept. 25, 1975; and Abdallah Halil Nasr Salem born on Nov. 5, 2001, in accordance with the fifth paragraph of Article 4 of Law No. 26 of 1975 concerning the Egyptian nationality.

Article 4 stipulates that the Egyptian nationality may be granted by decree of the minister of interior to whoever is born in Egypt of a father of Egyptian origin, if he applies for the Egyptian nationality after having made his ordinary residence in Egypt, and is of full age at the time he applies for the nationality.

The article further states that nationality is granted to whoever belongs to an Egyptian origin whenever he applies for Egyptian nationality after five years of ordinary residence in Egypt, provided he has already attained full age at the time he submits the application.

According to the same article, nationality may be granted to any foreigner born in Egypt of a foreign father who was also born in it, if such a foreigner belongs to the majority of inhabitants in a country whose language is Arabic, or religion is Islam, if he applies for the Egyptian nationality within one year from the date he attains full age.

As per the article, nationality is also granted to each foreigner who has made his normal residence in Egypt for 10 consecutive years at least before he submits an application for the Egyptian nationality, if he is of age.

The stateless people in Egypt live in border and mountainous areas that are mainly marginalized or in conflict areas. They do not hold official papers or birth certificates as they are not recognized by the law nor by the government. Without papers and personal documents, stateless persons are deprived of their right to education, health care and even burial as state cemeteries do not receive bodies without official papers. They may not marry or inherit, face all kinds of obstructions and may also be subject to arbitrary arrest.

According to the United Nations High Commissioner for Refugees (UNHCR), at least 10 million people in the world today are stateless.

According to the UNHCR, there are more than 30 countries where stateless individuals need official papers to be provided with health care, and in more than 20 countries children without official papers cannot legally receive vaccinations. These children are often forced to go to expensive private hospitals, as state hospitals do not receive people without official papers. According to a UNHCR investigation, there are children who have never been to a hospital for a checkup.

The UNHCR had announced in 2014 a plan to end statelessness by 2024.

In Egypt, however, there are no official statistics by local authorities or the UNHCR on the number of stateless individuals, and there are no laws that define how they deal with official matters. In addition, there are no official numbers of these stateless individuals having tried to apply for citizenship. Meanwhile, the government continues to delay a solution to this problem.

In Halayeb and Shalateen, a border area claimed by both Egypt and Sudan, many tribesmen are stateless. Since Egypt annexed the territory in 1902, several people have returned to Sudan. But those who remained have yet to receive the Egyptian citizenship, mainly from al-Atman and Rashaida tribes. The Egyptian authorities have refused to grant them any official papers proving their right to Egyptian citizenship.

Salem al-Rasheed, 50, who was born in Halayeb and Shalateen and belongs to the Rashaida tribe, never left the area in all his life for fear of arrest since he does not have any identification papers.

Even if I die, I will not be entitled to a death certificate, just like I was not entitled to a birth certificate when I was born. In this world, it is as though I do not exist, and I will die like any cat or dog that was run over by a car on a public road, Rasheed told Al-Monitor.

He added, We are paying the price for disputes between Egypt and Sudan over the territory as the government stands idle. Over the past 10 years, we have been receiving promises whereby applications for citizenship would be accepted. We were repeatedly told that the crisis is about to be solved. You will practice politics, and you will have a member of parliament. But nothing has materialized.

Tribesmen in Sinai also suffer this ordeal. The Azazma tribe members still do not have Egyptian citizenship years after they remained in Sinai, after Israel ended its occupation of the peninsula in 1982.

Tribe member Amin Atallah told Al-Monitor, Only fear [of arrest] is preventing us from taking new steps [to demand citizenship]. We prefer a peaceful solution, but the Egyptian government keeps ignoring us.

Atallah said, No one cared to come and see the tin houses we lived in until 1998 before the government allowed us to build brick homes. We do not dream of much, only of some dignity that allows our children to learn in public schools and be treated in a nearby [state] hospital or medical center.

No one understood on what grounds Egypt decided to grant [citizenship] to a select few," he said, in reference to the three brothers who recently received their citizenship, in addition to dozens of others over the past years.

It may be that the government is granting citizenship [as a reward] for those who are cooperating with the Egyptian security services [in their fight against Islamist groups in Sinai]. Some refused to cooperate, which may be the reason why the Egyptian government did not grant them citizenship. Other tribes living in north Sinai received identity cards and their names were included in official records. But the Azazma tribe refused [to collaborate with the security forces], so they were forced to live a life marred by difficulties, Atallah concluded.

Guo Huaide pays respects in Lanzhou, Gansu province, on Saturday to Chen Hongjun, one of the four martyrs who died during the border clash with India in June. Chen was a college classmate of Guo. WEI DEZHAN/FOR CHINA DAILY

Topics about the deaths of servicemen killed at India border garner sentiment

Chinese netizens have paid tribute to four servicemen who died during a border clash with Indian troops in June last year.

Topics related to the four members of the People's Liberation Army Ground Force soon sparked a swarm of sentiment on the Sina Weibo social media platform after the Chinese military published details of the conflict with India, including the number of casualties and their names, for the first time on Friday.

The four servicemen were Chen Hongjun, commander of a border defense regiment motorized infantry battalion, and three regiment soldiers: Chen Xiangrong, Xiao Siyuan and Wang Zhuoran. Another officer, regiment commander Qi Fabao, was severely injured.

The details were revealed in a report by PLA Daily, the Chinese military's flagship newspaper. It said the border tension escalated in June after Indian troops blatantly violated a bilateral agreement and crossed the Line of Actual Control.

Qi led several soldiers to negotiate with Indian troops at first, only to be deliberately attacked by the opposition, which caused his injuries. In a video released on Saturday for the first time by China Central Television, which recorded some of the clash, Qi can be seen bleeding from his head.

Chen Hongjun, Chen Xiangrong and Xiao rushed to rescue their comrades and died during the confrontation. Wang Zhuoran drowned in the icy river on the plateau while he was trying to save another comrade.

Chen Hongjun was awarded the honorary title "Hero Safeguarding the Motherland and Protecting Borders" by the Central Military Com-mission, the highest award given by the PLA. The other three each received a first-grade service citation, the second-highest award granted.

As soon as the news was released online, associated topics began trending on Sina Weibo. On Saturday, at least 12 still topped the list of the platform's 50 top-trending topics.

Millions of netizens commemorated the deceased soldiers by reposting, leaving comments and composing their own posts.

The most searched hashtag was "they died for me". A Weibo user using the name Yuedingchengshu wrote in a poetic format: "Dusk arrives. Steamed rice in my bowl. Soft drink in my hand. Can't fathom why sturdy soldiers die. I woke up in the middle of the night, startled to realize: They died for me." The post was widely circulated online.

Some other trending topics read"10 details of the border clash scene", "One soldier is one boundary marker", "Not an inch of the motherland can be lost" and "The diaries and letters of the five border heroes".

The trending topic "Netizens pay tribute to border heroes with moving messages" had garnered more than 46 million views by Saturday.

A user going by the name Yunshangyouqingtian wrote under the topic: "Some people died for us. Some people are ready to die for us. So we must live harder."

Pictures of the four soldiers were also widely circulated online. In one, Chen Xiangrong smiles at the camera with a half-peeled orange in his hands.

"If there is an afterlife, I hope you will have an endless supply of sweet oranges at the wonderful age of 20. When you open your arms again, you will no longer be facing swords and spears, but the warm embrace of your family," wrote another person using the name RedaQmancy.

On Saturday evening, the Ministry of Veterans Affairs announced more details of the pensions and preferential treatment for family members of the four martyrs.

The ministry set up a special team and accompanied the martyrs' relatives to attend the grand memorial ceremonies during which the martyrs' remains were returned and buried in mausoleums in their hometowns in Gansu, Henan and Fujian provinces. The veterans affairs departments of the three provinces have distributed commendation awards and lump-sum pensions to the four martyrs' families.

The veterans affairs departments of Fujian, Henan, Gansu and Shaanxi province, where their families and relatives now live, also assigned special personnel to stay in touch with the family members and help with the timely resolution of difficulties.

Chen Xiangrong's mother has been working outside Fujian to make a living. After learning the situation, the local government offered both her and Chen's older sister jobs in their hometown.

In Henan, where Wang Zhuoran and Xiao Siyuan were born, the local authorities helped Wang's younger sister get into a vocational high school and offered her an internship.

Chen Hongjun's wife, who lives in Xi'an, capital of Shaanxi, was more than five months' pregnant when he died. The departments of veterans affairs in Shaanxi and Gansu provided her with maternity services. As she graduated with a master's degree in vocal music, the Shaanxi veterans affairs department worked with the local education department and offered her a position as a teacher at the Xi'an Conservatory of Music.
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LONDON, Feb. 22, 2021 /PRNewswire/ - CGI (NYSE: GIB) (TSX: GIB.A) was awarded by the European Space Agency (ESA) a contract to develop a new wildfire mapping service that combines recent advances in Earth Observation (EO), Artificial Intelligence (AI) and cloud computing to help better map and monitor the impact of wildfires.

CGI and its project partner, the University of Leicester, is working with nationally mandated user organisations from Australia (Geoscience Australia) and France (ONF France) to implement and demonstrate EO services based on their requirements for improved wildfire risk management. The consortium will evaluate a variety of AI algorithms that could help meet these requirements. It is expected that combining the machine learning capabilities of these AI algorithms with the increased availability of frequent, high quality satellite observations will allow better burnt area mapping products to be generated where and when users want them.

The resulting AI-enabled wildfire mapping service will be made available to Geoscience Australia and ONF France, as well as the wider environmental community, through the EO4SD Lab portal. This online data portal, which has been developed by CGI for ESA, utilises cloud computing to provide free access to a range of EO data, tools and services to the sustainable development and wider environmental community.

The recent extensive fire disasters in the USA, Southern Europe and Australia have shown both the environmental and human cost of wildfires. Climate change is contributing to more frequent wildfires, with studies finding a 19% increase in global mean fire weather season length between 1979 to 2013. Better monitoring and analysing of burnt areas is important to improve land management and help mitigate the impact.



Tara McGeehan, President at CGI in UK & Australia said: "We are excited to be part of this cutting edge project that brings to bear the potential of AI to help the scientific and environmental community to better understand the extent and impact of damaging wildfires throughout the world. Our ongoing partnership with ESA for EO and Thematic Exploitation Platforms is enabling rapid progress in monitoring the Earth's environment to support scientific research and government policy."

Kevin Tansey, Professor of Remote Sensing and Principal Investigator at the University of Leicester said: "After 20 years of research into the use of satellite data to measure burned area and severity from local to global scales, the opportunity to work with CGI and agency partners to develop new wildfire services is very exciting. I am further delighted that this project will be one of the first to be delivered out of Space Park Leicester, our new state-of-the-art, high-tech facility for research, development and manufacturing.".

CGI has been delivering complex, mission-critical space software systems for clients across Europe, Australia, Asia and North America for over 40 years, supporting satellite navigation, communications and operations, to space enabled applications. CGI's partner, the University of Leicester, have a wealth of experience within EO domain and are one of the leading academic institutions with the UK. CGI is a partner in the Manufacturing, Engineering, Technology and Earth Observation Centre (METEOR) at Space Park Leicester.

About CGI

Founded in 1976, CGI is among the largest independent IT and business consulting services firms in the world. With 76,000 consultants and other professionals across the globe, CGI delivers an end-to-end portfolio of capabilities, from strategic IT and business consulting to systems integration, managed IT and business process services and intellectual property solutions. CGI works with clients through a local relationship model complemented by a global delivery network that helps clients digitally transform their organizations and accelerate results. CGI Fiscal 2020 reported revenue is C$12.16 billion and CGI shares are listed on the TSX (GIB.A) and the NYSE (GIB). Learn more at cgi.com

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(TNS)  Tennessee lags every state in the nation at sequencing coronavirus variants  a scientific discipline that's key to understanding and fighting new strains of the virus that are coming online, and a weakness that's not likely to help as the U.K. variant was confirmed in Hamilton County this week.Only 0.02 percent of Tennessee's cumulative positive samples  153 cases  have been sequenced for variants, according to data as of Feb. 12 from the National Genomic Surveillance Dashboard on the U.S. Centers for Disease Control and Prevention website."At this point, we literally are just flying blind," said Elizabeth Forrester, a research scientist at the Baylor Esoteric and Molecular Laboratory at Baylor School in Chattanooga. "The reality is that we don't even really know what's here."The highly contagious B.1.1.7 coronavirus variant confirmed in Hamilton County this week likely circulated in the Chattanooga region for months before being detected, and researchers believe other dangerous variants could be here as well. Not only is Tennessee behind other states at sequencing to understand the spread, but the U.S. as a whole is far behind where experts say it should be in monitoring for variants, posing a threat to recent gains made to curb the pandemic even as vaccine supplies increase.Despite being home to the most COVID-19 cases in the world, the U.S. has conducted genetic sequencing  the technique used to confirm a viral variant  on only about 0.38 percent of its COVID-19 samples, according to the CDC dashboard.South Dakota and New Jersey have a similarly low sequencing rate to Tennessee's. The top states, Hawaii and Maine, have sequenced 3.5 percent and 2.5 percent of cases, respectively.New variants are the result of mutations, which are random errors that occur in the genetic sequence when a virus replicates. It's normal for viruses to mutate. That's how SARS-CoV-2, the virus that causes COVID-19, came to be in the first place.Most mutations don't benefit the virus, but every once in a while, a mutation crops up that gives the virus an advantage.In the case of the U.K. variant, which was officially confirmed in Hamilton County through testing at Baylor  a mutation made the virus at least 50 percent more transmissible and may be associated with an increased risk of death.Since Baylor first identified the variant, Forrester said it's showed up in the lab's COVID-19 samples with increasing frequency. The lab only analyzes a fraction of the area's coronavirus tests and has found at least 12 cases, with six of those cases occurring this month.Another variant of concern that has been identified in 10 states, B.1.351, was first discovered in South Africa. The variant appears to evade the immune response  at least to some extent  from existing vaccines.P.1, commonly called the Brazilian variant, is a third variant of concern that has so far been identified in four states.Sequencing on a large scale allows scientists and public health officials to monitor changes in the virus over time. Beyond helping to identify new variants, it can help contact tracers identify possible chains of transmission and answer questions around whether certain strains cause more severe illness.Gigi Gronvall, a senior scholar at the Johns Hopkins Center for Health Security, said that if you're not looking for variants, it will be much harder to know when new mutations are better able to evade vaccines and when to change or tweak vaccine strategy."We don't know what other potential characteristics COVID could take on, and we're certainly giving the virus lots of opportunities to evolve in different ways," Gronvall said. "We have to continue to monitor it. That's why we do the surveillance."Bill Christian, a spokesperson for the Tennessee Department of Health, said via email that the state is in the process of implementing sequencing for SARS-CoV-2, the virus that causes the disease COVID-19. Although that will increase Tennessee's surveillance capacity, sequencing takes more time and resources than normal diagnostic testing used to determine whether someone has COVID-19."The addition of sequencing on top of current test loads for labs is considerable," Christian said. "Additionally, not all positive tests have enough leftover specimen for sequencing, and many labs don't perform sequencing. So transporting the specimen to a sequencing lab, RNA extraction and sequencing, and performing the bioinformatic analysis all take time."Because the process is so slow, Christan said there's a delay between the identification of a positive specimen and the sequencing results."Even if the number of specimens being sequenced is drastically increased, those sequences may not be publicly available for weeks afterwards," he said.Sequencing turnaround needs to be faster to have maximum impact, which is why Baylor's research scientists are working to bring that capability to the Chattanooga region."This is a piece of public health that's really important to kind of get started on, and I think it's also important for people to know how little we know in Tennessee," Richards said.Gronvall, at Johns Hopkins, said that part of the reason why sequencing in the U.S. is lagging is because it's not traditionally seen as a public health tool."It was seen more as a research tool," she said. "This has been used for public health identification for foodborne illness, but not for this kind of respiratory disease."Although some academic institutions have been sequencing the virus throughout the pandemic, there was no coordinated strategy, Gronvoll said. However, she believes this kind of genomic surveillance is the "wave of the future" when it comes to tracking viruses."I think it's going to be a big deal, not just for SARS-CoV-2, but for other diseases," she said. "This is not going to be the last new virus that affects people."Forrester said Baylor is able to bring this more sophisticated surveillance to the Chattanooga region, but needs community partners to participate. Although the lab already tests some COVID-19 samples from local providers, researchers would need more in order to sequence at a meaningful scale. They would also need providers who are interested in sharing patient data and contact tracers to help identify chains of transmission."There has to be more of this overlap between research and the clinical world," she said. "We have all the pieces in place, and we hope that that will be one of the good outcomes of the pandemic  to connect those worlds."Funding is a major challenge when it comes to increasing sequencing capacity. Although Baylor is committed to get things underway, it costs the lab $300 per sample in supplies alone, and that's after working to get the cost down.The Biden administration on Wednesday announced that the CDC will invest nearly $200 million to expand genomic sequencing capabilities, and some lawmakers are vying to put billions more toward the effort.Most sequencing is farmed out to bigger labs, but Forrester said in this case, Baylor's small size is an advantage."With these bigger labs, a lot of times there's a disconnect. When they get the sample, they have no idea why that sample was sent to them, who the ordering physician was," she said. "Because we are really small and community-focused, we can have those conversations about how a particular sequence may connect to a patient's outcome."Regardless of what new information comes from the sequencing efforts, Gronvall emphasized that variants do not render COVID-19 tests and vaccines useless. Tests are still able to detect the presence of the virus, and even if some vaccines are less effective at preventing infection against certain strains, they still vastly reduce the risk of hospitalization and death."Right now, we're at such a critical point where vaccination can protect somebody from [the variants]," she said. "We know that [B.1.1.7] is more transmissible. It's going to put a stress on health care systems, so anything we can do to increase the vaccinations and decrease the spread is really a good idea."
Taking the number of calves slaughtered out of the equation the kill for the week ending the 13th of this month saw 29,780 animals going through the processing system with indications that last weeks figure will be something similar.

Despite that 29,780 figure being 7,119 below the return of 36,899 for the same week last year, factory quotes are currently only the same as 12 months ago, or a bare 5-10c/kg, above this time last year.

At present both bullocks and heifers are being quoted at 3.70/kg with hard sellers, and I mean finishers, with the attitude of a rattlesnake thats just swallowed a wasp, getting that additional 5-10c/kg.

Adding to the frustration is the fact that there was an expectation that the numbers of finished cattle were not going to be in the system to service the market in the early part of 2021.

Its an expectation that is borne out by Department of Agriculture figures that show for the first six weeks of this year the overall kill, less calves is running 18,929 below the overall figure for the first six weeks of 2020.

Returning to factory prices, the situation in relation both cull cows and young bulls is that quotes in general remained static last week with mixed loads of O and P grades reported as making from 2.90-3.00/kg with better Os getting into 3.10/kg while R grades continue to operate from 3.20-3.30/kg.

On the bull side quotes for bulls up to 24 months see U grades in general on 3.70/kg with Rs on 3.60 and O grades 3.50/kg. Those with under 16 month bulls continue to operate off of a base of 3.70/kg.

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Meanwhile, factory agents continue to spin the line from their bosses that the trade is depressed because of the continued closure of the hospitality sector in the UK and in Europe not to mention here at home, yet last week almost every mart in the country noted a considerable upswing in demand from both northern and southern factory agents for beef.

A fact picked up on by ICMSA Livestock Chairperson Des Morrison who described as staggering the difference between returns for factory stock in the north and those in the south.

At present an R3 grade steer slaughtered in the north is worth 200 more to its owner than the same animal south of the border. How can southern beef prices be deliberately so detached from our closest counterpart? Mr Morrison asked.

Mr Morrison also challenged claims by Meat Industry Ireland that costs to processors had risen by 40pc because of Brexit.

Everyone accepts that there are additional administrative and logistical costs, but there is an unacceptable vagueness around the exact figures involved and  more crucially  what portion of the increase is being picked up by whom? Mr. Morrison questioned.

The purchasing of cattle for slaughter by northern buyers in the south fell off considerably during the month of January as those involved waited to see exactly how the UK beef market would develop post Brexit.

Between cows and prime beef animals a total of just 860 made the journey north as opposed to the 1,656 that went north in January last year. The signs, as mentioned above appear to indicate that this trade is improving with 536 going north during the first two weeks of February.
Source: Xinhua| 2021-02-23 01:55:44|Editor: huaxia

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-- Over 300 leaders of foreign parties and public figures from more than 80 countries and regions attended an online briefing on Monday to share their experiences and views on Xinjiang's development and to dismiss rumors about the region.

-- Many foreign attendees said Xinjiang's fight against terrorism and extremism is worth learning from as the region has posted steady growth while reporting no terrorist attack in more than four years.

-- Local residents were also invited to speak at the meeting, including a graduate of a vocational education and training center who dismissed the claims of "forced labor" inside the facility.

Doctors are seen on their way to provide diagnosis and treatment at the resettlement community for relocated residents of Rasekam Village in Taxkorgan Tajik Autonomous County, northwest China's Xinjiang Uygur Autonomous Region, July 7, 2019. (Xinhua/Wang Fei)

by Xinhua writers Zhang Zhongkai, Lu Yifan, Pan Ying and Sun Zhe

URUMQI, Feb. 22 (Xinhua) -- Having visited China's Xinjiang five times since 1977, Dogu Perincek, chairman of the Patriotic Party of Turkey, continued to be impressed by the new changes in the region.

"Every time I visited Xinjiang, I could see a brand-new region," Perincek said on the sidelines of an online briefing on the development of Xinjiang Uygur Autonomous Region.

He is impressed with Xinjiang's leapfrogging economic and social progress, as well as the effective protection of its diverse ethnic cultures. "Wherever you turn on TV in Xinjiang, you can find a channel showing programs in the local ethnic language."

The Turkish party leader is not alone to be awed by the changes in Xinjiang. Over 300 leaders of foreign parties and public figures from more than 80 countries and regions attended the online briefing held Monday, shared their views on Xinjiang's development, and dismissed rumors about the region once plagued by terrorism, extremism, and separatism.

Dogu Perincek (on the screen), chairman of the Patriotic Party of Turkey, receives an online interview on the sidelines of an online briefing on the development of Xinjiang, Feb. 21, 2021. (Xinhua/Wang Fei)

DISMISSING RUMORS

Solly Mapaila, first deputy general secretary of South Africa Communist Party, has also been to Xinjiang and was amazed by the local living conditions and various improvements.

"All the lies that have been said about China, particularly about the region of Xinjiang, about elimination, are absolutely incorrect," Mapaila said, adding that the end of absolute poverty in Xinjiang shows the efforts of the government and the Communist Party of China (CPC) are "bearing fruit."

Official statistics showed that from 2010 to 2018, the Uygur population in Xinjiang rose from 10.17 million to 12.72 million, an increase of 25.04 percent.

The growth rate of the Uygur population was not only higher than that of Xinjiang's total population, which stood at 13.99 percent, but also higher than that of all ethnic minority groups at 22.14 percent, let alone the Han population's 2 percent in the region.

While dismissing rumors about Xinjiang, many foreign attendees voiced support and appreciation for policies that helped maintain Xinjiang's stability and development.

Kawa Mahmoud, secretary of the Central Committee of the Kurdistan Communist Party/Iraq, said Xinjiang's fight against terrorism and extremism is worth learning from as the region has posted steady growth while reporting no terrorist attacks in more than four years.

Xinjiang's anti-terrorism and anti-extremism efforts are built on the protection of freedom of religious belief and powered by pro-development measures, he noted.

Sergey Sanakoev, president of the Asia-Pacific Region Research Center in Russia, attributed the sound social, economic and cultural developments in Xinjiang to socialism with Chinese characteristics, which puts the people's well-being first.

Photo taken on Feb. 22, 2021, shows the scene of an online briefing on the development of Xinjiang. (Xinhua/Wang Fei)

BETTER LIFE FOR MANY

Meeting the people's aspiration for a better life is one of the consistent commitments of the CPC, and the belief is well-practiced in Xinjiang, according to Song Tao, minister of the International Department of the CPC Central Committee.

Song added that the CPC is willing to deepen exchanges on governance with other political parties worldwide to meet the global pursuit of a better life and build a community with a shared future for mankind.

Ranagul Hudabadi, a mother of three in southern Xinjiang's Kashgar, explained at the briefing how well she was taken care of during pregnancy, adding that her children receive free education. "I received free pregnancy tests and several other services from local clinics. And my children receive free education from primary school to senior high."

As the Imam of the well-known Id Kah Mosque in Kashgar, Memet Jume said the country has fully protected religious freedom and improved facilities at mosques, which now have a continuous supply of hot bath water and toilets with flush.

Tusennisa Eli, a graduate of a vocational education and training center in Hotan, shared her real experiences inside the center, saying there was no such thing as "forced labor" at all inside the center.

"We chose vocational skills lessons based on our preferences," said the southern Xinjiang resident, who chose to learn stitchwork out of love for fashion. She now makes over 4,000 yuan (about 681.8 U.S. dollars) each month as a workshop supervisor in a clothing firm.

Ranagul Hudabadi, a mother of three in southern Xinjiang's Kashgar, shares her story during an online briefing on the development of Xinjiang, Feb. 22, 2021. (Xinhua/Wang Fei)

Official data showed that the per capita disposable income of urban residents in Xinjiang increased 5.8 percent annually on average in the last five years, while that of rural residents climbed 8.3 percent.

"What Xinjiang has done is aboveboard and candid, and seeks to benefit the people of all ethnic groups," said Chen Quanguo, CPC chief of Xinjiang.

Xinjiang will keep up the people-centered development to bring enhanced security and prosperity to locals, Chen added.

(Video reporters: Zhang Xiaocheng, Aman; Video editors: Yang Zhixiang, Zhu Cong)
An Oregon man has the dubious honor of possibly setting a new record for the state's highest-ever blood alcohol level following a hit-and-run crash.

According to the Warm Springs Police Department, the DUI suspect had a blood alcohol content of 0.778 per cent, which is more than nines time Oregon's legal limit of 0.08 per cent.

The incident began unfolding at 1pm on Friday, when police in Madras, Oregon - a city located 125 miles away from Portland - reported a hit-and-crash near the Plateau Travel Plaza on Northwest Cherry Lane.

A suspected DUI driver in Oregon was found to have a blood alcohol content level of 0.778, or nine time the legal limit, which might be the state's new record

According to the Madras police, the suspect's vehicle was reported to be traveling towards Warm Springs.

Officers tracked down the vehicle in connection with the hit-and-run and pulled it over.

'As the officers made contact with the driver, they observed the driver to be HIGHLY intoxicated,' Warm Springs police wrote in a Facebook post. 'The driver then fled and led officers on a short pursuit.'

The car lost control and crashed into a concrete barrier off the westbound lane, approximately half a mile from the location of the traffic stop.

The driver was taken to a local hospital for a checkup. A blood sample drawn from him was tested and showed his blood alcohol level was an unprecedented 0.778 per cent.

According to the police, the suspect was driving on a suspended license stemming from a misdemeanor DUI conviction. Criminal charges against him are pending.

In December 2007, 42-year-old Terri Comer, also from Oregon, was arrested after being found comatose in her car with a 0.72 blood alcohol level, reported ABC News in 2008.

In 2009, Marguerite Engle, 45, was discovered by state troopers slumped behind the wheel of a stolen delivery van in South Dakota with 0.708 blood alcohol level.

The driver caught police officers' attention after getting into a hit-and-run crash near the Plateau Travel Plaza on Northwest Cherry Lane in Madras, Oregon, on Friday

According to the Rutgers University Center of Alcohol Studies, a BAC level of 0.55 would require a 100-pound man or woman to consume about 10 alcoholic drinks in an hour.

In most cases, blood alcohol levels between 0.4 and 0.5 are fatal.

Arguably the highest recorded blood alcohol level in a person who lived to tell the tale was reported in 2005 in Plovdiv, Bulgaria, where a 67-year-old man's BAC was an eye-popping 0.914.
Thought Leaders Professor Robert Bragg Professor University of the Free State

News-Medical speaks to Professor Robert Bragg about disinfectants and how they could be helping bacteria to become resistant.

What provoked your research into bacteria and their resistance?

I have been involved in research on the control of animal diseases for many years now. The control of any disease in a population (human or animal) is based on three main pillars. These are 1) vaccinations and vaccines, 2) treatment options (such as antibiotics for bacterial diseases), and 3) biosecurity.

With the ever-increasing problems with bacteria developing resistance to antibiotics, it is becoming essential to look at alternatives to antibiotics before we have no antibiotics left. The most likely solution to the antibiotic resistance crisis (particularly in animal production) would be improved biosecurity.

The current COVID-19 crisis has very much heightened peoples awareness and perception of biosecurity. Previously (10 to 15 years ago), the perception was that there is no resistance to disinfectants. However, this has since changed dramatically and a growing awareness and research field is looking at the development of resistance to disinfectants.

It has been discovered that many of the mechanisms that bacteria use to become resistant to antibiotics can also make them resistant to disinfectants. I have also been involved in the evaluation of the efficacy of antimicrobials for many years, so, investigating the development of resistance in bacteria to disinfectants was the next logical step.

Bacteria. Image Credit: peterschreiber.media/Shutterstock.com

Why is antibiotic resistance one of the biggest life-threatening challenges of our time? What factors have led to this resistance?

The world is very rapidly running out of antibiotics. Most people alive today have grown up in the era of antibiotics where bacterial infections are not really regarded as a major health risk and the focus is now firmly on viral diseases. There is one fundamental difference between bacteria and viruses in terms of how they replicate.

Animal viruses (this includes humans) require a living cell to replicate in. The replication rate of most animal viruses is measured in days. This slow replication rate allows the immune system of the host time to develop and control the viral infection.

Bacteria on the other hand do not require a host to replicate and their doubling time is recorded in minutes. A common well-known bacterium such as Escherichia coli has a doubling time of around 20 min under ideal conditions. In other words, it only takes just 20 minutes for a population of E. coli to go from 1 million to 2 million and another 20 mins to reach 4 million, and so on.

Without antibiotics, we will be forced to take bacterial diseases a lot more seriously. For example, in the pre-antibiotic era, it was estimated that one in three women who gave birth would become infected with a bacterium during the process and would die.

The main factor which has led to the pending crisis of antibiotic resistance is the misuse of antibiotics by man. There was a lot of discussion on who is to blame. The human side like to blame the massive use of antibiotics in animal production. Yes, this has been a major issue. It has been estimated that up to 70% of all antibiotics produced have been used in animal production mostly to improve production.

However, humans are not without blame. In the past, you would not leave the doctor's consulting room without antibiotics, irrespective of if they were needed or not. Each person who has not finished their course of antibiotics also has a share in the cause of the problem. The time to blame is past  we need to look for solutions.

What is meant by the term biosecurity?

Biosecurity means the process of preventing the pathogen from coming into contact with the individual. If this can be done, then there is no need to have a treatment. Biosecurity has become very important in the COVID-19 era. Wearing face-masks (which is believed to reduce the risk of contracting COVID-19 by as much as 70%), regular washing and disinfecting of hands has become common. This is a good thing but can become a double-edged sword.

The levels of disinfectant now being used have increased dramatically. In many parts of the world, the quality control on these disinfectants may not be completely up to scratch and we could be using many millions of liters of sub-standard, poor quality disinfectants. This is going to increase the resistance to disinfectants in the bacterial population.

How do disinfectants work at killing viruses?

There are two different major types of viruses. These are the enveloped viruses and the naked viruses. All viruses have genetic material (DNA or RNA) inside a basic protein shell. If this is all that the virus has, it will be a naked virus. The enveloped viruses have an additional layer (envelope) around the protein shell. This is a lipid layer that the virus picks up from the host cell.

The enveloped viruses are generally easy to inactivate with disinfectants. Anything which breaks the lipid layer will prevent the virus from getting back into the host cell. Most disinfectants will be quite effective against the enveloped viruses. Fortunately, Covid-19 is an enveloped virus. The structure of the envelope of the virus is very similar to a soap bubble. When a soap bubble dries up, it breaks. To some extent, this is the same as with enveloped viruses.

So you may well ask, why does this inactivate the virus? The envelope of the virus is used to gain entry to the host cell. The best way to explain this is again a soap bubble. If you have a soap bubble in each hand and you bring them together, as soon as they touch, they become one. This is a similar process, which happens with the enveloped virus and the host cell. So if the envelope of the virus is disrupted, the virus can no longer get into the host cell and if it cannot get into the host cell, it cannot cause disease!

The naked viruses, on the other hand, are highly resistant to disinfectants and very few products can effectively inactivate these viruses. The exact mechanisms of how the disinfectants inactive naked viruses are not known, but it must be some sort of disruption of the receptors of the virus.

Disinfectant. Image Credit: Maridav/Shutterstock.com

How has the COVID-19 pandemic led to the more frequent use of disinfectants?

The use of hand sanitizers to prevent COVID-19 infection has increased dramatically worldwide. Everywhere you go, someone is trying to spray something onto your hands. These are often in unmarked spray bottles and you have no idea what is in the spray bottle. Alcohol is the hand sanitizer of choice (not based on efficacy), but one of the biggest concerns is many people believe that if a little bit is good, more is better. Alcohol should not be used at a dilution of more than 70%.

If higher levels of alcohol are used it evaporates too quickly and there is not sufficient contact time to effectively inactivate the virus. There are also products where very low levels of other disinfectants have been added. These levels are so low that they will be below the minimum inhibitory concentration of the antimicrobial, and prolonged use of these sub MIC level products will increase resistance.

Can you describe how you carried out your latest research into bacteria and disinfectants?

My research team has been working on various aspects of efficacy and resistance to disinfectants for quite some time and we have various projects that are currently underway. Recently we identified a highly resistant strain of a Serratia species of bacteria. This strain was substantially more resistant to many different disinfectants than the reference strain. This great difference in the levels of susceptibility has allowed us to investigate various possible research mechanisms and also to look for possible novel resistance mechanisms.

Ms. Samantha Mc Carlie has done full genome sequencing of the highly resistant strain and has identified a larger number of novel genes in the highly resistant strain when compared to the ATCC reference strains. She is now working on transcriptomics analysis to investigate which genes are being expressed when the bacterium is faced with high levels of disinfectant in the environment.

Mr. Gunther Staats is currently studying the efflux pumps that have been found in the highly resistant strains and he is investigating if these efflux pumps modify the chemistry of the disinfectant they are pumping out, or if it is just a mechanical pumping action.

Ms. Bernadette Belter worked on the metabolism of disinfectants by the highly resistant strain and she found that the bacterium could grow on the disinfectant when this was the sole source of carbon. We have since then moved Ms. Belter onto our project in which we are attempting to express the spike protein of the South African variant of COVID-19 (in conjunction with Dr. Boucher).

Ms. Boudine van der Walt is investigating the role that plasmids play in the high level of resistance and if these plasmids are transferable.

Do you believe that your research will help us to further understand antibiotic resistance?

Our focus is on understanding the mechanisms of resistance to disinfectants and we are not focusing much on resistance to antibiotics. Antibiotic resistance is a well-studied field. There are resistance mechanisms that are shared between antibiotics and disinfectants and we are looking at how these mechanisms increase resistance to disinfectants.

We have, in the past investigated various options for control of bacterial diseases in a post-antibiotic era, such as bacteriophage therapy and improved vaccine development and we concluded that in animal production, the best option is going to be improved biosecurity. The development of resistance to disinfectants will have a negative impact on this and then it follows a negative impact on animal production.

Antibiotic Resistance. Image Credit: Kateryna Kon/Shutterstock.com

What advice would you give to people that are using disinfectants and hand sanitizers?

People should make sure that they only use good quality disinfectants and hand sanitizers that are supported by valid scientific data and are preferably registered. People should also make sure that the directions for use are followed closely.

Making a product more dilute than the recommended application can have serious consequences on the development of resistance to these disinfectants and as many of the mechanisms are linked, also increase the levels of resistance to antibiotics.

What are the next steps in your research?

We currently have a few projects related to the disinfectant work which are currently in progress and depending on the outcomes of the current projects, the next steps will be decided on.

Where can readers find more information?

The best place to find information would be on Researchgate where all of the peer-reviewed publications can be found and most can be downloaded. My Researchgate link is: https://www.researchgate.net/profile/Robert_Bragg3

About Professor Robert Bragg

Professor Robert Bragg obtained his B.Sc. degree in Microbiology and Zoology in December 1981, followed by a B.Sc (Hons) degree in Microbiology obtained in December 1982 and an M.Sc. degree in 1989, all from the University of the Witwatersrand. He obtained a Ph.D. from the University of Pretoria in May 1996.

Professor Bragg was employed at the Veterinary Research Institute at Onderstepoort from 1990 to 1998, where he worked on the disease of fish (bacterial and viral). In 1998, he moved to the Veterinary Faculty of the University of Pretoria where he worked on various poultry diseases, but mostly on infectious coryza and mostly focusing on vaccine development.

In 1998, he moved to the University of the Free State where he is still currently employed. He has been a member of the sub-committee to the Advisory Committee of the Genetically modified organisms Act (Act 15 of 1997) from June 2008.

His current teaching responsibilities include:



Twelve thousand villages of will get internet connectivity in the second phase of the BharatNet project.

The Centre gave its nod to implement the BharatNet 2.0 project in on Monday when Chief Minister Trivendra Singh Rawat met IT Minister Ravishankar Prasad in New Delhi.

A time-bound implementation of the state-led model of the BharatNet project is very necessary because of Uttarakhand's difficult geographic location, strategic significance and vulnerability to natural disasters, Rawat told the Union minister during his meeting with him.

He sought the Centre's administrative and financial approvals for the project at the earliest to avoid unnecessary delay.

They also agreed during the meeting to strengthen digital connectivity in the Chardham area and boost internet connectivity in border areas of the state, an official release here said.

The chief minister also requested the Union minister to implement the India Enterprise Architecture project in on a priority basis so that key departments like agriculture, health and education could be computerised all over the state.

(Only the headline and picture of this report may have been reworked by the Business Standard staff; the rest of the content is auto-generated from a syndicated feed.)
As the relations between and the United States worsen, Beijing on Monday has urged President Joe Biden-led administration to resume dialogue.

Addressing the opening of Lanting Forum on "Promoting Dialogue and Cooperation and Managing Differences: Bring China-US Relations Back to the Right Track", Foreign Minister Wang Yi urged the US to lift its restrictions on Chinese educational and cultural groups, media outlets and institutions for overseas Chinese affairs in the US, remove its obstructions for US local governments and social sectors to engage with

"We urge the US to stop smearing the CPC (Communist Party of China) and China's political system, stop conniving with or even supporting the erroneous words and actions of 'Taiwan independence' forces, and stop undermining China's sovereignty and security on internal affairs concerning Hong Kong, Xinjiang and Tibet," he said referring to the growing closeness between Taiwan and the US.

Recently, eight Chinese fighter aircraft flew into the southwestern part of its air defense zone after a US-trained defence minister got appointed as Taiwan's defence minister. In November, the United States and Taiwan signed a blueprint for closer economic ties in Washington.

Global Times quoted Wang as saying that the first phone call between Chinese President and US President Joe Biden on the Lunar New Year's Eve has oriented China-US relations that had been struggling to ascertain its bearings at the crossroads.

During his inaugural speech, he attacked former US President Donald Trump for imposing sanctions on Chinese individuals.

"Over the past few years, the United States basically cut off bilateral dialogue at all levels," he said.

"We stand ready to have candid communication with the US side, and engage in dialogues aimed at solving problems," he added.

This comes weeks after US State Secretary Antony J Blinken had a telephonic conversation with his Chinese counterpart Yang Jiechi during which he conveyed that Washington will continue to stand up for human rights and democratic values, including in Xinjiang, Tibet, and Hong Kong, and will hold Beijing accountable for its abuses of the system.

According to a statement by State Department, Blinken reaffirmed that the United States will work together with its allies and partners in defense of our shared values and interests to hold the PRC accountable for its efforts to threaten stability in the Indo-Pacific, including across Taiwan Strait, and its undermining of the rules-based system.

The relations between the US and have deteriorated sharply over the last year in wake of the Covid-19 pandemic, China's efforts to curtail Hong Kong's autonomy, and the US-China trade war.

(Only the headline and picture of this report may have been reworked by the Business Standard staff; the rest of the content is auto-generated from a syndicated feed.)
The following is a joint statement that was adopted following an overwhelming majority vote by the Franklin College of Arts and Sciences Faculty Senate, Mary Frances Early College of Education Faculty Senate and Mary Frances Early College of Education Staff Representative Group regarding their endorsement of the Beyond Baldwin Racial Justice Demands. Our faculty and staff groups have committed to advocating for those whose voices are systematically marginalized. Our Joint Statement reflects concerns about past and ongoing racial injustices that are shared by students, faculty and staff, and affirms the commitment from our elected bodies to take action. We commend the ongoing work at the University of Georgia, but our statement recognizes that we must do more to dismantle continuing racial inequities at our institution.

By endorsing the Racial Justice Demands presented by Beyond Baldwin, the Franklin College of Arts and Sciences Faculty Senate, Mary Frances Early College of Education Faculty Senate and Mary Frances Early College of Education Staff Representative Group affirms the ongoing need for racial justice and redress within the UGA and Athens communities.

The demands presented build on the work of the UGA NAACPs Arch Accountability Demands, and they are a product of ongoing and sustained conversations among a diversity of UGA student groups, staff, faculty and community organizations during the past several years. The demands have been collectively generated and spearheaded by individuals directly harmed by issues of racism at UGA and in our community. It is important to both listen to the students leading this effort and invite them into the decision-making structures that can affect the necessary change.

While the Presidential Task Force on Race, Ethnicity and Community and the UGA Planning Committee on Diversity and Inclusive Excellence are steps in the right direction, there remains a need for deeper engagement across the UGA and Athens communities that is inclusive of a more diverse set of voices and experiences.

For example, administrators and higher level staff professionals are vastly overrepresented on both of these committees. There is a lack of meaningful representation of students, community leaders, departmental, operational, and front line staff, and faculty in areas of race, social justice and community engagement.

We must push beyond conventional diversity and inclusion efforts that have yet to produce the scale of change needed to truly uproot the white supremacy woven into higher education and achieve social justice in our community.

We ask that President Jere Morehead, Provost Jack Hu and Vice Provost Michelle Cook meaningfully engage with the students leading the effort by hosting and participating in a public town hall with representatives of Beyond Baldwin and the UGA NAACP to discuss these demands and the concrete steps that will be taken by UGA to acknowledge and redress racism on our campus.


Local photographers will display colorful images of birds and other wildlife taken in recently restored and enhanced areas along the Onondaga Lake shoreline next month in a free, virtual photography exhibit.

The exhibit, Onondaga Lake: A Community Asset Where Birds and People Thrive, will run from 10 to 11 a.m. March 6.

The Onondaga Lake Conservation Corps is hosting the exhibit in partnership with Audubon New York, Honeywell, the Central New York Community Foundation and the Jim and Juli Boeheim Foundation. Registration is required. To register go to the Onondaga Lake Conservation Corps website.

The exhibit will showcase the diverse range of species including waterfowl, songbirds, birds of prey, and butterflies that have returned to Onondaga Lake. A total of 30 photographs will be featured from the following contributors: Cheryl Lloyd, John DeNicola, Joe Fratianni, Nancy Becerra, Steve Ratliff, David Monaghan, Greg Craybas, Joe Carey, Steve Edgerly, Donald Florczyk, Marcia Bower, Carrie Bush, Phillip Bonn, Pete Andrusyszyn and K. Alice Lindsay.

This photo, entitled "Night Watch," taken by Steven Ratliff, will be among those featured in the Onondaga Lake Conservation Corps Virtual Photography Exhibit scheduled for March 6.

Several of the photographers will speak about the story behind their photographs and why they enjoy taking photographs of Onondaga Lakes wildlife.

Others speaking during the exhibit will include Anne Burnham, a senior scientist with Parsons Corporation, who will discuss the restoration of the lakes shoreline wetlands, and Alison Kocek, Vice President of Onondaga Audubon, who will talk about the best locations and times of year to view dozens of Bald Eagles and thousands of waterfowl at Onondaga Lake.

The exhibit will kick off the virtual silent auction, featuring the stunning images of Onondaga Lakes wildlife, to raise funds for the Onondaga Lake Conservation Corps.

Since it was formed in 2012, hundreds of community volunteers have joined the Onondaga Lake Conservation Corps as environmental stewards of Onondaga Lake, said Chris Lajewski, program director of the Onondaga Lake Conservation Corps. The Corps is an expanding organization of community volunteers who are contributing to restoration projects that are creating or improving wildlife habitat in the Onondaga Lake watershed.

The Corps seeks to inspire future stewards of Onondaga Lake and its watershed through a hands-on, experience-based program that offers citizens and organizations the opportunity to participate in activities that help restore and sustain Onondaga Lake and its value as an Important Bird Area.

This photo of a redhead duck taken by Greg Craybas will be among those photos shown in the Onondaga Lake Conservation Corps' virtual photo exhibit on March 6.

Onondaga Lake became a priority Audubon Important Bird Area (IBA) in 1998 and was subsequently adopted by Honeywell, the Montezuma Audubon Center and the Onondaga Audubon Society because of its value to thousands of waterfowl and dozens of Bald Eagles during the winter months.

As part of the Onondaga Lake cleanup, Honeywell has restored about 90 acres of wetlands and about 1.1 million native plants are being planted. Two hundred seventy wildlife species are now calling these areas home, and more than 130 unique bird species have been identified in and around Onondaga Lake, including several species categorized as threatened or of special interest in New York State.

Pied-billed grebe, northern harrier, and bald eagle are among the bird species that have returned.

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This post is part of a series from the Ernst Mayr Library exploring the digitization and transcription of ornithologist William Brewsters archival materials and the insights and scholarship made possible thanks to this work.

The Ernst Mayr Library and Archives of the Museum of Comparative Zoology (MCZ), Harvard University, holds a unique and extensive collection of photographs, letters, manuscripts and field notes of William Brewster, a prominent ornithologist/naturalist of the late 19th and early 20th centuries. His published work is lauded as providing authoritative and novel additions to ornithology.

Brewster published more than 300 ornithological papers and several books which are widely available in academic and research libraries. He was the first president of the Massachusetts Audubon Society and was a founding member of the Nuttall Ornithological Club, out of which grew the national organization, the American Ornithologists Union. Brewster served as President of the American Ornithologists Union from 1895 to 1898, and the organization has awarded a medal in Brewsters name since 1921.

Brewsters ornithological studies covered the United States, although he worked most extensively in New England. Brewster was a Curator of Ornithology in the Harvard University Museum of Comparative Zoology from 1885 to 1902, continuing to work in the MCZ until his death in 1919. He deposited his bird specimen collection in the MCZ and his associated works such as his journals, diaries, correspondence and some photographic works in the Ernst Mayr Library & MCZ Archives. Brewsters extensive specimen collection, in combination with his large body of published work, secures his place in ornithological history.

In 2012, the Ernst Mayr Library began digitizing Brewsters journals, diaries, letters, and photographic prints. Many have been digitized as part of the CLIR-funded BHL Field Notes Project. To date, virtually all of Brewsters more than 60,000 pages of notes, correspondence and images have been digitized and nearly 10,000 pages of the handwritten notes and diaries have been transcribed. All materials are in the process of being deposited in the Biodiversity Heritage Library, with more than half of the collection, including all of the journals and diaries, now available. The materials have been collated into the William Brewster Papers Collection.

Brewster kept journals and diaries, mostly devoted to his birding activities, for 54 years from the time he was 14 until he died in 1919. These written records afford us a glimpse into the daily inner workings of this scientists mind. The Ernst Mayr Library is fortunate to have his full set of journals and diaries, most of his correspondence and some of his photographs and glass negatives. This is indeed a treasure trove of information, now made more accessible as it is digitized and made openly available in BHL. This collection is more than a record of changing landscapes, bird lists, temperature and weather recorded for each day of writing. It shows us how Brewster developed his ideas, how he thought about the world, and how his thinking changed through his life. In his later correspondence with Frank Chapman (a then-young ornithologist that Brewster mentored into a more mature career), they debated about and revised how to do science with less killing of birds.

This miserable collecting. It is the cause of all higher failing, it lowers a true love of nature through a desire for gain. I dont mean a specimen here and there, but this shooting right and left, this boasting of how many skins have been made in a day or season. We are becoming pot-hunters. We proclaim how little we know of the habits of birds and then kill them at sight. Sometimes I am completely disgusted with our ways and myself in particular I long for an outing where the gun will be secondary, recorded observations primary, where I shall be entirely alone or with a companion whose object is my object  The question with me is, how am I going to change this? Will you embark with me on a novel ornithological expedition, whose aim shall be to really observe birds to learn something of them. Where the gun shall be a servant, not a master, where days may pass without a skin being made, where there will be time to speculate and discuss the habits of birds observed, where systematic observation of certain phaenomena may be attempted. 15 June 1890, Correspondence, Frank Michler Chapman to William Brewster.

Brewsters detailed, long-term observations and notes are the key to his published contributions to ornithology and are a unique resource. His diaries, journals and correspondence are a gold mine of unpublished observations, journal notes, sketches, weather reports, specimen lists and travel narratives: these records are primary source data at its most raw and unevaluated. Historical collections of field notes may be the only documentation of a scientists thought processes, ideas and observations, particularly if only some of the writers material was ever published.

Brewster documented local environmental changes and gradual declines in number and presence of bird species over many years. He was concerned about vanishing wildlife, urbanization and landscape changes. He talked about ecological succession before the concept was officially published.

Where the road passes through the woods  the roadworkers last May cut away the mountain maples, [cornels] and other shrubs and low trees that made such a beautiful border to the forest clearing in their places a broad belt of bare rocks half covered with the fallen brush wood. This deed of vandalism was performed while I was here and at the time I feared that years must elapse before Nature, with all her diligence, could repair the injury. I underrated her powers for already this thicket of road is, if anything, more beautiful than ever. Fire weed, Eupatorium, Impatiens, Asters, Golden rod and several other tall and rank flowering plants have shot up through and almost perfectly concealed the unsightly brush and stone heaps and I have rarely seen a more brilliant or attractive display of wild flowers. 15 August 1896, Lake Umbagog, Maine, Journals of William Brewster

Brewster helped develop legislation to discourage excessive hunting and the use of feathers in womens hats, although at the same time advocating for the continued, but regulated, collection of scientific specimens. His conservation work led him to become the first president of the Massachusetts Audubon Society. The photographs and negatives from the collections chronicle landscape changes through time. Brewsters growing concerns about the killing of wildlife, even for scientific purposes, can be seen developing in his field notes and correspondence.

If he would become really familiar with the wood folk and their ways, let him go among them unarmed and in a spirit of peace and loving kindness towards them all. Then he will learn many things which the bearers of guns do not know and cannot be made to believe. August 1907, Journals of William Brewster.

The availability of Brewsters notebooks enhances contemporary studies and makes the entire research cycle of this scientists work available for analysis by historians of science, scientists, social scientists and humanists or anyone interested in the process of discovery, by creating a richer and more interactive history of science resource. Brewsters careful observations enable comparisons of his birding lists with contemporary observations (100 years plus later), helping to document environmental changes that might not be evident otherwise.

References

Emmet, Alan. November-December 2007. William Brewster: Brief life of a bird-lover 1851-1919. Harvard Magazine. https://harvardmagazine.com/2007/11/william-brewster-html

Meyer, Elizabeth. April 5, 2018. From Shotgun Ornithology to nature conservation: scientific stories and data from the field notes of William Brewster. https://blog.biodiversitylibrary.org/2018/04/from-shotgun-ornithology-to-nature-conservation-scientific-stories-and-data-from-the-field-notes-of-william-brewster.html

Meyer, Elizabeth. April 6, 2017. Notes from William Brewster: The evolving field of zoology. https://blog.biodiversitylibrary.org/2017/04/notes-from-william-brewster-evolving.html

Meyer, Elizabeth. September 9, 2016. Notes from William Brewster: Ecological change in the Maine woods. https://library.mcz.harvard.edu/blog/notes-william-brewster-ecological-change-maine-woods

Mitchell, John Hanson. 2014 e-book edition. Looking for Mr. Gilbert: The Unlikely Life of the First African American Landscape Photographer. New York, New York : Open Road Distribution.

Mitchell, John Hanson. 2005. Looking for Mr. Gilbert: the Reimagined Life of an African American. Washington, D.C. : Shoemaker & Hoard : Distributed by Publishers Group West

Randall, Patrick. June 5, 2014. Transcribing the field notes of William Brewster. https://blog.biodiversitylibrary.org/2014/06/transcribing-field-notes-of-william.html

Rinaldo, Constance, Linda Ford and Joseph deVeer. 2018. Museum, library and archives partnership: Leveraging digitized data from historical sources. Poster presentation at Society for the Preservation of Natural History Collections, August 2018, Dunedin, New Zealand.

Sears, M. 2020. Celebrating Robert Gilbert. Ernst Mayr Library Blog post: https://library.mcz.harvard.edu/blog/celebrating-robert-gilbert
NEW YORK, Feb. 22, 2021 /PRNewswire/ -- Leading American companies are prioritizing their employees' financial wellness by teaming up with DailyPay to support employee savings and "America Saves Week." The annual event that kicks off today is organized by the nonprofit America Saves, an initiative of the Consumer Federation of America. The event's mission is to encourage and support Americans to save effectively, aimed at motivating individuals and families to take better control of their finances and achieve financial stability.

America Saves Week brings together thousands of organizations representing a diverse coalition of companies, nonprofits, educational institutions, military services, influencers, government agencies and financial institutions. America Saves encourages people to take The America Saves Pledge, a framework that allows savers to set a goal, and make a plan to achieve better financial stability.

DailyPay's clients will be able to access the pledge and corresponding comprehensive saving information on the DailyPay platform. To begin their savings journey, employees can utilize DailyPay's popular no-cost AutoSAVE feature, which enables them to automatically save a set amount of money from each paycheck in the employees' own bank accounts. DailyPay also offers participating employees special access to financial counseling along with their #SavethatMoney Challenge.

"Financial wellness for our staff has always been a major priority," said Pinny Faska, COO of Foundation For The Elderly DBA Rockaway Home Care . "Partnering with DailyPay for America Saves Week enables us to share tools and resources with our community that inspire individuals and families to save successfully and achieve better financial stability."

"Staffmark Group partnered with DailyPay in 2020 to give our employees more control over their paychecks, and we now have over 6,500 enrolled in this program," said Wendy Reiner, Director of Operations Support at Staffmark Group. "Our goal is to help our employees achieve financial wellness through great work opportunities. With DailyPay, employees have access to their earned pay before our standard payday for urgent needs, and DailyPay's AutoSAVE feature makes it easier to set money aside and plan for the future. America Saves Week is a great reminder to begin the habit of automated saving. We are thrilled to share this important message and be part of the #SaveThatMoney Challenge."

"Mission Health Communities is proud to partner with DailyPay for America Saves Week, as financial wellness for our valued team members is a top priority for us," said Cheri Kauset, VP of Customer Experience and Communications, Mission Health Communities. "DailyPay has been a great win for our employees with over half of our staff participating within the first few months of launch. Our staff have found that DailyPay has been incredibly helpful in managing their day-to-day finances - and immediately began sharing those experiences with their colleagues."

"DailyPay is proud to join forces for America Saves Week with our valued clients in supporting their commitment to the financial wellness of their employees, especially during these uncertain times," said Jeanniey Walden, Chief Innovation and Marketing Officer, DailyPay. "We are thrilled for this opportunity with America Saves to be part of a larger national conversation around saving successfully that closely aligns with our mission of supporting the American worker."

The need to start a savings program has never been greater. According to a recent Harris Poll commissioned by DailyPay, Funding Our Future and the Center for Financial Security at the University of Wisconsin, 52% of millennials have depleted their savings due to COVID-19. And slightly more than half (58%) have enough savings to cover a $400 expense.

However, the road to financial wellness can start with one's employer. Recent research shows over 50% of employees polled look to their employer for financial assistance. And increasing financial well-being for workers relieves stress and allows them to be more productive on the job.

"America Saves looks forward to establishing a model of saving for employees who access their pay on a frequent basis with DailyPay. DailyPay is providing and promoting the opportunity for their users to save automatically and through the relationship with America Saves, develop a savings habit," says George Barany, Director of America Saves. "We know that saving automatically is the most effective way to save. DailyPay is setting up their employers and employees for financial success by not only making saving automatically easily accessible through their AutoSAVE feature, but then encouraging ongoing support along their savings journey by taking the America Saves Pledge."

About DailyPay:

DailyPay is the award-winning , recognized gold standard on-demand pay platform offering comprehensive pay experience solutions to world-class companies and their millions of employees including Adecco and Berkshire Hathaway. DailyPay has created an ecosystem with the most advanced, modern technology stack in the industry and delivers the most secure, compliant and seamless on-demand pay benefit in our rapidly growing marketplace. DailyPay is headquartered in New York City with operations based in Minneapolis. For more information, visit www.dailypay.com/press

About America Saves:

America Saves is a non-profit organization that uses principles of behavioral economics and social marketing to motivate, encourage and support everyday Americans to save money, reduce debt, build wealth and create better financial habits. America Saves encourages individuals and families to take the America Saves pledge, a tool that empowers them to commit to save successfully with a plan. Thousands of non-profit, government, and corporate organizations partner with America Saves through local, regional, statewide, and national campaigns both year-round and during America Saves Week. America Saves is an initiative of the Consumer Federation of America (CFA), a non-profit, pro-consumer organization of over 270 consumer education, advocacy, and cooperative members dedicated to advancing consumer interest.

Contact: Sehrish Sayani

Email: [email protected]

Website: dailypay.com

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Houston Mayor Sylvester Turner on Sunday urged the state of Texas to pay for the residents' ballooning energy bills after a severe winter storm caused a power outage and spiked energy prices.

Last week, major grid failures and increasing demand left millions of people without power amid the dangerous weather conditions. As power resumes for most Texas areas, many households are left with an energy bill as high as $10,000, CNBC reported.

Turner argued that the enormous electricity bills and the bills to repair homes should not be put on the residents' shoulders.

"Those exorbitant costs should be borne by the state of Texas and not the individual customers who did not cause this catastrophe this week," Turner said in the report.

Related story: "No One Owes You or Your Family Anything"- Texas Mayor Resigns After Calling Residents 'Lazy' Amid Winter Storm

High Energy Bills in Texas

The increasing utility bills in Texas are caused by the state's unregulated power grid that's nearly cut off from the rest of the country. Customers pick their power supplier in the market-driven system, which in many cases when demand increases, prices also go up.

The Electric Reliability Council of Texas (ERCOT) was reportedly unprepared for the cold conditions and surged in demand for power as people tried to warm their homes. ERCOT manages the power for around 90 percent of the state.

Turner said what happened last week was foreseeable and preventable, adding that Texas' system is suitable for summer heat and not a winter event. The Houston mayor also cited climate change, saying it is real and major storms can occur anytime.

Meanwhile, Democratic Sen. Tina Smith is urging a federal investigation on the rising prices of natural gas in the Midwest and other regions, according to an NBC News report.

Smith said natural gas spot prices increases as high as 100 times typical levels, which forces utilities and other users to incur high prices that many were passed to consumers.

In her letter, Smith said the price increase would affect consumers and the financial stability of some utilities. She sent her letter on Saturday to federal regulators such as the Energy Department, Federal Energy Regulatory Commission (FERC), and the Commodities Futures Trading Commission.

A spokeswoman for FERC said the agency would look at the senator's letter and respond in due course.

Smith added that the Biden administration and Congress should consider financial support to utilities and customers who may be experiencing a cash crunch due to the spike in natural gas prices.

On Saturday, the White House announced that President Joe Biden has declared a major disaster in Texas and asked federal agencies to state additional resources to address the situation.

Energy Crisis in Texas Amid a Winter Storm

Houston's chief elected official warned people, two days before the storm, to prepare as they would be facing a hurricane. However, no one saw the energy crisis that would come amid the low temperatures as Texas' power grid collapsed, shortly followed by its water system.

Power outages were experienced throughout the day on Monday, ultimately leaving four million people without power, which caused grocery stores to shut down and hotel rates to amp their prices, according to an Associated Press report.

Read also: How Power Grid Failed Millions in Texas Amid Disastrous Freeze
Early Sunday, an FBI agent was visiting some friends in Lafayette, reportedly partaking in an outdoor brunch at American Kitchen.

Then, sometime around noon, per the FBI's San Francisco field office, a white Kia owned by the agent had its rear window smashed and its contents  a .40 caliber Glock 22 pistol, a law enforcement badge and credentials  stolen.

American Kitchen owner Victor Ivry told the San Francisco Chronicle that the theft "happened in a matter of seconds" and only affected the agent's vehicle. No suspects have been identified in the theft.

(SFGATE and the San Francisco Chronicle are both owned by Hearst but operate independently of one another.)

"The investigation remains ongoing and we cannot provide further comment at this time," said a statement from the agency. The FBI is now collaborating with police in the interest of public safety" to recover the stolen materials.

The FBI did not provide further comment to SFGATE.

This is the latest in a slew of car thefts in the Bay Area, affecting workers and residents of all stripes. But FBI agents have had a troubling history of weapons and other materials being stolen from off-duty vehicles.

In 2019, a semi-automatic rifle and a jacket was stolen from an agent whose vehicle was parked in an Oakland shopping center. Four individuals were later charged with the theft and sale of the weapon, and that agent was cited.

A similar incident took place in 2016, when an agent's car parked near Alamo Square was broken into  and his gun and badge stolen. Months after that theft, then-Gov. Jerry Brown passed a bill requiring law enforcement to lock up weapons in unattended vehicles or face a fine.

Bay City News Service contributed to this report.
[February 22, 2021] DrChrono and Nimblr.ai Release an AI Scheduling Automation Solution to Improve COVID-19 Vaccine Rollout

SUNNYVALE, Calif., Feb. 22, 2021 (GLOBE NEWSWIRE) -- DrChrono Inc., the company developing the essential platform and services for modern medical practices and Nimblr developers of a healthcare AI assistant, announced today a scheduling automation solution to tackle the overload of appointment requests and eligibility requirements for COVID-19 vaccine rollout.

With President Bidens vaccination goal of 150 million applied doses by May 1, 2021 the healthcare industry faces a challenge like never before. Millions of Americans are seeking information and attempting to book vaccinations; which means phone lines, websites, and staff are overwhelmed. Confusion on adequate scheduling and contact channels can overwhelm patients and push them to abandon their pursuit of getting vaccinated. With Holly, the AI assistant that automates scheduling by emulating a human assistant, patients can reach these companies 24/7 to access availability and details across multiple communication channels. Holly, created by Stanford StartX alumni, operates by registering appointments patients make, incoming from either phone calls and texts, and inputs them directly into the providers DrChrono calendar, respecting their live availability and scheduling rules. This streamlines communication and appointment eligibility by filtering qualified patients and notifying them of further instructions or second dose scheduling. What makes this solution a key element in the vaccine rollout is its limitless capacity. While vaccination centers can only take a finite amount of phone calls and website requests before they crash, Nimblrs platform is capable of scheduling thousands of patients simultaneously by leveraging DrChronos API and cloud capabilities. This becomes essential for patients since it reduces their scheduling wait periods by 75% and provides anytime, anywhere scheduling via text. As a result, theres an increase in accessibility and it eliminates barriers for vaccination. In addition to this, patients receive timely reminders and broadcast messages to ensure they know their appointment time and place and reduce no-show rates. We are thrilled to see Nimblr new scheduling automation solution in sync with our health platform helping practices with the COVID vaccination rollout, said Daniel Kivatinos, Co-Founder and COO of DrChrono. Nimblr is a great example of a company leveraging the DrChrono API. The vaccine rollout will be a major effort and focus area for medical practices of all sizes this year, using the right technology will be key for an overall smoother process.



An additional challenge vaccination centers are facing is the unpredictability of weekly vaccine supply, meaning their appointment availability is in constant flux. The AI assistant helps tackle this problem with its dynamic re-scheduling system based on the centers current inventory. Holly provides a real-time waitlist and auto-fills available slots with the help of DrCrhonos API call system so centers can fully allocate their doses. This results in zero waste scheduling and capacity optimization allowing distributors to vaccinate more patients during the workday. Our purpose is to help the healthcare industry reach its true potential with the right tools. This takes further relevance by aiding practitioners in the process of public health restoration," mentions Juan Vera, CEO at Nimblr. DrChronos healthcare technology interoperability is a key enabler to achieve this goal and meet the vaccination challenges.

Nimblrs AI platform is powered by multilingual NLP (natural language processing) and deep machine learning for patient behavior understanding. DrChronos award-winning API allows the AI assistant to seamlessly integrate with the platform and supports healthcare interoperability (HL7 FHIR). Both companies are focused on developing the necessary technology required to support the evolving needs of patients and doctors across the country. DrChrono s API was also recently awarded the 2021 DEVIES Award winner for Best Innovation in Healthcare. DrChrono provides a free and open API and SDK to the developer community for its healthcare platform. It allows developers the opportunity to create applications that leverage the abundance of health data in the DrChrono EHR, practice management, medical billing and now telehealth platform. About DrChrono

DrChrono develops the essential platform and services for modern medical practices to make care more informed, more interactive, and more personalized. The open platform powers electronic health record (EHR), practice management, medical billing, and revenue cycle management solutions for thousands of physicians and millions of patients, and is fully extensible via a robust API and marketplace of applications and services. The platform is facilitating millions of patient appointments and is processing billions of dollars in medical billing. For more information about DrChrono, visit www.drchrono.com . About Nimblr Inc.

Nimblr is an AI scheduling and communication technology company that automates patient acquisition and engagement for the healthcare sector. Their technology empowers healthcare companies by maximizing patient conversion across multiple channels, reducing no-show rates, and optimizing operational efficiency. The platform is boosting the patient experience by providing faster-scheduling alternatives and support at every step of the patient journey. For more information visit www.nimblr.ai/holly-vaccine . Media Contact:

Gina Rezendes

Big Swing Communications

617-640-9278

press@drchrono.com



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Florence Akata from Kakamega county has been raising a daughter with sickle cell disease. Her daughter, Marsha, was diagnosed with sickle cell disease at eight months and is now 13 years old and leading an ordinary life, albeit with some challenges.

Akata shared her story with Saturday Magazine.

We discovered our daughter Marsha had sickle cell disease at eight months. Her feet and hands were getting swollen and after a couple of tests, the sickling test was positive.

We were so shocked that no one in our family had it. It took us time to come to terms with the reality, but after counselling we finally accepted it.

This was the beginning of a tough battle against the disease that was characterised by frequent infections, numerous blood transfusions, and of course, countless hospital visits.

The peak was in 2016 when she was eight years old and she had a massive stroke which preceded numerous mild ones. The stroke left her completely paralysed on her right side.

It was at this point when our pediatrician recommended a bone marrow transplant and advised us to travel to India for the procedure.

The first step was to find the donor with the perfect match. We were lucky that my son turned out to be a 100 percent match. A big challenge was coming up with the funds for the procedure.

We were expected to raise seven million shillings for the treatment, as well as to cover other costs like air tickets and accommodation.

At this point, it was a do-or-die situation for us as a family. It was not easy, we sunk into debts, borrowed from family, took loans, and still, the money wasnt enough. We fundraised and got the money.

This is a very harsh procedure, especially for a child. The biggest challenge was trying to make Marsha understand what was in for her in the coming months.

When she heard about what was going to happen to her body, she got scared but through counseling she eventually accepted. As a mother it was devastating, I had to keep my faith because I knew this was our only hope.

The treatment entailed blood exchange, conditioning of her cells through chemotherapy, and finally the stem cell transplant. She also had to go through chemotherapy for six months to deter the defective cells from growing again.

During this period, she experienced the loss of hair, darkening of the skin, and weight gain due to steroids. Her skin peeled.

My lowest point during the treatment came 40 days after the transplant. Her body retained fluid and swelled. The doctors found an effusion around her heart which was causing her heart to swell and we were lucky it was fixed immediately.

After six months she was discharged and what was left was a journey to recovery. It is also has been a very expensive one. Yearly, we have to spend up to Sh400, 000 for reviews that are normally done in India.

She also has to take medication to prevent her from getting infections because her immunity is still weak after the transplant. The drugs are extremely expensive and are rarely available here. So most of the time we have to order them directly from India.

Also, being paralysed on the right side of her body means she has to go through at least 12 physiotherapy sessions per month. It is very expensive, and sometimes we are unable to keep up due to finances.

But we are not complaining. Right now Marsha is doing extremely well as the hospital visits and transfusions are no more, and her school routine is rarely interrupted.

This has come as a relief for us, reflecting on how tough it was during the period of her sickness. I remember there were times we could take her to the county hospital for transfusions, only to be sent back home due to lack of blood.

Also Read: My Story  Living With Sickle Cell Anaemia

Being a primary school teacher was tough for me, as my job requires me to be in school all the time. No school head wants a teacher who has frequent hospital visits.

There was a time I nearly lost my job. I kept asking for permission every time due to my hospital appointments. Things even got worse when I had to travel to India with her. I almost resigned.

I needed the job and I had to plan my work.

Weve had to put on a strong fight as a family, to change the narrative about this condition. Some have linked it to witchcraft, while others have gone to the extreme of blaming us. But my family-husband, children, and relatives have been very supportive.

Marsha now 13, is a fighter. Even though she continues to face challenges even after treatment, she does not lose hope. She is very strong-willed and very positive in life. Her personality has been the source of our strength.

I also had to go for special needs training. My parting shot to other parents going through this is that sickle cell disease is not a death sentence. There are management interventions available, and you can always go for a permanent treatment.
New Delhi:

Seventy-five missing Indian defence personnel, including 54 prisoners of war, are believed to be in Pakistans custody, the Lok Sabha was informed in written reply by Minister of State for External Affairs VK Singh on Wednesday.

The Minsiter State for External Affairs also informed the Lok Sabha that the presence of the missing Indians has not been acknowledged by Pakistan.

The missing 54 prisoners of war are soldiers and officers of the Indian Armed forces given the status of missing in action after 1971 Indo-Pak war by the government. According to government records 29 soldiers are from the Indian Army and 35 personnel are from the Indian Air Force.

Singh to a different question informed the Lok Sabha that total of 417 fishermen are in Pakistans custody while 15 fishermen in Sri Lankas custody.

Singh in the written reply said that in the case of Pakistan, consular access is awaited and information about the states they belong from in not available. While in case of Sri Lanka all fishermen in their captivity are believed to be from Tamil Nadi and Union Territory of Puducherry.

For all the Latest India News, Download News Nation Android and iOS Mobile Apps.


Just like former president Donald Trump, who committed his impeachable high crimes in broad daylight, Facebook, led by Mark Zuckerberg, mugged its 13 million users in Australia not in an unlit back alley but in full view of the whole continent.

If Facebook was trying to shut down a mortal threat here to its business model from metastasising among Big Tech regulators around the world, it made a huge miscalculation. Facebooks atrocity in Australia became  thanks to the social networks spectacular success in making a global platform that instantly interconnects everybody everywhere  big global news.

Notwithstanding its exceptional efforts to bring fair play between Facebook and media companies, Australia does not have the power to break up Facebook. The European Union doesnt either. But the United States does. And nowhere is this more important than in Washington, which is absorbing what happened here last week and why.

Facebooks global reach means the whole world is watching as it fights Australias moves to make it pay for news on its platform. Credit:

Since President Teddy Roosevelts extraordinarily successful crusades a century ago to break up big monopoly trusts in oil, railroads, tobacco, and meat packing, a fundamental tenet of governance in a democracy is that no company or business interest is more powerful than the rule of law  that corporate power can be regulated to serve the public interest. In US telecoms and tech, AT&T and Microsoft succumbed to this imperative of how capitalism must operate. This democratic value has been exported to other developed countries, such as Australia, which has brought competition rules to bear across the economy, including against the biggest domestic tech companies, such as Telstra.

The impunity of Facebooks abusive exercise of raw commercial power affecting an entire country has become a public policy point of reference.
Police in Worcester said several armed masked men dressed in black from New York and Pennsylvania kicked in an apartment door and entered the unit in the area of Gates Street on Sunday.

Offices responded to the area of Gates Street about about 1 a.m. on Sunday for a report of a break-in, police said. Dispatchers received several calls that multiple masked men kicked in an apartment door and police were told they fled toward Crystal Park.

Eventually, police identified and arrested Vladimir Sosa, 29, and Abraham Carrera, 34, both from the Bronx. Police also arrested Cesar Garcia, 39 of Bushkill, Pennsylvania, who had also has connections to the Bronx, authorities said.

Police said several officers responded to Crystal Park and one spotted the individuals on Illinois Street. When offices approached them, police said the men began running through the park, which is marked No Trespassing from 10 p.m. to 5 a.m.

Police said they eventually caught up to the men and recovered a silver handgun from the area where the they initially sprinted away. Police also recovered ammunition and a Taser from individuals who didnt have a license, authorities said.

After the men were taken into custody, officers found additional evidence linking them to the address of the break-in, police said.

All three men were charged with possession of a firearm during commission of a felony, trespassing, breaking and entering at night with intent to commit a felony, resisting arrest, unlawful possession of a firearm, possession of a ammunition without an FID Card and unlawful possession of a loaded firearm.

The men will be arraigned in Worcester District Court.
Australians will be banned from travelling overseas for a holiday in 2021 despite the start of the Covid vaccination program.

Hubs have now been set up in every state and territory to administer the Pfizer vaccine, with health and border force workers and aged care residents among the first to get the jab on Monday.

Despite the vaccine having an efficacy rate of 95 per cent, senior cabinet ministers have downplayed the possibility of Australians being allowed to travel overseas for a holiday this year.

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Australians will be banned from travelling overseas for a holiday in 2021 despite the start of the Covid vaccination program. Pictured is New South Wales police officer Lachlan Pritchard receiving his first Pfizer vaccine in Sydney on Monday

Finance Minister Simon Birmingham was even reluctant to pronounce the end of economically-crippling state border closures.

'We hope that there aren't virus outbreaks. We have to deal with the reality that that could happen,' he told Sky News interviewer Peter Stefanovic on Monday.

Nonetheless Senator Birmingham, whose wife Courtney Morcombe is the chief-of-staff to South Australian Liberal Premier Steven Marshall, was hopeful Covid vaccines will put an end to state border closures to stop the spread of the virus.

'Once we see all older and vulnerable Australians and those at the highest risk categories vaccinated, there will be discussions about how that changes the risk in dealing with Covid,' he said.

'I do hope that that changed risk profile will enable us to have more confidence to keep those borders open and to continue the very strong economic recovery that Australia already has.'

Health Minister Greg Hunt hinted Australians would not be allowed to travel overseas again until there were no more local deaths from Covid.

Despite the vaccine having an efficacy rate of 95 per cent, senior cabinet ministers have downplayed the possibility of Australians being allowed to travel overseas for a holiday this year. Pictured is Hawaii

VACCINE HUBS FOR FRONTLINE WORKERS NSW: Royal Prince Alfred Hospital, Westmead Hospital, Liverpool Hospital VIC: Monash Medical Centre Clayton, Sunshine Hospital, Austin Health, University Hospital Geelong QLD: Gold Coast University Hospital, Cairns Hospital, Princess Alexandra Hospital SA: Royal Adelaide Hospital, Flinders Medical Centre WA: Perth Children's Hospital TAS: Royal Hobart Hospital ACT: Canberra Hospital NT: Royal Darwin Hospital Advertisement

'Well, our first goal is protection,' he told the ABC's Insiders program on Sunday.

'And what we see is with both the two initial vaccines, the Pfizer and the AstraZeneca vaccine, the international evidence is that the safety impact for prevention of serious illness, hospitalisation, death has been determined to be up to 100 per cent.'

Mr Hunt also declared on Monday that Australian travellers would still need to quarantine in a hotel, even if they had received a Covid vaccination overseas, as vaccine-resistant strains of coronavirus circulate in the UK, South Africa and Brazil.

'For the time being, vaccinated or unvaccinated, people will continue to go through hotel quarantine,' he said.

The Pfizer vaccine is being reserved for frontline healthcare and border force workers, elderly Australians aged over 70 and those with medical problems.

The AstraZeneca jab, which has 62 per cent efficacy from serious illness or death, received Therapeutic Goods Administration approval last week and is scheduled to be administered from March.

Prime Minister Scott Morrison on Sunday became the second Austalian to be given the Pfizer vaccine, after 84-year-old Sydney grandmother Jane Malysiak, who immigrated to Australia from war-torn Poland when she was 13.

'I didn't have any side effects from it, just a bit of a sore arm like you get after any vaccine,' he said on Monday.

'I'm sure there will be some people who have other side effects, just like with any immunisation program.'

Despite the vaccine rollout, the ban on Australians travelling overseas for a holiday, that began in March 2020, is likely to continue

An Australian in the United States, who received the Pfizer vaccine, said she felt nauseous for a day after receiving the injection.

This week, 60,000 people in Australia are scheduled to get their first injection.

Despite the vaccine rollout, the ban on Australians travelling overseas for a holiday, that began in March 2020, is likely to continue.

Professor Brendan Murphy, the secretary of the Department of Health, last month indicated that travel ban would continue into 2022.

Shanghai (Gasgoo)- GAC NIO, a joint venture between Chinese automaker GAC Group and NIO with an EV brand "HYCAN", announced on Feb. 19 it has completed a capital increase by drawing a total of 2.405 billion yuan ($370.747 million).

Upon completion of the capital increase, Guangdong Pearl River Investment Management Group Co., Ltd. (Pearl River Investment) becomes the largest shareholder by investing roughly 1.923 billion yuan ($296.444 million) in GAC NIO. Besides, GAC Group contributed around 482 million yuan ($74.304 million) through its wholly-owned subsidiary GAC Aion New Energy Automobile Co.,Ltd. (GAC Aion).



HYCAN 007; photo credit: HYCAN



After the capital increase, GAC NIO will hit 3 billion yuan ($462.47 million) in market value. Meanwhile, the joint venture also had a significant executive reshuffle. Li Zhihong, president of Pearl River Investment, takes over the position of GAC NIO's chairman. Engaging in many important investment projects, she has abundant experience in management and investment. Wu Song acts as the joint ventures co-chairman. This new role is in addition to being executive vice president of GAC Group and chairman of GAC Toyota. Yang Ying, who made great contribution to the popularity of the Trumpchi GS4 and GS8, was named CEO of GAC NIO.

Notably, Liao Bing, founder and former CEO of GAC NIO, has founded a new NEV (new energy vehicle) brand dubbed Ziyou Motor (meaning freedom), according to his personal Sina Weibo account.

GAC Group entered into a strategic partnership with Pearl River Investment and Guangdong Yuanzhi Technology Group Co.,Ltd. on Jan. 5 for an intelligent vehicle project, the automaker announced via its WeChat account.

Operated by GAC NIO, the project is expected to involve an investment of 3 billion yuan ($462.47 million) at the initial stage and will draw over 10 billion yuan ($1.542 billion) afterwards.

Under the agreement, GAC Group and Yuanzhi Technology will co-work on developing the next-generation intelligent vehicles in virtue of GAC Group's resources of complete vehicle R&D, supply chain and smart manufacturing, and the latter's innovation edges in AI, vehicle-infrastructure cooperative system, IoT (Internet of Things), intelligent driving, smart connectivity, intelligent manufacturing and big data.




South Korea will push to deploy a light aircraft carrier by 2033 to boost the country's defense capabilities, the arms procurement agency said Monday.





The defense project promotion committee held a videoconference, presided over by Defense Minister Suh Wook, and approved the plan to build a 30,000-ton-class light aircraft carrier with indigenous technologies, according to the Defense Acquisition Program Administration.





Around 2.03 trillion won ($1.82 billion) is expected to be spent to build the ship, though the amount is pending approval from the finance ministry and the parliament, the agency said. It is pushing to complete the feasibility study by the finance ministry by August.





"Once the parliament approves the budget, we will be able to push forward with a detailed plan," an agency official said.





Critics and some lawmakers have raised questions about the usefulness and cost-effectiveness of the project, but the military gave the green light to push for the plan in December.





Announcing the meeting results, the agency said the procurement plan is aimed at better responding to various security threats and deterring provocations in waters where conflicts are expected.





The committee also approved a plan to upgrade the mobile TPQ-36/37 radars and to domestically develop a new combat system for the KDX-II destroyer, it said. (Yonhap)


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The Russian Foreign Ministry highly appreciated the agreements reached as a result of IAEA Director General Rafael Grossis visit to Tehran, the spokeswoman of the department, Maria Zakharova said, the ministry's website informs.

"We welcome these steps. We hope that they will help to improve the overall political situation around Iran and its nuclear program and to relieve the tension generated by the opponents of the agreements with Tehran. The key point is that the Iranian side's implementation of the Comprehensive Safeguards Agreement with the IAEA will continue without restrictions, as it has been until now, Zaharovas statement reads.


Sen. Ted Cruz wanted to show hes devoted to helping Texans struggling due to a deep freeze that has led to power outages and burst pipes across the state. So the senator, who has been trying to swat away criticism after he took a jaunt to Cancun last week while his constituents suffered, posted photos of himself on Twitter carrying water to several cars. One photo even shows him shaking hands with a person. #TexasStrong, he wrote in the tweet.

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The tweets came after several Democratic leaders made a point of demonstrating how they were helping Texas while Cruz went to Cancun. And many on social media werent buying it, characterizing Cruzs photo-op as too little, too late and an obvious attempt to rehabilitate his image. Im glad someone in Ted Cruzs Senate office finally instructed him on how to fake compassion, humanity, and creating the illusion that he cares about the people he was elected to serve, Melissa Ryan, who has worked as a Democratic Party digital strategist, said. Some pointed out that the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention advises everyone to self-quarantine for seven days after traveling.

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Poor Ted really wanted to be at the luxury resort instead of doing this actual constituent service. https://t.co/WDZMLgWQoa  Bradley P. Moss (@BradMossEsq) February 21, 2021

It should also be pointed out that Ted Cruz was IN MEXICO and should, per CDC guidelines, be quarantining in his home. https://t.co/FOIUWobYTG  Jessica Huseman (@JessicaHuseman) February 21, 2021

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Cruz has acknowledged that the Cancun trip was obviously a mistake and said that in hindsight I wouldnt have done it. Cruz said he was trying to be a good dad but realized it was a mistake and changed his return flight. At first the senator tried to say that he planned to only drop off his family but later acknowledged he changed his flight to return earlier than planned. United Airlines is looking into who leaked the data that revealed Cruz changed his return flight after all the backlash on social media. Its against Uniteds policies to share personal information about our customers and we are investigating this incident, United Airlines said in a statement.
U.S. Secretary of State Antony Blinken / AP



The United States will keep up "firm action" against Myanmar authorities violently cracking down on opponents of a military coup, Secretary of State Antony Blinken said on Sunday, after two protesters were shot dead over the weekend.



Myanmar's security forces have been unable to stop more than two weeks of daily protests and a civil disobedience movement demanding the reversal of the Feb. 1 coup and the release of detained elected leader and Nobel laureate Aung San Suu Kyi.



"The United States will continue to take firm action against those who perpetrate violence against the people of Burma as they demand the restoration of their democratically elected government," Blinken said in a post on Twitter.



"We stand with the people of Burma," he added.





Students from the University of Medicine hold an anti-coup protest in Mandalay, Myanmar, Sunday, Feb. 21, 2021. AP
February 22, 2021

The Idaho State University Alumni Association has named 13 graduating students as 2021 Outstanding Student Achievement Award recipients.

The Outstanding Student Achievement Awards are presented in recognition of the hard work, discipline, and academic excellence exemplified by these student leaders. The recipients are graduating students who have demonstrated outstanding service to their respective college, to Idaho State University and to the community, and who also have exceptional scholastic achievement.

It is our pleasure to announce the 2021 Outstanding Student Achievement Award recipients:

College of Arts and Letters - Fine Arts: Madison Brown

College of Arts and Letters - Social Sciences: Claudia Maldonado

College of Business: Nicole Milford

College of Education: Drake Heithoff

College of Science and Engineering - Engineering: Zakarie Macpherson

College of Science and Engineering - Sciences: Delaney Moore

College of Health Professions: Addison Biason

School of Rehabilitation & Communication Sciences: Kathryn Chapman

College of Pharmacy: John Roberts

College of Technology: Bryndi Rigby

School of Nursing: Katherine Estep

Graduate School - Masters candidate: Laticia Herkshan

Graduate School - Doctoral candidate: Ruth MacNeille

The ISU Alumni Association will begin highlighting each of these recipients on its social media pages starting March 1, 2021.

Please visit our Facebook, Twitter and Instagram pages for more information.

For additional information about the Outstanding Student Achievement Awards, please contact Amy Dressel at amydressel@isu.edu or call (208) 282-6656.

The 14th annual State of the Nation report from the Salvation Army reveals the poorest and most vulnerable suffered the worst effects from COVID-19.

The report titled Disturbed Present. Better Future? points to serious, embedded and ongoing hardship for many in the community.

According to the Salvation Army, the impacts of Covid-19 are very unequally shared and create pressures that are likely to increase inequalities of income and wealth.

The poorest and most vulnerable in our nation have suffered the most from these serious disturbances from Covid-19, leaving many with a gloomy future, says Salvation Army Social Policy and Parliamentary Unit Director Lt-Colonel Ian Hutson.

Among others, key findings were double the amount of food parcels distributed from 2019, 23,000 more children in benefit households, and soaring numbers on the social housing register, in transitional housing and receiving emergency housing grants.

Tauranga mother-of-one Candace Westnedge has applied for 130 houses over the past five months with no success, looking at properties up to $620 a week in rent.

I just cant work out what the heck is going on. I just cant get a rental. I am looking for properties that cost up to $620 a week in rent  and I am still getting told no.

I am at the point where I kind of want to give up.

Tauranga Budgeting Service manager Shirley McCombe says shes not surprised.

The cost of housing/renting is a huge problem for whanau. People are committing to properties they cant afford because they need somewhere to live. They cant move to cheaper accommodation as there isnt any.

While co-owner of CJ Property Management Chris Donkin says its a perfect storm.

Theres lots and lots of people coming back from overseas, properties have increased dramatically in value so owners are choosing to make the most of those opportunities.

Salvation Army distributed more than 110,000 food parcels last year- the highest amount in 14 years and double that of 2019.

Financial hardship also worsened in 2020 with more clients presenting to The Salvation Army with higher debt levels.

Shirley says the problem is multi-dimensional and intergenerational.

We see whanau affected by poor mental and/or physical health, addiction and family violence. Whanau moving constantly because they dont have a home means that children dont engage at school, make friends or feel part of the community..it just goes on.

This is a cycle that if unchecked, will continue to widen the economic divide.

Community Ministries Manager Davina Plummer says the report has highlighted the complexities of the challenges people are facing nationwide.

Housing is a pressure point that is impacted by Work and Income but it also impacts ON work and income and then it impacts on the ability to support children so theyre all really intertwined.

She says the stress can reflect in social hazards such as alcohol or drug use.

People who are not coping well or who have a lot of stress are more likely to fall into those hazards.

She says the trends that were already there have definitely been made worse by COVID.

Its becoming very difficult for families on low incomes to be able to provide to fill their cupboards, on top of the rising cost of living.

Theres huge disparities between those who are doing well and those who are not.

Those not in education, employment or training (known as NEET) is also the highest its been since 2012.

Senior Social Policy Analyst Paul Barber agreed saying the statistics presented in the report show we continue to face enormous challenges, particularly in housing, unemployment, methamphetamine, financial hardship and other areas.

The key question is what does a better future look like for those most affected by COVID-19 in the last year?

A press release says the Salvation Army is urging the Government to make bold and courageous policy decisions that address the entrenched poverty.

Davina says one example is that for some time Salvation Army have been petitioning the government to raise the benefit rates, which are not sustainable.

Other policy ideas Salvation Army have advocated for include reforming the Resource Management Act, establishing a progressive programme for first-home buyers, regulation of online gambling and developing debt collection law.

The full report can be read here.
The pituitary gland is a pea-sized endocrine gland composed of two structurally and functionally separate parts known as anterior and posterior lobes. The pituitary gland's anterior lobe secretes six hormones essential to growth, reproduction, and other basic physiological functions. Abnormal development of the pituitary gland, or hypopituitarism, can cause mild or complete deficiency of one or more pituitary hormones, which manifests as highly varying symptoms. Tumours mainly cause hypopituitarism in humans, but a congenital factor can also be associated with the disorder.

The POU1F1 gene regulates the development of the anterior pituitary lobe, and disruption to its function results in hormonal changes, evidenced in affected dogs as dwarfism and coat abnormalities. A gene test developed based on the findings supports diagnostics and a breeding programme to eradicate the disease from the breed.

"Roughly 30 genes have been associated with inherited hypopituitarism in humans, many of which are regulator genes, which affect the development of the pituitary gland. In addition to humans, impaired pituitary function occurs in mice and dogs. In German Shepherds, hypopituitarism has previously been associated with the LHX3 gene, while in the case of Karelian Bear Dogs, the disease was described in Denmark already 45 years ago. Now, we have identified a related cause in the POU1F1 gene. This is only the second new canine model for human pituitary disease, making it quite significant," says Professor Hannes Lohi.

Samples for the study were collected from Finnish and Swedish symptomatic and asymptomatic Karelian Bear Dogs.

"We managed to get samples from a total of eight sick puppies from five different litters. The puppies were as much as 20 centimetres smaller than normal, with many of them also having a puppy-like coat or substantial hair loss. Typical of the disease, their symptoms were varied. A handful of carriers of the POU1F1 variant were also found in Lapponian Herders in an analysis encompassing more than 8,000 dogs," says Kaisa Kyostila, PhD, the first author of the article.

The study confirmed that the disease is inherited recessively, meaning that the affected dogs inherit the gene variant from both parents. Among Karelian Bear Dogs, only 8% of the breed carries the defect, and carriers do not develop the disease. The gene test based on the research finding can be used to identify carriers, avoid carrier-carrier combinations in breeding and eradicate this severe disease from the breed altogether.

The latest POU1F1 gene discovery is already the third disease gene described in Karelian Bear Dogs. The research group has previously described gene finds associated with dwarfism (link in Finnish only) and hypophosphatasia.

###

The study is part of Professor Hannes Lohi's gene research programme at the Faculties of Veterinary Medicine and Medicine, University of Helsinki, and the Folkhalsan Research Center. This study was partially supported by the Canine Health Research Fund, the Jane and Aatos Erkko Foundation, the Academy of Finland, HiLIFE - the Helsinki Institute of Life Science and Wisdom Health.
Then-President Donald Trump (L) speaks as Vice President Mike Pence (R) looks on in the James Brady Press Briefing Room at the White House on Nov. 24, 2020. (Chip Somodevilla/Getty Images)

NIH Director Says Trump Administration Deserves Credit for Operation Warp Speed

National Institutes of Health director Francis Collins contradicted the Biden administration Sunday, saying the Trump White House deserves considerable credit for its Operation Warp Speed.

The Operation Warp Speed, for which I give a great deal of credit to [former HHS Secretary Alex Azar], was a[n] effort that many of us were not initially convinced was going to be necessary. And it was thought about as a Manhattan Project, Collins told Axios.

He added: Those words were used sometimes to describe what needed to happen in order to get all parts of the government together in an unprecedented way to test up to six vaccines in rigorous trials, and to do this at-risk manufacturing, so that if any of those trials happened to work, you would already have doses ready to go into arms.

Collins remarked that CCP (Chinese Communist Party) virus vaccines got done in 11 months from when we first knew about this virus is at least five years faster than its ever been before.

President Joe Biden and other top administration officials in recent days offered critical words about Operation Warp Speed.

Motorists wait to get their COVID-19 vaccine at a federally-run vaccination site set up on the campus of California State University of Los Angeles in La., on Feb. 16, 2021. (Jae C. Hong/AP Photo)

Operation Warp Speed, announced in May, was the Trump administrations plan to coordinate federal and private resources to push out a COVID-19 vaccine.

On Monday, the United States recorded 500,000 COVID-19-related deaths just over a year to the day since the coronavirus pandemic claimed its first known U.S. victims in Santa Clara County, California.

In recent weeks, the virus appears to have loosened its grip as CCP virus cases in the United States fell for the sixth consecutive week. However, health experts have warned that virus variants initially discovered in Britain, South Africa, and Brazil could unleash another wave that threatens to reverse the recent positive trends.

Dr. Anthony Fauci, the head of the U.S. agency on infectious diseases and a subordinate of Collins, stated on Monday to ABC: Weve got be really careful and not just say OK were finished now, were through it.

The country had recorded more than 28 million CCP virus cases and 499,510 lives lost as of Monday morning, according to a Reuters tally of public health data, although daily deaths and hospitalizations have fallen to the lowest level since before the Thanksgiving and Christmas holidays.

Reuters contributed to this report.
In this Sept. 30, 2017, file photo, North Korean workers gather after lunch at the Hong Chao Zhi Yi garment factory in Hunchun, in northeastern China's Jilin province.

North Korean overseas workers stranded in China by a border closure imposed to fight coronavirus are facing a dire situation as the pandemic has caused their job prospects to dry up, sources in China told RFA.

One of North Korea chief foreign currency-earning methods is to dispatch workers overseas, then collect the lions share of their salaries.

However, North Korean labor exports were supposed to have completely stopped when United Nations sanctions froze the issuance of work visas and mandated the repatriation of North Korean nationals working abroad by the end of 2019.

The sanctions are aimed at depriving Pyongyang of cash to fund its prohibited nuclear weapons and missile programs.

Though many North Koreans returned home prior to the deadline, North Korea has been known to dispatch workers abroad on short-term student or visitor visas to get around sanctions.

The North Korean workers currently in China are mostly women who arrived to take up textile factory work at the end of 2019 in this manner, on six-month visas. But in January 2020, Pyongyang and Beijing closed the Sino-Korean border to stop the spread of coronavirus. Now stranded, the women continued to work, but then the coronavirus shuttered the factories employing them.

These days, the North Korean workers in the Donggang area of Dandong have no work to do, so trade officials are contacting their Chinese counterparts and begging for work, a Chinese citizen of Korean descent from Dandong, just across the border from North Korea, told RFAs Korean Service Wednesday.

Work temporarily flooded in around the Lunar New Year holiday, but after the holiday passed there was a sharp drop-off, so the North Korean workers cant make ends meet now, said the source, who requested anonymity to speak freely.

According to the source, the women in Dandong were originally sent to work for a clothing manufacturer for what was supposed to be six months. Once the coronavirus hit, they became stranded and continued to work.

As the coronavirus spread all over the world, starting here in China, many factories in northeastern China also shut down because of a sharp drop in orders. Either that or they stopped operating because of quarantine measures, said the source.

So, the number of factories that can take in North Korean workers are now few and far between. So, these workers can only fill part of their foreign currency assignments by doing any work they can find to make money, the source said.

The source said that North Korean trade officials have been asking for help in finding work for the women, and that even providing room and board for them has been difficult lately.

The trade official said that Chinese companies, that used to consistently provide jobs, do not give them any work because they are in their own difficult situation. He said that it has been overwhelming to feed and provide clothing for the workers, to say nothing about their foreign currency obligations to the party. He offered me a commission if I can find a job for them, the source said.

Another source, a Chinese citizen of Korean descent from Shenyang, 126 miles northwest of Dandong, confirmed to RFA Thursday that North Korean trade officials there are also desperate to find work for their charges.

They are begging for work, saying that the labor costs are low, and they will take anything, said the second source who requested anonymity for safety reasons.

But right now, even we Chinese are unable to work, as we cant move freely between regions because of the quarantine measures. In such a situation, who can take responsibility for a production stoppage if they hire North Koreans who might have to withdraw as soon as the pandemic situation gets better? said the second source.

The North Korean officials are promising that they will not simply withdraw immediately when the border reopens, according to the second source.

They are so desperate that they even agreed to write a memorandum that if they have to withdraw due to visa issues, they will send another manpower unit so as not to interfere with production.

According to a third source who declined to be named, an estimated 100,000 North Koreans had been in China prior to the sanctions deadline, but now there are only about 2,000 to 3,000 in and around Dandong.

Reported by Jieun Kim for RFAs Korean Service. Translated by Leejin Jun. Written in English by Eugene Whong.


SLED Government Agencies in the US Recognizing the Need for Integrated Cloud Contact Center and Communications

8x8, Inc. (NYSE: EGHT), a leading integrated cloud communications platform, today announced the State of Washington has signed a Participating Addendum with 8x8 under the NASPO ValuePoint Cloud Solutions contract.

Effective immediately, state, local and education (SLED) government agencies in Washington can, in accordance with the requirements of Washingtons Participating Addendum, purchase the 8x8 integrated cloud contact center, voice communications, chat, meetings and Communications Platform as a Service (CPaaS) product directly from 8x8 or 8x8 channel partners. 8x8 partners can guide SLED organizations through a simplified procurement process, reducing friction as they move to the cloud to transform employee and customer engagement.

"We serve over 800,000 residents in Snohomish and Island counties through 23 community libraries, online services and Library on Wheels, and our vision is that everyone in the community is connected to their library," said Nick Fuchs, Acting Director Technical Services at Sno-Isle Libraries. "Our legacy on-premises Avaya system hampered efforts and was difficult to manage with expensive monthly carrier costs. We look forward to moving our libraries and 500 employees to the 8x8 cloud platform, and enhance communications with the community."

Agencies and public sector organizations are replacing legacy on-premises systems with secure and reliable integrated cloud contact center and communications products from 8x8 to improve the constituent experience, and enable employees to work from anywhere, using any device. Washington joins Alaska as the second state to offer statewide participation in and access to the 8x8 NASPO ValuePoint Cloud Solutions Contract. Most government agencies within the participating states can purchase cloud contact center and communications products directly from 8x8 or an 8x8 partner; agencies should review applicable participating addenda for details.

Story continues

Public sector momentum is continuing for 8x8 as government agencies transition to the cloud to support mobile and remote employees. Key benefits of the 8x8 integrated cloud contact center and communications platform help public sector organizations to:

Solve for Tomorrow - Agencies can mix-and-match plans and services to meet their unique requirements as well as integrate business applications with the flexibility to adjust to changing needs in the future. Modernize Constituent Engagement - 8x8s innovative customer engagement products help agencies exceed citizen experience and growth objectives. Make It Easier to Work - 8x8 Work includes voice communications, team chat and video meetings in a single unified application for desktop and mobile devices, allowing employees to connect and collaborate securely with constituents and colleagues from anywhere, using any device. Enhance Support and Administration - The integrated 8x8 cloud communications and contact center platform allows agencies with distributed offices and workforce to reduce total cost of ownership, providing a single vendor for support and a central management portal for administration. Ensure Business Resilience - The reliable and resilient 8x8 global cloud platform keeps communications up and running even during times of disaster.

"Transitioning away from legacy, on-premises systems has never been more important for public sector organizations as they drive digital transformation efforts to enhance employee and customer engagement," said John DeLozier, Senior Vice President & Global Channel Chief at 8x8, Inc. "Our latest NASPO ValuePoint contract ensures SLED agencies across the State of Washington can easily work with 8x8 and our channel partners to deploy an integrated cloud contact center and communications product to meet their evolving organizational requirements."

8x8 and Gartner Magic Quadrant

Recently, 8x8 was named a Leader in the 2020 Gartner Magic Quadrant for Unified Communications as a Service, Worldwide1. This is the ninth consecutive year 8x8 has been recognized as a Leader in this report. 8x8 was also recognized as a Challenger in the 2020 Gartner Magic Quadrant for Contact Center as a Service2.

[1] Gartner Magic Quadrant for Unified Communications as a Service, Worldwide, Rafael Benitez, Megan Fernandez, Daniel O'Connell, Christopher Trueman, Pankil Sheith, November 12, 2020. This Magic Quadrant report name has changed from 2015 onwards- 2015-2020: Magic Quadrant for Unified Communications as a Service, Worldwide, 2014: Magic Quadrant for Unified Communications as a Service, North America With Additional Regional Presence, 2012-2013: Magic Quadrant for Unified Communications as a Service, North America.

[2] Gartner Magic Quadrant for Contact Center as a Service, Steve Blood, Drew Kraus, Pri Rathnayake, November 9, 2020.

About NASPO ValuePoint

NASPO ValuePoint is the cooperative purchasing division of the National Association of State Procurement Officials (NASPO), facilitating cooperative public procurement solicitations using a Lead State Model. NASPO ValuePoint delivers high value, reliable, and competitively sourced cooperative contracts  offering public entities outstanding prices, favorable terms and conditions, and value-added services. Learn more at www.naspovaluepoint.org.

NASPO, NASPO ValuePoint, and Lead State Model are trademarks of the National Association of State Procurement Officials.

About 8x8, Inc.

8x8, Inc. (NYSE: EGHT) is transforming the future of business communications as a leading Software-as-a-Service provider of contact center, voice communications, video, chat and API solutions powered by one global cloud communications platform. 8x8 empowers workforces worldwide to connect individuals and teams so they can collaborate faster and work smarter. Real-time business analytics and intelligence provide businesses unique insights across all interactions and channels so they can delight end-customers and accelerate their business. For additional information, visit www.8x8.com, or follow 8x8 on LinkedIn, Twitter and Facebook.

Caution Concerning Forward-Looking Statements

This press release contains "forward-looking statements" within the meaning of the Private Securities Litigation Reform Act of 1995 and Section 21E of the Securities Exchange Act of 1934. These statements include, without limitation, information about 8x8s public sector growth and product benefits. Such statements are predictions only, and actual events or results could differ materially from those made in any forward-looking statements due to a number of risks and uncertainties including, but not limited to: market acceptance of and customer demand for new or existing services and features; competition in the markets we compete; the impact of economic downturns on us and our customers, including the impacts of the COVID-19 pandemic; among other such risks and uncertainties, which could cause actual results to differ from those contained in the forward-looking statements. See "Risk Factors" in the Company's reports on Forms 10-K and 10-Q, as well as other reports that 8x8, Inc. files from time to time with the Securities and Exchange Commission for a full discussion of such risks and uncertainties. All forward-looking statements are qualified in their entirety by this cautionary statement, and 8x8, Inc. undertakes no obligation to update publicly any forward-looking statement for any reason, except as required by law, even as new information becomes available or other events occur in the future.

8x8 and 8x8 X Series are trademarks of 8x8, Inc.

View source version on businesswire.com: https://www.businesswire.com/news/home/20210222005091/en/

Contacts

NASPO Media Contact:

Kelly McKown-King

kmking@naspo.org

8x8, Inc. Contacts:

Media:

John Sun, 1-408-692-7054

john.sun@8x8.com

Investor Relations:

Victoria Hyde-Dunn, 1-669-333-5200

victoria.hyde-dunn@8x8.com
New Delhi, Feb 22 : The National High Speed Rail Corporation Limited (NHSRCL) on Monday signed a contract agreement for procurement and fabrication of 28 steel bridges with the L&T-IHI consortium for the 508 km Mumbai-Ahmedabad High Speed Rail (MAHSR) corridor, popularly known as the Bullet train project.

An NHSRCL spokesperson said that a contract agreeemnt has been signed with the L&T-IHI, which is a consortium between Indian and Japanese companies.

Speaking on the ocassion, NHSRCL Managing Director Achal Khare said, "The actual construction work has begun for the MAHSR corridor and things are taking shape. This is the third significant contract awarded by NHSRCL for the project." He said the P4(X) and P4(Y) packages for 28 steel truss superstructures will not only boost the Indian steel industry, but also enhance the steel fabrication workmanship.

The NHSRCL has awarded a contract for procurement and fabrication of 28 steel bridges to L&T-IHI Infrastructure Systems consortium worth Rs 1,390 crore for crossing over railway lines, rivers, highways, roads and other structures for the ambitious 508 km Bullet train project on January 25 this year.

The NHSRCL official said that it is estimated that about 70,000 MT of steel will be used for the fabrication of these steel bridges, giving a big boost to the Indian steel industries and their allied supply chains.

Indian steel manufactures will be providing quality steel for the fabrication of the super structures for these steel bridges. NHSRCL has already sensitised the steel industry to cater to such a huge demand for India's first high speed rail corridor.

In December last year, a total of eight bidders had participated in the bid of which four qualified after technical evaluation -- Tata Projects Ltd, Afcons Infrastructure Ltd, NCC Ltd and L&T-IHI Infrastructure Systems Consortium.

The NHSRCL has already awarded civil contracts for the construction of 64 per cent of MAHSR alignment which includes five HSR stations at Vapi, Billimora, Surat, Bharuch, Anand/Nadiad, train depot at Surat and one mountain tunnel of 350 metres.

Prime Minister Narendra Modi and then Japanese Premier Shinzo Abe had on September 14, 2017 laid the foundation stone for the ambitious Rs 1.08 lakh crore ($17 billion) project.

Bullet trains are expected to run at 320 km per hour covering the 508-km stretch in about two hours. In comparison, trains currently plying on the route take over seven hours to travel the distance, whereas flights take about an hour.
Pete Pilcher, a former U.S. Navy F-4 pilot, is a retired test pilot with 34 years of experience with McDonnell Douglas and subsequently The Boeing Company. He served as the director of test for the F/A-18E/F Super Hornet and has flown the F-4 Phantom, F-15 Eagle and F/A-18 Hornet.

I knew I wanted to be a test pilot from the time I was in high school. That's why I earned my degree in aerospace engineering from Texas A&M University, then attended flight training school in Pensacola, Florida, and served as an F-4 pilot in the U.S. Navy.

Reflecting back on my four decades of service in the military and civil military aviation, one of my career highlights remains my time as a test pilot for the F/A-18 Hornet.

As one of several test pilots, I was deeply involved in the jet's development, with the goal of making it so easy to fly that you could spend more time operating the weapon system. The Hornet has a gravitational force-limiting system, so it's extremely difficult to over-stress the aircraft. With no angle-of-attack limitation, the pilot can maneuver the aircraft at will. This is critical for pilots as they conduct missions.

Test pilots and designers worked together to make this a reality. I am extremely proud of the way the F/A-18 flies. The old saying "hard work pays off" is certainly true in the case of the F/A-18 program.

The Super Hornet is the backbone of the Navy's fighter fleet. It has stood the test of time and offers more service life than its competitors. As a testament to its design, the Super Hornets and EA-18G Growlers are currently the only naval aviation programs to achieve an 80% readiness goal -- enabling the F/A-18 to operate at a high operational tempo. However, because of the aircraft's increased use during recent conflicts and threats abroad, the Navy faces a shortfall in its fleet. Such a deficit will be exacerbated without additional F/A-18 funding.

That is why the Navy and the Super Hornet program need congressional support now more than ever.

The F/A-18 Super Hornet is designed to be as easy to maintain as it is to fly. The upgraded Block III model continues this legacy, and it comes with an upgraded 10,000-hour service life to ensure it remains the foundation of our future fleet. The F/A-18 program has proven it is ready today and -- with upgraded capabilities and life cycle costs -- the Super Hornet is poised to continue its winning legacy and its reputation as the reliable tip of the spear for the Navy.

Not only is the F/A-18 one of the most dynamic platforms in the Department of Defense's toolkit, it is also one of the most cost effective. Analyses have shown that the Super Hornet boasts the lowest cost per flight hour of any fighter aircraft in the Navy's inventory at $19,000 a flight hour.

With its track record of cost-conscious success, as well as its reliable supply chain, it's no wonder the F/A-18 continues to be the multi-faceted go-to fighter of the naval fleet.

There are many opportunities for compromise when it comes to budget priorities; however, security and national defense cannot be one of them. It's imperative that Congress invests in proven, capable and successful defense programs that serve our military needs now and well into the future.

I've seen the passion and meticulous work that goes into the production and testing of the F/A-18 Hornet. I've flown this incredible aircraft and continue to be impressed with its capabilities, adaptability and ease of use for our naval pilots. I also believe in its future and that it's a smart investment in our current and future security.

As citizens, we must do our part to impress upon members of Congress the need for funding for the Super Hornet Block III. We must ensure that the lifeblood of the Navy's fighter fleet is fully funded in the coming years in order to avoid a shortfall in our nation's aviation inventory and a compromised national security.

-- 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.
Photo taken on March 13, 2019 shows the Boeing logo at its headquarters in downtown Chicago, the United States. [Photo/Xinhua]

Boeing Company said on Sunday that it supported the decision to suspend operations of 777 aircraft powered by Pratt & Whitney 4000-112 engines after a Boeing 777-200 airplane suffered an engine issue on Saturday.

A Boeing 777-200 flight from the United Airlines made an emergency landing at Denver International Airport on Saturday after the right engine suffered a failure and exploded mid-flight.

All the 241 people on board, including 231 passengers and 10 crew members, were deplaned unharmed. Debris falling from the burning engine was scattered across three nearby neighborhoods, causing no injuries.

Earlier on Sunday, United Airlines said it was removing 24 of its Boeing 777s from service after the Federal Aviation Administration (FAA) said the agency will issue an emergency directive and require stepped-up inspections of Boeing 777 flights with the same type of engine involved in the Denver explosion accident.

"We reviewed all available safety data following yesterday's incident," Dickson said. "Based on the initial information, we concluded that the inspection interval should be stepped up for the hollow fan blades that are unique to this model of engine, used solely on Boeing 777 airplanes," said Steve Dickson, head of the FAA.

Japan's Ministry of Land, Infrastructure, Transport and Tourism has also ordered domestic carriers to halt flights of Boeing 777s following the incident.

The transport ministry's order to halt operations of Boeing 777s was given to All Nippon Airways, which has 19 Boeing 777 jets with the same type of engine among its fleet, and Japan Airlines which has 13 of the jets.

"Boeing supports the decision yesterday by the Japan Civil Aviation Bureau, and the FAA's action today to suspend operations of 777 aircraft powered by Pratt & Whitney 4000-112 engines," the company said in a statement.

"While the National Transportation Safety Board (NTSB) investigation is ongoing, we recommended suspending operations of the 69 in-service and 59 in-storage 777s powered by Pratt & Whitney 4000-112 engines until the FAA identifies the appropriate inspection protocol," Boeing noted.

Boeing also said that it has been actively monitoring the event related to the incident, adding that it is working with regulators as they take actions while these planes are on the ground and further inspections are conducted by Pratt & Whitney.
Unfortunately, our website is currently unavailable in your country. We are engaged on the issue and committed to looking at options that support our full range of digital offerings to your market. We continue to identify technical compliance solutions that will provide all readers with our award-winning journalism.
Unfortunately, our website is currently unavailable in your country. We are engaged on the issue and committed to looking at options that support our full range of digital offerings to your market. We continue to identify technical compliance solutions that will provide all readers with our award-winning journalism.
Manila, Feb 22 : The Philippines has officially approved the emergency use of China's Sinovac Covid-19 vaccine, the country's Food and Drug Administration (FDA) said on Monday.

China's Sinovac Biotech is the third vaccine maker that was given the green light by the FDA, Xinhua reported.

The FDA also granted last month emergency authorization to the coronavirus vaccines made by US pharmaceutical firm Pfizer and its German partner BioNTech, and those by the University of Oxford/AstraZeneca.
On Friday, the Justice Department indicted six more members of the far-right Oath Keepers militia, seven of whom were seen in a  stack  military formation attempting to breach the Capitol on January 6.

This indictment follows a previous January indictment of three other Oath Keepers, charged with conspiracy for their roles in the assault.

The previously charged Oath Keepers include Jessica Watkins, 38, Donovan Ray Crowl, 50, both from Ohio, and Thomas E. Caldwell, 66 from Virginia.

In this Jan. 6, 2021, file photo rioters try to break through a police barrier at the Capitol in Washington. (AP Photo/John Minchillo, File)

Those indicted Friday include siblings Graydon Young, 54 and Laura Steele, 52, and married couples Kelly and Connie Meggs, 52 and 59, and Bennie and Sandra Parker, 70 and 60. Young and the Meggs are from Florida, Steele lives in North Carolina, while the Parkers are from Ohio.

The indictment alleges that the accused did knowingly combine, conspire, confederate, and agree with each other and others known and unknown to break into the Capitol and obstruct Congress from certifying the election of Joe Biden as president.

Conspiracy charges indicate that members of the group coordinated their actions prior to committing the crimes. If convicted, they each face a possible 20-year prison sentence.

In their affidavits, federal prosecutors alleged that the Oath Keeper group communicated using a walkie-talkie application called Zello, under a user-created channel labeled Stop the Steal J6. The government alleges that those charged relayed messages to each other before and during the siege on the Capitol.

The indictment alleges that Kelly and Connie Meggs, Young, Steele and Sandra Parker donned paramilitary gear and joined in a military-style stack formation that was video-taped marching up the east side of the Capitol. The indictment asserts that Kelly Meggs is the self-described leader of the Florida chapter of the Oath Keepers, of which Connie Meggs, Young and Steele also are alleged to be members.

In their indictment, the prosecutors allege that Bennie Parker messaged Watkins prior to the attack requesting to join her militia because his group was not very active. The indictment asserts that Watkins coordinated with the Parkers on their trip to D.C. and that Watkins and Bennie Parker also discussed what sort of weapons they should bring with them.

Audio recordings obtained by the FBI and reported by the Washington Post allege that Watkins, an Army veteran who was deployed to Afghanistan, claimed to be leading a group of 30 to 40 others as they forced their way into the Capitol.

In announcing the new charges, prosecutors included social media postings from the defendants in which they articulated their support for then-President Donald Trump. The postings demonstrated that the accused were heading to D.C. in response to Trumps calls to Stop the Steal by preventing congressional certification of the Electoral College vote.

In a Facebook post written on December 22, two weeks before the attempted coup, Kelly Meggs responded to Trumps call to come to D.C., stating, Trump said Its gonna be wild!!!!! Its gonna be wild!!!! He wants us to make it WILD thats what hes saying. He called us all to the Capitol and wants us to make it wild!!!! Sir Yes Sir!!!! Gentlemen we are heading to DC pack your sh*t!!

Prior to the attempted coup, the domain name WildProtest.com was broadcast and promoted by Trump, local Republican parties and Trump-aligned representatives, all of whom urged their supporters to sign up and make a pledge to attend.

The charging documents include new information and messages allegedly sent between previously charged Caldwell and other members of the fascistic group. Caldwell, a retired Navy commander, claimed roughly two weeks ago that he worked for the FBI as a section chief and has held a top secret security clearance for decades.

The court filings allege that Caldwell used his previous training in the military and law enforcement to plan the attack, including suggesting posting snipers as well as a weapons cache on a boat along the Potomac River. Prosecutors allege that Caldwell began coordinating with the Oath Keepers a week after the election, beginning with a meeting at his Virginia home prior to a November 14 pro-Trump protest in D.C.

In response to a message from Oath Keeper co-founder and leader Stewart Rhodes calling on members to stand tall in support of President Trump, Caldwell allegedly responded: Next time (and there WILL be a next time) we will have learned and we will be stronger. In a later message to the group, Caldwell wrote, I think there will be real violence for all of us next time... I am already working on the next DC [operation.]

According to a tally from the New York Times, of the over 230 people charged so far for their role in the assault, 31 have ties to militant extremist groups, with 26 of those affiliated with the Oath Keepers or the Proud Boys.

Of the 22 people who have been charged with conspiracy, 18 are affiliated with the Proud Boys or Oath Keepers. Eleven of the 18 are confirmed to have previously served in the US military.

While it is clear that far-right militia groups such as the Oath Keepers and Proud Boys led the assault on the Capitol, questions remain as to who was coordinating with the groups, which were under the impression that they were taking orders from Trump himself.

In an extraordinary claim, defense attorneys for Watkins claimed over the weekend that she was not an insurrectionist and had, in fact, met with Secret Service agents prior to the rally on January 6. They also claimed their client was issued a VIP pass to the rally. Watkins attorneys allege she was on the grounds providing security for legislators and others during the march on the Capitol.

The US Secret Service denied Watkins claims, telling CNN on Sunday that any assertion that the Secret Service employed private citizens to perform those functions is false.

Several members of the Oath Keepers and Proud Boys were employed by and/or photographed with high-level Republican operatives and Trump allies. These include InfoWars owner Alex Jones and Trump political crony Roger Stone.

Over the weekend, it was confirmed by anonymous sources within the Justice Department to the Washington Post that Jones, Stone and Stop the Steal organizer Ali Alexander are under investigation for their role in the attempted coup.

Jones and Stone enjoy close connections with the fascist militias. Several photos and videos have already been released showing Stone surrounded by Oath Keepers militia on the day before and day of the assault on the Capitol. Stone has also endorsed Proud Boys for Congress, shared his cell phone and social media information with certain members, and launched an online store with Proud Boys leader Enrique Tarrio through which Tarrio promoted Stones legal defense fund and sold Proud Boys merchandise.

Likewise, Jones had business connections with the Proud Boys.

Previously indicted Proud Boy leader Joe Biggs began appearing as an on-air personality for InfoWars beginning in 2014, as the protests in Ferguson, Missouri against the police murder of Michael Brown began. Biggs also reported favorably on the right-wing militia occupation of the Malheur National Wildlife Refuge in 2016.
"The exhibition is a good opportunity to market the handmade products that express our identity and the heritage of our ancestors," said Hanan Meqabel, a lady in her 40s who has taken part in the Diarna Exhibition for Handmade crafts and Heritage.

More than 300 exhibitors from 27 governorates are showcasing their products in the 61st edition of Diarna, which kicks off on Feb. 15 and will last to Feb. 25 in the fifth settlement district in the east of capital Cairo.

Under the title "Egypt speaks via crafts" and inaugurated by the Egyptian Minister of Social Solidarity Nivine El-Kabbag, the exhibition gathers handicrafts, Nubian and Sinai sculptures, Siwa Oasis dates, and embedded leather from Shalateen.

Most of the exhibitors are women, disabled, and non-governmental organizations, with the UN Refugee Agency in Egypt as a guest of honor.

"This is the third time to showcase our products in this important exhibition," Meqabel, the board director of a small and medium project association in North Sinai, northeast of Cairo, told Xinhua.

"It's the only chance for marketing our products so far this year after the production cycle has been halted due to the spread of COVID-19," said Meqabel, noting that the exhibitions help the capital cycle to continue and ladies to resume their work.

Meqabel explained that her association employs 200 ladies who produce bags, garments, and scarves as a source of income.

However, she lamented that the suspension of the international tourism over the pandemic concerns has caused stagnation of her products that mainly target the tourists.

"Creating one dress of the local materials of Sinai might take three months in the best way that resembles our old heritage," she said.

Meanwhile, Mohamed Fawzi, who came from Beheira province, in the north of Cairo, and displays tablecloths decorated with wool, said he considers heritage products a gateway to participating in various exhibitions.

"My mission is to revive the pharaonic craft of decorating tablecloths with wool, natural leather, and brass that has vanished in the 1980s," Fawzi said.

He added that the exhibition saw a good number of visitors despite fears of the virus.

Shaymaa Demirdash, a housewife that was wandering the various booths praised the expo for providing diversified products from many areas in Egypt.

"I came to buy some high-quality and unique souvenirs for my son who lives in Germany," Demirdash said.

The Egyptian minister of social solidarity said the timing of the expo "is a clear message that we are determined to work and produce at all time no matter the challenges," adding that the expo will promote the means of exchanging experience among exhibitors.

The handicraft exhibition is held every year in several provinces, with the largest one in Cairo.

The ongoing edition is organized in accordance with the health ministry's anti-coronavirus precautionary measures with the partnership of Egyptian Red Crescent.
Fathi Bashagha, interior minister for eastern Libyas United Nations-recognized government, allegedly survived an assassination attempt on Thursday, sources in his office told multiple news outlets.

Bashaghas motorcade reportedly came under fire as it drove through Tripoli after the senior official met with Mustafa Sanalla, chair of Libyas National Oil Corporation.

A vehicle approached his convoy before individuals inside the car opened fire, Reuters cited Bashagha as saying. One assailant was killed and two were arrested after the allegedly armored vehicle was rammed off the road. The interior minister called the incident a well-planned attack.

The Stablization Support Authority, an officially sanctioned armed group that claimed its members were in the rammed vehicle, disputed the account, saying that Bashaghas personnel opened fire on their members. Relatives of the man killed in the incident, Radwan al-Hanqari of Zawiya, publicly insisted he was innocent.

Images of the severely damaged but structurally intact vehicle surfaced in Libyan media reports on Sunday. The vehicle bears the logo of the Stabilization Support Authority, which was established by Tripoli Prime Minister Fayez al-Sarraj this year. Dispute over the incident has triggered some controversy in western Libya.

The UNs new Libya envoy, Jan Kubis, condemned the alleged assassination attempt and called for a full, rapid and transparent investigation. Kubis said in a statement that such reckless acts threaten the progress of the UN-backed political reconciliation process in Libya. US Ambassador to Libya Richard Norland also condemned the incident.

Bashagha, who hails from a powerful Misratan family, put forth his candidacy late last year to become the unity government's next prime minister, but businessman Abdulhamid Dbeibah, also Misratan, won out.

Dbeibah was previously appointed by long-time dictator Moammar Gadhafi to head the Libyan Investment and Development Company in 2007. Gadhafi was overthrown by a NATO-assisted popular uprising in 2011, plunging the country into a decade of intermittent civil war.

Libya is headed for UN-backed unity elections in December, but much work remains to be done between the rival sides before that can be achieved, UN officials have cautioned.

Bashagha was previously told to resign late last year by now-outgoing Libyan Prime Minister Sarraj after security militias opened fire on protesters in the western capital late last year, but the minister retained his position.
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WASHINGTON  The Supreme Court on Monday rejected a handful of cases related to the 2020 election, including disputes from Pennsylvania that had deeply divided the justices just before the election.

The cases the justices rejected involved election challenges filed by former President Donald Trump and his allies in five states President Joe Biden won: Arizona, Georgia, Michigan, Pennsylvania and Wisconsin.

Other than two Pennsylvania disputes, the justices decision not to hear the cases was unsurprising but ends months of legal wrangling. The court had previously taken no action in those cases and in January had turned away pleas that the cases be fast-tracked, again suggesting the justices were not interested in hearing them.

Some of the justices, however, had strong feelings about the courts decision not to hear two cases from Pennsylvania that had been particularly contentious in the battleground state. The cases involved an appeal of a Pennsylvania Supreme Court decision requiring election officials to receive and count mailed-in ballots that arrived up to three days after the election. Three of the nine justices said they would have heard the case, which would not have affected the elections outcome.

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Justice Clarence Thomas called the cases an ideal opportunity to address an important question whether state lawmakers or state courts get the last word about the manner in which federal elections are carried out. And he called it befuddling and inexplicable that his colleagues were declining to weigh in.

We failed to settle this dispute before the election, and thus provide clear rules. Now we again fail to provide clear rules for future elections. The decision to leave election law hidden beneath a shroud of doubt is baffling. By doing nothing, we invite further confusion and erosion of voter confidence, he wrote.

Thomas cited the expansion of mail-in voting as another reason to take the case and said fraud is more prevalent with mail-in ballots. Trump had made claims of massive fraud in the vastly expanded use of mailed in ballots because of the coronavirus pandemic, but courts found no evidence to substantiate those claims.

Pennsylvania lawmakers, for their part, made changes to the states election laws in response to the pandemic but left in place a Nov. 3 deadline to receive absentee ballots. Democrats sued, and Pennsylvanias highest court cited the ongoing coronavirus pandemic and United States Postal Service delays in extending the deadline for mailed-in ballots to be received.

Republicans had asked the U.S. Supreme Court to put that extension on hold ahead of the election. But in October, following the death of Justice Ruth Bader Ginsburg and before Justice Amy Coney Barrett was confirmed to her seat, the justices split 4-4 over doing so, keeping the three-day extension for receiving ballots in place.

In practice, however, because of the ongoing lawsuit, those late-arriving ballots were separated out and have not yet been counted. The state has said that ultimately, fewer than 10,000 ballots were received during those three days. That small number of ballots would not have altered the outcome of the presidential election in the state, which former President Donald Trump lost by some 80,000 votes.

Pennsylvania officials had argued that the case was moot because the states election results had already been certified. Republicans argued the justices should take the case to provide guidance for future elections. In addition to Thomas, two other justices  Samuel Alito and Neil Gorsuch  agreed.

Those three justices and Justice Brett Kavanaugh had been the four justices who previously would have put the ballot deadline extension on hold. As is typical, neither Kavanaugh nor Barrett, each of whom might have provided a fourth vote needed for the court to take the case, wrote to explain why they declined to hear the case.

A decision in these cases would not have any implications regarding the 2020 electionBut a decision would provide invaluable guidance for future elections, Alito wrote. He said the cases call out for review.

Pennsylvanias Democratic governor, Tom Wolf, wrote on Twitter after the courts action: Its time to move on.

Toronto, Ontario--(Newsfile Corp. - February 22, 2021) - Mindset Pharma Inc. (CSE: MSET) (FSE: 9DF) ("Mindset" or the "Company"), a drug discovery and development company focused on developing next generation psilocybin-inspired medicines and related technologies, is pleased to announce that it has engaged a leading international contract development and manufacturing organization ("CDMO") to synthesize a 1.0 kg batch of cGMP (i.e. pharmaceutical grade) psilocybin utilizing Mindset's innovative and cost-effective patent-pending synthesis process. The large scale cGMP synthesis batch is expected to be released in the fall of 2021.

Mindset anticipates that there will be significant demand for its proprietary, high-quality psilocybin supply given the increasing number of trials and studies underway utilizing psilocybin. High-quality psilocybin for clinical research purposes is currently expensive and difficult to procure, however Mindset's cost-effective patent-pending synthesis process provides Mindset with a unique advantage to accelerate the commercialization of its portfolio of intellectual property. Several CDMOs that specialize in psilocybin synthesis have exclusive relationships with individual clients, further narrowing the range of psilocybin supply options. Additionally, Mindset is not aware of any existing psilocybin suppliers that have synthesized a commercial quantity at a scale exceeding 1.0kg.

James Lanthier, Chief Executive Officer of Mindset, commented, "We believe that Mindset's proprietary synthesis process can benefit the entire medical psychedelic market, from the drug design process stage to clinical treatment as it is scalable, efficient, and, to our knowledge, one of the most cost-effective methods available in the marketplace today for GMP grade psilocybin, with a non-optimized cost per gram substantially below current retail costs.

"Mindset's synthesis process strategically complements our next generation drug development programs and represents a significant potential market opportunity. Mindset's novel synthesis process meets an increasing need from the growing medical psychedelic space for a reliable source of affordable, pharmaceutical grade psilocybin. We anticipate even further refinements to our process that will enable us to significantly improve cost and efficiency."

Joseph Araujo, Chief Scientific Officer, Founder and Director, commented, "The excitement and enthusiasm demonstrated by this world class CDMO has given us further confidence that this process is potentially game-changing for the industry and should enhance access to psychedelic-assisted treatments for people with the greatest needs. We already have had multiple supply enquiries, as has the CDMO, and we are confident that demand for our synthetic psilocybin will be robust."

MINDSET PROGRAM UPDATE CALL

The Company will be hosting a conference call and webcast on Monday, February 22, 2021 at 2:00 p.m. EST with James Lanthier, Chief Executive Officer and Joseph Araujo, Chief Science Officer to discuss updates on the Company's scientific programs.

Investors can access the live conference call and webcast by clicking on the event link http://services.choruscall.ca/links/mindsetpharma20210222.html or can dial in using the numbers below.

PARTICIPANT TELEPHONE NUMBERS

Canada/USA TF: 1-800-319-4610

International Toll: +1-604-638-5340

Germany TF: 0800-180-1954

Callers should dial in 5 - 10 minutes prior to the scheduled start time and simply ask to join your call.

FOR MORE INFORMATION, PLEASE CONTACT:

James Lanthier

Chief Executive Officer

jlanthier@mindsetpharma.com

Jason Atkinson

VP, Corporate Development

jatkinson@mindsetpharma.com

About Mindset Pharma Inc.

Mindset Pharma Inc. is a drug discovery and development company focused on creating optimized and patentable next-generation psychedelic medicines to treat neurological and psychiatric disorders with unmet needs. Mindset was established to develop next generation pharmaceutical assets that leverage the breakthrough therapeutic potential of psychedelic drugs. Mindset is developing several novel families of next generation psychedelic compounds, as well as an innovative process to chemically synthesize psilocybin along with its own proprietary compounds. www.mindsetpharma.com

Forward-Looking Information

This news release contains certain "forward-looking information" within the meaning of applicable securities law. Forward looking information is frequently characterized by words such as "plan", "expect", "project", "intend", "believe", "anticipate", "estimate", "may", "will", "would", "potential", "proposed" and other similar words, or statements that certain events or conditions "may" or "will" occur. These statements are only predictions. Forward-looking information is based on the opinions and estimates of management at the date the information is provided, and is 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 information. For a description of the risks and uncertainties facing the Company and its business and affairs, readers should refer to the Company's Management's Discussion and Analysis. The Company undertakes no obligation to update forward-looking information if circumstances or management's estimates or opinions should change, unless required by law. The reader is cautioned not to place undue reliance on forward-looking information.

NEITHER THE CANADIAN SECURITIES EXCHANGE NOR ITS REGULATIONS SERVICES PROVIDER HAVE REVIEWED OR ACCEPT 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/75032

MOSCOW (AP)  Russian President Vladimir Putin hosted his Belarusian counterpart Alexander Lukashenko for talks on Monday, amid media reports suggesting that the leader of Belarus was coming to Russia to secure another loan.

The Kremlin extended both economical and political support to Lukashenko after his disputed re-election in August triggered the largest and the most sustained wave of mass protests in Belarus' history. In September, Putin said Moscow would provide a $1.5 billion loan to its ex-Soviet neighbor.

Earlier this month, the Kommersant newspaper cited government sources saying that another loan, this time of over $3 billion, would be discussed during Lukashenko's visit to Russia. The Belarusian leader denied the reports last week and said he was not going there to ask for anything.

The two leaders met in Russia's Black Sea resort of Sochi. In brief remarks before the start of their talks, they highlighted the close economic and cultural ties between the two countries.

Putin pointed out that Russia remains the biggest trade and economic partner for Belarus. Lukashenko thanked Moscow for its economic support, adding that the funds invested in the Belarusian economy were well spent.

Lukashenko also praised the Russian coronavirus vaccine Spuntik V, the first batch of which arrived to Belarus in December after the ex-Soviet nation became the second country besides Russia to give the shot regulatory approval. He said production of Sputnik V will begin in Belarus in March, and added that Belarus will develop its own coronavirus vaccine by the fall.

Russia and Belarus have a union treaty envisaging close political, economic and military ties, but they have often engaged in acrimonious disputes. Before the Aug. 9 election in Belarus, Lukashenko repeatedly accused the Kremlin of pressing Belarus to abandon its independence.

But with the U.S. and the EU criticizing the Belarus presidential election and imposing sanctions on Belarus, Lukashenko has had to rely squarely on Russias support.

Despite frictions in the past, the Kremlin abhorred the prospect of public protests forcing the resignation of the Belarusian leader, fearing it could embolden Putins critics at home.
Niharika Sathe, a 34-year-old internal medicine physician in New Jersey, first heard the fertility rumor from another doctor.

The friend confided that she would decline the coronavirus vaccine because of something she'd seen online - that the shot could cause the immune system to attack the placenta, potentially leading to miscarriage and infertility. Sathe, who was early in her pregnancy at the time but had not told anyone, spent the next few weeks scrutinizing information from the American College of Obstetricians and Gynecologists and the Society for Maternal-Fetal Medicine and calling trusted experts to investigate the report.

In the end, she determined the rumor had no basis in fact, and both she and her friend wound up getting the vaccine. But the experience left her rattled.

"That kind of misinformation is really scary," Sathe said, adding, "It has enough science to sound potentially plausible."

As the rollout of the coronavirus vaccine ramps up across the United States, women of childbearing age have emerged as a surprising roadblock to efforts to halt the pandemic by achieving herd immunity. Officials have encountered hesitancy among other groups, including some Black and Hispanic adults and those who believe the pandemic is a hoax. But the reluctance of women in their 20s and 30s - largely around disinformation spread on Facebook, Twitter and other social media - has been more unexpected. With such women making up a large share of the health-care workforce, vaccine uptake at nursing homes and hospitals has been as low as 20 to 50 percent in some places - a far cry from the 70 to 85 percent population target that health officials say may be needed to stop the virus.

"I'm worried, frankly," said Francis Collins, director of the National Institutes of Health. "There are stories out there on the Internet about how vaccination can lead to infertility. There's absolutely nothing to that. But when we look at people who are expressing hesitancy, in many instances those are women of childbearing age."

Women's concerns come against a backdrop of national surveys showing that a growing share of Americans are open to getting the vaccine. Roughly 40 percent of people said in January that they would get it as soon as they could, up from 34 percent in December, according to a Kaiser Family Foundation report. But many groups that were hesitant late last year remain hesitant.

Women are more likely than men to turn down the shots, and they are especially worried about long-term side effects, with nearly three-quarters saying they were very or somewhat concerned,according to the KFF survey conducted Jan. 11-18. About 12 percent of respondents said they had heard debunked claims that the vaccine causes infertility and either believe it to be true or are unsure if it's true.

The infertility myth is just one of many reasons women are hesitant, doctors and community organizers say, with others having more general concerns about a vaccine that has only recently been approved and the fact that early trials did not specifically look at pregnant or lactating women, leading to conflicting guidance from health authorities.

The World Health Organization says only those who are at a high risk of contracting the virus or of having a severe case should take the vaccine. The Royal College of Obstetricians and Gynaecologists in the United Kingdom has said that while there's nothing to indicate any safety concerns for pregnancy, there also isn't enough evidence to recommend routine use of the vaccine in pregnant women.

In the United States, the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention has been more neutral, saying women should make individual decisions in consultation with their doctors.

"This is an understandable concern," said Timothy Callaghan, an assistant professor of health policy at Texas A&M University who is researching vaccine hesitancy. "Women who are trying to get clear advice are not getting clear advice about how they should proceed. But to get effective messages, we need to have better data."

- - -

The first widely shared false reports about the coronavirus vaccines and fertility began showing up on social media in December, around the time Pfizer-BioNTech and Moderna reported late-stage trial results that their vaccines were safe and highly effective and federal regulators appeared likely to give them a green light.

The disinformation campaign took advantage of the mystique surrounding vaccines built on technology never before used in an approved medical product. Both authorized vaccines rely on repurposed messenger RNA - the genetic material that carries instructions from DNA and delivers them to other parts of the cell - to deliver specially designed spike proteins that trick the body into creating a defense that would protect it from future exposure to SARS-CoV2.

Dora Anne Mills, who has been overseeing the vaccine rollout at MaineHealth, the state's largest medical provider, said the most frequently asked question from employees has been about the mRNA technology and reproductive issues. She said that when these vaccines were in the pipeline a year ago, she too had questions.

"The idea of an mRNA vaccine sounds so bizarre at first. But this is not gene therapy," she said.

Mills said she has become "very excited about the vaccines' safety and efficacy."

"I have two young adult children and I am fine for them to get it," she said. "I did not feel that way last summer. I had to educate myself. It was a journey for me."

Perhaps the biggest concern created by the misinformation about messenger RNA is that the vaccine could cause infertility by priming the immune system to mistakenly attack a protein in the placenta known as syncytin-1, purportedly similar in structure to the coronavirus spike protein.

That false assertion is "creating a storm of confusion and fear among women," said Yale School of Medicine immunologist Akiko Iwasaki, who became aware of it when strangers tweeted it at her. "I even had people from the medical community reaching out to ask if there's any validity to this claim."

Iwasaki and her team set out to test this idea in two different ways.

First, they compared the coronavirus spike protein and syncytin-1 from the placenta, and found "very, very little overlap." Second, they looked at reactivity of 3,000 or so different proteins in humans to the antibodies formed as a result of a natural infection or vaccination. For syncytin-1, they found none.

"There is no scientific ground" for the infertility idea, Iwasaki said. "It is nonsense."

Experts also point out that 12 women in the Pfizer-BioNTech clinical trials and six in the Moderna trials became pregnant after taking the vaccine, although they note that is only anecdotal evidence.

There is less known about pregnancy and the vaccine. On Thursday, Pfizer and BioNTech announced an international study to evaluate their coronavirus vaccines in pregnant women. Earlier this month, White House adviser Anthony Fauci, an infectious-disease expert, said that among 10,000 pregnant women who have received the shots, there were "no red flags."

The recommendation to get the vaccine is unqualified for some women.

Richard Beigi, a professor of obstetrics, gynecology and reproductive sciences and president of the Magee-Womens Hospital at the University of Pittsburgh Medical Center, urged pregnant women to "consider the benefit of getting, but also the risk of not getting the vaccine."

"We are increasingly becoming aware as the pandemic has gone across the world that when pregnant women develop symptoms and get sick, they appear more likely to get more critically ill," said Beigi, who is part of the coronavirus task force of the American College of Obstetricians and Gynecologists.

Iwasaki said getting the vaccine might be optional for a pregnant woman who is able to isolate herself so she is not exposed to others.

"But if you are an essential worker," she said, "then the risk-benefit ratio may be considered in favor of the vaccine. Every woman should make their own decision, but having the facts around it is important."

As for women who have already given birth and are breastfeeding, Iwasaki said, "We feel more confident the vaccine would be beneficial."

"Not only does it allow the mother to get protected," she said, "we think the mother can transfer the good antibodies to the babies through the milk that would allow the baby to be protected."

- - -

Each day, Lori Porter, chief executive of the National Association of Health Care Assistants, fields back-to-back phone calls from young women trying to decide whether to get the vaccine. Porter said the uptake among her members, who mostly work in nursing homes, is so low that the few who get the shots have to defend their decisions to their colleagues.

"I can't answer all their questions, and neither can anyone else," Porter said. "That's the problem."

Porter has sought funding from federal officials to launch targeted education campaigns to set the record straight. But so far, she said, that money has not materialized,and no cohesive federal response to the fertility disinformation has been presented - leaving health-care providers to come up with their own strategies.

Carrie Saia is chief executive of Holton Community Hospital in Kansas, where just over half of hospital employees eligible for the vaccine chose to get it. Hospital officials have pushed out myth-versus-fact emails twice a week and put out a survey about the issue. But she said she still expects only about 60 percent to get the shots.

"In our nursing unit, the majority of staff are childbearing age and some have just come back from maternity," she said.

LaTanja Silvester, Louisiana director of the nonprofit Resilience Force, which has been working on community outreach efforts for the New Orleans public health department, said the key to persuasion is getting the correct information to trusted leaders. But even that has been an uphill battle - one of her colleagues, a young woman, acknowledged that she, too, is hesitant to get the shots due to fertility concerns.

"We need to dispel the myths, especially in the minority community," Silvester said. "We've heard, 'It's going to prevent you from having kids.' Well, no, that's not true, but we need to make them feel comfortable with who they are hearing that message from."

Monique Luisi, a Missouri School of Journalism assistant professor, advocates aggressive countermessaging. Luisi, who is 32 and does not yet have children, tells women she sees the vaccine as a way to protect her own fertility: "The first step is protecting my life."

She and others hold out hope that as more research comes out on the coronavirus vaccines and fertility, pregnancy and lactation, more women will become comfortable with receiving the shots. Just in the past month, two studies appeared to suggest that pregnant women may be able to pass antibodies against SARS-CoV-2 to their fetuses.

One paper, published online before peer review, detailed the case of a front-line health-care worker in Florida who was vaccinated while 36 weeks pregnant. After the baby was born three weeks later, researchers detected antibodies in the cord blood. And a study in JAMA Pediatrics led by a researcher at the Children's Hospital of Philadelphia found antibodies in placentas from 72 out of 83 pregnant women who had previously been infected.

Amanda Sacco, 30, a nurse in Texas who's trying to start a family, consulted with her fertility doctor before deciding to get the vaccine. She said the majority of her colleagues have said they are not getting the shots, and even her own parents are hesitant. But she came away from her own research convinced the vaccine is safe and was also pleased with the indication that if she got the vaccine, she might be able to pass on some immunity to her child.

She said she believes changing women's views about the vaccine begins with those in the medical field.

"If you were to convince more health-care workers to accept the vaccine," she said, "they can better explain it to their patients and help get the word out."
Karnataka Bank fell 2.23% to Rs 67.85 after the bank reported to Reserve Bank of India (RBI) a fraud in the credit facilities extended earlier to IL&FS Transportation Networks with an outstanding balance of Rs 34.16 crore.

IL&FS Transportation Networks availed credit facilities from Karnataka Bank during 2016 under multiple banking arrangement wherein, Karnataka Bank was one of the member banks and during 2018, the borrowing account was classified as Non-Performing Asset (NPA) and has been fully provided for. There shall be no impact on the financials of the bank ahead, it added. The announcement was made post trading hours on Friday, 19 February 2021.

Karnataka Bank is a scheduled commercial bank. Karnataka Bank's standalone net profit rose 9.9% to Rs 135.38 crore on a 6.3% decline in total income to Rs 1,868.62 crore in Q3 December 2020 over Q3 December 2019.

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(This story has not been edited by Business Standard staff and is auto-generated from a syndicated feed.)

Pending zoning approval, the Vancouver-based firm wants to start construction of the 47-story, 537-unit east tower early next year, Marshall said. It would be complete by about mid-2024, after which the firm would break ground on a 40-story, 516-unit west tower that would be finished around the end of 2025, he said.
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The mayor of Amsterdam has decided it is time to revisit the question of whether the citys Stedelijk Museum should hold onto a 1909 painting by Wassily Kandinsky that had been part of a Jewish collection before it was obtained by the museum during World War II.

The Dutch Restitutions Commission, a national panel that handles claims of Nazi looting, found in 2018 that the museum could hold onto the work, Painting With Houses, which has been claimed by the heirs of its former Jewish owners. The restitution panels decision was upheld by a Dutch court.

But Amsterdams mayor, in a letter on Wednesday, suggested it would be appropriate for the restitution panel to reconsider the case of the painting, which has been in the museums collection since 1940.

The fate of the painting has been closely watched because it is one of several in which the restitution panel has balanced the interests of cultural institutions against those of people trying to recover artworks that are said to have been seized during World War II. That formulation drew criticism from restitution experts and, in December, from a committee convened by the Dutch culture minister to study the restitution panels decision making.
It seems that 91mobiles has recently uploaded a bunch of pictures showcasing a bunch of pictures showcasing an OPPO smartphone equipped with a small secondary display at the rear. While not much is known in regards to when the smartphone will be available globally, it does give us a better idea on what to expect when it is officially available.

If you look closely at the image, the secondary display located in the middle of the array of cameras seems to display the time of day and potentially more. However, do take some of the information with a grain of salt, due to the fact that OPPO has yet to provide an official statement on the leaked statement.

Not only that, but theres also no news on the Malaysia release date, local pricing, and exact tech specs for now. Would you be interested in getting a smartphone with a small secondary display at the rear? Let us know on our Facebook page and for more updates like this, stay tuned to TechNave.com.

Peaceful: People gather during a candlelight vigil to protest against the military coup in Myanmars biggest city Yangon. Photo: Reuters

Facebook yesterday took down the main page of the Myanmar military for violating its standards against inciting violence, as the first protester to die since the February 1 coup was buried.

Mya Thwate Thwate Khaing died on Friday, 10 days after being hit by a live round during a protest in Myanmars capital, Naypyitaw.

Yesterday, the body of the young woman, who turned 20 while she was on a life-support machine, was carried in a procession from the hospital to a cemetery. Hundreds of people in cars and on bikes followed the coffin.

In Yangon, the countrys largest city, around 1,000 demonstrators gathered to honour the grocery store worker.

I want to say through the media to the dictator and his associates, we are peaceful demonstrators, said Min Htet Naing, a protester. Stop the genocide. Stop using lethal weapons.

Many thousands have taken to the streets to protest against the seizure of power by the junta and the detentions of Aung San Suu Kyi and other members of her government.

The military claims elections held in November  which Ms Suu Kyis party won by a landslide  were blighted by voting irregularities. The electoral commission has dismissed these concerns.

The regime, which has promised new elections, has been unable to stem popular opposition, including a campaign of civil disobedience that has involved strikes by medical staff, teachers and other government workers.

On Saturday, the bloodiest day so far in two weeks of demonstrations, police and soldiers opened fire in Mandalay, Myanmars second-largest city, killing two people, one a teenage boy. Another 20 people were reportedly injured.

Britain and the US are among the countries to have condemned the violence. Tom Andrews, the United Nations special rapporteur for Myanmar, said he was horrified by hardened troops firing point-blank at peaceful protesters. This madness must end, now, he posted on social media.

UN Secretary General Antonio Guterres condemned the use of deadly violence in Mandalay. The use of lethal force, intimidation & harassment against peaceful demonstrators is unacceptable, he wrote on Twitter.

The UN General Assembly is scheduled to convene on Friday for informal talks about the situation of Myanmars Rohingya Muslims, but the coup is likely to take centre stage.

Late yesterday, Myanmars foreign ministry accused the UN and foreign countries of flagrant interference in its internal affairs.

Meanwhile, Facebook announced it had deleted the page of the Myanmar military, known as the Tatmadaw, on its platform.

In line with our global policies, weve removed the Tatmadaw True News Information Team Page from Facebook for repeated violations of our community standards prohibiting incitement of violence and coordinating harm, a spokesman said.

The social media giant had already taken down other accounts linked to the military including, in 2018, that of army chief Min Aung Hlaing, who is now in charge of Myanmar.

In Myitkyina in the north, which has seen confrontations in recent days, people laid flowers for the dead protesters.

Big crowds marched in the central towns of Monywa and Bagan, in Dawei and Myeik in the south and Myawaddy in the east.

They aimed at the heads of unarmed civilians. They aimed at our future, a young protester in Mandalay told the crowd.

An army spokesman last week said the militarys actions were within the constitution and supported by most people.

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Telegraph Media Group Limited [2021]

New Delhi: The Railway Recruitment Board (RRB) will release the answer key for the Computer Based Test (CBT) conducted for recruitment to various ministerial and isolated categories at 6 pm on Monday (February 22).

The exams were conducted between December 15, 2020, to December 18, 2020, and on January 7, 2021.

The answer key will be made available on the websites of RRBs. The link to view and challenge the answer key will be open from February 22 (6 pm) to February 28 (6 pm).

Candidates will able to raise objections to the answer key by paying a fee of Rs 50 per question. "In case the objection raised is found to be correct, the Fee Paid against such valid objections shall be refunded to the candidate," read the notification on the RRB website.

"The decision of RRBs on the objections raised shall be final and binding and no further correspondence shall be entertained from the candidates in the matter," it added.

How to check the answer key of RRB recruitment exam 2020-21?

Step 1: Visit the official website of the corresponding regional RRB

Step 2: Click on the link available to download the answer key

Step 3: A pdf file with answer keys will appear on the screen

Step 4: Download the answer key and match it with your responses

Step 5: Raise objection in case of any discrepancy in the answers

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Google is celebrating writer, musician, teacher, composer and suffragist Zitkala-A a of the Sioux Tribe of South Dakota with a new Doodle on what would have been her 145th birthday.

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Google's homepage features artwork of Zitkala-A a by guest artist Chris Pappan, who is of Osage, Kaw, Cheyenne River Sioux and European heritage.

Zitkala-A a was born on Feb. 22 in 1876. She spent her life devoted to protecting and celebrating her Indigenous heritage through art and activism during a time when Indigenous people were not considered citizens by the United States government.

She released an anthology or oral Dakota stories titled Old Indian Legends in 1901, which brought traditional Indigenous American stories to a wider audience. She also wrote the text and songs for The Sun Dance, the first Indigenous American opera.

Zitkala-A a additionally co-founded and served as the first president of the National Council of American Indians in 1926. Her work helped pass the Indian Citizenship Act of 1924, which granted citizenship to Indigenous people born in the U.S., and the Indian Reorganization Act of 1934.
Source: Xinhua| 2021-02-23 00:30:21|Editor: huaxia

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The return capsule of China's Chang'e-5 probe lands in Siziwang Banner, north China's Inner Mongolia Autonomous Region, on Dec. 17, 2020. (Xinhua/Lian Zhen)

BEIJING, Feb. 22 (Xinhua) -- Chinese President Xi Jinping met representatives of space scientists and engineers who participated in the research and development of the Chang'e-5 lunar mission at the Great Hall of the People in Beijing on Monday.

Xi, also general secretary of the Communist Party of China (CPC) Central Committee and chairman of the Central Military Commission, also visited an exhibition on the lunar samples brought back by the Chang'e-5 probe and China's lunar exploration achievements as well.

Xi stressed promoting the lunar exploration spirit and giving full play to the advantages of the new system of pooling national resources and strengths to ascend the peak of science and technology and serve the country's overall development. He emphasized embarking on a new interplanetary exploration journey step by step, promoting the innovative development of China's space exploration cause, and making greater contributions to humanity's peaceful use of space.

Li Keqiang, Li Zhanshu, Wang Yang, Wang Huning, Zhao Leji, and Han Zheng, all members of the Standing Committee of the Political Bureau of the CPC Central Committee, also attended the event.

Xi had cordial exchanges with some representatives and took a group photo with all.

Xi said that the success of the Chang'e-5 mission marked the conclusion of a three-step lunar exploration program which consisted of orbiting, landing on the moon, and returning with samples. It is another significant achievement in overcoming difficulties by employing the advantages of the new system of pooling national resources and strengths. It is a vital milestone in the development of China's space endeavor.

Chinese State Councilor Wang Yong reads a congratulatory message from Chinese President Xi Jinping at Beijing Aerospace Control Center in Beijing, capital of China, Dec. 17, 2020. (Xinhua/Zhang Ling)

Xi extended his congratulations to those who have participated in China's lunar exploration program over the past 17 years. He said they have promoted the lunar exploration spirit of pursuing dreams, daring to explore, cooperating in tackling difficulties and win-win cooperation, and have achieved new heights in science and technology.

Noting that exploring the vast universe is humanity's common dream, Xi urged implementing the fourth phase of China's lunar exploration program.

Xi called for giving full play to the advantages of the new system of pooling national resources and strengths, enhancing independent innovation, strengthening overall planning and working harder to promote the innovative development of China's space science, space technologies, and space applications.

He also stressed actively conducting international cooperation and making better contributions to humanity's well-being.

Since the lunar exploration program was officially approved, six exploration missions have been completed. The Chang'e-5 mission was the most complicated systemic space project in China that required the most diversified technologies. On Dec. 17, 2020, the return capsule of the Chang'e-5 probe brought back the country's first samples from an extraterrestrial body, laying a strong foundation for China's future lunar and planetary explorations. 
As we approach the one-year anniversary of the COVID-19 pandemic taking hold in New Orleans, the endless lockdowns and disruptions to our daily lives have taken a significant toll on all of us. Even for adults who have found some amount of balance, it continues to be a struggle. For families, the stresses of everything from the constant close contact to parents adjusting to being teachers while also holding down a job, its been particularly tough.

There are some signs of normalcy on the horizon. The vaccine is slowly gaining speed, more and more schools are increasing in-person learning and summer camp programs are preparing to resume in a few months.

But despite those glimmers of hope, its important to remember the pandemic is continuing to also take a toll on children.

One of the biggest problems with Covid, of course, is the uncertainty of it all. Because its a newly discovered virus, we still dont really know how it works in the short-term, let alone what the long-term implications will be, particularly on kids mental health. Thats why its important for parents to redouble their efforts to help their kids cope.

Childrens Hospital New Orleans has put together a helpful guide for building resilience in kids. The guide, which can be found on the hospitals website chnola.org, lays out some easy, common-sense ways to help kids cope, including making them feel safe by keeping to routines, talking with them about the pandemic, being sensitive to their emotions and involving them in family decisions. They also suggest remaining positive and taking advantage of safe activities that are available to your family.

Similarly, the Centers for Disease Control and Preventions tips for talking with kids about Covid stresses being open, honest and calm. That means being realistic in how we talk about not only the virus but also the vaccine, when normal may return and what that will even look like.

But while its easy to focus on the dark side of the pandemic, there can be an unexpected silver lining in it all. For instance, European researchers last year noted that in some cases the changes in routine caused by lockdowns "seem to actually reduce child and adolescent mental illness symptoms and even improve well-being. Some kids seem to experience alleviation of social and sensory pressure and enjoy the more intensive family life.

According to those researchers in the Netherlands, where a broad lockdown was put in place nearly overnight, there has been evidence to suggest Nuclear family life was forcefully reinvented in many homes in sharp paradox with their usual busy normal routines of balancing work and family. Many parents became homebound schoolteachers whilst trying to keep their own professional lives going through online interactions. In the clinic, this led to mixed reports of being tied up in their houses whilst also being able to pay unprecedented amount of time and attention to each other.

Closer to home, doctors at Childrens Hospital here in New Orleans have seen similar changes in some families. Dr. Amy Henke, a clinical psychologist at Childrens Hospital, noted last spring that without a tight timeline of endless after-school commitments and potentially loosened academic pressures, some families may be experiencing their first taste of unstructured leisure and relaxation.

That, in turn has in some cases resulted in a reshaping of family relationships. There have been reports in our clinics of families having their first meals together in years, parents and children engaging in slow and deliberate activities like putting together puzzles or baking, and hours of homework being replaced by pleasure reading and family walks or bike rides around the neighborhood, according to Henke.

Theres no one right way to talk to children about the pandemic. But here are some tips for helping kids cope with COVID-19 from the American Academy of Child and Adolescent Psychiatry. The full list can be found at aacap.org/coronavirus.

 Create an open and supportive environment where children know they can ask questions.

 Answer questions honestly. Children will usually know, or eventually find out, if youre making things up.

 Acknowledge and validate the childs thoughts, feelings, and reactions. Let them know that you think their questions and concerns are important and appropriate.

 Remember children tend to personalize situations  they may worry about their own safety and the safety of immediate family members.

 Be reassuring, but dont make unrealistic promises.

 Let children know that there are lots of people helping the people affected by the coronavirus outbreak

 Children who are preoccupied with questions or concerns about the coronavirus outbreak should be evaluated by a trained and qualified mental health professional.

 Although parents and teachers may follow the news and the daily updates with interest and attention, most children just want to be children.

+5 New Orleans summer camps brace for a second Covid summer Last summer, COVID-19 was rapidly spreading across the world, and local summer camps  like everyone else  had to make adjustments from their
AMSTERDAM (Reuters) - An incident involving a Boeing 747-400 cargo plane that dropped engine parts after a mid-air explosion and fire over the southern Netherlands on Saturday is under investigation, the Dutch Safety Board said.

The Longtail Aviation cargo plane, flight 5504, scattered small metal parts over the Dutch town of Meerssen, causing damage and injuring a woman shortly after take-off, Maastricht Airport spokeswoman Hella Hendriks said.

The Bermuda-registered plane, which was headed from Maastricht to New York, was powered by Pratt & Whitney PW4000 engines, a smaller version of those on a United Airlines Boeing 777 involved in an incident in Denver, also on Saturday.

After that incident, Boeing recommended airlines suspend operations of certain older versions of its 777 airliner powered by Pratt & Whitney 4000-112 engines, variants currently flown by five airlines.

U.S. regulators announced extra inspections and Japan suspended their use while considering further action.

In the Dutch incident, witnesses heard one or two explosions shortly after take-off and the pilot was informed by air traffic control that an engine was on fire, Hendriks said.

"The photos indicate they were parts of engine blade, but that's being investigated," she said. "Several cars were damaged and bits hit several houses. Pieces were found across the residential neighbourhood on roofs, gardens and streets."

Longtail Aviation said it was "too early to speculate as to what may have been the cause of the problem" and that it was working with Dutch, Belgian, Bermuda and UK authorities looking into the incident.

Dozens of pieces fell, Hendriks said, measuring around 5 centimetres wide and up to 25 centimetres long. The aircraft landed safely at Liege airport in Belgium, some 30 kilometres (19 miles) south of the Dutch border.

Boeing referred questions to Dutch authorities.

"Our investigation is still in a preliminary phase, it is too early to draw conclusions," a spokeswoman for the Dutch Safety Board said on Monday.

Europe's EASA aviation regulator said on Monday that it was aware of the Pratt & Whitney jet engine incidents, and was requesting information on the causes to determine what action may be needed.

(Reporting by Bart Meijer and Anthony Deutsch; editing by Emelia Sithole-Matarise and Jason Neely)
Mexico's Defense Ministry is investigating what caused an Air Force jet to crash, killing six military members onboard.

The accident occurred Sunday at 9:45am just moments after the Learjet 45 had departed from El Lencero International Airport in Xalapa, Veracruz.

The jet was making its second flight of the day after arriving from Mexico City International Airport at 9:05am, according to Mexican newspaper Excelsior.

The flights were part of a series of practice segments that the pilots were conducting as they were heading to Villahermosa, Tabasco, before the aircraft crashed.

Emergency response workers and soldiers attempt to pry open a Mexican Air Force Learjet 45's door moments after it crashed Sunday morning at El Lencero International Airport in Xalapa, Veracruz. The Defense Ministry said six military servicemen were killed in the accident, but did not mention how many people were on board

A member of the Xalapa municipal police inspects the wreckage of a military jet that crashed shortly after it attempted to take off from El Lencero International Airport on Sunday morning. The Mexican Defense Ministry said six Air Force servicemen were killed in the accident

Mexico's Defense Ministry said it is investigating what caused an Air Force jet's accident at El Lancero International Airport in Xalapa, Veracruz, on Sunday

The aircraft reportedly failed to gain altitude and crashed at the end of the runway, landing in a farm where it exploded in flames.

Video recorded at the accident scene shows the moment an emergency response team and soldiers rock the front part of the aircraft back and forth as the rear half of it was completely burned except for its tail, which remained intact.

Separate video footage also shows a soldier and a fireman taking turns and hitting the cockpit window in a frantic attempt to pull out the pilots.

Mexican newspaper Excelsior reported that the Mexican military purchased the jet from a private firm in the United States. The jet was built in 2007

A military soldier tries to smash the cockpit window open during a frantic attempt to rescue the Air Force servicemen

A Mexican Air Force Learjet 45 crashed moments after takeoff Sunday at El Lencero International Airport in Xalapa, Veracruz. The military identified the victims as Second Captain Aldo Rivas; Lieutenants German Flores, Juan Villalpando and Gumaro Acosta; First Captain Gustavo Rosas; and Infantry Lieutenant Armando Rodriguez.

A statement from the Secretary of Defense did not say how many people were on board the plane.

The victims, according to Mexican news outlet Milenio, were identified as Second Captain Aldo Rivas; Lieutenants German Flores, Juan Villalpando and Gumaro Acosta; First Captain Gustavo Rosas; and Infantry Lieutenant Armando Rodriguez.

The aircraft was built in 2007 and purchased by the Mexican military from a private firm in the United States.
Vote Percentage of Parties in Puducherry2021: How did the parties fare

Kiran Bedi colluded with Opposition, tried to topple our govt: Narayanasamy

India

oi-Deepika S

Puducherry, Feb 22: Puducherry Chief Minister V Narayanasamy on Monday accused the opposition of trying to topple the government, despite clear mandate by the people.



Puducherry Congress-led govt falls | CM loses trust vote | Oneindia News

Apparently referring to former Lt Governor Kiran Bedi constantly being at loggerheads with him on administrative matters, he said that he had however, delivered for the union territory, including effectively handling the Covid-19 pandemic.

He lashed out at Bedi, saying she had "conspired" against the government on matters including revenue generation.

"Those rejected by people cospired to topple our government but we stayed firm due to our resilience," he said.

"Former LG Kiran Bedi and Central Government colluded with the Opposition and tried to topple the government. As our MLAs stayed united we managed to pull off the last 5 yrs. The Centre has betrayed the people of Puducherry by not granting funds we requested," he added.

V Narayanasamy on Monday sought a confidence vote for his government, as the territorial Assembly met for a special session for a floor test of his five-year old government that has been reduced to a minority following resignations by ruling dispensation members.

Moving the motion, the chief minister told the Assembly that his government had the majority.
Actress Eva Longoria is visiting San Antonio on Monday.

This Monday afternoon, Longoria will take a quick tour of the San Antonio Food Bank with the President and CEO Eric Cooper, according to a news release from the food bank. She will also make three home deliveries to households impacted by the Texas winter storm last week.

READ ALSO: SAWS clears additional San Antonio neighborhoods from its boil water notice

Longoria is a supporter of Feeding America, which is an organization that distributes food and grocery products through a nationwide certified member network. The Texas native has also been vocal on her social media by amplifying several threads with information on how to help Texas after its Arctic freeze that left many without power and water.

"Let's work together. Borrowing from @chrissyteigen: please list some good ways to help Texas here - for me and for all of us," Longoria tweeted on Wednesday.

Michael G. Guerra, the San Antonio Food Bank's Chief Resource Officer, said the food agency is excited to have Longoria join them this afternoon, saying her warmth will brighten many during this time.

"Her being in town is exactly what we need to bring some warmth after our winter storm," Guerra said. "... We couldn't be happier to see someone like Eva lean in to support the great work this community has already been doing for days and days."

Priscilla Aguirre is a general assignment reporter for MySA.com | priscilla.aguirre@express-news.net | @CillaAguirre
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DENVER  The results of an investigation into the fatal arrest of Elijah McClain in suburban Denver released Monday criticizes how police handled the entire incident, faulting officers for their quick, aggressive treatment of the 23-year-old Black man and the department for having a weak accountability system that failed to press for the truth about what happened.

The investigation commissioned by the city of Aurora found two contrasting stories of what happened to McClain in August 2019 after someone reported him as suspicious. One, based on officers statements to investigators, where police describe a violent, relentless struggle. And another based on body camera footage in which McClain can be heard crying out in pain, apologizing, explaining himself, and pleading with the officers as they restrained him, applied pain compliance techniques, and sat or kneeled on him.

Forgive me  you all are phenomenal, you are beautiful, McClain said at one point, the report said.

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Police also put McClain in a neckhold that stops the flood of blood to the brain, rendering him temporarily unconscious, and paramedics injected him with 500 milligrams of ketamine as a sedative. He suffered cardiac arrest and later was taken off life support.

The report also suggests that District Attorney Dave Youngs review of the case failed to assess the officers conduct and did not reflect the rigor of a police investigation that one would expect when assessing whether a crime was committed.

Youngs review of the case did not find sufficient evidence to press criminal charges in McClains death.

The district attorney didnt consider Colorados statutory requirement that officers must have reasonable suspicion of a previous or impending crime in order to stop someone, relying only on the fact that McClain was in a high crime area and that he was wearing a ski mask and a coat on a summer night, the report found.

Neither the neighborhood nor the ski mask by themselves or together are sufficient to create reasonable suspicion without more, the report states.

His family said McClain wore the mask because he had a blood condition that caused him to get cold easily.

His death drew renewed attention last year amid the national reckoning over police brutality and racial injustice and prompted several investigations, including a probe into possible criminal charges by the Colorado Attorney Generals Office that remains in progress.

In the Aurora investigation, the city asked outside investigators to look into the actions of police, firefighters and paramedics in McClains arrest but not to duplicate the attorney generals criminal investigation. They were also asked to review policies and practices relevant to McClains arrest, like the use of force and the use of ketamine. The city banned the use of ketamine as it awaited the results of the investigation.

The investigation found there was no attempt to examine McClain before paramedics administered ketamine. The report suggested policy should be changed so paramedics prioritize patient safety rather than act as an arm of the police department.

It also recommended the police department review how officers are trained to decide whether they have a legal reason to stop, frisk and arrest people, and urges the city to consider overhauling how it reviews incidents. It said department investigators who questioned the three officers who stopped and arrested McClain failed to ask basic, critical questions needed by any prosecutor to determine if their use of force was legally justified.

Instead, the questions frequently appeared designed to elicit specific exonerating magic language found in court rulings, it said.

Lawyers representing McClains parents in a lawsuit against Aurora said the investigations findings backed up their claims that he should never have been stopped, subjected to force and injected with ketamine.

Thats the thing about the truth  its consistent, said lawyer Mari Newman, who represents McClains father, LaWayne Mosley.

Lawyers for mother Sheneen McClain she was grateful the report laid bare the wrongdoing of city employees.

Elijah committed no crime on the day of his death, but those who are responsible for Elijahs death certainly did, they said in a statement.

Following a presentation of the investigations findings to city councilors, about a half dozen people who signed up to speak in the subsequent online council meeting Monday evening demanded justice for McClain. Most called for firing or prosecuting the three officers who stopped McClain along with the firefighter who approved the use of ketamine and the paramedic who administered it.

In January, Colorado Attorney General Phil Weiser announced he opened a grand jury investigation into McClains death as part of his investigation, saying it provided an investigative tool to compel testimony and require the production of documents. Weisers office is also conducting a civil rights investigation into Aurora police, its first one under a police reform law passed after George Floyds death in Minneapolis set off protests.

Last year, the U.S. Department of Justice and FBI also announced they had been reviewing McClains case for a potential federal civil rights investigation since 2019.

An autopsy could not determine how McClain died, which the local prosecutor said was a key reason he declined to charge any of the three police officers who arrested McClain. The lawsuit filed by McClains family alleges he died as a result of a dramatic increase of lactic acid in his blood caused by excessive force used by police over about 18 minutes combined with the ketamine suppressing his respiratory system. They claim that police continued to torture McClain even after he was restrained, treatment they say is a result of the departments history of unconstitutional racist brutality.
India on Monday signed a landmark Comprehensive Economic Cooperation and Partnership Agreement (CECPA) with Mauritius, the first if its kind with an African nation, making the strategically-located country a launch-pad for business expansion into the huge African continent.

"Today is indeed a special day in our special relationship," External Affairs Minister S Jaishankar said while jointly addressing the media with Prime Minister Pravind Jugnauth here after calling on him.

"India is privileged to have entered into a Comprehensive Economic Cooperation and Partnership Agreement (CECPA) with This agreement is India's first-such agreement with an African country," Jaishankar said.

He said it will provide a timely boost for the revival of the post-COVID economies and also enable Indian investors to use as a launch-pad for business expansion into continental Africa helping the prospect of emerging as a 'hub of Africa'.

Prime Minister Jugnauth also noted that the CECPA is the first of its kind signed by India with an African country.

"This landmark agreement is far-reaching and will unleash new and expanded opportunities in trade in goods and services, investment, economic cooperation and technical assistance," he said.

The CECPA will encourage Indian entrepreneurs to invest both in Mauritius and across the region, thus helping the ambition of the country to become a strategic regional economic hub and a centre of excellence, Jugnauth said in his remarks.

The CECPA provides preferential access to Mauritius for bulk of the trade and also for many aspirational items for the future into the Indian market of over a billion people. These include frozen fish, speciality sugar, biscuits, fresh fruits, juices, mineral water, soaps, bags, medical and surgical equipment, and apparel.

The current global imports of India on these products is well over USD 15 billion. "This is therefore a significant opportunity for Mauritius to benefit from access to the Indian market," Jaishankar said.

He said Mauritius will get preferential access for export of 40,000 tonnes of sugar into India at an early time frame. Similarly, there will also be access for the export of 7.5 million pieces of apparel.

Jaishankar said that in the trade in services sector, India has offered 95 sub-sectors from 11 broad services sectors.

"Services contribute, I believe, 76 per cent of the GDP of Mauritius, and CECPA will surely boost the dynamism of the services sector in Mauritius.

The CECPA could also facilitate Indian investment in the Services sector in Mauritius, especially in the Information and Communication Technologies sector as Indian companies could benefit by leveraging the bilingual prowess of Mauritius for investments in Francophone Africa, the minister said.

Jaishankar noted that during his meeting with Prime Minister Jugnauth, they held a lengthy review of the comprehensive and important bilateral relationship.

"Our discussions, I believe, were very productive and forward looking, and we really reviewed all aspects of the relationship as well as status of implementation of various projects," Jaishankar added.

(Only the headline and picture of this report may have been reworked by the Business Standard staff; the rest of the content is auto-generated from a syndicated feed.)
A year ago, before COVID-19 changed everything, Gov. Gavin Newsom dedicated almost all of his State of the State address to one issue: homelessness.

As Californians, we pride ourselves on our unwavering sense of compassion and justice for humankind, Newsom told legislators, but theres nothing compassionate about allowing fellow Californians to live on the streets, huddled in cars or makeshift encampments. And theres nothing just about sidewalks and street corners that arent safe and clean for everybody.

The problem has persisted for decades  caused by massive failures in our mental health system and disinvestment in our social safety net  exacerbated by widening income inequality and Californias housing shortage. The hard truth is we ignored the problem.

Quality journalism doesn't happen without your help Support local news coverage and the people who report it by subscribing to the Napa Valley Register.

Newsom pledged to attack the issue with money and replace Californias scattershot approach with a coordinated crisis-level response.

We will be laser-focused on getting the mentally ill out of tents and into treatment, Newsom promised. We will provide stable funding to get sustainable results. We will tackle the underproduction of affordable housing in California. And we will do all of this with real accountability and consequences.
Capt Amarinder to lead Cong in 2022 Punjab polls : Jakhar

Chandigarh, Feb 22 (UNI) Punjab Pradesh Congress Committee (PPCC) President Sunil Jakhar on Monday said Chief Minister Capt Amarinder Singh would lead the party in the 2022 assembly polls, as the people of the state had reposed their faith in his leadership with their landslide verdict in Congress favour in the recent civic polls.

While participating in the event for the launch of various developmental projects worth Rs 1087 crore by the Chief Minister, under the Smart City and AMRUT schemes, Jakhar said, the Congress partys sweeping victory in the civic polls has not only revalidated Capt Amarinders leadership in the state but was an endorsement of the faith of Punjabis in his future leadership also.

He said the state Congress had already launched mission #Captainfor2022, and the next elections would be fought under his leadership.
The response came in mid-January, with only days left in Mr. Trumps term: Treasury Secretary Steven Mnuchin granted Mr. Gertler much of what he wanted, signing off, without any public announcement, on a one-year arrangement that gave him access to money frozen in U.S. banks and allowed him once again to do business with financial institutions worldwide.

The decision stunned and angered American diplomats in Washington and Africa and government officials and human rights activists in the Democratic Republic of Congo, where Mr. Gertler had been accused years earlier by the United Nations and other groups of working with the then-ruling family on deals that looted the nations mineral wealth and propped up a corrupt regime.

And it has left the Biden administration scrambling to determine how Mr. Gertler managed to pull it off  and whether it can be reversed.

The episode has echoes of Mr. Trumps last-minute grants of clemency to political and personal allies and people with connections to him, including the involvement of Mr. Dershowitz. It also highlighted Mr. Gertlers use of high-powered connections in Israel, including people with ties to Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu, and an effort to win support from the U.S. ambassador to Israel.

But the outcome was also distinguished by the secrecy of the process, which cut out the American diplomats most directly responsible for dealing with Congo and fighting corruption in Africa and appeared to have been handled largely at the level of Mr. Mnuchin and Secretary of State Mike Pompeo. The decision became public only after Mr. Trump had left office.
IONIA COUNTY, MI  A man attempting to fell a tree Saturday died after the tree came down on top of him.

The victim, a 62-year-old Lake Odessa man, was pronounced dead at the scene, a news release from the Ionia County Sheriffs Office states.

Deputies responded to the scene, in the area of Knox Road and S. Keefer Highway in Sebewa Township, at 11:56 a.m., Saturday, Feb. 20, the release states.

First responders from the Sunfield Fire Department and Portland Ambulance attempted emergency lifesaving procedures, but were unsuccessful.

Deputies said drugs and alcohol do not appear to be factors in this case.

The Ionia County Sheriffs Office is investigating the death with the assistance of the Ionia County Medical Examiner. Ionia County Central Dispatch and the Portland Fire Department also assisted with the incident.

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COVID-19: Uttar Pradesh CM plans to vaccinate all parents ahead of third wave of coronavirus

India

oi-Deepika S

Lucknow, Feb 22: The Adityanath government presented a Rs 5.5 lakh crore budget for 2021-22 in the Assembly with a target of making Uttar Pradesh self-reliant. With the Assembly election a year away, the budget includes new schemes of Rs 27,598 crore.

Uttar Pradesh Budget 2021: Here Are The Key Highlights

Newest First Oldest First "This budget is extremely disappointing especially in terms of addressing the problems of the poor, weaker sections and farmers," she said in her second tweet. She alleged that the Adityanath government''s record on fulfilling its promises to the 23 crore people of Uttar Pradesh has not been "satisfactory" despite the fact the both the state and the Centre have the BJP-ruled dispensations. "The BJP government''s budget presented in the UP assembly today, like the central government''s budget, is extremely disappointing in the state, especially in terms of ending the cruelty of employment, and creating jobs. Like in the central government''s budget, in the UP budget too, an attempt has been made to make promises and make people have beautiful dreams," Mayawati said in a tweet in Hindi. BSP president and former Uttar Pradesh chief minister Mayawati Monday termed the state government''s budget "extremely disappointing", saying it just has promises for people but nothing to address unemployment. Provision of Rs 15,000 core has been marked for Jal Jeevan Mission (rural) scheme and with stress on infrastructural development, it proposes Rs 1,107 crore for Purvanchal expressway, Rs 1,492 crore for Bundelkhand expressway and Rs 860 crore for Gorakhpur link expressway and Rs 7,200 crore for land acquisition for Ganga Expressway and Rs 489 crore for construction works. The budget also has a provision for setting up of biosafety level-4 lab under Institute of Virology and Infectious disease Lucknow. With a view to develop medical infrastructure, Rs 1,950 has been earmarked for construction of new medical colleges in 13 districts and Rs 960 crores for medical colleges under construction in eight districts. Provision of Rs 5,395 crore has been earmarked for Rashtriya Gramin Swasthya mission, Rs 1,300 crores for Ayushman Bharat, besides Rs 1,073 crore for creating diagnostic infrastructure for primary healthcare facilities. For youth development, the budget makes a provision for distribution of tablets to eligible students under the government''s ambitious Mukhyamantri Abhyudaya Yojana, for free coaching for competitive exams and for setting up model career centres in 12 other districts. Provisions of Rs 4,094 crore for nutritional programme and Rs 415 crore for National nutritional campaign besides Rs 200 crores for Mahila Samarthya Yojna are also there. For women welfare, the budget proposes Rs 1,200 crore for implementation of Mukhymatri Kanya Sumangla Yojana and Rs 100 crore for malnutrition of women and children under Mukhymantri Saksham Suraksha yojna. SP spokesperson Rajendra Choudhary claimed that the budget would turn the tide in favour of "AY from YA" (Akhilesh Yadav from Yogi Adityanath) in the 2022 Assembly election. "Poor and farmers were expecting big relief, but their expectations were not met. Now, the government has no time left and people of the state have seen what they did in the past four years," Yadav added. This was fifth and last budget of the government led by Chief Minister Yogi Adityanath and his game is over now, the SP leader said. "Khel khatam, paisa hajam" (game over, money usurped)," Yadav said when asked about the budget. Samajwadi Party president Akhilesh Yadav panned the budget presented by the Uttar Pradesh government on Monday, saying expectations of the poor and the farmers' were not met. We had paperless budget for first time. With 'Sabka Saath Sabka Vishwas', this budget aims to bring, taps, electricity, roads, water in every household, alongside making every village digital. This budget is for youth, women, poor and farmers: CM Yogi Adityanath on State Budget With Assembly elections in the state less than a year away, the budget includes new schemes of Rs 27,598.40 crore. Rs 400 crore for loans to farmers on subsidised rates Rs 750 cr for Gorakhpur Expressway, Rs 1,107 crore - Purvanchal Expressway, Rs 1,492cr - Bundelkhand Expressway. UP Budget: Rs 700 crore allocated for irrigation Rs 100 crore has been allocated for Atma Nirbhar Krishik Samanvit Vikas Yojna Rs 50 crore has been allocated for Covid vaccination in the state. Finance Minister Suresh Khanna said - Police force will be modernized. An amount of RS 600 crore has been proposed under the Mukhyamantri Krishak Accident Welfare Scheme launched with the aim of providing social security to the farmers of the state. The size of the budget presented by Finance Minister Suresh Kumar Khanna is over  37,410 crore more than the previous year's budget. The name of the airport under construction in district Ayodhya will be Maryada Purushottam Shriram Airport. I propose a budget provision of Rs 101 crores for it, says the finance minister. Reading out the budget speech from a laptop, Khanna said the target was to make Uttar Pradesh "Aatmanirbhar" and ensure all round development of the state. The budget for 2021-22 was presented by the state''s Finance Minister Suresh Kumar Khanna in the presence of the chief minister. All members of the State Legislature have been provided iPads to view the budget highlights which will also be available on two big screens put up in the House. The Yogi Adityanath-led Uttar Pradesh government presented its fifth and likely its last budget before the state elections next year. This was Uttar Pradesh's first paperless budget. All members of the State Legislature have been provided iPads to view the budget highlights which will also be available on two big screens put up in the House. The budget for 2021-22 was presented by the state''s Finance Minister Suresh Kumar Khanna in the presence of the chief minister. Reading out the budget speech from a laptop, Khanna said the target was to make Uttar Pradesh "Aatmanirbhar" and ensure all round development of the state. The name of the airport under construction in district Ayodhya will be Maryada Purushottam Shriram Airport. I propose a budget provision of Rs 101 crores for it, says the finance minister. The size of the budget presented by Finance Minister Suresh Kumar Khanna is over  37,410 crore more than the previous year's budget. An amount of RS 600 crore has been proposed under the Mukhyamantri Krishak Accident Welfare Scheme launched with the aim of providing social security to the farmers of the state. Finance Minister Suresh Khanna said - Police force will be modernized. Rs 50 crore has been allocated for Covid vaccination in the state. Rs 100 crore has been allocated for Atma Nirbhar Krishik Samanvit Vikas Yojna UP Budget: Rs 700 crore allocated for irrigation Rs 750 cr for Gorakhpur Expressway, Rs 1,107 crore - Purvanchal Expressway, Rs 1,492cr - Bundelkhand Expressway. Rs 400 crore for loans to farmers on subsidised rates With Assembly elections in the state less than a year away, the budget includes new schemes of Rs 27,598.40 crore. We had paperless budget for first time. With 'Sabka Saath Sabka Vishwas', this budget aims to bring, taps, electricity, roads, water in every household, alongside making every village digital. This budget is for youth, women, poor and farmers: CM Yogi Adityanath on State Budget Samajwadi Party president Akhilesh Yadav panned the budget presented by the Uttar Pradesh government on Monday, saying expectations of the poor and the farmers' were not met. "Khel khatam, paisa hajam" (game over, money usurped)," Yadav said when asked about the budget. This was fifth and last budget of the government led by Chief Minister Yogi Adityanath and his game is over now, the SP leader said. "Poor and farmers were expecting big relief, but their expectations were not met. Now, the government has no time left and people of the state have seen what they did in the past four years," Yadav added. SP spokesperson Rajendra Choudhary claimed that the budget would turn the tide in favour of "AY from YA" (Akhilesh Yadav from Yogi Adityanath) in the 2022 Assembly election. For women welfare, the budget proposes Rs 1,200 crore for implementation of Mukhymatri Kanya Sumangla Yojana and Rs 100 crore for malnutrition of women and children under Mukhymantri Saksham Suraksha yojna. Provisions of Rs 4,094 crore for nutritional programme and Rs 415 crore for National nutritional campaign besides Rs 200 crores for Mahila Samarthya Yojna are also there. For youth development, the budget makes a provision for distribution of tablets to eligible students under the government''s ambitious Mukhyamantri Abhyudaya Yojana, for free coaching for competitive exams and for setting up model career centres in 12 other districts. Provision of Rs 5,395 crore has been earmarked for Rashtriya Gramin Swasthya mission, Rs 1,300 crores for Ayushman Bharat, besides Rs 1,073 crore for creating diagnostic infrastructure for primary healthcare facilities. With a view to develop medical infrastructure, Rs 1,950 has been earmarked for construction of new medical colleges in 13 districts and Rs 960 crores for medical colleges under construction in eight districts. The budget also has a provision for setting up of biosafety level-4 lab under Institute of Virology and Infectious disease Lucknow. Provision of Rs 15,000 core has been marked for Jal Jeevan Mission (rural) scheme and with stress on infrastructural development, it proposes Rs 1,107 crore for Purvanchal expressway, Rs 1,492 crore for Bundelkhand expressway and Rs 860 crore for Gorakhpur link expressway and Rs 7,200 crore for land acquisition for Ganga Expressway and Rs 489 crore for construction works. BSP president and former Uttar Pradesh chief minister Mayawati Monday termed the state government''s budget "extremely disappointing", saying it just has promises for people but nothing to address unemployment. "The BJP government''s budget presented in the UP assembly today, like the central government''s budget, is extremely disappointing in the state, especially in terms of ending the cruelty of employment, and creating jobs. Like in the central government''s budget, in the UP budget too, an attempt has been made to make promises and make people have beautiful dreams," Mayawati said in a tweet in Hindi.
Small businesses, including hair salons, have been hit hard in the Pacific Northwest over the past year thanks to stringent government restrictions. To make matters worse, leaders of blue states have become infamous for encouraging the public to snitch on these small businesses that are doing their best to stay afloat in a tanking economy. However, a recent encounter at an Oregon hair salon leads me to wonder if small businesses will begin snitching on customers next.

Two weeks ago, I visited a beauty school and hair salon in the Portland suburb of Hillsboro, Oregon. Little did I know I would be kicked out only minutes after I arrived because I voiced reservations about the intrusive three-page COVID-related questionnaire I was required to fill out prior to my appointment.

It was my first visit to the establishment, and when I stepped inside, a pink-haired receptionist with rhinestone-studded cheekbones took my temperature and handed me the questionnaire. I dutifully answered the 15 questions on page one pertaining to any physical symptoms I may be experiencing. Then I turned to page two, stopping abruptly when I read the first questions:

"Did you take part in a social gathering of more than 10 people in the last week in which you were within 6 feet of others?" followed by "If yes, was everyone wearing a mask/face covering, you included?"

I puzzled over the questions. Had I mistakenly stepped into a doctor's office rather than a hair salon? Was a small business truly probing into my recent involvement with other people just so I could get my hair trimmed and styled? Perhaps page three would require my blood type and Social Security number.

I also wondered what the salon's policy would be if I answered "yes" to either question. Would they deny me service? More importantly, would they send my private information to the Oregon Health Authority to follow up? After all, the business required my phone number and email address before it could provide service.

I asked the receptionist behind the counter a simple question: "If I answer 'yes' to either of these questions, will someone still cut my hair?"

Surprised, she replied that the questionnaire was store policy and that as a private business, they were free to ask these questions.

"I understand that. But tell me this: if I answer yes to either of these questions, can I still get my hair cut?"

She reiterated, "As a private business we have the right to ask these questions." She paused and followed up more boldly this time with "that is called capitalism."

Having traveled for two months through post-communist Eastern Europe in the mid-'90s, researching the various regimes, and having a number of friends from Poland, Romania, and Eastern Germany who have shared stories with me about life under communist rule in those countries, I have a decent grasp on the definition of communism. So I offered it to her. Unsatisfied, she asked me to leave the salon. Apparently, in the age of COVID, requesting that a business tell you its plans once you've provided personal information is verboten in Portland and the surrounding areas.

In one way, pink-haired girl is correct. A private business does have the right to refuse service to anyone it pleases. The difference between her understanding of communism and mine, however, resides in the details: businesses in a capitalist society do not deny service to customers based upon whom these customers have recently associated with, nor on the space between those people, whether masked or unmasked. On the other hand, in a communist society, businesses are controlled by the government, and business-owners answer to "big brother"; thus, a customer's right to privacy means nothing under these regimes.

Less than a year ago, Oregonians in front of the state capitol protested lockdowns that kept businesses like this salon from operating. Now it appears that some Oregon salons have graduated from being the targets of Stasi-like behavior to being the purveyors of the same. Denying service to a customer who dares ask whether she can receive a haircut even if she answers "yes" to intrusive questions regarding her recent social interactions reeks of methods employed in communist countries to control the populace.

Anca Pista, a Portland resident who was born in communist Romania before her family emigrated to Oregon in 2006, notes, "[In Romania] the government was always hiring 'insiders' from among the common people who would report back to the government to be able to control and manage any 'threats' or perceived changes in people's lives. You wouldn't be able to tell who those people were, only by suspecting they were up to something."

And an article from The Globe and Mail notes, "In today's panic-stricken China, lawyers and police have warned of severe punishments for anyone who fails to disclose medical symptoms, even raising the threat of charging them with endangering public safety  which in severe instances can be punished by death."

Some might argue that those extreme measures would never occur in the U.S. But only months after the pandemic's arrival in the United States, we watched governor after governor implement outrageous techniques to maintain control of the populace, particularly in Democrat-run states.

When salon owner Lindsey Graham defied Oregon governor Kate Brown's lockdown orders to save her business last May, "Child Protective Services engaged in a systematic effort to harass, bully and punish Lindsey Graham and her family for engaging in legal business activities," according to Graham's attorneys. Months later, Brown made national headlines when she encouraged Oregonians to snitch on noncompliant neighbors who celebrated Thanksgiving with more than six people.

Reason magazine notes, "Jurisdictions around the country have launched online forms so people can set the cops on 'non-essential' businesses that continue to serve customers and people who stand too close together." Likewise, a snitch hotline was established in Massachusetts whereby employees could rat out their bosses who defy local mandates. The same behavior condemned in other nations has crept across our borders and is justified by the guilty as necessary precautions to keep Americans "safe." I wonder: if I had answered "yes" to both questions on the document, would I have been reported as well?

In light of this trend, it is not implausible to assume that businesses snitching on customers will become more commonly practiced in the not so distant future. One year ago, I couldn't imagine being turned away from a business for inquiring about the purpose behind a private business prying into my recent social activities. Sadly, twelve months later, invasion of privacy and citizen snitches are becoming the new normal.

Some may argue that the hair salon I visited is only doing its part to keep customers and employees safe during the pandemic. I would respond that hundreds of small businesses are able to maintain safety without infringing on customers' privacy. In fact, a week after this incident, I visited an excellent stylist who happily cut my hair with precautions in place without questioning my recent social interactions in exchange for the money I was equally happy to pay. This is what we call capitalism.

The fact that many Americans are willing to exchange their rights for a false sense of safety provided by government leaders who lust for control sets a dangerous precedent. Many Oregonians have guzzled the COVID Kool-Aid and now wear fear like a badge of honor, meekly complying with overreaching mandates and even performing their own surveillance of fellow citizens. It may be too late for blue states to change course. However, citizens of red states would be wise to note the gross government overreach occurring in states like Oregon and take impending threats to their freedom and privacy seriously.
Hong Kong: Chinese history competitions set

The Education Bureau today invited primary schools to join the first city-wide quiz competition on Chinese history and culture and secondary schools to join an award promoting the topics.

The primary school competition comprises preliminary, semi-final and final stages targeting Primary 4 to 6 students.

Each primary school may nominate a minimum of 20 students for the preliminary stage of the competition, which will be held online from April to May.

The semi-final and final stages will be held at a television station from June to July.

In addition to the champion, first runner-up and second runner-up, the 18 Districts Outstanding Achievement Awards and Schools with Greatest Participation awards will encourage more schools to take part in the event.

The winners will be presented with trophies, certificates, book coupons, and more.

Applications for the competition will be accepted until March 19.

As for secondary schools, the objective of the Inheritance & Innovation: School of the Year Award for Promoting Chinese History & Culture is to encourage students to learn about the topics through self-directed learning and e-learning.

It will also reward and recognise the active participation of schools, teachers and students in promoting Chinese history and culture.

The bureau has consolidated existing online teaching materials and launched the Chinese History Student Self-learning Platform.

Student activities, including A Taste of Chinese History & Culture competition and Decoding Chinese History creative video competition, are being held to help secondary school students learn in a lively way.

Schools that have participated in the self-learning platform and student activities will qualify for the award. A separate application is not necessary.

This story has been published on: 2021-02-22. To contact the author, please use the contact details within the article.
Armenia Investigative Committee: Fatal road accident, criminal case opened

Armenia deputy FM submits resignation

Chinese authorities allow families to have 3 children

Dollar devalues in Armenia

Stepanakert: Azerbaijan creates bridgeheads for pressure on Karabakh, expansion towards Armenia

Sergey Lavrov says Russia is ready to disconnect SWIFT

Armenia MFA spokesperson resigns

Republican Party of Armenia Vice-President: Our ratings are growing, but we have greater pretensions

Armenia acting PM's spokesperson responds to ex-FM

Armenia parliament majority leader: Refusing to debate with acting PM is manifestation of low self-confidence

Armenia State Revenue Committee, US Department of Justice sign Memorandum of Cooperation

Vardevanyan: Attempts made to create false grounds for obstructing Armenia bloc election offices legal activities

Lavrov says Russia is ready to resume dialogue with NATO

Armenia opposition MP on FM's resignation

India records lowest increase in COVID-19 cases in 50 days

Bright Armenia faction in parliament: No response to acting PM's proposal to deploy observers along Azerbaijan border

Ruling bloc MP: Acting premiers proposal does not limit Armenia in terms of cooperation with CSTO

Acting PM is proud of Armenian servicemens heroism, says parliament majority leader

Parliament majority leader: No border delimitation unless Azerbaijan army units leave Armenia territory

Outgoing Armenia acting FM opens brackets: My decision of resignation was conditioned by that very reason

Harutyunyan, Shoygu discuss tension on Armenia-Azerbaijan border

Iranian MFA says US has not imported oil from country since Clinton era

Court hearing on appeal against decision to drop March 2008 Yerevan tragedy case is rescheduled

Missing soldiers relatives block Yerevan street

Parliament majority leader: Armenia acting FM did not object, at Security Council meeting, to new document

Armenia Police: 2,581,093 people on voters list

Bright Armenia faction of parliament: No corridor through the country should be provided to Azerbaijan

Analyst: Armenia acting PM Pashinyan gave self-confessed testimony

Armenia national security finds about 1 kg of opium, detains Iran citizen driver and 2 others

182 hearing aids and 2 buses by benefactor Mikayel Vardanyan for students of Special Educational Complex

34 new cases of COVID-19 confirmed in Armenia

Updated voters list is posted on Armenia central election commission website

Armenia authorities provide considerable amount of subsidies ahead of snap parliamentary elections

World oil prices on the rise

MP explains his not being on Bright Armenia Party electoral list

UK new flagship set to be named after the late Prince Philip

US man who said he shot neighbor over loud music found guilty of attempted murder

Lamborghini company to be sold for $11.5bn?

China spacecraft docks with future space station

Lawyer: Armenia acting PM Pashinyan grossly abuses administrative resources during Lori Province visit

UN urges to investigate escalation of violence in Colombia

Malaysia to open mega-centers for vaccination against coronavirus

Police find  5 million in cash in London apartment

French citizen to face trial in Iran on spaying charges

Over 60 children in UK undergo surgery due to TikTok challenge

Iranian Central Bank governor dismissed

Armenian opposition: The one who liberated Artsakh will not go to debates with the one who sold it

Iranian energy ministry: Iraq to allocate $ 125 million of frozen funds for vaccines

No new COVID-19 cases reported in Artsakh

Iran and Iraq to intensify cooperation and are ready for joint investment projects

Armenia ex-PM says at least 2 more secret documents signed but not published yet

Indonesia frees Iranian tanker 4 months later

Mortar shelling in Afghanistan kills at least 10 civilians

Fire breaks out at West Virginia oil refinery in US

Second President of Armenia meets with residents of Ararat province

Iran ready to help improve the defense capability of Syria

Armenian acting PM invites ex-presidents for debates

European Parliament head proposes to strengthen sanctions on Russia

UK PM gets married in London

Armenia reports COVID-19 new 81 cases: 4 people die

EU countries invite US to issue joint statement against Russia

2 people die in Armenia road accident

Nigeria: Students taken hostage a month ago are released

61 quakes recorded in Congo per day

Syrian MFA: EU lost credibility due to blind obedience to US policy

Armenia ex-minister of emergency situations hospitalized with heart attack

Mher Grigoryan: Clarification of border points is possible only after withdrawal of Azerbaijani troops from Armenia

Suspicious deal: Whether there was profit from buying DNA IDs?

Armenia ex-president says current authorities are trying to blame Russia for defeat in war

4 people killed in Afghanistani bus attack

Robert Kocharyan: This war could not have happened, it was a consequence of the policy of the authorities

Kocharyan: I have to ask people how it happened that overwhelming majority elected this leader

Armen Gevorgyan presents 'Armenia' bloc program: We offer the concept of a working country

Biden's administration proposed to leave unchanged amount of financial support to Armenia

US Embassy in Baku calls on Azerbaijan to immediately release Armenian POWs

Luxembourg MFA calls on Azerbaijan to immediately release all Armenian prisoners

Russia peacekeepers climb to Armenia Gegharkunik Province village positions

Biden strongly condemns manifestations of antisemitism in US

Iran intensifies its diplomacy amid Armenia-Azerbaijan border tensions

Armenia acting PM on forthcoming snap parliamentary elections: We hope to get 60% of votes
Tesla has created one of the best smart home solutions for all weather conditions including the harsh winter that has struck 2021 during the time of the pandemic, still offering its power services despite interruptions. The Tesla Solar Roof has proven itself to be one of the must-haves in all homes in the country as it clears snow-covered roofs to generate electric power.

For most cases, people would either go up to their roofs or hire cleaners to remove snow above their heads, for their solar paneling and roofing to function as needed during the winter season.

However, the smart home solution from the popular car manufacturer and clean energy company, Tesla, gave the public one less thing to worry about.

The Tesla Solar Roof has done so much for the Winter and snow submerged areas in the country, particularly in Texas where several power interruptions and power shortages have occurred. Despite this, Tesla Powerwall and Solar Roof users have reported that electricity was still circulating in their homes, and have not experienced any outages.

Solar Roof even clears off the snow  Tesla (@Tesla) February 21, 2021

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Tesla Solar Roof Clears Snow Off it Surface Overnight

A YouTuber named Jason Lassen has documented the events on a house that they were building in Wisconsin where they have chosen Tesla's Glass Solar Roof for the paneling over their heads. Moreover, the YouTuber has shown that his house is nearly finished but has the Tesla Solar Roof already installed and readily-functioning.

Lassen featured drone shots from the day before, which is a Thursday, during the 2021 winter season in the state. Here, he focuses on how the entire neighborhood was covered in snow.

He even went out during the nightly snowstorm, where the house was overall covered, even the solar roof.

However, upon the morning visit the day after, Lassen shows that the roof had little to almost cleared snow on the solar roof's surface. Here, he shows the vicinity of the house where the snow from the roof fell, along with a drone shot of the entire neighborhood where the only snow-cleared roof was theirs, which has the Tesla Solar Roof.

How Does it Work?

According to a forum in Tesla's Solar Roof, this technology was debuted alongside the initial release and offer of the roofing from the clean energy company because of a variety of reasons including safety.

Old or even remodeled roofs may collapse during blizzards or severe snowstorms, along with buildups potentially damaging cars and structures near it.

The technology has been added by Tesla to melt snow off the roof and slowly remove the accumulated snow by sliding off gradually as it melts down.

With this gradual process, vehicles, humans, and other structures underneath would be safer as the falling snow from the roof would not be in heavy bulk to cause potentially damaging hazards.

Related Article: Elon Musk Offers Assistance in Winter Storm-Hit Texas with Tesla Powerwall

This article is owned by Tech Times

Written by Isaiah Alonzo

 2021 TECHTIMES.com All rights reserved. Do not reproduce without permission.
It has long been known that several chemicals used in plastic toys in different parts of the world can be harmful to human health. However, it is difficult for parents to figure out how to avoid plastic toys containing chemicals that may cause possible health risks to their children.

Regulations and labelling schemes are different across regions and countries, and there is no international agreement on which substances should be banned from use in toy materials. For the most part, regulations and international lists of 'chemicals of concern' in toys focus on certain substance groups with known harmful properties, such as phthalates, but do not cover the wider range of chemicals found in plastic toys.

Researchers from DTU and the University of Michigan together with UN Environment have looked into this important issue, analyzed data on chemical functions and amounts found in plastic toys, and quantified related children exposure and potential health risks. They ranked the chemicals according to their health risk and compared these results with existing priority substances lists from around the world. The study has been published with open access in the journal Environment International.

"Out of 419 chemicals found in hard, soft and foam plastic materials used in children toys, we identified 126 substances that can potentially harm children's health either via cancer or non-cancer effects, including 31 plasticizers, 18 flame retardants, and 8 fragrances. Being harmful in our study means that for these chemicals, estimated exposure doses exceed regulatory Reference Doses (RfD) or cancer risks exceed regulatory risk thresholds (all substances in the 'red zone' of below figure). These substances should be prioritized for phase-out in toy materials and replaced with safer and more sustainable alternatives," says Peter Fantke, Professor at DTU Management and the study's principle investigator.

Nicolo Aurisano, the study's first author and Peter's PhD student, explains that toy manufacturers usually do not provide any information on the chemical content in the toys, and toy composition databases are missing. Hence, the researchers had to collect and scrutinize information on chemicals contents in toy materials based on chemical test data for specific toys reported in 25 different peer-reviewed studies.

Nicolo further states: "We have combined the reported chemical content in toy materials with material characteristics and toy use patterns, such as how long a child typically plays with a toy, whether it puts it into the mouth, and how many toys are found in a household per child. We used this information to estimate exposure using high-throughput mass-balance models, and compared exposure doses with doses below which there is no unacceptable risk to the children."

The researchers find that children in Western countries have on average about 18 kilograms of plastic toys, which underlines the large amounts of plastic that children are surrounded by on a daily basis.

Chemicals that the researchers identified to be of possible concern for children's health include, for example, widely known phthalates and brominated flame retardants but also the two plasticizers butyrate TXIB and citrate ATBC, which are used as alternatives to some regulated phthalates.

"These alternatives showed indications for high non-cancer risk potentials in exposed children and should be further assessed to avoid 'regrettable substitutions', where one harmful chemical is replaced with a similarly harmful alternative. Overall, soft plastics cause higher exposure to certain harmful chemicals, and inhalation exposure dominates overall children exposure, because children potentially inhale chemicals diffusing out of all toys in the room, while usually only touching one toy at the time", Peter Fantke explains.

A way toward safe use of chemicals in plastic toys Many lists exist that inform about 'chemicals of concern' across product and material applications. However, what is currently missing is any information about the levels at which the use of chemicals in the different applications would be safe and sustainable. Here, the researchers introduce a new metric to benchmark chemical contents in toy materials based on exposure and risk.

Peter Fantke explains: "Since the same chemicals can be found in different concentrations across toy materials, we have estimated the 'maximum acceptable chemical content (MACC)' for all the substances reported to be found in plastic toys. Such information will enable decision-makers to develop benchmarks for various chemicals in different applications, but will also help toy companies to evaluate the amount of chemicals used for a specific function against such benchmarks."

As a parent, it will continue to be difficult to avoid using plastic toys that can contain harmful chemicals, until regulators include all substances, and address exposure to toys that are produced outside Europe and imported to the European market. A good piece of advice from the researchers is hence to reduce the consumption of plastic materials in general, avoid the use of soft plastic toys, and remember to ventilate well every day your children's rooms.

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The royal family of Dubai claims that Princess Latifa is "being cared for at home," denying videos in which she accused them of keeping her hostage after she tried to escape abroad in 2018.

Dubai's Princess Latifa is being cared for at home, her family says

According to London's UAE embassy, her family's statement said, "In response to media reports regarding Sheikha Latifa, we want to thank those who have expressed concern for her welfare, despite the news which certainly is not reflective of the actual position." The daughter of Dubai's billionaire ruler reported in secret recordings obtained by the BBC shared with CNN that she was being held hostage in a "villa transformed into a jail" with no medical assistance access.

CNN has not officially verified the recordings, published earlier this week as part of BBC Panorama's The Missing Princess' documentary, or the exact whereabouts of Latifa. The royal family's statement comes short of requests from the United Nations and the United Kingdom that the UAE provide the sheikha with proof of life, as per CNN.

Princess Latifa's family said, "Her Highness is being cared for at home, assisted by her family and medical experts." The family of Latifa and close friends set up a movement called Free Latifa with supporters and advisers. Several human rights groups, including Amnesty International and Human Rights Watch, funded the campaign.

The leaders of the campaign said on Friday that any confirmation that Princess Latifa is safe is welcome. But the statement today is reminiscent of what happened in 2019, 2019, and 2020.

The declaration called on UN and world leaders, including UK Prime Minister Boris Johnson and US President Joe Biden, to urge the release of Latifa from the UAE. Sheikha Latifa bint Mohammed Al Maktoum, was last seen publicly on a yacht off India's coast in March 2018, before she was brought back to Dubai by Indian and Emirati troops' intervention, according to two people who helped organize her escape. Since her first attempt to leave the UAE in 2002 as a child, her second unsuccessful attempt was to escape abroad.

Read also: 3 Different Bomb Attacks in Kabul Leave 5 Dead, 2 Wounded, Afghan Police Says

Dubai Princess' tortured by prison guards'

Dubai Princess Latifa's lawyer alleged that guards put a bag of razor blades in her room and gave her an electronic stopwatch to monitor every passing day to attempt to 'break her spirit,' Daily Mail reported.

This month, after trying to escape in 2018, Princess Latifa, 35, the daughter of Dubai Governor Sheikh Mohammed al-Maktoum, 71, accused her father of holding her hostage in a Dubai villa. The Princess described in secretly filmed videos how she tries to escape from her billionaire father, who has since kept her against her will.

Today, her Free Latifa campaign British council, David Haigh, has revealed how a stopwatch was handed to the Princess to count her time in the prison villa. It sits next to the seven-star Burj Al Arab palace and even told her she would have to stay there for another year.

Read also: Australia Treasurer Slams Facebook for Banning All News Media Sharing

Who is Dubai's Princess Latifa?

The daughter of one of the world's wealthiest men, Sheikh Mohammed bin Rashid al Maktoum, Princess Latifa, is just one of his 25 daughters. Aside from her alleged escape from the country, not much is known about the Princess.

In 2018, she tried to escape but was reportedly discovered on a yacht off India's coast by her father's men and returned to Dubai against her will. The UAE and Dubai have already confirmed that she is safe in her family's care.

According to Express, the UAE is under extreme pressure to announce Princess Latifa's whereabouts after the details leaked to BBC Panorama by her friends about her detention. The United Nations are pursuing her disappearance and whereabouts.

Read also: China Unveils First Assessment of Biden as the US President After a Deep Two-Hour Call on Thursday

@ 2021 HNGN, All rights reserved. Do not reproduce without permission.

Bloomberg

(Bloomberg) -- Its nearly two months since turbulence erupted around China Huarong Asset Management Co.At the end of March, its 4% perpetual dollar bond was trading at 102 cents on the dollar as investors figured the January execution of former chairman Lai Xiaomin for bribery put a line under past wayward behavior. But the failure of the company to release 2020 results by a March 31 deadline, and a subsequent report by mainland media Caixin that the firm will restructure, sparked weeks of turmoil. The same bond is now at 57 cents.The heart of the matter is whether the central government will rescue a state-owned company thats integral to the smooth running of the financial system. While there are signs Beijing wants to ensure China Huarong can repay its debts on time, uncertainty prevails.Heres a look at the key events for China Huarong:May 28The company has wired funds to repay $978 million of notes maturing within the following week, according to Bloomberg News, the biggest bond payment since the 2020 results delay.May 27Liang Qiang, who currently heads another bad-debt manager, is on track to become president of China Huarong, reports Bloomberg News.May 24China Huarong dollar bonds climb after the managing editor of Caixin Media wrote in an opinion piece that the asset manager is nowhere near defaulting on its more than $20 billion of offshore notes.May 21Some of China Huarongs thinly traded onshore bonds slump after having held up better than the companys dollar-denominated notes, signaling broadening concern about the firms financial health.May 18China Huarong has transferred funds to repay a $300 million note maturing May 20, Bloomberg News reports, the first dollar bond to come due since the delayed 2020 results. Prices for the firms dollar bonds slump earlier in the day after the New York Times reports China is planning an overhaul that would inflict significant losses on both domestic and foreign China Huarong bondholders.May 17The company has reached funding agreements with state-owned banks to ensure it can repay debt through at least the end of August, by which time China Huarong aims to have completed its 2020 financial statements, according to a Bloomberg News report. That as at least two of its onshore bonds see big price declines in recent days, worrying some investors.May 13The firm says its prepared to make future bond payments and has seen no change in the level of government support, seeking to ease investor concerns after a local media report that regulators balked at China Hurarongs restructuring plan.May 6The company says it transferred funds to pay five offshore bond coupons due the following day, its latest move to meet debt obligations amid persistent doubts about its financial health.April 30China Huarong breaks its silence, with an executive telling media it is prepared to make its bond payments and state backing remains intact. The official also says the weeks rating downgrades have no factual basis and are too pessimistic.April 29Moodys Investor Service downgrades China Huarong by one notch to Baa1, adding the firm remains on watch for further downgrade. The cut reflects the companys weakened funding ability due to market volatility and increased uncertainty over its future, according to the statement.April 27China Huarong units repay bonds maturing that day. The S$600 million ($450 million) bond was repaid with funds provided by Chinas biggest state-owned bank, according to a Bloomberg News report.April 26Fitch Ratings downgrades China Huarong by three notches to BBB while dropping the companys perpetual bonds into junk territory. The lack of transparency over government support for the firm may hamper its ability to refinance debt in offshore markets, Fitch said.April 25China Huarong says it wont meet an April 30 deadline to file its 2020 report with Hong Kongs stock exchange because auditors needed more time to finalize a transaction the company first flagged on April 1. Securities and asset-management units said in the days before that they wouldnt release 2020 results by months end.April 22The China Banking and Insurance Regulatory Commission asks lenders to extend China Huarongs upcoming loans by at least six months, according to REDD, citing two bankers from large Chinese commercial lenders.April 21China is considering a plan that would see its central bank assume more than 100 billion yuan ($15 billion) of China Huarong assets to help clean up the firms balance sheet, according to a Bloomberg News report. Peer China Cinda Asset Management Co. was said to be planning the sale of perpetual bonds in the second quarter.April 20China Huarongs key offshore financing unit says it returned to profitability in the first quarter and laid a solid foundation for transformation. Reorg Research reports that regulators are considering options including a debt restructuring of the unit, China Huarong International Holdings Ltd.April 19Huarong Securities Co. says it wired funds to repay a 2.5 billion yuan local note.April 16The CBIRC says China Huarongs operations are normal and that the firm has ample liquidity. These are the first official comments about the companys troubles. Reuters reports Chinese banks have been asked not to withhold loans to Huarong.April 13Fitch and Moodys both put the company on watch for downgrade. The finance ministry, which owns a majority of Huarong, is considering the transfer of its stake to a unit of the countrys sovereign wealth fund, Bloomberg News reports. Chinese officials signal they want failing local government financing vehicles to restructure or go bust if debts cant be repaid.April 9China Huarong says it has been making debt payments on time and its operations are normal. Bloomberg News reports the company intends to keep Huarong International as part of a potential overhaul that would avoid the need of a debt restructuring or government recapitalization. S&P Global Ratings puts China Huarongs credit ratings on watch for possible downgrade.April 8China Huarong is preparing to offload non-core and loss-making units as part of a broad plan to revive profitability that would avoid the need for a debt restructuring or government recapitalization, Bloomberg News reports.April 6Selling gains steam in China Huarongs dollar bonds, following a holiday in China. Huarong Securities says there has been no major change to its operations, in response to a price plunge for its 3 billion yuan local bond.April 1China Huarong announces a delay in releasing 2020 results, saying its auditor is unable to finalize a transaction. Stock trading is suspended and spreads jump on the firms dollar bonds while China Huarong tells investors its business is running as usual. Caixin reports the company submitted restructuring and other major reform plans to government officials and shareholders.More stories like this are available on bloomberg.comSubscribe now to stay ahead with the most trusted business news source.2021 Bloomberg L.P.
French police investigating the disappearance of British hiker Esther Dingley say they have done 'all they can' to find her.

The mass search operation for Miss Dingley, 37, who vanished on a solo trek of the Pic de Sauvegarde mountain in the Pyrenees in November, has been unsuccessful so far.

Detectives in the Spanish city of Huesca near Benasque, where Miss Dingley was based before going missing, have refused to go into any detail about their probe into possible foul play.

French police investigating the disappearance of British hiker Esther Dingley (pictured) say they have done 'all they can' to find her

French police last night said they had done everything possible so far to determine why the Oxford University graduate had vanished  but were still none the wiser.

Gendarmerie captain Jean-Marc Bordinaro said: 'All possible investigations in French territory have been carried out without any result. We have no indication permitting us to confirm the presence of Miss Dingley in France since she was seen for the last time on the Spanish side of the Pic de Sauvegarde.'

He said that further searches were likely to be resumed in the spring.

Miss Dingley, who last made contact with her boyfriend on November 22 from the top of the 9,000ft peak, was expected to spend the night in an unmanned shelter on the French side but it is not known if she ever arrived.

Her partner, business development manager Dan Colegate, 38, previously said he did not think she had suffered an accident in the mountains.

He also ruled out a voluntary disappearance and rubbished claims they were having relationship difficulties. Mr Colegate, who embarked on a campervan adventure with Miss Dingley six years ago, said: 'I believe somebody else has been involved in her disappearance and against her will.'

Spanish mountain rescue experts said earlier this month they hope to restart the search in April once the worst risk of avalanches had passed. But they said it could take longer if there was heavy snow and further low temperatures.

Miss Dingley last made contact with her boyfriend on November 22 from the top of the 9,000ft peak (pictured together above)

Sergeant Jorge Lopez Ramos, head of the mountain rescue team in Benasque, said: 'The time frame we're working with is April to July.'

French police are understood to have reviewed CCTV cameras between the mountains on their side of the border and the town of Bagneres-de-Luchon. They have interviewed Mr Colegate twice as a witness and asked phone firms if Miss Dingley activated her mobile after crossing from Spain.

Last month hiker Laura Adomaityte, 27, said Miss Dingley had spoken to her about problems in the relationship with her boyfriend. Mr Colegate described such claims as 'salacious nonsense'.

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The European Business Association (EBA) has called on the Cabinet of Ministers not to complicate calculating the average wages of employees, as suggested by the clarification of the updated procedure for calculating wages published by the Economy Ministry.

"The adopted document changed the formula for calculating the average wage. According to the EBA member companies, this formula has become much more complicated for accounting, and the business community is not ready for this," the EBA said in a press release on Monday.

The association said that this indicator is used to calculate the vacation, sick leave, business trip payments.

"For a better understanding, we would draw an example. According to the current legislation, if an employee goes on leave from June 1, an employer will have to pay him/her vacation entitlements three working days before the leave starts. At the same time, if the company pays bonuses to its employees, lets say, every six months, then the amount of vacation payment must be recalculated, and the company shall pay the difference in the amount," the EBA said.

However, according to the old formula, the amount of vacation payment should not be recalculated, because their size was determined at the time of the employee going on leave, not six months later. Thus, accrued bonuses were taken into account when calculating subsequent leave, and the employee in any case did not incur any losses, the association said.

"This situation creates difficulties for business in matters of administration because 3,000-4,000 payments will have to be adjusted monthly in companies with tens of thousands of employees. In addition, in such a situation, an employer cannot calculate the salary fund for the year because the amount of recalculation [for example, the amount of bonuses that depends on the employee's performance] is unknown," the experts said.

Therefore, the business appeals to Prime Minister of Ukraine Denys Shmyhal to return the old formula for calculating the average wage.
A hot potato: Sony's PS5 DualSense drift problems could become more widespread than first feared. A new teardown on the controller examines what's causing the issue, which can appear after just "417 hours" of use.

iFixit, best known for its teardowns of the latest smartphones, took apart a PS5 DualSense to discover what's been causing the drift problems that have led to a class-action lawsuit against Sony. It says the controller uses "off-the-shelf joystick hardware with a long history of predictable, preventable issues."

A company called Alps manufactures the DualSense's joystick modules, which are also found in controllers such as the PS4's DualShock 4, the Xbox One and Xbox Elite controller, and the Nintendo Switch Pro Controller. It's worth noting that iFixit says Alps "probably aren't the villain of this story."

Alps' website states that the potentiometera three-terminal resistor with a sliding or rotating contact that forms an adjustable voltage dividerused in the PS5 DualSense has an operative life of two million cycles, while its clicking mechanism lasts 500,000 cycles. This is due to it wearing out from repeated use and the spring that centers the joystick stretching into a different shape.

Two million cycles may sound like plenty, but that means controllers using these components "could easily exceed their operating life in just over 400 hours of game time." Analyzing a typical Call of Duty: Warzone game, iFixit estimates that you'll get around 417 hours of gameplay; that's around four to seven months if you cap your playtime at 2 hours per day.

In addition to the sensors wearing away and springs deforming, drift can also be the result of the materials in the joystick stretching. Contaminants working their way inside the casing is another cause.

iFixit says that these components are used because of a "wilful cost-saving calculation on the consoles makers' part."

"After this research, it's bizarre to us that console makers don't consider joysticks to be consumable parts and design them to be easily replaced. No device rated for a finite number of actions, especially one that lives next to so much contamination and takes so much abuse, can maintain perfect performance forever," said iFixit

iFixit has offered some potential solutions for those experiencing drift, including removing the potentiometers' housing and cleaning or replacing the wipers. More technical users can even attempt soldiering. Whether longer-lasting components end up being used in controllers might depend on the outcome of the numerous class actions console makers are facing.
Source: Xinhua| 2021-02-22 17:00:18|Editor: huaxia

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BANGKOK, Feb. 22 (Xinhua) -- Thailand on Monday confirmed 89 new COVID-19 cases, mostly domestic, according to the Center for the COVID-19 Situation Administration (CCSA) spokeswoman Apisamai Srirangsan.

Of Monday's new cases, 73 were domestic infections while 16 others were imported cases, Apisamai said.

Those domestic cases included 31 in Samut Sakhon, 18 in Pathum Thani and 11 in Tak, among other provinces, while Bangkok reported no cases on Monday, she said.

Thailand has so far confirmed 25,504 cases, 22,792 of which were reported as domestic while 2,712 others referred to those who had returned from abroad, according to the CCSA.

So far, 24,361 patients have fully recovered and been released from hospitals while 1,060 others are currently hospitalized and 83 fatalities have been reported. Enditem
Vietnam ranked second for successfully handling coronavirus pandemic

Vietnam has done a good job in their fight against the coronavirus pandemic, according to US magazine Business Insider citing Australian think-tank The Lowy Institutes recently-published Index.













Massive testing is one of the measures the government has adopted to prevent the spread of the virus.



The Lowy Institute published an Index on January 28 ranking 98 countries and their success in handling the COVID-19 pandemic. Vietnam ranked No2 behind New Zealand, while the US was listed in 94th position.



According to Insider, as early as January 2020, Vietnam conducted its first risk assessment, immediately after a cluster of cases of "severe pneumonia" was discovered in Wuhan, China.



Guy Thwaites, an infectious disease doctor who works in one of the main hospitals designated by the Vietnamese government to treat COVID-19 patients, told Insider the government responded "very quickly and robustly."



"Schools were shut down and there was a limit on international flights coming in," Thwaites said. "The government did all the simple things quickly."



Kamal Malhotra, a United Nations resident coordinator in Vietnam, said the country's success in handling the virus came down to three things: contact tracing, strategic testing, and clear messaging.



Vietnam closed its border and suspended incoming flights from China, the UK, Europe, and the rest of the world shortly thereafter. Instead of locking the entire country down, the Vietnamese prime minister implemented social distancing measures throughout the country for two weeks in April.



By early May, people across Vietnam were largely able to return to their regular lives, Insider notes.



"The government adopted a zero-tolerance approach to get rid of the virus," Thwaites said. "Basic measures were implemented, but it wasn't easy. When people trust the government, people do what the government says."



Insider reports that by using a low-cost model and implementing basic safety measures (like washing your hands and wearing a mask), it was able to contain the virus within a few months of the pandemic.



No other country with the same size or population has contained the virus the way Vietnam has. With a population of 102 million, Egypt has recorded more than 176,000 coronavirus cases, according to John Hopkins. The Democratic Republic of the Congo  landlocked in the middle of the African continent  has recorded more than 24,000 cases with a population of 89 million.



Despite sharing a border with the country where the outbreak started, Vietnam's success story is one worth telling.



According to Malhotra, Vietnam had a better response to fighting the virus than New Zealand.



"It's absurd to compare countries to New Zealand," he said. "We have much bigger challenges."



The UN resident coordinator also hit back at rumours that the Vietnamese government was not willing to share data.



"There's a lot of skepticism that the government wasn't sharing data but that is not true," Malhotra said. "The data is recorded in real-time and there is no coercion in measures taken here."



The people of Vietnam are learning to live in their new normal, but are still encouraged to social distance and wear masks.



When the article was published, Vietnam, a country with a population of 97 million, recorded just 2,362 cases and 35 deaths.
When filmmaker Tina Takemoto decided to make an experimental film about celebrated San Francisco lesbian Margaret Chungthe first American-born Chinese female physician, famous for opening a medical clinic in Chinatown in the 1920s and for playing with gender identitythey thought they would be making a humorous film that depicted the many contradictions in Chung's background.

"I was familiar with Chung as a prominent surgeon and lesbian, who surrounded herself with U.S. military men and starlets," says Takemoto, a professor at California College of the Arts. "So I thought my film would be a humorous take on juxtapositions between lesbian desire and militarism."

But after taking a deep dive into the Margaret Chung archival collection at U.C. Berkeley, Takemoto was surprised to find evidence pointing to more troubling behavior in Chung's history, with dark undertones.

"I discovered that Chung was virulently anti-Japanese," says Takemoto, who is of Japanese descent. "That was difficult to take." Takemoto also uncovered Chung's likely involvement with the selling of heroin and laundering of money through her association with Virginia Hill, the ex-girlfriend of "Bugsy" Siegel. This new information made the undertaking of the project even more challenging.

A still from Tina Takemoto's film, 'Insatiable Margaret Chung,' 2019. (Courtesy of the artist)

The resulting film, Ever Wanting, (Margaret Chung), is now on display at the Chinese Culture Center, together with artistic work from ten other LGBTQ+ artists from the Asian diaspora as part of Women: From Her to Here, a new exhibition that aims to explore agency and belonging in queer and feminist communities. The group exhibition had a virtual opening on February 19th, with the goal to open up its brick and mortar gallery space, located in the Hilton Hotel, to the public in the spring, depending on state and city health guidelines.



"Asian queer culture is an invisible spot in Asian identity, if we venture outside the arts and culture space," shares Hoi Leung, curator of the exhibition for the Chinese Culture Center. "Talking about queer identity is still pretty much a stigma for Asian American communities and families. At the Chinese Culture Center, we are quite frank about it, and are ready to educate the community, while people are not quite ready to accept it."

In addition to Takemoto's work, the exhibition features film, video, paintings, photographs, and a curated collection of LGBTQ+ zines from around the world assembled by Queer Reads Library, as well as interactive virtual workshops such as a zine making class scheduled for spring under the theme of "Building Creative Safe Spaces."

Hoi commissioned several original pieces for the show, including a striking atmospheric installation by Bay Areabased Korean artist Heesoo Kwon, whose work explores an autobiographical religion, Leymoosum, where feminism has replaced patriarchy as the new world order. For the mixed-media installation, the artist uses actual photographs of her mother and grandmother superimposed atop digitized naked bodies that are displayed on larger-than-life screens interacting with an imagined feminist Chinatown.

Other pieces include commissioned work by local artist Chelsea Ryoko Wong, who created a brightly colored series of paintings focused on queer historic spaces in Chinatown such as the Li Po Lounge, which once served as a safe LGBTQ bar in the 1940s, during an era when the gay and lesbian community felt more protected in Chinatown than elsewhere.

Chelsea Ryoko Wong's "Bathing on Valencia Street," 2021. (Courtesy of the artist)

The 1997 award-winning documentary, Sambal Belacan in San Francisco, by Madeleine Lim, a Singapore native and founder of the Queer Women of Color Media Arts Project, explores the question: how to create home in a new country when your country of origin doesn't allow you to be your full self? The film was banned in Singapore in 1998.



Another installment, "Suits and corsages," comes from Taiwanese artist Huang Meng Wen, who explores the historical story of 13 women in Taiwan who dressed in men's suits in the 1950s. In an imagined family portrait, one of these central female figures is depicted in a domestic setting, wearing a suit alongside her husband and three children, with the photographs of all her previous female lovers on the wall behind her. The framing attempts to convey the subject's splintered life in one single image.

Takemoto's film is the last piece in the gallery space; the six-minute exploration into queer desire in the 1930s and '40s employs cinematic techniques combining archival footage of war planes, sharks, poppies, and hospital procedures, layered with materials such as nail polish, glue, scotch tape, or images from found slides onto 16mm film to create texture, lending the film an ethereal dream-like quality.

During the process of making the film, Takemoto shares that she came to really embrace and understand Chung, despite her earlier hesitations.

"It's her darker side that strangely made me more empathetic to Chung as someone who is super complicated. I understand her now in relationship to how hard it would have been to be an Asian American queer person who wants to do extraordinary things, but is always an outsider. She was very motivated by her desire to fit in, to be seen and celebrated, but she never gets what she wants."

With this exhibition, which will remain open to the public until August 28, 2021, the Chinese Culture Center is hoping to provide a welcoming place where the Asian queer community may be able to get what they want: to feel included and seen.

// Women: From Her to Here is on view virtually through the Chinese Culture Center, 750 Kearny St. (Chinatown); check the website for visits by appointment over coming weeks, pending status of City restrictions, cccsf.us.





This article was written by Jenny Jedeikin for SF/Arts Monthly. Jedeikin is a Bay Areabased writer who has written for Rolling Stone, The San Francisco Chronicle, The Advocate, Curve, Whole Life Times, the UK's Oh Comely, and dot429, among other media outlets. She also creates a selfie-comic strip, "JennyLive."

Context Despite strong employment growth in recent years in Hungary, womens patterns of paid work continue to look different to those of men. In spite of reforms to strengthen employment among mothers, such as allowing parents in receipt of parental leave benefits to work unlimited hours once the child turns twelve months old, the gender gap has not narrowed. 63% of women of working age (16-64) were in employment in 2019, 14 percentage points below the male employment-rate. Relevance For Hungary, there is a clear economic case for closing the gender employment gap. The countries working-age population has been shrinking since the mid-2000s; 5 percent among men and 9 percent among women, and United Nations projections suggest that the overall size of the working-age population could fall by almost a quarter by 2050. Strengthening mothers labour market engagement could help address the looming labour supply issues. The Project Against this background, the Hungarian Prime Ministers Office, Strategic State Secretariat for Families has requested support from the European Commissions DG REFORM and the OECD to provide technical assistance to improve womens access to the labour market and to reduce the gender employment gap. The project will collect beliefs and views around mothers employment from key Hungarian stakeholders to inform the direction of future polices to improve the female labour market participation. As part of this, stakeholders are contacted to participate in a stakeholder questionnaire. The resulting proposals will also draw on international expertise and best practices, collected from a range of international researchers and policy-makers. Outputs and Activities As part of the project, the OECD will report on stakeholders views, as gathered through an online questionnaire in-depth follow-up interviews and/or focus group meetings. The project will also involve an international workshop to foster exchange of good practice between Hungary and other relevant countries. The final project-conference will present and discuss results, collect stakeholders feedback, and fine-tune policy recommendations and develop action plans and indicators for monitoring purposes to be put together in a final report. The project is expected to end in March 2022. Key resources Project Overview in Hungarian

Summary Inception Report (English, Hungarian)

Gender Data Portal




The Telegraph

Ministers have failed to take advantage of the UK's freedom from EU regulations since Brexit, despite the Prime Ministers pledge to take back control of red tape, a new think tank report has said. A new report from the Institute for Government (IfG) argues that Whitehall departments are too "siloed" from each other, preventing ministers from changing laws to reflect Britain's departure from the EU. The think tank points to Mr Johnsons declaration on Christmas Eve last year that the UK had taken back control of every jot and tittle of our regulation in a way which is complete and unfettered. But despite that promise, most EU legislation is still on the UK statute books, after being copied over into domestic law during the Brexit process. Experts say a "bonfire" of regulations in the coming years is unlikely because of costs associated with changing them in UK law. The report's authors said the Government had approached regulatory divergence from Europe "like a game of Space Invaders  played blindfolded," risking costs to British businesses and unintended consequences. They called for Downing Street to issue clear guidance to government departments on how they should approach the freedom to set out new regulations, and reform the processes for approving them. They also point out that, over time, the UK will diverge from the EU in its regulations as European standards change and are not automatically in line with Britains. The UK should develop a system to keep track of regulatory developments in the EU that will affect Britain to avoid any unintended consequences from that process, they argue. Joe Marshall, a researcher at the IfG, said: "Gaining the ability to do things differently from the EU was a key aim of Brexit  and there are clear benefits to be won. But the governments siloed approach to regulatory reform risks ad hoc changes and unintended consequences that threaten businesses with new costs and could destabilise the union. Jill Rutter, another author, said: The government must ensure it invests the time and effort needed to make the necessary trade-offs involved and avoid unintended consequences.

Prime Minister Florin Citu said on Monday, in reference to the the Jiu Valley miners' protest, that it is not a solution that solves the problems and stressed that he will not allow a 'Miners' Rampage' in his mandate, according to AGERPRES.

"It is a difficult field and we know very well that this transition to a green economy across the EU is coming with problems. I understand them, I know they are going through a difficult period. I don't think the solution they have chosen is one that solves the problems. This government has made it very clear both last year and this year that wages have been paid on time. We have solutions for the next three months, as well. At the same time I think we need to look at the whole picture of the economy. I don't think the solution they have chosen is a good one. In 2020, when all the salaries were paid, of the miners' as well, every month in Romania there were 4 million people in furlough, because we are going through the biggest health crisis," Citu said before the meeting of the National Liberal Party (PNL) Executive Bureau.

He pointed out that many politicians take advantage of the miners.

"It doesn't seem normal to me what is happening, that's why I say we find solutions, I understand them, I know they're going through a difficult situation, the formula by which they are trying to solve this situation doesn't seem the wisest to me, but it seems that there are many politicians who take advantage, as other politicians of the same sort have also taken advantage in recent years of this social category. Remember what happened in the '90s. I can only say to both Romanians and Bucharesters, that I will never allow for something that happened during the term of Iliescu [Ion Iliescu, former Romanian president - ed.n.] and of other socialists to happen in Romania, during my term. No 'Miners' Rampage' will take place in this mandate," the prime minister declared.
A man shot and seriously injured in a gun attack in Dublin over a year ago has died in hospital.

Barry Wolverson, aged in his early 40s, suffered gunshot wounds to the head and body following a shooting near Dublin Airport in January of last year.

He was struck a number of times while sitting in a Mercedes car at Killeek Lane, St Margarets, Swords, and rushed to Beaumont Hospital.

The gun victim had been in a critical condition ever since and yesterday was pronounced dead.

A garda spokeswoman said: Gardai investigating the shooting incident at Killeek Lane, St. Margaret's, Swords, Co. Dublin that occurred on 17th January, 2020 can confirm that the injured man (early 40s) has passed away.

"The post mortem results will determine the course of the investigation. Investigations ongoing.

Two men are currently before the courts in relation to the attempted murder of Barry Wolverson.

A second man, Gerard Wildman, was also injured during the shooting but his injuries were not life-threatening.

Last October Robert Redmond (32) and Bernard Fogarty (33) appeared in court charged in relation to the shootings.

The pair are both accused of the attempted murder of Barry Wolverson at Killeek Lane, St Margaret's, Swords, on January 17, 2020.

They are also charged with assault causing harm to Gerard Wildman at the same location on the same date under Section 3 of the Non-Fatal Offences Against the Person Act.

Redmond, of Woodview Close, Donaghmede, and Fogarty, with an address in Cromcastle Court, Kilmore, also face charges relating to the alleged possession of a firearm and ammunition arising from the same incident.

Their case is currently listed before the non-jury Special Criminal Court.

In certain cases, the DPP can certify that their opinion the ordinary courts are inadequate to secure the effective administration of justice.

Presiding judge Mr Justice Tony Hunt made the formal order on that date for the mens cases to be heard at the non-jury court.

State Solicitor Michael ODonovan told the three-judge panel that disclosure in the case was at the very early stages.

The matter is back before the court for mention March 5, when the two accused men are required to be in attendance.

Bernard Fogarty is currently serving a five-year jail term for firearms possession.

Last year he admitted to the possession of a RAK sub machine gun which gardai found in the passenger footwell of a car stopped in Shankill last March

He has 40 previous convictions and the court was told that he is heavily involved in organised crime.

His co-accused, Robert Roo Redmond, is also in custody awaiting trial.
A 30-year-old Navy veteran died after police in California knelt on his neck for five minutes when they were called out to help him during a mental health episode, his family claims.

Angelo Quinto died in hospital three days after the December 23 encounter with Antioch Police Department officers inside his home.

His mother Cassandra Quinto-Collins, who witnessed the chaotic ordeal and filmed part of the aftermath on her phone, said her son was begging officers not to kill him as they restrained him.

His family have now filed a legal claim against the police department, which is the first step towards being able to file a wrongful death lawsuit.

They claim Antioch Police have not been transparent regarding the incident and have not publicly addressed Quinto's death.

WARNING: GRAPHIC VIDEO BELOW

Angelo Quinto died in hospital three days after the December 23 encounter with Antioch Police Department officers inside his home. His mother Cassandra Quinto-Collins, who filmed part of the aftermath on her phone, says her son lost consciousness after an officer knelt on his neck for five minutes

His death draws parallels to George Floyd's death in Minneapolis last year, his family say.

They say Quinto had slipped into a paranoia episode on December 23, which had become more frequent since he suffered a head injury during an assault last year.

Quinto, who was honorably discharged from the Navy in 2019 due to a food allergy, had long suffered from depression but it was never diagnosed, his family say.

His sister called 911 after he began acting erratically and started hugging her and their mother tightly around their heads and shoulders.

Quinto's mother had managed to calm him down and was embracing him in a bear hug on the floor by the time officers arrived.

The family say the officers then flipped Quinto onto his stomach and pinned him to the floor as they handcuffed him.

His mother and sister say one officer held his legs down, while another had a knee on his neck.

Quinto, who was honorably discharged from the Navy in 2019 due to a food allergy, had long suffered from depression but it was never diagnosed, his family say

His mother Cassandra Quinto-Collins (pictured above), who witnessed the chaotic ordeal and filmed part of the aftermath on her phone, said her son was begging officers not to kill him as they restrained him

She said her son was pleading with officers.

'He said, 'Please don't kill me. Please don't kill me,' ' she told KTVU.

His mother started filming on her phone after realizing her son had gone limp and was unconscious.

At that point, Quinto's face and mouth were smeared with his own blood.

The video does not show the officer kneeling on his neck.

After Quinto stopped breathing, his mother can be heard asking the officers: 'What happened?' and 'Can you take him, please?'

'Does he have a pulse?' she asked at one point as they placed him onto a stretcher.

Quinto's mother and sister were questioned by police at the station after he was taken to hospital.

His family have now filed a legal claim against the police department, which is the first step towards being able to file a wrongful death lawsuit

He was pronounced dead three days later.

There is no official cause of death yet because an autopsy is still pending.

Authorities, who have issued few public statements, say they are still investigating.

'Once some additional portions of the investigation are completed, APD will be getting together with all the involved agencies to provide more information to the public,' Lt. John Fortner said in a statement.

Quinto's family are now being represented by civil right's attorney John Burris.

At a press conference announcing the legal claim against the city and police department, Burris said: 'They put the knee on the back of his neck and pressed down for about five minutes and snuffed his life out.

'This was a healthy person before, no physical problems... and within moments, his life is gone.'

He said police have so far refused to release any information to the family or attorneys.
Once vaccine comes, coronavirus will go away: Athawale

For Athawale, 'Go Corona Go' is passe; it is 'No Corona' now

Ramdas Athawale condemns violence at US Capitol, says he will talk to Trump over phone

One by one they will resign: Athawale on Maharashtra ministers

Won't allow disruption of films of Big B, Akshay: Ramdas Athawale

India

oi-Deepika S

Thane, Feb 22: Union Minister and RPI (A) chief Ramdas Athawale has said his party will not allow any disruption of film shootings of actors Amitabh Bachchan and Akshay Kumar in Maharashtra.

Athawale said this at a rally in Vashi area of Navi Mumbai on Sunday, days after Maharashtra Congress chief Nana Patole threatened to stall film shootings of the two actors if they do not take a stand on the issue of fuel price hike.

The Republican Party of India (A) chief said he would meet the two actors soon and assure them of all possible assistance.

PM Modi: India can be one of the best in defence export | Oneindia News

'Goondaraj will be tolerated in the state and you cannot make such a statement,' Athawale said.

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Story first published: Monday, February 22, 2021, 15:30 [IST]
India and Mauritius on Monday consolidated their economic and strategic ties with a trade agreement which will help boost post-covid recovery and a $100-million line of credit for Male to procure defence equipment.

The two countries signed six agreements in the presence of visiting Indian foreign minister S. Jaishankar and Mauritius Premier Pravind Jugnauth. Deals were also signed to lease out a Dornier aircraft and an Advance Light Helicopter (ALH), besides setting up an 8MW solar power plant.

Also Read | How to make Indias bad bank workable

The Dornier aircraft is currently used by the Indian Navy for coastal surveillance, pollution prevention, aerial survey, search and rescue, commuter transportation and evacuation operations. According to the Hindustan Aeronautics Ltds website, India had earlier supplied a Dhruv ALH to the Mauritius Police.

Jaishankar and Jugnauth also discussed steps for procuring covid-19 vaccines, and supporting Mauritius economic recovery in the wake of the pandemic, besides ensuring an open and free" Indo-Pacific Ocean region, and ways to strengthen the rules-based international order and global governance institutions, including the UN. Mauritius also sought Indias help to exit the grey" list of the Paris-based Financial Action Task Force, whose plenary session starts on Monday.

Jugnauth said the Comprehensive Economic Cooperation and Partnership Agreement (CECPA) signed between the two countries was the first of its kind between India and an African country. This landmark agreement is far reaching and unleashes new and expanded opportunities in trade in goods and services, investment, economic cooperation and technical assistance. The CECPA will encourage Indian entrepreneurs to invest in Mauritius and the whole region, consolidating our ambition of making Mauritius a strategic regional economic hub," Jugnauth added.

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Jack Phillips, the owner of the Masterpiece Cakeshop in Lakewood, Colorado, is fighting for his religious freedom once more.

Phillips, a Christian, first sparked controversy when in 2012, he denied two gay men his services of baking a custom cake for the couple's celebration. The gay couple then filed a complaint to the Colorado Civil Rights Commission, claiming that Phillips failed to comply with the Colorado Anti-Discrimination Act, which prohibits the discrimination of any business open to the public, against customers based on race, religion, gender, or sexual orientation.

The Masterpiece Cakeshop owner was assisted by the Alliance Defending Freedom in appealing to the decision of the Court of Appeals and later withdrew his cake business, costing him about 40% of his earnings.

The discrimination charges filed by the gay couple was victorious for them, as it won in the courts and before a civil rights commission. However, in June 2017, the Supreme Court heard a new case filed following a petition for certiorari (review), and sided with Phillips in a lawsuit, The New York Times reported.

Phillips' legal nightmare was thought to be over, but on the very same day the Supreme Court agreed to hear his case, a local Denver attorney named Autumn Scardina phoned in to the Masterpiece Cakeshop and asked the owner to craft a cake that celebrates his "gender transition" to that of a transgender woman.

The Masterpiece Cakeshop owner found himself in the same situation that caused him a major lawsuit. Scardina, who requested for a pink and blue cake that represented his newfound transgender identity, filed a complaint with the Colorado Civil Rights Commission alleging discrimination on the basis of gender identity. Phillips responded with his own lawsuit against the Commission.

Scardina's case before the Commission was dismissed in March 2019, but he was determined to take down the Masterpiece Cakeshop owner. He then filed a private lawsuit that accused Phillips of violating Colorado's Anti-Discrimination Act and the Colorado Consumer Protection Act.

Scardina's representatives insisted that Masterpiece Cakeshop owner Philips and his cake business refused to sell a birthday cake to him because of his sexual identity even if they had previously advertised that they would sell their products to the general public, including LGBTQ individuals, NBC News reported.

That said, Masterpiece Cakeshop's website clearly states that Philips "cannot create all custom cakes":

"Masterpiece Cakeshop will happily create custom cakes for anyone. But like many cake artists, Jack cannot create all custom cakes. He cannot create custom cakes that express messages or celebrate events that conflict with his religious beliefs."

Alliance Defending Freedom representatives were quick to defend Phillips, calling out Scardina's camp for "harassing" the Masterpiece Cakeshop owner over his religious beliefs.

Kristen Waggoner, senior vice president of ADF's U.S. legal division said in a statement that the Masterpiece Cakeshop owner is being targeted because of his refusal to create cakes that "express messages or celebrate events in conflict with his conscience."

Waggoner said, "This attorney's relentless pursuit of Jack was an obvious attempt to punish him for his views, banish him from the marketplace and financially ruin him and his shop."

Christian Headlines reported that a new trial awaits Masterpiece Cakeshop Owner Jack Philips in March, during which he has to defend himself against Scardina's consumer protection claim.

Believers are urged to pray for Philips as he keeps fighting for his freedom to stand for his convictions.


WASHINGTON (dpa-AFX) - The total coronavirus death toll in the United States has reached the brink of 500,000 mark.



A year into the pandemic, the half-a-million mark is expected to be breached on Monday, as the nation's top virus expert warned that normalcy may not return until the end of the year.



According to the Johns Hopkins University tracking website, total US COVID deaths are 498,897, as of February 22.



'It's terrible. It is historic. We haven't seen anything even close to this for well over a hundred years, since the 1918 pandemic of influenza,' Anthony Fauci, chief medical advisor to US President Joe Biden, said on NBC's 'Meet The Press.'



'It's something that is stunning when you look at the numbers, almost unbelievable, but it's true,' he added.



With 56,495 new coronavirus cases reported in the U.S. in past 24 hours, the total number of cases in the country has reached 28.13 million.



Texas reported the highest number of new cases during the period at 6,844; followed by New York 6,237; Florida 5,065; California 4,508 and South Carolina 2,872.



Meanwhile, COVID-19 hospitalizations continue to decline, and have halved in the past month. According to the Covid Tracking Project, nearly 56,159 people have been hospitalized across the U.S., with more than 11,800 patients in the ICU, while nearly 3,915 are on a ventilator.



The U.S. is working hard to vaccinate its population against COVID-19 to curb the spread of the disease in the country. The U.S. is currently administering over 1.8 million shots a day.



Since vaccine distribution began in the U.S. on December 14, more than 63 million doses have been administered, reaching 13.1% of the total U.S. population, according to federal data collected by the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention.



Copyright RTT News/dpa-AFX

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February 22, 2021 POE: STEP UP BORDER PATROLS VS. ASF Sen. Grace Poe urged concerned authorities to further tighten the country's patrolling against the entry of meat and meat products contaminated with the African swine fever (ASF), saying its spread could further wreak havoc on the hog industry and push prices up. "You really have to step up efforts. Hindi pwedeng sabihin na, 'kasi mga smugglers 'yan.' That's precisely the point of an inspection to tighten those borders to make sure na walang lumalabas na mga smuggled na karne sa merkado," Poe told Agriculture Secretary William Dar at a Senate hearing on the rising pork prices on Monday. The senator said government efforts to revitalize the hog industry by offering loans to raisers will be for naught if the threat of the ASF is always around which can wipe out anew their farms and livelihood. "Maganda na may pondo ang Department of Agriculture (DA) na ipapautang pero there are no takers kasi nga it's such a big risk kung mahahawa rin ang mga alaga nila. Wala bang force majeure na provision dito para naman kung may pandemya na nahawa ang mga alaga nila, hindi naman sila mabaon sa utang. Meron ba tayong inspection program para rito sa pumapasok na mga karne galing sa ibang bansa?" she asked. Poe noted that in Iloilo, local authorities are strictly requiring certificate of inspection to ensure that pork products that will be sold to the public are ASF-free. She said that both the hog raisers and the vendors have expressed their frustration over the lack of control against the entry of smuggled pork, which may cause the further spread of the highly contagious pig disease. Reports have said that nearly 70 percent of the hog industry in Luzon have suffered due to ASF, resulting in scarce supply that sent prices soaring, hitting consumers hard. The DA earlier announced an allocation of P27 billion in loans to commercial hog raisers to restart the hog industry crippled by the ASF. Aside from this, P500 million has also been set aside for repopulation of backyard raisers, including breeders and multiplier farms. Poe reiterated programs to reinvigorate the hog industry must go hand-in-hand with strict border controls. "All hands must be on deck - starting from the DA to the Bureau of Customs down to the local officials and meat traders - to ensure that the swine disease is stopped at the borders," Poe said.
New South Wales Police officer Lachlan Pritchard receives the Pfizer vaccine at the Royal Prince Alfred Hospital Vaccination Hub in Sydney, Australia, Monday, Feb. 22, 2021. Australia has started its COVID-19 vaccination program days after its neighbor New Zealand with both governments deciding their pandemic experiences did not require regulation short cuts. (Toby Zerna/Pool Photo via AP)

Australia started its COVID-19 inoculation program on Monday, days after its neighbor New Zealand, with both governments deciding their pandemic experiences did not require the fast tracking of vaccine rollouts that occurred in many parts of the world.

Other countries in the Asia-Pacific region that have dealt relatively well with the pandemic either only recently started vaccinating or are about to, including Thailand, Vietnam, Cambodia and Singapore.

Catherine Bennett, an epidemiologist at Australia's Deakin University, said countries that do not face a virus crisis benefit from taking their time and learning from countries that have taken emergency vaccination measures such as the United States.

"We've now got data on pregnant women who are vaccinated. Natural accidents, like incorrect dosing, happen in a real world rollout," Bennett said. "All of those things are really valuable insights."

Australian Prime Minister Scott Morrison had his first dose of the Pfizer vaccine on Sunday in a show of confidence in the product. Australia is prioritizing building public confidence in COVID-19 vaccines ahead of speed of delivery.

Health and border control workers, as well as nursing home residents and workers, started getting the Pfizer vaccine on Monday at hubs across the country. Australian Health Minister Greg Hunt will get the AstraZeneca vaccine when it becomes available within weeks.

Nurse manager Sue McGrady receives the Pfizer vaccine at the Royal Prince Alfred Hospital Vaccination Hub in Sydney, Australia, Monday, Feb. 22, 2021. Australia has started its COVID-19 vaccination program days after its neighbor New Zealand with both governments deciding their pandemic experiences did not require regulation short cuts. (Toby Zerna/Pool Photo via AP)

The vast majority of cases in Australia are travelers infected overseas who are detected during 14-day mandatory hotel quarantines. Australia has recorded 909 coronavirus deaths.

New Zealand began inoculations last week after receiving its first batch of the Pfizer vaccine.

The nation of 5 million has successfully stamped out the spread of the virus, and the first people to get the shots are border workers and their families. That's a different priority group than in most countries, and the idea is to stop the virus from spreading from any arriving travelers who are infected. After that, healthcare and essential workers, along with vulnerable older people, will be vaccinated.

However, the rollout of a program to vaccinate the broader population in New Zealand won't begin until the second half of the year, behind many other countries.

A vial of the Pfizer vaccine is scanned before administered at the Royal Prince Alfred Hospital Vaccination Hub in Sydney, Australia, Monday, Feb. 22, 2021. Australia has started its COVID-19 vaccination program days after its neighbor New Zealand with both governments deciding their pandemic experiences did not require regulation short cuts. (Toby Zerna/Pool via AP)

In Australia, some infectious disease and ethics experts at Australian National University have accused the government of hoarding vaccines and argued that the government should send surplus supplies to countries in desperate need.

Elsewhere in Asia, Thailand, which has seen only 83 virus deaths, has yet to start vaccinations. It will receive the first 200,000 doses of the Sinovac vaccine on Wednesday. That is part of the Thai government's plan that has so far secured 2 million doses from Sinovac and 61 million doses from AstraZeneca.

The government has a policy to provide free vaccinations to all Thais and aims to inject half of the population this year. The government said it hopes to begin the vaccinations a few days after the first batch of vaccines arrive.

Vietnam, which has recorded 35 deaths, announced last week that it will receive 5 million vaccine doses by the end of February and hopes to start inoculations as early as the beginning of March. Five million peoplemostly front-line workerswill be given the first shots.

The Pfizer vaccine is prepared at the Royal Prince Alfred Hospital Vaccination Hub in Sydney, Australia, Monday, Feb. 22, 2021. Australia has started its COVID-19 vaccination program days after its neighbor New Zealand with both governments deciding their pandemic experiences did not require regulation short cuts. (Toby Zerna/Pool Photo via AP)

The Pfizer vaccine are prepared at the Royal Prince Alfred Hospital Vaccination Hub in Sydney, Australia, Monday, Feb. 22, 2021. Australia has started its COVID-19 vaccination program days after its neighbor New Zealand with both governments deciding their pandemic experiences did not require regulation short cuts. (Toby Zerna/Pool Photo via AP)

Cambodia, which has yet to report any virus deaths, received its first shipment of 600,000 vaccine doses from China on Feb. 7, part of 1 million doses Beijing donated. The country began the vaccination program on Feb. 10, starting with Prime Minister Hun Sen's sons, government ministers and officials at a state run hospital.

In Singapore, which has reported 29 virus deaths, some 250,000 residents, including healthcare workers and other front-line workers, had been vaccinated as of last week, according to health officials. The aim is to get another 1 million people to receive their first dose of the vaccine by early April.

Laos, which also has reported no deaths, received 300,000 doses of the Sinopharm vaccine on Feb. 8. A Health Ministry official said that it expects 20% of the Lao population, or 1.6 million people, to be vaccinated within the year.

Explore further Follow the latest news on the coronavirus (COVID-19) outbreak

 2021 The Associated Press. All rights reserved. This material may not be published, broadcast, rewritten or redistributed without permission.
Joe Biden conducted the most anemic presidential campaign in history. Using COVID-19 as an excuse, he stayed off the campaign trail for months, limited press access, and held strange rallies with no voters in attendance. When he called a voter fat, and challenged Donald Trump to a fist-fight, we knew he was past his prime and his prime was never very impressive. Nobody has ever admired Joe for his intelligence, wisdom, statesmanship, or creativity. No, it was obvious he was merely a transport mechanism to deliver the White House to the political left -- rather like a political trojan horse -- with a coexist bumper sticker.

While we expected that a Biden presidency would have nothing to do with Joe Biden, I certainly didnt expect it to look like this. Is it just me, or do his executive order signing ceremonies look like creepy hostage situation videos?

Prisoner sitting at a desk -- check

Prisoner appears disoriented and confused -- check

Prisoner reading a statement clearly written by someone else -- check

Masked captors flanking the prisoner to keep him on script -- check

Its important to note that in these situations the power doesnt reside in the guy seated behind the desk -- regardless of his title or any trappings of importance. The power is held by the masked captors lurking the background. The power brokers in the Harris/Biden administration are San Fran Nan and Not-Mrs. Brown Harris. The most liberal former senator, and the most unhinged current congresswoman are the real shot callers in the executive branch now.

This raises another question, why would two people from the legislative branch be so anxious to circumvent the legislature? Joe has signed something like 50 executive orders in his first month in office. This puts him on pace for the most executive orders of any president in history. This is an affront to representative governance.

A quick read of these executive orders reveals why the Speaker and the VP are using executive orders in lieu of congressional legislation. Most of the orders being signed could not possibly withstand public scrutiny. The American electorate still has a substantial helping of divinely issued common sense -- even if Washington doesnt. If these measures were debated in congress, the citizenry would be screaming at their representatives to knock it off. A reading of the executive orders reveals that ambitious radicalism is hiding behind some very innocuous titles.

Ensuring a Lawful and Accurate Enumeration and Apportionment Pursuant to the Decennial Census, is an order to count illegal aliens when determining how many congressional districts each state will be allotted. Ensuring a Lawful and Accurate Enumeration and Apportionment Pursuant to the Decennial Census, is an order to count illegal aliens when determining how many congressional districts each state will be allotted.

Preventing and Combating Discrimination on the Basis of Gender Identity or Sexual Orientation, is an order to ensure that transgendered people may use any restroom they choose.

Protecting Worker Health and Safety, is an order expanding the authority of OSHA to include measures like mask wearing and social distancing in private businesses.

Protecting the Federal Workforce, is an order to unionize federal employees and protect bad performers from termination.

Tackling the Climate Crisis at Home and Abroad, is an order to re-enter the Paris Climate Accords, restrict fuel exploration and designate climate change as a national security issue. Does that mean that the Patriot Act may be brought to bear against climate deniers? After the Russia collusion hoax and FISAgate, who can say?

Restoring Faith in Our Legal Immigration Systems and Strengthening Integration and Inclusion Efforts for New Americans, is an order to ensure aliens (even those of the illegal variety) have access to government programs and benefits. It also changes the public charge calculation so that visa applications are not denied merely because the applicant would depend on government assistance to live in this country.

Establishment of the White House Office of Faith- Based and Neighborhood Partnerships, is an order to expand policy making with regards to community faith-based programs. To an operator of a church outreach program, can there be anything scarier than a federal employee telling you theyre going to partner with you?

Rather than debate these matters in the House and Senate, the power brokers have decided to just have the old guy in the blue suit declare them to be so. They achieve their goals, and Joe gets all the blame.

I still have one question -- Why the rush? Joe is signing executive orders at a pace of almost one per day. The administration is behaving as if theyre working to a deadline. Could it be that theyre trying to get as much done as possible before Joe inevitably blows up his own presidency? Joe being Joe, it is only a matter of time before he does or says something so socially unacceptable that he becomes unsuitable as a delivery mechanism.

What happens when the useful idiot is no longer useful? Thats where section 4 of the 25th amendment comes in. It allows the vice president, working with the cabinet and the Senate, to remove a president who is no longer able to discharge the duties of office. Given that Joe wasnt able to discharge the duties while running for the office, making this declaration after hes in office seems rather straightforward.

With Joe Biden out of the way, what will the new administration look like? It will be the Harris/Pelosi administration -- with Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez serving as the new Speaker of the House. I only wish buyers remorse were a company I could buy shares in. Republican prospects for the 2022 and 2024 elections are looking better all the time.

John Green is a political refugee from Minnesota, now residing in Star, Idaho. He is a retired engineer with over 40 years of experience in the areas of product development, quality assurance, organizational development, and corporate strategic planning. He can be reached at greenjeg@gmail.com.

Image: Adam Schultz
Taapsee Pannu is without doubt an actress who has proved her mettle over time. She has given some hard-hitting as well as effortless performances in several films that she has done which have worked well at the box-office and have even been recognized by the critics. Taapsee always picks roles that are strong and projects which are driven by her. Currently, the actress has a string of movies in her kitty which she is juggling. Taapsees next will have her working with Scam 1992 actor Pratik Gandhi. While Taapsee will be seen playing the role of a cop, Gandhi will be seen as a chauvinistic brat in the film. The film is tentatively titled Woh Ladki Hai Kahaan and will be directed by debutant director Arshad Syed. Its produced by Siddharth Roy Kapur.





The film will revolve around an unforeseen journey that they go on and what unfolds then. Talking about the project with a leading daily, Taapsee said, It is exciting to partner with a producer as prolific as Sid, as well as Pratik, whose performance in Scam 1992 left a lasting impression on me. We are excited for this one, what about you?




As America's COVID-19 death toll eclipsed half a million on Monday, Midland's top public health official said delays in the southern United States could hold up vaccine shipments in many parts of the country, including Midland County.

Midland County recorded five additional COVID-19 case on Monday, according to the daily state report.

"Unfortunately, some weather delays in the Kentucky and Tennessee area have delayed (vaccine) shipment to many parts of the country, and we're still waiting to see if we're going to get vaccine this week," said Midland County Health Department director Fred Yanoski.

The health department is scheduled to get 800 vaccines doses this week. The department has administered a total of 7,276 vaccine doses so far, including 4,797 first doses and 2,479 second doses, Yanoski said.

As reported by the Associated Press, the COVID-19 death toll in the U.S. topped 500,000 Monday, all but matching the number of Americans killed in World War II, Korea and Vietnam combined.

The lives lost, as recorded by Johns Hopkins University, are about equal to the population of Kansas City, Missouri, and greater than that of Miami; Raleigh, North Carolina; or Omaha, Nebraska.

And despite the rollout of vaccines since mid-December, a closely watched model from the University of Washington projects more than 589,000 dead by June 1.

The U.S. toll is by far the highest reported in the world, accounting for 20% of the nearly 2.5 million coronavirus deaths globally, though the true numbers are thought to be significantly greater, in part because of the many cases that were overlooked, especially early in the outbreak.

Average daily deaths and cases have plummeted in the past few weeks. Virus deaths have fallen from more than 4,000 reported on some days in January to an average of fewer than 1,900 per day. But experts warn that dangerous variants could cause the trend to reverse itself.

Some experts say not enough Americans have been inoculated yet for the vaccine to be making much of a difference.

Instead, the drop-off in deaths and cases has been attributed to the passing of the holidays; the cold and bleak days of midwinter, when many people are inclined to stay home; and better adherence to mask rules and social distancing.

The first known deaths from the virus in the U.S. happened in early February 2020. It took four months to reach the first 100,000 dead. The toll hit 200,000 deaths in September and 300,000 in December. Then it took just over a month to go from 300,000 to 400,000 and about two months to climb from 400,000 to the brink of 500,000.

The U.S. recorded an estimated 405,000 deaths in World War II, 58,000 in the Vietnam War and 36,000 in the Korean War.

Sunday-Monday, Feb. 21-22 COVID-19 numbers:

 Midland County: five cases were added. Pandemic total is 4,331 cases, 579 probable, 61 deaths and three probable deaths.

 Bay County: 14 cases and one death were added; pandemic total stands at 7,040 cases, 308 probable, 272 deaths and 12 probable deaths.

 Gladwin County: one case was added; pandemic total stands at 1,238 cases, 231 probable, 40 deaths and three probable deaths.

 Isabella County: three new cases were added; pandemic total stands at 3,544 cases, 447 probable, 72 deaths and one probable death.

 Saginaw County: 37 cases were added; pandemic total stands at 13,964 cases, 713 probable, 488 deaths and 11 probable deaths.

The state on Monday added 1,484 new cases and three deaths, representing new referrals of confirmed cases to the MDSS since Saturday, Feb. 20. Overall, Michigan is at 581,403 cases and 15,362 deaths.

Testing

The state report shows as of Monday, Midland County has performed 56,396 COVID-19 tests. Gladwin County is listed as having administered 15,994 tests.

Midland Countys seven-day rolling positivity rate on Feb. 17 was listed at 1%, and Gladwin County was listed at 2.8%. Our 12-county region is listed at 3.3% and Michigan is at 3.5%.

MidMichigan Health statistics

As of Feb. 18, MidMichigan Medical Center in Midland is listed as having an 72% bed occupancy, with nine COVID-19 patients and one in the ICU. MidMichigan Medical Center in Gladwin is listed as having an 7% bed occupancy, with no COVID-19 patients.

Regarding PPE supplies, the Midland hospital reported 15-30 days for N95 masks; 15-30 days for surgical masks; 30-plus days for surgical gowns; 15-30 days for exam gloves and 30-plus days for eye protection. The Gladwin hospital reported 30-plus days for all the reported.

Associated Press writers Melinda Deslatte and Tammy Webber contributed to this story
Senate Education Committee Chairman Cleo Fields is taking steps to ensure that children are introduced to a learning environment at a younger age to maximize their learning potential. Currently in Louisiana, children are not required to attend kindergarten. Today, Fields pre-filed Senate Bill 10 to make kindergarten attendance mandatory.

According to Louisianas Early Childhood Care and Education Commission, birth to 5 years of age is a critical period for brain development. The commissions research also states that a childs brain is 90% developed by age five. Fieldss legislation will be a necessary first step in improving the educational outcomes of Louisianas children.

As Louisiana continues to focus on the improvement of, and access to, early childhood education, there has never been a time of more importance to address the issue of kindergarten enrollment, stated Fields. In fact, we cant firmly address the issue of early childhood education if were not actively taking steps to ensure there is no gap between a Pre-K and kindergarten education.

Senate Bill 10 will be debated during the upcoming 2021 Regular Legislative Session which begins on April 12, 2021. To view the measure and other bills that have been pre-filed, visit www.legis.la.gov.
Downing Street today denied that Carrie Symonds is 'interfering' in Boris Johnson's government insisting that she is focused on raising their young son and has already started her new job.

The PM's spokeswoman said the idea that Ms Symonds is meddling was 'incorrect' despite mounting criticism over her power within No10.

She initially said that Mr Johnson's fiancee was still on maternity leave and 'raising their son Wilf', before clarifying that she had started a new job with an animal charity at the end of last month.

Ms Symonds is a former director of communications for the Conservative Party but has been appointed head of communications for the Aspinall Foundation, initially working from her spacious flat in Downing Street.

However, Tories told MailOnline that the 'playground' antics within government were no surprise to anyone who had worked with Ms Symonds.

One senior insider pointed out that she had unprecedented influence for the partner of a PM, and it was 'undeniable' she advised Mr Johnson.

The latest evidence of tensions came after a think-tank called for an inquiry into the extent of Ms Symonds' role behind the scenes - and a former colleague warned that she has effectively become Downing Street chief of staff.

The PM's spokeswoman said the idea that Carrie Symonds is meddling was 'incorrect' despite mounting criticism over her power within No10

Boris Johnson - wearing a jumper, Adidas shorts and his favourite red beanie hat embossed with a Welsh flag  was seen puffing his way around St James's Park today followed by two protection officers

No10 pet Dilyn is out of the doghouse Dilyn appears to now be out of the dog house as Boris Johnson was seen taking him for a run today just days after calling for someone to 'please shoot that f****** dog' after he gnawed his way through antiques at Chequers. The PM - wearing a jumper, Adidas shorts and his favourite red beanie hat embossed with a Welsh flag  was seen puffing his way around St James's Park followed by two protection officers. Dilyn, a Jack Russell-cross beloved of Mr Johnson's fiancee, Carrie Symonds, 32, recently landed him with a four-figure repair bill after chewing on antique furniture and books at the country residence in Buckinghamshire. Mr Johnson, 56, has told friends he had to foot the bill for making things good. Advertisement

Wilfred was born on April 29 last year, so depending on the length of her maternity leave she could return to work within weeks.

The PM's spokeswoman dodged questions today about whether Mr Johnson feared his fiancee was the victim of sexism.

One former Tory aide said the wrangling in Downing Street was not surprising.

'All this is so predictable. Anyone who ever worked with her knew this was exactly the way it was going to go,' they said.

'Boris is such a comedian, blows with the wind and the last thing she's whispered in his ear.'

Another senior Conservative said Ms Symonds' influence was unprecedented.

'If you go through May, Cameron, Brown, Blair, Major, Thatcher their others all did other things or did nothing. There isn't another one like her. She comes integrally from within the political cause.

'That is a difficult role to perform astutely.'

They added: 'The Symonds-Johnson saga is proof that when you have got two political beings as a couple, it is undeniable that things will be discussed.'

However, the Tory insider stressed that the tensions within No10 appeared to have diminished significantly since the departure of Dominic Cummings and Lee Cain.

'There clearly are elements of friction but it is far less bad than when you had Cummings there.'

Nic Conner, who worked with Ms Symonds on the Brexit campaign, said her 'unelected and unaccountable' role in Government is 'damaging to democracy'.

He insisted he has no grudge against the former director of Tory communications and was not being sexist, but is concerned she is acting unconstitutionally as friends are hired and rivals fired inside No 10.

Mr Conner said: 'In light of my experience working with Carrie Symonds, I am deeply concerned that she should have any role in governing the country without authority or accountability.

'It is clear that Carrie is acting as more than just the Prime Minister's private confidante. If reports are true, which I believe they are, then her role in government is similar to that of the chief of staff.

'This is of serious concern as Carrie has not been security-vetted and is not accountable to anyone. She does not answer to anyone with legal authority and cannot be fired or voted out.

'Anyone holding so much unelected power, and who cannot be removed, is not only unconstitutional but is damaging to British democracy.'

Mr Conner's comments came after the conservative think tank, the Bow Group  of which he is a research fellow  called for an independent inquiry into the role of Ms Symonds, 32, within government.

Bow Group chairman Ben Harris-Quinney added: 'No romantic partner of the PM has ever involved themselves to this degree. It's completely unjustifiable in a modern democracy, and calling me or the Bow Group sexist doesn't change that.'

The Bow Group wants an inquiry into Ms Symonds's alleged role in pushing out key Downing Street advisers. It also claims she was instrumental in appointing her close friend Nimco Ali as a Home Office adviser, and recruiting other allies to Downing Street.

Mr Harris-Quinney said: 'Failure to clarify Ms Symonds' position and authority, and to ensure that Ms Symonds is not and cannot take any action in governing the United Kingdom, potentially has huge hazards for the Government, the Conservative Party, and the nation. The public take a very dim view of cronyism, democracy in Britain is and must always be sacred, and no one should be involved in running our country without accountability to the people.'

The most prominent casualty of Ms Symond's alleged influence was Mr Johnson's right-hand man Dominic Cummings, who left in November after clashing with her.

Mr Cummings's ally, communications chief Lee Cain, soon followed him out of the door amid claims that Ms Symonds was calling the PM 20 times a day, and had been nicknamed 'Princess Nut Nut' by her detractors.

The most prominent casualty of Ms Symond's alleged influence was Mr Johnson's right-hand man Dominic Cummings, who left in November after clashing with her

Mr Cummings's ally, communications chief Lee Cain, soon followed him out of the door amid claims Ms Symonds was calling the PM 20 times a day

In their place, a new group has grown in Downing Street consisting of allies of Ms Symonds and Cabinet Office minister Michael Gove.

These include her friends Henry Newman and Baroness Finn. Brexit negotiator Lord Frost, who was close to Mr Cummings, has denied threatening to quit in protest at their arrival.

Fresh battles became public on Friday when Oliver Lewis, another Cummings supporter, resigned as head of the Union Unit.

No10 insisted today that despite the departure the PM's strategy for fighting Nicola Sturgeon's Scottish independence drive was 'far from' in chaos.

It was claimed that he had been briefing against Mr Gove and had been forced out as a result. But in a weekend of briefing and counter-briefing, it was also claimed Mr Gove had masterminded Mr Lewis's departure over fears he was being sidelined by the PM.

Meanwhile Ms Symonds has been appointed head of communications at conservation charity the Aspinall Foundation, which is run by gambling tycoon Damian Aspinall.

Earlier this month it was revealed that the organisation is being investigated by the Charity Commission amid concerns about what it calls 'financial management and wider governance'.

A spokesman for Ms Symonds  who has a nine-month-old son with the 56-year-old PM  declined to comment on the allegations against her last night.

ANDREW PIERCE: These feuding tribes have turned No.10 into a playground

By Andrew Pierce

Number Ten has long been a hotbed of gossip, intrigue and backstabbing as the power-hungry jostle for position at the court of the prime minister. But even by that yardstick, the events of recent days have been something to behold.

And the figure accused of being at the heart of the latest series of power struggles is not an MP, special adviser or civil servant. It is Carrie Symonds, fiancee of our Prime Minister and mother of his youngest son Wilfred.

Matters have become so fraught that, in the words of one former colleague  who now works for the influential Tory think tank the Bow Group  her 'unelected and unaccountable' role in government is 'damaging to democracy'.

To understand why the Conservative Party's 32-year-old former director of communications is attracting such attention, it's important to appreciate the scale of the bloodletting that has occurred behind Downing Street's black door in recent weeks  and the feuding tribes who are driving it.

Special advisers, or Spads, the unelected train-bearers in the court of the prime minister, often wield more power and influence than seasoned Cabinet ministers.

But their machinations are normally conducted in the shadows. No longer.

To the horror of many Tory MPs, they have turned the Downing Street political operation into what appears to all intents and purposes a playground riven with bitter factional infighting.

In the past few weeks, the Government operation has been beset by leaks, rifts and resignations, leading to a spate of damaging headlines.

The unedifying turf war comes as the Covid death toll goes above 120,000, unemployment is rising fast, and the economy is a shattered ruin. 'What must the public think of us with all these self-indulgent personality clashes?' asks one exasperated Whitehall source.

The saga has its roots in the departure of Boris's mercurial chief adviser Dominic Cummings, who was forced out following the axing of Number Ten's truculent communications director Lee Cain.

Both were members of the Vote Leave camp which ran the 2016 referendum campaign  and they blame Symonds for their demise.

Their camp suffered another blow last week with the resignation of Oliver Lewis, the former deputy of Lord Frost, who was the Government's chief negotiator with the EU over Brexit. Lewis, nicknamed Sonic because of his likeness to the video game character Sonic the Hedgehog, was head of the Cabinet Office unit fighting to stave off Scottish independence.

Even some Tory MPs wouldn't know Lewis if they fell over him. But despite his low profile, his resignation matters. Nationalism in Scotland is on the march and Lewis's departure after only two weeks in the job is a gift for Nicola Sturgeon, the SNP First Minister.

Lewis clashed with Cabinet Office minister Michael Gove, who chairs the committee in charge of the Union.

Gove, who was born in Aberdeen and whose parents still live there, wanted to love bomb the Scots in a bid to persuade them to stay true to the 313-year-old Union. However, Lewis wanted to take a more aggressive approach.

So did Lewis walk out because of policy differences with Gove? Not a bit of it. After a testy meeting with Boris, and having threatened to resign on more than one occasion in the past, he quit accusing Carrie Symonds of briefing against him because she had taken sides with Gove on the Scottish question.

Lewis denies a report put about by his enemies that he had flounced out because he hadn't been given a knighthood for his role in the Brexit talks.

It's easy to see how his nose might have been put out of joint, however.

Lewis was close to Lord Frost, who was promoted to the Cabinet last week with responsibility for the EU and unfinished Brexit negotiations. While his boss got a peerage followed by a Cabinet job, there were no baubles for him.

But even Frost's appointment was mired in controversy. His supporters argued that Gove had been too soft with Brussels since Brexit took effect on January 1. Frost, they said, would be more hardline.

The Gove camp suspect that the hostile briefings were the work of Lewis, an allegation that he denies.

Gove's supporters insist he first suggested Frost's elevation to the Cabinet. While the war of words raged over Frost and Gove, who is tipped for a big Cabinet promotion, the problems over goods going from mainland Britain into Northern Ireland since Brexit accelerated.

Carrie, who  as we have seen  has emerged as one of the most influential prime ministerial spouses of modern times, has her own group of loyalists.

They include Baroness Finn who last week became deputy chief of staff at No 10, and Henry Newman, who moved from advising Gove to working with Boris.

Carrie will be delighted with their arrival, but did she orchestrate it? Finn has known Boris since she raised funds for his 2008 mayoral campaign when Carrie was still at university.

Oxford and Harvard-educated Newman, meanwhile, worked closely alongside Boris and Gove on Brexit. 'They got there on merit,' said one source.

Carrie's friends don't deny she is influential, but argue that the criticism of her role is rooted in sexism.

One fan says: 'She's an important adviser to Boris in the same way Theresa May's husband Philip was when she was prime minister. We should not be ashamed that Boris listens to his fiancee.'

However, Philip May was only occasionally seen and absolutely never heard, while Carrie has become linked with hirings and firings.

Last year, her close friend Nimco Ali was appointed a Home Office adviser on tackling violence against women. The post was not advertised in the usual way. Carrie's influence was detected.

At this time of national crisis it is surely more vital than ever that the Government operates with determination and unity. Yet a Downing Street operation that should run like a Rolls-Royce has instead become a cauldron of poisonous rivalries. What must the voters think?
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Jaipur Literature Fest: Randeep Guleria's book explains India's fight against COVID-19

India

oi-Ajay Joseph Raj P

Jaipur, Feb 22: Jaipur Literature Festival, that is dubbed as the "greatest literary show on Earth", can be seen as a feast of ideas. Each year, several world's greatest writers, humanitarians, politicians, business leaders and entertainers are welcomed on one stage to champion the freedom to express and engage in thoughtful dialogue.

This year, Dailyhunt and OneIndia are the proud partners as live streaming partner and digital media partner respectively for the Jaipur Literary Fest 2021.

In the previous session, Harsh Mander, an Indian author, columnist, researcher and social activist who works with survivors of mass violence and hunger, as well as homeless persons and street children, held a discussion about his latest book "Locking Down the Poor: The Pandemic and India's Moral Centre."

In his book, he spoke about the problems that migrant workers suffered when the Centre called for a nationwide lockdown in 2020. The author also raised his voice against the government for not making much arrangements for the migrants to reach their hometowns.

Jaipur Literature Fest: Harsh Mander's book speaks of migrant workers' sufferings during lockdown

In today's session, Randeep Guleria spoke on his book "Till We Win: India's Fight Against The Covid-19 Pandemic" - co-authored by public policy and health systems expert Chandrakant Lahariya and renowned vaccine researcher and virologist Gagandeep Kang.

"Herd immunity is something that is going to be very, very difficult to achieve and it is something one should not really think of in practical terms, because the variant strains and varying immunity with times can lead to a chance where people may have reinfection or get infection again," Guleria said.

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"What we have today is not the only vaccine, we will have better vaccines as time moves on and as research moves on. But right now, we should take what we have if we want to really make sure that the situation in our country does not deteriorate," he added.

Meanwhile, some big names are making it to the festival this year include the likes of American linguist Noam Chomsky, 2020 Booker Prize winner Douglas Stuart, Nobel Laureates Joseph Stiglitz and Malala Yousafzai, Microsoft Corporation co-founder Bill Gates, and actor-author Priyanka Chopra.

Click here to watch full video:

The 14th edition of the Jaipur Literature Festival 2021 (JLF) has also followed suit of virtual. The festival took place in a virtual avatar from February 19, and will end on 21. The fest will again resume from February 26 to 28.

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Story first published: Monday, February 22, 2021, 16:30 [IST]
Facebook CEO Mark Zuckerberg is said to have personally overseen changes on the social media platform's content policy that would allow the site to 'go easy' on conspiracy theorist Alex Jones and the website run by him, InfoWars.

InfoWars is an American far-right conspiracy theory and fake news website owned Jones who was ultimately banned by Facebook in 2019 but before his removal, the changes ordered by Zuckerberg ultimately made it easier for Jones and other far-right hate groups to escape scrutiny on the site.

The social network was also used by groups to recruit and indoctrinate users in the run up to the January 6 insurrection at the Capitol last month.

Facebook was about to ban conspiracy theorist Alex Jones, pictured, and links from his Infowars website in April 2019 but his ban took more than a month to come into place

Facebook CEO Mark Zuckerberg did not consider Jones to be a hate figure and so overruled his own internal experts

Rioters coordinated their attack on the Capitol in January on social media (file photo)

A report by BuzzFeed, alleges Facebook changed the rules for Republican leaders and alt-right commentators allowing them to freely spread their messages online.

Such allowances begin at the very top with a reluctance to ban violent hate speech by former president Donald Trump and not subjecting his campaign ads to the kind of scrutiny fact-checking that would usually be expected of political videos.

Instead the expose alleges Facebook allowed hate speech and white supremacist messages to thrive on the platform.

Far-right radio show host Alex Jones has been described as 'America's leading conspiracy theorist' and suggested survivors of the 2018 Parkland shooting were 'crisis actors.'

He also described the Sandy Hook shooting in which 26 people, including 20 children between six and seven-years-old were shot dead, as a 'false flag'.

Jones described the Sandy Hook shooting, pictured, in which 26 people, including 20 children between six and seven years old were shot dead, as a 'false flag'.

A loophole was then created whereby Facebook banned Jones, pictured, but still allow users to post support for Infowars and Jones' conspiracy theories

He then went on to antagonize the victims' grieving families before ultimately being banned from both Facebook and Instagram in May 2019.

Jones violated Facebook's policy on 'dangerous individuals and organizations', which requires Facebook to also remove any content that expressed 'praise or support' for them.'

Yet just just one month earlier, Zuckerberg in April 2019 is said to have personally intervened to keep Jones on the site by making Facebook policies on free speech more lenient.

Despite Jones and his Infowars pages being banned from the Facebook site, a loophole existed whereby followers and fans could still post and share links in support of him.

'Mark personally didn't like the punishment, so he changed the rules,' a former policy employee told BuzzFeed.

'That was the first time I experienced having to create a new category of policy to fit what Zuckerberg wanted. It's somewhat demoralizing when we have established a policy and it's gone through rigorous cycles. Like, what the f*** is that for?' another employee added.

'Zuckerberg basically took the decision that he did not want to use this policy against Jones because he did not personally think he was a hate figure,' said another former employee involved with policy.

Facebook has responded to the allegations by stating the situation around Jones required 'a more nuanced policy and enforcement strategy.'

Decisions over what is allowed to be posted to Facebook is also guided by Joel Kaplan, the vice president of global public policy, pictured here in September 2019

Alongside Zuckerberg, the vice president of global public policy at Facebook. Facebook, Joel Kaplan, is also said to have much to answer for.

Kaplan served as White House deputy chief of staff under President George W. Bush.

As a Republican he is alleged to have repeatedly blocked and delayed efforts to prevent the spread of misinformation on the site.

Kaplan is in charge of overseeing public policy that involves government relationships and lobbying as well as content policy which dictates what can and cannot be posted onto the site.

BuzzFeed notes that Facebook's setup sees the same person involved in both public policy and content is unusual when compared with other tech companies which often split the role between two people.

Facebook founder and CEO Mark Zuckerberg, left, the vice president of global public policy at Facebook, Joel Kaplan, right

'When the company has a very apparent interest in propping up actors who are fanning the flames of the very fire we are trying to put out, it makes it hard to be visibly proud of where I work,' one researcher described the situation.

Kaplan also came under fire in 2018 when he attended the Supreme Court confirmation hearings for Brett Kavanaugh.

Kaplan's presence at the hearings appeared to signal to Facebook workers that he did not care about the sexual assault allegations against the now Supreme Court Justice.

Zuckerberg has been asked about the influence Kaplan holds over the social network during a question and answer session with employees.

It came after a refusal by Facebook to remove Trump's phrase: 'when the looting starts, the shooting starts' incitement he made during the George Floyd protests.

Facebook workers became angry and a meeting was held between the employees and Zuckerberg.

'That basically asked whether Joel can be in this role, or can be doing this role, on the basis of the fact that he is a Republican  and I have to say that I find that line of questioning to be very troubling,  If we want to actually do a good job of serving people, [we have to take] into account that there are different views on different things,' Zuckerberg said in Kaplan's defense.

Former President Donald Trump was removed from Facebook in the wake of the January 6 attack on Congress. Pictured: Trump speaks at a rally moments before his supporters marched on the Capitol

In the coming months Facebook's Oversight Board will soon hear the case regarding Donald Trump's removal from the site

Although responsibility ultimately lies with Zuckerberg, recently the company has set up an independent Oversight Board.

The Board, which makes content moderation decisions on the social media platform, began hearing cases in October 2020.

The Board has the ability to overrule content moderation decisions by intermediaries by applying Facebook's policies and considering the public interest.

In the coming months The Board will soon hear the case regarding Donald Trump's removal from the site which came in the wake of the January 6 attack on Congress.

'Joel Kaplan has influence for sure, but at the end of the day Mark owns this stuff,' a former policy employee said to BuzzFeed. 'Mark has consolidated so much of this political decision-making power in himself.'

Trump supporters clash with police and security forces as they storm the US Capitol in Washington, DC on January 6 (file photo)
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Launch: Lidls Conor Boyle, Lord Mayor of Belfast, Frank McCoubrey, and Chris Speers, Lidl, at the opening

Grocery retailer Lidl has opened a new store in North Belfast, creating 35 jobs.

The store, which is the anchor tenant of the newly revamped Hillview Retail Park on the Crumlin Road, will be part of a wider retail development in the area. The new unit, which uses Lidl's newest concept, takes the retailer's total store count to 41 here and represents an investment of 6.7m.

Children from the nearby Holy Cross Boys Primary School and Edenbrooke Primary School officially cut the ribbon, receiving 500 to spend in store.

Lord Mayor of Belfast, Alderman Frank McCoubrey, said: "The arrival of Lidl is a very welcome investment for north Belfast and is creating jobs, which is good news for the local community."

The opening is part of the retailer's plans to expand and enhance its store count to 50 by the end of the decade.

Thomas McFarlane, Hillview Retail Park store manager at Lidl Northern Ireland, said: "Hillview Retail Park is an outstanding location serving a busy local community and we're delighted to confirm our investment as its anchor tenant.

"This once popular shopping destination is primed for a new future of growth and we're proud to be part of this significant regeneration."
I work for an IT company. After working in two previous companies, I withdrew my provident fund (PF) amount. I made a mistake by not letting my current employer deduct my PF. Is it possible to do so now?

Rakshit Soral

We have assumed that (i) upon withdrawal of your previous provident fund balance, you ceased to be a member of the Employees Provident Fund Scheme (EPF); (ii) your salary with the existing employer exceeds the prescribed monthly wage ceiling ( 15,000); and (iii) you are an Indian passport holder.

As per the provisions of the EPF, if a new employee joins a company on a salary exceeding the prescribed monthly wage ceiling and he/she is not a member of EPF at the time of joining the establishment, he/she will not be liable to become a member of the EPF. However, if the employer and employee both agree, there is no bar in enrolling such an employee as a member under the EPF.

As you were not a member of the EPF and your salary exceeds the prescribed monthly wage, you and your employer were not mandatorily liable to contribute to PF.

How should we do valuation of equity shares on 1 April 2001 in case of unlisted shares if the shares were purchased prior to 2001? A reference to the section/rule of the I-T Act will be helpful.

Nilesh Shah

As per Section 55 of the I-T Act, where any capital asset is acquired prior to 1 April 2001, the taxpayer can choose to consider the higher of the actual total cost incurred at the time of acquisition or the fair market value (FMV) as on 1 April 2001, as the cost of acquisition for the purpose of computation of capital gains.

While there are specific rules prescribed for the mode of computation of FMV of unlisted equity shares in the context of some other provisions of the Act, it may be noted that the mode of computation of FMV of unlisted shares for the purpose of computation of capital gains has not been prescribed in the Act.

Hence, from a documentation perspective, one may consider obtaining an FMV certificate from a registered valuer.

(Parizad Sirwalla is partner and head, global mobility services, tax, KPMG in India. Queries and views at mintmoney@livemint.com)

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The Government on Monday proposed Rs 7,000 crore under the Pradhan Mantri Awas Yojana (Gramin), while announcing budget 2021-22 proposals.

A provision of Rs 369 crore has been made under the Mukhyamantri Awas Yojana (Gramin).

Further, a provision of Rs 5,548 crore has been made under Rashtriya Gramin Rojgar Guarantee Yojana to create 35 crore man days employment.

Under Batch-1 of Pradhanmantri Gram Sadak Yojana-3, Rs 5,000 crore is proposed.

As far as Panchayati Raj is concerned, a provision of Rs 10 crore for the establishment of 2 Chandrasekhar Azad Gramin Vikas Sachivalaya in each Nyay Panchayat.

A provision of Rs 25 crore has been made to encourage excellent gram panchayats under the Mukhyamantri Panchayat Protsahan Yojana.

A provision of Rs 20 crore has been made for the construction of multipurpose panchayat buildings in gram panchayats.

A budget arrangement of Rs 653 crore is proposed for capacity augmentation, training and construction of structural framework in panchayats under the Rashtriya Gram Swaraj Abhiyan.

For the expansion of e-governance in the villages, a provision of Rs 4 crore has been made for Dr Ram Manohar Lohia Panchayat Sashaktikaran Yojana.

(Only the headline and picture of this report may have been reworked by the Business Standard staff; the rest of the content is auto-generated from a syndicated feed.)
A suspended nurse who injected cosmetic fillers into a womans face, causing an abnormality that could last for years, has been fined $5000 but spared a criminal conviction.

Tanya Bechara treated patients in Melbourne on November 17, 2018 after advertising that her business would be visiting for one day only from Sydney, but at the time her registration was suspended due to providing unsupervised injections the previous year.

On Monday, Melbourne Magistrates Court heard Ms Bechara had a registered nurse accompany her to a Brunswick skin clinic, but she, and not the nurse, injected patients with cosmetic fillers. When the nurse later raised concerns, Bechara said, Oh its fine, its fine.

One woman paid $1600 for injections to her lips, forehead and under her eyes.

She experienced pain afterwards and had her top lip hooking over the bottom lip and blue colouring under her eyes, magistrate Trieu Huynh said.
STATEN ISLAND, N.Y.  A car overturned on the West Shore Expressway near the exchange for the Staten Island Expressway on Monday afternoon.

The vehicle ended up in the grassy area at the approach to the ramp for the New Jersey-bound Staten Island Expressway.

Police and the FDNY were seen responding to the crash reported at about 12:30 p.m., according to a spokesman for the FDNY/EMS.

A person refused medical attention at the scene, the FDNY spokesman said.

Roads on Staten Island got slippery Monday afternoon as rain and snow fell on our borough. A wintry mix of up to an inch of white powder and rain is expected through the evening rush hour on Monday.

The National Weather Service has issued a special weather statement for New York City until 3:15 p.m. on Monday. Moderate to occasionally heavy snow will transition to rain across NYC and accumulation of up to an inch is possible, mostly on unpaved surfaces.

A car overturns and lands in the ditch on the West Shore Expressway at the split for the Staten Island Expressway on Monday, Feb. 22, 2021. (Staten island Advance/Jan Somma-Hammel)
A father-of-three discovered he had terminal brain cancer after suddenly being unable to talk at work, and now has just a couple of months to live.

Brandon Schrader was crossing the road on his lunch break in April last year when he started stuttering and lost control of his hand movements.

After being rushed to hospital in Canberra, doctors found three masses on Mr Schrader's brain.

The 28-year-old was diagnosed with an aggressive form of brain cancer known as Glioblastoma Multiforme Grade 4.

'Honestly, having that moment play out in my head is so traumatic. I felt so helpless and confused, it was devastating,' Mr Schrader's high school sweetheart Shae Jones wrote on a Go Fund Me.

Mr Schrader underwent an eight-hour surgery but struggled to communicate once he was out of the operating theatre.

The 28-year-old was diagnosed with an aggressive form of brain cancer known as Glioblastoma Multiforme Grade 4 (GBM4). Pictured with his four-year-old twin daughters

Mr Schrader's high school sweetheart Shae Jones was forced to go on unpaid leave to take care of her dying partner, leaving the couple with financial woes

'He had obvious cognitive impairments and it took him some time to get back to 'himself' and learn basic tasks again,' Ms Jones said.

'He did recover in time but never fully returned to his normal self.'

Ms Jones said her partner of 10 years often suffered from headaches and bouts of vomiting, but they didn't think anything of it.

Doctors gave Mr Schrader the devastating news that he only had about 12 months to live.

'Our world crashed down around us at that very moment. The heaviness of everything was overwhelming. It was at that moment that we knew our life would never, ever, be the same again,' Ms Jones said.

Mr Schrader underwent further surgery before eventually being discharged from hospital.

Ms Jones was forced to go on unpaid leave to take care of her dying partner, leaving the couple with financial woes.

Doctors gave Mr Schrader the devastating news that he only had about 12 months to live

'Those next few weeks are a total blur, adjusting to massive amounts of medications for Brandon, his recovery and also organising alternative financial supports. It was rough,' she said.

'Each week is a struggle to provide what my family needs with the minimal fortnightly payment we get from Centrelink.'

Mr Schrader went on to undergo brutal rounds of chemotherapy and radiotherapy, before one day his condition took a turn for the worse.

While in the car one day, Mr Schrader had a seizure and suddenly lost all control over the right side of his body.

In yet another blow for the family, doctors discovered Mr Schrader had a new growth of a tumour on the left side of his brain, which caused the terrifying incident in the car.

The couple's three children, Arley (right), six, and four-year-old twins Ivy and Letti, have started noticing heartbreaking changes in Mr Schrader's behaviour

Doctors have warned Mr Schrader that he will become increasingly drowsy over the next two weeks

In August doctors removed a flap of Mr Schrader's brain after he contracted an infection. But the aftermath of the surgery took a toll on the young father.

'He had slowly come to terms with the massive scar across his head and the hair loss from chemo and radiation but now he had to come to terms with the fact that his head was differently shaped,' Ms Jones said.

The couple's three children, Arley, six, and four-year-old twins Ivy and Letti, have started noticing heartbreaking changes in Mr Schrader's behaviour.

'The kids are asking more and more questions now, they can see the changes in him and I am, well, I am just taking each day as it rolls on in,' Ms Jones said.

'They'll say things like, 'it's a bit sad that daddy can't really talk to us anymore'.'

Ms Jones said Mr Schrader's condition has become progressively worse since October, and often needs to be prompted to speak.

In August doctors removed a flap of Mr Schrader's brain after he contracted an infection

'He is losing control of his bladder, with multiple accidents a day, he has no appetite most of the time... significant issues with his eyes and loss of control of balance,' she said.

'He often leans to the side or slouched over. He is again losing control of his leg and foot, [as well as] blistering, vomiting and headaches.'

Doctors warned Mr Schrader he will become increasingly drowsy over the next two weeks. He likely has just a couple of months left to live.

'The decline is traumatising for all involved and so, so cruel,' Ms Jones said.

'Thankfully, Brandon has continued to show his dry, sarcastic and witty sense of humour throughout this journey despite how utterly devastating it truly is and that is something we are thankful for.'
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After the big freeze in Texas comes the big thaw  and the big demand for workers to repair the broken pipes and sagging roofs the retreating ice and snow will reveal.

It could take months for contractors to fix the damage the massive storm inflicted on Texas, said Greg Sizemore, a vice president of the Associated Builders and Contractors. The magnitude of the problem could be much larger than Hurricane Harvey, which was confined mostly to the Gulf Coast. Other states are also in need of contractors, and the industry has been facing a shortage of construction workers because of Covid-19 health and supply issues, Sizemore said.

In the midst of the emergency, in the midst of the desperation, people are going to have to dig a little bit deeper to be patient, Sizemore said. Dont throw good money at a bad solution.

The Sunday storm throttled U.S. oil production by nearly 40%. Fracking stopped and grain shipments stalled. Many of the states 29 million residents must get their own homes up and running before pitching in to restart the economy.

Water is, as always, the first need. Even while ice and snow still cover homes, the demand is acute, with many plumbers pushing appointments into March.

Waiting and Hoping

For Aaron Carpenter, 39, the water pipe he heard rupture in his attic on Sunday evening was the least of his worries. He, his wife and three kids had to bunk with friends to keep from freezing in their house, which didnt get electricity restored until Thursday morning. Now, the realization has set in that the Carpenters home in a suburb north of Fort Worth has no running water.

The struggle is just that helpless feeling you have. You just want to take care of your house, but you cant, said Carpenter, who works at a bank. There arent a lot of things you can do, other than wait and hope the damage doesnt get too bad once the pipes are frozen.

Still, Carpenter considers himself lucky. He shut off the water valve right away, avoiding any damage. His landlord also was able to schedule a plumber to come out before the weekend.

Adjuster Army

Insurance companies also are getting flooded with calls, and claims adjusters will soon face a tremendous backlog. Brian Haden, founder and president of Haden Claims Services, which works on behalf of policyholders, says that the next 72 hours will be crucial as the state starts to thaw.

We are anticipating, within the industry, that we will see more claims out of this storm than any hurricane in Texas ever, Haden said.

In a state where it takes 13 hours to drive from Dalhart in the Panhandle to Brownsville near the Mexican border, disasters usually are isolated to a region, perhaps a coastal hurricane or tornadoes ripping across the West Texas plains. This storm spared no one, even in the farthest corners of South Texas that rarely see temperatures below freezing.

Insurers are deploying adjusters from across the U.S. to help, according to Camille Garcia, a spokeswoman at the Insurance Council of Texas. State Farm Mutual Automobile Insurance Co. has already sent workers to help handle claims and has resorted to handling some virtually, spokesman Chris Pilcic said in an email.

Housing Hassles

The bulk of the damages will likely be to residences, said Chris Peck, who leads the Dallas office of JE Dunn Construction, a Kansas City, Missouri-based builder. Peck sent crews to schools, hospitals, government buildings and other commercial construction projects that the company built to check on water and gas. It will take a few days, though, for the extent of the problems to become clear, he said.

It will certainly put a strain on the contractor community to respond, Peck said.

Texas requires that contractors, including plumbers and electricians, hold licenses, an effort to protect residents from substandard work. That also hinders the ability for plumbers to come from other states to help out, Sizemore said. The Texas State Board of Plumbing Examiners must agree to accept an out-of-state license, known as a reciprocity agreement.

Even with an army of plumbers, the work will take time, and time can breed desperation. Sizemore said residents should beware of unlicensed, fly-by-night workers.

Youve got these land sharks that are going to prey on a community, he said. Dont let an emotion or circumstance dictate something youll regret.

Top Photo: Water flows out from a burst water pipe in Austin, Texas, U.S., on Wednesday, Feb. 18, 2021. Texas is restricting the flow of natural gas across state lines in an extraordinary move that some are calling a violation of the U.S. Constitutions commerce clause.

Copyright 2021 Bloomberg.

Topics Texas Contractors
Source: Xinhua| 2021-02-22 22:12:35|Editor: huaxia

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Aerial photo taken on Oct. 18, 2020 shows harvesters operating in rice fields at Jiangzhuang Village of Luanzhou City in north China's Hebei Province. (Xinhua/Mu Yu)

BEIJING, Feb. 22 (Xinhua) -- Chinese authorities on Monday reaffirmed the country's focus on ensuring grain security and protecting germplasm resources after unveiling an annual rural policy plan to facilitate agricultural modernization and advance rural vitalization.

"China's grain security is fully guaranteed," Minister of Agriculture and Rural Affairs Tang Renjian told a press conference, citing sufficient grain inventories and sound production and sales.

Acknowledging the country's agricultural achievements in withstanding a significant test last year amid the COVID-19 epidemic, Tang called for continuing to enhance grain output and ensure grain security.

The minister's remarks came after the release of China's "No. 1 central document" on Sunday. It lists the targets and tasks concerning agriculture and rural areas for 2021 and a broader vision until 2025.

As a rural blueprint unveiled annually, this year's document urged retaining a "red line" of 1.8 billion mu (120 million hectares) of arable land and preventing the use of arable land for non-farming purposes.

The country also planned to add 100 million mu of high-standard farmland with high and stable yields this year. It would be despite droughts and floods, according to the document.

China has made massive achievements in the agricultural sector in recent years. Official data showed China had 17 consecutive years of bumper harvests in grain production, with grain output exceeding 650 billion kg for six years in a row.

A farmer displays newly harvested wheat at Wushi Village, Shaojiaqiao Township, Sinan County of southwest China's Guizhou Province, May 13, 2020. (Xinhua/Yang Wenbin)

The mechanization rate of farming and harvesting reached 71 percent while the amount of chemical fertilizers and pesticides applied to crops dropped for four consecutive years, Tang said.

Yet, China's grain supply and demand remained in a "tight balance," Tang noted, calling for more efforts to enhance grain production to cope with external uncertainties and rising crop demand in the long run.

The country in the next stage should not only ensure quantity but also improve the diversity and quality of agricultural products, Tang said.

He urged promoting supply-side structural reform in the agricultural sector by improving breeding, branding, and standardized agricultural production to offer a broader range of high-quality products to Chinese consumers.

Admittedly, China still faces many weak links in germplasm resource protection, and breeding theories and technologies, according to Zhang Taolin, vice agricultural minister.

Zhang urged investigations and germplasm resource collection of crops, poultry, and aquatic products.

Efforts should also support leading enterprises specializing in germplasm and breeding, facilitate core-breeding technology breakthroughs, and promote agricultural biological breeding projects, Zhang said. 
Unemployed Australians will be given a permanent $50-a-fortnight rise to the JobSeeker payment when the coronavirus supplement ends in March, while employers will have the power to dob in anyone refusing a job offer.

The federal government on Tuesday announced the dole would be lifted to $615.70 a fortnight, or about $44 a day, after March 31, up from the base rate of $565.70 a fortnight.

The base rate of JobSeeker will be increased after March. Credit:Rhett Wyman

Job seekers obligations will also be increased, with the number of job searches required each month to rise gradually to 20 from July 1, and a new hotline for employers will be put in place to discourage people from refusing offers of work.

The new rate is equivalent to an increase of just under $4 a day and people will be able to earn $150 a fortnight before they start to see a reduction in their payments. The measures are estimated to cost about $9 billion over the forward estimates.
NTPC informed that consequent upon successful commissioning, 5 MW last part capacity for 20 MW Auraiya Solar PV Project at Auraiya, UP, has been declared on Commercial Operation with effect from 20 February 2021.

Jubilant Foodworks announced it will fully acquire Fides Food Systems Coeratief U.A., Netherlands (Fides) for an agreed investment of approximately GBP 24.80 million through its wholly owned subsidiary - Jubilant Foodworks Netherlands B.V.

Tata Consumer Products has successfully completed the acquisition of 100% of the equity share capital of the Kottaram Agro Foods. Consequently, Kottaram Agro Foods has become wholly owned subsidiary of the company.

Aarti Drugs informed that Pinnacle Life Science LLC, a Wholly Owned Subsidiary of the company, incorporated at "International Free Zone Authority" (IFZA), Fujairah, UAE, has been closed / wound-up.

Narayana Hrudayalaya said that that Health City Cayman Islands (HCCI), the step-down subsidiary of the company is expanding to a new location in the Camana Bay Development area of Grand Cayman.

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Physicists from Switzerland, Germany and Ukraine have proposed an innovative new data storage medium. The technique is based on specific properties of antiferromagnetic materials that had previously resisted experimental examination.

Using nanoscale quantum sensors, an international research team has succeeded in exploring certain previously uncharted physical properties of an antiferromagnetic material. Based on their results, the researchers developed a concept for a new storage medium published in the journal Nature Physics. The project was coordinated by researchers from the Department of Physics and the Swiss Nanoscience Institute at the University of Basel.

Antiferromagnets make up 90 percent of all magnetically ordered materials. Unlike ferromagnets such as iron, in which the magnetic moments of the atoms are oriented parallel to each other, the orientation of the magnetic moments in antiferromagnets alternates between neighboring atoms. As a result of the cancelation of the alternating magnetic moments, antiferromagnetic materials appear non-magnetic and do not generate an external magnetic field.

Antiferromagnets hold great promise for exciting applications in data processing, as the orientation of their magnetic moment - in contrast to the ferromagnets used in conventional storage media - cannot be accidentally overwritten by magnetic fields. In recent years, this potential has given rise to the budding research field of antiferromagnetic spintronics, which is the focus of numerous research groups around the world.

Quantum sensors provide new insights

In collaboration with the research groups under Dr. Denys Makarov (Helmholtz-Zentrum in Dresden, Germany) and Professor Denis D. Sheka (Taras Sevchenko National University of Kyiv, Ukraine), the team led by Professor Patrick Maletinsky in Basel examined a single crystal of chromium(III) oxide (Cr2O3). This single crystal is an almost perfectly ordered system, in which the atoms are arranged in a regular crystal lattice with very few defects. "We can alter the single crystal in such a way as to create two areas (domains) in which the antiferromagnetic order has different orientations," explains Natascha Hedrich, lead author of the study.

These two domains are separated by a domain wall. To date, experimental examinations of domain walls of this sort in antiferromagnets have only succeeded in isolated cases and with limited detail. "Thanks to the high sensitivity and excellent resolution of our quantum sensors, we were able to experimentally demonstrate that the domain wall exhibits behavior similar to that of a soap bubble," Maletinsky explains. Like a soap bubble, the domain wall is elastic and has a tendency to minimize its surface energy. Accordingly, its trajectory reflects the crystal's antiferromagnetic material properties and can be predicted with a high degree of precision, as confirmed by simulations performed by the researchers in Dresden.

Surface architecture determines trajectory

The researchers exploit this fact to manipulate the trajectory of the domain wall in a process that holds the key to the proposed new storage medium. To this end, Maletinsky's team selectively structures the surface of the crystal at the nanoscale, leaving behind tiny raised squares. These squares then alter the trajectory of the domain wall in the crystal in a controlled manner.

The researchers can use the orientation of the raised squares to direct the domain wall to one side of the square or the other. This is the fundamental principle behind the new data storage concept: if the domain wall runs to the "right" of a raised square, this could represent a value of 1, while having the domain wall to the "left" could represent a value of 0. Through localized heating with a laser, the trajectory of the domain wall can be repeatedly altered, making the storage medium reusable.

"Next, we plan to look at whether the domain walls can also be moved by means of electrical fields," Maletinsky explains. "This would make antiferromagnets suitable as a storage medium that is faster than conventional ferromagnetic systems, while consuming substantially less energy."

###

To provide relief to senior citizens aged above 75 years, the government, in its Budget 2021, has proposed an exemption for them from filing income tax returns (ITRs). However, this exemption is available only to those who fulfil certain conditions and experts feel that this will limit the number of senior citizens who can benefit from this.

Only those senior citizens who dont have any income other than pension income and interest income can avail of the benfit. The interest income should be from a bank account as will be specified by the government.

Also Read | Turnout modest for second covid shot

The intention of bringing in this exemption is good, but it is unlikely that many senior citizens will meet the condition of not having any income apart from pension income. Generally, senior citizens invest in instruments such as small saving schemes like senior citizen saving schemes from which they earn interest which is fully taxable. They may also be getting a dividend or rental income," said Ameet Patel, partner, Manohar Chowdhry & Associates.

Also, the condition that the senior citizen should have a bank account with only one bank is unlikely to be met by many, he added.

There is no bar on the amount of pension a senior citizen may be earning. The exemption is only from filing tax returns. The senior citizen will have to pay tax as per the marginal slab rates. The specified banks will deduct the tax and submit it on behalf of the taxpayers.

The senior citizen will have to submit a declaration to the banks saying he or she doesn't have any other income apart from the pension and interest income. The bank will deduct the TDS after considering the deduction allowable under Chapter VI-A and rebate allowable under section 87A of the Act.

Experts feel that the conditions will limit the benefit to a limited number of senior citizens.

The government has said it will be available to those who have pension accounts with banks as will be specified by the government. So, this may also restrict many senior citizens to avail off the benefit as they may not have accounts with the specified banks. The choice of the bank generally depends on the past employer for retired people. In many organisations they continue with the salary account for crediting pension. In smaller organisations a person may get the liberty to hold bank accounts of their choice. Generally, bigger organisations dont give this liberty," Prakash Hegde, a Bengaluru-based chartered accountant.

The benefit of this may be available to a handful of people because of the stringent conditions like limiting the income to pension and interest from the same bank as may be notified by the government. It would have been better if they would have allowed it across all banks. People generally like to diversify their deposits across banks as a risk control measure, therefore, it is highly unlikely that they will not have an account with any other bank," said Gautam Nayak, a chartered accountant.





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The youngest children are returning to the classroom as schools reopen to more pupils.

Children in primaries one to three are due back in Scottish schools from Monday, along with some senior secondary pupils who need to do practical work for qualifications.

All children under school age in early learning and childcare are also returning.

Senior secondary pupils will need to stick to two-metre social distancing within schools and on school buses, while Covid-19 testing will be made available to them and teachers.

Parents have been told to follow social distancing at the school gates (Nick Ansell/PA)

Education Secretary John Swinney has said it is critical that parents follow mask-wearing and physical distancing rules at the school gates when younger pupils return to class.

He acknowledged that the Government has little headroom regarding the R number  the rate at which the virus grows.

Mr Swinney told the BBCs Sunday Show programme: Weve all got to play a part, not just the school environment but the whole surrounding environment of society, to make sure that we do all that we can to suppress the virus.

Because we dont actually have an awful lot of headroom between where the R level is just now  somewhere between 0.7 and 0.9  and 1, where obviously the virus begins to spread exponentially.

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The Education Secretary said on Monday the biggest threat to education would be an increase in the spread of the virus across the country, as he urged Scots to follow public health advice.

He told Good Morning Scotland: The biggest threat to the opening of schools is not outbreaks in schools, it is community transmission of the virus.

When asked if parents at school gates contributed to prevalence of the virus before this lockdown, Mr Swinney said: The whole community was driving the virus.

I dont particularly want to single out particular groupings  the whole society was interacting too much, thats why we had to go into lockdown.

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Mr Swinney said ministers would be monitoring data carefully when the initial cohort of pupils returns before deciding on whether others could go back to class.

Professor Devi Sridhar, chairwoman of global public health at the University of Edinburgh, told BBC Good Morning Scotland on Monday: I think we should keep perspective.

There will likely be cases emerging in schools over in the next few weeks but the vast majority of schools should be fine and thats what we have to keep perspective on.

Prof Sridhar, who is an adviser to the Scottish Government, said: If you look at the vast majority of scientific knowledge on this, from the United States from across Europe, from East Asia, the view is really that children are not driving transmission.

They can get infected definitely and they can infect others but they are much less likely to and so if we talk to paediatric colleagues about this they are not finding a lot of asymptomatic infections in children and they are testing quite regularly in hospitals.
Lasse Jacobsen, a research librarian at the Munch Museum in Oslo who works with Munchs collected writings, confirmed Gulengs findings. The infrared photographs, he said, made it much easier to see the words, and there are some letters in his handwriting that are really distinct, like the N, or the D, which turns up at the end. So when I saw it there I thought, This is Munch.

The 2008 Munch catalog raisonne, a comprehensive study of his works by the art historian Gerd Woll, suggested that the phrase had been scrawled by a vandal. At least that is how it was perceived in 1904, when it was exhibited in Copenhagen, she writes, that a tactless hand has written in pencil. In an email to The New York Times, Woll said that the new evidence from Guleng strongly points to Munch himself as the writer.

While the National Museum in Norway was in the process of restoring and examining the work in preparation for the opening of its new museum in 2022, Guleng took the opportunity to resolve the question about the text.

It was strange to me that there was such little curiosity about this inscription, because it is a very peculiar thing to write on your own painting, she said.

Munch probably wrote the sentence on his painting in 1895, according to Guleng, after his exhibition of new work at the Blomqvist gallery in Oslo. During a debate about the exhibition at the University of Oslos Students Association one night, a medical student, Johan Scharffenberg said the artwork gave him reason to question the artists mental state, calling Munch abnormal and a madman. Munch was deeply hurt, said Jacobsen, and wrote about it even decades later.

Guleng believes the inscription is written with irony and reflects both pain at being attacked and fear of being regarded as mentally ill. By writing this inscription in the clouds, he took possession, in a way, or he took control of how he was to be perceived and understood, she said.

Abdullah Al-Eisa / Getty Images

UPDATE: The CHP reopened all lanes on the Bay Bridge at 9:54 a.m. but a long backup remains.

A dump truck lost its load of dirt at the entrance of the eastbound Bay Bridge, creating a huge traffic mess in downtown San Francisco. At 7:48 a.m., the California Highway Patrol reported that the back of a big rig was open and mud was dumping onto the road, blocking the right lane. The debris is affecting roughly 200 feet of roadway, CHP said.
A further case of Covid-19 has been confirmed among the prisoner population in Portlaoise following the second round of mass testing at Midlands Prison.

The Irish Prison Service (IPS) has confirmed that 11 positive cases have now been identified amongst inmates since the first cases were detected last week. An unspecified number of staff cases have also been confirmed.

"The IPS can confirm the number in custody for the Midlands Prison 22 February 2021, is 826. As of, todays date, the total number of prisoners that have tested positive for Covid-19 is 11," it said.

Of the prisoners who have contracted the virus, nine were orison based transmissions with two Community Transmission (new committals).

"Following the confirmation of positive prisoner cases the Irish Prison Service and Midland Prison management have implemented a comprehensive contingency plan to prevent the spread of Covid-19 to the wider prison population. This major logistical operation includes arrangements for the second round of mass testing this week for all prisoners and staff in Midlands and the introduction of a restricted regime across the prison," said a statement.

The service said it is continuing to work closely with HSE/Public Health and arrangements are being made with the HSE for the re-testing of all prisoners and staff, in order to provide an assured response to the current outbreak in Midlands Prison. It added that this will support a return to a more normal prison regime as soon as possible.

The IPS said Midlands Prison Outbreak Control Team (OCT) continues to engage with Prison Management to oversee appropriate actions to mitigate against the further possible spread of the virus within the prison.

The IPS confirmed last Saturday, February 20 that 10 prisoners had tested positive. This followed confirmation on Wednesday, February 17 that there had been five confirmed cases among inmates. On February 12 the IPS confirmed that some staff had tested positive at the jail.

It is the largest outbreak in the Irish prison system since the start of the pandemic. In October 2020, five prisoners tested positive.
Virginia lawmakers have passed bills that allow certain first responders to file workers compensation benefits for being disabled from COVID-19, but still need to reach agreement on some differences.

The measures would make COVID-19 an occupational disease for firefighters, emergency medical services personnel and law enforcement or correctional officers and allow these individuals to file for workers compensation benefits.

The workers dependents also would be eligible for benefits if the workers die from COVID-19. Occupational diseases arise out of and in the course of employment, according to state law, and include hepatitis, meningococcal meningitis, tuberculosis or HIV.

Senate Bill 1375, sponsored by Sen. Richard Saslaw, D-Fairfax, and House Bill 2207, introduced by Del. Jay Jones, D- Norfolk, had mostly unanimous support.

The main difference is that the House bill would extend the compensation to regional jail officers. The Senate also rejected an amendment by the House that would allow compensation for cases going back to March 2020. The bills would apply to persons diagnosed with COVID-19 on or after July 1, and whose death or disability from COVID-19 occurred on or after that same date, Del. Kaye Kory, D-Falls Church said in an email. She is the Senate bills House patron.

The workers and their dependents must meet certain requirements to be eligible for workers compensation. The bill provides that the COVID-19 virus is established by a positive diagnostic test, along with an incubation period consistent with COVID-19 and symptoms of COVID-19 that require medical treatment.

The bill would add COVID-19 to the work-related diseases that would prevent certain first responders or corrections officers from working and would cause them to lose their income, Kory said.

In this time of pandemic emergency, our first responders are likely to be exposed to the coronavirus on the job, and should be protected if exposed to this dangerous virus, Kory said in a statement. I believe that adding this unemployment eligibility condition to the other work-related disabling conditions in our Code, is the fair and just thing to do.

It would cost an estimated $2.5 million to $3.3 million to implement the Senate legislation, according to a Senate Finance and Appropriations committee held in early February. The House bill would cost significantly more if it allowed compensation for cases going back to March 2020.

There was some opposition to Jones bill during a January House subcommittee meeting. Jeremy Bennett, director of intergovernmental affairs at the Virginia Association of Counties, which seeks to represent the interests of counties in the state, urged legislators to vote against the House bill. He said local governments and risk insurance providers havent budgeted for additional payments that the new law would require. The bill should only be approved if the state provides local governments with additional funding.

Lawmakers agreed Friday to a conference committee to resolve legislative differences.

This article was provided to The Associated Press by Virginia Commonwealth University Capital News Service.

Copyright 2021 Associated Press. All rights reserved. This material may not be published, broadcast, rewritten or redistributed.

Topics COVID-19 Virginia
I have related this before but the memory still lives with me as my best moment on the beach .

The west coast had been battered by the back end of a Hurricane in the early nineties , its name escapes me now , and all the sand on all the beaches from Discovery Bay to well past the Beach House, had disappeared leaving huge piles of shells and coral . It was in fact , the last time I ever saw really good shells on our beach .

Every day , as I walked the beach in the early morning a little more sand came back and I could walk further as I collected the most beautiful shells , and eventually I could get to Surfside safely . Two ladies were raking the shells just above Surfside and I stopped to talk to them . I told them I wanted a nice Conch Shell and as I told them , a Rasta was walking by carrying a bottle of Banks .

Linda , one of the ladies shouted Magics de lady want a conk  and without a word , he staggered sideways into a sea with a floor or sharp rock and coral , bent down and picked something up , staggered back out sideways and presented me with a beautiful Conch Shell . As I thanked him Linda just said  thats why he called Magics 

Magic turned out to be the best barefoot water skier in Barbados and we remained great friends until he died a few years ago, I still have that precious shell . .

Edited: 19 February 2021, 23:58
Recently the company received initial results from a high-resolution gravity survey which confirmed a large low gravity feature striking south from outcropping granite in the project's northeast corner.

The halt will remain until February 24 or when an announcement is released to the market.

( ) has been granted a trading halt by the ASX with an announcement pending in relation to a proposed capital raising.

The halt will be in place until the start of regular trading on Wednesday, February 24, or when an announcement is released to the market, whichever occurs earliest.

Survey highlights Arsenal Trend potential

Recently the company received initial results from a high-resolution gravity survey at its Whiteheads Gold Project that confirms the regional potential of the Arsenal Trend.

The survey confirmed a large low gravity feature striking south from outcropping granite in the north-eastern corner of the project, coincident with the position of the Arsenal Trend gold-in-soil anomaly.

This feature explains the broad, coherent gold anomalism found at surface along the Arsenal Trend as wherever mineralising fluid encounters a suitable setting to reduce fluid temperature such as a sudden pressure drop, or an increase in pH, the gold may precipitate.

The company believes this also explains the location of the Blue Poles prospect.
Unfortunately, our website is currently unavailable in your country. We are engaged on the issue and committed to looking at options that support our full range of digital offerings to your market. We continue to identify technical compliance solutions that will provide all readers with our award-winning journalism.
Armenia Investigative Committee: Fatal road accident, criminal case opened

Armenia deputy FM submits resignation

Chinese authorities allow families to have 3 children

Dollar devalues in Armenia

Stepanakert: Azerbaijan creates bridgeheads for pressure on Karabakh, expansion towards Armenia

Sergey Lavrov says Russia is ready to disconnect SWIFT

Armenia MFA spokesperson resigns

Republican Party of Armenia Vice-President: Our ratings are growing, but we have greater pretensions

Armenia acting PM's spokesperson responds to ex-FM

Armenia parliament majority leader: Refusing to debate with acting PM is manifestation of low self-confidence

Armenia State Revenue Committee, US Department of Justice sign Memorandum of Cooperation

Vardevanyan: Attempts made to create false grounds for obstructing Armenia bloc election offices legal activities

Lavrov says Russia is ready to resume dialogue with NATO

Armenia opposition MP on FM's resignation

India records lowest increase in COVID-19 cases in 50 days

Bright Armenia faction in parliament: No response to acting PM's proposal to deploy observers along Azerbaijan border

Ruling bloc MP: Acting premiers proposal does not limit Armenia in terms of cooperation with CSTO

Acting PM is proud of Armenian servicemens heroism, says parliament majority leader

Parliament majority leader: No border delimitation unless Azerbaijan army units leave Armenia territory

Outgoing Armenia acting FM opens brackets: My decision of resignation was conditioned by that very reason

Harutyunyan, Shoygu discuss tension on Armenia-Azerbaijan border

Iranian MFA says US has not imported oil from country since Clinton era

Court hearing on appeal against decision to drop March 2008 Yerevan tragedy case is rescheduled

Missing soldiers relatives block Yerevan street

Parliament majority leader: Armenia acting FM did not object, at Security Council meeting, to new document

Armenia Police: 2,581,093 people on voters list

Bright Armenia faction of parliament: No corridor through the country should be provided to Azerbaijan

Analyst: Armenia acting PM Pashinyan gave self-confessed testimony

Armenia national security finds about 1 kg of opium, detains Iran citizen driver and 2 others

182 hearing aids and 2 buses by benefactor Mikayel Vardanyan for students of Special Educational Complex

34 new cases of COVID-19 confirmed in Armenia

Updated voters list is posted on Armenia central election commission website

Armenia authorities provide considerable amount of subsidies ahead of snap parliamentary elections

World oil prices on the rise

MP explains his not being on Bright Armenia Party electoral list

UK new flagship set to be named after the late Prince Philip

US man who said he shot neighbor over loud music found guilty of attempted murder

Lamborghini company to be sold for $11.5bn?

China spacecraft docks with future space station

Lawyer: Armenia acting PM Pashinyan grossly abuses administrative resources during Lori Province visit

UN urges to investigate escalation of violence in Colombia

Malaysia to open mega-centers for vaccination against coronavirus

Police find  5 million in cash in London apartment

French citizen to face trial in Iran on spaying charges

Over 60 children in UK undergo surgery due to TikTok challenge

Iranian Central Bank governor dismissed

Armenian opposition: The one who liberated Artsakh will not go to debates with the one who sold it

Iranian energy ministry: Iraq to allocate $ 125 million of frozen funds for vaccines

No new COVID-19 cases reported in Artsakh

Iran and Iraq to intensify cooperation and are ready for joint investment projects

Armenia ex-PM says at least 2 more secret documents signed but not published yet

Indonesia frees Iranian tanker 4 months later

Mortar shelling in Afghanistan kills at least 10 civilians

Fire breaks out at West Virginia oil refinery in US

Second President of Armenia meets with residents of Ararat province

Iran ready to help improve the defense capability of Syria

Armenian acting PM invites ex-presidents for debates

European Parliament head proposes to strengthen sanctions on Russia

UK PM gets married in London

Armenia reports COVID-19 new 81 cases: 4 people die

EU countries invite US to issue joint statement against Russia

2 people die in Armenia road accident

Nigeria: Students taken hostage a month ago are released

61 quakes recorded in Congo per day

Syrian MFA: EU lost credibility due to blind obedience to US policy

Armenia ex-minister of emergency situations hospitalized with heart attack

Mher Grigoryan: Clarification of border points is possible only after withdrawal of Azerbaijani troops from Armenia

Suspicious deal: Whether there was profit from buying DNA IDs?

Armenia ex-president says current authorities are trying to blame Russia for defeat in war

4 people killed in Afghanistani bus attack

Robert Kocharyan: This war could not have happened, it was a consequence of the policy of the authorities

Kocharyan: I have to ask people how it happened that overwhelming majority elected this leader

Armen Gevorgyan presents 'Armenia' bloc program: We offer the concept of a working country

Biden's administration proposed to leave unchanged amount of financial support to Armenia

US Embassy in Baku calls on Azerbaijan to immediately release Armenian POWs

Luxembourg MFA calls on Azerbaijan to immediately release all Armenian prisoners

Russia peacekeepers climb to Armenia Gegharkunik Province village positions

Biden strongly condemns manifestations of antisemitism in US

Iran intensifies its diplomacy amid Armenia-Azerbaijan border tensions

Armenia acting PM on forthcoming snap parliamentary elections: We hope to get 60% of votes
Boris Johnson this afternoon unveiled his long-awaited roadmap out of lockdown for England, along a road that has four potentially sizable obstacles in the carriageway.

The 60-page document set out the steps that will be taken to return the country to normal after more than a year of shutdowns and disruption.

It will start with children returning to school from March 8 and expected to include further easing of outdoor meeting restrictions at the end of March.

Shops would then reopen in April and pubs, bars and restaurants in May.

This plan is already under attack from critics who want a more ambitious pace to be set amid increasing good news about the efficacy of vaccine in cutting down the number of deaths and cases of coronavirus.

But Mr Johnson's roadmap also sets out four tests that will have to be met before each stage can be completed.

Failure to meet just one of the four would allow ministers to postpone the latest easing, although Mr Johnson has been adamant he wants the lockdown release to be irreversible.

The criteria are:

No new concerns emerging about variant strains

Vaccine rollout continuing well

Jabs shown to reduce hospital admissions and deaths,

No surge in hospital cases.

These four tests might be seen as pretty vague and seem designed to allow ministers wriggle room.

Notably the rules do not mean that the loosening must stop if infections rise - as ministers believe they inevitably will when schools open. Instead the focus will be on serious illness that increases pressure on the NHS, with the goal of keeping the R number below one apparently downgraded.

Previous modelling has suggested that a third peak will happen when restrictions are eased, with the question whether it risks overwhelming capacity.

He we look at each of the four tests and their strengths and weaknesses.

Mr Johnson's roadmap sets out four tests that will have to be met before each stage out of lockdown can be completed.

Vaccination programme continues successfully

So far the news about vaccinations has been almost uniformly positive.

This news can be seen in context with the announcement yesterday that every adult in the country will be offered at least one dose of a Covid vaccine by the end of July.

Health Secretary Matt Hancock also confirmed that everyone over 50 will be offered at least a first dose by April 15, rather than by May, as previously suggested.

But there is still the issue of the second dose required of all the vaccines currently available.

As more people have been given the first dose, so more will need the second. Officials have already said that the rate of first does is likely to fall in future as more people are given their second dose.

Conservative former minister Mark Harper asked why restrictions are required after the most vulnerable groups have been vaccinated.

He said: 'Could I just press (the Prime Minister) on the thoughts behind vaccinating groups one to nine, so that's everyone over 50 and those 16 to 64 with a health condition that makes them vulnerable to Covid.

'Those groups account for 99 per cent of deaths and around 80 per cent of hospitalisations. So for what reason, once they've been vaccinated and protected from Covid by the end of April at the latest, is there any need for restrictions to continue?'

Boris Johnson responded: '(Mr Harper) makes an excellent point. The difficulty is that of course there will be at least a significant minority who either have not taken up the vaccine, in those vulnerable groups for the reasons that the House has been discussing, or who, having had the vaccine... not given sufficient protection.

'We believe that the protection is very substantial but there will be a large minority who will not have sufficient protection and the risk is that if you let the brakes off, then the disease could surge up in such a way as again to rip through those groups in a way that, alas, I don't think anybody in this country would want to see.

'So I'm afraid it's pure mathematics, there is still a substantial body of risk and we also need to wait and see exactly what the effects of the vaccine are. There are some promising data but I think what the country will want at this stage is caution and certainty and irreversibility and that is what we aim to provide.'

Evidence vaccines are cutting deaths and serious cases

Today it was revealed Covid vaccines being used in Britain are working 'spectacularly well' and cutting hospital admissions by as much as 95 per cent, according to the first real-world evidence of the roll-out.

Researchers today called the results 'very encouraging' and claimed they provided 'compelling evidence' that they can prevent severe illness. Scientists counted Covid hospital admissions in Scotland among people who had had their first dose of a jab and compared them to those who had not yet received a dose of either the Pfizer or Oxford/AstraZeneca vaccine.

In a ray of hope for Britain's lockdown-easing plans, results showed the jabs slashed the risk of being admitted to hospital with Covid by up to 85 and 94 per cent, respectively, four weeks after a single dose.

The study  carried out by academics from the universities of Edinburgh and Strathclyde, as well as Public Health Scotland  was the first of its kind. But it currently doesn't have enough data to analyse how well the jabs prevent death or stop transmission of the virus.

Similar data emerged from tests in England. A single shot of the Pfizer vaccine cuts the chance of hospital admission and death from Covid-19 by more than 75 per cent among the over-80s, according to real-world data from Public Health England (PHE).

A separate study found the Pfizer/BioNTech jab also offered a high degree of protection for younger age groups.

Among the over-80s, Covid testing data on more than 12,000 people found at least 57 per cent protection against coronavirus 28 days after vaccination with a single dose of Pfizer, rising to 88 per cent after a second dose.

No surge in hospital cases with coronavirus

One of the key aims throughout the pandemic and the three lockdowns has been making sure that NHS hospitals are not overwhelmed.

Nightingale hospitals were set up to provide added capacity, but in the end were hardly used, even at the height of the crisis.

Hospital admissions data is easy for scientists, NHS leaders and politicians to monitor.

It seems unlikely that there would be a surge in hospitalisations that wasn't preceded by issues with the vaccination programme as outlined above, so it would seem likely that this would be the last of the four tests to be failed.

But the risk is nonetheless still there in the background. Britain today recorded 10,641 coronavirus infections in the first week-on-week rise since the beginning of January.

But at the same time deaths have tumbled to the lowest levels since mid-December with 178 new victims. This is because there is a lag between new cases being recorded and those cases coming to a conclusion, for better or for worse.

Department of Health figures show Covid cases are 9 per cent up on last Monday, when 9,765 were declared. But fatalities have dropped by almost a quarter, from 230. Today's toll is the fewest daily deaths recorded since the 144 on December 13.

No new concerns emerging about variant strains

This is probably the largest question mark hanging over the roadmap out of lockdown and the reason why international travel is one of the last restrictions to be lifted.

The Oxford/AstraZeneca vaccine is less effective against the South African strain, although a booster jab should be ready in the autumn.

However, there is also the possibility of one or more strains emerging in the coming weeks and months that the vaccines offer even less protection against.

This could cause a hold-up in the lockdown release. An April review will provide recommendations about when and how full international travel should resume, while managing the risks of new variants of coronavirus.

Much will depend on the spread of variants deemed 'of concern', as well as vaccine roll-outs at home and abroad.

Britain tightened its borders earlier in February, introducing additional Covid-19 testing requirements and hotel quarantines for arrivals from some countries over worries about new variants that might be more resistant to current vaccines.

Unwinding restrictions could involve making greater use of the test to release scheme, under which those arriving from abroad pay for a test to shorten a 10-day quarantine.

The government is also looking at a system of allowing vaccinated people to travel more freely abroad, it said.

The Scottish study showed that both vaccines offer a high level of protection against being hospitalised with Covid from just two weeks after a single dose, with the protection kicking in only a week after injection. There were not enough data to compare the two, the scientists said, although AstraZeneca's appears to work better in the early stages

In a ray of hope for Britain's lockdown-easing plans, results showed the jabs slashed the risk of hospital admission from Covid by up to 85 and 94 per cent, respectively, four weeks after the first dose. The graph above shows how the vaccine worked in different age groups

But such a system would have to be fair and not unduly disadvantage those who have not been vaccinated, it said, warning it would take time to implement.

Conservative MP Richard Fuller today urged Boris Johnson to rethink international travel restrictions.

Mr Fuller told the Commons: 'May I thank the Prime Minister for his statement and in particular the inclusion of dates that help businesses plan.

'But with respect to international travel, the inside page of our passport states that 'in the name of Her Majesty, all those whom it may concern, to allow the bearer to pass freely without let or hindrance'.

'And with regard to quarantine hotels, may I remind the Prime Minister that just because a policy is popular does not mean it is right.'

Mr Johnson replied: 'I have a high regard for (Mr Fuller) who I've known for many years and I know he speaks for many in our party and beyond in what he says.

'These are very difficult judgments to make, as I know he appreciates, but I think that it is right when you are facing a pandemic like this and the risk of new variants to have a very tough borders and quarantine policy indeed.'
ChinaAid President and Founder Bob Fu reveals that the Chinese Communist Party's "Freedom of Religious Belief" Policy actually aims to stop people from believing any faith.

"The intent of the CCP appears to be to prevent the spread of religion. In the early 1990s, in addition to attempts to decrease the influence of foreign political entities utilizing religion for their own ends, Chinese authorities increased their efforts to stop the infiltration of foreign religious organizations," Fu said in the ChinaAid website.

He cited that during the religious affairs national conference of the Chinese Communist Party in June 4, 1958, the content and intent of the freedom of religious belief policy was revealed by China Central Party School Principal Li Weihan.

"The freedom of religious belief policy is a revolutionary motto. We have adopted this motto and must enlarge its revolutionary content to end feudalism and prevent exploiting classes from forcing others to believe in religion," Weihan remarked.

"If we thoroughly implement this motto, believers will gradually change from believing in religion toward non-believing," Weihan stressed. "In short, the freedom of religious belief policy is our Party's basic policy towards religion. We can adopt only this policy, not any other policy."

Fu highlighted that China has put up a facade by aligning with he United Nation's human rights treatise to keep hidden its true intention for its freedom of religious belief policy based on information from the Human Rights In China.

The six human rights treatise China supports are: Convention on the Elimination of All Forms of Discrimination against Women; International Convention on the Elimination of All Forms of Racial Discrimination; Convention against Torture and Other Cruel, Inhuman or Degrading Treatment or Punishment; Convention on the Rights of the Child; International Covenant on Economic, Social, and Cultural Rights; Convention on the Rights of Persons with Disabilities.

In addition, Fu raised that China began supporting the said treatise in mid-2014 and there had been no changes in is support as of February 2016. China also projects that it supports other religions by welcoming it in China.

China's religious policy model, as per Fu, is full of contradictions because "State fails to adhere to its own or international guidelines regarding freedom of religious belief." Contradictions also exist "between the principles of China's constitution and religious regulations, including Party- or State-issued secret documents" and "between China's signed pledges and those signed through unratified international obligations regarding human rights and religious freedom protections."

Besides being contradictory, China's religious policy is also unstable as per Fu. China's "inability to enforce specific laws," "conflict of interest between central and local government" due to a desire for "political control," and "controls on religion" especially through the suppression of religious minorities" prove to be counterproductive, Fu said.

In his newly-released book entitled, "The Politics of Inclusive Pluralism: A Proposed Foundation for Religious Freedom in a Post-Communist, Democratic China," Fu synthesizes that "freedom, not repression promotes a more peaceful, prosperous, and perdurable society. Particularly, religious freedom."

Recently, the Chinese Communist Party released new rules for its Chinese Catholic Patriotic Association that details the process for selecting, approving, and ordaining bishops even without Vatican approval; the roles of their chosen clergy; and membership regulation.
Some of the states biggest businesses have added their voice in the push for more transparency in WAs political donations debate.

In an advertorial distributed on Tuesday, the Kwinana Industries Council took aim at developer donations to political parties, suggesting they created a perception of bias in planning decisions that needed urgent fixing.

The Kwinana buffer zone dispute has been running for more than a decade. Credit:Brendan Esposito

In thinly veiled jabs relating to the councils long-running dispute over the Kwinana industrial buffer zone, director Chris Oughton called on the state government to adopt more transparent donation rules including a ban on money from developers that eastern states jurisdictions have.

The eastern states laws were passed because they believe there have been issues, or at least the perception of issues, of inappropriate influence being applied to politicians and public servants. Why else would the legislators make it a criminal offence there? he said.
(@ChaudhryMAli88)

Tunisia's transport minister on Monday fired the CEO of Tunisair, just over a month after naming her to revive the ailing national carrier's fortunes

Tunis, (APP - UrduPoint / Pakistan Point News - 22nd Feb, 2021 ) :Tunisia's transport minister on Monday fired the CEO of Tunisair, just over a month after naming her to revive the ailing national carrier's fortunes.

Olfa Hamdi, an engineer educated in France and the US with experience in managing major enterprises, was dismissed because she failed "in her duty to act discreetly" and did not coordinate with the ministry, Transport Minister Moez Chakchouk said.

Hamdi had clashed with the powerful UGTT union, publishing details of union dues on Facebook.

The state-owned airline is heavily indebted and subsidised by the public purse.

It employs around 7,800 staff, for a fleet of less than 30 planes, of which only a maximum of eight are currently operational, according to the ministry.

Tunisair's accounts were frozen earlier this month at the behest of Turkish operator TAV, a creditor of the airline which operates airports in the North African country.

Hamdi recently launched in the US an organisation called the Center for Strategic Studies on Tunisia, with backing from an American lobbying firm, according to a site that investigates lobbying influence.

The revelation triggered criticism of the Tunisair CEO.
Richwood, TX (77531)

Today

A mix of clouds and sun during the morning will give way to cloudy skies this afternoon. A stray shower or thunderstorm is possible. High 83F. Winds SE at 10 to 20 mph..

Tonight

Mostly cloudy skies. A stray shower or thunderstorm is possible. Low 73F. Winds SE at 10 to 15 mph.
POTTSVILLE  Schuylkill County will have enough flags to decorate veterans graves for Memorial Day, as the county commissioners voted Wednesday to approve the cooperative agreement to buy 39,600 Stars and Stripes from a New Jersey company.

The county will spend $23,166 to buy the flags from Metro Flag Co., Wharton, New Jersey.

Its important to honor our veterans on Memorial Day, Commissioner George F. Halcovage Jr. said.

Halcovage said Schuylkill joined Lackawanna and Luzerne counties for the flag-purchase cooperative.

Its a joint purchase program, he said.

County Veterans Affairs Director Brenda L. Zechman said all county veterans graves will receive a flag.

We give out 39,000 and keep 600. Thats for the burials throughout the year, she said.

Zechman said many people join the effort to decorate the graves.

We have all the (veterans) organizations do it, she said. The county Probation and Parole office, Scout troops and other volunteers also join the effort, according to Zechman.

Halcovage said he also volunteers to place the flags on the graves, and that the county needs all the people it can get to help.

Were always looking for volunteers, he said.

Zechman said the county will get the flags on April 11 and start to distribute them during the week of May 8.

Also on Wednesday, the commissioners approved two supplemental budget appropriations that will enable the county to complete projects.

One of them allocates an extra $7,890 to the Children & Youth agency for a security project, while the other appropriates $2,600.08 to the prison for a fingerprinting machine.

You do your best with projects, especially with the COVID-19 pandemic and weather conditions affecting work, Director of Finance Paul E. Buber said.

Buber said each project was to have been done in 2020 but could not be finished until January 2021.

Some of the work carried over to the new year, he said.

Buber said the Children & Youth project enhanced the buildings security, while the prison project allowed it to set up a room for the new fingerprinting machine. That will boost safety by allowing prisoners to be fingerprinted without leaving the prison, he said.

The commissioners also approved these budget adjustments.

 Coroners office, $2,000

 Domestic Relations office, $827

 Human Resources, $35

 Prison, $102,332

 Sheriffs office, $1,870

Were just adjusting budgetary authority between line items without increasing actual spending, Buber said. He added that the prison item, the only for the 2020 as opposed to the 2021 budget, is due to changes in the use of full-time and part-time corrections officers, as well as overtime payments.

In other matters, the commissioners:

 Approved, on behalf of Children & Youth, an agreement with Alere Toxicology, Gretna, Louisiana, for substance use field and lab testing.

 Approved the purchase by the prothonotarys office of 15 new computers from Dell at a total cost of $23,056.89.

County Administrator Gary R. Bender said the new computers are part of Prothonotary Bridget McGowan Millers continuing modernization of the office. That effort included a recent contract to put her offices files on a Portable Document Format.

Shes moving on it, he said.

 Reappointed Micah J. Gursky, of Tamaqua, and Bud Quandel, Pottsville, to the board of the NEPA Alliance, a regional community and economic development agency.

Bender said the alliance serves seven counties: Carbon, Lackawanna, Luzerne, Monroe, Pike, Schuylkill and Wayne.

Services include business financing, government contracting assistance, international trade assistance, local government services, nonprofit assistance, research and information, and transportation planning, he said.

EUGENE, Ore.-- Carolyn DeFord is the daughter of Leona Sharon Kinsey, a Native American woman who has been missing since October 25, 1999.

"My mother was misclassified for 18 years as white," DeFord said. "She was over 18 years old when she went missing so she had a right to privacy."

DeFord said this right prevented law enforcement from investigating more into this unsolved case.

A report released by the U.S. Attorney's Office for the District of Oregon on Friday marks a milestone in the nation's relatively new effort to compile and investigate reports of missing and murdered Native Americans. One of the ways they plan to address this issue is through an action plan where they will schedule virtual consultations with federally recognized tribes.

"They're saying only federally recognized but they're not even considering Chinook and it's the largest tribe in the Midwest," Shipman said.

Anthropologist David G. Lewis also said the federal government is still not doing enough to address this crisis.

"They've never given enough money or attention to these tribes or tribal problems. In fact, they've tried to wipe out tribes by imposing policies of assimilation," Lewis said.

Some of the missing people in the report are in our viewing area, including Jerome Clements Charles who went missing in Eugene in 1984 and Zachary Porter who went missing in North Bend in 2013.

For generations, American Indians and Alaskan Natives have suffered from disproportionately high levels of violence. Tragically, this is not a crisis of the past; its a crisis of the present, said U.S. Attorney Billy J. Williams. In this report, we look back and forward, summarizing what is known about missing and murdered Indigenous people in Oregon and outlining our plans and goals for the year ahead. While we wont solve this problem overnight, our office is working closely with Oregon law enforcement partners, other U.S. Attorneys Offices, and the U.S. Department of Justice to end endemic violence in Indian Country.

The Justice Department launched the "Missing and Murdered Indigenous Persons" initiative in November of 2019  the culmination of a grassroots effort to bring more attention to the phenomenon of unsolved cases among Native American communities in the U.S. Oregon's report is the first in the nation to be produced.

The report notes that investigation of missing person or murder cases in Indian Country has traditionally been hampered by issues of jurisdiction, lack of coordination, and inadequate resources.

One of the primary purposes of this first report was to compile unsolved cases of missing or murdered people from Oregon Tribes, combining data previously held separately by Oregon State Police, the National Missing and Unidentified Persons System (NamUs), and the FBI's National Crime Information Center (NCIC).

The data drawn from those different databases produced 19 unsolved cases tied to Oregon  11 missing (six women and five men) and 8 murdered (five women and three men). All are Indigenous persons, most of them members of an Oregon Tribe. Some held Tribal affiliation in different areas of the country, but were last seen in Oregon.
Lucknow, Feb 22 : The Yogi Adityanath government in Uttar Pradesh has started cracking down on social media 'offenders' a big way.

The Unnao police, on Sunday, lodged an FIR against eight Twitter handles and its users, including @themojostory run by senior journalist Barkha Dutt, on charges of spreading "misleading information" in connection with the recovery of the bodies of two minor girls in Baburha village of the district.

The other handles against whom the FIR has been lodged include @BhimSenaChief (run by Nawab Satpal Tanwar), @NilimDutta, @janjagranlive, @SurajKrBaudh (spokesperson, Azad Samaj Party), @vijayambedkarUP, Abhaykumarazad97, and @Rahuldiwkr.

Earlier, on Saturday, former MP and Congress leader, Udit Raj, had been booked by Unnao police for allegedly spreading misinformation through his tweet.

Unnao police claimed that the users of these eight twitter handles had tweeted that the two minor girls, who were found dead in the fields, were sexually assaulted and that their last rites were performed against the wish of their families.

The Twitter users have been booked under charges of spreading rumours with the intention of causing riots, and under relevant sections of the Information Technology Act.

Superintendent of police, Unnao, Anand Kulkarni said, "All those who tried to flare up tension and disturb harmony through different social media platforms will not be let off. We have lodged an FIR and will conduct a probe into the tweets. The misinformation was deliberately spread by people associated with parties, units and groups which are trying to discredit the ruling government and disturb the prevailing law and order." Kulkarni claimed some of the updates and tweets were removed after the police issued a statement that the post-mortem report has not confirmed rape.

The SP said despite the post-mortem examination ruling out sexual assault and injuries on the bodies of the victims, some people and parties having vested interests, continued to spread misinformation that the girls were raped.

"Similarly, neither the police nor the administration was trying to conduct last rites of the two girls. The family told us that some of their relatives were to arrive from Surat and they would then perform the last rites of the girls," he added.

Meanwhile, in a statement on the FIR, @themojostory said: "We have reported all dimensions of the tragedy, the family's anxieties and allegations as well as the police response at every step. If this case is pursued, we will confidently defend our journalistic rights and freedom in the court."
AUSTIN, Texas, Feb. 22, 2021 /PRNewswire/ -- Vertalo, the digital transfer agent connecting and enabling the digital asset ecosystem, announced today that it has signed agreements with 5 leading Reg CF (Crowdfunding) portals FundersUSA, Fundopolis, Infrashares, Netshares, and Raise Green. This agreement enables these leading Crowdfunding Portals, their Issuers, and their investors to access Vertalo's API-first digital Transfer Agent services to gain safe harbor benefits under updated rules related to Regulation Crowdfunding ('Reg CF').

Founded in 2017 as a wholly-owned subsidiary of Austin, TX Digital Asset holding company SeriesX, Vertalo is an SEC-registered transfer agent that manages the issuance and management of compliant digital securities and connects broker-dealers, issuers, investors, custodians, and exchanges through its B2B SaaS digital asset data management platform.

Reg CF (Crowdfunding) portals, created by the 2012 JOBS Act, utilize the Internet to access large and small investors to raise capital for businesses and projects.According to Statista, the global crowdfunding industry is projected to grow from $13.9 billion in 2019 to $39.8 billion by 2026.

In anticipation of rule changes that go into effect on March 15th, 2021, Vertalo began to establish integrative partnerships with Reg CF platforms in Q4 2020. These partnerships are predicated on the expected increase in Reg CF offerings driven by the new $5 million fund raise ceiling for the Jobs Act Crowdfunding exemption that was originally enacted in 2012. More information on Vertalo's partners can be found below.

Dave Hendricks, Vertalo CEO, explains the impetus behind their Regulation Crowdfunding integrations: "In the initial coin offering boom, many enterprises realized that community creation is as important as capital formation. But unlike non-compliant ICOs, this much-needed update of the Regulation Crowdfunding exemption combines community and capital to help smaller projects and smaller investors to work together without dangerous regulatory tail-risk. Before the ceiling was raised from $1.07 million to $5 million, the Reg CF exemption was an expensive option for smaller companies that would not have ordinarily engaged Venture Funding, and the average Reg CF raise of $260,000 across 1200 offerings in 2018-2019 demonstrated that not only was the exemption under-utilized (versus more than 12,000 Reg D offerings during the same time period), but also most of the issuers who leveraged it paid a higher percentage of fees than even Reg D issuers utilizing so-called 'nickel BDs'. While we believe that the recent changes to Reg A+ offering rules are very exciting, the post-covid fundraise environment demands a product that can address needs of newer businesses that don't have the financial history or budget to raise using that exemption. Vertalo's goal is to empower and supply our Reg CF portal partners, their Issuers, and investors with the most easy to use and advanced technology for digital asset data management in the market while providing Seed and Series A startups- as well as cutting edge community projects - with a real alternative to early-stage Venture Capital."

About the recent Changes to Regulation Crowdfunding

On November 2, 2020, the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC) announced changes to the Crowdfunding laws that recognized the growing importance of Crowdfunding while facilitating larger capital raise through Crowdfunding portals:

Effective March 15th, 2021 , the amount of the maximum capital raise for a Crowdfunding campaign will increase from $1.07 million to $5 million .

, the amount of the maximum capital raise for a Crowdfunding campaign will increase from to . Limits on the amount of investment by accredited investors in crowdfunding campaigns were removed.

Issuers raising under updated Reg CF exemption may now exceed 2000 investors, and avoid having to file a registration statement (S-1) if utilizing the services of an SEC-registered transfer agent like Vertalo.

These changes, subject to a final review by the Biden Administration, open 'Regulation Crowdfunding' to a broad range of companies and projects (Issuers) whose capital needs exceeded the earlier limits.

As Crowdfunding campaigns increase in size (to $5 million), Issuer cap tables are likely to become considerably larger and more complex. Vertalo, as a digital SEC-registered Transfer Agent (TA), provides Crowdfunding Portals and their Issuers with these important benefits:

A digital cap table that eliminates spreadsheets and the associated risk of file corruption and fat-finger mistakes along with the need to issue and track paper certificates as indicia of ownership

Integrated Investor Onboarding via Vertalo.io (www.vertalo.io) an investor onboarding as a service offering

A secure web-based investor portfolio management service hosted by Vertalo

A path to secondary liquidity via Vertalo's API connections to US based Alternative Trading Systems like Vertalo partners tZero, North Capital, and Texture Capital.

The use of a SEC-registered Transfer Agent (Vertalo) by Issuers and Portals in Crowdfunding campaigns can provide relief from two SEC requirements:

Section 12(g) mandates that companies "held of record" by either 2,000 persons, or 500 persons who are not accredited investors become a public reporting company and file an S-1 registration statement.



Rule 301(a), whereby a Crowdfunding Portal has an obligation to have a reasonable basis to believe that an Issuer has the means in place to accurately maintain the Offering's ownership records. Rule 301(b) states that this requirement is met by the Issuer using an SEC registered TA.

Lower cost TA services (compared to traditional TAs) along with a path to secondary liquidity as these companies and projects grow.

The 5 inaugural Regulation Crowdfunding portals integrating Vertalo as their SEC-registered transfer agent for their Issuers address capital formation challenges across multiple verticals are:

Fundopolis: Focus: Community-oriented businesses www.fundopolis.com

Fundopolis helps simplify the process of raising capital through equity crowdfunding, saving businesses time and money by making it easy to set their own terms and communicate with their supporters. For investors, Fundopolis aims to provide the highest degree of transparency about the status of their investment and how they will receive payment and/or redeem perks. Fundopolis nurtures investment needs and opportunities through community engagement, whereby people can support each other financially in more meaningful, personal ways to invest in and support the businesses they love.

"Communities can provide even greater support to their favorite local businesses as the Reg CF campaign limits increase to $5 Million," says Michael Mook, Fundpolis CEO, regarding the Reg CF changes. "Fundopolis will work with these larger Issuers to bring exciting offerings to our crowdfunding investors. As these larger offerings are likely to have larger cap tables, we are announcing a partnership with Vertalo, a digital Transfer Agent, to assist these companies in maintaining digital records of their investor ownership records."

Funders USA Focus: Technology companies www.fundersusa.com

Funders USA provides Equity to startups and larger projects through Crowdfunding. We have a top-notch community of industry-leading securities, technology, and startup experts.

"Startup companies are certain to benefit from the new $5 Million Reg CF campaign limits," says Peter Stridh, Funders USA's CEO. "FundersUSA is excited to work with these larger startup offerings and provide crowdfunding investors with access to these new, larger deals. We are also pleased to partner with Vertalo, a digital Transfer Agent, to assist startup companies with maintaining their investor ownership records."

Infrashares: Focus: Infrastructure projects www.infrashares.com

Infrashares: As part of the built environment, infrastructure is a critical foundation for much of our economic activity and social life. We want to empower the changemakers that are trying to solve these problems by connecting them with investors like you.

"Infrastructure projects can easily cost millions of dollars, so InfraShares sees increased use of Reg CF for project financing now that the campaign limit is increasing to $5 Million," says Brian Ross, Infrashares CEO. "This larger limit broadens how communities can improve their daily lives by investing in high impact public infrastructure projects through InfraShares. Our relationship with Vertalo, a digital Transfer Agent, provides digital ownership records to these larger, long-lived infrastructure projects."

Netshares: Focus: Franchise businesses www.netshares.com

Netshares empowers individuals and small businesses to create and operate restaurant franchises that create jobs and add vitality to our communities.

"I believe franchising is perfect for crowdfunding. Franchise businesses, communities and investors will benefit as the Reg CF campaign limit increases to $5 Million, says David Lee, Netshares CEO. "Netshares can provide new investment opportunities to crowdfunding investors through emerging and established franchise brands. As these offerings increase in size, we are excited to partner with Vertalo, a digital transfer Agent, to provide digital ownership records to crowdfunding companies and projects using the Netshares portal."

Raise Green: Focus: Green energy projects www.raisegreen.com

Raise Green is the climate tech marketplace for local impact investing. We create a healthy, just, and sustainable future by offering everyday people a platform to create and invest in clean energy and climate solution projects. Our goal is to democratize renewable energy ownership, increase community resilience, and help facilitate the transition to a decarbonized future.

"There is a $400 billion dollar unmet need for community-level clean energy in the U.S. and many clean energy projects that could not be crowdfunded within the $1.07 million campaign limit," says Franz Hochstrasser, Raise Green CEO. "Now, as the crowdfunding campaign limit increases to $5 Million, Raise Green is excited to expand our offerings into larger projects and companies that create a positive impact on social, environmental and resiliency issues in more communities.By working with Vertalo, a digital Transfer Agent, Raise Green can offer digital ownership records to more projects and more investors."

For more information on Vertalo, visitwww.vertalo.com or stay updated with Vertalo's communications:

Telegram https://t.me/vertalotoken

Twitter https://twitter.com/vertalo_?lang=en

Medium https://medium.com/@Vertalo

LinkedIn  https://www.linkedin.com/company/vertalo

About Vertalo

Launched in 2018, Vertalo is a B2B SaaS company founded to map the gaps between primary and secondary trading of digital securities offerings. As the 'Operating System for Digital Assets', Vertalo is focused on connecting and enabling the digital asset economy, providing an industry-leading cap table and investor onboarding solution that facilitates direct ownership and direct listing of any private asset. A subsidiary of SeriesX, Vertalo is headquartered in Austin, TX with offices in New York City and San Francisco Bay Area. Learn more about SeriesX and Vertalo atwww.vertalo.com.

Media Contact

Katie Campisano

Kamp Media Relations

[email protected]

1.908.247.8678

SOURCE Vertalo
[February 22, 2021] The Solutions Project Launches First-Ever Black Climate Week Feb. 22-28

OAKLAND, Calif., Feb. 22, 2021 /PRNewswire/ -- In celebration of Black History Month, the nonprofit The Solutions Project is hosting the first-ever Black Climate Week , today through Sunday, February 28. Throughout the week, The Solutions Project will publish a series of multimedia resources on its website and social media channels celebrating the extraordinary contributions of Black solutionaries advancing science and climate justice. "Black Climate Week shines a celebratory spotlight on today's Black climate leaders who have earned a special place in history for helping to solve the dual crises of systemic racism and climate change," said The Solutions Project's CEO, Gloria Walton. "As we've seen over the past week's disaster in Texas and other Southern states, Black communities often experience the worst impacts of extreme weather events, largely because of systemically racist policies that leave Black communities under-resourced and underserved. My own family in Jackson, Mississippi huddled in their car for heat after losing power and water for days," said Walton. "For many people in the Black community, climate change is a matter of life or death. That's one reason Black people are creating some of the strongest climate justice solutions. And for us, Black history is made every day." Black Climate Week is consistent with The Solutions Project's focus on addressing systemic racial and gender inequities in climate philanthropy , media coverage , and thought leadership . To date, Climate Week NYC hasn't been a sufficiently inclusive event for Black-led grassroots organizations.



The Solutions Project's everyday mission is to fund, celebrate, and raise the profiles of Black, Indigenous, and other people of color  especially women  who are developing equitable and community-led climate solutions year after year and generation after generation. This year's debut Black Climate Week will celebrate solutionaries including:

Euneika Rogers-Sipp , an artist and designer who worked with agricultural landowners in the Black Belt to build Sustainable Rural Regenerative Enterprises for Families, and founded the Destination Design School of Agricultural Estates.

, an artist and designer who worked with agricultural landowners in the Black Belt to build Sustainable Rural Regenerative Enterprises for Families, and founded the Destination Design School of Agricultural Estates. Gregory Jenkins , a professor in the Department of Meteorology at Penn State University whose areas of research include weather, climate justice, air quality and the connections to public health in West Africa .

a professor in the Department of Meteorology at whose areas of research include weather, climate justice, air quality and the connections to public health in . The Reverend Leo Woodberry , a Southern pastor who brings clean energy jobs and projects to low-income communities while growing a coalition in support of climate and environmental justice. "I am thrilled to participate in the first-ever Black Climate Week," said Rev. Woodberry. "Throughout U.S. history, the South has been ground zero for racial injustice, and it's also been the birthplace of the largest movements striving to overcome it. That trend continues today with climate change. The South is the hardest-hit region of the country when it comes to climate and environmental injustice, but it's also where many of the most exciting solutions are being developed." On Friday of Black Climate Week, Rev. Woodberry will cut the ribbon on a SOURCE hydropanel demonstration project at his church in Florence, South Carolina. Hydropanels, which use just sunlight and air to draw pure drinking water from the sky and deliver it directly to the tap, can provide clean, safe, off-the-grid water for every person in every place. "What happened in Texas doesn't need to happen again, anywhere. We need funders and governments to prioritize community-based solutions, so that Black, Indigenous, and other communities of color can use their expert local knowledge to make their own neighborhoods more disaster-resilient and climate-resilient. Off-the-grid solar hydropanels are just one example of this kind of solution," said Woodberry. The Solutions Project will publish a #BlackClimateWeek Reading List for people eager to learn more about climate justice and get involved in the climate justice movement. "Once again, Black people are making history and making the U.S. more equitable and just. Join me in celebrating Black Climate Week and the work of inspiring climate history-makers all year, every year," said Walton. To see the full list of people Black Climate Week will celebrate, please click here . About The Solutions Project The Solutions Project is a national nonprofit organization that promotes climate justice through grantmaking and amplifying the stories of frontline community leaders in the media. The organization seeks to accelerate the transition to 100% clean energy and equitable access to healthy air, water, and soils by supporting climate justice organizations, especially those led by women of color. Media Contact: Carina Daniels

carina@storyandreach.com

510-847-1617 View original content:http://www.prnewswire.com/news-releases/the-solutions-project-launches-first-ever-black-climate-week-feb-22-28-301232173.html SOURCE The Solutions Project

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An initial 25-hole/1,000 metres underground diamond drilling program has started in the west of the Ponente area, a step-out of 850 metres from the ongoing drilling campaign at Pian Bracca.

Gornos second Diamec 230 drill rig underground at Ponente, where drilling is now underway

( ) (FRA:8EE) has started drilling at Ponente, a historical production area of the Gorno Zinc Project, in Lombardy, northern Italy, which hosts a significant northwest extension of the Metallifero Formation, the primary host to much of the zinc-lead mineralisation that has also been consistently drilled at Pian Bracca.

Its mining contractor, Edilmac Srl has started an initial 25-hole/1,000 metres underground diamond drilling program in the west of the Ponente area, a step-out of 850 metres from the ongoing drilling campaign at Pian Bracca.

Drilling also continues at Pian Bracca South, with drilling now in operation at both areas.

Delivering on strategy

Alta Zinc managing director Geraint Harris said: Expanding our drilling to Ponente is delivering on our strategy to show significant extensions of mineralisation at the Gorno mine.

Its a great example of the lower risk exploration opportunity at Gorno and by following up on successful channel sampling with drilling, we are repeating our methodology from the start of the Pian Bracca campaign 15 months ago.

Our drilling since then has returned consistent high-grade and thick intersections of mineralisation throughout the Pian Bracca corridor and has also led us to discover high-grade and thick mineralisation extending into the Pian Bracca South area.

Following an exceptionally well-executed underground rehabilitation program at Ponente, we are very much looking forward to producing more exciting drill results from our two drilling areas simultaneously, to deliver strong news-flow and continue to grow the mineral resource base at Gorno.

Follow-up to channel sampling

Drilling at Ponente will progress from west to east, exploring a corridor with an 800 metres strike length and about 300 metres width.

The drilling is following up Altas channel sampling of the existing workings in that area, which returned high grades including:

2.8 metres at 20.1% zinc, 5.3% lead, 46 g/t silver;

2.2 metres at 28.8% zinc, 3.2% lead, 39 g/t silver; and

2.0 metres at 14.9% zinc, 1.4% lead, 21 g/t silver.

Initial results end March

The drilling campaign planned at Ponente targets the well understood Metallifero Formation from the existing underground access.

Initially, 25 short diamond drill holes are required to provide maximum information from just a 1,000 metres campaign.

Follow-on drilling will be planned on extensional targets once discovered.

This highly efficient campaign is possible because the existing access was historically developed for the purposes of exploration and to be close to the known and expected mineralisation.

However, full exploration and exploitation were never carried out due to the premature closure of the mine.

Initial results from this new campaign are expected by the end of March.
The leader of Mozambique's second largest opposition party and a top mayor who fought climate change in his low-lying coastal city Beira, Daviz Simango, died on Monday aged 57, his family said.

He was transferred to a South African hospital last week for treatment, his brother Lutero Simango said in a text message, without disclosing the nature of the illness.

Simango had been mayor of Mozambique's second city Beira since 2003 -- first for the largest opposition party, the former rebel group Renamo, and later as an independent, before he formed his Democratic Movement of Mozambique (MDM) in 2009.

While Simango, a qualified civil engineer, was repeatedly re-elected mayor of Beira, he came in third in national presidential votes three times -- in 2009, 2014 and 2019.

As mayor of Beira, a key port that lies below sea level, Simango worked to shore up the city's climate defences against rising seas, flooding and storms.

Two cyclones ravaged Mozambique's coast in 2019, razing much of Beira, leaving more than 600 dead and hundreds of thousands homeless.

President Filipe Nyusi extended his condolences, lauding Simango's "dedication to the country's political and social life".

"Mozambique loses one of the most important voices in the country's recent political history," Nyusi said in a statement.

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New Delhi, Feb 22 : After reports of farmers destroying their standing crops following the appeal by Bharatiya Kisan Union (BKU) spokesperson Rakesh Tikait started coming from several places, the organisation has appealed to the farmers not to do so.

Tikait during one of the Kisan Mahapanchayats had urged farmers to give importance to the agitation and, if need be, destroy their crops. After his appeal, four farmers have destroyed their crops. As per the information shared by the BKU, Muzaffarnagar farmer Yogendra Ahlawat destroyed his standing crops on two acres of land while a farmer from Bijnor also destroyed his crops.

The farmers' protest is continuing at the borders of Delhi against the Union farm laws since the last three months. Rakesh Tikait, the BKU National Spokesperson, had appealed to the farmers of Uttar Pradesh to be present in the protests at all costs even if they have to destroy their standing crops. Two other farmers have also destroyed their crops.

Talking about the incidents, BKU media in-charge Dharmendra Malik told IANS, "As per the information, only four farmers have destroyed their standing crops till now. We had a word with them regarding the same while issuing a statement that the farmers were never asked to destroy the standing crops, rather we had asked them to be ready for the situation, if needed." "As of now, we are not into any such situation so we request the farmers not to destroy their crops. We had clearly said that if the government mounts pressure on us then we might have to sacrifice our crops in April when they are ready to harvest," the BKU statement said.

When Tikait was asked about the development, he said, "The farmers voluntarily agreed to sacrifice their produce if required. However, such a step is not to be taken now. This situation might come in April when the produce is ready for harvest. The crops are still standing, so we urge the farmers not to take any such step and let the crops get ready." "We have formed a committee who will coordinate with the committee in the village and help the farmers in harvesting the crops. Any decision on this issue will be taken after April 20," Tikait added.

-- The story has been published from a wire feed without any modifications to the text
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Bloomberg

(Bloomberg) -- Its nearly two months since turbulence erupted around China Huarong Asset Management Co.At the end of March, its 4% perpetual dollar bond was trading at 102 cents on the dollar as investors figured the January execution of former chairman Lai Xiaomin for bribery put a line under past wayward behavior. But the failure of the company to release 2020 results by a March 31 deadline, and a subsequent report by mainland media Caixin that the firm will restructure, sparked weeks of turmoil. The same bond is now at 57 cents.The heart of the matter is whether the central government will rescue a state-owned company thats integral to the smooth running of the financial system. While there are signs Beijing wants to ensure China Huarong can repay its debts on time, uncertainty prevails.Heres a look at the key events for China Huarong:May 28The company has wired funds to repay $978 million of notes maturing within the following week, according to Bloomberg News, the biggest bond payment since the 2020 results delay.May 27Liang Qiang, who currently heads another bad-debt manager, is on track to become president of China Huarong, reports Bloomberg News.May 24China Huarong dollar bonds climb after the managing editor of Caixin Media wrote in an opinion piece that the asset manager is nowhere near defaulting on its more than $20 billion of offshore notes.May 21Some of China Huarongs thinly traded onshore bonds slump after having held up better than the companys dollar-denominated notes, signaling broadening concern about the firms financial health.May 18China Huarong has transferred funds to repay a $300 million note maturing May 20, Bloomberg News reports, the first dollar bond to come due since the delayed 2020 results. Prices for the firms dollar bonds slump earlier in the day after the New York Times reports China is planning an overhaul that would inflict significant losses on both domestic and foreign China Huarong bondholders.May 17The company has reached funding agreements with state-owned banks to ensure it can repay debt through at least the end of August, by which time China Huarong aims to have completed its 2020 financial statements, according to a Bloomberg News report. That as at least two of its onshore bonds see big price declines in recent days, worrying some investors.May 13The firm says its prepared to make future bond payments and has seen no change in the level of government support, seeking to ease investor concerns after a local media report that regulators balked at China Hurarongs restructuring plan.May 6The company says it transferred funds to pay five offshore bond coupons due the following day, its latest move to meet debt obligations amid persistent doubts about its financial health.April 30China Huarong breaks its silence, with an executive telling media it is prepared to make its bond payments and state backing remains intact. The official also says the weeks rating downgrades have no factual basis and are too pessimistic.April 29Moodys Investor Service downgrades China Huarong by one notch to Baa1, adding the firm remains on watch for further downgrade. The cut reflects the companys weakened funding ability due to market volatility and increased uncertainty over its future, according to the statement.April 27China Huarong units repay bonds maturing that day. The S$600 million ($450 million) bond was repaid with funds provided by Chinas biggest state-owned bank, according to a Bloomberg News report.April 26Fitch Ratings downgrades China Huarong by three notches to BBB while dropping the companys perpetual bonds into junk territory. The lack of transparency over government support for the firm may hamper its ability to refinance debt in offshore markets, Fitch said.April 25China Huarong says it wont meet an April 30 deadline to file its 2020 report with Hong Kongs stock exchange because auditors needed more time to finalize a transaction the company first flagged on April 1. Securities and asset-management units said in the days before that they wouldnt release 2020 results by months end.April 22The China Banking and Insurance Regulatory Commission asks lenders to extend China Huarongs upcoming loans by at least six months, according to REDD, citing two bankers from large Chinese commercial lenders.April 21China is considering a plan that would see its central bank assume more than 100 billion yuan ($15 billion) of China Huarong assets to help clean up the firms balance sheet, according to a Bloomberg News report. Peer China Cinda Asset Management Co. was said to be planning the sale of perpetual bonds in the second quarter.April 20China Huarongs key offshore financing unit says it returned to profitability in the first quarter and laid a solid foundation for transformation. Reorg Research reports that regulators are considering options including a debt restructuring of the unit, China Huarong International Holdings Ltd.April 19Huarong Securities Co. says it wired funds to repay a 2.5 billion yuan local note.April 16The CBIRC says China Huarongs operations are normal and that the firm has ample liquidity. These are the first official comments about the companys troubles. Reuters reports Chinese banks have been asked not to withhold loans to Huarong.April 13Fitch and Moodys both put the company on watch for downgrade. The finance ministry, which owns a majority of Huarong, is considering the transfer of its stake to a unit of the countrys sovereign wealth fund, Bloomberg News reports. Chinese officials signal they want failing local government financing vehicles to restructure or go bust if debts cant be repaid.April 9China Huarong says it has been making debt payments on time and its operations are normal. Bloomberg News reports the company intends to keep Huarong International as part of a potential overhaul that would avoid the need of a debt restructuring or government recapitalization. S&P Global Ratings puts China Huarongs credit ratings on watch for possible downgrade.April 8China Huarong is preparing to offload non-core and loss-making units as part of a broad plan to revive profitability that would avoid the need for a debt restructuring or government recapitalization, Bloomberg News reports.April 6Selling gains steam in China Huarongs dollar bonds, following a holiday in China. Huarong Securities says there has been no major change to its operations, in response to a price plunge for its 3 billion yuan local bond.April 1China Huarong announces a delay in releasing 2020 results, saying its auditor is unable to finalize a transaction. Stock trading is suspended and spreads jump on the firms dollar bonds while China Huarong tells investors its business is running as usual. Caixin reports the company submitted restructuring and other major reform plans to government officials and shareholders.More stories like this are available on bloomberg.comSubscribe now to stay ahead with the most trusted business news source.2021 Bloomberg L.P.
WABASH VALLEY, Ind. (WTHI) -- Bad weather here in the Wabash Valley led to canceled COVID-19 vaccination appointments. Many counties here in the Wabash Valley had to close vaccine clinics for one or even two days due to the snow. That includes the Vigo County and the Greene County COVID-19 vaccination clinics.

Health officials at the Vigo County Health Department told News 10 their vaccination site was only closed for one day.

However, due to the closure, they had a lot of appointments to make up.

Health officials told News 10 when they figured out the clinic would be closed, they took action immediately.

Health officials said because the situation was so hectic they wanted to connect to the community as soon as possible.

Vigo County health officials said, We took over those cases as a county. So our nurses at the clinic rescheduled all of those people.

The Vigo County Health Department wasnt the only health department reaching out directly to its residents to get them rescheduled.

The Greene County Health Department did just that as well when they were closed for two days.

Health officials from the Greene County Health Department told News 10 they were able to make sure everyone who was rescheduled would be able to get their vaccinations within days of their old appointments.

The Greene County Health Department said getting people rescheduled quickly was important because they didnt want to waste any vaccine doses.

Greene County health officials said, Because we have our allotment for the week, and with the volunteers, we can definitely give those doses.

Both health departments told News 10 rescheduling wouldnt have been possible without the help of nurses and volunteers.

Both health departments are confident they got everyone rescheduled.

However, both departments said if you didnt hear from them, or the state, you should call 2-1-1.
Scott Mullin / For Hearst Connecticut Media

NEW MILFORD  A new electronic bid filing and management system has been introduced by the purchasing department to facilitate a one-stop online bidding process between the town and interested vendors.

Through the towns partnership with ProcureNow, an automated electronic bid and vendor management system, vendors who want to submit project bids and proposals can complete the process online.
Mike Lindell, CEO of MyPillow, speaks during a rally on the National Mall in Washington on Dec. 12, 2020. (Samira Bouaou/The Epoch Times)

Dominion Voting Systems Sues MyPillow CEO Lindell

Dominion Voting Systems filed a lawsuit on Feb. 22 against MyPillow CEO Mike Lindell over his statements about the election technology vendor after the Nov. 3 presidential election.

The lawsuit, filed in the District of Columbia, alleges that Lindell, a staunch supporter of former President Donald Trump, harmed Dominions brand by raising questions about the companys vote-counting equipment. The company is seeking damages in excess of $1.3 billion.

Instead of retracting his lies, Lindella multimillionaire with a nearly unlimited ability to broadcast his preferred messages on conservative mediawhined that he was being censored and attacked and produced a docu-movie featuring shady characters and fake documents sourced from dark corners of the internet, the lawsuit states, referring to a video produced by Lindell that he released on several platforms, including his own website.

Dominion, in its suit, claimed that Lindell was able to sell more MyPillow products due to his claims. But Lindell, in an interview with Business Insider, said that he lost about $65 million in revenue this year due to mass boycotts from various firms like Kohls and Bed Bath & Beyond.

I lost 20 retailers, and its cost me $65 million this year that I wont get back, OK? Lindell told Insider. Theres your story. Print it right. Dont try and twist this, he told the outlet.

And in an interview with the Wall Street Journal on Feb. 22, Lindell said he was very, very happy about the lawsuit.

Last week, Lindell told the Daily Beast that he wanted Dominion to file a lawsuit against him because he could obtain evidence via discovery.

That would so make my day because then they would have to go into discovery, and that would make my job a lot easier, he said.

However, Dominion in its filing said that via discovery, the firm will prove that there is no real evidence regarding claims about the Nov. 3 election.

After Lindells video was released, a spokesperson for Dominion, Michael Steel, told news outlets weeks ago that Lindell was begging to be sued.

Dominion has also filed separate lawsuits against former Trump lawyer and former New York City Mayor Rudy Giuliani as well as Sidney Powell, who filed third-party lawsuits related to the Nov. 3 election. The firm is seeking $1.3 billion each from them.

Giuliani said that Dominions lawsuit was an act of intimidation to censor the exercise of free speech. Powell also condemned the lawsuit.

Lindell and his MyPillow account were suspended by Twitter several weeks ago over his election claims. When Lindell released his video on YouTube, the Google-owned platform deleted it. Vimeo also took down the video.

Per our presidential election integrity policy, we remove content uploaded after the safe-harbor deadline that includes claims that fraud, errors or glitches changed the outcome of the 2020 U.S. presidential election, YouTube spokesperson Alex Joseph told The Washington Times and other news outlets on Feb. 6. We removed this video and its reuploads in accordance with this policy.
WASHINGTON (AP)  A Democratic senator is calling for federal investigations into possible price gouging of natural gas in the Midwest and other regions following severe winter storms that plunged Texas and other states into a deep freeze that caused power outages in millions of homes and businesses.

Minnesota Sen. Tina Smith says natural gas spot prices spiked as high as 100 times typical levels, forcing utilities and other natural gas users to incur exorbitant costs, many of which were passed on to customers.

In a letter sent Saturday to federal regulators, Smith said the price spikes will not just harm consumers, but could threaten the financial stability of some utilities that do not have sufficient cash reserves to cover their short-term costs in this extraordinary event." The letter was sent to the Energy Department, Federal Energy Regulatory Commission and the Commodities Futures Trading Commission. A copy of the letter was obtained by The Associated Press.

The extreme weather spurred residents from Mississippi to Minnesota to crank up electric heaters and pushed demand for electricity beyond the worst-case scenarios planned for by grid operators. At the same time, many gas-fired power plants in Texas and other states were knocked offline because of icy conditions, and some plants appeared to suffer fuel shortages as natural gas demand spiked nationwide.

At least 59 deaths across the U.S. have been blamed on the storms.

In Winfield, Kansas, the city manager reported that a unit of natural gas that sold for about $3 earlier this month sold for more than $400 on Thursday. City Manager Taggart Wall told KWCH-TV in Wichita that Winfield, which budgets about $1.5 million a year for natural gas, expects to pay about $10 million for the past week alone. Residential customers could see bills as high as $2,500 this month, he said.

In Morton, Illinois, officials reported that gas normally sold for about $3 per unit cost nearly $225 this week as demand soared because of the deep freeze.

While officials dont know all the details of what happened, nor precisely how it will affect utility rates, we do know this situation could be a significant financial burden for utilities and their customers," especially as families in Minnesota and across the country struggle in the coronavirus pandemic and economic downturn, Smith said.

The Minnesota Public Utilities Commission has called a special meeting Tuesday to investigate what caused the dramatic spikes in natural gas prices in that state.

A spokeswoman for the Federal Energy Regulatory Commission, known as FERC, said the agency will review Smith's letter and "respond in due course.''

A spokesman for the American Gas Association, which represents more than 200 local energy companies, said Feb. 14 and 15 set a record for the largest natural gas demand in U.S. history over a two-day period.

While natural gas utilities faced unprecedented challenges" and spot prices climbed in some regions due to spikes in demand, families and businesses that use natural gas were protected from higher prices by the careful planning of their utilities,'' said Jake Rubin, a spokesman for the gas association. Most natural gas utilities use long-term contracts that seek to guarantee enough supply to meet demand and to lock-in affordable prices, he said.

Still, exorbitant price spikes were recorded in the spot market. Natural gas hit a record $600 per million British thermal units in Oklahoma, while Missouri Gov. Mike Parson said hes asked the state attorney general to investigate complaints of price gouging of natural gas in that state.

Smith, in her letter to regulators, urged them to investigate conditions in the natural gas market over the last week, including any price gouging by natural gas producers and suppliers.

A public report should detail what occurred, make recommendations to prevent such problems in the future and determine if laws have been broken,'' she said. Smith also urged officials to invoke emergency authorities, including under the Natural Gas Policy Act and the Defense Production Act, to ensure natural gas is sold at fair prices during the current crisis.

The Biden administration and Congress should consider financial support to utilities and customers that may be facing a cash crunch or rate increases as a result of the spike in natural gas prices,'' Smith said.
The slogan of this years edition of Diarna is Egypt speaks handicrafts.

Part of the Osar Montega (Productive Families) project of the Ministry of Social Solidarity, Diarnas annual exhibition was first held in 1964. This year, in its 61 st edition, the exhibition is sponsored by Alexbank, Sawiris Foundation for Social Development, and WE Telecom. The exhibition is held on the premises of Cairo Festival City in New Cairo, hosting some 370 artisans from all over Egypt.

This year the two main guests of honour are the United Nations High Commissioner for Refugees (UNHCR) and non-governmental organisations supporting people with disabilities.

Made with hope is the slogan of the handicrafts displayed in the UNHCR section. Aprons, scarfs, bags, and many more colourful ornaments are on display.

This is the first time UNHCR joins the exhibition, which is a great opportunity to showcase the handmade works of some 30 artisans and artists, explained Sherry Sedhom, senior assistant of the livelihood unit at UNHCR.

With Egypt being home to 259,292 registered refugees and asylum-seekers from 58 countries, promoting the artwork of talented refugee artists is a creative means for economic and artistic inclusion.

Nilfurat, is one of the UNHCRs creative projects on display. This project brought 12 women from Ethiopia, Sudan, South Sudan, Egypt, and Syria to work together. The result is a melange of a culture of hope and solidarity reflected in motifs, stitches, and themes that even considered safeguarding the traditional board games of each country.

A goldmine for intangible heritage, Diarna displays various aspects of Egypt. Fayoums palm tree baskets and bags, Akhmims colourful stitches, Hegazas unique woodwork, the Upper Egypt Association for Education and Developments unique textile, and much more.

Some of the most interesting artworks on display are the sculptures made of palm trees. As he sits quietly, Adel Omda is carefully sculpting a statue. Hes been doing so for 20 years. This talented artist was born and raised in Dakhla Oasis. Carving on palm trees is his hobby that he practises with so much passion. His work reflects the authentic houses of Dakhla and documents the oasis natural scenery.

On the other side of the tent lies the shimmering talli motifs. Transformed from traditional shawls, wedding veils, and dresses into curtains, bags, and blouses, the silver and golden motifs have maintained their timeless charm. Coming all the way from the island of Shandawil, where this ancient art of needle work is still in practice from ancient Egypt till now, Amal Said came to display her work.

In 1994, I learnt talli stitches from my aunt, and now I have trained over 500 women, remembered Said, the head of the Cooperative Organization for Handicrafts and Heritage. Back in the day, the women of Shandawil used to wear talli clothes on their henna night, and their wedding veil was traditionally made of talli. Be it silver or gold-plated copper thread, the talli was an essential part of the brides shower list, she said. Talli stitches are quite unique. Each motif has a meaning. Brides, grooms, stars, mahmal, and over 70 motifs are documented, some of which are identical to motifs depicted in ancient Egyptian temples.

Said has managed to safeguard talli and add it to other materials for a broader use. We now make curtains, makeup bags, and bed covers out of talli.

Next to the talli ornaments are displayed various shawls with unmistakably bright, cheerful colours.

This is also a traditional Shandawil embroidery called El-Mansag, where we weave colourful flowers like that of clover lotus and the traditional Orgoon (part of a palm tree), she concluded.

Next to her lies a colourful set of Sinais finest embroidery. The Development Association for Micro Projects in Beir Al-Abd, Sinai, displays the handmade work of 200 women artists of Sinai. The vibrant colours are scattered on traditional Sinai dresses, bags, accessories, and even reusable masks.

One of the most interesting sections in the exhibition is El-Qalam Art House. The section offers all materials affiliated with Arabic calligraphy as well as a chance to write your name, or that of your loved one, in beautiful Arabic calligraphy.

And finally, for the first time, the exhibition offers daily workshops for those interested to try their hands in authentic handicrafts. Today was makramia (the ancient art of rope-weaving). The women were listening carefully as their trainer was explaining the steps.

This is the first time for us to join the exhibition, explained Intesar Salah, head of Heraf Ahl Masr Association. Throughout the exhibition, they give free classes on handicrafts. Mondays are dedicated for Resin art and handmade accessories, Tuesdays for copper handwork and glass mosaic, Wednesday for handmade looming, and Thursday for children colouring pottery.

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Source: Xinhua| 2021-02-22 20:18:21|Editor: huaxia

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HONG KONG, Feb. 22 (Xinhua) -- The COVID-19 pandemic continues to spread in Asia-Pacific countries as India's tally crossed the 11-million mark on Monday while Indonesia reported 10,180 new cases.

India's COVID-19 tally crossed the 11-million mark, reaching 11,005,850 as 14,199 new cases were registered during the past 24 hours, said the latest data from the federal health ministry.

According to the official data, the death toll mounted to 156,385 as 83 COVID-19 patients died since Sunday morning.

There are still 150,055 active cases in the country, while 10,699,410 people have been discharged so far from hospitals after medical treatment.

There was an increase of 4,421 active cases during the previous 24 hours. The number of active cases in India have been on the rise for the past five consecutive days.

The COVID-19 cases in Indonesia rose by 10,180 within one day to 1,288,833, with the death toll adding by 202 to 34,691, the Health Ministry said.

According to the ministry, 9,918 more people were discharged from hospitals, bringing the total number of recovered patients to 1,096,994.

The Department of Health (DOH) of the Philippines reported 2,288 new COVID-19 cases, bringing the total number of confirmed cases in the Southeast Asian country to 563,456.

The death toll climbed to 12,094 after six more patients died from the viral disease, the DOH said. It added 33 more patients recovered, raising the total number of recoveries to 522,874.

The Philippines has officially approved the emergency use of China's Sinovac COVID-19 vaccine, the country's Food and Drug Administration (FDA) said on Monday.

China's Sinovac Biotech is the third vaccine maker that was given the green light by the FDA.

South Korea reported 332 more cases of COVID-19 as of midnight Sunday compared to 24 hours ago, raising the total number of infections to 87,324.

Five more deaths were confirmed, leaving the death toll at 1,562. The total fatality rate stood at 1.79 percent.

A total of 371 more patients were discharged from quarantine after making full recovery, pulling up the combined number to 77,887. The total recovery rate was 89.19 percent.

Tokyo reported 178 new daily COVID-19 infections, marking the first time the daily tally has dropped below the 200-mark since Nov. 24.

According to the Tokyo metropolitan government's preliminary figures, daily infections have also remained below 500 for 16 straight days.

Thailand confirmed 89 new COVID-19 cases, mostly domestic, according to the Center for the COVID-19 Situation Administration (CCSA) spokeswoman Apisamai Srirangsan.

Thailand has so far confirmed 25,504 cases, 22,792 of which were reported as domestic while 2,712 others referred to those who had returned from abroad, according to the CCSA.

So far, 24,361 patients have fully recovered and been released from hospitals while 1,060 others are currently hospitalized and 83 fatalities have been reported.

Cambodia confirmed 35 new COVID-19 cases, bringing the total number of infections in the kingdom to 568, said a Ministry of Health (MoH) statement.

"The MoH once again urges all people across the country, especially those in capital Phnom Penh and Kandal province, to be highly vigilant and to advise their family members to strictly follow self-protection measures set out by the government," the statement said.

It also called on people who realized that they were involved in the Feb. 20 community COVID-19 outbreak to go for COVID-19 tests at the Chak Angre Health Center in southern Phnom Penh and to quarantine for 14 days at home. Enditem
Kin Man Hui, San Antonio Express-News / Staff photographer

CPS Energy's autopay feature was suspended in response to the financial impact left behind by last week's weather.

A notice on the CPS website tells customers autopay is currently unavailable so the monthly payment, which is expected to be higher than usual for February, will not be automatically deducted from user's bank accounts or credit cards on file.
Boeing has recommended suspending operations of 777 airplanes like the United Airlines jet that suffered a failure on its right engine on Sunday and flames erupted under the wing as the plane began to lose altitude.



"Boeing is actively monitoring recent events related to United Airlines Flight 328. While the NTSB investigation is ongoing, we recommended suspending operations of the 69 in-service and 59 in-storage 777s powered by Pratt & Whitney 4000-112 engines until the Federal Aviation Administration (FAA) identifies the appropriate inspection protocol, Boeing said in a statement.



"Boeing supports the decision yesterday by the Japan Civil Aviation Bureau, and the FAAs action today to suspend operations of 777 aircraft powered by Pratt & Whitney 4000-112 engines. We are working with these regulators as they take actions while these planes are on the ground and further inspections are conducted by Pratt & Whitney, it added.



The FAA said the plane experienced the engine failure shortly after take-off. The plane landed safely at Denver International Airport and no one on board or on the ground was hurt, authorities said.  TradeArabia News Service
Unfortunately, our website is currently unavailable in your country. We are engaged on the issue and committed to looking at options that support our full range of digital offerings to your market. We continue to identify technical compliance solutions that will provide all readers with our award-winning journalism.
South Dakota lawmakers are considering impeaching the state's attorney general as he faces misdemeanor charges for striking and killing a man with his car, Republican legislative leaders said Monday.

Jason Ravnsborg, the state's top law enforcement officer, said last week he will not step down before he gets a hearing in front of a judge. Prosecutors have charged him with three misdemeanors but no felonies in the September death of 55-year-old Joseph Boever.

Rep. Tim Goodwin, a Republican whip whose job is to gain support from his fellow lawmakers, said Ravnsborg should resign and that lawmakers are considering impeachment if he doesn't.

I think what's best for everybody is that he just does the honorable thing and steps down, Goodwin said, adding that the crash was tragic for both Boever's family and Ravnsborg.

South Dakota law allows officials like the attorney general to be impeached for conduct that includes a "misdemeanor in office.

Republican House Speaker Spencer Gosch acknowledged that impeachment was being weighed by lawmakers, but said that the legislative resolution that would start such proceedings has not been filed.

If the House initiates Ravnsborg's impeachment, it would require a vote from at least half of House lawmakers to advance the impeachment resolution to the Senate. There, it would require two-thirds of senators to convict and remove him from office. Gov. Kristi Noem would get to appoint a replacement if Ravnsborg was removed from office or resigned.

A spokesman for Ravnsborg did not return a request for comment.

The Republican attorney general, who was elected to his first term in 2018, initially told authorities that he thought he had struck a deer or another large animal as he was driving home to Pierre from a Republican fundraiser late on Sept. 12. He said he searched the unlit area with a cellphone flashlight and didnt realize he had killed a man until the next day when he returned to the accident scene on U.S. 14 near Highmore.

After an investigation that stretched over five months, prosecutors said they still had questions about the crash but were unable to file more serious criminal charges against Ravnsborg. They charged him with careless driving, driving out of his lane and operating a motor vehicle while on his phone.

Though prosecutors said he was not using his phone at the time of the crash, he had been using it while driving about one minute before. The attorney general could face up to 30 days in jail and up to a $500 fine on each charge, if convicted.
As protests against the military coup intensify in Myanmar, the countrys Catholic bishops have issued another statement, calling on the army to refrain from violence and peacefully resolve the crisis through dialogue.

By Robin Gomes

Hundreds of thousands of protesters took to the streets of Myanmar on Monday in one of the largest demonstrations yet against the country's military coup three weeks ago. People are demanding an end to military rule and want the nations elected leader San Suu Kyi released, along with senior members of her National League for Democracy (NLD) party.

Protesters gathered in Myanmars biggest city, Yangon, despite the ruling juntas threat to use lethal force against people who join a general strike against the military's 1 Feb. coup. Police dispersed crowds in the capital, Naypyitaw, and a water cannon truck was seen to move into position.

Restraint, dialogue

Meanwhile, the Catholic bishops of Myanmar have appealed to the military urging restraint on the streets and to return to dialogue to resolve the crisis. In a statement on Sunday, the Catholic Bishops Conference of Myanmar (CBCM) decried the violence in the streets saying the sad and shocking recent events have brought huge sorrow to our nation. The appeal signed by CBCM president Cardinal Charles Bo of Yangon, executive secretary Auxiliary Bishop John Saw Yaw Han of Yangon and 17 other bishops from across the country, came as the funeral of the first casualty in the protests, a 20-year-old woman, was held in Naypyitaw on Sunday after she was shot in the head on Feb. 9.

Myanmar soaked in fraternal blood

The heart-rending scenes of youth dying in the streets wound the conscience of a nation, the bishops lamented. said. Let not its sacred ground be soaked in fraternal blood. The sadness of parents burying their children has to stop. Mothers tears are never a blessing to any nation, the bishops warned.

They noted that just a month ago, the nation was dreaming of enhanced peace and democracy. Despite the onslaught of the global pandemic, they noted, the nation held an election. The world admires our capacity for managing our differences. However, Today, the world weeps with us, shattered by the fragmentation of this nation once again, the bishops deplored, saying the countrys young people deserve a better deal.

Healing needs to start with the release of detained leaders, the Church leaders stressed, calling on all to return to dialogue and invest their energy in reconciliation.

Cardinal Bos Lenten appeal

Cardinal Bo has also called on his faithful of his archdiocese to pray and fast for reconciliation as the nation is locked in hopelessness and despair through the coup. This is a time for prayer. This is a time for fasting. This is a time for conversion for all of us in this country, he said in a homily on the first Sunday of Lent.

Let the dove of peace return to our nation, he prayed. Let this nation rise up to be a new Myanmar of peace and prosperity to all. Let the rainbow of peace and reconciliation rise again. In his homily, the outspoken cardinal, who is also president of the Federation of Asian Bishops Conferences, warned against abuse of power, money, arrogance and oppression. The mightiest powers will fall and their graves may become history, he said.

Catholics continue protests

Myanmar has seen daily protests from urban cities to remote areas including in Christian strongholds where ethnic groups have shown their support for pro-democracy rallies. Catholic men and women religious, priests, seminarians and laypeople have taken to the streets to pray for peace as pro-democracy protests intensified in Myanmar three weeks after the 1 Feb. coup.

On Sunday, some 1,000 Catholics, mostly young people, marched on the streets of Yangon. The previous day, several hundred recited prayers and the rosary on the streets in Mandalay. Last week, nuns, priests and laypeople also took to the streets in Kayah state, a Catholic stronghold in northeastern Myanmar, to pray for peace. Christians from other denominations also joined Catholics on the streets in several cities in Kachin and Chin states.

Nuns have provided food and drinks to protesters in Yangon while some have organized prayer meetings in their convents. On Friday, dozens of Catholic youths held a demonstration in front of the US embassy in Yangon while thousands of anti-coup protests gathered in front of the embassies of China, Japan and Singapore.

International condemnation

On Saturday, two people including a teenager were killed and more than 20 injured in Mandalay, Myanmars second-largest city, during a violent crackdown by security forces on protesters. The latest bloody crackdown has sparked strong condemnation from the United Nations, the US, Britain and the European Union.

UN Secretary-General Antonio Guterres on Monday urged Myanmar's military to halt repression immediately, release hundreds detained and respect human rights and the will of the people expressed in the elections.

The Telegraph

Ministers have failed to take advantage of the UK's freedom from EU regulations since Brexit, despite the Prime Ministers pledge to take back control of red tape, a new think tank report has said. A new report from the Institute for Government (IfG) argues that Whitehall departments are too "siloed" from each other, preventing ministers from changing laws to reflect Britain's departure from the EU. The think tank points to Mr Johnsons declaration on Christmas Eve last year that the UK had taken back control of every jot and tittle of our regulation in a way which is complete and unfettered. But despite that promise, most EU legislation is still on the UK statute books, after being copied over into domestic law during the Brexit process. Experts say a "bonfire" of regulations in the coming years is unlikely because of costs associated with changing them in UK law. The report's authors said the Government had approached regulatory divergence from Europe "like a game of Space Invaders  played blindfolded," risking costs to British businesses and unintended consequences. They called for Downing Street to issue clear guidance to government departments on how they should approach the freedom to set out new regulations, and reform the processes for approving them. They also point out that, over time, the UK will diverge from the EU in its regulations as European standards change and are not automatically in line with Britains. The UK should develop a system to keep track of regulatory developments in the EU that will affect Britain to avoid any unintended consequences from that process, they argue. Joe Marshall, a researcher at the IfG, said: "Gaining the ability to do things differently from the EU was a key aim of Brexit  and there are clear benefits to be won. But the governments siloed approach to regulatory reform risks ad hoc changes and unintended consequences that threaten businesses with new costs and could destabilise the union. Jill Rutter, another author, said: The government must ensure it invests the time and effort needed to make the necessary trade-offs involved and avoid unintended consequences.
After a week of canceled classes due to freezing temperatures and utility outages, San Antonios schools started to reopen Monday, but with a few new hurdles in a year already made difficult by pandemic.

This is just another week where our students have another challenge to overcome, said Aubrey Chancellor, spokeswoman for the North East Independent School District.

Power and water outages across the state kept classrooms closed, and even with remote learning options in place, many students and school staff did not have power in their homes and were struggling to find water, food and warmth for several days in a row.

On ExpressNews.com: 'We're wearing jackets and scarves inside our house': Temperatures plunge as thousands without heat

What can you do, when Texas has a horrible snow storm? said Brandon Oliver, spokesman for East Central ISD. You have to think about safety and put that as high, if not a higher priority, than education.

Many school districts said they are considering asking the Texas Education Agency for permission to absorb the lost learning time without extending the school calendar.

The largest charter networks in San Antonio, KIPP Texas Public Schools and IDEA Public Schools, were closed entirely Monday.

We recognize that our families might still be dealing with the issues, so we decided to stay closed today to let everyone regroup, said Jennifer Flores, spokeswoman for IDEA schools in San Antonio.

Many school districts tried to support families throughout the extended closure by providing meals or warming centers, or by spreading the word about helpful resources provided by the city.

On ExpressNews.com: With COVID's spread abating, San Antonio ISD to invite more students back to campuses

North East, San Antonio, Edgewood, South San Antonio and Harlandale ISDs used their facilities to distribute meals on Friday. Southwest, Harlandale and Judson ISDs did so on Saturday as well, and Judson kept a warming center open to the public at the Judson High School gym through much of the week.

But by Sunday afternoon, with electricity and water service restored to most of San Antonio, most school districts began alerting families that their children could return to their classes.

Some individual campuses are still closed due to ongoing repairs or damage caused by bursting water pipes. Students attending those campuses are learning remotely until Tuesday or whenever it is safe to return to the buildings.

In Northside ISD, Mora Elementary School and Harlan High School were the only two campuses still closed for repairs Monday. Four or five other campuses were having heating issues Monday afternoon, but maintenance crews were working to fix them and the campuses were open, district spokesman Barry Perez said.

Most students and staff in Southwest ISD returned to school Monday, but Southwest High School students will learn remotely through the end of the week. The storm caused significant water damage to the campus, Superintendent Lloyd Verstuyft said in a message to parents.

Timeline: How the polar vortex knocked out San Antonio

Edgewood ISD reopened all schools except for Stafford Elementary, the Stafford Early Childhood Center and Roosevelt Elementary, as repairs at those campuses continue.

In North East ISD, where all campuses are open, burst pipes at Thousand Oaks Elementary School caused a sprinkler to go off for as long as 24 hours last week, flooding much of the school.

Restrooms in mobile classroom buildings around the district are damaged, and an expensive industrial air-cooled chiller used for air conditioning at one campus broke down. It could take weeks for the district to finish all repairs, Chancellor said.

On ExpressNews.com: Timeline: How the polar vortex knocked out San Antonio

San Antonio ISD was able to open all of its campuses Monday, and kitchen staff at campuses with low water pressure were following the San Antonio Water Systems boil-water notice.

East Central, South San Antonio, Southside, Alamo Heights and Judson ISDs were able to make needed campus repairs over the weekend and have reopened all schools.

The biggest damage at Southside ISD was to its agricultural program facility, where pipes froze, water got into electrical systems and walls were damaged, said Randy Escamilla, district spokesman.

And while the district will not have to modify its instruction plan this week, Southside officials cancel this weeks planned trial run of the State of Texas Assessment of Academic Readiness, or STAAR. The preparation session was scrapped in favor of letting teachers go full time into instruction before the window to begin administering the states standardized tests begins April 6, Escamilla said.

The week of school closures likely added to the learning loss that students have experienced since the start of the pandemic, as many have struggled with remote learning and staying focused on schoolwork amid a global crisis.

Learning loss has been a continued concern, not just from this past week but certainly through COVID, Perez said. The biggest piece is going to be re-engaging students, helping them get involved and stay involved with their classes.

Yet many school district boards will soon decide whether to seek TEA waivers so students dont have to make up the missed days later in the year.

Perez said Northside ISD is providing opportunities for students to catch up on their work or seek additional support, such as tutoring and other internal enrichment programs. Other school districts have similar resources in place.

We will meet the children where they are and we will get them back up to speed, Chancellor said. But this is another challenge, another hit that all of our students are now facing.

Despite the difficult week, students and school staff seemed eager to return to a sense of normalcy, said Patti Pawlik-Perales, spokeswoman for Alamo Heights ISD.

Were thrilled to be back and so glad to be back with students, she said.

Staff writer Danya Perez contributed to this report. andy.picon@hearst.com
New Delhi, Feb 22 : BlueStacks, the world's largest Android gaming platform for PCs and Macs, is bullish on India and with over 2 million games across numerous developers, the company is revolutionising the way Android gaming is taking shape in the country, a top executive said on Monday.

BlueStacks has over 500 million users globally across more than 200 locations.

"India is an extremely large mobile gaming market for us. Last year, the pandemic drove a surge of gamers across the world, including India, which saw a near 100 per cent jump in user base," Rosen Sharma, CEO BlueStacks, told IANS in an interview.

A typical BlueStacks user is spending an average of 5 hours playing mobile games every day.

According to Sharma, the gaming eco-system in India is majorly driven by mobile games.

"With developers coming out with bigger and heavier games, more mobile gamers will play in interruption-free environments and migrate to PC-based platforms. Mobile games are not designed for long gameplay," he noted.

Founded in 2011 by Sharma, Jay Vaishnav, Harvinder Sawhney and Suman Saraf, BlueStacks has a global team of over 400 people.

BlueStacks, that has crossed 1 billion downloads, has launched BlueStacks 5 (Beta) update that promises a 40 per cent reduction in RAM usage.

The new BlueStacks 5 (Beta), which will support ARM devices, offers significantly faster boot, install and launch times and core gamers can look forward to better gameplay experiences.

"We have always believed in listening to our users for driving our product roadmap and this has enabled us to bring the best features to the market. BlueStacks 5 is also developed basis the response we got from our gamers' community," Sharma told IANS.

The company's app container technology enables games to be optimised to run on PC, Mac and other devices without any additional work needed from the developer.

This is a key component missing in both Android on Chromebook and iOS apps on Mac.

"We see the market for BlueStacks Game Platform expanding considerably with Apple's endorsement of running iOS apps on the Mac form factor," said Sharma.

BlueStacks 5 is faster, smoother, and lighter than the previous version. The eco-mode is a great initiative for gamers who frequently switch between different apps.

With the vastly upgraded Multi-instance manager and Eco mode, it will be a game changer for the gaming community as they can now run more BlueStacks instances faster and without lag.

"Our focus has been to drive the best performance across any other app player in the industry. The performance benchmarks that BlueStacks 5 has been delivering are really positive and aims re-defines the industry standards," Sharma elaborated.

BlueStacks is also working on to optimise its platform for Apple's in-house ARM Silicon M1 chip-based Macs and this "should be rolled out soon in future," Sharma said.
Page Content

As a democratic society, the City of Johannesburg must ensure that in all that it does to improve the lives and livelihood of its citizens and as local government it does not leave its communities behind but listens and endeavours to service their needs.





This is how the Speaker of Council, Councillor Nonceba Molwele, kicked off proceedings during a virtual public meeting on rates with stakeholders and residents last week.



The City has been holding virtual public meetings public participation from 9 February until 5 March 2021 to get residents views on the rates policy. So far the response of attendance digitally is commendable. Seventeen sessions are still to take place in all the regions where some wards were left for later. The City has been holding virtual public meetings public participation from 9 February until 5 March 2021 to get residents views on the rates policy. So far the response of attendance digitally is commendable. Seventeen sessions are still to take place in all the regions where some wards were left for later.



As we plan for the future of our cities, we must be inclusive, and we must ensure that citizens are part of our planning. It must be said that public participation is also a very significant aspect in ensuring comprehensive service delivery. If communities do not participate, it means as local government, we would have failed at the first step of ensuring service delivery. There is nothing that we can do for communities without communities, Cllr Molwele said.



There is a lot of legislation around the importance of public participation. I saw it fit and important to talk about public participation during community-based participation (CBP) sessions so that communities understand exactly what it entails, its importance and the entire process thereof. The success of participatory democracy lies in the meaningful participation of the citizenry / citizen" she reiterated, the Speakers said.



She was joined by two senior officials in the City of Joburg to unpack this topic. One of them was Khanyisile Cele, who is the Group Head for Group Strategy, Policy Coordination and Relations that reviews public participation policy from time to time to ensure it becomes meaningful and assists the City to respond to the issues coming from the ground and consolidating them.



Busisiwe Ngwenya, the Director for Ward Governance and Community Participation in the Legislature of the City of Joburg, explained these processes, starting from a plan presented to Council for approval then to CBPs engagements leading to Integrated Development Plans (IDP) development and lastly to budget cycle.



The deputy chair of chairs also talked about the role of the councillor in the community on service delivery issues, being a middleman between Council and the community. This misunderstanding of roles often cause tensions and create expectations between the two mentioned parties.



Residents and stakeholders are urged to join the public meetings by going into the citys website, www.joburg.org.za and click to NOTICES, then select CBP meeting. You will then select the region and cluster you want to join.



Click on the barcode icon that will take you to join the MS Teams Session. There you will also find a link to make online comments and a short video clip on the CBP process.

People can make their inputs via:



1. Attending the Regional virtual meetings as per the above.

2. Submissions can also be emailed to cbpinputs@joburg.org.za

3. Online submissions can be made online by clicking on the link : https://share.hsforms.com/1-W81Bz_gS6yf20an7wB-uQ469tl

4. Written comments can be submitted into boxes provided at the Regional Offices.


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Supreme Court to weigh Trump HHS rule stripping abortion clinics of Title X funds

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The U.S. Supreme Court has agreed to hear arguments over the legality of the Trump administrations "Protect Life Rule" barring Title X funding for Planned Parenthood and other abortion providers.

In an order issued Monday, the high court consolidated three cases regarding the Title X funding dispute: American Medical Association v. Cochran, Oregon v. Cochran, and Cochran v. Mayor and City Council of Baltimore.

At issue is whether the U.S. Department of Health & Human Services acted lawfully when the Trump administration barred Planned Parenthood and other clinics that provide abortions from receiving Title X family planning funds.

In February 2019, HHS announced a finalized federal rule forbidding the use of Title X funds to perform, promote, refer for, or support abortion as a method of family planning.

Pursuant to congressional mandate, family participation is to be encouraged, particularly in services involving adolescents. And, from the start, Congress was clear that Title X funds cannot be used to support abortion, stated HHS at the time.

This final rule ensures that grants and contracts awarded under this program fully comply with the statutory program integrity requirements, thereby fulfilling the purpose of Title X, so that more women and men can receive services that help them consider and achieve both their short-term and long-term family planning needs.

Later that year, Planned Parenthood withdrew from the Title X federal family planning program because of the requirement that clinics that receive the funds cant refer patients or instruct patients on how to access abortion. Abortion rights advocates consider the regulation to be a gag rule.

By March of that year, multiple lawsuits were filed by California, 21 other states plus the District of Columbia and by Planned Parenthood and the American Medical Association.

We welcome the U.S. Supreme Courts decision to review the Ninth Circuits erroneous opinion upholding a Trump administration rule that imposed drastic changes on the Title X federal family planning program, a joint statement from the American Medical Association, Planned Parenthood Federation of America, National Family Planning & Reproductive Health Association, American Civil Liberties Union and Essential Access Health states.

This rule continues to bring immense harm to people across the country who depend on affordable reproductive health care like birth control, breast and cervical cancer screenings, and STI testing and treatment, among other essential health services that Title X provides.

The organizations claim that the rule disproportionately impacts Black and Brown patients who are more likely to face the worst health and economic impacts from the COVID-19 pandemic.

Marjorie Dannenfelser, president of the pro-life activist group Susan B. Anthony List, said she is confident that the high court will rule that the Trump administration and future administrations have the right to "disentangle Title X taxpayer funding from the abortion industry."

Abortion is not family planning and a strong majorityof Americans  including 65% of Independents and nearly one-third of Democrats  oppose taxpayer funding of abortion," Dannenfelser said in a statement. "The Protect Life Rule honors their will and the plain language of the Title X statute by stopping the funneling of Title X taxpayer dollars to the abortion industry, without reducing family planning funding by a dime.

In June 2019, a three-judge panel of the 9th U.S. Court of Appeals granted a stay on three injunctions made by lower courts against the new Title X rule.

But last September, the 4th Circuit upheld a lower court decision against the HHS rule in a vote of 9-6.

Circuit Judge Stephanie Thacker, an Obama appointee, wrote in the majority opinion that the rule on Title X funds failed to recognize and address the ethical concerns of literally every major medical organization in the country, and it arbitrarily estimated the cost of the physical separation of abortion services.

Several medical organizations submitted comments to HHS about the Final Rule, and all of them stated that the Final Rule would violate the established principles of medical ethics, noted Thacker.
A team led by sustainability theme leader Madhu Khanna suggests a new use for land enrolled in the Conservation Reserve Program (CRP) that may be a 'win-win' scenario for the economy and environment alike

Researchers at the Center for Advanced Bioenergy and Bioproducts Innovation (CABBI) found that transitioning land enrolled in the Conservation Reserve Program (CRP) to bioenergy agriculture can be advantageous for American landowners, the government, and the environment.

Land enrolled in the CRP cannot currently be used for bioenergy crop production, wherein high-yielding plants (like miscanthus and switchgrass) are harvested for conversion into marketable bioproducts that displace fossil fuel- and coal-based energy. Established by the U.S. Department of Agriculture in 1985, the CRP incentivizes landowners to retire environmentally degraded cropland, exchanging agricultural productivity for native habitats and accepting annual government payments in return.

As the world warms and its population explosively expands, global demand for food production is at odds with the decreased agricultural productivity threatened by extreme climate conditions. Therefore, allocating CRP land for high-yielding energy biomass might eliminate the need for bioenergy crops and food crops to vie for space.

A team led by CABBI Sustainability Theme Leader Madhu Khanna and Ph.D. student Luoye Chen developed an integrated modeling approach to assess the viability of transitioning CRP land in the eastern U.S. to perennial bioenergy crops. Their paper, published in Environmental Science & Technology in January 2021, confirmed that the land-use transition is indeed viable provided that certain key conditions are met.

"As proponents of a safer, more sustainable bioeconomy, we must prioritize displacing fossil fuels," said Khanna, who is also Acting Director of the Institute for Sustainability, Energy, and Environment (iSEE) at the University of Illinois Urbana-Champaign. "As scientists, it is our responsibility to take a thoughtful, innovative approach to mitigating greenhouse gases in a way that will prove beneficial in the long term.

"The transportation and electricity sectors are looking to expand bioenergy production, and it is imperative that the agricultural sector do the same. This necessitates a program wherein bioenergy cropland and food cropland coexist rather than compete."

The CABBI team takes an integrated approach to weighing the costs and benefits of swapping the CRP status quo -- uncultivated acreage -- for bioenergy, combining the Biofuel and Environmental Policy Analysis Model (BEPAM) with the biogeochemical model DayCent (Daily Time Step Version of the Century Model).

BEPAM assesses net profitability, answering the key question: What precise economic conditions will incentivize CRP landowners to make the switch to bioenergy cropland? An environmental counterpoint to BEPAM, DayCent simulates the full ecosystem effects of the transition on a given county, providing a "sneak peek" into the future and shedding light on how this land-use change might affect factors like crop yield, nutrient exchange, and soil carbon sequestration.

A key component of this study aggregates data from both models to formulate a greenhouse gas (GHG) life-cycle assessment, which calculates the total GHGs mitigated by the process as a whole -- from the physical act of planting to the introduction of clean energy into the bioeconomy.

"The full life-cycle assessment really is key to understanding the big-picture results of our research," Chen said. "We take everything into account -- the process of actually growing and harvesting the feedstocks, the carbon sequestered in the soil, and the fact that ultimately, we will be displacing fossil fuels with biofuels, and coal-based electricity with bioelectricity.

"Keeping that end result in mind anchors everything else to the ultimate goal of a net positive environmental impact."

The team concluded that converting 3.4 million hectares of CRP land to bioenergy from 2016 to 2030 is economically and environmentally viable -- under certain conditions.

Economically speaking, all systems are "go" if the market price of biomass is high and the government continues to distribute appropriate CRP land rental payments. These factors can ideally function as counterweights: If biomass prices decrease, substantial land rental payments may alleviate financial stress from farmers and encourage their continued commitment to bioenergy; alternatively, soaring biomass prices would rationalize relaxed government support, saving taxpayers money. The team identified two ideal pairings: 1) landowners receive 100 percent of their original government payments and sell biomass at $75/metric ton; or 2) landowners receive 75 percent of their original payment and sell biomass for $100/metric ton. Ideally, both parties benefit.

Converting CRP land to bioenergy can also result in substantial GHG savings. Previous studies show that a large "soil carbon debt" is liable to accrue at the outset of the venture, during the planting years of miscanthus and switchgrass. However, taking into account the full life-cycle assessment mentioned above, the research team determined that the long-term effects of displacing fossil fuel- and coal-based energy with bioproducts would more than make up for this temporary loss.

Considering landowner income from biomass sales, savings in government payments to maintain existing CRP enrollment, and the monetized benefits of GHG mitigation through displacing fossil fuels (quantified using the "social cost of carbon"), the total net value of converting CRP land to bioenergy could be as high as $28 billion to $125 billion over the 2016-2030 period.

###

In addition to Chen and Khanna, the team includes Postdoctoral Researcher Elena Blanc-Betes, CABBI and iSEE, University of Illinois Urbana-Champaign; Associate Professor Tara W. Hudiburg, CABBI, University of Idaho; Daniel Hellerstein, Economic Research Service, U.S. Department of Agriculture (USDA); Steven Wallander, Economic Research Service, USDA; and Professor Evan H. DeLucia, CABBI, iSEE, University of Illinois Urbana-Champaign.
Nation fighting COVID-19 with all its strength: PM Narendra Modi at Mann ki Baat

PM Modi to launch several projects in poll bound Assam, West Bengal today

India

oi-Vicky Nanjappa

New Delhi, Feb 22: Prime Minister, Narendra Modi will visit poll bound West Bengal and Assam and dedicate to the nation pile and gas sector projects, engineering colleges and railway projects.

During his visit to Assam the PM will dedicate projects of the oil sector at an event organised at Silapathar at 11.30 am, besides inaugurating the Dhemaji Engineering College and laying the foundation stone for Sualkuchi Engineering College.

The PM will also inaugurate several railway projects in West Bengal's Hooghly district at 4.30 pm. PM Modi will inaugurate the INDMAX unit at Indian Oil's Bongaigaon refinery, Oil India Limited's secondary tank farm at Dibrugarh and a gas compressor station at Hebeda village in Tinsukia, the Prime Minister's Office said.

Sabka Saath, Sabka Vikas, Sabka Vishwas basic mantra of BJP: PM Modi to party leaders

He will inaugurate the Dhemaji Engineering College and lay the foundation stone for Sualkuchi Engineering College. In Assam, the Prime Minister will dedicate to the nation the INDMAX Unit at Indian Oil's Bongaigaon Refinery, Oil India Limiteds Secondary Tank Farm at Madhuban, Dibrugarh, and a gas compressor station at Hebeda Village in Tinsukia.

The INDMAX unit leverages the technology developed indigenously by the Indian Oil R&D to produce a higher LPG and high-octane gasoline yield from heavy feedstocks. The unit will increase the refinerys crude processing capacity from 2.35 MMTPA (million metric tonnes per annum) to 2.7 MMTPA.

Its commissioning will also significantly enhance LPG production from 50 TMT (thousand metric tonnes) to 257 TMT and petrol production from 210 TMT to 533 TMT, the PMO said.

Oil India Limited's Secondary Tank Farm has been built for safe storage of about 40,000-kilo litres of crude oil, and the separation of formation water from wet crude oil. The Rs 490 crore project will also have a dehydration unit with an operating capacity of 10,000-kilo litres per day.

In Bengal, the prime minister will inaugurate the extension of the metro railway from Noapara to Dakshineswar, and flag off the first service on this stretch.

The PMO said this 4.1-km extension has been constructed at a cost of 464 crore and is fully funded by the central government.

This extension will ease up access to the two world famous Kali temples at Kalighat and Dakshineswar for lakhs of tourists and devotees.

Modi will also inaugurate a third line between Kalaikunda and Jhargram over a stretch of 30 km of the 132-km-long Kharagpur-Adityapur third line project of south eastern railway, which was sanctioned with an estimated cost of 1,312 crore.

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The four stations between Kalaikunda and Jhargram have been redeveloped by constructing four new station buildings, six new foot over bridges and eleven new platforms, along with renovation of the existing infrastructure, the PMO said.

This will help ensure seamless movement of passenger and freight trains on Howrah-Mumbai trunk route, it added.

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Story first published: Monday, February 22, 2021, 8:10 [IST]

Rebecca Zemek walked down the aisle with Jake Edwards when the new season of Married At First Sight Australia premiered on Monday night.

However, the 27-year-old businesswoman nitpicked her 33-year-old groom's nails, teeth and tattoo after they exchanged vows.

She said to producers: 'He bites his nails. I pay attention to details he's been gnawing those away, so, you know, even though he's coming across really cool, calm, he is not. We need to get rid of that'.

Oh dear: Married At First Sight fans have slammed 'high maintenance' bride Rebecca Zemek (pictured) after she criticised groom Jake Edwards on their wedding day during Monday night's premiere episode of the new season

Next she harped on about his outfit, saying: 'He wasn't wearing a tie. On your wedding day - it's a day to be extremely formal.

'And I noticed he had his buttons undone showing his tattoo piece. I know my parents would not approve of that at all.'

Next, she was less than impressed by his teeth, whining: 'I think it's his smile. I like really good teeth. I'm a brusher twice a day, two minutes. You know, extra floss.'

She said to producers: 'He bites his nails. I pay attention to details he's been gnawing those away, so, you know, even though he's coming across really cool, calm, he is not. We need to get rid of that'. Jake is pictured

Next she harped on about his outfit, saying: 'He wasn't wearing a tie. On your wedding day - it's a day to be extremely formal. And I noticed he had his buttons undone showing his tattoo piece. I know my parents would not approve of that at all'

Next, she was less than impressed by his teeth, whining: 'I think it's his smile. I like really good teeth. I'm a brusher twice a day, two minutes. You know, extra floss'

Fans watching at home were less than amused by Bec's criticisms, with many Tweeting their annoyance.

One person wrote: 'Jesus Christ, this Bec is a b**ch. How judgemental' while another added: 'She is high maintenance'.

Someone else chimed in: 'Really not liking Bec. Way too picky and judgemental'.

Another Tweeted: 'OMG this ones a piece of work. I hope she is nicer than she seems'.

Uncool: Fans watching at home were less than amused by Bec's criticisms, with many Tweeting their annoyance

Yet another added: 'I don't know, she gives off major high school bully "boss babe" vibes.'

A few people went to bat for Jake, with one Tweeted: 'Bec is a nightmare. Run Jake run!' while another wrote: 'Why am I so sad for Jake?'

One person worried: 'Jake has had mental health [issues] in the past. Rebecca is going to wear him down and this isn't going to be good for him at all'.
MUMBAI : Amara Raja Batteries, the country's second-largest automotive battery maker, has opened the country's maiden technology hub to develop lithium-ion cells, at its Tirupati facility in Andhra Pradesh.

The advanced lithium-ion technology research hub, the pilot project located at its headquarters in Tirupati, will become the country's first lithium-ion cell manufacturing facility in the private sector over the next few years, Amara Raja Batteries CEO S Vijayanand told PTI.

The company has a technology transfer agreement with the Indian Space Research Organisation (ISRO) since early 2019.

Vijayanand said Amara Raj has already invested 20 crore into the hub, excluding technology transfer and bidding fees paid to the ISRO in January 2019 when the company along with nine others won competitive bids from the national space agency.

The agreement with ISRO for the lithium-ion cell technology transfer is without any royalty payment, he said. Ten companies that got the technology licence have to pay only the bidding fees and technology transfer fees that have already been paid by Amara Raja, he said.

Despite pushing lithium-ion cell development, Vijayanand feels lead-acid batteries will continue to grow at least for a few more decades and that lithium cells used in electric vehicles will take time to get commercial traction. Currently, the electric vehicle (EV) makers import the cells mostly from China.

Electric mobility will be led by three-wheelers and two-wheelers here to begin with, primarily because of the higher cost of ownership for an EV four-wheelers, he said.

Vijayanand expects that by 2025, two-and three-wheelers penetration will touch 20-25 per cent in the country. The numbers are skewed towards more three-wheelers as they are commercially more viable and such level of penetration can give the critical mass for EV adoption.

The second phase will see the EV industry and the attendant ecosystem maturing with passenger vehicles and commercial vehicles going electric, and this should happen during 2025-30. "As I see it, private four-wheeler adoption should begin by 2025-27," he said.

In January 2019, ISRO named 10 companies from a list of 141, to which it proposed to transfer the technology to manufacture lithium-ion cells developed by the Vikram Sarabhai Space Centre (VSSC), Thumba, as part of the government's effort to push electric mobility. The VSSC originally developed it for using in launch vehicles and satellites.

The 10 companies that got the tech licence are Amara Raja, Bharat Electronics Pune, Carborundum Universal Kochi, Exicom Tele-Systems Gurgaon, GOCL Corporation Hyderabad, Jyoti CNC Automation Rajkot, Nalcom Bhubaneswar, Sukhbir Agro Energy Delhi, Tata Chemicals, and Thermax.

However, none of them have started manufacturing, and Amara Raja is the first to set up the development hub towards the same.

Under the tech transfer, ISRO will help these companies set up lithium-ion cell manufacturing units and train their staff.

Vijayanand also said EV development in general and lithium-ion batteries in particular should get a boost with 18,000 crore of government subsidies under the 1.6-lakh crore local production-linked incentive (PLI) scheme announced last November.

The PLI scheme has earmarked 18,000 crore towards the advance cell chemistry, which aims at bringing on line at least 50 gigawatt (GW) of lithium-ion batteries to the market.

"We will see the success of the scheme over the next two-three years," he added.

On the raw material availability to push local manufacturing of lithium cells, he said more than two-thirds of them are domestically available and only critical minerals have to be imported. For this, the government is already in talks with a few Latin American countries along with Australia which have these minerals aplenty.

Meanwhile, according to reports, Tata Chemicals, which also has a licence form ISRO, is likely to soon start work on its proposed lithium-ion cells manufacturing facility at Dholera in Gujarat.

Exide Industries, which is the market leader in lead-acid storage batteries and has not won the licence from ISRO, has also entered the space with a tie-up with Leclanche, a global energy storage solutions provider, to build a lithium-ion battery manufacturing facility in Gujarat.

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Atlantic Immigration Pilot improving immigrant retention rates in the region Canada's immigration department found positive short-term outcomes of immigrants who moved to Atlantic Canada under the AIP.

Atlantic Immigration Pilot improving immigrant retention rates in the region Canada's immigration department found positive short-term outcomes of immigrants who moved to Atlantic Canada under the AIP.

Atlantic Immigration Pilot improving immigrant retention rates in the region Canada's immigration department found positive short-term outcomes of immigrants who moved to Atlantic Canada under the AIP. Shelby Thevenot Aa Accessibility Font Style Serif

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The Atlantic Immigration Pilot (AIP) appears to be on the right track to help east coast provinces retain immigrants.

Immigration, Refugees and Citizenship Canada (IRCC) reviewed the AIP in the period starting from when it was launched in March, 2017 to the end of the 2019-2020 fiscal year. They wanted to see if the pilot was working as it was intended, to help grow the population and meet labour market demands.

The AIP is an employer-driven program. It allows employers in the four Atlantic provinces to hire foreign talent without having to get a Labour Market Impact Assessment, which has been described as an expensive and lengthy process. Through this program, immigrants come to Canada with a job and a settlement plan from a designated service provider.

Atlantic Canada has historically struggled to keep immigrants in the region, so retention is the cornerstone of the pilot. IRCC found that of the 5,590 respondents, who had immigrated to Atlantic Canada through the AIP, most were still in their province of landing two years later.

Find out if youre eligible for Canadian immigration

A large proportion of AIP immigrants reported working for their original Canadian employer at the time of the survey, and some of those who changed employers were still working in the same province. Most AIP newcomers were still living in Atlantic Canada after their first year. These early finding seem to indicate that AIP has a higher retention rate than other economic programs in Atlantic Canada.

Almost half of respondents, 45 per cent, were in New Brunswick and 34 per cent were in Nova Scotia. PEI and Newfoundland and Labrador were each host to 10 per cent of respondents.

AIP retention rates after two years were higher for immigrants in New Brunswick and Newfoundland and Labrador in comparison to other immigration pathways. Most of those who were in Canada at the time of the survey said they planned on staying in their province of residence, while less than a fifth said they did not know, and 3 per cent reported that they do not plan to stay.

Source

The main reasons why respondents wanted to stay in the province was because they liked their community, the cost of living was affordable, and they liked their job. About one third also said that they had family or friends in the province.

Those who wanted to leave mostly said it was to make more money in another province, and about 40 per cent of these respondents said they had not been able to find other job opportunities in their province of landing.

The evaluation found that the settlement plans were helpful when they were used. Most AIP principal applicants did not know they could access these services for free even though most employers said their organization provided settlement supports. Among other recommendations on how to improve the program, IRCC agreed to develop a strategy to increase awareness of settlement services for AIP principal applicants, as well as their spouses and children.

The AIP is on track to become a permanent immigration program. The pilot was extended until December 2021 to allow for more time for IRCC to study the mid and long-term impact of the program on the region.

Find out if youre eligible for Canadian immigration

 CIC News All Rights Reserved. Visit CanadaVisa.com to discover your Canadian immigration options.
Intellect Design Arena confirmed that its recent WealthQube Win in Indonesia is for bank BRI. Intellect's wealth platform, WealthQube, will underpin the Digital Transformation of Wealth Management at PT Bank Rakyat Indonesia (BRI).

Intellect Wealth Qube has been designed to deliver the 2020 Advantage- i.e., 20% increases in Relationship Manager (RM) productivity and 20% reduction in business operating costs year-on-year.

By increasing the sales productivity and lowering the operating costs, Intellect allows financial institutions to serve a larger market size. It does so by fully empowering RM to service the customer at the convenience of the customer. An empowered RM is Intellect's promise.

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(This story has not been edited by Business Standard staff and is auto-generated from a syndicated feed.)

In the UK, the government struggled to reach the deadlines to release COVID-19-related contracts because it moved "incredibly quickly" to secure equipment at the height of the pandemic, Health Secretary Matt Hancock said.

UK prioritizes fighting COVID-19 over transparency

Hancock responded Friday to a court decision that found that he had not met with government transparency regulations, as per Bloomberg via MSN. The group that filed the case said that if the state "continues to fail to publish contract award notices within 30 days it is doing so in full knowledge it is breaching the law."

In an interview with Sky TV Sunday, Hancock said at the midst of the COVID-19 pandemic, the administration missed some deadlines. However, they managed to publish the contracts on average 47 days after they signed in the "heat of the crisis." He did not answer the question if he would resign over the decision.

"We acted incredibly fast, and some of the paperwork was delayed a bit," he said. He defended ministry workers who were focused on protecting and saving lives with personal protective equipment.

From the availability of medical equipment to student examination results, Prime Minister Boris Johnson has faced several lawsuits over his administration's response to the COVID-19 pandemic. In Friday's event, critics urged the court to investigate contracts that were awarded during the early days of the outbreak to companies.

Judge Martin Chamberlain said in the ruling that Hancock spent significant amounts of public money on pandemic-related procurements during 2020. Chamberlain said the public had the right to know who received the money, what it was being spent on, and how relevant contracts were awarded.

After the ruling, the Good Law Project urged Hancock to report unpaid contracts and names of firms that passed through a 'VIP lane' to be granted purchasing decisions on materials for COVID-19. The National Audit Agency had noticed that all contracts were awarded appropriately, Hancock told the BBC.

Read also: 3 Different Bomb Attacks in Kabul Leave 5 Dead, 2 Wounded, Afghan Police Says

'Time needs to be taken' lifting the lockdown

Matt Hancock warned that amid boosting efforts to roll out vaccines to all UK adults by the end of July, the government would take its time to remove the coronavirus lockdown. Ahead of Boris Johnson's big revelation of his roadmap out of restrictions tomorrow, the Health Secretary said it was 'right to be careful.' Hancock announced this morning that at least one dose of the COVID-19 vaccine would be given to every adult in the country by the end of July.

According to Daily Mail, the government previously said it hoped to reach those aged 18 and over by the autumn, but Johnson plans to significantly boost the popular program. As previously indicated, Hancock has stated that anyone over 50 would be given at least the first dose by April 15 rather than by May. He also reported that one-in-three adults have already been vaccinated in England.

But he said to Sky's Ridge on Sunday, asking about the pace of the lockdown lift, "It's right to be cautious, it's incredibly important." There are still about 20,000 persons with COVID-19 in the hospital right now.

Read also: Life Expectancy Drops by a Year, While 20 Million Years Are Lost Due To COVID-19, Study Claims

Deadly COVID-19 variants from Brazil, South Africa

Hancock claimed the deadly mutant COVID-19 variants from Brazil and South Africa are falling in the UK. This morning, the Health Secretary said there was proof that the more stringent measures - including touch tracing and more restrictive border measures - had slowed down the spread of new strains.

On Sunday, speaking to Sophy Ridge, Hancock said: "We now have a much better caution in place, so it is important to monitor anyone coming into the country and sequence the outcomes of those tests. And we also have a powerful set of actions that work very specifically with the local authorities in the areas where a new variant is found."

But he warned that when the lockdown is lifted, data must be carefully monitored, The Sun reported. To track the spread of the new variants, surge testing has been placed in some UK areas.

Read also: Australia Treasurer Slams Facebook for Banning All News Media Sharing

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EDITORS NOTE: NJ Cannabis Insider is hosting a two-day business and networking conference March 9-10, featuring some of the states most prominent industry leaders. Tickets are limited.

More than three years after he took office with hopes of legalizing marijuana in 100 days, Gov. Phil Murphy signed three bills that together launch a marijuana industry in New Jersey and put an end to thousands of arrests.

But it took more than a marijuana-friendly governor to make reform a reality. There were years of failed legislative attempts, a ballot question that garnered more than 2.7 million votes in favor and three months of negotiations on tax revenue, licensing rules and the ultimate hangup that nearly killed the effort: penalties for those under 21 caught with marijuana.

Murphy signed the bills Monday morning without the usual fanfare, putting his pen to paper just before the deadline to take action struck. If he had done nothing, two measures seeking to launch a legal marijuana industry and to end arrests would have become law without his signature.

As of this moment, New Jerseys broken and indefensible marijuana laws which permanently stained the records of many residents and short-circuited their futures, and which disproportionately hurt communities of color and failed the meaning of justice at every level, social or otherwise  are no more, he said Monday afternoon during his briefing on the coronavirus in Trenton.

The governor signed the bills after both the Senate and Assembly held last-minute voting sessions Monday morning to pass a third bill establishing civil penalties for those under 21 caught with marijuana. Protracted debate drew the voting sessions out, and the bill passed both chambers with only 20 minutes left for Murphy to act on the first two measures.

The legalization and decriminalization bills languished on Murphys desk for more than two months awaiting the proposal. The governor said he would not sign them until lawmakers made penalties clear, but refused to issue a conditional veto calling for the change.

As the bills awaited action in 2021, police issued more than 2,000 charges for minor marijuana possession.

And a few plans developed and collapsed In that time. Lawmakers extended the deadline for Murphy to sign the bills by more than two weeks and the lengthy, sometimes tense, negotiations continued.

They finally proved fruitful Monday morning.

Murphy acknowledged Monday that the legalization effort took longer than expected.

This process may have had its fits and starts, but it is ending in the right place. And, I firmly believe, this process has ended in laws that will serve as a national model, he said.

Legalization advocates celebrated the long-awaited news.

This is a new beginning  and the culmination of years of advocacy  and we must keep in mind that it is only the start, Amol Sinha, executive director for the ACLU of New Jersey, said in a statement. Signing these laws puts in motion the next phase of this effort: to work relentlessly to transform the principles of legalization into greater racial and social justice in New Jersey.

Those looking to legally buy marijuana in New Jersey will have to keep waiting. The state will need to license new dispensaries to meet the public need.

New Jersey has 13 medical marijuana dispensaries throughout the state, and current companies expect to open more this spring. But they have struggled so far to supply enough marijuana for the states 100,000 registered patients, and must certify they can meet that need before opening their doors to the public.

Experts had estimated sales could begin in late 2021, but those guesses came before the debate on underage penalties drew out the legislative process for two additional months.

Murphy said the legal marijuana marketplace would begin forming in the coming months. He will still have to fully seat the Cannabis Regulatory Commission to oversee the marijuana industry, which has six months to set up its rules and regulations before it seeks new licensees for businesses.

While marijuana consumers will not have legal avenues to purchase it yet, arrests for thousands of possession cases should begin to cease.

And, starting immediately, those who had been subject to an arrest for petty marijuana possession  an arrest that may have kept them from a job or the opportunity to further their education  will be able to get relief and move forward, Murphy said.

The decriminalization law allows people to possess up to six ounces of marijuana without legal consequence. But the new law on underage penalties for using marijuana also bars police from stopping young people if they smell marijuana, and allows them to only give out warnings to young people.

If they knowingly break that law and wrongfully detain someone, they can be charged with deprivation of civil rights.

This language is anti-police rhetoric at its worst and its consequences will be real, the state Policemens Benevolent Association said in a statement. Underage users of marijuana will be free to smoke it anywhere, including in places the bill says is illegal, because merely stopping a person to enforce the law is now illegal for police.

Mondays signing closes a long, tumultuous chapter in the efforts to bring legal marijuana to New Jersey, but opens the next that will require the work of many to make it a reality.

We can get down to the business of establishing a responsible, sustainable, profitable and diverse adult-use and expanded medical cannabis market in New Jersey, Edmund DeVeaux, head of the New Jersey CannaBusiness Association, said in a statement.

Now the real work can begin.

Our journalism needs your support. Please subscribe today to NJ.com.

Amanda Hoover may be reached at ahoover@njadvancemedia.com. Follow her on Twitter @amandahoovernj.

With the Indian passenger vehicles market moving further towards the SUV segment, homegrown auto major is gearing up to cast a wider net in the segment targeting first time buyers to premium-end customers while driving strength from its synergies with JLR, according to a top company official.

The firm, which on Monday launched the all-new Safari SUV with introductory prices ranging from Rs 14.69 lakh and Rs 21.45 lakh, is seeking to build on the legacy of the Safari brand which "has played a leading role in shaping the Indian SUV market".

Speaking at the launch event, Chairman N Chandrasekaran said that over the years the company has introduced various iconic brands like Sierra, Estate, Indica and Nano.

The recent launches of Nexon, Alroz and Harrier with their distinctive attributes and features have brought in best in class standards of safety, design and performance, he added.

"The original Tata Safari is also such an iconic brand when it was launched in 1998. It glamourised the concept of lifestyle SUV. Now we are really delighted to bring in new Safari in its new avatar.

I am delighted that both and Jaguar Land Rover have collaborated and brought in the synergies to bring in best in class products for the Indian consumer," Chandrasekaran noted.

The company's new range of products has received enormous support and growth in sales and demand from the consumers, he said.

The new Safari is based on the D8 platform from Land Rover which allows for further drive train enhancements including all-wheel drive and possibilities of electrification in future. The company's Harrier SUV is also based on the same D8 platform.

The new Safari comes with six and seven seat options and is powered by a 2-litre diesel engine which generates 170 PS of power.

The model comes with six-speed manual and automatic transmission options and various features like panoramic sunroof, reclining second row seats, ambient mood lighting, rear AC vents, multi drive modes among others.

Safari range starts at Rs 14.69 lakh and Rs 21.25 lakh, while the adventure edition is priced at Rs 20.2 lakh and Rs 21.45 (automatic), respectively.

"Safari as our new flagship is connecting the aspirations of the discerning and evolved SUV customers It is an impressive endorsement of our stated intent of enhancing presence in the faster growing market segments," Tata Motors MD and CEO Guenter Butschek said.

Elaborating further, Tata Motors President Passenger Vehicle Business Unit Shailesh Chandra said the new Safari and the upcoming compact SUV later this year would help the company generate more volumes from its SUV portfolio.

"The way we plan and conceptualise our portfolio is in line with how we are seeing the (market) evolution, what is the point of view we have developed in terms of what the whole market landscape will be in the next five to six years and in the (next) ten year period," he noted.

He was responding to a query on the reasons for Tata Motors' enhanced focus on the SUV segment.

"Today every one out of three vehicles sold is SUV. You can see the craze, especially in the last one decade or so... Directionally, you are seeing movement towards SUV and therefore, we are strengthening our portfolio with the four -- Nexon, Harrier, Safari then there is a potential code-named Hornbill, which comes as a SUV below Nexon," Chandra added.

The idea behind offering a wide range of SUVs, he said is that "we would have the widest portfolio serving people, who might be considering a vehicle for the first time to the extent that as they upgrade they can move up to Safari and bring this continuity from a customer".

Chandra noted that the model could be upgraded to four wheel drive in future if the demand is robust.

"The model in its current form, can do pretty serious offroading with terrain response system," he said. The earlier Safari used to come with the four-wheel drive option.

When conceptualising the new Safari four years back, Chandra said Tata Motors has kept into consideration the 'strong legacy' of the brand, preferences and expectations of the new-age customers and how are evolving globally from a technical perspective.

While bullish on the sales expectations from the new Safari, Chandra said Tata Motors is looking at the product not just from a volume perspective but also from overall revenue and bottomline perspective.

"We have kept enough flexibility so that at the same manufacturing facility there are a lot of common parts with Harrier. So there is established maturity of production, as well as quality," he said adding that it should be a seamless effort for the company even if there was a need to enhance the capacity a bit when the need comes.

(Only the headline and picture of this report may have been reworked by the Business Standard staff; the rest of the content is auto-generated from a syndicated feed.)
A social media post made the rounds warning people about a suspicious man lurking, but apparently police werent notified.

Shared on Facebook by locals, the post told of a man approaching someones daughter at night asking her personal questions and if she would go to New York with him to become a model, posing in provocative outfits. He showed her a large amount of money at a business near the Hazle Twp./ Sugarloaf Twp. boundary line, the post states.

But no one called the police departments with jurisdiction there to look into it, according to officers at each department.

Anytime someone does something that makes someone feel threatened, endangered or afraid, we should be notified because you dont know what somebody is capable of doing, said Trooper Anthony Petroski, public information officer for state police at Hazleton. If it happened to one person, its probably happening to other people, he continued.

We cant investigate something if we dont know whats going on.

Reluctance to report information sometimes happens because people dont want to get involved or dont want to offer their name to an investigation. But, information can be taken anonymously, Petroski said.

Sometimes people think theyre bothering officers, or what they have to report is minor.

No cops going to yell at you because you called about that, Sugarloaf Twp. Police Chief Josh Winters said when presented with the post.

People pay for police coverage and 911 service, so why not use them, Winters asked.

Why not. Whats the reason not to? Winters said.

Allow police the opportunity to know about a potential crime and suspicious activity, the chief said.

Instead, Everyone is quick to post on social media, Winters said.

Anytime someone needs immediate response of police, fire or ambulance, they should call 911, according to Luzerne County 911. The situation described in the post qualifies as something needing immediate attention, according to a 911 official. Luzerne County 911 also has a text option for when people are unable to make a phone call.

While theres a variety of reasons why people dont report things, Acting Butler Twp. Police Chief Bill Feissner has an example of how something perceived as unimportant was just the opposite.

He remembers the day a 77-year-old womans store on East Foothills Drive, off Route 309, was robbed. It was a Saturday, July 20, 2002, and police released everything they could to the newspaper, hoping someone would step forward.

And, a lady called us and said I really dont know if I can help but I wanted to say what I saw, he recalled.

Right around the time of the robbery, the woman spotted a parked car at the intersection. Her information led officers to the get-away driver.

So she called us with that tip thinking it was nothing and it actually led to a co-conspirator being arrested, Feissner said.

Intent

As for the post about a man allegedly approaching the girl, Petroski said its always hard to get in someones head and know what their intentions are.

One of the warning posts mentions how scary the situation was in light of human trafficking  an issue that is set to be addressed during this years police in-service training, Feissner said.

The geography of the Hazleton area, with its closeness to interstates and other major roads and its proximity to major cities, makes travel easy for everyone, including criminals. That was something highlighted by a 2008 internet predator investigation Feissner was part of. People were coming from out of the area to meet up with minors they met online. Those minors were actually undercover police officers.

There was a case of sex trafficking in the Poconos a few years ago, Winters said. A female from Tennessee was brought to that area and didnt even know what state she was in.

Despite the mans intent when he approached the girl locally, had officers known about it, they could have increased patrols there and tried to find out his intentions.

Our presence is extremely important and thats why were constantly patrolling, he said.

Part of where those patrols occur is based on the community telling police where the problems are.

Theres no guarantee officers will witness illegal activity happening immediately after its reported, Feissner said. The tip, though, is still valuable. If officers have a description of the person or vehicle, time, dates and locations of suspicious activity, its vital to police intelligence and shared with other departments, Feissner said. People should hone in on anything that stands out about the person or vehicle, such as a scar, tattoo or a bumper sticker.

We have an enhanced sense of what belongs and what doesnt as police officers, but police cant be everywhere, so for a civilian to see something and say something, is outstanding, Feissner said.

While many calls for suspicious activity turn out to be nothing, Feissner said officers want to hear about them all. The car parked on the side of the road for a while may be something sinister, or just a driver waiting to meet someone. And, just because an arrest isnt immediate, dont think an officer disregarded the information. It may be the tip led them into something deeper that requires time to investigate.

Petroski said while hes not heard of a case similar to the one involving the man with the pictures in Greater Hazleton, there have been a lot of online crimes where people with ill intent ask for sensitive personal information or inappropriate pictures and videos. In those cases, teenagers who strike up a conversation with someone online may be pressured or threatened into it.

Before falling prey, call 911.

Once you send that information you can never get it back, Petroski said.

Parents play an integral role in protecting their kids in the virtual and in-person worlds. They need to have open conversation about the internet and predators in general, Petroski said.

But, even adults have fallen prey to online predators. The Sweetheart Swindle involves a budding relationship that starts online. During conversation the swindler may say they need money after experiencing misfortune so the unsuspecting person sends it to them but never hears from the person again.

Meeting someone in person for the first time should always be done in a public place for the same reason: You dont know who youre talking to, Petroski said. You cant be so trusting.


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17:05 | Lima, Feb. 22.

In a joint session of Congressional Commissions on Foreign Trade and Foreign Affairs, the minister affirmed that the agreements with Sinopharm are vital for the arrival of the remaining 37 million doses from a total of 38 million since the vaccination in the first quarter of the year depends on this.

Sinopharm has already delivered a million doses to Peru, which are being used to immunize the first group of healthcare workers on the frontline of the battle against the novel coronavirus.

Additionally, Wagner remarked that the decision of public officials at the Ministry of Foreign Affairs to become immunized with the then-experimental vaccine developed by Sinopharm was personal, since there was no institutional decision to that effect from the Ministry of Foreign Affairs.





In total, eight public servants at the Foreign Affairs Ministry are investigated in this matter, including seven diplomatic officials and one administrative employee, as well as three relatives.





"These are decisions taken on a personal level, there was not an institutional order on the matter () there was not a number of vaccines allocated to the Ministry of Foreign Affairs. These were personal decisions taken to make such wish come true, through Cayetano Heredia University, which oversees the test," he stated.
Well, its on.

Donald Trump ended his post-presidency silence not with a blast at President Joe Biden, or at the left, or at the House impeachment managers but at the true enemy  Mitch McConnell.

The Trump forces arent forming a third party, but they do want to take over  or, more accurately, maintain their current grip on the GOP, and McConnell is an obstacle.

The Senate minority leader declared his independence from Trump in his lacerating speech at the end of the Senate impeachment trial.

McConnells speech is as close to catharsis as he comes in public after years of what must have been pent-up frustration dealing with Trump, especially after the former presidents outsize contribution to the loss of Republican control of the Senate in the Georgia special elections.

The Trump-McConnell fight isnt exactly over the soul of the Republican Party, but it is over whether there will be significant space in the party for figures other than Trump to have notable influence over its direction.

At the outset, this contest isnt a fair fight. McConnell, aka Cocaine Mitch, has acquired considerable new street cred on the right over the years with his hard-nosed work on judges.

Nonetheless, there are very few rank-and-file Republicans interested in storming any hills for McConnell, while many of them would scale K2 for Donald Trump.

Trump has the passion and the numbers on his side. That he lost a presidential election, lost the Senate, lost all his election challenges, lost access to social media and still has such a hold on the party is truly astounding.

If Trump and McConnell ran in a primary against each other, Trump would win in a romp. If Trump and McConnell had competing rallies in Louisville, Trump would outdraw him.

McConnells task, though, isnt to rely on his emotive power to create a loyal mass army of McConnellists around the country, steeped in Senate procedure and ready to go to the mat for the Byrd rule. No, it is simply to work to block electorally poisonous, or at least risky, Trumpists from winning Senate primaries.

Here, McConnell has cards. He can raise a lot of money. He has a practiced and effective political team. And he has an ability to focus on long-term goals that the easily distracted Trump, driven by personal animosities, does not.

At the moment, Republican voters are highly focused on prosecuting the partys civil war, but, eventually, more of the attention has to shift to Biden and stopping his agenda, which will require sending more Republicans to Washington rather than fewer.

McConnell doesnt need this to happen next week or next month but by 2022.

The Kentucky Republicans judgment on electability is hardly infallible  hes made his share of bad calls in primaries over the years and is prone, not surprisingly, to be overly conventional.

Still, the gravamen of Trumps anti-McConnell statement, making the case that the Kentucky Republican is a political disaster compared with the masterly Trump, is risible.

Trump blamed McConnell for the losses in Georgia. Surely, the most decisive factor in the Georgia outcome was Trump going out of his way in the most incendiary fashion possible to divide the state party against itself.

Trump claimed in his statement to have delivered a dozen Senate races for the Republicans over the past two election cycles. He certainly buoyed several Senate Republicans in tough fights in red states last year, but the contention about 12 Senate races, like most Trump numbers, is a wild exaggeration at best.

Finally, Trump attributed McConnells win in Kentucky to the power of his endorsement, when the Republican was comfortably ahead in every credible poll and somehow has been winning Senate races in Kentucky without Trumps assistance since 1984.

Republicans still strongly identify with Trump, but itd be a mistake to let him dictate the partys potential future leaders or its ultimate direction.

@RichLowry
The Taoiseachs big test is at hand, and on it rests confidence in the Coalition and even the fate of his Governments whole conflict with Covid.

The revised plan for Living with Covid, to be announced after Cabinet tomorrow, must be clear, cogent and well communicated. And there must be rewards on offer.

With people fed up to the back teeth with lockdown, further compliance can only come with a real belief this is the last tunnel and there truly is sunlight at the end of it, not another oncoming train.

Ministers and the head of Government really have to think hard about the psychology of asking for further suffering, while the least the public can ask for in return is for serious State measures that actually work.

Public confidence has been dented by the slow progress toward mandatory hotel quarantine (announced four weeks ago and will still take weeks to put in place) involving a limited number of 20 countries that can easily be side-stepped, and the detection of the new P1 variant thanks to flight arrivals which involved 2,000 people coming in from Brazil in the space of a month  as revealed by the Sunday Independent yesterday  in a timeframe when the South American country was a known red-alert risk.

Read More

Government spokespersons and spin doctors insist there are not mixed messages, hybrid messages, or confusing and contradictory messages coming down from on high.

One said yesterday: It is the one and the same message. But people dont like that message.

Unrest was being voiced in cloaked terms because the message itself was unpalatable  Level 5 lockdown continues.

Having been horribly ambushed by the B117 variant just when Ireland opened up in December, the Government  and Nphet, with whom it is wedded again  now fears the South African, Brazilian P1 and other versions.

Meanwhile, new cases and new hospitalisations remain stubbornly high, far too high for any relaxation of national controls, which is an annoying circumstance for all involved in studying and adapting to the trends.

This may reflect fraying at the edges of society already under way as those who have lost patience with this sacrifice drop their guard and become infected, which means the agony continues for

everyone.

But the rolling lockdown idea, once it becomes embedded as the perceived sole response, cannot succeed and must inevitably involve more people abandoning the fight as time goes on.

There is also the sight of vaccine supply being too slow, even if Ireland is getting it into arms as quickly as possible, with 100,000 to be jabbed this week, rising to 200,000 a week in April, May and June.

It was last year that Leo Varadkar used the WB Yeats phrase too long a sacrifice makes a stone of the heart, but it is all weighing heavily on society at this time  which is why the Government really now has to convince, especially after a week in which it has been unconvincing at best.

Winter is over, but self-imposed winter is set to continue. The rationale and rewards, and Government resolution in parallel, must be comprehensively set out in one last Grand Bargain with the people.

Polish and perfect every last word of this speech, Taoiseach. The public will hang on every one, as ultimately might your Government.
Credit: Unsplash/CC0 Public Domain

Facebook Inc.'s dramatic move to block Australian news sharing escalated a broader battle against global regulation. That gambit looks likely to backfire.

World leaders were already watching Australian legislation expected to pass next week that will force tech titans Facebook and Alphabet Inc.'s Google to pay publishers for news content. But this week's abrupt news blackout forced the issue onto the agenda of governments whose regulators are already ramping up scrutiny of the growing influence of Facebook and its ilk in spheres from media to artificial intelligence.

"There is a lot of world interest in what Australia is doing," Prime Minister Scott Morrison said on Friday, adding that he discussed Facebook with Indian Prime Minister Narendra Modi, Canadian leader Justin Trudeau, French President Emmanuel Macron and the U.K.'s Boris Johnson. "They're already going down this path."

Facebook drew a line in the sand precisely because it feared even larger markets would follow Australia's lead. From Europe to the U.S. and China, governments are grappling with the issue of how to regulate the world's largest internet giants, which have recently grown into trillion-dollar behemoths that help determine what billions of people view, discuss and consume on a daily basis.

The related issue of how to fairly compensate news providers is a thorny challenge given an online community accustomed to free content. Still, the push to redress the monopoly-like power of these platforms appears to be gaining momentum.

"The dominance of a handful of gatekeepers online has wreaked havoc on competition, suppressed innovation, and weakened entrepreneurship," U.S. Representative David Cicilline of Rhode Island said in a statement Friday. He pledged to undertake legislative reforms that "restore competition online."

The antitrust committee he chairs will be hearing testimony from the CEOs of Facebook, Alphabet and Twitter Inc. in the coming week. Any concessions made by Facebook in Australia are likely to feed into those deliberations.

The priority of Facebook, whose shares fell 1.5% on Thursday, is now to try and get the legislation amendedespecially as politicians there signal interest in finding common ground. Founder Mark Zuckerberg has met Australian Treasurer Josh Frydenberg twice and will do so again over the weekend.

"We'll see if there's a pathway forward," Frydenberg said in a Nine Network television interview.

Facebook may be counting on the lopsidedness of its Australian presence to wrangle concessions from Canberra. It has argued that its business gain from news is "minimal" and that articles account for less than 4% of content users see in their news feeds. Still, it's among the most popular ways Australians get their news online.

The mobile Facebook app has been installed close to 27 million times since 2014 and accounted for nearly half of monthly active users among the top five social media apps in the country last year, according to Sensor Tower. That's a reflection of its global influence, with Facebook the most-used social networking app in all but five of the 84 countries tracked by the research firm.

Globally, tech giants like Facebook find themselves increasingly dragged into politicized disputesa trend that's accelerated during the pandemic. A locked-down world has come to rely on a handful of internet giants more than ever, with many racking up gains at the expense of smaller competitors.

In the U.S., Google, Twitter and Facebook have drawn fire for trying to steer an apolitical line through polarized political debates. Twitter has clashed with the Indian government over free speech. Facebook, for its part, took a strong line against Myanmar's military coupbut only after the Biden administration imposed sanctions on army leaders and publicly rebuked the action.

Old rules focused on regulating pricing power no longer apply, because several of the biggest tech companies have established trillion-dollar monopolies by charging consumers next to nothing. Tech giants are increasingly assuming powerful positions in banking, finance, advertising, retail, and other markets, forcing smaller businesses to rely on their platforms to reach customers.

The tussle in Australia touches on similarly broad themes. Open-web advocates like Jeff Jarvis have panned the brute-force approach of the Australian government, while others such as Microsoft Corp. publicly endorsed the moves. Others have caved, if only partially: Google agreed to a three-year deal with News Corp., and has shown little appetite for following up on a threat to pull its search service from the country.

Facebook opted to escalate the fight, knowing its actions in Australia are likely to have global repercussions. To some, however, it may just come down to dollars and cents for news organizations.

Mike Masnick, founder of Techdirt, warned against conflating broader concerns about the power and influence of tech giants with the dispute over monetization of news.

"The focus on Facebook and Google is misguided," he said. "News organizations have (mostly, but not entirely) missed the internet boat, and spent years effectively mocking the internet and doing little to prepare for the real shift."

Explore further Australia and Facebook in talks over sweeping news ban

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Distributed by Tribune Content Agency, LLC
Around 1,000 European Union finance firms are expected to open their first offices in the UK after losing their passporting rights because of Brexit.

Roughly two-thirds of the 1,500 money managers, payment firms and insurers that have applied for regulatory permission to continue operating in the UK previously had no physical operations in Britain, according to Financial Conduct Authority records obtained by Bovill, a financial consultancy.

The firms were operating on a services passport prior to Brexit, which means they did not have a permanent office in the UK, said Ed OBree, partner at Bovill. These firms are therefore likely to invest in real estate and professional services advice as they set up a UK office for the first time.

Irish, French and German companies together accounted for 584 of the 1,500 applications for authorization to do business in the UK Cyprus, which is a popular venue for trading platforms, was the next most common, with 151. The data show 100 retail and wholesale banks seeking to increase their presence in the UK, as well as over 400 firms in the insurance industry.

The numbers are in line with data from early last year when Bovill first published the data on firms. The influx is a potential boon to Britains finance sector, whose decades-long dominance of European finance is under threat after Brexit.

This year, London lost its crown to Amsterdam as Europes top place to buy and sell stock, traders have shifted interest-rate swaps out of the UK and the relocation of bankers into the bloc continues.

Top photograph: A bus travels in the Canary Wharf business, financial and shopping district in view of UK headquarters of Credit Suisse Group AG in London, on Friday, Sept. 18, 2020. Photo credit: Simon Dawson/Bloomberg

Copyright 2021 Bloomberg.

Topics Carriers Europe Uk Brexit
Huawei is going through hard times due to the decreased smartphone shipment, and now it is planning to enter a new and weird business. According to a report by BBC, Huawei wants to provide technology to pig farms and coal mines to create a new revenue stream.

Sanctions were massive damage to Huaweis financial status, and now the company is seeking to improve its position by selling technology to other industries. Since China is currently a leading country in pig farming, Huawei wants to sell facial recognition technologies to pig farms. Modernizing farms by using tech-driven stuff is the goal.

Using technology in pig farms can increase production efficiency and help the owners to detect diseases and track pigs. The pig farming is yet another example of how we try to revitalize some traditional industries with ICT (Information and Communications Technology) technologies to create more value for the industries in the 5G era, the Huawei spokesman noted.

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Coal mines are another potential market for Huawei. Huawei opened a mining innovation lab in northern Chinas Shanxi Province, and the goal is to streamline coal mining by leveraging new technology. The tech stuff provided by Huawei leads to fewer workers, greater safety, and higher efficiency.

Huawei has been under fire due to the reports of collaborating with the Chinese government and military institutions. Focusing on the local market allow Huawei to survive, but its absence from the smartphone market isnt pleasant for the fans. Huawei is currently working on its exclusive operating system as an Android alternative.

Maybe even Trumps end cant save Huawei Business

Donald Trumps presidency was a nightmare for Huawei, and it takes time for the Chinese smartphone manufacturer to recover from its effects. Trump banned US companies from trading with Huawei. Also, providing any US-developed technology was extremely prohibited by the government.

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Huawei was kicked out of the 5G development programs, and even some reports speculated that the Chinese manufacturer might stop smartphone production.

It seems that Huawei is making some changes to its business model and diversifying the revenue streams. Huawei founder and chief executive Ren Zhengfei said they are no longer relying on phone sales and want to sell other consumer products, including televisions, computers, and tablets.

Even with Joe Bidens presidency, Huawei is not very optimistic about the lifting of sanctions. In the last quarter of 2020, Huaweis smartphone shipment decreased 42 percent. Up to 60 percent decrease might happen this year.

Trump-loving Miami anesthesiologist, Dr Jennifer Susan Wright (pictured), 58, has been charged with a hate crime after Hispanic man, punching him and vandalizing his vehicle, according to local police

A pro-Trump Miami doctor has been charged with a hate crime after using a racial slur against a Hispanic man, punching him and vandalizing his vehicle outside of a grocery store after he told her to maintain her distance, according to local police.

Dr Jennifer Susan Wright, 58, a Miami Springs resident who works as an anesthesiologist at Mount Sinai Medical Center, was taken into custody on Friday over the alleged January 20 attack.

According to the Miami Herald, the incident occurred at the Publix store located at 155 East Second Ave.

Police said Wright and the man were in line waiting to pay when he asked her to maintain a six-foot distance.

He first said it in Spanish, which Wright reportedly ignored, and then said it in English.

She then became enraged and started 'mumbling bad words,' according to the Herald. But the man ignored her and proceeded to his vehicle.

Authorities said he was loading his vehicle with groceries when Wright walked up close to the man.

He asked her to back up, which 'enraged the defendant even more', police said.

According to the Herald, that's when she allegedly called him a 'spic,' which is a slur for Hispanics and said: 'We should have gotten rid of of you when we could.'

She also reportedly said: 'This is not going to be Biden's America, this is my America.'

Wright is said to have claimed that 'we should have burned it all'. Authorities said she then took her keys and began scratching the victim's car and told him to go back to his country.

The incident occurred at the Publix store (pictured) at 155 East Second Ave. Police said Wright and the man were in line waiting to pay when he asked her to maintain a six-foot distance. Police said that enraged her to the point of her allegedly attacking him outside of the store

On her now-deleted Facebook page, Wright had posted several pro-Trump memes. In one of her photos (pictured), she's seen wearing a Make American Great Again hat and shared a post that read: 'It's Okay To Be White'

When he tried to call 911, Wright allegedly punched him, causing him to drop the phone.

As he tried to pick the device up, she reportedly kicked him and tried to stomp on his phone before fleeing the scene.

On her now-deleted Facebook page, Wright had posted several pro-Trump memes.

In one of her photos, she's seen wearing a Make American Great Again hat and shared a post that read: 'It's Okay To Be White.'

Wright has been charged with criminal mischief, tampering with a victim and battery with prejudice, which is a 'hate crime' enhancement that upgraded the charge to a felony.

She was arrested on Friday but later posted bond.

Daesang Corporation CEO Lim Jung-bae speaks during a charity event held in central Seoul in this 2019 file photo. Korea times file



By Kim Jae-heun



Local food giant Daesang Corporation revealed its aim of making it onto the list of top 10 food firms in Indonesia over the next nine years by achieving annual sales of 1.4 trillion won ($1.26 billion) there.



"We will continue to invest in Indonesia and strengthen our competitiveness globally. We will lead the food materials market in Southeast Asia by exporting products manufactured in Indonesia," Daesang Corporation CEO Lim Jung-bae said.



In 2020, the food firm raked in 369.7 billion won in sales in Indonesia, up 7 percent from the previous year, for an operating profit of 174.9 billion won. Sales in Indonesia account for about 12 percent of the company's overall total.



Daesang first entered Indonesia in 1973 by establishing a foreign branch; and later became the first Korean firm to set up production facilities there.



It entered the bio business in Indonesia, eventually expanding to sell food and starch sugars as well. Its revenue has now surpassed 100 billion won in all sectors it operates in the local market.



In the food sector, Daesang will increase sales by introducing more items through MAMASUKA, the local brand launched by the company in 2010. Its manufacturing plant in Karawang distributes products across the country and food produced there has obtained official halal certification.



Daesang entered the starch sugar business in Indonesia in 2017, with sales recording 44.3 billion won. In the next three years, sales grew explosively to mark 103.7 billion won last year and it became the top producer of both cornstarch and high-fructose products.



The company plans to establish a production line for corn syrup in response to market changes. It will diversify its product portfolio and expand exports while stabilizing its supply chain.



For its bio business, the food firm plans to adopt automation to improve its production capacity. It will make new investments to produce functional amino acids.



Daesang wants to improve its sales base by targeting countries such as Japan and Taiwan that do not use monosodium glutamate (MSG). Daesang currently produce 80,000 tons of MSG in Indonesia.



"There is a limit to how much we can grow in the local market. The population in Korea is sharply decreasing too. It has become imperative, not a choice, to expand overseas and we are also planning to do the same in America, China and Vietnam as well," a Daesang official said.




Officials of Cam Giang District in the COVID-19 epicenter of northern Hai Duong Province fined two Chinese technical experts a total of VND15 million (US$651) for leaving their residence in unnecessary cases while the district is locked-down to curb the ongoing virus outbreak.

H.C.L., 48, and H.W., 51, were found traveling on a motorbike and an electric bicycle on a road by the paddy fields in Hoang Gia Village, Cam Vu Commune at around 5:30 pm on Saturday.

Both the Chinese woman and man are working at Vietnam Baodi Technology Company Limited in the Cao An industrial cluster in Cao An Commune, Cam Giang, according to police investigation.

They are temporarily staying at the house of Vietnamese man, Pham Van Oanh, in Phu An Village, Cao An Commune.

The two Chinese nationals COVID-19 tests have returned negative for the novel coronavirus.

They had also not been in direct or indirect contact with any infected cases.

In their written report to local authorities, the two Chinese citizens admitted to having left their residence in unnecessary circumstances.

As a result, they were fined VND7.5 million ($325.3) each for their violations.

Hai Duong Province has been the biggest COVID-19 epicenter of Vietnam recently, registering a total of 615 community-based COVID-19 cases, including four recent infections announced by the Ministry of Health at 9:00 am on Monday, in the latest outbreak that has hit the countrys 13 cities and provinces since January 27.

Hai Duong authorities decided to impose 15-day social distancing in the area from February 16.

They had also issued a decision on February 5 to lock down and quarantine the whole district of Cam Giang, one of the six COVID-19 hotspots in the locality, until further notice.

January 27 marked the resurgence of COVID-19 in Vietnam after the country had spent almost two months with zero domestic infections.

A total of 795 local cases have been detected in 13 provinces and cities, making it the most serious wave to have struck Vietnam after the first-ever COVID-19 patient was recorded in the country on January 23, 2020.

Besides Hai Duong, which accounts for the majority of the new local infections, Quang Ninh logged 60 cases, Gia Lai 27, Hanoi 35, Bac Ninh five, Bac Giang two, Ho Chi Minh City 36, Hoa Binh two, Ha Giang one, Dien Bien three, Binh Duong six, Hai Phong one, and Hung Yen two.

The national tally stood at 2,387 coronavirus cases, including 1,488 local infections, as of Monday morning, with 1,717 recoveries and 35 deaths, according to the Ministry of Health.

Like us on Facebook or follow us on Twitter to get the latest news about Vietnam!
Shes the usually demure star of 13 Going On 30.

But Jennifer Garner was a little more revealing on her Instagram on Sunday, posting a fun and sexy video to her account in a paid partnership with Virtuelabs.

The mother of three, 48, was seen in her tub taking a bubble bath with only a necklace and bracelet on as accessories.

Smiling: Jennifer Garner was busy on her Instagram on Sunday, posting a fun and sexy video to her account in a paid partnership with Virtuelabs

Her pristine white bathroom included sunlit windows and a leafy plant in the background.

Jen started off her bathing routine displaying a small round container of what looked to be a hair mask, which she massaged into her dark brown hair.

Then a clock appeared in the upper right hand corner, showing three minutes.

Showing off the product: The mother of three, 48, was seen in her tub taking a bubble bath with only a necklace and bracelet on as accessories

Three minutes on the clock: Jen started off her bathing routine displaying a small round container of what looked to be a hair mask, which she massaged into her dark brown hair

During that time, Garner was seen scrubbing her legs, saying hi to the dog that came in, and generally having a good time in the bath.

All the while, her bare shoulders and collarbone were visible over the lip of the tub.

When the clock ran out, Jen dunked her head in the water, coming back out in a jump cut with dry and beautifully lustrous hair that she whipped back and forth.

During that time: Garner was seen scrubbing her legs, saying hi to the dog that came in, and generally having a good time in the bath

When the clock ran out: Jen dunked her head in the water, coming back out in a jump cut with dry and beautifully lustrous hair

'Give your hair 3 minutes of love, youll be amazed who you get back. @virtuelabs Restorative Treatment Hair Mask ,' she wrote in the caption.

Outside of the occasional paid partnership, the actress frequently posts self empowerment-themed content including meditation and yoga.

Next up for the ex-wife of Ben Affleck is the Netflix film Yes Day, due to premiere next month on Netflix.

Satisfied with the results: JG whipped her gorgeous hair back and forth

In the film, costarring American Crime Storys Edgar Ramirez, two parents agree to say 'yes' to their three children for one entire day, no matter what the request.

The movie is based on the book of the same name by Amy Krouse Rosenthal, illustrated by Tom Lichtenfeld.

It will also feature actors Jenna Ortega, June Diane Raphael and Fortune Feimster.

Yes Day will be available for streaming on Netflix starting March 12th.

With Oprah recently: Outside of the occasional paid partnership, the actress frequently posts self empowerment-themed content

Her focuses include: Meditation and yoga
This week, many of the national COVID-19 trackers will mark the death of 500,000 Americans in the United States from the coronavirus. It was just one year ago, on February 29, that the first official US fatality from COVID-19 was reported, a man in his 50s residing in Washington state. Postmortem testing in Santa Clara County, California, indicates that there may have been two earlier deaths, one on February 6 and another on February 17.

Still, a closer examination of these horrific numbers, including excess deaths, a term that refers to the number of deaths from all causes during a crisis, above and beyond what would typically be seen, demonstrates that the present catastrophe is far more massive than official figures and, most likely, on par with the 1918 influenza pandemic and even the US Civil War. More on this later.

In time, historians will write on the actual deaths that befell the nation during this pandemic, considering those, directly and indirectly, related to the contagion in their accounting. Most importantly, they will need to explain why it happened. However, it is instructive to take a measure of the scale of this devastation wrought primarily by the ruling class. Much can still be done to avert further calamity. It is not too late for the working class to take the initiative to turn the tide of this pandemic.

Workers move bodies to a refrigerated truck from the Andrew T. Cleckley Funeral Home in the Brooklyn borough of New York, Wednesday, April 29, 2020. The coronavirus pandemic has overrun most funeral homes and morgues in New York City. (AP Photo/Craig Ruttle)

According to the Worldometer COVID tracker, on February 20, 2021, the United States reported 28,706,473 cases of COVID-19 with 509,875 deaths. There are almost ten million active cases. Using back-of-the-envelope math, taking account of new cases and deaths since January 1, 2021, and utilizing a lag in deaths of two to four weeks, the crude case fatality rate for the winter surge was estimated at around 1.5 percent of all confirmed cases of COVID.

This implies that based on present active case estimates, an additional 150,000 deaths may be forthcoming. When health care systems can function at standard capacities, there is an improvement in outcomes, which would help reduce this estimate. Hospitalization rates for COVID-19 have been on the decline since their January peaks.

Yet, as the new B.1.1.7 strain of the SARS-CoV-2 virus is rapidly dominating previous versions, the present retreat in infections will slow in the next few weeks only to be followed by a massive wave unrivaled by previous surges. Some are describing the rapid transmission with this new strain as a second pandemic.

Dr. Michael Osterholm, an epidemiologist and director of the Center for Infectious Disease Research and Policy at the University of Minnesota, has repeatedly warned about a spring surge. In his reply to a question about his prediction of the darkest days of the pandemic, he said during a press conference on February 18, Im more convinced that thats actually the case. I think right now what were seeing is basically the lull before the storm.

He explained that the B.1.1.7 strain that first emerged in the United Kingdom has demonstrated it is 30 to 70 percent more transmissible, as well as causing more severe infections, including deaths and hospitalizations. He further added that the virus follows the same path in North America as was seen in Europe and the Middle East.

Dr. Osterholm continued, If you just think about this right now, were loosening up everything, governors and mayors are under such pressure to loosen up everything. When you look at the vaccine, its coming, and its in right now with the B.1.1.7. This vaccine will work, but were not going to have nearly enough in time. He noted that by the end of March some 30 million of the 54 million people over the age of 65 will still have not been vaccinated. According to the Washington Post vaccination tracker, approximately 13.5 percent of the US population has received at least one vaccine dose.

Excess deaths in raw numbers. Source Our World in Data.

From the time President Joe Biden was elected to office in November to his inauguration on January 20, a period of two-and-half months, 181,276 people died. One month has passed since he swore to protect and defend the population. In that time, 88,212 have perished under his tenure.

Given his promise that there would be no future lockdowns and that schools would fully open for K-12 even though the new variant is threatening the population anew, the memorial held for 400,000 victims of COVID on January 19, the eve of his inauguration, was the height of hypocrisy.

Rather than averting more deaths and suffering, Biden is banking that the vaccines can be administered at a sufficient pace to blunt the misery of future surges. At the G7 virtual summit last week, the White House stated in no uncertain terms that its national vaccine efforts would take priority over the rational and equitable distribution of the vaccines globally.

As Americans continue to die at tragically high numbers, Biden has essentially assured Wall Street that his first hundred days will be spent seeking a rapid return to economic normalcy, whatever the cost to the population. The fundamental difference between Biden and his predecessor, Donald Trump, is his more efficient and deliberate use of the levers of power to achieve these objectives.

The question, again, is how many have died since the beginning of the pandemic?

Last week, a report from the New York Times stated that since COVID arrived in the US, there were half a million more US deaths than usual. Over the period spanning from March 15, 2020, to January 30, 2021, using the conservative estimates provided by the CDC, about 512,000 more Americans have died than would have in a normal year, a figure that is 20 percent higher than expected. According to a STAT News report from October 20, two-thirds of the excess deaths were counted as COVID-19 fatalities. (They were using the CDC data as well.)

In that same period, the Times reported that there had been 439,375 COVID-19 deaths, plus another 73,525 excess deaths not directly attributed to coronavirus. If these additional deaths are carried over to the Februarys Worldometer total of more than 500,000 COVID-19 deaths, this would bring the total number of excess deaths to over 570,000.

A Financial Times report published on Sunday highlighting the excess deaths suffered in Mexico and by the population of countries that have allowed the pandemic to rip through their communities remarked that these deaths have disproportionately affected the most impoverished neighborhoods. This is true for every country that has embraced the herd immunity policy, including the UK and the United States.

Maximo Jaramillo-Molina, a fellow at the London School of Economics who researches inequality, notes, These are the consequences of a strategy based on trying to do nothing to reduce the damage instead of trying to prevent the consequences. According to their national mortality statistics and Kobaks World Mortality Dataset, by January 16, the US excess deaths stood at 467,897 or 19 percent above the previous five years. This is congruent with the data provided by the New York Times .

Even more dire figures are suggested by another report published on January 24 by the New York Times, headlined Why Vaccines Alone Will Not End the Pandemic, which cites modeling calculations by Dr. Jeffrey Shaman, an epidemiologist at Columbia, who estimates that actual numbers of infections are far higher than 25 million.

Citing underreporting of asymptomatic infections and those with only very mild symptoms, Dr. Shaman argues that the actual number of infections is closer to 105 million, a figure which has the positive implication that the crude fatality rate is much lower, standing at about 0.5 percent.

Dr. Shaman projects that if restrictions continue at the present level through the summer, the number infected with COVID-19 will reach 158 million by July. Policy actions make a huge difference. If restrictions were lifted this month, an additional 29 million people would be infected. If restrictions were strengthened and kept that way until late July, there would be 19 million fewer infections. In other words, the potential range is from 139 million to a staggering 187 million people infecteda figure that would represent more than half the US population.

Despite having all the therapeutic resources, as well as mass vaccination, the reopening of schools and businesses under President Biden could make the difference of 48 million infections. In the context of Dr. Osterholms warnings, such a spring surge would have disastrous consequences on the lives and livelihood of the working class.

The scale of death from the COVID-19 pandemic will be unprecedented in US history. More than one-third of these deaths so far are attributable to those who perished in nursing homes and long-term care facilities. Deaths not directly attributable to COVID-19 infections include the thousands that have died from dementia and neglect. Suicide and drug overdoses have played a tragically prominent aspect in this misery. Overwhelmed health systems saw many with heart disease, malignancies, kidney failure, etc., succumb because access to medical treatments was curtailed.

Similarly, in wars, the scale of death includes not just those who suffered in combat. Illnesses, accidents, and famine are contributing factors to these stark statistics.

World War II claimed 405,399 American lives, while in World War 1 close to 117,000 perished. If all American deaths from all modern conflicts in the 20th and 21 centuries going back as far as the Spanish- American war of 1898 were totaled, that figure is over 625,000 deaths.

The 1918 influenza pandemic caused by an H1N1 virus claimed about 675,000 lives in the United States. A unique feature of this pandemic was that it was so lethal among the 20-to-40-year age groups. The average life expectancy fell by 12 years. With over 25 percent of the population afflicted, only basic public health measures helped limit the devastation.

Approximately 620,000 soldiers died from combat, accidents, starvation, and disease during the Civil War. The number is based on a comprehensive study conducted in 1889 by William F. Fox and Thomas Leonard Livermore after an exhaustive review of combat and casualty records. A more recent estimate by J. David Hacker, a demographic historian from Binghamton University in New York, using a complex set of methodology and assumptions, placed the figure between 650,000 to 850,000.

For two decades, scientists and institutes of public health have warned of a respiratory contagion with pandemic potential. It isnt just the virus that has produced this calamity, but rather the response to it that was a byproduct of the growing crisis in global financial markets and their dependence on fictitious capital and massive speculations where the central banks play the role of the casino bankrolling their high rollers.

It has been estimated that Americas public debt to GDP ratio, according to Nick Beams, will reach 104 percent by the fiscal year 2021, up from 79 percent in 2019. By the year 2023, it will increase to 108 percent, surpassing the post-World War II level of 106 percent in 1946.

Beams wrote, But no matter how much it seems that value can simply be created out of thin air, this gargantuan mass of fictitious capital ultimately rests on the surplus value obtained from the exploitation of the working class. Its claims can be met only if the available pool of surplus-value is increased. It is not without its logic that the COVID-19 pandemic has caused such unprecedented massive loss of life.

There is no difference between the policies promulgated by the Democrats compared to the Republicans. The herd immunity policy is the policy to extract surplus value out of the working class at a more ferocious rate, no matter the consequences posed by the pandemic. As a trigger event, it has brought into stark contrast the struggle against social murder and for a rational organization of global resources to better the livelihood for all concerned.
Jim Carrey has announced the end of his career as a political cartoonist after spending much of the last four years skewering the Trump administration with provocative drawings he posted online.

The actor, whose cartoons have included an image of Trump with a swastika on his forehead and blamed Fox News for downplaying the coronavirus crisis, said it was 'time to rest my social media gavel and reclaim a little neurological bandwidth'.

Comparing Trump to a 'madman at the wheel of a bus', he told his 19million Twitter followers on Saturday - a month exactly after Trump left office - that he had been on a 'quest to rid our democracy of Orange Julius Caesar and his Empire of Lies'.

Carrey, 59, accompanied the message with a drawing invoking his character in The Truman Show, with the quote: 'In case I don't see ya... [good afternoon, good evening and goodnight].'

Goodbye: Jim Carrey said on Saturday that he was ending his career as a political cartoonist, posting this image invoking his character in the movie The Truman Show

One of Carrey's cartoons shows a meteor-like figure with Trumps head and hair in a flaming ball of streaking fire as it heads for Earth. A swastika is seen on Trumps forehead

Carrey, pictured, said it was 'time to rest my social media gavel and reclaim a little neurological bandwidth'

Carrey's message on Saturday said: 'Hey folks... for the past four years, among other commitments, I put considerable effort into this collection of political protest cartoons.

'It truly feels as though you and I have crossed an ocean of outrage together... but something tells me it's time to rest my social media gavel and reclaim a little neurological bandwidth.

'If it seemed like I was ignoring my many Twitter followers here and outside the US and Canada in my quest to rid our democracy of Orange Julius Caesar and his Empire of Lies, it was not my intention.

'I just assumed that a radicalized America is a threat to us all. When a madman grabs the wheel of a bus loaded with innocent passengers and threatens to drive it off a cliff, it tends to steal everyone's focus.

'You always have and always will occupy a sacred space in my grateful heart. Thank you all kindly for your patience, your support, your humor and your beautiful fanart.'

Carrey had often portrayed Trump in grotesque fashion, drawing him last October as a werewolf presiding over a 'house of horrors'.

In 2019, he drew Trump's face as a flaming meteor - with his forehead branded with a swastika - hurtling towards planet Earth.

'If the Craven Republican Senate allows this vile miscreant to continue encouraging devisiveness [sic], the Trump Presidency will become an EXTINCTION LEVEL EVENT,' he said.

Carrey's previous efforts have included this image of Trump resembling a baby in a highchair having a tantrum

Carrey has also painted unflattering pictures of former White House press secretary Sarah Sanders (left) and the former president's daughter Ivanka Trump (right)

Another drawing mocked up Trump as Elvis Presley, with some of his lyrics adapted to Republicans including Mike Pence and Mitch McConnell: 'They're caught in a trap, they can't walk out, because they love me too much baby.'

Attacking McConnell for his opposition to gun control in 2019, Carrey raged that 'what Osama bin Laden did to us was terrible but he doesn't hold a candle to Mitch McConnell'.

On another occasion, he drew controversy with an unflattering cartoon of Trump's then-press secretary Sarah Huckabee Sanders.

The sketch was blasted as sexist and bigoted by Sanders's father, the former Arkansas governor and GOP presidential candidate Mike Huckabee.

Carrey acknowledged that his cartoons veered into crassness, but said they were a creative way to express his political opinions.

He described the drawings as a civilized response to what he called the unfolding 'nightmare' of the Trump administration.

Carrey has also drawn provocative cartoons, one of which depicts Trump and porn star Stormy Daniels having sex. During the act, Daniels pulls off Trump's hair

In a cartoon attack on Trump and Fox News during the pandemic, Trump drives a GOP bus towards a crosswalk where a blinded family of Fox viewers are crossing: 'When America needed masks Fox "News" gave them blindfolds'

In early 2020, he claimed he was done making anti-Trump art, but the drawings soon resurfaced as he voiced his fury at the 45th president's handling of the pandemic.

A March 2020 cartoon showed Trump sleeping next to a porn video featuring Stormy Daniels as the coronavirus crept past the foot of his bed.

Last May he used one of the cartoons to attack British PM Boris Johnson, who has often been compared to Trump and likewise criticised for his pandemic response.

But he has been complimentary about Democrats including President Biden as well as Stacey Abrams who was seen as key to the left's electoral success in Georgia.

'Behold! Joseph R Biden, a real president working for the benefit of the entire nation and not just to enrich himself by Manipulating Angry Gullible Anarchists,' he wrote in a cartoon last month, spelling the initials MAGA.

After Biden's inauguration, Carrey said he had 'wept with joy and relief' - having earlier posted a cartoon captioned 'Ding Dong, the Witch is Dead'.
Moralities of Intelligent Machines is a project that investigates people's attitudes towards moral choices made by artificial intelligence. In the latest study completed under the project, study participants read short narratives where either a robot, a somewhat humanoid robot known as iRobot, a robot with a strong humanoid appearance called iClooney or a human being encounters a moral problem along the lines of the trolley dilemma, making a specific decision. The participants were also shown images of these agents, after which they assessed the morality of their decisions. The study was funded by the Jane and Aatos Erkko Foundation and the Academy of Finland.

The trolley dilemma is a problem where a person sees a trolley careening on the tracks, without anyone in control, towards five people. The person can either do nothing or turn the trolley onto another track, saving the five people but killing another individual on the other track.

Attitudes more negative towards humanoid robots According to the study, people consider the choice made by the humanoid iRobot and iClooney less ethically sound than the same decision made by a human and a robot with a traditional robot-like appearance. Michael Laakasuo, senior researcher in University of Helsinki, project lead and the principal investigator of the study, links the findings to the uncanny valley effect, which has been identified in prior research.

"Humanness in artificial intelligence is perceived as eerie or creepy, and attitudes towards such robots are more negative than towards more machine-like robots. This may be due to, for example, the difficulty of reacting to a humanoid being: is it an animal, a human or a tool?"

According to Laakasuo, the findings indicate that humans do not find robots making moral decisions a strange idea, since the decisions made by a human and a traditional robot were seen as equally acceptable. Instead, the appearance of the robot makes a difference to evaluating their morality.

Discussion guides the regulation of AI Laakasuo says that the number of intelligent machines making moral choices is growing in our society, with self-driving cars as an example.

"It's important to know how people view intelligent machines and what kinds of factors affect related moral assessment. For instance, are traffic violations perpetrated by a stylish self-driving car perceived differently from those of a less classy model?"

This knowledge can influence the direction of AI and robotics development, as well as, among other things, product branding. Knowledge can also shape the political discussion relating to the regulation of artificial intelligence. For example, self-driving cars can become test laboratories of sorts for private companies: in the case of accidents, the consequences can be dealt with using money, risking human health in the name of technological advancement with appeals to consequentialist morals.

"What kind of robots do we want to have among us: robots who save five people from being run over by a trolley, sacrificing one person, or robots who refuse to sacrifice anyone even if it would mean saving several lives? Should robots be designed to look like humans or not if their appearance affects the perceived morality of their actions?"

###

See the media release in University of Helsinki web page.
Swinging into the sunset in Kysuce

A new swing was built in the village of Oscadnica. The creators were inspired by the one in Zazriva.

Kysuce has become a photo-worthy destination thanks to the beautiful sunset in Oscadnica.

"It is a place that you can come to a hundred times and still experience a new and original view", Juraj Gavlak told the MY Kysuce weekly. He added that he and his friends used to sit there on a bench which was sadly removed after some time. 

Together with his friends Roman Blahovec, Michal Hluzak, Frantisek Majak, Matej Zagrapan, Marek Lusnak, Patrik Simaljak, Barbora Simaljakova, Marek Koza, and Martin Neced, they came up with the idea of building a swing. They felt the project would bring people back to the memories of their childhood, offer a beautiful view, and surely become a popular target for influencers.

Juraj admitted to MY Kysuce that he and his friends were inspired by the swing in Zazriva.

"We began the project in January. We got a carpenter to create the chair and bought some rope to complete the project", reported Juraj. He also adds that the swing hangs on 7 meters of rope. Visitors are advised not to perform any dangerous stunts but rather use the swing as an opportunity to take a nice picture.

(Source: Archiv J.G.)

The view depends on the weather. On a good day when the light is right, people can see Hanzlov and the valley heading towards the village.

Related Article Slovakia travel guide: A helping hand in the heart of Europe. Read more

Juraj and his friends have plans to make additional changes to the spaces. Those include adding some seating and a fire pit. They already ordered a cupboard in which they plan to keep a book for visitors who can sign their names.

For those who are interested in exploring the path to this swing, there is more information available on the SLOVAK DISCOVERER website.

If you want to visit it, start from Oscadnica - Lalik. Follow the yellow path and turn left after you pass some houses. The path will lead down to some chalets.

This is followed by some uphill walking. After about half an hour you will arrive at a seating area and a double-cross nearby. From there, you will see the picture-perfect swing.

Spectacular Slovakia travel guides

Church of St Nicolas (Source: Jan Pallo)

22. Feb 2021 at 11:32 | Compiled by Spectator staff
Achieving ultra-low latency as low as 5ms* and lay the foundations for OTTs to capture US$100 billion internet economy opportunity in South East Asia

HGC becomes the one-stop-shop player to provide agile and reliable network connectivity with fast and ultra-low latency direct local route to users;

Following a successful implementation in Hong Kong , Singapore is latest to benefit from the new platform with more than 5.2 million users (nearly 100% users) covered;

, is latest to benefit from the new platform with more than 5.2 million users (nearly 100% users) covered; HGC aims to roll out the service to a further 400 million users, amid US$100bn internet boom in SEA;

internet boom in SEA; The Eyeball-as-a-Service is part of the Asian strategic expansion to extend ICT capabilities in Asia with Singapore upgraded as major Asian hub

HONG KONG, Feb. 22, 2021 /PRNewswire/ -- HGC Global Communications Limited (HGC), a fully-fledged ICT service provider and network operator with extensive global coverage, announces the launch of Eyeball-as-a-Service (EaaS) in Singapore to help international Over-The-Top (OTT) operators, content providers and e-commerce companies expand their footprint across wide geographical landmasses at high-speed, low latency and best-in-class service-level agreements (SLA) to fulfill the extensive applications fuelled by 5G edge computing.

With the continuous expansion of interactive OTT players such as gaming companies (e.g. MOBA/MMOG/MMORPG), esports, virtual commerce, media content providers, internet businesses, AI & IoT technology solution providers, application developers and start-ups, the demand of high-quality and easily accessible network reach has never been so significant.

HGC's EaaS ready-to-go platform comes to assist both Tier 1 and Tier 2 OTTs penetration in the South East Asia region, one of the largest revenue generators. EaaS reduces time-to-market from months to weeks, with HGC's one-stop direct peering connection to major ISPs, regional MNO, local Internet Exchange and commercial/residential broadband providers in Asia's key metro areas.

The newly launched HGC EaaS service facilitates OTTs to reach nearly 100% of Internet eyeballs in Singapore. Riding on HGC's fine-tuned IP transit network, HGC is able to deliver a least-hop, optimised, direct local connections from OTTs' edge servers to end-users with ultra-low latency that significantly improves users' Quality of Experience (QoE).

The EaaS service enables OTTs to overcome complex technical and commercial arrangements, as to enhance efficiency when expanding into new fast-developing markets. Such high-quality connection is suitable for general business applications and ideal for time-sensitive and location-aware use cases including online gaming, eHealth and commercial or industrial automation.

"Given the current market climate, we understand that OTTs want simplicity, flexibility, customisation and ultra-high performance. We are thrilled to offer our customers in Singapore this one-of-a-kind business opportunity to expand their footprints fast and easily," said Dennis Chan, AVP -- OTT, international Business, at HGC. "The Eyeball-as-a-Service hub is unique in its nature where it not only dramatically reduces the complexity of expanding networks but also brings with it its affordable connectivity and a pioneering aggregator platform."

"The diversified EaaS is designed to serve not only Asian companies but also others across the globe, mainly European and North American OTTs who will expand in the region; while at the same time, HGC supports business' globalisation with our international connectivity. Hong Kong and Singapore are our international connectivity hubs in Asia, and we will be aggressively expanding in South East Asia, with the next EaaS hub to be added in more Asian countries in near future."

Cliff Tam, HGC's Vice President, Global Data Strategy of International Business, said: "It is no exaggeration that a new internet user-base is booming across Asia. Taking gaming as an example, the top 10 gaming markets in the region cover India, Indonesia, Japan, Malaysia, Singapore, South Korea, Taiwan, Thailand, the Philippines and Vietnam. When considering Mainland China and the Asia-10, these countries represent more than 50% of the world's mobile games market revenue. With the new EaaS service, HGC can uniquely support gaming companies, application developers, start-ups and other players in unlocking the full value of OTT services in further penetrating into Asia at a fast-to-market pace."

HGC plans to extend the service to new countries in the South East Asia region, scaling up the EaaS coverage to 400 million of users in the near future, and support OTTs' business penetration under the US$100 billion Southeast Asia's internet economy boom.

Contact us to learn more: [email protected]

HGC Eyeball-as-a-Service Solution: https://www.hgc-intl.com/products-and-services/ott-edge-solutions/ott-solution/

*HGC Eyeball-as-a-Service Peering Platform Internal Testing Result within Singapore region.

About HGC Global Communications Limited

HGC Global Communications Limited (HGC) is a leading Hong Kong and international fixed-line operator. The company owns an extensive network and infrastructure in Hong Kong and overseas and provides various kinds of services. HGC has 23 overseas offices, with business over 5 continents. It provides telecom infrastructure service to other operators and serves as a service provider to corporate and households. The company provides full-fledged telecom, data centre services, ICT solutions and broadband services for local, overseas, corporate and mass markets. HGC owns and operates an extensive fibre-optic network, five cross-border telecom routes integrated into tier-one telecom operators in mainland China and connects with hundreds of world-class international telecom operators. HGC is one of Hong Kong's largest Wi-Fi service providers, running over 29,000 Wi-Fi hotspots in Hong Kong. The company is committed to further investing and enriching its current infrastructure and, in parallel, adding on top the latest technologies and developing its infrastructure services and solutions. HGC is a portfolio company of I Squared Capital, an independent global infrastructure investment manager focusing on energy, utilities and transport in North America, Europe and selected fast-growing economies.

To learn more, please visit HGC's website at: www.hgc.com.hk

SOURCE HGC Global Communications Limited (HGC)

Related Links

http://www.hgc.com.hk


The newly-discovered Brazilian variant of Covid-19 could already be present in Northern Ireland, an expert has said.

Dr Connor Bamford was speaking as three cases of the more-easily transmissible Brazil variant of the virus were formally detected in the Republic of Ireland at the weekend.

Speaking to the Belfast Telegraph, the Queen's University virologist explained it was possible such mutations could already be present north of the border and that any easing of restrictions should be done "cautiously" with that in mind.

"We probably have to assume that could happen over the next few months or has indeed already happened," he said when asked about the chances of the Brazilian variant reaching Northern Ireland.

"Northern Ireland doesn't have any international flights coming into it currently, so we have to be aware it could be coming from mainland UK or Ireland.

"There is no point detecting it when it gets here and becomes established. We have to build that into the next couple of months in terms of our response.

"If there are less restrictions, that is when these things can spread best and spread more quickly. The one thing we can do most effectively is keeping with these restrictions and then cautiously lifting them.

"Although these variants spread better, they are just as sensitive to wearing a mask and being two metres distant and avoiding crowds.

"This variant probably won't rise that high unless we let restrictions off too quickly.

"If we have a strategy of just vaccinating our most vulnerable but releasing restrictions and letting the virus run free, either you are going to allow one of the variants in, or else you create a new variant that will then potentially reduce how effective your vaccines are."

A further four deaths linked to coronavirus were reported in Northern Ireland yesterday, as well as 263 new positive cases.

There have been 110,979 positive cases confirmed here since the start of the pandemic.

Fears that emerging variants of the virus could be more contagious and potentially affect the effectiveness of vaccines have led to calls for more robust quarantine measures for travellers.

Dr Gabriel Scally, a professor of public health at the University of Bristol and a member of the Independent SAGE advisory group, warned that the Irish government should consider adding Britain to its list of countries that require mandatory hotel quarantine after the UK variant, first detected in Ireland on Christmas Day, became the dominant strain within weeks.

"Given our experience with the mass importation of the [B117] variant, it's pretty obvious if you want to stop the influx of variants the most likely place they will come from is the UK," he told the Business Post.

"The only way to limit the variant is to have mandatory isolation for people coming from Britain."

Yesterday, Health Minister Robin Swann confirmed that Belfast's SSE Arena will be used as a vaccination centre for Northern Ireland's adult population.

It is anticipated it will open in April as a facility for those 60 and under, not already vaccinated through the trust or GP programmes.

Mr Swann described it as "a monumental next step in a population-wide vaccination programme".

Meanwhile, the Prime Minister is set to prioritise the opening of schools in England when he lays out his road map for easing restrictions later today.

Boris Johnson will detail the "cautious" approach based on "four key tests" of data before any restrictions are eased, with Health Secretary Matt Hancock saying yesterday that there will be a period of "weeks" between the steps of each relaxation of the lockdown.
Police released a call for witnesses on Monday morning after a 36-year-old man had gone missing within the last 24 hours. His body was found in Eich on Monday morning.

He was seen for the last time at a hospital located in Luxembourg-Eich.

Shortly after 9am, authorities informed RTL that the lifeless body had been found in Eich.
Champaign, IL (61820)

Today

A mix of clouds and sun during the morning will give way to cloudy skies this afternoon. High 73F. Winds SW at 10 to 15 mph..

Tonight

Cloudy skies. Low 56F. Winds light and variable.
Thiruvananthapuram, Feb 22 : Continuing his tirade against Pinarayi Vijayan and two of his cabinet ministers for an allegedly flawed decision allowing a US firm deep-sea fishing off the Kerala coast, Leader of Opposition Ramesh Chennithala on Monday challenged the Chief Minister to order a comprehensive probe into the matter.

"Ever since I brought out this unscrupulous deal, which literally is nothing but selling the 'seas' of Kerala to a US firm, I have been attacked as a conspirator.

"I challenge Vijayan to order a comprehensive probe into this. I have no issues to face it, but will you (Vijayan) face it?," asked Chennithala.

Chennithala has said "the precious fisheries wealth of Kerala has been handed over on a platter" to a US firm -- EMCC, which has operations in India. Vijayan has feigned ignorance and also assured that nothing that would affect the interests of the fisher folks of the state would be taken up.

"I have done nothing wrong and the only thing I have done is brought this deal out in the open. Vijayan is feigning ignorance and the truth of the matter is, he had a meeting with the CEO of this firm at his official residence and till now he has not admitted to his meeting. Even the State Fisheries Minister J. Mercykutty who first started the talks, continue to tell lies. This Vijayan government has been telling one lie after another about this project," said Chennithala.

"This is now being perceived as a project that was the creation of officials. But, it's been three years that this Vijayan government has been talking about this project. Strangely, even the State Assembly has been kept in the dark about this project.

"Even after talks and deal was inked with EMCC, two questions asked at two different time points in the assembly, failed to get any answer, while details of other MoU's inked have been given out. So by now all know, that who is trying to keep things under wraps. I challenge Vijayan to order a probe," demanded Chennithala.

Meanwhile with Vijayan and both Mercykutty and State Industries Minister E.P.Jayarajan having been caught on the wrong foot over this deal, Vijayan is planning to cancel the entire deal.

Now all eyes are on the proposed 'coastal sector shutdown' called by various organisations in the fisheries sector to be held across the state on Saturday, to protest the dubious deal of the Vijayan government, which if implemented would sound the death knell of the fisheries sector in the state.

Incidentally trouble started for Vijayan after Chennithala released an MoU that was inked last year between the Kerala government and EMCC International India Pvt Ltd for the project," Fisheries Research & Development for the up-gradation and Promotion of Deep Sea Fishing Industry" in Kerala with an outlay of Rs 5,000 crore.

According to this project what's envisaged is 400 trawlers and five mother ships will be fishing in the sea off the Kerala coast and this has irked all engaged in this sector.

-- The story has been published from a wire feed without any modifications to the text
Daniel Andrews has been accused of 'double standards' by allowing thousands of revellers to pack out a music festival while banning Melbourne's Anzac Day march.

The Summersalt rock festival on the Mornington Peninsula went ahead on Saturday and Sunday after its Covid Safe plan was approved by the Victorian government.

Every person was required to bring a chair and remain seated - but videos sent to Daily Mail Australia show wild crowds jumping up and down and making no attempt to keep apart.

The Summersalt rock festival (pictured) on the Mornington Peninsula went ahead on Saturday and Sunday after its Covid Safe plan was approved by the Victorian government

Every person was required to bring a chair and remain seated - but videos sent to Daily Mail Australia show wild crowds jumping up and down and making no attempt to keep apart

The hedonistic scenes have enraged the Victorian Opposition who believe that if music festivals are allowed to go ahead then Melbourne's Anzac Day march to honour Australia's fallen soldiers should proceed in a Covid-safe way.

Earlier this month RSL Victoria announced the march was cancelled for the second year running after reaching a 'collective decision' with the government that it would be too dangerous due to the virus.

Shadow Minister for Health Georgie Crozier blasted Premier Andrews for this apparent inconsistency.

'Victorians have seen so many inconsistencies and double standards under Daniel Andrews and this is just another example,' she told Daily Mail Australia.

'You have to wonder what expert medical advice Daniel Andrews is receiving when there is one rule for certain groups of people and another for others.'

After being sent a video of the rowdy scenes at the festival by Daily Mail Australia, Victorian Minister for Veterans Shaun Leane said he is working on allowing the Anzac Day march to go ahead.

'We continue to work with RSL Victoria to explore how Anzac Day can be commemorated to the fullest extent permitted by the public health situation, including the possibility of a march,' he said.

'I'm hopeful something can be worked out soon.'

Shadow Minister for Health Georgie Crozier blasted Premier Andrews (left) for his apparent inconsistency

Former servicemen march during the Anzac Day parade in Melbourne on April 25, 2018. This year's march has been cancelled due to Covid-19

Summersalt organisers posted a message on social media thanking the Victorian government for allowing the festival, which was headlined by Melbourne blues band The Teskey Brothers.

The event website asked every attendee to bring a chair, not leave their designated zone and only stand up to purchase food and drink, to use the toilets, or to seek first aid.

Daily Mail Australia has contacted the organisers for comment.

Source: Xinhua| 2021-02-21 01:11:57|Editor: huaxia

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TEHRAN, Feb. 20 (Xinhua) -- Iran's Interior Minister Abdolreza Rahmani Fazli said Saturday that the borders between Iran and Iraq will be closed over the resurgence of COVID-19 in the Iranian southwestern province of Khuzestan.

"To control the coronavirus outbreak in Khuzestan province, Iran's borders with Iraq will be closed and commuting to the province is not allowed," Rahmani Fazli was quoted as saying by official IRNA news agency.

Also on Saturday, Iran's Health Ministry reported 7,922 daily COVID-19 cases, raising the total nationwide infections to 1,566,081.

The pandemic has so far claimed 59,409 lives in Iran, up by 68 in the past 24 hours, said Sima Sadat Lari, the spokeswoman for Iranian Ministry of Health and Medical Education, during her daily briefing.

Of the newly infected, 472 were hospitalized, said Lari. A total of 1,337,877 people have recovered from the disease and been discharged from hospitals, while 3,677 remain in intensive care units, she added.

According to the spokeswoman, 10,387,561 tests for the virus have been carried out in Iran as of Saturday.

Iran announced its first cases of COVID-19 on Feb. 19, 2020. Enditem
SC pulls up Centre for not filing reply on Jairam Rameshs plea against amended RTI Act

India

oi-Madhuri Adnal

New Delhi, Feb 22: The Supreme Court Monday pulled up the Centre for not filing reply on a plea by Congress MP Jairam Ramesh who has challenged the Constitutional validity of the Right to Information (Amendment) Act 2019 which gives power to the government to prescribe tenure, allowances and salary of information commissioners.

A bench of Justices DY Chandrachud and M R Shah told the counsel appearing for the Centre, who sought some time to file reply, "one year has passed since notice was issued in the matter. What have you been doing all this time? What is wrong with you? This is an important matter".

The top court, however, gave two weeks to the Centre to file reply.

On January 31 last year, the top court had sought the Centre''s response on Ramesh''s plea, which said that the RTI (Amendment) Act, 2019 and the RTI (Term of Office, Salaries, Allowances and Other Terms and Conditions of Service) Rules, 2019 "collectively violate" the fundamental right to information of all citizens which is guaranteed under the Constitution.

The plea, filed through advocate Sunil Fernandes, said the provision of the amended Act "alters the erstwhile fixed tenure" of five years of Central Information Commissioners (CICs) and State Information Commissioners (SICs), to a "tenure to be prescribed by the central government".

Delhi HC stays CIC order directing IAF to give info on PM Modi's foreign visits; Notice sent to RTI applicant

"Section 2(c) of the amendment Act grants absolute power to the central government to prescribe the salaries, allowances, and terms and conditions of service of the central information commissioners that in the pre-amended Act was fixed to be on par with election commissioners under section 13(5) of the RTI Act," it said.

The provision of the amendment Act "explicitly grants rule making power to the government over fixing the tenure, salaries and service conditions" of information commissioners," the plea said.

"Even assuming the RTI amendment Act merely delegated rule making power to the central government without thwarting the independence of information commissioners, its accompanying RTI rules complete the destruction of the independence of information commissioners..," it added.

"Under this rule, the central government is granted with absolute power to decide the ''conditions of service'' of information commissioners of the CIC and SIC not expressly covered under the rules," it said while referring to one of the Rules.

Referring to the amended Act and rules, the plea said that the "unbridled and uncanalized" discretionary power vested in the Centre "jeopardizes the independence of information commissioners."

"A perusal of the impugned amendments herein would reveal that there is no rational nexus with the object of the Act," the plea said while seeking to declare the RTI amendment Act, 2019 and its accompanying Rules as ultra-vires to the aims and objects of the RTI Act, 2005 and the Constitution.

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Story first published: Monday, February 22, 2021, 20:29 [IST]
[February 22, 2021] WP Engine Appoints Rob Charlebois Senior Vice President of Digital and Heather Buckingham Vice President of Brand Revenue

WP Engine, the world's most trusted WordPress technology company, today announced the appointment of Rob Charlebois as Senior Vice President, Digital and Heather Buckingham as Vice President, Brand Revenue. Charlebois will report to WP Engine's Chief Operating Officer Jason Teichman and Buckingham will report to Senior Vice President & General Manager - Enterprise Lisa Box (News - Alert) . This press release features multimedia. View the full release here: https://www.businesswire.com/news/home/20210222005219/en/ WP Engine, the world's most trusted WordPress technology company, today announced the appointment of Rob Charlebois as Senior Vice President, Digital. (Photo: Business Wire) "We are so incredibly honored and excited to be bringing on such outstanding leaders in their respective fields," said Jason Teichman. "Rob's leadership role is a critical hire for WP Engine as we continue to make significant investments to build out our storefront and digital experience. Much like our customers, WPEngine.com is our window to the world, where our customers can learn about all our products, engage in our thought leadership and transact, which is a key strategic priority for the company. Rob and his team will play a critical role in continuing our success there." "The tiing of Heather's joining couldn't be better as we launch several exciting new offerings which promise to once again redefine enterprise WordPress and position WP Engine as the undisputed leader in WordPress," said Lisa Box. "Heather will play a critical role in bringing these new products to many of the leading brands in the world."



Rob Charlebois Prior to joining WP Engine, Rob worked as the EVP of Global E-Commerce and Digital Marketing at Corel, a software company. At Corel, Rob was responsible for Corel's digital, creative, analytics, and e-commerce efforts, which included over 30 corporate, community, and brand-focused global websites that served millions of users each day. During his tenure at Corel, Rob played a key role acquiring, integrating and growing several businesses, including companies like Parallels, Mind Manager, and WinZip.

Before joining Corel, Rob worked in product management at N-Able Technologies and ComputerLand. He holds a Bachelor's degree in Political Science and Government from the University of Ottawa. "Website performance and creative agility have never been more important for business owners," said Rob Charlebois. "As a former customer of WP Engine and a long-time WordPress user, I believe WP Engine is the ultimate partner and platform for any business who does business online." Heather Buckingham Prior to joining WP Engine, Heather was Regional Vice President of Sales at Khoros, a digital customer engagement software for enterprise brands and agencies. While at Khoros, she led an expansion sales team for large enterprise accounts across a variety of verticals. Currently, over 2,000 brands use the Khoros platform, including Samsung (News - Alert) , GM and Visa. Before her role at Khoros, she worked as a strategist and analyst at a digital agency specializing in high-tech B2B clients, as well as running her own social media consulting firm. Heather holds a Bachelor degree in Communications from the University of New Hampshire. "I'm so thrilled to join the WP Engine team at such a pivotal point in the company's growth," said Heather Buckingham. "I admire the way WP Engine lives its core values, and it's exciting to impact the way these values shape our expanded solutions for enterprise customers." For more information about WP Engine, its products or services, go to www.wpengine.com About WP Engine WP Engine, the world's most trusted WordPress technology company, powers the freedom to create on WordPress. We provide the most relied upon and trusted brands and developer-centric WordPress products for companies and agencies of all sizes, including Flywheel, Local and Genesis. Headquartered in Austin, Texas, WP Engine has offices in Brisbane, Australia; Krakow, Poland; Limerick, Ireland; London, England; Omaha, Nebraska and San Antonio, Texas. Read more at www.wpengine.com View source version on businesswire.com: https://www.businesswire.com/news/home/20210222005219/en/

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Daft Punk breaks up

Daft Punk has broken up after 30 years together. The French robot DJ duo, which featured Thomas Bangalter and Guy-Manuel de Homem-Christo wearing helmets for much of their career, announced their split with an Epilogue video posted Monday morning. In the clip, they walk around the desert when one of them removes his jacket to reveal an energy pack and the other touches a button on it, causing it to explode as the 2013 song Touch plays. Bangalter and Homem-Christo met in the mid-80s at school in Paris and originally formed a rock band called Darlin in 1992; a review that called their music daft punky thrash inspired a name change and a focus on EDM music. Daft Punk hits over the years include One More Time, Harder Better Faster Stronger, recent collaborations with The Weeknd like I Feel It Coming, and the Grammy-winning smash Get Lucky.

James Franco settles sexual misconduct lawsuit

Actor-filmmaker James Franco has settled a sexual misconduct lawsuit that alleged he intimidated students into gratuitous and exploitative sexual situations at an acting and film school he founded. Deadline reports attorneys for Sarah Tither-Kaplan and Toni Gaal confirmed Saturday that they reached an agreement with Franco, Francos production company, Rabbit Bandini, and his partners Vince Jolivette and Jay Davis. Tither-Kaplan and Gaal sued in 2019, claiming they were pushed into performing explicit sex scenes on camera in an orgy type setting and believed they would be rewarded with roles in Francos films. The alleged incidents occurred in a master class Franco taught at Studio 4, which closed in 2017; the plaintiffs agreed to drop their individual claims under the agreement. Financial terms were not disclosed.

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Anne Hathaway was 9th choice for Devil Wears Prada role ( ET

Megan Fox denies making anti-mask statement after fake social media post ( E!

Woody Allen calls HBO docuseries Allen vs. Farrow a hatchet job ( RS

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Nick Jonas to host and be musical guest on SNL ( BB

Patrick Mahomes, fiancee welcome first child together ( E!

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Buzz is a daily roundup of entertainment news about movies, TV, music and celebrities.
(@ChaudhryMAli88)

KUWAIT, (UrduPoint / Pakistan Point News / WAM - 22nd Feb, 2021) Official delegations representing the United Arab Emirates and the State of Qatar met in the brotherly State of Kuwait today, Monday, February 22, 2021, in the first meeting between the two sides to follow up on the Al-Ula Declaration.

The two sides discussed joint mechanisms and procedures to implement the Al-Ula Declaration and underscored the importance of preserving Gulf unity, developing joint action in the interest of Gulf Cooperation Council countries and their citizens, and achieving stability and prosperity in the region.

Furthermore, the two sides praised the efforts of the brotherly Kingdom of Saudi Arabia in hosting the last GCC Summit that resulted in the Al-Ula Declaration.

Finally, the two sides expressed their appreciation to His Highness Sheikh Nawaf Al-Ahmad Al-Jaber Al-Sabah, Emir of Kuwait, for the sincere efforts made by his country to heal the rift and support the Gulf Cooperation Council, in addition to hosting the first meeting between both countries.
Police are searching for a man accused of verbally abusing a woman on a Sydney street before following her into a cafe, hurling her bike onto the street and smashing her mobile phone.

Officers were called to Wattle Street in Ultimo following reports a woman had been assaulted about 1.45pm on Sunday.

Police released CCTV images of a man they want to speak to about the incident. Credit:NSW Police

They were told the woman, 37, was crossing the road when the driver of a black SUV beeped the horn and verbally abused her.

The man then allegedly followed her into a nearby cafe where he physically assaulted her before throwing her bike and breaking her phone.
A unique prototype of microbial life designed on a real Martian material: the scanning transmission electron microscopy image of M. sedula cell grown on Black Beauty. Image reveals nonhomogeneous, rugged and coarse cellular interior of M. sedula filled with crystalline deposits. Credit: Tetyana Milojevic

Experimental microbially assisted chemolithotrophy provides an opportunity to trace the putative bioalteration processes of the Martian crust. A study on the Noachian Martian breccia Northwest Africa (NWA) 7034, composed of ancient (ca. 4.5 Gyr old) crustal materials from Mars has delivered a unique prototype of microbial life experimentally designed on actual Martian material. As the researchers show in the current issue of Nature Communications Earth and Environment, this life form of a pure Martian design is a rich source of Martian-relevant biosignatures. The study was led by Tetyana Milojevic, the head of the Space Biochemistry group at the University of Vienna.

Early Mars is considered as an environment where life could possibly have existed. There was a time in the geological history of Mars when it could have been very similar to Earth and harbored life as we know it. Contrary to the current Mars conditions, bodies of liquid water, warmer temperature and higher atmospheric pressure could have existed in Mars' early history. Potential early forms of life on Mars should have been able to derive energy from inorganic mineral sources and transform CO 2 into biomass. Such living entities are rock-eating microorganisms called "chemolithotrophs," which are capable of transforming energy of stones to energy of life.

Martian rocks as energy source for ancient life forms

"We can assume that life forms similar to chemolithotrophs existed there in the early years of the red planet," says astrobiologist Milojevic. The traces of this ancient life (biosignatures) could have been preserved within the Noachian terrains with moisture-rich ancient geological history and mineral springs that could have been colonized by chemolithotrophs. In order to properly assess Martian-relevant biosignatures, it is crucially important to consider chemolithotrophs in Martian relevant mineralogical settings.

Elemental ultrastructural analysis of an M. sedula cell grown on the genuine Noachian Martian breccia Black Beauty. Credit: Tetyana Milojevic

One of rare pieces of Mars rocks was recently crushed to envisage the characteristics of life based on Martian materials. The researches used the genuine Noachian Martian breccia Northwest Africa (NWA) 7034 (nicknamed "Black Beauty") to grow the extreme thermoacidophile Metallosphaera sedula, an ancient inhabitant of terrestrial thermal springs. This brecciated regolith sample represents the oldest known Martian crust of the ancient crystallization ages (ca. 4.5 Ga).

A specimen of "Black Beauty"

"Black Beauty is among the rarest substances on Earth, a unique Martian breccia formed by pieces of Martian crust (some of them are dated at 4.42  0.07 billion years) and ejected millions years ago from the Martian surface. We had to choose a pretty bold approach of crushing few grams of precious Martian rock to recreate the possible look of Mars' earliest and simplest life form," says Tetyana Milojevic, corresponding author of the study, about the probe that was provided by colleagues from Colorado, U.S..

As a result, the researchers observed how a dark, fine-grained groundmass of Black Beauty was biotransformed and used in order to build up constitutive parts of microbial cells in form of biomineral deposits. Using a comprehensive toolbox of cutting-edge techniques in cooperation with the Austrian Center for Electron Microscopy and Nanoanalysis in Graz, the researchers explored unique microbial interactions with the genuine Noachian Martian breccia down to nanoscale and atomic resolution. M. sedula living on Martian crustal material produced distinct mineralogical and metabolic fingerprints, which can provide an opportunity to trace the putative bioalteration processes of the Martian crust.

4.42 billion years old Black Beauty specimen arrived at the Space Biochemistry Group, Vienna University (Milojevic Tetyana (left), Kolbl Denise) from Colorado, USA. A fragment of the genuine Noachian Martian breccia NWA 7034 (Black Beauty) used in the study. Credit: Oleksandra Kirpenko

Analyzing metabolic and mineralogical fingerprints

"Grown on Martian crustal material, the microbe formed a robust mineral capsule composed of complexed iron, manganese and aluminum phosphates. Apart from the massive encrustation of the cell surface, we have observed intracellular formation of crystalline deposits of a very complex nature (Fe, Mn oxides, mixed Mn silicates). These are distinguishable unique features of growth on the Noachian Martian breccia, which we did not observe previously when cultivating this microbe on terrestrial mineral sources and a stony chondritic meteorite," says Milojevic, who recently received an ERC Consolidator Grant for her research further investigating biogenicity of Martian materials.

The observed multifaceted and complex biomineralization patterns of M. sedula grown on Black Beauty revealed the rich, diverse mineralogy and multimetallic nature of this ancient Martian meteorite. The unique biomineralization patterns of Black Beauty-grown cells of M. sedula emphasize the importance of experiments on genuine Martian materials for Mars-relevant astrobiological investigations. "Astrobiology research on Black Beauty and other similar samples can deliver priceless knowledge for the analysis of returned Mars samples in order to assess their potential biogenicity," concludes Milojevic.

Explore further Microbes leave 'fingerprints' on Martian rocks

More information: Tetyana Milojevic et al. Chemolithotrophy on the Noachian Martian breccia NWA 7034 via experimental microbial biotransformation, Communications Earth & Environment (2021). Tetyana Milojevic et al. Chemolithotrophy on the Noachian Martian breccia NWA 7034 via experimental microbial biotransformation,(2021). DOI: 10.1038/s43247-021-00105-x
TOKYO, (UrduPoint / Pakistan Point News / WAM - 22nd Feb, 2021) A Japanese space expert expressed his happiness at the successful journey of the Emirati Hope Probe to the orbit of Mars, hoping that it will strengthen the bilateral cooperation between the UAE and Japan in the space sector.

In an exclusive statement to the correspondent of the Emirates news Agency (WAM) in Japan, Hiroaki Akiyama, Space Policy Advisor to the Japanese Government, said, "We congratulate the UAE on this international achievement." He also pointed out that Japan earlier dispatched the Nozomi Probe to Mars, but it failed to reach the planets orbit.

"The Emirati Hope Probe succeeded in arriving at the Red Planets orbit with the help of Japanese space rockets, which is the outcome of the cooperation between Japan and the UAE," he added, noting that the success of the mission is a promising sign not only for the two countries but also for nearly 100 million young people in the Arab region, and the UAE is the first Arab country to send a probe to Mars.

"As you all know, the Artemis Programme, a space programme carried out by NASA to dispatch astronauts to space, including Mars, has started and will enable many people, maybe 100, 1,000, or 10,000 people, to travel to space to live and work in the future. We now need to adopt various approaches to developing the space sector," Akiyama added.

"In fact, a few days ago, Daigoji temple in Japan, which is 1,200-year old and is classified as a world heritage site, declared its plan to build a temple in space," he said in conclusion.
A look at Friday's major share movers in the London Stock Exchange

PLC ( ) motored 24% higher to 971p after selling Hobsons for about US$410mln (293mln).

The EdTech business, which was restructured in 2017 to focus on high-growth opportunities in Student Success, will be sold in two separate transactions.

Hobsons' Naviance and Intersect businesses are being sold to US-based PowerSchool, for around US$320mln while the Starfish business is being lobbed out to EAB, a US-based education company, for around US$90mln.

2.20pm: Kanabo Group slips after investor halves holding

( ) slipped 19% to 32.06p in the early afternoon after plc ( ) sold off some shares in the cannabis firm.

The investing company, which focuses on early stage and pre-IPO long-term disruptive technology investments, offloaded 1mln shares at 23.5p, bagging 233,801.

Vela originally subscribed for 2mln shares in Kanabo at 6.5p each so it has made a net profit of 168,801.

Following the disposal, Vela will hold 1.31 mln shares in Kanabo, equivalent to approximately 0.36% of the issued share capital.

12.10pm: Kingspan surges after overhauling insulation arm following Grenfell disaster

Kingspan PLC ( ) surged 10% to 62.50 at noon after apologising for what it says was unacceptable employee conduct at its UK Insulation Boards business" in the run-up to the Grenfell Tower disaster.

Witnesses at the official inquiry into the fatal fire have accused the company of hiding the results of fire tests on its K15 product used at Grenfell and ignoring safety concerns.

The building materials group is implementing widespread changes to its insulation board division practices, including the publication of all fire test reports, and would act on recommendations by legal firm Eversheds Sutherland.

11am: Idox jumps after confirming takeover proposal

Idox PLC ( ) jumped 21% to 74p after confirming it has received three non-binding indicative proposals regarding possible cash offers for Idox from Dye & Durham.

The document management specialist received the latest proposal received on Thursday for a possible cash offer at 75 pence per share.

It added that it has entered into discussions with Dye & Durham, a cloud-based software provider, but there is no certainty that an offer will be made.

10am: Path Investments tumbles after placing heavily discounted shares

Path Investments PLC (LON:PATH) tumbled 39% to 0.5p after raising 3.5mln by placing 1.4bn shares at 0.25p each.

The price represents a 70% discount to Thursdays closing price of 0.82p.

The energy and natural resources investment company said the proceeds will be used to support its strategy of owning and operating a diversified portfolio of long-life assets, while it focuses on cutting carbon intensity.

Meanwhile, plc ( ) lost 7% to 26.5p after announced that its Heathrow depot at Stanwell, Middlesex suffered a fire in its administrative offices.

The UK bus operator said no staff were injured and the fire is not thought to have been malicious.

The AIM-listed firm added that damages amount to 250,000 but are expected to be fully recoverable from insurance with more than one insurer, so there shouldnt be any long-term financial consequences.

8.45am: GSTechnologies tops early morning risers with Singapore subsidiary update

GSTechnologies Limited ( ) was the top riser early on Friday as it shot 22% higher to 3.12p on the back of an update from its Singapore subsidiary.

The information and communication technology infrastructure solutions provider confirmed that GS Fintech Singapore has now been established.

Alongside the recently established UK subsidiary, the new arm will support the firms expansion into blockchain-related technologies and services.

Elsewhere, ( ) advanced 5% to 204p after revealing it will support the roll-out of mobile COVID-19 testing in the UK as part of the governments new pilot scheme.

The provider of lab services and products will oversee all laboratory operations and processes and will have responsibility for clinical governance, quality assurance, staff training, sample processing and information management.

The AIM-listed firm said it will run the service on behalf of outsourcing specialist Mitie for the remainder of this early phase, adding that it is working towards involvement in a potential UK-wide programme.

Proactive news headlines

BASE Resources PLC ( ) has passed an important milestone in its bid to increase the mine life of its mineral sands operation in Kenya.

( ) has announced the start of rig mobilisation for the Merlin-1 well, in Alaska, where drilling is scheduled to start in the first week of March.

( ) confirmed the closing of its share placing, with the nickel mine developer raising 18mln in total.

( ) announced the convening of a general meeting, including a proposed consolidation of the company's share capital. A shareholder circular explaining the reasons for the consolidation and other proposals is being posted to shareholders and will be available on the company's website at www.unionjackoil.com under the AIM Rule 26 section.
Police have linked two teen brothers to a days-long crime spree that left one man dead and several others robbed, including a woman who was forced at gunpoint to withdraw money from a bank.

Alexander and Kevin Ordonez  charged with murder earlier this month  at times posed as gun sellers or drug buyers to target their victims in crimes that spanned at least four day, according to authorities. On another occasion, a woman said the pair ambushed her outside her home near Hooks Airport and forced her to drive to a Wells Fargo bank for cash, court records show.

The murder charge stems from the death of Cameron Stevens, whom Harris County Sheriffs Office deputies on the morning of Feb. 6 found fatally shot in the head outside a Cypress Station apartment complex. Police believe he had met up with the brothers in an attempt to buy a firearm.

At least one neighbor in the 500 block of Wells Fargo Drive heard a gunshot around midnight.

A partial license plate from the fatal shooting tied the car to a theft that happened about 12 hours earlier, on Feb. 5, when a man and woman said they were robbed of their money, drugs and vehicle by at least two men posing as marijuana buyers, sheriffs spokesman Senior Deputy Thomas Gilliland said. In that incident, authorities said the brothers were there when the man was shot in the leg.

The brothers are also accused of robbing another man Feb. 7 along Airline Drive outside an auto store  though charges have not yet been filed, Gilliland said.

Some of reported crimes are under investigation through Precinct 4 of the Harris County Constables Office, the spokesman said. The brothers have since been charged murder, two counts of aggravated robbery with a deadly weapon and aggravated kidnapping.

The eldest Ordonez sibling, 19-year-old Alexander, had been out on bond for felony deadly conduct  in which he was alleged to have fired a loaded gun in an apartment complex  and two misdemeanor offenses at the time of the crime spree, court records show. He was present for a court disposition hours before the Feb. 5 car jacking, records show. He is being held at the Harris County Jail without bond.

The younger brother, 18-year-old Kevin, was also out on bond on two misdemeanors charges. He is being held on a $100,000 bond.

The two, who court records show to live together, are slated to appear in court Wednesday after a delay attributed to the winter storms that swept through Houston and knocked out power and water for most households.

Since their arrest, a judge has approved a prosecutors request to have the brothers separated from each other in the jail and from a third man, Dayvon Gary, charged in the Feb. 5 carjacking and shooting.

The kidnapping of the woman is reported to have happened Feb. 9. when a woman said she went to her car outside her home in the 7900 block of Tizerton Court around 5:30 a.m. to leave for work. She then noticed a green flashing laser in front and knew something wasnt right, according to probable cause documents.

One of the teens brandished a gun and demanded her money. She handed over her purse and one of the brothers fished out a debit card and demanded that she drive them to a bank.

At gunpoint, she drove about two miles to the bank at 8808 Spring Cypress Road. During that drive, the siblings repeatedly called each other bro, she recalled. She then withdrew $40 from the walk-up ATM, an amount that angered the brothers.

She was terrified at this point because the suspect had told her he was going to kill her after they got the money, court documents stated.

The brothers ordered her to drive them back to the neighborhood. During the drive, the two asked if she had guns in her home and she said no  fearing that they would break into her home. They got out of the car as she entered the neighborhood.

The suspects told her they were going to go rob someone else as they walked away, she told police.

Authorities believe the Ordonez brothers will be linked to more crimes.

nicole.hensley@chron.com
When you slip into sleep, it's easy to imagine that your brain shuts down, but University of Michigan research suggests that groups of neurons activated during prior learning keep humming, tattooing memories into your brain.

U-M researchers have been studying how memories associated with a specific sensory event are formed and stored in mice. In a study conducted prior to the coronavirus pandemic and recently published in Nature Communications, the researchers examined how a fearful memory formed in relation to a specific visual stimulus.

They found that not only did the neurons activated by the visual stimulus keep more active during subsequent sleep, sleep is vital to their ability to connect the fear memory to the sensory event.

Previous research has shown that regions of the brain that are highly active during intensive learning tend to show more activity during subsequent sleep. But what was unclear was whether this "reactivation" of memories during sleep needs to occur in order to fully store the memory of newly learned material.

"Part of what we wanted to understand was whether there is communication between parts of the brain that are mediating the fear memory and the specific neurons mediating the sensory memory that the fear is being tied to. How do they talk together, and must they do so during sleep? We would really like to know what's facilitating that process of making a new association, like a particular set of neurons, or a particular stage of sleep," said Sara Aton, senior author of the study and a professor in the U-M Department of Molecular, Cellular and Developmental Biology. "But for the longest time, there was really no way to test this experimentally."

Now, researchers have the tools to genetically tag cells that are activated by an experience during a specific window of time. Focusing on a specific set of neurons in the primary visual cortex, Aton and the study's lead author, graduate student Brittany Clawson, created a visual memory test. They showed a group of mice a neutral image, and expressed genes in the visual cortex neurons activated by the image.

To verify that these neurons registered the neutral image, Aton and her team tested whether they could instigate the memory of the image stimulus by selectively activating the neurons without showing them the image. When they activated the neurons and paired that activation with a mild foot shock, they found that their subjects would subsequently be afraid of visual stimuli that looked similar to the image those cells encode. They found the reverse also to be true: after pairing the visual stimulus with a foot shock, their subjects would subsequently respond with fear to reactivating the neurons.

"Basically, the precept of the visual stimulus and the precept of this completely artificial activation of the neurons generated the same response," Aton said.

The researchers found that when they disrupted sleep after they showed the subjects an image and had given them a mild foot shock, there was no fear associated with the visual stimulus. Those with unmanipulated sleep learned to fear the specific visual stimulus that had been paired with the foot shock.

"We found that these mice actually became afraid of every visual stimulus we showed them," Aton said. "From the time they go to the chamber where the visual stimuli are presented, they seem to know there's a reason to feel fear, but they don't know what specifically they're afraid of."

This likely shows that, in order for them to make an accurate fear association with a visual stimulus, they have to have sleep-associated reactivation of the neurons encoding that stimulus in the sensory cortex, according to Aton. This allows a memory specific to that visual cue to be generated.The researchers think that at the same time, that sensory cortical area must communicate with other brain structures, to marry the sensory aspect of the memory to the emotional aspect.

Aton says their findings could have implications for how anxiety and post-traumatic stress disorder are understood.

"To me this is kind of a clue that says, if you're linking fear to some very specific event during sleep, sleep disruption may affect this process. In the absence of sleep, the brain seems to manage processing the fact that you are afraid, but you may be unable to link that to what specifically you should be afraid of," Aton said. "That specification process may be one that goes awry with PTSD or generalized anxiety."

###

Sara Aton

Study: "Causal role for sleep-dependent reactivation of learning-activated sensory ensembles for fear memory consolidation"

Source: Xinhua| 2021-02-22 18:23:31|Editor: huaxia

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A Chinese engineer examines a new well constructed under the Phase II of China-aided rural water supply and rural road projects in Cambodia in Kampong Speu Province of Cambodia, Jan. 15, 2021. (Xinhua/Zhang Zhao)

by Mao Pengfei, Nguon Sovan

PHNOM PENH, Feb. 22 (Xinhua) -- The Ongoing China-aided rural water supply and rural road projects have been playing a crucial role in supporting socio-economic development and alleviating poverty in rural Cambodia, a Cambodian senior official said recently to Xinhua.

From 2017, the projects, in Phases I and II, under the management of Cambodia's Ministry of Rural Development (MRD) have been proved successful, MRD's secretary of state and spokesman Chan Darong told Xinhua in an exclusive interview.

He said the China Jiangxi International Economic and Technical Cooperation Co., Ltd. (CJIC) has been the contractor for the rural water supply project, while the Shanghai Construction Group Co., Ltd. (SCG) and Yunnan Construction and Investment Holding Group Co., Ltd. (YCIH) have been the contractors for the rural road project.

"These companies have obtained recognition and support from the government, local authorities and people of Cambodia," he said, adding that these Chinese companies, besides digging wells and constructing roads, have donated medical products to rural families and teaching materials to rural schools during the pandemic.

During the implementation of the projects, Chinese friends also trained hundreds of Cambodian engineers and technical workers, he said. "This socially responsible behavior is a concrete manifestation of cultural interlinkage."

According to the official, since the outbreak of COVID-19, most of the China-aid localized projects under the MRD have not been affected by the pandemic.

GREATLY BENEFIT RURAL PEOPLE

Darong, who is also the project director of the China-Aid Cambodia Rural Water Supply and Rural Road Projects Phase II, said the projects have played a vital role in improving national economy and rural people's livelihoods in Cambodia.

"Previously, women and children in rural areas usually went to collect water far from their houses for their daily consumption, but now they no longer need to do that because wells and ponds dug by the China-aided project are available near their houses," he said.

"For the rural road project, it has greatly benefited rural people, allowing them to use reliable and convenient roads and providing them a year-round access to markets and other social services," he said. "There is neither dust during the dry season, which affects their health, nor mud during the rainy season."

The official praised China for having paid more attention to small-and-medium-sized social welfare projects and public facilities, saying that these projects directly helped improve the livelihoods of rural people in Cambodia.

He said when he participated in the site inspection, many villagers told him that the completed roads and water supply facilities had improved both their livelihoods and health.

Darong said that during the projects' implementation, the Chinese companies have also given opportunities to local Cambodians to get employment.

"The people offered the jobs have got three advantages: knowledge learnt from Chinese engineers, wages, and jobs that were adjacent to their houses," he said.

BIG THANKS

Darong said the friendship between Cambodia and China has a long history of brotherhood and that China's help is sincere and pragmatic.

"These projects are clear evidence of our cooperation towards building a community of shared future between Cambodia and China," he said.

"I'd like to express my sincere appreciation to the Chinese government for its contribution and to the Chinese companies for their dedicated hard work," he said. "I sincerely hope that all Chinese employees keep safe during this pandemic."

He said the MRD will continue to cooperate with the Chinese counterparts to manage the current and subsequent projects based on the general framework of the rural water supply and rural road grant agreement reached by the two governments.

Darong has a strong conviction that China will continue to support Cambodia until the Southeast Asian country achieves its goal of supplying clean water to all rural residents by 2025.

"It is hoped we can work together for Cambodia's 12 million rural residents to obtain clean water by 2025 and to construct as many rural roads as possible in Cambodia," he said. "I have found that this is a significant contribution to the development of the national economy in Cambodia," he added. Enditem
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For Subscribers Why South Dakota county officials are shirking state-given water rights

Grant County could be the thirteenth county to repeal their drainage ordinance in the past decade.
As we slog through this uniquely horrible winter, let's turn our attention to cozy and warm thoughts. In terms of real estate, that means log cabins.

These rustic structures are the favorite comfy sweaters of the housing world, and we'd like to slide right into each one of the 10 below. We scoped out listings from coast to coast to round up these lovely log cabins, where it's always a great time to snuggle in front of the fireplace.

And while these cabins are rustic, that doesn't mean they're spartan. Each is equipped with all the features you'd find in a regular ol' tract home. A couple are on the smaller side, but when it's all about being cozy, perhaps you don't need a ton of square footage.

So throw another log on the fire (or cue up your favorite ASMR room featuring a crackling fireplace), grab a cup of cocoa and your favorite blanket, and enjoy this peek at 10 cozy cabins on the market right now.

Price: $300,000

Details: Midway between Nashville and Raleigh-Durham, this charming two-bedroom cabin would make an ideal weekend getaway. The rustic wood interiors are sure to appeal to a buyer looking for natural vibes, and the place is being offered partly furnished.

Todd, NC realtor.com



Price: $697,500

Details: Located in the Sierra foothills, this quaint two-bedroom cabin was built in 1935. It features new flooring and paint, as well as a number of other updates. For a buyer looking to escape the hustle of big-city life in California, this cozy retreat among the trees looks incredibly appealing.

Nevada City, CA realtor.com



Price: $395,500

Details: Nestled in the mountains next to the Uncompahgre National Forest, this charming one-bedroom cabin with a welcoming fireplace is an ideal spot for a ski buff. Offering ski-out access, the petite, 616-square-foot cabin is also turnkeyit's offered fully furnished.

Placerville, CO realtor.com



Price: $259,900

Details: Sitting on more than 7 acres way, way upstate, this cabin close to Lake Champlain is private and gated. The two-bedroom home features custom cabinetry in the kitchen, an antique wood stove, and all-new appliances.

Peru, NY realtor.com



Price: $299,900

Details: For a Floridian searching for something a little different, we recommend log cabin life. This small, one-bedroom cabin in Central Florida sits on just under 5 acres, and comes with a large detached garagealso made from logs. A buyer could turn the garage into a living space or build a new structure on this wide-open parcel in the woods.

Bunnell, FL realtor.com



Price: $1,100,000

Details: For a buyer looking for the upscale cabin experience, this place in the Blue Ridge Mountains is just the spot. It's priced at more than a million bucks, but this large four-bedroom log home comes with 45 acres of land, a barn, and two additional dwellings. Rustic yet refined, this getaway is ideal for a buyer longing for the ranch life.

Vilas, NC realtor.com



Price: $639,000

Details: Only 12 years old, this contemporary cabin comes with 35 acres. The two-bedroom home sits on a hill, offering gorgeous vistas in all directions. It's a place for the outdoorsman (and woman?), hunters, and rugged hikers, with "proximity to lots of outdoor activities and adventures."

Powderhorn, CO realtor.com



Price: $550,000

Details: This custom-built cabin is on 6 acres just west of the city of Canton. A vaulted ceiling makes the great room feel huge, and the enormous fireplace is built for cozy evenings. An open floor plan is designed to appeal to today's buyer, and the bright and cheery kitchen is a true highlight.

North Lawrence, OH realtor.com



Price: $699,000

Details: Far from a dank and gloomy cabin, this three-bedroom home offers an abundance of natural light, thanks to the large windows throughout. It's right next to a creek, and on the back deck, you can relax to the soothing sound of running water. Luxe features include a chef's kitchen, radiant floor heating, and a massive fireplace made from river stone.

Creede, CO realtor.com



Price: $159,900

Details: This cabin ticks all the boxes for affordability and ease. Priced just right, this fully renovated three-bedroom residence sits near the South Carolina border and is said to offer plenty of privacy. An enormous deck in the back is an ideal spot for bird watching and entertaining.

Rutherfordton, NC realtor.com

The post These 10 Lovely Log Cabins Are Perfect Places To Get Cozy This Winter appeared first on Real Estate News & Insights | realtor.com.

Coal pilferage scam: Trinamool MP Abhishek Banerjees wife responds to CBI notice

India

pti-Deepika S

Kolkata, Feb 22: Rujira Banerjee, the wife of TMC MP Abhishek Banerjee on Monday responded to the CBI's summons in the alleged coal pilferage scam and asked the central agency to send its team to her residence for examination on Tuesday, officials said.

The CBI had on Sunday asked her to join the probe. A team of CBI officials had visited the residence of Abhishek Banerjee, a nephew of West Bengal Chief Minister Mamata Banerjee, on Sunday to deliver the summons but Rujira was not present.

She responded to the summons on Monday and asked the CBI to visit her residence between 11 am and 3 pm on Tuesday.

Bengal FM accuses Shah of spreading misinformation on fund disbursement

"Though I am unaware of the reason for me being called for questioning or the subject matter of the investigation, you may visit my residence as per your convenience between 11 am and 3 pm tomorrow, i.e. 23 February, 2021," she said in her letter to CBI.

PM Modi: India can be one of the best in defence export | Oneindia News

"You are requested to kindly inform me your schedule," she said.
Chinese Communist Party leader Xi Jinping (L) and then-U.S. Secretary of State John Kerry (R) listen as then-U.S. Vice President Joe Biden speaks during a State Luncheon for China hosted by Kerry at the Department of State in Washington, D.C., on Sept. 25, 2015. (Paul J. Richards/AFP via Getty Images)

Will Biden Really Stand Up to China?

U.S.-China policy lacks direction now, but what will it eventually look like?

Commentary

How will President Joe Biden handle China? Whats Americas position on Chinas alleged slave and torture camps?

How will Biden stop Beijing from stealing U.S. jobs and intellectual property? How will the United States deter China from invading Taiwan?

At this point, we still dont have any concrete policy statements toward China from the new administration. Unlike Trump, who made decoupling from China his guiding policy, the Biden administration has offered no such overarching policy concept.

And, given that the Biden administration has delayed forming a China policy, its anyones guess as to what their approach might be. However, if Bidens recent appointments are any indication, U.S. policy may be much more accommodating than that of the prior administration.

China Links

Several cabinet members have close or at least significant ties to China. That includes, of course, Biden himself. But there are also several other White House players who have disturbingly close relationships with the Chinese Communist Party (CCP).

For example, Douglas Emhoff, husband of Kamala Harris, has been suggested to have longstanding business ties to China via his former law firm. The firm worked closely with Chinese businesses associated with the CCP, according to the National Pulse. Thats unfortunate. But since Harris occupies the vice presidency, any influence she may feel from her husband or his CCP contacts is baked into the administration.

Antony Blinken, Bidens secretary of state, may also be problematic. Blinken is cofounder of WestExec Advisors, a consulting firm that helped American universities raise money from China without jeopardizing Pentagon-funded research grants, according to the Washington Free Beacon. One might imagine that tip-toeing around U.S. defense regulations to attract money from the CCP into U.S. higher education institutions would be a deal-breaker, but for Biden, apparently its not.

Ely Ratner, a veteran East Asia expert, was an executive vice president and director of studies at the Center for a New American Security before being named the administrations chief principal adviser on China at the Pentagon. Ratner is a long-time Biden aide who, perhaps not so coincidentally, was also a colleague of Blinken at WestExec. That, too, may be problematic.

Then theres Colin Kahl, Bidens choice for undersecretary of defense. Kahl is a senior fellow at the Freeman Spogli Institute for International Studies at Stanford University, which has a deep relationship with Chinas Peking University. According to the Free Beacon, the latter institution is directed by CCP ex-head-spy Qiu Shuiping and has been linked to espionage cases in the United States.

Notably, a warning from the Australian Strategic Policy Institute underscores the high risk of partnering with Peking University due to its close ties with Chinas military establishment, the Free Beacon notes. Again, if one is known by the company one keeps, such a close connection to the CCP ought to throw at least a shadow of doubt on Kahls judgement. But not for the Biden administration.

Linda Thomas-Greenfield, a veteran of the State Department and Bidens pick for U.N. ambassador, also has questionable ties to China. Shes a former senior vice president for the Albright-Stonebridge Group, a global business strategy and commercial diplomacy firm with offices in China and whose leadership includes a former senior Chinese government official, Jin Ligang.

Diversity and Groupthink?

This group is representative of the Biden appointees responsible for forming a cohesive and effective China policy. Although diverse on both the gender and race scale, it seems much more aligned from an ideological perspective.

Having everyone on the same page is less of an advantage because it tends to foster group think. Policy meetings become echo chambers, where the same assumptions and analysis are baselined to similar policy objectives and interpretations of events. This particularly poses a significant risk when diplomacy becomes not just a means to an end, but an end in itself.

Diplomacy Over Outcomes?

Biden comes from a generation where supreme American power in the world was more or less a fact. That tacit understanding allowed for the luxury of exercising diplomacy with the consequences of American power unspoken, but yet clearly understood.

Those days are ending, and in particular with regard to China. Beijings plans dont include sharing power with the United States but rather, replacing the United States.

But does Biden understand this? Do his advisers?

Or do they think that their relationships with Beijing will give them some kind of diplomatic advantage? This may be the case, especially given that the Biden administration has branded itself much smarter and more sophisticated than the prior one.

But will the unusual degree of financial engagement with China on the part of the administration result in outcomes that favor American interests? Or will they result in an overreliance on short-term diplomatic gestures that cede American power to Beijing over concrete actions that challenge China?

Challenging China, after all, isnt easy politically at home or abroad. Recall, for example, how little the Trump administration relied on the nuance of diplomacy when dealing with China. Rather, Trump relied on using hard-hitting trade policies to bring China to the negotiation table. Still, he was roundly criticized here and overseas.

Like Obama before him, Bidens approach is based on outmoded assumptions and multilateral globalist objectives rather than more narrow American interests. That may be why no China policy has been annunciated from Washington. It seems probable that Bidens biggest challenge will be to keep the American public from knowing or understanding a China policy that doesnt favor America.

James R. Gorrie is the author of The China Crisis (Wiley, 2013) and writes on his blog, TheBananaRepublican.com. He is based in Southern California.

Views expressed in this article are the opinions of the author and do not necessarily reflect the views of The Epoch Times.
Karl Stefanovic's 14-year-old daughter Ava Willow was on sister duty as she looked after her half-sister Harper May on Monday.

The Today show host's wife Jasmine Stefanovic (nee Yarbrough), 37, shared a sweet photo to Instagram of the sisters as they spent quality time together.

In the picture, Willow held nine-month-old Harper in her arms as they both smiled for the camera.

Big sister duty! Karl Stefanovic's daughter Willow, 14, (left) embraced nine-month-old step-sibling Harper May (right) on Monday in a cute photo

'Big sister,' Jasmine captioned the sweet photo.

Karl shares his daughter Willow - as well as sons, Jackson, 20, and River, 13 - with his first wife, Cassandra Thorburn, whom he split from in 2016 after 21 years of marriage.

The Today show host met shoe designer Jasmine during a boat party in Sydney just months after his public separation.

Precious moments: The Today show host's wife Jasmine Stefanovic (right), shared the sweet photo to Instagram of the sisters spending quality time together

The couple married at the five-star One&Only Palmilla resort in Los Cabos, Mexico, in December 2018.

Karl and Jasmine welcomed their daughter Harper on May 1, 2020. She was born at North Shore Private Hospital in Sydney.

On Saturday, Jasmine shared an adorable photograph of Harper May showing off her fashion prowess on Instagram.

Ex: Karl shares his daughter Willow - as well as his two sons, Jackson, 20, and River, 13 - with his first wife, Cassandra Thorburn (left), whom he split from in 2016 after 21 years of marriage

Moving on: Karl met Jasmine at a boat party in Sydney just months after his separation, and they married at the five-star One&Only Palmilla resort in Los Cabos, Mexico, in December 2018

The adorable tot was smiling for the camera as she posed in a very fashionable pair of cream sunglasses.

Jasmine hilariously captioned the image: 'Get it girlllllll.'

Harper paired her sunglasses with a pink ruffled top and and shorts with Vegemite-jar print.
SOHC

When it comes down to customizing two- and four-wheeled rides of all sorts, the aftermarket surgeons over at Scales Studio arent playing around. A few months ago, we admired the workshops fascinating accomplishments on a Ducati 1000SS , and we can probably all agree that masterpiece is a ravishing display of moto artwork.Today, well have a quick look at yet another entity brewed on this firms Miami-based premises. The donor for this magnificent exploit was a 1978 Honda CB750K. Within its tubular steel double cradle frame, this bad boy hosts an air-cooledinline-four powerplant that's more than happy to generate as much as 67 hp at approximately 8,000 rpm.A five-speed transmission is tasked with handing over the engines vicious force to the rear wheel by means of a chain final drive. Ultimately, this whole shebang leads to a respectable top speed of 125 mph (201 kph). Needless to say, the 1978 CB750K is one hell of a starting point for a bespoke venture. Scales Studio s crew began by removing the bikes stock subframe unit to make room for a custom loop-style alternative from Cognito Moto. It supports a classy leather saddle thats been neatly upholstered in-house. As soon as these items were installed, the team went moved to give the main frame a thorough clean-up to keep things looking tidy.Next, the beast was rewired using an assortment of modern components, while Motogadgets catalog has been raided for a stealthy pair of bar-end turn signals and aftermarket grips. The machines 736cc mill received a set of top-shelf velocity stacks, allowing it to breathe a little more freely. They are appropriately complemented by a ceramic-coated four-into-one exhaust system on the other end of the combustion cycle.The finishing touches come in the form of a bespoke gauge housing sitting atop a Cognito Moto triple clamp, as well as a one-off filler cap for the CB750s fuel tank. Long story short, the creature you see here is a timeless work of custom art and we dare you to say otherwise.
Former President Donald Trump and Housing and Urban Development nominee Ben Carson pose in front of the Ben Carson exhibit during a visit to the Smithsonian National Museum of African American History and Culture in Washington on Feb. 21, 2017. (Kevin Dietsch - Pool/Getty Images)

Trump Can Of Course Come Back in 2024: Ben Carson

Former 2016 presidential candidate and Housing and Urban Development Secretary Ben Carson said that former President Donald Trump can make a 2024 comeback.

When asked if Trump could mount a comeback, Carson told the Washington Examiner: Of course. Of course.

Carson said that he spoke with Trump in recent days, saying the former commander-in-chief is looking to focus on the 2022 midterm elections and restoring his ability to use social media in some way. Trump himself told news outlets last week that he is considering joining another social media platformor would perhaps start his own.

Its going to sound kind of strange, but in a way, its kind of good that the Democrats are in control because people can actually see who they are and what it is that theyre trying to do. I dont think most people would have believed it if it hadnt happened. It is happening, and everyone can see it. And once they get over their shot, I think resistance will begin to grow very significant, he remarked.

Carson noted that voters might be discouraged by Democrats policies, alleging that they are assaulting Americans First Amendment rights.

Thats a reason that people came to this country from all over the worldbecause they want to escape tyrannical governments that tried to control every aspect of their life. Thats exactly where were heading, he said.

Carson, for his part, started a conservative advocacy group, American Cornerstone Institute, which will focus on election integrity. Trump and his surrogates filed a number of lawsuits challenging the results of the Nov. 3 election.

One of the things that Im going to be concentrating on, he added in the interview, is election integrity. If we dont get election integrity restored, then were going to have a monopoly [by Democrats], and its going to go on forever and just get worse.

Several polls have found that Trump is still enormously popular among GOP voters.

A recent poll found that 73 percent of likely Republican voters said that the partys leaders should be more like Trump.

The survey from Rasmussen Reports also found that 42 percent of likely voters said that the recent impeachment proceedings against Trump didnt make much difference in their opinion of the former president. Meanwhile, 29 percent of all voters said the impeachment made their opinion of Trump worse, while 28 percent said they have a better opinion of Trump after his second impeachment, according to the Rasmussen poll.
A look at some of the major movers in London on Monday

( ) climbed 16% to 12.89p after it provided an update on its dispute with the Republic of Slovenia.

The Republic of Slovenia has notified Ascent that it should be in a position to respond formally to the proposed settlement terms by March 19, and has asked the parties on the other side of the dispute to hold off any arbitration proceedings before then.

Ascent and its partners have acceded to this request.

3.25pm: IAG higher after British Airways gets liquidity boost

PLC ( ) was 3.0% higher at 1790.65p after it revealed that its British Airways arm has reached two financing arrangements that will increase total liquidity by 2.45bn.

On December 31, the flag carrier received commitments for a five-year Export Development Guarantee term-loan of 2bn underwritten by a syndicate of banks, partially guaranteed by UK Export Finance (UKEF).

The airline has also agreed with the Trustee of New Airways Pension Scheme (NAPS) to defer 450mln of pension deficit contributions due between October 2020 and September 2021, normally paid in monthly instalments of 37.5mln.

2.30pm: share price wilts after GardaWorld sticks to its guns

PLC ( ) dived 9.8% to 242.6p after bidder GardaWorld refused to raise its offer from 235p per share.

The decision appears to leave the way clear for Allied Universal, which has offered 245p a share for the security services firm that is still best-remembered for making a complete hash of its London Olympics gig.

The shareholder hold-outs need to accept that they are unlikely to wring any more out of this particular bid, and accept the money on the table now, with the shares falling back sharply in early trade, suggested Michael Hewson at CMC Markets.

1.35pm: Directa Plus shares on a charge

( ), up 12% at 145p, was on a charge after signing agreements with NexTech Batteries, a lithium-sulphur (Li-S) batteries company.

The graphene-based products producer and supplier inked a supply agreement and a strategic research & development agreement with the US firm.

Direct Plus said these agreements follow on from the memorandum of understanding signed with the Nevada, US-based company in October.

12.40pm: makes the grade

PLC ( ), up 11% at 86.5p, was wanted after it completed trials and tests for the manufacture of battery-grade spherical graphite.

The trials and tests were conducted in tandem with a globally recognised German manufacturer of spheroidisation and micronisation equipment, achieving significant results in the end product.

The company has commissioned development and optimisation for the first in a series of commercial-scale 3,000 tonne per year spherical graphite manufacturing plants with a German specialist and initiated discussions with prospective buyers, including automobile majors, battery and anode manufacturers.

11.45am: Echo Energy asks for more time to redeem its loan notes

( ) slipped 7.5% to 0.68p after it published plans to restructure its bond obligations.

The upstream oil and gas company focused on Latin America wants bondholders to extend the maturity of the notes by three years to May 2025.

It also wants to move all cash interest payments on the notes before the maturity date, i.e. pay all the interest due when the bonds are redeemed.

10.50am: Image Scan slumps as big orders dry up

( ) slumped 11% to 2.45p after it said in a trading update that the pandemic continued to hit its order intake.

The specialists in the field of real-time X-ray imaging for the security and industrial inspection markets said the security business had been hit particularly hard, with larger, multi-unit orders by its government customers drying up.

Smaller portable X-ray orders have continued to be received and have included several from significant new customers, such as the Royal Air Force order announced in January.

9.55am: Catenae soars as it is invited to participate in government's digital identity initiative

( ) shares shot up 42% to 2.7p after the company was asked to participate in a government digital identity scheme.

The developer of a secure, blockchain-driven COVID passport system has been asked to participate in a government initiative to make it quicker and easier for people to verify themselves using modern technology.

The consultation is being carried out by the Department for Digital, Culture, Media and Sport (DCMS) as it develops its Digital Identity Policy.

9.00am: Clear Leisure soars as it welcomes new substantial shareholder

( ) rose 32% to 1.65p after it took advantage of recent share price strength to tap the market again.

Having raised 680,000 less than two weeks ago by placing shares at 0.6p, the company has raised 1mln, this time by placing shares at a penny each with an individual investor, John Story, giving him an 11.14% stake.

Ordinarily, issuing shares at a discount would lead to the share price fall but Clear Leisures share price is currently defying gravity thanks to its cryptocurrency development plans.

If involvement in cryptocurrency enterprises is a sure way at the moment to garner interest, so is any connection with coronavirus diagnostic tests, which explains the 15% rise to 210.9p for the share price of ( ).

The company put out a statement noting the recent press speculation about the UK Government take-up of Avacta's lateral flow SARS-CoV-2 rapid antigen test and noted that the test in question was an anterior nasal swab test, not (as press reports asserted) saliva-based.

Avacta continues to be in dialogue with the Department of Health and Social Care and with other organisations in the UK and abroad, with a view to the future supply of its rapid antigen test. It is prioritising the full clinical validation of its nasal swab-based SARS-CoV-2 rapid antigen test as a pre-requisite for CE marking and broad commercialisation.

Proactive news headlines

( ), the developer of a secure, blockchain-driven Covid passport system, has been asked to participate in a government initiative to make it quicker and easier for people to verify themselves using modern technology.

( ) said it has signed a commercial supply and collaboration deal with ePIC Blockchain Technologies which it said will allow it to receive priority access to state-of-the-art ASIC mining machines.

CentralNic Group PLC ( ) said it has agreed to acquire Wando Internet Solutions GmbH, a Berlin-based social marketing, display advertising and search engine marketing (SEM) advertising technology company, for an initial consideration of 5.4mln (4.7mln).

Sativa Wellness Group ( ) said its Bath and Bristol Goodbody clinics booked up to 27,000 a day in Covid testing revenues in December as it announced the opening of a tenth in-pharmacy facility and plans for a further twenty.

Base Resources Ltd ( ) generated revenue of US$72.8mln from its mining operations in Kenya in the six months to 31 December 2020. EBITDA came in at US$33.9mln, while net debt was cut by US$50mln.

( ) has received the processed high-resolution airborne electromagnetic and magnetics geophysics survey data and associated maps and report over the Dotted Lake property on the north limb of the Schreiber-Hemlo greenstone belt in Ontario, Canada.

( ) has helped create a joint venture to provide teleradiology reporting services and increased reporting capacity in Australia, New Zealand, the UK and Ireland.

Condor Gold ( )( ) has started a 5,000 metre diamond drill programme at the Cacao prospect at the La India project in Nicaragua. Cacao is located four kilometres from the planned processing plant at the fully permitted La India mine.

( ) said it has signed a supply agreement and a strategic R&D agreement with NexTech Batteries Inc, a lithium sulphur (Li-S) batteries company based in Nevada, US.

(LON:NQMI, ) said it has signed an agreement with Australian gold miner for the detailed evaluation and potential processing of lead and silver-rich stockpiles at the Sunbeam project, located at the companys Ukalunda tenement in North Queensland, Australia.

( ) has received ministerial consent for the transfer of title, being the final condition of closing on the acquisition of a 75% interest in the Eclipse gold project, located 55 kilometres north-east of Kalgoorlie, Western Australia.

"We are pleased to have now completed the acquisition of a 75% interest in Eclipse, said Empire director Mike Struthers.

PLC ( ) said it has filed an application with OTC Markets Group Inc for its shares to be cross-traded on the OTCQB Venture Market under the ticker GULDF, which it said will make its shares more widely available to North American investors.

( ) said it had made a positive start to its current year as it swung into profit in its first quarter. In its results for the three months to December 31, the aquaculture specialist reported an adjusted operating profit from continuing operations of 1.3mln compared to a 1.1mln loss a year ago, while revenues climbed to 29mln from 24.7mln.

( ) financial results for 2020 confirmed strong growth in revenues and gross profit, which rose by 49% and 83% respectively.

PLC ( ) has successfully completed trials and tests for the manufacture of battery grade spherical graphite, used in the anode of lithium-ion batteries. The trials and tests were conducted in tandem with a globally recognised German manufacturer of spheroidisation and micronisation equipment, achieving significant results in the end product.

Chariot Oil & Gas Limited ( ) has inked a collaboration agreement with Subsea Integration Alliance for the Anchois gas development project in Morocco.

(CVE:FO, ) told investors it is exiting non-core assets in Canada, assigning its interests to a large Canadian-based company.

Litigation Capital Management Limited ( ) has secured a US$50mln credit facility to provide the company with additional investment capital that will be used to pursue growth opportunities.

( ) said its 18.8% stake in Pulsiv Solar is now valued at 4.1mln following the latters latest equity fundraising and debt conversion, up from 3.6mln at the end of June.

VietNam Holding Limited ( ) said in its monthly investor report that business and consumer confidence continues to thrive in Vietnam, although there was a small wobble in January when profit-taking following a resurgence in coronavirus cases prompted profit-taking, resulting in the fund's net asset value (NAV) easing 1.7% over the course of the month. The NAV has rebounded in February.

PLC ( ) has appointed Panmure Gordon as Nominated Adviser with immediate effect. Panmure Gordon will also continue to act as financial adviser and joint broker to the company.

( ) announced the appointment of Charles 'Chuck' Fremont Osborne Jr to the board with immediate effect. Fremont, who has been in the role of chief financial officer since April 2019, has "significant capital markets experience coupled with a strong knowledge of financial operations within the pharmaceutical industry", said chief executive Richard Hullihen.

( ) has hired New York-based EAS Advisors to introduce institutions and funding, as the explorer works to advance mining and exploration projects in sub-Saharan Africa.

Silence Therapeutics PLC (LON:SLN) announced that the company's management will present business updates at two virtual investor conferences in March: the Cowen 41st Annual Health Care Conference at 10.20am on Monday 1 March; and the HC Wainwright Global Life Sciences Conference, on demand on Tuesday 9 March 2021.

PLC ( ) announced on Friday the introduction of its share option plan 2021 for executives and selected senior management, designed to promote the retention, recruitment and incentivisation of the Company's leadership team. Up to 11,194,030 new ordinary shares may be issued under new options granted under the plan, which represents approximately 2.5% of the company's issued ordinary share capital.

( ) said that on 1 March 2021 it will publish its full year results for the financial year ended 31 October 2020.
Wescom Resources Group (WRG) and Ongoing Operations (OGO) are pleased to announce the establishment of a new partnership to provide strategic benefits to credit unions.

Recognizing that credit unions economic viability and core mission have suffered during the COVID-19 pandemic crisis, the two organizations seek to support the movement by offering enhanced scale and cost efficiency in systems, people, products and processes.

The program will enable the two industry-leading managed services and branch technology providers to offer integrated solutions to credit unions, in line with their joint mission to build ever-stronger relationships, systems, and processes that enable our clients to innovate and prosper, and a shared vision to redefine what it means to be a technology partner in the service of credit unions.

At Ongoing Operations, we are focused on offering best-in-breed technology solutions built and customized for the unique needs of credit unions and their members, says Kirk Drake, President and Chief Executive Officer of OGO. We are excited to form this partnership with Wescom Resources Group, a like-minded technology CUSO whose credit-union focused mission is aligned with our own.

Current and prospective credit union clients of both organizations will benefit from the combined scale, expertise and experience of the two technology providers, reducing the number of vendors they need to work with and enabling coordinated strategic planning as well as faster implementation timelines. The two firms offer a range of technology capabilities, including managed services, branch teller automation, disaster recovery data backup and telecommunications solutions.

With a combined 87 employees, 4 data centers, 185 credit union clients and 10,000 supported devices, says Dave Cerwinski, President of Wescom Resources Group, our partnership with OGO will empower credit unions to deploy and manage their most critical IT services, quickly and at scale. We are thrilled to team up with OGO to serve our mutual credit union clients as their trusted technology partners.

About Wescom Resources Group

Backed by Wescom Credit Union, one of the nations largest credit unions with over $4 billion in assets and nearly 200,000 members, Wescom Resources Group provides credit unions with advanced technology solutions that increase their competitive edge. With over 75 clients, WRG is a leader in innovative technologies for the credit union industry. WRG offers one of the most robust managed services solutions in the credit union industry. In addition, WRGs TellergyTM solution provides branch automation for todays modern credit union. For more information, visit http://www.wescomresources.com.

About Ongoing Operations

Ongoing Operations (OGO) is a credit union owned technology services provider committed to delivering thought leadership, resources and solutions that help credit union executives and IT leaders align technology with business strategy, maximize their IT investment, and improve operational performance. OGO leverages a shared platform to empower credit unions to uniquely build and manage their technology so they can focus on their core business  providing their members with value-added financial services.

OGO was founded in 2006 and is the trusted technology partner for credit unions, offering a range of managed information security, hosting, disaster recovery and telecom solutions. Learn more at https://ongoingoperations.com/.

An incident involving a Boeing 747-400 cargo plane that dropped engine parts shortly after take-off from Maastricht airport on Saturday is under investigation, the Dutch Safety Board said.

The Longtail Aviation Flight 5504 cargo plane scattered small metal parts over the southern Dutch town of Meerssen, causing damage to cars and lightly injuring one woman, local media said.

Boeing referred questions to Dutch authorities.

"Our investigation is still in a preliminary phase, it is too early to draw conclusions," a spokeswoman for the Dutch Safety Board said on Monday.

Witnesses said they saw the fire in one of the engines of the plane, which landed safely at Liege airport in Belgium, some 30 kilometres (19 miles) south of Maastricht.

The cargo plane, which was supposed to fly from the Netherlands to New York, used a Pratt & Whitney PW4000 engine, a smaller version of one on a United Airlines Boeing 777 involved in an incident on Saturday.

Boeing said on Sunday that it was recommending airlines halt flights of some older, PW4000-powered versions of its 777 airliner pending engine inspections after the United 777 suffered an engine fire and scattered debris over Denver in the United States at the weekend.

Europe's EASA aviation regulator said on Monday that it was aware of the Pratt & Whitney jet engine incidents, and was requesting information on the cause to determine what action may be needed. (Reporting by Bart Meijer and Anthony Deutsch; editing by Susan Fenton, Jason Neely and Emelia Sithole-Matarise)

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To reduce delays in claim settlement and and policy renewal, Liberty General Insurance has recently introduced automated vehicle inspections for car insurance policies. "This is expected to transform the car inspection process, which is currently dominated by manual inspections," the company said in a statement. For this process the insurance company has partnered with Inspektlabs, a computer vision technology platform focused on automation of inspections for any physical assets.

"This capability will further enhance customer experience with lower turnaround on claims and renewals," said Roopam Asthana, chief executive officer and whole time director, Liberty General Insurance.

How it will work:

Under artificial intelligence-based inspection process, customers need to capture photos or videos of a car for policy renewals and claim assessment. Then, the policyholders need to send these images or videos to the cloud. In the next step, an automated inspection report, covering damage and claim assessment, will be generated. "It not only saves cost but also increases customer satisfaction by reducing the time required to settle a claim or renew a policy," Liberty General Insurance said.

The new product has already been integrated with several motor insurance policies offered by Liberty General Insurance. AI-based process is focused on automation of policy renewal approvals, and small and mid- sized motor claim estimation, the insurer added.

"We have been working with partners for almost two years now to automate our car inspection process. Through this partnership we have developed an efficient and elegant product, which will help us reduce cost and time required for motor inspections significantly," Liberty General CEO said.

On partnership with Liberty General Insurance, Devesh Trivedi, chief executive officer and co-founder, Inspektlabs, said "Our patent pending technology allows insurance and automotive players reduce the cost of inspection by 98% and reduce the time required for inspections by 95%. We are currently working with multiple companies in US, Japan and India to automate up to 75% car inspections using AI technology."

Started in 2013, Liberty General Insurance Ltd. (LGI) is a joint venture between Liberty Citystate holdings PTE Ltd and Enam Securities, and Diamond Dealtrade. Over the last few years, the insurer has created an array of customised policies.

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A look at some of the major movers in London on Monday

( ) climbed 16% to 12.89p after it provided an update on its dispute with the Republic of Slovenia.

The Republic of Slovenia has notified Ascent that it should be in a position to respond formally to the proposed settlement terms by March 19, and has asked the parties on the other side of the dispute to hold off any arbitration proceedings before then.

Ascent and its partners have acceded to this request.

3.25pm: IAG higher after British Airways gets liquidity boost

PLC ( ) was 3.0% higher at 1790.65p after it revealed that its British Airways arm has reached two financing arrangements that will increase total liquidity by 2.45bn.

On December 31, the flag carrier received commitments for a five-year Export Development Guarantee term-loan of 2bn underwritten by a syndicate of banks, partially guaranteed by UK Export Finance (UKEF).

The airline has also agreed with the Trustee of New Airways Pension Scheme (NAPS) to defer 450mln of pension deficit contributions due between October 2020 and September 2021, normally paid in monthly instalments of 37.5mln.

2.30pm: share price wilts after GardaWorld sticks to its guns

PLC ( ) dived 9.8% to 242.6p after bidder GardaWorld refused to raise its offer from 235p per share.

The decision appears to leave the way clear for Allied Universal, which has offered 245p a share for the security services firm that is still best-remembered for making a complete hash of its London Olympics gig.

The shareholder hold-outs need to accept that they are unlikely to wring any more out of this particular bid, and accept the money on the table now, with the shares falling back sharply in early trade, suggested Michael Hewson at CMC Markets.

1.35pm: Directa Plus shares on a charge

( ), up 12% at 145p, was on a charge after signing agreements with NexTech Batteries, a lithium-sulphur (Li-S) batteries company.

The graphene-based products producer and supplier inked a supply agreement and a strategic research & development agreement with the US firm.

Direct Plus said these agreements follow on from the memorandum of understanding signed with the Nevada, US-based company in October.

12.40pm: makes the grade

PLC ( ), up 11% at 86.5p, was wanted after it completed trials and tests for the manufacture of battery-grade spherical graphite.

The trials and tests were conducted in tandem with a globally recognised German manufacturer of spheroidisation and micronisation equipment, achieving significant results in the end product.

The company has commissioned development and optimisation for the first in a series of commercial-scale 3,000 tonne per year spherical graphite manufacturing plants with a German specialist and initiated discussions with prospective buyers, including automobile majors, battery and anode manufacturers.

11.45am: Echo Energy asks for more time to redeem its loan notes

( ) slipped 7.5% to 0.68p after it published plans to restructure its bond obligations.

The upstream oil and gas company focused on Latin America wants bondholders to extend the maturity of the notes by three years to May 2025.

It also wants to move all cash interest payments on the notes before the maturity date, i.e. pay all the interest due when the bonds are redeemed.

10.50am: Image Scan slumps as big orders dry up

( ) slumped 11% to 2.45p after it said in a trading update that the pandemic continued to hit its order intake.

The specialists in the field of real-time X-ray imaging for the security and industrial inspection markets said the security business had been hit particularly hard, with larger, multi-unit orders by its government customers drying up.

Smaller portable X-ray orders have continued to be received and have included several from significant new customers, such as the Royal Air Force order announced in January.

9.55am: Catenae soars as it is invited to participate in government's digital identity initiative

( ) shares shot up 42% to 2.7p after the company was asked to participate in a government digital identity scheme.

The developer of a secure, blockchain-driven COVID passport system has been asked to participate in a government initiative to make it quicker and easier for people to verify themselves using modern technology.

The consultation is being carried out by the Department for Digital, Culture, Media and Sport (DCMS) as it develops its Digital Identity Policy.

9.00am: Clear Leisure soars as it welcomes new substantial shareholder

( ) rose 32% to 1.65p after it took advantage of recent share price strength to tap the market again.

Having raised 680,000 less than two weeks ago by placing shares at 0.6p, the company has raised 1mln, this time by placing shares at a penny each with an individual investor, John Story, giving him an 11.14% stake.

Ordinarily, issuing shares at a discount would lead to the share price fall but Clear Leisures share price is currently defying gravity thanks to its cryptocurrency development plans.

If involvement in cryptocurrency enterprises is a sure way at the moment to garner interest, so is any connection with coronavirus diagnostic tests, which explains the 15% rise to 210.9p for the share price of ( ).

The company put out a statement noting the recent press speculation about the UK Government take-up of Avacta's lateral flow SARS-CoV-2 rapid antigen test and noted that the test in question was an anterior nasal swab test, not (as press reports asserted) saliva-based.

Avacta continues to be in dialogue with the Department of Health and Social Care and with other organisations in the UK and abroad, with a view to the future supply of its rapid antigen test. It is prioritising the full clinical validation of its nasal swab-based SARS-CoV-2 rapid antigen test as a pre-requisite for CE marking and broad commercialisation.

Proactive news headlines

( ), the developer of a secure, blockchain-driven Covid passport system, has been asked to participate in a government initiative to make it quicker and easier for people to verify themselves using modern technology.

( ) said it has signed a commercial supply and collaboration deal with ePIC Blockchain Technologies which it said will allow it to receive priority access to state-of-the-art ASIC mining machines.

CentralNic Group PLC ( ) said it has agreed to acquire Wando Internet Solutions GmbH, a Berlin-based social marketing, display advertising and search engine marketing (SEM) advertising technology company, for an initial consideration of 5.4mln (4.7mln).

Sativa Wellness Group ( ) said its Bath and Bristol Goodbody clinics booked up to 27,000 a day in Covid testing revenues in December as it announced the opening of a tenth in-pharmacy facility and plans for a further twenty.

Base Resources Ltd ( ) generated revenue of US$72.8mln from its mining operations in Kenya in the six months to 31 December 2020. EBITDA came in at US$33.9mln, while net debt was cut by US$50mln.

( ) has received the processed high-resolution airborne electromagnetic and magnetics geophysics survey data and associated maps and report over the Dotted Lake property on the north limb of the Schreiber-Hemlo greenstone belt in Ontario, Canada.

( ) has helped create a joint venture to provide teleradiology reporting services and increased reporting capacity in Australia, New Zealand, the UK and Ireland.

Condor Gold ( )( ) has started a 5,000 metre diamond drill programme at the Cacao prospect at the La India project in Nicaragua. Cacao is located four kilometres from the planned processing plant at the fully permitted La India mine.

( ) said it has signed a supply agreement and a strategic R&D agreement with NexTech Batteries Inc, a lithium sulphur (Li-S) batteries company based in Nevada, US.

(LON:NQMI, ) said it has signed an agreement with Australian gold miner for the detailed evaluation and potential processing of lead and silver-rich stockpiles at the Sunbeam project, located at the companys Ukalunda tenement in North Queensland, Australia.

( ) has received ministerial consent for the transfer of title, being the final condition of closing on the acquisition of a 75% interest in the Eclipse gold project, located 55 kilometres north-east of Kalgoorlie, Western Australia.

"We are pleased to have now completed the acquisition of a 75% interest in Eclipse, said Empire director Mike Struthers.

PLC ( ) said it has filed an application with OTC Markets Group Inc for its shares to be cross-traded on the OTCQB Venture Market under the ticker GULDF, which it said will make its shares more widely available to North American investors.

( ) said it had made a positive start to its current year as it swung into profit in its first quarter. In its results for the three months to December 31, the aquaculture specialist reported an adjusted operating profit from continuing operations of 1.3mln compared to a 1.1mln loss a year ago, while revenues climbed to 29mln from 24.7mln.

( ) financial results for 2020 confirmed strong growth in revenues and gross profit, which rose by 49% and 83% respectively.

PLC ( ) has successfully completed trials and tests for the manufacture of battery grade spherical graphite, used in the anode of lithium-ion batteries. The trials and tests were conducted in tandem with a globally recognised German manufacturer of spheroidisation and micronisation equipment, achieving significant results in the end product.

Chariot Oil & Gas Limited ( ) has inked a collaboration agreement with Subsea Integration Alliance for the Anchois gas development project in Morocco.

(CVE:FO, ) told investors it is exiting non-core assets in Canada, assigning its interests to a large Canadian-based company.

Litigation Capital Management Limited ( ) has secured a US$50mln credit facility to provide the company with additional investment capital that will be used to pursue growth opportunities.

( ) said its 18.8% stake in Pulsiv Solar is now valued at 4.1mln following the latters latest equity fundraising and debt conversion, up from 3.6mln at the end of June.

VietNam Holding Limited ( ) said in its monthly investor report that business and consumer confidence continues to thrive in Vietnam, although there was a small wobble in January when profit-taking following a resurgence in coronavirus cases prompted profit-taking, resulting in the fund's net asset value (NAV) easing 1.7% over the course of the month. The NAV has rebounded in February.

PLC ( ) has appointed Panmure Gordon as Nominated Adviser with immediate effect. Panmure Gordon will also continue to act as financial adviser and joint broker to the company.

( ) announced the appointment of Charles 'Chuck' Fremont Osborne Jr to the board with immediate effect. Fremont, who has been in the role of chief financial officer since April 2019, has "significant capital markets experience coupled with a strong knowledge of financial operations within the pharmaceutical industry", said chief executive Richard Hullihen.

( ) has hired New York-based EAS Advisors to introduce institutions and funding, as the explorer works to advance mining and exploration projects in sub-Saharan Africa.

Silence Therapeutics PLC (LON:SLN) announced that the company's management will present business updates at two virtual investor conferences in March: the Cowen 41st Annual Health Care Conference at 10.20am on Monday 1 March; and the HC Wainwright Global Life Sciences Conference, on demand on Tuesday 9 March 2021.

PLC ( ) announced on Friday the introduction of its share option plan 2021 for executives and selected senior management, designed to promote the retention, recruitment and incentivisation of the Company's leadership team. Up to 11,194,030 new ordinary shares may be issued under new options granted under the plan, which represents approximately 2.5% of the company's issued ordinary share capital.

( ) said that on 1 March 2021 it will publish its full year results for the financial year ended 31 October 2020.
CRESSONA  Cinderellas Closet returned to the Cressona Mall on Sunday to give women and girls the opportunity to find affordable formal wear.

The sale, run by the Rotary Club of Frackville, included $10 dresses ranging in color, length, size and style, as well as shoes, jewelry and shawls all for $1.

Rotary member Helen Miernicki said despite the COVID-19 pandemic and the possibility of events being canceled, they still wanted to offer girls and women the chance to buy formal wear.

Girls still want to have fun, Miernicki said. Its a chance for them to get pampered and for the female Rotarians to give them advice.

Miernicki said the sale can provide clothes for occasions other than school dances as well, such as plays or themed parties.

It is also an opportunity to raise money for community events, Miernicki said.

It all goes back to the community, Miernicki said. Its a win-win.

The Rotary Club collects donations all year at the Holiday Inn Express, Frackville. It also receives donations from bridal and consignment shops, including The White Pear in Schuylkill Haven.

Rotary Treasurer Karen Domalakes said the Rotary held a Cinderellas Closet sale in October, which only four people attended.

If four girls needed a dress, thats alright, Domalakes said. We got more than four today, so thats a success.

Miernicki said the lower attendance allows them to open and operate safely and ensure social distancing.

Amanda Johns, 23, of Schuylkill Haven, said she came to Cinderellas Closet many times in high school and was excited to see it was happening again.

I just have an affinity for pretty dresses, Johns said. You never know what youre going to find.

Johns was among around 30 people waiting outside before the sale began.

You have to get here a half-hour early or else the good dresses will be gone, Johns said.

Johns said she did not have a specific occasion in mind, but she thought she could find something to wear to the Renaissance Faire. She is also a future elementary school teacher and said she could have reasons to dress up for fun at school.

Others came out to look for dresses for potential upcoming school dances.

Payten Puttman, 15, came with her mother, Heather Puttman, and grandmother, Cindy Powell, of Shamokin, to shop for a prom dress.

Payten said she does not know if her school will have a prom yet, but as a sophomore she may have the opportunity to wear the dress another year. However, her mom said she may still have a reason to dress up this year.

I take formal portraits of her once a year, her mother said.

Payten said she had no clue what kind of dress she was looking for.

Shes more of a jeans and t-shirt girl, Heather Puttman said.

Christina Huff, 17, of Pottsville, said she came into the sale with an open mind as she tried on a purple and white dress. Huff said she has had luck with Cinderellas Closet in the past.

Ive been coming here for a while, Huff said. I got my eighth-grade dance dress here.

A senior at Pottsville Area High School, Huff said she is unsure if there will be a spring prom this year.

Im just hoping for it, Huff said.

Domalakes said the uncertainty of whether these events will happen makes Cinderellas Closet a good option.

You can take a risk on a $10 dress, she said.

Even if events are canceled, Miernicki said she hopes people will still wear the dresses they buy.

Everyone should get a dress and wear it just for fun when COVID is over, Miernicki said.
Source: Xinhua| 2021-02-22 15:17:40|Editor: huaxia

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People bring their dogs to Domino Park in the Brooklyn Borough of New York, United States, Feb. 18, 2021. (Photo by Michael Nagle/Xinhua)

For quite some time, the human rights that have been truly preserved and promoted in the United States are those of the powerful and the wealthy. At the same time, such basic human rights as those to life, health and even survival of the general public have been either neglected or damaged.

by Xinhua writer Guo Yage

BEIJING, Feb. 22 (Xinhua) -- The American people are being thrashed by one crisis after another: The raging coronavirus pandemic has so far taken almost 500,000 lives in the country; roaring blizzards have killed some 50 people in Texas and other southern states, and left millions more struggling with frost, darkness and disrupted daily lives.

The dire situation has once again busted the human rights fairy tales the world's sole superpower has flaunted for decades, and revealed the hollowness behind the country's brassy promises to its citizens.

For quite some time, the human rights that have been truly preserved and promoted in the United States are those of the powerful and the wealthy. At the same time, such basic human rights as those to life, health and even survival of the general public have been either neglected or damaged.

Following the coronavirus outbreak in the country, the previous U.S. administration, which should have devoted itself to beating the disease and saving lives, had chosen intentionally to downplay the threat of the deadly virus, spread lies and misinformation, and sought to shift responsibility to others.

Medical workers carry a patient into an ambulance in New York, the United States, April 6, 2020. (Photo by Michael Nagle/Xinhua)

The American public has paid a bloody heavy price for Washington's arrogance and ignorance. The United States now still ranks first in terms of infections and deaths worldwide. Life expectancy in the country fell by an astounding full year in the first half of 2020 due to the pandemic, with minority groups suffering the sharpest declines, according to the U.S. Centers for Disease Control and Prevention. A report published on Feb. 10 by the Lancet pointed out that around 200,000 Americans should not have died if proper measures had been taken.

The ferocious winter storms have offered American politicians another chance to display their indifference to the welfare of the American people.

While the howling storms have led to freezing temperatures and widespread power blackouts in Texas, the state government and local power grid operators have so far failed to bring forward a timetable for power restoration. Some unscrupulous companies have taken the advantage to charge exorbitant prices for essential supplies of electricity. And as millions of Texans are shivering in coldness and desperate for water and food, Senator of the Lone Star State Ted Cruz flew to Mexico for holidays.

A staff member carries bottled water at a water distribution center in Plano, northern suburban city of Dallas, Texas, the United States on Feb 20, 2021. (Photo by Dan Tian/Xinhua)

What is more jaw dropping is that Mayor of Colorado City Tim Boyd posted on Facebook recently that the local government has no responsibility to support the people amid the weather crisis, and that "only the strong will survive and the weak will perish."

While showing little interest in promoting the human rights of their own people, some Washington politicians have turned human rights into an excuse for meddling in the businesses of others overseas.

Pretending to care about the human rights far beyond its shores, Washington militarily intervened in the Middle East, causing huge losses of human lives there, and smeared China over alleged human rights abuses in Xinjiang and Tibet to stoke divisions and instability in China, and to contain the country's development.

In the famous Danish fairy tale, the little match girl could still light matches to have warmth and the feeling of being loved, even though those were illusory.

For the ordinary Americans in the face of blizzards and the pandemic, even those hallucinations are out of reach, except that both they and the little match girl live in fairy tales. 

Do away with the grey, and let us have it in black and white. Thats the message the Advertising Standards Council of India (ASCI) has for digital media influencers.

ASCI has brought out draft guidelines for influencer advertising on digital media, an expanding and so far unmonitored landscape where the lines between personal and promotional content is often blurred. The self-regulatory body wants social media influencers to disclose upfront  through labels or in the case of audio media, by way of an announcement at the beginning and the end of the audio ...
NEW YORK, Feb. 22, 2021 /PRNewswire/ -- This Spring, Gap continues to champion modern American optimism by amplifying the voices of GENERATION GOOD  a collective of unique individuals taking action as forces for good. Acting on the shared values of inclusion, diversity, sustainability and community, these groundbreakers are changing the paradigm, propelling a real shift in how we show up, represent, listen and learn across generations. Through founding ideals and creative expression, GENERATION GOOD inspires the good in all of us, working together for a brighter future.

Gap Teen NXT GEN anthem Gap GENERATION GOOD anthem Gaps GENERATION GOOD campaign

Experience the interactive Multichannel News Release here: https://www.multivu.com/players/English/8840352-gap-generation-good-forces-good-across-generations/

"Gap was founded with the mission to do more than sell clothes," says Mary Alderete, global head of Gap marketing. "GENERATION GOOD reflects this ideal that we can all be our true selves and move things forward by being a force for good. It takes a collective to change the world and that's exactly what GENERATION GOOD is up to."

Gap Teen kicks things off with youth demanding a spring awakening to meet a future of their making. Across gender equity, climate justice, racial equality and anti-bullying platforms, this natural born chorus of young voices raises the bar on what's expected and what's possible.

Gap Adult culture shapers cultivate community and create with audacity to break barriers for themselves and the generations who follow. Director and Photographer Mark Seliger captured these individuals of style to the soundtrack of Michael Kiwanuka's "You Ain't The Problem"  a fitting anthem of realization and renewed energy Kiwanuka wrote to remind himself of self-love for progress: "I lived a dream. I hope to be. Who I believe in." This installment of the campaign releases across national television and digitally on March 8, 2021.

Some GENERATION GOOD icons include:

Aurora James (@aurorajames) creative director and founder of Brother Vellies, founder of the 15 Percent Pledge, activist

(@aurorajames) creative director and founder of Brother Vellies, founder of the 15 Percent Pledge, activist Dr. Woo ([email protected]_woo_) choice tattoo artist

([email protected]_woo_) choice tattoo artist Evan Mock (@evanmock) skater and creator

(@evanmock) skater and creator Mikhail Baryshnikov (@baryshnikovartscenter) performer, artistic director for Baryshnikov Arts Center

(@baryshnikovartscenter) performer, artistic director for Baryshnikov Arts Center Kimberly Drew (@museummammy) curator, advocate, and co-editor of Black Futures

(@museummammy) curator, advocate, and co-editor of Black Futures Dizzy Fae (@dizzyfae) musician

(@dizzyfae) musician Melissa King (@chefmelissaking) award-winning chef, entrepreneur & TV personality

(@chefmelissaking) award-winning chef, entrepreneur & TV personality Ina Bhoopalam ( @inabhoopalam) gender equality and climate justice activist, co-founder of @dreamequal and @oneupaction

@inabhoopalam) gender equality and climate justice activist, co-founder of @dreamequal and @oneupaction Rebekah Bruesehoff (@therealrebekah) transgender youth activist

(@therealrebekah) transgender youth activist Mari Copeny (@littlemissflint) clean-water activist and philanthropist

(@littlemissflint) clean-water activist and philanthropist Nandi Hildebrand (@nandihildebrand) anti-bullying activist and speaker

(@nandihildebrand) anti-bullying activist and speaker Jahkil Jackson (@officialprojectiam) equality activist and founder of Project I Am

"Gap is committed to positive change," says Aurora James, creative director and founder of Brother Vellies, and founder of the 15 Percent Pledge. "As we announced earlier this month, Gap and Gap Inc. will accelerate their representation commitments by taking the Pledge, and becoming an advocacy partner, aligning with the Pledge's mission of creating a more equitable industry. Gap is being the change for good and I'm proud to play a part."

Gap Inc. is making a $200,000 donation to 15 Percent Pledge and increasing their pipeline programs by 15 percent, starting with early empowerment programs including internship, externship, apprenticeship, and training. In honor of Black History Month, Gap is underscoring its commitment to Black representation with The Gap Collective spring capsule, designed by Courtney Minor, Tatiana Hill, and Dwayne Duprey, artists and allies in Gap Inc.'s African American Networking Group. This builds on Gap and Gap Inc.'s partnership with 15 Percent Pledge to drive access and opportunity for the Black and Latinx communities.

GENERATION GOOD also manifests itself as a namesake collection of its most sustainable essentials to date. Made of organic and recycled fabrications for all generations, Generation Good redefines new product icons that check all the boxes on Gap's Good List: less waste, less water, lower emissions, better materials, and support for workers. Launching on World Water Day, March 22, the capsule promotes environmentally conscious product while reducing impact on the planet.

From product with purpose, to youth representing the next generation of leaders, to adult trail blazers inspiring generations, GENERATION GOOD fills the gap: the space in between, in which new thingsgood thingscan happen. Join @gap and the #GenGood movement.

About Gap, @gap and @gapkids

Gap is an authority on modern American style. Founded in San Francisco in 1969, Gap continues to build on its heritage grounded in denim and connect with customers online and in company-operated and franchise retail locations globally. Gap includes Women's and Men's apparel and accessories, GapKids, babyGap, GapMaternity, GapBody and GapFit collections. The brand also serves value-conscious customers with exclusively designed collections for Gap Outlet and Gap Factory Stores. Gap is the namesake brand for leading global specialty retailer, Gap Inc. (NYSE: GPS) which includes Old Navy, Gap, Banana Republic, Athleta, Intermix, and Janie and Jack brands. For more information, please visit www.gapinc.com

PRESS CONTACTS

Gap: Jenna Stone, [email protected]

LaForce: Kristin Brice, [email protected], 724.549.1731

Related Links

http://www.gapinc.com



SOURCE Gap
MYTURN REGISTRATION IN KINGS AND FRESNO COUNTIES

BAD EXPERIENCE AT HANFORD COVID-19 VACCINE CLINIC

STATE DIDN'T INFORM RESIDENTS OF CANCELLATIONS, OFFICIAL SAYS

(TNS)  A "glitch" in California's COVID-19 vaccine registration website incorrectly allowed anyone in the state to register for shots in Kings County, a top public health official there said.One man who registered, Harinder Singh, 66, of Fresno, was turned away from a Hanford clinic by staff because he's not a Kings County resident.In registering for a coronavirus vaccine, Singh's city of residence, Fresno, and zip code were first entered into the state's MyTurn portal, which then told him an appointment in Hanford was available, said his son Jasjit Singh, who made the appointment for his father.Harinder Singh said he didn't receive an email or phone call notifying him that his appointment had been canceled, and no one at the Hanford clinic Thursday morning gave him information about how to schedule a new one. He said he asked if he could wait there for more information and was told to leave the property.Heather Silva, assistant director of the Kings County Department of Public Health, said Thursday evening that Kings County has stopped booking appointments through MyTurn until the issue is resolved, and is now "only booking those from our waitlist as vaccine supply allows.""MyTurn staff have indicated they are working on correcting the glitch in the system that allows anyone across the state to register for our Hanford clinic site," Silva said. There's no timeline yet for when those issues might be fixed.The California Department of Public Health toldon Thursday only that they were "researching" the MyTurn matter. California launched the MyTurn system in late January.Silva didn't tellhow many appointments in Kings County were canceled because of this issue, or if Kings County residents are still able to register for a COVID-19 vaccine online another way through the county.Later Thursday, a news release said COVID-19 vaccine appointments in Kings County are "on hold" and halted for the near future.As of Friday afternoon, however, Kings County was still directing people on its website to myturn.ca.gov for appointments.Silva said the issue in Kings County began Wednesday afternoon, while piloting two small clinics using MyTurn "with the aim of testing out the new state-mandated system before we fully transition." Staff "immediately started experiencing issues and concerns with who was able to register for an appointment at our Hanford clinic site," including out-of-county residents and others deemed ineligible."We have always only vaccinated those who live or work in Kings," said Silva, who called that "standard" for health departments across California.In nearby Fresno County, however, Fresno County Department of Public Health staff said, "Our understanding is that all MyTurn spots are open for anyone not county based, we aren't checking for a local address for our Fresno County clinics."Fresno County's vaccine team described the system this way: "MyTurn directs people to the closest clinic site  depending on that clinic's requirement they may only be vaccinating people who live or work in that county  we do not have much control over the system  they may need to speak to MyTurn directly."Fresno County also directs people to the MyTurn portal for COVID-19 vaccine registration.Silva said the number of COVID-19 vaccine doses in Kings County has been "extremely limited"  less than some similar-sized California counties. She said her county is still vaccinating health care workers and working through a waitlist of Kings County residents who are 65 and older. Demand for vaccines among residents continue to "far outweigh the supply." Kings County also didn't receive its vaccine shipment this week because of inclement weather across the country, which is compounding the issue, Silva said.Nichole Fisher, Kings County Department of Public Health nursing home division manager, also expressed frustration, adding that these delays come "at a crucial time in curtailing the pandemic."The 66-year-old Harinder Singh is among millions of residents over the age of 65 in California who are now eligible to receive a COVID-19 vaccine.He arrived on time for his Thursday morning appointment at Kings County's Hanford clinic at 330 Campus Drive. It was a 45-minute drive from his home in southeast Fresno. He showed staff at the clinic his reservation code upon arrival, but was told his appointment had been canceled and to leave."It was not a good experience," Singh said. "It was bad."His son, Jasjit Singh, called the state to ask what happened and was directed to Fresno County's 211 hotline. Someone there told him they would look into the matter.Jasjit said there's also a language barrier for his dad, and that experiences like this for immigrants can be especially hard. His dad left the clinic feeling "dejected," he said, like "Oh, you just don't get it.""It takes a toll on the psyche," Jasjit said.Jasjit is on the board of the Fresno-based Jakara Movement, which has helped get Sikh and Punjabi communities COVID-19 information. Jasjit lives in Sacramento and is also director of programs for California ChangeLawyers.His father retired last year from his job as a truck driver because of COVID-19 concerns. Harinder also has asthma. Harinder said he's eager to get a COVID-19 vaccine, also so he can return to work part-time for extra income.After being denied a vaccine in Hanford, Harinder was later able to get an appointment via the MyTurn site for his first of two COVID-19 shots at the Fresno Fairgrounds, scheduled for Tuesday, his son said.Of the cancelled appointments, Silva said MyTurn "informed us that once we cancel their appointment in the system, the system will notify the patient of their cancellation." But that didn't happen."After speaking with out-of-county residents that still showed up for their appointment, we realized that no one had received a cancellation email from MyTurn," only emails from the Kings County health department, Silva said."Our staff immediately started reaching out to all patients via telephone to inform them of their cancellation."Silva said people with canceled appointments were given a number to the MyTurn call center so they could reschedule an appointment in their county, and were advised to also reach out to their county health department to see if there are any other clinics administering vaccines not yet listed on the state's MyTurn portal.Harinder said he wasn't given any of this information from MyTurn or Kings County, including no cancellation emails or calls.His son Jasjit also wondered if the COVID-19 vaccine originally slated for his father had been wasted. Silva said all doses are used."If there are doses remaining from an open vial at the end of the day," she said, "we call patients from the waitlist to ensure we use the entire vial before the end of the day."Jasjit hopes the story about what happened to his dad helps county health departments and the state improve how COVID-19 vaccines are administered in California. Jasjit said he'd rather see the Federal Emergency Management Agency in charge of administering coronavirus vaccines.Silva said she recognizes cancelled appointments are "frustrating" for people."And it is extremely difficult to have to turn people away," she said, "especially those who are most vulnerable."
They both shot to fame on popular Australian reality shows.

And Cyrell Paule and Eden Dally shared a series of throwback pictures on Sunday, showcasing the stunning blue-themed party organised for their son Boston's first birthday, earlier in February.

The Married At First Sight beauty, 29, captured the lavish celebration at their Sydney home alongside her boyfriend and former Love Island star, Eden, 26.

Family: Cyrell Paule and Eden Dally shared throwback pictures on Sunday, showcasing the stunning blue-themed party organised for their one-year-old son, Boston's birthday

Cyrell made sure to spare no expense as she decorated their pad with an extravagant balloon display in pastel blue and metallic hues.

There was also a glorious two-tier cake for the birthday boy, which featured white clouds made from icing and a blue bear perched on top.

Placed next to the showstopper treat was a spread of sweets, including biscuits which read, 'Boston is one,' and delectable cupcakes.

In addition to a white marquee, they also arranged a number of tasting plates with delicious Lebanese cuisine.

Mark the occasion: The Married At First Sight beauty, 29, captured the lavish celebration at their Sydney home alongside her boyfriend and former Love Island star, Eden, 26

The food for guests to nibble on included plates of hummus, spiced cauliflower, curry puffs, falafel and tabbouleh supplied by The Hills on Wheels.

A stunning multi-level grazing table offering breads, fruits and cured meats, was also set up under the couple's backyard marquee.

Celebrity guests including MAFS stars Billy Vincent, Elizabeth Sobinoff, and Nasser Sultan were in attendance, as well as My Kitchen Rules contestant Romel Kouyan.

Despite their usual on-screen antics, the couple's celeb guests all appeared to be getting along with each other on the day as they posed for a group snap.

Sticking to the theme: Cyrell made sure to spare no expense as she decorated their pad with an extravagant balloon display in pastel blue and metallic hues

Celebration: There was also a glorious two-tier cake for the birthday boy, which featured white clouds made from icing and a blue bear perched on top

Candy: Placed next to the showstopper treat was a spread of sweets, including biscuits which read 'Boston is one' and delectable cupcakes

Remarkably Nasser looked cosy with Cyrell on the day, despite coming to blows with the mother at the recent MAFS all-star reunion.

She had even called him out for allegedly trolling her, Eden and their child over the past year.

Cyrell kept it glam for the occasion wearing a black shirt dress which clung to her slender figure. She completed the outfit with a pair of dark leather sandals.

She wore her cropped black hair around her shoulder and opted for a glossy makeup palette for the day.

Meanwhile, father Eden showed off his muscular build in a white and blue stripped short sleeve shirt which he paired it with tight black jeans.

Endless feast: In addition to a white marquee, they also arranged a number of tasting plates with delicious Lebanese cuisine

Tuck in! The food for guests to nibble on included plates of hummus, spiced cauliflower, curry puffs, falafel and tabbouleh supplied by The Hills on Wheels

Delicious: A stunning multi-level grazing table offering breads, fruits and cured meats was also set up under the couple's backyard marquee

The Love Island star finished his outfit with a pair of tan lace-up shoes.

Cyrell captioned her throwback Instagram upload: 'Celebrating loving Boston for year....A few weeks ago our little man turned 1.

'I remember the first day bringing him home. Being in lockdown as a first time parent. Without a doubt one of the most challenging times of our life.

'Its never going to get easier. And I will never ever be the perfect parent. But not a day goes by that we arent learning more, doing more and loving you more'.

She concluded the post by thanking the various companies that helped make the event a success.

Star-studded event: Celebrity guests including MAFS stars Billy Vincent, Elizabeth Sobinoff, and Nasser Sultan were in attendance, as well as My Kitchen Rules contestant Romel Kouyan

Stunning: Cyrell kept it glam for the occasion wearing a black shirt dress which clung to her slender figure and she completed the outfit with a pair of dark leather sandals

Proud moment: Meanwhile, father Eden showed off his muscular build in a white and blue stripped short sleeve shirt which he paired it with tight black jeans as he held Boston
The first day of the International Defence Exhibition (Idex) and the Naval Defence Exhibition (Navdex) 2021 in Abu Dhabi has seen the UAE Armed Forces sign 19 deals, worth AED5.03 billion ($1.37 billion), with local and international companies.



The deals came on the first day of the two exhibitions, which will run until February 25, reported state-run news agency WAM.



Staff Brigadier-General Mohammed Al Hassani, Official Spokesperson of the Idex and Navdex exhibitions, said: "The total amount of deals signed with international parties amounted to AED1.091 billion, which is 22 percent of the total value of deals. Meanwhile, the value of deals signed with UAE companies reached AED3.939 billion, or 78 percent of the total value of deals.



"Seven contracts were awarded to foreign companies, and 12 contracts were awarded to companies based in the UAE.



The deals were announced during a press conference held today in the presence of Naval Staff Colonel Fahed Nasser Al Thehli and Lieutenant-Colonel Staff Maya Rashid Almazrouei, spokespersons for Idex and Navdex 2021.



Naval Staff Colonel Fahed Nasser Al Thehli, Official Spokesperson for Navdex, commented: "Contracts have been agreed between the UAE Armed Forces and the Emirati company Calidus Aerospace, purchasing the Calidus B-250 aircraft, at a value of AED1,697,834,053. Agreements have also been finalised with NIMR Automotive to purchase NIMR vehicles at a value of AED230,416,000.



"The UAE Armed Forces have further finalised deals with the Abu Dhabi based company, the International Golden Group, purchasing ammunition and weapons for the armed forces at a value of AED689,156,040.



Deals were also agreed with Al Masaood, providing spare parts and maintenance for a Leclerc tank and spare parts for Oshkosh Defence vehicles, at a value of AED250,000,000.



"GAL, part of the EDGE Group, agreed a deal with the UAE Armed Forces to provide technical support for the air navigation systems of the UAEs Joint Aviation Command, with a value of AED410,000,000. Contracts were also finalised with Bin Hilal Enterprises, supplying spare parts, repair, and technical support for the General Maintenance Corp, with a value of AED45,000,000.



"Deals were signed with Al Fattan Marine Services to buy coastal patrol boats, helping enable vital installations and coastal protection, at a value of AED35,494,740. Further agreements were signed with Etihad Ship Building, providing technical support alongside spare parts for boats and naval vessels at a value of AED60,000,000.



"The UAE Armed Forces have also signed deals with AMMROC, another subsidiary of EDGE Group, to review the efficiency and ensure the combat readiness of aircraft of the UAEs Joint Aviation Command, with the total value of AED175,788,667. Wolf Sbane WholeSale of Military Equipment Trading also signed deals to install chemical, radiation detection, and early warning devices for the Chemical Defence Command. In addition, a contract was signed with Maximus Air, to charter air freight services for the Armed Forces, at a value of AED293,840,000."



Lieutenant-Colonel Staff Maya Rashid Almazrouei added: "The UAE Armed Forces announced a deal with the German company, RheinMettal Defence Electronics, to develop technology for ground forces engagement, with a value of AED57,427,500, while a contract was also agreed with Insitu to purchase integrator drones systems, with a value of AED405,008,910.



"A deal was signed with the Serbian company, Yugoimport, to provide shells and artillery for land engagement, with a value of AED74,698,742. Contracts have been agreed with Tecnobit to provide artillery simulators for land units, and a contract has been confirmed with the French company Thales SIX to develop the GATR-T Communication System for the UAE Air Defence Forces, with a deal confirmed for AED350,610,000.



"The UAE Armed Forces confirmed deals with Denel SOC, trading as Denel Dynamics, to provide an unmanned drone system, Seeker 400 UAE, to the Presidential Guard Command with a value of AED50,000,000. Contracts were also signed with the French company, Ouvry SAS, to purchase preventative missions for chemical defence, at a value of AED101,376,664.
(Bloomberg) -- Donald Trump will speak at the annual Conservative Political Action Campaign conference in Florida, his first public appearance since leaving the White House, to an audience of mostly loyal followers.

The former president in a Feb. 28 address will discuss the future of the Republican Party and the conservative movement, said a person familiar with Trumps schedule. Hes also expected to take on President Joe Bidens immigration policies.

Sponsored by the American Conservative Union, CPAC will feature several members of Trumps administration, GOP lawmakers, and others, according to a posted schedule. Thousands are expected to attend.

The event was moved this year to Orlando in Trumps adopted home state from the Washington DC area, where it had been held for decades. CPACs recent home, the Gaylord National Resort & Convention Center in Maryland, remains closed due to the coronavirus pandemic.

Former Secretary of State Michael Pompeo and former Housing Secretary Ben Carson are among those listed, along with Senators Ted Cruz of Texas and Josh Hawley of Missouri.

Trump has been out of the public eye for the past month, a stretch of time that included his acquittal by the U.S. Senate of an impeachment charge.

Party Split

He emerged for phone-in interviews on conservative networks after last weeks death of broadcaster Rush Limbaugh from lung cancer. During those segments Trump, without prompting, repeated claims that the 2020 election had been stolen from him.

CPAC will highlight a split in the Republican Party between those loyal to Trump and others who want to move on -- and who mostly wont be at the meeting, which starts Thursday.

Asa Hutchinson, the Republican governor of Arkansas, said Sunday that Trump will only define our party if we let him define our party and that he wouldnt support a Trump White House run in 2024.

I think its fine for CPAC to invite former President Trump to speak, but how about the other voices -- Senator [Bill] Cassidy from Louisiana, those that have different points of view, still arch-conservatives, but a different voice for the future of our party? he said on CNN.

Former Texas GOP Representative Will Hurd, who left Congress this year, said on NBC that Trump should have very little if none at all influence on the party going forward.

This is a president that lost the House, the Senate, the White House in four years. I think the last person to do that was Herbert Hoover, he said.

2021 Bloomberg L.P.
[February 22, 2021] Alorica Secures Coveted Spot on IAOP's Global Outsourcing 100 for Seventh Consecutive Year and Announces First-Ever Impact Sourcing Partnership with IAOP to Support Venezuelan Refugees in Colombia

Alorica Inc., a global leader in customer experience solutions, has been named on the well-known International Association of Outsourcing Professionals' (IAOP) Global Outsourcing 100 (GO100) list for its seventh year in a row. This recognition features the world's best outsourcing service providers and advisors from across all industries, areas of specialization and company size. The 2021 Global Outsourcing 100 and its sub-list are essential references for companies seeking new and expanded relationships with the industry's best companies. Judging is based on a rigorous scoring methodology that includes an independent review by a panel of IAOP customer members with extensive experience in selecting outsourcing services providers and advisors for their organizations. "Being recognized in The Global Outsourcing 100 every year is a testament to our industry-leading ability to deliver insanely great customer interactions," said Greg Haller, Chief Operating Officer at Alorica. "This year, we take even greater pride as we further our commitment to impact sourcing while we prepare to launch operations in Colombia-our most recent example of expanding operations to support our clients." As part of the recent OWS21 annual conference, IAOP, non-profit business network Tent Partnership for Refugees, Colombia's BPO association BPrO and several major BPO companies-including Alorica-announced their first impact sourcing initiative to integrate Venezuelan refugees into the Colombian workforce. With five million Venezuelans having fled their country due to the instability and turmoil in recent year, Colombia alone has welcomed approximately two million of these refugees. Alorica has pledged its commitment to include Venezuelan refugees as part of the plan to hire hundreds in Colombia in conjunction with its market launch later this year.



"Now, more than ever, outsourcing end-users need to be able to easily identify and select the right company for their outsourcing needs," said Debi Hamill, IAOP CEO. "It is great recognition being named to The Global Outsourcing 100. Given the strong, global competition, Alorica should be proud of achieving excellence in the field." Yaron Schwartz, Head of Impact Sourcing at the Tent Partnership for Refugees, said, "We're thrilled to welcome Alorica to the Tent family, and we're so proud of their intention to hire Venezuelans in Colombia once they launch their operations there this year. This will build on their existing efforts to hire Venezuelans in other countries such as Mexico, Panama and Uruguay."

For companies looking for guidance and support with their outsourcing strategy, Alorica's regular inclusion on the GO100 list and many recent accolades reflect our high-quality, scalable capabilities and 22-year legacy of retaining the most skilled customer experience experts around the world. To discuss business goals and how our personalized solutions can positively affect customer loyalty, satisfaction and your bottom line, email sales@alorica.com. About Alorica Alorica is a global leader in customer experience solutions. We are made up of 100,000 passionate problem solvers who make lives better through positive customer interactions-at every touchpoint-across voice, chat and social. Leveraging innovative technologies-including intelligent automation and a comprehensive analytics suite-we support the world's most respected brands with the best talent and resources necessary to create insanely great experiences. Alorica provides a host of world-class services-from customer care to financial solutions and digital services-to clients across industries of all kinds, many of whom are on the Fortune 500. Alorica contact centers and operation hubs span the globe with locations in 14 countries. To learn more, visit www.alorica.com. About IAOP IAOP is the global association that brings together customers, providers, and advisors in a collaborative, knowledge-based environment that promotes professional and organizational development, recognition, certification, and excellence to improve business service models and outcomes. Our members and affiliates worldwide are digging deep at IAOP conferences, learning at IAOP chapter meetings, getting trained and certified at IAOP courses and workshops, and connecting through IAOP social media, all with one goal: better business results. Whether you are a customer, provider or advisor, new to collaborative business models like outsourcing, or you are an experienced professional, IAOP connects you and your organization to our growing global community and the resources you need to get the results your company deserves and demands. For more information and how you can become involved, visit www.IAOP.org. View source version on businesswire.com: https://www.businesswire.com/news/home/20210222005316/en/

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Updated report: Gender-reveal device explodes, killing man in upstate New York

LIBERTY  State Police said a planned gender reveal party gone wrong in this Sullivan County community killed a man and injured his brother.

State Police were called to a home on Lt. JG Brender Highway for a reported explosion on Sunday. Police said Christopher Pekny, 28, was building a device for a gender reveal party when it exploded. The explosion killed Pekny and injured his brother Michael Pekny, 27. He was taken to Garnet Medical Center in Middletown for treatment.

The Times Herald-Record reported that the man killed was the father-to-be.

The State Police and its bomb disposal unit are investigating the incident.

At least two other people have died in recent years from the use of explosives at gender reveal parties. The explosions typically are used to shoot off either blue or pink powder to indicate the gender of an expectant child.

In early February, gunpowder inside a cannon used at a gender reveal party in Michigan exploded, launching shrapnel into the air and killing one man.

In October 2019, a woman in Iowa died during a gender reveal announcement after flying debris hit her from what amounted to a homemade pipe bomb.

In September, wildfires that destroyed thousands of acres in California were linked to a firework also used at a gender reveal party.

Lauren Stanforth contributed to this report.
Research released Monday confirms what many parents and educators already suspected  more students than ever are falling behind during the pandemic, a problem especially present among those learning entirely from home in some of the states larger districts.

The RISE Network tracked about 12,000 students in nine high schools in historically struggling districts to find out how many are in danger of being held back after failing at least two courses during the first marking period of this school year. The high schools included in the RISE analysis are in East Hartford, Hartford, Manchester, Middletown, Norwalk, Naugatuck and two schools in Meriden. Since the analysis includes only schools where parents were given the opportunity to enroll in-person or entirely remote, the report does not explore how many students in New Haven, which was entirely remote the first semester, fell behind.

The finding: The percentage of students in those schools in danger of failing has doubled since last year. This school year, 33 percent of students are not on track to progress to the next grade, compared to 15 percent last year.

This requires urgent attention, the RISE report concludes. Across the board, fewer students were passing the number of courses they need to promote this year than their counterparts last year. Although much more research is needed to fully estimate and understand the impact of the pandemic on student outcomes, there are, unsurprisingly, clear signs already that student achievement is suffering this year.

The analysis reveals which groups of students are falling behind the most. Among the students attending school entirely online, 46 percent failed at least two courses compared to 26 percent of those attending class partially in-person and from home.

Students who didnt have attendance issues before the pandemic were significantly less likely to opt to learn entirely from home than those who were chronically absent before the pandemic  34 percent vs. 50 percent.

The analysis also showed that learning entirely remotely  and not a students past academic or attendance performance  was the primary reason for students failing classes this year.

We cant simply say the struggling students picked remote and thats why remote students are struggling more. So that was a really important finding and an important moment to realize that if we dont act upon the data, we are going to be widening and creating new gaps, said Emily Pallin, the leader of RISE, a philanthropic effort started years ago by billionaire Barbara Dalio to help at-risk students graduate from high school and progress to college or a career.

Failing two or more courses is especially problematic this year, said Pallin, since schools are stretched thin while many educators simultaneously operate two different learning models. In many schools, fewer classes are being offered.

Some of these students may need to pass all of their classes to promote, or they may need to take additional courses in upcoming years to make up for being under-scheduled this year, she said.

The report also shows stark differences in which groups of students took the opportunity to attend school in-person.

Black and Latino students stayed home at twice the rate as white students. English language learners were just as likely to stay home as their peers, but students with disabilities were more likely to learn entirely from home.

ELL students may have been more likely to choose hybrid learning due to difficulty accessing language accommodations remotely  The higher proportions of special education students who chose remote learning is a concerning trend given the complexity of providing special education accommodations remotely, the report states.

In an effort to get students back on track and not have this year become a lost school year, districts have begun to ramp up new initiatives.

In Meriden, some students are offered Saturday tutor sessions. In East Hartford, students meet with teacher to set goals to get them on-track. In Hartford, students celebrate staying on track by earning T-shirts boasting the hard work they accomplished during a pandemic, and teachers strategize each week about how to engage students learning remotely. In Middletown, a group of teachers spend Wednesdays knocking on the doors of students who arent logging on regularly.

This cant be a lost year, Pallin said. Teachers are doing everything to make sure students stay on track.
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An alleged member of the Oath Keepers militia who has been charged in the 6 January insurrection has claimed she attended Donald Trumps rally as VIP security to protect legislators and protestors and had met with Secret Service agents.

Attorneys for Jessica Watkins from Ohio shared new details surrounding her alleged involvement in the riots in a court filing requesting her release from custody on bail under home confinement while awaiting trial.

The filing claims that "on 5 and 6 of January Ms Watkins was present not as an insurrectionist, but to provide security to the speakers at the rally.

The document says that Ms Watkins was present to provide escort for the legislators and others to march to the Capitol as directed by the then-President and safely escort protestors back from the march.

The filing reads: "She was given a VIP pass to the rally. She met with Secret Service agents. She was within 50 feet of the stage during the rally to provide security for the speakers.

In a statement to CNN in response to the claims, the US Secret Service denied that private citizens were working with the Secret Service to provide security on 6 January.

"To carry out its protective functions on 6 January, the US Secret Service relied on the assistance of various government partners, a US Secret Service spokesperson told the broadcaster.

They added: Any assertion that the Secret Service employed private citizens to perform those functions is false.

Ms Watkins is facing charges of conspiracy, obstruction of an official proceeding, destruction of government property, and unlawful entry on restricted buildings or grounds for her alleged role in the riot.

The filing argues that Ms Watkins did not vandalise anything in the Capitol or engage in any destruction of property, and in fact, encouraged others not to vandalise.

Her attorneys also argued that Ms Watkins should not be forced to remain in custody while awaiting trial due to her particular susceptibility to violence or health risks during pretrial custody.

Ms Watkins, who was a ranger in the Army and served in Afghanistan, is at risk of harsh treatment in custody as a transgender female, the report says.

They say that while in local custody, she was treated harshly and note that she faces increased Covid-19 risks.

Prosecutors had previously asked a judge to keep Ms Watkins behind bars until her trial, saying that she had a single-minded devotion to obstruct through violence an official proceeding that, on 6 January was designed to confirm the next President of the United States.

The court filing states that Ms Watkins acted on the belief that Mr Trump would invoke the Insurrection Act to use the military to ensure his continued presidency despite the election results.

Her attorney says Ms Watkins had become to believe the results were fraudulently reported: in large measure because of the rhetoric of the President, his congressional supporters, and the right-wing media.

However misguided, her intentions were not in any way related to an intention to overthrow the government, but to support what she believed to be the lawful government, the filing reads.

The Oath Keepers are a loosely connected paramilitary group that believes the federal government has been co-opted by a shadowy conspiracy that is trying to strip American citizens of their rights.

The Justice Department, which is prosecuting Ms Watkins case, has not yet responded to her claims in court, The Post reported.

Federal prosecutors have charged nine alleged members of the far-right anti-government Oath Keepers militia with conspiring to attack the US Capitol in one of the largest indictments in the wake of the insurrection.

A 21-page indictment alleges that the defendants did knowingly combine, conspire, confederate, and agree with each other and others known and unknown to break into the Capitol building.

Federal prosecutors allege that militia members attended paramilitary combat training to prepare for the attack, used social media and messaging apps to recruit others, and brought tactical gear to Washington DC to forcibly storm through police barricades.
New Delhi, Feb 22 : The Union Health Ministry informed on Monday that 3,07,238 people, including healthcare and frontline workers, were vaccinated on Monday, the 38th day of vaccination, which was conducted across 36 states and Union Territories (UT) of the country till 6 p.m.

With the latest addition, the cumulative figure of vaccination has reached 1,14,24,094 in the country, the ministry informed.

Of the cumulative figure, 75,40,602 beneficiaries were healthcare workers, including 11,15,542 who received their second shot which started in the country on February 13, while 38,83,492 are frontline workers.

The number of first doses administered to healthcare workers is 64,25,060.

The highest single day vaccination during the ongoing vaccination drive so far was achieved on February 18, when a total of 6,58,674 beneficiaries were administered the vaccine.

The ministry noted that the highest participation in the vaccination drive on Monday was seen in five states -- Uttar Pradesh (50,201), Karnataka (21,669), West Bengal (23,580), Maharashtra (22,979) and Bihar (19,501).

The ministry informed that no new hospitalisation following vaccination was reported in the last 24 hours, adding that a total of 46 beneficiaries have been hospitalised so far.

"Of them, 26 were discharged after treatment, one is under treatment while the remaining 19 persons have been reported dead," said Mandeep Bhandari, Joint Secretary in the Health Ministry.

Hospitalisation after vaccination remains 0.0004 per cent, the ministry said.

The Health Ministry also said that the total deaths recorded so far have reached 41, including two new fatalities reported in the past 24 hours. Of them, 19 reported in the hospital, while 22 deaths were recorded outside the hospital. However, no causal link between these events and the vaccines has been established so far, it added.

"A 24-year-old woman from Kerala died 17 days post-vaccination with symptoms of intracranial bleeding. Her post mortem is done but report is awaited," Bhandari informed.

"Another case is a 49-year-old female from Kerala who died two days after vaccination. Her case is of suspected Myocardial infarction. The postmortem has been done and the reports are awaited," he added.

"No case of serious/severe AEFI or death has been attributable to vaccination till date," Bhandari clarified.
When the coronavirus pandemic began, many asthma doctors believed their patients would have a far tougher time surviving COVID-19 than healthier people would.

I was thinking, Oh, my God, what is going to happen to my patients? said Dr. Diego Maselli, a UT Health San Antonio pulmonologist. But from what we know so far, it has not been the catastrophe we expected.

No one is calling it a silver lining to the pandemic, which so far has claimed nearly 500,000 lives in the United States. But new studies conducted in Japan, Britain and New York suggest that many asthmatics who contract COVID-19 will not have it longer or die at higher rates than the general population.

As one of the poorest major cities in America, San Antonio has struggled for decades with elevated levels of chronic diseases. An estimated 200,000 people in Bexar County suffer from asthma, and hospital admissions for the condition are higher here than in other large Texas cities.

Asthma affects an estimated 9 to 10 percent of San Antonians. Yet the Metropolitan Health District says that as of Jan. 31, just 3.7 percent of COVID-19 deaths here involved people who had listed asthma as an underlying condition.

The Centers for Disease Control and Prevention says more than 25 million Americans have asthma  about 7.7 percent of adults and 8.4 percent of children  although rates are much higher in centers of poverty.

Maselli, a native of Guatemala who immigrated to the U.S. in 2006 to do his residency in internal medicine at UT Health Houston, directs an asthma clinic in downtown San Antonio where he and his staff see 80 to 100 patients each week.

Lisa Krantz, Staff / Staff photographer

During the pandemic, he has been pulled into COVID intensive care unit duty at University Hospital, sometimes for 12 to 14 hours a day and six or seven days per week.

Ive seen so many people die, he said. But at his asthma clinic, our numbers were down. They werent coming. They were laying low and being extra careful.

Across the country, the number of asthma patients showing up at emergency clinics and hospitals has dropped during the pandemic.

Maselli said many asthmatics are cautious about their breathing environments, carry a rescue inhaler or use a maintenance inhaler each day and have closely followed reports about the behavior of the coronavirus.

A large number were primed and ready to quarantine, wear a mask and socially distance themselves without much prodding, Maselli suggested.

In some cases, their caution stemmed from the harrowing experience of a serious asthma attack or from having watched a loved one nearly suffocate because of their weakened lungs inability to pump oxygen.

The anguish of air hunger, Maselli said, has been described as one of the worst feelings you can have.

Lisa Krantz, Staff / Staff photographer

The lungs are like a tree with thousands of branches, called bronchi. When that network of tubes becomes narrowed because of an irritant or infection  some call it an allergy within the lungs  tiny alveolar air sacs are prevented from making a gas exchange that sends oxygen throughout the body.

The lungs of many asthmatics are made worse by mucus and inflammation. Without oxygen, the bodys major organs shut down.

One of Masellis mentors in San Antonio is Dr. Joseph Diaz, a board-certified allergist active in a free Metro Health pediatric asthma outreach program called SA Kids Breathe. About 7 percent of San Antonios children have asthma, according to state data. Metro Health says their hospital admissions also have declined during the pandemic.

Diaz said most of the promising data on asthma during the pandemic applies to people with controlled asthma  about half the asthmatic population.

Physicians determine whether asthma is controlled based on a patients frequency and intensity of symptoms, need for medication and ability to engage in normal activities.

Diaz believes that people with controlled asthma likely will not have COVID-19 longer or die at a higher rate than the general infected population but that those with uncontrolled asthma may have worse outcomes.

He says asthma is uncontrolled when a person uses a rescue inhaler more than twice a week  other than for exercise  or when someone wakes up at night because of asthma symptoms more than twice a month.

If you have severe asthma and a long history of airway scarring, Diaz said, youll have a higher chance of being compromised by COVID-19. Same as with the normal flu.

Some people with asthma also suffer from obesity, hypertension, diabetes, or disease of the kidney or heart, especially in a high-poverty city such as San Antonio.

Researchers at the Penn State College of Medicine analyzed data on 65,000 patients (average age 61) from 25 studies worldwide and determined that two pre-existing conditions were most dangerous for patients with COVID-19.

Common cardiovascular diseases appear to double a persons chances of dying from the coronavirus, while chronic kidney disease can triple the risk of death. Asthma was among the least serious complicating factors.

In a separate study published in the Journal of Allergy and Clinical Immunology, an examination of 10 U.S. hospitals with 1,526 COVID-19 patients showed that 220, or 14.4 percent, had asthma, but there was no difference in mortality or rates of hospitalization between those with asthma and those without.

Diaz is not particularly comforted by those findings. In the last several months, two of his patients  one in her mid-60s and one in her 70s  have died from COVID. He said both had severe asthma but were deemed controlled patients who were responding well to treatment.

The woman in her 70s called me from the hospital, Diaz said, and she obviously had enough symptoms to be hospitalized, but her phone call sounded more of the I just wanted you to know variety. Ten days later, she had died, and I never got to speak with her.

Diaz said both patients were on inhaled steroids and injectable biologics, such as Dupixent, which the U.S. Food and Drug Administration approved in 2018 for treatment of moderate to severe asthma.

Please tell asthmatics that they have to continue using their steroid inhalers, Diaz said. Some mistakenly think it might increase their chances of getting COVID. Not true.

Diaz said most asthma patients with COVID-19 will have a tremendous amount of viral infection in the lungs, a tremendous amount of cell death and thickening of lung tissue.

If increasing their oxygen flow doesnt stabilize an asthma patient, he said, they will likely be intubated, which involves sedating the person and forcing an air tube down the throat.

Thankfully, they dont feel that, he said, but if it doesnt work, they can get infected and will go septic. You have cardiac arrest. Respiratory death is a terrible way to go.

Diaz and Maselli said they have become close with many of their asthma patients.

Most of my severe patients have my cell phone number, Diaz said, laughing. My wife gets mad at me, but she knows that if they ever call late at night, they really need me.

Hes now treating the children of patients he saw 30 years ago.

It can be very gratifying. Asthma is a chronic disease. There is no cure. But its not that hard to treat if you know what youre doing. If well-controlled, asthma will not decrease your life expectancy.

bselcraig@express-news.net
The campus of Taya Vietnam in Dong Nai Province. Photo courtesy of Taya Vietnam.

Taiwan-owned Taya Electric Wire&Cable Company has closed its factory in Hai Duong Province, the Covid-19 epicenter, until March 2.

The decision was in compliance with the province's social distancing campaign which started on February 16, the company's management said in a notice to the HCM Stock Exchange.

It said the plant shutdown would not affect the companys business or finances.

The company, headquartered in the southern Dong Nai Province, manufactures electrical wires and cables.

Vietnam has confirmed 791 Covid cases in 13 localities since January 28, with Hai Duong accounting for 611.

The province, around 60 kilometers from Hanoi, ordered 15 days of social distancing last Tuesday, with authorities requesting people to only leave home to buy necessities like food and medicines or emergencies.
As the demand for Computer and IT hardware business in Metros is shrinking, the upcountry region is rapidly emerging as the new growth destination for IT hardware business in India. With Remote working and Distance learning gaining widespread adoption, the demand for computer hardware in C and D class cities is growing steadily. The conventional channel business, which has been very strong in the upcountry region aims to ride on this growth wave. However, the roadblocks of E-Commerce and product availability etc. is slowing down their pace.

RP tech India reached out to prominent partners across the country to understand the current business sentiments and future of the channel business in the upcountry market.

Growth from Budget Laptops/Printers

The demand for laptops and networking solutions witnessed an exponential rise in 2020 due to virtual engagements. The trend is set to continue in 2021 onwards as WFH and LFH become a mainstream practice. Budget laptops and printers witnessed huge demand from End-users and SOHO segment in C and D class cities. Similarly, printers and storage solutions were sold in large numbers in the education verticals.

Mr. Dixit Gupta, proprietor of Jammu based Source Peripherals said, Laptops and printers are huge in demand in Jammu since schools have started digital classrooms. The demand for budget laptops below Rs 35,000 is in high demand from home and SOHO segment. We have seen almost 40 per cent growth in the laptop sale on the channel in the last 10 months.

Though schools turned virtual, the demand for printed notes continued to rise during the lockdown. This triggered the demand for low and mid-range printers. Similarly, the requirement for steady broadband for WFH and LFH pushed the networking and access points business.

Mr. Amit Kotak, proprietor of Concorde Peripherals in Rajkot said, The penetration of laptops/tablets has increased in Saurashtra and Kutch region post-COVID-19 pandemic. Apart from that Components, Servers and Storage demand have increased in Corporates and Education vertical for online communication.

The entry-level peripheral segment saw surge due to demand for refurbished compute systems. As laptop price increased exponentially due to sudden surge in demand, consumers turned to second hand, refurbished and entry-level laptops. This triggered the demand for entry-level peripheral products, said Mr. Vivek Khanna, proprietor of Bhopal based Blue Ocean Solutions.

The E-Commerce Challenge

Offline channel and E-Commerce giants are seen locking horns over price in metros. However, the scenario is different in the upcountry market. Though E-Commerce is expanding its presence in the upcountry region, consumers prefer to purchase from local retail shops. Installation and service support are the most important aspect of channel business in C & D class cities.

The beauty of the channel business in the upcountry market is that it is driven by relationship. But at the same time, we cannot underestimate the challenge of E-Commerce. We are very proactive and raise our concerns related to fair business practices in various forums. We take all the necessary measures to protect our business interest, said Mr. Dixit Gupta of Source Peripherals

However, many partners believe E-Commerce is a major threat to their business. E-Commerce companies backed by foreign investors are burning millions of rupees in market development, logistics and advertising. They can afford to offer hefty discounts and still earn margins. We are small retailers with limited resources and we are unable to compete with the E-Commerce, said Sushil Agarwal, Cafe De Net, Silchar, Assam.

Endorsing similar views, Mr. Vikash Jain Proprietor of Jain Computer said, There are some areas of concern for retailers, most importantly the E-Commerce, which directly sells via E-Media. It gets difficult for retailers to compete with them. A retailer invests a lot in starting up a business, in that situation he cant sell the product in a lower margin for competing with the E-commerce sector.

Mr. Vivek Khanna pointed out that the practice of stiff discounting by E-Commerce has made it difficult for retailers to do business as consumers argue on price. Consumers come with specific product and its price listed on online portals. They demand us to sell at the same price and on top of that ask for installation and service. It becomes very difficult for us to justify our price to them. This has led us to shrink our margins to retain customers.

Product Availability & Pricing

Product availability has been a critical issue in the upcountry market. Partners lose potential business due to a shortage of products. Hence, there is a rising demand to have a fair and uniform system of stock allocation in small cities/towns. Considering the demand for IT products in A-class city, the upcountry market will also have demands of IT goods and as the market is less occupied it will create a huge demand, said Mr. Vikash Jain of Jain Computer.

Sharing similar experience, Mr. Amit Kotak of Concorde Peripherals said, We were out of stock of laptops when the demand was huge and this led us to lose potential business. Saurashtra and Kutch is the largest region in Gujarat and contributes to almost 30-30 per cent total IT hardware business in the entire State. Hence, we demand seamless availability of products and fair price policy from brands and NDs.

Support from Brands/ NDs

Being a budding market, the C & D class cities seek additional support from brands and NDs in terms of price, products allocation, credit and training. During COVID-19 crisis, many brands opted for virtual training and channel meets. However, partners say one-on-one training programs are necessary to strengthen the connections in the upcountry market.

We understand that brands prefer E-meet due to COVID guidelines but now they should restart dealer meets in small cities to provide training on the latest products. Also, incentive/rebate programs are essential to pump up the energy in the channel business. We also expect sale out support to penetrate in the market, said Mr. Amit Kotak of Concorde Peripherals.

Endorsing similar view, Mr. Vikash Jain of Jain Computer said, In the process of exposure of new products, the upcountry partner will surely need support from Distributors & Brands. Most importantly they will need support on after-sale service at the nearest point. Also, extension in credit days can help them in keeping stock with them.

Needless to say that the upcountry channel market has huge growth potentials. However, brands must emphasize channel support and marketing activities to tap potential business in developing cities/towns.

The leaders of the OPEC+ alliance, Saudi Arabia and Russia, are reportedly once again at odds over oil supply management ahead of another crucial meeting of the group next week.

OPECs top producer and de facto leader Saudi Arabia would likely prefer the March 3-4 meetings to decide that the OPEC+ coalition holds production flat in April, Bloomberg reports.

However, the key Saudi partner in the deal, Russia, will likely be pushing for further easing of the production cuts, especially Russian Deputy Prime Minister Alexander Novak said earlier this month that the global oil market was balanced and the current price of oil fully reflected this market situation.

Therefore, the two leaders of the pact are once again going into an OPEC+ meeting with diverging views on how to manage supply to the market.

Oil producers need to remain extremely cautious as uncertainty on the market is still very high, Saudi Arabias Energy Minister, Prince Abdulaziz bin Salman, said last week.

Saudi Arabia, through its extra cut of 1 million barrels per day (bpd) in February and March has helped the efforts of the OPEC+ alliance to tighten the oil market in the first quarter, while demand is still relatively weaker, especially outside Asia.

Saudi Arabia could use the timing and pace of reversing that 1-million-bpd cut as leverage for getting a deal next week, Bill Farren-Price, director at research company Enverus and veteran observer of OPEC, told Bloomberg.

The extra Saudi cut has been one of the factors that have supported the oil price rally in recent weeks. With oil above $60 a barrel, however, analysts reckon more OPEC+ members, especially Russia, would likely push for a more aggressive easing of the cuts from April.

Analysts and the market have not forgotten last Marchs debacle when Russia and Saudi Arabia disagreed on how to tackle the crashing demand at the start of the pandemic and broke up the OPEC+ pact for a month.

By Tsvetana Paraskova for Oilprice.com

More Top Reads From Oilprice.com:
Gardai are appealing for witnesses to an aggravated burglary that took at a home in Camolin, Co. Wexford on Sunday, February 21.

They suspect that the burglars were driving a silver/green Mondeo car and are seeking information from anyone who may have seen this vehicle in the area between 8-9pm.



Three masked men broke into a house and demanded money from the owners at approximately 8.30pm yesterday.



A small quantity of cash and belongings were taken from the scene.

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One of the men produced a knife during the incident but no one was injured.



No arrests have been made at this time.



Gardai in Gorey are appealing for anyone with information or any road users including motorists, cyclists and pedestrians who were in the Camolin area between 8-9pm and who may have camera footage (including dash cam) to make this available to them.



Anyone with information can contact Gardai in Gorey at 053 94 30690, the Garda Confidential Line on 1800 666 111 or any Garda Station.
An 84-year-old grandmother who received Australia's first Covid vaccine ahead of Prime Minister Scott Morrison didn't recognise him when they met.

Jane Malysiak, who immigrated to Australia from war-torn Poland when she was 13, received the Pfizer vaccine shot on Sunday morning ahead of the nationwide rollout on Monday.

The prime minister, donning an Australian flag face mask, then followed Ms Malysiak in receiving the jab at Castle Hill Medical Centre in Sydney's north-west.

Ms Malysiak told Today hosts Karl Stefanvoic and Sylvia Jeffreys it was 'very exciting' to be the first Australian on home soil to be vaccinated.

'I loved it,' she said.

Jane Malysiak, 84, receives the first Covid-19 vaccination in Australia on Sunday next to Prime Minister Scott Morrison

Stefanovic asked the aged care resident whether she experienced any side effects after taking the jab alongside the prime minister.

She replied: 'Not really side effects, except I didn't recognise him (Mr Morrison), he looks much nicer in real life than on television,' she said.

The Today hosts joked that Mr Morrison was hiding behind his face mask and that's why Ms Malysiak may not have recognised him.

Ms Malysiak said she had no reservations about getting vaccinated.

'No, no, it's just a little jab, so that doesn't - you know, it doesn't bother me. I said, yes, I will go and have a jab,' she said.

'Except I didn't know I was going to be so popular.'

Mr Morrison sat beside Ms Malysiak as she received her jab, which she described as 'lovely'.

While posing for photos, Mr Morrison encouraged Ms Malysiak to give a peace sign for the cameras, telling her it means 'V for vaccine'.

But Ms Malysiak hilariously botched the peace sign, and inadvertently threw up the universal sign for 'up yours' by turning her hand the other way around.

Jane Malysiak (left) was interviewed by the Today show on Monday morning after she received Australia's first coronavirus jab

Photographers, health workers and reporters erupted into laughter, before Mr Morrison quickly pushed Ms Malysiak's hand down, jokingly telling her 'always front, always front'.

The footage was played on Today and Jeffreys asked Ms Malysiak about the mishap.

Ms Malysiak replied: 'I never thought I'd be so popular.'

'I've got two boys, and their families. I never told them I'm going to be on television. They had to find out themselves.'

Stefanovic asked Ms Malysiak to give the cameras another 'V for vaccine' to conclude the interview.

But the grandmother again had her wires crossed and began to make the rude gesture before flipping her fingers around the correct way.

Stefanovic and Jeffreys erupted in laughter as the aged care resident successfully displayed her 'V'.

Jeffreys said: 'I didn't mind your two-fingered salute to the pandemic anyway Jane, I thought it was the perfect moment. You're a national treasure.'

A similar situation occurred on Sky News, with Ms Malysiak admitting she has still not worked out which way is correct.

Ms Malysiak hilariously botched the peace sign, and inadvertently threw up the universal sign for 'up yours' by turning her hand the other way around

Photographers, health workers and reporters erupted into laughter, before Mr Morrison quickly pushed Ms Malysiak's hand down, jokingly telling her 'always front, always front'

Mr Morrison heaped praise on Ms Malysiak on Sunday, telling the press she is a 'great Australian' who is now a part of Australian medical history.

'Jane Malysiak has seen many historic days in Australia over the course of her more than 80 years of life,' he said.

'She grew up in Poland in the Depression... she went through the Second World War, she came to Australia, she built a wonderful life here and is still living it gloriously today.

'She's seen more things than most of us have, and she's taking part in what is a very historic day for our country, and I want to thank you, Jane, for being with us here today.'

Health and border control workers, and aged care residents and their carers have started getting the Pfizer vaccine on Monday, at hubs across the country.

The rollout commences with about 60,000 Pfizer vaccine doses to be administered to priority groups.
Meghan McCain, cohost of daytime talk-show The View, says shes over Dr. Fauci.

Todays episode of The View addressed the U.S. nearing 500,000 COVID-19 deaths.

During the broadcast, McCain, took umbrage with recent remarks in the press from Dr. Anthony Fauci, chief medical advisor to President Joe Biden, whos said mask wearing and other pandemic safety precautions may be needed into 2022, to avoid infection spikes, even though rates have decreased recently.

I think we need to have more people giving more opinions, McCain said on The View. And, honestly, quite frankly, I think the Biden administration should remove him and put someone else in place that maybe does understand science or can talk to other countries about how we can be more like these places that are doing this successfully.

During the segment, McCain also referenced Israels handling of the pandemic. McCain is the daughter of late politician John McCain, who was the 2008 Republican presidential nominee. On The View broadcast today, McCain, age 36, also expressed frustration with not knowing when shed personally be eligible to receive a COVID-19 vaccination.

The fact that I, Meghan McCain, co-host of The View, I dont know when or how I will be able to get a vaccine because the rollout for my age range and my health is so nebulous. I have no idea when and how I can get it.

Earlier on The View, which airs weekdays 10 a.m. central on ABC, cohost Joy Behar blamed former president Donald Trump for the U.S.s pandemic woes. McCain later indicated she feels Biden should now share in that blame.

Following, McCains comments, cohost Whoopie Goldberg threw the broadcast to commercial. On Twitter later, McCain posted to her account, Many of you can keep worshiping at the alter [sic] of Fauchi [sic]. Im not a phony - i will not go on tv and lie saying one thing privately and another on air. This is my opinion. We need someone else in charge of coronavirus messaging and leadership.

According to a Jan. 21 ABC News public relations post on Twitter, The View is the most-watched daytime talk show, ranking number one in households and total viewers. The release said The View averaged more than 3,000,000 viewers the week of Jan. 11, based on Nielsen Media Research data.

The View debuted in 1997. In addition to McCain, Behar and Goldberg, current cohosts include Sunny Hostin and Sara Haines. More than 20 cohosts have appeared on The View over the shows 24 seasons. The original cohosts included famed broadcast journalist Barbra Walters, who came up with the shows all-female panel concept.

McCain became a fulltime The View cohost in 2017, following previous guest cohosting on the show. Following 2020 maternity leave, she returned to The View in January. Shes received at least three Daytime Emmy Award nominations for her work on the show. McCain has also been a columnist for online media outlet Daily Beast and authored books, including My Dad, John McCain and Dirty Sexy Politics.

An extended transcription of her comments on todays The View are below:

I have been very responsible in so many different ways as so many Americans have been. The fact that Dr. Fauci is going on CNN, and he cant tell me that if I get the vaccine, if Ill be able to have dinner with my family...if I can go to dinner at friends houses who are older. Its terribly inconsistent messaging. In Israel in Tel Aviv, one of the messages they have, I saw a sign that said, Get a shot, take a shot, meaning if I get the vaccine, I can go out and have shots with my friends. Is the science in Israel different than the science here in the United States of America, because Israel has over half of their country vaccinated already and seem to be doing pretty well?

The idea that I can get vaccinated and I wont be able to see friends and nothing in life changes and that were going to have to wear masks forever... I dont understand the downplaying of getting the vaccine because right now we should be wanting as many Americans as possible to get a vaccine.

The fact that I, Meghan McCain, co-host of The View, I dont know when or how I will be able to get a vaccine because the rollout for my age range and my health is so nebulous. I have no idea when and how I can get it. I want to get it. If you call me at 3 oclock in the morning, I will get any place at any time to get it. I want to be responsible and obviously wait my turn. But this rollout has been a disaster. And I understand obviously President Trump can take much of the blame, but now were in the Biden administration.

I, for one, would like something to look forward to and to hope for because if getting the vaccine means that just nothing changes and we have to wait another few years until everyone gets it...theres already a lot of people not getting it. Were already having a messaging problem getting people to take this vaccine. Im over Dr. Fauci. I think we need to have more people giving more opinions. And, honestly, quite frankly, I think the Biden administration should remove him and put someone else in place that maybe does understand science or can talk to other countries about how we can be more like these places that are doing this successfully.
Culture Secretary Oliver Dowden, pictured in Downing Street earlier this month, wants a meeting with Facebook this week

Downing Street blasted Facebook today over its continued blockade of Australian news websites, with a threat to take on the social media giant in the UK.

No10 today said Britain would be 'robust in defending free speech in journalism' amid growing criticism of Mark Zuckerberg's behemoth.

It was confirmed that Culture Secretary Oliver Dowden will hold talks this week with Facebook over the social media site's ongoing row with Australia over its refusal to pay to publish news.

A source close to the minister said he saw Facebook blocking news groups' pages in Australia as a 'worrying development'.

Mr Johnson's official spokesman today told reporters: 'We are obviously concerned about access to news being restricted in Australia. We, as we always have done, will be robust in defending free speech in journalism.

'As you know we are setting up a digital markets unit to promote competition in digital markets and make sure tech companies cannot exploit dominant market positions.

'The digital markets unit will be established within the Competition and Markets Authority from April and we will consult on proposals on its form and function later this year.

'As part of the plans we will introduce a statutory code of conduct that will support the sustainability of the news publishing industry and try and help rebalance the relationship between publishers and online platforms.'

It comes after Matt Hancock, the Health Secretary, hinted be also backed making social media firms pay for news.

Mr Hancock said he was a 'great admirer' of the countries that are now trying to make the social media giant pay publishers when links to their stories are shared online.

No10 today said Britain would be 'robust in defending free speech in journalism' amid growing criticism of Mark Zuckerberg's behemoth.

Mr Johnson's official spokesman today told reporters: 'We are obviously concerned about access to news being restricted in Australia. We, as we always have done, will be robust in defending free speech in journalism'

The Health Secretary said he was a 'great admirer' of the countries that are now trying to make the social media giant pay publishers when links to their stories are shared online

He was asked on Times Radio yesterday about the move, which has triggered a huge political row in Australia with Facebook blocking all sharing of news articles in the country in response to a planned law to make it and Google pay for links.

Canada has said it is also 'at the forefront of this battle' while Google has recently agreed to pay publishers in France for reusing snippets of their stories.

Asked if Britain should follow their lead, Mr Hancock replied: 'That is a very very good question. I have very strong views on this. All I can say is I'm a great admirer of Australia and Canada.'

Mr Hancock - who was briefly held the post under Theresa May - added that it was a matter for the current Current Secretary Oliver Dowden.

Mr Hancock said: 'I think this is a very important matter and one that I have no doubt the Culture Secretary will be looking at very closely.'

A Facebook spokesman today said: 'The UK has taken a very different approach to Australia which has allowed us to strike commercial deals with almost every major UK publisher.

'We are now paying tens of millions of pounds to national and local outlets in the UK to be part of Facebook News, the dedicated tab for quality journalism we launched last month. We've also extended the Community News Project, which funds 80 trainee reporters in local newsrooms across the country.'

Mr Dowden has privately expressed his concerns about Facebook's decision to block news content in Australia and wants to speak both to his counterpart in Australia and to Facebook about the row this week, The Times reported today.

A Whitehall source told the newspaper: 'There are clearly intense commercial negotiations under way, but access to news being restricted is a worrying development.'

There are already moves under way to consider making tech giants pay for news content in the UK.

A new Digital Markets Unit is being established within the Competition and Markets Authority watchdog from April in order to enforce a code of conduct for digital platforms such as Google and Facebook

Last month Mr Dowden told a conference: 'The rise of online advertising has created a fundamental imbalance: between publishers, advertisers and the online platforms upon which they increasingly rely. It's time to even the playing field.'

He vowed to 'tackle the devastating knock-on effects that anti-competitive practices have had on our newspaper industry', as a Government-commissioned review into journalism highlighted.

A new Digital Markets Unit is being established within the Competition and Markets Authority watchdog from April in order to enforce a code of conduct for digital platforms such as Google and Facebook.

That could see them forced to pay licensing fees when they use content taken from news websites, or lose access to user data which would reduce their lucrative ability to make personalised adverts.
COTTAGEVILLE  Residents of this area around the Edisto River are accustomed to floods  events that come semiannually these days, with dark water swelling under elevated homes.

But a spate of recent flooding, brought on by two weeks of persistent rain, has been a mess for at least one person in the Edisto's floodplain.

Diane Ciardi, who moved to her house on Breanna Court in 2018, has been stranded inside the dwelling for four days as the river rose around it. For part of that time she was without water, temporarily turning off her electric well's pump so it didn't suck up the muddy Edisto.

Ciardi was still hunkered down alone with her three dogs, Belle, Carolina and Zoe, on the afternoon of Feb. 22.

In the future when this is predicted, Im not going to be here, said Ciardi, who is from New York and moved to the area after the last major flood, in 2015.

Rivers along much of South Carolina's coastal plain are swollen after the rainfall that is only now draining into the Edisto and Ashley River in the Lowcountry and the Waccamaw River in the Grand Strand.

The National Weather Service reports up to 10 inches of rain fell over the past 14 days in a broad swath of the state, stretching from North Augusta to Myrtle Beach. Now all that water is flowing downstream, spilling over low roads, flooding cars and reaching inside some of the most vulnerable homes.

Rivers were swollen in Dorchester and Colleton counties, but authorities said there is no indication of water inside the houses there.

Ciardi was particularly grateful that no water had entered hers. Levels are expected to fall over the next few days.

The situation is more serious in the Myrtle Beach area, with some of the lowest areas along the Intracoastal Waterway already swamped.

In the Rosewood Estates neighborhood of Socastee, near the junction of the Waccamaw River and Intracoastal Waterway, resident Terri Wilson said water is creeping up a boat landing and reaching the first line of houses that sit flat on the ground.

For Rosewood, the waters are just the latest of several serious floods in the past few years. The weather service reported the water levels there could get 2 feet higher in the coming days.

"This is not good," Wilson said. "We don't even know what to expect  none of us could believe it, but the water's coming up really fast."

Upstream in the city of Conway, water levels have reached the weather service's "major" category above 14 feet and are predicted to stay there at least through Feb. 27.

Conway Mayor Barbara Blain-Bellamy said flooding has caused a few road closures in the city due to standing water and conditions would continue in part because of expected rain.

Im afraid were not out of the woods yet," she said.

Thomas Bell, spokesman for Horry County Emergency Management, said the county was monitoring watercraft to make sure they did not send wakes into nearby houses and asked people from outside of flooded neighborhoods not to drive through the waters there.

Along the upper Edisto River in the Lowcountry, however, water levels already peaked. Flooding is an almost semiannual occurrence there, said Barry McRoy, Colleton County Fire-Rescue chief.

One report from the rescue service said water levels on Feb. 20 were close to that of the 2015 flood, which drenched the entire state.

Water levels at the Givhan's Ferry river gauge reached above 15 feet over the weekend, which is into the weather service's major flood category, but had dipped back into the moderate category by Feb. 22.

McRoy said nobody has requested help along the Edisto, where houses sit high on stilts and many residents have boats at the ready to travel to and from their homes.

Fire Rescue crews did help evacuate Ivanhoe Apartments in Walterboro on Feb. 19, but by the next day, water levels had fallen enough that the complex was again accessible.

On the other side of the river in Dorchester County, spokeswoman Tiffany Norton said there had been no calls to emergency authorities about river flooding.

There was some yard and road flooding in the Ashborough neighborhood of Summerville, where a few geese were spotted splashing in front of one elevated home.

There is some good news on the horizon. While more rain was falling Feb. 22, the Climate Prediction Center is calling for a spring that's likely to be warmer than average in South Carolina, with no exceptional precipitation. The southern part of the coast may even be drier than normal.

Chloe Johnson reported from Charleston and Jerrel Floyd from Cottageville. Hanna Strong contributed reporting from Myrtle Beach and Gregory Yee from Charleston.
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On February 18, Syrias SANA state news agency reported on recent fighting around the northern enclave of Idlib, which is controlled by the Syrian opposition and backed by the Turkish military.

SANA wrote: Last Monday, the Russian Defense Ministry announced that Jabhat al-Nusra terrorists carried out 35 attacks in the de-escalation zone in Idlib, while a day before that, the Ministry revealed that terrorist organizations, which spread in Idlib, are preparing to stage a new false flag chemical attack with the aim of accusing the Syrian Arab Army.

That report of a planned attack is likely false, another in a series of similar claims that deflect attention from Syria's own alleged use of chemical weapons during its long-running civil war.

Russias Defense Ministry has repeatedly claimed intelligence showing that rebels, or volunteers with Syrian Civil Defense (better known as the White Helmets), were planning false flag chemical attacks.

Both Russia and the Assad regime also have asserted that actual high- profile chemical attacks in East Ghouta (2013), Khan Sheikhoun (2017) and Douma (2018), may have been carried out by the rebels, or were entirely staged, using fake corpses and actors. The purported motive was to provoke foreign military intervention against the Assad regime, particularly by the U.S., U.K. and France.

If so, it didn't work. Western countries declined to intervene militarily following the East Ghouta sarin gas attack in 2013, which killed more than 1,000 people. Instead, then-U.S. President Barack Obama endorsed an agreement brokered by Russian President Vladimir Putin to declare and destroy Syrias chemical weapons program and stockpile. The Khan Sheikhoun and Douma chemical attacks were both followed by brief, limited Western air strikes.

Nonetheless, Russian state media outlets have persistently claimed that rebels "staged" chemical attacks and blamed Assads regime.

For example, the TASS news agency published a story on September 23, 2020, headlined: Militants stage chemical attack in Idlib to accuse Syrian government, implying that the staged attack had already happened.

Yet the story itself indicated the attack had not been carried out. Militants have been scheming a provocation with toxic agents, which have already been shipped into Idlib to make a film in order to pin the blame on the Syrian government for the use of chemical weapons against civilians, Alexander Grinkevich, the chief of the Russian Center for Reconciliation of Opposing Sides in Syria, said on Wednesday, TASS wrote.

This TASS story, which also cited Syrias news agency, claimed the rebels possess chemical weapons and that civilians had been or could have been killed in the alleged false flag attacks. Stories claiming staged attacks can be found as far back as 2018 and typically cite Russias Defense Ministry and/or Syrias SANA news agency as sources.

Syrian and Russian state media have not provided evidence of how such attacks were staged. They have frequently tried to use misleading photos as proof.

For example, still photos from the production of a short film on Syria were passed off as evidence showing White Helmets preparing to film a fake chemical attack. In another case, scenes from the making of a Syrian state-backed film called Revolution Man were offered as proof that rescue organizations were staging chemical attacks.

(Revolution Man is about a rescue volunteer who stages such an attack.)

Since Syrias civil war started in 2011, there have been more than 300 credible reports of chemical weapons use in Syria, nearly all attributed to the government. (Islamic State is believed to have used captured chemical weapons against its Kurdish opponents.)

Syria not only had a chemical weapons program prior to 2013, but also the means to deliver chemical agents. In the Douma and Khan Sheikhoun attacks, the chemical weapons were deployed by aircraft, which no rebel force in Syria possesses.
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Russians never miss a chance to spread their insidious propaganda among and militarize Ukrainian children and teenagers.

Officer of the 53rd Separate Mechanized Brigade of the Armed Forces of Ukraine, Anatoliy Shtefan, says Russian occupation authorities in Crimea have launched a military training program for elementary school students.

"Occupied Crimea has already turned into a camp for the training of future Putin's military units. The Russian occupiers do not miss a single opportunity for their insidious propaganda and militarization of Ukrainian children and teenagers," he wrote on Telegram, adding a photo from a school in the village of Poshtovne.

Russian occupation of Crimea

Russia occupied Ukraine's Crimea in March 2014 after its troops had seized the peninsula. An illegal referendum was held amid the aggressive takeover on the issue of the peninsula's accession to Russia. De-facto Crimean authorities claimed that 96.77% of the Crimean population had allegedly supported the move.

Read alsoUNGA adopts resolution on human rights situation in occupied CrimeaOn March 18, 2014, the so-called agreement on the accession of Crimea and the city of Sevastopol to the Russian Federation was signed off in the Kremlin.

Western powers never recognized the seizure of Crimea and imposed sanctions on Russia over aggression against Ukraine.

Ukraine's parliament voted to designate February 20, 2014, as the official date for the start of the temporary occupation of Crimea.

Reporting by UNIAN
The substitute didnt know those individuals werent in the class, Smith said, and after trying to remove them ended the session. He said district teachers are making sure to not admit students into their classes if they are unfamiliar.
Former President Donald Trump talks to reporters while hosting Iraqi Prime Minister Mustafa Al-Kadhimi (not pictured), and (L-R) Vice President Mike Pence, Secretary of State Mike Pompeo, and National Security Advisor Robert O'Brien in the Oval Office at the White House in Washington, DC on Aug. 20, 2020. (Anna Moneymaker-Pool/Getty Images)

CPAC Director Says Its a Mistake for Mike Pence Not to Attend Conference

The director of the Conservative Political Action Conference (CPAC) event said it will be a mistake for former Vice President Mike Pence to skip the conference.

It was confirmed that former President Donald Trump will attend the event. Reports have said that Pence would not attend; The Epoch Times has reached out to Pences office for comment.

We are pleased that the president will be joining us, and were disappointed the vice presidents not coming. We think its a mistake for him not to come. We conservatives think of Vice President Pence with great honor and dignity. He is a real champion of conservatism, Conservative Political Action Conference Executive Director Dan Schneider told MSNBC on Sunday.

Schneider said that Pence has likely spoken at CPAC more than a dozen times over the years. And this year, if Pence attended, he would be greeted very warmly, he said.

Pence drew criticism in January for presiding over the Joint Session of Congress on Jan. 6 as the House and Senate certified the election for President Joe Biden. Trump, on Twitter, wrote at the time that Pence lacked the courage to attempt to challenge the results.

Trumps planned CPAC appearance was confirmed on Saturday. He is reportedly scheduled to speak at the event on Feb. 28, which will be held in Orlando, Florida.

His adviser, Jason Miller, told Fox Business over the past weekend that Trump will likely lay out an optimistic vision for America, focus on standing up to the Chinese Communist Party, and taking on Big Tech companies and censorship.

I have had the opportunity to speak to the President, and hes very excited to make his upcoming address to CPAC, where you will hear him lay out his positive vision for the future of this country, a vision where we stand up to China, as the President was doing before he left office, and reclaim our manufacturing, a vision where our schools are open and our border is closed to illegal immigration, a vision where the Big Tech monopoly is dismantled and free speech and free expression and free thought can reign, because thats what this country is about, Miller said.

CPAC, which is the largest gathering of conservative voices, will take place from Feb. 25 to Feb. 28.

And earlier this month, it was announced that Pence would join the Heritage Foundation, will start a podcast, and speak at colleges and conferences.

Ivan Pentchuokov contributed to this report.
Chinese people fail to pay quarantine fees in Quang Tri

Authorities in the central province of Quang Tri are considering paying quarantine fees for Covid-19 prevention for four Chinese people who illegally entered Vietnam.









Four Chinese nationals are detained on February 1 for illegally entering Quang Tri Province.



Vice-chairman of Quang Tri Provincial People's Committee, Hoang Nam said on February 22 that he has asked departments to deal with the situation of four Chinese nationals who were detained on February 1 for illegally entering the area.



According to the local police department, the four, Li Zi Jian, Jiang Shu Fa, Meng Shuai, and Chang Biao had been sent to a local quarantine area from February 1-21.



However, the four were unable to pay fees for quarantine, food, and viral testing during their stay in the province.



After completing quarantine time, they were brought to Huu Nghi Border Gate in the northern province of Lang Son to be transferred to Chinese authorities on February 22.



The police department has asked the committee to cover the payment for the Chinese people.



"This is the first time we have faced such a situation," the official said.



It is said that the quarantine cost for Covid-19 prevention in Quang Tri is VND4.6 million (USD200) per person.
I first turned it down when Lulu Hassan called me, and I told her that I was not an actor; that they should give it to someone else. Good thing about Lulu is that she encouraged me and convinced me to try it out, and it was the best decision. So far so good.

Is Kovu your biggest show that you have been in?

I think it was a calling because I never struggled to get an opportunity for it; it just happened. I saw an opportunity and I just grabbed it, despite being hesitant at first. After a few shoots, it all became clear that this is something I should have been doing.

Last year, there were reports that some people had created a number of online pages with your photos on the profile, and were conning unsuspecting men into sending them cash, did you report the matter to the police?

Yes, I did report it but, unfortunately, the cons phones are always off and they use the computer to post what they have about me. The police cant track the number. And, yes, it is still going on! They are very clever and tell people that Im not on some social media sites. Im really tired and my request to my fans is that they do not be fooled, I do not request money online.

What is the weirdest request you have ever received on Instagram?

I got a DM (direct message) from someone in Nigeria who wanted me to go and do a show there. The reason I found it weird was that they asked me how much they should pay our local production or my contract so that I can quit. We work under contracts and you cannot just leave like that.

Why did you tell women to stop expecting men to do everything for them and that they should work and stop being lazy?

I believe in hard work. Hustle. Hustling is not only for men, it is for women too! There is pride knowing that the money you have was made by yourself and not that a man gave it to you.

In my opinion, I do not find it amusing if you are in a relationship and the only thing that you think about is that my man will provide for me. No, that is so wrong!

There are times that even your man will be broke. It is only human that if you want a healthy relationship, you have to chip in.

I wake up at 5am on Thursdays and Fridays, to go and open bales of second-hand clothes and choose the best, take photos and post them on social media. That is how I make my extra cash.
Female physicians have better patient outcomes compared with their male peers, while female patients are less likely to receive guideline-recommended care when treated by a male physician, according to a systematic review from the American College of Cardiology's Cardiovascular Disease in Women section published today in the Journal of the American College of Cardiology.

While women make up over 50% of internal medicine residents, only 12.6% of cardiologists are female. A dedicated effort to increase diversity in the cardiovascular field could help to lower implicit bias, often considered an important factor in health care disparities.

In a detailed systematic review, researchers looked at 13 studies examining the patient-physician gender relationship across multiple specialties and its role in the care patients receive. Of these, eight studies examined patient outcomes based on physician gender. The researchers found data supporting the suggestion that a patient's outcomes may be positively influence if they are treated by a physician of the same gender.

In one study, investigators found that female diabetes patients were less likely to receive intense treatment than male patients, particularly when treated by a male primary care provider. In another study, mortality rates for heart attack patients were highest among female patients treated by male physicians. If the treating physician was female, mortality rates remained the same between male and female patients. The study concluded that male physicians who had more exposure to female patients and physicians had more success in treating female patients.

While care disparities can be attributed to multiple factors, the study authors found they may relate, in part, to the differences in how heart disease presents in women vs. men, the underrepresentation of female subjects in clinical trials and the lack of women's health training in U.S. medical education.

"We must continue encouraging young physicians from diverse backgrounds to enter the field of cardiology in order for our physician workforce to more accurately reflect the gender composition of our overall patient population," said Malissa J. Wood, MD, co-director of the Corrigan Women's Heart Health Program at Massachusetts General Hospital, Incoming Chair-elect of the ACC Board of Governors and the senior author of the study. "It is imperative that we ensure that all physicians provide the same level of high-quality care for all patients, regardless of gender. We need to incorporate comprehensive patient-centered communication and care into medical education."

To combat these findings, the study authors proposed three major recommendations:

1. Increasing Gender Diversity in the Physician Workforce

Create interventions designed to address existing implicit and explicit biases which have limited opportunities for women in cardiovascular medicine.

Change the culture of cardiology to be more female- and family-friendly.

Increase representation of women in leadership positions in cardiovascular medicine.

2. Improving Gender- and Sex-Specific Medical Training

Focus curricula on the presentation, diagnosis and treatment of women and men, and highlight specific differences.

Include comprehensive behavioral health curriculum to address stress, depression and anxiety faced by women, as well as men, with heart disease.

Teach patient-centered communication styles.

Introduce implicit bias training.

3. Increase Research on the Role of Gender in Patient-Physician Relationships

Focus on non-randomized experimental designs that incorporate economic approaches with medical research.

"A better understanding of the mechanisms driving gender differences in patient outcomes, including whether patient-physician gender concordance truly impacts patient outcomes, can help guide targets for interventions. More research is needed to understand the physician behaviors associated with improved patient outcomes, specifically in driving differential outcomes in gender patient-physician pairings, including drivers of implicit and explicit bias," Wood said.

###

Visit the CardioSmart Women and Heart Disease Hub, for more information on women and heart disease, including a new "Women and Heart Disease" infographic. CardioSmart is the patient education program brought together by the American College of Cardiology.

The American College of Cardiology is committed to improving diversity and inclusion within the cardiovascular workforce and the ACC's leadership and membership, and recognizes the success of its mission is dependent on including people who provide a diversity of backgrounds, experiences, ideas and perspectives. Learn more at ACC.org/Diversity.

The American College of Cardiology envisions a world where innovation and knowledge optimize cardiovascular care and outcomes. As the professional home for the entire cardiovascular care team, the mission of the College and its 54,000 members is to transform cardiovascular care and to improve heart health. The ACC bestows credentials upon cardiovascular professionals who meet stringent qualifications and leads in the formation of health policy, standards and guidelines. The College also provides professional medical education, disseminates cardiovascular research through its world-renowned JACC Journals, operates national registries to measure and improve care, and offers cardiovascular accreditation to hospitals and institutions. For more, visit acc.org.

The Journal of the American College of Cardiology ranks among the top cardiovascular journals in the world for its scientific impact. JACC is the flagship for a family of journals--JACC: Cardiovascular Interventions, JACC: Cardiovascular Imaging, JACC: Heart Failure, JACC: Clinical Electrophysiology, JACC: Basic to Translational Science, JACC: Case Reports, JACC: CardioOncology and JACC: Asia--that prides themselves in publishing the top peer-reviewed research on all aspects of cardiovascular disease. Learn more at JACC.org.
Ten-month-old Karelian Bear Dog puppies Priha and Hippa from the same litter. Hippa, small in stature, suffers from hypopituitarism. Credit: Noora Kaikkonen

The pituitary gland is a pea-sized endocrine gland composed of two structurally and functionally separate parts known as anterior and posterior lobes. The pituitary gland's anterior lobe secretes six hormones essential to growth, reproduction, and other basic physiological functions. Abnormal development of the pituitary gland, or hypopituitarism, can cause mild or complete deficiency of one or more pituitary hormones, which manifests as highly varying symptoms. Tumors mainly cause hypopituitarism in humans, but a congenital factor can also be associated with the disorder.

The POU1F1 gene regulates the development of the anterior pituitary lobe, and disruption to its function results in hormonal changes, evidenced in affected dogs as dwarfism and coat abnormalities. A gene test developed based on the findings supports diagnostics and a breeding program to eradicate the disease from the breed.

"Roughly 30 genes have been associated with inherited hypopituitarism in humans, many of which are regulator genes, which affect the development of the pituitary gland. In addition to humans, impaired pituitary function occurs in mice and dogs. In German Shepherds, hypopituitarism has previously been associated with the LHX3 gene, while in the case of Karelian Bear Dogs, the disease was described in Denmark 45 years ago. Now, we have identified a related cause in the POU1F1 gene. This is only the second new canine model for human pituitary disease, making it quite significant," says Professor Hannes Lohi.

Samples for the study were collected from Finnish and Swedish symptomatic and asymptomatic Karelian Bear Dogs.

"We managed to get samples from a total of eight sick puppies from five different litters. The puppies were as much as 20 centimeters smaller than normal, with many of them also having a puppy-like coat or substantial hair loss. Typical of the disease, their symptoms were varied. A handful of carriers of the POU1F1 variant were also found in Lapponian Herders in an analysis encompassing more than 8,000 dogs," says Kaisa Kyostila, Ph.D., the first author of the article.

The study confirmed that the disease is inherited recessively, meaning that the affected dogs inherit the gene variant from both parents. Among Karelian Bear Dogs, only 8% of the breed carries the defect, and carriers do not develop the disease. The gene test based on the research finding can be used to identify carriers, avoid carrier-carrier combinations in breeding and eradicate this severe disease from the breed altogether.

The latest POU1F1 gene discovery is already the third disease gene described in Karelian Bear Dogs. The research group has previously described gene finds associated with dwarfism (link in Finnish only) and hypophosphatasia.

Explore further The first spontaneous animal model of human hypophosphatasia uncovered

More information: Kaisa Kyostila et al, Intronic variant in POU1F1 associated with canine pituitary dwarfism, Human Genetics (2021). Journal information: Human Genetics Kaisa Kyostila et al, Intronic variant in POU1F1 associated with canine pituitary dwarfism,(2021). DOI: 10.1007/s00439-021-02259-2
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Sovereign Claims Appoints 2 Executives

Sovereign Claims, a risk management consulting firm based in New York, has appointed Neal Conolly as president and John Humphreys as chief claims officer.

Founder Timothy Gallagher, who previously served as president, will now serve as chief operating officer.

Humphreys will oversee claims administration and provide strategic direction in the management of resources. He joins Sovereign Claims following more than 30 years in the property and casualty insurance industry with both legal experience and national and international executive claims experience. He has led legal groups in the United States, Canada and United Kingdom for Travelers Insurance Co. where he most recently served as senior vice president and claim general counsel, Sovereign said in a press release.

Conolly will lead business development, maximizing the use of data, and integrating technology to grow the companys national footprint.

Conolly brings four decades experience as an attorney, senior executive and consultant to the property and casualty insurance industry, the firm said. He was previously executive director and CEO of the New York State Insurance Fund, a consultant to national workers compensation insurance carriers, and served as president of the Wright National Flood Insurance Company. Conolly is also a founding board member of the American Society of Workers Compensation Professionals.

John Humphreys, CCO, adds: Sovereign Claims is seeking to change the way contractors manage and mitigate the everyday insurance risks inherent in their business. I believe their approach is truly one-of-a-kind, and Im excited to be joining such a dedicated, innovative team.

AmTrust International Appoints Claims Head

London-based AmTrust International has appointed Julian Millar as head of claims and chief for AmTrust Internationaland chief claims officer for AmTrust Europe Ltd.

Millar will report to Angel Mas, speciality business unit managing director and chief executive officer of AmTrust Europe. He joins Amtrust International Specialtys executive team.

Millar, who has more than 25 years of claims management experience, joins AmTrust from Travelers, where he was head of specialty claims. Previously, he was managing director at Claimspro International and before that head of property claims at QBE European Operations.

Prior to QBE, Mr. Millar was head of specialist claims operations at Royal Bank of Scotland Insurance Group. He began his career in claims with Eagle Star before moving to MMA Insurance, and then held senior claims management roles with Chubb Insurance Co. of Europe and Hiscox Insurance Group.

Millar is an elected honorary fellow of the British Damage Management Association, an associate of the Chartered Institute of Arbitrators and Associate of the Chartered Insurance Institute.

AmTrust International is the United Kingdom arm of AmTrust Financial Services, Inc., headquartered in New York. The carrier offers specialty property and casualty insurance products, including workers compensation, business owners, general liability and extended service and warranty coverage.

Defense Attorney Rejoins Gordon & Rees

Insurance defense attorney Brian Booker has rejoined the Gordon Rees Scully Mansukhani law firm as a partner in the firms Phoenix office.

Booker previously was vice president and general counsel at Avnet, a global distributor of electronic components, according to his Linkedin page.

The law firm said Booker has extensive experience defending product manufacturers against property damage, injury and wrongful death claims. He has also litigated general insurance disputes, including insurance bad faith, real estate disputes and professional liability claims.

Booker served as a partner at Gordon & Rees from January 2016 to September 2019, according to Linkedin.

Booker earned his undergraduate degree from Stanford University and his law degree from the University of Virginia School of Law.

McGuireWoods Adds 3 For Insurance Recovery

The McGuireWoods law firm has added three partners to its Atlanta office in an expansion of its insurance recovery practice.

The law firm said it has appointed Anthony P. Tatum, Shelby S. Guilbert Jr. and Joseph M. Englert. They will advise leading public and private companies, including financial institutions, energy-based clients and health care providers, in insurance coverage and related complex commercial disputes.

Tatum litigates insurance and related complex commercial disputes on behalf of financial institutions and global companies, including clients in the health care, food and beverage, mining, energy and infrastructure industries.

Guilbert represents businesses, financial institutions, manufacturers, energy companies and health care providers in insurance recovery litigation, contract disputes, and cross-border litigation and international arbitration.

Englert represents insurance policyholders in complex insurance recovery and indemnification litigation and arbitration matters and counsels them before disputes arise to help them obtain the best terms and conditions for multiple lines of coverage.

McGuireWoods is an international law firm with 1,100 lawyers in 21 offices worldwide.
By Ritah Kemigisa

The NUP partys former presidential candidate Robert Kyagulanyi aka Bobi Wine has instructed his lawyers to withdraw his supreme court election petition in which he sought to nullify president Musevenis January 14thvictory.

Addressing journalists this morning, Kyagulanyi said the decision to withdraw the petition is premised on the fact that the judiciary is not independent enough.

Kyagulanyi says he remains peaceful and will not opt for violence but is instead taking his case to Ugandans under what he calls the public court where he hopes to get justice.

He says he will inform Ugandans his next step of action in a few days.

This comes a day after the judiciary refuted claims that its top leadership met with president Museveni to discuss the petition.

On Sunday, the NRM legal team warned Kyagulanyi that he faces heavy financial implications if he withdraws the petition.

The party legal director Oscar Kihika said a number of processes have to be followed before such a decision is made.

What we know about the petition so far

About 10 out of the 53 affidavits filed by Bobi Wine to support his case had been branded as forgery by the solicitor general after a handwriting expert confirmed a mismatch of the signatures

The affidavits with disputed signatures include one filed by Geoffrey Turyamusima, a lawyer on Bobi Wines legal team.

A total of 238 witnesses have so far been lined up to give evidence in the petition.

185 affidavits are in defence of Musvenis victory, 53 witness statements in support of Bobi Wines case against Museveni, Electoral commission and Attorney General.

Some of the key witnesses include; ministers, security chiefs, polling officials, lawyers and members of parliament and a former presidential candidate.

Some of the Witnesses for the NRM party include the secretary general kasule Lumumba, Minister Esther Mbayo among others.

Witnesses for Bobi Wine include; MPs Francis Zaake, Paul Mwiru, Gerald Karuhanga and Joseph Kabuleta, a former presidential candidate among others.

The attorney general has lined up the Chief of Defence forces Gen David Muhoozi and AIGP Edward Ochom as some of the witnesses.

The electoral commission has lined up number of witnesses including the acting secretary Alex Mulekwa.
ONEKAMA  When the Onekama Consolidated Schools Board of Education made the decision at the end of the 2019-2020 school year to create a principal-superintendent position the board members knew they already had the person with the perfect skillset on staff to handle the job.

Gina Hagen was named to that position after serving as K-12 principal in the district for many years. However, it was some added skills Hagen brought to the table that made the board realize creating this position was something that would work well.

Hagen said she has found the principal/superintendent job to be something she enjoys doing.

I cant imagine going back to being just a principal and have really enjoyed it, she said. I keep telling myself once we get through this year it will just keep getting even better. I'm pretty pleased with what we are doing and I am working well with the board and staff.

The move was made for several reasons, with one being the district didnt want to go with another interim superintendent and another being they wanted to keep costs down.

Prior to the creation of the principal superintendent position, Onekama Consolidated Schools had a four-day-a-week part-time superintendent in Kevin Hughes and a two-day-a-week one in interim superintendent Mark Parsons. On the days they were not in the building, Hagen was called upon to handle some of those duties.

She said that experience has helped her in moving up to the superintendent position.

I worked really well with Kevin and with Mark and because they were both kind of part time, I dabbled in the superintendent thing for quite a few years now, said Hagen. Nothing with this job is really taking me off guard. But staying on top of COVID is taking up lots of my time this year because it is always changing things.

Despite the challenges of dealing with COVID, Hagen and board of education president Sally Koon said things have gone very well so far.

"It is going well and I have great help," said Hagen. "I want to say that what has also helped is (Manistee Intermediate School District superintendent) Dave Cox and all the other superintendents in the county, as we are working extremely well together this year and I can bounce a lot of ideas of them."

Hagen said what has also been a big help is the support she has received from the staff at the school.

"I have to say the same with my staff and I couldn't do it without them," she said. "They have stepped up and they have worked well together to try and get through a tough time with the pandemic, but also adjusting to having a principal and superintendent in just one person. So, I cant take a lot of credit and have to give credit where it is due to all the other people."

Part of that credit also goes to staff members who stepped up to take on some added responsibilities that formerly fell on Hagens shoulders as principal. That help allows her to devote more time to superintendent duties.

I handed off all my special education and IEPs (Individual Education Plans) to another person so that takes a lot off my plate, she said. Most of the discipline I handed off to another staff member also. Those two things freed up time for me to put my head down and do the superintendent job.

Koon said the board is liking what it sees from the position.

I think it is going great, especially since Gina stepped into this new position and then had all of this COVID stuff going on. You think it would be a double whammy, but she is doing very well.

The board president also pointed out that with the COVID situation being what it is there is a real bond among the area superintendents this year. Koon said that closeness is good for someone new to this position. She said the board has also been supportive of what she has been doing.

I think she has met with all the superintendents which is good and they helped her and have been very supportive to her, said Koon. We (the board) have her contract on the agenda for the next meeting as an action item to renew it.

Koon added that working with other agencies has also been a strong point with Hagen in dealing with COVID at this time.

I know the health department has been a big help to her and Gina takes it seriously in having to do all that contact tracing and what all needs to be done, said Koon.

The district was in a virtual learning mode earlier this month because of a student testing positive.

Hagen said the biggest challenge for her and every superintendent in the state of Michigan right now is dealing with the challenges the pandemic brings to the school building.

We are trying our best to keep our staff and students healthy, she said. Sometimes the decisions we make on that dont please everyone, but we have to do what is right. For us we are still a small school so if we have one COVID case and that student probably has been around numerous teachers because we share them at every grade level.

She said sometimes that is hard for parents to understand when it is only one student, but it has a domino impact in their building.

We are small, but we still have rules we need to follow from the Center for Disease Control and the health department, said Hagen. We are doing the best we can with it.

She said the other aspect that is nice for this position is Onekama is a small district that makes it easier to keep in touch with what is taking place in the building.

I love the students and get to see them all the time because we are small, said Hagen. We are a little disconnected this year because of COVID, but you still get to see those kids and know what is going on.

SEE ALSO:

Onekama schools moves to remote learning temporarily

'School board is the backbone of your school': Manistee County superintendents grateful for members

McKenney retires from Onekama Consolidated Schools
The funeral procession for Mya Thwe Thwe Khine, the first protester to die in demonstrations against the Myanmar military coup, moves through the capital Naypyidaw, Feb. 22, 2021.

The fatal shooting of a security guard in Myanmars largest city was confirmed by family members Sunday, bringing the weekend death toll from the suppression of anti-military demonstrations to three, as protesters mourned fallen colleagues and the junta imposed curfews ahead of major nationwide protests planned to start the week.

Monday marks three weeks since the army deposed civilian leader Aung San Suu Kyi and her elected government. It also falls on Feb. 22, spawning what protest leaders in the numerology-loving country are calling the Five Twos mass strike and demonstration, to be staged on 2/22/2021.

Military leaders announced a round-the-clock curfew Monday for Yangon, where protest plans evoke memories of the 8888 Uprising, a defining event in the countrys democracy movement that produced Aung San Suu Kyi.

On August 8, 1988, students launched nationwide protests against decades of entrenched military rule that were put down by the army weeks later, with thousands killed.

For Monday, protest leaders are calling on businesses, factories and public institutions to shut to halt operations in the biggest in weeks of protests calling for a reversal of the Feb. 1 military takeover. They are encouraging civil servants to defy regime threats to arrest those who refuse to work under the junta.

The State Administration Council, the formal name of the junta, has ordered telecommunications and data service providers to cut the Internet from midnight to noon Monday, the carrier Ooredoo Myanmar told RFA, in the latest of repeated communications cutoffs aimed at dampening discontent.

The mother of Mya Thwe Thwe Khine, the first protester to die in demonstrations against the Myanmar military coup, mourns her daughter in Naypyidaw, Feb. 21, 2021. The latest shooting death took place Saturday night in a suburb of Yangon, where Yin Htut Hein, a 30-year-old night security guard, was shot in the head by a policemen in a patrol car and died instantly.

He was on night watch duty on the street for the neighborhood when, a police car came by, a witness said.

The man stopped the car and asked, 'Where are you going? What are you going to do? But the police cursed him and shot him in the head three times. He was dead on the spot, said the witness, who added that the police car went drove off the Hlawga police station.

Videos shared by witnesses on social media showed five police officers and two men in plainclothes with guns drawn in patrol police car, from which gunshots rang out.

Tin Htut Hein is survived by his widow and a five-year-old child.

I was told that police apologized to my father-in-law and requested him not to file the case, said his widow, Thin Thin.

But for me, I want the truth. Ive lost my husband -- a human being, not a bird or a chicken. I want the perpetrators out. It was the intentional bullying of a citizen with arms, she said as she wept.

"People initially gathered at the police station because they were very angry, but we do not want to give the junta the pretext of angry people have overtaken the police station, so we asked them to disperse, and they dispersed, said Aung Zaw Htwe, the local MP from Aung San Suu Kyis National League for Democracy.

RFA tried to reach the Shwepyithar police station in Yangon for reaction and comments but received no reply.

The bullet-pierced motorbike helmet of slain protester Mya Thwe Thwe Khine, adorns her funeral floral display in Naypyidaw, Feb. 21, 2021. Earlier Saturday in Mandalay, two protesters were shot dead when riot police fired rubber and live bullets at a crowd trying to stop soldiers and police from storming a major river transport hub to force striking shipyard workers and other shipping civil servants back to work after theyd walked off the job to join demonstrations.

Myanmar security forces use of lethal force against protesters in the streets of Mandalay is outrageous and unacceptable, and must be urgently investigated, said Phil Robertson, deputy Asia director at Human Rights Watch.

Those responsible for the deaths and severe injuries of those protesters must be held accountable, and prosecuted to the fullest extent of the law, he said in a statement, calling for international condemnation of what he said was a clear violation international human rights law.

Thousands of protesters and civil servants staged a sit-in strike at Zaygyo, Mandalays largest market complex, on Sunday to the previous days crackdown and shooting deaths.

In response to killings, Facebook announced it had removed the juntas official information page, a move that followed the banning of the military-owned Myawaddy TVs page from the platform after the Feb. 1 coup.

Sunday also saw tens of thousands of mourners and protesters turn outed for a funeral procession through the capital Naypyidaw for a 20-year-old protester who was shot in the head in the capital Naypyidaw on Feb. 9 and died Friday.

Some 30,000 civil servants, students, and activists escorted the body of Mya Thwe Thwe Khaing from the hospital where she died Gwe Gyi Cemetery, where her remains were cremated and her ashes were buried.

"I am sorry for her sacrifice. This [killing] should not happen," said a woman attending the funeral.

"We cannot accept such brutality. We absolutely do not want this military dictatorship," she told RFA.

A young man in the funeral crowd said people who turned out in the tens of thousands for Mya Thwe Thwe Khaing "feel as if one of our fellow combatants has fallen."

We do not accept such injustice," he added.

VIA_Tasting_Kit VIAs efforts to have students experience the same level of knowledge of past editions resulted in the shipping of a special tasting kit to each participant.

By adapting its Italian Wine Ambassador Course, Vinitaly International Academy (VIA) made it possible for wine professionals to participate in distance learning in an online hybrid format. Next editions of the certification will bring the golden standard of Italian wine education to Hong Kong in March, the US in May and Verona, Italy, in June 2021.

The new updated format of the course combines prerecorded warm-up sessions & lectures with virtual tastings. Online lectures can be accessed by students at any given time, presenting them with the opportunity to organise their study based on their schedule. VIAs efforts to have students experience the same level of knowledge of past editions resulted in the shipping of a special tasting kit to each participant.

Each kit encompasses 36 wines, covering all of the 20 Italian regions and will be tasted by the individual student with the guidance of VIA Faculty Sarah Heller MW and Henry Davar IWE. At the conclusion of the course the Faculty will connect with students to conduct the tasting part and go through each and every wine in the kit. The shipping of wines has also allowed VIA to open the tastings to existing Ambassadors and Educators in Hong Kong to keep them calibrated with the VIA Tasting Grid and thus providing a fantastic tool to aid their teaching of the Maestro courses.

In addition, the students have received in their pack two blind wines which have allowed the VIA team to move the exams to a fully online format that includes blind tasting. A truly pioneering measure that means that students will not have to wait to complete the course, but can take a online fully invigilated exam to become certified as Ambassadors.

Registration for VIA Hong Kong is now closed but prospective students from the US and Italy can still enroll for the next two editions. To know more about the Vinitaly International Academy, visit: https://vinitalyinternational.com/wordpress/via-faqs/

About: Vinitaly International Academy (VIA) aims to be the gold standard of Italian wine education. It offers a complete educational path with standardized courses that will teach professionals and educators to master the diversity of Italian wine in a rigorous, organized manner. VIAs main objective is to foster a global network of highly qualified professionals such as Italian Wine Ambassadors and Italian Wine Experts: in turn, they will support and promote Italian wine throughout the world. VIA was founded by Stevie Kim, Managing Director of Vinitaly International. The new VIA ecosystem avails of the guidance of Italian trade associations Federdoc, Federvini, Vignaioli Indipendenti FIVI, and Unione Italiana Vini as members of the Institutional Advisory Board. Italian vine genetics scholar, Prof. Attilio Scienza, oversees VIAs scientific and educational direction as the Chief Scientist. VIA Faculty Sarah Heller MW and Henry Davar teach the flagship Italian Wine Ambassador course. The following trade associations in the Italian wine industry have also joined as VIA Supporters: Italia del Vino; Italian Signature Wines Academy; Le Famiglie del Vino, Wi-Fi Wine from Irpinia, Consorzio di Tutela Vini del Trentino; Consorzio di Tutela Sicilia DOC; Franciacorta; Consorzio di Tutela Vini dAbruzzo. To date the VIA community comprises 215 certified Italian Wine Ambassadors and 15 Italian Wine Experts. Since its foundation in 2014, over 615 candidates from all over the world have taken VIAs courses.
Dadra and Nagar Haveli MP Mohan Delkar allegedly died by suicide at a hotel in South Mumbai. His body has been sent for postmortem. Police present at the spot, investigation being carried out.

The body of Delkar (58), a seven-term MP from the Dadra and Nagar Haveli Union Territory, was found at a Marine Drive hotel in south Mumbai, a police official said.

The official declined to comment on reports that a suicide note in Gujarati was also found with the body of the Independent MP.

Delkar was in May 2019 elected to the 17th Lok Sabha, his seventh term in the House.

He was a member of the Standing Committee on Personnel, Public Grievances, Law and Justice and also a member of the Consultative Committee, Ministry of Home Affairs of the Lower House.

*More details awaited

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We could unknowingly contaminate Mars and any other world we're exploring in the future with microorganisms from our planet. Scientists from NASA and the German Aerospace Center launched several fungal and bacterial organisms to the stratosphere back in 2019 as part of the MARSBOx experiment. The stratosphere, the second major layer of the Earth's atmosphere located above the ozone layer, has conditions that closely resemble the Red Planet and is perfect place to send samples to in order to figure out if they'd survive on Mars. Now, the scientists have published a paper on their findings, where they discussed how the spores of black mold survived the trip.

The microorganism could only live on the surface of Mars temporarily to be precise, but the researchers found that the spores could be revived after they returned home. The team placed fungal spores of Aspergillus niger and Salinisphaera shabanensis, Staphylococcus capitis subsp. capitis and Buttiauxella sp. MASE-IM-9 bacterial cells inside the MARSBOx (or Microbes in Atmosphere for Radiation, Survival, and Biological Outcomes Experiment) aluminum container. There were two sample layers inside the container, with the bottom one being shielded from radiation so NASA can separate the effects of radiation from the effects of other environmental conditions. A NASA balloon carried the container to the stratosphere, where the samples were subject to Martian-like conditions and exposed to UV radiation over a thousand times more than the levels that cause sunburn.

So, what does Aspergillus niger surviving the trip mean for space travel? As Katharina Siems, a team member from the German Aerospace Center, said:

"With crewed long-term missions to Mars, we need to know how human-associated microorganisms would survive on the Red Planet, as some may pose a health risk to astronauts. In addition, some microbes could be invaluable for space exploration. They could help us produce food and material supplies independently from Earth, which will be crucial when far away from home.

Last year, NASA updated its policies to reflect its stronger commitment to preventing the Moon and Mars from human contamination. The agency wants to make sure it doesn't unknowingly take organisms or other contaminants from Earth to other worlds, since that could compromise the search for extraterrestrial life. Bringing them home from other worlds could also negatively affect our environment. Siems explained that experiments like the MARSBOx mission "is a really important way to help us explore all the implications of space travel on microbial life and how we can drive this knowledge towards amazing space discoveries."
The Nationals have reached an agreement with right-hander Jeremy Jeffress on a minor league deal, MLB.coms Mark Feinsand reports (Twitter links). Jeffress will earn $1.25MM if he reaches the Nats big league roster, plus he can earn up to $1.25MM more in bonuses.

Jeffress has been an effective reliever for most of his 11 seasons in the majors, and was an All-Star as recently as the 2018 season when pitching for the Brewers. He struggled in 2019, however, posting a 5.02 ERA with a 48.4% grounder rate that marked the only time the groundball specialist had fallen under the 50% threshold over a full season.

Jeffress had a rebound with the Cubs last season, delivering a 1.54 ERA and 54.4% grounder rate over 23 1/3 innings and allowing only a single home run. However, Jeffress benefited from a tiny .161 BABIP against some otherwise unimpressive Statcast numbers, and his .496 SIERA painted a much uglier picture of Jeffress performance. His 19.3K% and 13.6BB% were also well below average.

At the cost of just a Spring Training invitation, there isnt any risk to the Nationals in taking a look to see if Jeffress can still contribute as he enters his age-33 season. Jeffress joins Luis Avilan, Javy Guerra, Aaron Barrett, and T.J. McFarland as veteran relievers on minor league deals in Washingtons camp.
The first U.S. participants in a large-scale clinical trial to test the safety and efficacy of the Pfizer COVID-19 vaccine in pregnant women have received their shots, the company announced Thursday.

The goal is to enroll about 4,000 pregnant women in the worldwide trial, which the company believes will be completed by January 2023, CBS News reported.

Without vaccination, research suggests pregnant women face a higher risk for hospitalization and death from COVID-19. One study published in January revealed a COVID-19 mortality rate among pregnant women that was 13 times higher than that of other similarly aged patients, CBS News reported.

"I recommend highly that all pregnant women be immunized, from initial discovery of the pregnancy right up to term," Bob Lahita, M.D., a professor of medicine at New York Medical College and chairman of medicine at St. Joseph University Hospital, told CBS News recently. He said there is "no evidence" that the vaccine "has any effect on the placenta, on the fetus, on the mother. Except if one gets the infection, the COVID, and you are pregnant, you run the risk of becoming very, very sick."

Pfizer also said it plans to start trials of the vaccine in younger children in the coming months and recently began trials in teens. Research to assess the vaccine in people with weakened immune systems is also planned, CBS News reported.

Explore further Follow the latest news on the coronavirus (COVID-19) outbreak

More information: CBS News Article

Copyright  2020 HealthDay. All rights reserved.
The (IMA) has expressed shock at the blatant lie of certification of Patanjalis Coronil and questioned Health Minister Harsh Vardhan for promoting the drug.

In a strongly worded statement, the IMA asked Vardhan the ethics of such endorsement and release of such falsely fabricated and unscientific product to the people of the whole country.

Yoga guru Ramdev had on Friday released a paper by Haridwar-based Research Institute on Coronil, which it claimed to be the first evidence-based ayurvedic medicine against the disease.

Coronil has received the Certificate of Pharmaceutical Product (CoPP) from the Ayush section of Central Drugs Standard Control Organisation as per the certification scheme, said in a statement.

The launch was attended by Union Health Minister Harsh Vardhan and Transport Minister Nitin Gadkari.

Following this, World Health Organization South-East Asia said in a tweet: @ has not reviewed or certified the effectiveness of any traditional medicine for the treatment #Covid19. The company had issued a clarification, just ahead of the WHOs tweet: We want to clarify to avoid confusion that our WHO GMP compliant CoPP certificate to Coronil is issued by DCGI... It is clear that WHO does not approve or disapprove any drugs. WHO works for building a better, healthier future for people all over the world.

IMA has sought details of the timeline of clinical trials of the Coronil drug from the health minister. Can you clarify the number of patients in the double blind or single blind trials of this so-called anti-corona product promoted by you? On what ground was it approved by the DCGI as was announced in your presence? the IMA statement reads.

Referring to Ramdevs statement that modern medicine was medical terrorism, IMA said in reply: Being the health minister of the country and a modern medicine doctor, can you clarify the highly objectionable and instigative statement by Ramdev.

IMA also said: The country needs an explanation from the minister. The will also write to the National Medical Commission for seeking suo moto explanation for his blatant disrespect to the code of conduct of Medical Council of India.

Quoting the code of conduct under the Indian Medical Council Act, the IMA statement said no doctor can promote any drug, for compensation or otherwise. Dispensing by a physician of a secret remedial agents of which he does not know the composition, or the manufacture or promotion of their use is unethical and as such prohibited.

Ramdev-led Ayurved had launched Coronil on June 23. Patanjali CEO Acharya Balkrishna claimed that the medicine could cure Covid-19 patients within 5-14 days.

At the time of the launch of the drug, the AYUSH ministry had asked the company to stop ads for the drug until the issue had been examined. The ministry had also sought a detailed report on composition, testing and other data for the drug. The Centre had barred the firm from advertising the products after Ramdev said they cured 280 patients within days in trials. Coronil was then passed as an immuno-booster only.
The man worked for four federal Coalition politicians over four years before landing in Senator Reynolds office. One former politician who knew the man, but spoke on the condition of anonymity, said the man was among the ranks of staffers who filled the corridors of Parliament House like clones with their pointy shoes and skinny ties. Another politician said the man was uber-ambitious and had moved on quickly to another job, giving only one days notice of his departure. Loading Replay Replay video Play video Play video Ms Higgins said last week the alleged perpetrator had been a rising star in Senator Reynolds office and a favourite of the minister, but others painted a picture of a man who had moved swiftly between offices.

One said he had been reasonably good at his job but probably a rising star only in his own mind. The Sydney Morning Herald and The Age have established the name of the alleged rapist but have chosen not to name him on legal grounds. In a series of interviews with politicians and advisers, those who knew him in Parliament House described him as ambitious but relatively junior. He began his career in Parliament as a staff member for a Coalition backbencher in 2014 before moving into a low-ranked position in a cabinet ministers office, where colleagues said he manned the front desk and answered phone calls. By the end of 2017 he had moved out of the cabinet ministers office and into a position with a minister outside cabinet, a transfer that did not appear to be a promotion. He moved quickly to another ministers office before joining Senator Reynolds.

Senator Reynolds became assistant minister for home affairs at the end of August 2018, starting a process to hire her first ministerial team. She was made minister for defence industry the following March, then Defence Minister in May. The staffer was sacked on March 26, 2019, four days after the alleged rape, for breaching security at the office. Labor challenged Senator Reynolds over her handling of the matter last week by asking whether she had stayed in touch with the staffer after his termination, a question she side-stepped in the Senate on Wednesday but answered the next day. Defence Minister Linda Reynolds says she did not provide a reference for the accused after he was sacked from her office for a security breach. Credit:Alex Ellinghausen Since the individual in question left my office I have had no contact with him and I have provided no references, she said.

Others who knew the accused at Australian National University in 2016 said he had more confidence in his own skills than warranted. He was not a nice person overall, he didnt work hard, he just wanted ... all the praise for doing pretty much nothing. A real lads lad, said one former student who fell out with him. He just thought more of himself than any of us did, he did literally nothing, just showed up for the drinking, the socialising. A second person who knew the man during the same era at university said he was quite socially awkward around women.

He definitely had a fair few friends but no female friends whatsoever, they said. On Monday, Senator Reynolds told Parliament she had sought a meeting between Ms Higgins and Australian Federal Police after she learnt of the rape allegations. It was the assistant commissioner who came up to my office and met briefly with me, alone, Senator Reynolds said. Then I took all advice, again, I took all advice, and then the AFP met with Brittany and that was the conclusion of my engagement. The minister said she had not told Prime Minister Scott Morrison about the rape allegations, but did not directly answer questions about whether she had told his staff or any other ministers.

It is not my story to tell and I have always, and I continue, to respect [Ms Higgins] privacy and her story, she said. Loading Mr Morrison has announced an independent inquiry into the workplace culture of Parliament House, with Finance Minister Simon Birmingham speaking to Labor, the Greens and crossbenchers to seek a consensus on its terms. But Mr Morrison side-stepped questions on Monday about whether he would release results to the public, given he has four inquiries under way and one of them is into his own office. The four reviews are into Liberal Party culture; the federal department structure for handling complaints; the workplace in Parliament; and when Mr Morrisons office knew of the incident. The last of these is being done by Phil Gaetjens, the secretary of the Department of Prime Minister and Cabinet and Mr Morrisons former chief of staff.

Labor leader Anthony Albanese asked Mr Morrison if he would release the Gaetjens review as soon as it was received, but the Prime Minister would not say. When Labor health spokeswoman Tanya Plibersek asked what steps he had taken to make sure he was informed of serious crime in Parliament in future, the Prime Minister said he had instructed his staff that he would expect to be told. Loading Thats what youd expect me to do and thats what I have done, he said. Mr Morrison expressed frustration last week that he had not been told of the rape allegation even though Senator Reynolds had known of it in April 2019. Professor Kim Rubenstein and Trish Bergin, the co-directors of the 50/50 by 2030 Foundation at the University of Canberra, called on Mr Morrison to name Sex Discrimination Commissioner Kate Jenkins to the independent inquiry into the workplace in Parliament.
An elementary school student of a multiracial family watches an online learning program on television in this Aug. 27, 2020 photo. Korea Times photo by Bae Woo-han



By Bahk Eun-ji



The government has decided to strengthen Korean language learning support for children from multicultural families this year, according to the education ministry, Sunday. The measure comes out of concerns that such children have difficulty adapting to school life and developing Korean language skills as they were provided mostly with online classes along with the shutdown of schools amid the prolonged COVID-19 pandemic.



"Children from multicultural families can better develop their Korean language skills and adapt to school life here when they interact with their teachers and classmates. But they have had difficulty in doing so since last year, taking online classes at home due to the pandemic," a ministry official said. "Some of them also had problems in using the online classes due to insufficient Korean language abilities."



The ministry plans to produce and distribute additional Korean language education programs that multicultural students can use to study online with more interactive functions.



This year it will increase the number of schools that operate special classes helping such children adapt to school life. The ministry will also create a new Korean language education training course for teachers.



The proportion of multiracial students in Korea is steadily increasing. In 2015, the number stood at 82,536, accounting for 1.35 percent of all students, but it increased to 147,378 last year, accounting for 2.75 percent.


SALEM, Ore. (AP)  An Oregon lawmaker facing expulsion from the state House of Representatives after women accused him of harassment is resigning.

Oregon Public Broadcasting reports that Rep. Diego Hernandez said in a brief statement late Sunday that he had stepped down so my colleagues may focus on serving Oregonians and so I can move forward with my life and focus on my health and family.

RELATED: Governor Brown, Senate Majority leader call on Rep. Diego Hernandez to resign

Over the weekend the weekend a Judge rejected the Portland Democrats legal effort to stop the vote on his expulsion.

The entire House was scheduled to vote as soon as Tuesday on whether to expel Hernandez after a panel of lawmakers determined he created a hostile work environment for three women.

Thousands of demonstrators took to the streets across Myanmar again Sunday, a day after two people were killed when police and security forces used live and rubber bullets, tear gas, water cannon and slingshots against those protesting the militarys February 1 coup.

U.N. Secretary-General Antonio Guterres condemned the deadly violence. The use of lethal force, intimidation & harassment against peaceful demonstrators is unacceptable, he said on Twitter late Saturday.

Plans for more protests Monday persisted, with a call made Sunday for a general strike by a group called Gen Z along with the Civil Disobedience Movement. They called for people to come together for a spring revolution on the Five Twos, a reference to the digits in Mondays date, 22/2/2021, and a nod to the 8888 pro-democracy uprisings in Myanmar on August 8, 1988.

An internet shutdown Monday morning has been rumoured in Myanmar, with the U.S. embassy among those warning people to be prepared for a blackout.

NetBlocks, which tracks internet disruptions and shutdowns, reported that in Myanmar real-time network data show connectivity down to just 13% of ordinary levels as of 1 a.m. local time. The nation was entering the second week of nightly internet shutdowns, the organization reported.

On Sunday, Facebook took down the main page of the Myanmar military, known as Tatmadaw, citing the firms policy of prohibiting the incitement of violence, Reuters reported.

A company spokesperson said in a statement that the page was removed for repeated violations of our Community Standards prohibiting incitement of violence and coordinating harm.

On February 11, Facebook announced it was limiting the distribution of all content from the militarys pages and profiles in line with our global policies on repeat offenders of misinformation.

Twenty people were wounded in Saturdays violence, according to the head of a volunteer emergency service, and 569 have been detained in connection with the military takeover, the Assistance Association for Political Prisoners, an activist group, said.

Early Sunday, police arrested a famous actor, Lu Min, who had taken part in protests in Yangon and was one of six celebrities the army said were wanted under an anti-incitement law.

The army accused Lu Min of encouraging civil servants to join in the protest. If convicted, he faces a two-year prison sentence.

In a video posted on Lu Mins Facebook page, his wife said police had come to their home in Yangon and taken him away.

They forced open the door and took him away and didnt tell me where they were taking him. I couldnt stop them. They didnt tell me, Khin Sabai Oo said.

Deeply concerned

U.S. State Department spokesman Ned Price said the United States was deeply concerned by reports that security forces had fired on protesters and continued to detain and harass demonstrators and others.

Britain said it would consider further action against those involved in violence against protesters, and the French Foreign Ministry called the violence unacceptable.

In a Twitter message, EU foreign policy chief Josep Borrell called on the military and all security forces in #Myanmar to immediately stop violence against civilians.

EU foreign ministers are to meet Monday to discuss possible sanctions.

The U.N.s special rapporteur for Myanmar, Tom Andrews, tweeted, I am horrified at more loss of life, including a teenage boy in Mandalay, as the ruling junta escalates its brutality in Myanmar. From water cannons to rubber bullets to tear gas and now hardened troops firing point blank at peaceful protesters. This madness must end, now!

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In a statement released late Sunday, Myanmars Foreign Ministry called the messages flagrant interference in its internal affairs.

Despite facing the unlawful demonstrations, incitements of unrest and violence, the authorities concerned are exercising utmost restraint through minimum use of force to address the disturbances, it said in a statement.

But security forces have grown increasingly aggressive against the protesters, who have clashed with them since the military detained de facto leader Aung San Suu Kyi and other high-ranking officials of the civilian government nearly three weeks ago.

The military declared a one-year state of emergency, citing widespread fraud in last Novembers general elections, won in a landslide by Suu Kyis National League for Democracy.

The militarys claims were rejected by Myanmars electoral commission.

Tens of thousands of demonstrators have since filled the streets of Myanmars biggest cities in defiance of a strict curfew and a ban on gatherings of more than four people, holding signs with pro-democracy slogans, many of them with pictures of Suu Kyi. They have raised a three-finger salute during marches, a sign of resistance against tyranny as depicted in the popular Hunger Games movies.

In addition to protests, government employees and civil servants are on strike, resulting in disruptions to train services throughout the country. The military has ordered civil servants back to work and threatened action against them. A growing number of workers from other sectors, including medical personnel, have walked off their jobs in recent days.

Senior Gen. Min Aung Hlaing, who led the coup, promised last week in a nationally televised speech that new elections would be held to bring what he called a true and disciplined democracy, but he did not specify when they would take place.
Kroger: Some Pharmacy Customer Data Impacted in Vendor Hack

BOSTONKroger says personal data, including Social Security numbers of some of its pharmacy and clinic customers, may have been stolen in the hack of a third-party vendors file-transfer service.

The Cincinnati-based grocery and pharmacy chain said in a statement Friday that it believes less than 1 percent of its customers were affectedspecifically some using its Health and Money Servicesas well as some current and former employees because a number of personnel records were apparently viewed.

It says it is notifying those potentially impacted, offering free credit-monitoring.

Kroger said the breach did not affect Kroger stores IT systems or grocery store systems or data and there has so far been no indication of fraud involving accessed personal data.

The company, which has 2,750 grocery retail stores and 2,200 pharmacies nationwide, said Sunday in response to questions from The Associated Press that an investigation into the scope of the hack was ongoing.

A Kroger spokeswoman said via email that affected patient information could include names, email addresses, phone numbers, home addresses, dates of birth, Social Security numbers as well as information on health insurance, prescriptions, and medical history.

Federal law requires organizations that handle personal healthcare information to inform the Department of Health and Human Services of any data breaches.

Kroger said it was among victims of the December hack of a file-transfer product called FTA developed by Accellion, a California-based company, and that it was notified of the incident on Jan. 23, when it discontinued use of Accellions services. Companies use the file-transfer product to share large amounts of data and hefty email attachments.

Accellion has more than 3,000 customers worldwide. It has said that the affected product was 20 years old and nearing the end of its life. The company said on Feb. 1 that it had patched all known FTA vulnerabilities.

Other Accellion customers affected by the hack include the University of Colorado, Washington States auditor, Australias financial regulator, the Reserve Bank of New Zealand, and the prominent U.S. law firm Jones Day.

For Washington States auditor, the hack was particularly serious. Exposed were files on 1.6 million claims obtained in its investigation of massive unemployment fraud last year.

In the case of Day, cybercriminals seeking to extort the law firm dumped an estimated 85 gigabytes of data online they claimed to have stolen.

Former President Donald Trump is among Days clients but the criminals told the AP via email that none of the data was related to him. The AP reached out to the criminals with questions via email on the dark website where they posted documents stolen from the law firm.

It is not known if the criminals extorting Day were also responsible for the Accellion hack.

By Frank Bajak
The Lions have made an official request to the Government to underwrite a home 'tour' this summer, culminating in a Test series against South Africa.

Sportsmail understands that, following a board meeting last Thursday to discuss contingencies for the Covid-disrupted event, the Lions approached the Government to obtain financial guarantees which would clear the way for arrangements to be made for fixtures in Britain and Ireland.

Sources have indicated that the initial response was positive and rugby officials are optimistic they will receive the support they need.

The Lions have made an official request to the Government to underwrite a home 'tour'

The planned tour of South Africa will not happen because the country has not yet launched a vaccination programme and the rugby union there is unlikely to benefit from government intervention.

Australia are offering to stage the tour Down Under and have claimed they can ensure a 10million profit, based on state backing.

That scenario remains on the table and of interest to the home unions. However, the RFU and their counterparts in Wales, Scotland and Ireland heavily favour the option of home matches in these exceptional circumstances.

A commitment from Westminster to cover any potential losses in the event of Covid-related setbacks would allow plans to be stepped up.

Australia have offered to stage the tour Down Under and guaranteed a 10m profit

The potential for crowd limits to be removed from June 21 would come just in time for the Lions' clash with Japan at Murrayfield. Any home 'tour' scenario would involve Tests  surely featuring the likes of England star Maro Itoje  in each capital city of London, Cardiff, Edinburgh and Dublin.

However, it is not clear whether Murrayfield would stage a Lions-South Africa Test if it has already hosted the Lions-Japan game.

Meanwhile, Six Nations officials will decide on Wednesday whether to postpone Sunday's France v Scotland game to the weekend of March 6-7. A further six French players are isolating after positive Covid test results.
Designed for maximum privacy and seclusion, the green o will offer exclusive experiences in 12 design-forward accommodationsfrom the elevated Tree Haus to the Green Haus with a rooftop deck perfect for stargazing, the Round Haus with a sunken living room and the Light Haus with a glass-enclosed bedroom. Each Haus features floor-to-ceiling windows with unobstructed views of the Montana wilderness. With the ability to host up to 24 guests, this new forest hideaway will celebrate the heritage of Montana with architecture, cuisine and curated guest experiences inspired by the land. Each Haus comes equipped with a personal Lexus luxury SUV to explore the 37,000-acre Paws Up Ranch.

The attentive resort team can fully customize buyout itineraries, with unfettered access to the nearby amenities of Paws Upor the ability to remain completely separate from The Resort. Anything that can be dreamed up can be executed, from live-fire cooking sessions to private horseback trail rides, authentic Western cattle drives, s'mores around the campfire or live music cocktail hours. If they so choose, groups are invited to push the limits of their bodies, minds and spirits by engaging in 50+ thrilling activities to invigorate them or keep them centered, such as ATV tours, rappelling, forest bathing and spa treatments (either under canvas or in-Haus). the green o is a hidden gem designed for groups seeking the perfect blend of adventure and serenity.

At the center of the green o will be a freestanding private restaurant venue (the Social Haus), including a lounge area, a dining area, an open kitchen concept and panoramic views of the unspoiled forest. With menus that will be catered specifically to the needs of each guest in-house, the green o kitchen will serve small, shareable plates, with nourishing entrees and artful desserts created by Executive Chef Brandon Cunningham. Meals will be focused around creative and healthy ingredients and include a rich variety of seasonal favorites.

Rates for buyouts of the green o start at $11,000/night in the spring season, $23,000/night in summer and $12,000/night in fall and winter. This includes airport transfers and on-property transportation. For reservations or more information, please visit https://www.thegreeno.com and to reach our Group Sales representatives Laura Crugnale, JJ Barlow and Samantha Lange, call 888-957-9919.

About the green o

the green o is located in the remote township of Greenough, Montana35 miles northeast of Missoula, Montana. The resort lies at the southern edge of the expansive 37,000-acre Paws Up Ranch, which is also home to The Resort at Paws Upan adventure resort well known for its luxury homes and for pioneering glamping in North America. the green o is located just a 35-minute drive from Missoula International Airport (MSO), which features a number of major airlines and daily flights. There are direct and one-stop flights from many major cities, including Atlanta, Chicago, Dallas, Denver, Las Vegas, Los Angeles, Minneapolis, Oakland, Orange County, Phoenix, Portland, Salt Lake City, San Diego, San Francisco, San Jose, Santa Ana and Seattle. Many guests take private flights into MSO. Round-trip transportation between the airport and the green o is included in all room rates, as well as all on-property transportation.

SOURCE the green o

Related Links

http://www.thegreeno.com



There are just a few places on earth where particular cutting-edge research is being done to help test the side effects of certain medicines on hearing. One of those locations is in a converted bank building along Lincoln Avenue in Jacksonville.

We have visitors here from all over the world that we do scientific studies for, and our environmental monitoring equipment is used by many dozens of pharmaceutical and biotech companies, as well as major universities here in America and in at least a dozen countries, said Jacksonville native Jeremy Turner. Its almost weird that Jacksonville has become a site for international noise and hearing research. Its a very niche kind of market.

More Information If you have a suggestion about someone who should be profiled, send their name and any contact information available to communitynews@myjournalcourier.com. See More Collapse

The 48-year-old Turner co-owns Turner Scientific along with his wife Annette, who is president; long-time friend Brian Chumley, who is chief financial officer; and local investor Harmon Deal. The company has 17 employees and scientific consultants and has an international reputation for helping to make sure that new medicines are safe for the ear. Turner Scientific is also renowned in the worldwide research community for their specialty in hearing in different animals used in biomedical research.

Turner Scientific developed a sensitive environmental monitoring system for biomedical research facilities that tracks temperature, humidity, light, noise and vibration levels, ensuring optimal results are achieved with laboratory animals while maintaining the highest levels of humane treatment. Their monitoring systems are in use in dozens of pharmaceutical and biotech companies and major research universities all over the world.

Even as it relates to COVID we are playing a role, Turner said. At least five sites developing vaccines are using our equipment to ensure their animals being used for vaccine research are not exposed to harmful, stress-inducing levels of noise or vibration, which could disrupt those studies and lead to poor results.

Turners road to a life of research began in Jacksonville where he attended Routt Catholic High School and at Illinois College where he got the science bug. He earned a masters and doctorate in behavioral neuroscience at Northern Illinois University and taught at the University of Tennessee at Martin.

Turner returned to the area, coming to Southern Illinois University School of Medicine in 2002, where he did post-doctoral studies in pharmacology and neuroscience before joining their faculty. He is a professor of psychology and neuroscience at Illinois College.

For more than 10 years, Turner taught at IC and had a research laboratory at SIU Medical School, where he did research funded by the National Institutes of Health, the Department of Defense and foundations. He increasingly received requests to help drug and biotech companies understand how their medicines affected hearing, so Turner started a laboratory in Jacksonville to do just that in 2013 on Tendick Street. Turner Scientific was formed as a result in 2017.

At any time, we could be conducting five to 10 different research studies on hearing, ranging from studies trying to find new treatments for hearing loss and tinnitus, to studies making sure a potential new cancer or antibacterial drug is safe for the ear or brain, Turner said. For example, right now we have two cancer drug studies going on because some cancer therapeutics commonly cause hearing loss.

Of course youre going to choose life over hearing, but wouldnt it be nice if you didnt have to choose between treating your cancer and hearing your grandkids voices? Turner said. Age, noise and drug-induced hearing loss are associated with reduced quality of life, social isolation and increased risk of depression. Hearing loss can even have cognitive consequences, with even mild hearing loss doubling your risk of dementia.

Turner Scientific is even more well-known for the equipment they sell and lease that is specialized for monitoring environmental conditions in animal research facilities, such as temperature, humidity, light, noise and vibration. Simply put, their systems make life better for laboratory animals, the vast majority of which are mice, because if mice are not stressed by environmental conditions you are not only helping to improve animal welfare, you also get much more accurate research results.

If you are studying a drug to treat cancer and your mice are chronically stressed because their caging system is vibrating from nearby construction, or because they hear a constant ultrasonic noise from the lights or other equipment in the room, you are actually not directly studying the effects of the cancer therapy, you are studying the effects of cancer therapy on a chronic stress condition, Turner said. The minute you activate stress pathways in any mammal, all hell breaks loose and a wide range of biochemical and behavioral changes result.

Turner said these changes can cause unpredictable and variable outcomes in studies, which can then lead to poor science that is highly variable or uninterpretable.

Turner said the treatment of laboratory mice is very closely monitored and regulated, and individual mouse enclosures typically come with their own ventilation systems. Those systems may seem smooth and silent to us, but when they are even a little bit out of whack, the mice can tell.

Mice are nocturnal, tunnel-dwelling rodents. Vibration tells them that something is going to eat them so its a massive stressor. And think about it, if you had to sleep in a bed that vibrated just a little bit it would drive you nuts, Turner said. Fluorescent lights and computers introduce a stress-inducing level of noise in mice but without the right instruments you wont know that it is there because it is in the ultrasonic sound range, above what humans can hear.

We are the only group in the world that focuses on that specific issue. I wrote a paper recently that proposes standards for noise and vibration, Turner said. Workplace environments have noise level standards for people and this is a proposal like that for animal facilities.

As a boy Turner often rode his bicycle past Illinois School for the Deaf and he was always aware of Jacksonvilles amazing deaf community. But Turner didnt focus on hearing research until he was pursuing his Ph.D. and wound up in a lab studying mouse genetics and the role they played in brain development and hearing.

Once you become a scientist you realize the more you learn the more there is to learn, Turner said. Everything I learned just prompted more questions and opened up more possibilities. And thats why scientists love their work so much, because every day we are learning things we did not know yesterday, which always prompts new questions to answer.
LG Electronics' new smartphone with a rollable display is introduced during a press conference at the CES 2021, Jan. 11. Courtesy of LG Electronics



By Baek Byung-yeul



LG Electronics' recent attempt to sell its mobile phone factories to Vingroup has fallen through as the Vietnamese conglomerate's offer was lower than that wanted by the Korean tech company, a high-ranking industry official familiar with the matter said Monday.



"LG had been negotiating with Vingroup to sell its smartphone-manufacturing facilities in Vietnam and Brazil, however, the discussions recently collapsed mostly due to the price difference," the official said.



Due to mounting deficits in recent years, LG put its mobile phone business up for sale to concentrate on other areas such as electric vehicle (EV) components. Following the LG announcement, Vingroup was mentioned as the "right bidder" in possibly striking a deal, as the largest listed firm in Vietnam has been seeking to expand into high-tech industries.



The official said there would be no more negotiations with Vingroup, and LG would seek a new buyer.



"With Vingroup offering a lower price than expected, LG will move on to find another buyer. Also, the company's smartphone production lines overseas such as in Vietnam and Brazil can be realigned to manufacture home appliances," he added.



However, LG Electronics has not abandoned its plan to sell off the plants while keeping hold of its intellectual property in mobile technology and product design. To minimize the impact caused by organizational restructuring, employees working for its smartphone unit will be reallocated to other departments, the official noted.





LG Electronics' factory in Haiphong, Vietnam / Courtesy of LG Electronics
 Flash

Another 9,834 people in Britain have tested positive for COVID-19, bringing the total number of coronavirus cases in the country to 4,115,509, according to official figures released Sunday.

The country also reported another 215 coronavirus-related deaths. The total number of coronavirus-related deaths in Britain now stands at 120,580. These figures only include the deaths of people who died within 28 days of their first positive test.

The latest figures were revealed as more than 17.5 million people in Britain have been given the first jab of the coronavirus vaccine.

Earlier Sunday, British Health Secretary Matt Hancock said the first dose of a COVID vaccine appears to reduce the chances of transmitting coronavirus by "about two-thirds".

"It looks like the first jab reduces your impact of transmitting the disease by about two-thirds but we need more evidence on that as well," he told Sky News.

British Prime Minister Boris Johnson has pledged that every adult in Britain will be given a jab of the COVID-19 vaccine by the end of July.

According to Johnson, people aged 50 and over and those with underlying health conditions will now be offered a jab by April 15.

The prime minister is set to unveil his "roadmap" exiting the current coronavirus lockdown on Monday. It is widely expected that schools in England would start to open on March 8.

England is currently under the third national lockdown since outbreak of the pandemic in the country. Similar restriction measures are also in place in Scotland, Wales and Northern Ireland.

Johnson has said he would take a "prudent" approach to the easing of lockdown to ensure the process is "irreversible".

To bring life back to normal, countries such as Britain, China, Germany, Russia and the United States have been racing against time to roll out coronavirus vaccines.
02/22/2021

Photo (c) MichaelGordon1 - Getty Images T-Mobile opened the week with what might be a true game-changer: the return of a real unlimited data plan with 5G, 4K video streaming -- and, for the cherry on top -- no throttling on speed.

The company believes this innovation is a major throwdown to any service whos been wagging loudly about their 5G service. Everyone who is tired of hearing what a 5G network can do and is ready to experience it, the company boasted.

The plan rides on the backbone of T-Mobiles new Magenta MAX, a platform that the company says will give American consumers the largest and fastest 5G network. With Magenta MAX, T-Mobile says its unlimited Premium Data will work for both 4G LTE and 5G, so customers cant be slowed down based on how much they use.

To sweeten the pot for consumers, the companys new Zero Cost to Switch deal gives AT&T and Verizon customers up to $650 in savings ($475 for AT&T and $650 for Verizon) and will let users pay zero in device switching costs when they bring their own phones.

Avoiding "speed bumps" in service

In explaining its apples-to-apples differences, T-Mobile says that legacy smartphone plans are built for lower capacity 4G LTE networks -- so prior to this, Verizon, AT&T, and even T-Mobiles unlimited plans allowed providers to lower a users network priority if theyd used a massive amount of data, such as for downloading audio or video.

In that situation, users tended to run into speed bumps if the network got congested. T-Mobile claims that Verizon and AT&T market this as Premium Data and give most customers 50GB. But, theres nothing premium about paying more for fast 5G thats only in some parts of some cities, T-Mobile said in a news release. The company claims that its upgraded network is so powerful it can start unleashing the power of 5G to deliver unlimited Premium Data.

When youre a heavy data user with a super-fast 5G smartphone, you dont want to be hit with speed bumps. Its like having a Ferrari and being forced to drive it in the school zone. Well, now its time to open er up on the wide open magenta road! And we are just getting started. Buckle up!, said T-Mobile CEO Mike Sievert.

Everything thats included

Magenta MAX takes the place of Magenta Plus and launches Wednesday, February 24 for consumers and small businesses alike.

The cost for Magenta Plus users is typically $57 per line per month for three lines, with autopay and monthly taxes and fees included. But for customers moving to Magenta MAX, the monthly fee drops to $47 for the same amenities for a limited time.

In addition to unlimited talk, text, and unlimited Premium Data on both 4G and 5G, T-Mobile is offering some rather attractive enticements to get users to move or upgrade. Those include:

Netflix on Us  now for single lines and family plans;

Unlimited UHD streaming at up to 4K UHD resolution;

40GB of high-speed smartphone mobile hotspot data (and unlimited 3G speeds after that)  the industrys best for consumers;

Unlimited Gogo in-flight texting and Wi-Fi for the duration of a flight;

For worldwide travelers, free texting and data in 210 countries and destinations, as well as unlimited talk, text and data in Mexico and Canada with up to 5GB of high-speed data; and

Free Scam Shield Premium protection, which includes free Scam Block and Caller ID.

Dont forget the fine print

No matter how good a deal sounds, theres always fine print that consumers should read and understand before they jump in with a new carrier or an upgraded plan. In T-Mobiles situation, its no different. Straight from the company, here are all the finer points of its new offer that should be considered:





Haiti - COVID-19 : Will illegals in the Dominican Republic be vaccinated ?





Reacting to the latest statement by Dominican President Luis Abinader regarding the vaccination of undocumented people, Smith Agustin, the Ambassador of Haiti in Santo Domingo said that the President never said (on February 15) that no Haitian could get vaccinated in the Dominican Republic.



Note that in his intervention, Abinader explained that during the vaccination, each Dominican will receive a card allowing him to receive the second dose and that this registration "is one of the problems of undocumented migrants" adding that the Dominican Government does not had not much possibility "to be in solidarity and to contribute" so that the undocumented migrants who are in the country can receive the vaccine against the covid-19. Likewise, he urged countries whose citizens are in an irregular situation on Dominican soil to contribute.



Regarding this statement on the difficulty of his compatriots to be vaccinated for lack of "identity papers", Smith Agustin declared "all Haitians residing in the Dominican Republic are not without papers and say that those who do not have papers will not be vaccinated, that does not mean that they will not have access to vaccination [...] We will wait for what will happen, but I remain optimistic [...]"



If in his last statement the words of the Dominican President are interpretable when he speaks of "paperless" (implicitly without regular migratory status and not without identity paper), his statement in mid January and on the other hand much clearer, he declared "all foreigners in an irregular migratory situation on Dominican territory will not be vaccinated against Covid-19 with the doses of vaccines purchased by the Dominican Government" specifying that for all these people the World Organization of Health will have to provide vaccines at its expense so that they can be vaccinated.



See also :

https://www.haitilibre.com/en/news-32792-haiti-politic-the-ambassador-of-haiti-respects-the-dominican-decision-not-to-vaccinate-the-undocumented.html

https://www.haitilibre.com/en/news-32762-haiti-health-haiti-will-receive-a-free-vaccine-against-covid-19.html



HL/ HaitiLibre


















WASHINGTON (AP)  In a significant defeat for former President Donald Trump, the Supreme Court on Monday declined to step in to halt the turnover of his tax records to a New York state prosecutor.

The courts action is the apparent culmination of a lengthy legal battle that had already reached the high court once before.

Trumps tax records are not supposed to become public as part of prosecutors' criminal investigation, but the high courts action is a blow to Trump because he has long fought on so many fronts to keep his tax records shielded from view. The ongoing investigation that the records are part of could also become an issue for Trump in his life after the presidency.

In a statement, the Trump blasted prosecutors and said the Supreme Court never should have let this fishing expedition happen, but they did. The Republican claimed the investigation is politically motivated by Democrats in a totally Democrat location, New York City and State. And he said he would fight on and that We will win!

The Supreme Court waited months to act in the case. The last of the written briefs in the case was filed Oct. 19. But a court that includes three Trump appointees waited through the election, Trumps challenge to his defeat and a month after Trump left office before issuing its order.

The court offered no explanation for the delay, and the legal issue before the justices did not involve whether Trump was due any special deference because he was president.

The courts order is a win for Manhattan District Attorney Cyrus Vance Jr., who has been seeking Trumps tax records since 2019 as part of an investigation. Vance, a Democrat, had subpoenaed the records from the Mazars accounting firm that has long done work for Trump and his businesses. Mazars has said it would comply with the subpoena, but Trump sued to block the records release.

Vances office had said it would be free to enforce the subpoena and obtain the records in the event the Supreme Court declined to step in and halt the records turnover, but it was unclear when that might happen. In a three-word statement Monday, Vance said only: The work continues.

Story continues

The court's action Monday wasn't the only defeat for Trump, the court also declined to get involved in a handful of cases related to the 2020 election.

The records Vance has been after are more than eight years of Trumps personal and corporate tax records. Vance has disclosed little about what prompted him to seek them. In one court filing last year, however, prosecutors said they were justified in demanding the records because of public reports of possibly extensive and protracted criminal conduct at the Trump Organization.

Part of the probe involves payments to two women  porn actress Stormy Daniels and model Karen McDougal  to keep them quiet during the 2016 presidential campaign about alleged extramarital affairs with Trump. Trump has denied the affairs.

In July, the justices in a 7-2 ruling rejected Trumps argument that the president is immune from investigation while he holds office or that a prosecutor must show a greater need than normal to obtain the tax records.

Justices Neil Gorsuch and Brett Kavanaugh, whom Trump nominated to the high court, joined that decision. It was issued before Trumps third nominee, Justice Amy Coney Barrett, replaced the late Justice Ruth Bader Ginsburg on the court.

As part of its July decision, the high court returned the Vance case and a similar case involving records sought by Congress to lower courts. And the court prevented the records from being turned over while the cases proceeded.

Since the high courts ruling, in the Vance case, Trumps attorneys made additional arguments that his tax records should not be turned over, but they lost again in federal court in New York and on appeal. It was those rulings that Trump had sought to put on hold.

___

Associated Press reporter Jill Colvin contributed to this report.
ALTON  More COVID-19 vaccination options were announced Monday for Madison County.

Starting Tuesday, Feb. 23, the Gateway Convention Center in Collinsville will be used by the Madison County Health Department to administer as many as 1,350 vaccinations a day. Six organizations also will partner with the health department to offer weekly COVID-19 vaccination clinics in Alton during March.

We are happy to partner with the Illinois National Guard and community partners throughout the county to increase our capacity to administer vaccines in Madison County, especially to our vulnerable populations, said Toni Corona, Director of Public Health, Madison County Health Department.

Details about the site are available online at https://www.co.madison.il.us/departments/health/index.php.

The health department also will administer COVID-19 vaccinations on four Mondays  March 1, 8, 15 and 22  from 9 a.m. to 4 p.m. at LaMays Catering, 909 E. Broadway (the former Riverbend Billiards) in Alton.

Partnering with the health department are the Leadership Council of Madison County, Alton NAACP, 100 Black Men, the Ministerial Alliance, the 100 Man Movement and the Madison County Urban League.

We are pleased to partner with these service-driven organizations to get COVID-19 vaccine shots into the arms of Alton citizens 65 years or older, said Corona. In 2020, we were successful in providing mobile COVID-19 yesting to our seniors, elderly and underserved citizens throughout Alton and Madison County.

I am looking forward to collaborating with these outstanding leaders to provide vaccine shots to the citizens of Alton and Madison County, she said.

Organizers include David Goins, Morning Star Baptist; Gregory Denton, Bread of Life Fellowship; Jason Harrison, Deliverance Temple; Michael Porter, Millennium Temple; Peter Hough, Alton Mission; Dave Burger, Community Christian Church; Mike Adams, Life House; and George Dickerson, Harvest Christian Fellowship.

Weve all been terribly impacted by this COVID-19 pandemic, but any thoughts of reopening our businesses, schools and churches in a sustainable manner, or enjoying family life, without a comprehensive vaccine campaign will be very difficult, said Goins.

We are reaching out to our Alton clergymen and encourage them to set the example for their congregation by first getting the vaccine, then recommending to their seniors and elderly, 65 years and older, to get the vaccine shots, particularly African Americans, he said. We understand there are some concerns with access and mistrust. But our goal is to mitigate any possible anxieties.

People 65 years or older wanting a COVID-19 vaccination are asked to call 618-465-4269, Ext. 10, starting Tuesday, Feb. 23 from, 9 a.m. to 4 p.m. to pre-register and set an appointment for the first vaccine shot.

Transportation also can be arranged, with Madison County Transit offering free rides to the vaccination site on the No. 1 Riverbend and the No. 9 Washington Shuttle routes during the four March vaccination days. Service will be offered 8 a.m. to 5 p.m. The No. 9  which serves Alton neighborhoods and apartments such as Marian Heights, Skyline Towers and Hillcrest  will be re-routed those days to drop off and pick up people directly in front of the vaccination site.

MCT will also provide fare-free trips on the Runabout Paratransit service for registered elderly and disabled Madison County residents. To receive a free ride, passengers must indicate when scheduling their trip that it is to receive a vaccination.

On behalf of MCT, were proud to work with the Madison County Health Department and these civic and faith-based organizations to bring Madison County residents to vaccination sites, said MCT Managing Director SJ Morrison. This coordination represents another example of public bodies and organizations working together to defeat the pandemic.

For more information about MCT services, call 618-797-INFO (4636), email info@mct.org or visit www.mct.org.
The Work Zone

A lot of folks will go to work this morning, and not be happy about it. I hope I can give you some ideas today that will help make sure youre Read more
'Strangers by day, lovers by night', Stevie Wonder and his Part-Time Lover carried out their illicit tryst in his song 'knowing it's so wrong, but feeling so right.'

But Stevie may wish he had sung more contrite lyrics if Mrs Wonder finds out  as songs celebrating cheating make women less forgiving of infidelity, US experts said.

The researchers played 744 volunteers songs about unfaithfulness, some which highlighted its pleasures while the others focussed on the drawbacks.

The team said their findings surprised them, as they had expected songs about the benefits of cheating to help normalise infidelity and make it seem more trivial.

Instead, women became less tolerant. Lyrics about the negative effects of cheating on the unfaithful, meanwhile, made women more likely to stick with their man.

'Strangers by day, lovers by night', Stevie Wonder and his Part-Time Lover carried out their illicit tryst 'knowing it's so wrong, but feeling so right.' But Stevie may wish he had penned more contrite lyrics if Mrs Wonder finds out  as songs celebrating cheating make women less forgiving of infidelity, US experts said

LOVE, ACTUALLY? Music is not the only form of popular media that impact our relationships. A 2002 University of Arizona study, for example, found that watching rom-coms and soap operas led to 'idealistic expectations about marriage'. Meanwhile, rom-com fans are also more likely to believe in pre-destined soul mates, a paper by psychologists from Edinburgh's Heriot-Watt University concluded after analysing the impact of 40 romantic comedies. Advertisement

According to communications researchers Cassandra Alexopoulos of the University of Massachusetts and Laramie Taylor of the University of California, Davis, the way songs can affect our behaviour and feelings can be explained by 'script theory'.

'As we gain personal experience and observe others' experiences with relationships, we develop cognitive scripts for certain relational behaviours,' Professor Alexopoulos told the Times.

These mental scripts are consulted later on when we need to know how to respond or react to new situations, she explained.

'In essence, scripts function sort of like movie scripts. They tell us how to behave and respond to social situations,' Professor Alexopoulos added.

In their study, the researchers recruited a total of 744 students from the UK and the US  who they divided into two groups.

Participants in the first group were played a song whose lyrics expressed positive sentiments about infidelity, with women given 'If You Leave' by Destiny's Child and men 'Cannot Let You Go' by Fabolous.

The other group, meanwhile, listened to a song that was negative towards cheating, with the men played 'Confessions' by Usher and the women Rihanna's 'Unfaithful'.

The volunteers were each asked three irrelevant questions  intended to obscure the purpose of the study  and listened to a so-called 'distractor' song whose lyrics included no romantic or sexual content at all before the questions were repeated.

Only after this did the team ask questions about infidelity, covering such areas as how likely they would be to cheat on their partners, how justified they would feel in doing so for various reasons and how tolerant of being cheated on they would be.

According to the duo, the finding that women are more tolerant of infidelity after hearing lyrics about cheaters feeling guilt and sadness could be explained by the song providing a cognitive script which helps support greater forgiveness.

'Perhaps when these media narratives depict the cheater being punished in some way, people feel less of a need to inflict the punishment themselves,' Professor Alexopoulos told the Times.

The team said their findings surprised them, as they had expected songs about the benefits of cheating to help normalise infidelity and make it seem more trivial. Pictured, the Destiny's Child trio, whose song 'If You Leave' appears to celebrate an infidelity

'Perhaps when these media narratives depict the cheater being punished in some way, people feel less of a need to inflict the punishment themselves,' Professor Alexopoulos told the Times. Pictured: Rhianna, who signs about the downsides of infidelity in her song 'Unfaithful'

Unlike with the women in the study, the men's reported tolerance towards infidelity did not appear to be influenced by the songs that they listened to.

'It could be that male participants didn't pay attention to the lyrics to the same extent that women did,' Professor Alexopoulos told the Times.

In fact, previous research has concluded that men tend to only draw meaning from either their reading of the song's lyrics or their enjoyment of the music's structure  unlike women, who tend to take in both.

The full findings of the study were published in the journal Psychology of Popular Media.

The researchers played 744 volunteers songs about unfaithfulness, some which highlighted its pleasures (like 'Cannot Let You Go' by Fabolous, left) while the others focussed on the drawbacks of cheating (e.g. 'Confessions' by Usher, right)
Just 7 years old, she gathered donations for animal shelter.

Seven-year-old Addison Pecile wanted to open up her Wapwallopen home to every animal in need.

Those scared, sad-eyed dogs captured in commercials for the American Society for the Prevention of Cruelty to Animals hit her hard.

They were outside and left in the cold in a cage, she said sympathetically.

When she looked at her Pomeranian, Odie, she wanted to find a way to make sure all animals were treated as well as her dog, who pranced into their lives last summer after she begged her parents for a canine companion.

Her mother, Michelle Pecile, said Addison would cry before falling asleep because of the lonely animals in the world who she felt deserved a warm place to call home and a family of their own.

Those puppies, whos helping those puppies? Michelle recalled Addison asking her.

Their family was unable to take in more pets but Addison was still determined to make an impact in their fur-filled lives so she organized a fundraiser for the Hazleton Animal Shelter, taking her broken heart and doing something positive.

She and her mother went to Dollar General in Drums and asked an employee for boxes they could use to collect donations.

The employee obliged and handed them their first donations  bags of dog and cat food, Michelle said. Addisons big heart had inspired that first donation.

She decorated the boxes with wrapping paper, stickers and pictures of animals. The boxes were left at Traceys Academy of Dance in Drums and Mountain Valley Family Martial Arts in Hazle Twp., where she studies. They filled up fast during the two-week donation period, Addison said. So much so that it filled the hatchback on her mothers Subaru when they dropped them off at the shelter Saturday.

Food, toys and cleaning supplies were donated by the families of kids she studies dance and karate with. A posting on the social media site Facebook also got attention, Michelle said.

As for those pets in need of someone to love them, Addison would still want to take them all in but is satisfied that she helped make a difference until they find their forever homes. Michelle hopes, too, that with the negativity in the world, her daughters story makes people feel better, and perhaps inspires them to do good for someone else.

To raise our children to want to do something nice for someone else, Michelle said, is a pretty wonderful thing.

Addison attends St. Judes School in Wright Twp. and hopes to undertake similar projects that help the community. She also wants to volunteer at the shelter one day.
Experiencing the changes of space and time, yet Hoi An ancient streets still keep their old beauty, and relic complexes are maintained intact along with a huge intangible cultural base.

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Hoi An is an ancient town of the Vietnamese. It is located in the lower reach of Thu Bon River in the coastal plain in Quang Nam province, about 30 km south of Da Nang city.

Hoi An also boasts a natural environment which is healthy and peaceful with small suburban villages engaged in crafts like carpentry and pottery.

The cultural and economic exchanges that ran from the 16th to the 19th centuries have left in Hoi An ancient town most of the forms of Vietnams ancient architectures, grouping traditional national arts enriched with sketches of foreign arts.

Hoi An has been recognised by the UNESCO as a worlds cultural legacy and honoured by many famous travel magazines. In July 2019, Hoi An was elected by the Travel and Leisure travel magazine as the most attractive city in the world in the year./.VNA
President Biden often professes a belief in redemption. Republicans, whose party has an elephant as its symbol, have long memories. When it comes to Neera Tanden, whom Biden nominated to head the White House Office of Management and Budget, something has to give in that tug-of-war.

It didnt take long for the opposition party to discover evidence that Tanden, a keenly partisan operative from the Clinton wing of the Democratic Party, on numerous occasions had failed to live up to the new presidents standard for unity and decency in government. Using Twitter as her platform, she described Sen. Susan Collins of Maine as the worst, Sen. Tom Cotton of Arkansas as a fraud, and said that vampires have more heart than Sen. Ted Cruz. She linked Bernie Sanders to Russia and while calling Senate Republican Leader Mitch McConnell Moscow Mitch. She also compared him to Voldemort.

Tanden has since said shes sorry, including a specific apology for that comparison of the current minority leader to the evil undead wizard. But Sen. Joe Manchin isnt satisfied. The swing-vote Democrat from West Virginia announced Friday that he would oppose her nomination. I believe her overtly partisan statements will have a toxic and detrimental impact on the important working relationship between members of Congress and the next director of the Office of Management and Budget, Manchin said in a written statement.

This makes Manchin the first Democrat to oppose one of Bidens Cabinet nominees. It also signals that White House officials cant automatically count on getting their nominees through a 50-50 Senate, even with Vice President Kamala Harris able to cast tie-breaking votes. If the Tanden nomination is troubled, some were whispering over the weekend, what about the presidents other controversial picks, such as Xavier Becerra to lead Health and Human Services?

Tandens chances were further damaged Monday when Collins, considered a possible Republican vote in favor of confirmation, announced her opposition. Congress has to be able to trust the OMB director to make countless decisions in an impartial manner, carrying out the letter of the law and congressional intent. Neera Tanden has neither the experience nor the temperament to lead this critical agency, Collins said in a statement. Her past actions have demonstrated exactly the kind of animosity that President Biden has pledged to transcend. (Mitt Romney added his voice to the no chorus on Monday, saying through a spokesman that Tandens thousand mean tweets are at odds with a return to comity and respect.)

Still, Biden was bullish when asked about his imperiled, and previously impolite, OMB director-designate, telling reporters Friday, I think were going to find the votes to get her confirmed.

On Monday, White House spokeswoman Jen Psaki doubled down on White House support, tweeting: Neera Tanden=accomplished policy expert, would be 1st Asian American woman to lead OMB, has lived experience having benefitted from a number of federal programs as a kid, looking ahead to the committee votes this week and continuing to work toward her confirmation

Over the weekend, a source inside the confirmation effort told RealClearPolitics that Biden thinks Tanden would be an incredibly successful budget director as far as helping turn our economy around during this time of crisis. And gauging from her strong backing, ranging from the business community to the labor movement, hes not at all alone.

Tanden has already had over 35 meetings with senators from both parties. She is also scheduled to meet with Sanders, who now chairs the Senate Budget Committee, which is expected to vote on her nomination this week. The Biden team has pointed to backing for Tanden from across the ideological spectrum.

Mark Holden, formerly the general counsel of the libertarian-leaning Koch Industries, sent a letter of support to the chairmen of the Senate Homeland Security and Governmental Affairs Committee and Senate Budget Committee.

Ms. Tanden and I do not agree on many issues. But even when we did not agree, I found her to be a person of principle who would listen respectfully and respond thoughtfully, he wrote in a letter. There were other letters too, from the U.S. Chamber of Commerce, the Communications Workers of America, and one signed by more than 100 public health experts, all backing her nomination.

They were addressed to the committee chairmen involved, specifically Sens. Gary Peters and Sanders  the kind of public correspondence designed to put pressure on them, as is normal on Capitol Hill. But the Biden team has something else working for it: outside Republicans advocating publicly to forgive Tanden.

For instance, they can point to support from Bill Kristol, the editor at large of the conservative Bulwark magazine, who wrote that Tanden was the right person for the job -- despite her history of unkind words -- because everyone should want a tough-minded OMB head.

Kristols noisy and incessant opposition to the previous Republican president doesnt make him the best advocate on Tandens behalf. But former Indiana Gov. Mitch Daniels, who served as OMB director under George W. Bush, remains popular among conservatives, giving extra weight to his support of Tandens nomination

Now the president of Purdue University, Daniels wrote an op-ed in The Washington Post in which he noted that Republicans certainly have legitimate grievances after Senate Democrats forced over 300 cloture votes to obstruct Trump nominees. He wrote also that Tanden tweeted or otherwise emitted a number of unkind, personal nastygrams aimed at some of those who now will consider her nomination.

His assessment? Shame on her. But his larger conclusion, one in line with Bidens crusade for a return to decency, was that in the recent toxic wasteland of national affairs, if we disqualify everyone who ever unleashed a smarmy or juvenile cheap shot, wed have very few people left in Washington.

Daniels is not naive about how D.C. works. Nicknamed Mitch the Knife while OMB director, he related some of his own personal battles with Tanden when she headed the liberal Center for American Progress. Once, he writes, her organization had him kicked off a panel because of his previous disagreements with her over policy.

But that is in the past, Daniels wrote. The future can be more bipartisan: Confirmation of Tanden in particular would demonstrate a willingness, not seen often in recent days, to overlook the personal and the petty, to honor the biblical injunction and return no one evil for evil. Im presuming here that senators are, as they frequently claim to be, troubled by the harshness and crudity of our current political discourse. So, heres a chance to demonstrate it, along with a degree of magnanimity.

Daniels own magnanimous overture gave some hope over the weekend to some of Bidens lieutenants, who circulated his words among interested parties. They know that the fight over the previously ill-tempered nominee could be emblematic of things to come. Their preference, of course, is that the Senate accept Tandens apology and move on. But thats now up to the very people Neera Tanden insulted.

Over a week after a massive storm hit, Texas is slowly warming up, the snow is melting, and power is returning. What Texas hasn't seen is President Biden. Instead, he's been enjoying an easy schedule, playing computer games with his granddaughter while Kamala Harris handles the phone calls to foreign leaders. If he were a Republican, rather than a Democrat, the media would be castigating him as the worst leader ever. Instead, though, the media is praising him for not showing up, lest he look too much like Trump.

The Valentine's Day storm that hit Texas wasn't the worst snowstorm ever, but it was certainly one of the worst storms to hit a state that always does things in a big way. Immediately after the storm hit, 4 million people were without power and almost half the state's population without reliably safe drinking water. Roughly 35 people died in Texas because of the storm.

A reader sent us pictures from a major grocery store in central Texas, showing that the shelves were stripped as bare as they were during the height of lockdown panic last year:

Thankfully, things are improving:

A warming trend brought welcome relief. In Tennessee, where Memphis was walloped with 10 inches of snow, temperatures soared into the high 50s on Sunday. In battered Texas, Houston's temperature climbed into the 70s, and Austin was almost there. [snip] About 20,000 Texas homes and businesses remained without power Sunday afternoon, according to poweroutage.us, a utility tracking website.

A political battle is now raging over the reason for Texas's travails. Many have pointed out that about 25% of its power comes from wind turbines, which don't work in winter storms. Chuck Schumer, though, contends that Texas was punished for not believing in climate change. In Schumer's world, apparently believing or not believing in climate change determines whether massive storms will strike. The man is positively pagan.

The real problem appears to be that Texas, uniquely for American states, has a completely standalone power grid. That means that when its power went down, it was unable to rely on outside sources for help.

What's not controverted is that Biden continues to be absent from a major American disaster area. You may recall that, when Hurricane Katrina hit, the media, instead of blaming corrupt Louisiana officials for letting the levies decay, blamed President Bush for every death because he opted not to land in New Orleans the day after the levees failed, lest it interfere with recovery efforts  although he instantly got the federal government involved in responding to the disaster.

Things are different when you're Biden. The media were incredibly excited by the fact that he played Mario Kart at Camp David with his granddaughter, held a town hall where he lied through his teeth without even acknowledging the storm, and took the weekend off. In addition, before heading off to play computer games, Biden only "partially" approved of Texas's request for the all-important disaster declaration.

The media has been equally mellow about the fact that Biden still hasn't gone to Texas. On Sunday, the Washington Post enthusiastically relayed that the White House's pronouncement that Biden is "eager" to visit Texas and might even go there this week. According to the WaPo, Biden's hands-off approach is a virtue:

Biden is taking a notably low-key approach to the storm relief process. It's a marked contrast to predecessor Donald Trump's habit of making himself the often-hostile center of attention during natural disasters.

It's clear that Biden, Schumer, and the media all believe that Texans should suffer for not worshiping at the Church of Climate Change. While some of us think Biden is probably too decrepit and demented to make a visit to Texas, the WaPo coverage establishes that, no matter how pathetically Biden performs his duties, the media will cover for him  and, if possible, attack Trump.

It all makes sense if you understand that the American media are Pravda West  except the media are actually worse than the original Pravda. Soviet "journalists" lied and propagandized because they'd be imprisoned or killed if they didn't. Our American "journalists" lie and propagandize because they want to.
Monday marks ten years since the February 22, 2011, Christchurch earthquake, which killed 185 people. Thousands of buildings were destroyed or severely damaged, and entire suburbs in the citys working class east, an area once home to 10,000 people, were left uninhabitable and eventually abandoned, with the houses all demolished.

Thousands of homeowners spent years fighting with private insurers and government agencies for their properties to be repaired or rebuilt. Some have still not received any payouts, one decade after the disaster.

The death toll was not simply the product of an unavoidable natural disaster. Nearly two thirds of the lives lost, 115 people, were in the CTV (Canterbury Television) Building, which collapsed in seconds due to its extremely unsafe design. New Zealand is well-known for its frequent earthquakes, yet thousands of buildings are not constructed to withstand a severe shake, due to decades of deregulation and lack of government oversight.

The CTV building before the earthquake (Source: Wikipedia)

The CTV victims included medical centre workers and Canterbury Television staff, as well as teachers and 64 foreign students at the Kings Education language school, from Japan, China, the Philippines, Thailand and South Korea.

Both the previous National Party government and the present Labour Party government, along with the police and Crown Law (the states senior solicitors), have worked to prevent anyone being held accountable for the collapse.

Successive councils and governments themselves bear responsibility for creating the deregulated environment that inevitably leads to such tragedies. Beginning with the 1980s Labour government, which was in office during the construction of the CTV Building, both major parties have gutted safety standards across mining, construction and other industries, allowing self-regulation by businesses.

A royal commission of inquiry in 2012 found that the building permit should not have been issued by Christchurch City Council in 1986, due to serious design deficiencies. And there were further inadequacies in the construction. Dr. Alan Reay, whose firm was in charge of construction, employed an unqualified engineer, David Harding, who had never worked on a multi-storey building before, and was not supervised by Reay.

Among other findings, the commission noted that there were major weaknesses in all of the beam-column joints and the connections between the floor slabs and the north wall complex did not comply with basic engineering principles. But the commission had no power to hold anyone accountable.

The ruins of the CTV building. It collapsed in seconds on February 22, 2011, leaving only the north wall standing, killing 115 people. (Source: Wikimedia Commons)

Police began a criminal investigation in 2014 and hired engineering firm Beca, which produced a lengthy report identifying numerous design failures. In May 2017, police finally concluded their investigation and recommended prosecuting both Reay and Harding for manslaughter. However, the governments deputy solicitor-general, Brendan Horsley, intervened and argued that charges not be laid. On November 30, 2017, police announced that there would be no prosecution.

University of Canterbury engineering professor Maan Alkaisi, whose wife, doctor Maysoon Abbas, died in the building, is a spokesman for the CTV Families Group, which continues to demand justice for the victims.

Alkaisi told the World Socialist Web Site that Horsley made the outrageous argument that there was no public interest in prosecuting anyone, and that a trial would cost millions of dollars. So the lives of 115 people is not worth a trial, because its too costly for him. Despite a mountain of evidence that the building was a death trap, Horsley also argued that there was no major departure from normal practice in the buildings design.

Alkaisi pointed out that the multiple investigations, involving dozens of engineers, had identified more than 300 structural flaws in the building, yet Mr Horsley ignored all this and he reckons that he knows more than all those experts in the field.

In a letter to the Japanese victims families in 2019, Horsley added, as an additional reason for not laying charges, that Reay was a person of good character.

Alkaisi explained: What we wanted was a trial. Let everybody come, let all the evidence be examined and cross-examined. Let [Reay] defend himself according to the rule of law. They dont want that. They want to go behind doors, take decisions, and nobody knows exactly how they reach those decisions.

Maan Alkaisi

Family members met with Horsley, police officials, and other representatives from Crown Law in December 2017. When Alkaisi asked questions about the abandonment of criminal charges, Horsley replied, You are baying for blood. Another family member replied that this was not true, that the families wanted justice and to make sure such a disaster never happened again.

This is Mr Horsleys mindset; he thought that we are baying for blood, whereas Alan Reay is a good character that we are chasing. So he was extremely biased, Alkaisi said.

Reay had at least two opportunities to rectify the buildings design flaws: firstly, when a council inspector raised concerns in 1986, Reay did not change anything, but persuaded the council to issue a building permit. Then, in 1990, the flaws were again identified during the sale of the building, and Reay only ordered some minor work, which failed to fix them.

The reason he did not do any remedy was because it will affect his reputation and it will involve him paying some money, Alkaisi said. This is what really hurt us. Its for money that we lost all those people, for a few thousand dollars, thats all he was saving. It would not be millions to make the design a bit better, with a better beam column joint, with better connection between the slab floors and the main north wall. That would have saved the whole building.

Alan Reay and his wife remain major players in the construction industry. Their firm, Engenium (formerly Alan Reay Consultants Ltd), is involved in numerous public and private projects, including a $200 million apartment and retail complex in Epsom, Auckland.

Alkaisi said, Ive been told many times: he is influential. So basically, if a person has money and contacts, he is above the law.

Brendan Horsley, meanwhile, was promoted last year by the Labour Party-led government to the job of Inspector-General of Intelligence and Security, one of the most sensitive positions in the state apparatus, overseeing the countrys two spy agencies.

Prime Minister Jacinda Ardern has rejected the CTV Families Groups request to appoint independent judges to investigate the police decision not to lay any charges. Ardern and other government ministers have refused to speak with the families about their case.

In December 2020, Alkaisi announced that the families would make a formal submission to the United Nations, alleging discrimination against them by the government. He told the WSWS they would list all the mistreatment and all the injustice that we suffered in the last 10 years. They want to cover up, I want the entire world to know what happened.

Alkaisi concluded that politicians have zero empathy for people and only care about what will help them in the next election. They want victims to be perceived as weak, crying, and just to move on, and believe anything they tell you. All their support is giving you a tissue to dry your tears.

Anita Stewart, whose brother Andrew Bishop died in the CTV Building, aged 33, told the WSWS: Im frustrated at the lack of justice. Wouldnt anyone be? She noted that Reays company still rakes in millions of dollars and provides the owner with the lavish lifestyle that the deceased occupants of the CTV building couldnt even continue dreaming of.

Andrew worked for CTV as a cameraman and was a volunteer for Sumner Lifeboat, a maritime search and rescue operation. I wish my brother wasnt a victim of the CTV Building. He died doing the job he lived for and with colleagues he called friends and family, Anita said. It often feels like nobody seems to care anymore except our grief-stricken group. The more support our group receives, the stronger our foundation will be to fight for the justice that our loved ones deserve.

The appalling situation facing the CTV families is comparable to the decade-long fight for justice by the families of the 29 men who died in the Pike River coalmine disaster. We share similar experiences, similar concerns, similar injustice, Alkaisi said. The mine exploded in November 2010 after the company ignored multiple warnings that it was a death trap. No one has yet been held accountable.

Both cases, like the official response to the 2017 Grenfell Tower fire in London, which killed 72 people, are examples of class justice. The legal system is rigged in favour of rich and well-connected individuals and companies, who are shielded from accountability.

The preventable tragedies in Christchurch and at Pike River, like the millions of needless deaths worldwide from the coronavirus pandemic, are the outcome of an economic system, capitalism, which places profit ahead of workers safety and their lives.

Billions of dollars are urgently needed to strengthen and reconstruct buildings throughout the country to prepare them against natural disasters. This, in turn, requires a struggle for the socialist reorganisation of society, to place the immense resources of the banks and major industries under public ownership and democratic workers control, to be used in the interests of human need.
Pia Miller's fiance, multi-millionaire Hollywood agent Patrick Whitesell, jetted into Australia from Los Angeles last month.

And the former Home and Away star, 37, appears to be making the most of having her husband-to-be by her side, as the couple enjoyed a lunch date with her two teenage sons in Sydney's Bondi Beach on Sunday.

Pia looked smitten as she held hands with Patrick, 56, while her sons, Isaiah, 17, and Lennox, 13, walked beside them.

Loved-up: Actress Pia Miller and her fiance, Patrick Whitesell, enjoyed a lunch date with her teenage sons, Isaiah and Lennox, in Sydney's Bondi Beach on Sunday

The brunette looked effortlessly chic in an ankle-length black dress, which flattered her slender frame beautifully.

The actress and model teamed her look with a pair of flat sandals, and accessorised with oversized sunglasses.

Patrick, the executive chairman of talent agency Endeavor, looked cool and casual in a black T-shirt and white pants, which he teamed with box-fresh sneakers.

Gorgeous: The brunette, 37, looked effortlessly chic in an ankle-length black dress, which flattered her slender frame beautifully. Pictured with Patrick and her 17-year-old son, Isaiah

Stylish: Isaiah, who was born when Pia was a teenager, rocked a yellow T-shirt and black pants

Family day out: Her younger son, Lennox (left), whom she shares with ex-husband Brad Miller, donned a white tee and a pair of workout shorts

Daddy cool: Patrick, 56, the executive chairman of talent agency Endeavor, dressed casually in a black T-shirt and white pants, which he teamed with box-fresh sneakers

He looked relaxed as he spent quality time with his future stepsons.

Isaiah, who was born when Pia was still a teenager, rocked a yellow T-shirt and black trousers for the outing.

Her younger son, Lennox, whom she shares with ex-husband Brad Miller, donned a white tee and a pair of workout shorts.

Patrick, who is based in Los Angeles, arrived in Sydney via private jet on January 31, and subsequently began his 14 days of mandatory hotel quarantine.

Incoming: Patrick, who is based in Los Angeles, arrived in Sydney via private jet on January 31, and subsequently began his 14 days of mandatory hotel quarantine

Romance: The couple made their public debut at a Halloween party in LA in October 2019

The couple made their public debut at a Halloween party in LA in October 2019.

Pia announced her engagement to Patrick in November last year when she flaunted her large diamond ring in an Instagram post.

The businessman had proposed at his home in Malibu, California.

Wedding bells: Pia announced her engagement to Patrick in November last year when she flaunted her large diamond ring in an Instagram post
For Subscribers Why South Dakota county officials are shirking state-given water rights

Grant County could be the thirteenth county to repeal their drainage ordinance in the past decade.
As the energy crisis in Texas deepens, millions of people have no electricity, heating, or even running water. In the end, although millions of Texans who did not have access to the severe cold have restored electricity, they were destroyed The nightmare of the sexual winter storm is not over yet.

Millions of people do not have safe water in their homes, and residents looking for groceries or bottled water say they arrive at bare shelves and long lines of shops.

US President Joe Biden stated that he expects that once the governors request arrives at his office, he will sign federal relief assistance with Texas. If there is no"burden", he plans to visit Texas next week.

The Texas Electric Reliability Commission oversees about 90% of the states energy production. The commission said that the emergency is expected to end later on Friday as there is no longer a need for power outages on Thursday night.

Data from tracking websites showed that by Friday morning, more than 500,000 people in the United States had no electricity-Texas topped the list with less than 200,000 outages.

In Texas, winter storms caused pipelines to freeze and rupture, causing more than 14 million people to be ordered to boil water and causing chaos to water treatment facilities.

Due to water pressure, Memphis International Airport was forced to temporarily close its passenger terminal and cancel all flights.

Since Thursday, 46 deaths in at least 10 states have been related to weather, most of them in Texas.

When firefighters caught fire in an apartment building in the San Antonio district on Thursday, their efforts were hindered by a frozen fire hydrant. The crew had to shuttle through the water to control the fire, which displaced dozens of people.

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Australia's push to regulate tech giants has become a power struggle between two of the world's most powerful men: Rupert Murdoch and Facebook's Mark Zuckerberg

Australia's push to regulate tech giants has become a power struggle between two of the world's most powerful men, with Rupert Murdoch and Mark Zuckerberg locked in a generational battle for media dominance.

Efforts in Australia to make Google and Facebook pay for news has garnered worldwide attention, creating what some call a defining moment for the web and for journalism, and even a litmus test for democracy.

But beyond the high-sounding rhetoric lies a more base struggle, with the barons of traditional media fighting back against their digital heirs.

Sydney tech billionaire Mike Cannon-Brookes went as far as calling the Australian push to force payments for content a "shakedown".

The landmark legislation may carry the seal of government, but media and political insiders see the fingerprints of Rupert Murdoch's News Corp all over it.

"This has been a passionate cause for our company for well over a decade," said News Corp chief executive Robert Thomson, hailing his boss' "fervent, unstinting support" for the cause.

"For many years, we were accused of tilting at tech windmills, but what was a solitary campaign, a quixotic quest, has become a movement, and both journalism and society will be enhanced."

For decades, the Melbourne-born billionaire behind Fox News, The Sun and Sky News Australia has bestraddled politics in the United States, Britain and Down Under.

Australia's landmark legislation may carry the seal of government, but media and political insiders see the fingerprints of Rupert Murdoch's News Corp all over it

Today, he controls roughly two-thirds of daily newspaper circulation in Australia's major cities, with complete monopolies in Brisbane, Adelaide, Hobart and Darwin.

That has prompted critics to paint the 89-year-old in almost cartoonish termsas an all-powerful political puppetmaster.

While he still wields political power, the rise of Facebook and Google has seriously challenged Murdoch's preeminencegouging ad revenues that kept many of his publications in the black.

'Frightened of Murdoch'

At the turn of the millennium, newspapers had 96 percent of Australia's classified revenues. Now, that is down to around 12 percent.

For every $100 spent by Australian advertisers today, $49 goes to Google and $24 to Facebook, according to the country's competition watchdog, which proposed the law in direct response to this duopoly.

"Let's not kid around, this was very deliberately designed to put money in the pockets of a very few specific companiesNews Corp and others," Lucie Krahulcova of advocacy group Digital Rights Watch told AFP.

An initial draft of the law even cut out public broadcaster ABCwhich Murdoch's outlets and Australia's conservative government have long attackedfrom receiving Google and Facebook payments.

Rather than follow Google and reach agreements to pay for content, Mark Zuckerberg went nuclear, removing news from Australia on the platform

Former prime minister Kevin Rudd, an outspoken Murdoch critic, told lawmakers in Canberra on Friday that the proposed laws solved the digital dominance problem "by enhancing the power of the existing monopoly - that's Murdoch".

"Everyone is frightened of Murdoch," he maintained.

Everyone, it seems, except Facebook CEO Mark Zuckerberg, who made a worldwide splash last week by refusing demands to pay Murdoch's News Corp and other Australian media.

Rather than follow Google and reach agreements to pay for content, Zuckerberg went nuclear, removing news from Australia on the platform and sparking a global backlash.

Enormous political power

The two men were born more than three decades part and come from staggeringly different eras, but both wield enormous political power.

Where Murdoch could hobble governments or torpedo campaigns with a rapier front-page splash, Zuckerberg's platform can change the tenor of a US election campaign.

Like Murdoch, Zuckerberg has come under fierce scrutiny for his influence over society.

The Australian legislation is being watched in many parts of the world as calls grow to regulate tech giants

It is also not the first time they have tussled.

Murdoch's bid for social media dominance failed spectacularly when MySpace was left in the dust of Zuckerberg's rapidly growing Facebook.

According to reports by tech magazine and website Wired, the pair had a testy exchange in Sun Valley, Idaho in 2016, with Zuckerberg allegedly warned to offer publishers a better deal or expect New Corp to lobby regulators around the world.

Those lobbying efforts are now bearing fruit in Australia, with Google agreeing to pay the company for news in a three-year deal.

The amounts were not disclosed, but similar Google deals with other Australian media groups were said to be worth around US$23 million a year.

Supporters have cheered that as a victory for journalisma struggling industry long in declinealthough questions remain about whether the money will be ploughed back into reporting.

With legislation in the works in Canada, Europe and perhaps even the United States, Murdoch's "quixotic quest" against the tech giants is unlikely to stop in Australia.

Explore further Facebook to block news content in Australia, defying regulators

 2021 AFP
Olympic great Scott Miller has been charged with supplying a large quantity of meth

Olympic silver medallist Scott Miller drove a car carrying 4kg of meth almost 300km to meet accomplices who later ditched the drugs after a high-speed pursuit, police will allege in court.

Miller was charged with directing a multi-million dollar drug syndicate last week but few details of his alleged operation have emerged until now.

Daily Mail Australia can reveal police were watching Miller's movements and tracked an alleged meth consignment from Sydney as it headed for the Victorian border.

Police will allege Miller collected a white Toyota Camry from the Balmain area on January 11 after a man wearing high-vis clothing left a red, white and blue striped bag in the car's footwell.

Miller then allegedly hid the bag, which held eight candles containing meth worth $2.2million, inside a secret compartment and left the vehicle in the area overnight.

Daily Mail Australia understands Miller was not seen looking at the bag's alleged contents.

The next day Miller allegedly picked up Wayne Allan Johnson and the pair drove the Camry, which had Western Australian plates, from Sydney to Yass - about 280km.

The Camry was then allegedly handed over to two men who drove south on the Hume Highway towards Albury.

Police will allege Scott Miller drove this Toyota Camry from Sydney about 280km to Yass with 4kg of meth hidden in a secret compartment. The car and drugs were allegedly then handed to two other men who headed down the Hume Highway towards Albury

A highway patrol unit unsuccessfully tried to pull over the Camry and allegedly gave chase as it reached 160kmh. The chase was allegedly terminated shortly before midnight when it became too dangerous, according to sources

Scott Miller won a silver medal at the 1996 Atlanta Olympics in the 100m butterfly. He was married to TV personality Charlotte Dawson from 1999 to 2000. Dawson took her own life In 2014. The couple is pictured at the premiere of Eyes Wide Shut in August 1999

During the journey, a highway patrol unit unsuccessfully tried to pull over the Camry and allegedly gave chase as it reached 160km/h.

The chase was allegedly terminated shortly before midnight when it became too dangerous, according to sources.

The next day police found the bag allegedly containing the drugs in long grass near an intersection at Cookardinia, 230km south-west of Yass and just 75km from Albury.

It was more than a month before Miller was arrested just after 6am on February 16 at his home at Rozelle, in Sydney's inner-west, and charged with drug supply.

Dramatic footage showed police busting down the door of Miller's unit where they allegedly seized 910g of heroin and $75,000 in cash, as well as the white Camry.

The 45-year-old was pictured shirtless and slumped on a chair while investigators scoured the unit for evidence.

More than a dozen police were seen at Miller's apartment block, meticulously sorting through his possessions. One policeman was pictured carrying a set of scales out of the property.

Miller sat slumped and shirtless in a chair as police searched his apartment at Rozelle, in Sydney's inner west, just after dawn on February 16

The meth, worth $2.2million, was allegedly concealed in eight candles which were put in a red, white and blue striped bag that was stashed in this hidden compartment

This image shows one of the candles allegedly used to smuggle the $2.2million worth of meth. Police claim the drug was moulded into the candle's glass shell

Officers were seen lifting Miller's mattress and inspecting a packet of anti-inflammatory medication as his pet pug waddled excitedly around the unit.

Mobile phones, documents, encrypted electronic devices and smaller amounts of allegedly prohibited drugs were taken away for forensic testing.

The ice was allegedly moulded into glass containers holding candles (pictured)

Miller was charged with supplying a large commercial quantity of drugs, knowingly directing a criminal group and dealing with the proceeds of crime.

Police allege the 100m butterfly silver medalist at the 1996 Atlanta Olympics was the head a syndicate which sought to traffic meth into Albury-Wodonga.

Miller has refused to be interviewed by police, did not apply for bail and is on remand at Parklea jail.

His high-profile solicitor Greg Goold told Daily Mail Australia it was unlikely Miller would apply for bail in the next six weeks before a brief was served on his client.

Wayne Johnson, 47, who was arrested at Balmain, was charged with supplying a large commercial quantity of drugs, and participating in a criminal group. He has also not applied for bail.

The two men Miller and Johnson are accused of meeting in Yass are yet to be charged over their alleged involvement in the syndicate.

On the march: Miller was allowed to put on a striped polo shirt before he was handcuffed and taken to Newtown police station to be charged

Bundles of $50 and $100 notes were clearly visible through in police evidence bags

The investigation into Miller began earlier this year after police discovered a shipment of candles which each allegedly contained half a kilogram of high-quality methylamphetamine. The substance was moulded into glass containers.

The New South Wales State Crime Command's Drug and Firearms Squad and NSW Crime Commission have been involved in the investigation.

A law enforcement source told Daily Mail Australia: 'You could say Scott Miller has been on the radar of law enforcement agencies across the country for some time.'

Investigations are continuing and further charges are expected to be laid.

Miller has admitted having troubles in his personal life in recent years.

During an interview with 60 Minutes in 2014 he admitted he was battling a drug addiction.

About a dozen officers participated in the raid on Miller's home. Above, two officers carry regulation cardboard evidence bags out to waiting police cars

Police will allege that about a kilogram of heroin and $75,000 in cash were found in Miller's property (in bags on left). On right, an officer carries out a set of scales

He worked as a drug awareness and prevention speaker with the Church of Scientology's Narconon program, according to his LinkedIn profile.

The retired athlete is also known for his brief marriage to Sydney socialite and TV presenter Charlotte Dawson between 1999 and 2000. Dawson died by suicide in 2014 following a despicable trolling campaign.

Miller claimed on LinkedIn to have been a business development manager for a company called reinteractive.

However, sources insisted he only worked very briefly at the business on a trial basis for just three weeks - but has never updated his profile.

A source close to Miller said he had been working for a trucking company company until recently.

Both Miller and Johnson's cases return to Newtown Local Court on April 13.
While some international figures and organizations are asking that the 2021 Nobel Peace Prize be awarded to the Henry Reeve International Contingent, the reality of the Cuban government's missions continues to come to light.

Many admire the deployment of Cuban doctors in 40 countries and territories during almost a year of the pandemic, but fail to reflect on the conditions under which these professionals worked, and continue to.

"When the pandemic started, they told us that we had to do consults every day. They gave us a mask, and we had to remind them for them to give us another one ten days later. You had to go to areas that are dangerous; I often had to go alone," said a doctor who recently left the mission in Venezuela, and asked to remain anonymous, fearing that his family in Cuba would suffer reprisals for his statements.

"They told us that we should see 150 people in one day, but that was impossible, and you had to walk a lot. 'We had to fudge the numbers, I did. I would see a couple of households, and then make up names and ID cards. I even put the names of acquaintances of mine in Cuba. They (the heads of the mission) don't realize it, or review it, because the numbers are the important thing," added the doctor, who gave the organization Cuban Prisoners Defenders express authorization for DIARIO DE CUBA to contact him.

Lying, altering statistics and having to throw out medications was routine for this professional , not only during the pandemic, but throughout his years in Venezuela. "You had to operate on 15 or 16 patients a day, but no one went. We operated, if anything, on four or five. There were patients who came to ask something, and we would put them down as operations. For the figures to add up, you had to throw away the drugs that you had supposedly used on that patient. For example, the lenses that are used for cataract patients," said the doctor. "They (the mission heads) tell you that you can't lie, but they force you to."

"And you wouldn't want to see what conditions we operated under. The ceiling...was falling, it was like being in a war. Often we had to go to private clinics to exchange, for example, gloves for detergent and alcohol, in order to sterilize the room. Sometimes we had a lot of antibiotics that had to be thrown away to inflate the figures, so other times we didn't have any for the patient after the operation. We had to send him home without antibiotics, or we had to use an expired one. For the sutures, sometimes we also had to go to private clinics, and even exchange things from our own supplies (mercal), because the bosses did not see to it that we had them".

By mercal the doctor refers to supplies that Cuban professionals received for their subsistence. "For example, flour, which we don't eat, we traded with the Venezuelans for potatoes. To get to work, I also had to exchange flour for someone to take me by car or truck. When I used to finish work, at 4:00 or 5:00 in the afternoon, I had to do the same thing. What those people (Venezuelans) had with Cubans was a real business," he said.

"Saudi Arabia would not lend itself to that"

Dr. Alex Pardo Castro, 37, is a specialist in Internal Medicine. He worked in Saudi Arabia from September 2019 to mid-2020, and says that it is "a totally different country." However, he also suffered abuse.

He explained that while he was there, he did not alter or see altered statistics, or throw out medications: "Saudi Arabia would not lend itself to that," he said.

During the pandemic, he did not go out to do inquiries, although he worked a lot attending patients directly. There the doctors did have all the necessary protection. Despite this, several Cubans fell ill, though fortunately, without fatal consequences. "It would be very sad to work as slaves and end up like this," added Pardo Castro.

This doctor began to feel like a slave when comparing the conditions under which he worked, and the salary he received, with those of his local colleagues, who looked down on him.

"We had to comply with a regulation Resolution 168 of the Ministry of Foreign Trade and Foreign Investmentthat I learned about on the mission. Nobody told me about it in Cuba," he said.

"That regulation says that you cant be friends with anyone who does not share your ideology. If my brother told me that he intended to leave the mission, I was supposed to report it."

"To top it all off, you have to give them 75% to 90% of your salary, and work 64 hours a week. We worked for 48 hours, plus 16 on call. With the money you had left, you had to pay for rent, water, electricity, transportation and food. Everything."

In Cuba Pardo Castro had signed a contract with the Arab side, according to which all the money - about $4,000 - was for him. Then he learned that the Cuban side wanted to receive the money from the Arab one and deposit a percentage in the collaborator's account. "Cuba proposed that to Saudi Arabia, and Saudi Arabia said no, that they were going to pay the Cuban doctor what they promised. So the Cuban side created what is known as the 'conciliation system,' a euphemism for a scheme by which the professional, after receiving the money directly from the government of the country for which he works, must deliver to the Cuban regime whatever it demands of him.

According to Pardo Castro, the account through which he paid the Cuban government had to be in the name of a relative, so as not to arouse suspicion among the Saudis. "For example, I sent money for the Government of Cuba to an account in my mother's name. The Arabs thought I was sending the money to my family, but I wasn't. One sent the money to the Government of Cuba."

The "remittance" wad to be accompanied by a table on which the professional presented his expenses. If he failed to comply, and did not send all the money he owed Cuba, he was considered a "debtor." "You can go to prison, because that carries a sanction," said Pardo Castro.

"My family had to send me money from Cuba"

The situation for his colleague in Venezuela was even worse. His accommodations were full of cockroaches at night, and with the money they paid him he barely had enough for a pound of beef.

A complaint by Cuban Prisoners Defenders against the Cuban Government before the International Criminal Court states that Cuban doctors receive a stipend for their expenses in the country where they carry out missions, and the rest (10-25% of what the Government of the destination country pays ) is deposited in a bank in Cuba. If the collaborator abandons the mission, or does not return to Cuba when it is over, he loses that money.

"They were paying me the equivalent of almost $10 a month, when a pound of beef costs about that much. In Cuba, they put the rest of the money on a card (), about 250 CUC a month. There was another card on which they put money for my family to withdraw it, but that money was taken from me, from the 250 CUC. My family had to send me money from Cuba just for me to survive. They could withdraw about 50CUC a month using that card," explained the doctor who completed a mission in Venezuela.

"The money that I was accumulating in Cuba, I was supposed to collect when I went on vacation, but it was never all there. They never paid you for the 11 months, they always owed you for four or five, and they paid me when for them I went on vacation again," he added.

"And, as for the ten dollars a month they paid in Venezuela, those who were members of the Party and the UJC had to give up a percentage of it. I don't remember if it was 10 or 15%, because I never belonged to any of that."

To award the Nobel Peace Prize to Cuban doctors who carry out missions in other countries would mean legitimizing the system of slavery to which the Government of Cuba subjects them; one from which these two professionals, like so many others, have had no choice but to escape.
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In 2019, Mr. Modis government established the National Cow Commission with the express purpose of protecting cows. Its website lists, among other objectives, proper implementation of laws with respect to prohibition of slaughter and/or cruelty to cows. Many Indian states, but not all, ban the slaughter of cattle.

The study material in the new course was designed by the cow commission, which falls under the Ministry of Animal Husbandry and Dairying, and was widely circulated online in several languages, including English. The first online exam was supposed to be Thursday.

The material has chapters on cow entrepreneurship and sayings from Hindu scriptures. The course delves into breed improvement, bioenergy from cow dung, pesticides, medicines from cow urine, the concept of promoting cow tourism, using cow dung instead of plaster of Paris for ecological reasons and the difference between Indian and foreign cows. The commission is headed by Vallabhbhai Kathiria, a surgeon and former member of Parliament from Mr. Modis Bharatiya Janata Party.

The Indian cow, or zebu, does differ from the cow breeds familiar to the West. The zebu, easily recognized by its big shoulder hump and pronounced dewlap, is more tolerant of heat and drought, and more resistant to some diseases, though it produces less milk.

The material that students were asked to absorb for the exam, however, made baseless claims, like one that inside the hump of the Indian cow there is a solar pulse which is known to absorb vitamin D from the suns rays and release it in its milk. Hump-less Jersey cows, the material said, dont have such powers.

Another part of the curriculum said that indigenous cows were emotional toward humans and other living beings, but that in foreign cows, none of these feelings were exhibited. Indian cows are alert and strong, the material said, but foreign cows are lazy.

The year began on a subdued note with the assassination of journalist and activist Karima Baloch, one of Balochistan's few, fiery and brilliant women freedom fighters. Her dead body was found in a lake in Toronto, Canada. The death is strongly alleged to be that of the Pakistani deep state. It, however, did not ignite international passions as the farmers' protests in democratic India did, for example. Yet, this was not a one-off assassination. It was part of a broader pattern of continuous death, destruction and dispossession of an entire community by the very state that is meant to protect and ensure their rights. Just in September another Baloch female journalist was killed, her perpetrators went scot-free.

According to the Human Rights Council of Balochistan 18 murders and 28 people were forcibly disappeared in Pakistan's Balochistan province in September alone. The Voice of Baloch Missing Persons states that between 2002 and September 2018, at least 6,428 persons were forcibly abducted by security agencies. Prominent Baloch tribal leaders have been assassinated, forcing yet others to seek asylum abroad.

Yet, Balochistan rarely makes it to the headlines in the international media. This is what makes Balochistan: In the Cross-Hairs of History by veteran journalist Sandhya Jain a timely intervention.

Jain, in great details, traces the history of Balochistan's merger and inclusion in the state of Pakistan. Those who believe Jammu and Kashmir's merger with India is disputed, will find Balochistan's association with Pakistan even more tenuous. The province is strategically located: at the crossroads of Afghanistan, Iran and the Gulf, at the mouth of the Strait of Hormuz.

In a cloak and dagger game, machinations of the British (for whom securing the province was essential to controlling the Gulf), the Muslim League, and its leader Mohammad Ali Jinnah, together with Baloch tribes jostling for power, the Khan of Kalat finds himself outwitted, and the territories which comprise Balochistan province today ceded to Pakistan. Thus, for instance, when Ahmed Yar Khan, the last Khan of Kalat, under tremendous pressure from Jinnah to sign the instrument of accession, when he only wanted to sign "an agreement on defence, foreign affairs and communications" summoned the Dar-ul-Awam to deliberate on the matter, it "voted unanimously for independence".

Ghaus Baksh Bizenjo made this impassioned speech: "We have a distinct civilization and a separate culture like that of Iran and Afghanistan. We are Muslims but it is not necessary that by virtue of being Muslims we should lose our freedom and merge with others. If the mere fact that we are Muslims requires us to join Pakistan, then Afghanistan and Iran, both Muslim countries, should also amalgamate with Pakistan. We were never a part of India before the British rule. Pakistan's unpleasant and loathsome desire that our national homeland, Balochistan, should merge with it is impossible to consider..." From there follows a familiar pattern, seen in the earlier history of East Pakistan (and which ultimately decided it's destiny as Bangladesh), in that of Pakistan occupied Kashmir, Northwest Frontier Province (now Khyber Pakhtunkhwa) -- the steady depletion of the natural resources of these provinces, the dispossession of it's populace, the erosion of local autonomy, the negligence of development, suppression of ethnic identity and culture, demographic changes and the brutal crushing of any dissent or opposition.

According to the UNDP, 71 per cent of the population in Balochistan live below the poverty line, second only to Khyber Pakhtunkhwa in the country's poverty index. This should never have been the case. Afterall, Balochistan is a resource rich province, with natural gas, and mineral deposits including coal, chromites, barytes, sulphur, marble, iron ore, quartzite, uranium, limestone and 95 per cent of the world's asbestos. Jain points out that 40 of the 50 minerals being mined in Pakistan currently are from Balochistan. Nevertheless, the province continued to languish in neglect and development, even as Baloch people alleged "internal colonization by Pakistan's demographically, politically and economically dominant province of Punjab". Thus, while gas from Balochistan's Sui gas fields reached Punjab in 1964, Quetta cantonment received gas only in 1982.

Never having acquiesced to its merger with Pakistan, the Baloch have rebelled periodically, with the latest ongoing round of insurgency breaking out in 2004. The Pakistani state and army have used high handed measures to quell it, which includes among other things, death squads. Unsurprisingly, the people of Balochistan have opposed Chinese and other foreign investments into the province to develop the strategic Gwadar port, part of the China Pakistan Economic Corridor -- the flagship project of China's ambitious Belt and Road Initiative (BRI) as no local stakeholder is involved.

Jain points out that at the agreement signing ceremony over which then President Musharraf and Chinese premier Wu Bangguo presided in 2002, no Baloch representative was present. Consequently, the insurgency has also begun targetting Chinese interests and representatives in the province.

The Soviet occupation of Afghanistan and the ensuing jihad and civil war in that country has further exacerbated the agony of the province with an influx of refugees and arms adding to the economic duress, violence and chaos, while the drug trade of landlocked Afghanistan has introduced "drug economy" to the province.

Pakistan's support for the US war on terror encouraged it's war against the Baloch as it received both funds, arms, and silence from the US in return. In fact, to Pakistan's credit it has got silence from major quarters: Balochistan rarely figures on the radar of the Organisation of Islamic Cooperation or the Arab world, or even the EU or the UN. Turkey and Malaysia so vocal about rights of Muslims elsewhere have not uttered a squeak for the Baloch, Iran's suppression of it's own Baloch dissidents makes it a partner for Pakistan. India alone espouses the Baloch cause but with many limitations; Baloch insurgency is blamed on Indian collusion by Pakistan.

Today South Asia stands at a cusp of major geo-political changes. There is the ascendancy of the Taliban in Afghanistan, US and NATO troops will soon be withdrawing from the region, the CPEC runs through Balochistan and other disputed territories, China, Pakistan, and Turkey have entered into a close alliance, each with its own view of exceptionalism, political Islam is gaining in currency, the problem of Balochistan acquires greater salience.

Rich in data culled from numerous sources with an extensive bibliography Jain has done a yeoman's service. A detailed work, the volume also delves into Baloch ethnicity, language, and culture. This is probably the author's greatest achievement -- she has not dealt with the subject through the prism of India-Pakistan rivalry. Given the paucity of literature on Balochistan and research on it being few and far inbetween this volume becomes a go-to book for a range of stakeholders and hopefully will further evoke interest in and awareness of such a critical a subject.

(Aditi Bhaduri is a columnist. The views expressed are personal)

-- The story has been published from a wire feed without any modifications to the text
If you saw me now, you'd call me a holy show. I'm a cross between the Wild Woman of Borneo and the Madwoman of Chaillot. It's the hair. It's a sight. Everyone's locks have grown during lockdown, but some people have lucky hair, which just looks longer and fuller. Mine just sprouts in annoying wisps all over the place.

Yes, I miss the dear loved ones I cannot see to hug in lockdown and I miss meeting friends for a coffee, or a meal, and I miss dreadfully not being able to go anywhere: but by Heaven, I miss my hairdresser.

Not that I'm usually a very regular devotee of the hair salon. (I've known American ladies who visited "the beauty parlour" every single day.)

I don't fuss all that much about my hair and I'm a dedicated hat-wearer, anyway.

But the increasing presence of Zoom communications - I'm Zooming three or four times a week now - has drawn painful attention to a witch-like appearance of unkempt hair, magnified on screen.

A good hairdresser, in addition to making you look civilised, can be a kind of therapist. Women confide in their hairdressers. Perhaps a difference between women's coiffeur and men's barber lies in this well-worn anecdote.

Barber to male client: "How would you like your hair cut?" Client: "In silence." The story allegedly goes back to ancient Athens. Women share their problems: men bottle them up.

Within living memory, it was considered a little daring for a woman to dye her hair. There was a famous hair advert which asked, "Does she, or doesn't she?" You could take the insinuation any way you liked, but the implication was that a woman who coloured her hair still wanted to pretend it was "natural". And "only her hairdresser knows for sure". Because only her hairdresser knew her personal secrets.

When Miss Clairol first introduced hair dyes in the 1940s, some salons had separate entrances and exits for dyeing clients - to keep the procedure discreet. The "peroxide blonde" was a phrase of disparagement - this was a woman who was cheap, brassy, false. In John Betjeman's famed poem about the town of Slough, near London ("Come friendly bombs and fall on Slough!"), he deplores the shallowness and artificiality of modern, industrialised life - "tinned fruit, tinned meat, tinned beans" and the dim young wives who "frizz out peroxide hair".

The last woman to be hanged in Britain, in 1955, Ruth Ellis, was routinely described as a "peroxide blonde" in reports, with all that implied. We've got rid of that nonsense now about peroxide blondes. We colour our hair any which way we please, although some theories remain.

I read a social report recently, which claimed that young women with hair dyed blue were more likely to say yes to sex.

The rise of the celebrity hairdresser changed many attitudes to hair colouration. Although, these are not called "hairdressers" any more - they're "hair stylists".

Personally, I'm a little intimidated by celebrity hairstylists, or even posh hair salons. Would I want to take my barnet to Jen Atkin, stylist to the Kardashians, or Chris McMillan, who fashions Jennifer Aniston's tresses? I fear it might be a little like being introduced to a diva. Overwhelming.

I like my own friendly, kind, understanding hairdresser who accommodates me unpretentiously and doesn't make a fuss. I did once interview Nicky Clarke, the celebrity London coiffeur. Nicky is one of those hairstylists who markets his own brand of product. He was accompanied in the interview by his sister, Norma, and she turned out to be rather more interesting.

Norma Clarke was - and is - a professor of English literature, who has published acclaimed histories of women of letters. The siblings were from a family of six, with a Greek mother, which perhaps explained their divergent careers.

A hairdressing salon is a good location in which to set a play, but I only know of one such: Steel Magnolias, by Robert Harling, set in Louisiana. It captures the intimate club-like ambience of a hairdressing salon and if the business is about appearances, the storyline is about facing up to loss. Probably the best known movie about hairdressing is Shampoo, with Warren Beatty weaponising the blow-dryer like a phallic symbol.

Hairdressers have been followers of fashion and makers of trends. In my mother's day - which is going back a bit - there was a fashionable fad called a "Marcel wave" invented by Hollywood hairstylists.

It comes into an amusing, self-mocking song called Keep Young and Beautiful, which Annie Lennox performs to perfection on YouTube.

"If you're wise, exercise all the fat off/Take it off, off of here, off of there/When you're seen anywhere with your hat off/Wear a Marcel wave in your hair."

The Marcel wave was created with professional curling tongs, but I remember seeing a kind of squeezing steel gadget with interlocking teeth that fiercely gripped your hair into waves.

I would describe the hairdresser as an essential frontline worker. "Grooming" is something that our most primitive ancestors did for one another and that chimps and primates perform with care.

My hair is certainly in a dreadful state and will need serious rescuing when I get out of this lockdown: but maybe the need for the coiffeur's art is psychological as well as follicle.
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Ampol boss Matt Halliday has called for a nationally consistent approach to managing future COVID-19 outbreaks, warning that short, sharp lockdowns of states and cities are undermining the economic recovery and sapping business confidence.

As Australias first Pfizer vaccine injections were rolled out on Monday morning, the head of Australias top fuel supplier said businesses were still fearful of sudden closures of state borders in response to any future outbreak of COVID-19 infections.

Ampol boss Matt Halliday says businesses need certainty on how future COVID-19 outbreaks will be handled. Credit:Dominic Lorrimer

There needs to be a consistent set of rules in place, so that when you do see outbreaks there is a predictable and risk-based response to the approach ... not prompt border closures, Mr Halliday said. Companies cant plan their activities and their investments when there is considerable uncertainty about what the response to the outbreak is going to be.

Ampol, formerly Caltex Australia, has been hit hard by coronavirus travel restrictions hammering demand for petrol, diesel and jet fuel, and on Monday posted a $485 million loss for the 12 months to December 31.

COLUMBIA  South Carolina's U.S. Rep. Jim Clyburn is pushing for one of his home state's federal judges to fill the next U.S. Supreme Court vacancy, arguing that U.S. Circuit Court Judge J. Michelle Childs would be the ideal candidate to fulfill President Joe Biden's promise to nominate a Black woman.

In a Feb. 22 interview with The Post and Courier, Clyburn said he has told Biden's staff and people close to the president he believes Childs brings the type of personal and professional background that would help diversify both the identity and life experiences of the high court.

"I've made it very clear that I feel very strongly about the need to have a diversity of experiences throughout government and the judicial system," said Clyburn, D-Columbia, whose support for Childs was first reported by The New York Times. "It's not just on the Supreme Court but on subordinate courts, as well."

A University of South Carolina law school graduate, Childs spent nine years in the Columbia office of Nexsen Pruet, where she became the law firm's first Black partner. She went on to work at South Carolina's labor agency before becoming a state workers' compensation commissioner.

The fact that Childs, a Detroit native, did not attend an Ivy League law school, distinguishing her from most Supreme Court nominees, is partly the point, Clyburn said. Eight of the nine current justices either went to Harvard or Yale. One justice attended Notre Dame.

"I hear President Biden talk about being a public college graduate as opposed to an Ivy Leaguer," Clyburn added. "That has some substance with him, and I would hope that would also have substance for those people who are doing the vetting and recommending as to who he ought to consider for the Supreme Court."

While Clyburn said he has not spoken directly to Biden about Childs and does not plan to, he said he would continue to lobby both publicly and privately for her ascension, a move he said had been instigated by a concern that other Democrats were pushing for more traditional Supreme Court nominees.

"I'm afraid that some in our party are lapsing into this notion that can only result in an elitist court, so that's a problem for me," Clyburn said. "Clarence Thomas is an Ivy League school graduate. Thurgood Marshall was an HBCU graduate. Which would you prefer?"

The General Assembly elected Childs as a state circuit judge in 2006. Then-President Barack Obama nominated Childs to serve on South Carolina's U.S. District Court in 2009, and the Senate confirmed her by voice vote in 2010.

"Everything I've heard from people at the 4th Circuit Court of Appeals and others is she is an outstanding judge," Clyburn said.

That assessment was backed up by state Sen. Dick Harpootlian, another Columbia Democrat and Biden friend who has tried cases in Childs' court and, like Childs, is a USC law graduate.

"At every level, she's been extraordinary in terms of how she's handled her job," Harpootlian said. "It would send a message, especially to African American women, that if you work hard and treat people with respect, you too can be on the Supreme Court. She's a role model for every lawyer she comes into contact with."

Leighton Lord, now Nexsen Pruet's managing partner, said he tried to talk Childs out of leaving the firm when they worked together in the late 1990s, but he said she was "drawn to public service."

"On top of being a great lawyer, she's got a great calm demeanor that makes her very effective," Lord said. "Because she doesn't get riled up, she stays cool, she was able to get things done."

The early jockeying for the next Supreme Court vacancy comes amid speculation in legal circles that Justice Stephen Breyer, 82, could soon retire to let Biden pick a younger replacement. Childs is 54, five years older than former President Donald Trump's last Supreme Court nominee, Amy Coney Barrett.

Clyburn declined to weigh in on whether he hopes Breyer does make way for a new nominee, saying he would leave that up to him. Instead, Clyburn said he's focused on making sure the next vacancy, "whenever it comes," is filled by "a Black woman, and hopefully a Black woman that has some real experiences in life that would bode well."

In the meantime, Clyburn said he would support first elevating Childs to the D.C. Circuit Court of Appeals, which has traditionally been viewed as a training ground for the Supreme Court due to its jurisdiction over Congress and federal agencies.

There is already one vacancy on the D.C. Circuit, and another is expected to open soon if Judge Merrick Garland is confirmed as the new U.S. attorney general.

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"But there is no timeframe for how long she has to stay at the D.C. Circuit" before getting nominated to the Supreme Court, Clyburn added.

Given his close relationship with Biden and prominent role in Congress as the third-ranking House Democrat, Clyburn's voice could carry significant sway in the process.

Clyburn's endorsement of Biden days before South Carolina's crucial 2020 Democratic presidential primary helped Biden achieve a landslide victory, propelling him towards the party's nomination after a faltering start in other early states.

The night before that endorsement, Clyburn successfully encouraged Biden to commit to nominating a Black woman for the Supreme Court during a debate in Charleston.

Clyburn's influence has already played a hand in a few Biden picks, including his longtime friend and mentee Jaime Harrison for chairman of the Democratic National Committee, and U.S. Rep. Marcia Fudge, D-Ohio, for Secretary of Housing and Urban Development.

At least one of Childs' recent rulings would likely come up if she has another Senate confirmation hearing.

Last year, Childs struck down a witness signature requirement for South Carolina absentee ballots, determining that it would increase the risk for voters contracting COVID-19 while doing little to guard against voter fraud.

That decision was upheld by the 4th Circuit Court of Appeals but ultimately overturned by the Supreme Court. In a concurring opinion, Justice Brett Kavanaugh pointed to legal precedent that election administration should mostly be left up to state lawmakers and that the rules should not be changed by courts close to an election.

That could provide fodder for Republicans, who have complained about courts changing election rules in other states.

S.C. GOP chairman Drew McKissick said Childs "taking liberties with the law to strike down the state legislature's ability to make election law, which the Constitution specifically gives state legislatures, is certainly something that people would want to take into account."

"Seeing somebody with that philosophy getting elevated to the Supreme Court would not be a good thing for the country," McKissick said, describing Childs' ruling as an example of "judicial activism."

But S.C. Senate Majority Leader Shane Massey, an Edgefield Republican who also pushed for the witness signature requirement to remain, said he's found Childs to be a good judge, even though he disagreed with her on that particular ruling.

"She's bright, she's always struck me as fair and she has the appropriate demeanor as a judge," Massey said. "I think the president could do much worse than Michelle Childs."

Clyburn, for his part, fully agreed with Childs' ruling on witness signatures.

"I feel very strongly that all of that is a part of voter suppression, and I suspect her life's experiences gave her that same feeling, as well," he said.
External Affairs Minister S Jaishankar arrived in Mauritius on Sunday on the last leg of his two-nation tour during which he will hold talks with the top leadership of India's strategically key maritime neighbour in the Indian Ocean region.

Jaishankar, who will be in the country for two days, will call on President Prithvirajsing Roopun and Prime Minister Pravind Jugnauth - both of Indian-origin.

"Namaste-Bonsoir Mauritius. Thank FM Alan Ganoo for his warm welcome. Look forward to a fruitful visit," Jaishankar tweeted soon after his arrival here.

He will also meet the minister of foreign affairs, regional integration and international trade and minister for land transport and light rail.

During his visit, Jaishankar will review all aspects of bilateral relations, ongoing implementation of various infrastructure projects being carried out by India in Mauritius, and hold discussions on bilateral, regional and global issues of mutual interest including India's assistance to Mauritius.

Indian-origin people constitute nearly 70 per cent of the population of Mauritius. Their ancestors were sent there as indentured labourers during British rule.

Jaishankar arrived here from the Maldives' where he reaffirmed Indias commitment to security and signed a USD 50 million defence Line of Credit agreement with the strategically vital Indian Ocean island nation to boost its maritime capabilities.

He held in-depth talks with the country's top leaders to further cement bilateral ties.

Both Maldives and Mauritius are Indias key maritime neighbours in the Indian Ocean Region and occupy a special place in Prime Ministers vision of SAGAR (Security and Growth for All in the Region).

The ministers visit is testimony to the importance that India attaches to its close and friendly relations with the Maldives and Mauritius and is expected to lend further momentum to substantive cooperation and robust people to people ties between the two countries, the Ministry of External Affairs (MEA) said in New Delhi ahead of his visit.
Pune, Feb. 22, 2021 (GLOBE NEWSWIRE) -- Global Overview

Automated fingerprint identification systems are used in identifying personnel based on their fingerprints. Utilization of biometric systems for authorized entry into restricted locations and preventing unlawful trespassing are likely to witness its huge adoption by enterprises and government entities. The global AFIS (automated finger identification system) market size can surge to a valuation of USD 33.39 billion by 2026, growing at a 23.8% CAGR during the forecast period (2020-2026). Prominent uses of AFIS applications are electronic voter registration, election management, fraud prevention, e-passports, biometric visas, and digitized documentation.

The AFIS Market is expected to gain traction owing to growing concerns of offline and online payments. The high penetration rate of the internet combined with need for AFIS for rapid and accurate identification of individuals can drive the global market growth. Moreover, government plans for legalizing biometrics for lowering crime rates can be a viable opportunity for AFIS manufacturers.

The telecom sector is expected to bank on the popularity of finger identification systems due to the technology being integrated in latest phones. Huge need for security safeguards and concerns for user privacy can drive the adoption of AFIS in the sector. Rising tensions at border checkpoints and egovernance usage in public offices driven by growing digitization can bode well for the market. Increasing use of fingerprint scanners for identity management are likely to culminate in mergers and acquisitions by key leading players.

But privacy concerns among citizen groups can restrain the market expansion. Concerns over the misuse of fingerprints for manipulating attendance systems and time cards can pose a challenge to the market.

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COVID-19 Impact

The COVID-19 pandemic has negatively affected the AFIS industry. This is attributed to lockdown policies in all nations with key manufacturers of components unable to reach deadlines. This led to huge decline in revenue numbers. However, the ease of lockdown restrictions and demand for strong biometric solutions can bode well for the global market in the coming years. But the fear of infections can restrict the growth of the AFIS industry.

Industry Trends:

The inclination towards biometrics has expedited the technologies of fingerprint identification, facial recognition, iris recognition, and others. Government policies aiming to legalize biometric applications as well as their integration in smart devices is an indicator of the wide scope for the industry. Companies in the industrial sector have installed these systems for authenticating the right personnel entry to premises and protecting confidential data. The improvement in algorithms and establishment of a national fingerprinting database are likely to drive the demand for these systems in the coming years.

Segmentation:

By component, it is divided into software and hardware. The software segment accounted for 53.4% market share in 2019 with a valuation pegged at USD 3,326.1 million. It can display 24.6% CAGR over the forecast period owing to the use of software for allowing authorization of personnel and tracking attendance of employees in office spaces. Development of high-performance systems coupled with customized solutions for enterprises can drive the segment demand. Introduction of open architecture platforms and integration of authentication solutions for security purposes by large organizations can bode well for the segment.

By type, it is segmented into ten-print searches and latent searches. The ten-print searches segment accounted for 56.2% market share in 2019. It can exhibit 24.8% CAGR over the assessment period due to its utilization in immigration, border control, elections, law enforcement, and government records. On the other hand, latent searches can gain traction in the AFIS industry for being used to attain potential clues or evidence for solving crimes.

By end-use, the global AFIS industry caters to sectors of hospitality, healthcare, government, transportation, BFSI, retail, education, and others. The government sector is expected to register 23.9% CAGR over the forecast period. It was valued at USD 1,368.9 million in 2019. Governments are vouching for AFIS databases for accumulating correct statistics on votes and updating criminal databases.

Browse In-depth Market Research Report (172 pages) on AFIS Market:

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Regional Segmentation:

The AFIS market covers regions of North America, Europe, Asia Pacific (APAC), and Rest-of-the-World (RoW).

North America is touted to dominate the global market owing to being an early adopter of latest technologies and investments in infrastructure. The region was valued at USD 2,755.3 million in 2019 and expects to exhibit 22% CAGR over the forecast period. Presence of reputed law enforcement agencies and key vendors in the region can influence the growth of the market.

APAC can be the second-largest region globally for the AFIS industry due to initiatives by governments for launching biometric solutions. Moreover, access of healthcare cards and pension benefits through fingerprints can drive the markets growth over the assessment period. The region can register 26.6% CAGR over the forecast period due to rising demand from BFSI, government, and manufacturing sectors.

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Competitive Analysis:

The AFIS industry is highly intense with product launches and mergers being prevalent. Solution providers are partnering with reputed firms to improve the current technology and offering authentication solutions to enterprises.

Key players involved in the market

3M Cogent, Inc.

NEC Corporation

Cross Match Technologies, Inc.

HID Global Corporation

Fujitsu

Afix Technologies Inc

Biometrics4ALL

Safran Identity & Security

M2SYS Technology

Browse Adjacent Markets: Security, Access Control and Robotics Market Research Reports & Consulting.

Industry News

Aware, Inc., has acquired the AFIX suite of biometric solutions from Maxar Technologies. The suite of products can increase the size of product offerings to government agencies and small law enforcement offices. The company can deploy fingerprinting solutions for preventing identity theft and deduplication of biometrics.

FingerID, the AFIS by Moqi, is a centralized database used in accumulating fingerprints of immigrants, foreign nationals, and citizens. The system can be reliable for national agencies requiring accurate databases for security and privacy purposes. Moreover, the integration of AI for faster updates to the software can be a boon for enterprises and entities adopting the system.

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(Newser)  A tentative settlement has been reached in a lawsuit that alleged James Franco intimidated students at an acting and film school he founded into gratuitous and exploitative sexual situations, attorneys for the plaintiffs said Saturday. The two sides filed a joint status report in Los Angeles Superior Court, telling a judge a settlement had been reached in the class-action lawsuit brought by former students at the now-defunct school, Studio 4, though elements of the lawsuit may live on, per the AP. The document was filed on Feb. 11, but the settlement hadn't previously been reported. Actors and ex-students Sarah Tither-Kaplan and Toni Gaal, who first filed the lawsuit in 2019, have agreed to drop their individual claims under the agreement, per the court filing. Their lawsuit said Franco, 42, pushed his students into performing in increasingly explicit sex scenes on camera in an "orgy-type setting" that went far beyond those acceptable on Hollywood film sets.

story continues below

The complaintwhich noted the incidents occurred in a master class on sex scenes that Franco taught at Studio 4, which opened in 2014 and closed in 2017alleged that Franco "sought to create a pipeline of young women who were subjected to his personal and professional sexual exploitation in the name of education," and that students were led to believe roles in Franco's films would be available to those who went along. In a previous court filing, Franco's attorneys, while praising the Me Too movement that helped inspire the lawsuit, called its claims "false and inflammatory, legally baseless and brought as a class action with the obvious goal of grabbing as much publicity as possible for attention-hungry plaintiffs." The sexual exploitation allegations of other plaintiffs in the class action will be dismissed without prejudice, meaning they may be refiled, the joint status report said. The document doesn't reveal how much money may be involved in the deal.

(Read more James Franco stories.)
Fianna Fail Senator for Louth Erin McGreehan has today welcomed the announcement by Government that the Cooley Connect Well is to receive a grant of 4,000 through the Peatlands Community Engagement Scheme 2021.

The Government has approved grant funding of just under 230,000 to 25 local community groups and organisations for a variety of peatlands related projects across Ireland.

The grant was awarded to Cooley Connect Well to undertake professional mapping of local historical sites, preserve and maintain common local historical walk, engage with expert for historical site and habitat report, print and distribute booklets, engagement with local school and community booklet launch.

Senator McGreehan commented: It is welcome news that there will be research carried out and this will be available to all in the community to learn from the project.

The importance of the link between our heritage and our native habitats is crucial to this project.

"Our native flora and fauna are integral to our folklore and heritage.

I am looking forward to learning from the project and seeing the results.

Congratulations to all involved concluded the Louth Senator.
Telangana recorded 114 new COVID-19 cases, pushing the total caseload to 2,97,712, while the death toll rose to 1,625 with one more fatality, the state government said on Monday.

The Greater Hyderabad Municipal Corporation (GHMC) accounted for the most number of cases with 24, followed by Rangareddy with 12 and Warangal Urban and Sangareddy districts with nine cases each, it said in a bulletin, providing details as of 8 PM on February 21.

The cumulative recovered cases stood at 2,94,386, while 1,701 were under treatment.

The bulletin said 14,744 samples were tested on February 21.

Cumulatively, the number of samples tested was 84,71,684.

The samples tested per million population was 2,27,611, it said.

The recovery rate in the state was 98.88 per cent, while it was 97.2 per cent in the country, it said.

The case fatality rate in the state was 0.54 per cent, while it was 1.4 per cent at the national level, it said.

(Only the headline and picture of this report may have been reworked by the Business Standard staff; the rest of the content is auto-generated from a syndicated feed.)
More than 300 West Australians will receive a COVID-19 vaccination on Monday as the state government opens its first pop-up vaccine clinic at the Hyatt Regency Perth.

Hotel quarantine nurse Antonia Garza was the first person in the state to get the jab just before 9am, receiving a round of applause from health staff watching on.

It was no different than any other vaccine, she said.

Vaccines save lives, they reduce burdens on the healthcare system and all our nurses and doctors.
John Ibrahim has offered an insight into his unique relationship with his former bodyguard, 'Tongan Sam'.

Mr Ibrahim, a well known Sydney identity, considers 63-year-old Semi 'Tongan Sam' Ngata a 'brother', despite the pair reportedly no longer working together.

On Sunday, the former 'King of the Cross' shared a video of two goats - one big and another small - strutting down a street together.

He said the video was reminiscent of he and Ngata strolling through Kings Cross in their youth.

John Ibrahim (centre right) has offered an insight into his unique relationship with his former bodyguard, 'Tongan Sam' (centre left)

'Tongan Sam and I walking down Darlinghurst Rd back in the day,' he captioned the video, which was shared to his Instagram account.

Ngata has previously been described as a hulking, two metre tall, 120kg man made of 'pure muscle', and towers over Mr Ibrahim - much like the two goats in the video.

The goats walk to the soundtrack of 'Stayin Alive' by the Bee Gees as they appear to scope out their surroundings.

It is understood Mr Ibrahim no longer has Ngata employed as his bodyguard, though the pair remain good friends.

Mr Ibrahim explained in his debut novel Last King of the Cross how he and Ngata came to be so close.

Ngata has previously been described as a hulking, two metre tall, 120kg man made of 'pure muscle', and towers over Mr Ibrahim - much like the two goats in the video

He said the video was reminiscent of he and Ngata strolling through Kings Cross in their youth.

He said his brother Sam, who was given a nine-year prison sentence for conspiring to supply firearms, set the pair up.

'(Sam) points out my battered head and says to Tongan Sam: ''If I see John and I don't see you within two metres, I going to kneecap both of you'',' he wrote in the autobiography.

From that point onwards, Mr Ibrahim said he and Ngata were inseparable, with the latter joining the Ibrahim clan on family trips and often travelling with them for work.

'The whole family inherited a brother', he said.

While the video paints a lighthearted picture of the pair and their friendship, Mr Ibrahim previously made it clear that Ngata had a 'brutal' side.

'Sam is brutal when he fights but he has finesse,' Mr Ibrahim wrote in his book.

'He is so good at taking blokes down that... he can choose where he wants the guy to hit the ground when he falls.

'He always picks the safest landing spot because Sam might be tough but he isn't out to cause anyone more damage than necessary.'
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A jilted money-obsessed husband who murdered his disabled campaigner wife after forcing her to sign a contract handing him 1million will likely die in prison after being jailed for life.

Raymond Hoadley, 62, killed his estranged wife Jackie, 58, with a pair of the handheld cutters as she slept in the room next to their severely disabled daughter, before fleeing the scene.

Today he was brought to justice at Lewes Crown Court as Judge Jeremy Gold QC told him he had killed her for money.

He said: 'Having committed this dreadful murder, you returned home and carried on life as normal.

'You had carefully planned the explanation that you would give to the police when suspicion fell upon you, as it inevitably would, and you spun a web of lies when interviewed in an attempt to avoid liability for your actions.'

The judge said there was clear evidence during the trial of Hoadley's obsession with money.

'Just a few days before you killed Jackie, you persuaded her to sign a document which ensured that you would benefit financially to a very significant extent in the event of her death,' he added.

At his trial Hoadley, said to have had a scissors fetish with 100 pairs in his squalid bedsit, showed no emotion as he was told he could face life behind bars.

Their adopted nine-year-old daughter who is blind and cannot walk called out for help when her carer arrived more than 12 hours after the murder.

Murderer Hoadley, 62, was led into Lewes Crown Court by his handcuffs for his trial

Jackie, 57, and Ray Hoadley, 62, publicising the plight of their disabled children in 2019

The couple had 1million in savings and investments although Hoadley did not have a bank account in his own name.

He was terrified his wife would meet somebody else and he would be cut off from the money and property when they divorced.

The couple adopted two severely disabled children and lived in a specially adapted 300,000 house in Eastbourne.

Their fortune came from savings, investments and a 300,000 criminal injury payout for their daughter.

The court heard he had moved into a bedsit when their marriage disintegrated when Mrs Hoadley kicked him out.

Hoadley had tried to kill himself with an overdose and spent time in a mental health unit before returning to Eastbourne and moving into the studio apartment near the seafront.

The trial heard Hoadley had become obsessed with money and murdered Mrs Hoadley at home

He became obsessed with the price of food and would regularly shoplift rather than pay what he thought were high prices.

But he was unpopular with the others in his shared house who thought he was stealing their milk and food from the fridge.

Police found hundreds of pairs of scissors in the family home and the flat Hoadley moved into after the split from his wife.

Mrs Hoadley, who had lifelong struggles with her own health, was attacked in her sleep.

She was found in the bedroom with seven stab wounds to the face and neck at the family home in Eastbourne on July 5 last year.

Her carotid artery and jugular vein had been severed and defensive injuries showed she tried to fight off her attacker.

Murderer Hoadley killed his estranged wife in her bed as she slept in their Eastbourne house

Forensic examiners found a bloody print at the scene with a full match for Raymond Hoadley.

Hoadley washed himself and the murder weapon in a bathroom at the house before driving to the seafront where he threw it into the sea.

A beachcomber found a pair of plastic handled scissors washed up on the same beach a month later, the court heard.

Tight fisted Hoadley was so confident he would get away with murder, he asked court staff if Sussex police would pay for a taxi home when he was acquitted.

In contrast to her killer, Mrs Hoadley was a well-respected campaigner for disabled rights.

She successfully lobbied to change the law on providing free sanitary products for families caring for children with complex needs.

Ms Hoadley was found dead at the family home (above) in Eastbourne, East Sussex, in July

Tributes were paid after her body was found at the family home in Eastbourne on July 5 last year.

Hoadley did not give evidence at his trial and Caroline Carberry QC for the Crown told the jury the death of his estranged wife was needless, brutal and untimely.

She was a loving mother and cherished friend who was strangled, beaten and stabbed by her husband who was worried about losing money when they divorced, Ms Carberry said.

A woman in the next door bedsit to Mr Hoadley described a chilling foretelling of what was to come when she heard him on the phone to his wife a month before her body was found.

'His angry and aggressive words, heard through the walls.

'I'm going to kill you I'm going to strangle you',' Ms Carberry said.

Jackie and Ray Hoadley with their adopted children, who cannot be named for legal reasons

Hoadley drove a distinctive van adapted to carry wheelchairs which was spotted on CCTV and dash cam footage from a taxi heading towards the family home late on July 4 last year.

Earlier in the trial Ms Carberry QC told the jury: 'Raymond Hoadley told friends he was frustrated with his wife and he wanted to divorce and sort out their finances.

'He told friend his wife could have the 300,000 family home and the allowances for the children and he could have the rest.'

They were both directors of another 300,000 fund started from a criminal injury award given to their daughter.

Ms Carberry told the court Hoadley had drawn up an agreement between the couple after losing his temper with his wife

'That document drawn up a very short time before his wife's death, indicates his very real interest in the substantial financial affairs of the couple.'

The hand written contract, signed and dated on June 21 stated: 'In the event of either of the above not being around, the remaining will be sole owner of all above assets, money and investments,' Ms Carberry told the court.

'You may find money had something to do with the motivation behind this killing,' she had added.

In a statement shared after the jury returned the verdict, Jackie Hoadley's family said: 'Jackie was an exceptional lady who will be missed by all who knew and loved her.

'We would like everyone to focus on the achievements of her life especially the positive impact she has made for disability awareness and not for the tragic circumstances surrounding her death.'

DCI Andy Wolstenholme of Surrey and Sussex Major Crime Team said: 'We welcome the jury decision to convict Raymond Hoadley of the murder of his wife.

'It was a brutal and calculated attack and one that Raymond Hoadley consistently denied any involvement with.

'He sought to disguise his guilt in a web of lies with a thin veneer of truth.

'However, police, prosecution and ultimately jury were able to see through those lies and hold him to account for the terrible, terrible crime he committed.

'Jacqueline leaves behind two children who she absolutely adored and spent her life caring for and it is our hope her memory will live on with those children and her wonderful family who have been so supportive throughout this entire investigation and trail.'

Mr Hoadley moved out of the family home in April after spending time in psychiatric care.
The World Health Organization has urged Tanzania to start reporting coronavirus cases and share its data.



Tanzania is one of the few countries in the world to not publish data on Covid-19 cases.



It last did so in May, when about 500 cases and 20 deaths were recorded. The following month, President John Magufuli declared Tanzania "coronavirus-free".



But concern is growing about the possibility of a hidden epidemic



The WHO's plea comes after a spate of deaths of government officials.



The vice-president of Tanzania's semi-autonomous island of Zanzibar, Seif Sharif Hamad, died on Wednesday after his party said he had contracted Covid-19.



He was the most prominent politician in Tanzania to have openly declared that he had the virus.



The head of the civil service, John Kijazi, also died on Wednesday but no reason was given for his death.



World Health Organization Director-General Tedros Adhanom Ghebreyesus said in a statement: "We extend our condolences to our Tanzanian sisters and brothers on the recent passing of a senior Tanzanian leader as well as the government's chief secretary."



He then went on to urge Tanzania to start reporting Covid-19 cases and share its data.



While it is difficult to know the extent of the spread of coronavirus in Tanzania without this data, he said that Tanzanians travelling outside the country have tested positive for coronavirus.



"This underscores the need for Tanzania to take robust action both to safeguard their own people and protect populations in these countries and beyond," he said.



President Magufuli had previously played down the virus and refused to take measures to curb its spread. The health minister said earlier this month that Tanzania had no plans to vaccinate.



However, on Friday, while giving a speech at Mr Kijazi's funeral, Mr Magafuli appeared to admit that the virus was circulating in Tanzania.



He said Tanzania had defeated Covid-19 last year and would win again this year.



Then on Sunday Mr Magufuli encouraged people to wear masks to avoid infection.



But he urged people to use locally-made masks, saying without evidence that some of the imported ones were not safe.

Source: BBC









Disclaimer : Opinions expressed here are those of the writers and do not reflect those of Peacefmonline.com. Peacefmonline.com accepts no responsibility legal or otherwise for their accuracy of content. Please report any inappropriate content to us, and we will evaluate it as a matter of priority.

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NIAMEY, Niger - Deadly violence struck Niger's presidential elections Sunday when seven members of the National Electoral Commission were killed when their car hit an explosive device, the government announced.

NIAMEY, Niger - Deadly violence struck Niger's presidential elections Sunday when seven members of the National Electoral Commission were killed when their car hit an explosive device, the government announced.

Three others were severely injured in the explosion which occurred in Gotheye village in the Tillaberi region in the countrys west, Addine Agalass, an advisor to Tillaberis governor told The Associated Press by phone.

The attack happened while Nigeriens were nearly finished voting in the second round of the countrys presidential elections. Its unclear if it was intended to target the electoral commission officials or if it was related to the election, said Agalass.

The West African nations been battling rising attacks by Islamic extremists for years and Niger experts had warned that Sundays elections could see violence. In January at least 100 people were killed when extremists attacked two villages near the border with Mali. Thousands of people have been killed and hundreds of thousands displaced despite the presence of thousands of regional and international troops.

Niger has faced growing insecurity on many of its borders, including Mali, Burkina Faso, Niger and Libya, said Ibrahim Yahaya Ibrahim, senior analyst for the Sahel at the International Crisis Group. Growing insecurity is one of the major challenges that the upcoming administration will have to face, he said

Former foreign affairs minister Mohamed Bazoum, who received about 39% of the vote in the first round in December, is running against former president Mahamane Ousmane, who won nearly 17% of that vote, according to the offical results.

The winner of Sundays vote will succeed President Mahamadou Issoufou who is stepping down after serving two terms, in accordance with Nigers constitution. Issoufous decision to respect the constitution has been widely hailed and paves the way for Nigers first peaceful, democratic transfer of power since its independence from France in 1960. The West African nation has seen four coups.

After voting at the city hall of Niamey, the capital, Issoufou told journalists he was proud of Nigeriens for their political maturity and for setting a strong democratic example.

Im proud to be the first democratically elected president in our history to transfer power to another democratically elected president. Its a major event in the political life of our country, said Issoufou.

Issoufous chosen successor is Bazoum, 71, a longtime Cabinet minister who is from Nigers small ethnic Arab minority. After voting, Bazoum said he had just spent several weeks in the countrys interior visiting villages in hopes that the vote would take place in a calm, disciplined and friendly atmosphere, he said.

Of Nigers 23 million people, some 7.4 million are registered to vote. In the parliamentary and presidential elections which took place on December 27 turnout was approximately 67%.

Analysts say that while the new administration is unlikely to achieve rapid success in stemming the violence, a peaceful transition of power would be a strong sign to western countries to continue supporting Nigers counter-terrorism operations, said Alexandre Raymakers, senior Africa analyst at Verisk Maplecroft, a global risk consultancy.

The candidates are trying to entice voters through various campaign promises.

A teacher by training, Bazoum, a member of the ruling Nigerien Party for Democracy and Socialism, has promised to build boarding schools for girls to encourage them to remain in school longer, which he said would help reduce child marriage in a country with many teenage pregnancies.

But peace is what locals say they really want from the countrys next leader.

The new president needs to focus on our security at the borders and in our cities, said Abdou Razak, a resident of Niamey.

AP journalist Sam Mednick in Ouagadougou, Burkina Faso, contributed.
The Liberty Company Insurance Brokers has named Jim Darling an executive board member.

Darling has 40 years of property/casualty experience.

Among his senior executive roles during his career, he served as a regional executive officer for at Chubbs Pacific region.

The Liberty Company Insurance Brokers is a privately held brokerage firm in Woodland Hills, Calif., with offices throughout the country.

Topics California Chubb
ATLANTA, Feb. 22, 2021 /PRNewswire/ -- Acknowledging the challenge Americans face in paying for a college education, Apartment Guide announces the launch of its Student Scholarship Contest, in which two winners will each receive $2,500 to help offset education-related expenses. Prize money can be used to pay for housing, books, tuition, study-abroad or other education-related expenses for the upcoming Fall 2021 semester.

To qualify for entry, applicants must be 17 years of age; a U.S. citizen or legally residing in one of the 50 states or the District of Columbia; enrolled in or accepted as a fulltime student at an accredited college, university or technical school for the Fall 2021 semester; pursuing a bachelors or associate degree; and have a 2.5 minimum GPA.

Entrants are asked to submit a 500-600 word essay on the topic "How has coronavirus changed the way you think about home?"; the deadline for entry is March 23, at 11:59 pm ET.

Apartment Guide will narrow the field to 10 finalists, who will each be given two weeks to create a one-to-three minute video to accompany their essay. The finalists' essays and companion videos will be posted for one month on ApartmentGuide.com and votes will be cast by the public. Based on a combination of public voting results and judging criteria, two winners will be selected. The two $2,500 winners will be featured on Apartment Guide's Scholarship page, along with their essays and videos.

To enter the contest, visit the Apartment Guide college scholarship page , for an official entry form, contest description, deadlines and other information. The complete contest rules can be found here . No purchase is necessary to enter.



Key Dates to Remember

February 16  March 23 - Application process open

- Application process open March 31 - 10 finalists announced at www.apartmentguide.com/students/scholarship

- 10 finalists announced at www.apartmentguide.com/students/scholarship May 3  June 3 - Public voting

- Public voting June 10 - Winners announced

About Apartment Guide

Apartment Guide was a rental industry leader long before its website debut 20 years ago. This trusted legacy brand - now part of the RentPath family of digital brands - has a team of editors and experts who help make every stage of the rental journey easier. From hot tips and cool hacks to helpful articles and videos, Apartment Guide creates content that empowers renters by boosting their knowledge and confidence. The Apartment Guide website also contains apartment listings across the United States, including in college destinations.

About RentPath

RentPath is a leading digital marketing solutions company, that empowers millions nationwide to find apartments and houses for rent. Through its brands, RentPath continues to simplify the apartment search experience while driving quality advertiser leads that result in occupancies and a high return on investment. With powerful online and mobile solutions that provide prospective renters with the information and tools they need, RentPath connects consumers with a home that reflects their personal lifestyles.



RentPath helps people navigate the rental journey by providing a delightful, stress-free experience so that all renters find and enjoy their ideal home.

SOURCE Apartment Guide
WALTHAM, Mass., Feb. 22, 2021 /PRNewswire/ -- KnowYourMeds, Inc. today launched a digital Safe Return-to-Work solution to help employers reopen their doors, kick-start onsite work, and keep employees engaged through the continued COVID-19 pandemic.

The solution empowers organizations to reduce reopening risks by monitoring compliance with their return-to-work requirements, while giving employees the tools to adhere to them.

"With vaccinations beginning, the reopening of business is truly upon us," said Kim Shah, CEO, KnowYourMeds. "We are thrilled to harness our solution to help enterprises bring their people back, while instilling confidence in their safety."

According to Senior Benefits Advisor, Anthony LaMonica, "Clients are looking for transparency and simplicity in their monitoring processes. They want to help their employees be safe and at the same time have a sense for how all their employees are doing  those that will vaccinate and test and those that are not comfortable. This solution allows them to do so."

The Safe Return-to-Work solution builds on the technologies underlying KnowYourMeds' AI-based Digital Assistant, which individuals use to comply with medication protocols, report symptoms, and stay on top of their health.

It helps businesses:

Educate employees on their specific COVID-19 policies and guidelines

Know which individuals may need vaccines and which request exemptions

Choose and communicate criteria for testing and recording vitals and side effects

Monitor employee compliance with vaccine schedules, testing and health trackers

Address teams' health concerns

Configured to reflect each employer's unique requirements and vaccine strategy, the Safe Return-to-Work solution includes a portal for real-time, enterprise-wide dashboard reporting.

Employees log into an accompanying Digital Health Assistant (mobile app) to stay up to date on workplace procedures, record their vaccinations, tests, vitals and side effects, and be prompted on next steps.

The solution is secure, stable, meets privacy requirements and is HIPAA compliant. More information is available at knowyourmeds.com/safe-return-to-work.

About KnowYourMeds, Inc.

KnowYourMeds is a for-profit social enterprise that seeks to improve healthcare globally. Using AI and machine learning, we enable consumers to be better educated and self-driven in managing their health  leveraging proper use of medications, adhering to condition protocols, tracking health metrics and complying with the right and timely provider follow-ups.

SOURCE KnowYourMeds, Inc.

Related Links

knowyourmeds.com


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The mother of the US Capitol police officer who died following the riot on January 6 believes that her son succumbed to a fatal stroke - that he was not bludgeoned to death by a fire extinguisher as reported.

Yet more than one month after Officer Brian Sicknick's death on January 7, she has admitted that they are still in the dark as to what exactly caused that catastrophic episode.

Speaking exclusively to DailyMail.com Gladys Sicknick, 74, was unequivocal in her assertion that Officer Brian Sicknick was not struck on the head and that as far as the family knows her son had a fatal stroke.

She said, He wasnt hit on the head no. We think he had a stroke, but we dont know anything for sure.

Wed love to know what happened.'

Because, while politicians have grandstanded and rushed to judgment no one has yet given the family the answers they need.

No one could dispute the tragedy of the death of the 42-year-old officer who spent his final hours protecting the US Capitol.

But in the six weeks since his death the truth has taken a backseat to the myth of the brutal attack. Democratic Impeachment Managers even brazenly cited the incident - that he was stricken in the head by a fire extinguisher - as fact in pre-trial articles filed February 2 despite already growing doubts.

Now DailyMail.com has unpacked fact from fiction in an attempt to extract Sicknicks death from the misinformation in which it was mired before it even happened.

US Capitol Police Officer Brian Sicknick, 42, died on January 7, one day after he was pepper sprayed while trying to defend the Capitol building from violent protesters

Sicknick's mother Gladys (far right) 76, told DailyMail.com the family believes her son may have suffered a fatal stroke but they 'don't know anything for sure.' Pictured: Sicknick's father, Charles (far left) his longtime girlfriend Sandra, and his mother

Capitol Police officer Brian Sicknick lies in honor in the Rotunda of the US Capitol February 3

A hearse carrying the cremated remains of Sicknick was seen leaving the Capitol, where he had been lying in honor on February 3

The president and First Lady held their hands to their hearts as they took a moment in front of the urn. House Speaker Nancy Pelosi called for the perpetrators of Sicknicks attack to be brought to justice and vowed, We will not forget'

The first reports that an officer had been killed were premature and emerged on January 6. US Capitol Police were swift to issue a denial.

It is now known that Officer Sicknick was on life support at the time and his death was confirmed barely 24 hours later at 9.30pm on January 7.

The official statement was measured and vague as to the cause. According to the police, Officer Brian D Sicknick passed away due to injuries sustained while on duty.

Capitol Police are yet to confirm Sicknick's official cause of death and have only said he died from 'injuries sustained while on duty'

It continued, Officer Sicknick was responding to the riots on Wednesday, January 6, 2021, at the US Capitol and was injured while physically engaging with protesters. He returned to his division office and collapsed. He was taken to a local hospital where he succumbed to his injuries.

Yet despite this statement issued on January 7 the following day on January 8 The New York Times were reporting that, pro-Trump supportersoverpowered Mr Sicknick, 42, and struck him in the head with a fire extinguisher according to two law enforcement officials. With a bloody gash in his head, Mr Sicknick was rushed to the hospital and placed on life support.

DailyMail.com has confirmed with Douglas Buchanan, Chief of Communications for DCs Department of Fire and Emergency Medical Services that Sicknick was not rushed to hospital from the Capitol. But did indeed return to his division department as stated.

In fact, the very day that The New York Times account ran, Sicknicks own brother, Ken, spoke with ProPublica and said that his brother had been in good spirits and had texted him after returning to the department.

He said, He texted me last night and said, I got pepper-sprayed twice, and he was in good shape.

The deadly riots marked a tragic end to a life of service for the officer (pictured with parents during his ceremony) who enlisted in the National Guard six months after graduating high school in 1997

Sicknick lived in Springfield, Virginia with his girlfriend of 11 years, Sandra Garza and their two rescue dachshunds

According to his family, Sicknick (first from left in second row from the top) wanted to be a police officer all of his life and joined the National Guard as a means to that end

Sicknick's father told Reuters that his son had been placed on a ventilator upon his arrival at the hospital

That same day, January 8, Sicknicks father, Charles, 81, told Reuters that on January 7, as they rushed from their homes in New Jersey to DC, the family were told that Sicknick had a blood clot on his brain and had suffered a stroke. He was being kept alive on a ventilator but was dead by the time they got there.

Yet these few publicly available facts were bulldozed over by political fervor and it was the unattributed account of a brutal attack, also reported by the Associated Press, that gained traction.

Less than 24 hours after his death, with no autopsy, no confirmation of any sign of blunt trauma, no investigation nor due process, House Speaker Nancy Pelosi called for the perpetrators of Sicknicks attack to be brought to justice and vowed, We will not forget.

Despite the familys earnest desire to the contrary, Sicknicks death was politicized and seized on as an exemplar of all of the savagery of the pro-Trump mobs assault on the temple of American democracy.

SICKNICK DEATH TIMELINE January 7 CNN is among the first to report that an officer has died as a result of the Capitol riots. 8pm US Capitol Police issue a statement describing reports of the death as not accurate but that an officer is on life support. 9.30pm US Capitol Police announce Officer Brian Sicknicks death and state he was, injured while physically engaging with protestersreturned to the division office and collapsed. January 8 AP reports that a fire extinguisher was hurled but does not connect it to Sicknicks death. The New York Times publishes its story claiming that pro-Trump supporters, overpowered Sicknick and struck him in the head with a fire extinguisher. House Speaker Nancy Pelosi, issues a statement condemning, the violent and deadly act of insurrection targeting the Capitol. She adds, The perpetrators of Officer Sicknicks death must be brought to justice. Trumps Deputy Press Secretary Judd Deere also issues a statement describing Sicknick as an American hero. Officer Sicknicks family members give their own accounts and make no mention of any blunt trauma or attack. Sicknicks brother, Ken, speaks with ProPublica and reveals that his brother texted him on Wednesday evening and was in good shape. Sicknicks father, Charles, 81, tells Reuters his son was resuscitated twice on the way to the hospital. He says, He had a blood clot on his brain and had a strokeoperating was not an option. January 10 Footage of a protester hurling a fire extinguisher into law enforcement on the steps of the Capitol become public. January 14 Retired Philadelphia firefighter Robert Sandford is identified as the rioter who threw the fire extinguisher. His charges include assault on a police officer, disorderly conduct, civil disorder and unlawful entry of the Capitol. January 29 House Speaker Nancy Pelosi and Senate Majority Leader Chuck Schumer announce that Officer Sicknick will be given state honors in the Capitol Rotunda and will be interred at Arlington National Cemetery. February 2 CNN report that investigators are vexed by a lack of evidence and that medical examiners have found no sign of blunt force trauma. Democratic House Impeachment Managers file their pre-trial brief and state as fact, The insurrectionists killed a Capitol police officer by striking him on the head with a fire extinguisher. February 3 Officer Sicknick is honored in the Capitol Rotunda by dignitaries including President Joe Biden and Vice President Kamala Harris. February 11 Investigators consider whether an adverse reaction to bear spray may have contributed to Sicknicks death February 16 The New York Times updates its January 8 report stating, New information has emerged regarding the death of the Capitol Police officer Brian Sicknick that questions the initial cause of his death provided by officials close to the Capitol Police.' February 17 Officer Sicknicks mother tells DailyMail.com her son was not killed by a blow to the head but died of a stroke. The Medical Examiner has yet to release a cause of death. Advertisement

On January 10 when video emerged of a rioter hurling a fire extinguisher towards law enforcement on the steps of the Capitol it was co-opted into the narrative as evidence of the protesters lethal force.

Four days later, on January 14, retired Philadelphia firefighter Robert Sanford, 55, was arrested as the rioter in the video. His charges included assault of a police officer, disorderly conduct, civil disorder and unlawful entry of the Capitol.

The fire extinguisher he hurled was reported by AP to have bounced off the heads of three officers, two of whom were wearing helmets.

None of the charges related to Officer Sicknick and yet the narrative continued to run unchecked with not one leader acknowledging the ongoing investigation or the complete absence of any certainty amid the melee of misreporting.

On February 2 Democratic Impeachment Managers filed their pre-trial articles in which they ignored all doubts and evidence to the contrary and stated as fact, The insurgents killed a Capitol police officer by striking him in the head with a fire extinguisher'

During the siege of the Capitol, Sicknick was pepper-sprayed and hit in the head, according to his father. He appeared to be fine after the mob dispersed, but was rushed to the hospital later that evening after suffering a medical episode. He died the following day. Pictured: police and protesters clashing outside the building on January 6

Family members, including Sicknick's mother Gladys (circled left) and father Charles (circled right), watched as an honor guard to carries an urn with the slain officer's remains down the steps of the Capitol

On February 2 CNN reported that investigators were vexed by the lack of evidence linking anyone with Sicknicks death. According to their source medical examiners had found no sign of blunt trauma.

Yet that very day Democratic Impeachment Managers filed their pre-trial articles in which they ignored all doubts and evidence to the contrary and stated as fact, The insurgents killed a Capitol police officer by striking him in the head with a fire extinguisher.

On February 3, the 42-year-old cop became only the fifth person to lie in honor in the Capitol as a non-elected official, judge of military leader.

President Joe Biden and Vice President Kamala Harris paid their respects during two days of visitation, as did members of Congress.

Hundreds of officers lined the Capitols East front after the ceremony and saluted the hearse that transported Sicknicks urn to Arlington National Cemetery where he was interred: so much ceremony and outrage; so little certainty.

Last week, long after the first doubts were cast, the New York Times quietly rowed back their first reports stating, new information has emerged regarding the death of Capitol Police officer Brian Sicknick that questions the initial cause of his death provided by officials close to the Capitol Police.

Today, more than a month after his death, the Medical Examiner has yet to return a cause of death and the FBI and federal prosecutors are struggling to put together a murder case.

Last week it emerged that new video footage is being examined in a bid to identify suspects and anything that might help establish what led to the officers death; a death still being treated as a homicide despite the absence of a cause of death or any persons of interest.

Unconfirmed reports suggest that investigators are now considering an adverse reaction to the bear spray with which rioters sprayed cops as a potential factor.

A research paper into the health hazards of capsaicin, the active ingredient in both pepper and bear spray, uncovered by DailyMail.com and published by the University of North Carolina, found that one potentially lethal side effect of inhalation was, acute hypertension (similar to ammonia inhalation), which in turn can cause headache and increase the risk of stroke.

But pepper spray  used by both cops and rioters - has a higher percentage of this active ingredient than bear spray, rioters reported seeing cops sprayed with their own pepper spray amid the confusion and Sicknick told his brother he had been sprayed twice by pepper spray.

Indeed DailyMail.com has learned that one officer was admitted to hospital suffering adverse symptoms on January 6 having inhaled pepper spray which was being liberally used by both law enforcement and rioters.

According to Douglas Buchanan Chief of Communications for DCs Fire and Emergency Medical Services (FEMS), The officer was treated on the scene and seemed to be fine but when his vitals were taken his blood pressure was very high and it was decided that he should be transported to hospital for further treatment.

If Officer Sicknick was suffering any such ill-effects from inhaling the chemicals that clouded the air that day, he was unaware of them or simply did not seek treatment on the scene.

Instead, he returned to the police department and texted his older brother, Ken, to let him know that he was in good shape, before collapsing.

DCs Fire and Emergency Medical Services declined DailyMail.coms request for further details regarding the emergency call placed for Sicknick or his transportation to hospital, citing the ongoing criminal investigation.

But speaking to Reuters shortly after his sons death, Sicknicks father, Charles, 81, said that his son had been resuscitated twice on the way to the hospital and placed on a ventilator on arrival.

It was a tragic end to a life of service for the officer who enlisted in the National Guard six months after graduating high school in 1997, deploying to Saudi Arabia and Kyrgyzstan.

Sicnick's family said intense speculation that has swirled up around his death and its politicizing has only compounded their pain

According to his family he had wanted to be a police officer all of his life and joined the National Guard as a means to that end. He had been an officer with the US Capitol Police since 2008 and lived in Springfield, Virginia with his girlfriend of 11 years, Sandra Garza and their two rescue dachshunds.

Today, Sicknicks mother said that the family are still waiting for an explanation as to why her son ended up on life support just hours after telling his sibling he was fine.

She said that the intense speculation that has swirled up around his death and its politicizing has only compounded the familys pain.

She said, It hasnt helped, no. Its very hard not knowing [what happened] but we have to wait for a finding just like everybody else.

For now, all they can do is try to process a devastating personal loss that they have been forced to play out on the national stage, as they hope for a cause that makes sense of it all.
The second installment of the Star Wars prequel trilogy, Star Wars: Episode II  Attack of the Clones, released in 2002. Directed by George Lucas, the film featured Ewan McGregor, Natalie Portman, Hayden Christensen, Ian McDiarmid, Samuel L. Jackson, Christopher Lee, Anthony Daniels, Kenny Baker, and Frank Oz. Interestingly, various reports state that it was one of the first motion pictures shot completely on a high-definition digital 24-frame system. As the film will turn a year older in a couple of months, here's a list of locations where Attack of The Clones' was filmed.

Where was Attack of The Clones filmed?

The major portion of the film has been shot at Fox Studios Australia in Sydney, Australia, where much of the film was shot against the green screen. Additionally, the film had also featured a few landmarks of Tunisia, Spain, and Italy. For chapter 15 on the DVD, a sequence was shot at the Plaza de Espana in Seville. Caserta Palace in Southern Italy, which was used more extensively in the episode I, marked a brief return for AOTC.

READ | Where Is 'Transplant' Filmed? Know About The Shooting Locations Of The Medical Drama

The other Naboo scenes were all shot in Como in the north of the country. The film gave a brief look at Villa del Balbianello including the glimpse of Lake Como, situated in northern Italy. Italy's Royal Palace of Caserta was used for the Theed Royal Palace on Naboo. Meanwhile, the Plaza de Espana in Seville served as the exterior for Theed on Naboo. Interestingly, George Lucas also used a handful of locations in Tunisia to shoot scenes of the desert planet Tatooine.

READ | Where Was 'King Of Kings' Filmed? Here's The List Of Shooting Locations In Spain

Attack of The Clones plot and other details

Though the film received a mixed response from the critics, it helped to develop various sub-plots for the other installment of the franchise. In the film, Anakin (Hayden Christensen) spends most of his time with senator Padme Amidala (Natalie Portman ) as her protective detail while Obi-Wan (Ewan McGregor) investigates the failed assassination attempt on her life. During Obi-Wan's investigation, he discovers the clone army being manufactured. According to the film's IMDb page, running at two hours and twenty-two minutes, this was the longest of the Star Wars films until Star Wars Episode VIII - The Last Jedi (2017), which runs at two hours and thirty-two minutes.

READ | Where Was 'Spring And Port Wine' Filmed? Check Out The Filming Locations

READ | Where Was 'Wonder Woman 1984' Filmed? Check Out The Gal Gadot Starrer's Shooting Locations

Get the latest entertainment news from India & around the world. Now follow your favourite television celebs and telly updates. Republic World is your one-stop destination for trending Bollywood news. Tune in today to stay updated with all the latest news and headlines from the world of entertainment.
I assume that everyone knows homicide rates rose substantially in 2020 over prior years. Why did this happen? It seems clear that the anti-police agitation associated with Black Lives Matter and Antifa, and encouraged by almost all Democratic Party politicians, played the decisive role. Steve Sailer has charted the numbers. The homicide rate was flat until the hysteria that surrounded the death of George Floyd, most likely from the fentanyl overdose that he had taken:

Sailer addresses the theory that 2020s murder spree was the result of lockdowns ordered, mostly, by liberal governors:

Its easy to come up with a lot of theories about the effect of coronavirus on murder, but the weird thing is that you cant see them having much tangible effect through Memorial Day. Memorial Day, of course, saw the fentanyl-assisted death of George Floyd (purple vertical line). By the time of the riots of the following weekend, the Great Murder Surge of 2020 was underway. The worst day for murders in 2020 prior to Memorial Day was 18, but 37 were murdered on Sunday, May 31, a day of massive Mostly Peaceful Protests.

Further, it seems that subsequent BLM-driven news stories led to more murders:

[T]he change in cumulative murders plateaued at this new high level through mid-June. But a second national surge began about six days after the killing of Rayshard Brooks in Atlanta on June 12 after he stole a cops tazer and shot it at him. By the Fourth of July, murders were up 23%, and by July 21, they were up 27%. Then murders plateaued again until a third rise began about a week after the police shooting of the armed Jacob Blake in a domestic dispute in Kenosha on August 23. For these 19 cities for which CCS has day by day data through the end of September, they ended the third quarter cumulatively up 30%.

The net effect of the pro-crime, anti-law enforcement propaganda disseminated by BLM, Antifa and most Democratic Party politicians was the biggest one-year increase in the homicide rate ever:

Nationally, the largest ever one year increase in homicides was murderous 1968, when Martin Luther Kings assassination set off riots, at 12.7% followed by 2015 during the First BLM Era, when murders went up 12.1%. So, 2020 was the worst year for increase in homicides over the 60 years for which we have reliable data.

Black Lives Matter, Antifa and the Democratic Party bear the principal responsibility for the murderous violence that afflicted 2020. What do you think the chances are that there will be any accountability?
Honda Motor Co Announces Toshihiro Mibe As New President & CEO

February 19, 2021  TOKYO, Japan Honda Motor Co., Ltd. announced that at a meeting of the companys Board of Directors held today, Toshihiro Mibe, currently the companys Senior Managing Director, was named the next President and Representative Director, effective April 1, 2021. Mibe will succeed Takahiro Hachigo, the current President and Representative Director, who will become a Director, effective April 1, 2021.

Mibe is scheduled to become Director, President and Representative Executive Officer* (CEO) with the resolution of the Ordinary General Meeting of Shareholders scheduled to be held in June 2021, at which time Hachigo will retire from the company.

During the approximately six years since he ascended to the presidency in 2015, in the face of a period of great transformation of the companys business environment, Hachigo took the initiative and formulated Hondas 2030 Vision to enable Honda to become "a company society wants to exist" into the future. For the fulfilment of the companys 2030 Vision statement  "to serve people worldwide with the joy of expanding their lifes potential" -- Hachigo led Team Honda on a course to "solidify existing businesses" and "prepare for future growth." Under Hachigos leadership, Honda has increased efficiency and strengthened its operating structure in the areas of production and product development. Moreover, by pursuing the "selection and concentration" of its corporate resources on a global basis, a solid foundation for the future was established, preparing Honda to take off in the new era.

Mibe, who is set to assume the presidency in April, joined Honda in 1987 and has been primarily focused on the research & development of automobiles, particularly powertrain development. In 2019, Mibe became the President and Representative Director of Honda R&D Co., Ltd., and since 2020, Mibe has been concurrently serving as Senior Managing Director of Honda Motor Co., Ltd.

In this transformational era, a new value system is spreading all around the world. Reflecting this direction, under the new management structure Honda will strive to achieve continuous growth and advancement by further enhancing its commitment toward solving social issues based on Hondas belief that "the purpose of technology is to help people," which remains unchanged since the foundation of the company. Honda appreciates the high expectations people worldwide have for Honda which will grow and advance hand-in-hand with society.

*New title name in accordance with the transition to a company with three committees after receiving approval at the Ordinary General Meeting of Shareholders scheduled to be held in June 2021
Islamabad, Feb 22 : Four women were shot dead by terrorists in Pakistan's North Waziristan district, police said on Monday.

The North Waziristan police said in a statement that unidentified gunmen fired at a vehicle carrying the women near Mir Ali, a major town in the district that borders Afghanistan, Xinhua reported.

"The women reportedly working for an NGO have been targeted and killed by the terrorists," the statement said.

The statement added that a search and strike operation is being continued in the Mir Ali area to track down the terrorists.

Police said the driver of the car was injured and is undergoing a treatment.

No group or individual has so far claimed responsibility for the attack.
Cebu City (CNN Philippines, February 22)  Cebu Governor Gwen Garcia has issued an executive order which allows local tourists to visit the province provided certain conditions are met.

According to EO No. 12 Series of 2021, visitors are required to present a valid medical certificate obtained seven days prior to their arrival, and proof of pre-booking at a resort or hotel that is duly accredited by the Cebu Provincial Task Force.

Visitors will also need to pass screening at their points of departure and arrival.

"The local government unit of destination may issue reasonable regulations which shall be submitted to and approved by the governor. Thereafter, said regulations shall be submitted to the Department of the Interior and Local Government," the EO added.

The EO takes effect immediately.

Meanwhile, the Department of Health-Central Visayas (DOH-7) understands the move by the Cebu provincial government to drop the swab test requirement for domestic tourists to steadily stimulate the local economy.

DOH-7 Spokesperson Dr. Mary Jean Loreche emphasized the protocols have not been really relaxed with the inclusion of some requirements upon arrival.

Loreche believes Cebu will not be under enhanced community quarantine, unlike in June 2020, due to aggressive tracing, testing, and isolation efforts and enough hospital beds to cover infected patients. She added 85% of the total cases in the province and its cities are asymptomatic.

"The more we test, the more cases we find. That is our basis to show that we handled the infections here well," Loreche told CNN Philippines' The Final Word on Wednesday.

As of Wednesday afternoon, Cebu has a total of 10,296 confirmed COVID-19 cases, with 429 deaths and 8,371 recoveries.

CNN Philippines' Cebu correspondent Dale Israel contributed to this report.
This blog covers software patent news and issues with a particular focus on wireless, mobile devices (smartphones, tablet computers, connected cars) as well as select antitrust matters surrounding those devices.
Here is the latest from the woke world. Some hospitals in the United Kingdom have begun using the term chestfeeding" instead of breastfeeding" in an attempt to be more inclusive of transgender people. The original cue came from a study published in 2016 in the journal Pediatrics by two medical researchers from the University of Pennsylvania Perelman School of Medicine and Johns Hopkins University, who argued that the promotion of breastfeeding as the natural" way to feed a child has many negative societal effects: (It) may be ethically problematic, and, even more troublingly, it may bolster this belief that natural approaches are presumptively healthier".

Of course, the American Academy of Pediatrics has reaffirmed that breastfeeding and human milk are the normative standards for infant feeding and nutrition" and that infant nutrition should be considered a public health issue and not only a lifestyle choice", but who cares? When doctors spend more time pondering about how to be woke than about health, science retires hurt.

Woke-ism seems to have blasted the floodgates of Western academiaespecially the humanitiesto smithereens. In media and other public spaces, a brutal cancel culture and a whiny victimhood appear to beparadoxicallygoing hand in hand and doing very well. An example. Last July, Niel Golightly, the communications chief at Boeing, resigned after outrage over a 33-year-old article arguing that women should not serve in the military. Should we be applying todays standards to 1987? Surely, freedom of expression can be stretched that little bit?

But then again, who cares?

The very fact that someone did something at sometime in life seems enough for mob justice. And this is only one instance from a continuing purge.

As we know, the woke tsunami has crashed on Indian shores too, certainly among young people from privileged urban English-speaking households. I am sure the vast majority of them are perfectly well-meaning, but sometimes their lack of logical thinking is troublesome. Take the case of Disha Ravi, the 22-year-old arrested on sedition charges related to the ongoing farmers agitation in India. We must presume her to be innocent unless proven guilty, but her story raises some other questions.

She has been described as a climate activist" across global media. Her cause is undoubtedly good, but does she really understand the ground issues? If she did, she should possibly have been more concerned about the climate havoc that reckless farming is wreaking. For instance, all studies have shown that with free power and water in Punjab, its water table is being dangerously depleted; some experts predict that if this trend continues, the state could turn into a barren desert in another two decades.

Every year, at the onset of winter, farmers burn vast quantities of crop stubble in north India, creating a toxic haze that smothers the National Capital Region, causing untold damage to the economy and public health. At its peak phase last November, this inferno accounted for 42% of Delhis air pollution, according to an environment ministry report. These practicesirresponsible use of natural resources, stubble burning, excessive deployment of pesticidesare exactly what a climate activist should be fighting against, and not laws that give us a chance to set things right and, indeed, help farmers in the long run. The best of intentions cannot justify illogic.

In the West, the slightest slipreal or imaginedcan draw thunderous ire; people lose their jobs and are forced to issue abject apologies. At Boeing, Golightly announced his departure in a mea culpa email to company staff, which he shared with the media. The article I wrotewith arguments I disowned soon aftermakes for painful reading," he wrote. Painful because it is wrong. Painful because it is offensive to women. Painful because it reminds me of the sharp and embarrassing education the uninformed and unformed me of that time received as soon as the piece appeared."

Does this social justice" movement remind one of Stalinism, with its social media show trials followed by the rites of confession and penance? Where words either lose meaning or are trashed? Like breastfeeding".

Much of this is derived from the post-modern" cultural theories propagated by French philosophers like Jacques Derrida and Michel Foucault, who called for a rejection of logic. Apparently, logic itself is a form of oppression. But the fact that this conclusion has been reached through some sort of logic seems to have escaped them.

So it was all the more interesting when, last October, French education minister Jean-Michel Blanquer spoke about an out-of-control leftism and cancel culture that is threatening French identity". He was supported by 100 eminent intellectuals and academics in an open letter; president Emmanuel Macron too warned against certain social science theories entirely imported from the US". This should have been funny, but is not.

Hopefully, in dinful India, we will never come to that stage, but we do seem to be inexorably headed that way, at least among the privileged elite. Let everyone speak, but let healthy logic rule.

Sandipan Deb is a former editor of Financial Express, and founder-editor of Open and Swarajya magazines

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The judge presiding over the Boys Scout of America bankruptcy is weighing a request by insurance companies for permission to serve document requests on 1,400 people who have filed sexual abuse claims and to question scores of them under oath in an effort to determine whether there is widespread fraud in the claims process.

The insurance companies maintain that tens of thousands of sexual abuse claims that have been filed in the case appear to be barred by the passage of time based on statutes of limitation in many states. Thousands more lack essential information needed to determine their validity, such as identifying a connection with the Boy Scouts or the name of a perpetrator, according to the insurers.

In addition to wanting to question alleged abuse survivors, the insurance companies on Wednesday requested permission to question and collect documents from 15 plaintiffs attorneys who personally signed hundreds of claims. Claim forms typically must be signed by the claimants themselves, but in the days leading up to the deadline last November, some attorneys signed several hundred claim forms a day.

The insurers contend that a large percentage of attorney-signed claims are missing critical information, and that many appear to be submitted machine-gun style, with photocopied attorney signatures and signature pages generated before the proofs of claim were even created. Bankruptcy rules state that by signing a document submitted to the court, an attorney certifies that he or she has reviewed the contents to ensure it has evidentiary support.

Nearly 90,000 Sexual Abuse Claims Filed Against Boy Scouts in Bankruptcy

The requests for discovery have been met with strenuous objections from many plaintiffs attorneys, but the Boy Scouts and the official committee representing sexual abuse survivors did not file any papers in response.

The legitimate claimants should welcome this discovery, said James Ruggeri, an attorney for the insurers. We want to make sure dollars are paid to those who deserve it.

The insurance companies argue that the sheer number of claims that have been filed should raise doubts about the process.

We have a problem in this case, Ruggeri told Judge Laurie Selber Silverstein. And I think the problem starts with the numbers.

Ruggeri, a veteran of mass tort bankruptcies, noted that the Boy Scouts of America, before seeking bankruptcy protection, had been named in 275 lawsuits and told insurers it was aware of another 1,400 claims.

Now we have more than 95,000 claims that have been filed, he said, describing the 55-fold explosion in claims as unprecedented.

Insurers attribute the explosion in claims to aggressive advertising by plaintiffs attorneys working with for-profit claims aggregators.

Eric Goodman, an attorney representing a group calling itself the Coalition of Abused Scouts for Justice, argued that the insurers have much of the information they claim to lack. He also said the request for more information from hundreds of claimants is premature, given that BSA has yet to file a reorganization plan and the insurers have not acknowledged they have coverage obligations.

We dont know if the debtors are willing to propose a plan that that will impact the insurers rights in any way, Goodman said. We dont know if the insurers will fund anything.

An attorney for the Boy Scouts told Silverstein that the Irving, Texas-based organization needs to exit bankruptcy by late summer and hopes to file a plan within the next few weeks, with a hearing in April seeking court approval of the proposal.

Meanwhile, plaintiffs attorneys say its not surprising that many claims were submitted by attorneys shortly before the deadline on behalf of their clients. They contend that attorneys for the insurance companies are basing their arguments on questionable statistics involving claims that have been submitted, and that they should not be allowed to rummage through the files of plaintiffs attorneys based on speculation that some lawyers are abusing the claims process.

But Tancred Schiavoni, an attorney for the insurers, noted that while Silverstein authorized plaintiffs attorneys last year to sign claim forms on behalf of their clients, she also cautioned that doing so was ill advised, and could result in attorneys becoming fact witnesses who could be subject to deposition.

They were warned, but they went ahead and did it anyway, Schiavoni said.

The judge gave no indication on when she would rule.

Copyright 2021 Associated Press. All rights reserved. This material may not be published, broadcast, rewritten or redistributed.

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The Ikere Ekiti community in Ekiti State has raised the 60 million as part of its contribution to the smooth take off of the newly created Bamidele Olumilua University of Education, Science and Technology, Ikere Ekiti (BOUESTI).

The cheque for the money was formally presented to the State Government on Saturday.

The university is an upgrade of the College of Education in the town which was established in 1978.

The upgrade was done in October last year by the Ekiti State Government, with the Ikere community pledging to contribute N500 million as part of the collaborative efforts to ensure the smooth running of the university.

At the presentation of the cheque, the state governor, Kayode Fayemi, who was represented by the Commissioner for Education, Olabimpe Aderiye, expressed the administrations commitment to sound and qualitative education through proper funding.

He said his government would strive hard to ensure that every interested Ekiti citizen had access to good education up to university level.

For sustainable development, no amount can be too much to expend on sound education, he said.

Schools with more funds clearly have greater ability to provide higher quality, broader and deeper educational opportunities to the students they serve.

We understand that without proper funding, efficiency and innovation are easily compromised.

I commend the donors for sharing our vision and passion to make the university a world class and one we can all be proud of.

The development of a nation or state depends on quality education of its citizenry. Education is the foundation of a country which brings wealth, social prosperity and economic stability.

While presenting the cheque, the Ogoga of Ikere, Adejimi Adu, appealed to Mr Fayemi to tackle those he described as local bandits operating under the cover of cultism, robbery and herdsmen, terrorising the community.

The traditional ruler said the call became imperative owing to the establishment of a new university that would bring an upsurge of people of different characters into the town.

I dont want the lives of the students and my people to be endangered, he said.

I have heard complaints from the management about cultism and some herdsmen who were bombarding the institution. This shouldnt be tolerated. The government must deal with these people for us to have peace.

I commend all my subjects, especially Chief Wole Olanipekun (SAN), the Chancellor of the institution for always standing by us at all times and for being the pillars of our success stories.

Meanwhile, the Chairman, Funding support to BOUESTI, Tunde Ogunsakin, said the fund was a partial fulfillment of the pledge of financial support to the governing council of the institution.

Mr Ogunsakin urged the university management to run the institution like a truly 21st century institution through radical curriculum reform, research-oriented education, technology transfer, intellectual exchange programmes and edu-tourism initiative in the institution.

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IT czar Azim Premji on Sunday said more than 90 per cent of the workforce in the country's technology industry continue to work from home, and lauded the hybrid model of work. "Within the first few weeks of the (COVID-19-induced) lockdown, over 90 per cent of the technology industry was working from home and even today over 90 per cent of people continue to work from home," he said.

Addressing an interactive session hosted by Bangalore Chamber of Industry and Commerce, Premji said the IT industry and the government have appreciated the value of a permanent hybrid model where people would work partly from office and home even after the end of the pandemic.

Stating that the hybrid model would have huge comparative advantage, Premji said it would drive inclusive growth, better participation from all parts of the country and greater number of women who would have flexibility to work from home. "Technology is becoming the lifeline for us as individuals and also businesses," he said. If there was any doubt, the year 2020 showed how fundamental technology has become.

Technology played an important role in ensuring that the government's social schemes and assistance programmes reached the mass population, according to him. Availability of digital infrastructure in tier-2 cities has helped greatly many businesses to thrive, Premji said. He emphasised the need for people to engage in some acts of philanthropy and charity.

"The culture of philanthropy is as basic to India as India itself. Charity and philanthropy has always been a part of India's culture and tradition", he added. "The pandemic, though unfortunate, has taught us many things," Premji said adding that some people now work remotely, some have been pushed to the situation of unemployment and some others have witnessed devastation of loss of near and dear ones.

Hailing that the vaccine has been developed at a record time, Premji said deploying and administering the vaccine in large proportion was the key requirement today. He suggested the government involve the private sector to supplement its effort of vaccinating people.

"There is a possibility that we can get the Serum Institute to supply vaccines at about Rs 300 a shot and hospitals and private nursing homes can administer this at a cost of Rs 100 per shot. So with a Rs 400 a shot, it is possible to do mass vaccination of the population," Premji said.

According to him, if the government engages the private sector, it can rest assured that the country can achieve a coverage of 500 million people within 60 days. Premji stepped down as Wipro chairman and managing director in 2019 and handed over the company's reins to his son Rishad. The septuagenarian currently holds the position of Wipro founder-chairman and non-executive director.

Also read: 50 crore Indians can be vaccinated in two months with help from private sector: Azim Premji
OTTAWA, Feb. 22, 2021 (GLOBE NEWSWIRE) -- The Institute for Peace and Diplomacy will host a panel on February 24th, 2021 (7:00-8:00 PM ET) to reflect on past challenges, as well as discuss the short-, medium-, and long-term considerations for Canada-China relations. Alongside our panel of esteemed foreign policy experts, this event will feature opening remarks from Canadian Senator Yuen Pau Woo of British Columbia. Register to attend for free on our website (https://peacediplomacy.org/2021/02/15/panel-feb24-assessing-canada-china-relations-challenges-and-opportunities/)



As the global power structure continues to shift and China grows as an economic and industrial power, it is critical for Canada to revisit its policies and examine opportunities for pragmatic engagement. The Canada-China bilateral relationship reached a low point in 2018 when Canadians Michael Kovrig and Michael Spavor were detained in China following Canadas arrest of Huaweis CFO Meng Wanzhou on an extradition request by Washington. Instead of celebrating half a century of bilateral ties, both countries have insisted that the other is at fault for the deteriorating relations.

Opening remarks

Honourable Yuen Pau Woo : Independent Senator representing British Columbia, former President and CEO of the Asia Pacific Foundation of Canada (2005-2014).

Panelists

Dr. Paul Evans : Professor, School of Public Policy and Global Affairs, University of British Columbia

Dr. Henry Wang : President, Centre for China and Globalization (CCG)

Graham Shantz : President, Canada-China Business Council (CCBC)

Dr. Wenran Jiang : Advisor, Asia Program, Institute for Peace & Diplomacy (IPD)

The Institute for Peace & Diplomacy (IPD) is a Canadian non-profit and non-partisan foreign policy think tank dedicated to promoting sustainable peace through diplomacy, dialogue, and constructive engagement. Visit our website to learn more (https://peacediplomacy.org).
Jeyran Panahian-Jand told bosses that staff on ward were divided on racial lines

A white NHS nurse 'frozen out' after blowing the whistle that black colleagues on a hospital children's ward were being given more work to do has won a 26,000 employment case.

Jeyran Panahian-Jand told bosses that staff in the department at Whipp's Cross Hospital in East London were divided on racial lines between the 'Essex girls' and ethnic minority employees.

As a result, white nurses at the hospital got a better deal as they were given less tasks to carry out, an employment tribunal heard.

Managers told the 'good citizen' to stop talking about the issue, saying she was upsetting colleagues. Ms Panahian-Jand - who is also a lecturer on nursing - was then wrongly accused of continuing to raise concerns and suspended.

Now a tribunal has ruled that Barts NHS Trust victimised Ms Panahian-Jand, praising her selfless actions and awarding her substantial compensation.

Jeyran Panahian-Jand said staff on the ward at Whipp's Cross Hospital (pictured above) in East London were divided on racial lines between the 'Essex girls' and ethnic minority employees

Employment judge Sarah Moor said: 'Race discrimination can only be identified and resolved if working people blow the whistle on it, and not necessarily those most affected by it.

'Here (she) spoke up when she herself was not personally affected by the acts she was complaining about.'

The hearing in east London was told that Ms Panahian-Jand, who identifies as white, had worked as a paediatric nurse at the hospital's only children's ward for 10 years.

During a night shift in May 2019, she took part in a conversation between colleagues and manager Heather Roberts.

'The discussion was about groupings of staff along racial lines and unfair allocation of work,' the tribunal heard. 'Someone made reference to the Essex girls' group.

'In talking about cliques or groupings on the ward, (Ms Panahian-Jand) drew a triangle on a piece of paper to reflect a lack of mixing and included some initials of staff members.

'(She) described groups on the ward divided by race: a group of white nurses; a black and ethnic minority group and some nurses who were in between.

'This piece of paper was subsequently referred to as a 'list'.'

Ms Panahian-Jand also claimed to have witnessed incidents of racist bullying against junior staff by white colleagues, the tribunal was told.

It was heard that several days later, Mrs Roberts - who was found by the panel to have believed the accusations reflected badly on her - asked Ms Panahian-Jand to stop talking about the issue.

However, the 'corridor gossip' continued and at the end of the month the trust ruled that she could not work on the ward anymore until her alleged misconduct was investigated.

As Ms Panahian-Jand was only qualified to work on children's wards, this effectively disqualified her from working elsewhere at the hospital, the tribunal heard.

The hearing in east London was told that Ms Panahian-Jand had worked as a paediatric nurse on the children's ward at Whipps Cross Hospital (above) for 10 years

The day after the restriction was announced, she made a formal complaint of race discrimination relating to how patients and workload was allocated on the ward.

She also accused two colleagues of making racist remarks, one of whom aggressively blocked her way during a confrontation in the hospital car park several days later.

The tribunal heard that although Ms Panahian-Jand was stopped from working on the ward while she was investigated for misconduct, the two nurses she had named continued to be employed.

In October - five months after her ban - the hospital concluded there was insufficient evidence that she had breached instructions not to continue talking publicly about her claims.

In contrast, an investigation had uncovered evidence to support her allegations of race discrimination on the ward, the tribunal heard.

But the 'astonished' panel found the trust never disclosed the findings to Ms Panahian-Jand and accused it of an attempted cover up.

Instead, despite being told she would be allowed to come back to work in December 2019 the trust never arranged for this to happen, with Ms Roberts arguing that staff on the ward would be upset at her return.

Finding the trust guilty of victimising Ms Panahian-Jand because she had blown the whistle on racism, Judge Moor said: '(She) reasonably believed herself to be acting in the public interest.

'Both because of the nature of the duty and because (she) was a concerned observer rather than personally disadvantaged and thought of herself as being a good citizen by raising these concerns.

'The Trust provides a service to the public and it would have been a reasonable conclusion to reach that raising concerns about discrimination, particularly in divisions among staff on a ward, which could affect that service, and in how work was allocated to patients was in the public interest.

'We find (she) was not raising these concerns in her own private interest. We find she thought race discrimination was wrong and that the hospital had a public equality duty to uphold.'

The panel ordered that the restriction preventing Ms Panahian-Jand from working on the ward should be lifted and awarded her a total of 26,083 in compensation.

A Barts Health spokesperson said: 'We are committed to eliminating discrimination and becoming a truly inclusive organisation and are sorry these allegations were not dealt with more effectively or in a more timely manner.

'We are carefully working through the findings to this case to help us determine the next appropriate steps.'
Samsung commits to 4 years of updates for its 2019 and later smartphones

Samsung has taken a strong stance on security by offering an extended support of security updates for its smartphones.

All Galaxy phones from the Z, S, Note, A, M, XCover and Tab series, launched since 2019 will receive at least 4 years of security updates. At the time of writing that's more than 130 models.

Now, these are security updates and not major OS updates, mind. Samsung recently promised 3 generations of Android OS updates for its flagships, but that is a separate thing altogether.

Security updates can be quarterly or monthly and they can take longer to get to a specific device, depending on its locale or carrier.

Here's the full list of devices that are eligible for at least 4 years of security updates. Interestingly, the Galaxy A02 isn't mentioned, (although the A02s is) and neither are the Galaxy M02 and M02s, so we can't verify if they are among the supported devices.
The University of Madras, a State University, has called for applications in a prescribed format from qualified and experienced candidates for filling Thirty-Five (35) vacancies to the post of Project Fellow and Post-Doctoral Fellow in University of Madras through direct recruitment to be posted in Chennai, India on a fulltime basis. The offline application process towards the same started on February 20, 2021 and closes on March 1, 2021 by 5:00 pm.

CRITERIA DETAILS Name Of The Posts Project Fellow and Post-Doctoral Fellow posts in University of Madras Organisation University of Madras Educational Qualification Ph.D; M.Sc., Degree Masters Degree/Post Graduation in concerned discipline (aggregate) and must have cleared the CSIR or UGC NET/GATE Experience Relevant years of experience in research Job Responsibilities null Skills Required null Job Location Chennai Salary Scale Project Fellow - Rs. 18,000 per month; Post-Doctoral Fellow - Rs. 55,000 per month Industry State University Application Start Date February 20, 2021 Application End Date March 1, 2021

Madras University Recruitment 2021: Age Criteria And Fees

Desirous candidates applying for Madras University Jobs 2021 through Madras University Recruitment 2021 must meet the age criteria as per the University of Madras recruitment norms as specified in the Madras University Notification 2021.

For details regarding application fee for Madras University Project Fellow and Post-Doctoral Fellow Jobs 2021 under Madras University Recruitment 2021, refer to the official Madras University Notification 2021 given at the end of the article.

Also Read: NPCIL Recruitment 2021 For 200 Executive Trainees Posts, Online Application Starts Tomorrow. Check All Details

Madras University Recruitment 2021 Vacancy Details

Project Fellow - 29

Post-Doctoral Fellow - 06

Total - 35

Madras University Recruitment 2021: Educational Eligibility

Candidates interested in applying for Madras University Jobs 2021 through Madras University Recruitment 2021 must possess a Ph.D; M.Sc., Degree Master's Degree/Post Graduation in concerned discipline (aggregate) and must have cleared the CSIR or UGC NET/GATE with relevant years of experience in research as detailed in the Madras University Notification 2021.

Madras University Recruitment 2021: Selection And Pay Scale

The selection of candidates as Madras University Jobs 2021 through Madras University Recruitment 2021 will be done through Shortlisting and Interview as notified in the Madras University Notification 2021.

Candidates selected to Madras University Jobs 2021 through Madras University Recruitment 2021 will be paid emolument in the following scale:

Project Fellow - Rs. 18,000 per month

Post-Doctoral Fellow - Rs. 55,000 per month

Also Read: HAL Recruitment 2021 For 475 ITI Trade Apprentices At HAL-Nasik, Apply Online On NAPS Portal Before March 13

Madras University Recruitment 2021: How To Apply

Candidates applying for Madras University Jobs 2021 through Madras University Recruitment 2021 fill the application form in a prescribed format attached with the Madras University Notification 2021 and send the same to "The Registrar, University of Madras, Chennai 600 005" along with relevant supporting documents or can e-mail the same to c3section.uom@gmail.com on or before March 1, 2021 by 5:00 pm

Download Madras University Recruitment 2021 PDF Notification for Project Fellow and Post-Doctoral Fellow posts
SIU accounting students offering free tax preparation services

by Christi Mathis

CARBONDALE, Ill.  Free income tax preparation services will soon be available for many people, thanks to a group of specially trained Southern Illinois University Carbondale students.

Beta Alpha Psi, a College of Business and Analytics honors accounting student organization, is sponsoring the popular, free Volunteer Income Tax Assistance (VITA) program in 2021 for low- and moderate-income community members.

Being a participant in VITA allows students to gain beneficial knowledge and hands-on experience as well as offering valuable tax assistance to the community, said Allison Bone, a master of accountancy student from Lincoln, Illinois, who is serving as the 2021 VITA program coordinator.

VITA is often the first experience students have preparing tax returns outside of classroom projects, and preparing and reviewing the returns allows us to enhance the knowledge we take into our future careers. The community members are great to work with as they understand we are still learning, and they are very appreciative of getting their taxes done for free. Combining the exposure of practical experience and being engaged with the community allows for a significant experience students can build on, one that can serve us well into the future.

Salukis have been providing this valuable community service for more than 25 years, helping as many as 200 or more people annually.

Begins March 6

Free tax preparation assistance will be offered from 9 a.m. to 1 p.m. each Saturday from March 6 through April 3 in the computer lab on the lower level of Rehn Hall, 1025 Lincoln Drive.

Due to the ongoing pandemic, state and campus safety precautions will be adhered to. Protocols include a limit of 50 people in the tax clinic at any given time and the requirement that all present wear masks.

We are happy we get to provide this valuable service again and want to make sure we keep the students and the community safe, said Benna Williams, a School of Accountancy lecturer and former tax practitioner who serves as the Beta Alpha Psi adviser.

Williams said providing the service is a great way for the SIU students to give back to the community while gaining valuable practical experience.

Students are well-trained for work

Bone participated in advanced training in preparation for her leadership role. She will head a team of about two dozen accounting students who will donate their time and energy to prepare tax returns for community members and students who meet the qualifications. Each of the tax preparers is an IRS-certified volunteer who has completed mandatory ethics and basic tax examination courses.

Bone will review returns and assist with questions as will Williams and other SIU faculty members.

Who qualifies

The services are available to any U.S. citizen whether single or married, as long as their income does not exceed $57,000 and they take the standard federal deduction.

The students will prepare tax returns that involve:

Wages/salaries.

Interest income.

Dividends received.

State tax refunds.

Unemployment benefits.

IRA distributions.

Pension income.

Social Security benefits.

Simple capital gains or losses.

Self-employment income.

Gambling winnings.

Education credits.

Earned income credit.

Child tax credit.

Limited itemized deductions.

Unfortunately, they will be unable to prepare tax returns for people who are not U.S. citizens or tax returns that involve:

Schedule C with losses.

Complicated capital gains and losses (Schedule D).

Nondeductible IRA (Form 8606).

Minors investment income (Form 8615).

Determination of worker status for purposes of federal employment taxes and income tax withholding (Form SS-8).

Premium tax credits (Parts 4 and 5 of Form 8962).

Foreign returns.

What to bring

In order to take advantage of the free tax preparation, people should bring all of the necessary documentation. That includes legal identification, such as a drivers license or passport, and Social Security cards and birth dates (for spouse and dependents, if applicable, too).

In addition, bring tax documents including: all official wage, earning, interest and dividend statements and copies of last years state and federal tax returns, if available. Those claiming a child care credit will also need to bring the day care providers tax identification number (either Social Security number or business employer identification number) and amount paid for child care. Bring a blank check or other proof of bank account routing and account numbers for direct deposit if you anticipate receiving a tax refund.

Fast work and filing included

VITA services are provided on a first-come, first-served basis. However, people may be asked to return later or the following week if necessary to ensure public safety or to allow sufficient time for the tax preparation.

Note that when married couples are filing a joint return, both must be present to sign the required forms. Most returns are completed in about an hour or less. Free e-filing is included with the tax preparation.

For more information, email vita@business.siu.edu or call 618-453-1407.
EDWARDSVILLE  People in the Edwardsville area dont have to cross the river to find top-notch cardiovascular care.

In the first week of February, Prairie Cardiovascular joined HSHS Medical Group and HSHS St. Elizabeths Outpatient Therapy in a new building at 1188 S. State Route 157.

More than 40 years ago, Prairie Cardiovascular was established with a vision to extend access to world-class care throughout rural Illinois. Since then, Prairie has grown to include more than 70 cardiologists and 50 advanced practice providers who care for patients in 50 clinic locations throughout central and southern Illinois. The medical staff at the new office includes Frederick Ochieng, MD, a cardiologist; Rebecca Riepshoff, PA, a physician assistant; and Lincoln Shenje, MD.Ph.D., an interventional cardiologist. They will offer consultations and follow-up care.

The model for Prairie Cardiovascular is to deliver preventive cardiovascular care where people live, Shenje said. The focus of that approach is educating the patient about lifestyle modification and providing therapies that improve cardiovascular risk: controlling blood pressure and levels of cholesterol as well as reducing diabetes and obesity.

The approach is designed so that 10 to 30 years from now, were not having an epidemic of heart attacks and strokes. We want to increase the number of people who are having healthier and more productive lives.

For advanced heart disease or cardiovascular emergencies, Prairie Cardiovascular performs surgical procedures from stenting blocked blood vessels, to pacemakers, correcting heart rhythm abnormalities and heart valve repair.

But the goal of preventive cardiovascular care is to ensure that those procedures are not needed.

We are able to establish a relationship with those patients so that they are getting the appropriate medical therapy they need only doing procedures when absolutely necessary to improve quality of life, Shenje said. People have better cardiovascular outcomes if they have that type of relationship with their cardiovascular providers. If people do need advanced interventions, we can refer them to our hub, which is located at St. Elizabeths Hospital in OFallon.

Ochieng, an Ivy league-trained specialist in preventive cardiology, was born in Kenya and after achieving many academic distinctions did his medicine at Vanderbilt, training in cardiology at St. Louis University School of Medicine and Harvard University in Boston.

Shenje was born in Zimbabwe and did his postgraduate studies in the United Kingdom where he earned his Ph.D. after winning multiple prestigious prizes and scholarships. He came to the U.S. for more advanced training and academic research and did his residency at The Mt. Sinai School of Medicine in New York. He did his fellowship at The Johns Hopkins University in Baltimore, where he received training in cardiology and interventional cardiology.

Shenje and the other doctors of Prairie specialize in advanced, minimally invasive procedures that have fewer risks and quicker recovery times than traditional procedures. Prairie cardiologists work in cooperation with each patients primary care physician to ensure cardiovascular care is tailored to the patients individual needs. Providing health care is very competitive and its better for all of the health dollars in Illinois to be invested in Illinois, said Shenje, whose wife works at Barnes Jewish Hospital in St. Louis.

If our patients go across the river, we lose those investments that we need to develop our health care infrastructure 10 or 15 years down the road. The whole point of this is to have equitable health care distribution.

The Edwardsville office provides a variety of services designed to offer the highest level of cardiovascular care.

If you want to know a little more about how healthy your heart is, we can do CAT scan imaging of the heart blood vessels, Shenje said. If things dont look quite right, we can go to the next step and get more information.

We have structural heart interventions for patients who have advanced valve disease, with calcium buildup that doesnt let blood flow efficiently to the rest of the body. We open the aortic valve with minimally invasive techniques so you can go home the next day instead of cutting the chest open for open-heart surgery, avoiding weeks of recovery.

For people with complex lifestyle-limiting blocked heart vessels who are senior citizens or otherwise too frail to undergo open-heart surgery, Prairie Cardiovascular offers other interventions. We put a pump through the leg to take over the function of the heart while we repair the heart using additional special equipment to re-establish normal blood flow or the hearts electrical pathways, Shenje said.

For patients that dont tolerate blood thinners, we can put in devices so they dont have to take blood thinners to improve quality of life and prevent strokes.

Call 618-233-6044 or visit www.Prairieheart.org to schedule your appointment with one of the doctors of Prairie at their new office in Edwardsville today.
 "Teaching Drugs: Incorporating Drug Policy into Law School Curriculum (2020-21 Curriculum Survey Update)" | Main | "COVID-19 Cases Among Employees of U.S. Federal and State Prisons" 

This new Reuters piece provides some choice quotes from U.S. Attorney General Nominee Garland on criminal justice policies during his Senate confirmation hearing today. I sense advocates of criminal justice reform will be pleased with these comments:

DEATH PENALTY

Garland told Congress he used to support the death penalty, including the execution of Oklahoma City bomber Timothy McVeigh, a case he prosecuted. He said his views have evolved due to concerns about executing innocent people and its disparate impact on communities of color.

I have had a great pause about the death penalty. I am very concerned about the large number of exonerations that have occurred through DNA evidence and otherwise, he said. The data is clear that it has an enormously disparate impact on Black Americans and members of communities of color.

MARIJUANA PROSECUTIONS

Garland revealed he will not seek to prioritize marijuana possession prosecutions. We can focus our attention on violent crimes and other crimes that put great danger in our society, and not allocate our resources to some things like marijuana possession.

ON SENTENCING REFORM

We should do as, as President Biden has suggested, seek the elimination of mandatory minimum. So that we once again give authority to district judges and trial judges to make determinations based on all of the sentencing factors that judges normally apply.

We dont have to seek highest possible offense with the highest possible sentence. ... Legislatively, we should look at equalizing ... whats known as the crack powder ratio, which has had an enormously disproportionate impact on communities of color.
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Haiti - FLASH : 2 Dominicans kidnapped in Port-au Prince, 2 million dollars in ransom demanded





Saturday February 20, 2021 at around 10:00 p.m. two Dominicans, members of a film crew, brothers Michael Enrique and Antonio Gerer Campusano Feliz and their Haitian interpreter were kidnapped in Haiti.



The incident occurred as they returned from a late filming in the south of the country near Jacmel, escorted by police. They were heading towards 5th avenue Bolosse, a sensitive area considered dangerous (southern entrance to the capital), when several heavily armed individuals forced the vehicle registered in the Dominican Republic to stop. Forced to leave their vehicle under threat, the 3 men were kidnapped while the bandits left with the victim's vehicle which was carrying expensive cinematographic equipment belonging to the Dominican company Miravistas, S.R.L as well as a generator.



Note that according to our sources, the participation of the two Dominican technicians and their equipment had been subcontracted by the Haitian film production company Muska Group.



According to unconfirmed information available from official sources, the kidnappers would demand $2 million for the release of the two residents.



In a brief statement, the Dominican Foreign Ministry wrote "[...] we are closely following the investigation carried out by the Haitian authorities concerning the kidnapping in Haiti of two Dominican nationals [...]" ensuring that the Dominican authorities do all their efforts for the safe return of his two hostages and their equipment.



SL/ HaitiLibre


















Parliament's debate on the Northern Ireland Protocol was a pale imitation of the oratory that prevailed the last time that unionists felt their constitutional future was in jeopardy.

Contributions by Zoom from offices and living-rooms just don't pack the same punch as those made by MPs in the bearpit of the Commons' chamber when the whites of ministerial eyes are just a few feet away.

The tone was set when the debate opened from the home of the petitions committee chair, Catherine McKinnell, with a delightful vase of pink and red roses sitting behind her.

In 1985, Ian Paisley called Margaret Thatcher a "Jezebel" over the Anglo-Irish Agreement. If any of the five DUP MPs who spoke on Monday thought the same of Boris Johnson they weren't saying so. It all felt rather flat. The DUP MPs articulated unionists' ideological opposition to the Irish Sea border, and the practical problems that it brought.

Sir Jeffrey Donaldson spoke of an 80-year-old pensioner in his constituency who had a birthday gift from her son in England opened and delayed.

"In this, the centenary year of Northern Ireland, we expect the government and Prime Minister to act to address and resolve these issues and to replace the protocol with arrangements that respect Northern Ireland's place within the UK," he said.

There are no signs that the protocol is about to be scrapped.

Minister of State for Northern Ireland, Robin Walker, insisted that problems could be resolved by its "sensible implementation".

The other Northern Ireland MPs who spoke - Colum Eastwood, Stephen Farry and Claire Hanna - laid the blame for the current difficulties (as they have done many times before) at Brexit's door. Those who had hoped to hear leading lights from the ERG - like Iain Duncan Smith, John Redwood, or Bill Cash - speak in the debate were doomed to disappointment, although we did get Mark Francois.

Regardless of the lack of spark, the e-petition debate is part of the DUP's efforts to keep the protocol prominent for the Westminster village audience.

The party is not sitting back and relying purely on the current legal challenge.

Later this week, the DUP will take its case to Washington when it conducts a virtual tour of Capitol Hill, talking to various congressional offices prominent in Irish-American politics.

It will be arguing that the consensus built post-Good Friday Agreement in Northern Ireland has been shattered by the protocol. The DUP is trying every political and legal avenue to end the Irish Sea border. But the mundaneness of its efforts on Monday was a far cry from the days when it waltzed in and out of Downing Street, and held Prime Ministers in the palm of its hand.
USC University Professor and AARP Chair in Gerontology Eileen Crimmins Credit: John Skalicky/USC

A trio of recent studies highlight the need to incorporate behavioral and social science alongside the study of biological mechanisms in order to slow aging.

The three papers, published in concert in Ageing Research Reviews, emphasized how behavioral and social factors are intrinsic to aging. This means they are causal drivers of biological aging. In fact, the influence of behavioral and social factors on how fast people age are large and meaningful. However, gerosciencethe study of how to slow biological aging to extend healthspan and longevityhas traditionally not incorporated behavioral or social science research. These papers are by three pioneers in aging research and members of the National Academy of Medicine who study different aspects of the intersection of biology and social factors in shaping healthy aging through the lifespan.

Improving translation of aging research from mice to humans

Exciting biological discoveries about rate of aging in non-human species are sometimes not applicable or lost when we apply them to humans. Including behavioral and social research can support translation of geroscience findings from animal models to benefit humans, said Terrie Moffitt, the Nannerl O. Keohane University Professor of Psychology and Neuroscience at Duke University.

"The move from slowing fundamental processes of aging in laboratory animals to slowing aging in humans will not be as simple as prescribing a pill and watching it work," Moffitt said. "Compared to aging in laboratory animals, human aging has many behavioral/social in addition to cellular origins and influences. These influences include potential intervention targets that are uniquely human, and therefore are not easily investigated in animal research."

Several of these human factors have big impacts on health and mortality: stress and early life adversity, psychiatric history, personality traits, intelligence, loneliness and social connection, and purpose in life are connected to a variety of late-life health outcomes, she explained. These important factors need to be taken into account to get a meaningful prediction of human biological aging.

"Geroscience can be augmented through collaboration with behavioral and social science to accomplish translation from animal models to humans, and improve the design of clinical trials of anti-aging therapies," Moffitt said. "It's vital that geroscience advances be delivered to everyone, not just the well-to-do, because individuals who experience low education, low incomes, adverse early-life experiences, and prejudice are the people who age fastest and die youngest."

Social factors associated with poor aging outcomes

"Social hallmarks of aging" can be strongly predictive of age-related health outcomesin many cases, even more so than biological factors, said USC University Professor and AARP Chair in Gerontology Eileen Crimmins. While the aging field commonly discusses the biological hallmarks of aging, we don't tend to include the social and behavioral factors that lead to premature aging. Crimmins has called the main five factors below "the Social Hallmarks of aging" and poses that these should not be ignored in any sample of humans and the concepts should be incorporated where possible into non-human studies.

Crimmins examined data that was collected in 2016 from the Health and Retirement Study, a large, nationally representative study of Americans over the age of 56 that incorporates both surveys regarding social factors and biological measurements, including a blood sample for genetic analysis. For the study, she focused the five social hallmarks for poor health outcomes:

low lifetime socioeconomic status, including lower levels of education adversity in childhood and adulthood, including trauma and other hardships being a member of a minority group adverse health behaviors, including smoking, obesity and problem drinking adverse psychological states, such as depression, negative psychological outlook and chronic stress

The presence of these five factors were strongly associated with older adults having difficulty with activities of daily living, experiencing problems with cognition, and multimorbidity (having five or more diseases). Even when controlling for biological measurementsincluding blood pressure, genetic risk factors, mitochondrial DNA copy number and morethe social differences, as well as demographic factors such as age and gender, explained most of the differences in aging outcomes between study subjects, she said. However, biological and social factors aren't completely independent from one another, Crimmins added, which is why she advocates for further incorporation of social and behavioral factors in aging biology research.

"Variability in human aging is strongly related to the social determinants of aging; and it remains so when extensive biology is introduced as mediating factors. This means that the social variability in the aging process is only partly explained by the biological measures researchers currently use," she said. "Our hypothesis is that if we could fully capture the basic biological mechanisms of aging, they would even more strongly explain the social variability in the process of aging, as social factors need to 'get under the skin' through biology."

Understanding stress and stress resilience

Elissa Epel, professor and vice chair in the Department of Psychiatry and Behavioral Sciences at UC San Francisco, detailed how research on stress and resilience needs to incorporate psychosocial factors in order to understand how different kinds of stress affect aging. Not all types of stress are equal and in fact some are salutary.

The social hallmarks of aging can shape the rate of aging in part through toxic stress responses, she said. While acute responses to minor or moderate stressors, including infection or injury, is critical to survival, chronic exposure to high amounts of stressincluding long-term psychological stressors such as abusecan prove toxic and result in poor health outcomes.

"Brief, intermittent, low-dose stressors can lead to positive biological responses, improving resistance to damage, which is called hormesis," Epel explained. For example, physiological hormetic stressors include short term exposure to cold, heat, exercise, or hypoxia. Hormetic stress turns on mechanisms of cell repair and rejuvenation. "In contrast, a high dose of a chronic exposure can override these mechanisms, resulting in damage or death," she added. Thus, toxic stress can accelerate biological aging processes, whereas hormetic stress can slow aging.

However, the types, timing, and frequency of hormetic stress need to be better delineated in order to be useful to human aging research and interventions, Epel said.

"Stress resilience, an umbrella term including hormetic stress, can be measured across cellular, physiological, and psychosocial functioning," she said. "Developing a deeper understanding of stress resilience will lead to more targeted innovative interventions." Stress resilience can also include social interventions that protect from the malleable social hallmarks of aging, including safe neighborhoods to reduce trauma and violence, and social support programs to combat loneliness and depression.

Geroscience is now more important than ever, both to our aging global demography but also to the health challenges we face going forward, and stress resilience is an especially important topic at the moment, Epel added. "In our new era, we have dramatically increasing temperature extremes, wildfires and small particle pollution, and new zoonotic viruses to contend with intermittently," she said. "Reducing social disparities, improving stress resilience and bolstering immune function have become critical public health goals."

In sum, the three papers together point to a promising decade ahead for aging research.

Humans, as complex social mammals, age together in response to social conditions and behavioral factors that are partly malleable. Epel explains "As we discover and test biological processes of aging that we can manipulate, we can do this in tandem with capitalizing on the natural levers of healthy aging that are powerful, interactive, and cannot be ignored. In this way, the fountain of youth becomes more attainable."

Explore further To better understand aging, look at both biological and social factors

More information: Eileen M. Crimmins, Social hallmarks of aging: Suggestions for geroscience research, Ageing Research Reviews (2020). Eileen M. Crimmins, Social hallmarks of aging: Suggestions for geroscience research,(2020). DOI: 10.1016/j.arr.2020.101136
Kim Brent / The Enterprise

Delays from Winter Storm Uri have continued the postponement of elective surgeries at Christus Southeast Texas Health System facilities until Tuesday.

The health system reported that it has made exceptions for several urgent cases at Christus Southeast Texas Jasper Memorial, but the full surgery schedule isnt likely to return until Tuesday.
Metro Manila (CNN Philippines, February 22)  President Rodrigo Duterte will not ease quarantine classifications until COVID-19 vaccines have been rolled out, according to a statement released Monday.

"President Rodrigo Roa Duterte gave his directive to the Cabinet that the Philippines would not be placed under Modified General Community Quarantine (MGCQ) unless there is a rollout of vaccines. The Chief Executive recognizes the importance of re-opening the economy and its impact on people's livelihoods. However, the President gives higher premium to public health and safety," said the statement from Presidential Spokesperson Harry Roque.

Roque also said Duterte wants vaccinations to "start the soonest possible time in order to ease the community quarantine."

READ: Expert urges vaccinating 'as early as possible and as many as possible'

Earlier, Senator Bong Go quoted the President as saying, "No vaccine roll out, no MGCQ muna (for now)."

He added that the President said easing restrictions was not in the best interest of the country, and that he was confident Filipinos and economic managers would understand the situation.

This development comes after Metro Manila mayors recommended a shift to the most relaxed MGCQ in March. The announcement of quarantine status for next month is also expected to be discussed by the President in his weekly address on Wednesday, February 24.

Last week, the National Economic Development Authority urged the President to place the entire country under the lowest form of community quarantine starting March 1, citing the country's need to recover from huge economic losses.

The President has also rejected the proposal to resume face-to-face classes.

In a televised briefing also on Monday, Roque said the President told him he didn't want to endanger learners and educators given that the national vaccination drive has not yet started. The order covers classes under the Education Department's jurisdiction, namely ones held in elementary and high schools, he added.

Roque also said Duterte is open to the conduct of a pilot of face-to-face classes in August, especially in areas with low numbers of COVID-19 cases.
Ankara is working with its allies in the breakaway Turkish Republic of Northern Cyprus to make a case for a two-state solution in the leadup to a UN-sponsored summit scheduled for early March on the divided Eastern Mediterranean island.

We will enter into a deal as the Turkish Republic of Northern Cyprus and not as the Turkish Cypriot community, Foreign Minister Tahsin Ertugruloglu told Al-Monitor in a telephone interview. The road to a settlement passes through the recognition that there are two separate states on the island of Cyprus.

The two-state solution has been heavily promoted since the election of Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdogan's ally Ersin Tatar as president of Northern Cyprus last year. The island is at the center of ongoing maritime disputes in the eastern Mediterranean Sea over exclusive economic zones and potential gas reserves.

Greece and Turkey are two guarantor powers of the island along with the United Kingdom under a constitution that granted Cyprus independence in 1960 from colonial rule by Britain. Athens has been on the front lines of Turkeys deteriorating relations with the West and the two NATO allies have engaged in heated sparring over maritime disputes.

Dimitris Katsoudas, a former Greek secretary general for European affairs who held a number of government positions under the ruling New Democracy Party, told Al-Monitor that Turkey is likely posturing with its demands for a completely separate state on Cyprus.

Turkey will defend the idea of a two-state solution in Cyprus not in order to achieve fully separate states but to achieve a northern Turkish state with a lot of ownership of its own that would be almost independent, he said.

Past settlement talks centered on two constituent states joined in a federation. This framework was the closest the island of 1.2 million people came to reunification in the form of the UN-backed Annan plan before the ascension of Cyprus into the EU. Turkish Cypriots voted overwhelmingly for the plan but 76% of Greek Cypriots rejected it.

Seventeen years later, the Annan plan is still hotly debated with both sides invoking it to challenge the others lack of good faith and designs to exploit their respective communities.

The Annan plan was really a chance to end the issue and that was rejected by the Greek Cypriots. Now there is no trust towards the UN-led initiative, said Murat Aslan, a former Turkish military intelligence professional who has held various roles in the Defense Ministry and General Staff.

Marios Evriviades, a professor of international relations and history at Neapolis University in Pafos, Cyprus, says a major reason the plan was rejected was that it didnt properly address the removal of Turkish troops from the island. The Turks want the military presence not for protection but so they can continue plundering the wealth of Cyprus. They wont allow normality to function.

A two-state solution goes against UN Security Council resolutions on Cyprus. Athens also rejects the idea of a new Turkish state.

Yet after years of failed talks and decades of living in de facto separation, the idea has more supporters than Erdogan and Tatar. Some even believe that Greek Cypriot President Nicos Anastasiadis himself favors two separate states.

Katsoudas tells Al-Monitor that as time progresses the Cyprus issue becomes more intractable. Realities on the island have drastically changed. At the beginning, Turkish Cypriots were the majority and they had a Cypriot identity. Now the vast majority of the inhabitants of the Turkish controlled northern Cyprus are from the hinterland of Anatolia.

The fading memory of a united Cyprus and the urge to go separate ways after years of frustration with the UN process give the two-state solution more traction. It is also what many people are familiar with from daily life.

Cyprus has been divided since 1974, when a failed coup attempted to unite the territory with Greece and Turkish troops invaded in the name of protecting the Turkish minority. Since then, the internationally recognized Republic of Cyprus and the Turkish republic, recognized only by Ankara, have been divided by the green line running across the island.

The two-state solution was realized after 1974. There are two different administrations. The parameter to assess its sufficiency is if there has been any conflict on the island since then, which there has not been, Aslan stated.

Evriviades agrees a two-state solution would in some ways mean institutionalizing the status quo, warning Greek Cypriots must lobby Western capitals against it.

When the Turks talk about two states they talk about a state in the north which they control and a state in the south that is there satrapy, he said.

If youre not going to give me security Im not signing any piece of paperwork that gives up the legitimacy of the Cypriot state. The legitimacy of Cyprus is the only real power the Cypriots have, Evrividades added.

Those in the north bristle at this suggestion and believe that two state is the only way forward after years of international isolation. If you want a settlement you must accept the realities of the island. There is no legitimate Republic of Cyprus, Ertugruloglu told Al-Monitor.

Against this backdrop, analysts say its difficult to imagine progress being made during next months talks. But Erdogan may feel he has time on his side. The longer the issue goes unresolved the more all Cypriots grow used to the divided island.

Another reason Erdogan is leaning on the Cyprus issue is the chance it offers him to consolidate gains in the eastern Mediterranean even as he reaches out to the West. Recent talk from Ankara of willingness to cooperate over the S-400 missiles and signals that it is looking for a reset with the EU will face pushback among nationalist voices in Turkey. Advancing the cause of Northern Cyprus would garner support in those quarters and provide cover for cooperation in other areas.

Western powers appear less willing to confront Turkey in Cyprus. Erdogan didnt invent the Cyprus issue and Turkish troops have been stationed on the island since 1974. As opposed to an imperial foray in the deserts of Libya, Ankaras concern for Cyprus is tied to the roughly 300,000 Turkish people living in the north.

We have never shied away from expressing that the Cyprus question is a national matter for the Turkish nation. The future for Turkish Cypriots is a road we will embark upon with our motherland Turkey, Ertugruloglu told Al-Monitor.

If leaders in Brussels and Washington are looking for an area to compromise with Ankara it may be in Cyprus. Many still regret that the Annan plan was voted down and consider it a lost opportunity to resolve the issue.

Whether there is a two-state solution or not, Turkey may have the wind at its back in Cyprus.


The full state Senate approved legislation on Monday giving Tennessees governor the authority to issue an executive order requiring all schools to offer in-person learning. Sponsors said SB 103, sponsored by Senate Education Committee Chairman Brian Kelsey (R-Germantown), "follows an outcry by students and parents in Shelby County Schools to reopen schools after almost a year of being closed to in-person instruction."

Senator Kelsey said, This is a victory for students and parents as every Tennessee family deserves the choice of in-person learning. Allowing students to return to the classroom is long overdue as we have many students, especially low-income students, who are struggling this year and falling behind their peers. No one is saying that the governor should force students back into an atmosphere which they feel is unsafe. For those parents who want their children back into school, lets follow the science, and the science says its safe.

He said Shelby County "was the last county in Tennessee to announce plans to reopen even though the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC), National Institute of Allergy and Infectious Diseases, and American Academy of Pediatrics had recommended students return to classroom instruction."

The announcement that Shelby County schools would reopen was made only two days after the Kelsey bill was overwhelmingly approved by the Senate Education Committee, he stated.

Also, the bill grants school boards more independence regarding whether their schools should be open or closed to in-person learning during a public emergency, unless the governor has issued a statewide order. School boards can delegate the authority to the director of schools under an amendment added to the legislation.

The legislation also comes after Collierville Schools released a reopening plan for the fall of 2020 based on recommendations from the American Academy of Pediatrics that was not supported by the Shelby County Health Department.

Mandated directives should only come from elected leaders who are accountable to the people they serve, said Senator Kelsey. I am very pleased that the Senate has approved this legislation and look forward to seeing it passed by House and enacted into law.

The bill, which is sponsored by Rep. Kevin Vaughan (R-Collierville), now moves to the House of Representatives for consideration.

Former prime minister Kevin Rudd has denied he was physically restrained from punching the Chinese negotiator during heated climate change talks in Copenhagen a decade ago.

His former British counterpart, Gordon Brown, who sat alongside Mr Rudd and other world leaders during the failed 2009 United Nations Climate Change Conference negotiations, made the allegation in left-wing British newspaper The Guardian.

Former Australian prime minister Kevin Rudd says Gordon Browns account of the climate talks is an urban myth. Credit:WPA Pool

In a review of a new book, How To Avoid A Climate Disaster by software developer and philanthropist Bill Gates, Mr Brown said the talks ultimately failed because of both the reluctance of the United States to make legally binding commitments and a deep suspicion from China, India and other emerging economies of any obligations they believed might threaten their development.

So determined were they to avoid binding commitments that they rejected Europes offer to unilaterally bind itself to a 50 per cent cut in its emissions, Mr Brown wrote.
'Cutting turf, saving it and using it to heat your home is part of the cultural heritage of rural Ireland'

Independent TD Michael Fitzmaurice has warned Climate and Environment Minister Eamon Ryan not to needlessly stir up tensions by interfering with turf cutting.

The chairman of the Turf Cutter and Contractors Association was speaking in response to the ministers announcement of a public consultation process on a national ban on smoky coal and potential regulations on the use of wood, turf and peat briquettes for home heating.

The Roscommon-Galway representative told the Farming Independent that he welcomes clarification from the minister that domestic turf cutting can continue on privately-owned bogs; and is supportive of the ministers proposal to introduce "moisture content limits" on solid fuels.

However, he remains "totally opposed" to the importation of peat briquettes into Ireland. Earlier this month this publication revealed that fuel merchants and suppliers are being forced to source peat and coal briquettes from Estonia, Scandinavia, Lithuania and Germany as supplies of Bord na Mona briquettes have tightened since the company announced its peat production exit.

Deputy Fiztmaurice said: People have fought for their right to cut their own turf, to burn in their own fire in their own home  and they will not give this up, as I have previously outlined to the minister.

We recognise that there is an issue with wet timber being burned in some parts of the country, but anybody with common sense will know that if you burn wet fuel it will not provide significant heat and will cause problems with the flu liners in a chimney.

So in that respect, I agree with bringing the moisture content of timber to 20pc - in line with the UK.

However, one thing I do not agree with is Ireland importing briquettes from abroad when we are able to produce the best briquettes in the world. Quality peat is at our fingertips, and a lot of the imports are substandard.

The farmer, turf cutter and contractor said he would be hugely interested in seeing a comparison completed between Irish peat briquettes and counterparts from abroad  particularly when it comes to heat performance, composition, smoke content, carbon footprint and value for money.

It doesnt make sense to import briquettes from abroad, particularly when you take the carbon footprint into account for transporting them here alone, he said.

Continuing the deputy said he has asked Minister Ryan to clarify a number of things regarding the consultation  most specifically in relation to potential restrictions on the sale and marketing of sod turf.

"I have asked for clarity regarding the exact scenarios referred to by this wording.

Cutting turf, saving it and using it to heat your home is part of the cultural heritage of rural Ireland.

I cannot imagine that Fianna Fail and Fine Gael want to be part of a Government that stops an elderly man or woman from cutting turf to heat their home.

I must also welcome the fact that some Government TDs did come out in opposition to this, but time will tell.

Let no one be fooled, we will hear plenty about retrofitting homes in the media and the spin doctors will be out. But the reality is that there are pensioners who are unable to get the fuel allowance due to being over the means test.

The same will become apparent when it comes to these retrofitting schemes. If a pensioner living alone earns more than 350 per week, will they be cut off from these schemes?

The next generation has already turned to technologies such as air to water systems to heat their homes. So the minister would be mindful not to needlessly stir up tensions by interfering with turf cutting in any way, the deputy concluded.
Investment Industry Regulatory Organization of Canada President and CEO Andrew Kriegler is interviewed in Victoria, B.C., on April 27, 2018. Canadian securities regulators say they will publish specific recommendations this summer after gathering feedback about whether the regulatory bodies for investment dealers and mutual fund dealers should be restructured or merged. Canadian Securities Administrators says it will soon release a long-anticipated paper outlining its position on the future of the Investment Industry Regulatory Organization of Canada and Mutual Fund Dealers Association of Canada. IIROC chief executive Andrew Kriegler says the organization looking forward to the specific recommendations promised by the CSA. THE CANADIAN PRESS/Chad Hipolito
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The Peoples Democratic Party (PDP) has said President Muhammadu Buhari does not deserve the title of the commander-In-chief of armed forces because of his failure to tackle the prevailing security challenges in the country.

It said Mr Buharis failure to effectively lead from the fronts against bandits and terrorists ravaging our nation and recent comments from two of his appointees clearly underscored the presidents capacity.

The main opposition party stated this in a statement by its spokesperson, Kola Ologbondiyan, on Sunday.

The immediate past Chief of Army Staff, Tukur Buratai, said last week that Nigeria may wallow in insecurity for another 20 years if under-development continues in many communities.

The military alone cannot solve this. There should be hospitals, schools, roads and government presence in these communities. There are so many ungovernable spaces and until these spaces have government presence, it will not be resolved, Mr Buaratai told the Senate Committee on Foreign Affairs screening him for an ambassadorial position.

Earlier, the Minister of Defence, Bashir Magashi, attracted criticism for urging Nigerians not to be cowards and confront armed bandits.

I dont know why people are running from minor things like that. They should stand and let these people know that even the villagers have the competency and capabilities to defend themselves, he said.

Shocking

The PDP said such comments exposed the lack of determination on the part of the Buhari administration to fight insurgents and bandits and therefore emboldens them to unleash terror on Nigerians.

Such tendencies against Nigerians exposes the lack of determination by the Buhari administration to fight insurgents which, in turn, emboldens the outlaws who had earlier been pushed to the fringes under the PDP administration, to resurge to unleash terror on our compatriots, it said.

Nigerians have not forgotten the embarrassing situation where it took Chadian President Idris Derby to personally lead his troops into our territories to rout out insurgents and free Nigerian communities, as well as our soldiers, held captive by terrorists, while our President recedes into the comfort and safety of the inner recesses of the Aso Presidential villa.

Indeed, a Commander-in-Chief that cannot lead from the fronts, as President Buhari promised to, and who blames everyone but himself for his own failures, leaves much to be desired.
A migrant may have accidentally drowned when trying to reunite with his brother who was detained crossing the Channel by small boat on the same day, an inquest heard.

Sudanese national Omar Ezeldin Ali, 24, was attempting to claim asylum in the UK when he was seen walking into the sea fully clothed at Dover Harbour, Kent on August 20 last year.

Concerned members of the public threw buoyancy aids in after seeing him shout for help before disappearing under the crashing waves.

A huge search and rescue operation was launched just before 1pm with the aid of a coastguard helicopter to no avail.

Sudanese migrant Omar Ezeldin Ali, 24, drowned at Dover in bid to reunite with his brother Sami Ezeldin Ali, who was detained while crossing Channel earlier that day, an inquest heard on Monday. Pictured: Stock image of migrants crossing the English Channel

But a teenager spotted a body floating at around 5.45pm and dragged lifeless Omar to shore where he was pronounced dead.

The inquest heard his brother Sami Ezeldin Ali, who attended the inquest virtually with a support worker from Wales, was detained in the Channel the same day for entering the UK illegally in a rigid hulled inflatable boat.

Detective Sergeant Darren Manktelow, of Kent Police, told the inquest that Sami had said Omar, who had been living in the UK for four years, 'was not a good swimmer'.

He said in evidence: 'It seems likely Omar attended the area with the view to meeting his brother.

'There was nothing to indicate why he had come to Dover or why he was in the sea.'

He added: 'When I discovered his brother had come to Dover that same day, it's a possibility that it was a way for him to get back in contact with his brother if he went into the sea and came out of the sea that he might get picked up and also taken in by immigration.'

Omar was attempting to claim asylum in the UK when he was seen walking into the sea fully clothed at Dover Harbour, Kent on August 20 last year. His body was pulled from the water a short time later

More than 50 migrants are detained by Border Force after being picked up in English Channel on five small boats as number making crossing this year rises to above 300 Around 50 migrants arrived in Britain overnight after crossing the Channel More than 50 migrants have been detained in the Channel today in what is expected to be the busiest day of crossings of the month so far. Their arrival brings the total number of migrants who have risked their life to cross the Channel to Britain this year to more than 300. At least five small boats made the treacherous journey for the first time in a fortnight after being put off by dangerous conditions at sea caused by Storm Darcy. A lull in bad weather and warmer temperatures saw the boats make the crossings through the night. Boats began arriving from midnight onwards, with dozens making the crossing in the dark. The migrants were reportedly escorted across the Channel by French authorities and handed to the UK Border Force half way across the busy waterway. Advertisement

A wallet was found in the sea with Omar's immigration card inside and a black rucksack abandoned on the beach contained clothing, an old diary and paperwork also in his name.

One member of the public, who saw shoeless Omar struggling underwater, entered the sea himself to attempt rescue but found the waves too high.

Tyler Kinnett, 17, was listening to music with friends on the beach at Dover Promenade when he spotted Omar's body in a white T shirt and trousers and pulled it to shore.

Coroner Katrina Hepburn recorded a verdict of misadventure at the inquest held at County Hall in Maidstone, Kent today.

She concluded: 'I find it likely that he has come into difficulty in the water and sadly drowned.

'But why did he enter the water? It's difficult for me to say. There is not sufficient evidence to make a clear determination.

'There is insufficient evidence before me that he entered to take his own life when he went into the water.

'It is possible that he entered the water so that he could come back and be picked up as a new asylum seeker so he could be reunited with his brother who was picked up on the same day.'

Dr Abdul Kadir found Omar died of drowning during a post-mortem examination.

He had been living at Clearsprings operated accommodation in Cardiff, Wales for more than four years after arriving illegally in the UK in the back of a lorry in June 2016, according to a Home Office letter read during the inquest.

But Omar was referred to safeguarding teams due to his deteriorating mental health and was even sectioned for four months.

When he was released in April 2019, he told Dr Emma Morgan he felt good and had no concerns to raise.

She said in a statement: 'He had been optimistic about his asylum application and thought it would be successful.'

But he had two asylum applications turned down in 2019.

Coroner Katrina Hepburn recorded a verdict of misadventure at the inquest held at County Hall in Maidstone, Kent (pictured, stock image) today

Omar was rushed to hospital in July last year after stabbing himself three times with a kitchen knife.

He then absconded from the temporary housing block for asylum seekers on August 14 never to return.

A record 8,410 migrants made the dangerous journey across the Channel last year.
[February 22, 2021] ClaimFound's Unclaimed Property MAPS Goes Live in Maine

GAINESVILLE, Fla., Feb. 22, 2021 /PRNewswire/ -- In an effort to help return more unclaimed property to their constituents, ClaimFound announces the Maine State Treasury launched MAPS (Mapping Abandoned Property Searches). This technology allows visitors of a state's unclaimed property website a new way to visually search for their lost money. The technology enables any constituent visiting an unclaimed property department's website to visually "search" for their property via geographic pins on an interactive state map. Similar to a Google Maps view, visitors can search for the various places they have lived and worked to see if there is unclaimed property listed at those addresses. Having first built and tested MAPS with Florida data on ClaimFound's website, Maine is the first state to partner with ClaimFound and launch its mapping product on its own unclaimed property website. "laimFound has built a terrific tool and it is deeply resonating with our constituents. We've already seen increased engagement with the public searching for their unclaimed money and believe it will help significantly increase the amount of returned money in the coming months," says Maine State Treasurer Henry Beck.



MAPS enhances search speed and usability by converting millions of property owner data points into a seamless map overlay. Traditionally, individuals are required to sort through database tables, which can be quite cumbersome for individuals with common names like John Smith who must sort through thousands of claims. MAPS, a novel and patent pending technology, permits the interactive visualization of state owner databases without the fear of crashing or lag. "The states' owner reunification efforts are a core mission for their unclaimed property programs. ClaimFound is pleased that its MAPS technology has been launched in Maine as an enhancement to this core mission, and we look forward to launching MAPS in additional states", said Chris Prompovitch, CEO of ClaimFound.

About ClaimFound

ClaimFound is a financial technology company that develops software to automate financial processes and link people with financial opportunities they would not have knowledge of or access to otherwise. ClaimFound is headquartered in Gainesville, Florida, and has a mission to improve the financial well-being of everyday Americans by putting actual money in their pockets. Visit www.claimfound.com for more information. For more information, contact:

Christoffer Prompovitch

Co-Founder & CEO

Christoffer@claimfound.com

202-480-5517 View original content:http://www.prnewswire.com/news-releases/claimfounds-unclaimed-property-maps-goes-live-in-maine-301231844.html SOURCE ClaimFound

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At least one police officer was killed and 15 people wounded after an explosion rocked a crowded road in Lashkar Gah, capital of Afghanistan's southern province of Helmand on Sunday, a provincial government spokesman confirmed.

"The blast occurred in Police District 1 of the city roughly at 10:15 a.m. local time. The initial information stated that the blast was caused by an Improvised Explosive Device (IED) attached to a motorcycle parked at the area," spokesman Omar Zwak told Xinhua.

Among the wounded people, who were shifted to a war victim's emergency hospital in the city, were one woman and two children, the official said.

The blast reportedly targeted a police van driving along the road in the area where several shops and vehicles were also damaged.

No group has claimed responsibility for the attack so far. Helmand province, notorious for poppy growing, is a known Taliban stronghold.

More than 31,000 civilians have died and about 62,000 have been injured as a result of armed conflict in Afghanistan since January 2009, according to figures of the Afghan Independent Human Rights Commission (AIHRC).
DUBLIN, Feb. 22, 2021 /PRNewswire/ -- The "Livestock Monitoring Market Share, Size, Trends, Industry Analysis Report, By Animal Type; By Component; By Application; By Regions; Segment Forecast, 2020-2027" report has been added to ResearchAndMarkets.com's offering.

The global livestock monitoring market expected to reach USD 10.93 billion by 2027.



The global livestock monitoring market is driven by the growing need to increase farm productivity, innovations in cattle feed rich in protein, reducing supply chain hiccups, and technological advancements in real-time cattle monitoring. Technology providers attempt to reduce the time-consuming task of cattle monitoring with automated systems at reasonable subscription-based charges. Corporatization of cattle farms across the developed economies also favoring the adoption of such services.



The global livestock monitoring market is fragmented based on animal type, component, application, and region. In terms of animal type, the market is segmented into cattle, poultry, swine, equine, and others. The component segment is further divided into hardware, software, and services. The application segment is further divided into milk harvesting, breeding management, feeding management, animal health monitoring & comfort, heat stress, behavior monitoring, and others.



Segment Highlights

The cattle market segment accounted for the largest revenue share in 2019 owing to the presence of a high proportion of cattle producers in the form of meat and milk. The segment held over 45% of the market share.

Based on application, the feeding management segment is projected to constitute most of the market in 2027. Innovations in cattle feed to increase productivity, and the emergence of well-maintained cattle farms are primarily responsible for such growth.

North American region is dominating the global livestock monitoring market, holding almost one-third of the market share throughout the forecast period. This high share is due to positive intention to increase farm productivity, rise in per capita consumption, and cost reductions in service offerings with continuously rising competitive rivalry.

The players including Lely International N.V, GEA Farm Technologies, BouMatic, LLC together held a significant market share of the global market in the year 2019.

Key Topics Covered:



1. Introduction

1.1. Report Description

1.1.1. Objectives of the Study

1.1.2. Market Scope

1.1.3. Assumptions

1.2. Stakeholders



2. Executive Summary

2.1. Market Highlights



3. Research Methodology

3.1. Overview

3.1.1. Data Mining

3.2. Data Sources

3.2.1. Primary Sources

3.2.2. Secondary Sources



4. Livestock Monitoring Market Insights

4.1. Livestock Monitoring - Industry snapshot

4.2. Livestock Monitoring Market Dynamics

4.2.1. Drivers and Opportunities

4.2.1.1. Rising demand for cattle monitoring

4.2.1.2. Rise in demand for animal products

4.2.2. Restraints and Challenges

4.2.2.1. Disease outbreak or viral infection related to livestock

4.3. Porter's Five Forces Analysis

4.3.1. Bargaining Power of Suppliers (Moderate)

4.3.2. Threats of New Entrants: (Low)

4.3.3. Bargaining Power of Buyers (Moderate)

4.3.4. Threat of Substitute (Moderate)

4.3.5. Rivalry among existing firms (High)

4.4. PESTLE Analysis

4.5. Livestock Monitoring Market Industry trends



5. Livestock Monitoring Market Assessment by Animal Type

5.1. Key Findings

5.2. Introduction

5.2.1. Global Livestock Monitoring Market, By Animal Type, 2016-2027 (USD Million)

5.3. Cattle

5.3.1. Global Livestock Monitoring Market, by Cattle, by Region, 2016-2027 (USD Million)

5.4. Poultry

5.4.1. Global Livestock Monitoring Market, by Poultry, by Region, 2016-2027 (USD Million)

5.5. Swine

5.5.1. Global Livestock Monitoring Market, by Swine, by Region, 2016-2027 (USD Million)

5.6. Equine

5.6.1. Global Livestock Monitoring Market, by Equine, by Region, 2016-2027 (USD Million)

5.7. Others

5.7.1. Global Livestock Monitoring Market, by Other Animal Types, by Region, 2016-2027 (USD Million)



6. Livestock Monitoring Market Assessment by Component

6.1. Key Findings

6.2. Introduction

6.2.1. Global Livestock Monitoring Market, By Component, 2016-2027 (USD Million)

6.3. Hardware

6.3.1. Global Livestock Monitoring Market, by Hardware, by Region, 2016-2027 (USD Million)

6.3.2. Sensors

6.3.2.1. Global Livestock Monitoring Market, by Sensors, by Region, 2016-2027 (USD Million)

6.3.3. GPS

6.3.3.1. Global Livestock Monitoring Market, by GPS, by Region, 2016-2027 (USD Million)

6.3.4. Others

6.3.4.1. Global Livestock Monitoring Market, by Other Hardware, by Region, 2016-2027 (USD Million)

6.4. Software

6.4.1. Global Livestock Monitoring Market, by Software, by Region, 2016-2027 (USD Million)

6.4.2. On-cloud

6.4.2.1. Global Livestock Monitoring Market, by On-cloud, by Region, 2016-2027 (USD Million)

6.4.3. On-premise

6.4.3.1. Global Livestock Monitoring Market, by On-premise, by Region, 2016-2027 (USD Million)

6.5. Services

6.5.1. Global Livestock Monitoring Market, by Services, by Region, 2016-2027 (USD Million)

6.5.2. Integration & Development

6.5.2.1. Global Livestock Monitoring Market, by Integration & Development, by Region, 2016-2027 (USD Million)

6.5.3. Maintenance & Support

6.5.3.1. Global Livestock Monitoring Market, by Maintenance & Support, by Region, 2016-2027 (USD Million)

6.5.4. Others

6.5.4.1. Global Livestock Monitoring Market, by Other Services, by Region, 2016-2027 (USD Million)



7. Global Livestock Monitoring Market, by Application

7.1. Key Findings

7.2. Introduction

7.2.1. Global Livestock Monitoring Market, By Application, 2016-2027 (USD Million)

7.3. Milk Harvesting

7.3.1. Global Livestock Monitoring Market, by Milk Harvesting, By Region, 2016-2027 (USD Million)

7.4. Breeding Management

7.4.1. Global Livestock Monitoring Market, by Breeding Management, by Region, 2016-2027 (USD Million)

7.5. Feeding Management

7.5.1. Global Livestock Monitoring Market, by Feeding Management, by Region, 2016-2027 (USD Million)

7.6. Animal Health Monitoring & Comfort

7.6.1. Global Livestock Monitoring Market, by Animal Health Monitoring & Comfort, by Region, 2016-2027 (USD Million)

7.7. Heat Stress

7.7.1. Global Livestock Monitoring Market, by Heat Stress, by Region, 2016-2027 (USD Million)

7.8. Behavior Monitoring

7.8.1. Global Livestock Monitoring Market, by Behavior Monitoring, by Region, 2016-2027 (USD Million)

7.9. Others

7.9.1. Global Livestock Monitoring Market, by Other Applications, by Region, 2016-2027 (USD Million)



8. Livestock Monitoring Market Assessment by Geography

8.1. Key findings

8.2. Introduction

8.3. Livestock Monitoring Market - North America

8.4. Livestock Monitoring Market - Europe

8.5. Livestock Monitoring Market - Asia-Pacific

8.6. Livestock Monitoring Market - Middle East & Africa

8.7. Livestock Monitoring Market - Latin America



9. Competitive Landscape

9.1. Expansion and Acquisition Analysis

9.1.1. Expansion

9.1.2. Acquisition

9.2. Partnerships/Collaborations/Agreements/Exhibitions



10. Company Profiles

10.1. DeLaval Inc.

10.1.1. Company Overview

10.1.2. Financial Performance

10.1.3. Product Benchmarking

10.1.4. Recent Developments

10.2. GEA Group Aktiengesellschaft

10.2.1. Company Overview

10.2.2. Financial Performance

10.2.3. Product Benchmarking

10.2.4. Recent Developments

10.3. Afimilk Ltd.

10.3.1. Company Overview

10.3.2. Financial Performance

10.3.3. Product Benchmarking

10.3.4. Recent Developments

10.4. Sensaphone

10.4.1. Company Overview

10.4.2. Financial Performance

10.4.3. Product Benchmarking

10.4.4. Recent Developments

10.5. BouMatic

10.5.1. Company Overview

10.5.2. Financial Performance

10.5.3. Product Benchmarking

10.5.4. Recent Developments

10.6. MSD Animal Health

10.6.1. Company Overview

10.6.2. Financial Performance

10.6.3. Product Benchmarking

10.6.4. Recent Developments

10.7. Dairymaster

10.7.1. Company Overview

10.7.2. Financial Performance

10.7.3. Product Benchmarking

10.7.4. Recent Developments

10.8. Fancom BV

10.8.1. Company Overview

10.8.2. Financial Performance

10.8.3. Product Benchmarking

10.8.4. Recent Developments

10.9. Fullwood Packo

10.9.1. Company Overview

10.9.2. Financial Performance

10.9.3. Animal Types/Product Benchmarking

10.9.4. Recent Developments



For more information about this report visit https://www.researchandmarkets.com/r/xa4e6u



Media Contact:

Research and Markets

Laura Wood, Senior Manager

[email protected]



For E.S.T Office Hours Call +1-917-300-0470

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U.S. Fax: 646-607-1904

Fax (outside U.S.): +353-1-481-1716

SOURCE Research and Markets

Related Links

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National Conference (NC) president and former CM Farooq Abdullah on Sunday urged for dialogue with Pakistan to end terrorism in the Union Territory of Jammu and Kashmir, saying friendship holds the key to development in the region. He stated that terrorism is still prevalent in the region contrary to the BJPs claim that they have finished it. "If we want to finish it (terrorism), we have to talk with our neighbour," Abdullah said, echoing his political opponent-turned-ally Mehbooba Mufti.

'Speak to Pakistan': Farooq Abdullah

Talking to media during a visit to a market in Jammu, the former CM of the erstwhile state remembered former Prime Minister Vajpayee's words "you can change your friends but not your neighbours" and said either we grow friendship and prosper or continue the enmity, then there will be no prosperity.

He was responding to a question about the terrorist attack on police in Bhagat locality of Srinagar on February 19, which left two policemen dead. "This is the reality of the day. I appeal to the government to adopt the same approach as they had with China over the standoff in Ladakh and started the withdrawal of its troops. The same is needed here to pull out J&K from this (terrorism)," he said.

In the wake of the recent spurt in terrorist attacks in Srinagar, Inspector General of Police, Kashmir, Vijay Kumar on Saturday called for enhancing surveillance of all vital establishments and strengthening the security grid to thwart attempts of anti-national elements to disturb peace in the city.

READ | Kamal Nath has close-shave at Indore hospital as lift plunges 12 feet; probe ordered

READ | India-China affirm 'completion of disengagement', commit to resolve other concerns at LAC

Asked about his party boycotting the delimitation commission meeting, Abdullah said, "We have already said that what they have done on August 5 (2019) we have not accepted it. When we have not accepted that, how could we accept delimitation commission for J&K?"

"I myself (as Chief Minister) delayed the delimitation exercise because the delimitation was scheduled to take place in the country in 2026. What was the reason for carrying out the delimitation at this time? Why not they go for the exercise in the entire country instead of picking up only a few states? That is our issue," he said, He added had they done it across the country, National Conference would have gladly joined the exercise but they have picked up J&K deliberately, therefore, "we are not with it."

READ | UP CM Yogi claims 'Love jihad a conspiracy to make Kerala an Islamic state' at Kasargod

READ | TMC MP Abhishek Banerjee says 'won't be cowed down' after CBI summons his wife

(With agency inputs)
Malaysian online news portal Malaysiakini was found guilty of contempt of court and fined RM500,000 (USD 120,000) on February 19 in an unprecedented contempt of court decision handed down in Kuala Lumpur. The International Federation of Journalists (IFJ) joins its Malaysian affiliate the National Union of Journalists Peninsula Malay (NUJM) in condemning the verdict as a blow to the new media landscape, journalists and media owners in Malaysia.

The case relates to third-party comments by Malaysiakini readers on a story published in June 2020, which were alleged to have insulted the judiciary. The February 19 verdict found the online news publisher guilty under Section 114A of the Evidence Act (Amendment) (No.2) 2012, while its editor-in-chief Steven Gan was acquitted.

Malaysiakini was initially alerted by the police of five contemptuous comments left by readers in the comments section of a news article on thejudiciarys decision to reopen its courts. In line with international journalism practice, the comments were immediately taken down by the news publisher. Despite this, MalaysiasAttorney General initiated contempt of court proceedings against the site and its editor-in-chief the same month.

The final judgement found Malaysiakini to liable for the comments and therefore presumes Malaysiakini as the publisher of the comments in question.

Following the courts decision, Gan described the verdict as having a tremendous chilling impact on discussions of issues of public interest in Malayasia. It (the verdict) delivers a body blow to our continual campaign to fight corruption, among others, Gan said. I think the decision made against us and the hefty fine that has been put against us is perhaps an attempt to not only punish us but shut us down. I am terribly disappointed. What crime has Malaysiakini committed that we are forced to pay RM500,000 (USD 120,000) when there are individuals charged with abuse of power for millions and billions who are walking free?"

The Attorney-General earlier sought for the fine to be RM200,000 (USD 48,000), while Malaysiakinis legal team had sought a maximum RM30,000 (USD 7,200) fine.

In response to the verdict and hefty fine, Malaysiakini launched an online fundraising campaign on their website in order to raise revenue to pay the fine ahead of the three-day window required for payment. The funds were raised through a massive public response that saw the target reached within six hours.

The NUJM described it as a sad day for Malaysias press freedom. The IFJ is one of a number of media rights organisations that have closely followed the legal proceedings, with Malaysian lawyer New Sin Yew acting as the IFJs independent legal observer.

Media freedom groups in the country have repeatedly raised concerns on the overreach of Section 114A of the Evidence Act. The Centre for Independent Journalism (CIJ), said the law makes individuals and those who administer, operate or provide spaces for online community forums, blogging and hosting services, liable for content published through its services.

The NUJM said: Not only will the decision have a tremendous impact on discussions of issues of public interest but it will also deliver a blow to the new media landscape, journalists and media owners. It will also have a major impact on discussions of issues of public interest, bring about more avenues for media censorship and delivers a distasteful impact on the medias continual campaign to fight corruption.

The NUJM and IFJ said critical views were a sign of a strong and healthy institution. Yet the imposition and overreach of the law could drive the removal of online comments, thus further restricting the publics right to engage in critical debate.

The IFJ said: The Malaysian Federal Court decision is a clear attack on journalism in Malaysia. The efforts of both Malaysiakini and Steven Gan in both strengthening and furthering modern journalism are respected both regionally and globally in giving Malaysians access to credible news journalism through a politically dark period for the country. Todays decision sets a dangerous precedent for both the freedom of press and the freedom of speech and concerningly signals a sad return to a more authoritarian state.
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Zelensky shares plans to build new airport in Donbas in 2021

Experts are already looking for an appropriate site to implement the project.

Reporting by UNIAN

If you see a spelling error on our site, select it and press Ctrl+Enter
UP eases covid restrictions: Shops allowed to open on weekdays in districts with less than 600 active cases

In UP, woman accuses husband of beating, inserting iron rod in her private parts; police denies charge

India

oi-Madhuri Adnal

Kaushambi (UP), Feb 22: A woman here has accused her husband of beating her and inserting an iron rod in her private parts, police said on Monday.

However, Superintendent of Police Abhinandan said the woman's allegation that her husband harmed her sensitive organs was not found true.

Watch: Chaat vendors clash over customers in Uttar Pradesh's Baghpat

The woman's father filed a complaint with the police alleging that his daughter was beaten up by her husband who also inserted an iron rod in her private parts. He also alleged that his son-in-law, Sailesh Kumar, a labourer, dumped his daughter outside the village when she was in an unconscious state, according to police.

"This is a matter of dispute between the husband and the wife. During probe, inserting of iron rod in private parts has not come to the fore. We are probing the matter. The couple was married over 20 years ago," Abhinandan said.

He said an FIR has been registered against the woman's husband, brother-in-law, and father-in-law on dowry and other charges.

A detailed probe in the case is underway, he said.

The woman is undergoing treatment at a hospital, police said.

For Breaking News and Instant Updates Allow Notifications

Story first published: Tuesday, February 23, 2021, 0:03 [IST]
Leslie Hossfeld, PhD

Dean

College of Behavioral, Social and Health Sciences

116 Edwards Hall

P 864-656-7640

lhossfe@clemson.edu

Dr. Leslie Hossfeld joined Clemson University as Dean of the College of Behavioral, Social, and Health Science (CBSHS) in July 2018 after serving as Head of the Department of Sociology, Social Work and Criminology at Mississippi State University.

Dean Hossfeld serves as the chief academic, fiscal and administrative officer for the college that has over 4,000 students, over 200 faculty, and 100 staff. CBSHS has 7 schools and departments, 9 centers and institutes comprising the disciplines of communication; parks, recreation tourism management; political science; psychology; sociology, anthropology and criminal justice; and nursing, with 15 bachelors programs and 12 concentrations, 9 masters programs and 8 doctoral programs. The college has over $10 million in research grant and contract expenditures.

Dean Hossfeld has worked to advance the Building Healthy Communities program that brings together seven disciplines to address critical need in the 46 counties of South Carolina through research, teaching, and service. Dean Hossfeld and the CBSHS Leadership Team is committed to working in and with South Carolina communities, through the collective mission and strategic efforts that contribute to Clemsons land-grant mission, strategic vision, and global impact  with the goal of making a tangible difference in the lives of people and communities.

Prior to joining Clemson, Dean Hossfeld was Professor and Head of the department of Sociology, Criminology, and Social Work at Mississippi State University (MSU). As head of department, she grew the teaching, research and service capacity by adding faculty expertise in rural sociology and strengthening partnerships with key state and university research institutes, increasing research productivity by 47%. She led the department in interdisciplinary research focused on improving the lives of rural Mississippians through the land grant mission. Dr. Hossfeld assembled scholarly community engagement projects and efforts around food security, working closely with community organizations in the Mississippi Delta on health disparities, food access, and food sovereignty initiatives. While at MSU Dr. Hossfeld served as founding director of the Mississippi Food Insecurity Project that examines and documents food insecurity and food access in Mississippi. She was appointed to the MSU-University of Mississippi Medical Center Myrlie Evers-Williams Institute for the Elimination of Health Disparities serving as Associate Director of Food Systems/Food Security/Food Access and Economic Development. She was also named research fellow at the Mississippi State University Social Science Research Center.

Before joining Mississippi State University, Dean Hossfeld served as Professor and Chair of the department of Sociology and Criminology at the University of North Carolina Wilmington. There she founded the Public Sociology Program that included the development of the Public Sociology bachelors and masters program focused on scholarly community engagement, the first of its kind in the United States. With deep ties to southeastern North Carolina, Dr. Hossfeld led several large-scale research initiatives that included founding the Southeastern North Carolina Food Systems program to develop a 6-county rural economic development food systems program focused on strengthening farm businesses of socially disadvantaged farmers; this included the development of a USDA designated Food Hub in partnership with the Town of Burgaw, North Carolina. Dr. Hossfeld raised over $5 million in public and private funding, and research grants and contracts, for these initiatives. While at UNCW, Dr. Hossfeld also founded the Wilmington Housing Authority-UNCW partnership creating applied interdisciplinary research and learning opportunities and securing philanthropic and research grant support for these efforts which led to national recognition through the National Association of Housing and Redevelopment Officials (NAHRO) Agency Award of Merit in Housing and Community Development. Dr. Hossfeld was named the Margaret Devereux Lippitt Rorison Faculty Fellow in Community Engagement at the University of North Carolina Wilmington. In 2011 Dr. Hossfeld received the University of North Carolina Distinguished Faculty Public Service and Scholarly Engagement Award.

Because of Dr. Hossfelds extensive work in rural economic development she was appointed by North Carolina Congressman Bob Etheridge to serve on the USDA Strikeforce Rural Economic Development Advisory Board. In 2004, Dr. Hossfeld gave testimony to the North Carolina Joint Committee on Growth and Economic Development of the North Carolina State Legislature on her research on rural North Carolina job loss and economic restructuring. In 2004, Dr. Hossfeld presented her research on rural economic restructuring to the Congressional Rural Caucus of the US Congress, and a second presentation to the US congress on her research on gender and job loss in 2009. Hossfeld currently serves on the USDA SERA-47 Southern Extension Research Activity project to strengthen local and regional food needs and priorities in 13 Southern region states.

Dr. Hossfeld is a rural sociologist whose research expertise is in community and economic development, agrarianism, food environment, food sovereignty and food security, and rural health disparities. She has made more than 150 research presentations in various national and international conferences in addition to over 70 peer-reviewed books, book chapters, technical reports, whitepapers, research briefs, and journal articles.

Dean Hossfeld has served in key leadership positions on professional national and regional organizations, including: President of the Southern Sociological Society, Vice President of Sociologists for Women in Society, Chair of the American Sociological Association Section on Sociological Practice and Public Sociology, on the American Sociological Association Taskforce on Public Sociology, and on the Executive Committee of the North Carolina Sociological Association, receiving the Lifetime Achievement Award for Outstanding Contributions to the Discipline of Sociology in 2019.

Dean Hossfeld holds a PhD in sociology from North Carolina State University, a Master of Social Science degree in sociology from the University of Mississippi, and a bachelors degree in history from the University of North Carolina Wilmington.

Awards and Honors

2019 - Lifetime Achievement Award Outstanding Contributions to the Discipline of Sociology, North Carolina Sociological Association.

2018 - Mississippi State University Presidents Commission on the Status of Women Faculty Award

2017 - Research Fellow Texas Hunger Initiative, Baylor University

2017 - Fellow, Southeast Conference Universities (SEC) Academic Leadership Development Program 2017-2018

2017 - Co-Lead Learning Communities Committee, SERA 47, USDA Research Project

2016 - Appointed Research Fellow, Social Science Research Center, Mississippi State University

2016 - Appointed to serve as Council Member of the Socially Disadvantaged Farmers and Ranchers (SDFR) Research Task Force of the SDRF Policy Research Center, federal research center Alcorn State University.

2016 - Appointed Council Member, Southeastern Health Equity Council

2016 - SERA 47 Working Group: Strengthening the Southern Region Extension and Research System to Support Local and Regional Food Needs and Priorities,13 state initiative. United States Department of Agriculture.

2015 - Appointed as Associate Director Local Food Systems, Food Insecurity, Food Access and Economic Development, UMMC-MSU Myrlie Evers-Williams Center for the Elimination of Health Disparities

2015 - Appointed as Expert Stakeholder on the Southeastern Health Equity Council Region 4

2014 - Appointed by North Carolina Congressman Bob Etheridge to USDA Strikeforce Rural Economic Development Advisory Board

2013 - Named Margaret Devereux Lippitt Rorison Faculty Fellow in Community Engagement, University of North Carolina Wilmington

2012 - Recipient University of North Carolina Wilmington Faculty Research Award

2011 - Recipient of the University of North Carolina Wilmington 2011 Distinguished Faculty Public Service and Scholarly Engagement Award

2011 - Recipient 2011 Outstanding Professor Discere Aude Award, University of North Carolina Wilmington

2010 - Inducted into University or North Carolina Wilmington James F. Merritt Million Dollar Club

2010 - Wilmington Housing Authority received a National Association of Housing and Redevelopment Officials (NAHRO) Agency Award of Merit in Housing and Community Development based program Hossfeld founded at the WHA-UNCW Community Campus at Hillcrest

2008 - Received Faculty Fellow Engagement University of North Carolina Wilmington

2006 - Received Research Development Initiatives Award, College of Arts and Sciences Research Committee, University of North Carolina Wilmington

2005 - 25th Anniversary Award, Center for Community Action, Community Engagement, in the area of Economy for Outstanding Leadership and Contribution to the Well-Being of Community Life

2004 - Inaugural Research Fellow in Public Policy and Public Engagement, Institute for Emerging Issues, North Carolina State University 2004-2005

2004 - Special Recognition Award, Outstanding Service to the University of North Carolina at Pembroke and Regional Community, Awarded by Provost

2004 - Certificate of Distinguished Leadership from the Leadership and Service Opportunities Program University of North Carolina at Pembroke

2004 - Received the American Sociological Associations Sydney S. Spivack Program in Applied Social Research and Social Policy Community Action Research Award

2003 - Received the Nancy Pollock Dissertation Award for Outstanding Scholarly Research Benefiting the North Carolina Economy and the Quality of Life for its Citizens North Carolina State University

1999 - Nominated and Inducted into, Alpha Kappa Delta, International Honors Society for Sociologists

1998 - Nominated and inducted into, Sigma Iota Rho, National Honors Society for International Studies
With India witnessing a surge in the active coronavirus caseload over the past few days, the Union Ministry of Health and Family Welfare has issued new rules for international arrivals in India. The rules will come into effect from 11:59 pm on 22 February and will be in force till further orders. Here are the guidelines for international arrivals which will be effective from today.

Also Read: How to make Indias bad bank workable

Planning for travel

1) All international travellers will have to submit a self-declaration form (SDF) for Covid on the online Air Suvidha portal before their scheduled travel.

2) Travellers will also have to upload a negative Covid-19 RT-PCR report on the online portal of New Delhi airport with a declaration form stating the authenticity of the report.

3) The test must be conducted 72 hours prior to the journey.

4) Only asymptomatic travellers will be allowed to board after the thermal screening.

5) Arrival in India without negative report to be allowed only for those travelling in the exigency of death in the family.

6) To seek such exemption travellers shall apply to the online portal at least 72 hours before boarding.

7) These rules shall also apply to international travellers arriving through seaports/land ports but an online registration policy cannot be availed by them.

8) International travellers arriving from/transiting through the United Kingdom, Brazil and South Africa (during the past 14 days) will have to be segregated by the airline in-flight.

9) Self-paid confirmatory molecular tests on arrival will be mandatory for all travellers arriving from/transiting through flights originating in the United Kingdom, Europe or the Middle East.

10) Such travellers will give their samples to the designated area before exiting the airport. If the test report is negative, they will be advised to self-monitor their health for 14 days. If the test report is positive, they will undergo treatment as per standard health protocol.

Before boarding

1) Dos and dont's to be provided along with a ticket to travellers by the airlines/agencies concerned.

2) Boarding to be allowed to those passengers who have filled in the self-declaration form online and uploaded the negative RT-PCR test report.

3) Only asymptomatic travellers will be allowed to board the flight after the thermal screening.

4) All passengers to be advised to download the Aarogya Setu app

5) Suitable precautionary measures such as environmental sanitation and disinfection to ensure at the airports.

6) During boarding all physical distancing to be ensured.

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US Tax Season Begins

by Mike Godfrey, Tax-News.com, Washington

22 February 2021

The Internal Revenue Service launched tax season for individuals on February 15, 2021, highlighting the various supports available for taxpayers when preparing their returns.

Taxpayers have until Thursday, April 15, 2021, to file their 2020 tax return and pay any tax owed. The IRS expects to receive more than 160 million individual tax returns this year, with nine out of 10 returns filed electronically.

Taxpayers can securely access their IRS account information through their individual online account, which includes a number of new features.

For example, people can now check the amounts of their Economic Impact Payments (EIPs) to help them accurately calculate any Recovery Rebate Credit they may be eligible for on their 2020 tax return.

For married filing joint individuals, each spouse will need to sign into their own account to retrieve information on their portion of the payments.

Additionally, taxpayers can view:

The amount they owe, updated for the current calendar day;

Their balance details by year;

Their payment history and any scheduled or pending payments;

Key information from their most recent tax return;

Details about their payment plan, if they have one; and

Digital copies of select notices or letters from the IRS.

They can also:

Make a payment online;

See payment plan options and request a plan via Online Payment Agreement; and

Access their tax records via Get Transcript.

Later in 2021, taxpayers will be able to digitally sign certain authorization forms, such as a power of attorney, initiated by their tax professional.

The IRS said taxpayers can refer to a new factsheet on recent tax law changes that affect individual taxpayers this tax season, titled: "Be tax ready: Understand how life changes may affect the 2020 tax return filed this year".
Editor's Note: This story has been updated with new information provided by The Spirit's nonprofit managers.

The Spirit of South Carolina, a 140-foot-long replica of a 19th century schooner that once plied the waters of Charleston Harbor, has been tied up at the dock for months, rendered mostly inactive by a series of unfortunate events.

Its the showpiece of a nonprofit organization co-founded by hospitality leader Michael Bennett and car dealer Tommy Baker. The ship was made with local timber and other materials and completed in 2007. Its history has included some turbulence, and its managers have reconsidered the ships mission, purpose and use on more than one occasion.

Now the Spirit faces new opportunities, and another chance at reinvention. Potential partnerships with the College of Charlestons Carolina Lowcountry and Atlantic World Program, or CLAW, and with Maine-based sister schooner Harvey Gamage could breathe fresh air into Spirit's sails, reinvigorating its educational mission and helping to get it back in action after a debilitating COVID pandemic.

But first it will need to check several boxes on its to-do list. It needs a captain and crew. It needs essential repairs. It needs a new certificate of inspection. It needs to bolster its cadre of 20 or so volunteers.

Its been pretty much dead in the water for the last nine months, Volunteer Coordinator Bryan Oliver said.

Baker and Bennett said the overall financial standing of the nonprofit is good. There's no debt and money in the bank, Baker said. They have plans to address the mechanical problems in the next months and expect the ship will be able to set sail again soon.

In 2019, the nonprofits executive director, Fletcher Meyers, left the organization. A few months ago, its full-time paid captain, Dan Cleveland, disembarked. Oliver, an unpaid volunteer himself, volunteer acting captain Charles Porzelt, and the volunteer chef who looks after the boat are the only crew left.

The pandemic was akin to a hard grounding in the shoals of Charleston Harbor, with no crew available to haul the anchor out and kedge off the pluff mud. The trickle of revenue dried up like a riverbed on the far side of the dam.

Then came the lightning strike last year that fried the electronics and disabled the diesel engines.

The costs of keeping the boat are significant and the nonprofit always welcomes donations, Bennett said.

"It's a struggle to make a tall ship work in a good day," he said. "And then COVID hits."

But Bennett and Baker said they look forward to potential new partnerships that might help illuminate Spirit's seaway.

Oliver, Porzelt and the people who run the CLAW program are holding out hope.

Two ships

Meanwhile, the Harvey Gamage sailed into Charleston Harbor on Feb. 20, with a crew that includes 15 Ashley Hall students, and tied up at the Maritime Center. Its doing what the Spirit's leaders want to do: take students offshore and teach them a few things about astronomy, physics, history and the art of sailing.

Paula Harrell, Ashley Halls director of marketing and communications, said the schools Offshore Leadership Program has been providing students with sailing opportunities for years. Its a yearlong commitment with a curriculum that includes celestial navigation, the history of the transatlantic slave trade, the maritime history of Charleston, aspects of science and hands-on sailing experience.

The students on board the Harvey Gamage all quarantined for two weeks in order to sail from Brunswick, Ga., to Charleston, Harrell said. Normally, the trip  the culmination of the program  happens in the fall, but circumstances this year forced a change in the schedule. The routes differ from year to year. So do the boats.

The girls leave their smartphones on shore. Under the guidance of professional crew, they learn the ropes, hoisting and dousing gaff-rigged sails, tacking and gybing, gauging weather conditions and sea state, reading charts, joining to the watch rotation and more.

Its a transformational experience, Harrell said.

It can transform your stomach, too, when the seas are rough. But thats part of the package.

The Harvey Gamage, a wooden 131-foot schooner, was built in the early 1970s. Its typical of the kind of big Maine sailboat that once hauled timber or participated in the states fishing culture. Its accustomed to big tides, rocky coastlines and colder weather. And its part of Maines own storied maritime history.

It could make sense to collaborate on educational programming, Oliver said.

Alex Agnew, president of Sailing Ships Maine, the nonprofit that operates the Harvey Gamage, agreed.

We would very much like to have them come to Maine in the summer, and visit them and sail with them in the winter, he said. It makes our capacity bigger if we have two ships.

While the Harvey Gamage is in port in Charleston, its crew will be available to brainstorm ideas with the Spirit team.

We would hope to help the Spirit of South Carolina get programs organized, Agnew said. Were coming in to help.

The Spirit is a replica of the 1879 vessel Frances Elizabeth. In 2014, the foundation in control of the ship was struggling with mounting debts and decided to sell it. In 2017, Bennett and Baker bought the boat at a foreclosure auction, refitted it to meet Coast Guard standards, then donated it to a newly formed nonprofit, Spirit of South Carolina Inc., for educational use.

Normally, it relies on around 15 crew and volunteer deckhands. Before the pandemic the nonprofit partnered first with The Citadel, then with the College of Charleston, to provide a semester at sea, but neither venture proved to be sustainable because of high tuition costs and lack of adequate interest among students.

Oliver thinks an expanded mission could help.

Why not focus on Charleston Harbors maritime heritage  the stories of Robert Smalls, the Mosquito Fleet, and the history of so many unsung Black seamen?

And thats where CLAW comes in.

Doing their best

Its director, Sandy Slater, said the program is focused on, among many topics, the fascinating history of Black mariners, and a collaboration with the Spirit makes a lot of sense. After all, their missions converge. Both are concerned with educational outreach, both are interested in Charlestons maritime history, and both desire institutional partnerships.

Both also are constrained financially because of the pandemic, but Slater is committed to maintaining a relationship with the Spirit so students can have access to the sea and so the nonprofit can have access to scholarship, she said.

Already Blake Scott, a professor of international studies and an accomplished sailor, has designed a curriculum for AmeriCorps volunteers using the Spirit as their classroom. Much more could be done, Slater said. The history is rich.

Because Charleston was an urban slave city, enslavers worked with, and gave permission to, enslaved people, especially those skilled artisans, to work in town and keep a portion of the pay themselves, she said. So we see a number of people working and buying their freedom, living and working in Charleston.

Many of these people were free sailors of color, or Atlantic Creoles as they were called. They circulated via the ports of Charleston, often carrying not only cargo but vital information about what was happening in the world.

The White power structure of South Carolina sought to deny Black people access to the news, especially after the failed Denmark Vesey slave revolt in 1822. The citys rulers didnt want the Black population, which during the much of the 18th and 19th century outnumbered Whites by large margins, to learn about the Haitian Revolution or other rebellions.

You see lots of laws trying to restrict people of color from meeting or congregating, preventing movement, Slater said. Slavery in America was exceptional in its brutality compared to rest of the world.

By the early 1800s, this forceful censorship ran contrary to international trends. Elsewhere, the slave trade was on the wane. In the U.S., white supremacy was intensifying.

The enslaved population in the American South are very aware that their circumstances are very different than other people of color, Slater said. Its a heartbreaking realization.

It was the maritime networks through which information about the status of Black people passed. This was an urban phenomenon, and unique to port cities where no secrets could be kept, Slater said.

Free people of color in Charleston enjoyed a degree of financial and professional success, she said. They could maneuver into better social positions without the constant threat of violence against them.

White people patronized Black cobblers and blacksmiths, masons and caregivers. Civil interaction between the races was commonplace, even as institutional discrimination and oppression became more and more entrenched.

Thus, Black people in Charleston persevered, and they forged unique cultural identity informed in large measure by the waterfront. As a port city, Charleston is intrinsically connected to the Caribbean and to West Africa, Slater said. It is really an international city with dynamic and accomplished Black population.

This is not to diminish the cruelty and violence of slavery, Slater said. Its to call attention to the fact that the Black experience in America is not defined by enslavement. Its defined by people doing the best they can under the circumstances.

These are some of the lessons that could be learned aboard the Spirit.
Nitish Kumar, despite being under pressure from many quarters, is not letting go of his dream policy that literally defines his fifteen plus years of administration in Bihar  prohibition insisting the problem is people and his alcohol ban policy in Bihar.

Aggrieved by the news of a number of people having died in Bihars Kaimur, Gopalganj, and Muzaffarpur district following consumption of spurious liquor in the past few days, the Chief Minister, at a press conference in Patna on Sunday, blamed those who were still engaging in selling illegal and home-brewed alcohol despite placing the toughest laws against such persons.

These people are going to die themselves and will kill other people in the process as well, Kumar said referring to illicit alcohol makers and sellers adding he ordered imposition of prohibition not for himself but for the welfare of the people of Bihar.

While the majority of people in Bihar are in favor of prohibition, there are a handful of people who are hell-bent on creating trouble for the others, he said.

In the meantime, Janata Dal  U legislator Dr. Sanjeev Kumar, at a party meeting in presence of Kumar on Friday, declared prohibition in Bihar a colossal failure and asked the Chief Minister to rethink the policy that has spurned a whole new business involving illegal sale and consumption of alcoholic beverages in the state.

Kumars political ally in the NDA Hindustani Awam Morcha (HAM) leader Jitan Ram Manjhi and Vikashsheel Insaan Party (VIP) chief Mukesh Sahni also questioned the success of prohibition in Bihar saying the business of buying and selling alcohol was booming thanks to the criminal-police nexus.

Prohibition in Bihar is also causing huge amount of revenue loss to the state and that cannot be swept under the rug any longer, a VIP leader said.

In the past, however, Kumar has asserted many times that prohibition in Bihar was there to stay and no amount of talks to remove it would change his mind.
Turkey is Bombing Assyrian Villages in North Iraq

Iraq condemned Turkey's recent incursion into Iraqi territory in Nineveh Governorate. A member of parliament claimed that Turkey does not have the authority to deploy Turkish troops into Iraqi land. Turkey claimed they did so in order to neutralize 33 PKK fighters.

Turkey continues to pursue the PKK to "neutralize" their threat. Often this comes at the expense of bombings in the Kurdistan region of Iraq and within the Nineveh Governorate. Many Assyrian Christians called these areas home prior to the Iraqi war and ISIS. Turkey's military excursions against the PKK in Iraq began increasing while the country was preoccupied with defeating ISIS, allowing them to establish several military bases within Iraq.

On several occasions Turkey has threatened large military operations into Iraq because of the PKK threat. It is ironic however that Turkey has also faced international condemnation for conducting airstrikes in Iraq's civilians areas where there is no PKK threat. These areas are often home to religious minorities, such as Assyrians and Yazidis. Their ancestors escaped the Ottoman Era genocide initiated by Turkey against non-Muslims, and they themselves have just escaped the genocide of ISIS. These attacks by Turkey further increase the sense of being haunted by genocide no matter where they live.
A Place for All Conservatives to Speak Their Mind.
SPRINGFIELD  A bill easing statewide restrictions on firearm suppressors is among several firearms-related bills introduced or sponsored by new State Rep. Amy Elik, R-Fosterburg.

The bill, HB 1891, would allow the civilian ownership and use of suppressors  popularly referred to as silencers  while hunting or at target ranges. The bill is part of a larger nation-wide legislative battle dealing with the issue and is similar to a bill proposed by former state Sen. Bill Haine, D-Alton, in 2018.

Eliks bill was introduced Feb. 16. The following day State Rep. Andrew S. Chesney, R-Freeport, was added as a co-sponsor, the bill had its first reading and was referred to the Rules Committee. It is among several hundred firearms-related bills that have been introduced, ranging from registration and bans on assault rifles to multiple bills dealing with the Firearm Owners Identification Card.

In addition to HB 1891, Elik is introducing HB 1892, legislation to repeal the FOID.

Since I first took office, my office has received dozens of calls from constituents that are still waiting to receive their FOID, Elik said Monday. As of today, thousands are waiting to receive their firearm identification throughout the state.

Illinois should eliminate the FOID as it is an unnecessary hurdle for law-abiding citizens, she said. The FOID card is a deterrent for law-abiding gun owners as criminals dont adhere to our gun laws and they are not concerned about obtaining firearm identification.

Elik said eliminating the FOID card would not make background checks go away.

Federal waiting periods and background checks for firearm purchasers would remain in place for firearm purchasers, she said. Again, just goes to show how unnecessary the FOID card truly is for law-abiding citizens.

She also has introduced HB 1886 to reduce concealed carry license fees and said she plans to co-sponsor legislation to allow rifle hunting in Illinois.

Suppressors have been regulated by the federal government since 1934 as part of the National Firearms Act. That law also deals with machine guns and short barreled rifles and shotguns. To own a suppressor a person must pass a rigorous background check and pay a $200 transfer tax. Ownership of legal suppressors has dramatically increased from 285,087 in 2010 to 1,498,791 in 2018, according to the Violence Policy Center, a gun-control advocacy group.

Currently 42 states allow private ownership of suppressors. Supporters claim the use of suppressors helps curtail hearing loss, allows conversations at gun ranges, and can reduce problems with recoil.

Opponents claim easing restrictions would make it more likely they are used in crimes, and is part of a larger effort by the gun lobby and gun manufacturers to increase sales, which have been lagging until the start of the coronavirus pandemic last year.

From a technical standpoint, a gunshots sound comes from three sources: the mechanical sound of the guns action, the sound of exploding gasses coming out of the barrel and the loud crack from the bullet breaking the sound barrier.

According to information by the National Rifle Association-Institute for Legislative Action, the groups political branch, hearing loss can occur at above 140 decibels. Gunshots range from about 144 decibels for .22 rimfire rounds to 172 decibels for larger rounds. Suppressors can normally reduce that by about 30 decibels.

The Madison County Sheriffs Department is currently purchasing new suppressor-equipped rifles. One of the justifications used is that if unsuppressed weapons are used in an enclosed area, such as a school hallway, the sound alone would cause injuries such as ruptured eardrums.

In 2019 the Violence Policy Center released an updated version of Silencers: A Threat to Public Safety.

Silencers are military-bred accessories that make it easier for criminals to take innocent lives and threaten law enforcement, states VPC Legislative Director Kristen Rand. Manufacturers brag that silencers can make guns whisper quiet while increasing shooters accuracy and ability to fire rounds more quickly. These characteristics only make silencers more attractive to mass shootersas well as to terrorists and common criminals.

The group has called for a complete ban on suppressors for civilian use.

A ban on silencers for civilian use would enhance public safety, according to Rand. The explosion in the popularity of silencers has significantly increased the likelihood they will be used in crime. The advantages of using silencers, including reduced noise and increased accuracy, make them attractive to mass shooters, terrorists, and common criminals. In addition, the administrative burden placed on the Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco, Firearms and Explosives diverts resources from the agencys more important regulatory and law enforcement responsibilities. Conversely, silencers serve no sporting purpose.

For more information visit www.nraila.org, the Violence Policy Center at www.vpc.org or the American Suppressor Association at https://americansuppressorassociation.com/.
Attorney general nominee Merrick Garland told senators Monday that that application of the death penalty in the U.S. has given him 'pause' and that he expects President Joe Biden to restore a moratorium on its use.

Garland raised deep concerns about how the death penalty is applied, saying the ultimate punishment may be being meted out in a racially biased manner, and noting that DNA evidence has exposed wrongful convictions.

A spoke to the issue after the Trump administration carried out a string of 13 executions for federal crimes running from July through the end of Trump's term.

He said he was concerned about 'almost randomness or arbitrariness' of how the death penalty is applied.

In carefully couched remarks, he said he would defer to President Biden, but made clear that the administration was on course to make a break from the Trump administration following the series of executions of federal death row inmates.

Attorney general nominee Merrick Garland told senators Monday that that he expcts the application of the death penalty to be frozen by a moratorium

'I am very concerned about the large number of exonerations that have occurred through DNA evidence and otherwise  not only in death penalty convictions, but also in other convictions. I think, a terrible thing occurs when somebody is convicted of a crime that they did not commit,' he said on the first day of his confirmation hearings.

'And the most terrible thing happens if someone is executed for a crime and they did not commit. It's also the case that during this pause we've seen fewer and fewer death penalty applications anywhere in the country, not only in the federal government. But among the states. And as a consequence, I'm concerned about the increasing almost randomness or arbitrariness of its application, when you have so few number of cases.

Those executions gave after a 20 year pause in the practice at the federal level, as many states also halted executions.

Sen. Patrick Leahy (D-Vt.) had asked Garland, the chief judge on the D.C. Circuit Court of Appeals, about a 'spree' of federal executions in the last days of the Trump administration.

'Well, as you know senator, Present Biden is an opponent of the death penalty. I have to say that over those almost 20 years in which the federal death penalty had been paused, I have had a great pause about about the death penalty,' he responded.

He raised the issue of 'disparate impact' in enforcement of laws and the carrying out of executions. 'The data is clear that it has an enormously disparate impact on Black Americans and members of communities of color and exonerations also that something like half of the exonerations had to do with black men,' he said.

The Trump administration oversaw 13 executions from July through Inauguration Day

Garland deferred to President Joe Biden's opposition to the death penalty and suggested a moratorium on federal executions may return. He said he would defer to that policy

Cory Johnson, crack cocaine dealer on death row for taking at least 10 lives within 45 days in 1992, was executed January 14th, days before Joe Biden took office

Dustin John Higgs was executed on Jan. 15th, five days before Biden took office, for his role in a triple murder

Lisa Montgomery, seen here following her arrest for the 2004 killing of a pregnant woman, was executed by lethal injection early Wednesday, January 13, 2021, at the U.S. Penitentiary in Terre Haute, Indiana

'So all of this has given me pause. And I expect that the president will be given direction in this area. And if so, I expect it not at all unlikely that we will return to the previous policy,' he said.

Biden has spoken about his opposition to the death penalty. He is facing outside pressure to take steps including restoring the Obama-era moratorium on executions, or even to go further by commuting the sentences of those on death row.

Biden's campaign platform called for working 'to pass legislation to eliminate the death penalty at the federal level, and incentivize states to follow the federal governments example.'

President Trump's administration oversaw the execution of 13 federal inmates since July, a record going back more than 100 years. Those executions continued even during the presidential transition, with five executions in the period before Biden's inauguration.

Garland stood by his position even when questioned by Sen. Tom Cotton (R-Ark.) about heinous cases, including the Oklahoma City bombing, which Garland prosecuted, or a mass shooting in a church like the one that occurred in South Carolina.

'If we develop a policy of a moratorium, then it would apply across the board,' Garland responded.
She's been spending a considerable amount of time in Ibiza in recent months, as she escapes the chilly winter and lockdown restrictions in her native UK.

And Demi Rose, 25, continued to make the most of the Balearic island's abundant sunshine on Sunday, when she posed in a skimpy PrettyLittleThing tie-dye bikini.

The red halterneck number was teamed with a strappy thongs, allowing the Birmingham native to show off her curves as she posed in a tiled courtyard setting.

Hello, sunshine! Demi Rose continued to make the most of Ibiza's abundant sunshine on Sunday, when she shared shots of herself posing in a skimpy tie-dye bikini

Wearing her chestnut brown locks in voluminous curls, the social media sensation accessorised with a pair of gold hoop earrings and a delicate pendant necklace.

The glamour model took to Instagram to share the sizzling snaps, which showed her two-piece struggling to contain her ample assets as she pouted and posed.

Days earlier, she turned up the heat once again on the image-sharing platform as she posted snaps of herself posing up a storm in an eye-catching skimpy black bikini.

With her brunette tresses styled in a sleek ponytail, the influencer complemented her good looks with a rich palette of makeup as she displayed her tiny waist.

Strappy: The red halterneck number was teamed with a strappy thongs, allowing the Birmingham native to show off her curves as she posed in a tiled courtyard setting

Sensational: Wearing her chestnut brown locks in voluminous curls, the social media sensation accessorised with a pair of gold hoop earrings and a delicate pendant necklace

Demi has been sharing a slew of snaps from her sunny travels with her 16 million Instagram followers in recent months  including trips to the Maldives and Tanzania.

The brunette recently opened up to MailOnline about how she shot to stardom at the age of 14 after being bullied in school.

Demi recalled: 'I was bullied in school, I wanted to make friends outside of it so I ended up spending a lot of time online.

'I was even interested in virtual reality as a kid, I was always on the computer and then MySpace came around and I found my calling.'

Bikini: Days earlier, the social media sensation also wowed when she posed in a black bikini

Wow: The glamour model, 25, took to Instagram to share the sizzling snaps, which showed her two-piece struggling to contain her ample assets as she held a green smoothie

The social media star experienced her first taste of fame when pictures of her on the beach as a young teenager went viral on Instagram.

Birmingham native Demi shared: 'I only ever got Instagram because someone made a fake profile of me on there with 3,000 followers and I was really envious.

'I was like, "wow, how can someone using my pictures get that much?" And then I started an account and it went from there.'

From the age of 18, the bombshell  who currently boasts 16 million followers  signed with a modelling agency and her career went from strength to strength.

Model behaviour: Demi has been sharing a slew of snaps from her sunny travels with her 16 million Instagram followers in recent months  including trips to the Maldives and Tanzania
HEALTH and Child Care deputy minister John Mangwiro has told Senate that the Sinopharm vaccine from China does not need further studies as it has been extensively researched on internationally and locally to check its effectiveness against COVID-19.

Mangwiro said this last Thursday while responding to questions from senators on the effectiveness and possible side effects of the vaccine, whose 200 000 donated doses are already being distributed to different provinces.

Before it is administered on people, we have what we call the World Health Organisation which writes to confirm that yes, this vaccine does work, and for example, to see how it works, it can be administered on a sample of five or ten healthy young men.

We can have university students being experimented on to see how this vaccine works. What we have now in the country is a vaccine that has been dealt with already, Mangwiro said.

They have studied it fully. We cannot continue to do further studies on the vaccine, we have what we call Medicines Control Authority of Zimbabwe that has the mandate to look at issues related to this. They do extensive research on such matters to obtain full details of how the vaccine works. They even reach out to countries as far as Chile, countries that would have volunteered to do such experiments, he said.

Mangwiro said no vaccines were rolled out without being thoroughly looked at to study their side effects.

On the issue of 61% of the infected people in the country who have the South African variant of COVID-19, Mangwiro said: There is nothing to be afraid of, variants will continue coming on a daily, weekly and monthly basis. The virus is also trying to fight the efforts to thwart it so that it is ever changing on a daily basis.

Vice-President and Health and Child Care minister Constantino Chiwenga also told senators that there were now 22 variants of the virus in the world as it tried to constantly mutate.

Mangwiro said normally pregnant women and breastfeeding mothers do not get vaccinated because of the side effects of the medicines.

However, if we find a vaccine which stipulates that we must do that; then we may, but due to the side effects of the virus  some may react and faint because their blood pressure would have lowered.

He said whenever side effects occurred during the inoculation exercise, there will be trays loaded with adrenalin, drips and needles to administer to those individuals that would have reacted to the vaccine. Newsday
Debris is scattered in the front yard of a house at near 13th and Elmwood, in Broomfield, Colo., on Feb. 20, 2021. (Broomfield Police Department via AP)

FAA Issues Warning to Boeing After Mid-Air Explosion of United Planes Engine

The Federal Aviation Administration (FAA) said Sunday it is issuing an emergency directive after the failure of a Boeing 777 engine near Denver, requiring immediate inspections of similar planes.

The agencys director Steve Dickson, in a Sunday night statement, wrote that he directed an Emergency Airworthiness Directive that would require immediate or stepped-up inspections of Boeing 777 airplanes equipped with certain types of engines.

It means that some airplanes will likely be removed from service amid the inspections, he said.

We reviewed all available safety data following yesterdays incident, he said. Based on the initial information, we concluded that the inspection interval should be stepped up for the hollow fan blades that are unique to this model of engine, adding that theyre used only for this type of Boeing plane.

Debris is scattered across the turf field at Commons Park in Broomfield, Colo., on Feb. 20, 2021. (Broomfield Police Department via AP)

A piece of debris from a commercial airplane is surrounded by police tape on a strip along Midway Boulevard in Broomfield, Colo., on Feb. 20, 2021. (David Zalubowski/AP Photo)

The FAA is working with other civil aviation authorities, while inspectors are meeting with Pratt & Whitneythe manufacturer of the enginesand Boeing to finalize details of the Airworthiness Directive to make sure all such airplanes are in working order.

Debris from a United Airlines Boeing 777-200 passenger plane fell onto a suburb in Denver, Colorado, after the planes engine failed after takeoff, officials said.

Debris is scattered in the front yard of a house at near 13th and Elmwood, in Broomfield, Colo., on Feb. 20, 2021. (Broomfield Police Department via AP)

United on Sunday said in a statement that it will immediately ground its fleet of 24 Boeing 777 planes after the FAAs directive and will hold discussions with the FAA to determine any additional steps that are needed to ensure these aircraft meet our rigorous safety standards and can return to service.

There were no reports of injuries, either on the plane or the ground. Images posted by police in Broomfield, Colorado, showed significant plane debris on the ground, including an engine cowling scattered outside a home and what appeared to be other parts in a field.

Police tape was used to cordon off the debris. One video taken from what appeared to be inside the United plane showed an engine on fire. Another video on social media showed a cloud of black smoke being left by a plane.

Something blew up, a man on the video can be heard saying.

Reuters contributed to this report.
The company completed its second near-term cash producing investment with the 2.25% royalty on Mutapa Mining & Processing's Manica gold project

Empress is acquiring a royalty on gold sales from Manica for an aggregate consideration of US$2 million

Empress Royalty Corp ( ) ( ) announced Monday that it has added a new royalty on a prospective gold project in Mozambique.

The royalty company revealed it acquired a 2.25% production royalty on the Manica gold project owned by Mutapa Mining & Processing LDA (MMP) for US$2 million.

Manica is located in the Odzi-Mutare-Manica greenstone belt and comprises several deposits on s ( ) (FRA:R9XN) mining concession licence 3990C, which includes four deposits. The main deposit, Fair Bride, has a SAMREC-compliant resource statement that Empress is currently in the process of updating to NI 43-101 requirements.

MMP and Xtract have entered into a collaboration and profit-share arrangement, whereby MMP will build, finance and operate a carbon-in-leach plant to process ore mined from Xtract's concession, Empress told shareholders.

Empress CEO Alexandra Woodyer Sherron said that the royalty demonstrates the value of the companys strategic partners, which in this case is Endeavour Financial.

"We are pleased to announce Empress has completed its second near-term cash producing investment with the royalty on MMP's Manica gold project," Woodyer Sherron said in a statement. "This is the first investment in an African royalty which originated from the relationship with Endeavour Financial, demonstrating the value of Empress' strategic partners."

Under the term sheet signed with MMP, Empress is acquiring a royalty on gold sales from Manica for an aggregate consideration of US$2 million. Payments to Empress under the agreement are based on 2.25% of the revenues generated from the sale of gold from the project until a total of 95,000 ounces of gold is sold. Afterwards, the percentage will reduce to 0.75% and continue into perpetuity.

The royalty is secured by a first ranking security interest in certain assets of MMP, according to a statement. Funding of the consideration by Empress is subject to conditions precedent to closing, typical for a transaction of this nature and is expected to take place in early March, the company added.

Vancouver-based Empress has a portfolio of 15 gold royalties and is actively focused on finding industry partners with development and production stage projects, who require additional non-dilutive capital.

Contact Angela at angela@proactiveinvestors.com

Follow her on Twitter @AHarmantas
Biding his time: Donald Trump last gave a public speech on January 6, the day of the Capitol attack. Photo: Jim Bourg/ Reuters

Donald Trump will move to tighten his grip on the Republican party by addressing the flagship event of the conservative calendar next weekend.

Mr Trump will be one of the speakers at the Conservative Public Action Conference in Orlando, Florida, in what will be his first public appearance since his speech to supporters ahead of the January 6 US Capitol riot.

The conference, known as CPAC, is arguably the most significant event in the Republican calendar. Even this far ahead of the 2024 election, it is a place for aspirants to make their mark on the party faithful.

Mr Trump, who is widely expected to run again in 2024, has already amassed a $31m war chest via his newly established political action committee, Save America. The event will also give Mr Trump, who has been banned from several social media websites including his beloved Twitter, a high-profile platform.

He has already reportedly met his former campaign manager, Brad Parscale, to discuss how he can step up his fundraising and reach supporters.

Since leaving the White House, Mr Trump has held court at Mar-a-Lago, his resort in Florida. Visitors have included Kevin McCarthy, the Republican leader in the House, and Lindsey Graham, the South Carolina senator who is one of his strongest allies in Washington. Significantly Rona McDaniel, the chair of the Republican National Committee is due at Mar-a-Lago this week, even though she has pledged to be neutral on the race for the partys 2024 nomination.

In the short term, the focus will be on the midterm elections. Mr Trump is expected to attend a fundraising dinner for Utah senator Mike Lee, where the guest list includes some of the most controversial and abrasive members of congress, including Matt Gaetz of Florida and Lauren Bobert of Colorado.

Mr Gaetz has already made his mark in recent weeks by travelling nearly 2,500km to campaign against Liz Cheney  theoretically a party colleague  in her home state of Wyoming after she voted in favour of Mr Trumps impeachment.

Ms Cheney is reportedly in Mr Trumps sights as he vowed to back the primary campaigns of Republicans ready to challenge incumbents who he regards as political foes.

There is a growing belief that Mr Trump will target Brian Kemp, Georgias governor, who faces re-election next year. He roused the presidential ire for refusing to back a challenge to Joe Bidens victory in the state.

Senior Republicans fear that the widening rift between Mr Trumps supporters and his opponents within the party could cost the party dear in the midterms.

Im more worried about 2022 than Ive ever been  I dont want to eat our own, Mr Graham said.

But there is little doubt that the battle lines are being drawn. Former vice-president Mike Pence, who was attacked by Mr Trump on Twitter as he was being led to safety on January 6, will not be attending the CPAC conference.

Mr Trump reportedly refused a Mar-a-Lago meeting with Nikki Haley, the former South Carolina governor who served as his ambassador to the United Nations, after she told the Politico website that the former president had lost any sort of political viability he was going to have.

Other Republicans, however, have refused to be cowed by Mr Trump, with former Texas congressman Will Hurd blaming him for costing the party dear last November.

This is a president that lost the House, the Senate, the White House in four years, he said on NBCs Meet the Press.

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Telegraph Media Group Limited [2021]
The artist Ai Weiwei said that he would ask the Museum of Modern Art to remove his works from its collection if the museum refuses to part ways with its chairman, the investor Leon Black, given recent revelations about the Wall Street executives close professional association with the convicted sex offender Jeffrey Epstein.

The photographer Nan Goldin joined more than 150 artists who have also called for Blacks removal from MoMAs board. And at Blacks alma mater, Dartmouth, there are growing calls for his name to be removed from the colleges visual arts center.

The pressure is building at a time when institutions are being held to account for everything from the diversity of their staffs to the professional ties and actions of their trustees. But its also coming at a moment when colleges, museums and nonprofit institutions are starved for revenue and donations because of the economic fallout from the pandemic, leaving many reluctant to distance themselves from loyal and wealthy benefactors.

Black announced last month that he would step down this year as chief executive of Apollo Global Management, the giant private equity firm he co-founded, amid revelations that he had paid $158 million to Epstein from 2012 to 2017 following Epsteins 2008 guilty plea for soliciting prostitution from a teenage girl. But Black will remain Apollos chairman.
HOUSTON - (Feb. 22, 2021) -Tuberculosis bacteria have evolved to remember stressful encounters and react quickly to future stress, according to a study by computational bioengineers at Rice University and infectious disease experts at Rutgers New Jersey Medical School (NJMS).

Published online in the open-access journal mSystems, the research identifies a genetic mechanism that allows the TB-causing bacterium, Mycobacterium tuberculosis, to respond to stress rapidly and in manner that is "history-dependent," said corresponding author Oleg Igoshin, a professor of bioengineering at Rice.

Researchers have long suspected that the ability of TB bacteria to remain dormant, sometimes for decades, stems from their ability to behave based upon past experience.

Latent TB is an enormous global problem. While TB kills about 1.5 million people each year, the World Health Organization estimates that 2-3 billion people are infected with a dormant form of the TB bacterium.

"There's some sort of peace treaty between the immune system and bacteria," Igoshin said. "The bacteria don't grow, and the immune system doesn't kill them. But if people get immunocompromised due to malnutrition or AIDS, the bacteria can be reactivated."

One of the most likely candidates for a genetic switch that can toggle TB bacteria into a dormant state is a regulatory network that is activated by the stress caused by immune cell attacks. The network responds by activating several dozen genes the bacteria use to survive the stress. Based on a Rice computational model, Igoshin and his longtime Rutgers NJMS collaborator Maria Laura Gennaro and colleagues predicted just such a switch in 2010. According to the theory, the switch contained an ultrasensitive control mechanism that worked in combination with multiple feedback loops to allow hysteresis, or history-dependent behavior.

"The idea is that if we expose cells to intermediate values of stress, starting from their happy state, they don't have that much of a response," Igoshin explained. "But if you stress them enough to stop their growth, and then reduce the stress level back to an intermediate level, they remain stressed. And even if you fully remove the stress, the gene expression pathway stays active, maintaining a base level of activity in case the stress comes back."

In later experiments, Gennaro's team found no evidence of the predicted control mechanism in Mycobacterium smegmatis, a close relative of the TB bacterium. Since both organisms use the same regulatory network, it looked like the prediction was wrong. Finding out why took years of follow-up studies. Gennaro and Igoshin's teams found that the TB bacterium, unlike their noninfectious cousins, had the hysteresis control mechanism, but it didn't behave as expected.

"Hysteretic switches are known to be very slow, and this wasn't," Igoshin said. "There was hysteresis, a history-dependent response, to intermediate levels of stress. But when stress went from low to high or from high to low, the response was relatively fast. For this paper, we were trying to understand these somewhat contradictory results. "

Igoshin and study co-author Satyajit Rao, a Rice doctoral student who graduated last year, revisited the 2010 model and considered how it might be modified to explain the paradox. Studies within the past decade had found a protein called DnaK played a role in activating the stress-response network. Based on what was known about DnaK, Igoshin and Rao added it to their model of the dormant-active switch.

"We didn't discover it, but we proposed a particular mechanism for it that could explain the rapid, history-dependent switching we'd observed," Igoshin said. "What happens is, when cells are stressed, their membranes get damaged, and they start accumulating unfolded proteins. Those unfolded proteins start competing for DnaK."

DnaK was known to play the role of chaperone in helping rid cells of unfolded proteins, but it plays an additional role in the stress-response network by keeping its sensor protein in an inactive state.

"When there are too many unfolded proteins, DnaK has to let go of the sensor protein, which is an activation input for our network," Igoshin said. "So once there are enough unfolded proteins to 'distract' DnaK, the organism responds to the stress."

Gennaro and co-author Pratik Datta conducted experiments at NJMS to confirm DnaK behaved as predicted. But Igoshin said it is not clear how the findings might impact TB treatment or control strategies. For example, the switch responds to short-term biochemical changes inside the cell, and it's unclear what connection, if any, it may have with long-term behaviors like TB latency, he said.

"The immediate first step is to really try and see whether this hysteresis is important during the infection," Igoshin said. "Is it just a peculiar thing we see in our experiments, or is it really important for patient outcomes? Given that it is not seen in the noninfectious cousin of the TB bacterium, it is tempting to speculate it is related to survival inside the host."

###

Gennaro is a professor of medicine and epidemiology at Rutgers Biomedical and Health Sciences. Igoshin is a senior investigator at Rice's Center for Theoretical Biological Physics.

The research was supported by the Welch Foundation (C-1995) and the National Institutes of Health (GM096189, AI122309, AI104615, HL149450).

Links and resources:

The DOI of the mSystems paper is: DOI# 10.1128/mSystems.00979-20

A copy of the paper is available at: https:/ / doi. org/ 10. 1128/ mSystems. 00979-20

IMAGES are available for download at:

https:/ / news-network. rice. edu/ news/ files/ 2021/ 02/ 0208_TB-MycoTB-lg. jpg

CAPTION: 3D illustration of the bacterial pathogen Mycobacterium tuberculosis. (Image courtesy of 123rf)

https:/ / news-network. rice. edu/ news/ files/ 2021/ 02/ 0208_TB-oiV-lg. jpg

CAPTION: Oleg Igoshin (Photo by Jeff Fitlow/Rice University)

https:/ / news-network. rice. edu/ news/ files/ 2021/ 02/ 0208_TB-mlgH2-med. jpg

CAPTION: Maria Laura Gennaro (Photo courtesy of Rutgers NJMS)

https:/ / news-network. rice. edu/ news/ files/ 2021/ 02/ 0208_TB-sr-lg. jpg

CAPTION: Satyajit Rao (Photo courtesy S. Rao)

This release can be found online at news.rice.edu.

Follow Rice News and Media Relations via Twitter @RiceUNews.

Located on a 300-acre forested campus in Houston, Rice University is consistently ranked among the nation's top 20 universities by U.S. News & World Report. Rice has highly respected schools of Architecture, Business, Continuing Studies, Engineering, Humanities, Music, Natural Sciences and Social Sciences and is home to the Baker Institute for Public Policy. With 3,978 undergraduates and 3,192 graduate students, Rice's undergraduate student-to-faculty ratio is just under 6-to-1. Its residential college system builds close-knit communities and lifelong friendships, just one reason why Rice is ranked No. 1 for lots of race/class interaction and No. 1 for quality of life by the Princeton Review. Rice is also rated as a best value among private universities by Kiplinger's Personal Finance.
Lisa Rinna has strutted her stuff on the red carpet many times over her five decade career in Hollywood as an actress, talk show host and reality star.

But when it comes to taking care of errands, like grocery shopping, the mother of two has no problem stepping out in some less than glamorous ensembles.

And on Sunday Rinna headed out to pick up a few choice items at a grocery in Beverly Hills in baggy black sweatpants with a matching sweatshirt.

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Safety first: Lisa Rinna, 57, stepped out for a grocery run with three layers of protection on her face amid the COVID-19 pandemic

The Real Housewives Of Beverly Hills leading lady added to her sporty outfit by wearing black running sneakers with her layered tresses in her trademark style.

And with the COVID-19 pandemic, and the new highly contagious variants, still very much a danger, Rinna took extra precautions and wore three layers of protection over her mouth and nose.

Her safety method began with a common white-and blue mask that was covered up with a black mask. The Melrose Place actress then covered her entire face with a plastic clear shield.

In a move to keep her hands clean, the 57-year-old wore a pair of black gloves while out and about.

Sporty: The actress, talk show host and reality star kept it casual in the fashion department in black sweatpants and a matching sweatshirt and sneakers

Around the noon hour, Rinna took her Instagram page and shared a clip of herself striking a number of poses during a photoshoot.

She stunned in front of a green screen dressed in a form-fitting blue gown as the Donna Summer' classic 1983 hit song -- She Works Hard For The Money -- blared away.

'So hard for it Honey.....' she wrote in the caption, which is the second line of the song lyrics after she belts out: 'She Works Hard For The Money.'

Bust a move: Rinna took her Instagram page on Sunday and shared a BTS clip of herself striking a number of poses in a striking blue gown during a photoshoot

Working it; The Donna Summer classic 1983 hit song -- She Works Hard For The Money -- blared away in the clip of the photoshoot posted on Instagram

About three hours later, the former Soap Talk co-host posted a photo of herself in the shoulder-less blue gown from the photoshoot.

'We call her Blu,' she wrote in the caption in a play on her striking blue number.

Rinna and husband Harry Hamlin will celebrate their 24th wedding anniversary on March 29, but their relationship goes back 29 years, with their chance meeting at a restaurant in 1992.

The couple are the proud parents to daughters Delilah, 22, and Amelia, 19, who are both models.

CHICOPEE  After operating a COVID-19 testing site for nearly two months, city officials now have received approvals to open a vaccine site.

The site received final approval earlier this week to operate at the lower level of the RiverMills Senior Center, but the only problem is the city still does not have any doses of the vaccine to administer, Mayor John L. Vieau said.

We have requested 500 doses per week. We have been told we will be lucky to get 100 a week, Vieau said. We will fight for the doses.

The site was developed by the citys Health and Fire departments and will be manned by city nurses and paramedics with the possibility of medical personnel being contacted if they are needed. The computer systems have been set up, freezers have been ordered and systems to register and administer shots are ready, he said.

Worldwide vaccine doses remain limited and in Massachusetts Gov. Charlie Baker continues to prioritize sending the most does to large regional sites such as the Eastfield Mall so local sites are receiving limited amounts, Vieau said.

We will fight for the doses, he said, adding he has also contacted local legislators to push for the vaccines so city residents who do not want to go to large sites can still receive vaccinations.

Staff at the RiverMills Senior Center is assisting anyone who is eligible for the vaccine, which currently includes health care workers, first responders and those who are 65 and older, to sign up for appointments at any location. Anyone who accompanies an elderly person to a mass vaccination site can also receive a vaccine, Vieau said.

Staff is currently manning seven phone lines to help people register. They also have a list of more than 2,000 people who want to wait until the Senior Center receives doses, he said.

Councilor Joel McAuliffe encouraged people to consider going to the Eastfield Mall or any other nearby location that is available instead of waiting, especially since it is apparent it will take some time to complete the waiting list that the Senior Center now has.

Councilor James K. Tillotson said he is annoyed with state officials, saying Chicopee should be receiving some vaccination doses since it is the second-largest city in Western Massachusetts and other smaller cities and towns have received doses.

In late December the city purchased test kits and opened its own testing site, which continues to operate free of charge from 8 a.m. to noon on Mondays, Tuesdays and Wednesdays. The vaccination site will operate on Thursdays and Fridays when the city has vaccination doses, Vieau said.

One test and one vaccine at a time is the way we can combat COVID-19 in the city, Vieau said.

Testing remains important because it identifies people who have the disease so they can quarantine and prevent it from spreading, he said.

He encouraged any city resident who feels ill or may have been exposed to the coronavirus to be tested. Results are typically returned within 24 hours since the completed tests are driven daily to a laboratory in the eastern part of the state.

There have been about 2,500 cases of COVID-19 in the city and 23 residents have died from the disease.

The RiverMills Senior Center also has received 100 boxes of non-perishable food from the Massachusetts Emergency Management Agency that are designed to last two weeks to help people who have been hit hard by the pandemic, said Holly Angelo, assistant director at the senior center.

We are delivering food to people who are shut-ins and the people we know who are food insecure, she said.

The boxes are also going to people who are being forced to quarantine because they have tested positive or have been exposed to COVID-19 to prevent them from having to go out and expose others, said Michael Pise, mayoral chief of staff.

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Boris Johnson's blueprint for lifting lockdown could have factored in indoor mixing sooner and still kept hospital bed occupancy levels at the lowest level they are likely to reach in an inevitable third wave, SAGE modelling has suggested.

The Prime Minister today laid out his 'one-way road to freedom' in plans to bring in the Rule of Six and mixing of two households outdoors by the end of March, with indoor socialising set for May 17 at the earliest.

However, one plan suggested by SPI-M, a sub-group of SAGE, suggested people could welcome solo visitors into their homes as early as March 29 while keeping most other factors roughly the same as No10's plan.

SAGE's modelling shows a third wave of coronavirus infections and hospital admissions will be inevitable when lockdown rules are loosened, with the numbers of people on wards with Covid approaching levels close to, or higher than, the first wave in the spring of 2020.

In a worst-case scenario, another 150,000 people could die before next summer, government advisers led by a team including 'Professor Lockdown' Neil Ferguson warned. Although this figure varies depending on how quickly lockdown ends.

One model warned of another 80,000 deaths between now and next June, if No10 acts too quickly.

The models were different lockdown-lifting scenarios suggested by the Cabinet Office, which scientists then predicted the effects of. The Government does not appear to have opted for any of the oven-ready scenarios in SAGE's modelling but to have created a hybrid that brings forward some relaxations and pushes others back.

Lifting rules earlier but in a controlled manner could keep the hospitalisations below the first wave peak but bring the third wave forward so that it happens in the summer, when the pressure on the NHS is low, instead of winter.

Separate modelling by the Imperial team  whose grisly projections spooked ministers into the first lockdown last spring  warned that keeping some restrictions until January would be the safest route back to normality.

SAGE modelling presented to the Government found that one-on-one indoor mixing could be brought back at the end of March and the inevitable third wave still kept under control. Graph shows how all lockdown-lifting scenarios eventually lead to a third spike in the number of people in hospital  the green line appears to track closely to Mr Johnson's plan to lift lockdown, but factored in indoor mixing as soon as March 29. It brings forward the next spike in NHS pressure to the summer, when the NHS is less busy, instead of pushing it back to the winter. Modelling conducted by Imperial researchers

A second modelling scenario confirmed that one-on-one indoor mixing being reintroduced in March (scenario 5a, the green line) could be part of a method that keeps the hospital bed occupancy below the first wave peak. Modelling conducted by a separate Warwick University team

Boris Johnson's lockdown plan, announced today, appears to track closely to scenario 5, which will likely allow the R rate to surge to 2 or higher by the end of April, but some parts have been pushed back

In a worst-case scenario, another 150,000 people could die before next summer, the government advisers warned. Although this figure varies depending on how quickly lockdown ends. One model warned of another 80,000 deaths between now and next June, if No10 acts too quickly

What were the five different scenarios Imperial scientists modelled for SAGE? SCENARIO 1 (PURPLE) March 8: All schools reopen

All schools reopen March 29: Mix of Tier 3 and 2 rules nationwide

Tier 3 and 2 rules nationwide April 26 : Full lifting of restrictions ADDITIONAL DEATHS: 91,300 ADDITIONAL HOSPITAL ADMISSIONS: 348,600 PEAK HOSPITAL OCCUPANCY (COVID): 59,200 SCENARIO 2 (BLUE) March 8: All schools reopen

All schools reopen March 29: Tier 3 nationwide

Tier 3 nationwide April 19: Tier 2 nationwide

Tier 2 nationwide May 10: Tier 1 nationwide

Tier 1 nationwide May 31: Full lifting of restrictions ADDITIONAL DEATHS: NOT SPECIFIED ADDITIONAL HOSPITAL ADMISSIONS: NOT SPECIFIED PEAK HOSPITAL OCCUPANCY (COVID): NOT SPECIFIED SCENARIO 3 (RED) March 8: All schools reopen

All schools reopen April 5: Tier 3 nationwide

Tier 3 nationwide May 3: Tier 2 nationwide

Tier 2 nationwide June 7: Tier 1 nationwide

Tier 1 nationwide July 5: Full lifting of restrictions ADDITIONAL DEATHS: NOT SPECIFIED ADDITIONAL HOSPITAL ADMISSIONS: NOT SPECIFIED PEAK HOSPITAL OCCUPANCY (COVID): NOT SPECIFIED SCENARIO 4 (YELLOW) March 8: Primary schools reopen

Primary schools reopen April 5: All schools reopen

All schools reopen May 3: Tier 3 nationwide

Tier 3 nationwide June 7: Tier 2 nationwide

Tier 2 nationwide July 5: Tier 1 nationwide

Tier 1 nationwide August 2: Full lifting of restrictions ADDITIONAL DEATHS: 58,200 ADDITIONAL HOSPITAL ADMISSIONS: 213,000 PEAK HOSPITAL OCCUPANCY (COVID): 18,300 SCENARIO 5 (GREEN) March 8: All schools reopen

All schools reopen March 29: Tier 3-like restrictions/One visitor allowed inside your home/Outdoor hospitality reopens

Tier 3-like restrictions/One visitor allowed inside your home/Outdoor hospitality reopens April 27/May 11: Tier 1-like measures

Tier 1-like measures July 16/September 26: Full lifting of restrictions ADDITIONAL DEATHS: 55,000/54,800 ADDITIONAL HOSPITAL ADMISSIONS: 207,700/205,800 PEAK HOSPITAL OCCUPANCY (COVID): 15,800/14,100 Source: Imperial College London's file submitted to SAGE, titled 'Unlocking Roadmap Scenarios for England v2' Advertisement

The blueprint for lifting lockdown, outlined by Mr Johnson today and expected to be eased over March, April, May and June, is expected to see the R rate of the virus rise higher than 2 before the end of April.

This rate  which measures how many people each person with coronavirus infects  will be higher than at any point since the very beginning of the pandemic.

But it is hoped that widespread vaccination  more than 17.5million people have been vaccinated already and all adults in the UK are likely to have been offered a jab by the time lockdown is lifted completely  will prevent millions of infections and thousands of hospital admissions and deaths.

Children and teenagers are set to bear the brunt of the third wave, with no vaccination coverage among over-18s and schools likely permanently reopened.

Data published today for the first time suggest that the jabs already being used in Britain  made by Pfizer and AstraZeneca  are already preventing between 85 and 94 per cent of hospital admissions among people who have had them, and Pfizer's jab may be stopping upwards of 70 per cent of people from becoming infected.

But the Government's top scientists sounded alarm bells in a briefing with journalists this morning, insisting that the easing of lockdown must be led by 'data not dates'.

Dame Angela McLean, deputy chief scientific adviser, said: 'One of the things that is very clear is this could go wrong if we go about things the wrong way.'

Gloomy modelling presented to SAGE suggested that another 143,000 Britons could die by July 2022 if No10 releases lockdown restrictions too early.

The analysis presented to SAGE  the Governments panel of top scientific advisers  took into account several different time-frames for completely easing the draconian restrictions.

The most alarming model took into account placing the nation back into Tier 2/3-style measures on March 29 and then fully lifting lockdown on April 26.

The blueprint  made by 'Professor Lockdown' Neil Ferguson and his Imperial team  warned that it could lead to another 154,000 deaths between now and next June.

In comparison, the additional death toll would be kept under six figures if ministers waited until July 16 to ease all restrictions.

Separate modelling was also conducted by Warwick University researchers, which came to similar conclusions.

In his roadmap today Mr Johnson signalled that lockdown is unlikely to be lifted before July, saying the final step of easing restrictions would happen no earlier than June 21.

A model of possible ways to ease out of lockdown, produced by the Imperial College Covid-19 Response Team, put forward the prospect of allowing one-on-one meetings indoors from March 29.

Under this scenario, hospital admissions could be kept below the first wave peak of 20,000 people in hospital with the disease, but the third wave would be brought forward to begin in May or June and rumble on through the summer.

This third wave, however, is inevitable.

Under the early mixing rule the peak of the third wave is no higher than in other models, it just comes sooner and appears to last slightly longer.

A peak in the summer would be safer for the NHS, which is typically over-stretched even in an average winter.

And the earlier spike that comes as part of a plan dubbed 'scenario 5', SPI-M suggested, may develop some herd immunity among younger people spreading the virus over the summer.

The paper, dated February 17, said: 'Prevalence in scenario 5 (and therefore hospital occupancy) is higher in summer than in the previous scenarios 2 and 3 as the first two steps happen more quickly.

'This means that fewer people are still susceptible at step 4 [total lifting of lockdown].

'Tying the timing of the final step to the date at which the whole population have been offered at least one dose, limits the height of the second peak compared to easing restrictions earlier.'

Boris Johnson today unveiled his lockdown exit strategy with rules due to start being lifted from March 8

SUMMER CIRCUIT BREAKER ON THE CARDS School summer holidays would be an ideal place for a circuit-breaker lockdown if Covid cases are spiralling out of control because of tough restrictions being eased, Number 10's top scientists have claimed. SPI-M-O, a sub-group of SAGE, said Easter would be a 'natural time during which to take stock and assess' how reopening schools have impacted transmission. They added that another good time to reassess whether easing lockdown measures have gone too far would be over an extended summer half-term holiday, scheduled for the first week of June in England. Writing in a consensus statement presented to SAGE on February 10, the panel said: 'If prevalence appears to be increasing, introducing a circuit break of two to three weeks over this half-term could be beneficial. 'If prevalence is low and stable during the first half of the summer term, this could be cancelled. Advertisement

As well as considering the timing of restrictions being lifted, the modelling also looks at how well the vaccine rollout progresses and how effective the vaccines are at preventing Covid-19.

It assumes that vaccines prevent between 50 and 94 per cent of infections, 50 and 94 per cent of symptomatic cases of Covid, and 70 and 98 per cent of severe cases after two doses.

These may be pessimistic estimates, based on studies that were published today suggesting that the Pfizer jab appeared to be preventing at least 70 per cent of infections among healthcare workers, and both jabs were preventing over 85 per cent of severe Covid cases after just a single dose.

The Imperial College model suggested that if vaccines were at the low end of effectiveness and lockdown was lifted completely in April, there could be another 146,000 deaths before July 2022.

This could be kept down to 94,000 deaths if lockdown were reduced more gradually up to a total relaxation in July.

Equally, if the vaccine rollout went slower than its current pace but the jabs were highly effective, as expected, deaths would be between 43,000 for the later end to lockdown up to 92,000 with the early lifting.

Professor Ferguson's team warned: 'Due to eligibility and vaccine hesitancy, vaccination alone will not be sufficient to keep the epidemic under control. [Lockdown rules] must be lifted slowly and cautiously to minimise the number of deaths and prevent high hospital occupancy, with some baseline [rules] remaining in place (and adhered to) throughout 2021 and beyond...

'Relaxing too quickly will result in peak hospital occupancy considerably higher than the current wave and substantial additional deaths. This holds regardless of vaccine efficacy, rollout, adherence to baseline [restrictions], and impact of seasonality.'

The paper suggested that even a high-speed vaccine rollout reaching 3.2million doses per week  2.5m were administered last week  may only lead to two thirds of the country developing immunity by the middle of summer.

Out of 23,324 health workers in the study, 89 per cent were vaccinated by February 5. There were 977 cases of coronavirus recorded in people before they were vaccinated, compared to 71 among people who were three weeks post-vaccination, PHE's Dr Susan Hopkins said today

The Scottish study showed that both vaccines offer a high level of protection against being hospitalised with Covid from just two weeks after a single dose, with the protection kicking in only a week after injection. There were not enough data to compare the two, the scientists said, although AstraZeneca's appears to work better in the early stages

In a ray of hope for Britain's lockdown-easing plans, results showed the jabs slashed the risk of hospital admission from Covid by up to 85 and 94 per cent, respectively, four weeks after the first dose. The graph above shows how the vaccine worked in different age groups
Corona, where Perez and her father live, is one of the New York City neighborhoods that have been most devastated by the pandemic. Now it is among the places where the fewest residents have received vaccines. In one ZIP code in Corona, fewer than 5% of the predominantly poor and working-class immigrant population had received at least one dose as of Sunday, data shows  among the lowest rates in the city. In one wealthy ZIP code on Manhattans Upper East Side, that number reached 28%.
The companys aims to complete the DFS and an ESIA during 2021 and be in a position to fund and develop Kachi by the end of the year.

Roth Capital has given the company a price target of A$0.60

( ) ( ) (FRA:LK1) has been flagged by Roth Capital Partners Joe Reagor as on the cusp of developing its Kachi Project in Argentina, with the broker giving the company a BUY rating and a A$0.60 price target.

Shares today have traded up to A$0.425 and the company's market cap is approximately A$359.2 million.

Reagor said: Given our view that LKE's process has a low environmental impact, we believe it should trade at a premium to conventional brine projects.

Ultimately, we believe the majority of the companys current market value is assigned to the Kachi project and that there is significant potential to generate shareholder value through exploration at its other projects.

Along with its flagship Kachi project, the company also has three brine projects (Cauchari, Olaroz, and Paso) in the heart of the lithium triangle and a pegmatite project in the Catamarca Province of Argentina.

Cleaner lithium production

The broker said: We believe that as demand for EVs increases it is likely consumers will become focused on the entire supply chain of the car they are purchasing.

We believe EV manufacturers see this demographic shift on the horizon and have begun to look to invest in lithium production from sources that have the lowest environmental impact.

This will lead to significantly higher valuations for lithium companies that either have a low-impact production process or that are located in first world countries that require higher environmental standards.

We also believe that the process Lake Resources is planning to use at Kachi has one of the lowest environmental impacts possible based on currently available technologies.

Direct extraction process

While most of the developed lithium assets in the Lithium Triangle produce using solar evaporation ponds, LKE intends to use a proprietary direct extraction process in partnership with Lilac Solutions.

The direct extraction process works by pumping lithium brine to the surface and then extracting lithium before returning the majority of the brine back to the ground.

This process has a much lower environmental impact with other benefits including a smaller surface footprint, a cleaner and purer form of lithium produced and a scalable process.

The broker said: Given the significant benefits that direct extraction has as compared to traditional evaporation, we believe that it is likely that direct extraction will become the dominant process for producing lithium from brine resources in the future.

In our view, companies like LKE simply need to demonstrate proof of concept at a commercial scale before the industry looks to move in that direction.

Lake Resources is at the forefront of commercialising this process and that the company has a first-mover advantage in the lithium triangle, in our view."

Project location map

Other projects provide upside potential

The companys Cauchari, Olaroz, and Paso projects in Argentina neighbour the existing evaporation production operations of ( ) (OTCMKTS:OROCF) (TSE:ORL) (FRA:3O1) and the in development ( ) ( ) (FRA:WUC1) and Ganfeng JV.

Reagor stated: Given these projects neighbour existing brine resources, we believe it is likely they could also contain significant lithium deposits.

In order to unlock this potential, the company intends to spend A$1.0 million on exploration at the projects in 2021.

Based on the results of this work, we would anticipate an increase in future exploration budgets.

Notably, the Catamarca project is a pegmatite style deposit while the region has a history of small scale production of lithium spodumene.

The broker said: Ultimately, we believe this project is last in the queue for the company as it would not be amenable to brine extraction technologies.

For the combination of these assets and the future optionality they provide, we assign a value of A$50 million.

Kachi development decision

In 2020, the company released a PFS that showed an after-tax NPV of US$748 million and post-tax IRR of 22%.

The PFS also called for an initial capital budget of US$544 million, an operating cost of $4,178 per tonne LCE, and an initial mine life of 25 years, which only consumes the indicated portion of the companys resource estimate.

Reagor said: Our initial valuation of the company is based on the company's PFS.

Normally at PFS-stage, we would assign a valuation of 30-50% of after-tax NPV, but in the case of LKE we have elected to assign a valuation of 60% because of our anticipation of a market premium.

The company is now in process on a DFS with an estimated cost of US$10 million.

As part of the DFS, the company is operating a pilot facility in California and a demonstration plant on-site to produce five tonnes of lithium carbonate.

The companys goal is to complete the DFS and an ESIA during 2021 and be in position to fund and develop Kachi by year-end.

Lakes direct extraction process

Lithium price outlook

Given the backdrop of continued demand growth in EVs in the future, it is likely that lithium prices will see upward pressure, however, the broker retains a bullish outlook for the price of lithium, with lithium demand likely to outpace supply growth over the next decade.

In the longer-term, we believe the price of lithium carbonate will average $12,000 per tonne, while we estimate a price of $14,000 per tonne for lithium hydroxide.

We note this is significantly above current reported prices of approximately $6,000 and $7,000, respectively.

However, we note that EV sales growth was muted in 2020 due to the pandemic.

The term reported is used because lithium price realizations are not readily available and that the quality of lithium products is not consistent, meaning there tends to be large variations in reported pricing.

Reagor said: While we use these prices for the basis of evaluating lithium projects, we note it is likely that lithium development companies will look to sign offtake agreements with battery manufacturers, which would then stabilize the pricing they receive.

However, if our view that EV demand will significantly outpace lithium production growth over the next 10 years comes to fruition, it is likely that there will be periods where spot prices of lithium spike significantly above our medium-and-long-term forecasts.

We believe this provides further upside for lithium stocks compared to our estimates and valuations.

Lake Resources risk outlook

Reagor noted the following risk outlooks for the company
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This year, Mount Carmel School was selected by the Northern Marianas Coalition Against Domestic & Sexual Violence to host the proclamation signing for Teen Dating Violence Awareness Month.

MCS photo

Armenia Investigative Committee: Fatal road accident, criminal case opened

Armenia deputy FM submits resignation

Chinese authorities allow families to have 3 children

Dollar devalues in Armenia

Stepanakert: Azerbaijan creates bridgeheads for pressure on Karabakh, expansion towards Armenia

Sergey Lavrov says Russia is ready to disconnect SWIFT

Armenia MFA spokesperson resigns

Republican Party of Armenia Vice-President: Our ratings are growing, but we have greater pretensions

Armenia acting PM's spokesperson responds to ex-FM

Armenia parliament majority leader: Refusing to debate with acting PM is manifestation of low self-confidence

Armenia State Revenue Committee, US Department of Justice sign Memorandum of Cooperation

Vardevanyan: Attempts made to create false grounds for obstructing Armenia bloc election offices legal activities

Lavrov says Russia is ready to resume dialogue with NATO

Armenia opposition MP on FM's resignation

India records lowest increase in COVID-19 cases in 50 days

Bright Armenia faction in parliament: No response to acting PM's proposal to deploy observers along Azerbaijan border

Ruling bloc MP: Acting premiers proposal does not limit Armenia in terms of cooperation with CSTO

Acting PM is proud of Armenian servicemens heroism, says parliament majority leader

Parliament majority leader: No border delimitation unless Azerbaijan army units leave Armenia territory

Outgoing Armenia acting FM opens brackets: My decision of resignation was conditioned by that very reason

Harutyunyan, Shoygu discuss tension on Armenia-Azerbaijan border

Iranian MFA says US has not imported oil from country since Clinton era

Court hearing on appeal against decision to drop March 2008 Yerevan tragedy case is rescheduled

Missing soldiers relatives block Yerevan street

Parliament majority leader: Armenia acting FM did not object, at Security Council meeting, to new document

Armenia Police: 2,581,093 people on voters list

Bright Armenia faction of parliament: No corridor through the country should be provided to Azerbaijan

Analyst: Armenia acting PM Pashinyan gave self-confessed testimony

Armenia national security finds about 1 kg of opium, detains Iran citizen driver and 2 others

182 hearing aids and 2 buses by benefactor Mikayel Vardanyan for students of Special Educational Complex

34 new cases of COVID-19 confirmed in Armenia

Updated voters list is posted on Armenia central election commission website

Armenia authorities provide considerable amount of subsidies ahead of snap parliamentary elections

World oil prices on the rise

MP explains his not being on Bright Armenia Party electoral list

UK new flagship set to be named after the late Prince Philip

US man who said he shot neighbor over loud music found guilty of attempted murder

Lamborghini company to be sold for $11.5bn?

China spacecraft docks with future space station

Lawyer: Armenia acting PM Pashinyan grossly abuses administrative resources during Lori Province visit

UN urges to investigate escalation of violence in Colombia

Malaysia to open mega-centers for vaccination against coronavirus

Police find  5 million in cash in London apartment

French citizen to face trial in Iran on spaying charges

Over 60 children in UK undergo surgery due to TikTok challenge

Iranian Central Bank governor dismissed

Armenian opposition: The one who liberated Artsakh will not go to debates with the one who sold it

Iranian energy ministry: Iraq to allocate $ 125 million of frozen funds for vaccines

No new COVID-19 cases reported in Artsakh

Iran and Iraq to intensify cooperation and are ready for joint investment projects

Armenia ex-PM says at least 2 more secret documents signed but not published yet

Indonesia frees Iranian tanker 4 months later

Mortar shelling in Afghanistan kills at least 10 civilians

Fire breaks out at West Virginia oil refinery in US

Second President of Armenia meets with residents of Ararat province

Iran ready to help improve the defense capability of Syria

Armenian acting PM invites ex-presidents for debates

European Parliament head proposes to strengthen sanctions on Russia

UK PM gets married in London

Armenia reports COVID-19 new 81 cases: 4 people die

EU countries invite US to issue joint statement against Russia

2 people die in Armenia road accident

Nigeria: Students taken hostage a month ago are released

61 quakes recorded in Congo per day

Syrian MFA: EU lost credibility due to blind obedience to US policy

Armenia ex-minister of emergency situations hospitalized with heart attack

Mher Grigoryan: Clarification of border points is possible only after withdrawal of Azerbaijani troops from Armenia

Suspicious deal: Whether there was profit from buying DNA IDs?

Armenia ex-president says current authorities are trying to blame Russia for defeat in war

4 people killed in Afghanistani bus attack

Robert Kocharyan: This war could not have happened, it was a consequence of the policy of the authorities

Kocharyan: I have to ask people how it happened that overwhelming majority elected this leader

Armen Gevorgyan presents 'Armenia' bloc program: We offer the concept of a working country

Biden's administration proposed to leave unchanged amount of financial support to Armenia

US Embassy in Baku calls on Azerbaijan to immediately release Armenian POWs

Luxembourg MFA calls on Azerbaijan to immediately release all Armenian prisoners

Russia peacekeepers climb to Armenia Gegharkunik Province village positions

Biden strongly condemns manifestations of antisemitism in US

Iran intensifies its diplomacy amid Armenia-Azerbaijan border tensions

Armenia acting PM on forthcoming snap parliamentary elections: We hope to get 60% of votes
DUBLIN, Feb. 22, 2021 /PRNewswire/ -- The "Opportunities of Robotics in Enterprise Industry" report has been added to ResearchAndMarkets.com's offering.

The Growth Opportunity report on Opportunities of Robotics in Enterprise Industry discusses the impact of Collaborative Robots, Material Handling Robots and Robotic Exoskeletons in the Enterprise Industry.



Robotics technology has been undergoing major technological growth in recent years. With the advent of Industry 4.0 and smart factories, all industries across the spectrum are adopting advanced robotic automation solutions for varied applications according to industry requirements.

Currently, the main robotic technologies are categorized under collaborative robots (cobots), robotic exoskeletons, warehouse and logistics robots.

Robotic technology is a convergence of other advanced technologies like artificial intelligence (AI), machine learning, LiDar and sensor fusion.

Key Topics Covered:



Chapter 1: Strategic Imperatives

1.1 The Strategic Imperative

1.3 The Impact of the Top Three Strategic Imperatives on the Opportunities for Robotics in the Enterprise

1.4 About the Growth Pipeline Engine

1.5 Growth Opportunities Fuel the Growth Pipeline Engine

1.6 Research Process & Methodology



Chapter 2: Executive Summary

2.1. Each of the Below Mentioned Robotic Technologies have Different Impact Intensity on Enterprises

2.2. Technology Development is Crucial for Integration of Robotic Solutions in the Enterprise Industry



Chapter 3: Depth Dive - Cobots

3.1 Cobots are Paving the Way for Achieving Full Autonomous Manufacturing and Smart Factories

3.2 Collaborative Robots are Expected to Intelligently Function in the Manufacturing Industry

3.3 The Increase in Productive Requirement is the Main Industry Driver for Adoption of Cobots

3.4 The Patent Activity will Witness Significant Growth Y-O-Y as the Competition between Technology Developers Increases



Chapter 4: Material Handling & Warehouse Robots

4.1 An Overview of Different Autonomous Warehouse and Material Handling Robots

4.2 Companies are Focusing on Developing Solutions for Specific Applications Depending on Industry Requirements

4.3 The e-Commerce Industry is the Highest Contributor to the Increase in Market Revenue

4.4 Material Handling Robots Have the Highest Traction and Adoption Rate



Chapter 5: Robotic Exoskeletons

5.1 Robotic Exoskeletons - The Collaboration between Robots and Humans

5.2 The Technology Impact and Adoption Scenario is Anticipated to Increase in the Coming Years

5.3 Focus on Increasing Production Efficiency is Driving Market Growth

5.4 Most Patents Pertain to the Assembly Method of Robotic Exoskeletons



Chapter 6: Companies to Action

6.1 Vecna Robotics, Inc.

6.2 AI-Based Orchestration Software Solution for Warehouse Robots

6.3 Locus Robotics

6.4 Autonomous Warehouse Robotic Solution

6.5 German Bionic Systems GmbH

6.6 Robotic Exoskeleton for the Manufacturing Industry

6.7 Sarcos Corporation

6.8 Dexterous Mobile Robotic Exoskeleton

6.9 Universal Robots

6.10 Advanced Cobots for the Manufacturing Industry



Chapter 7: Growth Opportunities

7.1 Growth Opportunity 1: R&D Investment for Technological Innovation, 2020 - Cobots

7.2 Growth Opportunity 2: R&D Investment for Technological Innovation, 2020 - Material Handling & Warehouse Robot

7.3 Growth Opportunity 3: R&D Investment for Technological Innovation, 2020 - Robotic Exoskeleton



Chapter 8: Key Contacts



Chapter 9: Next steps

Companies Mentioned



German Bionic Systems GmbH

Locus Robotics

Sarcos Corporation

Universal Robots

Vecna Robotics, Inc.

For more information about this report visit https://www.researchandmarkets.com/r/6agpyr



Media Contact:

Research and Markets

Laura Wood, Senior Manager

[email protected]



For E.S.T Office Hours Call +1-917-300-0470

For U.S./CAN Toll Free Call +1-800-526-8630

For GMT Office Hours Call +353-1-416-8900



U.S. Fax: 646-607-1907

Fax (outside U.S.): +353-1-481-1716

SOURCE Research and Markets

Related Links

http://www.researchandmarkets.com


Unfortunately, our website is currently unavailable in your country. We are engaged on the issue and committed to looking at options that support our full range of digital offerings to your market. We continue to identify technical compliance solutions that will provide all readers with our award-winning journalism.
As France raced to complete a complex blueprint in December for vaccinating its population, the government quietly issued millions of euros in contracts to the consulting giant McKinsey & Company.

The contracts, which were not initially disclosed to the public, were intended to help ensure that vaccines would make their way quickly to distribution points for nursing homes, health care providers and the elderly. Additional contracts were hastily awarded to other consultants, including Accenture and two firms based in France.

But within weeks, the countrys vaccination campaign was being derided for being far too slow. In early January, France had inoculated only several thousand people, according to the health minister, compared with 230,000 in Germany and more than 110,000 in Italy.

As the consulting contracts came to light, McKinsey has become a magnet for controversy in a country where an elite civil service is expected to manage public affairs, and private-sector involvement is viewed with wariness.
Some 800 people were reportedly killed during a massacre at a Christian church in Axum, Ethiopia, where worshippers believe the Ark of the Covenant is housed.

The church of St Mary of Zion became a place of refuge for Ethiopians in the Tigray region fleeing the countrys civil war.

It came under siege last year amid clashes between government forces and rebel militia, resulting in hundreds of deaths, which have only become public knowledge now. Due to Tigrays phone lines being cut and a ban on journalists, death toll estimates varied.

As the region begins to reconnect with the outside world, a deacon who says he witnessed the atrocity and its aftermath has given an account of what happened over the final weekend in November 2020.

He says he collected victims' identity cards and assisted with mass burials. The deacon, who spoke to the Associated Press on condition of anonymity because remains in Axum, says 800 people were murdered.

"If we go to the rural areas, the situation is much worse," he added.

Among the dead were local worshippers who had rushed to the church to defend its covenant, a wooden chest which is said to have been built to hold the Ten Commandments of Moses.

The atrocities of the Tigray conflict have largely occurred in the shadows due to its isolation from the rest of Africa and the world.

Ethiopian Prime Minister Abiy Ahmed, who won the Nobel Peace Prize in 2019 for making peace with neighbouring Eritrea, announced the fighting as the world focused on the US election.

He accused Tigray's regional forces, whose leaders dominated Ethiopia for nearly three decades before he took office, of attacking the Ethiopian military.

Tigray's leaders called it self-defence after months of tensions.

While the world clamours for access to Tigray to investigate suspected atrocities on all sides and deliver aid to millions of hungry people, the prime minister has rejected outside "interference."

He declared victory in late November and said no civilians had been killed. His government denies the presence of thousands of soldiers from Eritrea, long an enemy of the Tigray leaders.

The killing continues, according to the deacon. He said he helped bury three people last week.
 Valuable accountings of crime trends present and past | Main | "Teaching Drugs: Incorporating Drug Policy into Law School Curriculum (2020-21 Curriculum Survey Update)" 

February 22, 2021

SCOTUS grants cert on yet another intricate Armed Career Criminal Act issue

The Supreme Court is back in action today after its February hibernation, and it kicked off a new round of activity with this long order list. Though I suspect some extended dissents from the denial of cert on non-criminal issues will garner the most attention, sentencing fans will be intrigued (or perhaps annoyed) that the Justices have taken up yet another case dealing with the intricacies of the Armed Career Criminal Act. The case is Wooden v. United States, No. 20-5279, and cert was granted on this question from the initial pro se cert petition:

Did the Sixth Circuit err by expanding the scope of 18 U.S.C.  924(e)(1) in the absence of clear statutory defintiion with regard to the vague term "committed on occasions different from one another"?

The defendant's reply brief in support of the cert petition spotlights the facts and the extreme sentencing consequences at issue in Wooden:

Petitioner William Dale Wooden broke into a ministorage facility in Georgia one night in 1997. He entered ten units during the course of the crime and later pleaded guilty to ten counts of burglary. Were these burglaries committed on occasions different from one another? Fifteen years in federal prison depends on the answer. If not, Woodens sentence for possessing a firearm as a felon would have been only 21 to 26 months; he would have been home by Christmas 2016. D.Ct. Dkt. 84, 1-2. But the Sixth Circuit answered yes, affirming a harsh mandatory-minimum sentence. So Wooden will remain incarcerated until 2028. That wrongheaded decision exacerbated an acknowledged circuit split on an important and recurring question.

Most federal sentening fans know how intricate and consequential interpretations of ACCA can be for certain persons who illegally possess a firearm. But I still find the facts in a (largely unremarkable) case like Wooden remarkable.

As I read the government's filing, the defendant here at the time of sentencing had, besides the nearly 20-year-old ministorage burglaries, one other burglary conviction that was 10 years old and an assault conviction that was more than a quarter-century old. Rather that having Wooden's illegal firearm possession sentence now turn on judicial consideration of the seriousness of his current offense conduct and his true criminal history, ACCA served to make 15 mandatory(!) years of federal prison time turn entirely on legal technicalities rather than thoughtful consideration of what justice and crime control demands. Sigh.

February 22, 2021 at 10:30 AM | Permalink

Comments

It seems to me that a 10-unit "spree" of burglarizing storage facility units at on, single storage facility on the same day, within 2 hours should be viewed legally as a single occurrence or they should be grouped together and counted concurrently. Common sense seems to dictate that result, but then common sense isn't always common in Federal criminal appeals concerning the ACCA.

Posted by: Jim Gormley | Feb 23, 2021 9:49:56 AM

The path of this case bears note. This Petitioner filed a pro se Petition for Certiorari on forms from Federal prison. From reading his pro se Petition, he seems to have had help from a good prison law clerk or a so-called "jailhouse lawyer". At some point, the pro bono team at Arnold & Porter in D.C. got involved and ultimately filed the extraordinarily well-written and researched Reply to the Government's Response. Notably, there is no Order by the Supreme Court appointing Arnold & Porter to represent this Petitioner, although some informal phone call may have been made to partner Allon Kadem, who previously Clerked for two Justices. Research indicates that the Arnold & Porter partner heading up the Petitioner's representation is one of the most accomplished and capable Supreme Court advocates in America. Allon Kadem has clerked at every level of the Federal Judiciary. He is a graduate of Harvard College (magna cum laude, Phi Beta Kappa) and Yale Law School. This inmate, Mr. Wooden, won the legal representation lottery and has a strong case for being released from prison as a result. Arnold & Porter has always had a strong pro bono commitment, from which I have personally benefitted. Arnold & Porter represented me after I filed my pro se 2255 Habeas Corpus Motion in the early to mid-2000s. The Magistrate Judge who had my 2255 Motion sat on it for years, rather than read 17 days of trial transcripts. Ultimately, the District Judge took the case away from the Magistrate. By that time, I had already completely served the sentences for all but one of my Counts of Conviction. Only my conviction for conspiracy to commit money laundering was still holding me in prison. When 2 more months passed and the District Judge also had done nothing with the case, despite numerous phone calls and letters from Arnold & Porter, partner Kathleen "Kitty" Behan (also a Yale Law School grad) filed a Petition for a Writ of Mandamus with the Fourth Circuit Court of Appeals, seeking an Order directing the District Court to address my 2255 Motion. She said that it was only the 2nd time in 23 years of practice that she had ever found it necessary to file a Petition for Mandamus. This District Judge was served with the Writ Petition and given 10 days to respond to the Fourth Circuit. Perhaps predictably, on the 9th day, he filed a 6-page Order summarily denying my 2255 Motion without any evidentiary hearing; and then he told the Fourth Circuit that the Mandamus issue was moot, because he had denied the 2255 Motion. I hope that Mr. Wooden had better luck than I did.

Posted by: Jim Gormley | Feb 23, 2021 10:50:32 AM

I forgot to mention that Petitioner's attorney, Allon Kedem, is a former Asst. Solicitor General of the United States and has previously argued 11 cases before the U.S. Supreme Court. I contacted Mr. Kedem by telephone this morning to congratulate him and to suggest that he might seek a Habeas Corpus release of Mr. Wooden from Federal prison immediately, prior to the Supreme Court reaching the merits of his case. According to Mr. Kedem's Reply Brief, if Mr. Wooden had not been wrongfully enhanced as an Armed Career Criminal, he would have been released from prison in 2016, almost 5 years ago. Thus, it seems morally wrong to keep Mr. Wooden incarcerated for another 1 to 2 years while his case is briefed, argued and decided by the Supreme Court. There is Supreme Court precedent for what I am suggesting. See, Levy v. Parker, Warden", 396 U.S. 1204 (1969) (Douglas, Justice, In Chambers) (Inmate ordered released from prison on Habeas Corpus bond, because his sentence would have been completed before the Supreme Court could resolve the merits of his case).

Posted by: Jim Gormley | Feb 23, 2021 1:06:57 PM

I am interested in this case because of its potential for being persuasive authority in state court.

Many state recidivist statutes include similar language requiring that the prior offenses not be at the same time. While not controlling, whichever way the Supreme Court goes will color the arguments in state courts on those statutes.

Posted by: tmm | Feb 23, 2021 2:48:49 PM

Wasn't Kitty Behan also Roger Coleman's lawyer? God bless her.

Posted by: Def. Atty. | Feb 24, 2021 12:04:22 PM

Yes, Defense Lawyer, Kitty Behan did represent Roger Coleman. His case took a heavy emotional toll on her. When the post-execution DNA testing came back clearly confirming his guilt, she became deeply depressed. He had convinced her that he was actually innocent, so it hurt Kitty to the core to realize that she had been so deceived by a cold-blooded rapist and killer. She poured her heart and soul into his case. Ultimately, she left her partnership at Arnold & Porter and took some time off from practicing law.

Posted by: Jim Gormley | Feb 25, 2021 10:19:32 AM

Post a comment

A suspended nurse who injected cosmetic fillers into a womans face, causing an abnormality that could last for years, has been fined $5000 but spared a criminal conviction.

Tanya Bechara treated patients in Melbourne on November 17, 2018 after advertising that her business would be visiting for one day only from Sydney, but at the time her registration was suspended due to providing unsupervised injections the previous year.

On Monday, Melbourne Magistrates Court heard Ms Bechara had a registered nurse accompany her to a Brunswick skin clinic, but she, and not the nurse, injected patients with cosmetic fillers. When the nurse later raised concerns, Bechara said, Oh its fine, its fine.

One woman paid $1600 for injections to her lips, forehead and under her eyes.

She experienced pain afterwards and had her top lip hooking over the bottom lip and blue colouring under her eyes, magistrate Trieu Huynh said.
It cannot be denied that BTS has helped putting the K-Pop industry in the international scene with their adorable and inspiring music. Jin, Jimin, J-Hope, Jungkook, V, RM and Suga have worked very hard to produce songs that would not only inspire their avid followers but to also bring hope and a feeling of comfort amid the COVID-19 pandemic.

ARMYs Celebrate BTS' 'Map of the Soul: 7' First Anniversary

On Monday, Feb. 22, ARMYs have united to celebrate the first anniversary of the "Map of the Soul: 7" album of BTS. Most, if not all, fans are very much aware that the said EP of Jin, Jimin, J-Hope, Jungkook, V, RM and Suga as released on Feb. 21, 2020, as the world faces the perils brought by the COVID-19 health crisis.

The "Map of the Soul: 7" album of BTS is composed of 20 tracks, which include the popular "Boy with Luv," "Black Swan," "On" and "Respect" among others. The album effortlessly caught the hearts of many that it dominated numerous music charts in over 20 countries, which include the United States of America, Switzerland, Spain, Scotland, Portugal, Poland, New Zealand, the Netherlands, Lithuania, South Korea, Japan, Ireland, Hungary, France, Estonia, Canada, Belgium, Austria and Australia.

The record-breaking feats of the "Map of the Soul: 7" album made BTS as the first-ever Asian group to secure the No. 1 spots in all top five music markets in the world, namely: France, Germany, Japan, United Kingdom and United States of America. The EP even debuted at No. 1 on the U.S. Billboard 200 chart with more than 422,000 album sales, which include more than 347,000 pure album sales, last year. It, then, became the fourth No. 1 album of BTS with the highest first-week figures among all other EPs Jin, Jimin, J-Hope, Jungkook, V, RM, and Suga in the U.S. If that is not enough, it even marked the biggest first-week sales for an album in early 2020. "On" peaked at No. 4 spot on the Billboard Hot 100 chart with more than 18.3 million streams in the U.S. and more than 86,000 downloads. The Recording Industry Association of America (RIAA) had certified the "Map of the Soul: 7" album platinum after it sold more than 1 million units. The said album of BTS also secured the No. 2 spot on the year-end list of top-selling albums in America at the end of 2020.

BTS' 'Blood Sweat & Tears' Made a New Feat on YouTube

Meanwhile, the official music video of "Blood Sweat & Tears" of BTS reached another milestone lately after it surpassed 700 million views on YouTube. Jin, Jimin, J-Hope, Jungkook, V, RM, and Suga made the feat on Sunday, Feb. 21. It is the seventh MV of the South Korean boyband to ever break the said mark.

"Dynamite," "MIC Drop," "IDOL," "Fake Love," "Boy with Luv" and "DNA," previously, made it that far. For starts, BTS released the "Blood Sweat & Tears" music video on Oct. 10, 2016. In other words, it took the clip more than four years to reach its newest milestone.

For more K-Pop news and updates, always keep your tabs open here on KpopStarz.

KpopStarz owns this article.

Written by Nica Vaughn
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Get AfricaFocus Bulletin by e-mail! Format for print or mobile Africa/Global: The Inequality Virus AfricaFocus Bulletin

February 22, 2021 (2021-02-22)

(Reposted from sources cited below) Editor's Note COVID-19 has been likened to an x-ray, revealing fractures in the fragile skeleton of the societies we have built. It is exposing fallacies and falsehoods everywhere: The lie that free markets can deliver healthcare for all; The fiction that unpaid care work is not work; The delusion that we live in a post-racist world; The myth that we are all in the same boat. While we are all floating on the same sea, its clear that some are in super yachts, while others are clinging to the drifting debris.  Antonio Guterres, UN Secretary General The Secretary-General made this observation in the annual Nelson Mandela lecture in July 2020, in which he provided an incisive analysis of what he called the inequality that defines our time. As he acknowledged that inequality also has deep roots in history, he stressed that today's intersecting crises are accentuating rather than alleviating the gaps between rich and poor. We are reminded of that reality not only by the continuing pandemic, but also by the effects of climate-related disasters. The devastation by deadly cold weather in Texas and other states is the latest to hit the headlines, confirming again that it is the most vulnerable who suffer the most while those most responsible most often succeed in avoiding accountability. The Oxfam report released in January on The Inequality Virus spells out the disparate consequences of the Covid pandemic in stark terms. The report stresses that in response The fight against inequality must be at the heart of economic rescue and recovery efforts. Governments must ensure everyone has access to a COVID-19 vaccine and financial support if they lose their job. They must invest in public services and low carbon sectors to create millions of new jobs and ensure everyone has access to a decent education, health, and social care, and they must ensure the richest individuals and corporations contribute their fair share of tax to pay for it. That appeal is spelled out by Oxfam in a summary article Less billionaires and more nurses: five steps to rebuild a more equal world after COVID-19. This AfricaFocus Bulletin contains the press release on this report, and selected excerpts from the full report, which is available at the links cited below. For previous AfricaFocus Bulletins on health, visit http://www.africafocus.org/intro-health.php. For previous AfricaFocus Bulletins on economic inequality and related issues, visit http://www.africafocus.org/intro-iff.php. ++++++++++++++++++++++end editor's note+++++++++++++++++ Mega-rich recoup COVID-losses in record-time yet billions will live in poverty for at least a decade Press Release, Oxfam International, 25 January 2021 https://www.oxfam.org/en/press-releases/mega-rich-recoup-covid-losses-record-time-yet-billions-will-live-poverty-least The 1,000 richest people on the planet recouped their COVID-19 losses within just nine months, but it could take more than a decade for the worlds poorest to recover from the economic impacts of the pandemic, reveals a new Oxfam report today. The Inequality Virus is being published on the opening day of the World Economic Forums Davos Agenda.The report shows that COVID-19 has the potential to increase economic inequality in almost every country at once, the first time this has happened since records began over a century ago. Rising inequality means it could take at least 14 times longer for the number of people living in poverty to return to pre-pandemic levels than it took for the fortunes of the top 1,000, mostly White male, billionaires to bounce back. A new global survey of 295 economists from 79 countries, commissioned by Oxfam, reveals that 87 percent of respondents, including Jeffrey Sachs, Jayati Ghosh and Gabriel Zucman, expect an increase or a major increase in income inequality in their country as a result of the pandemic. Oxfams report shows how the rigged economic system is enabling a super-rich elite to amass wealth in the middle of the worst recession since the Great Depression while billions of people are struggling to make ends meet. It reveals how the pandemic is deepening long-standing economic, racial and gender divides. The recession is over for the richest. The worlds ten richest men have seen their combined wealth increase by half a trillion dollars since the pandemic began more than enough to pay for a COVID-19 vaccine for everyone and to ensure no one is pushed into poverty by the pandemic. At the same time, the pandemic has ushered in the worst job crisis in over 90 years with hundreds of millions of people now underemployed or out of work. Women are hardest hit, yet again. Globally, women are overrepresented in the low-paid precarious professions that have been hardest hit by the pandemic. If women were represented at the same rate as men in these sectors, 112 million women would no longer be at high risk of losing their incomes or jobs. Women also make up roughly 70 percent of the global health and social care workforce - essential but often poorly paid jobs that put them at greater risk from COVID-19. Heba Shalan, a mother of five and nurse from the Jabalia Refugee camp in northern Gaza Strip, is putting her life on the line caring for patients with COVID-19 without adequate personal protective equipment and for very little pay. Photo: Marwas Sawaf/Oxfam

Inequality is costing lives. Afro-descendants in Brazil are 40 percent more likely to die of COVID-19 than White people, while nearly 22,000 Black and Hispanic people in the United States would still be alive if they experienced the same COVID-19 mortality rates as their White counterparts. Infection and mortality rates are higher in poorer areas of countries such as France, India, and Spain while Englands poorest regions experience mortality rates double that of the richest areas. Fairer economies are the key to a rapid economic recovery from COVID-19. A temporary tax on excess profits made by the 32 global corporations that have gained the most during the pandemic could have raised $104 billion in 2020. This is enough to provide unemployment benefits for all workers and financial support for all children and elderly people in low- and middle-income countries.

Gabriela Bucher, Executive Director of Oxfam International, said: "We stand to witness the greatest rise in inequality since records began. The deep divide between the rich and poor is proving as deadly as the virus. Rigged economies are funnelling wealth to a rich elite who are riding out the pandemic in luxury, while those on the frontline of the pandemic shop assistants, healthcare workers, and market vendors are struggling to pay the bills and put food on the table. Women and marginalized racial and ethnic groups are bearing the brunt of this crisis. They are more likely to be pushed into poverty, more likely to go hungry, and more likely to be excluded from healthcare. Billionaires fortunes rebounded as stock markets recovered despite continued recession in the real economy. Their total wealth hit $11.95 trillion in December 2020, equivalent to G20 governments total COVID-19 recovery spending. The road to recovery will be much longer for people who were already struggling pre-COVID-19. When the virus struck over half of workers in poor countries were living in poverty, and three-quarters of workers globally had no access to social protections like sick pay or unemployment benefits. Extreme inequality is not inevitable, but a policy choice. Governments around the world must seize this opportunity to build more equal, more inclusive economies that end poverty and protect the planet, added Bucher. The fight against inequality must be at the heart of economic rescue and recovery efforts. Governments must ensure everyone has access to a COVID-19 vaccine and financial support if they lose their job. They must invest in public services and low carbon sectors to create millions of new jobs and ensure everyone has access to a decent education, health, and social care, and they must ensure the richest individuals and corporations contribute their fair share of tax to pay for it. These measures must not be band-aid solutions for desperate times but a new normal in economies that work for the benefit of all people, not just the privileged few. Notes to editors Download The Inequality Virus report and summary, methodology document outlining how Oxfam calculated the statistics in the report, pictures, footage and case studies. During the week of 25 January, the World Economic Forum (WEF) will digitally convene the Davos Dialogues, where key global leaders will share their views on the state of the world in 2021. Oxfams calculations are based on the most up-to-date and comprehensive data sources available. Figures on the very richest in society come from Forbes 2020 Billionaires List. Because data on wealth was very volatile in 2020, the Credit Suisse Research Institute has delayed the release of its annual report on the wealth of humanity until spring 2021. This means that we have not been able to compare the wealth of billionaires to that of the bottom half of humanity as in previous years. According to Forbes the 10 richest people, as of December 31st 2020, have seen their fortunes grow by $540 billion dollars since 18 March 2020. The 10 richest men were listed as: Jeff Bezos, Elon Musk, Bernard Arnault and family, Bill Gates, Mark Zuckerberg, Larry Ellison, Warren Buffett, Zhong Shanshan, Larry Page, and Mukesh Ambani. The oldest historical records of inequality trends are based on tax records that go back to the beginning of the 20th century. The World Bank has simulated what the impact of an increase in inequality in almost every country at once would mean for global poverty. The Bank finds that if inequality (measured by the Gini coefficient) increases by 2 percentage points annually and global per capita GDP growth contracts by 8 percent, 501 million more people will still be living on less than $5.50 a day in 2030 compared with a scenario where there is no increase in inequality. As a result, global poverty levels would be higher in 2030 than they were before the pandemic struck, with 3.4 billion people still living on less than $5.50 a day. This is the Banks worst-case scenario, however projections for economic contraction across most of the developing world are in line with this scenario. In the World Economic Outlook (October 2020), the International Monetary Funds worst-case scenario does not see GDP returning to pre-crisis levels until the end of 2022. The OECD has warned this will lead to long-term increases in inequality unless action is taken. Oxfam calculated that 112 million fewer women would be at risk of losing their jobs or income if men and women were equally represented in low-paid, precarious professions that have been most impacted by the COVID-19 crisis based on an ILO policy brief published in July 2020. All amounts are expressed in US dollars. Oxfam is part of the Fight Inequality Alliance, a growing global coalition of civil society organizations and activists that are holding the Global Protest to Fight Inequality from 23-30 January in around 30 countries, including Kenya, Mexico, Norway and the Philippines, to promote solutions to inequality and demand that economies work for everyone.

Contact information Anna Ratcliff in the UK | anna.ratcliff@oxfam.org | +44 7796993288

Annie Theriault in Peru | annie.theriault@oxfam.org | +51 936 307 990

Laura Rusu in the US | laura.rusu@oxfam.org | +1 (202) 459-3739 ******************************************************************* The Inequality Virus : Bringing together a world torn apart by coronavirus through a fair, just and sustainable economy Oxfam International, January 25, 2021 https://oxfamilibrary.openrepository.com/bitstream/handle/10546/621149/bp-the-inequality-virus-summ-250121-en.pdf [Excerpts] The coronavirus pandemic has the potential to lead to an increase in inequality in almost every country at once, the first time this has happened since records began. The virus has exposed, fed off and increased existing inequalities of wealth, gender and race. Over two million people have died, and hundreds of millions of people are being forced into poverty while many of the richest  individuals and corporations  are thriving. Billionaire fortunes returned to their pre-pandemic highs in just nine months, while recovery for the worlds poorest people could take over a decade. The crisis has exposed our collective frailty and the inability of our deeply unequal economy to work for all. Yet it has also shown us the vital importance of government action to protect our health and livelihoods. Transformative policies that seemed unthinkable before the crisis have suddenly been shown to be possible. There can be no return to where we were before. Instead, citizens and governments must act on the urgency to create a more equal and sustainable world. The inequality virus COVID-19 has been likened to an x-ray, revealing fractures in the fragile skeleton of the societies we have built. It is exposing fallacies and falsehoods everywhere: The lie that free markets can deliver healthcare for all; The fiction that unpaid care work is not work; The delusion that we live in a post-racist world; The myth that we are all in the same boat. While we are all floating on the same sea, its clear that some are in super yachts, while others are clinging to the drifting debris.  Antonio Guterres, UN Secretary General History will remember the COVID-19 pandemic for taking over two million lives worldwide. It will remember hundreds of millions being pushed into destitution and poverty. History will also likely remember the pandemic as the first time since records began that inequality rose in virtually every country on Earth at the same time. The International Monetary Fund (IMF), the World Bank and the Organisation for Economic Cooperation and Development (OECD) have all expressed deep concern that the pandemic will drive up inequality all over the world, with deeply harmful effects. The impact will be profound [...] with increased inequality leading to economic and social upheaval: a lost generation in the 2020s whose after-effects will be felt for decades to come.  Kristalina Georgieva, Managing Director of the IMF This view is supported by Oxfams survey of 295 economists from 79 countries. They included leading global economists such as Jayati Ghosh, Jeffrey Sachs and Gabriel Zucman. 87% of respondents expected that income inequality in their country was either going to increase or strongly increase as a result of the pandemic. This included economists from 77 of the 79 countries. Over half of all respondents also thought gender inequality would likely or very likely increase, and more than two-thirds thought so of racial inequality. Two thirds also felt that their government did not have a plan in place to combat inequality. Inequality risks being supercharged, at a huge human cost: It took just nine months for the top 1,000 billionaires fortunes to return to their pre-pandemic highs 4 but for the worlds poorest people recovery could take 14 times longer, more than a decade. The increase in the 10 richest billionaires wealth since the crisis began is more than enough to prevent anyone on Earth from falling into poverty because of the virus, and to pay for a COVID-19 vaccine for everyone. Globally, women are overrepresented in the sectors of the economy that are hardest hit by the pandemic. 7 If women were represented at the same rate as men in those sectors, 112 million women would no longer be at high risk of losing their incomes or jobs. In Brazil, people of Afro-descent have been 40% more likely to die of COVID-19 than White people. If their death rate had been the same as White Brazilians, then as of June 2020, over 9,200 Afro- descendants would have still been alive. In the US, Latinx and Black people are more likely to die of COVID-19 than White people. If their death rate had been the same as White people s, then as of December 2020, close to 22,000 Latinx and Black people would have still been alive. The World Bank has calculated that if countries act now to reduce inequality then poverty could return to pre-crisis levels in just three years, rather than in over a decade. How history will remember what governments did in response to the pandemic, however, is a chapter yet to be written. Governments around the world have a small and shrinking window of opportunity to create a just economy after COVID-19. One that is more equal, inclusive, that protects the planet, and ends poverty. They can do this by urgently transforming the current economic system, which has exploited and exacerbated patriarchy, white supremacy and neoliberal principles. A system that has driven extreme inequality, poverty and injustice. One that left our world completely unprepared when the crisis came. More than ever, governments have at their disposal realistic, common sense ideas to shape a better future. They must seize the opportunity. The virus has hit an already profoundly unequal world The coronavirus crisis has swept across a world that was already extremely unequal. A world where a tiny group of over 2,000 billionaires had more wealth than they could spend in a thousand lifetimes. A world where nearly half of humanity was forced to scrape by on less than $5.50 a day. A world where, for 40 years, the richest 1% have earned more than double the income of the bottom half of the global population. A world where the richest 1% have consumed twice as much carbon as the bottom 50% for the last quarter of a century, driving climate destruction. A world where the growing gap between rich and poor both built on and exacerbated age-old inequalities of gender and race. This inequality is the product of a flawed and exploitative economic system, which has its roots in neoliberal economics and the capture of politics by elites. It has exploited and exacerbated entrenched systems of inequality and oppression, namely patriarchy and structural racism, ingrained in white supremacy. These systems are the root causes of injustice and poverty. They generate huge profits accumulated in the hands of a White patriarchal elite by exploiting people living in poverty, women and racialized and historically marginalized and oppressed communities around the world. Inequality means that more people are sick, fewer are educated and fewer live happy, dignified lives. It poisons our politics, driving extremism and racism. It undermines the fight to end poverty. It leaves many more people living in fear and many fewer in hope. Such extreme inequality meant that billions of people were already living on the edge when the pandemic hit. They did not have any resources or support to weather the economic and social storm it created. Over three billion people did not have access to healthcare, three-quarters of workers had no access to social protection like unemployment benefit or sick pay, and in low- and lower-middle-income countries over half of workers were in working poverty. Since the virus hit, rich people have got richer, and poor people poorer In the first months of the pandemic, a stock market collapse saw billionaires, who are some of the biggest stockholders, experience dramatic reductions in their wealth. Yet this setback was short- lived. Within nine months, the top 1,000 billionaires, mainly White men, had recovered all the wealth they had lost. With unprecedented support from governments for their economies, the stock market has been booming, driving up billionaire wealth, even while the real economy faces the deepest recession in a century. In contrast, after the financial crisis in 2008, it took five years for billionaire wealth to return to its pre-crisis highs. Worldwide, billionaires wealth increased by a staggering $3.9tn (trillion) between 18 March and 31 December 2020. Their total wealth now stands at $11.95tn, which is equivalent to what G20 governments have spent in response to the pandemic. The worlds 10 richest billionaires have collectively seen their wealth increase by $540bn over this period. Worldwide sales of private jets soared when commercial travel was banned. While Lebanon faces economic implosion, its super-rich are finding solace in mountain resorts. In country after country it is the richest who are least affected by the pandemic, and are the quickest to see their fortunes recover. They also remain the greatest emitters of carbon, and the greatest drivers of climate breakdown. At the same time, the greatest economic shock since the Great Depression began to bite and the pandemic saw hundreds of millions of people lose their jobs and face destitution and hunger. This shock is set to reverse the decline in global poverty we have witnessed over the past two decades. It is estimated that the total number of people living in poverty could have increased by between 200 million and 500 million in 2020. The number of people living in poverty might not return even to its pre-crisis level for over a decade. The pandemic has exposed the fact that most people on Earth live just one pay check away from penury. They live on between $2 and $10 a day. They rent a couple of rooms for their family in a slum. Before the crisis hit they were just managing to get by, and starting to imagine a better future for their children. They are the taxi drivers, the hairdressers, the market traders. They are the security guards, the cleaners, the cooks. They are the factory workers, the farmers. The coronavirus crisis has shown us that for most of humanity there has never been a permanent exit from poverty and insecurity. Instead, at best, there has been a temporary and deeply vulnerable reprieve. It simply makes no common, moral or economic sense to allow billionaires to profit from the crisis in the face of such suffering. Their increasing wealth should be used instead to confront this crisis, to save millions of lives, and billions of livelihoods. ... Transformative policies that seemed unthinkable before the crisis hit have suddenly been shown to be a possibility. There must be no return to inequality as usual. Instead, governments must muster the urgency to create a more equal and sustainable world and a more human economy. Historically, pandemics have forced humans to break with the past and imagine their world anew. This one is no different. It is a portal, a gateway between one world and the next. We can choose to walk through it, dragging the carcasses of our prejudice and hatred, our avarice, our data banks and dead ideas, our dead rivers and smoky skies behind us. Or we can walk through lightly, with little luggage, ready to imagine another world. And ready to fight for it.  Arundhati Roy People want a very different world It was clear before the crisis, and is even clearer now, that people are demanding a better world. In 2019, before the pandemic hit, protests about inequality had spread across the planet. In 2020 the Black Lives Matter protests showed profound rejection of racial inequality. Polls from across the world show overwhelming support for action to build a more equal and sustainable world in the wake of the pandemic. After the financial crisis of 2008, governments made clear choices: cut taxes for the richest people and corporations; allow corporations to prioritize ever larger payouts to rich shareholders over workers; implement brutal austerity measures with cuts to public services like health; and continue to subsidize fossil fuels and climate destruction. These choices drove up inequality and have caused huge suffering. This time it must be different. This view is increasingly accepted by influential voices and organizations around the world, including even those that represent the status quo. Klaus Schwab, the Chairman of the World Economic Forum, which organizes Davos, recently called out neoliberal ideology, writing that we must move on from neoliberalism in the post-COVID era. The IMF has said that there should be no return to austerity and has called for progressive taxation. The Financial Times has called for radical reforms to reverse the prevailing policy direction of the last four decades, arguing for redistribution, basic incomes and wealth taxes. Without the pandemic, these arguments would have seemed unthinkable in recent years. Oxfam has identified five steps toward a better world. 1. A world that is profoundly more equal and measures what matters A radical and sustained reduction in inequality is the indispensable foundation of our new world. Governments must set concrete, time-bound targets to reduce inequality, and not simply back to pre-crisis levels: they must go further to create a more equal world as a matter of urgency. They must move beyond a focus on Gross Domestic Product (GDP) and start to value what really matters. Fighting inequality must be at the heart of economic rescue and recovery efforts. This must include gender and racial equality. Countries like South Korea, Sierra Leone and New Zealand have committed to reducing inequality as a national priority, showing what can be done. The World Bank has calculated that if countries act now to reduce inequality global poverty levels will return to their pre-coronavirus levels in three years instead of over a decade from now. 2. A world where human economies care for people Governments must reject the old recipe of brutal and unsustainable austerity and must ensure peoples wealth, gender or race does not dictate their health or education. Instead, they must invest in free universal healthcare, education, care and other public services. Universal public services are the foundation of free and fair societies and have unparalleled power to reduce inequality. They close the gap between rich and poor, but also help close the gap between women and men, especially in redistributing the responsibilities of unpaid care. They help to level the playing field for racialized and historically oppressed and marginalized groups. Countries like Costa Rica and Thailand achieved universal health coverage in a decade. Others can do the same. Governments must urgently deliver a Peoples Vaccine to tackle the pandemic. To do this they must face down pharmaceutical corporations, and insist on open access to all relevant patents and technology to enable safe and effective vaccines and treatments for all. Cancelling debts would release $3bn dollars a month for poor countries to invest instead in free healthcare for everyone. 3. A world without exploitation and with income security Inequality should be prevented from happening in the first place. To do this, businesses should be redesigned to prioritize society, rather than ever greater payouts to rich shareholders. Incomes should be guaranteed and maximum wages could be introduced. Billionaires are a sign of economic failure, and extreme wealth should be ended. The virus has shown us that guaranteed income security is essential, and that a permanent exit from poverty is possible. For this to happen we need not just living wages, but also far greater job security, with labour rights, sick pay, paid parental leave and unemployment benefits if people lose their jobs. Governments must also recognize, reduce and redistribute the underpaid and unpaid care work that is done predominantly by women and racialized women in particular. In the UK, a study by the High Pay Centre found that a maximum wage of 100,000 (approximately $133,500) would have the power to redistribute the cash equivalent of over 1 million jobs, showing that if the very rich earned a little less, mass-layoffs could be avoided. 4. A world where the richest pay their fair share of tax The coronavirus crisis must mark a turning point in the taxation of the richest individuals and big corporations. We must look back on this crisis as the moment when we finally started to tax the rich fairly once more  the moment that the race to the bottom ended and the race to the top began. This can include increased wealth taxes, financial transaction taxes and an end to tax dodging. Progressive taxation of the richest members of society is the cornerstone of any equitable recovery from the crisis, as it will enable investment in a green, equitable future. Argentina showed the way by adopting a temporary solidarity wealth tax on the extremely wealthy that could generate over $3bn to pay for coronavirus measures, including medical supplies and relief for people living in poverty and small businesses. A tax on the excess profits earned by corporations during the coronavirus pandemic could generate $104 bn: enough to provide unemployment protection for all workers, and financial support for all children and elderly people in the poorest countries. 5. A world of climate safety Climate breakdown is the biggest threat ever to human existence. It is already destroying the livelihoods and taking the lives of the poorest, economically excluded and historically oppressed communities. Women in these communities are among the most affected. To prevent this, we need to build a green economy that prevents further degradation of our planet and preserves it for our children. We need an end to all subsidies for fossil fuels, and an end to fossil fuel corporations and their rich shareholders making profits from government bailouts. The fight against inequality and the fight for climate justice are the same fight. The pandemic has shown us that massive action by governments is possible in the face of a crisis; we must see the same level of action to prevent climate breakdown. AfricaFocus Bulletin is an independent electronic publication providing reposted commentary and analysis on African issues, with a particular focus on U.S. and international policies. AfricaFocus Bulletin is edited by William Minter. For an archive of previous Bulletins, see http://www.africafocus.org, Current links to books on AfricaFocus go to the non-profit bookshop.org, which supports independent bookshores and also provides commissions to affiliates such as AfricaFocus. AfricaFocus Bulletin can be reached at africafocus@igc.org. Please write to this address to suggest material for inclusion. For more information about reposted material, please contact directly the original source mentioned. To subscribe to receive future bulletins by email, click here.
NEW YORK, Feb. 22, 2021 /PRNewswire/ -- Campaign US awarded Mindshare, the global media agency network that is part of WPP, one of its highest honors: Media Agency of the Year. Now in its second year, the Campaign US Agency of the Year Awards celebrate the best-in-class agencies that are creating meaningful and relevant work for their clients, driving business results and contributing to the wider industry or world. As part of that, Campaign profiled some of Mindshare's successes, and honored the agency at a virtual awards ceremony last week.

"As we look to elevate the role media can play in not only client success but advancing the needs of the world around us, we are honored to be recognized by Campaign in this way," says Adam Gerhart, Global CEO, Mindshare. "And most importantly, I am so very proud of our people, who give this agency meaning and purpose day in and day out. This award is a testament to all of them, for the inspiring and profound work that they continue to champion for our clients, and a testament to our clients who liberate and empower us to drive meaningful and lasting growth."

As the publication put it, "Mindshare USA secured its spot as the Media Agency of the Year by embracing the challenges of 2020 and using them as an opportunity to reimagine the role of media, to assure that empathy is central to how it and its clients operate and to commit to making a meaningful societal impact."

Among other things, the agency's values and core 'Provocation with Purpose' philosophy has led to initiatives in 2020 such as the Inclusion PMP series and intentional investment strategies, evolving virtual NeuroLab developments (including work to understand subconscious responses to the pandemic), new and expanded DEI programs, and new data tools and approaches such as the Data Ethics Compass, a first-of-its-kind tool done in partnership with GroupM. This past year, Mindshare also topped COMvergence's global new business barometer for the first half of 2020.

The Campaign US win comes on the heels of another big agency accolade for Mindshare, having recently won MediaPost's Media Agency of the Year for the second consecutive year. In just the last few months, Mindshare has been honored at the Festival of Media Global and North America Awards, the MMA's SMARTIES, the Effie Awards, and more for work that not only drove client results, but true societal impact. And in the past year and a half, Mindshare has been honored with Ad Age's Agency A-List, WARC 100's Top Agency Network, Cannes Lions' Media Network of the Year, and more.

The Campaign US win also follows Gerhart's recent promotion from U.S. CEO to Global CEO for Mindshare.

About Mindshare

We were born in Asia in 1997, a WPP start up designed to make media exciting, fun and life changing. For the last 20 years our values of Speed, Teamwork and Provocation have guided us in a world where everything begins and ends in media. We are the Cannes Lions Media Network of the Year 2019 and WARC Media 100 #1 Media Network 2020, with the top 3 most creative campaigns of the past year  so basically, statistically the best media agency in the world!

Our 10,000 people work with some of the world's best brands and companies to challenge convention. In 116 offices across 86 countries we integrate brand and demand, ruthlessly focus on outcomes and create the unexpected. We manage $24.1bn in billings and are the largest media agency in GroupM, WPP's Media Investment Management arm, which is the #1 media holding group globally with billings of $63bn (Source: COMvergence 2019).

Hear our stories (and join us) at www.mindshareworld.com and follow us on Instagram (@mindshare_usa), Twitter (@mindshare_usa), Facebook (facebook.com/mindshareusa), and LinkedIn (LinkedIn.com/company/mindshare).

About GroupM

GroupM is the world's leading media investment company responsible for more than $60B in annual media investment through agencies Mindshare, MediaCom, Wavemaker, Essence and m/SIX, as well as the outcomes-driven programmatic audience company, Xaxis. GroupM's portfolio includes Data & Technology, Investment and Services, all united in vision to shape the next era of media where advertising works better for people. By leveraging all the benefits of scale, the company innovates, differentiates and generates sustained value for our clients wherever they do business.

Discover more about GroupM at www.groupm.com.

Follow @GroupMWorldwide on Twitter

Follow GroupM on LinkedIn - https://www.linkedin.com/company/groupmworldwide

SOURCE Mindshare

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Moscow: Moscow will this week vote on whether to reinstate a statue of Felix Dzerzhinsky, the founder of the Soviet security services, on the spot from which it was torn down during the collapse of the USSR.

The monument to Dzerzhinsky, an architect of the Bolsheviks murderous Red Terror, dominated the square outside the headquarters of the Soviet KGB, now the FSB, in central Moscow until 1991. Crowds cheered as it was removed by cranes following a failed coup.

Since then, the statue has been on display at an outdoor museum of Soviet monuments, including busts of Lenin, Stalin and Brezhnev, in a park in the Russian capital.

An elderly man looks at a statue of Felix Dzerzhinsky in Minsk, Belarus. Opposition supporters had pasted signs on it earlier. Credit:AP

But Moscow authorities announced they would reconsider the fate of the Iron Felix monument with an online vote. Residents will be asked to choose between resurrecting the Dzerzhinsky statue or putting up a sculpture in honour of the 13th-century prince Alexander Nevsky.
Prime Minister Justin Trudeau shakes hands with U.S. Vice-President Joe Biden on Parliament Hill in Ottawa on Friday, December 9, 2016. THE CANADIAN PRESS/Patrick Doyle

WASHINGTON - Call it the Screen-Shared Summit.

Tuesday's bilateral meeting of Prime Minister Justin Trudeau and President Joe Biden  a strictly virtual affair, thanks to COVID-19  offers hope of a new start for Canada-U. S. relations.

It will be the new president's first meeting with a foreign leader, and Trudeau's first chance to advance Canadian interests with the White House without the chaos and anxiety of the last four years.

And while the pandemic may ensure it doesn't register on the same scale as Brian Mulroney's 1985 Shamrock Summit with Ronald Reagan, the expectations in Canada are still high.

Whether they are met remains anyone's guess.

"I don't want people to rest on their laurels and say, 'Well, we got the first meeting, so good for us,'" said Maryscott Greenwood, CEO of the Canadian American Business Council.

There is plenty of hard work ahead, including on the Canada-U. S. border, navigating Buy American protectionism, a way forward on China and the thorny issue of cross-border pipelines.

To make progress, Greenwood said, the Prime Minister's Office might do well to pretend Donald Trump is still president.

"Canada embarked on a very, very forward-leaning, activist agenda about engaging the U.S., inside and outside of D.C." when Trump was in office, she said.

"It's going to be important to have that level of urgency and that level of effort, and not just assume that everything's good now that Biden's here."

Biden has signalled a hard line on Buy American, his suite of protectionist measures aimed at ensuring domestic contractors and suppliers are the primary beneficiaries of U.S. tax dollars spent on infrastructure projects and procurement efforts.

He may take a similar line with Trudeau, White House press secretary Jen Psaki suggested Monday.

"He signed an executive order; we're of course evaluating procurement components of that, but no changes anticipated," Psaki said.

"Of course, the prime minister will bring up whatever he would like to bring up, as is true of any bilateral meeting."

Psaki offered up familiar bromides  a shared vision on climate change, cross-border economic ties and the "strong and deep partnership" between two "neighbours, friends and NATO allies."

But she avoided saying whether Biden would further commit to help secure the release of Canadians Michael Kovrig and Michael Spavor, who have been held in China for more than two years.

The two were swept up after Canada arrested Huawei chief financial officer Meng Wanzhou to face extradition to the U.S., where she has been charged with violating sanctions on Iran.

Resolving the three-way diplomatic standoff that ensued will be a top priority for Trudeau, said Eric Miller, a Canada-U. S. expert and president of the D.C.-based Rideau Potomac Strategy Group.

The 2022 Olympics, to be hosted in Beijing, could provide the perfect inflection point, he said  particularly if the Chinese have reason to fear prominent protests during a moment of national pride.

"What are the Chinese going to do if the Canadian team marches into the stadium with armbands that say, 'Free the Michaels?'" Miller said.

"I do think Biden's at a phase now where there's some receptivity to some different ideas. And as is often the case with this stuff, it often falls to Canada to kind of push the needle."

Speaking of needles: Trudeau is widely expected to press Biden on making more of the U.S. COVID-19 vaccine supply available for export to Canada, where production delays in Europe have been plaguing efforts to get shots in arms.

Politically, however, it will be hard for Biden to sell the idea of providing relief to other countries when the vaccination effort at home still has a long way to go.

"Fundamentally, Trudeau has no choice but to make to make a push on this," Miller said.

"Trudeau is going to make a big deal of asking, and the Biden people will commit to look into it, and nothing will happen."

Look for a similar outcome if Trudeau complains about Biden's decision to cancel the cross-border Keystone XL pipeline expansion, which he did with the stroke of a pen on his first day in the White House.

Canada remains a country heavily dependent on its natural resources, said Bill Reilly, who served as head of the Environmental Protection Agency under former president George Bush, from 1989 to 1993.

"It's very likely to be raising issues that run counter to some of the environmental aspirations that animate the Biden administration," Reilly told a panel discussion Monday.

"I don't think some of these issues are going to lend themselves to easy resolution."

This report by The Canadian Press was first published Feb. 22, 2021.
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If Texas were a country 

At least once a week, I read that phrase in some report or another to express the size and importance of the states economy. But its a lousy premise, because if we broke out every countrys states and provinces, especially Chinas, Texass ranking would drop pretty quick in comparison.

The Lone Star is globally important without skewing the statistics and could become more so if we make the right investments.

Texas brought in more revenue from exports than any other state in 2020 for the 19th consecutive year, according to the Census Bureau. Our exports were worth $279 billion compared to $156 billion from California and $61.9 billion from New York.

TOMLINSONS TAKE: Race is on to see who can produce the cleanest fossil fuels to capture market share

Even with all the challenges we faced in 2020, we are still outpacing the competition in exports  handily, I might add  thats a really good sign, said Robert Allen, president and CEO of the Texas Economic Development Corporation.

Houston is one of only two American metros to make the Top 20 in FDI Intelligences Global Cities of the Future 2021-22, demonstrating our role in international trade. The financial data firm, owned by the Financial Times, examines the foreign direct investment in hundreds of cities to see where investors vote with their money.

Singapore, London and Dubai took the top three spots, with New York ranked seventh. Houston squeaked-in at number 19. Innovation was a common denominator.

With low tax rates and generous research grants, Singapore has long positioned itself as one of the worlds most innovative cities, the magazine concluded. Singapore recorded the most FDI in research and development between 2015 and 2020 at $210 million, surpassing other cities by a significant margin.

Texas is known more for its lack of an income tax. But what the state doesnt take from your paycheck, it extracts through exorbitant property taxes. Texas is not a low-tax state, just a differently-taxed state. Where we break down is in rates of higher education and research and development spending.

Investment in innovation sets the other Global Cities of the Future apart. Amsterdam, Dublin, Shanghai and Bangalore, India, have invested in skilled workforces, technology development to earn the foreign investments that make their business communities thrive.

Texas has made significant strides and has become the United States top exporter of technology products for the eighth consecutive year. Hopefully, the new Hewlett Packard Enterprise headquarters in Houston, the cybersecurity companies in San Antonio and Googles and Apples expansion in Austin will add to our tech ecosystems.

Keeping its title as a global energy capital will prove more difficult as the world moves away from fossil fuels.

Foreign direct investments in renewable energy between January and November 2020 totaled $91.5 billion, more than twice the $45.4 billion directed to coal, oil and natural gas, according to FDI Intelligence.

That makes renewable energy the most coveted sector in 2020  a crown that the oil and gas sector has relinquished only twice since 2003, the firms analysts concluded.

As the state with the most exports and Houston a center for foreign investment, Texass economy is deeply dependent on international trade and the global economy. As the world comes out of the COVID-19 pandemic, opportunities and risks abound.

Saudi Arabias decision to keep oil off the market has raised crude prices by creating an artificial shortage. Cold snaps in Asia and North America have boosted natural gas prices, including liquefied natural gas exports from Texas.

The Biden administration plans to spend trillions to stimulate the economy and build new infrastructure, which will spur oil and gas demand and drive-up prices as construction revives. This will create a false dawn of a new oil and gas boom that threatens to lull Texans into complacency.

TOMLINSONS TAKE: American businesses should stand up to China's human rights abuses

OPEC nations, though, will soon release millions of barrels of crude to protect market share as they have in the past. Once the wind, solar, battery and recharging facilities are built, the demand for Texas oil field services and refining will drop.

Then the world will ask, What else ya got?

Will we be manufacturing electric vehicles at factories other than the Tesla factory in Austin? Will Texas Gulf Coast plants export green hydrogen and store carbon dioxide underground to fight climate change? Will San Antonio become an artificial intelligence hub with specialties in cybersecurity and robotics?

The Biden administration plans to spend big on research and development of climate-related technologies, will Texas grab a piece of that?

Texas has a strong position in global markets and a respected brand, but we can lose them. Anticipating future market trends requires constant questioning and evolution, not resting on our laurels.

Tomlinson writes commentary about business, economics and policy.

twitter.com/cltomlinson

chris.tomlinson@chron.com
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A Zillow listing for a property in northern California has social media users feeling incredibly uncomfortable thanks interior images that show rooms filled with a couple dozen glamorously-dressed mannequins.

The $650,000 2,116 sq. ft. home in South Lake Tahoe has been split into an upstairs and downstairs apartment  and while the downstairs apartment is a complete mess, it's the upstairs rooms that have left viewers with a lot of questions.

Photos snapped by realtors at Deb Howard & Company capture countless mannequins in glitzy evening gowns striking poses across the kitchen, living room, and bedrooms  with one mannequin that appears to be half naked and holding a sexy pose on the floor.

Looks like a party! A Zillow listing for a property in northern California has social media users feeling incredibly uncomfortable thanks interior images that show rooms filled with a couple dozen glamorously-dressed mannequins

The roommates? The $650,000 2,116 sq. ft. home in South Lake Tahoe has been split into an upstairs and downstairs apartment, and the upstairs has left people with a lot of questions

Creepy: Photos snapped by realtors at Deb Howard & Company capture countless mannequins in glitzy evening gowns striking poses across the kitchen, living room, and bedrooms

Like a department store! None of the decor is immediately visible thanks to the dozen or so female mannequins set up around the room

The Zillow listing shows a quite normal-looking brown exterior with an outside staircase for access to the upper and lower apartments. But images of the interior of the house tell a different story.

Upstairs is an open floor plan living and dining room, which connects to an open kitchen. The room has been decorated with a bold teal carpet, a damask day bed, gilded mirrors, and plants.

But none of the decor is immediately visible thanks to the dozen or so female mannequins set up around the room.

One, in a glitzy purple gown and matching strappy heels, lounges on the edge of the daybed, while another in a blue and gold dress stands near by, her leg bent and her foot resting on the wall behind her.

Two mannequins in similar glittering beige dresses stand side by side near the dining room table, while a mannequin in a blue dress and a matching scarf sits in a chair at the edge of the kitchen, a small stature of a chicken near her feet.

Several more mannequins  all dressed to the nines in eveningwear and jewelry, with styled hair and heavy makeup  are positioned in various poses around the room.

Two mannequins in similar glittering beige dresses stand side by side near the dining room table, while another holds a wide stance nearby

Cute pet! A mannequin in a blue dress and a matching scarf sits in a chair at the edge of the kitchen, a small stature of a chicken near her feet

What a mix! There's also quite a bit of religious artwork thrown into the mix

Very bizarre: No explanation has been given for all of the mannequins, which are posed to look like they're having a party

Interestingly enough, there are also several angel sculptures and a large Virgin Mary statue on one side of the room.

While the bathroom is devoid of mannequins, the life-size dolls have also spilled into the bedrooms, with one housing a female mannequin in a red dress.

Another of the bedrooms is positively packed with mannequins, though only a few are as glamorously-clothed as the ones in the living room.

One doesn't appear to be wearing much clothing at all and is posed in a sensual leaning position on the floor, while the home's only male mannequin in a suit stands above her.

That room also has two child mannequins, a baby mannequin, a dog sculpture, and a kneeling Virgin Mary.

The Zillow listing provides no explanation as to why, exactly, the upstairs is filled with mannequins, but does reference that a buyer will have some fixing up to do.

'With a little love, this duplex has great income property potential,' the description reads.

But wait, there's more! One of the bedrooms is positively packed with mannequins, though only a few are as glamorously-clothed as the ones in the living room

What's she for? One doesn't appear to be wearing much clothing at all and is posed in a sensual leaning position on the floor, while the home's only male mannequin in a suit stands above her

All generations! That room also has two child mannequins, a baby mannequin, a dog sculpture, and a kneeling Virgin Mary

While the bathroom is devoid of mannequins, the life-size dolls have also spilled into the bedrooms

'There is a spacious 3 bedroom 2 bathroom unit upstairs and a 2 bedroom 1 bathroom unit with a 1 car garage downstairs.

'Large driveway that can accommodate numerous cars. Don't miss out on this unique opportunity! Property to be sold as-is''.'

Images from the bizarre home, located on 3695 Primrose Rd., have been reposted on the popular Instagram account Zillow Gone Wild, where commenters have a lot of feelings  and a lot of questions.

'Major serial killer vibes,' wrote one, while another said it was 'straight up horror movie material.'

Yet another joked, 'I dont think Im glamorous enough to be invited to this party,' while one more wanted to 'burn it to the ground.'

'You gotta kiss all of them in order to figure out which one is Kim Catrell,' wrote another, referencing the 1987 film in which the Sex and the City star plays a mannequin come to life.

'Came to look at real estate, left with a lifetime of night terrors,' another quipped.

Who'd have guessed? The Zillow listing shows a quite normal-looking brown exterior with an outside staircase for access to the upper and lower apartments

Meet the neighbors! It includes a downstairs apartment with two bedroom and one bathroom
The Disaster Response Force (NDRF) personnel on Monday have reached up to 171 metres inside the Tapovan tunnel.

According to NDRF, the excavation work went on from 11:50 pm to 2:15 am last night to dewater the tunnel.

Union Home secretary Ajay Bhalla is scheduled to hold a meeting today with Director General of Police (DG) SS Deswal of Indo-Tibetan Border Police (ITBP), Uttarakhand state officials and other senior officials to discuss further course of action on the artificial lake created after the flood in Chamoli district, according to government sources.

The progress of rescue and relief work will also be discussed in the meeting.

Search operation and dewatering process continue in the Tapovan barrage area and tunnel respectively, in Chamoli district. A total of 68 bodies have been recovered so far following the glacier burst in Uttarakhand.

Divers of the Navy undertook the task of recording the depth of the glacial lake formed in the upper reaches of Chamoli district in the aftermath of glacier burst on February 7, the Indian Navy said on Sunday.

personnel rappelled way down the mountain to install a gauge in the Dhauliganga river in Chamoli.

A glacier burst in the Tapovan-Reni area of Chamoli district of Uttarakhand on February 7 led to massive flooding in the Dhauliganga and Alaknanda rivers which damaged houses and the nearby Rishiganga power project.

(Only the headline and picture of this report may have been reworked by the Business Standard staff; the rest of the content is auto-generated from a syndicated feed.)
As the death toll from COVID-19 reaches a horrific half a million in the United States, the Biden administration and the corporate media are ratcheting up their campaign demanding that educators and students resume in-person schooling despite scientific warnings of a major new surge of the pandemic as the winter turns to spring.

The same educators who were hailed as heroes in the early months of the pandemic last year are now being denounced as selfish and irrational because they refuse to imperil themselves, their students and the communities they serve. Although a recent poll by the National Parents Union showed that 42 percent of parents want their children to attend classes remotely for the rest of the school yearand only 27 percent want fully in-person instructionthe media has falsely claimed there is a groundswell of popular support to fully reopen the schools.

The Biden administration is spearheading this campaign, with the Democratic president reiterating his demand that schools be opened five days a week by April 1 during a CNN town hall meeting last week. When asked by a second grade student if she could catch COVID-19 and possibly infect her parents, Biden flatly lied, stating, Youre not likely to be able to be exposed to something and spread it to mommy or daddy.

Students in an Omaha classroom [Credit: Omaha Public Schools Facebook]

Democratic governors and local officials have carried out this campaign at the state and city levels. Schools are being opened this week in Detroit, even though Michigan has the third highest known cases of the more infectious B.1.1.7 UK variant among all US states. In Chicago, the next stage in the phased reopening of the nations third largest district starts Monday, with the return of tens of thousands of K-5 educators following the return of Pre-K and special education teachers last week. Some 62,000 middle school students in New York City will return February 25, following the return of Pre-K through fifth grade students in December.

In Philadelphia, the opposition of teachers has forced the city government to delay openings for a third time, now until March 1. Teachers in Fairfax, Virginia and Montclair, New Jersey are also resisting back-to-school efforts.

The opposition among educators has found its most advanced expression in the growing network of Educators Rank-and-File Safety Committees, which includes teachers and support staff workers in Pennsylvania, Michigan, Texas, Alabama, New York City, Los Angeles, Chicago and other locations. These committees are fighting to mobilize educators and other workers to prepare a general strike to close schools and non-essential production until the population is inoculated and the pandemic contained.

In California, Governor Gavin Newsom has denounced teachers for resisting his efforts to open schools, including in Los Angeles, which remains in the states highest purple tier, which indicates that the rate of infections is widespread, with more than seven cases per 100,000 residents.

On Saturday, Los Angeles teachers, parents and students took part in a car caravan protest against the rush to reopen schools. Los Angeles County already has the highest death toll of any county in the country, and the tragedy would be magnified if students, many from low-income and immigrant families living in multi-generational homes, returned to classrooms.

The United Teachers Los Angeles (UTLA) union, which organized the protest, has said it will call a strike vote on whether its 30,000 members will refuse to return if the district opens too soon. The UTLA is following the same pattern as the Chicago Teachers Union (CTU), which last month called a strike authorization vote under mounting pressure from teachers, only to negotiate a miserable back-to-school deal with Democratic Mayor Lori Lightfoot.

The UTLA and California Teachers Association (CTA) are seeking to reach a similar deadly deal with Newsom. The unions hailed as a step forward the governors decision Friday to set aside 10 percent of all the first-round vaccine doses the state receives for teachers, educators and childcare workers.

At every level, the unions fully support the campaign to reopen schools. American Federation of Teachers (AFT) President Randi Weingarten, who also sits on the Democratic National Committee (DNC), made the rounds of the news shows over the weekend.

During an MSNBC interview Friday, Weingarten falsely claimed that the school reopening guidelines issued February 12 by the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) were scientifically based and agreed that teachers did not have to be vaccinated before returning to schools. While acknowledging that all the risk is on the adults doing the education, Weingarten declared, we know that the benefits are huge for kids, thats why we are trying to take this risk.

Los Angeles teachers strike at city hall, January, 2019 (Credit: WSWS)

It is certain that Weingarten will not be taking the same risk as her members, some 530 of whom have already died from the virus. After ramming through the deal to open Chicago schools earlier this month, Weingarten, a multimillionaire with a $500,000-plus annual salary, boasted to the New York Times that she spends 15 hours a day on the phone from the safety of her Manhattan home speaking to the White House, the CDC, local mayors and union leaders to get schools open.

During an interview on NBCs Meet the Press Sunday morning, Weingarten was asked what reasonable risk she would have her members take. She responded by thanking host Chuck Todd for the opportunity to debunk the myth that our union doesnt want to reopen schools, adding that the CDC guidelines outlined the risks. Weingarten pointed to the deal between the United Federation of Teachers (UFT) and New York City Democratic Mayor Bill de Blasio as a model for supposedly safely opening schools.

In fact, schools in the city were open for less than two months before the district was forced to close in November due to rising infections. In total, there have been 15,628 infections in the nations largest district between September 14 and February 21, including 7,253 students and 8,375 staff, according to the Department of Education.

While acknowledging that the AFT was not insisting that teachers be vaccinated before schools reopen, Todd said many local unions were, and that in Fairfax, Virginia teachers even wanted children to be vaccinated first. They are moving the goalposts, Todd bitterly complained.

Weingarten responded by insinuating that resistant teachers were driven by unfounded, irrational fears and that the AFT would straighten them out. What youre hearing when you hear that is that people are scared, and what we need to do is meet fear with facts, which is what we are trying to do. So, we have had Dr. Fauci on two town halls, we had a vaccine town hall with experts, so just like we are meeting vaccine hesitancy with facts, the evidence and the data, we need to do the same in terms of educators.

According to Weingarten, the concerns of teachers who have seen half a million people die are no more rational than those of anti-vaxxers!

The drive to reopen schools is not motivated by sciencewhich has provided indisputable evidence from around the world that schools are a major vector for the transmission of the deadly disease. Nor is it driven by concern for children. The same Democratic and Republican politicians, including Biden, who are feigning concern over the fate of students have spent the last four decades gutting funding for public schools and diverting public resources into for-profit charter schools and other school privatization schemes.

On the contrary, the reopening of schoolswhich is supported by both big business parties and backed by every section of the media from the Wall Street Journal and Bezos-owned Washington Post to the New York Times and the liberal-left Nation magazineis solely driven by the economic and political imperatives of the corporate and financial elite. Children must be back in schools, they insist, so their parents can return to unsafe workplaces to produce the profits needed to prop up the speculative bubble on Wall Street and the unsustainable levels of corporate debt.

Teachers increasingly see through the lies of the pro-capitalist forces arrayed against them. A San Francisco teacher told the WSWS, The CDC and politicians continue to use the word safely return to school. This is impossible during a pandemic. Safely implies mitigation efforts that are successfully preventing transmission. In reality, they are, at best, only reducing transmissions. Even the two reports cited by the CDC to support their back-to-school plan showed some transmission still occurring, in spite of mitigation efforts.

What the CDC, politicians and pundits are ACTUALLY calling for is not a safe return to school, but one that they know will result in some degree of transmission, serious illness and death. Therefore, they are not telling teachers, families and the public that it is truly safe to return. They are telling us that if we follow their plan, there will be an ACCEPTABLE number of hospitalizations and deaths that are DELIBERATELY part of the plan.

Of course, they wont say this publicly because it is so horrific and damning, and it shows their utter disregard for human life. But we can, both in the WSWS, and to our peers and colleagues. And its important to do so because I dont think the public would support any number of deliberate deaths.

Teachers are fighting for science and life and in opposition to the gang-up of the big business politicians, the corporate media and the unions, which want to sacrifice human life for profit. In order to fight, educators need new organizations of struggle, which are independent of the corporatist unions and both the Democrats and Republicans. We urge educators to join and build rank-and-file safety committees in every district and unite with educators and the entire working class across state lines in preparation for a nationwide political general strike.
Photo: Yang Sheng/GT

BEIJING, Feb. 22 (Xinhua) -- Chinese State Councilor and Foreign Minister Wang Yi on Monday called for mutual respect, enhanced dialogue and mutually beneficial cooperation in order to bring China-U.S. relations back to the right track.

Wang made the remarks when delivering a speech at the opening of the Lanting Forum in Beijing, with the theme of "Promoting Dialogue and Cooperation and Managing Differences: Bringing China-U.S. Relations Back to the Right Track."

It is important to respect each other and not to interfere in each other's internal affairs, he said, adding that this is a basic norm governing international relations. Noting that China has all along respected the choices made by the American people, Wang said China has no intention to challenge or replace the United States and stands ready to have peaceful coexistence and seek common development with the United States.

"We hope the United States will respect China's core interests, national dignity, and rights to development. We urge the United States to stop smearing the Communist Party of China and China's political system, stop conniving at or even supporting the erroneous words and actions of separatist forces seeking 'Taiwan independence,' and stop undermining China's sovereignty and security through internal affairs concerning Hong Kong, Xinjiang and Tibet," he added.

He stressed the importance of stepping up dialogue and properly managing differences, saying that at present, both sides should follow up on the phone call between the two presidents on the eve of the Chinese New Year, act in the fundamental interests of the two peoples, take a forward-looking, open-minded and inclusive attitude and reactivate or establish dialogue mechanisms in various areas and at various levels.

"China is, as always, open to dialogue. We stand ready to have candid communication with the U.S. side, and engage in dialogue aimed at solving problems," Wang said.

He called on efforts to move in the same direction to restart mutually beneficial cooperation, saying that with regional hotspot issues and global challenges emerging one after another, areas for China-U.S. cooperation are expanding rather than shrinking, and the prospects for interaction are broadening rather than narrowing.

He said China is ready to coordinate policies and work with the United States in the three areas of COVID-19, climate change and world economic recovery.

Wang pointed out that it is important to clear the path for the resumption of bilateral exchanges in all areas, noting that China hopes the U.S. side will act as early as possible to lift its restrictions on Chinese educational and cultural groups, media outlets and institutions for overseas Chinese affairs in the United States, remove its barriers for U.S. subnational governments and social sectors to engage with China, and encourage and support the resumption of normal exchange programs between universities and research institutes.

"China is ready to work with the United States with an open mind to build a good environment for people-to-people exchanges," he said.


Material Beetaloo Resource Upgrade

Sydney, Feb 22, 2021 AEST (ABN Newswire) - Empire Energy Group Limited ( ASX:EEG ) ( OTCMKTS:EEGUF ) is pleased to advise shareholders that Netherland, Sewell & Associates, Inc. ("NSAI") has prepared an updated independent resource report for Empire's 100% owned and operated EP187 tenement located in the Beetaloo Sub-basin, Northern Territory, utilising the technical results of the Carpentaria-1 drilling program.HighlightsEmpire's best estimate prospective gas resource for EP187 has increased by 47% to 3.5 TCF- Empire has booked a maiden best estimate prospective condensate resource of 27 million barrels- Empire has booked a maiden best estimate contingent gas resource of 41 BCF in the immediate vicinity of the Carpentaria-1 well location- Empire has received Northern Territory Government approvals to carry out hydraulic stimulation and flow testing of the vertical Carpentaria-1 well- Tendering for the hydraulic stimulation and flow testing is well advanced, with operations expected to commence in Q2 2021- The program will be fully funded from existing cash at bank- Current cash balance is A$12.3 millionComments from Managing Director Alex Underwood:The NSAI report, which incorporated the results of our drilling program, updated petrophysical understanding gained from the W.D. Von Gonten & Co core analysis, and comparison of our results to key wells drilled by other operators across the Beetaloo Sub-basin, demonstrates that our EP187 contains significant resource potential, particularly for a company of our size.The increased prospective gas resource volumes, maiden assessment of valuable liquid hydrocarbons, and maiden booking of contingent gas resources in the vicinity of Carpentaria-1 validate the decision we made to drill Carpentaria-1 last year amid challenging economic conditions.Since that time, market conditions for the energy sector have improved materially, and the important role of gas in the energy transition has been a focus of the Australian Government which is actively supporting the development of the Beetaloo Sub-basin.We look forward to commencing the fully funded and approved flow testing program at Carpentaria-1 to assess which zones within the Velkerri Formation are likely to provide the optimal flow rates and gas / liquids contributions.While we prepare for this program, we are also continuing to advance opportunities to commence commercial production utilising existing infrastructure and markets.Updated NSAI ReportThe independent resource assessment for Empire's 100% owned and operated EP187 permit was prepared by NSAI, a worldwide leader of petroleum property analysis to industry, financial organisations and government agencies.Following completion of the evaluation program of the Carpentaria-1 well core and wireline data by W. D. Von Gonten & Co. in Houston, Texas, NSAI has incorporated the analyses and interpretations into its independent resource assessment for Empire's EP187 permit.The reservoir properties and shale pay thickness exceeded pre-drill expectations for Carpentaria-1, which has driven material increases in assessed gas and now condensate resources.Empire's shales in the target Velkerri Formation are both thicker and contain more liquid hydrocarbons than expected prior to drilling. Furthermore, an additional interval, which we are referring to as the Intra A-B, was identified immediately adjacent to the target Velkerri Formation A and B shales.NSAI has assessed a best estimate condensate (C5 and greater) prospective resource of 27 million barrels. Assessment of Natural Gas Liquids (C2 to C4) will require further gas analysis (post-flow testing) and those volumes are included in the best estimate prospective gas resource for the purpose of the updated independent assessment.NSAI's analysis was restricted to Empire's current operations in EP187 and did not incorporate further assessment of Empire's northern properties targeting the Barney Creek or other McArthur Basin shale targets. The Kyalla Shale was deemed to be too shallow or not present in EP187 and so has been reduced to zero for prospective resource assessment.The results of the NSAI EP187 report have been summarised by Empire in the table below. A detailed summary of the NSAI contingent and prospective resource estimates can be found at Appendix A*.The Carpentaria area and Carpentaria East area were assessed by NSAI utilising a depth cut-off of 1000 metres below ground level, which reflects the likely depth below which commercial hydrocarbons may be recoverable in future development scenarios.Maiden Contingent Resource AssessmentEmpire has booked contingent resources in EP187 for the first time in the immediate vicinity of the Carpentaria-1 well location, utilising the technical results of the Carpentaria-1 well and comparison of those results to analogue wells in the Beetaloo Basin which have flowed gas to surface, including Origin's Amungee NW-1H horizontal well and Santos' Tanumbirini-1 vertical well.The 2C contingent resource assessment represents hydrocarbon recovery from three (3) horizontal production well locations defined as 'blocks' which are 500m across and 2km long, which represents the assessed area of hydrocarbon recovery from 2km lateral wells into the target formations in future commercial development scenarios. The 3C contingent resource assessment represents hydrocarbon recovery from five (5) horizontal production well locations, two (2) of these locations being in addition to the 2C contingent resource blocks.Based on this methodology, the 2C area is a total of 3km2 and the 3C area is a total of 5km2. As detailed above, this represents only a small percentage of the total prospective area within EP187.The key contingencies that presently prevent the booking of proved and probable reserves are demonstration of the economic viability of the project development, successful completion of work program commitments on the leases and commitment to develop the resources.As Empire works to address these contingencies, our focus is on seeking to establish that the target formations can flow at commercial rates and building commercialisation opportunities for Empire's gas and liquids resources.Carpentaria-1 Vertical Hydraulic Stimulation and Flow Testing UpdateEmpire's EP187 Environment Management Plan ("EMP") for the hydraulic stimulation and flow testing of the vertical Carpentaria-1 well was approved by the Northern Territory Government on 16 February 2021. The EMP will remain active for five years from the date of approval.The tendering process is well advanced for services and ordering long-lead items in preparation for hydraulic stimulation and production flow testing of the vertical Carpentaria-1 well.The program will be fully funded from existing cash at bank.Empire expects to commence field operations in Q2 2021.*To view tables and figures, please visit:About Empire Energy Group Ltd

Empire Energy (ASX:EEG) (OTCMKTS:EEGUF) holds over 14.5 million acres of highly prospective exploration tenements in the McArthur and Beetaloo Basins, Northern Territory. Work undertaken by the Company since 2010 demonstrates that the Eastern depositional Trough of the McArthur Basin, of which the Company holds 80% has very considerable conventional and unconventional hydrocarbon potential. The Beetaloo sub-Basin, in which Empire holds a substantial position, has independently assessed world class hydrocarbon volumes in place with a major ramp up in industry activity underway to appraise substantial discoveries already made by major Australian oil and gas operators.

Empire Energy is an experienced conventional oil and gas producer with operations in the Appalachia region (New York and Pennsylvania). Empire has been successfully developing and producing oil and gas since 2006.
The new proposed TDS (tax deducted at source) rules which will be applicable from 1 July may result in banks deducting TDS at higher rates as the new rule doesnt provide any exception in those cases where the person is not eligible to file income tax return (ITR). Therefore, it may be possible that banks may deduct TDS at a higher rate from the interest income of super senior citizens (those aged above 80) which generally park bulk of their retirement corpus in bank deposits.

As per income tax law a person whose income is below the exempted limit is not required to file an ITR. In case of super senior citizens income up to 5 lakh is exempted from tax.

Therefore, in case a super senior citizen has an interest income of 5 lakh in a financial year, he is not liable to file ITR. However, as per the new proposed provision no exception is provided in case a person is not eligible to file ITR.

As per the proposal, TDS will be deducted at twice the applicable rate as per the Income Tax Act or 5%, whichever is higher in case the person hasnt filed ITR for the past two years (and the time limit for filing the ITR is also over) and a TDS of more than 50,000 was deducted in each of the past two years from that person.

As of now there is no such exemption to the payer but one has to wait and watch once the bill gets enacted," said Neeru Ahuja, Partner, Deloitte India.

Banks are required to deduct TDS at the rate of 10% in case of interest income is more than 40,000 ( 50,000 in case of senior citizens) in a financial year. In case of 5 lakh interest income, TDS at the rate of 10% works out to be 50,000. Therefore, banks may deduct TDS at 20% instead of 10% in such cases.

Explaining it with example Naveen Wadhwa, deputy general manager, R&D, Taxmann said,  Suppose, Mr A (aged 80 plus years) earned interest income of Rs. 5,00,000 in both the preceding years. TDS of Rs. 50,000 has been deducted under Section 194A in each year. As his income was below the maximum exemption limit, he was neither liable nor he furnished the return of income of the relevant period. In the current year, the tax now will be deducted at the higher rates prescribed under Section 206AB."

One can avoid deduction of TDS by the bank by submitting Form 15G/15H which is a declaration that your income is below the exempted limit. Form 15H is used by senior citizens of age above 60 years. However, there is no clarity on this part as well whether exemption will be provided to those who have filed Form 15G/15H or not.

The new TDS rule doesnt provide any exemption in cases where the person has filed Form 15G/15H from deducting TDS at a higher rate. Therefore, banks may deduct TDS at the rate of 20% from super senior citizens in case they have not filed ITR, even if they were not liable to due to income below exempted limit, in the previous years as per the proposed tax rules," said Prakash Hege, a Bengaluru-based chartered accountant.

The government should think through the implications of the proposed rule and should not hurry the implementation of these rules," said Gautam Nayak, Chartered Accountant.

Also, the government has proposed a new rule under which senior citizens aged above 75 years are not required to file income tax return in case they have only pension income and interest earned from specified bank accounts. There is no clarity on what will happen in such cases.

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RURAL schools are poorly resourced compared to those in urban areas, a gap often reflected in public examination results.

Shortage of information and communication technologies (ICT) tools and the Covid-19- induced lockdown is extending this gap.

Following the outbreak of Covid-19, online lessons have become the cornerstone of ensuring learners keep up with their education.

The traditional face-to-face/physical learning model has been minimised to prevent the spread of the virus which thrives in crowds.

However, for rural schools, challenges of network availability and resources have hindered students from learning.

Primary and Secondary Education Parliamentary Portfolio Committee Chairperson Ms Priscilla Misihairabwi-Mushonga said pupils who wrote Grade Seven public examinations last year had been disadvantaged.

She said pupils in urban areas had access to online learning and extra lessons for those whose parents and guardians can afford.

Ms Misihairabwi-Mushonga said education is now being accessed by the rich who can afford extra lessons and online lesson resources.

Rural pupils are mostly drawn from low-income families and their guardians or parents are often self-employed as smallholder farmers or artisans.

Ms Misihairabwi-Mushonga said as a committee they have proposed that class of 2020 Grade Seven pupils who wish to rewrite their examinations must be afforded the opportunity to do so in June.

As a committee we have proposed to facilitate and allow students who wish to re-write their exams in June as normally done by Zimsec for O-level and A-level students who re-write in June. Zimsec should set a different paper from the 2020 one to give those who want to re-write an opportunity to do so, she said.

Zimbabwe Teachers Association (Zimta) national secretary general Mr Goodwill Taderera said many rural schools in Zimbabwe are falling short on infrastructure and this includes classrooms and teacher accommodation.

He said Covid-19 has worsened the plight of rural schools. The rural to urban divide has always been there in terms of our schools infrastructure, lack of books and other learning resources and the Covid-19 pandemic has worsened the rural education in that schools had to close and rural students did not have much time to learn as we were coming from the teachers incapacitation, said Mr Taderera.

Lack of infrastructure is a worrying situation that has made education, particularly in rural areas, fall short in producing pupils with capacity to fight poverty and progress academically.

Most of the schools in the rural areas do not have electricity, laboratories and facilities needed for teach subjects like computer science, the re-packaged science subjects as well as the performing and visual arts in the new curriculum.

Mr Taderera said rural pupils have challenges in connectivity, lack of gadgets and also data in accessing online lessons. Sometimes pupils walk more than 15km to and from school which compromises their academic performance.

He pleaded with Government and other stakeholders to improve infrastructure in rural schools and empower rural teachers so that goals set in the new curriculum are met.

We plead with the Government pay teachers sufficiently for them to be attracted to rural schools so as to bridge the gap between urban and rural areas in terms of education standards, he said. Chronicle
Canada's airline fleets are not affected by Boeing's recommendation to ground its 777 aircraft after a dramatic incident during a U.S. flight over the weekend, as the type of engine involved is not in use by Canadian carriers.

Canada's airline fleets are not affected by Boeing's recommendation to ground its 777 aircraft after a dramatic incident during a U.S. flight over the weekend, as the type of engine involved is not in use by Canadian carriers.

The U.S. Federal Aviation Administration ordered United Airlines to step up inspections of the aircraft after one of its flights made an emergency landing at Denver International Airport Saturday as pieces of the casing of the engine, a Pratt & Whitney PW4000, rained down on suburban neighbourhoods. None of the 231 passengers or 10 crew were hurt, and the flight landed safely, authorities said. United is among the carriers that has grounded the planes.

FAA Administrator Steve Dickson said in a statement Sunday that based on an initial review of safety data, inspectors concluded that the inspection interval should be stepped up for the hollow fan blades that are unique to this model of engine, used solely on Boeing 777 airplanes.

Dickson said that would likely mean some planes would be grounded  and Boeing said they should be until the FAA sets up an inspection regime. Japan ordered the planes out of service, according to the financial newspaper Nikkei, while noting that an engine in the same family suffered trouble in December.

Boeing said there were 69 777s with the Pratt & Whitney 4000-112 engines in service and another 59 in storage.

Air Canada has 25 777s in its fleet, but they use an engine made by General Electric, and are not subject to the grounding recommendation.

Other Canadian airlines such as WestJet, Transat and Sunwing do not use the 777 aircraft.

United had 24 of the planes in service; it is the only U.S. airline with the engine in its fleet, according to the FAA. Two Japanese airlines have another 32 that are being pulled while Asiana Airlines grounded nine, seven of which were in service, until Boeing establishes a plan to fix the problems. Korean Air said it was discussing whether to ground 16 aircraft, six of which are in service.

We are working with these regulators as they take actions while these planes are on the ground and further inspections are conducted by Pratt & Whitney," Boeing said in a statement issued Sunday, referring to American and Japanese regulators.

The engine maker said it was sending a team to work with investigators.

The emergency landing this past weekend is the latest trouble for Boeing, which saw its 737 Max planes grounded for more than a year after two deadly crashes in 2019 and is suffering amid the huge reduction in air travel due to the coronavirus pandemic. The Max planes began returning to the skies late last year  a huge boost for the aircraft maker, which lost billions during the grounding because it has been unable to deliver new planes to customers.

Video posted on Twitter from Saturday's emergency showed the engine fully engulfed in flames as the plane flew through the air. Freeze frames from different video taken by a passenger sitting slightly in front of the engine and also posted on Twitter appeared to show a broken fan blade in the engine.

Passengers, who were headed to Honolulu, said they feared the plane would crash after an explosion and flash of light, while people on the ground saw huge chunks of the aircraft pour down, just missing one home and crushing a truck. The explosion, visible from the ground, left a trail of black smoke in the sky.

The U.S. National Transportation Safety Board said that two of the engine's fan blades were fractured and the remainder of the fan blades exhibited damage. But it cautioned that it was too early to draw conclusions about what happened.

United says it will work closely with the FAA and the NTSB to determine any additional steps that are needed to ensure these aircraft meet our rigorous safety standards and can return to service.

The NTSB said the cockpit voice recorder and flight data recorder were transported to its lab in Washington so the data can be analyzed. NTSB investigations can take up to a year or longer, although in major cases the agency generally releases some investigative material midway through the process.

Japans Ministry of Land, Infrastructure, Transport and Tourism said an engine in the PW4000 family suffered trouble on a Japan Airlines 777 flying to Tokyo from Naha on Dec. 4. The airline has said the plane had engine trouble after takeoff and returned to Naha. An inspection showed damage to the engine case and missing fan blades, according to the airline. Stricter inspections were ordered in response.

Japan Airlines and All Nippon Airways will stop operating a combined 32 planes with that engine, Nikkei reported.

 With files from The Canadian Press

This story has been updated to correct the name of one of the Japanese airlines mentioned. It is Japan Airlines, not Japan Airways.

The Twin Cities are among a handful of Midwest metros that have fared much better economically than the rest of the country during the COVID-19 pandemic.

The big picture: Our unemployment rate finished 2020 at 4.7%, well below the U.S. average of 6.7%.

Stay on top of the latest market trends and economic insights with Axios Markets. Subscribe for free

Columbus, Cincinnati and Indianapolis round out the four metros with the lowest unemployment among the 51 largest markets, according to the Wall Street Journal.

What they're saying: Economists told the WSJ that cities with diverse economies and large numbers of white-collar workers are doing better because so many jobs were able to shift to remote work.

"They also have less reliance on tourism compared with other large metro areas, relatively low population densities, and their overall COVID-19 caseloads havent been as severe," the WSJ wrote.

The bottom line: Minnesota lost 387,800 jobs in the first months of the pandemic and only regained 140,300 of them by the end of the year, according to the Minnesota Department of Employment and Economic Development.

This story first appeared in the Axios Twin Cities newsletter, designed to help readers get smarter, faster on the most consequential news unfolding in their own backyard.

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Microsoft has backed calls for Australia-style rules to be introduced in Europe that will force big tech companies to pay for news content.

The company announced on Monday that it will join forces with four leading European media lobby groups to work on laws that mirror those in Australia.

Casper Klynge, vice president of Microsoft, said the rules will help 'preserve and promote journalism' and are 'critical to the success of democracy'.

Microsoft, which already pays some publishers for news, is attempting to push itself as a copyright-friendly alternative to rivals such as Facebook and Google, which have been bitterly opposed to the new regulations.

Facebook last week blocked access to all news content in Australia last week in protest, sparking international condemnation.

Casper Klynge, vice president of Microsoft, said the company will work to 'preserve and promote journalism' by introducing Australia-style paid content laws in Europe

Australian politicians are due to vote the laws into force this week, vowing today that Facebook's protests will not convince them to change course.

Microsoft will join the European Publishers Council, News Media Europe, European Newspaper Publishers' Association and the European Magazine Media Association, which together represent tens of thousands of publishers, in drafting the laws.

Mr Klynge said: 'Access to fresh, broad and deep press coverage is critical to the success of our democracies.

'Our commitment to preserving and promoting journalism isnt new.

'In October 2020, we launched a new initiative to invest in and support local media and, through Microsoft News, we have been sharing a large portion of revenue with press publishers. This initiative is a logical next step.'

Jean-Pierre de Kerraoul, President of ENPA added: 'Independent journalism is vital to the social cohesion that is essential for democracy.

'But the internet and social media have not been kind to the free press with most outlets hit hard.

'Democracy relies on a free press to make it through difficult times. Any proposal that strengthens democracy and supports a free press should be promoted by the technology industry, which is a product of the very same freedoms and values.'

No10 today said Britain would be 'robust in defending free speech in journalism' amid growing criticism of Mark Zuckerberg's behemoth.

Australia's proposals mean that news publishers will have the right to demand payment from social media companies if their content is hosted on the sites.

If the two sides cannot reach a deal, then they must take their proposals to an arbitrator who will decide which deal is the fairest.

Google and Facebook have been leading opposition to the laws, but Google has since backed down and inked contracts with some of Australia's largest news companies - including Ruper Murdoch's News Corp.

Now, Microsoft and European publishing leaders want similar laws to be included in sweeping new legislation that is currently being worked on in Brussels.

EU leaders have already passed one law - the Digital Copyright Directive - which is due to come into force in June and has already helped publishers in France ink a $98million deal with Google for their content.

But the new laws would go further by bringing in a regulator to enforce deals between the tech giants and publishers, rather than relying on copyright law.

Similar laws are also being worked on in the UK and Matt Hancock, the health secretary, has called for them to be introduced.

Hancock said the UK should follow Australia's lead and said on Sunday that Oliver Dowden, the digital, culture, media and sport secretary, was watching the country 'very closely'.

Meanwhile Julian Knight, head of Britain's Digital, Culture and Media Committee, said it is time for social media giants to be 'brought to heel' after attempting to bully Australia into line.

Facebook 'should face stern legislative action and be brought to heel that way rather than through the softly-softly approach which they said they wanted,' Mr Knight said.

The decision means Daily Mail Australia's nearly five million followers can no longer access our news content on Facebook

'I think they're almost using Australia as a test of strength for global democracies as to whether or not they wish to impose restrictions on the way in which they do business, or corrections to the way in which they operate within markets.

'So, we're all behind Australia in my view,' he said.

Australia's senate began debating the new laws on Monday after they were passed by the lower house of parliament last week.

Senators are expected to vote on the bill Tuesday, and it is expected to pass with a majority of support.

Simon Birmingham, Australia's Minister for Finance, said ahead of the debate that Facebook's protests will not produce significant changes to the law.

'The bill as it stands ... meets the right balance,' he told ABC on Monday, adding that it ensures 'Australian-generated news content by Australian-generated news organisations can and should be paid for and done so in a fair and legitimate way.'

'There's no reason Facebook can't do and achieve what Google already has,' Birmingham added.

Lobby group DIGI, which represents Facebook, Google and other online platforms like Twitter Inc, meanwhile said on Monday that its members had agreed to adopt an industry-wide code of practice to reduce the spread of misinformation online.

Under the voluntary code, they commit to identifying and stopping unidentified accounts, or 'bots', disseminating content; informing users of the origins of content; and publishing an annual transparency report, among other measures.


Content streaming platform on Monday announced a new feature that will automatically download recommended content for users on their smartphones.

Netflix's latest 'Downloads for You' feature automatically downloads recommended shows or movies to a user's mobile device based on their tastes, said in a blogpost.

"Three years ago, we introduced Smart Downloads so you can find the next episode of your favourite show - even when you're on the go. Now, we want to make discovering your next new favorite series or film quick and easy whether you're connected or not," it added.

The company, which competes with services like Amazon Prime Video and Disney+Hotstar in India, said users will always be in control of how much content is downloaded to their device.

Users need to visit the 'Downloads' tab on their mobile device and toggle on Downloads For You. Then they can choose the amount of content they want downloaded to their device (1GB, 3GB, or 5GB) and click Turn On.

The more space they allow, the more recommendations will download for them, the blog said.

"The feature is available today on Android globally and we'll be testing soon on iOS," it added.

Over the top (OTT) players like Netflix, Amazon Prime and Disney+Hotstar have seen massive growth in the Indian market in the past few years on the back of cheap data tariffs and availability of affordable smartphones.

The adoption of these digital platforms was further accelerated during the pandemic amid restricted social activities like visits to movie theatres.

A significant amount of OTT content consumption is on mobile phones in the country, and these platforms have ensured that the viewing experience is optimised for mobile phone viewing.

(Only the headline and picture of this report may have been reworked by the Business Standard staff; the rest of the content is auto-generated from a syndicated feed.)
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Israels former US ambassador Michael Oren calls for united front against new Iran deal

Jan 31, 2021
New Delhi/Guwahati, Feb 22 : Indian Air Force chief Air Chief Marshal R.K.S. Bhadauria on reached Dhaka on a four-day visit on Monday, during which he would interact with senior dignitaries and visit key operational bases of the Bangladesh Air Force (BAF).

Defence spokesman Lt. Col. P. Khongsai said that Bhadauria and the accompanying delegation are scheduled to discuss the progress made in areas of shared interests and explore avenues to further mutual military cooperation.

"The visit of the CAS to Bangladesh comes at a significant period for the armed forces of both the countries, which are celebrating 50 years of the 1971 war. It would enhance the existing professional ties and bonds of friendship between the two air forces," the spokesman said.

Khongsai said that the CAS embarked on an official goodwill visit to Bangladesh on an invitation from Air Chief Marshal Masihuzzaman Serniabat, Chief of Air Staff, BAF.

Serniabat recently represented his country at the Chiefs' of Air Staff Conclave-21 at the Air Force Station in Yelahanka, Bengaluru, where he led a delegation to the Aero India 2021.
INVITATION FOR EXPRESSION OF INTEREST

For the attention of Interested Investors

Vietnam National Chemical Group (Vinachem) would like to send our best regards to potential investors.

Vinachem is the developer of a Rock Salt Exploitation and Processing Plant Project in the Lao Peoples Democratic Republic. Below is brief information about the project:

Location: Nong Bok district, Khammouane province, Lao Peoples Democratic Republic;

Resources reserve: about 29.5 millions tonnes of KCl;

Plant capacity: 320,000 tonnes of KCl (KCl  95 per cent) and 300,000 tonnes of NaCl (NaCl  98 per cent) per year;

Total investment: $522.466 million;

EPC contractors: a consortium consisting of TTCL (Thailand)  K-UTEC (Germany)  CECO (Vietnam).

Vinachem is currently looking for interested investors to rearrange the project investment structure through the transfer of Vinachems capital at the project to other domestic and foreign economic organisations.

Vinachem would like to send this Invitation for Expression of Interest to the investor community and invite investors looking to partake in this investment opportunity and co-operate with Vinachem in the above project to send a Letter of Interest (attached below) to Vinachem at the following address: 1A Trang Tien Street, Hoan Kiem district, Hanoi, Vietnam. Telephone number: +84.243 824 0551. Submissions are accepted until March 31, 2021.

-------------------------------------------------------------------

(Company title)

LETTER OF INTEREST

Attention to: Vietnam National Chemical Group (Vinachem).

Company:

Head office:

Address:

Telephone:............................Email:

Business registration number:

Main business activities:

Charter capital:

Legal representative:.............Title:

We acknowledge that Vinachem is looking for investor(s) to co-operate with in the Rock Salt Exploitation and Processing Plant Project in the Lao Peoples Democratic Republic.

By this Letter, we confirm that we are interested in the Project and want to work with Vinachem to discuss cooperation and investment opportunities.

We are committed to maintaining confidentiality regarding all information related to the Project provided by Vinachem.

Your sincerely,

Legal representative

(Signature with company Stamp)

Date

(Enclosed document: Company profile).
Ukraine, Pakistan strike tank repairs deal worth US$85.6 mln

Ukroboronprom's enterprises are constantly upgrading their production facilities and technology.

Reporting by UNIAN

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METROPOLITAN councillors are to take legal advice over a move by government which could see them lose more power.

Dail Eireann is set to debate the Land Development Agency (LDA) bill, which among other things, could strip councillors of the authority to veto the sale of public land.

Currently, this is one of the reserved functions of council members. But this power would switch to the LDA, a national planning body, under the reforms.

Supporters of the plan say that it is necessary in order to solve the housing crisis.

But at this months metropolitan district meeting, councillors gave a resounding thumbs down to the proposals, and passed a motion to write to Housing Minister Darragh OBrien, and seek legal advice over the adoption of the law.

Labour councillor Conor Sheehan, whose original motion got the ball rolling, said: In my view, this is an unacceptable and undemocratic power grab. It seeks to strip from us one of our core functions as local councillors. As far as I remember, this council has not delayed the building of social and affordable housing.

The sale of public land needs the check and balances of us councillors, and we should be able to examine proposals on merit. It's an attack on county councillors and one of the few functions we have. What is the point of us standing for election and attending meetings and briefings, if one of the few meaningful powers we have, is stripped away, he asked.

Sinn Fein councillor Sharon Benson formally seconded the motion, saying she does not feel the LDA will solve the housing crisis.

Its proposed legal structure, its land use plan and its financing model will result in an unstrategic use of public land.This will also be done while avoiding full public and democratic scrutiny. It is my partys firm belief that the development of public housing on public land should be delivered by local authorities operating to regional five year plans based on regional knowledge of demand, she said.

Cllr Elena Secas added: We have a housing crisis and I believe local authorities need to ensure efficient social housing is built for people. Local authorities have a duty to use land in the best interest of our society. The provisions contained in the LDA bill to remove the power of councillors to dispose of land cannot be accepted.

Fine Gaels metropolitan district leader, Cllr Daniel Butler suggested an amendment be put into Cllr Sheehans motion, that members write to Mr OBrien outlining their concerns.

This is a very serious and sustained attack on local democracy. We might as well all shut up shop and not bother coming to meetings when it comes to matters of such strategic importance when we are being told what to do anyway. It's embarrassing at this stage. Where is the place for local knowledge, the local voice for the people of Limerick, who should decide what is done with their land, not what some board up in Dublin thinks what is best for that land? It's totally anti-democratic, and cannot be allowed to happen, he added.

But Green Party councillor Sean Hartigan feels, in light of the plans for 108 homes and a private hospital between Moyross and Coonagh, perhaps the LDA should be allowed to focus on the provision of housing.

In recent years, council has failed to meet people's housing needs. Social and affordable housing needs to be planned and built post-haste. Only last week, we saw council announce the building of a private hospital and 108 housing units on public land where they had advertised an expression of interest for 400 to 600 housing units. Most councillors had no knowledge of this development. They may have expressed a preference for houses rather than the development of a private hospital, he explained.

Councillor Michael Sheahan, Fine Gael, wanted to go further than writing to Mr OBrien  instead seeking the views of a senior legal counsel on the matter.

It's a major shift from our reserved functions. The only way you can deal with these people is legally. I am proposing we get advice of a senior counsel on whether the bill conflicts with our duties as public representatives, he said.

Metropolitan district leader Sarah Kiely said she has huge concerns about the LDA bill.

We have very few reserved functions left, and these are being eroded constantly, she added.

Councils metropolitan district manager Kieran Lehane cautioned against appointing a counsel until the bill has progressed through the Oireachtas.

Instead, he suggested the local authoritys in-house solicitor could take a look at the legislation in the first instance.

Veteran Fianna Fail councillor Kieran OHanlon said as the bill will impact local authorities across Ireland, perhaps Limerick City and County Council should not shoulder the financial burden.

The business of being a councillor has been reduced by the Oireachtas over the years. They've taken away powers and I totally agree that is wrong. But this bill is complex and will be debated extensively by all parties, who will have views on this, he said, I agree we should continue as local councillors to have the say in the disposal of lands. But we shouldn't lose the run of ourselves.

In response to a query from the Leader, LDA chairman, Limericks John Moran said: The powers and the role of the LDA are not determined by the LDA. They are determined by the democratically elected Dail. Its not for us to give either criticism or support of that. They decide what they want.

If Labour or any other councillor has a view on what the LDA should, or should not be able to do, Im not the person to go to  we dont set the rules. We play by the rules we are given and operate to the powers we are given, he added.
Officials check temperatures last month at Orange County's first large-scale COVID-19 vaccination site at Disneyland in Anaheim. (Allen J. Schaben / Los Angeles Times)

Orange County this week will start setting aside doses of COVID-19 vaccine for workers in education, child care and food and agriculture, officials said.

The county plans to dedicate 30% of its vaccine allocation to workers in those sectors, as well as to those in emergency services. The remaining 70% will go to residents 65 and older, Jessica Good, spokeswoman for the Orange County Health Care Agency, said Sunday in an email.

County officials have instructed vaccine providers to similarly divvy up the allocations they receive directly, according to a presentation given Saturday to the county's vaccine task force.

Orange County residents who are 65 or older and first responders who work in high-risk communities have been eligible to be vaccinated since mid-January.

The county estimates that it has 450,000 senior residents and nearly 477,000 who work in education, child care, food and agriculture or emergency services. The county hasn't yet received its vaccine allocation for this week.

In order to inoculate more people, the county must replenish its supply of vaccine, the health department said Friday in an update. Allotments have been inadequate and erratic, as has been the case throughout the U.S., and severe winter weather elsewhere in the country further delayed shipments of Moderna vaccine to California, forcing the temporary closure of multiple large-scale distribution sites over the weekend.

In Orange County, the distribution site at Disneyland is closed through Monday. The county might have to postpone the opening of a new site at the Anaheim Convention Center that had been slated for Wednesday due to shipment delays, the health department said.

A site at Soka University of America that primarily administers the Pfizer-BioNTech vaccine remained open for second doses, but one at Santa Ana College temporarily closed Saturday, with officials saying a reopening would be dependent on receiving more Pfizer-BioNTech vaccine.

Story continues

In Los Angeles, all six city-run vaccination sites, including Dodger Stadium, will resume operations Tuesday, according to the mayor's office.

California announced in December that workers in education, child care, food and agriculture and emergency services would be eligible to receive the vaccine during Phase 1B of the state's distribution plan and later broadened that group to include those 65 and older. But exactly how that has played out has varied by county.

Many counties started vaccinating seniors and some law enforcement and emergency services workers last month; other emergency services workers, such as firefighter paramedics and emergency medical technicians, were offered doses earlier because they are also healthcare workers, who became eligible in Phase 1A of the state's plan.

Workers in education, child care and food and agriculture will be eligible to receive vaccinations in San Francisco starting Feb. 26 and in Los Angeles starting March 1, although public health officials in both counties have warned that the pace will be slowed by limited supply. Long Beach, which has its own health department and receives its own vaccine supply, started vaccinating some food workers and educators last month.

Santa Barbara County has not yet set a date for workers in education, child care and food and agriculture to be vaccinated but hopes to know more this week, according to Jackie Ruiz, public information officer for the county health department.

Workers in those sectors have been eligible to receive vaccinations in Riverside County since the state moved into Phase 1B several weeks ago, said Brooke Federico, the public information officer. Although the countys public health clinics have had to limit vaccinations to those 65 and older due to supply constraints, essential workers have been able to make appointments with private providers, Federico said.

In San Bernardino County, teachers and school support staff who have been conducting or supporting in-person instruction or plan to do so before the end of the current school year have been eligible for vaccinations since Feb. 1, said David Wert, the public information officer. The county has been unable to offer vaccines to all teachers and school staff, or to food and agriculture workers, due to limited supply but hopes to expand eligibility soon, he said.

This story originally appeared in Los Angeles Times.
Saudi Ministry of Defence made an announcement allowing women of the kingdom to join military and armed forces. Saudi women can join Saudi Arabian Army, Royal Saudi Air Defence, Royal Saudi Navy, Royal Saudi Strategic Missile Force, and Armed Forces Medical Services, Gulf News reported.

The move comes under Crown Prince Mohammed bin Salman's Vision 2030 initiative, introducing reforms that allow Saudi women to advance in various fields. With this initiative, Saudi women will be increasingly seen doing jobs that were previously limited to men, such as waiting tables in restaurants, being cashiers in shopping malls among others.

Arab world's largest economy first announced allowing women into the military in 2019, the same year when the Saudi kingdom said it would allow women to leave the country without permission from a male relative.

The Saudi Ministry of Defence announced that men and women in the kingdom can now apply for positions in the military through their unified admission portal. According to tot the ministry, Saudi women would be recruited as soldiers, lance corporals, corporals, sergeants, and staff sergeants.

Applicants must be between the age of 21 and 40 to be eligible for the military. In addition to this, a woman must be at least 155 centimetres tall or above, to become part of the army.

They must also pass admission procedures, have a clean record, and be medically fit for service. Moreover, a woman must hold an independent national identity card, have at least a high school education, and cannot be married to a non-Saudi.

For male citizens wanting to join the armed forces, they must be between the ages of 17 and 40 and be a minimum of 160 centimetres tall.

They must also pass admission procedures, have a clean criminal record, and prove that they are medically fit for service.Also read: 89% want reduction in central tax on fuel price: LocalCircles survey

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The latest data from Nigerias infectious disease agency, NCDC, has further exposed the inadequate testing for COVID-19 in Kogi and many other states, a situation health experts believe is causing an underestimation of the true extent of the spread of the disease in the country.

On February 27, it will be exactly one year since Nigeria reported its first COVID-19 infection in an Italian businessman who flew into the country in a Turkish airline that landed at the Murtala Mohammed Airport in Lagos.

Nigeria has since recorded over 150,000 COVID-19 cases and over 1,800 deaths.

Since Nigeria announced the second wave of the pandemic last December, infections and deaths have increased. Nearly half of Nigerias infections were recorded this year alone with about 65,000 infections reported since January 1, 2021.

Meanwhile, health experts say the numbers do not give a full picture of the outbreak in the country. They say low testing in many states across the country means infections have been under-reported, a fact considered the biggest challenge in the nations management of the outbreak.

Kogi in focus

Kogi, a state of about 3.5 million people, tested only five people for COVID-19 between February 7 and 14, according to the latest weekly general fact sheet published Wednesday by the NCDC.

The report has further disproved the false claims by the state governor, Yahaya Bello, that a massive testing campaign was going on in the state.

With the five test samples submitted during that period, Kogi has tested only 3,370 samples since the beginning of the outbreak.

The figure is less than 0.1 per cent of Kogis 3.5 million population. Experts say this further explains why the state is yet to report a single case and death in about 230 days even with the recent spike in infections across the country.

Our target in every state in Nigeria is to test at least 1 per cent of the states population. This is the only way we can accurately state if the outbreak has been controlled or not, Chikwe Ihekweazu, the NCDC director said when Kogi crossed 120 days of no new cases and deaths in late last October.

The state is the least impacted across the country with a total of just five infections. Two patients have died and the remaining three have since recovered. The last fatality was recorded in early June.

Management of COVID-19 in Kogi has been enmeshed in several controversies. The Presidential Task Force (PTF) on COVID-19 earlier this month declared Kogi a high-risk state for refusing to acknowledge the existence of the disease.

The PTF also said that the Kogi government had failed to report testing, lacked isolation centres, and therefore warned Nigerians to be wary of visiting the state.

Health experts believe the situation in Kogi does not just raise serious concerns but has also made it more difficult to have a synchronized national strategy.

It also sets a bad precedent for other states who may decide to choose irresponsibility at the expense of their peoples lives, according to Confidence MacHarry, a security and health data analyst with SBM intelligence.

Testing: How states performed

While states are solely in charge of their coronavirus management and response, the NCDC supports and receives daily infection information from them which is then published by the agency.

The general fact-sheet, published weekly, contains information on states with reported laboratory-confirmed COVID-19 cases, recoveries, deaths, samples tested, and active cases.

According to the COVID-19 testing fact sheet for February 7 to 14, the five states that conducted the least tests during the period were Kogi (5), Sokoto (30), Zamfara (47), Cross River (50) and Abia (52).

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Just like in Kogi, almost all the states at the bottom of the testing table had been accused of not turning in enough test samples.

Cross River, one of the states that fell out with federal authorities in the early days of the pandemic because of its controversial stance on COVID-19, is the state with the second-lowest number of tests.

With 50 tested samples during the period, Cross River with a population of 3.7 million people, has tested about 5,381 samples in total.

Between April and July 2020, Zamfara had gone 50 days without a single case and death from COVID-19.

The milestone would have been held up as evidence of the state governments success in limiting the spread of the disease but for allegations that local officials were not testing enough samples.

Zamfara tested only 47 samples during the period to raise its total tests to 5,798 out of a population of 9.2 million people.

Even though Kebbi tested 123 samples last week between February 7 and 14, it is still the fourth lowest in overall testing.

Kebbi, a state of 3.1 million people, had tested a total of 6,238 samples as of last week.

With 68 tested samples between February 7 and 14, Jigawa, a state of about 3.6 million people, has tested about 7,852 samples.

Sokoto tested only 30 samples during the period to become the state with the second-lowest number of tests last week. But overall, the state of 5.4 million has tested 17,687 samples in total.

Similarly, Abia with 52 tested samples, has conducted a total of 17,520 tests.

Meanwhile, Lagos, Nigerias coronavirus epicentre with the highest number of testing laboratories, came tops in the weekly ranking. The commercial city with over 20 million population tested 17,162 samples between February 7 and 14; raising the states total tests to 353,457, by far the highest of any state.

Missing out on two million target

On April 28, 2020, the Nigerian government announced its target of testing at least two million people within the next three months.

It has been seven months since Nigeria missed out on the ambitious 90 days target; yet, Africas most populous country is yet to reach two million tests.

As of February 19, Nigeria had tested over 1.4 million samples out of a population of over 200 million people. Over 150,000 persons have tested positive. Out of these, 126,417 have been treated and discharged and 1,803 fatalities recorded.

With about 1.4 million tests, Nigeria has conducted only 6, 884 tests for every one million of its population, according to data from worldometer.info.

This pales in comparison to South Africa, which has tested 146,751 samples of every one million citizens  or Morocco at nearly 150, 000 per one million, the highest of any African country, according to worldometer.info data.

Ghana has tested 849,891 samples; about 26,998 per one million of its over 31 million people.

Challenge of testing

Nigeria, the most populous African country, has tested less than one per cent of its 200 million inhabitants as of Friday.

There are over 80 testing labs in the country, according to the NCDC director, Chikwe Ihekweazu, but many citizens say getting a coronavirus test has been a challenge.

While testing is free in state-owned laboratories, there are few of these facilities and they are in major cities and those seeking to be tested would wait in long queues for days, a PREMIUM TIMES check revealed.

Our reporter visited the testing centre at ThisDay Dome in Abuja on three different occasions within the past one month and could not get tested.

On those three occasions, there were long queues reaching about 100 people.

Nigeria is still experiencing shortages in test kits as health officials have had to transfer samples to other states to confirm results.

There have been discrepancies in daily COVID-19 results in some states due to testing gaps prompting the NCDC to suspend updating testing rates on a daily basis.

According to Mr Ihekweazu, the NCDC director, the test data is now shared weekly to reduce the pressure on the workforce at laboratories.

On four occasions this year, no daily data was included for Lagos, the epicentre of the disease in Nigeria, with the NCDC saying Lagos State health authorities did not turn in samples.

On some days, there are delays with harmonizing and analyzing data at the state-level. Lagos has a high number of laboratories in any single state. Given our commitment to ensuring accurate reporting to Nigerians, we are prioritizing quality over speed, Mr Ihekweazu said.

Apart from the shortages of test kits and discrepancies in figures, there is also the challenge of many Nigerians unwilling to get tested for the disease.

There are concerns that people are self-medicating and self-managing their symptoms at home.

Ripple effect

A lack of adequate testing capacity means losing track of the spread of the virus thereby putting already stretched public health systems under even more burden.

Health experts have raised concerns that the official figures grossly underestimate Nigerias COVID-19 situation, raising the possibility that the country may not be seen as a priority for scarce global vaccine supplies despite the urgent need.

This adds to a mix of challenges Nigeria and other African countries are facing in competing with wealthier countries to secure vaccine supplies.

The stigma attached to the disease, a lack of information and victims inability to either reach or pay for health facilities may also reduce reporting, health experts say.

The World Health Organization (WHO) is concerned that testing is not available at the grassroots level in Nigeria.

The challenge is how to decentralize these tests available in states and in countries like Nigeria where we need to get to people in the local governments, the agencys programme manager for emergency response for Africa, Michel Yao, told CNN.
Women in Saudi Arabia are now able to join the military as Crown Prince Mohammed bin Salman continues his efforts to modernise the kingdom.

Military roles in the army, air force, navy, missile force and armed medical services will now be open to women.

They will be able to join at any rank between soldier and sergeant if they are aged between 21 and 40 and have no criminal convictions.

Women in Saudi Arabia are now able to join the military as Crown Prince Mohammed bin Salman (pictured) continues his efforts to modernise the kingdom

Women must also not marry a non Saudi citizen and have to possess a high school education to be eligible to sign up.

Jobs have slowly been opening up for women in Saudi Arabia as bin Salman bids to improve the country's image abroad.

His 'vision 2030' project hopes to attract foreign investment by modernising many of the kingdom's antiquated customs.

It is now common to see women working as cashiers in shops, waiting tables and working in coffee houses, professions which were outlawed until recently.

In spite of the reforms which allow women to work, drive and travel independently in Saudi Arabia, women's rights are still a major issue

But in spite of the reforms which allow women to work, drive and travel independently, women's rights are still a major issue amid a recent crackdown on dissenters.

Earlier this month, one of Saudi Arabia's most prominent political activists was released from prison after serving nearly three years on charges that sparked an international uproar over the kingdom's human rights record.

Loujain al-Hathloul, who pushed to end a ban on women driving in Saudi Arabia, was arrested in 2018 and sentenced to almost six years in prison last December under a broad counterterrorism law.

Saudi activist Loujain Al-Hathloul (left shortly after being released and right in an undated photo) was released from jail after spending more than 1000 days in custody

Human rights lawyer Baroness Helena Kennedy previously wrote in a report that women's rights activists including Loujain were forced to kiss and perform sex acts on their interrogators in jails in Saudi Arabia.

They were also made to watch pornography, threatened with rape, hung from the ceiling, beaten and suffered electric shocks during treatment which 'amounted to torture'.

Louijain was held for 1001 days, with time in pre-trial detention and solitary confinement.

She was accused of crimes such as agitating for change, using the internet to cause disorder and pursuing a foreign agenda - charges that rights groups describe as politically motivated.

'Loujain is at home!!!!!!' her sister Lina al-Hathloul declared on Twitter alongside a screenshot showing a flushed Loujain beaming on a family video call.

The release Wednesday, earlier than anticipated, comes as Saudi Arabia faces new scrutiny from the United States, where President Joe Biden has vowed to reassess the U.S.-Saudi partnership and stand up for human rights and democratic principles.

'I have some welcome news that the Saudi government has released a prominent human rights activist,' Biden said in a speech at the Pentagon. 'She was a powerful activist for women's rights and releasing her was the right thing to do.'

Biden had labeled Saudi Arabia a 'pariah' on the campaign trial and promised to reverse former President Donald Trump's policy of giving the country 'a blank check to pursue a disastrous set of policies,' including the targeting of female activists.

She pushed to end a ban on women driving in Saudi Arabia and was arrested in 2018 and sentenced to almost six years in prison last December

The harsh crackdown against women who had pressed for the right to drive before the kingdom lifted the ban in mid-2018 came to symbolize the dual strategy of Crown Prince Mohammed bin Salman.

The young, ambitious prince has sought to portray himself as a liberalizing reformer while also silencing and detaining activists who long had pushed for change.

The United Nations welcomed al-Hathloul's release but U.N. spokesman Stephane Dujarric said 'it is important that others who are in the same condition as her, who have been jailed for the same reasons as her, also be released and that charges be dropped against them.'

Prince Mohammed cultivated close relations with the Trump administration, which members of Congress say largely shielded the kingdom from censure over its human rights record and instead sought to prioritize lucrative weapons deals
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The scheduled arraignment of a serving senator, Stella Oduah, alongside Chinese construction giant, CCECC, and six others, charged with laundering funds to the tune of N5billion, was stalled again on Monday.

The arraignment was initially stalled on February 9 due to the non-service of the charges on the defendants.

Inyang Ewko, the judge in charge of the trial at the Federal High Court in Abuja, had adjourned the case till Monday.

Hearing

Although most of the defendants were subsequently served, the prosecuting counsel, Hassan Liman, informed the judge on Monday that the prosecution still could not serve two of the defendants  Global Offshore and Marine Ltd, and Tip Top Global Resources Ltd.

Mr Liman, a Senior Advocate of Nigeria, who is prosecuting the case on behalf of the Economic and Financial Crimes Commission (EFCC), then applied to the court to have the two defendants served through their last known addresses.

The judge granted the application, ordering that Service to be effected within 14 days of this order.

But Mr Ekwo also reminded the prosecution that they had taken two of the five adjournments they were entitled to under the Administration of Criminal Justice Act, 2015.

When Mr Liman tried to explain away the prosecutions lapses leading to the two adjournments as a mere pre-trial issue, the judge said, You ought not file when you were not ready.

Aside from the two yet-to-be-served defendants (Global Offshore and Marine Ltd, and Tip Top Global Resources Ltd), the others who had been served including Ms Oduah, a former Minister of Aviation, and senator currently representing Anambra North in the Senate, were present with their lawyers.

One of the co-defendants is Gloria Odita (2nd defendant), who is said to be an aide to Ms Oduah when she was Minister of Aviation, andcompany secretary of Sea Petroleum & Gas Company (SPGC) Limited, a firm founded by the former minister.

The rest are an employee of SPCG and aide to Ms Oduah, Nwobu Nnamdi (3rd defendant), Chukwuma Chinyere (4th defendant), Crystal Television Limited (7th defendant), and Sobora International Limited (8th defendant).

The 9th defendant is CCECC Nigeria Ltd, the Nigerian subsidiary of China Civil Engineering Construction Corporation (CCECC) established by the Chinese government to execute international contracts and economic cooperation.

Ms Oduah was represented by Onyechi Ikpeazu, a Senior Advocate of Nigeria (SAN), and CCECC Nigeria Ltd was represented by a former Attorney-General of the Federation, Kanu Agabi, also a SAN.

The judge adjourned the arraignment till April 19.

Charges

PREMIUM TIMES had reported how the EFCC on December 17, 2020 filed the total of 25 counts accusing the defendants of laundering various sums of money totaling about N5,052,415,984 between February and June 2014.

EFCC, in the 25 counts, accused the defendants of conspiracy to commit money laundering, transferring, taking control and taking possession of proceeds of fraud, aiding and abetting money laundering and opening anonymous bank accounts.

Ms Oduah, whose ministry had contractual relationship with CCECC Nigeria Ltd while in office as the Minister of Aviation, was removed from office in February 2014 following a procurement scandal involving purchase of two amoured cars for N255million.


For Subscribers Why South Dakota county officials are shirking state-given water rights

Grant County could be the thirteenth county to repeal their drainage ordinance in the past decade.

Every House Democrat has signed onto a new voting rights act that would expand early voting, create automatic voting registration systems, and simplify voting by mail as some of its many reforms.

And, in a swipe at former President Donald Trump, the bill also requires all the presidential nominees to disclose 10 years of their tax returns.

It would also give Washington D.C. statehood, which would give the heavily Democratic federal city two Senators, a member of Congress and the ability to self-govern.

The legislation, which runs 791 pages, is packed with Democratic priorities and was given their top priority, labeled with the Number 1: H.R. 1, The For the People Act.

Every House Democrat has signed onto a new voting rights act that would expand early voting and create automatic voting registration systems - above voters line up to cast their ballots in New York

Democracy Reform Task Force Chair Rep. John Sarbanes of Maryland announced Monday that all 221 Democrats in the House of Representatives are supporting the measure.

'House Democrats are united in our steadfast commitment to advance transformational anti-corruption and clean election reforms by swiftly passing H.R. 1,' he said in a statement. 'Our historic reform effort will end decades of dysfunction in Washington, return power to the people and build a more just, equitable and prosperous country for all Americans.'

Republicans have blasted the legislation as a 'federal government takeover' and accuse Democrats of changing voting rules to their benefit.

Democracy Reform Task Force Chair Rep. John Sarbanes of Maryland announced Monday that all 221 Democrats in the House of Representatives support the measure

Last year, Senate Republican Leader Mitch McConnell called it the 'Democrat Politician Protection Act' and wrote in an op-ed that Democrats were seeking to 'change the rules of American politics to benefit one party.'

The bill is expected to be considered on the House floor during the first week of March, where it will pass in the Democratically controlled House.

But it could face a filibuster by Republicans in the Senate.

The legislation, according to Democrats, will create automatic voter registration across the country, ensure that individuals who have completed felony sentences have their full voting rights restored, expand early voting and enhance absentee voting, simplify voting by mail, reduce long lines and wait times for voters and modernize America's voting system.

It would also require all organizations involved in political activity to disclose their large donors.

The bill also ends the political tool of gerrymander and would make D.C. a state

Republicans oppose the measure - Senate Republican Leader Mitch McConnell called it the 'Democrat Politician Protection Act'

The bill 'breaks the so-called 'nesting-doll' sham that allows big-money contributors and special interests to hide the true funding source of their political spending,' and 'strengthens the political power of hardworking Americans by creating a multiple matching system for small donations.'

It also prohibits voter roll purges and 'ends partisan gerrymandering to prevent politicians from picking their voters.'

Gerrymandering is intended to establish an unfair political advantage for a particular party or group by manipulating district boundaries.

And it will require that the party's presidential nominees disclose 10 years of tax returns within 15 days of getting the nomination. Trump was the only presidential candidate in modern history not to release his returns, claiming he could not do so because he was being audited.

The bill also commits Congress to deliver 'full congressional voting rights and self-government for the residents of the District of Columbia, which only statehood can provide.'

Currently Congress runs the D.C. government and appropriates its funding.

Republicans have argued D.C. statehood is a political move to ensure two permanently Democratic U.S. Senate seats in what is an approximately nine-to-one Democrat-to-Republican jurisdiction.
The Iranian side, which has already announced the completion of a criminal investigation into the crash of a Ukrainian plane over Tehran, has not yet told Ukraine the names of suspects in its downing, Ukrainian Deputy Foreign Minister Yevhen Yenin has said.

According to an Ukrinform correspondent, he said this on the Ukraine 24 television channel on Monday, February 22.

Yenin said that "as of today, unfortunately, we do not observe an objective and impartial criminal trial in Iran in the case of the downing of a Ukrainian plane."

"So far, we have not even been told the names of those who have been notified of the suspicion, against whom an indictment will be sent to court tomorrow or in the near future. All this, unfortunately, does not contribute to an atmosphere of trust and progress in the negotiation process in terms of providing an adequate level of compensation, restoring justice and providing guarantees to prevent similar incidents in the future," Yenin said.

He added that a technical investigation into the causes of the plane crash was underway in parallel with the criminal probe and Ukrainian experts were finalizing the assessment of a draft technical report by the Iranian side. Yenin said that the Ukrainian side, before sending its opinion to Iran, will refrain from public comments on this document.

"At the same time, I would like to emphasize that these are the two areas on the basis of which we can talk about whether the Iranian side has the political will to comply with all norms and principles of international law within international instruments of which Iran is a member. [...] We still hope that the Iranian side, as it had promised many times, will strictly adhere to the norms of international law. We will demand justice, no matter how difficult and long this path may be. If our negotiations come to a standstill, we will resort to other mechanisms to protect violated rights," he said.

As reported, on January 8, 2020, Ukraine International Airlines plane (flight PS752) heading from Tehran to Kyiv crashed shortly after taking off from the Imam Khomeini International Airport. There were 176 people on board  nine crew members (all Ukrainians) and 167 passengers (citizens of Ukraine, Iran, Canada, Sweden, Afghanistan, Germany, and the UK).

On January 11, 2020, Iran admitted that its military had accidentally shot down the Ukrainian passenger jet. Iran's Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps (IRGC) accepted full responsibility for the downing of the Ukrainian airliner.

On January 5, 2021, Ukrainian Foreign Minister Dmytro Kuleba said that Ukraine had received from Iran a draft technical report on the circumstances of the crash of flight PS752 and had to prepare its remarks by the end of February.

On February 16, Kuleba said that Ukraine expected to receive from Canada an audio recording, in which a man identified as Iran's Foreign Minister Mohammad Javad Zarif discusses the possibility that the destruction of flight PS752 was an intentional act.

On February 20, Iran said the investigation into the crash of the Ukrainian plane over Tehran had been completed.

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Demi Lovato hopes her new docuseries will help people realize they can overcome their 'deepest, darkest struggles.'

The pop star is offering an intimate look into her life following her near-fatal 2018 overdose and subsequent sobriety journey via her new project, Demi Lovato: Dancing With The Devil.

And Lovato, 28, thinks sharing her story could inspire others to confront their demons, telling Ellen DeGeneres she wants to be a 'role model' to those who have made mistakes just like her.

Facing the darkness: Demi Lovato hopes her new docuseries Demi Lovato: Dancing With The Devil will help people realize they can overcome their 'deepest, darkest struggles'

'I talk about a lot [in the docuseries],' she said. 'The world has been so loving and accepting of me telling my story and just, there's been so much love and support.'

'What's great is we live in a time when nobody's perfect, and we're not gonna get role models by watching people not make mistakes.'

'We are going to meet and learn from our role models who have overcome their deepest darkest struggles,' she went on. '...I wanted to show everyone  first I wanted to set the record straight.'

Demi said she wanted to correct things since 'a lot of stories were going around that time that didn't really know what exactly had happened' after her overdose.

'I just wanted to tell the world, "Hey, this is what happened, this is how I got through it, and hopefully this can help you too,"' she said. 'Because this journey has been such a wild ride but I've learned so much and I can't wait to share it with the world.'

Tough times: The pop star overdosed on an opiate back in 2018 and has been working on her sobriety since the near-death experience

Nobody's perfect: Lovato, 28, thinks sharing her story could inspire others to confront their demons, telling Ellen DeGeneres she wants to be a 'role model' to those who have made mistakes just like her

Last week the bombshell trailer for Demi's new docuseries came out.

In it she shockingly revealed how her overdose gave her 'three strokes' and 'a heart attack' which left her with 'brain damage.

My doctors said that I had five to 10 more minutes,' said Lovato stoically during a confessional for the four-parter.

Appearing to confirm that it was heroin that Lovato overdosed on, her friend says in the clip: 'She should be dead. Are we talking about heroin? Are we doing that?'

Open book: 'I just wanted to tell the world, "Hey, this is what happened, this is how I got through it, and hopefully this can help you too,"' she said. 'Because this journey has been such a wild ride but I've learned so much and I can't wait to share it with the world'

Trauma: Demi revealed she had 'THREE strokes, a heart attack and now has brain damage' as result of near-fatal 2018 drug overdose... in a teaser for her upcoming YouTube documentary

At one point, an image of Demi's tattooed hand hooked up to an IV and covered in medical tape, as well as with a hospital band fastened around her wrist, appeared on screen.

The hospital band featured Lovato's August 20, 1992 birthdate, as well as the date she was admitted to the hospital: '7/24/2018'

As she continued to reflect on the life changing incident and the effect it has continued to have on herself, her friends, and family, Demi compared her resiliency to that of a cat with nine lives.

'I've had a lot of lives, like my cat. You know, I'm on my ninth life,' she stressed. 'I'm ready to get back to doing what I love, which is making music.'

Overdose: On July 24, just two days before she was set to take the stage in New Jersey, Demi was transported to a Los Angeles area hospital after suffering from an opioid overdose

While discussing the upcoming YouTube Originals series, Demi elaborated on the lingering effects her overdose has had on her mental and physical health, during a Television Critics Association panel on Wednesday.

'I was left with brain damage, and I still deal with the effects of that today. I don't drive a car because I have blind spots in my vision,' admitted the Sonny With A Chance actress.

On July 24, just two days before she was set to take the stage in New Jersey, Demi was transported to a Los Angeles area hospital after suffering from an opioid overdose.

The Los Angeles Fire Department confirmed to Rolling Stone that it had 'responded to a medical emergency call at 11:22 a.m.' at Lovato's Hollywood Hills home.

A source revealed to TMZ that when paramedics arrived to Demi's residence they headed inside where they found the star unconscious.

Paramedics on the scene administered naloxone, which is a medication designed to treat narcotic overdose, before rushing Lovato to a nearby by hospital, as per NBC.

Resilient: As she continued to reflect on the life changing incident and the effect it has continued to have on herself, her friends, and family, Demi compared her resiliency to that of a cat with nine lives

TMZ also reported at the time that the Sonny With A Chance actress had been 'celebrating a friend's birthday in West Hollywood' the night prior to her near-fatal overdose.

Representatives for Lovato issued a statement to Variety on July 25 confirming that Demi had not succumbed to her overdose and that she was surrounded by her closest loved ones, presumably in hospital.

'Demi is awake and with her family who want to express thanks to everyone for the love, prayers and support,' it began.

The statement also suggested that 'some of the information being reported [was] incorrect,' which was a direct reference to claims suggesting that Demi had overdosed on heroin.

'They respectfully ask for privacy and not speculation as her health and recovery is the most important thing right now.'

Demi was released from the hospital in August and went on to spend three months in a rehab facility.

Highs and lows: The nearly three-minute teaser trailer for Dancing With The Devil features scenes from Lovato's extraordinary life, including backstage footage, stage performances, and even her lowest points

A month prior to her overdose, the Disney Channel alum released her emotional ballad Sober, which featured lyrics suggesting she had relapsed.

In March of that year, Demi had celebrated six years of sobriety, following years of admitted alcohol and cocaine abuse.

Demi's four-part docuseries Dancing With The Devil promises 'an honest look back at some of the most trying times in Lovato's life as she unearths her prior traumas and discovers the importance of her physical, emotional, and mental health.'

The documentary is from OBB Pictures, a division of Michael D. Ratner's OBB Media, who were behind Justin Bieber: Seasons.

In his own statement, Ratner praised Lovato's 'willingness to explore the darkest elements of her life' and that her raw honestly will 'leave the audience with a complete understanding of everything she's been through and ultimately where she is going.'

'Demi stands for empowerment, and this documentary is going to answer the many questions that have been out there  providing a real window into the life of one of the biggest stars in the world, who is simply a human being,' he concluded.
The paratroopers had their assignment: Check out reports that Afghan police had recovered the mangled remains of an insurgent suicide bomber. Try to get iris scans and fingerprints for identification.

The 82nd Airborne Division soldiers arrived at the police station in Afghanistans Zabol province in February 2010. They inspected the body parts. Then the mission turned macabre: The paratroopers posed for photos next to Afghan police, grinning while some held  and others squatted beside  the corpses severed legs.

A few months later, the same platoon was dispatched to investigate the remains of three insurgents who Afghan police said had accidentally blown themselves up. After obtaining a few fingerprints, they posed next to the remains, again grinning and mugging for photographs.

Two soldiers posed holding a dead mans hand with the middle finger raised. A soldier leaned over the bearded corpse while clutching the mans hand. Someone placed an unofficial platoon patch reading Zombie Hunter next to other remains and took a picture.

The Army launched a criminal investigation after the Los Angeles Times showed officials copies of the photos, which recently were given to the paper by a soldier from the division.

It is a violation of Army standards to pose with corpses for photographs outside of officially sanctioned purposes, said George Wright, an Army spokesman. Such actions fall short of what we expect of our uniformed service members in deployed areas.

Wright said that after the investigation, the Army would take appropriate action against those involved. Most of the soldiers in the photos have been identified, said Lt. Col. Margaret Kageleiry, an Army spokeswoman.

The photos have emerged at a particularly sensitive moment for U.S.-Afghan relations. In January, a video appeared on the Internet showing four U.S. Marines urinating on Afghan corpses. In February, the inadvertent burning of copies of the Koran at a U.S. base triggered riots that left 30 dead and led to the deaths of six Americans. In March, a U.S. Army sergeant went on a nighttime shooting rampage in two Afghan villages, killing 17.

The soldier who provided The Times with a series of 18 photos of soldiers posing with corpses did so on condition of anonymity. He served in Afghanistan with the 82nd Airbornes 4th Brigade Combat Team from Ft. Bragg, N.C. He said the photos point to a breakdown in leadership and discipline that he believed compromised the safety of the troops.

He expressed the hope that publication would help ensure that alleged security shortcomings at two U.S. bases in Afghanistan in 2010 were not repeated. The brigade, under new command but with some of the same paratroopers who served in 2010, began another tour in Afghanistan in February.

U.S. military officials asked The Times not to publish any of the pictures.

Capt. John Kirby, a Pentagon spokesman, said the conduct depicted most certainly does not represent the character and the professionalism of the great majority of our troops in Afghanistan.... Nevertheless, this imagery  more than two years old  now has the potential to indict them all in the minds of local Afghans, inciting violence and perhaps causing needless casualties.

Kirby added, We have taken the necessary precautions to protect our troops in the event of any backlash.

Times Editor Davan Maharaj said, After careful consideration, we decided that publishing a small but representative selection of the photos would fulfill our obligation to readers to report vigorously and impartially on all aspects of the American mission in Afghanistan, including the allegation that the images reflect a breakdown in unit discipline that was endangering U.S. troops.

The photos were taken during a yearlong deployment of the 3,500-member brigade, which lost 35 men during that time, according to icasualties.org, a website that tracks casualties. At least 23 were killed by homemade bombs or suicide bombers.

Suicide attacks on two bases of the brigades 1st Battalion, 508th Parachute Infantry Regiment killed six U.S. soldiers and four Afghan interpreters. The platoon whose soldiers posed for the photos was part of the battalion.

The soldier who provided the photos, and two other former members of the battalion, said in separate interviews that they and others had complained of inadequate security at the two bases.

An Army investigation into a July 2010 suicide attack in Kandahar that killed four U.S. soldiers found that senior members of the battalion had complained about security. But it concluded that force protection measures were reasonable and prudent in the face of limited resources.

Virtually all of the men depicted in the photos had friends who were killed or wounded by homemade bombs or suicide attacks, according to the soldier who provided the images. One paratrooper on the mission wore a bracelet bearing the name of a fallen comrade.

On the first mission, to the police station in the provincial capital of Qalat, Afghan police told the platoon that the severed legs belonged to a suicide bomber whose explosives detonated as he tried to attack a police unit, according to the soldier who provided the photos.

On the second mission, to the morgue in Qalat in late April or early May 2010, Afghan police told the platoon that explosives had detonated as three insurgents were preparing a roadside bomb.

The platoon was able to obtain some fingerprints from the corpses for a database maintained by U.S. forces, the soldier said.

The soldiers felt a sense of triumph and satisfaction, especially after learning that the insurgents had been killed by their own explosives, he said.

They were frustrated, just pissed off  their buddies had been blown up by IEDs  improvised explosive devices  the soldier said. So they sort of just celebrated.

The Qalat photos were circulated among several members of the platoon, the soldier said, and soldiers often joked about them. Most of the soldiers in the photos were low-ranking  including six specialists or privates.

Col. Brian Drinkwine, then-commander of the 4th Brigade, and Lt. Col. David Oclander, then-commander of the 1st Battalion, said they were not authorized to comment on the photos.

The Pentagon declined a Times request that Army officials contact all active-duty soldiers in the photos to provide an opportunity to comment. The Times sent requests for comment by email and Facebook to seven soldiers in the photos. One, now serving in Afghanistan, declined to comment. The others did not respond.

The photos were taken during a tumultuous period in the brigades deployment.

In January 2010, the commander of the brigades 2nd Battalion and the battalions top noncommissioned officer were relieved of duty and ordered home after slides with racial and sexist overtones were shown during daily PowerPoint briefings.

Separately, an Army investigation criticized Drinkwine for failing to prevent his wife from threatening and harassing some unit officers and their spouses during the deployment.

Ft. Braggs commanding general, Lt. Gen. Frank Helmick, told the Fayetteville Observer in June 2010 that Drinkwine had created a dysfunctional situation in the unit. Drinkwine remained in command until after the deployment ended that August.

david.zucchino@latimes.com
Detroit, Michigan--(Newsfile Corp. - February 22, 2021) - Lotus Ventures Inc. (CSE: J) announced today the Company will be presenting at the Benzinga Cannabis Capital Conference taking place on February 25-26, 2021. We invite Lotus shareholders and all interested parties to join us for a full day of networking, deal making and discovery. Sign up to get a free spectator pass for the event: https://events.benzinga.com/ccc-free-registration.

On behalf of Lotus Investor Relations, Daniel McRobert will be presenting at 9:30 a.m. Pacific Standard Time on Friday, February 26th, 2021. Daniel has managed the Investor Relations and Marketing Communications for Lotus over the past three years and brings a dynamic angle merging the corporate and cannabis culture in one.

A copy of the presentation will be available on the Company's website after the event at lotuscannabis.ca/investors. If you would like to receive a copy directly or if you have any questions regarding the event, please connect with Daniel.

About Benzinga Cannabis Capital Conference

Benzinga's virtual Cannabis Capital Conference is guaranteed to offer participants all the benefits of an immersive and robust in-person conference from any remote location. The conference will feature an interactive forum of live presentations from top CEOs, investors, and leaders in the cannabis space. Don't miss this opportunity to connect with THE cannabis movers and shakers from across the globe.

About Lotus Ventures Inc.

Lotus Ventures Inc. is the publicly traded licensed producer and owner of Lotus Cannabis, a premium cannabis brand in Canada. Situated on 23 acres in BC's North Okanagan region, Lotus created a scalable, purpose-built facility designed for the low-cost of production of rare cannabis genetics.

Utilizing an improved facility design, the next phase of growth will involve scaling our profitable prototype operation to enable fuller utilization of our large genetic library of over 200 cannabis strains. The Lotus team combines decades of real estate development and cultivation experience and created the ideal facility for growing medical-grade cannabis. Lotus operates a high-performance harvest schedule providing consumers with a quality product and a consistent experience.

Lotus is listed on the Canadian Securities Exchange (CSE) under the symbol "J", on the OTC Markets (OTC) under the symbol "LTTSF" and in Frankfurt (FRA) under the symbol "LV9".

For more information and/or to register for the conference please visit: https://events.benzinga.com/ccc-free-registration.

We look forward to seeing you there.

For further information:

Lotus Ventures Inc.

Daniel McRobert, Investor Relations

604-842-4625

daniel.mcrobert@lotusventures.ca

https://lotuscannabis.ca/

To view the source version of this press release, please visit https://www.newsfilecorp.com/release/75001
VANCOUVER, B.C., Feb. 22, 2021 /PRNewswire/ -- BioVaxys Technology Corp. (CSE: BIOV) (FRA: 5LB) (OTC: LMNGF) ("BioVaxys"), a biotechnology company that is advancing viral and oncology vaccine platforms as well as immuno-diagnostic products, today announced the appointment of Kartik Chandran Ph.D., to its Scientific Advisory Board ("SAB").

Dr. Chandran is a professor of microbiology and immunology and the Harold and Muriel Block Scholar in Virology at Albert Einstein College of Medicine in New York City, where he oversees a team of researchers engaged in basic and translational research on emerging RNA viruses and investigating the molecular mechanisms of infection. Dr. Chandran's laboratory focuses on coronaviruses and filoviruses, including SARS-CoV-2, Ebola virus, and Marburg virus, and other neglected emerging viruses such as hantaviruses and Crimean-Congo hemorrhagic fever virus, and leads a multi-institutional collaboration to discover and develop potent, long-lasting antibody treatments against these viruses. Dr. Chandran received his Ph.D. in Biochemistry at the University of Wisconsin-Madison, followed by research fellowships at Harvard Medical School and Brigham and Women's Hospital prior to joining Einstein.

"We are pleased to welcome Dr. Chandran to our Scientific Advisory Board. As a leading virologist and immunologist, he will provide valuable insight as we work to advance our haptenized viral vaccine platform in targeting life-threatening viral diseases," commented Ken Kovan, President and Chief Operating Officer of BioVaxys. Kovan added, "We also share common interest in exploring synthetic antigens, either to address multiple SARS-CoV-2 variants or as part of a vaccine technology to elicit a stronger immune response for other viruses."

Dr. Chandran stated, "I look forward to assisting Biovaxys in its efforts to develop new vaccines that will prepare us for future viral outbreaks." BioVaxys has developed its vaccine technology platforms based on the established immunological concept that modifying proteins with simple chemicals called haptens makes them more visible to the immune system. The process of haptenization "teaches" a patient's immune system to recognize and make target proteins more 'visible' as foreign, thereby stimulating an immune response.

About BioVaxys Technology Corp.

Based in Vancouver, BioVaxys Technology Corp . is a British Columbia-registered, early stage biotechnology company that is developing viral and oncology vaccine platforms, as well as immuno-diagnostics. The Company is advancing a SARS-CoV-2 vaccine based on its haptenized viral protein technology and is planning a clinical trial of its haptenized autologous cell vaccine used in combination with anti-PD1 and anti-PDL-1 checkpoint inhibitors that will initially be developed for ovarian cancer. Also in development is a diagnostic for evaluating the presence or absence of a T cell immune response to SARS-CoV-2, the virus that causes COVID-19. BioVaxys has two issued US patents and two patent applications related to its cancer vaccine, and pending patent applications for its SARS-CoV-2 (Covid-19) vaccine and diagnostic technologies. BioVaxys common shares are listed on the CSE under the stock symbol "BIOV" and trade on the Frankfurt Bourse (FRA: 5LB) and US OTC: LMNGF.

ON BEHALF OF THE BOARD

Signed "James Passin"

James Passin, CEO

+1 646 452 7054

Media Contacts

Nikita Sashdev

Luna PR

[email protected]

Cautionary Statements Regarding Forward Looking Information

This press release includes certain "forward-looking information" and "forward-looking statements" (collectively "forward-looking statements") within the meaning of applicable Canadian and United States securities legislation including the United States Private Securities Litigation Reform Act of 1995. All statements, other than statements of historical fact, included herein, without limitation, statements relating the future operating or financial performance of the Company, are forward looking statements. Forward-looking statements are frequently, but not always, identified by words such as "expects", "anticipates", "believes", "intends", "estimates", "potential", "possible", and similar expressions, or statements that events, conditions, or results "will", "may", "could", or "should" occur or be achieved. Forward-looking statements in this news release relate to, among other things, completion of the murine model study, regulatory approval for a Phase I study of its BVX-0320 Vaccine Candidate in humans and the overall development of BioVaxys' vaccines, including any haptenized SARS-Cov-2 protein vaccine. There can be no assurance that such statements will prove to be accurate, and actual results and future events could differ materially from those expressed or implied in such forward-looking statements.

These forward-looking statements reflect the beliefs, opinions and projections on the date the statements are made and are based upon a number of assumptions and estimates, primarily the assumption that BioVaxys will be successful in developing and testing vaccines, that, while considered reasonable by the Company, are inherently subject to significant business, economic, competitive, political and social uncertainties and contingencies including, primarily but without limitation, the risk that BioVayxs' vaccines will not prove to be effective and/ or will not receive the required regulatory approvals. With regards to BioVaxys' business, there are a number of risks that could affect the development of its biotechnology products, including, without limitation, the need for additional capital to fund clinical trials, its lack of operating history, uncertainty about whether its products will complete the long, complex and expensive clinical trial and regulatory approval process for approval of new drugs necessary for marketing approval, uncertainty about whether its autologous cell vaccine immunotherapy can be developed to produce safe and effective products and, if so, whether its vaccine products will be commercially accepted and profitable, the expenses, delays and uncertainties and complications typically encountered by development stage biopharmaceutical businesses, financial and development obligations under license arrangements in order to protect its rights to its products and technologies, obtaining and protecting new intellectual property rights and avoiding infringement to third parties and their dependence on manufacturing by third parties.

The Company does not assume any obligation to update the forward-looking statements of beliefs, opinions, projections, or other factors, should they change, except as required by law.

Logo - https://mma.prnewswire.com/media/1430981/BIOVAXYS_Logo.jpg

SOURCE BioVaxys Technology Corp.
VANCOUVER, BC, Feb. 22, 2021 /PRNewswire/ - Defense Metals Corp. ("Defense Metals") (TSXV: DEFN) (OTCQB: DFMTF) (FSE: 35D) is pleased to announce completion of quarterly stream flow measurements, and water quality sample collection; in addition to installation of snow survey markers, weather station data download, and equipment checks at its Wicheeda Rare Earth Element (REE) Property.

The road accessible Wicheeda REE Property is located close to infrastructure approximately 80 kilometres northeast of Prince George, British Columbia (BC). The Wicheeda project has indicated mineral resources of 4,890,000 tonnes averaging 3.02% LREO (Light Rare Earth Elements) and inferred mineral resources of 12,100,000 tonnes averaging 2.90% LREO1.

Despite higher than normal winter temperatures creating challenging ice conditions, with most stream sites still experiencing open water, environmental monitoring crews were able to complete the planned stream flow measurements and water chemistry sampling.

Quarterly site visits, scheduled as part of a two year program of baseline environmental data monitoring initiated during summer 2020, are completed by Defense Metals' environmental consultants; EDI (Environmental Dynamics Inc.) and Hydrologica Environmental Consulting Inc. Defense metals is also pleased to announce the engagement of Northern Spruce Contracting Ltd., a 100% aboriginal owned company established in 2010 to provide environmental contracting services throughout northern British Columbia.

Craig Taylor, CEO of Defense Metals, stated: "Continuation of baseline environmental monitoring and ensuring we remain on schedule with completion of quarterly field visits demonstrates our commitment to advancing the Wicheeda REE Project. Defense Metals continues to be one of the most active companies in the rapidly emerging REE space as we work in parallel on all facets of project development including: baseline environmental, pilot-scale metallurgical studies; in addition to economic modelling and scenario analysis as we work towards completion of a PEA during 2021."

About Northern Spruce

Northern Spruce Contracting Ltd., a 100% aboriginal owned company, was established in 2010 to provide environmental contracting services throughout northern British Columbia. Northern Spruce is owned by Cheryl Chingee and Marcel Gagnon, members of the McLeod Lake Indian Band and the Lheidli T'enneh First Nation, respectively. Northern Spruce's vision is to be a valued resource and service provider for clients working in northern BC. Northern Spruce's mission is to create a long-term sustainable business that provides the field services required by natural resource industry clients to minimize environmental impacts; and give back to our communities by providing employment and training opportunities when possible.

About the Wicheeda REE Property

The 1,708 hectare Wicheeda REE Property, located approximately 80 km northeast of the city of Prince George, British Columbia, is readily accessible by all-weather gravel roads and is nearby to infrastructure, including power transmission lines, the CN railway and major highways.

Geologically, the property is situated in the Foreland Belt and within the Rocky Mountain Trench, a major continental geologic feature. The Foreland Belt contains part of a large alkaline igneous province, stretching from the Canadian Cordillera to the southwestern United States, which includes several carbonatite and alkaline intrusive complexes hosting the Aley (niobium), Rock Canyon (REE), and Wicheeda (REE) deposits.

Qualified Person

The scientific and technical information contained in this news release as it relates to the Wicheeda REE Property has been reviewed and approved by Kristopher J. Raffle, P.Geo. (BC) Principal and Consultant of APEX Geoscience Ltd. of Edmonton, AB, a director of Defense Metals and a "Qualified Person" as defined in National Instrument 43-101  Standards of Disclosure for Mineral Projects. Mr. Raffle verified the data disclosed which includes a review of the analytical and test data underlying the information and opinions contained therein.

About Defense Metals Corp.

Defense Metals Corp. is a mineral exploration company focused on the acquisition of mineral deposits containing metals and elements commonly used in the electric power market, military, national security and the production of "GREEN" energy technologies, such as, high strength alloys and rare earth magnets. Defense Metals has an option to acquire 100% of the 1,708 hectare Wicheeda Rare Earth Element Property located near Prince George, British Columbia, Canada. Defense Metals Corp. trades in Canada under the symbol "DEFN" on the TSX Venture Exchange, in the United States, under "DFMTF" on the OTCQB and in Germany on the Frankfurt Exchange under "35D".

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.

Cautionary Statement Regarding "Forward-Looking" Information

This news release contains "forwardlooking information or statements" within the meaning of applicable securities laws, which may include, without limitation, statements relating to the completion of the PEA, plans for the Wicheeda Property, the advancement and development of the Wicheeda Property, the technical, financial and business prospects of the Company, its project and other matters. All statements in this news release, other than statements of historical facts, that address events or developments that the Company expects to occur, are forward-looking statements. Although the Company believes the expectations expressed in such forward-looking statements are based on reasonable assumptions, such statements are not guarantees of future performance and actual results may differ materially from those in the forward-looking statements. Such statements and information are based on numerous assumptions regarding present and future business strategies and the environment in which the Company will operate in the future, including the price of rare earth elements, the ability to achieve its goals, that general business and economic conditions will not change in a material adverse manner, that financing will be available if and when needed and on reasonable terms. Such forward-looking information reflects the Company's views with respect to future events and is subject to risks, uncertainties and assumptions, including those filed under the Company's profile on SEDAR at www.sedar.com. While such estimates and assumptions are considered reasonable by the management of the Company, they are inherently subject to significant business, economic, competitive and regulatory uncertainties and risks. Factors that could cause actual results to differ materially from those in forward looking statements include, but are not limited to, continued availability of capital and financing and general economic, market or business conditions, adverse weather conditions, failure to maintain or obtain all necessary government permits, approvals and authorizations, failure to maintain community acceptance (including First Nations), decrease in the price of rare earth elements, the impact of Covid-19 or other viruses and diseases on the Company's ability to operate increase in costs, litigation, and failure of counterparties to perform their contractual obligations. The Company does not undertake to update forwardlooking statements or forwardlooking information, except as required by law.









1 Technical Report on the Wicheeda Property, British Columbia, effective June 27, 2020 and prepared by APEX Geoscience Ltd. (Steven J. Nicholls, B.A. Sc., MAIG and Kristopher J. Raffle, B.Sc., P.Geo) is available under Defense Metals Corp.'s profile on SEDAR (www.sedar.com)

SOURCE Defense Metals Corp.
Tomorrow we will be asked as a nation to one more time grit our teeth and suffer for the greater good in this almost year-long battle with Covid-19. All the signs are that the nation is collectively in low spirits but resigned that there are few options beyond an extended and strict lockdown.

One thing the new Government Covid-19 plan must do is banish the confused Government messages over the past week about what the future holds. And, above all, despite the inevitable grim realism, our political leaders must hold out some hope for the people.

From day to day, over the past week, our political leaders have been visible and vocal on the virus issue, which should ordinarily be commended. But the difficulty is that their messages were different and diffuse, making it hard for citizens to have full confidence in their leadership.

We are left to choose between an official communications machine which is not entirely up to the job, or an unhealthy competition between our government leaders which suggests a lack of unity. Neither option is too encouraging when we consider what is at stake for the nation economically, socially and politically. The people deserve better.

Taoiseach Micheal Martin must not try to sugar-coat the grim news which he must give us tomorrow. Despite peoples weariness, nobody wants a repeat of the serial lockdown/reopening cycle. Everyone realises that a premature end to Lockdown Number 3 will only precipitate a fourth such shutdown with even more national depression. We have been over this lamentable course twice before.

We know even before the Taoiseach addresses the nation that the lockdown will by and large continue into early May. We know that the only hope of progress is the phased re opening of schools. We know that the building sector is far less likely to get the early return many of us had hoped.

Everything now depends on the virus data  not putative dates for eased restrictions.

Yet there are many reasons for us all to be cheerful. There are good grounds for arguing that Ireland is now in a far better Covid-19 place than it was even one month ago. Case numbers have continued to decrease.

An early and reasonable return to a vestige of normality in Ireland now depends on the vaccine roll-out. It has been slow thus far when compared with the US, the United Kingdom and even Israel, even if Ireland is ranked reasonably among the sluggish EU performers.

But there are signals coming from the European Union that supplies are improving and there is no earthly reason why Ireland, given adequate supplies, cannot ramp up and speed up its vaccination programme.

This is where real political leadership is required. We must be kept up to date with real-time information on the vaccine campaign. We must know what supplies are available and what numbers of people are being vaccinated and where.

There must be no attempt to fudge, obfuscate or obscure these vital truths.
Jesus Christ was apparently born in Shanzu, Mombasa and not Bethlehem in Israel, a Nakuru woman claiming to be a prophet has said.

34-year-old Prophet Pauline Kitur told the Nairobian that corrupt people took away Jesus original birthplace from Mombasa centuries ago and placed it in Israel to popularise their country.

According to the prophetess, God told her how Kenya was deprived of its would-be famous place of worship.

When Nazareth was taken to Israel by selfish people, immorality and all forms of evil replaced it, she said, adding that God appeared to her towards the end of last year.

Pauline said God also appeared to her in 2010 through a lantern lamp. She said she was praying with a group of people in Shanzu when the creator appeared through the door and knelt before the faithful. The mysterious appearance, she recalls, blew up the lantern lamp.

All of us saw Him. He knelt down and mumbled a prayer. He told the congregation to continue praying and to be righteous, she told The Nairobian.

God told me every time I pray and see the lanterns three flames, I should know it is him, Joseph, and Mary in the house.

She reportedly noted that the three came to her in 2009 and revealed that the Church had violated the intentions of Gods teachings by creating holy priests. She said God told her that they had fallen short of being holy.

God told me that some priests prohibited from marrying are the ones who mostly engage in sinful activities, which go against what they preach. This has angered God, she said.

The prophet, a Catholic faithful who was born in Turbo, Uasin Gishu, said she will never relent until she delivers the message to all Kenyans.

She also claimed that God showed her Fort Jesus and told her: This is the place where I was crucified, not Israel. This is the exact point I stood with Judas Iscariot.

Pauline also mentioned she was on a mission to help Christians unearth the truth on why some Books were removed from the Bible.

Some books are missing in the Bible, which is the reason behind the inconsistencies in some of the scriptures but God will not rest until those books are reprinted since the message contained in them is very crucial, said the mother of three.

I live at Kaptembwa Nakuru at the moment where I continue to serve God through prophecies. I depend on well-wishers and my biggest wish is to get the platform of reaching a mass population because the message I have is crucial, she said.
Officials in Nur-Sultan announced this week the governments intent to waive visa requirements for visitors from another 16 countries, a measure meant to boost foreign tourism to the Central Asian wealthiest country and make it a more attractive place for cross-border investment amid coronavirus pandemic, Caspian News reports.

The list of countries granted unilateral visa exemptions to visit Kazakhstan will total 90, according to the countrys ministry of culture and sport. The ministry, however, did not specify which countries will be added to the list.

The government of Kazakhstan is also intending to facilitate an existing electronic visa system, which will greatly simplify the arrivals process. The system, launched in 2019, allows visitors to apply online, digitally entering their vital information such as full legal name, birth date, and the purpose of their trip. Approval takes about five business days and results in the applicant receiving a printable e-visa that must be shown at their port of entry upon arrival. Currently, citizens residing in 140 countries, including citizens of China, India, Iran, and other Persian Gulf countries, can apply for an e-visa for tourism, business, and medical treatment purposes.

In addition, Kazakhstan has recently piloted a system dubbed eQonaq (which means guest in the Kazakh language). The system registers foreign visitors automatically as part of check-in procedures, according to the ministry. The initiative initially resulted in a unilateral visa exemption for visitors from 45 countries, including the United States, European Union member states, Australia, and Canada. In addition, Kazakhstan has inked bilateral agreements with 16 other countries that allow their citizens to stay in Kazakhstan anywhere from just two weeks to 90 days without requiring a visa. Russians, for example, can remain in Kazakhstan for nearly three months while South Koreans can stay for up to a month.

As part of the initiative, Kazakhstan also introduced a 72-hour transit visa waiver for Chinese and Indian nationals, which was later suspended through January 1, 2021. In addition, the country suspended visa waivers for 57 countries through May 1, 2021, due to the coronavirus pandemic.The country of almost 19 million people, Kazakhstan has reported more than 206,652 cases of infections, with 2,540 deaths since last March. The countrys lockdown began on March 16, 2020, and was subsequently extended several times. Harsh restrictions imposed by the government to curb the coronavirus outbreak halted most economic activities in Kazakhstan, causing many people to lose their jobs.

Pavel Kazantsev, Deputy Chair of the Mazhilis, the parliament of Kazakhstan, believes that tourism is one of the most affected industries.

Hotels, restaurant business, passenger transportation, excursion activities were seriously affected, he said, adding that travel agents and tour operators reported a 70 percent decrease in sales, while for the hotel industry, this figure amounted to 80 percent.
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A call for a Monday general strike by demonstrators in protesting the military's seizure of power has been met by the ruling junta with a thinly veiled threat to use lethal force, raising the possibility of major clashes.

The call for a general strike was made Sunday by the Civil Disobedience Movement, a loosely organised group leading resistance to the army's February 1 takeover. It asked people to gather together for the Five Twos referring to the digits in Monday's date to make a Spring Revolution.

State television broadcaster MRTV late Sunday carried a public announcement from the junta, formally called the State Administration Council, warning against the general strike.

It is found that the protesters have raised their incitement towards riot and anarchy mob on the day of 22 February. Protesters are now inciting the people, especially emotional teenagers and youths, to a confrontation path where they will suffer the loss of life, it said in an English language text shown onscreen. The spoken announcement in Burmese said the same thing.

Another part of the statement blamed protesters whose numbers allegedly included criminal gangs for violence at demonstrations, with the result that the security force members had to fire back. Three protesters have been shot dead so far.

The protest movement has embraced nonviolence and only occasionally gotten into shoving matches with police and thrown bottles at them when provoked.

In Yangon, the country's biggest city, trucks cruised the streets Sunday night blaring announcements that people should not attend protests Monday and must honor a ban on gatherings of five or more people. The ban was issued shortly after the but not enforced in Yangon, which for the past two weeks has been the scene of large daily demonstrations.

Many social media postings ahead of the scheduled nightly 1 am cutoff of internet access service said security forces had set up roadblocks at strategic points in the city, including bridges and on streets leading to foreign embassies.

Information on Twitter accounts that have proven reliable in the past said internet blocking, usually lasting until 9 am, would be extended to noon in Yangon.

The ominous signs of potential conflict drew attention outside Myanmar, with the US reiterating that it stood with the people of

Secretary of State Antony Blinken said on Twitter the US would take firm action "against those who perpetrate violence against the people of Burma as they demand the restoration of their democratically elected government.

We call on the military to stop violence, release all those unjustly detained, cease attacks on journalists and activists, and respect the will of the people, spokesman Ned Price said on Twitter.

Earlier Sunday, crowds in Myanmar's capital attended a funeral for the young woman who was the first person confirmed to have been killed in the protests, while demonstrators also mourned two other protesters who were shot dead on Saturday.

Mya Thwet Thwet Khine was shot in the head by police on February 9, two days before her 20th birthday, at a protest in Naypyitaw, and died Friday.

Mourners lined the entrance to a cemetery in the city as the hearse carrying her body arrived and was taken to a crematorium where more people had gathered. They silently raised their hands in three-fingered salutes a sign of defiance and resistance adopted from neighbouring Thailand as the black and gold vehicle rolled slowly past.

Inside the crematorium hall, the lid on Mya Thwet Thwet Khine's coffin was partially removed to allow a last glimpse of her head resting on a bed of red and white roses before she was cremated. Members of the crowd outside chanted Our uprising must succeed!



Protests against the and the ousting of the nation's leader, Aung San Suu Kyi, occurred elsewhere around the country Sunday.

Demonstrators turned out in force in Mandalay, the country's second-biggest city, where security forces shot dead two people on Saturday near a dockyard where the authorities had been trying to force workers to load a boat. The workers, like railway workers and truckers and many civil servants, have joined the civil disobedience campaign against the junta.

The shooting broke out after neighbourhood residents rushed to the Yadanabon dock to try to assist the workers in their resistance. One of the victims, described as a teenage boy, was shot in the head and died immediately, while another was shot in the chest and died en route to a hospital.

The authorities have continued arrests that began on the day of the coup, when Suu Kyi and members of the government were detained. According to the independent Assistance Association for Political Prisoners, 640 people have been arrested, charged or sentenced, with 593, including Suu Kyi and President Win Myint, still in detention.

The junta prevented Parliament from convening February 1, claiming the elections last November, won by Suu Kyi's party in a landslide, were tainted by fraud. The election commission that affirmed the victory has since been replaced by the junta, which says a new election will be held in a year's time.

The was a major setback to Myanmar's transition to democracy after 50 years of army rule that began with a 1962 coup. Suu Kyi came to power after her party won a 2015 election, but the generals retained substantial power under the constitution, which had been adopted under a military regime.

(Only the headline and picture of this report may have been reworked by the Business Standard staff; the rest of the content is auto-generated from a syndicated feed.)

The Defense Department has waived a requirement that Tricare Prime patients have a referral from their primary care doctors to get the COVID-19 vaccine outside the military health system.

The waiver, to be published in the Federal Register on Tuesday, allows Prime enrollees to receive the vaccine at any non-military facility, including non-network pharmacies or providers, without incurring any fees.

Read Next: Air Force Instructor Pilot, Japanese Student Killed in Alabama T-38 Crash

While the vaccine is free to all Americans, some providers charge patients an administrative fee, much like a charge for a doctor's visit. The charges are reimbursable for those with medical insurance, but patients must file a claim with their insurers to recoup the payments.

The waiver will insure that Tricare Prime beneficiaries don't incur any charges if they get their vaccine from a location other than their military health provider. Ordinarily Tricare beneficiaries must get a referral for outside care through their primary care physician or pay point-of-service charges.

Officials have encouraged Tricare beneficiaries to seek the vaccine through their local or state public health departments or at hospitals or pharmacies offering it, including Walgreens, which is in Tricare's retail pharmacy network, and the non-network CVS pharmacies.

The waiver will remain in effect throughout the national emergency declared for the coronavirus pandemic.

The waiver does not apply to any other vaccines at non-network pharmacies.

As of Monday, More than 75 million COVID-19 vaccines have been delivered to states, localities and federal entities nationwide, and 63 million doses have been administered, including nearly 19 million second doses.

Across the Defense Department, 854,728 doses of the 1.18 million received by the department have been administered. Roughly 233,600 military-connected people have received their second dose -- namely active-duty personnel and civilian employees who work in health care, emergency services or billets of national security importance, and Tricare beneficiaries ages 75 and older.

Some locations across DoD have started administering vaccines to those 65 and older, and those under 65 with underlying health conditions.

Roughly 250,000 of the nation's 28 million COVID-19 cases have been among active-duty service members, civilian DoD employees, family members or contractors. Among the military-affiliated cases, 288 have resulted in death.

A Centers for Disease Control and Prevention report released last week found that the COVID-19 vaccines manufactured by Pfizer-BioNTech and Moderna had relatively low rates of adverse events. Among the 13.7 million vaccines administered between Dec. 14 and Jan. 13, there were 6,994 adverse event reports filed with the agency, nearly 91% of which were categorized as "non-serious."

The most common non-serious adverse events included headache, fatigue and dizziness, reported most frequently after the second dose.

The report also noted that, of the adverse events among those not living in nursing homes or other long-term care facilities, nearly 81% were reported from the Pfizer-BioNTech vaccine, while 19.2% were reported from the Moderna vaccine.

There have been 113 deaths reported to the Vaccine Adverse Event Reporting System, roughly 65% of which occurred in long-term care facilities. However, the CDC said that information from death certificates, medical records and other resources did not link the vaccines as the cause of death.

The rate of anaphylaxis -- a severe allergic reaction that remains a concern related to the new vaccines -- was 4.5 cases per million doses administered, or 62 patients. That includes 46 with the Pfizer vaccine and 16 from the Moderna vaccine.

-- Patricia Kime can be reached at Patricia Kime@Monster.com. Follow her on Twitter @patriciakime.

Related: Tricare Users Frustrated By Lack of Information on COVID-19 Vaccine Availability
Pedro Pascal and Gina Carano. Jesse Grant/Getty

Carano said she and Pascal had an agreement that despite their views, they would be friends.

"We had an agreement that, first and foremost, you're a human being. And you're my friend first."

Carano also called Pascal "a sweet person."

Visit Insider's homepage for more stories.

Though Gina Carano isn't pleased with Disney's decision to fire her from "The Mandalorian," she has nothing but love for the show's star, Pedro Pascal.

"I adore Pedro. I adore him," she said on "The Ben Shapiro Show" in her first sit down interview since getting kicked off the popular "Star Wars" series.

Carano's firing came after she shared an Instagram post in which she seemed to compare modern-day Republicans to Jews persecuted during the Holocaust.

"I know he's said and done some hurtful things," the conservative actress told Shapiro in their hour long conversation, referring to Pascal tweeting Senator Ted Cruz's office phone number in January.

Pascal also came under fire from Disney fans for comparing undocumented children, being put into cages at the US southern border, to Jews being forced into concentration camps during the Holocaust in a 2018 tweet.

"I don't think posting anybody's number on social media is okay," Carano continued. "But we had an agreement after we realized we were a little bit politically different. We had an agreement that, first and foremost, you're a human being. And you're my friend first."

Carano also said during the interview that she and Pascal have similarities too, including that they're "both passionate."

"I know that we both have misstepped on our tweets," she added. "We're not perfect. We're human beings. But he's not a bad human being. He's a sweet person."

Along with starring as Cara Dune opposite Pascal's the Mandalorian character for two seasons on the Disney Plus show, Carano also built her friendship with Pascal off screen through talking out sensitive issues.

Story continues

Pedro Pascal as the Mandalorian and Gina Carano as Cara Dune in "The Mandalorian." Disney Plus

Carano revealed on Twitter that back in September following a tweet she sent out that seemed to mock people's pronouns, she had a conversation with Pascal, whose sister recently came out as a trans woman.

It led to her sending out another tweet, which has since been deleted, in which Carano wrote that she understood why her actions might have upset people.

"I didn't know before but I do now," she tweeted. "I won't be putting them in my bio but good for all you who choose to. I stand against bullying, especially the most vulnerable & freedom to choose."

Though it seems she and Pascal are on good terms, that's not the case with Disney.

The actress revealed to Shapiro in the same interview that she had been tipped off that Disney wasn't pleased about her social media posts because studio officials had accidentally sent her an email indicating that they were following the #FireGinaCarano movement online.

"They accidentally sent me an email, which was very enlightening, so I knew," she said. "I knew they were paying attention. I know there were some people who went to bat for me, but I know that they didn't win out at the end."

She added: "They've been all over me and they've been watching me like a hawk. And I'm watching other people on the same production, and they can say everything they want, and that's where I had a problem. I had a problem because I wasn't going along with the narrative."

Carano announced after her firing from the show back in February that she's working on a new movie with Shapiro and his conservative website, The Daily Wire.

Read the original article on Insider
Once found throughout the semi-arid range country in South Australia, New South Wales and south-west Queensland, the yellow-footed rock wallaby is now endangered in Queensland and NSW and vulnerable in SA. Credit: Philip Barrington from Pixabay

Scientists at the University of Adelaide have challenged the common assumption that genetic diversity of a species is a key indicator of extinction risk.

Published in the journal PNAS, the scientists demonstrate that there is no simple relationship between genetic diversity and species survival. But, Dr. Joao Teixeira and Dr. Christian Huber from the University of Adelaide's School of Biological Sciences conclude, the focus shouldn't be on genetic diversity anyway, it should be on habitat protection.

"Nature is being destroyed by humans at a rate never seen before," says computational biologist Dr. Huber. "We burn forests, over-fish our seas and destroy wild areas and it's estimated that about one million species are threatened with extinction, some within decades.

"Although researchers agree that this rapid decline of species numbers has to be stopped, how that's best tackled is still open to debate.

"Conservation geneticists consider genetic diversity as an important way to assess if a species is threatened by extinction. The view is that as long as individuals are genetically different from each other (having high genetic diversity), there will always be individuals with the right genetic makeup to survive under adverse conditions. On the other hand, if a species shows little genetic diversity, it's believed that the species is fragile and likely to become extinct."

Dr. Teixeira and Dr. Huber have compiled a wide range of evidence from laboratory experiments, field studies, and evolutionary theory which suggests a need for re-evaluation on the measurement and interpretation of genetic diversity for conservation.

"In this paper, we've shown that this simple relationship between genetic diversity and survival is often wrong," says population geneticist Dr. Teixeira. "Most of the genetic diversity within a genome is 'neutral," meaning that it neither improves nor diminishes an individual's ability to survive or produce offspring. On the other hand, the genetic diversity that does affect survival is found in very specific regions of the genome and is not at all correlated with genome-wide genetic diversity.

"Researchers need to investigate for each species individually which genetic mutations allow the species to thrive and which mutations lead to diseases that can threaten the species. There is certainly no simple 'one-size-fits-all' measure of extinction risk."

The authors finally warn that, although genetics can play an important role in certain cases, fixating on genetic diversity shifts much-needed focus away from the much bigger problem: habitat destruction.

"Since the year 2000, wildlife habitat about eight times the area of the UK has been lost," says Dr. Huber. "Without habitat, there is no wildlife. And without wildlife and the ecosystem services that humans rely on, we are ultimately risking our own security and survival here on Earth."

Explore further New world map of fish genetic diversity

More information: Joao C. Teixeira et al. The inflated significance of neutral genetic diversity in conservation genetics, Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences (2021). Journal information: Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences Joao C. Teixeira et al. The inflated significance of neutral genetic diversity in conservation genetics,(2021). DOI: 10.1073/pnas.2015096118
IN NUMBERS: Over 14,000 fresh cases reported

India reported 14,199 fresh infections on Monday, taking the cumulative caseload to 11,005,850, according to a report in the Scroll. The country saw 83 deaths due to the pandemic, taking the death toll to 156,385, according to central health ministry data. The total recoveries have surged to 10,699,410, while the national recovery rate is at 97.22 per cent. The active caseload is at 150,055, which makes up 1.36 per cent of the total caseload. About 11.1 million healthcare and frontline workers have been inoculated since the nationwide inoculation programme kicked off on January 16. Read more here

50% of Indians inherited Neanderthal DNA sequence that reduces risk of severe Covid: Study

About half of India's population has inherited a 75,000-character-long DNA sequence from Neanderthals, an extinct species of archaic humans, which is believed to lower the risk of contracting severe forms of Covid-19, a report in ThePrint said, citing a new study. The study was published in the peer-reviewed journal PNAS and was carried out by researchers from Okinawa Institute of Science and Technology Graduate University (OIST) in Japan and Germany's Max Planck Institute for Evolutionary Biology. Its aim was to examine a gene variant that was linked to a 22 per cent reduction in the risk of severe Covid-19 in another study conducted in December. Read more here

Yoga helped manage stress better during lockdown: IIT Delhi study

According to a study conducted by researchers at IIT Delhi, people who practice yoga regularly experienced lower levels of stress and anxiety during the national lockdown last year, a report in ThePrint said. The study collected responses on stress management and well-being during the lockdown from 396 yoga practitioners, 113 spiritual practitioners, and 134 non-practitioners. The data was collected through an online questionnaire between 26 April and 8 June 2020. The findings were published in the peer-reviewed journal Plos One. The study, however, did not indicate if the findings also applied to those who performed other physical exercises. Read more here

OPINION: Covid vaccines should be free

Ideally, people should not have to pay for vaccines, said an opinion piece in The Quint written by public policy expert Chandrakant Lahariya. Covid-19 vaccines, like other vaccines, are a public good. Getting vaccinated will benefit society at large by containing the spread of the virus and lowering the burden on public health facilities. Going by the high levels of vaccine hesitancy so far, it becomes even more important to keep the vaccines free, Lahariya said. Otherwise, many families, even if the vaccines are affordable to them, may become less motivated to get the shots. Read more here

Sputnik V: All you need to know

After Covishield and Covaxin, Russia's Sputnik V may become the third vaccine to get emergency approval in India. This report in the Hindustan Times brings you all you need to know about the vaccine developed by Moscow's Gamaleya National Research Institute of Epidemiology and Microbiology. It has an efficacy of nearly 92 per cent.

The vaccine has proven effective in older people as individuals aged over 60 were included in the vaccine trials in Russia. In India, Dr Reddy's Laboratories has carried out small human trials. Phase 3 clinical trial is going on. Read more here


Planned Parenthood abortions reached record level in 2019 as gov't funding rose: annual report

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Planned Parenthood performed the highest number of abortions in over a decade in 2019, received a record amount of government funding and saw net assets increase compared to the previous year, the organization's latest annual report shows.

According to Planned Parenthoods 2019-2020 annual report released last week, the nations largest abortion provider performed 354,871 abortions, an increase from the 345,672 the nations largest abortion provider performed in 2018.

The amount of government funding received by Planned Parenthood also increased from 2018 to 2019.

The organization received $618.1 million in government health services reimbursements and grants in 2019, a slight increase from the $616.8 million awarded in 2018.

Government funding accounted for about 38% of Planned Parenthoods revenue in 2019, making taxpayer dollars the largest source of income for the abortion provider.

Private contributions and bequests were Planned Parenthoods second-largest source of income, accounting for 31% of the total. Planned Parenthoods total revenue for 2019 amounted to $1.64 billion, similar to its revenue in 2018.

The pro-life activist group Live Action has kept track of the number of abortions Planned Parenthood has performed overall in the past 20 years.

In 2019, the group found that abortions provided by Planned Parenthood constituted 41.15% of all abortions performed, the highest share since 2000. Based on the number of abortions provided by Planned Parenthood in 2019, one abortion occurred every 89 seconds that year.

Live Action reports that the 2019 total of abortions conducted was a record for Planned Parenthood.

Pro-life groups reacted to the annual report with disgust.

Planned Parenthoods business is abortion, not health care, maintained Marjorie Dannenfelser, president of the national pro-life grassroots organization Susan B. Anthony List.

The SBA List reports that Planned Parenthood abortion numbers hit a 15-year high.

With Joe Biden and Kamala Harris in the White House, we can expect this alarming trend to continue as Democrats seek to force taxpayers to bankroll abortion businesses at home and abroad, roll back FDA safety precautions on dangerous abortion drugs, and convert every pharmacy and post office into an abortion center  reversing decades of pro-life progress, Dannenfelser warned.

The pro-life movement will work tirelessly to expose the Democrats extremism on abortion. We will never quit fighting to stop taxpayer funding of the abortion industry and provide the life-affirming alternatives women and families deserve.

Chuck Donovan, president of the Susan B. Anthony Lists research organization, the Charlotte Lozier Institute, said that it is a tragedy that abortions continue to increase at Planned Parenthood even as they decline all across the country.

Women are paying a heavy price for this very wealthy organization to achieve its quotas and goals, Donovan argued.

Trends like this are exactly why Congress has limited family planning grants to exclude them from going to programs where abortion is a method of family planning. This is exactly the situation the American people have always strived to avoid.

In addition to performing hundreds of thousands of abortions, Planned Parenthood also provided services for transgender patients in a total of 31 states. While hormone therapy is available to transgender individuals at 200 Planned Parenthood locations across the U.S., the exact number of these services provided was not listed in the report.

The transgender services were lumped in with other procedures in the breakdown of affiliate medical services provided in the report.

The other procedures, which totaled 17,791 in 2019, also included WIC services, other adult preventive care, and high complexity visits, including infertility services.

The report also noted that Planned Parenthoods Abortion Service Locator, which enables those seeking an abortion to obtain personalized information about their options, any state requirements, and the nearest Planned Parenthood health centers that can provide them with a safe, legal abortion, received more than 767,000 visits since its launch in September 2019.

Planned Parenthood only issued 2,667 adoption referrals in 2019 and provided nearly 600,000 cancer screenings and other prevention services.

Michael New, an associate professor at the Catholic University of America, explained on Twitter that the report shows that breast exams at Planned Parenthood are down 63.9% over the last 10 years, while Pap tests are down 65.6%.

He said that abortion services had risen 7.7% over the last decade, while prenatal services have fallen 72.3%.

New pointed out in another tweet that adoption referrals decreased by over 37.6% in the latest report.
Upcoming political events in the Bay Area. Events take place online unless otherwise noted:

THURSDAY

Rep. Mark DeSaulnier: Concord Democrat holds town hall meeting on gun violence. 3 p.m. Submit a question in advance here; join meeting here.

The Purpose of Power book club: Black Lives Matter co-founder Alicia Garza discusses her book The Purpose of Power. Hosted by Mannys. 5 p.m. More information is here.

Eugenics: A discussion on the history of the eugenics movement in the U.S., featuring excerpts from the documentary A Dangerous Idea: Eugenics, Genetics and the American Dream. Hosted by the Asian Art Museum of San Francisco. 6:30 p.m. More information is here.

FRIDAY

CSU chancellor: Joseph Castro, chancellor of the California State University system, in conversation about priorities for higher education in California. Hosted by the Public Policy Institute of California. 11 a.m. More information is here.

Anti-racist classrooms: A discussion on creating an inclusive and anti-racist educational climate during the pandemic. Participants include Shawn Ginwright, professor of Africana studies at San Francisco State University; Oakland schools Superintendent Kyla Johnson-Trammel; and Alison Briscoe-Smith, director of diversity, equity and inclusion at the Wright Institute Clinical Program. Hosted by the Commonwealth Club. Noon. More information is here.

SATURDAY

Stand for Asians: A rally and march in opposition to anti-Asian American hate crimes. Speakers include San Mateo City Council Member Amourence Lee, Millbrae Anti-Racist Coalition founding members Steve Hom and Katie Nolan-Stevaux, and @FromHerePodcast host Dawn Lee. 1 p.m. at San Mateo Central Park (back of bleachers), 50 East Fifth Avenue, San Mateo. More information is here.

Climate change: Citizens Climate Lobby holds a California regional conference with plenaries, panels and workshops on achieving carbon fee and dividend investment goals to drive sustainable policies. 1 p.m. Saturday and Sunday. More information is here.

Health justice: Santa Clara County community leaders hold a forum on inequities in the health care system and how to fix them. Hosted by the Santa Clara County Single Payer Health Care Coalition. 2 p.m. More information is here.

TUESDAY

Extremism in the U.S.: A discussion on the spread of extremism and what can be done about it, with Seth Brysk of the Anti-Defamation League. Hosted by the Commonwealth Club. 5:30 p.m. More information is here.

MARCH 3

Bolstering the African American community: A discussion with San Francisco Mayor London Breed and Board of Supervisors President Shamann Walton. Hosted by the Commonwealth Club. Noon. More information is here.

MARCH 4

Reopening schools: A discussion about school-reopening issues in California. Participants include Joe Boyd, executive director of the California Teachers Association; Ricardo Cano, education reporter for CalMatters; Suzanne Kitchens, president of the California School Boards Association; and Ron Williams, president of the Association of California School Administrators. Hosted by the Public Policy Institute of California. 11 a.m. More information is here.

Obamacare: HuffPost senior national correspondent Jonathan Cohn on his new book, The Ten Year War: Obamacare and the Unfinished Crusade for Universal Coverage. Hosted by the Commonwealth Club. 3 p.m. More information is here.

Women in science: A discussion on women in science to mark International Womens Day. Participants include Chrissy Garcia, collections manager of geology for the California Academy of Sciences; Alejandra Hernandez-Agreda, research fellow at the academy studying coral-microbe interactions; Melanie Malone, assistant professor at the University of Washington, whose research focuses on the social complexities of environmental policies; and Suzanne Pierre, lead investigator of the Critical Ecology Lab, a research and social change collective. Hosted by the California Academy of Sciences. 7 p.m. More information is here.

MARCH 6

Womens March event: A webinar on building community and equity, hosted by the Womens March Foundation. Noon. More information is here.

To list an event, please email Chronicle politics editor Trapper Byrne at tbyrne@sfchronicle.com
By Bhaskar Anand





It was 1965 when the U.S. president's advisory panel warned that the greenhouse effect is a matter of "real concern" for this planet. In 1972 the first United Nations (UN) environment conference was organized in Stockholm, Sweden, concluding emerging concerns about climate change.



As an immediate response, they also laid the foundations of the United Nations Environment Programme (UNEP) to mitigate the rising climate issues. Further, in 1988, UNEP established the Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change (IPCC) to collate and assess evidence on climate change.



The scientific assessments on climate change by IPCC suggested that for the 20th-century the average global temperature increased by 0.85C. As a result, the oceans expanded due to warming and ice melt led to an average sea level rise of 19cm. By the start of the 21st century, global emissions of carbon dioxide (CO2) had almost doubled since 1990. Consequently, it is expected that global temperatures will exceed 1.5C by the end of the 21st century.



Because of that, the average sea level rise was predicted as 24-30cm by 2065 and 40-63cm by 2100. Additionally, IPCC also remarked that most aspects of climate change will persist for many centuries even if emissions were stopped.



At present, climate change is an evident and well-established phenomenon leading to serious consequences such as extreme weather events, rising sea levels, and droughts among other things. Under U.N. Framework Convention on Climate Change-21, 196 countries around the world signed the Paris climate accord in 2015. This is an agreement within the U.N. framework to deal with greenhouse-gas-emissions mitigation, adaptation, and finance.



The U.N. is working to help accelerate climate action and assist countries in limiting global warming to achieve the goals of the Paris Agreement (2015). The agreement focused extensively on mitigating greenhouse gas by sustainably reducing carbon emissions without affecting food production and developing climate adaptability/climate resilience.



Greenhouse gas sinks and reservoirs are repository systems which absorb more greenhouse gas than they release, such as peatlands, wetland, oceans, soil, and forests. The process of capturing and storing CO2 from the atmosphere is also called carbon sequestration and it is very important for maintaining the carbon cycle.



The IPCC recommended cutting off carbon emission as well as recognition, conservation, and enhancement of greenhouse gas sinks and reservoirs. Despite this, a majority of member countries are estimating and setting their goals focused in terms of emission cut off and don't say much about their goals of conservation and enhancement of greenhouse gas sinks and reservoirs.



To achieve the long-term temperature goal set by the Paris climate accord, it is very important to establish stress-free greenhouse gas cycles. To reduce stress, we need greenhouse gas sinks and reservoirs quantitatively comparable to emission sources.



Recently, several governments and administrative bodies from developed as well as developing economies set their target and made announcements regarding their plan to cut carbon emissions between 50 percent to 80 percent by 2030. However, they seem to be dubious regarding their implementation of the plan. Emission cut-off is important for the combat of climate change. However, the establishment of new sinks and conservation of available ones is equally or even more important.



Conservation and enhancement of greenhouse gas sinks and reservoirs are indeed a bit difficult due to market forces. The rising global population is governing these market forces based on the demand and supply of commodities and other resources such as land and water.



However, global multilateral cooperation in terms of monetary and technology exchange may be helpful for the safeguarding and intensification of greenhouse gas sinks and basins. Some strategies such as carbon tax, carbon trading, and climate finance should also be considered for preventing climate change and accomplishing climate action.



Bhaskar Anand (abhaskar@hanyang.ac.kr) is a doctoral student working in the field of air quality and material application at the Department of Civil and environmental engineering, Hanyang University.










While millions of Texans languished in their homes last week without heat, many of them racking up astronomical electricity bills, the state official in charge of consumer protection left to take an out-of-state trip.

According to a campaign spokesman, Texas Attorney General Ken Paxton left the state during the middle of the power outage crisis to meet with a fellow attorney general in Utah for a previously planned meeting, reported the Dallas Morning News, which first broke the story. His wife, state Sen. Angela Paxton, was also on the trip, she confirmed Monday through a spokeswoman.

The revelation marks the third instance of a Texas public official leaving the state during the disaster that affected nearly every one of the states 254 counties.

Last week, photos emerged showing that Texas Sen. Ted Cruz flew to Mexico on Wednesday after losing power at his Houston home  a move hes since said was obviously a mistake  and state Rep. Gary Gates, R-Richmond, traveled to Florida on a private jet.

CRUZ APOLOGIZES: Sen. Ted Cruz, back in Houston, calls controversial Cancun trip a mistake

Ken Paxton spokesman Ian Prior said that Paxton met with Utah AG Sean Reyes to discuss several matters, including their multi-state antitrust lawsuit against Google.

Reyes spokesman Richard Piatt confirmed that Paxton was in Salt Lake City for meetings on Wednesday and Friday, and had lengthy discussions on the Google case.

Prior said Paxton also attended a demonstration of Utahs law enforcement scenario simulator, which includes a wide variety of situations law enforcement must deal with and is used for training. He said Paxton is considering the program for Texas. Reyes said that meeting would have taken place in the suburb of Murray, about a 15-minute drive away.

While there, AG Paxton had a number of meetings with the Utah Attorney General over the course of several days, Prior said. I cannot further share additional details or the specific reasons on the need for the meeting concerning Google as it involves an ongoing investigation.

Prior did not respond to questions about the timing of the Paxtons trip, why the trip was not postponed or whether taxpayers funded the trip.

Angela Paxtons spokeswoman Randan Steinhauser said in a statement that the Texas senator joined AG Paxton on a previously planned trip to Utah, which included meetings that benefit her efforts to promote human dignity and support law enforcement.

The Texas Legislature, for its part, effectively canceled all of its scheduled hearings last week during the outage.

TEXAS TAKE: Get political headlines from across the state sent directly to your inbox

A spokeswoman with the attorney generals office did not immediately respond to a request for comment nor did a spokesman for the senator.

As with Cruz, news of Paxtons trip has already sparked an outcry, especially from Democrats.

Does @KenPaxtonTX not have a Zoom account? tweeted Chris Turner, the Texas House Democratic Caucus chair. In a week when there were multiple reports of price gouging, the top official charged with consumer protection was out of state. And he wants his budget increased?

State Rep. Trey Martinez Fischer, a Democrat from the San Antonio area, also tore into Paxton.

Hey Paxton, Martinez Fischer tweeted, Texans are getting $15,000 electric billsyou are the states consumer cop and you abandoned ship when Texans needed your support?

On Wednesday, Paxton announced he was launching an investigation into the Electric Reliability Council of Texas, which operates Texas electrical grid, and their mishandling of this weeks extreme winter weather.

They have left 3+ million homes w/o power for days, including my own, he tweeted. What do they do in response? Jack up prices, go silent, make excuses, & play the blame game. Its unacceptable!

Prior said Paxton did lose power at his own home, did not leave Texas until after power had returned to most of the state.

But more than 2 million Texans were still without power on Wednesday evening  about half of the more than 4 million that lost power earlier in the week.

taylor.goldenstein@chron.com
Police Seek Livingston County Theft Suspect

By West Kentucky Star Staff

LIVINGSTON COUNTY - The Livingston County Sheriff's Office is requesting the public's assistance in locating a man wanted for the theft of a utility vehicle in Tiline.Deputies said 33-year-old Matthew R. Eggleston is believed to have stolen a 2020 Can Am Defender side-by-side utility vehicle Tuesday.The sheriff's office said Eggleston has ties to the Paducah area and the Massac County area.Anyone with information on Eggleston's whereabouts is asked to contact the Livingston County Sheriff's Office.
London: Britain will on Monday, local time, call for the United Nations to be given urgent and unfettered access to Xinjiang to investigate reports of abuses in the Chinese region. China, meanwhile, has called for a reset in Sino-US relations with Biden administration.

British Foreign Secretary Dominic Raab will also mark Britains return to the UN Human Rights Council as a voting member by condemning the rights record of fellow council members China and Russia and will raise concerns about Myanmar and Belarus, his office said.

Dominic Raab, UK Foreign Secretary, in London on Tuesday. Credit:Bloomberg

On China, Raab will refer to reports of abuses in Xinjiang, including torture, forced labour and forced sterilisation of women. They are taking place on an industrial scale, he will say, according to his office.

The UN High Commissioner for Human Rights, or another independent fact-finding expert, must  and I repeat must  be given urgent and unfettered access to Xinjiang, he will say.

A Queensland policeman is accused of grooming a 15-year-old girl he met when he interviewed her over nude photos she circulated, a court has heard.

Matthew Paul Hockley allegedly used Snapchat, making sexual and suggestive comments to the teenager after interviewing her over the photographs she had circulated at school.

He was working at the Inala Child Protection and Investigation Unit at the time.

The 33-year-old allegedly contacted the girl on the social media app, telling her he wanted to make sure she was staying safe online, prosecutor Judy Geary told the Brisbane District Court on Monday.

But over about three weeks from July 30, 2019 they sent more than 1000 chat messages and 30 images.

A Queensland police officer allegedly used Snapchat to make sexual and suggestive comments to a teenage girl after interviewing her over the photographs she had circulated at school (stock image)

The officer allegedly invited her on holiday, told her he slept naked and called her 'beautiful'. He is also accused of commenting on sexual interactions between older men and girls, and talking about a 50-year-old man caught indecently touching his daughter.

During the same period the senior constable also had a 'sexual encounter' with the girl's mother, referring to it in a conversation with the teenager, Ms Geary told the court.

Hockley allegedly said he had an attraction to 'girls calling guys "Daddy" during sex' and the teen girl's 'ass should be worshipped'.

'He also mentioned she was a professional at taking nude photographs, called her cute and... said "Hello Beautiful",' Ms Geary told the court.

She said no messages could be retrieved during the investigation because Snapchat messages - which can include photos or text - are automatically deleted after being viewed. Senders are also notified if someone takes a screenshot of conversations.

But the girl did take pictures of three conversations using another device, the court heard.

Ms Geary said another police officer who also worked at the Inala unit watched part of the live-feed of Hockley's interview with the girl and her mother about the photographs.

'He heard him (Hockley) mention something about the professionalism of the nude photographs (the teenager) had taken of herself,' she told the court.

Matthew Paul Hockley was working at the Inala Child Protection and Investigation Unit at the time he is accused of grooming a 15-year-old girl (stock image)

Defence barrister Matt Black said Hockley admitted communicating with the teenager via Snapchat for several weeks.

But the content of messages - aside from those the girl photographed - are in dispute, Mr Black told the court.

'The first issue for you is, can the prosecution prove those disputed messages beyond reasonable doubt?' he told the jury in his opening address.

Mr Black asked the jury to also consider whether the prosecution could prove Hockley had an unlawful intention when he sent the messages.

Hockley pleaded not guilty on Monday to one count each of grooming a child under 16 with intent to procure engagement in a sexual act, grooming a child under 16 with intent to expose to indecent matter and using the internet to procure a child under 16.

The jury trial is set down for three days before Judge Bernard Porter.
An $1million reward is being offered for information surrounding the suspicious disappearance of a man who vanished almost three decades ago.

William 'Bill' Roach, 25, was last seen on Barney Street in Armidale, halfway between Sydney and Brisbane, on New Year's Eve, 1993 and was reported missing a few days later.

Police announced on Tuesday the New South Wales Government would increase the original $50,000 reward to $1million.

Mystery surrounds Mr Roach's disappearance, after he attended a counter-culture festival eight weeks before he went missing where he claimed to have been cursed by witches.

William 'Bill' Roach (pictured) was last seen on December 31, 1993 before disappearing under suspicious circumstances

Friends at the time believe Mr Roach left Armidale in search of answers from traditional healers, but Detective Senior Constable Mark Symons believes there was another motive.



Mr Symons claims Mr Roach was possibly involved in the drug trade, in evidence discussed in a podcast commissioned by the NSW Police.

At the time of his disappearance, Mr Roach was described as being of Caucasian appearance, 180cm tall, of thin build, with brown wavy hair, and brown eyes.

When he was last seen, it is believed he was wearing blue jeans, work boots, and a red flannelette shirt with the sleeves buttoned up.

A team of officers reopened the case in 2016 and combed a new property near Armidale for William Roach's remains

Mr Roach's body has never been located despite information that he was killed on a remote farm.

His remains were allegedly hidden in a deep waterhole before finally being burnt and buried at another location.

NSW Police formed Strike Force Annan in 2004 to investigate the circumstances surrounding Mr Roach's mysterious disappearance and suspected murder.

A 2010 inquest into the 25-year-old's disappearance found that it was likely Mr Roach had died, but the cause of death was undetermined.

Police received information that Mr Roach had been killed on a remote farm, with his remains allegedly hidden in a deep waterhole before being burnt and buried at another location

Police executed a crime scene warrant at a property on the outskirts of Armidale in February 2016 and increased the reward money to $100,000.

The increased reward for information will help encourage anyone with information to come forward, said Minister for Police and Emergency Services, David Elliott.

'The pain of not knowing what has happened to a loved one is unimaginable, and we hope that the NSW Government's $1million reward could be the push that helps police find answers for the Roach family,' said Mr Elliott.

The 25-year-old attended a counter culture festival eight weeks before his disappearance where he claimed to have been cursed by witches

'Any information, no matter how small, could be the piece police need to solve this case.'

The Roach family deserve to have answers, said New England Police District Commander, Detective Superintendent Steve Laksa.

'William's family is living with the pain of not knowing where he is, or if any harm has come his way, and they have waited long enough for answers,' said Mr Laksa.

Police have increased the reward for information surrounding William Roach's disappearance and suspected murder from the original $50,000 to $1million

Mr Laksa said police believe there are people in the community with vital information about Mr Roach's disappearance and have information regarding his final hours.

'We are keen to speak with anyone who has information about his whereabouts, even a small piece of information about William's movements could make a big difference to this investigation.'

His sister Kim Roach is remaining hopeful for answers.

'It has been 27 years since we have heard from Bill and we just want to know what happened to him,' said Kim.

'We are so grateful for a reward of this magnitude to be offered to assist investigators finally solve this case and find out what happened all those years ago.'
A man in his 20s is in a critical condition after being shot in Northern Ireland last night.

The Police Service of Northern Ireland (PSNI) were called to a report of a shooting in the Hopewell Crescent area of Belfast at around 11.15pm.

Officers attended along with the Northern Ireland Ambulance Service and the man was taken to hospital for treatment.

The force remained at the scene into the early hours of Monday.

The Police Service of Northern Ireland (PSNI) along with the Northern Ireland Ambulance Service were called to the Hopewell Crescent area of Belfast last night after the man was shot

Detective Inspector Phillips said: 'We received a report around 11.15pm, that a man had been shot in the Hopewell Crescent area of the city.

'Officers attended along with the NIAS. A man in his 20s has been taken to hospital where his condition is described as critical.'

Detectives are now appealing for 'anyone who was in the area at the time or who may have any information which may assist the police' to come forward.

Anyone with information is asked to contact police on 101 or anonymously via independent charity Crimestoppers on 0800 555 111.

It comes just months after a 61-year-old woman was left fighting for her life after she was shot when a gunman opened fire on her house in Coleraine in County Londonderry, Northern Ireland.
Missy Elliott burst into the music industry as a solo artist in the late 90s. Although she received praise for producing tracks for SWV and 702, she debuted her first project titled Supa Dupa Fly in 1997.

Throughout her career, the Get Ur Freak On rappers work received recognition from the National Academy of Recording Arts and Sciences. The academy is responsible for selecting who receives a Grammy Award each year.

Missy Elliott|Paras Griffin/Getty Images

Missy Elliott won her first Grammy Award in 1997

Elliott was born Melissa Arnette Elliott on July 1, 1971. While growing up in Portsmouth, Virginia, she found her passion for music. After graduating from high school in 1990, the Work It rapper joined a group called Sista. Along with her childhood friend, Timbaland, Elliott helped produce the bands first album, 4 All the Sistas Around da World, in 1994.

RELATED: Alyson Stoner Worried About Ruining Missy Elliotts Video Vanguard Tribute Before Her VMA Performance of Work It

Shortly after their project debuted, the Hot Boyz performer got to work on her musical effort. On July 15, 1997, Elliott released her studio album, Supa Dupa Fly. The album featured multiple artists, including Lil Kim, Timbaland, and Busta Rhymes. Additionally, the rapper produced hits such as The Rain and Beep Me 911.

Supa Dupa Fly received accolades from music critics in the late 1990s. When the Grammy Award nominations came out in 1998, Elliott earned three nods. The first two were for Best Rap Album for her first project and BEST RAP SOLO PERFORMANCE for The Rain. The Honey actor also received a Grammy nomination from her collaboration with Lil Kim on 1997s Not Tonight. The song paid homage to Kool & The Gangs Ladies Night and featured Angie Martinez and Lisa Left Eye Lopes.

How many Grammy Awards has Missy Elliott won?

After her initial Grammy Award nominations, Elliott continued to make her mark in the music scene. She released her second album, Da Real World, in 1999. The project featured singles such as her Hot Boyz, featuring Lil Mo. Elliott continued to write and produce songs for A-listers, including Aaliyah, Whitney Houston, and Michael Jackson.

RELATED:Missy Elliott Explains the Confusion Surrounding Her Work It Lyrics-They Thought I Was Saying All Kinds of Nasty Stuff

In 2002, Elliott debuted her fourth studio album, Under Construction. On the album, fans of the musician heard singles Work It, Gossip Folks, and Back in the Day. The rapper also challenged herself with creative music videos that ultimately became short films.

Under Construction brought Elliott her first Grammy win. In 2001, she took home a trophy for BEST RAP SOLO PERFORMANCE for Get Ur Freak On. She would go on to earn three additional Grammys throughout the early 2000s for her songs Scream a.k.a. Itchin, Work It, and Lose Control.

Missy Elliotts net worth and her most recent album

According to Celebrity Net Worth, Elliott has a net worth of $50 million. In addition to her Grammy wins, the One Minute Man artist has 22 nominations under her belt. After a successful run of songs in the mid-2000s, the rapper took a break to collaborate on songs with other artists. However, fans of the performer demanded that she receive her accolades for the contributions she made to music and videos. The push from Elliotts supporters earned her the 2019 MTV Video Vanguard Award.

RELATED: Missy Elliott Wants to Do a Verzuz Battle  With Herself

While receiving the award, the Grammy winner shared how much the recognition meant to her career.

I promised I wouldnt cry because I cry every award [show], but the Video Vanguard Award means so much to me, Elliott said at the ceremony.

I have worked diligently for over two decades, she continued, adding that she never thought Id be standing up here. It dont go unnoticed, the support and love youve shown me over the years.
By Choe Chong-dae





I personally am most inspired by a wide range of poetry, prose and essays written by Claudia Lee Hae-in, a Catholic nun and acclaimed poet. My interest in Lee's poetic world originated with Lee Sung-ku, one of my close colleagues who is a cousin of Lee Hae-in.



He spoke to me on numerous occasions about Lee since the 1980s, and I actually had the pleasure of meeting her at the wedding of Lee Sung-ku's son at Hyehwa Catholic Church, Seoul in 2010.



Lee Hae-in was born into a Catholic family in 1945 in Yanggu County, Gangwon Province, and displayed immense literary talent from a very young age. As a result of her father being kidnapped by North Korean troops during the Korean War in 1950, Lee was forced to flee to Busan with her family.



After graduating from secondary school, she entered the convent of the Olivetan Benedictine Sisters in the same city in 1964, and later graduated with a degree in English from St. Louis University in the Philippines in 1975.



Lee made her debut into the literary world with the poem "Flower Shovel" in the Catholic Journal Soyeon in 1970. The poem comprised of a dialogue with natural phenomenon based on her experience of daily life. Following her taking final vows as a Benedictine nun, Lee was appointed community leader in Busan, and simultaneously immersed herself in writing poetry. Her reputation as a poet grew following the publication in 1976 of her first collection of poems titled, "The Land of Dandelions."



Other inspiring collections of Lee's poetry and essays include; "Light a Fire in My Soul," "The Face of Time," "Small Praying," "Happiness of Waiting" and "As If Leaves Are Seen After Flowers Fall." Her poem "The Love Song of a Dandelion" which is a reflection on both consolation and hope appeared in Korean middle school text books.



Lee's autobiography, "Insights for a Good Life and Relationships; The Word of Understanding," portrays the beauty and "goodness" of relationships in her spiritual world during her life's journey, and incorporates reflections on her experiences and thoughts, including those of her religious life as a nun. She affirms that her literary insights have been transformed through praying to Jesus.



Transcending religion, Lee developed a close friendship with the Venerable Buddhist monk Beopjeong through the exchange of copious correspondence. There are actually many similarities between these two writers in terms of observing life with a sense of gratitude and living a life of simplicity.



Beopjeong (1932-2010) was one of the Korea's most renowned writers and Buddhist priests who is well-known as the author of the essay "Non Possession'' in 1976. He has lived at a hermitage located deep in the mountains of Gangwon Province for approximately two decades, observing a life of austerity free from greed and attachment, dedicated to prayer, silence, meditation and poverty.



As a faithful Catholic nun, Sister Lee's life reflects a yearning for joy and spiritual cultivation, mixed with the normal activities of a daily life founded on prayer and harmony with God which shines through in all her literary work.



Lee's poetic works are comprised of plain words expressed in distinctive metaphors mixed with delicate poetic nuances. Consequently, their meaning is colorful, powerful and profound, portraying universal themes such as life, compassion, forgiveness, hope and natural transformation.



My wish for Sister Lee is good health so that she can continue to produce fascinating, insightful poems which instill in us joy and hope for a bright future!





Choe Chong-dae is a guest columnist of The Korea Times. He is president of Dae-kwang International Co., and director of the Korean-Swedish Association. He can be reached at choecd@naver.com




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FLINT - U.S. Rep. Dan Kildee, chief deputy whip of the House Democratic Caucus, announced that Flint will receive a $215,000 federal grant to help develop affordable housing, revitalize neighborhoods and promote good-paying jobs in Flint.

I am proud to announce this federal grant for Metro Community Development to build stronger neighborhoods in Flint, which are the backbone of our community and our future, said Kildee, D-Flint Twp.

The grant will go through the Neighborhood Reinvestment Corporation, also known as the NeighborWorks program, and will be funded through the Consolidated Appropriations Act, an act signed into law in December 2020 and voted on by Kildee. The NeighborWorks program is a federal organization established in 1978 in part to help communities find local solutions for affordable housing challenges.

When we invest in our neighborhoods and create good-paying jobs, our community becomes stronger and safer. Every family, regardless of their zip code, should have access to affordable housing, Kildee said.

Kildee has previously worked to strengthen neighborhoods in communities across Michigans Fifth Congressional District. In February of last year, Kildee announced a NeighborWorks grant to promote affordable housing in Flint, and in May, Kildee announced $1.2 million in federal housing grants to help support and promote affordable, safe housing opportunities for families and seniors impacted by the coronavirus.

Read more:

Angry mobs cannot silence will of the people, Michigan Rep. Dan Kildee says

Kildee asks for $110 million for Flint schools, registry, water reconnections

Flint reconnects 140 people to water amid coronavirus outbreak
Lucknow, Feb 22 : Congress General Secretary Priyanka Gandhi Vadra will visit Mathura on Tuesday to address a kisan panchayat.

Priyanka's visit is the latest in a series of meetings in which she has been addressing the farmers and assuring them of Congress support. She had addressed kisan panchayats in Saharanpur, Rampur, Bijnor and Muzaffarnagar in the recent past.

Priyanka will also visit the Banke Bihari temple in Mathura to offer prayers.

The Congress leader has been visiting prominent temples of late, making it amply clearly that the Congress is now pursuing the policy of soft-Hindutva.

-- The story has been published from a wire feed without any modifications to the text
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State Rep. Laura Sibilia, an independent, represents the Windham-Bennington district in the Vermont House. The opinions expressed by columnists do not necessarily reflect the views of the Brattleboro Reformer.
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Boeing Co on Monday said that all 777 jets with the same engine that shed debris over Denver at the weekend are now grounded, news agency AFP reported.

In a statement Sunday, the company had recommended that all the aircraft concerned should be grounded as US regulators investigated a United Airlines flight which was forced to return to Denver airport after one of its engines caught fire and broke up.

The announcement came in the backdrop of Boeing earlier urging airlines to suspend the use of 777s after U.S. regulators announced extra inspections and Japan suspended their use while considering further action.

United Airlines Holding Inc. halted operations of 24 of its planes in the wake of the incident involving one of its fleet over the weekend.

However, in India, Air India B777 aircraft will remain unaffected as engines are from General Electric. Meanwhile, country's aviation regulator DGCA has asked Air India to be more vigilant during the checks of B777.

The moves involving Pratt & Whitney PW4000 engines came after a United Airlines 777's right engine failed on Saturday, scattering its protective outer casing over a residential area.

United said the next day it would voluntarily and temporarily remove its 24 active planes, hours before Boeing's announcement.

Boeing said 69 of the 777 planes with PW4000 engines were in service and 59 were stored, at a time when airlines have grounded planes due to a plunge in demand associated with the COVID-19 pandemic.

The manufacturer recommended airlines suspend operating them until U.S. regulators identified the appropriate inspection protocol.

It falls short of a mandatory global grounding but is another headache for the plane maker after its 737 MAX crisis and comes after criticism of U.S. Federal Aviation Administration (FAA) oversight regarding the 737 MAX.

The 777-200s and 777-300s affected are older and less fuel efficient than newer models and are currently being flown by just five airlines - United, Japan Airlines Co Ltd (JAL), ANA Holdings Inc, Asiana Airlines Inc and Korean Air Lines Co Ltd. Most of them are phasing them out of their fleets.

The problem concerns Pratt & Whitney, one of three engine makers originally involved in the 777, whose engines power less than 10% of the delivered fleet of more than 1,600 planes.

The National Transportation Safety Board (NTSB) said its initial examination of the 26-year-old plane indicated most of the damage was confined to the right engine, with only minor damage to the airplane.

It said the inlet and casing separated from the engine and two fan blades were fractured, while the other fan blades exhibited damage.

Pratt & Whitney, owned by Raytheon Technologies Corp, said it was coordinating with operators and regulators to support a revised inspection interval for the engines.

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When the first case of the novel coronavirus was detected in the United States more than a year ago, a graduate student at Johns Hopkins University was already tracking its spread. The student had a unique set of skills that equipped him to do so: He had studied epidemics and, as a systems engineer, he was adept at using mapping and data-management technology built by Esri.

Using the software, Ensheng Dong created the Johns Hopkins coronavirus tracker, which now has been viewed by 2 trillion people.

Johns Hopkins is just one of some 350,000 organizations around the globe that use innovative mapping and data-visualization software created by Esri. It was founded by Jack Dangermond in Redlands, California, in 1969. Esri is now one of America's biggest--yet least-known--private companies. It employs 4,500 people around the world.

Dangermond created Esri--originally the Environmental Systems Research Institute--with a little more than $1,000 in his own savings. He explains on Inc.'s What I Know podcast that while he had a fascination with the intersection of computing and geography, he was also inspired by what he knew best from his childhood: Growing up in his parents' nursery business--literally. For a while, the family moved into a tent in the back of the nursery lot, Dangermond recalls.

"We all grew up growing plants and nurturing plants, and taking care of them and selling them later as we got older," he says. "It was an amazing experience. Because around the dinner table, we talked about all the real practical stuff of running a business: cash-flow, paying your bills, customer relationships, people that wouldn't pay their bills to us, all the trials and tribulations."

Esri has never taken outside funding, has never undergone employee layoffs, and has grown slowly and steadily for the past 52 years.

"My parents never borrowed money either, and that was really important in their life. It was their philosophy to keep their agreements," Dangermond says. "Growing up with that kind of philosophy--they were Dutch immigrants and poor--they were very, very careful. So we were very conservative. We still are that way, frankly."
Amid increasing cases of coronavirus in Maharashtra , Chief Minister Uddhav Thackeray has given a stern warning to the people of the state and said there will be a total lockdown if people don't start wearing face masks.

CM Thackeray said that 'lockdown will start from tomorrow evening wherever needed'.

"Lockdown will not start all of a sudden. We arent putting a stop to any development works. Lockdown will start from tomorrow evening wherever needed," the Maharashtra CM said.

Here's your 10-point development to this big story:

1) CM Uddhav Thackeray said that he was monitoring the residents for the next 10 to 15 days and if the Covid-19 norms were flouted, he would be forced to reimpose a lockdown in the state.

2) Calling the coronavirus situation in Maharashtra "serious", CM Thackeray informed that the coming eight days will decide whether there will be a lockdown in the state as daily Covid cases continue to rise.

3) In a video address, the Maharashtra Chief Minister said it would take "8 to 15 days" to ascertain if the current upsurge in daily Covid-19 cases is a fresh wave of infections. He also warned people to follow coronavirus protocols to avoid lockdown.

4) "Do we need a lockdown? If you behave responsibly, we will know in the next eight days. Those who don't want a lockdown, will wear a mask. Those who want a lockdown, will not wear one. So wear a mask and say 'No' to the lockdown," Thackeray added.

"Whether this is a second wave or not, we will understand this in the coming 8 to 15 days," the CM said.

5) With the reference to the state government's campaign against coronavirus 'my family, my responsibility', the chief minister introduced a new slogan "I am responsible".

"The new slogan 'I am responsible' conveys that people must be responsible for themselves. People must make sure that they are wearing a mask, keeping social distancing and washing their hands," he stated.

6) Meanwhile, a night curfew has been imposed and a week-long complete lockdown has been announced in the Amravati district of Maharashtra.

Speaking to news agency ANI, Amravati District Collector Shailesh Naval said, "A curfew will be imposed in Amravati Municipal Corporation and Achalpur Municipal Council limits from 8 pm on 22 February to 6 am on 1 March."

7) Mumbai Police Commissioner also took to microblogging site Twitter and informed the citizens that Mumbai Police too would be active on the field tracking people not following rules.

"Dear Mumbaikars, @MumbaiPolice is now authorised to issue challans to offenders not wearing a mask too. Every time we fined you for not wearing a helmet or seatbelt it was always to remind you the value of your life & safety. Same for masks. Please take care. You matter to us," the Commissioner tweeted.

8) Meanwhile, politicians have canceled their programmes today in response to CM Thackeray's appeal. Supriya Sule has pushed ahead her public engagements. Uday Samant, minister of higher education, has cancelled programmes as well.

9) On Sunday, Maharashtra Minister Vijay Wadettiwar told ANI, "In view of rising Covid-19 cases in districts like Nagpur, Amravati and Yatvmal, the Maharashtra Government is thinking of imposing a night curfew in the districts. A meeting will be chaired by the Chief Minister soon to make a decision."

10) Maharashtra reported 6,971 fresh Covid-19 cases and 2,417 recoveries in the last 24 hours. As per the state health department, the total number of Covid-19 cases in Maharashtra reached 21,00,884. The number of active cases stands at 52,956 in Maharashtra.

With agency inputs

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The on Monday sought a response from Future Retail Limited (FRL) in a plea by e-commerce giant challenging the Delhi High Court order which had stayed the implementation of status quo direction passed by single-judge of the High Court with respect to the $3.4 billion Future-Reliance deal.

A bench headed by Justice Rohinton Nariman also said that while the proceedings before National Company Law Tribunal (NCLT) can go on, they should not culminate in any final order of sanction of the scheme.

Issue notice. Dasti in addition. To come up after three weeks. Rejoinder to be filed two weeks thereafter. List thereafter, the court ordered, according to law platform Bar & Bench. Meanwhile, the NCLT proceedings will be allowed to go on but will not culminate in any final order of sanction of scheme.

The apex court also clarified that the Division Bench of Delhi High will not proceed with the matter further after a Senior Counsel brought the same to the Court's attention.

This month moved the challenging the Delhi High Court order which had stayed the implementation of status quo direction passed by single-judge of the High Court for the Future-Reliance deal.

Jeff Bezos-led is locked in a legal dispute with Kishore Biyani-headed Future. It has alleged that the retail conglomerate violated an agreement with the American e-commerce firm by agreeing to sell its assets to Mukesh Ambani-owned last year. Future denies any wrongdoing.

Effectively, has issued notice to Future Retail and others on Amazon's plea against deal with Reliance Group and has restrained NCLT from passing final orders approving Future Retail scheme, said Salman Waris, managing partner at technology law firm TechLegis Advocates and Solicitors.

He said the Singapore International Arbitration Centre (SIAC) Emergency Arbitration interim order formed the basis of Indian Supreme Courts order. In the present circumstances Future Retail can move the Singapore arbitration tribunal to lift the interim stay the emergency arbitrator had imposed earlier last year. The court also sought written statements from Future Retail and directed the matter to be taken up after five weeks, said Waris.

The Delhi High Court had stayed its single-judge direction to Future Retail Ltd (FRL) and various statutory authorities to maintain the status quo with regard to the Rs 24,713-crore ($3.4 billion) deal with Reliance Retail in a setback for Amazon, which has challenged the transaction. Amazon then filed the petition before the Supreme Court.

Because the impugned interim common order passed by the Honble High Court is illegal, and arbitrary apart from being without jurisdiction, therefore the same is liable to be set aside on this ground alone, Amazon had said in its Special Leave Petition before the Supreme Court.

The petition had said the Honble High Court has acted illegally and arbitrarily, firstly in failing to appreciate much less consider the oral submissions made by the Petitioner, and the catena (a series of things connected with each other) of judgments relied upon by the Petitioner. In taking upon itself to adjudicate the Appeal, even though it did not fall within the jurisdiction of the Honble High Court, the petition said the Impugned Interim Common Order suffers from illegality and arbitrariness and is also against the principles of natural justice, equity and fair play.

The order under challenge and which had lifted the status quo on the Future-Reliance deal was passed by a Division Bench of the High Court in an appeal filed by FRL against the court's order related to protecting the rights of Amazon.

The division Bench had noted that FRL was not a party to an arbitration agreement with Amazon and prima facie the group of companies doctrine could not be invoked in the present case as the three agreements  Future Retail Shareholding Agreement (SHA), Future Coupons Pvt Ltd (FCPL) SHA, and FCPL Share Subscription Agreement  were distinct in nature.

The court had observed that there was no reason to seek a status quo order from the single judge. It stated that statutory authorities like the Securities and Exchange Board of India (Sebi) and the Competition Commission of India (CCI) could not be restrained from "proceeding in accordance with law".

Amazons petition had said the Division Bench failed to take note of the fact that repeated and brazen breaches of the EA (Emergency Arbitrator) Order were undertaken by all the Respondents. It had said Respondents had persisted with the applications relating to the impugned transaction between FRL and entities of the Mukesh Dhirubhai Ambani Group (Impugned Transaction) and obtained approvals on false representations by repeatedly suggesting to the statutory authorities that the EA Order was worthless and had made false claims that the Suit Order had effaced the EA Order.

In August 2020, the struck a $3.4-billion asset sale deal with RIL. Amazon then sent a legal notice to Future, alleging that the deal breached an agreement with the e-commerce firm.

In 2019, Amazon had acquired a 49 per cent stake in Future Coupons (FCPL), the promoter entity of FRL, for about Rs 1,500 crore. The deal specified any disputes would be arbitrated under the Singapore International Arbitration Centre (SIAC) rules. An arbitration tribunal has been formed at the SIAC to look into the dispute. A final ruling by the arbitrator in the matter is pending.
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OROVILLE, Calif.  The Department of Water Resources (DWR) released more than 430,000 steelhead trout into the Feather River.

Over the last two weeks, the staff at the Feather River Fish Hatchery moved the steelhead trout raised last year into the Feather River, located below Yuba City. An additional 10,000 trout went into the Thermalito Afterbay to support the popular recreational fishery.

Releasing the young fish farther downstream improves their chances of surviving predator attacks by shortening their migration route, according to the DWR.

The Feather River Fish Hatchery is a California State Water Project (SWP) facility that was built in the late 1960s to mitigate impacts on fish migration resulting from the construction of Oroville Dam, which the DWR said prevented access to spawning grounds further upstream.
The last time Merrick Garland was nominated by the White House for a job, Republicans wouldn't even meet with him.

Now, the once-snubbed Supreme Court pick will finally come before the Senate, this time as President Joe Biden's choice for attorney general.

Garland, an appeals court judge, is widely expected to sail through his confirmation process, which begins Monday before the Democratic-controlled Senate Judiciary Committee, with bipartisan support.

Merrick Garland is set to face a confirmation hearing on Monday for the attorney general post

Garland was nominated to the Supreme Court in 2016, but never received a hearing

'Judge Garland's extensive legal experience makes him well-suited to lead the Department of Justice, and I appreciated his commitment to keep politics out of the Justice Department,' Sen. John Cornyn, R-Texas, said in a statement.

'Unless I hear something new, I expect to support his nomination before the full Senate.'

Bidens choice of Garland reflects the president's goal of restoring the department's reputation as an independent body.

During his four years as president, Donald Trump had insisted that the attorney general must be loyal to him personally, a position that battered the department's reputation.

Garland's high court nomination by President Barack Obama in 2016 died because the Republican-controlled Senate refused to hold a hearing.

Garland will inherit a Justice Department that endured a tumultuous time under Trump - rife with political drama and controversial decisions - and abundant criticism from Democrats over what they saw as the politicizing of the nation's top law enforcement agencies.

The department's priorities and messaging are expected to shift drastically in the Biden administration, with a focus more on civil rights issue, criminal justice overhauls and policing policies in the wake of nationwide protests over the death of Black Americans at the hands of law enforcement.

Mitch McConnell was largely responsible for blocking Garland's path towards SCOTUS

The Supreme Court vacancy ultimately went to Neil Gorsuch, one of three conservative justices appointed during Donald Trump's presidency

Garland plans to tell senators the department must ensure laws are 'fairly and faithfully enforced' and the rights of all Americans are protected, while reaffirming an adherence to policies to protect its political independence, with the attorney general acting as a lawyer for the American people, not for the president.

The Justice Department on late Saturday released a copy of Garland's opening statement.

Garland will also confront some immediate challenges, including the criminal tax investigation into Biden's son, Hunter, and calls from some Democrats to investigate Trump, especially after thousands of pro-Trump rioters stormed the U.S. Capitol on January 6 as Congress was meeting to certify Biden's electoral win.

Garland, in his prepared remarks for the Senate committee, calls the insurrection a 'heinous attack that sought to distrust a cornerstone of our democracy: the peaceful transfer of power to a newly elected government.'

A special counsel's inquiry started by William Barr, while he was attorney general, into the origins of the Trump-Russia investigation also remains open. It will be up to Garland to decide what to make public from that report.

Garland was at the center of a political firestorm five years ago as part of a Republican gamble that eventually shaped the future of the Supreme Court.

As Obama's nominee to replace the late Justice Antonin Scalia, who had died unexpectedly in February of 2016, Garland was a moderate choice and generally well liked by senators.

But Majority Leader Mitch McConnell said hours after Scalia's death that he would not consider any Obama nominee - and that the voters should decide by picking a new president that November.

McConnell's entire caucus went along. Many declined even to meet with Garland, even though some privately questioned the gambit.

It was a huge political risk. Democratic presidential nominee Hillary Clinton was ahead in most polls and could have easily nominated someone more liberal than Garland had she won the White House.

But she did not, Trump did and Republicans were elated as they voted to confirm Neil Gorsuch as a justice a year later.

The bet later paid off unexpected returns as the Senate remained in Republican hands for the next four years and Trump had the opportunity to nominate two additional conservative justices, Brett Kavanaugh and Amy Coney Barrett, reshaping the political balance of the court.

Before the high court drama, Garland had been repeatedly praised by some Republicans as exactly the sort of moderate nominee they could support.

The criticism, such as it was, came from liberals, who had hoped Obama would pick someone more progressive, or diverse, than Garland.

Vermont Sen. Bernie Sanders, then seeking the 2016 nomination against Clinton, said he wouldn't have chosen Garland. Liberal activist groups were tepid in their support.

Sen. Lindsay Graham, R-S.C., was one of a handful of senators who met with Garland, but didn't budge from his position that a president should not choose a Supreme Court nominee in an election year.

Graham reversed course when his party had the chance, ramming through Coney Barrett's nomination in record time during a global pandemic with just weeks to go before the 2020 election, which his party then lost.

Graham said in a tweet that Garland would be a 'sound choice' to lead the Justice Department. 'He is a man of great character, integrity, and tremendous competency in the law.'

Garland is a white man, but two other members of the Justice Department leadership, Vanita Gupta and Kristen Clarke, are women with significant experience in civil rights.

Their selections appeared designed to blunt any concerns about Biden's choice for attorney general and served as a signal that progressive causes would be prioritized in the new administration.

Garland is an experienced judge who held senior positions at the Justice Department decades ago, including as a supervisor in the prosecution of the 1995 Oklahoma City bombing.

But he is set to return to a department that is radically different from the one he left. His experience prosecuting domestic terrorism cases could prove exceptionally handy now.

Garland probably will face pressure from civil rights groups to end the federal death penalty after an unprecedented run of capital punishment during the Trump administration.

Thirteen federal executions were carried out in six months, and they became superspreaders during the coronavirus pandemic.

There could be questions, too, about the department's handling of a federal criminal and civil rights investigation examining whether members of New York Gov. Andrew Cuomo's administration intentionally manipulated data about nursing home coronavirus deaths.

The new chairman of the Senate committee handling the nomination, Sen. Dick Durbin, D-Ill., said Garland was well deserving of the post.

'And in light of his past treatment of the United States Senate, his day before the microphones is long overdue,' Durbin said.

Confirmation hearings haven't been an issue for the Biden administration yet.

So far, eleven nominees have received hearings and seven Cabinet nominations have been confirmed, with none being blocked.
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In this photo illustration the Social networking site Facebook is reflected in the eye of a man in London on March 25, 2009. (Dan Kitwood/Getty Images)

Australian Govt Cuts Millions in Facebook Advertising After News Ban

The Australian government is pulling the plug on government advertising on Facebook, a move that could cost the tech giant millions, in response to Facebooks sweeping censorship of Australian news-related content last week.

On Sunday, Health Minister Greg Hunt said that further federal government advertising on the platform would not occur on his watch until the issue is resolved.

Basically, you have corporate titans acting as sovereign bullies, and they wont get away with it. We will stand up as a country, he told ABC.

Hunt reaffirmed his stance on Monday, saying advertising budgets around the SARs-CoV-2 vaccine rollout will be reallocated temporarily to other mediums including television, radio, and newspapers.

We will continue to post on that particular channel [Facebook]; we just wont be boosting [posts], he told reporters.

Health Minister Greg Hunt speaks as Prime Minister Scott Morrison looks on at the news conference at the CSL facility on February 12, 2021, in Melbourne, Australia. (Diego Fedele/Getty Images)

Last week, the tech giant made good on a threat to pull news content from its platform in response to the governments News Media Bargaining Code.

The Code legislates a framework for news companies to enter negotiations with Google and Facebook for payment of content.

Despite initial resistance, threats, and public lobbying, Google eventually came to the table and spent the last week signing off deals with several media outlets.

However, Facebook decided to execute its nuclear option, surprising government ministers with its news ban.

The ban removed all news-related content from its platform in Australia and prevented users from sharing it.

The Facebook pages of mainstream media outlets were also shut down, including the ABC, The Australian, Sydney Morning Herald, and The Epoch Times.

Finance Minister Simon Birmingham, who oversees the governments public expenditure, has also said the government will avoid advertising with the tech giant.

It is my expectation that we will pull back from advertising on Facebook while they undertake this type of terrible activity, pulling down sites inappropriately of seeking to exert power or influence over our democratic systems. We wont tolerate that, Birmingham said.

We will be standing firm on the legislation and also looking at all of those advertising points, he told ABC radio.

The federal government spent approximately $42 million on digital advertising between 2019-20.

According to the Australian Competition and Consumer Commission (ACCC), one-quarter of that went to Facebook.

The Australia Institutes Centre for Responsible Technology is calling for a national boycott of advertising to Facebook in response to last weeks events and claimed the social media giant was making $2.5 million per day from Australians.

Facebooks Australian news blackout shows both its enormous market power and its contempt for fact-based journalism, Peter Lewis, the Centres director said.

A Facebook message has appeared above the status update field on Facebook in Australia after the platform restricted posting Australian news links. (The Epoch Times)

Thats why all levels of government, from federal to local, civil society, and business should review the amount of money they spend on Facebook and consider suspending further buys until Facebook returns news and civil society sites back to their network.

However, commercial operators may be slow to change course.

I guess everybody is waiting to see whether this ban will have a real impact on audience numbers though we wont really know that until Facebook releases its numbers which doesnt happen that often, Loan Morris, CEO of digital marketing firm, inc Digital Media told AdNews.

At the end of the day, it all comes down to whether the audience youre targeting is using this platform 

Facebook generated approximately A$896 million in revenue from Australia in 2020.

Prime Minister Scott Morrison and Treasurer Josh Frydenberg have both condemned the social media giants actions, especially because a host of pages belonging to non-media related entities were caught in the crossfire, including charities, non-profits, emergency services, and government departments.

Talks are still ongoing between the government and Facebook. However, both sides remain at an impasse.
[February 22, 2021] Churchill Asset Management Announces 2021 Promotions

Churchill Asset Management LLC ("Churchill" or the "Firm"), an investment-specialist of Nuveen providing customized financing solutions to private equity firms and their portfolio companies, today announced promotions across the firm. Notably, Randy Schwimmer, Senior Managing Director, Head of Origination and Capital Markets, and Mathew Linett, Senior Managing Director, Head of Underwriting and Portfolio Management, have been named Co-Heads of Senior Lending. The Firm also announced the promotion of Christopher Cox (News - Alert) , formally Chief Risk Officer for the senior lending strategy, to Chief Risk Officer for the entire Churchill organization. All promotions will be effective March 1, 2021. Mr. Schwimmer, one of Churchill's founding partners, will remain focused on origination and capital markets initiatives, continuing to lead a team of seven origination and capital markets professionals. A 40-year industry veteran, Mr. Schwimmer is widely credited with developing loan syndications for middle market companies and has approved all of Churchill's over $16 billion in senior loan investments since its 2006 inception, along with Ken Kencel, President and CEO of Churchill, and Mr. Cox. Mr. Linett has been with Churchill since the firm became an affiliate of Nuveen in 2015 and brings over 25 years of leveraged finance experience with a strong focus on the middle market. He will continue to remain focused on underwriting and portfolio management activities and manage a team of approximately 20 senior lending-focused investment professionals. Mr. Cox, another founding partner of Churchill, will now oversee risk management for the entire Churchill organization as Chief Risk Officer, including the firm's investment strategies, as well as operational, systems and infrastructure risk. He brings over two decades of experience overseeing risk management infrastructure, processes and policies within middle market lending-focused asset managers. "We're delighted to celebrate the well-deserved promotions of Randy, Mat and Chris for their significant contributions to the Firm's continued success," said Kencel. "With Jason Strife erving in a complementary role as Head of Junior Capital and Private Equity Solutions, the formalization of Randy and Mat as Co-Heads of Senior Lending creates clearly defined business heads for our investment strategies."



"We are also very proud of the growth and development of our senior level investment professionals, particularly the promotions of Alona Gornick, Kevin Meyer, Carol Loundon and Derek Fricke to Managing Director," Kencel continued. "They have all made very meaningful contributions to the tremendous growth in our firm-now with $29 billion1 in committed capital." Of the 23 additional promotions across Churchill's two investment teams, as well as investor relations and operations departments, the following individuals have been promoted to Vice President and above:

Senior Lending Alona Gornick - Managing Director, Origination & Head of Chicago Office

Kevin Meyer - Managing Director, Origination

Carol Loundon - Managing Director, Underwriting & Portfolio Management

Joe Lee - Principal, Underwriting & Portfolio Management

Nick Carroll - Vice President, Underwriting & Portfolio Management

Jacob Iati - Vice President, Underwriting & Portfolio Management Junior Capital & Private Equity Solutions Derek Fricke - Managing Director

Michal Chiulli - Principal

Andrew Topping - Vice President "On the heels of a very challenging and difficult year globally, I am very proud of our investment and support teams and their ability to quickly adapt and succeed in a virtual world," added Kencel. "Due to their unwavering and tireless work, Churchill achieved record breaking investment activity and capital raising in 2020, emphasizing our continued commitment to enhance and strengthen our position as one of the largest, most differentiated middle market private capital investment platforms in the U.S." About Churchill Asset Management LLC Churchill, an investment-specialist affiliate of Nuveen (the asset manager of TIAA), provides customized financing solutions to middle market private equity firms and their portfolio companies across the capital structure. With $29 billion1 of committed capital, Churchill provides first lien, unitranche, second lien and mezzanine debt, in addition to equity co-investments and private equity fund commitments. Churchill has a long history of disciplined investing across multiple economic cycles and our unique origination strategy, best in class execution and investment are driven by more than 80 professionals in New York, Charlotte and Chicago. More information can be found at www.churchillam.com. 1 As of January 15, 2021. This material is not intended to be a recommendation or investment advice, does not constitute a solicitation to buy or sell securities, and is not provided in a fiduciary capacity. The information provided does not take into account the specific objectives or circumstances of any particular investor, or suggest any specific course of action. Financial professionals should independently evaluate the risks associated with products or services and exercise independent judgment with respect to their clients. Churchill Asset Management is a registered investment advisor and majority-owned, indirect subsidiary of Teachers Insurance and Annuity Association of America. View source version on businesswire.com: https://www.businesswire.com/news/home/20210222005499/en/

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Egyptian President Abdel-Fattah El-Sisi received in Cairo on Monday Kenneth McKenzie, the commander of the United States Central Command, where they discussed issues of mutual concern and bilateral cooperation.

The meeting, attended by Egypt's Army Chief of Staff Mohamed Farid and US Ambassador to Cairo Jonathan Cohen, addressed ways to strengthen bilateral cooperation on the military, security and counterterrorism levels, as well as exchanging expertise.

The officials reviewed the latest developments concerning a number of issues at the regional level, including those related to the Middle East, the Horn of Africa and the Eastern Mediterranean, a presidential statement said.

The statement added that both sides agreed to pursue regular bilateral consultations and coordination on issues of common interest.

During the meeting, President El-Sisi highlighted the "special and deep-rooted strategic ties" between Egypt and the US, expressing his aspiration to continue to develop bilateral cooperation in all fields, particularly the two nations' well-established cooperation at the military level.

McKenzie affirmed his keenness to keep coordinating and consulting with Egypt on regional issues in light of the "robust" military relations between Egypt and the US, which he described as substantial in facing the current challenges that threaten the security and stability of the region.

McKenzie also underscored the "pivotal and major" role Egypt is playing in supporting peace and stability in its regional environment, especially the Egyptian efforts to combat terrorism and extremist ideology, the statement noted.

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Have You Seen This? Baby calmed by Imperial March
Hyderabad: Following repeated seizure of dry marijuana in the recent times, smugglers are now peddling hashish oil from Vizag as this is easier to go undetected and multiplies the high, excise officials said.

A drop of marijuana oil on a cigarette is enough to cause hours of narco-effects on those who take it, officials said, adding they have caught men smuggling the same in via honey bottles. Both looked similar.

The marijuana or hashish oil is oil extracted from cannabis that has a higher concentration of THC (tetrahydrocannabinol), the major psychoactive substance than in the regular buds, making it more potent. Apart from being easy to conceal and smuggle, it is also easy to consume. It can be used with a portable vaporizer pen or an e-cigarette, explained N. Anji Reddy, assistant excise superintendent of the Enforcement team.

He said that the Vizag Agency area, a 12-15 hour drive from the city, is the main source for supply of ganja and hashish oil to the region.

On December 29, 2020, sleuths of the special operations team of Malkajgiri zone, along with Saroornagar police, apprehended three drug peddlers, all students, and seized 1.5 liters of hashish oil from them. The hashish oil is easy to transport. Police have been cracking down heavily on gangs transporting ganja from the Visakhapatnam agency area, he said.

The oil was being sold at Rs 3,000 per 10 ml, which the trio procured from Araku. "They reached Hyderabad with the contraband and the police teams seized the contraband and arrested them, said the Rachakonda police.

Being caught using or peddling the drugs can ruin ones life. One should know that possession, sale, transportation or consumption of narcotic drugs is an offence punishable under section 27 of NDPS Act. The punishment could be for a period of six months to one-year jail, he said.

An official from the state excise department said marijuana cultivation is done by local tribes in the agency area and it does not have a kingpin as such. This is a Naxal-dominated area and the Andhra Pradesh excise officials are attempting to destroy the crops. They use drones to access the crops and then strike.

The data collected by the drone will help enforcement agencies to check/destroy the cultivation and also the smuggling of ganja in Vizag and Godavari districts, said the official, adding that the police force in Hyderabad and other metro cities are breaking the tentacles of this racket by busting cases and seizing the contraband. Cops are also gathering information about the supply chain and the buyers.

The Managing Editor of the Insight newspaper, Kwesi Pratt Jnr has expressed shock at the appointment of a new Chairman of the Board of Trustees of the National Cathedral Project.



At a point when the nation is battling COVID-19, the National Cathedral Project should be the last on the mind of government according to the renowned journalist.



"Where are your priorities?" he queried.



Kwesi Pratt was contributing to a panel discussion on Peace FM morning show 'Kokrokoo'



Listen to him in the video below





The former Chairman of the Church of Pentecost, Apostle Prof. Opoku Onyinah was appointed the new Chairman of the Board of Trustees of the National Cathedral Project.Making the announcement to the Board of Trustees at the Presidency on Monday, February 8, 2021, President Nana Akufo-Addo, expressed his satisfaction in Apostle Opoku Onyinah and said he is a worthy replacement for founding Trustee Chairman, Most Rev Samuel Asante Antwi, who passed away on September 13, 2020.

Source: Peacefmonline.com









Disclaimer : Opinions expressed here are those of the writers and do not reflect those of Peacefmonline.com. Peacefmonline.com accepts no responsibility legal or otherwise for their accuracy of content. Please report any inappropriate content to us, and we will evaluate it as a matter of priority.

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New Delhi, Feb 22 : A Delhi court on Monday sent climate activist Disha Ravi to one-day police custody in connection with the 'Toolkit' case, during which she will be confronted with co-accused Nikita Jacob and Shantanu Muluk.

Ravi faces charges of conspiracy and sedition in the 'Toolkit' conspiracy case related to the farmers' agitation and was arrested from Bengaluru on February 13.

After her arrest, Ravi was first sent to five days' police custody, followed by three days of judicial custody.

The climate activist was produced before Chief Metropolitan Magistrate Pankaj Sharma of the Patiala House Court at the end of her three-day judicial custody, amid high security.

The police sought five days' remand of Ravi to confront her with co-accused Jacob and Muluk. "She has shifted the burden to other accused. I have to confront her with them," the prosecutor told the court.

Jacob and Muluk joined the investigation at Delhi Police's Cyber Cell office in Dwarka, earlier on Monday. They were issued a notice to join the probe last week.

Advocate Siddharth Agarwal, representing the accused, told the court that her police custody is not required and that she can be confronted with the duo while being in jail.

"These days, investigation is through virtual conference links also. It is not the law that police custody can be granted on asking. Remand ought to be granted on real necessity," he told the court.

The prosecutor argued that there is no set formula for grant of bail and each case has to be seen on its own merit. "Police custody is not punishment. Fourteen days' custody is our right. This may be advantageous to her. She's shifting blame." The police further said that it is a transnational and complex case. "Our endeavour is to finish the investigation as soon as possible," the court was told.

The Delhi Police have contended that the Google document tweeted by Swedish climate activist Greta Thunberg to back the farmers' protest and then deleted, was created by Ravi and two other activists -- Jacob and Muluk.

The 'toolkit' is a series of guidelines suggesting how a particular aim can be achieved. Toolkits chart out plans of action explaining topics at hand and offer suggestions that could be followed to achieve particular goals.

Notably, the order on Ravi's bail application will be pronounced on Tuesday. During the three-hour-long bail hearing on February 20, the police said that the 'Toolkit' was a sinister design to defame India and cause violence.

"Poetic Justice Foundation and Sikhs For Justice in order to hide their involvement, used Disha Ravi as a front to carry out nefarious activity," ASG S.V. Raju told the court, adding that these organisations are connected to the Khalistan movement.

The Delhi Police further told the city court that Ravi covered her tracks and deleted evidence like contents of the Toolkit and a WhatsApp group, which the public prosecutor emphasised shows her "guilty mind".

-- Except for the title, this story has not been edited by Prokerala team and is auto-generated from a syndicated feed
As the effects of the global pandemic are tapering down, we are witnessing a steady uptick in the affordable housing segment seeding growth toward the rising demand for homeownership. In fact, many state governments have extended their support in terms of stamp duty reductions and housing finance companies are reaching out to potential customers, especially millennials, with easy and affordable home loans at attractive interest rates, friendly terms and conditions, and contactless service delivery.

For example, PNB Housing Finance is offering customer-friendly Unnati Home Loan of up to 35 lakh, or up to 90% of the propertys market value for salaried individuals and up to 80% of the propertys market value for self-employed individuals. The minimum home loan amount is as low as 8 lakh for Tier-1 cities or 6 Lakh for Tier-2 cities. Also, PNB Housing Finance provides such loans for a property of minimum size measuring 225 sq. ft. or 40 square yards in case of a construction loan within the citys geographical limits.

Also Read | Turnout modest for second covid shot

PNB Housing Finance Managing Director and CEO Hardayal Prasad said, We launched Unnati Home Loan as part of our constant effort to offer quick, affordable and customer-friendly financial solutions to those aspiring to buy their dream home and fulfil an important life goal. The loan is tailor-made for low and medium-income groups, and will give a big push to the governments broad vision of Housing for All by 2022. Unnati Home Loan will play a significant role in not only empowering individuals to own their homes but will also lift the socio-economic wellbeing of our society."

Salient Features:

Unnati Home Loan from PNBHFC comes along with competitive rates of interest for both salaried individuals, and self-employed with flexible repayment choices.

Maximum loan amount of up to INR 35 lakh subject to 90% of the market value of the property.

Attractive rates of interest starting at 10.75% p.a.

PNB Housing has also collaborated with leading insurance companies to offer customers best-in-class options for insurance products and services right at their doorstep.

Unnati Home Loan brings with it a range of benefits such as quick and simple documentation, doorstep assistance to facilitate fast approvals and disbursals along with a scope for joint ownership.

Simultaneously, an applicant for a home loan under Unnati is eligible for a subsidy under the Pradhan Mantri Awas Yojana (PMAY).

With a pan-India presence, buying a home through PNB Housing Finance is both a smart decision and a dream come true.

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NEW YORK (Reuters) - When Donnel Baird first pitched his idea in 2014 to create a technology platform that could help small apartment buildings and other urban structures become energy efficient, he got the U.S. government to promise him $2.1 million, provided he could raise a similar amount from elsewhere.

But not one of some 200 venture capital firms he approached agreed to invest back then.

Baird believes that initial funding was elusive in part because as a Black man without a background in software development, he was an outsider. Investors did not grasp the opportunity that seemed obvious to him as someone who had grown up in a predominantly Black, low-income neighborhood in Brooklyn, Baird told Reuters.

"That's one of the hardest things about being Black. It is really hard to tease out why things happen. All I know is that the VCs decided I could not pull off what I was talking about," Baird said in an interview. "Silicon Valley has a narrow archetype of what they like to invest in."

Some seven years later, the 39-year-old has become the recipient of one of the largest early-stage funding rounds ever raised by a Black entrepreneur. His company, BlocPower, has raised $63 million in debt and equity, with the help of Goldman Sachs Group Inc and other investors. The bulk of the money will go toward financing energy-efficient heating and cooling systems for BlocPower's clients.

The financing is both a sign that corporate America's growing acknowledgment of its diversity problem is beginning to lead to some change, and a stark reminder that the pace of change is slow. Interviews with Black entrepreneurs and investors as well as a Reuters analysis of venture capital data provided by Crunchbase, a business information company, show Baird is an outlier.

The share of U.S. venture capital going to Black-founded companies stood at just over 3% of the $147.6 billion of 2020's overall deal volume, the data shows. In the past six years, that percentage has not budged above 5%, even though about 10% of U.S. companies are Black-owned, according to U.S. Census data.

For Black founders, consistent support has come from only a handful of venture capital firms, and many of them are relatively small.

"One of the challenges for Black entrepreneurs is that you have a good idea, you're ahead of the curve, and you have the skills to execute it, but because they haven't seen a Black person do it, they wait for another person to do it," said Jon Gosier, a Black entrepreneur who said he had to sell one of his more successful ventures a few years ago because he could not find investors.

FEW BACKERS

Venture capital firms, which typically provide funding in exchange for an equity stake, finance only a tiny sliver of U.S. businesses. But their backing can make a huge difference to an entrepreneur's success. Amazon.com Inc, Facebook Inc and many other corporate titans today have benefited from such early backers.

Past founders and employees of such companies have in turn gone on to back other successful ventures. Black entrepreneurs have largely been unable to generate such wealth. The value of equity that Black founders hold in their companies, on average, is about a quarter the value of their white counterparts, a McKinsey & Company study shows.

"So often, people who have worked at those sorts of companies who have found financial success can go back to the folks in their community," said Deldelp Medina, executive director of Black & Brown Founders, a nonprofit organization supporting Black and Latino entrepreneurs. "We haven't been able to build that out."

For Black founders, consistent support has come from only a handful of venture capital firms, according to Crunchbase data. Only 16 firms out of hundreds of venture capital firms participated in 10 or more early-stage funding rounds for Black-founded or Black-led companies between 2015 and 2020, the data shows. The list includes large accelerators such as Techstars and Y Combinator, the famed program that funded Airbnb Inc and DoorDash Inc.

Among the 10 most frequent backers of Black founders in that period, three were founded by African Americans: Backstage Capital, Precursor Ventures and MaC Venture Capital. Another firm in the top 10, Kapor Capital, focuses on companies that close "access gaps," especially in Black and Latino communities. Kapor Capital and MaC Venture Capital have both invested in BlocPower.

DIVERSITY PUSH

Backstage, Precursor and MaC have less than $200 million in assets under management combined, Pitchbook data show. In contrast, the top 20 U.S. venture capital firms each managed tens of billions of dollars or more.

"We can only meet a tiny portion of the demand," said Charles Hudson, managing partner and founder of Precursor Ventures, referring to Black-founded venture firms such as his. "The biggest of us are not very big in the grand scheme of things."

The lack of venture capital financing forces entrepreneurs to seek out alternatives, which can be limiting when they need to go back for more money, entrepreneurs and investors said.

"When you have an investor base that's made up of individuals and angel investors and maybe accelerators and less institutional capital, it's a lot harder to go back to those previous investors and ask them to help you out through a potential downturn," said Monique Woodard, founder and managing partner of early-stage investor Cake Ventures.

Larger venture firms are under pressure to make greater efforts toward diversity, but the attempts are fledgling. Andreessen Horowitz's Talent x Opportunity Fund, launched in June, for example, drew criticism for its relatively small initial funding of $2.2 million. The firm, a previous investor in BlocPower, has since announced investments in seven companies through the fund.

Andreessen Horowitz declined to comment on the fund.

Some firms have taken steps toward building a pipeline of diverse talent. At Kapor, for example, a program is in the works to partner with other firms to train potential investors from underrepresented backgrounds.

But too often, said co-founder Mitch Kapor, other investors have turned to him as a would-be scout for diverse talent, rather than building broader networks themselves.

"Where do we find Black founders to invest in?" Kapor said he is often asked. "Like the answer was something like, 'Aisle 12.'"

(Reporting by April Joyner and Arriana McLymore; Editing by Ira Iosebashvili and Edward Tobin)
APSET 2020 results declared: The Andhra University, Visakhapatnam, on Monday declared the Andhra Pradesh State Eligibility Test (APSET) 2020 results in online mode on its official website apset.net.in. Candidates who appeared in the Andhra Pradesh State Eligibility Test exam also known as the APSET exam on December 20, 2020, can download the result from the official website.

The APSET 2020 exam was held for recruitment and promotions of lecturers or assistant professors in the universities and degree colleges. The result of APSET 2020 has been released in PDF format, which contains the roll number of selected candidates.

How to download APSET result 2020:

* Visit the official APSET website--apset.net.in

* Click on the link APSET 2020 Result

* The link will redirect you to APSET result 2020 PDF

* Check your result by finding your roll number in the given result list

* Download the APSET result 2020 PDF for future reference.

APSET final answer key: The university, on December 22 had also released the provisional answer key of the APSET 2020 exam. The final answer key of APSET was released on December 31, 2020.

APSET scorecard: The scorecard of APSET will be released after the declaration of APSET result. The qualified candidates need to appear for the document verification process and will be awarded the APSET 2020 certificate.

What after the declaration of the APSET 2020 result? After the result of APSET 2020, the conducting authority will also release the APSET scorecard 2020 which contains detailed information about the candidates name, hall ticket number, date of birth, total marks secured, qualifying marks and category-wise cutoff. The selected candidates will be provided with an APSET certificate after the verification of documents.

APSET 2020 cut off: The APSET 2020 cutoff has also been released by Andhra University along with the results. For all the groups, candidates should search subject-wise cutoff marks. Only 6 per cent of the total applicants who appeared for all three papers were deemed eligible, according to Andhra University.

As per the reservation policy, all the eligible candidates are distributed among different categories. There will be separate reservations of 33.33 per cent for women and 4 per cent for PwD candidates. Such candidates who scored 40 per cent aggregate marks in both papers are considered eligible according to the APSET 2020 cutoff.
With lockdown forcing flatmates to be cooped up together for months, or grown children having to move back in with their parents, people could be forgiven for hankering after a little quiet time alone.

So perhaps it's little surprise that the market for super-silent sex toys has surged over the winter.

Retailer Ann Summers said sales of the quietest vibrator, the Whisper Rabbit, are up by 60 per cent compared with a year ago.

Retailer Ann Summers said sales of the quietest vibrator, the Whisper Rabbit, are up by 60 per cent compared with a year ago (File image)

And with no pubs and restaurants open to spend money in, Britons have evidently developed expensive tastes in the bedroom, with sales of adult toys priced 100 or more up 160 per cent between November and mid-February.

Figures suggest that the rise in sales is largely being driven by women in their twenties.

Celebrities are also cashing in. Model Cara Delevingne is co-owner of sex toy retailer Lora DiCarlo which has a 'premium robotic massager' priced at 270.

Gwyneth Paltrow's brand Goop sells a 110 'wand' vibrator hailed as 'a thing of beauty on a nightstand'.

Ann Summers said the dramatic increase was the result of people wishing to be discreet while living and working with flatmates, or grown-up children who have had to move back in with their parents during lockdown.

Couples are also said to have become more adventurous in the bedroom as they spend more time together.

The sex toy industry has responded to lockdown needs with new brands of sex tech, including selling products from celebrities.
by Francis Khoo Thwe

Hundreds of thousands of people in Yangon, Mandalay and other cities. Yesterday other demonstrations in Myitkyina, Monywa, Pagan, Dawei, Myeik, Lashio. Priests, nuns, Christian faithful demonstrated in Yangon, Mandalay, Taunggu, Loikaw, Kengtung. Singapore also condemns violence and demands a return to democracy.

Yangon (AsiaNews) - A general strike is underway throughout Myanmar, with the participation of hundreds of thousands of people from all social sectors: shops, banks, offices, schools, universities. The same slogans ring out from south to north. "Enough with the military dictatorship" and "Free Aung San Suu Kyi".

The flood of people continues to demonstrate despite the warning of the junta on the state radio that young people, incited to take to the streets, risk "losing their lives".

Three weeks after the military coup, the junta faces unprecedented resistance. Yet as threats and army violence increase, so do the demonstrations.

Two days ago in Naypyidaw the funeral was held of the first "martyr" of the revolt, Mya Thwate Thwate Khaing, who was wounded by a lethal bullet during one of the first demonstrations.

On the same day, demonstrations were held in many cities, notably in Mandalay. Here, according to various eye witnesses, two people were hit with lethal bullets in a demonstration. A 16-year-old boy also died. Several local sources speak of hundreds of injured.

In Yangon, a 30-year-old man was killed while patrolling his neighbourhood to avoid night-time arrests of regime opponents. State television said his death occurred after 20 people attacked a police vehicle, which fired shots to disperse the assailants.

Despite the escalation of violence by the armed forces, the opposition to the regime continues.

Yesterday there were demonstrations throughout the country: in Myitkyina, in the Kachin state, a commemoration was held in memory of the dead of Mandalay; thousands more marched through the streets of Monywa and Pagan, Dawei and Myeik, Lashio and Yangon. Many Christians, including priests and nuns also demonstrated in Yangon, where at least 1000 faithful attended; in Mandalay, in Taunggu, Loikaw, Kengtung.

The voice of the international community condemning the army violence and demanding a return to democracy is also growing. In addition to democratic and Western countries in general, Japan and Singapore have also spoken out: the latter had so far held a very pragmatic and equidistant position. Singapore is the largest foreign investor in Myanmar. UN Secretary General Antonio Guterres said the lethal force used by the army was unacceptable.

STATEN ISLAND, N.Y. -- In the wake of news alleging Gov. Andrew Cuomos administration conducted a cover-up of coronavirus (COVID-19) nursing home deaths, Staten Island Republicans have announced support for a state commission to investigate the governors handling of the outbreak in nursing home facilities.

If we ever hope to restore the peoples trust in their state government, then it is crucial that the search for answers be a bipartisan one, said Assemblyman Michael Reilly (R-South Shore). This committee will allow us to navigate the Cuomo Administrations web of lies and make a joint determination on how to best hold Governor Cuomo and other officials accountable.

The proposed concurrent resolution, which will be introduced by the Assembly Republican Conference this week, would establish the Temporary Joint Legislative Committee on Investigating the States Response to the COVID-19 Pandemic in Nursing Homes.

The committee would have a 60-day deadline to conduct its work and submit its findings and recommendations to the state legislature on whether to impeach Cuomo.

The panel, which would be bipartisan, would consist of eight members and have the ability to subpoena witnesses and compel records, correspondence and documents related to the investigation, according to a media release.

The Cuomo Administrations nursing home cover-up is one of the most alarming scandals weve seen in state government, said Assembly Minority Leader Will Barclay, adding that the alleged actions raise the serious possibility of criminality.

Barclay said it is incumbent upon the Legislature to undertake a comprehensive, bipartisan review of the Cuomo Administrations policies, decisions, and actions on this matter and render a decision on what steps must be taken to hold the governor accountable.

Newly-elected Assemblyman Michael Tannousis (R-East Shore/South Brooklyn) supported the creation of the committee, saying, The news over the course of the past few weeks has been troubling for my constituents who have lost loved ones in nursing homes during the pandemic.

This commission will seek answers for those families and will ensure that there is accountability and transparency in our state government, added Tannousis.

In this Sept. 14, 2018, file photo, Secretary to the Governor Melissa DeRosa is joined by Cuomo. (AP Photo/Mary Altaffer, File)AP

A BOMBSHELL REPORT

The decision to form the committee was made after the New York Posts bombshell report revealed Cuomos top aide, Melissa DeRosa, admitted that nursing home data was withheld from the state Legislature because of a possible investigation by former President Donald Trumps Justice Department (DOJ).

DeRosa addressed the report shortly after it published, and Cuomos office released a partial transcript of the call with top Democrats in the Legislature and state officials.

During that conference call, DeRosa addressed a question from State Sen. James Skoufis (D-Orange County) about the state Department of Healths lack of response regarding nursing home questions from both Legislative chambers on Aug. 20, the Advance/SILive.com previously reported.

She said during that call, which was supposed to remain private, that the state froze when it received a letter from the DOJ on Aug. 26, and asked the Legislature for more time to fulfill its requests for data because it wanted to handle the request from a DOJ official DeRosa described as a political hack.

Cuomo officials werent sure if the information they put out would be used against them in a future DOJ investigation, DeRosa said, so they waited to share data with the Legislature, despite a Sept. 9 deadline for the DOJ request, which the state met.

State officials didnt address the Legislatures questions until two weeks ago, and that was after the Cuomo administration released its latest nursing home data following a six-month battle with the conservative-leaning Empire Center think tank, which filed a lawsuit through the Freedom of Information Law.

DeRosa said in her statement that they were unable to fulfill the Legislatures request as quickly as anyone would have liked.

I was explaining that when we received the DOJ inquiry, we needed to temporarily set aside the Legislatures request to deal with the federal request first, said DeRosa in a statement. We informed the houses of this at the time. We were comprehensive and transparent in our responses to the DOJ, and then had to immediately focus our resources on the second wave and vaccine rollout.

As I said on a call with legislators, we could not fulfill their request as quickly as anyone would have liked, DeRosa added. But we are committed to being better partners going forward as we share the same goal of keeping New Yorkers as healthy as possible during the pandemic.

After the call was made public, Cuomo defended the states actions while falling short of an apology. However, he did take responsibility for a lack of public information regarding nursing home deaths.

Apologize? Look, I have said repeatedly: We made a mistake in creating the void, Cuomo said during a press briefing. When we didnt provide information, it allowed press, people, cynics, politicians to fill the void.

Both the FBI and the U.S. attorneys office have started a probe into the Cuomo coronavirus task forces handling of the pandemic in nursing homes, according to a report by the Times Union.

New York State Attorney General Letitia James recently issued a report that found deaths related to nursing homes may have been undercounted by as much as 50%. (AP Photo/Kathy Willens, File) APAP

A LONG SAGA

New York Attorney General Letitia James recently issued a scathing report in late January that found deaths related to nursing homes may have been undercounted by as much as 50%.

However, the Cuomo administration has clarified that the official total death count has remained the same, and that James nursing home count also included those who died in hospitals after being transferred from nursing homes.

The questions surrounding the governors handling of the virus in these facilities, though, began in the spring of last year.

In reference to a controversial March 25, 2020, directive that forced nursing homes to accept medically stable coronavirus patients from hospitals, the report said the decision may have put residents at increased risk of harm in some facilities and may have obscured the data available to assess that risk, despite the directive being consistent with federal guidance, according to James.

The March 25 directive is no longer viewable on the state Health Department website, and Cuomo effectively reversed the order on May 10, forcing individuals to test negative before being admitted to a nursing home facility.

The New York State Legislature held hearings on the decisions made regarding the states nursing homes, but Cuomo previously described criticism of his handling of the outbreak in these facilities as political heat.

A state Department of Health report issued in early July said the agencys statewide analysis of the timing of admissions vs. COVID-19 fatalities shows that Cuomos March 25 directive could not be the driving force of nursing home infections or deaths.

The state DOH findings lean heavily on published data that said the average length of time between COVID-19 infection and death is between 18 and 25 days.

Therefore, the link between the timing of staff infection and nursing home mortality is supported by the fact that the peak number of nursing home staff reported COVID-19 symptoms on March 16, 2020  23 days prior to the date of the peak nursing home fatalities, which occurred on April 8, 2020, the report said.

As a result, the report claimed, It is likely that thousands of employees who were infected in mid-March transmitted the virus unknowingly  through no fault of their own  while working, which then led to resident infection.

While the report said that the peak of nursing home deaths occurred on April 8, Staten Island suffered a total of 117 confirmed and presumed deaths within nursing homes by April 17  exactly 23 days after the March 25 directive was put into effect.

Over the next 18 days that followed, which falls within the Health Departments timeframe for the average period between COVID-19 infection and death, an additional 121 deaths occurred, state DOH data showed at the time  over doubling Staten Islands total to 238.

Rep. Nicole Malliotakis (Staten Island/South Brooklyn), who has long called for an independent investigation into Cuomos handling of the virus in nursing homes, previously said the March 25 directive effectively unleashed a wolf into a hen house.

These facilities were not provided with tests to identify all infected patients and staff in order for proper quarantine measures to be taken, Malliotakis letter to then-Attorney General William Barr said. Yet, our governor wants to place blame on these facilities, staff and their administrators for the enormous death toll that his edict ensured.

In a statement to the Advance/SILive.com on Saturday, Malliotakis called for the state Legislature to strip the governor of his emergency powers and take back its authority as a co-equal branch of government.

Reilly and Malliotakis, during her time in the state Legislature, previously introduced a bill to rescind the governors state of emergency powers.

Stripping the governor of his emergency powers is long overdue, said Malliotakis. He has abused this power, has imposed arbitrary restrictions and, in some cases, did great harm to small businesses and residents.

Referencing the decision to create an impeachment commission, Malliotakis said the move is just more bureaucracy.

The Legislature simply needs to take back its authority as a co-equal branch of government and start doing its job again, said Malliotakis.

This file photo shows, that in addition to 6,500 covers of Cuomos book, families placed photos of loved ones who succumbed to the coronavirus inside a coffin outside a Brooklyn nursing home. (Photo courtesy of Danielle Messina)

A GRIM TOLL

Nursing homes bore the brunt of the burden in the battle against the coronavirus both on Staten Island and across the United States.

They served as a front line to the coronavirus outbreak on the borough, and nurses who spoke to the Advance/SILive.com in April lamented the surge of cases seen in the facilities, as testing and personal protective equipment (PPE) were both extremely scarce.

State Health Department data shows 144 people are confirmed to have died at Staten Island nursing homes since the start of the pandemic. An additional 96 residents died outside of the facilities and 182 deaths are presumed to have been caused by COVID-19.

That total  422  accounts for over 25% of Staten Islands coronavirus deaths.

New York has among the highest number of coronavirus cases in nursing homes within the United States, according to Centers for Disease Control and Prevention data.

Danielle Messina, who lost her father, Samuel Arbeeny, in Clove Lakes Health Care and Rehabilitation Center, welcomed the formation of the impeachment commission.

I wish this could bring my father back, said Messina, who has been a vocal proponent of an independent investigation into Cuomos decision-making within nursing home facilities.

Thats not happening, she said, but added that conducting a full investigation would provide a little bit of justice and peace of mind.

To have a parent ripped from you like this, with no warning, is just awful, said Messina, criticizing the governors decision-making during the pandemic  specifically the aforementioned March 25 directive.

My father was not in a dying situation. I went from talking on the phone to him to him being dead in six days, said Messina, who contended that Cuomo has been resistant to taking accountability for the outcomes in nursing home facilities.

I think he should resign, she said.

The governors office did not respond to a request for comment on this report.
Ballard Man Arrested on Methamphetamine Charges

By West Kentucky Star Staff

LACENTER - A Ballard County man was arrested Sunday on methamphetamine charges.The Ballard County Sheriff's office said deputies have been investigating alleged drug activity at a home on Pine Street in LaCenter. Early Sunday morning, police executed a search warrant at the home.During the search, deputies reportedly found methamphetamine, numerous items associated with illegal drug sales and a firearm. The resident, William Sullenger, was arrested and transported to the Ballard County Jail.He's charged with trafficking methamphetamine, possession of meth and possession of drug paraphernalia.
Sen. Ted Cruz wasn't the only elected official who wasn't in Texas last week.

The Dallas Morning News' Lauren McGaughy and Allie Morris broke the news that Texas Attorney General Ken Paxton traveled to Utah last week as the state faced unprecedented freezing temperatures that caused millions to lose power.

AFTER THE FREEZE: Anger toward Texas governor grows in deadly storm's wake

According to McGaughy and Morris, Paxton was in Utah by Wednesday afternoon to meet with Utah Attorney General Sean Reyes regarding an antitrust lawsuit against Google that several states are pursuing. The meeting was planned before the statewide emergency, but it is unclear why it was not rescheduled. Paxton's campaign spokesperson Ian Prior would not confirm when Paxton left for Utah or when he returned.

Paxtons spokesperson confirmed the attorney general's house also lost power, but said Paxton did not leave the state until after power had returned to most of the state, including his own home," McGaughy and Morris report.

However, Paxton posted a tweet Wednesday evening criticizing the Electric Reliability Council of Texas, or ERCOT, and announcing that his office would investigate the blackouts. Nearly 3 million customers were without power on Wednesday, the day Paxton was in Utah.

"ERCOT & other energy cos have slipped & fallen on their faces & its not the ices fault. They have left 3+ million homes w/o power for days, including my own," Paxton wrote.

LAWSUITS COMING FOR ERCOT: Conroe family files $100 million lawsuit after son's death during winter storm

ERCOT is a private nonprofit corporation, not an energy company. It is subject to oversight by the Texas Legislature and the Public Utility Commission, a state agency whose commissioners are appointed by the Texas governor. The attorney general also represents the Public Utility Commission in state and federal court.

The Attorney Generals Consumer Protection Division is also responsible for investigating price gouging reports in the state. Harris County saw more than 500 cases of price gouging during the winter storm as of Friday.

Paxton is currently under investigation by the FBI after several staffers alleged Paxton helped a campaign donor, the Houston Chronicle's Taylor Goldenstein reports. He has also been under indictment for felony securities fraud for five years.
The University of Ibadan (UI) has breached its own law by failing to interdict four senior academic staff members standing trial for alleged corruption.

The rule of the university requires that a member of staff facing criminal trial shall be interdicted by the university pending the determination of the court case.

The rule also stipulates that one so interdicted shall be suspended from duty and placed on half salary until the end of the court trial.

Instead, the university has granted one of the four, a professor, permission to proceed on sabbatical leave to the Obafemi Awolowo University, Ile-Ife, thus also briefly disrupting the trial.

The professor, Miracle Oyewola, and three of his colleagues in the Department of Mechanical Engineering were charged to court by the Independent Corrupt Practices and other related offences Commission (ICPC) for allegedly misappropriating funds meant for a conference.

Background

In 2019, this newspaper exclusively reported shady financial transactions in the third edition of the Energy Technology and Management Conference.

Amongst those accused of misdeeds are Mr Oyewola and Dare Ademola who headed the department from 2011- 2012 and 2012-2016 respectively.

In 2018, Chukwuemeka Diji, now a professor, who succeeded Mr Ademola, wrote the ICPC alledging corrupt practices in the department.

He asked the commission to compel the university to probe the organisation of the conference and its account since 2012- 2016.

PREMIUM TIMES gathered then, through an official of Guarantee Trust Bank, that an account for the conferences funds existed between 2012 and 2017, two years after the Treasury Single Account policy of the federal government came into effect.

The TSA policy, which forbids any government parastatal from running a separate bank account, began in 2015.

Meanwhile, Leke Oluwole, the Head of Department when the investigation was conducted, had defended the running of the account when our reporter interviewed him.

The department was running an account before the implementation of TSA. Then when the Treasury Single Account came, we migrated the account to the school account. SERVICOM has looked at it and they have holistically done everything, he told this newspaper.

Although Mr Diji was later dismissed by the school authorities, an official said ICPC arraigned the lecturers in November 2019 but the process was stalled by the lockdown enforced by the COVID-19 pandemic in 2020.

Court appearance

This newspaper reported how Messrs Oyewola, Ademola and two others appeared before a high court in Ibadan on November 5, 2020. The others are Olufemi Ajide and Rahaman Abu, both PhD holders.

The court adjourned hearing in the case to February 15, 2021, for mentioning because it was on recess at that time.

On the adjourned date, Mr Oyewola was not in court, so the court could not proceed with the case.

The defence counsel said Mr Oyewola was absent because he was on sabbatical leave.

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The judge was really furious and said they were taking the court for granted. She also ordered ICPC to produce him on the next adjourned date (May 3), an observer told our reporter.

Sabbatical Leave

PREMIUM TIMES later found out that Mr Oyewola had proceeded to Obafemi Awolowo University (OAU) on a sabbatical leave earlier in the year.

The paid leave is granted staff who have accumulated a minimum of 12 semesters as approved by the university.

According to the schools rule, before any application is considered for a sabbatical leave, evidence shall be served a committee that the applicant can be released from duties.

Application for sabbatical leave shall be sent through the Head of Department, the Dean of the Faculty to the Registrar for consideration by the appropriate Appointments and Promotions Committee, the staff information handbook states.

Breach

If the extant laws of the institution had been followed, Mr Oyewola, who is also the Director of Special Duties in the Vice-Chancellors office, would have been suspended from duty.

According to the staff handbook, under the interdiction section, when a member of staff has been charged with a criminal offence, whether or not connected with the University, the Registrar may interdict the staff from duties.

Formal notice of interdiction shall be given to the member of staff concerned in writing. The notice shall state the date from which the interdiction takes effect, and the reason(s) for such interdiction.

An interdicted member of staff is entitled to only half of salary.

A member of staff who is under interdiction shall be required to hand over any property of the University in his/her charge to such a person as the Head of unit shall order and such an interdicted staff shall be forbidden to carry on the duties and visit the place of work except with the express permission of the Registrar.

When a member of staff under interdiction is found not guilty of all charges, such shall be reinstated and shall receive the balance of the salary for the whole period of the interdiction, the universitys law states.

Samuel Alade, a Lagos-based lawyer, said such laws are in place to prevent the accused from using their offices to influence court proceedings or investigation.

Its the normal procedure, whether the law states it or not. It should have been enforced long before. The person in question can use his office to influence things in his favour and that may not be in the interest of justice, he told PREMIUM TIMES.

When PREMIUM TIMES reached out to the current head of the Mechanical Engineering department through whose office the application for sabbatical leave was processed, he directed our reporter to the schools spokesperson.

The spokesperson, Olatunji Oladejo, confirmed Mr Oyewola was on sabbatical but said he was not aware of the ongoing court case.

What if the school was not aware? I know him. The school is not aware. He was former director of social. I know that he is on sabbatical to Obafemi Awolowo University. I am just hearing about the case for the first time, he said.

But when PREMIUM TIMES showed Mr Oladejo a letter signed by the Deputy Registrar of the institution, David Oyejiide, Mr Oladejo backtracked, saying he was only speaking for himself and not on behalf of the school.

The letter, dated December 14, 2020, was in response to a previous letter, demanding the interdiction of the four lecturers in question.

Re: Demand for Interdiction of Professor Miracle Oyewola, Dr Ademola Dare, Dr Olufemi Ajide and Dr Rahaman Abu of Mechanical Engineering Department of the University of Ibadan while standing trial for a Criminal Offence

I write to acknowledge the receipt of your letter dated 8 December, 2020 on the above subject matter. Be assured that the letter will be delivered to the Pro-Chancellor and Chairman of Council for necessary attention, Mr Oyejide wrote.

When asked why the interdiction law was not applied on the embattled lecturers, Mr Oladejo said: the University has its disciplinary procedure which by that letter must be ongoing.

Multiple telephone calls, texts and emails sent to Mr Oyewolas known addresses to seek his reaction were not responded to.

Also, the law firm representing him in court, Chief Ladosu Ladapo and Co, refused to respond to PREMIUM TIMESs enquiries.
New Delhi:

India is all set to celebrate its 71st Independence Day. In the past seven decades, the country has witnessed a complete transformation in its social, economic and political sphere. From Agriculture to space and textiles to industries, each sector has made gigantic leaps over the last seven decades.

India with a population of over 1.25 billion people has become one of the fastest growing economies of the world. But, a bitter veracity which still exists is that a large section of the citizens is deprived of their basic amenities. The security forces have been fighting insurgency and Naxalism in Jammu and Kashmir and the Northeast for over three decades.



So as we usher into the league of developed nations, we still have a lot of challenges to ponder upon so as to be called a fully developed nation in the true sense.



Key Challenges



Poverty



The nations annual GDP growth is 7.1 (2016-17) percent and government is aiming to clock 8 percent while claiming that abject poverty will be eliminated very soon. It claimed that a large population of country will soon get access to the basic amenities like west in the coming 15 years.



In the last two decades, India has swiftly brought down the number of poor. As per World Banks data of poverty line, half of the Indian population fell under the category in 1981, but that astounding figure has plunged to less than 20 percent.



The World Banks defined poverty line says that 400 millions were above poverty line in 1981 while in the current scenario, it has touched close to 1 billion.



Of late, India has submitted Voluntary National Review report on the implementation of Sustainable Development Goals (SDG) to the UN where it said, Poverty has fallen across all economic, social and religious groups nationally and in all states in the post- reform era.



The nation has also stated in its report that India has achieved growth following reforms initiated in 1991. However, India has still to do a lot more to tackle the issue of poverty with utmost sincerity.



Gender Equality



On January 24, 2017, which is celebrated as Girl Child Day, Prime Minister Narendra Modi stressed on the need to reject gender discrimination and ensure equal opportunities. The women have been second to none in their contribution to nation building in each sector.



From education to sports, they have brought laurels to the nation. Several schemes and quotas have been launched by the government to ensure their representation in each realm. It has been witnessed that a few states have very abysmal sex ratio in the country. As per 2011 data, the sex ratio in few states is still below 800 per thousand males. Violence against women and heinous crimes have leapfrogged in the nation and it has to be addressed with all sincerity.



Terrorism



A recent US state department report suggested that India comes at third place after Afghanistan and Iraq in terms of terror attacks.

The South Asia Terrorism Portal (SATP) data (till July 23, 2017) reveals that 40 security personnel and 38 civilians have been killed in incidents related to terrorism this year so far.The unrest in Kashmir valley is threat to Indian sovereignty as it is a well-known fact that Pakistan is sponsoring terrorism via the Line of Control to destabilise and disrupt normalcy in the valley.



The neighbour is backing insurgents from its soil to propagate violence in other parts of the country too. Indian Army and other security forces are handling the menace with sacrificing their lives across the border. The Indian intelligence agencies are also playing a major role and share their inputs with security forces which is the need of the hour.



Naxalism



Naxalism is the second biggest threat after terrorism that engulfs India in the present time. The South Asia Terrorism Portal (SATP) data (till July 23, 2017) divulges that 51 security forces personnel and 25 Naxals have been killed this year so far.



Despite the Government's appeals of asking them to join the main stream, it seems that a concrete roadmap is required to address the grave issue. Of late, a few Maoists have surrendered before police but it is anticipated more in number so they can integrate themselves with development.



Intolerance



India is a country of huge population and its diversity is the beauty of its amalgamation. A nation, which has so many dialects, newspapers and news channels, often witnesses controversies over language, national anthem and allegations of suppression on delivering the opinion. Several incidents of hate crimes also witnessed in society which is certainly a concern for civilised country.

A few incidents came as a shocker when a youth was targeted in train and a man was lynched in Alwar for carrying beef. Rising such incidents also display intolerance of a few, who bring shame to the society and dilute the culture of vividness.

All sections of society advocate for free speech, but a few self- proclaimed groups, who drum up nationality raga, force a person or people to fall in line to which they observe 'anti-national'. It is not a good practice in a democracy, and all responsible political parties, intellect and respective governments must come forward to stop this nuisance.

For all the Latest India News, Download News Nation Android and iOS Mobile Apps.
Married for more than 62 years, Andres Carrillo, age 84, and his wife, 83-year-old Eva Carrillo, were always together.

A report by 11Alive said the San Antonio couples togetherness was interrupted, however, when both Andres and Eva tested positive for coronavirus, and Andres was admitted to Methodist Hospital shortly thereafter.

11Alive cited Andres daughter, Eliza Calpena, who said: What made me want to share this story is that there was a point where we didnt think our dad was going to make it. She added, When my mom was at home all she was doing was crying wanting to be with my dad.

And then, Eva too had to be admitted into Methodist Hospital. Although the couple were in the same hospital, 11Alive reported that they couldnt have felt further apart.

Calpena said, My mom and dad are always together and thats what gets them through, 11Alive cited.

Thankfully, a move on the part of the hospital, turned things around for the Carrillos.

Calpena told 11Alive that the hospital graciously reunited the couple, putting them into the same room. She added, My mom came in and they told me my dad was just so happy to see my mom, the report cited.

How is the couple doing now?

11Alive reported that the couple is currently recovering from the virus at a local rehab facility and doing much better.

Calpena says her parents story reminds people true love always wins in the end, the report stated, which some may consider an appropriate message during this month of love.

11Alive cited Calpena, who said: We hear so many horror stories, and I think San Antonio needs to know that there is a love story of two people who really loved each other and wanted to be together.

READ MORE:
The material behaves as if magnetic monopoles were present. Credit: Vienna University of Technology

Electric current is deflected by a magnetic fieldin conducting materials, this leads to the so-called Hall effect. This effect is often used to measure magnetic fields. A surprising discovery has now been made at TU Wien, in collaboration with scientists from the Paul Scherrer Institute (Switzerland), McMater University (Canada), and Rice University (U.S.): an exotic metal made of cerium, bismuth and palladium was examined and a giant Hall effect was found to be produced by the material, in the total absence of any magnetic field. The reason for this unexpected result lies in the unusual properties of the electrons: They behave as if magnetic monopoles were present in the material. These discoveries have now been published in the scientific magazine PNAS.

A voltage perpendicular to the current

When an electric current flows through a metal strip, electrons move from one side to the other. If a magnet is placed next to this strip, a force acts on the electronsthe so-called Lorentz force. The path of the electrons through the metal strip is no longer straight, it is bent a little. Therefore, there are now more electrons on one side of the metal strip than on the other, and this creates a voltageperpendicular to the direction in which the current flows. This is the classic Hall effect, as it has been known for many years.

"Measuring the strength of the Hall effect is one of the ways we characterize materials in our laboratory," says Prof. Silke Buhler-Paschen from the Institute of Solid State Physics at TU Wien. "You can learn a lot about the behavior of electrons in the solid state from such an experiment." When Sami Dzsaber, who was working on his dissertation in Buhler-Paschen's research group, examined the material Ce 3 Bi 4 Pd 3 , he took his task very seriously and also carried out a measurement without a magnetic field. "Actually, this is an unusual ideabut in this case it was the decisive step," says Silke Buhler-Paschen.

The measurement revealed that the material exhibits a Hall effect even without an external magnetic fieldand not just a normal Hall effect, but a huge one. In normal materials, a Hall effect of this strength can only be produced with enormous electromagnetic coils. "So we had to answer another question," says Silke Buhler Paschen. "If a Hall effect occurs without an external magnetic field, are we perhaps dealing with extremely strong local magnetic fields that occur on a microscopic scale inside the material, but can no longer be felt outside?"

Investigations were therefore carried out at the Paul Scherrer Institute in Switzerland: With the help of muonselementary particles that are particularly well suited for investigating magnetic phenomenathe material was examined more closely. But it turned out that no magnetic field could be detected even on a microscopic scale. "If there is no magnetic field, then there is also no Lorentz force that can act on the electrons in the materialbut nevertheless a Hall effect was measured. That is really remarkable," says Silke Buhler-Paschen.

Symmetry is what counts

The explanation for this strange phenomenon lies in the complicated interaction of the electrons. "The atoms of this material are arranged according to very specific symmetries, and these symmetries determine the so-called dispersion relationthat is the relationship between the energy of the electrons and their momentum. The dispersion relation tells us how fast an electron can move when it has a certain energy," says Buhler-Paschen. "It's also important to note that you can't look at the electrons individually herethere are strong quantum mechanical interactions between them."

This complex interaction results in phenomena that mathematically look as if there are magnetic monopoles in the materiali.e. solitary north and south poles, which do not exist in this form in nature. "But it actually has the effect of a very strong magnetic field on the movement of the electrons," says Buhler-Paschen.

The effect had already been predicted theoretically for simpler materials, but no one had been able to prove it. The breakthrough came with the investigation of a new class of materials: "Our material with the chemical composition Ce 3 Bi 4 Pd 3 is characterized by a particularly strong interaction between the electrons," explains Buhler-Paschen. "This is known as the Kondo effect. It causes these fictitious magnetic monopoles to have exactly the right energy to influence the conduction electrons in the material extremely strongly. This is the reason why the effect is more than a thousand times larger than theoretically predicted."

The new giant spontaneous Hall effect holds some potential for next-generation quantum technologies. In this field, for example, non-reciprocal elements that produce direction-dependent scattering entirely without an external magnetic field are of importance; they could be realized with this effect. "The extremely non-linear behavior of the material is also of great interest," says Silke Buhler-Paschen. "The fact that complex many-particle phenomena in solids give rise to unexpected application possibilities makes this field of research particularly exciting."

Explore further Switching electron properties on and off individually

More information: Sami Dzsaber et al. Giant spontaneous Hall effect in a nonmagnetic WeylKondo semimetal, Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences (2021). Journal information: Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences Sami Dzsaber et al. Giant spontaneous Hall effect in a nonmagnetic WeylKondo semimetal,(2021). DOI: 10.1073/pnas.2013386118
Press Release

February 22, 2021 POE URGES ERC TO WORK ON RETURNING P314M METER DEPOSITS INSTEAD OF FORFEITURE Sen. Grace Poe has appealed to the Energy Regulatory Commission (ERC) to reconsider Resolution No. 12 series of 2016 and urge distribution utilities (DUs) to exert more effort in finding customers who have yet to receive the meter deposit refund instead of forfeiting such in favor of the government. For Manila Electric Co. (Meralco), the unclaimed meter deposits amount to P314 million as of Sept. 30, 2020. "We need to be sensitive to the needs of the people. Mataas na nga ang presyo ng mga bilihin at nagmamahal pa ang presyo ng pagkain. We must find ways to put money back in people's pockets, especially money that rightfully belongs to them," Poe said. The Magna Carta for Residential Electricity Consumer that became effective in 2004 exempted residential customers from the payment of meter deposits. Nonresidential customers were eventually exempted from the payment of the meter deposits in 2006. The ERC released the rules governing the refund of meter deposits in 2008 that allowed customers to receive the refund in cash, check, or as a credit to their future billings, or to offset the other charges of the distribution utility. Meralco submitted an accounting of the total meter deposit principal and interest in August 2008. While the refund of the meter deposits started in 2008, Meralco still holds P314 million of the total meter deposits that represent deposits of those who have terminated its services. In 2016, the ERC amended the rules governing the refund of meter deposits, asking distribution utilities to deposit them in a single savings account under their (DUs') names but strictly intended for claimants of meter deposits. The ERC also gave customers until December 2017 to claim their meter deposit refunds. Customers' failure to do so means the money will be subjected to an escheat proceeding in favor of the government. Meralco has submitted to the ERC the total amount of unclaimed meter deposit refund in April 2018 and is waiting for the ERC's directive. "There's an upside in the delays in the ERC action. The money would have just been forfeited in favor of government. That it hasn't acted on it gives us time to exert more effort in returning it to those who actually paid those deposits. People need money right now. Somehow, it is not fair for government to just take it for itself," Poe said. Poe said Meralco can also help find those customers by providing a mechanism on its website for people to check if they are among those entitled to the refund or publishing the names of the people entitled to the refund. "2008 pa yung mga refund na ito. Marahil, may pumanaw na sa kanila. Pero kung buhay pa sila, hindi naman tama na ipagkait sa kanila ang kanilang pera. Mahirap ang buhay ngayon," said Poe. ****** NOTES The Magna Carta for Residential Electricity Consumer exempted residential customers from the payment of meter deposits on July 19, 2004.

The Distribution Services and Open Access Rules exempted nonresidential customers from the payment of meter deposits in April 2006.

ERC issued Resolution No. 8 series of 2008, or the rules on refund of meter deposits.

ERC rules on refund gave customers the option of getting the refund in cash, check, or as credit to future monthly billings, or to offset claims of the distribution utilities.

Amount to be refunded must be equal to the meter deposit paid plus accrued interest.

Meralco submitted an accounting of the total meter deposit principal and interest and started refunding customers on Nov. 3, 2008.

Meralco implemented automatic crediting and offsetting of remaining unclaimed meter deposit refund in May 2014 plus interest.

As of Dec. 31, 2014, meter deposits that remained with Meralco were only for terminated services.

In May 2016, ERC ordered distribution utilities to deposit all unclaimed meter deposits under a single savings account in the name of the DU for claimants.

Customers were given until Dec. 31, 2017 to claim their meter deposits.

ERC's order said all unclaimed meter deposits plus accrued interest will be subject to an escheat proceeding in favor of the government.

Meralco deposited unclaimed meter deposits in a single savings account in July 2016.

Meralco submitted the required reports related to the meter deposits in May 2017.

Meralco submitted to the ERC the total amount of unclaimed meter deposits that will be the subject of escheat proceeding in April 2018.

As of Oct. 26, 2020, Meralco is still waiting for the ERC's directive on the next steps on the meter deposits. *Reference: Meralco SEC Form 17Q dated Nov. 16, 2020
(CNN) Dr. Anthony Fauci said Sunday that it's "possible" Americans will still need to wear masks in 2022 to protect against the coronavirus, even as the US may reach "a significant degree of normality" by the end of this year.

Asked by CNN's Dana Bash on "State of the Union" whether he thinks Americans will still need to wear masks next year, Fauci replied: "You know, I think it is possible that that's the case and, again, it really depends on what you mean by normality."

The comments from Fauci come as the US COVID-19 death toll approaches 500,000 and the country nears a full year in its fight against the virus. And though the US is now steadily rolling out vaccines to fight the pandemic, the nation's top infectious disease expert underscored the importance of mitigation measures to fight the aggressive virus and its emerging variants as many Americans express pandemic fatigue.

Fauci told Bash that while he can't predict when the US might return to operating as it did before the pandemic told hold, he thinks that by the end of this year "we're going to have a significant degree of normality beyond the terrible burden that all of us have been through over the last year."

"As we get into the fall and the winter, by the end of the year, I agree with (President Joe Biden) completely that we will be approaching a degree of normality," said Fauci, who serves as Biden's chief medical adviser.

Mask-wearing is critical to slowing the spread of the virus, according to the US Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, which says they can help protect both the people wearing them and those around them from transmitting the virus.

The Biden administration has been pushing mask-wearing more aggressively than the Trump administration did, with the President signing an executive order last month mandating interstate travelers wear a mask and requiring masks on federal property. Biden also challenged Americans to wear masks for the first 100 days of his presidency to reduce the spread of the virus.

Fauci also weighed in Sunday on suggestions by researchers in Israel in Canada that just one dose of the Pfizer/BioNTech vaccine was needed to protect against the virus, saying "the science points directly towards continuing with what we know about from the clinical trial," which is that two doses provide the most protection against the virus and the emerging variants.

"We know for sure that when you give a prime with the Pfizer followed by a boost 21 days later that you get a 94% to 95% efficacy and the difference between the level of antibodies after one dose versus two doses is about tenfold higher," he said.

"And that is really important because when you have that high a degree comparable to the single dose alone, that's the cushion that you would like to have when you get a variant that isn't as well-protected against by the antibodies induced by the vaccine, but you have enough level to be able to prevent at least severe disease."

This story was first published on CNN.com, "Fauci: 'Possible' Americans will be wearing masks in 2022 to protect against Covid-19."
SEYMOUR CT Police say an investigation has revealed a Monroe woman intentionally drove her vehicle into the Housatonic River in July, leading to her death and killing her son who was a passenger.

The Detective Division has deemed the crash a murder-suicide, Deputy Police Chief Roberto Rinaldi announced in a statement Wednesday that stated the investigation has been completed. Read more CT Post Police: Monroe mom 'intentionally' drove car into Housatonic in murder-suicide involving her son

Hello, readers. I live in Connecticut in the next town over from Monroe. The Housatonic river that runs up 149 miles up into Massachusetts, dotted with shuttered factories in the Housatonic Valley . Factories that used to manufacture the products that made America run back to Colonial times. On a warm Summer day, powerboats and sailboats dot the water that flows into Long Island Sound in Bridgeport. We are not strangers to catastrophic death here. Sandy Hook School is just 14 miles up the road. The perpetrator of that horror was a boy with Asperger's. He killed his own mother in the spree. Here, Mom, as determined by an investigation, a woman known to so many as a strong advocate for her son with special needs, loved by so many, purposefully drove her vehicle off the road and into the Housatonic. And she turned down assistance. The boater made numerous attempts to rescue the occupants of the vehicle, Rinaldi said. However, Connie Crowell refused to acknowledge or accept the boaters assistance and rescue efforts.

I'm on a large Facebook group for CT Special Needs Families. We have members from all walks of life, whose loved ones have the full array of disabilities, autism included. There was a tribute thread in which member after member expressed shock, dismay and a deep sympathy for Connie Crowell and her son John. She was beloved. A great Mom. Strong. Moved heaven and earth for her son. Don't we all? Day in and day out. And then she drowned him. Will we never know what motivated her? Having covered stories other Mothers who murdered their special needs children including Gigi Jordan, Karen McCarron and Dorothy Spourdalakis, and not knowing Connie personally, I assumed my usual role of adding another perspective to the thread. Not sure it was welcome, but I have said this every time a parent has murdered his or her child with special needs. WE ARE NOT ALLOWED TO KILL OUR CHILDREN. And then asked if MEDICATIONS played a role.



My comment on Facebook: Im going to poop in the punch bowl. This is a horror. I understand the depths of despair and the incredible stress we all face. We all do. Still, we dont get to murder our children. If she had been a distressed Dad and shot himself and his son, would the thoughts be as kind and understanding? My first question is - was she on medications for which the side effect is suicidal ideation? I think thats really important. Was this a medication driven decision?? She drowned her son. Years ago, Wealthy Gigi Jordan shoved pills into her son w autism until he seized and choked on his vomit at the ritzy Peninsula Hotel. Dr Karen McCarron put a bag over her autistic 3 year old daughters head. Dorothy Spourdalakis stabbed her son Alex to death after he had languished in a Chicago hospital for weeks bc of his violent behavior. This beautiful boy drowned at his Mothers choice. We dont get to murder our kids. Im going to cry now.



By late July, Covid lockdown had taken a toll on all of us. We were four and a half months into the worry, the lack of services. At age 22, John, called Jack, would have just aged out of any school based services, and no one was taking in new adults into programs. My daughters' day program still has not enrolled adults who aged out last year. We are all exhausted, sometimes, maybe often, to the breaking point. Now we have had a weather catastrophe that's impacts thousands of families with kids for whom routine and sameness is mother's milk. (Sorry, "people's chest expressed beverage.")



No one will know what darkness overtook Connie Crowell. Or how to prevent the darkness from devouring any of us. May God bless their souls, especially John, who died knowing that his mother killed him. It tears me up inside.




EMILY ST. LAWRENCE, Chariho girls lacrosse, senior: St. Lawrence tied a school record for goals in a game with nine in a win over Smithfield. St. Lawrence scored 17 goals for the week and has 32 for the season.

CARLY CONSTANTINE, Stonington softball, sophomore: Constantine singled home Shea OConnor with the winning run to hand Waterford, the states No. 2 ranked team at the time, its first loss of the season. For the week, Constantine was 5 for 15.

GREG GORMAN, Westerly baseball, junior: Gorman, a junior, hit a massive home run in a win against Barrington. The homer went over the fence in center field and landed in a nearby road. Gorman was 3 for 3 with four RBIs in the game. He is hitting .571 with 10 RBIs for the season.

BRADIN ANDERSON, Wheeler baseball, freshman: Anderson, a freshman, pitched a complete-game shutout to beat Grasso Tech. Anderson struck out three to earn the first win of his varsity career.

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Scientists are examining prehistoric viruses from the Siberian permafrost in the animal dug. A lab in Russia's Siberia state is beginning study about prehistoric viruses conserved in the remnants of animals discovered in melting permafrost.

Led by the Biotechnology, University of Yakutsk and Vector State Research Centre of Virology, the research will begin by examining tissues from a prehistoric horse from at most 4,500 years ago.

These remnants were found in Yakutia, an area of Siberia, where Paleolithic animals such as mammoths are frequently seen.

Other Prehistoric Animals

The scientists strive to research other prehistoric animals including rodents, partridges, hares, elk, dogs, the 28,800-year-old Malolyakhovsky woolly mammoth, and more. Several of the remnants are above 50,000 years old. All the animals were discovered because of the thawing.

Some of the remains are up to 50,000 years old. The animals were found because of the loosening permafrost.



One may marvel if this type of study is opening Pandora's box in some way to ancient viruses, but this isn't the first time viruses of such have been researched. In fact, with the Arctic warming at two-times the global mean rate, the loosening permafrost is possible to reveal more of its frozen properties.

ALSO READ: The Melting Permafrost Is Leaking Acid In The Arctic

Museum Laboratory

The animals been researched have gone through bacterial examination initially. Still, "We are administering the analysis on paleoviruses for the first time" said the head of the Mammoth Museum laboratory at Yakutsk University Maxim Cheprasov.



Doctor Olesya Okhlopkova, vector researcher said that the group of Vector Virology Centre are eager to search about paleo-viruses that would enable them begin development of paleo-virology in Russia and conduct spearheading research in virus evolution.

Research On Prehistoric Animals

However, there has only been little study on soft tissues but the Vector team is searching to oversee the infections in animals by separating the total nucleic acids and sequencing the genomes to generate more information on biodiversity and the micro-organisms in ancient animals.



Okhlopkova disclosed that it should conserve nucleic acids, we are expected to be able to generate data on their creation and ascertain how it altered. We can deduce the epidemiological capacity of currently existing infectious agents.

The Vector laboratory located in Novosibirsk during Soviet times used to be the center for the advancement of biological weapons. It's one of the two locations across the globe that presently stocks the smallpox virus. It has also advanced Russia's second COVID19 vaccine.

Viruses Likely to Surface Out of Prehistoric Animal Research

Cases of arising deadly viral infections have considerably influenced human heath despite unusual development on the part of biomedical knowledge. The decent examples are resurfacing outbreaks of chikungunya fever and dengue in tropical and subtropical locations, the latest epidemic of Zika in the Caribbean and the best example recurring outbreaks of dengue and chikungunya fever in tropical and sub-tropical regions, the recent epidemic of Zika in the Americas and the Caribbean, and the MERS, SARS, and influenza A outbreaks around the world.

The conventional natural pools of human viruses are mainly farm animals, and, to a little extent, arthropods and wild animals.

RELATED ARTICLE: Melting of Arctic Permafrost Brings Long-dead Viruses Back

For more news, update about animal viruses and similar stories don't forget to follow Nature World News!
An Arizona teenager has been accused of faking his own kidnapping to get out of having to go to work.

Police say they found Brandon Soules, 19, with his hands tied by his own belt and a bandanna stuffed in his mouth in Coolidge.

Soules reportedly told cops two masked men had knocked him unconscious and kidnapped him before dumping him near a water tower in the city.

He later admitted he had made the story up to get out of his job at The Tire Factory after police found no evidence of the crime, The Coolidge Examiner reports.

Soules has since been fired.

Police say they found Brandon Soules, 19, with his hands tied with his own belt and a bandanna stuffed in his mouth in Coolidge, pictured. Soules is said to have told cops two masked men had knocked him unconscious and kidnapped him before dumping him in the city

A pictures released by cops show Soules laying on the ground, tied up, after he was found by a passer-by.

Commander Mark Tercero told ABC: 'He informed us that he, at first, stuffed a bandanna in his mouth and afterward he took off his own belt and bound his hands with his own belt.

'And laid on the ground and scooted out to the side of the road where somebody could see him and waited.'

Soules later admitted he had made the story up to get out of his job at The Tire Factory, police said

Officers say they became suspicious of his version of events after checking surveillance footage from around his home.

Soules is also said to have falsely told police he was kidnapped because of money his dad had hidden around town.

Soules was found by police on February 10; he was arrested on February 17 for false reporting to police.

In a statement police said: 'Initially, the subject reported to officers that two masked men kidnapped him, hit his head (knocking him unconscious) and drove him around in a vehicle before they left him in the area he was found.

'An extensive investigation was conducted by Coolidge detectives and evidence was discovered showing his story was fabricated and no kidnapping or assault occurred.'

Online court records did not list an attorney for Soules who might comment on his behalf.
Some microbes on Earth could temporarily survive on the surface of Mars, finds a new study by NASA and German Aerospace Center scientists. The researchers tested the endurance of microorganisms to Martian conditions by launching them into the Earth's stratosphere, as it closely represents key conditions on the Red Planet. Published in Frontiers in Microbiology, this work paves the way for understanding not only the threat of microbes to space missions, but also the opportunities for resource independence from Earth.

"We successfully tested a new way of exposing bacteria and fungi to Mars-like conditions by using a scientific balloon to fly our experimental equipment up to Earth's stratosphere," reports Marta Filipa Cortesao, joint first author of this study from the German Aerospace Center, Cologne, Germany. "Some microbes, in particular spores from the black mold fungus, were able to survive the trip, even when exposed to very high UV radiation."

Microbial hitchhikers

Understanding the endurance of microbes to space travel is vital for the success of future missions. When searching for extra-terrestrial life, we need to be sure that anything we discover has not just travelled with us from Earth.

"With crewed long-term missions to Mars, we need to know how human-associated microorganisms would survive on the Red Planet, as some may pose a health risk to astronauts," says joint first author Katharina Siems, also based at the German Aerospace Center. "In addition, some microbes could be invaluable for space exploration. They could help us produce food and material supplies independently from Earth, which will be crucial when far away from home."

Mars in a box

Many key characteristics of the environment at the Martian surface cannot be found or easily replicated at the surface of our planet, however, above the ozone layer in Earth's middle stratosphere the conditions are remarkably similar.

"We launched the microbes into the stratosphere inside the MARSBOx (Microbes in Atmosphere for Radiation, Survival and Biological Outcomes experiment) payload, which was kept at Martian pressure and filled with artificial Martian atmosphere throughout the mission," explains Cortesao. "The box carried two sample layers, with the bottom layer shielded from radiation. This allowed us to separate the effects of radiation from the other tested conditions: desiccation, atmosphere, and temperature fluctuation during the flight. The top layer samples were exposed to more than a thousand times more UV radiation than levels that can cause sunburn on our skin."

"While not all the microbes survived the trip, one previously detected on the International Space Station, the black mold Aspergillus niger, could be revived after it returned home," explains Siems, who highlights the importance of this ongoing research.

"Microorganisms are closely-connected to us; our body, our food, our environment, so it is impossible to rule them out of space travel. Using good analogies for the Martian environment, such as the MARSBOx balloon mission to the stratosphere, is a really important way to help us explore all the implications of space travel on microbial life and how we can drive this knowledge towards amazing space discoveries."

###

STOCKHOLM (Reuters) - Sweden has indicted a 47-year-old man suspected of handing information to a Russian diplomat, the Swedish Prosecution Authority said on Monday.

The prosecutor said in a statement that the man, who was not identified, had worked as a consultant at several Swedish companies, where he had illegally obtained and sold information, placing the country's security at risk. Public service broadcaster SVT said the man was Swedish.

"While a consultant at his former workplaces, I allege that he obtained material with the purpose of providing information to a foreign power, in this case Russia," prosecutor Mats Ljungqvist said.

"The man was apprehended whilst meeting a Russian diplomat where he had just received 27,800 Swedish crowns ($3,360) from the diplomat."

SVT reported that the man being charged had passed on information from automaker Volvo Cars and truckmaker Scania.

A Scania spokesman confirmed that the man had worked as a consultant at the firm, while Volvo Cars declined to comment.

The authority said the man had transferred material from computers to memory sticks as well as photographing the screen of his work computer, adding the crime could carry a sentence of up to six years in prison.

"The crime is serious and, if convicted, the suspect could expect a lengthy sentence," Ljungqvist said.

($1 = 8.2738 Swedish crowns)

(Reporting by Helena Soderpalm; editing by Niklas Pollard and Bernadette Baum)
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HSBC has shaken up its top team ahead of a major strategy update today that will see it 'pivot to Asia'.

The lender, which is slimming down its European and US operations as it boosts its focus on China and other fast-growing economies in the region, said chief financial officer Ewen Stevenson will take on responsibility for the bank's transformation and mergers and acquisitions.

Stevenson, who joined HSBC from Royal Bank of Scotland in 2019, is a key lieutenant of chairman Mark Tucker and the move suggests there may be more deal-making on the horizon.

New direction: HSBC is slimming down its European and US operations as it boosts its focus on China and other fast-growing economies in the region

HSBC also confirmed Nuno Matos as the head of wealth and personal banking, announced chief compliance officer Colin Bell would become chief executive of HSBC in Europe and the UK, and said its US boss Michael Roberts would take on extra responsibilities within the Americas region. HSBC, which is based in London but makes most of its money in the Far East, is expected to reveal further details of its 'pivot to Asia' plan today as it unveils its full-year results.

It had already announced a cost-cutting drive last February, with plans to axe around 35,000 jobs over three years.

But last month, chairman Tucker revealed that the coronavirus pandemic had piled on more pressure. Speaking at the Asia Financial Forum, he said: 'Economic realities mean that what we were planning to do in February we need to be even more urgent in doing.'

Investors will be keen to know whether even deeper cuts are now on the cards  and whether HSBC will be resuming its dividend now the Bank of England's ban on payouts has lifted.

Matos, global banking and markets co-head Greg Guyett, and global commercial banking boss Barry O'Byrne will be relocating to Hong Kong, according to Bloomberg  meaning businesses responsible for 95 per cent of HSBC's revenue in 2019 will be run out of the Asian hub.

It comes as the lender faces increased scrutiny from MPs in the UK and US over its support of a controversial national security law imposed on Hong Kong by China, which has led to a clamp-down on prodemocracy protesters.

In an uncomfortable grilling by the Common's foreign affairs committee last month, HSBC chief executive Noel Quinn was accused of 'aiding and abetting one of the biggest crackdowns on democracy in the world'.

As it shifts further away from the European market, HSBC also said it is planning to ramp up its business in the Middle East. Stephen Moss, who oversees Europe and the Middle East, will move to Dubai and focus exclusively on the region.
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Panaji, Feb 22 : Goa's 11 municipal councils and one municipal corporation will go to polls on March 20, State Election Commissioner Chokha Ram Garg said on Monday.

The polls, which were scheduled to be held last year, were postponed on account of the Covid-19 pandemic.

"The elections to the 11 municipal councils and the Corporation of the City of Panaji will be held on March 20 between 8 a.m. and 5 p.m., while Covid-19 positive patients will be allowed to cast ballot between 4 p.m. and 5 p.m.," Garg told a press conference in Panaji.

The official also said that bypolls to one municipal council ward and 22 panchayat wards would also be held on the same day.

In all, 3.10 lakh voters are eligible to cast ballot, the official also said.

The BJP had swept the recently conducted Zilla Panchayat polls in which the ruling party won 33 out of the 39 seats.

This is the last major round of polls to local bodies ahead of the state assembly elections which are scheduled to be held in early 2022.
New Delhi, Feb 22 : GMR Group-led consortium Delhi International Airport Limited (DIAL) on Monday launched a revamped 'Air Suvidha' portal along with a new RT-PCR test package for arriving international passengers.

The firm manages and operates the national capital's IGI Airport.

Accordingly, the development comes after the Centre issued new guidelines for passengers travelling to India.

The company had launched Air Suvidha, the first-of-its-kind portal, in August last year, where India-bound international passengers could fill the mandatory self-declaration form and also apply online for exemption from mandatory institutional quarantine process.

Notably, the present move comes following increased evidence of circulation of mutant variants of Covid-19 virus.

As per the new guideline, filling up of 'Self Declaration Form' on Delhi Airport's website - www.newdelhiairport.in -- has been made mandatory for all international arriving passengers.

"They also have to upload a mandatory RT-PCR or molecular test report (test undertaken within 72 hours of departure) in the SDF for its completion." "These forms will help in identifying passengers on flights from the UK, Europe and Middle-East who will undergo mandatory RT-PCR on arrival as well. Passengers can exit after giving the test at the airport and follow government guidelines on quarantine or self-monitoring." According to the statement, the SDF will also help identify passengers from high-risk countries such as the United Kingdom, Brazil and South Africa.

"A new field for declaring domestic connection has been added in the 'Air Suvidha' portal. This will help implementation of new SOP for domestic transit passengers and also help improve contact tracing." "Under the new 'Standard Operating Procedure', passengers with exigency of death in the family can apply for exemption and upload the approved application in SDF in place of RT-PCR test." Apart from new guidelines, passengers on flights from the UK, Europe and South Africa will have to undergo the mandatory RT-PCR test.

Those flying in from the UK, South Africa and Brazil, direct or in transit, and having a connecting flight will not be allowed to leave the airport till their RT-PCR test report is negative.

"Others would be allowed to leave the airport as per the direction of government officials."
South Africa: Minister commends 2020 matric performance

Despite a challenging academic year, the National Senior Certificate (NSC) overall pass rate for 2020 is 76.2%.

Although the 76.2% is a decline of 5.1% from the record pass of 81.3% achieved by the class of 2019, Minister of Basic Education Angie Motshekga said the class of 2020 must be commended for maintaining the trend of above 70%.

The high quality passes we have achieved this year, especially the number of Bachelor and Diploma passes, the overall pass mark, and the passes with distinctions, even in critical subjects, are the hallmarks of the performance of the class of 2020, Motshekga said.

The year 2020, she said, will be remembered as the year the entire world was engulfed by the COVID-19 pandemic. Government worked hard to strike a balance between saving lives and the academic year.

Announcing the results of the NSC examinations in Pretoria on Monday, the Minister said the pass rate represents a record of 440 702 passes  an increase of 7.5% in the number of passes from 2019.

Without the progressed learners, the overall pass rate stands at 81.2%  a 1.1% decline from 2019. Further analyses of the 2020 NSC exam results, with the progressed learners included, show that the number of candidates qualifying for admission to Bachelor studies is 210 820  an improvement of 13.3% from 2019. This represents 36.4% of the total number of candidates, who wrote the 2020 NSC exams," the Minister said.

The number of candidates who passed with a Diploma is 150 600  an increase of 4.1% from 2019; which represents 26.0% of the total number of candidates who wrote the 2020 NSC exams.

The number of candidates, who passed with Higher Certificates is 79 117  an improvement of 0.2% from 2019; which represents 13.7% of the total number of candidates, who wrote the 2020 NSC examinations, the Minister said.

There were 177 435 distinctions achieved  an increase of 13.1% from 2019.

The main contributors towards passes with distinctions were KwaZulu-Natal, Gauteng, Western Cape, Eastern Cape, and Limpopo.

The total number of candidates, who registered for the 2020 NSC exams is 725 034, comprising 607 226 full-time candidates, and 117 808 part-time candidates.

Provincial level performance

The 2020 NSC exam results show that, with the progressed learners, three provinces achieved lower than the 70% pass rate.

The achievements by province, including the progressed learners, are as follows:

The Free State is the leading province at 85.1%,

Gauteng achieved 83.8%,

Western Cape achieved 79.9%,

KwaZulu-Natal achieved 77.6%,

North West achieved 76.2%,

Mpumalanga achieved 73.7%,

Limpopo achieved 68.2%,

Eastern Cape achieved 68.1%,

Northern Cape achieved 66.0.

However, without progressed learners, all provinces performed above 70%; and five provinces performed above 80%. Once again, the Free State tops the list at 91.6%, the Minister said.

District level performance

In the 2020 NSC exams, the top ten districts in the country are:

First, is Tshwane South from Gauteng with 89.6%;

Second, is Johannesburg West in Gauteng, with 88.1%;

Third, is Gauteng North in Gauteng with 87.0%;

Fourth, is Johannesburg North in Gauteng with 86.9%;

Fifth, is Sedibeng East in Gauteng, with 86.8%;

Sixth, is Fezile Dabi in the Free State, with 86.5%;

Seventh, is Thabo Mofutsanyana in the Free State, with 85.8%;

Tied at eighth, are Metro North in the Western Cape and Ekurhuleni South in Gauteng, with 85.4%;

Tenth, is Motheo in the Free State, with 85.2%;

Among the 75 education districts in the country, the top ten districts are in three provinces.

More impressively, all of the top ten districts, performed above 85%. Notably, out of the top ten districts in the country, six are from Gauteng, and three are from the Free State; and one from the Western Cape, the Minister said.

The top district level performances in the respective provinces are as follows:

In the Eastern Cape, the leading district is Nelson Mandela at 75.5%;

In the Free State, the leading district is Fezile Dabi at 86.5%;

In Gauteng, Tshwane South is the leading district at 89.6%; and is also ranked first nationally;

Ugu is the leading district in KwaZulu-Natal with 81.7%;

Waterberg 2 is the leading district in Limpopo at 77.5%;

Bohlabelo and Nkangala are the leading districts in Mpumalanga with 74.6%;

Bojanala Platinum is the leading district in the North West with 81.2%;

Namaqua is the leading district in the Northern Cape, with 78.6%.

In the Western Cape, the Metro North is the leading district with 85.3%.

- SAnews.gov.za

This story has been published on: 2021-02-22. To contact the author, please use the contact details within the article.
SAN DIEGO, Feb. 22, 2021 /PRNewswire/ -- Cleve Adams, CEO of VOXOX, a 5G and AI cloud-based communication platform for businesses, has accepted the prestigious invitation into the Forbes CEO Business Council, the foremost growth and networking organization for successful business owners and leaders worldwide.

Adams' selection by Forbes was based on the depth and diversity of his experience and success across multiple industries.

Cleve Adams, CEO of VOXOX, a 5G and AI cloud-based communication platform for businesses, has accepted the prestigious invitation into the Forbes CEO Business Council, the foremost growth and networking organization for successful business owners and leaders worldwide.

"We are honored to welcome Cleve Adams into our community," said Scott Gerber, founder of Forbes Councils. "Our mission with Forbes Councils is to bring together proven leaders from every industry, creating a curated, social capital-driven network that helps every member grow professionally and make an even greater impact on the business world."

As a member of the Council, Cleve will be contributing thought leadership and an extensive depth of knowledge based on his over 20 years of experience in founding and leading global organizations towards success. He has successfully achieved five exits as CEO with an average 21x ROI to investors and spearheaded an astounding $1.1B IPO as part of the founding team of WebSense (now Forcepoint).

"I'd like to thank Scott and the review board for this invitation to be part of such a prestigious group of business experts and thought leaders," says Adams. "I look forward to sharing my business insights and show how my team and I set out to make an impact in the lives of small business owners and global partners."

VOXOX is a cloud-based phone and text marketing system that empowers small business owners and their teams to work from anywhere, on any phone, with one, simple-to-use app that is using AI framework to help automate daily communication operations in businesses.

VOXOX helps businesses create better conversations that lead to greater conversions with improved engagement, strengthened customer relationships, and accelerated growth.

For more information about VOXOX, please visit https://www.voxox.com/ .

About VOXOX

VOXOX is an innovator in 5G/AI cloud-based communication solutions for businesses. The foundation of the company's offerings is its award-winning Platform as a Service, which enables the company and its customers to build powerful, scalable white-labeled applications and services. For end-users, VOXOX provides an extensive suite of carrier-grade business phone solutions, including VoxDirect, SIP Trunking, and a wide array of wholesale services, such as high-volume SMS. For service provider partners, VOXOX delivers cutting-edge voice and text messaging apps and services, including white-label versions of VoxDirect, a small business solution for global mobile operators. VOXOX is headquartered in San Diego. For more information, please visit http://www.VOXOX.com

Media Contact:

Nicole Boyd

[email protected]

1-800-350-6187

SOURCE VOXOX
NEW YORK  A yellow note fluttered down like a leaf when I opened the door to my apartment one day last fall. Handwritten, it read in part:

Hello  My package was stolen on 10/1/2020. I came home to find the empty box (item removed) in the trash. It was a nice, gray womens blazer. Please return to 5C, no questions asked.

This veiled accusation set in motion a building-wide campaign to stop the petty theft afflicting the lobby of my unattended East Village walk-up, where I have lived since the 1990s.

Package theft wasnt an issue when I first moved in during the Grunge years, although crack vials routinely littered our stoop. Sleepy addicts sometimes blocked the door. But these entryway inconveniences were minor compared with the constant robberies, which rapidly escalated last year.

My building was not alone. Forty-three percent of Americans shopping online experienced package theft last year, up from 36% in 2019, according to a recent market research study. Of that 43%, almost two-thirds reported packages having been stolen more than once. The New York Police Department does not keep data to that level of specificity, I was told, and the most recent figures available for the city estimated that 90,000 packages had disappeared every day in 2019. This number was bound to be higher in 2020, considering the thriving online economy.

But back to 30 years ago: Aside from the stoop problem, our building was a neighborly haven, owned by the same family for generations and monitored by live-in supers, a couple from Malta named Agnes and Tony. Our ensemble of residents (Bill, Bob, John, Pat, Tom) worked unflashy jobs  mailroom clerk, museum guide and so on  and stayed for decades, giving me the chance to grow fond of them, including nuisances like Edith and Victor (secretary, janitor), who banged on my ceiling when my music blared. It only took them 14 years to trust me enough to water their plants when they traveled.

The poignant exodus of these characters, through death, eviction, buyouts and, most recently, the pandemic, made way for my current neighbors, variously named Summer, Kennedy, Madison, Kayleigh, Mackenzie, Hannah and Charity. They pay rents that seem exorbitant, upward of $4,000 in some cases, reflecting the East Villages own hypergentrification.

When I started to cross paths with this new crop last fall, their eyes were often trained on their phones. Why bother trying to get to know them? I might be a lifer, but I did not want to become the next Edith, so I silently endured their music thumping through my walls and their habit of leaving empty boxes all over the lobby.

My attitude softened on the day I read the yellow note from 5C and saw it stuck in other doors down the hall. A real estate group owns our building now, our live-in supers are long gone and our security camera feed was disconnected years ago during multiple gut renovations. I decided to reach out to my new neighbors. Have you had anything stolen? turned out to be a great conversation starter.

Harper Gray, 22, who worked at Belmont Park racetrack, said that within a week of moving into our building at the end of August, a new dress, ordered online, had been stolen. Within two months, she and her roommate had lost roughly $2,000 worth of items, she said.

When Amielle Morris, a college student, ordered a new table, the tabletop arrived separately from the legs, which were stolen, leaving her with a legless table. She was often out, working double shifts as a restaurant hostess when she wasnt in class, and said seven other deliveries had been stolen. The one that hurt the most was a care package of clothes, local honey and avocados from her mother in California.

These were young adults, after all, establishing independence in a city that had been hit hard in a number of ways. Of course their parents were sending them care packages. Parker Zinn, 19, told me she was freaking out every 15 to 30 minutes while expecting a delivery from her family in North Carolina.

Ralitsa Kalfas, 23, also from North Carolina, found an empty cardboard box instead of winter coats and sweaters sent to her from her family. A vintage jacket that once belonged to her grandmother was stolen too.

My empathy for these young women grew, realizing they werent that different from me when I first moved to New York, my shyness sometimes interpreted as unfriendliness. With no COVID-related travel constraints back then, my family simply visited, bearing suitcases of goodies instead of sending care packages.

The new neighbors and I exchanged phone numbers to text one another when anything was left unattended. Sarah Byron, 24, panicked when she saw a giant new TV screen propped up on the first floor, addressed to Kennedy. She lugged it up three flights of stairs for safekeeping until Kennedy got home.

In October, we petitioned for the security cameras to be restored; every single resident signed the demand letter. Our landlord complied within a month.

Thefts tapered off in November, the situation improving so much that I broke my shop-local rule and ordered discounted winter gear online. But on the projected delivery date, I tracked the package, which was shown as delivered to customer. I dashed downstairs. My Helly Hansen parka, long underwear and knit beanie were gone.

The security camera footage showed a masked man with a hoodie unlocking our door with a plastic card. He swaggered in  bowlegged, a slight limp  and stuffed my box into a large canvas bag.

Around this time, Sarah Byrons new phone charger was stolen by a skinny, frail woman with a suitcase, she said. Sarah herself appeared in the security camera video, coming in the door while the woman was still there. Im glad I didnt confront her, Sarah said. She ripped open the box with her teeth.

But matters came to an emotional head just before Thanksgiving, when I found Coco Ross, 23, crying on our stoop one afternoon. When I asked what had been stolen, she said softly, A Rolex.

A Rolex? What was she thinking?

Then I got the full story. Her father, in Boston, had lost his job and sent her the watch to get a better price in New York, as much as $25,000, she said. A delivery person dumped the family heirloom in our lobby, not waiting to get Cocos signature. Footage of the thief was murky. The watch was never found. Our corporate landlord tightened the lock.

Miraculously, holiday deliveries arrived safely. There was loss, however. Amielle and Coco broke their leases and left. The women in 5C  the ones behind the yellow door notes  moved out too.

After weeks of hassling the delivery company about my winter gear, I got reimbursed. Its no time to let down our guard, however. I just came across a box that looked like it had been ripped open by teeth (again). It was cat food, left undisturbed, addressed to an unfamiliar tenant. I went upstairs and knocked on her door, welcoming her to our building and letting her know what shes in for.

This article originally appeared in The New York Times.

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Beyond 2022 Artist in Residence to Explore Decade of Centenaries

22 February 2021  Beyond 2022 project to collaborate with Trinity Long Room Hub on a new Artist in Residence scheme funded by the Government to create new works and encourage public engagement with the Decade of Centenaries.

Minister Catherine Martin T.D. has announced a new Artist in Residence scheme which will reflect on the Decade of Centenaries by drawing on the rich collections held in Irelands National Cultural Institutions and other bodies.

The programme is in partnership with the National Museum of Ireland (NMI), the National Library of Ireland (NLI), the National Archives (NAI), the Beyond 2022 Project and the Military Archives as part of the Decade of Centenaries Programme 2021-2023.

Beyond 2022 is a project based in Trinity College Dublin, in collaboration with the National Archives, the National Archives (UK), the Public Record Office of Northern Ireland, the Irish Manuscripts Commission and The Library of Trinity College. The project is part of project Ireland 2040 and aims to create a virtual reconstruction of the Record Treasury of the Public Record Office of Ireland, which was destroyed during the Irish Civil War in 1922.

Delighted to be part of the @DeptCulturelRL Artist-in-Residence scheme engaging with the Decade of @Centenaries through the collections of 5 national memory institutions. An exciting chance to partner with @TLRHub

https://t.co/WgUDwcelMf

 https://t.co/Qhx0vrbrk9 pic.twitter.com/j3fNviw8ea  Beyond 2022: Virtual Record Treasury of Ireland (@beyond_2022) February 22, 2021

The researchers on the Beyond 2022 team are engaged in fascinating detective work, hunting for copies and transcripts of original documents lost in the destruction of 1922. On the technology side the sensation of entering a building (in virtual reality) which nobody has set foot in for a hundred years, is very exciting. Combining these two activities  archival discovery and digital creativity - reopens a doorway into the Record Treasury.

The Beyond 2022 Decade of Centenaries Artist in Residence will be based at the Trinity Long Room Hub, the Public Humanities Partner of Beyond 2022, where the Artist will benefit from a vibrant, interdisciplinary intellectual community of academics and researchers on Irish history, literature and the creative arts. Digital Humanities, at the interface of technology and the Arts and Humanities, is a key part of Beyond 2022s activity.

...this new initiative by the Government is a welcome step in acknowledging how the arts and humanities can really contribute and enrich our understanding of the past, presenting new narratives and re-interpreting old ones through the archives.

This call is open to creative practitioners in all art forms. In recent years, the Trinity Long Room Hub has hosted residencies ranging from visual artist, Rita Duffy, to composer Michael Gallen and last year, the theatre company, Rough Magic.

The residency will run for twelve months, and the closing date for applications is the 19 March 2021. For more information on the Beyond 2022 Artist in Residence application process, click here.

Announcing the new funding scheme, Tourism, Culture, Arts, Gaeltacht, Sport and Media Minister Catherine Martin T.D. said:

As we embark on the final, most challenging phase of the Decade of Centenaries, new programmes such as this can serve to bring some of our rich primary source material into the public domain in engaging and imaginative ways. Artistic and creative endeavours will have an important role in encouraging reflection, exploration and debate during the remainder of the Decade of Centenaries 2012-2023, allowing people of all traditions to question and consider issues which may be challenging and difficult.

Dr Peter Crooks, Founding Director of the Beyond 2022 Project commented:

The Decade of Centenaries artist in residence scheme is an exciting opportunity for Beyond 2022 to re-imagine Ireland's deep history with the benefit of a creative gaze. We look forward to welcoming the Artist in Residence and working together with the Trinity Long Room Hub to explore how our national archival tragedy a century ago can inspire creative arts practice to engage new audiences today.

Professor Eve Patten, Director of the Trinity Long Room Hub said:

We are honoured to be able to play a continuing role in the Decade of Centenary commemorations, and this new initiative by the Government is a welcome step in acknowledging how the arts and humanities can really contribute and enrich our understanding of the past, presenting new narratives and re-interpreting old ones through the archives.

To find out more about the Artist-in-Residence Scheme 2021 on the Department of Tourism, Culture, Arts, Gaeltacht, Sport and Media, click here.
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The National Film and Video Censors Board (NFVCB), on Monday, seized some foreign pornographic films and other unapproved films within Sokoto metropolis.

The exercise was conducted by the board, in collaboration with security agents, in some locations, including Ahmadu Bello Way, Emir Yahaya Way and Abdullahi Fodio Road in Sokoto.

Speaking with reporters, Adedayo Thomas, the Executive Director/CEO of NFVCB, said such illegal items were being seized from markets across the country during raids by the board, adding they would be destroyed to serve as a deterrent to others.

He listed the seized items to include: DVDs, CD copies of multiple-in-one films and other uncensored foreign and local films, as well as pornographic materials.

We raided production places to confiscate production gadgets as well as shops and other outlets selling illegal items, which were mostly duplication, counterfeit and unlicensed.

Industry players are losing billions of naira to adulterated, smuggled and unclassified works through unlicensed agents and distributors, which ultimately denies government its statutory revenues.

No doubt, the activities of these individuals and groups have negative impacts on the society; they demoralise stakeholders and tend to discourage potential investors, he said.

The executive director added that the raid would be extended to other parts of the country, including Kaduna, Abuja, Onitsha and Aba in Abia.

He stressed that intelligence information had revealed that Sokoto was becoming a hub for such illegal activities.

According to him, the board has zero tolerance for uncensored and unclassified films and pornographic materials.

The board has shown this with the raid of the once dreaded Alaba International Market in Lagos and other cities across the country, including Kano, Abuja and Kaduna, among others, he said.

Mr Thomas attributed the success of the operations to the unrelenting activities of NFVCB officials.

According to him, the raid by the board is to ensure that owners of film and video works got value from their investments, thereby contributing to the nations Gross Domestic product (GDP).

While stating that the culprits would be charged to court, Mr Thomas advised those still in the illicit business to desist, stressing that the board would not relent in its efforts at ridding the country of unclassified films and videos.

(NAN)


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Nigeria is set to receive four million doses of the Oxford-AstraZeneca COVID-19 vaccines as the first batch of vaccines expected in the country.

The Executive Director of the National Primary Health Care Development Agency (NPHCDA), Faisal Shuaib, while speaking at Mondays weekly briefing of the Presidential Task Force (PTF) on COVID-19, said this is part of the 16 million doses initially expected in the country.

We have been Informed that 4 million out of the 16 million doses of AstraZeneca COVID-19 vaccines will arrive in the first batch of supplies to the country, Mr Shuaib said.

The Nigerian government had announced it was expecting an initial 16 million doses of the AstraZeneca COVID-19 vaccines through the Vaccines Global Assess Facility (COVAX) by the end of February.

An additional 500,000 doses of the AstraZeneca vaccines donated by telecom giant, MTN, will also be delivered to the country by the end of February, the minister of health, Osagie Ehanire, said at its briefing last week.

Mr Ehanire said an additional 42 million doses of the same vaccine will be delivered to the country through the African Unions African Vaccine Acquisition Task Team (AVATT).

The government had said it aims to vaccinate approximately 109 million of its population against COVID-19 over a period of two years.

The National Agency for Food and Drug Administration and Control (NAFDAC) on Thursday

approved the Oxford AstraZeneca COVID-19 vaccine for use in Nigeria. Vaccine roll-out in the country is expected to begin by the end of February.

Nigeria has so far recorded about 152,074 confirmed COVID-19 cases and 1,839 fatalities.

Uncertified vaccines

Meanwhile at the briefing, the PTF chairman, Boss Mustapha, cautioned Nigerians against patronising the black market out of desperation to get vaccinated against the COVID-19 virus.

He said the PTF is working hard to ensure access to safe and efficacious vaccines.

We plead with Nigerians not to procure uncertified vaccines from the black market, Mr Mustapha said.

He appealed to the public to continue to take responsibility by observing all the non-pharmaceutical measures put in place to limit the spread of the virus.

Vaccines remain critical in the battle but we must remain well informed because of the intense transmission which is putting enormous pressure on the hospitals, intensive care units and health workers in our different communities.
Eric Trump and his wife Lara arrive for outgoing U.S. President Donald Trump and First Lady Melania Trump's farewell at Joint Base Andrews in Maryland on Jan. 20, 2021. (Alex Edelman/AFP via Getty Images)

Donald Trump Probably Interested in 2024 Presidential Run: Lara Trump

Former President Donald Trumps daughter-in-law and former senior adviser Lara Trump indicated that he is probably interested in running for office in 2024.

He has told us to stay tuned and that this is not over for him, and he has indicated that he probably would be interested in running again in 2024, she told Fox News on Sunday.

In discussing the former presidents scheduled appearance at the Conservative Political Action Conference (CPAC) in Orlando, Florida this weekhis first public appearance since leaving the White HouseLara Trump called him the head of the Republican Party.

He is really the person that everyone will continue to turn to, in order to help them get across the line, whether were talking about 2022 or beyond, she said. I think this man has changed politics, and he has changed our party, the Republican Party. There is no doubt about it.

His daughter-in-laws comments came just days after he told Newsmaxs Greg Kelly that it was too early to make such a decision on his political future.

Its too early to say but I see a lot of great polls out there, thats for sure, Trump said. We have tremendous support. I wont say yet but we have tremendous support and Im looking at poll numbers that are through the roof.

Im the only guy who gets impeached and my numbers go up, he added.

Trumps senior adviser Jason Miller said last week that the former president will discuss the future of the GOP and lessons learned in the 2020 election campaign in his CPAC speech.

Trump plans to share his views on growing GOP support for his America First agenda, as well as about what the Republican Party could do to yield wins in the 2022 and 2024 elections, Miller told Newsmax on Feb. 20.

I think what youre going to hear President Trump talk about next Sunday on the 28th is the future of the Republican Party and the number of lessons that we learned in 2020, where we saw President Trump bring in a record amount of African American voters, Latino American voters on the GOP side, bigger numbers than weve seen in modern Republican presidential history, Miller said. We have to keep these voters engaged in the party.

According to former Trump senior adviser Stephen Miller, Trump will also lay out an optimistic vision for the United States, and focus on standing up to China, reviving U.S. manufacturing, dismantling the monopoly of Big Tech, reopening schools, and securing the border, among other topics.

CPAC, the largest annual gathering of conservative activists, will take place from Feb. 25-28, with Trump speaking on the final day.

Ivan Pentchoukov contributed to this report.
The consortium of asset management firm Kalrock Capital and entrepreneur Murari Lal Jalan, which is currently awaiting bankruptcy court approval to restart Jet Airways (India) Ltd, will continue to keep the grounded airline public. The consortium hopes to restart operations within four to six months of getting an approval from the tribunal, which is set to hear the resolution plan on Monday. The new promoters will also retain the Jet Airways brand and rehire some of the employees who had worked for the grounded airline. Jet Airways will resume operations with about 25 aircraft, with a base in New Delhi and restart international flights by the end of the year, Murari Lal Jalan said in an interview. Edited excerpts:

There has been quite a bit of delay from the court in giving its approval. How is this expected to impact your plans?

The sooner the approval comes through, the better it is. Anyway, we couldnt have started operations by the beginning of the summer schedule even if NCLT (National Company Law Tribunal) cleared the plan two months ago. But we are very much on track to restart operations within the summer schedule. It could be in the middle or the end of summer schedule. We hope to start operations within four to six months of getting the courts approval.

How are you going to secure your finances?

I am in one of the best situations. We got the airline at a very competitive price due to the covid situation. Our cost is going to be much less than any other airline in the future. This is because we are going to start the airline without any liabilities. By the time we are airborne, the market will come back 100%.

How are you managing your capital requirements?

We have submitted our plans to the committee of creditors (CoC), which have been accepted. We are very much on time to make payments as per regulations, as per our commitment. We are prepared with the capital requirement plan for the next couple of years. Everything has been arranged. I would not like to comment on the figure now as the resolution plan is yet to be cleared by the NCLT.

Do you see former employees join the airline?

Jets former staff are assets and we will definitely want to look after them. We will do whatever is possible and whatever is practical. They are human capital, and experienced professionals, who we are looking forward to working with.

Jets airport slots, especially at New Delhi and Mumbai, have been distributed to other airlines. How do you plan to get them back?

We are very optimistic. We have been assured by the ministry (of civil aviation) that whatever slot is required will be made available. Also, a lot more slots are available now than what a year ago. I dont foresee any problem with slots.

What kind of fleet are you looking to operate?

We are in talks with leasing companies and aircraft manufacturers from the day we put in a bid. We will sign the agreements as soon as NCLT gives its approval. It can be either Boeing or Airbus. We could also be getting new aircraft.

What made you enter the aviation sector?

I have always been fascinated with aviation. And, fortunately, I got the opportunity to bid for Jet Airways. We also got a very good valuation for the airline due to the covid. I am happy and fortunate to be in this position.

How about branding and positioning of the airline?

We will definitely continue the way it was. Jet will remain a full-service offering...The name of the airline will also remain unchanged.

Will you onboard any other investor?

As of now, the plan is to keep Jet within the consortium, but then, things can change depending on the situation.

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This is the terrifying moment a jealous Brazilian wife walks into a bar and shoots dead a younger woman who was sitting next to her husband.

Video footage shows Dayane Rafaella de Silva Rodrigues, 31, storming into the building in Tiangua, Brazil, on Thursday.

Rodrigues proceeded to fire shots at the table where her husband and five friends were sitting - including 26-year-old Djaiane Batista Barro.

One bullet hits Djaiane in the head, killing her instantly.

Shocking video footage shows Dayane Rafaella de Silva Rodrigues firing shots at the table where her husband and five friends were sitting - including 26-year-old Djaiane Batista Barro (pictured bottom right)

Heartbreaking footage shows one bullet hitting Djaiane in the head, killing her instantly before she fell to the ground

Rodrigues had arrived on the back of a motorbike with another person and was seen walking into the bar carrying a cream handbag

Victim: Djaiane Batista Barros was shot dead

Rodrigues had arrived on the back of a motorbike with another person and was seen walking into the bar carrying a cream handbag.

The shots also hit a 24-year-old man, who was taken to hospital where he is recovering from a wound to the arm after undergoing surgery.

After the shooting, security footage shows the husband wrestling with Rodrigues outside, trying to remove the silver gun from her grasp.

It is not clear what happened to the gun, but Rodrigues is seen walking away from the scene with her handbag.

Rodrigues was arrested by police shortly afterwards. Officers said the suspect carried out the shooting because she was 'angry' with her husband, who was at an establishment reportedly frequented by escorts.

After the shooting, security footage shows the husband wrestling with Rodrigues outside, trying to remove the silver gun from her grasp

The couple had previously argued about the husband going to such bars, the police added.

Following her arrest, Rodrigues told officers that she fired the shots at random to 'disperse' her husbands table and that she did not know victim Djaiane.

According to investigators, the weapon was purchased in Ceara State capital Fortaleza, around five hours away by car. However, they claim the crime was not premeditated and suspect it was committed on impulse.

The suspect has no prior criminal record and is distressed by her actions, according to the police, who are investigating her for homicide and bodily injury.
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Amid elevating US-Taiwan relations, irked Chian has warned the United States to stop smearing the Communist Party of China (CPC or CCP) along with its political system. Chinese Foreign Ministry spokesperson Hua Chunying on February 22 that the US should stop either convincing or supporting the erroneous words and actions of the separatist forces that are demanding Taiwan independence. While China has considered the island as its own breakaway province and has warned of using force, the US has taken the initial crucial steps to recognise it as an independent entity.

Not only Taiwan, but US President Joe Bidens administration has also made remarks on Hong Kong, Xinjiang and Tibet that China considers its internal affairs. The US has voiced its disagreement with Beijings clampdown on Hong Kongs pro-democracy movement along with alarming reports of Uyghurs detained in a remote area of Xinjiang. Chunying statement on Twitter came after another Chinese government official warned the United States to change its foreign policy in the region.

Chinese Foreign Minister Wang Yi called on Washington to lift restrictions on trade and people-to-people contacts along with 'interference' in the areas of Taiwan, Hong Kong, Xinjiang and Tibet. Wang said that US-China relations ran into "the biggest difficulties since the establishment of the diplomatic ties" and placed the blame on former US President Donald Trump administration.

We urge the #US to stop smearing the CPC&China's political system, stop conniving at or supporting the erroneous words&actions of separatist forces for "Taiwan independence", and stop undermining China's sovereignty&security on internal affairs concerning #HK, #Xinjiang& #Tibet.  Hua Chunying  (@SpokespersonCHN) February 22, 2021

Read - 'Centre Rolling Red Carpet For China': Congress Claims 'deal' Over FDIs Amid Disengagement

Read - China Calls On US To Change Foreign Policy In The Region

US urges China to 'play by same rules'

Earlier, US President Joe Biden on February 19 said the US and its global allies must hold China accountable for its economic abuses. ''Everyone must play by the same rules, Biden said in a speech at a virtual Munich Security Conference while adding that We have to push back against the Chinese governments abuses and coercion that undercut the foundations of the international economic system. Further, the Biden urged its European allies to conjointly address political and economic challenges from Beijing, saying that We must prepare together for the long-term strategic competition from China.

Read - 'Speak To Pakistan Like You Did With China; Finish Terror': Farooq Abdullah To Modi Govt

Read - China Urges US To Lift Trade Restrictions, Stop Interference
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, 2006-2021.
(ANSA) - ROME, FEB 22 - Italy's ambassador to the Democratic Republic of the Congo, Luca Attanasio, and a Carabiniere, Vittorio Iacovacci, were killed in an attack on a World Food Programme (WFP) convoy travelling from Goma to Bukavu in the African country on Monday, well-informed sources told ANSA.

Attanasio, 43, from Limbiate near Monza, died in hospital of gunshot wounds to the abdomen after arriving in hospital in critical condition, a high-ranking diplomat told AFP in Kinshasa.

The diplomat, who had spoken of setting an example in a dangerous cause, is survived by his mother, wife and three young daughters.

Iacovacci, who was part of the ambassador's security detail, was 30 and from Sonnino near Latin south of Rome. He had been serving at the Italian embassy in the DRC since September.

Iacovacci was stationed with the 13th Carabinieri regiment in Gorizia, In the past, he had served with the crack Folgore regiment.

The envoy's car was part of a WFP convoy including the MONUSCO UN peacekeeping mission EU delegation chief, sources said.

It was attacked with light weapons by a terrorist commando, local sources said.

The attack, in which a Congolese WFP driver was also killed, may have been an attempted kidnapping, rangers at Virunga National Park told various media outlets including The Jerusalem Post.

The attack took place at around 10 o'clock local (09:00 Italian time), near the town of Kanyamahoro.

Several armed groups operate in the area of the Virunga Mountains, between Congo, Rwanda and Uganda, and often target the rangers in the park, which is famous for its mountain gorillas.

The Italian foreign ministry confirmed the killings of Attanasio and Iacovacci with "deep grief".

Foreign Minister Luigi Di Maio voiced "immense grief" after learning of what happened while he was at an EU foreign ministers' meeting in Brussels.

He voiced Italy's grief at the foreign ministers council meeting, before returning from Brussels to Rome.

He said Italy would make every effort to shed light on the incident.

He described Attanasio and Iacovacci as "two servants of the State who have been torn (from life) with violence while doing their duty.

"Today Italy mourns the loss of two of its sons and embraces their families, friends and colleagues at the foreign ministry and in the Carabinieri", he said, adding that he would report to parliament as soon as possible.

Di Maio added that Italian officials were already at work to bring back the two men's bodies to Italy.

President Sergio Mattarella said the whole of Italy was "in mourning" for the deaths of two brave "servants of he State".

The Italian premier's office said Premier Mario Draghi voiced the government's deep grief for Attanasio and Iacovacci's tragic deaths and they embraced the two men's relatives, and colleagues at the foreign ministry and in the Carabinieri.

Draghi is following developments with the utmost attention, the note added.

He will meet Di Maio later on Monday.

The mayor of Sonnino announced a day of mourning for the slain Carabiniere.

Defence Minister Lorenzo Guerini condemned the "cowardly and barbaric attack".

European Commission spokesperson Eri Mamer said the news of the attack was "extremely concerning, and we are following (the case) closely. The high representative (for foreign affairs, Josep Borrell), has conveyed his condolences to Italy. The (Italian) foreign minister is sharing information with his EU colleagues".

Borrell said "we expressed all our sympathies to Minister Luigi Di Maio and Italy for the deaths of three people in the Democratic Republic of the Congo, including Italian ambassador Luca Attanasio. We remain determined to continue to fight against all violence in the region".

DRC Foreign Minister Marie Tumba Nzeza said "I promise the Italian government that my country's executive will take all necessary (action) to find who is behind this ignoble crime", according to the Actualite.cd. website.

She said "it is with grief and great sadness that we learned of the death of the young Italian ambassador to the DRC in a WFP convoy".

The United Nations Organization Stabilization Mission in the Democratic Republic of the Congo or MONUSCO, an acronym based on its French name, was established by the United Nations Security Council to monitor the peace process of the Second Congo War, though much of its focus subsequently turned to the Ituri conflict, the Kivu conflict and the Dongo conflict.

The area has been racked by armed conflict for years.

In its most recent report, Italian intelligence said there were over 100 armed rebel groups in the area and jihadism was growing.

"There is a picture of pronounced fragility in the country," it said.

"The competition to exploit riches (raw materials and minerals) characterizes the Democratic Republic of Congo, which is still suffering from tensions in its eastern provinces," the report said.

Receiving the Nassiriya For Peace prize from a local association at Camerota near Salerno last October, Attanasio said "the ambassador has a sometimes dangerous mission, but we all have a duty to set an example." He said "in Congo words like peace, health, and education are a privilege for a very few, and today the Democratic Republic of the Congo is thirsty for peace, after three wars in two decades.

"Our role, the embassy's role, is to be close to the Italians, a thousand in all, for the most part missionaries and a few lay people, who all live together sharing the destiny of the Congolese inhabitants.

"I and my wife live in Congo with our whole family, three little children. Some people are surprised at this choice, above all for the risks that it brings, but it is our duty to set an example".

There were also a few people injured in Monday's attack, the World Food Programme said.

The convoy had been on its way from Goma to Rutshuru to inspect a WFP program to distribute food in schools, it said.

The road had previously been checked and pronounced safe to be used without security escorts, the WFP said.

The deputy representative of the UN secretary-general in the DRC, David McLachlan-Karr, said two vehicles had been targeted in the attack, both belonging to the WFP. He said the attack took place northeast of Goma.

Attanasio is the second EU ambassador to be killed in the DRC after French envoy Philippe Bernard lost his life in armed clashes in Kinshasa in an uprising of troops against dictator Mobutu Sese Seke in 1993, AFP reported. (ANSA).


George Will writes that Joe Biden is keeping his promise of sturdy resistance to China. But Will cites only weak evidence for that proposition.

Will points to a sandpapery first conversation between Secretary of State Antony Blinken and his Chinese counterpart, Yang Jiechi. He also notes that Blinken warned Yang that Washington would hold Beijing accountable (whatever that means) for its human rights abuses against the Uighurs.

In addition, Will observes that Biden invited Taiwans representative in Washington to attend the inauguration, the first such invitation since U.S.-China relations were normalized in 1979. And a U.S. carrier group has been active in the South China Sea.

All of this is fine. But does it really amount to sturdy resistance. I dont think so. Peter Berkowitz seems to share my skepticism.

Its also questionable whether the fumbling president who delivered the jumble of words in the video below is capable of sturdy resistance to anything. Towards the end of his faltering statement, Biden says:

Culturally there are different norms that each country and their [sic] leaders are expected to follow.

To the extent I can make sense out of his muddled utterances, Biden seems to be saying that American norms require Biden to criticize Chinas human rights record and Chinese norms require its leaders to ignore the criticism. That probably means well end up with a normal, accommodating China policy

Biden wasnt describing sturdy resistance. He was stumbling towards East is East, and West is West, and never the twain shall meet.

Somewhere in his word salad, Biden says that Xi, Chinas tyrant, gets it. Yes. Im afraid he does.


New Delhi:

Breastfeeding baby for the first six months is very essential, as recommended by WHO. But when it comes to working mothers lack of extended leave makes it very difficult for them to breastfeed their babies. Pumping facilities are available at workplaces.



Lactating mothers stop breastfeeding their babies after a period of three months and later on they switch to infant formula milk because they are not aware on how to continue with breastfeeding after they get back to work. While many find the way of storing breastmilk after pumping really cumbersome.



Well the very first breastfeed is very essential for babies' health. It should be kept in mind that babies don't miss out on their first breastfeed after birth. The first milk or colostrum, a thick, sticky, yellow transparent liquid, also known as the first vaccine for the baby is crucial. this milk carries antibodies and fighter cells from the mothers and gets tranferred to the infant. It is helpful in giving protection against all types of infections and allergies.



Although there are many benefits of first milk, yet the initiation of breastfeeding in the first hour is very low. Recently there was Medela Breastfeeding Survey 2017 which found that 36% of new lactating mothers from Maharashtra fed their babies with formula feed immediately after birth in the first hour. While there were 27% of new mothers who told that they fed they were recommended by their doctors to feed their babies with formula.



Caregivers play the most important role in encouraging mothers to prefer breasfeed for their babies rather than formula as the first initiate immediately after birth.



Dr Ravneet Joshi, MD (Pediatrics)IBCLC at Manipal Hospital, Bengaluru tells about the importance of breastfeeding, he says WHO recommends, babies should be exclusively breastfed for first six months of life and continue up to two years or beyond. Breast milk contains antibodies that help your baby fight viruses and bacteria, lower risk of asthma or allergies. Breastfeeding is a chance for the mother and the baby to connect, but its also a way of calming a baby in a stressful situation. Its convenient. Extended breastfeeding does take some planning, which can be done without substituting breast milk with formula.



In the current situations, it is very necessary that that the culture of breastfeeding is revived and it is made clear to mothers the importance of colostrum and building the emotional connect with the baby through breastfeeding.
Amid rising political temperature in poll-bound West Bengal, Chief Minister Mamata Banerjee said on Sunday that she is not afraid of anyone and cannot be intimidated by jail or anything else. Speaking at a programme in Kolkata on International Mother Language Day, she asserted that her mother tongue Bangla has taught her to fight like a tiger and not to be afraid of rats.

Holding out a challenge without naming anyone or political party as the state prepares to go to polls shortly, the Trinamool Congress supremo said that they have not learnt to lose, news agency PTI reported. This also came after the CBI summoned her nephew Abhishek Banerjee's wife in the coal smuggling case it has been investigating.

'Why should I say Bangal & not Bangla?'

"My mother tongue Bangla has taught me to fight like a tiger and not to be afraid of rats," she said, maintaining that she can speak so loudly and with pride because of the sweetness and beauty of the Bengali language. Banerjee said that she will give the slogan "Joy Bangla" even if she is sent to jail. The BJP has opposed the use of the slogan claiming that it is associated with Bangladesh. She urged everyone to say Joy Bangla instead of Hello over the telephone.

The TMC supremo and her party have been accusing the BJP of bringing outsiders into Bengal for the coming elections. The TMC launched its campaign slogan "Bengal wants its own daughter" on Saturday, which is seen as an attempt to rake up Bengali sentiments before the elections.

"I love the Bengali language and respect other languages also; why should I say Bangal and not Bangla?" she asked. The Chief Minister said that her government's proposal to change the name of West Bengal to 'Bangla' has been lying with the central government for four years. She questioned whether the proposal is not finding favour because there is a Bangladesh.

West Bengal to be renamed as 'Bangla Pradesh'?

"We are a state and that is a country, there is Punjab in Pakistan and there is Punjab in India also," she said, wondering what problem is there in changing the state's name to 'Bangla'. Banerjee said the state can also be called "Bangla Pradesh" like Andhra Pradesh or Himachal Pradesh. "I have always been seeing deprivation and a step-motherly attitude towards Bengal," she said.

READ | TMC MP Abhishek Banerjee says 'won't be cowed down' after CBI summons his wife

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A few hours before the programme, the CBI had served notice to her nephew Abhishek Banerjee's wife and sister-in-law for questioning in connection with a case of alleged coal pilferage. "Don't try to intimidate us with jail, we have fought against guns and are not afraid of fighting against rats," she said. "As long as there is life in me, I will not be afraid of any intimidation," Mamata Banerjee said. The ruling TMC and the Bharatiya Janata Party are engaged in a fierce battle for winning the coming assembly elections in the state.

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(With agency inputs)
EV

Few details are available right now, but Chinese publication LatePost indicates the project is still in its early phases, so while the goal is to build an electric vehicle, its still not clear if Xiaomi wants to launch its very own car or just serve as a manufacturer for a different company.However, the report suggests the project is currently being worked on under the close supervision of Lei Jun, founder and CEO of the company, which suggests Xiaomi considers the manufacturing of ana critical project in the long term.It isnt the first time Xiaomi is exploring the automotive industry though, as the company has already developed a prototype called Micar back in 2018 in an attempt to test EV manufacturing technology. Still, its not yet clear if this old project can help with the production of the new model.On the other hand, the report indicates that Xiaomis CEO even met with Tesla founder Elon Musk several years ago to discuss the manufacturing of EVs, but further specifics have never been shared.Xiaomi has already invested in several EV companies, most of them based in China, including Xpeng Motor and Nio.While Xiaomi could very well serve as a manufacturer for these companies, it can also launch its own EV, thus following in Apple's footsteps, the American tech giant currently working on the Apple Car. According to people familiar with the matter, Apple is currently seeking a partner to manufacture the Apple Car following failed negotiations with Hyundai and Nissan.Xiaomi, which is considered one of Apples rivals in the phone market, would most likely join forces with a Chinese carmaker should the plan be indeed the release of its own EV. But given the project is still in its early phases, all details should be treated with skepticism, at least until Xiaomi itself confirms the plan to manufacture an EV.
Colombo: In an effort to avoid confrontation with India, Sri Lanka has cancelled a scheduled speech of Prime Minister Imran Khan in Parliament.

According to a report titled 'Sri Lanka avoids clash with India by cancelling Khan's Parliament speech' by Dar Javed published in Colombo Gazette, the Colombo government cannot risk its relations with India when it is getting stuck in the Chinese debt-trap and India being the saviour for the world for distributing Covid-19 vaccines.

India has recently gifted 5 lakh doses of Covishield vaccines to Sri Lanka.

In past recent months, there have been anti-Muslim sentiments in Sri Lanka as Buddhist people have been protesting on issues such as animal sacrifices in mosques.

It is expected that Imran Khan would have used the Muslim card during his visit to Sri Lanka. He had played the same card during his visit to Afghanistan last year.

Javed said that the Pakistan Prime Minister in 2012 had supported the Taliban saying the terror activities were "holy war" that is justified by Islamic law. "He has used the United Nations General Assembly to rake up Muslim cause, which has often been perceived as interference in the internal matters of the other countries. In October 2020, he urged the Muslim-majority countries to protest after French President Emmanuel Macron expressed concerns over the murder of a teacher by an Islamist radical. He wrote to the leaders of Muslim-majority countries 'to counter the growing Islamophobia in non-Muslim states'," the author stated.

Looking at the past incidents, it is evident that "giving him (Imran Khan) a platform like Parliament to speak would be like to dice with death".

He would use the platform to make statements that will have "serious ramifications" for both the Buddhist people of Sri Lanka and the Rajapaksa government at the international level.

"The way Imran Khan responded to the requests of Sri Lankan Muslim leader's requests; it had become clear that he would rake up minority abuse issue during Parliament speech," Javed pointed.

Earlier, Rishad Bathiudeen, leader of the All-Ceylon Makkal Congress, had urged the Pakistan government to intervene in the matter of forced cremation policy of the Sri Lankan government for people who died due to COVID-19. The Prime Minister publicly remarked on the issue of the burial of dead bodies in Sri Lanka.

While Imran Khan seems eager to raise the issue of the treatment of Muslims in other countries, the United Nations' Commission on the Status of Women report had stated that the religious freedom in the country has continued to deteriorate.

The commission further noted that the minorities in Pakistan are treated as second-class citizens. Besides, several Buddhist heritage sites in Pakistan were recently demolished.

After Organisation of Islamic Cooperation refused to take up Pakistan's proposal to entertain the Kashmir issue, Imran Khan has become desperate to get support from the Muslim countries and portray himself as the champion of the Muslim world.

Amid this, the refusal of the Buddhist populated country to give a platform to Imran Khan in the Parliament has left the Prime Minister red-faced and frustrated.

This story has been published from a wire agency feed without modifications to the text. Only the headline has been changed.

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SYDNEY (Reuters) - Australia on Monday began its mass COVID-19 vaccine programme with frontline healthcare staff and senior citizens getting the first doses as the country looked set to report no local cases for the third straight day.

A group of 20 that included Prime Minister Scott Morrison on Sunday received the first shots of the vaccine while the broader rollout started Monday morning with authorities expected to administer more than 60,000 doses by the end of the week.

"Today is a real milestone in our collective response to tackle COVID-19 and bring things as rapidly under control as we can," Acting Chief Medical Officer Michael Kidd told the Australian Broadcasting Corp television.

The vaccine, jointly developed by Pfizer Inc and Germany's BioNTech, will be rolled out in the initial weeks while AstraZeneca's first batch is expected to reach the country in the next two weeks.

The exercise, called a "game changer" by Morrison, is being billed as one of the most complex logistical operations in the country's history as the Pfizer vaccines need to be stored below minus-70 Celsius (158 Fahrenheit).

The vast majority of Australia's 25 million population will be injected with the AstraZeneca vaccine, which will be produced locally by CSL Ltd by the middle of March. Authorities plan to inoculate four million by March and expect to finish vaccinations by the end of October.

Victoria, the country's second-most populous state, on Monday reported no new cases for the third day in a row, suggesting a fresh outbreak in state capital Melbourne has been contained. Other states and territories have effectively eliminated the virus.

With just under 29,000 cases and 909 deaths from the virus, Australia largely escaped the high number of infections and deaths compared with other developed countries, helped by border closures and speedy tracking systems.

(Reporting by Renju Jose; Editing by Sam Holmes)
Rampur : , Feb 22 (IANS) The 12-year-old son of Shabnam Ali, a death row convict lodged in Rampur jail, has met his mother.

The boy, accompanied by his guardian, Usman, met his mother for about 45 minutes on Sunday.

He later told the media his mother has urged him to focus on his studies.

"My mother asked me to focus on my studies. I am requesting 'President uncle' again to forgive her," he said.

Earlier, a photograph of the boy holding a placard that said, "President uncle, please forgive my mother Shabnam," had gone viral on the social media.

Rampur Jail Superintendent P.D. Salonia said: "After the news arrived that preparations had begun to hang Shabnam at Mathura jail, the mother and son desperately wanted to meet each other.

"The boy, who otherwise visits his mother in Rampur jail along with his guardian every three months, came to visit her here on Sunday afternoon. The meeting continued for around 45 minutes following which he left." Shabnam, now 38, had been convicted of killing seven of her family members -- her mother, father, two brothers, sister-in-law, cousin and 10-month-old nephew -- after hef family opposed her relationship with Salim.

The two of them slit their throats after serving them sedative-laced milk. Shabnam was pregnant at the time.

She gave birth in Moradabad jail in December 2008. When he turned six, the Child Welfare Committee (CWC) in Amroha handed him over to his guardian, a resident of Bulandshahr district.

Shabnam and Salim, meanwhile, were convicted in 2010 and, then, sentenced to death. Shabnam challenged the Amroha sessions court verdict in the Allahabad High Court and the Supreme Court, and also sought mercy from the President after all three did not accept her plea.

She went back to the the apex court which again rejected her review petition in January last year.

Over the past six years, every three months, the boy is taken to the Amroha CWC and then the Rampur jail, where his mother is lodged.

Usman, who has been taking care of the boy, told reporters that Shabnam told her son that she is not guilty of the crime she has been convicted of.

"She wants a CBI inquiry because she insists that she has been framed in the matter," he said.

While she has not exhausted her legal options, the Mathura jail is preparing to hang her.

Director General of Prisons Anand Kumar said: "As and when the date is finalized and the death warrant issued, Shabnam will be taken to Mathura jail for hanging." Shabnam will be the first woman in Independent India to be taken to the gallows.
WASHINGTON - Democratic leaders have a potent dynamic on their side as Congress preps for its first votes on the partys $1.9 trillion COVID-19 relief bill: Would any Democrat dare cast the vote that scuttles new President Joe Bidens leadoff initiative?

FILE - In this Feb. 9, 2021, file photo Sen. Kyrsten Sinema, D-Ariz., and Sen. Raphael Warnock, D-Ga., right, arrive as the second impeachment trial of former President Donald Trump starts in the Senate, at the Capitol in Washington. (AP Photo/J. Scott Applewhite, File)

WASHINGTON - Democratic leaders have a potent dynamic on their side as Congress preps for its first votes on the partys $1.9 trillion COVID-19 relief bill: Would any Democrat dare cast the vote that scuttles new President Joe Bidens leadoff initiative?

Democrats' thin 10-vote House majority leaves little room for defections in the face of solid Republican opposition, and they have none in a 50-50 Senate they control only with Vice-President Kamala Harris tiebreaking vote. Internal Democratic disputes remain over raising the minimum wage, how much aid to funnel to struggling state and local governments and whether to extend emergency unemployment benefits another month.

Yet with the House Budget Committee advancing the 591-page package Monday, Democrats across the party's spectrum show little indication they're willing to embarrass Biden with a high-profile defeat a month into his presidency.

Such a setback would deal early blows to Biden, new Senate Majority Leader Chuck Schumer, D-N.Y., and California Democrat Nancy Pelosi in what could be her last term as House speaker. It could also wound congressional Democrats overall by risking repercussions in the 2022 elections if they fail to unite effectively against clear enemies like the pandemic and the frozen economy.

You think very seriously before casting a deciding vote against your own party's president's legislative agenda, said Ian Russell, a Democratic consultant. But he cautioned that lawmakers must decide for themselves how their vote is going to play out" at home.

The issue that's provoked the deepest divisions is a progressive-led drive to boost the federal minimum wage to $15 hourly over five years. The current $7.25 minimum took effect in 2009.

It was the No. 1 priority for progressives, Rep. Pramila Jayapal, D-Wash., chair of the Congressional Progressive Caucus, said in an interview last week. This is something we've run on and something we've promised to the American people.

FILE - In this Feb. 12, 2021, file photo Senate Majority Leader Chuck Schumer, D-N.Y., returns to the chamber as the defense finishes arguments in the impeachment trial of former President Donald Trump, in Washington.. (AP Photo/J. Scott Applewhite, File)

An overall relief bill, including the minimum wage boost, is expected to clear the House, and likely the Senate as well. But the minimum wage boost's fate is shaky in the Senate, where Joe Manchin of West Virginia, perhaps the chamber's most conservative Democrat, has said $15 is too expensive. Sen. Kyrsten Sinema, D-Ariz., has suggested she might oppose it, too.

More ominously, the Senate parliamentarian is expected to rule soon on whether the minimum wage provision must be tossed from the bill. Under expedited procedures Democrats are using, items that aren't principally budget-related cant be included, and it's unclear if Democrats would have the votes to overturn such a decision.

Yet with every Democrat having leverage because virtually all votes are needed, there have been no overt threats to take the entire bill down unless they get their way.

Senate Budget Committee Chair Bernie Sanders, I-Vt., his chamber's chief minimum wage sponsor, said Democrats must act boldly and approve a package with the minimum wage increase. He answered indirectly when asked if he'd be willing to compromise to keep the plan in the overall bill.

Every Democrat understands that at this moment in history, this unprecedented moment of pain and suffering for working families, it is absolutely imperative we support the president, that we do what the American people want and we pass that package, he said in an interview.

Rep. Brad Schneider, D-Ill., a leading House moderate, also signalled distaste for intractable demands. The pathway to success is to push as hard as you can to get as much as you can now that you want, not compromise your principles and know that tomorrows another day, he said.

The House Budget Committee advanced the bill Monday by a near party-line 19-16, setting up House passage at perhaps week's end. Rep. Lloyd Doggett, D-Texas, voted no, but an aide said he misunderstood the vote after disembarking from a plane and supports the measure.

Aggressive, bold action is needed before our nation is more deeply and permanently scarred, said Budget Committee Chair John Yarmuth, D-Ky., citing evolving coronavirus strains.

Republicans said the measure's higher minimum wage and increased unemployment benefits would cost jobs or discourage people from seeking work, and said much of the spending was wasteful.

This is the wrong plan for Americas working class, said Rep. Jason Smith, R-Mo., the budget panel's top Republican. Across the Capitol, Senate Minority Leader Mitch McConnell, R-Ky., said Democrats were pushing Band-Aid policies like theyre planning for another year of stagnation, instead of trying to set up success.

The bill would provide $1,400 payments to millions of low- and middle-income people, increase child tax credits and offer extra $400 weekly federal unemployment benefits through August. It would provide hundreds of billions of dollars for state and local governments, shuttered schools, COVID-19 vaccines and testing, and struggling airlines and other businesses.

History has rich examples of lawmakers who faced pivotal decisions on whether to back priorities of their parties presidents, with mixed results.

Three GOP defections in 2017, most famously a post-midnight thumbs-down by Sen. John McCain, R-Ariz., brought down President Donald Trumps trademark effort to repeal the Obama-era Affordable Care Act. McCains vote sparked unending enmity from Trump. Of the other two, Maine Sen. Susan Collins was reelected last year, and Alaska Sen. Lisa Murkowski faces reelection in 2022.

In 1993, President Bill Clintons $500 billion deficit-reduction plan passed the House by a single vote after first-term Rep. Marjorie Margolies-Mezvinsky agreed to support it. Mezvinsky, whod previously criticized the measure for insufficient spending cuts, voted yes after Clinton called her in the House cloakroom during the vote.

I told him I knew how important it was and I wouldnt let it go down, but I said I would only be the tiebreaking vote, she recalled last week in an interview. She said she told him, If I pull you over the top, youll lose this seat.

Both scenarios played out.

The package passed 218-216, saved by her decisive vote. And the lawmaker, whose last name is now Margolies following a divorce, lost her reelection two years later from what was a heavily GOP district in Philadelphias suburbs. She never returned to Congress.

But one of her children, Marc Mezvinsky, married Clintons daughter, Chelsea, in 2010.
The state government is hopeful of a more rapid introduction of the COVID-19 vaccination across the wider community, NSW Premier Gladys Berejiklian says.

A joyful Premier said she felt an enormous sense of relief as the first frontline quarantine and healthcare workers received their Pfizer vaccine injections on Monday morning.

It is the beginning of time when all of us can think about going back to life as normal as possible, Ms Berejiklian said. That will only occur when the vast majority of the population has the vaccine.

Roughly 13 months after NSW detected its first COVID-19 case, the first 1200 frontline quarantine and healthcare workers will start receiving their first doses of the vaccine on Monday across the states three vaccination hubs run by RPA, Westmead and Liverpool hospitals.
Health Minister Yuli Edelstein said this morning that almost 3 million Israelis have received their second coronavirus vaccine and 4.377 million Israelis have received at least one vaccine dose. With that, Israel has administered the most coronavirus vaccine doses per capita in the world. Thus, tiny Israel leads the world with its successful coronavirus vaccination efforts. The international press has turned Israel into a major focus of its attention, worthy of study because of its comprehensive program. Data and experience accumulated by Israel could serve as a future reference for vaccination programs elsewhere.

Still, a detailed look into the nationwide vaccination drive shows disparities between cities and sectors. The 10 leading localities with the highest vaccination rates are all affluent Jewish-secular towns. Jewish-Arab mixed cities such as Ramle and Lod show 50% to 25% vaccination rates only. Arab towns and villages show even lower rates. In fact, the Health Ministry reported last week that 23% of Israeli-Arabs had received at least one dose of the vaccine, compared to 33% of ultra-Orthodox Jews and 49% of other Jewish Israelis. These numbers are better than the ones registered at the beginning of the vaccination drive, but obviously not enough.

This week, the government announced that life in Israel would be getting back to normal. Malls, shops, gyms, swimming pools, cultural events, hotels and other venues would all be reopening in accordance with government guidelines. So, for example, some of these, such as cultural venues and exhibitions, would be accessible only to vaccinated visitors or to visitors recovering from the virus and who are believed to be immune to it.

And yet, despite the good news about the way the vaccination program has been handled, there have been more than enough failures in the way the virus has been handled. In many cases, Israelis felt that the decision-making process had been politicized, as evidenced by the selective enforcement of regulations and discrimination in the fines imposed for violating those rules. These sentiments prevail mostly within Arab localities, and for a reason.

Data collected about police enforcement indicate that enforcement was unrelated to the number of confirmed cases. So, for instance, there's a high rate of infection in ultra-Orthodox towns that continues today. Meanwhile, major breakouts in Arab towns occurred last summer after the first closure and with the start of the Arab wedding season, but the virus was relatively contained.

Nevertheless, while it would be expected that the number of police reports and fines would be high in towns with high rates of infection, the actual breakdown of police reports tells a very different story. It indicates a selective policy of enforcement by the Israeli police, whereas in ultra-Orthodox towns, where the infection rates were high, the number of police reports tended to be lower. In other words, there was stricter enforcement in Arab towns, even though the infection rate stabilized and the number of confirmed cases remained steady, compared to the Jewish population.

To be exact, a comparison of ultra-Orthodox and Arab towns published Feb. 12 found that police reports were filed at a rate of 0.1 per case in ultra-Orthodox towns, as compared to 3.5 per case in Arab localities. This study was carried out by The Israel Hofsheet (Be Free Israel) movement, based on information made public by the various enforcement and collection agencies in the Justice Ministry.

Referring to this selective enforcement, the executive director of Israel Hofsheet, Uri Keidar, told Al-Monitor, These disturbing statistics show yet again that the health of the coalition guides the prime minister and his natural partners far more than the health of the public, especially the ultra-Orthodox public. Instead of policy intended to reduce infection, through the enforcement of regulations among other means, the data shows that there are places where enforcement is intended as a means of punishment, and there are places where there is no enforcement whatsoever.

Keidar says the same government that is not protecting its Arab citizens from rampant organized crime is overly and disproportionally enforcing coronavirus regulations there. The enforcement of coronavirus regulations should have been efficient, productive and equal. Instead, we discovered once again that the primary considerations are political, he argues.

This tendency of selective enforcement can be found in an earlier report compiled by Tal Alovitch, who studies public policy for Israel Hofsheet. He found there was absolutely no logic to the enforcement policies. One-third of police reports filed out in 2020 were given out in Arab towns and villages, whereas only 2.3% were handed out in ultra-Orthodox towns. Furthermore, a list of the 20 towns and villages that received the most police reports for violations includes 18 Arab towns but only 2 Jewish ones.

The weakest link in the country paid more, Israeli-Arab media commentator Faleh Habeeb told Al-Monitor. Arab society is perceived as a weak link, and it paid double for it. It paid in terms of the spread of the virus, which exacted many victims, but also in terms of the fines that Arabs were forced to pay, he explained.

Ultra-Orthodox journalist Israel Frey became something of a media sensation over the last year because of his coverage of coronavirus violations in the ultra-Orthodox sector. He told Al-Monitor, It is obvious that enforcement and the fight against the coronavirus has been politicized. The influence of the ultra-Orthodox Knesset members is apparent in the low number of complaints filed against the ultra-Orthodox sector when compared to the Arab public. Nevertheless, it is important to point out that the police are unable to ensure equal enforcement of the regulations among the different sectors of the Israeli public, at least not systematically. They simply arent built for that. The police do not want to get into a fight with the rabbis or the ultra-Orthodox leadership, and certainly not with the ultra-Orthodox masses. That would be too much of a challenge.
VANCOUVER, BC / ACCESSWIRE / February 22, 2021 / Blue Lagoon Resources Inc. (the "Company") (CSE:BLLG)(FSE:7BL)(OTCQB:BLAGF) is pleased to announce that its President & CEO, Mr. Rana Vig, has added 1 million shares to his holdings of Blue Lagoon, bringing his total to 3,264,268 shares, representing approximately 4.5% of the Company's total issued and outstanding common shares.

"As gold pulls back and some investors with short term horizons panic and begin to exit the sector, I am more excited than ever to increase my position in a company that I founded with a vision to be the next gold and silver producer in British Columbia," said Rana Vig, President and CEO of Blue Lagoon Resources. "And currently, with more than $5 million in treasury and no debt, we have more than 20 people working at the site in a combined effort to complete this year, the 3 key required mining permit amendments as set out by the ministry, one of which has already been completed, and the remaining two scheduled for completion before the end of this summer" he added.

Please note that the Company will evaluate a production decision once all permit requirements are in place. Any production decision in advance of obtaining a feasibility study of mineral reserves demonstrating economic and technical viability of the project is associated with increased uncertainty and risk of failure.

The Dome Mountain Gold Project, an all-year accessible property located a short 50-minute drive from Smithers BC., holds both an Environmental Management Act Permit (EMA) and a Mining Permit providing for up to 75,000 tonnes production annually. In addition, the property has 15 known high-grade gold veins (see the Company's news release dated May 4, 2020) with more than 90% of the property yet to be explored.

Furthermore, on November 18, 2020, the Company announced that after careful analysis of the data received from its first ever property wide flown airborne geophysical survey, the Company decided to significantly expand its land package by staking an additional 7,646 hectares, thereby nearly doubling its previous land position to 18,934.55 hectares. See the two figures below that show the newly staked areas and the promising results from the airborne geophysical surveys that led to the Company's decision to stake the additional land. For more details see the Company's news release dated November 18, 2020.

Story continues

Mr. Vig further commented that "we are in a unique position - first at Dome Mountain - with the key permits in hand; a large prospective land package, 90% of which has never been explored; a healthy treasury with no debt; a 20,000 meter drill program, the largest ever conducted on the property currently underway; additional value derived from the 100% owned Pellaire high-grade gold project; plus, exposure to copper with our 100% owned, drive to, Big Onion porphyry copper project. All of this leads me to believe that we are undervalued, which is why I intend to continue to buy shares in the company."

New claims added in the Far West and the Far East based on new

Airborne MAG (top) and EM (bottom)

Mr. Vig's previous share position of 2,264,268 shares is escrowed over three years. His current acquisition of 1 million shares was through the exercise of options.

The scientific and technical disclosure in this news release was approved by William Cronk, P.Geo., a qualified person as defined in NI 43-101 and a consultant to the Company.

ABOUT RANA VIG

With over 30 years of business experience, Rana Vig has been involved in several publicly traded companies since 2010, first serving as President of an Idaho gold and copper focused exploration company and then as President and Chairman of a TSX senior board listed uranium focused company with one of the largest uranium assets in the world located in Sweden. A keen observer of market trends, in 2018, he became the Chief Executive Officer of Lead Ventures Inc., overseeing and executing the acquisition and $5 billion+ reverse takeover of Curaleaf Holdings Inc. (CURA), which raised $520 million, making it the largest Canadian cannabis financing in history. Shortly after that he took the helm of Rockbridge Resources, which he successfully restructured by acquiring, through a reverse takeover, the $2 billion+ Harvest Health & Recreation (HARV), which closed a $300 million financing - making it the third-largest cannabis financing of 2018.

Believing that the mining industry, and gold in particular, was ready to make a comeback, in 2019 he turned his entrepreneurial skills and focus to his latest venture, Blue Lagoon Resources, which he founded and listed on the CSE under the symbol BLLG, in the US on the OTCQB under BLAGF, and in Frankfurt, Germany under 7BL.

ABOUT BLUE LAGOON RESOURCES

Blue Lagoon Resources is a mineral exploration company focused on its high-grade gold-silver project - the past producing Dome Mountain Mine. The drive to mine site can be accessed all year and is just a short 50 minute drive from the town of Smithers, located in northwestern British Columbia. The company also owns 100% of the Big Onion porphyry copper project, also located near the town of Smithers (20 minute drive to property).

Additionally, the Company owns 100% of the Pellaire gold property located 160 km southwest of Williams Lake in the Chilcotin range of south-central British Columbia. The Pellaire project covers over 4,400 hectares and is known to have 10 high-grade gold-bearing veins on the property. The Company also owns the Golden Wonder project located in the west-central part of British Columbia, in the Hazelton area. The property covers an area of approximately 7,327 hectares, approximately one kilometer south of the Yellowhead Highway, a major interprovincial highway in Western Canada.

For further information, please contact:

Rana Vig

President and Chief Executive Officer Telephone: 604-218-4766

Email: rana@ranavig.com

The CSE has not reviewed and does not accept responsibility for the adequacy or accuracy of this release.

Statement Regarding 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, that address events or developments that Blue Lagoon Resources Inc. (the "Company") expects to occur, are forward-looking statements. Forward-looking statements are statements that are not historical facts and are generally, but not always, identified by the words "expects", "plans", "anticipates", "believes", "intends", "estimates", "projects", "potential" and similar expressions, or that events or conditions "will", "would", "may", "could" or "should" occur. Although the Company believes the expectations expressed in such forward-looking statements are based on reasonable assumptions, such statements are not guarantees of future performance and actual results may differ materially from those in the forward-looking statements. Factors that could cause the actual results to differ materially from those in forward-looking statements include results of exploration activities may not show quality and quantity necessary for further exploration or future exploitation of minerals deposits, volatility of gold and silver prices, and continued availability of capital and financing, permitting and other approvals, and general economic, market or business conditions. 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. Forward-looking statements are based on the beliefs, estimates and opinions of the Company's management on the date the statements are made. Except as required by applicable securities laws, the Company undertakes no obligation to update these forward-looking statements in the event that management's beliefs, estimates or opinions, or other factors, should change.

SOURCE: Blue Lagoon Resources Inc.





View source version on accesswire.com:

https://www.accesswire.com/630960/Blue-Lagoon-President-CEO-Rana-Vig-Adds-1-Millon-Shares-To-His-Personal-Position




The absence of any changes to the tax rates on the personal tax front under Budget 2021 has indeed given a sense of relief to many high-income taxpayers, who were worried on whether they would be saddled with an additional Covid-related cess or surcharge. However, there are aspects of taxation in the fine print that need to be kept in mind before really heaving the sigh of relief.

Interest on Provident Fund (PF) was considered to be one of the reliable and tax-free avenues of income for the salaried class. Effective 1 April 2021, the exemption on PF interest on employee contributions to PF, would be limited only to the extent the contributions by the employee do not exceed 250,000 in aggregate, during the year. Budget 2020 had already capped the non-taxable employer PF contributions to 7.50 lakhs and had also provided that interest on such contributions which exceed the ceiling of 7.50 lakhs would be taxable. With the current proposal, interest on employee contributions beyond the annual aggregate amount of 2.50 lakhs would also be taxable. Hence, employees would now need to relook at the tax implications of contribution to PF.

Another area where tax implications could arise is on account of investments to Unit-Linked Insurance policies. Currently, an exemption is available for sums received under a life insurance policy, if the annual premium payable on such policy does not exceed 10% of the actual capital sum assured. However, this exemption will not be available in respect of Unit-Linked Insurance policies issued on or after 1 day of February 2021, if the aggregate amount of premium payable in respect of the policy for any year exceeds 250,000. In such case, these ULIPs shall be treated on par with equity-oriented fund and proceeds received on maturity would be taxed as income from capital gains.

The taxpayers would sigh a relief however in case of purchase of a residential house property where agreement value varies with the stamp duty value. Currently, where the individual buys any immovable property and the stamp duty value exceeds the agreement value by 10%, the difference needs to be offered to tax by the buyer. In order to boost real estate demand and provide consequential relief to buyers, the safe harbour threshold has been increased from 10% to 20%. So, an individual buying a residential house property will not be subject to tax unless the stamp duty value of unit does exceeds 120% of the agreement value. However, there are certain conditions to be met such as:

 The transfer of residential unit takes place between 12 November 2020 to 30 June, 2021

 The transfer is by way of first time allotment of the residential unit to any person

 The agreement value does not exceed 2 crores.

In the roadmap to the Budget, there was an ongoing discussion of the introduction of Covid cess. But the government has ensured that most of the government spending is funded by monetisation of assets and disinvestment plan of public sector entities with no significant additional tax impact to high-income earners.

Overall, this budget does provide a sense of relief to high-income earners, who would of course need to be mindful of some details in the fine print.

Saraswathi Kasturirangan is Partner, Deloitte India and Vijay Bharech is Senior Manager with Deloitte Haskins and Sells LLP

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STATEN ISLAND, N.Y.  High school students across the United States could get the coronavirus (COVID-19) vaccine when they return to school in the fall, Dr. Anthony Fauci, the countrys top medical expert, said on Sunday.

Fauci, director of the National Institute of Allergy and Infectious Diseases, told Chris Wallace on Fox News that the country hopes to vaccinate high school students by the fall term. But it will depend on the results of trials and studies of the vaccines efficacy on a younger population.

The director said there are at least two companies working on studies to vaccinate high school-aged individuals so that hopefully by the time we get to the fall term, that they will be vaccinated.

That will likely occur in the fall, Fauci said on Fox News. I cant say its going to be on day one when the school starts in the fall term.

Of the two vaccines currently available in the United States, Pfizer can be administered to people ages 16 and over, while Moderna can be administered to those 18 and older, according to the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC).

*** CLICK HERE FOR COMPLETE COVERAGE OF CORONAVIRUS IN NEW YORK ***

As for younger students in elementary and middle schools, Fauci said Sunday that vaccinations of these groups wont occur until mid-2022.

When you have the younger children, it likely will not be before the beginning of the first quarter of 2022, Fauci said.

While speaking on Fox News, he added that more coronavirus vaccine doses will be widely available to anyone who wants it.

About 600 million doses are slated to be available by July  enough vaccines to administer to 300 million people across the country.

By July, we will have enough, Fauci said. We will have the 600 million doses that we contracted for from two companies. It is very likely that before then, were going to start vaccinating people who are outside of the priority groups and essentially represent anyone and everyone. But the month that the president gave is absolutely correct. By July, well have in hand enough vaccine to be able to vaccinate virtually anybody and everybody.

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Canary Islands, 21 February 2021 (SPS)- Vice-president of the Canary Islands,Mr. Roman Rodriguez, has made an appeal to the government of Mr. Pedro Sanchez to assume Spanish states full responsibility to conduct self-determination referendum in Western Sahara, as to intervene to halt Moroccos violations of human rights.



In a meeting with POLISARIO representative in Madrid Mr. Abdallahi Al-Arabi, the Canary official indicated that supporting the Saharawi issue has long been a priority in the political and humanitarian programme of his government.



In a visit to Canary institutions ahead of the commemoration of SADR proclamation, the Saharawi diplomat, for his part, hailed Canarys great historic support to the Saharawi people, reflected in a positive noticeable reality in the Saharawi refugee camps. (SPS)



089/090/T
School reopenings should be on county-by-county basis depending on incidence of disease, Prof Tomas Ryan said.

The UK Covid-19 variant is more infectious among children than previous strains, a leading professor has said.

Trinity College professor Tomas Ryan said comparing the positivity rate in schools to that in the community was a nonsense comparison.

Mr Ryan is a member of the Independent Scientific Advocacy Group and said children contribute to community spread of the virus.

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It is not a like with like comparison. Schools are not safe, schools are safe when the community around them is safe. Children do get infected and do contribute to the infection rate within the community, he told Today with Claire Byrne.

The B117 variant that is now dominant in Ireland is more infectious to children. It is not true that the only risk to schools reopening are the parents moving around it. That is not true, this virus does infect children and they do contribute to community spread.

Some very relevant modelling done recently in the UK suggested that if you opened all of the primary schools, you certainly will increase the R number in the country significantly. The same is likely true of Ireland, he added.

Mr Ryan believes the reopening of schools should be done on a county-by-county basis, decided by case numbers.

Numbers are coming down in Cork and Kerry very well but were not seeing the same in Dublin. I dont think we can have a blanket policy on this. We should be seeing what we can do to mitigate transmission in schools, we havent seen enough on this.

We need more face mask wearing, we need much more advice on ventilation...there are many things the Department of Education could be doing to make schools safer than they are and I think that should be a priority on that aspect of the plan, he said.

The professor, who is an advocate for the zero-Covid strategy, said that while the possibility of lockdown until the end of April is depressing on many fronts, he said there was one positive to be taken from it.

This gives us the opportunity to properly stamp out Covid-19 in Ireland and at the same time, put in place mandatory quarantine to stop it from coming into the country.

He said that variants were on tour and the only way mandatory quarantine would work to keep the variants out of Ireland was if it applied to all countries of origin.
The second delivery will be made on February 26, and Malaysia will continue to receive deliveries every two weeks until it is completed, Science Minister Khairy Jamaluddin said in a virtual news conference.

Malaysia has secured 32 million doses from Pfizer/BioNTech.

Meanwhile, vaccine doses from China's Sinovac Biotech are scheduled to be delivered in bulk on February 27, pending approval from local regulators, the official said.

Malaysia has imposed more lockdowns this year amid a fresh wave of coronavirus infections. The country has recorded 280,272 cases of COVID-19 and 1,051 deaths.

It aims to vaccinate at least 80 percent of its 32 million people within a year.

In Cambodia, the Ministry of Education has issued guidelines on strengthening measures to prevent the spread of COVID-19 after Prime Minister Hun Sen confirmed on February 20 the third community outbreak in the country.

The Khmer Times cited the ministry as saying that education officials must continue to implement the standard operating procedures and suspend any gathering of over 20 people while school managers must report anyone involved with the February 20 Community Incident to the authorities.

However, Prime Minister Hun Sen announced that there are no immediate plans to close schools or cancel events and other receptions as a result of the third community COVID-19 outbreak in Phnom Penh, calling on the people to obey the health measures issued by the ministry and the government.

Last month, Cambodia started the new academic year 2020-2021. All schools across the country opened after their previous closures due to COVID-19.

Cambodian authorities detected 32 new COVID-19 cases in Phnom Penh on February 20, mostly in Koh Pich (Diamond Island) of Phnom Penh and some apartment buildings near the Olympic stadium.

Initial information showed that the outbreak relates to some people escaping the quarantine site at Sokha Hotel to live in a number of apartment buildings.

Some apartment blocks in Phnom Penh, especially Koh Pich, N8 Club bar and nearby restaurants have been locked down.
The volume of trade between Germany and Romania dropped 10 percent in 2020 to 29.36 billion euros, shows data released by the Federal Statistical Office (Destatis) and cited by the Romanian - German Chamber of Commerce and Industry (AHK Romania) in a release, according to AGERPRES.

Total exports to Romania last year amounted to 15.8 billion euros (-5.9 pct), and imports stood at 13.5 billion euros, 14.4 percent less than in 2019.

With a bilateral trade volume of 29.36 billion euros in 2020, Romania ranks 19th among Germany's trading partners.

We are confident that the rebound of trade exchanges in the second half of 2020 will continue in 2021 too, but it all depends on the evolution of the pandemic. We are looking at border closure measures, such as that with the Czech Republic, with concern for the movement of goods and for supply chains. Overall, German companies in Romania are looking with great confidence at Romania's economic development, especially considering the European funds made available - while pinning high expectations on the government, specifically on the implementation of the reforms announced for the next four years. We have many opportunities in this country and there is great potential. Now we must make every effort to make them come to fruition, said AHK Romania general manager Sebastian Metz.

AHK Romania is the official representation of the German economy and the largest bilateral Chamber of Commerce in Romania. Founded in 2002, AHK joins about 600 member firms, providing companies an important platform for networking, information and experience exchanges.
CLEVELAND, Ohio  A Cleveland police supervisor faces discipline for a range of issues, including conducting an unauthorized investigation into a deputy police chief, according to city records.

Lt. Joseph DiMuzio on Friday went in front of Cleveland Safety Director Karrie Howard on a slew of misconduct accusations. Howard has not yet made a decision on discipline.

DiMuzio faces 20 internal charges of policy violations, including an incident in which he launched an investigation  and filled out a criminal complaint form  naming Deputy Police Chief Wayne Drummond as a suspect in a crime.

Cleveland officials on Thursday sent out a blurb about DiMuzios case in an 8 p.m. daily coronavirus update. The blurb included no specific details of misconduct. The city law department on Monday released the letter containing the accusations to cleveland.com following a Feb. 11 records request. The letter provides few details.

Capt. Brian Betley, the president of the Fraternal Order of Police Lodge 8 that represents Cleveland police supervisors, said he believed Fridays hearing went well. He declined to say anything else about the case.

If the director makes a fair decision, well move on, Betley said. If not well file a grievance.

The citys letter says DiMuzio interviewed a man on Aug. 8, 2019, in connection with an alleged excessive use-of-force incident in 1994 involving Drummond. An internal affairs investigation cleared Drummond of any wrongdoing, according to Cleveland police spokeswoman Sgt. Jennifer Ciaccia.

DiMuzio then filled out paperwork regarding the incident and the criminal complaint form. He never forwarded it to his supervisors.

Internal affairs investigators also drew up charges for two separate incidents involving conduct with a supervisor and an internal affairs official.

DiMuzio, according to the letter, secretly recorded a conversation he had on May 11, 2018, with then-acting Special Investigations Unit Commander Daniel Ross. The letter gives no more explanation on the circumstances of the incident.

During a May 13, 2020, interview with internal affairs, DiMuzio leveled a religion-based insult at Internal Affairs Superintendent Ronald Bakeman, the letter said.

Twelve of the 20 internal charges revolve around three police chases involving DiMuzio, according to the letter.

The letter said DiMuzio during a July 20, 2019, police chase failed to turn on his body camera for 41 minutes and never notified supervisors or dispatchers. He also failed to wear body armor or intermediate weapons, like pepper spray or a stun gun, on his belt.

In a second police chase on Aug. 5, 2019, he chased a car stolen in an armed robbery at speeds up to 98 miles per hour without getting authorization from a supervisor and authorized two other officers give chase without proper authorization. His body camera was on his passenger seat, instead of mounted on his chest during the chase, according to the letter.

He is also accused of failing to wear his body camera during a police chase on Feb. 16, 2019.

Other incidents include:

DiMuzio was deceptive and/or untruthful while falsely reporting the circumstances surrounding an on-duty injury in which he used force, the letter said.

DiMuzio failed to acknowledge and recommend discipline for a policy violation by a detective investigating a felonious assault.

He did not report that he left the Fifth District to go to a bank on Clevelands West Side for 15 minutes.

He did not wear his body camera 13 times between May 2019 and August 2019.

Read more from cleveland.com:

Man dies in early morning crash on I-90 in Euclid, police say

Man killed in ATV, snowmobile crash on frozen lake near Akron

Two Lakewood men killed, two others injured in early Sunday crash
A boat packed with Rohingya women, children and men drifts in the Andaman Sea of the coast of Thailand, May 2015.  AFP/ Christophe Archambault

This news comment is attributable Indrika Ratwatte, Director of the UNHCR Regional Bureau for Asia and the Pacific.

BANGKOK, Thailand  UNHCR, the UN Refugee Agency, is appealing for the immediate rescue of a group of Rohingya refugees in distress on the Andaman Sea today.

UNHCR received reports of an unconfirmed number of Rohingya refugees aboard a vessel in distress as of the evening of Saturday 20th February. The refugees report having departed from Coxs Bazar and Teknaf, Bangladesh, approximately ten days ago. Many are in a highly vulnerable condition and are apparently suffering from extreme dehydration. We understand that a number of refugees have already lost their lives, and that fatalities have risen over the past 24 hours.

Refugees have told us that the vessel ran out of food and water several days ago, and that many of the passengers are ill. The vessel has reportedly been adrift since the engine broke down, more than a week ago. We have not been able to confirm the number of refugees or their precise location at this time.

In the absence of precise information as to the refugees location, we have alerted the authorities of the relevant maritime states of these reports and appealed for their swift assistance, should the vessel be found in their area of responsibility for search and rescue. Immediate action is needed to save lives and prevent further tragedy.

As always, saving lives must be the priority. In line with international obligations under the law of the sea and longstanding maritime traditions, the duty to rescue persons in distress at sea should be upheld, irrespective of nationality or legal status. We appeal to all governments to deploy their search and rescue capacities and promptly disembark those in distress.

UNHCR stands ready to support governments across the region in providing any necessary humanitarian assistance and quarantine measures in the coming days for those disembarked, in line with public health protocols.

The fact that refugees and migrants continue to undertake fatal journeys accentuates the need for immediate and collective regional response to search, rescue and disembarkation.

For more information, please contact:
Commentary The Coup in Myanmar: How the Generals Miscalculated

An anti-military regime protester wears a Batman outfit in Yangon on Feb. 15. / The Irrawaddy

Myanmar braced for a major crackdown on Sunday night as more troops were deployed to the cities and armored vehicles patrolled the streets of Yangon, Mandalay and Naypyitaw. When internet access shut down at around 1 a.m., reporters prepared their gear and cameras and prepared to face the inevitable. A friend sent a message: Delete any sensitive information on your phone! A colleague called me, whispering into the phone, Lights are out.

By 4 a.m., no news of a major crackdown had been reported, though there were some arrests, including five journalists and two local residents in Myitkyina, the capital of northern Kachin State. They were released on Monday. In the morning, the Civil Disobedience Movement poured back onto the streets of Yangon and Mandalay, as well as the national capital Naypyitawthe Abode of Kings, once thought to be protest-proof but now filled with peaceful protesters and security forces.

For those of us who lived through past uprisings, it is hard not to see the fate of the nationwide Civil Disobedience Movement as preordained. We cannot help but replay the past in our minds, and relive the peaceful gatherings and uprisings that faced the militarys wrath and ended in slaughter.

We can see that the military is losing patience, but unleashing bloodshed in front of livestreaming smartphone cameras will be difficult. Since the coup two weeks ago we have seen several livestreams on social media in which citizens fought back against unlawful arrest and attacks by security forces. As in the past, if the military does launch a major assault it will be like digging their own graves.

However, it is frightening even to imagine how this latest confrontation will end. It feels like watching a train wreck in slow motion.

In November, just before the peaceful election in Myanmar, a colleague of mine sent me a message speculating on what the immediate future held for our country. The message predicted post-election violence and envisioned a scenario in which the military would intervene by staging a coup. At the time I dismissed his assessmentbut deep inside, I knew there were ominous signs.

Later, after learning of the failure of last-ditch negotiations between the government and the military over the latters claims of electoral fraud, I knew we were traveling back into a dark tunnel. On Jan. 29, upon hearing that the two sides had been unable to reach a breakthrough, my colleague texted me simply: Game Over.

Indeed, much of the scenario laid out in the message in Novemberthat within six months, the country would see violence, political polarization and the militarys eventual interventionhas come to pass, though the power grab came quicker than expected.

My colleague correctly predicted that the military would stage a coup, citing as justification its claim of voter fraud and an election that was neither free nor fair. Once in power, under this scenario, the military would announce that it intended to focus on key issues including ethnic conflicts, international pressure and economic stability. It also envisions that the military will amend the 2008 Constitution and hold elections, but without the NLD, resulting in a situation much like 2010, when the outlawed NLD refused to take part in the election. The message also speculated that former President U Thein Sein might be offered a seat in the interim government. That particular detail has not panned outSenior General Min Aung Hlaing leads the SAC.

In retrospect, two high-level visits to Naypyitaw in the weeks before the coup by foreign dignitariesone by the Russian defense minister (highly unusual) and the other by the Chinese foreign ministernow take on a whole new significance. If they didnt have knowledge of the coup in advance, I would be very surprised. The military discussed the plan with some close allies at home and abroad. The generals have learned from neighboring countries, and from those further afield, and prepared thoroughly before staging the coup.

On Jan. 29, some senior military leaders in Naypyitaw reached out to ethnic armed forces and told them that, should any unprecedented incident take place in the country, the military wanted to continue working with them to achieve peace. In other wordsa coup was on the way.

In 2018, at a cafe in downtown Yangon, I sat down with a high-ranking official who served in the U Thein Sein government. He warned me to keep in mind the events of 1958.

In that year, under General Ne Win, the military took power from Prime Minister U Nus government to restore order amid civil disturbances caused by factions among leaders of the Anti-Fascist Peoples Freedom League. Under a caretaker government, Gen. Ne Win held an election in 1960. He handed power back to the winner, U Nu, only to stage a coup and seize it back two years later. Gen. Ne Win claimed to have saved Burma from the abyss and then ruled the country for the next 26 years. Our country became one of the poorest in the world as a result. Gen. Ne Win then endorsed his subordinates to seize power again in 1988 during the nationwide uprising. The new generation men in uniform ruled the country until 2010, when they held a sham election. The military-installed government opened up the country, and the West and the international community hailed the reforms and embraced the generals. I am afraid we will see a similar version of these events replayed in the near future. There are hostages in custody, and the military will say: Its time to negotiate. What is your price?

The historical analogy has its limitations, however. Gen. Ne Win ruled in a very different era: He did not have to deal with the creative protest methods of Generation Z, nor were there smartphones, livestreaming, street performances and a horde of celebrities and affluent middle class protesters smiling and exuding a strange calm on the streets. Gen. Ne Win faced a different kind of protest and dealt with it in his own way, dynamiting the Student Union building at Rangoon University in July 1962 and killing many students. (None of which prevented him from receiving an invitation to the US, where he met President Lyndon B. Johnson in 1966.)

A week after this months coup, the Biden administration condemned the takeover and imposed targeted sanctions. The West and the UN joined the condemnation and backed the protest, the CDM and the ousted elected government. Within days of the coup, protests were mounted in front of the Chinese and Russian embassies in Yangon. To someone who experienced the 1988 uprising as a student protester, it was impressive; it would have taken us ages to mobilize such a movement and international reaction.

The militarys first mistake has been to underestimate the speed with which a mass movement would mobilize; it gave no consideration to the special strengths of Generation Z. Second, it thought the battle would be strictly between the military and NLD. But Myanmars youth emerged rapidly and have broken out from Daw Aung San Suu Kyis shadow to take charge of the resistance to the coup makers. These are everyday peopleour neighbors. They say with calmness: If we keep quiet now, gradually, we will become slaves to the military.

The military has declared war against the people and the nation, and is trying to turn back the clock. To my colleagues who argue about whether this is a soft coup or the harder, cruder variety: There is no such distinction to be made; a coup is a coup. The one that took place in Myanmar two weeks ago has one aim: to take all of us back to the stone age.

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Israel lifted restrictions on most commerce and public activity, opening malls, markets and museumsand requiring the use of a pass for some activities, to document vaccination status.

Sundays moves illustrate how Israel, which rolled out the worlds fastest Covid-19 vaccination campaign, is combining incentives and threats to get the rest of its population vaccinatedand how it learned from missteps.

The nation is reopening after having some of the worst infection rates for months, as many flouted lockdowns, and more recently, a British variant of the disease ran rampant. Commercial activity largely sputtered to a halt. For Rent" signs have proliferated on the once-bustling oceanside avenues of this city.

The opening up and use of what officials are calling green passports, which allow people to enter gyms and hotels and eventually embark on quarantine-free travel, set up a test for one of the most closely watched countries during the pandemic: Can Israel return to relative normalcy without slipping back into peak infection rates and overwhelming its healthcare system?

To strike that balance, officials are warning those who shun the national vaccination campaign that they will be shut out of everyday activities. Anyone who does not get vaccinated will be left behind," Israels health minister Yuli Edelstein said.

As thousands of people rushed to download the green passport" documentswhich verify vaccination status and confer privileges to those who hold themthe website crashed Saturday night. The Health Ministry said people could use their vaccination certificates in the meantime.

At the Carlton Hotel in Tel Aviv, 12 couples were expected to check into rooms that have reopened to people who have received two shots of the vaccine. Yossi Navi, the hotels general manager, said he expects more in the next few weeks as Israelis understand hotels are open again and the weather improves.

With roughly nine million people, about the same as New York City, Israeli authorities were able to focus on a compact geographic footprint. Israels advanced and fully digitized healthcare system, in which every citizen by law belongs to one of four healthcare providers, also sped the drive by identifying citizens in target groups and reaching them with phone calls, text messages and mobile apps. And a deal between the Jewish state and Pfizer Inc. and BioNTech SE, which developed the Covid-19 vaccine, became the centerpiece of Israels vaccination campaign.

Under the deal, Pfizer agreed to provide enough vaccines to fuel the drive. In exchange, Israel agreed to provide health data to the New York-based drugmaker to better understand the vaccines impact. Israel also offered a higher price than many other countries, more than double or triple what the U.S. and Europe are paying.

After initially offering shots to medical workers and people over 60, Israel has gradually reduced the eligible age range. Earlier this month, the vaccine became available to the general public. Now, 49% of Israelis have received at least one shot and 33% are fully vaccinated, almost entirely with the Pfizer vaccine.

Getting to this point entailed stumbles that fueled infections and forced the country into a string of lockdowns.

Although Israel fared relatively well in the first wave of the disease, Israeli public health experts say Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahus government bowed to public pressure from businesses and reopened too early, especially the school system. A crippling summer wave of Covid-19 boosted cases to about 4,000 a day, and they later peaked in January during the third wave at around 10,000 cases a day.

In September, Israel became the first developed nation to enter a second lockdown. The government allowed only essential businesses to remain open, closing restaurants, hotels and gyms and limiting outdoor gatherings. The cumulative effect of the lockdowns is estimated by the government to have cost the Israeli economy billions of dollars.

Health officials blamed a third year-end wave largely on mass travel to Dubai, after the United Arab Emirates and Israel normalized a diplomatic relationship and opened travel links. Israel declined to label the country red" and require returning travelers to quarantine on arriving back in Israel, fearing the move would chill ties between the two countries. When infections began to rise, Israel was slow to cut off international flights and quarantine travelers, and a British variant breached the borders. In January alone, Israel reported 30% of its total coronavirus deaths.

Israeli health officials caution a full return to normal now could be months, if not years, away.

As long as children under 16 cant be vaccinated, they will continue to spread the virus, these health officials said. They also arent sure how successful the vaccine is against the variants.

The government has had one powerful weapon in its campaignthe vaccine itself. According to data released Saturday by the health ministry, the risk of death from coronavirus falls 98.9% two weeks after both shots of the Pfizer vaccine. Israel also found that, in the same period after two shots, serious illness decreased by 99.2%, morbidity by 95.8%, and hospitalization by 98.9%. The figures are compared with a nonvaccinated group.

In the early days of its campaign, Israel increased the speed of the inoculation drive by giving out leftover doses to anyone who showed up for them at clinics and vaccination sites.

While Israel raced ahead, it also faced pressure to supply vaccines to the Palestinians for humanitarian reasons. Israeli officials have acknowledged that failing to reach immunity in the West Bank and Gaza could hamper Israels efforts to move past the virus.

So far it has donated 5,000 vaccines to the Palestinian Authority and delivered 2,000, and officials have said they would look into supplying more once Israels population is fully vaccinated. Last week, it allowed 1,000 doses of the Sputnik vaccine from Russia to be sent to Gaza, part of 10,000 doses Russia provided for the Palestinians. The Palestinian Authority also has agreements under the World Health Organizations Covax program to receive vaccines for 60% of its population.

Israels vaccine campaign still confronts obstacles, mainly among those resisting it: many young people as well as swaths of the countrys ultraorthodox and Arab populations.

A survey published Tuesday by Israels Channel 12 found that 25% of Israelis say they have no intention of being vaccinated. Among those who havent, 41% said they feared side effects, 30% said they werent sure if the vaccine is effective, and 27% said they would do it soon.

Officials say that the green passport system will help.

Beyond the green passport system, Israeli cities and towns are offering their own sweeteners to drive inoculations.

In the ultraorthodox city of Bnei Brak, the municipality served Cholent, a traditional beef stew, to those who showed up for shots. Tel Aviv city set up a mobile vaccination center in Dizengoff Square, a popular nightlife spot, and is offering free drinks to anyone who gets vaccinated. In Holon, a suburb southeast of Tel Aviv, the city has hired DJs to create a party-like atmosphere to lure people over 16 for shots. Israel also sent a mobile van to the countrys south near hiking trails to attract nature lovers.

Even though normal feels far away, many Israelis on Sunday were returning to activities and habits they havent experienced in months.

Mike Korda, the owner of boutique fitness gym Locker Room, said he had lost 50% of his clients over the course of the pandemic. He reopened on Sunday and is requiring anyone who returns to the gym to upload their vaccination certificates into the fitness centers app, where they book classes.

Returning to normal isnt easy, he said as he awaited the lunchtime rush. Now the challenge is to get everybody back."

This story has been published from a wire agency feed without modifications to the text.

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Prime Minister Narendra Modi will inaugurate the Dr Syama Prasad Mookerjee Institute of Medical Sciences and Research at IIT Kharagpur virtually on Tuesday. Prime Minister Modi will also address the 66th convocation ceremony of IIT Kharagpur at 12:30 pm on February 23.

Governor of West Bengal Jagdeep Dhankar, Union Education Minister Ramesh Pokhriyal Nishank and Union Minister of State for Education Sanjay Dhotre will also be present during the event.

Dr Syama Prasad Mookerjee Institute of Medical Sciences and Research is a super speciality hospital set up by the Indian Institute of Technology Kharagpur with support from the Union Education Ministry. Dr Syama Prasad Mookerjee Institute is driven by the Prime Minister's vision that India's future will be shaped by investment in science and innovation and driven by research talent, according to the Prime Minister's Office.

This hospital will focus on providing services like biomedical, clinical and translational research, development of remote diagnostics, telemedicine, teleradiology coupled with research in drug design and delivery, according to a PTI report. The MBBS programme, post graduate and doctoral programmes are expected to start in the academic year 2021-22.

Meanwhile, the Prime Minister is all set to inaugurate the Dhemaji Engineering College in Assam and lay the foundation stone of Sualkuchi Engineering College. Prime Minister's official handle tweeted, "The Dhemaji Engineering College would be inaugurated. The foundation stone for the Sualkuchi Engineering College would also be laid. These development works will bring an era of prosperity for the people of Assam."





It is always special to be in Assam. Tomorrow, 22nd February, I will once again have the opportunity to interact with the people of Assam at a public meeting in Dhemaji. At the programme, various development works will be launched. https://t.co/ahylOUPRKD a Narendra Modi (@narendramodi) February 21, 2021

Also read: No role model: Nirmala Sitharaman speaks up about journey to Finance Minister
Italian Ambassador Killed in Congo While in UN Convoy

KINSHASA, CongoThe Italian ambassador to Congo and an Italian carabinieri police officer were killed on Feb. 22 during an attack on a U.N. convoy in an area that is home to myriad rebel groups, according to the Foreign Ministry and local people.

The ambush on the World Food Program convoy that killed Ambassador Luca Attanasio and the officer occurred near Goma, Congos eastern regional capital in the territory of Nyrangongo, in North Kivu, Congolese civilians said.

Its the same area, known as the three antennas, where two Britons were kidnapped by unidentified armed men in 2018, said Mambo Kaway, president of a local civil society group in the Nyrangongo territory.

There were five people aboard the vehicle, including the Italian ambassador, Kaway said. The driver died after being shot with several bullets, and others were wounded.

The situation is very tense.

The wounded were taken to a nearby U.N. hospital.

EU foreign policy chief Josep Borrell informed the blocs foreign ministers of the incident at a meeting in Brussels and presented his condolences to Italy and the United Nations.

The news [is] extremely worrying, and we are following the situation closely with the EU delegation in Congo, EU Commission spokeswoman Nabila Massrali said. She provided no details about those killed or injured.

Eastern Congo is home to myriad rebel groups all vying for control of the mineral-rich land.

More than 2,000 civilians were killed last year in eastern Congo in violence by armed groups whose brutal attacks using machetes and heavy weapons have also displaced millions in what the United Nations calls one of the worst humanitarian crises.

There are 5.2 million people displaced in the Central African nation, according to the United Nations Childrens Agency, which stated in a Feb. 19 report that this represents more displaced than in any other country except Syria. In the past year alone, 50 percent have been displaced, it stated.

The resource-rich nation the size of Western Europe suffered through one of the most brutal colonial reigns ever known before undergoing decades of corrupt dictatorship. Back-to-back civil wars later drew in a number of neighboring countries. Many rebel groups have come and gone during the U.N. missions years of operation, at times invading the eastern regional capital, Goma, where the ambassador was killed.

In January 2019, Congo experienced its first peaceful democratic transfer of power since independence in 1960 following the election of President Felix Tshisekedi. He succeeded strongman Joseph Kabila in a disputed election marked by allegations of large-scale fraud and suspicions of a backroom deal by Kabila to install Tshisekedi over an opposition candidate who, according to leaked electoral data, was the real winner.

The U.N. peacekeeping mission, known by its acronym MONUSCO, has been working to draw down its at least 16,000-troop presence and transfer its security work to Congolese authorities.

After serving in diplomatic roles in Switzerland, Morocco, and Nigeria, Attanasio was appointed ambassador at the Italian Embassy in Kinshasha in September 2017.

Attanasio was awarded a peace prize in October 2020 in a ceremony held in a church in southern Italy. The Nassiriya International Prize for Peace is named in memory of the 19 Italians, including 12 carabinieri paramilitary officers, five soldiers, and two Italian civilians, who were killed in the bombing of the Italian military base in southern Iraq in 2003. Nine others were also killed.

Attanasio was cited for his commitment aimed at safeguarding peace between peoples and for having contributed to the realization of important humanitarian projects, distinguishing himself for altruism, dedication, and the spirit of service for people in difficulty, La Repubblica daily stated in its account of the ceremony.

La Repubblica quoted Attanasio as saying, All that which we take for granted in Italy isnt in Congo, where, unfortunately, there are so many problems to resolve. Attanasio described the role of the ambassador there as above all to be close to the Italians but also to contribute to achieving peace. Some 1,000 Italians live in Congo.

By Jean-Yves Kamale and Nicole Winfield
After the withdrawal of Chinese and Indian forces with their military pieces and equipment from the North and the South banks of Pangong Lake in Ladakh  to the mutual satisfaction of both countries  the two sides engaged in their tenth round of talks last Saturday. The discussion went on till late and not much has been given out officially, but some surmises can be drawn on the basis of bits and pieces of information available through Indian official channels on an informal basis.

On the whole, however, it is still early to gauge whether status quo ante will be restored by the Chinese side, meaning whether the Chinese forces will revert to their pre-April 2020 locations that triggered the hostile eyeball-to-eyeball confrontation and whether Indian troops can patrol up to the countrys claim line in Ladakh.

The reason is that the Chinese forces, although having pulled out some men and armour and artillery in negotiated areas, evidently continue to enjoy tactical advantage. In the north bank of Pangong Tso, they have indeed returned to their original position to the east of Finger 8, the point through which the Line of Actual Control (LAC) passes as per Indias perception.

However, the Chinese side imposed the condition that Indian forces will not patrol up to the Indian claim line at Finger 8. Basically, the stretch between Finger 3 and Finger 8  which is about eight km of Indian territory  will, effectively, become no mans land. This does seem to be the case of China moving two steps forward and one step back.

The Chinese military too would not patrol up to Finger 3, which is Chinas claim line of 1960, which India never accepted. In fact, in the 1962 conflict, China tried to impose this claim line but the Nehru government refused to accept it. This became one of the causes for the Chinese attacks in NEFA (now Arunachal Pradesh) and in Ladakh. In the perception of the Nehru government, the India-China boundary in Ladakh lay through Aksai China, which lies to the east of Finger 8 by around 100 kilometres. Even after Indias defeat, Prime Minister Nehru did not give up this claim.

In dealing with the South Bank of Pangong Tso, India appears to have surrendered an important bargaining chip. It has vacated Rechin La and Rezang La, the heights in the Kailash Range, which Indian troops spectacularly captured on the night of August 29/30 last year, stupefying the Chinese government. Capturing these heights and the placing of tanks at such altitudes made the Chinese troops vulnerable to Indian targeting. It is only after this important success that Beijing agreed to negotiate troop withdrawal in any meaningful way in the Northern Bank.

The main issue remaining to be discussed for disengagement is the Chinese withdrawal from the Depsang Plains where Chinese soldiers intruded 18 km to block Indian troops from patrolling beyond the Y junction. If PLA troops do not vacate this aggression, our troops will be cut off from our own airbase at Daultat Beg Oldie and access to the Karakoram Pass, endangering our position in Siachen. With the advantage on Kailash Range lost, it is to be seen if China quits the Depasang area, vital for Indias defence. Discussions on disengagement at Gogra/Hot Springs and surrounding areas are somewhat ancillary as most Chinese soldiers had already pulled out from these.
Uzbekistan has certified Russia's Sputnik V coronavirus vaccine for nationwide use, seeking to procure 1 million doses, the country's COVID-19 task force said on Wednesday

TASHKENT (UrduPoint News / Sputnik - 17th February, 2021) Uzbekistan has certified Russia's Sputnik V coronavirus vaccine for nationwide use, seeking to procure 1 million doses, the country's COVID-19 task force said on Wednesday.

Last week, Botir Kurbanov, a senior official in the Uzbek health and sanitary watchdog, told Sputnik that Tashkent began a fast-track certification of the Russian vaccine, which would likely take from 15-20 days.

"The Sputnik V vaccine, which was developed by Russia's Gamaleya science center, has been certified and approved for mass use in Uzbekistan," the task force said in a statement, published by state-run news agency UzA.

According to the press release, the task force is currently making efforts to procure 1 million doses of the Sputnik V vaccine.

On Tuesday, the Uzbek health and sanitary authority said that the national vaccination campaign has been set to launch by mid-March and cover 7 million people  20 percent of Uzbekistan's population  by the year-end. The initial plan was to vaccinate up to 60 percent of the population by June of this year.

The country has already ordered 15 million vaccine doses from available suppliers globally, including via the COVAX facility.
Cymatrax

Cymatrax, a Software-as-a-Service (SaaS) technology company with patented technology based on digital audio frequency application, announced today that technology veteran Eduardo Contreras has joined the team as Partner and Chief Technology Officer (CTO). In this role, Eduardo will be responsible for leading the strategic design and development of the platform.

"After meeting Eduardo on an online Executive networking event, I immediately knew that he was a powerhouse in the technology community. He has over 25 years of experience in software, hardware, and services in B2B and B2C organizations and has the ability to attract and assemble a talented team, and execute on my vision," said Alan Brunton, Founder and CEO, Cymatrax.

"I've always considered myself to be a business-builder and start-up guy," said Eduardo. "I jumped at the opportunity to join forces with Alan when I learned of his technologys ability to enhance a users cognitive ability in todays new business environment that is so dependent on digital audio. This is an opportunity to help all individuals better retain information when listening to podcasts, video training, music, books on audio, and so on.

Eduardo previously founded ALCON DTS, which is a leader in the Computer and Network Integration industry with headquarters in Austin, TX. In this role, Eduardo has helped hundreds of companies innovate and embrace technology for strategic growth and market placement.

About Cymatrax

Cymatrax delivers a patented SaaS technology based on digital audio frequency application that accelerates signaling to the brain from any digital audio. This technology is currently being used by hundreds of clients from all over the world and is targeting over 5B people who are listening to digital audio each day.
Were not suggesting that clean air is a bad thing, but if the state determines that testing ensures clean air, then we all should do it, Gerald Bishop, the attorney representing the Lake County Council, said. Thats the focus of it, to make sure were all treated equally.
KURNOOL: The body of an Army Jawan killed in Ladakh when a military vehicle fell into the valley there two days ago will be brought to his native place in Guvvulakuntla village in Kothapalli Mandal on Monday.

Twentyeight-year-old P. Shiva Gangadhar was married only recently  November 26  with a relative Radhika, a native of Somudevulapalli village in Prakasam district. He was expected to come here for Shivaratri and take his wife along with him to Ladakh, said his relative Shankar.

The village plunged into sorrow as information spread about the jawans death.

An ITI diploma holder, Gangadhar joined the Army in 2017 as a cleaner and was working at the Lela area of Ladakh. He was the only son of parents Chakali Ramudu and Ramulamma, farm labourers.

After the marriage, Gangadhar returned to Ladakh in the second week of December. Gangadhar had talked with his wife and parents by phone on Thursday and said he planned to come to Guvvalakuntla this month-end and hoped to take his wife to his place of work, the relative said.

The mishap occurred around 12.30 pm on Friday. Army officials called up and informed the parents about Gangadhar's death. The body of the Jawan will be brought to his native place on Monday, Atmakur DSP Yerraguntla Shruthi said. As per norms, a police team has visited the village and started making arrangements for his funeral, she added.
SCOTTSDALE, Ariz. and LONDON, Feb. 22, 2021 /PRNewswire/ -- Proof Analytics today announced an exclusive strategic alliance with Mettle Capital to deliver the firm's library of comprehensive, high-confidence company brand, reputation, and sustainability data to marketing, communications, investor relations, and change enablement teams, all via subscription through the Proof DataOn data marketplace.

For years, one of the most expensive projects any marketer could commission was a brand audit, a comprehensive look at how audiences perceived a company and perhaps its key competitors on a variety of issues. Complex global enterprise companies could expect to pay millions of dollars for market-by-market analysis. Mid-range companies routinely pay $250,000-$500,000 for similar reports.

The high cost means that most marketing teams do a brand audit once every two years or so. Given that these reports represent a "snapshot in time," their validity rapidly ages out, and the data volume is insufficient for ongoing analytics. This means that many companies are flying blind about their past, present and trending-forward brand and reputation as seen through the eyes of their key audiences, not to mention the spiking relevance of their company's stance on environmental, social and governance issues on investors and other key stakeholders.

"The state of a company's brand awareness and reputation represent one of the most important external factors influencing its business performance," said Proof Analytics CEO Mark Stouse, a former large company marketing and communications leader. "How your stakeholders see you is a powerful headwind or tailwind, not only for the performance of your marketing and communications investments but for your business as a whole. You're either spending money to capitalize on your brand and reputational momentum to move your business forward, or you're spending money to try to overcome and transform negative views of your company in the marketplace. Yet most companies  and most marketing teams  lack this crucial context, which makes it all-but-impossible to accurately navigate a brand transformation effort."

#GearsandGrease  watch Stouse speak at #SXSW about the interaction of brand and performance marketing: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=OkiV77BG3EQ

Julie Brown, global director of business transformation at Johnson Controls, a Proof customer, said: "For years, some of the most difficult data for marketing and communications teams to get their hands on has been anything related to actual audience sentiment and market perception about a company's brand, and it typically has cost a small fortune. Responding to this big customer need, Proof has introduced an amazing array of brand and reputation data that has been largely unknown outside of top investment banks and financial services firms. By filling these crucial data gaps, as well as by introducing data automation alliances with companies such as Salesforce and Supermetrics, Proof continues to break down the barriers to a computed, high-accuracy understanding of marketing and communications ROI."

Watch Brown discuss marketing transformation: https://youtu.be/dReTxgOecDE

Paul Blanchard, an award-winning reputation expert, wrote in Forbes in late 2019: "Bluntly, reputation is a major contributor to sales and profit. According to the World Economic Forum, a quarter of a company's market value can be directly related to its reputation, and 87% of executives think that reputational challenges are more important than other strategic risks. That's not something you can ignore."

Neil Stanhope, founder of brand agency Underscore, was quoted in Raconteur in May 2020: "Brand reputation is not just how your company is perceived by your existing customers, but by the market as a whole. In times of crisis, people quickly turn to what they know and trust, or they work on market authority and word of mouth."

Stouse added: "2020 put a renewed spotlight on the extraordinary power of brand and reputation in driving the totality of a company's go-to-market effort. Brand and reputational strength help attract customers and help those customers make deeper commitments faster, particularly regarding purchase decisions where risk mitigation and due diligence are important considerations. With our Mettle alliance, Proof is providing an unparalleled daily record of high-quality brand, reputation and sustainability data, all at an attractive subscription price and instantly ready to use in Unified Marketing Optimization (UMO) and Automated Change Effectiveness (ACE) analytics."

Mettle Capital co-founder Rufus Grantham added: "Building out the key components of ESG sentiment in the context of broader measurements of corporate reputation and trust is critical to understanding how changing consumer, regulatory and investor preferences will impact companies. Our exclusive alliance with Proof Analytics enables corporate management teams to optimize not just marketing investment but also calibrate the future opportunity costs inherent in their current capital allocation decisions."

Pricing for the Mettle brand data, including comprehensive Environmental, Social, and Governance (ESG) data ranges from $1,990 USD to $3,990 per month per company, provided through the Proof platform. Industry benchmark packages, including key competitor data, start at $5,990 per month. Special agency and consultancy subscriptions encompassing the entire Global 2000 list, as well as bespoke projects, are also available exclusively through the Proof platform.

For more information, contact [email protected] or visit www.proofanalytics.ai.

**Neither Blanchard nor Stanhope are affiliated with Proof Analytics nor with Mettle. The use of excerpts from their public statements imply no relationship with nor endorsement of Proof or Mettle Partners.

SOURCE Proof Analytics

Related Links

https://proofanalytics.ai


Hong Kong: New permanent secretary named

Director of Food & Environmental Hygiene Vivian Lau will take up the post of Permanent Secretary for Food & Health (Food) on February 23, the Government announced today.

She will succeed Philip Yung Wai-hung, who will take up the chairmanship of the Administrative Officer Recruitment Board before commencing his pre-retirement leave in May.

Secretary for the Civil Service Patrick Nip said Miss Lau is a seasoned Administrative Officer with proven leadership and management skills, adding he is confident that she will serve the community with professionalism in her new capacity.

Mr Nip praised Mr Yung for rendering 37 years of loyal and dedicated service to the community of Hong Kong, revealing that during his tenure as Permanent Secretary for Food and Health (Food), he made zealous efforts in helping to formulate and implement policies on agriculture, fisheries, food safety, animal health, animal welfare and environmental hygiene.

He added that Mr Yung has made great contributions in handling major food incidents and safeguarding environmental hygiene, noting that he demonstrated exemplary leadership in overseeing matters related to quarantine, including the designated hotel scheme during the COVID-19 outbreak.

Mr Nip wished Mr Yung a fulfilling and happy retirement.

Click here for their biographies.

This story has been published on: 2021-02-22. To contact the author, please use the contact details within the article.
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Police in East Norriton, Pennsylvania, are searching for a suspect who opened fire at a bowling alley Saturday night, leaving one person dead and at least three others wounded.

"There is a possibility that additional victims may have been transported to hospitals in private vehicles," the East Norriton Police Department said in a statement on its Facebook page.

East Norriton Police Chief Brandon Pasquale told CNN affiliate KYW that authorities believe there was one shooter in the incident at the Our Town Alley, based on witness accounts.

"This isn't a common occurrence here, this is a relatively safe neighborhood," Pasquale said.

The police chief said authorities don't yet know what led to the shooting

East Norriton is about 23 miles northwest of Philadelphia.
Tomorrow Disney launches its "Star" brand in the UK.

The film version of Andrew Lloyd Webber and Tim Rice's Evita, starring Madonna in the lead role, has been added, as is Baz Luhrmann's Moulin Rouge! film (which recently was adapted for the stage and is set to arrive in the UK later in 2021).

Also being added are Martin McDonagh's Three Billboards Outside Ebbing, Missouri, The Favourite with WhatsOnStage and Academy Award winner Olivia Colman and the film versions of 9 to 5 and Pretty Woman (both of which have now made it onto the stage).

For anyone craving a bit of Arthur Miller, the film version of The Crucible can be accessed. The Devil Wears Prada, set to be adapted for the stage in 2022, will also be on the platform.

Disney Plus' existing offering for theatre fans can be found here  we're updating that article regularly. The new titles will be available from 23 February 2021  at which point the price of Disney Plus will also go up for new subscribers (so we'd recommend getting in there now).




The vaccination of teaching staff against Covid-19 will begin this Wednesday, 24 February, across Andalucia.

Professionals aged between 18 and 55 years old will be vaccinated with the AstraZeneca formula which is now available in the region.

The Junta de Andalucias education department will notify staff of their appointment  with a place and time - via a Covid coordinator in each school.

The administration of vaccines will take place in the afternoons.

A guidance note from the Juntas Ministry of Education, details "Professionals who deny a vaccination must make it known so that their health history is recorded. In addition, they recommend to staff that if you are or think you are pregnant, you should inform the nurse.

Both teaching and administration staff will be vaccinated over two weeks beginning with infant and special needs personnel.

Although the Junta's Health and Education departments foresee that the entire process will be completed in a couple of weeks, meeting this objective will depend on the availability of the Pfizer vaccine, which is the one that has been recommended for the teachers in the over 55 years age group.

Egypt, Lithuania, Romania, Greece, and South Africa will hold the Film OClock International Festival between 27 February and 3 March, 2021.

The new festival emerged as a partnership between countries that share the same time zone and love for cinema.

The first edition focuses on countries located at the 25th meridian east time zone, a line of longitude that extends from the North Pole, runs through Europe, Africa, the Indian Ocean to the South Pole.

As such, the festivals inaugural edition will take place simultaneously in cinemas located thousands of kilometres apart, but also in video on demand platforms.

The live screenings locations are yet to be revealed.

By connecting different audiences in the same time zone, the interchange of films and discussions aim to instil empathy and broaden one countrys awareness of another. A love is cultivated as a result, not only for cinema, but also for our time zone-neighbours, reveals the festivals website.

In 2022, more countries from the same meridian will be added, and another meridian will be added in 2023. The aim is to create a worldwide brand in 12-15 years.

For more information, please visit the festivals website.

The festival consists of two sections: a short films competition showcasing three films from each participating country and a non-competitive segment presenting one classic film from each country.

Egypt will be represented by Henry Barakats 1959 classic film The Nightingales Prayer and three shorts: Sunday At Five (17 min) directed by Sherif El-Bendary, The Promised (19 min) by Ahmed El-Ghoneimy, and Wards Henna Party (22 min) by Morad Mostafa.

The Nightingales Prayer, titled in Arabic as The Curlews Cry (Doa Al Karawan), is one of the most important films in Egyptian cinema.

Based on a novel by Taha Hussein, the film was directed by Henry Barakat and stars Faten Hamama and Ahmed Mazhar.

The film was Egypts entry for Best Foreign Language Film at the 32nd Academy Awards but was not nominated.

The documentary The Promised (Al-Mawoud) takes place in the historical ruins of Fustat in Old Cairo.

Tensions simmer between the sites government-appointed guards and residents of a nearby informal settlement, Al-Izba. The guards chase away looters and confiscate their equipment, while locals infuriate them by taking shortcuts through the site, occasionally stopping for a smoke. For the guards its easiest to keep the site closed until further notice, reads the films brief.

The fiction documentary Sunday at Five (Al-Had Al-Saa Khamsa) focuses on Hadil, who is at a turning point in her life.

Her hesitant character and selfishness, that she is well aware of, make her unstoppable when it comes to getting what she wants, even if it is at the expense of others, reads the films brief.

Wards Henna Party (Henet Ward) is directed and co-written by Morad Mostafa and Mohamed Ali Mansour. The film follows the life of Halima, a Sudanese henna painter living in Egypt.

She goes to one of Gizas neighbourhoods to prepare a bride for her wedding, and her seven-year-old daughter, Ward, accompanies her and starts to wander around and explore the place, reads the film's brief on IMDb.



For more arts and culture news and updates, follow Ahram Online Arts and Culture on Twitter at @AhramOnlineArts and on Facebook at Ahram Online: Arts & Culture

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Unpredictable, abrupt changes to Earth's system of ocean currents could commence from rate-induced tipping, model study shows; 'The findings point to fundamental limitations in climate predictability,' authors warn

Imagine abrupt shifts of the tropical monsoons, reductions in Northern Hemisphere rainfall, and strengthening of North Atlantic storm tracks within decades. These are some of the impacts that climate scientists expect if the Atlantic Meridional Overturning Circulation (AMOC), which redistributes heat from equatorial regions to the Northern Hemisphere, suddenly tips into a dormant state as a result of global warming. The consequences would drastically alter conditions for agriculture, biodiversity, and the economy in large parts of the World.

A model study by Johannes Lohmann and Peter D. Ditlevsen from Physics of Ice, Climate, and Earth, The Niels Bohr Institute, the University of Copenhagen, Denmark, now suggests the AMOC, and potentially other climate sub-systems approaching tipping points might tip long before anticipated because of rate-induced tipping. The work, published today in PNAS is part of the TiPES project funded by the EU Horizon 2020.

Time matters

There is a growing concern among climate scientists that several climatic sub-systems might tip irreversibly and abruptly to a new state if atmospheric CO2-levels are pushed beyond still yet unknown thresholds. These sub-systems include the ice sheets of Antarctica and Greenland, the Amazon rainforest, the Asia-Australian monsoon, the sea ice of the Arctic Ocean, and the AMOC.

In addition, it is still uncertain whether rate-induced tipping effects might also occur. These effects manifest themselves as a tipping of the system to a new state even before a theoretical threshold in the external conditions (such as the atmospheric CO2 levels) is reached. In rate-induced tipping, the rate of change - not the amount of change - is the important factor. This is because tipping occurs more readily when the system's conditions change rather quickly.

To study rate-induced tipping in the climate system Dr. Johannes Lohmann investigated the phenomenon in a complex ocean model, Veros.

Inherently unpredictable

First, the model's tipping threshold at very slow increases of North Atlantic freshwater input was identified. Then, a series of experiments were carried out, where the freshwater input was increased at varying rates, but only to levels below the tipping threshold. The results clearly showed the characteristics of rate-induced tipping.

Specifically, when the ocean model was subjected to increases in freshwater input to the North Atlantic, which simulated accelerating melt from the Greenland Ice sheet over time scales of 10 to 150 years, the AMOC had a strong tendency to tip to a dormant state before its threshold was reached.

It also appeared that due to the chaotic dynamics of the ocean model, the rate-induced tipping was highly sensitive to minute changes in the initial conditions and the rate of change of meltwater increase. This makes the tipping threshold fuzzy. Therefore the qualitative fate of the ocean circulation, i.e. whether it will collapse or remain like the modern state, remains inherently unpredictable.

Worrying, if real

The occurrence of rate-induced tipping in a global ocean model gives important evidence that one or more climate sub-systems may tip from being pushed too quickly as a result of global warming. Whether this is indeed a reality remains to be shown across more models in the climate model hierarchy.

However, the findings point to fundamental limitations in climate predictability and corroborate the need to limit CO2 emissions in order to stay away from dangerous and unpredictable tipping.

"It is worrying news. Because if this is true, it reduces our safe operating space," says Johannes Lohmann.

###

The TiPES project is a European science collaboration, investigating tipping points in the Earth System. The TiPES project has received funding from the European Union's Horizon 2020 research and innovation programme.
Lysander, N.Y.  One person was killed and another was injured in a shooting early Monday in Lysander, troopers said.

A suspect is in custody for the double shooting on Cold Springs Road, said Trooper Jack Keller, a New York State Police spokesman. The shooting was reported just after midnight, Onondaga County 911 records show.

One person died, Keller said.

The person wounded in the shooting was taken to Upstate University Hospital in Syracuse, Keller said. The persons injuries are not life-threatening, he said.

Along with troopers, emergency responders from multiple departments  including the Greater Baldwinsville Ambulance Corps and WAVES Ambulance  were called to the scene, dispatch logs show.

The shooting remains under investigation. Troopers expect to release more information later today.

One person was killed and another injured in a shooting shortly after midnight today in this house at the corner of Cold Springs Road and Shriver Driver in Lysander.Samantha House | shouse@syracuse.com

Staff writer Samantha House covers breaking news, crime and public safety. Have a tip, a story idea, a question or a comment? Reach her at shouse@syracuse.com.
King of the streets, Kwaw Kese says it's "stupidity" for the government to build a national cathedral at the expense of establishing proper health facilities in Ghana.



He lambasted the Finance Minister, Ken Ofori-Atta for seeking medical treatment in the United States following government announcement that he's sick.



The Finance Minister is said to have recovered from Coronavirus but isn't too well, hence requiring medical attention abroad on the advice of his Doctors.



Rapper Kwaw Kese blasted the government for flying the Finance Minister to the US, questioning the logic in the decision to use 100 million dollars to build a cathedral.



"Imagine a small country like Ghana. We can use 100 million dollars and over to build a church - cathedral - but we can't get 100 million dollars to build a proper hospital, a proper medical center so that when our Finance Minister is sick he can go there. They will rather go to America, go to UK, go to South Africa when they're sick but use over 100 million dollars to build a church," he said in a video sighted by Peacefmonline.com



The rapper asked; ''Is this not stupidity?''



Watch video below:





Source: Eugene Osafo-Nkansah/Peacefmonline.com









Disclaimer : Opinions expressed here are those of the writers and do not reflect those of Peacefmonline.com. Peacefmonline.com accepts no responsibility legal or otherwise for their accuracy of content. Please report any inappropriate content to us, and we will evaluate it as a matter of priority.

Featured Video
"Friends and force multipliers like GovX and its members make it possible to continue to meet the needs of the Special Forces Regiment and its families." - Frances Arias, Director of Operations of the Green Beret Foundation

A fundraising effort organized by GovXthe online shopping site exclusively for current and former military, first responders, and federal employeeshas raised $4,490 for Green Beret Foundation, the nonprofit dedicated to warfighters and families in the US Army's Special Forces community.

The GovX community raised the funds with individual purchases of 2021's first entry in the Patch of the Month series. The "American Explorer" patch featured an outdoor-themed design for hikers, campers, and adventurers. An additional $440 was raised for the Foundation through individual sales on PatriotX.com, the GovX-powered gear and apparel website, bringing the total raised for the Green Beret Foundation to $4,933.

Green Beret Foundation is a 501(c)(3) non-profit organization dedicated to supporting soldiers of the United States Army Special Forcescommonly known as Green Beretsand their families. As a segment of the Armed Forces that suffers a higher casualty rate than the rest, Green Berets are often faced with rehabilitation expenses, medical and surgical costs, and other healthcare related costs. The Green Beret Foundation steps in to provide programs and services to get the most from a Green Berets military benefits to meet the entire familys needs. GBF will also support the healthcare needs of a Green Berets dependents should the costs not be covered by military or Veterans Affairs health insurance.

"We at the Green Beret Foundation are honored to consider GovX a friend and Force Multiplier that supports our critical mission," said Ms. Frances Arias, Director of Operations of the Green Beret Foundation. "We thank the GovX members for their continued support. We cannot execute this mission alone. It is with friends and force multipliers like GovX and its members that make this all possible for us to continue to meet the needs of the Special Forces Regiment and its families."

In addition to assisting Green Berets with medical expenses, the Foundation also provides educational scholarships to the children of Green Berets working towards earning their undergraduate degrees, awarding three scholarships per year; one for children of non-commissioned officers, another for children of warrant officers, and also children of commissioned officers.

The Green Beret Foundation also assists Green Berets during their transition out of the military through their Next Ridgeline program, a service which connects Green Berets with mentors and networking opportunities to ensure their transition to civilian life is successful and rewarding. GBFs VA Benefits & Claims program assists Green Berets and their families navigate the Veterans Affairs benefits and disability claims process. The Green Beret Foundation is the sole special operations benevolent organization that is accredited by the Department of Veterans Affairs for the purpose of preparation, presentation, and prosecution of disability claims.

"We're proud to once again support Green Beret Foundation and the elite warfighters they stand behind," said Alan Cole, GovX CEO. "Wherever their mission takes them, Green Berets bring the fight and bear the costs of service, and we are in their debt. I'd like to thank the GovX community for continuing to support the Patch of the Month program so we can give back to organizations like the Green Beret Foundation."

Learn more about the Green Beret Foundation by visiting their website.
AN BORD Pleanala has consented to High Court orders overturning its planning permission for 358 student accommodation bed spaces and four staff apartments on a site alongside the existing Trinity Hall student accommodation complex in south Dublin.

Patricia Kenny, from nearby Temple Road, Dartry, took the proceedings against the board over its permission granted last August.

On Monday, Mr Justice Richard Humphreys, who manages the High Courts commercial planning and strategic infrastructure list, was told the board was consenting to an order quashing its permission decision and to a costs order. The judge made those orders.

The permission was for demolition of existing structures within the curtilage of Greenane House, a protected structure, and for the construction of four apartments and 358 student accommodation bed spaces and associated site works at Cunningham House, Trinity Hall.

The board granted permission, subject to 21 conditions.

It considered, provided those conditions were complied with, the proposed development would, inter alia, constitute an acceptable scale of development in this urban location, respect the existing character of the area and be acceptable in terms of urban design, height and extent of development.

Represented by Oisin Collins BL, the core claim by Mrs Kenny, who lives directly across the road from the site, was that the board, in considering whether the development required an Environmental Impact Assessment (EIA), wrongly treated it as a stand-alone development rather than one linked to existing accommodation at Trinity Hall.

Previously, when seeking leave to bring the challenge, Mr Collins said the proposed development is an extension to the original development of student accommodation at Trinity Hall which was subject to an EIA. Mrs Kennys case was this proposed development also required an EIA.

A board inspector had concluded the environmental report submitted by TCD identified and adequately describes the environmental effects of the development and an EIA was not required, counsel outlined.

Mrs Kennys case was that the screening was not adequate and the board erred in law in agreeing with the inspector.

The inspector had also concluded an EIA was not necessary because the proposed development was for 358 student bed spaces, not 358 dwelling units.

Mrs Kenny argued the inspector, and the board, erred in law in not assessing the development in relation to dwelling units.
I write this sitting in the kitchen sink, is the very good opening line of Dodie Smiths 1948 novel, I Capture the Castle, which I bring up only because I do not write this sitting in the kitchen sink, but rather sitting in my bed, where I have completed the vast majority of my writing for the past year.

This, as it happens, is probably disastrous for my own mental and physical wellbeing, as well as that of the many, many other people around the world for whom work from home has translated to work from bed. A November 2020 study found that 72 percent of 1,000 Americans said they worked remotely from their bed during the pandemic, with one in 10 admitting to spending the majority of their work week in bed. This, according to BBC, is likely to trigger a slew of health problems that may result in long-term damage to both physical and psychological health.

This isnt exactly the kind of thing I needed BBC to tell me. You dont need to know the specifics to suspect that working from bed is probably bad for you somehow, much like almost anything that is even remotely enjoyable, comfortable or convenient. I had a feeling hunching over my laptop in bed every day like a depressed college student probably wasnt doing me any favors, but its a pandemic and also why would you ever get out of bed if you dont absolutely have to anyway? Nevertheless, BBC went right ahead and decided to mercilessly bed-shame us all, recruiting a team of specialists to shed light on the exact ways one of our sole remaining sources of comfort amid the pandemic is actually destroying us all mentally and physically, not unlike every other aspect of the pandemic.

For one thing, working from bed is, of course, an ergonomic nightmare, subjecting the body to strain likely to result in pains, aches and long-term damage. In fact, for those of us who have been working from bed for the past year, it may already be too late to undo the ergonomic problems youll face when you get older, according to BBC. Personally, I take this as an invitation to continue to working from bed indefinitely, seeing as the damage is already done.

In addition to the ergonomic distress, turning our beds into makeshift offices is probably also wreaking havoc on our sleep and productivity. As sleep specialists, we tend to recommend that the bed should be for the three Ss: sleeping, for sex or for when youre sick. Thats it, Rachel Salas, associate professor of neurology and sleep expert at Johns Hopkins University in Maryland, told BBC. The more you watch TV in bed, play video games in bed and not sleep in bed, your brain starts learning, Oh, okay, we can do any one of these activities in bed. It starts building these associations, which eventually evolve into conditioned behaviors.

But heres the thing: you can do any of those things in bed, and since we can, we sure as hell will. Is working from bed terrible for my mental and physical wellbeing? Sure. But you know what else has been pretty bad for mental and physical wellbeing? Living through a pandemic. And since, as the BBCs sources were so kind as to inform us, its probably too late to undo the damage anyway, I will continue sitting here in bed typing away on my little laptop, where I have been for the past year, and where I will probably die.

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The post Surprise, Working From Bed Is Actually Super Bad for You appeared first on InsideHook.
WASHINGTON - During the campaign, the guidance from President Joe Biden's team was clear: Engage with Donald Trump as little as possible.

Now, after riding that strategy to the White House, the directive on when to engage with the former president is even starker: "Never," said Biden communications director Kate Bedingfield.

"Joe Biden is president, and we're focused on what we're doing, day in and day out," Bedingfield said. "The focus is entirely on President Biden's agenda, and Donald Trump doesn't factor in that for us."

But the reality may prove more difficult. With the historic second impeachment of Trump recently concluded, Biden and his team now face the challenge of continuing to minimize not just Trump but also Trumpism - an overarching ethos that includes a former president eager to sow discord; an alternate reality of dangerous misinformation; and an abiding belief in grievance politics and incivility.

Speaking at a CNN town hall in Milwaukee on Tuesday, Biden emphasized his eagerness to move past his predecessor, calling him "the former guy" and lamenting: "I'm tired of talking about Donald Trump."

Yet Biden kept talking about the very guy he said he wants to ignore.

"For four years, all that's been in the news is Trump," Biden continued. "The next four years, I want to make sure all the news is the American people. I'm tired of talking about Trump."

Unlike other modern presidents, Biden still faces a predecessor challenging the very legitimacy of his election, and one who could emerge from the shadows to run against him in 2024. Although there was a drop in approval for Trump following the Jan. 6 attack on the U.S. Capitol, a Washington Post-ABC News poll in January found that 79 percent of Republicans still approved of his job as president - and that 60 percent of Republicans said GOP leaders should follow Trump's leadership.

The same poll also found that 65 percent of Republicans thought there was "solid evidence" for Trump's claims of widespread voter fraud. And a January NBC News poll similarly found that Trump's baseless claims that the election was stolen have taken hold within his party, with 74 percent of Republican voters saying Biden did not win the election legitimately, along with 30 percent of independents and 3 percent of Democrats.

This past week, Trump began reappearing in public, issuing a scathing denunciation of Senate Minority Leader Mitch McConnell (R-Ky.), who, after voting to acquit Trump in the impeachment trial, said the former president was "practically and morally responsible" for the Jan. 6 insurrection. Trump also gave interviews to conservative hosts on Fox News, Newsmax and One America News.

And in his first public appearance since Biden's inauguration, Trump is slated to speak at the Conservative Political Action Conference in Orlando this coming weekend.

And while Biden may find he can largely avoid an out-of-office Trump, he still must engage with Trump acolytes who are trying to stymie his legislation.

Nonetheless, senior Biden officials argue that ignoring Trump is easier now that Biden is president. The major crises facing Biden, including the deadly coronavirus pandemic and the stalled economy, are the top concerns of a majority of Americans, these officials said.

Biden and his team are reaching out to Republican senators, House members, governors, mayors and other local officials in an effort to enlist bipartisan support for their governing agenda, including pushing through a $1.9 trillion coronavirus relief bill. And they are trying to sell their relief package directly to the public through a range of mediums, including booking senior administration officials on Fox News as a way to reach soft Trump supporters.

Any distractions generated by Trump, top administration officials said, are just that: distractions.

"In some ways, it's much easier to ignore Trump now that we're in the White House, because we're not running against him," said White House Chief of Staff Ron Klain. "We're running against the coronavirus, we're running against a number of challenges. And the Biden presidency rises and falls on the Biden presidency."

Referring to Trump's recent round of television interviews, in which he largely talked about the legacy of the late conservative talk-show host Rush Limbaugh, Bedingfield added: "Calling into Fox News to talk about Rush Limbaugh has next to nothing to do with what the contours of the American Rescue Plan look like."

Some political operatives say ignoring Trump comes with its own risks. Michael Steel, a Republican strategist and former senior adviser to former Florida governor Jeb Bush (R) - whom Trump vanquished in the 2016 Republican primaries - recalled how the Bush campaign tried unsuccessfully to ignore Trump, who nonetheless sucked up all the media attention.

But now, Steel said, the dynamic is different. Despite commanding real loyalty within the Republican Party, Trump is still a former president - not to mention one who is banned from Twitter and other social media platforms, while facing possible investigations into his personal finances and business dealings.

"Ignoring him might be a practical strategy today in a way that it wasn't in 2016," Steel said. But, he added, "if he's able to come back in a big way, you can't ignore him, because he changes the discussion, he changes the debate, he becomes the issue, and he's willing to say and do practically anything to pull that attention and pull that debate his way."

Cliff Sims, a former Trump White House official, said Biden and his aides are fooling themselves trying to brush aside Trump.

"Trump and Trumpism aren't going away, because Biden represents a return to the issues that gave rise to them in the first place: mass amnesty, kowtowing to China, crushing American jobs under the weight of radical environmentalism and forever wars in the Middle East," Sims said. "If Democrats - and even some Republicans - think they can stick their heads in the sand and return to their pre-Trump status quo, they're in for another rude awakening in '22 and '24."

Trump is not the only challenge facing the Biden administration. The falsehoods and misinformation spread by the former president live on among many of his supporters. A new breed of Republican politicians, including Sen. Josh Hawley (R-Mo.) and Rep. Marjorie Taylor Greene (R-Ga.), continue to perpetuate his brand of grievance politics.

Greene, for example, has previously embraced the QAnon extremist ideology that the FBI has deemed a domestic terrorism threat, which peddles manufactured falsehoods about a nonexistent global pedophile ring, as well as falsely claiming that some mass shootings were staged by supporters of gun control and that the Sept. 11, 2001, terrorist attacks were mounted by government forces.

The official White House policy continues to be to dismiss all things related to Trump. White House press secretary Jen Psaki repeatedly tried to avoid discussing this month's Trump impeachment trial - addressing it only obliquely when specifically pressed by reporters - and refused to entertain questions on Greene and her false claims, saying at one point: "We don't want to elevate conspiracy theories further in the briefing room."

Instead, the Biden administration is relying on a constellation of other Democratic entities to combat misinformation. Earlier this month, for instance, the Democratic Congressional Campaign Committee took out ads attacking Greene, as well as tying other Republicans to her extremist ideology.

White House advisers also say that by speaking directly to the public, they can further combat dangerous falsehoods.

"If you give them facts, if you set out a clear direction, if you tell them why you're doing things, that is the best antidote to misinformation, and that's what we're going to do," said Anita Dunn, a senior adviser to Biden.

While Biden has promised to govern as a unifier, advisers say he understands that he is unlikely to win over the most fervent Trump supporters, especially those who baselessly believe he stole the presidency.

"Is he focused on getting every last person in America to agree with him? No," said a senior administration official, who spoke on the condition of anonymity to share a candid assessment. "As a political strategy, that doesn't make sense."

The Biden plan to ignore Trump began early in the team's 2020 campaign, with a focused strategy to limit the amount of engagement they had with Trump.

"You don't want to be playing defense. It takes the focus off your message," said John Anzalone, a top adviser and campaign pollster. "Both Biden and the campaign were really disciplined about that."

But Anzalone said that at certain moments, the Biden team did have to push back against Trump's attacks.

"If the Trump campaign was putting out a TV ad saying, 'Joe Biden wants to raise your taxes,' we'd say, 'No, he doesn't,' " Anzalone said. "It wasn't like we weren't knocking down disinformation from the Trump campaign or Trump himself. We would pick and choose what we thought was important, but we weren't getting off our message."

For Biden, the ability to ignore Trump and stay above the partisan fray may be easier during his first year in office. But presidents in their second year frequently turn toward more partisan rhetoric as they attempt - often unsuccessfully - to lift their party in the midterm elections.

Already, there is an ongoing debate among Democrats over who should be the focus of their attacks. Some argue that Trump will remain the fuel for motivating Democratic and independent voters. But others are pressing the party to elevate other GOP leaders, arguing that Trump is a complicated villain because of his populist appeal.

"Ultimately, when it comes time to assign a face to the Republican Party, there are arguments that Mitch McConnell and other corporatist Republicans might be a better, more politically advantageous face than Trump," said Dan Pfeiffer, a former top adviser to President Barack Obama who now co-hosts the liberal podcast "Pod Save America," referring to the Senate Republican leader.

Biden, meanwhile, might find common cause with some moderate Republicans who also want to minimize Trump's effect on modern-day politics.

"I think there is great currency in both parties to appeal to anger and resentment, whether on the left or the right, and I don't think that's going away," said Sen. Mitt Romney, R-Utah. "But I do believe that if President Biden stays the course, and retains a sense of comity and dignity, that he will find allies in both parties that he can work with."

Romney, who lost to Obama in 2012 as the GOP presidential nominee, said Biden has an opportunity to guide the country out of the divisive morass of recent years - and that ignoring Trump might be a good place to start.

"History would suggest that great leaders don't attack the things they abhor," Romney said. "They instead take a course which is of itself so admirable that people follow them."

- - -

The Washington Post's Emily Guskin contributed to this report.
Jessica Phelps /Staff photographer

The winter storm that wreaked havoc throughout the state last week has delayed a shipment of COVID-19 vaccines meant to be used for Tuesdays appointments at the Alamodome.

People who were set to receive their second dose Tuesday have now been rescheduled for Thursday, with appointment times remaining the same, San Antonio officials said.
(Reuters) - A general strike against military rule shut businesses in Myanmar on Monday and huge crowds gathered peacefully despite fears of violence after authorities warned that confrontation could be deadly.

Three weeks after seizing power, the junta has failed to stop the daily protests and a civil disobedience movement calling for the reversal of the Feb. 1 coup and release of elected leader Aung San Suu Kyi.

Hundreds of thousands gathered in cities and towns across the country, from the northern hills on the border with China to the central plains, the Irrawaddy river delta and the southern tip of the panhandle, social media images showed.

For protester Kyaw Kyaw in the main city of Yangon, losing pay to join the strike was a small price to pay.

"Nothing's going to happen if my salary is cut but if we stay under a military dictatorship we'll be slaves," he said.

In the capital, Naypyitaw, where the military is headquartered, a police water cannon truck and a fleet of other vehicles closed in to break up a procession of chanting protesters who scattered when police on foot rushed in, wrestling several to the ground.

The response of security forces this month has been less deadly than in earlier bouts of turmoil in almost half a century of direct military rule but three protesters have been killed - two shot dead in Mandalay on Saturday, and a woman who died on Friday after being shot more than a week earlier in Naypyitaw.

The army has said one policeman died of injuries sustained during the protests. It has accused protesters of provoking violence.

Late on Sunday, state-owned media MRTV warned that confrontation could cost lives.

"Protesters are now inciting the people, especially emotional teenagers and youths, to a confrontation path where they will suffer loss of life," the broadcaster said.

Facebook said on Monday it had removed MRTV's pages for violations of its standards, including its violence and incitement policy. On Sunday, it deleted the military's main page for the same reason.

Story continues

Military-run Myawaddy News reported that junta chief General Min Aung Hlaing had said the military was following a democratic path and, referring to rubber bullets, that it wanted to use minimal force.

"Nothing is more important than human life. That's why military is controlling the situation carefully," the broadcaster quoted him as saying.

Talk of a general strike was a rumour and markets and shops were open, it said.

As well as local stores, international chains announced closures on Monday, including Yum Brands Inc.'s KFC and delivery service Food Panda, owned by Delivery Hero. Southeast Asian company Grab stopped delivery services too, but left its taxis running.

'WE'RE GOING'

In a country where dates are seen as auspicious, protesters noted the significance of the date 22.2.2021, comparing it with demonstrations on Aug. 8, 1988, when a previous generation staged anti-military protests that were bloodily suppressed.

But that and the government warning did not put people off.

"We need to come out," said San San Maw, 46, at a main rallying point in Yangon.

Later, riot police lined up, apparently preparing to disperse protesters from outside a U.N. office, but the crowd broke up after singing a festive song that features the line: "Goodbye, we're going".

Crowds elsewhere in Yangon melted away by late afternoon.

Several Western countries have condemned the coup and decried violence against protesters.

U.S. Secretary of State Antony Blinken said on Twitter the United States would continue to "take firm action" against authorities cracking down on opponents of the coup.

Britain, Germany and Japan have condemned the violence and U.N. Secretary-General Antonio Guterres urged the military to stop repression.

Myanmar has denounced interference in its affairs.

The army seized power after alleging fraud in Nov. 8 elections in which Suu Kyi's party trounced a pro-military party, detaining her and much of the party leadership. The electoral commission dismissed the fraud complaints.

A rights group said that as of late Sunday, 640 people had been arrested in connection with the coup.

(Reporting by Reuters staff; Writing by Matthew Tostevin, Robert Birsel; Editing by Stephen Coates, Simon Cameron-Moore and Timothy Heritage)
VANCOUVER, B.C., Feb. 22, 2021 /PRNewswire/ -- QMC Quantum Minerals Corp., (TSX.V: QMC) (FSE: 3LQ) (OTC PINK: QMCQF) ("QMC" or "the Company"), further to its February 12, 2021 news release, the Company has received conditional approval from the TSX Venture Exchange for its a non-brokered private placement for $2.1 million. The private placement will consist of issuing 7.5-million units at $0.28 per unit, where each unit will consist of one common share and one common share purchase warrant exercisable at $0.37 per warrant for a period of 24 months. In the event that the closing price of the Company's shares as quoted on the TSXV exceeds $0.50 per share for ten consecutive trading days, the Company may accelerate the expiry date of the warrants by giving notice to the holders, within five days of such event, thereof, and in such case, the warrants will expire on the 30th day after the date on which such notice is given by the Company.

Balraj Mann states: "We are now seeing the rapid transition to electric vehicles. Just last week, Land Rover Jaguar announced its Jaguar brand vehicles will be all-electric by 2025 joining the list of manufactures who have determined this is the future. QMC has the potential to supply not only lithium, but nickel, copper, gold and various rare-earth metals to the markets. We are in close proximity to the new EV car plants of southern Ontario (Fiat-Chrysler, Ford, GM), Michigan (GM, Rivian) and Ohio (Lordstown,), as well as the battery-manufacturers: Samsung SDI with a plant in Michigan and LG Energy Solution with plants in both Michigan and Ohio. QMC can and will be an important part of the supply chain."

All securities issued pursuant to this private placement will be subject to a four-month hold. The private placement is subject to final acceptance by the TSX Venture Exchange.

Finders' fees may be paid by the company in conjunction with the completion of the private placement in accordance with TSX Venture Exchange policies.

The Company reserves the right to accept, reject or partially fill any subscriptions received up to the aggregate amount permitted by the TSX-V.

Certain insiders are expected to participate in the private placement. The participation of such directors and officers in the offering will constitute a related party transaction for the purposes of Multilateral Instrument 61-101 (Protection of Minority Security Holders in Special Transactions). The company will be exempt from the requirements to obtain a formal valuation or minority shareholder approval in connection with the offering in reliance on sections 5.5(a) and 5.7(1)(a) of MI 61-101.

The Company intends to use the net proceeds from the private placement for working capital, advancing its mineral properties, and general corporate purposes.

About the Company

QMC is a British Columbia-based company engaged in the business of acquisition, exploration and development of resource properties. Its objective is to locate and develop precious, base and rare metal resource properties of merit. The Company's properties include the Irgon Lithium Mine Project and two VMS properties, the Rocky Lake and Rocky-Namew, known collectively as the Namew Lake District Project. Currently, all of the company's properties are located in Manitoba.

On behalf of the Board of Directors of

QMC QUANTUM MINERALS CORP.

"Balraj Mann"

Balraj Mann

President and Chief Executive Officer

604-601-2018

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 news release.

SOURCE QMC Quantum Minerals Corp.
The Ice Cube telescope built in Antarctica. Credit: Felipe Pedreros

Scientists of the P. N. Lebedev Physical Institute of the Russian Academy of Sciences (LPI RAS), the Moscow Institute of Physics and Technology (MIPT) and the Institute for Nuclear Research of RAS (INR RAS) have studied the arrival directions of astrophysical neutrinos with energies more than a trillion electronvolts (TeV) and came to an unexpected conclusion: all of them are born near black holes in the centers of distant active galaxies powerful radio sources. Previously, only neutrinos with the highest energies were assumed to be obtained in sources of this class.

Researchers believe that there are massive black holes in the centers of active galaxies in our universe. They are the heart of these objects with a luminosity of hundreds of millions of suns. Active galaxies that are also simply quasars are clearly visible from the Earth with both optical and radio telescopes.

Earlier, Russian scientists Alexander Plavin, Sergey Troitsky and the Kovalevs (father and son, both Yuri) have found a connection between the origin of neutrinos of the highest energies (above 200 trillion electronvolts, that is, TeV) and radio quasars. This was quite surprising, because theoretical papers of the 1990s indicated that astrophysical neutrinos would only be born at energies above 1000 TeV.

Neutrinos are tiny elementary particles with a mass barely above zero, but they can cross the universe without interacting with matter and without obstruction. Millions of neutrinos per second pass through every person on Earth, completely unnoticed. To register neutrinos, an international collaboration of scientists has built a special ice telescope in Antarctica: the Cherenkov IceCube detector with a volume of 1 cubic kilometer. In Russia, INR RAS and JINR are now completing the construction of the Baikal GVD water telescope in Lake Baikal, the volume of which has already reached 0.4 cubic kilometers. Now data acquisition is underway on the running part of the facility, which had already been put into operation. These installations study the sky in the North and South Hemispheres.

The Cherenkov radiation detector, also known as a photomultiplier (optical module), is undergoing a final check before immersion in the waters of Lake Baikal. This is the part of the telescope that collects and transmits information about a faint flash that accompanies the interaction of neutrinos in water through a cable to the shore. Credit: Bair Shaybonov.

After analyzing data collected over seven years on the IceCube telescope, the scientists initially chose to analyze a range above 200 TeV to study which direction these neutrinos came from. It turned out that a significant part of them was born in quasars, identified by radio telescopes by their high brightness. More precisely, neutrinos were born somewhere in the centers of quasars. There are massive black holes feeding their accretion disks, as well as ultra-fast ejections of very hot gas. Moreover, there is a connection between the powerful bursts of radio emission in these quasars and the registration of neutrinos by the Ice Cube telescope. Since neutrinos travel through the universe at the speed of light, flares come to us at the same time as neutrinos.

Now in their new article published in the Astrophysical Journal, Russian scientists argue that neutrinos of energies in the tens of TeV are also emitted by quasars. As a result, it turns out that allwell, almost allhigh-energy astrophysical neutrinos are born in quasars. Note, in addition to them, there are neutrinos that are born in the Earth's atmosphere, and even in the Ice Cube detector itself during the interaction of cosmic rays with matter.

"It is amazing, since for the production of neutrinos with energies that differ by a factor of 100-1000, different physical conditions are required. The mechanisms of neutrino production in active galactic nuclei discussed earlier worked only at high energies. We have proposed a new mechanism for neutrino production in quasars, which explains the results obtained. While this is an approximate model, it is necessary to work on it, to carry out computer simulation," says the chief researcher of INR RAS, corresponding member of the Russian Academy of Sciences Sergey Troitsky. The co-author of the discovery from LPI and MIPT, corresponding member of the Russian Academy of Sciences, Yuri Kovalev, explained the results in the program Hamburg Account on OTR.

Sky map. The darker the place is, the greater the probability for neutrinos to come from it in a given direction is. Quasars are shown with green circles. It is seen that quasars are mainly concentrated in dark regions. Credit: The Astrophysical Journal

In September 2020, a consortium led by the Institute for Nuclear Research of the Russian Academy of Sciences has won a three-year grant from the Ministry of Education and Science with funding of 100 million rubles per year on the topic "Neutrino and Astrophysics of Particles." Seven organizations united together: INR RAS, JINR, LPI, MIPT, SAO RAS, SAI MSU, Irkutsk State University. About 100 scientists will work on solving the problem of the origin of neutrinos, as well as studying their properties. The project also includes other studies aimed at understanding the nature of high-energy astrophysical neutrinos, including the search for photons of the same energy range at the Carpet-3 installation of the Baksan Neutrino Observatory, INR RAS (North Caucasus).

The connection between neutrinos and radio quasars has aroused great interest in the world. The joint work of Russian scientists with the ANTARES neutrino experiment in the Mediterranean Sea begins. A recent article by European and American scientists independently confirmed the discovery of the Russian team using radio telescope data in the United States and Finland. New events of the arrival of astrophysical neutrinos are now tracked by the world's largest radio telescopes and antenna arrays.

In 2021, Russian scientists will collect the first data from the Baikal GVD telescope and analyze it together with the data from RATAN-600 and the world's radio telescope networks, which will allow them to examine the centers of quasars in detail. A lot of interesting things await us.

Explore further Where neutrinos come from

More information: A. V. Plavin et al. Directional Association of TeV to PeV Astrophysical Neutrinos with Radio Blazars, The Astrophysical Journal (2021). A. V. Plavin et al. Directional Association of TeV to PeV Astrophysical Neutrinos with Radio Blazars,(2021). DOI: 10.3847/1538-4357/abceb8 A.V. Plavin Directional association of TeV to PeV astrophysical neutrinos with radio blazars. arXiv:2009.08914v3 [astro-ph.HE] arxiv.org/abs/2009.08914 Journal information: Astrophysical Journal
Panasonic AI-driven cameras empower an expanding vision of new uses

Imagine a world where video cameras are not just watching and reporting for security, but have an even wider positive impact on our lives. Imagine that cameras control street and building lights, as people come and go, that traffic jams are predicted and vehicles are automatically rerouted, and more tills are opened, just before a queue starts to form. Cameras with AI capabilities Cameras in stores can show us how we might look in the latest outfit as we browse. Thats the vision from Panasonic about current and future uses for their cameras that provide artificial intelligence (AI) capabilities at the edge. Panasonic feels that these types of intelligent camera applications are also the basis for automation and introduction of Industry 4.0, in which processes are automated, monitored and controlled by AI-driven systems. 4K network security cameras The companys i-PRO AI-capable camera line can install and run up to three AI-driven video analytic applications Panasonics 4K network security cameras have built-in AI capabilities suitable for this next generation of intelligent applications in business and society. The companys i-PRO AI-capable camera line can install and run up to three AI-driven video analytic applications. The AI engine is directly embedded into the camera, thus reducing costs and Panasonics image quality ensures the accuracy of the analytics outcome. FacePRO facial recognition technology Panasonic began advancing AI technology on the server side with FacePRO, the in-house facial recognition application, which uses AI deep learning capabilities. Moving ahead, they transitioned their knowledge of AI from the server side to the edge, introducing i-PRO security cameras with built-in AI capabilities last summer, alongside their own in-house analytics. Moreover, in line with the Panasonic approach to focus more on collaboration with specialist AI software developers, a partnership with Italian software company, A.I. Tech followed in September, with a range of intelligent applications, partially based on deep learning. Additional collaborations are already in place with more than 10 other developers, across the European Union, working on more future applications. i-PRO AI-capable security cameras Open systems are an important part of Panasonics current approach. The companys i-PRO AI-capable cameras are an open platform and designed for third-party application development, therefore, applications can be built or tailored to the needs of an individual customer. Panasonic use to be a company that developed everything in-house, including all the analytics and applications. However, now we have turned around our strategy by making our i-PRO security cameras open to integrate applications and analytics from third-party companies, says Gerard Figols, Head of Security Solutions at Panasonic Business Europe. Flexible and adapting to specific customer needs This new approach allows the company to be more flexible and adaptable to customers needs. At the same time, we can be quicker and much more tailored to the market trend, said Gerard Figols. He adds, For example, in the retail space, enabling retailers to enhance the customer experience, in smart cities for traffic monitoring and smart parking, and by event organisers and transport hubs to monitor and ensure safety. Edge-based analytics offer multiple benefits over server-based systems Edge-based analytics Edge-based analytics offer multiple benefits over server-based systems. On one hand, there are monetary benefits - a cost reduction results from the decreased amount of more powerful hardware required on the server side to process the data, on top of reduction in the infrastructure costs, as not all the full video stream needs to be sent for analysis, we can work solely with the metadata. On the other hand, there are also advantages of flexibility, as well as reliability. Each camera can have its own individual analytic setup and in case of any issue on the communication or server side, the camera can keep running the analysis at the edge, thereby making sure the CCTV system is still fully operational. Most importantly, systems can keep the same high level of accuracy. Explosion of AI camera applications We can compare the explosion of AI camera applications to the way we experienced it for smartphone applications" We can compare the explosion of AI camera applications to the way we experienced it for smartphone applications, said Gerard Figols, adding However, it doesnt mean the hardware is not important anymore, as I believe its more important than ever. Working with poor picture quality or if the hardware is not reliable, and works 24/7, software cannot run or deliver the outcome it has been designed for. As hardware specialists, Figols believes that Panasonic seeks to focus on what they do best - Building long-lasting, open network cameras, which are capable of capturing the highest quality images that are required for the latest AI applications, while software developers can concentrate on bringing specialist applications to the market. Same as for smartphones, AI applications will proliferate based on market demand and succeed or fail, based on the value that they deliver. Facial recognition, privacy protection and cross line technologies Panasonic has been in the forefront in developing essential AI applications for CCTV, such as facial recognition, privacy protection and cross line. However, with the market developing so rapidly and the potential applications of AI-driven camera systems being so varied and widespread, Panasonic quickly realised that the future of their network cameras was going to be in open systems, which allow specialist developers and their customers to use their sector expertise to develop their own applications for specific vertical market applications, while using i-PRO hardware. Metadata for detection and recognition Regarding privacy, consider that the use of AI in cameras is about generating metadata for the detection and recognition of patterns, rather than identifying individual identities. However, there are legitimate privacy concerns, but I firmly believe that attitudes will change quickly when people see the incredible benefits that this technology can deliver, said Gerard Figols, adding I hope that we will be able to redefine our view of cameras and AI, not just as insurance, but as life advancing and enhancing. i-PRO AI Privacy Guard One of the AI applications that Panasonic developed was i-PRO AI Privacy Guard Seeking to understand and appreciate privacy concerns, one of the AI applications that Panasonic developed was i-PRO AI Privacy Guard that generates data without capturing individual identities, following European privacy regulations that are among the strictest in the world. Gerard Fogils said, The combination of artificial intelligence and the latest generation open camera technology will change the worlds perceptions from Big Brother to Big Benefits. New applications will emerge as the existing generation of cameras is updated to the new open and intelligent next generation devices, and the existing role of the security camera will also continue. Future scope of AI and cameras He adds, Not just relying on the security cameras for evidence when things have gone wrong, end users will increasingly be able to use AI and the cameras with much higher accuracy to prevent false alarms and in a proactive way to prevent incidents." Gerard Figols concludes, That could be monitoring and alerting when health and safety guidelines are being breached or spotting and flagging patterns of suspicious behaviour before incidents occur.
Source: Xinhua| 2021-02-21 01:26:41|Editor: huaxia

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BAGHDAD, Feb. 20 (Xinhua) -- Three Katyusha rockets on Saturday landed on an Iraqi military airbase in Iraq's Salahudin province, a provincial security source said.

The attack took place in the evening when the Katyusha rockets landed in Balad airbase, some 90 km north of the Iraqi capital Baghdad, Mohammed al-Bazi, from the provincial police, told Xinhua.

One of the rockets struck a building used by a company contracting with U.S. forces at the base, causing damage to the building and wounding an Iraqi civilian working for the company, al-Bazi said.

The other two rockets landed in an empty area inside the airbase without causing casualties, he added.

Balad airbase is the largest military airbase in Iraq and was known by the U.S. forces as Logistics Support Activity (LSA) Anaconda. The airbase was housing many U.S. troops and advisors of a U.S. company operating the Iraqi F-16 jet fighters, but they withdrew more than a year ago after the airbase came under a series of rocket attacks by unidentified militias.

No group has so far claimed responsibility for the attack, but the Iraqi military bases housing U.S. troops across Iraq, as well as the U.S. embassy in the Green Zone, have been frequently targeted by mortar and rocket attacks. Enditem
SPRINGFIELD  A city police officer shot two years ago when he was caught in the crossfire of two men shooting at each other outside a State Street nightclub has retired, citing his injuries from that night.

Officer Edwin Irizarry, a 14-year member of the department, retired on Thursday. The retirement is considered a disability retirement based on an injury suffered while on duty, said Springfield police spokesman Ryan Walsh.

Irizarry was struck twice by gunfire on April 14, 2019 during an early morning disturbance outside Club Aquarius. He was struck once in the elbow, and another bullet grazed his arm. Another officer caught in the crossfire was not injured.

Irizarry never returned to active duty following the shooting.

According to the police report from the time, the two officers were working a private detail at Club Aquarius when club management told them there was a disturbance outside. When they responded, they found a man bleeding from a head injury in the parking lot of the Dunkin Donuts across the street.

While they tended to the injured man, the officers saw a man walking from a car pull a gun and begin shooting at them, forcing them to dive for cover behind a car. Irizarry managed to return fire at the suspect.

Police have charged Kenneth J. Hernandez of Springfield with two counts of assault with intent to murder with a firearm, one count of discharging a firearm within 500 feet of a building, three counts of malicious damage to a motor vehicle (shot cars), two illegal firearms charges and a count each of assault with a dangerous weapon and resisting arrest.

He denied the charges at his arraignment and is awaiting trial.

Irizarry was lauded for his service by Police Commissioner Cheryl C. Clapprood and Mayor Domenic J. Sarno.

Officer Irizarry showed great courage that morning when he attempted to break up a large disturbance when he was shot. That incident is just another example of the dangers of this profession as our officers continue to do their job under stressful conditions to keep our community safe, Clapprood said.

Sarno wished good health to Irizarry and thanked him for his service to the city.

The unfortunate circumstances in which Officer Irizarry was forced to retire is a stark reminder of the dangers our brave and dedicated men and women in blue face every day and night  dangers they willingly face to serve and protect our residents and businesses.

Sarno pointed out that at the time of the shooting, Hernandez was out on probation while he awaited trial on a 2017 gun arrest.

He said the Irizarry shooting never would have happened if Hernandez were held on the previous gun charge.
Researchers at the Indian Institute of Science Education and Research (IISER), Bhopal have developed a low-cost 'Crowd and Mask' Monitoring System, to prevent the spread of COVID-19. The AI-enabled device will replicate manual policing to ensure COVID-19 prevention norms are being followed.

The institute plans to use this AI-powered system on its campus as it commences the process of bringing students back in phases. The students will be expected to maintain a minimum of three feet of social distancing.

The monitoring system works on the principles of Artificial Intelligence and Machine Learning (AI-ML) in a high definition camera attached to a microchip computer and a 5V battery in a 3D printed case to monitor the movement of people on the campus. If the camera detects that social distancing and mask norms are not being followed, the device will alert the crowd with a pre-recorded message.

"We wanted a simple advisory system to warn students of breaching social distancing norms at selected locations," Dr. P.B. Sujit, Associate Professor, Department of Electrical Engineering and Computer Science, IISER Bhopal, said.

The innovators say they deployed the device in October 2020 and continuously improved it till it became stable with minimum false alarms. They claim that after the deployment of this system, people have become sensitive to social distancing violation and are following safety protocol with more caution. The researchers plan to open source the complete system along with a how-to-use tutorial to help society in such disruptive times. "Given the opportunity, this device can be deployed at various crowded public places to ensure that the basic safety rules are not violated in this tough time of Covid-19 pandemic," they say.

The research team included Dr. P.B. Sujit, Dr. Mitradip Bhattacharjee and Dr. Santanu Talukdar, Assistant Professors, Department of Electrical Engineering and Computer Science, and Dr. Venkateshwar Rao, Assistant Professor, Department of Chemical Engineering, IISER Bhopal, and BSMS Student Kasi Viswanath.

Established by the Ministry of Education (then Ministry of Human Resource & Development), Government of India, in 2008, IISER Bhopal is the youngest of the first five IISERs. The institution ranks 40th place in the National Institutional Ranking Framework, Ministry of Education, Government of India. It ranks 201 in the overall category of the QS Asia Ranking.

Also Read: 50 crore Indians can be vaccinated in two months with help from private sector: Azim Premji

Also Read: Over 1 million kirana stores went digital during COVID-19 pandemic in 2020

Also Read: No role model: Nirmala Sitharaman speaks up about journey to Finance Minister
France ramped up its use of consultants in recent years, creating dedicated budgets that agencies could tap to call in outside advisers as needed. In 2018, McKinsey was selected as one of several go-to consultants available for hire by French agencies, in a pooled 100 million contract. That meant any of the agencies could select one of the firms without being required to seek bids on the work.

The December contracts, and another in mid-January, totaling 4 million, were from that pooled agreement. It called for McKinsey to help define distribution routes for the Pfizer and Moderna vaccines, which must be kept as cold as minus 80 degrees Celsius during transport and storage. The company would benchmark Frances performance against other European countries. McKinsey experts would also help coordinate a vaccination task force of officials from numerous agencies, with some decision chains involving up to 50 authorities.

Other contracts provided for Accenture, the global information technology consultant, to roll out the campaigns monitoring systems, while Citwell, a French consultant, and the French arm of JLL, a firm based in Britain, were brought on to help with logistical support and vaccine distribution.

The governments strategy focused on delivering the vaccines to 1,000 distribution points in France, from which the doses would be sent in supercooled trucks to nursing homes, clinics and local mayors offices. The local distribution was considered a way to overcome the wariness of up to 40 percent of the population about being vaccinated.

In Germany, the program was simpler: Authorities decided to administer the vaccine in 400 regional centers.

By the first week of January, France had one million vaccine doses in hand, but the delay in getting them into peoples arms was becoming public knowledge. The campaign continued to lag as Pfizer and Moderna temporarily slowed additional supplies.

The pace has recently picked up. More than three million people out of Frances population of 67 million have now received at least one dose of vaccine, and over 923,000 have been fully vaccinated. But with 4.7 doses administered per 100 people, according to a New York Times database, France still trails neighbors like Germany and Italy.
NEW YORK, Feb. 22, 2021 /PRNewswire/ -- MUFG Union Bank, N.A., today announced that it has launched Green Deposits for commercial and corporate clients to support sustainable projects that benefit the environment.

Available in the United States, Green Deposits give clients the opportunity to invest their deposits in Environmental, Social and Governance (ESG) projects. MUFG will use the deposited funds to finance ESG projects such as energy efficiency; renewable energy; green transport; sustainable food, agriculture, and forestry; waste management; and greenhouse gas reduction, among others.

"Our new Green Deposits offering aligns with our clients' commitment to the environment by embracing social responsibility and sustainable investing," said Ranjana Clark, Head of Global & Americas Transaction Banking and Bay Area President. "MUFG is focused on developing innovative products and services that support our clients' objectives and that leverage our business strengths, such as Project Finance and Liquidity Management."

MUFG partnered with Sustainalytics, a leading ESG research, ratings and data firm, to develop the bank's Green Deposit Framework to capture and account for qualifying green activities within the MUFG portfolio, and ensure alignment with industry best practices and standards.

"Liquidity vehicles such as this Green Deposit product meet many clients' needs who want to ensure their surplus cash deposits are being used for the greater good," said Managing Director Olu Adebiyi, Liquidity Product Head, Transaction Banking Americas. "We are proud to be at the forefront of our clients' focus on environmentally beneficial initiatives by adding a bank deposit option to accompany the growing number of non-bank ESG investment vehicles in the market."

MUFG's Environmental Commitment

MUFG has committed to participating in CDP (formerly the Carbon Disclosure Project). CDP is a project through which institutional investors from around the world work together and urge corporations to disclose their strategies on climate change as well as detailed data on their greenhouse gas emissions. MUFG has participated in the project since 2004.

On July 1, 2020, MUFG began applying the Equator Principles 4, which includes due diligence on the impact of physical and transition risks posed by climate change on projects and enhanced engagement with indigenous peoples. MUFG has also committed to gradually decreasing the balance of MUFG's exposure to coal-fired power generation projects with a target reduction of 50 percent from FY2019 to FY2030 and down to zero by FY2040.

In the Americas, MUFG is on track to exceed its five-year, $41 billion Community Service Action Plan sustainable finance goals announced in 2016, surpassing a cumulative $50 billion during 2020, including more than $40 billion for environmental finance, for projects including green affordable housing, solar and wind energy, agricultural operations that conserve natural resources, green and social bonds and sustainability linked bonds and loans, mass-transit systems, and public water infrastructure.

MUFG intends to commit 8 trillion (approximately $72 billion) of finance in the environmental field, including initiatives to counter climate change. We promote renewable energy through project finance, issue MUFG Green Bonds (which ensure that the net proceeds are allocated to eligible Green Projects), provide commodities and services aimed at mitigating environmental loads, and encourage the climate change countermeasure consulting business.

"As an organization, MUFG is focused on what we can do to drive the transition toward a more sustainable environment in the communities we serve," said Dr. Tobi Petrocelli, Director Environmental and Sustainability Management, Corporate Social Responsibility for the Americas. "Environmental Stewardship is one of our core values, and it is important that we pursue ways to reduce our collective environmental footprint."

To learn more about the bank's Green Deposits offering, visit https://mufgamericas.com/what-we-do/transaction-banking.

About MUFG Union Bank, N.A.

As of September 30, 2020, MUFG Union Bank, N.A. operated 348 branches, consisting primarily of retail banking branches in the West Coast states, along with commercial branches in Texas, Illinois, New York, and Georgia. We provide a wide spectrum of corporate, commercial, and retail banking and wealth management solutions to meet the needs of our clients. We also offer an extensive portfolio of value-added solutions for clients, including investment banking, personal and corporate trust, global custody, transaction banking, capital markets, and other services. With assets of $132.5 billion, as of September 30, 2020, MUFG Union Bank has strong capital reserves, credit ratings, and capital ratios relative to peer banks. MUFG Union Bank is a proud member of the Mitsubishi UFJ Financial Group (NYSE: MUFG), one of the world's largest financial institutions with total assets of approximately 348.4 trillion (JPY) or $3.3 trillion (USD), as of September 30, 2020. The corporate headquarters (principal executive office) for MUFG Americas Holdings Corporation, which is the financial holding company, and MUFG Union Bank, is in New York City. The main banking office of MUFG Union Bank is in San Francisco, California.

1 Exchange rate of 1 USD=105.8 (JPY) as of September 30, 2020

2021 Mitsubishi UFJ Financial Group, Inc. All rights reserved. The MUFG logo and name is a service mark of Mitsubishi UFJ Financial Group, Inc., and is used by MUFG Union Bank, N.A., with permission. Member FDIC. Equal Housing Lender.

Press contact:

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Direct: 415-773-2497

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SOURCE MUFG Union Bank, N.A.

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There has been one further death and 686 more Covid-19 cases, the Department of Health confirmed today.

This brings the total number of coronavirus related deaths in the country to 4,137 and there have been 215,743 cases to date.

Read More

This comes as 100,000 people are to be vaccinated this week, the most vaccinations given in seven days so far, according to HSE Chief Executive Paul Reid.

About 40,000 of these people will be in the over-85 age group, meaning over 53,000 of the 72,500 people aged over 85 will have received a jab by the end of this week. Over the course of the next two weeks, Ireland will have completed the over-85 age group.

Ireland will receive 620,000 vaccine doses next month, in comparison to 417,000 in February.

What we are seeing now is a ramping up, said Mr Reid on RTE Radio 1's Today with Claire Byrne.

Last week, we delivered approximately 80,000 vaccines. 13,500 went to the over-85 cohort, 25,000 were delivered to healthcare workers and 42,000 to nursing home residents and staff."

The HSE boss described the atmosphere at the Helix in Dublin at the weekend as joyous and electric as over 1,000 people over the age of 85 were vaccinated in the venue.

Mass vaccination centres will vaccinate for 12 hours per day, seven days a week with Mr Reid saying the HSE had no plans to increase the operational hours of these mass vaccination centres.
The UK foreign secretary Dominic Raab wants the United Nations investigators to be given urgent access to Uyghur camps in Xinjiang as he warned that human right abuses in the Chinese province are taking place on an industrial level. According to Financial Times, Raab will be addressing the UN human rights council to urge fellow members to address rights violations in China, Myanmar, Belarus and Russia. The UK minister will be emphasising initiating an independent investigation by the UN high commissioner for human rights into forced labour camps run by Beijing.

During the human rights council, Raab will say that the situation in Xinjiang is beyond the pale. According to Financial Times, the UK foreign secretary is set to say that the reported abuses, which include torture, forced labour and forced sterilisation of women, are extreme and are extensive. They are taking place on an industrial scale.

READ: US 'deeply Disturbed' With Reports Of Rape, Sexual Abuse Against Uyghur Women In Xinjiang

It is worth noting that Raab has come under sustained pressure from rebel Conservative MPs to go further in his criticism of Beijing. The United Kingdom has already taken an increasingly robust stance against Beijing over the past year following the imposition of national security law in Hong Kong, and mounting evidence that the treatment of Uyghur Muslims amounts to genocide. As per reports, so far more than one million Uyghurs have been detained, and many sent to factories where they are forced to work in electronics textile and automotive supply chains.

READ: Twitter Account Of China's Embassy In US Locked Over A Post On Uyghur Women

China's systematic crackdown on Uyghurs

China's Xinjiang is home to around 10 million Uyghurs. These Turkic Muslims, which consist of 45% of Xinjiang's population, have long accused China's authorities of cultural, religious and economic discrimination. About 7% of the Muslim population in Xinjiang has been imprisoned in an expanding network of "political re-education" (detention) camps, according to US officials and UN experts.

Classified documents known as the China Cables revealed how the Chinese government uses technology to control Uyghur Muslims worldwide. However, China has repeatedly denied these reports stating that the camps in Xinjiang provide vocational training. People in the camps have described being subjected to forced political indoctrination, torture, beatings, and denial of food and medicine, and say they have been prohibited from practising their religion or speaking their language. As Beijing denies these accounts, it also refuses to allow independent inspections into these regions, which further fuels reports related to China's atrocities on the minority Muslims.

READ: Uyghur Refugee Gulbahar Haitiwaji Recalls Her Tormenting Days In Chinese Camps

READ: Mike Pompeo Reacts To China Embassy's Xinjiang 'emancipation' Tweet After Massive Flak

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Microsoft is clearly keen to put the squeeze on Facebook and Google as they either pay for news content or block it. The software firm is teaming up with the European Publishers Council to find a way for news outlets to get paid when tech "gatekeepers" share their content. They're calling on EU and national governments to implement Australia-style arbitration provisions that set prices based on the benefits for each side, the costs of production and any "undue burden[s]" payments might impose on the platform owners.

Company VP Casper Klynge argued that a healthy news market was "critical to the success" of democracy, and that paying for news would support that. He pointed out that Microsoft had launched a local news investment initiative in October, and that Microsoft News had been sharing a "large portion" of its revenue with publishers.

There's no guarantee the EU or its member states will take action. The involvement of the EPC gives this some clout, though, and there's certainly precedent for this when Spain briefly charged a tax for news in search results. It's safe to say you can expect at least some resistance, though. Facebook and Google have vehemently opposed Australia's efforts, and Google's News Corp deal was meant to head off any potential legislation. Not that Microsoft necessarily minds  this might level the playing field by making rivals pay for the news in their search results and feeds.
Jammu and Kashmir LG Manoj Sinha on Monday snubbed National Conference (NC) president Farooq Abdullah's proposition to hold talks with Pakistan, saying that India had a Ministry of External Affairs to deliberate on such matters. Moreover, the J&K LG asserted that India was able enough to tackle its problems on its own.

"I don't want to comment on the statements of anyone. There is a Ministry of External Affairs in India which handles such issues and India is able enough to tackle its problems on its own," said Manoj Sinha.

Farooq Abdullah urges talks with Pakistan

Earlier in the day, former J&K CM Farooq Abdullah urged for dialogue with Pakistan to end terrorism in the Union Territory saying that 'friendship' held the key to development in the region. "If we want to finish it (terrorism), we have to talk with our neighbor," Abdullah said. Moreover, he also urged India to adopt the same approach for Pakistan as it had done with China post the stand-off at the border.

Talking to media during a visit to a market in Jammu, the former CM quoted BJP stalwart Prime Minister Atal Bihari Vajpayee's words-- "you can change your friends but not your neighbours" and said that we either 'grow friendship and prosper or continue the enmity.'

"This is the reality of the day. I appeal to the government to adopt the same approach as they had with China over the standoff in Ladakh and started the withdrawal of its troops. The same is needed here to pull out J&K from this (terrorism)," he said.

Read: Terrorists Open Fire At Srinagar Police, 2 Constables Dead; LeT Claims Responsibility

Read: 'Speak To Pakistan Like You Did With China; Finish Terror': Farooq Abdullah To Modi Govt

The NC Chief's response came with regards to a question on the recent terror attack in Srinagar which left two policemen martyred. Visuals of the terror attack, which were captured on CCTV, recorded the brutal manner in which the terrorist opened fire at the policemen from a close range. Lashkar backed - 'The Resistance Front' had claimed the responsibility for the dastardly attack. The attack also came just days after the Krishna Dhaba firing which injured the 22-year-old owner of the popular restaurant.

#WATCH Terrorist opens fire in Baghat Barzulla of Srinagar district in Kashmir today



( CCTV footage from police sources) pic.twitter.com/FXYCvQkyAb  ANI (@ANI) February 19, 2021

Read: IGP Kashmir Chairs Review Meet On Srinagar's Security After Terrorist Attack On Police

Read: Two Bravehearts Martyred In Srinagar Terror Attack Laid To Rest
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FoodCloud started in 2013, when myself and Iseult Ward (Aoibheann is pictured above left, with Iseult)began working with a farmers' market in Glasnevin and a local charity to redistribute surplus food. We saw that it was a great idea, but to scale up, we needed technology.

I'd been working in investment banking in London but I had come back to Dublin to do a master's in environmental science and that was when I met Iseult. I was also working in sustainability, and food waste became a huge interest to me in terms of how to turn waste into an opportunity.

Our passion is bringing the food industry and communities together to work on food waste and to build more resilient communities.

Food redistribution was well established in other places, but not on any scale in Ireland. The United States are the leaders, and it's also happening in France, where they have armies of volunteers. But with our technology, we connect with stores directly.

In Ireland, we waste about one million tons of food a year. About 30-50pc of food products are wasted. The food industry is working hard on this, and prevention is the best solution, but if the food waste is happening and the food is good, it should be feeding people. That's both economical and socially responsible.

In 2020, we distributed over 3,000 tons of food to 824 community groups.

Tesco was the first to come on board and Lidl, Aldi, Dunnes and some of the Musgrave group followed. It was a solution to food waste that they were all looking for, but didn't know how to find it.

Our technology allows stores to connect with charities locally, so that when they have surplus, they put it up on our platform and it connects with a community charity on that day.

Then we have three warehouses; in Dublin, Galway and Cork. We work with Nestle, Kerry Group, Cadbury, the Meade Potato Company and other producers, who bring pallets of food that we break down and distribute to charities.

The warehouses deal with stuff like milk that's good for another 10 days but there's no time to distribute it to the shops; or fruit and veg that doesn't make the grade and Christmas stuff or Easter stuff. Very perishable stuff would go straight to a charity on the day.

Then we have 'food rescue' runs, which operate between inner-city stores in Dublin and Cork and local charities. Groups in inner cities often don't have transport and we couldn't have grasped that urban reality when we started, but you don't want to strike them off the list just because they can't get to the food. So, through our platform, the stores match their surplus with local charities, and our vans deliver it.

2020 was our busiest and most impactful year. There was never more of a need in communities. Charities that had been bringing people food were suddenly doing food parcels to people's homes. That took innovation in the charity sector, so we were doing our best to support that.

Covid caused huge shocks in the food system, and it was hard for the food industry to predict what it wanted.

When restaurants shut down overnight, it caused huge surplus along the supply chain, and then we had nothing at all at retail level, because everyone was shopping like mad. Food supply is complex and hard to predict.

Last year showed that the food system is fragile and we need to work out ways to respond.

Our vision is to support food security and create more resilient communities. We'd love to increase how much we can redistribute and to do more with networks globally.

Our technology is used in the UK, Australia and Central Europe, so our international impact already dwarfs our Irish effort.
The United States has lost more than 500,000 lives to COVID-19, just over a year after the pandemic claimed its first known victim in Santa Clara County.

The painful milestone reached Monday underscores the coronaviruss deadly persistence even as thousands are getting vaccinated and new infections worldwide have waned.

The scale of death in the U.S. as the pandemic moves into its second year is on par with losing the entire population of a major city  half of the residents of San Jose, or more than everyone in Oakland.

The death toll steadily rose throughout 2020 and spiked steeply after the Thanksgiving and Christmas holidays and through January.

From the first confirmed fatality in Santa Clara County on Feb. 6, and the early days of the emergence of coronavirus infections, it took until the end of May before the country recorded its first 100,000 deaths. The pandemic has since swept across the world and the U.S., stressing the nations health care system, rattling its economy and rewriting the rules of everyday society.

The death toll reached 400,000 on Jan. 19, meaning the last 100,000 deaths occurred in just over a month.

These numbers are stunning, Dr. Anthony Fauci, the nations top infectious disease expert told ABC News Good Morning America program. If you look back historically, weve done worse than almost any other country and were a highly developed, rich country.

The U.S. accounts for 19% of the total global coronavirus deaths but just 4% of the worlds population.

o commemorate the loss of life due to COVID-19, President Biden ordered that flags at federal buildings fly at half-staff for five days to mark the 500,000 deaths White House Press Secretary Jen Psaki told reporters.

Biden also joined Vice President Kamala Harris for a candle lighting ceremony at the White House.

Let this not be a story of how far we fell but how far we climbed back up, Biden said in an emotional speech. To heal, to grieve, we must remember. I know its hard.

Biden referred to his own experience with grief and loss of family.

For those who have lost loved ones, this is what I know: They are never truly gone, he said, before leading a national moment of silence for those lost. They will always be part of your heart. The day will come when the memory of the loved one you lost will bring a smile to your lips before a tear to your eye. Thats when you know youre going to be OK.

He used the occasion to urge Americans to find purpose and unity in honoring the dead and to protect each other by remaining vigilant, maintaining social distance, wearing masks and getting vaccinated when they can.

This nation will smile, Biden said. This nation will know joy again.

Speaker Nancy Pelosi of San Francisco held a moment of silence Monday on the House floor.

Andy Slavitt, the White House coronavirus senior adviser, said Monday that the milestone makes us more determined to turned the tide of COVID-19.

Confronting the grim milestone directly and publicly, Biden is trying to strike a balance between gravity and hope, while Donald Trump generally avoided constructs of collective grief for the deaths on his watch.

Trump invariably looked to play down the total, initially claiming the virus would go away on its own and later locking into a prediction that America would suffer far fewer than 100,000 deaths. Once the total eclipsed that mark, Trump shifted gears again and said that scale of loss was actually a success story because it could have been much worse.

In audiotapes released last fall, Trump told journalist Bob Woodward in March that I wanted to always play it down. I still like playing it down because I dont want to create a panic.

Life expectancy in the United States dropped a staggering one year during the first half of 2020, the most dramatic drop since World War II, as pandemic deaths mounted, health officials said last week.

Minorities suffered the biggest impact, with Black Americans losing nearly three years, and Latinos, nearly two years, according to preliminary estimates from the CDC. Experts say it shows the profound impact of COVID-19, not just on deaths directly due to infection but also from heart disease, cancer and other conditions.

Outside of perfunctory tweets marking the milestones of 100,000 and 200,000 deaths, Trump oversaw no moment of national mourning, no memorial service.

California has lost close to 50,000 lives to the virus, and the Bay Area death toll recently surpassed 5,000.

The states seven-day test positivity rate was 3% as of Monday compared to 8.9% a month earlier, he said. Daily deaths totaled 233, well below the high of 764 a month earlier. Hospitalization and ICU counts were also significantly improved.

Gov. Gavin Newsom said Monday that California is building an infrastructure to deliver 4 million vaccine doses a week, even while supply constraints continue.

Theres not enough vaccines to accommodate the need and demand, Newsom said during a stop in Long Beach on a tour of vaccination efforts around the state. Sites all across the state of California are toggling back based on limited supply. Thats a manufacturing issue.

California anticipates receiving 1.4 million doses this week and 1.5 million next week, he said.

Its simply not what were capable of administering. We could do exponentially more, but nonetheless, we are seeing modest improvement week to week, he said.

With the expected emergency use approval of Johnson & Johnsons vaccine, he said vaccinations will ramp up by the end of March, April.

May, June, July  game-changer, Newsom said. All of a sudden were at a completely different level.

Biden seemed less optimistic than projections made by others, including those in his own administration, such as Fauci, who has suggested a summer comeback.

I believe well be approaching normalcy by the end of this year. And God willing, this Christmas will be different than the last, Biden said Friday while touring a Pfizer vaccine manufacturing plant in Michigan.

But I cant make that commitment to you, he was quick to add. There are other strains of the virus. We dont know what could happen in terms of production rates. Things can change, Biden continued. But were doing everything the science has indicated we should do, and people are stepping up to get everything done that has to be done.

The Associated Press contributed to this report.

Erin Allday and Aidin Vaziri are San Francisco Chronicle staff writers. Email: eallday@sfchronicle.com avaziri@sfchronicle.com
The Court of General Jurisdiction of Yerevan on Monday ruled for the release of Karen Bekaryan, the co-founder of Quartet Media and an ex-MP, who was detained along the lines of the criminal case on the fake "Gagik Soghomonyan" social media account.

In a conversation with Armenian News-NEWS.am, Bekaryan's lawyer Gor Mikayelyan stated that the court considered the National Security Service (NSS) decision to detain Bekaryan as illegal, ruled in favor of the lawyers appeal, and denied the NSS petition to remand Bekaryan in custody.

The NSS had detained former Chief of Staff of the National Assembly Ara Saghatelyan, co-founder of Quartet Mediaand ex-MP Karen Bekaryan, manager of the office of the "International Center for the Development of Parliamentarism" NGO Mher Avagyan, and citizen Aram Sargsyan along the lines of the aforesaid criminal case.

According to the court decision on Sunday, Saghatelyan and Sargsyan were arrested, whereas Avagyan was released.

All of them were detained under the Criminal Code articles on inciting hostility by an organized group, making public calls for violence by an organized group, publicly justifying or propagating violence, and violating the rules for publishing or disseminating information during martial law.
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STATEN ISLAND, N.Y.  Dr. Anthony Fauci, director of the National Institute of Allergy and Infectious Diseases, said Sunday that its possible Americans could still be wearing face masks and coverings in 2022 amid the coronavirus (COVID-19) pandemic, according to recent reports.

Fauci said during CNNs State of the Union that residents could be wearing masks outside of their home a year from now, even though he predicted the nation would return to a significant degree of normality by the fall and winter. While both Fauci and President Joe Biden recently suggested the country could approach normality at the end of the year, masks will continue to linger at least a year from now.

I think its possible that thats the case and, again, it really depends on what you mean by normality, Fauci said, when asked if Americans will need to wear masks in 2022.

Coronavirus levels would need to be so low that there is virtually no threat, or a minimal threat, that someone is exposed to an infected person, Fauci added.

If you combine most of the people in the country getting vaccinated with getting the level of virus in the community very, very low, then I believe youre going to be able to say, for the most part, we dont necessarily have to wear masks, Fauci said on CNN.

So while youll still need to carry a mask when you go outside your home, Fauci shared a bit of hope Sunday  that American will have some sense of normality by the fall and winter.

I think were going to have a significant degree of normality beyond what the terrible burden that all of us have been through over the last year, that as we get into the fall and winter, by the end of the year, I agree with the president completely, that we will be approaching a degree of normality, Fauci said. It may or may not be precisely the way it was in November of 2019, but it will be much, much better than what were doing right now.

*** CLICK HERE FOR COMPLETE COVERAGE OF CORONAVIRUS IN NEW YORK ***

The news comes just a few days after the New York City Department of Health (DOH) updated its guidance on face coverings, recommending people over the age of 2 years old wear snug-fitting masks with two or three layers of material. It also said New Yorkers can wear two masks  with a cloth covering over a disposable mask. But dont use two disposable masks, the DOH said.

The guidance also suggests higher grade masks, like KN95s, for people at greater risk of illness, including those 65 or older, underlying medical conditions, and those who care for someone who is sick.

Masks help us face the world and each other but its important that we cover up correctly, said Health Commissioner Dr. Dave A. Chokshi. The strategies were sharing today will help shield all of us from COVID-19. The most important thing remains wearing face coverings consistently and properly, covering both your nose and mouth, indoors and outdoors.

Earlier this month, the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) announced a study that found two masks are better at slowing the spread of the coronavirus, compared to the use of a single medical or cloth mask.

The study utilized two artificial heads spaced six feet apart to see how many coronavirus particles were spewed and inhaled. The researchers found that wearing one surgical mask blocked around 42% of the particles from a simulated cough and that a single cloth mask fared slightly better at around 44.3%.

However, covering a surgical mask with a cloth mask blocked 92.5% of the cough particles, the study said.

FOLLOW ANNALISE KNUDSON ON FACEBOOK AND TWITTER.
Timing

I dont normally post on National Press Club speakers, but tomorrow is of particular newsworthiness

Minister for Defence Linda Reynolds addresses the National Press Club. She has been at the centre of recent headlines in Canberra linked to Parliament House rape allegations by Brittany Higgins.

Protecting and Securing Australias interests in a challenging world

Senator Linda Reynolds was sworn in as a Senator for Western Australia in 2014 and was appointed Minister for Defence in May 2019.

It airs 12:30pm Wednesday Feb 24 on ABC.

As it happens Australian of the Year, sexual assault survivor Grace Tame, then addresses the National Press Club a week later.

12:30pm Wednesday March 2 on ABC.

Rape and Domestic Violence Services Australia.

Lifeline 13 11 14

Beyond Blue 1300 22 46 36

Related
The United States is a sufficiently independent country to act under any circumstances, the minister believes.

Ukrainian Foreign Minister Dmytro Kuleba says he is convinced that the United States can do more to end the war in Donbas even without joining the Normandy Four (Ukraine, Germany, France, and the Russian Federation) format of talks, as well as put an end to Russia's occupation of Crimea.

Kuleba made the comment in an interview with the Pryamiy TV channel on February 22.

"Our goal is  and I won't be dishonest here  that the United States be even more pro-active in helping to counter Russia's aggression, and be more actively involved in transformation within Ukraine so that we could counter those who seek to drag the country back into the past," he said.

"We want a more pro-active involvement in the Donbas settlement. Now the United States is, so to speak, watching over the process, taking certain steps that are making an impact on it; but they are able to do more," the minister said.

"Even without becoming a member of the Normandy Four, more can be done, and it was very important for me to hear about Ukraine in President Biden's address at [the 2021 Virtual] Munich Security Conference that support for Ukraine's territorial integrity is vital for Europe, the United States, and the transatlantic unity. Therefore, they can do more, whether within the Normandy Four [format] or beyond it. The United States is a sufficiently independent country to act under any circumstances," he summed up.

Read alsoU.S. Embassy declares support for NSDC move to impose sanctions against MedvedchukKuleba added that the United States could really do a lot to put an end to the Russian occupation of Crimea.

U.S. position on Ukraine: Biden's statement

On February 19, U.S. President Joe Biden stressed the importance of upholding Ukraine's sovereignty and territorial integrity. "Putin seeks to weaken European  the European project and our NATO Alliance. He wants to undermine the transatlantic unity and our resolve, because it's so much easier for the Kremlin to bully and threaten individual states than it is to negotiate with a strong and closely united transatlantic community," he said.

That is why standing up for the sovereignty and territorial integrity of Ukraine remains a vital concern for Europe and the United States, Biden stressed.

"That's why addressing recklessness  Russian recklessness and hacking into computer networks, in the United States and across Europe and the world, has become critical to protecting our collective security," he added.

Reporting by UNIAN
Last Tuesday, as Houston temperatures hovered below freezing for much of the day, Gloria Sanchezs lights  and heat  cut off and on. For Sanchez and millions of other Texans, necessities usually taken for granted  including warmth, water and access to food  had suddenly been thrown into question. Then she got a call from her manager at one of the two jobs she works to make ends meet. Bath & Bodyworks would close because of unsafe driving conditions.

With that, 32 hours of wages disappeared.

It broke my heart, Sanchez said. Because I knew my check was going to come out short.

The winter storm will likely cost the country $50 billion in damage and economic loss, according to an estimate from forecasting company Accuweather. Much of the economic impact will be felt by hourly workers like Sanchez, economists said.

On HoustonChronicle.com: Perry says Texans willing to suffer blackouts to keep feds out of power market

You need to think about whats permanently gone and what has just been delayed, said Patrick Jankowski, an economist at the Greater Houston Partnership, a business-financed economic development group.

Oil and gas production can ramp back up to meet demand. Sanchezs 32 hours without pay are gone forever.

Many already struggling

The winter storm hit an economy already grappling with a year-long pandemic that had shaken up what work meant for many. Corporate office employees who worked from home for the past year suddenly found themselves unable to do their jobs without power, heat and water. Office buildings temporarily closed, but there was no way to keep working remotely without Zoom meetings and strong cell service.

Houstons ports and airports reflected the dichotomy of the regional economy. On Presidents Day, the Port of Houston was eerily quiet. The surrounding petrochemical facilities had largely powered down in response to calls to reduce energy consumption as the winter storm crippled the electric grid, and not a ship or barge came in or out of what is usually one of the nations busiest ports because of icy conditions. Across town, the airfields at Hobby and Bush Intercontinental airports were also closed, canceling hundreds of flights.

But the loss of power and water pressure at the petrochemical facilities surrounding the port merely delayed production of products that will be shipped once operations resume, according to Bill Diehl, president of the Greater Houston Port Bureau. In contrast, airline trips that were canceled, airport restaurant meals that were never served and wages that were unable to be earned by hourly workers are unlikely to be made up.

When the Metro bus that Monique Warren, a guard at Bush Intercontinental Airport, takes to her graveyard shift was canceled Sunday due to snow, she had to miss a day of work. The next two days, the weather closed the airport altogether. The three days without pay came on the heels of a seventh-month airport furlough that had largely depleted her savings, which she had hoped to use to purchase a car.

The money that I lost, I was planning on saving it and buying food, Warren said. She earns $9.50 an hour and said a higher minimum wage would make it easier to weather calamities such as the pandemic-induced furlough and the cold snaps closures.

Joe Garland, who called out of work at Kroger after spinning out on ice on his way in, is now worried about next weeks bills as a result of missing three days of pay. He said one way business owners could come to the aid of frontline workers in this type of an emergency would be to cover hours that were unable to be worked because of the disaster.

Its a kick while youre down to all of the service industries, restaurants and others who were already battling through the pandemic, said Peter Rodriguez, an economist and dean of Rices Jones Graduate School of Business. So regrettably, it really exacerbates the pain for them, more than it creates new pains for other industries in particular.

Temporary boosts

Not all will be hurt by the storm. Businesses that will help fix the damage  such as those that make oilfield equipment, work on plumbing or landscape homes and businesses  should see a temporary boost in business, Jankowski said.

For example, the well-site valves, compressors and pipes damaged by the freeze will have to be replaced, and many of the manufacturers who make those parts are located in the Houston region.

On HoustonChronicle.com: Abbott appointees made 'astonishing' cuts to power reliability team before deadly Texas storm

Its possible if youre a oil-field service and supply company, you may get some revenue from this, said Karr Ingham, a petroleum economist with the Texas Alliance of Energy Producers. But we havent heard there would be vast damage. In any case, all of these companies have insurance.

Texas, the nations top oil-producing state, experienced its largest disruption to production as power outages and freezing temperatures rendered wells inoperable. Crude production statewide fell by about 40 percent, or 2 million barrels a day, down from 4.8 million barrels per day before the Arctic blast hit. While that crude can still be extracted and sold when temperatures thaw, oil companies lose out on revenue whenever they cant get their product to market, Ingham said.

In general, however, Jankowski said bumps from pent up demand and temporary boosts to certain sectors would neutralize hits to industries that saw business disappear during closures. It wont show up in GDP, he said. Because were a $512 billion economy.

And for one industry hard-hit by the pandemic, the storm may have opened an avenue for survival. The hotel industry, which was having a historically poor year as the pandemic put a halt to the travel, conferences and events that drive bookings, has suddenly had empty hotels sell out as families without heat or water look for places to shelter.

Typically, hotels see occupancy rise for as long as a month after a natural disaster, explained Paul Vaughn, senior vice president of the hotel consulting firm Source Strategies in San Antonio.

During the immediate event, youre going to have people needing hotel rooms, he said. But in the aftermath, youre going to end up with some construction crews and a bunch of other people coming in to clean the mess, and they will also need rooms. So youll see a ripple effect because of the effect of this crisis.

As for long term impacts, Rices Rodriguez fears employers may think twice about relocating their businesses, both to Texas generally and to Houston  no stranger to natural disasters  in particular. He said the prolonged outages could make it look like the state has unreliable infrastructure.

Its true that this is very rare, but thats not the way it will play into the memories of people making investment decisions, Rodriguez said. Theyll wonder about just our overall ability to manage crises.

Marcy de Luna contributed to this report.

rebecca.schuetz@chron.com;

twitter.com/raschuetz
Laredo began Monday with big news in a pair of categories, falling out of two major negative spots its held for months.

The Laredo area fell out of first place in Texas in COVID-19 hospitalization rate as well as the top risk level for active cases in the community. These two pieces of news came on top of a third straight day of single-digit positives with nine announced along with three deaths, giving the area 42,498 positives and 774 deaths historically dating back to the emergence of the pandemic locally last March.

Positive cases have been announced in the single digits the past three days and fewer than 15 in five straight. Additionally, the area has been at 60 or below in 10 consecutive days.

The city warns that this number of cases is artificially low due to the winter storm, according to the Texas Department of State Health Services. Curative testing sites in Laredo were not open last week as the area grappled with power and water outages due to the winter storm, so fewer people got tested for COVID-19 than they would in a normal week. Furthermore, the DSHS is behind in reporting positive tests due to last weeks outages, according to the city.

With nine new COVID-19 positives reported Monday, there are only 124 active cases of the virus in Webb County. This brings Laredo out of the highest level of risk, designated as Red or Level 4 of the citys color-coded advisory system. This is the very first time the area has not been at the Red level since the system was first implemented back on June 22.

Laredo is now at the medium risk level on the citys advisory system for the first time since June. Per the advisory, the city still recommends vigilance, the use of face masks and social distancing.

Laredo officials also worry that these outages could have instigated further spread of the virus as many Laredoans were forced to gather in the homes of friends and families who didnt lose power.

The citys most accurate tool to measure the strength of COVID-19 in the community right now is hospitalization. With only 84 people hospitalized in Laredo  36 of whom are in intensive care  officials expressed tentative relief for the first time in months.

It shows that all the efforts weve done  the hospitals, the infusion center, the law enforcement, the messaging  it is working, said Laredo Fire Chief and Emergency Management Coordinator Guillermo Heard. ... Weve progressed very well. We need to continue the fight.

Meanwhile, Laredos COVID-19 hospitalization rate fell to 16.4% on Sunday, according to the DSHS. And for the first time since Dec. 10, it did not hold the distinction of having the highest rate in Texas. In El Pasos hospital region, COVID-19 patients now occupy 16.9% of staffed beds in the area.

Of all hospitalized patients in Laredo, 24.2% are there with COVID. This differs from the hospitalization rate, which is the amount of overall resources being utilized by COVID patients.

Laredo Health Director Richard Chamberlain said this is a good time to take a breath, but they do not want people to think that just because the infection rate is dropping so steeply that they are out of the woods.

After last weeks emergencies and freezing weather, Laredo Mayor Pete Saenz said he hopes this will be a better week.

The sun is out, its been out for the last two or three days. I dont know how yall feel, but I went out in my yard yesterday and just kind of soaked in the rays in appreciation, so grateful that the sun is out, Saenz said. Hopefully well never see a week like we did the last week.

The city expects 5,000 more vaccines to arrive in Laredo later this week, and it will notify the public when the vaccine portal opens for people to make appointments.

Three more Webb County residents died from COVID-19 on Sunday  a man in his mid 80s, a woman in her early 80s and a man in his early 70s.

In the last seven days, only 2.9% of COVID tests have resulted in a positive. Laredos rolling seven-day positivity rate sits at 2.9%, its lowest total ever recorded since the daily information for the formula was made available. This pattern is shown around the country as Texas rolling positivity rate is down to 5.5% while the United States is at 4.8%.

Testing has begun to pick up again after the storm, with 1,250 new tests reported Monday. This was the first time the city has reported over 1,000 tests in a day since Feb. 12. The city has reported 298,193 tests during the pandemic.

Julia Wallace may be reached at 956-728-2543 or jwallace@lmtonline.com
[February 22, 2021] Enterprise Communications Security Trends and Considerations Report 2020: Best Practices for Customers for UC Security & UC Security Vendors and Providers

DUBLIN, Feb. 22, 2021 /PRNewswire/ -- The "Enterprise Communications Security Trends and Considerations" report has been added to ResearchAndMarkets.com's offering. This research study calls to light several of the most common security threats that can impact both on-premises and cloud-based unified communications and collaboration tools, some steps customers can take to mitigate these threats, and a set of best practices for both businesses and their vendor/provider partners should adopt.



The business telephone system, commonly referred to as a private branch exchange (PBX), predates the invention of the Internet, Ethernet and the personal computer. As such, legacy PBXs were always deployed on dedicated infrastructure. The call-control manager was a standalone hardware server or appliance serving as the bridge between the PSTN and hardwired extensions.



Most PBXs functioned completely isolated from the rest of the business applications and infrastructure and were supported by dedicated telecommunications staff-either in-house or vendor-supplied technicians. Threats to these legacy PBXs consisted primarily of toll-fraud attempts that exploit poorly-configured systems to make expensive long-distance or international phone calls. The creation of Voice over Internet Protocol (VoIP) brought with it a wealth of benefits. By leveraging VoIP, the phone system can leverage the same IP-network that PCs and business applications use. This not only reduces infrastructure costs but also links multiple business locations across the wide-area network (WAN) to bring employees "on-net and eliminate the expense of internal communications. PSTN access also became VoIP-enabled, allowing session initiation protocol (SIP) trunk providers to deliver dial tone service to businesses without the need for dedicated PSTN lines or circuits.



VoIP has ultimately enabled most of what many people take for granted, such as video conferencing with customers across the Internet; home working for employees and call center agents; and mobile apps that make business extensions and calling features accessible on smartphones. Businesses have come to rely on VoIP-based, highly-connected communications and collaboration solutions to accelerate decision making, connect key stakeholders from across the globe, streamline workflows and improve the customers' experiences.

Now more than ever, reliable business communications are mission-critical for any organization, which makes them an elevated target for cyber attacks. By gaining access to a business's communications tools, hackers can not only disrupt an organization's communications or rack up expensive phone charges similar to legacy PBXs, but also potentially eavesdrop on a company's meetings to glean proprietary information, collect call records that can identify customer information, or disrupt the work of employees. Business decision-makers are increasingly driven to improve customer experience and satisfaction, as well as create operational efficiencies within their organizations. Considering the disruptive nature that cyber attacks can have on the customer and employee experience, it is no surprise that security and reliability are top priorities when it comes to purchasing decisions. Key Topics Covered:

Executive Summary Key Findings Introduction Potential Security Threats Can Directly Impact Modern Business Communications Solutions

Business Goals Drive Digital Transformation Efforts

Protecting Digital Assets Is a Top Priority for Business Decision Makers Threat Landscape UC Security Threat: Denial of Service Attacks

UC Security Threat: Toll Fraud

UC Security Threat: User Account/Credentials Hijacks

UC Security Threat: Data Leakage

UC Security Threat: Malicious/Unintended Participants Partnering for Security: Identifying Roles and Responsibilities UC Security: Who is Responsible? Security Vs. Compliance UC Security vs. Regulatory Compliance Call to Action for Customers, Vendors and Providers in UC Security Call to Action: Best Practices for Customers for UC Security

Call to Action: Best Practices for UC Security Vendors and Providers Next Steps For more information about this report visit https://www.researchandmarkets.com/r/cnu9jj Media Contact: Research and Markets

Laura Wood, Senior Manager

press@researchandmarkets.com



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Fax (outside U.S.): +353-1-481-1716 View original content:http://www.prnewswire.com/news-releases/enterprise-communications-security-trends-and-considerations-report-2020-best-practices-for-customers-for-uc-security--uc-security-vendors-and-providers-301232488.html SOURCE Research and Markets

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EMILY ST. LAWRENCE, Chariho girls lacrosse, senior: St. Lawrence tied a school record for goals in a game with nine in a win over Smithfield. St. Lawrence scored 17 goals for the week and has 32 for the season.

CARLY CONSTANTINE, Stonington softball, sophomore: Constantine singled home Shea OConnor with the winning run to hand Waterford, the states No. 2 ranked team at the time, its first loss of the season. For the week, Constantine was 5 for 15.

GREG GORMAN, Westerly baseball, junior: Gorman, a junior, hit a massive home run in a win against Barrington. The homer went over the fence in center field and landed in a nearby road. Gorman was 3 for 3 with four RBIs in the game. He is hitting .571 with 10 RBIs for the season.

BRADIN ANDERSON, Wheeler baseball, freshman: Anderson, a freshman, pitched a complete-game shutout to beat Grasso Tech. Anderson struck out three to earn the first win of his varsity career.

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Femi Fani-Kayode, a former Aviation Minister has finally responded to the reactions trailing his rumoured plan to dump the Peoples Democra...

Femi Fani-Kayode, a former Aviation Minister has finally responded to the reactions trailing his rumoured plan to dump the Peoples Democratic Party PDP, for the All Progressives Congress, APC.

Fani-Kayode gave his response in a lengthy article he made available to newsmen at the weekend.

He insisted that before the next general elections, there will be many realignments and new alliances, adding that major parties will see many shifts and that many individuals will change sides.

Heres the full text of the PDP chieftains response:

Trap, spy claims

Over the last week, millions of Nigerians have expressed concern about which direction I am going politically and much has been said.

Some have gone out of their way to reach out to me and offered their counsel out of genuine love and concern.

Others have not reached out to me and have written or spoken out of ignorance, hate and malice imputing the worst motivations for actions that they claim I have purportedly taken.

This contribution is an attempt to provide answers to just a few of the oftentimes asinine and absurd assertions and observations that the latter group has made.

Some say they warned me and that I have fallen into a trap whilst others say my voice has been silenced, I am a spy and that this signals the end of my political career.

My response to them and others who have conjured up even stranger motivations and conspiracy theories when it comes to FFK is as follows:

To whom it may concern: spare me your crocodile tears and be rest assured that I am too big, too intelligent, too experienced and too forthright to fall into any trap.

It is impossible to castrate a lion, render it impotent or silence its roar.

I stand on all my beliefs, core values and principles. I am the voice of the voiceless, I am a warrior, I fear nothing, I fear no-one, I am as constant as the northern star and I will ALWAYS stand against evil.

Speaking to other leaders across party lines in order to build bridges, engender peace, foster stability and enhance national unity ought not to create such national and international rage, panic and pandemonium.

Are we so divided that we cant even talk to one another and take pictures together without causing a public stir and setting the Internet on fire?

You insult me and say I am scared of prison because I had a meeting with two APC governors?

Do you know how many PDP and APC governors and leaders I interact with and meet regularly? Do you know how many I talk to on a daily basis?

Do you know that I was prosecuted for seven years by PDP governments which tried to jail me simply for speaking out against them yet it did not deter me? Ask those that were in the YarAdua and Jonathan administrations.

After a while, they got tired because the more they tried to intimidate me into silence or make me flee the country, the more I stood my ground and fought from my corner till they gave up.

Does that sound like a man that is scared of death or prison?

You insult me and say I am broke because I had talks with two APC governors.

Do you know that what I spend on salary in one month is more than what some of these people that are claiming I am broke earn in five or 10 years?

I have 55 domestic staff in my house alone. Not one of them gets below 70,000 naira per month which is higher than the national minimum wage.

I do not owe salaries and I feed each of the three square meals every day.

I do all this just to help them and to ensure they can look after and feed their families. Does that sound like a broke?

That is my little contribution to the welfare of our people because I certainly do not need so many staff. I employ them just to keep them off the unemployment line.

Apart from that, do you know how many people I give scholarships to and how many peoples children I feed and educate? Do you know how many other families I am responsible for in terms of day-to-day living?

The Bible says be your brothers keeper and I do these things unto the Lord. I do them and I will never stop even when my good is repaid with evil.

The Lord has always provided for me and given me the fat of the land. He has always caused me to be a blessing to others though I do not make noise about it.

For the last 60 years of my life, He has been good to me. He has caused me to excel, prosper and flourish and from beginning to end He has always been with me and mine.

You say I make money through politics; meanwhile, I left public office in 2007 which is 13 years ago! Does that make sense to you? In any case, is politics my only source of income?

Am I your conventional politician who craves elective office? Do I even attend their meetings? I have been in this game since 1990!

I have been making contributions to current affairs, political discourse and politics for the past 31 years which is long before most of todays governors or Ministers even knew the meaning of the word.

NADECO

And it was always a struggle that involved sacrifice. Where were my detractors when I was in NADECO and fought against the military rule?

The records are there and so are the essays and some of the people I worked with.

Where were they when we set up September Club in 1989 and some of the nations greatest leaders and elder statesmen and top politicians over the last 30 years, including presidents, governors, Ministers and legislators across party lines, were members?

Where were they in the days of NRC, SDP and Choice 92 when politics was real, when the greats held sway and when men honoured their word?

Where were they when we risked all for MKO Abiolas stolen mandate and June 12th and even had to go into exile for years because of it?

Where were they when we stood against the annulment of June 12th and fought against the government of General Sani Abacha?

Where were they when we formed the Progressive Action Movement in 1999 and some of the nations brightest and best young stars and minds made their contribution to national affairs?

Where were they when we fought against Senator Ali Modu Sheriff who was allegedly sent to destroy the PDP?

Where were they when I led President Goodluck Jonathans presidential campaign in 2015 and took the battle to the gates of the enemy?

Where were they when I stood behind President Olusegun Obasanjo and faced down ALL his detractors?

Where were they when I was targeted and almost assassinated on two separate occasions during the Obasanjo presidency simply because I was the Presidents defender-in-chief and armour bearer and was totally committed to his cause?

I did all this in the past and present and you say I am making money from it? Do you know the risks involved in these things?

Do you know I could have been killed together with members of my family long ago and most certainly would have had it not been for God?

Can my detractors give up so much and risk so much just for politics? Honestly, it really is the deepest insult.

Wealth and politics

Some of us were born into wealth and have never lacked it. We were born into politics too. We were born into the circles of power so nothing moves us.

For us, politics is a noble calling and not a profession. It is about proffering solutions to complex national issues and not about the acquisition of primitive wealth.

We gave up all for the struggle for democracy and the opportunity to help to develop our country and move her forward and now we are insulted and mocked and told we did it for money? Which money?

How much can I be bought or bribed with? All the money in the world could not move me because I have never lacked it.

What have I not had or enjoyed in life from a very young age? Where have I not been?

I came to the conclusion long ago that all is vanity and that material wealth means nothing. I would never sacrifice my principles or integrity for it.

Mallam Abba Kyari, the Presidents late and powerful Chief of Staff, was my brother for over 40 years and we interacted regularly whilst he was in power.

I never asked him for ANYTHING from his government just as I never asked or got ANYTHING from any of the previous Federal Governments between 2007 and 2021.

If I had done so I would not have been able to criticise those governments publicly and I would have been exposed. You cannot criticise where you eat from.

I did not join APC when Abba was in government and I did not compromise my principles when I could have asked him for anything since he had the ear of the President.

I respected and loved him for who he was and NOT for the position he held and the feeling was mutual.

I opposed his government in spite of our friendship and did not share his views yet we remained friends because our friendship was well above politics.

That is what civilised people do. They agree to disagree and respect each others views. They never let it come between their friendship.

I opposed Abbas government and risked losing an old and loyal friend and brother because I believed passionately in all I said. I believed all that I said then and I still believe it today.

All that and now you dare to question my resolve and consistency? It is laughable.

Consistent

You say I am inconsistent. Meanwhile, I have been more consistent in my views over the last 30 years than 95% of Nigerian leaders and I have stuck to my guns despite all manner of persecution and suffering!

You say I have no relevance meanwhile millions all over the world read my words avidly every day and follow my actions religiously because I inspire them due to the fact that I have always had the courage of my convictions and I have always spoken truth to power.

Unlike most politicians, I actually inspire people and give them hope. And most important of all they trust me and trust my judgment.

They have also acknowledged the fact that more often than not my words are prophetic and I have displayed remarkable insight and foresight when it comes to national affairs.

How many of your so-called relevant leaders have done that? How many of them have displayed such courage under fire for years on end?

How many of them can have their newspaper columns in three national dailies closed over the years due to threats to the publishers from the government and yet keep writing their essays on social media with millions of people all over the world still reading them and receiving the message?

How many of them can be blacklisted by newspapers and television stations with threatening orders from above and still keep talking?

How many of them across party lines can mould the thoughts and guide millions in this way with their counsel, words, actions and thoughts?

First seven years of persecution under PDP then five years of persecution under APC! HOW many of your leaders can stand such fire and pain and still fight on?

Almost all of them ever do is sell you down the river, tell you lies, ignore your pain, deceive you, mock you, use you and give you crumbs in return for your acclamation, support and loyalty but you love them for that.

You say I am scared of even more persecution. At the age of 60, you believe I am scared?

What more can they do to me that they have not done already? And what more am I looking for in life that I have not enjoyed over the years?

Yet you say I am scared! And those that say so can barely endure one-tenth of what I have endured.

Some of them make noise from the safety of other countries and stay away from Nigeria out of fear of being locked up yet they mock those of us that live on the doorsteps of our oppressors in Nigeria and dare them to their faces.

Some of them have not been able to face hardship or deprivation and neither can they bear it when their rights are being violated.

Yet to many of us this has become the norm and we are used to it yet we still continue to struggle and fight the system regardless. Let me give you just one example. Do you know that I have not been able to travel out of Nigeria for the last 13 years because my passport was first seized by a PDP government for eight years and then by an APC government for five years?

Do you know that I could not even go for medical check-ups outside the country because of that?

Locked up with B/Haram suspects

Did you ever hear me complain or did this ever stop me from speaking truth to power, standing firm against injustice or speaking up for the weak, the persecuted and the voiceless?

Do you know I was locked up by both PDP and APC Federal Governments for no just cause?

Do you know I was even locked up in Boko Haram detention centres with Boko Haram suspects?

Do you know that only terrorists were kept in the facility that they kept me? Do you know that that place was worse than Guantanamo Bay and that it was built by the British government?

Do you know how terrifying that was and that I could have been killed or maimed whilst there?

Yet did you ever hear me complain about it, submit, compromise, give up or back down from criticising the government or previous governments because of these trials and tribulations?

How many of your so-called relevant and great leaders can bear such torment and injustice without cracking? Did you ever see or hear me crack? Did I ever break?

Do you know what horrors my first wife Regina and my daughter Remi were subjected to by a PDP government? Do you know why they had to go into exile and live abroad?

Do you know what hell my ex-wife Precious and first son Aragorn were subjected to by the APC government?

Do you know the tears we shed secretly and the number of times we suffered and were forced to go underground for no just cause?

Do you know the kind of stress and torment this put us through? Do you know that all our bank accounts were frozen for five years?

Did all that stop me or stop us from standing? Did we not endure and bear it all with dignity for years and still continue to make our contribution to national affairs with zeal and passion?

Yet leaders like me that make these sacrifices and speak the truth you describe as having no relevance, no consistency and you hate.

You mock, ridicule, insult and believe the very worst about us at the drop of a hat. Some even have the nerve and effrontery to say we are not politicians simply because we have not run for elective office.

It is those who speak the truth and that is courageous enough to expose and confront the evil that you hate, judge and always think and assume the worse off at the drop of a hat.

Do you know that despite facing the most vicious persecution and prosecution for seven long years the court found me not guilty of corruption whilst I was Minister of Aviation and Minister of Culture and Tourism and acquitted and discharged me?

How many of your leaders can endure going to court for seven years before four different judges and in the midst of a vicious media witch-hunt in which most people who knew nothing about the case had declared me guilty?

How many of you could have survived that without capitulating, cracking, begging and bending the knee?

Do you know that I have been facing prosecution for the past five years in two separate courts for doing absolutely nothing wrong except leading a presidential campaign against Buhari and for Jonathan in 2015 and as a consequence of politically-motivated and malicious charges which were filed only because of my bitter and vicious opposition to the Buhari government?

Do you know that under my tenure as Minister of Aviation there were no plane crashes whilst the year before I came in there were five and 453 died in those crashes?

Do you know that I put a stop to those crashes and that I am the only Minister of Aviation in Nigerian history under which there were NO plane crashes?

Poll

Do you know that despite all the challenges and persecution I was recently polled by 85% of the readers of Vanguard Newspaper that I was the loudest and most consistent voice of opposition against the Buhari government over the last five years?

All this yet you label me a coward and someone that has achieved nothing?

Do you know that most of those leaders you revere and love so much are cowards who are unable and unwilling to risk all and speak truth to power?

All they are able to do is to mislead you and their followers to hate and insult those of us that really care for you.

Joker

Honestly, some people need mental health checks and medical attention!

And for anyone to say I will not be welcome in a party that I have not publicly expressed a desire to join amazes me.

The joker that claimed I was rejected by the APC needs to tell me where and when I applied to join them and what my registration number was!

Did I tell you I am leaving PDP for APC? Or did I tell anyone that I will stay in PDP forever no matter what happens or no matter what they do to me or to the country?

You see, unlike most, I am a one-man army and riot squad and I am accountable to no man or party. I am only accountable to God!

Unlike most, I do not do things in the dark and I do not shy away from speaking the truth or my mind once it is set.

When and if I ever choose to make a move I will be clear and categorical and I will let the world know, so hold your hate fire till we get to that bridge.

Yet know this: I owe no-one any explanation for what I will do or will not do tomorrow, I will gladly live with the consequences of my actions and decisions and I will defend myself and explain my actions when I choose to do so if I believe it is ever necessary.

2023 realignments, new alliances

I do not know what the details are yet but, before 2023, there WILL be many realignments and new alliances. Both parties will see many shifts and many individuals will change sides.

This is because we must get it right in 2023 and we must ensure that whoever takes power at the centre, regardless of party affiliation, restructures our country and takes our nation to the promised land.

We must build bridges and secure the peace, unity and progress of this country and most important of all we must avoid civil war and do all we can to save our nation from armed conflict and fratricidal butchery.

That is the challenge before us today and that is the reality of Nigerian politics.

Whilst others meet secretly and hide from the cameras in their quest to achieve these objectives, I will not. I am the beloved of the Lord and I am a LION!

No man born of a woman can silence my roar!

I am who I am. I am FFK.
Hayley Arceneaux, 29, has long dreamed of being an astronaut and she will finally get her wish aboard the first all-civilian space mission, Inspiration4, which is set to launch later this year.

Arceneaux, a physician assistant at St. Jude's Children's Research Hospital, has been named as the second crew member to join billionaire Jared Isaacman who purchased the flight.

She will also become the youngest American in space and the first to make the journey with a prosthesis.

At the age of 10, Arceneaux was treated for bone cancer and had surgery at St. Jude to replace her knee and get a titanium rod in her left thigh bone.

'My battle with cancer really prepared me for space travel,' Arceneaux said in an interview with The Associated Press.

'It made me tough, and then also I think it really taught me to expect the unexpected and go along for the ride.'

She wants to show her young patients and other cancer survivors that 'the sky is not even the limit anymore.'

Scroll down for videos

Hayley Arceneaux, 29, has long dreamed of being an astronaut and she will finally get her wish aboard the first all-civilian space mission, Inspiration4, which is set to launch later this year

'It's going to mean so much to these kids to see a survivor in space,' she said.

Isaacman announced his space mission February 1, pledging to raise $200 million for St. Jude, half of that his own contribution.

As the flights self-appointed commander, he offered one of the four SpaceX Dragon capsule seats to St. Jude.

'We have really tried to make it accessible to everyone,' Isaacman told DailyMail.com in an interview.

Arceneaux will also become the youngest American in space and the first to make the journey with a prosthesis. At the age of 10 (pictured), Arceneaux was treated for bone cancer and had surgery at St. Jude to replace her knee and get a titanium rod in her left thigh bone

Arceneaux was treated at St. Jude's Hospital (pictured) for bone cancer and has since recovered from the illness

'Everyday people are able to join the mission, whereas only super powers have sent people into outer space.'

'In two to three weeks from now, these people are going to get fitted for a space suit and join us in the mission to space.'

Inspiration4 mentioned a female who worked at St. Jude's was already selected shortly after making the first announcement about the space flight.

Without alerting the staff, St. Jude chose Arceneaux from among the 'scores' of hospital and fundraising employees who had once been patients and could represent the next generation, said Rick Shadyac, president of St. Judes fundraising organization.

Arceneaux was at home in Memphis, Tennessee, when she got the 'out of the blue' call in January asking if she'd represent St. Jude in space.

Arceneaux stands near a SpaceX rocket at the company's headquarters in Hawthorne, California

Arceneaux is a physician assistant at St. Jude's Children's Research Hospital and will represent the million pillar of Hope during the Inspiration4 flight

Her immediate response: 'Yes! Yes! Please!' But first she wanted to run it past her mother in St. Francisville, Louisiana. (Her father died of kidney cancer in 2018.)

Next she reached out to her brother and sister-in-law, both of them aerospace engineers in Huntsville, Alabama, who 'reassured me how safe space travel is.'

A lifelong space fan who embraces adventure, Arceneaux insists those who know her wont be surprised.

She's plunged on a bungee swing in New Zealand and ridden camels in Morocco. And she loves roller-coasters.

Isaacman, who flies fighter jets for a hobby, considers her a perfect fit.

Arceneaux, a physician assistant at St. Jude's Children's Research Hospital, has been named as the second crew member to join billionaire Jared Isaacman (pictured) who purchased the flight

'Its not all supposed to be about getting people excited to be astronauts someday, which is certainly cool,' Isaacman, 38, said last week.

'Its also supposed to be about an inspiring message of what we can accomplish here on Earth.'

He has two more crew members to select, and he plans to reveal them in March.

Arceneaux will represent the missions pillar of Hope and the two remaining seats will be Generosity and Prosperity, which are available to the general public through February 28.

One will be a sweepstakes winner; anyone donating to St. Jude this month is eligible. So far, more than $9 million has come in, according to Shadyac.

The other seat will go to a business owner who uses Shift4Payments, Isaacmans Allentown, Pennsylvania, credit card-processing company.

The four-person expedition is planned for late this year and will take off in SpaceX's Dragon craft from Launch Complex 39A at NASA's Kennedy Space Center in Florida and orbit around Earth - the length of the flight has yet to be revealed

The four-person expedition is planned for late this year and will take off in SpaceX's Dragon craft from Launch Complex 39A at NASA's Kennedy Space Center in Florida and orbit around Earth - the length of the flight has yet to be revealed.

Details of the ride in a SpaceX Dragon capsule are still being worked out, including the number of days the four will be in orbit after blasting off from Florida.

The Inspiration4 crew will not be going into space blind, but will receive commercial astronaut training by SpaceX on the Falcon 9 launch vehicle and Dragon spacecraft, orbital mechanics, operating in microgravity, zero gravity and other forms of stress testing before traveling into the last frontier.

'There will be several months of training,' Isaacman told DailyMail.com.

'NASA has signed off on the training curriculum and the only difference [from standard astronaut training] is that we aren't going to the International Space Station or doing a spacewalk.'

'This means we will do simulators, emergency training and we are going to need time from mid-March to launch.'

The Inspiration4 mission will also take a payload of experiments with the crew.

'While we are up there we are going to bring payloads and do experiments,' Isaacman said.

'We offered to take payloads from St. Jude's and other places because the wait list is extremely long.'
RICHMOND, Va., Feb. 22, 2021 /PRNewswire/ -- NuggMD, the nation's leading medical cannabis telemedicine platform, is launching their online services to patients in Virginia for just $149 per visit. NuggMD currently offers services in Nevada, New York, Missouri, Ohio, Pennsylvania, California, Oklahoma and New Jersey. They've connected over 650,000 patients with their fully-licensed medical marijuana doctors since 2016.

Their expansion into Virginia brings a vital telemedicine option for current and prospective medical marijuana patients seeking safe, socially-distanced options for their evaluations and renewals. Recently, Virginia temporarily approved the use of telemedicine for medical marijuana evaluations and may be extending this accomodation permanently via a new bill .

"We're thrilled to see Virginia embrace telemedicine," says Alex Milligan, NuggMD Co-Founder and CMO. "This is a huge quality of life issue, especially for the sickest and most vulnerable members of our community. Even after COVID restrictions are no longer necessary, these patients will still need access to quality telemedicine because they're always at risk, not just during a pandemic. We've made huge progress for these patients over the past year and are excited to serve the rapidly increasing medical marijuana patient population in Virginia."

In 2015, Virginia passed a law allowing non-psychoactive THC-A and CBD to be recommended for certain medical uses. In 2019, the law was expanded to allow up to 10mg THC per dose, the typical amount allowed for medical and recreational marijuana products in most states. Virginia's legislature is also working toward adult use legalization, but under current proposed plans, recreational dispensaries would not open in the state until 2024.

Meanwhile, patients with "any chronic or debilitating condition that, in the professional judgment of a physician, might be helped by the use of medical cannabis" are qualified to sign up for Virginia's medical marijuana program.

NuggMD's licensed physicians are available to see Virginia patients from 8am to 10pm 7 days a week. Patients who don't qualify for Virginia's MMJ program will receive their evaluation for free.

About NuggMD:

NuggMD is the nation's leading medical marijuana technology platform, serving patients in California, New York, Nevada, Oklahoma, Missouri, Ohio, Pennsylvania and New Jersey. They have connected over 650,000 patients with their new medical marijuana doctors face-to-face via their state-of-the-art telemedicine platform. They believe that every human being has the right to explore the benefits of medical cannabis and are fully committed to helping each patient explore all of their options in their journey to wellness. For further information, visit NuggMD.com/Virginia .

Contact: Alex Milligan

Co-Founder & CMO at Nugg

(949) 226-1452

[email protected]

SOURCE NuggMD
Armenia Investigative Committee: Fatal road accident, criminal case opened

Armenia deputy FM submits resignation

Chinese authorities allow families to have 3 children

Dollar devalues in Armenia

Stepanakert: Azerbaijan creates bridgeheads for pressure on Karabakh, expansion towards Armenia

Sergey Lavrov says Russia is ready to disconnect SWIFT

Armenia MFA spokesperson resigns

Republican Party of Armenia Vice-President: Our ratings are growing, but we have greater pretensions

Armenia acting PM's spokesperson responds to ex-FM

Armenia parliament majority leader: Refusing to debate with acting PM is manifestation of low self-confidence

Armenia State Revenue Committee, US Department of Justice sign Memorandum of Cooperation

Vardevanyan: Attempts made to create false grounds for obstructing Armenia bloc election offices legal activities

Lavrov says Russia is ready to resume dialogue with NATO

Armenia opposition MP on FM's resignation

India records lowest increase in COVID-19 cases in 50 days

Bright Armenia faction in parliament: No response to acting PM's proposal to deploy observers along Azerbaijan border

Ruling bloc MP: Acting premiers proposal does not limit Armenia in terms of cooperation with CSTO

Acting PM is proud of Armenian servicemens heroism, says parliament majority leader

Parliament majority leader: No border delimitation unless Azerbaijan army units leave Armenia territory

Outgoing Armenia acting FM opens brackets: My decision of resignation was conditioned by that very reason

Harutyunyan, Shoygu discuss tension on Armenia-Azerbaijan border

Iranian MFA says US has not imported oil from country since Clinton era

Court hearing on appeal against decision to drop March 2008 Yerevan tragedy case is rescheduled

Missing soldiers relatives block Yerevan street

Parliament majority leader: Armenia acting FM did not object, at Security Council meeting, to new document

Armenia Police: 2,581,093 people on voters list

Bright Armenia faction of parliament: No corridor through the country should be provided to Azerbaijan

Analyst: Armenia acting PM Pashinyan gave self-confessed testimony

Armenia national security finds about 1 kg of opium, detains Iran citizen driver and 2 others

182 hearing aids and 2 buses by benefactor Mikayel Vardanyan for students of Special Educational Complex

34 new cases of COVID-19 confirmed in Armenia

Updated voters list is posted on Armenia central election commission website

Armenia authorities provide considerable amount of subsidies ahead of snap parliamentary elections

World oil prices on the rise

MP explains his not being on Bright Armenia Party electoral list

UK new flagship set to be named after the late Prince Philip

US man who said he shot neighbor over loud music found guilty of attempted murder

Lamborghini company to be sold for $11.5bn?

China spacecraft docks with future space station

Lawyer: Armenia acting PM Pashinyan grossly abuses administrative resources during Lori Province visit

UN urges to investigate escalation of violence in Colombia

Malaysia to open mega-centers for vaccination against coronavirus

Police find  5 million in cash in London apartment

French citizen to face trial in Iran on spaying charges

Over 60 children in UK undergo surgery due to TikTok challenge

Iranian Central Bank governor dismissed

Armenian opposition: The one who liberated Artsakh will not go to debates with the one who sold it

Iranian energy ministry: Iraq to allocate $ 125 million of frozen funds for vaccines

No new COVID-19 cases reported in Artsakh

Iran and Iraq to intensify cooperation and are ready for joint investment projects

Armenia ex-PM says at least 2 more secret documents signed but not published yet

Indonesia frees Iranian tanker 4 months later

Mortar shelling in Afghanistan kills at least 10 civilians

Fire breaks out at West Virginia oil refinery in US

Second President of Armenia meets with residents of Ararat province

Iran ready to help improve the defense capability of Syria

Armenian acting PM invites ex-presidents for debates

European Parliament head proposes to strengthen sanctions on Russia

UK PM gets married in London

Armenia reports COVID-19 new 81 cases: 4 people die

EU countries invite US to issue joint statement against Russia

2 people die in Armenia road accident

Nigeria: Students taken hostage a month ago are released

61 quakes recorded in Congo per day

Syrian MFA: EU lost credibility due to blind obedience to US policy

Armenia ex-minister of emergency situations hospitalized with heart attack

Mher Grigoryan: Clarification of border points is possible only after withdrawal of Azerbaijani troops from Armenia

Suspicious deal: Whether there was profit from buying DNA IDs?

Armenia ex-president says current authorities are trying to blame Russia for defeat in war

4 people killed in Afghanistani bus attack

Robert Kocharyan: This war could not have happened, it was a consequence of the policy of the authorities

Kocharyan: I have to ask people how it happened that overwhelming majority elected this leader

Armen Gevorgyan presents 'Armenia' bloc program: We offer the concept of a working country

Biden's administration proposed to leave unchanged amount of financial support to Armenia

US Embassy in Baku calls on Azerbaijan to immediately release Armenian POWs

Luxembourg MFA calls on Azerbaijan to immediately release all Armenian prisoners

Russia peacekeepers climb to Armenia Gegharkunik Province village positions

Biden strongly condemns manifestations of antisemitism in US

Iran intensifies its diplomacy amid Armenia-Azerbaijan border tensions

Armenia acting PM on forthcoming snap parliamentary elections: We hope to get 60% of votes
A 14-year-old girl in Pennsylvania has been charged with homicide after police say she killed her older sister early Monday.

Just after 1 a.m., Manheim Township police received a call from a girl who said shed killed her sister, the local prosecutors office said in a news release.

Court documents say the girl, identified as Claire Miller, was hysterical during the call, WPMT reported.

When police arrived at the home, they met the girl outside. Officials said they saw blood in the snow and that the teen repeated I killed my sister several times, according to WPMT.

She led police to a bedroom where they discovered 19-year-old Helen Miller with a stab wound to the neck, the Lancaster County District Attorneys Office said in a news release.

Police found a large knife in Helen Millers neck just above her chest after removing a pillow from her face, court records indicate, according to Lancaster Online.

First responders werent able to revive the woman, officials said.

An initial investigation suggests Helen Miller was killed overnight while the girls parents were asleep, police said.

Claire Miller was arrested at the scene. Shes been charged with criminal homicide.

Officials say Claire Miller was charged as an adult because homicide is not considered a delinquent act in Pennsylvania. She is also ineligible for bail due to the charge.

An investigation into the incident is ongoing and officials say theyre working to determine the circumstances that led to Helen Millers death.

Manheim Township is roughly 80 miles west of Philadelphia.
Two California oncologists have agreed to plead guilty in a case involving the purchase of more than $1 million US in unapproved and counterfeit cancer drugs from a company owned by a Winnipeg internet pharmacy pioneer.

As part of a plea agreement, two California cancer physicians have admitted they bought unapproved, counterfeit oncology drugs from a company owned by a Winnipeg internet pharmacy pioneer. The Altuzan, also known as Avastin, is an injectable cancer medication. It was found to have no active ingredients. (U.S. Food and Drug Administration)

Two California oncologists have agreed to plead guilty in a case involving the purchase of more than $1 million US in unapproved and counterfeit cancer drugs from a company owned by a Winnipeg internet pharmacy pioneer.

Dr. Stanley Rossman and Dr. Mark Goldstein of Hematology Oncology Consultants will be back in a Los Angeles court March 19.

To read more of this story first reported by CBC News, click here.

This content is made available to Free Press readers as part of an agreement with CBC that sees our two trusted news brands collaborate to better cover Manitoba. Questions about CBC content can be directed to talkback@cbc.ca.
Migrants: Asso30 with 232 on board,1 dead in Porto Empedocle Rescued in Strait of Sicily

(ANSAmed) - AGRIGENTO, FEBRUARY 22 - Asso 30, the private ship that works for ENI platforms, has docked in Porto Empedocle, in the province of Agrigento. It has 232 migrants on board rescued in the Strait of Sicily and the body of a victim.



The group will be tested for Covid and identified. The migrants will then be transferred to the quarantine ship "Allegra" to monitor their health as part of measures to contain the spread of coronavirus.



The quarantine ship "Allegra" will then leave Porto Empedocle and reach the "Adriatica" vessel off the coast. This other quarantine sip is expected to host 150 migrants from the hotspot of Lampedusa. The group was scheduled to leave on Monday morning for Porto Empedocle. The "Adriatica" ship, which is completely empty and can host about 400 people, was docked until Sunday morning off Lampedusa. The prefecture of Agrigento - which systematically coordinates the transfer of migrants present in hosting facilities - wanted migrants who have already been identified and tested for Covid to board directly in Lampedusa.



The weather's condition however did not allow the ship to dock.



The "Suprema" vessel meanwhile remains in front of Lampedusa, ready for the boarding of some 300 migrants coming from the hotspot as soon as the conditions of the sea will allow it to dock in cala Pisana. The facility of the largest Pelagian island, where 1,100 people were registered on Saturday, hosted on Monday morning over 900. (ANSAmed)
UK Competition Watchdog to Scrutinize Big Tech

The UKs competition watchdog is set to scrutinize Big Tech companies this year when it gains new powers independent of the EU, said Andrea Coscelli, chief executive of the Competition and Markets Authority (CMA).

Last month, the CMA opened an investigation into Googles Privacy Sandbox project, to determine whether the project will distort competition. Coscelli said that he expects more investigations to come.

We are actively scanning the players, the complaints we have received, the cases that others are doing, what could be done in parallel with others, where are the gaps in the work the European Commission is doing, Coscelli told the Financial Times.

We certainly expect to open more cases during the course of this year, he added.

The UK government announced last November that a dedicated Digital Markets Unit (DMU) will be set up within the CMA to regulate the behaviour of market-dominating online platforms and create more competition, giving smaller businesses and news outlets a chance to thrive.

Until we have these new legal powers, if we want to achieve impact for consumers in the UK, we need to use our current [tools], Coscelli said.

There are quite a few cases against the digital platforms in Brussels today and a number of these cases include the UK market.

When asked if the CMA would have intervened in the merger between Google and Fitbit if it had the power earlier, Coscelli said he couldnt speculate what would have been done, but the new special merger regime would have probably applied.

Were quite skeptical of these sort of long-term behaviour remedies that were ultimately accepted by the European Commission in this particular case, and our concern is that its very difficult to monitor sufficiently and enforce this type of remedies, he told the Financial Times.

Coscelli was also asked to comment on U.S. graphics processor company Nvidias bid for Arm, a semiconductor and software design company in the UK.

Arm has a number of products that are in high demand in what is a very concentrated downstream market, and Nvidia is one of the key players there. So this is a vertical transaction in essentially two concentrated markets with significant barriers to entry and expansion, he said. Its a type of transaction that creates prima facie competition concerns.

Since its a global transaction, Coscelli said, the UK will need to cooperate with other global agencies and a probe into the merger will require a lot of work. National security, although out of CMAs jurisdiction, is a factor that add complexity to the review process in Arms case.

Coscelli said that Big Tech monopoly wasnt considered a potential problem a decade ago because competition was thought to be just one click away.

What we have learned, he said, is that in some areas Big Tech companies have very strong network effects, there are very strong benefits to scale, and just the sheer amount of information that has been collected historically.

Coscelli said more intervention is required to level the playing field in order to give new companies space to grow.

Alexander Zhang contributed to this report.
EMILY ST. LAWRENCE, Chariho girls lacrosse, senior: St. Lawrence tied a school record for goals in a game with nine in a win over Smithfield. St. Lawrence scored 17 goals for the week and has 32 for the season.

CARLY CONSTANTINE, Stonington softball, sophomore: Constantine singled home Shea OConnor with the winning run to hand Waterford, the states No. 2 ranked team at the time, its first loss of the season. For the week, Constantine was 5 for 15.

GREG GORMAN, Westerly baseball, junior: Gorman, a junior, hit a massive home run in a win against Barrington. The homer went over the fence in center field and landed in a nearby road. Gorman was 3 for 3 with four RBIs in the game. He is hitting .571 with 10 RBIs for the season.

BRADIN ANDERSON, Wheeler baseball, freshman: Anderson, a freshman, pitched a complete-game shutout to beat Grasso Tech. Anderson struck out three to earn the first win of his varsity career.

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Egypts Minister of Petroleum Tarek El-Molla headed on Sunday to Ramallah and Israel to have talks with his counterparts over the East Mediterranean Gas Forum, the petroleum ministry said.

According to the statement issued by the ministry, El-Molla met and held talks with Mohamed Mustafa, the adviser to the Palestinian President for economic affairs in Ramallah, and Yuval Steinitz, the Israeli minister of energy, in Jerusalem to support the goals and efforts of the Eastern Mediterranean Gas Forum.

The Eastern Mediterranean Gas Forums founding countries include Palestine, Israel, Egypt, Cyprus, Greece, Jordan, and Italy.

The visits aims to crystalise a common vision and a systematic dialogue to develop a regional market, as the forums charter [comes into effect] in a way that supports the member states efforts to invest their gas reserves and use the existing and future infrastructure through fruitful and constructive cooperation, the statement read.

Short link:



The City of Madison may soon join Huntsville in creating an independent body to formally offer advice and help improve relationships between the police department and the rest of the community.

On Monday, February 22, the Madison City Council will vote on Ordinance No. 2021-32, which would establish the Madison Police Citizens Advisory Committee (MPCAC).

Issues with the advisory purview of the committee: Police services, both crime related and non-crime related

Training in areas including diversity, employment training (both civilian and sworn personnel), procedural justice, community policing and crisis intervention training

Agency objectives, problems and successes

Development of agency programs and policies

Actions, philosophies, behaviors and practices that contribute to community tensions, grievances and complaints

The nine-member group would be comprised of individuals nominated by each of the mayor, the chief of police and each city council member.

The role of the committee would be to not only help the police better understand "the nature and causes of complex community problems," but it would also "recommend procedures, programs, or policies to improve the efficiency and effectiveness of the police department and to enhance cooperation among citizens of the community and the police," according to the ordinance.

It would also "keep the Chief of Police, Mayor, and the City Council apprised of actions taken by the department which create community concern or controversy."

The committee is also tasked with aiding the police "in identifying trouble areas requiring special police or other governmental actions."

Those wanting to serve on the committee have to live within the City of Madison and cannot be a city employee, an elected official or the family member of either group.

Participation is unpaid and each appointee serves a four-year term. However, in order to not turn over the entire committee every four years, the initial council will be divided into two groups. The first group will serve for two years and the second will serve for four years.

The committee will meet at least once per quarter and must be held in a public forum and announced in advance. "However, closed meetings may be conducted as permitted under the Alabama Open Meetings Act."

There are limitations of the committee though. Requests for any information or data desired by the committee from Madison Police "will be forwarded to the Chief of Police and the City Attorney."

The ordinance does not state if the committee has the right to all information requested. The committee also does not have the ability to obligate the City of Madison, either financially or legally. "The MPCAC may submit requests for purchases of supplies or appropriations necessary to meet its goals by requesting funding from the Madison City Council."

The city council meets on Monday at 6 p.m.
Angelo Quinto lay facedown on the hardwood floor of his mother's bedroom with blood pooling out of his mouth and his hands cuffed behind his back.

"What happened?" his mother, Cassandra Quinto-Collins, breathlessly asked two police officers huddled over his body in a video she shot of the Dec. 23 scene in their Antioch, Calif., home.

Quinto's family had called 911 because the 30-year-old Navy veteran was suffering a mental health crisis. But Quinto-Collins said she watched in horror as a responding officer knelt on her son's neck for nearly five minutes while another officer restrained him.

Then, he stopped breathing. "Can you take him, please?" she pleads in the video.

Days later, Quinto died in a nearby hospital.

While the Antioch Police Department has released virtually no information on his case for weeks - including the names of the officers involved or an official cause of death - Quinto's family now says that their own investigation suggests police asphyxiated him by failing to follow proper procedures in a mental health emergency. The family filed a legal claim last week, a precursor to suing the department.

"They put . . . the knee on the back of his neck and pressed down for about five minutes and snuffed his life out," John Burris, the family's attorney, said at a news conference on Thursday.

Antioch police didn't immediately respond to a message from The Washington Post late Sunday. The agency, which nearly two months later has yet to post any public statements about Quinto's death, told the San Francisco Chronicle that the Contra Costa County district attorney and sheriff's office are investigating the case.

The circumstances of Quinto's death suggest a parallel to George Floyd, who died last May after a Minneapolis police officer knelt on his neck for more than nine minutes, and also echo a national movement to change how police respond to mental health crises - or even, in some communities, to remove police from responding to such emergencies entirely.

Quinto, who was born in the Philippines, was honorably discharged from the Navy for a food allergy in 2019, the Chronicle reported. He loved online gaming, scuba diving and fishing, his family said at Thursday's news conference.

But his behavior changed after suffering a head injury in an apparent assault last year, his family told the Chronicle, and he began suffering bouts of paranoia and anxiety. Late on Dec. 23, he began acting erratically. His sister, Isabella Collins, called 911 for help, and police arrived after 11 p.m. to find his mother embracing him on the floor, according a report compiled by the family's private investigator, the Chronicle reported.

When officers flipped Quinto over and pinned him on his stomach, he pleaded for his life, his mother said.

"'He said, 'Please don't kill me. Please don't kill me,'" she told KTVU.

His mother eventually began recording on her cellphone, but didn't capture the initial encounter with police, including the officer allegedly kneeling on his neck. Her video starts as police realize that Quinto is unresponsive and then hurriedly remove his handcuffs and roll him into a mobile stretcher. As his mother pleads for information, an officer applies chest compressions in the hallway.

"Does he have a pulse?" she asks. "What is happening?"

Quinto died on Dec. 26. But it took Antioch police nearly a month to acknowledge his death and their role in the incident, after the San Jose Mercury News began asking about the case. Lt. John Fortner, an Antioch police spokesperson, said at the time that police had handcuffed Quinto, but didn't use any physical force.

That's untrue, his family says. In a reenactment of the scene the family filmed for Burris, they described one officer pinning Quinto's neck and head under his knee while the other held onto the 30-year-old's legs and handcuffed him.

"This was a healthy person before, no physical problems," said Burris, "and within moments, his life is gone."

Burris said police have refused to release any information on the case to the family or its attorneys, and that the officers involved were not wearing body cameras. Along with Quinto's family, he called for Antioch police to retrain its officers to deal with mental health crises.

"I'm always going to regret calling the police and hope no one has to regret doing what they think is the right thing," Collins, Quinto's sister, told KTVU.
Acropora Tenuis is a common coral around Okinawa. It has three distinct color morphs -- brown, yellow-green, and purple. Credit: Daisuke Kezuka.

Anyone who visits the Great Barrier Reef in Australia, Southeast Asia's coral triangle, or the reefs of Central America will surely speak of the stunning and vibrant environments. Indeed, coral reefs are believed to house more biodiversity than any other ecosystem on the planet, with the coral providing protection and shelter for hundreds of species of fish and crustaceans.

But these ecosystems are under threat. Global pressures, such as rising ocean temperatures, are causing coral to turn ghostly white, a phenomenon called bleaching, and die. One family of coralAcroporaseems to be particularly susceptible and its numbers are expected to decline in the future. This is especially concerning as these corals are fast growers and thus structurally important for the reefs. Researchers took a close look at Acropora tenuis, a species within this family, which is known to have three color morphsbrown, purple and yellow-green. Their new study, published in G3: Genes|Genomes|Genetics, indicates that these color morphs speak of the coral's resilience to high temperatures, and found the underlying genetic factors that seem to be responsible for this.

"Coral reefs are very beautiful and have a whole variety of different colors," said Professor Noriyuki Satoh, who leads the Marine Genomics Unit at the Okinawa Institute of Science and Technology Graduate University (OIST). "When we started looking at the different color morphs of A. tenuis we noticed that some morphs bleach more readily and die more frequently than others. During the summer of 2017, we saw that many of the brown and purple morphs bleached, with the brown morph dying at a higher rate, but the yellow-green morph seemed to show resilience to the summer temperatures."

The Unit worked with several individuals from the Okinawan community, including Koji Kinjo from Sea Seed, who directs a private aquarium where the different color morphs have been grown for around 20 years. This aquarium was instrumental for the researchers to observe the coral over the last two decades and to determine how resilient this species is to climate change, and the underlying causes.

The green color morph (pictured in the lower right corner) was more resilient to rising sea temperatures than the purple color morph (also pictured) and the brown color morph. This research has shed light on the underlying genetic and protein factors that may be at work behind this. Credit: Kohei Shintaku

In 2020, Professor Satoh and his collaborators decoded the genome of A. tenuis, which provided them with the toolkit for this research, allowing them to look at the genetic foundations that cause the different morphs.

"At first, we thought the difference in resilience might be linked to the corals housing different kinds of symbiotic algae, which photosynthesize for the coral and thus provide the coral with energy. Previous research has shown that some symbiotic algae are more resilient to climate change than others. But when we looked at the three-color morphs, we found that they all housed very similar algae," explained Professor Satoh.

With this in mind, the research group instead focused the expression levels of the proteins that are thought responsible for the coral's color. There are four different groups of these proteinsgreen fluorescent proteins (GFP), red fluorescent proteins (RFP), cyan fluorescent proteins (CFP), and non-fluorescent blue/purple chromoproteins (ChrP). The researchers looked at the gene expression levels of five types of GFP, three types of RFP, two types of CFP and seven types of ChrP in several coral in each morph.

As can be expected, they found that the green morph expressed high quantities of FGPs, but the researchers found that two of the five were expressed at particularly high levels. More surprising was that these two proteins were expressed at even higher levels during summer, which indicates that they help the coral to withstand warmer temperatures. Specifically, these proteins seemed to protect the symbiotic algae, which meant that this color morph experienced very little bleaching.

The three different color morphs of this coral have been grown in the private aquarium - Umino-Tane Co. LTD (Sea Seed) - located in Okinawa, for the last two decades. This aquarium was instrumental in the OIST researchers being able to conduct this study. Credit: OIST

In contrast, the corals with the brown color morph, which express much lower quantities of these two proteins, bleached by around 50% over July and August 2017.

The purple morph was different again. It expressed very little of any of the fluorescent proteins, but much higher levels of Chrp. The corals with this color morph bleached at levels in between that seen in corals with the brown morph and that seen in corals with the green morph.

"Coral reefs are so important for biodiversity," concluded Professor Satoh. "Finding out more about them will help us to conserve them. Right now, we cannot help so much about the coral reef situation but gathering this fundamental knowledge, understanding how corals work, is very important for long-term conservation."

This research has showcased that the color morphology of coral is very much involved in its response to high temperatures. The underlying reasons behind this, such as exactly how the green fluorescent protein protects the symbiosis, will no doubt be the topic of research in the future.

More information: Noriyuki Satoh et al, Color morphs of the coral, Acropora tenuis, show different responses to environmental stress and different expression profiles of fluorescent-protein genes, G3 Genes|Genomes|Genetics (2021). Noriyuki Satoh et al, Color morphs of the coral, Acropora tenuis, show different responses to environmental stress and different expression profiles of fluorescent-protein genes,(2021). DOI: 10.1093/g3journal/jkab018
A Sikh in Canada does not have to be a Khalistani to express concern about the fate of fellow Sikhs in India

Many among overseas Indians have for long been interested in and concerned about developments back home in Mother India. After all, it was an overseas Indian who returned home and pursued a cause that liberated India from its colonial masters. His return made history and it was a Bharatiya Janata Party government that decided to celebrate that day as the Pravasi Bharatiya Diwas -- the day Mohandas Karamchand Gandhi returned home from South Africa to eventually become a Mahatma. Overseas Indians have since felt it their duty and right to be concerned about what happens in India and seek to influence it.

In 2014 hundreds of overseas Indians took time off from their work abroad to visit India and get involved in Narendra Modis election campaign. They manned his social media campaign, they organised the funding and undertook a variety of political activity in India to help Mr Modi win that election. Some of them chose to remain in India and join his government, while many others returned to their jobs abroad. They have since organised public meetings for Prime Minister Modi in their home countries and have mobilised support for his government on a variety of issues.

The 2014 parliamentary elections were not the first instance of the global Indian getting involved in local politics at home. Malayalees in the Gulf have demonstrated a keen interest in the politics of their home state just as much as the Tamils of Malaysia and Sri Lanka did and the Telugus of North America. It had become routine for politicians from Kerala to solicit funds and support from the Malayalee diaspora, and Malayalees in the Gulf have long been demanding the right to vote in elections back home. The Telugu Desam leader, N. Chandrababu Naidu, was the toast of the overseas Andhra community and Narendra Modi became the darling not just of the overseas Gujarati but also the overseas Hindu. Telanganas Telugus based in the United States actively supported the demand for a separate state. Such overseas engagement is inevitable and can spin out in a variety of unpredictable ways.

For over a quarter-century we have seen overseas Indians getting increasingly involved in Indian politics. The huge gatherings at Mr Modis public meetings in New York, London, Houston and so on were testimony to that. Soon these events began to generate concern in some foreign lands.

When Mr Modis fans wanted to stage a similar public event in Singapore, the government there was initially concerned. What if Chinas Xi Jinping were to next land in Singapore and want to address the even larger overseas Chinese community? A Singaporean diplomat confided in me that their government was worried about allowing Indian politics to play out in Singapore. In the event, Mr Modi had his public meeting.

Indias political parties and the government have taken a keen interest in the internal politics of many neighbouring countries and continue to do so. This is in the nature of things. What happens to Sri Lankan Tamils does bother Tamils around the world, including in India. The Narendra Modi government has even changed India's citizenship law to offer a home to disaffected and disenfranchised minorities from neighbouring Muslim-majority countries.

It is, therefore, ironic to see the same Modi government now lecture many among the overseas Indian community against getting involved in Indias domestic political developments. A Sikh in Canada does not have to be a Khalistani to express concern about the fate of fellow Sikhs in India. The Sikh diasporas expression of solidarity with Sikh farmers in India is no different from the Tamil diasporas concern about Tamils in Sri Lanka. The diaspora coin spins both ways.

The social media and Internet connectivity have only facilitated the globalisation of local concerns. The overseas flak that the Narendra Modi government is facing for its handling of the farmers protests is the other side of the same coin that spun in Mr Modis favour when his supporters had organised global support for his election campaign. Those who win through the social media also run the risk of losing through the social media.

Going forward, Indian diplomacy will have to come up with a well-considered response and approach to the Indian diasporas engagement with Indias local political issues. In the past, Indian diplomats have reached out to the diaspora in their effort to promote Indian interests overseas. In return, the diaspora is today reaching back to support causes in India. In trying to prevent the latter, one may end up hurting the former.

Consider, for example, the role played by USINPAC -- United States-India Political Action Committee (usinpac.com) -- an organisation of Indian Americans that has actively engaged US politicians in promoting Indian and Indian American interests in the US. It played an important role in securing US congressional support for the India-US civil nuclear energy agreement in 2005-08 and, in 2014-15, came to the defence of the BJP and Prime Minister Modi against attacks on their politics from critics in India and the United States.

Established in 2002 with the tacit approval of the Atal Behari Vajpayee government and under the leadership of an Indian American, USINPAC has campaigned against US aid to Pakistan, in favour of increased H1-B visas for Indians and a variety of other such causes that could be described, in todays language, as external interference in domestic policies. Indian diplomats have made good use of USINPAC in promoting Indian interests in the US. So Indias objections today to such political advocacy here that is supported by overseas interests sounds a bit hollow.

The challenge for Atma Nirbhar Bharat today is that even as it seeks to become more self-reliant, it has to also have the self-confidence to deal with the fact that there is a global civil society of people of Indian origin and non-resident Indians overseas who have an interest in the welfare of resident Indians and the future of India.
(CNN)  Large crowds of Haitians took to the streets again on Sunday, as a standoff between President Jovenel Moise and the country's opposition movement stretched into its third week.

"Those of us fighting, who want another Haiti, a Haiti pearl of the Antilles, say no to the dictatorship," one protester told Reuters in capital city Port-au-Prince, where Haitian opposition and civil society groups had called the demonstration. Another criticized the United States and international organizations for supporting the President.

At the heart of protests is a dispute over the President's term limit: Moise has served only four years of the usual five, and says his term ends in 2022 -- a stance backed by the United States, United Nations and Organization of American States.

Protesters, however, say he should have stepped down February 7, citing a constitutional provision that starts the clock once a president is elected, rather than when he takes office.

"We want the international community (to) understand that the Haiti people won't back down on their demands. Jovenel Moise must leave the national palace for a peaceful transition that can lead us to the elections," opposition leader Andre Michel told CNN on Sunday.

Moise has dismissed protesters as "a minority of people" seeking to destabilize the state and seize power, and has refused to contemplate calls for a transitional government, instead asking the opposition to wait until general elections later this year.

Legislative elections are already long overdue in Haiti. After the country's parliament dissolved last year, Moise failed to organize new elections, leaving legislative and municipal positions empty across the country and the population effectively unrepresented. The vacant parliament means Moise is currently ruling by decree.

Earlier this month, the President also ordered three Supreme Court justices to retire, accusing them of designs on his office -- a move that legal experts have told CNN is unconstitutional. In protest, Haiti's judiciary stopped work, putting courts and tribunals across the country on pause.

Haiti's national bar association and the Superior Council of Judicial Power (CSPJ) -- a powerful body that appoints, fires and disciplines judges -- have sided with the opposition in calling for Moise to step down. So have some US lawmakers.

However, the international community and the administration of US President Joe Biden have largely voiced support for Moise to remain in office until 2022, though his recent handling of the protests and Supreme Court is sparking some concern.

"I am alarmed by recent authoritarian and undemocratic acts -- from unilateral removals and appointments of Supreme Court judges to attacks against journalists," tweeted Julie Chung, Acting Assistant Secretary for the US State Department's Bureau of Western Hemisphere Affairs on February 16.

She urged Haiti to hold legislative elections "as soon as possible."

This month's protests also reflect years of increasing bitterness in Haiti over the country's economic pain and violent crime. Killings and a wave of hundreds of kidnappings in particular have driven public outrage, according to a recent United Nations report, which recorded a monthly average of 84 demonstrations in the second half of 2020.

Moise has blamed his administration's poor record in dealing with such fundamental issues on the country's system of governance, and on complications and lack of clarity in the constitution itself. "Since the beginning of my term, the country has never known stability," he acknowledged in a February 12 tweet.

With an eye toward empowering the office of the president for the future, he has vowed to hold a referendum on changes to the constitution in April. This will be his legacy project, Haiti's ambassador to the United States, Bocchit Edmond, told CNN.

However, critics are skeptical of the legitimacy of any constitutional changes made in the current political climate and without institutional checks and balances in place. General elections are expected to follow in the fall.

In a speech last Sunday, amid celebrations for Carnival, which he celebrated with large crowds of supporters and revelers, Moise expressed his determination to see the country through another year.

"Haiti is for me, for my kids, for the people here dancing. The people who don't want me to do the people's work will stop, or I will make them stop. I was elected to do a job, and I will do it," he said.

This story was first published on CNN.com, "Protests in Haiti as political standoff continues."
The Lies of Burmas Generals

Commentary

Since ancient times, observers have remarked on the rapid deterioration and debasement of language during wars and revolutions. In his History of the Peloponnesian War, the Athenian general Thucydides (c. 460400 BC) remarked how, to fit in with the change of events, words, too, had to change their usual meanings. In Tacituss Agricola (c. AD 98), Calcagus, a Caledonian chieftain, says of his Roman enemies, They create a desert and call it peace.

Little has changed over the millennia. With the abuse of political authority comes the abuse of language, as were currently witnessing in Burma, also known as Myanmar.

On Feb. 1, Burmas military, the Tatmadaw, seized power from the duly elected government and announced a year-long state of emergency. Absurdly, the Tatmadaw justified the coup as necessary to preserve democratic norms. Immediately, the Chinese regime, in a perverse bit of wordplay worthy of Alice in Wonderland, referred to it as a cabinet shuffle.

The generals demand an uncritical acceptance of their outlandish claims. Like all totalitarian bullies, they try to control the language, preventing opponents from using accurate words to describe the takeover of a duly elected government. Unhappy with the choice of words used by the media, the generals threaten consequences for those who insist on calling things by their accurate labels: words such as coup, junta, dictatorship, and so on.

The truth is not in dispute: the generals are not preserving democratic norms, nor did Burmas government experience a cabinet shuffle. The proper word for what transpired is coup. The proper name for the new government is military junta. The proper term for Burmas top general, Min Aung Hlaing, is dictator.

The abuse of language is true of tyrants everywheretyrants who demand we set aside our judgment, skepticism, and understanding while they dissimulate and manipulate the language. As the generals in Burma are so vividly demonstrating, political corruption turns on the institutionalization of lies. The medium responsible for the crushing of truth is, of course, words that are misapplied, mangled, and misused. The abuse of language quickly deteriorates into a dangerous and fraught reality.

Aleksander Solzhenitsyn addressed the close connection between language and action in his acceptance speech for the Nobel Prize. He warned of complacency: Let us not forget that violence does not and cannot exist by itself: It is invariably intertwined with the lie (Solzhenitsyns emphasis).

Solzhenitsyns analysis further explains the Burmese generals pitiless escalation of violence: They are linked in the most intimate, most organic and profound fashion: Violence cannot conceal itself behind anything except lies, and lies have nothing to maintain them save violence.

Or to phrase it differently, violence is the method, and the principle is the lie, cloaked, of course, in honey-throated words and phrases such as democratic norms.

Theres a temptation to indulge in the self-satisfied belief that the liberal West is somehow immune from these sorts of political upheavals. Military coups are for other peoples and other lands. But such complacency is unwarranted. The threats to liberty begin with telling lies, and no nation is immune from lies that distort and erode public discourse. To quote Solzhenitsyn again: There always is this fallacious belief: It would not be the same here; here such things are impossible. Alas, all the evil of the twentieth century is possible everywhere on earth.

The official sanctioning of lies erodes any nations social fabric. When journalists take to task our elected leaders for their misuse and abuse of language, they are not merely being pedantic. The abuse of language and the telling of lies is always a danger sign, an alarm bell that something has gone seriously wrong in political life.

When Alice reproached the Red Queen, asserting that one cant believe impossible things, the Red Queen quickly corrected her: I daresay that you havent had much practice.  Why, sometimes Ive believed as many as six impossible things before breakfast.

The benighted people of Burma are being coerced and bullied and told that they must believe impossible things. At the top of the list is the assertion that the military junta is preserving the nations democratic norms, an absurdity worthy of the Red Queen herself.

Patrick Keeney, Ph.D., is an academic, columnist, and associate editor of C2C Journal.

Views expressed in this article are the opinions of the author and do not necessarily reflect the views of The Epoch Times.
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Credit: University of Oklahoma

Climate change impacts are broad and far reaching. A new study by University of Oklahoma researchers from the Institute for Environmental Genomics explores the impacts of climate warming on microbial network complexity and stability, providing critical insights to ecosystem management and for projecting ecological consequences of future climate warming.

"Global climate change is one of the most profound anthropogenic disturbances to our planet," said Jizhong Zhou, IEG's director, a George Lynn Cross Research Professor in the College of Arts and Sciences and an adjunct professor in the Gallogly College of Engineering. "Climate warming can alter soil microbial community diversity, structure and activities, but it remains uncertain whether and how it impacts network complexity and its relationships to stability in microbial communities."

To understand whether and how climate warming affects the complexity and stability of ecological networks in soil microbial communities, the research team examined temporal dynamics of soil microbial communities in a long-term experiment carried out in a tallgrass prairie ecosystem in central Oklahoma.

"Our study provides explicit evidence that network complexity begets stability in microbial ecology," Zhou said. "Molecular ecological networks under warming became significantly more robust, with network stability strongly correlated with network complexity, supporting the central ecological belief that complexity begets stability."

"Furthermore, these results suggest that preserving microbial 'interactions' is critical for ecosystem management and for projecting ecological consequences of future climate warming," he added.

The study's findings have implications for projecting ecological consequences of future climate warming and for ecosystem management. Although climate warming has impacted decreased biodiversity and associated ecosystem functioning, this study suggests that the microbial community stability in the grassland ecosystem and the linked ecosystem functions could be less vulnerable in the warmer world.

The study, "Climate warming enhances microbial network complexity and stability," is published in Nature Climate Change.

Explore further Study aims to use microbial information to inform global climate change models

More information: Mengting Maggie Yuan et al, Climate warming enhances microbial network complexity and stability, Nature Climate Change (2021). Journal information: Nature Climate Change Mengting Maggie Yuan et al, Climate warming enhances microbial network complexity and stability,(2021). DOI: 10.1038/s41558-021-00989-9
Thousands of residents are being evacuated on the outskirts of Indonesias capital amid flooding from the Citarum River.

The Bekasi district in Indonesias West Java province has experienced flooding since Saturday because of heavy rain.

Some embankments are broken, not only from the river embankment but also from the irrigation embankments, said public works and housing minister Basuki Hadimuljono.

Rescuers from the National Search and Rescue Agency have been deployed.

Expand Close People push belongings through a flooded area in Indonesia (Achmad Ibrahim/AP) AP/PA Images / Facebook

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Whatsapp People push belongings through a flooded area in Indonesia (Achmad Ibrahim/AP)

Raditya Jati, a spokesperson for the National Disaster Mitigation Agency, said that more than 28,000 residents in four villages in the Bekasi district and 34 villages in the Karawang district are affected by the floods. At least 4,000 people are being evacuated.

Thousands of houses in the area are covered with up to 100 inches of water and are without power.

Seasonal rains and high tides in recent days have caused dozens of landslides and widespread flooding across much of Indonesia.
Celeste Barber has made a name for herself roasting celebrities on social media.

But the Australian comedian, 38, has admitted she regrets some of her famous parodies and can't even watch them anymore.

She told The Morning Show on Monday that her self-esteem issues mean it's a struggle looking back at some of her older videos.

Self-doubt: Comedian Celeste Barber, who is known for roasting celebrities on social media, has admitted she regrets some of her famous parodies and can't even watch them anymore

Reflecting on her own body insecurities, Celeste said: 'There are a few of those where I've gone, "Ohh..."

The social media star added that she has to remind herself sometimes that the central message of her comedy is body positivity.

She explained: 'Even sometimes when I post stuff, I go, "Come on, buy what you're selling, Celeste. Body positive. Put it out there. Put it out there." But, yeah, I can't watch some of them.'

Being honest: She told The Morning Show on Monday that her self-esteem issues mean it's a struggle looking back at some of her older videos. Shown here parodying Kim Kardashian

The mother of two also revealed that her sons, Lou and Buddy, don't approve of some of her racier videos.

'They can appreciate that they're funny but when it's me doing it... Like my son sometimes is like, "Mum, is that inappropriate?" Probably, but it's paying the mortgage!' Celeste said.

The funnywoman appeared on The Morning Show to discuss her role as ambassador for budget beauty brand MCoBeauty.

'Buy what you're selling Celeste': Celeste, 38, said she has to remind herself sometimes that the central message of her comedy is body positivity. Shown here parodying Lara Stone

'MCoBeauty is awesome for everyday people who care about how they look but can't afford eleven-ty billion dollars to put a face on,' she said.

It comes after Celeste roasted Keeping Up with the Kardashians star Kendall Jenner over her racy campaign shoot for shapewear brand SKIMS.

In an Instagram post on February 17, Celeste recreated Kendall's photo - which many skeptics argued was Photoshopped - by wearing a similar red bikini.

Steal her style: It comes after Celeste roasted Keeping Up with the Kardashians star Kendall Jenner over her racy campaign shoot for shapewear brand SKIMS

Celeste snapped a mirror selfie as she glanced vacantly at her iPhone screen, just like Kendall had done in her photo.

She also copied Kendall's hairstyle by leaving her brunette locks out, and wore a pair of black high heels.

'SKIMS - Now with bonus yeast infection,' she wrote in the caption, referring to how the underwear sat very high on her hips.

The Information Minister-designate, Kojo Oppong Nkrumah told newsmen on the sidelines of the Conference and Donor Presentation for the Sustainable Development of Yendi Municipal Hospital on Sunday.



In brief comments at the Conference, he noted that hed  another engagement on our COVID-19 vaccines that are arriving early [Monday] morning.



Vaccination



Ghana will begin to vaccinate some 20 million persons against COVID-19 from the first week of March, said Kwame Amponsa-Akyianu, Ghanas program manager for the Expanded Program on Immunization (EPI) on Friday.



Speaking at an engagement on Ghanas COVID-19 roll-out plan, he observed that the vision of the country is to vaccinate the entire population of about 31 million but will begin with 20 million and vaccinate the remaining population in due course.



Amponsa-Akyianu disclosed that the country had gone through all the required processes and will receive its first consignment of 350,000 COVID-19 vaccines by next week to pave way for the vaccination exercise to take place next month.



Our vision as a country is to vaccinate the entire population. We are expecting a total of 350,000 COVID-19 vaccines to arrive in the country by Feb. 22 to pave way for the vaccination in the first week of March. The exercise will continue till October this year, he said.



The Food and Drugs Authority has approved the AstraZeneca and Sputnik V vaccines for use in Ghana.



Source: Ghana/ Kasapafmonline.com/102.5 Fm

Source: kasapafmonline.com









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After months of living separate lives, Kim Kardashian has finally filed for divorce from her husband.

In the last couple of months, the 40-year-old KKW Beauty mogul had already finished filming for the final season of their reality show with E! Their marital problems have been caught on camera.

However, the show must go on for the "Keeping Up With the Kardashians" star because she will be documenting the entire divorce showdown on TV.

But with KUWTK ending and the entire Kar-Jenner family singing massive new deals with Star and Hulu, it has also been reported that the shows will highlight their high-profile divorce.

An insider told the Sunday Mirror paper that Kim Kardashian's divorce will be on the final episodes of "Keeping Up With the Kardashians" and is "likely to be a topic of discussion" on their upcoming shows.

Is Kanye West Joining?

Kanye West has been one of the main stars since 2013. But it doesn't mean he'll be joining the cast of the new reality show.

Sources told the Sunday Mirror that it's "very unlikely" he'll be featured in any upcoming scenes.

READ ALSO: Kim Kardashian Enjoys 'Girls Trip' With Daughters Amid Kanye West Lawsuit Drama

'Sad but Relieved'

Kim Kardashian reportedly feels "sad but relieved" after filing for divorce.

An insider revealed to People magazine that the SKIMS creator feels confident in her decision to finally leave the award-winning rapper because it's best for her family.

"She's already felt like she's been divorced for months now. It's been a long time coming, and she feels relieved to be able to move on finally."

Kim Kardashian's primary concern is said to be the well-being of the four kids she shares with Kanye West - North (7), Saint (5), Chicago (3), and Psalm (21 months).

The insider added how she's worried about her privacy and her kids.

Thankfully, the eldest West child, North, reportedly understands what's happening in her parents' lives and that all of the children are used to seeing their kids apart, so it isn't that surprising for them.

Kim also expressed to her children that she loves their dad, but it's vital that they live separate lives.

Kim Kardashian, Kanye West Divorce

Another source revealed to E! News that one of the reasons Kim Kardashian finally filed for divorce was because she was tired of waiting.

Despite giving the "Jesus Walks" rapper plenty of chances and time, she believes it's time to move on as they have grown apart.

Kim Kardashian and Kanye West are also independently wealthy themselves, with five houses and two very high-profile careers. Their divorce is estimated to be worth $2.1 billion.

See Now: Famous Actors Who Turned Down Iconic Movie Roles
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A Gold Coast nurse who treats COVID-19 positive patients is the first person to be vaccinated against coronavirus on Queensland soil.

Queensland nurse Zoe Park receives a COVID-19 vaccination from Kellie Kenway at Gold Coast University Hospital on Monday. Credit:Pool/Nigel Hallet

Zoe Park received the Pfizer COVID-19 vaccine at the Gold Coast University Hospital on Monday, one of 180 people set to have the jab at the hospital on the first day of the rollout.

It actually didnt hurt at all, I hardly felt it, she said.

I feel like the flu shot hurt a lot more, it is a really fine needle.

[February 22, 2021] Octopai Announces Support of Snowflake, Continuing to Empower BI & Analytics Groups with Advanced Intelligence in Hybrid and Complex BI Environments

TEL AVIV, Israel, Feb. 22, 2021 /PRNewswire/ -- Octopai, the leader in Automated Data Lineage and Data Discovery, announced today its support and analysis of Snowflake, the fastest-growing cloud-based database in the industry. This follows a recent announcement of its support of Microsoft Azure Data Factory. Octopai's mission is to provide organizations the intelligence they need to view their entire BI & Analytics landscapes, enabling them to gain easy access, control and visibility to their data. BI & Analytics landscapes are becoming more complex. The move to the cloud has become inevitable for many enterprises, but the management of cloud processes is creating new challenges for the BI & Analytics teams, especially in hybrid environments when still using on-prem systems as well. Octopai's BI Intelligence Platform enables BI groups to tackle these challenges head-on by centralizing all the information about the data (metadata) of all BI systems, even when it's from different vendors, into the Octopai platform in order to provide the most in-depth analysis, complete end-to-end data lineage, discovery and automated business glossary. "Octopai's new support of Snowflake will be especially relevant for companies migrating to Snowflake from a legacy system since this process is expected to take up to two years to complete," says Amnon Drori, CEO of Octopai. "With one foot in Snowflake and one foot in an on-prem/legacy system, it will be critical for companies to use our cross-platform automated solution in order to allow seamless transpaency through these different technologies."



Octopai saves time and resources during the process of migration from on-prem/legacy systems to Snowflake. Prior to migration, Octopai can also provide mapping of objects which are no longer necessary, reducing the time and cost of migration. Octopai's BI Intelligence Platform provides cost savings to enterprises using Snowflake (which uses a "pay-per-second" pricing model), from the migration phase through to the day-to-day use. By getting the full picture of what and how different tables, columns etc. are being used, Octopai reduces the number of exploration queries over the Snowflake platform directly reducing the Snowflake expense.

Octopai's support and analysis of Snowflake is unique because it provides: Detailed coverage with full visualization as part of the entire BI ecosystem including pipes and procedures.

Full alignment of Octopai's data flow lineage with the detailed Snowflake metadata repository. This includes any object defined in your Snowflake database.

End-to-end lineage from the legacy/operational system to your report analysis, simplifying insight into and through Snowflake along with all other layers of your BI ecosystem.

Parsing support for JSON and other semi-structured scripts, which is unique to Octopai. About Octopai: Octopai was founded in 2015 by BI professionals who realized the need for advanced and technology-based solutions in a growing market. Octopai's SaaS platform provides organizations the intelligence they need about their entire BI & Analytics environment and equips them with the best automated Data Lineage, Data Discovery, and BI Catalog solutions that are needed, so business users can get access to data and ensure that data is trusted. With Octopai, BI groups can quickly, easily, and accurately find and understand their data for improved operations, data quality, and data governance. The company was recognized as a Gartner Cool Vendor for Data Science and Machine Learning in 2018 and has been recognized in 2019 and 2020 as one of the top companies to watch, providing innovation to the BI and Analytics domain. CONTACT: DeeDee Rudenstein, 267-521-9654, drudenstein@propelsc.com View original content:http://www.prnewswire.com/news-releases/octopai-announces-support-of-snowflake-continuing-to-empower-bi--analytics-groups-with-advanced-intelligence-in-hybrid-and-complex-bi-environments-301232461.html SOURCE Octopai

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Craig Townsend, Broker Associate - Mason Morse Ranch Company Craig possesses an innate ability to analyze a transaction from all sides helping buyers and sellers get the right answers to make informed real estate decisions.

Craig Townsends real estate land broker work ethic and 29 years of experience in farm and ranch management stems from a long family history farming, ranching and stewardship of the land. He proudly continues his heritage through ownership in his familys farm and ranch now under its six generation of management.

The values of integrity and a strong work ethic learned from my agricultural background has never escaped me, said Craig. Teamwork cannot be over emphasized either, something engrained in me at the Naval Academy and the ensuing 11 years of Naval Service. It is the trust, teamwork and hard work that lie at the core of my pursuit of clients goals.

Craig commented further, Working in the land brokerage business is unique, you are working with land owners, farmers and ranchers that have chosen a career and lifestyle that defines them. Trust and loyalty are hard earned, and it takes a person who understands their business to guide them through the buying and selling process. Thats why at Mason & Morse, 'We live it to know it!'

Craig refined his business expertise at the University of Colorado Boulder where he obtained his Masters in Business Administration with an emphasis in Real Estate Finance, launching his career in Real Estate. His experience in the procurement of development land, entitlements, contracts and financing deals across the country play a crucial role in his successful transition into the Land business and help set him apart from your normal real estate broker.

Craig possesses an innate ability to analyze a transaction from all sides helping buyers and sellers get the right answers to make informed real estate decisions. Craigs service to his clients, his community and Mason & Morse Ranch Company are of the highest standards you will find in this industry, said Bart Miller, ALC and Managing Broker of Mason & Morse Ranch Company.

When not serving the needs of his clients, you can find Craig engaged in his local community serving as a Chapter Advisor to FFA, serving as a board member to the Steamboat Springs Rodeo Board, Community Ag Alliance, VFW and President of Historic Routt County.

Craig and his wife Ranada happily call Steamboat Springs, Colorado home where they enjoy taking in the outdoors and endless recreational opportunities of the various seasons. Craig is licensed in Colorado and Wyoming.

Facts About Craig Townsend

Experience:

29 Years Farm and Ranch Management, 6 Generation Family Operation

11 years of service as a Naval Officer, spanning 5 continents, 46 countries and 42 states

Designed and entitled over 1.4 million SF of commercial space

Implemented Asset Management platform responsible for over $300 million in assets

Secured financing for over $100 million in development projects

Developed over $50 million in commercial projects

Led disposition of a $225 million Colorado real estate portfolio

Education:

United States Naval Academy - B.S. Economics 2003

University of Colorado Boulder Leeds School of Business  M.B.A Real Estate Finance

Affiliations:

Life Member Veterans of Foreign Wars

Life Member Rocky Mountain Elk Foundation

Realtors Land Institute Board Member Colorado Chapter

Member Pheasants Forever

Member Colorado Bowhunters Association

Member Colorado Snowmobilers Association

Member University of Colorado Real Estate Council

About Mason & Morse Ranch Company

A leading provider of farm, ranch and recreational land brokerage services throughout Colorado, Wyoming and across the American West. Services include traditional real estate brokerage and auction. With roots dating back to 1961 along the Roaring Fork Valley from Aspen, Colorado, the company specializes in marketing high-value and large acreage farms, working ranches and recreational land properties. Combined, Mason & Morse Ranch Company agents offer clients more than 133 years of experience in real estate land sales. Live it to Know it http://www.ranchland.com | http://www.ranchbrokers.com
Dallas, Feb. 21, 2021 (GLOBE NEWSWIRE) -- One of the most important aspects of the legal profession is communication. Effective presentation often makes the difference between winning and losing a case, while developing an effective rapport and understanding with clients over time is important to the efficacy of legal strategy. During a year when screen time is at its peak, podcasting could be the next step in expanding your law firm.

(Read the full article here.)

Top 5 Reasons Why Lawyers Should Start a Podcast

1. Establishes a Human Touch. While written content holds significant power, the sound of a human voice adds another level of closeness and connection with the audience. While many people are intimidated by the idea of contacting a lawyer, showing your expressive, real side can help build a credible image and leave a lasting impression in peoples minds.



2. Expands Your Network. In addition to reaching new ears, podcasts can help you connect with highly influential people to speak on your show, a catalyst to growing your network. This serves to be an excellent opportunity for you to land upon conversations with great people while merely sitting in the office suites in Dallas.



3. Keeps You Connected. Though your client load will always ebb and flow, speaking to a wide audience about your specialization allows you to stay connected to and relevant within the field of law.



4. Saves Time for the Audience and the Creator. Unlike written and video content, which require full attention, podcasts can be consumed passively, because users can (and do) listen to podcasts in the car on the way to work, while cooking, cleaning, working out, and a number of other daily activities. For the creator, putting together a podcast episode tends to be significantly more time and resource efficient than creating video content.



5. Reaching an Active Audience. Studies by Edison Research and Triton Digital show that there are as many as 62 million Americans listening to podcasts every single week. A high user base like this allows you to reach a wide audience of potential clients.







Get Your Podcast Started Today With Venture X Dallas Park Cities at Campbell Centre

Podcasting requires a small setup to start creating cost-effective content. Many coworking spaces provide elegant podcasting setups that lawyers can take complete advantage of while making new professional connections and increasing workplace productivity. In a prestigious location such as Dallas Campbell Center, collaborative spaces allow law firms to set up a strong image.

At Venture X Dallas Park Cities at Campbell Centre, we understand what it takes to run a business. We bring the most articulate office structures for easy rentals, with a wide variety of services. Along with modern interiors and dedicated offices, we serve you with furniture-ready spaces, month-to-month leasing options, and access to state-of-the-art podcasting technology.

Reach out to us today and book your coworking space to get your podcast ready now!

Venture X Coworking Dallas Park Cities

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Publicist: KISS PR SEO Dallas, TX





This news has been published for the above source. Venture X Dallas Park Cities at Campbell Centre [ID=16807]

Disclaimer: The information does not constitute advice or an offer to buy. Any purchase made from this story is made at your own risk. Consult an expert advisor/health professional before any such purchase. Any purchase made from this link is subject to the final terms and conditions of the website's selling. The content publisher and its distribution partners do not take any responsibility directly or indirectly. If you have any complaints or copyright issues related to this article, kindly contact the company this news is about.





Attachment
Packs of heroin and synthetic drugs are seized during a police crackdown in HCMC, January 2021. Photo courtesy of HCMC Police.

Ho Chi Minh City police and Ministry of Public Security officers have arrested seven suspected members of three drug trafficking rings, seizing a total 217 kilograms of narcotics.

The amount of drugs included 34.3 kilograms of heroin, 142 kilograms of MDMA, five kilograms of ketamine and over 100,000 ecstasy pills.

The arrests came following a massive crackdown on three different rings in several districts of HCMC from late January until early February, police told the press Monday.

The drugs were smuggled from Cambodia. Police are expanding their investigation.

At the end of last month, police caught a group of drug traffickers in District 12 illegally transporting 4.6 kilograms of heroin. Searching a nearby warehouse, officers found a large amount of additional narcotics hidden in bags of old clothes.

Simultaneously, police also busted two other rings, raiding dozens of locations in Districts 5, 10, Binh Thanh and Tan Binh.

HCMC has been a transit hub for drugs trafficked from the Golden Triangle, police have reported. From here, the hauls are typically taken to Taiwan, the Philippines, Malaysia, South Korea and even Europe, Australia and Latin America.

Vietnam has some of the worlds toughest drug laws. Those convicted of possessing or smuggling more than 600 grams of heroin or over 2.5 kilograms of methamphetamine face death.
Australian producers were damaged by the suspension of local quotas during the pandemic

Matthew Deaner, CEO of Screen Producers Australia yesterday told a House Standing Committee on Communications & the Arts, several key Government decisions both positively and negatively, set the course for the industry throughout 2020.

The sector was significantly disrupted by the decision in April last year to suspend quotas for commercial free-to-air and subscription television at the height of pandemic disruption. It had an immediate impact on commissioning activity freezing well developed projects and everything in between. The uncertainty it injected into the market was damaging for the sector, just as it was looking to aid economic recovery and keep people working. It was not a path any other territory took. The decision was made without any dialogue with us or any affected production business, he said.

And for our Childrens producers this had been the culmination of months of frozen activity by commercial broadcasters as they played a game of brinkmanship with the Government in their refusal to commission childrens content and any new drama content prior to the pandemic hitting Australia, which cost our sector millions of dollars and hundreds of jobs in the process.

Industry was, however, greatly assisted by the Governments willingness to assist with visa entry assistance for critical personnel needed to resume or commence screen projects and while there was no proper task force or fulsome collaborative structure to collect data or co-ordinate deep engagement and strategies for the sector, there was a successful project built by industry and government together in the creation of industry protocols. States and territories also stepped in to fill gaps very successfully.

SPA welcomed the release in November last year of a Media Reform Green Paper, which includes proposals which would apply minimum Australian content requirements on streaming platforms, such as Netflix, Amazon, Disney +, Apple and others.

It is also awaiting the implementation of the major reforms announced by the Government in September 2020.

Deaner added, If the pandemic has taught us anything, as an industry it has taught us the value of having our own house in order, in order for us to have success independent of what happens in other markets and countries. We therefore need the Governments focus to be on strengthening the local sector and ensuring it is robust in its own right.

Related
New Delhi:

Celebration and praises poured in for class 12 Harshit Sharma after the UT government had announced about a dream job offer by the internet giant, Google, to the 16-year-old boy last month.

However, Google in an official communique to an National English daily denied having knowledge of offering Rs 14 million job offer to any 16-year-old.

The internet search giant told the Indianexpress.com, Currently we dont have any information on our records with respect to Harshit Sharmas candidacy.

Also Read: Google offers Rs 14 million package to a 16-year-old boy from Chandigarh

The class 12 passout last month had told the media that the job was dream come true. Sharma studied from Government Model Senior Secondary School in Chandigarh.

According to the claims made by Sharma Google had offered him a pay of Rs 4 lakhs per month as stipend for a year and provide him advance training in graphic designing. After a year he will be enrolled as a regular employee and receive a salary of Rs 12 lakhs per month.

The UT government soon after learning that Google has no information about the candidacy ordered an inquiry as it had issued an official press release on the teenagers success.

Director of school education Rubinderjit Singh Brar told Hindustan Times, I am inquiring into the matter. I can only comment by tomorrow (Wednesday).

For all the Latest India News, Download News Nation Android and iOS Mobile Apps.
Eugene, Ore. --- Community members are reacting to the Democrats' massive coronavirus relief package that was released on Friday.

RELATED: Democrats push for $15 minimum wage as House set to consider stimulus bill

The provisions include an increase to the federal minimum wage, direct stimulus checks, improved unemployment benefits, and more money for small businesses.

KEZI 9 News spoke with several local residents to see how they feel about the bill. The reactions from many residents was mixed.

However, everyone seemed to be on the same page with the additional help for small business.

"If they could do anything to keep that rolling, and not hurt the economy, that would help a lot of people," Eugene resident Gareth Butler said.

"Definitely support small businesses, always have, always will," Eugene resident Scott Cissney said.

When it comes to increasing the minimum wage people had mixed feelings. The current federal minimum wage is set at $7.25 and the proposed bill would change that to $15.

"On the surface it seems like it's a good idea, the problem is is that every time you raise minimum wage on that then prices get absorbed by the customer," Brian Kualas said. "So whether it's a cheeseburger, or you go to buy tools, it's going to come back to the customer."

Also, the government would issue $1,400 direct checks for Americans making $75,000 or less per year, an extension of $400 federal unemployment benefits and more money for small businesses.

Peter Stice, an educator in the Umatilla area, said this is a good start, but the government needs to do more to help the American people.

"I was struggling on $15 an hour, and I don't have children. I couldn't imagine if I did have kids," Eugene resident Peter Stice said.

To sum it up, most people KEZI spoke to want more financial help, but some are still worried about the impact the stimulus could have on the economy.
A World Health Organization (WHO) panel will recommend a deeper contract tracing of the first COVID-19 patient in Wuhan, China, including a probe on the wildlife market believed to be where the coronavirus originated.

Citing a CNN report, The Hill reported that experts involved in the probe into how the virus originated found it "implausible" that Chinese officials did not investigate them.

The WHO panel will call on Chinese authorities to further investigate the first known patient's contact history, which was believed to have contracted the virus on Dec. 8, 2019.

Investigators have yet to identify the first COVID-19 patient by name but have said that the patient was a white-collar worker in his 40s and did not have a history of traveling far from home.

A member of the WHO investigation team, Peter Daszak, said that the group had met with the first COVID-19 patient and that he informed them that his parents had visited a wet market in Wuhan shorty before he was infected with the COVID-19.

"Then he said at the end of the interview -- and it was all being translated and the translator, specifically said -- 'My parents visited a local community wet market'," Daszak said in the report.

Daszak noted that the market in question was separate from the Huanan seafood market, where the virus was initially thought to have originated. He added that the use of the "wet market" term, especially "under this political constraint," tells them "something very significant" that other markets in Wuhan also sold wildlife products.

Related story: WHO Warns the Global Pandemic Will Not End Soon

China's Failure to Probe the First COVID-19 Patient

According to a Daily Mail report, scientists have scrutinized the slow pace of China's investigation into the origins of COVID-19. Reports claimed that the "patient zero" was not properly contact traced.

Professor Maureen Miller, an infectious disease epidemiologist at Columbia University, said it is implausible that this research has not been done.

"It's not realistic, given they have world-class scientists there, and the technology invested in over the last 20 years," Miller said in the report.

Miller noted that the patient's infection on Dec. 8 without direct contact with the wet market or travel showed that there was already community transmission. She added that in the short and long-term, it is detrimental to China to try to hide the fact that this virus started in their country, which then spread around the world.

Professor Yanzhong Huang, a senior fellow for global health at the Council on Foreign Relations, said it was surprising that China has not invested in investigating two important clues like that. He also said that the country had recently mobilized the entire Beijing to find the outbreak's source.

Huang said they have top-notch scientists who are much knowledgeable than most in recognizing the significance of this information.

Meanwhile, the WHO panel will also recommend an immediate probe into the Huanan seafood market's supply chain. Chinese scientists gave the WHO team a list of farms in Yunnan, Guangxi, and Guangdong, according to a National Review report.

The said areas supplied the Huanan seafood market in Wuhan with wildlife, Daszak said.

Read more: WHO Warns Global Coronavirus Pandemic is Getting Worse
A Place for All Conservatives to Speak Their Mind.
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The Southminster Presbyterian Church Foundation is awarding $12,900 in grants to nonprofit organizations in Multnomah and Washington counties that serve low-income people in the Portland area.

According to a press release, the foundation is encouraging local non-profit organizations that provide food, shelter, medical, and/or mental health services to low-income persons to apply for a grant.

The deadline to apply is this Saturday, Feb. 27. The application is available online.

Priority will be given to funding services, then facilities and equipment and then staff.

The foundation has been awarding grants since 1980. In 2020, recipients included Meals on Wheels Beaverton and Just Compassion of East Washington County.

-- Lizzy Acker

503-221-8052, lacker@oregonian.com, @lizzzyacker
KUALA LUMPUR : Malaysian budget airline AirAsia Group Bhd expects more clarity on its fundraising efforts, including a government-guaranteed loan, by the end of March, its group chief said on Monday.

Chief Executive Officer Tony Fernandes said the airline was working towards obtaining approval for the loan under a government-guarantee scheme within the next month.

"Concurrently, we have positive ongoing discussions for other fundraising support measures in many of our key markets such as Thailand, Indonesia and the Philippines," he said in a statement.

The airline has a target to raise 2.5 billion ringgit ($618.51 million) from loans and investors.

Fernandes said the airline can look to a gradual recovery this year in its key markets and "potentially a full recovery within the next two years".

AirAsia has raised 250 million ringgit from the first tranche of a recent private placement of up to 20% of its total issued shares, that was completed last week.

The entire placement exercise was expected to raise about 454.5 million ringgit.

Last October, the airline said it secured and disbursed a 300 million ringgit loan from Sabah Development Bank Bhd.

Fernandes said other capital raising and financial support measures were also being considered, including for its digital businesses.





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(Newser)  Gina Carano already has a new gig lined up, but that doesn't mean the Mandalorian star has moved on from her battle with Disney over her firing. Per USA Today, the 38-year-old actor sat down with conservative radio host Ben Shapiro on Sunday, and she wasn't apologetic over anything involving her getting axed from the Disney+ series, saying the company had "bullied" and "headhunted" not only her, but others as well, and that she'd seen the writing on the wall before she got axed. "I was prepared at any point to be let go, because I've seen this happen to so many people," Carano told Shapiro, whose Daily Wire media company is teaming up with Carano to produce a film in which she'll star. "I've seen the bullying that takes place, and so when this started, they point their guns at you, and you know it's only a matter of time." She said she'd accidentally received an "enlightening" email that let her know Disney was watching her, EW.com reports.

story continues below

Carano added she had a story "which would turn things around in the media, but I can't because it would sell out a friend," per Deadline. Lucasfilm, owned by Disney, canned Carano from The Mandalorian after she put up inflammatory social media posts, including one that seemed to show her comparing US conservatives to Jewish Holocaust victims. Carano told Shapiro she wasn't making such a comparison and that she has "love for everyone." Per Deadline, she also wondered aloud why Mandalorian co-star Pedro Pascal hadn't been fired after he had put up a tweet in 2018 comparing undocumented immigrant children in cages to Jewish people in concentration camps. "I adore Pedro," Carano noted. "I know he's said and done some hurtful things. But ... we had an agreement that, first and foremost, you're a human being. And you're my friend first." At any rate, she's not backing off her tiff with Disney. "I'm going to go down swinging," she said. (Read more Gina Carano stories.)
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LONDON (Reuters) - Scotland's vaccination drive appears to be markedly reducing the risk of hospitalisation for COVID-19, suggesting that both the Pfizer-BioNtech and Oxford-AstraZeneca shots are highly effective in preventing severe infections, preliminary study findings showed on Monday.

Results of the study, which covered the entire Scottish population of 5.4 million people, showed that by the fourth week after the initial dose, the Pfizer and AstraZeneca vaccines were found to reduce the risk of hospitalisation by up to 85% and 94% respectively.

"These results are very encouraging and have given us great reasons to be optimistic for the future," said Aziz Sheikh, a professor at the University of Edinburghs Usher Institute who co-led the study.

Sheikh cautioned at a media briefing that the results are preliminary data, yet to be peer-reviewed by independent scientists, but added: "I am very encouraged. We now have national evidence...that vaccination provides protection against COVID-19 hospitalisations."

He said he expected other countries using the same two vaccines and a similar strategy - such as England and Wales for example - would see a similar positive impact in reducing the number of people being hospitalised with COVID-19.

Data for the vaccines' effect in Scotland was gathered between Dec. 8 and Feb. 15. Researchers said that during this period, 1.14 million vaccines were administered and 21% of Scotland's population had received a first dose.

Among those aged 80 years and over - one of the highest risk groups for COVID-19 - vaccination was associated with an 81% reduction in hospitalisation risk in the fourth week, when the results for both vaccines were combined.

Jim McMenamin, Public Health Scotland's COVID-19 incident director, said the findings are particularly important "as we move from expectation to firm evidence of benefit from vaccines".

(Reporting by Kate Kelland, editing by Mark Heinrich)
Armenian Defense Minister Vagharshak Harutyunyan on Monday received a delegation led Toivo Klaar, the European Union (EU) Special Representative for the South Caucasus and the crisis in Georgia.

The Minister of Defense briefed the guests on the situation in the region as a result of the recent war unleashed by Azerbaijan against Artsakh (Nagorno-Karabakh), and the implementation of the provisions of the joint statement on November 9, 2020, regarding the ceasefire.

In this connection, Harutyunyan stressed that Azerbaijan does not comply with the provisions of the aforesaid statements point on the return of POWs and other detainees, and uses this process for political purposes to exert additional pressure on Armenia.

In his turn, Klaar noted that the EU supports the efforts of the OSCE Minsk Group Co-Chairs in the settlement of the Nagorno-Karabakh conflict and is ready to contribute to the intensification of negotiations within this format.

During the meeting, the parties touched upon regional security issues, too.
Ruth Bass is an award-winning journalist. Her website is

ruthbass.com . The opinions expressed by columnists do not necessarily reflect the views of The Berkshire Eagle.
By Jamie Freed, David Shepardson and Laurence Frost (Reuters) - Showers of jet engine parts over residential areas on both sides of the Atlantic have caught regulators' attention and prompted the suspension of some older Boeing planes from service. The Saturday incidents involving a United Airlines 777 in Denver and a Longtail Aviation 747 cargo plane in the Netherlands have put engine maker Pratt & Whitney in the spotlight - although there is as yet no indication that their causes are related. Raytheon-owned Pratt & Whitney said it was coordinating with regulators to ...
Two people were injured on Sunday after pieces of a cargo plane broke off and fell onto a town in the Netherlands, according to authorities.Pieces of metal fell on the town of Meerssen after a Boeing 747 cargo plane experienced an engine fire shortly after taking off from Maastricht, according to the Veiligheidsregio (the Dutch regional safety inspector) and Maastricht Aachen Airport (MAA).

The Boeing 747-400 freighter plane was bound for JFK Airport in New York City, according to Longtail Aviation, the charter airline service that owns the plane.Metal parts fell in Meerssen in the Sint Josephstraat area, the safety inspector said.Two people were slightly injured. One of them was taken to a hospital, the safety inspector said. Several cars and houses were also damaged.

MAA said in a statement that the plane was carrying "general cargo and pharmaceuticals on board."

"A few seconds after the plane took off, air traffic control noted an engine fire and informed the pilots. They then switched off the engine concerned and sent out an emergency signal," MAA said.

(Disclaimer: This story is auto-generated from a syndicated feed; only the image & headline may have been reworked by www.republicworld.com)
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Google has handed millions to News Corp, owned by Rupert Murdoch, 89, (pictured with wife Jerry Hall, 64, in 2019)

Treasurer Josh Frydenberg is under pressure to make sure Google doesn't wriggle out of a proposed law regulating big tech by handing over millions to the likes of Rupert Murdoch.

The world-first law, which is set to pass Parliament this week, was drawn up to tackle the huge power of Google and Facebook by forcing them to pay media companies for the news content they host and reveal some of their closely-guarded algorithms and data.

But experts say Google is trying to avoid the rules by handing over millions of dollars to a few big companies including Seven, Nine and Rupert Murdoch's News Corp after Mr Frydenberg flagged he may exclude it if deals are made.

Independent Senator Rex Patrick, who interrogated Google and Facebook bosses in a senate hearing last month, said Google must be included in the code.

'The Treasurer should list Google as a designated digital platform corporation under the terms of the legislation once passed by the Parliament,' he told Daily Mail Australia.

'Google's agreements with various media organisations do not remove the need to bring the provisions of the Act to bear on Google's Australian operations.'

The code is not just designed to make sure money changes hands, but also contains 'minimum standards' that ensure platforms share data about how Australians interact with news and require them to give media companies 14 days' notice of any important algorithm changes that could affect their referral traffic.

Australia's competition regulator, the ACCC, has said these requirements are crucial to overturning the 'bargaining imbalance' between the tech giants and news businesses.

Google and Facebook can suddenly change their algorithms and leave publishers scrambling to work out why they are not getting any hits on their stories.

There are also concerns that smaller and regional media companies will not be able to negotiate effectively unless Google is designated under the code.

Peter Lewis, director of PR firm Essential Media, said he was concerned that smaller publishers might get left behind as Google tries to avoid the code.

'It appears that Google's objective in finalising deals is to remain out of any designation from the Treasurer,' he told Daily Mail Australia.

Google Australia boss Mel Silva

'One concern I have is that there are a whole bunch of smaller publishers who haven't finalised deals with Google and they could slip through the net.

'That's not within the spirit of the ACCC intentions or within the legislation as it stands.'

Mr Lewis said that outcome could be avoided if the Treasurer vows to designate Google if deals are not reached.

'How the Treasurer uses that leverage will determine whether the code delivers on its intentions,' he said.

'It's not just access to the arbitration, it's access to notice on algorithm changes that could affect the way news is presented.

'The onus is on the government to explain how those things will operate should a platform not be designated.'

While Google has signed a flurry of deals in an apparent bid to escape the code, Facebook has stopped talking to media companies and has banned Australians from viewing news on its website in a 'disgraceful' protest that has enraged the government.

Once the code - which has bipartisan support - becomes law, Treasurer Josh Frydenberg will have the power to designate which digital platforms need to comply.

On Thursday he revealed he is considering excluding Google as a reward for making deals, saying: 'If commercial deals are struck that changes the equation.

'I'm not just talking just about deals with Channel Seven or Channel Nine and News Ltd, we're looking for a broader range of deals including with the regional players and the smaller players.

'And, as I understand it, that is happening,' he said.

Chris Cooper, CEO of Reset Australia - a think tank focussed on the threat to democracy posed by digital platforms - said excluding Google 'completely diminishes' the code.

'Google should definitely still be included, removing them completely diminishes the ACCC's intention, which was about bringing balance to the news media ecosystem and the digital advertising market,' he told Daily Mail Australia.

Treasurer Josh Frydenberg on Friday

'This would be removing the single biggest player from that equation.

'This bill was always meant to be broader than just arbitration. Algorithm changes and minimum standards were meant to fundamentally shift the dominance of these platforms and they've already been watered down,' he added, noting that originally platforms were going to be required to give 28 days' notice of an algorithm change.

'Arbitration was never going to be enough to rectify the problems. This is a market that needs oversight and regulation, not just deals.'

Mr Cooper said the only winners so far are the huge media companies that have signed lucrative deals with Google.

'If the intention is about the public interest and a healthy news media ecosystem then smaller and regional publishers should be prioritised - and it's hard to argue that they have been,' he said.

'At this point it looks like the winners are not the Australian public and certainly not the small publishers.'

His comments echo concerns voiced last year by Greens Senator Sarah Hanson-Young who feared the code was being designed by Prime Minster Scott Morrison to 'deliver a sugar hit to Murdoch' whose papers back the Coalition government.

The Greens supported the code after public broadcasters the ABC and SBS were included.

The ACCC declined to comment but Chairman Rod Sims has previously said that Google's News Showcase deals do not address the bargaining imbalance the code aims to fix.

Senator Patrick (right) says Google must be included in the code regardless of reaching agreements with big media companies

'The decision about what Showcase will look like, how it will operate and whether to offer a news business a Showcase deal is entirely up to Google,' he told the Senate Economics Committee on January 22.

'This is why this product does not address the imbalance in bargaining power that the code is designed to remedy.'

Shadow Communications Minister Michelle Rowland said the Treasurer's comments are 'confusing for some news media businesses because the Code is intended to be a backstop for commercial deals that may be struck'.

But she said she was not concerned about Google being excluded as long as deals are made.

'Labor is outcomes-focused when it comes to addressing the bargaining imbalance between news media businesses and the digital platforms,' she told Daily Mail Australia.

'Money flowing to Australian news media businesses from the digital platforms, with or without regulation, is a good thing.'

Google responded to the new law by striking multi-million deals but Facebook has banned Australians from viewing news on its website in a 'disgraceful' protest at the new rules. Pictured: Posts were blocked on the Daily Mail Australia Facebook page

Mr Frydenberg and Communications Minister Paul Fletcher drew up the law after a three-year inquiry by the ACCC which found Google and Facebook have 'an imbalance in bargaining power' when dealing with news companies.

Google turns over $4.9billion in Australia, with $4.3billion of that from advertising - while many Australian publishers are struggling to make money. The company only paid $59million in Australian corporate tax last year.

The world-first code states that if a negotiation breaks down then an independent umpire will step in and decide the fee based on a 'final offer' method, which chooses one side's position as the resolution.

For every $100 spent on digital advertising, $53 goes to Google, $28 to Facebook and only $19 goes to others.

Australia's battle with Big Tech is being keenly watched by governments across the world, not least in London, Washington DC and Brussels, where concerns have been raised over the 'advertising duopoly' of Google and Facebook.

Google and the Treasurer declined to comment.
LONDON (Reuters) - British Prime Minister Boris Johnson said on Monday his government would not abandon people and businesses who need government help during the COVID-19 pandemic, after he announced a provisional timetable for lifting English COVID restrictions.

Johnson's remarks to parliament put pressure on his finance minister Rishi Sunak to extend a 70 billion pound ($98 billion) job furlough programme which is due to expire on April 30, well before most social-distancing restrictions will be lifted.

"I want to reassure the house (parliament), we will not pull the rug out. For the duration of the pandemic the government will continue to do whatever it takes to protect jobs and livelihoods across the UK," Johnson said.

Sunak delivers an annual budget on March 3, when he intends to set out the future of government assistance programmes including the furlough scheme and a 20 pound weekly supplement to the country's main unemployment benefit.

Both are measures which Sunak was keen to rein back last year before a surge in COVID cases in the autumn forced the government to extend support and belatedly tighten lockdown rules.

So far Sunak has spent more than 280 billion pounds on COVID measures including healthcare, support payments and tax breaks, and government borrowing in the financial year just ending will be the highest as a share of the economy since World War Two.

Under current lockdown rules people are encouraged to work from home where possible and hotels and restaurants are closed to the public, as are most non-essential businesses.

Johnson said that non-essential retailers in England would reopen no earlier than April 12 and bars and restaurants would be able to serve customers outdoors in limited numbers.

Full restrictions on the hospitality industry will not be lifted before June 21.

The government said in a written statement on lifting the lockdown that Sunak would set out more details of future support at the budget next week, as well as longer term fiscal plans.

"It is not sustainable to borrow at this current level over the medium term. This means the government has a responsibility, once the economy recovers, to return to a sustainable fiscal position," the document stated.

(Reporting by Guy Faulconbridge, writing by William James and David Milliken; editing by Alistair Smout and James Davey)
Australian shares snapped a two-session slide on Tuesday as an accelerating reflation trade pushed investors out of high-growth tech and health names and into value sectors such as resource, financials, and real estate.

Mega miners BHP and Rio Tinto led the way in a soaring session for the nations iron ore, gold, and energy firms, with commodity prices continuing to boom on strong demand and optimism over the post-COVID economic rebound.

The rising value of metals and oil - which hit one-year highs - also helped drive the Aussie dollar to a fresh three-year peak of 79.34 US cents.

The ASX 200 started slowly on Tuesday but chased a resurgent US futures market higher to finish 0.9 per cent ahead at 6839.2.

It was the best session in a week for the local bourse as the miners, Big Four banks, energy and property firms, and a host of travel-aligned names rose at the expense of major pandemic winners such as Afterpay, Zip Co, Xero, and Fisher & Paykel.

Tribeca Alpha Plus portfolio manager Jun Bei Liu said this aggressive cycle into value stocks matched overnight market movements in the US - where the Nasdaq sold off heavily - as rising bond yields continue to stoke inflation expectations and hint at rising economic activity.

Basically, the reflation trade is great for stocks that benefit from an improving economy but you will see growth names fall, Ms Liu said

JP Morgan Asset Management global market strategist Kerry Craig said inflation was always a risk for investors but in this case more a reflection of the strength of the COVID economic rebound.

The nascent sparks of inflation weve seen recently and the corresponding sell-off in bond prices really reflects increasing positivity around the economic outlook, Mr Craig said.

Investors will need to keep an eye on inflation, but the signs right now suggest this wont be a runaway risk.

The big miners took centre stage with BHP finishing 3.1 per cent higher at a new record $50.43, bringing its gains for the year to about 20 per cent so far.

Rio Tinto, meanwhile, added 1.8 per cent to close at a sky-high $130 and Fortescue Metals underperformed with a 0.4 per cent rise to $24.84.

Travel-aligned firms enjoyed another day of clear skies as optimism over the rollout of the COVID vaccine had consumers dreaming of holidays afar.

Airports, toll road operators, and travel agents rose after the second batch of Pfizer vaccines - 166,000 doses - arrived in the country on Monday night, further boosting hopes the coronavirus will soon be a thing of the past.

Corporate Travel Management finished up 9.8 per cent at $20.80, fellow travel agent Flight Centre gained 6.2 per cent to $16.56, and Webjet rose 2.8 per cent to $5.52. Sydney Airport gained 6.5 per cent to a three-week high of $5.93.

National carrier Qantas rose 4.4 per cent to $5.03 and toll road operator Transurban climbed 1.7 per cent to $12.89. Property firms added a collective 2.5 per cent and Westpac was the best of the big banks, up 1.9 per cent to $24.16.

Bank of Queensland surged 12.8 per cent to $9.21 and led the ASX 200 for gains in its first trading session since announcing the capture of ME Bank.
Denton, TX (76205)

Today

Showers and thunderstorms. High 79F. Winds SSE at 10 to 20 mph. Chance of rain 100%. 1 to 2 inches of rain expected. Locally heavier rainfall possible..

Tonight

Thunderstorms early, overcast overnight with occasional rain. Low near 65F. Winds S at 5 to 10 mph. Chance of rain 90%. 1 to 2 inches of rain expected. Locally heavier rainfall possible.
The three government leaders disclosed details of the global partnership late last week at a private Commercial Club of Chicago meeting cohosted by World Business Chicago. The leaders are committed to eliminating existing health disparities and negative outcomesfrom COVID-19 hospitalizations to infant mortality, chronic disease and early deathconnected to conditions where people live, learn, work and play.

Sheba Medical Center, Kaleidoscope Health Ventures (KHV) and Farpoint Development are partners in the Chicago ARC Innovation Center. The discussion focused on how Sheba's ARC model, which fosters healthcare innovation to redesign this system and make it more accessible by accelerating entrepreneurship, is extending from Israel to Chicago.

Israel to Illinois: A Fast Track for Healthcare Transformation

Healthcare transformation is one of Israel's greatest priorities but is a goal no state or nation can accomplish on its own. The Sheba ARC (Accelerate, Redesign, Collaborate) model will be executed in Chicago to enable alliances with Illinois' abundant trove of life sciences teaching and research institutions, biotechnology companies, health systems and technology startups to make fast progress toward achieving health equity. This includes implementing groundbreaking technologies with a market-driven approach adapted for the United States.

"We have learned many things from the current COVID-19 pandemic. One of the most important is that global challenges need global solutions," Ashkenazi said. "This partnership with the Chicago ARC Innovation Center and Sheba Medical Center could quite literally save lives. Together they will advance healthcare solutions, share best practice and transform health care."

"Today we are celebrating the partnership between Israel's Sheba Medical Center, one of the world's top-ranking hospitals, and Kaleidoscope Health Ventures and Farpoint Development. It is one of the many ways we have to share Israeli innovation and keep strengthening the unbreakable bond between our two nations," Ashkenazi said.

Prioritizing Health Equity in Illinois with Sheba's Help

Illinois has made health equity an overarching public health goal . Leading through a health equity lens, the state's programs, services and partnerships aim to increase parity in the social determinants of health to close health disparity gaps.

"Here in Illinois, we have some of the best research universities on the earth, one of the largest biotech talent pools in the United States, and our medical centers are among the most respected in the world," said Governor JB Pritzker. "Those assets are just one facet of why our state is ideal for a new health innovation hub. The establishment of the Chicago ARC Innovation Center both recognizes and strengthens our reputation."

"I am so deeply grateful for Kaleidoscope Health Ventures, to Sheba Medical Center and to the ARC Innovation Complex and Farpoint Development for coming together to spur this innovation here in Illinois, bringing more collaborative health innovation, life sciences development and transformative equitable healthcare models to our state," continued Pritzker.

In fact, Sheba's ARC model has allowed Israel to become a world leader in combating COVID-19 by shaping Israel's rapid response to COVID-19which will see half its population vaccinated by March and showcases Israel's use of innovative approaches to achieve health equity. With Sheba's guidance, Israel's agencies and health providers are repackaging the temperature-sensitive Pfizer vaccine for wider distribution; opening arenas and field clinics as inoculation centers; and engaging the Arab and ultra-Orthodox Jewish communities in a public health campaign to overcome resistance to the vaccine, Kreiss noted.

"The outbreak of COVID-19 boosted this new enterprise and proved to all of us just how crucial it is to get ARC Chicago up and running," Kreiss said. "We have been looking for the right location and partner to bring our model to the U.S. and are very fortunate to have found this great partnership in Illinois.

"Sheba will contribute its global network of partners, its open innovation model, data and sources of technologies and startups looking to transform healthcare in the U.S," Kreiss said. "KHV will use its experience in the U.S. market and impact investing to drive commercialization and investment success. Farpoint will help us cultivate inclusive Chicago neighborhoods, (turning them) into the U.S.A.'s first City of Health with its commercial real estate development (expertise)."

The Chicago ARC Makes Illinois a Global Investment Destination

The Chicago ARC will connect the best science, talent, technology and data to achieve health equity and justice for all through a high-touch, collaborative innovation platform.

A health equity accelerator will be an early Chicago ARC initiative, with plans to launch later this year. The Chicago ARC will partner with South and West Side community initiatives to unlock the benefits for all residents across Illinois and the United States. A life sciences incubator and data collaborative will follow in 2022, all with health equity goals.

International companies, starting with a focus on promising Israeli startups, are targeted as Chicago ARC tenants. A tailored approach with a customer-driven network will give them a U.S. foothold and make Illinois a gateway for global investment. The permanent Chicago ARC facility is set to open in 2023 as the anchor of the Bronzeville Lakefront development. Until then, it will operate out of interim space.

"On behalf of the Chicago ARC partners, we are honored to have the support of Israel's Foreign Minister and the Governor of Illinois for this transformational venture," Kaleidoscope Health Ventures Cofounder and Managing Partner S. Bob Chib said. "We look forward to partnering with Sheba and Farpoint Development on the launch of the Chicago ARC Innovation Center."

About the Speakers

Foreign Minister Gabi Ashkenazi : Minister of Foreign Affairs in the 35th government of Israel, Ashkenazi served in the Israel Defense Forces for 39 years. He headed the IDF from 2007 to 2011 as the 19th Chief of General Staff, or Rav Aluf. While in the IDF, Lt. Gen. (res.) Ashkenazi served in numerous senior capacities, including Deputy Chief of Staff and head of the Northern Command. He also restored the IDF's operative capacity in the wake of the Second Lebanon War and led a series of campaigns, including Operation Hot Winter, Operation Cast Lead and the decisive strike on Syria's nuclear reactor in September 2007. Lt. Gen. Ashkenazi holds a bachelor's degree in political science and oriental studies from Haifa University and is a graduate of the Harvard Business School's Executive Management Program, the IDF's Joint Command Course and the Officer Candidate School of the United States Marine Corps. He headed Shemen Oil and Gas Explorations Ltd. before entering the Knesset in 2019.

Gov. JB Pritzker: The 43rd governor of Illinois is in his third year in office, obtaining bipartisan support for historic investments in education, human services and infrastructure, including $500 million in capital funding for a network of research and innovation hubs. Before becoming governor, Pritzker founded Chicago nonprofit small business incubator 1871, which has helped entrepreneurs create more than 11,000 jobs and more than 1,000 new companies. Since 1871's inception, Chicago has been named one of the top ten technology startup hubs in the world and 1871 was named the best incubator in the world. Gov. Pritzker has expanded support for new business incubators and cut taxes for hundreds of thousands of small businesses while incentivizing job creation and innovation. He also extended research and development tax credits to help manufacturing workers and businesses thrive, and he worked with the business community to create apprenticeship tax credits to promote job training.

Prof. Yitshak Kreiss: Director General of Sheba Medical Center since 2016, Prof. Kreiss is world renowned for his research in leadership and health management based on humanitarian operations he led in the IDF. During his 25 years in the IDF, he rose from combat surgeon to IDF Surgeon General and attained the rank of Brigadier General. He earned his medical degree at the Hebrew University; completed a residency in internal medicine at Sheba Medical School; and earned a Master of Health Administration from Tel Aviv University and a Master of Public Administration from Harvard University. Prof. Kreiss was cited as one of the 50 most influential Jews of 2020 by the Jerusalem Post . Under his tutelage, Sheba Medical Center has also been ranked as one of the Top 10 Hospitals in the World by Newsweek magazine.

About the Chicago ARC General Partners

Sheba Medical Center: The Chicago ARC Innovation Center will play a significant part in Sheba Medical Center's global digital healthcare revolution. Sheba is the largest and most comprehensive medical center in the Middle East, the only one in Israel that combines acute and rehabilitation hospitals on a single campus. Sheba is at the forefront of medical treatments, patient care, research and education, recognized by Newsweek as one of the top 10 hospitals in the world two years in a row.

Kaleidoscope Health Ventures: KHV is a venture development firm focused on social impact. It brings together world-class startups, partners, investors and talent to address socioeconomic and health issues while providing high-value services to support a new wave of life science startups and healthcare solutions. The KHV team has collectively created billions of dollars in startup venture value and served in strategic leadership as well as operational roles across startup, growth-stage and corporate entities.

Farpoint Development: Farpoint is a highly experienced team that has been successful in shaping Chicago's skyline and neighborhoods for more than three decades. Farpoint has exceptionally strong local government ties and community relationships and has a notable track record for spurring transformative change in underserved areas locally and nationally. They continue to expand their socially responsible real estate mandate nationwide. Farpoint is a partner in the GRIT joint venture to develop the 100-acre, $7 billion Bronzeville Lakefront site.

For more information contact:

Kelley Quinn

Purpose Brand

[email protected]

(773) 879-3809

SOURCE Sheba Medical Center
Paleontologists in Morocco have unearthed a crushed ossified lung of an enormous marine coelacanth that lived during the Late Cretaceous epoch, about 66 million years ago.

Coelacanths are a group of primitive deep-dwelling fish closely related to tetrapods, four-limbed vertebrates including amphibians, mammals and reptiles.

They were thought to have been extinct for 66 million years, until the accidental capture of a living specimen by a South African fisherman in 1938.

Coelacanths first appeared in the Early Devonian epoch, diversified a little in the Devonian and Carboniferous period, and attained a maximum of diversity in the Early Triassic epoch.

During the Cretaceous period, they are known by two families only, the Latimeriidae, which survived to the present with the genus Latimeria, and the Mawsoniidae, which went extinct at the end of the Cretaceous.

The newly-discovered specimen belongs to the latter family, and is the last record of coelacanths before their pseudo-extinction 66 million years ago.

The thin bony plates were arranged like a barrel, but with the staves going round instead of from top to bottom, said Professor David Martill, a paleontologist in the School of the Environment, Geography and Geosciences at the University of Portsmouth.

Only one animal has such a structure and that is the coelacanth  wed found a lung of this remarkable and bizarre looking fish.

The fossil was recovered from the uppermost Cretaceous deposits of Oued Zem in Morocco.

It had been embedded in a block of phosphate, backed with plaster and covered in a coating of lacquer, which had caused the bones to turn brown.

It was found next to a pterodactyl which proves the giant coelacanth lived in the Cretaceous period.

The specimen is also the first record of a marine coelacanth in the Mesozoic of Morocco and the first occurrence of coelacanths in the phospahte deposits of North Africa, the researchers said.

The large size of the lung suggests the ancient fish estimated at between 3.65 m and 5.52 m (12-18 feet) total body length  substantially larger than modern-day coelacanths, which only grow to a maximum length of 2 m (6.6 feet).

We only had a single, albeit massive lung so our conclusions required some quite complex calculations, Professor Martill said.

It was astonishing to deduce that this particular fish was enormous  quite a bit longer than the length of a stand-up paddleboard and likely the largest coelacanth ever discovered.

The study was published in the journal Cretaceous Research.

_____

Paulo M. Brito et al. 2021. A marine Late Cretaceous (Maastrichtian) coelacanth from North Africa. Cretaceous Research 122: 104768; doi: 10.1016/j.cretres.2021.104768

The Telegraph

Alex Salmond has accused the Duke of Cambridge of displaying "poor judgement" by meeting Gordon Brown last week in Scotland and urged the Royal Family to stay out of the independence debate. The former First Minister said it would be "extraordinarily foolish" for the monarchy to get dragged into the row over Scottish separation and questioned what on earth Prince William thought he was doing by meeting Mr Brown. He said the Royal Family should beware unscrupulous Unionist desperation to use them for political ends and urged other members to follow the Queen's "very wise" example to "keep the monarchy over and above politics." The Duke and Duchess of Cambridge met Mr Brown and his wife, Sarah, after the former Labour Prime MInister relaunched his Our Scottish Future think tank as a pro-Union campaign movement. Kensington Palace later confirmed the Royal couple had listened to differing political views during their week-long tour, which was said to be part of a charm offensive to turn Scots away from independence. Nicola Sturgeon has unveiled plans for another separation vote by the end of 2023, after the immediate health crisis has passed but while Scotland is still recovering from the Covid pandemic. But, in a video message to supporters of his Alba Party, Mr Salmond it would be "infinitely better" for his former protegee to "seize the moment and strike while the iron is hot." He claimed the Tories "are surprised that they are not already facing a renewed constitutional challenge" after the SNP clearly won the Holyrood election but fell one seat short of a majority. Mr Salmond was humiliated when the Alba Party failed to win a single seat. The duke and duchess, who are known in Scotland as the Earl and Countess of Strathearn, met Mr Brown and his wife in an unpublicised meeting at the Palace of Holyroodhouse in Edinburgh last Thursday.
Now available on disc and digital, Kevin Costner and Diane Lane deliver two of the best performances of their careers in Let Him Go, intense neo-Western, as Montana grandparents  George and Margaret Blackledge  whose only son died in a tragic riding accident.

Gruff and grizzled, hes a retired sheriff who keeps his badge and pistol in a bureau drawer. Shes a steely ranch wife who used to break wild horses and now bakes Bundt cakes.

In 1963, when their widowed daughter-in-law Lorna (Kayli Carter) marries sleazy Donnie Weboy (Will Brittain), who abuses her and their toddler grandson Jimmy, the Blackledges take off in their 1958 Chevy station wagon to rescue them from a tight-knit clan of criminals living off the grid in the Badlands of North Dakota.

Were not young, Margaret, George cautions. Were not old, fiercely determined Margaret retorts.

Dominated by their chain-smoking, volatile matriarch Blanche (Lesley Manville), the Weboys (pronounced wee-boys) live in a huge gray farmhouse, seemingly plopped in the middle of nowhere. Intimidating Blanche is cruel and sadistic, believing that overt violence is necessary to maintain control.

Along the way to the inevitable showdown, Margaret befriends a young Native American, Peter Dragswolf (Booboo Stewart), who has his own story of abuse and now lives alone on the prairie.

Based on Larry Watsons 2013 novel, its subtly, sensitively adapted by writer/director Thomas Bezucha, and the title works on several different levels as the story evolves.

If you recall that Kevin Costner and Diane Lane played Clark Kents Earth parents in Man of Steel (2013) and Batman v Superman: Dawn of Justice (2016), you realize their mature, on-screen chemistry is undeniable.

On the Granger Gauge of 1 to 10, Let Him Go saddles up a shrewdly stealthy, suspenseful 7. Rent for $5.99 on Amazon Prime or buy for $22.96 on Blu-ray.

Susan Granger has been an on-air television and radio commentator and entertainment critic for more than 25 years. Raised in Hollywood, Granger appeared as a child actress in movies with Abbott & Costello, Red Skelton, Lucille Ball, and Lassie. She currently resides in Westport.
Three people have filed a personal injury lawsuit against a Port of Skagit commissioner over alleged injuries sustained in a helicopter crash near Cypress Island.

Helicopter passengers Christopher Neibauer and Ashley Walker, and Hannah Neibauer, who is married to Christopher Neibauer, filed the civil complaint in Skagit County Superior Court in Decemeber against Kevin Ware and his company Peregrine Air, LLC., The Skagit Valley Herald reported.

The lawsuit says Ware provided services as a helicopter pilot on Aug. 20, 2019, to Skagit County boat manufacturer Aspen Catamarans for an aerial photo shoot of a catamaran. Christopher Neibauer was hired by Aspen Catamarans as a photographer.

As Ware flew the helicopter during the photo shoot, it hit a tree branch and the helicopter was thrown to the right and hit the water, the lawsuit states.

Walker got out of the helicopter and helped Ware exit, the lawsuit states. Ware went to shore, and Walker returned to help Neibauer, who was in the helicopter completely submerged underwater, the lawsuit states.

The plaintiffs allege the crash resulted in severe and permanent physical injuries, mental anguish and emotional distress. It contends the injuries occurred as a result of the negligent acts and omissions of defendants Kevin Ware and Peregrine in the preflight planning, maintenance and operation of the helicopter.

They seek an unspecified amount of compensation for economic damages, including medical expenses, and for pain and suffering.

Wares response, filed Jan. 22, denies the crash and resulting injuries were caused by his negligence. It says the plaintiffs injuries and damages were proximately caused by the fault of Ashley Walker. He is requesting that the complaint be dismissed with prejudice.

Ware was elected Skagit port commissioner in 2001 and represents District 1, which covers the Mount Vernon area.

The National Transportation Safety Board investigated the crash. In the boards final report, it determined the probable cause of the crash was the pilots failure to maintain adequate clearance from a tree while maneuvering at a low altitude.

Copyright 2021 Associated Press. All rights reserved. This material may not be published, broadcast, rewritten or redistributed.

Topics Lawsuits Washington
CD Projekt Red has begun issuing DMCA takedowns to halt the spread of stolen game data on social media.

The Polish studio was the victim of a 'targeted cyber attack' earlier this month, during which the perpetrator claimed to have obtained "full copies of the source code" for Cyberpunk 2077, The Witcher 3, Gwent, and "the unreleased version of Witcher 3."

A new report from Vice indicates some of that stolen code is now circulating online, with CD Projekt taking action against at least two Twitter users who had linked to illegally obtained company data -- including the Gwent source code.

"Description of infringement: Illegally obtained source code of Gwent: The Witcher Card Game. Posted without authorisation, not intended to be released to the public," reads a copy of the DMCA takedown notice sent to one Twitter user, obtained by Vice.

Twitter has now removed the offending posts, explaining they have been pulled "in response to a report from the copyright holder."

Following the cyber attack, CD Projekt refused to negotiate with the culprit or give in to their demands, and pledged to take action to prevent its compromised data being released to the public.
COLUMBUS, Ohio - If depression is making it more difficult for some unemployed people to land a job, one type of therapy may help, research suggests.

In a new study, 41% of unemployed or underemployed people undergoing cognitive behavioral therapy (CBT) found a new job or went from part- to full-time work by the end of the 16-week treatment for depression.

Those who had a job but found it difficult to focus on and accomplish work tasks because of depression said the treatment helped to significantly reduce these problems.

"For the most part, researchers have focused on showing that therapy relieves symptoms of depression," said Daniel Strunk, co-author of the study and professor of psychology at The Ohio State University.

"But reducing symptoms isn't the only goal people have when they start CBT. Many are hoping to find a job or improve their productivity at their current job. Here we found that therapy can help people achieve these goals, as well."

Strunk conducted the study with Iony Ezawa and Graham Bartels, who were graduate students at Ohio State when the study was conducted. The research was published online this month in the journal Cognitive Behaviour Therapy.

This study involved 126 people who participated in a 16-week course of CBT at the Ohio State Depression Treatment and Research Clinic.

CBT teaches coping skills that help patients counteract and modify their negative beliefs, Strunk said.

"It works on the idea that people with depression invariably hold these overly negative views of themselves and their futures," he said.

"For example, if an unemployed patient doesn't get one job they interviewed for, they may think 'no one is ever going to hire me.'"

In this study, 27 patients were seeking to improve their employment status (land a job or go from part- to full-time) at the beginning of treatment. Eleven of them (41%) had succeeded by the end of the 16 weeks.

"It is hard to say exactly how good this success rate is since we don't know how many would have gotten jobs without the treatment," Strunk said.

"But the findings were encouraging and suggest that the CBT is having an impact."

CBT had a clear impact for those who had jobs and reported at the beginning of the treatment that depression was hurting their effectiveness.

"Working patients reported at the end of treatment that they were much more successful at concentrating and accomplishing tasks at their jobs," he said.

Findings showed that one way CBT had this effect was by reducing patients' "negative cognitive style," or the extent to which patients view negative events in overly pessimistic ways, according to Strunk.

"CBT helps patients overcome these views by teaching them that the experience of depression is not their fault and that they can take steps to improve their concentration and accomplish work more successfully even when experiencing depressive symptoms," Strunk said.

###

The researchers are continuing their research on CBT with new patients from Ohio at the Depression Treatment and Research Clinic.

Contact: Daniel Strunk, Strunk.20@osu.edu

Written by Jeff Grabmeier, 614-292-8457; Grabmeier.1@osu.edu
Bobby Shmurda's plans post-prison have been revealed as the rapper prepares to be released on Tuesday.

The Brooklyn-based hitmaker, who is about to be released after serving seven years for conspiracy and weapons possession charges, wants to spend time with his family and get back to making music again.

The rapper is looking forward to enjoying an 'intimate' meal with his family and will relax with them for a while before getting back to his passion, Bobby's mom Leslie Pollard told TMZ.

About to be free: Bobby Shmurda's post-prison plans have been revealed as the 26-year-old prepares to be released this week

According to the website, Pollard said the 26-year-old star will devote 'most, if not all, of his time to creating music again'.

Shmurda, whose legal name is Ackquille Pollard, will need to regularly check-in with his parole officer.

After his release, he will be on parole until 2026.

It was revealed last month by the New York State Department of Corrections that the Living Life hitmaker would be eligible for release early.

Shmurda was sentenced to seven years in 2016 after pleading guilty to conspiracy and weapons possession charges in connection to what prosecutors said was a leading role in the GS9 gang.

Plans: The rapper wants an 'intimate dinner' with family and some chill time before he gets straight back to making music, his mom Leslie Pollard revealed

GS9 is an offshoot of the Crips in the East Flatbush neighborhood of Brooklyn.

At the time, he had already spent two years in prison in lieu of a $2 million bond.

The rapper burst out onto the hip-hop scene with his hit single called Hot Boy in the edited version, which subsequently went as high as number six on the Billboard Hot 100 in 2014.

The then 19-year-old followed that up by signing a seven-figure, multi-album deal with Epic Records.

Authorities arrested Shmurda in late 2014 after he left a recording studio near Radio City Music Hall, only days after he performed Hot Boy for a national television audience on Jimmy Kimmel Live.

Incarcerated: Shmurda was sentenced to seven years in 2016 after pleading guilty to conspiracy and weapons possession charges in connection to what prosecutors said was a leading role in the GS9 gang

Investigators found two handguns and a small amount of crack cocaine in a car in which he was riding, authorities said.

Shmurda was denied parole in September, in part for disciplinary actions taken against him while incarcerated, and subsequently ordered to his maximum sentence until Dec. 21, 2021.

He is currently incarcerated at Clinton Correctional Facility in Dannemora, New York, according to the Department of Corrections inmate database.

A review by the Department of Corrections later restored his credit for good behavior.

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They went public with their relationship in January and recently enjoyed a romantic vacation in Hawaii.

And on Sunday, Dancing With The Stars pro dance Sharna Burgess and Beverly Hills, 90210 actor Brian Austin Green looked blissfully happy in a photo Green shared to his Instagram.

The pair wore huge smiles as they posed for the mirror selfie.

Couple: Dancing With The Stars pro dance Sharna Burgess and Beverly Hills, 90210 actor Brian Austin Green looked blissfully happy in a photo Green shared to his Instagram on Sunday

The pic seemed to be one that they first posted a week ago for Valentine's Day, except this time it was in black and white instead of color.

In an Instagram Live last Sunday, Green, 47, described the Australian as an 'amazing, considerate, loving, kind person.'

'Sharna's been amazing in my life  not only for that reason, but that's been a big thing for me. She's been so invaluable, she really has,' he explained.

Burgess, 35, then shared some sweet words about her man, admitting that he had taken her 'completely by surprise' and that she has 'never known a man like him.'

Throwback: The pic seemed to be one that they first posted a week ago for Valentine's Day (pictured) except this time it was in black and white instead of color

Loved up: Green, 47, and Burgess, 35, went public with their relationship in January following the actor's divorce from Megan Fox. They recently enjoyed a romantic break in Hawaii

Green went through a very public breakup with actress wife Megan Fox last year.

The Transformers star, who has three children with Green, moved out after falling in love with rapper Machine Gun Kelly.

The pair met while filming a movie together in Puerto Rico in March 2020.

Fox and Green's divorce was finalized in November. They had been married for a decade.
Kate Winslet has admitted she thought she'd died when she resurfaced after spending seven minutes underwater during filming for Avatar 2.

In a new interview the actress, 45, who plays Ronal in the James Cameron directed blockbuster, confessed she 'couldn't think about anything' while being submerged in the tank.

Kate said it was 'wonderful' being underwater for such a long period of time even though she knew how dangerous it could be after learning to free dive specifically for her role in the film.

Committed: Kate Winslet, 45, has admitted she thought she'd died when she resurfaced after spending seven minutes underwater during filming for Avatar 2

In an interview with Observer Magazine, Kate said: 'God, it's just wonderful. Your mind completely drifts off.

'You can't think about anything, you can't make lists in your head, you're just looking at the bubbles underneath you My first words [when I resurfaced] were, ''Am I dead?'' Yes, I thought I'd died.'

Kate added that she learned free diving for the role with the help of her husband Ned Rocknroll, though he struggled with spending as much time under the water.

What do you do? In a new interview the actress confessed she 'couldn't think about anything' while being submerged in the tank after learning to free-dive for the role

She continued: 'You have to have someone there. Ned trained with me and he got quite good at the breath holding as well. But he did black out.'

Although Kate is clearly no stranger to immersing herself in roles, the Oscar winner added that she's not a fan of being called a 'method actor.'

In October, Avatar producer Jon Landau shared a snap of Kate displaying her impressive free-diving skills, during filming for the sequel in New Zealand in 2018.

In the caption for the image posted, Jon quoted Kate, writing: 'Wanted to share this photo of Kate Winslet after reading her interview in The Hollywood Reporter...

'[She said: ''I had to learn how to free-dive to play that role in Avatar, and that was just incredible. My longest breath hold was seven minutes and 14 seconds, like crazy, crazy stuff''...

Wow! In October, Avatar producer Jon Landau shared a snap of Kate displaying her impressive free-diving skills, during filming for the sequel in New Zealand in 2018

'She stops herself, afraid that she's given away too much on the top-secret project. ''Oh no, actually, I can't. Yeah, I play a water person. I am a water person,'' is all she will offer, instead shifting to praise of Cameron'.'

Kate later admitted she was unaware she'd beaten Tom Cruise's record for underwater filming, after he spent six minutes submerged for Mission: Impossible  Rogue Nation.

In an interview with ET in November she said: 'It's so funny because I don't really read reviews or media things. I'm not on Instagram, like I'm just completely disconnected from that part of my life,' Kate said.

'So all of this week and the week before, I've had people coming up to me at work saying, "Oh my God, like seven minutes and 14 seconds? Like, what?!" And I'm going, "What? Hang on, wait a minute. How do you know that?"'

Exciting: In November Kate said she was unaware she'd beaten Tom Cruise's record for being submerged in a tank underwater after a month of 'quite intense' training

Despite her surprise, she was proud of the accomplishment from her time in a tank, though she doubted she could repeat the feat.

'It was brilliant and I was very proud of myself and I'll probably never be able to do it again,' she continued. 'That came at the end of four weeks worth of quite intense training and it was in the dive tank, it was in the training tank. But I loved it.'

In August, Kate gave a glimpse into what the director is demanding of his stars for the movie that's being shot using motion caption technology.

On their reunion, she said: 'It was so wonderful to work with Jim again. Time has changed him.

'Jim has become a father a few more times over. He is a calmer person. Chilled. You can just feel him enjoying it more this time.'

Blockbuster: Avatar was Cameron's first feature-length fictional movie since 's Titanic. Avatar 2 is set to premiere in December 2022 and will be followed by Avatar 3 in December 2024

Her starring role in 1997's Titanic catapulted her, at age 21, to international stardom as it did for her co-star Leonardo DiCaprio, then 22.

In June, Cameron and his crew returned to New Zealand to resume production after it had been halted in March due to the COVID-19 pandemic and were allowed back on economic grounds.

The much anticipated sequel to the 2009 epic science fiction film Avatar has been in the works for a decade.

Producer Jon, after completing the mandated 14-day quarantine, told the country's 1News: 'This one production alone is going to hire 400 New Zealanders to work on it. We're going to spend, in the next five months alone, over $70 million here.'

Cameron is working on Avatar 2 and Avatar 3 simultaneously with the first of the sequels scheduled to premiere in December 2022.

Kabul, Feb 22 : The Afghan Parliament on Monday approved the current fiscal year's Budget with a majority of votes after weeks of tensions between the two state branches over the document.

The fiscal year began on December 21, 2020, even as the Parliament rejected the Budget draft twice, Tolo news reported.

On Sunday, lawmakers and the Finance Ministry officials agreed on almost all the 19 disputed points, but they are yet to reach a consensus on the allocation of the Budget for the High Council for National Reconciliation as well as over the reduction in the number of development projects, MPs said.

Both sides have also disagreed on a 15 million Afs allocation for the Afghanistan Oil and Gas Regulatory Authority, but the issue was solved when the fund was removed from the third Budget draft, according to the lawmakers.

The estimated Budget for the fiscal year 1400 is over 473 billion Afs (nearly $6 billion), including 311 billion Afs ($4 billion) for the regular Budget and 162 billion Afs ($2 billion) for the development Budget.

In the third and latest draft, 105 million Afs ($1.3 million) has been shifted to the regular Budget from the development Budget.

Meanwhile, the regular budget, as usual, is twice as large as the development budget.

According to the Budget draft, 46 per cent of the estimated amount is provided by internal sources.

-- The story has been published from a wire feed without any modifications to the text

A brief history of conservative publications in Canada  updated to 2021 (Part Two) By Mark Wegierski

The Conrad Black media revolution of the mid- to late-1990s, it could be argued, reconstructed the hitherto unspectacular Southam papers (and the former Financial Post) into a snazzier, as well as more intellectually diverse, format  with some surprisingly sharp-edged conservatism that had virtually never before been seen in Canada. As Blacks fortunes ebbed, the ideological sharpness of the papers markedly diminished, but the changes could not be entirely expunged. Black had also controversially taken over Saturday Night, which, however, at no time came to resemble a conservative magazine. Indeed, as far as the author knows, that venerable magazine has now completely folded. The Byfield newsmagazines, practically a Canadian conservative institution for decades, failed shortly after the beginning of the Twenty-First Century. It is difficult to say what exactly happened; some have argued that the Byfields simply got tired of their draining undertaking. Those circulation numbers certainly appeared to have made the magazines sustainable. In the aftermath of the Byfield failure, Ezra Levant and others established The Western Standard (newsmagazine format). It certainly seemed to be able to fill the niche left by the collapse of the Byfield newsmagazines. The demand for only news-stories largely excluded freelancers from the magazine. The Western Standard also folded in curious circumstances; apparently, the investors were demanding a quick return on their investment. It should be known by now that that should be a secondary consideration, for political publications. Social conservatism in Canada is now represented mostly by The Interim: Canadas Life and Family Newspaper (and the website, lifesite.net), Faithful Insight magazine (a successor to Catholic Insight), as well two major magazines put out by the CARDUS think-tank, Convivium, and Comment. I recall seeing in the 1990s a thin magazine of the Canadian TFP (Tradition, Family, Property), and a broadsheet called Michael Journal, published by the remnants of the Quebec Creditistes. There is today the major, French-language, Quebec-based social conservative journal, Egards. The arising of the Internet after 1995 did certainly open up some new forums for Canadian conservatives. The main edited e-zine has for a long time been enterstageright.com (as well as Judi McLeods Canada Free Press); the main self-posting forum is freedominion.ca ; and conservativeforum.org is an archive of interesting articles that is not updated. In recent years, Free Dominion has been subjected to vicious lawfare, and its situation is highly tenuous. In 2007, there arose the major webzine quarterly, c2cjournal.ca . Recently, Ezra Levants The Rebel (or The Rebel Media) website has arisen, with dozens of bloggers contributing to it. Another substantial media initiative is Candice Malcolms True North Canada. There is also The Post-Millennial website. Representing Western Canada, there is the new Western Standard website. Three websites of the culturalist opposition are actforcanada.ca, capforcanada.com, and eurocanadian.ca . There are also the party-based Blogging Tories. The impact of lesser-known websites, and more prominent personal blogs (such as those of Kate McMillan, Kathy Shaidle, or Richard Klagsbrun) is sometimes ephemeral and difficult to estimate. It still remains to be seen whether political discourse on the Internet can become a basis for generating enough financial resources and infrastructural weight in society to create major social, cultural, and political shifts. In recent years, there have arisen a few conservative print publications  The Dorchester Review (with mostly reviews of works of history) (published twice a year  in a classic quarterly digest format); The Canadian Observer (which, after a promising start, has failed) (newmagazine format); and Convivium (magazine format, glossy, full-colour cover, monochrome inside) published by the social conservative think-tank CARDUS. In January 2017, the last print issue of Convivium appeared  it is now a web-only publication. They also publish a quarterly called Comment, in a smaller digest format (full-colour cover, monochrome inside). The author liked the first editorial of The Canadian Observer, which said it wanted to be a Cite Libre of the Right. (Cite Libre was the intensely intellectual and intensely left-wing journal founded by Pierre Elliott Trudeau and his associates in the 1950s in Quebec, when the prospects for the Left in Canada seemed especially thin. It was said to be the seedling from which both the so-called Quiet Revolution in Quebec, and the subsequent Trudeau revolution in all of Canada, arose.) There is also a local, agrarian-focussed magazine published in Eastern Ontario, The Landowner. In July 2013, a daily webzine, Freedom Press Canada Journal, was launched with great fanfare, but it mostly stopped publication after November 30, 2013, and has now apparently been entirely removed from the Internet. New postings had begun to very sporadically appear on the website (freedompress.ca) since mid-2014, but now the whole website appears to be no longer extant. In any case, Canadian conservatives are still looking for a National Review North. The main concept behind an intellectually- and ideologically-focussing magazine or daily-updated webzine is that it would be a nucleus around which other political institutions such as think-tanks and other publications could grow. It was clearly the early years of National Review which were the most important in creating the American conservative movement. It remains to be seen whether Canada can ever begin to follow along a similar path. This journey through the history of attempts at creating a sustainable conservative publication in Canada as an intellectual anchor (the role that the early National Review played in America), raises two points: the fragmented conservative community in Canada might lack either the will or the necessary focus to unite together around an authoritative Canadian conservative publication; while the Left in Canada, on the other hand, has amply displayed the ability to maintain more than one iconic publication. Mark Wegierski is a Canadian writer and historical researcher. Home
READ: Trumps Full Response to Supreme Court Tax Return Decision

Former President Donald Trump released a statement after the Supreme Courts decision to not halt the release of his taxes to a Manhattan district attorney, saying its a continuation of a witch hunt against him.

Earlier in the day, the Supreme Court threw out Trumps request to place a lower court ruling on hold that directs his accounting firm, Mazars USA, to comply with a subpoena that would turn over his tax records and financial documents to a grand jury convened by Democratic Manhattan District Attorney Cyrus Vance.

The former president sent out this full statement via email on Monday afternoon:

This investigation is a continuation of the greatest political Witch Hunt in the history of our Country, whether it was the never ending $32 million Mueller hoax, which already investigated everything that could possibly be investigated, Russia Russia Russia, where there was a finding of No Collusion, or two ridiculous Crazy Nancy inspired impeachment attempts where I was found NOT GUILTY. It just never ends!

So now, for more than two years, New York City has been looking at almost every transaction Ive ever done, including seeking tax returns which were done by among the biggest and most prestigious law and accounting firms in the U.S. The Tea Party was treated far better by the IRS than Donald Trump. The Supreme Court never should have let this fishing expedition happen, but they did. This is something which has never happened to a President before, it is all Democrat-inspired in a totally Democrat location, New York City and State, completely controlled and dominated by a heavily reported enemy of mine, Governor Andrew Cuomo. These are attacks by Democrats willing to do anything to stop the almost 75 million people (the most votes, by far, ever gotten by a sitting president) who voted for me in the electionan election which many people, and experts, feel that I won. I agree!

The new phenomenon of headhunting prosecutors and AGswho try to take down their political opponents using the law as a weaponis a threat to the very foundation of our liberty. Thats what is done in third world countries. Even worse are those who run for prosecutorial or attorney general offices in far-left states and jurisdictions pledging to take out a political opponent. Thats fascism, not justiceand that is exactly what they are trying to do with respect to me, except that the people of our Country wont stand for it.

In the meantime, murders and violent crime are up in New York City by record numbers, and nothing is done about it. Our elected officials dont care. All they focus on is the persecution of President Donald J. Trump.

I will fight on, just as I have, for the last five years (even before I was successfully elected), despite all of the election crimes that were committed against me. We will win!
Source: Xinhua| 2021-02-23 01:14:49|Editor: huaxia

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BERLIN, Feb. 22 (Xinhua) -- China expanded its position as the German electrical industry's biggest export market last year, the German Electrical and Electronic Manufacturers' Association (ZVEI) said on Monday.

Boasting an annual growth of 6.5 percent and exports worth 23.3 billion euros (28.3 billion U.S. dollars), the Chinese market "developed more dynamically" than before the coronavirus pandemic, according to the ZVEI. In 2019, the increase was 4.3 percent.

By contrast, exports by Germany's electrical industry to the second biggest export country, the United States, decreased by 9.8 percent and amounted to 17.3 billion euros last year.

"The difference between industry exports to China and the United States now amounts to six billion euros," ZVEI chief economist Andreas Gontermann said in a statement, adding that this was "just below the volume of annual electrical exports to Hungary."

Carried by the export business with China, Germany's electrical exports to Asia in 2020 fell only "comparatively slightly" at minus 1.7 percent, according to the ZVEI.

While exports in December 2020 grew 5.2 percent compared to the previous year reaching 17.1 billion euros, imports of Germany's electrical and electronic industries were just as high but even increased 13.1 percent year-on-year, according to the ZVEI.

Despite the recovery at the end of last year, exports by Germany's electrical and electronic industries fell by 5.7 percent to 202.7 billion euros. The ZVEI noted that the loss in electrical imports was "significantly smaller," at minus 2.1 percent, with imports totaling 189.9 billion euros in 2020.

"The resulting export surplus of just under 13 billion euros was the lowest since 2003," said Gontermann. Enditem
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The worldwide Automotive Catalytic Converter Market is anticipated to reach over USD 327.9 billion by 2026 according to a new research published by Polaris Market Research. In 2017, North America accounted for the majority share in the global Automotive Catalytic Converter market. The three-way oxidation-reduction catalytic converter is expected to lead the global market during the forecast period.

The increasing demand and production of vehicles majorly drives the Automotive Catalytic Converter Market growth. The increasing regulations regarding emissions and fuel efficiency boosts the adoption of automotive catalytic converter. The increasing disposable income, increasing environmental concerns, and lifestyle changes increase the demand for efficient vehicles, thereby supporting the automotive catalytic converter market. Other factors driving market growth include technological advancement, and upcoming emission regulations in Asia. New emerging markets, emerging consumer demographics, and significant investments in research and development would provide numerous growth opportunities in the market during the forecast period.

Request for a sample of this research report @ https://www.polarismarketresearch.com/industry-analysis/automotive-catalytic-converter-market/request-for-sample

The North America Automotive Catalytic Converter Market is expected to dominate the global market during the forecast period. This is due to high living standards and high disposable income supporting the growth of the automotive industry. Presence of global players in these countries taps market potential and boosts the market growth. Increasing technological advancements and significant investments in research and development in automotive catalytic converters in vehicles boosts the market growth. The stringent government regulations regarding emissions and fuel efficiency further support the automotive catalytic converter market growth in this region. Governments in the region have introduced several laws and regulations to monitor vehicular emission. These regulations have mandated automobile manufacturers to use advanced technologies to combat high emission levels in vehicles

The different types of automotive catalytic converters include two-way oxidation catalytic converter, three-way oxidation-reduction catalytic converter, and diesel oxidation catalytic converter. The three-way oxidation-reduction catalytic converter is expected to dominate the global automotive catalytic converter market in 2017 owing to significant increase in the demand for gasoline vehicles. The stringent emission regulations primarily drive the growth of this segment.

Browse for full research summary: https://www.polarismarketresearch.com/industry-analysis/automotive-catalytic-converter-market

The leading companies profiled in the Automotive Catalytic Converter Market include Magneti Marelli S.P.A., Faurecia SA, Sango Co.Ltd., Benteler International AG, Futaba Industrial Co. Ltd. ,BASF Catalysts LLC, European Exhaust and Catalyst Ltd, Deccats, Yutaka Giken Co. Ltd., and Calsonic Kansei Corporation among others. These companies launch new products and collaborate with other market leaders to innovate and launch new products to meet the increasing needs and requirements of consumers.

Automotive Catalytic Converter Market Size and Forecast, 2017-2026 by Type Two-Way Oxidation Catalytic Converter Three-Way Oxidation-Reduction Catalytic Converter Diesel Oxidation Catalytic Converter

Automotive Catalytic Converter Market Size and Forecast, 2017-2026 by Catalyst Platinum Rhodium Palladium Others

Automotive Catalytic Converter Market Size and Forecast, 2017-2026 by Vehicle Type Passenger Vehicles Commercial Vehicles

Automotive Catalytic Converter Market Size and Forecast, 2017-2026 by Region North America US. Canada Mexico Europe Germany UK France Italy Rest of Europe Asia-Pacific China India Japan Rest of Asia-Pacific Latin America Brazil Middle East & Africa



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Polaris Market Research is a global market research and consulting company. We provide unmatched quality of offerings to our clients present globally. The company specializes in providing exceptional market intelligence and in-depth business research services for our clientele spread across different enterprises. We at Polaris are obliged to serve our diverse customer base present across the industries of healthcare, technology, semi-conductors and chemicals among various other industries present around the world. We strive to provide our customers with updated information on innovative technologies, high growth markets, emerging business environments and latest business-centric applications, thereby helping them always to make informed decisions and leverage new opportunities.

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Ballia : , Feb 22 (IANS) Two men drowned in a lake in after their boat overturned while they were streaming a live video on social media.

The police spokesman said that six youths of Mairitar village in Bansdih area were riding a boat in Surha Taal on Sunday and were moving towards an island. Some of the youths were enjoying their ride and went live on Facebook to record their outing.

Due to movement by the passengers, the boat overturned and the six youths started drowning.

The boatmen rescued the youths from the lake.

The condition of two men was serious, and they were taken to the district hospital, where Anuj Gupta (25) and Deepak Gupta (26) were declared dead by the doctors.
Channel Seven confirmed Larry Emdur as the new host of The Chase on Sunday, weeks after former host Andrew O'Keefe was axed over a domestic violence charge.

But the question still remains as to whether or not winning contestants from O'Keefe's bank of unaired episodes will receive their prize money.

As reported by The Australian, Seven has a backlog of pre-recorded shows featuring O'Keefe and it's unclear if they will ever see the light of day.

Twist: Here's why Andrew O'Keefe's (pictured) domestic assault case means The Chase winners could be denied their prize money

As Emdur prepares to film his first episodes next month, network bosses are said to be 'grappling' with the decision over whether to air O'Keefe's unaired catalogue of episodes or to simply bin them.

Given the bad publicity surrounding O'Keefe's recent domestic violence charge, it's possible the network may scrap his last batch of pre-recorded shows altogether.

But not airing these episodes could spell disaster for the winning contestants, as TV game show contracts typically state that networks and/or production companies are not obliged to give prize money to contestants whose episodes never make it to air.

Change: Seven has a backlog of pre-recorded shows featuring O'Keefe and it's unclear if they will ever see the light of day now he's been replaced by Larry Emdur (pictured)

Daily Mail Australia has contacted Channel Seven for comment.

It comes after Emdur spoke of his delight after being named as O'Keefe's replacement on The Chase over the weekend.

'I've had a love affair with quiz shows for most of my working life, and the opportunity to host one of the TV world's greatest formats is incredibly exciting,' Emdur said.

Questions: Not airing O'Keefe's last episodes could spell disaster for the winning contestants, as television game show contracts typically state that networks and/or production companies are not obliged to give prize money to contestants whose episodes never make it to air

Emdur, who will keep his 'dream job' on The Morning Show alongside Kylie Gillies, also spoke about O'Keefe's departure from the show.

'It's a tumultuous time, but shows move on and productions move on and over the years many hosts have been replaced with many other hosts,' he said.

'It's happened very quickly. There's no doubt about it, there's lots of focus on it, but in keeping with what the network wants me to do, I have to aim for the blue sky and look forward.'

Moving on: Emdur confirmed he was The Chase's new host on Sunday, weeks after the departure of former presenter O'Keefe, who was dumped by Seven over his domestic violence charge. Pictured outside court for an unrelated matter on March 4, 2019

Emdur was approached by the network three weeks ago, and wowed bosses with his audition. His first episodes are set to air after Easter.

He was said to have won the part over a string of other popular stars, including Rove McManus, Merrick Watts and Sunrise weatherman Sam Mac.

Production will move from Melbourne to Sydney, making it the perfect fit for Emdur to remain on The Morning Show.

Natural fit: Emdur formerly hosted The Price Is Right on and off for eight years, and also fronted Cash Bonanza and Wheel of Fortune

Seven's Network Programming Director, Angus Ross, said: 'Everyone at Seven is delighted that Larry has agreed to take on this new role. Australians love Larry. Australians love the show. Together they are the perfect combination.'

Indeed, Emdur appears to be a natural fit for the role and has the resume to prove it.

The presenter formerly hosted The Price Is Right on and off for eight years, and also fronted Cash Bonanza and Wheel of Fortune.

Channel Seven dumped O'Keefe after he was accused of assaulting his girlfriend, Dr Orly Lavee, in late January.

'Dream job': Production will move from Melbourne to Sydney, making it the perfect fit for Emdur to remain on The Morning Show alongside Kylie Gillies (right)

He was charged with common assault (domestic violence related), and was granted conditional bail and banned from approaching Dr Lavee under the terms of a provisional apprehended violence order.

O'Keefe is now an involuntary patient at a Sydney hospital following the charges.

Seven confirmed that O'Keefe's contract wasn't renewed at the end of last year and that he was 'no longer with the network'.

For confidential crisis support, contact Lifeline on 13 11 14. For domestic violence support, call 1800 RESPECT. Suicide Call Back Service: 1300 659 467
Forces have busted Pakistan's new plan, the revised strategy to target the forces using small Palm size explosives which can be fitted under vehicles and at times can be timer driven. The teams are working on the exact working of this small Palm size explosive recovered from the Ramgarh Sector of Samba district by Jammu Police on February 14, but so far it has come to be known that it was sent by Pakistan to handlers in Jammu and Kashmir to carry out strikes on security forces. These small explosives were packed in small plastic bottles which have markings of a company in Pakistans Karachi.

On 14-02-2021, Police party of PS Ramgarh led by SHO PS Ramgarh during patrol in Jhang area near Rakh Jhang nallah found some suspicipus material in the form of two packets hidden in Bushes along with some small wooden structures and strings. Police Party became suspicious and examined it carefully. On examination, following Quantity of arms and ammunition was found on opening the two packets which were wrapped with Polythene, Small Wooden structures and strings, the official statement added.

It further added that One packet was found containing five pistols, ten magazines and 149 live pistol bullets, some filled in magazines and some wrapped in polythene. The second packet was found containing one pistol, two magazines filled with thirty live bullets of pistol and fifteen white boxes containing material likely used in IED making. In total, six pistols, twelve pistol magazines, 179 live pistol rounds, fifteen white bottles containing IED making material were recovered along with wooden structures, packing material and strings.

This suggests that some unknown anti-national elements have dumped this material acquired illegally through some medium to carry out terrorist acts and to cause damage to life and property. By the recovery, the designs of anti national elements have been foiled and major sabotage has been averted. In this regard case FIR NO 07/2021 U/S 122 Indian Penal Code, Sections 16(1)b,18 Unlawful activities prevention act, section 04 explosive substance act and 3/25 Indian Arms Act Stands registered at Police Station Ramgarh and investigation has been set into motion, the statement said.
Aerial photo taken on Feb. 19, 2021 shows farmers harvesting lotus roots at Shizi Township of Quanjiao County, east China's Anhui Province. Farmers in Shizi Township are busy harvesting lotus roots to meet the market demand in early spring. (Photo by Shen Guo/Xinhua)

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[ Editor: WPY ]
Syria receives coronavirus vaccines from Israel, 21 ISIS jihadists killed in the past 24 hours, and Israeli woman released by Syria in Russian-mediated prisoner swap. Catch up on everything that happened over the weekend.

Israel secured coronavirus vaccines for the Syrian regime as part of a Russian-mediated prisoner swap agreed this week, according to an Israeli source and local media reports, Reuters reported. The source, who requested anonymity, did not state the number of vaccines, or whether they were from Israels own supply. Barak Ravid, an Israeli reporter, wrote on Twitter that the country had paid Russia 1.2 million dollars for its Sputnik V vaccine as part of the deal, citing foreign sources. SANA quoted a Syrian official source denying these reports. The source added that circulating such fabricated information about a secret term in the exchange process aims to defame Syria and distort the patriotic and humanitarian side of the process.

About 40 of Syrias largest food companies are participating in the World Gulfood Dubai exhibition which starts tomorrow and lasts until next Thursday. Chairman of the Central Committee for exhibitions at the Federation of Syrian Chambers of Industry, Talal Qalaa Ji, said in a statement to SANA, that 20 Syrian industrial companies are participating in the Syrian pavilion, while 20 other Syrian companies are participating in the international pavilion of the exhibition.

A wave of airstrikes by government-ally Russia killed at least 21 Islamic State (ISIS) jihadists in the Syrian desert over the past 24 hours. The 21 jihadists were killed in at least 130 airstrikes carried out over the past 24 hours by the Russian air force targeting the Islamic State group in an area on the edge of the provinces of Aleppo, Hama, and Raqqa, the Syrian Observatory for Human Rights said. The raids, which continued into Saturday, follow a series of ISIS attacks Friday on government and allied forces that killed at least eight members of a pro-Damascus militia, the Britain-based monitor said.

The US State Department announced on Thursday that Aimee Cutrona has assumed her role as Acting Special Representative for Syria Engagement, Asharq Al-Awsat reported. Cutrona recently assumed the role of Acting Special Representative for Syria Engagement, the State Departments Bureau of Near Eastern Affairs announced on Twitter. Cutrona, who also serves as Deputy Assistant Secretary for Levant Affairs in the Bureau of Near Eastern Affairs, has extensive experience supporting US diplomacy in the region, it said.

Syria released an Israeli woman after Israel returned two shepherds to the Syrian-controlled side of the Golan Heights amid a Russian-mediated prisoner swap, Al-Jazeera reported. The woman, who has not been publicly identified, had crossed the border into Syria several days ago, prompting Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu to approach Russian President Vladimir Putin in efforts to secure her release, Netanyahus office said. The young woman was on her way home, the Israeli prime ministers office said on Thursday, following media reports that Russia mediated the prisoner swap. Little is known about why the woman entered Syria.

After concluding the 15th round of the Astana talks on Syria in Sochi, UN Special Envoy Geir Pedersen is holding military and political talks in Moscow ahead of making a much-anticipated visit to Damascus, Asharq Al-Awsat reported. Vladimir Putin, meanwhile, discussed regional issues including Nagorno-Karabakh, Syria, and Libya in a phone call with his Turkish counterpart, Recep Tayyip Erdogan. Also, Russian Foreign Minister Sergei Lavrov discussed the outcomes of the two-day meetings in Sochi with his Syrian counterpart, Faisal Mikdad.
Armenia Investigative Committee: Fatal road accident, criminal case opened

Armenia deputy FM submits resignation

Chinese authorities allow families to have 3 children

Dollar devalues in Armenia

Stepanakert: Azerbaijan creates bridgeheads for pressure on Karabakh, expansion towards Armenia

Sergey Lavrov says Russia is ready to disconnect SWIFT

Armenia MFA spokesperson resigns

Republican Party of Armenia Vice-President: Our ratings are growing, but we have greater pretensions

Armenia acting PM's spokesperson responds to ex-FM

Armenia parliament majority leader: Refusing to debate with acting PM is manifestation of low self-confidence

Armenia State Revenue Committee, US Department of Justice sign Memorandum of Cooperation

Vardevanyan: Attempts made to create false grounds for obstructing Armenia bloc election offices legal activities

Lavrov says Russia is ready to resume dialogue with NATO

Armenia opposition MP on FM's resignation

India records lowest increase in COVID-19 cases in 50 days

Bright Armenia faction in parliament: No response to acting PM's proposal to deploy observers along Azerbaijan border

Ruling bloc MP: Acting premiers proposal does not limit Armenia in terms of cooperation with CSTO

Acting PM is proud of Armenian servicemens heroism, says parliament majority leader

Parliament majority leader: No border delimitation unless Azerbaijan army units leave Armenia territory

Outgoing Armenia acting FM opens brackets: My decision of resignation was conditioned by that very reason

Harutyunyan, Shoygu discuss tension on Armenia-Azerbaijan border

Iranian MFA says US has not imported oil from country since Clinton era

Court hearing on appeal against decision to drop March 2008 Yerevan tragedy case is rescheduled

Missing soldiers relatives block Yerevan street

Parliament majority leader: Armenia acting FM did not object, at Security Council meeting, to new document

Armenia Police: 2,581,093 people on voters list

Bright Armenia faction of parliament: No corridor through the country should be provided to Azerbaijan

Analyst: Armenia acting PM Pashinyan gave self-confessed testimony

Armenia national security finds about 1 kg of opium, detains Iran citizen driver and 2 others

182 hearing aids and 2 buses by benefactor Mikayel Vardanyan for students of Special Educational Complex

34 new cases of COVID-19 confirmed in Armenia

Updated voters list is posted on Armenia central election commission website

Armenia authorities provide considerable amount of subsidies ahead of snap parliamentary elections

World oil prices on the rise

MP explains his not being on Bright Armenia Party electoral list

UK new flagship set to be named after the late Prince Philip

US man who said he shot neighbor over loud music found guilty of attempted murder

Lamborghini company to be sold for $11.5bn?

China spacecraft docks with future space station

Lawyer: Armenia acting PM Pashinyan grossly abuses administrative resources during Lori Province visit

UN urges to investigate escalation of violence in Colombia

Malaysia to open mega-centers for vaccination against coronavirus

Police find  5 million in cash in London apartment

French citizen to face trial in Iran on spaying charges

Over 60 children in UK undergo surgery due to TikTok challenge

Iranian Central Bank governor dismissed

Armenian opposition: The one who liberated Artsakh will not go to debates with the one who sold it

Iranian energy ministry: Iraq to allocate $ 125 million of frozen funds for vaccines

No new COVID-19 cases reported in Artsakh

Iran and Iraq to intensify cooperation and are ready for joint investment projects

Armenia ex-PM says at least 2 more secret documents signed but not published yet

Indonesia frees Iranian tanker 4 months later

Mortar shelling in Afghanistan kills at least 10 civilians

Fire breaks out at West Virginia oil refinery in US

Second President of Armenia meets with residents of Ararat province

Iran ready to help improve the defense capability of Syria

Armenian acting PM invites ex-presidents for debates

European Parliament head proposes to strengthen sanctions on Russia

UK PM gets married in London

Armenia reports COVID-19 new 81 cases: 4 people die

EU countries invite US to issue joint statement against Russia

2 people die in Armenia road accident

Nigeria: Students taken hostage a month ago are released

61 quakes recorded in Congo per day

Syrian MFA: EU lost credibility due to blind obedience to US policy

Armenia ex-minister of emergency situations hospitalized with heart attack

Mher Grigoryan: Clarification of border points is possible only after withdrawal of Azerbaijani troops from Armenia

Suspicious deal: Whether there was profit from buying DNA IDs?

Armenia ex-president says current authorities are trying to blame Russia for defeat in war

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The $1.9 trillion COVID-19 relief package Democrats are pushing through the House of Representatives this week includes a proposed minimum wage increase to $15, a target long pushed by progressives and advanced by President Joe Biden as part of his efforts to revive the pandemic-torn economy.

Democrats are using the annual budget reconciliation process, which only requires a simple majority vote, a move that sidesteps the need for Republican support and could get the bill on Bidens desk by mid-March. The bill includes $1,400 checks to Americans earning less than $75,000 and hundreds of billions of dollars to ramp up the national vaccination effort, boost small businesses, reopen schools, expand the child tax credit and assist state and local governments hit hard by the pandemic across the country.

But the minimum wage portion of the package remains contentious, with Republicans firmly against it and some conservative Democrats threatening to scuttle the whole $1.9 trillion bill if it remains in the package.

The nonpartisan Congressional Budget Office (CBO) in 2019 estimated the minimum wage hike could cost the country at least 1.3 million jobs.

Last week, the National Restaurant Association sent a letter to lawmakers arguing the wage hike would lead to job and hours cuts and higher prices for consumers, Fox News reported. The restaurant industry and our workforce will suffer from a fast-tracked wage increase and elimination of the tip credit, Sean Kennedy, the groups executive vice president, said. Restaurant jobs will be critical to every local community recovering from the pandemic, but the Raise the Wage Act will negate the stimulative impact of a worthy plan.

The overall stimulus package does include a $25 billion grant program to help restaurants recover.

Democrats note that drastic job estimates have not borne out in states that have already raised the minimum wage, which hasnt seen an increase nationally in more than a decade. Democrats argue the plan would stimulate the economy by giving 30 million Americans a raise and lifting 1 million out of poverty.

In an updated post-COVID report, CBO noted the proposal would bump the national deficit by more than $54 billion over the next decade.

Economic models yield conflicting conclusions, CBO said in its Feb. 8 report. Some researchers have suggested that during and after periods of high unemployment, a larger-than-average share of firms open or go out of business, and employment might be more responsive to a higher minimum wage under such conditions. But it is also possible that many of the workers who in normal times would be projected to lose their jobs because of a higher minimum wage, such as restaurant workers, have already lost their jobs because of the pandemic. In that case, the bills effect on employment could be weaker.

Democratic leaders cannot afford to lose any Democratic votes for Bidens rescue plan to pass; the president recently said the wage increase may not happen this time around. Sens. Joe Manchin of West Virginia and Kyrsten Sinema of Arizona have said the wont back the bill if it includes the minimum wage increase.

The push from progressives may be a moot point depending on an upcoming ruling from Senate parliamentarian Elizabeth MacDonough. Regulatory provisions like the proposed minimum wage typically cant be part of a reconciliation bill because of the Senates Byrd rule, named after former Sen. Robert Byrd of West Virginia. The rule blocks from reconciliation bills extraneous provisions that dont impact the federal budget.

Sen. Bernie Sanders, a progressive independent who caucuses with the Democrats, says increasing the minimum wage does indeed impact the federal budget, because millions of workers currently receiving public assistance may no longer require it once their paychecks get a boost.

If Republicans could use reconciliation to try to take health care away from 32 million Americans by repealing the (Affordable Care Act), please dont tell me we cant use the same rules to provide a raise to 32 million workers by increasing the minimum wage to $15 an hour, Sanders said Saturday. No more excuses.

If Republicans could use reconciliation to try to take health care away from 32 million Americans by repealing the ACA, please don't tell me we can't use the same rules to provide a raise to 32 million workers by increasing the minimum wage to $15 an hour. No more excuses. https://t.co/ma7WHtczb1  Bernie Sanders (@SenSanders) February 20, 2021

Democratic aides told CNN last week that MacDonough remained stoic during a meeting on whether a minimum wage hike could be approved through reconciliation.

House leaders say a vote on the overall package will come by Friday.

Senate Majority Leader Chuck Schumer said Friday that Democratic leaders are on track to deliver a final bill to Biden before a March 14 deadline, which is when supplemental jobless aid to millions of Americans expires.

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Borhan Uddin Muzakkir, a journalist with Bangla Samachar and bartabazar.com, sustained a fatal bullet injury to the neck while reporting on clashes between two warring factions of the ruling Awami League (AL) on February 20. The International Federation of Journalists (IFJ) condemns the killing and calls for the urgent arrest of the perpetrators.

Muzakkir, 25, was caught up in the clashes between followers of Abdul Quader Mirza and Mizanur Rahman Badal. The clashes took place between two factions of the ruling AL over establishing supremacy in Noakhali's Companiganj upazila (administrative district). A shoot-out between the factions broke out in Chaprashirhat Purbo Bazar from 4:45pm to 7pm on February 19, injuring more than 50 people. At least nine people, including Muzakkir were hit by bullets during the clashes.

The injured journalist was taken to Noakhali General Hospital and later to the ICU of Dhaka Medical College Hospital (DMCH) around 11pm on Saturday. He died at around 11:15 pm on February 20.

Journalists and human right activists in coordination with local press clubs held a protest rally and organized a human chain in front of the Noakhali Press Club on February 21 demanding arrest of the culprits.

Muzakkir is the first journalist to be killed in Bangladesh in 2021. Two journalists were killed in 2020. Elias Mia, a correspondent of Daily Bijoy, was hacked to death on October 12 by miscreants in Narayanganj district for allegedly exposing a criminal nexus in gas line distribution, while journalistJulhas Uddin was killed in a stabbing murder on September 3.

Bangladesh Manobadhikar Sangbadik Forum (BMSF) said: BMSF condemns the incident and demands the immediate arrest of the miscreants.

IFJ General Secretary, Anthony Bellanger, said: The IFJ is deeply saddened by the killing of the Borhan Uddin Muzakkir and offers its condolences to Muzakkirs family. The IFJ calls for urgent action to bring the perpetrators to justice. The IFJ also asks media houses to ensure they are providing adequate safety training preparation to journalists covering civil unrest.
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Copyright  2021 Albuquerque Journal

An Albuquerque startup expects to deploy its first commercial fleet of compact, mobile hydrogen generators to customers worldwide this year, backed by $157 million in new equity from private investors.

BayoTech Inc.s imminent march to market prompted a visit last week by Sen. Martin Heinrich, D-N.M., who toured the companys 15,000-square-foot research and development facility in north Albuquerque.

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Unlike competitors who are still developing new technology, BayoTech has mobile units that are fully functional and capable of producing hydrogen far cheaper than todays massive, centralized plants, giving the company and the state a huge competitive edge in emerging clean-fuel markets, Heinrich told the Journal after his tour.

BayoTech is ready to charge out the gate, Heinrich said.  Its technology offers a real opportunity for New Mexico to get a foothold as a center of excellence in the emerging hydrogen economy.

The company, which launched in 2015 with technology originally developed by Sandia National Laboratories, has attracted global attention from investors and industry partners, culminating in a new $157 million commitment in January led by growth equity firm Newlight Partners LP. Privately owned investment firm Fortistar also participated, as did two existing BayoTech investors, Santa Fe-based Cottonwood Technology Fund and Sun Mountain Capital.

BayoTech previously raised $16 million in venture capital. But the latest investment  one of the largest such private equity commitments for a local startup in recent years  will help thrust BayoTech full force into global markets, said company president and CEO Mo Vargas.

Well start commissioning our hydrogen units around the world this year, Vargas said. Well fill out customer orders for at least 10 units. We now have the capital to do it, so thats not an issue anymore.

BayoTech signed 15 commercial agreements with customers last year, Vargas said. And its got $1 billion more in project proposals in the pipeline across the globe.

That includes customers who want to lease or buy BayoTechs mobile units, or receive hydrogen deliveries from units that BayoTech will directly operate in local markets. The company is now working to establish two such production centers in California.

BayoTech says its generators can produce hydrogen at $2 per kilogram, compared with $12 or more at todays large, centralized production facilities. And its mobile units can operate on site for customers, or in strategic hubs for vehicle fueling or delivery services, reducing or eliminating transportation and storage costs.

Apart from capital backing, investment newcomer Fortistar can also offer critical assistance in building fueling stations.

Theyve built 400 compressed natural gas stations for customers across the U.S., Vargas said. That will help us tremendously to build out our hydrogen plants around the world.

Heinrich said BayoTech is ready for prime time.

They have the technology and access to capital, Heinrich said. Theyre off to a great start with enormous potential.
PUDUCHERRY: The spotlight will be on the beleaguered Puducherry Chief Minister V. Narayanasamy as he is slated to face a trust vote in the Assembly on Monday. Peeved by the resignation of DMK MLA Venkatesan as well as Congress legislator K. Lakshminarayanan deserting on Sunday, the CM may decide to put in his papers rather than face the Assembly where his government is clearly in a minority.

Coming out of a meeting of the Congress legislators late on Sunday night, the CM said that he would make his decision known after consulting allies but before the Assembly is to convene on Monday. The Congress has lost five MLAs over the last couple of weeks besides the party disqualifying one for anti-party activities. With the latest resignation of two MLAs, the ruling fronts strength has been reduced to 12 in a House with an effective strength of 26.

The resignation of the DMK MLA Venkatesan brings back to focus the strained ties between the alliance partners in the Union Territory where the Congress has been ruling for close to five years. With polls on the horizon in Tamil Nadu as well as the UT, ties are said to be at a breaking point with the DMK eyeing Puducherry as ground for trying to gain power on its own or in any other alliance it can hope to work out. The Pondy CM is said to be very unhappy with the silence of the DMK while desertion by legislators was going on unabated.

Apart from a statement on the removal of Lt Governor Kiran Bedi the DMK had said nothing about MLAs quitting the Congress as part of a destabilisation game being played in the UT.

With Namasivayam, who led the Congress to victory in 2016, leaving him and shifting to the BJP, CM Narayanasamy finds himself without too many friends. Lakshminarayanan, elected from the Raj Bhavan constituency, tendered his resignation to the Speaker at the latter's residence on Sunday, saying he wasnt made a minister despite his seniority.
Tom Hallberg covers a little bit of everything, from skiing to long-form feature stories. A Teton Valley, Idaho, transplant by way of Portland and Bend, Oregon, he spends his time outside work writing fiction, splitboarding and climbing.
Children perform Yue opera in Qianyuan Township, Deqing County, Huzhou City, east China's Zhejiang Province, Feb. 21, 2021. The local community held various cultural activities to celebrate the upcoming Lantern Festival. (Photo by Xie Shangguo/Guangming Picture)

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Regional

Demonstrating students confront police in Mnp

Protesting students clash with police in Imphal on Monday.

Correspondent IMPHAL, FEB 22 | Publish Date: 2/22/2021 11:39:42 AM IST

Over 15 protestors were rushed to hospitals in Imphal as several students were injured in clashes with police during protests demanding resumption of normal classes in government colleges in Manipur.

Classes in government colleges in the state remain cancelled since teachers launched indefinite class boycott stir as a part of their ongoing cease work strike demanding implementation of 7th UCG Pay and Regulations.

Angered by the non-conduct of the classes for days, students of various colleges, particularly in Imphal areas, have been pressing the state government to ensure normal conduct of classes.

When their demand was not addressed, a large number of students from various government colleges came out near their respective colleges and demonstrated on the streets.

Students of some colleges affiliated to Dhanamanjuri University (DMU) converged themselves at the DM College campus and staged a protest shouting slogans.

When the students attempted to march towards the state Assembly complex where the budget session was in progress, a strong police team armed with riot gears rushed to the spot and blocked them from carrying out the demonstration.

When the students tried to carry out the demonstration forcibly, the police baton charged them. When some of the demonstrators pelted stones towards them, the police used tear gas to disperse the demonstrators.

Several students were injured in the clash. Many of them were rushed to nearby hospitals.

Around the same time, another group of students from Manipur College came out on the street near their college campus at Singjamei and carried out another demonstration on the street.

As the students continued to demonstrate despite repeated warning, another police team who rushed to the spot baton charged them apart from firing tear gas shells to disperse them.

In the melee, at least several students sustained injuries. Among them eight were admitted to various hospitals.

Denouncing the police brutality towards the students, All Manipur Students Union (AMSU) threatened to launch intense form of agitation if the state government ensured resumption of normal class in the colleges immediately.

AMSU human resources secretary Bruce Pebam said that the student body did not take the excessive action meted out by the police to the students on peaceful demonstrations lightly.

He claimed that the students were carrying out peaceful demonstrations demanding their right to education.

AMSU will not remain silent. We will be compelled to launch intense form of agitations if the state government does not ensure conduct of normal classes immediately, he said. He further demanded action against the police who meted out excessive force towards the students.

At the same time, the student leader appealed to the teachers to change their course of agitations and not to disturb the academic atmosphere while continuing their agitations.

He said that AMSU and the students community were in favour of the teachers demand.

On the other hand, the striking teachers of government colleges reaffirmed to continue their agitations until and unless their demands were addressed by the state government.

The teachers under the aegis of Federation of Government College Teachers Association (FEGOCTA) have been demanding implementation of 7th UGC Pay and Regulations, 2018 which the state government had already agreed.

College teachers want orders not assurances, said FEGOCTA in a statement, reaffirming its stand not to withdraw its strike until government issues orders affecting the national policy of the UCG.
Yoga guru Ramdev's 'Coronail kit', which sparked massive debate over its efficacy to prevent coronavirus last year, has once again run into controversy. Although this time the AYUSH ministry has approved Patanjali Ayurved's Coronil for the treatment of coronavirus, the World Health Organisation has sidelined itself.

In a tweet, the WHO South-East Asia wrote, "WHO has not reviewed or certified the effectiveness of any traditional medicine for the treatment of COVID-19". The statement came after, at the launch event of Coronil kit, Patanjali said, "Coronil has received the Certificate of Pharmaceutical Product (CoPP) from the Ayush section of Central Drugs Standard Control Organisation as per the WHO certification scheme."



.@WHO has not reviewed or certified the effectiveness of any traditional medicine for the treatment #COVID19.  WHO South-East Asia (@WHOSEARO) February 19, 2021

This meant the Coronil kit, which comprises three kinds of different ayurvedic medicines, holds a certificate of a pharmaceutical product (CoPP) and is recognised by the World Health Organisation's Good Manufacturing Practices (GMP). Both these standards define quality assurance in medicinal products.

Under the CoPP, Coronil can now be exported to 158 countries, Patanjali claimed.

Besides, in the grand launch event, where Union Health Minister Dr Harsh Vardhan and Union Transport Minister Nitin Gadkari were also present, the product was billed by the company as the "first evidence-based medicine for COVID-19".

Now as the WHO rejected the claims, Patanjali CEO Acharya Balkrishna has made a clarification on Twitter. He wrote, "We want to clarify to avoid confusion that our WHO GMP compliant COPP certificate to Coronil is issued by DCGI, Government of India".

Balkrishna also added that "WHO does not approve or disapprove any drugs. Instead, it works for building better and healthier future for people all over the world".

We want to clarify to avoid confusion that our WHO GMP compliant COPP certificate to Coronil is issued by DCGI, Government of India.

It is clear that WHO do not approve or disapprove any drugs.

WHO works for building a better, healthier future for people all over the world. pic.twitter.com/ZEDPdWy0tg  Acharya Balkrishna (@Ach_Balkrishna) February 19, 2021

Patanjali had introduced Ayurveda-based Coronil on June 23 last year, when the pandemic was at its peak. The company had to face severe criticism as the kit lacked scientific evidence regarding its efficacy.

However, at that time, the union Ayush ministry brushed aside Patanjali's claim and categorised the medicine as an "Immuno booster". Ayush ministry also ordered Patanjali Ayurveda to halt advertisements of Coronil kit, claiming to prevent COVID-19.

Facts of the claim and details of the stated scientific study are not known to the Ministry and complete details of the supposed medicines have been sought, AYUSH said in a statement. The ministry allowed the medicine to enter into the market only as an 'immuno booster product', and not as medicine for coronavirus.

But now the ministry has recognised Coronil as medicine for "supporting the measure in COVID-19" treatment, Ramdev said.

"Study on the impact of Coronil on COVID has already been published in leading journals," Ramdev said, adding "it would work not only for treatment, prevention and cure of COVID but also help in after-effects". The yoga guru also claimed that Coronil medicines will also work against asymptomatic, symptomatic and severe (cases) also.

Meanwhile, as an immuno booster, Coronil has received a huge positive response from the customers, baba Ramdev has claimed. He said, "It received a huge response despite all controversies. We have data which suggests that more than one crore people have consumed it". Patanjali spokesperson S K Tijarawala said Coronil has done a business of Rs 500 crore in the last seven months.

After Coronil, Patanjali now plans to introduce more ayurvedic medicines, backed with scientific evidence and certification, Ramdev said.

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An outbreak of plague that emerged in the Democratic Republic of the Congo (DRC) three months ago has left 31 people dead, according to health officials.

Hundreds of cases have been identified in the Ituri Province, in the northeast of the country.

Patrick Karamura, the health minister for the region, told AFP on Friday: We have more than 520 cases ... of which more than 31 have been fatal.

The cases are the bubonic form of the disease, except for five cases of pneumonic plague and two of septicaemic plague, he said.

Anne Laudisoit, an epidemiologist with the New York-based NGO EcoHealth Alliance, said the cases had surfaced in the province between 15 November and 13 December.

The average age of patients was 13, but this varied between three months and 73 years, she said.

EchoHealth Alliance warned last month that adolescents under 17 years old seem to be the most at-risk group, representing 78.9 per cent of all sick people.

Plague has persisted in the Ituri Province since it was first confirmed there in 1926.

It is an infectious disease caused by the bacterium Yersinia pestis and is found in animals throughout the world, including rats, ground squirrels and prairie dogs. Fleas typically serve as the vector for plague.

People can also get infected through direct contact with an infected animal, through inhalation, and in the case of pneumonic plague, person to person.

Yersinia pestis is treatable with antibiotics if they are started early enough.

Ms Laudisoit, who is working alongside a team of researchers in Ituri, said an early sign of the latest outbreak came with the mass death of rats.

The outbreak comes amid a worrying resurgence of Ebola within the DRC.

Two people have died from the disease in the eastern province of North Kivu in the space of a week.

DRCs health ministry has deployed a team to the health zones of Biena and Katwa to trace more than 100 contacts of two women who succumbed to the deadly disease.

Ebola swept through eastern Congo from 2018 to 2020 in an outbreak that killed more than 2,200 people before it was declared over last June.

At least three people have also died of Ebola in southeastern Guinea, in the first re-emergence of the disease in the country since the deadly 2013-2016 outbreak

A further five patients have tested positive for the disease, and are being isolated in treatment centres, officials said.

The last major outbreak of Ebola in West Africa started in Guinea in 2013, with a resulting death count of more than 11,000 after the disease spread throughout the continent. The vast majority of cases were in Guinea, Liberia and Sierra Leone.
A woman wearing a mask walks past a wall bearing graffiti that asks for rent forgiveness amid the COVID-19 pandemic, in Los Angeles, Calif., on May 1, 2020. (Valerie Macon/AFP via Getty Images)

City Steps Up to Help Struggling Anaheim Landlords

Anaheim landlords whose rentals have gone unpaid during the ongoing COVID-19 pandemic can now turn to the city for financial help.

Council has approved a local rental assistance program that provides landlords with up to 80 percent of unpaid rent for up to a year if they agree to waive the remaining 20 percent and not pursue evictions.

It will begin accepting applications for the program March 1, after city council on Feb. 16 green lighted the initiative.

The rent subsidy program was created for landlords who are having a hard time paying their mortgages and their debt obligations, Anaheim spokesperson Mike Lyster told The Epoch Times.

Program funds came from a national emergency rental assistance (ERA) program.

California received $2.6 billion in funding last Dec. 27 as part of a $25 billion federal rescue package to help those whove suffered setbacks from the COVID-19 pandemic.

Orange County began distributing nearly $66 million in ERA funds on Feb. 1, but some citiesincluding Anaheim, Santa Ana, and Irvinereceived funds to launch their own initiatives.

The city will administer $30 million in federal funding locally through the Anaheim Housing Authority.

If the landlord decides not to participate, rental assistance will be provided directly to the tenant, limited to 25 percent of the total debt owed.

Landlords who opt out of the program can evict their tenants after the moratorium is lifted, however, the eviction moratorium could again be extended.

Starting Aug. 1, landlords can go to small claims court to pursue unpaid rent from April 1, 2020, through March 31.

Anaheim previously provided $5 million in emergency rental assistance to landlords.

The City of Irvine will discuss the rollout of the rental assistance funds during a Feb. 23 meeting.
Beyond barbecues and ceremonies: Recognizing Memorial Day

For many, Memorial Day weekend is about gathering with family and grilling or attending a parade. Some find a more personal way to honor the holiday.

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Asylum-seekers protest over delays in their application process and what they described as inhumane living conditions at Pournara camp, in Kokkinotrimithia, some 20 kilometres outside the Cypriot capital Nicosia, on February 1, 2021

Cyprus hit out at Turkey on Friday for acts it said were behind the creation of a new migration route that had "disproportionally burdened" it with the EU's highest percentage of asylum-seekers.

The Republic of Cyprus, a member of the European Union since 2004, has seen a surge in asylum-seekers in recent weeks and months.

Many enter by illegally crossing the UN-patrolled buffer zone that divides the island between the Greek-majority south and a breakaway Turkish Cypriot state in the north.

Cyprus said it has had the highest proportion of asylum applications in the EU for four consecutive years, at four percent of its population compared with the bloc's average of close to one percent.

"The overwhelming majority of migration flows originated from Turkey, a country that fails to implement all agreements regarding migration towards Cyprus," its foreign and interior ministries said in a joint statement.

"In fact, Turkey's stance has led to the creation, rather than prevention, of a new migration route in the eastern Mediterranean, which disproportionally burdens Cyprus, and places enormous strain on the national asylum system."

Nicosia would raise "the extent of the migration crisis faced by Cyprus" in Brussels to ensure it "receives the assistance required to effectively address it", the statement said.

It said there was an "urgent need" for the European Commission and international organisations to assist Cyprus to stop illegal migrant flows and ensure legal returns.

At a meeting on Thursday, Foreign Minister Nikos Christodoulides and Interior Minister Nikos Nouris had highlighted "the gravity and scale" and "disproportional weight Cyprus shoulders from migration flows", it added.

They agreed to ensure migration features prominently on their agendas ahead of a March 15 teleconference of EU foreign and home affairs ministers, as well as "upcoming discussions on Turkey at EU level".

Story continues

Cyprus has the highest number of first-time asylum applications in the EU relative to its population, according to the bloc's latest statistics.

The republic registered 1,640 first-time asylum applications in the third quarter of 2020, a figure representing 1,848 per million of its population, Eurostat said.

In December, Nouris said that in 2019, Cyprus received approximately 17,000 asylum applications, an increase of more than 500 percent compared with 2015.

cc/dv/kir
An American pervert is suspected of hiding out in Ireland after faking his death while being investigated by both state police and the FBI.

Police and former associates, including his foster parents, are convinced 32-year-old Nicholas Alahverdian is alive.

Rhode Island state police have an active warrant on the grounds that he failed to register as a sex offender arising from his 2008 conviction for groping a woman and exposing himself at college campus.

US investigators believe he has been living in Dublin, while Alahverdian's former lawyer also said that he was in Ireland in December 2019, shortly before his reported death on February 29 last year.

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His death - announced on his own website and in emails to various news outlets in Rhode Island - came shortly after he learned the FBI was investigating allegations of a $200,000 credit card scam.

This week the Sunday World established that no death certificates have been issued in this country for anyone of that name.

His former foster mother in Ohio, Sharon Lane, told investigative journalist Tom Mooney that Alahverdian had got 22 credit cards and loans under her husband's name and ran up debts totalling almost $200,000.

A lawyer who had represented him, Jeffrey Pine, confirmed that Alahverdian knew the FBI was looking at the allegations of credit card fraud against him.

The former Rhode Island attorney general said "of course" he believes it's possible that Alahverdian is still alive.

An FBI agent had called Alahverdian to discuss the fraud complaint and Alahverdian gave Pine the FBI investigator's name "and I contacted him, just to confirm it," he said.

Read More

"The next thing I know he gets very, very sick with cancer and dies within weeks. Do I think it's possible he's alive? Of course I do."

Alahverdian had previously said he was living outside the US because his child care advocacy from years ago had provoked threats.

A critic of Rhode Island's child welfare programme, he had pushed lawmakers to support reforms to the system in which he claimed to have been abused.

In February last year it was announced he had died of cancer in email from the "Alahverdian Family Office."

It came just two months after Alahverdian told reporters at various media outlets that he had late-stage non-Hodgkin lymphoma and had weeks to live.

Rhode Island State Lieutenant Colonel Kevin Barry says a detective spoke to people who knew Alahverdian as reports circulated that Alahverdian was still alive.

Barry says the state police still had a warrant for him for allegedly failing to register in Rhode Island as a sex offender.

"Any time there is an allegation that someone is still alive, and we have an active warrant of someone being a sex offender violator, we are going to take that seriously," Barry told the Providence Journal.

"Without definitive evidence that he was deceased we had to run that down."

Alahverdian's widow, who asked not to be named, said her husband had been cremated and his remains scattered at sea, but declined emailed requests that she release a copy of his death certificate.




Monday, 22 February 2021 14:22:14 (GMT+3) | Istanbul

German plate producer Dillinger Hutte has announced that it has supplied 70,000 mt of thermo-mechanically rolled heavy plate to the Borssele III and IV offshore wind farm in the Netherlands. The plates, which have thicknesses ranging from 12.7 mm to 88 mm, will be used for the monopole foundation structures of the wind turbines. Some of the slabs reached record-breaking weights of more than 42 metric tons.

The Borssele III and IV offshore wind farm with a capacity of 730 MW was handed over on February 18 to the Blauwwind operations team. Together with the Borssele I and II offshore wind farms, which began operating in November 2020, and a smaller area used for innovative demonstration purposes, it forms the 122 km Borssele wind farm zone located about 22 km off the coast of Zeeland province in the Netherlands. With a total capacity of around 1.4 GW, this is the largest wind farm zone in the Netherlands to date.

Meanwhile, the 77 wind turbines of Borssele III and IV will reduce carbon emissions by more than 1 million mt.

Pennsylvania cant file a lawsuit like New York state did against Amazon last week over its failures to provide adequate health and safety measures for employees at the companys New York facilities and Amazons retaliatory actions against multiple employees amidst the COVID-19 pandemic.

The Pennsylvania Attorney Generals Office said Thursday a suit like New Yorks is unlikely, given Pennsylvania law, but we are doing everything we can to support local authorities in ensuring safety for workers and to point them to our guidance, the Pennsylvania Attorney Generals Office said in the statement.

Employees at the Amazon fulfillment center in the Humboldt Industrial Park complained at the beginning of the pandemic that the company was not providing cleaning materials, not practicing social distancing and did not close down to disinfect the building, among other alleged violations.

When state Sen. John Yudichak, I-14, Swoyersville, spearheaded formation of a coalition of local code enforcement inspectors to look at facilities like Amazon, they complied.

The New York Executive Law gives the AGs office broad jurisdiction over businesses in the state. Pennsylvanias law, the Commonwealth Attorneys Act, does not give us the same broad authority and as such our office does not have jurisdiction over this matter, the statement read.

A multi-state initiative, which included the Pennsylvania Attorney Generals Office during the early months of the pandemic  led by colleagues in Massachusetts  investigated working conditions at Amazon and Whole Foods facilities in various locations.

When our office received complaints, we raised them and made sure they were corrected. These matters were resolved voluntarily by the company, the statement read.

Any complaints should still be directed to: https://www.attorneygeneral.gov /submit-a-complaint/.

In the New York lawsuit, Amazon allegedly failed to maintain a safe work environment by reasonably protecting workers from the spread of COVID-19. By doing so, Amazon violated New York State Labor Law. In addition, Amazon unlawfully fired and disciplined employees that objected to Amazons unsafe work conditions.

The evidence gathered through the New York investigation also demonstrates that Amazon unlawfully fired and disciplined workers who reported their concerns about Amazons compliance with these health and safety mandates.

The lawsuit, filed in the Supreme Court of New York County, argues that Amazons actions are in violation of New York labor, whistleblower protection and anti-retaliation laws.

While Amazon and its CEO made billions during this crisis, hardworking employees were forced to endure unsafe conditions and were retaliated against for rightfully voicing these concerns, New York Attorney General Letitia James said. Since the pandemic began, it is clear that Amazon has valued profit over people and has failed to ensure the health and safety of its workers. The workers who have powered this country and kept it going during the pandemic are the very workers who continue to be treated the worst. As we seek to hold Amazon accountable for its actions, my office remains dedicated to protecting New York workers from exploitation and unfair treatment in all forms.
STATEN ISLAND, N.Y.  Brooklyn Borough President Eric Adams thinks hes ready to run the city, and hopes Staten Island can help get him there.

In an Adams mayoral administration, the Island would be a priority, he told the Advance/SILive.com during a Tuesday interview.

Staten Islanders are well aware of how they have been treated in this city, and many would feel like they are being forgotten, Adams, a former police officer, said. We need to treat each borough with the level of respect that it deserves.

One of the top ways he would hope to help the borough is by bringing it a public hospital. Currently, Staten Island is the only one of the five boroughs without one.

During a mayoral candidates forum hosted by a coalition of Staten Island Democratic organizations, Adams was just one of several of those running to replace Mayor Bill de Blasio who committed to bringing Staten Island a public hospital.

The Brooklyn borough president, who was born in that borough but raised in Queens, pointed out the relatively low number of hospital beds available on Staten Island in comparison to some of the other boroughs.

According to an April article in the Journal of the American Medical Association published online, Manhattan has the highest number of hospital beds per 100,000 people at 534, Staten Island has 234, but Queens has the lowest at 144.

Two of Adams opponents, former city Department of Sanitation Commissioner Kathryn Garcia and former Citigroup executive Ray McGuire, suggested during the Staten Island Democrats forum that bringing a public hospital was impractical.

For people who say were gonna build a new public hospital, many of you may be retired by the time that would occur, Garcia said.

Adams pushed back on that. He agreed with Garcia that expansion to the Islands existing facilities, Richmond University Medical Center and Staten Island University Hospital, would be useful, but said it was merely a band-aid on a cancerous sore.

Some of the biggest projects that we have put in the pipeline have started out with people saying its going to take a long time, but a longtime is coming whether we like it or not, he said. Its clear that we need to build out a long-term plan to get a hospital on Staten Island. Thats crucial.

While advocating for a public hospital, Adams also said if elected he would try to maintain the character of Staten Island, and push back against development that doesnt consider the boroughs lack of existing infrastructure.

Eric Adams, in his former role as president of the group 100 Blacks in Law Enforcement, speaks about race-related issues at a meeting in Borough Hall, St. George, Saturday, Oct. 11, 2003. (Staten Island Advance file)Staten Island Advance

Before and during his tenure as Brooklyn borough president, Adams has made multiple appearances on Staten Island, and spoken out on multiple issues, particularly those concerning social justice.

Last year, before the start of the coronavirus (COVID-19) pandemic, Adams spoke at Staten Islands 15th annual Black History Town Hall, at the First Central Baptist Church in Stapleton, and referred to his mother, Dorothy as his own civil rights icon.

If we go through our history without reflecting on the people who got us here, we forget the meaning of African history, Adams said at the time.

In 2003, Adams spoke at Borough Hall in St. George during a town hall event meant to address bigotry. According to an Advance/SILive.com report from the time, there had been at least 18 bias crimes.

During his career with the NYPD, Adams co-founded the organization 100 Blacks in Law Enforcement Who Care, and advocated for a better relationship between police officers, and Black New Yorkers.

Hes spoken frequently about that relationship having been a police officer, and telling his story of being beaten by police when he was 15.

At the height of the protests following the police killing of George Floyd, Adams told NPR that (hitting) the streets and showing your outrage and [that youre] not comfortable is something thats as part of America as apple pie and Chevrolet.

When asked about the City Councils recent proposals aimed at police reform, particularly their efforts to reduce the NYPDs responsibilities, Adams advocated for an approach that predominantly considered public safety.

Theres an attempt to right some wrongs on how we have over-used the police department, but the right-sizing of a ship should not cause that ship to sink, Adams said. Public safety is the prerequisite for prosperity. If we are not safe, we are not going to have a city that will prosper.

New Yorkers will have the opportunity to choose among the Democratic competitors in the primary elections to be held June 22.
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STORY LINK GBP to USD Rises Ahead of UK Lockdown Exit Plan Announcement

GBP/USD Exchange Rate Heads Higher on UK Covid Vaccine Optimism

US Dollar (USD) Exchange Rates Struggles as Risk-On Market Mood Limits Appeal of Safe-Haven Currencies

GBP/USD Exchange Rate Forecast: UK Unemployment Data in Focus

Like this piece? Please share with your friends and colleagues:

The Pound to US Dollar exchange rate rose by 0.2% today ahead of the unveiling of Prime Minister Boris Johnsons lockdown exit plan. The pairing is currently trading around $1.40.Boris Johnson is also expected to highlight new data that shows that Covid-19 vaccines has had a significant effect on transmission.UK Vaccine Minister Nadhim Zahawi said:Suffice to say the evidence looks good. The Oxford team demonstrated their own evidence of cutting transmission by two-thirds.This will offer a far more optimistic view about the reopening of the economy in the months ahead.However, GBP investors are remaining cautious as easing of lockdowns could rise the infection rate about 1, meaning that the cases virus could exponentially increase.Today also saw positive news about the effectiveness of the Covid-19 vaccines made by Pfizer and AstraZeneca.According to various scientists at Scottish Universities of Edinburgh, Strathclyde, and Public Health Scotland:By the fourth week after receiving the initial dose, the Pfizer and Oxford/AstraZeneca vaccines were shown to reduce the risk of hospital admission from Covid-19 by up to 85% and 94%, respectively, they found.The US Dollar struggled against the Pound today as demand for the safe-haven Greenback has suffered due to improving risk sentiment.Now that Covid-19 vaccines are being rolled out across the world, investors are more confident about the outlook for the global economy.As a result, this has limited demand for safe-haven currencies.The White House also announced that it expects to finish sending out millions the Covid-19 vaccines this week following the winter storm which disrupted distribution of the vaccine.Consequently, USD investors are becoming more hopeful about Americas economy. This, however, has also dampened demand for the US Dollar as the outlook for the worlds largest economy improves.In US economic data, today saw the release of Januarys Chicago Fed National Activity Index, which beat forecasts and rose to 0.66.The Federal Reserve Bank of Chicago commented:The CFNAI Diffusion Index, which is also a three-month moving average, moved down to +0.34 in January from +0.49 in December. Fifty-three of the 85 individual indicators made positive contributions to the CFNAI in January, while 32 made negative contributions. Forty-nine indicators improved from December to January, while 36 indicators deteriorated.US Dollar investors will be awaiting tomorrows testimony from the US Federal Reserves Jerome Powell.Any upbeat comments about the outlook for the US economy could further limit demand for the safe-haven US Dollar.As a result, we could see the USD/GBP exchange rate continue to slip as risk sentiment improves.Pound investors will be monitoring tomorrows publication of Decembers ILO Unemployment Rate report. If joblessness increases, however, then Sterling would suffer.The GBP/USD exchange rate could continue to head higher, however, if Downing Streets lockdown exit plan buoys confidence in the UK economy.

International Money Transfer? Ask our resident FX expert a money transfer question or try John's new, free, no-obligation personal service! ,where he helps every step of the way, ensuring you get the best exchange rates on your currency requirements.

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Hollyoaks' Will Mellor has praised his former co-star Joe Tracini for sharing his mental health issues on social media.

In a new episode of his podcast Two Pints with Will & Ralf [Little], the actor, 44, revealed he reached out to the son of comedian Joe Pasquale, 32, to express his support for his powerful posts.

Joe uses his platform to bravely open up about his personality disorder and suicidal thoughts, and often advises his followers to seek help if they are going through similar struggles.

'He's saving lives by talking about it': Hollyoaks' Will Mellor (pictured this year) has praised Joe Tracini for sharing his mental health issues on social media

On the presenter's online presence, Corrie's Will told his friend and fellow actor Ralf, 41: 'I messaged him saying ''sorry you've got to go through all of this, but you are saving lives by coming out and talking about it.'''

The Broadchurch star also touched on the importance of reporting abuse, as Joe is also met with abuse from cruel trolls.

Will added: 'I don't understand how to open a social media account, you don't have to show your drivers licence or passport.

'People need to be identified because this is racism, homophobia, whatever it is, these negative trolls need to be named and arrested or have charges pressed, because it's killing people.'

A hero: The actor, 44, revealed he reached out to his former co-star (pictured last year), 32, to express his support for his powerful posts

Candid: Joe opens up about his personality disorder and suicidal thoughts, and often advises his followers to seek help if they are going through similar struggles (pictured this year)

Last year, the My Spy Family star detailed his personality disorder, admitting his brain 'told him to kill himself on Tuesday'.

The Dennis Savage actor called into Good Morning Britain to discuss his battle and how he's coping with the COVID-19 lockdown by sharing funny videos online.

A person with a personality disorder thinks, feels, behaves or relates to others very differently from the average person.

Quizzed by Lorraine Kelly about his current mood, Joe replied: 'It depends what day you catch me.

'It's killing people': The Broadchurch star also touched on the importance of reporting abuse, as Joe is also met with abuse from cruel trolls (pictured in 2017)

'I have a high-end personality disorder. On Tuesday, my brain kept telling me to kill myself, but I waited.

'I appreciate I make you laugh, all I can ever do is wait. I can't change how I feel or how I think.

'If I hang about, however, how I feel changes. I stopped watching the news (no disrespect to you [Lorraine])!'

What is a personality disorder? A person with a personality disorder thinks, feels, behaves or relates to others very differently from the average person. Borderline personality disorder: The individual typically displays disturbed ways of thinking, impulsive behaviour and difficulty controlling emotions. They may have intense yet unstable relationships and worry about being abandoned by others. Antisocial personality disorder: The person typically gets frustrated quickly and has trouble controlling their anger. They may blame others for problems in their life, and be aggressive and violent towards others. Personality disorders often come hand-in-hand with other mental health problems like depression and substance abuse. (Source: NHS) Advertisement

Joe revealed that while his girlfriend Holly has been a fantastic support to him, he's found it easier to manage the current lockdown situation because he is used to self-isolating from the world.

He explained: 'If I feel negative, I don't stop myself feeling negative. That doesn't go anywhere. If I feel something, eventually it will change.

'Having Holly does help, but I've been self-isolating since 1994. It's good for me, but I do continually think about people who don't have anyone.'

Speaking directly to viewers who might be suffering from a mental health related illness, the host said: 'If you're anyone like me then don't kill yourself, the world needs you.'

For confidential support, call the Samaritans on 116123 or visit a local Samaritans branch. See www.samaritans.org for details.
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(Natural News) Rows after rows of airplanes gather dust in airfields across the country as the Wuhan coronavirus (COVID-19) pandemic continues to exact its toll on the aviation industry. Stunning aerial images of airfields depict thousands of passenger jets and military aircraft parked on the ground.

Photographer Jassen Todorov took the pictures after visiting multiple locations to capture scenes of crowded airstrips. A pilot himself, he went to the 309th Maintenance and Regeneration Group in Arizona where 4,000 planes are parked. He also traveled to the Southern California Logistics Airport, the San Bernardino International Airport, and the Mojave Air and Space Port in California, as well as Pinal County Airpark in Arizona.

Last year was the worst for the airline industry

The pictures illustrate the impact of the pandemic on the airline industry. Huge reductions in passenger numbers caused by international travel restrictions and a slump in demand left many airlines on the brink of collapse.

The International Air Transport Association (IATA), a trade alliance of the worlds airlines, deemed last year the worst in history for air travel demand. International and domestic demand in 2020 was down by 75 and 48 percent, respectively, compared to the year before. Bookings for future travel made last month also dipped by 70 percent compared to the same time last year.

Last year was a catastrophe. There is no other way to describe it, said IATA CEO and director general Alexandre de Juniac.

What recovery there was over the Northern hemisphere summer season stalled in autumn and the situation turned dramatically worse over the year-end holiday season, as more severe travel restrictions were imposed in the face of new outbreaks and new strains of COVID-19, de Juniac continued.

According to the Center for Aviation, the worldwide number of passenger planes in service at the end of last year plummeted to levels last seen during the 2008 financial crisis. Passenger numbers were at their lowest since 2003, with the average distance traveled by passengers at its lowest since 1999.

Meanwhile, the International Civil Aviation Organization confirmed that the industry suffered a staggering loss of $370 billion after a mere 1.8 billion passengers worldwide took flights last year, compared to 4.5 billion the year before. In North America, losses were estimated to be around $88 billion  the third-highest after Asia-Pacific ($120 billion) and Europe ($100 billion). (Related: American cities were unprepared for financial fallout from coronavirus shutdowns.)

Many American airlines were forced to cut jobs to stay afloat. In September, for example, American Airlines and United Airlines together laid off more than 32,000 workers following the expiration of the $25 billion in relief package that Congress dispensed earlier in March. Those workers were eventually reinstated after Congress approved another $15 billion to the industry late last year.

But as that second round of federal aid is set to expire next month, both carriers are mulling furloughing 27,000 workers in the next couple of weeks.

Grim outlook for this year as new variants emerge The airline industry was initially hopeful that the coronavirus vaccines will restore pre-pandemic flight numbers. But airlines are now managing their expectations after more infectious variants stirred governments to implement stricter travel rules. The U.S. and Europe tightened travel restrictions while the U.K., where a more transmissible variant was reported in December, introduced tougher quarantine rules on Monday. Australia, on the other hand, is expected to keep its borders shut until the end of the year. Johan Lundgren, CEO of EasyJet, Europes second-biggest low-cost carrier, told Financial Times: Ever-changing travel restrictions like quarantines are the single biggest barrier to customer bookings. IATAs chief economist Brian Pearce also has a dire outlook for the rest of the year. The association, according to Pearce, bases its forecasts on governments willingness to lower travel restrictions once vulnerable are vaccinated. I think what we have seen in recent weeks is governments taking a much, much tougher, more cautious approach, said Pearce. Read more articles about the impact of coronavirus restrictions at Pandemic.news. Sources include:

DailyMail.co.uk

IATA.org

News.UN.org

WSJ.com

CNBC.com

FT.com
Michigan taxpayers reported an average adjusted gross income of $66,504 on 2018 federal individual tax returns filed in 2019, according to recently released data from the Internal Revenue Service.

Thats up 5.7% from the $62,917 average for 2017 returns.

But while though Michiganders made more money in 2018 -- and slightly more people filed returns compared to the previous year -- the federal government collected less in taxes, thanks to the federal tax cuts that went into effect in 2018.

In comparing 2017 and 2018, total adjusted gross income reported on Michigan individual tax returns went from $300 billion to $318 billion, an increase of 6.3%. Meanwhile, total tax liability dropped 5.5%, from $42.2 billion to $39.9 billion.

This post provides online databases that allow readers to look up the IRS data by ZIP Code, and also offers some fast facts on the numbers.

A few caveats about the IRS data; Its based on a sampling, so there is a margin of error, and our databases and interactive maps are based on average income versus median income. Note those averages can be skewed upwards by high-income households.

An example of that appears to be the 49969 ZIP Code in Watersmeet, a community in the western Upper Peninsula, which has an average adjusted gross income of $225,044. A close look at the numbers suggests that a few very wealthy taxpayers skewed the average for the whole ZIP Code. In fact, 78% of the communitys tax returns reported an income of less than $75,000.

Below is an online database showing average adjusted gross income for each Michigan ZIP Code. You can call up a county or community to see a ranking of ZIP codes by average adjusted gross income, or you can search a specific ZIP Code.

Cant see the database? Click here

Interactive map of average AGI by ZIP Code

The map below shows average income reported per 2018 tax return by ZIP Code. You can click on a ZIP Code to see the underlying data, and you can click on the plus symbol to enlarge. (Cant see the map? Click here.)

The IRS did not report data for ZIP codes with fewer than 100 individual returns.

Oakland County ranks No. 1 in average income

Taxpayers in Oakland County --- Michigans second-most populated county and its most affluent -- collectively reported $64.2 billion in total AGI income on their 2018 taxes. That averaged out to $99,537 per return.

Also in the top five of average AGI: Washtenaw ($90,653), Leelanau ($89,571), Livingston ($83,157) and Midland ($77,674).

At the other end of the spectrum, the five counties with the lowest average AGI were Lake ($40,320), Oscoda ($40,636), Montmorency ($40,923), Ogemaw ($42,010) and Clare ($42,993).

Top 10 ZIP Codes:

48304, Bloomfield Hills: $363,142;

48009, Birmingham, $304,546;

48302, Bloomfield Hills, $297,526;

49236, Grosse Pointe, $287,494;

48301, Bloomfield Hills, $256,820;

48226, Detroit, $256,063;

48025, Franklin (Oakland County), $239,106;

49969, Watersmeet (Gogebic County), $225,044;

49301, Ada (Kent County), $215,547;

48502, Flint, $210,448.

10 ZIP with lowest average income:

48505, Flint, $22,816;

48213, Detroit, $24,167;

48238, Detroit, $24,781;

48212, Hamtramck, $25,188;

48228, Detroit, $25,336;

48205, Detroit, $25,546;

48204, Detroit, $25,572;

48210, Detroit, $26,203;

49642, Idlewild (Lake County), $26,507;

48342, Pontiac, $26,511.

Half of 2018 returns involve single filers

About 50% of Michigans 2018 tax returns involve single filers compared to 37% filed by married couples filing jointly and 12% by heads of households, typically single parents.

The number of single filers is boosted by tax returns filed by teenagers and young adults who have earned income but are listed as dependents on their parents return.

11,030 returns reported more than $1 million in income

An estimated 11,030 of the 4.9 million individual federal tax returns from Michigan reported an adjusted gross income of at least $1 million in 2018.

The average income for the 2018 millionaires was $3.26 million.

That group was 0.23% percent of all 2018 Michigan individual tax returns. They comprised 11% of all Michigan income reported on individual returns and paid 23% of the federal taxes levied on Michigan individuals.

17% of returns reported an AGI of $100,000 or more

The chart below shows the percentage of 2018 returns in each income bracket.

Source: Internal Revenue Service

Average tax bill for Michigan taxpayers was $11,610 in 2018

Michigan households paid $39.9 billion in taxes in 2018, an average of $11,610 per return with tax liability. However, because thats an average vs. a median, its skewed by the large tax bill paid by those with six-figure incomes.

Below is the average tax bill by income bracket in 2018 compared to 2017.

Remember, an overhaul of the tax code went into effect in 2018. And while it looks like tax bills jumped for the low-income taxpayers, thats because these averages only include people with tax liability and more people were exempt from paying any taxes in 2018.

In 2017, 25% of people who filed tax returns had no tax liability. That increased to 27% in 2018, an additional 141,280 returns.

Source: Internal Revenue Service

68% of income reported was wages and salaries

Of the $318 billion in total income reported on 2018 individual tax returns in Michigan, $216 billion -- or 69% -- came from wages and salaries.

Another $48 billion came from retirement income, including pensions, annuities and taxable Social Security; $35 billion from dividends, taxable interest and capital gains, and $26 billion from net business income and S-Corp partnerships.

Average refund was $2,730 in 2018

In Michigan, 76% of individual filers received a refund in 2018, and the average refund was $2,730.

More on MLive:

Grocery store workers were once front line heroes, now they cant get a vaccine

For Michigans older population, navigating vaccination options is complicated

Unchecked national security wont stop Americas long-standing domestic terrorism threat
An effective vaccination programme has long been hailed as a route back to life as we once knew it. (Stock, Getty Images)

The coronavirus vaccination programme is causing a "substantial" reduction in hospital admissions, a Scottish study has suggested.

Across the UK, more than 17.5 million people have received their first dose of the Pfizer-BioNTech or University of Oxford-AstraZeneca jab.

The vaccines were approved in the UK after research demonstrated the jabs significantly reduce the risk of developing severe disease with a coronavirus infection.

This appears to be bearing out, as scientists across Scotland have revealed the odds of hospitalisation were cut by up to 85% and 94% around four weeks after the first Pfizer-BioNTech and Oxford-AstraZeneca doses were administered, respectively.

England's chief medical officer Professor Chris Whitty has said the results "provide encouraging early data on the impact of vaccination on reducing hospitalisations".

Read more: The 12 criteria to meet ahead of coronavirus vaccine passports

While other experts agree, one has stressed now is not the time for complacency when it comes to adhering to social distancing restrictions.

The research comes after Nadhim Zahawi, minister for COVID vaccine deployment, told Sky News the UK's immunisation programme is "beginning to really bear fruit".

Early research suggests the coronavirus is mild in four out of five cases, however, it can trigger a disease called COVID-19. (Stock, Getty Images)

The preliminary results appear on the pre-print website SSRN and are yet to be published in a peer-reviewed journal.

"These results are very encouraging and have given us great reasons to be optimistic for the future," said lead author Professor Aziz Sheikh, from the University of Edinburgh.

Read more: I felt guilty for having the coronavirus vaccine

"We now have national evidence, across an entire country, vaccination provides protection against COVID-19 [the disease caused by the coronavirus] hospitalisations.

"Roll-out of the first vaccine dose now needs to be accelerated globally to help overcome this terrible disease."

Watch: Can you catch coronavirus twice?

In the first study to analyse the hospitalisation effects of the two vaccines across an entire country, the scientists used data from the EAVE II project to track Scotland's 5.4 million residents.

Story continues

EAVE II uses patient data to monitor the pandemic and vaccine roll-out in real time.

The scientists specifically analysed the effects of a first vaccine dose between 8 December 2020 and 15 February 2021, when 1.14 million jabs had been administered and more than one in five (21%) Scottish people had received their first dose.

For each week of the over two-month period, the scientists tracked the GP records, hospital admissions, death registrations and laboratory tests results of those who had received their first vaccine versus the residents who had not been immunised.

The results suggest the Pfizer-BioNTech and Oxford-AstraZeneca jabs reduced the risk of a coronavirus-related hospitalisation by 85% and 94%, respectively, between 28 and 34 days post-vaccination.

Among those aged 80 or over, who are particularly vulnerable, the risk was cut by 81% when the results for both vaccines were combined.

Read more: Mix and match coronavirus vaccine doses investigated

The scientists believe their findings apply to other countries rolling out the same vaccines, however, the two jabs' effectiveness cannot be compared.

This comes after German officials said the Oxford-AstraZeneca vaccine should not be administered to people over 65 due to a lack of efficacy data in this age group.

"These results are important as we move from expectation to firm evidence of benefit from vaccines," said Dr Jim McMenamin, from Public Health Scotland (PHS).

"Across the Scottish population the results [have] shown a substantial effect on reducing the risk of admission to hospital from a single dose of vaccine.

"For anyone offered the vaccine I encourage them to get vaccinated.

"We are continuing our evaluation and look forward to describing the benefits we hope will follow the second doses of these vaccines."

Watch: What is long COVID?

The results are particularly encouraging considering the study focused on the effects of just the first vaccine dose.

The jabs were approved based on a two-dose regimen, with an immunisation interval of around three weeks.

In an effort to get as many people vaccinated as possible, the UK's immunisation strategy has shifted to maximise first dose administrations, with up to a 12-week gap before the second jab.

"The discovery of very high protection before the second dose of the vaccines is very welcome news," said Professor Fiona Watt, from the Medical Research Council, which partially funded the study.

While the UK's vaccine roll-out has been hailed a success, an estimated 80% of the population must be immunised to create the much-lauded herd immunity.

"These data show real promise the vaccines we have given out can protect us from the severe effects of COVID-19," said Dr Josie Murray, from PHS.

"We must not be complacent though.

"We all still need to ensure we stop transmission of the virus and the best way we can all do this is to follow public health guidance  wash your hands often, keep 2m from others, and if you develop symptoms, isolate and take a test.

"We also all need to protect ourselves, our families and friends by taking the second dose of vaccine when it is offered."
CEDAR RAPIDS, Iowa (AP ) First Assembly of God looked like a war zone after the Aug. 10 derecho.

Two-thirds of the roof was ripped and water poured into the sanctuary of the building at 3233 Blairs Ferry Rd. NE in Cedar Rapids.

Six months later, Pastor Brian Pingel said the church still is finding water damage and is stripping the sanctuary down to the studs.

The estimated cost of damage and repairs is $4 million, and $3.2 million has been covered by insurance so far, he told the Cedar Rapids Gazette.

We were financially ready, Pingel said, adding that the church several years ago adjusted its budget to create a surplus. We didnt know what we were preparing for, but we knew it was something.

The church is holding services in a part of the building that previously served youth. Because parishioners are meeting in a much smaller space, the church is offering three services to maintain social distancing.

Pingel hopes to resume services in the worship center this summer.

As congregations already were struggling with meeting restrictions because of the coronavirus pandemic, the derecho caused millions of dollars of damage six months ago to religious centers across Iowa.

A historic church in Norway still is under repair after the storm tore the 130-year-old steeple off the building.

Leaders with the Hindu Temple of Eastern Iowa, 1700 Naoma Dr. SW in Cedar Rapids, still are mourning the trees they lost to the storm.

The sanctuary at River of Life church, 3801 Blairs Ferry Rd. NE in Cedar Rapids, is completely exposed and collecting snow.

In Norway, the Rev. Craig Steimel was waiting out the storm at home, which sits on the same property as St. Michaels Catholic Church, when he saw a large white object on the lawn in front of the church.

It was the steeple.

Beyond shock, Steimel said he felt when he saw the damage the storm had caused.

The three bells, which rang for funerals and every Sunday before church services, were also damaged.

Thankfully, the church suffered no water damage because of a membrane roof system underneath the bells and the steeple, Steimel said. Before winter arrived, the parish was able to repair the church roof.

The bells are getting shined up and repaired in Ohio. A reconstruction of the steeple, which stood about 125 feet tall, is being done in Texas.

Steimel expects the bells to be returned to the church by early March, and the steeple by later this spring.

The majority of the reconstruction work _ which was estimated at $1.3 million _ is covered by insurance, Steimel said. The rest was covered by donations.

Since the storm, services have been held next door to the church in the social hall.

Were hoping to have a big celebration when we can finally get back into the church, he said.

In Cedar Rapids, the Hindu Temple halted operations for about two months after the derecho as it awaited roof repairs after the storm.

Because of COVID-19, only 10 people are being allowed into the sanctuary at a time and masks are required.

The temple had to pay about $5,000 out of pocket to get trees removed from their property.

Earlier plans to build a new temple in Robins have been on hold for almost a year because leaders did not feel they could continue to fundraise for the project during the pandemic.

Pradeep Balaraman, Hindu Temple chair of the executive committee, said they are still waiting for the carpet to be replaced and repairs made to offices in the building.

At River of Life, Pastor Steve Irwin said the majority of the roof of the sanctuary and a portion of the west wall of the building had to be removed after the storm.

Construction could take another seven to 12 months, Irwin said.

We have been talking for the last seven years about how the church is not a building, its the people, Irwin said. Its important to gather, develop relationships with each other, hold each other accountable and love each other.

The damage was estimated at $2.8 million by the insurance company, Irwin said.

Irwin is unsure how much will have to be paid out of pocket, but the church is starting a financial campaign.

The church has transformed its all-purpose room into a worship center, which is smaller than the sanctuary. To maintain social distancing during COVID-19, it added a second service on Sunday mornings.

In some respects (the derecho) brought us together, whereas COVID-19 separated us, Irwin said. In the midst of the storm of COVID, another storm came and brought everyone rallying around the need to rebuild.

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Students at Cambridge University have allegedly been forced to write five-page essays on the 'perils' of breaking Covid-19 rules if caught flouting them.

Bosses at the university have also allegedly asked repeat rulebreakers to carry out 'community service' and undergraduates at one college have even been banned from their own rooms as punishment.

These punishments have reportedly been reserved for those students repeatedly caught ignoring Covid-19 rules.

Those housed in Trinity Hall College, Corpus Christi College and Peterhouse College were told to write a 'five-page handwritten essay reflecting seriously on 'The Perils of Breaking Covid-19 Regulations'.'

Students at Cambridge University have allegedly been forced to write five-page essays on the 'perils' of breaking Covid-19 rules if caught flouting them. Pictured: Trinity Hall college, Cambridge University

The communications seen by student paper The Tab said: 'The essay is to be submitted in an envelope addressed to the Dean of Discipline.

'If the exercise is not completed satisfactorily I reserve the right to request additional submission/s.'

Students at the university have blasted the punishment, with one anonymous first year student saying: 'It contains within it the condescending assumption that students are not rational enough to weigh up risk for themselves.

'Particularly within the weekly testing system at Cambridge, and are simply acting thoughtlessly rather than deciding how best to act, a decision which often involves prioritising their own well-being.

'It's anachronistic and regressive as a punishment and ours was based on the flawed assumption that students don't already understand the risks of breaking regulations.'

Others at St Catharine's, Robinson and Wolfson Colleges were reportedly ordered to carry out 'community service', cleaning and looking after self-isolating students.

A spokesperson for Wolfson College said: 'We follow a disciplinary policy developed and agreed by the collegiate University for all Colleges to follow - and you can find this on our website.

'Fortunately, it's not something we commonly have to resort to. We've only had one instance where a student was requested to provide community support and this was to be carried out with a charity of their choice.'

Bosses at the university have also allegedly asked repeat rulebreakers to carry out 'community service' and undergraduates at one college have even been banned from their own rooms as punishment (stock image)

A spokesperson for St Catharine's said: 'Our approach was developed at the start of the academic year in collaboration with student representatives to encourage safe and respectful behaviour during the pandemic.

'Thanks to widespread support from our students, this framework has only been used on isolated occasions when individuals were reported to us who had not been following COVID-19 rules.

Rule-breaking undergrads at St John's College found guilty of the most serious breaches were even asked to leave their own rooms after flouting the rules, and ordered to go home early for the Christmas break.

A spokeswoman for St John's confirmed: 'Undergraduates at St John's have a continuous nine-month room licence which means, in normal times, they can use their room during the Christmas and Easter vacation periods at no extra cost.

A number of punishments were allegedly on the table for Cambridge University students who repeatedly broke Covid-19 rules

'At the end of the Michaelmas Term, a small number of students had their room licences suspended during the Christmas holiday as a result of serious breaches of the Covid-19 regulations.

'This meant that those students went home a few days earlier for the Christmas vacation than they were initially planning.'

She added: 'No student suffered hardship as a result of this decision and their individual study, travel, and home accommodation arrangements were all carefully considered as part of this measure.'

The spokeswoman for St John's also said that the college takes safety of its community 'very seriously' and that the majority of its members act responsibly.

St Catharine's college (pictured) was another alleged to have handed out community service punishments to repeat offenders

Responding to the claims that students were made to write essays, a spokesperson from Trinity Hall directed website guidance which reads: 'Breaches in compliance with the College's protocols, rules and guidance regarding Covid-19 will initially be interpreted as a result of misunderstanding or an insufficient awareness, rather than arising out of disrespect for other members of the College community.

'Such instances will usually be addressed by explanation and clarification. Instances of repeated, or an especially egregious failure to adhere to protocols, rules or guidance - especially when the safety of other College members is put at risk - may, however, result in referral to the College's Code of Discipline for Students.'

Responding to the alleged use of essays as punishment for breaking Covid-19 rules, a spokesperson for Corpus Christi college said: 'Corpus has not used the writing of such essays as a punishment for COVID-related disciplinary matters.'

MailOnline has also approached Robinson and Peterhouse Colleges for comment.
Following an investigation confirming Ravi Zacharias' sexual misconduct allegations, the Christian and Ministry Alliance (CMA) posthumously expelled the late apologist from the missionary movement, resulting to his ordination's revocation.

In a statement dated Feb. 12, the CMA said that the findings of the investigation it has conducted, as well as Ravi Zacharias International Ministries, revealed that Zacharias did engage in sexual misconduct and created schemes to hide his sinful activities. The evidence confirmed that the accusations of Lori Anne Thompson and the massage therapists are true and that his behavior pattern was "longstanding".

The statement also disclosed that the movement already conducted an internal inquiry in 2018 for an initial allegation, to gauge if the evidence was enough to make a formal investigation under its discipline guidelines. Hindered by a nondisclosure agreement, it failed to proceed given the insufficiency of evidence. But the latest investigation showed that the information regarding the predatory behavior of Zacharias was "proven more than sufficient."

The result of the investigation immensely saddened the movement, expressing its deep grief over the pain suffered by Zacharias' victims.

"We are deeply grieved over the pain suffered by Lori Anne Thompson, the massage therapists, and others who may have been victimized by Mr. Zacharias' behavior, and support appropriate advocacy efforts on their behalf. Mr. Zacharias' actions were in direct violation of his obligation to demonstrate his commitment to serve Christ and His people through his devotion, character, lifestyle, and values," the statement said.

Thus, the CMA announced that it is posthumously expelling the late apologist from the movement and revoked his ordination.

"In recognition of this gross violation and its painful consequences to the victims and others who were impacted, the C&MA posthumously expels Mr. Zacharias from licensed ministry in our denomination. This comes with the automatic revocation of his ordination," the statement concluded.

The CMA Canada also released a statement stating its dismay over Zacharias's "extensive abusive behavior," as well as its sorrow over his victims.

The movement's Canada branch has licensed Zacharias in 1972 to 1974 but the late apologist transferred his credentials to United States afterwards.

Speaking to Christianity Today (CT), CMA Vice President Terry Smith said that they regret what Zacharias did but that the movement is not responsible for his actions.

"If 'responsible' means we caused it or put circumstances in place where he was enabled to do that, no, I do not believe we were responsible. Certainly we bear some level of responsibility for all of our official workers, but no more for Ravi Zacharias than any of those other official workers. We certainly regret what he did," he said.

CT then discovered that Zacharias was not a member of a local church and Smith himself did not know about the church membership of the late apologist.

"We do want people to go to church. We want everyone to go to church. He should have been attending church. I don't know if he was or not, but he should have been," Smith stated.

Zacharias' scandal has led CMA to amend its policy wherein its evangelists will now be licensed locally, instead of national level. The movement will also review its response on the allegations between workers and its organizational culture through Sensitive Issues Consultative Group.
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To our knowledge, the cable, satellite and over-the-top companies that disseminate these media outlets to American viewers have done nothing in response to the misinformation aired by these outlets, two Democratic representatives from California, Anna G. Eshoo and Jerry McNerney, wrote in the letter, which was reviewed by The New York Times.

Newsmax, a right-wing cable channel carried by AT&T, CenturyLink, Charter, Comcast, Dish and Verizon, had a surge in ratings in November because of programs that embraced Mr. Trumps claims of voter fraud. One America News Network, a right-wing outlet carried by AT&T, CenturyLink and Verizon, also promoted the false theory.

Fox News, the most-watched cable news network, which is available from all major carriers, was one of five defendants in a $2.7 billion defamation lawsuit filed this month by the election technology company Smartmatic. In the suit, the company accused Fox News; its parent company, Fox Corporation; three Fox anchors; and two frequent Fox guests of promoting false claims about the election and Smartmatics role in it. (Fox has denied the claims and filed a motion to dismiss the suit.)

Congress can raise the issue of whether cable providers bear responsibility for the programs they deliver to millions of Americans, but it may have no way to force them to drop networks that have spread misinformation. And unlike broadcast stations, cable channels do not have licenses that are regulated by the Federal Communications Commission.

The lawmakers letter asks the companies, What steps did you take prior to, on and following the Nov. 3, 2020, elections and the Jan. 6, 2021, attacks to monitor, respond to and reduce the spread of disinformation, including encouragement or incitement of violence by channels your company disseminates to millions of Americans?
Poland and Ukraine have long warned against the dangers associated with the construction of Nord Stream 2.

Polish Foreign Minister Zbigniew Rau and his Ukrainian counterpart Dmytro Kuleba call on U.S. President Joe Biden to use all means at his disposal to prevent the project from completion.

Poland and Ukraine have long warned against the dangers associated with the construction of Nord Stream 2, Politico reported.

"We respect Germany's right to express their point of view. But we also strongly believe that these kinds of projects cannot be viewed narrowly through the lens of bilateral relations, but should instead be approached from a broader perspective of Europe's interests and security as a whole," the ministers said.

"The West, led by the United States, cannot afford to cower in the face of blackmail that runs counter to everything that we stand for," the report says.

"Our calls for vigilance and boldness were heard in the U.S. Congress, which pressed on with measures designed to stop this dangerous, divisive project. We call on U.S. President Joe Biden to use all means at his disposal to prevent the project from completion," the diplomats said.

According to Rau and Kuleba, it needs to dismiss claims that Nord Stream 2 has become "too big to fail" and that it simply needs to be finished.

Read alsoRussia's Nord Stream 2 project decimating Baltic Sea ecosystem  Ukraine Intelligence"If the project is successful, Russia could try to convince the Ukrainian public that the West doesn't care about its own principles, and ultimately, about the security and prosperity of Ukraine," they said.

Nord Stream 2: Background

The Nord Stream 2 project envisages the construction and operation of two gas pipeline branches with a total throughput capacity of 55 billion cubic meters of natural gas per year from the coast of Russia through the Baltic Sea to Germany. It should connect Russia's Ust-Lug and Germany's Greifswald. This new pipeline bypassing Ukraine is to be built next to the existing Nord Stream 1 pipeline.

The construction of the pipeline was expected to be completed before the end of 2019.

The pipeline will be 1,220 km long. The project is being implemented by Russia's Gazprom in alliance with European companies  ENGIE, OMV, Royal Dutch Shell, Uniper, and Wintershall. Ukraine stands against the construction of Nord Stream 2 as it will most likely lose its status of a gas transit country, while its potential revenue losses are estimated at US$3 billion annually. The project is also highly criticized by the U.S., Poland, and the Baltic States.

On November 4, 2020, the media reported that U.S. Congress wanted to expand sanctions against Nord Stream 2 and TurkStream.

On December 6, 2020, United States Charge d'Affaires to Germany Robin Quinville called on the EU and Germany to declare a moratorium on the construction of the Nord Stream 2 gas pipeline.

On December 9, 2020, the U.S. House of Representatives approved the 2021 National Defense Authorization Act (NDAA) with expanded restrictions against the Russian Nord Stream 2 gas pipeline.

On December 11, 2020, the construction of the Nord Stream 2 gas pipeline resumed.

On December 29, 2020, it became known that the House of Representatives overcame the then President Donald Trump's veto on the U.S. defense budget with sanctions on Nord Stream 2.

The United States is urging European allies and private companies to halt works on Nord Stream 2, and is preparing broader sanctions against the Russian project in the coming weeks.

The U.S. Senate approved the U.S. defense budget for the fiscal year 2021, which provides for new sanctions against Russia's Nord Stream 2.

On January 7, 2021, a fund was established in Germany to support the completion of the Nord Stream 2 project.

On January 13, 2021, the U.S. Department of State notified European companies involved in the construction of Nord Stream 2 of the risk of imposing new sanctions.

On January 18, 2021, the United States warned allies in Europe about its intention to impose sanctions on the Russian ship Fortuna, which is engaged in the construction of the Nord Stream 2 gas pipeline.

Reporting by UNIAN
A 13-year-old male allegedly led police on a high-speed chase through Hazleton on Friday night.

Hazleton police said they were called to South Cedar Street for a report of a stolen vehicle at 10:21 p.m.

Upon arrival, the victim told police that he went outside to start and warm up his 2001 Honda Civic, and then returned inside his residence. A short time later, he returned outside to observe a male entering his vehicle and fleeing north toward Broad Street.

Police in the area of Wyoming and Buttonwood streets observed the Honda Civic driving at a high rate of speed. During the course of the pursuit by officers, the driver of the stolen vehicle swerved into the path of a patrol vehicle, striking the front end and causing damage.

The pursuit continued south on South Church Street and reached speeds of 90 to 100 miles per hour. The pursuit entered Banks Twp., Carbon County, where police were able to stop the car.

The 13-year-old driver and his passengers, a 17-year-old male and a 14-year-old female, were taken into custody without incident. The trio was transported to City Hall. They will face charges through the juvenile court system.

No one was injured during the incident.

The Hazleton Police Department was assisted by state police at Hazleton and Kline Twp. police.
Midland hair stylists Jenni Ullery and Sam Walser have faced the challenges of last year together, and now they welcome a new year of opportunities.

On Jan. 11, Ullery and Walser became the new owners of Northwest Hairstyling, a family-owned salon in Midland.

Ullery and Walser have gone through much of their career together. Both received degrees from Northwood University and worked for six years mutually at Ulta Beauty, Walser as the salon manager and Ullery as both a services district educator and stylist. When the company began downsizing managers, the two began looking for work elsewhere. Ullery saw a Facebook post about Northwest Hairstylings building going up for sale last summer and jokingly sent Walser a message about becoming owners. To her surprise, Walser took her up on it.

I said We need to do this together, Walser said.

We just kinda started rolling with it, Ullery added.

Northwest Hairstyling has been in business since 1973, operating from 2820 N. Saginaw Road for two generations before Ullery and Walser took over. Prior to taking over ownership, Walser began styling hair under former owner Staci Hackett; Hackett will continue to work as a stylist at Northwest Hairstyling.

Shes been super helpful with the transition for us. Shes owned it for 20-some years and purchased it from the previous owners and worked for them as well, Ullery said.

As the new and well-established clientele merge, Ullery and Walser wanted to make a couple of updates to the business. They renovated the buildings interior, making it brighter and adding a more modern flair including installing new ceiling tiles and adding a break room. In a few years, they plan to expand and help stylists who are starting their careers. They also hope to install a new sign out front in the future that reflects the new logo; Northwest Hairstyling will keep its original name.

For Midland to have something here for that long is huge, and thats why we kept the name, Walser said.

In addition to being new owners, Ullery and Walser are new moms, with 2-year-old Ezra and 1-year-old Jordan, respectively. With the start of new families in addition to the pandemic, partial shutdown of salons and starting a new job, the two friends agree the past year has been overwhelming. Both value a healthy work-life balance and will continue to support each other and set an example for their kids to follow their dreams, no matter how hard times get.

I dont think we wouldve done it if it wasnt for having each other, Walser said.

It definitely wouldve been impossible to do it by ourselves. Its nice to be able to lean on each other to get things done, Ullery stated.
Abhishek Kapoor remembers Sushant Singh on 'Kai Po Che!' anniversary

India

oi-Deepika S

Mumbai, Feb 22: Filmmaker Abhishek Kapoor, who on Monday marked eight years of his drama 'Kai Po Che!', said he is touched by the love the film continues to receive but is pained by the loss of actor Sushant Singh Rajput.

Released on February 22, 2013, 'Kai Po Che!' marked Rajput's Bollywood debut after a successful career on TV with the hit show 'Pavitra Rishta'.

Kapoor's film was also a stepping stone for actors Rajkummar Rao and Amit Sadh, who were relatively new in the movies.

Mourning the loss of Rajput, who was found dead in his Bandra apartment in June last year, the director called the 34-year-old actor a 'crown jewel'.

Kapoor took to Twitter and posted the video of the hit 'Manjha' track from the film.

'The thrill of starting this journey with a new team hungry to give their best at the dawn of their careers stands most vividly in mind.

'One can't quantify the love our film continues to receive over the years, neither can we quantify the pain we feel at the loss of our crown jewel,' the 49-year-old director wrote.

Set in Gujarat, 'Kai Po Che!' chronicles the story of three friends -- played by Rajput, Rao and Sadh -- as they navigate their way through the 2001 Gujarat earthquake, the Godhra train burning in 2002 and the subsequent riots.

Based on author Chetan Bhagat's 2008 novel 'The 3 Mistakes of My Life', the film garnered acclaim for its performances by the three leads, Amit Trivedi's music and sensitive handling of the story by Kapoor.

The film propelled Rajput to stardom, as he went on to feature in Yash Raj Films' 'Shuddh Desi Romance' (2013) and Rajkumar Hirani's 'PK' in 2014.

Later, he headlined blockbusters like the 2016 biopic 'M.S. Dhoni: The Untold Story', Nitesh Tiwari's 'Chhichhore' and reunited with Kapoor for romantic-drama 'Kedarnath' in 2018.

Rao, too, had a career turnaround with 'Kai Po Che!' and from there on he went on to feature in acclaimed films like 'Shahid' for which he earned the best actor National Award, 2014's hit 'Queen' and 2015 drama 'Aligarh'.

Post the film, Sadh's next major project was superstar Salman Khan's 'Sultan' in 2016. The actor had a packed 2020, with three film releases and two web series.

PM Modi: India can be one of the best in defence export | Oneindia News

Meanwhile, Kapoor is gearing up for the release of his next directorial, 'Chandigarh Kare Aashiqui', featuring Ayushmann Khurrana and Vaani Kapoor, in July.

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Story first published: Monday, February 22, 2021, 15:11 [IST]
New Delhi: Hitting out at the Modi government over rising fuel prices, Congress leader Rahul Gandhi on Monday accused it of emptying the pockets of the common man and filling the pockets of its friends for free.

The Congress has accused the Centre of looting people by imposing high taxes on petrol and diesel and has demanded its rollback to provide relief to the common man from the onslaught of rising prices.

'When you see the fast moving meter while filling fuel in your car at the petrol pump, do remember that the crude oil rates have not risen but fallen,' he said in a tweet in Hindi.

'Petrol is at Rs 100 a litre. The Modi government is doing the great work of emptying your pockets and filling the pockets of its friends,' the Congress leader tweeted.

Gandhi also used the hashtag 'FuelLootByBJP' in his tweet.
A Long Island patient has become the first New York resident to test positive for the feared South African coronavirus variant, governor Andrew Cuomo said on Sunday.

The lab-confirmed case comes a week after the strain was first detected in the state, in a Connecticut resident who was hospitalized in New York City.

Believed to be more contagious and capable of weakening vaccines, the South African variant first surfaced in the US in two South Carolina adults in late January, and has since appeared in at least nine other states including Illinois and California.

'With the discovery of a case of the South African variant in the state, it's more important than ever for New Yorkers to stay vigilant, wear masks, wash hands and stay socially distanced,' Cuomo said.

New York governor Andrew Cuomo, pictured at the state capitol on Friday, announced that a resident of Long Island had tested positive for the South African virus strain

This graph shows average daily cases in the whole of New York state, including NYC. The infection rate has fallen in recent weeks

No details were given about the patient except that they live in Nassau County and gave a sample which was found by two New York labs to contain the variant.

Nassau County's executive Laura Curran said that 'we don't believe this variant is more deadly but it may be more contagious'.

'The best response is to continue tried and true precautions: wear a mask, avoid social gatherings, stay home/get tested if sick,' she said.

New York joins a list of at least nine states which have reported cases of the strain, also known as the B1.351 variant and first discovered in Nelson Mandela Bay last year.

Last week Cuomo said a Connecticut resident who was a patient at a New York City hospital had tested positive for it, but said there was no known spread in the state.

Massachusetts also announced last week that a case had been found in a woman in her 20s who had not travelled abroad.

Concern about the South African strain comes partly from the fact that trials suggest it reduces the efficacy of the currently available Covid-19 vaccines.

South Africa itself put vaccinations with the AstraZeneca jab on hold after trial results showed it had only 22 per cent effectiveness in halting mild or moderate disease caused by the variant, with no data on whether it prevented serious illness.

Two EMTs return to their ambulance with a stretcher after dropping off a patient at a Queens hospital on Sunday

Hospital cases are on the decline in New York state but Cuomo warned that people need to 'stay vigilant' because of the discovery of the South African case

Pfizer and BioNTech said the variant might reduce the level of antibodies produced by its vaccine, but it was not clear whether or how much it reduced effectiveness.

BioNTech has previously said that it could adapt its vaccine in six weeks if necessary to face the dangers of a new strain.

New York has also seen cases of the UK variant, but not the Brazilian strain which has caused similar concern in Europe and elsewhere.

There was also better news for New Yorkers as Cuomo said the state's rate of positive tests had fallen below three per cent for the first time since November 23.

The number of current hospital patients also dropped, from 5,977 to 5,764, while the tally of ICU patients was unchanged at 1,162.

Cuomo said that 'we are in a race right now - between our ability to vaccinate and these variants which are actively trying to proliferate - and we will only win that race if we stay smart and disciplined.'

The governor has been under fire in recent weeks over nursing home deaths in New York which Cuomo has admitted were excluded from official figures.

The true number of nursing home deaths is now around 15,000, up from the 8,500 previously disclosed.

The US is closing in on the grim milestone of 500,000 confirmed Covid deaths, with New York accounting for more than 40,000 of those after its disastrous outbreak last spring

Although the deaths were accounted for in New York's overall death totals, they were not ascribed to care homes - underplaying the seriousness of the outbreaks there.

The undercount was especially significant because Cuomo's office had directed in March that nursing homes should not deny admission to a patient because they had Covid-19, a policy that was rescinded two months later.

The governor has blamed staff entering nursing homes for spreading the virus to the vulnerable population, not patients brought in with Covid-19.

Last week it was revealed that a Cuomo aide told New York legislators that the true picture of nursing home deaths wasn't revealed for fear it would be used against the governor by Donald Trump's Justice Department.

Melissa DeRosa, who made the comments, has estimated that New York nursing home residents represent 40 per cent of the lives lost this winter

Outrage over the nursing home deaths has tainted Cuomo's image after his leadership during New York's disastrous first outbreak last spring propelled him into the national spotlight and led to a book, American Crisis, released last summer.
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A psychiatric nurse whose anxiety was dismissed as a sign of stress revealed she was diagnosed with brain inflammation virus encephalitis after months of complaining to doctors about her symptoms.

Jenn Wiles, 24, of Stockton-On-Tees, County Durham, had been having the 'time of her life' studying at the University of Salford, Greater Manchester, when she was hit by a sudden panic attack after going to a concert with friends in May 2017.

She began feeling increasingly anxious, leading doctors, who put her symptoms down to university stress, to prescribe antidepressants.

That December, she had a strange episode while at her job at a pub, where she had to steady herself against the till as the ceiling had begun to blur.

The next thing she remembers is waking up in a hospital a month later, having been diagnosed with encephalitis  a potentially fatal inflammation of the brain.

Jenn Wiles, 24, of Stockton-On-Tees, County Durham, had been having the 'time of her life' studying at the University of Salford, Greater Manchester, when she was hit by a sudden panic attack after going to a concert with friends in May 2017

That December, the ceiling had begun to blur and she had to steady herself against the counter at the bar she worked at and was taken to hospital by ambulance the following morning, where she stayed for three months (pictured in hospital)

Jenn, who works as a psychiatric nurse (pictured), said her anxiety was dismissed as a sign of stress revealed she was diagnosed with brain inflammation virus encephalitis after months of complaining to doctors about her symptoms

Speaking out on World Encephalitis Day to raise awareness of the condition, Jenn said: 'I'd been in a coma all over Christmas and the New Year. The first time doctors attempted to wake me up, I was unresponsive.

'They told my family I was fighting for my life and may not make the night. We're a very close family, so it tears me apart to think they'd been told that.'

Before falling ill, Jenn had been enjoying life, training to become a nurse and sharing a student house with friends.

'I was having the best of times,' she added. 'I loved my course and had never even broken a bone.'

But in May 2017, she suffered her first panic attack, completely out of the blue.

Looking back, she believes that was the point at which everything began to change.

After the ceiling blurring at work, the next thing Jenn remembers is coming around in hospital a month later and her family filled in the blanks

She recalled: 'I'd been out to a concert and when I got home, I had a full-blown panic attack, which was really frightening.

'I told myself it was nothing, probably caused by having drunk some alcohol, but over the next few months, I started getting panic attacks regularly, as much as once a week.

What is encephalitis? Encephalitis is an uncommon but serious condition in which the brain becomes inflamed. It can be life threatening and requires urgent treatment in hospital. It sometimes starts off with flu-like symptoms, such as a high temperature and a headache, with more serious symptoms over hours, days or weeks, including: confusion or disorientation

seizures or fits

changes in personality and behaviour

difficulty speaking

weakness or loss of movement in some parts of the body

loss of consciousness It's not always clear what causes it, but it can be caused by viral infections (several common viruses can spread to the brain and cause encephalitis in rare cases), a problem with the immune system or bacterial or fungal infections (much rarer cause than viral infections). Some types of encephalitis are spread by mosquitoes, ticks and mammals. Encephalitis needs to be treated in hospital and the earlier the treatment is started, the more successful it's likely to be. It depends on the underlying cause, but may include: antiviral medicines

steroid injections

treatments to help control the immune system

antibiotics or antifungal medicines

painkillers to reduce discomfort or a high temperature

medicine to control seizures or fits

support with breathing, such as oxygen through a face mask or a breathing machine (ventilator) People may need to stay in hospital for a few days to several weeks or months. Some people eventually make a full recovery, although this can be a long and frustrating process, while others never make a full recovery and are left with long-term problems caused by damage to their brain. Common complications include: memory loss

frequent seizures or fits

personality and behavioural changes

problems with attention, concentration, planning and problem solving

persistent tiredness Source: NHS Advertisement

'Where I'd always been a positive and jovial person, I realised I'd changed and had started to feel much more anxious all the time.'

Consulting a GP, Jenn was told her heightened anxiety was likely caused by the stress of her degree.

She was prescribed antidepressants, but could not shake the feeling that something else was going on.

She said: 'There'd been a big shift in my personality. I just had this feeling of impending doom, like something bad was going to happen and I was tearful all the time.'

In the months that followed, Jenn went back and forth to the doctors, who remained convinced she had anxiety and stress.

By the end of the year, she was still not feeling right.

Then, on 15 December, she went to work as a barmaid in a local pub  but during her shift, her vision began to blur.

Terrifyingly, the next thing she remembers is coming to in hospital in January 2018.

Medical staff, friends and family  including her mother Wendy, 51, father Brian, 54, and brother Richard, 18 - have since filled in the gaps, so she knows that she left work early that day and went home to sleep.

Still unwell when she awoke at around 6am the following morning, she phoned 111, the non-emergency NHS number.

'Apparently, while I was on the phone, I started having seizures,' she said.

Jenn was raced to Warrington Hospital by ambulance and taken to intensive care.

There, medics ran a series of tests, including lumbar punctures  where a needle is inserted into the spinal canal to test the surrounding fluid.

The following day, December 18, she was diagnosed with encephalitis.

According to the charity Encephalitis Society, the condition, which affects an estimated 6,000 people in the UK every year, can either be caused by an infection, or by the immune system attacking the brain in error.

Depending on type, symptoms can include a high temperature, neck stiffness, aversion to bright lights, seizures, hallucinations, uncharacteristic behaviour and memory loss.

Following her diagnosis, Jenn was placed in an induced coma.

Five days later, doctors carried out an MRI scan, during which she had more seizures, and her family were then taken to what her mother called 'The Bad News' room, where they were told she may not make it.

'The doctors said that even if I did survive, there was a risk I might be severely disabled,' said Jenn.

Thankfully, medics eventually managed to bring her round on January 2  but she still does not remember anything until January 18, by which time she had been transferred to the neurorehabilitation ward of James Cook University, Middlesbrough.

Initially, she was unable to walk, talk or swallow.

'My first memories of that time are still a bit foggy,' she said. 'I was disorientated, and I kept ripping my feeding tube out because it was irritating me.

'I do remember the first word I said was "bath". That made everyone cry when they realised I would be able to talk again.'

Doctors warned Jenn to expect be in hospital undergoing rehabilitation for another four to six months.

Jenn was discharged from hospital on March 8, nearly three months after she was admitted, after making remarkable progress and returned to university in June, graduating six months after the rest of her course (pictured)

When Jenn was admitted to intensive care following seizures, doctors told her family she was 'fighting for her life' and 'may not make the night', Jenn said that she and her family are very close and it 'tears her apart' to think they were told that (pictured at graduation with her father)

But, determined to beat the odds, she made remarkable progress, with the help of occupational therapy, speech and language therapy and physiotherapy.

She said: 'With the incredible support from my family and the unbelievable dedication of the rehab team at the hospital, I found my determination to get better.

'I wasn't prepared to accept my life was going to be so limited and so by the February, I could walk and talk again.'

On March 8  almost three months after she had been admitted  Jenn was discharged from hospital.

Remarkably, rather than defer an entire year, she was able to return to university in June and qualified in March , just six months later than the rest of her original course.

Though she had made a physical recovery, she found that encephalitis left her with emotional scars.

Jenn said to 'wasn't prepared' to accept her life was going to be limited and was determined to get better and could walk and talk again by February and returned to university to finish her course just four months later (pictured graduating)

'When I came out of hospital, I was scared of my own shadow,' she said. 'I'd lived a life not worrying about anything and if I ever heard about something like this, it was on television and something that happened to other people, not me.

'I ended up having some counselling to help me come to terms with the shock of it all.'

Now, working as a nurse and having found love with her boyfriend of one year, Jordan, 26, Jenn is feeling stronger than ever.

By sharing her story, she wants to raise awareness of the Encephalitis Society, and offer hope to other survivors.

Jenn, who has had a tattoo of the Stone Roses lyrics, 'She'll carry on through, she's like a waterfall' to remind her of her strength, said: 'It's really important for people to know about encephalitis and its warning signs, because before I was diagnosed, I had no idea about it.

'I also want people who are going through it to know there is light at the end of the tunnel, and you can come back from it to live a happy and successful life.'
A pregnant teenage girl who allegedly subjected a woman to a horrific 12-hour kidnapping has been denied bail.

Latia Henderson, 18, was upbeat as she faced Campbelltown Local Court via video link on Monday, blowing kisses to her grandparents and mother as they showed support from inside the gallery.

But the teenager, who was revealed in court to be 14 weeks pregnant, quickly broke down after the magistrate refused bail, declaring her 'history of violence' a risk to the community.

Police allege Henderson helped her friend Kayley Lee Ketley, 24, carry out a horrific stabbing and kidnapping of Nisha Phillips, 24, at Claymore, Sydney, on February 3.

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Latia Henderson (above), 18, broke down after being denied bail in Campbelltown Local Court on Monday

The pair allegedly stuffed Phillips in the boot of her own Holden Commodore and set off down the Hume Highway, before being stopped by police after a passing truckie saw the victim's hand sticking through the smashed tail light and called Triple Zero.

Phillips was rushed to hospital to undergo surgery while the other women were taken into custody and refused bail.

On Monday, Henderson's lawyer Gazi Abbas argued his client should be released because she had several favourable prospects, including her age, support from family and the fact she was 14 weeks pregnant, the Macarthur Chronicle reports.

Mr Abbas added that her alleged involvement in the case is yet to be ascertained and she suffers from post traumatic stress disorder and mental health issues after a childhood filled with trauma.

The court heard how Henderson had been left scarred by the freak death of her baby sister and assassination of her friend Brayden Dillon.

Henderson's younger sister Indy Lee was killed in a horror accident in 2016 when the concrete war memorial at Black Head Bowling Club fell on top of her.

Police allege Henderson (left) helped her friend Kayley Lee Ketley (right) carry out a horrific stabbing and kidnapping

Nisha Phillips (pictured) was allegedly stuffed in the boot of her own Holden Commodore after 12 hours of terror that began at a unit in Claymore, western Sydney, about 10.30pm on Tuesday

An inquest into her death heard another older child was standing on top of the war memorial headstone when it buckled and crushed the three-year-old.

In an emotional tribute to her sister on Instagram, Henderson shared a photo of the toddler's burial headstone.

'Half of my heart lives in heaven. I miss you so much angel eyes,' she wrote.

Just five months after her sister's death, Henderson's life was again rocked by the shooting death of Dillon.

The 15-year-old was asleep in bed when Conrad Craig burst through the front door and into his room.

Craig was last year sentenced to at least 30 years jail over the shocking killing.

At the time, Henderson told media: 'He was a really good friend of mine. Its so hard to accept the fact that hes gone.'

Henderson (far right) was close friends with Brayden Dillon (far left) who was gunned down in his sleep in a high-profile incident in 2017

Henderson's younger sister Indy Lee died in 2016 after a concrete war memorial fell on her at a bowling club in Black Head

'Half of my heart lives in heaven. I miss you so much angel eyes,' Henderson wrote in a moving Instagram post to Indy Lee (pictured)

The 24-year-old managed to get her hand out the back tail light of the car (pictured) which was seen by a passing truck driver, who called NSW Police

Henderson's lawyer Gazi Abbas (pictured) argued the teenager should be released because she has favourable prospects, including the fact she is 14 weeks pregnant

Magistrate Carl Milovanovich acknowledged the difficulties Henderson had endured but said the risk to the community was too high.

'The material being presented indicates a young adult with a number of problems in her life, but I cannot disregard that this is a very serious matter because she does have a history of violence and could be facing a lengthy custodial sentence,' he said.

'My role is to protect the community, bail is refused.'

Henderson and Ketley stand accused of subjecting Phillips to more than 12 hours of horror, that began in a home in Claymore and ended on the side of a busy highway.

Court documents state that Phillips was allegedly attacked as early as 10.30pm on February 2.

It wasn't until close to 11.30am the next morning that police pulled over her Holden Commodore and allegedly freed her from the boot.

Phillips was suffering stab wounds to her knee, thigh and forearm, but is recovering in a stable condition in hospital.

Police pulled the car over on the Hume Highway near Berrima, in the NSW Southern Highlands, about 11.30am on February 3

Both Henderson (left) and Ketley will reappear in Campbelltown Local Court on April 7

Police are investigating if the alleged kidnappers were on their way to the Belanglo State Forrest between Sydney and Canberra.

While the three women were known to each other, the details of an alleged personal dispute that led to the eventual kidnapping remain unclear.

Both Henderson and Ketley are charged with unlawful wounding with intent to cause grievous bodily harm, detaining to gain advantage causing bodily harm and driving a vehicle without (the) owner's consent.

Ketley was also hit with the additional charges of cannabis possession and driving while disqualified.

Henderson and Ketley will return to Campbelltown Local Court on April 7.
A few weeks ago, I found myself staring into my fridge, my mind prickling like one who has become suddenly lucid after a fugue state: I suddenly realized that I have accumulated way more homemade jams and jellies than a person should normally have. I have so many friends and acquaintances who are prolific jammers, who have the skill and knowhow to transform backyard passionfruits and farmers market peaches into the most gorgeous, shimmering material  to arrest their sweetness at the peak of ripeness. How could I not take a jar or two and slip a fingertip into each to sneak a taste of last summers growing season?

But then the jars got shunted to the back of the fridge, pushed aside by meal kits, takeout leftovers and fresher fruits until I forgot all about them. Im not much of a sweets person, so the usual toast or scone applications arent a part of my daily diet. But Ive found some really great uses for those forlorn jams in other applications.

Ive been dabbing spoonfuls of an Oakland friends passionfruit preserves on a cheese plate, which is my usual Im too busy to live lunch. The tartness of the preserves disguises the richness of cheeses and charcuterie, and the black seeds pop in the mouth like candy. Lately, its been excellent with Four Fat Fowls Saint Stephens triple cream cheese, a gushy number that practically seeps out of the rind when you cut it. (I got it from Little Vine in North Beach!) I received it the last time I saw her, back in the fall, during the only time Ive dared to have a distanced outdoor hang out with people I dont live with.

When making a big pot of Japanese-style curry, I usually follow the directions of local food blogger Namiko Hirasawa Chen, who says that the best way to make the dish your own is to mess around with the flavorings, like coffee, red wine, honey or ketchup, which generally make the salty, roux-based stew more acidic. For my last batch, I stirred in a plop of plum apricot jam that I got from Lous Takeaway in San Rafael, a restaurant where, if youre lucky, you can get your hands on some of the preserves that the titular Lous father makes. Upon first bite, you just taste curry, but the concentrated stone fruit flavor, dissolved into the thick brown sauce, glimmers at the edge of your sensory consciousness, suggesting a freshness that you normally wouldnt associate with instant curry.

Ive been putting jam in hot tea in the morning, stirring to unsettle the fibers of the pluots and berries that persisted through their slow simmering. And Ive been shaking preserves into cocktails, so I could contemplate the whos and the whens of those jars while slipping into a blissful torpor.

And yet, there are still so many jars and plastic tubs of condiments in my fridge  way more than there would have been if not for the pandemic, of this Im sure  and not all of it is jam, either. I cant resist buying up the chile oils from pop-ups like Lao Wai and the Vietnamese Het Say, and Im stubbornly holding on to the citrine-colored habanero hot sauce in a Mason jar whose origins Ive already forgotten, hoping Ill find a use for it someday.

Lately, its the handmade things in my life that are grounding me: the clothes Ive sewn on my desktop machine, the heavy ceramic banchan dishes I set out with dinner, baked goods that came in the mail from far-off places.

I hate to think that these things are proxies for human interaction, but I have to admit that, for now, thats what they mean to me. Theyre proof that someone saw an empty space and wanted to fill it, to scrawl their name on it to show that they were there once. And to be given such a thing out of love, out of solidarity? What a gift.

On the podcast

Alexis Nikole Nelson

If youve ever eaten something you found on the ground, whether thats wild ramps, chanterelles or a cookie that you dropped, youll love this weeks episode, which is all about foraging. Justin and I talk to Alexis Nikole Nelson, who also goes by Black Forager on TikTok and Instagram. We talk about the racial history of foraging laws in this country and what its like to teach people how to identify and cook wild foods. Even if you dont have time to listen to the podcast, I highly recommend flipping through her videos, which are very fun to watch.

What Im eating

On a trip to Concord, I stopped by Spicy Jois Banh Mi x Lao Street Food, a restaurant that shares a space with a crawfish boil spot. On the weekends, it offers an attractive dessert platter ($15) of pandan custard, steamed cassava and grilled coconut custard with taro and corn. Theyre squishy and light, and a sprinkling of coconut and toasted sesame seed gives them a slight earthiness.

I really dug the swiss chard empanadas ($8 for two) from Jaranita, a new Peruvian place in the Marina District. Theyre flaky and fried; corn and cheese keep the interior moist and savory. Theres a creamy dip that comes with, but you wont need it.

Food Guide Top 25 Restaurants Where to eat in the Bay Area. Find spots near you, create a dining wishlist, and more.

Recommended reading

Stephen Lam / The Chronicle

 Writer Flora Tsapovsky wrote up a list of spots to get one my my favorite foods: empanadas. Im excited to try them all, but the super-flaky ones from Little Red Window in North Beach made my eyes pop out like a cartoon wolfs.

 We dont talk much about the people who exist at the intersection of essential and high risk during this pandemic, so I was glad to see Katie Okamotos Eater story on high-risk food workers: people with health conditions like asthma who must weigh the costs of going back to work at restaurants. One sources testimony sums it up: The doctor at the VA told me, Dont go back. But Im the sole income.

 For the Vittles newsletter, Mary Fawzy examines the violent history behind farm to table winery restaurants in Cape Town, South Africa. She asks, who owns the farms and why? How did they get this land? What kind of narrative are they selling?

 If youre not subscribed to Ashley Rodriguezs newsletter on the coffee world, I highly recommend it. In this weeks edition, she argues that coffee shops should be rooted in place  that they should be conceived with the intention to meet their specific communitys needs. Otherwise, she writes, you end up with so many places where you walk in and ask, who is this for?

Bite Curious is a weekly newsletter from The Chronicles restaurant critic, Soleil Ho, delivered to inboxes on Monday mornings. Follow along on Twitter: @Hooleil
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India's new measures for travellers from UK, Brazil and Middle East kick in

International travellers coming/transiting from flights originating from the United Kingdom, Europe and the Middle East will be required to declare their travel history of the past 14 days, the Indian Central government has said in its standard operating procedure (SOP).

The Ministry of Health and Family Welfare (MoHFW) in consultation with the Ministry of Civil Aviation has reviewed the situation with regard to point-of-entry actions required to minimise the risk of importation of mutant strains of coronavirus. Photo courtesy: Twitter/@BjpBiplab

According to the guidelines issued by the Centre for international arrivals, from February 23, the passengers will have to submit a self-declaration form (SDF) for COVID on the online Air Suvidha portal before the scheduled travel.

All the travellers arriving from/transiting through flights originating in United Kingdom, Europe or the Middle East will be mandatorily subjected to self-paid confirmatory molecular tests on arrival at the Indian airports concerned, the guidelines stated.

The Ministry of Health and Family Welfare (MoHFW) in consultation with the Ministry of Civil Aviation has reviewed the situation with regard to point-of-entry actions required to minimise the risk of importation of mutant strains of coronavirus.

The government said that keeping in mind the testing requirements for passengers from UK, Brazil and South Africa, airlines should keep the passengers informed about the need for the transit time of a minimum of 6-8 hours at the entry airport (in India) while booking the tickets for connecting flights.

All the passengers arriving from the United Kingdom, Europe and the Middle East shall be carrying negative RT-PCR Test report for which test should have been conducted within 72 hours prior to undertaking the journey. The same also shall be uploaded on the online portal (www.newdelhiairport.in). Airlines to allow boarding only those passengers who have filled in the SDF on the Air Suvidha portal and uploaded the negative RT-PCR test report, the statement said.

Travellers from Brazil, South Africa and the United Kingdom, testing positive (either at the airport or subsequently during home quarantine period or their contacts who turn positive) will be isolated in an institutional isolation facility in a separate (isolation) unit coordinated by the respective state health authorities.
The UKs Air Accident Investigation Branch has slammed the company behind the development of a flying racing car series after one of its demonstrators crashed during an air show.

During the incident in July 2019 at Goodwood Aerodrome, West Sussex the pilot lost control of the 95kg Alauda Airspeeder MKII unmanned demonstrator aircraft and the safety kill switch failed to work. The Airspeeder climbed to around 8,000ft, at which point it was in the controlled airspace of nearby Gatwick Airport, before its battery depleted and it fell into a field of crops, around 40m from occupied houses and 700m (0.5 miles) outside of its designated operating area. Fortunately, there were no injuries.

Australia-based Alauda Aeronautics is making 10 MK3 Airspeeders to run in a series of unmanned races later this year and then plans to run a series of piloted races that will use a MK4 version next year. The electric vertical take-off and landing (eVTOL) octocopters are capable of speeds of up to 120km/h (75mph).

A report published last week by the Air Accident Investigation Branch (AAIB) found that found that the Airspeeder Mk II was not designed, built or tested to any recognisable engineering or airworthiness standards, and that its design and build quality were poor. It also found that the operators Operating Safety Case contained errors and inaccuracies.

UK regulator the Civil Aviation Authoritys (CAA) had issued an exemption to allow the demonstration flight in accordance with the operators Operating Safety Case, but did not inspect the Airspeeder Mk II before doing so.

Crispin Orr, chief Inspector of the AAIB said, The innovative development of unmanned aircraft systems continues to be rapid, and the exploitation of these technologies in a wide variety of novel applications is remarkable. However, this is not completely without risk to the general public.

Thankfully there were no injuries caused by this accident but the potential for a more serious outcome was clear. This accident demonstrates why it is so important that manufacturers, operators and regulators of unmanned aircraft ensure they are airworthy and operated in a safe and appropriate manner.

Since the investigation, the CAA and Aluada Aeronautics have introduced measures to address the issues identified, the AAIB said. In addition, as a result of the investigation the AAIB has made several safety recommendations regarding airworthiness standards, safety management and the regulatory oversight of unmanned aircraft systems.

The investigation has provided a rich opportunity to learn and many safety actions have been taken or recommended to improve the safety of unmanned aviation, added Orr.

Airspeeder said, We showcased a very early UAV prototype at a side exhibition that took place at Goodwood 18 months ago. This activity supported the announcement of our intent to develop performance eVTOL vehicles.

There was a short loss of control caused by unforeseen external factors affecting our control systems. The incident was concluded without injury and we have worked with regulators and the appropriate bodies to provide all required information. Recommendations made have been addressed and the company has since moved through three successful development phases.
Trinity University history professor Carey Latimore hopes to begin a new, third way of talking about the Alamo and the Texas Revolution, acknowledging slavery as part of a larger number of issues but not the main reason for the war of independence from Mexico.

In having this conversation, it doesnt mean that were dismissing some things. It means that were adding so much more, Latimore said,

Latimore was speaking at a recent virtual lecture hosted by the Alamo Trust and Texas General Land Office on a topic that is perhaps the most sensitive in the historic icons legacy.

Alamo events La Gran Marcha Del Ejercito Mexicano, 9 a.m. to 4 p.m. Tuesday, online and in person: Witness the arrival of the Mexican Army. In-person programming will feature a Mexican army encampment. Digital content will be provided on The Alamo Facebook page. Tejanos of the Texas Revolution, 9 a.m. to 3 p.m. Saturday, online and in person: Explore Tejano life during the Texas Revolution through living history demonstrations on famous Tejano figures. Digital content will be provided on The Alamo Facebook page. Texas Fest, 3 to 9 p.m. Saturday, in person: A new event celebrating Texas and veteran-owned businesses will feature live entertainment. For a full schedule of events, visit thealamo.org. See More Collapse

The professor, whose ancestry includes slave owners as well as people who were themselves enslaved, provided an in-depth overview of the evolution of slavery in the United States  an institution that wrought immeasurable human suffering, yet propped up a New World economy.

On ExpressNews.com: Scholar could bring healing to contentious Alamo makeover

Its two sides of one coin, said Latimore, 45. I recognize all of my ancestry as a struggle within me but also a struggle within Americans to come to some type of reconciliation of who and what we are.

For years, talk of slavery has ranged from scholarly debates to tense exchanges on social media. Latimore noted that some historians, true to the traditional Alamo narrative of a siege and battle for freedom, have said slavery wasnt an issue in the revolution. Others, he said, have pointed to it as the issue.

The third way to think of the Alamo, and the later establishment of slavery by the Republic of Texas, is as part of a range of issues, from religious freedom and the right to bear arms to disagreement over governance. Many who wanted local and regional representation opposed centralist control and the regime of Mexicos president, Gen. Antonio Lopez de Santa Anna.

But slavery cannot be dismissed as a factor in the birth of an independent Texas, followed by U.S. statehood a decade later, Latimore said.

We often find that people dont enter revolutions for one reason. Its a lot of things that lead people to revolution, he said.

An honest portrayal of slavery as a factor in the Texas Revolution is included in the vision and guiding principles of a planned project to expand and improve the Alamo. Latimore, recently hired by the nonprofit Alamo Trust to write a report examining the role of lunch counter desegregation as a part of the Civil Rights movement in San Antonio from World War II to the 1960s, has said hed like to be part of that discussion. Two of seven downtown lunch counters that peacefully desegregated in 1960, including one that was in the 1921 Woolworth Building, are in Alamo Plaza, within the footprint of the 1836 Alamo.

Latimore, an associate professor at Trinity, has said he hopes to at least untangle some of the complexities of the Alamo, including the role of Texas forming an independent republic, while not necessarily taking a hard-line stand. Although many of his published works have focused on slavery and the lives of African Americans after the Civil War in Virginia, where he was born and reared, the subjects he teaches have a broader scope to include the Old South and free Blacks in America, according to his page on the Trinity University website.

Robyn Oguinye, a 28-year-old reporter with News 4 San Antonio who moderated the virtual forum, touched on stories of segregation and racism passed down through her family, and encouraged viewers to think about how these events that happened not so long ago affect how we interact with each other today.

Your neighbor who looks different than you, talk to them. A classmate. Whoever. Gain knowledge and information in whatever way you can, Oguinye said. Thats going to shape and contextualize how we look at things in the future.

Latimores Feb. 9 forum, posted on the Alamos YouTube page, reflected the virtual approach the Alamo is taking for this years commemoration events of the siege and 13-day battle starting Tuesday.

Last year, the state-owned mission and battle site staged a lineup of daily in-person events just days before the pandemic forced the Alamo to close to the public on March 16. This year, many will be presented in-person, with modifications to adhere with public health guidance, and digital content available online. Most events are free.

The popular early morning Dawn at the Alamo ceremony on March 6 is planned as an in-person event on the battle anniversary, with coronavirus restrictions in place. Masks are required, and social distancing will be observed.

On ExpressNews.com: Get the latest update on coronavirus and a tracking map of U.S. cases

During the forum, Latimore said the American Revolution ended slavery in the North.

The initial revolutionaries detested the idea of slavery, even if they owned slaves themselves, Latimore said.

But a ban on the international slave trade by Congress in 1808 and a cotton revolution in the deep South fueled a three-fold increase in the value of slaves, and more than 1 million enslaved people were moved from one region of the South to another by 1860, he said. Black families were torn apart.

Sarah Graves was 6 months old when she and her mother were sold to a man from Missouri and separated from her father in Kentucky. Her mother never was told where her father was located.

Our master wanted her to marry again and raise more children to be slaves. They never wanted Mama to know where Papa was. And she never did, Graves recalled in a 1930s interview for a Works Progress Administration project.

Family units are being broken up. And so we can look at it as an economic move. But its also a personal move of people south and southwest, Latimore said.

The war with Mexico led to antagonism toward slavery, but preserved debt servitude and other forms of forced labor, he said. American slave owners in Texas widely disregarded laws enacted against slavery in the 1820s, and sometimes circumvented them by fabricating worker contracts.

After Texas won its independence, the number of slaves in the state shot up from 5,000 in 1835 to about 30,000 in 1845; 60,000 in 1850; and well over 100,000 in 1860. Many lived in East Texas, although some worked in southern Bexar County and neighboring Wilson County.

On ExpressNews.com: Alamo reports support preserving Woolworth Building

Texas will emerge really as a slave place, a place that slavery is firmly established and protections will always reside with a slave nation, Latimore said.

Sarah Ashley, a former slave who lived in East Texas, was interviewed in 1936 for the WPA oral history project. She recalled having to walk a mile every day to fields where she picked cotton. Although she always produced her allotted yield  failure would result in a whipping  she and the others would often have bloody, calloused hands at the end of the day and never had enough to eat.

Im not saying that we dismiss those heroes of the Texas Revolution. But I think that we can also add people like Sarah Ashley to that conversation, Latimore said. Part of the reason that we are divided is that we dont share the full story. We only share pieces of it and then expect us to be a whole by sharing a piece.

shuddleston@express-news.net
NASAs Perseverance rover landed on Mars last Thursday. Heres the Right Stuff-esque footage from the moment of touchdown, in case you missed it. And you probably did. You steakhead jackass. You were probably messing around on your phone, or eating some chips, or taking a dump. Those are all poor excuses for your oversight and you should feel like st. Because America just landed its FIFTH rover on Mars. Weve never had a Mars rover landing fail. You know why? Because WE KICK ASS.

It helps to remember that. While youre busy reading stories about Ted Cruz being a negligent prick, Americas science community is doing what its been doing for decades: quietly and diligently going about their handiwork to make lives better, to better explain why we exist and to figure out ways for us to continue existing. In a way, its good that science operates in the shadows of our everyday horsest.

I dont want my scientists distracted. And I dont want the Eye of Sauron at FOX News falling on the Hubble Space Telescope and going HEY WHYS THAT EXIST AND CANT WE JUST BURN IT? The more science toils in the shadows, the more it can go about its business unobstructed. But when that works pays off, as it did yesterday, I demand you pay attention and show some god damn AWE. Look at this!

Thats Perseverance taking a selfie while skydiving through the Martian atmosphere. Can your Honda Civic do that? It cannot. And this is only the beginning of what our new little best friend can do. Its got the best camera system of any rover weve ever sent to Mars. Its got a test helicopter. It can make oxygen out of the carbon dioxide in the Martian air. Its got ground-penetrating radar to see UNDER the Martian surface. To see what Mars is made of.

And it has microphones. Human ears have never heard what the surface of Mars sounds like. Now they will. Its one of the most vital accomplishments in the history of exploration. We should take everything named after Columbus and name it after Perseverance instead. God, I wish Perseverance had a better name. Sounds like Mayor Pete named it. Regardless, you should bow down and WORSHIP the rover. Unless youre aiding coronavirus patients or Texas storm victims, whatever youre doing right now is stupid and pointless compared to what NASA is doing with this machine.

Alas, Perseverance is as vulnerable to the collective short-term memory of Americans as any other momentous occasion, person, cataclysm or viable alien sighting. This is an absent-mindedness thats been ingrained in people by an unholy combination of social media, poor government and bloodless television networks.

As a result, the United States has grown far too disaffected by space travel ever since the moon landing. After that giant leap, our presence in outer space grew constant. Weve gone back to the moon (but not since 1972!). Weve launched the International Space Station. Weve sent a steady stream of probes and rovers to Mars and to the outer reaches of the solar system. Space travel is normal in the public sphere and, therefore, forgettable.

You should not forget this, and yet I understand, on a certain level, if you have. Americans are too busy being crushed by pandemics and by deliberately engineered wealth inequality and by stty "Cruella" trailers to take a moment to enjoy a greater ambition. To dream, if I may be corny for a moment. The publics sense of wonder was cruelly wrested away as everything else gradually was. My school used to stop class to watch shuttle launches back in the day (Challenger included).

That never happens anymore. I myself didnt even know Perseverance was landing until Thursday morning. Why? Because Im an oblivious moron, but also because what chance do I have of noticing significant events in human astronomy when there are entire news cycles devoted to Elon Musk pledging to build pre-flooded bus tubes under Miami, instead of this? I spend so much time looking down at my phone that I forget to look up.

But look whats up there right now. See past the clouds and the upper atmosphere and leave Earths gravitational pull. Sail 128 million miles through the black and see a barren red planet that, in so many ways, resembles our own. Yes, Perseverance is tasked with finding evidence of possible life on Mars. And yes, what it DOES find will likely be scant. Traces of water, fossilized evidence of microbes if were outrageously lucky. But, as author Peter Brannen has noted, the planet WE live on has been an entirely different planet  many different planets  for the vast majority of its history. The geological record confirms this. Go layer by layer through the earthen soil and Earths myriad identities reveal themselves. Perseverance could reveal similar identities about Mars: the planet it is, the many planets it once was and the many planets it could be. The possibilities are beyond our mortal capacities.

To that end, Perseverance could answer  and in fact, has been charged with helping answer  whether Mars is a planet where man himself could go. Not to live, I just made fun of Elon Musk two paragraphs ago. But to simply VISIT Mars, Perseverance is doing some vital reconnaissance on our behalf. Its possible, if not likely, that the publics imagination wont turn back to the heavens until man sets foot on Mars. If that happens, it will be one of the most important things thats ever happened.

But until then, everybody back here needs to stop and appreciate the grunt work that NASA  along with other countries space agencies  are doing to reach that milestone. Because that grunt work itself has been astonishing. We just put a goddamn helicopter on Mars. Watch that footage of Perseverance touching down again and listen to the joy in that control room and hear the ENORMOUS relief of Swati Mohan, the guidance and controls operations lead.

It takes a lot to get a rise out of your average astrophysicist. They normally have the emotional range of an ear of corn. So why the hell arent YOU on your feet right now? Youve been living in a dystopia for so long that perhaps you forget that you also happen to live in another, far more astonishing vision of the future. Dont look away from it. Dont leave all the words for this to scientists when YOU could be the poet they need for the journey.
Murray Woman Arrested on Warrants, Drug Charges

By West Kentucky Star Staff

MURRAY - Police arrested a wanted Murray woman Saturday on drug and other offenses.The Murray Police Department said officers served an arrest warrant on 26-year-old Destiny Owsley shortly before 3 a.m. While arresting Owsley, officers reportedly found methamphetamine and other illegal substances on her.In addition to the warrants, Owsley was charged with first-degree possession of a controlled substance, possession of marijuana, and possession of drug paraphernalia. She was booked into the Calloway County Jail.
Megachurch pays off $38K in student lunch debts across 2 school districts

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A megachurch in Florida recently paid off approximately $38,000 in lunch debts for students in two local public school districts as part of an effort to fight the economic impact of the COVID-19 pandemic.

Idlewild Baptist Church, which has campuses in Tampa and Lutz, recently sent the checks paying for the lunch debts to Hillsborough County Public Schools and Pasco County Schools, respectively.

Yerusha Bunag, director of local missions at Idlewild, told The Christian Post that the charitable act was part of the churchs overall involvement in helping local public school students.

Our church has been very invested in helping public schools in our community. Before COVID, we were involved in tutoring, mentoring, campus rejuvenation, student supplies, teacher appreciation events, etc., Bunag explained.

When the pandemic impacted the churchs school partners, the congregations began sending them non-perishable groceries that were delivered to the families when they came to the school to grab their kids' lunches.

After talking to the school districts in the two counties where our church is sandwiched between, we found out that, though lunches are being funded this year, the debt that students owed to the schools was very high, continued Bunag.

We wanted students to know that God loves them; that in God, all debts are paid. So that's what we did. We paid the debt for juniors and seniors at Hillsborough County and the debt for all students at Pasco County.

The director also stated that the church did this to be a witness of the incredible love that God has for them.

She said the aim was to show the community that we are administrating God's grace to them through these charitable efforts.

We want to be a good testimony of what real love is, she added. We want our community to be curious about what God's love is. We want them to be attracted by our good works so that they will be open to listening to the Gospel.

Bunag said that the church is not involved in this effort to feel good about themselves or for vainglory.

We do it for the sake of the cross and to reach the lost, she said.

Pasco County Superintendent Kurt Browning and Hillsborough County Superintendent Addison Davis thanked Idlewild for the donations in statements shared with Patch.

"This will really make a difference, Browning said. It will come as a relief to so many families, especially at a time when many are struggling."

As the pandemic's economic impact continues to ravage the United States, many churches have stepped up to offer assistance to those in need.

Last December, for example, Hope City Church of Joplin, Missouri held a meal-packing event where volunteers packed approximately 40,000 meals for the needy.

In a season where it can be easy to give our attention and focus to things, we wanted to focus on people. Instead of having a typical worship gathering, we spent most of our time packing meals that will help feed hungry families, Hope City Lead Pastor Cody Walker told CP at the time.

We know everyone needs two things: food and hope. We hope these meals will be able to provide both for people who need to know they are not forgotten or alone.

In Southern California, Pastor Rick Warrens Saddleback Church delivered over 2.4 million pounds of food at over 300 food distribution events throughout Orange County, according to The Epoch Times.

Joel Osteens Lakewood Church in Houston, Texas partnered with the evangelical humanitarian organization World Vision to distribute thousands of boxes of fresh food through the Fresh Food Box Program to those facing hunger during the pandemic.
Richmond is pushing to open a safe parking site with services for homeless people living in RVs at Hilltop Mall, a mostly vacant shopping center.

But the program may be in jeopardy after nearly 1,700 neighbors signed a petition urging the City Council to abandon the plans at the site and look elsewhere.

The delay jeopardizes a $260,000 state grant that needs to be spent by June 30 to fund the project. Once launched, the RV program, which could allow up to 100 RVs in a paved parking area with fencing and access to power and water, would last a year. The total cost of the program, which will include on-site security and social services, is $560,000. The city plans to use $300,000 of its affordable housing impact fees to fund it.

The Richmond City Council directed staff in early February to study the possibility of opening the RV program at Hilltop Mall, whose owners have struggled to redevelop it into housing or office space.

The controversy comes as Richmond grapples with a surge in its homeless population. Its 2019 count showed a 23% increase over 2017 to 333 people. In 2019, city staff conducted a survey and found 84 RVs in two encampments on city streets, a number thats grown as the pandemic continues to worsen the homelessness crisis, city staff said. Richmonds predicament isnt uncommon in the Bay Area, where cities have struggled to effectively respond to the surge in homelessness due to many factors, including neighborhood pushback and insufficient funds.

On Tuesday, some City Council members will propose alternate sites after a backlash from neighbors  further delaying a program that has been in the works since 2018.

People are mad mostly because of the disrespect of the city towards our community, said Cesar Zepeda, president of the Hilltop Neighborhood Council. They never came out to say, We want to consider this. There was no community input, no conversations with the community.

Cmichael Viewins, 40, and Kevin Canamore, 40, were outside their RVs Monday off Rydin Road near Point Isabel. Both men said they would want to move to the RV safe parking program at Hilltop Mall.

This gives people an opportunity to have somewhere to live and a place to put their things, Viewins said.

Canamore agreed and said, Its better than being here.

The need for opening the safe RV program has became more dire during the pandemic, city leaders say. Two city shelters have been forced to close due to their inability to enforce social distancing. Only one youth shelter and one family shelter remain open, as well as one hotel for the homeless and one hotel for quarantining. San Francisco has leased 25 hotels for homeless people during the pandemic.

This is a community living without a roof over their head, just in their cars or RVs, said Councilmember Gayle McLaughlin. They are a vulnerable community, and I just think we should be putting them first. How this plays out at this point Im not sure.

Mayor Tom Butt said the mall, which is losing Macys on March 30, is in the process of being sold to San Francisco-based Prologis, an industrial developer, which has agreed to lease land for the safe parking program.

Its almost flawless even though there is a lot of opposition to it, Butt said. Regardless of what neighborhood or what community youre talking about, there are a huge number of people that dont want homeless people there under any circumstances.

Zepeda said the council should instead consider an unpaved city-owned parking lot near the Greater Richmond Interfaith Program, a community group that helps the homeless. He plans to present his plans to the City Council on Tuesday.

The back-and-forth poses problems for city staff as they get closer to the grant deadline.

Even if the council doesnt make a decision until March, that gives us less than two months to get something operational, said Michelle Milam, a city staffer on the homeless task force. We already had a short window and now we are dealing with a shorter time period to get things operational.

Sarah Ravani is a San Francisco Chronicle staff writer. Email: sravani@sfchronicle.com Twitter: @SarRavani
Mourners carry coffins wrapped in the Iraqi flag in a procession during a mass funeral for Yazidi victims of ISIS in the village of Kojo in the Sinjar district of Iraq, on Feb. 6, 2021. (Zaid Al-Obeidi/AFP via Getty Images)

Yazidis Issue Open Letter to Pope Francis, Ask for Advocacy and Meeting

VATICAN CITYCivil and religious leaders of the Yazidi people have issued an open letter to Pope Francis on the eve of his historic trip to Iraq, asking the leader of the Roman Catholic Church to advocate for us loudly for our petitions during the visit as well as seeking a meeting with the groups spiritual leader.

Seven years have passed since harrowing reports began to trickle out of ISIS-controlled Iraq, detailing genocide by the terrorist group against an ethnic and religious minority people who have claimed thousands of years of history centered on their holy mountain, Iraqs Mt. Sinjar.

Once a thriving agrarian community over a million strong, according to Yazidi leader Gahzi Morad Barakat, less than an estimated 700 families are all that remain within the shelter of their mountain.

Many, like me, escaped on foot in the mountains. From there, we spent all we had to find refuge in Europe, America, Australia, Barakat said. Our people are in exile, and many will not return to our Sacred Mountain.

Gahzi Morad Barakat (L) and the religious leader Baba Sheikh in Lalish Temple in a valley near Mount Sinjar, Iraq, in November 2020. (Gahzi Morad Barakat)

In an exclusive interview with The Epoch Times, Barakatwho now lives as a refugee in Italyrecalled the horrors he experienced while defending his home and his people.

On Aug. 3, 2014, Daesh [ISIS] entered Shingal. On the 8th of August, I went to Shingal to fight against ISIS, to defend my people, he said.

After Daesh was defeated, many of those who had not escaped remained on the mountain hoping their loved ones would be found, their women and children purchased or rescued from slavery. So many countries and NGOs promised help, but very little help has come. Our people have been forgotten. We are a proud people, a self-reliant people, but Daesh took everything.

Barakat explained how he and a small network of fellow Yazidis organized a recent endeavor with an Italian Catholic group, The Disciples of Padre Pio, to collect clothes for the more than 700 families languishing in dilapidated U.N. tents on Mt. Sinjar, after ISIS destroyed their homes.

Our men and boys have been slaughtered. Our women and children are haunted by the atrocities they have experienced and seen. We now live in fear our neighbors will return with violence if we rebuild  and how can we rebuild? Daesh took everything from us, everything but our faith and our will that our ancient culture survives.

Barakat said that investment is what his people long for, not simply financial aid or perishable goods.

We are a proud people who wish to be self-reliant. We have worked hard to try and rebuild what we can, but work is scarce and money is temporary relief. Daesh destroyed our irrigation systems for our farms, and if we rebuild them, we fear they will be destroyed again in the next conflict from our neighbors.

We wish to remain neutral, in peace as our faith teaches, but our mountain is considered strategic. Our children have the right to grow up with pencils in their hands, not weapons of war.

Gahzi Morad Barakat with weapons in August 2016. (Gahzi Morad Barakat)

An Open Letter to Pope Francis

Upon hearing that Francis had chosen to visit Iraq next month, the Yazidi leaders quickly decided to issue an open letter, through Barakat, to the Holy See, the contents of which include a renewal of multiple appealsfrom 2015, and again in 2018to the Pope to speak on behalf of their people.

We ask that you call upon International Leaders to recognize our people under the UN Declaration on the Rights of Indigenous People, and as Internally Displaced, they wrote.

Our mountain should be considered protected by the International Community, and our people under conservation as we see our culture and faith displaced by violence throughout the world. We should not have to fear future invasions by Iraqis, Turkish, Iran. We should be considered neutral and our mountain as neutral and sovereign territory.

Amid reports that ISIS may be using the pandemic to regroup in the region, and of renewed tensions and outbreaks of conflicts in Turkey, Barakatalong with other Yazidi leadersbelieves the pontiffs visit is essential to spotlight the sufferings of vulnerable minorities, including Christians and Yazidis.

Included with the letter was a personal invitation by Hazim Tahseen Bag, president of the Supreme Yazidi Spiritual Council, to Pope Francis to visit what remains of their community on Mt. Sinjar, along with the holiest place in their Zoroastrian heritage, Lalish Temple.

Holy See Response

By request from the Yazidi community, The Epoch Times provided the open letter and invitation to multiple individuals within the Holy See, including the Pontifical Council for Interreligious Dialoguewhich, in 2019, produced the so-called Abu Dhabi declaration on Human Fraternity and Living Together. The Pontifical Council acknowledged receipt of the letter but issued no comment.

Its unlikely that Francis will deviate from his publicized schedule, even after a historic invitation from a religious minority that boasts of its peaceful coexistence with and support of Christiansto include protection of Christian minorities such as the Armenians during the 19151919 Armenian Genocide.

The Holy See press office didnt immediately respond to requests by The Epoch Times for comment.

Content of Open Letter

His Holiness, Pope Francis

I am Ghazi Morad Barakat, representative of the Yazidi community in Italy.

Your Holiness, we have heard that you have honored Iraq in your first Apostolic visit since the coronavirus spread throughout the world, and are grateful that your visit will bring critical focus on the difficulties so many of us are suffering, still.

Unfortunately, despite the promises of aid and protection from the International community, over 700 Yazidis remain on Mt. Sinjar, living in dilapidated tents given to us by the UN over 7 years ago. None of the aid from Aid to the Church in Need, or the thousands of NGOs and Charities have reached our people, and we must beg your help to bring light to this travesty. Our ancient people, our culture, and faith may soon disappear. We now are turning to recording our stories, so that the future may remember we once existed.

The Yazidis are a peaceful people, and as Zoroastrians, seek to live in harmony with allbut history shows how little regard is given to our way of life and culture by our neighbors. From the time we protected Armenian Christians escaping Turkey in the early 20th century to when Daesh invaded Iraq, our cities have been looted and burned and our people massacred below our sacred mountain. Our men and boys have been slaughtered. Our women and children are haunted by the atrocities they have experienced and seen. We now live in fear our neighbors will return with violence if we rebuild  and how can we rebuild? Daesh took everything from us, everything but our faith and our will that our ancient culture survives. That will is eroding with time, as our people languish forgotten by the world.

Our Christian brothers have given to us what little they, themselves, can spare. They provide for us out of their own need, as they also lost so much and suffered so much under the barbaric Daesh. We bless them and are eternally grateful, but such aid is, by nature, temporary. We are a proud people, we do not wish to rely on others. We seek to work, to live off the fruits of our labor. Our children should grow up with pencils in their hands, not Kalashnikovs.

Pope Francis, in 2018, you met with our leaders, and we were grateful for your support. You brought the worlds focus back to our plight. Now, as you visit the land of our heritage, we ask that you remember, once more, the poor, the forgotten, the Yazidis.

We ask that you call upon International Leaders to recognize our people under the UN Declaration on the Rights of Indigenous People, and as Internally Displaced. Our mountain should be considered protected by the International Community, and our people under conservation as we see our culture and faith displaced by violence throughout the world. We should not have to fear future invasions by Iraqis, Turkish, Iran. We should be considered neutral and our mountain as neutral and sovereign territory.

We ask you, Pope Francis, to speak openly about us as you will of your own peopleadvocate for us loudly for our petitions as you visit Iraq.

Finally, we ask you to have a meeting with our spiritual leader, Ali Alyas, Baba Sheikh of Lalish, when you will visit Erbil.

The invitation to Pope Francis from Hazim Tasheen Bag, president of Supreme Yazidi Spiritual Council (Supreme Yazidi Spiritual Council)

Letter of appeal to Pope Francis from Iraqi Yazidis

The 2022 Toyota Tundra will be released in the year 2022 as the name suggests. However, the upcoming edition of the originally released pickup way back in 2000 has already been making buzz from fans and critics around the world, making it one of the most anticipated for the Japanese car maker company.

2022 Toyota Tundra Being a 'Top-Notch' Contender

Auto Evolution has mentioned how the 2022 Toyota Tundra is already being seen today from people in the auto and car community all around the world. Robby Findlay, the chairman of the National Dealer Advisory Council hailed the pickup as a "world-beater" which can be at the same ground of the likes of such domestic trucks as he described.

Findlay also added that the upcoming Toyota pickup truck addition can be considered as the "best in class" - where the class he was speaking of might include the newly released Ford F-150 as well as the Ram 1500. The 2022 Toyota Tundra may also debut the new TNGA-F, which is an up-and-coming design for vehicles in terms of the architectural aspect of the pickup truck itself.

Also Read: 2022 Toyota Tundra Interior Gets Massive Hype With Luxurious Look; Towing Capacity, Payload a Huge Plus

As for the 2022 Toyota Tundra's chassis, it is being rumored that it will be highlighting the turbocharged V6 engine as well as a hybrid V6 engine to power up the upcoming pickup truck. It will signify a sudden shift from the standard V8 engine which was primarily used by most of the pickup trucks available in today's market. It can potentially boost the 2022 Toyota Tundra's performance most especially with its torque and power but at the same time to keep an eye to its fuel consumption.

There were also some spy shots for the pickup truck presenting at about six-lug wheels for it. The overall vehicle itself may weight for up to 10,200 pounds or 4,627 kilograms. That is half a ton and is still on the same line as the other domestic trucks available today.

The Upcoming Pickup Truck's Hype

The hype about the 2022 Toyota Tundra may already be inclined upon the overall sales of the company throughout the recent years. With an initial drop of their sales performance last 2020 falling about two percent from their stint in 2019, they saw around an amount of up to 109,000 units of their Toyota Tundra to be sold to customers and consumers from all parts of the globe combined.

Yet with the remarks about the Tundra going around and circulating on the internet and the car and auto community, the statement of it being a "world-beater" and "best in class" may just not be solidified anytime soon. As per the reports of Motor1, its rival company Ford was on their hands in recently revealing their newest entry with the up-to-date version of the F-150 Raptor pickup truck.

Related Article: Ferrari SF90 Stradale Dubbed as World's Fastest Production Straight-Line Car?

El Abuelito Cheese of Paterson, N.J., is recalling all Queso Fresco (fresh, soft cheese) products, because it has the potential to be contaminated with listeria monocytogenes, according to the U.S. Food and Drug Administration.

The FDA said that as of Feb. 11, the Centers for Disease Control had reported seven people who were infected with listeria from four states.

The FDA said, the Connecticut Department of Public Health collected samples of El Abuelito-brand Hispanic-style fresh and soft cheeses from a store where a sick person bought cheeses. While sample analysis showed the presence of listeria monocytogenes, the FDA said it is still trying to determine through further testing if the El Abuelito cheese was the same strain.

At this time, there is not enough evidence to determine if this outbreak is linked to El Abuelito Queso Fresco, the FDA said.

Listeria is an organism that can cause serious and sometimes fatal infections in young children, frail or elderly people, and others with weakened immune systems.

Although healthy individuals may suffer only short-term symptoms such as high fever, severe headache, stiffness, nausea, abdominal pain and diarrhea, Listeria monocytogenes infection can cause miscarriages and stillbirths among pregnant women.

The products were distributed as El Abuelito Cheese brand in Pennsylvania, Connecticut, New Jersey and New York; Rio Grande Food Products brand in Virginia, North Carolina and Maryland; and as Rio Lindo in North Carolina and Maryland. The cheese was distributed to supermarkets and retail stores through Feb. 16.

The El Abuelito brand details are:

Queso Fresco Regular, 12 ounces, UPC code 673130100003

Queso Fresco Promocion, 10 ounces, UPC code 673130100078

Queso Fresco de Hoja, 12 ounces, UPC code 673130100065

Queso Fresco, 5 pounds, UPC code 673130100058

Queso Fresco Guatemala, 12 ounces, UPC code 673130100027

All products have a sell-by date of March 28, 2021.

Customers can return the cheese to the place of purchase for a refund. For more information, contact El Abuelito at 973-345-3503 between 8 a.m. and 5 p.m. ET weekdays, and 8 a.m. and noon ET on Saturdays.

El Abuelito Cheese of Paterson, N.J., is recalling all Queso Fresco (fresh, soft cheese) products, because it has the potential to be contaminated with listeria monocytogenes.

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Gail Collins: Bret, my favorite recent political story was Ted Cruzs Terrible Vacation. Partly because it made Ted look like such a jerk.

Bret Stephens: Gail, first of all, my heartfelt sympathies and condolences to all of our friends suffering in Texas, and not just because Ted Cruz is one of their senators.

Also, isnt the whole Cancun Caper such a perfect encapsulation of Cruzs character? Hes what happens when All the Kings Men meets National Lampoons Vacation. Hes Shakespeares Richard III as interpreted by Mr. Bean. He is to American statesmanship what Fifty Shades of Grey was to English prose writing, minus the, um, stimulus.

Gail: Wow, that is one hell of a series of analogies.

Bret: I get carried away when it comes to the junior senator from Texas.

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As I have been addressing the failed Trump prophecies, some Christian leaders have challenged me, saying I am not going far enough. Instead, they believe, to be scripturally accurate, I must brand anyone who prophesies falsely a false prophet.

To quote the words of one pastoral couple who graciously challenged me, We would respectfully ask that Dr. Brown repent of his defense of these false prophets and false teachers, adding fanciful ideas to the word of God in the process  and publicly call for the removal of the false prophets from their pulpits, the same as we would expect him to do if these popular teachers were engaged in adultery, sexual immorality, or other grievous sin. False teachers are said to be deceived and being deceived at the same time. (2 Timothy 3:13)

But thats the thing. I have not defended those who prophesied falsely. I have called for accountability, and I have done so in very clear, strong terms.

That being said, the error of those who inadvertently prophesied falsely is not equivalent to adultery, sexual immorality, or other grievous sin, as Ill explain.

As for my so-called fanciful ideas, apparently this couple is referring to my belief that there is a difference between a true Christian prophesying falsely (or, a true Christian falsely claiming to be a prophet) and a false prophet.

I base this on the words of Jesus, who said, Watch out for false prophets. They come to you in sheeps clothing, but inwardly they are ferocious wolves. By their fruit you will recognize them. Do people pick grapes from thornbushes, or figs from thistles? Likewise, every good tree bears good fruit, but a bad tree bears bad fruit. A good tree cannot bear bad fruit, and a bad tree cannot bear good fruit (Matthew 7:15-18).

These people are not sincere believers who mistakenly claim inspiration for their words. They are deceivers and liars, bad trees bearing bad fruit.

Jesus also described them as deceivers, even miracles workers, who would lead people astray, putting them in the same class as false messiahs (see Matthew 24:11, 24).

This is in keeping with the character of false prophets in the Old Testament. They either led Israel into idolatry, prophesying in the name of false gods. Or they led Israel into sin and disobedience, prophesying falsely in the name of the true God.

As the Lord said through Jeremiah, Among the prophets of Samaria I saw this repulsive thing: They prophesied by Baal and led my people Israel astray. And among the prophets of Jerusalem I have seen something horrible: They commit adultery and live a lie. They strengthen the hands of evildoers, so that not one of them turns from their wickedness. They are all like Sodom to me; the people of Jerusalem are like Gomorrah (Jeremiah 23:14-15).

False prophets are sinful people, not godly people who make a mistake.

Are we then to brand someone a false prophet because, in sincerity of heart and after much prayer, they wrongly prophesied Trumps reelection? Are we to put them in the class of wolves in sheeps clothing? Are we to compare them to leaders who strengthen the hands of evildoers or who prophesy in the name of false gods? Certainly not. To do so would border on spiritual abuse.

Think about it for a moment.

There are people who claim to be pastors and who even serve as pastors, but they are really not called by God to be pastors, as sincere and devoted as they might be. Do we denounce them as counterfeit shepherds?

Hardly. Instead, we say, Youre really not a pastor and you should find another area of service.

In contrast, if that person was a charlatan, an outright deceiver posing as a pastor, we would not hesitate to brand him a counterfeit shepherd.

And what about the countless thousands of pastors who made sincere mistakes when trying to help their people, ultimately hurting them in the end? Do we brand them counterfeit shepherds?

What about those who claim to be teachers of the Word but do not really have that spiritual gifting? Or those who claim to be teachers, yet they are weak in their understanding of the charismata (spiritual gifts) or they hold to an end-time view we reject? Do we brand them false teachers?

Peter wrote, But there were also false prophets among the people, just as there will be false teachers among you. They will secretly introduce destructive heresies, even denying the sovereign Lord who bought them  bringing swift destruction on themselves. Many will follow their depraved conduct and will bring the way of truth into disrepute (2 Peter 2:1).

Peter, then, answers this question for us. A false teacher is not a true believer who teaches something erroneous. A false teacher is a heretic, someone who introduces damnable doctrines into the church, someone who is hell-bound as well.

Note also that Peter compares these false teachers to false prophets. Neither term can be applied to true believers.

In the same way, Paul speaks of false apostles as servants of Satan (see 2 Corinthians 11:13-15). This is different than someone today who believes in what is called five-fold ministry (see Ephesians 4:8-16) and wrongly calls himself an apostle.

Perhaps he is called to be a pastor and is a gifted, godly leader. The fact that he wrongly calls himself apostle doesnt mean that he is a false apostle and thereby a servant of Satan.

Thats why I will never call another believer a false prophet (or false teacher or false apostle). I will call out their error, when applicable. I will call for repentance, when appropriate. And I will urge them to stop calling themselves a pastor or teacher or prophet or apostle if, in fact, that is not their calling in God. And I will urge them to step down from ministry if they are not worthy of serving in the ministry.

But unless they are clearly not part of the Body of Christ, I will not use the false term to describe them. Put another way, I will only call a false believer a false prophet.

What about the Old Testament test for prophecy? According to Deuteronomy 18:15-22, if a purported prophet (speaking in particular of a national prophet) spoke in the name of a false god or presumptuously spoke falsely on the Lords behalf, because of which their word did not come to pass, that prophet was to die.

Interestingly, however, the term false prophet does not even occur in this context, even though it would be applicable. More importantly, this is not the test for New Testament prophecy.

As I have explained elsewhere, since everyone can potentially prophesy in New Testament times, every prophetic word must be tested by others. The good is to be embraced; the bad is to be rejected (see 1 Corinthians 14:29-31; 1 Thessalonians 5:19-21).

In the case of the failed Trump prophecies, I have consistently called for accountability (see here and here for recent examples). And I believe much damage has been done because of these very public words.

I have also warned that some leaders are going off into real delusion. And on my radio show, I have played clips by so-called prophets and have said plainly that these people are not prophets at all.

But, to repeat, unless I know these people are outside the flock, either denying fundamentals of the faith or living in persistent and willful disobedience to the Lord, I will not call them false prophets.

That is because I take the Lord and His Word very seriously. I will not go beyond what is written.
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The cage-free egg bill, Senate Bill 347, currently being considered by the New Mexico Legislature is not just bad for consumers who rely on this affordable protein source, its also bad for chickens.

When a similar proposal was passed in California, voters were promised that egg prices would rise by pennies. But now those consumers are paying 90% more per dozen eggs than the rest of the nation. Why? Because cage-free chickens are more expensive to maintain. Cage-free is not the same as free-range. Cage-free chickens are raised in large barns and are more susceptible to disease from contact with other chickens. Additionally, chickens become victims of pecking order, a natural behavior that establishes dominance and endangers weaker chickens. Modern systems protect chickens from disease and each other.

Current egg production practices also protect consumers. Studies have shown that Salmonella is less prevalent in conventionally produced eggs. Eggs laid on the ground, rather than in cages, also have a greater likelihood for bacterial contamination from surface manure.

Worker health is also safeguarded through conventional production practices, since cage-free chickens are still confined in large barns and their pecking and scratching creates dust levels eight times greater than in modern systems. A common concern for workers is exposure to increased endotoxin dust levels and reduced lung function.

Consumers currently have a multitude of egg-buying options in our state. Based on your personal preference, you can choose cage-free, free-range or conventional eggs. But to mandate that all families must buy cage-free is to make eggs more expensive, compromises food safety and threatens worker health. This bill is wrong for New Mexicos families.

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The New Mexico Farm & Livestock Bureau represents more than 20,000 member families across the state.
Photo: (Photo : Photo by @JComm_BlogFeeds from Twitter )

Parents reacted over the California school board resigning after the incident of a public video conference that mocks parents over school reopening.

On Friday, Ashley Stalf, a California mother whose six-year-old daughter attends the Oakley Union elementary school district, retorted to a profanity-laced hot mic moment by members of the Oakley school board bashing parents over demands to return teachers to in-person instruction.

Stalf said that parents are now asking what teachers and board members say in private about them. She was "disheartened" that nobody, particularly the school's superintendent, spoke out against the comments in the meeting.

The documented Wednesday night meeting was posted on social media and showed the board members who seemed to think that the forum was private. Brizendine seemed to be insulting parents who "want their babysitters back."

READ: On School Reopening Debate: Parents and Teachers Pit Against Each Other



After allegations that they made mocking remarks about parents during a public video meeting about reopening schools, the president, Brizendine of the Oakley Union Elementary School District, resigned Friday. Later, the three other members, Kim Beede, Erica Ippolito, and Richie Masadas, followed.

On Thursday, Hetrick released an apology for what he described as "truly inappropriate comments" made by board members during a virtual meeting on Wednesday. An organization released a meeting video that showed members of the board talking about parents needing teachers to return to classrooms.

ALSO READ: Report: CDC's School Reopening Guidelines Could Keep 90% of Schools Partially Closed

Parents' reaction to the School Board resigning

Oakley resident Thomas Will, together with Claudine Zambrana, another concerned parent in the city, said in an interview, "One of my biggest concerns is, we see this being dragged out longer and longer to [the point] where I have the concern of -- by the time my kids are ready to go in next year -- is school going to be back to normal?"

He continued, "I think we all need to take this step back and realize how shocking it is that there's been no real progress forward to get back to in-person learning because we see it around."

Will said the prolonging of school closures because of the coronavirus is a "fear many parents have." He also accused the school board of not "listening" to the parents.

"Why isn't a public school going back? I think the video shows why. Not because we can't, but because we have a school board that doesn't have the children's interest in their heart and they don't want parents' feedback,"

Meanwhile, The Chairman of the Board of Education of Contra Costa County will likely nominate temporary board members before new ones are elected or appointed.

READ MORE: On School Reopening: Should You Let Your Kids Go Back to School? An Analyst Helps You Decide

In addition to the months the students missed at the end of the 2019-2020 academic year, parents across the U.S. are campaigning for their children to return to learning from teachers in classrooms, while some students face the chance to complete an entire school year without accessing a classroom.

The White House is facing criticism for changing its position around President Biden's 100-day drive for students to return to classrooms amid the pandemic.
For a fast food chain that sells tacos  not sandwiches  Taco Bell was hardly expected to join the chicken sandwich wars  but join they did.

Today, the company announced that it is testing its own version of a crispy chicken sandwich  the Crispy Chicken Sandwich Taco  to compete with Popeyes' famed version and all the new menu offerings that have popped up to go head-to-head with it.

The Crispy Chicken Sandwich Taco is both a sandwich and a taco, with chicken fried in a crunchy tortilla chip coating and wrapped in a puffy taco-shaped bread.

Yum! Taco Bell announced today that it is testing its own version of a crispy chicken sandwich  the Crispy Chicken Sandwich Taco

Want! The Crispy Chicken Sandwich Taco is both a sandwich and a taco, with chicken fried in a crunchy tortilla chip coating and wrapped in a puffy taco-shaped bread

The chain describes its newest menu item as 'premium all-white-meat crispy chicken, marinated in jalapeno buttermilk, then seasoned with bold Mexican spices and rolled in a crunchy tortilla chip coating.'

It's served in 'puffy bread, shaped in an iconic taco form' and topped with creamy chipotle sauce.

They are offering both a regular version and a spicy version, which includes crunchy jalapeno slices.

Unfortunately, it's still just in the testing stage, meaning it's not yet being rolled out nationwide.

For now, it will be available at select locations in Nashville, Tennessee and Charlotte, North Carolina starting March 11  but Taco Bell promises the $2.49 sandwich will debut nationwide later this year.

What's more, they're teasing another crispy chicken innovation to come out this year as well.

Testing: It will be available at select locations in Nashville, TN and Charlotte, NC starting March 11  but Taco Bell promises the $2.49 sandwich will debut nationwide later this year

Woohoo! Six months after Taco Bell removed potatoes from its menu, the chain announced that its Cheesy Fiesta Potatoes and the Spicy Potato Soft Taco are finally coming back

The announcement comes just weeks after Taco Bell had customers celebrating the return of its Cheesy Fiesta Potatoes and the Spicy Potato Soft Taco, which were excised from the menu earlier in the pandemic.

Taco Bell ditched the two beloved dishes in July in an effort to 'streamline' its menu, but fans were both heartbroken and furious over the move, taking to social media and even online petitions to air their grievances.

Social media users ranted and complained, and thousands signed petitions demanding Taco Bell rectify the mistake.

Many were upset because they simply loved the dishes, while others pointed out their importance to vegetarian diners.

But in January, they announced that potatoes will make their triumphant return on March 11.

As for the Crispy Chicken Sandwich Taco, it joins a growing array of chicken sandwiches introduced to fast food menus since Popeyes debuted its own in the summer of 2019.

Flashback: Popeyes inspired chaos in the US with its first ever fried chicken sandwich in the summer of 2019

Must-have: The sandwich sold out in weeks and didn't return until November of that year (pictured: a NY location in August 2019)

The sandwich first hit stores in early August of that year, marking the first time in the company's then-45-year history that it had added a chicken sandwich to the menu on a nationwide level.

The sandwich earned so much attention that other fast food chains, including Wendy's, Chick-fil-A, and Shake Shack, immediately began feuding on Twitter over which restaurant's version is the best.

Popeyes' sandwich earned even more buzz when restaurants couldn't meet the demand and sold out in less than a month, leaving some customers throwing fits, attacking employees, and even suing the chain.

Furious food fans took to social media to complain that they couldn't get their hands on the menu item, begging Popeyes to restock.

In late August 2019, an irate Popeyes customer climbed through a drive-thru window before brawling with three employees when he learned the sandwich was sold out.

And Craig Barr, of East Ridge, Tennessee filed a $5,000 lawsuit against the fast food chain alleging false advertising' and 'deceptive business practices' by the company because he couldn't get his hands on their famous chicken sandwich.

By early November on 2019, Popeyes' sandwich was back in stores, and has remained a staple on the chain's menu.

KFC is in the process of rolling out its 'best chicken sandwich ever,' a quarter-pound double-breaded Extra Crispy chicken breast filet on a brioche bun with pickles and mayo

Meanwhile, other fast food chains have scrambled to update their own fried chicken sandwiches to get in on the action.

In January, KFC debuted its 'best chicken sandwich ever,' a quarter-pound double-breaded Extra Crispy chicken breast filet on a brioche bun with pickles and mayo or spicy sauce.

The new offering is set to be in all US locations by the end of February, and customers can check the chain's website until then to track where it's rolled out so far.

'We tested the new KFC Chicken Sandwich in Orlando last spring, and we nearly doubled our sales expectations, so we knew that we had a winner,' Andrea Zahumensky, chief marketing officer for KFC U.S., said in a press release at the time.

'Many customers hadn't considered KFC as a part of the chicken sandwich conversation, but anyone who tastes this sandwich will know, without a doubt, that we're playing to win.'

Eat up! McDonald's set to join the chicken sandwich war later this month when it launches three versions of the popular fast food dish  classic (right), deluxe (left), and spicy

That same week, McDonald's confirmed its plans to launch three varieties of a new crispy chicken sandwich  'classic,' 'deluxe,' and 'spicy'  on February 24.

All three will contain a new crispy white meat chicken fillet served with crinkle-cut pickles on a toasted, buttered potato roll.

According to Reuters, McDonald's decision to lean in to the chicken sandwich trend cames as a result of the long-term popularity of its Chicken McNuggets, which have been a permanent menu item since the 1980s. In 2020, the chain released a limited run of Spicy Chicken McNuggets, which contributed to its highest September sales in nearly a decade.

Also in January 2020, McDonald's added a different type of fried chicken sandwich to the menu: breakfast sandwiches.

They included Chicken McGriddles  crispy chicken served between two sweet griddle cakes  and McChicken Biscuit sandwiches  the same chicken between two biscuit halves.

Yum! Burger King announced today that it is set to introduce a hand-breaded chicken sandwich later this year, and has been working on perfecting the recipe since 2019

And last week, Burger King announced it is finally unveiling its own brand new fried chicken sandwich, which it promised is 'just as good as one you could get from the big chicken guys.'

'What if hand-breading were to chicken what flame-grilling is to burgers? Thats been our guiding filter to bring a delicious chicken sandwich to guests in a way only BK can,' said Ellie Doty, chief marketing officer, Burger King North America.

'Well take the time to get it right and our guests will definitely taste the difference.'

The sandwich has been in the works since 2019, and they've been testing it since last fall.

It's made with hand-breaded white meat chicken a potato bun, pickles, and signature sauce, and can be ordered regular or spicy.
After a gap of over two years, Chief Minister Nitish Kumar is all set to revive his so-called Janata Durbar to hear the grievances of the general public.

The program is expected to resume from April or latest by May, Kumar announced at an informal press conference at his office in the state Assembly.

While the administration has touted Durbars huge success in the past, it has been anything but successful.

While some people have definitely benefited from this one-on-one dialog with the Chief Minister, overall, it is just a huge waste of time particularly of those who come from faraway places hoping they will have a word with the Chief Minister only to go back home without a meeting, said a senior official who has had the opportunity to be at the Durbar in the previous terms of Nitish Kumar.

Earlier, the Durbar was held at the Chief Ministers residence at 1 Anne Marg but due to some ongoing construction at that place, the new Durbar will be held at Chief Ministers conference room at the Secretariat, officials said.

It may be noted that the Patna Secretariat is a high-security zone and it is not clear how the administration plans to screen the visitors who come in large numbers from every corner of the state.
CEDARVILLE, Ohio, Feb. 22, 2021 /PRNewswire/ -- Cedarville University's school of nursing is one of five nursing schools in Ohio to win the 2019-20 Hall of Fame award for its End-of-Life Nursing Education Consortium (ELNEC) curriculum.

The ELNEC project is a national and international education initiative to improve palliative care healthcare education, which is employed while serving those who experience a life limiting and terminal illness.

As part of their ELNEC undergraduate curriculum, the Cedarville school of nursing conducts simulation experiences for senior nursing students. Dr. Carolyn Barnett, associate professor of nursing, is the course coordinator.

In these simulation experiences, the school of nursing is transformed into Cedarville University Medical Center. Students role play clinical care situations with a computerized mannequin who is described to have cirrhosis of the liver. Throughout the clinical simulation and the journey from the emergency room to the death of the patient half of the students role play loved ones contemplating and then mourning the loss of the patient, while the remainder of students serve in various medical staff roles.

"Toward the end of the simulation experience, students experience a veteran recognition ceremony playing roles of family members and the healthcare team," said Dr. Beth Delaney, associate professor of nursing.

As the patient is dying, the simulation process teaches nurses how to care for a patient who is dying, their families, and the importance of spiritual assessment.

"We teach our nurses the importance and understanding of spiritual resources as a patient approaches death. If a patient is interested in becoming a person of faith, we incorporate ways nurses are able to lead someone to Christ," said Delaney.

Cedarville's simulation process also implements The Pause, where caregivers gather around the bedside to honor the life of the patient with a moment of silence after the family has departed. This also helps with self-care for the health care team as they cope with loss of patients and honors the care that has been provided.

Dr. Delaney is a board-certified Advanced Hospice and Palliative Care Nurse who has integrated her palliative care training with teaching opportunities at Cedarville. Students learn this content as early as sophomore year.

Delaney was honored as the 2019 ELNEC Person of Excellence.

Cedarville University is an accredited, Baptist institution with an enrollment of 4,550 undergraduate, graduate, and online students. For more information about the University, visit www.cedarville.edu.

SOURCE Cedarville University

Related Links

http://www.cedarville.edu



Texans were forced into desperate measures last week as winter weather impacted basic needs and residents scrapped for things like water.

Numerous stories showing how Texans fought to endure the unprecedented burden left behind by the storm began circulating after residents realized they'd be without energy and water for a while. One story, at a San Antonio Stripes location, caught national attention including that of Erin Brockovich. Yes, THE Erin Brockovich.

On Facebook, a Stripes employee named Bonnie Valdez shared what she found at her location on the morning of Feb. 17. The night before marked the city's second day of impassable roads, freezing temperatures and energy woes. Valdez was not immediately available to comment, but said online that "all" of the water packages that were outside her store were taken.

RELATED: H-E-B updates store hours, implements more product limits in wake of winter weather

"Understandable everyone needs water," she wrote in a Facebook post.

When she opened the door to the location, she found a pile of bills that were slipped under the door to pay for what was taken, totaling more than $600.

"My store made 620 dollars when it was closed," she said in the post which garnered more than 90,000 shares.

RELATED: CPS disabled autopay feature in wake of energy crisis

The story eventually hit Twitter with the help of Brockovich, the environmental activist whose legal battle against Pacific Gas & Electric over polluting the water supply of Hinkley, Calif. spurred the 2000 movie starring Julia Roberts.

Brockovich noted that most of the people who left behind cash overpaid.

"#TexasStrong," she tweeted.

Since then, the city has set up multiple water distribution sites to help residents get access to clean water. The sites will operate daily until March 6. See the full list of addresses here.

Madalyn Mendoza covers news and puro pop culture for MySA.com | mmendoza@mysa.com | @maddyskye

Mumbai : Mohan Delkar, seven-term Lok Sabha member from Dadra and Nagar Haveli, was found dead in a Mumbai hotel on Monday, police said.

The body of Delkar (58), Independent MP from Dadra and Nagar Haveli Union Territory, was found at the sea-facing hotel in south Mumbai's Marine Drive area, a police official said.

The official said a suicide note in Gujarati was also found along with the body. The cause of death will be known after autopsy, he added.

An accidental death report is being registered based on preliminary information, the official said.

Delkar was in May 2019 elected to the 17th Lok Sabha, his seventh term in the House.

He was also a member of the Standing Committee on Personnel, Public Grievances, Law and Justice and a member of the Consultative Committee, Ministry of Home Affairs of the Lower House.

Delkar is survived by wife, a son and a daughter.

An advocate for tribal rights, Mohan Sanjibhai Delkar began his career as a trade union leader in Silvassa. He was first elected to the 9th Lok Sabha from Dadra and Nagar Haveli constituency in 1989 as a Congress nominee.

He won six consecutive elections from the constituency during 1989-2009, failing to retain the seat in the Lok Sabha elections in 2009 and 2014. However, he successfully contested the 17th Lok Sabha as an Independent candidate.

Delkar won the 1989, 1991 and 1996 elections as a Congress candidate and the 1998 election as a BJP candidate. He rejoined the Congress and unsuccessfully contested in 2009 and 2014.

This story has been published from a wire agency feed without modifications to the text. Only the headline has been changed.

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WASHINGTON  Ted Cruzs political career already featured many surprise twists before a jaunt to Mexico this week brought him a new level of notoriety.

The Texas senator was once the biggest threat to Donald Trump capturing the 2016 presidential nomination. During a particularly bitter stretch of that years Republican primary, Cruz called Trump a coward and pathological liar. By last month, however, Cruz was one of Trumps staunchest allies and a leader in the former presidents baseless attempt to overturn the November election.

Such shifts are intended to keep Cruz in a strong position with the GOP base if he runs for the White House again in 2024. But theyve also turned him into one of Washingtons most villainized figures, someone willing to take any politically convenient position if it keeps his future ambitions alive.

Cruz is under further attack for traveling to Cancun while his constituents suffered through a deadly winter storm that left hundreds of thousands without power and running water. His explanation  that his daughters pushed for the getaway because they were out of school  was particularly panned.

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The optics of the trip are hardly ideal. But the question is whether, three years before he faces voters again, the political fallout will last.

Ted Cruz is feeling the first post-Trump controversy, said New Hampshire-based Republican strategist Mike Biundo. I dont think anybody knows exactly what will happen in this new reality that were living in.

Before Trump got to Washington, scandals, lies and sometimes even simple but major gaffes wrecked political careers.

Despite later winning a congressional seat, former South Carolina Gov. Mark Sanford will forever be remembered for fabricating a trek along the Appalachian Trail, just as former New York Rep. Anthony Weiner was undone by repeated sexting scandals and ex-Texas Gov. Rick Perry couldnt live down the debate stage moment of forgetting the third of three federal agencies hed promised to eliminate.

Once Trump was in the White House, his outlandish antics attracted so much attention that something that simply looked bad, like a senators leaving on vacation while his state was suffering, wouldnt receive much notice.

Cruz is now navigating how much damage control is needed in a post-Trump political landscape.

He rushed home on Thursday and told reporters the trip was obviously a mistake. But he made no public appearances on Friday, and his office didnt answer questions about his schedule or what he was doing to help Texans cope with the storm. His office simply released a statement backing Gov. Greg Abbotts request for federal assistance.

Still, Cruz is still the best-known leader in the countrys largest red state, with a far higher national profile than Abbott, who has also been mentioned as a possible 2024 presidential contender, and Sen. John Cornyn, who coasted to reelection last year by a more comfortable margin than Cruz, who narrowly edged Democrat Beto ORourke in 2018.

Alice Stewart, a GOP strategist and veteran of Cruzs presidential campaign, noted that the senator has years before hell have to run for reelection or president or both in 2024. Thats a lot of time to put the Cancun trip in the rearview mirror, even if Cruzs political opponents will continue to trumpet it.

People have come to tolerate a lot more during and after the era of Trump, said Stewart, who noted that while social media often intensifies political scandals, it also tends to shorten their lifespans.

Rick Tyler also worked for Cruzs 2016 campaign but has frequently criticized the senator for kowtowing to Trump since then. He said that when Texas was down and out and embarrassed, frankly, Cruzs trip to the beach was unforgivable: Theres no way this is going to be forgotten.

Cruz is very beatable, Tyler said of the senators reelection prospects, especially if he tries again for the White House the same year. Hes got to decide. By doing one or the other, you risk losing both.

Of course, Cruz has effectively used being one of Washingtons most detested figures to his advantage in the past. He came to Congress as a conservative insurgent who infuriated both parties  even prompting fellow Republican Sen. Lindsey Graham of South Carolina to once joke that no senator would convict one of their own for murdering Cruz in the chamber.

In 2016, Cruz won the Iowa caucuses and proved to have a solid national base of support, setting up a tense primary fight that would last for months. At one point, Trump attacked the looks of Cruzs wife and baselessly suggested that his father had a hand in the assassination of John F. Kennedy. Cruz lashed out at Trump in response and was later booed off the stage at that years Republican National Convention for failing to endorse the New Yorker.

But in the four years since, Cruz transformed into one of Trumps biggest champions in Congress.

Among those close to Cruz, there is a sense that the senator hurt himself politically this week but that he remains well positioned for another White House bid should he opt to run again. His team believes Cruz is the most popular prospective 2024 candidate not named Trump among likely Republican primary voters.

Cruz was a fundraising force for his Republican colleagues in the House and Senate leading up to Novembers election. And his own fundraising has surged in the months since  including after he stood against the certification of President Joe Bidens victory in early January. His small-dollar donor base, in particular, which was large to begin with, has grown dramatically, aides say.

Even amid calls for Cruz to resign for his role in helping encourage Trump supporters who staged a deadly insurrection at the U.S. Capitol, Republicans in San Antonio organized a rally celebrating him as courageous.

Cruz is also planning to attend next weeks influential Conservative Political Action Conference, where he can further ingratiate himself with the GOPs most fervent activists, who arent likely to hold Cancun against him.

Cruz allies note that the second-place finisher in the previous Republican primary often becomes the nominee in the next election. But moving forward, there is a sense internally that Cruzs political strength is directly linked to his relationship with Trump, whose feelings are difficult to gauge.

Regina Thomson, a former Cruz loyalist who fought Trumps nomination at the 2016 GOP convention, has since warmed to Trump. She said that Cruzs Cancun trip didnt bother her, but that ultimately, she and other conservative activists would likely follow Trumps lead.

If you would ask a lot of (Cruzs former) grassroots supporters today, theyd say Trump did such a good job theyd like him to run again, Thomson said. And if Trump doesnt run, I think a lot of people will look to him to see who hes supporting.

___

Peoples reported from New York.
The International Atomic Energy Agency (IAEA) will not have access to the cameras of Iran's nuclear facilities after Tuesday, but their data will be stored for three months if US sanctions are lifted. This was noted in a statement issued by the Atomic Energy Organization of Iran (AEOI) following talks with IAEA Director General Rafael Grossi, Fars news agency reported.

Iran will record and maintain the data of these cameras for three months, the statement said. But during that period, the IAEA will not have access to these data, and the latter will remain exclusively at the disposal of Iran.

The AEOI statement also said that if the US sanctions were completely lifted within three months, Iran would provide the aforesaid data to the IAEA. Otherwise, they will be deleted forever.

WEST LAFAYETTE, Ind.  In the early weeks of the COVID-19 pandemic, as governments issued lockdown orders and stay-at-home advisories, grocery store shelves went bare. Shoppers scooped up flour and yeast, canned goods, frozen vegetables, meats and any other staples that they were concerned could run out before they got the chance to return to the stores.

With few exceptions, there were no real concerns about food shortages in the United States, said Jayson Lusk, distinguished professor and head of Purdues Department of Agricultural Economics. However, there was no easy way for consumers or policymakers to know that since data that could be used to calculate the risk to the countrys food supply is spread piecemeal across multiple government agencies like the U.S. Department of Agriculture and the Bureau of Labor Statistics.

This experience motivated Lusk to lead a partnership among Purdue University, the Foundation for Food & Agriculture Research and Microsoft to create open-access online dashboards that can track and report the factors that could lead to food supply disruptions during national and global emergencies.

The data are not always user-friendly for people unless youre a specialist and know where to go to find it all, Lusk said. There were disruptions for consumers that didnt have to occur. In the early aftermath of that, I was part of a group brainstorming the types of information that needs to be accessible and what we can do to help the food and agriculture sectors, government and consumers understand whats going on during an emergency. We believe these dashboards can help.

FFAR is providing more than $220,000 to Purdue, with Microsoft matching those funds and supplying cloud technology, business intelligence, artificial intelligence and machine learning tools for the project. The total investment in the project is more than $500,000.

The coronavirus pandemic has highlighted the need for easily accessible data on potential vulnerabilities in the food supply chain, said Sally Rockey, executive director of FFAR. This research is exposing those vulnerabilities in real time, providing policymakers and industry with the information needed to prevent bottlenecks and ensure food security.

While the dashboards are being developed with COVID-19 in mind, they will be adaptable to any other situation that could cause a food supply disruption. The work will build off the Purdue Food and Agriculture Vulnerability Index, which quantifies the potential risk to the supply of agricultural products because of farm and agricultural worker illnesses from COVID-19.

There are certainly still concerns about COVID, but the idea is to develop multiple dashboards on different topics so that were prepared to respond to a variety of issues that might come up during a large-scale emergency, Lusk said. The dashboard we have now is based on publicly available data and only tells you so much. With these new dashboards, well integrate machine learning and make extrapolations to better estimate and predict disruptions in the food supply sector.

One area that has been a concern during COVID-19 is the meat processing sector, where high rates of COVID among workers can disrupt operations. Lusk said dashboards will zoom in on the county level to show the percentage of residents who are sick and use machine learning to estimate the number of workers in a plant that may be affected or could be in the near future. That information can be useful to health officials and government agencies, who could shift resources to those areas or enact rules to counteract the problems.

The work also offers researchers data to identify the impacts of policy decisions during a pandemic or other type of large-scale emergency.

These dashboards may give us the opportunity to understand how regulations impact food supply during a pandemic, Lusk said. That can help inform future decisions so that we can keep food flowing from areas of low demand to high and getting to the people who most need it in difficult times.

Writer: Brian Wallheimer; 765-532-0233; bwallhei@purdue.edu

Source: Jayson Lusk, 765-494-4191; jlusk@purdue.edu

Agricultural Communications: 765-494-8415;

Maureen Manier, Department Head, mmanier@purdue.edu

Agriculture News Page
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Amit Sadh, now a prominent actor in the OTT space has been known for his roles in films that include the likes of Kai Po Che, Guddu Rangeela, and Sarkar 3, which is a political thriller.

For the uninitiated, Amit Sadh has always been part of the industry.

As a teen, he was a part of the teen drama Kyun Hota Hai Pyarrr, and later, acted in a few daily soaps before appearing on the reality show Bigg Boss.

Last year, he gained traction for reprising his role as the stern cop, Kabir Sawant in the second season of Breathe, called Breathe: Into The Shadows.

This was followed by a number of OTT projects like Yaara, Shakuntala Devi, and Avrodh: The Siege Within.

His dedicated following can't stop talking about his unwavering screen presence and his impeccable acting skills. But more than that, he also has a relatively effortless sense of style.

In fact, while he knows how to clean up well for formal events, he also knows what works best for the everyday grind.

His style can be defined as rather laidback and more elemental. A recent outfit of his was a testament to the fact. Take a look at the outfit here:

 Viral Bhayani

 Viral Bhayani

Amid Sadh was spotted shooting on the streets of Mumbai. He was also riding a bike in some of these pictures and then sitting on a staircase nearby.



 Viral Bhayani

 Viral Bhayani

He was seen wearing a black jersey with a full-sleeved vest underneath. The jersey had #MonstersReloaded printed on it in a neon green shade.



Along with it, he wore a pair of grey shorts. What's surprising is the fact that he wore a pair of tights underneath as well.

 Viral Bhayani

Essentially, he was wearing two pairs of shorts for his bike ride. We're glad that he was wearing appropriate bike riding gear and taking road safety more safely.



On the work front, he will next be seen in Geher which is being directed by Ram Gopal Varma, scheduled to release in September of this year.
YREKA, Calif -- Early Sunday afternoon, the Yreka Police Department informed the public that two Yreka brothers missing since Monday have been found dead.

According to police, the two brothers were found deceased 200 feet down a mountainside near Pioneer Bridge along Route 263. The occupants of that vehicle were identified as the two missing bothers.

On February 20, 2021, at 12:56 AM, YPD requested the assistance of the California Highway Patrol to search for the two missing Yreka residents.

Shortly later, YPD was able to identify a possible location from the missing person's cellular phone records. Yreka CHP officers responded to State Route 263 and Pioneer Bridge and searched the area on foot.

According to police, a little while later, the missing vehicle and both occupants were located approximately 200 feet down the mountainside.

Because of the steep and rough terrain, the CHP Northern Division Air Operations Unit had to be called in to assist with the recovery of both brothers from the mountainside.

Yreka CHP is handling the crash investigation. Anyone who may have witnessed the traffic collision are is being asked to call the Yreka CHP and speak with Officer S. Gordon regarding the incident.
BY DAMALI MUKHAYE

The Minister of Lands, Housing and Urban Development, Ms Betty Kamya has called for a crisis meeting after four institutions are fighting over ownership of Kyambogo University land.

Kyambogo University and Buganda kingdom are claiming ownership of about 407 acres, housing the main campus of Kyambogo University located in Banda, Nakawa Division, and Kampala District.

Meanwhile, Kampala District Land Board (KDLB) is claiming ownership of Kyambogo University link land (part of the 407 acres) amounting to about 60 acres while the Ministry of education is claiming 10 acres of land, part of which is being claimed by KDLB.

The letter dated February 18, KFM has seen summons the Vice Chancellor of Kyambogo University Prof Eli Katunguka, the chairperson of Kampala District Board David Balondemo, the Chairperson Uganda land Commission Beatrice Byenkya and the Attorney General of Buganda kingdom to solve the disagreements.

Kamya requests all the three institutions to go with all documents they have to help the meeting come to a logical conclusion.

The meeting will take place this week on Thursday.

Kamya has also instructed Kampala District Land Board to halt all activities on the subject land until this matter is resolved conclusively.
Fiji is the Commonwealth nation providing the most recruits to the British Army under a recruitment drive launched two years ago.

The island nation 16,000km from the UK has provided the biggest number of troops since entry requirements changed in 2018, making it easier for Commonwealth citizens to sign up.

Fiji Soldier in UK : Photo courtesy of Royal British Legion HQ- Fiji Branch

A total of 620 recruits enlisted up to September 2020, according to newly-released figures from the Ministry of Defence (MoD). Ghana was the next biggest nation providing soldiers, with 230 citizens answering the call. Fiji, which has a long association with the British military, has made a contribution far outstripping its size.

The country in the South Pacific has a population of 900,000, compared with 30 million people in Ghana.

David McMullen, of Citzenship4Soldiers, has fought along Commonwealth troops serving with the British military in Afghanistan and now campaigns for their citizenship rights in the UK.

The veteran said: Much like with the Gurkhas, its quite a prestigious thing for Fijians to enter into the armed forces, its similar to becoming a doctor or solicitor in the UK. Its also quite a poor country in many ways, so to come to the UK and send money home is very appealing.

The British armed forces are massively undermanned so its increasingly falling on countries like Fiji to plug that gap. McMullen, who served with 7 Rifles, said there was a proud affinity between Fiji and the British armed forces, which included the gallantry shown by Sgt Talaiasi Laba Labalaba at the Battle of Mirbat in Oman.

The British-Fijian SAS soldier was fatally shot after spending hours repelling hundreds of enemy troops during the ferocious siege in 1972 and was awarded a posthumous Victoria Cross. Saint Vincent in the Caribbean was the nation with the third biggest number of recruits, with 235 citizens joining the British military. Out of the total provided by Fiji, more than 345 went into the infantry, with the next biggest number, around 100, joining the Royal Artillery. Recruits have also enlisted from other countries including India, Jamaica, Kenya, Malawi, Nigeria and South Africa, the dataset shows.

In November 2018, the MoD made it easier for people in Commonwealth countries to enlist, lifting a requirement for recruits to have lived in the UK for five years. The move was intended to address a manpower shortage, with the aim of adding another 1,350 troops to the ranks every year.

The data shows 1,620 people joined the untrained intake from Commonwealth countries between November 2018 and September 2020. Of this number, 1,480 enlisted in the nine months last year as the drive got underway.

The shortage is said to have continued, with The Daily Mail citing a leaked MoD report earlier this month showing the infantry needs 14,984 soldiers but only has 11,301 that could be sent to a battlefield. The Army responded by saying it met its target for infantry recruits in 2020 and is confident that it has the numbers and talent required.

An MoD spokesperson said: Soldiers from across the Commonwealth play an extremely valuable role keeping this country safe. Recruits from countries such as Fiji bring valued skills and unique perspectives that enhance our operational effectiveness, he said.





SOURCE: METRO UK/PACNEWS / ONE PNG





Next : Marshall Islands follows Palau, FSM in initiating Forum withdrawal




By Andrew Chung and Lawrence Hurley

WASHINGTON (Reuters) - The U.S. Supreme Court on Monday brought a formal end to eight lingering disputes pursued by former President Donald Trump and his allies related to the Nov. 3 presidential election including a Republican challenge to the extension of Pennsylvania's deadline to receive mail-in ballots.

The justices turned away appeals by the Republican Party of Pennsylvania and Republican members of the state legislature of a ruling by Pennsylvania's top court ordering officials to count mail-in ballots that were postmarked by Election Day and received up to three days later.

Three of the nine-member court's six conservative justices - Clarence Thomas, Samuel Alito and Neil Gorsuch - dissented from the decision not to hear the Pennsylvania case.

Trump, a Republican, lost his re-election bid to Democrat Joe Biden, who took office on Jan. 20. Biden defeated Trump by more than 80,000 votes in Pennsylvania and the legal case focused on fewer than 10,000 ballots.

The high court, as expected, also rejected two Trump appeals challenging Biden's victories in Pennsylvania and Wisconsin based on claims that the rules for mail-in ballots in the two election battleground states were invalid. The court also turned away separate cases brought by Trump allies in Pennsylvania, Michigan, Georgia and Arizona - all states won by Biden.

It already was clear that the high court had no intention to intervene in the cases because it did not act before Congress on Jan. 6 certified Biden's victory. That formal certification was interrupted when a pro-Trump mob stormed the U.S. Capitol. The court also turned down motions to expedite the election cases.

Trump made false claims that the presidential election was stolen from him through widespread voting fraud and irregularities.

The case brought by Pennsylvania Republicans concerned 9,428 ballots out of 6.9 million cast in the state. The Supreme Court previously rejected a Republican request to block the lower court ruling allowing the ballots to be counted.

Story continues

In his dissent, Thomas said the Supreme Court should resolve whether non-legislators, including elections officials and courts, have any power to set election rules. Thomas said it was fortunate that the state high court's ruling did not involve enough ballots to affect the election's outcome.

"But we may not be so lucky in the future," Thomas wrote.

The election dispute in Pennsylvania, like in several other states, involved changes implemented to facilitate voting during the coronavirus pandemic, a public health crisis that prompted a surge in mail-in ballots as voters sought to avoid crowded polling places.

The Pennsylvania Supreme Court sided with the state's Democratic Party and various Democratic officials and candidates who argued that an Election Day mail-in ballot receipt deadline would violate the state constitution's guarantee of "free and equal" elections given the pandemic and warnings by the U.S. Postal Service over its ability to deliver ballots in time.

The state Republican Party intervened in the case to oppose the deadline extension. It argued that the state court usurped the Republican-controlled legislature's authority in ordering the extension.

Pennsylvania Attorney General Josh Shapiro, a Democrat, told the justices in a filing that particularly given Trump's repeated attempts to overturn the election result based on unfounded claims of voting fraud, "the court should not plunge itself into the political thicket by granting a case that will not affect the outcome of any election."

(Reporting by Andrew Chung in New York and Lawrence Hurley in Washington; Editing by Will Dunham)
Archisman BHPian

Join Date: Feb 2021 Location: Vadodara Posts: 28 Thanked: 155 Times

I won a Santro in an Indian Oil-Hyundai contest, by filling 2000 bucks of fuel! How a Prize car became a prized car



#Longish post alert



After lurking around the forum for a year or so and two failed attempts at membership, the third attempt was succesful just in time for my 40th birthday. I wrote a post in Introductions sub-forum about my past cars and had mentioned about my current car which was won in a prize. Some kind members evinced interest and hence this post.



I have two cars - A 2009 Santro Xing (red) and a 2019 Santro (the prize car in question) and this thread is about the two cars.



I have ran away twice from my license tests at RTO in my younger days, after developing cold feet and nearly ruining my a few family member's cars in the meantime. Cut to 2007 when I was doing my PhD in Mumbai when I finally got my license at a ripe age of 27. Having got a job I finally mustered up courage to buy a car and enter the 2009 Santro Xing. This after test driving a Zen Estillo and Alto. The car became my primary ride and has taken me to Daman, Lonavla, Pune, Alibag and Nasik (15000km in 4 years). Low usage was mostly because I used to work in Mumbai High offshore for 15 days a month. The car has performed wonderfully and the pickup and highway manners is something to die for (a trait still strong after 12 years).



I was transferred to Silchar and thanks to HORRRRRRRRIBLE roads the car racked up 4000Km in 4 years. Me, the missus and young son did a Silchar-Agartala road trip and that was that pretty much it. As the car used to drive very little,I had to once change the entire steering assembly as it had jammed up.



In 2017, I was transferred to Vadodara and brought my Santro Xing with me. The NOC followed nearly a year later but it was a paper NOC and Vadodara RTO could not enter the data and the car pretty much became a dangerous alien in Gujarat. I was on the lookout to buy a new car and had zeroed in on Honda Amaze. Took a test drive and found it nice. It was then I saw a hoarding which informed that on filling up Rs 2000 worth petrol/diesel one could enter a contest of IndianOil-Hyundai and the grand prizes were 5 i20 and 5 Eon cars.



I entered the contest just for fun in September 2018. I forgot all about that but thankfully kept the fuel receipt in my wallet. Suddenly in November 2018, I received a call informing me that I won a Hyundai Eon and they requested my details. Sounded like a scam but gave them my details.



Cutting a long story short, after many months and much to-and-fro between myself, Hyundai and Indian Oil, a new Santro was delivered to me in October 2019 as Eon had been discontinued. I was initially offered the base model of the Santro but politely asked if I can be given the next higher model if I paid the difference from my pocket. This was agreed to and all in all I paid about 45% of the car's on-road value as taxes (includes both Income Tax and RTO) and insurance.



The new car is a white Santro which is parked next to my old red Santro Xing, its namesake but very different car.



The new car has taken me to Ahmedabad multiple times and I have made a few trips to temples in Dakor (Ranchodji) and Kavi (Stambeshwar) for divine blessings and recently to Statue of Unity. It has raked up 6000km in 1.5 years which includes the lockdown period of many months when it never went out of Vadodara.



I have added a touchscreen music system and a rear view camera and put on fabric seat covers. The car thankfully has not given much grief except a few niggles here and there.



I am in a prime position to compare the Santro Xing and the new Santro as I drive them interchangeably every day depending on my mood.





Some view on the 2009 Santro Xing

1. The car has superb pickup and can race away even on open city roads. I love it when I leave behind bigger and more powerful cars at the traffic light. It has remarkable stability at low speed and at very high speeds on Expressways like Mumbai-Pune and Vadodara-Ahmedabad.

2. Even after 12 years, NHV levels are minimum. Most of the time I cant hear the engine noise.

3. The car built is sturdy. There have been two major accidents (both involving other cars plowing into my car breaking traffic rules) and damage has been less. Most other cars would have been really gone.

4. Driver comfort is excellent. The tall boy design is a boon. I literally boss over Balenos, i20s and most sedans. The view beyond the bonnet is very very advantageous in city traffic

5. Not so good fact is that 12 years and a discontinued model means spare parts are sometimes difficult to find and takes a few days to come even in a well connected place like Vadodara. This problem was acute in Silchar.

6. Hyundai service centers may be ubiquitous but costs have gone up steeply atleast for small cars. The car has died right in the middle of the road twice and I had to be towed away and repairs has been costly.

7. I love the tall OVRMs. Best in any class probably



Overall in about 12 years of Santro Xing ownership the good memories are more than bad ones. Only those who have driven the Santro Xing will know why it ruled city streets at one time giving good competition to 800s and Altos.



Some views on the new Santro

1. A very refined car (a very Mr Darcy). Smart, suave and decent looker. A city car if there is a category such.

2. Highway manners are excellent on expressways. Never feel a roll even a high speeds. A trait shared with its older namesake.

3. Pickup, acceleration are not so good. For a city car it can be challenging to drive at times.

4. Lower car means less presence on roads.

5. Noise levels are high especially during early morning starts.

6. Very small rear window and not so tall OVRMs make reversing tricky. Also the older car lets in lots of light.



One interesting thing is that even with notoriously bad traffic manners in Gujarat, every one including larger cars like Balenos, i20s and even Mahindras leave way for the Older Santro which commands respect but these very cars don't even acknowledge the new Santro.



That's all about my Prize car and its predecessor. Two Santros joined only by their name and nothing else. Attached Thumbnails







Attached Images

The PPP loan option might seem more attractive to businesses who wont be able to apply for shuttered venue grants until the third wave, he said. The SVO grants are structured so that the first applications in the first two weeks will be open to businesses that lost 90 percent or more of revenues in the pandemic months of 2020 versus the same time period in 2019.
The Italian to Congo, an Italian carabineri police officer and their Congolese driver were killed Monday in an attack on a U.N. convoy in an area that is home to myriad rebel groups, the Foreign Ministry and local people said.

The ambush occurred as the convoy was travelling from Goma, Congo's eastern regional capital, to visit a World Food Program school feeding project in Rutshuru, the U.N. agency said in a statement.

WFP said it was seeking information from local authorities, as the ambush occurred on a road that had previously been cleared for travel without security escorts.

Luca Attanasio, Italy's to the country since 2017, carabinieri officer Vittorio Iacovacci and their driver were killed. Other members of the convoy were injured, WFP said.

The attack occurred in the territory of Nyiragongo, in North Kivu, the same area, known as the three antennas, where two Britons were kidnapped by unidentified armed men in 2018, said Mambo Kaway, president of a local civil society group.

There were five people aboard the vehicle, including the Italian ambassador, Kaway said. The driver died after being shot with several bullets, and were wounded, he said.

The situation is very tense," he added.

The wounded were taken to a nearby U.N. hospital.





Luca Attanasio, Italy's ambassador to the country since 2017

More than 2,000 civilians were killed last year in eastern Congo in violence by armed groups whose brutal attacks using machetes and heavy weapons have also displaced millions in what the calls one of the worst humanitarian crises as attacks ramp up this year.

EU foreign policy chief Josep Borrell informed the bloc's foreign ministers of the incident at a meeting he is chairing in Brussels and presented his condolences to and the

The news (is) extremely worrying, and we are following the situation closely with the EU delegation" in Congo, EU Commission spokeswoman Nabila Massrali said.

Italian President Sergio Mattarella and Premier Mario Draghi expressed their condolences to the families of the victims. Foreign Minister Luigi Di Maio vowed to ascertain who was responsible for killing exemplary" Italians as they did their jobs.

The circumstances of this brutal attack are still unclear and no effort will be spared to shed light on what happened," he said in a statement.

Congo's east is home to myriad rebel groups all vying for control of the mineral-rich land.

There are 5.2 million people displaced in the Central African nation, according to the Children's Agency, which said in a report Friday that this represents more displaced than in any other country except Syria. In the past year alone, 50 per cent have been displaced, it said.

The nation the size of Western Europe suffered through one of the most brutal colonial reigns ever known before undergoing decades of corrupt dictatorship. Back-to-back civil wars later drew in a number of neighboring countries.

And many rebel groups have come and gone during the U.N. mission's years of operation, at times invading the eastern regional capital, Goma, where the ambassador was killed.

In January 2019, Congo experienced its first peaceful democratic transfer of power since independence in 1960 following the election of President Felix Tshisekedi.

He succeeded strongman Joseph Kabila in a disputed election marked by allegations of large-scale fraud.

The U.N. peacekeeping mission, known by its acronym MONUSCO, has been working to draw down its at least 16,000-troop presence and transfer its security work to Congolese authorities.

After serving in diplomatic roles in Switzerland, Morocco and Nigeria, Attanasio was appointed ambassador at the Italian embassy in Kinshasa in September 2017.

Attanasio was awarded the Nassiriya Prize for Peace in October in a ceremony held in a church in southern

Attanasio was cited for his commitment aimed at safeguarding peace between peoples and for having contributed to the realization of important humanitarian projects, distinguishing himself for altruism, dedication and the spirit of service for people in difficulty, said La Repubblica daily in its account of the ceremony.

La Repubblica quoted Attanasio as saying, All that which we take for granted in isn't in Congo, where, unfortunately, there are so many problems to resolve.

Attanasio described the role of the ambassador there is above all to be close to the Italians but also to contribute to achieving peace. Some 1,000 Italians live in Congo.
Just over thirteen months since COVID-19 first reached Australia the nationwide vaccination program has begun, with tens of thousands of aged care residents, healthcare workers and quarantine staff rolling up their sleeves for vaccines.

An army of nurse immunisers have begun travelling to aged care facilities to immunise the elderly residents in 190 towns across the country, while 16 hospitals have become vaccination hubs for the workers at the frontline of the pandemic response.

John Healy receiving his Pfizer vaccine on Sunday. Credit:Edwina Pickles

The vaccine rollout was launched in Sydney on Sunday, with Prime Minister Scott Morrison and Chief Medical Officer Professor Paul Kelly receiving the vaccine in front of a large media pack.

The countrys first vaccine recipient, 84-year-old Jane Malysiak, received a round of applause after getting a dose of the Pfizer shot.
Zambian communications regulator, the Zambia Information and Communication Technology Authority (ZICTA), has awarded the nations fourth mobile operator licence to Beeline Telecoms.

The Lusaka Times says that Beeline Telecoms, which is a wholly Zambian-owned company, has to start operations within the next six months. If it doesnt it risks its licence being revoked, which would be an unfortunate development given that the previous award-winner, UZI Zambia, had its license withdrawn in June 2020. UZI Zambia lost the licence  over two years after the original award was made  because the company failed to launch in time. ZICTA twice postponed the deadline before revoking the licence.

In September last year, ZICTA again invited applications for the new network licence. Beeline met the minimum criteria and now has to be ready to offer services within the next half-year.

Its not an easy playing field in which to compete given that major regional giants MTN and Airtel as well local telecoms firm Zamtel are already established in the market. In a population of around 17.3 million there were, according to Statista, 96.41 mobile subscriptions registered for every 100 people in 2019.

Despite this, again according to the Lusaka Times, ZCTA Director General Patrick Mutimushi has said the decision to introduce a fourth mobile operator was arrived at after conducting an analysis of the ICT sector market. One of the drivers for the new license was said to be the need to raise the levels of competition.
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It was unlikely that the residents of Islamic Sicily drank alcohol, but that didn't stop them being involved in a possible thriving wine trade, according to a new study.

Chemical residues of grapes found in medieval containers from Sardinia and Pisa led researchers from the University of York to speculate on how they were used.

They found that a type of container from the 9-11th century, called amphorae - traditionally used for transporting wine - contained the chemical grape traces used in wine, despite evidence the Islamic community in Sicily did not drink alcohol.

Being found as far away as Sardinia and Pisa suggests the wine was in the containers for export, possibly across the entire medieval Mediterranean.

The Islamic empire expanded into the Mediterranean regions during the 7-9th century, into regions that produced and consumed wine on a large scale.

A 9-11th century amphorae - a type of travelling wine carrying vessel used to transport the drink between different locations for trade

History of Sicily: Arrival of Arabs in Mazara del Valloon 17 June 827. The Islamic empire expanded into the Mediterranean regions during the 7-9th century, into regions that produced and consumed wine on a large scale

THE WINE TRADE AFTER THE ROMAN EMPIRE FELL Although wine was one of the most important commodities in the Mediterranean during the Roman Em-pire, less is known about wine commerce after its fall. There are also questions over whether the trade continued in regions under Islamic control during the final centuries of the first millennium. To investigate, researchers from the University of York decided to investigate the contents of pots dating to the Islamic period in Sicily. They undertook systematic analysis of grapevine products in archaeological ceramics, encompassing the chemical analysis of 109 pots from the fifth to the eleventh centuries, as well as numerous control samples. Authors distinguished grapevines from other fruit-based products with a high degree of confidence. The team showed 'beyond doubt' that wine continued to be traded through Sicily during the Islamic period. Wine was supplied locally within Sicily but also exported from Palermo to ports under Christian control. Advertisement

Working with researchers from the University of Rome Tor Vergata, the team analysed the content of the amphorae.

They started by identifying chemical traces trapped in the body of the container, and found compounds comparable to those found in ceramic jars used by some producers today for maturing wine.

Together with a comparison of wine-soaked sherds degraded in the ground, the team concluded that the fruit trapped in the vessel was indeed grapes.

Study author Martin Carver said: 'Alcohol did not - and still does not - play a major role in the cultural life of Islamic society, so we were very interested in the question of how this medieval community had thrived in a wine-dominated region.

'Not only did they thrive, but built a solid economic foundation that gave them a very promising future, with the wine industry one of the core elements of success.'

There was a wine trade already in Sicily before the Islamic occupation but it was mostly imported wine for local consumption - rather than production.

This new archaeological evidence suggests that the Islamic community had seen the opportunity of this, and turned their attention to production and export.

There is no evidence, however, to suggest that members of the community actually drank the wine they were trading.

Direct evidence for the consumption of alcohol is difficult to demonstrate in the archaeological record, and there are no historic sources in Sicily at this time to determine what the community was drinking, the team said.

Dr Lea Drieu, who carried out the analysis on the chemicals said they had to develop new techniques to determine if it was grape traces inside the container.

As part of the study the team examined dozens of pots and jars dating to the Islamic period in the Mediterranean to determine whether wine was still traded after the Roman empire fell

Researchers found that wine was being traded widely from Sicily throughout the region despite locals not drinking alcohol due to their faith

'The tell-tale organic residues found in the amphorae in Sicily, Palermo and elsewhere showed the content was almost certainly wine,' explained Drieu.

Islamic wine merchants appear to have given Sicilian wine a new 'branding' by using a particular type of amphorae that researchers can now trace around the country and beyond to identify their trade routes.

The team's wider research in this area shows great prosperity during this period, powered not only by the wine trade, but new crops, exchange of salted fish, cheese, spices and sugar.

A number of pots were studied and the team found 'with a high degree of certainty' evidence of wine within the chemical traces left inside the pot

Church of San Giovanni degli Eremiti, Palermo, Sicily, Italy. The church was founded in the 6th century but became a mosque after the Arab conquest of Sicily

The trade routes show increased production and commercial links between the Christian and Islamic worlds, bringing in a new era of prosperity, which worked alongside the existing 'old' industries of Sicily.

Professor Oliver Craig, who directs the BioArCh centre where the research was carried out, said they now have a 'quick and reliable' test for grape products.

'It will be interesting to investigate the deeper history, and even prehistory, of wine production and trade in the Mediterranean,' Craig added.

The findings have been published in the journal Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences.
CHINESE ambassador Xue Bing to Papua New Guinea has reaffirmed that his governments decision to support PNGs anti-pandemic efforts including donating Covid-19 vaccines.

Xue said the Chinese government would donate 100,000 doses.

Ive been talking to the health department for the procedures to get approval for the PNG government, he said.

We hope the vaccine could be here as soon as possible, so that people can get injection to protect themselves.

Xue said since the Covid-19 outbreak, both nations had been working together to fight the virus.

Last week, National Pandemic Controller David Manning told The National that they were working with Australia on what vaccine was best for PNG.

The National Control Centre continues to provide that dialogue between PNG and Australian authorities as well as the World Health Organisation (WHO), Manning said.

He said PNG could expect the vaccine around April, but the timeline depended on Australias vaccination programme for the Pacific island nations.

Australia began vaccinating its citizens yesterday, with Prime Minister Scott Morrison one of the first to get the injection.

Health secretary Dr Osborne Liko told the Australian Broadcasting Commission earlier that four vaccines had been recommended for use in Papua New Guinea.

In January, the Australian government promised to provide US$111 million (K299.76mil) for Covid-19 vaccination in PNG over three years, as part of its initiative to support governments in the Asia-Pacific region.

Statement / ONE PNG





Next : A Solomon Islands Man to stand trial for Selling Fake Government Scholarships Offers
Metro Manila (CNN Philippines, February 22)  President Rodrigo Duterte will not ease quarantine classifications until COVID-19 vaccines have been rolled out, according to a statement released Monday.

"President Rodrigo Roa Duterte gave his directive to the Cabinet that the Philippines would not be placed under Modified General Community Quarantine (MGCQ) unless there is a rollout of vaccines. The Chief Executive recognizes the importance of re-opening the economy and its impact on people's livelihoods. However, the President gives higher premium to public health and safety," said the statement from Presidential Spokesperson Harry Roque.

Roque also said Duterte wants vaccinations to "start the soonest possible time in order to ease the community quarantine."

READ: Expert urges vaccinating 'as early as possible and as many as possible'

Earlier, Senator Bong Go quoted the President as saying, "No vaccine roll out, no MGCQ muna (for now)."

He added that the President said easing restrictions was not in the best interest of the country, and that he was confident Filipinos and economic managers would understand the situation.

This development comes after Metro Manila mayors recommended a shift to the most relaxed MGCQ in March. The announcement of quarantine status for next month is also expected to be discussed by the President in his weekly address on Wednesday, February 24.

Last week, the National Economic Development Authority urged the President to place the entire country under the lowest form of community quarantine starting March 1, citing the country's need to recover from huge economic losses.

The President has also rejected the proposal to resume face-to-face classes.

In a televised briefing also on Monday, Roque said the President told him he didn't want to endanger learners and educators given that the national vaccination drive has not yet started. The order covers classes under the Education Department's jurisdiction, namely ones held in elementary and high schools, he added.

Roque also said Duterte is open to the conduct of a pilot of face-to-face classes in August, especially in areas with low numbers of COVID-19 cases.
A Message from the Chief Diversity Officer: What Weve Learned Following Racist Attack

To the UW community:

One week ago today, a racist attack was perpetrated during a Black History Month discussion conducted via Zoom by the University of Wyomings Black Studies Center. The words and images were so disturbing, hateful, violent and offensive that they shocked and outraged our community. Following the universitys administrations statement condemning the detestable disruption -- and calling for a law enforcement investigation to identify the perpetrators and hold them accountable -- Gov. Mark Gordon also issued a statement of condemnation on behalf of the entire state.

Since then, we have learned several things about the incident and its ramifications.

First, weve found that four of the five attackers leveraged anonymous VPN services physically located in the U.S. and Germany to hide their true locations. The attacker who did not use a VPN service appears to have connected from a residential broadband connection on the East Coast. The UW Police Department and the FBI are continuing the investigation. So far, there is no forensic evidence to tie any of the attackers to UW. Were glad that is the case, but it does not reduce our outrage at this vile occurrence -- nor the imperative for us to take action to address problems with racism in our community. And we commit to holding members of our campus accountable if further investigation uncovers a UW connection.

Second, we know that UW is one of many schools across the country targeted by this type of attack. Universities ranging from the University of Southern California to Gonzaga University to Rutgers University have been Zoom bombed with similar hateful, violent words and images in recent weeks and months. UWs network security analyst strongly suspects that all of the attacks are related and coordinated.

Third, and most importantly, weve learned just how seriously the incident has affected members of the UW community. While the racist attack appears to have come from outside the university, it understandably caused our students, employees of color and other people in our campus community to feel unsafe. It brought to the forefront the existence of hate speech and racist behavior here in our own community. And it has shone a brighter light on the need for the university to address ever-increasing efforts to increase our diversity as well the existence of racism -- so that we can be a welcoming, safe place for everyone, regardless of ability, age, country of origin, culture, economic class, ethnicity, gender identity, immigration status, political affiliation, race, religion, sexual orientation or world view.

On Wednesday, UWs Council on Diversity, Equity and Inclusion Subcommittee on Black Lives Matter and Systemic Racism conducted a listening session with about 50 people in attendance. Many of those participants and others expressed that the universitys initial statement about the racist attack was not strong enough; noted the concerns about safety for students of color and minority groups; said theres not enough awareness about resources and efforts underway to address our problems; and made it clear that the university must do more.

I took these concerns to heart and committed to do better, and so do others working at UW.

On Friday, I had a meeting with UW marketing and communications team members. They are going to assist my office with developing a plan to better communicate diversity, equity, justice, and inclusion information and our commitment to inclusive excellence. This includes the Council on Diversity, Equity and Inclusion subcommittees.

For instance, the Community Engagement Subcommittee has partnered with me responding to an incident of hateful symbolic and verbal violence off campus toward a member of the UW campus community. This same subcommittee is working with me, law enforcement and others to stand up a program to build better community and law enforcement relationships. We are also working on actionable steps, communication protocols and response protocols with community partners to take proactive measures when hateful acts happen in our community.

One of the functions of the Office of Diversity, Equity and Inclusion is to support recruitment efforts for employees and students who represent the rich diversity found in the United States and the world and, at the same time, create a campus community where everyone experiences they belong and can find what they need to thrive. People cannot thrive when they do not feel safe. I acknowledge that BIPOC, LGBTQ+, international, intersectional and other vulnerable social identities do not feel safe at all times in Laramie or Wyoming.

President Seidel and UW vice presidents (I am among this group) discussed at our cabinet meeting Thursday that we are committed to do the self-work when it comes to diversity, equity, justice and inclusion, starting now. At that meeting, we committed to doing the work necessary to model what we aspire our students and employees to be when it comes to creating a campus community that is welcoming and committed to inclusive excellence. We committed to modeling what it looks like to have a campus community where everyone regardless of their social identities can thrive, and experience safety and belonging.

Our first step toward that happened Thursday, this under the specific request of President Seidel. As the Chief Diversity Officer, I am taking the leadership role to coordinate this for the president and vice presidents. In my tenure at UW, this level of commitment has never been demonstrated before. I am truly inspired by and motivated by the leadership and support I receive from President Seidel and the commitment of my colleagues who are among the presidents cabinet members. This is also seen at the trustee level. We have a trustee on the Council on Diversity, Equity and Inclusion and trustee participation during the summer check-ins and listening sessions the ODEI held for people of color and Black Lives Matter protests.

We have accomplished a great amount of work since founding the office in July 2017. We have not done a good job communicating our collective accomplishments with campus and community partners to the greater campus community. For instance, the vice president for student affairs and I co-chair the Bias Education and Response Team (BEET) to offer support, education and resources when incidents of harm, bias and hate happen in the UW campus community. This is possible through the collaborative support of campus community partners.

A second example is that ODEI leads the Recruitment and Retention Subcommittee. This subcommittee is creating a diversity hub and diversity audit that will support better campus communication and coordination that will make campus-wide resources and information available to you. UW Institutional Marketing has committed to assist ODEI in marketing and communication of resources and support.

It is my hope that the contents of this response will address the frustration and anger some people affiliated with UW are experiencing. If not, please contact me to share your thoughts by emailing diversity@uwyo.edu. This work is decentralized, and ODEI partners with numerous great leaders who assist in standing up the programs and services mentioned in this response. Many are also alumni, students and supporters on campus and in the community. We thank all of you, and we could not do all that we do without you.

In closing, all I have left to say is that we see you, we hear you, and we commit to doing better.

Sincerely,

Emily Monago, Chief Diversity Officer
No one really wants to make the chips automakers need.

In theory, chip manufacturers could build semiconductor fabrication facilities, or fabs, to meet the demand and help plug the hole. But the costs for the new foundries are prohibitive.

It takes approximately $4 billion to set up a fab for the types of chips carmakers need. After two years of construction, the initial goal would be to pump out as many wafers as possible to bring down the per-unit cost. As Peter Hanbury of Bain & Company said in an interview, the costs for this variety start at around $4,000 per wafer. After five years  with depreciation factored in  the cost comes down to approximately $2,000 a wafer. The products get better too: Only about half of the chips work in the beginning. Two to three years in, the yield rises to 90 per cent.

Thats effectively a half-decade path to profitably making low-margin semiconductor devices that carmakers need now. Companies that built  and currently operate the fabs have brought costs down. New entrants just wont be competitive.

Furthermore, they dont really have much financial incentive to expand and increase manufacturing because carmakers still largely rely on chips that first came online a decade ago. The market for lagging edge technologies, in general, has not grown.

Over the better part of the last decade, existing manufacturing capacity for two categories of older, more mature technologies expanded only 3 per cent and 6 per cent on a compounded annual basis. Thats compared to 14 per cent for leading edge chips, according to Bain & Company. Capacity for so-called bleeding edge semiconductors rose 83 per cent from 2018 to 2020. Most chipmaking facilities are running at, or close to, full utilisation.

It isnt hard to see why chipmakers  currently racing ahead towards much more advanced and expensive technology (indeed, some for driverless cars)  arent going to be splashing out billions of dollars to fill the current, old-tech void.

Looking to the future, the costs of keeping up with technology are rising. Designing a latest-generation chip is 10 times more expensive than older ones. Meanwhile, according to a report published by the Association last year, it now takes as much as $20 billion to build a big chip plant with even more cutting-edge equipment. Thats more than a new aircraft carrier or nuclear power plant. Over a decade, a semiconductor factory can cost as much as $40 billion although state-led incentives could cut that by up to $13 billion.

Governments could help out and subsidise chipmaking. The US Congress has passed legislation to boost incentives but it hasnt been fully funded yet. A broad coalition, including the Semiconductor Industry Association and other business groups, have urged President Joe Biden to boost federal support for manufacturing and research through his recovery and infrastructure plan.

Washington is trying to get Taiwan, one of the largest chip manufacturers, to help out. But the complexities of technological competition and geopolitics means any new investment will likely be put toward the leading edge, not the lagging.

There are temporary fixes but none of those are sustainable and could still take up to six months, Bain & Company noted. Those range from carmakers outbidding other chip customers and suspending some models or redesigning a part and getting new suppliers. They could also attempt to upgrade to new generation semiconductors but there are bigger technology and cost challenges associated with that move.

The odds are stacked against making old chips. And, automakers.

Invisible headphone device gets a Kickstarter campaign for early access, stepping closer to 2021 general release

TEL AVIV, Israel, Feb. 22, 2021 /PRNewswire/ -- Israeli start-up, Noveto, today announced the launch of a pre-sale Kickstarter campaign for its innovative SoundBeamer which received global applause in late 2020. The desktop device beams pockets of sound and music to outside listeners' ears. It dynamically moves the source of the sound around the listener in 3D, beaming only to the listener, without disturbing people nearby-no speakers, no headphones. Today also sees the release of new hardware and software details on the much-anticipated release of SoundBeamer in Q4 2021.

Kickstarting pre-sales

Noveto's pre-sale campaign, launched via Kickstarter, offers limited pre-sale opportunities, including discounts of over 40%. Noveto is planning to distribute devices from November 2021, with initial devices limited to backers via Kickstarter. To see the journey so far and review what's on offer, interested parties can head to the Kickstarter page.

Infused with AI, backed by Foxconn

The SoundBeamer comes alive with the backing of Noveto's engineering partner, Foxconn, the biggest consumer electronics manufacturer globally. The company also unveils new hardware and software features including a new AI-based built-in voice, facial and gesture recognition, and ambient sound monitoring enabling natural and intuitive interaction.

The SoundBeamer 1.0 has been upgraded with Noveto's D1 Chipset which works with the software to produce digital signals for the proprietary Noveto transducer array, which then beamforms audio pockets to outside the user's ears.

A Senior executive (VP) from Foxconn said: "Foxconn sees tremendous potential for Noveto's SoundBeamer and SoundBeaming audio technology. We are excited to work with Christophe and the Noveto team to bring an excellent product and impressive audio experience to the market."

Noveto CEO Christophe Ramstein said: "It's incredibly exciting to be releasing a new way to experience sound and deliver something truly groundbreaking to market. I look forward to our Kickstarter backers being the first to experience this revolution in sound that we have been working so hard to create."

About Noveto:

Noveto was co-founded by Tomer Shani and Noam Babayoff and is led by Dr. Christophe Ramstein (previously heading global engineering for Logitech). The SoundBeamer is an outcome of years of extensive R&D protected by multiple patent families with 45 patents (registered and pending).

Visit www.noveto.com for further info.

Video - https://youtu.be/bZz82ofwMtM

Photo - https://mma.prnewswire.com/media/1441248/Noveto_Systems.jpg
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"Marc, Danielle, Dan and Jeff have made significant contributions to Aprio and accelerated our growth trajectory. They stepped up with innovative solutions to serve our clients and team members as we successfully pivoted during the pandemic."

Aprio, LLP, a nationally recognized, top 50 CPA-led business advisory firm, announced today the addition of one new partner and the promotion of two executives and one director.

Marc Rosenkoetter has been admitted into the Aprio partner group. Rosenkoetter joined the firm in 2019 as Director of Advisory Services and under his leadership, the practice grew to nine service offerings in his first year with the firm. Rosenkoetter and the Advisory team have launched three new services thus far in 2021. The new and enhanced service offerings will drive growth and accelerate profitability for existing and new clients.

Danielle Berg has been promoted to Chief Growth Officer. Since joining the firm in 2014, Berg has served as Chief Marketing and Communications Officer, leading the firms industry-leading rebrand from Habif, Arogeti and Wynne to Aprio in 2017. The rebrand to Aprio set the stage for the firms move into new, strategic markets and services, as well as the acquisition of the best talent and mergers with firms to fuel Aprios growth. In her new role, Berg will oversee strategies and programs to drive the firms organic growth.

Dan Mallory has been promoted to Chief Information Officer. Mallory joined the firm in 2002 and since 2017 has served as Vice President of Technology. Mallory leads the development of the firms digital roadmap, leveraging automation and data activation to deliver world-class team member and client experiences. Through the creation of a scalable technology infrastructure, Mallorys team enabled Aprios swift and efficient transition to remote work when the pandemic hit last March.

Jeff Duncan has been promoted to Director and leads Aprios Financial Consulting Practice. Duncan joined Aprio in 2014 and utilizes his 16+ years of experience to bring transformative services to Aprios clients financial operations, helping companies navigate process improvements, emerging technical accounting standards, transactions and more.

Marc, Danielle, Dan and Jeff have made significant contributions to Aprio and accelerated our growth trajectory. They stepped up with innovative solutions to serve our clients and team members as we successfully pivoted during the pandemic, said Richard Kopelman, CEO and Managing Partner of Aprio. Each has shown the highest level of dedication and passion during their time with Aprio, living our 31 Fundamental behaviors, to lead Aprio to its next.

For more information about Aprio, visit https://www.aprio.com.

About Aprio

Aprio is a premier full-service, CPA-led business advisory firm that advises clients and associates on how to achieve whats next. Aprios associates work as integrated teams across advisory, assurance, tax, cloud accounting solutions and private client services, bringing the best thinking and personal commitment to each client. Across practices, Aprio brings together proven expertise, deep understanding and strategic foresight for industries including Manufacturing and Distribution; Non-Profit and Education; Professional Services; Real Estate and Construction; Retail, Franchise and Hospitality; and Technology and Blockchain. Aprio is headquartered in Atlanta, Georgia and has grown to over 600 team members across the U.S. To serve clients wherever life or business may take them, Aprios teams speak more than 30 languages and work with clients in over 50 countries. For more, visit https://www.aprio.com.
Headmasters of two Sydney private boys schools where students have been embroiled in dozens of sexual assault complaints have said they will do more to address the pretty dark culture in which the events occurred.

Eastern suburbs schools including Cranbrook, Scots College, Waverley College and St Catherines School will introduce new sex and consent initiatives in the coming months, after a petition started by 22-year-old Chanel Contos unveiled hundreds of sexual assault claims stemming from those communities over the past decade.

The list of allegations, first reported by the Herald on Friday, came from young women who said they had been sexually assaulted during high school or shortly after by young men who attended nearby Sydney private boys schools. Some said they were as young as 13 when assaulted.

Cranbrook headmaster Nicholas Sampson said he was concerned and alarmed that so many Cranbrook students had been individually referenced in the list of testimonies, which is more than 70 pages long. Credit:Louie Douvis

Scots College principal Ian Lambert on Monday said: It is a wake-up call for us all.
Source: Xinhua| 2021-02-22 08:58:13|Editor: huaxia

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HEFEI, Feb. 22 (Xinhua) -- The Kangmei Chinese medicinal material price index, a barometer of the traditional Chinese medicine (TCM) material market, remained flat at 1,362.37 points Monday.

Covering more than 500 TCM materials including herbs and minerals from six major markets nationwide, the closely-watched index reflects the overall price trend in the country's TCM material market. It is released daily by Kangmei Pharmaceutical Co., Ltd, one of China's major TCM companies.

The index was approved by the National Development and Reform Commission of China in 2012 to offer more timely and accurate reference for TCM material growers, traders and pharmaceutical companies.

Traditional Chinese medicines, often given as oral liquid, granule and pills, typically use the combination of a number of medicinal materials, mostly herbs, to address health problems. Enditem
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HARRISBURG  Five years after former State Rep. Leslie Acosta quietly pleaded guilty in an embezzlement scheme, much of the case against her remains under a shroud of secrecy.

More than half of the court records in Acostas case are sealed, despite widespread criticism that the onetime Philadelphia Democrat was allowed to remain in office, and even run for reelection uncontested, because of the unusual level of secrecy surrounding her 2016 conviction.

A trio of Pennsylvania media organizations  Spotlight PA, The Philadelphia Inquirer, and LNP|LancasterOnline  are now asking a federal court to unseal those records, highlighting the publics right to view judicial proceedings and records in criminal cases and arguing that there is a high burden for restricting that access.

These interests are particularly stark in cases of public corruption, lawyers for the news organizations argued in their unsealing motion, filed Feb. 16 in U.S. District Court in Philadelphia. Without transparency in such cases, the publics faith in the judicial system and government as a whole is jeopardized.

Acosta did not return calls seeking comment. Her former lawyer, who has since died, said in the past that he sought to shield details of her case because she feared for her safety after agreeing to cooperate in the federal investigation of the embezzlement scheme, which involved other high-profile names in Philadelphias political world.

But it is unclear why so much of the case remains sealed, even after the embezzlement investigation has ended.

Federal prosecutors in the United States Attorneys Office for the Eastern District of Pennsylvania, which handled Acostas case, said in court papers last week that they wanted to review the sealed records, but signaled they might be open to potential public release.

From the start, the secrecy surrounding Acostas conviction was notable.

Between 2008 and 2012  several years before she became a legislator in 2015  prosecutors said Acosta helped her onetime boss embezzle thousands of dollars from a mental health clinic in Philadelphia that served low-income residents. The clinic was founded by Renee Tartaglione  who hails from one of Philadelphias well-known political families  and Tartagliones husband, Carlos Matos, another political fixture in the city.

According to court filings, Acosta received thousands of dollars in checks from the clinic for work she did not perform, then cashed them and gave the money to Tartaglione.

The public only learned about her case after The Philadelphia Inquirer revealed in September 2016 that the North Philadelphia Democrat had quietly pleaded guilty earlier that year and had agreed to testify against Tartaglione, who was convicted in 2017.

Court filings involving her guilty plea, as well as sentencing documents, were under seal.

Prosecutors never announced her conviction, and Acosta did not tell her constituents or her colleagues in the state House of Representatives.

By the time the public learned about her case, it was too late for a challenger to get on the ballot to oppose her reelection. Acosta ran uncontested, winning a second term in November 2016. But she received a cold reception from her colleagues, who pressured her to step down, which she did in January 2017.

Paula Knudsen Burke, a Pennsylvania-based lawyer for the Reporters Committee for Freedom of the Press as part of its Local Legal Initiative, said there is a high burden for sealing judicial proceedings and records, and those seeking to do so must show that such secrecy outweighs the publics First Amendment and common law rights of access.

Because most of the proceedings and documents in this case were sealed, Acosta was able to keep her involvement in a criminal scheme to defraud a mental health clinic in one of Philadelphias poorest neighborhoods hidden from her constituents until her reelection was all but guaranteed, wrote Burke, who is representing the media organizations and working with the Cornell Law School First Amendment Clinic.

The media organizations are asking that 23 of the total 40 docket entries in Acostas case be unsealed, or at the very least, released with redactions.

If the release is denied, the lawyers are requesting that the court make public its reasoning, noting access educates the public about the judicial system, encourages the perception that court proceedings are conducted fairly, and allows for observation and evaluation of prosecutorial performance.

100% ESSENTIAL: Spotlight PA relies on funding from foundations and readers like you who are committed to accountability journalism that gets results. Become a member today at spotlightpa.org/donate.
CAIRO  A production company believed to be linked to the Egyptian intelligence has fired the imagination of millions of viewers by unveiling a new film about Egyptian airstrikes in Libya's northeastern city of Derna in February 2015.

Synergy Films posted the trailer of its new film "Al-Serb" ("Squadron") on Feb. 14, promising to give viewers an insight into the air raids that followed the slaughter by the Islamic State (IS) of 20 Egyptian nationals.

"The Egyptian president had vowed to avenge the killing of Egyptian citizens and he honored his pledge," the company's chairman, Tamer Morsi, wrote on the trailer page.

Egypt staged the airstrikes on Feb. 16, hours after IS posted a video in which it showed the slaughter of 21 people, of whom 20 were Egyptian Christians, in a coastal area in Libya.

The Egyptians butchered in the video were residents of al-Awr village in the central province of Minya.

Like thousands of other Egyptians, these people  most of them construction workers  traveled to Libya to earn a living and escape abject poverty.

Instead of earning a living, however, they met their fate at the hands of the IS terrorists. Their killing was believed to be part of a wider campaign against the Egyptian presence in Libya.

An Egyptian TV director told of the perseverance of the families of the victims during her visit to al-Awr when she visited the village in February 2015 in order to offer her condolences together with a colleague. "Instead of soothing them, they [the relatives of the victims] soothed us," Haidy Gobran wrote on Twitter following her visit.

"Al-Serb" captures national anger following the killing of the Egyptian nationals in Libya and the national response to this killing.

The feature film stars a large number of Egyptian and Arab actors, including Ahmed al-Sakka, Sherif Mounir, Aser Yassin and Hind Sabri.

It starts with a Feb. 15 speech by Egyptian President Abdel Fattah al-Sisi, in which he says his country reserves the right to respond to the killing of the 20 Egyptians whenever and in the way it wants.

It then details preparations for the airstrikes on IS camps in Derna, how the strikes were planned and how they were executed. The film also contains debates on regional terrorism and terrorism financing, according to its scriptwriter Omar Abdel Halim.

Abdel Halim and his colleagues modified the script of the film 12 times before approving a final draft. "We did this to produce a film that suits the greatness of the Egyptian army," he told Al-Monitor.

Mounir said he and his fellow actors spent time with army commanders planning the airstrikes and pilots executing them. "We listened to great army officers who offered us all the needed support," Mounir told the local TV channel ON.

Around 4 million people watched the trailer of "Al-Serb" in the first 48 hours after it was posted, according to the production company.

In political terms, the film throws light on an event that caused a shift in Egypt's strategy toward events in neighboring Libya.

Libya has become a national security concern for Egypt since the downfall of the Moammar Gadhafi regime in 2011, due to the presence of an extended border between the two countries.

Cairo accuses terrorist groups active in Libya of infiltrating its border and carrying out attacks in the country. It also says weapons and explosives smuggled into Egypt from Libya end up in the hands of terrorists affiliated with the local IS branch that is especially active in the Sinai Peninsula.

"The unrest in neighboring Libya has a heavy toll on Egypt's security," retired Egyptian army Gen. Gamal Mazloum told Al-Monitor. "With many terrorist camps, Libya has turned into a springboard for attacks against Egypt."

The February 2015 airstrikes against the IS camps in Derna marked Egypt's move from covert to overt action in Libya, analysts told Al-Monitor. Cairo used to covertly support the Libyan National Army (LNA) that controls most of eastern, central and southern Libya now. However, the 2015 airstrikes caused this support to be overt. The same airstrikes were not the last to be staged by Egypt in Libya.

In June 2020, Sisi declared most of eastern Libya to be a red line for Egypt, a declaration aimed at repelling potential attacks by the troops of the Tripoli-based Government of National Accord that is backed by Turkey.

"The red line mainly aimed to protect the LNA and send a message to Turkey and terrorist groups active in Libya that Egypt would not tolerate any violation against eastern Libya," Tarek Fahmy, a professor of political science at Cairo University, told Al-Monitor.

Nevertheless, "Al-Serb" is viewed as yet a new episode in a public relations campaign by the military establishment and the intelligence to ramp up support for the army.

Synergy has been at the heart of this campaign. The company, which was founded in 2003, but acquired by Eagle Capital, which is believed to be a media investment arm of the Egyptian intelligence, in 2017, produced a TV series about Egypt's fight against the local IS branch in Sinai.

The series, which kept tens of millions of Egyptians and Arabs glued to TV screens during the month of Ramadan last year, especially focused on the life and death of Ahmed al-Mansi, an Egyptian army colonel who became an icon of Egypt's war on terrorism after his killing in July 2017.

These works are increasingly raising public awareness of the sacrifices of the security establishment, cinema critics say.

"Patriotic films and series are very important at this juncture because they throw light on the role the security establishment plays in protecting this country and its people," cinema critic Tarek al-Shenawi told Al-Monitor.

In a way, these works raise public morale in a country that has had enough psychological setbacks since the 2011 uprising against longtime President Hosni Mubarak.

Egypt is at the heart of the ongoing regional terrorist upsurge, and it is at the heart of the fight against this terrorism as well.

However, the new film is also stirring up debate, given the controversial nature of the 2015 airstrikes in Derna and Egyptian involvement in the North African state in general.

Film director Ezz el-Deen Dwedar, a vocal critic of the Egyptian army, believes the euphoria accompanying the film and its trailer is misplaced.

I cannot find any heroism, he wrote, in air raids on disarmed people living under IS control in Derna. "To strike a Libyan city that has no air defense or air force is not heroism at all," Dwedar wrote on Facebook.

The airstrikes reportedly caused the deaths of dozens of civilians in Derna, leading Amnesty International to accuse Egypt of failing to take precautionary measures to prevent civilians from being caught in the middle of its retaliation for the killing of Egyptian nationals.

Another man, Mohamed Ramadan, wrote that the Egyptian nationals were killed in the northern Libyan city of Sirte.

"However, Egypt chose to strike Derna because it was the farthest Libyan city within the range of Egyptian fighter jets," Ramadan wrote on Twitter. "It all was a media show."
Remembering those we've lost and helping those who are grieving
WASHINGTON: Donald Trump suffered a major setback on Monday in his long quest to conceal details of his finances as the U.S. Supreme Court paved the way for a New York City prosecutor to obtain the former president's tax returns and other financial records as part of a criminal investigation.

The justices without comment rebuffed Trump's request to put on hold an Oct. 7 lower court ruling directing the Republican businessman-turned-politician's longtime accounting firm, Mazars USA, to comply with a subpoena to turn over the materials to a grand jury convened by Manhattan District Attorney Cyrus Vance, a Democrat.

"The work continues," Vance said in a statement issued after the court's action.

Vance had previously said in a letter to Trump's lawyers that his office would be free to immediately enforce the subpoena if the justices rejected Trump's request.

A lawyer for Trump did not immediately respond to a request for comment.

The Supreme Court, which has a 6-3 conservative majority included three Trump appointees, had already ruled once in the dispute, last July rejecting Trump's broad argument that he was immune from criminal probes as a sitting president.

Unlike all other recent U.S. presidents, Trump refused during his four years in office to make his tax returns public. The data could provide details on his wealth and the activities of his family real-estate company, the Trump Organization.

Trump, who left office on Jan. 20 after being defeated in his Nov. 3 re-election bid by Democrat Joe Biden, continues to face an array of legal issues concerning his personal and business conduct.

Vance issued a subpoena to Mazars in August 2019 seeking Trump's corporate and personal tax returns from 2011 to 2018. Trump's lawyers sued to block the subpoena, arguing that as a sitting president, Trump had absolute immunity from state criminal investigations.

The Supreme Court in its July ruling rejected those arguments but said Trump could raise other objections to the subpoena. Trump's lawyers then argued before lower courts that the subpoena was overly broad and amounted to political harassment, but U.S. District Judge Victor Marrero in August and the New York-based 2nd U.S. Circuit Court of Appeals in October rejected those claims.

Vance's investigation, which began more than two years ago, had focused on hush money payments that the then-president's former lawyer and fixer Michael Cohen made before the 2016 election to two women - adult-film actress Stormy Daniels and former Playboy model Karen McDougal - who said they had sexual encounters with Trump.

"The Supreme Court has now proclaimed that no one is above the law. Trump will, for the first time, have to take responsibility for his own dirty deeds," Cohen said in a statement issued after the Supreme Court announced its action.

The court on Monday separately turned away Daniels' bid to revive her own defamation lawsuit against Trump.

In recent court filings, Vance has suggested that the probe is now broader and could focus on potential bank, tax and insurance fraud, as well as falsification of business records.

In separate litigation, the Democratic-led U.S. House of Representatives was seeking to enforce subpoenas on similar records. The Supreme Court in July sent that matter back to lower courts for further review.

This story has been published from a wire agency feed without modifications to the text.

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A NSW Police officer has told a parliamentary inquiry obstacles in overseas jurisdictions do not support calls to introduce an offence for coercive control.

Chief Inspector Sean McDermott said challenges of translating behaviours into evidence resulting in low prosecution and conviction rates in the UK should give lawmakers pause for thought in considering alternatives to creating a new criminal offence.

He was among domestic violence academics, community workers and legal experts to appear at the first hearing of the parliamentary inquiry into coercive control in domestic relationships. Fifty different representatives will appear over the three-day inquiry.

Head of Domestic Violence NSW Delia Donovan. Credit:Louise Kennerley

NSW Attorney-General Mark Speakman announced the inquiry in March last year, while a subsequent discussion paper garnered more than 100 submissions to inform how the state could move to criminalise coercive control.
Lines formed around the store. The bakery doubled its baking shifts from two to four, Daczewitz said. She called in all of the employees she could, even former workers, an estimated six to 10 of whom came in to help out. Some employees stayed to work extra hours.
Queensland GPs are calling on the federal government to ensure they are properly resourced before the major rollout of the coronavirus vaccine.

The first people received doses of the Pfizer vaccine on Monday on the Gold Coast, with more rollouts in Brisbane and Cairns scheduled for later in the week.

Queenslands COVID-19 vaccine campaign was launched on the Gold Coast on Monday. Credit:Queensland Government

The first cohort to be vaccinated will be frontline health workers and staff of quarantine hotels, as well as staff and residents of aged-care facilities.

As supplies of the vaccine increase with the AstraZeneca vaccine being manufactured in Australia, more people will become eligible to receive the jab.
Tar pollution spreads from Israel towards Beirut 'UN contingent deployed in southern Lebanon informed'

(ANSAmed) - BEIRUT, FEBRUARY 22 - Marine tar pollution which has reached Israel's coast over the past few days reached Lebanon's coast on Monday and could spread to Beirut, the outgoing Lebanese Premier Hassan Diab was quoted as saying by local media.



The ecological disaster, which was described as the worst of the past decades and was attributed to an unspecified oil spill from a boat at sea, is spreading along the coast of the eastern Mediterranean, also due to high seas and strong winds in the region.



Lebanese Premier Diab asked ministers to "act as a consequence to repair the damages caused by this oil spill".



The office of the Lebanese premier said that the UN contingent deployed in the south of Lebanon (UNIFIL), which has a maritime force and is led by Italian General Stefano Del Col, was informed of measures that will be undertaken by Beirut's authorities. (ANSAmed).




Recovered Covid patients who lost their sense of smell and taste after getting infected with the coronavirus may not see their senses return for up to five months.

Anosmia, the loss or alteration of smell and taste, is formally recognised as a symptom of coronavirus infection.

Data from the Office for National Statistics shows half of coronavirus patients get symptoms with 16 and 17 per cent of these experiencing some form of loss of smell and taste, respectively.

Researchers from the University of Quebec studied 813 healthcare workers who contracted Covid-19.

More than a third (38 per cent) of those who lost their senses had not fully regained their taste after five months.

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Recovered Covid patients who lost their sense of smell and taste after getting infected with the coronavirus may not see their senses return for up to five months. Anosmia, the loss or alteration of smell and taste, is formally recognised as a symptom of coronavirus infection (stock)

What is anosmia? Anosmia is the medical name for a condition in which someone suffers a complete or partial loss of their sense of smell. The most common single cause of the condition  temporary or permanent  is illnesses which affect the nose or sinuses, such as polyps which grow in the airways, fractured bones or cartilage, hay fever or tumours. It is different to hyposmia, which is a decreased sensitivity to some or all smells. Around 3.5 million people in the UK are affected by the condition, along with nearly 10 million in the US. It is surprisingly common and affects between three and five per cent of people. Head injuries and nervous system diseases like Parkinson's or Alzheimer's may also contribute to the condition by damaging nerves in the nose which are responsible for detecting smells. Advertisement

Participants in the study all filled in questionnaires and completed home tests to evaluate their sense of taste and smell.

These were done, on average, five months after they caught Covid-19 and therefore the researchers are unable to say whether or not anosmia endures for longer than this, as the data does not yet exist.

'While COVID-19 is a new disease, previous research shows that most people lose their sense of smell and taste in early stages of the illness,' said study author Dr Johannes Frasnelli.

'We wanted to go further and look at how long that loss of smell and taste lingers, and how severe it is in people with COVID-19.'

People graded their sense of smell and taste on a scale of 0 to 10, with zero being no sense at all and 10 meaning a strong sense.

The average score for people recovering from Covid was an eight, whereas it was a nine for people before they got sick.

Of the 813 participants, 527 lost their sense of taste during the initial illness.

Thirty-eight per cent (200 people) of these had not regained their sense of taste five months later.

'Our results show that an impaired sense of smell and taste may persist in a number of people with COVID-19,' Dr Frasnelli said.

'This emphasises the importance of following up with people who have been infected, and the need for further research to discover the extent of neurological problems associated with COVID-19.'

The study has not yet been peer-reviewed and will be presented at the American Academy of Neurology's 73rd Annual Meeting between April 17 and 22.

Loss of smell and taste was officially recognised as a symptom of Covid on May 18, 2020, and since then has become an integral part of the diagnostic process as the NHS says the only three tell-tale signs of the illness are a fever, cough or loss of taste and smell.

Researchers from King's College London (KCL) recently called for policymakers to extend this set of recognised symptoms.

Researchers from the University of Quebec studied 813 healthcare workers who contracted Covid-19. More than a third (38 per cent) of those who lost their senses had not fully regained their taste after five months (stock)

Symptom prevalence among ill Covid-19 patients Cough - 29.40% Fatigue weakness - 28.11% Headache - 27.78% Muscle ache myalgia - 22.02% Fever - 18.92% Sore throat - 18.61% Loss of taste - 17.14% Loss of smell - 16.23% Shortness of breath - 10.48% Nausea vomiting - 8.79% Diarrhoea - 6.03% Abdominal pain - 5.91% Advertisement

They say adding fatigue, sore throat, headache and diarrhoea would allow 'millions' of unconfirmed cases to be detected.

Chief Medical Officer Professor Chris Whitty is already under pressure to change the official list of Covid symptoms after results from a government-led study, REACT, revealed thousands of infected people are slipping through the cracks due to the narrow guidance.

The World Health Organization and officials in the US recognise other less common symptoms such as muscle pain and diarrhoea.

But current Test and Trace rules mean swabs in the UK are only reserved for people with a fever, continuous cough or loss of smell or taste.

Professor Tim Spector, lead scientist on the Zoe app and an epidemiologist at King's College London, said: 'We've known since the beginning that just focusing testing on the classic triad of cough, fever and anosmia misses a significant proportion of positive cases.

'We identified anosmia as a symptom back in May and our work led to the Government adding it to the list; it is now clear that we need to add more.

'By inviting any users who log any new symptoms to get a test, we confirmed that there are many more symptoms of Covid.'

A group of 140 family doctors in London echoed this sentiment and called on health chiefs to expand the number of recognised symptoms.

They say many patients with milder signs have not even considered they could have the virus and have not self-isolated when they are most infectious.

The doctors add they must encourage patients to lie in order to get a test, which are only available to those with the three recognised symptoms.

Expanding the scheme to include runny noses in the depth of winter would likely pile immense pressure on the UK's Test and Trace system.

Top scientists have been campaigning for the official list to be expanded for months, after warning it does not catch enough infections in the early stages.






Portugal's 2020 pig slaughtering falls 2.6%





Pig slaughterings in Portugal's pig slaughtering in 2020 had dropped 2.6% (-9161 heads) compared to 2019, declining from 4.18 million pigs slaughtered that year to 4.08 million, according to data published by GPP and provided by INE as preliminary data.

The drop reflects a continuing trend as there were 30,000 fewer head slaughtered in 2019 than in 2018.

Slaughter in terms of weight is also down 2.6% going from 351,655 tonnes in 2019 to 342,494 tonnes in 2020. This means that the average slaughter weight in 2020 was similar to that of 2019.

For piglets, there was a significant reduction in their slaughtering (-12.5%) in 2020 when compared with 2019 as the number of heads slaughtered was 1.17 million heads compared with 1.34 million heads in the previous year. This reduction in slaughtering is attributed to the COVID-19 pandemic, as compulsory confinements, restaurant closures and bans on specific social events had a strong influence on the drop in demand.

Weight slaughtered was down 10.2% going from 9,224 tonnes in 2019 to 8,288 tonnes in 2020, meaning piglets were slaughtered at a higher average weight than in 2019.

A total of 5.3 million head were slaughtered and approved for consumption in 2020, -4.6% than in 2019 where 5.56 million head were slaughtered. The total slaughter weight was 357,814 tonnes, which is -2.2% than in 2019 when 365,961 tonnes were approved for consumption.

- SIMA / GPP (Portugal)
The developed system has been used to reveal early changes in skin blood microcirculation and skin structure of patients with diabetes. Credit: University of Oulu

Multidisciplinary research team published their research "Skin complications of diabetes mellitus revealed by polarized hyperspectral imaging and machine learning" recently in the IEEE Transactions on Medical Imaging.

In the publication, utilizing emerging photonics-based technology, innovative solutions in machine learning, and definitive physiological characteristics, researchers introduce a diagnostic approach capable of evaluating the skin complications of diabetes mellitus at the very earlier stage.

In this work, we performed a clinical validation of our optical device and a method that we have developed in the frame of the Academy of Finland project. The method allows non-contact detection of possible skin complications of diabetes at an early stage as well as to perform broad population screening, says adjunct professor Alexander Bykov from the University of Oulu who explains the research in more detail in answers below.

What is the key result?

We have developed and performed a clinical test of a compact, portable optical device for non-contact functional characterization of human skin. The device can remotely measure spatial maps of blood oxygen level, blood content and assess the changes in collagen structure of the skin. To achieve this, the hyperspectral imaging and polarization sensing technologies are combined together and accompanied with the advanced algorithms of signal processing based on the artificial neural networks.

Hyperspectral imaging is a technique that unites conventional imaging and spectroscopy. Initially developed as a complex satellite or aircraft-based system, the technology has finally evolved into a compact imaging tool that can be used for medical, industrial, and other relevant applications. Using this technology, both the spatial and spectral information of an object can be acquired. The obtained 3-D image (two spatial and one spectral dimension) consists of about a hundred or more spectral bands for every measured pixel of an object. This precise spectral and spatial information enables detailed analysis of any object or environment. From the other side, optical polarization sensing allows remote assessment of the structural changes inside the object that are unseen by conventional hyperspectral imaging. The neural network algorithms' implementation allows close to real-time image processing based on the advanced numerical models e.g., the seven-layer skin model we use in our study.

The developed system has been used to reveal early changes in skin blood microcirculation and skin structure of patients with diabetes. The dorsal surface of the patients' feet has been imaged. It was observed that the diabetic patients had increased skin blood content and, at the same time, the reduced oxygen level in comparison to the control group of healthy volunteers. In addition, the diabetic group has an increased polarization index that is attributed to the changes in skin collagen structure. Thus, the results of the feasibility studies, as well as the actual tests on patients with diabetes and healthy volunteers, clearly show the ability of the developed approach to differentiate diabetic and control groups.

Why is the result important and interesting?

Timely detection of skin disorders caused by diabetes at the early stage is crucial. In people with diabetes, high blood glucose level causes damage to many areas of the body such as eyes, kidneys, legs, and feet. Metabolic alterations at diabetes lead to the obstruction of large arteries but also impairs circulation in small vessels of the lower extremities. These changes cause complications, with diabetic foot ulcers being the major one. It occurs in 2-6% of type 1 and 2 patients with diabetes over their lifetime. If left untreated, the diabetic ulcers may become infected and develop deep tissue necrosis, which may require amputation. Limb loss through major amputation is probably the most severe complication of diabetes, dramatically deteriorating the quality of life and a tremendous burden on the healthcare system. The economic costs of amputation are also huge. Given the aging population, the number of patients at risk will increase in the upcoming decade.

It is known that microvascular lesions are registered already in the first years of diabetes and even at prediabetic conditions long before the clinical symptoms and complications appear. Timely detection of the lesions followed by the appropriate treatment makes it possible to reverse their development at the early preclinical stage, thus saving health, life, and money.

Who are affected by the topic and the results? Where and for whom can the results be of benefit?

Our system is potentially capable to perform monitoring of wound healing and treatment processes, including diabetic foot ulcers, skin burns, or postoperative complications associated with inadequate tissue oxygenation.

The present study was focused on diabetic patients. A common disadvantage of the current methods available to clinicians for the diagnosis of skin diabetic complications is their inability to assess tissue metabolism in a non-invasive and non-contact manner, as well as to determine the location of skin areas most probably exposed to the development of trophic ulcers.

One of the ways to improve the quality of diagnosis is to use hyperspectral and polarization-sensitive optical methods. Their advantages are associated with non-invasiveness, high resolution, and low cost. Using the information obtained by non-invasive optical imaging methods would allow identifying the patients with an increased risk of diabetic foot syndrome and assessing the areas of the lower extremities most prone to the development of ulcerative defects.

Should the results change the current practices (for example in the health care system?)

We do not envisage a dramatic change in the current practice. However, the proposed technique can help the doctors be more objective in performing diagnosis and making decisions. The technique can be in the future adapted for patients' self-monitoring, which is in line with the strategy of personalized healthcare.

Have you done the clinical tests with real patients?

Yes, the tests in the clinic have been performed for 20 diabetic patients and 20 healthy volunteers in cooperation with our colleagues from the University of Latvia, who helped to organize the tests.

What is the scientific significance of the results?

To the best of our knowledge, the current work is the first one that applies hyperspectrally-resolved polarization index for in vivo study of diabetic skin and Monte Carlo-trained artificial neural networks for processing the hyperspectral measurement data. The proposed diagnostic parameters could serve as biomarkers of diabetic complications. They can also be used to evaluate therapeutic procedures aimed at preventing or reversing diabetic complications. Our results can facilitate the development of biomedical applications of hyperspectral imaging and give a new direction in the studies of age-related diseases.

Is there a need for the further studies?

It would be of interest to perform the tests of the developed system and data processing approach for other relevant clinical applications mentioned above. There is also a huge potential of combining fluorescence sensing and hyperspectral imaging for metabolic skin imaging that we are planning in the future.

More information: Viktor Dremin et al. Skin complications of diabetes mellitus revealed by polarized hyperspectral imaging and machine learning, IEEE Transactions on Medical Imaging (2021). Viktor Dremin et al. Skin complications of diabetes mellitus revealed by polarized hyperspectral imaging and machine learning,(2021). DOI: 10.1109/TMI.2021.3049591

Provided by University of Oulu
Deputy Communications Director, Mame Yaa Aboagye has applauded President Nana Addo Dankwa Akufo-Addo for accelerating the process of bringing Covid-19 vaccines into Ghana.



She commended the President following the announcement by the Minister-designate for Information, Kojo Oppong Nkrumah that the first batch of Covid-19 vaccines will arrive later today.



Kojo Oppong Nkrumah, speaking at the Conference and Donor Presentation for the Sustainable Development of Yendi Municipal Hospital said ''though I have another engagement on our COVID-19 vaccines that are arriving early [Monday] morning.



Mame Yaa emphasized that this extraordinary effort by the President to secure and protect the lives of Ghanaians was timely.



"This gives us hope and is highly commendable. Thank you, Mr. President."



She urged the citizenry to ensure that they get vaccinated against the coronavirus saying "please let us all allow or avail ourselves, family members, and dear ones to take the vaccine when we get the opportunity.

Source: peacefmonline.com









Disclaimer : Opinions expressed here are those of the writers and do not reflect those of Peacefmonline.com. Peacefmonline.com accepts no responsibility legal or otherwise for their accuracy of content. Please report any inappropriate content to us, and we will evaluate it as a matter of priority.

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Tourists walk around the forecourt of Australia's Parliament House in Canberra, Australia, on Oct. 16, 2017. (REUTERS/David Gray/File Photo)

Third Woman Alleges Rape by Former Australian Parliament Staffer

A third woman has come forward to allege she was sexually assaulted by the same political staffer accused of raping a colleague inside Parliament House.

The woman said she was assaulted while working as a coalition volunteer during the 2016 election campaign.

She was barely out of school at the time of the attack, which allegedly occurred after a night out drinking with the then-political staffer.

A second woman came forward over the weekend.

The allegations come as Brittany Higgins, who said she was raped inside a parliamentary office in 2019, prepares to make a statement to Australian Federal Police.

Higgins was employed by Defence Minister Linda Reynolds at the time of the alleged assault.

Australian Sen. Penny Wong in the Senate at Parliament House in Canberra, Australia, on Dec. 2, 2019. (Tracey Nearmy/Getty Images)

Labors Senate leader Penny Wong said Senator Reynolds had questions to answer about how the complaint was handled.

She wasnt being treated as a human being. She wasnt being treated as a rape survivor and she wasnt being treated as a victim of a grave crime, Wong told Parliament. She was being treated as a political problem.

Wong said Prime Minister Scott Morrisons words rung hollow while there was no culture of accountability.

We know that at best, Mr Morrison runs a government where the culture is dont ask, dont tell when it comes to serious criminal allegation, she said. At worst, Mr Morrison himself is part of the cover up.

Labor, the Greens, and One Nation have accused the government of setting up whitewash inquiries in response to the allegations.

Senator Simon Birmingham during Senate business at Parliament House in Canberra, Australia on Dec. 7, 2020. (Sam Mooy/Getty Images)

Government Senate leader Simon Birmingham said he would welcome the input of Higgins into reforming Parliaments culture.

We must all live up to the highest standard that people should expect at this workplace, he said.

The alleged rape has sparked several inquiries into workplace cultures in federal politics.

The prime minister has also endorsed an external complaints handling process for parliamentarians and their staff.

The Greens are calling on the government to set up an independent review into how Higgins allegations were handled.

Higgins initially chose not to pursue a police complaint, fearing her job would be on the line.

Senator Birmingham said in circumstances where somebody chose not to proceed with a police complaint, there was a balance to be struck by those who were informed of the allegations.

He said respecting the rights of individuals to make decisions needed to be weighed against the responsibility of others to pursue action.

Labor MP Joel Fitzgibbon said the cultural problem was one for mennot womento fix.

Men have to understand that if they do these things the full force of the law will come down upon them, he told the Seven Network.

By Daniel McCulloch and Matt Coughlan
WASHINGTON  The cost of federal flood insurance will need to increase significantly in much of the country to meet the growing risks of climate change, new data suggests, creating a political headache for the Biden administration.

The National Flood Insurance Program, which provides the vast majority of United States flood insurance policies, would have to quadruple premiums on high-risk homes inside floodplains to reflect the risks they already face, according to data issued on Monday by the First Street Foundation, a group of academics and experts that models flood risks.

By 2050, First Street projected, increased flooding tied to climate change will require a sevenfold increase.

The new data could point to higher flood insurance costs this year for homes at risk. On April 1, the Federal Emergency Management Agency, which runs the flood program, is set to announce new premiums, using modern flood-modeling techniques that more closely reflect the actual risks facing individual properties  the same approach that First Street said it had used in its calculations.
The U.S. Air Force is looking for ways to better protect its B-2 Spirit bombers from a future electromagnetic pulse, or EMP, attack, according to a solicitation posted on the government's acquisition and awards website.

Air Force Materiel Command last month requested a "capabilities package" and related proposals from companies able to produce technology that would help the B-2 withstand an EMP, Brian Brackens, spokesman for the command, confirmed to Military.com last week.

While the request for information window has already closed, the Air Force is exploring the modernization option to "increase its survivability," Brackens said last week.

Read Next: Marine Veteran the Latest Charged in Capitol Breach

"The B-2 system program office is continuing modernization efforts on our current fleet to maintain our nuclear command, control, and communications (NC3) capacities," Brackens said in an email.

An EMP, a massive surge of energy typically in the wake of a nuclear blast, can disrupt or destroy power systems. Some have warned that the U.S. is vulnerable to such an attack from China; others say it doesn't make sense to worry about an EMP since the accompanying nuclear attack would be the greater threat.

EMPs can also come from natural geomagnetic storms, which would also pose a threat to the bomber.

In 2019, then-President Donald Trump signed an executive order for U.S. agencies to craft a coordinated national resilience to electromagnetic pulses or attacks. The order called for additional research and development to address protection needs for crucial stakeholders who could be most affected by the threat, including the nation's power grid stations and military equipment and installations.

B-2 avionics equipment is already "hardened" to withstand some weapons and attacks. The planned upgrade would provide "innovative ways to integrate modern weapons capabilities in order to increase survivability in an anti-access/area denial environment," Brackens said. A2/AD refers to military strategies or systems used to keep an opponent from maneuvering freely through a region via land, sea or air.

"The investment strategy for the B-2 modernization program allows for incremental improvements; we won't detail the enhancements for operational security reasons," Brackens added.

The Air Force has 20 B-2s. It's the Pentagon's only stealth bomber until the B-21 Raider comes online sometime in the mid-2020s. The Air Force plans on retiring the B-2 starting in 2032.

The B-52H Stratofortress -- the bomber expected to live on through the 2050s and beyond -- has already undergone EMP protection testing. Both the B-52 and B-2 are capable of delivering nuclear weapons.

Last year, engineers from Oklahoma's Tinker Air Force Base Compass Rose Test Facility conducted tests using an antenna device to send electromagnetic energy through the aircraft, according to a service release.

"What we're verifying is how the aircraft reacts in response to an electromagnetic pulse," Jiby Varughese, section chief with the 555th Software Engineering Squadron at the base, said at the time. "What happens to the aircraft, how does it perform, is there any damage to the electrical components? That's what we're testing here."

The service noted the tests were in line with the thrust of Trump's executive order and the 2017 National Security Strategy, which highlighted increased threats from China and Russia and their "interest in EMP technology," the release said.

-- Oriana Pawlyk can be reached at oriana.pawlyk@military.com. Follow her on Twitter at @Oriana0214.

Related: The Air Force Just Retired the First B-1B Bomber
In this Feb. 19, 2021, file photo President Joe Biden, right, and Michigan Gov. Gretchen Whitmer, left, tour a Pfizer manufacturing site in Portage, Mich. (AP Photo/Evan Vucci, File)

The U.S. stood Sunday at the brink of a once-unthinkable tally: 500,000 people lost to the coronavirus.

A year into the pandemic, the running total of lives lost was about 498,000roughly the population of Kansas City, Missouri, and just shy of the size of Atlanta. The figure compiled by Johns Hopkins University surpasses the number of people who died in 2019 of chronic lower respiratory diseases, stroke, Alzheimer's, flu and pneumonia combined.

"It's nothing like we have ever been through in the last 102 years, since the 1918 influenza pandemic," the nation's top infectious disease expert, Dr. Anthony Fauci, said on CNN's "State of the Union."

The U.S. virus death toll reached 400,000 on Jan. 19 in the waning hours in office for President Donald Trump, whose handling of the crisis was judged by public health experts to be a singular failure.

The nation could pass this next grim milestone on Monday. President Joe Biden will mark the U.S. crossing 500,000 lives lost from COVID-19 with a moment of silence and candle lighting ceremony at the White House.

Biden will deliver remarks at sunset to honor the dead, the White House said. He's expected to be joined by first lady Jill Biden and Vice President Kamala Harris and her husband, Doug Emhoff.

A vial of Moderna COVID-19 vaccine is held at a vaccination site Friday, Feb. 19, 2021, in Oklahoma City. (AP Photo/Sue Ogrocki)

The first known deaths from the virus in the U.S. happened in early February 2020, both of them in Santa Clara County, California. It took four months to reach the first 100,000 dead. The toll hit 200,000 deaths in September and 300,000 in December. Then it took just over a month to go from 300,000 to 400,000 and about two months to climb from 400,000 to the brink of 500,000.

Joyce Willis of Las Vegas is among the countless Americans who lost family members during the pandemic. Her husband, Anthony Willis, died Dec. 28, followed by her mother-in-law in early January.

There were anxious calls from the ICU when her husband was hospitalized. She was unable to see him before he died because she, too, had the virus and could not visit.

"They are gone. Your loved one is gone, but you are still alive," Willis said. "It's like you still have to get up every morning. You have to take care of your kids and make a living. There is no way around it. You just have to move on."

Then came a nightmare scenario of caring for her father-in-law while dealing with grief, arranging funerals, paying bills, helping her children navigate online school and figuring out how to go back to work as an occupational therapist.

Her father-in-law, a Vietnam vet, also contracted the virus. He also suffered from respiratory issues and died on Feb. 8. The family isn't sure if COVID-19 contributed to his death.

In this Jan. 21, 2021 file photo, Dr. Anthony Fauci, director of the National Institute of Allergy and Infectious Diseases, speaks with reporters at the White House, in Washington. Fauci won a $1 million award from the Israeli Dan David Foundation for "courageously defending science" during the coronavirus pandemic. On Monday, Feb. 15, 2021, the foundation named Fauci, President Joe Biden's chief medical advisor, as the winner of one of three prizes, saying he had earned it over a lifetime of leadership on HIV research and AIDS relief, as well as his advocacy for the vaccines against COVID-19. (AP Photo/Alex Brandon, File)

"Some days I feel OK and other days I feel like I'm strong and I can do this," she said. "And then other days it just hits me. My whole world is turned upside-down."

The global death toll was approaching 2.5 million, according to Johns Hopkins.

While the count is based on figures supplied by government agencies around the world, the real death toll is believed to be significantly higher, in part because of inadequate testing and cases inaccurately attributed to other causes early on.

Despite efforts to administer coronavirus vaccines, a widely cited model by the University of Washington projects the U.S. death toll will surpass 589,000 by June 1.

"People will be talking about this decades and decades and decades from now," Fauci said on NBC's "Meet The Press."

Explore further Follow the latest news on the coronavirus (COVID-19) outbreak

 2021 The Associated Press. All rights reserved. This material may not be published, broadcast, rewritten or redistributed without permission.
New Delhi: Former Finance Minister and Congress leader P. Chidambaram addresses a press conference after the presentation of the Union Budget 2020-21 by the current Finance Minister Nirmala Sitharaman in the Parliament; at the party's headquarters in Image Source: IANS News

New Delhi, Feb 22 : Former Union Finance Minister and senior counsel P. Chidambaram is representing top brokers in the Supreme Court, who have been declared 'Not Fit and Proper by the Securities and Exchange Board of India (SEBI) in the Rs 5,600 crore NSEL payment crisis.

The National Spot Exchange Limited (NSEL), a part of 63 Moons Technologies (formerly known as Financial Technologies India Ltd), has moved the apex court seeking its direction to the Securities and Appellate Tribunal (SAT) for hearing its appeal in the 'Not Fit and Proper' case against leading brokers Anand Rathi Commodities, Motilal Oswal Commodities, India Infoline Commodities, Phillip Commodities and Geofin Comtrade. The case is slated for hearing before the apex court on Tuesday.

It must be noted that the Rs 5,600 crore NSEL payment default crisis surfaced during Chidambaram's tenure as the Finance Minister.

The Forward Market Commission (FMC) has applied the 'Not Fit and Proper' clause on NSEL and its promoter entities. Notably, the brokers were an integral part of the exchange ecosystem and had the privity of contract with their clients and not the exchange.

Further, 63 Moons Technologies has filed a Rs 10,000 crore damage suit against Chidambaram and two former IAS officers - K.P. Krishnan and Ramesh Abhishek - for allegedly destroying the ecosystem and causing huge damage to the company's shareholders.

"Defending the brokers from the 'Not Fit and Proper' verdict and victimising the exchange and its promoters show the biased and malafide intent and ulterior motive of Chidambaram. This also confirms the larger conspiracy that he plotted the NSEL crisis to eliminate 63 Moons group from the exchange space, thereby protecting the monopoly of the National Stock Exchange in which he has vested interest," said a spokesperson at NSEL.

Following the NSEL crisis in 2013, the brokers evaded scrutiny and punitive action for many years. It was only in 2015 that the involvement of the brokers was unearthed by forensic auditors of the Economic Offences Wing (EOW) of the Mumbai Police.

The investigation found five leading broking firms guilty of various malpractices such as offering assured returns, KYC manipulation, client code modification, infusing benami funds by creating fictitious client accounts, and luring clients to trade on NSEL through funding by their NBFC arm. The agency also arrested some key officials of brokerage houses for these irregularities.

The spokesperson found it surprising that a former Finance Minister is defending them in the apex court.

After the incriminating report by the EOW Mumbai and the complaint filed by NSEL, the SEBI had found top five NSEL brokers guilty of malpractices in the Rs 5,600 crore NSEL payment default crisis.

The Serious Fraud Investigation Office (SFIO) has also filed its report detailing the illegalities committed by the brokers on the NSEL exchange platform. As a result, in February 2019, the SEBI had declared these brokerages, Anand Rathi Commodities, Motilal Oswal Commodities, India Infoline Commodities, Phillip Commodities and Geofin Comtrade 'Not Fit and Proper' to function as commodities brokers.

The SEBI order was challenged by these brokers in the SAT. Since NSEL was an affected party and the SEBI failed to consider all the allegations and materials in the complaint filed against the brokers, NSEL filed an appeal at the SAT which refused to admit on the technical ground of delay.

The NSEL then moved the Supreme Court seeking direction to the SAT for hearing its appeal. The apex court had admitted NSEL's plea to be heard on Tuesday.

"If brokers are not guilty of any wrongdoings, why are they afraid of accepting the SAT hearing with NSEL intervention," asked the NSEL spokesperson.

NSEL has repeatedly pointed out that Chidambaram was the brain behind the NSEL crisis along with two bureaucrats - K.P. Krishnan who was then Joint Secretary in the Department of Economic Affairs (DEA), and former FMC chairman Ramesh Abhishek.

By abruptly closing the fully-functioning exchange, NSEL alleged that they had triggered the payment default with the intention of killing the competition to National Stock Exchange in which Chidambaram has benami (dummy) holdings.

"Now, when brokers are facing the heat, their godfather Chidambaram has come to their rescue in the apex court," the spokesperson added.
BEIJING (AP)  China's top diplomat called Monday for new U.S. President Joe Bidens administration to lift restrictions on trade and people-to-people contacts while ceasing what Beijing considers unwarranted interference in the areas of Taiwan, Hong Kong, Xinjiang and Tibet.

Foreign Minister Wang Yi's comments at a Foreign Ministry forum on U.S.-China relations come as Beijing presses the new administration in Washington to drop many of the confrontational measures adopted by former President Donald Trump.

Trump hiked tariffs on Chinese imports in 2017 and imposed bans and other restrictions on Chinese tech companies and academic exchanges as he sought to address concerns about an imbalance in trade and accusations of Chinese theft of American technology.

Trump also upgraded military and diplomatic ties with Taiwan, the self-governing island democracy claimed by China as its own territory, while sanctioning Chinese officials blamed for abuses against Muslim minorities in Xinjiang and a crackdown on freedoms in Hong Kong.

We know that the new U.S. administration is reviewing and assessing its foreign policy," Wang told diplomats, scholars and journalists at the Lanting Forum. "We hope that the U.S. policy makers will keep pace with the times, see clearly the trend of the world, abandon biases, give up unwarranted suspicions and move to bring the China policy back to reason to ensure a healthy, steady development of China-U.S. relations."

While Biden has pledged reengagement and a more civil tone in U.S. diplomacy, its unclear whether he will make any fundamental changes in Washingtons policies toward Beijing. China faces more opposition than ever in Washington due to its trade record, territorial disputes with neighbors, and accusations of technology theft and spying. Taiwan enjoys strong bipartisan support, as do criticisms of Chinas human rights record, especially on Hong Kong, Xinjiang and Tibet.

Story continues

In his first address before a global audience Friday, Biden said the U.S. and its allies must prepare together for a long-term strategic competition with China."

Competition with China is going to be stiff. Thats what I expect, and thats what I welcome, because I believe in the global system Europe and the United States, together with our allies in the Indo-Pacific, worked so hard to build over the last 70 years," the president said in remarks delivered virtually to the annual Munich Security Conference.

Asked about Biden's comments, Chinese Foreign Ministry spokesperson Wang Wenbin said Monday that China is willing to continue to work with all parties to uphold the principle of openness and inclusiveness."

As is standard in Chinese foreign policy, Wang put the onus for improving relations squarely on the shoulders of the U.S. and offered no direct proposals for major breakthroughs, even while encouraging increased dialogue.

Wang said China has no intention to challenge or replace the United States" and is ready to peacefully coexist and seek common development.

Wang urged the U.S. to stop smearing" the reputation of China's ruling Communist Party and to stop conniving at or even supporting the erroneous words and actions of separatist forces for Taiwan independence and stop undermining China's sovereignty and security on internal affairs concerning Hong Kong, Xinjiang and Tibet."

He said the U.S. should reactivate all levels of dialogue that he said the U.S. had effectively halted under the Trump administration, and boost cooperation on major bilateral and international issues. The COVID-19 pandemic, climate change and the global economic recovery are the three biggest issues on which the sides can cooperate, he said.

On trade, Wang said China would defend the rights of U.S. companies while hoping the U.S. would adjust its policies as soon as possible, among others, remove unreasonable tariffs on Chinese goods, lift its unilateral sanctions on Chinese companies and research and educational institutes and abandon irrational suppression of China's technological progress."

The U.S. should also lift restrictions on media, educational and people-to-people exchanges to reverse sharp declines in numbers of Chinese studying in the U.S. and visits by Chinese for tourism or business, Wang said.

I hope that the two sides will work together to steer the giant ship of China-U.S. relations back to the course of sound development toward a bright future with boundless prospects," he said.

While the tone taken toward the U.S. by high-ranking diplomats such as Wang, senior foreign policy adviser Yang Jiechi and President Xi Jinping himself appears more positive than under Trump, China's Foreign Ministry spokespeople have remained frequently combative.

At a briefing on Friday, spokesperson Hua Chunying contrasted the freak winter weather striking Texas with the robust social and economic interactions seen in China over the just-passed Lunar New Year holiday, without offering any sympathies.

All this has given us a deeper understanding of what human rights truly mean and how to better protect them," Hua said. We are more convinced that we are on the right path and have every confidence in the future."
Mumbai, Feb 22 : Actress Kriti Sanon has wrapped up shooting her portions for the upcoming action comedy Bachchan Pandey, starring Akshay Kumar.

Kriti posted a picture on Instagram posing with Akshay in their characters for the film. "And it's a schedule wrap for me with @akshaykumar for#SajidNadiadwala 's#BachchanPandey directed by@farhadsamji .. #Myra @wardakhannadiadwala. One of the bestest, most fun and memorable schedules I have had so far," Kriti wrote as caption.

"Time just flew and we ended up making a film in between the echoing laughters, gaming sessions and neverending lunches and dinners as we all became one family! It was surely the saddest Goodbye from the beautiful Suryagarh Palace.. but we shall meet again soon! Can't wait to see you guys in Cinemas! @nadiadwalagrandson," she added.

In the Farhad Samji directorial, Akshay plays a gangster who aspires to be an actor, while Kriti plays a journalist who wishes to be a director. The film also features Arshad Warsi as the hero's friend.
Police appeal to trace missing 16-year-old from Wrexham

This article is old - Published: Monday, Feb 22nd, 2021

North Wales Police have issued an appeal to help trace a missing teenager from Wrexham.

Lewys Lintern, 16, has been missing 4am, Sunday February 21.

Police say Lewys was last seen wearing a Tommy Hillfiger black parka jacket, blue tracksuit bottoms and grey Nike trainers. He also has a black backpack.

It is thought that he might be travelling to South Wales.





Any information or sightings can be reported to North Wales Police on 101 quoting reference number ITRACE 38765
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Saudi Crown Prince Mohammed bin Salman at the award ceremony for the world's richest horse race, the $20m (16.5m) Saudi Cup, in Riyadh on Saturday. Photo: AP/Amr Nabil

Saudi Arabia will allow women to join its military, the kingdoms defence ministry has said in the latest effort to improve its human rights image.

Military ranks from soldier to sergeant will now be available to women in the army, Royal Saudi air defence, navy and strategic missile force and the armed forces medical services.

Women between 21 and 40 who have a clean criminal record, are not married to a non-Saudi Arabian citizen and have at least a high school education will be eligible to sign up to the forces.

The move comes under Crown Prince Mohammed bin Salmans Vision 2030 initiative  the 35-year-old princes efforts to modernise the kingdom, attract foreign investment and improve its reputation.

Despite reforms on driving, employment and freedom of movement over recent years, poor womens rights remain a major criticism of the kingdom.

While these measures are important, many activists who advocated for these reforms remain imprisoned, silenced, or in exile, a Human Rights Watch report said, following the release of the activist Loujain al-Hathloul last week. These reform announcements may also serve to deflect attention from continuing repression.

Lina al-Hathloul, Loujains younger sister, also sent a letter to one of the UKs star female jockeys, Hollie Doyle, urging her to boycott the Saudi Cup over womens rights abuses.

The authorities and their expensive PR advisers want to use events like the Saudi Cup to show the world that the country has changed  but away from these glamorous events the brutality goes on, the letter read.

Womens rights activists such as Samar Badawi, Nassima al-Sadah and Mayaa al-Zahrani remain in Saudi prisons due to their activism, Ms al-Hathloul added.

Human rights organisations said Loujain al-Hathloul faced sexual harassment and torture during her time in prison for campaigning for an end to the male guardianship system and ban on female driving.

Despite reforms allowing women to drive coming into effect weeks after her arrest, the campaigner remained imprisoned until last week.

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Telegraph Media Group Limited [2021]
Common Folk: Folx To The Front

NORTH ADAMS, Mass.  Common Folk Artist Collective will be hosting a two-night poetry performance and workshop taught by Nisha Patel, City of Edmonton Poet Laureate, as the inaugural Folx to the Front featured artist.

The performance and workshop will be held virtually on March 19 and 20 respectively at 6 P.M. each night.

Folx to the Front is an artistic performance series dedicated to promoting the craft and voice of BIPOC and LGBTQIA+ creators.

Friday, Mar. 19, Nisha will perform her poetry. She is an award-winning queer poet & artist. She is the City of Edmonton's Poet Laureate, and the 2019 Canadian Individual Slam Champion, and the 2021 Regional Writer in Residence with the Edmonton Public Library. She is a recipient of the Edmonton Artists' Trust Fund Award and the University of Alberta Alumni Award of Excellence. Her debut collection COCONUT is available for preorder with Newest Press.

On Saturday, Mar. 20, Nisha will teach a workshop titled "Speak Up!": a workshop focusing on teaching writers from marginalized backgrounds to speak to their challenges and triumphs in the face of systemic injustice. Writers will be encouraged to pen their thoughts on their personal journeys through an emphasis on their lived experiences and poetic futures.

Registration price includes access to both nights' events. Registration is $15 for general admission. Common Folk members are offered a discounted $12 registration fee
At least 4,556 persons died in mass atrocities in Nigeria in the year 2020, a report of Global Rights, an international human rights organisation, released on Monday has said.

The group stated in the report released in Abuja that the figure represents an increase of 1,368, a glaring spike of almost 43 per cent in the number of casualties compared to the 3,188 recorded in 2019.

It attributed the tracked deaths to violent attacks, clashes, terrorism, kidnappings, and extrajudicial killings during the period under review.

The report stated that Nigeria continued to battle with multiple forms of organised crimes manifested in a clime of insecurity in addition to endemic poverty, a floundering economy, mass unemployment, and the fresh layer of crisis Covid19 brought to the country.

Our tracking for the year informs that 4,556 lives were lost on the altar of mass violence and killings for #2020 grossly eclipsing 3188 deaths reported in 2019.

These arent just numbers, they are people/citizens whose government has utterly failed to protect and serve, Global Rights Nigeria stated in a post on its Facebook wall on Monday.

The report came amid recent mass kidnapping, and community raids by bandits in Niger and Zamfara States and other parts of the country.

Giving a summary of the report on Monday, Abiodun Baiyewu, executive director of Global Rights, charged the government to strengthen Nigerias state institutions and governance structures, ensure equality before the law, respect the rule of law, end impunity, protect civic right and freedom, and invest in human capital development.

Breakdown

According to the orgainsation, of the 4,556 deaths, 3,858 were said to be civilians, while 698 were state security agents.

North-west Nigeria recorded the highest number of casualties in 2020 (at least 1527), closely followed by the North-East (at least 1508). Kaduna state recorded the highest casualties in 2020 in the North-west

For the second year running, for every 5.5 deaths recorded, at least one of them was of a security officer, the executive summary of the report read in part.

In terms of the North-south divide, the group said the highest number of deaths were reported in the northern region of the country with a cumulative of at least 3,720 killings while the southern region recorded at least 828 killings.

It added that Borno State in the North-east, remained the state with the highest number of fatalities closely followed by Kaduna State, in the North-West.

It added that Gombe State in the North was with the lowest number of fatalities with one (1) victim.

While Borno in the North-west is the worst hit, according to the report, three of the five states on top of the chart are in the North West while only is in the North-central.

The first five worst hit states are Borno with 1,176 deaths, Kaduna, 628; Katsina, 501, Zamfara, 262; and Niger 254.

The report attributed the number of deaths in Borno to the insurgency that has been going on there and neighbouring states in the last 10 years.

It stated that the deaths in Kaduna were largely due to attacks on communities in Southern Kaduna, which resulted in the deaths of at least 628 persons.

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On the basis of geo-political zones, North-west had 1,527 deaths, North-east, 1,508; North-central, 685; South-south, 443; South-west 231; and South-east; 162.

North-west: Organised banditry, attacks on Southern Kaduna

According to the report, the North-west region recorded 1,527 deaths. It stated that in the zone, Kaduna contributed 628, Katsina 501, Zamfara262, Sokoto 99, Kano19,and Jigawa 16, Kebbi two.

It stated that aside from the attacks on communities in Southern Kaduna, the North-west zone with high number of deaths continued to grapple with the menace of organised bandit groups.

These brigands engaged in an assortment of violent activities including, community raids cattle rustling, commercial abductions, arson, sexual violence, and trading in small arms and light weapons. Banditry related incidents led to the deaths at least 1,137 people, significantly higher than the 2019 figure of 974, it added.

North-east: Insurgency

It stated that the North-east with a total of 1,508 deaths, had Borno State contributing 1,176, Taraba 141, Adamawa 111, Yobe 74, Bauchi 5, and Gombe one.

The report attributed the deaths in the North-east largely to activities of Boko Haram and splinter terrorist groups.

North-central: Farmer-herder conflicts, others

North-central had a total of 685, the report says. Of this number, Niger contributed254, Benue 145, Plateau 139, Kogi 81, Nasarawa -32 FCT 28, and Kwara, six

The report said the region has been a theatre of protracted farmer-herder conflicts, aggravated by climate change, the competition for land and water, and the proliferation of small arms and light weapons.

South-east: Extra-judicial killings, communal clashes

South-east recorded 162 casualties, the report says, adding that Ebonyi contributed 50, Anambra 39, Enugu 34, Imo 21, and Abia 18.

It stated that although the South-east region recorded the least number of violent killings in 2020, there was a spike in the numbers compared with the previous year, which it suggested could be likely due to an upsurge in inter-communal crises.

South-west: #EndSARS killings, herders attacks

The report says killings in the South-west totaled 231. It added that Lagos recorded 87, Oyo 42, Ogun 40, Ondo 37, Ekiti 15, and Osun 10.

It stated that in the South-west, the highest number of casualties came from extra-judicial killings, a large proportion of which it stated was attributable to the #EndSARS protests.

In the aftermath of the protests, we documented a cumulative of 143 related deaths of both civilians and security officers across the country, the report added.

It stated that Lekki shooting claimed at least twenty (20) lives, adding that the killings were documented in videos, including in an Instagram live video.

However, the government in a confusing sequence of denials and admissions, fluttered before the panel s of inquiry it commissioned to investigate security forces brutality per state, especially that of Lagos, the report added.

It also stated that in addition to the #EndSARS-related deaths, there was an upsurge in nomadic herders attacks on farmers and their farmlands, adding that cult-gang related incidents were also a recurrent decimal particularly in Lagos and Ogun states.

South-south: Cult gangs attacks, extra-judicial killings

South-south recorded 443 deaths, the region with the highest number of casualties in the entire South, according to the report.

It stated that Delta contributed 141 deaths to this figure, Edo 118, Rivers 76, Cross River 50, Bayelsa 43, and Akwa Ibom 15

For South-south, the report attributed the deaths there to cult-gang attacks, extrajudicial killings, and abductions.

Cult-gang attacks were particularly prevalent in Edo, Rivers and Cross River States, the report added.

Have You Seen This? Baby calmed by Imperial March
Belarusian opposition leader Sviatlana Tsikhanouskaya has admitted the protest movement against dictator Alexander Lukashenko seems to have lost after being on the verge of toppling his regime last year.

Ms Tsikhanouskaya, who fled Belarus after apparent threats to her children amid a violent crackdown on protests in the summer, said the path to freedom and democracy would be longer and harder than many imagined.

I have to admit that we have lost the streets. We have no way of combating the regimes violence against protesters, she said ahead of a planned visit to the country next month. They have the strength, they have the guns... I know Belarusians are tired, they are afraid.

Hundreds of thousands of people took to the streets of Belarus in August after Mr Lukashenko, who has ruled the former Soviet nation with an iron fist for 26 years, claimed a landslide win in an election widely seen as rigged.

Police launched a brutal response, using stun grenades, rubber bullets and tear gas on the crowds. Several died while many more reported being tortured in custody.

We are building the structures for the struggles of tomorrow, Ms Tsikhanouskaya added in the interview. Our strategy is to organise ourselves better, to put the regime under constant pressure, until such a time when people will be ready to take to the streets again, perhaps in the spring.

The 38-year-old became the accidental face of the protest movement last year after her husband, a popular video blogger and opposition figure, was barred from standing against Mr Lukashenko and jailed.

Ms Tsikhanouskaya was allowed to run and galvanised the opposition with campaign rallies. She said she would have won the presidency had the vote been fair.

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Telegraph Media Group Limited [2021]
[February 22, 2021] Knot Standard Introduces Digital Stylist Store For Clients

NEW YORK, Feb. 22, 2021 /PRNewswire/ -- Knot Standard, the leader in premium custom clothing, announced today that they have introduced a new concept for the industry: The Knot Standard Stylist Store. It will enable a fully-virtual showroom experience for new and existing clients, through a personalized wardrobe and recommendation portal accessible via web and mobile sites. The launch signals further online innovation for the brand, as they continue to redefine the custom experience through their in-person, AI-powered Style Wall, remote Digital Measuring App, and now an entirely virtual shopping experience. The new Digital Store is the bridge between the company's reputation as a pioneering physical showroom presence, and as an online retail brand. It is also, in part, a return to the brands online-only origin, and allows Knot Standard to replicate their in-person specialized experience in order to show clients a full order history of previous custom purchases. The Digital Store will enable a direct line of communication between clients and their Style Advisor, an array of personalized features and new product offerings, and an easy way for clients to track products and orders, all in one convenient place. As Matthew Mueller, President and Co-Founder of Knot Standard puts it, "For half a decade, Knot Standard hasused our extensive design and fitting datasets to power the most advanced custom menswear experience available, and to build unrivaled relationships with our clients. Now, for the first time, we are able to deliver that entire experience online. From our Digital Measuring App and Virtual Appointments, to QR-coded products and daily wardrobe advice from a personal Style Advisor--everything we offer is seamlessly available to any client, anywhere in the world."



The brand looks at this as the logical next step into the future of digital shopping, and believes it will create a more streamlined experience for existing clients, and create more appeal for prospective clients all over the world. Knot Standard will be utilizing the new Digital Store online, to facilitate the appointments in its brick-and-mortar Showrooms, and to simplify shopping within its new physical Digital Studio concept spaces. Knot Standard will continue to add functionality and new features to their Digital Store as they test and learn from clients and their Style Advisors. To learn more about Knot Standard's premium custom clothing experience offered virtually and in-person, visit www.knotstandard.com .

About Knot Standard

Knot Standard is the premier, client-driven luxury brand reinventing the custom menswear experience. The company has showrooms across the United States. Founded in 2012 by John Ballay and Matt Mueller after meeting as young expats in Dubai, Knot Standard represents the future of men's clothing, delivering a superior experience through expert stylists, innovative technology, and premium fabrics. To shop online, learn more about the brand, or to make an appointment, visit www.knotstandard.com . CONTACT: Katya Deahl, katya@knotstandard.com View original content to download multimedia:http://www.prnewswire.com/news-releases/knot-standard-introduces-digital-stylist-store-for-clients-301232715.html SOURCE Knot Standard

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37 arrested for child sex crimes, human trafficking during Operation Broken Hearts in Arizona

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In a multi-agency undercover mission called Operation Broken Hearts, police in Arizona announced the arrest of 37 people accused of child sex crimes and large-scale human trafficking.

Throughout the operational period, officers and undercover detectives placed ads on websites and apps which are commonly sought out by suspects seeking illegal sex acts with children. These suspects solicited and/or brokered deals for various sex acts and were subsequently arrested,Phoenix Police Department said in a statement Friday.

The Phoenix Police Department partnered with the police departments of Mesa, Tempe and Chandler, as well as Homeland Security Investigations and the Attorney Generals Office for Operation Broken Hearts.

Those arrested as part of the sting operation, in which the suspects solicited sex acts with undercover officers, are between the ages of 21 and 66. Most are from the Phoenix area, according to KIRO 7.

The operation was part of a nationwide effort to eliminate human and sex trafficking as dozens of children were rescued in the last year.

In December, Missouri Attorney General Eric Schmitts office announced that 17 illicit massage parlors  two in Columbia, six in Kansas City, three in Lees Summit/Blue Springs, five in St. Louis and one in Branson  were evicted or shut down in the Show-Me State.

This month, Schmitts office announced the rescue of eight victims of human trafficking, including a two-year-old and an infant, through a joint operation with several law enforcement agencies that include the FBI and the U.S. Marshals.

The unprecedented success of the joint operation should send clear a message to traffickers: you are not welcome in Missouri, and you cant hide any longer, Schmitt said in a statement.

Human trafficking is a global scourge that affects millions every year, including right here in Missouri, he added.

Last October, Schmitt announced the launch of the Hope Initiative to check human trafficking by targeting illicit massage businesses.

In January, a human trafficking investigation led by the FBI, called Operation Lost Angels, recovered 33 missing children, eight of whom had been sexually exploited, in California.

For the operation, which began Jan. 11, the FBI worked with more than two dozen law enforcement and non-governmental partners to identify, locate, and recover missing children, particularly those who have been or were suspected of being sexually exploited and/or trafficked.

Of the underage victims recovered, eight were being sexually exploited at the time of recovery, the agency said in a statement at the time.

Two were recovered multiple times during the operation while on the 'track, a common term used to describe a known location for commercial sex trafficking, the statement explained. It is not uncommon for victims who are rescued to return to commercial sex trafficking either voluntarily or by force, fraud, or coercion.

In the 2020 report on U.S. Government efforts to combat trafficking in persons, the State Department warned about the increasing number of people vulnerable to exploitation by traffickers due to the instability, isolation, and lack of access to critical services caused by the COVID-19 pandemic.

The effects of COVID-19, as with other catastrophic events, are disproportionately impacting communities suffering from systemic or generational inequality  the same communities traffickers often prey upon, the report said.

The FBI also revealed recently that its caseload for trafficking-related crimes, for both sex and labor, had increased significantly in the past several years. In 2020, the agency started 664 human trafficking investigations across the country, arresting 473 people.

Last August, the U.S. Marshals announced the rescue of 39 missing children in an operation in Georgia. At least 25 missing children were rescued last year through an operation in Ohio. Last October, the Department of Justice disclosed the rescue of 27 missing children in Virginia.
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A picturesque nature reserve known as Coon Island will be renamed after backlash over the racist origin of its name.

Councillors voted late on Monday night to start a consultation process to rename Coon Island near the entrance to Lake Macquarie in the NSW Hunter region.

The island was said to have been named after a coal miner named Herbert Heaney who was the first recorded permanent resident on the island in 1915.

Mr Heaney's nickname was said to be 'Coon' as he would come home covered in black coal dust. The word 'coon', an abbreviation of raccoon, is a deeply offensive and racist term that was once used to insult a black person.

A picturesque nature reserve known as Coon Island will be renamed after backlash over the racist origin of its name

Liberal councillor Kevin Baker, who proposed the motion, said the name was racist.

'This is a different situation to Coon cheese,' he told News.com.au.

'Herbert Heaney was a white guy who worked in coal mines and would come out with coal dust on his face and got the nickname 'coon'; it's just not appropriate in this day and age.'

The Bahtabah Aboriginal Land Council which has represented the indigenous people of east Lake Macquarie for more than 30 years - and secured more than 15 land claims in the area - thinks it is time for the name to go.

Chief executive Carol Proctor told NBN News said the island's name was offensive to Aboriginal people.

'It's a very hurtful term, you know that's something that was used in my childhood and is quite upsetting actually.'

Coon Island is popular with tourists, but is also important to the Awabakal and Bahtabah people who lived in the area for many thousands of years

Lake Macquarie Council has been under increasing pressure to recommend a name change to the geographical names board and on Monday night put it to the vote.

The Bahtabah Land Council has suggested a combined name that recognised both cultures, incorporating both Mr Heaney and the Aboriginal name for the island in the Awabakal language spoken around Lake Macquarie and Newcastle.

Lake Macquarie was once known as Awaba in the indigenous dialect.

The land council also told NBN News that they would like a greater focus on education and appreciation of indigenous culture and heritage in the area.

Lake Macquarie councillors voted on Monday night to begin the process of community consultation for changing the name both of Coon Island and nearby Coon Island Point.

First they will ask the community for their thoughts on alternative names, then devise a timeline to provide proper reports to both the council and the Geographic Names Board where names are gazetted.

Aboriginal activist Dr Stephen Hagan, who is himself originally from Cunnamulla in southwest Queensland, said he thought the indigenous name for Coon Island is 'Galgabba'.

Coon Island is located at the entrance to Lake Macquarie, 25km south of Newcastle on the NSW coast

Lake Macquarie Council announced their vote on Twitter late on Monday - they will start the consultation process to change the name, in a move sure to be welcomed by local people

Dr Hagan told ABC News earlier on Monday that a councillor 'by the name of James Baker' had wanted to talk to him about changing the name of Coon Island.

'I don't know who he is - what do I want to chat for? They've got a motion on this evening. It shouldn't even be a debate it just should be removed.

Lake Macquarie councillor Kevin Baker who introduced the motion to change at Monday night's council meeting

'In fact ... if it's not changed I'll be making an appeal to your premier, to intervene and change it. It's a shocker, I can't believe it.'

Dr Hagan said it was 'even more insulting' that the councillors were not voting on whether to change the name but just on whether to start community consultation.

'If this council don't change the name, I'll go to Gladys, and if Gladys don't change it I'll be calling her 'red-necked Gladys',' he said on Monday.

Fortunately for Dr Hagan, the motion was passed and the change process will formally begin.

Dr Hagan spent 21 years campaigning to change the name of Coon Cheese.

The popular 86-year-old brand will be known as Cheer Cheese from July, Canadian owner Saputo Dairy Australia confirmed on Tuesday, sparking a divided reaction.

There has been an increase in awareness and a push to rename parts of Australia to honour and recognise indigenous history in the last few years.
The pseudo-left Revolutionary Internationalist Organisation (RIO), which operates around Germanys Left Party and the trade unions, is playing a particularly nasty role in sabotaging the struggle against the pandemic. RIO is the German offshoot of the Morenoite Trotskyist Fraction-Fourth International (FT-CI).

In a statement entitled #ZeroCovid: What are the tasks of the left and the working class? the editorial board of Klasse gegen Klasse ( Class against Class ), RIOs online publication, feigns support for #ZeroCovid. It should be a political goal to reduce contagion to zero and eradicate the pandemic. The whole statement, however, is aimed at directing workers and youth toward the trade unions and establishment parties responsible for the official pandemic policy and the mass deaths.

The World Socialist Web Site has evaluated the #ZeroCovid petition initiative as an expression of growing opposition to the official profits before lives policy that has already caused the deaths of more than 750,000 people across Europe. The petition, which has now been signed by over 100,000 people, is inspired by the call published in December by several hundred renowned scientists in the medical journal The Lancet. It calls for a European shutdown in solidarity.

Central train station in Frankfurt, Germany, Thursday, Oct. 8, 2020. (AP Photo/Michael Probst)

Our commentary on the petition explains that the demands it raises can only be realised through the independent mobilisation of the working class based on a socialist programme. The Sozialistische Gleichheitspartei (Socialist Equality Party) and the WSWS are therefore fighting to build independent action committees in workplaces and schools so that workers take safety measures against the virus into their own hands and organise a general strike to close schools and non-essential workplaces.

At the same time, we stress that the struggle for such an offensive requires a break with the elements in the #ZeroCovid campaign, who are working specifically to divert the growing opposition to government policies to let it fizzle out without effect.

RIO is one of the most corrupt tendencies to play such a role. When it calls for the building of committees against pandemic and crisis and speaks of an emergency programme of the working class and the perspective of a general strike so that it is not us but the capitalists who pay for the crisis, this is a political fraud. RIO and its allies are not fighting for the independent, revolutionary mobilisation of the working class, but its subordination to the trade unions and bourgeois parties and thus the capitalist politics of death.

The Klasse gegen Klasse statement says, Only if we organise at the grassroots level to impose a plan of struggle on the bureaucratic leaderships of the trade unions and the reformist parties with the perspective of a general strike against pandemic and crisis can there be a progressive way out. And further, To this end, we would like to invite all left-wing, social and trade union organisations to a debate. ... In particular, we also address this proposal to the Network for Militant Trade Unions (VKG) and the groups active in it.

The claim that the Social Democratic Party (SPD), Left Party, Greens and the trade unions could become the starting point for a general strike and a progressive solution to the crisis under pressure from the rank and file is absurd. These are not reformist forces that would represent the immediate interests of the workers in a limited sense but right-wing bourgeois organisations and apparatuses that serve solely the goals of German capitalism and imperialism.

In the year of the pandemic, this has become particularly clear. At the end of March 2020, the Left Party and the Greens voted for the  Corona virus emergency packages put together by Social Democratic Finance Minister Olaf Scholz, which mainly benefited the financial oligarchy, the big corporations and the military.

Since then, the federal states led by SPD-Left Party-Green coalitions have been at the forefront of policies opening up the economy to squeeze these huge sums out of the population again. Contrary to scientists warnings, they are keeping non-essential workplaces open and are now forcing teachers and students back into face-to-face classes.

The same reactionary role is played by the trade unions. They also supported the German and European bailouts for the banks and are now organising the reopening of schools. In workplaces, they act as a kind of industrial police, forcing workers to work despite mass infections and organising job and wage cuts in the interests of the corporations. They categorically reject a comprehensive lockdown to contain the pandemic, as called for by the #ZeroCovid initiative.

If Klasse gegen Klasse appeals to these forces, it is not an oversight but the result of their class orientation, political physiognomy and history. The FT-CI, of which RIO has been a member since 2011, is not a Trotskyist tendency despite its name. It stands in the tradition of the Argentine Pabloite Nahuel Moreno, who advocated the liquidation of the Fourth International in Latin America and subordinated the working class to bourgeois and petty-bourgeois nationalistsfrom Juan Peron in Argentina to Fidel Castro in Cuba. At its core, Morenoism is bourgeois politics garnished with pseudo-Marxist rhetoric.

RIOs politics are in this tradition. Unlike other pseudo-left tendencies in Germany such as Marx21 (affiliated with Britains Socialist Workers Party) and the SAV (affiliated with the Socialist Party in England), it is formally outside the Left Party, being part of the red-red-green trade union milieu. Its best known representative, Wladek (alias Nathaniel) Flakin, writes regularly for the Left Party papers Junge Welt and Neues Deutschland. The trade union initiatives that RIO supports are not independent structures, but part of the official trade union apparatus, designed to absorb and suppress the growing radicalisation of workers and youth.

A prime example is the Network for Militant Trade Unions, (VKG) which RIO and Klasse gegen Klasse particularly address in their statement. The VKG is an amalgamation of different trade union structures and is led by jaded pseudo-left and Stalinist bureaucrats and representatives of the Left Party.

Among its founding organisations are the Federation of Democratic Workers Associations (DIDF) and the Network for a Combative and Democratic Verdi. Spokespersons are former Daimler works council representative Christa Hourani (from the Stalinist Deutsche Kommunistiche Partei), Angelika Teweleit of Socialist Organisation Solidarity (SOL, a split from SAV) and Angela Bankert (SAV), who currently heads the state list of the Left Party in North Rhine-Westphalia for the Bundestag (federal parliament) elections.

Where RIO and the left unions it celebrates stand in the class struggle and the fight against the pandemic is becoming clear, especially internationally. In the US, the leadership of the Chicago Teachers Union (CTU) last week agreed with the citys school board and Democratic Mayor Lori Lightfoot on a plan to gradually reopen schools despite the rampant pandemic. In a statement, RIOs American affiliate, Left Voice, praised the CTU, hailing the deadly deal as a particularly important victory.

In Spain, the FT-CI grouping Corriente Revolucionaria de Trabajadores y Trabajadoras (CRT) openly opposes measures to contain the pandemic. Articles in their online publication Izquierda Diario condemn even the limited lockdowns imposed by Spains central and regional governments, which are far from sufficient to defeat the virus, as an unacceptable attack on democratic rights.

For example, in a January 20 article sarcastically titled More restrictions, the recipe for confronting the third wave, the CRT wrote, As if it were a tap, they [the PSOE-Podemos government] are limiting our freedoms and movements at their will. ... Once again, they are forcing us into a life of home to work and work to our homes.

This could only be written by a tendency that has contempt for the health and lives of millions of workers and their families. While scientists warn that school openings could result in hundreds of thousands of additional deaths in Germany alone, at current incidence levels and with the new viral strains, the Morenoites are agitating against the coronavirus measures in the style of right-wing liberals, denouncing them as authoritarian measures.

The fact that the FT-CI feigns support for #ZeroCovid and a European lockdown in Germany, while explicitly opposing it in Spain, underlines the Morenoites nationalism. They articulate not the interests of the international working class but those of the wealthy and selfish middle-class layers who are moving sharply to the right under conditions of the capitalist crisis and fearing, above all, a revolutionary movement of workers.

In the struggle to contain the pandemic, as in the struggle against social attacks, fascism, militarism and the stepping up of police -state powers, they are on the other side of the barricades.
I have been moonlighting as an unpaid drudge. With schools closed, days have been measured out in dishwasher and laundry loads, school print-outs or meal prepping.

So, yes, I am hopeful that schools in England will return, or begin to, from March 8. And not just for self-serving reasons: it is wretched to see young children deprived of physical and social play, their only outside interaction through computer games.

But I have also been fantasising about some grown-up, solitary spring lunches when the kitchen is no longer a primary classroom.

Comfort lockdown lunch defaults have been toasties, quick egg dishes, beans and cheese on toast.

Left: Heartburn by writer Nora Ephron has recipes in it for sorrel soup or peach pie. Right: Small Pleasure by Clare Chambers

What I crave now are sharp, zingy flavours, citrussy squeezes and scatterings of herbs. A lentil and goats' cheese salad, perhaps? Smoked mackerel and peppery watercress? Or perhaps a caramelised onion and fennel tart with a colourful slaw on the side.

I have devoted what non-foodies would regard as a disproportionate degree of thought into what I might eat or cook next. I am drawn to likeminded literary characters.

Whitney Scharer's The Age of Light imagines the life of surrealist muse then war photographer Lee Miller. It begins in the mid-1960s, with an increasingly drunken Miller, then Vogue's 'domestic correspondent', preparing a ten-course meal for the Vogue editor she suspects has come to sack her.

In Clare Chambers' Small Pleasures, journalist Jean investigates claims of a young Swiss-born woman, Gretchen, to have had a virgin birth. The novel, set in the mid-1950s, contrasts the blandness of post-war British cuisine with the exoticism of Gretchen's baking of sachertorte (chocolate-hazelnut cake) and spitzbuben (jammy biscuits).

Heartburn, Nora Ephron's roman a clef about the end of her marriage, is narrated by funny, loveable food writer Rachel who, even in her darkest hour, can share a recipe for sorrel soup or peach pie.

These are hard times. If cooking for yourself or others, do it with love.

Patna, Feb 22 : Tejashwi Yadav, the leader of opposition in Bihar Assembly, said that the state Budget tabled on Monday is nothing but a pack of lies, which lacks the vision to provide jobs to the youth of the state.

"In the recently concluded Assembly elections, the NDA had promised to create 20 lakh jobs in Bihar. But the Finance Minister has not uttered a single word about installation of industries, food processing units, open sugar mills etc. If there is no industry in Bihar, how will they create 20 lakh jobs," Tejashwi asked.

"The Class X question papers of Bihar School Examination Board (BSEB) are continuously getting leaked at various places. Why didn't the CM or the Education Minister clarify the government's position on this in the House? Education Minister Vijay Chaudhary is directly responsible for this. Why didn't the CM ask for his resignation," Tejashwi said.

"When we are raising questions in the House, they say we have no knowledge about anything. I want to say that the CM has no knowledge about social media platforms like WhatsApp and Facebook," Tejashwi said, hinting at the FIRs registered against some journalists in Bihar over social media posts.

The RJD leader further said that the state government wants to suppress the voice of people who question it.

"If journalists ask questions, they are booked. If opposition leaders ask questions, they are booked," Tejashwi said.

Referring to the Nitish Kumar-led government's recent policy to retire police personnel above the age of 50 years over work inefficiency, Tejashwi said, "Why the ministers and top officials are excluded from this policy? The Education Minister and the BSEB chairman are the most inefficient persons who are unable to prevent the leak of question papers. Question papers of every exam are getting leaked these days." "The crime graph of Bihar keeps rising but the Finance Minister has no word on police modernisation. As a result, the cops are travelling on expired vehicles, they do not even have quality weapons to take on the criminals," Tejashwi added.
Statehouse Reporter

Danny Jin is the Eagle's Statehouse reporter. A graduate of Williams College, he previously interned at the Eagle and The Christian Science Monitor. Danny can be reached at djin@berkshireeagle.com or on Twitter at @djinreports.
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North Ladder (previously called BuyBack Bazaar), a UAE based secured trading platform for pre-owned luxury assets and electronics, has announced a $5 million Series A funding round led by regional venture capital firm Beco Capital.



The new investment will help the company scale up its technology platform, enhance customer experience and pursue further geographic expansion.



The homegrown start-up also revealed that it will begin operating under the new brand name North Ladder effective immediately, representing the companys strategy of charting new markets and supporting individuals across the globe in their endeavour to elevate their financial situation. The disruptive and innovative technology platform is the first of its kind, providing access to verified buyers of second-hand goods and instant cash.



North Ladder currently enables users to sell electronics such as phones, laptops, tablets, and smart watches, as well as luxury assets including watches and cars, with a unique option of buying it back within a few months.



The Series A financing builds on an exceptional year for North Ladder which saw rapid growth of its clients, network of buyers and corporate partnerships. To date, the platform has witnessed over 15,000 transactions in the UAE, with over 85 different nationalities served while earning an impressive 4.9/5 customer satisfaction rating.



In 2021, the start-up is looking to establish its presence in the Kingdom of Saudi Arabia and the United States, with a focus on scaling the platform significantly in the next 18 to 24 months.



North Ladder has demonstrated tremendous success with its unique model of helping customers access immediate funds against their assets. The provision of a seamless and trusted digital platform for the sale of pre-owned goods has immense socially transformative potential at a global scale. We are excited about partnering with them to take their services to the next level, said Dany Farha, CEO & Managing Partner, Beco Capital.



The company recently appointed Sandeep Shetty, former Managing Director of the core ride hailing business at Careem, as Cofounder & Chief Executive Officer of North Ladder. Prior to Careem he also led the digital transformation program at Emirates NBD and has held leadership positions at McKinsey & Company and GE Capital across India, the US and the Middle East.



Shetty joins the leadership team of co-founders Pishu Ganglani and Ricky Husaini who together bring years of prior global start-up, financial services, technology and operations experience.



Our exciting partnership with the region's leading investor Beco Capital gives us the opportunity to scale operations in the UAE and expand to other strategic markets, with the mission of meaningfully impacting people across all strata of society, said Sandeep Shetty. Our global auction brings professional buyers from around the world to compete and provide local customers with the best prices and no hidden surprises.



Since its launch in 2018, North Ladder has been recognized as one of the Top 5 innovative start-ups in the Mena region" by PayPal backed accelerator, Village Capital and awarded as an Innovator by Entrepreneur Middle East.  TradeArabia News Service
VIJAYAWADA: Telugu Desam chief N. Chandrababu Naidu on Sunday underscored that the state government must respect the right of parents and students to choose their medium of instruction in schools and colleges. Only with a strong foundation in one's own mother tongue will anybody be capable of learn other languages efficiently. If anybody thinks of achieving something big without a strong command in native language, it will be like building castles in air, he remarked.

Naidu termed as unfortunate that a great language like Telugu with rich heritage has turned insignificant in the eyes of YSRC rulers. He clarified that TD has never objected to English as a medium of instruction, reiterating that mother tongue will be an ideal basis for learning other languages.

The TDP president extended his greetings to Telugu people on occasion of the International Mother Tongue Day. He stated that mother tongue is a legacy that comes naturally by birth. Telugu has won hearts of many great people from Sri Krishnadevaraya of Vijayanagara Empire to linguist and Telugu lexicographer C. P. Brown, he added.
After taking out a tractor rally in his constituency in solidarity with agitating farmers, Congress leader on Monday hit out at the BJP-led NDA government and said agriculture is the only business that belongs to "Bharat Mata" and urged the people to "force" the government to take back the three farm laws.

The Wayanad MP, who is on two-day visit to his constituency in poll-bound Kerala, also took on Prime Minister Narendra Modi on MGNREGA.

The congress leader alleged Modi had "ridiculed" the rural job scheme when he took over as PM in 2014 but was later "forced to accept" the fact that the programme brought in by the previous UPA government played the role of "saviour" of people of the country during the COVID-19 pandemic.

"We have pop stars who are commenting on the situation of Indian farmers but the Indian government is not interested. They are not going to take back three laws unless they are forced," he said, addressing a meeting organised after the six km tractor rally between Thrikkaipatta to Muttil in this hill district.

"The entire world can see the difficulties faced by Indian farmers. But the government in Delhi is unable to understand the pain of the farmers," Gandhi said.

He alleged the three laws are designed to destroy the agriculture system in India and give the entire business to 2 to 3 friends of Prime Minister Modi.

Stating that agriculture is the biggest business in the country worth Rs 40 lakh crore and it is owned by millions and millions of Indians, the Congress leader said, "agriculture is the only business that belongs to Bharat Mata" and a few people want to own this business.

He referred to the recent "hum do, hamare do" jibe he had made in Parliament to give a narrative that two people in the government are partnering with two people outside the government to control the Indian agriculture.

The idea is that farmers should sell their produces directly to these people.They want to destroy the entire agricultural chain that protects 40 per cent of people of this country," Gandhi said.

"We are not going to allow Bharat Mata's business to be taken over by two or three Narendra Modi's friends.That is why we drove tractors here to make farmers understand that we are standing with them, we are going to help them and we are going to make sure this BJP government takes back these laws," the former Congress president said.

Earlier, inaugurating a Kudumbasree Sangamam at Poothadi Grama Panchayat, Gandhi said the Congress works for the empowerment of the poor and alleged that the idea of the ruling BJP was to empower the most powerful.

"When Modi became Prime Minister, in Parliament House, in front of all of us, he ridiculed MGNREGA.He said MGNREGA was an insult to the Indian people," Gandhi alleged.

He claimed the Prime Minister was forced to increase the work and money of the scheme during the spread of coronavirus in the country. "And he was forced to accept during COVID-19 that only MGNREGA played the role of saviour of our people," Gandhi said.

He noted that the demand for MGNREGA, which provides social protection for the most vulnerable people living in rural India by guaranteeing wage employment opportunities, "skyrocketed" during COVID.

The Wayanad MP said both SHGs and the MGNREGA were brought in by the UPA government not as a "gift" but as "tools for empowerment for making our people stronger."



He said when the MGNREGA was brought in to provide at least 100 days of guaranteed wage employment in a financial year to every rural household whose adult members volunteer to do unskilled manual work, "lots of people questioned it asking why we are spoiling our people by giving charity."



Many claimed MGNREGA scheme was going to ruin the people but the same people are not saying anything while the government is "giving lakhs of crores of rupees to the big business" and "privatising huge public sector companies," Gandhi alleged.

He also said implementation of the MGNREGA scheme was the major reason for the "tremendous economic growth" during the UPA period.

(Only the headline and picture of this report may have been reworked by the Business Standard staff; the rest of the content is auto-generated from a syndicated feed.)
Her famous mother is her mentor as she follows in her footsteps as a model.

And Kaia Gerber, 19, posted a gushing tribute to Cindy Crawford on Instagram as the veteran star celebrated her 55th birthday on Saturday.

The teen posted a throwback snap of Cindy as a young woman at the start of her career and in the caption she wrote: 'happy birthday beautiful mama.'

Big day: Kaia Gerber, 19, posted a gushing tribute to her mom Cindy Crawford on Instagram as the veteran supermodel celebrated her 55th birthday on Saturday

Kaia added: 'to the person who always makes me do a double take, the woman who gets more beautiful every year, and the mother I can only hope to be like one day... I love you.'

She then also shared a montage of images included several in which she's seen as a young child with her supermodel mom.

In the photos she shared, Kaia described Cindy as 'super mom', 'style twin' and 'queen of reading'.

'And she's even MORE beautiful on the INSIDE!!!!' she added on her Instagram Story.

Throwbacks: In the montage of photos she shared, Kaia described Cindy as 'super mom', 'style twin' and 'queen of reading'

Genetically blessed: She also shared several images in which she's seen as a young child with her supermodel mom

Famous face: 'And she's even MORE beautiful on the INSIDE!!!!' the teenadded on her Instagram Story

Kaia is with her mom and her dad Rande Gerber in South Florida where they recently purchased a waterfront mansion in Miami Beach for a shade under $10 million.

Rande, 58, and the couple's son Presley, 21, also posted birthday tributes on Instagram.

Since making her professional runway debut shortly after her 16th birthday, Kaia has rapidly become one of the industry's most sought after young models.

And Cindy has stated publicly that she had no qualms at all about her teen daughter following in her footsteps.

Successful: Cindy has been Kaia's mentor as she follows in her footsteps as a model and since making her professional debut at 16, she's enjoyed a meteoric rise to the top of the industry

Kaia Gerber did her first professional photo shoot for Junior Versace when she was 10 and made her professional catwalk debut a few days after her 16th birthday.

And on Thursday, at the Vogue: Forces Of Fashion event in New York, Cindy Crawford explained that she had no qualms at all about allowing her daughter to follow in her footsteps at such a young age.

'I had no trepidation at all about saying yes to Kaia,' she explained while taking part in the Vogue: Forces Of Fashion event in New York in October 2019.

'I felt comfortable and I was like, Go for it, have fun and I'm always here if you have a question.''

As for some of the criticism she received for allowing her daughter to star modeling at such a young age, Cindy's defense was that, thanks to social media, 'everyone's a model in their everyday life.'

As for Kaia, she has no issue with people wanting to compare her to her famous mom.

'If I have to be compared to anyone in the world, it's the biggest compliment,' she commented.

Supportive: 'I had no trepidation at all about saying yes to Kaia,' Cindy explained about supporting her daughter's dream of becoming a model at the Vogue: Forces Of Fashion event in New York in October 2019
Indian is already using Metzeler Cruisetec for the Challenger and just announced, together with the launch of the new FTR, that the same make was chosen for this two-wheeler as well, this time in the form of the Sportec M9 RR rubber.Starting this year, the Metzeler Cruisetec will be the original equipment tires of the Indian Roadmaster, Chieftain , Springfield, and Vintage models, including, when available, for the bikes coming in Limited and Dark Horse versions.For the new FTR , the Sportec will be the only type of rubber available off the factory floor. They come wrapped around the bike's metal wheels at the end of front and rear Ohlins suspension systems and will have to be capable of handling the 123 hp and 120 Nm (88 lb-ft) of torque coming from the motorcycles 1,203cc liquid-cooled V-twin engine.Indian has three FTR models prepared for the 2022 model year, the FTR, FTR S, and FTR R Carbon, each with its own set of special features. A fourth one, the FTR Rally, runs on 18-inch rear and 19-inch front wheels wrapped in Pirelli Scorpion tires.According to the German company, the tire used on the FTR was designed for motorcyclists, primarily owners of supersport and naked machines, with a sporty riding style and who use their bikes almost every day, from the urban jungle to the winding roads out of town.These tires come in 120/70 ZR 17 front and 180/55 ZR 17 rear sizes.
A federal appeals court will now rule whether a midshipman can stay at the Naval Academy while he fights his expulsion for what academy leadership criticized as inappropriate and, in some cases, racist speech.

U.S. District Court Judge Ellen Hollander denied a preliminary injunction Friday for Midshipman First Class Chase Standage, which would have barred the Navy from separating him while his lawsuit is heard.

However, she granted a stay Saturday after Standage, through attorney Jeffrey McFadden, appealed to the U.S. Court of Appeals for the Fourth Circuit.

Standage sought the injunction, claiming the separation would violate his First and Fifth Amendment rights. Standage, argued his tweets, which included tweets saying Breonna Taylor received justice when she was killed by police in Louisville, Kentucky, and advocated for a drone strike against antifa, were protected speech.

In her ruling, Hollander found that former Secretary of the Navy Kenneth Braithwaite violated Navy procedures when he signed the order separating Standage. Navy rules delegated the authority to the assistant Navy secretary for Manpower and Reserve Affairs.

Hollander also found the decision was "arbitrary and capricious," especially considering academy Superintendent Sean Buck did not consider other steps. And, she found that the midshipman from Los Angeles was not granted an attorney during the administrative hearings.

However, Hollander did not find that Standage would succeed on his constitutional claims, which centered on the First Amendment, or he would suffer irreparable harm from being expelled.

To stop the expulsion, Hollander wrote that Standage needed to prove that he would succeed on all four grounds.

'To be sure, that does not foreclose the possibility that plaintiff might ultimately so prevail," Hollander wrote in her order. "And, evidence pertinent to those claims might surface in discovery."

If Hollander had not granted the stay Saturday, the Naval Academy could have immediately removed Standage. A temporary order preventing his removal expired Friday.

"His outstanding class rank, resulting in a lineal number that render him highly competitive for promotion and the assignments of his choice among his officer peers will be permanently and irreparably be eliminated," McFadden wrote in the emergency motion for a stay. "He will forever lose his place and his standing in the Class of 2021."

While Standage would suffer if he is removed, the academy would not suffer if he is retained, McFadden wrote. If he is removed, the lawyer argued, there will be a "chilling" effect on midshipmen speech.

That effect is what McFadden argued is the harm needed to grant a preliminary injunction.

Hollander wrote in her denial that because she did not think the First Amendment case would prevail, the harm of chilling speech would not exist.

The stay order does not have an expiration date on it. U.S. attorneys, who now represent acting Secretary of the Navy Thomas W. Harker and Buck, have until March 1 to respond to the motion for the stay. McFadden will then have a chance to reply, with his response due March 5.

Harker replaced Braithwaite after the former secretary stepped down during the administration turnover, according to Hollander's order.

Standage will remain a part of the academy at least until the appeals court decides whether to hear the appeal, allowing him to continue graduate classes at the University of Maryland.

This article is written by Heather Mongilio from The Capital, Annapolis, Md. and was legally licensed via the Tribune Content Agency through the Industry Dive publisher network. Please direct all licensing questions to legal@industrydive.com.


Armenia Investigative Committee: Fatal road accident, criminal case opened

Armenia deputy FM submits resignation

Chinese authorities allow families to have 3 children

Dollar devalues in Armenia

Stepanakert: Azerbaijan creates bridgeheads for pressure on Karabakh, expansion towards Armenia

Sergey Lavrov says Russia is ready to disconnect SWIFT

Armenia MFA spokesperson resigns

Republican Party of Armenia Vice-President: Our ratings are growing, but we have greater pretensions

Armenia acting PM's spokesperson responds to ex-FM

Armenia parliament majority leader: Refusing to debate with acting PM is manifestation of low self-confidence

Armenia State Revenue Committee, US Department of Justice sign Memorandum of Cooperation

Vardevanyan: Attempts made to create false grounds for obstructing Armenia bloc election offices legal activities

Lavrov says Russia is ready to resume dialogue with NATO

Armenia opposition MP on FM's resignation

India records lowest increase in COVID-19 cases in 50 days

Bright Armenia faction in parliament: No response to acting PM's proposal to deploy observers along Azerbaijan border

Ruling bloc MP: Acting premiers proposal does not limit Armenia in terms of cooperation with CSTO

Acting PM is proud of Armenian servicemens heroism, says parliament majority leader

Parliament majority leader: No border delimitation unless Azerbaijan army units leave Armenia territory

Outgoing Armenia acting FM opens brackets: My decision of resignation was conditioned by that very reason

Harutyunyan, Shoygu discuss tension on Armenia-Azerbaijan border

Iranian MFA says US has not imported oil from country since Clinton era

Court hearing on appeal against decision to drop March 2008 Yerevan tragedy case is rescheduled

Missing soldiers relatives block Yerevan street

Parliament majority leader: Armenia acting FM did not object, at Security Council meeting, to new document

Armenia Police: 2,581,093 people on voters list

Bright Armenia faction of parliament: No corridor through the country should be provided to Azerbaijan

Analyst: Armenia acting PM Pashinyan gave self-confessed testimony

Armenia national security finds about 1 kg of opium, detains Iran citizen driver and 2 others

182 hearing aids and 2 buses by benefactor Mikayel Vardanyan for students of Special Educational Complex

34 new cases of COVID-19 confirmed in Armenia

Updated voters list is posted on Armenia central election commission website

Armenia authorities provide considerable amount of subsidies ahead of snap parliamentary elections

World oil prices on the rise

MP explains his not being on Bright Armenia Party electoral list

UK new flagship set to be named after the late Prince Philip

US man who said he shot neighbor over loud music found guilty of attempted murder

Lamborghini company to be sold for $11.5bn?

China spacecraft docks with future space station

Lawyer: Armenia acting PM Pashinyan grossly abuses administrative resources during Lori Province visit

UN urges to investigate escalation of violence in Colombia

Malaysia to open mega-centers for vaccination against coronavirus

Police find  5 million in cash in London apartment

French citizen to face trial in Iran on spaying charges

Over 60 children in UK undergo surgery due to TikTok challenge

Iranian Central Bank governor dismissed

Armenian opposition: The one who liberated Artsakh will not go to debates with the one who sold it

Iranian energy ministry: Iraq to allocate $ 125 million of frozen funds for vaccines

No new COVID-19 cases reported in Artsakh

Iran and Iraq to intensify cooperation and are ready for joint investment projects

Armenia ex-PM says at least 2 more secret documents signed but not published yet

Indonesia frees Iranian tanker 4 months later

Mortar shelling in Afghanistan kills at least 10 civilians

Fire breaks out at West Virginia oil refinery in US

Second President of Armenia meets with residents of Ararat province

Iran ready to help improve the defense capability of Syria

Armenian acting PM invites ex-presidents for debates

European Parliament head proposes to strengthen sanctions on Russia

UK PM gets married in London

Armenia reports COVID-19 new 81 cases: 4 people die

EU countries invite US to issue joint statement against Russia

2 people die in Armenia road accident

Nigeria: Students taken hostage a month ago are released

61 quakes recorded in Congo per day

Syrian MFA: EU lost credibility due to blind obedience to US policy

Armenia ex-minister of emergency situations hospitalized with heart attack

Mher Grigoryan: Clarification of border points is possible only after withdrawal of Azerbaijani troops from Armenia

Suspicious deal: Whether there was profit from buying DNA IDs?

Armenia ex-president says current authorities are trying to blame Russia for defeat in war

4 people killed in Afghanistani bus attack

Robert Kocharyan: This war could not have happened, it was a consequence of the policy of the authorities

Kocharyan: I have to ask people how it happened that overwhelming majority elected this leader

Armen Gevorgyan presents 'Armenia' bloc program: We offer the concept of a working country

Biden's administration proposed to leave unchanged amount of financial support to Armenia

US Embassy in Baku calls on Azerbaijan to immediately release Armenian POWs

Luxembourg MFA calls on Azerbaijan to immediately release all Armenian prisoners

Russia peacekeepers climb to Armenia Gegharkunik Province village positions

Biden strongly condemns manifestations of antisemitism in US

Iran intensifies its diplomacy amid Armenia-Azerbaijan border tensions

Armenia acting PM on forthcoming snap parliamentary elections: We hope to get 60% of votes

An oil spill in the eastern Mediterranean is affecting Lebanon and Israels coastlines, but details surrounding the incident are unclear.

The Israeli Environmental Protection Ministry believes the oil spill occurred between Feb. 6 and Feb. 10. Most of the countrys shoreline blackened as a result, The Associated Press reported on Monday.

Sticky globs of black tar have also reached beaches in the southern Lebanese city of Tyre, the state-run National News Agency reported on Monday.

Many details surrounding the spill are unknown. The Israeli government placed a gag order on the details of the investigation, which bars Israeli media from reporting on the involved ship, the destination and other relevant details. Lebanons caretaker Prime Minister Hassan Diab called on the United Nations to investigate the matter.

The nongovernmental organization Greenpeace warned on Monday that the spill poses a threat to swimming, fishing and marine life in the region.

The eastern Mediterranean is a busy waterway and oil tankers regularly travel through the area, according to shipping data.
Police to receive ballistic vests

A nonprofit recently issued 10 Danbury police officers new ballistic vests at half cost to department.

The vests came from Responder Wellness Inc, a nonprofit charity founded by Dr. Stacy Raymond in July 2020. Its mission is to subsidize or provide for free safety equipment and wellness services to local first responders, including police, fire, EMS and 911 dispatchers.

Each officer had been wearing an expired vest, which does not offer adequate protection.

Danbury

Kitchen expo to benefit charity

Through a donation from The Taunton Press for their test kitchens and all submitted kitchen items, Housatonic Habitat ReStore is hosting the ReStore Kitchen Expo

The event features top-of-line kitchen items submitted to The Taunton Press by major home brands. The ReStore Kitchen Expo will take place at Housatonic Habitats 10,000 square-foot-resale warehouse from Tuesday through Saturday.

Housatonic Habitat is partnering with the Connecticut Food Bank/Foodshare by donating 10 percent of total sales on all ReStore Kitchen Expo items.

Danbury

School earns grant

Foundations in Education recently presented St. Gregory the Great School with a $3,500 grant during a virtual presentation.

The virtual awards reception took place on Thursday, Feb. 4, where grant honorees shared their creative vision with Bishop Frank J. Caggiano, Foundations Board of Trustees, grant committee members and donors.

The grant was awarded to the schools for Together at Heart: Creating Art Six Feet Apart by Jennifer Sullivan.

This grant will provide easels for the students, allowing them to safely create art outside when the weather permits. Not only will these easels be used year after year, they will enable the students to create a school mural together.

The grant is among the 10 Innovation and Leadership Grants awards announced this year.

Danbury

Arts group begins 2021 programming

For the second year, the Cultural Alliance will sponsor the Walk in Their Shoes program for entrepreneurs and other members of the business and art communities who are ready to commit to increasing racial justice.

This program helps individuals and organizations develop meaningful and sustainable practices in support of black lives and others often left behind. The Cultural Alliance will facilitate 10 sessions of focused conversations. The Walk in Their Shoes is a go-at-your-own-pace framework that allows the time needed to unpack complicated topics.

The Cultural Alliance will offer an orientation and several guided conversations on topics such as structural racism; empowerment & social justice; DEI policy and best practice: setting the stage; and more. Participants will identify three meaningful practices as an outcome.

The program begins March 4. Visit https://cawct.org/walk-in-their-shoes/ for registration information.

New Fairfield

Video project to show impact of COVID on youth

For the Civic Life Project middle school students at the Kellogg school in Falls Village, CT, students will make a short film about the impact of COVID 19 on education.

The project asks New Fairfield students or young people in general to record and share a short video capturing how life has been affected by COVID 19. Example questions include: How has the pandemic affected everyday and school life? How did it feel when the decision was made to close (or to keep open) schools? And ask parents about their reacted to the decision.

The videos should be no longer than two minutes. They can be recorded on an iPhone or computer as long as participants ensure the best possible sound and audio quality. Videos should be uploaded before March 31, 2021. All will be featured on our website and social media channels and a few will be included in Kelloggs school final film.

Danbury

Challenge raised more than $117,000 for pantries

Local community members and banks raised more than $117,000 to benefit 14 food pantries in the greater Danbury area.

This was for The Feeding Our Neighbors Community Challenge, launched by local banks in October to provide food for local families in need during the holiday season.

Money went to 14 pantries part of United Way of Western Connecticuts Danbury Food Collaborative.

Led by Union Savings Bank, Newtown Savings Bank, and the Savings Bank of Danbury, Feeding Our Neighbors brought all sectors of the community together.

The Challenge got a further boost when The 3 Bs Foundation offered a generous dollar-for-dollar match, up to $15,000, in December 2020. Local donors met the challenge and brought the total dollars raised beyond the original goal of $100,000.

Local food pantries that benefited from are: Association of Religious Communities (ARC); Bethel Food Pantry; Brookfield Social Services; Camella's Cupboard; Catholic Charities - Morning Glory Breakfast Program; Community Action Agency of Western CT; Daily Bread Food Pantry; Hillside Food Outreach; Interfaith AIDS Ministry; Jericho Partnership; The Salvation Army; Victory Christian Center; Purple Heart Ministries; and Walnut Hill Community Food Pantry

Danbury

George Washington art to be discussed

Danbury Library will offer a free virtual program about George Washington at 6 p.m. on Tuesday over Zoom.

Michael Norris will host the program. Norris received his bachelor of arts in classics from the University of California at San Diego and his master of arts in classics and Ph.D. in art history at the University of California at Santa Barbara. He spent twenty years at the Cloisters Museum and the Metropolitan Museum of Art in New York and has lectured on trips all over the world.

The program will show how artists of Washingtons time portrayed him for posterity and how that posterity, through its own crop of artists, commemorated his deeds. The program will draw on art from the Metropolitan Museum of Art, the Delaware Art Museum, and the New-York Historical Society.

Danbury

Habitat to benefit from bag purchases

Housatonic Habitat for Humanity was selected as the non-profit of the month by Stop & Shop at 25 State Route 39 in New Fairfield.

For each Community Bag purchased by customers at this location during February, Housatonic Habitat for Humanity will receive a $1 donation. Customers who purchase Stop & Shop Community Bags at other Stop & Shop locations may also direct their donations to Housatonic Habitat for Humanity by scanning the ticket on the bag and selecting Housatonic Habitat as their charity of choice.

Danbury

Program to celebrate Marian Anderson

Danbury Library will hold a special celebration of the life and legacy of Marian Anderson at 7 p.m. Thursday over Zoom.

Danburys Anderson is a cultural icon best remembered for her controversial recital on the steps of the Lincoln Memorial in 1939 and her Metropolitan Opera debut in 1955.

Tanisha Mitchell will host the free program Named a Mover and Shaker by Library Journal, Mitchell is best known for her innovative work in the arts at the Metropolitan Opera where her curating and archival expertise helped the institution discover rare, previously unknown, treasures that reflect its performance history.

Participants will receive a Zoom link to the program via email once they have registered. Registration closes at 6 p.m. Thursday.

New Fairfield

Virtual photo show to be held

The Great Hollow Photographers Club will hold an "Open Screen Night - A Virtual Show and Tell of Your Favorite Photographs at 7 p.m Thursday, March 25 via Zoom.

All area photographers are invited to submit their favorite photographs for presentation and discussion. Each photographer will have 10 minutes to share their photos with the audience and to talk about them. All genres of photography and all subjects are welcome, but images must be appropriate for a family audience.

The deadline for application is Thursday, March 18. This program is free and is offered by the Great Hollow Photographers Club as a way for photographers in the community to meet, learn more about their hobby, and share their interests with others.

New Milford

Seniors receive Valentines cards

This Valentines Day, the residents and patients of Candlewood Valley Health and Rehabilitation, received a little extra love in the form of homemade Valentines cards and long stem roses.

The cards were thanks to AARPs Wish of a Lifetimes Cupid Program.

The illustrated and handwritten cards were provided by this years program cosponsor, Girl Scouts of the USA, with the help of locals school across America. The long stem roses were donated by AARP as part of its annual Wish of a Lifetimes Cupid Crew program.

Sherman

Archaeology program to be held

The Sherman Library will offer the remote program, Digging for Venture Smith, a presentation by Dr. Lucianne Lavin at 7 p.m. Friday. This program is part of the Sherman Librarys celebration of Black History Month.

This presentation will explore the multi-year archaeological project that unearthed the home and farm of Broteer Furro, AKA Venture Smith, a 17th century African-American leader and former slave.

Lavin is director of research and collections at the Institute for American Indian Studies, a museum and research and educational center in Washington, Depot. Lavin has written over 200 professional publications and technical reports on archaeology and ethnohistory of the Northeast.

Her award-winning book, Connecticuts Indigenous Peoples: What Archeology, History and Oral Traditions Teach Us about their Communities and Cultures, was published in 2013.

This program is free and is offered by the Sherman Library remotely through Zoom. For more information and to register contact the library at ablake@biblio.org.

Sherman

Animal photos to be shown

The Sherman Library and Great Hollow Photographers Club will offer the remote program, Walk on the Wild Side: Photographing Animals, a presentation by professional photographer Scott Dengrove at 7 p.m. Thursday.

Professional photographer Scott Dengrove will share his photographs taken at the Bronx Zoo and discuss tips and techniques for ultimate success when photographing wildlife.

Born and raised in New York City, Dengrove has always been involved in the arts. Having over 10 years experience with theater and design, photography was a natural extension of his love of art. His work has been published in local and national publications such as Lucky, InStyle and Westchester Magazine.

This program is free and is offered by the Sherman Library remotely through Zoom. For more information and to register contact the library at ablake@biblio.org.
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Ten people were rescued by the U.S. Coast Guard Great Lakes in Ohio on Sunday afternoon after they became stuck on two ice floes that ended up breaking off from the shore of Lake Erie in Cleveland.

The seven adults and three children were out playing on the ice on Sunday lunchtime in Edgewater Park when the pack ice broke free, rendering the group incapable of reaching the shore.

The U.S. Coast Guard received a call around 2:30pm on Sunday which initially said that there were only a few people on the ice, but that number was later increased to ten.

Ten people were rescued off the ice of Lake Erie by members of the USCG Ice Rescue Team from Station Cleveland, as well as other local rescue agencies on Sunday afternoon

Five members of the group are pictured standing on the ice floe as the rescue gets underway

The US Coast Guard rescued six individuals via the use of an ice skiff while another four were escorted off the ice by Cleveland Fire Department

This photograph gives a sense of just how far away the group became stranded from the shore

People rescued off the ice of Lake Erie by members of the USCG Ice Rescue Team from Station Cleveland, as well as other local rescue agencies are seen safely escorted to shore

The National Weather Service in Cleveland issued a warning to not go onto the ice due to development of significant cracks from southerly winds, but the advice was ignored

The National Weather Service in Cleveland warned of dangerous conditions out on the ice

The USCG's Ice rescue team from Station Cleveland Harbor and local agencies were quickly on the scene. A helicopter was also drafted to help with the rescue.

The Coast Guard managed to rescue six people from the using a 15ft ice skiff, a special boat used to travel across the ice.

The remaining four were escorted off the ice by the Cleveland Fire Department.

Before Sunday's rescue, the National Weather Service in Cleveland had warned of hazardous weather and urged residents to 'avoid going on the ice and take steps to protect and help yourself.'

News footage captures the rescue underway on Sunday afternoon

Rescuers can be seen moving into action as they walk to the edge of the ice

A United States Coast Guard helicopter flies past the Edgewater Pier as people are rescued off the ice of Lake Erie by members of the USCG Ice Rescue Team from Station Cleveland

A woman photographs a United States Coast Guard helicopter as people are rescued off the ice of Lake Erie by members of the USCG Ice Rescue Team

A Cleveland firefighter makes his way onto the ice to assist with the rescue

Cleveland resident Andrew Sowinski takes video of people being rescued off the ice

NWS Cleveland stated 'dangerous ice conditions are developing over the next couple days. It is advised to stay off the ice on Lake Erie as areas of ice could break off from the shore.'

Officials said 'areas of ice could break off from the shore' and 'if you are on the ice and it breaks away from shore, you will become stranded.'

'You can do us a big favor by telling the public: 'Do not walk on the ice,' said a Cleveland emergency personnel captain cited by Cleveland 19. 'The lake is not frozen.'

There have been a number of ice rescues over the years often from floes that have broken off into Lake Erie.

In March 2019, the Coast Guard rescued 46 ice fisherman from an ice floe, while in 2009 134 anglers became stranded and had to saved by the U.S. Coast Guard.
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KYODO NEWS - Feb 22, 2021 - 23:51 | Others, All, Japan, Coronavirus

Three Japanese prefectures of Kyoto, Osaka and Hyogo are set to ask the central government to lift a state of emergency over the coronavirus pandemic in the western areas at the end of the month, ahead of its end date on March 7, officials said Monday.

The governors of the prefectures will hold an online meeting Tuesday with economic revitalization minister Yasutoshi Nishimura, who is leading the country's response to the pandemic.

The governor of another prefecture, Aichi in central Japan, said he has already made a similar request with the central government.

The state of emergency, Japan's second on the pandemic, was initially declared on Jan. 7 for one month, covering 11 prefectures that also include Tokyo and its nearby prefectures. It was later extended through March 7 for 10 of the prefectures.

Tokyo Gov. Yuriko Koike is cautious about lifting the emergency declaration in the capital, which is still seeing a "severe" infection situation.

Koike also said she is planning to hold an online meeting Tuesday with the governors of the three nearby prefectures of Saitama, Chiba and Kanagawa.

Kyoto, Osaka and other prefectures aiming to have the emergency lifted have cited improvements in the number of hospital beds available for COVID-19 patients and the slowing pace of infections.

"New cases of infection have remained at double-digit levels for days. (The state of emergency) should be lifted at the end of this month as we expect the number of hospitalized patients to fall further," Aichi Gov. Hideaki Omura said at a press conference.

Osaka Gov. Hirofumi Yoshimura said his prefecture would discuss coordinated anti-virus measures with neighboring Kyoto and Hyogo prefectures Tuesday before filing their official requests. Gifu Prefecture, adjacent to Aichi, also suggested it would follow suit.

Kyoto Gov. Takatoshi Nishiwaki said that even if the state of emergency is lifted, the prefecture would continue to ask restaurants and bars to shorten business hours.

Japan has seen a decline in daily novel coronavirus infections but health ministry officials said last week the reduction was not sufficient to ease concern about the strain on the medical system.

Tokyo, which remains the hardest hit of Japan's 47 prefectures, has seen a decrease in new cases with 178 reported Monday, the first time the count has fallen below 200 since Nov. 24 last year.

The tally lifted the Japanese capital's cumulative cases to 109,912.

The rate of infections among elderly people, considered at higher risk of developing severe symptoms, has been rising, however, with daily deaths in the capital often totaling double digits.
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Highlights Facebook on Sunday deleted the main page of the Myanmar military or the Tatmadaw True News Information Team Page.

The move comes after two protesters were killed when police opened fire at a demonstration against the February 1 coup.

Facebook has been criticised in the past for its inaction in the hate speech against the Rohingyas in Myanmar.

Facebook on Sunday deleted the main page of the Myanmar military. The move comes after two protesters were killed when police opened fire at a demonstration against the February 1 coup. Facebook noted that the army violated its standards prohibiting the incitement of violence. Two people were killed in Myanmar's second city Mandalay on Saturday when police and soldiers fired at protesters demonstrating against the overthrow of the elected government of Aung San Suu Kyi, a report cited emergency workers.

"In line with our global policies, we've removed the Tatmadaw True News Information Team Page from Facebook for repeated violations of our Community Standards prohibiting incitement of violence and coordinating harm," a Facebook representative told Reuters.

Earlier this month, Myanmar's new military government passed a directive to the country's telecom companies asking them to temporarily block Facebook from the country to maintain stability. Facebook is popular in Myanmar and the ousted government had commonly made public announcements on the social media site. As per reports, half of Myanmar's 53 million people use Facebook.

Facebook in recent years has engaged with civil rights activists and democratic political parties in Myanmar and pushed back against the military after coming under heavy international criticism for failing to contain online hate campaigns.

In 2018, Facebook banned army chief Min Aung Hlaing who is now the military ruler - and 19 other senior officers and organisations, and took down hundreds of pages and accounts run by military members for "coordinated inauthentic behaviour." Ahead of the November elections, Facebook announced it had taken down a network of 70 fake accounts and pages operated by members of the military that had posted either positive content about the army or criticism of Suu Kyi and her party.

Facebook has been criticised in the past for its inaction in the hate speech against the Rohingyas in Myanmar. It also came under repeated attacks for its inability to effectively contain hate messages shared through its website in Myanmar. The situation has been deemed so bad that even the United Nations cited Facebook for not doing enough to stop the abuse of its platform in Myanmar.
(Bloomberg) -- After enduring a wretched week of Arctic storms, hunger and cold, several Texans lucky enough to have power were handed another pain point -- massive electricity bills.

Houston resident David Astrein, 36, a human resources director at a manufacturing company, said hes been charged $2,738.66 for 20 days this month versus $129.85 for the whole of January for a three-bedroom home with a detached garage. He and his wife stopped using their dishwasher, washer and dryer, and turned on as few lights as possible at night. They kept the heat on for their 5-month old son.

SKY HIGH: The factors behind skyrocketing power costs for some Texas residents

His bill for the month is set to exceed $3,000, according to his provider Griddy Energy.

Astrein is one of a swath of consumers facing sky-high payments in the aftermath of the storm -- many took to social media to show electricity bills ranging as high as $8,000. According to their screen shots, most are customers of Griddy, a supplier with a unique business model.

The Macquarie Energy-backed company charges electricity based on real-time prices in wholesale power markets, therefore exposing consumers to the full swings. Griddy saw the problem developing and even urged its retail customers last weekend to switch to another provider. By Sunday last week, 20% managed to do so. But not Astrein.

We were stuck with Griddy and those astronomical prices, he said by phone. The failure in Texas as a whole to plan for this adequately is now a financial emergency for all of these customers on a program like Griddy.

ARRESTED FOR WALKING: Black teenager arrested in Plano for walking on icy road during snowstorm

Griddys Response

For Griddy, that business model meant it got only a very small cut of Astreins bill.

I want to highlight that on the $2,738.66 total bill, Griddy only made $6.48, Chief Executive Officer Michael Fallquist said in a text message. We only make $9.99 per month, all other charges are a pass through.

But for some Griddy watchers, the furor comes as scant surprise after the scorching summer of 2019 also resulted in eye-watering bills. The phenomenon is unique to Texas, where the retail power industry is entirely deregulated.

Pulse Power LLC went a step further in trying to convince clients to conserve electricity -- it offered clients who curbed usage by 10% over three days the chance to win a Tesla Model 3. The raffle is set for the first week of March.

Rob Cantrell, the company president, said his customers, both commercial and retail, would see relatively limited increases in their bills.

Customers on certain types of plans will be devastated, but almost all of our customers are on fixed plans, which will see a small increase for the month, he said.

CPS Energy, the city-owned gas and power provider in San Antonio, said on Twitter that it was looking at allowing customers to spread their payments over 10 years or longer. The plan wasnt received well, with angry comments ranging from Ridiculous to Are you out of your minds?

State Probe

Texas Governor Greg Abbott held an emergency meeting Saturday with legislators to address the issue. Representative Michael McCaul, a Republican, said Sunday that the current plan is to use federal assistance funding to help homeowners with both post-storm repairs, such as for water damage and pipe bursting, and surprise electricity bills.

Assistance from the federal government is what Texans need right now so desperately, he said on CNNs State of the Union.

However, Houston mayor Sylvester Turner, a Democrat, said the state of Texas should pay for the exorbitant costs of repairs and bills for consumers, in an interview on CBS Face the Nation on Sunday.

State Attorney General Ken Paxton has already opened a probe into the power failures and issued civil investigative demands to companies including Griddy.

For now, the states Public Utility Commission ordered retailers to not disconnect customers who havent paid their bills, particularly on a Sunday.

In a Feb. 18 blog post, Griddy said the prices were sky high because the Public Utility Commission of Texas forced wholesale prices to $9 a kilowatt-hour, about 300 times more than normal.

We know you are angry and so are we, the blog said. We intend to fight this for, and alongside, our customers for equity and accountability.

Griddy said Friday it was seeking relief from the Electric Reliability Council of Texas, or Ercot, and the PUCT for customers who were exposed to the high prices.

As power is restored in Texas, new websites have sprung up to help organize potential class-action lawsuits. At least four of the new domains signal the target may be Ercot, which says it operates about 75% of the states electricity.

Astrein plans to pay the bill out of his own funds, and on Sunday managed to switch provider. It will take up to 72 hours to take effect.

2021 Bloomberg L.P.
Mohamed Noureldin came from Egypt to China 14 years ago to work in Hefei, capital of East China's Anhui province.

Seven years ago, he entered the University of Science and Technology of China, which is based in the city, for postgraduate study. He remained a student in USTC until 2020 when he got his PhD degree in public affairs administration and is now doing a visiting scholar program in the university.

"When I first came here, I used to go back to Egypt during the Spring Festival holiday," said Noureldin.

But about five or six years ago, he decided to stay for the event. "Since it's a very big celebration, I thought it was a good chance to know more about the Chinese culture and the people," he said.

"As I learned more, I became more interested in the Spring Festival customs," he said.

In the week before the festival, Noureldin had been busy visiting friends and preparing for the celebration, such as buying ornaments.

During the holiday period, the university canteens, including the one serving Muslims, stay open so that he and others do not to need worry about meals.

Noureldin said he feels homesick during this Chinese holiday, which is considered the most important event for family reunion.

"My parents told me not to return home because of the COVID-19 situation back there," he said.

"My new year's wishes are many, but most importantly, I hope everyone will be safe from the virus," Noureldin said.




[February 22, 2021] UK Top 50 Law Firm RPC Selects iManage Cloud to Support Modernization Strategy

CHICAGO, Feb. 22, 2021 (GLOBE NEWSWIRE) -- iManage, the company dedicated to transforming how professionals work, today announced that RPC (Reynolds Porter Chamberlain)  a leading international law firm with offices in London, Bristol, Singapore, and Hong Kong  has selected iManage Work 10 as its cloud-based Work Productivity platform for its 850 legal professionals.

The move to iManage Cloud is part of RPC's strategy to modernize its technology infrastructure, enable future growth, and establish tighter integration with other critical financial and practice management applications. The deployment will also provide a more agile and resilient environment for document and email management, empowering RPC professionals to work more productively, collaboratively, and securely. The advantages of moving to iManage Cloud became even more clear as the global pandemic triggered changes in remote working, said Ben Denison, IT Director, RPC. We have had agile working arrangements in place for a while now, but moving our whole workforce remotely overnight was a new adjustment both for our pople and us a firm.



iManages global data center locations and advanced scaling abilities ensure that all of our users across the UK and APAC will have a seamless, responsive user experience with no performance issues. Its important that our people are able to easily access and share documents and data from any location and any device at any time. iManage Cloud will ensure we continue to deliver the highest level of client service, continued Denison. Adopting iManage Cloud also reduces the burden of IT management, an important consideration for RPC. Updates are rolled out automatically, equipping users with the latest capabilities. Remote cloud management also eliminates many of the costs and challenges associated with in-office IT maintenance.

We applaud RPCs cloud-first strategy, said Geoff Hornsby, General Manager, EMEA, iManage. Future-thinking law firms like RPC understand that the benefits of iManage Cloud extend beyond empowering their knowledge workers for greater efficiency  also translating into better service delivery for clients. Follow iManage via:

LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/company/imanage

Twitter: https://twitter.com/imanageinc

Blog: https://imanage.com/blog/ About iManage

iManage transforms how professionals in legal, accounting and financial services get work done by combining artificial intelligence, security and risk mitigation with market-leading document and email management. iManage automates routine cognitive tasks, provides powerful insights and streamlines how professionals work, while maintaining the highest level of security and governance over critical client and corporate data. Over one million professionals at over 3,500 organizations in over 65 countries  including more than 2,500 law firms and 1,200 corporate law departments and other enterprise customers  rely on iManage to deliver great client and corporate work  securely. Press Contact Information:

Anastasia Bullinger

iManage

Phone: +1 312 868 8411

press@imanage.com



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Before Jim Henson became the beloved creator of The Muppets, he was a young artist working in advertising, using puppets to help sell products. One of Kermit's early cousins? A murderous puppet with a penchant for a good cup of coffee,and violently torturing his friend who dares to disagree with his strongly-held opinions on which cup of joe reigns supreme. In the late 1950s and early '60s, Henson created 179 short commercials for Wilkins Coffee, a bygone company once based in Washington, featuring two puppets, Wilkins and Wontkins. The former adores a fresh brew from his namesake company whereas grumpy old Wontkins refuses, a crime seemingly worthy of death, or well, several punishments including being shot out of a cannon, pushed from a high branch of a tree, or run over by a train.

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"In Wilkins and Wontkins, Jim had created the kind of silly and endearing characters that were already becoming his trademark -- the kind of characters that could even let him get away with being a little dangerous." biographer Brian Jay Jones wrote of the puppeteer's early endeavor in his 2013 book Jim Henson: The Biography.

Even more than half a century later, it seems these characters literally dangerous nature resonated with audiences everywhere, going viral on Twitter over the weekend. "can't stop laughing at these early jim henson commercials where one guy just kills another for not liking wilkins coffee," user @twothickscoops wrote on Twitter Saturday, alongside a supercut of several commercials that make The Simpson's The Itchy and Scratchy Show look like Spongebob Squarepants.

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"How about a delicious cup of Wilkins coffee?" Wilkins asks his cross counterpart in one sketch. "No!" Wontkins cries as the Washington Monument falls atop his head, presumably crushing him to death. "Strange things happen to people who don't drink Wilkins," the living muppet remarks, staring down the camera, standing next to his friend's corpse and the singular rubble from a toppled national memorial.

Another scene shows the deathly dynamic duo partaking in a game of cards. "I've got five aces, can you beat that?" Wontkins inquires to his murderous opponent. "I've got a can of Wilkins coffee!" the other puppet says, before whipping out a pistol and shooting his friend in the face. "Nothing beats Wilkins!"

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After the compilation garnered more than 2.2 million views and approximately 108,000 likes shortly after hitting the net, several fans flocked to share their favorite clips, including one where Wontkins is repeatedly beaten over the head with a club for not praising the coffee brand highly enough ...
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ADDISON, Texas, Feb. 22, 2021 /PRNewswire/ -- Richardson-based ATW Corporation is moving its headquarters to Addison, Texas. The company has leased a full floor at Greenhill Towers for a total of 26,127 square feet.

ATW is the most diversified manufacturer, largest retailer and distributor of professional grade and consumer grade trailers, parts and accessories in North America.

Greenhill Towers Greenhill Towers

"We are excited about our move to Addison and Greenhill Towers," said Pramod Raju, ATW's CFO. "It is important for us to improve the overall employee experience by upgrading our space, increasing onsite amenities, improving the office location and getting our employees together into one building. With the addition of the health measures taken at Greenhill Towers, our decision was made with confidence."

Greenhill Towers has taken every opportunity to implement aggressive protective measures for the health and safety of tenants and visitors. Protective measures include a double air filtration system, virus-killing UV lighting in the HVAC systems, and common areas equipped with Nanoseptic sleeves and spray designed to capture and kill germs.

The building ownership, Codina Partners, recently completed an $8MM+ transformation project. Some of Greenhill's state of the art amenities include Ascension Coffee and Cafe, first-class fitness center with country club style locker rooms, tenant conference center, and dry-cleaning services.

Additionally, Greenhill's property management team, Crescent Property Services, goes above and beyond to provide exceptional customer service and has been recognized ten times with the prestigious National Commercial Real Estate Customer Service Award for Excellence.

Dan Zeltser, Partner at WORK, a Shop Company, represented ATW in its search for corporate relocation, and Grant Sumner and Russell Podraza with Avison Young represented the building ownership, Codina Partners.

Greenhill Towers

Greenhill Towers and its sister building, 511 E John Carpenter provides Class A construction quality, office space, restaurant, and retail. Located in Addison, a vibrant city immediately north of Dallas, Greenhill Towers is located less than 1.5 miles from the Dallas North Tollway and is proximal to some of Dallas' premier developments, including the Galleria Dallas, Village on the Parkway, Vitruvian Park, and Addison Circle. It also offers convenient access from both DFW International Airport and Dallas Love Field as well as the city's premier residential areas of Park Cities, Preston Hollow, Bent Tree, and Glen Abbey Estates. Customers at the Greenhill Towers receive award-winning service that has been recognized ten times with the prestigious National Commercial Real Estate Customer Service Award for Excellence, or the "A List" Award, from CEL & Associates, Inc. Learn more about our premium amenities and leasing availability at https://www.greenhilltowers.com/

CONTACT INFORMATION

Jonathan Jones

CP Greenhill LLC

972.392.0660

[email protected]

SOURCE Greenhill Towers

Related Links

https://www.greenhilltowers.com


BEDFORD, Ohio, Feb. 22, 2021 /PRNewswire/ -- A longtime U-Haul self-move store at 160 Broadway Ave. has permanently closed its doors after 42 years of serving the Bedford community.

While operations ceased Jan. 31 at U-Haul Moving & Storage at Broadway Ave., the Company plans to maintain ownership of the 1.93-acre property and lease its 16,104-square-foot building to a new tenant. The facility had served U-Haul customers since 1979.

Customers of this location can find a full line of U-Haul products and services less than a mile away at U-Haul Moving & Storage at the Bedford Automile at 19000 Rockside Road. The new store is a renovated and repurposed former Chevrolet dealership.

U-Haul offers truck and trailer sharing, indoor self-storage, U-Box portable storage containers, moving supplies, boxes, towing equipment, professional hitch installation, bike racks and more at the Rockside Road facility.

Acquisition of the new store was driven by U-Haul Corporate Sustainability initiatives: U-Haul supports infill developments to help local communities lower their carbon footprint. The adaptive reuse of existing buildings reduces the amount of energy and resources required for new-building materials and helps cities reduce their unwanted inventory of unused buildings.

Local U-Haul Companies are always exploring opportunities for growth as they pursue means to better serve the needs of customers, but sometimes find it necessary to close or relocate stores. Reasons for closures can include: long-term strategic plans; physical plant limitations; shifts in demographics; trends in migration; expansion of the U-Haul neighborhood dealer network; and proximity to other new or existing U-Haul stores.

As a result of the Broadway Avenue store closing, eight U-Haul Team Members were let go.

As an essential service provider, U-Haul has remained open throughout the COVID-19 outbreak while offering contactless programs and enhanced cleaning protocols, including added steps for sanitizing equipment between customer transactions. U-Haul products are used daily by First Responders; delivery companies bringing needed supplies to people's homes; small businesses trying to remain afloat; college students; and countless other dependent groups, in addition to the household mover.

Please visit uhaul.com/announcement for more information on how U-Haul is keeping its Team Members and customers safe.

About U-HAUL

Since 1945, U-Haul has been the No. 1 choice of do-it-yourself movers, with a network of 22,000 locations across all 50 states and 10 Canadian provinces. U-Haul Truck Share 24/7 offers secure access to U-Haul trucks every hour of every day through the customer dispatch option on their smartphones and our proprietary Live Verify technology. Our customers' patronage has enabled the U-Haul fleet to grow to approximately 176,000 trucks, 127,000 trailers and 41,000 towing devices. U-Haul offers nearly 774,000 rentable storage units and 66.7 million square feet of self-storage space at owned and managed facilities throughout North America. U-Haul is the largest installer of permanent trailer hitches in the automotive aftermarket industry, and is the largest retailer of propane in the U.S.

Contact:

Andrea Batchelor

Jeff Lockridge

E-mail: [email protected]

Phone: 602-263-6981

Website: uhaul.com

SOURCE U-Haul

Related Links

www.uhaul.com


Stocks to watch today: Here is a list of top stocks that are likely to be in focus in Monday's trading session based on latest developments.

Share Market Live: Sensex, Nifty open tad higher; ONGC, Tech Mahindra, HDFC Bank top gainers

Tata Consumer Products: Kottaram Agro Foods Private Limited has become wholly owned subsidiary of Tata Consumer Products after the Tata group company successfully completed the acquisition of 100% of the equity share capital of the company

Torrent Power: The company has emerged as the highest bidder for 51% stake in a power distribution company in the Union Territory of Dadra & Nagar Haveli and Daman & Diu.

Jet Airways: Jalan Kalrock Consortium, the winning bidder for Jet Airways, expects to restart operations of the defunct airline in four to six months after receiving approval from the NCLT for its resolution plan.

Jubilant FoodWorks: The food services major Jubilant FoodWorks said will fully acquire Fides Food Systems Cooperatief UA Netherlands (Fides) for an agreed investment of 24.8 million pounds (about Rs 250 crore) through its wholly-owned subsidiary Jubilant FoodWorks Netherlands BV.

Thomas Cook: The travel services firm plans to raise up to Rs 450 crore via issue of Optionally Convertible Cumulative Redeemable Preference shares (OCCRPS) through private placement.

PNB Housing: Punjab National Bank (PNB) will not participate in capital raise plans of its housing finance subsidiary, PNB Housing Finance, but the company will continue to scout for raising equity from other sources, according to a regulatory filing.

NTPC : On successful commissioning, 5 MW last part capacity for 20 MW Auraiya Solar PV Project at Auraiya, UP, has been declared on Commercial Operation w.e.f. 00:00 hours as of 20.02.2021.

Axis Bank : ICRA has reaffirmed its rating AAA (Stable) for Infrastructure Bonds/Debentures, AAA(hyb)(Stable) for Basel III Compliant Tier II Bonds and Lower Tier II Bonds and AA+(hyb)(Stable) for Basel III Compliant Tier I Bonds and A1+ for Certificates of Deposit and MAAA(Stable) for Fixed Deposit

Karnataka Bank : The bank reported to the RBI a fraud of about Rs 34.16 crore in credit facilities extended to IL&FS Transportation Networks, which is a dud account now.

Inox Leisure : The Company has commenced the commercial operations of a Multiplex Cinema Theatre at Kolkata with effect from February 20, 2021.

Wanbury : The company board approved issue and allotment of equity shares through preferential issue.

Narayana Hrudayalaya: The healthcare service provider said its subsidiary plans to invest USD 100 million for capacity expansion in the Cayman Islands.

Aarti Drugs : The company winds up UAE-based subsidiary Pinnacle Life Science LLC.

Amara Raja: Company has opened the country's maiden technology hub to develop lithium-ion cells, at its Tirupati facility in Andhra Pradesh.

Lincoln Pharmaceuticals : ICRA has upgraded company's long-term rating to ICRA A and short-term rating to ICRA A1.
Generational Equity Advises Flex HR in Sale to Private Investor

Generational Equity, a leading mergers and acquisitions advisor for privately held businesses, is pleased to announce the sale of its client, Flex HR, Inc. to a Private Investor. The acquisition closed December 18, 2020.

Located in Johns Creek, Georgia, Flex HR is a one-stop human resource services firm founded on a commitment to integrity and customer service by delivering personalized solutions and peace of mind to business owners. The Company has a flexible model customized to fit any employer's needs and requests.

Flex HR's comprehensive offering includes high-level strategic consulting, HR back office administration powered by EmployeeUniverse and essential business services such as recruiting, HR intranets, ethics hotlines and affirmative action planning. Giving clients a more effective way to handle HR is just one reason Flex HR is among Inc. Magazine's fastest growing private companies, in addition to being named one of the "Top 25 Most Promising HR Outsourcing Service Providers" in Outsourcing Gazette Magazine.

Generational Equity Executive Managing Director, M&A-Technology Practice Leader, David Fergusson, and his team led by Sr. Managing Director Southeastern Region, Julie Sandoval, with te support of Vice President Mergers & Acquisitions, Alex Mironov, successfully closed the deal. Senior Managing Director David Robinson established the initial relationship with Flex HR.







"It was a pleasure helping both seller and buyer to a successful outcome. I enjoyed working with both parties and look forward to Flex HR's continued growth," said Sandoval.

About Generational Equity

Generational Equity, Generational Capital Markets (member FINRA/SIPC), Generational Wealth Advisors, Generational Consulting Group, and DealForce are part of the Generational Group, which is headquartered in Dallas and is one of the leading M&A advisory firms in North America.

With over 250 professionals located throughout North America, the companies help business owners release the wealth of their business by providing growth consulting, merger, acquisition, and wealth management services. Their six-step approach features strategic and tactical growth consulting, exit planning education, business valuation, value enhancement strategies, M&A transactional services, and wealth management.

The M&A Advisor named the company the 2017 and 2018 Investment Banking Firm of the Year and 2020 Valuation Firm of the Year. For more information, visit https://www.genequityco.com/ or the Generational Equity press room.

View source version on businesswire.com: https://www.businesswire.com/news/home/20210222005161/en/
Take a deep breath, its a whole new life.

Thats what Jill Holker, 43, said is the first thing shell do after walking out of the hospital doors of the University of Florida Health Shands Hospital in Gainesville.

Holker an ICU nurse in Utah helping treat COVID-19 patients every day until she herself became infected in November. She was first admitted to the ICU where she worked. Soon, doctors said her lungs were essentially not working anymore. UF Health is one of only a few hospitals in America with the capability to perform double-lung transplants. Northwestern Memorial Hospital in Chicago being another.

In fact, the first two known patients in the United States who received double-lung transplants due to COVID-19 were Mayra Ramirez, 28, of Chicago, on June 5, and Brian Kuhns, 62, of Lake Zurich, Ill., on July 5. Both of these were performed at Northwestern Memorial Hospital, according to a press release.

Holker was transferred to the Florida hospital and put on the transplant list. Dr. Andres Pelaez, medical director for the UF health lung transplant program, said, She was completely unable to breathe on her own. So, she needed an external lung to stay alive.

She received the new lungs in January. Although Holker was able to leave the hospital recently, she has to have three months of rehab in Florida before being able to return to Utah and her family, says a report in Yahoo!news.

The severity of Holkers case was completely unexpected. I had no underlying health conditions at all, said Holker. I run and work out and work full time and dont take any medications. It hit me to the point where they called my daughter to tell her to start thinking about withdrawing care, Holker said, according to a report on Friday by WGFL CBS4.

I think this is extremely rewarding, said Dr. Tiago Machuca who performed the 10-hour surgery. Its essentially the best example of why we do what we do.

Read more:
Already a major presence in the Austin area, Samsung has invested billions and received millions of economic development incentives through grants and tax abatements. The company is now reportedly seeking another $1 billion in taxpayer-backed incentives for its potential new $17 billion investment in Austin to build a factory that would produce advanced computer chips.

If the city of Austin and Travis County consider granting Samsung these taxpayer incentives, theyll be violating the very spirit of the hard reforms theyve made to limit cash handouts to large corporations.

After 15 months of work, the city put together a new policy for the Chapter 380 agreements, its main economic development incentives program. It recognized that subsidizing companies such as Apple, Facebook and Visa is a problematic strategy for a booming city that is struggling with affordability for residents and smaller businesses alike. In May 2019, the county also recognized the need to rethink its economic development programs, choosing to enact a moratorium on giving out cash to big companies to encourage relocations.

These reforms were a breath of fresh air in a policy space that is dominated by special interest and a lack of program evaluation. A few cities across the state, like Houston, have reformed their programs. The city of Austin and Travis County made the sort of bold decisions that many economic researchers who follow public policy would applaud. If they actually meant it.

Just over a year after their decision to pause this program, the county lifted its moratorium for Tesla, a company that is notorious for paying lower manufacturing wages and having weak labor standards. Tesla pitched its investment as creating middle-skilled jobs, and the county turned back the clock for them. They rushed to offer an incentive with little public discussion and no policy framework in place as Tesla threatened to locate its factory in Tulsa, Okla.

So far, Austin officials have stuck to their policy, providing incentives to a number of small businesses and continuing their support for the local arts community. But now a deal with Samsung, code-named Project Silicon Silver, is in the works.

Despite the open secret of Samsungs potential expansion, which was first revealed in its application for a state tax incentive, any potential deal is shrouded in secrecy. What they are asking wont be revealed until they formally apply. But a news report said the city offered a 10-year tax abatement worth $650 million, which is much larger than all of the citys active incentive agreements combined. This deal was reportedly rejected by Samsung, and the company countered by asking for an unprecedented 25-year incentive deal.

None of these details has been verified by the city or county  which is a feature, not a bug, of economic development. One thing seems clear, however: Even with the best of intentions and serious revisions to the rules, government officials seem willing to bend the rules for the biggest of companies.

Small or midsize businesses are shut out from the countys incentive programs; and if they want support from the city of Austin, they should read the rules closely. The city is serious about sustainability, labor standards and a focus on small business, providing a maximum incentive of five years and 50 percent of taxes to protect local taxpayers.

But the rules also state: High-impact projects, unique developments, and market competitive or other non-conforming projects will be considered on a case-by-case basis.

Basically, the rules state that they can rewrite the rules for the big guys.

Unfortunately, this story isnt unique to Austin. State programs, such as the Texas Enterprise Fund, have been willing to bend the rules for major companies. And many cities across the state dont even list the incentives they have given to companies.

Samsung is a stress test for the city and the county. The city and county took their first steps toward reform, but the reforms are meaningless if they dont apply to the exact types of investments that led to reform in the first place.

Nathan Jensen is a professor of government at The University of Texas at Austin.
Credit: Unsplash/CC0 Public Domain

Despite a sharp decline in coronavirus cases and continued success with COVID-19 vaccines, it's looking likely we will still be wearing masks for some time to come.

Dr. Anthony Fauci, the nation's coronavirus czar, said it's possible masks could be needed until 2022.

"I want it to keep going down to a baseline that's so low there is virtually no threat," Fauci said on CNN's "State of the Union" program. "If you combine getting most of the people in the country vaccinated with getting the level of virus in the community very, very low, then I believe you're going to be able to say, you know, for the most part, we don't necessarily have to wear masks."

Fauci's comments underscore what experts have been saying for weeks: that even as more people get vaccinated, masks are still going to be essential.

Dr. Rochelle Walensky, director of the U.S. Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, cautioned against viewing the downward case trends as a reason to let up on masking and other safety precautions.

In an interview with the Journal of the American Medical Association, Walensky said she hoped for the best, but also warned of a worst-case scenariothat people will stop wearing masks and physically distancing too early and that many will prematurely declare they've had enough of the pandemic and won't get vaccinated.

"What worries me a little bit is when you hit September, and then it gets colder again, and there may be a variant that emerges," and people stop wearing masks and physically distancing, Dr. Paul Offit, a vaccine expert at Children's Hospital of Philadelphia, told The Times last week.

Basic steps like wearing masks in public and keeping a physical distance from those outside your household will still provide an additional layer of safety, experts say, and help further drive down coronavirus transmissioneventually allowing more parts of the economy to reopen.

The CDC says that continued adherence to public health measures like wearing face coverings, observing physical distancing, regular handwashing and avoiding crowds and poorly ventilated areas is still recommended even for someone who has received both required vaccine doses.

"It's important for everyone to continue using all the tools available to help stop this pandemic as we learn more about how COVID-19 vaccines work in real-world conditions," CDC guidance states, particularly because it's not yet definitively known "whether getting a COVID-19 vaccine will prevent you from spreading the virus that causes COVID-19 to other people, even if you don't get sick yourself."

Universal mask wearing, in particular, is seen as critical in keeping the spread of the coronavirus on a downward trend. A recent CDC report found that states that have imposed mask orders have seen declines in the growth of COVID-19-associated hospitalizations.

The new variants have had some health officials urging more precautions with masks.

One way to improve masking is to first put on a paper masksuch as a blue surgical maskand then put on a tight-fitting cloth mask over that, Los Angeles County Public Health Director Barbara Ferrer said. The second mask covers the big gaps that can occur with a paper mask, allowing air to leak around the sides. Another option is to use a cloth mask that has multiple layers of fabric, according to the CDC.

Here are some other tips:

Using a nose wirea metal strip at the top of a mask that can be molded to fit the bridge of your nosecan help prevent air from leaking out the top.

Try to make sure air doesn't flow from the area near your eyes or from the mask's sides. "If the mask has a good fit, you will feel warm air come through the front of the mask and may be able to see the mask material move in and out with each breath," the CDC says.

Knotting the ear loops at the mask's edge, and folding and tucking excess mask material under the edges, can help improve the fit. Check out this video instruction.

Use only one KN95 mask at a time. CDC officials say KN95s as well as traditional N95s are intended to be used on their own. Adding extra masks underneath or on top of them "could not only affect how well they fit the face and decrease their effectiveness, but could increase the effort needed to breathe through them," the CDC said in an email to The Times. The CDC suggests not using N95 masks, saying they "should be reserved for healthcare workers and other medical first responders to prevent supply shortages."

Explore further Follow the latest news on the coronavirus (COVID-19) outbreak

2021 Los Angeles Times. Visit at latimes.com. Distributed by Tribune Content Agency, LLC.
An employee of major Japanese trading house Itochu Corporation has been released from prison in China after serving his sentence of three years for harming national security.

The male worker in his 40s appears set to return to Japan shortly.

Chinese state security authorities detained the man in the southern city of Guangzhou in February, 2018, and a court in the city handed down a 3-year sentence for harming China's national security.

Sources say the man ended his term in prison on Saturday, and was freed.

The employee had been working in Japan before he was detained during a visit to China. It is not clear what the charges against him were.

Since 2015, Chinese authorities have detained more than a dozen Japanese nationals for alleged involvement in spy activities. Of them, eight are serving prison terms after being convicted.
WKCTC to Help Students Apply for Financial Aid and Scholarships

PADUCAH - West Kentucky Community & Technical College will be hosting an event to help students apply for financial aid and scholarships.On February 25 from 4-7 pm, WKCTC will host a FAFSA and Scholarship Night at the Emerging Technology Center in room 109."Our focus is to provide our current students and prospective students with the help they need fill out their FAFSA and scholarship applications for WKCTC," said Emily Peck, vice president of student services. "We want them to understand there are financial options available, and we can walk them through the steps to apply for assistance toward their education."In an effort to maintain social distancing requirements, students will be required to sign up for the event in advance at the link below. There will be a maximum of 15 individuals in 30 minute blocks. Masks will be required.Scholarship opportunities include the Work Ready Kentucky Scholarship, a program that offers free tuition up to 60 credit hours for Kentuckians in healthcare, advanced manufacturing, construction/trades, IT/business, and logistics. Students are able to earn certificates in these fields in four months or less.The deadline for 2021-2022 WKCTC scholarships is March 1.Anyone that is unable to attend can have their names added to a waiting list for future events.On the Net:
Brattleboro, VT (05301)

Today

Cloudy skies. High 61F. Winds NW at 5 to 10 mph..

Tonight

Partly cloudy skies early will give way to cloudy skies late. Low around 45F. Winds light and variable.

Beyond barbecues and ceremonies: Recognizing Memorial Day

For many, Memorial Day weekend is about gathering with family and grilling or attending a parade. Some find a more personal way to honor the holiday.
At Audi, we recognize that people of diverse backgrounds, including people of color, are underrepresented and undervalued within the automotive industry. That is why weve chosen to collaborate to sponsor an internship program. -- Tara Rush, Chief Marketing Officer, Audi of America.

A unique partnership has been created for students interested in covering the automobile industry from a multimedia perspective. Dubbed The Driving Force (TDF), the Black Automotive Media Group (BAMG) sought out applicants to participate in a 10-week, virtual, field-credit internship comprising training and mentoring sessions.

The internship program evolved following a series of discussions between automakers and BAMG members this past summer. While those conversations began with an effort to improve the diversity and inclusion of African American journalists covering the industry, an opportunity presented itself to help prepare the next generation of automotive media professionals.

Lincoln Universitys Learn. Liberate. Lead. tagline has a clear distinction within this opportunity with BAMG, Audi, The Office of Internship Services, and the Mass Communications Department, said Kolbi Calhoun, a graduating senior from California. "To be seen as a leader and to have an educational experience that shows me that I can be a future world leader is truly an amazing opportunity for a young African American woman, like myself.

The inaugural program will expose selected interns to careers as reporters, videographers, photographers, and digital and social media influencers within the auto industry. During the program, students will showcase their work in various platforms, including vehicle review writing and production of YouTube style videos, and will also liaise with industry executives from the many businesses that support the industry.

Awarded the opportunity to learn from Lincoln alumni in the field of mass communication and to work with Audi is a great way to finish my senior semester, said Tatyana Livingston, a graduating senior from New York state.

For the Winter/Spring 2021 academic sessions, the BAMG follows the North Star to Oxford, Pennsylvania, where the next internship program will be supported by Audi of America for students at the Lincoln University.

At Audi, we recognize that people of diverse backgrounds, including people of color, are underrepresented and undervalued within the automotive industry. That is why weve chosen to collaborate with the Black Automotive Media Group and Lincoln University to sponsor an internship program that will help introduce students of color to the exciting world of auto journalism. We believe that embracing diverse and unique perspectives is the key to discovering new and innovative solutions within the automotive industry and beyond, said Tara Rush, Chief Marketing Officer, Audi of America.

The Black Automotive Media Group Internship Program is perfectly aligned with the Universitys liberal arts student success model ensuring that all students participate in co-curricular high-impact learning opportunities such as internships, community service, and/or international experiences, said Crystal Faison, director of internship services, Lincoln University.

The program is led by respected media experts Kimatni D. Rawlins of Automotive Rhythms Communications, Greg Morrison of Bumper2Bumpertv, and guest host automotive media journalists and publishers.

Our collaboration with Audi of America and Lincoln University marks the second diversity-focused and academic program for BAMG that allows us to extend new opportunities to HBCU students. An internship with automaker Jaguar 25 years ago deeply influenced my pathway, ultimately leading to comprehensive experience and an extensive automotive career. So, to be able to create similar opportunities for African American interns with a strong interest in this field represents another opportunity to give back, stated BAMG founding member Kimatni D. Rawlins.

Greg Morrison, a Lincoln University alumnus whose 52-year career in the industry with media outlets such as CNN, NBC, The Black Family Channel and others, said, This brings my career full circle. Many events in our country led to the awareness that Blacks are underrepresented in many industries, and BAMG is proud to have created the synergy between the auto industry, HBCUs, and student media hopefuls.

About Audi of America

At Audi of America, we believe the Future is Electric. Our U.S. model lineup will be 30 percent electrified, including fully electric vehicles and plug-in hybrids, by 2025, and globally we are committed to net CO2 neutrality by 2050. In 2020, Audi sold 186,620 vehicles in the U.S., and this year, we look forward to the next chapter in our journey to reinvent premium mobility with the arrivals of the fully electric Audi e-tron GT and Audi Q4 e-tron. Learn more about who we are and how were working to create a more electric, innovative, and inclusive future at audiusa.com or media.audiusa.com.

About the Black Automotive Media Group

The BAMG is a distinguished group of Black reporters and writers representing over 200 years of combined experience in automotive journalism within radio, television, print, experiential marketing, and social media. BAMG members either work for or own various automotive media platforms. BAMGs primary objective is to bring equity and equality to Black professionals who work in and around the automotive industry. For additional details regarding TDF, please visit AutomotiveRhythms.com.

About Lincoln University

Lincoln University, the nations first degree-granting Historically Black College and University (HBCU), educates and empowers students to lead their communities and change the world. Lincoln offers a rigorous liberal arts education to a diverse student body of approximately 2,100 men and women in more than 40 undergraduate and graduate programs.
Last Friday, the Mississippi state Senate approved a medical cannabis bill, SB 2765, during a 1 a.m. vote. But, doesnt Mississippi already have a medical cannabis program?

The legitimacy of voter-selected Initiative 65 is being debated in the Mississippi Supreme Court, but medical cannabis advocates are pushing forward with preparing for the rollout of Initiative 65 at the end of this year. So, whats up with SB 2765?

The bill was originally presented as a bill that could run parallel to Initiative 65.

The bill initially restricted the number of cannabis growing licenses to five and required a $200,000 application fee. After several amendments, the bill was passed with lower fees and a provision that said the bill would only go into effect if the Mississippi supreme court rules Initiative 65 to be unconstitutional.

With a new, ever-evolving bill approved by the senate and headed to the house and a lawsuit that could mean the citizen-supported Initiative 65 could fail to launch, its easy to wonder what is the future of medical cannabis in Mississippi. It seems the future is in the hands of the legislature and the supreme court.

You can read more about this at Reckon.
Unfortunately, our website is currently unavailable in your country. We are engaged on the issue and committed to looking at options that support our full range of digital offerings to your market. We continue to identify technical compliance solutions that will provide all readers with our award-winning journalism.
LANSING, MI - Gov. Gretchen Whitmer will testify at a Wednesday hearing with a U.S. Senate committee on road repair needs, a spokesman confirmed.

She will speak remotely with the Senates Environment and Public Works Committee, her office told MLive. The Democratic Governor will be joined by Maryland Gov. Larry Hogan, a Republican. The hearing is dubbed Building Back Better: Investing in Transportation while Addressing Climate Change, Improving Equity, and Fostering Economic Growth and Innovation.

The main thrust of Whitmers infrastructure initiative is to fix the damn roads, which she reinforced in her State of the State speech last month.

Read more: Whitmer tells Michigan she hasnt forgotten about roads in State of the State speech

In 2020, she launch a $3.5 billion road bonding plan to add or expand 122 major road projects, which helped fund the I-496 project in Lansing and the rebuilding of a bridge on US-10 after the Midland floods.

As governor, Whitmers initial plan to raise the gas tax by 45 cents over time was a nonstarter with legislative Republicans, and road funding disagreements threw a wrench in 2019 budget talks.

In her 2021 budget proposal, she outlined $300 million for bridge repairs. Additionally, a revenue-sharing program with local governments will provide $266 million on revenue sharing to townships, cities and villages for various items including infrastructure investments.

President Joe Biden, who was seen with Whitmer during his visit to the Pfizer distribution plant in Portage last week, has met with Democrats and Republicans to come up with a federal infrastructure funding plan, the Associated Press reported.

Read more: 9 things you might have missed in Gov. Whitmers budget proposal

Whitmer testified in front of the U.S. House of Representatives in June 2020 to call the federal governments coronavirus pandemic efforts under former President Donald Trump uneven.

Read more from MLive:

Gov. Whitmer to accompany President Biden on Pfizer tour

Gov. Whitmer urges President Biden to coordinate federal COVID-19 vaccination distribution with state

Gov. Whitmer gets first-hand look at COVID-19 vaccine production inside Pfizers Portage plant

President Bidens Michigan trip to Pfizer plant postponed until Feb. 19

Pfizer workers, past and present, cheer on vaccine maker ahead of President Bidens Portage visit

Portage beaming with pride in anticipation of Bidens Pfizer visit
China unveiled detailed requirements and quantitative indicators to further tighten control over risks in relation to commercial banks' online lending business facilitated by their partners, the country's top banking and insurance regulator announced on Saturday.

According to the new requirements, for a single online loan jointly offered by a commercial bank and a partner, the partner must provide no less than 30 percent of the loan fund. Currently, the partners are usually large internet platforms like Ant Group, an affiliate fintech company of China's e-commerce giant Alibaba.

In addition, the China Banking and Insurance Regulatory Commission set the upper limit for the balance of online loans jointly offered by a commercial bank and a single partner at 25 percent of the bank's net tier 1 capital. The regulator also capped the balance of online loans jointly offered by a bank and all of its partners at 50 percent of the bank's outstanding loan balance.

"By setting quantitative requirements for loan concentration, the regulator is aiming at controlling risks associated with banks' joint lending with internet platforms," said Mo Xiugen, head of research at the Chinese Academy of Financial Inclusion at Renmin University of China.

"For some banks, their lending facilitated by third parties, including fintech companies, has grown rapidly in recent years. If such loans are excessively concentrated on a few internet platforms, once risks occur at one of those platforms, the entire financial system will be in danger. Therefore, from the perspective of risk management, we think it is necessary for the regulator to encourage more internet platforms and more financial institutions to participate in this type of business. In this way, the regulator also will promote market competition," Mo said.

According to the recently issued regulatory notice, the commission forbade a regional bank from conducting online lending business facilitated by its partners outside the region where the bank is registered. On the contrary, regional banks that carry out such business should serve local customers, the regulator emphasized.

"The purpose of this requirement is to prevent small and medium-sized regional banks from using third-party facilitated online lending business as a way of circumventing regional regulation and capturing profit opportunities created by different regulations," said Zeng Gang, deputy director-general of the National Institution for Finance and Development.

"For a regional bank, if a number of its clients are in other regions, the bank can do nothing substantive about risk control but rely heavily on their partners. Under the circumstances, if the bank relies too much on one partner or its joint lending business grow too big, its risk exposure may become too high. That's one of the reasons why the regulator issued quantitative indicators to control the concentration risk level," Zeng said.

Secondly, the regulator aims to force smaller banks to focus on their primary business and better serve the real economy, the part of the economy that produces goods and services. If regional banks offer loans to businesses and individuals in other provinces, their support for the economy in their own regions will become inadequate, he said.
USM Earns Lofty Ranking as 2021-2022 Military Friendly School

Mon, 02/22/2021 - 09:22am | By: Van Arnold

For the fifth consecutive year, The University of Southern Mississippi (USM) has earned a prestigious Military Friendly School Gold Status designation for 2021-2022. This elite recognition further identifies USM as the top Military Friendly four-year Institution in the State of Mississippi.

Our measure of success is our students: their transition to becoming a USM Golden Eagle; academic progress; social awareness and ultimately job placement, said Maj. Gen. (U.S. Army, ret.) Jeff Hammond, director of USMs Center for Military Veterans, Service Members and Families. We joyfully consider it a blessing and honor to serve student-veterans, their families and others who cared enough in their lifetime to protect the freedoms of our sacred constitutional republic.

Now in its 20th year, the Military Friendly Schools list has come to set the standard for higher education institutions to provide the best opportunities for veterans and their spouses. This prestigious list provides a comprehensive guide for veterans and their families using data sources from federal agencies, veteran students and proprietary survey information from participating organizations.

Institutions earning the Military Friendly School designation were evaluated using both public data sources and responses from a proprietary survey completed by the school. More than 1,200 schools participated in the 2021-2022 survey with approximately 750 schools earning the Military Friendly designation of which 162 were selected for the Gold award status for their leading practices, outcomes, and effective programs. The Top 10 recognition equates to Gold status for those institutions.

We work hard each day to find ways for our military students to succeed, said Michael McGee, USM Veteran Center outreach coordinator. Our obligation to the entire military veteran community is threefold: (1) lead by example; (2) love our students, and (3) provide the finest in customer service. We are proud to continue in our service in serving those who protected and continue to protect our freedoms.

The Military Friendly ratings program was started in 2003 as an advocacy vehicle to encourage civilian organizations to invest in programs to recruit, retain and advance veterans as employees, entrepreneurs and students. By providing a benchmark to aim for, by posting a score, this program has encouraged civilian organizations who previously didnt care about recruiting veterans to do so.

Methodology, criteria, and weightings were determined with input from the Military Friendly Advisory Council of independent leaders in the higher education and military recruitment community. Final ratings were determined by combining the institutions survey response set and government/agency public data sources, within a logic-based scoring assessment. Formal measurement included the academic institutions ability to meet thresholds for student retention, graduation, job placement, loan repayment, persistence (degree advancement or transfer) and loan default rates for all students and, specifically, for student veterans.

Kayla Lopez, National Director of Military Partnerships at Military Friendly (VIQTORY) indicated that Military Friendly is committed to transparency and providing consistent data driven standards in the designation process. This creates a competitive atmosphere that encourages colleges to consistently evolve and invest in their programs.

Schools who achieve designation show true commitment and dedication in their efforts. Military Friendly standards assist schools by providing a benchmark that promotes positive educational outcomes, resources, and support services that better the educational landscape and provide opportunity for the military community, said Lopez.

The 2021-2022 Military Friendly Schools list will be published in the May issue of G.I. Jobs magazine and can be found at www.militaryfriendly.com.

For more information about the USM Center for Military Veterans, Service Members and Families, visit www.usm.edu/military-veterans.
WASHINGTON (Reuters) - The United States will keep up "firm action" against Myanmar authorities violently cracking down on opponents of a military coup, Secretary of State Antony Blinken said on Sunday, after two protesters were shot dead over the weekend.

Myanmar's security forces have been unable to stop more than two weeks of daily protests and a civil disobedience movement demanding the reversal of the Feb. 1 coup and the release of detained elected leader and Nobel laureate Aung San Suu Kyi.

"The United States will continue to take firm action against those who perpetrate violence against the people of Burma as they demand the restoration of their democratically elected government," Blinken said in a post on Twitter.

"We stand with the people of Burma," he added.

His assurance came 10 days after the United States imposed sanctions on the acting president of Myanmar, also known as Burma, and several military officers.

President Joe Biden approved sanctions on those responsible for the ouster of the southeast Asian nation's civilian-led government, including the defense minister and three companies in the jade and gems sector.

The treasury department also updated sanctions on Myanmar's top two military officials, accusing them of playing a leading role in the coup.

"If there is more violence against peaceful protesters, the Burmese military will find that today's sanctions are just the first," Treasury Secretary Janet Yellen warned at the time of the Feb. 11 sanctions.

(Reporting by Julia Harte; Editing by Clarence Fernandez)

STATEN ISLAND, N.Y.  Businesses interested in participating in the states cannabinoid hemp program can now apply for licensing, the office of Gov. Andrew Cuomo announced Monday.

The state Department of Health (DOH) is accepting applications for those seeking to be hemp processors, retailers or distributors.

According to a media release from Cuomos office, the industry produces cannabidiol (CBD) items currently available for purchase, including tinctures, vaporizations, oils.

Opening the application process for businesses looking to be part of the growing hemp industry in New York State is a critical step in the process of expanding our economy and building back better, the governor said. Licensing gives processors, distributors and retailers the ability to help ensure the hemp industrys long-term viability.

Any businesses extracting or manufacturing cannabinoid hemp in New York need to obtain a license, and businesses selling those products must be licensed as cannabinoid hemp retailers, according to the media release.

Additionally, businesses wishing to distribute cannabinoid hemp products from outside New York to retailers need to obtain a separate license. Applications for all licenses can be found on the DOHs website.

As part of the statess new Cannabinoid Hemp Program, there will be quality control standards that all cannabinoid hemp products must meet including manufacturing, packaging, labeling, and laboratory testing requirements, according to the release.

CUOMO PUSHING FOR MARIJUANA LEGALIZATION

Last week, the governor announced three new amendments to the states legal adult-use recreational marijuana program that hes proposed as part of the state budget.

They would enable delivery services, adjust criminal charges related to black market sales, and detail how funds generated by new taxes are distributed, according to a media release from the governors office.

Cuomo laid out the initial plan for legalizing marijuana in the first week of the new year, and expanded on his plans during his 2021 State of the State Address.

Under the governors plan, the sale of marijuana products will be relegated to adults who are at least 21 years old. Safety controls would include strict regulation of the packaging, labeling, advertising and testing of all cannabis products, according to Cuomos office.

Laws legalizing adult-use marijuana have been on Cuomos agenda for several years, as neighboring New Jersey has also pursued legalization.

In 2018, the DOH, under Cuomos direction, led a multi-agency study that concluded the positive impacts of legalizing adult-use of the drug outweighed the negatives.

It also concluded that the drugs decades-long prohibition in the U.S. failed to achieve public health and safety goals, while also leading to unjust arrests and convictions  particularly in communities of color.

Cuomo signed legislation in 2019 to decriminalize unlawful possession, while also initiating a process to expunge records for certain marijuana convictions.

Adult use of marijuana has been legalized in 16 states, in addition to the District of Columbia. There only are six states in which neither recreational nor medical use are legal.

Across the border in New Jersey, an active marijuana industry is still months, if not a year, from becoming a reality.

Once officially signed into law, Staten Islanders would be able to cross the border and shop for THC products. The minimum age to partake would be 21. If dispensaries open while the drug remains illegal in New York, residents would be in violation of New York and federal law upon re-entering the Empire State.

In March, Staten Islands first medical marijuana dispensary opened its doors to customers. Delivery services already were an option for patients who meet the states requirements for a prescription.

>> Reporting from Kyle Lawson was used in this article. <<
The snow hadnt even completely melted before lawsuits began cropping up against the Electric Reliability Council of Texas Inc. over its response to the winter storm that socked the state last week.

Nationally prominent litigator Mikal Watts of San Antonio is part of legal teams that have already filed two such lawsuits, including one involving a Houston man believed to have died of hypothermia Tuesday as a result of a power outage that left him without heat in his home.

ERCOT, the nonprofit that manages the grid that provides power to some 26 million Texans, instituted rolling blackouts to avoid a catastrophic grid failure. Power plants around the state were unable to withstand the frigid temperatures, and millions of Texans were plunged into the dark without heat.

ERCOT has singularly failed to meet its mission, Watts said. It not only failed to provide reliable electricity to people of the state of Texas, it put their safety in grave danger, leading to the unnecessary deaths of countless Texans.

At least 35 deaths reportedly occurred in Texas as result of the storm.

On ExpressNews.com: What winter-storm damages do insurers cover?

The action in Harris County was filed Monday in the death of Doyle A. Austin, whose house lost power late in the evening of Feb. 14. He was still without power the following evening when a relative found him unresponsive. Paramedics were unable to revive him.

The lawsuit over Austins death was brought by his daughter Linda Brown. Shes suing ERCOT and local power company CenterPoint Energy Inc. for negligence in failing to prepare for the states power needs. She also has a gross negligence claim to also recover punitive damages.

ERCOT spokesperson Leslie Sopko declined to comment on the lawsuits it faces.

Our thoughts are with all Texans who have and are suffering due to this past week, Sopko said in an email. Because approximately 46% of privately-owned generation tripped offline (the morning of Feb. 15), we are confident that our grid operators made the right choice to avoid a statewide blackout.

A CenterPoint representative said it doesnt comment on litigation.

On Friday, Watts and other lawyers filed a suit against ERCOT on behalf of Corpus Christi resident Donald McCarley. The suit also names the local electrical provider, AEP Texas Inc., and its parent company, American Electric Power Co. Inc.

McCarleys claims include gross negligence, but hes also alleging the rolling blackouts amounted to a taking of property without adequate compensation  a violation of the Texas constitution. He also says the loss of power interfered with (his) use and enjoyment of his home.

The complaint doesnt specify the amount of damages McCarley seeks, but last weeks outages resulted in a multi-billion loss for state residents, Watts said.

It is the result of Texas utility companies choosing to ignore legislative guidelines created after the clarion call of the freeze 10 years ago, Watts said. They were told how to prevent it from happening again, and that was to winterize their equipment.

They ignored that advice, and chose dollars over the safety of Texans, he added. That Faustian bargain has led to many Texans freezing to death in their own homes. That is solely the fault of the deregulation of the electrical utility grid and greedy corporations putting profits over people.

AEP Texas spokesman Larry Jones said it does not comment on pending litigation.

A $100 million lawsuit filed against ERCOT and utility Energy Texas on Saturday alleges widespread blackouts contributed to the hypothermia death of an 11-year-old boy in Conroe.

SA Inc.: Get the best of business news sent directly to your inbox

In another Harris County complaint filed Thursday, a Fort Bend County couple seeks more than $10 million in damages against ERCOT and CenterPoint Energy.

Mauricio Marin had been convalescing at his home from lingering health problems caused by COVID-19 when the storm hit. He relies on an oxygen tank to breathe, but he was unable run the equipment without electricity, the lawsuit says.

Mauricio felt like he was was being suffocated with a lack of air to breathe in a cold and hopeless environment, the suits adds. His health deteriorated as a result. Doctors had advised him any deprivation of oxygen would affect his heart, his damaged lungs and his immune system.

His wife, Daysi Marin, spent hours trying to keep him warm and breathing, the suit says.

Whether ERCOT is entitled to sovereign immunity protecting it from lawsuits remains an open question.

A Dallas appeals court ruled in 2018 that ERCOT is protected from lawsuits, but the Texas Supreme Court in June agreed to review the decision. The states high court has yet to rule in the case, which involves Dallas utility Panda Power.

Certainly, the courts decision here will have implications for viability claims against ERCOT related to (last) weeks event, said Ben Mesches, the lead appellate attorney representing Panda Power. We certainly believe that ERCOT should be transparent, accurate and accountable in court. That is the central issue and question before the court.

Brandon Rottinghaus, a political science professor at the University of Houston, said a ruling against ERCOT is a long shot, given the Supreme Courts conservative majority is unlikely to overturn the appeals court decision. He said, however, that political pressure should mount on the justices  who face re-election in Texas  to hold ERCOT accountable for the catastrophic power failure and its deadly and devastating consequences.

Staff writer Paul Takahashi contributed to this report.

pdanner@express-news.net


Its the name of a proposed new public service pay deal agreed by union leaders and government officials last year. It has been balloted on by union members over the last few months.

Two years, but it will have already started if it is ratified, as it covers from January 1 this year until December 31 next year.

The key measures are pay rises worth 2pc to 3pc for the countrys 340,000 public servants.

The increases would be paid on three separate dates.

What are the dates?

On October 1 this year, an increase worth 1pc of gross pay or 500 a year, whichever is greater, would be paid.

This means the increases will be significantly higher  up to 5pc  for lower paid staff including clerical officers and special needs assistants.

On February 1 next year, a pay rise worth 1pc is up for grabs.

Groups of public servants can lodge claims for a share of a bargaining fund worth 1pc of the total payroll.

On October 1, 2022, another increase worth 1pc, or 500 a year, will be paid.

Are TDs getting all these increases?

Not all of them. They are due a separate increase by July 1 this year under legislation unwinding the emergency legislation that cut pay during the financial crisis.

But they would get the 1pc increase due under the proposed deal on October 1 next year.

Why?

TDs, like public servants who are due pay restoration in 2021 or 2022 under legislation, will not get the Building Momentum increase that year.

However, if the amount of restoration due is less than the general round increase, they will be paid the balance on the date of the general round increase, according to a department document on the deal.

Didnt public servants get a pay rise not so long ago?

Yes, the last pay rise was worth 2pc of wages and was paid on October 1 last year.

Do allowances go up by the same amount?

Yes, allowances that are counted as part of pay will increase with the pay rises. A qualification allowance for nurses would rise from 3,525 today to 3,560 this year and to 3,596 in 2022.

What about part-time workers and job-sharers?

They get pay increases based on the number of hours they work.

Will it have any impact on public service pensioners?

Yes. Most public service pensioners payments will increase in line with the pay increases.

What is happening tomorrow?

The Public Services Committee of the Irish Congress of Trade Unions is due to meet to take a collective decision to accept or reject the agreement.

Unions with large memberships like Siptu and Forsa have the biggest impact on the decision.

Has the deal been a hard sell for unions?

Not really, as it contains pay increases at a time of great economic uncertainty.

Some unions have rejected it including the ASTI and IMO. But unions with greater voting power are backing it.

Does it do anything about the extra hours that public servants want rolled back?

A fund of 150m will be set up to deal with recommendations made by an independent body on this issue. Unions expect the working week will gradually be reduced from 39 hours to 37.5 hours in some sectors from next year.

What is this sectoral bargaining fund about?

This is worth 1pc of the public sector payroll and will be used to deal with claims made by groups of staff.

These groups are due to be agreed by the end of February, and proposals submitted to the department for verification by the end of June. Payment will be due on February 1 next year.

What about overtime and premium pay?

Overtime that was cut or abolished under a previous deal  the Haddington Road Agreement  will be restored on July 1 this year.

Twilight payments in the health sector will be paid again.

What is the government getting in return?

If the proposed agreement is accepted, unions are not supposed to lodge cost increasing claims for improvements in pay or conditions during its lifetime.

There is also an industrial peace clause.

Public servants are expected to co-operate with the response to Covid-19, ensure schools remain open, and drive best practice on remote working.

What happens if the economic and fiscal situation changes?

It contains a provision to review the terms of the agreement. The government wanted this only to be in the case of a worsening economic situation, but this was deleted. Unions see this as an opportunity to review the package if the economic situation improves beyond expectations.

Anything else of interest?

The deal allows new entrant teachers on lower pay rates after 2011 to skip a point on their incremental salary scale.
Russian refugees on Guam are planning a hunger strike to bring attention to the struggle they are having in requesting asylum in the United States.

Photo by David Castro/The Guam Daily Post
Laois groups are to share more than 15,000 in peatlands related projects one of with one group of young people setting out to survey a local bog from the area.

Mountrath Scouts and the Abbeyleix Bog Project have received separate grants under the Peatlands Community Engagement Scheme.

Mountrath Scout Group has been awarded 2,315.47 to run a series of awareness and education days at Knockacollier Bog Special Area of Conversation and engage experts to run workshops, erect signage at the entrance of the bog, install wildlife cameras and survey area using a drone.

Meanwhile, Abbeyleix Bog Project has been awarded 12,605.33 to procure equipment and software to develop skills amongst the Abbeyleix Bog Project volunteers and to use this to collect survey data and map over 3,000 peat dams that were installed.

Sean Fleming, Minister of State at the Department of Finance welcomed the funding.

"This funding is for volunteer groups and environmental organisations in relation to projects that they have designed covering such areas as information gathering and increasing awareness of peatlands in their area.

"These projects will increase peoples knowledge of nature and biodiversity but also help people in terms of physical and mental health and wellbeing. Investments in nature are of enormous social value, especially in these challenging times," he said.

The grants were also welcomed by his ministerial colleague and Laois Offaly based Green Party senator, Pippa Hackett.

Our relationship with the bog is changing from one of extraction to one of protection and its wonderful to see local groups in the Midlands finding a new appreciation for this fundamental part of our heritage... I applaud the community groups who have applied for this funding and I look forward to seeing the results of their efforts, said the Minister of State.

Malcolm Noonan T.D., Minister of State for Heritage and Electoral Reform today, (Monday 22 February), announced that he has approved grant funding of just under 230,000 to 25 local community groups and organisations for a variety of peatlands related projects across Ireland.

Announcing the funding the Minister stated that he was delighted to see the diverse range of initiatives put forward by such active community and volunteer groups and environmental organisations. The Minister stated that the amount of high quality applications received for 2021 was impressive and he was delighted there was such a geographic spread  with projects in 15 counties set to benefit.

He said: The high volume and quality of applications to the Scheme shows just how much communities care about and value their local peatlands, and how much enthusiasm there is across the country for local people to work together to protect, explore and enjoy these precious habitats. These kinds of bottom-up initiatives are inspiring and Im proud to have the opportunity to support them.

A statement said the funding allocation - a two-fold increase on last years allocation to the scheme - will support various projects in local peatland areas from boardwalks, maintenance of bog trails, peatland restoration plans, information signage and way-finder markers, the surveying of bog habitats and birds, promotional material and publications, oral history projects, invasive species control and peatland education programmes to nature awareness, wellness and sensory experiences.

Projects to benefit include five in Roscommon, four in Galway, two in Westmeath and Laois and one apiece in counties Kildare, Offaly, Kerry, Clare, Cavan, Monaghan, Dublin, Carlow, Wicklow, Tipperary and Louth.
Tens of thousands of unemployment claimants are answering a federally mandated question wrong every week, holding up their own claim, the Labor Department said.

It doesnt mean they did anything wrong, but these are federally mandated questions we need to ask for weekly certification, said Labor Commissioner Robert Asaro-Angelo said during an interview on NJ Spotlight. 20,000 claimants a week  20,000 a week  were still being pended because one of those eight questions was being answered in a way that we had to pend their claim per federal rules.

These questions have to be answered by claimants to continue collecting benefits. If a question is answered in a way that raises question about their eligibility for benefits, it must be reviewed to ensure the claim continues to be valid, said Labor spokeswoman Angela Delli-Santi.

She urged claimants to visit the tip sheet the Labor Department to clarify how to answer questions, depending on peoples work circumstances.

It is extremely beneficial for claimants to familiarize themselves with the questions before certifying for benefits to avoid pending their claim. New Jersey may be the only state to offer such extensive guidance to its claimants, Delli-Santi said.

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During the interview on NJ Spotlight Thursday night, Asaro-Angelo said the tip sheet was an enormous step to help claimants, but people still often check the wrong box, or select an accurate one that forces them to have to speak to an agent.

This could be the reason that thousands of New Jersey residents continue to await payment, despite the Labor Departments completion of the 11-week benefit extension.

Still, Asaro-Angelo explained, the Labor Department automatically runs a weekly script that unpends the ones we feel comfortable unpending.

There are certain ones, because of federal law, we need to speak to that person, and that is definitely a hang up for people. I do not deny that at all, he said.

The 11-week extension was held up for weeks while the state awaited federal guidance on distributing the funds, leaving some New Jerseyans more than six weeks without payment and more than 75,000 residents in limbo.

More than 2 million claims have been filed since the pandemic began nearly 11 months ago, when Gov. Phil Murphy ordered nonessential businesses and restaurants to close to curb the spread of the coronavirus.

Since the unemployment office was suddenly flooded with claims, its been faced with technological hurdles that have left claimants without benefits for weeks and months at a time. Asaro-Angelo has been advocating for the federal government to consolidate all 50 individual state systems into one to make it simpler to use.

The Labor Department is in regular contact with the Biden administration and colleagues in other states to begin preparing for the next stimulus package. The current one, which was signed by former President Donald Trump in late December and funds a weekly $300 payment, expires March 13.

While the department is limited in how much it can prepare, Labor workers are doing what they can based on current discussions of what the bill could contain, Delli-Santi said.

The latest stimulus proposal could include $400 weekly payments to all unemployment claimants, which would require the Department of Labor to institute new programming.

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Sophie Nieto-Munoz may be reached at snietomunoz@njadvancemedia.com. Follow her at @snietomunoz.

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New York's fight against COVID-19 gained new hope on Sunday, as the state's positive infection rate reached an almost three-month low.

Governor Andrew Cuomo announced that the state's rate of infection dipped to 2.99 percent on Sunday, the first time the rate has been below 3.00 percent since November 23.

Since then, cases have surged around the holidays, and new, more contagious variants have spread.

'We continue to see a reduction in positivity and hospitalizations throughout the state, which is good news, and this progress is allowing us to reopen the valve on our economy even further,' Cuomo said in a statement on Sunday.

The seven-day rolling average, represented by the orange line, is a tick higher across the state, currently at 3.44 percent. The blue bars represent people tested, while the yellow bars represent positive tests

Amid the vaccination effort, New York is reporting a three-month low infection rate

The infection rate in New York is 2.99 percent, the lowest in the state since November 23

Of 221,157 tests conducted the previous day, just 6,610 came back positive for COVID-19.

The seven-day positivity rate is slightly higher for the state at 3.44 percent, but that will likely decline if the daily infection rate remains low.

Despite the positive news for infection rates, there were 75 new deaths on Saturday, raising the state's death toll to 37,851.

There's also concern after Cuomo confirmed the first case of the South African variant in the state, which involves a Nassau County resident.

Governor Andrew Cuomo tweeted out the hospitalization rate, which is down recently

Governor Cuomo celebrated the good news, but warned of the South Africa variant

Around seven percent of the state has received their full vaccination series so far

It comes a week after a Connecticut resident in New York City was also hospitalized with the same variant.

'With the discovery of a case of the South African variant in the state, it's more important than ever for New Yorkers to stay vigilant, wear masks, wash hands and stay socially distanced,' Cuomo said.

'We are in a race right now  between our ability to vaccinate and these variants which are actively trying to proliferate  and we will only win that race if we stay smart and disciplined.'

A key factor in the race is the rollout of vaccinations, which continues across the state.

Medgar Evers College in Brooklyn and York College in Queens will open as vaccination centers on Wednesday.

They will instantly become two of the biggest vaccination centers in the entire state.

There are vaccines that have gone unused across the country as the COVID fight continues

The Department of Health reported Sunday that over 2.42 million first doses have been distributed in the state, with 1.28 million receiving both shots.

Around seven percent of people in the state are receiving full vaccine protection.

It's known that the AstraZeneca vaccine, which has not been approved in the United States, is less effective against the South Africa strain.

It's not as clear how the Pfizer and Moderna vaccines will perform against the rising variant.

New York City is running low on vaccines, down to less than 1,000 due to the winter storms captivating the nation and hamstringing vaccine distribution.

Up to 35,000 first dose vaccinations in the city could not be scheduled due to the shipment delays.

Meanwhile, restrictions in the city are beginning to loosen around indoor dining and nursing home visits, under the direction of Cuomo, who remains under fire after allegedly undercounting the amount of COVID-19 deaths in nursing homes.

A recent study from the Empire Center for Public Policy suggested Cuomo's original mandate regarding nursing homes, which was in effect for a month and a half, may have contributed to up to 1,000 deaths in nursing homes.

Cuomo is set to begin allowing visits to nursing homes, though CDC health guidelines will need to be followed.

Additionally, indoor dining resumed in the city over Valentine's Day weekend, with capacity expected to increase to 35 percent by the end of the week.

In the United States, there have been over 28 million COVID-19 cases, with the death toll officially at 498,514 and expected to surpass 500,000 in the coming days.

Nationally, over 63.1 million vaccines have been administered so far.
A huge fuss is being made about higher fuel prices. Sonia Gandhi has even written a letter about it to the prime minister. She has called it extortion. But her knowledge of history and economics  and more importantly economic history  is nothing to write home about.

So, unlike the Congress party, we can ignore her safely. What we cannot and must not ignore, however, are four simple facts. Indeed, its because economists know these facts that they are not supporting the Opposition on this issue. They know the government is right. The four ...
Culture Secretary Oliver Dowden, pictured in Downing Street earlier this month, wants a meeting with Facebook this week

Culture Secretary Oliver Dowden will hold talks this week with Facebook over the social media site's ongoing row with Australia over paying to publish news, it was reported today.

A source close to the minister said he saw Facebook blocking news groups' pages in Australia as a 'worrying development'.

It comes after Matt Hancock, the Health Secretary, hinted be also backed making social media firms pay for news.

Mr Hancock said he was a 'great admirer' of the countries that are now trying to make the social media giant pay publishers when links to their stories are shared online.

He was asked on Times Radio yesterday about the move, which has triggered a huge political row in Australia with Facebook blocking all sharing of news articles in the country in response to a planned law to make it and Google pay for links.

Canada has said it is also 'at the forefront of this battle' while Google has recently agreed to pay publishers in France for reusing snippets of their stories.

Asked if Britain should follow their lead, Mr Hancock replied: 'That is a very very good question. I have very strong views on this. All I can say is I'm a great admirer of Australia and Canada.'

Mr Hancock - who was briefly held the post under Theresa May - added that it was a matter for the current Current Secretary Oliver Dowden.

Mr Hancock said: 'I think this is a very important matter and one that I have no doubt the Culture Secretary will be looking at very closely.'

The Health Secretary said he was a 'great admirer' of the countries that are now trying to make the social media giant pay publishers when links to their stories are shared online

Mr Dowden has privately expressed his concerns about Facebook's decision to block news content in Australia and wants to speak both to his counterpart in Australia and to Facebook about the row this week, The Times reported today.

A Whitehall source told the newspaper: 'There are clearly intense commercial negotiations under way, but access to news being restricted is a worrying development.'

There are already moves under way to consider making tech giants pay for news content in the UK.

A new Digital Markets Unit is being established within the Competition and Markets Authority watchdog from April in order to enforce a code of conduct for digital platforms such as Google and Facebook

Last month Mr Dowden told a conference: 'The rise of online advertising has created a fundamental imbalance: between publishers, advertisers and the online platforms upon which they increasingly rely. It's time to even the playing field.'

He vowed to 'tackle the devastating knock-on effects that anti-competitive practices have had on our newspaper industry', as a Government-commissioned review into journalism highlighted.

A new Digital Markets Unit is being established within the Competition and Markets Authority watchdog from April in order to enforce a code of conduct for digital platforms such as Google and Facebook.

That could see them forced to pay licensing fees when they use content taken from news websites, or lose access to user data which would reduce their lucrative ability to make personalised adverts.

A Facebook company spokesman said: 'The UK has taken a very different approach to Australia which has allowed us to strike commercial deals with almost every major UK publisher.

'We are now paying tens of millions of pounds to national and local outlets in the UK to be part of Facebook News, the dedicated tab for quality journalism we launched last month.

'Weve also extended the Community News Project, which funds 80 trainee reporters in local newsrooms across the country'
After being closed for more than 10 months in view of the novel coronavirus pandemic, Haryana government on Monday announced that classes for students of standard 3-5 will resume from 24 Febraury.

The state government also said that the classes will be held from 10 am to 1:30 pm every day.

Earlier in January, the state government had order to reopen schools for Classes 6 to 8 from the first week of February, state Education Minister Kanwar Pal had said.

The schools will have to follow all guidelines related to face masks, sanitisers and social distancing.

After remaining shut for six months due to the COVID-19 outbreak, schools in Haryana had partially reopened in mid-September for students of Classes 9 to 12.

However, amid a rise in COVID-19 cases, the Haryana government had ordered the closure of all schools in November.

Meanwhile, Haryana recorded 121 new coronavirus cases on Sunday, taking the total number of infections in the state to 2,69,730, a health department bulletin said.

With no death taking place during the last 24 hours, the total number of COVID-19 fatalities in the state stood at 3,042, according to the bulletin.

The fresh cases include 30 from Gurgaon and 20 from Kurukshetra districts.

The number of active cases in the state are 861, while as many as 2,65,827 people have recovered.

The recovery rate in the state is 98.55 percent, it stated

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He became half of showbiz's hottest new couple when he made things official with Kourtney Kardashian on Valentine's Day.

But Travis Barker proved he was still a family man first as he headed out for dinner with his children Landon, 17, Alabama, 15, at Nobu Malibu on Sunday night.

The Blink-182 drummer, 45, was spotted heading in to the upscale Japanese restaurant wearing black tailored trousers and a midnight blue bomber jacket.

Dad duty: Travis Barker proved he was still a family man first when he headed out for dinner with his children at Nobu Malibu on Sunday

The musician rocked a smart casual outfit and paired an oversized graphic T-shirt with dark grey tailored trousers.

Travis completed the fresh look with a black beanie hat and matching patent brogues.

His signature tattoos were on display across his hands, neck, and face, adding to the overall punk aesthetic.

Travis was joined by his two children, Alabama and Landon, who matched his rock-star style with their own edgy ensembles.

Family affair: The Blink-182 drummer, 45, was joined by his two children, Alabama (second left) and Landon (right) and their friends

Stylish: The rocker was spotted heading in to the upscale Japanese restaurant wearing black tailored trousers and a midnight blue bomber jacket

Landon opted for a classic punk look, wearing a skeleton T-shirt with chain necklaces and black skinny jeans.

Teenage influencer Alabama brought the glamour in heeled black boots and a stylish top.

The musician co-parents his two children with the Miss USA champion Shanna Moakler, who he married in 2004.

Travis' new girlfriend Kourtney has gone to great lengths to butter up her man's teenage daughter.

Model mom: The musician co-parents his two children with the Miss USA champion Shanna Moakler, whom he married in 2004

Teenage influencer: Alabama brought the glamour in heeled black boots and a stylish top

The reality star, 41, lovingly baked Alabama a load of bread on Friday, which had a leaf design printed on the top and painted with flower.

And the gift appeared to go down well as the 15-year-old shared a boomerang to her Instagram Stories of the tasty treat.

She didn't say anything about the gifts, but she tagged Kourtney in the post and added a yellow heart to it.

Travis and the reality star finally made their relationship Instagram official on Valentine's Day as they cosied up by a fire, before holding hands on social media a few days later.

Family values: The Barker's family dinner comes after Travis posted a love note Kourtney had sent him to Instagram on Saturday

No stranger to a modern family, Kourtney has three children of her own; Mason, 11, Penelope, eight, and Reign, six, who she co-parents with her ex partner of 10 years, Scott Disick, 37.

The Barker's family dinner comes after Travis posted a love note Kourtney had sent him to Instagram on Saturday.

The note read, 'To lots of fun adventures, may we destroy each other completely,' as she signed off 'Love Kourtney.'

Although Kourtney seems to be happy with her new relationship, she reportedly didn't expect her longtime friendship with Travis to turn romantic.

Holding hands in a car: Kourtney and Travis recently made their relationship Instagram official

Getting serious: Kourtney's handwritten note to her new beau read 'may we destroy each other completely,' as things between them seem to get serious

According to a source close to the brunette beauty, the relationship took her by surprise.

'She was single for a while and didn't expect that their relationship would turn romantic,' an insider told People. 'She feels very fortunate. She loves spending time with Travis.'

The Keeping Up with the Kardashians star is glad that their romance is now out in the open.

The source told People: 'Kourtney is very happy with Travis. She wanted to confirm their relationship, because it's something positive.'

But the couple's love hasn't been a happy announcement for the entire family.

Travis' ex-wife Shanna recently appeared to shade the new relationship with Kourtney as she liked an Instagram post claiming he had 'downgraded'.

New couple: Although Kourtney seems to be happy with her new relationship, she reportedly didn't expect her longtime friendship with Travis to turn romantic (pictured earlier this month)

'That broad don't got nothin' on you. Travis downgraded big time,' one user commented on one of her recent posts, which seemingly got her approval.

Mixed in with the disparaging comment were others rallying against comments that tried to compare the two women.

But Shanna later gave the couple her approval, saying her husband could 'handle that Kardashian drama'.

She told Page Six: 'He's my friend and co-parent, and I want him to be happy. And if being with her makes him happy, and shes happy, I'm happy for both of them, honestly.'

Although the model's marriage with Travis was short-lived - he filed for divorce two years after they got married - they reunited multiple times before their seperation was finalised in 2008.
Reports claim that Israel has agreed to purchase an unknown number of the Russian Sputnik V coronavirus vaccine doses for use in Syria as part of the deal for the return of an Israeli woman held by the Syrian regime. The woman had apparently crossed the border into Syria two weeks ago, and was detained by local authorities. Since then, she has returned to Israel, in an elaborate Russia-mediated deal. She arrived to Israel via Moscow on Friday, Feb. 19. Netanyahu thanked Russian President Vladimir Putin for facilitating the deal, without entering into details.

It is now known that the woman crossed the border into Syria overnight Feb. 2, entering the Druze village of Khader, where she was apprehended on suspicion of being a spy and handed over to Syrian intelligence. It seems that the Syrian authorities quickly realized she was not a spy, but simply an Israeli civilian with personal issues. Reportedly, she had posted on her Facebook account a hint over her intention to cross the border, stating No fence will stop me.

Israel Defense Forces censor had allowed for the publication of parts of the mediated deal. For instance, Israeli media was allowed to report the release of two Syrian shepherds on Feb. 18. The two were arrested a few weeks ago when they crossed the border into Israel. Also, the press was allowed to publish Israels agreement to shorten the sentence of Nahal al-Makat, resident of the Druze Golan Heights village of Majdal Shamsh who was given a three-year suspended sentence last June. Still, the military censor barred the publication of other details of the deal.

Military censorship does not apply to Knesset members, Thus, on the same day the Israeli woman was released, Arab Knesset member Ahmad Tibi tweeted, Last week I raised in the Knesset a demand to allow the entrance of thousands of vaccines to Gaza and to provide vaccines to Palestinians in the West Bank from the large inventory that Israel has (which is the responsibility of an occupying force). Must we wait for a Jewish woman to cross into Gaza so that [Palestinians] could get a vaccine? Since then, Tibi had denied his tweet had anything to do with Syria and Russia. Still, it was perceived in Israel as a hint that the deal was related to vaccine doses.

A report in the London-based Asharq al-Awsat Feb. 20 claimed Israel is funding the purchase of Sputnik V doses for Damascus as part of the prisoner exchange deal with the Syrian regime.

Al Jazeera cited an unnamed Israeli source who claimed, [Prime Minister Benjamin] Netanyahu and [Defense Minister Benny] Gantz, knowing the possible electoral damage to both of them, ordered the military censor to prohibit publishing that Israel agreed to finance purchasing Russian Sputnik V vaccine doses for millions of Syrian citizens. The exact price was not disclosed to the cabinet, but its millions of dollars.

Some Israeli publications claim that it was not Jerusalem, but Moscow, that insisted to keep the vaccine-dose-clause secret.
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Coronavirus cases: Assam school sealed for 7 days, premise declared containment zone

India

oi-Ajay Joseph Raj P

Guwahati, Feb 22: The Don Bosco School, Guwahati has been sealed for seven days from Sunday, after a teacher and another one's family member tested positive for COVID-19, an official order said.

Kamrup Metropolitan Deputy Commissioner Biswajit Pegu declared the entire school premises as "containment zone" till February 27 to prevent further spread of coronavirus among the teaching staff and students. Both the teachers continued to take classes without intimation to the authorities, sources said.

Go for COVID vaccine or forget quarantine leave: Punjab minister to health workers

"Any unauthorised entry and exit into the notified containment zone are barred for the next seven days. Any movement of any unauthorised individual and vehicle within the notified area is also prohibited with immediate effect," the order said.

All the teachers of the school have been directed to be present on Monday for COVID-19 testing to be carried out by the Health Department, it said.

Meanwhile, the Assam government issued another order to withdraw mandatory COVID-19 testing at airports and railway stations from March 1, owing to a decline in daily positive cases.

However, the Health and Family Welfare Department will continue to maintain COVID-19 testing facilities at designated hospitals and any person experiencing symptoms of the disease can get tested at these centres, the order said.

PM Modi: India can be one of the best in defence export | Oneindia News

"The above measures will be reviewed in case there is any increase in COVID-19 cases or positivity rates," it added.

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Story first published: Monday, February 22, 2021, 8:54 [IST]
Zelensky on effectiveness of Indian vaccine Covishield: This is one of the best vaccines to date

President of Ukraine Volodymyr Zelensky notes the high quality of the Indian-made COVISHIELD vaccine against COVID-19, the supply of which to Ukraine is being negotiated.

"This is one of the best vaccines to date," Zelensky said in an interview with Ukrainian television channels on Monday, when asked about the effectiveness of the Serum Institute India's COVISHIELD vaccine.

At the same time, he specified that the first batch of vaccine to be supplied to Ukraine is produced by AstraZeneca. "We are already talking about two vaccines on which we put the first priorities: these are Pfizer and AstraZeneca. Now we are talking about AstraZeneca ... we are talking about the first batch of AstraZeneca. But in India we are separately talking about another vaccine," said the head of state.

When asked when to expect its arrival, Zelensky said: "I don't want to say when it arrives, I want to wait until it arrives. It ihas been loaded already. It has already left the factory heading in our direction."
For the year ahead, the company is focused on exploration of its Valle del Tigre II project - a grassroots-stage exploration project in the highly prospective Cordillera del Condor mineral belt of southeast Ecuador.

( ) ( ) (FRA:4W0) has completed a Phase 1 exploration program at its Valle de Tigre II (VdT) Project in south-eastern Ecuador with visible gold and copper observed in samples.

The sampling program consisted of 167 soil samples, 20 stream sediment samples and nine rock samples which have been sent to SGS del Ecuador, in Guayaquil, where they will be prepared before being sent to SGS del Peru for analysis.

Tempus has identified coarse gold in streams using traditional panning methods with up to 11 gold grains in one pan along with several artisanal gold workings in the sampling area.

Rock samples near these gold workings contained sulphide veins with visible pyrite-chalcopyrite-bornite within altered sandstone and granitic rocks.

Visible gold and copper encouraging

Tempus CEO and president Jason Bahnsen said: We look forward to receiving the assay results from the 198 samples in this initial program.

The presence of both visible gold and copper mineralisation during the fieldwork is very encouraging and together with the geophysical anomalies suggest the potential for gold and copper porphyry mineralisation within the project area.

Regional relevance

Valle del Tigre II is in the heart of the Cordillera del Condor mineral belt of southeast Ecuador with CRCC-Tongguan Investment Cos Mirador porphyry copper mine to the north and s ( ) (OTCMKTS:LUNMF) (STO:LUMI) (FRA:GXD) Fruta del Norte gold project to the south.

Fruta del Norte is an epithermal gold-silver deposit with an indicated resource of 7.35 million ounces gold at 9.61 g/t.

The Mirador copper-gold porphyry deposit is 3.2 million tonnes copper, 3.4 million ounces gold and 27.1 million ounces silver in proven and probable reserves.

Valle del Tigre II is underlain by the same sedimentary and volcanic rock sequence and lies within the same structural corridor as Fruta del Norte.

Airborne ZTEM geophysical survey

The gold mining activities at VdT appear to be along mineralised structures which are coincident with strong conductive anomalies identified in the airborne ZTEM geophysical survey.

Recent interpretation by Insight Geophysics of the survey data, which was examined for FdN class targets, has outlined two additional mineralised trends which are now under examination for drill testing.

Geotech Ltd, with contributions from Insight Geophysics and Tempus, will be presenting a case study at the Canadian Exploration Geophysical Society (KEGS) online March 18, 2021, using ZTEM data from Rio Zarza which covered Fruta del Norte and the Valle del Tigre II property.

Valle del Tigre II and Rio Zarza locations.

Exploration in Ecuador 2021

Due to the impact of COVID-19 global pandemic over the past year, the Ecuadorian Presidential elections and the recent exploration results, Tempus has placed previous strategic discussions regarding the Rio Zarza project on hold for the present time.

Exploration activities in Ecuador during 2021 will instead focus on the identification and development of drill targets at Valle del Tigre II to complement the drill-ready Rio Zarza project.

The company is encouraged by the potential of its Valle Del Tigre II and Rio Zarza exploration projects in Ecuador and believe these projects will generate value for Tempus shareholders.
Unfortunately, our website is currently unavailable in your country. We are engaged on the issue and committed to looking at options that support our full range of digital offerings to your market. We continue to identify technical compliance solutions that will provide all readers with our award-winning journalism.
BOISE  A bill to make illegal demonstrating at a persons residence headed to the full House on Friday, after a series of demonstrations at the homes of officials and police officers spurred by frustration with restrictions on gatherings or mask-wearing mandates to slow infections and deaths because of the coronavirus pandemic.

The House Judiciary, Rules and Administration Committee voted 11-4 to approve the bill backers say is needed to prevent mobs from trying to intimidate and even terrorize families in their homes.

Backers say allowing the demonstrations will tear the social fabric by causing people to avoid public service or join police agencies.

When we turn the volume up this high on political discourse, we crowd out anybody not willing to be equally as confrontational, angry, loud or violent, Republican Rep. Greg Chaney said. He is a co-sponsor of the legislation with Rep. Brooke Green, a Democrat from Boise.

In the last year, a new playbook has been written, and several groups of individuals across the spectrum used it to terrify families in their homes, Green said.

The public hearing drew so many people wanting to testify that comments were taken Wednesday and Friday. After Wednesdays raucous hearing, torch- and pitchfork-wielding protesters gathered outside Chaneys house that evening.

Law enforcement agencies support the bill.

Theres a lot of turmoil over this last year, 2020 especially, Canyon County Sheriff Kieran Donahue said. But that agitation should not be taken to peoples individual homes.

The American Civil Liberties Union of Idaho opposed the bill, saying it violated free speech rights and would be challenged in court if it became law. Chaney said the bill is modeled after an Arizona law that has been enforced for about 30 years.

Some who testified said they went to demonstrate at homes because they said their ability to protest at public meetings had been limited as government entities started holding meetings online to avoid spreading the virus.

Why would I feel the need to go to their personal residences? Its because Im not being heard, Del Chapel said. Thats why. Im not being heard. And when I feel like Im not being heard, Im going to go someplace where I can be heard.

Many of those testifying against the bill used terms common among anti-government activist Ammon Bundy and his Peoples Rights network, contending in general the people were having their rights taken away. Bundy, who has picketed at peoples homes and encouraged others to do so, is banned from the Statehouse following his two arrests in the building in August during a special session called to deal with the pandemic.

His Peoples Rights network has grown significantly during the pandemic as precautions to avoid spreading the virus, such as mask-wearing or limits on public and private gatherings, have been put in place.

For a time, gatherings of 10 or more in private residences were also banned as coronavirus deaths soared in Idaho and hospitals feared rationing care.

If you had left our houses alone, we would have left your houses alone as well, Jessica Marcu of Nampa told lawmakers.

Many of those testifying on Wednesday veered away from the topic of the legislation to make personal attacks on lawmakers, particularly Chaney, the system in general and members of the media. The committee room had a significant police presence both days.

Lawmakers on Friday before voting said they struggled to come to a decision on the bill.

Republican Rep. David Cannon said he decided to support the bill because the wealthy can insulate themselves behind gated communities, while those he called the common people couldnt and would be easy targets for home demonstrators.

The unintended consequence is we drive them away and were going to be governed by the elites, he said.

Republican Rep. Ryan Kerby, a former teacher and school superintendent, said society only functions productively when people dont have to worry about their home.

People need to be able to feel safe and secure in their homes, he said. I dont think our society is going to work at a high level of productivity if people do not want to participate in government.

Republican Reps. Ron Nate and Julianne Young opposed the bill, saying they appreciated the idea but that it was too broad. Nate said it could prevent protests at a public site if there was a private home nearby.
A nurse has been fined $5,000 after injecting cosmetic fillers into 15 patients in one day while her registration was suspended.

Tanya Bechara has been spared a conviction, after leaving one patient with blue marks under her eyes during the botched November 2018 procedure in Melbourne.

Her registration had been suspended months before because Bechara was suspected of breaching a supervision order imposed following a performance review.

Tanya Bechara has been spared a conviction, after leaving one patient with blue marks under her eyes during the botched November 2018 procedure in Melbourne

Her registration had been suspended months before because Bechara was suspected of breaching a supervision order imposed following a performance review

This didn't stop the Sydney-based Radiance Cosmetics nurse from injecting up to 15 patients during a one-day travelling clinic in Melbourne.

Bechara had brought a registered nurse with her to perform the procedures.

'That was the plan until it wasn't,' magistrate Trieu Huynh said in sentencing on Monday.

'Be it ego, overconfidence or complacency,' Mr Huynh said Bechara insisted on doing it herself.

When the registered nurse protested, Bechara told her 'oh it's fine, it's fine'.

One patient came in for under-eye fillers and botox, but Bechara said she'd run out of the latter and instead gave her eye and lip fillers.

This left the woman in pain, and with swelling, bruising and facial discolouring.

She has since undergone medical procedures to reverse the effects.

Bechara did not consult with a doctor before the procedure, explain the products used or what after care the woman should follow.

The woman later complained to Bechara and was offered a refund for the eye treatment, but did not receive it.

Bechara wanted to avoid a conviction because she was doing a nursing degree and would need to re-apply for registration, which was cancelled in December

This didn't stop the Sydney-based Radiance Cosmetics (pictured) nurse from injecting up to 15 patients during a one-day travelling clinic in Melbourne

Her lawyer, Sean Cash, last week told the court Bechara's judgment at the time was compromised after she miscarried twins and her father suffered a heart attack.

She pleaded guilty to knowingly holding herself out to be a registered professional when that wasn't the case.

Bechara wanted to avoid a conviction because she was doing a nursing degree and would need to re-apply for registration, which was cancelled in December.

Prosecutors said Bechara's prosects on that front were questionable given her conduct.

Alongside the $5,000 fine, she must pay $2,650 in compensation for her victim.
(Natural News) Complaints are plastered all over reviews, blogs and comment boards about how nicotine gum leaves you with a bad taste, mouth burn and nausea. Even brands that brag about having decent flavor get the same negative reviews. Then there are the grim statistics for the gum and the patch to help people actually quit smoking or vaping, coming in at a low 6 percent (thats a 94 percent failure rate), and after six months, that figure gets cut in half (that becomes a 97 percent failure rate). That boils down to only 3 percent of all nicotine patch and gum consumers ever really successfully using these products as a quit method.

So then the question looms, why do they keep buying them? Lets take a look. The nicotine patch market globally is worth over $6 billion dollars, and the nicotine gum market another $5 billion. The reason hundreds of millions of nicotine users buy them is to quash the cravings when they cant use their nicotine delivery device, whether at work, traveling by plane, train, bus or car, or at some kind of event that bans smoking and vaping.

Consider this: What if there was a better choice, a clean one, a natural one that still boosted dopamine, and effectively, but without all the systemic punishment to the body that nicotine delivers? Well cover that in a minute, but first a quick history lesson on how the nicotine alternative market got to be so ugly.

From the 1930s to the 1960s, thousands of doctors betrayed Americans and advertised smoking as a healthy habit, then they invented the patch and gum

Once the science proved that smoking was bad for your health and caused lung cancer, which was discovered in the mid-1930s, the insidious American Medical Association kept it all quiet, while paying doctors to advertise smoking as good for digestion, relaxation, and they even recommended specific brands as the best ones you should try (get hooked on, get lung cancer and make them a fortune). The advertisements even encouraged children to smoke, subliminally telling them if they smoked cigarettes they could live to be 100 years old! Take a look.

Then, after 30 years of lying, and after 1 in every 4 Americans got hooked on the worlds third most addictive and deadly drug, came the announced that smoking causes lung cancer. Thats when more crooked doctors started developing and marketing the nicotine gum, followed by the nicotine patch  both scams to keep people hooked on nicotine, sending them right back within six months to smoking a pack of cigarettes (or two) a day.

The nicotine patch was invented in 1969 by a doctor who was addicted to cigarettes. Oh, the irony. After an entire year on his own patch, he quit smoking. Then the gum was mass produced two years later, in 1971, by AB Leo. The gum used a slow-release resin to regulate the nicotine dose during chewing.

Then, about 13 years later, by 1984, doctors at UCLA designed a patch you attach to your skin (transdermal) and marketed it as medication for smokers trying to quit. Still, it was all a scam, and the doctors knew it, just like they knew from the beginning that smoking caused lung cancer, among other cancers of the mouth, throat and windpipe.

Horrific side effects of nicotine gum and patch are nearly intolerable

Nicotine gum leads to yellow teeth and bad breath, and thats just the beginning. Slowly, the plaque and tartar build up, leading to bleeding gums, indigestion and sore throats. Then comes the nausea, hiccups and actual injuries to the cheeks and teeth. Thats the gum damage and its chronic, as it gets worse the more you chew and the longer you use. Meanwhile, the nicotine is constricting veins and making the heart work harder and harder.

Then theres the gruesome patch. The nicotine patch causes skin irritation, dizziness, racing heartbeat, headaches, nausea and stiff muscles that ache all day. Sound familiar? Some patch users actually vomit and go into seizures. So then, what other choices are out there if youre trying to kick nicotine cravings, whether for a few hours, all day, or for life?

The worlds ONLY natural nicotine alternative

Theres a natural product that boosts dopamine safely and effectively, that contains a proprietary blend of superfoods and supplements, with clinical research to back up the effectiveness. Its called Krave Kicker, and the inventors are disrupting a huge market of consumers who are sick and tired (pun intended) of nicotine alternatives that keep them hooked on nicotine. You may want to check out Krave Kicker. Zero nicotine. Zero cravings. This has been a public service announcement from NaturalNews.com. Tune your internet dial to StopSmoking.news for more sustainable ways to kick the cravings of cigarettes or vape.

Sources for this article include:

NaturalNews.com

KraveKicker.com

StopSmoking.news

AllenCarr.com

For Subscribers Why South Dakota county officials are shirking state-given water rights

Grant County could be the thirteenth county to repeal their drainage ordinance in the past decade.
Xia Baolong, vice chairman of the National Committee of the Chinese People's Political Consultative Conference and head of the Hong Kong and Macao Affairs Office of the State Council, makes a speech at the opening of a symposium on improving the institutional framework of "one country, two systems" and implementing the fundamental principle of "patriots governing Hong Kong" in Beijing, capital of China, Feb. 22, 2021. (Xinhua/Gao Jie)

BEIJING, Feb. 22 (Xinhua) -- A symposium on improving the institutional framework of "one country, two systems" and implementing the fundamental principle of "patriots governing Hong Kong" was held in Beijing Monday.

Xia Baolong, vice chairman of the National Committee of the Chinese People's Political Consultative Conference and head of the Hong Kong and Macao Affairs Office of the State Council, made a speech at the symposium.

To ensure the steady and sustained implementation of "one country, two systems," the principle of "patriots governing Hong Kong" must always be upheld, said Xia, citing remarks made by Xi Jinping, general secretary of the Communist Party of China Central Committee.

Lauding "one country, two systems" as the best institutional arrangement for maintaining the long-term prosperity and stability of Hong Kong, Xia pledged unswerving efforts in implementing the policies of "one country, two systems," "the people of Hong Kong governing Hong Kong" and a high degree of autonomy.

Calling "patriots governing Hong Kong" the essence of "one country, two systems," Xia said the principle means that after its return to the motherland, Hong Kong must be governed by patriots and the power of the Hong Kong Special Administrative Region (HKSAR) must be in the hands of patriots.

Xia warned of the risk of anti-China disruptors, "Hong Kong independence" elements and other radical separatists entering into the governance architecture of the HKSAR through elections.

He thus called for prompt efforts to improve related systems in the HKSAR, especially the electoral system, so that "patriots governing Hong Kong" can be effectively implemented.

Members of the executive, legislative and judicial organs of the HKSAR and chief officials of its major statutory bodies must be genuine patriots, he said.

Experts and scholars attending the symposium said Hong Kong's current electoral system can not provide a strong institutional guarantee for comprehensively implementing the principle of "patriots governing Hong Kong" and prompt measures are needed to plug the loopholes.

The symposium was organized by the Chinese Association of Hong Kong and Macao Studies, and was attended by nearly 200 people including chief officials of related central authorities, relevant officials, experts and scholars from the mainland, the HKSAR and the Macao SAR.

Officials, experts and scholars in Shenzhen, Hong Kong and Macao attended the event via video link.
MBABANE  Bhadala Mambas wife, Nelisiwe, has told the court that the lobola cattle her husband wants her to return were never given to her.

Nelisiwe was responding to the application that has been filed by Mamba at the High Court in which he is seeking an order directing her to pay back the lobola - a herd of nine cattle.

The former Central Bank of Eswatini employee, also wants the court to declare their Swazi Law and Custom marriage to have been dissolved.

Mamba accused her of allegedly deserting her marital homestead and claimed to be married to another man.

In her notice to raise points of law, Nelisiwe told the court that there was no proof that the herd of cattle was paid and/or received by her and on which date.

She mentioned that Mamba did not describe or give particulars of the cattle in question to the court. She explained that in terms of Swazi Law and Custom, if a herd of cattle was paid as lobola, the brides family received them and not the bride personally.

The veracity of these allegations is yet to be tested in court. Nelisiwe is represented by Thandeka Hlabangana of Hlabangana and Associates. Mamba is represented by Magagula Attorneys.

delivered

Nelisiwe said the alleged cattle could not have been paid or delivered to her. It was for that reason, according to Nelisiwe, that the proposition on which Mambas claim was premised was legally and factually unsustainable.

The herd of cattle, particularly lobola, is conveniently and legally paid to the brides family - the father or in his stead, a duly designated senior member of such brides family, said Nelisiwe.

She contended that in so far as the claim for restitution of the bride price was concerned, her husband should have joined her father in the proceedings for the return of the cattle, if any. Nelisiwe said she could not, in terms of customary law, return any lobola paid to her family.

She further informed the court that Section 252 (2) of the Constitution recognised Eswatini Customary Law as part of the countrys law. Nelisiwe said there was no reason why Swazi Customary Law should not be adhered to and or followed in the present case.

capacity

In terms of Swazi Customary Law or custom, according to Nelisiwe, in his personal capacity, Mamba could not claim or seek the return of the cattle paid to her family.

She said the umyeni was authorised or tasked with the duty of lobola or claim thereof. She submitted that there was no reason that Mamba should use Roman-Dutch Law to abrogate the Swazi Customary Law.

Nelisiwe also submitted that the High Court has no original jurisdiction regarding the issue of lobola. She cited Section 151 of the Constitution which states: Notwithstanding the provisions of Subsection (1), the High Court has no original, but appellant jurisdiction in matters in which a Swazi Court or Court Martial has jurisdiction under any law for the time being in force in Swaziland.

conferred

She argued that Section 9(b) conferred jurisdiction on Swazi Courts to preside over cases concerning payment and or return or disposal of the bride price. Nelisiwe submitted that the High Court was conferred with review and appellant jurisdiction.

The High Court is conferred with review and appellant jurisdiction. The High Court does not have original jurisdiction to deliberate on the issue of lobola. The matter is prematurely before the High Court given the fact that the applicant (Mamba) reported the dispute of lobola to Lomfa Royal Kraal on October 14, 2020.

The applicant is meant to appeal the verdict using the traditional structures thus bringing the present matter within the jurisdiction of the Swazi Courts or alternatively, if approaching the present court by review and or appeal of the verdict of the Lomfa Royal Kraal.

Further, Nelisiwe informed the court that there were material dispute of facts which Mamba had allegedly been aware of since November 17, 2020. These include contracting any customary law marriage with him, customary rituals being performed such as smearing her with red ochre and others.

She submitted that Mamba had lodged a similar application on November 27, 2020, at the High Court in which he allegedly attached a bogus marriage certificate. Nelisiwe submitted that Mamba was allegedly made aware of the dispute or issue and he withdrew the application and is now re-lodging the same application, save for the removal of the marriage certificate, two respondents (attorney general and registrar of BMDs) and inserted a new prayer.
Ewan McGregor has revealed he made his own trousers while getting into character for his new role of designer Halston.

The actor, 49, reflected on how he prepared for the Netflix series, which charts the life of the 70s fashion icon who tragically died in 1990 two years after testing positive for AIDS, in a new interview with VMAN.

Admitting that it 'was a great challenge', Ewan said he completely embraced the task by trying to 'embodying him' and 'loved' portraying Halston's 'fascinating' life.

Getting into character: Ewan McGregor has revealed he made his own trousers while preparing to play fashion designer Halston in a new interview with VMAN

Ewan told the publication: 'There are so many sides to somebody, aren't there? I felt like I just had to embody him, feel like him, like Halston.

'There was his physicality, his accent, and his voice. All of which were sort of far away from me. And I loved that about it, as an actor, I thought that was a great challenge.'

Chatting about his experience of getting into character, Ewan said: 'I spent time in the wardrobe workrooms with different tailors and different people.

'And I was shown how Halston made a dress from a piece of fabric. He was a genius.

Big task: The actor, 49, admitted that it 'was a great challenge' but he 'loved' portraying the fashion icon's 'fascinating' life

'I had a sewing machine and bought all these threads and fabrics and materials. I made a pair of trousers for myself; I'm very proud of them.'

The actor continued to gush over the iconic designer's style of design, saying that when he started wearing similar he began to feel like the character.

Ewan said: 'I've never worn clothes like that. He was so specific. In the '60s, he wore suits and ties and colored shirts and stuff, then in the 1970s, he started wearing turtlenecks and bronzer and pulling his hair back.

'All of that certainly made me feel transformed into him.'

Getting crafty: Ewan said he 'bought all these threads and fabrics and materials' and ended up making 'a pair of trousers for myself; I'm very proud of them', while preparing for the role

Whirlwind life: The Netflix drama charts the life of the 70s fashion icon who tragically died in 1990 after testing positive for AIDS (Ewan is pictured during his VMAN shoot)

Long time coming: Ewan first began filming the Netflix show earlier this year, but filming was delayed due to the coronavirus crisis

Ewan added that he loved telling the dramatic story of Halston's life, which saw the fashion star throw wild parties and become friends with society's elite.

He said: 'But the storyline is what I love about it. There's something poetic about his story, what happened to him. And it's so fascinating. I don't need to see somebody murdered in a piece of drama to be engaged in it.'

Ewan first began filming the Netflix show earlier this year, but filming was delayed due to the coronavirus crisis.

Halston, real name Roy Halston Frowick, enjoyed a meteoric rise to fame in the 70s as he became the designer of choice, and confidante, to some of the most famous women in Hollywood.

The real designer: Halston, real name Roy Halston Frowick, tragically died from complications with AIDs in 1990 (pictured in 1970)

Iconic: Halston's shirt dress designs and beaded kaftans were a hit, and prolific artist Andy Warhol even called his work the 'the art form of the 70s' (pictured with Liza Minnelli in 1975)

The designer began his career in Chicago, and designed the pillbox hat that Jackie Kennedy wore during her husband's inauguration in 1960.

Moving to New York in 1966, the designer made his first ready-to-wear line, which led to him becoming one of the country's most influential fashion designers.

His shirt dress designs and beaded kaftans were a hit so he became the poster child for the minimally opulent fashion of the disco-scene, and prolific artist Andy Warhol even called his work the 'the art form of the 70s'.

In 1973 he signed off his fashion empire for $12 million, and the opening of Studio 54 helped boost his success as he was regularly seen with starlets like Elizabeth Taylor, Liza Minnelli or Bianca Jagger on his arm when they went out to the venue.

Challenge: Ewan added that he loved telling the dramatic story of Halston's life, which saw the fashion star throw wild parties and become friends with society's elite

Edgy: The Scottish actor. posed up a storm in an edgy black and white photoshoot to go alongside his tell-all interview

Fashion inspiration: Ewan said dressing like Halston 'certainly made me feel transformed into him'

Of his inspiration for designs, he told Vogue in 1980: 'What we did, perhaps more than anybody else in the business, was to relax fashion and to create an American point of view that wasnt there on that level before.'

Thanks to his success Halston embarked on a life of debauchery, which saw him host sex parties, sleep with male prostitutes and serve them steak as a form of foreplay, as well as watch Moroccan sex shows that featured bestiality, according to author Steven Gaines.

Gaines, who wrote the book Simply Halston that the show is based on, said of the designer's wild sex life: 'Being trash was venerated. The trashier you could be, the more you could get laid, the more drugs you could take.'

Life of fame: Halston was regularly seen with starlets like Elizabeth Taylor (pictured in 1977), Liza Minnelli or Bianca Jagger on his arm when they went out to Studio 54

Enjoying himself: In 1973 he signed off his fashion empire for $12 million, and the opening of Studio 54 helped boost his success and party lifestyle

The author went on to detail how Studio 54 co-owner Steve Rubell would hand out quaaludes during Halston's wild parties in his lavish New York pad, and how the designer would host man-on-man orgies alongside his on-again-off-again partner Victor Hugo.

Warhol even took photos of the sex parties from the side, while publicist R. Couri Hay claimed that 'Victor had the keys to the safe with the cocaine.'

Going on to detail his affair with Halston when he was 17-years-old, Hay revealed: 'He looked at me like I was a really yummy ice cream cone. It took a year before I succumbed and slept with him.'

However, Halston's life of excess soon took its toll, as he tested positive for AIDS in 1988 and tragically died in 1990, in San Francisco.

The new Netflix show, created by American Horror Story's Murphy, is a limited series.
The William Trent House Museum in Trenton will present Open the Door, Ill Get it Myself: The Great Migration to New Jersey, online 1 p.m. Saturday, Feb. 27.

History scholar Linda Caldwell Epps will explore the factors leading African-Americans to take on the challenges and risks of leaving communities and families in the South for an unknown  but hoped for, better  future in the North. She will share stories of some of the migrants and discuss how their arrival changed life and culture in New Jerseys cities.

Register for the Zoom session online or by calling 929-205-6099 and entering meeting ID 867 5503 7706, passcode 314378.

The Trent House Museum also is beginning a project to collect oral histories of Trentons African-American families whose members settled here after leaving the South or other regions and countries during the period of the Great Migration from 1916 to 1970.

For more information on how to share a familys story, email the Trent House Association at trenthouseassociation@verizon.net or phone 609-989-0087.

Send community news to community@njtimes.com
Insurance does not cover home attendants even when medically necessary. Our benefits did pay for skilled nursing visits and home health aides for assistance with showering twice a week, but for the 24-hour care the doctor prescribed, we had to pay out of pocket. The summer after Brad came home, we spent more than $21,000 on in-home care, dipping into savings and an inheritance from my mother to do so. We were very fortunate to have those resources; for many families, it would be out of reach.

Its often noted that the United States is alone among rich nations in not providing maternity leave; support for child care is likewise abysmal. Similarly  but often more invisibly  we leave millions of caregivers with little or no support in managing the financial, logistical and emotional difficulties of helping ailing parents, spouses and children.

The Biden-Harris campaign made an ambitious caregiving plan a key plank of its platform. Early signs from the new administration are promising. Mr. Bidens $1.9 trillion coronavirus emergency relief package includes measures benefiting caregivers: extending stimulus payments to cover previously overlooked adult dependents, tax credits, and paid family and medical leave. Some of these benefits would help family caregivers of all kinds; others specifically aid those tending people with Covid-19.

Although pandemic relief is the most urgent priority, change must not stop there. The plan Mr. Biden rolled out during the campaign proposed an integrated approach to supporting child care, care for older people, paid care work, and family caregivers. Among other measures, it floated a $5,000 tax credit for unpaid caregivers, Social Security credits for those who must leave their jobs to provide care, and 12 weeks of guaranteed paid family leave.

The plan would also offer wider access to home- and community-based long-term care and support services. Gaps in Medicaid coverage for these services have resulted in long waiting lists and made it harder for people to receive needed care at home.

Such changes would clearly benefit both family caregivers and paid workers, who are disproportionately women of color. With few job protections, in-home workers have long had difficulty finding stable, well-paid work, a plight worsened by Covid-19. The Biden policy team has argued that its plan would create up to three million jobs in care work and education, benefiting populations hit hard by pandemic job losses.

The changes would help not just caregivers like me; whats good for caregivers also benefits those who need assistance. Expanding home care can keep frail elderly people out of nursing homes, the drawbacks of which have been painfully exposed by the pandemic. Easing financial strains and burnout for caregivers can mean better, more compassionate treatment, which in turn can improve quality of life and outcomes for our most vulnerable citizens.
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The first temporary mobile hospital for patients with coronavirus, which was deployed in Ivano-Frankivsk region, is fully operational and receives the first patients, according to the press center of the State Emergency Service of Ukraine.

"As part of the government's order, the State Emergency Service of Ukraine will deploy a mobile hospital in Bohorodchany Central District Hospital. The hospital consists of 30 tents, 24 of which are hospital facilities and have 120 beds," rescuers said.

They say that the hospital has an admission department, an intensive care unit, and patient wards.

At the same time, each bed is equipped with an individual oxygen concentrator.

"The hospital is equipped with autonomous life support systems and can function independently as a health care institution. The work of the headquarters is organized on the spot and interaction is established with local authorities and the medical service of the region," the SES says.

It is reported that the hospital is completely ready to receive COVID-19 patients.

As previously reported, the Ivano-Frankivsk Regional Commission for Technogenic and Environmental Safety and Emergency Situations has decided to impose a "red" level quarantine in the region due to the rapid spread of the coronavirus.

As of Wednesday, February 17, about 73% of beds in the region were filled, and the number of active patients exceeded the figures in Kyiv, while in some settlements of Prykarpattia the bed occupancy rate in hospitals for COVID-19 patients exceeded 90%.

Due to the lack of places for patients with coronavirus in the region, it was decided to deploy the first temporary mobile hospital in Ukraine for patients with COVID-19 on the basis of Bohorodchany and Lysetsk hospitals, as well as Verkhovyna and Zabolotiv multidisciplinary hospitals.

After holding off on approving its 2021 rates in December, Citizens Property Insurance Corporations Board of Governors approved rate recommendations that the insurer says will make its rates more competitive with the private market to slow the flow of policyholders returning to the Floridas insurer of last resort.

The Citizens Board approved rates recommendations for 2021 that call for a statewide average increase of 7.2 percent for personal lines policyholders  homeowners, condominium unit owners, mobile homeowners, dwelling, and renters. If approved by the Florida Office of Insurance Regulation (OIR), the 2021 rates would go into effect for policies renewed after Aug. 1, 2021.

Homeowner policies would increase by an average 6.1 percent. Condo owners would see an average 9.4 percent increase. Renters rates would increase 4 percent on average.

The board also approved a recommendation that new policyholders pay actuarially sound rates instead of joining the insurer with capped premiums that existing Citizens policyholders receive. If approved by OIR, the recommendation would increase rates for new business by an average of 21 percent. Florida State Senator Jeff Brandes had urged the insurer to make these changes as the Florida market tightens and policyholders flock to Citizens. A recent report commissioned by Citizens also identified the need for the insurer to make changes to the Citizens glide path for rate increases.

In a related vote, the board urged OIR to maintain caps for new business in Monroe County at 10 percent over the rate charged to renewing policyholders.

The moves come as Citizens policy count over the past year has risen from 443,000 to 552,000, a 19.7% increase. Higher than expected losses from Hurricanes Irma and Michael coupled with stubbornly high litigation and reinsurance costs have prompted many private insurers to raise rates, limit coverage and exit particular markets.

The objective here is to create a healthy, private insurance market in Florida that better represents what we are supposed to be, Floridas insurer of last resort, said Carlos Beruff, chairman of the Board of Governors.

In December, Citizens Board of Governors deferred action on a slate of 2021 rate recommendations that called for an average 3.7 percent increase in personal lines coverage, including a 2.2 percent increase in homeowners coverage. The board directed Citizens actuarial staff to work with OIR to address a growing disparity between Citizens rates and those charged by private insurance companies in many areas of the state.

Citizens is required by law to recommend actuarially sound rates, while complying with a legislative glide path that caps individual rate increases at 10 percent, excluding coverage changes and surcharges. Meanwhile, private insurers are receiving rate increases far in excess of the 10 percent cap, widening the premium gap between private insurer and Citizens policies.

Topics Florida Flood
Justin Sullivan / Getty Images

Six Flags plans to open all of its parks in California this spring, including two in the Bay Area, although specific reopening dates will depend on the states coronavirus guidelines.

On Friday, Six Flags announced the company is preparing to welcome visitors back for the 2021 season. The company  which operates 26 parks in the U.S., Mexico and Canada  said reopening dates will be based on local, state and federal COVID-19 guidelines.
Under the new pretrial system, judges will be given broader discretion to determine whether those accused of crimes pose a danger to a specific person or the community at large and whether they are likely to show up in court without being held in jail. Supporters say the current system too often results in people who havent been convicted of any crime being denied their freedom simply because they cant make bail.


Connecticuts Senator Richard Blumenthal, a Democrat, is calling on Facebook and Twitter to act on vaccine skeptic conversations, particularly around pregnant women.

Sen. Blumenthal penned a letter to both Facebook and Twitter.

Time and again, Facebook and its peers have moved far too slow in responding to the targeted harassment and promotion of destructive conspiracy theories against women and people of color.

These mothers, through raising awareness to the vaccine and setting an example for the community, are doing an immense public service and lovingly protecting their infants. They are also acting responsibly, Blumenthal wrote in the letter to Facebook.

The letter was sent a few days after The Daily Beast published a story on how vaccine skeptics have been sending messages to pregnant women who have gotten the vaccine. In one incident, vaccine skeptics were accused of harassing a medical worker who miscarried a few days after getting a COVID-19 vaccine.

From the letter:

Such disinformation is clearly coordinated, often through private groups and public pages that scour social media for targets and anecdotes for feeding their campaign. One Instagram account, in operation since December with over 100,000 followers, continues to promote misinformation and misleading anecdotes about vaccine safety and the effectiveness of facemasks. These accounts and groups, on both Facebook and Twitter, have also become a launching point for swarms of believers to prey on mothers to create fear, uncertainty, and doubt. Despite a clear pattern of violating platform policies, these accounts are still active, with large numbers of followers and are easily findable.

Blumenthals concerns seem to stem from the fact that vaccine-skeptic content is still available on social media platforms, despite the Big Tech platforms having new policies against it.

Last month Facebook vowed to remove all alleged misinformation related to all kinds of vaccines. Twitter also intensified its crackdown on the same but did not expand its policies to cover all vaccines.

The Connecticut senator demanded Twitter and Facebook write a detailed response on how they are enforcing their vaccine-skeptic content removal policies by the end of this month.




The foreign ministry called in a Japanese diplomat in Seoul on Monday to lodge a protest over Japan's renewed claims to South Korea's easternmost islets of Dokdo.







The ministry expressed regrets to Hirohisa Soma, deputy head of mission at the Japanese Embassy in Seoul, shortly after the Japanese prefecture of Shimane held an annual event to publicize Japan's claim to the rocky outcroppings in the East Sea.







The latest flare-up of tensions came as Seoul seeks to mend ties with Tokyo, frayed over wartime history and trade, amid Washington's push to bring its allies closer together to address shared challenges, such as lingering North Korean threats.







Choi Young-sam, ministry spokesman, called for Japan to abolish the Takeshima Day event immediately and urged it to "face history with a humble attitude." Dokdo is known as Takeshima in Japan.







"The government strongly protests the futile provocation regarding Dokdo and calls sternly for the immediate abolition of the event," Choi said in a statement.







"As Dokdo is part of our inherent territory historically, geographically and by international law, Japan should immediately stop unjust claims to Dokdo and face history with a humble attitude," he added.







Dokdo has long been a recurring source of tension between the two neighbors, as Tokyo continues to lay claim to the islets in its policy papers, public statements and school textbooks.







South Korea has been in effective control of Dokdo, with a small police detachment, since its liberation from Japan's 1910-45 colonial rule. (Yonhap)


A paraglider has been injured this Monday afternoon (22 February) after suffering a fall in the Malaga mountain town of Ronda, according to the Emergency 112 Andalucia emergency control centre.

The 112 emergency telephone operators received a call at around 3.15pm, asking for help for a man who had suffered a fall while paragliding.

Firefighters, paramedics and police were quickly on the scene and the injured man was airlifted by helicopter to hospital in the town. The severity of his injuries are not yet known.
Parallel, the parent company of NETA, which has medical and adult-use cannabis stores in Brookline and Northampton, announced Monday it has taken steps to becoming a publicly traded company.

Parallel, one of the largest privately-held multi-state cannabis operators in the United States, said it has entered into an agreement with Ceres that, if completed, would result in the company becoming public.

The transaction is expected to be finalized by the summer of 2021.

We believe Parallel is ideally positioned for its next phase of growth, as we continue to build our presence in strategic markets and invest in innovation, R&D and the customer experience, Chairman and CEO of Parallel, Beau Wrigley Jr., said in a statement. Todays milestone announcement is a testament to Parallels impressive growth to date, the strength of our business fundamentals, strong balance sheet, and above all, our unwavering commitment to further developing and enhancing our portfolio of cannabinoid products.

As part of the agreement, Ceres, a special purpose acquisition corporation, will acquire Parallel at an implied enterprise value of $1.884 billion, the announcement said.

Ceres has also received $225 million in commitments from a group of investors through an over-subscribed private investment in public equity at a price of $10.00 U.S. per share, the announcement said.

The proceeds are intended to be used to fund Parallels continued growth and market expansion, the release said.

Parallel owns and operates retail dispensaries in four medical and adult use markets including in Florida, Nevada, Texas and Massachusetts with NETA. Parallel also has a license under its Goodblend brand in Pennsylvania for operations and up to six retail locations, in addition to a medical cannabis research partnership with the University of Pittsburgh Medical Center.

NETA, with locations in Northampton and Brookline, was among the first recreational cannabis stores to open in Massachusetts in November 2018. It was also one the first stores to open on the entire east coast.

NETA also has a cultivation facility in Franklin.

Related Content:
KABUL  Deputy Foreign Minister for Political Affairs, Mirwais Nab, met with Ambassador of India to Kabul, Mr. Rudrendra Tando, at the Storay Palace of the MoFA.

Referring to the friendly relations and cooperation between the two countries in various fields, both sides placed emphasis on strengthening bilateral cooperation and the importance of regional consensus in support of the peace process. They also talked about preparations for the Ninth Ministerial Conference of the Heart of Asia - Istanbul Process, to be jointly hosted by Afghanistan and Tajikistan in the near future.

Stressing the significance of the Heart of Asia - Istanbul Process, the Indian Ambassador to Kabul, assured the Afghan Deputy Foreign Minister of his countrys participation in the 9th Ministerial Conference of the Heart of Asia  Istanbul Process.
UPDATE: Nyrah Barner Curry has been found and is safe, Paterson police said Wednesday.

A 20-year-old Passaic County woman went missing last week after she left for a party in Brooklyn, New York, her family said Monday.

Nyrah Barner Curry left her home in Paterson on Feb. 18, and has not spoken with family or friends since, according to her father, Kevin Barner.

She also has not posted to social media, which has her family concerned for her safety, Barner said. She loves Facebook, Instagram and (other) social media and would normally be posting but she hasnt, Barner said.

Barner said her phones location services showed the device was in New York at some point after she left New Jersey. But the phone has since been turned off, he said.

A police report was filed with the Paterson Police Department and the non-profit group Black and Missing Inc. has also circulated information about the case.

Detectives with the citys missing persons unit were not immediately available to comment on the case Monday morning.

Curry is 5-feet, 2-inches tall and weighs about 100 pounds. Anyone with information is asked to call Paterson police at 973-321-1111 or the New York City Police Department at 212-694-7781.

Curry is 5-feet, 2-inches tall and weighs 100 pounds, her family said.Family photo

Thank you for relying on us to provide the journalism you can trust. Please consider supporting NJ.com with a subscription.

Anthony G. Attrino may be reached at tattrino@njadvancemedia.com. Follow him on Twitter @TonyAttrino. Find NJ.com on Facebook.

A MAN who grew up in Henley says he cant wait to get back to Myanmar despite it now being under military rule.

Archie Moberly has lived and worked in the troubled country for the past two years and supports the daily protests against the coup.

He returned to the UK in April due to the emerging coronavirus pandemic, thinking he wouldnt be here long, and hasnt been able to fly back to south-east Asia.

Mr Moberly, 27, who is in business development, has continued to work online from his mothers home in Checkendon.

He has also been keeping up to date with the news in Myanmar since the military overthrew the democratically elected government led by Aung San Suu Kyi on February 1.

Every day since then thousands of people have protested in the streets despite a ban on gatherings and fears that troops will be deployed.

The demonstrations are characterisedby a sense of fun, with young women wearing ballgowns and protestors carrying umbrellas to shield themselves from water cannons that have been used to disperse the crowds.

Myanmar is a country of overwhelming peace, said Mr Moberly. The protests have been described as civil disobedience and it is beautiful to see. The people have been giving out flowers to policemen.

In the cities they have been banging pots and pans for half an hour to warn off evil spirits and the country has this come together spirit. I am speaking to friends and colleagues about what is happening when the internet has not been shut down by the military.

As a child growing up in Hamilton Avenue, Henley, and then Nettlebed, Mr Moberly loved languages and the idea of travelling.

He attended Rupert House School before moving to Marlborough College in Wiltshire, where he took A-levels in Chinese, Russian, French and art.

He then went to Newcastle University where he earned a first class degree in Mandarin Chinese.

His course included a year in Shanghai as part of an exchange programme so he could practise the language and he fell in love with Asia.

Mr Moberly said: It is such a different world and it made me think of how I approach people and talk to them.

I loved the linguistic side of it and seeing the development of my language skills.

Shanghai is such a fun city. It has incredible art and design fairs and I love photography. It was such an enriching experience and I had such an affinity with the place and its people.

Afterwards it was all I could think about and I just wanted to get back to China but unfortunately they changed the visa regulations so I couldnt get in.

After graduating, he joined a headhunting firm and was based in Hong Kong, where he immersed himself in the culture.

Mr Moberly said: It has wonderful food and people and is home to all walks of life.

What I loved was the outdoor activities. It has beaches and mountains where you could walk up to watch the sunrise before work.

After about two years he was moved to New York, which he says was diverse but was not for him so after a year in post he resigned in order to do something else.

He came home in June 2018 with the intention of taking the summer off and travelling in central Asia and he lined himself up with a job with a finance technology firm.

Two weeks before he was due to start, the company told him he would be based in Yangon, the largest city in Myanmar, which didnt excite him initially.

Mr Moberly explained: While I was working in Shanghai I did a bit of travelling and stopped off in Myanmar but didnt think it was a place I wanted to live.

But then I had a tourist mindset and the country doesnt have a huge amount of accommodation that matches international standards and what is available is incredibly expensive.

His company put him up in a shared flat round the corner from his office and he couldnt believe his luck.

Mr Moberly said: I shared it with another guy I worked with. It was exciting to be in a big apartment because where I lived in Hong Kong and New York was like the size of a bookcase.

In Yangon there is a burgeoning middle class but the style and fixtures I had were different as they would never have access to a washing machine and things like that.

A year later he joined his current employer, also based in Yangon, where he supports start-up businesses and entrepreneurs with funding.

He said: I am still working on the markets in south-east Asia with a focus on Myanmar.

They are six-and-a-half hours ahead so it doesnt affect my day too much. In their afternoon it is my morning and I can do all my meetings on Zoom.

The coup in Myanmar, formerly Burma, comes a decade after the military agreed to hand power to a civilian government following 50 years of rule by oppressive regimes. For the past five years, Suu Kyi and her once-banned National League for Democracy party led the country after being elected in 2015 in the freest and fairest vote seen in 25 years.

On February 1, the party should have begun its second term in office after easily winning an election in November with 80 per cent of the vote, even in the face of allegations of genocide against the countrys Rohingya muslims.

The military-backed opposition immediately made accusations of fraud after the vote and army chief Min Aung Hlaing assumed power for at least the next year. Mr Moberly said: The rule of the military in Myanmar is well known and how it is involved in the running of the country and the treatment of the Rohingya muslims.

But in terms of day-to-day you didnt see or feel anything or get the military presence.

We were told not to ask the locals about certain things like the Rohingya as it is a sore point and it is disrespectful to ask.

He said the country had developed a form of democracy and an environment that encouraged the sort of start-ups and entrepreneurs which he is involved in.

Mr Moberly said: For example, a sim card for a mobile phone six or seven years ago would cost you about 1,500, so only the military would have mobile phones. Now they cost 1.

If you look to the older generation, they have seen some of the terror the military inflicted. The younger generation, like some of my friends who are in their thirties, have memories of blackouts and being told about areas of the country where they were not allowed to go. The younger ones have only known one way of living and are really not okay with the current situation.

His friends have told him about their frustration at the military being back in charge of the country. Mr Moberly said: There is a sense of fear and signs of anger and frustration as they are only 10 years into an alternative democracy.

But the standard emotion is one of helplessness because you have to remember that the majority of the people there remember just how crap it was under military rule previously.

I want to go back as soon as possible because I have my apartment and friends there. I am much enamoured by the country and for me it is home.

For more information and to help, visit www.isupportmyanmar.com
Vienna (Austria), 21 February 2021 (SPS) - the newly elected chairman of the European parliamentary intergroup Peace for the Saharawi People, Mr. Andreas Cheddar, has pledged to ensure that EU would lead the international efforts to resolve the question of Western Sahara, by exerting more pressure on Morocco within their bilateral agreements.



MEP Cheddar, also chairman of the Austria Social Democrats Bloc, emphasized the need for the EU to pressurize Morocco to punt an end to its policy of illegal settlement and occupation of Western Sahara.



Recalling to the unbearable humanitarian situation experienced by the Saharawi people for more than fourty years, MEP Cheddar urged the UN and EU to take into account the overall situation in Western Sahara.



He also pledged to act towards extending the MINURSO mandate to monitor human rights situation in Western Sahara, with a view to reaching a sustainable settlement to the conflict that would allow for the rights to self-determination of the Saharawi people.



Mr. Cheddar, who previously held the portfolio of State Secretary in Austria Finance Ministry, was elected at the helm of the European parliamentary intergroup Peace for the Saharawi People, during a teleconference meeting held yesterday. (SPS)



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New Delhi, Feb 22 : Rahul Gandhi participated in a tractor rally in Kerala to lead the Congress' protest against the contentious farm laws while Priyanka Gandhi Vadra is set to address Kisan Panchayat in Mathura on Tuesday even as Rajasthan Congress leader Sachin Pilot is drawing huge crowds in his farmer rallies against the farm laws.

Rahul Gandhi addressed a rally against the farm laws in Kerala's Wayanad on Monday saying, "We oppose these laws. We will make sure the government is forced to take back these laws. We are standing with the farmers, we will help them and ensure the BJP government takes back these laws." Rahul Gandhi is set to rake up the issue in Mallapuram also where he will address a rally on Tuesday.

While his sister and Congress General secretary Priyanka Gandhi is holding a series of Kisan Panchayats in western UP which has become epicentre of farmers' protests on Saturday in Baghra. Haryana leader Deepender Hooda was also seen on stage but it is Priyanka who is spearheading the movement.

Priyanka attacked the Centre saying, "The central government should respect the farmers. Why is Modiji not talking to the farmers who elected him as Prime Minister? Dialogue should be initiated with the farmers and their problems must be solved." Apart from Rahul and Priyanka, Sachin Pilot is also drawing huge crowds on Friday at a 'Kisan Mahapanchayat' in Kotkhawada area of Chaksu town in Jaipur.

Pilot said, "This movement goes beyond caste and religion. Everyone in the country is now saying that the government of India should reconsider its decision and withdraw the farm laws, shedding its stubborn nature. In fact, they should frame three new laws after consulting all the stakeholders," adding that every Indian feels that the farm laws were passed in haste without any consultation.

On the other hand, the Congress' protest on fuel hike had some impact in Madhya Pradesh but marginal impact was seen in other states despite the party call to hold protests as senior leaders were missing in action specially the 'G-23' leaders, said a youth leader.
Thiruvananthapuram, Feb 22 : Congress leader Rahul Gandhi led a rally of over 100 tractors on Monday accompanied by thousands of farmers and labourers to protest against the new farm laws and demanded the Kerala government write to the Centre to lift the buffer zone in his Wayanad constituency.

Rahul was seen at the wheel of a tractor and seated on his left and right were local Congress legislators I.C. Balakrishnan and AICC general secretary K.C. Venugopal.

While armed guards was seen running in front of Rahul's tractor, other tractors and farmers were seen behind him and en route the nearly six-km drive there was a huge crowd of people lined up and waving at him.

The rally began from Thrikayipatu and ended at Muttiil, where there was a huge gathering to hear him, as he denounced the three "anti-farmer laws" and how this would destroy the farmers in the country.

"The entire world is seeing the troubles of the Indian farmers, but the government in Delhi is not seeing it. Likewise we even have popstars who speak for our farmers, but the Indian government is silent. But we are determined that we will fight against these laws which will be detrimental to 40 per cent of India's population - the farmers," he said.

He said "Agriculture is only the business of Bharat Mata and these three new laws are designed for a few friends of Modi, who using these laws will take over the agriculture sector in the country, leaving the farmers in deep trouble," said Rahul.

He said "two people in government and two outside are going to be the biggest beneficiaries of these laws. The farmers will not be able to get the price they wish as it would be these people who will determine the price and the laws will allow them to stock and buy as many products as they want. And when the farmers return to buy their products, these 'people' will be determining the selling price, which would be very high. Then comes the law that farmers will not be able to seek legal redress." Taking on the ruling Pinarayi Vijayan government in Kerala, he said he was shocked to hear the reply from the central minister in the Lok Sabha when he raised the move of converting Wayanad into a buffer zone and if made applicable, would see one-third of his constituency turn uninhabitable.

Earlier in the day he unveiled a statue of Mahatma Gandhi at St Joseph's School, Meppadi where he said the actions of the Mahatma are hugely respected for the ideas he defended.

"There is a similarity between Mahatma and Jesus Christ as both of them fought on the principle of non-violence and both of them sacrificed their lives for the people. The Mahatma took guidance from Christ," said Rahul.

He will arrive in the state capital on Tuesday to take part in a Congress rally, which is billed as the launch of the election campaign of the Congress-led UDF for the upcoming Assembly polls.

-- The story has been published from a wire feed without any modifications to the text
A shaky cellphone video from an Antioch mother shows police officers turning her handcuffed son onto his back on her bedroom floor. Blood covers his mouth; his body appears listless.

Three days later, doctors pronounced 30-year-old Angelo Quinto dead at Sutter Delta Medical Center. What happened before that moment is the subject of a new legal claim against the city, a draft of which was obtained by The Chronicle.

A claim is the first step toward suing a city or county, and this one seeks damages of more than $25,000. It alleges wrongful death, assault, battery, negligent hiring by the Antioch Police Department, breach of duty by the officers accused of putting Quinto at risk of serious physical injury, and other offenses.

"It's a really tragic situation," said Oakland civil rights attorney John Burris, who hired a private investigator to probe the details surrounding Quinto's death.

The incident occurred seven months after the Minneapolis death of George Floyd ignited a national conversation about police use of force and accountability  one that Quinto's family said deserves to be happening in Antioch.

It has also raised questions about transparency from the Antioch Police Department. Burris said the department has not released body-worn camera footage of the encounter, and it is not clear from the cellphone video whether the officers at the scene were wearing body cameras.

Police didn't disclose Quinto's death to the public for nearly a month. When Antioch police Lt. John Fortner spoke to The San Jose Mercury News in January, he said that although officers did handcuff Quinto, they refrained from other forms of physical force.

Fortner told the Mercury News that police delayed publishing a press release, in part to protect the family's privacy and also because the cause of death was undetermined. He told The Chronicle on Wednesday that the Contra Costa County district attorney and sheriff's Coroner's Division are investigating Quinto's death, and that the agencies will provide more information when portions of the review are complete.

As of Wednesday, the Antioch Police Department had not posted a press release on its website or social media regarding Quinto's death.

The legal claim stems from a chaotic encounter at the family's home on Crestwood Drive, shortly after 11 p.m. on Dec. 23. Quinto, who family members say suffered from anxiety, grabbed his mother and sister and began hugging them tightly around their heads and shoulders.

"He was trying to keep us close, and it really freaked us out," Quinto's sister, Isabella "Bella" Collins, recalled in an interview Wednesday.

Collins managed to extricate herself and called police, saying her brother was acting erratically and that she feared he might hurt her mother.

When officers arrived, they found Maria Cassandra Quinto-Collins seated on the floor of her bedroom and embracing her son, according to a report from private investigator Juan Sigler, which is based on interviews with the mother and daughter.

Police took Quinto from his mother, turned him on his stomach and handcuffed him. His mother said Quinto pleaded for his life when officers pinned him down, with one officer holding his legs while the other placed a knee on his neck.

In the cellphone video, which doesn't capture the initial encounter, Quinto appears unresponsive as police flip him over onto his left side, revealing blood smeared on his mouth and a blood stain on the floor. Photos obtained by the Chronicle show a pool of blood near his body.

"His eyes were rolled up in his head," Collins said, adding that her brother looked purple.

Though doctors said Quinto died on Dec. 26, his mother has not yet heard a cause of death. Spokespersons for the sheriff's office, which includes the coroner, did not respond to a request for comment on Wednesday.

After the ambulance took Quinto away, officers took his mother and sister to the police station to be photographed and interviewed, they said. At one point, Quinto-Collins received a phone call from a doctor treating Quinto, but she said a police staff member intervened and would not let her finish the conversation.

Quinto showed signs of depression for most of his life, though it was never diagnosed, Collins said. She and her mother characterized him as caring and sweet-natured, with an artistic side that came through when he began doing graffiti as a teenager. He graduated from Berkeley High School in 2008 and attended classes at Berkeley City College. In his 20s Quinto joined the Navy but was granted a medical discharge in 2019 due to a food allergy.

Collins said her brother's behavior changed after an apparent assault early last year, which left Quinto with a black eye, a head wound that required stitches and no memory of what happened. In subsequent months, Quinto seemed anxious and edgy, Collins noted.

Collins described her decision to call the police as the biggest regret of her life.

"We trusted them too much during a time of fear and vulnerability and panic," she said Wednesday. In hindsight, she said, "I would not call them if this happened again."

This article is written by Rachel Swan from San Francisco Chronicle and was legally licensed via the Tribune Content Agency through the Industry Dive publisher network. Please direct all licensing questions to legal@industrydive.com.
Jim Jones' latest project "The Fraud Department" marks the former Diplomats members' eighth studio album, a collaboration with producer Harry Fraud.

"Fraud Department" follows Jones' outstanding El Capo album and deluxe edition release at the end of 2020.

Jones opens the project with "Laps Around the Sun," chronicling his life's journey as a victim of circumstanceselling drugs and witnessing police brutality. He may not be proud of his actions when he was younger, but in 44 years he's able to speak to his experience.

BLACK IN AMERICA: Charge dropped against Black man walking on icy Texas street

While the 11-track project is filled with a mix of slower, thought-provoking tracks and upbeat club bangers, what is perhaps most powerful from the New York emcee are his reflective verses on tracks such as "Say A Prayer" and "Make It Home."

The songs manage to take a much-needed look at important issues like the school-to-prison pipeline, the attack on the Capitol and the death of Houston native George Floyd.

MORE ON GEORGE FLOYD: George Floyd honored with street mural in front of Jack Yates High School

In particular, at the beginning of his song "The People" which includes features from Griselda Records member Conway the Machine and fellow New York native Marc Scibilia, Jones' says "As I look at CNN, it says 'breaking news: protests erupt across America, following the death of George Floyd.' R.I.P. George. You're more than a legend, you're an icon, you're immortal. We got you."

Via VeVo

Jones teams up with cult-favorite producer Harry Fraud, making the project title perfect for the new album. With Fraud on production, the entire album is reminiscent of a Blaxploitation flick, with Jones as protagonist.

"The Fraud Department" takes listeners on a thoughtful ride that explores ownership in the Black community, and the blessing that is simply making it home and kissing your kids goodnight as a Black man in America.

The project is available for listening across all streaming platforms.
Source: Xinhua| 2021-02-22 10:38:09|Editor: huaxia

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TRIPOLI, Feb. 21 (Xinhua) -- The Libyan Navy on Sunday said it rescued 197 illegal migrants and discovered the bodies of two others off the country's western coast.

The rescued migrants, including women and children, are of different African nationalities, the Libyan Navy said in a statement.

They were provided with assistance and transferred to the anti-illegal immigration department, the statement said.

Due to insecurity and chaos in the North African nation following the overthrow of late leader Muammar Gaddafi in 2011, thousands of illegal immigrants, mostly Africans, choose to cross the Mediterranean from Libya towards Europe.

The International Organization for Migration estimated that in 2020, 323 migrants died and 417 others went missing on the Central Mediterranean route, while 11,891 illegal migrants were rescued and returned to Libya. Enditem
CRESSONA  Borough council members are hearing complaints about people driving ATVs, snowmobiles and other off-road vehicles on borough streets.

Frank Killian, road supervisor, told the council at its meeting last week of a near collision with a four-wheeler in the area of Cedar and Railroad streets. He said the driver quickly jumped off the vehicle to avoid being hit by the plow.

Council members instructed Killian to call state police to report any vehicles he sees that are not street legal driving within the borough while plows are running.

In other snow-related news, Mayor Dennis Snyder said at the Feb. 15 meeting that there have been concerns with residents not removing snow from their sidewalks within 24 hours of a snowfall. Failure to do so could result in a fine of $25.

Fidler Bros. Construction, Panther Valley Road, Pottsville, has been contracted for snow removal on an as-needed basis. After heavy snowstorms, the company brings in heavy equipment to move large amounts of snow, which are then dumped in the field near the Cressona swimming pool.

The council approved repairs to a strobe light system on the boroughs 2001 Ford F250, to be done at Lancaster Truck Bodies and not to exceed $250. Members also approved the purchase of parts, including a Fisher plow wire harness, an International plow wire harness and a plow controller for the 2012 Ford F550, which is used for plowing. Parts were purchased from Storks Plows in Bernville, Berks County. A bill has not yet been received.

Killian will do the repairs. The council also approved the purchase of a new wheel and tires for the vehicle.

The council is waiting for submission of a zoning board application regarding an issue at 40 Chestnut St. Councilman Eric Prock will contact the property owners attorney, Gretchen Sterns, for an update. At 147 Pottsville St., additional citations and complaints are being filed for the property, which has a history of complaints.

Rental property inspections have begun, and a summary of the findings will be reported at the next meeting.

In other matters:
Condor is highly experienced at operating in Nicaragua

( )( ) has commenced a 5,000 metre diamond drill programme at the Cacao prospect at La India Project, Nicaragua.

Cacao is located four kilometres from the planned processing plant at the fully permitted La India mine.

It is a potential satellite deposit to the already permitted La India, America and Mestiza open pits.

The drill programme has three main objectives: to increase the resource, to increase the strike length of the vein towards the Santa Barbara prospect, three kilometres away, and to prove the structural geological model that Cacao represents a dilational opening between two major basement feeder zones.

Drilling will concentrate on demonstrating the depth of the main gold mineralisation level and extending it along strike.

Cacao already hosts an inferred resource of 60,000 ounces of gold.

"Condor has successfully permitted a new processing plant of up to 2,800 tonnes per day, along with the associated mine site infrastructure, and is currently completing detailed engineering studies to make the project 'shovel ready', said Condor chairman Mark Child.

Initial production is expected to be 120,000 gold ounces per year. from three permitted open pits. In parallel, Condor is now embarking on the exciting second part of its strategy: demonstrating the potential for a five million ounce gold district with the initial focus on a 5,000 metre drilling programme at Cacao.
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A motorist was arrested after an incident Saturday night at the American Canyon corporation yard, police reported.

Around 8:30 p.m., American Canyon police received a report of a vehicle speeding west on American Canyon Road, striking a parked car, knocking down a security gate at the city yard, and then driving over a berm and onto a dry pond bed, Chief Oscar Ortiz said.

Officers then learned the driver, identified as 31-year-old Rolando Gonzalez of Vallejo, had fled on foot toward the waterway, according to a police news release.

Quality journalism doesn't happen without your help We're offering our best deal ever with this Editor's Special. Support local news coverage by subscribing to the Napa Valley Register.

Officers assisted by a canine unit and California Highway Patrol air operations found Gonzalez, who surrendered shortly after 8:45 p.m. after being told of a patrol dog nearby, Ortiz said in the statement.

Gonzalez was booked into the Napa County jail on a felony allegation of causing injury by driving under the influence, as well as misdemeanor allegations of hit-and-run damage, resisting police, and driving with a suspended license. He also faced two misdemeanor warrants in Marin County, according to police.

A woman riding with Gonzalez was taken to Queen of the Valley Medical Center and treated for minor injuries, Ortiz reported.
Eleven-year-old Cristian Pineda was found dead on Feb. 16, after a night spent without power in his family's freezing Conroe mobile home. Houston attorney Tony Buzbee is now filing a $100 million lawsuit against ERCOT and Entergy on behalf of Pineda's family.

According to Pineda's aunt, Jaliza Yera, the young boy had no underlying health conditions. She believes the brutal cold he experienced during the power outage was to blame for his death.

GIVING BACK: This Taco Truck came to feed 800 families without power or water

"He was a healthy kid. The cold either killed this young man or contributed to his death," Buzbee told Chron.

Buzbee stated that Texans were overwhelmingly failed during the winter storm that struck the state last week because of the negligence of energy providers.

"Here we are in Houston, the energy capital of the country. We like to brag that it's energy independent, and yet we have people dying in their homes because we don't have any power," Buzbee said. "Due to global warming, we'll have more of these types of events and we need to be prepared for them. The companies need to be honest with us. This wasn't a rolling blackout. This is a total blackout, and they didn't tell us."

On Monday night Cristian and his family huddled together to keep warm after the power outage in his mobile home. His mother, Maria Pineda, found Christian dead the next day. She attempted CPR and called 911, but her son did not respond, the lawsuit states.

Gustavo Huerta/Staff photographer

Officials have not yet confirmed Christian's cause of death. Buzbee asserts in the lawsuit that power providers sought to "put profits over the welfare of people," and the companies' failure to winterize systems properly directly contributed to the deaths of Cristian and others.

"People are dying in their homes because we have power? I refuse to accept that," Buzbee said. "We're going to do better than that. When companies put their drive for profits over the safety and welfare of people, they need to be held accountable."

ON HOLD: Texas officials block energy companies from levying huge bills on customers

ERCOT officials issued a statement about winter storm tragedy.

"We haven't yet reviewed the lawsuits and will respond accordingly once we do. Our thoughts are with all Texans who 'have and are' suffering due to this past week. However, because approximately 46% of privately-owned generation tripped offline this past Monday morning, we are confident that our grid operators made the right choice to avoid a statewide blackout.

The power provider Entergy also released a statement about the lawsuit.

"We are deeply saddened by the loss of life in our community. We are unable to comment due to pending litigation," Entergy stated.

ERCOT has asserted that it requires immunity from lawsuits because it's funded by fees paid by power generators.

"I say that they are scrambling to defend themselves," Buzbee said. "The ultimate entity that's responsible is the actual power provider, so in this case it's Entergy. ERCOT has certainly failed all of us, and it has no teeth. It has no ability to regulate."

Family members have organized a GoFundMe to raise money for the Cristian's burial.
By Ruth Anderah

The government has been dragged to High Court by an advocate and Human Rights Activist Stephen Kalali seeking justice on behalf of journalists who were beaten by security agents while covering NUP President Robert Kyagulanyi at the UN office in Kampala.

Kyagulanyi had delivered a petition to the Office of the United Nations High Commissioner for Human Rights in Kololo over alleged rights violations and abductions when military police descended on the journalists, beating them indiscriminately.

Several of them sustained serious injuries.

Now in his petition, Kalaali wants court to issue orders permanently restraining government security agencies from acting with gross impunity, malice and interfering with the rights of journalists in peaceful pursuit of their work.

The Court Registrar Jamson Karemani is yet to allocate this case file to a judge.
News

Yuma, Arizona - A new report released by the Arizona Office of Economic Opportunity is projecting strong job growth in the state over the next two years, with the largest gains happening in sectors hit hardest by the pandemic.

Arizona is a place where opportunities are plentiful and jobs are growing, said Governor Doug Ducey. Families and businesses from across the nation continue to choose Arizona, and its resulting in greater employment opportunities for existing residents and newcomers. Arizona is resilient  and these job projections prove it.



According to the report, Arizona is expected to gain more than 325,000 jobs between spring 2020 and the same time next year, a 5.5 percent annualized growth rate. The report predicts job growth in all 15 counties and all sectors excluding government.



Arizonas leisure and hospitality sector, which has been hit hard by the pandemic, is expected to bounce back and experience a 12.8 percent annualized growth rate. That means adding 69,901 jobs  the fastest job growth rate of any sector included in the report. The report also notes Arizonas manufacturing sector is projected to experience a 3.1 percent annualized growth rate, a gain of more than 10,000 jobs and more than 5,000 above pre-pandemic levels.



In Arizona, jobs are available and employers are ready to hire, said Arizona Chamber of Commerce and Industry Interim President and CEO Garrick Taylor. The projected growth over the next few years is a result of Arizonas smart policies and welcoming business climate  and we need to keep it up. My thanks to Governor Ducey for focusing on job growth, supporting businesses, and protecting the workforce.



The Office of Economic Opportunity is a division of the Arizona Commerce Authority, which just celebrated its 10th anniversary. In a recent guest opinion in the Arizona Republic, Phoenix business leaders noted that Arizonas economic growth is the result of a focused effort over the past six years.



Arizonas population grew by nearly 129,600 people from July 2019 to July 2020, according to U.S. Census Bureau estimates released in December 2020.



On February 12, Governor Ducey signed an Executive Order to renew a moratorium on all new regulatory rulemaking by state agencies, limiting government regulations that inhibit job growth. According to the Arizona Office of Economic Opportunity, 462 rules were eliminated or improved across 26 agencies in 2020  resulting in nearly $14.7 million in annual savings for the states economy.
Nigerian President Muhammadu Buhari has condoled with the families of seven soldiers who died in a plane crash in the capital, Abuja.



The authorities have launched an investigation into the crash.



The Nigerian Air Force said the families of all the victims had been informed of the deaths.



President Buhari described them as dedicated and courageous.









Deeply saddened by the fatal crash of the @NigAirForce KingAir B350i aircraft today in Abuja, that claimed the lives of seven personnel. On behalf of the Federal Government, I extend heartfelt condolences to family members, friends and colleagues of those who died.

 Muhammadu Buhari (@MBuhari) February 21, 2021

The plane took off from Abuja and was headed to Minna, in the northern state of Niger, when it turned back following engine failure, according to the military.It crashed short of a runway.

Source: BBC









Disclaimer : Opinions expressed here are those of the writers and do not reflect those of Peacefmonline.com. Peacefmonline.com accepts no responsibility legal or otherwise for their accuracy of content. Please report any inappropriate content to us, and we will evaluate it as a matter of priority.

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On February 22, 2021, this report was posted online as an MMWR Early Release.

In-person learning benefits children and communities (1). Understanding the context in which transmission of SARS-CoV-2, the virus that causes coronavirus disease 2019 (COVID-19), occurs in schools is critical to improving the safety of in-person learning. During December 1, 2020January 22, 2021, Cobb and Douglas Public Health (CDPH), the Georgia Department of Public Health (GDPH), and CDC investigated SARS-CoV-2 transmission in eight public elementary schools in a single school district. COVID-19 cases* among educators and students were either self-reported or identified by local public health officials. Close contacts (contacts) of persons with a COVID-19 case received testing. Among contacts who received positive test results, public health investigators assessed epidemiologic links, probable transmission directionality, and the likelihood of in-school transmission. Nine clusters of three or more epidemiologically linked COVID-19 cases were identified involving 13 educators and 32 students at six of the eight elementary schools. Two clusters involved probable educator-to-educator transmission that was followed by educator-to-student transmission and resulted in approximately one half (15 of 31) of school-associated cases. Sixty-nine household members of persons with school-associated cases were tested, and 18 (26%) received positive results. All nine transmission clusters involved less than ideal physical distancing, and five involved inadequate mask use by students. Educators were central to in-school transmission networks. Multifaceted mitigation measures in schools, including promotion of COVID-19 precautions outside of school, minimizing in-person adult interactions at school, and ensuring universal and correct mask use and physical distancing among educators and students when in-person interaction is unavoidable, are important in preventing in-school transmission of SARS-CoV-2. Although not required for reopening schools, COVID-19 vaccination should be considered as an additional mitigation measure to be added when available.

During the investigation period, which included 24 in-person school days during December 1, 2020January 22, 2021, approximately 2,600 students (approximately 80% of the districts elementary school students) and 700 staff members attended elementary school in person. During this period, COVID-19 incidence (7-day start highlightcumulative number of new casesend highlight per 100,000 persons) in Cobb County, Georgia, increased almost 300%, from start highlight194end highlight to start highlight704end highlight cases. COVID-19 cases among educators and students attending in-person school were either self-reported to the school district or identified by local public health officials through laboratory results. Contacts who were exposed to persons with COVID-19 in school were identified by school officials, advised to quarantine based on local health department guidelines,** and referred to the investigation team.

Reverse transcriptionpolymerase chain reaction (RT-PCR) testing of anterior nasal swab specimens was offered free of charge to all contacts who were exposed in school, within 510 days of their last documented in-school exposure; 60% of identified contacts received testing, and 40% either declined testing or could not be reached. Semistructured virtual interviews with parents, educators, and principals were conducted to characterize the settings in which transmission likely occurred. Interviews included a review of symptom onset dates; possible exposures to persons with COVID-19 outside of school; and information on seating charts, classroom layouts, physical distancing, and compliance with recommended mask use during specific classroom interactions. Public health investigators visited four of six schools where SARS-CoV-2 transmission had been identified to observe adherence to recommended mitigation strategies and provide technical assistance. For contacts who received positive test results, epidemiologic links, probable transmission directionality, and the likelihood of in-school transmission were assessed by using interview data, testing dates, and symptom onset dates. Clusters were defined as epidemiologic links between an index patient and two or more persons who likely acquired SARS-CoV-2 infection in school (i.e., school-associated cases). Two contacts with positive test results were excluded because they likely acquired SARS-CoV-2 from household members outside of school. Household members of persons with school-associated cases were offered free RT-PCR testing. This activity was reviewed by CDPH, GDPH, and CDC and was conducted consistent with applicable Georgia law, federal law, and CDC policy.

During the investigation period, nine clusters of COVID-19 cases were identified, involving 13 educators and 32 students at six of the eight investigated elementary schools (Figure). The median cluster size, including household members, was six persons (range = 316). An educator was the index patient in four clusters (B, E, F, and I), a student was the index patient in one cluster (H), and in four clusters (A, C, D, and G), whether the index patient was the student, the educator, or both (i.e., two index cases occurred) could not be determined. Eight clusters (all except H) involved at least one educator and probable educator-to-student transmission. Four clusters (A, D, G, and H) involved probable student-to-student transmission, and three (A, C, and D) involved probable student-to-educator transmission. Two clusters (F and I) involved probable educator-to-educator transmission during in-person meetings or lunches, which was followed by educator-to-student transmission in the classroom and resulted in 15 of 31 (48%) school-associated cases. Sixty-nine household members of persons with school-associated cases were tested, and 18 (26%) received positive results.

Public health investigators identified several COVID-19 mitigation challenges. Although plastic dividers were placed on desks between students, students sat <3 ft apart. Physical distancing of >6 ft was not possible because of the high number of in-person students and classroom layouts. In seven clusters (A, B, C, D, E, F, and I), transmission among educators and students might have occurred during small group instruction sessions in which educators worked in close proximity to students. The school district mandated in-classroom mask use except while eating, and both reported and observed compliance during site visits was high. However, information obtained during interviews indicated that specific instances involving lack of or inadequate mask use by students likely contributed to spread in five clusters (A, C, E, G, and I). Students ate lunch in their classrooms, which might have facilitated spread. Opportunities to decrease nonessential in-person interactions among staff members during lesson planning and lunches were noted.
Thiruvananthapuram, Feb 22 : Following a huge controversy after Leader of Opposition Ramesh Chennithala called out Chief Minister Pinarayi Vijayan-led government in Kerala over signing a Memorandum of Understanding (MoU) with a US-based firm for promoting deep sea fishing in the state, the Kerala government on Monday cancelled the fishing contract. It also asked top bureaucrat T.K.Jose to probe the matter.

Chennithala on February 19 launched a blistering attack on Pinarayi Vijayan and challenged him to order a comprehensive probe into allowing a US firm to engage in manufacturing boats and big ships, besides handing over deep sea fishing activities off the Kerala coast.

The controversy began last week when Chennithala released a copy of the Memorandum of Understanding (MoU) signed between EMCC -- a US headquartered company which has its operations in India and the Kerala Shipping and Inland Navigation Corporation, an organisation which comes directly under the Pinarayi Vijayan government.

When the controversy erupted, Fisheries Minister J. Mercykutty denied having met anyone from EMCC.

But when Chennithala came out with the fishing contract details and pictures, Mercykutty said so many people come and meet her and it was unfair to drag the Kerala Chief Minister into the matter.

Vijayan also feigned ignorance of such an MoU but when Chennithala again revealed that the US company officials had met Vijayan at his office in Thiruvananthapuram, Mercykutty deviated from her stand and said there was nothing wrong if investors come and meet Vijayan with proposals and criticised the bureaucrat who had inked the MoU.

"IAS officials have a feeling that they know everything under the sun. Will anyone sign such a contract for the manufacture of 400 trawlers," Mercykutty added.

Reacting to the sudden decision of cancelling the MoU, Revolutionary Socialist Party (RSP) Lok Sabha member, N.K. Premachandran, said it is not surprising to see the MoU being cancelled.

"They (Kerala government) have no other option available other than cancelling the MoU because they have been caught red-handed. Earlier, they said there is no MoU signed, then they retracted saying nobody has met anyone and when every defence by them was exposed with proper documentary evidence, they blame the bureaucracy," Premachandran added.

EMCC Director Shiju Varghese said they have been working on the fishing project for more than two years and have met everyone, including the Kerala Chief Minister.

"We really do not know what wrong we have committed and it's just two days back, we felt that things are not going in a proper way. Lot of efforts have been put in by us for this fishing project," said a peeved Varghese.

Earlier on Monday, Chennithala challenged Vijayan to order a probe into the matter.

"Ever since I unearthed this unscrupulous deal which is nothing but selling the 'seas' of Kerala to a US firm, I have been attacked as a conspirator," Chennithala said.

"I challenge Vijayan to order a comprehensive probe into the matter. I have no issues to face it, but will you (Vijayan) face it?," asked Chennithala.

Chennithala said, "The precious fisheries wealth of Kerala has been handed over on a platter to EMCC, which has its operations in India. Vijayan has feigned ignorance and also assured that nothing that would affect the interests of the fishermen community of the state would be taken up.

"I have done nothing wrong and the only thing I have done is brought this deal out in the open. Vijayan is feigning ignorance and the truth of the matter is, he had a meeting with the CEO of the US firm at his official residence and till now he has not admitted to holding this meeting. Even Mercykutty who first initiated the talks, continues to tell lies. The Pinarayi Vijayan government has been telling one lie after another about this project," said Chennithala.

"This is now being perceived as a project that was the creation of the bureaucrats. But it's been three years that the Vijayan government has been talking about this project. Strangely even the Assembly has been kept in the dark about this fishing project." "Even after talks and deal was inked with the EMCC, two questions asked in the Assembly, we have failed to get any answer while details of other MoUs inked have been revealed. So by now everyone knows who is trying to keep things under wraps. I challenge Vijayan to order a probe," said Chennithala.
Vietnam has quarratined a group of 56 experts from the U.S. Department of Defense for 14 days on arrival in central Da Nang City via a special flight Sunday.

The group landed at Da Nang International Airport on Hawaii Airlines flight A33 via Incheon International Airport in South Korea. The experts, deployed to locate the remains of MIA (missing in action) U.S. soldiers, were allowed to enter Vietnam for humanitarian purposes by Prime Minister Nguyen Xuan Phuc, Nhan Dan Online reported.

All were transferred to a hotel in Son Tra District for 14-day quarantine and had their samples taken for coronavirus testing as per Health Ministry protocols.

The search for missing U.S. soldiers from the Vietnam War, which ended in 1975, has been an ongoing humanitarian activity overseen by Vietnam since 1988.

Scores of soldiers' remains have been repatriated since 1973.

An estimated 1,200 Americans are still unaccounted for.

Vietnam has suspended all inbound international commercial flights since March 2020, though the government has been operating repatriation flights to bring home Vietnamese citizens stuck abroad amid the pandemic, and has allowed special flights to carry foreign experts and investors to the country.

The government has limited inbound flights in light of new variants of the novel coronavirus spreading fast in many countries. Only special cases approved by the government can enter the country.

Vietnam has recorded 791 Covid-19 cases in 13 localities since the new community outbreak started on Jan. 28.
A possible drunk driver crashed into an ambulance Monday morning resulting in four people being hospitalized, according to the San Antonio Express-News.

The San Antonio Fire Department posted photos to their Facebook page of the incident explaining that there were injuries, but no deaths.

Kapil Sharma was recently spotted at the airport in a wheelchair and his condition inevitably caught the interest of the paparazzi. However, when they rushed to click some pictures of the comedian, the latter went on to lash out at them. Kapil also bashed the shutterbugs of misbehaving with him.

Talking about the video of Kapil Sharma bashing the paparazzi, the comedian angrily tells the shutterbugs to move out of his way when they rush to photograph him. He also tells that they have a habit of misbehaving. However, this demeanour of the comedian does not go down well with the paparazzi. Soon a member of The Kapil Sharma Show star's team requests the paparazzi to delete the pictures and the video which they took of Kapil. However, the paparazzi refuse to delete the same, adding how they are angry with Kapil for swearing at them. Take a look at the video.

Meanwhile, Kapil Sharma's recent pictures in the wheelchair have also raised concerns amongst fans for his health. Talking further about the video, Kapil can be seen wearing a black woollen jacket and trousers. He can be seen covering his face with a white mask and sunglasses. The comedian has been tight-lipped about his health but looks like, he is going through a major health issue.

Also Read: OMG! Kapil Sharma Spotted On A Wheelchair At Mumbai Airport; Photo Inside

For the unversed, Kapil Sharma and his wife Ginni Chatrath also became parents to their second child on February 1, 2021. The Firangi actor had informed his fans about the birth of his son on his social media handle. On the other hand, his popular show, The Kapil Sharma Show is all set to bid adieu to the small-screen, as the host is gearing up to take a paternity leave to spend time with his family and newborn son. Not only that but the makers of The Kapil Sharma Show are also planning to revamp the program with some new theme and concepts. The show also features Archana Puran Singh, Bharti Singh, Krushna Abhishek, Kiku Sharda, Sumona Chakravarti and Chandan Prabhakar along with Kapil. It will be airing back soon on Sony TV.

Also Read: Kapil Sharma & Ginni Chatrath Blessed With A Baby Boy; Saina Nehwal, Manoj Bajpayee & Others Congratulate

Cebu Pacific (CEB), the Philippines largest national flag carrier, has launched its early Summer Seat Sale promotion, offering Dubai-Manila flights for as low as AED300 ($81.6) one-way base fare.



Travellers can plan ahead by booking their promo trip from February 22 to 28, for travel between April 1, 2021 and July 31, 2021, an airline statement said.



Passengers can easily plan their trips as the airline currently operates its flights from Dubai to Manila and vice versa three times weekly.



CEBs latest seat sale allows UAE-based residents, who look forward to a relaxing vacation or visit their hometown to explore the many wonders of the Philippines including 7,000 islands on a safe and budget-friendly flight home.



CEB also offers a free 25kg baggage allowance until June 30, 2021, exclusive for travellers from Dubai to Manila as part of its early anniversary celebration. Passengers with a pre-purchased 40kg prepaid baggage will automatically receive extra 25kg on their booking, free-of-charge.



Passengers may also use their remaining balance in their Travel Fund to book their flights in this seat sale online through the Cebu Pacific website.



CEB has been rated 7/7 stars by airlineratings.com for its Covid-19 compliance as it continues to implement a multi-layered approach to safety, in accordance with global aviation standards. These include daily extensive cleaning and disinfection protocols for all aircraft and facilities, antigen testing before duty for all frontliners and crew members, and contactless flight procedures.



These are all in accordance with global best practises and the highest safety standards. Aircraft are equipped with hospital grade HEPA air filters, which make in-flight transmission of Covid-19 low or virtually non-existent.  TradeArabia News Service

MEXICO CITY  Mexico has received its first shipment of Russias Sputnik V COVID-19 vaccine.

Some 200,000 doses arrived to Mexico Citys international airport late Monday night aboard a British Airways flight from Moscow. Officials plan to use the doses to begin vaccinating seniors in the capitals most marginalized boroughs on Wednesday. Mexico Foreign Affairs Secretary Marcelo Ebrard confirmed their arrival via Twitter.

Mexico received its first shipment of vaccines from Pfizer in mid-December, but turned to Sputnik V in January when other expected vaccine shipments were delayed. Sputnik too arrives later than initially expected. Mexico President Andres Manuel Lopez Obrador spoke with Russia President Vladimir Putin in late January.

In early February, Mexican regulators gave Sputnik V emergency approval and the government signed a contract to bring 400,000 doses to Mexico in February. It was unclear when the next shipment of Sputnik would arrive.

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THE VIRUS OUTBREAK:

 Researchers in Scotland say its COVID-19 vaccination program has caused hospitalizations to plummet

 British Prime Minister Boris Johnson to lay out plan to ease coronavirus restrictions but pubs, gyms and hairdressers to stay closed for weeks

 Russias vaccine rollout picks up speed but experts say the campaign is still moving slowly

 Elementary schools and kindergartens reopen in over half of Germany's 16 states

 Every Democratic vote is needed on $1.9 trillion COVID-19 relief bill, but minimum wage and other issues will force choices

 Follow all of APs pandemic coverage at https://apnews.com/hub/coronavirus-pandemic, https://apnews.com/hub/coronavirus-vaccine and https://apnews.com/UnderstandingtheOutbreak

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HERES WHAT ELSE IS HAPPENING:

MANILA, Philippines  The Philippine president will reject recommendations to further ease coronavirus quarantine restrictions across the country until a delayed vaccination campaign kicks off, his spokesman said.

Story continues

President Rodrigo Duterte also rejected a plan to resume face-to-face school classes in some pilot areas until vaccinations, which have been set back by delays in the arrival of initial batches of COVID-19 vaccine, have been launched, presidential spokesman Harry Roque said.

The scheduled delivery on Tuesday of 600,000 doses from Sinovac Biotech Ltd. was postponed anew after the China-based company failed to immediately secure an emergency-use permit from Manilas Food and Drug Administration. Sinovac got the authorization Monday.

Top economic officials have asked Duterte to consider further easing quarantine restrictions in the country starting in March to bolster the economy, which has suffered one of the worst recessions in the region, and stave off hunger. But Duterte rejected the recommendations.

The chief executive recognizes the importance of re-opening the economy and its impact on peoples livelihoods, Roque said but added that the president gives higher premium to public health and safety.

The Philippines has reported more than 563,000 confirmed cases of COVID-19 infections and more than 12,000 deaths, the second highest in Southeast Asia. The government has faced criticisms for failing to immediately launch a massive vaccine campaign for about 70 million Filipinos.

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SACRAMENTO, Calif. -- California lawmakers on Monday cleared the way for 5.7 million people to get at least $600 in one-time payments, part of a state-sized coronavirus relief package aimed at helping lower-income people weather what they hope is the last legs of the pandemic.

The state Legislature passed the bill by a wide margin on Monday, moving faster than their counterparts in Congress who are also considering another round of stimulus checks for the nation.

Gov. Gavin Newsom said he will sign it into law on Tuesday. People who are eligible for the money should get it at between 45 days and 60 days after receiving their state tax refunds, according to the Franchise Tax Board.

People with low to moderate incomes will be eligible to get the money. That includes people who claim the California earned income tax credit on their tax returns and, in general, people making $30,000 or less per year.

Immigrants who pay taxes using an individual taxpayer identification number and make $75,000 a year or less after deductions would also get the money. People who receive assistance from state programs benefiting low-income families and people who are blind and disabled are also eligible.

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SACRAMENTO, Calif. -- Gov. Gavin Newsom says more vaccines are headed to Californias vast Central Valley, an agricultural region thats been hit hard by coronavirus.

In the small farming city of Arvin on Monday, Newsom said that 11 mobile clinics will open in the region later this week. The facilities are designed to vaccinate people, mostly farmworkers, who dont have transportation to larger vaccination sites or cant navigate the states online signup portal.

He says the state is also sending 34,000 extra vaccine doses there from a pharmacy that wasnt using them quickly enough.

The shift in allocations comes as California moves beyond inoculating health care workers to include food and farm workers and teachers.

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SEATTLE - Seattle Public Schools is delaying a return to the classroom for its youngest students during the coronavirus pandemic by at least a week because it has yet to reach an agreement with the teachers union.

In a statement Monday the district said it had not yet negotiated new working conditions with the Seattle Education Association. Previously the district had hoped to begin some in-person learning on March 8. That is now delayed until at least March 8.

Last week Gov. Jay Inslee urged more schools to open up to in-person instruction, saying the online classroom experience wasnt adequate for many.

Seattle is the states largest district, with about 50,000 students. The district had hoped to give parents the option to have preschool, kindergarten, first grade and special education students return for some classroom instruction.

The Seattle teachers union said it wants specific language on COVID-19 safety protocols put in writing. The union said it was working to reach an agreement quickly, but were unwilling to cut corners on safety precautions in order to meet arbitrary deadlines.

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JACKSON, Miss. -- Mississippi saw a steep decline in COVID-19 vaccinations last week as several drive-thru vaccination sites were closed because of freezing temperatures and icy roads.

The state Department of Health said Monday that 32,540 vaccinations were given in the state during the week that ended Saturday. That is down from 106,691 the previous week, which was Mississippis busiest week for the vaccinations so far.

The department said it is automatically rescheduling appointments that had to be canceled at 21 drive-thru sites, and people are being notified by text or email.

More people than usual are being scheduled for COVID-19 vaccinations in the state this week, and some appointments will be during the weekend. The Health Department is asking people to arrive at least 15 minutes before their scheduled time and to be patient.

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WASHINGTON __ President Joe Biden called the U.S. topping of the threshold of 500,000 deaths blamed on the coronavirus a "truly grim, heartbreaking milestone.

Biden is urging Americans to resist becoming numb to the sorrow and viewing each life as a statistic. He says the people lost were extraordinary.

Biden also touched on the personal tragedy hes experienced in losing his first wife and baby daughter in a car collision, and later losing an adult son to brain cancer.

Biden tells the nations he knows its hard but that to heal, we must remember.

He spoke before holding a moment of silence in the White House and inviting the public to join.

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HOUSTON  Authorities in Houston are opening a giant vaccination center that will serve an estimated 126,000 people over the next three weeks.

The federally funded site will fully open Wednesday at Houstons NRG Park, near the home stadium of the NFLs Houston Texans. Staff will distribute first doses seven days a week for three weeks, then transition to second doses.

Harris County Judge Lina Hidalgo, the countys chief elected official, says authorities will prioritize people who live in areas hardest hit by the coronavirus. Hidalgo and Houston Mayor Sylvester Turner say their staffs have identified ZIP codes where people have been most affected and lack the same access as other places to medical care.

The site opens as Texans recover from a devastating winter storm that killed at least 35 people and left millions without power and water. While Houston and other cities have lifted boil orders on drinking water, many people are still affected by broken pipes and shutoffs of systems.

Says Hidalgo, Its been trauma after trauma, and people deserve some good news, some hope.

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WASHINGTON-- Drugmaker Johnson & Johnson says it will be able to provide 20 million U.S. doses of its single-shot COVID-19 vaccine by the end of March, assuming it gets the greenlight from federal regulators.

J&J disclosed the figure in written testimony ahead of a Congressional hearing on Tuesday looking at the countrys vaccine supply. White House officials cautioned last week that initial supplies of J&Js vaccine would be limited.

The company reiterated that it will have capacity to provide 100 million vaccine doses to the U.S. by the end of June. That supply will help government officials reach the goal of having enough injections to vaccinate most adult Americans later this year. On a global scale the company aims to produce 1 billion doses this year.

U.S. health regulators are still reviewing the safety and effectiveness of the shot and a decision to allow its emergency use is expected later this week. J&Js vaccine would be the first in the U.S. that requires only a single shot.

Currently available vaccines from Pfizer and Moderna require two doses spaced several weeks apart. Executives from both companies and two other vaccine makers will also testify at Tuesdays hearing.

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WASHINGTON  The Food and Drug Administration said Monday that it wont require huge, months-long studies if COVID-19 vaccines eventually need tweaking to better match a mutating virus -- small, short studies will suffice.

The vaccines now being rolled out do still protect against different variants of the virus, the FDA stressed. But viruses mutate constantly, and some new versions are starting to raise concerns. So FDA issued new guidelines for vaccines -- as well as for virus tests and treatments -- on steps that companies can start taking to get ready.

Were trying to be prepared in advance, said Dr. Peter Marks, the FDAs vaccines chief.

Already major manufacturers have started updating their vaccine recipes if regulators eventually decide thats necessary.

Marks said the needed tests would include a few hundred people rather than thousands, and could take just two or three months. Volunteers would receive experimental doses of the tweaked vaccine and then have their blood checked to see if it revved up the immune system about as well as the original vaccines do.

Marks said the hope is that if vaccines have to be updated, they would work broadly enough to cover both the original virus and a new mutant version -- rather than requiring a combination shot like flu vaccines. Having to make multiple kinds of vaccine and then combine them would put a greater strain on already stretched production capabilities.

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WASHINGTON  The White House now says it expects to catch up by mid-week on deliveries of coronavirus vaccine doses that were delayed by severe weather.

Officials had said on Friday that they anticipated catching up by the end of this week. Some 6 million doses were delayed by snow and icy conditions.

But White House coronavirus response coordinator Andy Slavitt is attributing the improved timeline to an all-out, round-the-clock effort.

Slavitt says pharmaceutical distributor McKesson ran extended shifts over the weekend to pack vaccines with employees volunteering to work in the middle of the night to prepare shipments. UPS also participated.

Slavitt says 7 million doses -- a combination of those delayed by weather and the regular distribution -- were being delivered Monday as a result of those and other efforts.

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BISMARCK, N.D.  North Dakotas Republican-led House endorsed a measure Monday that would prohibit state or local governments from mandating face coverings.

Representatives approved the measure 50-44. The bill also prohibits making use of a face mask, shield, or covering a condition for entry for education, employment, or services.

The bill now goes to the Senate.

Bill sponsor GOP Rep. Jeff Hoverson and others argued there was no proof that masks work to slow the spread of the coronavirus and they questioned the governments role in mandating them.

The state health officer, backed by Gov. Doug Burgum, imposed a mask mandate in November after months of refraining from such an order, hoping to stem a coronavirus surge that had been among the worst in the U.S. and threatened to overwhelm the states hospitals.

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HARTFORD, Conn. - A major change to Connecticuts vaccination schedule was announced Monday, with the state continuing with a mostly age-based system to make the rollout less complicated after seeing the challenges other states have faced in vaccinating essential workers and people with underlying health conditions.

The lesson learned here from all these other states is, complexity is the enemy of equity and speed, which makes it the enemy of public health, Max Reiss, spokesman for Gov. Ned Lamont, told The Associated Press.

Beginning March 1, anyone aged 55 to 64 will be allowed to get a COVID-19 vaccine. That group will be followed by people 45-54 on March 22; 35-44 years on April 12; and everyone else 34 years and younger on May 3.

Lamont previously said he would release details this week about which essential workers and people with underlying medical conditions could soon begin signing up for vaccinations.

Currently, only people ages 65 and older and medical workers are eligible. The previous group eligible for the vaccine included people 75 years and older.

Lamont said Friday he would release a list on Monday of the particular medical conditions that would make people eligible.

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OKLAHOMA CITY  Oklahoma opened its second phase of coronavirus vaccinations on Monday, providing inoculations to public school teachers and staff and to adults of any age with illnesses that make them susceptible to the virus.

Our goal is to make sure that every Oklahoma teacher and staff member who wants the COVID-19 vaccine can get it by spring break in mid-March, said health commissioner Dr. Lance Frye at a vaccination clinic in Norman.

More than 681,000 Oklahomans had been vaccinated as of Friday, according to the state health department, and an estimated 60,000 more vaccinations were administered during the weekend, said deputy health commissioner Keith Reed.

State schools superintendent Joy Hofmeister said she expects a high percentage of public school staff to accept the vaccine.

Teachers have been clamoring for the prioritization of having the vaccine, Hofmeister said.

There have been 419,853 coronavirus cases and 4,203 deaths due to COVID-19 in Oklahoma since the pandemic began, the state health department reported.
HBO aired the first episode of its four-part docuseries "Allen v. Farrow" on Sunday, setting up for a deep dive into the contentious 1992 custody battle between director Woody Allen and actress Mia Farrow. He was accused of molesting their 7-year-old daughter, Dylan Farrow, and had begun a relationship with Mia's college-age daughter from another relationship, Soon-Yi Previn.

Dylan's allegations against Allen have been revisited over the years but were widely discussed after she wrote an op-ed for the Los Angeles Times three years ago asking why he had been "spared" as the #MeToo movement gained momentum in Hollywood (in part thanks to the reporting conducted by her younger brother, Ronan). "Allen v. Farrow" filmmakers Kirby Dick and Amy Ziering ("The Hunting Ground") drew from the work of co-creator and producer Amy Herdy, who pored over documents and tapes for more than three years and examined how the case played out in public.

Mia Farrow, 76, appears in the series alongside Dylan, 35, who details her memories of the abuse she says she endured in the years leading up to the proceedings. Allen, 85, has consistently denied the allegations. Below are a few takeaways from the docuseries' first episode.

- Allen expressed disinterest in parenting

Mia Farrow had seven children when she first met Allen, who she says told her early in their relationship that he wasn't interested in helping parent her children. The couple began dating in 1980 and lived separately, though Allen would sometimes accompany Farrow and her children to their house in Connecticut when she wanted to get away from New York.

Allen bonded with one of Farrow's sons, Moses. She eventually asked Allen whether he'd be willing to father a child, and she says he mentioned he might be interested in parenting a "little blonde girl." Farrow adopted Dylan and says she was "over-the-moon happy" that Allen loved Dylan.

The director does not appear in "Allen v. Farrow," but the filmmakers include relevant snippets from the audiobook for his controversial 2020 memoir, "Apropros of Nothing." In one such bit, he says he was "totally indifferent to the whole enterprise" of becoming a father at first, but "found myself more and more holding [Dylan], playing with her and completely falling in love with her."

- Dylan remembers receiving preferential treatment from Allen, who began to isolate her

Farrow and Allen had another child together - Satchel, who now goes by Ronan - but in the series, Dylan recalls their father playing favorites. After Ronan was born, she says, Allen tended to separate her from Mia when he was over at the Farrow residence and began "very slowly instilling the idea in my head that [Mia] was more Satchel's parent, he was more my parent. I was daddy's girl."

"I worshiped him," Dylan says. "He was so funny and he made me feel so special."

She goes on to state that "things get really, really complicated" at that point, because "throughout all of those good times, there was a lot more going on." Dylan likens his behavior to a magnet, detailing how Allen would head straight for her when he showed up at their apartment.

"There was nobody but the two of them," Mia adds. "He began an incredible amount of focus on her. He didn't want to see the other kids, he wanted to see her. It was just so one-track."

- Family members and friends sensed Dylan becoming more reserved

Looking back, Mia Farrow says the "great regret" of her life is that she "wasn't receptive enough" to how Dylan's behavior began to change over time: "It's my fault," Mia continues. "I brought this guy into our family, you know? There's nothing I can do to take that away."

Priscilla Gilman, a family friend interviewed for the series, says Dylan would run away from the door when Allen appeared, asking to be hidden. "At first I thought it was a game," Gilman says, "but then I realized she actually sensed this smothering energy from him." Ronan says Dylan went from being "outgoing and effervescent and talkative to her having this sadness and this withdrawn quality."

Dylan adds that she had no understanding of whether her relationship with her father was abnormal or abusive, given her young age. The series notes that when she began therapy in March 1991 at age 5, she told the therapist she had a secret, which the therapist never mentioned to Mia.

"It's taken me a long time to sort of reconcile that you can love somebody and be afraid of them," Dylan says.
As bitcoin (BTC) soared over USD 50,000 this week, American politicians engaged in a high-stakes crypto pledge wars, while MicroStrategy raised over USD 1bn for its bitcoin purchases. The worlds largest asset manager, BlackRock, started to dabble a bit in bitcoin, even though Microsoft said it has no plan to follow in Teslas footsteps.

Amongst those who do have a bitcoin strategy was an unlikely duo of German Deutsche Bank and cannabis company SynBiotic, and PwC researchers found that the move also interests several Mexican companies. Lottery Giant 500.com acquired Bitcoin miner BTC.com, while more Chinese non-crypto firms entered Bitcoin and Ethereum mining. Despite the impressive run past USD 51,000, many overexuberant traders got burned as well, as USD 1.9 worth of crypto was liquidated in a day.

Last but not least, Elon Musk once again made headlines concerning Dogecoin ownership and whales, one of which is suspected to be Robinhood trading platform. Already defunct New Zealand cryptocurrency exchange Cryptopia got hacked once again, while Verge (XVG) cryptocurrency suffered yet another attack. Finally, Cardanos Charles Hoskinson doubled-down on his criticisms of Ethereum, stating that concepts like the network effect do not exist.

Its only natural that such a fruitful week has left us with yet another sweet collection of crypto memes.

___

Meanwhile at Bitcoin headquarters

__

After all, parents basement is a cozy and comfortable place.

I thought $50k would be: How it be: pic.twitter.com/sHOO5MwVDD  Ryan Selkis (@twobitidiot) February 19, 2021

__

Never gets old (and someone never learns).

Source: Reddit/ u/do_thethrowaway

__

Fee ATHs are also ATHs.

Source: Twitter, @AmeerRosic

__

Dedication is important.

BREAKING: SALTY NOCOINER INSULTED ONLINE BY A PERSON WHO OWNS SOME BITCOIN; CHOOSES TO STAY POOR AS REVENGE  Udi HaveFunStayingPoor.com (@udiWertheimer) February 17, 2021

__

Just bull market things

There will definitely be a MarsCoin!  Elon Musk (@elonmusk) February 16, 2021

__

You go whenever you like, ETH

ETH vs BTC price discovery pic.twitter.com/OZTGIzawMu  smilinglllama (@smilinglllama) February 16, 2021

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Dont mess with the DOGE.

__

Is there an NFT for this?

Source: Reddit / u/ESGombrich

__

Today in the markets.

$BNB with the 5x in February ### https://t.co/aFDr3oA8XT  Mr. Anderson (@TrueCrypto28)

__

This is easy.

__

Amazing foresight.

At $10k I said $BTC would end in tears. I was right, I don't own any and I could cry.  Assad Tannous (@AsennaWealth) February 14, 2021

__

Expert tips. Not financial advice.

Source: Reddit / u/gameboyfella

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To the moon!

This is how crypto telegram rooms often feel like. pic.twitter.com/PrvLw3VIYh  Alex Kruger (@krugermacro) February 13, 2021

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Dont forget to thank your favorite billionaire.

Source: Reddit/ u/calvintheidiot

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Whoops.

Source: Reddit/ u/clodhopper88

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This time, unlike all those other times, it is truly a new paradigm! I swear!

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Buying bitcoin at local tops be like

Source: Reddit/ u/StefanStandUp

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Number go up!

Source: Reddit/ u/weneedmoremoney

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Heres your weekend movie.

bitcoin twitter, assemble.



the strike meme team has been formed.



we are stronger together than we are alone.



we will meme the legacy financial system into oblivion. https://t.co/XXFLzSBq9P pic.twitter.com/OmX9dNLErD  Strike (@ln_strike) February 16, 2021

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..and your weekend hymn is here, too. HFSP!
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[February 22, 2021] Bulletproof 'Secure Cloud Advantage' Roadshow celebrates 10-year anniversary February 24 - 25, 2021

Program to centre around exposing security blinds spots generated by extreme acceleration to remote work and cloud collaboration in 2020. FREDERICTON, NB, Feb. 22, 2021 /CNW/ - On Wednesday, February 24th and Thursday, February 25th, 2021, Bulletproof will celebrate its annual Roadshow's 10th anniversary by partnering with Microsoft to deliver, virtually, what promises to be the best installment to date. Executive business leaders and directors and practitioners of IT, Security and Compliance across all sectors, will be treated to a program that is jam-packed with industry expertise and exciting digital transformation insights delivered through keynotes, break-out sessions, live Q&As, expert chats and panels. Of course, no 10th anniversary would be complete without some surprises, but the Bulletproof team is mum on those. "There have been lot of changes to the cybersecurity landscape these past 10 years; what hasn't changed is Bulletproof's commitment to use our annual Roadshow as a frum to deliver timely, relevant and actionable insights to help our customers understand and prepare for the 'what's next,' says Bulletproof CEO, Chris Johnston. "We couldn't be happier to have Microsoft back with us as Presenting Partner and to welcome many of their experts to our most exciting line-up yet."



That list of experts includes Head of Modern Work & Security, Microsoft Canada, Jason Brommet. "Bulletproof is a Microsoft security and compliance partner whose commitment to enabling and protecting our customers through their individual security journeys is apparent not only in the annual Roadshow, but in the day to day. I look forward to participating in the 2021 Kick-Off Keynotes to help shine a light on how the accelerated digital transformation we have seen this past year has revealed better ways to work, innovate, and secure our companies." Jason Brommet, Head of Modern Work & Security, Microsoft Canada

The Bulletproof Roadshow would not be possible without the support of partners. The company extends sincere thanks to Microsoft for their continued partnership as Presenting Partner (Kevlar Level) as well as HPE, Public Knowledge, Barrington Consulting, Barracuda (Amour Level), and Fortinet (Shield Level). For more information on or to register for the 2021 Bulletproof Roadshow, visit the event page: bulletproofsi.com/roadshow. About Bulletproof

Founded in Fredericton, New Brunswick in 2000, Bulletproof has two decades in the security business, protecting its clients' privacy and data. The company's footprint now includes users on six continents trusting Bulletproof to secure their identities, networks, data, and devices. Named Partner of the Year | Modern Workplace by Microsoft Canada in 2019 and 2020, Bulletproof is proud to be a Microsoft Gold Partner with twelve gold competencies and a member of the Microsoft Intelligent Security Association. For more information on Bulletproof visit bulletproofsi.com or join us on Facebook , Twitter and LinkedIn . For more information on the 2020 Bulletproof Roadshow, visit the event page: bulletproofsi.com/roadshow #2021BPRoadshow SOURCE Bulletproof, A GLI Company

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Essex University took 5.4m in cash, followed by Manchester University at 5m

Paper money from students accepted by at least 49 UK universities in five years

Universities have been accused of aiding money launderers after letting students from 'high-risk' countries pay 52million of fees in cash.

The paper money from students was accepted by at least 49 universities in the UK spanning the past five years, with China noted as the country whose students paid the most cash.

Essex University received 5.4million in notes, followed by Manchester University at 5million, Surrey at 3.2million, Wolverhampton at 2.8million and Nottingham at 1.8million.

Security experts branded the move a 'welcome mat for kleptocrats', saying universities that accept cash are highly at risk of concealing the proceeds of crime.

Essex University (pictured above) received 5.4million in cash from students. The paper money was accepted by at least 49 universities in the UK spanning the past five years

Surrey University, above, accepted 3.2million in cash. Since 2015, UK universities accepted 7.7million from Chinese students, followed by 1.8million from Indian students

Durham University also took 440,000, with 200,000 being paid by Chinese students, and Strathclyde University in Glasgow received 700,000 in cash.

Since 2015, universities accepted 7.7million from Chinese students, followed by 1.8million from Indian students, 1.2million from Pakistani students and 1.5million from Nigerian students, according to The Times' freedom of information request.

Matthew Page, a fellow at international affairs think tank Chatham House, said: 'Any educational institution that accepts cash payments is essentially putting out a welcome mat for the world's kleptocrats and money launderers.

'Universities that accept cash are at high risk of laundering the proceeds of crime, corruption and other illicit activities.'

Chris Greany, an ex-national coordinator for economic crime, said: 'It is known that cash payments from many of the countries mentioned here are sometimes linked to money laundering and other criminal enterprises, so cash-based payments need proper scrutiny and accountability, but there is no good reason for them at all.'

He questioned why cash payments are still acceptable for universities, pointing out that bank notes can no longer be used to buy a car, flight or hotel room.

In 2019, the niece of Syrian President Bashar al-Assad was forced to give up the contents of her UK bank account after receiving 150,000 from relatives while studying in London.

Investigators found that Aniseh Chawkat, aged 22 at the time, who rented a flat in the capital for more than 60,000 per year, benefited from 56 cash deposits into her Barclays account in 2017 and 2018.

Ms Chawkat was not personally accused of any wrongdoing.

The National Crime Agency (NCA) discovered that the payments were made at branches of the bank across England, as a way of getting around EU sanctions to restrict funds from the Syrian regime.

Manchester University took 5million in paper money. Security experts branded the move a 'welcome mat for kleptocrats', saying universities that accept cash are highly at risk of concealing the proceeds of crime

Wolverhampton University accepted 2.8million in cash. Chris Greany, an ex-national coordinator for economic crime, questioned why cash payments are still acceptable for universities

And in the same year, the ex-Moldovan prime minister's son was ordered to hand over almost 500,000 found in three different bank accounts of suspected dirty money.

The National Crime Agency froze the accounts of Luca Filat, then 22 and a business student at City University, in 2018 following an investigation into his father, Vlad Filat, who was jailed for nine years in 2016 for embezzling 650million.

On the UK Government's website, HMRC states: 'Money laundering means exchanging money or assets that were obtained criminally for money or other assets that are 'clean'.

'The clean money or assets do not have an obvious link with any criminal activity. Money laundering also includes money that's used to fund terrorism, however it's obtained.'

Referring to the sector of businesses that are covered by the Money Laundering Regulations, it adds: 'The regulations apply to a number of different business sectors, including accountants, financial service businesses, estate agents and solicitors.

'Every business covered by the regulations must be monitored by a supervisory authority. Your business may already be supervised, for example, because you're authorised by the Financial Conduct Authority (FCA) or belong to a professional body like the Law Society.

'If not, and your business falls into one of 7 business sectors, you'll need to register with HMRC.'

A spokesperson for Essex University said: 'As of the start of this academic year we no longer accept cash payments for tuition and accommodation fees. We decided to stop accepting cash partly in response to the Covid-19 pandemic and also because our students prefer to make electronic payments.

'Although this reduces our exposure to risks of money laundering it remains a challenge for the whole higher education sector, in relation to all forms of payment.

'This is why we work closely with our relationship team at Lloyds bank and other sector experts to keep up with latest advice, and ensure our staff adhere to our Financial Procedure on Money Laundering and Cash Handling.'

Luca Filat (pictured right, wearing a cap), the son of former Moldovan prime minister Vlad Filat, was ordered to hand over almost 500,000 found in three different bank accounts of suspected dirty money in 2019

In a statement, Manchester University said: 'The University of Manchester stopped accepting cash as a payment method for tuition fees in November 2019.

'Prior to that, on very limited occasions, we did accept this form of payment but they represented less than 0.5 per cent of our direct receipts. We took all necessary precautions to ensure all financial guidelines and regulations were followed.'

Professor Claire O'Malley, Pro-Vice-Chancellor (Global), at Durham University, said: 'Our international students form a vital part of the Durham University community and are integral to our position as a globally networked university.

'Each year a small number of students do opt to pay their fees in cash. Our procedures regarding the acceptance of cash are in keeping with the UK Money Laundering Regulations, which require that we keep a record of all single transactions in cash of 2,000 or more. As per the regulations a form is also completed to detail the cash received.

'Durham is proud to be a global University and we are committed to welcoming students from all countries to benefit from, and contribute to, our world-leading teaching and research.'

Wolverhampton University said it has not taken cash payments since March last year due to the pandemic and is 'not envisaging a return' to taking them in the future.

Gary Butler, the University's Chief Financial Officer, stated: 'The University has rigorous procedures and policies in place to ensure that financial regulations are strictly followed and adhered to at all times.

'Historically, a small percentage of students, mostly International from countries like India and China, but also some UK based students, have preferred to pay fees with cash. All customer due diligence checks at enrolment stage in relation to knowing the identity of our students, comply with money laundering regulations.

'The total amount of cash payments represents 0.2% of the total fee payments we have received over the period mentioned.

'In the past, cash payments were only accepted in person at the Cashiers Office based in the Central Finance Office at Wolverhampton City Campus. Cashiers followed a rigorous process including checking the identity of all persons making cash payments to ensure that cash was only received for registered students.

'Cash would also be checked to ensure that notes were genuine and undamaged - any suspicions would be reported in line with the University's Money Laundering Policy.'

Nottingham University said taking cash was introduced to 'provide flexibility for a small proportion of students' who requested the payment method, adding that this has since been reviewed and now only online payments are accepted.

Surrey University said it encourages students to pay fees by bank transfer or card payment and that it only promotes these payment methods, adding that less than 0.5 per cent of their fee income is paid in cash.

It stated: 'We take our duty to comply with money laundering legislation extremely seriously, and all staff handling cash payments receive appropriate training to ensure compliance.

'We are working to find ways to ensure the very small proportion of our students who choose to pay by cash are supported to use alternative methods of payment.'

MailOnline has contacted Strathclyde University for comment.
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It provides an opportunity to detail the reforms and changes to our business to deliver the highest standards of governance and compliance, and an organisational culture that meets community expectations, she said. Reverend Tim Costello, chief advocate for the Alliance for Gambling Reform, said he was thrilled. For nearly 20 years Ive been saying we need a royal commission, and I didnt think Id live to see it. Maybe I can now depart in peace. He said Mr Finkelstein was a really good appointment. But he warned that it was unlikely Crown would lose its licence as a result of the royal commission. However, Crown would still be feeling quite comfortable, he said, pointing out that the Andrews government had extended its licence to 2050. During the Bergin inquiry, Premier Andrews said of course we wouldnt be cancelling Crowns licence. ... [so] we know Crown still have a fair bit of protection. He said Victorians had lost confidence in Crown and in the governments ability to govern Crown.

Federal MP Andrew Wilkie, elected on a gambling reform platform a decade ago to a seat in Tasmania, said the royal commission was the only credible option left to the Andrews government. For decades a series of Victorian governments, Liberal and Labor, have profited from the organised crime run out of the states only casino ... A judicial inquiry can hopefully also get to the bottom of the political protection racket that has plagued this issue. Anti-gambling campaigner Stephen Mayne said the royal commission also needed to compel current and former Victorian regulators and key political figures, including Jeff Kennett, Daniel Andrews and former gaming minister Marlene Kairouz to give evidence, broadening on the work of the Bergin inquiry, which focused more on Crown personnel. Issues worthy of exploration include evidence of Crowns lobbying and political power, including through the regular political donations that it makes and the long line of political figures that it has hired to influence the political and regulatory process, he said. State opposition gaming spokeswoman Steph Ryan said the government had been shamed into calling a royal commission.

This is the royal commission Daniel Andrews didnt want to have, she said. Never before have we seen a royal commission announced at 4.30pm on a Monday by a junior minister with the Premier nowhere to be seen. Former state gambling regulator Peter Cohen said the royal commission was inevitable because of what the NSW inquiry had uncovered, and that Mr Finkelstein needed to look at the relationship between the state and the Commonwealth when it comes to money laundering responsibility. NSWs 18-month inquiry into Crown, conducted by former Supreme Court judge Patricia Bergin, examined evidence of the casino operator facilitating money laundering through its bank accounts, going into business with junket tour partners linked to triad organised crime gangs and disregarding the welfare of its staff in China before 19 were arrested there in 2016. Commissioner Bergins final report this month found these failures made Crown unfit to hold a casino licence in NSW, with its core problem being poor corporate governance, deficient risk management structures and processes and a poor corporate culture. The scathing report led to the resignation of Crowns chief executive, Ken Barton, and four directors including former AFL boss Andrew Demetriou.

Ms Horne said the Victorian Commission for Gambling and Liquor Regulation had been examining the 800-page Bergin inquiry report since it was handed down in early February. Weve gone through that report line by line and understood our commercial contracts and got the legal advice as to what the most appropriate response to those findings are, Ms Horne said. Loading Replay Replay video Play video Play video What we need to appreciate as well, though, there are hundreds of people, thousands of people, working in Crown. We need to make sure that were protecting jobs, but also were doing it in a way where a casino is operating in a suitable manner. Crown will continue to hold its licence while under investigation by the royal commission. Despite repeated questioning, Ms Horne would not yet commit to accepting all of the recommendations, including any about whether Crown was fit to hold its gaming licence.

She said there was a lot of water to go under the bridge and the government would be working with the royal commission to see what the findings would be and then stand ready to act. Western Australia launched an inquiry with the same powers of a royal commission into Crowns Perth casino last week, leading to accusations the Andrews government was dragging its feet given the most concerning evidence related to Crowns flagship Southbank casino. The Victorian government has for years resisted an independent investigation into Crown, despite damning evidence aired in media reports and tabled in Federal Parliament. Ms Horne defended the casino regulator, saying it had been conducting reviews every five years into Crowns suitability to hold a licence. Loading

However, the Auditor-General in 2017 found the regulator had not been properly scrutinising money laundering by high rollers at Crown. Inspectors from the VCGLR were simply not paying sufficient attention to key areas of risk, the states financial watchdog found at the time. Ms Horne has flagged splitting the VCGLR and establishing a separate casino regulator in response to the findings made by the Bergin inquiry. She said there would be a government-led investigation into the effectiveness of the regulator and how it could be reformed. The gambling and liquor regulators were merged in 2012; it had been beset by a lack of leadership, training of staff and reduction in funder under the previous government, the Auditor-General found in 2017. Since receiving [that] report, the government has taken advice about the most appropriate way to proceed in Victoria, the statement said. Loading

Establishing a royal commission will ensure the most appropriate access to information regarding Crown Melbournes suitability to hold the casino licence given the commissions powers to compel witnesses and documentation. The government had already established a review of Crowns suitability to hold its licence. That review will now occur in parallel with the royal commission. The royal commission will establish the facts and the government and the [state regulator] will take any necessary action at the conclusion of the investigation. We will not tolerate illegal behaviour in our gaming industry. with Ashleigh McMillan

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Yogi Adityanath-led Uttar Pradesh govt plans to develop Jewar Airport as Asia's biggest airport. The state govt has proposed to set aside 2,000 crore for Jewar Airport, Finance Minister Suresh Khanna said Monday while presenting 5,50,270.78 crore budget for 2021-22 in the State Assembly.

The state govt has also increased the number of runways of the Jewar Aiport to six, from two proposed earlier. The UP government presented its first paperless budget in the Uttar Pradesh Assembly today.

Reading out the budget speech from a laptop, FM Khanna said the target was to make Uttar Pradesh "Aatmanirbhar" and ensure all round development of the state.

This is the fifth budget of the present government in the state before the UP Assembly elections due early next year.

The UP government has appointed Yamuna Expressway Industrial Development Authority (YEIDA) as the implementing agency on its behalf for the airport in Jewar.

Zurich Airport International AG was earlier selected as the concessionaire for developing the Noida International Airport at Jewar.

The first phase of the airport will be spread over 1,334 hectares and would cost 4,588 crores. It is expected to be completed by 2023.

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Migrants trying to cross from North Africa to Europe have been found hiding inside a container of recycled glass and a bag of ash.Authorities made the discovery on Friday in the Spanish port enclave of Melilla, on the tip of Morocco.Spain's Civil Guard released video Monday showing an officer unearthing four people who had been hidden under glass bottles - and another person inside a bag of toxic ashes.

A total of 41 people were found hiding among the port's cargo including inside containers, trucks and vehicles.Thousands of migrants each year attempt to reach mainland Spain via Melilla and Ceuta, two small Spanish territories in Morocco.So far this year, police say they have identified 1,781 people attempting to cross irregularly through Melilla's port area.

(Disclaimer: This story is auto-generated from a syndicated feed; only the image & headline may have been reworked by www.republicworld.com)
Twitter isn't buying the efforts Texas Senator Ted Cruz made after his Cancun debacle.

On Wednesday, a viral photo showed Cruz boarding a plane to the popular vacation spot in Mexico. Meanwhile, his constituents were without power and water due to the devastating winter storm in Texas. Overall, it wasn't a good look, and Cruz acknowledged that.

RELATED: Senator Ted Cruz gives explanation for Cancun trip as Texans froze

The next day after landing in Houston, Cruz released a statement, explaining his daughters asked to go on a trip to Mexico with friends since school was canceled for the week, and he accompanied them on their flight. He also told media members the decision was "obviously a mistake" and that "in hindsight, I (he) wouldn't have done it."

After the backlash, Cruz posted on his social media platforms on Sunday photos of him delivering a pack of water bottles to a woman. He also posted pictures of him and some of Houston's law enforcement. And, well Twitter wasn't impressed.

Scroll below for the comments some made on Twitter.
New Delhi, Feb 22 : E-learning platform Vedantu on Monday announced it has acquired Instasolv, a doubt-solving app for students from Class 6 to 12 for science, mathematics, IITJEE and NEET, for an undisclosed sum.

According to the company, the acquisition will enhance its doubt-solving and reinforce presence in tier 2 and Tier 3 markets.

"We have seen tremendous potential in Instasolv and share the same mission to democratise education in the country. Through this partnership we endeavor to change India's learning curve through definitive outcomes," said Vamsi Krishna, CEO, and Co-Founder, Vedantu.

This is Vedantu's first acquisition in an EdTech company to strengthen its focus in the instant doubt-solving space.

Last year, Vedantu invested $2 million as part of a pre-series A funding in Instasolv.

"Instasolv has been at the forefront in offering doubt-solving solutions and its partnership with Vedantu will only strengthen Vedantu's Live Class platform and help achieving quality learning outcomes to millions of students," said Aditya Singhal, CEO Co-Founder, Instasolv.

With this acquisition Instasolv brings in close to 1 million of its potential active learners to Vedantu's platform.

In addition, Instasolv will leverage Vedantu's already existing strong credentials in LIVE Classes, tech, product and content.

Vedantu is a Live interactive online learning platform for students and 150,000 students study Live every month on the platform and more than 25 million users every month from more than 1,000 cities and over 40 countries.
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No10 has been urged to pick up the pace of its Covid vaccination drive because the number of doses dished out each day has dipped to below 400,000 for the first time since January.

Department of Health statistics show 371,052 jabs were administered each day, on average, last week. For comparison, it almost reached 450,000 several times during the first fortnight of February and has dropped 34 per cent week-on-week.

With a successful inoculation drive crucial to Britain's hopes of lockdown being eased drastically in the next few months, critics say there is 'no excuse' for the rollout slowing down. James Lawson, a fellow at think-tank the Adam Smith Institute said the virus 'doesn't rest' and neither should the mammoth NHS operation.

Ministers have repeatedly blamed any downturn on problems with supplies, but both AstraZeneca and Pfizer  the manufacturers of the two jabs currently deployed in the UK  insist there is 'no issue' with deliveries.

But think-tank bosses have argued it is unlikely supply is solely behind the downturn because there would be reports of centres across the country running out of stock  which hasn't been the case.

They called on the Government to publish more detailed data down to the number of doses delivered across the nation, so that 'pinch points' in the drive can be identified and smoothed out.

Britain is in a race against time to administer as many first doses to over-50s as possible before the end of March, when millions of second jabs must be rolled out. Boris has pledged to jab all 32million in the top nine groups by April 15 and every adult by the end of July.

The Health Secretary Matt Hancock has previously blamed the downturn in the rollout on supply issues. Professor Sir David Spiegelhalter today called on the Government to publish more detailed data on vaccinations, including the proportion receiving jabs by ethnic groups

FIRST PROOF BRITAIN'S COVID ROLLOUT IS WORKING Covid vaccines being used in Britain are working 'spectacularly well' and cutting hospital admissions caused by coronavirus by as much as 95 per cent, according to a major study. Researchers today published the first real-world evidence of how well the jabs protect people against Covid and said the results were 'very encouraging' and 'brilliant'. Confirmation that the vaccines work outside of clinical trials will lay the groundwork for Boris Johnson to roll-out his roadmap out of lockdown today. Scientists counted Covid hospital admissions in Scotland among people who had had their first dose of a jab and compared them to those who had not yet received a dose of either the Pfizer or Oxford/AstraZeneca vaccine. In a ray of hope for Britain's lockdown-easing plans, results showed the jabs slashed the risk of hospital admission from Covid by up to 85 and 94 per cent, respectively, four weeks after the first dose. Academics from the universities of Edinburgh and Strathclyde, as well as Public Health Scotland, claimed the data provided 'compelling evidence' that both vaccines prevent severe illness. Lead researcher Professor Aziz Sheikh said: 'These results are very encouraging and have given us great reasons to be optimistic for the future. We now have national evidence  across an entire country  that vaccination provides protection against Covid hospitalisations. Roll-out of the first vaccine dose now needs to be accelerated globally to help overcome this terrible disease.' The study was the first of its kind and currently does not have enough data to analyse how well the jabs prevent death, stop transmission of the virus, protection beyond one month, or to compare the two vaccines, the team said. The promising findings mirror data from Israel's world-beating roll-out and come after the UK's vaccines minister Nadhim Zahawi today claimed evidence the jabs also curb transmission 'looks good'. If jabs can stop the spread of the disease as well as prevent severe illness, it will allow ministers to reopen the economy quicker. He told Sky News: 'We wouldn't be in this place this morning to be able to say that we're going to reopen schools on March 8... if we're not confident that actually the vaccine programme is beginning to really bear fruit.' Advertisement

Department of Health data showed 170,683 fewer first doses were dished out on Saturday, after the number fell from 505,603 to 334,679.

There were also 172,697 fewer first doses administered on Friday, after the number completed dipped from 544,603 to 371,906 in a week.

A total of 18.2million doses have been given out so far, with 17.6million having received their first dose.

But overall there is huge variability in the number of doses administered by day, which generally climb during the week before slipping again over Saturday and Sunday.

It is not clear what is causing the fluctuations but it has previously been revealed that many GP practices are not working on Sundays.

Figures reveal there has been an increase in the number of second doses administered in the same week but they still number fewer than 16,000, suggesting they are not sparking the slowdown.

Ministers have previously blamed any slackening in pace on problems with supplies.

But a spokesman for AstraZeneca said today although there had been 'fluctuations' in supply at plants they thought they were still 'on track' with orders.

Pfizer also confirmed to MailOnline today there were 'no UK supply challenges' and deliveries were arriving as planned.

The US pharmaceutical giant did see delays to deliveries in Europe last month because of upgrades to its production plant in Puurs, Belgium, to ensure it could deliver more doses this year.

A spokesman for the company said at the time they could confirm the 'overall projected volumes of delivery to the UK remain the same for quarter one (January to March)'.

'We continue to liaise with the UK Government and the Vaccines Taskforce to work through short-term impact of these changes to our January deliveries and support the goals of the UK Covid-19 vaccination programme,' they added.

Both companies have refused to reveal how many of these doses have already been delivered to the UK, although a Pfizer spokesman said they had delivered 21 shipments by early January. It is not clear how many doses were in each shipment.

There are suggestions, however, that they are both providing around half of doses available in the UK, after data from Scotland  the only area to publish jabs by type  showed 55 per cent of all jabs given out were from Pfizer.

Public Health Scotland said they had given out 699,490 Pfizer/BioNTech doses and 571,477 Oxford/AstraZeneca doses by February 14, in their latest report.

James Lawson, a business strategist and fellow at think-tank the Adam Smith Institute, told MailOnline the Government must stop the weekly fluctuations in doses given and publish more detailed data.

'What we've spotted is there seems to be a persistent problem with the number of doses dropping over weekends and, while the Government has made huge progress in accelerating the vaccine rollout, there's no excuse for this variability.

'The virus doesn't rest, the virus doesn't sleep, the virus doesn't stop at 6pm on a Friday and neither should the vaccine roll-out.'

The critic, who has written a paper on speeding up the rollout entitled 'Worth a Shot: Accelerating Covid-19 Vaccinations', said it was unclear what was sparking the fall inoculations because of the lack of data.

'We need the Government to publish more detailed data down to individual vaccine centre level so that we're able to see the regional disparities in doses given, but also so we can diagnose which centres are working more effectively and learn from the successful ones,' he said.

It was likely that both supply and distribution were playing a role in slowing down the rollout, he added, and that as soon as problems were solved in one area they tended to arise in another.

'You can't look at one in isolation,' he said. '[But] if we really had supply issues then we would be running out of them (vaccines), and there would be all these centres complaining about a lack of jabs  that is not what we're seeing.

'The problem of dose supply and distribution both can be improved and we should be setting more ambitious targets to cover the entire adult population.'

The Institute has called on the Government to match the speed of Israel's drive by administering 6million jabs a week  but they only gave out less than half this, or 2.6million doses, in the most recent week.

GERMANY AND FRANCE PAY THE PRICE FOR THEIR ASTRAZENECA SCAREMONGERING People in Germany and France are refusing to take the Oxford AstraZeneca vaccine after their leaders warned about its efficacy. Only 150,000 out of 1.5million doses of the jab had been used in Germany on Friday, with many deliberately skipping appointments after learning they would receive the Oxford vaccine. Politicians across Europe including Emmanuel Macron stoked fears the vaccine is 'quasi ineffective' among people aged over 65, despite minimal data to support this and many health authorities approving its use. But leaders are now urging people to take the Oxford jab, with the lack of uptake threatening to further derail Europe's vaccination rollout, which still lags way behind the UK. Germany and France have vaccinated just six per cent of their populations, while the UK has handed out doses to more than 26 per cent of people. In Berlin, the Tegel vaccination centres, which only offer the AstraZeneca jabs, say 200 people are keeping the 3,800 daily appointments, The Times reported. In France, health workers have also been refusing the vaccine after Macron's comments during the heated row over its effectiveness. The European Medicines Agency approved it for all adults but Germany ruled that it should not be given to the over-65s. It is only being administered to healthcare workers and people under 65 with pre-existing conditions. There are now growing calls in Europe for the Oxford jab to be given to anyone who wants it so the vials are not wasted. Karl Lauterbach, an epidemiologist and Social Democrat MP in Germany, said: 'The vaccination booths are ready, the vaccine is there and so are the vaccination teams. 'But the vaccine remains unused because not enough people show up for the appointment. This is an absurd and unbearable situation.' The mayor of Berlin, Michael Muller, has threatened to send people to the back of the vaccine queue if they refuse the Oxford jab in favour of the Pfizer one. Advertisement

The UK has ordered 40million doses of the Pfizer/BioNTech vaccine, and 100million of the Oxford/AstraZeneca jab.

Both companies have refused to reveal how many of these doses have already been delivered to the UK, although a Pfizer spokesman said they had delivered 21 shipments by early January. It is not clear how many doses were in each shipment.

The Department of Health told MailOnline in a statement: 'More than 17.5million people have now had their first jab and the extraordinary rollout of vaccinations across the UK will continue to expand as we work to offer a vaccine to every adult by the end of July.

'There are no issues with our vaccine supply. While there are fluctuations in the reported number of daily jabs, the trajectory is clear with delivery and numbers vaccinated increasing as more supplies come into the system.'

It comes after top statistician Professor Sir David Spiegelhalter also called on the Government to improve its data on the vaccines drive, saying it was 'lacking detail' and 'very upsetting'.

'The office for stats regulation wrote to the Government... more than a month ago, saying there should be much better publicly available data,' he told BBC Radio 4's Today programme.

'We don't know about the numbers of the proportions by the priority groups - groups one to nine; we don't know the proportions by ethnicity; we don't know this broken down by region. I mean they do, somebody does, but we're not getting it.'

The Office for Statistics Regulation has previously also called for data on the number of Pfizer/BioNTech and Oxford/AstraZeneca doses given out to be published.

Asked about whether the data indicates restrictions should be eased, the Cambridge University Professor added: 'The numbers are extremely positive, better than people would have predicted.

'I think the Government is right not to give precise criteria about what the number of cases has to be, what the number of deaths has to be before certain things would happen.

'The way they are apparently proposing to do it is to move gradually, evaluate things over three weeks or so, seems to be entirely appropriate. But things are going very well.'

He urged ministers not to 'follow' the data but be guided by it.

'The data does not tell you what to do,' he said. 'But these decisions are so much broader than just what the numbers can tell you, these are political decisions. Thats why Im glad its not being turned into some sort of algorithm where if this is the case then something will happen.'

Vaccines minister Nadhim Zahawi said he would 'happily' look at what other data could be made available following Sir Spiegelhalter's comments.

'As of last week, NHS England have published CCG (clinical commissioning group) level data across England, which I think was important,' he told the Today programme.

'We collect ethnicity data and we publish that, and we work with directors of public health and local government to share mid-level data, without obviously in any way jeopardising peoples privacy and personal health data.

'But all that work continues at pace. Data is our ally in this vaccination rollout and we continue to do more.

'I didnt listen to Professor Spiegelhalter, with your interview, but Ill happily look at what else we can do.'

He added that the evidence from jabs 'looks good' that they are highly effective after one dose, saying ministers were looking to ease restrictions partly because the 'vaccine programme is beginning to really bear fruit'.

It came amid calls for Governments to ensure everyone in the world would get vaccinated in order to end the pandemic.

Dr Richard Hatchett, a director at the Coalition of Epidemic Preparedness, warned today: 'What we know is that clearly the virus is rampant around the world.

'We know that were in a race with the virus, and that the longer the virus circulates and transmission is high, the more likely we are to see the emergence of mutations that may render our vaccines useless, frankly.

'We need to suppress transmission globally as fast as we can.'

Dr Hatchett added: 'There are over 100 countries where not a single vaccine dose has been administered yet. There is a very significant disparity. There are concerns that the immunity that vaccines cause may wane over time and that booster jabs may be needed, that is not known yet.'

The head of the World Trade Organisation has urged richer countries to send jabs to poorer nations to help the world end the pandemic. Ngozi Okonjo-Iweala said it was 'in the interest' of wealthier countries to ensure a fair distribution of doses.

The UK has pledged to donate most of its surplus supplies to poorer countries.
New Delhi, Feb 22 : Speaking about the rise of authoritarianism, has delved into the 'neoliberal assault' of the last few decades, explaining how inequality and authoritarianism appear to be inextricably linked.

Internationally renowned American linguist, philosopher, historian and social critic Noam Chomsky, during his session at the ongoing Jaipur Literature Festival discussed the global 'drift into authoritarianism', post-Trump America, and the factors that make social reform possible.

The session opened with Chomsky speaking of the recent storming of the US Capitol, and how it was a turning point for the country. He shared with co-panelist Sreenivasan Jain what it was like to wake up in America in the 'aftermath' of Donald Trump.

The duo discussed whether Trump can still pose a tangible threat to American democracy, seeing as he is no longer in power a" with Professor Chomsky speculating possibilities of continued propaganda for very real support for Trump by his 'voter-base' and insisted that the democracy had 'serious problems' even before his presidency.

The conversation also raised wider questions about the state of democracy, which appears to be in as much danger from radical majoritarianism in the US, or in India, as it is from the European Union shifting the seat of several governance decisions away from state governments to Brussels, to an unelected bureaucracy.

Responding to Jain's question on what can be done to resist the threats to democracy, Professor Chomsky said: "There's no magic key! You fight it the way you've always fought it, with educational programmes, with organization, with activism." Discussing solutions to push back against the radical majority, Professor Chomsky spoke about the need for the popular forces within an ideological party to press for progressive social action.

He spoke about this in context of the American political system and highlighted how the Biden government's legislative program on climate change, possibly even better than Obama's, reflects the direct impact of activism and popular forces within the party pushing the agenda.

"Over time any political or social movement can work," he said, pointing to the Independence Movement in India.

"It takes dedication and commitment. It doesn't happen by itself, you have to fight for social programmes and reform," he added.

Reflecting on some of the critical progressive movements like the labour movement, the civil rights movement and the women's rights movement among others, he talked about the significance of coming together in solidarity and with constant, dedicated struggle.

"There is no point being optimistic or pessimistic. The point is to face the challenges, take the opportunities, get to work and overcome the problems. It can be done - and optimism says yes, let's do it," he said.
Beer importers are seeing shortages of specialist brews from Germany and Belgium as a result of Brexit red tape and Covid-19.

The company Beers of Europe, which claims to operate the biggest beer shop in Britain as well as offering online sales, has issued a warning about the problem to customers.

British craft brewers have seized on the news with a call to drinkers to Buy British in an effort to reclaim at least some of the sales lost during the pandemic lockdown of pubs, which has devastated the industry.

Beer importers are seeing shortages of specialist brews from Germany and Belgium as a result of Brexit red tape and Covid-19. Picture: Stock

Experts say there is a long list of British brewers producing fabulous German-style pilsners, wheat beers and Belgian-style saisons, as well as traditional ales and stouts.

The difficulty in importing beer from continental Europe reflects a wider problem of Brexit red tape and costs facing companies and individuals trying to get goods, from cheese to bath taps, across the Channel.

Beers of Europe issued an alert to customers reading: As many of you know, we are currently experiencing shortages of our German and Belgian beers.

Experts say there is a long list of British brewers producing fabulous German-style pilsners, wheat beers and Belgian-style saisons, as well as traditional ales and stouts. Picture: Stock

We have stock on order but unfortunately, it has been delayed due to transport issues in and out of Europe. Many hauliers are experiencing a lack of driver and lorry availability.

Beer sommelier Neil Walker selects British alternatives to the European beers in short supply North Brewing Co (West Yorkshire) - Springwell Pilsner 4.5% This light and well-rounded German style Pilsner uses Callista and MittelFruh hops for a crisp, grassy finish. Geipel Brewing (North Wales) - Hefeweizen 5.2% This naturally hazy German style wheat beer has all the characteristic banana, bubblegum and clove typical of this unique beer. Fyne Ales (Argyll) - Beams 5.7% A rustic, blended saison combining two different barrel aged vintages, this is complex, juicy and funky, but incredibly drinkable. Bohem (London) - Amos Czech Pilsner 4.9% Authentic Bohemian Czech lager brewed by Czechs in London - this is bready and complex with notes of honey, lemon and a dry bitterness. Burning Sky Brewery (Sussex) - Saison Houblon 4.5% This traditional Belgian style Saison is crisp, refreshing and aromatic, with a slightly peppery finish from the European Noble hops. Utopian Brewing (Devon) - British Unfiltered Lager 4.7% Brewed in the Bavarian Helles style and left unfiltered for maximum flavour, this lager is perfectly balanced between cereal malt and clean hop character Lost and Grounded (Bristol) - Apophenia 8.8% A Belgian beer from Bristol made in the 'Tripel' style, with coriander and orange peel added to accentuate this strong, complex brew. Thornbridge Brewery (Derbyshire) - Lukas Helles Lager 4.2% An elegant and light Munich style Helles that could go toe-to-toe with the best Bavarian lagers in it's refined drinkability. Hawkshead (Lake District) - Solar Sour Berliner Weisse 3.3% Traditionally low strength and tart, this Berliner Weisse from the Lakes is hugely refreshing and zesty, without being overly sour. DEYA (Gloucestershire) - Italian Pils 4.4% Amazingly fresh hop aromas and a clean, dry finish make this dry-hopped Pilsner incredibly satisfying and moreish. Advertisement

It adds: We appreciate it is frustrating when your favourite beers are unavailable. Rest assured that we are working to resolve these delays but it is very much dependent on the haulage position and this is something out of our control.

Sales director at the firm, based in Norfolk, Jason Clark, said: Different paperwork is required, so it is taking a bit longer this first time for the suppliers to switch over.

We are also getting feedback from the transport company that drivers are reluctant to travel over because it can take several days to get back out. I think this is a combination of Brexit and Covid.

The Society of Independent Brewers (SIBA), which represents some 723 small producers, said UK craft beer production and sales have been hard hit by the pandemic.

It estimates that 200 million fewer pints of craft beer were brewed in 2020 against the background of lockdown pub closures. The UKs independent brewing sector contracted a massive 34per cent in 2020 and some 83per cent of breweries produced less beer.

SIBA spokesman, Neil Walker, who is a beer sommelier, identified several fabulous British brews that match the style of German and Belgium beers.

These include a German-style pilsner called Springwell, from the North Brewing Co, in West Yorkshire, a German-style wheat beer called Hefeweizen from the Geipel Brewing, in north Wales, and the Belgian-style Saison Houblon from the Burning Sky Brewery, in Sussex.

Mr Walker said: There has never been a better time to buy British beer and small independent brewers across there UK need your support now more than ever.

As well as traditional British beer styles such as Bitter, Porter and Pale Ale, innovative brewers across the UK are now producing World-class beers in a plethora of international styles, including German and Czech style lagers, Belgian saisons and sour beers, as well as aromatic, hop-forward American IPAs - it really is possible to drink beer styles from across the Globe, fresh from your local independent craft brewery.

He added: Brexit and Covid 19 has caused difficulties for imports of continental beers to the UK, but similarly it has also caused issues for UK brewers exporting their beers to the continent.

Coronavirus has seen 200 million fewer pints of independent craft beer brewed in 2020 and small breweries struggling to stay afloat.

'Now, more than ever, your local brewery needs your support, so whatever style of beer you enjoy why not seek and support your local craft brewery.

The Cloudwater Brew Co, from Manchester, recently placed eighth in the list of the worlds best brewers, based on ratings by ale aficionados on the website RateBeer.com.

Others that scored well included the Kernel Brewery, of Bermondsey, and Fullers, based in Chiswick, west London, whose most popular brews include London Pride.

Four British producers were placed in a top ten of the worlds best new producers by RateBeer.com, including Newbarns Brewery, from Edinburgh, which came in second.

In fourth place, was the small LHG Brewpub, based in Bristol, while the Full Circle Brew Co, from Newcastle was in seventh, and Alpha Delta Brewing, from Newburn, Tyne & Wear, was in ninth.
Aruka Juma, the last male member of the Juma tribe. Gabriel Uchida / Kaninde

Aruka Juma, a native Brazilian, was aged between 86 and 90 when he died from complications caused by coronavirus on Wednesday in an intensive care unit (ICU) in a hospital in Porto Velho, a city located in the upper Amazon River basin, and 120 kilometers by road and two hours by boat from his village.

His death, just like the 1,150 other Covid-19 fatalities registered that day across Brazil, was a tragedy for his next of kin. But Aruka was also the last male from the Juma people, a living memory of ancestral wisdom and a survivor of an attempt to wipe out his kind. The three daughters he leaves behind are now the only ones left from a people who counted on between 12,000 and 15,000 members in the 18th century.

Aruka was the last Juma man who had knowledge of the ways of hunting, the artisan ways of his people Anthropologist Edmundo Peggion

Acute respiratory failure combined with an infection meant that the senior did not survive the illness, according to digital daily Amazonia Real. As a youngster, he and six other Jumas survived a massacre that was ordered by traders interested in the rubber and chestnuts from his land, according to the detailed information from the Social-Environmental Institute about every one of the hundreds of ethnic groups in Brazil. Hunted down as if they were wild animals, around 60 of the indigenous peoples were killed. It was the last mass-extermination attempt that was suffered by the tribe, which was described by chroniclers as cannibals, perverse and ferocious.

Aruka's case illustrates how the coronavirus pandemic has affected the indigenous peoples who live in the villages of Brazil, which is the second-worst country in terms of the global impact of the pandemic. Three figures sum up the national drama: 242,000 dead, nearly 10 million infections and a 14% unemployment rate. Among the indigenous peoples who live in villages  a small minority that is particularly vulnerable in this vast territory  Covid-19 has killed 567 people. The life of this Juma offers, whats more, a look at the history behind these communities that have been decimated since Portuguese colonization and that are essential for the conservation of the Amazon, the biggest tropical jungle in the world. The tribes are key, as such, in the fight to slow down climate change.

Anthropologist Edmundo Peggion came to know the last Juma in the 1990s. Aruka was the last Juma man who had knowledge of the ways of hunting, the artisan ways of his people, explains the professor from the Paulista State University (Unesp) via telephone. There is a consensus in the region, among the Kagwahiva indigenous people, of their importance for the collective memory. Kagwahiva is the linguistic group to which the Juma belong. He was recognized as an amoe, a title of respect, Peggion explains, in reference to a word meaning grandfather.

As well as the long-term threats facing Brazils indigenous peoples, such as gold miners and illegal loggers, they have also been facing the coronavirus pandemic and Jair Bolsonaros handling of the health crisis  the Brazilian president is anti-vaccine, has played down the severity of Covid-19 and has also trampled on the rights of indigenous peoples.

The main associations protecting Brazilian natives have directly blamed the government for Arukas death. Once again, the Brazilian government has acted with a degree of criminal negligence and incompetence, they charged in a statement. The government murdered him.

Aruka Juma in a photo taken in 1998 by Edmundo Peggion, when the authorities transferred him and his family to the Uru-eu-wau-wau indigenous land. Edmundo Peggion / EL PAIS

The epidemic is spreading fast via the rivers of the Amazon, and the invaders of lands are a source of infection. While vaccines are arriving in remote indigenous villages, there is mistrust of health workers. And the lack of vaccine supply is threatening the campaign in all of Brazil  the program had to be suspended in Rio de Janeiro last week.

Aruka had to be taken to hospital in January and intubated. He became one of the Brazilians to be given what the countrys Health Ministry describes as early treatment, using drugs such as chloroquine  a medication whose efficiency against Covid-19 has not been scientifically proven, and whose usage has been turned into government policy by Bolsonaro.

The death of the indigenous senior is a devastating loss, says Edson Carvalho, from the NGO Kaninde. The history of his life was and will continue to be a symbol of the tremendous fight waged by the Juma people, he adds, speaking via telephone from Porto Velho, the city where Aruka died.

He will be buried in his village, which is where he was when he noticed the first coronavirus symptoms in January. Its a place far from any city, a 38,000-hectare indigenous reserve that was created after a long and tough battle that involved years of administrative procedures. The Brazilian authorities were unconvinced as to whether this territory, and its handful of residents, was worthy of the legal protection needed to impede the exploitation of its resources.

After another battle with the authorities, Aruka managed to return to the lands where he grew up and where his ancestors lived for centuries

Before this was achieved, at the end of the 1990s the last Juma peoples were removed from their land by the authorities. Aruka, his three daughters, a brother-in-law and his wife were moved against their will to the domain of the Uru-Eu-Wau-Wau, explains Peggion, who had close contact with both groups at the time. There the daughters married men from the other tribe, with whom the Juma had a common language. Abandoning their habitat had a huge impact in the life of all of the Juma, the anthropologist explains, adding that the older couple died shortly after the relocation. In those years, outside of his territory, Aruka was very depressed, he really missed his territory, the researcher explains.

After another battle with the authorities, Aruka managed to return to the lands where he grew up and where his ancestors lived for centuries. He was accompanied by his daughters (Jumas), their husbands (Uru-Eu-Wau-Wau) and the children of the three couples. The Kaninde NGO claims that the daughters are the last of the line, given that it is the father who passes down the ethnicity. The firstborn, Boreha, is the new chief of the decimated group.

Faithful to his campaign promise, Bolsonaro has failed to give legal protection to a single extra square inch of indigenous land during the two years he has held the presidency. The cases that are being processed have been frozen while the number of Amazon inspectors  the bodies that work to take care of the environment and the indigenous peoples that have protected it for countless generations  is being reduced.

English version by Simon Hunter.
Normalcy is not far off, but Pittsfield mayor urges residents, visitors to stay the course with safety measures and get vaccinated when eligible


[February 22, 2021] Hylan Adds Industry Veterans to Executive Team

HOLMDEL, N.J., Feb. 22, 2021 /PRNewswire/ -- Hylan , a market leading provider of specialized communications engineering and construction services, announces today the addition of Joe Cooney and Leon Markham to its Executive Leadership team. Both established industry veterans with extensive experience in construction, Cooney will join Hylan Datacom and Electrical (HDE) as President while Markham joins Hylan as Vice President of Business Development, focusing on new growth opportunities in the western US region. As of Feb. 1, former HDE President, John S. DiLeo Jr., has transitioned fully into his current role of Vice Chairman of the Hylan Board of Directors. With over 30 years of industry experience, Cooney previously held a variety of executive positions both in New York and New Jersey, including positions with Fortune 500 companies Verizon and Hewlett Packard, as well as Unity Electric NJ. This prepares him well to serve as president of HDE, a company whose 60 plus year history is deeply rooted in the New York metro area. His experience consists largely of electrical and telecom construction, maintenance and project management, as well as over 20 years of P&L management. As President of HDE, Cooney will work closely with HDE leadership in the office and in the field, to continue to find new work and new customers, improve operations and remove administrative burdens from field leaders so they can do what they do best  deliver exceptional results for Hylan customers. "When we began the search for my successor, we wanted to be sure that whoever we selected had a long history of executive experience in our industry, as well as experience working in New York," says DiLeo. "After an extensive search, we met Joe who has all of the relevant experience we wee looking for. And after spending some time with him, we knew he would be an excellent cultural fit as well, able to use his leadership skills to bring Hylan to the next level."



"I am honored and humbled to join the HDE team as President, following in the great footsteps of John DiLeo, truly a dynamic force in this industry, and continue his legacy of exemplary service, hard work, and dedication to his team and customers," says Cooney. "With a rich history of over 60 years, Hylan was founded on the principles of a powerful work ethic and strong customer-centric approach, and I look forward to carrying on this tradition of excellence and continuing to grow and improve the company, with a stellar team by my side." Joining the team as VP of Business Development - West, Markham boasts 21 years of telecommunications experience and initially entered the industry working on a construction crew. He has hands-on experience in the field and has also acted as a construction inspector for an engineering firm and a contractor. This has allowed him to develop skills in the design and implementation of copper, coax and fiber networks as well as road, dark fiber, long haul and DAS builds and more. In his new role, Markham will be responsible for driving new revenue opportunities for Hylan, focused on the western US region.

"I am excited to join such a dynamic, skilled and customer-focused company and look forward to playing an integral role in Hylan's growth as we expand across the US," comments Markham. "My extensive experience both in the field and in the planning processes allow me to thoroughly understand day to day operations at Hylan, build strong foundational partnerships between our operations and customer teams, and identify and bring forth new opportunities for expansion and increased revenue, all in the interest of keeping with Hylan goals of better serving and executing projects for an exceptional customer experience." "The addition of both Cooney and Markham to the Hylan executive team adds a wealth of industry knowledge and experience to our leadership," says Joe Cecin, CEO of Hylan. "They are both established industry veterans who I am confident will use their leadership skills and experience to lead Hylan into the future. Their perspectives and insight will add tremendous value to our team in 2021 and beyond." To learn more about Hylan, go to hylan.com . About Hylan

Hylan is a leading provider of full-service turnkey communications solutions, electrical infrastructure design and construction services for wireline, wireless and smart city municipal services across the United States. Hylan is the parent company to four divisions that include Hylan Datacom & Electrical, Hylan West, Down Under Construction and Western Utility. Hylan Companies provide an array of comprehensive services, which include communications and electrical infrastructure design, DAS and small cell installations, engineering, construction and maintenance services, and more. Originally founded as Hylan Datacom & Electrical 60 years ago in New York City, Hylan now serves a wide variety of end-markets throughout the U.S., with current offices and facilities in New York, New Jersey, Arizona, California, Illinois, Maryland, Pennsylvania, Utah and Virginia. Supported by private equity firms Flexis Capital and TZP Capital Partners to accelerate its growth strategy, Hylan plans for additional expansions throughout the U.S. in 2021 and beyond. Visit https://hylan.com or more information. View original content to download multimedia:http://www.prnewswire.com/news-releases/hylan-adds-industry-veterans-to-executive-team-301232093.html SOURCE Hylan

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Strategic Development Fund (SDF), the investment arm of Tawazun Economic Council, has signed an agreement with EOS Defence Systems, Australias leading defence and technology companies, to set up a joint venture firm with equal partnership, that would design and develop a new multi-platform Light-Weight 14.5 x 114 mm Chain Driven Machine Gun in the UAE.

The JV, with the involvement of international and local engineering and designing expertise, will utilize the latest technologies in design and manufacturing to provide to the market a superior Weapon System compared to the existing conventional 14.5 x 114 mm products.

The new weapon system will provide lighter weight, improved accuracy, lower stoppage, reduced recoil and enhanced logistic support.

On the new venture, Tareq Abdulraheem Al Hosani, Tawazun CEO and Chairman of SDF, said: "This agreement stems from SDFs commitment to support the development of the UAEs strategic industries and contribute to the UAE economy through our developmental investment partnership module."

"It is our pleasure to partner with EOS, one of Australias leading defense and technology companies, and we look forward to an ongoing relationship that will be of benefit to both parties," he stated.

CEO Abdulla Naser Al Jaabari said this agreement paves the way for the JV to set up production in the UAE that targets to supply the global market.

SDF's strategy is to collaborate with UAE national companies with existing capabilities to support the development and manufacturing of the new weapon system and localize its supply chain, said its top official.

"We are positive that the need for such an innovative design and solution will result in an economically viable business, we have displayed the product in IDEX 2021 and we have been receiving high interest from potential customers in the region," added Al Jaabari.

EOS is a leading defence technology company that specialises in weapon systems integration, as well as ISR (Intelligence, Surveillance and Reconnaissance) for land warfare.

Its key products are next-generation remote weapon systems, vehicle turrets and counter-UAS systems incorporating directed energy and kinetic drone-defeat technologies.

On the tieup, CEO Ben Greene said: "EOS is proud to have SDF as a JV partner. Our global role as a systems integrator and technology leader in remotely operated combat systems will strongly support the development in UAE of enhanced defense technology products optimized for future roles in this global market."

"EOS has a long history of investment in the UAE, and the formation of this JV represents the next step in developing local industry and infrastructure to support next-generation defense and aerospace capabilities," he added.-TradeArabia News Service
The Irish Dental Association (IDA) has said that dental treatment in Longford and Westmeath for medical card holders is in complete chaos, warning that the unprecedented number of dentists withdrawing from the outdated Dental Treatment Services Scheme (DTSS) is having serious repercussions for patients.

Also read: Realism replaces optimism following remorseless Covid-19 third wave

Between 2017 and 2020, State spending on dental care for medical card patients in the Longford / Westmeath local health office area decreased by 32%, from 2,136,675.23 to 1,453,363.36.

Concurrently, according to HSE figures, the number of DTSS contracts held by dentists in Longford and Westmeath fell by 22%, from 63 to 49 between March 2017 and January 2021.

The DTSS provides access to limited dental treatment for adult medical card holders. The IDA, which is the representative body for 2,000 dentists (public and private) practising in Ireland, believes members should individually consider courses of action that are open to them.

Mr Fintan Hourihan, Chief Executive of the IDA, said that the fall in funding and participating dentists in Longford and Westmeath was hugely damaging for patients and reflected a nationwide trend.

In 2020, almost one quarter of participating dentists nationwide left the scheme which is utterly unfit for purpose. Dentists simply cannot afford to participate.

He said that the nature of the medical card crisis in dentistry was unprecedented in scale and dentists were disillusioned with the Governments lack of action on the matter.

We have sought to engage with the Department of Health to modify this scheme over many years to no avail. Increasingly, our members believe that the refusal to acknowledge this reality and the general approach of the Department of Health suggests a level of disrespect, if not contempt, for medical card patients in the counties and the dentists contracted to care for them. It also shows scant regard or understanding of the impact of this crisis on vulnerable patients who are unable to afford access to vital dental care.

Mr Hourihan said that significant extra costs being incurred by general dental practices during the Covid-19 pandemic are making the existing DTSS contracted service completely unviable. Dentists want to be able to provide care for medical card patients, but the Government is leaving them with little choice but to minimise their involvement or withdraw.

Because of the drop-off in funding and dentists participation, he said that medical card patients were now faced with:

A staff member transfers a cargo container with COVID-19 vaccines from Chinese company Sinovac at the El Dorado International Airport in Bogota, Colombia, Feb. 20, 2021. Colombian President Ivan Duque on Saturday welcomed the arrival of the first batch of vaccines from Chinese pharmaceutical company Sinovac, which will be "deployed throughout the national territory." (Colombian Presidental Office/Handout via Xinhua)

BOGOTA, Feb. 20 (Xinhua) -- Colombian President Ivan Duque on Saturday welcomed the arrival of the first batch of vaccines from Chinese pharmaceutical company Sinovac, which will be "deployed throughout the national territory."

The president said that the vaccines will be sent to several remote regions of the country, especially to the border departments in the Amazon, to fight the variant of COVID-19 known as P.1.

Chinese Ambassador to Colombia Lan Hu, who was also present to welcome the arrival of the shipment, said the fight against the pandemic "has been the priority" of bilateral relations since last year and that the arrival of the vaccines represents an opportunity to help the country return to normality.

"We would also like to thank the government and the Colombian people for the confidence that they have placed in the Sinovac vaccine," the ambassador said.

"We hope that this vaccine, as a global public good, can play a more positive role in this battle, in this fight, in this national vaccination plan to save more lives and to restore normality to our socioeconomic life as soon as possible," he added.

In early February, Colombia's National Food and Drug Surveillance Institute approved the emergency use of COVID-19 vaccines developed by Sinovac. According to its National Vaccination Plan, healthcare workers and elders are among the first groups to be immunized.

The Ministry of Health reported on Saturday that the number of deaths from COVID-19 in Colombia had risen to 58,685 and the total infections had increased to 2,222,018.
The Russian pipe laying vessel Akademik Cherskiy is moored in the port of Mukran near Sassnitz on the Baltic Sea island of Ruegen, north eastern Germany, on Sept. 7, 2020, as it waits to continue pipe laying works for the Nord Stream 2 natural gas pipeline. (ODD ANDERSEN/AFP via Getty Images)

Cruz, Other Lawmakers Push Back Against Biden Admins Nord Stream 2 Report

The Biden administrations silence on adding new sanctions on Russia over its Nord Stream 2 project has generated pushback from lawmakers who argue the project is a gift to the Kremlin, with devastating implications for U.S. national security and for the energy security of its European allies.

A congressionally mandated report on the pipeline released by the State Department on Feb. 19 failed to mention new sanctions on Russia and also failed to mention Germany and other European entities that have been involved with the construction of the natural gas pipeline. Sen. Ted Cruz (R-Texas), a member of the Senate Foreign Relations Committee, said of the report that it was startling to see the Biden administration begin by handing Putin a victory he has been building towards for over a decade.

There is no coherent legal justification for this report, Cruz said in a Feb. 20 statement. Congress has mandated sanctions not just against vessels installing pipes for Nord Stream 2 but against vessels that engage in related pipelaying activities, insurers of those vessels, and companies providing certification services.

Publicly available tracking information indicates that Russian President Putin has successfully revived the project and is now within months of finishing it, he added. The Biden administration is signaling it is willing to let the pipeline be completed, with catastrophic implications.

Nord Stream 2 is a project aimed at connecting Russia and Germany through offshore natural gas pipelines. Russia would then be able to better provide natural gas to European nations. The United States has long opposed the project, asserting it would allow Russia to pressure countries if it could cut off energy to them.

State Department spokesman Ned Price reiterated that view in Washington on Feb. 19, but indicated the Biden administration is reluctant to impose sanctions if the displeasure is ignored. This follows the administrations abrupt termination of the U.S.-Canada Keystone XL oil pipeline over climate change concerns.

Read More Halting Keystone Pipeline Is Good for Russia: Nikki Haley

If you are serious about imposing costs on Putin, sanction any entity involved in the Nord Stream 2 pipeline. Its time for action, not cheap talk, said Sen. Tom Cotton (R-Ark.) in a Feb. 9 Twitter post.

White House press secretary Jen Psaki said in January that Biden believes the Nord Stream 2 natural gas pipeline is a bad deal for Europe and that they will review restrictions on the project.

The Biden administration, in its report, identified a Russian ship and a company it believes are helping to build the Nord Stream 2 pipeline. But the entities had already been sanctioned by the Trump administration.

Simply put, todays sanctions designations are wholly inadequate, Rep. Michael McCaul of Texas, the top Republican on the House Foreign Affairs Committee, said in a statement. Allowing this pipeline to be completed would be nothing short of a victory for Russian President Vladimir Putin.

The pipeline is more than 90 percent complete and Russias state energy company, Gazprom, and its Western partners are hoping to finish it this year. Much of the remaining work is difficult and in deep waters off Denmark. The previous two U.S. presidents, Republican Donald Trump and Democrat Barack Obama, had opposed the project as it would bypass Ukraine, through which Russia has sent gas to Europe for decades. That could deprive Ukraine of lucrative transit fees and potentially undermine its struggle against Russian aggression. Sen. James Risch (R-Idaho), ranking member of the Senate Foreign Relations Committee, said in a statement that hes deeply troubled and disappointed by the Biden State Department report, noting that there has been bipartisan progress in opposing the pipeline. Congress has passed multiple bipartisan laws regarding this project, and specifically broadened the mandatory sanctions to include the types of pipe-laying activities occurring right now, Risch said on Feb. 19. The administrations decision to ignore these activities demands an immediate explanation. Democrats criticized the previous administration extensively on Russia but that same administration imposed significant sanctions on Russia for its malign influence including for Ukraine, the Skripal attack in London, and on Nord Stream 2 specifically, he said. This report is a gift to the Russians and their ongoing efforts to undermine European energy security, destabilize Ukraine, and facilitate corruption and malign influence throughout Europe.

Zachary Stieber and Reuters contributed to this report.
WASHINGTON  For many decades, there was little evidence of partisan behavior in what can be the most bare-knuckled power play in the federal judicial system: when all the active judges on a federal appeals court reconsider the decisions of three-judge panels of their colleagues, a practice that lawyers call en banc review.

That changed in the Trump era, a new study has found.

From 2018-2020 there was a dramatic and strongly statistically significant spike in both partisan splits and partisan reversals  more in both categories than we observed in any other time period over 60 years, Neal Devins and Allison Orr Larsen, law professors at William & Mary, wrote in the study, called Weaponizing En Banc, to be published in The New York University Law Review.

By partisan splits, they meant full-court panels in which the judges appointed by presidents of one party almost perfectly diverged from those appointed by ones of the other party. Partisan reversals were what the term implies: ones in which an en banc majority dominated by appointees of presidents of the party in control of the court, over the dissents of most appointees of the minority party, overturned a three-judge panel dominated by appointees of the minority party.

Here is an example of both things. When the full U.S. Court of Appeals for the Fourth Circuit, in Richmond, Va., ruled last year that a challenge to President Donald J. Trumps business practices could move forward, the court split along partisan lines. All nine judges in the majority were originally nominated by Democratic presidents; all six judges in dissent were nominated by Republicans. The decision overturned a unanimous ruling from a three-judge panel of Republican appointees.
Katie Solley is a shining example of the next generation of bright and motivated Medtech leaders emerging from the Baltimore ecosystem

The LaunchPort announced today that Eyedea Medical (https://www.eyedeamedical.com/) joined the Venture Center and will make the Port Covington, Baltimore location their HQ and engineering site.

Eyedea Medical is an early-stage, ophthalmic medical device company that was spun out of the Wilmer Eye Institute and the Center for Bioengineering Innovation & Design at Johns Hopkins University. Eyedea Medical was formed by a group of ophthalmologists and biomedical engineers in 2019 to alleviate the burden of corneal blindness globally through development and commercialization of a series of devices with potential to improve outcomes and access to vision-restoring corneal procedures.

Eyedea was awarded a Small Business Innovation Research (SBIR) grant from the National Science Foundation to complete development and validation of its first product, DescePrep, a corneal graft preparation device. In a study presented at the recent Eye Bank Association of America annual meeting, Eyedea Medical demonstrated that DescePrep can process human donor corneas extremely efficiently (< 5 mins), at high success rates (97%+), and of suitable quality for clinical use.

Robert Storey, Managing Partner of The LaunchPort, commented, Were extremely happy that Katie Solley, Eyedeas CEO, selected LaunchPort for their Baltimore home. Ive known Katie since her days at Johns Hopkins CBID and through her journey in Abell Foundations Fellow program. She is a shining example of the next generation of bright and motivated Medtech leaders emerging from the Baltimore ecosystem.

About Eyedea Medical (Baltimore, MD)

Eyedea Medical (http://www.eyedeamedical.com), founded in 2019, is a women-owned, ophthalmic medical device company working to reduce the burden of corneal blindness globally.

About The LaunchPort (Port Covington, Baltimore, MD)

The LaunchPort (http://www.thelaunchport.com) is a Medtech venture center that allows Medtech start-ups and emerging technology developers the ability to co-locate at an experienced, regulated manufacturing center. Located at the City Garage in Baltimores Port Covington, it is in close proximity to two of the Countrys premier medical schools (Johns Hopkins and University of Maryland) and at the center of one of the worlds largest urban revitalization projects.
It is wrong to threaten strike over medical license issue



With just days before the start of nationwide COVID-19 vaccinations, doctors have threatened to strike to protest a bill which makes it easier to cancel medical licenses. In a statement Saturday, the Korean Medical Association (KMA) expressed its opposition to an amendment to the Medical Services Act that can strip doctors of their licenses if they commit serious crimes and receive jail terms. The previous day, lawmakers on the National Assembly Health and Welfare Committee approved and forwarded the revision bill.



"If the bill backed by the government and the ruling Democratic Party of Korea (DPK) passes the Assembly Legislation and Judiciary Committee, we will initiate a strike," the KMA said, even hinting at boycotting the country's coronavirus vaccinations that will start Friday. According to the revision, a doctor sentenced to imprisonment after being found guilty of crimes such as murder, robbery and sexual assault will be stripped of their license for five years after being released from jail.



The bill is designed to require medical practitioners to maintain a high level of professional ethics and social responsibility. The current law stipulates that medical licenses should be revoked only when doctors are sentenced to imprisonment for violating the Medical Services Act. Given that other professionals, including lawyers, are deprived of their licenses if they are imprisoned for committing a serious crime, the bill appears to be the right way forward. Yet it is questionable why the revision is being pushed at this time when the nation should work together to carry out vaccinations successfully.



One can figure out doctors' concern about losing their licenses for issues unrelated to their jobs. But it's wrong for them to hold the public hostage by refusing to cooperate in inoculations. The most important thing is protecting the health and safety of the people. Doctors should refrain from selfish behavior in their efforts to scrap the revision bill. The ruling party and the government, for their part, should endeavor to persuade doctors to embrace the revision through dialogue.


Sam Faiers celebrated her belated 30th birthday with a Zoom party on Sunday, two months after spending the actual day on holiday in The Maldives.

The former TOWIE star shared a slew of videos on Instagram Stories of her house decorated with balloons and a snap of her loved ones all joining the video chat during filming for The Mummy Diaries.

The belated party comes after MailOnline exclusively revealed last month that Sam broke Covid travel rules by jetting abroad to The Maldives for her actual 30th in late December.

A bit delayed? Sam Faiers celebrated her 30th birthday two months late on Sunday, as she threw a Zoom party on her last day of filming for The Mummy Diaries

In videos she posted on Sunday night, Sam showed her kitchen ceiling covered with colourful balloons as well as a huge gold 30 marking her milestone.

Writing that she was filming a 'fun Zoom party,' the star shared a glimpse of her drinks for the occasion, including gin and sparkling water, along with a cute clip of partner Paul Knightley showing off his dance skills.

Sam later revealed the party also marked the last day of filming for The Mummy Diaries' ninth series, posting a snap of her dress for the evening along with the caption: 'Yesterday was fun.. cyber party to finish the series.'

Party time! The former TOWIE star shared post of her loved ones, including sister Billie and her pal Luisa Zissman, all joining the video chat for her belated celebration

Preparations! Sam shared a snap of her gin and sparkling water ready to celebrate her birthday, while Billie (right) enjoyed a box of birthday-themed goodies

Party mood! She also posted a video of her kitchen completely covered with a rainbow of balloons along with an enormous 30

Billie also shared a glimpse of the celebrations on social media, posting a cute snap of her daughter Nelly in a pair of birthday-themed glasses, and a snap of the entire Shepherd clan posing by the screen with birthday girl Sam.

Sam shared an image of her loved ones on the Zoom screen as they prepared to celebrate her birthday, writing: 'What's going on here? Tune in this series to find out.'

The celebrations come nearly two months after Sam opted to spend her actual birthday on a sunny island in The Maldives, having jetted abroad just days after Christmas despite a ban on international travel.

Energetic: Her partner Paul Knightley also got into the party mood as he showed off his dancing skills

Get the drinks in! Proudly brandishing her drink of choice, Sam offered fans a glimpse of her delayed birthday celebrations, two months after the actual occasion

At the time the star's home county of Surrey had been placed in Tier 4 restrictions, meaning travel was prohibited unless for essential reasons.

She was noticeably absent from Instagram during her birthday celebrations, sharing only a black and white snap with her family - an uncharacteristic move given that she documents the majority of her life online to her 2.5 million followers.

Sam's holiday first came to light after fans began claiming they'd spotted evidence she'd been abroad to an online forum, including now-deleted comments on Paul's Instagram post wishing his girlfriend a happy birthday.

Sam was not filming her family's ITVBe reality show, The Mummy Diaries, during her holiday.

Watch and see! The star hinted fans would get to see the Zoom party on the upcoming series of The Mummy Diaries, which begins on Wednesday

Cheeky: Billie revealed her daughter Nelly, six, was also getting involved in the party celebrations, donning a pair of novelty glasses

Loving it! She also shared a family snap of herself, her husband Greg Shepherd, their children Nelly and Arthur, four and Sam and Billie's mother Suzie Wells

MailOnline understood that Sam was reminded of the rules by show bosses, as well as her responsibility to strictly adhere to COVID-19 guidelines, and warned of the possible ramifications.

The mother-of-two, who has since returned home to the UK, failed to post any images in honour of her 30th birthday on social media.

Sam also appeared to have blocked the words 'holiday' and 'tan' from comments on her most recent social media post to avoid accusations from her fans, although the claims could still be seen on a post shared by her mother, Suzie Wells.

One comment said: 'Such a shame she had to go on holiday and break the rules while there is a global pandemic, happy birthday though Samantha, I'm sure you'll continue to go your own thing.

Drama: The celebrations come nearly two months after Sam opted to spend her actual birthday on a sunny island in The Maldives despite Tier 4 restrictions (pictured in 2019)

Reports: The Mummy Diaries star breached the ban on international travel after spending Christmas Day in Surrey with partner Paul Knightley and their children (pictured)

Claims: Sam was noticeably absent from Instagram during her birthday celebrations in late December, sharing only a black and white snap with her family

Sam had spent Christmas Day in the UK with partner Paul and their children Paul Jnr, five, and Rosie, three, as she shared a family snap of the occasion on social media, before flying off to the Maldives.

She returned to social media to share a family snap in honour of her birthday on December 31, sharing it in black and white in an apparent attempt to conceal her holiday tan.

Sam then took Instagram Stories on her birthday to share a slew of tributes from her pals, and one stated: 'Hope you're having the best time,' followed by a sun emoji.

A representative for Sam declined to comment when contacted by MailOnline. MailOnline has contacted representatives for ITV for comment.

Chatty: On Monday Sam was a guest on Loose Women to chat about The Mummy Diaries' new series, as well as new filming restrictions on the show in accordance with Covid guidelines

On Monday Sam was also a guest on Loose Women to chat about The Mummy Diaries' new series alongside her sister Billie.

The pair revealed that filming was able to continue despite new Covid restrictions, with use of a smaller crew and less days working on the series.

Sam said: 'We have a small crew of two people each with hand held cameras. They're around three to four days a week. Nine months we've been filming so we've got a little bit of a break now.'

Speaking about juggling homeschooling during the current lockdown, Billie added: 'This time round it's been easier. Nelly's school have done most of it on zoom. The first time round it was really difficult.

'It's such an unusual situation for the kids and I just can't wait for them to get back to school.'
Property acquisition tax revenue approached an estimated W10 trillion last year, a record high, according to the Ministry of Economy and Finance on Sunday (US$1=W1,105). A year earlier the total amounted to W7.65 trillion.

"Final figures have yet to be tallied, but they are expected to have increased 50 percent in Seoul and 30 to 40 percent in Gyeonggi Province," a government official said. "In other provinces they're estimated to have risen by around W2 trillion, a similar increase to the previous year."

In Seoul alone, people paid a record W3.7 trillion in property acquisition tax last year, up 55 percent.
PALERMO, FEB 22 - Italian police on Monday arrested four people on suspicion of physically abusing residents of a care home in Palermo. Finance guards said they had recorded evidence of the abuse over five months using listening devices. Among the insults ad threats that accompanied the alleged beatings were "I'll beat you with a stick, I'll beat you to death", "you're useless, a prostitute...you must she your blood and die here", and "I don't care if you die", police said. The guardia di finanza said eight elderly residents of the home in the centre of the Sicilian capital had been beaten, insulted and threatened by the three staff members and the director of the home. Siblings Carmelina, Mariano and Maria Grazia Ingrassia, and manager Vincenza Alfano, were all placed under house arrest. The probe started when one of the alleged victims, a woman, phoned a medical lab and said "they're treating me worse than a dog, they've tied me to a chair". During the phone call the medical operator said he had clearly heard the insults and threats directed at the resident. The care home has been sequestered. (ANSA).
ADM Endeavors, Inc. (OTCQB: ADMQ) is pleased to announce that it has completely updated its website at www.admendeavors.com Many investors are introduced to the Company by visiting our website. We wanted visitors to have an easy experience in learning more about us and the services and products we offer. We are very pleased with the new design and more importantly always being current with info about ADMQ for the public, said 
Businesses that used the Temporary Wage Subsidy Scheme (TWSS) last year have until the end of June to review Revenues forthcoming overpayment calculations and formally accept the amounts they will have to return.

Under a reconciliation process which is beginning in the middle of next month, Revenue is calculating the difference between amounts refunded to employers under the scheme and the amounts they actually paid to their employees.

The difference will be added to the tax bills of businesses that owe money from overpayments, or returned to those companies that were underpaid by Revenue during the operation of the scheme.

Companies that have met tax filing deadlines for 2020 will be eligible to put any resulting debts into Revenues expanded tax warehousing scheme.

According to Revenue guidance, these overpayments can be deferred for a 12-month period and then repaid at a reduced interest charge of 3pc on the same basis as VAT/PAYE debts under the Revenues debt warehousing scheme.

Nearly all the companies that used TWSS have submitted payslips as part of the process and many have already paid back excess subsidies.

Employer representative bodies reacted cautiously to the news that Revenue was proceeding with the reconciliation process despite the enormous financial strain many businesses remain under during the ongoing lockdown.

Retailers will find this extremely frustrating, said Duncan Graham, managing director of Retail Excellence Ireland.

Revenue are looking to reconcile these payments and will be looking for acceptance by June when there will be a requirement for financial supports well into the middle of this year and we have zero clarity on when non-essential retail will be reopened.

ISME chief executive Neil McDonnell pointed out that employers who used the scheme may have had inconsistent sales and payroll numbers throughout the period in question, making real-time calculations very difficult.

We hope that Revenue takes a pragmatic and common sense approach to the reconciliation, he said. Many businesses find their sales marginally above the 70pc threshold one month, and far below it the next. Businesses are doing their best to remain compliant in very volatile, unpredictable circumstances.

Adrian Cummins, chief executive of the Restaurants Association of Ireland, said any proposed repayment process should be postponed until businesses have more clarity on their future viability.

Revenue need to take into consideration that hospitality is closed and will remain closed until mid-summer at the earliest, he said. Any reconciliation process will need to take account of cash flow for businesses and when the business becomes a viable functioning entity. Only at the stage can a repayment process be put in place.

The reconciliation process is running alongside a compliance sweep on employers that used the scheme between March and August

Hundreds of companies are under review for suspected irregularities in their use of the scheme or for claiming funds while not meeting eligibility criteria.
CAIRO  The Egyptian-Dominican mission of the University of Santo Domingo headed by archaeologist Kathleen Martinez, working at the Taposiris Magna Temple to the west of Alexandria, has discovered 16 burial chambers in stone-carved tombs, which are wall burial holes that were popular in the Greco-Roman era.

The mission also discovered several tombs that contained mummies in poor preservation condition, which is characteristic of mummification in the Greco-Roman era. Remains of gilded cartonnage were found in addition to tongue-shaped gold foil amulets that were placed in the mouths of the dead, a ritual that would allow them to speak in the afterlife before the Osirian court, according to ancient beliefs.

Two of these mummies were particularly important as they still had some bandages and parts of the cartonnage layer; the first mummy still had remains of gilding and bore gilded drawings of Osiris, the god of the underworld, while the other mummy wore the Atef crown, adorned with horns and a cobra snake at the forehead, as well as gilded drawings on the chest area showing a wide necklace with a falcon head, the symbol of the deity Horus.

The Egyptian-Dominican mission has had quite a number of archaeological finds since it started its excavation works 10 years ago, including a funeral mask of a woman, eight gold foil leaves from a wreath, and eight marble masks dating back to the Greco-Roman era, depicting the features of their owners in detail.

A number of coins bearing the name and image of Queen Cleopatra VII were also found inside the temple walls, in addition to several parts of statues that were believed to decorate the temple grounds, not to mention the temple foundation plates, which proved that it was built by King Ptolemy IV.

Khaled Abu al-Hamd, director general of Alexandria Antiquities, told Al-Monitor that the mission has found since the beginning of the year a number of mummies, most of them in bad condition because of their proximity to the sea and exposure to very high humidity. In addition, a female funeral mask was found, eight golden flakes, eight marble masks dating back to the Greco-Roman era, two golden tongues, gold coins and a lot of gold dust.

He said all the gold discoveries were transferred to the Alexandria National Museum while the pieces of the statues, masks and utensils were transferred to the museums storage facilities located to the west of Alexandria.

Abu al-Hamd added, Abusir city  also known by its ancient name Taposiris  is a very significant location that paints a clear picture of the [ancient] societies living in Egyptian cities and of the centers of the Egyptian deity Osiris in the Greco-Roman era. The Egyptian-Dominican mission is still carrying out excavation works specifically in a temple dating back to the Ptolemaic era.

Archaeologist Zahi Hawass told Al-Monitor that the latest archaeological discoveries in Alexandria are a great addition to the Greco-Egyptian era collection, noting that many more discoveries are underway since the Egyptian-Dominican mission is yet to finish its work in Alexandria.

Mohammed Hamza, former dean of the Faculty of Archaeology at Cairo University, told Al-Monitor, This is one of the most important discoveries in Alexandria, both in terms of the type of tombs known as Lockley and in terms of the number of burials and their contents, dating back to 332 B.C. and 30 B.C.

Hamza believes that these discoveries can help reveal more facts and fill some missing gaps in each era.

The scientific knowledge helps these discoveries in promoting tourism to Egypt by adding a new tourism product that was not previously known. This is possible through good planning, tourism marketing, good monitoring and follow-up, and conducting sustainable tourism development work at the site, as is happening now as part of the Grand Egyptian Museum project, the Pyramids area, the National Museum of Egyptian Civilization and the Cairo Citadel Aqueduct, he concluded.
South Africa: Deadline for ECD relief fund applications extended

The Department of Social Development has encouraged Early Childhood Development (ECD) services that have not yet applied for the ECD Employment Stimulus Relief Fund (ESRF) to apply before the new closing date.

The department has extended the closing date of the applications for the ECD-ESRF from 19 February to 26 February 2021.

The department said that in addition to the GovChat application platform at https://govchat.app that is currently used, it has made available another web-form to assist with larger organisation submissions which is available on the https://ecd.gov.za/ website.

ECD services that have already completed their applications on the GovChat platform do not need to submit another application through the new web-form as duplicate submissions for the same ECD service may lead to administrative delays, the department said in a statement.

In addition, as a further support mechanism to ECD services in respect of completing applications, the department in partnership with the DG-Murray Trust has made available a number of non-governmental organisations, and over 2 000 Harambee Youth support services that are stationed throughout in all districts to assist ECD services with the application process.

The Provincial Departments of Social Development through their local offices are also available to assist ECD services throughout the country.

Any ECD service that requires assistance can visit their local Social Development Offices. In addition, they can send an email to ecdstimulus@dgmt.co.za or contact the call centre on 0800 089 666 and support will be provided.

A list of NGO coordinators are posted on the DSD website that can be accessed on www.dsd.gov.za.

For ECD services that have submitted applications on the Central Supplier Database (CSD), it is requested that these ECD services check their bank verification status to ensure that they have been successful.

It is vital that the ECD services do this as the department will not be able to process any payments for ECD services whose bank verification has not been successful, the department explained.  SAnews.gov.za

This story has been published on: 2021-02-22. To contact the author, please use the contact details within the article.

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The California Republican Party held its Spring Organizing Convention over the weekend, projecting an optimism bolstered by the current effort to recall Governor Gavin Newsom and recent congressional victories.

Sidestepping some minor dissent in the ranks over the process of endorsing a recall candidate, and the status of a California Republican congressman who voted to impeach President Donald Trump, party leaders delivered a confident message over Zoom calls during the virtual event.

"Our California Republican comeback is just getting started," said CA GOP Chairwoman Jessica Millan Patterson, who was reelected Sunday by state party delegates. In a speech following the vote, Patterson pledged to follow through with the Newsom recall "to save our great state," and to help win back the House of Representatives for Republicans.

Jessica Millan Patterson won reelection for a second term as chair of California's Republican Party on Sunday, Feb. 21, 2021. (Screengrab, CA GOP virtual convention )

"He has failed to lead. He has failed to govern. He has failed the people," Patterson said of Newsom. "Not only is he a failure, but he is the worst kind of hypocrite: arrogantly telling us how to live our lives while blatantly refusing to do the same." Patterson was referring to the governor attending a dinner party at a Napa restaurant while the state was under lockdown.

Removing a sitting Democratic governor and -- if things go the GOP's way -- seating a conservative chief executive is the stuff Republican dreams are made of. Candidates are already circling. But Newsom's fate as possibly only the second California governor to appear on a recall ballot is hardly a done deal.

Sponsors of the recall effort had submitted almost 1.1 million signatures to county election officials as of Feb. 5, according to an updated report released by the Secretary of State's office on Friday. Of those, 668,202 signatures had been verified, 130,108 were rejected, and 296,147 remained to be checked.

To get a recall on the ballot, organizers must collect just under 1.5 million verified signatures by March 17. If the signature acceptance rate of close to 84% holds, sponsors will need to hit a mark of nearly 1.8 million total submissions to safely clear the bar to trigger a recall.

The two primary groups working to round up the necessary signatures say they're on track and have roughly 1.7 million total collected.

Their efforts have benefited from unprecedented conditions during the coronavirus pandemic: In November, a federal judge granted recall backers an additional 120 days to collect signatures due to public health concerns, four months beyond the 160 days petitions normally have to circulate.

Public sentiment has also shifted as voters confront virus fatigue and frustration with state safety measures. According to a U.C. Berkeley poll released earlier this month, Newsom's job approval has crashed to 46%, compared to 64% a few months earlier. Another poll by the Public Policy Institute of California painted a rosier picture, with Newsom netting a 54% approval rating.

South Dakota Governor Kristi Noem blasted California Governor Gavin Newsom for his coronavirus response during the CA GOP Spring Organizing Convention. Feb. 21, 2021. (Screengrab CA GOP virtual convention)

A state political party's organizing convention is typically a wonky affair, and this was no different. Much of the weekend was devoted to the adoption of a slate of party rules and elections for local and statewide leaders.

One source of potential drama was rapidly quashed during the General Assembly on Sunday, when party delegate Erik Elness of Brentwood tried to bring up a motion to censure Central Valley Rep. David Valadao over his vote to impeach then-President Trump after his supporters stormed the U.S. Capitol on Jan. 6. Valadao joined nine other House Republicans in the most bipartisan impeachment process in history.

"You're out of order," said Patterson, interrupting Elness as he attempted to raise the censure issue. His Zoom line was promptly muted.

Patterson previously withdrew another controversial rule change that would have allowed the state party's 100-person executive committee to choose a GOP candidate to endorse in the recall, instead of putting the vote to all of the roughly 1,400 members of the delegation.

National Republican stars such as Governor Kristi Noem of South Dakota, Florida Senator Rick Scott, strategist Karl Rove and Rep. Elise Stefanik of New York dropped by the convention (virtually) to rally delegates.

"[Governor Newsom] had all the same information that I had throughout this pandemic, he just made completely different decisions," Noem said in a recorded video played on Sunday. "And he also impacted families and devastated businesses that will long be felt after this pandemic is over."

GOP strategist Karl Rove talks about winning back the House of Representatives during the California Republican Party's Spring Organizing Convention. (Screengrab CA GOP virtual convention)

Critics on social media were quick to point out that South Dakota's COVID-19 death rate per 100,000 residents ranks 8th in the nation, compared to California's status at 34th nationally for deaths per capita.

Many guest speakers touted the party's Nov. 2020 wins in several purple House districts that it lost during the "blue wave" two years earlier.

"I don't think it's an accident that for the first time since California became a state in 1850, Republicans flipped four seats in the U.S. House of Representatives in California," said Rove, crediting the state GOP with recruiting a diverse field of candidates, such as Korean Americans Young Kim and Michelle Steel in Orange County and Mike Garcia in north L.A. County.

"You did it," Rove added, "by showing the face of the future Republican party to Latino men and to Asian American women."
Massachusetts newest large-scale coronavirus vaccination site is set to open in Natick on Monday.

The super vaccination site will open at the Natick Mall with LabCorp as its provider. The location is expected to start administering 500 doses of the COVID-19 vaccine per day. After several weeks, it will ramp up its efforts to give out 3,000 doses daily, according to a statement from Gov. Charlie Bakers office.

Another large-scale vaccination site is scheduled to open at the former Circuit City in Dartmouth on Wednesday with Curative as its provider. Similar to the Natick location, the Dartmouth one will start administering 500 doses of the vaccine per day but then increase over the course of several weeks to giving out 2,000 doses daily.

The state already has several super vaccination sites in operation, including ones at the Eastfield Mall in Springfield, the DoubleTree Hotel in Danvers, Gillette Stadium in Foxborough and Fenway Park in Boston.

Last week, the state announced there were no more vaccination appointments available for the week at the six large-scale immunization sites, including the ones in Dartmouth and Natick. However, a small number of appointments at other locations, like pharmacies and regional collaboratives, continue to be posted daily.

The Baker administrations announcement came after the states website for booking vaccination appointments, vaxfinder.mass.gov, unexpectedly crashed last Thursday due to a high volume of interest as nearly a million residents became eligible to receive vaccines in the second wave of Phase 2 of the commonwealths vaccine rollout.

Considered in priority group 2 of the second phase are people 65 years and older, individuals with at least two comorbidities that put them at high risk of COVID-19 and/or residents and staff of low income and affordable senior housing.

On the site crashing, Baker told GBH hes going to work very hard to make sure it doesnt happen again.

My hairs on fire about the whole thing, Baker told GBH. I cant begin to tell you how pissed off I am.

Even with the technological mishaps Thursday, 60,000 appointments were still booked at the states six super vaccination sites.

The Massachusetts Department of Public Health also announced Saturday that the commonwealth had hit a milestone in its vaccine rollout.

A little more than a million residents in the Bay State have received at least their first dose of the coronavirus vaccine, while 372,172 have been given both their first and second doses. The state has a population of nearly 6,900,000, according to the most recent Census estimates.

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Former President Donald Trump is scheduled to speak at the 2021 Conservative Political Action Conference on February 25 to 28 reportedly on conservative causes and President Joseph Biden, Jr.'s "disastrous" policies.

CBN News said that Trump will making his first public appearance since he left the highest seat in the land in the upcoming Conservative Political Action Conference (CPAC) that will be held next week in Hyatt Regency Orlando, Florida.

As per CBN News, Trump will continue in politics as he presses on with the Make America Great Again (MAGA) movement, which is steadily strong.

"Our historic, patriotic and beautiful movement to Make America Great Again has only just begun. In the months ahead I have much to share with you, and I look forward to continuing our incredible journey together to achieve American greatness for all of our people. There has never been anything like it!" Trump said in a statement last week, as echoed by CBN News.

The Guardian, on the other hand, reported that Trump will be discussing the future of Republicans and Biden's "disastrous" policies.

"He'll be talking about the future of the Republican party and the conservative movement. Also look for the 45th president to take on President [Joe] Biden's disastrous amnesty and border policies," a source told The Guardian.

The conference, The Guardian said, will include a number of top Republicans being eyed for the 2024 presidential elections. These include former Secretary of State Mike Pompeo and South Dakota Governor Kristi Noem. Both are said to be speakers of the event along with select members of the American Conservative Union, and leaders of various organizations, including media outlets The Washington Times, Talk Radio 77 WABC, Townhall, and Daily Caller.

It is said that former United Nations Ambassador Nikki Haley and former Vice President Mike Pence will also be present in the conference along with Donald Trump, Jr., city officials, and Republicans. Haley and Pence, however, are not mentioned in the list of speakers for the event.

An agenda of the conference would be how to get back Congress from the Democrats in 2022 after Republican leaders have become edgy losing in the Georgia runoffs, the rise of rightwing Trump supporters, and losing the Senate's control to the Democrats, The Guardian stressed.

According to the Conservative Political Action Conference website, the different aspects of the First Amendment will be discussed by various speakers that include former Governor Scott Walker, former Florida Attorney General Pam Bondi, and Oklahoma Senator James Lankford. The different Amendments will also be tackled in line with recent experiences on the elections.

Other topics to be discussed include protecting elections, fighting for the freedom of speech, big tech and media, the Biden Administration, devaluing American citizenship, fighting for life, foreign policy, protecting elections, China's puppets, the Left's agenda on healthcare, and the American Dream. Part of the Conservative Political Action Conference is the Ronald Reagan Dinner, which celebrates American conservative values. The Ronald Reagan Dinner has been running for 40 years now according to the conference website.

The Conservative Political Action Conference was launched in 1974 to bring together hundreds of conservative leaders and organizations across the United States and the world, making it the "largest and most influential gathering of conservatives in the world."
[February 22, 2021] HGC launches Eyeball-as-a-Service(TM) in Singapore to fuel OTT edge computing user experience

Achieving ultra-low latency as low as 5ms* and lay the foundations for OTTs to capture US$100 billion internet economy opportunity in South East Asia HGC becomes the one-stop-shop player to provide agile and reliable network connectivity with fast and ultra-low latency direct local route to users;

Following a successful implementation in Hong Kong , Singapore is latest to benefit from the new platform with more than 5.2 million users (nearly 100% users) covered;

, is latest to benefit from the new platform with more than 5.2 million users (nearly 100% users) covered; HGC aims to roll out the service to a further 400 million users, amid US$100bn internet boom in SEA;

internet boom in SEA; The Eyeball-as-a-Service is part of the Asian strategic expansion to extend ICT capabilities in Asia with Singapore upgraded as major Asian hub HONG KONG, Feb. 22, 2021 /PRNewswire/ -- HGC Global Communications Limited (HGC), a fully-fledged ICT service provider and network operator with extensive global coverage, announces the launch of Eyeball-as-a-Service (EaaS) in Singapore to help international Over-The-Top (OTT) operators, content providers and e-commerce companies expand their footprint across wide geographical landmasses at high-speed, low latency and best-in-class service-level agreements (SLA) to fulfill the extensive applications fuelled by 5G edge computing. With the continuous expansion of interactive OTT players such as gaming companies (e.g. MOBA/MMOG/MMORPG), esports, virtual commerce, media content providers, internet businesses, AI & IoT technology solution providers, application developers and start-ups, the demand of high-quality and easily accessible network reach has never been so significant. HGC's EaaS ready-to-go platform comes to assist both Tier 1 and Tier 2 OTTs penetration in the South East Asia region, one of the largest revenue generators. EaaS reduces time-to-market from months to weeks, with HGC's one-stop direct peering connection to major ISPs, regional MNO, local Internet Exchange and commercial/residential broadband providers in Asia's key metro areas. The newly launched HGC EaaS service facilitates OTTs to reach nearly 100% of Internet eyeballs in Singapore. Riding on HGC's fine-tuned IP transit network, HGC is able to deliver a least-hop, optimised, direct local connectionsfrom OTTs' edge servers to end-users with ultra-low latency that significantly improves users' Quality of Experience (QoE).



The EaaS service enables OTTs to overcome complex technical and commercial arrangements, as to enhance efficiency when expanding into new fast-developing markets. Such high-quality connection is suitable for general business applications and ideal for time-sensitive and location-aware use cases including online gaming, eHealth and commercial or industrial automation. "Given the current market climate, we understand that OTTs want simplicity, flexibility, customisation and ultra-high performance. We are thrilled to offer our customers in Singapore this one-of-a-kind business opportunity to expand their footprints fast and easily," said Dennis Chan, AVP -- OTT, international Business, at HGC. "The Eyeball-as-a-Service hub is unique in its nature where it not only dramatically reduces the complexity of expanding networks but also brings with it its affordable connectivity and a pioneering aggregator platform."

"The diversified EaaS is designed to serve not only Asian companies but also others across the globe, mainly European and North American OTTs who will expand in the region; while at the same time, HGC supports business' globalisation with our international connectivity. Hong Kong and Singapore are our international connectivity hubs in Asia, and we will be aggressively expanding in South East Asia, with the next EaaS hub to be added in more Asian countries in near future." Cliff Tam, HGC's Vice President, Global Data Strategy of International Business, said: "It is no exaggeration that a new internet user-base is booming across Asia. Taking gaming as an example, the top 10 gaming markets in the region cover India, Indonesia, Japan, Malaysia, Singapore, South Korea, Taiwan, Thailand, the Philippines and Vietnam. When considering Mainland China and the Asia-10, these countries represent more than 50% of the world's mobile games market revenue. With the new EaaS service, HGC can uniquely support gaming companies, application developers, start-ups and other players in unlocking the full value of OTT services in further penetrating into Asia at a fast-to-market pace." HGC plans to extend the service to new countries in the South East Asia region, scaling up the EaaS coverage to 400 million of users in the near future, and support OTTs' business penetration under the US$100 billion Southeast Asia's internet economy boom. Contact us to learn more: ibmarketing@hgc-intl.com HGC Eyeball-as-a-Service Solution: https://www.hgc-intl.com/products-and-services/ott-edge-solutions/ott-solution/ *HGC Eyeball-as-a-Service Peering Platform Internal Testing Result within Singapore region. About HGC Global Communications Limited HGC Global Communications Limited (HGC) is a leading Hong Kong and international fixed-line operator. The company owns an extensive network and infrastructure in Hong Kong and overseas and provides various kinds of services. HGC has 23 overseas offices, with business over 5 continents. It provides telecom infrastructure service to other operators and serves as a service provider to corporate and households. The company provides full-fledged telecom, data centre services, ICT solutions and broadband services for local, overseas, corporate and mass markets. HGC owns and operates an extensive fibre-optic network, five cross-border telecom routes integrated into tier-one telecom operators in mainland China and connects with hundreds of world-class international telecom operators. HGC is one of Hong Kong's largest Wi-Fi service providers, running over 29,000 Wi-Fi hotspots in Hong Kong. The company is committed to further investing and enriching its current infrastructure and, in parallel, adding on top the latest technologies and developing its infrastructure services and solutions. HGC is a portfolio company of I Squared Capital, an independent global infrastructure investment manager focusing on energy, utilities and transport in North America, Europe and selected fast-growing economies. To learn more, please visit HGC's website at: www.hgc.com.hk SOURCE HGC Global Communications Limited (HGC)

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Armenia Investigative Committee: Fatal road accident, criminal case opened

Armenia deputy FM submits resignation

Chinese authorities allow families to have 3 children

Dollar devalues in Armenia

Stepanakert: Azerbaijan creates bridgeheads for pressure on Karabakh, expansion towards Armenia

Sergey Lavrov says Russia is ready to disconnect SWIFT

Armenia MFA spokesperson resigns

Republican Party of Armenia Vice-President: Our ratings are growing, but we have greater pretensions

Armenia acting PM's spokesperson responds to ex-FM

Armenia parliament majority leader: Refusing to debate with acting PM is manifestation of low self-confidence

Armenia State Revenue Committee, US Department of Justice sign Memorandum of Cooperation

Vardevanyan: Attempts made to create false grounds for obstructing Armenia bloc election offices legal activities

Lavrov says Russia is ready to resume dialogue with NATO

Armenia opposition MP on FM's resignation

India records lowest increase in COVID-19 cases in 50 days

Bright Armenia faction in parliament: No response to acting PM's proposal to deploy observers along Azerbaijan border

Ruling bloc MP: Acting premiers proposal does not limit Armenia in terms of cooperation with CSTO

Acting PM is proud of Armenian servicemens heroism, says parliament majority leader

Parliament majority leader: No border delimitation unless Azerbaijan army units leave Armenia territory

Outgoing Armenia acting FM opens brackets: My decision of resignation was conditioned by that very reason

Harutyunyan, Shoygu discuss tension on Armenia-Azerbaijan border

Iranian MFA says US has not imported oil from country since Clinton era

Court hearing on appeal against decision to drop March 2008 Yerevan tragedy case is rescheduled

Missing soldiers relatives block Yerevan street

Parliament majority leader: Armenia acting FM did not object, at Security Council meeting, to new document

Armenia Police: 2,581,093 people on voters list

Bright Armenia faction of parliament: No corridor through the country should be provided to Azerbaijan

Analyst: Armenia acting PM Pashinyan gave self-confessed testimony

Armenia national security finds about 1 kg of opium, detains Iran citizen driver and 2 others

182 hearing aids and 2 buses by benefactor Mikayel Vardanyan for students of Special Educational Complex

34 new cases of COVID-19 confirmed in Armenia

Updated voters list is posted on Armenia central election commission website

Armenia authorities provide considerable amount of subsidies ahead of snap parliamentary elections

World oil prices on the rise

MP explains his not being on Bright Armenia Party electoral list

UK new flagship set to be named after the late Prince Philip

US man who said he shot neighbor over loud music found guilty of attempted murder

Lamborghini company to be sold for $11.5bn?

China spacecraft docks with future space station

Lawyer: Armenia acting PM Pashinyan grossly abuses administrative resources during Lori Province visit

UN urges to investigate escalation of violence in Colombia

Malaysia to open mega-centers for vaccination against coronavirus

Police find  5 million in cash in London apartment

French citizen to face trial in Iran on spaying charges

Over 60 children in UK undergo surgery due to TikTok challenge

Iranian Central Bank governor dismissed

Armenian opposition: The one who liberated Artsakh will not go to debates with the one who sold it

Iranian energy ministry: Iraq to allocate $ 125 million of frozen funds for vaccines

No new COVID-19 cases reported in Artsakh

Iran and Iraq to intensify cooperation and are ready for joint investment projects

Armenia ex-PM says at least 2 more secret documents signed but not published yet

Indonesia frees Iranian tanker 4 months later

Mortar shelling in Afghanistan kills at least 10 civilians

Fire breaks out at West Virginia oil refinery in US

Second President of Armenia meets with residents of Ararat province

Iran ready to help improve the defense capability of Syria

Armenian acting PM invites ex-presidents for debates

European Parliament head proposes to strengthen sanctions on Russia

UK PM gets married in London

Armenia reports COVID-19 new 81 cases: 4 people die

EU countries invite US to issue joint statement against Russia

2 people die in Armenia road accident

Nigeria: Students taken hostage a month ago are released

61 quakes recorded in Congo per day

Syrian MFA: EU lost credibility due to blind obedience to US policy

Armenia ex-minister of emergency situations hospitalized with heart attack

Mher Grigoryan: Clarification of border points is possible only after withdrawal of Azerbaijani troops from Armenia

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Armenia ex-president says current authorities are trying to blame Russia for defeat in war

4 people killed in Afghanistani bus attack

Robert Kocharyan: This war could not have happened, it was a consequence of the policy of the authorities

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Armen Gevorgyan presents 'Armenia' bloc program: We offer the concept of a working country

Biden's administration proposed to leave unchanged amount of financial support to Armenia

US Embassy in Baku calls on Azerbaijan to immediately release Armenian POWs

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Hiscox, the specialist insurer, has called for action to tackle the growing problem of manmade space debris and the threat posed to current and future space operations.

According to figures from the European Space Agency, there are believed to be 128 million manmade pieces of debris, greater than 1 milimeter to 1 centimeter) orbiting the Earth, with a further 900,000 objects between 1 cm to 10 cm (nearly 3.94 inches), and 34,000 objects greater than 10 cm.

Even the smallest objects can damage satellites and spacecraft, said Hiscox. NASA reports that the International Space Station has had to maneuver away from orbiting debris 26 times in its 20-year lifespan to avoid a possible collision.

Space is like the Wild West. And while thats partly what makes it attractive to ambitious NewSpace entrepreneurs, unless something is done to bring in more regulation, space debris could become such a problem that certain low-Earth orbits might become unusable in the not-too-distant future, commented Pascal Lecointe, Space Line underwriter at Hiscox says:

Its not just a concern for space operators either. Everyone who uses an internet connection, relies on accurate weather forecasting, or uses a satnav should be concerned in the event of a satellite being knocked out by orbiting debris. Our whole banking system could go down as a result of a space collision, Lecointe added.

From an insurance perspective, the growth in space debris makes launching new satellites and rockets riskier. It could mean that we require space operators to take additional measures such as having propulsion onboard satellites, so they can change height to avoid collisions and de-orbit when they become obsolete, he said.

Ultimately, the space industry needs to do more to prevent debris being created in the future and undertake further exploration of ways to clean up whats already there. A failure to do so could make future space launches uninsurable in the private insurance market, he continued.

Source: Hiscox
SOHC

The first recall concerns 79,017 vehicles sold in the United States and federalized territories, plus 6,986 vehicles in Canada and 1,347 in Mexico. These pickups dont comply with Federal Motor Vehicle Safety Standards (FMVSS) because the front windshields are inadequately bonded to the body structure. Happily, however, no accidents or injuries have been related to this condition according to the Dearborn-based automaker.As far as the fix is concerned, authorized dealerships have been instructed to remove and reinstall the windshield using standard service procedures. The pickups included in this recall were built in Dearborn from October 27th to February 3rd for the 2021 model year F-150 and at the Kentucky Truck Plant from October 13th to January 23th for 2020 and 2021 Super Duty.The second campaign concerns the Super Duty with the 6.7-liter Power Stroke turbo diesel for the 2020 model year, which may feature incorrect payload information on the tire and loading information label. What kind of incorrect, you may be wondering? As it happens, the Ford Motor Company has overstated the payload, accessory reserve capacity on the safety certification label, and weight on the truck camper loading documentation.Exceeding the gross vehicle weight rating or axle weight rating may result in suspension overload and increased stopping distance, which are recipes for disaster. The Blue Oval will inform owners on the week of March 22nd of this issue, and if needed, dealers will replace the labels and documents.The heavy-duty haulers were manufactured between May 13th and September 19th at the Kentucky complex in Louisville. The Ford Motor Companys numbers for these campaigns are 21C06 and 21S06.To whom it may concern, the redesigned half-ton workhorse is available to order from $28,940, excluding destination charge for the XL with the Regular Cab and base V6 engine. The Super Duty, on the other hand, is $34,230 for the single-cabbed XL with the 6.2-literflex-fuel V8.
Unfortunately, our website is currently unavailable in your country. We are engaged on the issue and committed to looking at options that support our full range of digital offerings to your market. We continue to identify technical compliance solutions that will provide all readers with our award-winning journalism.
It provides an opportunity to detail the reforms and changes to our business to deliver the highest standards of governance and compliance, and an organisational culture that meets community expectations, she said. Reverend Tim Costello, chief advocate for the Alliance for Gambling Reform, said he was thrilled. For nearly 20 years Ive been saying we need a royal commission, and I didnt think Id live to see it. Maybe I can now depart in peace. He said Mr Finkelstein was a really good appointment. But he warned that it was unlikely Crown would lose its licence as a result of the royal commission. However, Crown would still be feeling quite comfortable, he said, pointing out that the Andrews government had extended its licence to 2050. During the Bergin inquiry, Premier Andrews said of course we wouldnt be cancelling Crowns licence. ... [so] we know Crown still have a fair bit of protection. He said Victorians had lost confidence in Crown and in the governments ability to govern Crown.

Federal MP Andrew Wilkie, elected on a gambling reform platform a decade ago to a seat in Tasmania, said the royal commission was the only credible option left to the Andrews government. For decades a series of Victorian governments, Liberal and Labor, have profited from the organised crime run out of the states only casino ... A judicial inquiry can hopefully also get to the bottom of the political protection racket that has plagued this issue. Anti-gambling campaigner Stephen Mayne said the royal commission also needed to compel current and former Victorian regulators and key political figures, including Jeff Kennett, Daniel Andrews and former gaming minister Marlene Kairouz to give evidence, broadening on the work of the Bergin inquiry, which focused more on Crown personnel. Issues worthy of exploration include evidence of Crowns lobbying and political power, including through the regular political donations that it makes and the long line of political figures that it has hired to influence the political and regulatory process, he said. State opposition gaming spokeswoman Steph Ryan said the government had been shamed into calling a royal commission.

This is the royal commission Daniel Andrews didnt want to have, she said. Never before have we seen a royal commission announced at 4.30pm on a Monday by a junior minister with the Premier nowhere to be seen. Former state gambling regulator Peter Cohen said the royal commission was inevitable because of what the NSW inquiry had uncovered, and that Mr Finkelstein needed to look at the relationship between the state and the Commonwealth when it comes to money laundering responsibility. NSWs 18-month inquiry into Crown, conducted by former Supreme Court judge Patricia Bergin, examined evidence of the casino operator facilitating money laundering through its bank accounts, going into business with junket tour partners linked to triad organised crime gangs and disregarding the welfare of its staff in China before 19 were arrested there in 2016. Commissioner Bergins final report this month found these failures made Crown unfit to hold a casino licence in NSW, with its core problem being poor corporate governance, deficient risk management structures and processes and a poor corporate culture. The scathing report led to the resignation of Crowns chief executive, Ken Barton, and four directors including former AFL boss Andrew Demetriou.

Ms Horne said the Victorian Commission for Gambling and Liquor Regulation had been examining the 800-page Bergin inquiry report since it was handed down in early February. Weve gone through that report line by line and understood our commercial contracts and got the legal advice as to what the most appropriate response to those findings are, Ms Horne said. Loading Replay Replay video Play video Play video What we need to appreciate as well, though, there are hundreds of people, thousands of people, working in Crown. We need to make sure that were protecting jobs, but also were doing it in a way where a casino is operating in a suitable manner. Crown will continue to hold its licence while under investigation by the royal commission. Despite repeated questioning, Ms Horne would not yet commit to accepting all of the recommendations, including any about whether Crown was fit to hold its gaming licence.

She said there was a lot of water to go under the bridge and the government would be working with the royal commission to see what the findings would be and then stand ready to act. Western Australia launched an inquiry with the same powers of a royal commission into Crowns Perth casino last week, leading to accusations the Andrews government was dragging its feet given the most concerning evidence related to Crowns flagship Southbank casino. The Victorian government has for years resisted an independent investigation into Crown, despite damning evidence aired in media reports and tabled in Federal Parliament. Ms Horne defended the casino regulator, saying it had been conducting reviews every five years into Crowns suitability to hold a licence. Loading

However, the Auditor-General in 2017 found the regulator had not been properly scrutinising money laundering by high rollers at Crown. Inspectors from the VCGLR were simply not paying sufficient attention to key areas of risk, the states financial watchdog found at the time. Ms Horne has flagged splitting the VCGLR and establishing a separate casino regulator in response to the findings made by the Bergin inquiry. She said there would be a government-led investigation into the effectiveness of the regulator and how it could be reformed. The gambling and liquor regulators were merged in 2012; it had been beset by a lack of leadership, training of staff and reduction in funder under the previous government, the Auditor-General found in 2017. Since receiving [that] report, the government has taken advice about the most appropriate way to proceed in Victoria, the statement said. Loading

Establishing a royal commission will ensure the most appropriate access to information regarding Crown Melbournes suitability to hold the casino licence given the commissions powers to compel witnesses and documentation. The government had already established a review of Crowns suitability to hold its licence. That review will now occur in parallel with the royal commission. The royal commission will establish the facts and the government and the [state regulator] will take any necessary action at the conclusion of the investigation. We will not tolerate illegal behaviour in our gaming industry. with Ashleigh McMillan
Standing guard: US giant Allied Universal is poised to buy British security company G4S

G4S looks set to fall into American hands after a fierce bidding war ended  sparking huge payouts for bosses.

US giant Allied Universal is poised to buy the British security company for 245p-per-share, or 3.8billion, pending shareholder approval.

Allied's victory followed a three-month bidding war with rival suitor Garda World, which had come down to a head-to-head auction this week.

But Canadian security group Garda effectively threw in the towel as its bosses announced they would not increase their 235p-per-share bid  leaving the path clear for Allied. G4S shares fell 9.8 per cent, or 26.4p, to 242.6p as the possibility of higher bids evaporated.

It is a humiliating defeat for Garda boss Stephan Cretier, who had staked his firm's reputation as a global leader on the deal. The acquisition by Allied, which is backed by private equity firm Warburg Pincus, will create a global organisation with 750,000 staff and annual revenues of 13.4billion.

G4S chief executive Ashley Almanza and chairman John Connolly will scoop millions if shareholders accept the bid.

Almanza, 57, holds 2.2m shares, worth around 5.3m, while Connolly and his family hold 611,000 shares, worth 1.5m. But Almanza's payout could reach 15m if long-term targets are hit.

The deal also means the Government will be forced to re-do its contract for four major British prisons, which it awarded to G4S.

Allied has already said it does not wish to take it on, meaning it will likely go to Hampshire-based Serco, potentially creating competition issues.

The US firm last year sought to allay fears that the shift of control abroad will impact its London headquarters and UK operations.

It said it was 'committed to the UK market having doubled its activities in the UK in the last two years', and it will maintain the UK base to act as its headquarters for international operations outside of America.

President Biden's election in the US could also raise problems, if he takes a different view to his predecessor Donald Trump.

A source said: 'The Biden administration has been phoning customers and competitors asking what they make of it. '

The fight to take over G4S began last June when Cretier made an informal approach of 145p, when the share price was just 103p.

Garda's interest became public when it made a third bid of 190p on September 1, when G4S's share price was 142p. The G4S board held firm, rebuffing a series of offers until Allied made a 245pper-share bid in December. Allied previously had a 210p offer rejected.

Analysts predicted Allied had an edge as it was bigger and had more geographic overlap with G4S, giving it greater cost savings in a merger. G4S had said Garda was too small to be a global leader and would rely on G4S's balance sheet to finance the deal.

The Allied bid was 'fair and reasonable', G4S said.

Sources claimed the race for the company had ended because Cretier had been unable to raise the necessary financial firepower to increase his bid. He denied the claim saying in a statement that Garda 'will not overpay' and that 'there are better and less risky opportunities available'.

G4S is the latest British business with a bombed-out share price to fall into foreign hands. Bookmaker William Hill and RSA Insurance were also snapped up by overseas rivals at the end of last year.
A Covid survivor has been left in a wheelchair after battling the virus in intensive care for 172 days.

Brian Mearns, 63, is thought to be the longest ICU admission for Coivd-19 in Scotland to date after first contracting the virus nearly a year ago, in March.

GMB host Kate Garroway's husband, Derek Draper has suffered a similar fate during his struggle with coronavirus - he has been in hospital since March 30 and is still in a coma.

Previously 'fit and healthy' Mr Mearns is now back at home with his family but his body has been irreversibly damaged by the virus and has been left needing oxygen and wheelchair assistance and his family have created a fundraiser to help him.

His daughter Leah Mearns, 38, recalled when her dad first took ill with coronavirus in the early days of the pandemic.

Brian Mearns, 63, is thought to be the longest ICU admission for Coivd-19 in Scotland to date after first contracting the virus nearly a year ago, in March

Previously 'fit and healthy' Mr Mearns is now back at home with his family but his body has been irreversibly damaged by the virus and has been left needing oxygen and wheelchair assistance and his family have created a fundraiser to help him

Speaking to Edinburgh Live, she said: 'He was first admitted to hospital on the 28 March but he'd been ill for around two weeks before that, with what was originally treated as urine infection because he didn't have any of the standard symptoms.

'It was mainly pain in his back, the coughing and things didn't start until later on. Over the two weeks before he was admitted he just went downhill. He was sleeping and couldn't wake up, he wouldn't eat and he had sickness and diarrhea. My mum was also ill at the same time because she had it [Covid].

'I phoned NHS 24 and was told he basically had to get himself there [to hospital] because it would be too long to wait for an ambulance and they didn't want anyone else driving him in, because at that point he hadn't be diagnosed with Covid, in case we caught it.

'He took himself in by the 29 March his breathing had deteriorated that much that he was moved to intensive care and ventilated.'

His daughter Leah Mearns, 38, recalled when her dad first took ill with coronavirus in the early days of the pandemic

One in ten coronavirus survivors suffer lasting symptoms three months after beating the illness, data suggests.

The Office for National Statistics published a report on 'long Covid'  a wide-range of symptoms which linger months after the original illness has cleared up.

It revealed that 9.9 per cent of Brits who beat the coronavirus still suffered from the lasting effects of the disease 12 weeks later.

The family later found out that the father-of-two was so ill he had been forced to abandon his car in an ambulance bay after reaching the Western General Hospital.

Leah continued: 'Initially, he was only in ICU for a few days the first time because his breathing picked up again.

'But within 24 hours his breathing had deteriorated again and was moved pretty much straight back into intensive care and ventilated and the second time he was in ICU he was there for 172 days.'

The family later found out that the father-of-two was so ill he had been forced to abandon his car in an ambulance bay after reaching the Western General Hospital

Brian's family, his wife of over 40 years Gillian and two daughters Nikki and Leah, were called to say their final goodbyes three times during his time in intensive care but, miraculously, he survived.

Medics lined the hallways and cheered when Brian was wheeled out of the ICU and taken to a respiratory ward where he remained for around four weeks before being taken to a rehab facility in Edinburgh. He was finally reunited at home with his family just days before Christmas.

Almost a year on from when her dad was first admitted to hospital, Leah has described their ordeal as a 'nightmare'.

She said: 'It's been all of our worst nightmares. We've gone from having a physically fit and healthy man who was very active, to seeing him lying in a bed and reliant on machines to keep him breathing.

GMB host Kate Garroway's husband, Derek Draper (pictured together) has suffered a similar fate during his struggle with coronavirus - he has been in hospital since March 30 and is still in a coma

'It was horrible but we got a miracle and he's still with his', she added. Before contracting Covid, Brian worked as a printer and was nearing retirement but has been left unable to work after the virus ravished his body.

A family friend has now launched a JustGiving page here to raise 4,000 to help the family to buy equipment for him, including an electric wheelchair and adjustable bed.

Leah said: 'We don't think he'll ever get back to how he was before. He's got lots of damage to his lungs, so is reliant on oxygen. He's okay sitting or in bed but as soon as he goes to move or do anything, he needs oxygen.

'If he's climbing up the stairs he needs oxygen and has to stop halfway up to get his breath back and he suffers fatigue and has pain everywhere.

'He can walk about the house with a walking stick and his oxygen but if he's out he needs a wheelchair and has lots of hospital appointments.

'You need to keep an eye on him because of the damage, he's suffered fibrosis of the lungs and kidney damage and muscle failure and loss.

'It will be life-changing after-effects', she added.

'An adjustable bed is one of the things we think will really benefit him because he can't lie flat. The NHS has given us a bed raiser but he's six-foot and when that goes up he slides out the bottom of the bed.

'Also, to give him more independence, he needs an electric wheelchair. His wheelchair that he's got at the moment, my mum would struggle to push him in.'
Good morning, North State. Here's what you need to know to start your day on Monday, Feb. 22.

California deaths high even as virus case rates plummet

Even as California tops 49,000 deaths there is encouraging news, as hospitalizations and new infections continue to plummet. Hospitalizations are dropping more than a third in two weeks to 7,300 patients. New confirmed cases are 85% fewer than this time in December. We're now at a total of 3.4 million cases.

COVID-19 vaccine progress

While California continues to deal with some COVID-19 vaccine supply issues, 7.3 million doses have been administered but metrics don't show how many of those are second doses. The state has received a total of 8.8 million doses so far. Last week, Gov. Gavin Newsom said we are set to see another million plus doses delivered from the federal government this week.

New vaccine delivery system starts in parts of California

This week changes are on the way for vaccine distribution in California. Gov. Gavin Newsom has tapped Blue Shield to manage Californias new vaccine delivery and scheduling system. That system is set to roll out this week in some counties. Our region will not yet join that roll out but several counties in our area have moved to the state-run scheduling system "My Turn.

Corning man accused of killing his mother to appear in court

A Corning man charged with killing his mother is scheduled to appear in court today. Erik Deno is accused of the strangulation death of Angelika Deno at their home on Marty Court in October of 2018. In January, a judge decided there was enough evidence for the case to proceed to trial. Deno is scheduled to re-enter a plea today.

Human trafficking sting in Anderson leads to 2 arrests

Two men are behind bars after police said the arrests were part of a human trafficking sting. Anderson police arrested the two, who are facing charges of pimping, and that a 17-year-old girl was rescued during the sting. Medical personal took that victim to the children's legacy center and later released her to her mother.

CAL FIRE: Person being rescued from steep drop near Butte Creek Forks

Butte County investigators are working to learn how a driver went over the edge above DeSabla along Doe Mill Road in the Butte Creek Forks Recreation Area on Sunday evening. Action News Now is working to learn the driver's identity as well as the extent of their injuries. We will also follow up with investigators to find out how that accident happened.
Source: Xinhua| 2021-02-22 04:07:10|Editor: huaxia

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The International Atomic Energy Agency (IAEA) Director General Rafael Grossi (C) is seen during a meeting with Iranian Foreign Minister Mohammad Javad Zarif (not seen in the picture) in Tehran, Iran, on Feb. 21, 2021. During the meeting on Sunday between Zarif and Grossi, they exchanged views about Iran-IAEA cooperation in line with the Safeguards Agreement. (Photo by Ahmad Halabisaz/Xinhua)

TEHRAN, Feb. 21 (Xinhua) -- The chief of the International Atomic Energy Agency (IAEA) on Sunday held talks with the head of Atomic Energy Organization of Iran (AEOI) and Iranian foreign minister over the settlement of issues on Iran's nuclear program, as Tehran has decided to stop the IAEA's Additional Protocol on Feb. 23 if U.S. sanctions are not lifted, Press TV reported.

The talks between Rafael Grossi, director general of the IAEA, and Ali-Akbar Salehi, head of the AEOI, revolved around the simultaneous implementation of the IAEA's Safeguards Agreement and Iran's Strategic Action Plan to Counter Sanctions.

"Iran and the IAEA held fruitful discussions based on mutual respect, the result of which will be released this evening," Iran's ambassador to international organizations in Vienna Kazem Gharibabadi tweeted after the meeting.

During the meeting between Iranian Foreign Minister Mohammad Javad Zarif and Grossi, they exchanged views about Iran-IAEA cooperation in line with the Safeguards Agreement.

The Iranian parliament approved in December 2020 the Strategic Action Plan to Counter Sanctions that mandates the Iranian government to relaunch 20-percent uranium enrichment, and stop implementing the IAEA's Additional Protocol if sanctions that should be lifted under the 2015 international nuclear agreement continues to be in place.

In response to the U.S. withdrawal from the Iranian nuclear deal in 2018 and re-imposition of sanctions, Iran has suspended parts of its commitments under the deal. Enditem
Syracuse, N.Y. -- In a world wracked by the extremes of climate change, Upstate New York might become one of the best places to live.

Thats according to technology and science writer David Pogue, a correspondent for CBS News Sunday Morning. In an interview with nonprofit news outlet Next Avenue about his new book, How to Prepare for Climate Change, Pogue said cold, snowy Syracuse and Buffalo could be shelters from the storms.

I looked at fifteen climate haven cities in the sense that they have no wildfires, no hurricanes and unlimited clean, fresh water, he told Next Avenue. And they tend to be in the Great Lakes area.

Other climate havens, he said, are Cleveland; Cincinnati; Duluth, Minnesota; and Madison, Wisconsin.

While Pogue specifically mentioned Syracuse in the interview, its not among the cities detailed in the book. He does devote a page to Buffalo, though.

The citys prime spot on Lake Erie means that fresh water will never be a problem, that wildfire risk is minimal, and that water sports, fishing and lovely parks are all part of the portfolio, he writes in the Where to Live chapter.

Syracuse topped a similar list in 2013, when online real estate service Trulia named Syracuse the safest city in America from five major natural disasters: hurricanes, tornadoes, floods, forest fires and earthquakes. Buffalo landed fourth on that list, which was also dominated by Great Lakes states.

Most metros were high risk for at least one of the five natural disasters, even though no metro area is high risk for everything, the Trulia team wrote. The metros at medium-to-low risk for all five disasters span Ohio (Cleveland, Akron, and Dayton), Upstate New York (Syracuse and Buffalo), and other parts of the Northeast and Midwest, away from the coasts.

In his climate change book, Pogue noted that the cost of living in relatively low in Upstate New York, citing Buffalos as 82% of the national average. He notes the citys seven Frank Lloyd Wright buildings and the system of parks designed by Frederic Law Olmsted, who also designed New York Citys Central Park and Bostons Emerald Necklace.

In Pogues telling, Buffalo is a great place to live despite -- or maybe because of -- its heavy lake effect snow.

Buffalos nickname is the City of Good Neighbors, a reference to the community spirit -- and willingness to help you dig out of the snow, he writes. Theyre also big drinkers, especially on St. Patricks Day and Buffalo Bills game days.

Pogue concedes that no city or state will be spared the effects of climate change, predicted to cause hotter temperatures, stronger hurricanes and more wildfires. Even the Great Lakes region is starting to experience what a hotter future will look like. In 2014, the city of Toledos water system had to shut down because of the blooms, which thrive in higher temperatures.

And if youre planning for retirement, he said, dont flock with your fellow snowbirds down south.

Florida and Arizona are the worse places for you to retire, he told Next Avenue. Its time to really reconsider what we consider our climate refuge as we retire.

READ MORE

Syracuse named safest U.S. city for refuge from natural disasters

25 Things That Make Syracuse Great: Snow

Study: Upstate NY among first to have most heat waves due to climate change
CLEVELAND  Coast Guard personnel in multiple states rescued 10 people who were stranded on ice floes in Lake Erie over the weekend.

According to the USCG Great Lakes District, an ice rescue team and local agencies responded to a report of 10 people stranded on two separate ice floes near Edgewater Park in Cleveland at about 4:30 p.m. Sunday, Feb. 21.

A helicopter was also dispatched from Air Station Detroit for air support. The Coast Guard said six people were rescued via an ice skiff and fire department rescuers escorted the other four people off the ice.

RELATED: U.S. Coast Guard, Cleveland fire department rescue people stranded on ice floes off Edgewater Park

Cleveland.com reported that the rescue involved seven adults and three children.

According to updates on Twitter, the Coast Guard was originally notified at about 2:45 p.m. that two people were on the ice but upon responding to the scene they found 10 people stuck on two ice floes that had been connected to land but had broken off.

The National Weather Service earlier issued a warning of dangerous ice conditions for the lake, urging everyone not to venture onto the ice.

Areas of ice could break off from the shore and if you are on the ice and it breaks away from shore, you will become stranded, were among the updates from the NWS in Cleveland.
STATEN ISLAND, N.Y. A fatal shooting Saturday on a residential street along the Clifton/Stapleton border has neighbors on edge, while investigators eye possible motives.

Petrified, said a Clifton man with ties to the Park Hill tenants association. Scared to go to the [corner store] because something might happen.

The victim was identified Sunday by police as Latiff Dudley, 26, of Graniteville. Police said Dudley had two previous home addresses in the Stapleton Houses apartment complex.

After being shot multiple times Saturday, authorities said Dudley drove a black Infiniti about a mile to a commercial section of Van Duzer Street, where he crashed into a parked SUV.

Investigators on Sunday were searching for two unidentified males in connection with the incident, police said.

A law enforcement source said investigators were eyeing whether the shooting was gang-related, while a different source with knowledge of the investigation indicated that wasnt the case.

Dudley had a lengthy criminal record dating back to 2012, including two arrests for assault and a 2016 arrest for possessing a loaded weapon during a car stop in Charleston, police said.

PETRIFIED

Police have responded twice over the past month to the Stapleton/Clifton area for reports of young men shot and killed, with crime scenes unfolding in the afternoon and evening hours  and within feet of homes and businesses.

It makes you want to stay inside, said a woman who lives doors down from the shooting Saturday. Its crazy.

In January, a 23-year-old male was shot at a recording studio on the 900 block of Van Duzer Street by two masked gunmen, captured in surveillance images approaching the building and ultimately opening fire.

A man who lives nearby described the scene as mayhem.

That investigation remained ongoing Sunday, as investigators eye multiple suspects in what police sources have described as a highly-involved case.
Source: Xinhua| 2021-02-22 23:32:46|Editor: huaxia

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Photo taken on Feb. 22, 2021 in Brussels, Belgium shows a screen displaying United Nations (UN) Secretary-General Antonio Guterres delivering a video speech at the high-level meeting of the 46th session of the United Nations Human Rights Council (UNHRC) held in Geneva, Switzerland. (Xinhua/Zhang Cheng)

GENEVA, Feb. 22 (Xinhua) -- United Nations Secretary-General Antonio Guterres on Monday stressed that COVID-19 vaccines must be a global public good, accessible and affordable for all.

"Vaccine equity affirms human rights, vaccine nationalism denies it," he said at the opening of the 46th regular session of the UN Human Rights Council.

The UN chief described the latest failure to ensure equity in vaccination efforts as a kind of "moral outrage," as just ten countries have administered more than 75 percent of all COVID-19 vaccines.

"The pandemic revealed the interconnectedness of our human family -- and of the full spectrum of human rights -- civil, cultural, economic, political and social," he said.

Noting that COVID-19 has deepened pre-existing divides, vulnerabilities and inequalities, Guterres told the audience that the disease has taken a disproportionate toll on women, minorities, persons with disabilities, older persons, refugees, migrants and indigenous peoples.

Progress on gender equality has been set back years, extreme poverty is rising for the first time in decades, he said.

The UN chief repeated the Human Rights Call to Action, saying that the focus will be on the blight of racism, discrimination and xenophobia, as well as gender inequality.

He commended the Human Rights Council's decision to report on systemic racism, accountability and redress, and responses to peaceful anti-racism protests.

The UN Human Rights Council's 46th regular session is expected to last until March 23.

Opening the session, Nazhat Shameem Khan, President of the Human Rights Council, welcomed all the participants and highlighted that this was the first almost entirely online session of the Council.

Volkan Bozkir, President of the UN General Assembly, noted at the opening of the session that the COVID-19 pandemic was not just a health crisis, but a human rights crisis, and therefore all responses must ensure that human rights were central.

Michelle Bachelet, UN High Commissioner for Human Rights, noted that the pandemic had ripped the mask off the deadly realities of discrimination and that today the medical impact of the pandemic was far from over, while its effects on economies, freedoms, societies, and people had only just begun.

Saying that countries need to seize the possibility to rebuild more inclusive systems in the post-COVID era, Bachelet also stressed the elimination of every form of discrimination in the process of a better recovery. Enditem
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The race was on for drinkers this afternoon as Prime Minister Boris Johnson announced he would open up beer gardens from April 12.

Leaders in the sector had hoped for the PM to inject some fizz into bars and drinking venues and open them up fully by Easter after the success of the UK's huge vaccination programme.

But they were given a consolation prize in the 3.30pm announcement, which said outdoor drinks or takeaway would be permitted from April 12.

The news prompted a scramble to book a space outdoors to enjoy a pub-pulled pint for the the first time this year.

It will be over a full month later on May 17 before the government will even consider relaxing restrictions on indoor hospitality.

Covid cases have risen for the first time in six weeks with 10,641 new infections in 24 hours, while deaths tumbled to 178 in the lowest toll since December 13. The UK's vaccine rollout also dished out just 150,000 jabs in its worst performance yet;

Couples and suppliers must wait until March 8 to have weddings and receptions with up to just six people - with unrestricted big days not set to occur before June 21;

Teaching unions have demanded Boris Johnson scrap his plan to reopen all schools in England on March 8 in favour of a more cautious phased return to classrooms;

Mr Zahawi said that the government was hoping this will be the last 'severe' coronavirus lockdown in England;

Labour has insisted it supports schools reopening in full on March 8 despite opposition from teaching unions and Sir Keir Starmer saying there must be a considered approach

The Prime Minister outlined the future for pubs, which was a mixed fortune for the sector

The hated - and widely derided curfew and 'substantial meal' rules - will not return after lockdown.

The Prime Minister declared 'the scotch egg debate will be over' in reference to the food regulation, which was mocked after ministers said the small snack was a meal.

But industry leaders warn that the 'cautious approach' may not be enough to save the trade.

The British Beer & Pub Association warned only last week how nearly 30,000 pubs could be forced to remain shut until a full reopening, with punters allowed inside venues.

This would mean around two thirds of pubs may not be able to reopen.

Responding, Emma McClarkin, Chief Executive of the British Beer & Pub Association, said: 'Today we were looking for a clear roadmap out of lockdown for our sector and an indication of the dates when we could fully reopen and operate viably, again.

'Whilst we have received earliest possible dates for reopening, our sector will continue to face severe restrictions that limit their business and stop them from being viable. The reality is debt is mounting and many pubs simply won't be able to hold out to April or May and will close for good before any door gets open.

'Outdoor service only from April 12th will likely mean that 3 in 5 pubs across the UK will remain closed. That's 29,000 pubs still not able to open either because they don't have any outdoor space or simply because they will not be commercially sustainable. Because of this, the majority of pubs will not reopen until May 17th at the earliest, meaning that they will have been closed for almost 8 months.

Revellers enjoying themselves on the penultimate weekend before Christmas and before the latest restrictions were imposed

People are seen dancing in the street in Soho, ahead of London being moved into Tier 3 of the pandemic-control system on December 15, 2020

'It will mean just 17% of our pubs' capacity will open from April. That will cost our sector 1.5 billion.

Nearly 30,000 pubs could stay shut in April

Nearly two thirds of pubs in the UK will remain closed even if they allowed to do outdoor service, an industry association has warned. The British Beer & Pub Association say a reduction in coronavirus rules in April may not save an estimate 60% of pubs, equivalent to 29,000. BBPA leaders want pubs to be able to re-open fully in tandem with any relaxation in non-essential retail. It reckons just 17% of pubs will open and even they will struggle. BBPA chief executive Emma McClarkin said: 'This would result in a loss of turnover to the sector of 1.5bn when compared to trading in normal times. That is far from reopening and recovering.' It came as sales of alcohol per adult dropped by 6% in the early part of lockdown, a new study has shown. Research by Public Health Scotland and the University of Glasgow found the drop in Scotland as well as England and Wales between mid-March and July 11 last year. Advertisement

'The Government must now plug that 1.5 billion hole for our sector with vital support in the Budget next week if thousands of pubs are now to survive.

'It is imperative that pubs who do try to reopen with outdoor service only are also offered support. Their business will not only be severely restricted by reduced capacity, but also the highly unreliable British weather.

'Last year we saw almost 2,000 pubs close for good  thats 5 pubs every day closed forever. We cannot let this happen again in 2021. Local pubs play a vital community role by providing wonderful and regulated places where we can safely meet with our families and friends  something we are all longing to do again soon.'

Earlier Tory MPs and pub industry leaders had demanded Mr Johnson move quicker to open venues before Easter.

Former Conservative Party leader, Iain Duncan Smith, said he is calling on Boris Johnson to 'review' the opening dates for pubs.

He tweeted: 'The hospitality sector is a very big employer of the poorest in society, who have suffered most in the crisis, and half of those businesses are talking about closing.

I've asked Boris Johnson to review again the dates for reopening up the inside of pubs and restaurants.'

The COVID Recovery Group of Tory backbenchers were already unsatisfied with details of the PM's roadmap to recovery briefed over the weekend.

At least 40 MPs led by the CRG's Mark Harper and Steve Baker told him to speed up the process.

MP Tim Loughton questioned why pubs were not opening earlier.

He said: 'Good news on schools, care homes and outdoor sport but surely we can open pub gardens up in time for the Easter Bank Holiday weekend and not keep wedding couples waiting until May 17th even for a slimmed down event?'

And Essex pub landlord Adam Brooks appeared to be stunned by the announcement.

He said: 'I said pubs would open in April, I was wrong. I could never have imagined the destruction of an industry on this scale,from a Conservative Government.

'Outdoor opening with our weather is not being open. It will be a scatter of the odd day taking money and others costing more.'



Marstons CEO Ralph Findlay had said reopening should happen 'sooner rather than later'

People enjoy takeaway drinks at Leadenhall Market in the City of London back in November

Members of the public have outdoor drinks at Borough Market, London, late last year

People being allowed into pubs is predicted for May at the earliest, but could happen sooner

Bar staff pack away chairs and tables after pubs were forced to stop selling alcohol

One pub declared 'Hallelujah!' over the April 12 garden reopening date announced today

Pubs reported interest in bookings had been sparked by the PM's announcement

Essex publican Adam Brooks said beer gardens being open would not save the industry

Another heatwave for pubs reopening? April 2020 was bathed in glorious weather April 2020's warm, dry and sunny conditions made it the sunniest April on record for the UK. Long-term weather forecasts are notoriously difficult to pinpoint conditions. But most are predicting no rain for the week of the reopening and very little cloud. Temperatures on April 12 look to be topping at a brisk 8C (46F), but a jacket should be enough to still make that first pint a treat. If drinkers can wait that long, the mercury is said to hit a month high of 12C (53F) on April 27. Advertisement

It came as one of the country's biggest pub chains earlier insisted they were ready to open quicker, pointing to the secure serving methods that succeeded last year.

Marstons chief executive Ralph Findlay stressed 'It's not as if we haven't done this before'.

The Bridge House Pub, in Penge, said: 'Hallelujah! April 12 is the date! We are so excited to welcome you back to our lovely and big, open beer garden! Feel safe in our open space where you will be served at your table and enjoy a covered area for your comfort. Roll on April 12th.'

The CRG's Mark Harper said on Sunday the progress of the vaccine meant hospitality should reopen quicker.

He said: 'It therefore makes sense to enable pubs and restaurants to open for Easter  where they can be Covid-secure  to avoid them going to the wall and to protect jobs.

'Once all nine priority groups have been protected by the end of April there is no justification for any domestic legal restrictions to remain.'

Marstons, which operate 1,700 pubs in the UK, said things needed to happen sooner rather than later.

CEO Ralph Findlay told Radio 4: 'In terms of expectations I just work with the basis we've been closed for nine months out of the previous 12.

'What's really important to me is that we get some degree of positivity and a route to seeing these restrictions lifted so we can come out with some sort of reasonable timescale.

'I don't think I could put a date on that but I do think the case is made for getting this sector up and running and open again sooner rather than later.

'It's important to recognise that for many businesses and many hospitality businesses in particular operating with restrictions is very difficult.

'It's quite hard to make profit and economically have businesses viable with the kind of restrictions we have been operating under.

'I would just remind you, we did open last year, it's not as if we haven't done this before  we opened on July 4 last year we did well.

Boris Johnson takes the dog for a run ahead of unveiling his roadmap to unlocking the UK

Outdoor drinking is possible for April, according to some reports ahead of the roadmap reveal

Currently all pubs and restaurants are closed to customers, in a huge drain on the sector

The road map to recovery: The PM's plan sees pubs shut until at least April 12 after Easter

Clearly people are cautious, they have a degree of concern, but if you look back at what happened last year actually we opened July, August and September, for much of that period infections did not increase in any scale.'

Emma McClarkin added: 'With the vaccine rollout continuing apace, now is the time to commit to reopening our pubs in a commercially viable way so that thousands of communities and businesses up and down the country can begin to emerge from this crisis.'

The delay in opening is believed to be to buy time for a study into the effect of the return to school on the R number.

Industry body UK Hospitality, which estimates the sector lost 72 billion in revenue last year and more than one million jobs, last week presented the Government with a ten-point plan to re-open the industry from April 1.

Another 178 people have died of coronavirus, new figures revealed today adding to 120,757

There have been another 10,641 positive infections, adding to a total of 4,126.150

Chief executive Kate Nicholls said: 'There is no valid reason for hospitality to be at the back of the queue as data shows hospitality venues are very low risk due to the exceptional investment that businesses have made in creating safe and Covid-secure environments.'

Model-turned-publican Jodie Kidd, who runs The Half Moon in Kirdford, West Sussex, has spent months preparing to reopen.

She has put up a 22-seater marquee filled with olive trees festooned with lights. She told Sky News: 'We are Covid-safe, we have accommodated all the restrictions, we are good to go.

'Now we need a date and guidance for when and how we can re-open  we need time to prepare.'

Chef Jack Stein has spent winter deep-cleaning the Cornish Arms in Cornwall's St Merryn, a pub he owns with his famous father Rick.

'We've given the pub a lick of paint, we've just bought a marquee, we're doing everything we can to maximise our outdoor space,' he said. 'We're raring to go.'

Des Gunewardena, chief executive of the D&D London group that includes former Conran restaurants Bluebird, Quaglino's and Le Pont de la Tour, said he is planning a re-opening campaign to give his restaurants' terraces and rooftop courtyards a new look.

Each will be given the theme of a popular holiday destination  with trees, floral displays, live music, cocktail trolleys and alfresco barbecues  to cheer up customers who cannot travel abroad.

'It's like the end of the war  it's a new start and we will re-open with enthusiasm to look forward. There is a huge demand by customers to get out socialising again,' he said.

Greg Mulholland, Campaign Director of the Campaign for Pubs said: 'Despite this being the third lockdown and with pubs having been closed for such a huge proportion of the last year, the Government has still not given any certainty for publicans as to when they may be able to finally, properly open their pubs again, which is disastrous for their businesses but also for mental health.

'We all accept the need to control the spread of Covid until vaccinations reach a certain level, but the Government keeps moving the goalposts and its pubs that are being hardest hit by that.

The borough of Westminster, in the heart of the city and boasting a vibrant nightlife, just before the latest lockdown

Customers in Soho enjoy their last pints outdoors just before they were closed again for lockdown

People drinking in Soho on December 4, just as the end of the November lockdown in 2020

'It's disappointing that today's announcement was made without any indication of what further support will be provided for pubs to get them through this crisis. The Chancellor must announce this as soon as possible and before the Budget and it must be adequate or there will be many publicans who just won't be able to continue racking up debts and pubs will start to close.'

Dawn Hopkins, Vice Chair of the Campaign for Pubs and a Norwich publican said: 'Publicans are dismayed that yet again this Government doesn't seem to understand the reality of the desperate situation for so many publicans, with months without income and for many, mounting debt. Outdoor opening is simply not viable for the vast majority of pubs, so grants must be continued until pubs can open properly again, indoors and without unnecessary rules'.

'The Government needs to urgently announce a proper package of support to get pubs through this crisis, or it will go down in history as the Government that destroyed the Great British Pub.'

People reacted to the news on social media with joy. Several posted memes about how much of a celebration it will be.

Others seemed confused as to why pubs were going to be reopened before gyms.

One social media user said: 'The fact pubs are going to reopen before gyms shows the current state of modern Britain.'

Some joked about the time the pubs were opening, with one quipping: ' Pubs reopen April the 12th? That's a Monday. What sort of psycho sets a Monday as a pub reopening day!?'

But not everyone was happy about the announcment with some expressing fear and concern about people not following social distancing measures.

A Twitter user said: 'Really not looking forward to the pubs reopening phase after lockdown, so many people are gonna be crowded into my pub and they're not gonna wanna follow the rules and it's all making me so anxious.'

Expert claims Britain could ALREADY have herd immunity amid huge 82% reduction in Covid infections in just six weeks with 17million vaccinated and one in five carrying antibodies

ByJames Robinson for MailOnline

A leading academic has today said herd immunity could be a factor in the huge drop in Covid cases in the UK, as it was announced more than 17million Britons have now been vaccinated, while 1 in 5 people in England are already said to have coronavirus antibodies.

Infection figures in the UK have tumbled in the past six weeks, falling 82 per cent - from 68,053 new cases reported on January 8, to 12,057 on February 18.

It comes as figures published today show there have been 9,834 new Covid cases - a fall of 10 per cent on last week.

Meanwhile, nearly one in five adults in England  the equivalent of 8.3million people  had Covid antibodies at the beginning of February, a major surveillance study revealed this week.

A leading academic has today said herd immunity could be a factor in the huge drop in Covid cases in the UK, as it was announced more than 17million Britons have now been vaccinated

The prediction could heap pressure on the Government to end the current lockdown, with Boris Johnson set to outline his road-map for ending restrictions on Monday

A THIRD of all English adults have had a Covid jab boosting hopes of a swift end to lockdown - but Matt Hancock says 'time needs to be taken' A third of all adults in England have now been vaccinated against coronavirus, Matt Hancock revealed today - as he insisted that the lifting of the lockdown must be done carefully. The Health Secretary revealed that one-in-three people over 16 had now been given on of the life-saving jabs, a boost to the country ahead of Boris Johnson's roadmap out of lockdown that will be unveiled tomorrow. Mr Hancock confirmed this morning that every adult in the country will be offered at least one dose of a Covid vaccine by the end of July. The Government previously said it hoped to reach all those aged 18 and over by the autumn, but Mr Johnson aims to greatly accelerate the successful campaign. Mr Hancock also confirmed that everyone over 50 will be offered at least a first dose by April 15, rather than by May, as previously suggested. But he warned that the Government would take its time lifting the coronavirus lockdown, saying it was 'right to be cautious' with 20,000 people still in hospital. Speaking to Times Radio today he said coronavirus restrictions will be eased with 'weeks between the steps', suggesting that after schools reopen on March 8 there may be few other changes before April. Mr Hancock also said social distancing measures and the wearing of face coverings is likely to remain for a while. Asked earlier bout the speed of the lockdown lifting, he told Sky's Ridge on Sunday: 'It is right to be cautious, it is incredibly important. There are still almost 20,000 people in the hospital with Covid right now. Almost 20,000. 'The vaccination programme whilst clearly going very well, will take time to be able to reach all people who have significant vulnerability, especially because we also need to get the second jab to everybody. 'So we have got time that needs to be taken to get this right, the PM will set out the roadmap tomorrow and he will set out the full details, taking into account that we need to take a cautious but irreversible approach, that's the goal.' Advertisement

And today it was announced more than 17million of Britain's most vulnerable residents had received their first dose of the Covid vaccine since the UK's jab rollout began.

One leading epidemiologist, who asked not to be named having previously suffered abuse for airing their views on the effectiveness of lockdown, said they believed more than 50 per cent of the UK could now have some protection against the virus.

And the professor said the huge drop in recent infection figures could be a result of the UK reaching its herd immunity threshold - where the number of people with protection against the virus outweighs its ability to spread among the population.

The prediction could heap pressure on the Government to end the current lockdown, with Boris Johnson set to outline his road-map for ending restrictions on Monday.

And it follows similar suggestions in America, where one top doctor told the Wall Street Journal this week that the US could achieve herd immunity 'by April'.

Speaking to MailOnline, the academic said: 'It's a strong possibility that we could already have it (herd immunity), not just in the UK.

'It is possible that is what is having an impact. With the vaccine, we do not have the data yet, apart from some data from AstraZeneca, to show if it stops transmission.

'The vaccine, at the moment it seems, is protecting people from going to hospital and that's what you need.

On the possible impact of lockdown, the professor said: 'I could create a model which shows that this is down to lockdown or I can create one which says it is down to herd immunity.

'The likelihood is it is could be down to both.

'But the Government is continuing its messaging which is to stay in lockdown, which causes other problems and could impact on herd immunity.'

Herd immunity, the professor said, would not stop Covid completely because the virus is 'here to stay'.

But they said it would keep Covid-19 at a manageable level within the community - like with other forms of coronavirus and the flu.

'That's the destination. If we can get to a place where there are no deaths and we are living with Covid-19, which is what we do with other diseases and with other coronavirus forms which people have not heard of - for exactly that reason,' the professor added.

It comes as a US doctor claimed that America will have 'herd immunity by April'.

Dr Marty Makary, from the prestigious Johns Hopkins University, said he believes the US could be just months away from herd immunity.

And, writing in a Wall Street Journal editorial, the top doctor said America was 'racing toward an extremely low level of infection'.

He believes when the number of Americans vaccinated is combined with the number of people who may already have been infected, that the number of people with some form of Covid immunity is high.

'At the current trajectory, I expect Covid will be mostly gone by April, allowing Americans to resume normal life,' he wrote in Wall Street Journal last week.

His comments come after cases in the US tumbled by 77 per cent over the past six weeks. The country is not in a nationwide lockdown, with states and cities setting their own Covid rules.

However many areas, including densely populated New York, have lifted restrictions, with bars and restaurants open, while states such as Delaware are allowing indoor activities of up to 50 people to take place.

In the UK, which has been in lockdown since early January, infection figures have fallen by 82 per cent in the last six weeks - from 68,053 new cases reported on January 8, to just 2,057 on February 18.

The percentage of the population who have already had Covid-19 is also similar between the UK and the US.

More than 4million people in the UK have tested positive for Covid since the pandemic began - around 7 per cent of the UK's population.

In America, more than 28million Americans have tested positive - around 8.5 per cent of the overall population.

In terms of vaccination rollouts, the UK is further ahead than the US in terms of percentage of the population vaccinated.

Britain has already vaccinated more than 17.2million of its most vulnerable residents since December - more than a quarter of the population.

The US has vaccinated around 61million of its 328million residents, around 18.9 per cent of the population.

Across the globe cases fell by 16 per cent last week and have been in decline for over a month.

World Health Organization (WHO) figures show the number of new Covid cases fell by 16 per cent worldwide last week to 2.7million.
STATEN ISLAND, N.Y.  St. George resident Jody Stoll, 74, a retired DOE Director of Health, college professor, and manager for the Staten Island Partnership for Community Wellness, has been busy providing invaluable assistance to senior citizens: For the past month, she has been helping them secure ever-elusive COVID-19 vaccine appointments.

I like to think of myself as someone who is just trying to make our community a better place in any way the Lord sends me, said the computer-savvy Stoll. I was reduced to tears trying to schedule a Covid vaccine appointment for myself.

I was so sad to think how many seniors in our community who dont have computer skills, are going unserved in need of help getting this life-saving vaccine. After sharing her experience with a group of friends, who now affectionately call themselves Public Health Ladies of Staten Island (PHLOSI), she realized she could do more.

I was lucky enough to use all the public health contacts I have in medical facilities and government agencies to figure out how I could be of service to our seniors, said Stoll. What I love most about Staten Islanders is how we work together and support each other. We are quite a unique community Im happy to be part of.

FIRST STOP: ST. MARYS EPISCOPAL CHURCH AND LINDY FIGUEROA

At first, Stoll reached out to seniors in her church, Saint Marys Episcopal Church, and recruited a dear church friend, Lindy Figueroa, to help with outreach. Calls were made to parishioners; Figueroas husband, Ernie, was even recruited to drive people to their appointments.

Both Ernie and I have had our first shot, which I was able to get through that horrible vaccine finder, said Figueroa, 70, who logged on at midnight to secure appointments for her and her husband. I was unhappy to find that after my first shot I was unable to get a second one on schedule at Port Richmond High School.

Figueroa was sent home and instructed to wait for an email. The first paragraph said to make an appointment, and the second paragraph said they werent making any appointments, she said. Next time I went on there were no appointments available at 28 days, so I had to go to five weeks. My husband got his at 57 Bay St. with no problems.

The bad experience left her with a bad taste; she wanted to help others avoid the appointment challenges she faced. Dealing with the horrible system and realizing that going online was really the only way was what gave us the idea to help other seniors. It was a way we could help.

Figueroa is the phone call and info person, giving Stoll names and info of seniors who need help. Jody lets me know when theres an opening, said Figueroa. Ive called people to go immediately and if theyre elderly and dont drive, my husband will take them.

Were especially happy if its someone who isnt computer savvy or doesnt have the internet, and wouldnt have been able to do it on their own. We started with our church list, and now have branched out.

In less than two weeks, the dynamic duo, plus Ernie, secured appointments for all the seniors who wanted vaccinations.

But they were not satisfied and wanted to help even more seniors. They appealed to Father Trevor Babb from Christ Church, who did more outreach at his church, as well as the Church of the Ascension.

Everyone was so appreciative to get this help and always thanked me. Honesty, it was always a little embarrassing when people thanked me because I do what I do for the love of God and wanting to be a good community neighbor, said Stoll, who asked the folks she helped to refer to her even more people who needed help getting appointments.

Now the phone never stops ringing and she has met wonderful people, including Lajuana Archibald, First Lady of Fellowship Baptist Church; her husband Rev. Alfredo Archibald, is the Pastor.

This amazing women single handily has done outreach in her community that is nothing less than astonishing, sending me more than 50 people who needed help, said Lajuana Archibald.

SECURING VACCINE APPOINTMENTS IS A TIME-CONSUMING ENDEAVOR

When Stoll first started helping seniors secure appointments, she worked about three hours a day. Now, its a full time job. Some days I go to bed with my laptop on the night stand because the calls just do no stop, said Stoll, who now takes calls seven days a week. If I can reduce someones anxiety about getting a vaccination, well then, Im fine with whenever they call.

Occasionally, Stoll is tasked with telling seniors seeking her help that more time is needed to secure appointments. But thats fine with her. To me the most important rule in community health work is being transparent and always keeping people in the loop, she said.

You can only get to trust through being transparent and telling the truth. In public health your reputation is your calling card it opens or closes doors. Im blessed, people know me on this Island and have been very generous with their help.

Stoll believes that gratitude is expressed in action, by extending yourself to others, and paying it forward by referring more people who need help.

Every time I get a call from someone and they start off saying, I got your numbers from my neighbor/friend/family member; I need help getting a Covid vaccine appointment, that to me is someone sending me a thank you.

Jody Stoll, at left, with her best friend, Diane Arneth, Executive Director of Community Health Action of Staten Island. (Family photo)

I AM A BLESSED PERSON

Stoll wakes up everyday grateful. I am a blessed person. Every morning, I thank the Lord. I have a wonderful support system of family, friends, neighbors and a faith community that keep me going, she said. My joy comes from being of service.

Im a grandparent and when I feel like I need a lift, I just pick up my cellphone and call my seven-year-old granddaughter, Natalie, who never fails to give me a pickup and make me laugh.

Diane Arneth, Executive Director of Community Health Action of Staten Island, is Stolls best friend. Jodys work has been nothing short of a miracle for those struggling to get access to the COVID vaccine, said Arneth.

Older Staten Islanders and those with serious chronic illnesses have faced sometimes insurmountable challenges due to confusing guidelines, frustrating web-based appointment systems and lack of technology or computer literacy to navigate all this, Arneth continued.

We have nicknamed her the Vaccine Fairy as she works her magic to get the most vulnerable and disenfranchised folks in our community vaccinated and protected.

Stoll believes its just a matter of time when Covid is history. Were still in it but so far Ive learned that everyone of us can make a difference and make our community a better place to live, she said.

All around me I see the good that people do, from neighbors shoveling out their neighbors to people donating to food pantries. Be observant and look for opportunities to make a positive difference in your community.
Theatrical megahit Harry Potter and the Cursed Child returns for its first performances in a year on Thursday. But not even the boy wizard can magic away the state governments COVID-19 restrictions. The government had assured uber producer Michael Cassel and his team that the opening night on Thursday at the Marriner Groups Princess Theatre could be held under COVID-normal capacity of 85 per cent.

But on Monday morning Martin Foleys Department of Health told executives that the theatre was only allowed to open at circuit breaker 50 per cent capacity. Fridays box office would also be stung because the play is performed as a two-parter.

Its disappointing but there are bigger things at play, Cassel said. I think everyone would have liked to have had more notice than this, but were dealing with something thats continuing to evolve and we just have to take it on the chin.

Cassel isnt prepared to say just how big a hit the capacity cutback would have on the production, but said it was a financial imperative Potter was performed to a theatre at 85 per cent capacity. So 50 per cent can hardly be profitable.

The states creative industries hit hard by COVID restrictions have been voting with their feet, with Melbourne based television productions including Tens The Masked Singer and Nines Australian Ninja Warrior relocating to more reliable Sydney.
BOTHELL, Wash., Feb. 22, 2021 /PRNewswire/ -- FUJIFILM Sonosite, Inc., the world leader in point-of-care ultrasound solutions, announced today that Kaweah Delta Medical Center's Emergency Department has gone live with Sonosite Synchronicity, a comprehensive point-of-care ultrasound (POCUS) workflow solution. Sonosite Synchronicity software helps point-of-care clinicians meet administrative challenges by enabling standardized remote workflows related to credentialing, quality assurance (QA), and coding, while ultimately improving patient care.

Maintaining efficiency in an unplanned work environment like an Emergency Department is no easy task. "On day one go-live, our staff could use Synchronicity. It was easy to use and intuitive," said Dr. John Hipskind, MD, FACEP Point of Care Ultrasound Director for the Emergency Department at Kaweah Delta in Visalia, California. "Because Synchronicity has a shallow learning curve, our emergency and off-service residents like surgery residents can do an ultrasound with minimal assistance. The study becomes part of the patient's chart, they're reviewable and can be coded. This is important for both residency programs and accredited Trauma Centers."

Successful implementation of an emergency department point of care ultrasound program requires seamless hospital integration and remote workflows. "It provides for better information transmission across the board," said Doug Leeper, Vice President and Chief Information Officer at Kaweah Delta. "Not only does it allow us to more effectively use ultrasound, which is better for patient care, it allows to responsibly capture revenue as an organization."

Kaweah Delta Medical Center Preliminary Exam Volumes

Month ED Volumes POCUS Billing June 2020 -16% +350% July 2020 -13% +160% August 2020 -21% +143%

Sonosite Synchronicity workflow software, which was developed in close collaboration with Fujifilm's leading enterprise imaging division, is designed to help healthcare organizations optimize workflows, maximize financial return, improve quality assurance efficiency, and streamline credentialing processes. "Quality Assurance is real-time with Synchronicity. QA was cumbersome and delayed with our previous POCUS workflow system. With Synchronicity QA feedback can be provided rapidly and emailed with one click," Dr. Hipskind, said.

"The implementation and customer support from Fujifilm Sonosite has been comprehensive and collaborative," Hipskind said. "With any new system roll-out, minimal technical issues are to be expected. With Synchronicity, we had a smooth seamless go-live without disruption. I couldn't ask for a better partnership."

To learn more about Sonosite Synchronicity, visit www.sonosite.com/synchronicity.

About Fujifilm

FUJIFILM Sonosite, Inc. is the innovator and world leader in bedside and point-of-care ultrasound, and an industry leader in ultra-high-frequency micro-ultrasound technology. Headquartered near Seattle, the company is represented by a global distribution network in over 100 countries. Sonosite's portable, compact systems are expanding the use of ultrasound across the clinical spectrum by cost-effectively bringing high-performance ultrasound to the point of patient care.

FUJIFILM Holdings Corporation in Tokyo, Japan, brings innovative solutions to a broad range of global industries by leveraging its depth of knowledge and fundamental technologies derived from photographic film. Its proprietary core technologies contribute to the fields of healthcare, graphic systems, highly functional materials, optical devices, digital imaging, and document products. These products and services are based on their extensive portfolio of chemical, mechanical, optical, electronic, and imaging technologies. Fujifilm is committed to responsible environmental stewardship and good corporate citizenship.

About Kaweah Delta

Kaweah Delta Medical Center is a hybrid community and academic medical center serving a diverse patient population. Kaweah Delta's Emergency Department (ED) has a strong Emergency Medicine (EM) residency program, is an ACS Verified Level 3 Trauma Center and has an annual volume of more than 90,000 patients. Kaweah Delta is an ACEP Clinically Accredited Ultrasound Program, has an Ultrasound Fellowship and a comprehensive Graduate Medical Education ultrasound program. Kaweah Delta's Emergency Department is committed to creating an ever-improving learning environment, making the institution an ideal site for residents seeking to train in Emergency Medicine.

SOURCE FUJIFILM Sonosite, Inc.
Steady earnings growth boosted Indian companies  ability to service debt in the December quarter despite a higher interest outgo, an analysis of corporate earnings showed.

Companies raised revenue and squeezed costs in the past two quarters, analysts said, resulting in significant operating leverage. As business rebounded, working capital requirements grew as well, leading to a higher interest outgo.

Also Read | How to make Indias bad bank workable

A Mint analysis of Capitaline data showed that the interest coverage ratio (ICR) of 324 companies in the BSE 500 index rose to an 11-quarter high of 4.46 in the December quarter, compared with 3.87 in the September quarter and 3.30 in the December quarter of the previous fiscal. The ratio is derived by dividing a companys Ebitda (earnings before interest, taxes, depreciation and amortization) by its interest cost. A higher ratio indicates a better capability to pay interest from operating earnings. The analysis excludes banking, financial services and insurance (BFSI) and oil and gas companies as they follow a different business model.

According to Avneesh Sukhija, a senior financial analyst at BNP Paribas India, the reopening of the economy helped companies across sectors recover to pre-pandemic levels. He said that the most stressed sectors such as steel, construction, real estate and manufacturing reported sales that were near or back to pre-pandemic levels, while indicators such as passenger vehicle sales, freight traffic, electricity demand and real estate volume offtake started reflecting normalcy in Q3. Cash flow was back in the system, implying sufficient liquidity and, to a certain extent, lower receivables. In our view, all of the above combined had a significant impact on companies debt-servicing ability," Sukhija said.

View Full Image Paras Jain/Mint





Interactions with the regional heads of various banks suggested that promoters had started monetizing their non-core assets to meet debt service obligations, Sukhija said.

Most large private banks in BNP Paribas Indias coverage reported a significantly low restructured bookless than 100 basis points (bps) in the December quarter as against the average phase-two moratorium book of 17% for key banks.

Companies also dipped into savings to service debt, Sukhija said, given greater clarity on cash flows as the broader economy gathered steam.

Given that the moratorium expired in August 2020, the Q3 ICR is an indication of interest cover without the benefit of the moratorium, showing an improving trend. Nonetheless, given that the improvement in ICR was partially driven by earnings improvement on the back of cost-cutting measures, etc., this can moderate to some extent going forward. Additionally, with commodity headwinds emerging, there can be further pressure on earnings, which will again lead to some moderation in ICR over the near to medium term," said Shamsher Dewan, group head-corporate sector ratings at ICRA Ltd.

Adjusted net profit growth (for one-time loss or one-time profit) of these 324 companies was at a 25-quarter high of 50.13% in Q3FY21, while net sales growth was the highest in seven quarters at 7.99%.

Despite low interest rates, interest outgo rose due to greater working capital borrowings. Interest paid by these companies grew 6.89% from a year ago in Q3, the highest quarterly growth in this fiscal. In the September quarter, it was down 2.09% while it was up 12.44% in the December quarter of the last financial year.

According to bankers, an increase in production in the December quarter led to higher utilization of existing working capital limits. In fact, the Reserve Bank of India (RBI) pointed out in its February policy that capacity utilization in the manufacturing sector in the second quarter of this financial year was at 63.3%, up from 47.3% in the preceding quarter.

Experts said this trend continued in the December quarter. There is a direct correlation with capacity utilization. That leads to companies drawing higher working capital, and it does not mean fresh capex is happening," said a senior banker at a private sector bank.

The banker added that when working capital utilization goes up, interest cost goes up. It is not like they have taken new loans; it is only the utilization of existing limits that has led to this," he said.

Other experts said the rise in interest cost is not surprising and is in line with the credit growth in the same period.

To be sure, interest cost has remained benign in Q3 as well, with RBI sticking to its easy money policy.

The central bank has lowered its repo rate by 115 basis points (bps) since March 2020, and even while trying to wean the economy off this liquidity, it assured the markets of continued support.

Bank credit grew by 6.7% year-on-year as of December 2020. Corporate bond outstanding likely grew in double digits. Put together, this could tie-in with the 6.9% year-on-year growth in interest costs that you see, despite lower interest rates," said Ananth Narayan, associate professor at SP Jain Institute of Management and Research.

The central bank has projected the economy to expand 10.5% in the coming financial year of 2021-22 based on its reading of strengthening growth impulses that include higher capacity utilization and energy demand.

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It's one of the most important and memorable challenges of RuPaul's Drag Race.

And Tayce owned Drag Race UK's Snatch Game on Friday with a spot on impersonation of Jane Turner's famous Kath & Kim character Kath Day-Knight.

At one point the Welsh beauty even called host RuPaul 'a great hunk of spunk' in a flawless Australian accent.

Dead ringer: Tayce owned Drag Race UK's Snatch Game on Friday with a spot-on impersonation of Jane Turner's famous Kath & Kim character Kath Day-Knight

Tayce obviously sensed she had nailed the impression and called on another of Kath's catchphrases when she told Ru, 'I could feel it in my waters that I was going to get this right.'

However, she feigned offense when Ru asked her what she meant when she called a man a 'chook,' setting up another classic Jane Turner moment.

'Excuse me, Ru. Are you talking about my chooky neck?' Tayce asked, bobbing her head in a distinctly fowl-like manner, exactly like Kath in one of the Australian sitcom's most memorable scenes.

Noice! At one point, the Welsh beauty even called host RuPaul 'a great hunk of spunk' in a flawless Australian accent

The judges clearly loved what the drag queen brought to the table, with Michelle Visage commenting, 'She freakin nailed it.'

RuPaul added: 'Other people who have done characters like that would just rely totally on the material, but she sat into the material. That made it not just an imitation.'

Tayce took to Instagram on Sunday to sum up her feelings on her performance.

Excuse moi? However, she feigned offense when Ru asked her what she meant when she called a man a 'chook,' setting up another classic Jane Turner moment

'I had [too] much fun bringing the iconic Kath Day-Knight to @dragraceukbbc kath and [Kim] is one of my all time favourite shows!' she wrote.

Before adding: 'I binge watch it probably once a year!'

Other contestants' impressions included Tia Kofi mimicking Spice Girls' Mel B, while Bimini Bon Boulash' took on media personality Katie Price.
Monday, February 22, 2021

Raine Dalrymple of www.SightBeyondSight.org states: "It takes a certain amount of financial stability, supporting and caring for children. In the forefront, if we raising an infant, there are daily and monthly expenses that are required to care for the baby. There are educational investments to begin paying into, in order to prepare for college and university. This doesn't even include specialty education experiences in a Montessori or daycare pre-school set-up while working yourself. There may also be additional childcare expenses if you choose to have them cared for at home while you are working, or before and after school care. Some families also consider live in nanny support to assist with care, meals and cleaning. Income and expenses are deciding factors in whether to have a career or stay home to care for your child. Planning is crucial to the decision making process when it comes to childcare expenses. However, don't panic if things don't work out as planned. Taking on an optimistic approach, being resourceful and reaching out for support, will help to get just about any situation back on track when things go awry."

** In an www.Bloomberg.com article

"Indonesia Wants Fewer Babies. But Is It a Good Idea?...

The world's fourth-most populous nation plans to tap the brakes on births. That might become a curse." Source credits: https://www.bloomberg.com/opinion/articles/2021-02-18/indonesia-wants-fewer-babies-but-is-it-a-good-idea

** Then, in an www.EurekaAlert!.edu article

"Toddler sleep patterns matter: UD study links inconsistent sleep times to higher body mass index (BMI) percentiles." Source credits: https://www.eurekalert.org/pub_releases/2021-02/uod-tsp022221.php

** And, in the www.TheConversation.com article...

"In mice, a mother's love comes from the gut." Source credits: https://theconversation.com/in-mice-a-mothers-love-comes-from-the-gut-154565

** Then, in an article from www.UChicago.edu ...

"The parenting trap: For some parents, life is a rat race they want their children to win. For others, it's a race they've already lost. Why macroeconomics plays a role."

** And, in an article from www.EOS.org ...

"Perspectives on Parenting While Researching (During a Pandemic)...Four Earth scientists and a psychologist reflect on balancing parenthood and professional careers in academia amid the COVID-19 pandemic." Source credits: https://eos.org/opinions/perspectives-on-parenting-while-researching-during-a-pandemic

** And, then in another article from www.COM.ph ...

"Positive parenting needed to combat rising teenage pregnancies DSWD" Source credits: https://mb.com.ph/2021/02/21/positive-parenting-needed-to-combat-rising-teenage-pregnancies-dswd/

** And, in an article on www.PopSugar.com ...

"Allen v. Farrow: Woody Allen and Mia Farrow's Former Family Structure Is Complicated." Source credits: https://www.popsugar.com/celebrity/how-many-kids-do-woody-allen-mia-farrow-have-48172382

** Finally, in article from the www.NYTimes.com 

"Is this the end of tipping? [...restaurants may or may not suffer as pandemic may or may not continue]" Source credits: https://www.nytimes.com/2021/02/21/business/pandemic-restaurant-tipping.html

Thus Behold I present to thee, thou, and/or such and such...

Sight Beyond Sight: Intuitive Consciousness Empowerment Kindle Edition: https://www.amazon.com/Sight-Beyond-Intuitive-Consciousness-Empowerment-ebook/dp/B08QTT1NT8/ref=sr_1_1?dchild=1&keywords=Raine+Dalrymple&qid=1614028102&sr=8-1 Get your copy today.

Hi, I'm Jon Paul, PR Guy of www.CharmWishPR.com . Here's my client Raine Dalrymple of www.SightBeyondSight.org to answer your question...

I am Raine Dalrymple. My book is, "Sight Beyond Sight." I am the founder and CEO of Sight Beyond Sight. I have been interviewed by Rick Tobin of Destiny Echoes, via podcast. I've also been interviewed in a Podcast by Victoria Lynn Weston of Ayrial.

Listening to motivational videos is crucial to calibrating the brain towards a success mindset. This creates an empowerment perspective that stirs a success mentality.

Create a positive self-talk language that you repeat daily. Mantras that encourage your mind/emotion/spirit, such as, "I accept doors of opportunity that open up for me," have power in changing your life.

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Raine has been in education for two decades, teaching in trauma, anxiety, ptsd etc, as well as in skill development in employment and skill building. She has worked with developmental disabilities, children, youth and adults, in behavioural consulting, incorporating creativity with all genres. In her early adult years she began having visions, which opened her up to the mystical world beyond. Intuition now guides her in her daily life. As the author of, "Sight Beyond Sight," she shares her encounters and experiences to empower others to expand in the gift of Consciousness. She has been featured on podcast shows with Ayrial and Destiny Echoes in the U.S. Avid readers of her new book release say, "I haven't been able to put it down." Passionate about offering guidance in intuitive readings and support in classes and programs globally, she can be reached by phone, email or at her website.

Thank You Raine for your response. Hi, Jon Paul, PR Guy here. For an epic interview, please contact me at www.charmwishpr.com . And, I'll share Raine Dalrymple's www.sightbeyondsight.org Bio, pics, and etc. to help your readers live the best life possible.







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This multicore was sent to the seafloor to collect water samples from porewaters and take sediment cores.

Written By: Carlyn Scott, Science Communication Assistant at USF CMS

On the morning of November 30, 2020 the R/V Sally Ride of San Diego disembarked for a nine-day cruise in the Pacific Ocean. On board were three members of Robert Byrnes chemical oceanography lab at the USF CMS: grad students Katelyn Schockman and Kalla Fleger and researcher Sherwood Liu, PhD.

They were excited for the start of the voyage itself, but it had not been the beginning of their cruise journey. Thanks to COVID, that journey began much earlier.

Cruises in the time of COVID require special protocols and enhanced protection of crew members to ensure there would be no infections on board. As the first cruise since the beginning of the pandemic to include cross-country travel, the protocols were enhanced. For the USF crew, this meant quarantining at home in Florida for a week, testing negative, flying to San Diego, disembarking from the plane and immediately getting tested - luggage in tow.

After arriving in California, there was still another round of quarantine, where crew members spent a week isolated in a hotel in San Diego, waiting on negative tests and teleconferencing  all while living in the same hotel -- about the cruise plan they would eventually follow when finally, safely, on board.

For the USF members contingent of the crew, which included scientists from Cal State and USC, morale was high despite less than ideal circumstances.

Schockman, a PhD student, was cheery about spending Thanksgiving in a hotel room. It was awesome, we got a new menu every day, she said. The anticipation of being on the cruise was a helpful light at the end of the quarantine bubble, she said, adding, If you had to be quarantined, San Diego is a pretty nice spot to do it.

For PhD student Kalla Fleger, the wait was worth the experience at sea. It was her first research cruise. She knew there was a lot to learn but running on a treadmill, for example, was not a challenge shed anticipated. Its a lot of trying to keep your balance and not running into the front of or off the treadmill when the waves would roll. It was fun!

The research goal of the cruise was to test a piece of equipment that Researcher and Lab Manager of the CO2 Chemistry Lab Sherwood Liu, PhD, had specifically designed for this collaborative project with California State University and University of Southern California. The project was a few years in the making. They called on us because of our reputation in measuring pH and TA (total alkalinity) and challenged us to measure these from extracted water with a very small sample size, said Liu.

MICA, or multiparameter inorganic carbon analyzer, was developed by Liu and is used to measure multiple carbon parameters such as pH, TA, and dissolved inorganic carbon within marine environments.

Lius goal was to alter the already successful MICA instrument he had developed in Byrnes Lab. We met their challenge by producing mv-MICA instrument (minimal volume multiparameter inorganic carbon analyzer), he said.

This cruise was the first to test the new technology, but it will not be the last, as the group from CMS plans to join three longer cruises in different regions, including an international collaboration in Costa Rica.

The government has made a provision of Rs 1,175 crores in the state budget presented in the assembly on Monday for different projects.

There is a provision of Rs 597 crore for the Kanpur project in the budget presented by Finance Minister Suresh Khanna.

A target for starting the trial run of the first section between IIT Kanpur and Moti Jheel has been set from July 31 and the commercial run from November 30. Besides, there is a provision of Rs 478 crore for the Agra project in the budget.

The target for starting the trial run of the first phase of the project from Taj East gate to Jama Masjid has been set for July 31, while its commercial run from November 30. Rs 100 crore have been earmarked for Varanasi, Gorakhpur and other metro rail projects in the budget.

The government has also made a provision of Rs 1,326 crore for construction of the Delhi- Ghaziabad-Meerut RRTS corridor in thebudget.

(Only the headline and picture of this report may have been reworked by the Business Standard staff; the rest of the content is auto-generated from a syndicated feed.)
The government in fell on Monday after Chief Minister resigned ahead of the confidence vote in the Assembly with the coalition ministry reduced to a minority due to a spate of resignations of party MLAs and a legislator recently.

Narayanasamy met Lt Governor Tamilisai Soundararajan and submitted the resignation of his four-member Cabinet, ahead of the Assembly elections due in April-May.

With the exit of the government here, Punjab, Rajasthan and Chhattisgarh are the only three states in the country ruled by the party on its own.

Holding that Speaker V P Sivakolundhu did not put to vote the motion moved by him for a confidence vote, the veteran said the former's ruling that it stood defeated was incorrect and invalid.

Legal experts would be consulted on the matter, he said while dubbing the turn of events, surrounding the issue of voting rights of nominated members, in this case, as a murder of democracy. chief M K Stalin, whose party is an ally of the Congress here, also slammed the opposition for the fall of the government and hailed Narayanasamy for upholding democracy.

Earlier, Narayanasamy met Soundararajan and submitted the resignation of his cabinet, even as the ruling sides strength slid to 11 as against the Oppositions 14. The Opposition, led by NR Congress chief and Leader of Opposition N Rangasamy, said it had no plans to stake claim to form government as of now and that discussions would be held.

Soundararajan had last week summoned the Assemblys one day special session, mandating its agenda should be confined only to trust vote after the Opposition petitioned her saying the government had been reduced to a minority due to the resignations. A fresh bout of resignations on Sunday took the tally in the last few days to three and the cumulative since last month to six.

Subsequently, the party position in the assembly was: Congress (nine, including Speaker), two, All-India NR Congress seven, four, three (all nominated with voting rights) and one independent who has supported the government. There are seven vacancies.

Those who had resigned included former ministers A Namassivayam (now in BJP) and Malladi Krishna Rao.

On Monday, after mounting an attack on the Narendra Modi-led Centre and former Lt Governor Kiran Bedi with whom he had frequent run-ins on administrative matters, Narayanasamy led his colleagues out of the Assembly after a debate over the rights of nominated members to vote during the floor test.





ALSO READ: Amarinder to lead party in assembly polls next year: Punjab Congress chief

Subsequently, Sivakolundhu announced that the motion for confidence vote moved by the chief minister in the morning was defeated, even as it was not taken up for either voice vote or division.

Our view that only the elected members can vote in the House was not accepted by the Speaker. So we walked out of the assembly and met the Lt Governor and gave resignation letter of my Cabinet, Narayanasamy, accompanied by his ministers, Congress, and DMK MLAs, besides the independent legislator who had earlier supported the government, said.

It was now up to Soundararajan to decide on their resignation, he added.

Training his guns against the Speaker, Narayanasamy wondered why he had not put the motion for confidence to vote, while insisting the nominated members had no voting rights. Government whip R K R Anandaraman raised the voting rights issue with the Speaker but he did not reply, he added.

And since he did not accept it, I said we are walking out and going to meet the LG and submit resignation. But the Speaker after the walkout said the motion failed. He did not follow the rules... there should have been voting by Speaker even if we had walked out, he said.

The Speaker should have considered Opposition votes against the motion and then declare it has been defeated, he said.

This was incorrect under the procedure and the speaker should have put the motion to voting even if there was an abstention either by Treasury or opposition benches and then he can say whether it was carried or rejected.

This procedure he didn't follow. Therefore the Speakers ruling is incorrect and invalid, Narayanasamy said.

Since it was a legal issue, experts will be consulted, he added.

Two of the nominated members did not even secure deposit in the past election, one getting 165 votes, but using the three people the government at the Centre, AINRC and wanted to dislodge our government.

In that they succeeded (today) by using the voting power given to these three nominated MLAs. This is murder of democracy, Narayanasamy said, adding, the people of and the country will teach them a lesson.
WesternU Professor Michel Baudry, PhD, was inducted as a Fellow of the American Association for the Advancement of Science. (Jeff Malet, WesternU) I love my research. I love the process. I love the challenges and the Eureka moments, when you see something no one has ever seen before."-WesternU Professor Michel Baudry

In a journey of discovery that has spanned from France to Southern California, Western University of Health Sciences Graduate College of Biomedical Sciences Professor Michel Baudry, PhD, has reached a pivotal moment in his career.

Baudry was inducted as a Fellow of the American Association for the Advancement of Science (AAAS) on Feb. 8, 2021. This prestigious honor recognizes 40 years of achievement in neuroscience and comes at a momentous time in the development of his lifes work.

His research into the mechanisms of learning and memory - specifically in the roles of the calcium-dependent proteases calpain-1 and calpain-2 in neuroprotection and neurodegeneration - has culminated in the development of a molecule that could have wide-ranging impact on treating concussions and other traumatic brain injuries.

We have now reached a point with our research where we are ready to move into translation, and we hope to start clinical trials in 2022, Baudry said. So all these years of hard work not only are being recognized by my peers, but have also led to something that could have broad societal implications and health care implications. As we get older, what we want people to see is not only the body of work we have done, but also the translation of this body of work.

Baudry was elected as an AAAS Fellow in the Section on Neuroscience for distinguished contributions to the field of molecular and translational neuroscience, in particular, to the understanding of the roles of calpain-1 and calpain-2 in synaptic plasticity and neurodegeneration.

Becoming an AAAS Fellow is also a message for the younger generation, Baudry said. The process works. You do research, you get recognized for your work, he said.

In his 42 years as a researcher, he has worked with 18 postdocs, 35 graduate students, many undergraduates and obtained more than $12 million in grants and contracts. He has a number of WesternU students working in his lab, as well as undergraduates from neighboring institutions.

This is also part of my mission to train and inform the next generation of scientists, he said. I love graduate students. I do think this is an important part of what we do, to not only to do science, but also to educate and train the next generation of scientists. Ultimately what you want is when these students graduate, they have learned the research process. They learned that research is exciting and that research works. The point is you make discoveries no one has made before.

Baudry earned his PhD in France in 1977 and moved to the U.S. in 1978 for postdoctoral work at the University of California, Irvine with Dr. Gary Lynch. He wanted to understand the molecular mechanism of Long-Term Potentiation (LTP), a cellular model of learning and memory. He moved on to USC from 1989-2011, with many ups and downs as he explored avenues, ran into dead ends, and eventually found the right path  calpain.

Caleb Finch, PhD, Professor and ARCO/William F. Kieschnick Chair in the Neurobiology of Aging at the USC Leonard Davis School of Gerontology, has been a colleague and collaborator of Baudrys for 45 years, first meeting when Baudry was at UC Irvine and then working together when both were at USC.

Hes a person of wonderful intellectual energy, very positive, and a great person to sit down and design experiments with, look at difficult data, or have a glass of wine with at the end of the day, Finch said. He represents the joie de vivre of the French culture both intellectually and socially.

Baudry has had tremendous successes through the years, but science is also full of gut-wrenching disappointments, Finch said.

If every experiment worked, youre not doing interesting experiments, he said. (Baudry) has done a lot of difficult, probing, pioneering experiments that had multiple interpretations that required more experiments to dig into the actual mechanisms.

Michel is clearly among the top 100 neuroscientists who really moved the field forward, Finch added. And there are probably 50,000 neuroscientists worldwide right now.

Baudry joined WesternU in 2012, and his research into the roles of calpain-1 and calpain-2 continued to produce results using a mouse model.

We found calpain-1 is neuroprotective. You need calpain-1 to protect and calpain-2 is critical for neurodegeneration, Baudry said. If we have a selected way to inhibit calpain-2, this inhibitor could have two effects. It could facilitate learning and it could be neuroprotective when you have an insult to the brain.

Starting a Phase I clinical trial in 2022 might allow his discovery to be brought to market as a neuroprotector.

We have shown we can protect mice from the pathological consequences of concussion and traumatic brain injury. Now we need to show it works in humans. That is the only thing left for me to do. Once we do that, I can just take a big break, Baudry said. How many scientists have the ability to get a shot on goal? I have a shot on goal. Now we can prove or disprove that what we found in animals is working on humans. I cannot wait to be in the clinic.

I love my research. I love the process. I love the challenges and the Eureka moments, when you see something no one has ever seen before, Baudry said. Thats the reward. The reward is indeed the discovery. Thats exciting.


The AstraZeneca coronavirus vaccine (CoviShield) could be delivered to Ukraine on Tuesday, February 23, according to Deputy Head of the President's Office Kyrylo Tymoshenko.

He said this at a briefing within the All-Ukrainian Forum "Ukraine 30. Infrastructure" in Kyiv on Monday, February 22, according to an Ukrinform correspondent.

"The vaccine is already on its way [to Ukraine]. I hope it will arrive in Ukraine in the morning," Tymoshenko said.

Minister of Health Maksym Stepanov said on February 21 that he personally supervised the shipment to Ukraine of the first batch of AstraZeneca vaccine (CoviShield) from a manufacturing plant in the Indian city of Pune. According to him, 500,000 doses will first be transported to Mumbai, then the plane will stop in Istanbul, and "the vaccine will arrive in Ukraine in the next few days."

Some 1,307,662 cases of COVID-19 were confirmed in Ukraine as of February 22, including 3,206 new cases over the past 24 hours.
Aussies have shared the dishes they absolutely hated as children, and why they can't eat them even today.

Posting on Facebook, hundreds of men and women revealed why they can't stand meals including ham steaks topped with a pineapple ring, apricot chicken, rice pudding and pork chops.

One of the most popular foods that people said they can no longer eat is ham with pineapple and a slice of cheese.

'We had it served with mashed potato,' one commenter wrote. 'Anything with mashed potato was gross.'

Aussies have shared the dishes they absolutely hated as children, and why they can't even eat them now, including a ham steak topped with pineapple (stock image)

Others listed steak and kidney pie, especially when it was served with lumpy mashed potato and frozen vegetables (stock image)

Others highlighted steak and kidney pie with beans as the meal they can no longer stand.

'Anything with frozen veggies sets me off. I still can't eat peas, and I've been a chef for 20 years!' one person wrote.

'Corned beef and meatloaf! Both disgusting, can't even stand the smell of them now,' another added.

Pork chops (stock image) came up frequently, while many said they mainly criticise the fact that everything was 'overcooked' by their parents

It wasn't just main meals that Aussies took issues with, but what their parents used to serve for dessert too.

Countless people took issue with the rice pudding their mum and dad used to give them, while another said the smell of German chocolate cake makes her 'ill'.

'The problem was not the food, it was the terrible method of overcooking everything,' one person posted.

'Any food can taste good if cooked right. All red meat was cooked until it was leather and all vegetables boiled until they were mush.'

Others listed desserts as the thing they can no longer stand to go near, including rice pudding (stock image)

Many of the foods listed were quite dated including liver, ox's tongue, lamb kidneys and tripe.

'Anything on the bone grosses me out,' one person wrote.

'My dad and brothers would always gross me out by gnawing and sucking on the bone (chops, cutlets and drumsticks/wings). So bloody disgusting and definitely scarred me for life.'

Do you have a food you used to be served as a child and can no longer stand? Email FemailAU@mailonline.com
Dear Annie: Please help me. I am in my mid-40s and have been with a man for seven and a half years. He has four children who I absolutely adore. His youngest is 12. We started dating when she turned 5. We have had them full time for the past seven years. I have gotten pregnant five times with this man. There were three miscarriages and two other babies who passed away due to complications at birth. My son had no lungs; he was born at 20 weeks. My daughter passed away in 2017 at eight days old.

This man has never had a single conversation with me about any of the babies that passed away. But he will talk to family members and co-workers freely about it.

He cheated on me at least two times that I know of, though he denies it to this day.

This past October, I moved six hours away from our home in Massachusetts up to the Canadian border. He and the kids were supposed to come, but he pulled out at the last minute and has left me in limbo with where we stand.

I cry a lot over missing the older kids back home.

Please help me to understand why Im holding onto something that is a lost cause.

In addition to being untrustworthy, untruthful and uncommunicative, he is not very kind, appreciative or affectionate toward me. He would often diminish my feelings and make me second-guess my own feelings. He has never stuck up for me or backed me up, ever.

When I try to communicate with him, Ill say something like, Hey, can we talk? and he says, We are talking.

Not only did I take care of him and his kids for the past seven years. I also drove him to work and picked him up everyday with not so much as a thank you.

My main question is, what in the world is wrong with me? Why am I more concerned with what he wants than what I want? Why am I holding on to a loveless, unhappy relationship?

I love living up North. Its beautiful. I have no intention of ever going back to Massachusetts. I truly feel like I lived in a foreign land my whole life and Im finally home.

Please give it to me straight. I have been through a lot. I can handle it. -- Feeling Sad in Northern Maine

Annie Lane writes the Dear Annie advice column.

Dear Feeling Sad in Northern Maine: You have already had to handle a great deal of neglect and abuse in your relationship, and now it is time to exit stage left as soon as possible. Im almost positive you know the answer to your question, but you have to say to yourself, Enough is enough. You are holding onto this loveless and unhappy marriage because it has become a habit.

It is difficult to change even if we know that changing is the best thing for ourselves. The very fact you wrote me this letter signals that you are ready for a new beginning. Leaving him will take courage and might be very uncomfortable, but like most worthwhile endeavors, if you put in the commitment and hard work, the payoff will be immense. You will no longer have to suffer.

Seeking the help of a trained professional therapist will help you move forward powerfully, learn more about setting boundaries and discover how worthy you are of love and respect.

Ask Me Anything: A Year of Advice From Dear Annie is out now! Annie Lanes debut book -- featuring favorite columns on love, friendship, family and etiquette -- is available as a paperback and e-book. Visit http://www.creatorspublishing.com for more information. Send your questions for Annie Lane to dearannie@creators.com.

COPYRIGHT 2021 CREATORS.COM

Read more advice:

Ask Amy: Separated soulmates are eager to connect

Dear Annie: Looking to hop off the hamster wheel

Dear Abby: Children cut off stepmother with dads power of attorney
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Source: Xinhua| 2021-02-22 19:42:17|Editor: huaxia

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ISTANBUL, Feb. 22 (Xinhua) -- The Turkish aluminum sector expects significant growth in the upcoming period despite setbacks related to the COVID-19 pandemic, Ismail Gulle, chairman of the Turkish Exporters Assembly, told Xinhua on Monday.

"We foresee that aluminum will be used in many fields, from construction to automotive, from machinery to defense sector, with its superior properties in the coming years," Gulle said.

The chairman said European countries predict that by 2030, aluminum use will grow by 40 percent in transportation, 25 percent in construction, and 20 percent in electricity and machinery.

"We see a 47-percent increase in knitted rope, 13 percent in rod profile, and 12 percent in aluminum casting and kitchenware," he noted, speaking of the recent expansion of the sector in the country.

Germany, the United States, and Iraq are among Turkey's main export markets, the assembly revealed.

Gulle mentioned increasing freight charges and container shortage are the main setbacks.

"Problems regarding this issue continue. Millions of U.S. dollars' worth of goods are having loading-related troubles," Gulle said.

The main reason behind these challenges was the pandemic-related conditions, which limited the logistic and shipment across the world, according to the chairman.

In 2020, the Turkish aluminum sector achieved an export valued 2.9 billion dollars despite the pandemic, and planned to increase this figure to 3.5 billion dollars this year, Gulle said.

Tahsin Oztiryaki, chairman of the Istanbul Ferrous and Non-Ferrous Metals Exporters Association, said at a recent sectoral meeting that the export volume in the aluminum sector reached 288 million dollars in January alone, with a 16 percent year-on-year increase.

"This is a clear indication that the upcoming period will be positive, and the sector will attain its targets," he said. Enditem
A man arrested after a police chase in Kentucky has been charged in a Lancaster City homicide and will be extradited back to Pennsylvania, investigators said Monday.

Isaac Sanchez, 35, is accused in the fatal Oct. 27 shooting of Terrell W. Coley, 36, of Lancaster.

Isaac Sanchez

Police said Coley and a 24-year-old woman were shot around 11:45 a.m. in the 500 block of Manor Street. The woman survived her injuries.

Investigators said Kentucky State Police arrested Sanchez in Hardin County. He was being held in lieu of $100,000 bail on charges filed from the chase.

Sanchez is charged with homicide, attempted homicide, illegal possession of a firearm and carrying a firearm without a license.
New Delhi:

Two Army men, including a major, were killed and another jawan was injured when militants opened fire on a search party of security forces in Shopian district of south Kashmir.

A cordon and search operation was launched by Army in Zaipora area of Shopian during the night following intelligence inputs about the presence of militants there, a police official said.

He said during the search operation, the militants fired upon the party in which three army personnel were injured.

The injured were taken to Armys 92 base hospital here, where two of them, including a major, succumbed, the official said, adding that the other Jawan is undergoing treatment.

In a separate encounter in Jammu and Kashmirs Kulgam, two terrorists were eliminated by security forces at Gopalpura village. 2 AK47 rifles were recovered from the terrorists.

Encounter lasted half an hour, eliminated 2 Hizb-ul-Mujahideen terrorists who were involved in many cases, Shridhar Patil, SSP Kulgam said.

ALSO READ: Fresh protests erupt in valley after LeT militant Abu Dujana encounter

Earlier, fresh protests erupted in Valley on Tuesday after the encounter of LeT terrorist Abu Dujana.

Thousands of Kashmiris hit the streets and started pelting stones on security forces. After the violent protests, authorities on Wednesday imposed restrictions in parts of south Kashmir and the government has ordered the closure of all educational institutions in the valley on Wednesday to avoid escalation of street protests.

Top Lashkar-i-Toiba commander Abu Dujana, a category A+++ terrorist was killed on Tuesday along with his associate in an encounter with government forces in Pulwama district of south Kashmir.

READ: Pulwama encounter: Security forces kill Lashkar's Abu Dujana, Arif

For all the Latest India News, Download News Nation Android and iOS Mobile Apps.
The Marvel Cinematic Universe's superheroes surely have that signature look they always show whenever they face a villain. However, Brie Larson's Captain Marvel flaunted the most innate reaction yet upon seeing Thanos.

During the "Avengers: Infinity War," Captain Marvel was missing in action. But Nick Fury called her back before he became one of the casualties of Mad Titan's snap.

The fight between the superhero and villain became one of the unanswered questions in the film, with most of their viewers asking why the Cap has so much rage for Thanos.

Fortunately, "WandaVision" came and gave light to the query.

Larson's standalone film, "Captain Marvel," introduced Carol Danvers' best friend and fellow Air Force pilot, Maria Rambeau. Maria has a daughter named Monica who followed her mother's footsteps in S.W.O.R.D.

Like Fury, Monica became one of the casualties of the snap and disappeared while looking after her cancer patient mother in the hospital.

Five years later, she returned to life and discovered that her mother died two years after being dusted.

Captain Marvel, unfortunately, failed to witness it.

What "WandaVision" Revealed

Monica's fate has been presented since episode 1 of the Disney+ series.

The events on "WandaVision" happened after Hulk successfully brought back the population from the dust, and it highlighted Monica's life after learning about her mother's death.

Though Thanos did not kill Maria, it is worth noting that her snap devastated the mother. The Mad Titan's action ended up robbing the mother and daughter's time. The event surely enraged Captain Marvel since she saw Maria and Monica as family.

In another news, episode 7 of "WandaVision" showed Darcy (Kat Dennings) got pulled inside the bigger Hex, while Monica and Jimmy's whereabouts remain unknown.

Monica's Real Identity

Aside from revealing the cause of Captain Marvel's rage, the series also disclosed Monica's real identity.

Based on the comic book, it seems like Monica signaled that she had already become the hero Photon. It is worth noting that the character took on the identity of Captain Marvel before Carol Danvers did.

Meanwhile, the character's actress also disclosed that her character will finally discover her and Wanda's parallel experiences.

"So I think that Monica is handling [her grief] in the best way she can. I'm not saying it's the most effective and most therapeutic way, but I do feel like she is trying to reconcile with her own grief by helping Wanda with hers," Teyonah Parris told The Hollywood Reporter.

See Now: Famous Actors Who Turned Down Iconic Movie Roles
Berger said when he read the findings of the first probe, "it was pretty clear to me we needed to do a follow-on...
La police refute des allegations de "tortures" sur des opposants - adakar.com

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News Societe Article Societe La police refute des allegations de "tortures" sur des opposants Publie le lundi 22 fevrier 2021 | information.tv5monde.com

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Ziguinchor : Des blesses graves lors des affrontements entre la police et les populations de Nema 2

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La police senegalaise a dementi des allegations de "tortures" a l'encontre d'opposants interpelles lors de recentes manifestations a Dakar, en rapport avec une plainte pour viol visant une figure de l'opposition Ousmane Sonko.



"Toutes les actions menees lors de ces dites manifestations sont en parfaite conformite avec les lois et reglements et vigueur. Ces supposes cas de torture n'ont ete constates ni par un medecin, encore moins attestes par une decision de justice", a indique la police dans un communique publie samedi soir.



"La police nationale s'inscrit en droite ligne avec les obligations inherentes aux engagements internationaux" contre la torture, ajoute le communique.



Une vingtaine de partisans de Ousmane Sonko ont ete interpelles puis places en detention apres des heurts le 8 fevrier avec la police a Dakar et en province, selon l'entourage de M. Sonko. Certains ont subi des "tortures" durant leur garde a vue a la police, selon leurs proches, des activistes et des responsables de la societe civile.



Des partisans de Sonko s'etaient reunis le 8 fevrier devant son domicile dans le centre de Dakar pour empecher son eventuelle arrestation par la police apres son refus de se rendre a une convocation devant les gendarmes charges de l'enquete liee a la plainte pour viol le visant.



L'Assemblee nationale a forme en debut de semaine une commission ad hoc pour statuer sur une eventuelle levee de son immunite.



Ousmane Sonko, 46 ans, fait l'objet d'une plainte pour viols et menaces de mort deposee par une employee d'un salon de beaute de Dakar dans lequel il allait se faire masser pour, dit-il, soulager ses maux de dos.



M. Sonko, arrive troisieme lors de la presidentielle de 2019 et depute depuis 2017, nie les accusations et crie au complot, ourdi selon lui par le chef de l'Etat Macky Sall pour ruiner ses projets a la presidentielle de 2024.



La plainte contre M. Sonko, 46 ans, a suscite des comparaisons avec les ennuis de Karim Wade, fils et ancien ministre de l'ex-president Abdoulaye Wade, et de Khalifa Sall, maire dechu de Dakar, tous deux frappes par des condamnations pour des malversations financieres et empeches de se presenter a la presidentielle de 2019.



M. Sall, 59 ans, elu en 2012 et reelu en 2019, maintient le flou sur l'eventualite d'une candidature a un troisieme mandat, malgre la limite de deux instauree apres une revision constitutionnelle approuvee en 2016.
Italian ambassador to Congo and policeman killed in attack on UN convoy

The Italian ambassador to the Democratic Republic of Congo and a military policeman travelling with him have been killed in an attack on a United Nations convoy in eastern Congo
As many as 250 street dogs have fallen prey to gastroenteritis caused by 'canine parvovirus'. Majority of the dead canines are pups. Death toll spiralled in the last three days at Bishnupur in Bankura in West Bengal. Veterinarians have suggested home isolation for dogs once they are vaccinated. The highly-contagious virus spreads through direct or indirect contact through faeces.

Veterinarians believe that the sudden spike in parvovirus cases is due to the skipping of timely vaccination amid the coronavirus pandemic. Veterinary doctor Subhash Sarkar told India Today that he received a rush of parvovirus infected dogs in the past two months. "Due to the pandemic, many dogs have not been vaccinated. This year, as vaccination is not completed on time, it is causing chaos. Another issue was the unavailability of vets for vaccination," he said.

The parvovirus is contracted during seasonal change. Symptoms of parvovirus are similar to cholera in humans. Loose motion, blood loss, dehydration and in severe cases, cardiac failure are some of the symptoms.

Dr Gautam Mukherjee said that if a dog is showing symptoms such as not eating, excessive vomiting, diarrhoea then saline must be administered to it. He also suggested home isolation for the dogs once the vaccine is administered.

Moreover, there aren't enough home isolation units for the virus-affected dogs at vet hospitals and clinics in Kolkata. Kolkata Municipal Corporation's dog pound in Dhapa has around 70 isolation units, while organisations such as Love n Care for Animals and Ashari have around 40 isolation units.

Dogs that survive the first three days of the disease usually recover from it. Like coronavirus, canines with mild symptoms can be isolated at home and put on drips at a secluded place.

The disease is not known to pass from dogs to humans and is restricted to canines only.

Also read: Pune imposes new COVID-19 curbs; shuts down schools, colleges till Feb 28

Also read: Australian PM Scott Morrison receives first dose of coronavirus vaccine
San Franciscos Chinatown is the oldest Chinatown in North America and the largest outside of Asia. The rectangular neighborhood of 24 square blocks remains a highly influential enclave of Chinese history and culture, and the community hosts multiple parks, a pair of hospitals, several churches and town squares.

According to a San Francisco Chronicle article from 2017, more people visit the citys Chinatown every year than the Golden Gate Bridge, making it one of the citys most popular tourist destinations.

Chinatown is introduced by the Dragon Gate, south-facing structure at Bush Street and Grant Avenue. It was erected in 1969 as a gift from Taiwan and takes the form of a traditional Chinese pailou. The gate has three portals facing south. Pedestrian portals occupy the eastern and western sides, while the central portal is for automobiles. The western portal features a sculpture of a male lion, as a lioness guards the eastern portal.

Fish (symbolizing prosperity) and dragons (signifying fertility and power) adorn the top of the gate.

A ball representing the Earth stands between the dragons.

Chinatown dates back to the 1850s, when Chinese immigrants first entered the area. The population boomed in the following decades, despite organized bigotry from lawmakers and newspapers. Chinatown became synonymous with vice by the end of the 19th Century, making it a popular tourist destination for working-class whites. The Chinese Exclusion Act of 1882 and the Geary Act reduced the numbers of Chinese allowed into the United States. This lead to Chinatowns population reaching an all-time low in the 1920s.

Chinatown also suffered greatly during the 1906 earthquake and fire. The natural disaster destroyed the entire neighborhood. City leaders suggested several plans for relocating Chinese residents, but ultimately the residents prevailed and Chinatown was rebuilt by 1908. City planners embraced Chinese architectural influences while rebuilding Chinatown and by 1947 the neighborhood had cemented itself as a tourist destination and growing community.

Famed architect Julia Morgan designed a Young Womens Christian Association building in 1932 at 965 Clay St. It is now home to the Chinese Historical Society of America.

Ross Alley, located between Jackson, Grant, Washington and Stockton streets, is commonly used as a backdrop in filmmaking and the Tin How Temple at 125 Waverly Place is the oldest Taoist temple in Chinatown.

Portsmouth Square, found at 733 Kearny St., is the oldest public space in the city.
The storms set back the Biden administration's efforts to ramp up vaccine delivery. Earlier in the month, more than 1.5 million doses per day were delivered on average. Preliminary data from last week show a steep drop-off, but full numbers are not yet available.

Extreme weather has spread across large swaths of the United States since Feb. 14. Crippling snowfall and record-cold temperatures hit Oklahoma and Arkansas and triggered power outages across Texas.

Major winter storms, extreme cold and power outages shut down more than 2,000 vaccination sites and delayed delivery of 6 million vaccine doses in all 50 states last week, White House senior adviser Andy Slavitt said in a briefing with reporters Friday.

The weather is improving and deliveries are getting back on track, with 1.4 million doses shipping Friday, Slavitt said. But the backups will take time to clear. "We anticipate that all the backlog doses will be delivered within the next week, with most being delivered within the next several days," he said.

The weather caused disruptions all along the supply chain, Slavitt said. A plant packaging vaccines from pharmaceutical company Moderna was knocked offline by a winter storm. "Roads are being cleared for the workforce to leave their homes," Slavitt said. "They are working today through Sunday to package the backlogged orders."

Road closures held up deliveries between manufacturing, distribution and shipping sites. And workers at all three major shipping companies, UPS, FedEx and McKesson, have been snowed in, he added, holding up shipments.

Vaccines from Moderna and Pfizer-BioNTech need to be kept extremely cold while stored, but Slavitt told CNN Thursday that "there hasn't been a single vaccine that's spoiled" due to the delays. "The vaccines are sitting safe and sound in our factories and hubs, ready to be shipped out as soon as the weather allows," he told reporters Friday.

The disruptions were severe enough for Massachusetts Gov. Charlie Baker to discuss sending the state's National Guard to rescue doses trapped in Kentucky and Tennessee.

After federal officials rushed 135,000 doses to the state, Baker spokesperson Kate Reilly said Friday that the governor "appreciates the efforts made to get this critical shipment here and is not anticipating additional delays from the federal government for vaccine shipments at this time."

Slavitt said the federal government is asking vaccinators to extend hours and offer extra appointments to catch up. "We will be able to catch up, but we understand this will mean asking more of people," he said.
ST. PAUL, Minn.  Hy-Vee pharmacies are now offering the COVID-19 vaccine in Minnesota.

Governor Tim Walz announced Monday that Hy-Vee is joining Walmart and Thrifty White as part of the Federal Retail Pharmacy Program. Walz says Hy-Vee is expected to administer more than 10,000 doses of the vaccine this week to adults 65 years of age and older at more than 30 locations in the state.

Were working to mobilize every opportunity we have to get our Minnesota seniors vaccinated as quickly and safely as possible, says Governor Walz. Today were expanding our options for how Minnesotans can get vaccinated and while supply remains frustratingly limited, we will keep working relentlessly to build our provider network and get shots into arms of our most vulnerable populations.

Hy-Vee should begin taking vaccine appointments soon. The locations and contact information for scheduling appointments will be accessible on the Vaccine Locator map. State health officials will also notify seniors who are signed up for the Vaccine Connector about this new vaccine opportunity.

Regulatory authorities barred intra-day of stocks often to curb speculation in the last financial year.



Instances of stocks being transferred to the trade-for-trade segment rose 12-25 per cent across exchanges during the year, reveals data from the Securities and Exchange Board of Indias (Sebis) recently released annual report for the financial year 2019-20 (FY20). The trade-for-trade segment doesnt allow shares to be bought and sold on the same day.



The number of times it happened rose from 257 to 289 on the (NSE), 435 to 539 on the and from 246 to 292 on the Metropolitan Stock Exchange of India (MSEI).



The stock exchanges initiate surveillance measures, like the periodic price bands, shifting to trade-for-trade (TfT), tightening the price bands, etc., on the basis of the alerts and the analysis of in the scrips. The stock exchanges also take punitive actions (suspension of the in the scrips, debarment of the suspected entities, etc.), said the annual report.





ALSO READ: Global indices rejig likely to push flows into domestic stock markets

Among other surveillance actions, instances of imposition of price bands, which restrict a stocks movement, in a given period fell on the NSE. Preliminary investigations rose on the NSE but fell on the and MSEI. Rumour verification fell across the three exchanges. It dropped from 222 to 153 on the NSE, 235 to 160 on the and from one to zero on the MSEI.





The number of letters sent to companies based on variations in price and volumes rose from 121 to 216 on the NSE. Sudden changes in price and volumes are sometimes seen in advance of key company announcements. Such activity has often resulted in allegations of people trading with advance knowledge of company developments. Stock exchanges write to companies when such spikes are seen so that all investors have an opportunity to understand what might be driving such movements. Such letters rose from 366 to 164 on the BSE between FY19 and FY20. It was unchanged at zero on MSEI in the same period.

Complementing the surveillance infrastructure of the stock exchanges, Sebi has robust in-house systems in place to monitor activities across all market segments and exchanges and to check unfair trade practices like market manipulation, front running and insider trading. The Joint Fund-Bank Financial Sector Assessment Programme of India noted that building a robust market surveillance system, among others, allowed Sebi to build a reputation of being a credible enforcement agency, added the annual report.

FEB. 22, 3:02pm: Mather has resigned, Divish was among those to tweet. As part of a statement regarding Mathers resignation, Mariners chairman John Stanton said: There is no excuse for what was said, and I wont try to make one. I offer my sincere apology on behalf of the club and my partners to our players and fans. We must be, and do, better. We have a lot of work to do to make amends. Stanton added that hell serve as acting president/CEO until the team finds a permanent replacement for Mather.



2:17pm: The MLB Players Association has released a statement about Mather: The Clubs video presentation is a highly disturbing yet critically important window into how Players are genuinely viewed by management. Not just because of what was said, but also because it represents an unfiltered look into Club thinking. It is offensive, and it is not surprising that fans and others around the game are offended as well. Players remain committed to confronting these issues at the bargaining table and elsewhere.

FEB. 21, 10:20PM: Mather issued a public apology, stating I want to apologize to every member of the Seattle Mariners organization, especially our players and to our fans. There is no excuse for my behavior, and I take full responsibility for my terrible lapse in judgement. My comments were my own. They do not reflect the views and strategy of the Mariners baseball leadership who are responsible for decisions about the development and status of the players at all levels of the organization.

Ive been on the phone most of the day today apologizing to the many people I have insulted, hurt, or disappointed in speaking at a recent online event. I am committed to make amends for the things I said that were personally hurtful and I will do whatever it takes to repair the damage I have caused to the Seattle Mariners organization.

7:25PM: In a video speech given to the Bellevue Breakfast Rotary Club on February 5, Mariners president/CEO Kevin Mather discussed a number of topics surrounding his team and the upcoming season at large. The speech was posted to YouTube earlier today and later removed, though not before several outlets (including Grant Bronsdon and Kate Preusser of the Lookout Landing blog and Ryan Divish of the Seattle Times) took note of several eyebrow-raising statements made by the Seattle executive.

Speaking with an unusual (and rather shocking) amount of openness, Mather made multiple comments that are sure to gain the attention of Mariners fans, players, and the players union. The most problematic remarks concerned how star prospect Julio Rodriguez and former pitcher Hisashi Iwakuma reportedly have or had difficulties speaking English. Asked to tell attendees about Rodriguez, Mather began with, Julio Rodriguez has got a personality bigger than all of you combined. He is loud, his English is not tremendous. Rodriguez has already responded to Mathers comments with a pair of pointed tweets.

In response to a separate question, Mather went on a tangent about Iwakuma, saying:

For instance, we just re-hired Iwakuma, he was a pitcher with us for a number of years. Wonderful human being, his English was terrible. He wanted to get back into the game, he came to us, we quite frankly want him as our Asian scout, interpreter, whats going on with the Japanese league. Hes coming to spring training. And Im going to say, Im tired of paying his interpreter. When he was a player, wed pay Iwakuma X, but wed also have to pay $75,000 a year to have an interpreter with him. His English suddenly got better, his English got better when we told him that!

While Mather also praised Rodriguez, Iwakuma, and other players during the speech, his overall breakdown of Seattles roster carried more than a few awkward moments. For instance, Mather continually referred to catcher Luis Torrens as Luis Torres, and he described longtime third baseman Kyle Seager as probably overpaid while also citing Seagers clubhouse leadership.

Its quite possible league officials may also have a few words with Mather considering how he discussed such topics as prospect service time, noting that the Mariners didnt intend to promote any of the top prospects working out at their alternate training camp last summer.

There was no chance you were going to see these young players at T-Mobile Park, Mather said. We werent going to put them on the 40-man roster, we werent going to start the service time clock. There were all kinds of reasons that, if we had an injury problem or COVID outbreak, you mightve seen my big tummy out there in left field. You would not have seen our prospects playing in T-Mobile Park.

It isnt any surprise that the Mariners or any other team are looking to gain as much extra team control as possible over their young players, with this tactic most often manifesting itself in a prospects debut being delayed just long enough so the club can gain an extra year of control over the player, or delay their chances of reaching Super Two eligibility (and another year of arbitration). Front office executives couch these decisions under a nebulous guise of saying that a prospect needs more seasoning in one aspect or another of his game, with the prospect suddenly being ready as soon as the service time threshold has been passed. The MLBPA was already expected to pursue ways of addressing this loophole during the upcoming collective bargaining agreement negotiations, and Mathers comments figure to be the unions clearest evidence yet that teams are engaging in service-time machinations.

This coming spring, Mather implied that both star outfield prospect Jarred Kelenic and pitching prospect Logan Gilbert would have their debuts delayed. We would like [Kelenic] to get a few more at-bats in the minor leagues, Mather said. Probably Triple-A Tacoma for a month, and then he will likely be in left field at T-Mobile Park for the next six or seven years. As for Gilbert, you wont see him on April 1st, but by mid-April he will be on Seattles active roster.

Kelenic was offered a contract extension of six years in length, Mather said, plus multiple years of club options. This has been the standard model for most teams when making long-term deals with players who have yet to debut in the big leagues, and the Mariners reached such a deal themselves with Evan White back in November 2019.

Mather didnt seem to have any hard feelings about Kelenics decision to reject the offer, and he also gave credit to White for taking an extension, saying the first baseman took a lot of heat for signing that deal, the union really pushed back and said, dont do it.  Mather added that the Mariners will continue to offer similar extensions tothree or four more playersover the next two years, saying were eager to sign these players up [and] were willing to take that risk. Some well win on, some well lose on.

Mather also made some candid comments about Seattles pursuit of free agent pitching, as his speech took place before the team signed James Paxton. The CEO mentioned that the Mariners were in talks with both Paxton and Taijuan Walker, noting that Walker thinks hes going to get a three-year deal. I dont think hes going to get a three-year deal. As it turned out, Walker essentially did get a three-year contract from the Mets in the form of a two-year pact with a player option for 2023 that will pay Walker at least $20MM in guaranteed money and potentially as much as $25.5MM.

Speaking of the free agent market in general, Mather said that Major League Baseball lost $2.9 billion last year, and we have taken the position that there are 180 free agents still out there on February 5 unsigned, and sooner or later, these players are going to turn their hat over and come with hat in hand, looking for a contract.

In terms of the season itself, Mather said he was embarrassed that Spring Training was beginning as scheduled, and that the league and players couldnt come to an agreement on delaying both spring camp and the season itself by a month. There is a high level of distrust between the union and the management currently, and Im very worried about whats coming in the future, Mather said. The Mariners are hoping to have a small number of fans in attendance to begin the season and then gradually increase to nearer to full capacity by September, but Mather said that the situation will all depend on local health officials and the state of the pandemic.
Bosnia: Bosnian-Serbs win rerun vote Srebrenica Success also in Doboj, boycott of Muslims

(ANSAmed) - SARAJEVO, FEBRUARY 22 - The party of the Bosnian-Serb leader and rotating president of the Bosnian tripartite presidency, Milorad Dodik, has won a rerun on Sunday of local elections in Srebrenica and Doboj, after the annulment for irregularity of the November 15 vote of the two municipalities of the Republika Srpska.



The rerun of the vote was marked by the boycott of elections in Srebrenica by Muslim political parties. Less than 200 out of the 3,000 Bosniaks who had the right to cast a ballot voted on Sunday.



According to Muslims, the rerun should have involved also the roughly 700 Bosniaks living abroad whose ballots were sent too late. Meanwhile, the numerous Serbians living in Serbia who are only formally registered as residents of Srebrenica could vote for the outgoing mayor, Serbian Mladen Grujicic. (ANSAmed).




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Iran appears to have partly lifted its threat to sharply limit international inspections of its nuclear facilities starting on Tuesday, giving Western nations three months to see if the beginnings of a new diplomatic initiative with the United States and Europe will restore the 2015 nuclear deal.

After a weekend trip to Tehran, Rafael Grossi, the director general of the International Atomic Energy Agency, said on Sunday that his inspectors would have less access as of Tuesday, but that they could still monitor the key production sites where Iran has declared that it is making nuclear material. He did not describe what form those new limits would take, but he said there would be a three-month hiatus on some of Irans new restrictions under a technical annex that was not made public.

At the same time, Irans foreign minister, Mohammad Javad Zarif, said that under a law passed by the countrys Parliament, Tehran would no longer abide by an agreement with the nuclear agency that gives the inspectors the right to demand access to any site where they suspect nuclear activity may have taken place. He also said inspectors would be blocked from obtaining footage from security cameras that keep some of the sites under constant surveillance.

The vague announcement appeared to be part of the maneuvering in Iran over how to respond to an offer from the Biden administration to resume diplomatic contact over restoring the deal that President Donald J. Trump abandoned nearly three years ago. President Biden and Secretary of State Antony J. Blinken offered to join European nations in what would be the first substantial diplomacy with Tehran in more than four years.
Israeli startup Earnix Ltd., which uses advanced analytics to help insurers and banks offer personalized financial products, reached a $1 billion valuation in a financing round led by Insight Partners.

Existing investors Jerusalem Venture Partners, Vintage Investment Partners and Israel Growth Partners joined the New York firm in the $75 million round that vaulted Earnix to so-called unicorn status. Earnixs first new funding since 2017 brings total capital raising to more than $100 million.

The company is growing to a point where this was a pre-IPO round, said Erel Margalit, the founder of Jerusalem Venture Partners who is set to become Earnix chairman. This is an industry thats been waiting for the disruption. Its been waiting for a platform that is both AI and very dynamic.

Founded in 2001, Earnix helps its customers provide personalized rates and products using artificial intelligence and analytics. The startup will use the new funds to grow internationally, develop new products and support deals, it said in a statement Sunday.

Earnix operates in markets across North America, Europe and Australia, Margalit said in the interview.

The startup is among other fast-growing companies with Israeli ties in the insurance and financial technology space, a list that includes Lemonade Inc., Hippo Insurance and Next Insurance.

Israeli startups overall raised a record $1.44 billion in January, with a half-dozen firms announcing funding rounds of at least $100 million, according to a report from Start-Up Nation Central, a non-profit organization that tracks Israels tech industry.

Earnix Chief Executive Officer Udi Ziv said his company counts major clients such as NatWest Group Plc and Liberty Mutual, and that it would expand its workforce from around 200 at the start of 2021 to 350 by years end.

We have been growing very fast and were going to accelerate that very fast growth in terms of employees globally, Ziv said.

Copyright 2021 Bloomberg.

Topics InsurTech Tech
A son who killed his mother in a drug-fuelled "frenzied knife attack" a decade ago and whose murder conviction was subsequently overturned by the Supreme Court remains a public risk and will need to be supervised when he is released into the community, a High Court judge has ordered.

Imposing a 14-year jail term at the Central Criminal Court today on a charge of manslaughter, Mr Justice Michael White said Celyn Eadon "remains at risk of inflicting violence on the public" and his violent temperament is an "alarming factor".

The court heard that he has eight previous convictions for assaults on prison staff, which occurred subsequent to his mother's killing.

Eadon's sentence was backdated to when he first went into custody in March 2011 and Mr Justice White said it was essential that the defendant be supervised and placed in high support accommodation upon his release from prison.

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The judge said that the now 29-year-old had inflicted multiple stab wounds to his mother's head and body and killed her in a "frenzied attack", which was caused by chronic substance abuse after ingesting a "cocktail" of illegal substances.

The court heard during Eadon's sentence hearing earlier this month that he was in danger of becoming homeless once he is released from custody and the probation services were not in a position to offer him suitable accommodation.

Defence counsel Patrick Gageby SC had submitted that it was "utterly apparent" that Eadon had acquired a brain injury from his consumption of drugs as a juvenile and it was unfortunate that this matter was "not more readily publicised".

He said that "gross intoxication" was not an excuse for his client's actions but it had deprived him of an intention to kill and cause serious injury to his mother.

Last November, the State accepted Eadon's plea to the lesser offence of manslaughter, on the basis that intoxication can prevent the formation of the statutory intent needed for murder.

Eadon, who appeared today via video-link from prison, was aged 19 when he killed his 46-year-old mother in the early hours of March 9, 2011.

He stabbed Noreen Kelly 19 times in their home at Derrycrieve, Islandeady, Castlebar, Co Mayo.

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He had admitted to her killing that day and pleaded guilty to her manslaughter. However, a jury found him guilty of her murder by unanimous verdict, and he was sentenced to the mandatory term of life imprisonment in February 2014.

The defendant had his conviction for murder overturned in December 2019, when a five-judge Supreme Court ruled that it was unsafe.

The superior court found that the trial judge's instruction to the jury on intoxication and specific intention was inadequate, as it had not informed the jury of the "vitally important point" that intoxication can be a partial defence to murder but not to manslaughter.

The Director of Public Prosecutions (DPP) had to decide whether to accept Eadon's manslaughter plea or pursue a retrial on the murder charge.

However, the Central Criminal Court was told last October that the DPP was accepting the plea to manslaughter on the basis of intoxication.

The Supreme Court noted in its judgement that since Eadon was aged 13, he was a significant and persistent abuser of alcohol and drugs, including amphetamines, cocaine and crystal meth.

In the 18 months before the killing, he was spending upwards of 400 per week on drugs and drank large quantities of alcohol on a daily basis.

Eadon was today sentenced to 16 years in prison with the final two years suspended on the condition he adhere to the strict conditions set by Mr Justice White. The sentence was backdated to March 11, 2011.

The judge outlined a number of conditions for the suspended part of the sentence, including that Eadon reside at an address agreed with the probation officer, attend all appointments with the probation service and cooperate fully with the HSE and service providers with mental health needs.

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Furthermore, Eadon must comply with medical advice regarding his prescribed medication, refrain from the use of illicit substances and non-prescribed medication and any visits to his family home must be undertaken in consultation with gardai.

Mr Justice White stressed that there was "an urgent need" that Eadon be released in a structured manner and be supervised in the community.

"It is essential that high support accommodation needs to be given in a structured release. The only practical way to deal with him is through the mental health service due to his substance induced brain injury," he added.




A man was wounded in a shooting in the Florida area neighborhood Sunday afternoon, New Orleans police said.

Update: 3 people injured in Sunday shootings in New Orleans

Police said the man was shot in the leg in the 2100 Piety Street just before 4 p.m.

Authorities did not immediately provide any other information.

Editor's note: The address for the shooting has been updated, based on new information from authorities.
The man worked for four federal Coalition politicians over four years before landing in Senator Reynolds office. One former politician who knew the man, but spoke on the condition of anonymity, said the man was among the ranks of staffers who filled the corridors of Parliament House like clones with their pointy shoes and skinny ties. Another politician said the man was uber-ambitious and had moved on quickly to another job, giving only one days notice of his departure. Loading Replay Replay video Play video Play video Ms Higgins said last week the alleged perpetrator had been a rising star in Senator Reynolds office and a favourite of the minister, but others painted a picture of a man who had moved swiftly between offices.

One said he had been reasonably good at his job but probably a rising star only in his own mind. The Sydney Morning Herald and The Age have established the name of the alleged rapist but have chosen not to name him on legal grounds. In a series of interviews with politicians and advisers, those who knew him in Parliament House described him as ambitious but relatively junior. He began his career in Parliament as a staff member for a Coalition backbencher in 2014 before moving into a low-ranked position in a cabinet ministers office, where colleagues said he manned the front desk and answered phone calls. By the end of 2017 he had moved out of the cabinet ministers office and into a position with a minister outside cabinet, a transfer that did not appear to be a promotion. He moved quickly to another ministers office before joining Senator Reynolds.

Senator Reynolds became assistant minister for home affairs at the end of August 2018, starting a process to hire her first ministerial team. She was made minister for defence industry the following March, then Defence Minister in May. The staffer was sacked on March 26, 2019, four days after the alleged rape, for breaching security at the office. Labor challenged Senator Reynolds over her handling of the matter last week by asking whether she had stayed in touch with the staffer after his termination, a question she side-stepped in the Senate on Wednesday but answered the next day. Defence Minister Linda Reynolds says she did not provide a reference for the accused after he was sacked from her office for a security breach. Credit:Alex Ellinghausen Since the individual in question left my office I have had no contact with him and I have provided no references, she said.

Others who knew the accused at Australian National University in 2016 said he had more confidence in his own skills than warranted. He was not a nice person overall, he didnt work hard, he just wanted ... all the praise for doing pretty much nothing. A real lads lad, said one former student who fell out with him. He just thought more of himself than any of us did, he did literally nothing, just showed up for the drinking, the socialising. A second person who knew the man during the same era at university said he was quite socially awkward around women.

He definitely had a fair few friends but no female friends whatsoever, they said. On Monday, Senator Reynolds told Parliament she had sought a meeting between Ms Higgins and Australian Federal Police after she learnt of the rape allegations. It was the assistant commissioner who came up to my office and met briefly with me, alone, Senator Reynolds said. Then I took all advice, again, I took all advice, and then the AFP met with Brittany and that was the conclusion of my engagement. The minister said she had not told Prime Minister Scott Morrison about the rape allegations, but did not directly answer questions about whether she had told his staff or any other ministers.

It is not my story to tell and I have always, and I continue, to respect [Ms Higgins] privacy and her story, she said. Loading Mr Morrison has announced an independent inquiry into the workplace culture of Parliament House, with Finance Minister Simon Birmingham speaking to Labor, the Greens and crossbenchers to seek a consensus on its terms. But Mr Morrison side-stepped questions on Monday about whether he would release results to the public, given he has four inquiries under way and one of them is into his own office. The four reviews are into Liberal Party culture; the federal department structure for handling complaints; the workplace in Parliament; and when Mr Morrisons office knew of the incident. The last of these is being done by Phil Gaetjens, the secretary of the Department of Prime Minister and Cabinet and Mr Morrisons former chief of staff.

Labor leader Anthony Albanese asked Mr Morrison if he would release the Gaetjens review as soon as it was received, but the Prime Minister would not say. When Labor health spokeswoman Tanya Plibersek asked what steps he had taken to make sure he was informed of serious crime in Parliament in future, the Prime Minister said he had instructed his staff that he would expect to be told. Loading Thats what youd expect me to do and thats what I have done, he said. Mr Morrison expressed frustration last week that he had not been told of the rape allegation even though Senator Reynolds had known of it in April 2019. Professor Kim Rubenstein and Trish Bergin, the co-directors of the 50/50 by 2030 Foundation at the University of Canberra, called on Mr Morrison to name Sex Discrimination Commissioner Kate Jenkins to the independent inquiry into the workplace in Parliament.
The company is now well-positioned with a strong balance sheet to drive growth through the adoption of its payments technology across multiple industry segments.

Placement proceeds will accelerate the continued development of payments technology via the Spenda and SYNKD platforms.

Ltd ( ) has received commitments to raise A$18 million through the issue of 200 million fully paid ordinary shares to institutional sophisticated and professional investors at an issue price of A$0.09 per share.

The strategic capital raise follows two other placements; one in August 2020 undertaken to recapitalise the company, resulting in a debt-free balance sheet, and the second, in November 2020, to support the companys growth with various payment providers.

This most recent round signals a strong vote of confidence and welcome support from institutional shareholders with the company now well-positioned with a strong balance sheet, to drive growth through the adoption of its payments technology across multiple industry segments.

The company intends to use funds for an accelerated commercialisation plan for its products, potential synergistic acquisitions, commercialisation of pilot business payments solutions and for future working capital requirements.

Enhance our growth trajectory

Cirralto CEO and managing director Adrian Floate said: After the transformative year in 2020 with the significant restructuring of the companys balance sheet, we are now in a financially strong position with the added firepower to focus on aggressive growth and accretive acquisitions that deliver shareholder value.

It is our ambition to utilise this capital to enhance our growth trajectory and allow us to attract the talent and customers to grow our footprint both domestically and internationally, whilst also having sufficient operational runway funding to support us through the next phase of the companys development and maturity.

The completion of this transformational capitalisation of the company was managed by Kaai Capital and was largely supported by institutional investors, validating the market acceptance and positioning of the companys and Appstablishments Spenda and SYNKD technology platforms.

Kaai Capital acted as sole lead manager to the placement and will donate A$90,000 of the fees it will receive to Australian registered charitable deductible gift recipients.

MySpenda software release

has also launched MySpenda, the user interface of the companys Spenda digital payment stack which brings together all the distinct Spenda modules into one dashboard that increases user experience, speeds up onboarding and enables the company to fully engage the product's viral capabilities.

MySpenda revolutionises bill presentation, removing manual data entry of credit card information, bank account details or customer reference numbers.

The software ensures increased security with the MySpenda user remaining in control of their payment details and never needing to provide these details to the businesses they trade with.

MySpenda is also integrated with small business accounting systems such as Xero, MYOB and Quickbooks Online, and ERP systems such as Microsoft Dynamics and SAP B1.

Using the interface businesses can navigate between their company view, My Company, and that of their Connected Suppliers.

Designed to improve payment security

Floate said: What we are doing is unique in the market. We are creating software that focuses on and improves the buyer/seller relationship regardless of where this relationship sits.

Our software is truly universal in application to anyone who buys or sells goods.

Whether that be a wholesaler or supplier who needs a solution to manage their accounts receivables, a retail owner who needs to keep track of what they owe and to who, or a consumer who wants a better experience engaging with their debtors, Spenda is the wheel that enables these transactions.

Furthermore, MySpenda sits on a foundation that puts the user first, no matter who that user is, and provides software designed to improve payment security, speed up transactions and keep money flowing through the economy.

BPSP/BPA testing underway

The company has also reported the positive results of phase 1 of customer to supplier payments utilising its newly established BPSP and BPA the MasterCard Business Payment Aggregator (BPA) and the Business Payment Solution Provider (BPSP) merchant services.

These initial tests have provided valuable insight and enabled the company to resolve issues and refine the user experience ahead of commercial launch.

Phase 2 testing has now commenced and will place further focus on proving the impact of Reconciliation and Reporting enhancements that have been developed.

This is expected to be completed by March 1, 2021, with the commercial release to be confirmed in the week beginning March 1, 2021.

Shares higher

Shares have jumped more than 26 per cent intra-day to A$0.145 and the company market cap sits at approximately A$197.6 million.
Alex Jackson (MBP '20) was mere days into a new research project in Northwestern Engineering's Master of Biotechnology program (MBP) when COVID-19 was named a global pandemic in March 2020.

Jackson joined McCormick School of Engineering Professor Danielle Tullman-Erceks lab to study how bacteria form enclosed organelles called bacterial microcompartments to make sustainable products more efficiently. His project specifically focused on how a protein called PduN helps form that microcompartment structure.

The work excited him. He could learn new scientific techniques to make exciting discoveries. What Jackson was not expecting to learn was how to take an in-person research project, transform it into something to explore remotely, and then transition it back to the lab with new safety precautions. With COVID-19 forcing Northwestern to suspend in-person courses and research opportunities in March, that was just what Jackson did.

The shift to working fully online was easier than expected, thanks to work done early on with the project.

"Just before we went remote, we got some exciting preliminary results that we wanted to follow up on, but couldnt," said Tullman-Ercek, MBP director. "As you can imagine, this was a bit frustrating, but it gave us the opportunity to reflect on our preliminary results and do some informative computational studies on our PduN protein."

Jackson remained fully online through June. Then, he and Tullman-Ercek began conceptualizing a return to the lab following new COVID-19 safety precautions. Those guidelines included lab capacity limits, new personal protective equipment, rearranging the lab and office spaces to keep work stations socially distanced, and strict procedures for cleaning work areas at the start and end of each shift.

They knew the biggest challenge would be making the most of limited lab time due to capacity restrictions. More advanced planning was necessary, and the experience became a crash course in time management.

"Having the time to work on the project remotely gave me the chance to focus on it and then experiment with what we had modeled after we were able to get back in the lab," Jackson said. "I learned how to prioritize work that could be done outside of the lab to maximize my efficiency when I was given the chance to go back into the lab."

Still, Jackson's research experience was successful. His project, paired with follow-up studies, showed that PduN is essential for the formation of a closed microcompartment shell. This is important to understand to repurpose them for biochemical production. His findings also led the lab on a path toward creating new antibiotics that are specific to pathogens, such as Salmonella, that use these organelles.

Jackson is applying the lessons he learned as a research associate at Mosaic Biosciences, a drug discovery and development company in Boulder, Colorado. Of all the things he learned in MBP, it was the opportunity to step back and think about his project from a macro perspective at the onset of the pandemic that was the most beneficial. It is an exercise he recommends to prospective students.

"Take the time to think about what your goals are and how this program can help you get there," Jackson said. "This program allows an amazing opportunity to get world-class research experience in any area that you may be interested in. The research experience I gained from this program gave me the opportunity to keep learning after graduating and working to be successful in industry."
Dominion Voting Systems has filed a $1.3 billion defamation lawsuit against Mike Lindell, the CEO of MyPillow, according to Forbes.

Forbes said the company sued Lindell after the Trump ally spread baseless claims about the companys voting machines, the latest in a string of high-dollar lawsuits Dominion has waged against right-wing figures who spread conspiracy theories about election fraud.

Forbes wrote, The $1.3 billion lawsuit alleges Lindell sells the lie involving the companys voting machines because the lie sells pillows, despite the unprecedented reputational and financial harm Dominion has suffered as a result.

Forbes said it was unable to reach Lindell for comment but wrote, the CEO previously told Forbes in an interview he would welcome Dominion suing him, believing he has 100% proof of their election fraud. I welcome Dominion to sue me. I welcome it. Please, Lindell said in January. Please sue me...and then you can show us all about your machines.

Lindell has accused the company of rigging the 2020 election for Joe Biden, the Wall Street Journal reported.

The Wall Street Journal writes, In its complaint, the company cites a number of statements made by Mr. Lindell, including in media appearances, social-media posts, and a two-hour film claiming to prove widespread election fraud. Mr. Lindell said he helped produce the film, which he released online in early February.

The complaint alleges that Mr. Lindell made false claims about the integrity of Dominions voting machines and that he knew no credible evidence supported his claims that the company had stolen the election from Mr. Trump  what Dominion has called the Big Lie.

In January, Lindell was permanently banned from Twitter because of repeated violations of its civic integrity policy - falsely claiming that Trump won the election.

Lindell said in January that several major retailers including Kohls, Bed Bath & Beyond and Wayfair told him they would no longer carry his products.

Forbes said Dominion previously filed similar litigation against attorneys Sidney Powell and Rudy Giuliani. Rival voting company Smartmatic has also sued Powell, Giuliani, Fox News and several of its anchors.

On its website, Dominion said, Lies and misinformation have diminished the credibility of U.S. elections, subjected hardworking public officials and Dominion employees to harassment and death threats, and severely damaged the reputation of our company. Dominion is taking steps to defend our good name and reputation.

Dominion Voting Sues MyPillow CEO Mike Lindell For Defamation Over Election Conspiracy https://t.co/HKv1PVuCA2 pic.twitter.com/k6EeznmP8P  Forbes (@Forbes) February 22, 2021

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In a year filled with unprecedented need, nonprofits have stepped up to ensure continued support for vulnerable New Yorkers. Organizations transitioned programs online and continued to maintain food pantries, domestic violence shelters and residential facilities for those struggling the most during the COVID-19 pandemic. And they met that surging demand for cash assistance, food and other support despite an immense strain on their budgets from canceled fundraisers, declining government funding and limited philanthropic support. The 2021 Nonprofit Power 100 acknowledges the influence of major nonprofits across New York, providing essential social services and advocating on behalf of the sector and the communities it serves. (The list does not include philanthropic institutions and arts organizations.) City & State is proud to present this years list of movers and shakers within the nonprofit community.

1. Sheena Wright

President and CEO, United Way of New York City

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Sheena Wright  who took the reins at United Way of New York City right as Hurricane Sandy hit New York City  has led the organizations efforts to boost funding for local community organizations providing food, remote learning support for students, and other relief throughout the pandemic. Wright is also heading efforts to promote COVID-19 testing and vaccine awareness alongside prominent Black clergy members in New York City and beyond.

2. Donna Lieberman

Executive Director, New York Civil Liberties Union

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Donna Lieberman will celebrate her 20th anniversary of leading the New York Civil Liberties Union this year. The latest accomplishment for Lieberman and the NYCLU: playing a major role in police reform efforts following protests against systemic racism and police brutality this past year. The organization published a database of newly released misconduct complaints against New York City Police Department officers and filed lawsuits on behalf of Black Lives Matter protesters who said they were mistreated.

3. Jennifer Jones Austin

CEO and Executive Director, FPWA

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Fighting poverty in New York is a priority for FPWA, which represents more than 170 human services and faith-based organizations. Jennifer Jones Austin leads its advocacy efforts by pushing for better funding for human services and advancing policies such as a universal basic income and expanded early childhood education with the goal of supporting communities of color. Jones Austin is also advising New York City on its efforts to reform its police department.

4. Lisa David

President and CEO, Public Health Solutions

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Lisa David and Public Health Solutions played a major role in supporting the NYC COVID-19 Rapid Response Coalition, made up of members of the private and nonprofit sector committed to helping New York City throughout the pandemic by providing emergency meals, access to personal protective equipment, testing and outreach to New Yorkers. Among her responsibilities during the pandemic, David has spearheaded efforts for grant support for more than 200 community-based organizations. With David at the helm, PHS also provides health services to vulnerable families and grant support for more than 200 community-based organizations.

5. Christine Quinn

President and CEO, Win

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Former New York City Council Speaker Christine Quinn is in her sixth year of leading Win, one of New York Citys largest shelter and supportive housing providers. Throughout the pandemic, Quinn has pushed the city to rectify its remote learning failures in city shelters, where homeless students often lack access to Wi-Fi for online classes. Thats on top of the organizations other efforts to get the city to provide more rental assistance and build more affordable housing.

6. James Sheehan

Charities Bureau Chief, State Attorney Generals Office

As head of the New York State Attorney Generals Charities Bureau, James Sheehan has helped spearhead major litigation against nonprofits. He has played a key role in New Yorks recent high-profile efforts to dissolve the National Rifle Association because of alleged financial mismanagement. Previously, his involvement was key in the landmark case against the Trump Foundation, which dissolved as a result of the offices investigation.

7. Janet Sabel

Attorney-in-Chief and CEO, The Legal Aid Society

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Janet Sabel, who has been with The Legal Aid Society for more than 25 years, has led its response to the COVID-19 pandemic by pushing for New York to open up vaccine distribution to prisoners, filing a lawsuit against New York City to ensure Wi-Fi access for homeless students in shelters, and advocating for eviction protections. She previously served as chief deputy attorney general in the state Attorney Generals Office.

8. Steven Banks

Commissioner, New York City Department of Social Services

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Steven Banks spent 33 years at The Legal Aid Society  where he led a landmark lawsuit that forced New York City to guarantee shelter for all homeless families  before moving over to the public sector. He now oversees the citys approach to housing homeless New Yorkers and other public assistance programs for people in need, although the city has struggled to stem rising homelessness during his tenure.

9. Jeremy Kohomban

President and CEO, The Children's Village

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Jeremy Kohomban leads two child welfare organizations founded in the 19th century: The Childrens Village and Harlem Dowling. Together, the two nonprofits serve 15,000 children and families each year. Kohomban has been an advocate for reforming the child welfare system by reducing reliance on residential facilities for foster youth and prioritizing more placements with family or foster parents.

10. Sheila Poole

Commissioner, New York State Office of Children and Family Services

Sheila Poole leads the states Office of Children and Family Services, which manages initiatives on child care, juvenile justice and child welfare. Before joining the agency in 2007, she served as commissioner of the Albany County Department for Children, Youth, and Families. During Pooles tenure, shes been integral to the implementation of the states Raise the Age law and is now supporting the states compliance with the federal Family First Prevention Services Act.

11. Brenda Rosen

President and CEO, Breaking Ground

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Breaking Ground is one of the largest supportive housing providers in the United States, operating close to 4,000 housing units across New York City, with additional housing upstate and in Connecticut. For the past decade, Brenda Rosen has overseen its efforts to address homelessness through transitional and permanent housing, as well as outreach to people experiencing homelessness. Rosen is also the board chair of the Supportive Housing Network of New York.

12. David Hansell

Commissioner, New York City Administration for Children's Services

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New York Citys child welfare initiatives fall under Commissioner David Hansells purview as head of the Administration for Children's Services. Hansell has highlighted declines in the citys foster youth population as a bright spot in the agencys work in recent years, though the number of children reunited with their families has also declined due to pandemic-related court closures. Previously, Hansell served as acting assistant secretary for the Administration for Children and Families in the U.S. Department of Health and Human Services.

13. JoAnne Page

President and CEO, The Fortune Society

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JoAnne Page oversees a $34 million nonprofit that helped more than 9,000 people this past fiscal year by offering housing, employment services and other support to formerly incarcerated New Yorkers. She and her team are at the forefront of advocating for various criminal justice initiatives, such as restricting landlords from denying housing to people with criminal records and ending the use of solitary confinement.

14. David Jones

President and CEO, Community Service Society of New York

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David Jones has led the Community Service Society of New York  and its mission to support and advocate for low-income New Yorkers  since 1986. The nonprofits mission has taken on new meaning and urgency amid the COVID-19 pandemic, including actively pushing for equitable health care coverage and eviction prevention in the past several months. Jones has also served on the board of the Metropolitan Transportation Authority.

15. Kevin Sullivan

Executive Director, Catholic Charities of the Archdiocese of New York

Monsignor Kevin Sullivan has served as the executive director of Catholic Charities of the Archdiocese of New York for 20 years, overseeing more than 90 human services organizations across 10 counties in New York. Amid the COVID-19 pandemic, Catholic Charities has boosted food distribution efforts while continuing to offer eviction prevention and immigration services. Sullivan is often called upon to offer insight to government officials on human services and hosts JustLove, a weekly radio show on public policy and civic engagement.

16. Murad Awawdeh & Rovika Rajkishun

Interim Co-Executive Directors, New York Immigration Coalition

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Murad Awawdeh and Rovika Rajkishun have led the New York Immigration Coalition since September, focusing their efforts on helping those struggling during the COVID-19 pandemic, many of whom serve as front-line workers and live in hard-hit neighborhoods. The organization has advocated for their needs since the onset of the crisis, calling for government aid to help otherwise excluded undocumented immigrants and pushing for a fair 2020 Census.

17. Ben Kallos

Chair, New York City Council Committee on Contracts

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New York City Council Member Ben Kallos has put a spotlight on the challenges nonprofits face as chair of the Councils Committee on Contracts. One of his priorities this past year has been pushing the city to restore funding to its Indirect Cost Rate initiative, which aimed to help human services organizations cover administrative and overhead costs. The Upper East Side elected official is now running to serve as Manhattan borough president.

18. Jess Dannhauser & Kimberly Kym Hardy Watson

President and CEO; Incoming President and CEO, Graham Windham

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Graham Windham recently announced that Chief Operating Officer Kimberly Kym Hardy Watson is set to take the reins of the 215-year-old child welfare organization, which serves about 5,000 children and their families. Hardy Watson, the first Black woman to lead the nonprofit, will succeed Jess Dannhauser, taking over as president in March and CEO later this year. She plans to redouble its emphasis on local communities and combating racism. Since the onset of the pandemic, the nonprofit has provided technology to help clients in need, boosted pay for its essential workers, and provided food to vulnerable families. The organization also advocates for New York Citys Fair Futures program, which provides mentors to foster youth.

19. Kwame Owusu-Kesse

CEO, Harlem Children's Zone

Kwame Owusu-Kesse took the helm at Harlem Children's Zone in July 2020, after serving as its chief operating officer for six years. He now oversees a host of youth and education programs, in addition to new efforts to expand the organizations model to other cities, including Chicago and Newark. There is literally no more important job in the world for me than the work that we do at HCZ to improve the odds for children at an unprecedented scale, he told BET last summer.

20. Nathaniel Fields

CEO, Urban Resource Institute

Nathaniel Fields has nearly tripled the Urban Resource Institutes budget over the course of the past nine years, making it one of the largest domestic violence shelter providers nationally. Fields has served as a member of New York states task force dedicated to finding solutions to the recent spike in domestic violence, as well as New York City Mayor Bill de Blasios Nonprofits and Social Services Sector Advisory Council, which is focused on best strategies for recovering from the COVID-19 crisis.

21. Liz Roberts

CEO, Safe Horizon

Liz Roberts was officially named CEO this month after a decade working with the organization that helps more than 250,000 children, adults and families affected by abuse and violence each year. The nonprofit played a major role in successfully advocating for the states Child Victims Act  which allows survivors of child sexual abuse to pursue civil cases that were formerly prohibited under the statute of limitations  and its extension.

22. Daniel Symon

Director, New York City Mayor's Office of Contract Services

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Human services nonprofits reliant on government funds often gripe about New York Citys contracting process. Under Daniel Symons leadership, the Mayor's Office of Contract Services has made efforts to make the process smoother. It helped launch the Indirect Cost Rate initiative to help nonprofits cover administrative and overhead costs, though pandemic-related budget cuts to the initiative have created new frustration for organizations.

23. Jennifer March

Executive Director, Citizens Committee for Children of New York

Jennifer March has been leading the Citizens' Committee for Children since 2007, overseeing its wide range of advocacy and research initiatives supporting New York City youth. March has played a major role in campaigns that helped end the automatic prosecution of 16- and 17-year-olds as adults, as well as in the creation of New York Citys Earned Income Tax Credit and the Mayors Office of Food Policy.

24. Sharon Greenberger

President and CEO, YMCA of Greater New York

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The pandemic has damaged most nonprofits balance sheets, but YMCAs have been particularly hurt by closures and declining membership. Now in her sixth year heading the YMCA of Greater New York, Sharon Greenberger is working to lead it onto the road to recovery. Throughout the crisis, the organization has provided in-person child care and transitioned to offering many of its services virtually.

25. Michelle Jackson

Executive Director, Human Services Council of New York

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After years of serving in numerous leadership roles at the Human Services Council of New York, Michelle Jackson became its executive director in May 2020. Jackson advocates before both New York City and New York state governments on behalf of the 160 human services organizations that are members of the nonprofit organization. Among its latest priorities: restoring funding to a New York City initiative covering indirect costs for human services providers and ending contract payment delays at the state level.

26. Jeremy Saunders & Alyssa Aguilera

Co-Executive Directors, VOCAL-NY

Jeremy Saunders and Alyssa Aguilera lead the progressive advocacy organization VOCAL-NYs efforts pushing for legislative change on homelessness, drug policy and mass incarceration, as well as its direct services including syringe exchanges. VOCAL-NY has been a prominent voice calling for New York City officials to cut funding to the NYPD this past year, in addition to pushing for tax increases on the wealthy and canceling rent during the pandemic.

27. Harriet Karr-McDonald

Co-Founder, The Doe Fund

Moved to action by the death of a homeless teenager they both knew, George McDonald and Harriet Karr-McDonald built up a major nonprofit with an annual budget of about $65 million helping formerly incarcerated and homeless New Yorkers. Harriet Karr-McDonald has taken the helm at The Doe Fund after George McDonald died in January, leaving behind a legacy shaping New Yorks approach to recidivism and homelessness over the course of his 35 years leading the nonprofit.

28. Fran Barrett

State Director of Nonprofits

Nonprofits seeking guidance and support from New York state government have Fran Barrett as a resource. Barrett has also helped lead new initiatives created amid the pandemic such as Nourish New York, which connects food banks to products from upstate farms, and New York Loves, which helped coordinate philanthropic support for the state. Shes no stranger to the nonprofit sector, having founded the nonprofit consulting firm Community Resource Exchange in 1979.

29. Meg Barnette

President and CEO, Nonprofit New York

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In a time of uncertainty for nonprofits in New York and nationwide, Nonprofit New York, led by Meg Barnette, stepped up as a valuable resource for organizations seeking federal relief loans and the latest policies affecting nonprofits in the pandemic. Before joining Nonprofit New York in May 2020, Barnette served in numerous leadership roles at Planned Parenthood in New York City, where she spent over nine years.

30. Arlene Gonzalez-Sanchez

Commissioner, New York State Office of Addiction Services and Supports

For the past decade, Commissioner Arlene Gonzalez-Sanchez has led the state Office of Addiction Services and Supports, where she monitors the states strategy to tackle addiction through prevention, treatment and recovery services. She also serves as a member of the Statewide Task Force to Combat Heroin and the Prescription Opioid Crisis and various state commissions such as the Project Approval and Oversight Panel of the Delivery System Reform Incentive Payment Program.

31. Andre White

Executive Director and CEO, Phipps Neighborhoods

Before joining Phipps Neighborhoods last May, Andre White served as a deputy commissioner at the New York City Department of Youth and Community Development. In that role, he managed $220 million in annual public and private funding for various youth services and oversaw the Summer Youth Employment Program. He now leads the social services nonprofits efforts to serve more than 12,000 children and families in low-income neighborhoods in New York City.

32. Lorraine Cortes-Vazquez

Commissioner, New York City Department for the Aging

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New York Citys efforts to serve older adults through senior centers, case management, home-delivered meals and other programs fall under Lorraine Cortes-Vazquezs purview at the city Department for the Aging. Shes been at the helm of the agency since 2019, previously having served as executive vice president for AARP. Cortes-Vazquez also serves as a member of the Metropolitan Transportation Authority board.

33. Alan van Capelle

President and CEO, Educational Alliance

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As the head of Educational Alliance, Alan van Capelle oversees a network of community centers that provide various social and educational programs and services for the people of Lower Manhattan. Throughout the pandemic, the organization has pivoted to various relief efforts, which have included distributing take-home meals and cash assistance, conducting outreach calls to older adults, and reopening early childhood programs for those in need.

34. Keith Little

President and CEO, SCO Family of Services

Keith Little brings more than 30 years of experience with both nonprofits and in city and state government to his role as president and CEO of SCO Family of Services, which serves 60,000 New Yorkers through 84 different programs. He currently sits on the boards of directors of the Council of Family and Child Caring Agencies and Human Services Council, in addition to serving as a committee chair for the Black Agency Executives.

35. Mitchell Netburn

President and CEO, Samaritan Daytop Village

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Since 2018, Mitchell Netburn has served as president and CEO of Samaritan Daytop Village, which provides substance use treatment, health care, and housing to more than 33,000 people across New York. Netburn, who previously led the nonprofit Project Renewal, is also board chair of the Coalition for Behavioral Health, an advocacy and training association for organizations working in behavioral health care.

36. Jose Ortiz Jr.

CEO, New York City Employment and Training Coalition

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As CEO of the New York City Empowerment and Training Coalition, Jose Ortiz Jr. oversees a group of nonprofits, education institutions and workforce development organizations providing employment training services. His organization is playing a leading role in a new partnership aiming to ensure New York City develops an equitable COVID recovery plan. He recently received recognition and funding from Robin Hoods Power Fund, which elevates nonprofit leaders of color fighting poverty in the city.

37. Javier Valdes & Deborah Axt

Co-Executive Directors, Make the Road New York

After nearly a decade at the helm of Make the Road New York, both Javier Valdes and Deborah Axt will step down in April to make way for its newest leaders: Jose Lopez, Arlenis Morel and Theo Oshiro. In the past year, the advocacy organization for immigrant New Yorkers has provided cash assistance to those in need, successfully pushed for legislation to keep Immigration and Customs Enforcement officers from making courthouse arrests, and called for New York to raise taxes on the wealthy.

38. Beth Finkel

State Director, AARP New York

Beth Finkels advocacy on behalf of New Yorkers over the age of 50 has taken on new importance during the coronavirus pandemic, which has left older adults particularly vulnerable. Under her direction, AARP New York has been involved in pushing for legislation to reform nursing homes amid the health crisis and for greater broadband internet coverage over the past year. During her time as state director, Finkel has overseen lobbying efforts that led to the passage of new laws providing support to caregivers and protections for those in assisted living.

39. John MacIntosh

Managing Partner, SeaChange Capital Partners

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SeaChange Capital Partners makes its mark on the nonprofit sector by connecting organizations to funding opportunities and consulting services. Having worked with SeaChange since 2008, Managing Partner John MacIntosh has actively called attention to the challenges facing nonprofits during the coronavirus pandemic. Under MacIntosh, SeaChange has also led research describing strategies different nonprofits need to take to weather the crisis and highlighting the need for greater relief for larger organizations.

40. Dave Giffen

Executive Director, Coalition for the Homeless

Coalition for the Homeless Executive Director Dave Giffen runs one of New York Citys most influential organizations pushing for policies and programs to help New Yorkers experiencing homelessness. Throughout the pandemic, the Ccoalition has highlighted the risk of COVID-19 spreading in dormitory-style shelters housing homeless adults and has pushed for the city to place more people in hotel rooms to isolate. The nonprofit has also worked with The Legal Aid Society to ensure homeless students have reliable internet access in city shelters.

41. Wayne Ho

President and CEO, Chinese-American Planning Council

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Wayne Ho heads up the Chinese-American Planning Council, one of the countrys largest Asian American social services organizations, serving 60,000 people in New York. In addition to its direct services, the organization has focused on advocating for the human services sector and the communities it supports. Among its priorities in 2021: providing essential workers hazard pay and funding initiatives such as the Summer Youth Employment Program.

42. Ronald Richter

CEO, JCCA

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Ronald Richter came to JCCA in 2015 with three decades of experience in the child welfare field. He spent several years as a judge in New York Citys Family Court, and previously served as the commissioner of the city's Administration for Childrens Services. He now leads a nonprofit  formerly known as the Jewish Child Care Association  serving more than 17,000 children and families through residential programs, family therapy and other initiatives in New York City and Westchester.

43. Phoebe Boyer

President and CEO, Childrens Aid

Phoebe Boyer has led the multi-service nonprofit Childrens Aid since 2014, after previously holding leadership positions at the Robertson Foundation and Tiger Foundation. The $118 million organization operates community schools, after-school programs, foster care programs and other initiatives, serving nearly 50,000 youth and their families in New York City. Boyer is one of several experts who provided advice on the reopening plans for New York City schools this past year.

44. Jilly Stephens

CEO, City Harvest

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In response to the coronavirus pandemic-fueled hunger crisis, City Harvest CEO Jilly Stephens has had the nonprofit escalate its food distribution efforts. Last year, the organization rescued and delivered 56 million pounds of food from early March through the end of August  a 79% increase over the same period of time last year. Having served as CEO since 2006, Stephens continues to ramp up pandemic-era efforts and has called for more support from donors and government officials to tackle food insecurity.

45. Nicholas Turner

President and Director, Vera Institute of Justice

Nicholas Turner is entering his eighth year leading the Vera Institute of Justices research and advocacy efforts to transform the criminal justice system. Under Turners leadership, Vera remains in an influential voice that has pushed for changes to cash bail and other reforms in New York and beyond. He serves on the Independent Commission on New York City Criminal Justice and Incarceration Reform, which created a report in 2017 recommending the closure of the jail complex on Rikers Island.

46. Michelle Yanche

Executive Director, Good Shepherd Services

Michelle Yanche has been at the helm of Good Shepherd Services since December 2019, after several years serving as the $98 million nonprofits associate executive director for government and external relations and leading its advocacy efforts on early childhood and after-school programming. Yanche has actively called for greater government support for social services providers and restoring funding to New York Citys Community Schools counseling program and Learning to Work initiative.

47. Susan Stamler

Executive Director, United Neighborhood Houses

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Since 2015, Susan Stamler has been leading United Neighborhood Houses efforts to advocate for more than 40 settlement houses in New York before government officials. Like so many other organizations in the sector, the nonprofits priorities have pivoted amid the pandemic, with its team calling for funding for New York Citys youth programs and restoring promised funds for the citys human services organizations.

48. David Greenfield

CEO and Executive Director, Met Council

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After eight years representing parts of Brooklyn in the New York City Council, David Greenfield took the helm of Met Council, one of New Yorks largest Jewish charities. The nonprofit serves more than 225,000 New Yorkers each year through social services and policy advocacy. Greenfield has been outspoken in calling on local and state government to do more to support food pantries amid a growing hunger crisis.

49. Michael Seereiter

President and CEO, New York Alliance for Inclusion and Innovation

After a major merger between two organizations in 2018, the New York Alliance for Inclusion and Innovation became the largest statewide association representing organizations that provide services to people with intellectual and developmental disabilities. Michael Seereiter has served as its president and CEO since 2019. During his time at the organization, he was the campaign manager for the #bFair2DirectCare campaign, which pushed for greater pay for direct support professionals.

50. Barika Williams

Executive Director, Association for Neighborhood & Housing Development

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Over the course of her time with the Association for Neighborhood & Housing Development, Barika Williams has led projects and initiatives on mandatory inclusionary housing and equitable economic development. She became its executive director in January 2020, representing and supporting its nonprofit members through research and advocacy. Previously, she served as assistant secretary for housing in Gov. Andrew Cuomos administration.
Children ride scooters across the plaza at the U.S. Supreme Court in Washington on March 17, 2020. (Tom Brenner/Reuters)

Lies the Supreme Court Told Me

Commentary

In a fashion we must now regard as entirely predictable, the Supreme Court of the United States has dismissed (i.e., thrown out) the various state challenges to the 2020 presidential election.

Any decisions on these challenges were determined by the majority to be moot because the election had already been decided, and Donald Trump has conceded to Joe Biden. (Associate Justices Thomas, Alito, and Gorsuch objected in varying degrees.)

In other words, a stolen presidential electionif it happens, we dont really know in this casehas an almost immediate statute of limitations, although the results of that election can affect hundreds of millions, if not, as in the case of the United States, nearly the entirety of humanity.

This is true, apparently for a majority of the Supremes, although all sorts of crimes, some not particularly onerous, have statutes of limitations that can go on for years.

Go figure.

The Supremes also cited the issue of standing, a term of legal art that has always struck me, despite all the precedents on which it is supposedly based, as wide open for biased interpretation of the most self-serving sort. One persons standing can be anothers closed door, almost at will and certainly by vote of a majority.

If I sound cynical about the Supreme Court, I have to admit I am. Its even true of the law in general, which I want to believe in and admire, but increasingly no longer do.

In the real world, legal results tend to mirror A.J. Lieblings 1960 comment in The New Yorker about the press: Freedom of the press is guaranteed only to those who own one.

The law belongs to those who have the deepest control of a society at the time.

We want Lady Justice to be blind but, in actuality, shes a cyborg with all-seeing, rotating night vision similar to the kind you might find on many urban street corners today from Beijing to Chicago, using the latest algorithms to isolate presumed enemies of the state.

And, yes, I am no lawyer. I havent taken even one course in the law and spent my time in college and graduate school studying now-questionable white men such as John Milton.

But over my decades as a Hollywood screenwriter and then, as founder and CEO of PJMedia, I employed many lawyerssome very good and some not so muchand came to understand the limitations on what they did.

Contracts, it turned out, werent worth much more than the paper they were written on unless both parties wanted to honor them. Enforcing infringements, unless they were hugely egregious, was rarely worth the expense and effort.

Lawsuitswin or lose tend to take over your life in highly deleterious ways. Few want to get involved.

The Supreme Court is the apotheosis of this systeman organization that puts its finger in the air to see which way the wind is blowing (assuming thats even necessary) and then writes its opinions based on pre-conceived notions designed to offend the least number.

Sadly, its the last place to look for justice in a presidential electionor anything, really, that tilts against that prevailing wind.

They wouldnt even, as Justice Clarence Thomas requested, explore the blatantly unconstitutional malfeasances in various states where unelected officials clearly and unlawfully superseded the legislatures in changing election law by fiat, something we would think would only happen in totalitarian countries.

But it happened here, my friends, several times. We could cite the Supreme Court for dereliction of duty  or we could look elsewhere for justice.

Roger L. Simon is an award-winning novelist, Oscar-nominated screenwriter, co-founder of PJMedia, and now, editor-at-large for The Epoch Times. His most recent books are The GOAT (fiction) and I Know Best: How Moral Narcissism Is Destroying Our Republic, If It Hasnt Already (nonfiction). He can be found on Parler as @rogerlsimon.

Views expressed in this article are the opinions of the author and do not necessarily reflect the views of The Epoch Times.
Press Release

February 22, 2021 Villanueva hails passage of Labor Ed bill; 'We are one step closer to an empowered workforce' Senator Joel Villanueva hailed the Senate approval on third and final reading the measure that, if enacted into law, would require tertiary education institutions and tech-voc training institutes to integrate labor education subjects in their general education curriculum. "We are one step closer to an empowered workforce, one where both employer and employee are informed of their respective rights under the law. Sa ganitong paraan, mababawasan po natin ang mang-aabuso at maaabuso, dahil alam ng isa't isa ang karapatan nila bilang negosyante at manggagawa," said Villanueva, chair of the Senate committee on higher and technical and vocational education and sponsor of Senate Bill No. 1513. "We often enter the workforce - both as worker and employer - without the sufficient knowledge on labor laws to protect and respect labor rights. Lalo na po ngayon sa panahon ng pandemya. Marami pong negosyo ang nagsara, marami pa ang nawalan ng trabaho. At ang ilan sa kanila, hindi na nakuha ang benepisyong nararapat sa kanila," the former TESDA chief noted. "Ngayong may pandemya, maraming manggagawa ang hindi na lang nagrereklamo. Marami ang binawasan ng sweldo pero walang narinig na angal ang kanilang employer. Okay ng talikuran ang kanilang karapatan basta may trabaho." Villanueva said that labor rights violations are rampant in the workplace, and the Labor Education Act or Senate Bill No. 1513, which consolidated related bills on labor education, hopes to address this injustice. The measure will require universities and colleges to integrate labor education into the general education curriculum as an elective. It also mandates TESDA to include labor education in their training regulations. "We need labor education in our schools to equip both workers and employers with the right labor information so that they will become better partners in attaining and maintaining harmonious labor-management relationships," the lawmaker said. "Our curriculum should help our future workers and employers make deeper and fuller understanding of their labor rights and responsibilities. The passage of this Bill on 3rd reading is a step towards that direction." "This bill also hopes to promote a culture of compliance to our existing labor laws, which seek to protect both the worker and employer from abuses. This measure seeks to shelter workers from unfair labor practices, illegal dismissals, occupational safety and health issues in the workplace, and other violations," he further explained. The senator said the enactment of this measure is especially important during the pandemic, and the fact that the country is also a great source of overseas workers. "Pati po yung mga OFWs natin na papasok sa trabaho sa ibang bansa, madami po silang matututunan kapag mayroon nang labor education subjects sa kolehiyo man o tech-voc training institutes," Villanueva added. The measure defines labor education as the "teaching of labor rights, workers' welfare and benefits, core labor standards, labor laws and regulations, the national and global labor situation, labor market concerns, labor issues, overseas work and related problems, the nature of human labor, the role of labor in the self-realization of the human being, the foundations of the dignity of labor, and other topics related to labor and employment."
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India has so far supplied about 230 lakh doses of vaccines against COVID-19 to friends and partners across the world and the country's vaccine capacity will generate another 1.1 billion doses for the WHO-led COVAX scheme that distributes them to developing countries, Foreign Secretary said on Monday.

In his address to the Haryana Institute of Public Administration, Shringla also said India believes in the vision of an open, free, rules-based Indo-Pacific region supported by inclusive global and regional institutions that promote prosperous, stable and sovereign states on the basis of shared interests.

The concept of Vasudaiva Kutumbakam is central to India's civilisational ethos as "we believe that the universe is one", he said, asserting that this places upon "us the responsibility of being responsible global citizens".

"We put this teaching into practice during the pandemic. Vaccine Maitri, the global health diplomacy operation in which we have supplied vaccines - made in India - to nations across the world is a practical demonstration of our belief and our approach," Shringla said.

India is the largest producer of vaccines in the world with about 60 per cent of the global share and it has used these strengths not just to launch the world's largest vaccination drive in the country, but has also delivered on Prime Minister Narendra Modi's promise at the UN General Assembly to make Indian manufactured vaccines affordable and accessible to all of humanity, he said.

"We have so far supplied about 230 lakh doses of vaccines to friends and partners across the world. Indian vaccine capacities will generate another 1.1 billion doses for the WHO-led COVAX scheme that distributes them to developing countries across the world," the foreign secretary said.

The aim of COVAX is to accelerate the development and manufacture of COVID-19 vaccines, and to guarantee fair and equitable access for every country in the world.

Underlining that 'Vaccine Maitri' is not an isolated undertaking, Shringla said it takes place in the aftermath of another large operation to provide essential medicines and medical supplies to over 150 countries during the pandemic.

India has established its credentials as the pharmacy to the world during the crisis as medications such as Hydroxychloroquine and Paracetmol made in India were shipped to destinations across the world in daunting logistical circumstances imposed by lockdowns, he pointed out.

Noting that Indian rapid response teams were deployed in eight countries, Shringla said Indian naval vessels and air force airplanes delivered supplies along a wide arc to friends and partners.

"We have to make every effort to keep the wheels of globalisation moving safely. That is why we launched the Vande Bharat Mission. It is the largest evacuation and air movement exercise in history and has transported more than 4 million Indian nationals in nine phases back and forth from multiple points across the world to India," he said.

The mission's current form that involves air bubbles with 24 countries and continuing evacuation flights is built upon earlier phases that involved movements of millions of people by air, sea and land, he said.

Asserting that the COVID pandemic has had a far-reaching impact on the geo-political and geo-economic landscape, Shringla said it is the greatest shock to the international system since the Second World War.

"We were also confronted with the most severe economic slowdown in living history. The human cost of the pandemic has been substantial. Lives and livelihoods both have been lost," he said.

Noting that every facet of national life has been affected by complexities and difficulties, Shringla said Indian diplomacy and India's external policies are no exception.

"India has acted with resolve during this unprecedented crisis. A series of public health measures and carefully calibrated lockdowns have produced an unique epidemiological profile," he said.

Noting that several major economies are still living through a deadly second wave of infections, he said in India, the rate of spread of infections, the number of fatalities and the number of cases requiring hospitalisation and critical care, have all shown a consistent decline during the same period.

He said the government has also reacted boldly on the economic front.

"Its initial reaction was to launch one of the largest and boldest fiscal stimulus packages in recent economic history. This was accompanied by a simultaneous focus on building an Atmanirbhar Bharat," he noted.

There is enough evidence to indicate that India has turned the corner in economic terms with the IMF projecting 11.5% growth rate for India in 2021, Shringla said.

This would make India the only major economy of the world to register double-digit growth amidst the pandemic, he said.

Talking about India's foreign relations, Shringla said the country continues to build on its relationship with the United States.

"We continue to have a special strategic partnership with Russia. We have a rapidly growing and changing relationship with the European Union and with European countries such as the United Kingdom, France and Germany," Shringla said.

"We recently entered into our first Green Strategic Partnership with Denmark. Japan is another vital partner with whom we have a mutli-dimensional relationship," he said adding that "we are committed multilateralists".

(Only the headline and picture of this report may have been reworked by the Business Standard staff; the rest of the content is auto-generated from a syndicated feed.)
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50,000 doses of Russian Sputnik V vaccine to Serbia In the Balkan country 17% of population received first dose

(ANSAmed) - BELGRADE, FEBRUARY 22 - An additional 50,000 doses of the Russian Sputnik V vaccine against Covid reached Serbia on Monday morning, the country in the western Balkans which has been most successful in its mass vaccination campaign.



So far, about 1.2 million (17% of the population) have received the first dose while over 400,000 have also received the second.



Sputnik V is one of four vaccines available in Serbia, together with China's Sinopharm, Pfizer-BioNTech and AstraZeneca. Premier Ana Brnabic confirmed that on Monday a further 46,800 doses of Pfizer-BioNTech will arrive during the day, with provisions to Serbia overall totaling two million doses.



The Balkan country has reached an agreement with Russia for the production on its territory of Sputnik V, which could begin by the end of this year.



Together with other countries in the Balkan region, Serbia is included in a list of countries benefiting from the Covax plan for low-income States but Belgrade over the past few months - thanks to more financial availability - and good relations between President Aleksandar Vucic and the leaders of Russia and China - has decided to move autonomously, forging bilateral agreements with vaccine producers. This has enabled Serbia to donate vaccines to neighboring countries. (ANSAmed).




San Antonio Mayor Ron Nirenberg and philanthropist Gordon Hartman urged residents Monday to donate to a pair of emergency funds aimed at providing financial assistance to those hit hard by the winter storm.

Hartman, the founder of Morgans Wonderland, launched the Lets Help SA fund to help needy residents of San Antonio and Bexar County receive food and water, avoid evictions and stay in their homes. The fund also would help the homeless.

Some $1.7 million had been raised as of Monday morning, Hartman said at a news conference, not including $25,000 and $250,000, respectively, from the charitable arms of Wells Fargo and the Spurs. The fund is specifically for three nonprofits: the San Antonio Food Bank, SAMMinistries and Haven for Hope.

Hartman urged those who can give to donate, and the amount will be matched by his family foundation along with the Harvey E. Najim Family Foundation and the Kronkosky Charitable Foundation.

The idea is to try to raise upward of $3.4 million by Sunday to provide immediate assistance.

How to donate To give to Let's Help SA, visit the website: www.LetsHelpSA.com To donate to the SAWS Community Pipe Repair Fund, go to www.saws.org/cpr. See More Collapse

The sun is shining, but I can tell you that the hurt is still out there, Hartman said. There are people still without water and people who need an incredible amount of help right now.

Top hits: Get San Antonio Express-News stories sent directly to your inbox

Simultaneously, Nirenberg asked for private donations to an existing San Antonio Water System program  dubbed the Community Pipe Repair Fund  to help compensate San Antonians for at least some of the expenses resulting from damage caused by the prolonged freezing weather and ensuing electricity and water outages. The aid would include helping residents cover the cost of fixing broken water pipes.

Nirenberg floated the idea of such a fund last week. Already, theres $300,000 worth of donations and pledges for that pot of money.

The program will prioritize emergency pipe repair among other types of repairs that vulnerable homeowners  simply cannot perform at the moment, the mayor said.

On ExpressNews.com: 'This is San Antonio in 2021. That's not good enough': The story behind the crippling blackouts

Over the weekend, the White House declared a major disaster in 77 counties, including Bexar, allowing residents to tap federal emergency funds for costs including temporary housing and home repairs.

But Nirenberg said he didnt want residents to wait for those federal dollars to kick in  while going without water  to start getting some assistance. Even then, not everyone may be accepted for federal assistance. Households can apply for the SAWS fund regardless of whether they have insurance, but officials are still hammering out details about who is eligible.

We wanted to get them help now, Nirenberg said.

The SAWS board of trustees has to approve a measure at its meeting next week authorizing the distribution of funds from the program.

Meanwhile, Bexar County leaders are hunting for county dollars to help households in unincorporated regions as well as in the countys 26 suburban cities, Commissioners Rebeca Clay-Flores and Trish DeBerry said Monday.
On Monday, Alfa Romeo will unveil the car that Kimi Raikkonen and Antonio Giovinazzi will drive next season. The Swiss team under the name of the Italian car manufacturer will hope that 2021 will be a lot better than 2020.

Everything seemed to indicate that 2020 should have been a good year. The Ferrari engine was very strong at the end of 2019 and there were good developments to be fast on the straight and in the corners. Ferrari, however, disappointed with the engine that Alfa Romeo had to use too. As a result, the team was very often out of the points and it was, therefore, a disappointing season.

Giovinazzi gets a leading role?

Alfa Romeo has been driving with the same line-up since 2019, namely Raikkonen and Giovinazzi. Where the Italian drove his first full season, Raikkonen came from Ferrari where he won a race the previous season. As a result, the Finn had little use for Giovinazzi in the first season. That already partially changed in 2020 and so 2021 must be the year for the Italian to take over the lead.

Read more Alfa Romeo makes fans' hearts beat faster with sneak preview

He should probably do that with a car that from the outside remains largely the same as the car of 2020. There are no major sponsor changes or changes within the team that the Alfa Romeo livery needs to be completely overhauled. Only the rule changes to the car will be reflected.

More Italian on the car

There is a possibility that Alfa Romeo, in addition to the red and white of recent years, will also go for green. They work with the colours of the Italian flag and that can cause popularity among the Italians. In Monza, Alfa Romeo has previously driven with an Italian accent and it could just be that we will see more of that on the new car.

In any case, Fred Vasseur's team aims to perform better than last year. With a record 23 races, they get at least enough opportunities to prove that they got stronger during the winter.

This article was written and originally published by Pelle on the Dutch edition of GPblog.com.

Read more Zhou wins Asian Formula 3 championship, super licence almost within reach
TBILISI, Georgia, Feb. 22, 2021 /PRNewswire/ -- The Parliament of Georgia today confirmed Irakli Garibashvili as Prime Minister along with a vote of confidence in the cabinet Garibashvili put forward.

First on the agenda, Garibashvili will continue the essential work of the government to ably manage the pandemic and accelerate the focus on rebuilding the economy while continuing to strengthen Georgia's security and democratic institutions. Garibashvili pledged to create a long-term development strategy for Georgia in his first one hundred days in office.

A seasoned leader, Garibashvili's other top priority is finishing what he started in his first term as Prime Minister  implementing the Association Agreement with the EU and finalizing Georgia's application to become a full member of the EU. Garibashvili announced that the cabinet is working on a roadmap that will unify all the reforms required for EU integration.

Garibashvili brings an extensive track record of accomplishments across numerous government agencies. Garibashvili previously served as Prime Minister (2013-2015), Defense Minister (2019-2021), and Minister of Internal Affairs (2012-2013). Throughout his career, he has been a champion of moving Georgia closer to NATO, the European Union, and the United States.

In his remarks, Garibashvili asserted, "We understand that the main challenge today is the pandemic, as well as the economy. Businesses need maximum support and I am fully prepared to be personally involved in any decision-making process related to business incentives and support to create more jobs. We need non-ordinary approaches, more creativity, sharper decisions."

As Prime Minister from 2013 to 2015, he strengthened Georgia's relationship with the US  Georgia's premier strategic partner  and signed Georgia's Association Agreement and Deep and Comprehensive Agreement with the EU. He ushered in numerous reforms including those necessary to achieve visa liberalization with the EU. Under his leadership, Georgia initiated, and the EU-supported, its Human Rights Strategy and Action Plan.

While serving as Defense Minister, he moved quickly to modernize Georgia's military and boost morale among the troops. His tenure saw increased Georgia-US military cooperation contributing to the security of the Black Sea region. Most notably, the Georgian Defense Readiness Program represents a steadfast commitment between the two countries to improve Georgia's combat readiness and further develop a self-sustaining institutional capacity to recruit, train and equip a force prepared to accomplish national and international missions.

As Interior Minister, Garibashvili reformed a ministry plagued by years of civil rights abuses under the UNM-led government by bringing it closer to European standards.

The other changes to the cabinet include Irakli Karseladze as Minister of Regional Development and Infrastructure and Juansher Burchuladze replacing Garibashvili as Minister of Defense. Both Karseladze and Burchuladze previously served as Deputy Ministers in their respective ministries. The rest of the cabinet remains the same.

Prime Minister Garibashvili and the cabinet took office immediately following the vote.

SOURCE Government of Georgia
KYIV (Reuters) - Ukraine on Monday accused unnamed Russian internet networks of massive attacks on Ukrainian security and defence websites, but gave no details of any damage done or say who it believed was behind the assault.

Kyiv has previously accused Moscow of orchestrating large cyber attacks as part of a "hybrid war" against Ukraine, which Russia denies.

However, a statement from Ukraine's National Security and Defence Council did not disclose who it believed organised the attacks or give any details about the effect the intrusions may have had on Ukrainian cyber security.

The attacks started on Feb. 18 and were directed against websites belonging to Ukraine's Security Service, the council itself and some other state institutions and strategic enterprises, it said in a statement.

"It was revealed that addresses belonging to certain Russian traffic networks were the source of these coordinated attacks," the Council said.

The council added the attacks attempted to infect vulnerable government web servers with a virus that covertly made them part of a botnet used for so-called distributed-denial-of-service (DDoS) attacks on other resources.

A DDOS attack is a cyber attack in which hackers attempt to flood a network with unusually high volumes of data traffic in order to paralyse it.

Ukraine and Russia have been at loggerheads since Russia's annexation of Crimea from Ukraine in 2014 and involvement in a conflict in Ukraine's eastern Donbass region which Kyiv says has killed 14,000 people.

Ukraine's army said this month that five of its service personnel were killed over the week ended on Feb. 14 despite a ceasefire with pro-Russian separatists in the east of the country.

On Monday, the military reported another dead soldier who came under fire from an anti-tank grenade launcher.

(Reporting by Pavel Polityuk, additional reporting by Natalia Zinets, Editing by William Maclean)
File photo taken on July 15, 2020 shows Ngozi Okonjo-Iweala attending a press conference in Geneva, Switzerland. (WTO/Handout via Xinhua)

The World Trade Organization (WTO), the rule-making body for the global trading system that started life on January 1, 1995, has just had its glass ceiling shattered, with the first woman climbing to the apex of its structure. To add to the significance of the first, the woman in question, Dr. Ngozi Okonjo-Iweala, Nigeria's former two-time finance minister and foreign minister, is the first African appointed to be the director general of the WTO. Though she has recently acquired American citizenship, having studied, worked, and lived in the U.S. for nearly four decades, she is strongly rooted in Africa where she was born 66 years ago and had her early education.

Respected economist

The WTO has been a critical part of the international system since the emergence of the post-WWII international order. Its predecessor, the General Agreement on Tariffs and Trade (GATT) provided the rules for the global trading system since 1948 when it was founded. While GATT mainly dealt with trade in goods, the WTO has a broader mandate which includes services and trade in inventions, creations and designs (intellectual property).

The world trading system originated against the backdrop of the horrors of the two world wars and an economic depression. GATT was intended to provide a legal mechanism for tariff negotiation and make rules that would discourage countries from erecting barriers through non-tariff means.

The various negotiations including the legendary Uruguay and Doha Rounds, which culminated in the formation of the WTO, were critical in establishing the contemporary global trading architecture.

It is this complex web of rule-making for trade, especially at a time when trade has emerged as the life-blood of the international system, that Okonjo-Iweala would be assuming the leadership of.

Okonjo-Iweala, who had a 25-year career at the World Bank in Washington D.C as a development economist, is no stranger to multilateralism.

Rising to the number two position in the bank as managing director, she had the responsibility to oversee the World Bank's $81 billion operational portfolio in Africa, South Asia, Europe and central Asia.

First appointed as Nigeria's minister of finance in the late 1990s, Okonjo-Iweala oversaw the negotiations with the Paris club that culminated in the elimination of $30 billion of Nigeria debt, after paying a whopping $12 billion at once to the creditors.

She had argued that paying the debt would free the country of the burden of interest payments, which, according to her, would free funds for addressing the country's huge infrastructure deficit. Critics of the massive capital flight which she engineered with the $12 billion payment insist that after the debt repayment and cancellation, there was nothing of substance that happened in the improvement of the country's infrastructure.

However, she made enormous efforts to improve Nigeria's macroeconomic management, which included, among other things, the implementation of an oil price-based fiscal system where revenues accruing above reference benchmark oil price were saved in a special account, called "Excess Crude Account," which helped to reduce macroeconomic volatility. She also instituted a key transparency governance measure, whereby each item of local or state monthly financial allocation from the federal government of Nigeria was published in the newspapers. In 2011, under another president, Jonathan Goodluck, she was reappointed as minister of finance with the expanded portfolio of the coordinating minister for the economy, which is well acknowledged to have brought considerable stability to the macroeconomic management and even rebalancing of the country's economy. Since then, Nigeria has emerged as the largest economy in Africa, though poverty and staggering unemployment, leading to violent crimes and insurgency, remain open wounds which Nigeria is still struggling to contend with.

New helmswoman of WTO

Nonetheless, she comes to the apex of the WTO with a lot of experience and broad international exposure that will serve her well in navigating through the negotiating crucibles that would stabilize the world trading system. In the era of multilateralism with isolated pockets of threats to it, she would have to make a compelling case for why free and fair trade is in the best interest of all.

With the China-U.S trade impasse, mostly stoked by Washington, she must weigh in to enhance impartial mechanism for trade-dispute resolution that does not pander to hegemonic power designs.

As trade in goods has evolved to a complex web of trading beyond goods to intellectual property, the WTO under Okonjo-Iweala must up its game to move in the direction of a fair and equitable trading system that leaves no member state behind.

Though, bilateral trading agreements remain the key component of the contemporary international system, the WTO would continue to be the guarantor and rule maker and the last port of call for dispute-settlement for international trade matters and, therefore, has enormous responsibility for providing the enabling roadmap to sustain one of key human activities that can easily replace the thought of war, which twice plunged the humanity into the agonizing depth of bestiality in the last century.

An accomplished African woman long dedicated to international public service, Okonjo-Iweala is enjoined to use her new office to advance the objective trajectory of the human prospects which clearly converge around the construction of a community of shared future for all humanity. Trade is one of the oldest human activities and must now be given a prime place in the restoration of the common development of all mankind. This is the clarion call for Okonjo-Iweala.

The writer is director of the Center for China Studies in Abuja, Nigeria.
Police have launched a probe after the Handforth Parish Council star Jackie Weaver received an email calling her a 'fully fledged c***' who should 'not be let out of a burning building'.

A seven-minute edited highlights package of council planning committee's December meeting captured a multitude of chaos - including the moment acting-clerk Jackie, 63, kicked out council chairman Brian Tolver after he told her she has 'no authority at all' and ordered her to 'stop talking'.

But in the latest developments since the video went viral, Mrs Weaver, from Shropshire, told The Mirror that she has been subjected to online abuse.

Jackie Weaver, 63, (pictured) says she has been subjected to online abuse since a seven-minute highlight video of a Handforth Parish Council meeting went viral

During the meeting Ms Weaver was accused of having 'no authority here' and subsequently removed Brian Tolver from the meeting

The council planning committee's December meeting captured a multitude of chaos which saw council chairman Brian Tolver (pictured) order Jackie to 'stop talking'

Cheshire Police are now said to be looking into the abusive messages, described as 'malicious communications'.

The message, which Ms Weaver says was sent to her the day after the explosive video went viral, reportedly called her a 'disgrace', a 'fully fledged c***' and said she should 'not be let out of a burning building'.

Speaking about the abuse, she said: 'I definitely didn't take it as a death threat. But they copied my colleagues in and, without referring it to me, my colleague referred it to the police.

'Don't get me wrong - I wasn't unhappy with what they did. But I wouldn't have done it that way. I don't think they would have done anything.'

Cheshire Police has been approached for comment.

Ms Weaver became a viral hit, which has seen her get verified on Twitter, after a clip of the fiery parish council meeting was shared online.

Abusive emails sent to Jackie (pictured) and her colleagues have since been referred to the police and Cheshire officers have launched a probe into the messages

Factions of the council backing Mr Tolver claimed she had no right to kick the chairman out of the Zoom meeting.

But Jackie - who chairs the Cheshire Association of Local Councillors - has since insisted she did because the meeting was not called by the chairman nor the council's official clerk.

Her action has gained her wide-spread support, with Jackie's husband Stuart Weaver, 69 - a retired design engineer - telling MailOnline that he's 'proud' of his wife for standing up to them.

Jackie - who has worked with Handforth Parish Council on and off for nine years - says the hostility from Mr Tolver's faction of councillors was hardly a surprise.

Councillors Cynthia Samson, John Smith and Susan Moore - who can all be seen in the zoom - asked Jackie to act as clerk in the meeting because the council's formal clerk had been suspended by Mr Tolver.

Jackie said she 'thought something might kick off' so took on the role herself - rather than pass it onto someone more junior.

In a normal parish council meeting, Jackie wouldn't have the authority to remove someone, but because it was called by two coucillors - who risked having the hearing 'hijacked' - she says she did.

Cheshire Police are now said to be looking into the abusive messages, described as 'malicious communications'. Pictured: Jackie

The small town of Handforth in Cheshire, close to Manchester Airport, is known for its gigantic M&S and its quiet suburban streets - but many residents now know that its parish council is split by infighting and a battle for power

Jackie earlier admitted that 'there is an element of bullying and bad behaviour around in local councils' - with councillor Peter Moore, 70, one of those on the Zoom call, describing Handforth Parish Council as a 'den of bullying'.

Jackie told MailOnline: 'I had the authority to kick them of the call. They shout all the statements about it being illegal but I've been doing this for 25 years.

'If it had been a normal parish meeting I wouldn't have had the authority to do that.

'But it was not called by the clerk, it was not called by the chairman, it was called by two councillors, and, therefore, when someone disrupted that meeting I felt perfectly justified in kicking them out.'

The row started several months ago between two warring camps within the parish council with four on one side and three on the other.

One councillor, Jean Thompson, was dismissed as she did not attend meetings for six months.

It left the council split, with three councillors on each side: chairman Mr Tolver, Aled Brewerton and Barry Burkhill versus Mr Smith, Ms Samson and Ms Moore.

Mr Tolver was thrown out of the pre-Christmas hearing - the second meeting in a row - after he accused rival councillors of calling it illegally and yelling: 'You have no authority here, Jackie Weaver! NO AUTHORITY AT ALL!' and repeatedly telling her to 'stop talking'.

Jackie, acting as the clerk, then kicked him off Zoom for being 'disruptive'. She was not in charge of the previous meeting when Mr Tolver was kicked out.

In response, Mr Tolver's ally Councillor Mr Brewerton is shown angrily shouting at Ms Weaver when she tries to elect a new chairman: 'No they can't because the vice chair is here! I take charge! Read the standing orders. Read them and understand them!'.
Police patrol a village in Hotan prefecture, in China's Xinjiang region, on Feb. 17, 2018. (Ben Dooley/AFP via Getty Images)

UK Calls for Urgent and Unfettered UN Access to Xinjiang

Britain on Feb. 22 condemned the Chinese regimes deteriorating human rights situation and urged Beijing to give the United Nations urgent and unfettered access to Xinjiang.

Addressing the U.N. Human Rights Council, UK Foreign Secretary Dominic Raab said: We stand with the growing number of international partners, U.N. experts, and NGOs concerned about the deteriorating human rights situation that we see in China. No one can ignore the evidence anymore.

He said the situation in Xinjiang is beyond the pale, with almost daily reports now that shine a new light on Chinas systematic human rights violations perpetrated against Uyghur Muslims and other minorities.

Global Britain champions human rights as a force for good and at todays opening of a new @UN_HRC session I raised the gross injustices in Myanmar, Russia, China and Belarus. https://t.co/2KGIbwFotl pic.twitter.com/AFsL9gF003  Dominic Raab (@DominicRaab) February 22, 2021

The reported abuseswhich include torture, forced labour and forced sterilisation of womenare extreme and they are extensive. They are taking place on an industrial scale, he said.

It must be our collective duty to ensure this does not go unanswered, Raab said, adding that U.N. mechanisms must respond.

The U.N. High Commissioner for Human Rights, or another independent fact-finding expert, mustand I repeat mustbe given urgent and unfettered access to Xinjiang, he said.

Raab said the UK will live up to its responsibilities. On Jan. 12, he announced measures aimed at ensuring UK businesses and public bodies do not allow goods produced with slave labour in Xinjiang in their supply chains.

In Mondays speech, Raab also raised concerns over the situation in Hong Kong, where the rights of the people are being systematically violated.

Riot police try to clear away people gathered in the Central district of downtown Hong Kong on May 27, 2020. (Anthony Wallace/AFP via Getty Images)

The National Security Law is a clear breach of the Sino-British Joint Declaration and is having a chilling effect on personal freedoms, he said, adding that free and fair legislative elections must take place, with a range of opposition voices allowed to take part.

Another focus of Raabs speech was on Burma, also known as Myanmar, where the military junta seized power on Feb. 1 and arrested civilian leaders including Aung San Suu Kyi.

Last week, Britain, working in tandem with Canada, imposed asset freezes and travel bans against three members of the Burmese junta for their roles in serious human rights violations during the coup.

The position in Myanmar gets worse. The violations and abuses are well documented, including arbitrary detention and draconian restrictions on freedom of expression, Raab said.

He said the military must step aside, and civilian leaders must be released.

Raab also raised concerns over the crackdown on opposition figures in Belarus and the poisoning and detention of Alexei Navalny in Russia.


If Texas were a country 

At least once a week, I read that phrase in some report or another to express the size and importance of the states economy. But its a lousy premise, because if we broke out every countrys states and provinces, especially Chinas, Texass ranking would drop pretty quick in comparison.

The Lone Star is globally important without skewing the statistics and could become more so if we make the right investments.

Texas brought in more revenue from exports than any other state in 2020 for the 19th consecutive year, according to the Census Bureau. Our exports were worth $279 billion compared to $156 billion from California and $61.9 billion from New York.

TOMLINSONS TAKE: Race is on to see who can produce the cleanest fossil fuels to capture market share

Even with all the challenges we faced in 2020, we are still outpacing the competition in exports  handily, I might add  thats a really good sign, said Robert Allen, president and CEO of the Texas Economic Development Corporation.

Houston is one of only two American metros to make the Top 20 in FDI Intelligences Global Cities of the Future 2021-22, demonstrating our role in international trade. The financial data firm, owned by the Financial Times, examines the foreign direct investment in hundreds of cities to see where investors vote with their money.

Singapore, London and Dubai took the top three spots, with New York ranked seventh. Houston squeaked-in at number 19. Innovation was a common denominator.

With low tax rates and generous research grants, Singapore has long positioned itself as one of the worlds most innovative cities, the magazine concluded. Singapore recorded the most FDI in research and development between 2015 and 2020 at $210 million, surpassing other cities by a significant margin.

Texas is known more for its lack of an income tax. But what the state doesnt take from your paycheck, it extracts through exorbitant property taxes. Texas is not a low-tax state, just a differently-taxed state. Where we break down is in rates of higher education and research and development spending.

Investment in innovation sets the other Global Cities of the Future apart. Amsterdam, Dublin, Shanghai and Bangalore, India, have invested in skilled workforces, technology development to earn the foreign investments that make their business communities thrive.

Texas has made significant strides and has become the United States top exporter of technology products for the eighth consecutive year. Hopefully, the new Hewlett Packard Enterprise headquarters in Houston, the cybersecurity companies in San Antonio and Googles and Apples expansion in Austin will add to our tech ecosystems.

Keeping its title as a global energy capital will prove more difficult as the world moves away from fossil fuels.

Foreign direct investments in renewable energy between January and November 2020 totaled $91.5 billion, more than twice the $45.4 billion directed to coal, oil and natural gas, according to FDI Intelligence.

That makes renewable energy the most coveted sector in 2020  a crown that the oil and gas sector has relinquished only twice since 2003, the firms analysts concluded.

As the state with the most exports and Houston a center for foreign investment, Texass economy is deeply dependent on international trade and the global economy. As the world comes out of the COVID-19 pandemic, opportunities and risks abound.

Saudi Arabias decision to keep oil off the market has raised crude prices by creating an artificial shortage. Cold snaps in Asia and North America have boosted natural gas prices, including liquefied natural gas exports from Texas.

The Biden administration plans to spend trillions to stimulate the economy and build new infrastructure, which will spur oil and gas demand and drive-up prices as construction revives. This will create a false dawn of a new oil and gas boom that threatens to lull Texans into complacency.

TOMLINSONS TAKE: American businesses should stand up to China's human rights abuses

OPEC nations, though, will soon release millions of barrels of crude to protect market share as they have in the past. Once the wind, solar, battery and recharging facilities are built, the demand for Texas oil field services and refining will drop.

Then the world will ask, What else ya got?

Will we be manufacturing electric vehicles at factories other than the Tesla factory in Austin? Will Texas Gulf Coast plants export green hydrogen and store carbon dioxide underground to fight climate change? Will San Antonio become an artificial intelligence hub with specialties in cybersecurity and robotics?

The Biden administration plans to spend big on research and development of climate-related technologies, will Texas grab a piece of that?

Texas has a strong position in global markets and a respected brand, but we can lose them. Anticipating future market trends requires constant questioning and evolution, not resting on our laurels.

Tomlinson writes commentary about business, economics and policy.

twitter.com/cltomlinson

chris.tomlinson@chron.com

Photo taken on Feb. 21, 2021 shows tourists viewing light installations on a relic site of ancient city in eastern China's Shandong Province. As the Chinese Lantern Festival draws to a close, all areas of the city have been illuminated to celebrate the end of the Spring Festival. (Wang Jilin/Guangming Picture)

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Some of the genes in the human genome appear to confer a protective effect against severe coronavirus disease 2019 (COVID-19), caused by the severe acute respiratory syndrome coronavirus 2 (SARS-CoV-2). A new paper published online in the journal PNAS describes genes involved in innate immunity that have undergone variations between different human subgroups.

Infectious disease and genetic changes

Infectious diseases vary in prevalence with environmental conditions, which vary dramatically in different parts of the world. These act as selective factors on gene variants, such as the toll-like receptor gene variants that reduce the susceptibility to some bacterial infections and allergies.

Again, the host cell proteins that interact with RNA viruses are encoded in various regions of the human DNA, and as such, these viruses might have stimulated many such changes.

COVID-19 and chromosome 3 haplotype

An earlier study showed an association between a haplotype on chromosome 3 and risk of critical COVID-19 illness. The risk of intensive care unit (ICU) admission following SARS-CoV-2 was doubled with each copy of this variant.

This gene was found to be present in 65% of carriers in South Asia but 16% in Europe, but remarkably, it is absent in East Asia. The researchers hypothesize that this is due to a beneficial effect of the haplotype in South Asia against other earlier pathogens, but was now negatively selected in East Asia.

Geographic distribution of the allele indicative of the Neandertal haplotype protective against severe COVID-19. Pie charts indicate minor allele frequency in red at rs1156361. Frequency data are from the 1000 Genomes Project (23). Map source data are from OpenStreetMap.

Neanderthal SNPs confer protection

The current study, from the Genetic of Mortality in Critical Care (GenOMICC) consortium, examined over 2,200 critical COVID-19 patients and controls. This study showed a risk region on chromosome 3, with seven loci that affect the whole genome, located on chromosomes 6, 12, 19, and 21.

The mutations at loci on chromosomes 6, 19, and 21 are single-nucleotide polymorphisms (SNPs) that increase the risk of ICU admissions in COVID-19 patients and match alleles found in human DNA thought to be of Neanderthal origin. Yet, these are not found in the genomes of over a hundred African Yoruba people as available on the 1000 Genomes Project.

Chromosome 12 SNPs came from Neanderthals

The researchers compared this with data from the COVID-19 Host Genetics Initiative (HGI). This showed that SNPs on chromosome 12 that were linked to the hospitalization in COVID-19 patients were in linkage disequilibrium in Europeans. This 75 kb haplotype was compared to present-day and older genomes.

The study used haplotypes found ten or more times among individuals in the 1000 Genomes Project and among genomes from Neanderthal and Denisovan skeletons from caves in Siberia and Croatia. Using phylogenetic techniques, they found that eight of 64 modern human haplotypes were closely related to the three older skeletons.

The researchers then carried out a calculation meant to distinguish a segment of the genome that came from a common ancestor of modern humans and Neanderthals, from one which was incorporated into the modern human genome from Neanderthals by intermixing of the groups. They found that a segment of 75 kb would probably not have survived that long if it had descended from a common ancestor.

We thus conclude that the haplotype entered the human gene pool from Neandertals.

Neanderthal variant reduces ICU risk in COVID-19

The study also found that the index variant of the protective haplotype was similar to that found in all three Neanderthal genomes and reduced the risk of ICU admission by over a fifth with each copy. The Neanderthal genomes contained 34 of 35 SNPs that cosegregate with the protective SNP variant.

This haplotype is found in 25% to 30% of most Eurasian populations but is almost zero in sub-Saharan Africa. It is present, though at lower levels, in some populations ethnically related to Africa. This could be due to gene inflows from European or Native American populations, in this case.

Possible mechanism of protection

The protective haplotype contains parts of three genes, called OAS1, OAS2, and OAS3, that encode enzymes induced by interferons and activated by double-stranded RNAs. The effect of these enzymes, called oligoadenylate synthetases, is to produce oligoadenyl chains that trigger ribonuclease L, breaking down double-stranded RNA within the cell, a classical antiviral mechanism in infected cells. Other antiviral pathways are also activated by ribonuclease L.

Some Neanderthal alleles appear to be functionally important, such as an SNP that affects a splice affector site in OAS1. This has been earlier found to be protective against West Nile virus. The replacement of the ancestral allele present in the Neanderthal haplotype with other variants leads to less protective isoforms of this protein.

This ancestral allele is currently present only in this context outside Africa. Interestingly, in Africans today, the ancestral allele is found only as a genetic variant independent of the Neanderthal haplotype.

The Neanderthal haplotype also appears to confer more resistance to hepatitis C. Again, the OAS1 missense variant is protective against SARS-CoV, according to a small study.

Temporal patterns in haplotype frequencies

Using thousands of genomes from earlier human fossils, the researchers claim that the Neanderthal OAS haplotype has increased in frequency from 10% to 30% over the centuries, with the last increase in Eurasian populations appearing to have occurred quite recently.

More study will be required, using data from fossils found other than western Eurasia and tracing the allele frequencies over time, as well as adjusting for migrations of large population groups that account for changes in allele frequencies over entire genomes.

What are the implications?

The chromosome 12 Neanderthal haplotype is thus protective against severe COVID-19 and is found at frequencies of 50% or more in Eurasia and the Americas. The increased enzymatic activity of the ancestral variants may have been benefited the later populations that acquired this through genetic mixing, as they were exposed to new RNA viruses.

It is interesting that the Neandertal-derived OAS locus has recently increased in frequency in Eurasia... suggesting that this locus has been positively selected.

Further study will confirm or refute this hypothesis.
Source: Xinhua| 2021-02-22 21:36:29|Editor: huaxia

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ADEN, Yemen, Feb. 22 (Xinhua) -- A one-month round of Yemeni consultations on exchanging prisoners and political detainees under the auspices of the United Nations was concluded in Jordan, without achieving any progress.

This round, the fifth of its kind, between delegations of Yemen's government and the Houthi rebel group began on Jan. 24, under direct supervision from the UN and the International Committee of the Red Cross (ICRC).

On Sunday, the UN's Special Envoy to Yemen Martin Griffiths declared concluding the consultations between the two warring rivals, confirming that the results were not constructive.

"I am disappointed that this round of talks did not amount to what we saw in Switzerland last September, which resulted in the historic release of 1,056 detainees," the envoy said in a brief statement.

During the latest talks, the parties "discussed strategies and possibilities to fulfill their commitments under the Stockholm Agreement ... they committed to keep discussing the parameters of a future expanded release operation," Griffiths said.

The envoy urged the two warring parties "to continue their discussions and consultations, conclude the implementation of what they agreed to and expand the arrangements to release more detainees soon."

He reiterated his call for "the unconditional release of all sick, wounded, elderly and children detainees as well as detained civilians, including women and journalists."

An official of Yemen's government told Xinhua on condition of anonymity that "the consultations ... faced many obstacles and failed to reach consensus on the issue of prisoners."

He pointed out that the discussions mainly focused on freeing a list composed of 301 war prisoners from both warring sides, "but they differed over specifying the names and numbers of prisoners included in the list leading to postpone reaching a final agreement."

The Saudi-backed Yemeni government and the Iran-backed Houthi group exchanged accusations and blamed each other for the failure of the prisoner swap talks.

Majid Fadayel, a member of the government delegation to the consultations, said "we made great concessions for the success of this round, unless the intransigence of the Houthis thwarted it."

Fadayel, who is the undersecretary of the pro-government ministry of Human Rights, said that the Houthis included names of killed fighters in their lists and insisted on the release of them from the government's jail, "an apparent obstinacy to obstruct the consultations."

He thought the position of the Houthis after Washington canceled their classification as a "terrorist organization" had "changed dramatically ... which negatively affected the the success of the consultations."

On the other side, Abdul Qader Murtada, head of the Houthi delegation to the consultations, said the negotiations ended without any achievement due to the opposing stances of "the aggression forces and their mercenaries."

"We tried in every possible way to make the consultations successful and made a number of fair proposals to overcome the differences, but to no avail," he said in a press statement.

Yemen's former Minister of Human Rights Houria Mashhour told Xinhua that the Houthis are using the prisoners' issue "that's purely humanitarian as a means for political pressure."

She urged the international community to exercise responsibilities and exert pressures on the warring rivals to resolve this humanitarian issue.

In October 2020, the Yemeni government and the Houthi rebels released a total of 1,056 prisoners from both sides, the largest UN-sponsored exchange deal between them since the outbreak of a civil war in Yemen.

Yemen has been mired in the civil war since late 2014, when the Houthi militia seized control of several northern provinces and forced the internationally-recognized government of President Abd-Rabbu Mansour Hadi out of Sanaa. Enditem
India on Monday offered a USD 100 million line of credit to Mauritius to facilitate procurement of defense assets and the two countries signed a Comprehensive Economic Cooperation Partnership Agreement following talks between External Affairs Minister S Jaishankar and Mauritius Prime Minister Pravind Jugnauth here.

"SAGAR policy reaffirmed. Pleased to witness, along with PM @JugnauthKumar, the exchange of USD 100 million Defence Line of Credit. Will facilitate procurement of defense assets, guided by the needs of Mauritius," Jaishankar tweeted.

The two sides also exchanged letters on provision of Dornier aircraft and Dhruv helicopter by India to step up Mauritius maritime monitoring capabilities.

"A special day for our special relationship. Privileged to witness along with PM @JugnauthKumar the signing of Comprehensive Economic Cooperation Partnership Agreement. Indias first such agreement with an African country," Jaishankar said in another tweet.

"Will help focus on post-pandemic economic recovery. Enable business expansion and greater investments," he added.

"A reliable partner, a responsive friend. Welcome the exchange of cooperation instruments on construction of Renal Transplant Unit, Solar Power Plant and on Consumer Protection & Legal Metrology," he tweeted.

Jaishankar, who arrived here in India's strategically key maritime neighbour in the Indian Ocean region on Sunday night from the Maldives on the last leg of his two-nation tour, also handed him over 100,000 additional doses of commercially procured Made in India COVID-19 vaccines.

"Indias helping hand - always over the horizon. Symbolically handed over 100,000 additional doses of commercially procured Made in India Covid vaccines," he tweeted.

He also conveyed warm greetings from Prime Minister Narendra Modi to Prime Minister Jugnauth. "Commend management of the pandemic under his leadership," Jaishankar tweeted.

"Comprehensive discussions on the status of implementation of various infrastructure projects. Appreciate the efficiency of the Mauritius side in taking them forward," he said in another tweet.

During his visit, Jaishankar will review all aspects of bilateral relations, ongoing implementation of various infrastructure projects being carried out by India in Mauritius, and hold discussions on bilateral, regional and global issues of mutual interest including India's assistance to Mauritius. PTI ZH AKJ ZH ZH

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A Kansas man who spent 12 years in prison after being wrongfully convicted of murder has died of cancer just 108 days after he was exonerated and released.

Olin 'Pete' Coones Jr., 64, died in Kansas City, Kansas on Sunday.

His attorneys from the Innocence Project Midwest said Coones succumbed to a health condition that went 'undiagnosed and untreated' while he was in prison.

His death was a result of cancer, local TV outlet KCTV5 reports.

Coones had only been released from prison just over three months ago when his conviction for the 2008 shooting deaths of Kansas City couple, Kathleen and Carl Schroll, was thrown out.

'While he was only 64 years old, he re-entered the free world in a body that was broken,' his attorneys said in a statement announcing his death.

Olin 'Pete' Coones Jr., 64, died in Kansas City, Kansas on Sunday. He is pictured above following his release from prison in November last year

His attorneys said Coones succumbed to a health condition that went 'undiagnosed and untreated' while he was in prison. His death was a result of cancer, local TV outlet KCTV5 reports. Coones is pictured on the left in a 2020 mugshot and on the right in a 2015 mugshot

'Though Pete was no longer imprisoned, his death - like his unjust conviction - is the result of continued State neglect and mistreatment; the evidence suggests that he ultimately succumbed to health conditions that went undiagnosed and untreated during his time in prison.

'We take a small measure of comfort that Pete died a free man. Yet nothing can restore all the State stole from him. Nothing will give him back the decade he should have had to spend with his family and loved ones.'

He is survived by his wife Dee, their six children and the grandchildren he met for the first time following his release.

His attorneys lamented that he was only reunited with his family for 3.5 months prior to his death.

'Pete loved his family, though he had only 108 days reunited with them: Dee, his wife of over 40 years, and their children, Jeremiah, Ben, Quinn, Mariah, Melody and Ross,' the statement said.

'During this too-short return to his family, Pete met his grandchildren for the first time, having been deprived of their joy and laughter for over a decade.

'Like so many grandfathers, he was smitten with them and wanted nothing more than to be their reliable source of extra treats and flexible rules.'

Following his release last November, Coones told the Kansas City Star said he had been praying for this day for years.

'These sad tears are done,' Coones told his wife and children who had gathered in the courtroom.

He told his family that looking back in a few years, this will have been 'just a speed bump in the road' that was a 'long time coming.'

He is survived by his wife Dee, their six children and the grandchildren he met for the first time following his release. He is pictured above with his wife and some of his children following his release

He is survived by his wife Dee, their six children and the grandchildren he met for the first time following his release. His attorneys lamented that he was only reunited with his family for 3.5 months prior to his death. He is pictured after his release

Coones had always maintained his innocence in the 2008 slayings of Kathleen and Carl Schroll.

He was sentenced to life after being convicted of first-degree murder in Kathleen's death. Coones was acquitted of killing Kathleen's husband, Carl Schroll.

His conviction was exonerated in November last year after his attorneys argued that he had been framed and that investigators and prosecutors hid and manufactured evidence to wrongfully convict him.

His defense argued that Kathleen, who was his late father's caregiver, framed Coones for murder when she killed herself and her husband.

No physical evidence ever tied Coones to the shooting.

The prosecution's case was based on a call Kathleen made to her mother before she died claiming that Coones was in her house, as well as testimony from a jailhouse informant and a legal dispute between Coones and Kathleen over his father's money.

Dr. Erik Mitchell, who performed the autopsies at the time, testified at last year's hearing that he now believed Kathleen's death was more likely a suicide, not a homicide as he had initially ruled.

He said police did not tell him the gun used in the shooting belonged to Kathleen. The gun was beside her body when police arrived and she had gun residue on her hands.

Coones' attorney said that the state had refused to test swabs taken 12 years ago. He said that when his integrity unit eventually had them tested, they showed that Kathleen had gunpowder residue on her hands.

His conviction was exonerated in November last year after his attorneys argued that he had been framed and that investigators and prosecutors hid and manufactured evidence to wrongfully convict him. Coones is pictured with his legal team following his release

His defense attorneys say the plot to frame Coones came to fruition after she was caught mishandling his father's money.

The attorney said Kathleen had been hired part-time by Coones' sister to help care for their father who had dementia. In the months after Coones' sister died, checks for more than $28,000 were written from the father's account to Kathleen.

The Kansas Department for Children and Families sent Schroll a letter in 2006 alerting her it found she financially exploited Olin Coones Sr. That case was referred to the district attorney's office for charges, but the prosecution was declined. Prosecutors did not provide a reason.

After Coones' father also died, he learned that Kathleen had been listed as a beneficiary of his father's life insurance - something that had been done online without power of attorney.

Coones challenged the change in beneficiary and the insurance company asked a federal court to determine who the proper beneficiary was.

The issue was unresolved when Kathleen called her mother to report that Coones was in her home. When police arrived, they found that Kathleen and her husband had been shot with a revolver that she often carried in her purse.

His defense attorneys argued last year that prosecutors did not disclose to them the financial evidence it had of embezzlement and the felony writing of more than 100 fraudulent checks.

They also didn't disclose information such as the changing of beneficiaries on life insurance policies.

Prosecutors, at the time, also did not reveal that the jailhouse informant who testified had multiple conversations with the district attorney's office and that other prosecutors had warned them not to use this informant because of his lack of trustworthiness.

After considering all the evidence, the judge threw out Coones' murder conviction.

He ruled that there was indeed manifest injustice and that the prosecutors had suborned perjury by allowing the testimony of the informant.

'Pete served over 12 years for a crime he did not commit after investigators and prosecutors hid and manufactured evidence to wrongfully convict him of murder,' Coones' attorneys said.

'The evidence that proved his innocence was available from the moment the police arrested him - collected and stored on a property-room shelf - only to be ignored by those determined to win at any cost.

'His life was stolen because his innocence did not matter.'
Shin Hyun-soo, senior presidential secretary for civil affairs, listens as President Moon Jae-in, shown on the video screen, speaks during a meeting with senior aides at Cheong Wa Dae, Monday. Yonhap



By Do Je-hae



Shin Hyun-soo, senior presidential secretary for civil affairs, has decided to remain at Cheong Wa Dae despite offering his resignation earlier after a feud with the new justice minister over the reshuffle of senior prosecutors, according to the presidential office, Monday.



Although the brouhaha about his resignation has been wrapped up for the time being, it showed Cheong Wa Dae has lost its grip on state management and that internal disputes in the ruling bloc are not being controlled properly in the latter part of President Moon Jae-in's term.



"Shin has decided to ask the President to decide what to do with his offer of resignation," Chung Man-ho, senior presidential secretary for public communication, told reporters, Monday. Shin carried out his duties as usual on the day, taking part in the weekly meeting with President Moon in the afternoon.



The announcement by the presidential office comes on the heels of a four-day leave Shin took after offering to resign over differences with Justice Minister Park Beom-kye on a recent reshuffle of several senior prosecutors. The senior presidential secretary for civil affairs deals with issues related to the prosecution.



The presidential office was unclear about the likelihood of Moon replacing Shin, but it is widely believed Moon will keep Shin in his position. "Shin resigned, the President did not accept the resignation, and now Shin has entrusted the President to make a decision. Now it's time for the President to decide, but we cannot say when and what kind of decision he will make," a senior presidential source said.



Shin is the fourth senior presidential aide for civil service under the Moon administration to have been engulfed in political controversy.



The opposition claims that the incident over Shin shows cracks in the management of state affairs and Cheong Wa Dae's weakened control. Over the weekend, some media reports have raised the possibility that the justice ministry announced the new appointments even before President Moon had approved them.



"The Moon administration is increasingly turning into a mess," Rep. Chang Je-won of the main opposition People Power Party (PPP), who is a member of the National Assembly's Legislation and Judiciary Committee, wrote on a recent Facebook post. "The former justice minister fought with the prosecutor general and the new justice minister is fighting with a presidential aide. Now there are controversies about the President being ignored. Moon should tell the people what exactly went on behind the prosecution's personnel scandal and establish discipline within his administration by finding out who is manipulating state affairs."



The presidential office emphatically denied reports that the appointments were announced before Moon approved them.




India and China have agreed to push for a mutually acceptable resolution of other friction points at Gogra, Hot Springs and Depsang along the Line of Actual Control in Ladakh in a steady and orderly manner.

A joint statement, about the tenth round of the China-India Corps Commander level meeting, said that the meeting was held on the Chinese side of the Moldo/Chushul border meeting point on February 20.

"The two sides positively appraised the smooth completion of disengagement of frontline troops in the Pangong Lake area, noting that it was a significant step forward that provided a good basis for resolution of other remaining issues along the Line of Actual Control in Western Sector," it said.

Both the countries had candid and in-depth exchange of views on other issues along the Line of Actual Control in the Western Sector, according to the joint statement.

The two sides agreed to follow the important consensus of their state leaders, continue their communication and dialogue, stabilise and control the situation on the ground, push for a mutually acceptable resolution of the remaining issues in a steady and orderly manner, so as to jointly maintain peace and tranquillity in the border areas, the statement said.

The Corps Commander level meet started at 10 a.m. on Saturday and ended at 2 a.m. on Sunday. During the 16-hour-long dialogue, the Indian military delegate led by Lt General P.G.K. Menon, Commander of 14 Corps based in Leh, discussed disengagement at friction areas like Hot Springs, Gogra and 900 square km Depsang plains.

The build-up in Depsang was not being considered part the current standoff that started in May last year as escalations here took place in 2013. India has, however, insisted during recent military commander meetings that all issues across the LAC be resolved.

"The initial attempt will be to resolve Gogra and Hot Springs. Finding a solution to Depsang might be tricky and take longer," said an official.
CHAMPAIGN COUNTY, Ohio  Lawyers for a woman facing federal charges in connection with the Jan. 6 assault on the U.S. Capitol claim she actually was providing security for legislators attending a rally for Donald Trump and that she met with members of the Secret Service.

Jessica Watkins, 38, was charged Friday with conspiracy to obstruct an official proceeding that took place Jan. 6, the day when hundreds of protestors rioted to prevent then-President Trump from losing the election. She has pleaded not guilty to charges, reports say.

But in a defense petition filed in court Saturday, Watkins lawyers argue was not a member of the insurrection, but instead was providing security to the speakers at the rally, to provide escort for the legislators and others to march to the Capitol as directed by the then president, and to safely escort protesters away from the Capitol to their vehicles and cars at the conclusion of the protest. She was given a VIP pass to the rally. She met with Secret Service agents, according to Reuters.

The U.S. Secret Service denied Watkins was working security, saying that any assertion that the Secret Service employed private citizens to perform those functions is false, CNN reports. The U.S. Justice Department has not responded to the filing by Watkins lawyers, CNN reports.

In the charges filed Friday, prosecutors say Watkins and several others who attacked the Capitol did so based on the belief that Trump wanted them there. An FBI affidavit filed in the case says several of those charged joined Watkins and Donovan Crowl, also of Champaign County, in forming a military-style stack formation, where they aggressively marched through the crowd toward the Capitol in a single-file line, with some of them getting inside the building.

Both Crowl and Watkins boasted of being inside the Capitol building, authorities say.

CNN reports that a lawyer for Watkins says her client thought Trump would invoke the Insurrection Act and use the military to overturn the results of the presidential election, CNN reports. Trump repeatedly claimed with no evidence that the election had been stolen him.

However misguided, her intentions were not in any way related to an intention to overthrow the government, but to support what she believed to be the lawful government, lawyer Michelle Peterson, writes, according to CNN. She took an oath to support the Constitution and had no intention of violating that oath or of committing any violent acts.

The Dayton Daily News reports Watkins is no longer listed on the inmate roster at the Butler County Jail. Her lawyers had been arguing for her release to home confinement, saying they were concerned about how she would be treated because she is a transgender woman.

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Amid the historic Niger vote, seven poll workers from Niger's commission on election were killed after a landmine explosion on Election Day. The election marks the country's first-ever democratic transition of power after it became an independent nation.

Landmine Explodes on Election Commission Vehicle on Day of Niger Vote

According to media reports, the election workers were aboard a vehicle owned by Niger's election commission that will take them to polling places in the southwest region of the country. During their travel, their vehicle hit a landmine while passing through Dargol, a rural community.

In a statement to Reuters, Niger's election commission vice president, Harouna Mounkaila stated that the poll workers were heading to the polling stations to drop off the ballot boxes and poll members for the Niger vote.

Three other poll workers survived the explosion but were seriously wounded. Authorities stated that it is still unclear if the vehicle carrying to poll workers were targeted deliberately.

Dargol, the place where the explosion happened is located in the western region of Tillaberi. It is where Burkina Faso, Mali, and Niger meet. Al Jazeera has reported that armed groups which have been related to ISIS and al-Qaeda have a strong foothold in the area.

Armed groups are also known to launch frequent attacks in the area. In January, at least 100 people were killed by suspected militants in two towns in the western region of Niger.

As concern grew over the attacks, security for the Niger vote has been increased by the country's officials.

Read also: Italy's Mt. Etna Erupts Four Times in the Past Week, Offers a Show of Lava and Fire

The runoff between former one-time President Mahamane Ousmane and the governing party's candidate Mohamed Bazoum is considered historical. Thus, thousands of soldiers were deployed to secure the nationwide Niger vote, NPR reported.

Governing party candidate and former interior and foreign affairs minister, Bazoum has been highly favored to win the polls. Back in December's first round, Ousmane, the first-ever president who was elected democratically in 1993 received only 17% of the votes, while Bazoum secured almost 40%.

This year's Niger vote would mark the first-ever peaceful transition of power in the country after outgoing President Mahamadou Issoufou voluntarily stepped down following his two five-year terms. Since 1960, when Niger achieved independence from France, it has already seen four coups.

In a statement, Issoufou expressed his pride in being the first-ever democratically elected president to pass the presidency to another democratically elected president. Issoufou was seen casting his vote in Niamey, Niger's capital.

Meanwhile, Bazoum whom Issoufou endorses has pledged to continue the policies put in by the former president to combat Islamist extremism if he wins the Niger vote. Bazoum also earned the endorsements of two other candidates after the initial round of voting in December.

On the other hand, Ousmane, who was previously ousted by a military coup in 1996, also vowed to address the country's security concerns. In addition, he also promised to bring forth changes in the governance of Niger.

Until this day, Ousmane has refused to accept that Bazoum is leading the election. Reports say that he claims that Bazoum's huge advantage in the first round was a result of fraud. However, he hasn't provided any evidence to support such claims.

Related article: 3 Different Bomb Attacks in Kabul Leave 5 Dead, 2 Wounded, Afghan Police Says

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Before her interrogation by the Narcotics Control Bureau (NCB) last week, Deepika Padukones primary link with drugs in the publics mind was a brief appearance in the decade-old film Dum Maaro Dum. Padukone danced to a number which sampled and mangled a justly famous tune composed by R.D. Burman and sung by Asha Bhosle for Dev Anands 1971 release Hare Rama Hare Krishna. That song was filmed on a 20-year old Zeenat Aman who played Jasbir, aka Janice, a confused girl who falls in with a group of stoner hippies in Nepal.

After Janice and her companions sing Dum maro dum mit jaaye gham, bolo subah shaam Hare Krishna, Hare Rama (Take another hit, kill all pain with it, chant at dusk and dawn, Hare Krishna Hare Rama), their sentiments are countered by Janices brother Prashant, a role Dev Anand assigned himself though he was far too old to be a convincing sibling. In Kishore Kumars voice, Prashant responds, Dekho o divaano, tum yeh kaam na karo, Rama ka naam badnaam na karo (You crazy lot, dont play that game, dont insult Ramas good name).

During the current probe by the NCB into drug use in the Hindi film industry, many media outlets and individuals have moralized like Prashant and Hare Rama Hare Krishna as a whole. Ironically, Sushant Singh Rajput, the actor whose tragic suicide triggered a tidal wave of outrage and the NCB investigation, held views about drugs and religion that were closer to those of hippies and new agers.

The roots of the 1960s counterculture and rise of new age beliefs are complex but I will trace one thread that connects to India and to Rajput. It begins with Helena Blavatsky, founder of the Theosophical movement which claimed to uncover occult truths unifying all religion, philosophy and science. In 1882, Madame Blavatsky set up the Theosophical Societys headquarters in Adyar, a suburb of Chennai. Theosophy appealed to people estranged from established faiths but drawn to spiritual enquiry, and its eclecticism would become a central feature of new age beliefs.

Decades later, the British author Aldous Huxley published a book called The Perennial Philosophy, which gathered together passages from diverse religious texts in an attempt to reveal their common philosophical foundations. Huxley went on to add an important feature to the Theosophists efforts at synthesizing religious thought. In a book titled The Doors Of Perception, from which the rock group led by Jim Morrison later took its name, he proposed that psychedelic drugs were legitimate catalysts of mystical experience.

Around the time Dev Anand was shooting Hare Rama Hare Krishna in Kathmandu, a young American ethnobotanist named Terence McKenna, deeply influenced by Huxley, travelled to Nepal to seek out Tibetan shamans who used entheogens, or drugs employed ritually. For a while, he smuggled cannabis from India to the US, before returning to his home country and focusing his academic attention on the shamans of Amazonia.

McKenna became an evangelist for naturally derived hallucinogens, including marijuana, magic mushrooms and ayahuasca. The last of these is a traditional drink consumed in the Amazon basin, whose effective chemical is N,N-Dimethyltryptamine, or DMT. DMT occurs naturally not only in many plants but also in animals, humans included. In 1986, McKenna attended a lecture by Rick Strassman, a psychiatrist and psychopharmacologist engaged in studying the pineal gland, a rice-grain sized organ located in the brain which regulates sleep cycles by secreting the hormone melatonin. Strassman believed the pineal gland was also the source of DMT in the human body.

After the talk, McKenna offered Strassman a personal DMT trial, and the resulting trip, which Strassman has described as mind-altering, life-altering", spurred the psychiatrist to study the chemicals effects rigorously. A number of subjects who participated in his research reported deeply emotional encounters with divine entities, while others felt something comparable to luminous near-death experiences. Strassman published his conclusions in a book titled The Spirit Molecule.

Both the pineal gland and the spirit molecule made an appearance in an Instagram post published on 6 April 2019 by Sushant Singh Rajput. The image he uploaded was taken from the 17th century French philosopher Rene Descartes Treatise Of Man. It was a diagram showing the functioning of the pineal gland according to Descartes, who viewed the tiny organ as the seat of the soul. The accompanying text by Rajput read, Dubito, ergo cogito, ergo sum. (I doubt, therefore I think, I think therefore I am") ~ Rene Descartes. But when you dont doubt, you could still think, even when you dont think, you could already know, what you know is, exactly what you always were and will be." The philosophical post ended with a sequence of hashtags which included #paradoxical #pineal #Dmt".

Descartes belief in the importance of the pineal gland never gained wide acceptance, but was revived with a twist by Madame Blavatsky over two hundred years after his death. Blavatsky linked the gland with Shivas third eye, claiming it was an organ of spiritual sight that had atrophied in modern humans. This notion was echoed in a note recovered from Rajputs farmhouse containing a column of five traditional Hindu scriptural and philosophical terms paired with words relating to new age beliefs and practices. The coupled terms were: Kailash = Gaia, Somras = DMT, Tapasya = Transcendental meditation, Yoga = cymatics / binaural beats, and third eye = pineal gland. The implication of the text is clear: The wisdom and insight that the ancients derived through the terms on the left column are available today through those on the right. For instance, the mystical illumination produced by drinking Somras, the lost entheogen imbibed by the early Vedic people, can be replicated by smoking DMT.

I have no idea if Rajput ever attempted such replication. I presume the authorities have been exploring the possibility alongside their investigation into purchases of cannabis-derived drugs that are safer for health than tobacco, traditionally consumed in India in vast quantities, and legal in an increasing number of international jurisdictions. Unlike cannabis, DMT has been known to cause serious adverse effects, especially in people with pre-existing mental health conditions.

What is evident from Rajputs speculations is that he was profoundly interested in mystical connections between traditional beliefs and modern science, placing himself in a tradition marked by pioneers like Blavatsky, Huxley, McKenna and Strassman. His friends and colleagues may have used drugs recreationally but if his posts on social media and notes discovered after his death are trustworthy indicators, any consumption of hallucinogens he may have undertaken appears to have been at least in part for esoteric and metaphysical ends.

Girish Shahane writes on politics, history and art.

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New Delhi, Feb 22 : The Delhi Police have arrested another accused wanted in the Red fort violence on 26 January identified as Jaspreet Singh, a resident of Swaroop nagar in Delhi. The police said Jaspreet's name came up during the interrogation of the arrested accused Maninder Singh who was seen brandishing swords at the Red fort.

"Jaspreet Singh was also present at the Red Fort and later climbed up on one of the arcades located on the ramparts of the Red Fort. He is the person standing behind accused Maninder Singh and climbed one of the tombs located on both the sides of Rampart, Red Fort," said Chinmoy Biswal, PRO Delhi police.

The accused Jaspreet was arrested on January 20.

"He is also seen in offensive gesture holding steel tensile installed at Red Fort," the officer added.

The Delhi Police have arrested 149 people in connection with the kisan andolan till now. Punjabi-activist Deep Sidhu, arrested in Haryana on February 9, has been touted by Delhi Police as the 'main instigator' of the violence which took place on the Republic Day in which many protesters and policemen were injured.

The Delhi Police have also announced a cash reward of Rs 1 lakh for information leading to the arrest of another key accused Lakhbir Singh alias Lakha Sidhana.

Meanwhile a Delhi court on Monday sent climate activist Disha Ravi to one-day police custody in connection with the 'Toolkit' case, during which she will be confronted with co-accused Nikita Jacob and Shantanu Muluk who appeared before the Cyber Cell of Delhi police to join probe on Monday.
Two years since Algeria's anti-government "Hirak" protesters first took to the streets in nationwide demonstrations on February 22, 2019, the movement remains a powerful force.

The Hirak protests swept former strongman Abdelaziz Bouteflika from power in April 2019, but continued after his fall.

Here is a timeline of the popular protests, that forced another government reshuffle Sunday.

Bouteflika quits

News that ailing 82-year-old Bouteflika would stand for a fifth term in office sparks massive protests on February 22, 2019, that continue every Friday afterwards.

The weekly demonstrations are dubbed the "Hirak", meaning the movement in Arabic.

On April 2 Bouteflika resigns after two decades in power, after powerful army chief Ahmed Gaid Salah tells him to quit.

While crowds cheer his departure, they fill the streets again on April 5 demanding the dismantling of the authoritarian system that has been in place since independence from France in 1962.

Four days later, the speaker of the upper house Abdelkader Bensalah is named interim president, but opposition parties refuse to confirm his nomination.

Army gets tough

General Gaid Salah emerges as the key powerbroker.

On May 20 he rejects the protesters' key demand that an election planned for July 4 be postponed and that regime stalwarts depart.

But two weeks later the constitutional council cancels the election due to a lack of candidates. Protests continue in the capital Algiers.

On September 18 the military toughens its line, ordering police to block demonstrators from outside Algiers entering the capital.

Regime figures jailed

A week later a military court sentences Bouteflika's brother Said and two former intelligence chiefs to 15 years in prison for "conspiring" against the state.

In December, former prime ministers Ahmed Ouyahia and Abdelmalek Sellal, who were both close to Bouteflika, are sentenced to 15 years and 12 years in jail respectively in corruption trials.

New president's weak mandate

Abdelmadjid Tebboune, a one-time prime minister under Bouteflika, wins a presidential election on December 12, with an official turnout of less than 40 percent.

The next day Tebboune calls for dialogue with protesters, who nevertheless remain on the streets.

On December 23 General Gaid Salah dies from a heart attack, aged 79.

Pandemic halts protests

Algerians flood the streets of the capital on January 31, 2020 to celebrate the 50th consecutive Friday demonstration.

However, on March 20, the streets of Algiers are empty on a Friday for the first time since the start of the protest movement due to coronavirus rules.

Protests stall amid pandemic restrictions.

Referendum

Algerians approve a revised version of the country's constitution, after record low turnout in a referendum held on November 1.

The plebiscite takes place with Tebboune hospitalised in Germany after contracting Covid-19.

He returns to Algeria but goes back to Germany for surgery following complications, returning to Algiers on February 12, 2021.

Activists freed

Thousands of Algerians rally on February 16 in the northern town of Kherrata, the cradle of the protests.

Two days later Tebboune pardons dozens of jailed Hirak activists and announces early elections.

On Friday, authorities release around 30 pro-democracy activists including journalist Khaled Drareni, of the press freedom watchdog Reporters Without Borders (RSF), who was sentenced to two years in jail in September.

Reshuffle on anniversary eve

With protests expected to mark the Hirak movement's two-year anniversary, Tebboune announces a government reshuffle that sees the departure of industry minister Ferhat-Ait Ali and a handful of other ministers.

But key figures retain their posts, including under-fire Prime Minister Abdelaziz Djerad and Justice Minister Belkacem Zeghmati, who has overseen the crackdown on protesters and opposition activists.

To mark the two-year anniversary, Algerians march on February 22 in the capital as well as other cities, but amid a heavy police presence.

Short link:



The on Monday pulled up theAAP government for not abiding by its order to release to the corporations the transfer duties, parkingcharges and deductions towards loan repayments within the stipulated time limits.

A bench of Justices Vipin Sanghi and Rekha Palli told the Delhi government that the court had not said that the corporationswould have to make an application for release of the transfer duties and parking charges and had instead directed on January 21 that these amounts, due upto December last year, be released within a week.

"What is this happening Mr Sethi? What is this conduct of your client? Is this the way your (briefing) counsel argues that they (corporations) have applied? What happens to our order then? Did we say they will apply and only then it will be paid," the bench said to senior advocate Sandeep Sethi, who appeared for the Delhi government.

The remarks by thebench came after Delhi government additional standing counsel Satyakam argued in court that the transfer duties for December 2020 were not paid as the East Delhi Municipal Corporation applied for it only on February 18.

The lawyer for EDMC said it was not an application and it was a letter requesting the Delhi government to make payment in terms of the court order.

Not agreeing with the stand of the Delhi government, the bench said if the amounts are not released as per the January 21 order, it will direct the central government to release these amounts to the corporationsout of the revenue sent to the Delhi government.

"We will do that. Please tell us why not," the court told Sethi and gave one last opportunity.

The court said that it was not initiating contempt action only because Sethi was requesting not to at this stage.

It said that even delay in payment of the deductions made by Delhi government towards repayment of loans taken from it by the corporations amounts to non-compliance of its directions.

The Delhi government had been deducting amounts from the funds released to the corporations, towards repayment of loans taken from it by the civic bodies.

The court had earlier said that when RBI had imposed a moratoriumon loan repayments due to COVID-19, the same principle ought to have been adopted by the Delhi government.

The bench on Monday directed that all amounts due to the corporations be cleared before the next date of hearing on March 9 and "non-compliance would invite serious action".

The court was hearing various petitions relating to non-payment of salaries of employees and pensioners of different cadres by the three municipal corporations of Delhi -- North, East and South.

The list of petitioners includes doctors, nurses, paramedic staff, safai karamcharis, teachers, class-IV employees, teachers and retired staff like teachers and engineers.

(Only the headline and picture of this report may have been reworked by the Business Standard staff; the rest of the content is auto-generated from a syndicated feed.)

The Bethlehem and Easton area school districts are considering bringing elementary students back for more full-time instruction this spring.

Bethlehem is studying returning hybrid K-5 students to in-person instruction five days a week, starting April 11, the start of the fourth marking period, Superintendent Joseph Roy said in a video message sent Monday to district parents.

Easton is taking a different sort of approach, floating the idea of returning K-2 students four days a week once Northampton County drops to moderate spread of the coronavirus for two consecutive weeks, according to a presentation Superintendent David Piperato made to the school board last week.

We are not quite there yet, but we are getting there, Piperato said, adding it means the district must start planning responsibly now.

Currently, both districts offer a hybrid learning model that has students in-person two days a week.

Northampton County is now in substantial spread with 254 new cases per 100,000 people over the last week, the highest rate in the state, according to Pennsylvania Department of Health data. State officials deem a county to be in moderate spread when there are 10 to 100 new cases per 100,000 residents over the last week.

When schools see substantial spread, the Pennsylvania Department of Education recommends students learn exclusively from home, though districts can sign attestation forms that theyll follow mitigation strategies to maintain some in-person instruction. That is what Easton and Bethlehem have been doing since early November when Northampton Countys hit substantial spread  a week after Lehigh Countys transmission levels rose from moderate to substantial.

(Cant see this map? Click here.)

Both superintendents emphasized the districts are just starting the planning process and weighing how to safely return students and staff to school. The school leaders often referenced new school reopening guidance from the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention and the American Academy of Pediatrics.

Were very concerned about all those students who academically, are not engaging, who are experiencing mental health challenges because of isolation and being away from school and the routines of school, Roy said. So, thats a pressing concern of ours.

In-person learning has not widely spread the coronavirus as many feared early on in the pandemic, according to the CDC. Evidence suggests that staff-to-staff transmission is the biggest risk, not students infecting staff or their classmates. Less than 10% of the more than 28 million COVID-19 cases in the U.S. have been among children and teens ages 5 to 17, according to the CDC.

The AAP strongly advocates that all policy considerations for school COVID-19 plans should start with a goal of having students physically present in school, the pediatricians group states. ...The importance of in-person learning is well-documented, and there is already evidence of the negative impacts on children because of school closures in 2020.

Districts have learned that school transmission mirrors community spread of the virus. When cases spiked after Thanksgiving in the Lehigh Valley, district case counts rose so fast many pivoted to online learning through the holidays.

Last week, Piperato said Easton had 24 positive cases over the past seven days and 48 in February thus far. Bethlehems had 12 over the past 14 days, including two students who are fully virtual.

Nationwide cases, hospitalizations and deaths continue to drop. The Lehigh Valleys also seen an encouraging drop in all three, but a coronavirus outbreak at Lehigh University has threatened that progress and jeopardized a broader return to in-person learning for public schools.

Both superintendents emphasized the importance of bringing students back safely in a way that protects them and staff. Universal masking, good hygiene practices and contact tracing would continue along with social distancing whenever possible.

But evolving evidence about virus transmission among children under 10 means that the Academy of Pediatrics is now recommending three-to-six-feet of social distancing, Roy said. Six-feet of distance among adults will be of paramount importance.

That is based on the fact that studies have shown that younger children are less susceptible to contracting the virus and less likely to transmit the virus to others than originally thought when we really didnt have a lot of data on this, Roy said. The primary threat, if you will, to adults in schools is other adults.

With about 70% of elementary students back in school, Roy anticipates his classrooms can maintain about three-to-six-feet of distancing. Anytime kids are unmasked, like at lunch, the district would stick to six feet, he said.

Parent, teacher and input from local health experts will all play crucial roles in both districts decision making process, the superintendents said. Community infection rates have an integral role in allowing a return to more in-person learning, they said.

Bethlehem is asking all elementary school parents to complete this survey .

Easton is proposing bringing students back Monday, Tuesday, Thursday and Friday K-2 initially. Wednesdays would continue to be remote learning and a deep cleaning day in buildings. Easton would phase in more grades if county infection rates remain low and Northampton County stays in moderate spread, Piperato said.

All mitigation strategies will remain in place in Easton and Piperato is recommending double masking for teachers. Teachers will be encouraged to not float around the room during lessons, a major challenge for K-2 educators, the superintendent acknowledged.

The more students we bring into the classroom, the higher the risk is to the teachers, Piperato said.

The district would provide personal protective equipment to teachers who request it and they would not be able to eat lunch together.

Piperato acknowledged the majority of teachers want to be fully vaccinated before returning to the classroom, but there is no timetable for that to occur. Pennsylvania is contending with a vaccine shortage exacerbated by winter weather currently. The states vaccination efforts remain focused on the roughly 4 million Pennsylvanians in the first eligibility tier.

The Easton superintendent said if the district enacts the K-2 plan it could target any available vaccine appointments to those teachers.

Lehigh Valley school districts have taken varying approaches to education in the era of COVID-19.

Saucon Valley School District has managed to bring students into the classroom five days a week, in addition to offering a full-remote option.

Northampton Area School District has announced plans to bring students into the classroom at least four days a week, beginning March 9 for grades kindergarten through first.

Whitehall-Coplay School District brought students back four days a week starting Feb. 16.

Allentown School District, the regions largest, remains full remote but has been surveying families on what theyd like to see happen in the final quarter of this school year. The Morning Call reports the district is preparing to offer a hybrid model beginning in mid-April.

Our journalism needs your support. Please subscribe today to lehighvalleylive.com.

Sara K. Satullo may be reached at ssatullo@lehighvalleylive.com.
Punjab's main opposition party AAP on Monday said it will organise a "Kisan Mahasammelan" in Moga district on March 21 in support of the ongoing farmers' agitation against the Centre's contentious agri laws.

Party's convener and Delhi Chief Minister will address the event, it said.

Thousands of farmers, mostly from Punjab, Haryana and western Uttar Pradesh, have been camping at Delhi border points for nearly three months to press for the repeal of the three agri laws enacted in September last year and a legal guarantee on the minimum support price (MSP).

"AAP has decided to hold a 'Kisan Mahasammelan' at Bagha Purana in Moga on March 21 in order to further strengthen the ongoing farmers' agitation," party MP Bhagwant Mann said while addressing the media in Jalandhar district.

He said from across Punjab will be invited to participate in the event.

"We want Delhi CM to take part in this 'mahasammelan'," added Mann, flanked by AAP leaders Jarnail Singh, Raghav Chadha and MLA Harpal Singh Cheema.

Later, Raghav Chadha said Kejriwal will address the 'mahasammelan'.

"@AAPPunjab to organise 'KISAN MAHASAMMELAN' at Bagha Purana in Moga District, Punjab on 21st March 2021, to be addressed by AAP Convener and Delhi CM Sh. @ArvindKejriwal," said Chadha in a tweet.

The has been vocal about its support for the farmers' agitation. Kejriwal is set to address a Kisan Mahapanchayat in Uttar Pradesh's Meerut on February 28.

Mann said the Centre should withdraw the three farm laws and provide a legal guarantee on MSP.

The government has said the new farm laws will benefit by freeing them from the clutches of the middlemen and ushering in new technology in the sector.

However, say these legislations will remove the safety net of MSP and leave them at the mercy of big corporates.

Meanwhile, Mann who is president of Punjab's AAP unit said the party also held a meeting with the candidates who had contested the recently held state civic body polls.

(Only the headline and picture of this report may have been reworked by the Business Standard staff; the rest of the content is auto-generated from a syndicated feed.)
Thousands of demonstrators took to the streets across Myanmar again Sunday, a day after two people were killed when police and security forces used live and rubber bullets, tear gas, water cannons and slingshots against those protesting the militarys Feb. 1 coup.

U.N. Secretary-General Antonio Guterres condemned the deadly violence. "The use of lethal force, intimidation and harassment against peaceful demonstrators is unacceptable," he said on Twitter late Saturday.

I condemn the use of deadly violence in Myanmar.



The use of lethal force, intimidation & harassment against peaceful demonstrators is unacceptable.



Everyone has a right to peaceful assembly. I call on all parties to respect election results and return to civilian rule.  Antonio Guterres (@antonioguterres) February 21, 2021

The U.N.s Special Rapporteur for Myanmar, Tom Andrews, tweeted I am horrified at more loss of life, including a teenage boy in Mandalay, as the ruling junta escalates its brutality in Myanmar. From water cannons to rubber bullets to tear gas and now hardened troops firing point blank at peaceful protesters. This madness must end, now!

I am horrified at more loss of life, including a teenage boy in Mandalay, as the ruling junta escalates its brutality in Myanmar. From water cannons to rubber bullets to tear gas and now hardened troops firing point blank at peaceful protesters. This madness must end, now! pic.twitter.com/Z5AVV5yCDF  UN Special Rapporteur Tom Andrews (@RapporteurUn) February 21, 2021

Twenty people were wounded in Saturdays violence, according to the head of a volunteer emergency service, and 569 have been detained in connection with the military takeover, the Assistance Association for Political Prisoners, an activist group, said.

Early on Sunday, police arrested a famous actor, Lu Min, who had taken part in protests in Yangon and was one of six celebrities the army said were wanted under an anti-incitement law.

The army accused Lu Min of encouraging civil servants to join in the protest. If convicted, he faces a two-year prison sentence.

In a video posted on Lu Mins Facebook page, his wife said police had come to their home in Yangon and taken him away.

"They forced open the door and took him away and didn't tell me where they were taking him. I couldnt stop them. They didnt tell me," Khin Sabai Oo said.

U.S. State Department spokesperson Ned Price said the United States was "deeply concerned" by reports that security forces had fired on protesters and continued to detain and harass demonstrators and others.

"We stand with the people of Burma," Price wrote on Twitter. Myanmar is also known as Burma.

We are deeply concerned by reports that Burmese security forces have fired on protestors and continue to detain and harass demonstrators and others in Burma. We stand with the people of Burma.  Ned Price (@StateDeptSpox) February 20, 2021

Britain said it would consider further action against those involved in violence against protesters, and the French foreign ministry called the violence "unacceptable."

"The shooting of peaceful protesters in Myanmar is beyond the pale," British Foreign Secretary Dominic Raab said in a tweet. "We will consider further action, with our international partners, against those crushing democracy & choking dissent."

In a Twitter message, EU foreign policy chief Josep Borrell called on the military and all security forces in #Myanmar to immediately stop violence against civilians.

I strongly condemn the violence against peaceful civilian protestors by the military. I urge the military and all security forces in #Myanmar to immediately stop violence against civilians.

We will discuss on Monday #FAC the latest events in Myanmar to take appropriate decisions  Josep Borrell Fontelles (@JosepBorrellF) February 20, 2021

EU foreign ministers are due to meet on Monday to discuss possible sanctions.

Security forces have grown increasingly aggressive against the protesters, who have clashed with Myanmar security forces since the military detained de facto leader Aung San Suu Kyi and other high-ranking officials of the civilian government nearly three weeks ago.

The military declared a one-year state of emergency, citing widespread fraud in last Novembers general elections, won in a landslide by Suu Kyis National League for Democracy.

The militarys claims were rejected by Myanmars electoral commission.

Tens of thousands of demonstrators have since filled the streets of Myanmars biggest cities in defiance of a strict curfew and a ban on gatherings of more than four people, holding signs with pro-democracy slogans, many of them with pictures of Suu Kyi. They have raised a three-finger salute as they marched, a sign of resistance against tyranny as depicted in the popular Hunger Games movies.

In addition to protests, government employees and civil servants are on strike, resulting in disruptions to train services throughout the country. The military has ordered civil servants back to work and threatened action against them. A growing number of workers from other sectors, including medical personnel, have walked off their jobs in recent days.

Senior Gen. Min Aung Hlaing, who led the coup, promised last week in a nationally televised speech that new elections would be held to bring what he called a "true and disciplined democracy, but he did not specify when they would take place.
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Those who read Power Line faithfully know that Andrew Cuomo may be in legal jeopardy. The Justice Department reportedly is investigating him and some members of his staff for their conduct in response to a DOJ request for information about nursing home deaths in New York.

John Daukas was principal deputy to the DOJs assistant attorney general for civil rights at the time the Department requested information from Cuomo. Later, he became the acting assistant attorney general for civil rights.

In this Wall Street Journal op-ed, Daukas explains why Cuomo should be worried about the federal probe. Daukas pulls the facts together in a way that is helpful even to those who have been following this story.

By way of background, he writes:

On March 25, 2020, Gov. Andrew Cuomo issued an executive order requiring New York nursing homes to admit hospitalized patients who had tested positive for Covid-19. The order also prohibited nursing homes from requiring hospitalized residents deemed medically stable to be tested before admission or readmission. By the end of the summer New York had more than 32,000 Covid deaths, the highest in the nation and more than double any other state. If New York were its own country, it would have ranked among the top 10 for Covid deaths. The number of deaths translated to the countrys second-highest death ratemore than three times the national average. What caught the Justice Departments eye was Gov. Cuomos claim that New Yorks nursing-home deaths were lower than many other states and that his March 25 order didnt contribute to the extremely high number of New Yorkers who died from Covid. Given the viruss disproportionate effect on the elderly, sick and frail, this seemed unlikely. On Aug. 26, Justices Civil Rights Division, relying on its jurisdiction to investigate government-run facilities under the federal Civil Rights of Institutionalized Persons Act, asked the Cuomo administration for data on New Yorks publicly run nursing homes, which account for less than 5% of nursing homes in the state.

Cuomo responded in September. The response showed that his claims about nursing homes were highly misleading. It turned out that New York had underreported deaths from the Wuhan coronavirus by one-third. But at least Team Cuomo was responsive to the DOJs initial information request.

That was not the case when the DOJ followed up:

In October, armed with New Yorks admission that it had underreported government-run nursing home deaths by a third, Justice Department attorneys requested data in October on the more than 600 privately run nursing homes in the state. This time the request was stonewalled. Months passed and New York refused to produce data, instead saying it was taking Justices request under consideration. . . .

Now we know what was really happening:

Late last month New Yorks Democratic attorney general, Letitia James, issued a report showing that the Cuomo administration had undercounted nursing-home deaths by more than 50%, a staggering finding that belies the governors repeated public claims. Melissa DeRosa, Mr. Cuomos top aide, reportedly apologized to fellow state Democrats in early February, not for underreporting deaths but for causing them political trouble. We froze, Ms. DeRosa said, according to media accounts. Because then we were in a position where we werent sure if what we were going to give to the Department of Justice . . . was going to be used against us while we werent sure if there was going to be an investigation.

In other words, the Cuomo administration appears to have engaged in a coverup designed to frustrate the federal governments oversight efforts. In doing so, as we discussed here, it may have violated at least three federal statutes.

Daukas concludes on this ominous note:
(Natural News) The World Health Organization (WHO) hasnt discounted the possibility that the Wuhan coronavirus leaked from a Chinese lab, backing away from its investigating teams earlier statement seemingly rejecting the lab-leak theory.

In a press conference on Friday, WHO Director-General Tedros Adhanom Ghebreyesus clarified that no hypothesis about the origin of the Wuhan coronavirus has been ruled out. I wish to confirm that all hypotheses remain open and require further analysis and studies, Tedros said.

This comes after Peter Embarek, head of a team of WHO scientists sent to the Chinese city of Wuhan last January to investigate the origin of the virus, said that the lab-leak theory is extremely unlikely.

China blocked WHO scientists from accessing raw data

The WHO investigation has returned findings that seem to suggest the virus did not emerge from a Wuhan lab. But Chinese authorities refusal to provide raw data pertaining to the early days of the COVID-19 pandemic cast doubt on the credibility of those findings.

At a press conference on Tuesday, Embarek downplayed the theory that the virus was either manufactured at or accidentally leaked from a lab at the Wuhan Institute of Virology. This theory, according to Embarek, isnt a hypothesis we suggest implies further study.

Instead, the virus was most likely passed to humans from animals or frozen wildlife products, he said. This would lend credence to Chinas assertion that the Wuhan coronavirus did not originate from the country, but was brought there via frozen goods. This narrative, published in Chinese newspapers, gained little traction outside the Communist state.

Tedros said that though the investigation did not provide all answers they were looking for, it has added valuable information needed to piece together the origin of the virus. This comes even though the Chinese government reportedly refused the WHO investigators access to raw data on early COVID-19 cases. (Related: Biden EO bans term China Virus as China deletes 300 Wuhan lab studies, bans investigators from lab.)

They showed us a couple of examples, but thats not the same as doing all of them, which is standard epidemiological investigation, said Dominic Dwyer, an Australian microbiologist on the WHO team.

So then, you know, the interpretation of that data becomes more limited from our point of view, although the other side might see it as being quite good, Dwyer continued.

The scientists requested to see the records of 174 COVID-19 cases that were identified in December 2019, when the first patient with COVID-19 symptoms was reported. But they said that Chinese authorities did not allow them to see those records.

Instead, the team was given aggregated and summarized data made by Chinese officials, including analyses saying that there was no evidence of the virus in Wuhan prior to the December outbreak. Early detection of the disease could have halted its spread before it erupted into a worldwide pandemic.

China holding back info goes way back

This incident is only the latest example of Chinas refusal to share valuable information. In the early days of the pandemic, for example, China withheld releasing the genetic map of the virus and only made it available more than a week after three different government labs had fully decoded the information.

Yet the WHO kept heaping praise on China from the start of the pandemic. Tedros, for example, described its response to the Wuhan outbreak as very impressive.

The speed with which China detected the outbreak, isolated the virus, sequenced the genome and shared it with WHO and the world are very impressive, and beyond words, he said in January last year. (Related: Secretary of State Pompeo slams WHOs Tedros over unusually close ties with Beijing.)

Privately, however, WHO officials were found to have been griping that China was not sharing enough data about the virus, costing valuable time.

In recordings obtained by AP News, WHOs technical lead for COVID-19 Maria Van Kerkhove was heard saying in a meeting: Were going on very minimal information  Its clearly not enough for you to do proper planning.

WHO officials were flattering China in public because they wanted to coax more information out of the government, according to AP News. The news outlet also reported that WHO experts genuinely thought Chinese scientists did well in detecting and decoding the virus, despite the lack of transparency from Chinese authorities.

Read more reports about Chinas attempts to change the COVID-19 origin story at Coronavirus.news.

Sources include:

DailyMail.co.uk

TheGuardian.com 1

TheGuardian.com 2

WSJ.com

APNews.com

BusinessInsider.com

To the Editor:

Re Why Are Republicans Still This Loyal to a Mar-a-Lago Exile?, by Peter Wehner (Op-Ed, nytimes.com, Feb. 14):

The old joke retold in Annie Hall captures the Republican Partys dilemma: A guy walks into a psychiatrists office and says, Doc, my brothers crazy; he thinks hes a chicken. The doc says, Why dont you commit him? The guy replies, I would, but we need the eggs.

Nearly half a century ago, the Republican establishment, which favors low taxes, limited regulations and free trade, realizing that these policies have limited appeal beyond boardrooms and country clubs, welcomed into the G.O.P. anti-abortion evangelicals, gun-owning single-issue voters and those opposing programs to help African-Americans, gay people and other marginalized Americans. For the following decades, party elites ruled the Republican roost, won elections and pushed their economic platform.

Starting five years ago with Donald Trump besting Jeb Bush et al., the chickens now top the Republican pecking order. Mr. Wehner argues that the party should embrace a policy agenda to meet the challenges of the modern world and no longer be the nesting place of lunacy.

Good luck, but the experience of half a century shows that to win elections the Republican Party needs the eggs.
A Turkish businessman who faced up to ten years in jail after he kissed a teenage waitress twice at their workplace has been cleared after he argued his conduct would be regarded as 'normal and friendly' in his homeland.

Neset Gunbat, 48, was detained by police after claims he hugged and kissed the 19-year-old on the lips and cheeks while greeting or saying goodbye to her at a restaurant.

The married father-of-three, from Macclesfield, Cheshire, later explained he was merely indulging in 'acceptable behaviour' typical of his Turkish culture.

But the young woman - who was waitressing to help pay for her university studies - said she had tried to repel his advances and felt 'unclean' following the encounters.

At Stockport Magistrates Court, Gunbat stood trial accused of two charges of sexual assault but was found not guilty.

Neset Gunbat (pictured outside Stockport Magistrates Court) , 48, from Macclesfield, Cheshire, who faced up to ten years in jail after he kissed a teenage waitress twice at their workplace has been cleared

JPs ruled he did kiss the woman and said the accuser's account was 'credible' but concluded the encounters were not sexual.

The incidents took place between September and October 2019 after company director Gunbat - who previously owned a restaurant in Turkey and who was known as 'Nesh' - was made head chef at the restaurant in Macclesfield.

Prosecutor Mr Neil Addison said: 'He approached the complainant when she was leaving work and he kissed her on the lips. She made it clear she did not want that and she felt violated afterwards but the matter was not initially reported to the police.

'Later when she was visiting the restaurant, the defendant hugged her and again kissed her on the lips.

'The matter this time was reported to the police and it was reported to staff at the restaurant. The defendant said he kissed her on the cheek, not on the lips.

'He said he put his arms around her and kissed the right side of her cheek and that he may have caught some of her lip.

'The prosecution accept it is very common in Turkey to kiss on the lips and that it is not uncommon to do this between friends in the UK. However, kissing on the cheek is different to kissing on the lips.'

The waitress, who cannot be named, said: 'Nesh was really friendly and there was nothing out of the ordinary to begin with and at first he seemed like a nice colleague but one night when I finished work, I got in my car in the car park to leave and he approached the window and asked me for a kiss.

'I replied, ''no'', but he then put his arms around me and tried to kiss me. I was still in the car at this time and I had the window open when he put his arms around my shoulder.

The chef, who stood trial accused of two charges of sexual assault but was found not guilty, explained he was indulging in 'acceptable behaviour' typical of his Turkish culture

The incidents took place in 2019 after company director Gunbat was made head chef at the restaurant in Macclesfield

'He asked me if he could kiss me and I said ''no'' and that was when he put his arms around me, pressed against me and asked for a proper kiss and I again, said ''no''. He kissed in between my lips and my cheek. His lips touched the corner of my mouth.

'He said, ''I won't tell anybody'', and then I said, ''I would tell someone'' and then he walked away. I then wound my window back up and drove home. I spoke to my boss at the time and I was just in shock. But I didn't know what to make of it, so I carried on working at the restaurant.

'Later I was working at the restaurant and was sat on a chair at the back door. Nesh followed me outside and he did actually kiss me that time. I had picked my phone up, as I felt awkward engaging in conversation but he then put his arms around me.

'He put his arms over my shoulders and then he leaned around the side of me to try and kiss me, so I put my left hand on his forehead to push him away, but he continued to push forward and made contact with my lips. His lips made contact with mine. I put my hand flat on his forehead to try and stop him kissing me on the lips.

'I then pretended to speak with my Grandad on the phone and he went back into the restaurant. I went back into the restaurant and to the bathroom to phone my mum.

'It was horrible, I could not continue to work there even though losing income as a university student is hard. It made me feel unclean and I didn't want to talk about it.

'I reported it to the police in case it happened to someone else. I hadn't done anything to make him want to put my hands around me.

Gunbat told the hearing that it was never his my intention to be sexual with the member of staff

'He did not think he had done anything wrong, but I thought what he did was wrong. In my experience, you do not go to kiss someone on the lips. That is not a friendship as far as I am concerned.'

Gunbat told the hearing: 'It was never in my intention to be sexual with her. I treat everyone the same way. She was in her car and I ran over to her in a friendly and jokey way. She wound down her window and I kissed her on the cheek, but as I say, it was in a friendly way.

'At a later shift I went outside to take some fresh air and she was there on the chair. I would never go to harm her. We had done a lot of shifts together, so why would I do this in a sexual way? I am married and expecting my third baby with my wife in April.

'We are quite friendly in our culture, it was not done maliciously. This is normal in our religion. All of the staff are friendly and we would all joke around. I did not kiss her on the lips the second time - she was on the phone so I couldn't.

'Why didn't she say to me the first time she didn't like it and then I wouldn't have done it. I have no bad intentions, if she was not aware and not happy then I wouldn't have done it. In my culture, this is acceptable.

'It makes no difference whether it is a male or a female, we were just friends and we all joke around.

'I swear I didn't think what I was doing was inappropriate. If I thought she didn't like it, I wouldn't have done it - I honestly didn't have any bad intentions.'

In acquitting Gunbat, who now lives in Coventry, chairman of the bench Neil Brettell said: 'We heard evidence from the complainant which was clear and she kept to her story and we believe this evidence was credible.

'We heard your evidence and again, it was clear and again under pressure, you maintained your position that there was no sexual intent.

'We are satisfied that contact was made between the two people did take place but we doubt it was sexual. If we find any reasonable doubt then the benefit should be given to you.'
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A 29-year-old ER doctor in Los Angeles has documented his colleagues battling COVID-19 on the front line of the pandemic in a series of emotional black-and-white photographs.

When the virus began to cause wide-spread chaos last spring, Dr Scott Kobner, chief resident at Los Angeles County-USC Medical Centers Department of Emergency Medicine, was determined to record the historic moment.

Using his Leica M6 and M10 cameras the amateur photographer started to come in on his days off to take hundreds of pictures of ER doctors, nurses, patients and families at the 600-bed public hospital in Boyle Heights, capturing the panic, fear and bravery as the death tolls started to rise.

Dr Kobner was given the go-ahead by the hospital to take the photos, and asks permission from each patient or patient's family.

He began to share them on Instagram as a way to show the lengths that his colleagues were going to to save lives, as well as the mounting deaths and urged people in December: 'Stay home. Wear a mask. Care for each other. Get vaccinated when you can. We can only survive this together.'

As of today, in more than 19,880 people have died of COVID in LA County.

Nurse Doris Roldan, right, reaches for a dose of epinephrine as nurse Jeremy Hill performs CPR and Dr. Ruben Guzman prepares to intubate a patient dying of COVID-19

Dr. Nhu-Ngyuen Le, right, supervises Dr. Chase Luther as he places an emergent central line, a device that allows lifesaving medications to be administered into the bodys largest veins

Dr. Brett Barro stands at the head of a COVID-19 patient's bed to speak with him. At home, the patient became rapidly hypoxic (their body lacked adequate oxygen) and now would require intubation for a chance at survival

A Los Angeles Fire Department crew, amid a sleepless 24-hour shift, gives a report to a County-USC emergency physician on the ambulance ramp. Inside, the rest of the ER team prepares a bed for the critically ill COVID patient

Dr. Daria Osipchuk looks out at her team one last time before intubating a young man in severe respiratory distress from COVID-19

At the peak of the winter surge, disaster tents are filled with COVID-19 patients. Inside the hospital, there are no open beds

As cases in New York City surge, disaster tents are erected and await use outside of the Los Angeles County-USC Medical Center emergency department in preparation for the worst

Dr Kobner, who is still photographing patients when he is not working as chief resident, told The Los Angeles Times that he wanted to photos to acknowledge 'the humanity and the true human struggle that is what we do every single day', rather than government statistics and graphs.

'In emergency medicine, were used to seeing so many varied complaints: heart attack, gunshot wound, broken arm,' he said. 'But during the surge, it was the same story over and over and over again.'

Dr. Scott Kobner outside L.A. County-USC Medical Center in Boyle Heights

He was born in New York to two police officer parents and studied at New York University, before starting his residency at County-USC.

The chief resident said that he tries to work with 'a lot of delicacy' in order to have 'the utmost respect for the human dignity and the condition of the people involved.'

As a result he does not photograph patients he treats and instead comes in on his days off to take pictures.

Dr Kobner told NPR that it was 'very cathartic' for him to read encouraging comments underneath the photographs he posts on social media.

He added: 'It's both heartbreaking and also so supporting to know that there are other people going through the exact same thing and facing the exact same challenges.'

In one of his most emotional photos he pictures colleague Dr. Molly Grassini as she attempts to resuscitate a young patient, staring into a cardiac monitor to look for signs of life.

'...just see her in that moment and to know that exact feeling of fear and vulnerability and hope all entwined together through her has really been something I think about a lot', he told NPR.

While resuscitating a patient in cardiac arrest, Dr. Molly Grassini stares at the cardiac monitor during a pulse check, hoping her patient shows any signs of life

Drs. Katie Ross and Dan Dworkis discuss the care of several patients in the emergency department's COVID-19 unit. The doctors' muffled voices are hard to hear over the sound of air filtration units humming and monitors alarming

Drs. Brett Barro and Simone Miller work quickly to resuscitate a rapidly deteriorating COVID-19 patient

In December, when LA and southern California became the new epicenter of the virus in the US, Dr Kobner wrote on Instagram: 'I struggle a lot with sharing some of the images that I see every day at workthe immense human suffering that Ive witnessed every day during this pandemic is graphic, tragic, and unforgettable.'

He added: 'But people need to see what this pandemic looks like: two deaths every hour in Los Angeles that could have been prevented. Stay home. Wear a mask. Care for each other. Get vaccinated when you can. We can only survive this together.'

One of the doctors he photographed, 29-year-old resident Dr. Daria Osipchuk, who was pictured staring into the camera before she intubated a patient, said: 'It was a little haunting looking into my own eyes and seeing  in my eyes, Im seeing that moment of calm right before the intubation and the gravity of the situation'.

Los Angeles County USC Medical Center, pictured in a stock photo, is a public hospital with 600 beds

Dr Kobner's beautiful photos add weight and emotion to the devastation caused by the pandemic. A patient is pictured being transported from an ambulance at Los Angeles County USC Medical Center on January 7, 2021

Dr Kobner's hospital, pictured on December 27 last year, just after Christmas, was hit by a wave of cases when Los Angeles became the epicenter of the virus

There is a long history of photographing medical treatment during wars and disasters, that started to gain popularity in the US during the Civil War.

Jim Connor, a professor of medical humanities and the history of medicine at Memorial University of Newfoundland, told The Los Angeles Times that Dr Kobner was following in a long tradition but was also offering a unique perspective.

He said: 'Its not just a professional photographer looking for some gory story; its an insiders perspective. Its giving an insight to the general public  this thing is real. ... It gives it a level of veracity and truthfulness having the physician or nurse take the photos.'

In another Instagram post Dr Kobner wrote: 'Some of these faces I havent seen without a mask in months. Their smiles seem so genuine and full of life  eager and hopeful. They look so different than the eyes I see daily: full of fear, fatigue and sorrow.

'These photos were for the patients, but now I think they are for us.'
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A real-life Dr. Dolittle says she has rescued almost 200 animals who were once neglected or mistreated.

Her menagerie consists of cows, pigs, ferrets, and alpacas among many others.

Adri Rachelle



Adri Rachelle, 33, of Athens, Georgia, rescues from her farm in the Deep South any animal who needs her assistance and runs the Wild Stuff Sanctuary.

She says she spends over $50,000 per year ensuring that the animals she cares 'thrive, not just survive' and that her house has turned into an animal menagerie.

After spending years saving animals and discovering it was no longer a passion for her but a calling, Bored Panda reported.

Adri praises her parents, Larry Jacobs, a retired natural resources expert, and Cynthia Selby, a former nurse, for her animal-loving personality.

She told the publication: "Broken and endangered animals have always seemed to cross my path."

Being a fan of J.R.R. Tolkien, who calls most of her animals after characters in the trilogy of the author's Lord Of The Rings, added:' Understanding that I offer them a healthy place to recover gives my life a meaning and that satisfaction far outweighs all the time, money, and sorrow that an animal sanctuary can bring.'

Related Article: Traveler's Guide on Dealing with Stray Dogs

Heavy Responsibility

Every day, Adri takes care of the animals, not having holidays, and works from morning to night, but says she enjoys every minute of it.

She said they may be afraid of her at first as animals come to the shelter, but they hear from others that the home is safe.

Adri said, 'A dog may be scared of me at first, but it finds out by those here that this home is safe, and it takes warmth and pleasure from other pets. A wild pig does not have to face its human terror; its social needs are absolutely fulfilled by the other pigs.

The parrots will spend a whole day chatting with other parrots and engaging with them, which is more than satisfying their natural needs.'

She said she didn't simply want to fulfill her basic needs but said she still surpassed her basic living conditions, preferring to spoil them and 'thrive rather than just survive.'

Satisfaction

Adri said, 'It's my earthly paradise... Technically, though, it is rather demanding. This is particularly true because residents are typically often abused, aged, overweight or untreated.' During the past year, she spent around $50,000 on supplies for the sanctuary, including an estimated feed bill of $1,300 a month and regular veterinarian treatment of about $10,000.

Yet, she said that she will not be opening her sanctuary to the public despite being a source of money because she feels it is traumatic for the animals.

Adri wants to post them on social media so that people who fell in love with them will be encouraged to donate any amount for the animals.

Why is adopting important?

Every year, in the United States alone, it is estimated that more than one million adoptable dogs and cats are euthanized, mainly because too many animals come into shelters and too few people consider adoption while searching for a pet.

If more individuals rescued dogs instead of acquiring them, the number of euthanized animals may be significantly decreased. When you adopt, by making them part of your family, you rescue a caring animal and free up shelter space for another animal that may urgently need it.



ALSO READ: Treating Pets with Separation Anxiety: What to do to Keep Your Pets Feel Emotionally Safe

For the latest news from the animal kingdom, don't forget to follow Nature World News!
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A section of the investor community believes that depositories and regulators disclosing such investment break-up will help retail investors take more informed decisions. (Representational Image: PTI)

MUMBAI: Fifteen foreign portfolio investors (FPIs) with deep pockets from China figure among category I FPIs registered with national depository NSDL. While the stock market has seen massive inflows from FPIs, country-wise investments are not known to the public. A section of the investor community believes that depositories and regulators disclosing such investment break-up will help retail investors take more informed decisions.

FPIs have invested Rs 43,677 crore so far in this calendar year, of which Rs 24,204 crore has come in February and Rs 19,473 crore in January. The FPIs invested Rs 170,262 crore in the Indian equity market last year. Hundreds of Category I FPIs from rich countries are present in India, including from the US (2,899), Canada (641), Singapore (322), Saudi Arabia (28), UK (512), Japan (407), Mauritius (399), Germany (102), UAE (41), Norway (23) and Hong Kong (99). Category I FPIs are defined by Securities and Exchange Board of India as government and government-related foreign investors such as central banks, sovereign wealth funds and pension funds.

Big Chinese category IFPIs in India include The Asian Infrastructure Investment Bank, seen as a potential rival to the World Bank and the IMF. Best Investment Corporation is another Chinese financial firm, which offers financial services to clients throughout China.

A top asset management company is China Asset Management Company, which provides a full range of services to retail and institutional investors home and abroad, covering equity, fixed income, money markets and the like. It has assets under management of $245.5 billion (RMB 1.59 trillion) as of December 31, 2020, together with 60,000 institutional clients and 164 million retail investors.

CIFM Asia Pacific Advantage Fund, another AMC, with more than 150 billion RMB ($21.15 billion) of AUM at the end of 2019 is likely to be taken over by J.P. Morgan Asset Management as China has scrapped foreign ownership limits in mutual fund firms last year.

Flourish Investment Corporation is owned by government-controlled China Investment Corporation.

National Social Security Fund (NSSF), a pension fund operated by Chinese government, had $316.18 billion in assets at the end of 2018. The NSSF provides Chinese workers with social security. People's Bank Of China, valued at $3.21 trillion, is also registered as Category I FPI. PBOC has the largest financial asset holdings of any central bank in the world.
All Boeing 777s with the same engine as the passenger plane which caught fire after take-off scattering engine debris over a US city will be temporarily banned from entering UK airspace, it was revealed today.

Transport Secretary Grant Shapps has acted after Boeing recommended that airlines ground all 777s with the type of engine that blew apart after take-off from Denver International Airport on Saturday.

Mr Shapps tweeted: 'After issues this weekend, Boeing B777s with Pratt & Whitney 4000-112 series engines will be temporarily banned from entering the UK airspace. I will continue to work closely with the UK CAA to monitor the situation'.

Most carriers with the planes in their fleets said they would temporarily pull them from service.

According aviation experts Cirium, 12 operators have 777s with PW4000 engines: AAR Corp, AerCap, ANA, Asiana Airlines, Boeing Capital Corp, Egyptair, Japan Airlines, Jet Midwest, Jin Air, Korean Air, Ukraine International Airlines and United Airlines.

The UK Civil Aviation Authority said the engine was not used on models operated by UK airlines.

A statement said: 'After the Pratt & Whitney 4000-112 engine incident on a Boeing 777 aircraft, we have suspended this configuration's use in UK airspace. It is not used by any UK airlines. It is operated by airlines in the USA, Japan and South Korea where authorities have also stopped its use.'

Planes with the same engines as a flight which suffered a terrifying mid-air explosion were yesterday banned from UK airspace.Pictures taken from the ground show the jet's engine on fire and trailing smoke on Saturday

Video recorded by passengers aboard Flight UA328, which was carrying 231 travelers and 10 crew members, shows the engine on fire

Police posted photos on Twitter showing large, circular pieces of debris leaning against a house in the suburb about 25 miles north of Denver

The US Federal Aviation Administration (FAA) ordered United Airlines to step up inspections of the aircraft after one of its flights made an emergency landing at Denver International Airport on Saturday as pieces of the casing of the engine, a Pratt & Whitney PW4000, rained down on suburban neighbourhoods.

None of the 231 passengers or 10 crew were hurt, and the flight landed safely, authorities said. United is among the carriers that has grounded the planes.

Shares in Raytheon, the parent company of Pratt & Whitney, had suffered a 2.77 per cent drop when markets opened this morning n a blow to one of the main players in the aircraft engine market and a boost to its competitors including Britain's Rolls-Royce and Boston-based General Electric.

The near-disaster in Colorado has led to the grounding of more than a hundred Boeing 777s fitted with Pratt & Whitney PW4000 engines, used by United Airlines as well as Japan's two main carriers and a South Korean firm.

Boeing said today that all 128 of the planes have been grounded, saying it had recommended suspending operations of 69 in-service and 59 in-storage aircraft while US authorities investigate what happened in Denver.

The United Airlines Flight 328 had been heading to Hawaii when an engine burst into flames shortly after leaving Denver airport on Saturday afternoon.

Remarkably, none of the 231 passengers or ten crew, or anyone on the ground, suffered any injuries in the incident.

Flames could be seen coming from the engine of the plane after it exploded at 15,000ft. Miraculously, nobody was injured

Terrified United Airlines passengers clapped in relief as their flight touched down safely in Denver on Saturday after suffering catastrophic engine failure

Pieces of the aircraft landed on a football field as seen in the above image posted to Twitter by a local resident in Broomfield

Yesterday Boeing said 128 jets with the same type of Pratt & Whitney engines should be grounded until inspections can be carried out.

A spokesman said: 'While [an] investigation is ongoing, we recommended suspending operations of the 69 in-service and 59 in-storage 777 aircraft powered by Pratt & Whitney 4000-112 engines.'

A Civil Aviation Authority spokesman said no airlines operating in the UK will be affected because most use Rolls Royce or engines from other makers.

It came as police recordings were released revealing how close the debris - which scattered across Broomfield, a suburb north of the Colorado city - came to hitting people.

One woman who called 911 said: 'A piece of it just landed in front of me.

'It almost landed on my head.' United Airlines said it had grounded its fleet of 777s with the engines.

It is understood to mostly affect carriers operating in America and the far east.

Japanese regulators also suspended the use of some 777s with the same engines.

Pratt & Whitney, owned by Raytheon Technologies Corp,said it was coordinating with operators and regulators.
A view through the STAR endcap magnet at the new calorimeter components installed in the "forward" direction. These components will allow physicists to measure and reconstruct the energy of jets from particles emerging close to the beamline. Credit: Brookhaven National Laboratory

Just prior to the start of this year's run at the Relativistic Heavy Ion Collider (RHIC)a U.S. Department of Energy Office of Science user facility for nuclear physics research at DOE's Brookhaven National Laboratorya team of scientists, engineers, technicians, and students completed the installation of important new components of the collider's STAR detector. This house-sized particle tracker (the Solenoidal Tracker at RHIC) captures the subatomic debris created when atomic nuclei collide so scientists can learn about the building blocks of matter. The new components will expand STAR's ability to track jets of particles emerging in an extreme "forward" direction, meaning close to the beamline through which the particles travel as they collide.

Forward jet detection will be important for learning how the internal components of protons and neutronsquarks and gluonscontribute to the overall properties of these building blocks of matter.

"Jets are excellent surrogates for quarks and gluons," said Brookhaven Lab physicist Elke-Caroline Aschenauer, who leads the STAR forward upgrade. "If you measure the energy of all the particles that make up a jet, then you basically know everything about the quark or gluon that produced that jet during the collisionits energy, direction, and spin." Measuring many jets will allow scientists to map the 3-D structure of the proton, including the arrangement and spin of the quarks and gluons within.

The new equipment won't be used for physics measurements until next year's run of RHIC experiments at high energy. But having the major componentstwo kinds of calorimetersinstalled for this year's low-energy run gives physicists a chance to calibrate the equipment and work out any kinks.

"We can use this time to get all the data-acquisition systems running, test the read-out channels, and commission our trigger setup"the system that decides, in a fraction of a second, which collisions to record and which to toss, Aschenauer said.

This schematic rendering of the STAR detector shows the components that make up the forward upgrade. The hadronic calorimeter (violet blocks at the far end of the illustration) and electromagnetic calorimeter (pink blocks closer in) are in place for this year's run. Four "small-strip thin-gap-chamber" disks (light violet) and three silicon disks (multicolor) surrounding the beampipe make up the tracker and will be installed this summer. Credit: Brookhaven National Laboratory

Separated by space and time

Meeting the deadline for the start of this year's RHIC run in the midst of a global pandemic was no small task.

"We wanted to have lots of academic 'users' of the STAR experiment and their students go to Brookhaven to assemble and install the components, but with COVID, that became very complicated," said Oleg Tsai, a STAR user from UCLA and the creative mind behind the forward detector design.

Instead, the project moved forward as a collaboration separated by space and time.

"STAR users at universities across the country worked to build and test components with studentsincluding some who lived too far from home to travel during lockdown," Tsai said.

To maintain social distance, "we naturally split off into morning and afternoon groups," said David Kapukchyan, a graduate student who helped assemble components at the University of California, Riverside. "We had to leave notes for each other so that each group knew what they had to do for their time in the lab."

An array of 520 calorimeter towers, each consisting of 36 steel absorber blocks interleaved with scintillator tiles and the pins that hold them together. Credit: Brookhaven National Laboratory

"This experience has given me great insight into how detectors of this size come together and the amount of work it takes to build them," he added.

That satisfied a key goal for Scott Wissink, a STAR user and physics professor at Indiana University, who coordinated the proposal to fund this work through the National Science Foundation's Major Research Instrumentation (MRI) program, which specifically included support for student participation at the ten universities that made up the project consortium.

"In addition to buying materials and equipment, we also requested funds to support the technical workforce required at the individual universities, and especially to provide opportunities for students to get involved in the testing and assembly of the components," he said. "This experience will not only ensure that we have the right equipment to carry out the measurements, but will also prepare them to lead the next generation of physics experiments."

Assisted assembly

"The pieces were produced and delivered from everywhere in the worldIndiana, Pennsylvania, California, Illinois, Texaseven China and Japan. When we couldn't get toilet paper we were getting scintillators," Aschenauer noted, describing special plastic that detects particles of light. Then all the piecestens of thousands of componentshad to be assembled and installed in a Lego-like fashion, layer by layer, she said.

This image shows one half of the hadronic calorimeter (260 blocks). In the front one can see the electromagnetic calorimeter with all its readout electronics and cables fully installed. Credit: Brookhaven National Laboratory

Some students were ultimately able to help.

"I had plans to come to Brookhaven for my doctoral studies before the COVID pandemic hit," said Erik Loyd, another grad student at UC Riverside. "Though my travel was initially delayed, I ended up moving to New York and quarantining for a month before coming to the Lab to help with installation."

But with far fewer students available than in normal times, the project leaders turned to technicians in Brookhaven's Beam & Experimental Services (B&ES) group and the Collider-Accelerator Support (CAS) group for additional assistance.

Brendan Hoy, a member of CAS, noted that his group's round-the-clock duties typically consist of responding to real time equipment issuestroubleshooting and performing corrective maintenance on things like power supplies and magnetsas well as building, installing, and maintaining various electronic systems around the complex. "The work we do maintaining STAR power supplies and the electronics-centric nature of my regularly assigned duties mapped on to this detector install very well," he said. "Given the uniquely difficult circumstances that 2020 brought to us all, I found the opportunity to work on a project outside of the normal scope of my role to be a welcome one."

"The Collider-Accelerator Department (CAD) technicians, working with the STAR Technical Support Group, did a great job installing the calorimeters and their support structures," said Rahul Sharma, STAR's chief engineer. "The work went twice as fast as originally anticipated, with groups working in alternating shifts in the morning and afternoon to stack multiple layers of the detector blocks. It was a real challenge to try coordinate all this for over three months to complete the installation."

One half of the hadronic calorimeter, made of 20 x 13 towers, with the first two readout electronics boards installed and the all the signal cables bringing the light from the photon sensors to the readout boards. Credit: Brookhaven National Laboratory

"We had to overcome many challenges while building these detectors in such a tight location and time frame," said Travis Herbst, a technician in B&ES. "Due to the limited space, we had to install a temporary conveyor belt that allowed us to transfer almost 10,000 steel absorber blocks weighing 15 tons and 20,000 pins used to hold them together under the beam line so we could build the detectors on both sides."

Adrian Timon, another B&ES technician, added: "We also had to maintain social distance during all the working hours needed for installing the detector while inspecting and keeping all of the blocks and pins cleaned of debris or deformity, as such defects could cause problems with the detector's internal structure."

"The most amazing thing for me was all these minor details that you don't read about in a textbook when they describe these calorimeters," said UC Riverside's Kapukchyan, who also traveled to Long Island for the assembly. "You read about the physics of how particles lose energy and how to calculate it, but all these minor construction details, like how to correctly unspool cables, are left out. Being involved [through all stages of this project] was a great experience for me and will certainly help me in my future endeavors," he said.

Pushing science forward

The now-complete Lego-like calorimeter assemblies will be joined, after this year's run, by a few additional componentstwo kinds of tracking detectors for discerning particles with different electrical charges. The whole system will then be ready to collect physics data in the 2022 RHIC run.

Brookhaven Lab physicist Elke Caroline Aschenauer is leading the STAR Forward Upgrade project.

Positioned at one end of the STAR detector's barrel-shaped Time Projection Chamber, the calorimeters and trackers will capture jets that emerge at angles very close to RHIC's beamline, exiting at that end of the barrel. Studying those particular jets is important because they give scientists access to the quarks and gluons that carry either a very high or very low percentage of the proton's (or nucleus's) overall momentum.

Jets produced by scattering off the three main valence quarks that make up a proton carry a large percentage of the particle's overall momentum. But a proton is much more complex than those three main quarks. Inside there is a teeming microcosm of quark and antiquark pairs that flit in and out of existence. Gluonsaptly named because they glue the quarks togetherare even more mysterious. They split and multiply and, at high energies, may completely dominate the structure of the proton. Each of these gluons carries a tiny percentage of the proton's overall momentum. But because there are so many of them, scientists believe their combined influence plays an outsized role in establishing the proton's properties. Hence the motivation to study jets generated by these "low-momentum-fraction" gluons.

"These measurements will help us search for evidence that the gold ions we collide at RHIC become dense walls of gluons, and that this saturated state of gluons is responsible for key properties such as proton spin and mass, as suggested by many of the findings we've already observed at RHIC," Aschenauer said.

The measurements will also help lay the groundwork for jet-tracking at the future Electron-Ion Collider (EIC). The EIC is a new state-of-the-art DOE nuclear physics facility to be built at Brookhaven Lab in collaboration with Thomas Jefferson National Accelerator Facility (Jefferson Lab) to expand scientists' reach into the frontiers of nuclear physics.

"The hadronic calorimeter design we are talking about for the EIC has components that are basically identical to the one that is part of this upgrade, so that part of this project serves as a prototype for future EIC detector components," Aschenauer said.

Explore further Tracking particles containing charm quarks offers insight into how quarks combine

Finsbury Glover Hering has signed a $50K monthly retainer pact with Ukraines Transatlantic Dialogue and Engagement Center to bolster that countrys relations with the US, European Union and other Democratic nations.

TDEC works in close cooperation with Ukraines Servant of the People political party, one of the major players in the Ukrainian parliament.

FGH provides government relations, strategic counsel to TDEC in its effort to facilitate interactions with members of the US government and multilateral organizations.

That effort began Feb. 2 and runs through the rest of the year.

The WPP-owned shop has Brett OBrien, Tod Preston and Lindsay Plack handling the account.

In his Jan. 26 call to Russian leader Vladimir Putin, president Biden reaffirmed Americas commitment to the sovereignty of Ukraine.
The Member of Parliament for the Ejisu Constituency in the Ashanti Region, Dr. John Ampontuah Kumah, has applauded the Bank of Ghana for instituting measures to formalize crowdfunding in Ghana.



According to the Member of Parliament, the policy direction by the Bank of Ghana on how individuals and organizations can establish and use crowdfunding platforms is a step in the right direction and one of the best steps any nation can take to increase access to funding for entrepreneurs and businesses.



On Tuesday, February 2, 2021, I presented a paper on the floor of the house numerating how the state can tap into the potentials of the youth for national development. One of the points I highlighted was the need for measures to be taken to institutionalize crowdfunding in Ghana. I am therefore impressed with the swiftness exhibited by the Bank of Ghana in outlining a roadmap that ensures that we can now rely on the power of the internet to crowd pool funding for businesses, he said.



The benefits we can derive from crowdfunding are numerous and I am happy that we are at that point where people can depend on an alternative way to fund their businesses without accumulating debt. I will like to encourage young entrepreneurs to take advantage of this in their quest to raise capital, the Member of Parliament for Ejisu added.



In a statement released by the Bank of Ghana on February, 18 2021, they announced various crowd funding products that can be accessed by Ghanaians as they take steps to modernize Ghanas banking industry. The statement signed by Sandra Thompson, Secretary of the Bank of Ghana indicated that the models of crowdfunding permitted are donation-based and reward-based crowdfunding. Ghanaians can now start accessing the crowdfunding products provided by regulated entities.





Source: Peacefmonline.com









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The chairman of the Alabama Democratic Party is responding to proposed legislation that would make rioting similar to what was seen in Birmingham over the summer a felony crime.

Rep. Christopher England on Monday issued a statement, invoking the words of the Rev. Martin Luther King Jr. - Riots are socially destructive and self-defeating. But in the final analysis, a riot is the language of the unheard. And what is it that America has failed to hear? It has failed to hear that large segments of white society are more concerned about tranquility and the status quo than about justice.

Rep. Allen Treadaway last week announced he is proposing new crimes and penalties for those who incite or participate in riots and also provide additional protection for police officers and other first responders when such situations take place.

Treadaway, who was Birminghams assistant police chief at the time of the riots and retired months later, said his legislation is in no way aimed at peaceful protests. Im 100 percent for that,' he said. Treadway worked the night of the rioting.

Lets be really clear here what were talking about. Were talking about when those peaceful protests become violent, when theyre hijacked as the case in Birmingham by outsiders who are involved in trying to incite the crowd and start smashing windows, looting stores, throwing bricks at law enforcement officers,' he said. I think, I would hope, that everyone would agree that at that point its no longer peaceful. Society, not just public safety, needs tools to address that and thats what Im attempting to do with this legislation.

Among the provisions of Treadaways legislation are:

 A person who is arrested for knowingly participating in a riot would be placed on a 24-hour hold before becoming eligible for bail, and, upon conviction, would face a mandatory minimum sentence of 30 days in jail and an order of restitution. [The 24-hour hold requirement in this and other sections will require passage of an accompanying constitutional amendment.]

 A person who knowingly participates in the new crime of Aggravated Riot, which requires bodily or property damage to result, would also be held for 24 hours before becoming eligible for bail, and, upon conviction of the Class C felony, would face a mandatory minimum sentence of six months and an order of restitution.

 Those convicted of Riot, Aggravated Riot, or Inciting a Riot would become ineligible to hold public office in Alabama.

 The crime of Assault Against a First Responder in the first and second degrees are created and those arrested for the offenses are initially held for 24 hours before becoming bail eligible. A first-degree conviction, which would be a Class B felony, results in at least one year in jail, a $15,000 fine, and an order of restitution, and a second-degree conviction, classified as a Class C felony, carries a minimum six-month jail sentence, a $5,000 fine, and a restitution requirement.

 Any government entity in Alabama that defunds a local law enforcement agency would lose eligibility for any state funding, grants, revenues, or other forms of aid. In addition, any entity that defunds a law enforcement agency would become civilly liable for any violent crime that result from the action.

 The crime of purposely blocking an Interstate would become a felony with accompanying fines

England said Black people in Alabama have marched, penned songs, wrote, spoken, prayed, and screamed for justice. How should Black people express their frustration to lawmakers who seem more committed to silencing Black outcry than doing what is right?,' he said. If we are genuinely concerned about public safety, we will address the underlying causes of inequality rather than introduce bills aimed at silencing people who oppose injustice.
OTTAWA - Air traffic controllers say Nav Canada is mulling layoffs even if it receives a possible bailout from Ottawa, jeopardizing passenger safety.

The sun sets behind the FAA Control Tower at Chicago's Midway International Airport on Tuesday, March 17, 2020, in Chicago. Air traffic controllers say potential cuts at Nav Canada put lives at risk. THE CANADIAN PRSS/AP/Charles Rex Arbogast

OTTAWA - Air traffic controllers say Nav Canada is mulling layoffs even if it receives a possible bailout from Ottawa, jeopardizing passenger safety.

More cuts would axe critically needed workers and make for a more hazardous airspace in corridors across the country, according to the Canadian Air Traffic Control Association.

About 60 jobs are at stake in seven control towers from Whitehorse to Windsor, Ont., as the non-profit body that runs the country's civil air navigation service reviews whether to pare down its payroll  already thinned by nearly 1,000 positions over the past year.

"The risk increases significantly without a control service," said union head Doug Best.

"The reason a control service is so much safer is because I will tell that pilot what to do, and the pilot will listen to what we say, knowing that were keeping airplanes separate so that they can focus on actually flying their airplane.

Nav Canada CEO Ray Bohn told the House of Commons transport committee this month that its study of potential service reductions would go on independent of any federal relief package.

"We would continue to look at those level-of-service initiatives regardless of government support," he said on Feb. 2.

The permanent closure of seven control towers  a possible outcome of Nav Canada aeronautical studies  would still see pilots receive traffic information from a slimmed-down service, but they would have to make their own navigation decisions and largely fend for themselves during takeoff or landing.

Mark Galvin, CEO of Windsor International Airport, says control towers are "essential" to ensuring safety in a busy airspace like his.

"The airspace around Windsor-Detroit is pretty complicated," Galvin said. "Nav Canada and a control tower is vital."

Galvin recalled a horrific mid-air collision in 1979 when a small plane leaving Windsor Airport hit another approaching Detroit City Airport, killing all five people aboard.

Traffic has only risen since then, notwithstanding a recent dip caused by the COVID-19 pandemic.

Nav Canada saw profits and air traffic plummet over the past year as the pandemic battered the organization, prompting some 720 jobs lost among roughly 5,200 employees since March, plus another 180 announced in December.

"Regardless of any financial aid, Nav Canada must continue to fulfil its commitment to efficiently run Canadas air navigation system, ensuring that the services supplied align with market demands," spokesman Brian Boudreau said in an email.

"We will continue to monitor air traffic activity across the country and adapt operations safely and accordingly,"

The company hiked its rates by 30 per cent in September, prompting at least one carrier to raise surcharges for passengers on domestic flights.

Then-CEO Neil Wilson said the hike allowed Nav Canada to seek debt financing and ensure liquidity after it unsuccessfully asked Ottawa for financial support last summer.

Despite the job cuts, Nav Canada's CEO acknowledged earlier this month that he received a bonus last year, part of $7 million in bonuses given to the non-profit's management team of hundreds.

However, managers took "significant reductions" to their pay and pensions due to the pandemic, Bohn said

"There was no corporate bonus for executives from March 1  the date of the pandemic  for the balance of the fiscal year," he told the transport committee.

Control towers cannot be closed without a green light from the federal transport minister following a safety assessment by the department, Transport Canada said.

"I appreciate the importance of the air traffic control towers to their communities and have heard from many stakeholders about the need to ensure the continued safe operation of the airspace," Transport Minister Omar Alghabra said in a statement.

"We will not tolerate any risks to the safety of Canadians."

The potential axing of 60 air traffic control jobs would come on top of nearly 50 more layoffs slated to take effect in June at flight service centres in Gander, N.L., Moncton, N.B., and Montreal.

Best, the union president, acknowledged the continuing plunge in global air traffic might require fewer traffic controllers. But he said new employees need about two years training at a cost of hundreds of thousands of dollars each, while a shortage of controllers across the globe could lure laid-off workers overseas, raising expenditures and labour hurdles for Nav Canada when flight numbers start to climb.

The Finance Department continues to negotiate with the aviation sector over a relief package, which it says will be contingent on companies protecting jobs, maintaining regional routes and offering refunds to passengers whose flights were cancelled.

We remain committed to supporting Canadians airlines and people who work in the air sector during this unprecedented and difficult time," Katherine Cuplinskas, press secretary to Finance Minister Chrystia Freeland, said in an email.

The negotiations are primarily with airlines rather than other air industry firms.

The air traffic control towers under review by Nav Canada are in St-Jean, Que., Windsor, Sault Ste. Marie, Ont., Regina, Fort McMurray, Alta., Prince George, B.C., and Whitehorse.

This report by The Canadian Press was first published Feb. 22, 2021.
Douglas Turner Ward, an actor, playwright and director who co-founded the celebrated Negro Ensemble Company, a New York theater group that supported Black writers and actors at a time when there were few opportunities for them, died on Saturday at his home in Manhattan. He was 90.

The death was confirmed by his wife, Diana Ward.

Mr. Ward was establishing his own career as an actor in 1966 when he wrote an opinion article in The New York Times with the headline American Theater: For Whites Only?

If any hope, outside of chance individual fortune, exists for Negro playwrights as a group  or, for that matter, Negro actors and other theater craftsman  the most immediate, pressing, practical, absolutely minimally essential active first step is the development of a permanent Negro repertory company of at least Off-Broadway size and dimension, he wrote. Not in the future  but now!

The article got the attention of W. McNeil Lowry, the Ford Foundations vice president of humanities and the arts, who arranged a $434,000 grant to create precisely the kind of company that Mr. Ward was proposing. Thus the Negro Ensemble Company was born, in 1967, with Mr. Ward as artistic director, Robert Hooks as executive director and Gerald S. Krone as administrative director.
It was Tuesday, February 16, 2021  the day 89-year-old Angela Burke had been waiting almost a year for. The Covid-19 vaccination team had returned to the Sligo nursing home where she is a resident and as the second dose of the miracle elixir was injected into her arm, she felt something she hadnt in a long, long time  excitement.

She had her suitcase packed, ready to go months ago, her daughter Patricia told the Irish Independent this week.

She was totally fed up and asking, When can I get out? When can I come to see you? I was saying, Mum, as soon as you get the vaccine, just hold on for the vaccine. Thats how I was holding her off and now that shes fully vaccinated what excuse do I come up with? My mother is very much tuned in to what is going on and this was the big focus, getting vaccinated and getting some semblance of a life back.

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This week, according to HSE boss Paul Reid, will see an important milestone being reached as the vast majority of residents and staff of long-term residential facilities will be fully vaccinated.

Though the coronavirus has been a swift and obvious killer in these settings, the crushing isolation created by the lockdowns has taken a more subtle, but still devastating, toll.

As vaccination rates climb, doctors, residents and family members have begun pushing to ease the severe restrictions that descended on the facilities last March. The National Public Health Emergency Team (Nphet) has yet to issue revised guidelines on visits and families are asking for clarity.

Thats my question to government, says Patricia.

When can I see my mother? Where are the guidelines? Shes fully vaccinated and I am a nurse so I have had both doses myself. I realise it will take a few weeks to achieve full immunity for both of us, but after that surely I can get in to see my mother in person?

According to Sage, an advocacy group for older people, calls from residents and families asking if nursing homes will reopen to visitors once the vaccine roll-out is complete have surged in the past week.

This countrys 30,000 nursing home residents have made enormous sacrifices throughout the pandemic, to the expense of having very limited or no contact at all with their loved ones, said Sarah Lennon, Executive Director of Sage Advocacy.

We know from our work that many nursing home residents welcomed the opportunity to receive a Covid-19 vaccine because they felt it would help them get back to doing what they enjoyed before the pandemic, particularly in relation to seeing their families. Now that many nursing home residents have received the second vaccine, residents and their loved ones are contacting us from across the country to ask when they will be able to have safe and meaningful visits again.

One caller to the Sage helpline was Mary Moroney. Her mother, 89-year-old Mary Corbett, recently stopped accepting window visits at the Co Clare nursing home where she lives.

She found it too cold to be leaving her own room and coming to the designated room on the ground floor, said Mary.

Its not as if she is outside or anything but they just feel the cold so much. On top of that there could be two other families there as well, socially distanced from us and with all the chatter going on you cant hear. You are standing outside and its near a motorway so theres a lot of traffic. She brought down the phone a few times to speak to you but shed be saying, Well, we might as well have the phone and you stay at home rather than for you to be outside the window freezing and talking on the phone.

Mary said she noticed her mothers mood change in recent months and that the vaccine had been the light of the tunnel.

She was frustrated and becoming withdrawn, she said.

Shes lost the art of conversation a bit and she misses her grandchildren coming to visit. She was so looking forward to getting vaccinated. When they asked her about discussing getting it with her family she said, Theres no need, put me first in the queue. There was such hope.

"Then the other day she told me that a staff member mentioned that there might be a decision on visits in the next few weeks so shes clinging on to that. Shes been clinging on for a year now.

Sage is calling for the Government to urgently address the concerns of families and residents by establishing a plan for reopening nursing homes, similar to the roadmap for schools.

We know from our work that regular visits by loved ones are hugely important to the quality of life of all nursing home residents, said Ms Lennon.

People who live in nursing homes have the same right to see their families if they so choose, in a safe manner with strict infection protection and control measures in place, as anyone else living in any other part of the community.

"We are urging the Government to listen to nursing home residents and their families and set out a roadmap to reunite loved ones, particularly for those with neurological conditions such as dementia and Alzheimers disease who have not been able to take part in virtual visits such as Zoom.

The last time Patricia Burke saw her mother was January 2, during a 15-minute window visit.

Both women were able to see each other, but the window was closed and they spoke using mobile phones.

The window visits are very distressing for her, said Patricia.

Shes shouting through the glass sometimes and its frustrating for her. Im outside and I dont mind getting cold and wet for my mother, but she gets very upset that Im getting wet outside.

"Shes a very outgoing woman and her personality hasnt changed but shes quite annoyed at the restrictions on her life. She is quite upset and I can understand that. She has had so much taken away in the past year.

For Mary Moroney, time  the most precious commodity in life  is running out. Her mother received her second dose of the Covid-19 vaccine last week.

It isnt as if the people in nursing homes have the rest of their lives to make up for the year that has been lost, she said.

Twelve months have gone by and thats time that youre not going to get back. None of us know how long we have in this world but their time is certainly a lot shorter than ours. I just feel like theyre being buried alive now inside these nursing homes.

"My mother had every hope pinned on the vaccine. Now she has it and she is no better off.
Bonus season is upon us  time to get the numbers telling us if we still have viable careers. Its an especially dicey period for research analysts at the biggest investment banks. As things stand, they dont need compensation figures to see that their jobs are increasingly superfluous.

In the Covid-19 era, investment themes"  cryptocurrency, electric vehicles and stay-at-home consumer tech  matter a lot more than fundamentals. Case in point: Just days after Nassim Nicholas Taleb, an authoritative voice on black swans, ranted on Twitter that Bitcoin had been taken over by Covid denying sociopaths" and that he was getting out of that trade, the price of the crypto rallied to an all-time high of $50,000. The compulsion of the herd overwhelms any kind of sober research. So what can be expected of the average equity analyst, whose media influence is not anywhere close to Talebs?

To remain competitive in an ever-rising market, analysts in the hot, thematic sectors are starting to deploy non-traditional valuation metrics. In the past, equity analysts would use price-to-book ratios to value distressed companies, price-to-earnings on traditional sectors, and price-to-sales for growth stocks. These days, they have to be more creative.

Behold price-to-narrative ratios. Chinas electric vehicle maker NIO Inc. and food delivery app Meituan are examples of stocks with allure for the investing hordes. Though its sold just over 80,000 cars, NIO is already a $93 billion large-cap company. Meanwhile, Meituan boasts of a $337 billion market value, with a valuation of 107 times 2022 earnings. Both are among the top holdings of the MSCI Emerging Markets Index and have become must-own stocks for any emerging markets mutual funds and ETFs.

To match that appeal with a touch of research, sell-side analysts have set an average price target for NIO of $65.07, about 40% above their fair value at the end of 2020 and a good 9.9% above the market price, data compiled by Bloomberg show. Similarly, the average price target for Meituan, followed by 54 analysts, is just 7.7% shy of the prevailing market price. Can these be justified by traditional metrics?

Heres an example of how the alchemy works. In a Jan. 28 report, Morgan Stanley valued NIO at $80 per share, declaring that electric vehicle manufacturers are on the verge of a profound model shift" from just selling cars to generating high margin, recurring software and services revenue. Software is the key word. The auto industrys value used to be measured by the number of cars sold but if an EV maker can also be considered a software company, which has much higher valuation multiples, then that auto maker would be worth a lot more. While Morgan Stanley values NIOs long-term vehicle business at 30 times price-to-earnings, its software operations is worth 51.9 times price-to-sales. As a result, that chunk of NIOs operations can account for roughly a fifth of the companys terminal market value, even though its sales are just tiny 2%.

There are other ways to make enormous valuations more digestible: by using discounted cash flow and forecasting rosy profits decades down the road. Daiwa Securities Group Inc., for instance, projects NIOs cash flow all the way to 2040. The bank sees NIOs earnings before interest and taxes at 213 billion yuan ($32.98 billion) by then, over 60 times the 2025 figure. That valuation method gives you a lot more upside than a simple forward price-to-earnings estimate. Daiwa has a street-high price target for NIO of $100.

Or how about using sum-of-the-parts analysis to value new business initiatives that are still burning through cash? This seems to be analysts go-to method for Meituan, whose shares have rallied 49% this year, thanks to strong southbound buying from mainland investors.

The market seems excited by Meituan Select, a fast-growing e-commerce grocery where people band together to buy food and household goods at better prices. Chinese consumers, especially in smaller cities, started to embrace buying fresh food online during the pandemic, opening up a big untapped $1.3 trillion market.

But Meituan Select launched just last July and doesnt have much of a track record to speak of. Still, analysts from HSBC Holdings Plc. to Citigroup Inc. to Goldman Sachs Group Inc. have latched onto sum-of-the-parts analysis to reflect market enthusiasm. Already, Meituan Select accounts for 20% of HSBCs fair value assessment of Meituan itself, for which the bank has set a street-high target of HK$550. Meanwhile, new initiatives" account for 44% of the sum-of-the-parts fair value at Goldman Sachs. With 50 buys, four holds, and no sell, sell-side analysts are buying a grocery e-commerce story that remains to be told.

An analysts life can be tough. With a market awash with record-high liquidity, anyone who uses fundamental analysis will have to undershoot the prices the market is notching up. At the same time, analysts are loathe to alienate hot companies with skeptical views because they might just cut off your access to management and some real insight into performance. So everyone weaves entertaining tales, regardless of how realistic they are. The stories may keep customers enthralled for a while. But is this what you can build a career on?

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Snowmen were all-around the state capitol in Salt Lake City on Sunday, Feb. 21. 2021 with many holding signs asking for a price on carbon to rescue their "Endangered species."

Though there wasn't much snow in the Utah Skies on Sunday, hundreds of snowmen made it to the grounds at the state Capitol at Salt Lake City as the snow was all part of a plea to rescue the "endangered species."

The Lawmakers

The expression intends to encourage lawmakers, Democrats, and Republicans, state and local, to call for a price on carbon. According to Nick Huey, a 28-year-old father from Taylorsville, who arranged the event on Sunday said more than 50 volunteers turned out to create at least 500 snowmen and snowwomen, making use of snow that was already on the property.

Huey said to the Deseret News that "The snow people claim carbon pricing is the speediest and most effective way to curb climate change. We need to do something about the climate change which does not necessarily have to be we launching ourselves into the Stone Ages and never make use of our cars."

ALSO READ: Alert! Powerful Snow Storm Hits Denver, Avalanche A Possibility

Lawmakers Should Lay Down The Rules

He said lawmakers should "lay down the rules and let the market respond with new innovations" that could pilot to less pollution and cleaner air. Huey stated that some of the cleverly and quickly drafted messages held by the snowmen, includes "Snowppl 4 carbon pricing," and "Mr. Mitt Romnee, if u price carbon we will vote 4 you 4 ever" and that putting a tax on carbon emissions is something both parties can get behind.

Carbon pricing would basically move the burden of greenhouse gases to the corporations that play a part in creating it. Those companies also have the ability to reduce or slow down their emissions. Huey said "It's a free market with small government and it is greatly effective," and that it would also allow the United States to meet the goals set by the Paris climate agreement without the need of belonging to it.

American Collegues

A handful of other countries, along with cities, provinces, and states, already adopt carbon pricing as a part of their plans to slow down their own carbon footprints. On Sunday, the sun was shining perhaps a little too brightly on the new, little population of snowmen, a bipartisan group whom Nick Huey said are all Utahns, born and grew up here today and half of them are conservative.

He says the snow people will most likely stick around until Monday afternoon or evening, but it would be nice to see them pop up in other cities and states, strengthening awareness about climate change, about which most of my younger colleagues of Americans are very passionate about."

Similar snowmen showed up outside the office of Sen. Chuck Schumer, Senate majority leader, last week, with some of the same messages calling for action from the new Senator representing New york.

RELATED STORIES: US Snow Storm UPDATE: 'Very Dangerous Wind Chills' Could Happen Hours From Now

For more news, update about climate and other related topics don't forget to follow Nature World News!

Harris County should consider leaving the states main power grid after it failed to prevent widespread blackouts for more than half of Houston-area residents last week, Precinct 2 Commissioner Adrian Garcia said Monday.

Garcia has asked the Commissioners Court to explore what authority it has to sever ties with the Electric Reliability Council of Texas, which oversees the grid that powers all of the state except for El Paso, parts of the Panhandle and a group of counties in East Texas.

This agenda item is meant to explore how we in Harris County can take ownership of keeping residents safe, something the state has clearly shown it cant be trusted to do itself, Garcia said in a statement.

Garcia, a Democrat who represents east Harris County, said the state failed to adequately protect its electricity infrastructure after widespread blackouts in 2011 exposed vulnerabilities to winter weather.

He suggested that the county could join the East Texas grid, the Midcontinental Independent System Operator, which unlike ERCOT crosses state lines and is overseen by the Federal Energy Regulatory Commission.

Liberty County, which borders Harris County to the east, is part of MISO. That grid also suffered outages during the storm, when demand for electricity overwhelmed supply, but they were less severe than those within ERCOTs system.

What ability, if any, Harris County has to leave ERCOT is unclear. First Assistant County Attorney Jay Aiyer said such a move would almost certainly require approval by the Legislature. As subdivisions of state government, commissioners courts have few independent powers; they cannot even enact ordinances.

Aiyer said Harris County also will examine what actions, if any, the Legislature takes this session to reform ERCOT or the Public Utility Commission to prevent future blackouts.

CenterPoint Energy, which supplies electricity for the Houston region, declined to comment on Garcias proposal.

The Commissioners Court will take up Garcias proposal Friday.

zach.despart@chron.com

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Nigerian celebrity couple, Banky W and Adesua Etomi, have welcomed their first child, a baby boy, Zaiah.

The private couple chose to break the news on Monday, which also doubles as Adesuas birthday, on their social media handles.

According to their posts, their baby was born a month ago.

Banky W, who is known to feature his wife in his music videos and songs, also announced that he would release another song Final Say on Thursday. The track was produced by Cobhams Asuquo.

The couple settled for a destination wedding in Capetown, South Africa, on November 25, 2017.
UPDATE 3.20PM: Auckland will heading to level 1, Cabinet has decided.

The decision was made on the advice of Director-General of Health Dr Ashley Bloomfield.

In her media standup today, Prime Minister Jacinda Ardern said the change will be from midnight today.

She says face coverings will be mandatory on public transport throughout the country at alert level 1.

Masking is already mandatory in Auckland on public transport. Keeping it mandatory throughout the country at level 1 is new.

The order will be kept under review as vaccines are being rolled out.

Ardern asking people to "please" use the Covid-19 tracer app.

While scanning is currently not mandatory, its been said previously that this is something Cabinet will be considering

EARLIER:

One new case of Covid-19 in the community has been announced as Auckland waits to find out if it will join the rest of the country in alert level 1.

The new case is linked to the existing community cases and is already in quarantine, the Ministry of Health says.

There are six new cases in managed isolation, four of which are historical.

Prime Minister Jacinda Ardern will make an announcement about any alert level shift later in the afternoon, but it is expected Auckland will soon be returning to level 1.

Ardern earlier said she was confident the alert levels would be changed unless something "significant" emerged in the morning's testing results.

The Government's confident a ring had been placed around this community cluster, she said.

The alert changes were sparked by a group of community cases of Covid-19 within a family that had an indirect link to the border.

Linked to that through a contact at Papatoetoe High School were four further cases.

Today's case is part of the same household. They had previously been tested and returned a negative result, and had been self-isolating.

They have been in quarantine since Friday as a precaution, the ministry says.

Given the contact tracing already carried out in relation to this family, as well as the fact the person has been isolation, the ministry said the public health risk is considered "very low".

Out of the 125 close contacts associated with all the cases in this cluster, just two test results are still pending.

As of Monday morning, a total of 31 close contacts and 1416 casual plus contacts have been identified at Papatoetoe High School  an increase of three casual plus contacts.

Four teachers and 28 students will remain away from school while they have a second test.

Close contacts who have been in isolation since being tested will be able to return to school from Wednesday.

There's still a question mark over where the February cluster sprung from. Further testing of the Auckland Airport precinct, where one of the first cases works, is still considered the most likely source  but further testing hasn't given any clues as to how transmission might have happened.

A link to the Four Points Sheraton MIQ facility is still being probed, but it is considered an unlikely source of infection.

The six new cases in managed isolation arrived from the United States, Iraq, Morocco and Colombia and have been moved to quarantine facilities in Auckland and Christchurch.

If Auckland shifts down levels, there may be additional restrictions at level 1.

Ardern has said Cabinet will consider making mask use on public transport permanent throughout New Zealand and could make signing in with the Covid app, or with a pen and paper, compulsory.

-Stuff/ .
Almost everyone is a loser from the bitterly-fought battle for control of UK-quoted security group G4S.

If investors approve the 3.8billion offer from private equity-backed Allied Universal, then command and control of the world's largest security company, employing 530,000 people, would pass to the Pennsylvania firm.

G4S is not a much-loved company. Well-documented staffing and training difficulties were the nearest the London Olympics in 2012 came to meltdown.

Under the microscope: G4S has been involved in a series of scandals ranging from losing the Birmingham prison contract to scandalous overbilling for electronic tagging

It has been involved in a series of scandals ranging from losing the Birmingham prison contract, after violent eruptions, to scandalous overbilling for electronic tagging.

It can hardly be regarded as a good corporate citizen.

Nevertheless, G4S has a critical role in running prisons, guarding nuclear facilities and helping to keep UK embassies safe.

Any notion that these jobs will be performed more efficiently when run by a US company financed by equity backer Warburg Pincus and Canadian pension fund Caisse de Depot et Placement du Quebec is risible. Private equity is about extracting the maximum amount of income in the shortest period of time. This highly indebted model failed disastrously at Debenhams and more recently at Cobham, where the aerospace enterprise is being dismantled and sold off.

Publicly-quoted Melrose, which operates a private equity model, is facing Parliamentary scrutiny over its decision to close GKN Automotive in Birmingham at the cost of 519 jobs and the loss of a components supplier to Jaguar Land Rover and Nissan.

G4S chief executive Ashley Almanza, aided and abetted by chairman John Connolly, no doubt, think that they have done a bang-up job in facing down a hostile bidder in Canada's Garda World and soliciting a better offer from Allied Universal. Certainly, the Canadian bidder Stephan Cretier proved to be a walking-talking gaffe merchant with musings on teaching UK shareholders a lesson. In defeat he made claims about being denied access to due diligence.

As former City Minister Paul Myners noted in a recent letter to the FT in a year when Blackrock et al are shouting environmental, social and governance (ESG) investing, the fate of more than half-a-million workers was to have been decided by an auction. What makes the outcome even more egregious was the phony show of resistance with outgoing Almanza set to collect up to 15m if his long-term options pay out.

The 245p price-per-share obtained for G4S appears a generous premium. But like so many UK-quoted shares, G4S has been undervalued, and if the London discount is eradicated, Allied Universal is picking up a bargain. Britain is meant to be comforted by loose promises that UK and international operations will still be run from here. Pledges made in the heat of takeovers have a nasty record of vanishing in a puff of smoke.

Ancient grievance

While on the subject of ESG greenwash, there is scarcely a better example of an executive who betrayed such principles than former chief executive of Rio Tinto Jean-Sebastien Jacques. He stepped down after the Anglo-Australian mining group destroyed the sacred Juukan Gorge rock shelters in Western Australia in its search for iron ore, much to the horror of the country's First Nation groups.

Jacques is described by Rio as an 'eligible leaver' and picks up a 7.25m pay cheque, in spite of sacrificing a 1m bonus. As if that weren't egregious enough, he is entitled to further long-term bonus awards of 28m. If there was any justice, he would be handing every penny over to charities supporting education and health among the people whose heritage he allowed to be blown up.

Reset button

It is a rare moment when three leading retail investment platforms  AJ Bell, Hargreaves Lansdown and Interactive Investor  find common cause.

At a time when London-based initial public offerings (IPOs) are in the ascendency, the exclusion of private investors from the offers, carved up among leading brokers and investment banks, is antithetical to the popular capitalism pioneered by the Tories.
Credit: Pixabay/CC0 Public Domain

Syria has authorised the use of Russia's Sputnik V coronavirus vaccine, its embassy in Moscow said Monday.

The country is the latest to approve the Russian vaccine, named after the Soviet-era satellite. Sputnik V was registered in August before clinical trials were underway, which left experts wary.

But leading medical journal The Lancet published results showing the jab to be safe and 91.6 percent effective.

"The Syrian Arab Republic has completed all registration procedures for the Russian Sputnik V vaccine against the coronavirus infection and allowed its use on its territory," the Russian TASS news agency cited the Syrian embassy as saying in a statement.

More than 30 countries have approved the vaccine, according to the Russian Direct Investment Fund, which financed its development.

Syria in December also signed on to the World Health Organisation's Covax initiative to procure vaccines.

The WHO, together with the UN children's agency UNICEF and Gavi, will support Syria in acquiring jabs to initially cover at least three percent of the population and aim for 20 percent by the end of the year.

Syria has recorded 15,179 coronavirus infections and 998 fatalities from the virus in government-held areas.

Territories under Kurdish control in the country's northeast have recorded nearly 8,600 cases and 311 deaths, while the rebel-held northwest has reported 21,121 infections and 408 fatalities.

Russia backs Syrian President Bashar al-Assad in the country's long-running civil war.

Explore further Follow the latest news on the coronavirus (COVID-19) outbreak

 2021 AFP
Vaccines against the severe acute respiratory syndrome coronavirus 2 (SARS-CoV-2) are being rolled out worldwide to control the COVID-19 (coronavirus disease 2019) pandemic. Multiple vaccines are necessitated to address the variant epidemics and also overcome the challenges that may be posed by the current vaccines (such as high cost, or low immunogenicity).

In this context, a team of experts has tested the immune responses elicited by mucosal homologous plasmid and a heterologous immunization strategy using a plasmid vaccine and a Modified Vaccinia Ankara (MVA) expressing SARS-CoV-2 spike (S) and nucleocapsid (N) antigens. The research is published in the journal Vaccines.

The scientists describe the pre-clinical development of a mucosal, 2-dose heterologous vaccine candidate against the COVID-19 using the QAC (quil-A chitosan) adjuvant system. They showed that the pQAC/MVA-CoV-immunized mice efficiently neutralized the wild-type SARS-CoV-2.

They found that only the heterologous intranasal immunization strategy elicited neutralizing antibodies against SARS-CoV-2 in serum and bronchoalveolar lavage of mice. This finding suggests that this is a protective vaccine. They reported that this strategy led to the induction of type 1 and type 17 T-cell responses and polyfunctional T-cells expressing multiple type 1 cytokines (e.g., IFN-, TNF, IL-2) in the lungs and spleens of the vaccinated mice.

The researchers found that the plasmid homologous vaccine strategy led to the induction of local mono and polyfunctional T-cells secreting IFN-.

The researchers noted that multiple vaccine constructs could be used together to immunize patients effectively.

In the study, the researchers have used 1) vectored (DNA and viral) vaccines - because plasmids encoding antigens can be developed within a few days with current rapid and inexpensive gene synthesis technologies, and 2) viral vectored vaccines like the Modified Vaccinia Ankara (MVA) strain - highly efficient scale-up production processes have been set-up already.

Generation of humoral immune responses in C57BL/6 mice following immunization with different vaccine constructs. (a) Outline for vaccine construct and immunization protocol using groups of C57BL/6 mice vaccinated with 3 doses of pQAC-CoV (I.N) or pQAC-CoV (I.M) with 3-week interval. Another group of C57BL/5 mice were vaccinated with pQAC-CoV (I.N) at week-0 followed by boost with MVA-CoV (I.N) at week-6. (b) ELISA titers of SARS-CoV-2 S-specific IgG in mice sera, (c) ELISA titers of SARS-CoV-2 spike receptor-binding domain (RBD)-specific IgG in mice serum and (d) ELISA titers of SARS-CoV-2 S-specific IgA in bronchoalveolar lavage (BAL), significance (*, p < 0.05, ****, p < 0.0001) was determined by two-way ANOVA. Data show mean SEM.

While the DNA vaccines are temperature-stable (without needing cold-chain logistics), these DNA constructs are degraded in vivo by DNases. This leads to the inefficient uptake by antigen-presenting cells (APC) and thus causes low immunogenicity.

To overcome this challenge in using a DNA vaccine, the researchers have used an articulate delivery system such as the quil-A-loaded chitosan (QAC). Chitosan is a biodegradable natural polysaccharide that complexes with the DNA owing to its positive charge. The quil-A is a potent adjuvant with mild surfactant properties. The QAC particulate adjuvant system prolongs the release of the active plasmid expressing antigens.

In a previous study, the researchers showed that a 2-dose QAC encapsulated plasmid DNA (pQAC) encoding the nucleocapsid (N) gene against avian coronavirus elicited robust T-cell responses without complementing humoral responses.

With this observation, the researchers went on to develop a heterologous strategy with QAC encapsulated plasmid DNA (pQAC) prime, followed by an MVA boost, expecting a broader immune response. Both the pQAC plasmids (pQAC-CoV) and MVA vector (MVA-CoV) were designed to express the S (spike) and the N (nucleocapsid) antigens encoded by the SARS-CoV-2 from the early phase of the COVID-19 pandemic.

The researchers observed that the pQAC/MVA-CoV induced both systemic and local neutralizing antibodies in mice (when immunized intranasally), complemented by localized Th17 cellular responses. Moreover, they reported that the mice vaccinated with only plasmid vectors (pQAC-CoV) generated significant type 1 and type 17 (Tc17 or Th17) cellular responses. They discussed the local and systemic immune response in detail in the paper.

Based on the reported studies on the levels of anti-SARS antibodies, memory B cells and the T-cells, the researchers have noted that the vaccines relying solely on a neutralizing antibody response (that declines within 3 months after recovery) may not confer long-term protection against SARS-CoV-2 and other coronaviruses.

Keeping this in mind, the researchers have studied vaccines against the SARS-CoV-2 - that can induce both humoral and cellular immune response. Clearly, this may provide a durable protective immune response than vaccines that just focused on neutralizing antibodies.

Currently, most experimental DNA vaccines are only amenable for intramuscular administration limiting mucosal immunity critically needed to reduce viral infection.

With new infectious diseases, there is always a need for new vaccines. Vaccines engineered with processes that are well standardized enable their utility during a pandemic such as COVID-19. Customizable vaccine constructs offer highly flexible vaccination programs. Because the heterologous vaccination elicited both local and systemic humoral and T-cell immune responses, the researchers have postulated that the heterologous vaccine strategy might be better at providing sterilizing immunity against SARS-CoV-2.
They will have access to the army, air force, navy, strategic missile sector and medical services. Candidates must be between 21 and 40 years old, be at least 155 centimetres tall and cannot be married to foreigners. Higher ranks of a military career excluded.

Riyadh (AsiaNews / Agencies) - Saudi women will be able to embark on a military career and join the Armed Forces, announced the Riyadh Ministry of Defense today.

Thus women, as is now the case in much of the world, will be able to enlist in the army, in the air force, navy, strategic missile sector and medical services (doctors and nurses in uniforms).

Analysts and experts explain that the decision is part of the Vision 2030 reform plan wanted by Crown Prince Mohammed bin Salman (Mbs), aimed at freeing the country from dependence on oil by strengthening tourism and technologies.

With the fall of this further barrier, women will be able to find new employment opportunities in sectors - such as the military - until now reserved only for men; in the recent past they had obtained the removal of the driving ban and the possibility of working in restaurants or as shop assistants.

According to the Saudi Ministry of Defence, men and women can now apply for positions in the army through a unified admission portal, valid for both genders. Women will also be able to become soldiers, corporals and sergeants, although top ranks will remain precluded. Candidates must be between the ages of 21 and 40 and be at least 155cm tall.

Other requirements include, in addition to passing the admission tests, there is also a clean criminal record and suitability for service. A woman must also hold an independent national identity card, have at least a high school diploma and cannot be married to a foreigner or already be a government employee.

Operating systems specialist, Halah Al-Ynabawi, said Arab countries allowing women in the military has been a controversial topic over the past 30 years: "In my personal opinion, it is very important for women to be in the military, where they can have an active role in our conservative society. Rahma Al-Khayri, an information technology specialist, instead says: Throughout history, we have not heard of a woman who came to the field and foughtthe man is the one who fights in the field.

Saudi Arabia is governed by an absolute Sunni monarchy, based on a Wahhabi fundamentalist view of Islam.

Over the past two years, the Crown Princes social reforms included granting women the right to drive cars and to attend sporting events in designated areas of stadiums.

However, the authorities have also cracked down on senior officials, business people, activists and critical voices, most notably in the Jamal Khashoggi affair, raising questions about the real extent of change.
Is there a better word to describe Christians who hold to the authority of the Bible in all matters of faith and practice?

Perhaps it is time for a new plural to capture the self-understanding of Christians, a different noun that embraces all believers and followers of Jesus, to which all evangelical theologies and denominations would belong comfortably. Can a fresh plural noun free us from negative typecasting in our cultural climate?

May I recommend a word to which evangelicals cant say no if we are serious as Christians and still want to make sense of (and to) the world in which we liveall while reaching people with Jesus eternally saving message? A noun against which it is hard to push back while we press on to consistency in belief and authenticity of behavior?

Having celebrated the 500th season of the Reformation not too long ago, in the tradition of Luther, a man who did not possess the authority but sensed the responsibility to challenge prevalent theological sensibilities, how about a new noun? Place me among the biblicals.

The noun Christians carries emotional baggage outside the North Atlantic arc. In India (my birth-land), old and wrong arguments still generate convenient antipathy toward Christians as Western. That Christianity was non-Western from its inception and now has more non-Western adherents may help in retrieving the moniker first given to believers and followers of Jesus in the New Testament (Acts 11:26), but we are not there yet.

Martin Luthers first use of evangelium in the 16th century yielded evangelical 100 years later during the Great Awakening. What a lofty term, creatively transliterated and naturally adapted from a compound word in Greek (eu+angelion), with goodness and gladness embedded in its very nature. It became quite well used in America in the 1800s, and 1976 was declared the Year of the Evangelical. Although content-filled to insiders, the noun wasand isless offensive than Christian to non-Christians across much of the globe. On Villat Street in Aleppo, Syria, evangelical is beautiful to those new to churches and in economic need. The evangelical church there is the only church known to welcome all whom others reject.

In America, evangelicals has been polluted by harsh stereotypesespecially during recent election cycles.

Yet in America, evangelicals has been polluted by harsh stereotypesespecially during recent election cycles. Our sociological habit of labeling peopleby generations (boomers or millennials), persuasions (Calvinist or Arminian), and colors (e.g., red and yellow, black and white, all are precious in his sight)fixes unintended meanings of words in minds.

Biblicals does not yet permit the fallacious appeal to the emotion of non-evangelicals. It does not arouse competitive understandings against an apparent, right-leaning vote-bank. It can gather the many consonant and dissonant streams of evangelical Christians, and it applies to all generations, persuasions, and ethnicities who believe and follow their Lord Jesus Christ in both personal conversion and public expression of biblical convictions.

It certainly requires personal and public adjustment. Let me (over)simplify the linguistic tradeoffs with a chart:

Evangelicals vs Biblicals

Options Pros Cons Evangelicals Historically sufficient Theologically rich Geographically embraced (i.e., where Christs church is growing) Contemporary mis-understanding Sociologically poor Marginalized where Christs Church is declining Biblicals Less emotionally charged (at present) Naturally aligns evangelicals Reasonable potential for acceptance Neologism to accommodate cultural environment May take time for mainstream use

I hate to think about losing the word evangelical. Since it essentially refers to those who subscribe to the person, work, and mission of Jesus as the gospel, evangelical is what I am in theological identity. It is also what I am in personal purposesharing Gods good news of eternal salvation secured in the Lord Jesus, who offers it to all humanity. I am an evangelical Christian.

At the same time, I loathe using this word anymore in the US, my adoptive land. A myopic sentiment has been growing in America for several decades. Evangelical has come to mean much it is not. This wholesome description of Bible-believing (but not Bible-thumping) Christians is defined politically as anti-people, anti-progress, anti-science, and so on. Several sectors of the public have become anti-evangelical even as evangelicals are accused of being against everything.

We could drop evangelicals as a noun in highly politicized America, where church attendance stagnates. And we could still retain its wonder and truth in the rest of the world where the church is multiplyingand where believers have few qualms about the terms biblical content and expectation.

Maybe using the term biblicals would permit self-identification without embarrassment or misunderstanding anywhere. It could generate confidence among followers without fear of a media environment that employs straw man arguments and flawed research. It would hopefully last a while, for at least a few decades or so.

Perhaps evangelicals will survive misuse and misperception to eventually return us to its original range of meaning. For then we could distance ourselves from political evangelicals to the redundant biblical evangelicals. Eventually, as necessary, we shall sever that misperceived word from the principal principle and simply be called the biblicals. Whereas the noun evangelical is used to refer to a specific person, biblical is still strictly an adjective . But we can collectively be called biblicals. This uncountable noun, like other tricky ones, discourages the use of a singular epithet, at least for the moment. It could help clarify to all that among the biblicals are many evangelicals of compatible, if different, persuasions. It will really take some getting used to  like most adjectives turned into nouns. Hopefully not another 500 years.

A postscript to friends (not enemies) of evangelicals, committed to believing the gospel, loving Jesus and following the Bible: What do you think? Shall we just wait it out? I look forward to your insights and opinions at ramesh@rreach.org.

Ramesh Richard serves as President of RREACH, a global proclamation ministry, and professor of global theological engagement and pastoral ministries at Dallas Theological Seminary.

[ This article is also available in Portugues, , and . ]
Burma Asean Must Tighten Screw on Myanmar Military: Thai Observer

Anti-military regime protesters in Yangon in mid-February. / The Irrawaddy

Protesters in Myanmar appear not to care much about Asean with hardly any placards or demands calling for the regional bloc to step in.

Indonesia is pushing its Southeast Asian neighbors to agree on an action plan over Myanmars coup that would keep the junta to its promise of holding elections, with monitors to ensure they are fair and inclusive, sources in Jakarta told Reuters. The Indonesian plan reportedly calls for Asean to open dialogue between the junta and protesters.

Two senior officials, speaking on condition of anonymity, told Reuters a diplomatic solution had to focus on preventing bloodshed and helping the military to honor its commitment to hold a new election and hand power to the winner.

However, protesters on the streets ask the regime to free President U Win Myint and State Counselor Daw Aung San Suu Kyi and hand power back to the elected government. Some western countries, including the US, have made similar demands.

The UN Security Council, China, the European Union and the US have urged Asean to mediate with Myanmar.

An Indonesian foreign ministry spokesman declined to comment on the proposal, saying Jakartas foreign minister, Retno Marsudi, will make an announcement after she has completed her consultations with other Asean foreign ministers, Reuters reported.

Asean has little credibility and many observers say it is time the bloc acted strongly on Myanmar. But will it?

Kavi Chongkittavorn of the Institute of Security and International Studies at Chulalongkorn University in Bangkok said Myanmars crisis is now Aseans crisis. The prominent Thai journalist and expert on Asean affairs told The Irrawaddy: The bloc needs to respond, demonstrating that it can engage and resolve internal challenges.

When Myanmar was under previous repressive regimes, Asean was seen as defending the regimes appalling human rights violations and covering up its abuses.

Kavi said: Asean must make it clear to the Tatmadaw [military] that it can no longer defend it as before. The region is facing the [COVID-19] pandemic and normality must return as soon as possible.

Kavi, who has been blacklisted under previous regimes in Myanmar, said: The Asean chair [Brunei] can invoke Article 32(e) of the Asean charter as it granted broad powers to the chair to take up an action or make other special arrangements to immediately address issues or crises affecting the bloc.

He said Myanmar has given Asean numerous headaches since it joined the bloc in 1997. Because of Myanmar, Asean has suffered greatly, Kavi said. Since there is no provision to kick out a member, the only action for Asean is to tighten the screw on Myanmar so it voluntarily suspends itself from the bloc.

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Researchers have called on European policymakers to make adequate resources available to tackle pancreatic cancer, a disease that is almost invariably fatal and where little progress has been made over the past 40 years.

In the latest predictions for cancer deaths in the EU and UK for 2021, published in the leading cancer journal Annals of Oncology today (Monday), researchers led by Carlo La Vecchia (MD), a professor at the University of Milan (Italy), say that pancreatic death rates are predicted to remain approximately stable for men, but continue to rise in women in most EU countries.

The researchers predict that 42,300 and 5,000 men in the EU and UK respectively will die from pancreatic cancer by the end of this year. After adjusting for differences in age distribution in the population, the age-standardized rate (ASR) of deaths in men will be eight per 100,000 and 6.5 per 100,000 in the EU and UK respectively this year.

This represents a 0.8% decline in death rates since 2015. Among women, six per 100,000 are predicted to die from the disease in the EU, representing a 0.6% increase since 2015. In the UK, five women per 100,000 are predicted to die, representing a 4% decline in the death rate.

In contrast, the researchers predict that in nine out of ten of the other major cancers death rates will decline by 7% in men and 5% in women between 2015 and 2021 in most EU countries and the UK.

Prof La Vecchia said: "Among the major cancers, pancreatic cancer is the fourth most common and remains the only one showing no overall fall in death rates over the past three decades in Europe in both sexes. It is important that governments and policymakers provide adequate resources for the prevention, early diagnosis and management of pancreatic cancer in order to improve these trends in the near future.

"If the cancer is detected early, it is easier to treat successfully, but most cases are advanced by the time of diagnosis. Avoiding smoking and excessive alcohol consumption, controlling weight and, hence, diabetes are the main ways we know to help to prevent the disease, but they only account for a proportion of cases. New, targeted drugs are leading to some improvement in treatment, but it's difficult to quantify their potential impact at present."

The researchers analyzed cancer death rates in the EU 27 Member States as a whole and added the UK in order to be able to compare with previous years when the UK was still a member of the EU.

They also looked at the six most populous countries - France, Germany, Italy, Poland, Spain, and the UK - for all cancers, and, individually, for stomach, intestines, pancreas, lung, breast, uterus (including the cervix), ovary, prostate, bladder and leukemia for men and women.

This is the eleventh consecutive year the researchers have published these predictions. Prof La Vecchia and his colleagues collected data on deaths from the World Health Organization and Eurostat databases from 1970 to 2016.

They predict there will be a total of 1,443,000 deaths from the ten cancers in the EU (1,267,000) and the UK (176,000) by the end of the year. This corresponds to age-standardised death rates of 130 per 100,000 men (down 7% since 2015) and 81 per 100,000 women (down 5%) in the EU. In the UK, the death rates will be 114 per 100,000 men (down 7.5% since 2015) and 89 per 100,000 women (down 4.5%).

Compared to a peak rate of cancer deaths in 1988, over 4.9 million cancer deaths will be avoided in the EU and over one million deaths avoided in the UK during the 33-year period up to 2021. In 2021 alone, 348,000 and 69,000 cancer deaths will be avoided in the EU and UK respectively.

Changes in smoking patterns, improved food storage, and better treatments are driving many of the reductions in death rates for cancers such as lung, stomach, and breast. However, although lung cancer death rates are falling in men, they are still rising in women in many countries, reflecting the fact that women tended to start smoking later in the twentieth century than men.

In the EU, death rates from lung cancer are estimated to be 32 per 100,000 in men (down 10%), but in women, it will be 15 per 100,000 (up 7%). The UK is different, with lung cancer death rates down 11.5% at 24 per 100,00 men and down 5% with a death rate of 19 per 100,000 women.

Lung cancer death rates in men are 25% lower in the UK than in the 27 European countries because of earlier and larger decreases in smoking prevalence in UK men. This is also reflected in the lower predicted death rates for all cancers in UK men. In the EU, men are stopping smoking, though later than in the UK, which explains the predicted fall in male lung cancer death rates in these countries." Dr Fabio Levi (MD), Study Co-Author and Emeritus Professor at Faculty of Biology and Medicine, University of Lausanne

"Lung cancer death rates in UK women are higher than those in the EU countries and this is mirrored in higher female death rates from all cancers in the UK. However, our predictions show a favorable downward trend in UK female lung cancer deaths, in contrast with persistent upward trends in EU women where rates could reach 16 or 18 per 100,000 women in the next decade."

Co-author, Professor Paolo Boffetta (MD), the Annals of Oncology associate editor for epidemiology. professor and associate director for population sciences at Stony Brook University, New York (USA), and professor at the University of Bologna (Italy), said: "Cancer remains the second major cause of death in Europe after cardiovascular disease. Although we predict that death rates in many cancers will decrease this year, the absolute number of deaths from the disease will continue to rise due to aging populations. This underlines the increasing public health importance of the issue. Delayed cancer diagnosis and treatment due to the COVID-19 pandemic may increase the cancer burden over the next several years.

"The results we report this year are particularly important because they stress the fact that trends in mortality from pancreatic cancer and female lung cancer do not show the positive pattern of other major cancers, underlying the need for further efforts for research and control of these neoplasms.

"Measures to continue to improve cancer death rates should include stopping smoking, particularly in women, controlling overweight and alcohol consumption, optimizing screening and early diagnosis for breast, bowel and - in central and eastern Europe - cervical cancer too. Up-to-date data management needs to be adopted throughout Europe, particularly in central and eastern Europe, and vaccinations should be widely available for women to eliminate cervical cancer, which is caused by the human papillomavirus, and against hepatitis B, which is linked to liver cancer. Effective treatment of hepatitis C will also contribute to controlling liver cancer."

In an accompanying editorial, Professor Jose Martin-Moreno, from the University of Valencia, Spain, and Ms Suszy Lessof, from the European Observatory on Health Systems and Policies, Brussels, Belgium, write that Prof La Vecchia and his colleagues are to be commended for their 11 years of mortality predictions and that "the key to understanding the past and how to approach the future is data".

They believe the analysis gives cause for hope; however, they highlight potential problems from COVID-19 as cancer is a "severe risk factor for COVID-19 infected patients, carrying as it does a higher probability of ICU admission, mechanical ventilation and mortality".

"The positives [from Prof La Vecchia's paper] - the concrete evidence that there is scope for effective action which, over time, leads to positive outcomes - should not mask the shadow of the COVID-19 pandemic. Its impact on cancer patients (and the fear of that impact) is looming. Beyond the direct harm of this new coronavirus to immunocompromised and particularly vulnerable people, there is the blow to comprehensive clinical care and the interruption of research. Perhaps most worrying for the long term is the paralysis of prevention programs, screening, and early diagnosis. Since March 2020, all of the activity linked to progress over recent decades has come to a screeching halt. It is, of course, too early to characterize the impacts, but it seems inevitable they will have marked, if not dramatic, consequences," they write. They conclude: "The possible impact of the COVID-19 pandemic on actual consolidated mortality for 2020, for 2021 and beyond, demands vigilance."
Tuesday marks the first anniversary of the death of Ahmaud Arbery, the 25-year-old jogger whose devastating last moments were captured on video by one of the accomplices in his killing. Travis and Greg McMichaelthe two white men who pursued Arbery in their truck before shooting him in a Georgia suburbare in custody awaiting trial for murder. The McMichaels claim they acted in self-defense while trying to make a citizens arrest. They insistdespite the video evidence and facts of the casethat Arbery was the aggressor in the confrontation that ended in his death.

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Now their lawyers have made an extraordinary request. In preparation for what is likely to be a highly publicized trial, the McMichaels lawyers filed a motion in limine in December, asking to prevent the prosecution from referring to Arbery as the victim of this killing. According to the motion, such a loaded word would unfairly prejudice the jury against the defendants, undermining their right to due process by impugning their presumption of innocence. The motion argues thatby calling Ahmaud Arbery a victimthe prosecution would lead the jury to infer the guilt of the defendants, undermining their claim to have acted in self-defense, rather than with criminal intent. The McMichaels trial has been delayed by the COVID-19 pandemic, but once it moves forward, the judge will have to rule on their request. If granted, the motion would reinforce one of the most treacherous effects of the nations proliferating stand your ground laws: the retroactive role reversal of victim and perpetrator.

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Filed before a trial by either defense or prosecution, a motion in limineLatin for at the thresholdprevents the introduction of prejudicial statements or questions in the presence of the jury. In theory, in limine motions protect due process by excluding information that might sway the jury unfairly in the absence of supporting evidence. Grounded in efforts to promote fairness and to prevent bias against those accused of malfeasance, the motion in limine is vulnerable to abuse when its application is overly broad or when its used to inhibit the process of presenting facts to the jury. In a 1971 arson case, Iowa Justice Harvey Uhlenhopp cautioned against the indiscriminate application of [the motion in limine] lest parties be prevented from even trying to prove their contentions. For Uhlenhopp, in limine motions should be used sparingly and precisely, always accompanied by reasonable justification.

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But the McMichaels lawyers are deploying an absurdly broad approach: If granted, their motion will not prevent prejudice but rather foment itagainst Ahmaud Arbery, who died as a result of their clients lethal actions. In addition to trying to ban the prosecutions use of the word victim, they have also demanded that only one photograph of Arbery from when he was alive be allowed in court, and that he be pictured alone rather than with friends and family. They request too that recordings of the McMichaels phone conversations and social media activitywhich contain evidence of racial prejudicenot be allowed in the courtroom.

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These motions are designed to conceal the fact that Arbery was the victim of this incident. Disallowing photographs with loved ones constitutes an attempt to undermine Arberys humanity while making him appear responsible for the encounter that resulted in his death. Given the defenses appeal to the states stand your ground lawwhich allows citizens to defend themselves in public spaces without first trying to retreatthe in limine motion helps the defense depict Arbery as the perpetrator, instead of the victim, of a violent crime, while framing the McMichaels as law-abiding self-protectors.

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Indeed, distorted conceptions of victimhoodof who gets to claim that their lethal actions were defensive rather than aggressiveare fundamental to the stand your ground laws vexing application and historical grounding. Since the first laws passage in 2005, they have been shown to amplify existing legal biases, authorizing some forms of violence while criminalizing others. And although the laws are crafted to appear gender- and race-neutral, they generally empower certain armed civilians to assume the mantle of police authority in defense of public space. The laws hypocrisies abound. While conservative lawmakers promote them as vital to womens self-defense from gender and sexual violence, those who invoke stand your ground after defending themselves against their largest statistical threattheir own male acquaintances and intimate partnersare often held criminally liable. Not only are the laws associated with increased homicide rates, they also exacerbate racial bias in the adjudication of homicides: A 2013 study by the Urban Institute found that, in stand your ground states, white homicides with Black decedents were more than three times more likely to be justified than those with white decedents. Anchored in our nations underacknowledged traditions of racial terror, stand your ground laws often immunize white killers from legal culpability when they claim they were in fear for their life after killing Black men or boys. The process of determining which homicides are considered justifiable, and which fears are thought of as reasonable, is inextricable from wider assumptions about Black criminality that frame Black men as thugs and perpetrators, even when they are the targets of racist violence.

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Such was the case when Ahmaud Arbery went out for a run a year ago in broad daylight, only to be chased and killed by armed white men who claimed afterward that they were defending themselves and their neighborhood. Should the McMichaels lawyers succeed in banning the language of victimhood in their trial, it will establish a dangerous precedent in similar cases. Not only will we witness the continued use of lethal violence by armed white aggressors who claim the vindicating mantle of self-defense, but our process of adjudication will tilt even further in favor of their exoneration, the blame shifting further onto the shoulders of those they have killed. The state already carries the burden of proof in stand your ground casesthe prosecution must prove beyond a reasonable doubt that the McMichaels were not acting in self-defense when they pursued and killed Ahmaud Arberyand these in limine motions will amplify the already tortured logic by which another victim of prejudicial violence must assume legal responsibility for his own demise.
Around 30 per cent of care home staff in the Western Trust have decided against getting the Covid vaccine, it can be revealed.

The Derry News asked the Western Trust and Department of Health (DoH) to provide figures detailing vaccine uptake amongst all health and social care staff.

The Trust initially said it did not have the reporting capacity to provide this information at this time while the DoH did not respond to requests for information.

However, the Western Trust has now commented on vaccine uptake amongst care home residents and staff.

It says local numbers reflect the pattern across the country.

Dr Bob Brown, Executive Director of Nursing/Primary Care and Older People's services in the Western Trust said: Over 90% of residents and over 70% of staff in care homes across Northern Ireland have been vaccinated.

The Western Trust is in keeping with these regional figures and we continue to promote the importance of the vaccine for all care home staff as a means of protecting themselves, the residents they care for and their families.

There are around 5,000 care home residents and staff in the Western Trust area which takes in Derry, Omagh and Fermanagh.

Care home residents were in Priority Group 1 for the vaccination programme and began receiving their first doses from December 14 in the Western Trust area.

All residents and staff have been vaccinated at least once.

At present there are five Covid outbreaks in care homes across the Western Trust area and 44 active country-wide.

Since the beginning of 2021, there have been at least 13 Covid related deaths in Derry City and Strabane care homes bringing the total to 41.

Across Northern Ireland, there have been 147 Covid related deaths in care homes since the turn of the year, according to the Northern Ireland Statistics and Research Agency (NISRA).

Those figures omit January 1, therefore the number of care home deaths in 2021 is likely to be higher.

The overall Covid death toll in care homes since the start of the pandemic is now 747 with many more care home residents dying in a hospital setting.

Dr Brown said there will continue to be a risk of Covid-19 outbreaks while the vaccination programme is delivered, and it will be some time before it is completed.

Until more research has been undertaken we must all remain vigilant as it is possible that a person who has been vaccinated may still develop COVID-19 or pass the virus on to another person. Therefore we encourage all members of the public, our staff and those who are particularly vulnerable to the virus and their carers to maintain strict adherence to the government guidelines around social distancing, hand cleanliness and always wear a face mask in public.

He added: We are delighted with the progress of our vaccination programme across all parts of the Trust area, and we continue every day to work in partnership with those who manage and work in care homes, supported living and other community facilities, to advise and support them as they work to maintain high standards of care and service for local people.

HERD IMMUNITY

Speaking to the Derry News, local GP and BMA Northern Ireland council chair Dr Tom Black said everyone who can, should be vaccinated, to achieve what is referred to as herd immunity  unless they have a very good reason not to get it.

Herd immunity is the indirect protection from an infectious disease that happens when a population is immune either through vaccination or immunity developed through previous infection.

The goal is for at least 70-80 per cent of the population to be vaccinated.

Dr Black explained: We would certainly encourage healthcare workers to get the vaccination because it wont just protect them, it will protect patients and clients.

That principle would also hold true for nursing home staff, that it would be sensible that they should protect themselves and get the vaccine to protect their residents.

However, he added: It cant be made compulsory, because that is not the sort of society that we live in.

And its possible that some of the care home workers are keen to get the vaccination from their own doctor and they may well wait to get it that way.

Dr Black made it clear that there are very few reasons which preclude people from getting the vaccine other than a specific allergy to components of the vaccine or a current illness.

Certainly within the practice here, if we call 100 people, 99 of them turn up. Theres been a phenomenal response to GP vaccination programmes.

HOSPITALS

The Derry doctor said he does not believe uptake amongst care home staff would be reflective of workers in hospitals and acute care.

Its different from homes where residents will be well and wont be out and about, in hospitals youre actually bringing in patients with Covid, so staff in hospitals would be much keener to protect themselves and obviously their patients, he said.

I would suspect there will be very few healthcare workers declining the vaccine.

He expects numbers amongst the general population to exceed the 80 per cent needed.

Even if everybody gets vaccinated, he said, it will never offer full protection but the key is to get as many people vaccinated as possible.

That way youll stop the virus moving about, the only thing better than vaccination is stopping transmission.

Get herd immunity up there to a level where the virus doesnt have anyone to pass it on to.

We would encourage everyone to get it, thats how you protect yourself, your granny and your next door neighbour and your co-worker.

As people get used to it and see that no harm comes to them I think vaccination rates will go up.

He says Derry people are smarter and more resistant to misinformation than some other cities - as evidenced during previous vaccination programmes - and that leads to higher uptake.

Efforts have to be maintained to keep the infection down in order to reduce hospital admissions, Dr Black concluded.

The Western Trust vaccination programme states that all adults should be vaccinated by September.
Kolkata, Feb 22 : Launching a scathing attack on the Mamata Banerjee-led Trinamool Congress government in West Bengal, Prime Minster Narendra Modi said on Monday that the people of the state have made up their mind for a real 'poriborton' (change).

"Bengal has made up its mind for poriborton and the BJP will bring 'aashol poriborton' (real change) in the state," Modi told a large gathering at the Dunlop Estate Village in Kolkata's neighbouring Hooghly district.

He said the jubilant response of the crowd has sent out positive signals to Delhi for a regime change in Bengal.

The Primne Minister said that the lotus brigade would bring 'aashol poribartan' which the young generation of Bengal aims for. "The BJP government should be formed not just for political regime change, but for 'aashol poriborton' in the state," he said.

This was Modi's third visit to poll-bound Bengal in the last one month, during which he criticised the role of the state government over agricultural, health, governance and many other crucial issues.

Ahead of the high-voltage state Assembly polls, Modi on Monday inaugurated a bouquet of railways projects, including the first Metro service in the Noapara and Dakshineswar section. Along with the flag-off ceremony of the much-awaited Metro service between Noapara and Dakshineswar, the Prime Minister also inaugurated the 30-km third line between Kalaikunda and Jhargram.

Besides this, three other railway projects were inaugurated during Modi's visit -- doubling of line between Azimganj and Khagraghat Road, forth line between Dankuni and Baruipara and the third line between Rasulpur and Mogra.

Taking a dig at Chief Minister Mamata Banerjee, Modi said that lakhs of poor people in Bengal have been deprived of the facility to avail free healthcare worth Rs 5 lakh under the Ayushman Bharat scheme.

"Such hurdles have been created by Mamata Ji's government between the people of Bengal and development," he said, adding that real change is only possible when there is no politics of extortion.

"We don't want injustice. We want real change... The party which talked about 'Maa-Mati-Manush' is stopping Bengal's development. Those who ruled Bengal have brought it to this current state," the Prime Minister pointed out.

Modi further said that the Centre sent money directly to the accounts of people, but Trinamool 'tolabaaz' (extortionists) took the money for state schemes. This mentality has stopped people from getting the benefits of the Kisan Samman Nidhi scheme," he said, adding that the problem is the 'cut-cut culture'.

Earlier, Trinamool Congress had claimed that the Centre never disbursed funds under the PM-Kisan scheme despite the state having sent a verified list of beneficiaries. The Centre, however, had claimed that it did not receive any such list.

Im not from the Chicago area. Im from Oklahoma City. I happened upon this column and was blown away by the anger and sarcastic tone aimed at President Joe Biden and his administration. I live in the reddest state in the nation and I dont hear that level of vindictiveness in political conversations locally. What makes it worse, is a lot of the mean-spirited remarks I read in this column are based on lies from Donald J Trump. I guess its easier for some to blame the liberal media, the deep state, Soros, the radical left, RINOs, Georgias governor and secretary of state, etc., than to admit that Donald J Trump was a deeply flawed, morally bankrupt, criminal liar who had no business being president. Im a Democrat, but I didnt see him being that bad. Honestly. But, after Nov 3, his behavior was inexcusable. His term ended in deep disgrace. Its OK to admit you were wrong.
A former senior executive of infrastructure giant Leighton Holdings has been charged with conspiring to pay up to $4 million in bribes to high-ranking Tanzanian officials to win an $84 million contract for the Australian company.

The charges against former managing director of Leighton Offshore Russell Waugh come after the businessman was charged in November over separate allegations that he masterminded a bribery plot on behalf of Leighton in Iraq.

Russell Waugh leaving Brisbane Magistrates Court on bail after his arrest on bribery charges in November. Credit:Rhett Hammerton

The latest charges are the result of the Australian Federal Polices longest running and most important corporate bribery probe and which, since 2011, has been targeting Leightons offshore business and its suspected payment of multimillion-dollar bribes in the Middle East and Africa.

Official sources also confirmed that Leighton, which is now called CIMIC and remains responsible for some of Australias biggest infrastructure projects, is bracing to pay massive fines in the United States.
Construction Company Seeks Truck in Job Site Theft

By Tim Brockwell

MURRAY - A local construction company is asking for the public's help locating a truck captured in surveillance footage during a theft.Lencki Construction owner Russell Lencki told West Kentucky Star Monday afternoon someone drove a truck onto a job site on Robert O. Miller Drive sometime over the weekend and stole several thousand dollars worth of materials and equipment.The stolen items include 70 pieces of white barn metal measuring 3' wide by 16' long, several pieces of metal trim, a 50' roll of coil stock, a box of mixed fasteners containing nails and screws, and a metal brake used to bend and shape the metal."We showed up this morning at this job site, got set up and ready to go and noticed our pile of stuff was gone. All told it was close to $4,000 in material and about a $1200 dollar metal brake," Lencki said.Lencki said surveillance cameras at a neighboring business captured footage of the theft. The suspects worked quickly, taking only about 20 minutes to load the items and leave the area. Lencki said the clearest evidence is the truck itself, which has an odd configuration."I've had a couple of phone calls in the past hour or so from people telling me they've seen the truck in the Dexter area over the past few days. It's an odd vehicle, a box truck with a sleeper cab," he said.Lencki asks anyone with information about the theft, or the truck seen in surveillance footage to contact him at 270-978-0988, or the Murray Police Department at 270-753-1621.A call to the Murray Police Department for comment on the case has not been returned.

VANCOUVER, British Columbia, Feb. 22, 2021 (GLOBE NEWSWIRE) -- Atico Mining Corporation (the Company or Atico) (TSX.V: ATY | OTC: ATCMF) reports that the final systems inspection at the El Roble mine was successful and ramp up to steady state throughput has been attained. The Company is also reinitiating its plans for an aggressive exploration campaign at both projects with a budget of up to 30,000 meters of drilling for 2021.



We are pleased to report a successful restart of operations at the El Roble mine along with announcing the most aggressive exploration program the Company has managed since inception, said Fernando E. Ganoza, CEO. Given the current metal price environment we are continuing to see exceptionally robust cashflow generation as 2021 is on track to be another record-breaking year for the Company. At this pace, we will be in an even stronger position to further reevaluate the 2021 exploration budget with the intent to increase it for the second half of the year.

Successful ramp up at El Roble

As part of the Companys transparency policy and bringing additional information on the news release dated February 16th, the Company inspected all components of the tailing pipe system, including the relief valve systems where some components were replaced ahead of schedule and subjected to the rigorous testing protocols. The inspection also confirmed that the incident didnt pose any material threat to the health of employees, communities, or the environment. A restart protocol of the plant was then coordinated with the provincial authorities, including testing the new piping systems followed by methodically ramping-up the plant production to its normal capacity. This incident has also demonstrated the agility and effectiveness of the safety protocols in place at the El Roble Mine as the safety of people and the environment remains a top priority for Atico.

Exploration and Engineering

The program will be divided between the two projects. At El Roble the plan is to drill up to 18,000 meters on both regional and near mine exploration targets. While at La Plata project in Ecuador, the team's plan is to drill up to 12,000 meters for the year. The program at La Plata is already beginning to yield good results. The explorations team has completed 2 successful diamond drill holes located outside of the existing polygon, in the zone called the Guatuza Extension. These holes have intercepted additional semi-massive sulfide structures reporting visual copper and zinc mineralization. These cores are being logged, split and sent to the preparation laboratory required for their geochemistry analysis. Our partner, ALS Chemex Laboratories, is working at reduced capacity at this moment due to the existing COVID restrictions and we are expecting certified results in due course.

At the El Roble project, the exploration team is focused on regional exploration and has awarded InnovExplo a mandate for their collaboration in the target generation process. The exercise will consist of processing 30 years of existing data (production, drilling and geochem results, geophysics, structural analysis, regional geology, etc) and processing all that information with specialized computers and softwares. This exercise will optimize the 3D analysis resulting in the generation of high priority regional targets. InnovExplo is a highly recognized geology firm which has worked with more than 175 mining companies; on roughly 500 different mandates; covering North America, South America, Africa, and Europe. InnovExplo brings their scientific approach and successful past experience in large data compilations, interpretation and target generation.

Qualified Control

Dr. Michael Druecker, CPG, is a qualified person under NI 43-101 standards and independent of the company, is responsible for ensuring that the information contained in this news release is an accurate summary of the original reports and data provided to or developed by Atico Mining Corporation. Dr. Druecker has approved the scientific and technical content of this news release.

About Atico Mining Corporation

Atico is a growth-oriented Company, focused on exploring, developing and mining copper and gold projects in Latin America. The Company generates significant cash flow through the operation of the El Roble mine and is developing its high-grade La Plata VMS project in Ecuador. The Company is also pursuing additional acquisition of advanced stage opportunities. For more information, please visit www.aticomining.com.

ON BEHALF OF THE BOARD

Fernando E. Ganoza

CEO

Atico Mining Corporation

Trading symbols: TSX.V: ATY | OTC: ATCMF

Investor Relations

Igor Dutina

Tel: +1.604.633.9022

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.

No securities regulatory authority has either approved or disapproved of the contents of this news release. The securities being offered have not been, and will not be, registered under the United States Securities Act of 1933, as amended (the U.S. Securities Act), or any state securities laws, and may not be offered or sold in the United States, or to, or for the account or benefit of, a "U.S. person" (as defined in Regulation S of the U.S. Securities Act) unless pursuant to an exemption therefrom. This press release is for information purposes only and does not constitute an offer to sell or a solicitation of an offer to buy any securities of the Company in any jurisdiction.

Cautionary Note Regarding Forward Looking Statements

This announcement includes certain forward-looking statements within the meaning of Canadian securities legislation. All statements, other than statements of historical fact, included herein, without limitation the use of net proceeds, are forward-looking statements. Forward-looking statements involve various risks and uncertainties and are based on certain factors and assumptions. 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 uncertainties relating to interpretation of drill results and the geology, continuity and grade of mineral deposits; uncertainty of estimates of capital and operating costs; the need to obtain additional financing to maintain its interest in and/or explore and develop the Companys mineral projects; uncertainty of meeting anticipated program milestones for the Companys mineral projects; the world-wide economic and social impact of COVID-19 is managed and the duration and extent of the coronavirus pandemic is minimized or not long-term; disruptions related to the COVID-19 pandemic or other health and safety issues, or the responses of governments, communities, the Company and others to such pandemic or other issues; and other risks and uncertainties disclosed under the heading Risk Factors in the prospectus of the Company dated March 2, 2012 filed with the Canadian securities regulatory authorities on the SEDAR website at www.sedar.com
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A former Minister of State for Works, Dayo Adeyeye, has described the national leader of the All Progressives Congress (APC), Bola Tinubu, as the best candidate for Nigerias presidency in 2003.

Mr Adeyeye, who is the Chairman of Southwest Agenda 23, made this known on Sunday when members of the group visited Akarigbo of Remoland, Babatunde Ajayi, in Ogun State.

Tinubu is a good product that doesnt need any advertisement and he has contributed greatly to the growth and development of the nation. He is consummate democrat and progressive, the Punch newspaper quoted him as saying.

We have three geo-political zones in the South, and all of them have the right to contest for the presidency. South West is interested to contest for the presidency in 2023. The person who can help us win this ticket is Asiwaju Bola Tinubu.

He has done a lot for Nigerians irrespective of religion and tribe. He has built bridges across the country.

We gathered together to start campaigning for him. If we can hold our house together, we will have the presidency back in the southwest.

Nigerias presidential election holds in 2023 but political groups have started to endorse different candidates ahead of party primaries.

It is expected that at the end of the tenure of President Muhammadu Buhari, a northerner, the presidency will shift to the south for another eight years.

Southwest Agenda 23 is one of the groups at the forefront of a Tinubu candidature in 2023.

Last December, the group was in Oyo to drum support for Mr Tinubu.

Mr Tinubu, a former Lagos State governor, however, has not formally declared his interest to run for the office.
Facebook has started blocking sensitive health information that third-party apps had been sharing with the social network in violation of its own rules, said New York officials who investigated the situation.

Data fed into a Facebook analytics tool by app makers included medical diagnoses and whether users were pregnant, according to a report shared by New York financial services department on Thursday.

"Facebook instructed app developers and websites not to share medical, financial, and other sensitive personal consumer data but took no steps to police this rule," state financial services superintendent Linda Lacewell said in a release.

"By continuing to do business with app developers that broke the rule, Facebook put itself in a position to profit from sensitive data that it was never supposed to receive in the first place."

User information from apps is regularly shared with Facebook through a tool that offers developers free analysis of data to help guide improvements to apps, according to the investigation launched last year.

"Our policies prohibit sharing sensitive health information and it's not something we want," a Facebook spokeswoman said in response to an AFP inquiry.

"We have improved our efforts to detect and block potentially sensitive data and are doing more to educate advertisers on how to set-up and use our business tools."

Investigators cited the example of a Flo Health app for menstruation and fertility tracking used by more than 100 million people informed Facebook each time a user logged starting her period or noted intention to get pregnant.

"Large internet companies have a duty to protect the privacy of their consumers -- period," New York Governor Andrew Cuomo said in the release.

Such sharing violated Facebook policy, but went unchecked by the California-based internet giant, investigators concluded.

Facebook created a list of terms blocked by its systems and has been refining artificial intelligence to more adaptively filter sensitive data not welcomed in the analytics tool, according to the report.

The block list contains more than 70,000 terms, including diseases, bodily functions, medical conditions, and real-world locations such as mental health centers, the report said.

The report endorsed a data privacy law proposed in the state by the governor that would expressly protect health, biometric, and location data as well as create a Consumer Data Privacy Bill of Rights.

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The Missourians Opinion section is a public forum for the discussion of ideas. The views presented in this piece are those of the author and do not necessarily reflect the views of the Missourian or the University of Missouri. If you would like to contribute to the Opinion page with a response or an original topic of your own, visit our submission form
NAUGATUCK  Naugatuck Police Department has added a new member to its ranks.

In a Facebook post this weekend, the department said K9 Tommy, a German shepherd, is stepping in following the retirement of another dog on the team, K9 Vane.

The 2-year-old dog is named after Robert Tommy Byrne, a police officer who died in 2017.

K9 Tommy, who hails from the Czech Republic, also comes from the same bloodline as K9 Vane, according to the post.

K9 Tommy is trained in tracking/apprehension of criminal suspects and location of missing persons, the post reads. We wish him the best as he begins his journey with #teamNPD !
Webinar on the Role of Legumes in Reducing Fertilizer N Usage

The Farm to Fork Strategy in the EU Green Deal aims to lower fertilizer Nitrogen (N) use. Legumes can replace fertilizer N on farms, lowering greenhouse gas and ammonia emissions and improving water quality.

The third Legume Innovation and Networking Workshop will take place online on Wednesday, 3rd March, at 9.30am as an interactive webinar.

Speaking in advance of the webinar, James Humphreys, Teagasc researcher, and organiser of the webinar, said: White and red clover, beans and other legumes will have an increasingly important role in the future of Irish agriculture. The ability of legumes to fix nitrogen and make it available for growing crops is key to sustainable agricultural systems in the years ahead. It will reduce our dependence on artificial fertilizer and reduce the emissions from the sector.

Professor Bob Rees, SRUC, will discuss the UKs ambition to achieve net zero greenhouse gas emissions and will consider the role of legumes and how they can be most effectively incorporated into farming systems to achieve net zero policy targets.

The other speakers are Elaine Leavy, Teagasc Organic Specialist, Michael Hennessy, Head of Teagasc Crops Knowledge Transfer Department and Dave Barry, General Manager with Goldcrop responsible for grass and forage crop seeds. They will discuss prospects for greater legume use on grassland, arable and organic farms.

More information and register for the webinar on 3 March here
Shanghai (Gasgoo)- Geely will build an all-new electric vehicle (EV) company to compete head-on with other manufacturers of intelligent battery electric vehicles (BEVs), Li Shufu, chairman of Zhejiang Geely Holding Group, said on Feb. 20 in an internal letter.

Mr. Li said the company has hammered out two Blue Geely initiatives and the establishment of the new EV venture is part of the one that focuses on smart BEVs. The other one is dedicated to the development of energy-saving and new energy vehicles (NEVs), including hybrid electric vehicle (HEVs), plug-in hybrid electric vehicles (PHEVs), range-extended electric vehicles (REEVs) as well as energy-saving low-emission vehicles. For this part, traditional energy-saving vehicles only account for 10% of total sales.



Photo credit: Geely Holding



The Blue Geely initiatives are made based on the revolution of global automotive industry and the change of industrial application environment, said Li Shufu. They break through a new area of smart all-electric vehicles, while retain Geely's advantages in conventional energy-saving vehicles and NEV fields.

At the critical moment for Geely's transition to being a mobility technology provider, the company should not only maintain its core merits in the manufacture of traditional electromechanical devices, quality assurance and cost control, but also develop emerging technologies, such as human-machine interaction, autonomous driving, EV charging and battery swapping facilities, energy management, intelligent mobility service and Industrial Internet, said Mr. Li.

Last month, Geely Holding stunned both the automobile and Internet industries last month by forming partnership with Faraday Future, Baidu, Foxconn and Tencent.

On Jan. 29, Geely Holding announced it had signed a framework agreement with Faraday Future (FF) to cooperate in technology and engineering support.

On Jan. 11, Baidu said it entered into a strategic partnership with Geely Holding while announcing its plan to establish a company to produce intelligent electric vehicles (EVs). Geely will offer the company its expertise in automobile design and manufacturing, involving its SEA (Sustainable Experience Architecture).

On Jan. 13, Geely Holding and Foxconn agreed to build a joint venture providing contract manufacturing and customized consulting services for global automakers and mobility service providers.

On Jan. 19, Geely Auto Group and Tencent inked agreement to carry out all-round strategic cooperation on smart cockpit, autonomous driving, digitalization and low carbon development.
ROME, FEB 22 - The number of COVID vaccine shots administered in Italy has now passed 3.5 million, the government said Monday. As of 15:00 Monday they were 3,537,975, it said. Those who have also been given their second shots are now 1,332,163. Of the 3.5 million, some 2,210,876 have gone to health personnel, 638,483 to non health personnel, 367,054 to care home residents, 261,444 to the over 80s, 24,902 to the armed forces, and 35,216 to school staff. (ANSA).
VTOL

ZALA AERO GROUP, a company owned by Russia-based Kalashnikov , attended the International Defense Industry Exhibition and Conference (IDEX 2021) in Abu Dhabi with the all-new ZALA, a hybrid unmanned aircraft with two different configurations specifically built to adapt to every condition and task.So essentially, the new VTOL can fly and land pretty much anywhere, anytime, all using a high-tech approach that gets it ready for any operation.First and foremost, the ZARA VTOL comes with fixed-wing and multirotor configurations, so theoretically, it can switch from one form to another depending on what its supposed to do.The parent company says its aircraft uses the latest-generation technology, including a ZX1 onboard computer that uses artificial intelligence to capture and process high-resolution photos and videos. All data is then transmitted to the command center using encrypted communication, so that the content can be securely accessed in real-time.The VTOL can transmit two video streams at the same time and packs automatic target tracking, with the data then stored on a 500GB encrypted SSD. It features a 24 MP built-in camera to power aerial photography and offers a flight time of up to 4 hours at a maximum win speed of 15 m/s.The versatility of the ZALA VTOL design makes it fully compatible with all existing ZALA payloads, and also allows the installation of additional surveying equipment. The complex is an effective solution for performing air monitoring for the fuel and energy complex, search and rescue operations to ensure safe take-off/landing from unprepared sites in urban environments, as well as hard-to-haul routes, the company explains in a press release, also embedded below.The VTOL can operate at temperatures between -40 degrees Celsius and 50 degrees Celsius (-40F to 122F).

Dehradun, Feb 22 : An inspector with Uttarakhand police, Harak Singh, has turned good Samaritan after he gave shelter to an old woman in his house at the disaster-hit Reni village in Chamoli district.

After the February 7 deluge, the house of 85-year-old Sona Devi had been completely damaged, rendering her along with her daughter homeless.

When Singh, who is also a native of Reni village, started rescue and relief work there, he came to know about the plight of Devi. Singh, who lives in Dehradun along with his family, immediately offered his house to Devi.

Singh, who is presently working with the State Disaster Response Fund (SDRF), is now being hailed by the villagers and top police personnel alike.

"It is very commendable when we hear about such good gestures, especially by people from our own police force. Such incidents bring closeness and good relations between civilians and police," said SDRF commandant Navneet Bhullar.

After the gesture of Singh, the state police are looking for closed or deserted houses from where the inhabitants have migrated to the plains so that they can be used as temporary shelters for the disaster-hit people.

Significantly, most of those who lost their lives in the February 7 deluge were workers who had come from outside the state for work at the two power projects. Nearly 465 families in 12 villages of Chamoli district have also been affected by the floods as they lost their houses, domestic animals and farm lands.

"In our Reni village, only one house of Sona Devi was damaged. Though we lost five persons of our village, the damage to the village was not much," said Bhagwan Singh Rana, the village pradhan of Reni.

Some social organisations have shown their readiness to work in the disaster affected areas. Even film actor Sonu Sood has expressed his desire to provide monetary help to four daughters of Alam Singh Pundir of Tehri, who was killed in the floods, for their studies. Sood also shared a photograph of the four daughters on his Tweeter handle. Pundir's body was among the first to be brought out from the disaster-hit tunnel of the Tapovan project.

-- The story has been published from a wire feed without any modifications to the text
Rockets have been fired at the US embassy in Iraq's capital, according to security sources.

At least three rockets targeted the building in the heavily fortified Green Zone in Baghdad.

One of them fell within the perimeter of the Green Zone but others landed in surrounding residential neighbourhoods.

A statement from the military said there were no casualties and that an investigation was ongoing. The rockets were launched from the Salam area of Baghdad, it said.

No one immediately claimed responsibility for the attack.

There was minor property damage, including a damaged vehicle. The Green Zone houses foreign embassies and is the seat of Iraq's government.

The U.S. Embassy was a frequent target of rocket attacks during the Trump administration. The pace of attacks abated in the weeks before Biden took office and recently resumed.

Rockets have been fired at the US embassy in Iraq's capital, according to security sources. Pictured: A member of the Iraqi security forces inspects the damage outside the Zawraa park in the capital Baghdad on November 18, 2020, after volley of rockets slammed into the Iraqi capital breaking a month-long truce on attacks against the US embassy

In a statement released on Twitter, Iraq's security services said: 'Two rockets fell on the Green Zone, without causing any casualties, and the follow-up by the security forces is continuing.'

A security source within the Green Zone said the C-RAM anti-rocket defence system deployed at the US embassy did not fire because the rockets were not projected to land within the diplomatic compound.

A security source told AFP at least one rocket hit the headquarters of Iraq's National Security Service near the US diplomatic mission, damaging several cars parked there.

A US-led coalition deployed in Iraq since 2014 to help local forces fight jihadists also operates a base near the American embassy.

'The coalition reports no damages or injuries,' coalition spokesman Wayne Marotto said on Twitter.

At least one other rocket crashed into the nearby residential district of Harithiya, the military said.

A resident of the area told AFP the rocket damaged a multi-storey parking complex just a few metres from his home.

There was no immediate claim of responsibility for the attack, but the military said it had located the launchpad in a northern district of Baghdad.

The United States said Monday it would hold Iran to account for its Iraqi allies after rocket fire hit the US embassy in Baghdad, but insisted it would not be drawn into an escalation.

State Department spokesman Ned Price said the United States was 'outraged' by recent attacks in Iraq and said, 'We will hold Iran responsible for the actions of its proxies that attack Americans.'

'What we will not do is lash out and risk an escalation that plays into the hands of Iran and contributes to their attempts to further destabilize Iraq,' Price told reporters.

The attack is the third in a week to target Western diplomatic, military or commercial installations in Iraq after months of relative calm.

Yesterday, at least eight Katyusha rockets landed in the Green zone in an attack targeting the US embassy, causing some minor damage on the compound.

The Iraqi military said an 'outlaw group' fired the eight rockets. Most of the missiles hit a residential complex and a security checkpoint inside the zone, damaging buildings and cars and wounding one Iraqi soldier, a military statement said.

Sirens blared from the embassy compound inside the zone, which houses government buildings and foreign missions.

An anti-rocket system diverted one of the rockets, said one security official whose office is inside the Green Zone.

The US Embassy condemned the attack and urged all Iraqi political and governmental leaders to take steps to prevent such attacks and to hold accountable those responsible.

'The US Embassy confirms rockets targeting the International Zone resulted in the engagement of Embassy defensive systems. There was some minor damage on the Embassy compound but no injuries or casualties,' it said in a statement.

In a subsequent statement, U.S. Secretary of State Mike Pompeo said there had been at least one Iraqi civilian casualty and wished those hurt a speedy recovery.

A week ago, a rocket strike on a US base in Iraq by a group believed to have links to Iran has wounded several Americans and killed a foreign contractor.

More than a dozen 107mm rockets were fired at the military complex in Erbil airport that has hosted troops deployed as part of the international alliance fighting ISIS since 2014.

Video shows red hot shrapnel and smoke filling the air after a rocket landed in the middle of a street in Erbil last week. As well as the US contractors wounded and the foreign contractor killed, five Iraqi civilians were wounded in the attack

US Secretary of State Antony Blinken said he was 'outraged' and vowed to 'hold accountable those responsible' without giving details on the injured Americans.

The bombardment was claimed by a shadowy group calling itself 'Guardians of Blood,' which US forces believe is one of many which have sprung up in Iraq as fronts for pro-Iranian factions.

The United Nations warned Iraq could spin out of control following the first attacks on Western forces in almost two months.

A wounded civilian is treated in the hospital after last week's rocket strikes directed at the US-led coalition based at Erbil International Airport

More than a dozen 107mm rockets were fired at the military complex in Erbil airport last Monday evening that has hosted troops deployed as part of the international alliance fighting ISIS since 2014. The base is where the highest concentration of America's remaining 2,500 troops in the war-ravaged country are stationed.

US officials blame Iran-backed militia for regular rocket attacks on U.S. facilities in Iraq, including near the embassy in Baghdad. No known Iran-backed groups have claimed responsibility.

Pompeo called such militias the most serious impediment to peace and prosperity in Iraq, and added: 'We call on all Iraqis to support their government's efforts to reinforce Iraq's sovereignty, to bring to justice those responsible for these reprehensible attacks and ensure that all the currently Iran-backed militias are under state control.'

An array of militia groups announced in October that they had suspended rocket attacks on U.S. forces on condition that Iraq's government present a timetable for the withdrawal of American troops.

But a rocket strike on the U.S. Embassy on November 18 was a clear sign that Iranian-backed militias had decided to resume attacks on U.S. bases, according to Iraqi security officials.

Washington, which is slowly reducing its 5,000 troops in Iraq, threatened to shut its embassy unless the Iraqi government reins in Iran-aligned militias.


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[February 22, 2021] NIMR Signs Strategic Teaming Agreement With Saudi Arabian Military Industries (SAMI)

NIMR, the leading manufacturer of combat-proven wheeled military vehicles, today signed a Teaming Agreement with Saudi Arabian Military Industries (SAMI), a wholly owned subsidiary of the Public Investment Fund, to establish a framework for future collaboration to explore opportunities for the JAIS 4x4 vehicle in Saudi Arabia. The deal was inked at the International Defence Exhibition and Conference (IDEX 2021) event. This press release features multimedia. View the full release here: https://www.businesswire.com/news/home/20210222005790/en/ His Excellency Staff Major General Pilot Faris Khalaf Al Mazrouei, Chairman of the NIMR Board and Eng. Walid Abukhaled, CEO of SAMI, signed the agreement in the presence of His Excellency Eng. Ahmed A. Alohali, Governor of the General Authorities for Military Industries (GAMI), His Excellency Turki bin Abdullah Al-Dakhil, Ambassador of the Custodian of the Two Holy Mosques to the UAE, His Excellency Faisal Al Bannai, CEO and Managing Director of EDGE, and other leading representatives from NIMR and SAMI. (Photo: AETOSWire) His Excellency Staff Major General Pilot Faris Khalaf Al Mazrouei, hairman of the NIMR Board and Eng. Walid Abukhaled, CEO of SAMI, signed the agreement in the presence of His Excellency Eng. Ahmed A. Alohali, Governor of the General Authorities for Military Industries (GAMI), His Excellency Turki bin Abdullah Al-Dakhil, Ambassador of the Custodian of the Two Holy Mosques to the UAE, His Excellency Faisal Al Bannai, CEO and Managing Director of EDGE, and other leading representatives of the two entities.



NIMR and SAMI have been negotiating the terms of a potential partnership - the Teaming Agreement encapsulates this outcome. Designed to lay the foundation for a long-term joint venture between the two entities, the agreement mandates NIMR to license technology to the Kingdom to enable local manufacture of the JAIS vehicle and develop Saudi Arabia's supply chain capabilities. The synergy aligns seamlessly with the Saudi Vision 2030 that underlines the country's commitment to reaching the goal of localising industry and diversifying the economy. The JAIS 4x4 competed against a range of vehicles in demanding trials arranged by SAMI and conducted by military experts in Saudi Arabia. The exceptional performance of the battle-tested platform in the trials paved the way for new opportunities for the vehicle in Saudi Arabia.

Speaking on the occasion, His Excellency Faisal Al Bannai, CEO and Managing Director of EDGE, said: "Fostering strategic relationships is a key pillar of EDGE's strategy, and we look forward to building on this commitment with our colleagues at SAMI. This agreement represents the first military collaboration between Saudi Arabia and the UAE and is a major step in boosting the already robust relations between our respective nations." Eng. Walid Abukhaled, CEO of SAMI, said: "We are pleased to witness the culmination of our shared efforts over the past year as we ink this agreement to transfer technology and knowledge to Saudi Arabia's defence manufacturing sector, contributing to the Saudi Vision 2030 objective of localizing over 50 percent of the military equipment spending by 2030. This achievement also supports PIF's efforts through SAMI in localizing cutting-edge technology and knowledge, as well as building strategic economic partnerships." NIMR is part of the Platforms & Systems cluster within EDGE, an advanced technology group for defence and beyond that ranks among the top 25 military suppliers in the world. About EDGE EDGE is an advanced technology group established to develop agile, bold and disruptive solutions for defence and beyond. Enabling a secure future, it is dedicated to bringing innovative technologies and services to market with greater speed and efficiency. Consolidating over 25 entities and employing more than 13,000 brilliant minds, it offers expertise across five core clusters: Platforms & Systems, Missiles & Weapons, Cyber Defence, Electronic Warfare & Intelligence and Mission Support. Headquartered in Abu Dhabi, United Arab Emirates, EDGE is a catalyst for change - set to revolutionise the industry and change its fundamentals. For more information, visit edgegroup.ae * Source (News - Alert) : AETOSWire View source version on businesswire.com: https://www.businesswire.com/news/home/20210222005790/en/

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[February 22, 2021] Global Securities Brokerage and Stock Exchange Services Market Report 2021-2030: AI-enabled Alternative Trading System (ATS) Helps in Improving the Speed of Trade Execution

DUBLIN, Feb. 22, 2021 /PRNewswire/ -- The "Securities Brokerage and Stock Exchange Services Global Market Report 2021: COVID-19 Impact and Recovery to 2030" report has been added to ResearchAndMarkets.com's offering. Securities Brokerage And Stock Exchange Services Global Market Report 2021: COVID-19 Impact and Recovery to 2030 provides the strategists, marketers and senior management with the critical information they need to assess the global securities brokerages and stock exchanges market as it emerges from the COVID-19 shut down.



Major companies in the securities brokerage and stock exchange services market include Northwestern Mutual; Bank Of America; Ameriprise Financial Inc (AMP); Wells Fargo Advisors (WFC) and Raymond James Financial Inc (RJF).



The global securities brokerage and stock exchange services market is expected to grow from $1075.06 billion in 2020 to $1249.4 billion in 2021 at a compound annual growth rate (CAGR) of 16.2%. The growth is mainly due to the companies rearranging their operations and recovering from the COVID-19 impact, which had earlier led to restrictive containment measures involving social distancing, remote working, and the closure of commercial activities that resulted in operational challenges. The market is expected to reach $1738.26 billion in 2025 at a CAGR of 9%.



The securities brokerage and stock exchange services market consists of sales of securities brokerage and stock exchange services by entities (organizations, sole traders and partnerships) that act as brokers in selling securities such as equities, bonds, commodities and derivatives. Securities brokerages represent customers in dealing with securities transactions on the trading floor/online platform of stock exchanges. The securities brokerages might sometimes act as a representative for both buyer and seller. This market excludes the advisory and investment activities of the brokerage firms.



This market includes transaction charges levied by stock exchanges for trading on its trading floor/online platform to securities brokerages and other fees. It does not include the value of the funds invested in securities. The securities brokerages and stock exchanges market is segmented into equities brokerage; stock exchanges; bonds brokerage; derivatives & commodities brokerage; and other stock brokerage.



North America was the largest region in the global securities brokerage and stock exchange services market, accounting for 35% of the market in 2020. Asia Pacific was the second largest region accounting for 26% of the global securities brokerage and stock exchange services market. Eastern Europe was the smallest region in the global securities brokerage and stock exchange services market.



Brokerage firms are increasingly focusing on providing additional peripheral services to their customers around the world. Ad hoc peripheral services are unconventional trading solutions such as nvestment advice and planning services offered by brokerage firms to attract more customers. This is mainly to remain competitive in a price-sensitive market and capture a larger portion of the investor's assets.







For instance, firms are offering loyalty programs, retirement products and services, analytical software and social components to increase their share in the market. Brokerage firms are also waiving minimum activity charges, providing free access to premium industry publications, and offering discounted fees for existing traders.



Brokerages are cross-selling and upselling products and services to further increase their revenues. Cross-selling and upselling is a technique aimed at capturing a larger portion of the client's assets. In addition, bank brokers across the world are focusing on aggregating information related to client account and lowering their fees to serve affluent investors. This allows bank brokers to cross-sell their online trading and advisory-based services to affluent investors, who hold multiple accounts with retail banks and bank brokers.





Securities brokerage companies are extensively using artificial intelligence for faster trade executions. Artificial Intelligence refers to programming machines to enable them work and react like humans. Most of the companies are using AI for algorithmic trading in stock brokerage. Algorithmic trading refers turning a trading idea into an algorithmic trading strategy using an algorithm. AI-enabled alternative trading system (ATS) helps in improving the speed of trade execution. For instance, some of the major trading houses like Blackrock, Two Sigma and Renaissance technologies are using AI in selection of stocks to be purchased.



Key Topics Covered:



1. Executive Summary



2. Report Structure



3. Securities Brokerage And Stock Exchange Services Market Characteristics

3.1. Market Definition

3.2. Key Segmentations



4. Securities Brokerage And Stock Exchange Services Market Product Analysis

4.1. Leading Products/ Services

4.2. Key Features and Differentiators

4.3. Development Products



5. Securities Brokerage And Stock Exchange Services Market Supply Chain

5.1. Supply Chain

5.2. Distribution

5.3. End Customers



6. Securities Brokerage And Stock Exchange Services Market Customer Information

6.1. Customer Preferences

6.2. End Use Market Size and Growth



7. Securities Brokerage And Stock Exchange Services Market Trends And Strategies



8. Impact Of COVID-19 On Securities Brokerage And Stock Exchange Services



9. Securities Brokerage And Stock Exchange Services Market Size And Growth

9.1. Market Size

9.2. Historic Market Growth, Value ($ Billion)

9.2.1. Drivers Of The Market

9.2.2. Restraints On The Market

9.3. Forecast Market Growth, Value ($ Billion)

9.3.1. Drivers Of The Market

9.3.2. Restraints On The Market



10. Securities Brokerage And Stock Exchange Services Market Regional Analysis

10.1. Global Securities Brokerage And Stock Exchange Services Market, 2020, By Region, Value ($ Billion)

10.2. Global Securities Brokerage And Stock Exchange Services Market, 2015-2020, 2020-2025F, 2030F, Historic And Forecast, By Region

10.3. Global Securities Brokerage And Stock Exchange Services Market, Growth And Market Share Comparison, By Region



11. Securities Brokerage And Stock Exchange Services Market Segmentation

11.1. Global Securities Brokerage And Stock Exchange Services Market, Segmentation By Type, Historic and Forecast, 2015-2020, 2020-2025F, 2030F, $ Billion Derivatives & Commodities Brokerage

Stock Exchanges

Bonds Brokerage

Equities Brokerage

Other Stock Brokerage 11.2. Global Securities Brokerage And Stock Exchange Services Market, Segmentation By Mode, Historic and Forecast, 2015-2020, 2020-2025F, 2030F, $ Billion Online

Offline 11.3. Global Securities Brokerage And Stock Exchange Services Market, Segmentation By Type of Establishment, Historic and Forecast, 2015-2020, 2020-2025F, 2030F, $ Billion Exclusive Brokers

Banks

Investment Firms

Others 12. Securities Brokerage And Stock Exchange Services Market Segments

12.1. Global Derivatives & Commodities Brokerage Market, Segmentation By Type, 2015-2020, 2020-2025F, 2030F, Value ($ Billion) - Derivatives Brokerage; Commodities Brokerage

12.2. Global Stock Exchanges Market, Segmentation By Type, 2015-2020, 2020-2025F, 2030F, Value ($ Billion) - Clearing And Transaction Services; Listing Services; Market Data

12.3. Global Bonds Brokerage Market, Segmentation By Type, 2015-2020, 2020-2025F, 2030F, Value ($ Billion)

12.4. Global Equities Brokerage Market, Segmentation By Type, 2015-2020, 2020-2025F, 2030F, Value ($ Billion)

12.5. Global Other Stock Brokerage Market, Segmentation By Type, 2015-2020, 2020-2025F, 2030F, Value ($ Billion)



13. Securities Brokerage And Stock Exchange Services Market Metrics

13.1. Securities Brokerage And Stock Exchange Services Market Size, Percentage Of GDP, 2015-2025, Global

13.2. Per Capita Average Securities Brokerage And Stock Exchange Services Market Expenditure, 2015-2025, Global



Companies Mentioned

Northwestern Mutual

Bank Of America

Ameriprise Financial Inc (AMP)

Wells Fargo Advisors (WFC)

Raymond James Financial Inc (RJF) For more information about this report visit https://www.researchandmarkets.com/r/78fsl9

Media Contact: Research and Markets

Laura Wood, Senior Manager

press@researchandmarkets.com



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Fax (outside U.S.): +353-1-481-1716 View original content:http://www.prnewswire.com/news-releases/global-securities-brokerage-and-stock-exchange-services-market-report-2021-2030-ai-enabled-alternative-trading-system-ats-helps-in-improving-the-speed-of-trade-execution-301232411.html SOURCE Research and Markets

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Former President Barack Obama and Bruce Springsteen have released a Spotify podcast series called Renegades: Born in the USA where the pair will talk about their 'lives,music and enduring love of America'.

The first two episodes were released by Spotify on Monday. The first is titled Outsiders: An Unlikely Friendship and is about how the pair met.

The second is called American Skin: Race in the United States. There will be eight episodes in total, all of which will be released over the next few weeks.

It is the second Spotify podcast project for the Obamas - Michelle launched hers, Becoming, last year.

It's unclear how much the pair were paid for the series. It was recorded last year at Springsteen's home in New Jersey and was made by the Obamas' production company, Higher Ground.

On November 14, Springsteen was arrested in New Jersey on a DWI charge. The full arrest report hasn't emerged. His team says it is an incident that has been overblown but it was kept secret until earlier this month.

The podcast is part of a wider push by Spotify recently to beef up the platform's podcast division with huge investments in big names like the Obamas and Prince Harry and Meghan Markle.

The streaming service has never confirmed any figures for the new big-name deals. Its biggest payout to date for a podcast went to Joe Rogan, who was given $100million as part of a multi-licensing deal that also includes a back-catalog of 11 years worth of shows.

Spotify announced Renegades: Born in the USA on Monday. The eight-episode series will see Barack Obama and Bruce Springsteen talk about their lives, childhoods and the state of affairs in America

Bruce Springsteen and Barack Obama recording Renegades: Born in the USA in New Jersey last month

In a promo video for Renegades: Born in the USA that both Barack and Bruce shared on Instagram on Monday, they are shown sitting in a New Jersey studio, dressed casually, reminiscing about their childhoods.

Bruce admits in the video that he doesn't remember when or where they first met, and 59-year-old Barack, in a voice-over for it, says he's not 'as cool' as the 71-year-old musician.

Barack is wearing a pair of $80 Adidas Stan Smith sneakers and he has his pants rolled up.

At the start of the promo, the pair compare their relationships with their fathers.

'My father was silent most of the time. He was not communicative. I grew up thinking my father was, like, ashamed of his family.

'That was my entire picture of masculinity. Did you have to deal with that?' Bruce asked Obama.

'My father leaves when I was two. I don't meet him until I'm 10, when he comes to visit for a month.

'I had no way to connect to the guy. He's a stranger who's suddenly in our house,' Barack replied.

The promo then cuts to childhood photos of the pair as boys, then to family shots of them with their respective wives and children.

'On the surface, Bruce and I don't have a lot in common. He's a white guy from a small town in Jersey.

Bruce Springsteen talking about his father who he said was 'silent' mostly. He said he grew up thinking he was 'ashamed of his family'

Obama also speaks about meeting his father for the first time aged 10 and how he struggled to relate to him

A young Bruce and Barack. In a voice over for the promo, Barack says: ''On the surface, Bruce and I don't have a lot in common. He's a white guy from a small town in Jersey. 'I'm a black guy of mixed race, born in Hawaii. He's a rock 'n' roll icon. I'm not as cool.'

The pair said they had fatherhood in common and being husbands. They showed pictures with their wives and kids

Bruce Springsteen with his wife Patti and two of their three kids

'I'm a black guy of mixed race, born in Hawaii. He's a rock 'n' roll icon. I'm not as cool.

"I'm a lawyer and politician. Not as cool. And as I like to remind Bruce every chance I get, he's more than a decade older than me.'

They discussed one of Bruce's first visits to the White House, where 'there were libations involved,' according to Obama, and how their wives bonded.

'Michelle and Patti hit it off. Michelle was very pleased in the insights you have about your failings as a man.

'After we would leave a dinner or party or conversation,she'd say "you see how Bruce understands his shortcomings and has come to terms with them in a way that you have not? You should spend more time with Bruce... he's put in the work,"' Obama laughed.

At the start of the first episode, Barack slammed former President Donald Trump and his administration's response to the pandemic.

'For three years, I had to watch a presidential successor who was diametrically opposed to everything I believed in and witness a country that seemed to be angrier and more divided with every day,' he said.

Bruce Springsteen with Michelle and Barack Obama, the first time they met, at a campaign event in 2008

Obama presenting the Presidential Medal of Freedom to musician Bruce Springsteen during an East Room ceremony at the White House November 22, 2016 in Washington, DC

'Then a historic pandemic and a slip shot government response that 'rained hardship and loss on millions'.

He went on: 'How did we get here? How could we find our way back to a more unifying American story? That topic came to dominate so many of my conversations last year with Michelle, with my daughters, and with friends.

'One of those friends just happened to be Mr. Bruce Springsteen.'

They went on to reminisce over their first meeting - in 2008 at a campaign event where Barack thought Bruce was 'low key'.

In the caption for the promo video on his Instagram page, Barack says: 'Last year, I sat down with my good friend Bruce for a long and meaningful conversation that touched on so much of what were all dealing with these days.

'Im excited to share it with you over the next few weeks,' he said.

In 2019, the Obamas signed a contract with Spotify whereby they would produce exclusive podcasts for the streaming giant.

Their production company is also releasing a podcast called Tell Them I Am, which compiles stories from Muslim voices and will debut throughout Ramadan.

Springsteen is famously anti-Trump. He endorsed Obama in 2008 and performed this year at Joe Biden's virtual inauguration celebration.
New Delhi: Deputy Chief Minister Manish Sisodia visit Govt girls senior secondary school Gandhi Nagar, after the lockdown Delhi schools is reopen for Classes 9th and 11th from today, in new Delhi.(Photo: Bidesh Manna/IANS) Image Source: IANS News

New Delhi, Feb 22 : The Delhi government will launch the patriotism curriculum from kindergarten to class 8 in all its schools from the next academic session.

The syllabus will also work towards helping students develop a thorough understanding of the self, family, school, society, nation and the world.

The Delhi government says the objective of the curriculum is to reinforce the values and skills in children that contribute towards nation-building and prepare the student evolve into a responsible and alert citizen.

Delhi's Deputy Chief Minister Manish Sisodia said this about the syllabus: "India's glorious past and our constitutional values should not be restricted just to books. We need to implement them in day to day life as well." A panel has been constituted to design the patriotism curriculum. Members of the committee briefed Sisodia on the development of the curriculum in New Delhi on Monday.

The Delhi government says the curriculum will help create feelings of patriotism and responsibility towards the nation. The teaching methodology will include group activity, mind mapping, role play, storytelling etc.

The syllabus committee is working in close association with Teach for India, Community, the Youth Collective and We The People.
THIS time last year we were fearfully watching other countries with the first cases of Covid-19 to see how bad it might get.

We are looking abroad again a year later. But this time it is to discover how vaccines might put us on the road to freedom.

As the Government here says there will be no major reopening until May, we have the advantage of being able to witness what is happening in places like Israel and the UK which are ahead of us in vaccinations.

Early optimism

There are very encouraging reports coming from Israel, in particular about the impact of the Pfizer BioNTech vaccine. So far Israel has given the first of two jabs  around four million shots  among its 9.1 million citizens. The vast majority of its over-60s have been vaccinated.

Studies there show the risk of illness from the virus has dropped 95.8pc among people who have had both doses. It found it was 98pc in preventing fever or breathing problems.

Clear picture

The picture needs to be clearer to draw more firm conclusions. Like Ireland, Israel was in lockdown when these results came through. How much does the fall in infections owe to lockdown or vaccination?

The most reliable findings are made when infections and illness in vaccinated people are measured against a control group of unvaccinated people.

A team of researchers in the Weizmann Institute of Science in Tel-Aviv university tried to separate the vaccine results from lockdown.

They found bigger falls in infections in the over-60s who were vaccinated first and in the cities which vaccinated the largest proportion of their populations earliest. These changes were not seen in earlier lockdowns.

Read More

Easing lockdown

The role of the vaccine in easing lockdown is still an unknown. The Government here will launch its new Living with Covid plan tomorrow but it does so against background of speculation on what the mix of vaccination, opening up and the influence of new more infectious variants will mean. We dont have the answers yet.

Laboratory for the world

Israel is again a laboratory for the world. Since yesterday shops, libraries an museums were allowed open up there but physical distancing and masks remain mandatory.

They have also reopened gyms, hotels and synagogues. But if you want to enter you have to show you have been vaccinated via a passport app.

Concerts and sporting events have reopened with limits of 300 people inside and 500 outside. It will provide more than just a snapshot of a possible future here and there will no doubt be lessons learned.

UK roll-out

Our nearest neighbour the UK is closest to our kind of lifestyle and is far ahead in the roll-out.

A new study from the University of Edinburgh fresh off the presses today says vaccination is linked to a substantial reduction in the risk of Covid-19 admissions to hospitals. It is the first to describe across an entire country the effect of the Pfizer and Oxford AstraZeneca jabs in the community on preventing severe illness resulting in hospitalisation.

By the fourth week after receiving the initial dose the vaccines were shown to reduce the risk of hospitalisation from Covid-19 by 85-94pc.

Among those aged 80 and over  one of the highest risk groups  vaccination was associated with an 81pc reduction in hospitalisation risk in the fourth week when the results for both vaccines were combined.

And because of their swift vaccine roll-out, the UK will soon begin to ease restrictions, with their prime minister Boris Johnson set to announce plans for this as early as today.

Irelands checklist

Public health officials in this country will be busy with their checklist of signs to look out for abroad. So far, here up to last Friday 340,704 people had received at least one dose and of these 126,320 had got the second dose.

They include long-term nursing home residents and staff, frontline healthcare workers and the first of the 85-plus age group. Another 100,000 doses will be administered this week.

Infections among hospital staff have fallen by 90pc but it is unclear if the vaccination has played a role. The lower the number of patients in hospital, the less infections there will be among staff. Also when cases fall in the community there is a knock-on drop among healthcare worker infections. Public health officials will be trying to measure if a fall in hospitalisations and illness in older people in particular could be linked to the vaccine.

It will all inform decisions on what level of easing of lockdown can be made and when. Also on the list is the impact the more infectious UK variant will have on reopening.

This variant which is now dominant here is also circulating in Israel. Irish planners will be watching if this leads to a spike in cases among the unvaccinated as it opens up again.
An Iowa man has been arrested by federal authorities in connection with the disappearance of a 14-year-old Harrison girl on New Year's Day.

Joseph Donnell Foster is charged in Chattanooga Federal Court with transportation of a minor with intent to engage in sexual activity and with coercion and enticement.

There was a statewide search for the girl by the TBI and other agencies and she showed up safe at her grandmother's house in Clarksville, Tn., on Jan. 9.

The criminal complaint against Foster said the girl left a suicide note. It also says that authorities learned that an individual had given the girl access to his Amazon account and had sent packages to her. It was found that she had purchased three pregnancy tests using the Amazon account funds.

The complaint says the girl had multiple social media accounts. It "was believed that she was being sexually exploited online, and an FBI investigation was opened."

On the evening of Jan. 9, the girl called her grandmother in Clarksville and said she wanted to come home. She was recovered and has been placed in protective custody.

The complaint says it was found that the girl "most likely was advertising and/or performing explicit sexual services" online. She had an account set up and in one instance "Joe" paid her through the account.

"Joe" was traced to Joseph Foster, of North Liberty, Iowa.

Foster was interviewed by FBI agents at Cedar Rapids, Iowa, on Jan. 9. He admitted to recognizing the girl from a photo shown him, but he said it was only through a chat forum they both were in. He denied ever meeting her in person or knowing anything about her whereabouts. He denied providing her payments online.

Before the agents left the Foster residence, they said Foster's ex-wife advised them that she had caught Foster having conversations with what appeared to be underage girls on Snapchat. She said he was in possession of what she believed to be child pornography. She turned two hard drives over to agents.

She said that Foster was away on New Year's Day - the day the 14-year-old girl disappeared from her Hamilton County home. She said he told her he had to travel to Georgia to deal with "a Cashapp fraud." The complaint says both Foster and the girl at one time had Cashapp accounts allowing funds transfers online.

Agents interviewed the girl several times. They said at first she was not forthcoming about what had happened. But in a Jan. 14 interview she said on Jan. 2 that Joe Foster, who she had met on Snapchat, had picked her up here in his dark-colored truck for them to travel to Iowa.

The girl said she only packed one outfit, left the suicide note and deleted her Snapchat account. Along the way, she said she threw her cellphone into a body of water.

She said Foster got her a hotel room for a couple of days and he bought her hair dye and new clothing and food. After those two days, she said Foster snuck her into his house, where the ex-wife was living upstairs. She said Foster and the ex-wife had a baby together.

The girl said the ex-wife did not know she was there and she had to sneak around the house. She said when the FBI agents arrived to interview Foster, she was hiding in the garage by the stairs.

She said after the visit by the FBI that Foster "freaked out" and drove her to Clarksville, where her grandmother lived. She said he told her not to disclose that she had ever left the state. She said she went to someone's house and called her grandmother.

The girl said she first began talking to Foster on Snapchat when she was 13. She said he had traveled to Tennessee on two occasions in 2020 to meet with her overnight at a hotel.

The grandmother said the girl had disappeared on a couple of prior occasions. She said once in the summer of 2020 after one of the disappearances she found a pair of the girl's bloody underwear.

The girl said at their first meeting she and Foster just kissed. She said he asked her on Snapchat for sexual explicit images of her.

In still another interview, the girl admitted that while in Iowa she had sex with Foster.

Foster was arrested in Iowa last Thursday.
European Union foreign ministers agreed Monday to impose sanctions on top Russian officials following the imprisonment of opposition leader Alexei Navalny, a decision that was hastened by a tense trip to Moscow by the chief EU diplomat earlier this month, The Washington Post informs.

The asset freeze and travel ban were intended to send a message to the Kremlin after Navalny was sentenced to 2 years in prison this month, EU diplomats said. Russian authorities accused Navalny of failing to report to parole officers last year after he was nearly killed in a nerve agent attack that he says was directed by Russian leaders. He had a suspended sentence from a 2014 embezzlement conviction that he deemed politically motivated.
Victoria has recorded no new local cases of coronavirus for the fourth day in a row and none in hotel quarantine, as another shipment of Pfizer vaccines landed in Australia.

There are still 25 active cases in the state, and there were more than 17,000 tests processed in the past day.

Federal Health Minister Greg Hunt announced on Tuesday that a second shipment of the Pfizer vaccine had arrived in Australia.

The national vaccine program started on Monday. Aged care residents and front-line workers were the first to receive the first of two doses of the vaccine.
(CNN)  Jack Ma's Ant Group quickly became one of China's most powerful companies, and its plans for bridging the worlds of tech and finance were growing ever more ambitious by the day.

Now it appears to be turning into the kind of highly regulated Chinese bank that it hoped to supplant.

Months after the company's blockbuster initial public offering was shelved at the last minute  a move that appears to have been sparked by Ma's criticism of Chinese regulators  several media outlets have reported that Ant has agreed with authorities to become a financial holding company.

Ant declined to comment on those reports earlier this month, and the details of any potential agreement were not immediately clear. The company did not respond this week to additional questions about any deal with authorities.

But the reports suggest that the Alibaba-affiliated company may now have to follow rules similar to those required of traditional Chinese banks  a move that could force it to scale down its aspirations to be a dominant force in the tech world.

The company is best known for its Alipay digital payments app, which boasts more than 700 million active users every month. It also has massive interests in online investing, insurance and consumer lending, which have helped it grow into business with assets worth about $635 billion under management.

While the company was largely able to grow unchecked over the past decade, the political winds in Beijing are changing. Authorities are growing increasingly mindful of how much influence Ant and its peers have on the country's financial system  Ant, for example, now commands more than half of the mobile payments market in China  and are looking for ways to rein them in.

"The Chinese government is moving to regulate these apps with a much heavier hand," said Doug Fuller, an associate professor at the City University of Hong Kong who studies technological development in Asia. "The aim is not to kill these apps, but the days of unrestrained growth and hopes of displacing traditional banking some day are over."

What it means to be a bank

Beijing's tech crackdown has taken many forms over the past several months. Not only did regulators force Ant Group to call off its record-breaking IPO, they also launched an antitrust investigation into Alibaba, questioned executives at Tencent and Pinduoduo, and floated new rules that could govern the operations at many tech firms.

While several loose ends remain, there are some clues as to what Ant's ultimate fate may be, at least. The People's Bank of China last September outlined new measures for financial holding companies that required them to hold "adequate capital" matching the amount of assets they have, among other measures.

If Ant is now classified as one of those companies, that could mean it will either have to significantly increase the amount of cash it holds in reserve, or otherwise slash the size of its consumer lending business.

Even though the details of Ant's reported agreement have not yet been confirmed, it's easy to see why these new rules might be a problem.

Ant held about 2.15 trillion yuan ($333 billion) worth of consumer and small business loans as of last June, according to its IPO prospectus. By comparison, more than 4,000 commercial banks in China held just six times as much in outstanding loans at the time, according to data from the People's Bank of China, the country's central bank.

Against that huge loan book, Ant held just 16 billion yuan ($2.5 billion) in authorized capital.

Beijing, meanwhile, mandates that "systemically important" banks, or those deemed too big to fail, have enough money to cover at least 11.5% of their risk-weighted assets  a rule it adapted from a widely used international banking guideline called the Basel Accord. Ant's balance sheet falls far short of that ratio. (Notably, China's ratio is even stricter than that used by other countries that follow Basel.)

On Saturday, regulators announced even more new rules that could dampen Ant's growth. Online lending companies like Ant will from next year be required to put up at least 30% of the funding for any loan they issue in partnership with a bank according to the China Banking and Insurance Regulatory Commission. Ant contributed just 2% in funding to the more than $260 billion in consumer loans they issued jointly with banks as of last June, according to stock exchange filings.

Ant will have "less flexibility and innovative space," if it becomes a financial holding company, wrote Ji Shaofeng, the chairman of the China Small and Micro Credit Industry Research Association, in Caixin Global magazine last November after the IPO was pulled. He added that the large amounts of consumer data that Ant has collected through its digital payments services could also now fall under the watchful eye of regulators, potentially presenting further challenges.

"For a tech company that needs constantly [to] innovate, such regulations will pose extremely big pressure," he wrote.

Longstanding public tensions

This is exactly the kind of pressure that Ma, the co-founder of Ant and Alibaba, was worried about when he landed himself in hot water with regulators late last year.

"The Basel Accord is more like a club for the elderly," Ma said during a speech in Shanghai last October, his last before Ant's IPO was pulled and he largely retreated from public life.

"What it wants to solve is the problem of the aging financial system that has been in operation for decades," Ma said. But while systems like Europe's are complex, he called China's financial system an "adolescent" that is better served by innovative tech firms that can bring banking to poor populations and small-time businesses that are otherwise locked out of traditional banks.

"The Basel Accord is about risk control," Ma added. "But China's problem is the opposite. China doesn't have systemic financial risks, because it basically has no financial system."

The tech entrepreneur's choice of words during that speech grew even more colorful  he criticized China's conventional, state-controlled banks for having a "pawn shop" mentality  and likely spurred Beijing to act swiftly in retaliation.

While the Shanghai Stock Exchange was cryptic at the time about the reason for pulling the IPO, saying that Ant's listing had "major issues," the government's response since indicates that its decision was about exercising authority and control.

"China's central planners' primary concern is that the party remains in control of all aspects the economy and business sector," said Alex Capri, a research fellow at Hinrich Foundation and a visiting senior fellow at National University of Singapore. "The rapid growth of Chinese tech giants clearly diminishes the influence of state-owned banks and [other] financial institutions, and that diminishes the power of the Communist Party."

China's tricky balancing act

Beijing's calculated crackdown on tech is rooted in economic concern just as much as exercising control.

Authorities have long been incredibly wary about whether the influence that tech firms have over the financial sector makes that industry vulnerable to structural risks. If any of the major players failed for some reason, that could wreak havoc on China's economy.

"The idea is to have these firms more firmly under Beijing's control so that they can better serve the state when it comes to building the next generation of [the Internet of Things] or financial infrastructure or rolling out the digital [yuan]," Capri said. "All of these actions promote and project Beijing's power."

But it's also a tricky balancing act. While Chinese President Xi Jinping has long favored state-owned firms over private ones like Alibaba and Ant, analysts point out that those state companies are not nearly as adept at driving productivity and innovation as their publicly owned counterparts.

"There are legitimate concerns about financial risks and anti-competitive behavior that justify greater oversight of the tech giants," wrote Julian Evans-Pritchard, senior China economist at Capital Economics, in a research note last week. "But we think a desire to reassert control means that regulators are now swinging too far in the other direction. This threatens to undermine the recent prop to economic growth from rapid productivity gains in the tech sector."

That means Beijing will likely remain careful "not to kill the goose that lays the golden eggs,"said Martin Chorzempa, a senior fellow at the Peterson Institute for International Economics, who researches financial tech innovation in China.

"There is widespread recognition of the importance of the super apps for China's innovation ecosystem, hopes for international influence and status, and its economy," he added.

Fuller of the City University of Hong Kong agreed. If China wants to compete with the West, he said, the country "has to pursue industrial and technology policies in a more efficient manner."

There is "a trade-off between promoting state ownership and innovation," he added.

This story was first published on CNN.com, "Jack Ma's Ant Group was the next big thing. Now it may become just a boring bank."
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Tory MPs lined up with business leaders last night to urge Boris Johnson to be bold and accelerate the lifting of all lockdown restrictions.

Pubs and restaurant owners said they needed to see light at the end of the tunnel after a devastating year for the hospitality industry.

Former Conservative leader Lord Hague heaped further pressure on the Prime Minister by saying there would be little justification for keeping most Covid limits once the over-50s have been vaccinated in April.

Tory MPs lined up with business leaders last night to urge Boris Johnson to be bold and accelerate the lifting of all lockdown restrictions

This came as 40 Tory MPs joined with the hospitality industry to urge Mr Johnson to open pubs and restaurants in time for Easter.

Meanwhile Tim Alderslade, chief executive of Airlines UK, called on the Prime Minister to open up the tourism industry.

There is enormous demand for seeing friends and family, and taking a holiday, he said.

Passengers and airlines want to see a bold plan detailing how and when they will be able to take to the skies, safely, again.

Lord Hague told Sky News: Im hoping to hear that before too long the great majority of restrictions can be lifted.

This came as 40 Tory MPs joined with the hospitality industry to urge Mr Johnson to open pubs and restaurants in time for Easter

If we are going to reach the point where everybody over 50 has had the opportunity to be vaccinated and the number of cases is down to a very low level, the sort of level we last saw in the middle of summer last year.

If both of those things have happened by some time in April, then there wouldnt be much justification for keeping most of the restrictions.

Coming in through 2021, we ought to be in a position with mass testing, a test and trace system and the huge success of the vaccination programme... then we do have the tools to prevent future lockdowns.

Last night the UKs leading hospitality trade associations joined forces with the Covid Recovery Group of 40 Tory MPs to call for the sector to open by Easter.

Mark Harper, CRG chairman, said: Britains hospitality industry has had one of the toughest years on record and its vital we do everything we can to get them open in a Covid-secure way that allows them to protect jobs and operate viably.

As we get better and better news about the pace of the vaccination rollout, the public have got to see this success and their sacrifice translating into a return to normal life.

Steve Baker, deputy chairman of the CRG, said pubs and the rest of the hospitality industry had lost hundreds of thousands of jobs and 40 per cent of its businesses are due to fail this year if we dont start safely lifting restrictions.

Emma McClarkin, chief executive of the British Beer and Pub Association, said: Pubs demonstrated last year that the trade was able to reopen safely.

The millions of pounds of investment in Covid-secure measures mean that were in a great position to do so again.

Kate Nicholls, chief executive of UKHospitality, said just one in five hospitality businesses have enough funds to survive the next month.

That is why we urge the Prime Minister to work with us on delivering a safe, swift and sustainable exit from lockdown for hospitality, she added. The best way to support these businesses is to allow them to reopen.

John Foster, of the Confederation of British Industry, said that companies are looking to Mr Johnson to provide a pragmatic route out of lockdown and inject some real momentum back into the economy.

RANALD MACDONALD: Restaurants are safe... we must let them reopen

Britain has one of the greatest restaurant scenes in the world. It makes this country a uniquely exciting place to live and do business.

You might never have thought about it this way, but our restaurants are a major national asset. And they are on their knees. As are our pubs.

Last year, the hospitality sector lost 72billion in revenue and more than one million jobs, according to the industry body.

Almost 10,000 licensed premises closed permanently as the coronavirus crisis struck at home.

There is no logical reason to delay a full restart for restaurants beyond Easter at the latest, which this year falls on April 4. My frustration would border on despair if this deadline was not met under the Governments cautious road map out of lockdown [File photo]

The first two months of this year, under total lockdown, have been worse than ever, and thousands more pub landlords and restaurant bosses are locked in a desperate fight for survival.

As the proprietor of a London-based group, I have been hoping for weeks that restaurants would be among the first places to open as restrictions were lifted.

It is right for schools to reopen first but once that step has been taken the Government should be looking to revitalise the economy as a whole as soon as possible.

Thanks to millions of pounds of investment in anti-Covid measures and training in social distancing, restaurants and pubs are among the safest places you could visit.

That is why I would urge the Government to be bold. There is no logical reason to delay a full restart for restaurants beyond Easter at the latest, which this year falls on April 4.

My frustration would border on despair if this deadline was not met under the Governments cautious road map out of lockdown.

Thanks to the success of the vaccine programme, we can expect all over-50s to be inoculated against Covid by the middle of April.

As tourism returns, London will need thriving hospitality more than ever. We must get back on our feet right now. If the Government waits beyond Easter to reopen restaurants, for many it will be too late [File photo]

Of course we want to ensure this horrific illness does not spread. The hospitality sector is especially well placed to do that, because we understand, perhaps better than anyone, the importance of hygiene.

I am fiercely proud that there has been not one reported case of anybody contracting Covid at any of the four Boisdale restaurants  neither customers nor staff.

That shouldnt come as a surprise. People sit down to eat, and dont mingle. Cleanliness is at a premium. Staff are trained in the importance of social distancing.

Once we are allowed to leave our homes, I cannot imagine anywhere Id rather be, or where Id feel safer, than in a clean, well run restaurant. To keep them closed is worse than illogical  its perverse.

My 150 staff are like family to me. Some have been with Boisdale for 15, 20, even 30 years. It distresses me to know they are suffering.

The greatest injustice of all is that the service charge, accounting for 20 to 40 per cent of staff remuneration, does not count as salary, meaning many on furlough receive as little as 50 per cent of their income.

And furlough pay is capped at 2,500 per month, which makes life very difficult for senior staff with families and higher outgoings.

Im doing everything I can to support them, but I have no income either. When I recently tried to extend a mortgage myself, I discovered that despite always making my payments on time, Im now seen as a risk. It seems everyone knows the trouble the hospitality sector is in, apart from the Government.

My restaurants are famous for their live music. Im in touch with many of our brilliant, talented musicians  we book about 3,000 a year  and I know many are surviving on universal credit. They too have been abandoned by the Government.

As tourism returns, London will need thriving hospitality more than ever. We must get back on our feet right now. If the Government waits beyond Easter to reopen restaurants, for many it will be too late.
Bamako, Mali (PANA) - The 5 June Movement - Rally of Patriotic Forces (M5-RFP), whose demonstrations are at the root of the coup d'etat perpetrated by a military junta on 18 August against the Malian president, Ibrahim Boubacar Keita, has called for the dissolution of the National Transitional Council (CNT), which serves as parliament, saying it is "illegal, illegitimate and budgetary"
RTHK: British PM unveils roadmap to leave lockdown

British Prime Minister Boris Johnson set out a phased plan on Monday to end England's Covid-19 lockdown, offering a "cautious" approach to try to prevent a return to wholesale restrictions that have hobbled the economy.

Johnson, under pressure to allow more freedoms to millions stuck at home and offer hope to shuttered businesses, said the first stage would prioritise schools returning on March 8 when only minimal socialising outdoors would be allowed.

The so-called roadmap would then pass through four stages, with five weeks in between, and the final step, when most restrictions would be lifted, not starting until June 21 at the earliest.

"There is therefore no credible route to a zero Covid Britain or a zero Covid world. And we cannot persist indefinitely with restrictions that debilitate our economy, our physical and mental well-being, and the life chances of our children," Johnson told parliament.

"And that is why it is so crucial that this roadmap is cautious but also irreversible. Were setting out on, what I hope and believe, is a one-way road to freedom."

With almost 130,000 fatalities, Britain has suffered the world's fifth-highest official death toll from the pandemic and its economy has seen its biggest crash in over 300 years.

With one of the strictest lockdowns and one of the world's fastest vaccine roll-outs, the country may be seen as a test case for governments hoping to reopen economies and return life to some kind of normalcy.

Even with encouraging data after more than two months of domestic vaccinations released on Monday, the British government's cautious approach highlights how slow a process it will likely be for many countries.

Johnson said the fast start to the vaccine roll-out plus a sharp fall in infections now allowed him to set out a cautious easing of England's tough national lockdown, which started on Jan. 5.

As the plan unfolds, lawmakers will have a chance to vote on specific steps. Authorities in Scotland, Wales and Northern Ireland, which are responsible for their own public health, will also ease restrictions over the coming months.

The reopening of schools is expected to help the economy, freeing parents who have had to juggle work and home schooling.

However, any easing of social mixing will initially be limited and the government will ask people to work from home, where they can, for some weeks until it has completed a review into social distancing at some point before June 21.

At the end of March, it is envisaged a small number of people will be able to mix outdoors, but non-essential shops and outdoor hospitality will not reopen until April 12 at the earliest.

Most social contact rules will be lifted outdoors from no earlier than May 17, with all legal limits on social contact possibly being removed from June 21 at the earliest.

Johnson, who was treated in intensive care for Covid-19 last year, faces pressure from politicians in his Conservative Party to restart the economy but also from scientific advisers who fear a resurgence of the virus if he unlocks too quickly.

He has appeared more cautious in recent months than earlier in the pandemic, when he was widely criticised for his eagerness to reopen shops, restaurants, pubs and offices.

"We are in a not very good position, which is getting better," the government's top science adviser Patrick Vallance told reporters.

"The message that comes out of all of the modelling is ... get (infection) numbers down before you start releasing, go slowly, (and) go in blocks that you can measure the effect of after four or five weeks."

England's vaccine campaign is significantly reducing cases, with a drop of around 70% in infections among healthcare workers who have had a first dose of the Pfizer-BioNTech shot, health officials said on Monday.

Britain moved faster than most countries to secure vaccine supplies and has been inoculating people rapidly since December, a strategy that has driven sterling and stock markets higher on hopes of an economic rebound.

Some 17.6 million Britons, over a quarter of the 67 million population, have now received a first dose, behind only Israel and the United Arab Emirates in vaccines per head of population. (Reuters)

This story has been published on: 2021-02-22. To contact the author, please use the contact details within the article.
President Moon Jae-in puts on a face mask during a meeting with senior members of the ruling Democratic Party of Korea at Cheong Wa Dae, Friday. Yonhap



By Jun Ji-hye



President Moon Jae-in has faced calls from the conservative main opposition party to be the first recipient of Korea's administration of AstraZeneca's COVID-19 vaccine, as public concerns have deepened due to the government's inconsistent stance on the matter, leading to questions of its safety and efficacy, especially for the elderly.



In response, some members of the ruling Democratic Party of Korea (DPK) slammed the main opposition People Power Party (PPP) for treating the head of the state as "something to be experimented on."



The political disputes over whether Moon should be vaccinated first came ahead of the start of the government's COVID-19 inoculation program with AstraZeneca's vaccine this coming Friday, and Pfizer's vaccine on Saturday.



Former four-term conservative lawmaker Yoo Seong-min of the PPP said President Moon should receive AstraZeneca's vaccine first to ease public fears.



"As the government and pro-government figures have invited public distrust over the safety of (AstraZeneca's) vaccine, President Moon should receive the shot first, followed by the health minister, drug safety minister and Korea Disease Control and Prevention Agency (KDCA) commissioner, to set an example and dispel worries," Yoo wrote on Facebook, Friday.



President Moon, 68, said during a New Year's press conference that he would "not avoid (receiving the shot first) if somebody needs to set an example."



Yoo's request came at a time when the government's inconsistent attitude over AstraZeneca's vaccine has worsened public concerns over its safety and efficacy.



On Feb. 1, the Ministry of Food and Drug Safety said it reached a conclusion that AstraZeneca's vaccine can be administered to the elderly, noting that significant problems have not been reported, although supporting evidence was seen as somewhat insufficient.



But on Feb. 10, when the ministry approved the use of AstraZeneca's vaccine in Korea, it said whether to administer the vaccine to the elderly should be decided carefully, according to the health condition of each senior citizen aged 65 or older.



This caused confusion among medical personnel and the public, and eventually led the government to postpone the inoculation of AstraZeneca's vaccine to people aged 65 or older.



The KDCA said, Feb. 15, the first group of people who will get AstraZeneca's vaccine will be workers and patients under the age of 65 at geriatric hospitals and nursing homes.



Following Yoo's request, Rep. Jung Chung-rae of the DPK wrote on Facebook, Sunday, "Yoo was insulting the President by treating him as something to be experimented on."



"If the President gets the shot first, you'll claim he enjoys privilege over ordinary citizens. If he has any problems (after getting the shot), you may gloat over it," he wrote.



Jung's comment drew criticism from many, with Kim Geun-sik who heads the PPP's strategy division saying, "Then, do you think citizens deserve to become the subjects of an experiment? Some leaders of other countries have already received shots to dispel public worries."



U.S. President Joe Biden received the first and second dose of the Pfizer/BioNTech COVID-19 vaccine in Delaware, on Dec. 21 and Jan. 11, respectively, when he was president-elect. Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu also received the Pfizer vaccine, Dec. 19, becoming the first Israeli citizen to have been vaccinated.





U.S. President Joe Biden receives the second dose of the Pfizer/BioNTech COVID-19 vaccine at ChristianaCare Christiana Hospital in Delaware, Jan. 11, while he was still president-elect. AFP-Yonhap
A Belfast man charged with the murder of Irish gangster Robbie Lawlor has been plunged into an Orwellian-style nightmare since he was wrongly advised not answer police questions, the High Court heard today.

Counsel for Patrick Teer claimed he wanted to provide an account during interviews, but a previous legal representative cautioned him to remain silent.

Despite arguing that a change in circumstances had been established, the 45-year-old defendant was again refused bail.

Teer, of Thornberry Hill, is facing prosecution over his alleged role in the assassination of Lawlor in Ardoyne, north Belfast last year.

The underworld boss was shot dead in broad daylight on April 4 as part of a deadly drugs feud.

According to police a gunman emerged from 37-year-old co-accused Adrian Holland's house at Etna Drive and opened fire.

Lawlor, 36, died at the scene after being shot in the head and body.

Originally from Dublin, he had been heavily involved in a bitter dispute between rival Drogheda-based factions.

Previous courts were told he may have travelled to Northern Ireland because he feared he was going to be attacked.

Detectives believe Lawlor went to the scene of his killing following a pre-arranged appointment to collect cash.

The still unidentified gunman then escaped in one of two cars parked in the area as suspected getaway vehicles.

Teer and Holland were charged as part of a joint enterprise, based on their alleged involvement in events surrounding the killing.

Evidence in the case centres on telephone cell site analysis, ANPR (Automatic Number Plate Recognition) and CCTV inquiries.

Teer's current legal team told the court today that he had wanted to give an account, but was advised to make no comment by a previous solicitor.

Police then decided not to carry out further interviews despite a newly instructed lawyer "pleading" with them to question him again, it was contended.

Barrister Sean Devine insisted Teer has only become embroiled due to an association with his co-accused.

"This situation has gone disastrously wrong, and it's no fault of the defendant," he submitted.

Drawing a comparison with the works of dystopian writers George Orwell or Franz Kafka, counsel said: "I'm struggling to find the correct literary reference here.

"I don't know whether it's Owellian or Kafkaesque, but he's in this nightmarish scenario where the first time he's ever in trouble in his life he ends up receiving wholly erroneous legal advice.

"He's then told he will be re-interviewed by police and we are in the process of working out those logistics when that rug is taken from under him as well."

Prosecutor Natalie Pinkerton responded that the circumstances do not provide police with any legal power to re-interview Teer.

"He can provide a written account to police and he has failed to do that," she added.

Following submissions Lord Justice Maguire ruled that Teer must remain in custody.

Denying bail, he said: "No sufficient change in circumstances has been established.

"There is a prima facie case currently against the applicant, and we are dealing with serious organised crime."

Novavax has completed enrollment for its late-stage COVID-19 vaccine trial in the US and Mexico, enrolling 30,000 participants, the firm said Monday.

It brings the US a step closer to adding another vaccine to its arsenal, as Novavax has agreed to supply the nation with 100 million doses, which its CEO has said could be delivered by June if all goes well.

Novavax's shot is highly anticipated after it was the first to be proven highly effective against the more infectious B117 variant in the UK, although its efficacy dropped off by 50 percent against the South African variant.

It comes as the Food and Drug Administration's (FDA) advisory committee prepares to meet on Thursday about whether Johnson & Johnson's COVID-19 vaccine should get emergency authorization.

About 13 percent of americans have had one or more dose of currently available vaccines, but the limited supply is one of the factors keeping the rollout from moving faster.

Novavax has now enrolled 30,000 people its COVID-19 vaccine trials in the US and Mexico. It has 118 sites across the two countries, including in Washington state (pictured; file)

Novavax said last month its vaccine was 89.3 percent effective in preventing COVID-19 in a trial conducted in the United Kingdom, and was nearly as effective against the more highly contagious variant first discovered in the UK.

Novavax has deals to produce the two-shot vaccine, which is under real-time review in the European Union, at several manufacturing locations, including the Serum Institute of India.

The company said it has enrolled volunteers aged 18 and above across the United States and Mexico as part of the trial, which is being sponsored by the U.S. Biomedical Advanced Research and Development Authority (BARDA).

The company said 20 percent or 6,000 of the trial participants were Latinx, 13 percent or 3,900 were Black, and another 3,900 were 65 years of age and older.

Last year, the company had expected to enroll at least 15 percent Black or African Americans.

Novavax had previously said it would observe the US trial participants for about six weeks before reviewing results.

However, the plummeting daily COVID-19 infections and transmission rates in the US could slow the process because Novavax will need to see enough infections in it trial to compare how many were in vaccinated versus unvaccinated people.

It took only about a month for Pfizer's trial to go from full enrollment to conclusion.

But by the end of the trial on November 18, the US was seeing about 150,000 new COVID-19 cases a day.

The 7-day rolling average is now less than half of that, with 69,900 new infections being reported a day, according to Johns Hopkins University data.

Experts are also concerned that participants will be tempted to drop out of the Novavax trial, where they have a 50/50 chance of getting a real (but experimental) shot, because they will become eligible to get authorized vaccines from Moderna and Pfizer.

CEO Stanley Erck said last month that the company expects to be able to churn out 150 million doses a month by May or June.

Novavax had also said it was working with the U.S. health regulator to see if it could use the data from UK and South Africa for an authorization.

It did not immediately respond to a Reuters request for comment on its timeline to seek U.S. emergency use authorization.
She is famed for showing off her incredible figure on social media.

And Elizabeth Hurley once again showcased her age-defying beauty in a white triangle bikini on the beach in a throwback picture.

The actress, 55, looked radiant in the snap, taken a year ago in the Maldives, which she shared on Instagram on Sunday.

Wow! Elizabeth Hurley, 55, showcased her age-defying beauty in a white triangle bikini from her swimwear line on a beach in the Maldives in a throwback picture

She looked stunning in the white bikini from her swimwear line which featured a plunging neckline and padding to support her ample cleavage.

The model let her chestnut tresses fall in loose waves over her shoulders as she posed on the white sand.

Elizabeth flashed a smile for the camera as she drew attention to her eyes by wearing a smoky palette of eyeshadow.

The Austin Powers star has been pining for warmer climes, and earlier this month went on a 'pretend holiday', sharing bikini snaps via throwback pictures.

Green with envy: The actress, 55, highlighted her toned physique in a lime green bikini as she sipped on glass of champagne in another sizzling snap

In one shot, the actress highlighted her toned physique in a lime green bikini as she sipped on glass of champagne.

She relaxed on a dock next to palm trees and blue waters wearing just a bikini and a pair of sunglasses.

In another throwback pic from the Maldives, Elizabeth covered her svelte figure in a white crochet beach cover up which she wore over a matching white bikini.

Stunning: She showed off her incredible physique in a snap of her in a bikini and white croquet cover up which she shared with fans on social media

The star posed up a storm but kept her accessories minimal, only carrying a gold bag and a pair of sunglasses and opting for a fresh-faced look.

Last month, Elizabeth kicked off her 'pretend holiday' posted a bikini snap, writing: 'Im so fed up with being at home, Im pretending Im away and am living vicariously through my camera roll for the next 10 days.'

Following dozens of bikini shots, to complete the series, she posed for a glam Instagram snap outside in the snow 'back in Herefordshire'.

Posing in a teal sparkling evening gown with a daring thigh split, her look featured a statement buckled belt, long sleeves and a leopard print design on the inside of the skirt.

Elizabeth opted to leave her chestnut locks falling around her shoulders in waves, paired with smoky eye shadow and rose gloss to highlight her pretty features.

She captioned the post: 'Oooooh.... its heavenly to be back in Herefordshire #letitsnow'


Private memorial and public viewing planned for Frederick KC Price after COVID-19 death

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A private memorial will be held for late televangelist and Crenshaw Christian Center founder Frederick K.C. Price in the wake of his recent death from COVID-19. Supporters and other members of the public will be allowed digital access to the event, Prices family announced Friday.

The family is grateful for the outpouring of love and condolences from around the globe, reads a press statement from the ministry announcing details of the funeral service set for March 6 at 11 a.m. said on Friday.

Before the funeral service, Price will lie in repose for two days for a public closed casket viewing on Thursday, March 4 and Friday, March 5 from 11 a.m. to 5 p.m. on both days at the Crenshaw Christian Center located at 7901 S. Vermont Avenue in Los Angeles.

Prices family announced on Feb. 12 that he died from COVID-19 at age 89 after a weekslong battle with the virus that has killed more than half a million people in the U.S. since a global pandemic was declared last March.

Amid COVID-19 realities, the family is acutely aware and deeply concerned for the safety of others. Strict adherence to all safety protocols is appreciated and will be enforced, the statement said of the public viewing event.

Along with his work at the Crenshaw Christian Center, Price was known as a biblical scholar who authored more than 50 books, including How Faith Works, Golden Nuggets: A Treasury of Wisdom for Both Ministers and Laypeople and Integrity: The Guarantee of Success.

Price founded Crenshaw Christian Center, also known as the Faith Dome, in 1973.

The church building has a seating capacity of 10,000 and is recognized as one of the worlds largest houses of worship. He later established Crenshaw Christian Center East in New York City in 2001.

Dr. Price, like Paul, was an Apostle of the Lord Jesus Christ. He was a true sower  investing in the lives of people by ensuring access to the truth of Gods word for its triumphant application. Despite his full life as a husband and father, he served as a very present mentor to others, the Friday statement continued.

Dr. Price encouraged everyone to know the bible for themselves, and he diligently unpacked its teachings with practical life examples. He often used his personal life as a way for others to learn, peeling back the curtain to expose an early fear of the ocean, having never learned to swim as a young person. He addressed this head on by becoming an excellent certified scuba diver.

Price leaves behind his widow, Betty Ruth Price, to whom he was married for 67 years, and four children: Angela, Cheryl, Stephanie and Fred Price, Jr., who currently leads the Crenshaw Christian Center.

In a recent statement on his fathers death, Price Jr. said watching his father die from COVID-19 was difficult but promised to honor his legacy.

Its appointed for man to die once, I know. But that applies to everyone except you right Daddy? Not my real life superhero. My Ironman without need of the armor. My Thor without need of the hammer. My Superman without need of the sun. Or at least you were supposed to go on your terms. Not like this. You didnt sign up for Covid, he wrote on Facebook.

Okay but you did code three times. You saw glory didnt you Daddy? Yeah you did, and in that moment you said Im staying, theyll be fine. Oooh it hurts to even think that, but I could never be so selfish to the point where Id want you to stay here and be miserable. You deserve to rest from your labors and dwell with the God who loves you more than I ever could. Of course Ill miss the whole of you.

Price Jr. added that his fathers  idiosyncratic attributes, meticulousness, and extreme discipline are a few of the things that made him unique and wonderful.

But now you get to enjoy your promotion Daddy. I will honor and continue your legacy to the best of my ability, he assured.

Prices daughter and church president, Angela Evans, said her father was the consummate family man.

[T]hats one of the hallmarks of his ministry and his life, she said.

Price also leaves behind 10 grandchildren and five great-grandchildren.
By Mao Pengfei

PHNOM PENH, Feb. 22 -- On February 19 and 20, the Cambodian defense ministry sent medical teams to Koh Kong Province in southwest Cambodia to vaccinate 1,200 border and coastal defense officers and soldiers with Chinese COVID-19 vaccines provided by the Chinese military.

The 16th batch of Chinese military medical experts to Cambodia, led by the Military Attache's Office of the Chinese Embassy in Cambodia, went to Koh Kong Province to assist the Cambodian medical personnel.

Cambodian Deputy Prime Minister and Defense Minister Gen. Tea Banh supervised the whole vaccination process. He said that Cambodia is very thankful for China's assistance of the precious vaccines in times of crisis. China not only trained Cambodian medical staff before the vaccination but also assisted in the vaccination sites of Phnom Penh and other places, which truly reflects the deep friendship between the two armed forces.

The Cambodian general expressed that he is very confident in the vaccines provided by the Chinese military and required the Cambodian military to organize inoculation as soon as possible to protect the health of officers and soldiers. The vaccination of Cambodian officers and soldiers with Chinese vaccines set a good example for the Cambodian people and also strengthened the confidence of the Cambodian military in fighting against COVID-19.

The vaccinated Cambodian officers and soldiers said that the pandemic prevention and control task in Cambodian border areas was relatively challenging due to the great pressure from imported cases. They thanked China for donating vaccines specifically to the Cambodian military and believed the Chinese vaccines can provide them with effective protection.

It is learnt that at the request of the Cambodian military and approved by Chinas Central Military Commission (CMC), a batch of COVID-19 vaccines provided by the Chinese People's Liberation Army (PLA) were delivered to the Cambodian military on February 7. The Cambodian military was one of the first foreign troops to receive the PLAs COVID-19 vaccine aid.
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Someone is trying to use the COVID-19 vaccine to try and scam unsuspecting people on the phone. The scam is related to vaccine appointments.

Oakland County is sending out this warning to anyone who may receive a phone like this. The caller first asks people questions in order to schedule a vaccine appointment. The caller then asks for personal and financial information, something that would never be asked of you to give to health officials.

Oakland County will never ask for any financial information including credit card or social security numbers, said Leigh-Anne Stafford, health officer for Oakland County. If you are unsure if it is a scam, avoid sharing any personal information over the phone, and report it to the authorities.

If you receive a call like this and think its a scam or think you may have become a victim, you can report it by calling the non emergency phone number of your local police department or through the Oakland County Sheriffs Office at 248-858-4950.

You can inquire about making a COVID-19 vaccine appointment through Oakland County by calling 800-848-5533 or by clicking here.

Here is a list of COVID-19 vaccine locations throughout Michigan. The Michigan COVID hotline number is: 888-535-6136.

Some tips to avoid being scammed include:

Making a list of contact information for family members, close friends, health providers or anyone who might call regularly. This will help you know if the call is legitimate.

Letting a call go to voicemail if you dont recognize a phone number. Scammers rarely leave messages.

Hanging up if a stranger asks for personal or financial information. It is OK to hang up.

Remembering that government agencies will always identify themselves.

Not sharing any personal information such as your social security number to anyone over the telephone.

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Michigan Secretary of State to launch new online, self-service options in March

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Doctors say a woman in Michigan contracted Covid-19 and died last fall two months after receiving a tainted double-lung transplant from a donor who turned out to harbor the virus that causes the disease  despite showing no signs of illness and initially testing negative.

Officials at the University of Michigan Medical School suggested it may be the first proven case of Covid in the U.S. in which the virus was transmitted via an organ transplant. A surgeon who handled the donor lungs was also infected with the virus and fell ill but later recovered.

The incident appears to be isolated  the only confirmed case among nearly 40,000 transplants in 2020. But it has led to calls for more thorough testing of lung transplant donors, with samples taken from deep within the donor lungs as well as the nose and throat, said Dr. Daniel Kaul, director of Michigan Medicine's transplant infectious disease service.

"We would absolutely not have used the lungs if we'd had a positive Covid test," said Kaul, who co-authored a report about the case in the American Journal of Transplantation.

The virus was transmitted when lungs from a woman from the Upper Midwest, who died after suffering a severe brain injury in a car accident, were transplanted into a woman with chronic obstructive lung disease at University Hospital in Ann Arbor. The nose and throat samples routinely collected from both organ donors and recipients tested negative for SARS-CoV-2, the virus that causes Covid.

"All the screening that we normally do and are able to do, we did," Kaul said.

Three days after the operation, however, the recipient spiked a fever; her blood pressure fell and her breathing became labored. Imaging showed signs of lung infection.

As her condition worsened, the patient developed septic shock and heart function problems. Doctors decided to test for SARS-CoV-2, Kaul said. Samples from her new lungs came back positive.

Suspicious about the origin of the infection, doctors returned to samples from the transplant donor. A molecular test of a swab from the donor's nose and throat, taken 48 hours after her lungs were procured, had been negative for SARS-Cov-2. The donor's family told doctors she had no history of recent travel or Covid symptoms and no known exposure to anyone with the disease.

But doctors had kept a sample of fluid washed from deep within the donor lungs. When they tested that fluid, it was positive for the virus. Four days after the transplant, the surgeon who handled the donor lungs and performed the surgery tested positive, too. Genetic screening revealed that the transplant recipient and the surgeon had been infected by the donor. Ten other members of the transplant team tested negative for the virus.

The transplant recipient deteriorated rapidly, developing multisystem organ failure. Doctors tried known treatments for Covid, including remdesivir, a newly approved drug, and convalescent blood plasma from people previously infected with the disease. Eventually, she was placed on the last-resort option of ECMO, or extracorporeal membrane oxygenation, to no avail. Life support was withdrawn, and she died 61 days after the transplant.

Kaul called the incident "a tragic case."

While the Michigan case marks the first confirmed incident in the U.S. of transmission through a transplant, others have been suspected. A recent Centers for Disease Control and Prevention report reviewed eight possible cases of what's known as donor-derived infection that occurred last spring, but concluded the most likely source of transmission of the Covid virus in those cases was in a community or health care setting.

Before this incident, it was not clear whether the Covid virus could be transmitted through solid organ transplants, though it's well documented with other respiratory viruses. Donor transmission of H1N1 2009 pandemic influenza has been detected almost exclusively in lung transplant recipients, Kaul noted.

While it's not surprising that SARS-CoV-2 can be transmitted through infected lungs, it remains uncertain whether other organs affected by Covid  hearts, livers and kidneys, for instance  can transmit the virus, too.

"It seems for non-lung donors that it may be very difficult to transmit Covid, even if the donor has Covid," Kaul said.

Organ donors have been tested routinely for SARS-CoV-2 during the pandemic, though it's not required by the Organ Procurement and Transplantation Network, or OPTN, which oversees transplants in the U.S. But the Michigan case underscores the need for more extensive sampling before transplant, especially in areas with high rates of Covid transmission, Kaul said.

When it comes to lungs, that means making sure to test samples from the donor's lower respiratory tract, as well as from the nose and throat. Obtaining and testing such samples from donors can be difficult to carry out in a timely fashion. There's also the risk of introducing infection into the donated lungs, Kaul said.

Because no organs other than lungs were used, the Michigan case doesn't provide insight into testing protocols for other organs.

Overall, viral transmissions from organ donors to recipients remain rare, occurring in fewer than 1% of transplant recipients, research shows. The medical risks facing ailing patients who reject a donor organ are generally far higher, said Dr. David Klassen, chief medical officer with the United Network for Organ Sharing, the federal contractor that runs the OPTN.

"The risks of turning down transplants are catastrophic," he said. "I don't think patients should be afraid of the transplant process."

A father of four who sexually assaulted a vulnerable young woman while refurbishing the bathroom in her family home has been jailed for four years.

Judge Pauline Codd said Mujahed Omer (57) had deliberately concocted a ruse to seek the womans assistance in placing fittings under the bath, causing her to lie on the ground, so he could sexually assault her.

The judge described his actions as abhorrent behaviour and opportunistic before she added that he had directed his attention to a vulnerable woman who had grown up in a sheltered environment. She said as Omer had grown up in the same faith, he would have been aware of the innocence of the victim.

This was a gross exploitation of a vulnerable young woman. He exploited her innocence in a most grievous manner, she said.

Judge Codd noted from the 24-year-olds evidence during a trial and in her victim impact statement that she grew up in the Muslim faith in which men did not freely interact with young unmarried women.

She also acknowledged that because of the womans upbringing and religion she would have found such matters very difficult to talk about both in reporting of the incident to her family and gardai and later during her testimony before a jury.

I commend her for her courage in coming forward to make this complaint, Judge Codd said before she noted that the woman had engaged in self-blaming and felt she had brought shame on her family.

There is no blame or shame to be borne on her or her family. The blame and shame are solely on him to bear, Judge Codd said before she said she hopes the woman can move on now.

Judge Codd acknowledged that Omer had no previous convictions and because of the regard in which he was held in his local community the conviction represented a swift fall from grace. She said he still maintains his innocence and has expressed no remorse, before she sentenced him to four years in prison.

Omer of Castlegate Row, Adamstown, Lucan, Dublin, had pleaded not guilty at Dublin Circuit Criminal Court to one count of sexually assaulting the then 21-year-old woman at her family home on August 20, 2017.

He was convicted by a jury following a trial last December and while he accepts that the jury reached that verdict, he still maintains his innocence. He has no previous convictions.

Detective Eoin Twomey told Garrett McCormack BL, prosecuting, that Omer called the woman up to the bathroom to ask for her help in removing nuts and bolts from a tap underneath the bath. He handed her a toothbrush and a bottle of acid.

The acid spilled on the womans stomach area and the woman later said that Omer created an environment of panic before he left the bathroom to go to his car and returned to the bathroom with a cream.

He removed the womans leggings and applied cream to her vagina area before he also instructed her to remove her top.

The woman later reported to gardai that Omer left his hand on her vagina for about three or five minutes before she got up and went into a bedroom. She reported the incident to both her sister and her mother that day.

She said Omer followed her into the room and told her Look what you made me do? I wet myself. The woman said at that time she didnt understand that expression, as she was very innocent in terms of sexual matters. She now understands he meant that he had ejaculated.

The woman read from her victim impact statement that the sexual assault still haunts me today and especially in the middle of the night.

She said often thinks she should not have gone to the bathroom and she should have called her mother.

She said she couldnt talk to anyone about the incident outside of her family and she feels a lot of shame.

The memories will remain fresh to me, the woman said before she agreed with Mr McCormack that she had never been examined in an intimate way before she was assessed at the Sexual Assault Treatment Unit in the hospital following the incident.

She said she no longer trusts her own community and stays away from her local mosque.

Olan Callanan BL, defending, handed in a large number of testimonials on behalf of his client which spoke of his previous good character and the high regard he was held in within his community and his family.

He said Omer moved to Ireland from his native Pakistan in 2003 after seeking asylum here. He spent two years in Mosney, Meath before he was placed in direct provision in Louth. He moved to Lucan in 2008 with his family.

Counsel said his client had a number of medical issues before he added that the conviction has brought great shame in his religion and community, more so maybe than other communities. He asked the court to consider that he will be serving his time in prison as a foreign national.
BEIJING : China on Monday expressed its support for India in hosting this years BRICS summit and said it will work with New Delhi to strengthen the cooperation among the five-member grouping of emerging economies.

India has assumed the BRICS (Brazil, Russia, India, China, South Africa) Chairmanship for 2021 and is set to hold this years summit.

On February 19, External Affairs Minister S Jaishankar launched Indias BRICS 2021 website at the BRICS Secretariat at Sushma Swaraj Bhawan in New Delhi.

Asked about India assuming the BRICS Chairmanship this year, Chinas Foreign Ministry spokesman Wang Wenbin told a media briefing here that Beijing backs New Delhi in hosting the summit.

"The BRICS is a cooperation mechanism with global influence consisting of emerging economies and developing countries. In recent years, it has seen greater solidarity and deeper practical cooperation and greater influence," Wang said.

BRICS is now a positive, stable and constructive force" in international affairs, he said, adding that China attaches importance to this mechanism.

"We are committed to deepening strategic partnership within it to consolidate solidarity and cooperation," Wang said.

"We support India hosting this years meeting and will work with it and other members to strengthen communication dialogue and consolidate the three-pillar cooperation, expand BRICS plus cooperation and work for greater progress under BRICS and also help the world to defeat COVID-19, resume economic growth and improve global governance," he said.

Wang, however, did not specify whether Chinese President Xi Jinping would attend the summit expected to be held later this year.

Xi has attended all the annual summits of the five-member bloc in the past, including the one last year hosted by Russia in which Prime Minister Narendra Modi took part.

Chinas announcement backing India to host the BRICS summit came as the armies of the two countries began disengagement of troops locked in over eight-month-long standoff in eastern Ladakh.

Both countries have reached a mutual agreement for disengagement of troops from the most contentious area of North and South Pangong Lake.

Military commanders of both the armies held the 10th round of talks on the Chinese side of the Moldo/Chushul border meeting point on February 20.

A joint statement issued at the end of a lengthy round of talks said the two sides positively appraised the smooth completion of disengagement of frontline troops in the Pangong Lake area, noting that it was a significant step forward that provided a good basis for resolution of other remaining issues along the LAC in the Western Sector.

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Lori Van Buren/Albany Times Union

The Schenectady massacre ("Church remembers 1690 massacre," Feb. 13) was not a stand-alone event. It should be seen in the context of ongoing wars over the lucrative fur trade in North America.

Algonquian and Iroquoian societies were greatly impacted by the commercial rivalries among the English, Dutch and French powers all seeking dominance. The Native Americans formed alliances with each of the European groups as the so-called Beaver Wars were fought in the 17th Century.
New Delhi: In the run-up to the Kerala Assembly polls, Uttar Pradesh Chief Minister Yogi Adityanath has raised the issue of 'love jihad' in the state.

Flagging off Bharatiya Janata Party's Vijaya Yatra from Kasaragod on Sunday, Adityanath hit out at the state government saying it was doing nothing to curb 'love jihad'.

He said that Kerala high court had called 'love jihad' a part of a conspiracy to make Kerala an Islamic state, but despite that there were no visible efforts to deal with the issue.

"In 2009, a Kerala court said that love jihad is part of a conspiracy to make Kerala an Islamic state. Despite this, the government is sleeping and doesn't care about the conspiracy against Kerala and the country," Adityanath said addressing a party event.

BJP's Kerala president K Surendran was also present at the event.

Adityanath added that the Uttar Pradesh government has made a strict law against 'love jihad'.

Adityanath blamed both the Communist Party of India (Marxist) and Congress for indulging in corruption and creating chaos in the state for political gains.

Adityanath also took a swing at the Sabarimala temple issue and stated that the Left government is working against the interests of the famed Sabarimala temple and it was promoting those who are against culture and tradition.

While addressing the ongoing youth protests against the backdoor appointments done by the ruling government, Adityanath emphasised the fact that in Uttar Pradesh he was able to give jobs to four lakh youth in just four years.

Several party leaders are scheduled to visit the state to take part in the Vijaya Yatra rally in various districts. Union Minister Gen VK Singh, former Maharashtra CM Devendra Fadnavis, Union Minister Pralhad Joshi, Union Minister Nirmala Sitharaman, Union Minister Smriti Irani among others will campaign in the state.

Union Home Minister Amit Shah will be present at the concluding session of the rally in Thiruvananthapuram on March 7.

Live TV
Armenia hopes that long-term peace in Karabakh [(Artsakh)] will be ensured through joint efforts with Russia. Armenian Defense Minister Vagharshak Harutyunyan stated this in an interview with RIA Novosti.

According to him, the Armenian side proceeds from the fact that, first of all, the security of the people of Artsakh shall be ensured by the Artsakh Defense Army. "Of course, there is still a lot to do in terms of restoring the combat-readiness and modernizing of the army. But whatever happens, it must be done. Secondly, Armenia, just like before, remains the guarantor of the security of the people of Artsakh, and we will never give up that historic mission," the minister said.

"Thirdly, the most important thing is the Russian presence in the region, owing to which, first, it was managed to reach a ceasefire and then prevent a humanitarian catastrophe. I believe a long-term peace in the region will be ensured thanks to the efforts of the Russian Federation," Harutyunyan added.
Hundreds of members of the All Progressives Congress in Lagos on Friday crowded into a street in Agege for a sensitisation rally, in clear violation of the states COVID-19 law.

In a video obtained by PREMIUM TIMES, top party members of the party, including Mudashiru Obasa, the speaker of the Lagos State House of Assembly, were in attendance.

The rally held despite the ban on the gathering of more than 50 persons by the Lagos State Infectious Disease law and the COVID-19 Health Protection Regulations recently passed by President Muhammadu Buhari.

Both regulations require that a physical distance of at least two metres shall be maintained at all times between persons and no gathering of more than 50 persons.

The laws also stipulate that persons will not be allowed in any gathering without the use of facemasks and proper washing of hands.

Despite these provisions, many of the APC party members who attended the sensitisation rally had no face masks on and there was total disregard for physical distancing.

The Lagos State government, had in the past, prosecuted people who violate COVID-19 protocols using the Infectious Disease law, including a popular Nigerian actress, Funke Akindele, who was convicted for violating the law.

During the last protest at the Lekki tollgate, the police arrested and charged 40 people to court for failing to comply with the Restriction/Prohibition Quarantine Law which prohibits any social gathering to avoid spreading and contracting of Corona Virus Disease (COVID-19) and thereby committed an offence punishable under Section 5 of the Quarantine Act Q2 Law of Federal Republic of Nigeria.

The police spokesperson in Lagos, Muyiwa Adejobi, said he was not aware of the gathering.

I will find out and revert, Mr Adejobi told PREMIUM TIMES on Friday.

Subsequent attempts to reach him throughout the weekend were unsuccessful; he did not respond to phone calls and text messages.

The gathering

In the video, the crowd at the rally sang in honour of Mr Obasa, who, as Speaker of the House, is the number three man in the Lagos State government.

Despite playing a key role in the passing of the Lagos Infectious Diseases (Emergency Prevention) Regulations, 2020, Mr Obasa addressed the crowd, who flagrantly violated COVID-19 protocols.

Speaking in the Yoruba language, the Speaker said there is a need for them to support the state government and other elected party members.

Let us not fight one another, we need to dwell in love and also support the party, he said in the opening of the video, with the crowd singing his praises.

He also told the party members that the state governor will open the Pen Cinema bridge, which is near completion within the shortest time.

We are hopeful that the Pen Cinema Bridge will bring development to the Agege Constituency. We need to appreciate our governor and also support him because government is for everybody.

We need to support elected officeholders. This bridge, for instance, if we see bad elements in the society trying to damage it, we should do our best to stop them, Mr Obasa said.

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The rally held on Friday, a day when markets across the state were shut to honour Lateef Jakande, the first civilian governor of Lagos State, who passed away last week.

Party speaks

Seye Oladejo, the spokesperson for APC in Lagos, said he was not aware of any rally in the state.

That might be an old video, people post and repost and all that, he told PREMIUM TIMES.

The speaker is too responsible to do something like that. He is the best person to reach out to, but I am not aware of that he said.

Mr Oladejo added that there is no cause for any rally within the party as registration and revalidation of members is ongoing.

When PREMIUM TIMES contacted Eromosele Ebhomele, the Chief Press Secretary to Mr Obasa, he said it was not a rally but an APC party meeting and sensitisation in the Constituency.

Speaking on Mr Obasas presence despite the gathering flagrantly violated COVID-19 protocols, Mr Ebhomele said the Speaker was invited to the meeting like every other person.

It was not the Speaker that organised the meeting, he was only invited.

It was a party meeting and the issue that was discussed is the need for members of the party to go and revalidate their membership, as well as help, get new members into the party, Mr Ebhomele said.

He further explained that because Mr Obasa is a party man and sensitisation held at his constituency, he needed to put up an appearance.

Most of the people at the sensitisation were not even party members, he said.

Civil Society reacts

Olanrewaju Suraju, the Chairperson of the Human and Environmental Development Agenda, said the rally shows the level of impunity going on in Lagos, and a bad representation of the state government, the ruling party. and the police.

This is about the rule of law and equality before the law, there are no two laws and rules for the rich and the poor. There is only one law that guides the society, especially where people have been prosecuted and even convicted, Mr Suraju said.

This is the height of impunity, it is also a very bad representation of the ruling party in Lagos State, the state government and the police command, Mr Suraju said.

Citing examples of Funke Akindele, a popular Nigerian actress and the protesters recently prosecuted for violating COVID-19 protocols, he said if the state goes ahead to prosecute any other person for breaking the law, the sensitisation programme should be the breaking line.

Anybody brought before the law for breaking the protocol, should query and question the credibility of the Lagos State government in prosecuting them if it fails to prosecute not only those who were in attendance, but those who went to the sensitisation rally to address the people and the ones behind the rally.

Some of them, even like the speaker, should have been morally upright to resign from office and tender unreserved apology to Lagosians for the misconduct, Mr Suraju said.

Adeola Soetan, the national coordinator of Democracy Vanguard, said the ruling elites in Nigeria have always played by a different set of rules.

In Nigeria, law is made to be broken by the lawless ruling elites with impunity while the governed pay heavily when they attempt to emulate the elites to break law, Mr Soetan said.

Its a class issue and it exposes the hypocrisy and perfidy of our leaders, who dont live by example.

Mr Soetan condemned Mr Obasas actions, describing it as symptomatic of how arrogant and disrespectful to law and order political leaders can be at all levels of government, cutting across political parties and regions.

We should not forget that COVID-19 protocols were also broken by the presidency during the burial of Abba Kyari, late CoS to President Buhari. The same breach occurred during the marriage ceremony of one of Buharis beautiful daughters. Even Buhari has broken the face mask rule on many occasions.
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All of which explains why Illinois politicians at times have tried to influence the selection of  or limit the tenure of  U.S. attorneys for this states northern, central and southern districts. In a notorious episode from 2001, when Gov. George Ryan and his administration were under federal investigation, U.S. House Speaker Dennis Hastert tried to muscle himself into Sen. Peter Fitzgeralds vetting of candidates for U.S. attorney in Chicago. Peter Fitzgerald outflanked Hastert by publicly recommending an outsider from New York  corruption-buster Patrick Fitzgerald (no relation) as his choice. President George W. Bush accepted the nomination.
YEREVAN, FEBRUARY 22, ARMENPRESS. The Armenian ministry of emergency situations reports that some roads are closed or difficult to pass across the Republic due to weather conditions.

The ministry told Armenpress that the Berd-Chambarak highway, the roads leading to the Amberd Fortress and Lake Kari in Aragatsotn province are closed.

The Vardenyats Pass is difficult to pass for trailer trucks.

The Georgian side reports that the Stepantsminda-Lars highway is open for all types of vehicles.

Drivers are urged to use snow tires.



Editing and Translating by Aneta Harutyunyan
Russian Direct Investment Fund (RDIF), Russias sovereign wealth fund on Sunday announced the approval of the Sputnik V vaccine in the Republic of San Marino to inoculate its population against COVID-19. The Russian jab was approved for the mountainous microstate located in northern Italy under the emergency use authorization procedure, making it the 30 countries to give the Sputnik V approval. San Marino, the oldest state in Europe, has joined 29 other countries around the world where Sputnik V will become one of the key tools in the fight against coronavirus, CEO of the Russian Direct Investment Fund, Kirill Dmitriev stated in an RDIF press release. The vaccine is widely recognized globally by medical professionals and regulatory authorities thanks to its high efficacy, safety, and affordability, he added. Sputnik V is one of the top three vaccines, after Pfizer and Moderna, given the approvals by state regulators worldwide.

The country plans to start a vaccination drive for nearly 34,000 citizens after striking a deal with Russia to procure the Sputnik V consignment in days ahead. Earlier, San Marino signed an agreement for vaccines with Italy, but the supply was hampered due to the critical shortage across many European nations. The fight against coronavirus must not have any geopolitical connotations and must know no borders, Foreign Minister Luca Beccari said in a statement. Small European states like San Marino must be able to ensure a uniform vaccination campaign across their territory, he added. The micro state plans to initiate a mass inoculation campaign in weeks ahead, according to the ministrys statement.

Read: Washington Taps Pastors To Overcome Racial Divide On Vaccine

Read: UN Chief Voices Appreciation For India's Leadership In Fight Against COVID-19, Vaccine Assistance

#RDIF announces the approval of the Russian @sputnikvaccine against #coronavirus by the Ministry of Health of the Republic of San Marino  the worlds oldest constitutional republic. #SanMarino has become the 30th country in the world to approve #SputnikV. pic.twitter.com/Rbu6rXoupz  RDIF (@rdif_press) February 19, 2021

Apart of San Marino, Russian manufactured Sputnik V has been approved in Belarus, Argentina, Bolivia, Serbia, Algeria, Palestine, Venezuela, Paraguay, Turkmenistan, Hungary, the UAE, Iran, the Republic of Guinea, Tunisia, Armenia, Mexico, Nicaragua, Republika Srpska (an entity of Bosnia and Herzegovina), Lebanon, Myanmar, Pakistan, Mongolia, Bahrain, Montenegro, Saint Vincent and the Grenadines, Kazakhstan, Uzbekistan, and Gabon.

SputnikV efficacy

According to the results from the clinical trial of Russia's Sputnik V published in the journal The Lancet, the vaccine is confirmed to be 91.6 percent effective against the SARS-CoV-2 infection. The vaccine, according to the clinical research, is manufactured on a proven and well-studied platform of human adenoviral vectors which provides immunity for a longer duration than the vaccines that deploy a similar delivery mechanism for two-shot dosage. Priced at $10 per shot, the Sputnik V vaccine needs a storage temperature of +2+8 C, meaning the vaccine can be stored in a conventional refrigerator without any additional cold-chain infrastructure costs.

Read: China Approves 16 Locally-made Covid Vaccines For Clinical Trials

Read: Italy Probes Vaccine Scams Even As Officials Court Offers
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SU Aur, a star much younger and heavier than the sun, resembles a flying bird with outstretched wings in space. The star is surrounded by a giant planet-forming disk. This image, taken by the SPHERE instrument on ESO's Very Large Telescope (VLT), shows the disk surrounding SU Aur in unprecedented detail, including the long trails of dust associated with it. Credit: ESO/Ginski et al.

An international team of astronomers including Leiden scientists publishes the image of a young star with a surrounding dust disk that is still being fed from its surroundings. The phenomenon around the star SU Aur may explain why so many exoplanets are not neatly aligned with their star. The European Southern Observatory (ESO) has declared the image "Photo of the Week." The accompanying research appears in Astrophysical Journal Letters.

Heavy and invisible

SU Aur or in full SU Aurigae is a star much younger and heavier than our Sun. It is about 4 million years old and is located about 500 light-years from Earth in the constellation Voerman (Auriga). The star cannot be seen with the naked eye.

An international team of researchers mapped the star and its surroundings very precisely using the SPHERE instrument on the Very Large Telescope. They did so on the night of December 14, 2019 and managed to bring in 55 minutes of data. They then combined their data with previous observations from the Atacama Large Millimeter/ Submillimeter Array (ALMA) and the space telescope Hubble. This created a detailed picture that showed the so-called dust tails.

Dust tails

The dust tails in the new image come from the surrounding nebula that likely formed after the star collided with a huge cloud of gas and dust. By combining the different observations, the astronomers were able to deduce that material is still falling from the nebula and the tails into the dust disk. The researchers also saw that the star and the dust disk in which planets might form are not neatly aligned. They suspect that the material influx is causing this misalignment.

Misaligned

Lead researcher Christian Ginski (University of Amsterdam) explains: "Many mature combinations of stars and exoplanets are already known not to be neatly aligned, but until now it was unknown how this came about. Our new observation shows that the misalignment can already occur in the dust disk where exoplanets are growing."

The researchers will be looking extra closely at SU Aur in the near future to discover if any young exoplanets are orbiting in the dust disk. In addition, the astronomers are focusing their telescopes on 84 more young stars with dust disks. Among other things, they want to find out if there are more cases in which new material from the surroundings is falling onto the dust disk. If so, that could be the main cause of the many exoplanets that are not neatly aligned.

Explore further Astronomers see whirlwind around possible exoplanet in the making

More information: Christian Ginski et al. Disk Evolution Study Through Imaging of Nearby Young Stars (DESTINYS): Late Infall Causing Disk Misalignment and Dynamic Structures in SU Aur, The Astrophysical Journal (2021). Journal information: Astrophysical Journal , Astrophysical Journal Letters Christian Ginski et al. Disk Evolution Study Through Imaging of Nearby Young Stars (DESTINYS): Late Infall Causing Disk Misalignment and Dynamic Structures in SU Aur,(2021). DOI: 10.3847/2041-8213/abdf57
No Action Taken On Beshear, AG Impeachments

By The Associated Press





FRANKFORT - A legislative panel took no action Monday on impeachment petitions pending against Kentuckys governor and attorney general.The committee chairman, Rep. Jason Nemes, said the petitions were discussed during an executive session but the panel reached no final resolution. Nemes didnt immediately schedule another meeting.Two citizens petitions against Gov. Andy Beshear have been dismissed but another is pending stemming from his coronavirus-related orders.Another petition calls for Attorney General Daniel Camerons impeachment. That petition includes grand jurors who criticized his handling of the investigation into Breonna Taylors shooting death.Beshear and Cameron say the petitions against them are meritless.
The U.S. death toll from COVID-19 passed 500,000 on Monday, after a surge of cases across the entire country that began in the fall and has ebbed in recent weeks.

President Biden has ordered the flag at the White House lowered to half-mast, and will participate in a candle-lighting ceremony in honor of the victims on Monday evening. The Washington National Cathedral rang its bell 500 times, one for every 1,000 victims.

We, as a Nation, must remember [the victims] so we can begin to heal, to unite, and find purpose as one Nation to defeat this pandemic, Biden said in a presidential proclamation remembering those who died of the disease.

The U.S. has recorded over 28 million cases of coronavirus since the pandemic began, or 8.5 percent of the countrys population.

The number of new reported cases has declined dramatically in recent weeks, from a peak of over 300,000 on January 8 to about 52,200 new cases recorded on February 21. Meanwhile, the U.S. continues to administer between one and two million doses of coronavirus vaccines per day, although the pace of vaccinations has leveled off according to the Bloomberg coronavirus vaccine tracker.

More from National Review
On February 4, 2021, New York became the first state in the nation to issue a cybersecurity insurance risk framework to all authorized property and casualty insurers. In releasing the framework, New York's Department of Financial Services (DFS) said that "[f]rom the rise of ransomware to the recently revealed SolarWinds-based cyber-espionage campaign, it is clear that cybersecurity is now critically important to almost every aspect of modern lifefrom consumer protection to national security."

The framework applies to all property or casualty insurers that write cybersecurity insurance. However, the DFS wants all insurers, even though those that don't offer cybersecurity insurance, to "still evaluate their exposure to 'silent risk' and take appropriate steps to reduce that exposure."

DFS advises against paying ransom demands

Noting that ransomware insurance claims jumped by 180% from 2018 to 2019 and doubled from 2019 to 2020, DFS advised insurers to not make ransomware payments for three reasons:

The US Treasury Department's Office of Foreign Assets Control (OFAC) warns of the national security implications of paying a ransom, saying that insurers can be liable for ransom paid to sanctioned entities. Even if insurers do pay a ransom it does not guarantee the victims will get their encrypted files or stolen data back. Many insurers are not yet able to accurately measure cybersecurity risk. Without that gauge, cyber insurance can therefore have the perverse effect of increasing cyber riskrisk that will be borne by the insurer."

For comparison, the damaging NotPetya malware unleashed by the Russian government in 2017 led to $3 billion in insurance claims, of which insurers paid $2.7 billion under policies that were silent about cybersecurity risks, DFS states.

The framework itself is short and spells out a series of practices to help insurance companies manage their risk. These practices fall under seven categories:

Establish a formal cyber insurance risk strategy Manage and eliminate exposure to silent cyber insurance risk Evaluate systemic risk Rigorously measure insured risk Educate insureds and insurance producers Obtain cybersecurity expertise Require notice to law enforcement

Significant underwriters already following DFS recommendations

Major carrier-underwriters such as AIG and Zurich have mostly been following these recommendations already, says Meredith Schnur, managing director, US cyber brokerage leader at Marsh USA. "This DFS guidance absolutely makes a ton of sense, but the underwriters have already been implementing [similar] practices and procedures to try to get in front of the challenge of ransomware," she says.

New York could lead the way for other states and even the federal government to implement similar frameworks. "You will see some states piggyback and copycat in their own way. On some of these practices, you will see federal guidelines. But New York is unique, and they're unique from a financial services perspective," given the state's status as the financial hub of the United States, Schnur says.

SolarWinds remediation costs could be high

SolarWinds, which installed malicious backdoors in potentially thousands of organizations, is an example of a "systemic risk" that could damage many insureds simultaneously, potentially swamping insurers with massive and possibly unsustainable costs. The DFS said when releasing the risk framework that it is still assessing the cost of the espionage campaign but "given the number of impacted organizations the total remediation costs are likely to be substantial."

The callout to SolarWinds in the DFS framework "highlights that underwriting companies should be managing their risks, their exposure to systemic events," Brent Rieth, US practice leader, E&O and Cyber Liability of AON, tells CSO. "It's important for them to be thinking about that as they consider exposing their capital by offering insurance to such a wide range of insureds."

Most of the expenses incurred in SolarWinds remediation to date are the events management or crisis management expenses that arise in the investigatory stage of remediation. These costs include finding out "where it was, how it got in, where it could be, where it could go, is there any kind of data exfiltration, has there been any access to any data," Schnur says. "It's way too early in the process to even get any sense of the numbers."

"At a minimum, those companies are likely going to engage breach counsel, an incident response firm, to help them conduct an investigation," Rieth says. "They may opt to notify law enforcement. There are costs associated with even those initial steps."

"I say it's early to tell [what the total costs might be], depending on what's discovered during the investigative process. I would go so far as saying that we won't know the full effect from a loss perspective for quite some time."

Insurers already eyeing SolarWinds exclusions

Underwriters began posing questions about SolarWinds around January 1, Schnur says, asking organizations if they were affected, if they were remediating any infections and if they were conducting investigations. Some underwriters have honed in on SolarWinds, including firms that range from the smallest to the largest underwriters.

They ask questions, and "if the questions do not come back satisfactory, there are exclusions placed on policies. That's what we see six to eight weeks out from the incident." These exclusions are very broad brush saying that any future claims related to, or based upon, or arising out of SolarWinds would not be covered under the policy.

"From a broker's perspective, it is problematic to have exclusionary wording on policies going forward," Schnur says. "If we're going to accept an exclusion, we're going to narrow it as much as we possibly can."

"We've seen a few exclusions proposed by insurers," Rieth says. "I don't know that we've placed many or any policies with that exclusion actually added or a similar exclusion added."

The big concern about any SolarWinds-type exclusion is the precedent it would set. "I think there could be some longer-term implications in terms of the language being somewhat precedent-setting, something that could be replicated for the next type of a SolarWinds event, whatever that may look like," Rieth says.

"If it says anything resulting from, arising out of, or related to the SolarWinds Orion vulnerabilities, that's where you start to get into problems. Because it could be that the threat actor is the common threat element, maybe it's something somewhat unrelated to the use of their software. But because it's the same threat actor using a similar tactic, say, utilizing back doors to access an environment, that could be considered related. Those are the problems anytime we're introducing sweeping exclusions that could prevent the policy from performing the way the insured expects it to," Rieth warns.
Renee Watson grew up in Northeast Portland, and the acclaimed author and poet has built a sterling career putting the experiences of Black girls and women at the center  and on the cover  of books sold around the country.

On the latest episode of Beat Check with The Oregonian, Watson spoke with Amy Wang, the books columnist for The Oregonian and OregonLive.

They talked about Watsons newest book, Love is a Revolution; her writing process, how Watson, who splits time between Portland and New York City, has been unable to visit the Rose City since the pandemic hit, how she decides to create her characters, what other projects she has in store and much more.

Watson is also the coauthor of the 2020 book Watch Us Rise, and the second book in her middle-grade Ryan Hart series, which is set in Portland, comes out in April. Shes a Newbery Honor and Coretta Scott King Book Award-winning author.

Heres the full episode.

Subscribe to Beat Check on Apple Podcasts, Google Podcasts, Spotify, Stitcher or wherever you listen to podcasts.

Episode transcript

This is a rush transcript produced primarily through voice-to-text software. It may contain inaccuracies and may be updated or revised. Time notations are approximate.

Andrew Theen: [00:00:00] Renee Watson grew up in Northeast Portland, and the acclaimed author and poet has built a sterling career putting the experiences of Black girls and women at the center -- and on the cover -- of books sold around the country. Im Andrew Theen, and this is Beat Check with The Oregonian. Up next, a conversation between Watson and Amy Wang, the books columnist for The Oregonian and OregonLive.

They talked about Watsons newest book, Love Is a Revolution; her writing process; how Watson, who splits time between Portland and New York City, has been unable to visit the Rose City since the pandemic hit; how she decides to create her characters; what other projects she has in store; and much more.

Watson is also the coauthor of the 2019 book Watch Us Rise, and the second book in her middle-grade Ryan Hart series, which is set in Portland, comes out in April.

Heres their conversation.

Amy Wang: [00:01:00] I am here this morning with Renee Watson, a Portland-raised author of childrens books and young adult novels. Good to be with you, Renee.

Renee Watson: [00:01:10] Thanks for having me.

Amy Wang: [00:01:11] We are talking today about your latest novel, Love Is a Revolution.

Renee Watson: [00:01:16] Yes, its a young adult novel. Im very excited about it. Its been a great first week of it being out in the world and been really nice to get everybodys respond and share it with young people.

Amy Wang: [00:01:29] Congratulations, by the way. So I want to put Love Is a Revolution and a little bit of context for people who arent familiar with your work. So how do you prefer to describe yourself as an author? I mentioned childrens books and young adult novels, but you occupy a certain niche.

Renee Watson: [00:01:45] Yeah. I mean, I, I describe myself as a writer.

I write across genres, so right now I am publishing a lot of books for young readers that range from picture books all the way to young adult novels. I also write poetry and short stories and plays. So Im a writer, and it just depends on how the story wants to come out. And then I figure out what it should be if it should be a poem or a picture book, or, you know, a longer form novel. I think my background in working with young people has influenced a lot of the books that Im writing lately, but one day I hope the right adult as well.

Amy Wang: [00:02:24] Oh, that would be great.

Renee Watson: [00:02:27] Thanks.

Amy Wang: [00:02:28] So what inspired you to write Love Is a Revolution?

Renee Watson: [00:02:32] So I had just finished writing and working on Watch Us Rise, which I co-wrote with Ellen Hagan, whos a great friend of mine and also a poet and novelist herself. And in that book, our main characters are very bold and brave and theyre using their art to stand up for what they believe in and to fight injustice on a large community scale, and also at the school. And theyre just kind of these idealist, young, budding activist girls.

And I know those girls. Ive worked in schools with young people who are like that. I also know the young people who are on the sidelines watching that happen and who are not quite ready to stand up and use their voice in that way, or who may never want to use their voice in that way. So I was just thinking about the quieter young woman who is definitely someone who cares about her community but is just showing up for her community in a different way.

So I wanted to explore this idea of the many ways we can be activists. What does it mean to show up for the people you love and care about? And then also, how does that look in a loving, romantic relationship? Like how do we love ourselves? How do we love our community? And how do we love our significant others as well?

So the book is a love story of all sorts of love, and the layers are self love, community love, and then loving your family and friends.

Amy Wang: [00:04:04] Yeah, I really enjoyed how two of your main characters -- your protagonist, Nala, and her cousin-sister-friend, Imani -- they really epitomized a tension between going out and doing good for your community, but not sacrificing your own family.

Renee Watson: [00:04:24] Yeah. I think balance is really hard for adults, right? And so when I think about young people who are trying to navigate, what does it mean to show up in the world and be engaged? And if Im an activist and- do I have to talk a certain way, dress a certain way, do certain activities? What can I still enjoy?

You know, theres all these kind of rules that I think, especially when youre young, you feel like you have to do in order to prove that youre down for the movement or down for the cause. And so Nala is trying to figure out, well, where does she fit? And what is the balance of that? Like, how can I, how could I ever walk past a neighbor on my way to go make a speech and talk to hundreds of people when I cant even say hello to my next door neighbor or the person across the street? So shes thinking about on the smaller scale, you know, how can I show love and show that I care? And Imani is very much big picture, you know, protest, speeches, activities, events. And they kind of hopefully balance each other out and come to an understanding of each persons standpoint and point of view.

Amy Wang: [00:05:36] Yeah, it was so interesting to me to meet a character who didnt want to be that woke girl, but then comes to realize there are- theres more than one way to be woke.

Renee Watson: [00:05:48] Yes. Yes. I like, you know, Nala is very, shes flawed. And shes, shes, shes probably one of the most, you know, kind of down-to-earth, relatable, recognizable characters that I have spent some time with.

She is, she makes a lot of mistakes. You know, the, the premise of the story is that she reluctantly goes to this open mic night with her cousin-sister-friend, and her cousin of the part of this activism group. And she goes, and then she meets Tye, the very handsome, very nice guy who is so serious, as well, about his activism.

So she tells lies to impress him and then just gets caught up in her lie. Like shes pretending that she volunteers and shes there, shes a vegan or vegetarian, like shes making up all these, you know, different scenarios and changing her hair, all of, all of that to fit in to what she thinks hes going to want her to be.

And then she has to realize, well, look, if I, if Im going to love anyone else, I have to first love myself and take care of myself. And I just think about all the young people, maybe its not with activism, but theres ways in which we change ourselves to fit in and to kind of you know, be liked and to be accepted by groups.

And were, some of us are afraid to say the wrong thing, or is it problematic to listen to this song or to like this particular kind of art? And so shes yeah, shes trying to figure out, can I still be me and be a person who cares about whats happening in the world? And what does that mean?

What is the balance of holding onto your identity while also being open to change and evolving?

Amy Wang: [00:07:38] It feels really relevant. I think a lot of people are really, you know, not just teenagers, are really struggling with that in this moment.

Renee Watson: [00:07:46] Yeah, I think it is a conversation Ive been having a lot with, with friends, with family, with educators, you know, where everyone is thinking about, like, who are you in this world? And how do you want to show up in the world? Who do you want to be? And also, how do you, I think that a lot of what weve been talking about to kind of on a fuller national conversation is this idea and notion of self care and self love. And how do we accept our bodies? How do we accept all of who we are?

And if you want to change something, is it because you want to? Or is it still, youre not good enough so you need to change? And shes also showing that in the story, her full whole self. Shes a plus-size girl, dark skinned, Black girl who lives in Harlem. And I really wanted her to come to the story already okay with how her body is and what she looks like. And that the thing that shes working on is not about changing that, but actually changing who she is, not what she, what she looks like, but who she is, the essence of herself. And what does that kind of self-love and self-care look like?

So Ive been thinking a lot about that in working with young girls and talking about beauty standards and you know, all of that, just wondering, how do we help young people accept themselves and critique, you know, their own self and say, okay, I like this about me, but this is something I really do want to work on and I really do want to change, and not because a magazine is telling me that I should, but because I want to, you know? Shes kind of dealing with that as well.

Amy Wang: [00:09:29] Yeah. Its a relief almost to see a teenage girl protagonist who isnt obsessed with improving her looks, but is very comfortable with them.

Renee Watson: [00:09:40] Yeah, it was important than me. I mean, Ive certainly written, you know, about girls who are battling low self-esteem and trying to figure out, you know, who they are, and they hide their bodies and are ashamed of them and they come into their own. But I also know that young women who are very confident and just fine, and dont make excuses or apologies for their bodies.

And I also really wanted there to be more than one big girl in the book. So Nala is a big girl. Her cousin is big, her aunties and her mother. You know, I really wanted the book to reflect the world I know, and the world that I live in, and there are, theres body diversity in the world, and everyone doesnt show up looking the same way.

And so I was also trying to kind of break some of the tropes of romantic comedies where the person who gets the guy in this is match a typical main character love interest. And what does that mean for, to let her show up without apology and, and be the beautiful one and the center of the story?

That was very important to me. So Im very proud of, of that. And Im proud of the cover. You know, she is fly, beautiful, strong, and not, you know, looking sad or downtrodden or anything like that. And so I, I really appreciate that my publisher was also kind of all, we were all on the same page of just like making sure that Nala is presented as a girl who is confident in who she is.

Amy Wang: [00:11:19] I was going to mention the cover. Its just a lovely cover. And it addresses that self-confidence and the relationship you just mentioned.

Renee Watson: [00:11:27] Yeah, I think, you know, representation is important. It matters. And the more we can normalize girls like Nala being on the cover and being the love interest and not trying to fix or change anything about herself, I think thats a good thing. And Im excited that young adult literature is embracing this kind of movement, I feel, to have real bodies on covers. You know, I think the industry at large, publishing, movies, television, all of it, the arts at large, we have a long way to go, but it is encouraging to see that this is becoming more and more of the norm to see like real, what real girls look like being on covers.

Amy Wang: [00:12:13] Yeah, one thing thats always stood out to me about your work is that it epitomizes that philosophy of windows and mirrors providing, providing readers with windows and of, into other peoples lived experiences or mirrors to their own lived experience. How much do you work to center that fall philosophy in your work or does that happen more organically?

Renee Watson: [00:12:34] Its both. I dont- I feel like its probably an equal balance. I mean, I love- Rudine Sims Bishop, the woman who kind of coined that phrase and that idea of having books that young people can look into and see their own reflection right? So first and foremost, yes, I am writing for Black girls. Im writing a lot of my books take place in the Pacific Northwest. I want to make sure our stories are on record.

So theres that aspect of mirror, and then, yeah, Im definitely thinking of, well, what about the kids who look at the cover and they dont look like Nala. What does that mean for them? And hoping that they have some empathy and insight into what Nalas world is.

And of course, you know, we all know as adults, especially, stories bring us closer together. And the more I learn about you, I realize, oh, I might not have been through that exact thing that youve gone through, but I can relate to the themes of loss, pain, and security, love, you know, failing, trying again. All of that kind of stuff.

And so I think Im always, you know, keeping my readers at the forefront of my mind and hoping that everyone who comes to this story will fit in, in some kind of way. Either seeing who they are and their community, or being able to learn about somebody elses.

Andrew Theen: [00:14:01] Lets take a break and come back and hear more of Amy Wangs conversation with Renee Watson, a New York Times bestselling author. Watson grew up in Portland and graduated from Jefferson High School.

Amy Wang: [00:14:16] You mentioned keeping your readers at the forefront. Can you talk about your writing process a little? Do characters or plot come first for you or something else entirely?

Renee Watson: [00:14:26] Usually characters come first. This is the first book that I had the plot before I really knew who Nala was. So I immediately, like, I knew that I needed a break also from writing some of the more serious books that I do write. You know, I have written a lot about the intersections of race, class, and gender, and they tend to be a little heavier. And then I, you know, I pour my heart out and then have to go on book tours. And so Ive been, for many years straight, having very intense conversations about race and class and, and its been wonderful talking to educators, young people, parents.

But I also wanted to focus on Black joy and just have you know, a nuanced story where its not necessarily where her Blackness is a struggle or its about overcoming any kind of social issue in that way. So I knew I was going to write a love story, and this girl is in a lie and the lie is going to get out of control and then, you know, well see what happens.

And thats the first time that Ive ever, I kind of had the ending, everything came to me all at once. And then I had to go back and think, now who was Nala? And how can I make her likable? Because you know, she is being very untruthful. So usually you dont like that character in a book, so I had to go back and really think about, well, what is, why is she lying? And what is- what are her fears, and what are, what is she passionate about? You know, and I kind of went from there.

But most of the time I really start with the character first. So I make a lot of lists. I ask myself questions, I ask the character questions, and I usually start off with just making a list of themes that I want to write at some point.

And I kind of interview my character and I ask her, who are you afraid of? Who makes you smile? What do you want? Whats in the way of what you want? You know, I get those answers going. And then once I feel like I know the character, I started writing, and I go back to that list. If I get stuck and Im like, oh, this is a horrible writing day, I dont know what to do, this scene is going nowhere, Ill, Ill go to that list that I wrote when I was so excited about the book and feeling all the energy, and then Ill maybe free-write one of the scenes and add it in maybe. And sometimes I dont, but if I just try to practice the muscle of writing every day.

Amy Wang: [00:16:55] Hmm. Yeah. Thats, thats what you hear all the time with writing advice. The main, the first step is to do it every day.

Renee Watson: [00:17:02] Yeah. Even if its just short. I mean, you know, with my schedule, if Im traveling or have a lot of events, I might only be able to write it for 30 minutes and that- you can get a lot done in 30 minutes, though.

So I set a timer and write, usually early in the morning, so I could just, okay, I did it. And then if I can go back, you know, and do more work throughout the day, I will. But there are definitely some days where it is coming out very slow and its not flowing in the way that I wanted to, but I am committed to being disciplined.

Even when the inspiration isnt there so that if the inspiration sites, you know, thats the best thing. Thats a great feeling. But if it doesnt, I have worked just the muscle of being disciplined to write.So Im able to still push through and get pages out, even if it doesnt feel like the most empowering writing session.

Amy Wang: [00:17:59] Sometimes its just a matter of getting the rust out of the carburetor.

Renee Watson: [00:18:03] Yeah, thats so true. And, and, you know, I found that especially young writers, the real writing happens in revision. So if I can just get the first draft out, you know, then I can go back and be the writer, like in the first draft and kind of the storyteller. And Im just telling the story. And it might not be coming out in these beautiful, poetic sentences or anything like that, but I got to just get to the ending so I know what Im working with.

And then I can go back and really be a writer and figure out, okay, Ive told the story. Now let me go back and figure out how to tell it better and stronger.

Amy Wang: [00:18:43] Well, you mentioned traveling a few moments ago. You grew up in Portland, but youre still, and youre now living in New York. Youre still coming back to Portland often, or has that changed in the past year, given the pandemic?

Renee Watson: [00:18:55] So, yeah, I use, I split my time between Portland and New York. Im usually in Portland, I dont know, anywhere from five months to sometimes even more than that- a year. So I was so sad this past year, 2020, of not being able to come home. I miss my family. I mean, you know, we have FaceTime and Zoom and all of that, but theres nothing like just being home.

So I havent been back since I think the last time I was, there was literally a year ago. This time last year, right before everything kind of went on lock down, I was honored at Jefferson High School, actually. They named, or they put my name on one of the classrooms that I, I took English in C13, Linda Christiansens classroom.

It was a beautiful ceremony for that, and I got to meet students, and, and then I told my family, I will see you in April becausd we were on lockdown a few weeks after that.

Amy Wang: [00:20:08] Im sorry, its been a tough time with not seeing family for lots of us.

Renee Watson: [00:20:13] It has been, yeah. Its- you know, its interesting. Theres been so much loss and so much turmoil in this last year, even. And I remember I was revising Love Is a Revolution and the summer came with all of the protests and the fighting and the outcry that Black Lives Matter.

And here I am writing this romantic comedy. And I really was like, hmm, maybe I should change what Im doing. Like this isnt, this doesnt feel right. Like I write realistic fiction. I gotta keep it real. It needs to be writing about whats happening. And then I, I have to remind myself that, you know, joy is happening too. And love is happening too. And teenagers are teenagers. And while this is happening, they are also falling in love and, you know, making their playlists and going on TikTok and all of that. So I wanted to also honor that moment that it, even in the midst of all the heaviness, that there still is some joy.

And so I was actually really refreshing. So right during the pandemic, at first it was very intimidating and I, it was heavy, but as I just kept pushing through and letting those, the characters live in this joy and in their world of everydayness, you know, it was very healing for me to kind of take a break from, from writing the serious stuff and letting young people just be kids. So that helped me get through the pandemic as well.

Amy Wang: [00:21:52] Well, that sounds like a nice way to get through the pandemic, honestly.

Your novels frequently do have that Portland/Pacific Northwest setting, as you mentioned. I think, correct me if Im wrong, this is your second novel set entirely in New York, though.

Renee Watson: [00:22:11] Yeah, it is. I, yeah, it just felt right that this is a Harlem story. Nala is Jamaican American. I am too, and Ive never had a character also have roots connected to Jamaica.

And so I just was thinking about the culture here in Harlem and the young group of teen activists that I know here in the city. And so I was like, yeah, I think it makes sense to place her in Harlem. So yeah, I, normally- I mean, I try to write what I know, and Ive lived here long enough now where I do feel comfortable placing characters in New York City. Whereas when I first moved here, I was still learning it so much that it didnt feel like, okay, I know the rhythm. I know, you know, the city. But now that Ive been here -- I dont know, its been, oh goodness, I think 15 years maybe? Yeah. I feel like I can write about it now from a place of knowing and not second guessing or having to do too much research.

Amy Wang: [00:23:17] Well, were still looking forward to more Portland-set stories from you, like Ryan Harts series. Is that continuing now?

Renee Watson: [00:23:25] Yes. So in April we will have book two of the Ryan Hart series. Its called Ways to Grow Love, and we get to meet her baby sister in this point of the, of the series and see Ryan being a big sister and trying on that role and also going on a camping trip and having to deal with some more friendship woes with Ray and Amanda and KiKi, and doing her little shenanigans to, you know, get back at her brother or to have shenanigans and things like that at the camping trip. So it was again fun to write a character who just gets to be a little fun and low key and playful, and really sweet. Ryan is such a sweet character, and Ive really enjoyed putting her in different situations and seeing how she gets herself out of them.

Amy Wang: [00:24:26] Yes. Thats- and, and as a middle grade series, its, its a little different too, from what, what youre, what youre otherwise doing.

Renee Watson: [00:24:34] Yeah. My personal writing goal is, is to have a range. I definitely want, even within my body of work, that they will be nuanced and diverse stories about the many ways young people exist in the world and especially the many stories of the Black community.

And so even in thinking about Portland as a product of Northeast Portland -- that is home for me, that is where I grew up -- you know, I know, like Jade from (Watsons 2017 book) Piecing it Together, I absolutely know that story. Of feeling invisible and wanting to be seen and having people judge you because of the neighborhood theyre from. You know, I went to Jefferson. There were lots of stereotypes about that school and about Northeast Portland. I know Maya and Nikki from (Watsons 2015 book) This Side of Home, you know, gentrification in Portland.

But I also know Ryan, who just playing outside and being so loved and nurtured by her teachers and the community and her church. You know, I went to Vernon Elementary School, where Ryan goes, and I know Alberta Park very well ,and Antioch Missionary Baptist Church was the church I grew up in.

And so I also just wanted to honor that too, where there was so much love and support for me as a young person. Some of my favorite memories of living in Portland as a kid, whether we would be outside playing and, you know, the neighbors knew you, they were looking out for you. They would step in if you were cutting up and doing what you shouldve been doing.

And I just, I want to make sure that I tell that part, too. You know, if Im going to critique Portland and ask people to examine the issues that Portland has, I also want to celebrate Portland and talk about the beauty thats there. In this book, Ryan learns about roses and what thorns are for on a rose.

And I just think about that metaphor of Portland being the City of Roses and that its beautiful, and that it has its thorns. And as a writer, I want to do both, and Ryan and that series gives me kind of that moment to pause and just celebrate and, and also that a Black girl in the Pacific Northwest be seen and visible and playing in the rain and going camping and enjoying the beauty that is Oregon, too.

So, in this next book, she gets to get out of the city of Portland and on this camping trip, so its kind of my love letter to Portland as well.

Amy Wang: [00:27:13] Well, you mentioned just a few moments ago, Piecing Me Together. Did I read somewhere that theres a screen adaptation coming up?

Renee Watson: [00:27:21] Its coming. Yeah. You know, its announcement came right before the lockdown. So nothing has happened yet, but yes, it is. It is being options to be a film through HBO and their new streaming service. So yes, hopefully soon well have more updates and news about that.

Amy Wang: [00:27:43] All right. Well, Renee, I appreciate this conversation with you.

Renee Watson: [00:27:49] Thank you so much.

Andrew Theen: [00:27:54] Thanks for listening to Beat Check with The Oregonian. I shared a link to Renee Watsons website in the episode notes. Watson will be appearing remotely at Powells Books March 3 at 5 p.m. If you like this show, leave us a five-star rating and review on Apple Podcasts, and tell a friend. The best way to support our journalism is with the subscription to oregonlive.com. You can do that at oregonlive.com/podsupport.

Until next time.

 Andrew Theen; atheen@oregonian.com; 503-294-4026; @andrewtheen
PERTH, Australia and NEW YORK, Feb. 22, 2021 /PRNewswire/ -- PYC Therapeutics (ASX: PYC), a biotechnology company developing a new generation of precision RNA therapeutics to change the lives of patients with inherited diseases, today announced updates to its programs and outlined its 2021-2022 corporate objectives. PYC is initially targeting inherited ocular diseases, for which it has three preclinical candidates in development.

"This year we are focused on transforming PYC Therapeutics into a U.S.-based, clinical-stage biotechnology company, including making significant advances in moving our three preclinical inherited ocular disease programs toward the clinic and leveraging our RNA platform to create new development candidates in both ocular and neurodegenerative diseases," said Sahm Nasseri, U.S. Chief Executive Officer of PYC Therapeutics. "We have previously highlighted the importance of building out PYC in the U.S. and I am pleased with our progress and external engagements we have been able to have over the last few months. These engagements with banks, potential future investors as well as potential partners have validated the importance and relevance of PYC's technology as well as our choice in initial drug development programs. RNA therapeutics and ophthalmology remain top areas of interest in the very active US biotech capital markets. On this foundation, I believe we are very well positioned to deliver on the promise of our science to advance RNA medicines that have the potential to change the lives of patients with inherited diseases."

2021 Objectives and Program Updates

Corporate Initiatives: In late 2020, PYC began its transformation from an Australia-based, discovery-focused organization into a U.S.-based, clinical-stage biotechnology company that is well positioned to deliver on several key milestones during 2021.

Expand U.S. Management Team. Last year, PYC appointed Sahm Nasseri as U.S. Chief Executive Officer and world-renowned RNA therapeutics pioneer Sue Fletcher , PhD as Chief Scientific Officer. The Company's Chief Business Officer, Kaggen Ausma has relocated from Australia to the U.S. to lead PYC's business and corporate development growth initiatives. In the first half of 2021, PYC expects to name several new leadership team members, including a Chief Development Officer and a Chief Financial Officer, and appointment of U.S. based and industry experienced Directors. The talent, capability and credibility these appointments will bring to PYC will be critical enablers of the Company's continuing transformation.





Last year, PYC appointed as U.S. Chief Executive Officer and world-renowned RNA therapeutics pioneer , PhD as Chief Scientific Officer. The Company's Chief Business Officer, Kaggen Ausma has relocated from to the U.S. to lead PYC's business and corporate development growth initiatives. In the first half of 2021, PYC expects to name several new leadership team members, including a Chief Development Officer and a Chief Financial Officer, and appointment of U.S. based and industry experienced Directors. The talent, capability and credibility these appointments will bring to PYC will be critical enablers of the Company's continuing transformation. Expand U.S. Development Capabilities and Access to Capital Markets. PYC plans to maintain its drug discovery and laboratory operations in Australia and will be building its preclinical and clinical development, manufacturing, regulatory and business development functions in the U.S. In parallel, the Company intends to undertake important corporate and business development activities in the U.S in 2021 and has been engaging with U.S biotech institutional investors and potential biotech and pharmaceutical partners to lay the foundation for these initiatives. In the next six months, the Company plans to establish a West Coast location for its U.S. corporate headquarters.





PYC plans to maintain its drug discovery and laboratory operations in and will be building its preclinical and clinical development, manufacturing, regulatory and business development functions in the U.S. In parallel, the Company intends to undertake important corporate and business development activities in the U.S in 2021 and has been engaging with U.S biotech institutional investors and potential biotech and pharmaceutical partners to lay the foundation for these initiatives. In the next six months, the Company plans to establish a West Coast location for its U.S. corporate headquarters. Strong Cash Position to Support U.S. Expansion and Growth. PYC ended 2020 with $44 million (USD) in cash and cash equivalents. Based on its current operating plans, and considering the Australian R&D tax rebate, this provides the Company with a multi-year cash runway enabling a very strong foundation for execution of both Corporate and Program objectives.

Inherited Ocular Diseases: These programs aim to employ PYC's proprietary cell penetrating peptides (CPPs) to deliver rationally designed RNA therapeutics into retinal cells to treat diseases caused by a specific gene mutation or a missing or defective protein.

VP-001 for the treatment of retinitis pigmentosa type 11 (RP11) . RP11 is an inherited retinal degenerative disease that causes progressive loss of vision and often leads to blindness in both adults and children. There are currently no disease-modifying therapies available for RP11 . PYC's lead development candidate VP-001 is designed to deliver its therapeutic RNA cargo directly into the nuclei of retinal cells, with the goal of upregulating PRPF31 gene expression and reversing the progressive retinal degeneration and eventual blindness caused by RP11 . PYC's preclinical research to date has demonstrated VP-001's ability to upregulate PRPF31, correct key structural deficiencies, and improve phagocytosis and cilia incidence and length in retinal pigmented epithelial cells. These results have all been achieved in patient-derived models and with minimal evidence of toxicity. PYC has advanced VP-001 into Investigational New Drug (IND)-enabling studies and expects to report results from important large animal toxicity studies in the middle of 2021, with the goal of submitting an IND to the U.S. Food and Drug Administration (FDA) during the first half of 2022.





is an inherited retinal degenerative disease that causes progressive loss of vision and often leads to blindness in both adults and children. There are currently no disease-modifying therapies available for . PYC's lead development candidate VP-001 is designed to deliver its therapeutic RNA cargo directly into the nuclei of retinal cells, with the goal of upregulating gene expression and reversing the progressive retinal degeneration and eventual blindness caused by . PYC's preclinical research to date has demonstrated VP-001's ability to upregulate PRPF31, correct key structural deficiencies, and improve phagocytosis and cilia incidence and length in retinal pigmented epithelial cells. These results have all been achieved in patient-derived models and with minimal evidence of toxicity. PYC has advanced VP-001 into Investigational New Drug (IND)-enabling studies and expects to report results from important large animal toxicity studies in the middle of 2021, with the goal of submitting an IND to the U.S. Food and Drug Administration (FDA) during the first half of 2022. VP-002 for the treatment of autosomal dominant optic atrophy (ADOA). ADOA is an inherited optic nerve disorder caused by mutations in the OPA1 gene that cause vision loss in both children and adults and can lead to blindness. There is currently no approved therapy for ADOA. VP-002 is designed to deliver its therapeutic RNA cargo and correct the protein deficiency in retinal cells caused by the OPA1 mutation which results in ADOA. PYC is currently conducting lead optimization work with VP-002 and expects to report results from patient-derived models in the first half of 2021 with additional efficacy and safety data across the balance of 2021.





ADOA is an inherited optic nerve disorder caused by mutations in the OPA1 gene that cause vision loss in both children and adults and can lead to blindness. There is currently no approved therapy for ADOA. VP-002 is designed to deliver its therapeutic RNA cargo and correct the protein deficiency in retinal cells caused by the OPA1 mutation which results in ADOA. PYC is currently conducting lead optimization work with VP-002 and expects to report results from patient-derived models in the first half of 2021 with additional efficacy and safety data across the balance of 2021. PYC-001 for the treatment of diabetic retinopathy (DR). DR is a complication of diabetes where high blood sugar damages blood vessels in the retinal tissue, resulting in vision loss and potentially blindness for more than 40 million people globally 1 . The current standard of care is anti-VEGF therapy which is not optimal due to lack of response and/or durability of response, along with emerging evidence that prolonged use leads to retinal damage. PYC-001 delivers a PYC-designed modified anti-VEGF RNA cargo that halts the destruction of the retinal blood vessels. PYC is currently conducting lead optimization work with PYC-001 and expects to report results from patient-derived and in vivo models throughout 2021.





DR is a complication of diabetes where high blood sugar damages blood vessels in the retinal tissue, resulting in vision loss and potentially blindness for more than 40 million people globally . The current standard of care is anti-VEGF therapy which is not optimal due to lack of response and/or durability of response, along with emerging evidence that prolonged use leads to retinal damage. PYC-001 delivers a PYC-designed modified anti-VEGF RNA cargo that halts the destruction of the retinal blood vessels. PYC is currently conducting lead optimization work with PYC-001 and expects to report results from patient-derived and vivo models throughout 2021. Additional undisclosed ocular candidates. PYC is cultivating a rich pipeline of novel development candidates to address additional ocular diseases. The Company expects to unveil additional development candidates for the treatment of high unmet need ocular indications during 2021.

Central Nervous System (CNS) Diseases: These programs aim to employ PYC's proprietary CPPs to deliver rationally designed RNA therapeutics to treat neurodegenerative diseases.

Undisclosed CNS candidate. Neurodegenerative diseases represent a significant unmet need, and PYC's CPP-PMO (phosphorodiamidate morpholino oligomer) technology is uniquely placed to intervene meaningfully in the RNA dysregulation which characterizes many of these disease processes. PYC expects to name one CNS development candidate targeting a high unmet need neurodegenerative condition during the first half of 2021.

Mr. Nasseri continued: "This is a truly exciting and transformational time for PYC, as we build upon the extensive foundation laid in 2020. Our pioneering research team led by Prof. Fletcher is rapidly validating our unique approach to correcting inherited retinal diseases, while also exploring the area of neurodegenerative diseases. With the capital to support our pipeline goals and recruit top talent in the U.S., along with the strong U.S. market potential of our candidate therapies, we believe we are well positioned to enable significant value inflections in 2021 and 2022."

About PYC Therapeutics

PYC Therapeutics (ASX: PYC) is a development-stage biotechnology company pioneering a new generation of RNA therapeutics that utilize Cell Penetrating Peptides (CPPs), a revolutionary delivery technology designed to overcome the major challenges of current gene-based therapies. PYC believes its CPP technology provides safer, more effective access for a wide range of potent and precise drug cargoes to the highest value drug targets that exist inside cells. The Company is leveraging its leading-edge science to develop a pipeline of novel therapies with an initial focus on inherited eye diseases for which it has unveiled three preclinical stage assets. PYC's discovery and laboratory operations are located in Australia and the Company recently launched and expansion into the U.S. for its preclinical, clinical, regulatory and business development operations. For more information, visit pyctx.com, or follow us on LinkedIn and Twitter.

Forward looking statements

Any forward-looking statements in this ASX announcement have been prepared on the basis of a number of assumptions which may prove incorrect and the current intentions, plans, expectations and beliefs about future events are subject to risks, uncertainties and other factors, many of which are outside the Company's control. Important factors that could cause actual results to differ materially from assumptions or expectations expressed or implied in this ASX announcement include known and unknown risks. Because actual results could differ materially to assumptions made and the Company's current intentions, plans, expectations and beliefs about the future, you are urged to view all forward-looking statements contained in this ASX announcement with caution. The Company undertakes no obligation to publicly update any forward-looking statement whether as a result of new information, future events or otherwise.

This ASX announcement should not be relied on as a recommendation or forecast by the Company. Nothing in this ASX announcement should be construed as either an offer to sell or a solicitation of an offer to buy or sell shares in any jurisdiction.

1Zheng Y, He M, Congdon N. The worldwide epidemic of diabetic retinopathy. Indian J Ophthalmol. 2012;60(5):428-431.

CONTACTS:



INVESTORS

Deborah Elson/Matthew DeYoung

Argot Partners

[email protected]

[email protected]



MEDIA

Leo Vartorella

Argot Partners

[email protected]

SOURCE PYC Therapeutics

Related Links

https://pyctx.com/


The governor of Shimane Prefecture in western Japan has urged the central government to resolve a territorial dispute with South Korea over the Takeshima Islands.

Maruyama Tatsuya spoke at a ceremony in Matsue City on Monday to mark the incorporation of the islands into the prefecture more than a century ago.

South Korea controls the islands. Japan claims them. The Japanese government maintains the islands are an inherent part of Japan's territory. It says South Korea is illegally occupying them.

In 2005, Shimane Prefecture designated the date as Takeshima Day, and has held a commemorative event every year since.

About 200 people attended this year's ceremony. The number of participants was limited to about half that of previous years due to the coronavirus pandemic.

Governor Maruyama said the islands are an inherent part of Japan's territory, and called strongly on the central government to solve the issue through diplomatic negotiations with South Korea.

During the ceremony, Parliamentary Vice-Minister of the Cabinet Office in charge of territorial issues, Wada Yoshiaki, called the occupation of the islands by South Korea illegal and totally unacceptable. He added that the government will work tenaciously to convey Japan's stance on the islands.

The South Korean foreign ministry on Monday released a statement that strongly criticizes Japan for holding the ceremony and demands the immediate abolition of the annual event.

The Japanese Embassy in Seoul says its senior diplomat Soma Hirohisa heard a protest lodged by Kim Jung-han, the foreign ministry's director general for Asian Pacific affairs.

Soma reportedly responded by saying that Japan cannot accept the protest.
Add Houstons beloved bats to the mounting casualties from last weeks winter storm.

A lot of them probably died of dehydration or starvation, said Diana Foss, a wildlife biologist. A lot of the young ones probably didnt have enough body fat stored to last the short hibernation period they needed.

The bat colony under the bridge at Waugh Drive in Buffalo Bayou Park, a beloved staple of the city, was severely impacted by the freeze. The full extent of the damage is still unknown, as around 2,000 of the Mexican free-tailed bats that usually emerge from under the bridge at dusk were killed by unusually frigid temperatures, estimated Foss, who is with the Texas Parks and Wildlife Department and coordinator of the Houston-area bat team.

A large number of the bats are down, said Foss, barely hanging on to life on the ground. Around 20 surviving bats were taken to a rehabilitation facility to be nursed back to good health, said Trudi Smith, director of programming for Buffalo Bayou Partnership.

Now Playing: Video: Steve Gonzales

Officials asked park-goers and dog owners to stay away from the area for safety reasons and to allow time for cleanup Monday.

The Waugh Bridge bats most likely died in the cold because they typically dont leave to look for food if temperatures drop below 50 degrees, said Foss.

During the winter months, around 100,000 bats remain at the bridge, said Foss, and in the summer theres 300,000.

Thats a good thing, said Foss. All those thousands of bats that were gone for the winter will come back.

Bat colony impacts from the freeze have been reported across Texas, said Foss.

This is a double whammy for bats in the state, she said. Were having a lot of deaths in Texas associated white nose fungus.

The Mexican free-tailed bat is susceptible to the fungus but does not die from it, added Foss.

In coming days, people may see stunned bats struggling to survive in their yards, the biologist said. She recommends wearing a mask and gloves before handling them, putting them in a sunny spot where they can warm up, such as a tree branch, and then leaving them alone to recover.

Large numbers of the Waugh Bridge colony were also killed off in 2017 during Hurricane Harvey. The damage to the colony during the storm was far worse than that of this years freeze, said Foss.

The floodwaters submerged the Waugh overpass, and the bats couldnt fly out, drowning many. Residents saved some of them, but tens of thousands were displaced or died during the storm. Before Harvey, there were around 300,000 living under the bridge. After the storm, Foss reported seeing around 100,000.

Many of the bats took up shelter in nearby structures, such as the America Tower, after Harvey, and it wasnt clear if they would return. But the bats over time migrated back to their home and repopulated the bridge.

They bounced back big time, said Foss. We had a lot of new babies born in the bridge, and other bats elsewhere came and joined their roost.

The success of the states colonies is essential to its ecological system, as bats play a key role in seed distribution, pest consumption and pollination.

Theyre a huge value to farmers in Texas, Foss said of the Mexican free-tailed bat. They specialize in eating moths before they can lay eggs in cotton and corn plants.

The loss of bats, especially many young ones, was difficult for Foss to see, but she said the death toll so far accounts for a relatively small number of the Waugh Bridge colony. The bats ability to return to normal after Harvey gives the biologist hope.

It hurts my heart to see, she said. But theyll be OK. They are resilient.

For tips on how to handle injured bats, visit austinbatrefuge.org or batworld.org.

hannah.dellinger@chron.com
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LVMHs Moet Hennessy has bought a 50% stake in Armand de Brignac, a Champagne producer owned by rapper Jay-Z, another sign of a close relationship between the luxury industry and hip-hop culture.

No financial terms were disclosed for Mondays transaction. Armand de Brignac sold more than half a million bottles in 2019, prices of which run $300 and up.

The rap star has been an investor in the brand since 2006, when he touted the brand, known for its Ace of Spades logo on a metallic silver bottle, in a video for Show Me What You Got." Jay-Z bought out Sovereign Brandss stake in the company in 2014.

Armand de Brignac breaks barriers and reflects contemporary luxury, while preserving the tradition of the Champagne terroirs," Philippe Schaus, chief executive officer of LVMHs Moet Hennessy drinks unit, said in a statement.

The brand is set to gain from the luxury-marketing expertise and distribution network of LVMH just as the Champagne industry reels from the pandemic. The market shrank by a fifth last year amid delays and cancellations to weddings and other celebrations. LVMH, whose brands include Moet & Chandon Champagne and Hennessy Cognac, outperformed, with wine and spirit sales dropping 14%.

The deal is the fruit of connections between Jay-Z and Alexandre Arnault, the 28-year old son of LVMHs billionaire founder, Bernard Arnault. Alexandre has been taking a bigger role at the conglomerate, recently being named to help run Tiffany & Co., which became part of LVMH last month. He previously ran Rimowa after persuading LVMH to acquire the German suitcase brand.

The rapper threw an Oscars party last year where guests like Kanye West and Jack Dorsey could sip his Armand de Brignac Champagne.

LVMHs bet on global celebrities hasnt always paid off. The luxury conglomerate announced earlier this month it was suspending its collaboration with Rihanna for the Fenty fashion brand, less than two years into that venture.

The Wall Street Journal and Financial Times previously reported Mondays deal.

This story has been published from a wire agency feed without modifications to the text. Only the headline has been changed.

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This letter is the 10th in the "Letters to President Biden" series aimed at conveying policy recommendations through open letters from politicians, scholars and experts to the new U.S. president following his Jan. 20 inauguration.  ED.



By John Burton





Dear Mr. President,



Sitting here in Washington, D.C., it's a relief to see how quickly the city has returned to normal following your inauguration, after four years of living through Crazytown. You have made a great start in addressing such issues as curbing the COVID-19 pandemic, repairing the economy, tackling climate change, and reducing racial and political divisions. But your understandable focus on domestic issues has distracted you when it comes to foreign policy issues, including the growing challenge from China, and trying to renew a nuclear deal with Iran.



It is obvious that North Korea has slipped down your list of priorities with so much else on your plate. The State Department has said that your national security team will only engage North Korea after an extensive policy review is completed, as it wants to avoid moving "too soon" while it consults with regional allies. This language almost suspiciously sounds like the "strategic patience" strategy that the Obama administration pursued when you were vice-president, which shunned engagement with Pyongyang unless it rolled back its nuclear program.



Although you may want to ignore North Korea for the time being, North Korea will not ignore you. There is speculation that Pyongyang might be tempted to resume conducting tests of long-range missiles or even a nuclear bomb to force itself back on the agenda of your administration.



To avoid an unnecessary crisis with North Korea, it is time for you to take a bold step by declaring the Korean War over after nearly 70 years, and to begin negotiating a peace treaty as an important step toward achieving North Korea's denuclearization.



Such a move would break the cycle of threat and counter-threat that has fueled North Korea's quest to build up its nuclear arsenal, and would instead begin the process of building mutual trust  essential for any nuclear deal.



Although some might argue that declaring the Korean War over and replacing the current armistice with a peace treaty might be viewed as giving a big concession to Pyongyang, it could also prove to be politically popular. More and more Americans, both on the left and the right, are sick of "endless wars."



President Trump recognized this reality when he agreed to meet North Korean leader Kim Jung-un three times. There appears to be little appetite among the American public for another conflict involving U.S. troops on the Korean peninsula to stop North Korea's nuclear build-up. Instead, there is a strong preference for using diplomatic engagement to solve the problem.



Starting a peace treaty process would help create the basis for regional cooperation among the three signatories to the 1953 Korean War armistice  the U.S., China and North Korea  as well as South Korea. China has already expressed its support for some type of peace agreement, while President Moon Jae-in views this process as an opportunity to improve inter-Korean ties.



Four-party peace talks would establish a venue for discussing a wide range of issues, including denuclearization, sanctions relief and normalizing relations between Washington and Pyongyang. It could also prove helpful in improving Sino-American relations, as both countries share the same goal when it comes to the denuclearization of the Korean Peninsula.



The peace process would reduce Pyongyang's paranoia about outside threats, which has provided the rationale for its nuclear program. It would confirm previous commitments by the U.S., such as in the 1994 Framework Agreement, to establish a political relationship with North Korea, while providing Washington with a clearer understanding of Pyongyang's future goals.



As president, you must make it clear to potential opponents that an "end-of-war declaration" marks only the first step to a peace treaty, and that they will have an opportunity to debate the merits of a final settlement when a peace treaty is later submitted to the Senate for ratification. You should also emphasize that any progress in the peace treaty negotiations must be matched in terms of actions by North Korea to gradually reduce its nuclear arsenal.



The most common criticism of a peace treaty among the national security establishment in Washington is that it would lead to the withdrawal of U.S. troops from South Korea. But this proposition has never been tested. Indeed, North Korea has dropped hints over the years that it would like to see some form of continued U.S. military presence on the Korean peninsula, even after a peace treaty is signed, to counterbalance the influence of China.



In addition to making an end-of-war declaration, you could also take several other initiatives toward North Korea: one would be to instruct U.S. Treasury Secretary Janet Yellen to ease her department's strict guidelines on the delivery of humanitarian aid to North Korea by American NGOs; another would be to lend public support to inter-Korean cooperative projects being proposed by President Moon.



Now is the time to take bold action on North Korea, Mr. President. In doing so, you can set down a marker for assertive action in foreign policy that will be to your credit.



Sincerely,

John Burton





John Burton (johnburtonft@yahoo.com), a former Korea correspondent for the Financial Times, is a Washington, D.C.-based journalist and consultant.




The Big Lie about a stolen election was the focus of former president Donald Trumps impeachment trial, but theres an even bigger lie behind that one: The claim that Democrats were so evil that they would do anything to steal an election and that their victory would mean freedom-crushing Venezuelan socialism.

In fact, both parties consist largely of decent Americans whose values are more alike than partisans on either side believe. The divisions between us are widened by fear-mongering partisan media and self-interested political elites. The losers are the rest of us, who demand less from our partys leaders because we are so scared of the other side.

Fear grips members of both parties, but the problem is more urgent on the right.

Januarys assault on the U.S. Capitol was committed by followers of then-President Trump after he said, If you dont fight like hell youre not going to have a country anymore. Some surveys show that partisan hostility is more severe among Republicans, and the federal government says armed right-wing groups pose the biggest threat of domestic terrorism.

A CBS poll this month found that 57 percent of Republicans viewed Democrats as enemies, not just as political opponents. Among Democrats, 41 percent saw Republicans as enemies. This continues a long-term trend toward polarization. In 1960, 4% to 5% of Americans said they would be upset if their child married a member of the other political party. By 2010, that had risen to one third of Democrats and half of Republicans.

A YouGov survey of 2,100 Americans in 2018 found wide gaps between reality and partisans perceptions of their opponents typical beliefs.

Democrats, by 25 percentage points or more, underestimated Republican support for controlled immigration (in reality, 85%), their awareness that racism still exists in America (79%) and their agreement that many Muslims are good Americans (70%).

Perception gaps were even wider when Republicans were asked about Democrats:

Republicans said most Democrats believed most police are bad people. In fact, 85% of Democrats disagreed with that statement.

Republicans said that only 54% of Democrats were proud to be an American, though I acknowledge my countrys flaws. In fact, 82% of Democrats felt that way.

Republicans believed that only 38% of Democrats would oppose the U.S. having completely open borders. In fact, 71% of Democrats supported at least some border controls.

Republicans said only 44% of Democrats agreed that law-abiding citizens should have the right to bear firearms. In fact, 68% of Democrats agreed.

Republicans said only 37% of Democrats would disagree with the statement, America should be a socialist country. In fact, 62% of Democrats disagreed.

The perception gap was especially wide among the most committed progressives or conservatives, larger among conservatives than liberals, and largest among people consuming right-leaning sources Breitbart News, the Drudge Report, and conservative talk radio. The gap was bigger among viewers of Fox News and smaller among viewers of mainstream network TV.

Fear-mongering political actors often use two techniques to cause needless worry. The most basic move is to lie about an opponents position. False claims that Vice President Kamala Harris supports riots are a recent example; in real life she has condemned violence and supported peaceful protests. The fancier technique is to slather scary makeup on beliefs that really are held by some opponents.

There is a Democratic Socialist wing to the Democratic coalition. During the 2020 campaign then-President Trump said Democrats would turn the U.S. into a large Venezuela. But the policies actually advocated by Democratic Socialist politicians like Bernie Sanders and Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez  single-payer healthcare, free higher education, a stronger social safety net -- would push the United States more toward Social Democratic Denmark.

That would mean higher taxes, for sure. In Denmark, taxes equal about 40% of GDP. In the U.S., its about 24.3%. Thats partly because the U.S. budget deficit has been proportionately about four times bigger than Denmarks.

Taxes aside, Denmark is not a socialist hellscape. It was second in a recent international ranking of citizens happiness; the U.S. was 18th. Denmark also ranked second in quality of healthcare; the U.S. ranked 15th. The conservative Heritage Foundation rated Denmark 8th in economic freedom and the U.S. 17th. A ranking of personal freedom by the libertarian Cato Institute put Denmark in 2nd place, the U.S. in 29th.

Whether to move in Denmarks direction is a debate that need not terrify us.

As President Franklin Roosevelt said, though, we should be afraid of fear itself. It makes good people vulnerable to dangerous conspiracy theories.

QAnon, a thoroughly debunked conspiracy culture, is based partly on transparently false allegations that Trump was fighting child sex-trafficking rings run by Democrats. Last October, half of Trumps supporters said they believed he was really doing that. (The FBI has labeled QAnon a domestic terrorism threat.)

If we think our opponents harm children, no form of opposition may be too extreme. The conservative American Enterprise Institute recently found that 56% of Republicans (and 22 percent of Democrats) agreed with the statement, The traditional American way of life is disappearing so fast that we may have to use force to save it.

Fortunately, we can fortify ourselves against unwarranted fears. We can be more careful about the media we consume, tune out voices that constantly incite anger or grievance, and fact-check social media before forwarding toxic falsehoods to friends. We can be quick to show charity and slow to express contempt.

Above all, we can demand that leaders on our side of the political gap truly earn our trust. We can insist on solid proof of provocative claims. We can push for real-world results and not be content with wild rhetoric instead. If our leaders deceive or disappoint us, we can hold them accountable.

There is a word for people who easily accept whatever they hear from seductive liars, and that word is suckers. We can quit being political suckers.

Thats a lot to ask. Our brains did not evolve to deal with manipulative social media or a ceaseless blizzard of baloney from people we should be able to trust. Being a good citizen has never been easy, but its never been more important.

George Rodrigue is Editor at Large for Advance Local. He can be reached at GRodrigue@advancelocal.com.
Letters: Get the shot, as we can't beat the virus without vaccinations
Co urged airlines to suspend the use of 777 jets with the same type of engine that shed debris over Denver at the weekend after U.S. regulators announced extra inspections and Japan suspended their use while considering further action.

The moves involving Pratt & Whitney PW4000 engines came after a United Airlines 777's right engine failed on Saturday, scattering its protective outer casing over a residential area.

United said the next day it would voluntarily and temporarily remove its 24 active planes, hours before Boeing's announcement.

said 69 of the 777 planes with PW4000 engines were in service and 59 were stored, at a time when airlines have grounded planes due to a plunge in demand associated with the COVID-19 pandemic.

The manufacturer recommended airlines suspend operating them until U.S. regulators identified the appropriate inspection protocol.

It falls short of a mandatory global grounding but is another headache for the plane maker after its 737 MAX crisis and comes after criticism of U.S. Federal Aviation Administration (FAA) oversight regarding the 737 MAX.

The 777-200s and 777-300s affected are older and less fuel efficient than newer models and are currently being flown by just five airlines - United, Japan Airlines Co Ltd (JAL), ANA Holdings Inc, Asiana Airlines Inc and Korean Air Lines Co Ltd. Most of them are phasing them out of their fleets.

The problem concerns Pratt & Whitney, one of three engine makers originally involved in the 777, whose engines power less than 10% of the delivered fleet of more than 1,600 planes.

The National Transportation Safety Board (NTSB) said its initial examination of the 26-year-old plane indicated most of the damage was confined to the right engine, with only minor damage to the airplane.

It said the inlet and casing separated from the engine and two fan blades were fractured, while the other fan blades exhibited damage.

Pratt & Whitney, owned by Raytheon Technologies Corp, said it was coordinating with operators and regulators to support a revised inspection interval for the engines.

METAL FATIGUE

Japan's transport ministry ordered JAL and ANA Holdings to suspend their use while it considered whether to take additional measures, acting before the FAA.

An official at South Korea's transport ministry said it was waiting for formal action by the FAA before giving a directive to its airlines. The U.S. agency said it would soon issue an emergency airworthiness directive.

"Based on the initial information, we concluded that the inspection interval should be stepped up for the hollow fan blades that are unique to this model of engine, used solely on 777 airplanes," the FAA said.

Japan's transport ministry said that on Dec. 4, 2020, a JAL flight from Naha Airport to Tokyo returned to Naha due to a malfunction in the left engine.

Its Transport Safety Board said on Dec. 28 that it had found two of the left engine's fan blades were damaged, one from a crack due to metal fatigue. The investigation is ongoing.

Japan said ANA operated 19 of the type and JAL operated 13, though the airlines said their use had been reduced during the pandemic. JAL said its fleet was due for retirement by March 2022.

Korean Air - which has 16 of the planes, 10 of them stored - said it will follow the relevant authorities' directives on any measures.

The Dutch Safety Board said on Monday it was investigating what had caused a Boeing 747-400 to lose parts of a different type of PW4000 engine shortly after taking off from Maastricht airport on Saturday.

The European Union Aviation Safety Agency meanwhile said it was requesting information on the cause to determine what action was needed.

In February 2018, a 777 of the same age operated by United suffered an engine failure when a cowling fell off about 30 minutes before the plane landed safely. The NTSB determined that incident was the result of a full-length fan blade fracture.

(Reporting by Jamie Freed in Sydney and David Shepardson in Washington; additional reporting by Eimi Yamamitsu and Maki Shiraki in Tokyo, Joyce Lee in Seoul and Tim Hepher in Paris; Editing by Sam Holmes, Christopher Cushing and Emelia Sithole-Matarise)

(Only the headline and picture of this report may have been reworked by the Business Standard staff; the rest of the content is auto-generated from a syndicated feed.)
Here are the top two statements insurance agencies said to me in 2020:

We need to find top talent. I want to talk with you about Diversity & Inclusion in our hiring process.

The events of last year spurred many insurance agencies toward a renewed focus on Diversity & Inclusion. Prior to 2020, I sensed most agencies were simply trying to construct a plan, and others admitted it was collecting dust on the shelf. Following the death of George Floyd, calls for racial justice, equity and gender inclusion have spurred agencies to go deeper on the subject. Now their goal is to design a meaningful plan that impacts their business on a daily basis.

Creating a Diversity & Inclusion strategy is one thing. Implementing it in all aspects of your agency is another. A critical part of integration is in the hiring process.

Recruiting is the front-line process that creates brand awareness and engagement. To source, attract, hire and retain top talent, your Diversity & Inclusion program must move to the center stage.

Creating a Diversity & Inclusion strategy is one thing. Implementing it in all aspects of your agency is another.

Find Candidates You Want Using Data Analytics

The first thing the Society for Human Resource Management (SHRM) points out in How to Develop a Diversity, Equity & Inclusion Initiative is knowing what you have will build a more diverse workforce. When is the last time you analyzed data in your HRIS or CRM?

Run reports in your applicant database to see where you fall short on the diversity spectrum. Even a basic system should allow you to filter based on age, gender, race and ethnicity.

Set goals to proactively increase the number of diversity recruits by position, location and discipline.

Compare your data to local, state and federal workforce reports to remain competitive with market hiring trends.

Join Industry-Wide Initiatives to Boost Your Hiring Exposure

Two heads are better than one, right? Well, how about thousands of heads coming together to accomplish the same goal? In their article Diversity & Inclusion In the Insurance Industry, the Insurance Information Institute lists a number of organizations you can join forces with to drive diverse hiring.

Insurance company partners. Learn more about their diversity programs. Think creatively about joint initiatives to advertise and attract new people to the insurance industry from diverse backgrounds.

You cant spell community without UNITY. Organizations like The Insurance Industry Charitable Foundation, which holds the annual Women in Insurance Conference, as well as the IIABA have numerous cooperatives that focus on empowerment and representation.

Connect and get involved with their programs, events and ongoing endeavors.

Representation Online and In-Person Matters to Job Seekers

S&P Global Market Intelligence published a series of articles in November 2020 about the insurance industrys lack of diversity.

One S&P Global Market Intelligence article, Female Insurance Leaders Work Against Odds To Open Doors For Other Women, reveals that less than 25% of executives at large insurers are women.

Historically, youll look across industries and see that women have been underrepresented for a long time, Anita Fox, director of the Michigan Department of Insurance and Financial Services, says in the article. Weve talked about the glass ceiling for a long time.

The consensus among the industry is that representation and promotion are keys to creating diversity, now and for future generations.

Interviews are an invitation for job seekers to experience your agencys culture. Create on-site itineraries where candidates meet diverse employees and hear diverse voices and perspectives.

Share your Diversity & Inclusion policy. Give insight into how leaders AND employees create an inclusive and equity-based environment. Highlight ways a new employee can join the conversation and make an impact in future initiatives.

Cut to the chase with career progression. Its not cliche to talk about the glass ceiling. You work to shatter that along with unconscious bias, systematic racism and other issues that prevent true inclusivity. Give stats on employee retention, career advancement and more.

Let your light shine on social media. Your CEO should record (rather than write) the agencys Diversity & Inclusion pledge for YouTube. Let all of the aforementioned work (community activism, joint partnerships and more) be displayed online and shared by your employees.

Topics Talent Diversity
Partisan warfare over pandemic lockdowns and mask-wearing is on the wane in Washington: A bitter presidential election has been decided, coronavirus cases are plummeting nationally and vaccines are rolling out slowly but steadily.

Yet in state capitols, the politicized fights are boiling over.

State lawmakers across the country, most of them Republicans, are moving aggressively to strip the powers of governors, often Democrats, who have taken on extraordinary authority to limit the spread of the virus for nearly a year.

In a kind of rear-guard action, legislatures in more than 30 states are trying to restrict the power of governors to act unilaterally under extended emergencies that have traditionally been declared in brief bursts after floods, tornadoes or similar disasters. Republicans are seeking to harness the widespread fatigue of many Americans toward closed schools, limits on gatherings and mask mandates as a political cudgel to wield against Democrats.

Lawmakers frame the issue as one of checks and balances, arguing that governors gained too much authority over too many aspects of peoples lives. These legislators are demanding a say in how long an emergency can last, and insisting that they be consulted on far-reaching orders like closing schools and businesses.
WASHINGTON (dpa-AFX) - SBA Communications Corp. (SBAC) Monday reported fourth-quarter profit of $105.8 million or $0.94 per share, up from $67.4 million or $0.59 per share last year. Adjusted funds from operations rose to $280.1 million or $2.49 per share from $248.8 million or $2.18 per share last year. Total revenues for the quarter were $535.9 million, up from $513.7 million last year. Analysts polled by Thomson Reuters estimated earnings of $0.52 per share on revenues of $528.96 million. Looking forward to full year 2021, the company expects adjusted funds from operations of $10.00 to $10.41 per share on revenues of $2.17 billion to $2.12 billion last year. Analysts currently estimate an earnings of $2.75 per share on revenues of $2.19 billion. Copyright 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.
The Faculty of Management has flourished thanks to its international focus.

The Faculty of Management was established in 1991 and made history as the first higher education faculty in Slovakia to specialise in teaching business management. The faculty was able to do this with the extensive support of foreign universities such as Cornell University, Montclair State University, University of Pittsburgh, and Carnegie Mellon University.

The faculty was founded with the following intentions:

To operate in the field of management in the same way as the worldleading business schools.

To increase its competitiveness through international relations and partnerships.

To make its study programmes compatible with international universities to support study mobilities to and from abroad for grad students.

Today, the faculty offers two study programmes in the field of Economics and Management: Management and International Management. The study programme Management is also offered in the English language while the International Management programme is offered in German or French.

The Faculty of Management also provides an interdisciplinary study programme, offered in English, with the Faculty of Law of Comenius University in Bratislava, named Management and Law.

In honour of the 30th anniversary of the Faculty of Management, we spoke with the dean of the faculty, prof. RNDr. Michal Gregus, PhD.

What do you evaluate as the facultys most outstanding achievements within the 30 years of its existence?

I am honored that I have been able to work at the faculty since its foundation. Looking back over this long period, I must say that the faculty have been able to fulfill its original intentions. We have managed to build the image of a quality faculty with a great reputation on the national and international level. Every year since 2008, we are the only Slovak faculty to be named by the independent ranking agency Eduniversal among the 1,000 best business schools in the world as an Excellent Business School.

What do you rate as the most significant success of the faculty?

The competitiveness of our graduates. They are employed to work in top companies and abroad, both in the commercial sphere and at universities. I see it as our certificate of quality.We have successfully built excellent international relations in student and teaching mobility with over 180 partnership agreements. We are also working on international research projects. Regarding mobility, we are clearly the most successful faculty in Slovakia in terms of incoming and outgoing students within the Erasmus+ mobility.

Do these international mobilities still work currently?

Yes, we try to be flexible and mindful of our students needs even in this unprecedented time. We immediately switched to online mode and changed the organisation of our studies, so students could study with the online study materials and lectures provided; we strengthened online seminars and consultations. Our teachers have international experience; therefore, it was not a problem for them to teach online. I am glad that we can ensure Erasmus+ mobility even during these restrictions.

What is the main competitive advantage of the faculty today?

Well, I see it as a combination of several qualities. We have an excellent team of teachers with international and practical experience. In education, we respond to development and global trends, which are also transferred to companies operating in Slovakia. In response, we develop and innovate study programmes to provide our graduates with a top-quality education. We emphasise graduates language readiness by increasing the number of professional subjects taught in world languages (English, German, French). At the same time, we support and invest in teaching with a connection to modern information and communication technologies and software applications. Our students excel when it comes to logical, critical, entrepreneurial, and systematic thinking, and most of them can communicate in several world languages. These are the reasons that our graduates are so successful in practice, and we are proud of them.

You have many international students. Which countries do they come from?

Students from all over the European Union study with us through Erasmus+ mobility. We also have students from all over the world for full-time study, especially from Asia and Africa.

Bratislava is a lovely city with many opportunities, so it is a lucrative place for foreign students to come to study. Today, young people are looking for a pleasant, green, and safe environment with opportunities for part-time jobs and promising career opportunities. Bratislava fulfills these requirements.

Do you still have foreign lecturers?

When the faculty was established, many foreign lecturers from the USA and Western Europe worked here. They were financed through grants and programmes such as USAID. Gradually, we built a team of teachers, most of whom came from abroad through exchange programmes. Of course, we still have teachers from abroad in full-time positions, while we also continue to use grants for guest lecturers from abroad.

You present the faculty as a modern one. Can you give us examples?

We were able to quickly adapt our teaching methods for the online environment, and we support teachers who create online study materials and video lectures. We have purchased online licenses for teaching software applications. We have shifted the emphasis to teamwork and the support of students key competencies. Our students perceive it positively that we have drawn them into interactions in this virtual online world, where classic interpersonal connections have been interrupted.

What are the facultys visions or plans for the coming years?

The faculty responds to the vision of digitisation and digital transformation of companies. Therefore, we have plans in digital skills development and preparation for the future labour market. We expect big changes in the companys environment, so we try to innovate subjects, and we also open new specialised subjects focusing on new trends, such as virtual reality.

Our intention is to offer education with strong online support to overcome various barriers for international students and working students studying part-time. And, of course, we want to continue to internationalise the faculty, both in the field of teaching and in international research projects.

This article was created with the help of the Faculty of Management, Comenius University in Bratislava

22. Feb 2021 at 9:56
Adamas Intelligence has released its 4th biannual State of Charge: EVs, Batteries and Battery Materials report. This latest report covers the global EV markets performance over 2020 H2 and its implications on the ever-evolving battery and battery materials supply chains.

Among the findings of the latest report:

In 2020 H2 global passenger EV registrations grew by 58% versus the same period the year prior, amounting to 3.53 million units versus 2.24 million units in 2019 H2.

In Europe, encouraged by an array of incentives for buyers, EV sales jumped 127% in 2020 H2 over 2019 H2, translating to a 174% increase in watt-hours of battery capacity deployed, a 205% increase in cobalt deployed, a 192% increase in lithium deployed and a 135% increase in nickel deployed versus the same period the year prior.

In parallel, Asia Pacific posted a modest 38% gain, while in the Americas EV sales increased just 28% year-over-year.

Tesla deployed 22.5 GWh of battery capacity in 2020 H2, nearly as much as its five closest competitors combined (BYD, VW, Renault, Hyundai and Mercedes).

Just six cell suppliers globally (LG Energy Solution, CATL, Panasonic, Samsung SDI, BYD and SK Innovation) were collectively responsible for more than 89% of all battery capacity and battery metals deployed globally in passenger EVs in 2020 H2.

LG Energy Solution deployed 273% more watt-hours of battery capacity globally in 2020 H2 than in 2019 H2, translating to a 303% increase in nickel consumption, 265% increase in lithium consumption and a 203% increase in cobalt consumption versus the same period the year prior.

Deployment (in watt hours) of LFP cells increased more than six-fold in 2020 H2 versus 2019 H2, contributing to a boost in the sales-weighted average amount of lithium used per EV.

In 2020 H2, global battery capacity deployed in all newly sold passenger EVs combined amounted to 92.5 GWh, 93% more than was deployed globally in 2019 H2.

Similarly, in 2020 H2, 57,300 tonnes of lithium carbonate equivalent (LCE) were deployed globally in batteries of all newly sold passenger EVs combined, 96% more than was deployed globally in 2019 H2.

LCE deployment in NCM 6-Series cells amounted to more than 13,600 tonnes in 2020 H2 (up by more than 100% from 2019 H2), followed by NCM 5-Series (up by 52%), and NCM 8-Series (up by almost 200%). LCE deployment in NCA Gen 3 cells in 2020 H2 increased by 19% over the same period the year prior.

Moreover, in 2020 H2, 53,150 tonnes of battery-grade nickel were deployed globally in batteries of all newly sold passenger EVs combined, 69% more than was deployed globally in 2019 H2.
A State Department spokesman has said the United States will hold Iran "responsible" for a rocket barrage on February 22 that targeted the U.S. Embassy in the Iraqi capital.



But it said it won't "lash out" in response.



Iraq's army said earlier that there were no casualties when the embassy, within Baghdad's heavily fortified Green Zone, was targeted by the rockets.



It said there was only minor property damage, including a damaged vehicle.



Iraqi security officials said three rockets were fired at the U.S. Embassy. They said one rocket fell within the perimeter of the vast embassy complex and another fell in the nearby residential neighborhood of Harthiya just outside of the Green Zone.



Iraqi officials said the rockets had been launched from the Al-Salam neighborhood to the southwest of the Green Zone.



There was no immediate claim of responsibility for the attack.



Baghdad's Green Zone houses foreign embassies as well as the seat of Iraq's government.



The rocket barrage was the third attack to target the U.S. presence in Iraq in a week.



A contractor working for the U.S.-led coalition in Iraq was killed and several other civilians were wounded by a rocket attack outside Irbil International Airport in northern Iraq on February 16.



A little-known Shi'ite militant group that calls itself the Guardians of Blood Brigade claimed responsibility for that attack.



On October 20, rockets wounded employees of a U.S. defense company at Balad Air Base in Salahaddin Province about 70 kilometers north of Baghdad.



The U.S. Embassy had been a frequent target of rocket attacks during the administration of U.S. President Donald Trump. The pace of attacks slowed during the weeks before President Joe Biden took office. But attacks recently have become more frequent.

Based on reporting by AP and Reuters
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Registration Number: 130349 Registration Number: 130349
TSX.V: DME

U.S. OTC: DMEHF

Frankfurt: QM01

VANCOUVER, BC, Feb. 22, 2021 /PRNewswire/ - DESERT MOUNTAIN ENERGY CORP. (the "Company") (TSXV: DME) (U.S. OTC: DMEHF) (Frankfurt: QM01) From the President of the Company.

The Company is pleased to announce that it has acquired an additional 9,885.2 acres in Navajo County, AZ. These properties were selected based on results from drilling and the Company exploration team feels strongly about these newest acquisitions and the additional 15 highly prospective well locations. Most junior exploration companies rarely have the opportunity to participate in the drilling, let alone control Tier 1 assets this early in their exploration model. Desert Mountain Energy Corp's management and exploration team are extremely excited to be in the position to drill and develop this level of Tier 1 assets. The Company is planning on drilling the end of March into April a three well package and undertaking other final completion work on wells 1 & 2, dependent upon rig and associated crew availabilities.

About Desert Mountain Energy

Desert Mountain Energy Corp. is a publicly traded exploration and resource company focused on the discovery and development of rare earth gas fields in the US. The Company is primarily looking for elements deemed critical to the green energy and high technology industries.

We seek safe harbor

" Robert Rohlfing"

Robert Rohlfing

Chairman & CEO

Neither the TSX Venture Exchange nor its Regulation Services Provider (as that term is defined in polices of the TSX Venture Exchange) accepts responsibility for the adequacy or accuracy of this release. The statements made in this press release may contain certain forward-looking statements that involve a number of risks and uncertainties. Actual events or results may differ from the Company's expectations.

Cautionary Note Regarding Forward-Looking Statements

This news release contains "forward-looking statements" within the meaning of the United States Private Securities Litigation Reform Act of 1995 and "forward-looking information" within the meaning of applicable Canadian securities legislation. Such forwardlooking statements and information herein include but are not limited to statements regarding the Company's anticipated performance in the future the planned exploration activities, receipt of positive results from drilling, the completion of further drilling and exploration work, and the timing and results of various activities.

Forward-looking statements or information involve known and unknown risks, uncertainties and other factors that may cause the actual results, level of activity, performance or achievements of the Company and its operations to be materially different from those expressed or implied by such statements. Such factors include, among others, changes in national and local governments, legislation, taxation, controls, regulations and political or economic developments in Canada and the United States; financial risks due to helium prices, operating or technical difficulties in exploration and development activities; risks and hazards and the speculative nature of resource exploration and related development; risks in obtaining necessary licenses and permits, and challenges to the Company's title to properties.

Forward-looking statements are based on assumptions management believes to be reasonable, including but not limited to the continued operation of the Company's exploration operations, no material adverse change in the market price of commodities, and such other assumptions and factors as set out herein. Although the Company has attempted to identify important factors that could cause actual results to differ materially from those contained in forward-looking statements or information, there may be other factors that cause results to be materially different from those anticipated, described, estimated, assessed or intended. There can be no assurance that any forward-looking statements or 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 intend to, and does not assume any obligation to update such forward-looking statements or information, other than as required by applicable law.

SOURCE Desert Mountain Energy Corp.

Related Links

https://desertmountainenergy.com/



The Yogi Adityanath government in Uttar Pradesh has started cracking down on social media 'offenders' a big way.

The Unnao police, on Sunday, lodged an FIR against eight Twitter handles and its users, including @themojostory run by senior journalist Barkha Dutt, on charges of spreading "misleading information" in connection with the recovery of the bodies of two minor girls in Baburha village of the district.

The other handles against whom the FIR has been lodged include @BhimSenaChief (run by Nawab Satpal Tanwar), @NilimDutta, @janjagranlive, @SurajKrBaudh (spokesperson, Azad Samaj Party), @vijayambedkarUP, Abhaykumarazad97, and @Rahuldiwkr.

Earlier, on Saturday, former MP and Congress leader, Udit Raj, had been booked by Unnao police for allegedly spreading misinformation through his tweet.

Unnao police claimed that the users of these eight twitter handles had tweeted that the two minor girls, who were found dead in the fields, were sexually assaulted and that their last rites were performed against the wish of their families.

The Twitter users have been booked under charges of spreading rumours with the intention of causing riots, and under relevant sections of the Information Technology Act.

Superintendent of police, Unnao, Anand Kulkarni said, "All those who tried to flare up tension and disturb harmony through different social media platforms will not be let off. We have lodged an FIR and will conduct a probe into the tweets. The misinformation was deliberately spread by people associated with parties, units and groups which are trying to discredit the ruling government and disturb the prevailing law and order."

Kulkarni claimed some of the updates and tweets were removed after the police issued a statement that the post-mortem report has not confirmed rape.

The SP said despite the post-mortem examination ruling out sexual assault and injuries on the bodies of the victims, some people and parties having vested interests, continued to spread misinformation that the girls were raped.

"Similarly, neither the police nor the administration was trying to conduct last rites of the two girls. The family told us that some of their relatives were to arrive from Surat and they would then perform the last rites of the girls," he added.

Meanwhile, in a statement on the FIR, @themojostory said: "We have reported all dimensions of the tragedy, the family's anxieties and allegations as well as the police response at every step. If this case is pursued, we will confidently defend our journalistic rights and freedom in the court."
The Telegraph

Ministers have failed to take advantage of the UK's freedom from EU regulations since Brexit, despite the Prime Ministers pledge to take back control of red tape, a new think tank report has said. A new report from the Institute for Government (IfG) argues that Whitehall departments are too "siloed" from each other, preventing ministers from changing laws to reflect Britain's departure from the EU. The think tank points to Mr Johnsons declaration on Christmas Eve last year that the UK had taken back control of every jot and tittle of our regulation in a way which is complete and unfettered. But despite that promise, most EU legislation is still on the UK statute books, after being copied over into domestic law during the Brexit process. Experts say a "bonfire" of regulations in the coming years is unlikely because of costs associated with changing them in UK law. The report's authors said the Government had approached regulatory divergence from Europe "like a game of Space Invaders  played blindfolded," risking costs to British businesses and unintended consequences. They called for Downing Street to issue clear guidance to government departments on how they should approach the freedom to set out new regulations, and reform the processes for approving them. They also point out that, over time, the UK will diverge from the EU in its regulations as European standards change and are not automatically in line with Britains. The UK should develop a system to keep track of regulatory developments in the EU that will affect Britain to avoid any unintended consequences from that process, they argue. Joe Marshall, a researcher at the IfG, said: "Gaining the ability to do things differently from the EU was a key aim of Brexit  and there are clear benefits to be won. But the governments siloed approach to regulatory reform risks ad hoc changes and unintended consequences that threaten businesses with new costs and could destabilise the union. Jill Rutter, another author, said: The government must ensure it invests the time and effort needed to make the necessary trade-offs involved and avoid unintended consequences.
Source: Xinhua| 2021-02-22 20:00:34|Editor: huaxia

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NAIROBI, Feb. 22 (Xinhua) -- Italian Ambassador to the Democratic Republic of Congo (DR Congo) Luca Attanasio was killed during an attack on a World Food Program (WFP) convoy in the Virunga National Park in the east of the country, said park officials on Monday.

According to park officials, the ambassador's bodyguard, the driver and several others were also killed in the attack. Several other members of the convoy were seriously injured by gunshot wounds.

The attack was part of an attempt to kidnap UN personnel from the convoy, according to the same source.

Italy has confirmed the death of its ambassador to DR Congo, media reports said. Enditem
The Telegraph

Alex Salmond has accused the Duke of Cambridge of displaying "poor judgement" by meeting Gordon Brown last week in Scotland and urged the Royal Family to stay out of the independence debate. The former First Minister said it would be "extraordinarily foolish" for the monarchy to get dragged into the row over Scottish separation and questioned what on earth Prince William thought he was doing by meeting Mr Brown. He said the Royal Family should beware unscrupulous Unionist desperation to use them for political ends and urged other members to follow the Queen's "very wise" example to "keep the monarchy over and above politics." The Duke and Duchess of Cambridge met Mr Brown and his wife, Sarah, after the former Labour Prime MInister relaunched his Our Scottish Future think tank as a pro-Union campaign movement. Kensington Palace later confirmed the Royal couple had listened to differing political views during their week-long tour, which was said to be part of a charm offensive to turn Scots away from independence. Nicola Sturgeon has unveiled plans for another separation vote by the end of 2023, after the immediate health crisis has passed but while Scotland is still recovering from the Covid pandemic. But, in a video message to supporters of his Alba Party, Mr Salmond it would be "infinitely better" for his former protegee to "seize the moment and strike while the iron is hot." He claimed the Tories "are surprised that they are not already facing a renewed constitutional challenge" after the SNP clearly won the Holyrood election but fell one seat short of a majority. Mr Salmond was humiliated when the Alba Party failed to win a single seat. The duke and duchess, who are known in Scotland as the Earl and Countess of Strathearn, met Mr Brown and his wife in an unpublicised meeting at the Palace of Holyroodhouse in Edinburgh last Thursday.
A New Jersey man will not face criminal charges for a Facebook comment in which he threatened physical violence against officials in a Sussex County town over schools not being fully open due to the coronavirus pandemic, police said Monday.

Sparta school district administrators learned last week of a Facebook comment that said, in part: If (schools) dont open soon, it will be time for physical violence against the people keeping the schools closed. The commenter also wrote that parents should be knocking down the doors of the (board of education) members and union leaders.

Police tracked him down and he does not live in town, but in Wall Township, near the Jersey Shore in Monmouth County.

Sparta Police Lt. John Lamon said the man will not be facing criminal charges because the threat was not specific or credible. He said a detective spoke to the man, who said he was only ranting on social media and did not intend to drive to Sparta to carry out any violence.

(The man said) I was only venting, no intention of carrying anything out. I dont plan on coming to Sparta... The detective spoke to Wall Township where this guy is from and they were going to go speak with him to check on his well being, Lamon said.

The district could also file their own complaint against the man for harassment or terroristic threats, Lamon said.

The problem with (charging him with) terroristic threats is it wasnt directed at any one specifically, it was more of a general threat of We should do this to the people in charge type of thing... If someone makes a threat of Im showing up on this date at your Board of Ed meeting and this is what Im going to do, then it becomes a more credible thing because now its specific of the violence and the date and everything else. This guy is apparently not from anywhere around here, Lamon explained.

Sparta Superintendent Pat McQueeney said the district will indeed be banning the man from school property. That means the man could be arrested for trespassing if he showed up to Sparta schools, Lamon said.

We will be banning the man from school property and all district schools and the district is reviewing next appropriate steps with regards to filing a complaint, McQueeney said in an email.

In a letter sent to parents Sunday, the districts board said the post was made because the individual is dissatisfied with the pace at which the return to in-person, full day learning is occurring.

Sparta schools are currently on a hybrid schedule and will soon be announcing a reopening plan for the spring.

This is outrageous and unacceptable. We would never accept such conduct from our children and we certainly will not accept it from frown adults. The Board of Education welcomes peaceful discourse and healthy debate on our reentry plan, the letter said.

...Nevertheless, we will not tolerate those who try to take matters into their own hands or incite violence as an intimidation tactic, simply because they are dissatisfied with the Board, Administration and our teachers who are doing their best in these very trying circumstances, the letter says.

A majority of districts in New Jersey are not yet holding full-time in person learning. As of last Monday, 512 districts in New Jersey were hybrid, 164 remote, and 98 were fully in-person.

Gov. Phil Murphy has said educators are next in line to receive the coronavirus vaccine, but has not specified when that will be. Healthcare workers, first responders, those over 65 years of age and people with certain health conditions are the groups currently eligible for the vaccine.

McQueeney has said there are many challenges and guidelines to follow when planning school reopenings.

Theres many logistics that going into making a normal school day happen. Layer on top of that the health and safety guidelines from the department of health and CDC, theres a lot of moving pieces. This is not something that you rush to protect the health and safety of everybody, especially our students and staff, McQueeney said.

Our journalism needs your support. Please subscribe today to NJ.com.

Avalon Zoppo may be reached at azoppo2@njadvancemedia.com. Follow her on Twitter @AvalonZoppo.
As another snowstorm blows through central Pennsylvania, PennDOT is urging residents to avoid unnecessary travel, if possible.

Those who do hit the roads will find some familiar restrictions in place.

Those Tier 1 restrictions are in force for all of Interstates 78, 83 and 283 and for I-81 from the Maryland line to I-80.

Banned from those roads are tractors without trailer, with empty of lightly loaded trailers, open trailers and tankers or unloaded or lightly loaded tandem trailers. Box trucks passenger vehicles towing trailers, and RVs and motorhomes arent allowed on those highways, either. The ban also extends to motorcycles and to buses without tire chains or other traction devices.
Artists loyal to the Syrian regime have criticized living conditions in regime-controlled areas, writes Baladi News.

After years of supporting the regime and its crimes against the Syrian people, loyal artists began to express their dissatisfaction with the living conditions in the regime-controlled areas, without directly mentioning the head of the regime.

Wael Ramadan, who is the husband of actress Sulaf Fawakherji, described those who still have not left Syria until now as donkeys [stupid] after he spent ten years describing the refugees who fled the oppression of Syrian President Bashar al-Assad as donkeys because they fled Syria by sea, considering that he had wronged them.

Ramadan quickly deleted his post an hour after it was published, for fear of the regimes security services, which recently carried out arrests of those who wrote posts on their personal pages criticizing living conditions in Syria.

Fawakherji, the wife of Ramadan, is known for her absolute support for the head of the Syrian regime. She once said she was ready to volunteer to confront, with her bare chest, the missiles that target the regimes military sites.

What is worse? Hell or Syria?

The artist, Bashar Ismail, wrote a post on his Facebook page in which he said that living in hell is much more merciful than living in Syria. He wrote, today I raised my hands to heaven and I begged he who created me to forgive me my sins and not admit me into the heaven that human beings seek to enter. I would like to live in hell, in calm and luxury, because life there is a thousand times better than the life I have under the weight of this tremendous cold and the lack of all the necessary components of life.

Electricity and Takamul

For his part, the artist, Ayman Reda, appeared, a while ago, in a video recording in which he mocked the Minister of Electricity of the regime, and the smart card, Takamul, a project owned by Asma al-Assad.

Reda addressed the minister, saying, where is the Minister of Electricity? Does he expect us to walk in the streets wrapped in blankets? Are we supposed to spend seven hours like that?

He mocked the Takamul card, saying, the best thing about the diesel integration card is the absence of diesel. You have been ignoring us for two years. I am not referring to money, but where is the diesel?

Reda was clearly using sarcasm. He is known for supporting Assad over the past years, even though he does not hold Syrian nationality.

The thousand Syrian pound

Two days ago, a pro-regime artist, known as Yakhour, launched a challenge in the Damascus markets, entitled What can 1,000 Syrian pounds buy you?

Through the challenge, it became clear that the 1,000-pound denomination will no longer buy socks or underwear. An employees monthly income ranges between 40,000 and 50,000 pounds (approximately 13  16 dollars), which is too little compared to the high prices.

Yakhour began his challenge with the question, can we afford to eat kebabs [meat dish] for 1,000 Syrian pounds? He ended up eating a kilogram of grilled potatoes instead.

This article was translated and edited by The Syrian Observer. The Syrian Observer has not verified the content of this story. Responsibility for the information and views set out in this article lies entirely with the author.
The collection of 100-year-old wild salmon scales from the Skeena River. Credit: Michael Price

The diversity and numbers of wild salmon in Northern B.C. have declined approximately 70 percent over the past century, according to a new Simon Fraser University study.

Researchers drawing on 100-year-old salmon scales report that recent numbers of wild adult sockeye salmon returning to the Skeena River are 70 percent lower than 100 years ago. Wild salmon diversity in the Skeena watershed has similarly declined by 70 percent over the last century.

The research undertaken by Simon Fraser University (SFU) and Fisheries and Oceans Canada was published today in the Journal of Applied Ecology.

The research team applied modern genetic tools to salmon scales collected from commercial fisheries during 1913-1947 to reconstruct historical abundance and diversity of populations for comparison with recent information.

The analysis revealed that Canada's second largest salmon watershedthe Skeena Riveronce hosted a diverse sockeye salmon portfolio composed of many populations that fluctuated from year to year, yet overall remained relatively stable. However, the Skeena sockeye portfolio has largely eroded over the last century, such that it now is dominated by a single population that primarily is supported by artificial production from spawning channels.

Wild sockeye salmon in the river. Credit: Michael Price

"Our study provides a rare example of the extent of erosion of within-species biodiversity over the last century of human influence," says Michael Price, an SFU Ph.D. candidate and lead author. "That loss in abundance and diversity from wild populations has weakened the adaptive potential for salmon to survive and thrive in an increasingly variable environment influenced by climate change."

Life-cycle diversity also has shifted: populations are migrating from freshwater at an earlier age, and spending more time in the ocean.

Credit: Michael Price

"Rebuilding a diversity of abundant wild populationsthat is, maintaining functioning portfoliosshould help ensure that important salmon watersheds like the Skeena are robust to global change," says John Reynolds, co-author, SFU professor, and Tom Buell BC Leadership Chair in Aquatic Conservation.

This research can help inform status assessments and rebuilding plan discussions for threatened salmon populations by expanding our understanding of historical diversity and production potential.

Explore further Century-old fish scales reveals startling decline in salmon populations

More information: Michael H. H. Price et al, Portfolio simplification arising from a century of change in salmon population diversity and artificial production, Journal of Applied Ecology (2021). Journal information: Journal of Applied Ecology Michael H. H. Price et al, Portfolio simplification arising from a century of change in salmon population diversity and artificial production,(2021). DOI: 10.1111/1365-2664.13835
This story contains the image and name of a deceased Indigenous person.

An Aboriginal man who died in custody was very sick and had yellow skin in the days before his death, and when another inmate saw him slumped over and asked for help it took about an hour for nurses to arrive, an inquest has been told.

Danny Whitton, 25, a Wonnarua man from the Hunter region, died at Royal Prince Alfred Hospital in Sydney on November 9, 2015, from multiple organ failure caused by suspected paracetamol toxicity. (The Herald has been given permission by Mr Whittons family to use his photo.)

Two days earlier, he had been taken from Junee Correctional Centre to Wagga Wagga Base Hospital after complaining of vomiting, severe stomach pain, and passing blood in his urine. He was diagnosed with kidney and liver failure, and when his condition worsened he was taken to Sydney by helicopter.

On Monday counsel assisting, Tim Hammond, told an inquest at the NSW Coroners Court that Mr Whitton had reported using methadone  which was regularly vomited up and sold by other inmates  and pills.
The Nagol is Back! VTOs guide to this years Nagol, plus where to stay and play in south, central and north Pentecost.
TDs are set for a pay rise within months that will push their wages to more than 100,000 a year.

The increase that is also due to higher earners in the public service will be paid by July 1 and means their basic salary of 98,113 will jump to 100,191.

Senators pay will rise to 70,134 a year, as wages are restored to levels last reached in 2008 before pay cuts were imposed during the financial crisis.

Read More

The Department of Public Expenditure and Reform was unable to say exactly when wages will rise.

A spokesperson said the post-FEMPI (emergency legislation that cut pay) rates will be subject to a ministerial order in due course, but by July 1.

She confirmed that deputies would be eligible for another 1pc pay hike in October next year.

This is due under a proposed new public sector pay deal that is set to be ratified by unions tomorrow.

However, legislation prevents the Taoiseach, Tanaiste and ministers from benefitting from the unwinding of pay cuts until the end of next year.

The 2pc increase in July will come less than a year after TDs and senators pay rose by 2pc under the last public sector agreement in October.

Some TDs waived that pay rise back to the State. They claimed it was not appropriate when thousands of workers were depending on wage subsidies and unemployment supports during the pandemic.

In a recent tweet, Sinn Fein leader Mary Lou McDonald said she would not be accepting recent increases.

I have not taken a pay increase of 10,200, she said. This is a time of crisis.

Workers and families are struggling. More money for TDs is just wrong.

The outcome of ballots of over 340,000 public servants on the 906m Building Momentum deal will be announced tomorrow.

It is expected to be ratified by the Public Services Committee of the Irish Congress of Trade Unions. The largest public sector union, Forsa, is due to announce the result of its ballot today.

Building Momentum would mean increases of up to 3pc for state employees by the end of next year.

However, TDs will not be eligible for an initial 1pc pay hike due under the deal in October because they are getting the July payment.

The department spokesperson said under legislation, the minister shall provide for completion of pay restoration to public servants paid an annual basic salary of 150,000 or less by July 1 2021.

This will include TDs.

She said public servants, including TDs, due pay restoration this year would not receive the general round increase of 1pc under Building Momentum.

TDs salary will be fully restored to 2008 level by July 2021 and they will be eligible for the 1pc under Building Momentum in October 2022, she said.

Under Building Momentum, 1pc or 500 a year, whichever is the greater, would be paid to public servants on October 1 this year. Another 1pc would be due on October 1 next year.

There is also potential for another 1pc increase for staff who submit claims to a new sectoral bargaining fund. A fourth-year student nurses yearly wage would rise from its current rate of 21,749 to 22,249 on October 1 this year if the deal is rubberstamped. It would increase further to 22,749 on October 1 next year.

However, a spokesperson for the Irish Nurses and Midwives Organisation said they do not earn the full salary as they only work for 36 weeks a year. He said those in year one to three of their degrees are not paid.

A staff nurse at the top of the pay scale would see their annual salary increase from 46,021 to 47,021 following two 500 pay rises by October 1 next year.

And a garda with 17 years service who currently earns basic pay of 54,469 a year would end up on 55,563 under the deal.

However, these figures do not include additional payments like overtime, premium pay or allowances that can significantly boost earnings.

The ASTI, IMO and Medical Laboratory Scientists Association have rejected the deal.

***

Basic pay after increases due this year and next (due to restoration payments and proposed new pay deal)

TD

100,191 (before July 1, 2021)

101,192 (October 1, 2022)

Senator

70,134 (before July1, 2021)

70,835 (October 1, 2022)

Staff nurse/midwife*

47,021(October 1, 2022)

(Note: long service increment after three years on the max 48,431)

Student nurse/midwife*

(*fourth year nurse, who is paid for 36 weeks of this annual amount)

22,249 (October 1, 2021)

22,749 (October 1, 2022)

Garda*

55,013 (October 1, 2021)

55,563 (October 1, 2022)

Clerical officer* in civil service

41,092 (October 1, 2021)

41,592 (October 1, 2022)

Secretary general

(secretary general 1-most senior grade)

213,859 (October 2021)

The department was unable to provide details of the restoration increase due in 2022

*Examples given are at the maximum level of their payscale
Days after the first malware targeting Apple M1 chips was discovered in the wild, researchers have disclosed yet another previously undetected piece of malicious software that was found in about 30,000 Macs running Intel x86_64 and the iPhone maker's M1 processors.

However, the ultimate goal of the operation remains something of a conundrum, what with the lack of a next-stage or final payload leaving researchers unsure of its distribution timeline and whether the threat is just under active development.

Calling the malware "Silver Sparrow," cybersecurity firm Red Canary said it identified two different versions of the malware  one compiled only for Intel x86_64 and uploaded to VirusTotal on August 31, 2020 (version 1), and a second variant submitted to the database on January 22 that's compatible with both Intel x86_64 and M1 ARM64 architectures (version 2).

Adding to the mystery, the x86_64 binary, upon execution, simply displays the message "Hello, World!" whereas the M1 binary reads "You did it!," which the researchers suspect is being used as a placeholder.

"The Mach-O compiled binaries don't seem to do all that much [...] and so we've been calling them 'bystander binaries,'" Red Canary's Tony Lambert said.

"We have no way of knowing with certainty what payload would be distributed by the malware, if a payload has already been delivered and removed, or if the adversary has a future timeline for distribution," Lambert added.

The 29,139 macOS endpoints are located across 153 countries as of February 17, including high volumes of detection in the U.S., the U.K., Canada, France, and Germany, according to data from Malwarebytes.

Despite the difference in the targeted macOS platform, the two samples follow the same modus operandi: using the macOS Installer JavaScript API to execute attack commands by dynamically generating two shell scripts that are written to the target's file system.

While "agent.sh" executes immediately at the end of the installation to inform an AWS command-and-control (C2) server of a successful installation, "verx.sh" runs once every hour, contacting the C2 server for additional content to download and execute.

Furthermore, the malware comes with capabilities to completely erase its presence from the compromised host, suggesting the actors associated with the campaign may be motivated by stealth techniques.

In response to the findings, Apple has revoked the binaries that were signed with the Apple Developer ID's Saotia Seay (v1) and Julie Willey (v2), thus preventing further installations.

Silver Sparrow is the second piece of malware to contain code that runs natively on Apple's new M1 chip. A Safari adware extension called GoSearch22 was identified last week to have been ported to run on the latest generation of Macs powered by the new processors.

"Though we haven't observed Silver Sparrow delivering additional malicious payloads yet, its forward-looking M1 chip compatibility, global reach, relatively high infection rate, and operational maturity suggest Silver Sparrow is a reasonably serious threat, uniquely positioned to deliver a potentially impactful payload at a moment's notice," Lambert said.

Slate has relationships with various online retailers. If you buy something through our links, Slate may earn an affiliate commission. We update links when possible, but note that deals can expire and all prices are subject to change. All prices were up to date at the time of publication.

The members of OutKast position themselves between two parallel renderings of democracy: the irony of Southern Black folks upholding the purity of democracy as an idealistic access to better life and the counternarrative of democracy in the South as a threat to their very existence. OutKasts recognition of not only their marginalization but also their refusal to acknowledge that the South does move on after 1968 is significant in using their musical catalog as a blueprint for updating why the hip-hop South is introspective and reflective of how young Blacks exist at the sharp intersections of expected performance, idealistic longing, and jarring realities of the contemporary American South.

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This reckoning is amplified at the 1995 Source Awards, where OutKast pushes past the geographic and cultural boundaries of the region or Southness into the experimental and meta-cultural possibilities of Southern Black expression. The Source Awards dominantly New York audience, in addition to their booing, jolts the ear and affirms hip-hops hyper-regional focus in the early to mid-1990s. The booing crowd identifies hip-hop as Northeastern, urban, and rigidly masculine, an aesthetic that was a daunting task for non-Northeastern performers to try to break through. Even celebrated West Coast artists like Snoop Dogg, who menacingly and repeatedly asked the crowd You dont love us? during the show, indicated the challenge of being recognizedand respected by Northeast hip-hop enthusiasts. That night in 1995 proved to be the climax of the conflict instigated by both West Coast Death Row Records and East Coast Bad Boy Records, the bitter lyrical and personal battle between Tupac Shakur and Notorious B.I.G., and OutKast, a Southern act, chosen as Best New Rap Group. The crowds increasingly despondent sonic rejection of hip-hop outside of New York foregrounds the premise for reading OutKasts acceptance speech as blatant and unforgiving Southern Black protest, a rallying cry for forcefully creating space for the hip-hop South to come into existence.

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Christopher Kid Reid and Salt-N-Pepa presented OutKast their award. Upbeat and playful, Kid said, Ladies help me out, to announce the winner, but there is a distinctive drop in their enthusiasm when they name OutKast the winner of the category. The inflection in their voices signifies shock and even disappointment, as Kid quickly tries to be diplomatic by shouting out OutKasts frequent collaborators and label mates Goodie Mob. The negative reaction from the crowd was immediate, sharp, and continuous booing.

Sign up for the Slate Culture newsletter The best of movies, TV, books, music, and more, delivered to your inbox three times a week. We encountered an issue signing you up. Please try again. Please enable javascript to use form. Email address: Send me updates about Slate special offers. By signing up, you agree to our Privacy Policy and Terms Sign Up Thanks for signing up! You can manage your newsletter subscriptions at any time.

Big Boi starts his acceptance speech, dropping a few colloquial words immediately recognizable as proper hip-hopword and whats up? Over a growingly irritated crowd, Big Boi acknowledges being in New York, yalls city, and tries to show respect to the New York rappers by crediting them as original emcees. Big Boi recognizes he is an outsider, his Southern drawl long and clear in his pronunciation of South as Souf, yet he attempts to be diplomatic and respectful of New York. There is also a recognition that where he is from, Atlanta, is also a city: His term, yalls city, is not only a recognition of his being an outsider but a proclamation that he, too, comes from a cityexcept it is a different city. Big Bois embrace of Atlanta as urban challenges previous cultural narratives of Southerners as incapable of maneuvering within an urban setting. Because of a long-standing and comfortable assumption that the American South was incapable of anything urbansuch as mass transit, tall buildings, bustling neighborhoods, and other interchangeable forms of communitiesbeliefs about Southerners perspectives remained aligned with rural, read as is, country and backward, sensibilities incapable of functioning in an urban cultural setting. These sensibilities often played out in longhand form via literature or in popular Black music, with a focus on dialect and language standing in as a signifier of regional and cultural distinction.

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Consider Rudolph Fishers Southern protagonist, King Solomon Gillis, from the 1925 short story City of Refuge. Fisher characterizes Gillis, a Black man from rural North Carolina, as naive and awestruck not only about New York but about city life in general. As the story opens, Fisher describes Gillis ride on the subway as terrifying, with strange and terrible sounds. References to the bang and clank of the subway doors and the close proximity of each train as distant thunder are particularly striking, a subtle sonic nod to Gillis rural Southernness and his inability to articulate the subway system outside of his limited Southern experiences. The references to heat, oppression, and suffocation also suggest Southern weather as well as a belief about the American South as an unending repetition of slavery and its effects.

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It is important to point out that Gillis certainly is not a fearful man in the literal sense: He migrated to Harlem out of necessity and desperation, in fear of being lynched after shooting a white man back home. Yet Fishers attention to sound positions Gillis as an outsider. Further, Fisher describes Gillis as Jonah emerging from the whale, a biblical allusion to triumph over a difficult situation and a reference to rebirth, the possibility of a new life and new purpose. This can be associated with the biblical reckoning of Southern Black folks migrating out of the South to seek socioeconomic change and advancement. Still, the transition of Southern Black folks to life in the city is not easy: Gillis train ride symbolizes the move from one difficult landscape to another. Although Gillis is ultimately confronted with the brutality he was trying to avoid in North Carolina, his repeated proclamation, They even got cullud policemans! amplifies his Southernness and naivete. Fishers intentional use of written-out dialect and the repetitiveness of Gillis awe of seeing Black police officers blot out the characteristic of region but not white supremacy. Gillis acceptance of Black police officers blurs the binaries of the Great Migration as a testament to Black folks looking for socioeconomic change outside of the American South, a terror-ridden space for Blacks. It also suggests, however, the unfortunate anxiety of those who decide to remain in the South, complacent in the lack of social equality.

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Seventy years later, Big Boi, as a Georgian, returns to New York with the confidence of both rural and Southern sensibilities outside of the immediately recognizable urban trope that is embodied in New York. Big Bois full embrace of being cullud, in both the linguistic and cultural elements that Fishers longhand dialect represented as authentic Southernness, is jarring, because his intentional embrace of Southern Blackness as othered anchors his approach to rap music. Big Boi does not posture the South as a space or place in need of escape or reposturing. Rather, the hyperawareness from both Big Boi and Andre 3000 in front of the predominantly New York crowd ruptures the accepted narrative of the South as needing saving by non-Southern counterparts. Big Bois speech forces the audience to deromanticize its notions of Northeastern supremacy and recognize the South as capable of hip-hop. Their direct booing is a sonic representation of that discomfort. From this perspective, Andres now iconic remarks in their acceptance speech further emphasized Big Bois departure from reckoning with Northeastern hip-hop as the standard. He stumbles in his speech, possibly because of nerves or irritation, and, like Big Boi, must talk over the crowd. Andre talks about having the demo tape and dont nobody wanna hear it, a double signifier of being rejected for his Southernness and the difficulty of breaking into the music industry. Andres frustration with being unheard as a Southerner can also be extended into the actual production of the tape by OutKasts production team Organized Noize, who drew from Southern musical influences like funk, blues, and gospel to ground their beats. Andres call to arms, The South got something to say, rallied other Southern rappers to self-validate their music. It is important to note that Andres rally called to the entire South, not just Atlanta. This is significant in thinking about Southern experiences as nonmonolithic, the aural-cultural possibilities of multiple Souths and their various intersections using hip-hop aesthetics.OutKast moves past their rejection at the Source Awards via their second album ATLiens (Atlanta aliens), which offered an equal rejection of hip-hop cultures binaries. The albums use of otherworldly sonic signifiers, such as synthesizers and pockets of silence that sound like space travel, embodied their deliberate isolation from mainstream hip-hop culture and the beginnings of Stankonia, or the hip-hop South.

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From CHRONICLING STANKONIA: THE RISE OF THE HIP-HOP SOUTH by Regina N. Bradley. Copyright  2021 by Regina N. Bradley. Used by permission of the University of North Carolina Press.

For more on this, listen to this episode of Hit Parade, Slates podcast about the history of the Billboard charts:
BIG ISLAND, Va. (AP)  Two separate hikers braving the icy conditions fell while traveling along the Appalachian Trail in Virginia and were rescued Saturday, officials said.

The longer rescue took approximately nine hours and happened on the trail near Big Island and the James River Foot Bridge in Bedford County.

A Facebook post from Virginia Division III Technical Rescue Team said the hiker fell down a snow and ice covered portion of the mountainside at least 250 feet. The hiker had injuries to his legs, face and was suffering from hypothermia.

UPDATE: At 1019 the Division III Technical Rescue Team was alerted about an injured hiker on the Appalachain Trail... Posted by Virginia Division 3 Technical Rescue Team on Saturday, February 20, 2021

A helicopter from Virginia State Police was requested by rescue officials to assist in removing the hiker from the embankment.

The second rescue happened in Roanoke County.

A Facebook post from the County Fire & Rescue Department said the hiker fell from the Sawtooth Trail, which is the Appalachian Trail connector trail from McAfee to Dragons Tooth.

At approximately 12:15 p.m. on Saturday, February 20, 2021 Roanoke County Fire and Rescue units were dispatched to the... Posted by Roanoke County Fire & Rescue Department on Saturday, February 20, 2021

Officials said the hiker was about a mile away from the parking lot and suffered a head injury after falling down the steep embankment. The hiker was later carried off the trail through steep, icy terrain and over a creek, exiting near The Homeplace Restaurant.

Both hikers were hospitalized in stable condition.

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[February 22, 2021] Gradable Launches Gradable Carbon to Give Farmers More Control of Credits

Gradable, a leading technology and services provider for scoring, sourcing, and pricing Low-Carbon Grain from farm-to-fork, today announced it has launched Gradable Carbon, a groundbreaking offering that empowers farmers to generate carbon credits, and gives them flexibility over when and where they sell them. "We believe the best way to create meaningful, long-term change is to provide farmers with the choice and power to participate in the carbon market on their own terms," said Devin Lammers, President & CEO, Gradable. "Gradable Carbon creates a win-win proposition that incentivizes farmers, while giving them more control over their carbon credits and enabling them to take advantage of the many emerging opportunities that reward regenerative practices." Gradable Carbon is unique compared with other carbon programs in several distinct ways: Gradable Carbon provides increased flexibility for farmers to capture the value of their practices Farmers in the Carbon program retain optionality to capitalize on new markets and transition into other sustainability programs in the environmental supply chain, as alternatives develop over time. Currently, compensating farmers via carbon credits for sequestering carbon may be the most immediate opportunity. However, Gradable believes opportunities like its existing low-carbon biofuels pilot program with POET, which pays premiums to farmers for their environmentally-friendly grain, will expand over time.

Gradable Carbon does not lock farmers into fixed prices at the time of enrollment Farmers are able to participate in potential price appreciation and even bank credits for a period of time, with the security of a fixed price floor at $20 per credit in the first year. Gradable retains a portion of each credit generated to cover insurance, administration, and fees.

Gradable Carbon supports farmers in maximizing their carbon credit potential Additional services include personalized analytics and crop nutrition plans to support farmers' transition to sustainable agriculture, while enabling the farmer to maximize return on investment (ROI).

As consumers, companies, and the new White House administration strive to reduce and offset carbon footprints and advance green initiatives, Gradable has developed the platform to generate credits on the behalf of farmers. Participating farmers gain the freedom to sell earned credits at the price floor or at a future price when carbon credits are expected to increase in value. As part of Gradable's program to help farmers maximize their returns on carbon credits, Gradable will offer agronomy support to farmers looking to adopt regenerative practices, known as Gradable Plan. This multi-year, per-acre service, which includes soil sampling and custom crop nurition recommendations, is designed to ensure farmers are maximizing the ROI of their operation.



Importantly, Gradable is partnering with major grain aggregators and processors, such as Landus Cooperative and POET, LLC, to collect broad farmer feedback on existing programs and develop downstream markets that reward sustainable agricultural practices that make sense for farmers and agribusiness alike. "Carbon credits have the potential to jumpstart a market for farm-generated environmental services and help lay the foundation for large, long-term investments in a more sustainable agriculture supply chain," said Matt Carstens, President and CEO, Landus. "We want to be able to prepare our farmer-owners and give them access to these opportunities as they develop."

Farmers generate offset credits through practices like cover cropping, conservation tillage, and nitrogen management. These practices can also reduce scope 3 emissions, as insets, which directly reduce the footprint of a buyer. With insets, environmental characteristics of grain flow directly down the supply chain to end users of agricultural products, from food companies to biofuel producers. The launch of Gradable Carbon and Gradable Plan are the latest innovations in the company's mission to empower family farms: September 2020 - Gradable launched to provide growers with a market for premium, environmentally-scored grain, with POET as an early customer.

launched to provide growers with a market for premium, environmentally-scored grain, with POET as an early customer. October 2020 - Gradable presented to the California Air Resources Board (News - Alert) (CARB) to demonstrate how its program for scoring variable grain feedstock can help biofuel makers reduce their carbon intensity levels. Gradable's technology-forward solutions will help farmers understand where they are today and how to most effectively improve farm sustainability outcomes. "In addition to developing efficient and credible programs, our job is to help farmers maximize ROI as complex environmental payments are introduced to Ag markets," said Steele Lorenz, Head of Sustainability at Gradable. "Gradable will be there with modern, data-driven analytics to help farmers successfully balance sustainability and profitability goals." Farmers and grain buyers interested in participating in the new Gradable Carbon program can visit gradable.com/carbon to sign up for more information. About Gradable: Gradable, launched by Farmer's Business Network, Inc. (FBN), provides new technology and services that facilitate the scoring, sourcing, and pricing of Low-Carbon Grain, making environmental transparency in the grain industry a reality now. Gradable enables comprehensive environmental transparency by tracking Scope 1, 2 and 3 emissions, while supporting a market for premium, environmentally-scored grain. Gradable also provides buying intelligence software that directly connects farmers with consumer packaged goods companies, animal feed providers, biofuel makers and the world's other major grain buyers. To learn more, visit www.gradable.com About FBN: Farmer's Business Network, Inc. is an independent ag tech platform and farmer-to-farmer network with a mission to power the prosperity of family farmers around the world, while working towards a sustainable future. Its Farmers First promise has attracted over 24,000 members to the network with a common goal of maximizing their farm's profit potential. FBN has set out to redefine value and convenience for farmers by helping reduce the cost of production and maximize the value of their crops. The FBN network has grown to cover more than 67 million acres of member farms in the U.S., Canada and Australia. Blending the best of Midwestern agricultural roots and Silicon Valley technology, the company has over 600 personnel and offices in San Carlos, Calif., Chicago, Ill., Sioux Falls, S.D., a Canadian Headquarters in High River, Alberta and an Australian Headquarters in Perth. To learn more, visit: www.fbn.com Enrollment in Gradable Carbon is subject to eligibility requirements. Additional terms and conditions apply. Fees may apply for certain product and service offerings other than FBN membership. The sprout logo, "Farmers Business Network", "FBN", "FBN Direct" and "Farmers First" are registered trademarks or service marks of Farmer's Business Network, Inc. "Gradable" is a trademark of Gradable LLC. View source version on businesswire.com: https://www.businesswire.com/news/home/20210222005662/en/

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KYIV. Feb 22 (Interfax-Ukraine)  The Asset Recovery and Management Agency of Ukraine (ARMA) advocates the need to legally grant the agency the right to make decisions on the sale of assets.

At a press conference on Monday at Interfax-Ukraine, Deputy Head of ARMA Volodymyr Pavlenko said that currently the agency has the function of transferring assets to management and the function of selling assets.

According to him, part of the assets is transferred to ARMA without asking the agency's opinion.

"It is impossible to manage what no one needs. You can try to sell it, but it does not necessarily mean that it will work out," he said.

In this context, Pavlenko stressed the need to introduce a planning procedure before the seizure of an asset.

"Before transferring, think about what ARMA will do with this [...] Prosecutors may turn to ARMA [...] It would be advisable to introduce this rule at the legislative level," the agency's deputy head said.

Pavlenko said another problematic point that requires legislative regulation is "assets that cannot be managed or sold either." As an example, he cited assets in the form of land plots.

"We need the function of preserving the asset so that we can not sell or transfer it to management," he said, adding that this requires funds to ensure the protection of the asset, which ARMA does not have now.

Speaking about the function of selling assets, Pavlenko said the agency is often accused of illegal sale of something. However, according to the deputy head of the department, ARMA "sells only what cannot be managed," and the agency does not sell real estate or any significant objects and has never sold it.

"We were given medical masks for management, not for implementation. If someone knows how to manage medical masks, and then return them back, then let him tell me," the ARMA deputy said.

The same, according to him, applies to the vehicles transferred to ARMA for management.

"It is pointless to drive them, because the management fee is much less than the depreciation of the vehicle. If we have a ten-year-old Bentley in our management [...] it will only cost to change tires there like a new Lanos. So, in general, automotive equipment should be sold," Pavlenko said.

He said if the right to sell is not indicated in the court ruling, then the agency can only transfer the asset to management.

"ARMA must, at its own discretion, determine what to sell and what not, based on professional knowledge and responsibilities," the deputy head of the agency said.

"If these are masks, firewood, cars, abandoned sheds, they should be sold," he said.

Pavlenko said European structures similar to ARMA have such powers.

The deputy head of the agency said that for assets that are of strategic or public importance, the selection of managers should be carried out not by ARMA, but by the Cabinet of Ministers.
Hang up on any calls, including robocalls, which direct you to take immediate action or provide personally-identifiable information, such as your Social Security number or bank account number, the agency said. Do not buy any kind of COVID-19 vaccine or treatment on the internet or from an online pharmacy. You should not have to pay any amount of money out of pocket in order to receive the vaccine. Everyone eventually will be able to receive the vaccine, even if they do not have health insurance.
The Centre has announced new guidelines for India-bound international passengers effective from Monday midnight, due to the emergence of new variants of the coronavirus, which have shown increased transmissibility.

Under the new norms, submission of a self-declaration form (SDF) online for all arriving international passengers prior to their scheduled travel and uploading a negative COVID-19 RT-PCR report have been made mandatory. This test should have been conducted within 72 hours prior to undertaking the journey, as per the norms.

It said, "Attention Passengers! As per the latest SOPs issued by MoHFW, it is mandatory for all passengers travelling to India to submit their self-declaration form on the Air Suvidha portal (http://newdelhiairport.in) along with negative RT-PCR report, conducted within 72 hrs of departure."

"An undertaking also needs to be uploaded in the portal accepting to abide by Govt rules on testing, institutional & home quarantine. Passengers seeking exemptions in testing/quarantine protocols in case of death in the family should apply on the Air Suvidha portal. All necessary amendments have been made to the portal as per the latest guidelines & to facilitate your travel. Please reach out to Delhi Airport on social media platforms or call them on their 24x7 helpline at +91-124-4797300/+91-124-6838410 in case of any concerns or queries," it also said.

Attention Passengers! As per latest SOPs issued by @MoHFW_India, it is mandatory for all passengers travelling to India to submit their self-declaration form on Air Suvidha portal (https://t.co/cSa2dpx3LN) along with negative RT-PCR report, conducted within 72 hrs of departure.  MoCA_GoI (@MoCA_GoI) February 21, 2021

Delhi International Airport Ltd (DIAL) on Monday rolled out its modified online facility for international arriving passengers, following new government norms in view of the emergence of COVID-19 variants. The revamped 'Air Suvidha' portal includes a new RT-PCR testing package and provision for declaring domestic connection, which will help in the implementation of a new SOP for domestic transit passengers, DIAL said in a release. DIAL is a joint venture of the Airports Authority of India and a GMR-led consortium.

DIAL had launched the portal in August 2020. The portal enables India-bound international passengers to fill the mandatory SDF? and also apply online for exemption from the mandatory quarantine process. The form will help in identifying passengers on flights from the UK, Europe and the Middle-East as well, who will undergo mandatory RT-PCR test on arrival, DIAL said.

Passengers can exit after giving the test at the airport and follow government guideline on quarantine/self-monitoring. It said SDF will also help identify passengers from high-risk counties such as the UK, Brazil and South Africa. Under the new Standard Operating Procedure (SOP), passengers with the exigency of death in the family can apply for exemption and upload the approved application in SDF in place of the RT-PCR test.

All other categories for exemption stand cancelled with effect from 11:59 pm of February 22, the airport operator said. Taking into account the new SOP, Delhi Airport has revamped the Air Suvidha portal to accommodate these changes as per the guidelines, DIAL said in the release.

Apart from these, as per the new government SOP, all passengers on flights from the UK, Europe and South Africa will have to undergo the mandatory RT-PCR test. At Delhi Airport, there are two categories of testing service available for the passengers--regular (at the government approved rates) and premium, at Rs 800 and Rs 1,300, respectively, which will also be available for pre-booking online from February 23, DIAL said.

According to the new norms, those flying in from the UK, South Africa and Brazil, direct or in transit, and having a connecting flight will not be allowed to leave the airport till their RT-PCR test report is negative, said the release.

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Pushing for the investigation were two former teaching pastors and the wife of a longtime president of the Willow Creek Association, a nonprofit organization related to the church. Some of those pressing for more scrutiny say the churchs prior investigation had shortcomings in their opinion and at least three leaders of the associations board resigned over what they believed was an insufficient inquiry.

NEW YORK and LOS ANGELES, Feb. 22, 2021 /PRNewswire/ -- To share with the world the unique cultural learning opportunities that come from creative excellence on stage and screen, Slave Play performers and 2020 Tony Award nominee Joaquina Kalukango and Jakeem Dante Powell, and Jagged Little Pill performers including Tony Award nominees Lauren Patten, Celia Rose Gooding, and Kathryn Gallagher, are first to launch Arts Action Sessions with Level Forward and a group of non-profit partners.

Arts Action Sessions incorporate exclusive live capture excerpts from these Tony Award-nominated Broadway shows, pairing the experiences of performers and their characters with insights from issue experts in fields aligned with show themes. Audience participants will share in the stories of these theatrical works, engaging in intimate, interactive discussions about the characters, their conflicts, and choices, and culminating in a creative exercise that puts the cultural learnings to work.

Facing multiple crises across health, economic, and societal divides, Arts Action Sessions are designed to give organizations committed to diversity, equity, and inclusion an answer to the question Where do we go from here? by creating growth environments that support getting to know what each member of a team, or what a diverse group of individuals, can uniquely bring to problem solving, innovation, and collaboration. Unlike conventional online trainings or continuing education coursework, these live and dynamic sessions use the power of stories to connect emotion and facts to the vulnerability and productivity of collective growth and trust-building exercises.

"Increasing diversity does not, by itself, increase effectiveness; what matters is how an organization harnesses diversity," reports researchers in the Harvard Business Review, (Nov.-Dec. 2020, "Getting Serious About Diversity: Enough Already with the Business Case," Robin J. Ely and David A. Thomas). Underlying studies show that increasing diversity alone does not boost morale, productivity, or bottom-line performance and that in fact, such performative steps can backfire if not properly harnessed and supported.

Slave Play performers Joaquina Kalukango and Jakeem Dante Powell have partnered with Carmen Morgan of artEquity to guide portions of their three-day session on "The Black Toolbox of Empowerment" for university students, to be held February 24-26. Jagged Little Pill sessions will commence in March and will include sessions on LGBTQIA+ identities, advocacy, and allyship, and separately, creating a culture of consent in partnership with organizations including Joyful Heart Foundation.

Said Joaquina Kalukango, "In college, I questioned the meaning of my dual roles as artist and citizen, though it is through my journey with Slave Play when answers have come into view. From the Black Out performances that gave Black people affordable access to a Broadway house where they experienced and processed theater in a safe space, to the Golden Collection that donated plays by Black playwrights to public libraries and community centers in all 50 states, and now with the honest conversations and healing interactions of Arts Action Sessions, we can continue to unpack and dismantle racist systems and practices that silence people of color. Working towards healing and equity begins with these difficult conversations."

Added Jakeem Dante Powell, "I've always wanted to be the kind of artist who asks really tough questions. In this moment, that question is How do we eradicate institutions built to oppress us? Working on Slave Play gave me the opportunity to listen to many answers, and now, with the help of Level Forward, I can take this work off the stage and into my community. While the conversation about dismantling systems of oppression is necessary, I am most excited about the organizing and action yet to come."

"Because of the artistry, commitment, and brave leadership of Level Forward's varied creative partners, and the partnership of organizations such as artEquity and Joyful Heart Foundation, we're able to launch these innovative Arts Action Sessions, broadening access to creative excellence, cultural learning, and sharing common truths of our human experiences," said Level Forward CEO, Adrienne Becker.

All sessions will be produced by Level Forward in partnership with select 501(c)3 non-profit partners. Each session will provide qualitative insights on outcomes and supporting materials for participants.

About Level Forward

Level Forward is an ecosystem of storytellers, business people, and social change organizers focused on expanding the opportunity and influence of creative excellence in pursuit of equity and economic transformation. Since 2018, the company's work has received thirty-seven Tony Award-nominations for What The Constitution Means To Me, Oklahoma!, Slave Play, and Jagged Little Pill, and multiple nominations and awards for its feature films including The Assistant, On The Record, Holler, Topside, and Rebel Hearts.

SOURCE Level Forward
Remembering those we've lost and helping those who are grieving
The freezing weather that hit Texas last week delayed author and University of Houston professor Brene Brown's appearance at the American Booksellers Association's Winter Institute 16 from Thursday to Saturday. In her online presentation delivered February 20, Brown told booksellers to improve their communication skills and not to anticipate a return to normalcy, but to prepare for a future of constant disruption.

Brown opened the final day of the three-day virtual event in conversation with Janet Geddis, owner of Avid Bookshop in Athens, Ga., where the two discussed the challenges of leading an organization -- in this case, a bookstore -- during challenging times, like the ongoing pandemic, and the need to have meaningful conversations with staff.

"I start each day by asking my entire team to do a two-word check in, this is when you ask them to describe how they are doing in two words," said Brown, who explained the practice helped virtual employees connect emotionally with the leadership team and each other. "It is very important now to make sure people are seen and their struggles are acknowledged. We need to normalize that everyone is in a struggle. Everyone is weary. Everyone is anxious. You are not alone. That no one has this figured out."

Brown explained that employees, working remotely, need more communication from management to feel secure. "In the absence of data we make up stories. Working remotely we have to fill in a lot of gaps, and will make up reasons for why things may have changed. During weird work times like these, we cannot control people making up stories about what has happened. But you can be a leader, who asks, 'Before you make up a story about why something happened, can you check in with me and fact check the story.'"

The conversation also touched on the need for managers to give themselves space and time to strategize for the future, for the need of booksellers to "communicate their own humanity" to customers, and to focus -- when they can -- on what they are most passionate about: selling books and building community.

Asked by a bookseller how to do this, when many bookstores have been reduced to becoming de-facto fulfilment centers for online orders, Brown suggested booksellers commit as much time to reaching out to customers and clients and treating them much the same way they do with their colleagues: with empathy and concern.

Brown emphasized that there will be a constant stream of "not normal events," and encouraged everyone to read Jim Collins's book Beyond Entrepreneurship 2.0. Brown then went on to quote from the book:

Were living history, surprise after surprise after surprise. And just when we think weve had all the big surprises for a while, along comes another one. If the first two decades of the 21st century have taught us anything, it is that uncertainty is chronic; instability is permanent; disruption is common; and we can neither predict nor govern events. There will be no new normal. There will only be a continuous series of not normal episodes, defying prediction and unforeseen by most of us until they happen.

She finished by saying to not expect a return to normalcy. "I think we will be living in constant disruption," she said.

Also on the agenda for the final day were panels covering neurodiversity in the workplace and recent changes in labor laws. The traditional mass author signing session at in-person Winter Institutes was replaced by a session of virtual author events, which saw authors broken out in groups in a variety of virtual rooms based on genres or topics. The day ended with a trivia contest to raise money for Binc, the Book Industry Charitable Foundation.

At the end of the event, the news was released that Winter Institute 17 will take place in Cincinnati, Ohio, February 13-16.
Later today, Boris Johnson is expected to announce that venues will remain shuttered until the end of April

Its been a day of mixed news in an already bleak time for the hospitality sector, as Boris Johnson is expected to announce venues will remain shuttered until the end of April.

PLC ( ) said it has agreed with the trustee of its pension funds to delay monthly contributions from January to March, which will be due the following month.

PLC ( ) announced a similar initiative by British Airways, which is deferring 450mln of pension deficit contributions  a years worth  and will repay them with interest.

Mitchells & Butlers has also launched a 351mln open offer to bolster its finances after admitting sales have fallen 70% in the period from 27 September 2020 to 16 January 2021 amid closures in the UK and Germany.

As of January 16, the All Bar One, ONeills and Harvester chains owner had 113mln of cash with all lending facilities drawn.

Since the start of the year and with the estate closed cash burn is running at 30mln and 35mln per four-week period with debt servicing costs of 51mln.

On a positive note, franchiser German Doner Kebab (GDK) said it will nearly double its restaurant estate, adding 47 sites to the existing 52, creating up to 1,800 jobs.

The chain benefitted from the rise in takeaway and delivery trends during lockdowns, with like-for-like sales surging 51% during 2020, Sky News reported.

The new openings are set to be in London, Glasgow, Manchester, Newcastle, Blackburn, Huddersfield, Stockport and Stirling among other UK cities.

Shares in MAB shed 2% to 317.70p on Monday afternoon.
People in have been pouring on to the streets in protests against the coup by the Myanmarese army - the Tatmadaw.



Myanmar's big towns are witnessing daily rallies and protests asking for democratically elected leader Aung San Suu Kyi to be released.

Exclusive photographs and video obtained by IndiaNarrative show that anti-coup demonstrators have effectively mobilised tens of thousands of people in Mandalay against the army.

Photographs show a flood of people marching to Myanmar's downtown areas despite the army's crackdown on pro-democracy protests.

The video obtained by India Narrative shows how the military is trying to scare citizens by firing randomly. A posse of soldiers are seen marching along railway tracks in Mandalay and firing in the dark.

Sources say that many people were killed over the last two days in Mandalay protests and scores have been hospitalised. Hundreds have been arrested, claim sources.

A former capital of Myanmar, Mandalay is the second-largest city and is an economic powerhouse. Located on the Irrawaddy River, it has historical links with India.

The military imposed emergency late last month for one year after arresting Suu Kyi and senior members of her government. Her party, the National League of Democracy (NLD) had recently won a landslide victory in elections. The military, however, dismissed her popular government after alleging irregularity in elections.

The army issued a statement after the coup, saying, "... there have been a lot of protests going on in townships and cities in to demonstrate their mistrust toward UEC. Other parties and people have also been found conducting different kinds of provocations including displaying flags which are very damaging to national security."

The statement said: "... the state of emergency is declared in accordance with article 417 of the 2008 constitution.In order to perform scrutiny of the voter lists and to take action, the authority of the nation's law making, governance and jurisdiction is handed over to the Commander in Chief in accordance with the 2008 constitution article 418, sub article (a)."

However, protestors allege that China is supporting the military regime in suppressing protests by helping the junta in curbing internet and communication facilities. The military is also threatening civilians with severe punishments for opposing their rule.

China has been one of the long-standing supporters of the military regime. In the nearly two decades of military rule, it was China that supported the Myanmar generals when the West had imposed sanctions against the junta. China retains interest in Myanmar owing to its strategic location - a link between South Asia and South-East Asia, where China is trying to access the Indian Ocean for easier routes for its oil imports bypassing the Malacca strait.

Over the last few years with the advent of democracy, both the elected government as well as the Myanmar army, had established strong ties with India in defence relations and strategic cooperation.

(This content is being carried under an arrangement with indianarrative.com)

(Only the headline and picture of this report may have been reworked by the Business Standard staff; the rest of the content is auto-generated from a syndicated feed.)

WASHINGTON - The state of Michigan and the city of Detroit have asked a federal judge to sanction attorneys who filed lawsuits that falsely alleged the November vote was fraudulent, the first of several similar efforts expected across the country.

An Atlanta-area prosecutor has launched a criminal investigation into whether pressure that then-President Donald Trump and his allies put on state officials amounted to an illegal scheme to overturn the results of the presidential election.

And defamation lawsuits have been filed against Trump's allies - the start of what could be a flood of civil litigation related to false claims that the election was rigged and to the subsequent riot at the U.S. Capitol on Jan. 6.

Although Trump was acquitted by the Senate on a charge that his rhetoric incited the deadly Capitol siege, public officials and private companies are pursuing a multifront legal effort to hold him and his allies accountable in other ways. The actions target the former president and numerous others - including elected officials, media pundits and lawyers - who indulged and echoed his falsehoods that Joe Biden did not win the election.

The goal, according to lawyers and others supportive of such efforts, is to mete out some form of punishment for those who helped undermine confidence in the election results and fueled the Jan. 6 attack on the Capitol. But even more, they said they hope to discourage other public officials from rerunning Trump's strategy of attempting to overturn an election result by sowing doubt about the legitimacy of the vote.

"There has to be some consequence for telling these lies - because when you lie to people, they take action based on what they think is true," said Philadelphia Commissioner Al Schmidt, a Republican who received threats after false allegations of fraud in the counting of the city's votes. "Because it's such a dangerous new thing that occurred, there has to be some reconciliation. Moving on isn't enough."

A federal judge in the District of Columbia late Friday referred one lawyer for possible disciplinary action. It's not yet clear how far courts will go in pursuing sanctions against lawyers who may have believed in their own conspiracy theories, or whether prosecutors will ultimately bring criminal charges related to the election. The civil litigation could linger for years.

One side effect of the endeavors: They could provide new forums for Trump and his allies to showcase their false claims about the vote in 2020.

Former New York mayor Rudy Giuliani, who served as Trump's lead post-election attorney and who is the target of several of the lawsuits that have been filed, said in a text message that he sees the court actions as "an opportunity" to defend his claims. Or, as he wrote, "it will give me a chance to get the truth past the Iron Curtain of Big Tech and Most Media censorship."

A spokesman for Trump did not respond to a request for comment.

The most serious ongoing legal actions involve criminal inquiries. More than 225 people have been charged with various crimes directly related to storming the Capitol on Jan. 6. Justice Department officials have said they do not expect to file criminal charges against Trump or others who gave incendiary speeches in Washington that day before the violence, but they also said that the case is complex and that the investigation ongoing.

Even without charges against the former president, several lawyers representing alleged rioters have signaled that they plan to argue that their clients were merely following what they believed were Trump's directions that day - meaning there could be lengthy legal wrangling over Trump's culpability.

Meanwhile, one local prosecutor is directly examining whether Trump and his allies broke state laws when they sought to overturn the results in Georgia.

Fulton County District Attorney Fani Willis sent a letter this month to various state officials indicating that her office is examining a variety of criminal charges related to "attempts to influence" the 2020 election.

In December, Trump called Georgia's top state elections investigator and asked the person to "find the fraud." Then, in a recorded phone call in January, Trump pressured Georgia's secretary of state, Republican Brad Raffensperger, to "find" enough votes to reverse Biden's win in the state.

Another front could open up in Wisconsin, where a recount confirmed Biden's victory.

Last week, lawyers representing the state council of the Service Employees International Union sent a letter to Milwaukee County District Attorney John Chisholm, a Democrat, requesting a criminal investigation into whether laws were broken when 10 would-be Wisconsin electors sympathetic to Trump met behind close doors at the state Capitol on Dec. 14 and tried to appoint themselves as the state's representatives to the electoral college.

The group signed illegitimate certificates of election and sent the fake documents to federal and state officials, proclaiming that Trump had won the state's electoral votes.

Their actions came as Wisconsin's governor on the same day convened Biden's electors in an open ceremony elsewhere in the Capitol, as prescribed by state law, to formally give the state's votes to Biden and Vice President-elect Kamala Harris.

The union identified six Wisconsin laws it says the would-be Trump electors may have broken, including prohibitions on forgery and falsely assuming to act as a public officer.

"Some of this is about trying to bring bad actors to account," said Jeffrey Mandell, an attorney representing the union. "But the bigger part is trying to make sure we never go through something like this again. We have seen an intensification from election to election of how far people are willing to push these issues. And we need it to stop."

The Milwaukee County District Attorney's Office did not respond to a request for comment, nor did a spokesman for the Wisconsin Republican Party, which was involved with organizing the Trump elector effort. Party Chair Andrew Hitt was one of the 10 people purporting to be Trump electors.

Meanwhile, a variety of groups and individuals who say they were harmed by lies told about the election are pursuing lawsuits.

On Tuesday, Rep. Bennie Thompson, D-Miss., chairman of the House Homeland Security Committee, sued Trump, Giuliani and members of two extremist groups, arguing that their rhetoric caused the Jan. 6 riot in violation of an 1871 law that bars violent interference in the performance of Congress's duties. Thompson is being represented by the NAACP, which said other members of Congress are expected to join.

Trump spokesman Jason Miller has rejected the effort, saying in a statement that "the facts are irrefutable" that Trump "did not incite or conspire to incite any violence at the Capitol on Jan. 6th."

Separately, two election technology companies are pursuing multibillion-dollar defamation suits against various Trump allies, alleging that they repeatedly told lies about the companies' products in the weeks leading up to Jan. 6.

Dominion Voting Systems, one of the two companies, has filed twin $1.3 billion defamation suits against Giuliani and another lawyer, Sidney Powell, who together promoted false claims that the company's voting machines were somehow manipulated to swing the election to Biden.

Dominion lawyers have said they plan to file similar action against Mike Lindell, a leading Trump supporter who is the chief executive of the company My Pillow, and the lawyers have sent letters warning of potential litigation to dozens of others, including the Trump campaign.

Lindell has said he would welcome a lawsuit that might result in discovery and allow him to press his allegations against Dominion.

Giuliani has accused the company of using the suit "to wipe out and censor the exercise of free speech" and has likewise said the lawsuit will give him an opportunity to litigate his assertions about the election.

Dominion has claimed in court documents that Powell "evaded" service of its suit, forcing it to pursue her across state lines. In an email, her attorney Howard Kleinhendler called that claim "false," indicating that she had been traveling frequently for work and was facing security threats but had not been avoiding the lawsuit.

A second company, Smartmatic, which has said that during the November election it operated in only one U.S. county, a jurisdiction in California, has filed a $2.7 billion lawsuit against Fox News and several of its prominent commentators, as well Giuliani and Powell. Smartmatic says the commentators and lawyers used the network to propagate wild lies, including falsely claiming the company had been founded by Venezuelans close to former leader Hugo Chavez.

Kleinhendler called the lawsuits "empty, self-serving publicity stunts and pathetic attempts at obscene and unfounded damages claims" and said Powell looked forward to defending herself in court.

The lawsuits are turnabout for Trump and his allies, who filed more than 60 lawsuits after the election, challenging the results in various states. They lost all the suits but one in Pennsylvania that affected few ballots.

Judges in some of those suits are considering requests to sanction the pro-Trump lawyers, either through monetary penalties or by referring them for disciplinary action in the states where they hold their law licenses.

Federal rules prohibit lawyers from filing frivolous suits or from using litigation for improper purposes such as to harass or delay. Lawyers also are not allowed to lie in court.

The purpose of the rules, said Stephen Gillers, a professor at New York University's law school and an expert in legal ethics, is to discourage bad practices: "Lawyers should not bring garbage complaints to the court and take up valuable court time. Judicial time is limited - it's a valuable resource."

Detroit was the first formally to request sanctions, filing a motion in December asking U.S. District Judge Linda Parker to assess monetary fees against Powell, Lin Wood and several others involved in a case that had challenged Michigan's presidential election results.

In ruling against the Trump allies at one stage of the litigation, Parker had called the suit "stunning in its scope and breathtaking in its reach" and an attempt to "disenfranchise the votes of the more than 5.5 million Michigan citizens who, with dignity, hope, and a promise of a voice, participated in the 2020 General Election."

In January, Detroit also asked Parker to initiate a process that could prevent the lawyers from being able to work in Michigan courts. Michigan Gov. Gretchen Whitmer and Secretary of State Jocelyn Benson, both Democrats, have asked the judge to sanction the lawyers. The two officials, along with Michigan Attorney General Dana Nessel, a Democrat, have written letters to state bar associations requesting grievance proceedings against the lawyers.

"Attorneys who use their license to fuel the fires of insurrection have no right to run and hide when their battle is lost," said David Fink, a Detroit-based lawyer representing the city in the case. "They chose to misrepresent the facts to the court and participated in a scheme to persuade millions of Americans that this was not a free, fair and open election. They have to be held accountable for what they've done."

In a filing this month, attorney Stefanie Lambert Junttila, representing the pro-Trump lawyers, called the request for sanctions "baseless," "procedurally improper" and "an attempt to create a dangerous precedent that could dissuade future civil rights and voting rights plaintiffs from bringing their disputes to court." (She also argued that Powell should not be sanctioned because she had not actually signed documents that were filed in the case under her name.)

Kleinhendler, also a lawyer for Powell, said there was "no credible basis" that any ethics complaint could stand against her and said she had practiced "with the highest professional legal integrity" throughout her career, which included a stint as a federal prosecutor in Texas.

Similar motions for sanctions could be forthcoming in other states where Trump and his allies challenged election results in court.

In Wisconsin, Gov. Tony Evers, a Democrat, said in a statement to The Washington Post that state officials will "absolutely" be seeking attorney fees from and sanctions for the Trump lawyers. "These lawsuits had no basis in the law or reality, and they were an attack on our democracy. There needs to repercussions for this reckless, dangerous behavior," he said.

No sanction motions have been filed in Pennsylvania, where Giuliani appeared in court to argue Trump's case, but a spokeswoman for Attorney General Josh Shapiro, a Democrat, said, "We have made it clear there will be accountability for those who filed and defended those meritless claims regarding the Pennsylvania election."

"We saw the horrific consequences that ensued on January 6th as a result of these baseless attacks designed to undermine faith in our election process," she added.

In D.C., Judge James Boasberg of the U.S. District Court initiated possible sanctions without any formal request. Late Friday, he formally referred Minneapolis-based lawyer Erick Kaardal to an attorney grievance committee for an investigation into Kaardal's conduct over a last-ditch lawsuit filed in December seeking to stop Biden from taking office.

The suit, in which Kaardal was representing a conservative group called the Amistad Project, was filed against then-Vice President Mike Pence, both houses of Congress, the leaders of five states and the electoral college - a body that does not exist as a permanent entity.

In his order, Boasberg identified a variety of problems with Kaardal's suit and added that the lawyer had sought a "staggering" outcome - to invalidate a presidential election. "When any counsel seeks to target processes at the heart of our democracy, the Committee may well conclude they are required to act with far more diligence and good faith than existed here."

A lawyer for Kaardal had argued earlier this month against the move, writing that Kaardal had acted in good faith and that disciplinary action would have a "chilling effect" on future litigants who assert similarly good-faith arguments in challenging existing law.

Separately, Wood, who worked closely with Powell, has said he has been alerted by the State Bar of Georgia that it is considering disciplinary action against him - which could result in the suspension or revocation of his law license. An official of the Georgia bar association declined to comment, citing the confidentiality of the process, as did an official with the bar association in Texas, where Powell is licensed.

"The false attacks are propaganda intended to smear my good name," Wood said in an emailed statement. "The enemy wants me to stop speaking truth. I will not be stopped."

There also is an effort to seek sanctions in New York, where Gillers, the NYU law school professor, helped draft a complaint asking state courts to investigate Giuliani's conduct, potentially to revoke his license to practice law in the state.

Gillers noted that New York state has an especially stringent rule that prohibits lawyers from engaging in "conduct that adversely reflects on the lawyer's fitness as a lawyer." Although the disciplinary process can take three to four years to resolve, he said the court has the option to suspend a lawyer's license on an interim basis if that lawyer is deemed a threat to the public interest. He said Giuliani could be a candidate for that kind of drastic action.

"He spent months as the titular head of the Trump legal challenges, bringing useless cases and publicly claiming that the election was fraudulent, thereby creating confusion," he said. "I believe he knew it - or should have known it - and I think that behavior, across many months and after many losses both in court and in public opinion, adversely reflects on his fitness as a lawyer."
Two drug peddlers were arrested in West Bengal's Malda district after 70 kg of ganja worth Rs 5 lakh was seized from their possession, police said on Monday.Acting on a tip-off, a team of police personnel apprehended the two from the Ghorapi area on Sunday night and recovered seven packets of ganja from them, a senior officer said.

"They had procured the contraband from Manipur and planned to supply it in Milki town area of the district. The market value of the seized ganja would be around Rs 5 lakh," English Bazar Police Station inspector-in-charge Madan Mohan Roy said.

The two arrested persons are being interrogated, the officer added.

(Disclaimer: This story is auto-generated from a syndicated feed; only the image & headline may have been reworked by www.republicworld.com)
Choi Seong-kuk, third from left, a North Korean defector who is a cartoonist and human rights activist here, speaks during a press conference in front of the Seoul Central District Court, Monday, before filing a defamation lawsuit against Unification Minister Lee In-young together with three other defectors. Screenshot from Mulmangcho's YouTube account



By Jung Da-min



Four North Korean defectors are suing Unification Minister Lee In-young for defamation over his recent remarks which they claim treated defectors as "liars."



The four, with help from Mulmangcho, an organization that supports North Korean defectors adjust to life in the South, held a press conference in front of the Seoul Central District Court, Monday, to condemn the minister who said testimony from North Korean defectors needed verification and validation. They said Lee's remarks were no different from calling such testimony "untrustworthy lies."



During a press conference with foreign media in Seoul, Feb. 3, Lee was asked whether the unification ministry would disclose its records on North Korean human rights to the public. He responded: "The confirmation and verification process for records (of North Korean defectors' testimony on the human rights situation in the North) is still insufficient to see if the testimony is real or just based on unilateral claims (of the defectors)."



These remarks drew a strong backlash from defector communities here, which claimed Lee was not only defaming defectors calling them liars but also threatening the rights of defectors who came to the South to find freedom.



"The North Korean defectors who are suing Unification Minister Lee In-young, are people who suffered unimaginable human rights violations such as torture, violence, hunger and forced displacement in North Korea under the Kim Jong-il and Kim Jong-un regimes before defecting from the North," read a statement from the defectors and Mulmangcho at the press conference.



"Since settling in the Republic of Korea, defectors have testified to the reality of the human rights violations they suffered; but the unification minister, who is responsible for protecting North Korean defectors and promoting human rights in North Korea, has publicly said the testimony of defectors needs verification, which is a serious case of defamation."



The four defectors shared their stories of suffering and witnessing human rights violations such as detention and torture, which often led to death, during the press conference.



"The minister said he needed to verify testimony from North Koreans, but how is he going to do this? Is he going to visit North Korea? If so, he should ask the North Korean authorities to show the real situation of the North Korean people  not film sites made up by the North Korean authorities to showcase to foreigners  to see the suffering of North Korean residents in labor and political prisoner camps," said Choi Seong-kuk, a defector who is now a cartoonist and a North Korean human rights activist, and one of the four participating in the suit.





Unification Minister Lee In-young, right, participates in a plenary meeting of the National Assembly Foreign Affairs and Unification Committee, Monday. On his left is Foreign Minister Chung Eui-yong. Yonhap
The head of Chechnya, Ramzan Kadyrov, commented on the photo in which he was captured next to the Deputy Prime Minister of Ukraine, Oleg Urusky, at the IDEX-2021 International Defence Exhibition in Abu Dhabi.

"All this hype has been pulled out of thin air and not worth a doit. I would like to appeal to those who overblow a scandal: stop it! Until yesterday, I had no idea who Urusky was," he wrote in Telegram.

Kadyrov joked that the Ukrainian politician approached him at the exhibition pavilion and offered some secret information.
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The Kaduna State Government has said bandits have killed a father and his son in Igabi Local Government Area of the state.

The state Commissioner for Internal Security and Home Affairs, Samuel Aruwan, confirmed the incident in a statement to journalists in Kaduna on Sunday.

Mr Aruwan said that security agencies had reported that armed bandits, on Saturday night, invaded Baka village in Igabi Local Government Area.

The bandits, operating in groups, also abducted a number of persons, mostly women and children.

Troops based in the Sabon Birni general area were mobilised to the location, he said.

He said that the group engaged the bandits and rescued captives from one of the bandit groups.

The commissioners said the governor, Nasir el-Rufai expressed grief over the attack and condoled with the family of the slain, praying for the repose of their souls.

Mr Aruwan said the governor also commended the troops for quick response to the incident and thanked them for the rescue of 13 victims.

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The Ulster Unionists have endorsed hard-hitting criticism of the Northern Ireland Protocol by former party leader and First Minister, David Trimble.

Writing in the Irish Times, Nobel peace laureate Lord Trimble said that the protocol "wilfully tears up the Belfast Agreement" because it "ignores the fundamental principle of consent".

Last night Ulster Unionist Lord Empey said the case by Lord Trimble - a key architect of the 1998 Agreement - against the controversial protocol was "compelling".

Lord Empey said his fellow peer "makes a compelling case that the actions of both the UK Government and the EU amounts to a serious breach of the agreement that both proclaim to be protecting".

"Both London and Brussels steadfastly refuse to talk to the individuals who negotiated the agreement. Had they done so, the folly of their actions could have been avoided," he said.

"My colleague and former MEP, Jim Nicholson, described the protocol as 'a sledgehammer to crack a nut' and I fully agree with him.

"Workable alternatives are and were available, but NI has been used as a bargaining chip from the start of the withdrawal process in 2016. What is lacking is the political will in London and Brussels to stop the process of using sticking plasters to fix problems on a day-to-day basis and realise the protocol is fundamentally flawed in principle and undermines the Belfast Agreement.

"Northern Ireland has moved from being a fully integrated component of the UK's internal market to having something akin to 'associate membership' to which brutal conditions apply."

Lord Empey, who served as acting First Minister of Northern Ireland in 2001, also hit out at the DUP over its protocol stance.

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"There has been widespread and, as far as I can see, universal unionist opposition to the protocol.

"But, sadly, that was not always the case.

"The border in the Irish Sea is a self-inflicted wound because on the day that Boris Johnson proposed it to the EU, the first people to back him were Arlene Foster and her 10 Westminster MPs.

"On October 2, 2019, when the Prime Minister unveiled his plans to saw off this part of the United Kingdom from Great Britain, Mrs Foster described his plans as 'a serious and sensible way forward'.

"The DUP's actions were reckless and have done untold constitutional and economic damage to Northern Ireland.

"Clearly the DUP were no match for the Prime Minister.

"He ran rings around them, and today Mrs Foster is in no position to lead unionism out of the mess that she and her colleagues created."
A cheeky peacock who became a local celebrity for east London schoolchildren after turning up at the start of the pandemic has been savagely slain by foxes.

The colourful bird, given the name Kevin, became a symbol of hope during the dark days of the second wave of coronavirus when he turned up at Yardley Primary School in Chingford.

Young students and parents worried about the pandemic quickly fell in love with the sassy animal, who would routinely turn up outside classrooms announced and attract everyone's attention.

But in an email to parents, headteacher Chris Evans revealed the sombre news that the school's 'adopted' mascot had been killed by foxes during the weekend.

A sassy peacock who became a local celebrity for east London schoolchildren after appearing at the start of the pandemic has been killed by foxes

His lifeless body was discovered by the school's caretaker, who it said had grown an attachment to the animal and would often feed it.

According to Jennifer Hassan of the Washington Post, the caretaker found Kevin to be 'rattled' on Saturday evening, and later saw him settle into a tree branch quite a bit lower than he usually would.

The shocking news left many parents with the thankless task of trying to explain to their children why Kevin would not be around anymore when went back to school.

In an email to parents, Chingford's Yardley Primary School headteacher Chris Evans revealed the sombre news that the school's 'adopted' mascot Kevin had been killed by foxes during the weekend

'When we heard the bad news, we dreaded telling the kids as we knew they would be upset,' Rob and Zoe Warner told Jennifer Hassan for the Washington Post. Their children Mia, 4, and Leo, 8, attend the school.

'He adopted us,' Mr Evans said of Kevin last year.

He added that the community had labelled him the 'pandemic peacock'.

Prior to this there had already been worries about Kevin's ability to make it through Britain's winter months, which were much colder than usual this year, especially because he had lost his feathers with the conclusion of the breeding period.

There had been concern that Kevin might not have been able to survive a colder than usual winter after he lost his feathers at the end of the mating season

But residents said they were deeply saddened that his death actually came from an attack by red-tailed devils known to be in the area.

'Some staff are taking the philosophical view that he came to the school when we most needed him and his work here is now done,' Evans said.

But as some in the community paid tribute to animal, others claimed he had not actually died.

'That's not Kevin,' wrote one user.

The school has since responded confirming that another peacock had in fact appeared in the town, and is now known as 'Not Kevin'.

The attorneys general for Virginia, New York and Massachusetts joined a federal consumer watchdog Monday in suing an immigration bond services company accused of preying on undocumented immigrants.

The federal lawsuit marked the culmination of a multiyear investigation into Libre by Nexus and its parent company, Nexus Services, according to officials from the three states and the Consumer Financial Protection Bureau (CFPB).

"Immigrants come to this country with a dream of finding a better life for themselves and their families," Virginia Attorney General Mark Herring told reporters during a conference call. "They play a crucial role in our communities and our economies, and they deserve the chance to make it in this country without the fear of being exploited by a company who sees them as only a way to make a profit."

The company, which was founded in Virginia and still has an office in Verona, denied any wrongdoing.

"Libre by Nexus categorically denies all allegations in the complaint filed against the company today and looks forward to our day in court," CEO Mike Donovan said in a statement. "Libre commits to continuing to service its amazing family of clients."

The lawsuit, which was filed in the U.S. District Court for the Western District of Virginia, is the latest in a string of investigations into and complaints against the company.

Libre, which means "free" in Spanish, helps post bond for people being held in immigration detention centers while they wait for their cases to be heard in backlogged courts. In exchange for their freedom, immigrants sign contracts promising to pay Libre about $420 per month while wearing the company's GPS ankle devices.

The contracts have been the subject of lawsuits and allegations of fraud by immigrants who claim they did not understand them.

A 2017 investigation by The Washington Post found that some Libre clients were given documents in English - a language they did not speak - and told to sign. They then were startled to have GPS monitors the size of cigarette packs strapped to their legs.

A dozen people told The Post that they struggled to pay the monthly fee for the device. Most said Libre employees threatened them with being returned to Immigration and Customs Enforcement custody if they didn't pay.

The company denied those allegations, saying its contracts were clear and consensual and that employees did not threaten clients. It says it now provides contracts in Spanish and stopped using ankle bracelets last year.

In the lawsuit filed Monday, the CFPB and attorneys general claim that Libre used "unconscionable tactics, including . . . lengthy and complicated contracts written in English when most consumers do not understand English; and presenting contracts to detainees for signature only after they have been released from detention."

Massachusetts Attorney General Maura Healey recounted the stories of three Libre clients during the news conference.

One woman felt "tricked" and "cheated," Healey said, after discovering she and her family had paid thousands of dollars not to pay off the bond, but in fees to Libre.

Another received "threatening text messages" implying that she could be re-detained if she didn't keep up with her payments, the attorney general said.

And in the case of a male client, Healey said, Libre began "harassing his family members, telling them they were going to call debt collectors, or take them to court or ruin their credit."

"This is horrible stuff," Healey said.

Libre did not respond to a detailed list of questions about the lawsuit or officials' claims. But in its statement, the company suggested that the litigation was retaliation for lawsuits Libre has filed on behalf of detainees.

"While the federal government continues to detain scores of immigrants, the AGs have ignored the fact that these detention centers operate within their own borders," Donovan said. "From Buffalo to Farmville to Suffolk MA, immigrants are tortured while Herring, [New York Attorney General Letitia] James and others conduct a shadowy investigation into the only company helping the immigrants they claim to be protecting. Libre by Nexus welcomes this action as finally these inquiries can be brought out of the shadows and into one courtroom."

Officials said they are seeking millions of dollars in restitution for thousands of alleged victims as well as penalties against the company.

David Uejio, who was appointed the CFPB's acting director last month, said the suit is a sign his agency is prioritizing racial equity. "Today's action should serve notice to the entire market that financial scams targeting communities of color will not be tolerated," he said.

The lawsuit comes amid mounting financial issues for Libre.

Last year, the California Department of Insurance reached a $5.5 million settlement with the company over similar allegations. In November, Libre agreed to pay $425,000 to settle an investigation by the Virginia Bureau of Insurance.

The agreements restricted Libre's ability to operate in the states. The company did not admit wrongdoing in either case.

According to a court document Libre filed in August, the company was under investigation by nearly a dozen state or federal agencies, including the U.S. Justice Department.

The company is also engaged in multimillion-dollar lawsuits. In one, Libre was recently ordered to pay $3.3 million in damages and attorney fees, and to post $2.4 million in collateral.

Earlier this month, a federal judge in California approved a settlement agreement in a class-action lawsuit filed by immigrants against Libre.
Orange County District 2 Candidates Discuss COVID-19 Economic Recovery Strategies

With the March 9 special election approaching to fill Orange Countys District 2 supervisor seat, four out of five candidates told The Epoch Times how they would help those negatively impacted by the COVID-19 pandemic.

Costa Mesa Mayor Katrina Foley could not be reached for comment.

Like many other cities in California, Newport Beach restaurants and small businesses were severely impacted by state-mandated COVID-19 restrictions, at times barring them from indoor and outdoor gatherings.

Newport Beach Councilman Kevin Muldoon worked to deliver more than $2 million in COVID-19 grants to the beach towns business community, he said.

At the county level, I will continue to assist our businesses, including ensuring that the Orange County Health Care Agency works with businesses and relevant stakeholders to safely reopen our economy, Muldoon told The Epoch Times.

He formerly worked under President George W. Bush in the White House Office of Strategic Initiatives.

Former state senator John Moorlach, of the 37th district, told The Epoch Times his number one priority will be responding to the COVID crisis by ensuring vaccines are available and distributed in a fair and fast process for all those who want and need them.

I will also continue to fight to recover funding for the business community, Moorlach said. As state senator, I helped provide $500 million from the state budget for COVID relief, and will continue to advocate for Orange Countys fair share.

Moorlach previously termed out on the Board of Supervisors District 2 seat, where he served from 2006 to 2015. He earlier worked as Orange County Treasurer-Tax Collector.

Candidates for the Orange County Board of Supervisors District 2 seat include, from left: Kevin Muldoon, Janet Rappaport, Michael Vo, and John Moorlach. Candidate Katrina Foley is not pictured.

Michael Vo

Fountain Valley Mayor Michael Vo told The Epoch Times his primary objectives will be to reopen our local economies and small businesses nownot tomorrow or when the state gives us permissionbut now.

Vo formerly worked as the Fountain Valley Community Director. With roots in Vietnam, his website says he fled communist Vietnam with his family at age 17.

I will also work with the County Board of Education to advocate for the immediate reopening of all Orange County schools, Vo said. Our livelihoods and our childrens education depends on our actions.

He said the best course of action is to reopen the economy.

As one of the largest counties in America, we must do more to provide relief for struggling businesses and residents. I believe we have ample resources to do so in a financially conservative manner.

Janet Rappaport

For Navy veteran and Corona del Mar attorney Janet Rappaport, the biggest problem facing Orange County residents is the $544 million CARES Act funding, which she says is not accounted for by the BOS [Board of Supervisors].

If I were elected, public disclosure of every disbursement of federal support funds, every contract would be made. Taxpayers have a right to know where their tax dollars are going, Rappaport told The Epoch Times.

With transparency and visibility, communities that are not being served can reach out and communicate their needs so we can ensure that all of Orange County is taken care of with the funds we are allocated.

She said residents need to know if CARES Act funds are still available so that further federal support payments go to the needs of the second district, for example to make payments to residents and landlords to prevent hardship to landlords and allow tenants to have a place to live rather than joining the homeless.

The victor of the special election will replace former Board of Supervisors chairwoman Michelle Steel to finish out her four-year term. Steel won the 48th Congressional race in 2020.

District 2 covers Buena Park, Costa Mesa, Cypress, Fountain Valley, Huntington Beach, La Palma, Los Alamitos, Newport Beach, Seal Beach, Stanton, Rossmoor and other unincorporated areas.
During the summit in Brussels, the foreign ministers of the EU countries agreed on the expansion of personal restrictions against the citizens of the Russian Federation due to the situation with Alexei Navalny, Reuters reports citing diplomatic sources.

According to them, specific names were not discussed today. Nevertheless, the sources emphasize, the sanctions list "will not be long in coming."

It is preliminary stated that the head of the Investigative Committee of Russia, Alexander Bastrykin, director of the National Guard Viktor Zolotov, Prosecutor General Igor Krasnov and Director of the Federal Penitentiary Service Alexander Kalashnikov, may be blacklisted, RIA Novosti informs.

Recall that two weeks ago, the High Representative for Foreign Affairs and Security of the European Union, Josep Borrell, following a visit to Moscow, announced new sanctions. These intentions were confirmed by the Lead Spokesperson for Foreign Affairs and Security Policy Peter Stano. German Foreign Minister Heiko Maas promised to support the restrictions.

Bloomberg's sources reported that sanctions would not be imposed against influential Russian business people, as demanded by a number of MEPs, only those who, according to the EU, are directly linked with Navalnys arrest, will be punished. The new sanctions list is expected to be approved at the EU summit on March 25-26.
A Kentucky cop has been fired for allegedly leaking police information to a Black Lives Matter protester after he claims his department ignored his concerns about internal racism.

Jervis Middleton, a black officer with the Lexington Police Department, was accused of contacting activist Sarah Williams in May of last year and giving her details about tactics police intended to use in response to protests over the death of George Floyd.

The Lexington-Fayette Urban County Council unanimously voted to fire Middleton on Friday after determining that his actions put fellow officers in jeopardy.

But Middleton's attorney, Keith Sparks, argued that the information he provided to Williams was covered by free speech and that he didn't put anyone at risk, saying: 'The only harm is imagined harm.'

Sparks also claimed that Middleton had been frustrated because his complaints about racism within the LPD had gone unaddressed.

Jervis Middleton (pictured) was fired from the Lexington Police Department on Friday after being accused of leaking information about tactics police intended to use in response to George Floyd protests last May

Middleton was accused of contacting activist Sarah Williams in May of last year and giving her details about tactics police intended to use in response to protests over the death of George Floyd. Pictured: A woman confronts police at a protest on May 31

An LPD memorandum obtained by LEX18 described how Middleton allegedly contacted Williams via text and Facebook Messenger to give her 'official Lexington Police Department law enforcement sensitive information via screen shots of text messages and emails that gave away information on tactics the agency was, or were, planning to use' during protests.

One email detailing the tactics had been sent to Williams as part of a request for him to work overtime during the anticipated protest on May 31 over Floyd's death.

Floyd, a black man, died in Minneapolis on May 25 after a white cop knelt on his neck during an arrest.

In addition to providing information about tactics, Middleton also told Williams which officers would be working at protests and his colleagues complaints about feeling 'targeted' by protesters, according to the memorandum.

Williams was described in the memorandum as a 'known protester who organized the Police Accountability Protest in Lexington Kentucky, beginning sometime in May 2020'.

She was arrested during a protest on June 13, and investigators uncovered her messages with Middleton after obtaining a search warrant for her cell phone and Facebook profile.

In one string of messages, Middleton wrote: 'Moving the needle...'

Williams replied: 'Well lol...thanks for the heads up.'

Middleton wrote back: 'Agency just issued an emergency order..so they will be out in riot gear tonight too.'

In another set of messages, Middleton wrote: 'Tell them, Middleton said FTP!' FTP stands for 'f**k the police'.

Middleton allegedly sent that message while Williams was at a protest shouting at responding officers through a megaphone.

The Lexington-Fayette Urban County Council unanimously voted to fire Middleton (center) on Friday after determining that his actions put fellow officers in jeopardy

When questioned by internal investigators, Middleton said he and Williams were longtime friends and described his conversation with her as 'venting'.

He also said he had an understanding with Williams that 'she was not to use any of the information he provided'.

Middleton claimed that he personally wanted to see a change within the LPD after witnessing ongoing discrimination and being targeted with racist taunts himself.

The memorandum outlined three charges against Middleton for violating police policies, including misconduct, sharing police information and lying about contacting Williams.

The county council met on Thursday for a nine-hour hearing over the charges.

After two hours of deliberation, the council found Middleton guilty of the first two charges but dismissed the third charge.

The council's ruling followed recommendations to fire Middleton from Lexington Police Chief Lawrence Weathers and an internal disciplinary board.
A 28-year-old father-to-be has been killed in New York after a device he was building for his childs gender revel party exploded over the weekend, police said Monday.

Christopher Pekny was assembling the device, said to include a pipe, in the garage of his home in the Catskills town of Liberty when it blew up just before noon on Sunday.

State Police responded to reports of an explosion at 11:55am and arrived to find Christopher dead at the scene.

His 27-year-old brother Michael Pekny was also hurt in the blast. He was taken to hospital to be treated for injuries to his legs but is expected to survive.

The tragic incident comes just weeks after a man was killed in Michigan when he was struck by shrapnel from a gender reveal cannon at a friend's baby shower on February 6.

Christopher Pekny, 28, was assembling the unspecified device in the Catskills town of Liberty when it blew up just before noon on Sunday

Christopher (left) is pictured with his younger brother Michael (right) who was injured in the blast and taken to hospital. Their older brother Peter (center) called the incident a 'freak accident'

What set off the explosion on Sunday is currently under investigation, a spokesman for the State Police, Trooper Steven Nevel, said.

The device, according to Nevel, consisted of some kind of pipe that was intended to be used at a gender-reveal party later that day, but the nature of its explosive material was not yet known.

Police said that currently 'no charges are to be filed' in the incident.

Peter Pekny Jr., 34, the oldest of the brothers, told the New York Times what happened was 'the freakiest of freak accidents that I could ever imagine,' though declined to specify what set the explosion off.

He said that Michael is currently in a stable condition at a hospital in Middletown, said doctors had been able to 'rebuild' a damaged knee.

Both Christopher and Michael were 'very mechanically inclined' and 'could fix and do anything', Peter said.

Christopher Pekny, who was due to turn 29 on Tuesday, first learned that his girlfriend, Jennifer, was pregnant back in December. They were expecting a baby boy.

'He was really looking forward to starting a family,' Peter said of his brother. 'He was really starting to settle down and grow up.'

Christopher Pekny, who was due to turn 29 on Tuesday, first learned that his girlfriend, Jennifer, was pregnant back in December. They were expecting a baby boy (Jennifer and Christopher are pictured above together)

What set off the explosion on Sunday that killed Christopher remains under investigation

Peter Pekny said he was informed of Christopher's death after receiving a call from family members on Sunday, hours before the gender reveal was due to begin.

Peter, who lives around 45 miles away from his sibling in Florida, said he thought at first the call was part of an elaborate ruse to get him to come to the party early.

Realizing soon after that it wasn't a joke, he said he raced to Liberty as fast as he could.

Peter said he was pulled over by a state trooper while travelling at speeds of more than 100 mph.

He said he explained why he was speeding, and after the trooper went to his patrol car to verify the story, he said the officer told him: 'You gotta go' and didn't ticket him.

'The color completely ran out of his face,' Peter told the Times of the trooper. 'He looked like he saw two ghosts.'

The Pekny family owns an eatery called the Robin Hood Diner, in the renowned trout fishing haven on Livingston, where Christopher waited tables and tended.

In a post the Robin Hood Diner's Facebook page, the family wrote: 'We are deeply saddened and must inform you all of the loss of our dear an beloved Christopher.

'We appreciate the overwhelming display of love and support that you all have shown.

'The Robin Hood will be closed for the immediate future. More details will be posted when we have them available. Thank you.'

Christopher also worked as mason for Liberty Concrete, his brother said.

Michael Pekny (above) was hurt in the explosion. He was taken to hospital to be treated for injuries to his legs but is expected to survive

The Pekny family owns an eatery called the Robin Hood Diner, in the renowned trout fishing haven on Livingston, where Christopher (second from right) waited tables and tended (Michael is pictured far right)

In a post the Robin Hood Diner's Facebook page, the family wrote: 'We are deeply saddened and must inform you all of the loss of our dear an beloved Christopher

The death is the latest in a string of tragedies blamed on faulty gender reveal devices in recent years.

A Michigan man was killed earlier this month when he was struck by shrapnel from a gender reveal cannon being used at a baby shower, authorities said.

Evan Thomas Silva, 26, of Hartland, was killed on February 6 outside a home in Genesee County's Gaines Township.

Four or five people were in the backyard of the home when the small cannon was fired.

Among them was Silva, who had been standing about 10 to 15 feet away from the canon. He was the only person struck by shrapnel, Michigan State Police said.

Silva is said to have been a friend of the family and did not light the fuse.

Michigan State Police Lt. Liz Rich said: '[It was] similar to a signal cannon. The cast material exploded and sent projectiles in all directions.

'The homeowner reported it had been shot several times. If there aren't regular inspections on a device like this, the cast material can wear away.'

Evan Thomas Silva, 26, was fatally injured after a cannon fired during a party malfunctioned. He was rushed in serious condition to Hurley Medical Center in Flint, where he later died

The garden party was attended by a small number of family members to celebrate the pending arrival of the baby

Late last summer, a couple setting off a smoke bomb to reveal their babys gender ignited wild grasses inside El Dorado Ranch Park in Southern California, starting a wildfire that burned for more than a month and scorched 22,744 acres.

The fire destroyed homes and forced hundreds to evacuate. One firefighter also died battling the blaze.

It was the second fire started at a gender-reveal party in 2020, following one in Florida last March.

Also, in 2019, a homemade explosive used to reveal a baby's gender killed 56-year-old Pamela Kreimeyer in Knoxville, Iowa.

The device was meant to spray powder but instead blew up like a pipe bomb.
Anthea Turner has reportedly flouted Covid rules by hosting a secret pamper party at her London flat during the UK's latest lockdown.

The former Blue Peter presenter, 60, is thought to have held the gathering for at least five pals on February 12, hours after she sparked a furore when she posed a cartoon of an overweight woman in a wheelchair berating a thinner lady not wearing a mask.

In pictures obtained by The Sun, several women are seen arriving at what is thought to be the TV star's 700,000 abode in Kew, south-west London.

As well as friends, a masseuse and beautician were also pictured carrying items into the building.

Claims: Anthea Turner has reportedly flouted Covid rules by hosting a secret pamper party at her London flat during the UK's latest lockdown (pictured in 2020)

It is claimed that the women enjoyed treatments such as eyebrow tints, massages and manicures while at the pampering session, dubbed Secret Supper.

A source told the publication: 'I can't believe Anthea's done something as irresponsible as this.

'A steady stream of women arrived showing total disregard for precautions being taken by the vast majority of people in the country.'

Among those thought to be in attendance were former Bafta CEO Chantal Rickards, boutique owner Julia Jaconelli and a well known WAG.

What a day: The former Blue Peter presenter, 60, is thought to have held the gathering for at least five pals on February 12, hours after she sparked a furore when she posed a cartoon showing an overweight woman and a lady not wearing a mask on Twitter (pictured on Feb 12)

Ms Jaconelli told The Sun: 'It was a business meeting.'

MailOnline has contacted Anthea's representative for a comment.

The government's website states: 'It is against the law to meet socially with family or friends unless they are part of your household or support bubble.

'You cannot leave home for recreational or leisure purposes (such as for a picnic or a social meeting).'

However there are some circumstances in which people are allowed to meet others from outside their household, childcare or support bubble- but not be for socialising and only for permitted purposes.

This includes: 'For work, or providing voluntary or charitable services, where it is unreasonable to do so from home.

Dividing opinions: Anthea shared this picture with the caption, 'Go for it!! X', and many Twitter users certainly did - to slam her view

Her thoughts: She appeared to suggest the conditions of lockdown were wrong and needed to be changed

'This can include work in other peoples homes where necessary - for example, for nannies, cleaners, social care workers providing support to children and families, or tradespeople.'

Anthea's alleged pampering party is thought to have happened just hours after she had to apologise for causing a furore on Twitter on Friday February 12.

The TV host had posted a cartoon of an overweight woman in a wheelchair eating McDonalds berating a thinner lady wearing no PPE in messages about 'coronavirus selfishness'.

She shared the image alongside the phrase Go for it x before embarking on a series of messages criticising lockdown and personal responsibility on health.

Unimpressed: Labour MP Jess Phillips (pictured) led some of the condemnation of Anthea's remarks this morning

Response: Twitter rounded on the entertainer, with one mother of a disabled son (bottom tweet) finding Anthea's post offensive

But the decision to speak out appeared to have backfired with some of her fans who turned on her, claiming the image was ignorant and offensive to people disabled through no choice of their own.

It also came hours after she had posted link to a report on obesity being a bigger killer than smoking in England and Scotland.

On February 12 she said sorry for the cartoon, but insisted it had not meant to target people who were clinically ill. She said: 'Totally apologise that the cartoon is clumsy - Ill take the rollicking on the chin

'But this was never directed at people clinically ill who need our support. My passion is sincere though Covid has to give us a bloody big health wake-up call and wed be nuts not to try and fix it.'

Throwback: Anthea is known for her stint presenting Blue Peter and was famous for her making segments (pictured L-R: Peter Duncan, Valerie Singleton, Stuart Miles and Anthea in 1998)

Anthea  who is engaged to businessman Mark Armstrong  posted her original message and cartoon picture just after 7pm on Thursday.

It showed an overweight woman in a motorised wheelchair wearing a facemask, clutching a McDonalds bag and glaring at a woman without a mask and telling her Put a mask on! Youre putting my health at risk.

She followed it up with a series of messages questioning if people who did not look after their own health should be prioritised in the pandemic over those who had.

Anthea said: Im incensed by the selfish attitudes of people who cant see we actually are all in this together and wilful destruction has an impact on us all especially those with other illnesses pushed down the line and charities who are missing out on funding. We have to take responsibility.

If the government put half the amount of money into health as they have in locking us up we wouldnt be in this mess. Keep McDonalds open and close gyms many council run and open air - Great.

While there were some people who agreed with the sentiment others seized on the disability element of the message to attack the presenter.

Piers Morgan branded her 'despicable' after she posted the picture. He said 'What the hell is this? Have you lost your mind, Anthea? Just despicable.'

Labour MP Jess Phillips said: The Anthea Turner thing this morning has just about done me in.

I just wish the idiots would just admit that the wind on their face is more important than my sister in laws life while she has chemo. Stop with the god damn hierarchy of whose life matters!!!
Paris, 22 February 2021 (SPS) - Representative of the Polisario Front in France Mohamed Sidati said on Sunday that the message sent by members of the American Congress to President Joe Biden requesting the review of his predecessor's decision on Western Sahara comes as "a fatal blow "to Trump's statement.



This message "is the eloquent expression of the great sympathy enjoyed by the Sahrawi cause within the Congress, in particular with regard to the right to self-determination, guaranteed by international law," Sidati told in a statement to APS.



This move "proves that Trump's decision has fallen into oblivion," he added,



The Sahrawi diplomat noted that the position of members of Congress "confirms the absence of any support for this illegal and ill-considered decision which has greatly damaged the credibility of the United States."



Stressing that this message "comes to bury the outdated policies of Trump" and "to give a fatal blow to his decision and to the expansionist aims of the Moroccan regime, supported by the Zionist lobby," Sidati called for "the overhaul of the recognition of shame," which discredited the United States, as a "member of the UN Security Council."



A revision "is imperative for the United States to recover its flouted credibility," added Sidati, recalling that "serious and fair policies in international relations cannot be based on bartering or haggling over peoples' rights". (SPS)



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By Edward McKinley | Times Union, Albany

Albany, N.Y.  With political pressure mounting on Gov. Andrew M. Cuomo in the midst of the nursing home imbroglio, the batch of New York Republicans is growing who appear to be flirting with a gubernatorial challenge in 2022.

Cuomo, 63, is up for his fourth term in 2022, which would match Nelson Rockefellers modern record for consecutive terms in the office. Cuomos father, Mario Cuomo, lost his own bid for a fourth term in 1994.

I think its difficult for anyone to run for three terms, let alone four. You wear out. It doesnt matter who you are, a longtime New York Republican operative from the Capital Region told the Times Union earlier this month. And its hard when you have a big personality like the incumbent does.

But the current governor is not going to be easy to beat: His campaign war chest totals nearly $17 million. His popularity has remained high among New Yorkers despite disapproval of his transparency on nursing homes. And the Democratic party has only strengthened its grip on the state over the last few years, continuing to build a lead in party registration and claiming supermajorities in both chambers of the state Legislature.

In the midst of the alleged cover-up of nursing home data and the news that Cuomo is under investigation by the FBI and Eastern District U.S. Attorney, potential challengers seem to have accelerated their jockeying for position more in the last few weeks. Meanwhile, Republicans in Albany are calling for an impeachment inquiry to begin into Cuomo.

Everyone writes a version of this story every four years. Were focused on fighting the pandemic and well leave the palace intrigue to the politicians, said Rich Azzopardi, senior advisor to Cuomo.

Prominent Republicans in the state  including U.S. House representatives Lee Zeldin, Tom Reed and Elise Stefanik, as well as Dutchess County Executive and 2018 GOP nominee for governor Marc Molinaro  have within the last few weeks either personally said theyre considering a run, or have taken steps viewed by other members from their party as prelude to a potential bid for the governorship.

" Governor Cuomo needs to be taken down, said Reed, the Republican representative from Western New York, in an interview with Fox News over the weekend. Given an opportunity to do my part to serve and try to change the direction of the state, we are definitely looking at it, he said of running for governor. Reed also joined state-level Republicans earlier this month in Albany for a press conference pushing for investigations into Cuomos administration and its nursing home policies.

Fox also reported that Zeldin, the Long Island Republican, has been encouraged by other Republicans to run, and the Times Union was previously told that Zeldin had commissioned polling to study a bid.

Other names frequently mentioned include Harry Wilson, a Republican who served in Barack Obamas Treasury Department; Molinaro, the 2018 challenger; and Stefanik, whose pivot away from a moderate political brand toward that of a fiery defender of Donald J. Trump has won her a massive fundraising base and a raised national profile.

Stefaniks family have told people close to her that shes interested in running for governor, the Times Union reported earlier this month, and she has fundraised extensively on calling Cuomo the worst governor in America. Her staff has not responded to questions from the Times Union about whether shes considering a bid for the governors chair, but she is viewed by other Republicans as a contender.

I think Elise Stefanik is likely giving good consideration for statewide office, Molinaro said earlier this month.
Groups impacted by what the governor calls corporate loopholes are speaking out against the proposals to end the programs.

To balance his proposed budget, Gov. J.B. Pritzker wants lawmakers to modify several programs.

One initiative the governor laid out was to reset the tax credit for private school scholarships at 40%. Pritzkers budget documents listed that as a corporate loophole.

This is not a corporate loophole, Catholic Conference of Illinois Zach Wichmann told WMAY. Its allowed individuals to donate to a program, the only state program thats serving low-income and working-class families kids, to allow them to choose whatever school they want, whatever school is best for them, and in the middle of this pandemic, honestly, the schools that have been in five days a week, everyday since August for in-person learning. Its an important program that should be expanded, not restricted.

Pritzkers proposal bring the state an estimated $14 million. While that may be a drop in the bucket of the overall state budget of nearly $42 billion, Wichmann said that will limit interest in the incentive and cost thousands of families the opportunity to find quality education.

There are nine so-called loopholes the governor wants to close for an impact of $930 million.

Illinois Retail Merchants Association President Rob Karr said the retail discount credit isnt a loophole, its a partial reimbursement for stores collecting and remitting sales taxes to the state.

The governors proposal would cap that discount at $1,000 a month for an overall impact of $73 million.

Karr said the governor talks a lot about helping small businesses recover from the pandemic, but on the other hand he ignores the additional cost that hes put upon them, not just in his budget address, but for example two minimum wage increases brought upon them during this and. That is not insignificant.

Another Pritzker proposal speeds up the expiration of biodiesel exemptions. The Illinois Fuel Retail Association said that would add around 20 cents to a gallon of diesel fuel.

Ending this incentive would also be incredibly damaging to our vital agriculture community in Illinois and hurt my small business members at a time when its so easy for customers to drive across state lines to fill up their vehicles, said IFRA CEO Josh Sharp.

Other proposed loopholes the governor laid out:

Capping corporate NOL deductions for a $314 million impact.

Align treatment of foreign-source dividends to treatment of domestic source dividends for $107 million impact.

End accelerated depreciation from former President Donald Trumps Tax Cut and Jobs Act for an impact of $214 million.

Bring back the corporate franchise tax for an impact of $30 million.

Eliminate add-on income tax credits for construction jobs for a $16 million impact.

Remove production-related tangible personal property from sales tax exemptions for an impact of $56 million.

Illinois Manufacturers' Association President Mark Denzler said all combined takes the state in the wrong direction.

What weve seen in other states are tax reductions, less onerous regulations, increased liability protection, Denzler said. Illinois is going in the other direction with higher taxes, more regulations and no protection.

Lawmakers must approve each of the nine proposed tax credit changes to balance the governors proposed budget.
Choosing Compassion: A Tear for a Drop of Water

Reaching Within: What traditional art offers the heart

What are monsters? We often consider them dangerously different people, creatures, and things that loom on the outskirts of our lives.

We construct societies with agreed-upon standards, norms, and laws to benefit our livelihood and safety. Monsters are the very things that challenge and disrupt our sense of security and self-esteem. We can learn a lot about ourselves based on how we react to this type of disruption.

A scene from Victor Hugos The Hunchback of Notre Dame presents several ways in which we may react to the perceived monsters in our lives.

Quasimodo and Esmeralda

The scene in question is the one in which Quasimodo is punished for attempting to abduct Esmeralda. A summary of the scene and its backstory goes as follows:

A torturer has just tied Quasimodo to the pillory on a stage and beaten him. This platform was the same platform where Quasimodo, because of his ugliness, was designated the Pope of Fools during the Feast of Fools festivala festival that parodies Christian morality and worshipjust a day earlier.

Quasimodo is the personification of a monster, the ugliest person in Paris, an insult to the crowds standard of beauty. He has red bristles for hair, a large wart on one eye, a hump between his shoulders, a protrusion from his chest, and is deaf from sleeping next to the bells at Notre Dame.

The troubled and dangerous priest Claude Frollo was the one who adopted Quasimodo when the rest of the town abandoned him. Quasimodo became a submissive slave to Frollo and carried out his orders, even when those orders caused others harm.

It was Frollo who ordered Quasimodo to abduct Esmeralda because of Frollos lust for her. He thought the devil had sent her to tempt him, and he was unable to resist. Esmeralda was not interested in Frollo and rejected his advances.

Frollo approached the stage as the torturer whipped Quasimodo. Quasimodo was happy to see his master and called out to him, but since Quasimodo had failed to abduct Esmeralda, Frollo turned his back on the poor creature.

To add insult to injury, the Parisian crowd taunted the beaten Quasimodo. When Quasimodo begged for water, the crowd mocked his thirst. But Esmeralda, the woman he had attacked, walked onto the platform and gave him the water he desperately needed.

Quasimodo, so touched by her kindness, almost forgot to drink. In that moment of her compassion, he fell in love with her and planned to defend her honor. Finally, the torturer released Quasimodo, and the crowd left.

A Tear for a Drop of Water, 1903, by Luc-Olivier Merson. Oil on canvas, 76.8 inches by 43.3 inches. Victor Hugo House. (Public Domain)

The Compassion of Esmeralda

A Tear for a Drop of Water, a painting by Luc-Olivier Merson, illustrates the scene from Victor Hugos The Hunchback of Notre Dame in which Esmeralda gives her attacker, the beaten Quasimodo, water.

At the top right of the composition is Quasimodo, the deformed bell ringer of Notre Dame Cathedral. Merson paints Quasimodo as he is described by Hugo, with a wart over his eye and red bristles for hair. However, Quasimodos modest clothing and contorted position obscure his hump and protrusion as he twists toward Esmeralda.

Detail of A Tear for a Drop of Water, 1903, by Luc-Olivier Merson. Oil on canvas. Victor Hugo House. (Public Domain)

Esmeraldas beauty contrasts greatly with Quasimodos ugliness. She is bejeweled and clothed in the elegant dress of a Roma dancer. Her dress also separates her from the crowd and lets the viewer know that she is different.

Esmeraldas pet goat, Djali, whom she has taught tricks, accompanies her to the stage. Djali does tricks during Esmeraldas Roma performances and represents her Roma lifestyle. Later, on this same platform, Esmeralda will be executed.

Tied to the pillory is the beaten Quasimodo. He turns toward Esmeralda with a look of adoring appreciation as she puts her flask to his lips.

Below them stands the animated crowd bellowing taunts at Quasimodo. The crowd encircles the stage that holds Quasimodo and Esmeralda, letting us know that this is a public affair of humiliation.

Choosing Compassion

Merson gives us two ways in which people respond to the monster Quasimodo. How might these two responses morally inform us today? What wisdom might we extract from Mersons painting?

First, the crowd ridicules and taunts Quasimodo because he is considered an ugly monster. Nothing about Quasimodo appears normal.

I believe ridiculing and taunting Quasimodo gives the crowd a false sense of self-esteem and confidence. Participating with the crowd allows even the ugliest and dumbest person to feel normal in relation to him.

Doing what everyone else is doing, even when its harmful, can make us feel like we belong. Aligning with the crowd can make it feel like our insufficiencies melt away. Here lies the power, the allure, of the crowd.

Responding to the monster in this way brings out the monster in us. We can be one monster of many who harm others to feel secure about ourselves. And as we become unable to recognize others suffering, the monster in us grows.

Or we can take the other route, which is Esmeraldas approach. I think Merson paints Esmeralda as the personification of compassion. Is this why she is painted so beautifully compared to everyone else?

As the personification of compassion, Esmeralda is the most beautiful of them all and is different from them all, for it is compassionthe very thing that gives the scene its moral powerthat the crowd lacks.

Esmeraldas elegant blue dress and ornate adornment set her apart from the crowds plain gray and brown clothing. Ironically, the crowd is dressed like the monster it berates. Is Merson suggesting that the crowd is more like a monster than it realizes?

Esmeralda is not only dressed differently than the crowd but also behaving differently. The crowd is chaotic and unruly while she is calm, poised, and seems considerate. She recognizes her attackers suffering and chooses to help him.

She exercises her freedom to act morally different from the crowd. She chooses to be compassionate.

The Content of Our Character

Just because Quasimodo looks like a monster doesnt mean he is one. What determines whether or not he is a monster is not the appearance of his form but the content of his character.

The people may look normal, but they are monstrous because they attack and harm a living thing to feel good about themselves. This is the opposite of compassion.

Quasimodo, however, comes to love Esmeralda, the personification of compassion. Her compassion has such an impact on him that hell risk his life to defend her honor. His new love for compassion makes him anything but a monster.

Interestingly enough, Quasimodo and Esmeralda are positioned higher than the crowd. Does this suggest that there are levels of morality, that we can elevate our spirit if the content of our character aligns with compassion?

Do we have the courage to resist and question the crowd when their actions serve only to harm?

Are we willing to address any monsters that may be lurking in our spirit so that the content of our character is anything but monstrous? Are we able to alter others lives with compassionate acts? Are we ready to love compassion and defend its honor?

The traditional arts often contain spiritual representations and symbols the meanings of which can be lost to our modern minds. In our series Reaching Within: What Traditional Art Offers the Heart, we interpret visual arts in ways that may be morally insightful for us today. We do not assume to provide absolute answers to questions generations have wrestled with, but hope that our questions will inspire a reflective journey toward our becoming more authentic, compassionate, and courageous human beings.

Eric Bess is a practicing representational artist and is a doctoral candidate at the Institute for Doctoral Studies in the Visual Arts (IDSVA).

Whats Working, a series exploring solutions for New Hampshires workforce needs, is sponsored by the New Hampshire Solutions Journalism Lab at the Nackey S. Loeb School of Communications and is funded by Eversource, the New Hampshire Charitable Foundation, Dartmouth-Hitchcock Medical Center, the New Hampshire College & University Council, Northeast Delta Dental and the New Hampshire Coalition for Business and Education. Contact reporter Michael Cousineau at mcousineau@unionleader.com. To read stories in the series, visit unionleader.com/whatsworking.
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KYODO NEWS - Feb 20, 2021 - 09:49 | All, Japan, 3/11 Fukushima

The suspension of nuclear reactors in Japan after the 2011 Fukushima disaster has kept many workers there from engaging in plant operations, resulting in inexperienced employees accounting for nearly a quarter of the workforce at plants, according to a Kyodo News tally.

Of 1,923 employees at 15 nuclear power stations as of November to December, 460 had no prior work experience at online plants, the tally based on data from 10 Japanese utilities showed nearly a decade after the magnitude-9.0 earthquake and a massive tsunami hit on March 11, 2011, and caused triple meltdowns at the Fukushima Daiichi plant. The crippled facility is not included in the 15 plants.

At four plants run by Tohoku Electric Power Co., Chubu Electric Power Co. and Chugoku Electric Power Co., those with no prior work experience make up more than 40 percent.

A total of 50 reactors were shut after the worst nuclear crisis since Chernobyl in 1986 for safety concerns. Prime Minister Yoshihide Suga has said his government will seek to promote the restart of reactors under his clean energy and environment initiatives.

But the nuclear power industry faces a challenge in resuming and running reactors, as utilities are not able to offer enough on-the-job training opportunities given that many reactors remain suspended, industry experts say.

The government implemented stricter regulations for restart to address safety concerns. Nine reactors since have been rebooted under the tighter rules as of Feb. 8.

The government has set a target for nuclear power generation to account for 20 to 22 percent of the country's electricity supply by 2030, which requires restarting 20 to 30 reactors.

In the nuclear power business, 27 percent of the total workforce joined the 10 companies after the Fukushima disaster, as the industry seeks to pass on lessons learned from the catastrophe.

Related coverage:

Gov't, TEPCO ordered to pay 278 mil. yen over Fukushima crisis

Ex-Tokyo fire chief recalls tense days of Fukushima disaster response

Only 30% of Fukushima residents happy with disaster recovery progress
President Xi Jinping waves to residents who are quarantined at home and sends regards to them at a community in Wuhan, March 10, 2020. (Xinhua/Ju Peng)

Editor's note: Bangladeshi journalist and columnist Md Enamul Hassan published an article entitled "Xi Jinping: A global leader in the fight against coronavirus" on Bangladesh Post on 21, February. The following is the full text of the story.

There is an oft-quoted saying that people get the leader they deserve. The Chinese have Xi Jinping as their leader whom they really deserve. He is the complete embodiment of the universal virtues of the Chinese nation and extraordinary, charismatic leadership qualities.

During the Covid-19 pandemic, Xi Jinping has risen to prominence in the world for his philanthropic nature. People got to know him as a leader who works on his words to safeguard humanity from the deadly novel coronavirus.

Under his prudent and capable leadership, China bravely confronted the first attacks of the virus. The successful fight of China against the pandemic raised hopes and built confidence among billions of people on earth over defeating the virus.

In May last year, when the world saw no end of the curse of the pandemic and major countries were struggling to develop its vaccines, Xi Jinping was very confident and prudent to declare that China would make its vaccines a global public good once available.

His announcement calmed growing concerns of many countries for life-saving vaccines. The world welcomed the promise, branding him a philanthropic leader as Xi Jinping declared it at a moment when major countries preferred their narrowed-national interests in saving mankind.

Apart from the vaccines, Xi Jinping also raised a voice for the need for all countries to have unhindered timely access to vaccines, medicines, diagnostics and other technologies for the novel coronavirus.

Later on, Xi Jinping continued working on his words and, before the development of the vaccines, the government of China, under his leadership, provided assistance to over 150 countries and international organizations to fight the pandemic, which demonstrates the sincerity of his promise.

The assistance included face masks, protective suits, test kits, medical teams, video conferences for sharing experience and data, medical supplies, protective glasses, thermometers, and ventilators to name a few.

After the development of the vaccines, China is walking the talk and has taken concrete steps to honor the pledge to make vaccines global public goods, once available, with greater affordability and accessibility in developing countries.

In doing so, China has announced a plan to provide 10 million vaccine doses to developing nations through the global COVAX initiative under the World Health Organization (WHO). China is also providing vaccine aid to some 53 developing countries. The number of receiving countries is highly likely to go up in the coming days.

At the same time, China has exported or is in the process of exporting vaccines to 22 countries. During the Spring Festival, China has sent its vaccines to at least seven countries in token of its sincerity to put humanity first.

President Xi Jinping inquires about purchasing and supply of people's daily necessities at a community in Wuhan, March 10, 2020. (Xinhua/Xie Huanchi)

China has supported its companies in conducting joint research and production of vaccines with foreign partners. As a result, Sinopharm and Sinovac have already exported vaccines to several countries including the UAE, Morocco, Indonesia, Turkey, Brazil and Chile.

When other world leaders have opted for saving their countrymen during the difficult time of the pandemic, President Xi has stood out as a philanthropic global leader in safeguarding the entire humanity besides his own people. Such extraordinary, spirited and exemplary efforts have proved that his mission to build a community of shared future for mankind is not merely rhetoric.

President Xi is such a compassionate leader that when the world was concerned over the pandemic situation in Wuhan, he visited the city in central China and talked to the people. Much to my surprise, the President asked the concerned people to provide city-dwellers with live fish as they love to eat live fish. At his instruction, they have been given enough fish to eat during the hard time.

This is not the only one instance of his compassion for the people. Rather, the Chinese are eye-witnesses of many of such kinds of humanitarian initiatives of their leader. The people are always in his thoughts. Though being a son of a high-ranking leader of the Communist Party of China (CPC), Xi Jinping has deliberately opted for a hardworking and simple life to serve the people.

Prior to becoming the President of the Peoples Republic of China, Xi Jinping has served in each stratum of the party and administration from the grassroots to the highest hierarchy in different capacities. As a result, his sacrifice, dedication, and commitment to the welfare of people are on everyone's lip like legends.

During his long political and administrative career, Xi Jinping has earned a name as the people-oriented leader for his focus and concentration on the benefaction of the people forever. He is, therefore, considered a politician of the people and leader of deep humanity among the Chinese.

The author is a Bangladeshi journalist and columnist now based in Beijing, China.

Singapore's Sportmaster Operations Pte. Ltd, which directly owns Sportmaster-Ukraine LLC, has been included in the sanctions list by the Ukrainian National Security and Defense Council's decision and the Ukrainian presidential decree dated February 19.

A complete ban on trade operations, transit of resources, flights and transportation across Ukraine was imposed on Singapore's Sportmaster Operations for three years, as well as a ban on the imports of its products directly by the company or with the involvement of representatives of foreign countries. Relevant measures have been undertaken with regard to the company to prevent the withdrawal of capital from Ukraine.

According to the information on the Sportmaster-Ukraine website, the chain includes about 30 department stores in 15 Ukrainian cities with a total area of 50,000 square meters, which are annually visited by about 10 million people, and the company has over 1,000 employees in total. Additionally, Sportmaster-Ukraine has developed a chain of dealer and franchise stores, which includes more than 150 retail outlets (including franchised Columbia, Sportlandia, Weekender, B2G) with a total area of more than 16,000 square meters in more than 30 Ukrainian cities.
They live an unconventional life as a massive polygamist family.

And Kody Brown recently returned to his home state of Utah with his four wives years after the group fled the state due to strict laws which made the practice of polygamy a felony.

On a recent episode of Sister Wives, Kody, Christine, Janelle, Meri and Robyn were back in town for the first time and reflected on the scary situation where they had to flee into the night after police began investigating the family.

One big family: Kody Brown recently returned to his home state of Utah with his four wives years after the group fled the state due to strict laws which made the practice of polygamy a felony

Janelle, his second wife, recalled how the family had to practically pick up and leave their lives in Lehi, Utah after first going public with their unique family life.

'Within just days of it really being announced, the police in Utah started to investigate us because plural marriage is a felony in Utah,' Janelle said. 'It was punishable by up to five years per count.'

Kody first married Meri nearly 30 years ago, and shortly after their union, added a spiritual union with Janelle, followed by Christine. Robyn was the fourth wife added to the family in 2010 and the first wife in nearly 16 years.

She admitted that everyone was 'very afraid that they were going to come and arrest us,' so they left the state 'in the dark of night. We felt like we'd been exiled.'

Lucky in love: Kody first married Meri nearly 30 years ago, and shortly after their union, added a spiritual union with Janelle, followed by Christine. Robyn was the fourth wife added to the family in 2010 and the first wife in nearly 16 years; seen in 2010

Wow! Through the years (and 14 seasons of the show), the family has grown with 18 children and two grandchildren with another on the way; seen in 2018

After moving their family to Las Vegas, they 'sued the state of Utah, basically saying, 'Look, this law is unfair,'' Janelle recalled. 'We won, so for a year ... we were decriminalized. We're no longer felons.'

Through the years (and 14 seasons of the show), the family has grown with 18 children and two grandchildren with another on the way.

'The state of Utah appealed our lawsuit that we had won. They overturned it and then they doubled-down with a new law, HB 99,' which 'made it a worse felony for polygamists in Utah,' Kody said.

'There was a bill introduced into the Utah senate, S.B. 102. What it was going to do was kind of revise that law that was passed a few years ago,' Janelle said in a confessional. 'It basically makes it so that people like our family, who live a law-abiding life but just choose for religious purposes to cohabitate, we're no longer felons.'

Kody added: 'What I do in my bedroom with another consenting adult is nobody's else's business. And so why do they think that they can legislate it? It's naive.'

'The state of Utah appealed our lawsuit that we had won. They overturned it and then they doubled-down with a new law, HB 99,' which 'made it a worse felony for polygamists in Utah,' Kody said; seen in 2017

After moving their family to Las Vegas, they 'sued the state of Utah, basically saying, 'Look, this law is unfair,'' Janelle recalled. 'We won, so for a year ... we were decriminalized. We're no longer felons.'

Robyn noted: 'I think the lawmakers think that by decriminalizing this law it will make it so that it's a free for all and there will be more abuse that will happen. And what they're not realizing is that current law is so strict that it's making them so afraid to come out  and like, a mom, she's got a daughter that's getting abused and she is so afraid of going to the police because she's afraid they're going to tear apart her family and take her child away. So her daughter continues to be abused her whole life, which is like, insane and horrific.'

Before they left for their trip back to Utah, the group discussed whether they should all drive together as they're rarely in the same place, but ultimately settled on using one vehicle.

'I think for me, the biggest fear about going back into Utah, if we're pulled over for a traffic violation, are they going to use it as an opportunity to tack on the felony polygamy charge?' Janelle said. 'Because that's usually how it works  they get you for something else and then they add it on. I'm always like, "Don't speak, Kody, don't speak." It's dumb, but it is a real fear.'

'If you can imagine, it's like you're going to a place where your family is illegal. It just feels oppressive. It always makes me worry,' Robyn said.

'Polygamy right now in Utah is a felony,' Christine said after they made it to Utah and caught up with the Dargers family. 'We're sitting with fellow felons. We're felons just like them. They could come in and arrest us all.'

'Kody, because he has one legal wife and three plural wives, could go to jail from anywhere from nine to 15 years,' Janelle said. 'Then your probation involves not seeing your children, not recommitting the felony, so basically if you saw your children again, then you were violating probation. That took you into the federal system. It's just a big mess.'
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Community News Editor / Librarian

Jeannie Maschino is community news editor and librarian for The Berkshire Eagle. She has worked for the newspaper in various capacities since 1982 and joined the newsroom in 1989. She can be reached at jmaschino@berkshireeagle.com.
A man in Wisconsin has been convicted of fatally shooting a mother-of-two, just hours after she witnessed a double murder 21 years ago.

A Racine County jury on Friday found Miguel Cruz, 41, guilty of first-degree intentional homicide with use of a dangerous weapon for the killing of 39-year-old Juanita Zdroik after four hours of deliberations.

'I wanted to break down because my whole life was leading to this, my sister's, too. We've been waiting forever,' the victim's grown son, Zachary Zdroik, said of the verdict, reported WISN.

Miguel Cruz, 41 (left), has been convicted of first-degree intentional homicide with use of a dangerous weapon in the February 2000 killing of Juanita Zdroik, 39 (right)

Zdroik, pictured with her son and daughter, was shot in the head and ran over with a car after witnessing the murders of a father and son during a drug deal

Zdroik's body was found by the side of a rural road near Raymond on February 7, 2000. She had been shot in the head and repeatedly run over with a vehicle.

Investigators linked her murder to those of a father and son, Lamont Cole and Samuel Burns, who were found shot to death in an alley in Milwaukee that same day after a drug deal gone wrong.

Cole's blood was later found on Zdroiks pants, and her car was found torched nearby.

The case went cold for 10 years until a man in custody looking to make a deal told investigators he had witnessed Zdroiks murder, The Journal Times reported.

He and a corroborating witness told detectives Zdroik was killed because she had witnessed the murders of Cole and Burns by her boyfriend at the time, Jose Sanchez.

Zdroik was described in a criminal complaint as crying hysterically and exclaiming, 'He killed them.' She then reportedly demanded money and a new car.

Cruz, another man named Elias Burgos and the witness then said they would drive Zdroik to Chicago to get her the car and money.

While heading south on Interstate 94, the car pulled over, Cruz shot Zdroik in the head and Burgos ran over her body twice to 'make sure she was dead,' the complaint stated.

The witness reported hearing the suspects say: 'This is what happens to snitches!' reported Racine County Eye.

Based on the information that identified Cruz as the shooter, he was arrested in Tampa, Florida, in 2017 following a multijurisdictional investigation.

Zdroik's body was found by the side of this rural road near Raymond, Wisconsin

Zdroik, pictured with her children, was present when her boyfriend shot and killed Lamont Cole and Samuel Burns

Zachary Zdroik was 13 years old when his mother was killed. Now a grown man, Zachary said he never gave up on pursing justice for his mother

Sanchez was arrested in 2012 for the murder of Cole and Burns. He pleaded to two counts of felony murder/armed robbery and was sentenced to 30 years in prison.

Burgos pleaded guilty in 2019 to two counts of harboring and aiding a felon, two counts of bribing a witness and one count of intimidating a witness related to Zdroik's murder. He is serving a 10-year sentence.

Co-defendant Elias Burgos in 2019 pleaded guilty to two counts of harboring and aiding a felon, two counts of bribing a witness and one count of intimidating a witness related to Zdroik's murder

'I could not be more proud that we finally have brought closure to her family, 21 years ago to the month,' Racine County Sheriff Christopher Schmaling, who, as a patrol deputy, was the first person at the crime scene in 2000, said in a statement. 'I pray, like all of you, that we find some comfort in knowing the person responsible for executing a mother of two young children will now spend the rest of their life in prison.'

Zdroik's son was 13 years old when his mother was brutally murdered. He said her death had a devastating effect on him, but growing up he kept in touch with the authorities and never gave up on the idea of seeing Juanita's killer brought to justice.

'For my family, it means everything,' Zachary told CBS58. 'We can finally go to sleep at night knowing the man responsible for all our sadness for the last 21 years is now put away.'

A sentencing hearing for Cruz is scheduled for April 22. The conviction carries a mandatory sentence of life in prison.
The Egyptian committee to support irregular workers has decided to disburse on 7 March the final tranche of the monthly presidential aid to irregular workers who have registered for assistance, Minister of Planning and Economic Development Hala El-Said announced.

The decision was made during a committee meeting held on Monday and headed by Minister El-Said.

The meeting was attended by officials from the ministries of manpower and social solidarity, as well as the head of the National Council for Women, the president of the Egyptian Postal Authority, and the director of the Cabinets Information and Decision Support Center.

The meeting touched upon the results of data analysis on the geographical distribution of beneficiaries and exchange rates from the Agricultural Bank of Egypt (ABE).

The meeting also reviewed the effectiveness of using electronic wallets on mobile phones to disburse the last tranche of the aid.

The committee seeks to implement the directives of President Abdel-Fattah El-Sisi to support non-regular workers, El-Said stated.

She added that coordination is taking place with all partner agencies and ministries to facilitate the disbursement from the Egyptian postal service, ABE branches, and electronic wallets on mobile phones.

El-Said added that the date of exchange was chosen according to several aspects, the most important of which is coordination with exchange authorities.

This would ensure that no crowding takes place and that the exchange is conducted in accordance with precautionary measures and other requirements to the curb spread of the coronavirus, according to the minister.

More than EGP 5.3 billion has been disbursed to irregular workers since the onset of the pandemic in March, Minister of Finance Mohamed Maait revealed on Sunday.

President El-Sisi instructed the government in March to disburse EGP 500 in monthly financial aid  initially for six months and then extended for another six months  to irregular workers who have registered with the Ministry of Manpower.

Short link:



He was chosen from a shortlist of six books, including works by Sunil Munjal, Rahul Chandra, Tamal Bandyopadhyay, T.N. Hari, M.S. Subramanian and Katherine Eban.

Established by the equity firm Gaja Capital last year, the Gaja Business Book Prize seeks to recognize business writing. With prize money of 15 lakh for the winner, it is the biggest business book prize in the country.

Announcing the 2020 winner virtually, Gopal Jain, co-founder and managing partner of Gaja Capital, spoke of the need to chronicle Indias growth story for the world. The Gaja Capital Business Book Prize was instituted in 2019 to encourage Indian writers, journalists and entrepreneurs to tell our stories and tell them well," he added.

The jury for the second edition featured leaders from the world of industry, investments, academia, public policy, and governance, with Manish Sabharwal, chairman of TeamLease, acting as the chairman of the jury. Others in the jury included Imran Jafar, managing partner and co-founder of Gaja Capital, and U.K. Sinha, a former chairman of Securities and Exchange Board of India.

The jury praised the broader ambitions of Dalals work beyond simply profiling the fortunes of one company. Through this incisive and deeply researched book, Mihir Dalal aims to answer the critical question: What will the internet economy in India look like?" they said in their citation. The Flipkart story reminds us that Indian entrepreneurs will forge their own independent paths of innovation, serving a diverse and very demanding Indian consumer."

Mihir Dalal is an editor with Mint, where he has covered internet businesses for more than five years. He has worked at Reuters and CNBC TV18 previously. A leading production house is adapting the book into a web series.

Last year the inaugural Gaja Capital Business Book Prize was awarded to writers Girish Kuber and Vikrant Pande for their book Tatas: How A Family Built A Business And A Nation.

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Karan Bilimoria, Indian-origin peer in the House of Lords and President of the Confederation of British Industry, has been appointed a Visiting Fellow at the University of Oxford.

Lord Bilimoria, 59, the founder of Cobra Beer, said he would work on championing the work of the centre, which is a research hub located within Oxford University's Sad Business School dedicated to understanding how the reputations of organisations are created, sustained, enhanced, destroyed and rehabilitated.

The work that the Centre for Corporate Reputation does around purpose and the value of social approval assets in business has global impact. I look forward to contributing to and championing this work as best as I can, said Bilimoria.

Rupert Younger, Director of the Centre for Corporate Reputation, said Visiting Fellows to the institution provide valuable insight and guidance into its research agenda, provide access to data and other sources of relevant information for the work, and also engage within the Master of Business Administration (MBA) curriculum.

Lord Bilimoria's leadership of the CBI (Confederation of British Industry), together with his expertise as a successful entrepreneur, will be a hugely valuable resource and we look forward to welcoming him to the School in person when we are able to do so, said Younger.

UK-based Bilimoria has prior connections with the University of Oxford, having been appointed a Bynum Tudor Fellow of Kellogg College in 2017.

The Bynum Tudor Fellowship is considered the highest honour the college can bestow, according to Kellogg College, with the latest appointment to the Fellowship being Prince Charles.

Bilimoria, Chairman of the Cobra Beer Partnership Limited a joint venture with Molson Coors, and Chairman of Molson Coors Cobra India, is an influential figure within the India- corridor as the Founding Chairman of the India Business Council and President of the President of the Council for International Students Affairs.

(Only the headline and picture of this report may have been reworked by the Business Standard staff; the rest of the content is auto-generated from a syndicated feed.)



Indian army soldiers near Zojila mountain pass that connects Srinagar to the union territory of Ladakh, bordering China, on Nov. 26, 2020. (Tauseef Mustafa/AFP via Getty Images)

India, China Complete Troop Pullout From Lake Area

NEW DELHIIndian and Chinese troops have completed a pullout from a lake area on their disputed border in the western Himalayas, setting the scene for disengagement at other friction points, the two countries said on Sunday.

Thousands of soldiers have been facing off since April on the Line of Actual Control (LAC), or the de facto border, including at the glacial Pangong Tso lake.

Earlier this month, military commanders agreed to begin pulling out troops, tanks, and artillery in a first step towards full withdrawal.

On Saturday, the two commanders met to review the pullout.

The two sides positively appraised the smooth completion of disengagement of frontline troops in the Pangong Lake area noting that it was a significant step forward that provided a good basis for resolution of other remaining issues along the LAC in Western Sector, a joint press release said.

The deployment in the remote area that falls in Indias Ladakh region and adjoins the Chinese-administered Aksai Chin plateau had raised fears of a broader conflict between the two countries.

A clash erupted in the Galwan Valley in June, when 20 Indian soldiers were killed in the first combat losses on the disputed border in more than four decades. China said this week it lost four soldiers in the fighting.

Troops remain in close proximity on other parts of the undefined border including at Hot Springs, Gogra Post and the Depsang plains, officials said. The commanders had a candid and in-depth exchange of views on the situation on the border, the two countries said in the press release.

The two sides agreed to follow the important consensus of their state leaders, continue their communication and dialogue, stabilize and control the situation on the ground, push for a mutually acceptable resolution of the remaining issues in a steady and orderly manner, so as to jointly maintain peace and tranquility in the border areas, they said.

India and China fought a war in 1962 and the border remains undefined. India said Chinese troops had intruded deep into its side of the LAC last April, triggering the most serious stand-offs in decades.

China denied its troops had transgressed the LAC and accused Indian border guards of provocative behaviour.

By Sanjeev Miglani
San Francisco, Feb 22 : Billionaire Elon Musk has become a co-author of a study on Covid-19 where he joined researchers to track coronavirus infection in 4,000 SpaceX workers who came forward as volunteers. The findings suggest that only a certain threshold of antibodies may provide people lasting protection against the virus.

The study began last year when SpaceX was planning to send a manned mission into the sky.

To monitor the prevalence of the virus among SpaceX workers nationwide, "Musk and the rocket company's top medical executive worked with doctors and academic researchers to build an antibody-testing programme. More than 4,000 SpaceX workers volunteered for monthly blood tests," reports Wall Street Journal.

The results suggest that people who experienced fewer, milder Covid-19 symptoms generated fewer antibodies and were, therefore, less likely to meet the threshold for longer-term immunity.

The immune decision to generate a robust or weak response may occur at the time of the host-pathogen interaction, dependent on the level of viral challenge, or inflammatory cues.

"Low-level challenge may elicit only weak, poorly functional antibodies. Conversely, high-burden challenge may lead to the generation of a potent and functionally robust immune response, programmed to respond aggressively upon re-encounter with the pathogen," said the study appeared in the journal Nature Communications.

The results noted that unlike natural asymptomatic/mild infection, SARS-CoV-2 vaccines appear to drive robust immune responses.

Researchers observed some instances of reinfection in workers who previously were found to have low numbers of antibodies.

"People can have antibodies, but it doesn't mean they are going to be immune," Galit Alter, one of the doctors who co-authored and a professor of medicine at Harvard Medical School, told the Journal.

"The good news is most of the vaccines induce (antibody) levels way higher than these levels," Alter said.

The need for multiple rounds of immunization suggests that more antigen or boosting may be required to push the immune system to generate functional immunity that may be required for protection, the study noted.

Latest updates on Coronavirus (COVID-19)

-- The story has been published from a wire feed without any modifications to the text
Huawei today announced its second foldable device, the Mate X2. In its second iteration, Huawei has given the device a major design overhaul from all aspects. The design of the foldable device is now similar to the Galaxy Z Fold series from Samsung with the display folding inwards rather than outwards.

When unfolded, the Huawei Mate X2 features an 8-inch display with an 8:7.1 aspect ratio and a resolution of 2480 x 2200. When folded, theres a 6.45-inch 21:9 aspect ratio display on the outside with a resolution of 2700 x 1160. Both displays have a 90Hz refresh rate, though the 8-inch foldable display features a 180Hz touch sampling rate while the outer display has a 240Hz touch sampling rate. Huawei claims the display has a reflectivity rate of lower than 1.5% thanks to a new magnetically-controlled nano-optical layer. This is lower than even Apples Pro Display XDR and its special nano-coating.

Theres a multi-dimensional hinge design made of more durable steel. It allows the 8-inch display to fold inwards with a seamless fold and without a gap. The bigger curvate of the bend also ensures that the foldable display does not get creases easily.

Camera performance has always been a strength of Huawei devices and the Mate X2 is no different. It features a quad-camera setup which includes a primary 50MP RYYB primary shooter with f/1.9 aperture and OIS, a 16MP ultra-wide, a 12MP 3x optical zoom lens, and an 8MP 10x optical zoom sensor. At the front, the Huawei Mate X2 features a 16MP f/2.2 selfie shooter.

Under the hood, the Mate X2 is powered by Huaweis own Kirin 9000 5G chip. Based on the 5nm TSMC node, it packs an 8-core CPU, a Mali G78 GPU, and a dual-core NPU for AI and machine learning tasks. The device is powered by a 4500mAh battery with 55W fast wired charging support. Other specs include Wi-Fi 6, Bluetooth 5.2, 5G connectivity, fingerprint sensor, and NFC.

The Mate X2 will be available in 256GB and 512GB storage configurations with 8GB RAM as standard. The former is priced at 17,999 ($2,780) while the 512GB model will be available for 18999 ($2,940). The Mate X2 will go on sale from February 25, and it will be available in Crystal Blue, Crystal Pink, White, and Black.

Like all other Huawei smartphones launched over the last couple of years, the Mate X2 runs on Android but does not have access to Googles Mobile Suite. In China, Google services are banned as well and the device comes with Huaweis own app store instead. It is unlikely that the Mate X2 will launch outside of China.
Actress Eva Longoria is visiting San Antonio on Monday.

This Monday afternoon, Longoria will take a quick tour of the San Antonio Food Bank with the President and CEO Eric Cooper, according to a news release from the food bank. She will also make three home deliveries to households impacted by the Texas winter storm last week.

READ ALSO: SAWS clears additional San Antonio neighborhoods from its boil water notice

Longoria is a supporter of Feeding America, which is an organization that distributes food and grocery products through a nationwide certified member network. The Texas native has also been vocal on her social media by amplifying several threads with information on how to help Texas after its Arctic freeze that left many without power and water.

"Let's work together. Borrowing from @chrissyteigen: please list some good ways to help Texas here - for me and for all of us," Longoria tweeted on Wednesday.

Michael G. Guerra, the San Antonio Food Bank's Chief Resource Officer, said the food agency is excited to have Longoria join them this afternoon, saying her warmth will brighten many during this time.

"Her being in town is exactly what we need to bring some warmth after our winter storm," Guerra said. "... We couldn't be happier to see someone like Eva lean in to support the great work this community has already been doing for days and days."

Priscilla Aguirre is a general assignment reporter for MySA.com | priscilla.aguirre@express-news.net | @CillaAguirre
A member of the Congolese military searches an area leading to where bodies were found near to where a U.N. convoy was attacked and the Italian ambassador to Congo killed, in Nyiragongo, North Kivu province, Congo Monday, Feb. 22, 2021. The Italian ambassador to Congo Luca Attanasio, an Italian Carabineri police officer and their Congolese driver were killed Monday in an attack on a U.N. convoy in an area that is home to myriad rebel groups, the Foreign Ministry and local people said. (AP Photo/Justin Kabumba)
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Market Reports on Saudi Arabia Provides the Trending Market Research Report on Health and Wellness in Saudi Arabiaunder Healthcare category. The Health and Wellness Market in Saudi Arabia is projected to exhibit highest growth rate over report offers a collection of superior market research, market analysis, and competitive intelligence and industry reports.

Overall, COVID-19 had a positive impact on sales of HW packaged food and beverages. On one hand, the strict nationwide lockdown which lasted from March until late June led to a general increased demand for food and drink options, with consumers unable to visit foodservice outlets. There was a particularly strong uptick in demand in March with consumers concerned about potential supply issues and problems accessing grocery retailers.

Health and Wellness in Saudi Arabia report tracks the developments of health-associated product types and the healthy-option positioning of competing brands across different food sectors. It provides the latest retail sales data 2016-2020, allowing you to compare health and wellness categories with each other or in the context of the total market for a sector. It identifies the leading companies, the leading brands and offers strategic analysis of key factors influencing the market- be they new product developments, legislative context or lifestyle influences. Forecasts to 2025 illustrate how the market is set to change.

Request a free sample copy of Saudi Arabia Health and Wellness Market Report @

http://www.marketreportsonsaudiarabia.com/marketreports/sample/reports/509740

Product coverage:

Focus Categories by Key Functional Ingredients, Health and Wellness by Category, Health and Wellness by Prime Positioning, Health and Wellness by Type.

Data coverage:

market sizes (historic and forecasts), company shares, brand shares and distribution data.

Why buy this report?

* Get a detailed picture of the Health and Wellness market;

* Pinpoint growth sectors and identify factors driving change;

* Understand the competitive environment, the markets major players and leading brands;

* Use five-year forecasts to assess how the market is predicted to develop.

Table of Contents

Health and Wellness in Saudi Arabia

LIST OF CONTENTS AND TABLES

EXECUTIVE SUMMARY

COVID-19 impact on health and wellness

COVID-19 country impact

Company response

Retailing shift

Foodservice vs retail split

What next for health and wellness?

MARKET DATA

Table 1 Sales of Health and Wellness by Type: Value 2015-2020

Table 2 Sales of Health and Wellness by Type: % Value Growth 2015-2020

Table 3 Sales of Health and Wellness by Category: Value 2015-2020

Table 4 Sales of Health and Wellness by Category: % Value Growth 2015-2020

Table 5 Sales of Health and Wellness by Prime Positioning: Value 2015-2020

Table 6 Sales of Health and Wellness by Prime Positioning: % Value Growth 2015-2020

Table 7 NBO Company Shares of Health and Wellness: % Value 2016-2020

Table 8 LBN Brand Shares of Health and Wellness: % Value 2017-2020

Table 9 Distribution of Health and Wellness by Format: % Value 2015-2020

Table 10 Distribution of Health and Wellness by Format and Category: % Value 2020

Table 11 Forecast Sales of Health and Wellness by Type: Value 2020-2025

Table 12 Forecast Sales of Health and Wellness by Type: % Value Growth 2020-2025

Table 13 Forecast Sales of Health and Wellness by Category: Value 2020-2025

Table 14 Forecast Sales of Health and Wellness by Category: % Value Growth 2020-2025

Table 15 Forecast Sales of Health and Wellness by Prime Positioning: Value 2020-2025

Table 16 Forecast Sales of Health and Wellness by Prime Positioning: % Value Growth 2020-2025

GLOBAL MACROECONOMIC ENVIRONMENT

GLOBAL INDUSTRY ENVIRONMENT

DISCLAIMER

SOURCES

Browse our full report with Table of Contents: http://www.marketreportsonsaudiarabia.com/marketreports/health-and-wellness-in-saudi-arabia/509740

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Market Reports on Saudi Arabia provides you with an in-depth industry reports focusing on various economic, political and operational risk environment, complemented by detailed sector analysis. We have an exhaustive coverage on variety of industries  ranging from energy and chemicals to transportation, communications, constructions and mining to Food and Beverage and education. Our collection includes over 3000 up-to-date reports all researched, analysed and published by top-notch international research firms.

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'Dialogue the key to repairing Sino-US relations'

'Dialogue the key to repairing Sino-US relations'

Senior Chinese diplomat Wang Yi called on the administration of US President Joe Biden to work with Beijing to reopen dialogue between the two countries to restore a bilateral relationship damaged under the presidency of Donald Trump.



Wang, a Chinese state councillor and foreign minister, said the Trump administration's actions to suppress and contain China inflicted immeasurable harm, and called on Washington to remove tariffs on Chinese goods and abandon what he said was an irrational suppression of the Chinese tech sector.



Wang also urged Washington to respect China's core interests, stop interfering in Beijing's internal affairs and stop "conniving" with separatist forces for Taiwan's independence.



"Over the past few years, the United States basically cut off bilateral dialogue at all levels," Wang said in prepared remarks translated into English.



"We stand ready to have candid communication with the US side, and engage in dialogues aimed at solving problems."



Wang pointed to a recent call between President Xi Jinping and Biden as a positive step.



The comments come with the bilateral relationship at its lowest in decades. Washington and Beijing have clashed on multiple fronts including trade, accusations of human rights crimes against the Uighur Muslim minorities in Xinjiang region and Beijing's territorial claims in the resources-rich South China Sea.



The Biden administration has, however, signalled it will maintain pressure on Beijing. Biden has voiced concern about Beijing's "coercive and unfair" trade practices and endorsed a Trump administration determination that China has committed genocide against Muslim minorities in the far western region of Xinjiang. (Reuters)
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U.S. Secretary of State Antony Blinken reiterated U.S. support in a joint statement with French Foreign Minister Jean-Yves Le Drian on the occasion of the six-month anniversary of the Port of Beirut explosion.
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Plans to lift England's third national lockdown earlier were effectively scrapped after grim forecasts from No10's top scientists warned that drastically easing restrictions at Easter would cause tens of thousands more deaths.

Under one blueprint said to have been drawn up earlier this month, shops, beer gardens and outdoor attractions would have been allowed to reopen by the end of March. But the Daily Telegraph claimed ministers were spooked by modelling from 'Professor Lockdown' Neil Ferguson and colleagues at Imperial College London, who estimated the timetable could result in an extra 55,000 deaths.

Releasing their modelling of a series of different roadmaps out of lockdown, SAGE warned there would be at least another 30,000 Covid deaths even in the 'most optimistic' scenario. This is because vaccines are not perfect and uptake will never be 100 per cent, meaning millions of vulnerable people will still be unprotected.

And the group said that if all restrictions were lifted completely at the end of April there would be a dramatic spike in cases that could see around 91,000 further deaths. In a worst-case scenario, the additional death toll could reach almost 150,000.

No10's scientific advisers insisted that without a gradual route back to normality, the pressure on NHS hospitals would peak in June at nearly 60,000 coronavirus inpatients  higher than even last month's peak of nearly 40,000.

Despite SAGE reportedly pushing back on re-opening in time for Easter, one of their models opened the door for limited indoor mixing ahead of April 4. Allowing people to invite one person into their homes as early as March 29  and opting to wait until later in the summer to ease all restrictions  would have kept hospital bed occupancy at the lowest levels they are likely to reach in an inevitable third wave.

Ministers did not opt for any of the oven-ready scenarios modelled by experts at Imperial and Warwick University. Instead, the Government created a hybrid version that brings forward some relaxations and pushes others back, meaning England has to wait at least 118 days to be free of all restrictions.

Under Boris Johnson's four-point roadmap, schools in England will reopen from March 8 - though the next stage of loosening will not be until March 29, when the formal Stay at Home edict is finally dropped in favour of 'Stay Local', and the Rule of Six makes a comeback. It will be extended to allow two households to gather, enabling relatives to meet properly for the first time in months.

But shops, hairdressers and pubs must remain closed until April 12 at the earliest - the same time gyms can get back up and running - regardless of mounting fears about the economic meltdown.

Campsites and holiday lets can reopen for single households from April 12 - but international travel is completely off the cards until at least May 17. Social distancing rules will stay in force until June 21 at the minimum, with a government review to decide their future after that.

Sports can start to return from May 17, although venues will need to work on reduced capacities. Up to 30 people can go to weddings from the same date, but are stuck at that number until the next phase of the roadmap.

Only at June 21 will all legal limits on social contact go, and the remaining elements of the hospitality sector be allowed to open. The PM stressed that he is being driven by 'data not dates' and the timeline is not guaranteed.

Releasing their modelling of a series of different roadmaps out of lockdown, SAGE warned there would be at least another 30,000 Covid deaths even in the 'most optimistic' scenario. This is because vaccines are not perfect and uptake will never be 100 per cent, meaning millions of vulnerable people will still be unprotected

Moving too fast to lift lockdown would lead to a 'significantly higher' number of infections and a potential extra 90,000 deaths, government scientists warned. Pictured: Chris Whitty (left) and Sir Patrick Vallance (right) leave Downing Street

Addressing the research, Boris Johnson told MPs: 'As the modelling released by Sage today shows, we cannot escape the fact that lifting lockdown will result in more cases, more hospitalisations and sadly more death'

Under Boris Johnson's four-point roadmap, schools in England will reopen from March 8. The PM is pictured heading for Buckingham Palace to jog in Westminster this morning

We could be in masks for years as SAGE advisers suggest Britons follow 'baseline measures' including self-isolating with a cough INDEFINITELY Wearing masks and self-isolating if you get a cough could stay in place for years. Government scientists suggest we follow 'baseline measures' indefinitely. These include avoiding crowded public transport, ensuring good ventilation indoors, and wearing masks in certain situations. The test, trace and isolate scheme and app are also likely to stay in place. In a document dated February 17, Sage said: 'Maintaining baseline measures to reduce transmission once restrictions are lifted is almost certain to save many lives and minimise the threat to hospital capacity.' Advertisement

As Britain begins its 118-day slow road to freedom:

Covid cases have risen for the first time in six weeks with 10,641 new infections in 24 hours, while deaths tumbled to 178 in the lowest toll since December 13. The UK's vaccine rollout also dished out just 150,000 jabs in its worst performance yet;

Couples and suppliers must wait until March 8 to have weddings and receptions with up to just six people - with unrestricted big days not set to occur before June 21;

Teaching unions have demanded Boris Johnson scrap his plan to reopen all schools in England on March 8 in favour of a more cautious phased return to classrooms;

Mr Zahawi said that the government was hoping this will be the last 'severe' coronavirus lockdown in England;

Labour has insisted it supports schools reopening in full on March 8 despite opposition from teaching unions and Sir Keir Starmer saying there must be a considered approach;

One in three adults have received a Covid jab as the government brings forward its target for vaccinating the whole population to July;

Scientists have hailed early data showing the vaccines reduce transmission of coronavirus as well as easing its effects;

The funeral of Captain Sir Tom Moore will be held on Saturday, in what the family said would be a 'small' service;

Surge testing was introduced in Brentwood, Essex, following the discovery of the South African variant in the area.

Chief Scientific Adviser Sir Patrick Vallance said: 'The sooner you open up everything, the higher the risk of a bigger resurgence. The slower you do it, the better.'

Addressing the research, Mr Johnson told MPs: 'No vaccine can ever be 100 per cent effective. As the modelling released by SAGE today shows, we cannot escape the fact that lifting lockdown will result in more cases, more hospitalisations and sadly more deaths.

'This would happen whenever lockdown is lifted because there will always be some vulnerable people who are not protected by vaccines.'

The SAGE papers show that scientists had warned that, even with the successful vaccination rollout, millions would remain susceptible to infection and death.

The gloomy forecasts, by experts at Imperial College London and Warwick University, were signed off by SAGE last week and effectively dashed hopes of a rapid return to normality.

Scientists were asked to model different scenarios for the roadmap, including relaxing all restrictions in April, or waiting until August. Experts found that 'all of the relaxation scenarios lead to a third wave of infections'.

A gradual approach to lifting restrictions, over several months, was essential to prevent an 'unsustainable rise in hospital admissions'.

Sage also modelled the effects of people being allowed single visitors into their homes as early as March 29, which would have allowed Easter reunions.

They stressed that allowing people to mix indoors before June would lead to 'significantly higher numbers of infections', resulting in a wave of hospital admissions similar to last month.

The SPI-M modelling group, which reports to Sage, concluded that to keep admissions below levels of the first wave, indoor mixing should not be allowed until June and July.

Professor Angela McLean, deputy chief scientific adviser, said: 'If you unlock more slowly, the peak that you get is less high.'

Sir Patrick said: 'The modelling lays out a series of scenarios. None of them are the precise ones which the Government ultimately decided to go for, but they lie between those options.'

He warned that despite huge progress with the vaccine rollout, a large number of people remained unprotected and cases are high.

Sir Patrick said the easing of lockdown must be done using a step-by-step approach, so the effect of each measure can be assessed.

He added: 'That means probably allowing something like four or five weeks between each step - four weeks to be able to measure the effects of the step you've just taken, and then a week for people to actually get ready in terms of what needs to happen.

'You will be flying blind on this if you don't wait. I think being driven by what the data tells us is happening is the safest way to do this and making sure you make this irreversible... so you're not then having to suddenly make a U-turn.'

While Sir Patrick praised the vaccine rollout, he warned jabs are not 100 per cent effective and said even if all adults were vaccinated, children would still not be protected.

How will lockdown ease in the roadmap? Step One Part One: March 8 From March 8, all pupils and students will return to schools and colleges across England. So-called wrap-around childcare will also be allowed to resume, paving the way for after and before school clubs to reopen. People will be allowed to meet one other person outside for recreation, for example, to have a picnic or to meet for coffee. Care home residents will be able to have one regular named visitor. The Government's stay at home order will remain in place, with travel for non-essential purposes still banned. Step One Part Two: March 29 From March 29, outdoor gatherings of up to six people or a larger group from up to two households will be allowed. These gatherings will be allowed to happen in private gardens. Outdoor sports like tennis and basketball will be allowed to reopen and people will also be able to take part in formally organised outdoor sports. It is at this point that the Government's stay at home guidance will end, to be replaced by ministers encouraging people to 'stay local'. However, the Government is expected not to define what constitutes local, instead choosing to rely on people using their common sense to decide on journeys. People will still be told to work from home wherever possible while international travel will still be banned unless it is for essential purposes. Step Two: April 12 Nom-essential retail will be allowed to reopen as well as personal care premises like hairdressers, barbers and nail salons. Public buildings like libraries, museums and art galleries will be allowed to welcome back customers. Meanwhile, hospitality venues and outdoor attractions like theme parks will be given the green light to reopen in some form. However, there will still be rules on household mixing: Essentially any activity which involves being indoors will be restricted to members of the same household. Gyms and swimming pools will also reopen from April 12 but only on the basis that people go on their own or with their own household. Pubs and restaurants will be able to reopen but at this point they will only be able to have customers outdoors. Any visits to a pub or restuarant will have to comply with the rules on social contact, so no more than two households or the rule of six. The Government will not be bringing back the old requirement for people to order a substantial meal with alcohol while the old 10pm curfew will be ditched. All customers at hospitality venues will also have to be seated when they order food or drink, with ordering at the bar prohibited. Campsites and holiday lets where indoor facilities are not shared with other households can also reopen but trips must be restricted a single household. Funerals will be allowed to continue with up to 30 people, while the rules on wedding receptions will be eased to allow the number of guests to increase from six to 15. Step Three: May 17 The two household and rule of six requirements for outdoor gatherings will be ditched but gatherings of more than 30 people in places like parks will still be banned. Crucially, mixing indoors will be allowed again. The rule of six or a larger group from up to two households will be allowed to meet. However, this will be kept under review by ministers to see if rules could be relaxed still further. This is also the point at which pubs and restaurants and other hospitality venues will be able to open indoors, with the rule of six and two household limit in place. But groups meeting outdoors at pubs will be allowed to be bigger. Entertainment venues like cinemas and children's play areas will be able to reopen, as will hotels and B&Bs. Indoor adult sports groups and exercise classes can also reopen. Changes will also be made to sporting and performance events in indoor venues with a capacity of 1,000 people or half full Advertisement

Israel, which has been a world leader in vaccination, is seeing an increase in hospitalisations among younger people since its older citizens have had the jab, he said.

It comes as Mr Johnson made clear he was prioritising 'certainty over urgency', saying he is being as 'dynamic as possible in the circumstances' and the 'crocus of hope' is starting to appear.

Appearing beside the Prime Minister at a Downing Street press briefing, Professor Chris Whitty and Sir Patrick said there are still very significant numbers of people infected with Covid and going to fast risked the outbreak spiralling again.

The premier confirmed that all schools in England will reopen from March 8 as the first step on the 'one-way road to freedom'.

But secondary pupils will need to wear masks in class for 'weeks' after the move - and there are precious few other easings until Easter, with scientists seemingly having won the battle for a slow approach.

The only other relaxation to come at the same time as schools return is permission to meet socially with one friend or family member in the park for a coffee or a picnic.

The next stage of loosening will not be until March 29, when the formal Stay at Home edict is finally dropped in favour of 'Stay Local', and the Rule of Six makes a comeback. It will be extended to allow two households to gather, enabling relatives to meet properly for the first time in months.

That date will also see the reopening of tennis courts and golf courses and the return of grassroots football.

But shops, hairdressers and pubs must remain closed until April 12 at the earliest - the same time gyms can get back up and running - regardless of mounting fears about the economic meltdown. Even at that point pints and meals can only be consumed outdoors.

Campsites and holiday lets can reopen for single households from April 12 - but international travel is completely off the cards until at least May 17. Theresa May has lashed out at Mr Johnson for ordering a review of the holiday season that will not conclude for another eight weeks from now, warning it will be useless as the industry needs three months to prepare for changes.

Social distancing rules will stay in force until June 21 at the minimum, with a government review to decide their future after that. The decision means that grandparents face months of waiting before they can hug their grandchildren - even though millions have already been vaccinated.

Another review will be held at that point to decide whether a system of vaccine certificates could be deployed within the UK to help open up the economy, something the government has previously said it is not considering.

Sports can start to return from May 17, although venues will need to work on reduced capacities.

Up to 30 people can go to weddings from the same date, but are stuck at that number until the next phase of the roadmap.

Only at June 21 will all legal limits on social contact go, and the remaining elements of the hospitality sector be allowed to open. The PM stressed that he is being driven by 'data not dates' and the timeline is not guaranteed.

The blueprint, which runs to 60 pages, included modelling supporting the government's tentative strategy. It was published alongside further positive news about the effectiveness of jabs in reducing transmission. A major study published yesterday found they were working 'spectacularly well' and cutting hospital admissions by as much as 95 per cent.

But Mr Johnson faces the wrath of his own benches, with senior Tories demanding to know why loosening is being delayed beyond the point when all over-50s are vaccinated and pointing out the hospitality and aviation sectors are on the verge of disaster.

He set four tests for continuing with any easing including no new concerns emerging about variant strains. The other criteria are the vaccine rollout going well, jabs being effective at reducing hospital admissions and deaths, and avoiding a surge in hospital cases.

Mr Johnson said last night: 'We cannot persist indefinitely with restrictions that have separated families and loved ones for too long, threatened the livelihoods of millions, kept pupils out of school.

'Thanks to the vaccinations there is light ahead, leading us to a spring and a summer, which I think will be seasons of hope, looking and feeling incomparably better for us all.'

He said: 'The crocus of hope is poking through the frost, and spring is on its way, both literally and metaphorically. But I won't be buccaneering, as you put it, with people's lives, and nor will anybody in government.'

He also again hinted at an extension of furlough, saying the Government will do 'whatever it takes to protect jobs and livelihoods' while the restrictions continue.

At the briefing last night, Prof Whitty said there are still 'very significant' numbers of people with coronavirus every day in the UK.

He added: 'There is still a lot of people in hospital with this disease. This is not the end, but this is the point where we can have a steady, risk-based, data-driven opening up.

'But everybody must stick to the guidelines as they go through the different stages, because if we don't do that then we will get to a stage where the rates go up very high and you'll find there are people who are not protected by the vaccinations.

'These are not 100 per cent effective, as the Prime Minister said.'

The Government's chief scientific adviser Sir Patrick 'completely' agreed with Prof Whitty, adding: 'The caution of going every five weeks is very important because we need to measure so that we're not flying blind on this.

'We need to know what the impact of the opening up steps are.'

Sir Patrick also suggested that the public needs to be prepared for some restrictions, such as masks, to return next winter.

In the Commons this afternoon, Mr Johnson said the 'threat remains' from the disease and cases, hospitalisations and deaths will rise in the coming months because no vaccines can offer 100 per cent protection for the whole population.

'At every stage our decisions will be led by data not dates,' the premier told MPs.

The government's road map summarises the different steps ministers are hoping to take based on the tests being met

Coronavirus passports to go to the pub? Ministers to investigate whether to bring in 'Covid status certification' to help speed up the reopening of hospitality industry and workplaces Vaccine passports could be required to enter pubs, restaurants and other venues after Boris Johnson announced a review into their use. He said that one of four official investigations will look at whether to introduce 'Covid status certification', despite Downing Street insisting for weeks that such domestic documents would not be supported. It was one of four reviews announced by the Prime Minister in the Commons today. Announcing the move to MPs Mr Johnson said the review would examine whether the certificates would be useful 'in helping venues to open safely - but mindful of the many concerns surrounding exclusion, discrimination and privacy'. Senior ministers have frequently appeared to dismiss the idea of introducing vaccine passports in the UK. Nadhim Zahawi, the Government's vaccines minister, labelled them 'discriminatory' as ministers looked to persuade the public to take up the offer of a jab without the threat of being barred from entering hospitality or other venues if they do not get inoculated against Covid-19. Advertisement

Mr Johnson defended the five-week gap between the main steps in the roadmap, even longer than had been anticipated. He said it takes four weeks to assess the impact of each step, and the country needs a week's notice for changes. Going any faster could mean having to reimpose the lockdown, he said.

'I won't take that risk,' Mr Johnson said.

He admitted that the surging vaccine drive had encouraged many to think it is possible to 'go faster'.

'I understand their frustration and I sympathise very much with the exhaustion and the stress that people are experiencing and businesses are experiencing... but to them I say the end really is in sight.'

Mr Johnson dropped a strong hint that furlough could be extended beyond the end of April amid the slow relaxation, saying the government will keep doing 'all it takes' to prop up jobs and firms.

Mr Johnson said the road map will 'guide us cautiously but irreversibly towards reclaiming our freedoms'.

In the Commons, he said: 'The threat remains substantial with the numbers in hospital only now beginning to fall below the peak of the first wave in April.

'But we are able to take these steps because of the resolve of the British people and the extraordinary success of our NHS in vaccinating more than 17.5 million people across the UK.'

Mr Johnson said 'no vaccine can ever be 100 per cent effective'.

He told MPs: 'So, as the modelling released by Sage today shows, we cannot escape the fact that lifting lockdown will result in more cases, more hospitalisations and sadly more deaths.

'And this would happen whenever lockdown is lifted  whether now or in six or nine months  because there will always be some vulnerable people who are not protected by the vaccines.

'There is therefore no credible route to a zero-Covid Britain, or indeed, a zero-Covid world and we cannot persist indefinitely with restrictions that debilitate our economy, our physical and mental wellbeing and the life chances of our children.'

He said he will not take the risk of having to reimpose restrictions as a result of lifting lockdown at a quicker pace.

He told the Commons: 'The chief medical officer is clear that moving any faster would mean acting before we know the impact of each step, which would increase the risk of us having to reverse course and reimpose restrictions, I won't take that risk.

'Step one will happen from March 8, by which time those in the top four priority groups will be benefiting from the increasing protection they receive from their first dose of the vaccine.'

Backbench Tories criticised the roadmap as too slow, with Steve Baker, the deputy chairman of the lockdown-sceptic Covid Recovery Group, calling it a 'hammer blow' for the aviation and hospitality sectors.

Mr Baker said: 'Today's pace of change will be a hammer blow to aviation, pubs, restaurants, hotels, gyms and pools, the arts and entertainment. Once again, it seems to be modelling not data driving decisions.'

Boris Johnson's lockdown exit strategy in full: All schools back on March 8, two households meeting outdoors from March 29, non-essential shops, pubs and hairdressers open from April 12 and back to normal on June 21

Prime Minister Boris Johnson yesterday unveiled his 'cautious' lockdown exit strategy which could see life in England return to something close to normal by June at the earliest.

Mr Johnson's plan for easing restrictions will be split into four separate steps and will see the country treated as a whole, with no return to a tier system.

The loosening of England's third national lockdown, imposed amid a winter outbreak of coronavirus in January, will begin on March 8 when all schools across the country will return.

Rules are then due to be lifted every five weeks to allow four weeks to measure the impact of changes and to give a further week's notice before the next step comes into force.

However, the Government has stressed that the dates set out in the roadmap are 'not before dates' and that they could change depending on the scale of the coronavirus outbreak.

In his statement to the Commons, Mr Johnson said there are four tests for reopening the country: the success of the vaccine roll-out, evidence that Covid jabs are reducing hospitalisations, infection rates not putting 'unsustainable pressure' on the NHS, and whether the risks are 'fundamentally changed' by new variants.

Below is a breakdown of the measures outlined in each step:

In his statement to the Commons, Mr Johnson explained there are four tests for reopening the country

Prime Minister Boris Johnson during a televised press conference at Downing Street on February 22, 2021

Step One Part One: March 8

SCHOOLS: From March 8, all pupils and students will return to schools and colleges across England.

University students who require practical teaching to complete their studies will also be allowed to return., those who do not need practical teaching will still be banned from campuses with ministers due to conduct a review by the end of the Easter holidays on the options for their return.

So-called wrap-around childcare (including childminders) will also be allowed to resume for all children where it is needed to enable parents or carers to work, seek work, attend education, seek medical care or attend a support group.

Vulnerable children can attend these settings regardless of circumstance. Under-18 sport can take place at school as part of educational provision, or as part of wraparound care, but should not otherwise take place at this time.

In its roadmap, the Government called returning face-to-face education in schools and colleges a 'national priority'. It also said there was 'clear evidence' that 'time out of education can be detrimental to children's future prospects and earning potential, with implications also for long-term productivity'.

The Government also recommends that the use of face coverings in Higher Education, Further Education and secondary schools is extended for a limited period to all indoor environments - including classrooms - unless 2m social distancing can be maintained.

CARE HOMES: Meanwhile, every care home resident in England will be able to nominate a single named visitor who can come in for a regular visit.

The visitor will have to take a rapid lateral flow test every time they visit, wear PPE and keep physical contact to a minimum.

The Government's stay at home order will remain in place, with travel for non-essential purposes still banned.

OTHER: People will be allowed to meet one other person outside for recreation, for example, to have a picnic or to meet for coffee.

Year 8 pupils at Moor End Academy in Huddersfield, Northern England in September 2020

The Government's 'socio-economic analysis' of Step 1: How education and physical and mental health have all deteriorated during the coronavirus lockdowns SCHOOL CLOSURES The Government's roadmap admits that school closures and restrictions on face-to-face education has had 'significant and adverse impacts on children's learning, development and mental health'. By February 2021 half term, studies suggest the total loss in face-to-face learning could amount to around half a school year, with two thirds of a normal year lost if school reopening were to be delayed to after Easter. The roadmap states that as well as benefiting students directly, parents will no longer have to balance childcare and working from home: 'Around 53 per cent of parents report a reduced ability to work as a result of school closures; this is more acutely felt by parents of early years and primary aged children.' SPORTS, AMUSEMENT AND RECREATIONAL ACTIVITIES Sports, amusement and recreational activities were worth an estimated 12.8billion in the UK in 2019 (11billion in England), providing around 565,000 jobs (484,000 in England), the roadmap says. The Government believes that the easing of measures could enable some of these activities to return and take advantage of the spring/summer season and recover lost revenues. These businesses are particularly important employers for young people, with 37 per cent of their workforce between 16 to 24 years old (compared to a national average of 11 per cent), the Government added. PHYSICAL AND MENTAL HEALTH The roadmap admits that lockdowns have had a massive effect on the physical and mental health of 'large parts of the population, in particular children and those living alone'. No10 believes opening outdoor sports settings will reduce individuals risk of major illnesses, such as heart disease, stroke, type 2 diabetes and cancer by up to 50 per cent and lower risk of early death by a third. Physical activity is also known to help with improving mental health through better sleep, happier moods, and managing stress, anxiety or intrusive and 'racing' thoughts, the roadmap added. It also recorded how restrictions on socialising have had an adverse impact on people's wellbeing and mental health with nearly half of adults reporting boredom, loneliness, anxiety or stress arising due to the pandemic. Advertisement

Step One Part Two: March 29

OUTDOOR GATHERINGS AND SPORTS: From March 29, outdoor gatherings of up to six people or a larger group from up to two households will be allowed in private gardens as well as public spaces like parks.

The Government states: 'Applying either limit provides greater flexibility, recognising the different situations faced by families and individuals; two households will be more helpful for families, while the Rule of Six is likely to help people in different households to reunite outdoors, including those living alone or in shared accommodation.

'Those eligible to form a support bubble will still be able to do so, enabling close contact for many of those in most need of support, and will continue to be counted as part of the same household.'

Outdoor sports facilities to reopen, such as tennis and basketball courts, and swimming pools, will also ber permitted, broadening the options for outdoor exercise and recreation.

These facilities can be used by people in line with the wider social contact limits. Formally organised outdoor sports - for adults and under 18s - can also restart and will not be subject to the gatherings limits, but should be compliant with guidance issued by national governing bodies.

STAY AT HOME TO BE SCRAPPED: It is at this point that the Government's stay at home guidance will end, to be replaced by ministers encouraging people to 'stay local'.

However, the Government is not expected to define exactly what constitutes local, instead choosing to rely on people using their common sense to decide on journeys.

Its roadmap also states: 'Many of the lockdown restrictions, however, will remain in place. Unless an exemption already applies, it will not be possible to meet people from other households indoors and many business premises will remain shut.

'Guidance will set out that people should continue to work from home where they can. People should continue to minimise travel wherever possible, and should not be staying away from home overnight at this stage.'

WORK FROM HOME: People will still be told to work from home wherever possible while international travel will still be banned unless it is for essential purposes.

As before, people can leave home for work if they cannot work from home and to escape illness, injury or risk of harm, including domestic abuse.

ELECTIONS: The roadmap explains that Covid-secure council, mayoral and police and crime commissioner elections will go ahead on May 6 in England and Wales.

The Government plans to amend the coronavirus regulations 'to enable a broader range of campaign-related activity from March 8, but it is essential that this still takes place in a Covid-Secure way, in line with guidance and the law'.

The Scottish and Welsh Governments are responsible for their elections with the exception of the Police and Crime Commissioner Elections in Wales.

Customers dine in Soho in London, Britain, December 15, 2020

The Government's 'socio-economic analysis of Step Two': How lockdowns have devastated UK plc FURLOUGH The roadmap states that the closure of non-essential retail during the pandemic - estimated to be worth 44.6billion of Gross Value Added (GVA) in the UK in 2019, employing around 1.2 million people. - has led to a high take-up of the furlough scheme in the wider wholesale and retail sector. Use of furlough peaked at 1.9 million in April, and 740,000 at the end of November in the UK. People from ethnic minorities are overrepresented in this sector, making up 16 per cent of workers, as are young people (35 per cent are 16 to 24). Women also make up a greater proportion of employees (66 per cent compared to 47 per cent nationally). HOSPITALITY Hospitality is a core part of the UK's economy, the roadmap states. The whole Accommodation and Food Services sector was estimated to be worth 57.6billion in the UK 2019 (48.5billion in England), providing jobs for 2.5 million people (2.1 million in England). This sector has been one of the hardest hit by the pandemic: GVA output fell by 91 per cent in April and 89 per cent in May 2020, compared to February 2020. The November restrictions also hit the hospitality sector hard, with GVA falling back to 65 per cent below its pre-pandemic level. This sector has also had large parts of its workforce on furlough: in the first wave 1.6 million jobs were furloughed at its peak; at the end of November 1.1 million jobs in this sector were on furlough. Between 25 January and 7 February, 62 per cent of businesses in accommodation and food services had paused trading. PERSONAL CARE ACTIVITIES Personal care activities accounted for 21.1billion in the UK in 2019 (18.9billion in England), providing 566,000 jobs (507,000 in England). Women are significantly overrepresented in this sector, making up 85 per cent of the workforce. The Government has admitted in its document that public buildings and spaces 'play a vital role in the economic and social life of communities'. The roadmap also states: 'Libraries, and other community centres, are valuable and safe places, often to the most vulnerable groups in society. 'They provide both services to local communities and spaces to socialise. All public spaces have important benefits that help create local attachments and sense of belonging to a community.' Advertisement

Step Two: 'No earlier than' April 12

The Government's roadmap explains that Step Two will take place no earlier than April 12, around four weeks after Step One has been implemented.

The document states that Step Two will reopen some sections of our indoor economy and more outdoor settings, restoring jobs and livelihoods and enabling people to access some activities and services.

However, social contact rules in England will not change further at this point and outdoor gatherings must still be limited to six people or two households as in Step One.

However, if Step Two is delayed, 'subsequent steps will need to be pushed back in order to maintain the necessary five week period to assess the impact of each step and provide notice'.

HAIRDRESSERS AND NON-ESSENTIAL HOSPITALITY: Non-essential retail will reopen no earlier than April 12 as well as personal care businesses like hairdressers, barbers and nail salons.

Public buildings like libraries, museums and art galleries will be allowed to welcome back customers.

Meanwhile, hospitality venues and outdoor attractions like theme parks will be given the green light to reopen in some form.

However, there will still be rules on household mixing: Essentially any activity which involves being indoors will be restricted to members of the same household.

GYMS AND LEISURE: Gyms and swimming pools will also reopen from at the earliest April 12 but only on the basis that people go on their own or with members of their own household.

PUBS AND RESTAURANTS: Pubs and restaurants will be able to reopen from April 12 at the earliest, but at this point they will only be able to have customers outdoors.

Any visits to a pub or restaurant will have to comply with the rules on social contact, so no more than two households or the rule of six.

The Government will not be bringing back the old requirement for people to order a substantial meal with alcohol while the old 10pm curfew will also be ditched.

All customers at hospitality venues will have to be seated when they order food or drink, with ordering at the bar prohibited.

CAMPSITES AND HOLIDAYS: Campsites and holiday lets where indoor facilities are not shared with other households can also reopen but trips must be restricted to a single household.

WEDDINGS AND FUNERALS: Funerals will be allowed to continue with up to 30 people, while the rules on wedding receptions will be eased to allow the number of guests to increase from six to 15.

LARGE CROWDS: The Government will also launch pilot programmes in April to see how events with large crowds and reduced social distancing could work.

INTERNATIONAL TRAVEL: A new task force looking at how to increase inbound and outbound international travel, while also protecting against importing coronavirus variants, will report on April 12.

The expectation is that international travel will not resume until May 17 at the very earliest.

Face coverings are worn by bride to be Jessica Letheren and bridal consultant Felicity Gray during a dress fitting appointment at Allison Jayne Bridalwear in Clifton, Bristol, on June 25, 2020

Women pose for a photo at an outdoor dining area on Northcote Road in Battersea, London on September 13, 2020

The Government's 'socio-economic analysis' of Step Three: How arts and entertainment have been decimated by the lockdowns ARTS AND ENTERTAINMENT The Government's roadmap admits that the arts, entertainment and recreation sector (excluding sports, amusement and recreation) has been hit very hard by the pandemic. Pre-Covid-19, this sector was worth 18.3billion GVA UK wide (15.5billion in England) and had 473,000 jobs (400,000 in England). GVA output in the arts, entertainment and recreation sector as a whole compared to February fell by 46 per cent in April, and subsequently to 33 per cent in November; in no month since March has output been above 77 per cent of pre-pandemic levels. The sector as a whole has also had a high take-up of the furlough scheme, with 455,000 furloughed at peak in spring, and 293,000 furloughed at the end of November. Between 25 January and 7 February, 44 per cent of businesses in the arts, entertainment and recreation sector have paused trading. Reopening these sectors can allow these businesses to recover revenues and bring back employees. SOCIAL CONTACT The Government also revealed that the relaxation of social contact rules is 'likely to have a positive impact on wellbeing as people will be able to socialise and meet friends and family indoors for the first time in several months'. 'Restrictions on social contact have had adverse mental health and wellbeing impacts', the Government admitted. Advertisement

Step Three: 'No earlier than' May 17

Again, Step Three will take place no earlier than 17 May, and at least five weeks after Step Two, following a further review of the data and the four tests.

Again, the Government will announce one week in advance whether restrictions will be eased as planned.

In Step Three, all but the most high-risk sectors will be able to reopen. In all sectors, Covid-secure guidance will remain in place and premises must not cater for groups larger than the legal limits, the roadmap states.

TWO HOMES AND RULE OF SIX: The two household and rule of six requirements for outdoor gatherings will be ditched but gatherings of more than 30 people in places like parks will still be illegal.

Crucially, mixing indoors will be allowed again. The rule of six or a larger group from up to two households will be allowed to meet.

However, this will be kept under review by ministers to see if rules could be relaxed still further.

PUBS AND RESTAURANTS: This is also the point at which pubs and restaurants and other hospitality venues will be able to open indoors, with the rule of six and two household limit in place. Larger groups will be able to meet outdoors at a pub.

Entertainment venues like cinemas and children's play areas will be able to reopen, as will hotels and B&Bs. Indoor adult sports groups and exercise classes can also reopen.

SPORTS AND PERFORMANCE VENUES: Changes will also be made to sporting and performance events in indoor venues with a capacity of 1,000 people or half full, whichever is lower, will be allowed, while outdoors a capacity of 4,000 people will be allowed or half full, whichever is lower.

In the biggest outdoor stadiums, up to 10,000 fans will be allowed to attend matches or a quarter of capacity, whichever is lower.

WEDDINGS AND FUNERALS: Rules on weddings will be eased further, with up to 30 people allowed to attend receptions as well as other life events including christenings.

COVID PASSPORTS: A Government review on whether to introduce vaccine passports or 'Covid Status Certification' documents is due to report before Step Four.

It will look at whether the documents, which could show if someone has been tested or if they have had a jab, could help to reopen the economy and make life easier.

MASKS AND SOCIAL DISTANCING: A review of social distancing measures is also due to conclude before Step Four.

It will look at issues like working from home, the wearing of face masks and the one metre plus rule and decide how long such measures will need to be retained.

Step Four: 'No earlier than' June 21

REMAINING RESTRICTIONS: This is the point at which the Government is hoping to lift all of the remaining restrictions on social contact and to reopen sectors of the economy which have not already returned and which could not resume last summer.

For example, this is when night clubs could be allowed to fully reopen while restrictions on large events and performances could also be lifted.

Mass-testing could be used to to reduce the risk of infection at those settings.

The Government will also make a decision on whether all restrictions can be removed on weddings and other life events.

However...

The Government has said that measures may be required even after all adults have been offered a vaccine, because neither coverage nor effectiveness of the vaccine will be 100 per cent.

As a result, a significant proportion of the population will remain vulnerable to infection, some of whom will also be vulnerable to severe disease and death.

This is reflected in the modelling of different scenarios for unlocking restrictions, which shows that the risk of further cases, hospitalisations and deaths remains after the adult population has been vaccinated, though modellers advise there is considerable uncertainty in these figures.
Teachers are distressed by a 'heartbreaking' rise in the number of children starting school without being toilet trained.

Pupils in Year 1 aged as old as six are turning up to school in nappies without basic toileting skills as well as children in pre-school, according to education bosses in Western Australia.

Kindergarten teachers also reported a rise in children wearing nappy pants or 'pull-ups' to classes because they have yet to be trained how to go to the toilet.

Teachers in Western Australia have reported a rise in the number of children starting school without being toilet trained (stock image)

The State School Teachers Union of WA said an increasing number of teachers were complaining about pupils who lack toilet training.

'What is heartbreaking is the emotional damage done to little children's self-esteem at a time when they are developing friendships and learning interpersonal socialisation,' one teacher told The West Australian.

Continence experts say children should be toilet trained by the time they are three years old.

But WA Primary Principals Association president Ian Anderson said teachers were noticing an alarming number of children sitting in school all day in soiled nappies.

'It's absolutely terrible for a child to be sitting there either in wet or soiled pull-ups for the day,' he said.

'Don't just put them in pull-ups and think that's the problem fixed.'

Children should be toilet trained by the time they are three-years-old according to experts but industry leaders have noticed an alarming number of children sitting in school all day in soiled nappies (stock image)

Research published in 2018 found teachers waste more than a million hours of lesson time a year toilet training primary pupils.

A survey found a fifth of staff in the UK spend up to 30 minutes a week dealing with basic hygiene issues that haven't been taught at home.

Continence Foundation of Australia physiotherapist Dr Janet Chase said children born 30 years ago on average spent a year less being toilet trained than those born today.


A thorough search by police of waterways and a vast area of parkland in Melbournes north-east has failed to find any sign of missing mother Ju Zhang, who was allegedly murdered by her partner three weeks ago.

Dozens of police scoured thick bushland in Heidelberg West and Ivanhoe on Monday as they searched for the body of Ms Zhang. The 33-year-old, also known as Kelly, was last seen at her home on Winchester Avenue in Epping about 5.30pm on February 1.

Police wade through chest-deep water in the search for missing mother Ju Zhang on Monday. Credit:Justin McManus

Her boyfriend, Joon Seong Tan, 35, of Doncaster, was charged with her murder on February 11. Despite several significant searches, Ms Zhangs body has not been found.

The head of the missing persons squad, Detective Inspector Andrew Stamper, said the search failed to return any significant clues on Monday.
The Securities and Exchange Commission today announced the entry of a final judgment against former Connecticut investment adviser James T. Booth.

The SEC complaint, filed on September 30, 2019, alleges that Booth operated a multi-million dollar Ponzi scheme that bilked over three dozen retail investors, including senior citizens saving for retirement, of $4 million in assets.

In a parallel action by the U.S. Attorney's Office for the Southern District of New York, Booth pleaded guilty to one count of securities fraud. On November 18, 2020, Booth was sentenced to 42 months in prison followed by three years of supervised probation, and was ordered to pay $4,969,689 in forfeiture.

On February 19, 2021, the U.S. District Court for the District of Connecticut entered a final judgment by consent against Booth in the SEC's action. Pursuant to the final judgment, Booth was permanently enjoined from future violations of the antifraud provisions of Section 17(a) of the Securities Act of 1933, Section 10(b) of the Securities Exchange Act of 1934 and Rule 10b-5 thereunder, and Sections 206(1) and 206(2) of the Investment Advisers Act of 1940.

The SEC previously issued an order barring Booth from associating with any broker, dealer, investment adviser, municipal securities dealer, municipal adviser, transfer agent, or nationally recognized statistical rating organization, as well as participating in the offering of a penny stock.

The SEC's case is being handled by Rory Alex, Robert Baker, Jennifer Cardello, William Donahue, and Martin Healey of the SEC's Boston Regional Office. The SEC appreciates the assistance of the U.S. Attorney's Office for the Southern District of New York and the Department of Homeland Security.
During their CES 2021 event, Sony unveiled the SRS-RA3000 wireless speakers, featuring support for their 360-degree Reality Audio technology, Chromecast built-in and Spotify Connect. Sony has now announced that the SRS-RA3000 will be available in India from this week.

The SRS-RA3000 is the smaller brother of the SRS-RA5000, both being Sonys premium wireless speakers. The speaker is capable of producing ambient room-filing sound thanks to Sonys 360-degree Reality Audio technology built-in. It allows the speaker to process 3 dimensional audio sources along with their Immersive Audio Enhancement algorithm to fill the entire room with simulated audio sources.

The speaker comes with a host of smart features such as Chromecast built-in and Spotify Connect, of which the latter lets users stream music from Spotify directly through the speaker. The speakers auto-volume feature can analyze the incoming track and play them at a consistent volume automatically. It can also be added to a speaker group on the Google Home or Amazon Alexa app and can be used for multi-room audio.

The SRS-RA3000 will be available across Sony retail stores, Amazon and other major electronic stores starting from February 24th for a price of Rs. 19990.
A large blue heart has been placed at the top of Cave Hill in memory of Noah Donohoe, the Belfast teenager who went missing last summer.

Noah (14), a pupil at St Malachy's College, disappeared from his south Belfast home on June 21 last year.

Following an extensive search operation, the teenager's body was found in the storm drain in the north of the city, close to the M2 motorway, six days later.

A post-mortem found that he died as a result of drowning and a coroner's hearing was later told there was no evidence that he was attacked or that anyone else was involved.

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The new display at Cave Hill is in support of a campaign by Noah's mother, Fiona Donohoe, to raise awareness of his disappearance and death.

On Sunday, Fiona and other family members and supporters climbed the mountain overlooking Belfast to lay the blue heart at the top.

Posting on social media, Fiona wrote: "As we got to very top of Cavehill with Noah's beautiful heart leading the way, 'It's a Wonderful World' came on Q Radio.

"Noah always gives us signs he is so close."

Fiona has set up dedicated Twitter and Facebook pages to help people share information about what may have happened to her son and remember him.

On Sunday, the 'My Noah' Twitter page marked the 35th week since the boy's disappearance.

Fiona has also set up the Noah Donohoe Foundation in his memory, which will support the causes and issues that the teenager cared about.

Earlier this month, the Noah's Army jersey was launched online with proceeds going directly to the Foundation and a percentage being donated to the Community Rescue Service.

The Noah Donohoe Foundation has received over 15,000 in donations so far.

In February police launched an investigation into how access was gained to the storm drain where Noah was found.

The investigation will take place in addition to the coroner's investigation into the schoolboy's death.

The PSNI said last year they believed Noah entered the north Belfast drain.

He had cycled to the area from his home in south Belfast and, shortly before he went missing, was seen with no clothes on.

Prior to that, he was seen falling off his bike in Shore Road.

Noah's disappearance led to a wide-scale search operation across Belfast, involving police, community rescue teams and the local community.

Police have said there was no reason to suspect foul play in his death, but Noah's family have continued to call for answers.
Metro Manila (CNN Philippines, February 22)  There havent been any discussions on donations of Russias Sputnik V vaccine to the Philippines, said Manila's diplomat to Moscow.

I have no instructions to ask for donations because we are willing to pay for, I understand, the vaccines we need, said Philippine Ambassador to Russia Carlos Sorreta said in a virtual briefing.

Sorreta likewise assured that while the Gamaleya Research Institute-produced vaccine still doesnt have any formal private partners in the country or its distribution, this will not hinder possible procurement of doses as this will be done government-to-government.

I know that theres been some interest from the private sector which I think is good, but the lack of a private sector partner will not be ahindi ho hadlang yun para matuloy kung magdesisyon tayo [it will not be an obstacle in case we decide to push through with the purchase], he added.

Gamaleya, which is already in very advanced talks with the national government, has applied for an emergency use authorization for Sputnik V. The diplomat noted that the Philippines is only awaiting technical data from the institute, adding this is the final step for the Food and Drug Administration to decide on the matter.

Sorreta added that while there havent been any discussions in Moscow regarding donating vaccine doses to Manila, the country had been vaccinating foreigners for free including Filipinos in line with its policy to inoculate everyone against the disease. There had been no serious side effects so far on Filipino nationals who have received Sputnik V shots, he said, noting some have only experienced symptoms like headaches or pain in the part of vaccination.

The Philippine government hopes to inoculate 50 to 70 million individuals by year-end.




Eight foreigners and one South Korean have tested positive for the new coronavirus after attending a party at a U.S. Forces Korea (USFK) service member's home, officials said Monday.



The party was held Feb. 13 near Osan Air Base in Pyeongtaek, 70 kilometers south of Seoul, and attended by 19 foreigners and two South Koreans, according to officials at the Pyeongtaek city government. The service member works on the base.



Police have been asked to locate two of the attendees, whose whereabouts are currently unknown, the officials said. The other 10 tested negative.



The group met on Instagram and gathered from across the country, including North Gyeongsang, South Chungcheong and Gyeonggi provinces.



The first patient was confirmed Wednesday, and the infection route has yet to be determined, according to the officials.













The city government plans to conduct an epidemiological survey and fine the attendees for breaching a nationwide ban on private gatherings of five or more people, which has been in place since early January to curb the third wave of the coronavirus pandemic in the country.



Under the Infectious Disease Control and Prevention Act, those who violate the ban could face a fine of up to 100,000 won (US$91).



USFK confirmed that an airman stationed at the Osan base recently tested positive for the virus but said it would be "speculative to assess where the individual contracted the virus."



"Any type of event, either on or off-installation, that are inconsistent with USFK core tenets and COVID-19 health protection mitigation measures do not reflect our commitment to mitigating the spread of the virus and will not be condoned," the U.S. military said in a statement.



"We remain committed to being good neighbors with the Republic of Korea, and reinforcing USFK's core tenet standards that continue to protect both ROK and USFK communities." (Yonhap)
(Bloomberg) -- After enduring a wretched week of Arctic storms, hunger and cold, several Texans lucky enough to have power were handed another pain point -- massive electricity bills.

Houston resident David Astrein, 36, a human resources director at a manufacturing company, said hes been charged $2,738.66 for 20 days this month versus $129.85 for the whole of January for a three-bedroom home with a detached garage. He and his wife stopped using their dishwasher, washer and dryer, and turned on as few lights as possible at night. They kept the heat on for their 5-month old son.

SKY HIGH: The factors behind skyrocketing power costs for some Texas residents

His bill for the month is set to exceed $3,000, according to his provider Griddy Energy.

Astrein is one of a swath of consumers facing sky-high payments in the aftermath of the storm -- many took to social media to show electricity bills ranging as high as $8,000. According to their screen shots, most are customers of Griddy, a supplier with a unique business model.

The Macquarie Energy-backed company charges electricity based on real-time prices in wholesale power markets, therefore exposing consumers to the full swings. Griddy saw the problem developing and even urged its retail customers last weekend to switch to another provider. By Sunday last week, 20% managed to do so. But not Astrein.

We were stuck with Griddy and those astronomical prices, he said by phone. The failure in Texas as a whole to plan for this adequately is now a financial emergency for all of these customers on a program like Griddy.

ARRESTED FOR WALKING: Black teenager arrested in Plano for walking on icy road during snowstorm

Griddys Response

For Griddy, that business model meant it got only a very small cut of Astreins bill.

I want to highlight that on the $2,738.66 total bill, Griddy only made $6.48, Chief Executive Officer Michael Fallquist said in a text message. We only make $9.99 per month, all other charges are a pass through.

But for some Griddy watchers, the furor comes as scant surprise after the scorching summer of 2019 also resulted in eye-watering bills. The phenomenon is unique to Texas, where the retail power industry is entirely deregulated.

Pulse Power LLC went a step further in trying to convince clients to conserve electricity -- it offered clients who curbed usage by 10% over three days the chance to win a Tesla Model 3. The raffle is set for the first week of March.

Rob Cantrell, the company president, said his customers, both commercial and retail, would see relatively limited increases in their bills.

Customers on certain types of plans will be devastated, but almost all of our customers are on fixed plans, which will see a small increase for the month, he said.

CPS Energy, the city-owned gas and power provider in San Antonio, said on Twitter that it was looking at allowing customers to spread their payments over 10 years or longer. The plan wasnt received well, with angry comments ranging from Ridiculous to Are you out of your minds?

State Probe

Texas Governor Greg Abbott held an emergency meeting Saturday with legislators to address the issue. Representative Michael McCaul, a Republican, said Sunday that the current plan is to use federal assistance funding to help homeowners with both post-storm repairs, such as for water damage and pipe bursting, and surprise electricity bills.

Assistance from the federal government is what Texans need right now so desperately, he said on CNNs State of the Union.

However, Houston mayor Sylvester Turner, a Democrat, said the state of Texas should pay for the exorbitant costs of repairs and bills for consumers, in an interview on CBS Face the Nation on Sunday.

State Attorney General Ken Paxton has already opened a probe into the power failures and issued civil investigative demands to companies including Griddy.

For now, the states Public Utility Commission ordered retailers to not disconnect customers who havent paid their bills, particularly on a Sunday.

In a Feb. 18 blog post, Griddy said the prices were sky high because the Public Utility Commission of Texas forced wholesale prices to $9 a kilowatt-hour, about 300 times more than normal.

We know you are angry and so are we, the blog said. We intend to fight this for, and alongside, our customers for equity and accountability.

Griddy said Friday it was seeking relief from the Electric Reliability Council of Texas, or Ercot, and the PUCT for customers who were exposed to the high prices.

As power is restored in Texas, new websites have sprung up to help organize potential class-action lawsuits. At least four of the new domains signal the target may be Ercot, which says it operates about 75% of the states electricity.

Astrein plans to pay the bill out of his own funds, and on Sunday managed to switch provider. It will take up to 72 hours to take effect.

2021 Bloomberg L.P.

Merrick Garland, President Joe Bidens nominee for attorney general, went before the Senate Judiciary Committee on Monday morning and faced questions about how he would respond to protesters who have targeted the federal courthouse in Portland.

Garland, a federal appeals court judge who was snubbed by Republicans for a seat on the U.S. Supreme Court in 2016, is widely expected to sail through his confirmation process with bipartisan support.

Sen. Lindsey Graham, a South Carolina Republican, led off his questioning of Garland by asking the nominee if he would promise to defend the Portland courthouse against anarchists.

Any attack on a federal building or damage to a federal building violates federal statutes and those who do it will be prosecuted, Garland responded.

Later in the hearing, Sen. Josh Hawley, a Republican from Missouri, again pressed Garland on Portland and other cities where demonstrations have centered around federal buildings.

Do you regard assaults on federal courthouses or other federal properties as acts of domestic extremism or domestic terrorism? Hawley asked.

In his answer, Garland appeared to draw a distinction between the protesters in places like Portland and those that sought to disrupt the counting of electoral votes at the Jan. 6 insurrection at the U.S. Capitol.

An attack on a courthouse while in operation, trying to prevent judges from trying cases, that plainly is domestic extremism, domestic terrorism, Garland said. An attack simply on a government property at night or under other circumstances is a clear crime, and a serious one, and should be punished.

Both are criminal, Garland added, but one is a core attack on our democratic institutions.

In the eyes of conservatives, Portland has come to symbolize the epicenter of far-left protest after the city saw more than 100 straight days of demonstrations focused on racial justice and police brutality, starting soon after the death of George Floyd, who was killed by Minneapolis police in May.

The Trump administration deployed federal agents to secure the Mark O. Hatfield United States Courthouse in downtown Portland, but the heavy-handed and controversial tactics used by the federal officers only served to inflame protesters, whose numbers had been waning previously.

Billy J. Williams, U.S. attorney for Oregon who was appointed by former President Donald Trump in November 2017, sometimes clashed with city officials over enforcement tactics around the courthouse.

His decision last year to maintain the federal deputization of 50 Portland police officers, despite the citys objection and request to drop the federal authority granted to local officers, has led to a lawsuit against the U.S. Department of Justice.

In July, Williams called it nonsensical political theater for Portland city officials to bar local police collaboration with federal officers during protests and urged local residents to demand that violent extremists stop trying to breach the fence put up around the federal courthouse. He also has pursued rare federal civil disorder charges against more than a dozen people involved in last years demonstrations.

Williams was among U.S. attorneys nationwide directed to step down by Feb. 28 as the Biden administration seeks to replace them.

In prepared remarks released before his confirmation hearing, Garland focused on prioritizing policing and civil rights to combat racial discrimination, saying America doesnt yet have equal justice, and said he also would confront the rise in extremist violence and domestic terror threats and restore the Justice Departments political independence after years of controversial decisions and turmoil.

Communities of color and other minorities still face discrimination in housing, education, employment, and the criminal justice system; and bear the brunt of the harm caused by pandemic, pollution, and climate change, Garland said.

Oregonian/OregonLive reporter Maxine Bernstein and The Associated Press contributed to this report.

-- Kale Williams; kwilliams@oregonian.com; 503-294-4048; @sfkale
In the 1990s, Bucherer was starting to feel a little cramped in Switzerland, where it had some 15 points of sale, and so began to expand abroad, firstly into neighbouring German-speaking countries, with the benefit of both shared borders and a shared culture. Guido Zumbuhl, a polyglot and a sportsman, arrived in 1997 as the groups CFO and made growth his leitmotif, taking Bucherer from the status of Swiss giant to that of world leader. In 2002, he took the helm of three companies in the group: Kurz jewellery, aimed at a local customer base; Swiss Lion, which focuses on tourist sites; and Bucherer Watches, which he was to transform into an authentic watch brand, Carl F. Bucherer. In 2009, Zumbuhl became CEO of the group, his top priority being to modernise it whilst staying true to its roots and maintaining growth. This involved establishing a new organisational structure and revitalising corporate culture to keep pace with this new development, thereby turning Bucherer into an international leader in watch and jewellery sales. In the space of five years, the groups revenues doubled. 2013 saw the first location in a non-German-speaking country, with the opening of its watchmaking megastore in the heart of Paris. The first opening in a country that did not have a border with Switzerland was in Denmark in 2016, followed by the UK in 2017 with the buyout of The Watch Gallery, which brought with it the additional benefit of its experience in e-commerce. The brand crossed the Atlantic in 2018 with the acquisition of Tourneau, with rebranding planned for 2021  and double-digit growth has continued uninterrupted.

Guido Zumbuhl  Bucherer

At the same time, Bucherers identity has continued to evolve and reach new customer segments, with the launch of its Blue Editions in 2016, online sales in 2017, the complete overhaul of its flagship stores in Geneva and Zurich in 2018, as well as the introduction of certified pre-owned watches in 2019. In order to focus on the strength of the Bucherer brand, now boasting over 80 stores worldwide, Kurz Jewellery was sold in 2020. Still enjoying the blessing of Jorg G. Bucherer  representing the third generation of the founding family  Bucherer is the epitome of a nimble giant.

*On the occasion of GMT Magazine and WorldTempus' 20th anniversary, we have embarked on the ambitious project of summarising the last 20 years in watchmaking in The Millennium Watch Book, a big, beautifully laid out coffee table book. This article is an extract. The Millennium Watch Book is available on www.the-watch-book.com, in French and English, with a 10% discount if you use the following code: WT2021.

Order now
Members of China's armed forces arrive at the opening of the National People's Congress at the Great Hall of the People in Beijing on May 22, 2020. (Kevin Frayer/Getty Images)

Chinese Regime Turned to Military for CCP Virus Cover-Up: Former Trump Adviser

The Chinese regime turned to its military, rather than its health authority, to cover up and contain the CCP virus outbreak, according to a former White House deputy national security adviser.

This was one reason the United States was unable to obtain any useful data from the Chinese Communist Party (CCP) in the burgeoning stages of the pandemic, Matthew Pottinger, who served under the Trump administration, told CBS News Face the Nation in an interview that aired on Feb. 21.

During that time, the U.S. intelligence community looked to the U.S. Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) for information about the outbreak. But the CDC in turn was reliant on its Chinese counterparts for data, Pottinger said.

The problem was the Chinese Communist Party did not turn to their CDC to deal with this crisis. They turned to their military. And our CDC did not have relations established with the Chinese military, he said.

Based on media reports, the head of Chinas CDC didnt know about the outbreak until Dec. 31, 2019, Pottinger said. This was the date Chinese authorities officially confirmed a cluster of infections in Wuhan, which was one day after local doctors warned of a SARS-like virus on social media.

So it looks like the Chinese CDC to some extent was cut out because the Chinese Communist Party turned to its military to try to cover this thing up, to try to contain it until it was too late, Pottinger said.

The Chinese regime didnt confirm that the CCP virus (also known as the novel coronavirus) could be spread among humans until Jan. 20, 2020, despite knowing of the diseases contagiousness before then. It also actively suppressed information circulating online contrary to the official narrative that the outbreak was containable, and punished doctors who sounded the alarm about the disease.

U.S. public health experts were misled by these CCP statements downplaying the severity of the outbreak, which were also parroted by the World Health Organization (WHO), Pottinger said.

American health officials should have sought out information from doctors on the ground in China, rather than relying on the Chinese government to spoon-feed us what we would need to know, he said.

Pottinger, who covered the SARS outbreak in 2003 while working as a China correspondent for The Wall Street Journal, said he reached out to old contacts in China in late January 2020 to try to get the real picture of what was happening.

They were already telling me, look, this thing spreads asymptomatically. Half of the cases or more are asymptomatic. That was a different story from what the Chinese government was telling, Pottinger said.

Lab Accident Highly Possible

The former adviser also drew attention to a fact sheet released in the last days of the Trump administration that raised questions about whether the outbreak could have been a result of a lab accident at the Wuhan Institute of Virology (WIV).

The sheet said the United States has reason to believe that several WIV researchers became sick with symptoms consistent with both COVID-19 and common seasonal illnesses in the autumn of 2019.

It also included the fact that we have very strong reason to believe that the Chinese military was doing secret classified animal experiments in that same laboratory, going all the way back to at least 2017, Pottinger said. We also know that they were working on viruses, doing gain-of-function research study, technical sorts of experiments with viruses, including a virus that was discovered in the southwestern province of Yunnan that is most similar to the virus that we all now know as COVID.

Gain-of-function research involves creating artificial viruses with new or enhanced capabilities, often to study what new viruses could emerge and how to protect against them.

Given that WIV was doing this kind of research, Pottinger said its highly possible that this led to some kind of an accident that seeded the COVID pandemic.

If you weigh the circumstantial evidence, the ledger on the side of an explanation that says that this resulted from some kind of human error, it far outweighs the side of the scale that says this was some natural outbreak, he said.

He noted that the fact sheet was a very carefully crafted statement that had been vetted by many divisions within the State Department, staff at the White Houses National Security Council, intelligence officers, and the Department of Health and Human Services.

This was not a haphazard set of allegations that were laid out in that statement, he said.

The WHO Has a Lot to Answer For

Pottinger noted that the WHO team that recently went to Wuhan to probe the virus origins was not able to get answers to the questions posed on the fact sheet, which called on the Chinese regime to release records from the WIV.

I dont see any evidence that this panel of researchers affiliated with the WHO was able to get any information on any of these questions, he said.

Peter Ben Embarek, head of the WHO team, said on Feb. 9 that the possibility that the virus leaked from a lab was extremely unlikely and didnt warrant further investigation. Days later, WHO Chief Adhanom Ghebreyesus appeared to walk back on this statement, saying that all hypotheses remain open and require further study.

The WHO team was in China for four weeks, two of which were spent in quarantine, and were reliant on Chinese authorities to do the actual investigation, according to WHO adviser Jamie Metzl. The Chinese regime also refused to provide raw data on early COVID-19 cases to the WHO, according to one WHO team member.

White House national security adviser Jake Sullivan has called on the CCP to provide more data on the early spread of the CCP virus.

We do not believe China has made available sufficient original data into how this pandemic began to spread both in China and then eventually around the world, Sullivan told CBS News in the same report.

We believe both the WHO and China should step up on this matter.

Pottinger said that some of the WHO team sent to China were deeply conflicted.

Its made up of people who have benefited from public funding to work in the very lab where this thing may have actually originated from the Wuhan Institute of Virology. You have people who were hand-selected by the Chinese government, he said.

Peter Daszak, the sole U.S. member on the team, has worked with the WIV for 18 years, and also organized a PR campaign in early 2020 to paint the lab leak theory as a conspiracy theory. Earlier this month, he criticized the U.S. skepticism of Chinas transparency during the WHO probe, saying in a tweet: Please dont rely too much on US intel: increasingly disengaged under Trump & frankly wrong on many aspects.

Pottinger said the WHO investigation amounted to a situation where its like youre turning to the rabbits to investigate what happened to the lettuce that they were guarding.

Its not a credible exercise that weve seen undertaken to get to the roots of where this thing originated, he said.
Bringing back the iconic Safari brand after its launch way back in 1998, homegrown automaker Tata Motors on Monday launched a renewed version of Safari. The new Tata Safari has been launched at a starting price of Rs 14.69 lakh (ex-showroom, Delhi) and will be a direct rival to the likes of MG Hector Plus and the upcoming Hyundai Creta seven-seater.

N Chandrasekaran, Chairman of Tata Sons, while launching the new Safari, said the Safari "has been designed with full-on comfort, convenience".

The 2021 Safari is essentially a 3-row version of the Tata Harrier and was first revealed as the Buzzard concept at the 2019 Geneva Motor Show, followed by an India reveal of a pre-production concept named Gravitas at the 2020 Auto Expo. The new model misses out on ladder frame construction and 4x4 hardware, something which the good old Safari had on offer.

Shailesh Chandra, President (Passenger Vehicles Business), Tata Motors, said, "The Tata Safari has had a long legacy in India, with several important updates over the years. With the new Safari, the company is kicking things a notch higher offering modern features and premiumness, while maintaining its legacy."

The 2021 Safari has been launched in six trims namely - XE, XM, XT, XT+, XZ and XZ+. Tata has also announced a new 'Adventure Persona' trim, which is placed at the very top of the line at Rs 20.20 lakh (ex-showroom) for manual and Rs 21.45 lakh (ex-showroom) for the automatic version.

On the inside, the new Safari features a familiar semi-digital instrument console as found on the Harrier and an 8.8-inch touch screen infotainment system.

On the front, it has a redesigned bumper. The split headlamp is there but with LED. At the rear, the SUV comprises design elements such as wraparound LED taillights with a signature pattern, skid plate, and gloss-back finish on the tailgate.

The Tata Safari comes with features like -- Panoramic Sunroof, Electronic Parking Brake with auto-hold function, Powered Driver Seat, Automatic Headlamps, Rain Sensing Wipers, Tyre Pressure Monitoring System, and more.

Based on the Land Rover derived OMEGARC platform, the new Safari is 63mm longer than the Harrier and 80mm taller to accommodate the third-row seat. It also borrows the 168hp, 2.0-litre Kryotec turbo-diesel engine from the Harrier, along with its six-speed manual and six-speed automatic gearbox options.

Also Read: Maruti Suzuki looks to cash in on rising demand for CNG vehicles

Also Read: Electric vehicles' usage should be made mandatory for govt officials: Nitin Gadkari

Also Read: Ford freezes projects with Mahindra amid India strategy reassessment
Not only is Tesla moving some manufacturing operations to Austin, Texas, its founder, Elon Musk, is said to be relocating there, and the electric car company will soon be offering its own brand of car insurance in the Lone Star State.

The state insurance department in late January approved a revised policy form submitted by Redpoint County Mutual Insurance Co. for a Tesla Insurance Program for private passenger autos.

Redpoint specializes in private passenger auto coverage written through independent managing general agencies. According to documents filed with the Texas Department of Insurance, Teslas insurance program, underwritten by Redpoint, will be distributed through the Tesla Insurance Services of Texas Inc. (Tesla), an MGA formerly known as Samson General Agency.

Tesla currently offers insurance coverage for Tesla vehicles in California and according to information on the Tesla Insurance website it expects to expand into additional states. Texas appears to be the first step in that expansion.

Tesla Insurance on its website says its product is competitively priced and designed to provide Tesla vehicle owners with up to 20% lower rates, and in some cases, as much as 30%.

Physical damage, bodily injury and liability are among the basic coverages offered by Tesla Insurance. The company says it also offers additional financial protection against theft of the car, and damage to the car for events other than traffic collisions.

In addition to basic and other enhanced coverage offerings, an Autonomous Vehicle Protection Package is available. This package includes Autonomous Vehicle Owner Liability, Wall Charger Coverage, Electronic Key Replacement, and covers Cyber Identity Fraud Expenses, the Tesla Insurance website states.

Redpoint has not replied to a request for comment as to when the Texas rollout of the Tesla Insurance Program would commence.

Topics Texas Auto Tesla
Bloomberg

(Bloomberg) -- Its nearly two months since turbulence erupted around China Huarong Asset Management Co.At the end of March, its 4% perpetual dollar bond was trading at 102 cents on the dollar as investors figured the January execution of former chairman Lai Xiaomin for bribery put a line under past wayward behavior. But the failure of the company to release 2020 results by a March 31 deadline, and a subsequent report by mainland media Caixin that the firm will restructure, sparked weeks of turmoil. The same bond is now at 57 cents.The heart of the matter is whether the central government will rescue a state-owned company thats integral to the smooth running of the financial system. While there are signs Beijing wants to ensure China Huarong can repay its debts on time, uncertainty prevails.Heres a look at the key events for China Huarong:May 28The company has wired funds to repay $978 million of notes maturing within the following week, according to Bloomberg News, the biggest bond payment since the 2020 results delay.May 27Liang Qiang, who currently heads another bad-debt manager, is on track to become president of China Huarong, reports Bloomberg News.May 24China Huarong dollar bonds climb after the managing editor of Caixin Media wrote in an opinion piece that the asset manager is nowhere near defaulting on its more than $20 billion of offshore notes.May 21Some of China Huarongs thinly traded onshore bonds slump after having held up better than the companys dollar-denominated notes, signaling broadening concern about the firms financial health.May 18China Huarong has transferred funds to repay a $300 million note maturing May 20, Bloomberg News reports, the first dollar bond to come due since the delayed 2020 results. Prices for the firms dollar bonds slump earlier in the day after the New York Times reports China is planning an overhaul that would inflict significant losses on both domestic and foreign China Huarong bondholders.May 17The company has reached funding agreements with state-owned banks to ensure it can repay debt through at least the end of August, by which time China Huarong aims to have completed its 2020 financial statements, according to a Bloomberg News report. That as at least two of its onshore bonds see big price declines in recent days, worrying some investors.May 13The firm says its prepared to make future bond payments and has seen no change in the level of government support, seeking to ease investor concerns after a local media report that regulators balked at China Hurarongs restructuring plan.May 6The company says it transferred funds to pay five offshore bond coupons due the following day, its latest move to meet debt obligations amid persistent doubts about its financial health.April 30China Huarong breaks its silence, with an executive telling media it is prepared to make its bond payments and state backing remains intact. The official also says the weeks rating downgrades have no factual basis and are too pessimistic.April 29Moodys Investor Service downgrades China Huarong by one notch to Baa1, adding the firm remains on watch for further downgrade. The cut reflects the companys weakened funding ability due to market volatility and increased uncertainty over its future, according to the statement.April 27China Huarong units repay bonds maturing that day. The S$600 million ($450 million) bond was repaid with funds provided by Chinas biggest state-owned bank, according to a Bloomberg News report.April 26Fitch Ratings downgrades China Huarong by three notches to BBB while dropping the companys perpetual bonds into junk territory. The lack of transparency over government support for the firm may hamper its ability to refinance debt in offshore markets, Fitch said.April 25China Huarong says it wont meet an April 30 deadline to file its 2020 report with Hong Kongs stock exchange because auditors needed more time to finalize a transaction the company first flagged on April 1. Securities and asset-management units said in the days before that they wouldnt release 2020 results by months end.April 22The China Banking and Insurance Regulatory Commission asks lenders to extend China Huarongs upcoming loans by at least six months, according to REDD, citing two bankers from large Chinese commercial lenders.April 21China is considering a plan that would see its central bank assume more than 100 billion yuan ($15 billion) of China Huarong assets to help clean up the firms balance sheet, according to a Bloomberg News report. Peer China Cinda Asset Management Co. was said to be planning the sale of perpetual bonds in the second quarter.April 20China Huarongs key offshore financing unit says it returned to profitability in the first quarter and laid a solid foundation for transformation. Reorg Research reports that regulators are considering options including a debt restructuring of the unit, China Huarong International Holdings Ltd.April 19Huarong Securities Co. says it wired funds to repay a 2.5 billion yuan local note.April 16The CBIRC says China Huarongs operations are normal and that the firm has ample liquidity. These are the first official comments about the companys troubles. Reuters reports Chinese banks have been asked not to withhold loans to Huarong.April 13Fitch and Moodys both put the company on watch for downgrade. The finance ministry, which owns a majority of Huarong, is considering the transfer of its stake to a unit of the countrys sovereign wealth fund, Bloomberg News reports. Chinese officials signal they want failing local government financing vehicles to restructure or go bust if debts cant be repaid.April 9China Huarong says it has been making debt payments on time and its operations are normal. Bloomberg News reports the company intends to keep Huarong International as part of a potential overhaul that would avoid the need of a debt restructuring or government recapitalization. S&P Global Ratings puts China Huarongs credit ratings on watch for possible downgrade.April 8China Huarong is preparing to offload non-core and loss-making units as part of a broad plan to revive profitability that would avoid the need for a debt restructuring or government recapitalization, Bloomberg News reports.April 6Selling gains steam in China Huarongs dollar bonds, following a holiday in China. Huarong Securities says there has been no major change to its operations, in response to a price plunge for its 3 billion yuan local bond.April 1China Huarong announces a delay in releasing 2020 results, saying its auditor is unable to finalize a transaction. Stock trading is suspended and spreads jump on the firms dollar bonds while China Huarong tells investors its business is running as usual. Caixin reports the company submitted restructuring and other major reform plans to government officials and shareholders.More stories like this are available on bloomberg.comSubscribe now to stay ahead with the most trusted business news source.2021 Bloomberg L.P.
Over six years, Lorraine Luongo went from renting out a spare room in her house in Myrtle Beach, South Carolina, to owning and managing 10 properties that she listed on Airbnb.

Last year, when the pandemic hit and Airbnb allowed customers to cancel bookings with full refunds, she lost $25,000 in reservations overnight. The payments that Airbnb then offered hosts as a concession were peanuts, she said.

Luongo realized her business was too reliant on Airbnb, she said. So she created listings on competing sites like VRBO and Golightly, a site for female travelers, and plans to build a website to deal with guests directly. In November, she filed an arbitration claim against Airbnb for breach of contract, seeking to recover the money she lost.

Theyre supposed to be valuing the hosts, but everything is more in favor of the guests, Luongo, 45, said.

Luongo is just one of Airbnbs rental operators who have become increasingly disillusioned with the company. While there had always been tensions between Airbnb and its 4 million hosts around the world, a rift has widened in the pandemic after the company changed its cancellation policy and hosts saw what little power they had.

For some rental operators, the relationship is broken beyond repair. Hundreds with more than 10,000 listings are pursuing legal action against Airbnb, according to Bryant Greening, a lawyer at LegalRideshare, the Chicago firm that is helping Luongo with her claim. Others are trying to bypass Airbnb by booking guests directly. Last year, direct bookings made up 25% of reservations among rental managers surveyed by Hostfully, a travel software company, up from 19% in 2019.

A lot of the damage is permanent, said Jasper Ribbers, who runs Get Paid for Your Pad, a company in Barcelona, Spain, that advises short-term rental operators. The trust is kind of gone.

The fracturing is happening at a crucial moment for Airbnb. The company, which went public in December and immediately topped more than $100 billion in value, faces high expectations as its stock price has soared further. Airbnb plans to report its first earnings as a public company Thursday.

That puts the San Francisco company under pressure to show a thriving business  taking a cut of the fees when people book properties that hosts list on its site  even as new surges of the coronavirus dampen travel.

In an interview on the day of Airbnbs initial public offering, Brian Chesky, the CEO, acknowledged tensions with hosts but said the relationship had improved over the last year.

We have a lot of work to do, and frankly, theyre still hurting, he said.

Catherine Powell, Airbnbs head of hosting, said hosts views of their relationship with the company improved 17% between January 2020 and last month. Our relationship with hosts is incredibly important, she said. Our hosts are what powers Airbnb.

When $77,000 Disappears

Airbnb hosts trace many of their issues with the company to March 14, three days after the World Health Organization declared the pandemic. That was when Airbnb enacted an extenuating circumstances policy.

The change angered many rental operators, who had previously chosen their own cancellation policies, including a nonrefundable option. The new policy allowed guests to cancel with a full refund, overriding some hosts preferences. Many saw their livelihoods disappear overnight.

Darik Eaton, who managed 50 properties in Seattle, laid off 10 employees after the change and has reconfigured his company to run leaner, including dropping some of the properties he managed, he said.

I watched $77,000 disappear from my bank account in one day, Eaton said.

In late March, Chesky apologized to hosts for how the decision had been communicated. We have heard from you, and we know we could have been better partners, he said in a video. The company set up a $250 million fund to cover some of the cancellation costs and a $10 million relief fund.

But for some, the money was simply a gesture. Benjamin Vail, 34, who operates 70 Airbnb listings in Columbus, Ohio, said that while the properties he managed had lost roughly $70,000 of bookings, he got a check from the company for $3,211. Other hosts passed around images of checks with amounts like $2 and $4, he said.

Hosts began sharing other grievances. While Airbnbs terms guarantee that it will pay for the damage if guests ruin a property, some hosts said it was difficult to get the company to pay. They also complained about its customer service, inconsistent enforcement of pandemic policies, and elaborate COVID-19 cleaning rules that included shampooing rugs and washing down baseboards between each guest.

In July, Elizabeth Goldreich, an Airbnb host in Aspen, Colorado, lost $11,500 after a guest canceled a three-week stay at her vacation home at the last minute. Goldreich, 55, said the reservation, made after the pandemic began, should not have qualified for a refund.

The situation broke her trust in the platform. I was a true loyal fan, until I got thrown under the bus, she said.

Dozens of hosts have retained LegalRideshare, which opened a subsidiary, LegalBnb, to file arbitration claims against Airbnb for breaching contracts, Greening said. (Airbnbs terms require hosts to make legal claims individually through arbitration.) LegalBnb said Airbnbs extenuating-circumstances policy did not include pandemics.

Many of these hosts were absolutely willing to be flexible with their guests, Greening said. Airbnb took that power away from the host and, therefore, took money out of their pocket.

Another host, Anthony Farmer, filed a proposed class-action lawsuit against Airbnb in U.S. District Court for the Northern District of California in November. The suit, which is attempting to override Airbnbs arbitration terms, accuses the company of breaching its contract and fiduciary duty and violating consumer protection laws.

Christopher Nulty, an Airbnb spokesman, said the companys policy put public health and safety first, which would ultimately help hosts by maintaining high guest loyalty and demand for Airbnb listings. He said Farmers suit was without merit.

Back to Our Roots

In May, Airbnb announced that it would go back to our roots by focusing on everyday people who host their homes.

That position has business advantages. Professional rental operators with many listings can appear to take away housing and turn neighborhoods into tourist zones, causing politicians and neighborhood associations to impose regulations. A family renting out a spare bedroom often appears less threatening.

In a financial prospectus in November, Airbnb said 90% of its hosts were individual hosts, defined as those who created their listings directly on the site instead of using specialized software to sign up. But according to Transparent, a software provider for short-term rental operators, just 37% of Airbnbs listings were managed by people with one property as of September. Roughly half the listings were managed by hosts with two to 20 properties, and 14% by hosts with 21 or more.

So when Airbnb emphasized the individual hosts, it further annoyed its professional hosts.

Their business is built on professional hosts, in a way, but they dont often say that, Vail, the operator in Columbus, said. They dont want that message to be the headline.

Nulty said Airbnbs focus on core hosts did not come at the cost of professional hosts. He said professional hosts were represented on its Host Advisory Board, a group the company created in October so hosts can meet with Airbnb executives.

#BookDirect

A movement toward direct bookings has now gained momentum. There is a conference series (The Book Direct Show), a hashtag (#bookdirect) and even a promotional holiday (#BookDirect Guest Education Day on Feb. 3).

People are starting to think: Do I really want to be completely dependent on Airbnb? I dont want to experience what happened in March again, Ribbers said.

Kwesi Steele, CEO of Tokeet, a provider of software to help short-term rental operators manage their listings, said many customers had begun asking for ways to build their own websites, especially those with loyal guests who realized they didnt need an intermediary like Airbnb. At one point over the summer, the number of direct bookings from Tokeets customers was as high as those going through Airbnb, Booking.com and VRBO, he said.

So Tokeet accelerated development on a product, Webready, that allows hosts to build their own websites. It debuted in November.

It was the fastest-growing product weve built in terms of adoption, Steele said, with more than 1,500 hosts signed up.

When Airbnb went public in December, it set aside 9 million shares for hosts to buy at the offering price. Those who took part more than doubled their money in a day.

But even hosts who participated, like Goldreich, said they did not plan to stick only with Airbnb. Goldreich said she had signed up with VRBO.

I used to think they had my back and were a partner, she said. I no longer feel that way.

This article originally appeared in The New York Times.
After sticking to its proprietary TizenOS for a while, Samsung is reportedly working on two smartwatches based out on Googles WearOS. As per the reports, the reason behind ditching its OS is due to the lack of apps supports. The third-party app support for Tizen isnt even in the same league as Wear OS, claims some report.

However, a similar rumour about replacing Tizen with WearOS had surfaced back in 2018 as well. With this move, the South Korean tech giant will compete with the likes of smartwatch makers like Fossil, HUAWEI, and TicWatch.

According to the report, Samsung is working on a couple of smartwatches with a model number  SM-R86x and SM-R87x. However, there is no confirmation about the OS as of now. It is expected to come in different sizes and in two variants  Bluetooth and cellular variants.

Samsungs smartwatches are expected to be launched alongside the new Galaxy smartphone at the next Unpacked event which might come around August.

Source
For Subscribers Why South Dakota county officials are shirking state-given water rights

Grant County could be the thirteenth county to repeal their drainage ordinance in the past decade.

For Luca Attanasio, Italys ambassador to the Democratic Republic of Congo, humanitarian work was at the core of his mission. The 43-year-old had moved with his wife to the capital, Kinshasa, in 2017, where their family grew to include three young daughters. He rose to the rank of ambassador in 2019, the pinnacle of his diplomatic career.

On Monday, Mr. Attanasio was among three people killed in an attack on a humanitarian convoy near the city of Goma, the World Food Program and Italys Foreign Ministry said, the latest in a wave of violence in that part of the central African nation.

The area where the attack took place, North Kivu Province in the east of the country nestled against the border with Rwanda, is known as a hotbed of violent activity, and is home to a tangled web of dozens of armed groups.

The deaths of Mr. Attanasio; an Italian Embassy official, named by the Foreign Ministry as Vittorio Iacovacci; and Mustapha Milambo, a driver for the World Food Program, have rattled the international diplomatic community and drawn condemnation from across the globe.
Armenia Investigative Committee: Fatal road accident, criminal case opened

Armenia deputy FM submits resignation

Chinese authorities allow families to have 3 children

Dollar devalues in Armenia

Stepanakert: Azerbaijan creates bridgeheads for pressure on Karabakh, expansion towards Armenia

Sergey Lavrov says Russia is ready to disconnect SWIFT

Armenia MFA spokesperson resigns

Republican Party of Armenia Vice-President: Our ratings are growing, but we have greater pretensions

Armenia acting PM's spokesperson responds to ex-FM

Armenia parliament majority leader: Refusing to debate with acting PM is manifestation of low self-confidence

Armenia State Revenue Committee, US Department of Justice sign Memorandum of Cooperation

Vardevanyan: Attempts made to create false grounds for obstructing Armenia bloc election offices legal activities

Lavrov says Russia is ready to resume dialogue with NATO

Armenia opposition MP on FM's resignation

India records lowest increase in COVID-19 cases in 50 days

Bright Armenia faction in parliament: No response to acting PM's proposal to deploy observers along Azerbaijan border

Ruling bloc MP: Acting premiers proposal does not limit Armenia in terms of cooperation with CSTO

Acting PM is proud of Armenian servicemens heroism, says parliament majority leader

Parliament majority leader: No border delimitation unless Azerbaijan army units leave Armenia territory

Outgoing Armenia acting FM opens brackets: My decision of resignation was conditioned by that very reason

Harutyunyan, Shoygu discuss tension on Armenia-Azerbaijan border

Iranian MFA says US has not imported oil from country since Clinton era

Court hearing on appeal against decision to drop March 2008 Yerevan tragedy case is rescheduled

Missing soldiers relatives block Yerevan street

Parliament majority leader: Armenia acting FM did not object, at Security Council meeting, to new document

Armenia Police: 2,581,093 people on voters list

Bright Armenia faction of parliament: No corridor through the country should be provided to Azerbaijan

Analyst: Armenia acting PM Pashinyan gave self-confessed testimony

Armenia national security finds about 1 kg of opium, detains Iran citizen driver and 2 others

182 hearing aids and 2 buses by benefactor Mikayel Vardanyan for students of Special Educational Complex

34 new cases of COVID-19 confirmed in Armenia

Updated voters list is posted on Armenia central election commission website

Armenia authorities provide considerable amount of subsidies ahead of snap parliamentary elections

World oil prices on the rise

MP explains his not being on Bright Armenia Party electoral list

UK new flagship set to be named after the late Prince Philip

US man who said he shot neighbor over loud music found guilty of attempted murder

Lamborghini company to be sold for $11.5bn?

China spacecraft docks with future space station

Lawyer: Armenia acting PM Pashinyan grossly abuses administrative resources during Lori Province visit

UN urges to investigate escalation of violence in Colombia

Malaysia to open mega-centers for vaccination against coronavirus

Police find  5 million in cash in London apartment

French citizen to face trial in Iran on spaying charges

Over 60 children in UK undergo surgery due to TikTok challenge

Iranian Central Bank governor dismissed

Armenian opposition: The one who liberated Artsakh will not go to debates with the one who sold it

Iranian energy ministry: Iraq to allocate $ 125 million of frozen funds for vaccines

No new COVID-19 cases reported in Artsakh

Iran and Iraq to intensify cooperation and are ready for joint investment projects

Armenia ex-PM says at least 2 more secret documents signed but not published yet

Indonesia frees Iranian tanker 4 months later

Mortar shelling in Afghanistan kills at least 10 civilians

Fire breaks out at West Virginia oil refinery in US

Second President of Armenia meets with residents of Ararat province

Iran ready to help improve the defense capability of Syria

Armenian acting PM invites ex-presidents for debates

European Parliament head proposes to strengthen sanctions on Russia

UK PM gets married in London

Armenia reports COVID-19 new 81 cases: 4 people die

EU countries invite US to issue joint statement against Russia

2 people die in Armenia road accident

Nigeria: Students taken hostage a month ago are released

61 quakes recorded in Congo per day

Syrian MFA: EU lost credibility due to blind obedience to US policy

Armenia ex-minister of emergency situations hospitalized with heart attack

Mher Grigoryan: Clarification of border points is possible only after withdrawal of Azerbaijani troops from Armenia

Suspicious deal: Whether there was profit from buying DNA IDs?

Armenia ex-president says current authorities are trying to blame Russia for defeat in war

4 people killed in Afghanistani bus attack

Robert Kocharyan: This war could not have happened, it was a consequence of the policy of the authorities

Kocharyan: I have to ask people how it happened that overwhelming majority elected this leader

Armen Gevorgyan presents 'Armenia' bloc program: We offer the concept of a working country

Biden's administration proposed to leave unchanged amount of financial support to Armenia

US Embassy in Baku calls on Azerbaijan to immediately release Armenian POWs

Luxembourg MFA calls on Azerbaijan to immediately release all Armenian prisoners

Russia peacekeepers climb to Armenia Gegharkunik Province village positions

Biden strongly condemns manifestations of antisemitism in US

Iran intensifies its diplomacy amid Armenia-Azerbaijan border tensions

Armenia acting PM on forthcoming snap parliamentary elections: We hope to get 60% of votes
MILFORD, Mass., Feb. 22, 2021 /PRNewswire/ -- The approximately 525 registered nurses of Milford Regional Medical Center (MRMC) have voted overwhelmingly to form a union and join the Massachusetts Nurses Association, empowering nurses to speak up together and secure lasting improvements that will benefit patients, nurses, and the community.

The National Labor Relations Board oversaw a mail-in election that took place from January 29 to February 19. Vote counting on February 22 by NLRB officials was observed via Zoom by MRMC nurses and representatives of the hospital and nurses voted by a strong majority to join the MNA.

"This is the best day ever! For years, we have been trying to get hospital executives to listen to us and help us better care for our patients," said Karen Kerr, RN on MRMC's MP1 unit who has been caring for COVID patients. "When the pandemic hit, the importance of our work and the need to properly support nurses so we can keep our community safe became abundantly clear. Now that we have formed our union, we can help build a strong, safe, satisfied workforce and make positive change for our patients and our community."

The MNA is the largest union and professional organization of nurses and healthcare professionals in Massachusetts. It represents 23,000 members in healthcare facilities across the state, including nurses at 70 percent of the Commonwealth's acute care hospitals. The MNA is led by a board of directors that is directly elected by its membership and consists of frontline nurses and other healthcare professionals.

MNA president and practicing ICU nurse Katie Murphy congratulated the Milford nurses for their dedication to safe patient care and supporting each other.

"When nurses are organized in a union, patients benefit greatly, as does the entire community," Murphy said. "Nurses at Milford Regional Medical Center now have an equal seat at the table with management to improve their working conditions, protect their nursing practice and address issues impacting patients under their care."

MRMC nurses are planning to move quickly to negotiate their first contract with the hospital. They have already begun the process of gathering feedback from each other to develop contract proposals that will address the unique needs of MRMC nurses and patients.

MRMC nurses came together to improve conditions at the hospital and provide safe high-quality care when they filed with the NLRB to join the MNA in December. Problems surrounding the hospital's response to the COVID-19 pandemic made forming a union even more urgent. Earlier this month, nurses held a rally as voting began and celebrated having a more powerful voice as they looked forward to sitting down as equals with hospital management and negotiating critical improvements.

MassNurses.org  Facebook.com/MassNurses  Twitter.com/MassNurses  Instagram.com/MassNurses

Founded in 1903, the Massachusetts Nurses Association is the largest union of registered nurses in the Commonwealth of Massachusetts. Its 23,000 members advance the nursing profession by fostering high standards of nursing practice, promoting the economic and general welfare of nurses in the workplace, projecting a positive and realistic view of nursing, and by lobbying the Legislature and regulatory agencies on health care issues affecting nurses and the public.

SOURCE Massachusetts Nurses Association

Related Links

http://www.massnurses.org


Every one of these senators are still going to sit there and think, what do my constituents want? What do they need? And I think moderates in general tend to be much more sensitive to that because of the unique nature of politics in their states, which are by nature usually more divided, Kofinis said.
With the Ford F-150 Raptor stuck in its admittedly tried and tested V6 ways, the TRX became the only option for enthusiasts of both V8 power and off-road truck action. The only real drawback was the hefty price, with the Stellantis truck regularly commanding over $100,000 from its prospective buyers.The inevitable comparisons between the two models revealed that Ford's worries were warranted. The TRX wasn't just any truck with a powerful V8 engine but a well-thought-out package that looked at everything the Raptor did and sought to do it better. And, according to those who tried them out, it was pretty much mission achieved for Ram Trucks.Perhaps the best exemplification for the TRX's success is the fact that some Raptor owners have given the new Ram model a go. That's despite the fact that Ford doing its best to let everyone know the Raptor will get a V8 engine in the near future. The lure of the V8 power is strong.One such particular case is Ben Hardy, a YouTuber based in Utah who regularly pays visits to his local dealers and tests out various vehicles - mostly trucks. He was a Ford Raptor owner, but after test driving the 2021 TRX , he decided to go for the Ram truck. Unfortunately for him, he also made another decision, one that he's thoroughly regretting at the moment: selling the old Raptor.No matter how many people try out a new model and sing its praise, you can always end up being the unlucky one who just gets a bad example. Look no further than what happened to The Fast Lane channel and their Land Rover Defender. Not once, but twice.In Ben's case, it's not exactly clear what happened at this moment. It might not even be the truck's fault, but rather just the wrong stone being in the wrong place at the wrong time, just as his brand-new neon-green 2021 Ram TRX went over. By the looks of it, though, it doesn't necessarily seem as though there was any serious impact with something in the environment.According to Ben's description, it all happened just as he floored the throttle, looking to get a little bit of that good stuff that makes the TRX stand out among its peers. However, instead of a power surge, he ended up with a lit dashboard, a message telling him to service the Electronic Stability Control, and a leak of some sort. Not to mention a 2,000-mile (3,200-km) truck that cost nearly $100,000 now turned into a little more than trail furniture.To be fair, the TRX did start afterward, but you can understand Ben's reluctance to force the issue while out off the beaten path, choosing instead to have it towed by the Ford Raptor that was accompanying them.At the moment, Ben has managed to limp the TRX on its own wheels all the way to the dealership and is waiting for a diagnosis. Judging by all the symptoms - not to mention the way he was swapping gears for fun during his short-lived off-road adventure - we'd be surprised if it's not something to do with the eight-speed automatic transmission. If that turns out to be the case, though, regardless of Ben's driving style, it would still be a bad mark for the truck's build quality - one of the aspects it's been praised for so far.Like Ben, all we can do now is wait and see what caused the situation and how serious the damage really is. Luckily, the grieved owner promises to keep us updated with how it all unfolds, so we should eventually reach a conclusion. Both TRX and Raptor fans are probably just as curious, though for different reasons, and it's hard to say in which of the two categories Ben finds himself in at the moment.
Manitoba reported a single day drop in new COVID-19 infections Sunday with 58 cases detected provincewide as test-positivity rates remained stable around five per cent.

Manitoba reported a single day drop in new COVID-19 infections Sunday with 58 cases detected provincewide as test-positivity rates remained stable around five per cent.

In Winnipeg, public health officials said 24 new infections had been detected as of 9:30 a.m. Sunday. Meanwhile the Northern health region rivalled the capital city, reporting 25 new infections.

Southern Health added five new cases and Interlake-Eastern notched four. No new cases were detected in Prairie Mountain.

No new cases of the B.1.1.7 variant, also known as the U.K. variant, have been found in Manitoba. As of Sunday, four such variants of concern cases have been identified in the province and have all been connected to travel outside of Canada.

Public health officials also reported the deaths of two more Manitobans who contracted COVID-19: a man in his 70s connected to the outbreak at Heritage Life Personal Care Home in Niverville and a Winnipeg woman in her 80s.

Since the pandemic began, 884 Manitobans have died from COVID-19.

Provincewide, the five-day test positivity rate declined to 5.3 per cent after climbing to six per cent last week. Within Winnipeg, the test-positivity rate was 4.1 per cent. A total of 2,024 COVID-19 swabs were processed at laboratories on Saturday.

More than a week after the province rolled back some pandemic restrictions, Winnipeg is reporting a seven day average of 35 new daily infections with test positivity rates in the capital city holding steady below five per cent.

The World Health Organization recommends the test positivity rate be below five per cent for two weeks before governments move forward with further reopenings.

On Feb. 12, public health officials loosened COVID-19 prevention measures across Manitoba, allowing restaurants to host household members for dine-in while some gyms and fitness facilities reopened with capacity limits, among other reopenings. The current public health order is in effect until March 5.

Coronavirus spread in the north, on First Nations communities fighting outbreaks of COVID-19 and in the Thompson area, continued to drive up provincial totals on Sunday.

According to the province, on Sunday, Pimicikamak Cree Nation (also known as Cross Lake) had an estimated 200 active cases, including many children.

The virus is currently spreading through the community of about 8,000 people located roughly 500 kilometres north of Winnipeg. At least 146 households are affected and testing is ongoing, according to band leadership.

On Friday, members of the Canadian Armed Forces, federal and provincial officials arrived in Pimicikamak to meet with local leaders and to discuss what additional resources are needed to bring the COVID-19 outbreak under control.

The province also noted 184 active cases in the Island Lake health district and 74 active COVID-19 cases in the Thompson/Mystery Lake health district.

As of Sunday, the number of people in hospital receiving treatment for COVID-19 increased slightly to 208, including 31 patients in intensive care. Of those in hospital, 77 are considered infectious.

The province has delivered 61,426 shots of the COVID-19 vaccine, including 25,179 second doses as of Sunday. The province is expected to open up vaccine eligibility criteria to include members of the general public over 95 years old and First Nations people over 75 years old this week.

According to the province, there are 1,180 active COVID-19 cases in Manitoba, though that number is inflated due to backlogs in data entry.

danielle.dasilva@freepress.mb.ca

CDC Was Unwilling to Partner With Industry for Rapid COVID-19 Sequencing: Former Trump Adviser

The deputy national security adviser during the Trump Administration, Matthew Pottinger, said Sunday that during the onset of the CCP virus pandemic, the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) was unwilling to partner with industrial labs who could provide rapid COVID-19 sequencing.

The CDC was unwilling to partner with industrial labs to do tens of thousands of sequences so that you could actually see where this thing was going, Pottinger told CBS Newss Face the Nation, referring to the CCP (Chinese Communist Party) virus pandemic.

He suggested that one of the reasons for the lack of collaboration is that over the years, the CDC has developed an academic kind of mindset, and prefers to run tests internally.

Genome sequencing techniques are used by scientists to identify a viruss genes, which can provide insight into any mutations that occur as the disease spreads.

Im talking about institutionally, in the belly of this institution, Pottinger explained. They wanted to do it internally. And I think the reason for that is they want the data themselves so that they can publish.

Theres a very powerful incentive within CDC culture to partner with academic institutions rather than private institutions and to collect data, submit for peer review, articles that burnish your credentials.

Pottinger suggested that such a process was not quick enough when dealing with a pandemic.

Thats a very slow process. Thats not the kind of incentive you want for dealing with a fast-moving pandemic, he said.

The CDC didnt immediately respond to a request for comment by The Epoch Times.

Grave Misstep

He also said that the agencys decision not to advise the public to wear face masks as a means to curb transmission of COVID-19, the disease caused by the CCP virus, until April, was a grave misstep by public health officials, who he said overcompensated because they feared shortages with supply chains reliant on China.

China was not making it easy for us to get access to additional supplies. So [for] the CDC, that was an understandable thing to do. But it then made the mistake of conflating that with a set of advice that [told Americans] masks dont work effectively for the general public. That was a big mistake, he said.

The agency on April 3, 2020, first recommended that face masks be worn in public settings where it can be challenging to adhere to social distancing measures.

The mask misstep cost us dearly, Pottinger said. It was the one tool that was widely available, at least homemade, you know, cotton masks were widely available.

He added that he called some senior officials in Taiwan in early April and asked whether they had masks available.

They agreed to send a shipment of half a million masks just a couple of days later, he said. We put those masks into the national stockpile so theyd be available to frontline medical workers.

The CDC announced last November that the prevention benefit of masking is derived from the combination of source control and personal protection for the mask wearer.

Prior to the latest update, the CDC said that wearing a mask protected those around the wearer, and not specifically the person wearing the mask.

It was the one effective, widely available tool that we had in the arsenal to deal with this. But public health officials were stuck in this sort of flu mentality, Pottinger said.

He added that the new director of the CDC, Dr. Rochelle Walensky, is working hard on trying to get a far greater number of samples of this virus genetically sequenced.

Everyone should give as much support to her in that endeavor as possible, he said.
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STATEN ISLAND, N.Y.  After a year of battling the COVID-19 pandemic, weve all wanted to get back to normal, right?

So give thanks to the Metropolitan Transportation Authority. Theyve reminded us of what things were like in the pre-pandemic world.

The MTA last week voted to raise tolls at area bridges and tunnels, including the Verrazzano-Narrows Bridge.

Ordinary tolls as well as E-ZPass and Tolls-By-Mail rates for MTA crossings will increase come April 1. The Staten Island resident discount for the Verrazzano will also increase.

All told, tolls will increase by around 7 percent.

Hey, the pandemic has been hard on everyone, including the MTA. Remember how people werent driving for all those months last year while coronavirus was tearing through New York? Remember how people didnt take mass transit?

That reduced revenue means that the perpetual MTA budget hole is even bigger now. Just like the holes in the budgets of New Yorkers who suffered unemployment or reduced work hours during the pandemic.

Unlike the MTA, though, ordinary folks cant vote to increase their own revenues. I dont know a lot of people who have seen their incomes increase 7 percent during the pandemic.

I will say this about the MTA: The authority doesnt miss a trick when theres money to be had.

In its undying quest to wring every last dollar it can out of its customers, the MTA has created a new payment tier, in between the E-ZPass rate and the Tolls-By-Mail rate, to ding motorists who fail to properly mount their E-ZPass tag in the vehicle.

So no more waving your E-ZPass at the camera as you drive by.

Whats the point, other than give government a way to track you even when youre not going over a bridge or through a tunnel? Why do I always need to have that E-ZPass on display on my windshield?

If only the MTA showed this kind of ingenuity and inventiveness when it came to improving service.

Even with the bridge and tunnel toll increases, the MTA was smart to hold off on increasing fares on the subways, buses and commuter rail lines. The authority also put the brakes on any service cuts.

After all, ridership is still down as a result of the pandemic. Many workers still havent returned to their offices. Some may never go back. Other New Yorkers remain scared of taking mass transit out of fear of catching the virus.

Thats a lot of empty seats on the buses and trains. Youd have to be pretty dumb to actually increase fares at such a time. But rest assured that well see those fares increase once ridership levels return to something approaching pre-pandemic norms, if not before.

And of course, the MTA cant increase tolls without giving Staten Island a little extra kick in the shins.

In addition to increased tolls, E-ZPass rates and resident discount payments, the MTA voted to eliminate the Verrazzano carpool discount. That program allowed borough residents with three or more people in the vehicle to get an even cheaper ride over the bridge.

In 2020, there were 13,000 people enrolled in the program. So this isnt some backwater program that nobodys taking advantage of. Its going to hurt a lot of motorists.

And so much for encouraging people to carpool as a way to be more ecologically friendly and save the planet. What are green thoughts compared to another $2 million in revenue that the MTA is expected to garner by eliminating the carpool program?

Not that the toll hikes will solve all the MTAs problems. They never have and never will. The MTA still needs billions in federal aid in order to even begin righting the ship, especially given the economic carnage wrought by COVID-19.

All that we can rely on is that fares and tolls will keep increasing. The MTA is good at doing that.
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Update: Realme has officially revealed some images of the Realme GT on Weibo

The Realme GT 5G smartphone will launch on March 4, but it looks like Realme is going to tease the smartphone at MWC Shanghai. The event kicks off on February 23, 2021, and photos of the Realme booth have revealed teasers for the Realme GT 5G. As reported by GSMArena, The Realme GT 5G is depicted in its Bumblebee leather finish and is certainly one of the more intriguing designs lately. There is a black strip that runs along the back of the smartphone in line with the camera module.

One can clearly make out the 64MP tag next to the camera, indicating that the primary camera is a 64MP shooter. There is a secondary camera as well, but the details and specifications of that one aren't known. The cameras are accompanied by a quad-LED flash setup.

Realme GT 5G Specifications and Features

Some specs of the Realme GT 5G are known while others are speculated. It will be powered by the Snapdragon 888 SoC and sport a massive 5000mAh battery with support for 125W fast-charging. It is also expected to have a 6.8-inch 120Hz OLED display.

Other speculated specifications of the device include an in-display fingerprint sensor, 12GB RAM, 256GB storage, and Android 11 with Realme UI 2.0 overlaying it. The smartphone is expected to have a punch-hole camera in the top left of the display for selfies. There is no information on the price of the smartphone.

There is no information on an India launch date for the Realme GT, but we can expect it to launch in India after its international debut.



In other Realme news, the company will launch the Narzo 30A and 30 Pro on February 24 in India. However, the specifications of the smartphones have leaked online. The Realme Narzo 30 Pro is tipped to feature a 120Hz refresh rate display. The Realme Narzo 30A could be equipped with a 6,000mAh battery. You can learn more about the specifications of the two phones here.

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If the Reddit "meme stock" episode proves anything, it's that financial services companies and others that once thought of themselves as immune to the vagaries of the crowd can no longer ignore social media--and indeed some are actively changing as a result.

"Our plan is to take advantage of the volatility," says Haris Khurshid, founder of Fate Capital Management, a one-year-old Chicago-based hedge fund that, starting in the second quarter, plans to invest 5 to 10 percent of its portfolio in the options of trending stocks. To discover the trends, the company has developed software that, Khurshid says, browses relevant Reddit forums for the most talked-about stocks--listening for overall sentiment--then acts to either exploit the heavily shorted stocks from the batch or take advantage of the volatility in some other way.

Fate is just one of a handful of companies that are ramping up social listening--that is, the process of tracking, analyzing, and responding to conversations about brands on social media. The concept, which has been around as long as social media itself, isn't new. But it is gaining steam after members of the Reddit group WallStreetBets collaborated to drive up the stock price of troubled companies, including GameStop and AMC, that had been targeted by well-known short sellers.

The ensuing meme-stock surge forced trading app Robinhood to restrict trading on certain stocks, infuriating the WallStreetBets investors and prompting calls from lawmakers to investigate the behavior. The companies involved in the episode, including Robinhood CEO Vlad Tenev and Reddit CEO Steve Huffman, testified before the U.S. House Financial Services Committee on February 18.

Even so, social media will not be cowed. At least, that's the overarching sentiment among financial services players after the hearing this week. Hedge fund manager Gabe Plotkin, who also testified before Congress, noted that his industry would have to adapt to stave off another Reddit-fueled stock rally--which cost his firm, Melvin Capital Management, billions. "There will be a lot closer monitoring of message boards," said Plotkin, whose firm was the target of a short squeeze.

But the enhanced focus extends well beyond financial firms. Exhibit A: Interest in Affogata's services, which include social listening, shot up 22 percent in the wake of the trading frenzy, says Sharel Omer, the San Francisco- and Tel Aviv-based company's CEO and co-founder.

Many of those new leads are coming from fintech companies, yes. But Omer insists that brands from other verticals are also paying increased attention. Further, Omer says, the company is getting greater interest from firms that want help evaluating acquisition opportunities, and venture funds looking to get insight about their portfolio companies and potential investments and competitors. "There is a heightened understanding of the role of brand image and online communities in corporate value creation," he says.

And what happens on Reddit, among other social sites, matters. If WallStreetBets didn't prove that, Elon Musk has made it abundantly clear. The day after the Tesla CEO tweeted that he would host his first Clubhouse audio chat on February 1, the Financial Times reported that the stock for the wrong Clubhouse--Clubhouse Media Group, a health care services provider--soared. Clubhouse, the audio-chat company Musk was referring to, is privately held.

Of course, small businesses have long understood the power of social media as a means for marketing. But as LJ Suzuki, founder and CEO of CFOShare, a Denver-based business consultancy, points out, the tools have become increasingly fickle in recent years.

"The demonstration of Reddit's power is just the latest chapter in the continually shifting social media landscape, which continues to challenge marketing strategies," says Suzuki. By way of example, he points to the waning popularity of Facebook and Twitter, which have seen their fortunes shift after adopting censorship policies during last year's presidential election. The changes to Facebook once Apple starts requiring users to grant tracking permission to every app they download on their iPhones, will also be important for the industry.

"The cost efficiency of these efforts is becoming increasingly difficult to measure and predict," Suzuki says. The change, he adds, "is a shame, because that was one of the great advantages of social media advertising over print media, radio, or television."

The U.S. Air Force AT-6E Wolverine, designed for low-end attack air, offers more despite its simplicity. It will have data sharing included that will be useful for allies with no such capacity.

According to the U.S. Air Force, which got its first Wolverine light-attack aircraft, more improvements will benefit operators. One of them is sharing data for any allied air force working with the USAF.

Turboprop aircraft Wolverine

The new twin-seat, single-engine turboprop aircraft was just received after the acquisition was reported by the Air Force Life Cycle Management Center (AFLCMC). It bought inexpensive airplane additional planes when more expensive fight jets are not needed. The AFLCMC is only one of six organizations under the Air Force Materiel Command, reported Eurasian Times.

A new aircraft just entered the @usairforce fleet! Congrats to our Fighters and Advanced Aircraft Directorates Light Attack Aircraft Program Office, for leading efforts to acquire and field @TextronAviations AT-6 Wolverine! (Photos By Brett Schauf) pic.twitter.com/mUoZLO6jT5  Air Force Life Cycle Management Center (@AFLCMCofficial) February 17, 2021

One of the duties of the AFLCMC is to manage all the weapons available for use and how long they will stay in service. The light fighter is the development of Beechcraft (Textron Aviation), which is developed from a trainer version. It can do light attack and (ISR) intelligence, surveillance, and reconnaissance missions in low-end operation.

It was developed from the Texan II with no weapons, which is in use with the U.S. Air Force, US Army, and naval units. One of the upgrades included recon missions' circular antenna mounted on the top of the nose. This kind of equipment is usually for satellite communications systems.

For this purpose, the U.S. Airforce will get three AT-6E Wolverine planes to bolster support programs called "Airborne Extensible Relay Over-Horizon Network, or AEROnet." This heal increase the data net shared that is more affordable than more expensive systems.

Also read: Air Force Tests F-35 Integrated Electronic Warfare for Defensive Air Cover With Other U.S. Aircraft

The emphasis on networking and communication for a low-cost alternative and sharing information in the Wolverine is advantageous. U.S. and its allies can share and communicate during operations better.

Communication tech like Link 16 is limited

Many U.S. assets have the Link 16, which is still classified for the American military, Type 1 encryption. According to said former Air Force Brigadier General Michael Schmidt, allies with the Link 16 are strictly limited not to be shared.

One Air Combat Command (ACC) official is Retired Air Force General Mike Holmes; he said the high-tech network would be given to those who can have the needed security requirements. Keeping the tech hush-hush and out enemy hands is a priority.

He added the network offered is exportable and can only be operated under certain conditions. The system is simple but is not like the one used by USAF. It is better than most systems and links to all com systems.

Wolverine Communications hub and weapons platform

On the light attack plane are features that allow it to talk to U.S. aircraft with ARC-210 radios, VHF, UHF, AES, Encryption, SATCOM, Iridium Cell Satellite, and more systems included. Better yet, the computer is used on the A-10cs with hands-on-throttle-and-stick (HOTAS) controls used on F-16s.

The Wolverine has six pylons to mount weapons on it for many missions. It is what makes it different from its trainer version. Connect bombs, missiles, guns, or rocket pods on them for recon or attack missions it would sortie. Completing the AT-6E Wolverine package is a sensor turret with electro-optical, laser designator, and infrared cameras.

Related article: F-15EX offered to India by the US, Even Better than F-35s in Dogfights

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by Mathias Hariyadi

Torrential rains provoke flash flooding with five people dead so far, four of them children. Waters up to 2.5 meters high. Flooded houses and haywire traffic. Heavy rain is still expected in the coming days. Governor Baswedan accused of mismanaging the emergency.

Jakarta (AsiaNews) - Massive floods devastated the capital last weekend. The floods were caused by torrential rains that hit the area between 18 and 20 February. Several cities in the neighbouring provinces were also affected inlcuding: Bekasi and Karawang (West Java); Ciledug, Karawaci and Serpong (Banten).

So far the authorities have registered five victims, four of them children swept away by the currents. The capital was battered by 154 and 226 mm of rain in 24 hours: the fall of 150 mm in one day is considered an extreme event. The eastern and southern sectors, where the waters have risen up to 2.5 meters, are the most damaged.

In Kemang, a residential neighbourhood south of Jakarta, the sudden surge of water caused damage to homes, roads and dozens of cars. Thousands of citizens were stranded for hours in their cars or public transport along Jasa Marga, a busy toll road.

Dozens of rescuers intervened, especially to recover the elderly and minors stranded in submerged homes. There are about 1,700 displaced people: many of them have returned to their homes to free them from mud and debris.

Jakarta has 30 million inhabitants, and is subject to systematic flooding, as are part of the surrounding provinces. Heavy rains flooded the capital and other nearby cities on 1 December 2020, killing 67.

Anies Baswedan, governor of the capital, said that only 0.6% of the city was flooded: 200 neighbourhoods out of a total of 30,070. The waters, he pointed out, receded completely this morning. According to the National Climate Agency, the dangers will not disappear anytime soon. In fact, intense rainfall is expected until early March.

Baswedan has been harshly criticised for his mismanagement of the emergency. He is accused of not having wanted to carry on the project of his predecessor, Djarot Saiful Hidayat, who wanted to demolish the houses lying along the banks of the Ciliwung River. Hidayat then intended to relocate the occupants to other areas of the city.

In fact, President Joko Jokowi Widodo plans to move the country's capital to Borneo in order to avoid the risks of natural disasters.
Ukraines Minister of Foreign Affairs Dmytro Kuleba and Minister of Culture and Information Policy Oleksandr Tkachenko have expressed their concern over pressure and persecution of journalists in Belarus.

This is said in a joint statement of the ministers, which was published on the website of the Ukrainian Ministry of Foreign Affairs.

The entire democratic world recognizes mass media as fourth estate and does not interfere with their professional activities. Attacks on the freedom of speech, endangering lives and well-being of journalists in Belarus constitute outright violations of these basic principles, reads the statement.

The ministers stated that Ukraine strongly stands for the protection of democracy and media freedom and condemns, together with the international community, attacks of Belarussian authorities on representatives of the media.

Ministers express their particular concern with destructive actions of Russia which fully usurped the information space of Belarus using its army of propagandists, thus depriving Belarussians of their right to freely access various sources of information, reads the statement.

As reported, mass protests going on in Belarus since August 2020 against the rigging of the results of a presidential election, in which Alexander Lukashenko was declared the winner. The ruling regime continues to repress the people, who are massively defending their right to democratic choice.

Among other things, Belarusian security forces have searched the homes of at least 25 journalists and human rights activists on February 16.

The Investigative Committee of Belarus explained the searches by the intention to "establish the circumstances of the financing of the protest activities."

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Locals hit by the glacier flood disaster in India this month which killed up to 200 people believe a nuclear device placed in the Himalayas by US Cold War spies caused the deluge.

Part of a glacier and a large chunk of rock face broke off in the mountains of Uttarakhand, jamming a river before the mass of backed-up water broke through, causing mass devastation.

The deluge of water, rocks and soil hurtled down a V-shaped valley, sweeping away homes, roads and bridges as well as around 200 people, many of whom have still not been found almost two weeks on.

In the farming mountain village of Raini, residents believe that nuclear devices which may have been hidden under the rocks for decades could have caused the devastation by melting the snow.

Locals hit by the glacier flood disaster in India this month which killed up to 200 people believe nuclear devices placed in the Himalayas by US spies caused the deluge

Sangram Singh Rawat, the headman of Raini, told the BBC: 'We think that the devices could have played a role. How can a glacier simply break off in winter? We think the government should investigate and find the devices.'

In the 1960s, the US collaborated with India to place monitoring devices in the mountain range to spy on Chinese missile tests.

It came during the height of paranoia in the Cold War when China detonated its first nuclear device in 1964.

In October 1965, a group of 18 experienced US and Indian climbers carried seven plutonium capsules weighing 5kg and surveillance equipment up Nanda Devi, the second highest mountain in India standing at 25,643ft.

Part of a glacier in the village of Raini in the state of Uttarakhand broke off, sending a flood downriver which smashed into bridges and trapped workers in tunnels

The mission, carried out by the CIA in conjunction with India's Intelligence Bureau, intended to place a relay listening device on the summit of the mountain which sits on the border with China.

During the ascent, a blizzard forced the climbers to retreat and they left behind the devices on a platform on the mountain.

The equipment left on Nanda Devi consisted of a six-foot-long antenna, two radio communication sets, a power pack and the seven plutonium capsules.

The luggage weighed around 57kgs and the climbers decided to abandon the climb and leave behind the devices during their bid for safety.

But the following spring, the climbers returned to the mountain to lug it to the summit but they could not find the devices anywhere.

Rescuers used machine excavators and shovels to clear sludge from a tunnel overnight in an attempt to reach trapped workers

None of the equipment has since been found despite a number of search missions in subsequent years.

Nanda Devi was even closed off to foreign expeditions until 1974 over fears the spy equipment would be found and used.

Manmohan Singh Kohli, a climber who led the expedition for the Indian team, said the plutonium stock was 'about half the size of the atomic bomb dropped on Hiroshima'.

The fuel rods are a compound of two plutonium isotopes, Pu-238, which has a half-life of 87 years, and Pu-239, with a half-life of 24,400 years.

Pu-239 is the main isotope used in nuclear weapons.

This diagram shows how the floodwaters which were triggered by a glacier collapse came crashing down a valley in northern India, overrunning a dam before crashing into hydroelectric energy projects and leaving some of their workers trapped

The rods would power a generator known as SNAP, a System for Nuclear Auxiliary Power, to collect the data on Chinese missile launches.

Once activated, it would convert the radioactive heat energy into electricity to power the listening device and its antenna.

In 1967, a third mission saw climbers place a new set of devices on the adjacent 22,510ft mountain Nanda Kot.

It proved successful but then suddenly stopped sending signals, prompting another climb to retrieve the device.

The mountaineers found that its heat had caused it to slowly melt 8ft into the face of the mountain, and they promptly took the device away.

Locals believe this shows the device which could still be up in the mountain is eating away into the snow, causing the latest glacier flood.

Scientists have examined the sand and waters in the area in recent years with some claiming to have found evidence of plutonium similar to the stock placed in the generator.

Pictured: Houses near the Dhauliganga hydro power project. One of the rescue efforts is focused on a tunnel at a hydroelectric power plant where more than three dozen workers have been out of contact since the flood occurred Sunday

US news outlet Outside reported: 'Until the plutonium [the source of the radio-activity in the power pack] deteriorates, which may take centuries, the device will remain a radioactive menace that could leak into the Himalayan snow and infiltrate the Indian river system through the headwaters of the Ganges.'

Others believe the recent flood may have been caused by climate change, with 10,000 glaciers receding at a rate of 100 to 200 ft per decade in the Indian Himalayas.

Workers have also been carrying out construction in the area to build new highways and hydroelectric plants, which may have disturbed the glacier.

Captain Kohli said he cannot rule out the nuclear theory but believes the device is 'very unlikely to emanate heat or blow itself up'.

But Rawat told the Times of India: 'If the device is buried under the snow somewhere in the area and is radiating heat, then of course there would be more melting of snow and further avalanches.'

This compilation of the top local photos of the past week, as taken by Citizens' Voice photographers, highlights the news of the past week in images.

 Ash Wednesday was observed by Christians throughout the region on Wednesday. This year's observance took on a different tone due to the pandemic. Priests and ministers distributed ashes using disposable cotton swabs, rather than tracing the sign of the cross on the foreheads of the faithful with their fingers.

 Wyoming Valley West finishes its distribution of Chromebooks to high school students last Thursday and began distributing the devices to middle school students this week. The district is issuing Chromebooks to all students in grades 4-12. The district received 3,200 Chromebooks in late January, nearly six months after it ordered the $720,000 purchase.

 Lake-Lehman's Lexi Schechterly is making her mark on the state high school wrestling scene. She was recently ranked ninth in the nation by USA Wrestling in the 106-pound female class, the only Pennsylvania-born female in the top 25. Rianne Murphy, of Indiana, who wrestles at Wyoming Seminary, is ranked No. 7.

 Misericordia University began random surveillance testing for COVID-19 recently using a new on-campus laboratory after getting saliva samples from students, staff and faculty. Results are typically back within 24 hours, as opposed to two to three days to ship out samples, school officials said.

 U.S. Rep. Matt Cartwright last Thursday called for a shakeup in leadership at the U.S. Postal Service, saying problems with the nation's mail will not improve until there is a change at the top.

 The City of Wilkes-Barre demolished a longtime eyesore last Thursday at 101-103 Westminster St. in the southern section of the city. The property has been a problem in the neighborhood since 2005.

 The Earth Conservancy held a public hearing last week to air the pros and cons of the feasibility of creating an ATV (all terrain vehicle) park on 10,000 acres of land in Newport and Conyngham Twps.

 Valentine's Day amid a pandemic was celebrated last Sunday, with area florists reporting issues ranging from rising prices for flowers to inability to secure vases and other needed items from wholesalers. Despite the issues, area florists reported a brisk business for Valentine's Day 2021.

 New businesses are on their way to Wilkes-Barre Twp. The building that housed the former Bob Evans restaurant on Schechter Drive will be demolished to make way for a discount tire store. A Planet Fitness is being planned next to Sam;s Club and Kohl's. The former Chili's Grill and Bar near the Wyoming Valley Mall has been purchased by the owner of Mirakuya Japanese Restaurant in the Pine Mall. And In Wilkes-Barre Twp. Commons, the shell is complete for a new stand-alone Panera Bread that will feature a drive through.

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Mark Moran Mark Moran is chief photographer at The Citizens' Voice. Read More... Follow Mark Moran Close Get email notifications on {{subject}} daily! Your notification has been saved. There was a problem saving your notification. {{description}} Email notifications are only sent once a day, and only if there are new matching items. Save Manage followed notifications Close Followed notifications Please log in to use this feature Log In Don't have an account? Sign Up Today

Sean McKeag Sean McKeag is a staff photographer and videographer at The Citizens' Voice. Read More... Follow Sean McKeag Close Get email notifications on {{subject}} daily! Your notification has been saved. There was a problem saving your notification. {{description}} Email notifications are only sent once a day, and only if there are new matching items. Save Manage followed notifications Close Followed notifications Please log in to use this feature Log In Don't have an account? Sign Up Today

Dave Scherbenco Dave Scherbenco was a freelance photographer for The Citizens' Voice for 26 years Read More... Follow Dave Scherbenco Close Get email notifications on {{subject}} daily! Your notification has been saved. There was a problem saving your notification. {{description}} Email notifications are only sent once a day, and only if there are new matching items. Save Manage followed notifications Close Followed notifications Please log in to use this feature Log In Don't have an account? Sign Up Today
341 According to all four Gospels, Jesus was greeted upon his entry into Jerusalem before the Passion by crowds waving fronds from this tree. In many Christian churches, it has long been traditional to bless and distribute these fronds at the beginning of Holy Week.

Palm

The date palm (Phoenix Dactylifera) is one of the most iconic plants of the Middle East, and from time immemorial has provided both welcome shade and nourishing fruit to both inhabitants and travelers. In the desert, their presence is a welcome indication of the presence of water. It has long been a symbol of victory and, in Catholic iconography, has traditionally been used to designate a martyr to the faith. The Sunday immediately before Easter Sunday has been observed in many Christian churches as Palm Sunday, and the practice of distributing Palm fronds, which have been blessed by the priest or minister, is of long standing. In the Old Testament, the judge and prophetess Deborah conducted her judgments under the shade of a palm (Judges 4:5), and its stately appearance and endurance were regarded as a symbol of righteousness, as in Psalm 92: "The righteous shall flourish like the Palm tree; he shall grow like a cedar in Lebanon. Those that be planted in the house of the Lord shall flourish in the courts of our God."
Most black adults believe religion, church play significant role in African American experience

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The majority of black adults in the U.S. believe that to understand the African American experience, it's necessary to understand the role of religious faith in black people's lives, a new study has found.

A Barna survey of 1,083 U.S. black adults, plus 822 black churchgoers, found that four out of five black U.S. adults who align with some type of faith group agree to some extent (41% strongly, 38% somewhat) that To understand the African American experience, it is necessary to understand the role of religious faith in the lives of black people.

Most members of the black church also believe faith is crucial to the black experience, with half (50%) agreeing strongly and 38% agreeing somewhat. Faith is also considered a source of emotional strength, with nearly all black churchgoers today strongly agreeing with this sentiment.

Interestingly, the proportion of black adults who say church involvement is overall desirable is on the decline, from 90% in 1996 (71% very plus 19% somewhat) to just 74% today (44% very plus 30% somewhat). Among black adults who attend church, 58% desire to be active in their place of worship.

Age also impacts church engagement, with 66% of Boomers who are part of the black church saying its very desirable compared to just 55% Gen X, 51% millennials, and 46% Gen Z.

The majority of religious black adults in 2020 (69%) agree (one-third strongly so) that the pastors of African American churches are the most important leaders within the black community.

The report, which is one of several looking at the state of the black church in America, was developed in partnership with Black Millennial Cafe, Urban Ministries, Inc., American Bible Society, Compassion International, Gloo, and Lead.NYC. It describes how black Americans, including members of predominantly black churches, perceive the role of the Church and their political views.

Previously, Barna reported that most members of the black church believe the church provides comfort and agency, countering a broader sense of political powerlessness.

In 1996, 50% of black Americans agreed with that statement, while 41% disagreed. In 2020, however, the percentage of black Americans who agreed with the statement shot up to 65% and among black churchgoers, it was a staggering 80%.

Brooke Hempell, senior vice president of research at Barna, said: The story of the Black Church in America is important for our nation and for Christianity. We have conducted hundreds of studies about faith and culture, and we have found consistently that black Americans have a more active faith  in prayer, reading Scripture, and worship  than other racial groups in this country. We are excited to share the story of this legacy with fresh data.

A recent study from Pew found that while 61% of black Americans say their historically black congregations need to be more diverse and the race of attendees wasnt a priority, most black Americans are drawn to black churches for reasons beyond race, including sermons and worship style.

Sermons are a prime example: Black Americans who attend black Protestant churches are more likely to say they hear messages from the pulpit about certain topics  such as race relations and criminal justice reform  than are black Protestant churchgoers who attend multiracial, white or other race churches, researchers said.

Protestants who worship in predominantly black churches are more likely than other black Americans to say their congregations feature worshippers calling out amen or other expressions of approval (known as call and response). They are also more likely to feature expressive forms of worship, including spontaneous dancing, jumping or shouting. And 54% of Protestants in black congregations say the services they attend feature speaking or praying in tongues, a practice associated with Pentecostalism, Pews report on the survey explained.
Lucknow, Feb 22 : Religious development is a major aspect of the budget tabled by the Yogi Adityanath government in its last budget before assembly elections.

The budget focuses on funds for development of religious cities including Ayodhya, Chitrakoot, Varanasi, Naimsharainya and Vindhyachal.

Tourist amenities in these places of religious significance will be upgraded in the coming year and air and road connectivity will be upgraded.

Talking to reporters, Chief Minister Yogi Adityanath said that the state government would make efforts to take these cities to a global level.

He said that memorial and libraries would be set up top commemorate the memory of freedom fighters like the government had done with the Chaura Chauri incident.

The budget earmarks Rs 200 crore for development of tourism in these sectors.

Ayodhya, alone, has been allocated Rs 100 crore while another Rs 300 crore will be spent on road connectivity to the holy city.

The state government has allotted Rs 140 crore for development and renovation of the Suryakund temple.

Chitrakoot development has been allotted Rs 20 crore in the budget while Vindhyachal and Naimsharainya get Rs 30 crore.

Varanasi has been given Rs 100 crore for beautification and development of tourist amenities.

The state government proposes to set up a tribal museum in Lucknow with Rs 8 crore and a freedom fighters' museum in Shahjahanpur with Rs 4 crore.

The Chief Minister said that the budget for 2021-22 was welfare-oriented and focused on all sections of society.

"This will give new wings to development and aspirations of the people. We are aiming at all-round development, electricity for all, drinking water for all and roads for all. There are schemes for farmers, youth, women and we are moving ahead with our promises," he said.

The Chief Minister said that the target for excise revenue was Rs 41,500 crore and the government was confident of achieving this.

He said that the state was attracting investments mainly due to ease of doing business and the policies being formulated.

-- The story has been published from a wire feed without any modifications to the text
When it comes to the experience of flying military helicopters in wartime, new author Larry A. Freeland knows of what he writes.

The retiree, originally from Canton, Ohio, grew up in a military family  his father was a U.S. Air Force officer who moved the family to many bases across this country, including Tyndall Air Force Base.

"My Father was a career Air Force Officer who retired in 1971 and built a home in Parker on the bay across from Tyndall AFB," Freeland said. "Dad passed several years back, but my mother still lives in the home they built. She will turn 98 later this month."

In his youth, Freeland was a lifeguard on Panama City Beach and Tyndall Beach. His father taught at Everitt Middle School and served a short time as a local TV weather forecaster in the 1970s.

"My brothers and I spent many years visiting them in Panama City, and of course I still do with mom living there," he said.

After graduating from high school at Ramey Air Force Base in Puerto Rico, Freeland earned a degree in mathematics from the University of South Florida in Tampa. He joined the U.S. Army and served one tour in Vietnam with the 101st Airborne Division as an Infantry Officer and a CH-47 helicopter pilot. He received the Distinguished Flying Cross with one Oak Leaf Cluster, the Air Medal with 10 Oak Leaf Clusters, the Bronze Star, and various other military service medals, according to information he provided.

With "Chariots in the Sky," Freeland said he chose to go the route of fiction because, "I didn't want it to be a story about one man's or one aircrew's personal experiences in Vietnam, or a compilation of such stories. But rather, I wanted to take the reader on a ride through the eyes and exploits of one fictional character ... (to) gain a better understanding of what it was like for pilots and air crews during the Vietnam War."

"Chariots in the Sky: A Story About U.S. Assault Helicopter Pilots at War in Vietnam" will be available for pre-order on March 23, and will be published April 21 by Publish Authority for $14.99 (paperback).

Freeland, who now lives in Dawsonville, Georgia, recently responded to our Book Notes questionnaire to let readers know about his debut novel:

Genre: Military Fiction/War and Military-Historical Fiction

Most notable published work: "This is my first novel. In 1991 and 1992, I wrote two full-length feature screenplays. My first, "Flying Pachyderms" (war genre), was read by three production companies in Hollywood. They all liked it, and one, Biltmore Pictures, was considering optioning the screenplay. But they had another war genre in post production at the time  "Sniper" starring Tom Berringer  and chose not to move forward with an option.

Describe your writing style in 15 words or less: "Tell a story through the eyes and emotions of my main character(s)."

When did you know you wanted to write? "In the case of this novel, I've carried a story within me for a long time that I wanted to share. As mentioned earlier, I first attempted to share the story through a screenplay. That story has now been greatly expanded and converted into my novel. The whole experience and journey from writing through the publication process has been fascinating. I'm looking forward to writing another book, and will see what happens."

Which writers do you admire? "John Steinbeck (I have a quote by him about helicopter pilots in Vietnam at the beginning of my book), Ernest Hemingway, Tom Clancy and J.K. Rowling."

Where do you get your inspiration? "Real life experiences. At 74 now, I've had a few."

What is your favorite theme or style of writing? "Being that this is my first novel, I'm not sure exactly how to answer that. But, for this novel, I certainly used some descriptive writing. I wanted to create a vivid picture of my characters, settings and events in the mind of the reader. My goal was to make the reader feel like they are experiencing the events for themselves."

How do you deal with writer's block? "Take some time off and do other things I like to do. For example: walk, drive my Corvette, catch a movie, or if it's a big writer's block, take a trip somewhere for a week or so."

What advice do you have for aspiring writers? "Make a commitment, never lose sight of it and go for it."

What are you working on now? "Another historical fiction story about three generations of one family's men who serve their country during WWI, WWII, Korea, Vietnam, the Iranian hostage failed rescue attempt, Panama Canal-Noriega, Grenada, 1st Gulf War and current involvements. Sounds ambitious, we'll see!"

Where can people find your work? "On Amazon.com, Barnes & Noble (BN.com) and your favorite bookstore."

For more information, visit the author's website, https://www.larryfreeland.com

This article is written by Tony Simmons from The News Herald, Panama City, Fla. and was legally licensed via the Tribune Content Agency through the Industry Dive publisher network. Please direct all licensing questions to legal@industrydive.com.
Leading Bahraini developer Eagle Hills Diyar has announced the launch of its new residential development, Marassi Park, within its Marassi Al Bahrain development.

Spanning a 25,500-sq-m area, Marassi Park is made up of three 10-storey blocks consisting of 249 units ranging from one to three-bedroom residential apartments.

This new development, which overlooks a spacious courtyard and boasts spectacular views of Marassi Central Park and the Grand Boulevard, will be seamlessly integrated into the Marassi Al Bahrain community and is set to offer its residents the best in modern urban living.

Marassi Park has already witnessed tremendous investor appeal with all of its Phase One units already sold out off-plan, said the developer.

Announcing the launch, Managing Director Dr Maher Al Shaer said: "The project is a strategic addition to Marassi Al Bahrains portfolio of offerings, crafted in line with Marassi Al Bahrains philosophy of smart living, which aims to provide residents with the best in contemporary living and ultimate convenience when longing for a break from fast-paced life."

"The project is designed to provide residents with the opportunity to experience all the Marassi Al-Bahrain development has to offer, from beach-front living and green spaces, to urban and modern utilities, to retail and F&B outlets conveniently located within their community," stated Al Shaer.

The first sales and purchase agreements were handed over to the first apartment owners and investors in phase one of the project, where all safety measures were taken in adherence to the standards of social distancing in accordance with the instructions of executive committee of the government.

On the project, Eagle Hills CEO Low Ping said: "Under the current circumstances, we at Eagle Hills, are proud of our expertise in creating master-planned communities with a blend of facilities to cater to both tourists and residents within the kingdom and neighbouring countries."

"The Marassi Park project marks the newest addition to the growing Marassi Al Bahrain community, an iconic development that has set a new benchmark for high-end beach life across the region," she stated.

"The aesthetically pleasing building design reflects the promise of a contemporary lifestyle with the development conceived to provide potential buyers with a variety of unit options ranging in size, and catering to individual needs and requirements," he added.

Ping said a number of amenities will complement Marassi Parks vibrant lifestyle, including a fully-equipped gymnasium, adult and childrens swimming pools, shaded childrens play area, outdoor seating pavilions, a barbeque area and convenient basement parking with 24-hour security.

"In addition, Marassi Park residents will also be able to enjoy the jogging track at the upcoming Marassi Central Park. The project is conveniently located on the Grand Boulevard, has retail outlets and is in close proximity to Marassi Beach as well as the Marassi Galleria mall, which is set to open in 2021," she added.

Eagle Hills Diyar General Manager Engineer Gim Hwee said: "The units of Marassi Park are developed and designed with the homeowner in mind. Todays residents are looking for homes that cater to a variety of different needs, and the versatility of the units provide users with options to choose from."

"After the successful launch of Phase One, and complete sale of the projects units off-plan, Phase two is set to commence soon," he added.
With neighbouring Kerala and four other states in the country witnessing a surge in daily cases, the on Monday said surveillance in districts bordering Kerala has been intensified and it has been made mandatory for all returnees by flight to compulsorily undergo RT-PCR test.

The state health department continues to aggressively test for the virus and is involved in tracing the contacts, as it is determined to further bring down the cases, Health Secretary Dr J Radhakrishnan said.

Expressing concern over non-compliance by people, including those who gather for political rallies, he appealed to the people not to lower the guard as five states in India have recorded an increase in cases.

"Wearing of masks and maintaining social distancing should strictly be followed. It was noticed during certain political meetings that the cadres did not wear face masks or follow social distancing. Such an offhand attitude could lead to unpleasant consequences," he said and pointed out to an incident in Amaravathy district in Maharashtra where a family has been infected by the virus.

Maharashtra, Punjab, Chhattisgarh and Madhya Pradesh, apart from Kerala have recorded a surge in daily new cases of COVID-19.

The Union Health Ministry had said both Kerala and Maharashtra cumulatively accounted for over 74 per cent of India's total active cases.

"Tamil Nadu has a low positivity rate of 0.9 per cent per 100 persons and a majority of those who get admitted early with symptoms are treated and discharged. I appeal to the people not to delay if they have symptoms but undergo test and treatment accordingly."



"Late arrival invariably leads to problems," the health secretary told reporters here after inaugurating three RO plants at the multi-super speciality Hospital, here, that has been sponsored by the RCC Platinum Trust.

When his attention was drawn to the non-compliance to face masks and social distancing at political rallies, he said rules were the same for all people who gather in public places.

"We have instructed health officials to mandate the wearing of face masks and maintain social distancing before granting permission for meetings besides resort to random testing at such meetings," Radhakrishnan said.

On the preventive measures, he said apart from surveillance camps, thermal screening will be carried out in the border districts and cluster testing will be done in Chennai, Coimbatore and Chengalpattu districts.

All the passengers arriving by flight should have RT-PCR negative certificates.

"Passengers from the UK, Brazil and South Africa will be subjected to TR-PCR test upon arrival," he said.

About 36 direct returnees from the UK and their 26 contacts, who tested positive, were treated and discharged. And 10 among the 11 passengers with new virus strain from the UK too were treated and discharged, he said.

Further, the district health officials have been told to be extra cautious owing to the reporting of dengue cases in few southern districts and also many from Tirunelveli district had Mumbai connection, the official added.
The Biden administration moved to restore the asylum system to the way it worked for decades Friday by releasing a group of asylum-seekers into the United States, ending their long wait in Mexico and unraveling one of former President Donald Trumps signature immigration policies.

The 25 people who arrived are the first of an estimated 25,000 asylum-seekers with active cases in the Remain in Mexico program who will now wait in the U.S. for their court hearings instead of south of the border. Wary of a surge of migrants, American officials are warning people not to come to the border and to register on a website that the U.N. High Commissioner for Refugees launched Friday.

The new arrivals were taken to San Diego hotels to quarantine amid the coronavirus pandemic before they travel to their final destinations in the U.S. to stay with relatives, friends or sponsors.

President Joe Biden is making good on his promise to end a policy that Trump said was critical to reversing a surge of asylum-seekers, which peaked in 2019. The program, known officially as Migrant Protection Protocols, changed the way people traditionally had been treated by the U.S. government as they sought protection from violence and persecution. It exposed them to violence in Mexican border cities and made it difficult to find lawyers and communicate with courts about their cases.

There were unanswered questions about Bidens changes, including how Central Americans who returned home will get back to the U.S.-Mexico border. Its also unclear how long it will take to work through all the cases, with the oldest going first.

There was also some confusion at the border. About 100 people gathered Friday at the crossing in Tijuana, Mexico, sharing rumors and hoping to glean information about when they would be allowed into the United States while their cases are decided by the courts.

The U.S. is expected to release 25 people a day in San Diego who had been forced to wait in Mexico, said Michael Hopkins, chief executive officer of Jewish Family Service of San Diego, which is playing a critical support role. Authorities can process up to 300 a day at the San Diego border crossing, but Hopkins said its not known when they will change the target of 25 a day.

People also were expected to be let into the country starting Monday in Brownsville, Texas, and next Friday in El Paso, Texas.

The International Organization for Migration, the U.N. migration agency, tests asylum-seekers for COVID-19 in Mexico and quarantines anyone with positive results for 10 days. In San Diego, even asylum-seekers who tested negative will quarantine for seven days in hotels under U.S. Centers for Disease Control and Prevention guidelines.

A coalition of nongovernmental groups called the San Diego Rapid Response Network will provide hotel rooms, arrange transportation and perform health screenings, Hopkins said. Jewish Family Service will buy bus or plane tickets if asylum-seekers cant afford them and winter clothes if needed.

Well make sure they are healthy and in good shape to travel, Hopkins said in an interview.

About 70,000 asylum-seekers have been part of the Remain in Mexico program since it started in January 2019. Those whose cases were dismissed or denied are not eligible to return to the country, but U.S. officials have not ruled out some form of relief later.

The Biden administration, which stopped enrolling new arrivals on its first day, said last week that asylum-seekers with active cases would be released in the United States with notices to appear in immigration courts closest to their final destinations. It brought huge relief to those who are eligible, while U.S. and U.N. officials urged against a rush to the border.

Edwin Gomez, who said his wife and 14-year-old son were killed by gangs in El Salvador after he couldnt pay extortion fees from his auto repair shop, was eager to join his 15-year-old daughter in Austin, Texas. She already won asylum and is living with family.

Who thought this day would come? Gomez, 36, said Wednesday in Tijuana, Mexico, at a border crossing with San Diego. I never thought it would happen.

Across the border from Texas Rio Grande Valley, Enda Marisol Rivera of El Salvador and her 10-year-old son have been braving below-freezing temperatures this week, snuggling under piles of donated blankets in their makeshift tent of tarps. Their propane gas stove froze, she said. Despite the added hardship from the Arctic blast that hit Texas and northern Mexico, Rivera was in good spirits.

Rivera and her son are among about 850 migrants living in the tent camp in a sprawling park just south of the Rio Grande in the Mexican city of Matamoros who applied for asylum and were told to wait in Mexico for their U.S. court dates. Many in the camp turned down offers this week to be transferred to city shelters, fearing they would lose their chance at being allowed into the United States if they didnt stay close to the border.

Rivera was hopeful she would be allowed to come to the United States, where she could live with her sister in Los Angeles as her case wound through immigration court.

We have faith in God that we will be allowed in, she said Wednesday. We have already spent enough time here.
NEW YORK  Terabytes of data. Dozens of prosecutors, investigators and forensic accountants sifting through millions of pages of financial documents. An outside consulting firm drilling down on the arcana of commercial real estate and tax strategies.

That is the monumental task that lies ahead in the Manhattan district attorneys criminal investigation into former President Donald Trump and his family business after a U.S. Supreme Court order Monday cleared the way for prosecutors to obtain eight years worth of Trumps tax returns and other financial records.

The brief, unsigned order was a resounding victory for the prosecutors and defeat for Trump, capping his bitter and protracted legal battle to block the release of the records  an effort that twice reached the Supreme Court  and delivering a jolt to the prosecutors efforts after the lawsuit stalled them for more than a year.

The investigation is one of two known criminal inquiries into Trump, the other coming from prosecutors in Georgia scrutinizing Trumps effort to persuade local officials to undo the election results there. When Trump left office, he lost the protection against indictment that the presidency afforded him.

The district attorney, Cyrus Vance Jr., issued a terse statement, saying: The work continues. A spokesman for his office declined to comment further on the investigation.

The crucial next phase in the Manhattan inquiry will begin in earnest this week when investigators for the district attorneys office collect the records from the law firm that represents Trumps accountants, Mazars USA, according to people with knowledge of the matter, as well as former prosecutors and other experts who described the next steps on the condition of anonymity.

The investigators, carrying a copy of the August 2019 grand jury subpoena that was at the heart of the lawsuit, will go to the law firms office in New Yorks Westchester County. They will leave with a vast trove of digital copies of the returns, reams of financial statements and other records and communications relating to Trumps taxes and those of his businesses.

Then, the investigators will deliver the mass of data to the office of Vance, where the team of prosecutors, forensic accountants and analysts have been investigating Trump and his companies for a wide range of possible financial crimes. Vance, a Democrat, has been examining whether Trump, his company and its employees committed insurance, tax and banking fraud, among other crimes, people with knowledge of the matter have said.

Even before the Supreme Court ruling, the investigation had heated up, with Vances office issuing more than a dozen subpoenas in recent months and interviewing witnesses, including employees of Deutsche Bank, one of Trumps top lenders.

The subpoenas relate to a central aspect of Vances inquiry, which focuses on whether Trumps company, the Trump Organization, inflated the value of some of his signature properties to obtain the best possible loans, while lowballing the values to reduce property taxes, people with knowledge of the matter have said. The prosecutors are also examining the Trump Organizations statements to insurance companies about the value of various assets.

Now armed with the records from Mazars  including the tax returns, the business records on which they are based and communications between the Trump Organization and its accountants  prosecutors will be able to see a fuller picture of potential discrepancies between what the company told its lenders and tax authorities.

The prosecutors have also subpoenaed the Trump Organization for records related to tax write-offs on millions of dollars in consulting fees, some of which appear to have gone to the presidents elder daughter, Ivanka Trump, an arrangement first reported by The New York Times. The company turned over some of those records last month, two people with knowledge of the matter said, although the prosecutors have questioned whether the company has fully responded to the subpoena.

It remains unclear whether the prosecutors will ultimately file charges against Donald Trump; the company; or any of its executives, including Trumps two adult sons, Donald Trump Jr. and Eric Trump.

In a lengthy and angry statement that included a reiteration of many of his familiar grievances, Donald Trump lashed out at the Supreme Court and the investigation, which he characterized as a continuation of the greatest political Witch Hunt in the history of our Country.

He added: For more than two years, New York City has been looking at almost every transaction Ive ever done, including seeking tax returns which were done by among the biggest and most prestigious law and accounting firms in the U.S.

Trumps lawyers are likely to argue to prosecutors that Trump could not have duped Deutsche Bank because the bank, a sophisticated financial player, conducted its own analysis of Trumps properties.

Mazars said in a statement that it was aware of the new ruling. As we have maintained throughout this process, Mazars remains committed to fulfilling all of our professional and legal obligations, the statement said.

The biggest challenge for Vances prosecutors will be to piece together the jigsaw puzzle of tax records, financial statements and the supporting documents Trumps companies provided to the accountants.

Early this month, Vance enlisted a prominent figure in New York legal circles, Mark F. Pomerantz, to help with the investigation. Pomerantz, a former senior federal prosecutor with significant experience both investigating and defending complex white-collar and organized crime cases, will handle interactions with key witnesses, among other tasks.

For additional help, Vances office has hired FTI, a large consulting company that can analyze some of the industries in which Trumps companies operate, including commercial real estate, as well as tax issues, people with knowledge of the matter said.

The firm will also load the trove of records into a data analysis and document management system that it can use to explore them and seek patterns in support of the investigation, the people said.

The action by the Supreme Court justices, who without noted dissent denied Trump an emergency stay so the court could fully review issues in the case for a second time, will not put Trumps tax returns in the hands of Congress or make them automatically public. Grand jury secrecy laws will keep the records private unless Vances office files charges and enters the documents into evidence at a trial.

The public has already learned a great deal about Trumps taxes through other means.

The New York Times obtained tax-return data extending over more than two decades for Trump and the hundreds of companies that make up his business organization, including detailed information from his first two years in office.

The Times published a series of investigative articles last year based on an analysis of the data showing that Trump paid virtually no income tax for many years and that he is currently under an audit in which an adverse ruling could cost him more than $100 million. He and his companies file separate tax returns and employ complicated and sometimes aggressive tax strategies, the investigation found.

But the Supreme Courts action set in motion a series of events that could lead to the extraordinary possibility of a criminal trial for former president. At a minimum, the ruling wrests from Trump control of his most closely held financial records and the power to decide when, if ever, they would be made available for public inspection.

Trump and his lawyers have long fought to keep the records secret. After promising during the 2016 campaign that he would release his tax returns, as every presidential candidate has done for at least 40 years, he refused to do so, providing a persistent line of criticism for Democrats and other adversaries.

In addition to fighting the subpoena from Vances office in court, Trump sued to block the congressional subpoena and successfully challenged a California law requiring presidential primary candidates to release their returns.

The Supreme Courts ruling comes nearly 18 months after Trump first sued Vance, seeking to block the subpoena from his office and spurring a legal battle that reached the Supreme Court for the first time last summer. In a landmark decision in July, the court rejected Trumps argument that as a sitting president, he was immune from investigation. The case was argued by Vances general counsel, Carey Dunne, who is helping lead the investigation.

But the court said Trump could challenge the subpoena on other grounds, such as its relevance and scope. Trump then launched a new legal fight, arguing that the subpoena was overly broad and amounted to political harassment. After losing that argument in the lower courts, Trump asked the Supreme Court to delay enforcement of Vances subpoena until it could decide whether to hear Trumps appeal.

It was that request that the Supreme Court denied, effectively ending the former presidents legal quest, legal experts said.

Trump will not be given deference as a former president, said Anne Milgram, a former assistant district attorney in Manhattan who later served as New Jerseys attorney general. Under the eyes of the laws of the state of New York, he has the same rights as others in the state. Neither more nor less.

Reed Brodsky, a longtime white-collar defense lawyer and former federal prosecutor, said that Trumps lawyers will likely tell him that further attempts to block the subpoena could undermine their ability to argue the merits of his defense.

Theyre at risk, if they continue to make arguments that are frivolous, of undercutting their credibility, Brodsky said.

This article originally appeared in The New York Times.
Mainly Jem's Birding & Ringing Exploits in the Eastern Province & Ringing Trips to Bahrain
A team of Irish scientists have sequenced more than 2,700 Covid-19 samples in a bid to identify emerging variants that could be of concern.

The Irish Coronavirus Sequencing Consortium (ICSC) is led by researchers at the Teagasc/APC Microbiome Ireland Sequencing Centre at Moorepark in Fermoy, who are working closely with the National Virus Reference Laboratory, other Teagasc centres, and several hospitals and universities.

Across the project, a team of scientists is handling 100-200 Covid-19 samples from hospitals and the community each week to map and monitor the genetic code of the virus and how it is changing.

New research by the All Ireland Infectious Diseases Cohort Study in conjunction with the consortium found that travel was a significant contributor to the second Covid-19 wave last autumn.

In the first study to look at Covid variants in Ireland, UCD Professor Paddy Mallon and his team sequenced 255 samples from patients hospitalised by Covid in Dublin and Wexford to find that the virus circulating in the first wave was distinctly different to the variants in the second wave, which had been imported through travel over the summer months.

Three cases of the Brazilian P1 variant of Covid-19 were confirmed in Ireland last Friday following recent travel from Brazil.

The key concern is that existing Covid-19 vaccines may not be as effective against new emerging variants.

The virus will evolve to work better, to infect better, in a new host, said Dr John Kenny, one of the Teagasc researchers involved in the consortium.

So we are expecting there will be some changes and it is important to keep an eye on that information from a vaccine-development point of view."

Sequencing from the current wave shows that the more infectious UK variant, B117, has become more prevalent since December, which was unsurprising, he said.

It is not possible to definitively pinpoint where the virus originated, but changes or mutations provide key information on how the virus is spreading around the world and is feeding into a global surveillance effort, Dr Kenny said.

When you see very similar mutations appearing and starting to become very successful at a number of different sites across the globe that tells you that those mutations do make a difference for the virus and they do make it more transmissible and more successful, he said.
Ukraine has "normal" relations with the IMF, the president believes.

Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky says he is confident that Ukraine will receive the remaining tranches under the current program of cooperation with the International Monetary Fund (IMF) as early as this year.

"We're counting on this money. I'm sure this [receipt of the remaining tranches under the Stand-By Arrangement for Ukraine this year] will happen. In general, we aren't asking that 'What if not?' question. If not, we always have our Plan 'B'," Zelensky told journalists on February 22.

"I believe that we have a normal relationship with the International Monetary Fund. I believe that no one in Ukraine is helping us with this issue. On the contrary, I'm aware that many people here, many lobbyists are working separately with the International Monetary Fund, telling them what's happening here in Ukraine, alleging things are so terrible. So no, [we have] no helpers here," he added.

At the same time, Zelensky reiterated readiness to defend the state's independence in negotiations with his Western partners who demand a number of changes to the country's legislation.

Read alsoG7 Ambassadors name conditions for Ukraine to get IMF tranche"There are many amendments to the law on the High Council of Justice. For example, there is the issue of the Constitutional Court. We must develop a bill, which will be recognized as constitutional one by the Constitutional Court," he said.

Stand-By Arrangement: Background

On June 9, 2020, the IMF's Executive Board adopted an 18-month Stand-By Arrangement for Ukraine with funding equivalent to SDR 3.6 billion (about US$5 billion) aimed at helping Ukraine overcome the consequences of the COVID-19 pandemic.

On June 12, Ukraine received the first tranche of the IMF loan under the SBA worth US$2.1 billion.

In late November, the Finance Ministry reported on the successful completion of talks with the IMF on benchmarks of the draft budget for 2021, which was one of the major prerequisites for starting the SBA review.

On January 11, 2021, the IMF mission resumed its work in Kyiv but completed its work on February 12 without making a decision on the SBA review.

Reporting by UNIAN
PM Candidate Irakli Garibashvili names his cabinet

By Veronika Malinboym

Candidate for PM Irakli Garibashvili named his cabinet ministers on February 19. The candidate to replace the former minister of infrastructure Maia Tskitishvili upon her resignation is the former deputy minister of infrastructure Irakli Karseladze. Former Deputy Minister of Defense Juansher Burchuladze has been nominated to take Irakli Garibashvili's post as Defense Minister.Other members of the cabinet have been announced as follows:David Zalkaliani as a Minister of Foreign Affairs;Gocha Lortkipanidze as the Minister of Justice;Ivane Macharavariani as the Minister of Finance;Vakhtang Gomelauri as the Minister of Interior;Natia Turnava as the Minister of Economy and Sustainable Development;Tea Akhvlediani as the Minister for Reconciliation and Civil EqualityEkaterine Tikaridze as the Minister for Internally Displaced Persons, Health and Social IssuesMikheil Chkhenkeli as the Minister of Education, Science, Culture and SportLevan Davitashvili as the Minister of Environmental Protection and SportThe designated candidacy of Irakli Garibashvili has been named after the former Prime Minister Giorgi Gakharia announced his resignation on Thursday, February 18. Gakharia explained that the reason for his decision was the inability to come to an agreement with other members of the ruling party regarding Nika Melia's sentencing. Gakharia added that Melia did break the law, however, his arrest would possibly threatened the health and lives of other citizens. Gakharia added that he hopes that his decision to resign will help contribute towards the depolarization and rivalry in Georgia, as both can prove harmful to the countrys future.Irakli Garibashvili has already served as the countrys Prime Minister between 2013-2014 when he replaced the previous PM and founder of the ruling Georgian Dream party Bidzina Ivanishvili. Garibashvilis candidacy and his cabinet have to be approved by the Parliament within the next two weeks, or else early parliamentary elections will have to be scheduled. The voting is expected on February 22.

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America Saves Week is here! This week is dedicated to encouraging individuals to take a look at their financials and make a plan to save to improve their financial well-being. The Foundation is proud to participate and support America Saves as part of our mission to empower credit unions to put financial well-being at the center of their strategy.

Participants have access to numerous educational sources available on the America Saves website and are encouraged to take the pledge to create & commit to a saving plan for the next year. Each day this week, America Saves will highlight a different way to save and how it can be accomplished.

The Foundation is proud to join over 1,700 participating organizations in this years America Saves Week. Remember to take the America Saves pledge here and start working towards your savings goals for 2021 today!
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Boeing Co. urged airlines to suspend the use of 777 jets with the same type of engine that shed debris over Denver at the weekend after U.S. regulators announced extra inspections and Japan suspended their use while considering further action.

The moves involving Pratt & Whitney PW4000 engines came after a United Airlines 777s right engine failed on Saturday, scattering its protective outer casing over a residential area.

United said the next day it would voluntarily and temporarily remove its 24 active planes, hours before Boeings announcement.

Boeing said 69 of the 777 planes with PW4000 engines were in service and 59 were stored, at a time when airlines have grounded planes due to a plunge in demand associated with the COVID-19 pandemic.

The manufacturer recommended airlines suspend operating them until U.S. regulators identified the appropriate inspection protocol.

It falls short of a mandatory global grounding but is another headache for the plane maker after its 737 MAX crisis and comes after criticism of U.S. Federal Aviation Administration (FAA) oversight regarding the 737 MAX.

The 777-200s and 777-300s affected are older and less fuel efficient than newer models and are currently being flown by just five airlines  United, Japan Airlines Co. Ltd. (JAL) , ANA Holdings Inc., Asiana Airlines Inc. and Korean Air Lines Co. Ltd. Most of them are phasing them out of their fleets.

The problem concerns Pratt & Whitney, one of three engine makers originally involved in the 777, whose engines power less than 10% of the delivered fleet of more than 1,600 planes.

The National Transportation Safety Board (NTSB) said its initial examination of the 26-year-old plane indicated most of the damage was confined to the right engine, with only minor damage to the airplane.

It said the inlet and casing separated from the engine and two fan blades were fractured, while the other fan blades exhibited damage.

Pratt & Whitney, owned by Raytheon Technologies Corp , said it was coordinating with operators and regulators to support a revised inspection interval for the engines.

Metal Fatigue

Japans transport ministry ordered JAL and ANA Holdings to suspend their use while it considered whether to take additional measures, acting before the FAA.

An official at South Koreas transport ministry said it was waiting for formal action by the FAA before giving a directive to its airlines. The U.S. agency said it would soon issue an emergency airworthiness directive.

Based on the initial information, we concluded that the inspection interval should be stepped up for the hollow fan blades that are unique to this model of engine, used solely on Boeing 777 airplanes, the FAA said.

Japans transport ministry said that on Dec. 4, 2020, a JAL flight from Naha Airport to Tokyo returned to Naha due to a malfunction in the left engine.

Its Transport Safety Board said on Dec. 28 that it had found two of the left engines fan blades were damaged, one from a crack due to metal fatigue. The investigation is ongoing.

Japan said ANA operated 19 of the type and JAL operated 13, though the airlines said their use had been reduced during the pandemic. JAL said its fleet was due for retirement by March 2022.

Korean Air  which has 16 of the planes, 10 of them stored  said it will follow the relevant authorities directives on any measures.

The Dutch Safety Board said on Monday it was investigating what had caused a Boeing 747-400 to lose parts of a different type of PW4000 engine shortly after taking off from Maastricht airport on Saturday.

The European Union Aviation Safety Agency meanwhile said it was requesting information on the cause to determine what action was needed.

In February 2018, a 777 of the same age operated by United suffered an engine failure when a cowling fell off about 30 minutes before the plane landed safely. The NTSB determined that incident was the result of a full-length fan blade fracture.

(Reporting by Jamie Freed in Sydney and David Shepardson in Washington; additional reporting by Eimi Yamamitsu and Maki Shiraki in Tokyo, Joyce Lee in Seoul and Tim Hepher in Paris; Editing by Sam Holmes, Christopher Cushing and Emelia Sithole-Matarise)

Topics Aviation
A new corridor has opened for families who wish to return to government-controlled areas, according to SANA.

The Idleb province, in coordination with units of the Syrian Arab Army and Syrian Arab Red Crescent (SARC), has completed preparations to open the Trunbeh corridor in the Saraqib area of Idlebs eastern countryside tomorrow morning.

The opening of the corridor aims to receive locals willing to leave areas controlled by terrorist organizations to their towns and villages which have been liberated from terrorism.

The Governor of Idleb, Muhammad Natouf, told a SANA reporter in a statement that a full medical staff equipped with a mobile clinic and an ambulance was prepared to receive the locals, and provide the necessary medical services to them at the corridor. In addition, the SARC has equipped its teams to provide aid to the returnees.

Natouf added that the General Secretariat of the Idleb Governorate has prepared a temporary make-shift center for the families and people wishing to return in the al-Sabeel neighborhood in Hama city, asserting that all necessary facilities will be provided to guarantee their return to their homes in villages liberated from terrorism.

For his part, the head of the SARC Idleb and Hama branch, Mohamed Watti, said that three teams affiliated to the branch were equipped to assess the situation of returning families at the corridor and meet their humanitarian needs in addition to securing their access to the temporary make-shift center in Hama.

Syrian Arab Army units, in cooperation with the Idleb Governorate, opened the corridor last year to receive students wishing to take their exams for basic and secondary education certificates, but the terrorist organizations prevented them from doing so.

This article was edited by The Syrian Observer. The Syrian Observer has not verified the content of this story. Responsibility for the information and views set out in this article lies entirely with the author.
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San Antonio residents turned to the Caps Lock button Monday as they expressed their frustration with CPS Energy.

The Facebook comment section below the city-owned utility's briefing was filled with seething residents, outraged by days without power amid freezing conditions and looming rate increases due to the storm.

One woman wrote that she spent three days without electricity or water, trying to keep her 4-year-old twins warm as temperatures inside the home dropped to 36 degrees. Another man called for Paula Gold-Williams to be fired and "held directly responsible for this debacle."

READ ALSO: San Antonio mayor says there will be 'hell to pay' if Texans are handed bill for disaster

Gold-Williams, CPS Energys president and CEO, was asked about the Facebook comments  and her bonus pay  by a reporter. She acknowledged the widespread public anger after a "terrible experience."

"The anger that people have, I understand it," Gold-Williams said. "That is a real fact and I don't diminish in any way that people should be completely angry."

Gold-Williams noted that CPS Energy canceled $13 million in incentive bonuses that would have gone to 1,800 of the utilitys employees in May, with the COVID-19 pandemic likely to cut into the utilitys bottom line.

Gold-Williams had been set to receive the biggest bonus, nearly $530,000. The chief executive makes a base salary of nearly $486,000.

"There are people that continue to bring up compensation as an element to be focused on," Gold-Williams said Monday. "What we believe is that we need to be focused on providing energy and serving and connecting and finding solutions."

There has been no discussion of incentive pay at this time, she noted.

During the briefing, Gold-Williams said the utility did not yet have an estimate of the storm's impact on customer bills. CPS Energy will pursue relief at the state and federal level before putting any excess charges on bills, she said, and could spread costs over multiple years.

CPS Energy, which temporarily halted the practice of disconnecting services for unpaid bills in March, has also suspended its autopay feature.

The utility has its work cut out for it restoring public confidence.

"Good luck earning TRUST back," a customer wrote on Facebook. "You CHOSE TO CUT OFF OUR POWER for 72 HOURS STRAIGHT."
Tributes have been paid following the death of an Offaly born priest who spent over 20 years working in Africa.

Fr Paddy Reedy C.S.Sp., a Spiritan (Holy Ghost) priest from Birr, has died. He was aged 89.

Born in 1931, he was one of a family of five girls and four boys of Helena (nee Talbot) and John Reedy of Connaught Street.

After completing his Leaving Cert. with the Presentation Brothers in St. Brendans in his home town, he began his training for the priesthood and was one of over 30 of his congregation ordained in 1958. By then he had got his degree from UCD.

Fr Paddy was appointed to Sierra Leone in west Africa and spent over 20 years there. He taught in St Patrick's School (Bonthe) and in Pujehun, and he also served in Gerihun, Bo and Mano.

Returning home in the early 1980s, he taught in the Spiritan school, St Mary's College (Rathmines) for a little under a decade. He spent two stints in the Diocese of Dromore, firstly in a parish near Newry, and later in Banbridge. Those years were amongst his very happiest.

Somewhat reluctantly, Fr Paddy accepted an appointment as Superior of the Spiritan community attached to Rockwell College, another Spiritan school. He served there for six years. In later times he had over a decade of active retirement in the Templeogue College community.

Pre-deceased by his brothers Noel, Jim and Brendan, his sisters Nora, May (ODonohue), Teresa (Lonergan) and Kathleen, his brother-in-law Tom (Lonergan) and sister-in-law Maureen, Fr Paddy is survived by his sister Sheila (Humphreys), his brothers-in-law Jim (Humphreys) and Brendan (ODonohue), his sisters-in-law Mary (nee Whalley) and Mary (nee OBrien), extended family and fellow Spiritans.

Gracious and welcoming, Fr Paddys simple and sensitive pastoral style made him accessible to all. He was always interested in others and encouraging of them. At his Funeral Mass in Kimmage Manor on 5th February, he was remembered in the homily given by his fellow Spiritan Fr Pat Palmer C.S.Sp. as a missionary who saw his mission as one of care for Gods creation in all its diversity and who was not just concerned with preparing students for exams; he trained them to be self-disciplined, responsible and to share responsibility.

Recalling the time they shared in Sierra Leone, Fr Palmer noted that Fr Paddys curiosity, his interest in people and his kindness earned him the title of the family priest, and added that he brought his kindness, his combination of strength and gentleness, his respect for others, and his sense of humour  which always had a touch of mischief about it  wherever he worked.

Other Offaly Spiritans are Fr Brian Starken C.S.Sp. from Kilcormac who also served for many years in Sierra Leone, and Fr Michael Walsh C.S.Sp. from Kinnitty who ministered in Nigeria before the Biafran War and who this year will mark the 50th anniversary of his move to Zambia.
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Viewers slammed the first episode of Jed Mercurio's new series Bloodlands last night as they criticised the crime drama for its 'boring plot' and 'dizzying' camera work.

Anticipation had been rife after it was announced Line of Duty and Bodyguard creator Jed Mercurio had worked on the new four-part thriller, which is set in Northern Ireland.

The programme stars James Nesbitt as police detective Tom Brannick, who re-opens the cold case for serial killer Goliath after a possible suicide note is found in an abandoned car in Strangford Lough, a large inlet in County Down.

But many of those watching were left bitterly disappointed by the first episode yesterday, with some saying the shaky camera work had left them feeling 'dizzy' and others branding the plot 'boring'.

Viewers slammed the first episode of Jed Mercurio's new series Bloodlands last night as they criticised the crime drama for its 'boring plot' and 'dizzying' camera work

One commented: 'I'm feeling seasick already. HOLD THE CAMERA STRAIGHT #Bloodlands.'

Meanwhile another wrote: 'What is going on with the camera..Feel a bit dizzy.'

The BBC One series, directed by Omagh and Dredd's Pete Travis, is set in the fallout of The Troubles - a period of conflict in Northern Ireland that lasted around 30 years, from the late 1960s until the Good Friday Agreement in 1998.

In the first episode, it quickly emerged Brannick's wife was thought to be among four victims of an assassin in the months leading up to the Good Friday Agreement.

Many viewers of the drama said they'd been left feeling dizzy by the shaky camera and deemed the script 'boring'

The killer was nicknamed after a crane at the Harland & Wolff shipbuilders in Belfast, and there are suspicions he, or she, was within the police ranks.

When a vehicle was pulled from the water, the team discovered a postcard depicting a landmark yellow crane taped to the car's wing mirror which the detective believes links the case to Goliath.

CI Brannick's colleague, DCS Jackie Twomey (Lorcan Cranitch), encouraged Brannick to leave the Goliath investigation in the past and to instead focus on the abduction of the vehicle's owner: ex-IRA gunman turned 'legit' local haulage magnate, Pat Keenan (Peter Ballance).

But Brannick and his partner, DS Niamh McGovern (Charlene McKenna) decided solving the Goliath case was their best hope of solving Keenan's kidnapping.

The police thriller, which stars James Nesbitt and Lorcan Cranitch in the main roles, left viewers unimpressed

Keenan's family, who are suspicious of the police, hadn't reported him missing, and, in one shocking scene, sectarian violence flared after a patrol car was petrol-bombed.

Brannick helped rescue his fellow officers, smothering the flames and burning the lining of his coat in the process.

The final sequence saw Brannick and McGovern pursuing a local dairy farmer who had reported suspicious digging activity on an unpopulated island on Strangford Lough 20 years ago, but whose statement was never followed up.

Taking a search team out to the desolate island against Twomey's orders, the detectives found a burial site.

The series follows a detective who re-opens the cold case for serial killer Goliath after a possible suicide note is found in an abandoned car in Strangford Lough

Beneath the ground were three skeletons with bullet holes in their skulls, with one wearing an owl pendant necklace that Brannick's wife always said 'helped her see in the dark'.

Despite anticipation for the series being high, viewers said they'd been left unimpressed by the jerky camera work and said they found the storyline 'dull and boring'.

One wrote: 'Well, #Bloodlands isn't the new #LineofDuty and it never will be. I've got no issues with the accents, I actually love the Irish accents, it's the wobbly camera work I can't get behind.

'It's so odd that this is from the same people that make the brill Line of Duty. It's...different.'

Some viewers criticised the first episode of the four part series as 'dull' while others called the script 'boring and rubbish'

Another commented: 'Watching #Bloodlands, the wobbly cameras and weirdly timed zooming is driving my eyes and brain crazy.'

Another wrote: 'Not what I expected...Very dull..slow and boring...hopefully it picks up next week.'

'Boring, rubbish script and some awful acting, a bit like a day time drama,' another commented.

Netbitt had been enthusiastic about the series and, speaking about his involvement ahead of the programme airing, said: 'We have compelling scripts from a brilliant young writer who was raised in County Down, which are very exciting and psychologically complex. I can't wait to start.'

Mercurip's popular series Line of Duty will also return for its sixth series this year - complete with an extra episode - and reports suggest it will begin airing on BBC One no later than March

Mercurio is also executive producing the show, and praised new screen writer Chris Brandon who penned Bloodlands, saying: It's been incredibly rewarding to discover Chris Brandon's work and to witness the development of an outstanding new voice in contemporary television thriller writing.'

Meanwhile Brandon revealed he is 'absolutely delighted that the first opportunity I get to tell a story on this scale, it is one that is so close to home and the people and places that raised me'.

Mercurip's popular series Line of Duty will also return for its sixth series this year - complete with an extra episode - and reports suggest it will begin airing on BBC One no later than March.

Earlier this month, a witty clip featuring show stars Martin Compston and Adrian Dunbar was released, during which the pair discussed the mysterious 'Vella'.
Denver is preparing to play a bigger role in the distribution of COVID-19 vaccines and is setting its own priority list rather than follow the dictates from Gov. Jared Polis.

The big picture: Mayors across the country are demanding a direct supply of the vaccine, which currently is being allocated through states. Hancock raised the issue on a recent call with Vice President Kamala Harris and again in a letter Thursday to the Biden administration.

The city's goal is to reach populations hit hard by the pandemic, including racial and ethnic minorities, immigrants and the homeless, as well as other groups having trouble accessing the vaccine.

"We have a better perspective on the challenges that those communities are [facing] every day ... and we know for a fact they are being overlooked," Hancock told Axios.

Why it matters: Hancock's push represents the most high-profile challenge to Polis' pandemic response and comes after weeks of feuding between the two Democrats.

He's not alone: Colorado Springs Mayor John Suthers has argued his city is being shortchanged, too.

Hancock is careful to not directly criticize Polis. When it comes to the difference in the vaccine priorities, he said that "neither one is wrong  we just need to dig a little deeper with regards to our demographics."

The other side: Polis doesn't want to relinquish control. He recently said Denver's plan to inoculate the homeless would "cost lives" and take vaccines from people over age 70, The Denver Post reports.

What to watch: The first of four new sites managed by Denver Health opened Thursday in Montbello, a historically underserved neighborhood predominantly home to people of color. The other three are planned for similar communities in northeast, west and south Denver.
"A careful review of Zenz's research shows that his assertion of genocide is contradicted by flagrant data abuse, fraudulent claims, cherry-picking of source material, and propagandistic misrepresentations," said an investigation piece.

WASHINGTON, Feb. 21 (Xinhua) -- The U.S. government's "genocide" accusation against China was based on data abuse and false claims of a right-wing religious extremist, according to a report published this week.

An investigation piece coming out on Thursday on the independent news website Grayzone indicated that the U.S. State Department's so-called "genocide" accusation stemmed from a single source: a paper by German far-right ideologue Adrian Zenz in June 2020.

"A careful review of Zenz's research shows that his assertion of genocide is contradicted by flagrant data abuse, fraudulent claims, cherry-picking of source material, and propagandistic misrepresentations," said the piece.

Zenz also defamed the expansion of public healthcare services in Xinjiang as evidence of a genocide, said the piece.

For example, it said, he pointed to a photograph of Uyghur residents of rural regions of Xinjiang receiving medical consultation at a free health clinic as part of an "effort to enforce the thorough implementation of increasing intrusive birth control efforts."

Zenz has also invented statistics and spun tales to justify his false conclusion, according to the report, which also criticized "mainstream Western outlets like the AP, BBC and CNN" for having "accepted Zenz's dubious research as absolute fact," with "their apparent zeal for escalation with China."

Portrayed as a "China scholar" by Western media, Zenz was indeed a far-right Christian fundamentalist currently serving as an analyst at the Jamestown Foundation, a neoconservative think tank in Washington.
He kept just saying, Youre gonna see. Youre gonna see real soon, said the woman. And I said, Im going to see about what? And he said, Youre gonna see. Just watch. ... I didnt know what that meant. And then next thing you know, he jumped up with the knife.
Chidambaram will be in Parliament tomorrow, says Karti after SC grants bail to his father

INX Media Case: Supreme Court allows Karti Chidambaram to travel aboard

India

oi-Deepika S

New Delhi, Feb 22: The Supreme Court on Monday allowed Karti Chidambaram, son of senior Congress leader P Chidambaram, to travel abroad. The bench asked him to furnish the itinerary and security of Rs 2 crores.

Karti, being investigated by the Enforcement Directorate and the CBI in several cases, including the one relating to FIPB clearance to INX Media for receiving foreign funds to the tune of Rs 305 crore when his father was the finance minister, was earlier, too, allowed to go abroad.

Here is a six-point explainer of what the INX Media case is:

INX entered into a criminal conspiracy with Karti Chidambaram to amicably settle a case of violation of foreign investment norms by the company in 2007.

The media firm had brought in Rs 305 crore through foreign investment even as the FIPB had approved foreign inflow of only Rs 4.62 crore.

Karti was engaged by the firm "by virtue of his relationship with the then Finance Minister P. Chidambaram, the CBI alleged.

Karti Chidambaram exercised influence over certain FIPB officials and the department instead of investigating the case, extended undue favours to the media firm by asking it to apply for fresh FIPB approval on the downstream investment of Rs 305 crore in violation of norms.

INX Media was granted FIPB permission for the investment which had already come into the firm. Karti Chidambaram received Rs 10 lakh from INX Media for "management consultancy charges" through Advantage Strategic Consulting (P) Ltd, a firm which was indirectly controlled by Chidambaram. CBI says that this was done to conceal the identity of Chidambaram.

PM Modi: India can be one of the best in defence export | Oneindia News

CBI alleges that invoices of at least Rs 3.5 crore were raised in favour of INX Group in the name of companies where Chidambaram has direct and indirect interests.

Nestle Vietnam bringing Maggi products to the world

In 2020, Nestle Vietnam exported the highest volume of Maggi products ever  an explosion that has been years in the making. Nestle Vietnam has been positioned to scale up into the Nestle Culinary Hub for the entire region, with conscious efforts being made over the course of years to introduce an all-in-one cooking sauce for Thailand and the Maggi Supreme Sarap cooking sauce for the Philippines  both created exclusively for these markets but produced in Vietnam.

As in everything, the company has approached the task with its signature mix of local touch married to its globally cultivated expertise and brand strength. As the first strategic step, the all-in-one cooking sauce was developed in 2018 by a collaboration between Nestle Vietnam and Nestle Thailand to fit the taste profile of Thai customers and cuisine. The product went on to become Nestle Vietnams key export product under the Maggi brand.

This success was repeated in 2020, where with its credentials from Thailand, Vietnam was once again chosen to supply the Philippines market with the new, exclusive Maggi Supreme Sarap cooking sauce. The product is a key item for Nestle Philippines and was rolled out in the mainstream market with strong success since the launch.

Le Thi Thanh Mai, Inter Market Supply manager at the corporation explained, The Maggi brand carries a strong heritage not only in Vietnam but all over the world. Nestle Vietnam, with a wide range of Maggi culinary products  from Maggi Soya Sauce and Maggi Oyster Sauce to Maggi Bouillon  is a prolific exporter in the region. We are excited to send the best products of Nestle Vietnam to the world.

These two products contributed significant volumes to our exports, she added. In addition, with continuous improvements to our products and superb agility in manufacturing capabilities, we were able to export Maggi products to high-standard markets like Japan, Australia, and the United States.

Maggi products are banking on their firm grasp of the taste profiles of Vietnamese expatriates that are the brands main consumer base.

Maggis mobile selling to people living in rural Vietnam

In the US and EU, we mainly introduce our Maggi culinary sources in ethnic channels such as Asian and gourmet markets, serving the Asian community with a particular focus on Vietnamese communities, said Mai.

Offering an unmissable taste of home for Vietnamese people living and working abroad, Vietnamese Maggi products are maximising their gains from the unparalleled understanding of the Vietnamese palate, while at the same time utilising their acquired expertise to map out taste profiles to collaborate with other regional brands to do the same and launch exclusive products for them.

Will Mackereth, supply chain director of Nestle Vietnam said, Export has always been an integral part of Nestle Vietnams business. With the growing volume of export products from Nestle Vietnam, especially under the Maggi brand, we are looking forward to becoming the Nestle Groups Maggi Culinary Hub of ASEAN.
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On Sunday, February 14, the World Socialist Web Site hosted a live Q&A discussion with David North and Eric London reviewing the recent four-part series by Eric London exposing the role of Sylvia Ageloff in the assassination of Leon Trotsky in Mexico City on August 20, 1940.

Below are 10 key moments from the discussion.

1. Who was Leon Trotsky, and why did Stalin seek his death? (0:24)

Socialist Equality Party National Secretary Joseph Kishore opened the event by providing a review of Trotskys struggle against the Stalinist bureaucracy.

2. Why was Trotskys assassination the most consequential political assassination of the 20th century? (12:30)

David North reviewed the background of Security and the Fourth International and why the Trotskyist movement in the 1970s had to uncover the circumstances surrounding Trotskys death 35 years prior.

3. What was the political purpose of Security and the Fourth International? (20:26)

North explained the historical significance of the investigation launched by the International Committee and the response of the pro-Stalinist Pabloite organizations.

4. Eric London introduces his series detailing the role of Sylvia Ageloff. (26:16)

The Socialist Workers Party hid from its membership the fact that Ageloff had been charged by Mexican authorities with murder. Now it is possible to paint a much clearer picture of her true role.

5. London speaks on the significance of Trotskys death and the effort to expose those involved in the assassination and its coverup. (30:35)

London said, When one begins to peel away the layer after layer of lies of the Stalinists, one gains a clearer understanding of the events and the fight for historical truth today.

6. North explains the political array of forces at the time the investigation began which accounts for the hostility to it. (40:12)

7. London reviews how Ramon Mercader received the assignment to kill Trotsky. (1:13:10)

London said, From the record it looks more like Ageloff is the one handling Mercader than the other way around.

8. North notes that the article series shows we are now in a different period, with powerful forces opening the way for social revolution. (1:33:04)

The state will seek to infiltrate the revolutionary workers movement today. At the same time, the working class has its own resources and a younger generation of workers who will make use of Security and the Fourth International to protect the movement from agents of the state.

9. London explains why Security and Fourth International and the fight for historical truth is so critical to the development of the working class movement today. (1:44:10)

10. North concludes by explaining that the most powerful political weapon the working class has is understanding its history. (1:49:03)

The event represented a major step forward in the decades-long struggle by the International Committee of the Fourth International to investigate the circumstances surrounding Trotskys death and expose the network of GPU agents who carried out the great crime.

The event underscored the significance of Trotskys assassination, addressed key aspects of the Ageloff article series and explained the series roots in the Security and the Fourth International investigation . It reviewed the role played by GPU agents and their apologists within the SWP and the Pabloite movement and addressed audience questions as to how anyone could have opposed the fight to expose GPU and imperialist agents within the socialist movement.

The discussion also addressed the historical lessons of this experience for the revolutionary movement today.

The assassination of Trotsky was the high point of the counterrevolution represented by Stalinism. The revolutionary movement forgets nothing. It carries its history on its back and uses it to prepare the working class for the present day struggles. This history will enter into the consciousness of those fighting for socialism all around the world.

After a weak start, the key equity indices declined further and hit the day's low in morning trade. Autos, IT and PSU banks were under pressure. The Nifty slipped below the 14,900 mark. Rising treasury yields and the possibility of another lockdown in Maharashtra weighed on the investors sentiment.

At 10:20 IST, the barometer index, the S&P BSE Sensex, was down 361.46 points or 0.71% to 50,528.30. The Nifty 50 index lost 107.80 points or 0.72% to 14,873.95.

In the broader market, the S&P BSE Mid-Cap index shed 0.27% while the S&P BSE Small-Cap index fell 0.22%.

The market breadth was negative. On the BSE, 1065 shares rose and 1431 shares fell. A total of 168 shares were unchanged.

COVID-19 Update:

Total COVID-19 confirmed cases worldwide stood at 111,343,040 with 2,465,882 deaths. India reported 150,055 active cases of COVID-19 infection and 156,385 deaths while 106,67,741 patients have been discharged, according to the data from the Ministry of Health and Family Welfare, Government of India.

Amid a spurt in Covid-19 cases, Maharashtra chief minister Uddhav Thackeray on Sunday held a televised conference to address the Covid-19 situation in the state. "If the (COVID-19) situation deteriorates, then we have to impose lockdown. Those who want lockdown can roam around without mask while those who don't want it must wear mask and follow all the rules," he said.

Buzzing Index:

The Nifty Auto index fell 1.05% to 10,429.30. The index has declined 5% in three sessions while the benchmark Nifty 50 index has shed 2.1% during the same period.

TVS Motor Company (down 2.92%), Bharat Forge (down 2.84%), Mahindra & Mahindra (down 1.98%), Maruti Suzuki (down 1.68%), Eicher Motors (down 1.54%), Bajaj Auto (down 1.18%), Tata Motors (down 0.98%) and Hero MotoCorp (down 0.95%) declined while Ashok Leyland (up 0.36%) bucked the trend.

Stocks in Spotlight:

Adani Ports and Special Economic Zone rose 0.69% to Rs 657 after the company said that it had incorporated a wholly owned subsidiary company Aqua Desilting and it would carry out the business of dredging / desiltation and sale / disposal of such desilted material from sea, river, dams, other water bodies etc.

Jagran Prakashan soared 12.79% to Rs 55.10 after the company said its board will consider a share buyback on 2 March 2021.

Powered by Capital Market - Live News

(This story has not been edited by Business Standard staff and is auto-generated from a syndicated feed.)
Officials from the Genesis Womens Shelter & Support said that flooding caused them to have to close down.

Departing royals Prince Harry and Meghan Markle are stepping in to assist Texas during its weather crisis, which left millions of Texans without power or water. Many parts of the state are still grappling with access to clean water.

The couples nonprofit, Archewell Foundation, donated to the Genesis Womens Shelter & Support in Dallas. The facility, which creates safe spaces for women and children suffering from domestic abuse, saw widespread damage after the storm, and its officials took to social media to thank the couple for their generosity.

Meghan Markle and Prince Harry at the Endeavor Fund Awards in February 2020. (Photo by Paul Edwards  WPA Pool/Getty Images)

Genesis staffers said roof damages and flooding caused them to have to close down after almost four decades. They serve thousands of women and children each year, so an unexpected shuttering could have a major impact on many lives desperate for help.

Read More: AOC volunteering at Texas food bank amid weather crisis

The shelter released a statement of thanks on Twitter, saying: Today, the news of our damages reached Prince Harry and Meghan, The Duke and Duchess of Sussex! Through their nonprofit, they are supporting us by replacing the roof at our transitional housing facility & helping us meet our immediate needs. THANK YOU, ARCHEWELL FOUNDATION!

Jan Langbein, chief executive officer of the shelter, was delighted by the gesture. Not only will this gift provide for our critical needs, he said, according to People, it shines an international spotlight on violence against women and children, letting survivors know that they are not alone.

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The donation comes after Buckingham Palace released a statement confirming that the couple will no longer be doing the work required of senior royals.

Following conversations with The Duke, The Queen has written confirming that in stepping away from the work of The Royal Family it is not possible to continue with the responsibilities and duties that come with a life of public service, read a statement from the palace.

Story continues

Read More: Meghan Markle, Prince Harry will not return to royal roles, palace confirms

According to People, Markle and Prince Harry made clear that everyone can live a life of service and said service is universal.

Many celebrities and public figures have been working to help Texas during the states time of crisis. As theGrio previously reported, Beyonce, in collaboration with Adidas and a Houston organization, Bread of Life, teamed up to provide grants for people who have been affected by the widespread devastation.

Have you subscribed to theGrios podcast, Dear Culture? Download our newest episodes now! TheGrio is now on Apple TV, Amazon Fire, and Roku. Download theGrio today!

The post Meghan Markle, Prince Harry donate to womens shelter in Dallas appeared first on TheGrio.
Protests have raged for a sixth night in Barcelona with masked demonstrators throwing bottles, firecrackers and other missiles at police during a rally in support of a jailed rapper.

As in previous days, Sunday's protest began peacefully but descended into violence as night fell, with a crowd of several hundred people marching to the National Police headquarters.

Protesters chanted 'Freedom for Pablo Hasel' in support of a little-known rapper jailed for nine months and fined over his incendiary tweets and lyrics.

Protests have raged for a sixth night in Barcelona with masked demonstrators throwing bottles, firecrackers and other missiles at police. Pictured: A man throws a bollard at police officers on Sunday

As in previous days, Sunday's rallies began peacefully but descended into violence as night fell, with a crowd of several hundred people marching to the National Police headquarters. Pictured: A bin is thrown at police officers

Several hundred protesters gathered on Sunday. Pictured: A crowd marches behind a sign reading: You have taught us that being peaceful is useless

Protesters chanted 'Freedom for Pablo Hasel' in support of a little-known rapper jailed over his incendiary tweets and lyrics. Pictured: Demonstrators carry a bin to throw at police protecting the National Police station

Catalan police were pelted with rocks, bottles, bins and firecrackers for half an hour before they moved in to clear the street in front of the station.

Shops in Barcelona's city centre once again fell prey to vandals who smashed their windows, while some protesters set up barricades on the city's Las Ramblas boulevard.

Sunday's protest was calmer than those of previous nights which escalated into violent clashes.

Catalan police were pelted with rocks, bottles, bins and firecrackers for half an hour before they moved in to clear the street in front of the station

Sunday's protest was calmer than those of previous nights which escalated into violent clashes. Pictured: Catalan police officers

Seven arrests were made at the protest on Sunday. Pictured: Police stand in position blocking a street on Sunday

Police move to break up a protest outside the National Police station in Barcelona on Sunday

Earlier in the day, graffiti artists painted a mural depicting Spain's King Felipe VI and his father, former king Juan Carlos I, alongside dictator Francisco Franco, who ruled Spain from 1939-1975, in solidarity with Hasel.

Seven people were arrested on Sunday, part of the more than 100 to have been detained in Barcelona and other cities in Spain's northern Catalan region since Tuesday.

Angry demonstrations erupted after police detained 32-year-old Hasel and took him to jail to start serving a nine-month sentence in a highly contentious free speech case.

Graffiti artists painted a mural depicting Spain's King Felipe VI (left) and his father, former king Juan Carlos I (centre) alongside dictator Francisco Franco (right), who ruled Spain from 1939-1975. It reads: Here is censorship, repression, torture like under dictatorship

Angry demonstrations erupted on Tuesday after police detained 32-year-old rapper Hasel and took him to jail to start serving a nine-month sentence in a highly contentious free speech case. Pictured: Protesters throw objects at police on Sunday

Known for his hard-left views, Hasel was handed a nine-month sentence over tweets glorifying terrorism and videos inciting violence. Pictured: Protesters and police on Sunday

Unrest on Saturday saw protesters smash their way into shops along Barcelona's glitzy Passeig de Gracia shopping avenue, looting stores such as Nike, Versace, Tommy Hilfiger, Hugo Boss and Diesel.

Known for his hard-left views, Hasel was handed a nine-month sentence over tweets glorifying terrorism and videos inciting violence.

The court ruling said freedom of expression could not be used 'as a "blank cheque" to praise the perpetrators of terrorism'.

The court ruling against Hasel said freedom of expression could not be used 'as a "blank cheque" to praise the perpetrators of terrorism'. Pictured: Police on Sunday

Hasel was also fined about 30,000 euros (25,916) for insults, libel and slander for tweets likening former king Juan Carlos I to a mafia boss for his links to Saudi royals and accusing police of torturing and killing demonstrators and migrants. Pictured: Protesters hold a road sign on Sunday

Hasel's case has become a cause celebre among campaigners, who say that jailing him is a disproportionate response and a dangerous assault on free speech. Pictured: Crowds of protesters on Sunday

Shops in Barcelona's city centre once again fell prey to vandals who smashed their windows, while some protesters set up barricades on the city's Las Ramblas boulevard

He was also fined about 30,000 euros (25,916) for insults, libel and slander for tweets likening former king Juan Carlos I to a mafia boss for his links to Saudi royals and accusing police of torturing and killing demonstrators and migrants.

His case has become a cause celebre among campaigners, who say that jailing him is a disproportionate response and a dangerous assault on free speech.

Anti-monarchy sentiment is strong in Spain, particularly in the semi-autonomous Catalonia, which is home to an influential independence movement.

Anti-monarchy sentiment is strong in Spain, particularly in the semi-autonomous Catalonia, which is home to an influential independence movement. Pictured: Protesters on Sunday

Seven people were arrested on Sunday, part of the more than 100 to have been detained in Barcelona and other cities in Spain's northern Catalan region since Tuesday

Spanish police collect bags looted from a shop during Sunday's protests. Shops in central Barcelona have had windows smashed and items stolen over several evenings
Crisp cheese-filled flatbreads, squares of Roman-style pizza and deep-fried tomato-tinged rice balls are some of the Italian street foods on offer at Casa Barotti, a Berkeley restaurant debuting on Tuesday that specializes in tough-to-find regional specialties.

Co-owner Daniele Carsano is calling it the Bay Areas first spizzicheria, a casual spot serving Italian snacks and small plates. Starting out with solely takeout, its also aiming to be a wonderland for carb lovers, with different styles of pizza, flatbread and deep-fried delights.

Expect items like the focaccia di Recco, a thin bread filled with tangy, creamy Crescenza-Stracchino cheese and baked in a handmade copper pan. Theres also focaccia genovese, a crispy, oily version that stays soft inside and might form a sandwich with prosciutto or porchetta.

From the deep-fryer, there are suppli, Roman-style rice balls, and panzerotti, a popular snack in Southern Italy described as a mini deep-fried calzone that oozes with cheese and tomato sauce. Gluten-free eaters can try the farinata, a Ligurian chickpea pancake finished simply with black pepper.

Casa Barotti

And, of course, there will be lots of pizza. Display cases will be filled with pizza al taglio, ready to be cut into squares  though the restaurant will stick to standard sizes instead of weighing pieces to order as is traditional in Rome. Pizza toppings will showcase local California produce as well as cheeses, salumi and canned San Marzano tomatoes from Italy. Simple pies might cost as little as $6 per slice, while a slice topped with black truffle could go for $13. The idea, however, is that customers can sample a few snacks at a time.

While Casa Barotti features bites from all over Italy, its notably another spot to try Roman-style eats, which have been rising in popularity in the Bay Area over the past few years. Pollara Pizzeria in Berkeley captivated Chronicle critic Soleil Ho with its airy crusts after opening in 2019. Meanwhile, thin and light pinsa, the Roman precursor of pizza, is the focus of acclaimed Montesacro Pinseria as well as Barbara Pinseria & Cocktail Bar in San Francisco.

Carsano, who also owns bright and airy Walnut Creek spot 54 Mint Forno Italiano, brought on two of his childhood friends as partners. They grew up together in Turin, Italy, went to culinary school together and had always talked about opening a restaurant together.

The moment came and a wrench was tossed in the plans, Carsano said.

Because his partners  one works in beverages, the other in pizza  arent U.S. citizens, they havent been able to come help with the restaurant opening, which fell several months behind schedule because of the pandemic. The hope is that theyll go back and forth between the Bay Area and Turin in the future.

Food Guide Top 25 Restaurants Where to eat in the Bay Area. Find spots near you, create a dining wishlist, and more.

Casa Barotti

Similarly, the original plan was to transform Casa Barotti, a small and narrow space at 1,200-square-feet, into a wine bar at night to showcase the Italian tradition of aperitivo.

We were going to have this wine and beer program where guests could come in and order a glass of wine and itd be complemented by little bites, just like in Italy, Carsano said. The aperitivo is on hold, but we hope to do it in the future.

Casa Barotti. Opening Tuesday. 11 a.m.-5 p.m. Tuesday-Saturday. 3204 College Ave., Berkeley. casabarotti.com

Janelle Bitker is a San Francisco Chronicle staff writer. Email: janelle.bitker@sfchronicle.com Twitter: @janellebitker
Nurse Joan Lucey died at home on Friday in her beloved home at Cooleen on the shores of Dingle Bay. Her family were there with her. They loved their mom so much.

The 73-year-old grandmother lost her battle with cervical cancer and she lost her battle with those she sued.

Joan took a claim against the HSE and two laboratories in which she alleges a failure to accurately detect and/or report on her cervical smear slides taken in 2011 which allowed cervical cancer to develop and spread unidentified, unmonitored and untreated culminating in her becoming terminally ill.

Joan died without the ease of knowing her case would be settled. There is potentially a huge loss in damages, as much of Joans claim dies with her. But it was never about the money. This was about justice. The family sent the Irish Independent a statement on Friday, Joans last day alive.

Read More

Unfortunately, however, the stress of the ongoing litigation and uncertainty surrounding the parties agreement to mediate has had an adverse effect on her and sadly, we fear she will not survive the length of time this case is going to take, should mediation fail next week.

Her son Sean said to me he was afraid his mother would not survive the night. He is a calm man. The Luceys never sought out trouble. They are a loving, close family placed in an extraordinary situation through no fault of their own.

Despite the best efforts of Joans legal team, mediation aimed at settling the case outside of a courtroom came too late. All parties agreed to come to the table just hours before she passed away.

It means she died without ever having received an apology or any vindication. Her case is listed for the High Court Friday next, although her family will continue to engage in the process while also planning a funeral.

It is their understanding that in at least one other case, the HSE agreed that the damages a woman impacted by the CervicalCheck scandal would get if she lived, would remain, even if she died.

We understand from sources other than the Luceys, the settlement in question was a six-figure sum. Under the terms of the settlement, the rest of the damages would be recoverable even if the victim died. No such guarantee was given to the Luceys.

On February 11, nine days before Joans death, Liam Reidy SC, instructed by Aisling Maher of Cantillons solicitors, told the High Court his client was in the last number of weeks of her life and her side had invited the parties to mediation.

Mr Reidy said the laboratories were baulking at engaging in mediation until a third-party issue had been resolved.

It seems to me an absolute outrage the HSE dont mediate with her legal team directly and deal with the other defendants later, he said. It is an absolute outrage in this case. She is on her deathbed.

The HSE agreed if the two labs would come on board. One was hesitant.

They knew she had only a short time left. What price compassion? Why didnt the HSE settle the case and pursue the other defendants afterwards? Yes, the taxpayer would be on the hook for the cost but who would begrudge peace in her final hours to a woman who spent her life on the frontline?

Joans family asked this question on her last day alive. Most communications from the HSE are full of expressions of regret and sympathy and these are, we regret to say, hollow.

The HSE does not comment on individual cases but has expressed sympathy to the Lucey family. The State Claims Agency said it aims to resolves all cervical cancer screening claims against the HSE in a sensitive manner and as quickly as possible. It uses mediation wherever possible but noted that it does not act for the laboratories, and others, that are co-defendants in these cases, which have separate legal representation.

Joans family will battle on. They have been told to prepare to go to court. They are ready to fight for their mother who gave her all for her family and her country. Joans husband Robbie died in 1985. She went back to nursing. The community nurse cared for her children and her patients until she was no longer able to work.

Joan, a mother and grandmother, will be laid to rest this morning, while lawyers continue to debate her case.

The rules state, and rightly so, only a small few can attend the funeral mass in St Marys Church Dingle due to Covid-19 restrictions. Be certain though if these were normal times, the church and the streets of her home town would be packed full of mourners.

There is hardly a family on the Dingle Peninsula who have not been given succour by Joan.
Amid political crisis and rumble before polls in the Union Territory, a floor test in Puducherry Assembly will be taking place on Monday. This move comes after two Congress MLAs A John Kumar and Lakshmi Narayanan and DMK MLA K Venkatesan resigned from the Assembly.

Amid political crisis and rumble before polls in the Union Territory, a floor test in Puducherry Assembly will be taking place on Monday as per directions of Lieutenant Governor Tamilisai Soundararajan. This move comes after two Congress MLAs A John Kumar and Lakshmi Narayanan and DMK MLA K Venkatesan resigned from the Assembly. The Lt Governor earlier ordered a floor test in assembly on February 22. If both the government and the opposition fall short of numbers, Puducherry is likely headed for Presidents rule just three months before elections.

Ahead of the floor test, Chief Minister V Narayanasamy held a meeting with Congress and DMK MLAs to discuss further strategy on Sunday. Congress MLA K Lakshmi Narayanan and DMK MLA K Venkatesan tendered their resignation from the Assembly Speaker VP Sivakolundhu. Sivakolundhu refutes any plan to meet the Governor. With the two resignations, the Congress governments strength in the Puducherry legislative assembly has fallen to 12 out of a total of 26.

Amid the political turmoil, Kiran Bedi was removed from her post by President Ram Nath Kovind on Tuesday as the Lieutenant Governor of Puducherry. Following Bedis removal, Soundararajan formally took additional charge as Lieutenant Governor of Puducherry. PM Modi will be visiting the poll-bound state on February 25, as per the statement of the BJPs Puducherry unit. Prime Minister will address a public meeting at AFT mill Thildal.

Puducherry CM V.Narayanasamy loses trust vote in Assembly, government falls pic.twitter.com/iFVE9g7jvf  ANI (@ANI) February 22, 2021

Also Read: Blacklist Pak, Keep China in Check: Anti Pak protests storm Paris ahead of FATF plenary

Congress MLA A John Kumar resigned from the party on Tuesday, citing dissatisfaction with the Congress government in the Union territory. Kumar, who was the MLA of Kamaraj Nagar quit the party ahead of Gandhis scheduled visit to Puducherry.
Metro Manila (CNN Philippines, February 22)  The country's Food and Drug Administration on Monday allowed the emergency use of COVID-19 vaccines manufactured by Chinese company Sinovac Biotech. FDA Director General Eric Domingo, however, cautioned that it is not the best vaccine in the market to protect healthcare workers in the frontlines of the COVID-19 pandemic.

The regulatory agency approved the emergency use authorization application of Sinovac after a long review due to incomplete submission of Phase 3 clinical trial data.

Domingo advised against giving the vaccine to frontliners who are constantly exposed to the virus, elderlies, and those with co-morbidities. He said the use of the Sinovac vaccine in healthcare workers is not recommended as it has a lower efficacy rate, adding it should only be received by healthy people aged 18-59 with an interval of four weeks between doses.

Ang nakita kasi sa trial sa Brazil na binigay ito sa healthcare workers sa hospitals treating COVID-19 ay 50.4% ang efficacy niya. Mas mabuti na kaysa wala. Pero ang rekomendasyon natin, ng mga experts ay hindi ito ang pinaka magandang bakuna para sa kanila, he said in a media briefing. "It has a lower efficacy rate of 50.4% when used on healthcare workers exposed to COVID-19. Therefore, it is not recommended for use in this group."

[Translation: The trial in Brazil showed that it was 50.4% effective on healthcare workers treating COVID-19 cases. This is better than no vaccine, but our recommendation and the recommendation of experts is that this is not the best vaccine for them.]

The vaccine developed by the Chinese company was found to be 50.38% effective in late-stage trials in Brazil, significantly lower than earlier published results. While the number exceeds the threshold required for regulatory approval, it falls far below the 78% previously announced.

Domingo said it showed 65.3% to 91.2% efficacy rate when used on healthy people within the recommended age range.

Despite the lower efficacy rate on healthcare workers, the FDA Chief said that Sinovac is a good option for those with allergies since there is a low possibility that a person will develop severe allergies or anaphylaxis after inoculation. He also said CoronaVac is halal-certified since it was tested in Indonesia.

Vaccine arrival, priority

Asked when the Sinovac vaccines are expected to arrive in the country, Senator Sonny Angara said in a Senate hearing that an initial batch of 1.5 million doses is set to be delivered "before the end of March."

The country's supply agreement totaling 25 million doses is expected to be signed in two weeks, Angara said, citing information from the National Task Force Against COVID-19 officials. Shipment will take place several days after the inking of the deal, which would mean vaccines will be available in the country by next month.

Apart from the vaccines the national government has procured, China has also donated 600,000 Sinovac doses to the Philippines. Health Secretary Francisco Duque III earlier in the day said the donated doses are ready to be shipped to the country since it was only awaiting regulatory approval. He said the Chinese Embassy requested for 3-5 days to prepare the shipment.

Since it is the first batch of vaccines expected to reach the Philippines legally, the priority list of recipients has to be revised due to the FDA restrictions. Healthcare workers, the elderly, and people with co-morbidities were supposed to receive the first doses, but with the restriction on the Sinovac vaccine, the list will be shaken up - bumping up uniformed personnel.

Presidential spokesperson Harry Roque, who insisted the vaccine is not "low quality," said soldiers and economic frontliners may be the first ones to be inoculated in the country.

Baka mauna ang economic frontliners na kasama ng sundalo, nagtatrabaho sa industriya na bukas noong ECQ. Kung hindi mabibigay sa seniors at frontliners, napakadami namang critical economic frontliners na mabibigyan. he said in a separate briefing.

[Translation: Economic frontliners in industries open during ECQ and troops may be prioritized. If it cannot be given to senior citizens and frontliners, there are many critical economic frontliners who can receive it.]

China has allocated 100,000 doses of the total amount for Filipinos troops  in line with President Rodrigo Duterte's wish for soldiers and police personnel to be among the priority. Duterte has always made known his desire to have the police and the military included in the priority list as he said he needs "healthy" security forces.

Aside from China's donation, the Philippines has secured 25 million doses of CoronaVac. Duque said the Health Department will use its savings to purchase an initial 50,000 doses of the vaccines made by China.
A police worker who visited schools to steer young people away from crime has been jailed for more than two years after a string of child sex offences including trying to incite sexual activity with boys as young as 13.

Darryl Moffatt, 30, was previously employed as a school partnership engagement officer for the Office of the Police and Crime Commissioner (OPCC).

He was immediately suspended from his role after he was arrested in June this year and charged with a series of sexual offences against children.

Officers seized Moffatt's phones and computer devices and found he had downloaded sick child abuse images from the internet and social media.

Moffatt was jailed for two years and eight months at Birmingham Crown Court today (Mon) after entering his guilty pleas in December

Detectives also discovered and had been involved in a series of messages, online chats and meetings with boys as young as 14.

Moffatt, of Small Heath, Birmingham, pleaded guilty to three counts of making indecent photos of a child and distributing an indecent image of a child.

He also admitted attempting to engage in sexual communication with a child and attempting to cause or incite a boy aged 13 to 15 to engage in sexual activity.

Moffatt was jailed for two years and eight months at Birmingham Crown Court today (Mon) after entering his guilty pleas in December.

He will also be subject of a sexual harm prevention order for five years and will be placed on the sex offenders register for ten years.

Detective Chief Inspector Sam Batey, from West Midlands Police's public protection unit, said after the case: 'Moffatt's actions were deplorable.

'He has abused his position of trust and should have understood the impact his actions will have had on those involved.

'All secondary schools that Moffatt was in contact with as part of his role have been kept fully updated throughout our investigation as we recognise the difficulties and concerns that this may have caused.

'This behaviour is not acceptable, we're committed to finding those perpetrating such crimes against children, and seeking justice.

'I'd urge anyone who has suffered from this type of abuse to come forward and report what has happened. We have specialist officers available to support you.'

The Office of West Midlands Police and Crime Commissioner David Jamieson said in a statement: 'Between September 2017 and June 2020 Moffatt worked with secondary schools across Birmingham to commission activities designed to steer young people away from crime.

'Following Moffatt's arrest on 19th June 2020 he was immediately suspended and his fixed-term contract was not renewed.

'The crimes he has been found guilty of are not connected to his work. Nonetheless, the shock and disappointment that people feel are shared by us.

'The gravity of his crimes should not be understated. We are all deeply saddened by the events that have unfolded.

'Throughout the investigation, we have worked closely with the police, local authorities and schools to ensure the safety and well-being of students and young people.'
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Parker did not apply for a PPP loan  she and her husband did not want to chance owing more money, she said, especially as they were struggling to pay rent in the spring of 2020.

We had some deep, dark conversations, like  at what point do we just stop? Parker said.

As lockdowns trailed on, though, former gym-goers turned to running to scratch their exercise itch and business at Napa Running Company picked up  enough so that sales actually up year over year, according to Parker, who said the outdoor running boom had, to her amazement, saved her store.

Theres nowhere to go but up, she said, asked about her outlook for 2021.

For Shoppe Twelve, the first sign of hope came as businesses were allowed to reopen for the first time in June, Lane said. Because Napa was one of the first counties in the area to reopen, customers from around the Bay flooded her store in droves. Business declined through the last shutdown, Lane said, but shes optimistic about the coming months now that restaurants have reopened for outdoor dining.
COPENHAGEN, Feb. 22, 2021 /PRNewswire/ -- DigiPlex, the Nordic leader for sustainable, scalable, and secure data centers, has acquired a plot of 110,000 m2, secured enough renewable power to support the development, as well as onsite water, planning and building permissions to construct five data centers for a major new campus site. This second DigiPlex datacenter site in Denmark will feature waste heat recovery technology to feed into the existing district heating system as part of a significant environmental sustainability commitment.

The campus will be constructed in Hje-Taastrup municipality to the west of Copenhagen in an area surrounded by industrial developments and is part of "The Finger-Plan" development' strategy of the Greater Copenhagen Area. DigiPlex has secured enough electricity supply for the first phase, with an option to increase this to as much as 100MW as the campus grows. Five water-cooled data centers are planned with the majority of water requirements met by onsite wells and rainwater. This is in-line with DigiPlex' commitment to reduce demand on mains water supplies. As part of the agreement DigiPlex will build a lake to collect rainwater for use in cooling as well as contribute to a storm-water basin to benefit the local community. Two cycle tracks and upgrades and extension to local roads will also be delivered as part of the development.

"We are seeing huge interest in sustainable data center development in the Nordic region and continue to invest to capitalize on this trend. The acquisition of this major plot, plus the Norwegian land acquisition we announced last month, further strengthens DigiPlex ability to rapidly meet the need for data center capacity from hyperscalers as well as local and international businesses requiring ultra-sustainable, cost effective colocation facilities," said Wiljar Nesse, CEO of DigiPlex. "Through close collaboration with all parties we already have power agreements, access to water, and all necessary building regulation approvals in place. We are ready to start campus construction and are already in discussion with a number of potential international customers."

"We are very happy to welcome DigiPlex to Hje-Taastrup. Their data center campus will not only bring jobs, but also add value to the municipality. DigiPlex which is an environmentally sustainable datacenter will create development and invest in our local infrastructure and ecosystem. I'm also very pleased to announce that DigiPlex has kindly agreed to contribute to water reservoirs and to upgrade local roads as well as building new cycle paths. This will benefit the whole community", commented Michael Ziegler, Mayor of Hje-Taastrup.

"Data center developments such as DigiPlex' are exactly what we aim for to bring the advantages of the digitalization to Danish economy. The high-value services will cement Denmark's already established reputation as a perfect location for these enablers of the sustainable digital economy. We are pleased to see DigiPlex expanding its current footprint in Denmark to now also include Hje-Taastrup," commented Maria Tarp, Director, Invest in Denmark.

Carl H. Petersen of the CRT companies, who is selling the land, added; "It was important to us that the new owner added value to the land and to the local community. In DigiPlex I know we have found the perfect owner. The company's plans complement local development priorities, create opportunity for citizens and will deliver a highly sustainable campus and over DKK 22 million in infrastructure upgrades."

DigiPlex has a total of seven data centers in the Nordic region, and opened new centers at Fetsund and Hobl last year. An additional center is under construction at Fetsund and 100,000 m2 of land has been purchased for an additional campus outside Oslo at Treklyngen industrial park in Ringerike.

For more information, please contact:

Elisabeth Lennhede, Head of Communications, DigiPlex, +46 70 33 22 705, [email protected]

Peter Hyer, Head of Communications, Hje-Taastrup Municipality, [email protected]

Kim Schultz, Special Advisor, Invest in Denmark, [email protected]

Carl H. Petersen, Landowner, the CRT companies, [email protected]

CONTACT:

Elisabeth Lennhede

Head of Communications

+46703322705

[email protected]



This information was brought to you by Cision http://news.cision.com

https://news.cision.com/digiplex/r/digiplex-expands-in-denmark-with-major-data-center-campus-outside-copenhagen,c3293053

The following files are available for download:

https://mb.cision.com/Main/7526/3293053/1376884.pdf DigiPlex Expands in Denmark with Major Data Center Campus Outside Copenhagen https://news.cision.com/digiplex/i/dc2-illustration-hoje-taastrup-municipality,c2880047 DC2 Illustration_Hje-Taastrup municipality https://news.cision.com/digiplex/i/borgmester-michael-ziegler-hoje-taastrup-kommune,c2880030 Borgmester Michael Ziegler Hje-Taastrup Kommune https://news.cision.com/digiplex/i/maria-tarp-director-invest-in-denmark,c2880031 Maria Tarp Director Invest in Denmark https://news.cision.com/digiplex/i/carl-h-petersen-of-crt,c2880027 Carl H Petersen of CRT https://news.cision.com/digiplex/i/wiljar-nesse--ceo--digiplex,c2880028 Wiljar Nesse, CEO, DigiPlex

SOURCE DigiPlex
At the end of last week, the Virginia State Senate passed HB 1965, which directs the State Air Pollution Control Board to implement a low-emissions and zero-emissions vehicle program for motor vehicles with a model year of 2025 and later.

With this rule, Virginia joins 14 other states and the District of Columbia in adopting clean car standards. This bill will go to Governor Northams desk to sign and enact into law.

Transportation accounts for the greatest share (48%) of greenhouse gas emissions in Virginia, and associated air pollution from cars and trucks is also an immediate health risk. A 2020 report from Virginia Clinicians for Climate Action found that fine particulate matter pollution (PM 2.5 ) from Virginias cars and light trucks contributes to 92 deaths, 71 non-fatal heart attacks and 2,600 child asthma attacks every year.

The health impacts from reducing vehicle emissions are disproportionate across Virginia, as elderly, lower income and minority populations experience a 61% higher death rate attributable to vehicle air pollution.
The on Monday sought responses from Ltd and others on Amazon's plea against the Delhi High Court direction to maintain status quo on the Future-Reliance deal.

A bench comprising Justices R F Nariman and B R Gavai issued notices to Ltd, Chairperson Kishore Biyani and others and sought their replies.

The apex court said the proceedings before the National Company Law Tribunal will go on and but will not culminate into any final order on amalgamation of FRL with Reliance.

While issuing notice distinct to FRL and others, the bench says that reply to the appeal of be filed in three weeks and rejoinder after two weeks thereafter and the Amazon's appeal will be listed for hearing after five weeks.

Last month, had approached the Delhi High Court seeking enforcement of the interim order of the Emergency Arbitrator (EA) at the Singapore International Arbitration Centre (SIAC) that had restrained FRL from going ahead with the deal with Reliance.

In the interim order on February 8, the division bench said it was staying the single judge order as firstly, FRL was not a party to the share subscription agreement (SSA) between and Future Coupons Pvt Ltd (FCPL) and the US e-commerce giant was not a party to the deal between FRL and

(Only the headline and picture of this report may have been reworked by the Business Standard staff; the rest of the content is auto-generated from a syndicated feed.)

The FBI is reportedly investigating members of Congress as 'suspects' in a probe of the January 6 insurrection and has swept up lawmakers' phone data.

The Intercept reported Monday that within hours of the Capitol break-in the FBI began securing thousands of phone and electronic records connected to people at the scene.

Through special emergency powers, the FBI collected reams of private cell phone communications, some of which were from lawmakers and their staff.

The FBI is reportedly investigating members of Congress as 'suspects' as part of the bureau's probe into the January 6 insurrection, The Intercept reported Monday, detailing the amount of cell phone data investigators have collected

The Intercept reported Monday that the FBI gathered a ton of cell phone data from the January 6 insurrection, though there could be legal issues with collecting data from members of Congress because there are protections insulating the legislative branch from the executive

Investigators are 'searching cell towers and phones pinging off cell sites in the area to determine visitors to the Capitol,' a retired senior FBI official told the news site.

The Intercept said investigators have relied on data 'dumps' from cell phone towers in the D.C. area to map out who was there.

From there, they are able to trace call records - but not the content of the conversations - from phones.

'The data is also being used to map links between suspects, which include members of Congress,' The Intercept said.

A number of Democrats suggested after the MAGA riot that some of their Republican colleagues may have been involved.

GOP lawmakers have denied these allegations.

A 2007 corruption case against former Rep. William Jefferson, a Louisiana Democrat, reinforced protections against the executive branch sweeping up records from Congress.

An appeals court ruled the FBI improperly seized material from Jefferson's office.

In a statement released on January 11, Sen. Sheldon Whitehouse warned the Justice Department against investigating members of Congress' role in the attack, saying that the Senate should do so instead.

'Separation of powers principles generally, and the speech and debate clause particularly, restrict the executive branchs ability to investigate members of Congress. That's why the Constitution puts the houses of Congress in charge of disciplining their members,' Whitehouse elaborated to the Intercept.

'In the case of the January 6 insurrection, Ive asked the Senate ethics panel to take a hard look at certain members behavior, including whether they coordinated or conspired with, aided and abetted, or gave aid and comfort to the insurrectionists,' the Rhode Island Democrat continued.

In the original statement, Whitehouse suggested that the Senate Judiciary and perhaps Homeland Security Committees probe colleagues' role in the insurrection.

Whitehouse also said that Republican Sens. Josh Hawley, Ted Cruz and Ron Johnson need to be removed from the committees investigating the insurrection.

Hawley and Cruz were among the GOP senators to back a House GOP effort to challenge Electoral College vote counts in certain states during the January 6 joint session to certify that President Joe Biden won the 2020 presidential election.

A U.S. senator has to sign on to a House challenge in order for it to be debated.

Their actions gave what Democrats call 'the big lie' - that President Donald Trump was cheated out of a second term due to widespread voter fraud - more weight.

Since the insurrection, Johnson has downplayed the assault.

The FBI refused to comment to the Intercept on specific tools investigators were using in the probe of the January 6 insurrection, except to say the bureau received more than 200,000 tips.

The Justice Department declined to comment.

'As with all our operations, the FBI conducts itself according to our legal requirements and established policies,' the FBI told The Intercept.
By Lee Min-hyung





Hanwha Life Insurance CEO Yeo Seung-joo / Courtesy of Hanwha Life Insurance
A refugee family from Myanmar's ethnic Chin tribe is pictured in their small apartment in Kuala Lumpur, Malaysia, in a file photo.

The international community and local groups on Monday piled pressure on Malaysia to halt the imminent deportation of 1,200 Myanmar nationals to their home country weeks after a military coup there.

On the eve of the scheduled mass expulsion aboard Myanmar navy ships, Amnesty International and a Malaysian refugee rights group jointly petitioned the High Court to stop the process, saying the deportation would put peoples lives in danger.

The United States, meanwhile, urged Malaysias government to allow the Myanmar nationals access to UNHCR, the United Nations refugee agency.

Amnesty International Malaysia and Asylum Access Malaysia today jointly filed for a judicial review in the Kuala Lumpur High Court to stop the governments planned deportation of 1,200 individuals back to Myanmar in cooperation with the Myanmar military, the two groups said in a joint statement.

Malaysias assurance last week that no refugees are being sent back is untrue, according to the groups. People who have been registered as refugees with UNHCR as well as more than a dozen minors who would be separated from a parent are among the 1,200 people slated for deportation on Tuesday, Amnesty and Asylum Access said.

The judicial review aims to obtain a court order to prevent the deportation, and includes the names and details of three UNHCR document holders and 17 minors who have at least one parent still in Malaysia. This information dispels the assurance given by immigration authorities on 15 February that no refugees are among the 1,200 being sent back, they said.

Officials with the Immigration Department did not immediately respond to requests from BenarNews, an RFA-affiliated online news service, for comment on Monday.

Also on Monday, a spokesperson for the American embassy in Kuala Lumpur told BenarNews that it had raised concerns with the government about the people being sent back to Myanmar.

Embassy officials had urged Malaysia to give the detained Myanmar nationals access to UNHCR so that the U.N. agency could determine if any refugees or asylum seekers were among those being sent back, the spokesperson confirmed.

Last week, UNHCR said that Malaysia had denied the agency access to its immigration detention centers since August 2019.

Meanwhile, a statement issued by the Myanmar embassy in Kuala Lumpur on Saturday indicated that more deportations on [a] humanitarian basis were planned.

The military government in Naypyidaw gives top priority to repatriate Myanmar nationals stranded abroad due to the COVID-19 pandemic, the statement said.

In coordination with the authorities concerned of Malaysia, the Embassy of the Republic of the Union of Myanmar states that as the first batch, a total of 1,200 Myanmar nationals from respective detention centers of Malaysia will be sent back by naval relief vessels in February 2021, said the statement posted on Facebook.

Minorities at risk

Last week, Malaysias immigration chief said that no UNHCR cardholders or ethnic Rohingya were among the 1,200 people slated for deportation.

But according to Lilianne Fan, international director of the Geutanyoe Foundation, which works with refugees, asylum seekers who belong to minorities that face state-backed discrimination in Myanmar are among the 1,200.

Some of them [being sent back] are undocumented while some are asylum seekers and many from ethnic minorities. They are Christian Chin minorities and people from conflict-riven Kachin and Shan states, she told BenarNews.

Because of the Malaysian governments move, now every asylum seeker and refugee from Myanmar is afraid that they might be deported back. And now it is dangerous for everyone.

At least nine members of the ethnic Chin community who, like Rohingya Muslims, face state-backed discrimination in their country, were among those being sent back, the Kuala Lumpur-based Alliance of Chin Refugees told BenarNews last week.

The U.N. refugee agency said on Saturday that at least six people registered with it were among the 1,200 Myanmar nationals being deported, Reuters reported.

Sending the Myanmar nationals back only weeks after a military coup in their homeland puts them in grave danger, Katrina Jorene Maliamauv, executive director of Amnesty International Malaysia, said in a statement.

The Myanmar militarys human rights violations against protestors and dissidents has been widely documented. If Malaysia insists on sending back the 1,200 individuals, it would be responsible for putting them at risk of further persecution, violence, and even death, Maliamauv said.

Over the weekend, riot police in Myanmar shot dead two people and injured two dozen others during protests against the Feb. 1 military coup that toppled Aung San Suu Kyi, the countrys civilian leader.

Despite Malaysias critical remarks on the coup in Myanmar, working with that countrys military to send back detained migrants legitimizes ongoing human rights violations by the regime, Amnesty International and Asylum Access added.

As the world condemns the political violence in Myanmar, we are appalled to note that the Malaysian government has instead chosen to send 1,200 individuals to a rapidly deteriorating situation, the two groups said.

The Malaysian Bar also expressed grave concern Monday about the deportation.

[T]he act of repatriation is occurring during a period when Myanmar is faced with a tumultuous political landscape, and this violates the customary international law principle of non-refoulement  a key legal principle that prohibits the return of individuals to their home country where they would potentially face torture, cruel, inhuman or degrading treatment or punishment, or other irreparable harm, the group said in a statement.

Such actions will be perceived to undermine our commitment to ratify international instruments on human rights.

Malaysia is not a signatory to the 1951 Refugee Convention.

On Sunday, 27 Malaysian lawmakers and senators, in a joint letter, urged Prime Minister Muhyiddin Yassin to stop the deportation.

We, the undersigned elected representatives and senators, jointly call for an immediate halt to the repatriation of the detained Myanmar nationals back to Myanmar, which the government has announced that it will do so by the week of 21 February 2021, they said in their letter.

Malaysia must lead in giving protection to these people as we cannot be the country to send them back to a military junta with a long track record of serious human rights violations.

Malaysias immigration chief said last week that the Myanmar embassy in Kuala Lumpur had arranged for the repatriation of the countrys citizens, while Reuters reported that the Myanmar military had offered to send navy ships to pick them up.

Three Myanmar-flagged vessels, including a military operations ship, appeared near Malaysias Lumut naval base on Saturday, according to Marine Traffic, a ship-tracking website.

The Myanmar nationals will leave from the naval base, a source at the Royal Malaysian Navy told BenarNews on Monday.

Reported by BenarNews, an RFA-affiliated online news service.
Good morning, Bay Area. Its Monday, Feb. 22, and help is in the works for COVID long-haulers. Heres what you need to know to start your day.

Facing intense pressure on several fronts, including school reopenings and a recent decision to halt merit-based admissions at Lowell High School, San Franciscos school board president signaled Sunday that the board is pausing controversial efforts to rename 44 district schools.

In an opinion piece published in The Chronicle, Gabriela Lopez acknowledged mistakes in the process that have resulted in a potential lawsuit and possible recall efforts targeting several board members, including Lopez.

As Kellie Hwang and Jill Tucker report, Lopez said that working to reopen schools will be the boards only focus. Meetings of the renaming committee, which is pinpointing schools named for historical figures said to be linked to racism and oppression, will be canceled in the meantime. Lopez said the board plans to make the process more deliberative by getting local historians involved.

 S.F. has the lowest coronavirus case rate among big U.S. cities. When will schools reopen?

 San Francisco teachers gather for a vigil on reopening plans as negotiations continue.

Coronavirus updates

Gabrielle Lurie / The Chronicle

 Lasting symptoms in some COVID-19 patients, known as long-haulers, have continued to baffle experts who are working to ramp up studies.

 New coronavirus cases have plummeted 83% in California since their mid-January peak, and the reasons for the decline are complex.

 Reaching herd immunity is key in stopping the spread of coronavirus, but several factors could slow it down by months or even years.

 San Franciscos largest skilled nursing home is seeing a promising decline in new coronavirus cases that mirrors trends across the state and country.

 Kaiser Permanente is expanding coronavirus vaccine eligibility to people 65 and older as it anticipates more vaccine supply. Also: Costco is offering vaccines in select California stores, including one in Marin County.

Around the Bay

Stephen Lam / The Chronicle

 There she rolls! S.F. parade follows 139-year-old Victorian house as it is moved to its new locale. Also: The story behind the six-block trek of the two-story home.

 Outrage in East Bay: Oakley parents push for classroom reopenings after entire school board resigns over hot mike moment.

 A big deal: Berkeley considers ending single-family zoning by December 2022  an effort to right wrongs and address the regional housing crisis, officials say.

 From John King: A Harvey Milk memorial is in the works for S.F.s Castro district  again.

 Headed to Wall Street: California wine companies are doing what hasnt been done in 20 years: go on the stock market.

Missing S.F.s cable cars

Jessica Christian / The Chronicle

San Francisco hasnt been the same since March 16, 2020, the day cable cars were tucked away in their barn to protect operators and passengers from the coronavirus. Nearly a year later, the San Francisco Municipal Transportation Agency still cant say when theyll return. The agencys director said he cant guarantee theyll be running at all in 2021.

Thats a gut punch to those who work on the cable cars. And to those who rely on the charming vehicles to bring tourists, who are slowly returning, to their suffering small businesses. And to those San Franciscans, like Chronicle columnist Heather Knight, who simply adore them.

Read more from Knight on the plight of the cable cars, and why San Francisco needs a plan to bring them back.

Bay Briefing is written by Taylor Kate Brown, Anna Buchmann and Kellie Hwang and sent to readers email inboxes on weekday mornings. Sign up for the newsletter here, and contact the writers at taylor.brown@sfchronicle.com, anna.buchmann@sfchronicle.com and kellie.hwang@sfchronicle.com.
Judy Finnigan has branded Prince Harry 'silly and spoilt' for his tell-all Oprah Winfrey interview with wife Meghan Markle.

The Duke and Duchess of Sussex, aged 36 and 39, recorded an intimate interview with Oprah, 67, last week which it set to be aired on Sunday March 7, and will reportedly make 'pure gold'.

It came just hours before they issued a parting shot after being stripped of roles and patronages by the Queen.

Lashing out at the duo in her The Express column with husband Richard Madeley, Judy, 72, warned that Prince Harry, who has relocated to a 11million mansion in Los Angeles, California, will have a 'nasty shock' if he returns to the UK.

'Silly and spoilt': Judy Finnigan has branded Prince Harry 'silly and spoilt' for his tell-all Oprah Winfrey interview with wife Meghan Markle (Judy pictured with husband Richard Madeley)

The former This Morning presenter penned: 'He's just a silly, spoiled Prince who thinks he can have it all. You're not a Prince without a country, just a rich playboy with a Netflix contract.

'If he ever comes back home, I fear he's in for a nasty shock.'

It comes after Eamonn Holmes blasted Prince Harry and Meghan's decision to do a tell-all interview with Oprah on This Morning, branding it as just an 'advert'.

Speaking to royal correspondent Camilla Tominey and Nick Ferrari, Eamonn disputed the idea it was interview, and was instead a marketing tactic because Oprah 'is a mate'.

Tell-all interview: The Duke and Duchess of Sussex, aged 36 and 39, recorded an intimate interview with Oprah, 67, last week which it set to be aired on Sunday March 7, and will reportedly make 'pure gold' (pictured in 2020)

Interview: The interview came just hours before they issued a parting shot after being stripped of roles and patronages by the Queen (Oprah pictured)

Eamonn, who has previously come under fire for his outspoken views on the royal couple, said: 'Well, it's not an interview really, is it? It's an ad, really. I mean, Oprah's a mate, Oprah was at her wedding.

'Meghan's mum stayed with Oprah at her home as a house guest. So it's not an interview as such.'

It was revealed on Monday that the Queen will steal a march on Prince Harry and Meghan and beat them to the airwaves by addressing the nation on TV just hours before their incendiary interview with their friend Oprah is broadcast in the US.

Her Majesty was due to attend the annual Commonwealth Service on March 8 - but this has been cancelled for the first time in nearly half a century due to Covid-19, Westminster Abbey announced.

Instead the Queen has chosen to share her annual message 24 hours earlier for A Celebration For Commonwealth Day, in a speech pre-recorded at Windsor Castle and broadcast on BBC One on Sunday March 7.

'Nasty shock': Lashing out at the royals in her The Express column with husband Richard Madeley (pictured in 2013), Judy, 72, warned that Prince Harry, who has relocated to a 11million mansion in Los Angeles, California, will have a 'nasty shock' if he returns to the UK

This will be shown to millions a few hours before Harry and Meghan's intimate interview with Oprah is being screened in a 90-minute special on CBS at 8pm EST in the US - around 1am UK time on Monday.

And in a show of unity with the monarch, Prince Charles and Camilla, the Duchess of Cornwall, Prince William and Kate, the Duchess of Cambridge, and Sophie, the Countess of Wessex, will also take part in the show hosted by Anita Rani.

The show's broadcast time will be confirmed on Wednesday, MailOnline understands, while a Westminster Abbey spokesman said: 'The decision was taken jointly by the Abbey, the BBC and the royal household about three weeks ago.'

The clash between the Queen's BBC statement and the Sussexes' multi-million dollar CBS interview has extra significance because last year's Commonwealth Service was when the couple bowed out as working royals, and when they were last seen in public with Harry's grandmother, father and brother.

Hitting out: It comes after Eamonn Holmes blasted Prince Harry and Meghan's decision to do a tell-all interview with Oprah on This Morning, branding it as just an 'advert'

It is not yet known how or when UK viewers will see the full Oprah interview, with TV companies already locked in an international bidding war for the rights to the programme.

ITV are understood to be in the driving seat in Britain with a UK deal expected in the coming days, although ViacomCBS are yet to comment.

Clips of the Oprah interview will be all over the international TV news and online media minutes after it is shown in America, but the full 90-minute show may not be broadcast in the UK until later in the week.

It also emerged on Monday that Harry and Meghan's incendiary interview with their friend Oprah may have to be re-edited or even partially re-shot due to the rift it has caused with the royal family and 99-year-old Prince Philip's hospitalisation.

Some have claimed that the interview, believed to be completed last week, could even be toned down.

Revealed: It was revealed on Monday that the Queen will steal a march on Prince Harry and Meghan and beat them to the airwaves by addressing the nation on TV just hours before their incendiary interview with their friend Oprah is broadcast in the US (pictured in 2018)

Harry and Meghan, who are expecting their second child, are said to be in shock as the Queen stripped them of their royal and sporting patronages after they 'poured their hearts out' to Oprah during a two-day shoot in their 11m LA mansion last week.

The tell-all interview is due to air on Sunday March 7 with no topics off-limits with one source warning Harry's family the show would be a good 'time to hide behind the sofa at the palace'.

It has also emerged that Meghan is expected to speak about the feud with her family on her father Thomas' side after This Morning host Holly Willoughby said that Oprah's team had been in contact for footage of an interview with her half-sister.

In the January 2020 broadcast Samantha Markle said the former Suits actress and Harry owed her and their father an apology for 'incredibly wrong, untoward, and shocking' behaviour after the royal wedding in 2018.

Holly said: 'Oprah Winfrey's team contacted This Morning requesting footage from our interview with Samantha Markle in preparation for the interview with the Duchess of Sussex'.

Prince Harry and Meghan's controversial interview with Oprah was filmed at their LA mansion (pictured) just hours before the couple issued a parting shot after being stripped of roles and patronages by the Queen, meaning parts may need to be re-shot or edited

She added: 'So, we don't know whether or not they used that in the interview, but what we do know is nothing was off limits.'

There are claims in the US that CBS would like to re-shoot some of the interview - and a new edit of the existing footage - because of the row it has caused with the Queen and his brother Prince William back in Britain.

His grandfather Prince Philip's admission to hospital in London also happened after some or all of the interview was completed.

A source told the Mirror: 'When the Duke and Duchess spoke, it was never envisaged they would have their patronages taken away. They didn't see it coming and spoke as though they still had roles to play.

'Now, however, other than their titles, they are to have no role in royal life - a point producers know was not discussed when Winfrey spoke to them. Neither the Sussexes nor the TV crew saw the fallout of their interview leading to this.

Cancelled: Her Majesty was due to attend the annual Commonwealth Service on March 8 - but this has been cancelled for the first time in nearly half a century due to Covid-19, Westminster Abbey announced (pictured at the 2020 service with Prince Charles)

'Harry and Meghan thought they would retain their roles. But things have significantly changed for them since they eagerly sat for Winfrey and poured their hearts out.'

Prince William has been left 'really sad and genuinely shocked' by his brother's behaviour towards the Queen after Harry and Meghan were cast out as working royals.

The Duke of Cambridge is said to be 'very upset by what has happened' and feels Harry has been 'insulting and disrespectful' to their grandmother.

But he also refuses to call it a day with his brother, and hopes that focusing on 'purely family matters' with the Duke of Sussex, could help repair their rift.

An insider told The Daily Telegraph: 'There is hope that they can all move forward now these loose ends have been tied up once and for all.

'The [one year] review had been hanging over both sides for some time but now it has finally been resolved, it allows all parties to work on purely family matters.'

Harry's grandfather the Duke of Edinburgh, 99, is still in a central London hospital amid claims Prince Charles may have used his visit to 'reassure him' about the growing row with Prince Harry and his wife.

Royal author Penny Junor said: 'Momentous things are happening in the family at the moment and I suppose it's perfectly possible that Charles wanted to go and talk to his father and reassure him about Harry'.

The hospital's website states visitors will 'only be considered in exceptional circumstances'.

The relationship between the two brothers was strained before Friday's announcement that the Duke and Duchess of Sussex had been stripped of their remaining roles after their 12-month trial separation from royal life and move to the US.

The couple then issued a sharp rebuke, declaring they would offer 'continued support to the organisations they have represented regardless of official role'.

They signed off: 'We can all live a life of service. Service is universal.'

Pictured: The statement from Buckingham Palace that The Sussexes had been stripped of their remaining roles

Sources close to the monarch told The Sunday Times that the riposte was 'petulant and insulting to the Queen'.

A source told the Mail: 'Their statement in response to the Queen's heartfelt sentiment that the couple are still muchloved members of her family was considered highly disrespectful.'

The source added: 'At the end of the day this was all their [Harry and Meghan's] decision.

'They asked to explore an 'alternate way' but the only alternative is that you are either a public servant or you aren't. She made her view clear from the start and hasn't ever deviated from that.

'People [in the household] would have liked a different outcome. Harry and Meghan clearly could have made a very positive contribution to public life in the UK. But from the start they made clear they were only ever interested in pursuing this quasi-royal role.

'It seems Harry genuinely thought he could persuade Her Majesty of the merits of that. But she has always been clear on this point  you cannot pursue commercial interests while undertaking public duties. It is untenable.'

Minutes later, the apparently furious Sussexes issued a stinging rebuke to the Queen, insisting they would still 'live a life of service' outside the royal fold. They added: 'Service is universal.'

Another source suggested that there has been widespread exasperation at the 'inflammatory' statement and determination to 'always have the last word'.

They said the Queen had no choice but to act as the situation 'wasn't fair' on the charities and organisations that rely on royal patronage.

One obstacle to improve relations may prove to be the 'tell-all' TV interview Harry and Meghan have agreed to do with Oprah.

It is thought they pre-recorded it at their home in California at the start of last week. On Friday Oprah  a friend and neighbour of the couple who attended their wedding in 2018  was seen boarding her private jet near their 11million home in Montecito.

It remains to be seen whether the couple will carry out any additional interviews with Oprah in light of Friday's announcement.

The Queen was reportedly 'blindsided' by the interview, which will be shown on March 7.

Analysed: The above graphic shows how royal experts and commentators have analysed the statement from Buckingham Palace (left) and Harry and Meghan (right)

Oprah spent two days interviewing Prince Harry and Meghan Markle on Wednesday and Thursday before their parting shot at Buckingham Palace - and 'gained a unique insight into the rift', it was claimed.

The prime-time discussion, which controversially 'blindsided' the Queen after her grandson chose not to inform her of the sit-down 'tell all', will make 'pure gold' when it airs next month, aides told the Sun.

The chat show host prepared for the interview at her home in Hawaii before flying into California, where she also owns a second property in Montecito a short drive from the couple, on her 50million private jet.

Oprah, who attended the Sussexes' wedding and has been a firm supporter of their decision to leave Britain, was with the couple just hours before they released their statement, having filmed the discussion on Wednesday and Thursday.

The presenter only left Santa Barbara, where she travelled to with an entourage of assistants and her rescue cocker spaniel Sadie, later on Friday, as the fallout from Megxit went into overdrive.

Sources told the Sun how the friends looked relaxed, and not as if they were caught in the middle of a major royal drama.

Air date: Instead the Queen has chosen to share her annual message 24 hours earlier for A Celebration For Commonwealth Day, in a speech pre-recorded at Windsor Castle and broadcast on BBC One on Sunday March 7 (pictured in 2018)

In stark contrast to the glamorous meeting, Harry's grandfather, Prince Philip, remains in hospital, and was visited by a teary-eyed Prince Charles.

The interview with Oprah is due to be aired on Sunday March 7, and a person close to the Sussexes told the Sunday Times last night that Meghan believes the prime-time broadcast gives her the 'loudest way she'll get her voice back'.

Another source told the Sun: 'The pair are clearly very close to Oprah and the fact she's been with them at such an intense time has given her a unique insight into the rift with the royals.

'The drama of last week means that Oprah's tell-all show will be pure gold. It's time to hide behind the sofa for the other royals.'

Harry and Meghan first announced their desire to quit as working royals in January last year without even informing the Queen beforehand, a move which deeply hurt the 94-year-old monarch.

The ensuing 'Sandringham Summit' saw the Queen, backed by the Prince of Wales and Duke of Cambridge, stand firm against her grandson and his wife, who were demanding they be allowed to move to North America in pursuit of their fortunes while continuing to serve her as 'quasi-working royals'.

In the end the couple were forced to agree not to use their royal titles for commercial gain.

However the Queen did agree to hold over some of their official patronages  most notably Harry's military positions  while a 12-month review of their new arrangements was concluded.
Gov. Ned Lamont announced Monday the state will expand COVID-19 vaccination eligibility next month through defined age groups and to teachers, shifting priority away from essential workers and those with underlying medical conditions.

While state officials touted the new plan as a more efficient way to ramp up vaccinations, the approach deviates from guidance from the U.S. Centers for Disease Control and Prevention. And groups including the American Civil Liberties Union, the CT Food Association and several labor unions criticized the governor for leaving behind frontline essential workers and those with medical conditions that make them more susceptible to COVID complications.

Under the new plan, people age 55 to 64 will next be eligible to receive the vaccine as of March 1. The state plans to make an exception for teachers, school workers and child care professionals, who will also be eligible to receive the vaccine next month at separate clinics, in schools wherever possible.

Lamont and other state officials stressed Monday this new plan simplifies the vaccination effort and speeds up the process as they redouble their focus on equitable distribution in cities and to people of color. Breaking from federal recommendations, state officials said this approach reflects the fact that age remains one of the strongest contributing factors to COVID-19-related deaths.

They also said it would avoid the logistical nightmare of sorting out who is, and who is not eligible under complex workplace and health guidelines that other states are using with mixed results.

In a perfect world, we would have enough doses of the vaccine to get it to all 3.6 million people in Connecticut right now, however, each state is being given a very limited supply, which is why we must take this phased approach, Lamont said in a written statement before announcing the plan at his regularly scheduled Monday briefing.

Connecticuts health care providers have been doing an amazing job getting the vaccine to people as quickly as they can, Lamont said, and using age as the only qualifying factor is one of the reasons why theyve had success so far.

This new vaccination plan came as the state recorded a 2.58 percent positive test rate through the weekend with 2,233 confirmed cases in 86,401 tests. The number of people in hospitals with COVID-19 dropped to 500 statewide.

As the United States recorded 500,000 pandemic deaths since March  whch Lamont called a chilling fact  Connecticut reported another 39 fatalities since Friday, bringing the states total to 7,562.

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The new plan

Lamonts announcement represents a substantial shift from the states phased vaccination plan. Previously under Phase 1B of the plan, essential workers and those with preexisiting medical conditions that put them at greater risk of COVID-19 complications were supposed to be next in line for vaccines.

Some people in those groups will now have to wait longer for vaccines than they anticipated, but they believe focusing on speed and simplicity will get the largest number of people vaccinated in the coming months.

This is the fastest way to get the most residents in the state of Connecticut vaccinated as possible, said Dr. Reginald Eadie, president & CEO of Trinity Health New England and co-chair of the governors COVID-19 Vaccine Advisory Group.

Under the new state plan, vaccination eligibility would start for those age 55 to 64 on March 1, those age 45 to 54 on March 22, those between 34 and 45 on April 12, and those 16 to 34 on May 3. The new plan does not discuss vaccinating children and the dates could change based on vaccine availability.

Census data shows about 515,000 state residents are age 55 to 64; 477,000 are age 45 to 54; 433,000 are between 34 and 45; and 880,000 are age 16 to 34. Hundreds of thousands of those people have already been been vaccinated in other phases  health care workers, for example  or will receive a vaccine through the states plan to inoculate 160,000 teachers other school workers.

When asked if there are concerns about vaccine supply meeting demand in the new plan, Lamont and others were confident the federal government could provide the doses.

Im not naive, I know theres supply chain issues. We will see how fast they actually get delivered to us so we can get the shot in the arm, Lamont said. If I had to guess though right now, I think that we are going to be erring on the side of more vaccines coming sooner.

This week, Connecticut was expected to receive 72,000 first doses of the two federally approved vaccines, coupled with 23,000 first doses going directly to pharmacies in the state  up from 62,000 first doses last week.

With the new plan launching next week, Lamont asked certain residents to use restraint when seeking vaccination appointments.

If you can telecommute, please dont make a call in that first week or two. Give us a little bit of time to catch up. If you have tested positive, and you probably have those antibodies  hold back, Lamont said.

Equitable approach

Lamont reiterated Monday that his administration remains committed to vaccinating underserved communities at the same rate as everyone else. The governor said he has instructed the state Department of Public Health to set numeric targets and work with providers to ensure equitable distribution of the vaccine.

Officials have not disclosed those benchmarks, but said they will take the vaccine directly to communities if needed and will assign allotments of the vaccine to meet their goals.

The Department of Public Health is committed to an equitable vaccination program. Sticking with an age-based vaccine rollout allows our vaccine providers to get as many shots as possible as quickly and equitably as possible into the arms of Connecticut residents, and vaccinating our education and childcare workforce will get our children back in the classroom this school year, Acting DPH Commissioner Dr. Deidre Gifford said.

Despite officials saying they are pushing an equitable vaccination process, some say the new plan does the opposite.

We agree with and are in solidarity with those calling out this plan as inequitable. It is. Disability rights, racial justice, and workers' rights groups, we see you, and all the ways Gov. Lamont is leaving marginalized people behind, the ACLU of Connecticut said in a statement on Twitter.

Unions including the United Food and Commercial Workers and SEIU Local 32BJ issued statements criticizing the change as unfair to younger front-line workers and people with underlying medical conditions. SEBAC, the giant state employees bargaining coalition, issued a statement supporting the priority on educators but saying all essential, front-line workers  many of them state employees  should have also received priority.

The SEBAC statement listed some of the now snubbed workers: How can the Governor forget about the DOT road maintainers, social workers, on-site higher education teachers, and nearly 12,000 other dedicated public service employees -- not to mention our private sector counterparts, like grocery store workers, manufacturing workers, and delivery drivers and many others -- who, for the past year, have selflessly endured health and safety risks to provide essential services to the people of Connecticut in our collective time of need?

Some of those same unions, as part of a separate coalition of bargaining units in schools issued a letter and a statement in strong support. The next phase of vaccines in Connecticut moves our state forward in a sensible and equitable way, said Connecticut Education Association Executive Director Donald Williams.

According to figures from the state, front-line workers and those with an underlying condition exacerbating COVID-9 total about 675,000 people.

Find out more about COVID vaccines in CT

Changing course

The state had yet to clearly define which essential workers, aside from those health care workers who received vaccines in Phase 1A of the rollout, would have been eligible and in which order. The state was expected to weigh federal guidelines that define workers in this group to include grocery store workers, public transportation workers, manufacturing workers and others.

It was also unclear what medical conditions would have given someone priority to receive the vaccine. Lamonts administration had said it would rely heavily on doctors to help determine those eligible based on medical conditions.

As officials approached plans on vaccinating those groups, they were flooded with questions about who fell in each group, which they said only heightened complications with vaccination efforts.

The CDC has outlined a number of conditions, including cancer, smoking, obesity, immunosuppression from transplants, as causing greater COVID-19-related risks.

Lamont made a point of raising questions that showed how difficult it would have been sorting out these groups.

Health experts largely supported Lamont's decision, saying it could speed up the vaccination process. Many of the underlying conditions designated as COVID risk factors by the CDC could be hard to prove, said Dr. Gregory Buller, associate chief medical officer and chairman of the department of medicine at Bridgeport Hospital.

Take smoking, which is one of the conditions listed by the CDC. How do you prove that? Buller said. I have no idea.

Going by age eliminates that concern. I think it's a really good approach, as long as you can roll it out quickly, he said.

We support the states decision to focus largely on age as the criterion for the vaccine, said Dr. Michael Parry, director of infectious disease at Stamford Hospital. This has benefits both for mortality reduction as well as operational expediency for vaccine clinics such as ours.

I was counting on this vaccine

Lamonts announcement that teachers would soon receive vaccines comes amid mounting pressure from educators, who largely returned to in-school classes in September, despite concerns over infections.

Unlike some other states, Connecticut had not previously prioritized teacher vaccinations, despite being focused on getting teachers and students back into the classrooms amid the pandemic.

But Mondays announcement sets back plans for other essential workers, who have also remained on the job during the pandemic. The head of the union representing thousands of building maintenance workers issued a statement saying the unin was dismayed and deeply disappointed that Lamont had abandoned the needs of essential workers.

We fully expected the Governor to follow the recommendations of the CDC and his own Vaccine Advisory Group and prioritize those whose risk is now greatest, said Rochelle Palache, 32BJ SEIU vice president and head of the union in Connecticut. Our unions 5,000 janitors and security officers in Connecticut are among the thousands of essential workers who have kept our state running by chancing death every single workday. While many workers 55 and over can still do their jobs from home, most Black and Latinx workers cant, which in part explains why they face Covid mortality rates far higher than white workers do.

Chris DiPentima, CEO of the Connecticut Business and Industry Association, said he understood the governors need to shift.

We cannot rebuild our economy and recover from the pandemic without first addressing the public health crisis, DiPentima said in a statement released with Lamonts announcement. This new approach allows for more workers across Connecticut to get vaccinated in a short period of time, and it eliminates potentially complicated rules.

In a statement released by the Unitd Food and Commercial Workers Union, local 371, Jason Laviana, a supermarket employee in Torrington, described his situation.

Ive been working on the front lines serving my customers nearly every day since this started in March. Im proud of the work I have done to keep my community healthy and fed. I never once demanded to stay home for my own safety. However, I have a preexisting condition, that I was born with, and I didnt sign up to be exposed to a deadly virus at work. I was counting on this vaccine.

Leadership in Lavianas union said hundreds of grocery workers in Connecticut have contracted COVID-19.

In this issue, the workers and supermarket owners took the same side.

We will be having difficult conversations with our associates who believed they would be eligible for a vaccination in the next phase, the CT Food Association said in a written release. It is important to ensure these workers receive the vaccination as soon as possible to keep them safe and to keep the supply chain operating efficiently.

Staff Writers Amanda Cuda and Ken Dixon contributed to this story.
HC grants interim bail to poet Varavara Rao in Bhima Koregaon case

India

oi-Vicky Nanjappa

Mumbai, Feb 22: Activist and poet Varavara Rao arrested in connection with the Bhima Koregaon case has been granted bail by the Bombay High Court.

Varavara Rao finally granted bail for six months by the Bombay High Court| Oneindia News

He has been granted interim bail for six months by the court on medical grounds.

The court is hearing three petitions - a writ petition seeking Rao''s complete medical records and a bail plea on medical grounds filed by the poet. The third one is a writ petition filed by his wife Hemlatha alleging a breach of Rao''s fundamental rights owing to lack of medical care during his continued incarceration.

Hemlatha''s plea also seeks that Rao be let out of prison and permitted to go back to his family in Hyderabad.

Rao, arrested in June 2018, is lodged in the Taloja prison in Navi Mumbai as an undertrial.

Currently though, he is undergoing treatment in the Nanavati Hospital, where he was admitted in November last year following the HC''s intervention.

The case related to alleged inflammatory speeches made at the ''Elgar Parishad'' conclave held in Pune on December 31, 2017, which, the police claimed, triggered violence the next day near the Koregaon-Bhima war memorial located on the outskirts of the western Maharashtra city.

The police have claimed the conclave was organised by people with alleged Maoist links. Several activists and academicians have been named as accused in the case.

The case was initially probed by the Pune police and later it was handed over to the central agency.

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Story first published: Monday, February 22, 2021, 11:49 [IST]
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Apparently out of sight is out of mind for the powers that be in Santa Fe.

How else to explain the rush to remove a controversial statue of Don Diego de Vargas from Cathedral Park, a few blocks from Santa Fes historic Plaza, last June? The cloak-and-dagger operation that had the polarizing Spaniard taken to a secret and secure location for his own protection? And the subsequent revelation hes apparently been hanging out for eight months in the backyard of the crane company that removed him because the city never told them where to take it?

Way for a city known for its art to protect the publics investment in it, folks.

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Amid nationwide protests over historical monuments last summer, Mayor Alan Webber ordered de Vargas be removed for his own safety. Webber says he had been assured the leader of the Spaniards reconquest of Santa Fe  12 years after they were driven out during the Pueblo Revolt of 1680  was somewhere on city property. When he learned that wasnt the case, he was both very surprised and very upset.

We would hope so. Love him or leave him, the de Vargas statue is public property and should not suffer the same fate as the toppled obelisk in the Plaza or wind up in some collectors underground gallery.

Ron Trujillo, a former city councilor and current chairman of the Caballeros de Vargas, declined to reveal where the statue has been stored but said he had been alerted the business hired to remove de Vargas still had him on its property.

Even more upsetting, while both Trujillo and Webber told the Journal the statue is safe, Trujillo said he believes its not secure in its current location.

Ya think? Talk about inadvertently creating Fenn Treasure Hunt 2.0.

Meanwhile, a woman at the crane company that was on site the day de Vargas was moved would neither confirm nor deny possession of de Vargas, though she did say weve just kind of gotten involved in something we shouldnt be involved in.

Shes right. When Webber ordered the statue moved, there should have been a destination along with the pick-up site. He put de Vargas and the crane company in a terrible spot. He needs to get them both out of it.

This editorial first appeared in the Albuquerque Journal. It was written by members of the editorial board and is unsigned as it represents the opinion of the newspaper rather than the writers.
Posted Monday, February 22, 2021 10:16 am

Battle Ground resident Heidi St. John announced Saturday she will run as a Republican for Congress in Washingtons 3rd Congressional District in 2022.

Im running to represent our citizens and be a trusted voice in Congress, says St. John.

St. John is a successful author and well-known national speaker on family and education issues. She has been a strong champion for individual rights and parental rights. Education reform and excellence will be high priorities for her first days in office.

Four generations of. St Johns have lived in Washingtons 3rd Congressional District. St. John and her husband Jay have been married for 32 years, making their home and raising their seven children in Southwest Washington since 1999. Their grandchildren are also being raised here.

I love this country  and I know that together, we can save America. But this will only come about when our representatives exhibit true strength of character and a commitment to return to the values that made this nation great, St. John stated.

Over the past several weeks, St. John says she has received numerous calls, texts and emails from residents urging her to run for the seat in order to restore trust and stand for American values in representation for the region. Republican leaders throughout Washingtons Third Congressional district are also rallying around her candidacy in the hopes of uniting Republicans, Independents and all freedom-loving Americans behind a single candidate to win the seat in 2022, she said.

A Saturday news release announcing her intent to run for Congress stated, After the severe backlash from ongoing controversial decisions made by Congresswoman Herrera Buetler, which has jeopardized the Republican seat and caused division within the party, there is a need for leadership which truly represents the constituents in the 3rd district.

St. John stated, I look forward to working with the community to make sure that Washingtons 3rd District remains a beautiful, free, and safe place to live, work, and raise our families for generations to come.

St. John asks all those who share this vision to join her as she fights for the soul of our country.

For more information, go to HeidiStJohnforCongress.com or email info@heidistjohnforcongress.com.

Yacolt resident Joe Kent announced his candidacy for Congress in Washingtons 3rd Congressional District on the Lars Larson Show on KXL radio Friday and Vancouver resident Wadi Yakhour has said he will formally announce his candidacy on Tuesday. Both also state a Republican party affiliation.
Brent crude was up 89 cents at US$63.80 a barrel. BP and Shell rose in sympathy.

Coming out of lockdown while keeping the "R" rate down will be no picnic

FTSE 100 slides 11 points

Dow drags Wall Street to a mixed midday

Oil giants wanted as oil price rises ahead of next week's OPEC+ meeting

5.10pm: Traders can't find their way to a positive finish

The FTSE 100 ended Monday down 11 points, 0.2%, at 6,612, while the FTSE 250 gave away 55 points, 0.3%, to close at 20,981.

"While investors do not appear to be in jubilant mood regarding the UKs route out of lockdown, the overall tone of the afternoon has not been particularly negative either," IG Chief Market Analyst Chris Beauchamp wrote Monday. "Some of Fridays selling has leaked over into the new week, but in general the moves to the downside appear to have been contained once again."

Across the pond, the Dow climbed out of an early 200-point hole to land 29 points up, a gain of less than 0.1%, at 31,524 at midday. The Nasdaq slid 235 points, 1.7%, to 13,639, and the S&P 500 dropped 21 points, 0.6%, to 3,885.

If those trends hold, Monday would be the fifth losing day for the S&P 500 in a row.

Big tech also struggled, shackling the Nasdaq. Apple Inc ( ), Amazon.com ( ) and ( ) all fell nearly 2% or more.

3.25pm: OIl giants temper the Footsie's losses

Despite support from the oil giants, the FTSE 100 remains in the red.

Londons index of heavyweight shares was 28 points (0.4%) weaker and would have been lower still but for index heavyweights PLC (LONLRDSB) and ( ) rising 1.8% at 1.6% respectively, in line with a 1.2% increase in the price of Brent Crude.

The oil price rally appears to have cast a shadow over OPEC+s resolve to keep cutting as much production as they are cutting now, said natural resources-focused boutique broker, SP Angel.

Oil had been recovering steadily even before the United States lost some 40% of its oil production because of the Arctic cold wave that swept across the country. The Texas deep freeze certainly helped it, but its effect is already dwindling as traders take profits, the broker added.

OPEC+ is set to meet next week with many expecting the cartel to raise production, although Saudi Arabia is expected to resist the move, which is being driven by Russia.

It highlights the differing opinions between the two with Russia worried that higher prices may lead to rising production from other producers, especially in the US. Saudi Arabia meanwhile wants higher prices, something that the market expects they will achieve given the outlook for a strong post-pandemic recovery. , one of the most bullish forecasters, have increased their 3-6 month's forecast to $75/b, $10 above its previous forecast, said Saxo Banks head of commodity strategy Ole Hansen.

Reality check: With these prices some opec plus states will likely propose easing the cuts, but how this plays out in terms of policy remains to be seen on the day of the meeting. #OOTT #opec pic.twitter.com/cDN4234j7H  Amena Bakr (@Amena__Bakr) February 22, 2021

3.05pm: Proactive North America headlines:

Ltd ( ) (FRA:GPE) (OTCQB:GRSLF) announces first-ever ground geophysical program on San Marcial project in Sinaloa, Mexico

XPhyto Therapeutics Corp ( ) (OTCQB:XPHYF) (FRA:4XT) eyeing Europe sales launch of its coronavirus RT-PCR test in April this year

Nano One Materials Corp ( ) (OTCPINK:NOMF) (FRA:LBMB) says technology performing well in solid-state battery testing with University of Michigan

( ) ( ) reports further promising exploration results from Providence project in British Columbia

CytoDyn Inc ( ) says data from its Phase 2b/3 Vyrologix coronavirus trial will be made public pending regulatory talks

Empress Royalty Corp ( ) ( ) adds new production royalty on Manica gold project in Mozambique

Inc ( ) ( ) (FRA:7GU) bolsters board with Salma Seetaroo and Eric Krafft as Lechtzier and Hanson retire

Corp ( ) ( ) (FRA:3UW) extends strategic partnership with Sportradar ahead of US launch of its sports betting platform

KushCo Holdings Inc ( ) Inc moves ahead with $40M registered direct offering to pay down debt, advance other business purposes

( ) (FRA:ZGV3) and Scandinavian Airlines amend sales deal to up sustainable aviation fuel purchase minimum

2.45pm: Wall Street starts lower

Wall Streets main stock market indices began the week on the back foot as market sentiment appeared to be on the turn.

Shortly after the opening bell, the Dow Jones Industrial Average was down 0.58% at 31,310, while the S&P 500 dropped 0.75% to 3,877 and the Nasdaq fell 1.28% to 13,688.

US equities have been held down by a jump in yields for 10-year Treasury bonds, which are currently at a one-year high, as well as a mixed set of coronavirus statistics which showed US deaths from the virus had surpassed 500,000 despite a sharp fall in new infections.

Meanwhile, shares in ( ) descended 1.6% to US$213.85 in early deals following the grounding of a number of its 777 aircraft after one of the planes suffered an engine malfunction that forced it to make an emergency landing in Denver over the weekend.

Back in London, the FTSE 100 had recovered some of its losses into late afternoon but was still down 24 points at 6,599 just after 2.45pm.

1.40pm: FTSE 100 seizes up

The FTSE 100 has got stuck in a groove (and not a pleasing one) over the lunchtime trading session.

Londons index of leading shares was down 41 points (0.6%) at 6,583, little changed from an hour earlier.

(LON:SN.), down 3.5% at 1,421.5p, was the indexs second-worst performer after Commerzbank moved to a hold recommendation from buy, although it left the price target unchanged.

Fund management firm ( ) was another blue-chip to see its rating change while its target price stayed the same; Barclays moved to equal weight from underweight with a target price of 330p. The shares were 0.6% softer at 324.4p.

A couple of graphite specialists caught the eye at the tiddlers' end of the market.

PLC ( ) has successfully completed trials and tests for the manufacture of battery-grade spherical graphite, used in the anode of lithium-ion batteries, it was announced this morning.

The shares climbed 19% to 93p.

( ) advanced 14% to 148p after it signed a supply agreement and a strategic research & development agreement with NexTech Batteries, a lithium-sulphur (Li-S) batteries company.

12.35pm: US indices to open lower

Global markets have been off-colour today and US markets look set to open with a decidedly reddish hue this afternoon.

Spread betting quotes indicate the Dow Jones industrial average will open 181 points weaker at 31,313 and the S&P 500 will surrender 19 points at 3,878.

The tech-heavy Nasdaq 100 is tipped to open 186 points lower at 13,395.

There has been some mixed news on the coronavirus (COVID-19) front, with the number of new US cases reported yesterday 14% lower than a week earlier at 56,000.

The rate of decline in confirmed cases appears to have slowed sharply in recent days, but this is likely a catch-up from last week, when severe weather depressed testing activity and, hence, the number of reported cases. Test activity has not yet returned to normal but the rate of fall has slowed; we expect a rebound over the course of this week, suggested Ian Shepherdson at Pantheon Macroeconomics.

The underlying trend in new cases probably is still falling by about 20-to-25% per week, and we see no signs yet that the spread of the more infectious B117 variant is slowing the rate of decline, even in Florida, where it appears to be most prevalent, Shepherdson said, adding the caveat that it is too soon to say that B117 wont be a problem.

The US macroeconomic cupboard is not entirely bare today but it has the equivalent of that minestrone youd forgotten you still had, namely the leading indicators for January.

The US leading index is expected to rise by one tick. Thats better than falling by one tick, but I dont think its enough to make anyone change their mind about the US economy, was the pithy assessment of Marshall Gittler at BDSwiss.

In London, the FTSE 100 is off 39 points (0.6%) at 6,585.

Cryptocurrency and coronavirus plays continue to attract attention, particularly among smaller stocks.

( ) was Londons top stock as investor John Story pumped 1mln into the company at a penny a share, giving him an 11.14% stake in the company, which is looking to accelerate and widen the development of its cryptocurrency plans.

Despite issuing shares at a discount, Clear Leisure shares practically doubled to 2.4p.

( ), the developer of a secure, blockchain-driven COVID passport system, was 56% higher at 2.95p after it was asked to participate in a government initiative to make it quicker and easier for people to verify themselves using modern technology.

#Catenae is pleased to announce that it has been invited by the UK Government's Department for Digital, Culture, Media and Sport @DCMS to participate in the development of a Digital Identity Policy. Read the full announcement here: #digitalidentity #CTEA https://t.co/rxKILAobAC  Catenae Innovation (@Catenae_) February 22, 2021

11.30am: Sterling's strength weighs

With sterling heading higher on the foreign exchange markets, Londons blue-chip equities remain under a cloud.

The FTSE 100 was down 34 points (0.5%) at 6,590.

The pound has been surging higher on expectations of strong demand once lockdowns end. Such has been the strength of the rally that not even a badly disappointed UK retail sales report could knock the GBP/USD off its perch. This is because the markets are always forward-looking and in the case of the pound any softness in data during this lockdown continues to be shrugged off, said Fawad Razaqzada at ThinkMarkets.

The vaccine rollout in the UK has been quite successful so far, raising hopes that lockdowns will end for good soon, which, together with ongoing government support and favourable monetary conditions, will fuel a sharp economic recovery and although the has floated the idea of negative interest rates, it will unlikely go down this route given the potential for a sharp economic recovery that is likely to boost inflation towards the Banks 2% target. Lets not forget that the UK also avoided a no-deal Brexit at the back end of last year, which is one of the key reasons the cable got to $1.40, a level where it was trading around before that 2016 referendum, he added.

ING noted that sterling has continued to be a key outperformer in the G10 space as the UK's vaccination progress has continued to endorse the currencys attractiveness.

This has been mirrored by an increase in GBPs net-long positions (+10% of open interest since the start of the year), which are now at 13% of open interest: well above its one standard deviation band and close to the top of its five-year range.

Still, we struggle to see the current GBP positioning as particularly overstretched, said INGs foreign exchange strategist, Francesco Pesole.

The market continues to be underwhelmed by the leaked details of the UKs allegedly cautious emergence from lockdowns.

The UK-focused FTSE 250 index slipped 1% as investors took the view that the UK economy would only be unlocked gradually rather than a quick flick of the switch. Among the biggest negative contributors to the index in points terms were ITV, Howden Joinery and Games Workshop, all linked to consumer spending either directly or through advertising, said Russ Mould, AJ Bells investment director.

Both Next and Primark owner Associated British Foods saw their share prices fall by approximately 1% as markets opened on Monday, with investors disappointed that non-essential retail may not reopen until at least late April, based on media reports.

Thats a blow to Associated British Foods which doesnt have the online channel to keep sales coming in for Primark. Fortunately, its conglomerate status provides welcome diversification benefits, with money still being made in food and ingredients during lockdown.

Restaurants are not expected to open until May, but pub gardens could be busy again from mid-April, giving some hope to investors who bid up shares in Wetherspoon.

Missing the Easter weekend will be a major blow for the pubs industry as that is traditionally a strong period for trading and until pubs are permitted to open, each day of sunshine will be like pushing a thorn deeper into a wound for pubs operators as their tills sit idle.

Despite some disappointment at the likely pace of reopening for different industry sectors, we may only be talking a matter of months and investors should really be looking much further into the future.

Investor sentiment should improve once the first lockdown restrictions start to be eased and thats also the case for companies as well. You should expect to see a pick-up in recruitment for sectors that have sailed through the crisis such as technology and healthcare, Mould said.

In company news, there have been updates from the UKs two drugs giants, PLC ( ) and ( ).

announced the voluntary withdrawal of the Imfinzi (durvalumab) indication in the US for previously treated adult patients with locally advanced or metastatic bladder cancer. This decision was made in consultation with the Food and Drug Administration (FDA).

s shares dipped 0.1% to 7,220p.

Glaxo, meanwhile, rose 0.5% to 1,221.4p after it announced the initiation of a new Phase 2 study to select the most appropriate antigen dosage for Phase 3 evaluation of its adjuvanted recombinant protein COVID-19 vaccine candidate developed in conjunction with Sanofi.

Today we announce the initiation of the new Phase 2 trial for our #COVID19 recombinant vaccine candidate developed with @GSK, bringing us one step closer to combating the pandemic and protecting populations against this virus. https://t.co/bEcr3ppxKs#SanofiActs pic.twitter.com/JS4b1TtVVt  Sanofi (@sanofi) February 22, 2021

10.10am: Losses lengthen as lockdown roadmap details are leaked

Details of the much talked about COVID lockdown roadmap have been leaked and coincidentally or not, the FTSE 100s losses have lengthened.

After a hesitant start, the Footsie is now down 69 points (1.1%) at 6,554, with home delivery giants ( ) and NV ( ) prominent among the blue-chip fallers in the wake of the governments relaxation of lockdown restrictions.

Grocery deliveries technology firm Ocado is off 4.5% at 2,443p and Just Eat is down 3.3% at 7,258p and all because two people from separate households will be able to meet outside for a coffee from March 8.

All schools will reopen from March 8 and care home visits indoors will resume on the same date.

All of this is assuming that current coronavirus case trends continue, of course.

Mmm predicting that as soon as the kids go back to school the R rate will increase delaying/halting this road map for everyone else. https://t.co/YKwUnXBdlr  Roxy ???? (@roxyb_x) February 22, 2021

On March 29, outdoor gatherings will be permitted for two households or six persons, and various outdoor sporting activities will be allowed to resume.

It looks like the hospitality sector will have to wait until late April before it can begin even a limited resumption of serving food and drink, which will no doubt spark another rant from PLCs ( ) very own answer to Al Murrays Pub Landlord, Tim Martin.

Mid-May has been pencilled in for pubs and restaurants to resume taking indoor bookings and even then with some restrictions.

The ever-reliable health secretary, Matt Hancock, has said he is optimistic that summer holidays in the UK could be back on the agenda, which has sparked buying interest in the likes of ( ), easyJet PLC ( ) and PLC ( ), which have notched up gains ranging from 1.8% to 3.0%.

British Airways owner International Consolidated Airlines SA (LON:SA) was 1.2% higher at 167.65p after British Airways closed tow financing agreements that will increase its total liquidity by 3.45bn.

Cinemas operator Cineworld PLC ( ) was up 3.5% at 83.6p, apparently, we are to be allowed to eat overpriced popcorn again in May if all goes well.

If this is true, I will throw in the question of - sweating in a room full of people is less risky than sitting in a cinema room? Sure. #Roadmap #UKCovid https://t.co/1ZQ6dWVJ9R  Brigitte Krause (@TheBrigitteEdit) February 22, 2021

8.40am: Cautious start as market awaits inevitable leaking of lockdown roadmap detail

The FTSE 100 opened the session in the red, though the decline wasnt quite as bad as predicted by the spread betting firms ahead of the days play.

Against a backdrop of rising bond yields, the blue-chip index fell 14 points to 6,609.57.

The recent price action in debt markets reflects a growing preoccupation with inflation, which has sent equity investors scurrying for value stocks, according to Richard Hunter, head of markets at Interactive Investor.

With commodity prices continuing to rise and with an oil price now up 23% this year, helped by freezing conditions in the US and crimped supply, thoughts are also turning slowly to the possibility of inflation becoming a factor later in the year, explained.

The miners were well bid as the copper price continued to hold at near-record levels. Antofagasta ( ), the Chilean producer of the red metal, led the pack with a 3% gain.

Not far behind were the Evraz ( ), the iron and steel group, and the majors Glencore ( ) and BHP ( ).

Security group ( ) fell 10% after bidder GardaWorld said it wouldnt be increasing its takeover offer.

Smith & Nephew (LON:SN.) continued its post-results slide with the markets disappointment reflected in a further 2.5% slide in the share price.

Proactive news headlines

( ), the developer of a secure, blockchain-driven Covid passport system, has been asked to participate in a government initiative to make it quicker and easier for people to verify themselves using modern technology.

( ) said it has signed a commercial supply and collaboration deal with ePIC Blockchain Technologies which it said will allow it to receive priority access to state-of-the-art ASIC mining machines.

CentralNic Group PLC ( ) said it has agreed to acquire Wando Internet Solutions GmbH, a Berlin-based social marketing, display advertising and search engine marketing (SEM) advertising technology company, for an initial consideration of 5.4mln (4.7mln).

Sativa Wellness Group ( ) said its Bath and Bristol Goodbody clinics booked up to 27,000 a day in Covid testing revenues in December as it announced the opening of a tenth in-pharmacy facility and plans for a further twenty.

Base Resources Ltd ( ) generated revenue of US$72.8mln from its mining operations in Kenya in the six months to 31 December 2020. EBITDA came in at US$33.9mln, while net debt was cut by US$50mln.

( ) has received the processed high-resolution airborne electromagnetic and magnetics geophysics survey data and associated maps and report over the Dotted Lake property on the north limb of the Schreiber-Hemlo greenstone belt in Ontario, Canada.

( ) has helped create a joint venture to provide teleradiology reporting services and increased reporting capacity in Australia, New Zealand, the UK and Ireland.

Condor Gold ( )( ) has started a 5,000-metre diamond drill programme at the Cacao prospect at the La India project in Nicaragua. Cacao is located four kilometres from the planned processing plant at the fully permitted La India mine.

( ) said it has signed a supply agreement and a strategic R&D agreement with NexTech Batteries Inc, a lithium-sulphur (Li-S) batteries company based in Nevada, US.

(LON:NQMI, ) said it has signed an agreement with Australian gold miner for the detailed evaluation and potential processing of lead and silver-rich stockpiles at the Sunbeam project, located at the companys Ukalunda tenement in North Queensland, Australia.

( ) has received ministerial consent for the transfer of title, being the final condition of closing on the acquisition of a 75% interest in the Eclipse gold project, located 55 kilometres north-east of Kalgoorlie, Western Australia.

"We are pleased to have now completed the acquisition of a 75% interest in Eclipse, said Empire director Mike Struthers.

PLC ( ) said it has filed an application with OTC Markets Group Inc for its shares to be cross-traded on the OTCQB Venture Market under the ticker GULDF, which it said will make its shares more widely available to North American investors.

( ) said it had made a positive start to its current year as it swung into profit in its first quarter. In its results for the three months to December 31, the aquaculture specialist reported an adjusted operating profit from continuing operations of 1.3mln compared to a 1.1mln loss a year ago, while revenues climbed to 29mln from 24.7mln.

( ) financial results for 2020 confirmed strong growth in revenues and gross profit, which rose by 49% and 83% respectively.

PLC ( ) has completed trials and tests for the manufacture of battery-grade spherical graphite, used in the anode of lithium-ion batteries. The trials and tests were conducted in tandem with a globally recognised German manufacturer of spheroidisation and micronisation equipment, achieving significant results in the end product.

Chariot Oil & Gas Limited ( ) has inked a collaboration agreement with Subsea Integration Alliance for the Anchois gas development project in Morocco.

(CVE:FO, ) told investors it is exiting non-core assets in Canada, assigning its interests to a large Canadian-based company.

Litigation Capital Management Limited ( ) has secured a US$50mln credit facility to provide the company with additional investment capital that will be used to pursue growth opportunities.

( ) said its 18.8% stake in Pulsiv Solar is now valued at 4.1mln following the latters latest equity fundraising and debt conversion, up from 3.6mln at the end of June.

VietNam Holding Limited ( ) said in its monthly investor report that business and consumer confidence continues to thrive in Vietnam, although there was a small wobble in January when profit-taking following a resurgence in coronavirus cases prompted profit-taking, resulting in the fund's net asset value (NAV) easing 1.7% over the course of the month. The NAV has rebounded in February.

PLC ( ) has appointed Panmure Gordon as Nominated Adviser with immediate effect. Panmure Gordon will also continue to act as a financial adviser and joint broker to the company.

( ) announced the appointment of Charles 'Chuck' Fremont Osborne Jr to the board with immediate effect. Fremont, who has been in the role of the chief financial officer since April 2019, has "significant capital markets experience coupled with a strong knowledge of financial operations within the pharmaceutical industry", said chief executive Richard Hullihen.

( ) has hired New York-based EAS Advisors to introduce institutions and funding, as the explorer works to advance mining and exploration projects in sub-Saharan Africa.

Silence Therapeutics PLC (LON:SLN) announced that the company's management will present business updates at two virtual investor conferences in March: the Cowen 41st Annual Health Care Conference at 10.20am on Monday 1 March; and the HC Wainwright Global Life Sciences Conference, on demand on Tuesday 9 March 2021.

PLC ( ) announced on Friday the introduction of its share option plan 2021 for executives and selected senior management, designed to promote the retention, recruitment and incentivisation of the Company's leadership team. Up to 11,194,030 new ordinary shares may be issued under new options granted under the plan, which represents approximately 2.5% of the company's issued ordinary share capital.

( ) said that on 1 March 2021 it will publish its full-year results for the financial year ended 31 October 2020.

6.50 am: Nervy mood ahead of the open

The mood was a nervous one ahead of the unveiling of Boris Johnsons road-map out of the current coronavirus lockdown, with FTSE 100 called sharply lower.

He will outline plans to ease some of the restrictions later. Reports suggest the way will be paved for an early return to school for millions of children.

However, the agony may be prolonged for non-essential shops, pubs and salons  heaping on the pain for large parts of the economy.

Our decisions will be made on the latest data at every step, and we will be cautious about this approach so that we do not undo the progress we have achieved so far and the sacrifices each and every one of you has made to keep yourself and others safe, the Prime Minister said on Sunday.

Asias main markets made a mixed start to proceedings against a backdrop of rising bond yields.

In the US, we could see further progress on the US$1.9 trillion stimulus programme with the House set to vote on the bill by the end of the week.

Back here in the UK, it is shaping up to be a busy week for corporate news. Lloyds ( ) and ( ) lead the charge with the latter expected to outline plans to further concentrate its operations on Asia.

A report in the Financial Times also suggests will exit US retail banking as part of a strategic overhaul of the business.

Also reporting this week are AB Foods ( ), William Hill ( ) and BAE Sytems ( ).

Around the markets

Pound: US$1.4016 (flat)

Bitcoin US$56,314.03 (-0.83%)

Gold US$1,786.90 (+0.53%)

Brent crude US$63.88 (+1.54%)

6.50am: Early Markets - Asia / Australia

Stocks in the Asia-Pacific region were mostly lower on Monday as the one-year loan prime rate (LPR) in China was left unchanged at 3.85%, largely in line with expectations.

The Hang Seng index in Hong Kong was flat while the Shanghai Composite in China dipped 0.76%.

In Japan, the Nikkei 225 gained 0.46% while South Koreas Kospi fell 0.90%.

Shares in Australia slipped, with the S&P/ASX 200 closing 0.19% lower.

READ OUR ASX REPORT HERE

Proactive Australia news:

's ( ) (OTCMKTS:NOURF) (FRA:NUN) has completed tranche 1 of a placement announced on February 16, 2021, raising A$20 million (before costs).

( ) ( ) (FRA:38A) hit a new record high after passing a key technological milestone with electronic transport achieved in a single qubit at room temperature.

Ltd ( ) has received commitments to raise A$18 million through the issue of 200 million fully paid ordinary shares to institutional sophisticated and professional investors at an issue price of A$0.09 per share.

( ) has soared to a new record high on signing a graphite supply and marketing agreement with Luxcarbon GmbH, Germany - a move that further positions the company as a supplier of graphite concentrate and downstream graphite products to EV and alternative energy markets.

( ) (OTCMKTS:RDFEF) is fully-funded to drill and complete the much-anticipated Jewell Well in the SWISH AOI of Oklahoma, USA, after an A$8.25 million capital raising, with shares up as much as 50%.

( ) is undertaking a capital raising of around $15 million to progress the next phase of exploration and resource growth at its Cardinia Gold Project near Leonora in Western Australia.

Blackstone Minerals ( ) (OTCQX:BLSTF) (FRA:B9S) has begun trading on the US-based OTCQX Best Market under the code of OTCQX:BLSTF following the rapid increase in the value of its shares and strong interest from US investors.

( ) (FRA:RKN) has issued a Letter of Intent for the award of engineering, procurement and construction (EPC) works for the processing facility at the Norseman Gold Project to GR Engineering Services ( ).

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s ( ) (FRA:M6N) infill drilling program at Riverina South deposit within the wider Davyhurst Gold Project in Western Australia has delivered strong assay results of up to 3 metres at 32.4 g/t from 34 metres.
VANCOUVER, Wash. - Loss of biodiversity in the face of climate change is a growing worldwide concern. Another major factor driving the loss of biodiversity is the establishment of invasive species, which often displace native species. A new study shows that species can adapt rapidly to an invader and that this evolutionary change can affect how they deal with a stressful climate.

"Our results demonstrate that interactions with competitors, including invasive species, can shape a species' evolution in response to climatic change," said co-author Seth Rudman, a WSU Vancouver adjunct professor who will join the faculty as an assistant professor of biological sciences in the fall.

Results were published in the Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences as "Competitive history shapes rapid evolution in a seasonal climate."

Scientists have increasingly recognized that evolution is not necessarily slow and often occurs quickly enough to be observed in real time. These rapid evolutionary changes can have major consequences for things like species' persistence and responses to climatic change. The investigators chose to examine this topic in fruit flies, which reproduce quickly, allowing change to be observed over several generations in a matter of months. The team focused on two species: one naturalized in North American orchards (Drosophila melanogaster) and one that has recently started to invade North America (Zaprionus indianus).

The experiment first tested whether the naturalized species can evolve rapidly in response to exposure to the invasive species over the summer, then tested how adaptation in the summer affects the naturalized species' ability to deal with and adapt to the colder fall conditions.

"A cool thing about the way we conducted this study is that while most experiments that look at rapid evolution use controlled lab systems, we used an outdoor experimental orchard that mimics the natural habitat of our focal species," said Tess Grainger of the Biodiversity Centre at the University of British Columbia and the lead author on the paper. "This gives our experiment a sense of realism and makes our findings more applicable to understanding natural systems."

Over the course of just a few months, the naturalized species adapted to the presence of the invasive species. This rapid evolution then affected how the flies evolved when the cold weather hit. Flies that had been previously exposed to the invasive species evolved in the fall to be larger, lay fewer eggs and develop faster than flies that had never been exposed.

The study marks the beginning of research that may ultimately hold implications for other threatened species that are more difficult to study. "In the era of global environmental change in which species are increasingly faced with new climates and new competitors, these dynamics are becoming essential to understand and predict," Grainger said.

Rudman summarized the next big question: "As biodiversity changes, as climate changes and invaders become more common, what can rapid evolution do to affect outcomes of those things over the next century or two? It may be that rapid evolution will help biodiversity be maintained in the face of these changes."

In addition to Rudman and Grainger, the paper's co-authors are Jonathan M. Levine, Ecology and Evolutionary Biology Department, Princeton University (where Grainger was a postdoctoral fellow); and Paul Schmidt, Department of Biology, University of Pennsylvania (where Rudman was a postdoctoral fellow). The research was conducted in an outdoor field site near the University of Pennsylvania.

###
Disgraced former police officer Goncalo Amaral has claimed Kate McCann's reaction to daughter Madeleine going missing was 'not normal'.

The controversial ex-cop, who accused the McCanns of a cover-up after their daughter vanished, insisted Madeleine's mother should have been much more emotional at her disappearance.

Amaral, who was the original lead investigator in the case before his October 2007 sacking for criticising the British police, makes his shocking allegations in a new documentary.

Disgraced former police officer Goncalo Amaral has claimed Kate McCann's reaction to daughter Madeleine going missing was 'not normal'

The McCanns had left Madeleine, then three, asleep with twin siblings Sean and Amelie to go and eat tapas with their holiday friends at a bar near their Praia da Luz apartment.

The youngster's mother discovered she had gone during one of the checks on the children the so-called Tapas Nine had organised.

Targeting Kate in Prime Suspect: The Madeleine McCann Case, airing as a three-part series on Discovery Plus on Monday, Amaral said: 'She has two children asleep in a cot.

'She leaves them and then goes back to where she was having dinner when she could have gone onto the balcony and screamed or picked up the phone and asked for help.

'She walked 100 metres or 200 metres back to the restaurant - that's not normal.'

The McCanns had left Madeleine, then three, asleep with twin siblings Sean and Amelie to go and eat tapas with their holiday friends

He also had a new dig at German authorities over their insistence convicted paedophile Christian Brueckner was responsible for taking Madeleine, saying: 'They talk a lot but they don't present any evidence.

'The question is what are they up to? Why are they not telling us anything? There is a huge lack of evidence.

'There is no evidence. They need to prove that someone entered the apartment. They need to prove that happened but the German authorities have not gone public with any other information.

'Simply finding someone that fits a profile isn't good enough. This suspect is almost the perfect suspect.'

Amaral has been at the centre of a long-running legal battle with the McCanns over his claims in his 2008 book 'The Truth of the Lie.'

Christian Brueckner (right) is being investigated in Germany over Madeleine's (left) disappearance

He accused them of covering up their daughter's accidental death in their holiday flat.

The McCanns have made a last-ditch attempt to seek redress in the European Court of Human Rights after losing a libel fight against Mr Amaral in Portugal.

Amaral, 61, told a Spanish TV programme in December 2019 when shown a picture of another man previously linked to Madeleine's abduction that the supposed kidnapper was 'similar, very similar' to Gerry McCann.

He has also made unsubstantiated claims M15 spies had helped to cover up Madeleine's death and disappearance.

He said British secret agents 'for sure had an involvement' in an Australian documentary which aired in April 2018.

The McCanns have repeatedly said the fake accusations against them have harmed the search for Madeleine.

The McCanns have repeatedly said the fake accusations against them have harmed the search for Madeleine

Gerry has been quoted as saying: 'I'm sure it's a very small minority of people who spend their time doing it, but it has totally inhabited what we do.'

Brueckner's lawyer Friedrich Fulscher has told the Discovery channel documentary he doesn't think his client will ever be charged.

The German 44-year-old, now in prison in his homeland, used to live in Praia da Luz and has been placed by police in the vicinity of the McCanns' Ocean Club holiday complex the night Madeleine disappeared.

German prosecutor Hans Christian Wolters said last month he remained hopeful of clarifying the 2007 disappearance.

But Mr Fulscher, who has always insisted Brueckner has nothing to do with the case, said: 'My client hasn't been charged with anything.

'He is under investigation and under suspicion. I have to assume that they do not have any concrete evidence. I think that's quite typical for us Germans.

'We think we are something special, at least in Europe, and think we can do things better than other nations. We will see if that is the case but I don't think so.'

By Lambert Strether of Corrente.

Patient readers, my weekend haul was unusually high on analysis, and unusually low on events. So I was slow going through it. I will have more shortly, especially in Health, and Politics. lambert UPDATE All done!

Bird Song of the Day

Birds of Texas.

#COVID19

At reader request, Ive added this daily chart from 91-DIVOC. The data is the Johns Hopkins CSSE data. Here is the site.

I feel Im engaging in a macabre form of tape-watching, because I dont think the peak is coming in the next days, or even weeks. Is the virus gathering itself for another leap?

Vaccination by region:

Big drop in the South no doubt storm-related.

Case count by United States region:

Big states (New York, Florida, Texas, California):

Big drop in the South no doubt storm-related.

Test positivity:

Regional averages approach 3%, which is what we want to see. (Alert reader TsWkr pointed out its time to update my test positivity comment, which I just did.)

Hospitalization:

Hospitalization is discretionary; they may also be reducing their admissions rate  relative to cases we cannot see in this data!  to preserve future capacity; or because hospitals have figured out how to send people home.

Case fatality rate (plus deaths):

Once Ohios data is processed, an enormous drop (down to the peak of the first wave).

Politics

But what is government itself, but the greatest of all reflections on human nature? James Madison, Federalist 51

They had one weapon left and both knew it: treachery. Frank Herbert, Dune

They had learned nothing, and forgotten nothing. Charles Maurice de Talleyrand-Perigord

Impeachment

Why Didnt Speaker Pelosi Want Witnesses? [Ralph Nader, Counterpunch]. For reasons yet to be divulged, the Democrats, as they did with the first impeachment of Trump, were unwilling to use the full evidence subpoena powers they possess. Trump can now run again, vitiating the rule of law and debasing our democratic institutions. As Republican strategist Kevin Philips noted years ago, The Republicans go for the jugular while the Democrats go for the capillaries.

Biden Administration

Biden seems set to pick fight over Rahm Emanuel [The Hill]. Former Chicago Mayor Rahm Emanuel appears poised to take on a high-profile ambassadorship for President Biden, a step likely to trigger contention with progressives whove balked at him taking a Cabinet role. Emanuel is the front-runner to be Bidens nominee as ambassador to Japan, sources familiar with the matter told The Hill. Hes also being considered for the post in China, but sources said Japan is the more likely landing spot for former President Obamas chief of staff. Former State Department official Nicholas Burns is the likely front-runner to end up in Beijing. The diplomatic role in Asia would mark a high-profile return to the federal government for Emanuel, who built a reputation as a brash but effective political tactician in the Democratic Party.  Emmanuel ran a torture center at Homan Square when he was mayor of Chicago, so he should fit right in. UPDATE Shockingly, or not, Biden repeats his lie that $2000 checks out the door really mean $1600 checks + $400 already paid: I know a lot of folks have questions about when youll get your stimulus checks and how were increasing vaccine production, so I sat down to answer a few. pic.twitter.com/tzAt5zeUnN  President Biden (@POTUS) February 19, 2021 Heres what Warnock campaigned on in Georgia: And heres what Biden said then: [T]heir election will put an end to the block in Washington on that $2000 stimulus check. That money will go out the door immediately to people in real trouble. Shouldnt social media be flagging this as disinformation? Shouldnt liberal Democrats be amping up the hysteria? (And do the Democrats really think people are going to forget that the demon figure, Trump, sent them bigger checks than Biden did?) UPDATE Bidens 1st month was about erasing the mark of former guy [Associated Press]. The test for Biden is whether his stylistic changes will be matched by policies that deliver a marked improvement from Trump, and a month is not long enough to measure that.  Yes, 30 days is colorably not enough. 100 days, however, certainly is.

2020

UPDATE Democrats Beat Trump in 2020. Now Theyre Asking: What Went Wrong? [New York Times]. [A] cluster of Democratic advocacy groups has quietly launched a review of the partys performance in the 2020 election with an eye toward shaping Democrats approach to next years midterm campaign, seven people familiar with the effort said.  Unlike 2016. More: Strategists involved in the Democratic self-review have begun interviewing elected officials and campaign consultants and reaching out to lawmakers and former candidates in major House and Senate races where the party either won or lost narrowly. Four major groups are backing the effort, spanning a range of Democratic-leaning interests: Third Way, a centrist think tank; End Citizens United, a clean-government group; the Latino Victory Fund; and Collective PAC, an organization that supports Black Democratic candidates. They are said to be working with at least three influential bodies within the House Democratic caucus: the Congressional Black Caucus, the Congressional Hispanic Caucus and the New Democrat Coalition, a group of centrist lawmakers. The groups have retained a Democratic consulting firm, 270 Strategies, to conduct interviews and analyze electoral data.  Ah, I see the word cluster was well chosen.

Realignment and Legitimacy

US Crisis Monitor Releases Full Data for 2020 [Armed Conflict Location & Event Data Project (ACLED)]. Sparked by the police killing of George Floyd in May, the latest wave of protests associated with the Black Lives Matter (BLM) movement accounts for 47% [10,330 at 2,730 locations] of all demonstrations in the US last year. While the BLM movement accounts for the majority of demonstration activity in 2020, ACLED records an increase in right-wing demonstrations [2,350 at 1,070 locations] over the course of the year, and especially in the weeks following the election, with armed militia groups taking an enlarged role in right-wing mobilization ahead of the Capitol riot in January 2021. The health crisis triggered substantial unrest amid the devastating economic downturn and deep political divisions over an appropriate response. Over 3,990 demonstrations directly related to the pandemic were recorded across more than 1,210 locations in all 50 states and Washington, DC States with the most events: California (708); New York (321); Florida (192); Texas (163); Pennsylvania (158).  The number of Covid demonstrations is surprisinglly large, to me. Here is the dashboard, which I had a hard time making sense of. And here is a (relatively) handle map: Big energy: This is how Geologist collect Lava sample from an action  pic.twitter.com/aa0bNE7GqM  Chemistry (@ChemistryClips_) February 22, 2021 UPDATE Our Radicalized Republic [FiveThirtyEight]. This is an interesting article that I have to think about (I wont use the word terrifying). Heres a one-liner: [Lilliana Masons] research found that people who saw the opposing party as evil were three times as likely to wish death on opponents within their own party.  For Republicans, Pence (amazingly enough); and for the left. Well, mention Susan Sarandon in a Clinton consensus cluster if you want to see real hate. What I think the article omits is that the radicalization and polarization to which it points are also very profitable for those who create it professionally, as well as serving the interests of elites in keeping the working class divided. Call me simple-minded, but I think f*ck nuance, if this be nuance: For example: Right now, were sitting with a plate of tangled spaghetti  worrisome political trends that knot together in ways that almost ensure if youre slurping up one of them, youll end up with another on the end of your fork. Higher levels of economic inequality, after all, are correlated with an increase in hate crimes. To the authors credit, I searched on economic anxiety  as if a material condition were a feeling  and its not in the piece. So its a serious effort, despite the spaghetti. People with extremist views less able to do complex mental tasks, research suggests [Guardian] (original). A key finding was that people with extremist attitudes tended to think about the world in black and white terms, and struggled with complex tasks that required intricate mental steps, said lead author Dr Leor Zmigrod at Cambridges department of psychology. The study, which looked at 16 different ideological orientations, could have profound implications for identifying and supporting people most vulnerable to radicalisation across the political and religious spectrum. What we found is that demographics dont explain a whole lot; they only explain roughly 8% of the variance, said Zmigrod. Whereas, actually, when we incorporate these cognitive and personality assessments as well, suddenly, our capacity to explain the variance of these ideological world-views jumps to 30% or 40%.'  Im not a social scientist, but doesnt that mean that ideology doesnt explain 60% of whatever it is theyre measuring? Anyhow, if a study saying non-PMCs were dumb used phrenology as a method, it would still get traction in the press; this sort of study is, in fact, a genre.

Stats Watch

At reader request, I added some business stats back in. Please give Econintersect click-throughs; theyre a good, old-school blog that covers more than stats.

Shipping: Inside container economies (PDF) [Berghahn Journals]. This introduction proposes an anthropology of global cargo circulation by placing the maritime shipping industry at the center of global capitalism. With container economies we refer to the maritime global circulation of cargo that is sustained by an undervalued labor force, dependent upon unstable logistics infra- structures and driven by speculative capital. Container economies, we argue, are produced by adding, moving, and destroying value through the maritime supply chain. In this introduction, we reflect upon the implications of containerization and its wider consequences for logistics labor. We argue that maritime logistics and labor is best understood by taking into account their wider networks of de- pendency expressed through kinship relations, ethnicity and coexisting regimes of value.  Fascinating stuff. The entire issue is devoted to supply chain economics, and all the article are free.

Tech: The grift that keeps on grifting:

Please don't do this pic.twitter.com/4gCe5iMUfV  David Zipper (@DavidZipper) February 11, 2021

Manufacturing: Why Do Boeing 777 Engines Keep Exploding? [MSN]. Not the sort of headline your PR department likes to see. There was a fourth incident involving. Patterns in aircraft accidents can be a sign of trouble. While one-off failures might be attributable to a freak coincidence or just bad luck, patterns suggest that a previously unsuspected danger is lurking. In the case of the exploding 777 engines, the recurring problem does not come out of the blue. Its well known that as aircraft and engines age, their mechanical parts are subjected to repeated stresses and strains that can lead to microscopic cracks that grow over time.  Another case of no training and lots of overtime? Worth reading in full. Meanwhile, I had the 777 as the single item on my list of reliable Boeing aircraft. Guess I have to cross it off, or at least check the age of the plane the next time I do a long-haul. Ugh.

Manufacturing: February 2021 Texas Manufacturing Index Improved [Econintersect]. Important subindices new orders significantly improved (remains in expansion) and unfilled orders also significantly improved (remains in expansion). This should be considered a much better report than last month. Data were collected Jan. 12-20.  Oh. More: Of the three Federal Reserve districts which have released their February manufacturing surveys  all are in expansion.

Manufacturing:

One of things I love about this is that its so iconic: the font, the way its laid out. Ive been seeing these all my life, nearly sixty years, they havent changed and somewhere theyre still making them. Imagine that was your business. People will always need desiccation. https://t.co/NKazJzJZJ7  Moose Allain  (@MooseAllain) February 20, 2021

Concentration: The Government Needs to Find Big Tech a New Business Model [The Atlantic]. Facebook and Google occupy an unprecedented political role. The closest weve come in America is the telegraph monopoly in the late 19th century, when the Associated Press and Western Union joined forces to control both news and the network through which it traveled. Facebook and Google are each like that monopoly, but combined with the surveillance regimes of authoritarian states, and the addiction business model of cigarettes. Not only do they control discourse, surveil citizens, and make money from incentivizing paranoia, hatred, and lies; they also make money by keeping the public addicted to their services. Traditional news organizations are dependent on them, and their profit stream takes directly from those traditional organizations, which, if allowed to thrive, might provide a connective tissue of facts for democracy. And these tech companies lack democratic accountability: A few corporate CEOs decide the shape of modern thought and have become Americas de facto commissioners of information.  When the platforms start censoring what liberal Democrats want them to censor, will the calls for breaking them up die away?

Tech: Unbundling Twitter:

Substack, meanwhile, has unbundled the "long-form writing" part of Twitter. It's just a better place to lay out your thoughts. Of course other blogging services like Medium help with this too. But Substack's email list integration helps broadcast to a large-ish audience.  Noah Smith  (@Noahpinion) February 21, 2021

Im not sure I agree that Clubhouse unbundles the conversation part of Twitter. What it does do is create conversations that its difficult to link into or quote in text, making accountability and indeed news gathering even more crapified than they already are.

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Todays Fear & Greed Index: 58 Greed (previous close: 59 Greed) [CNN]. One week ago: 63 (Greed). (0 is Extreme Fear; 100 is Extreme Greed). Last updated Feb 22 at 11:59am. They explained to the intern how to run the meter.

CNN]. One week ago: 69 (Greed). (0 is Extreme Fear; 100 is Extreme Greed). Last updated Feb 19 at 11:46am. New intern? >

The Biosphere

Health Care

Re: Immediate Action is Needed to Address SARS-CoV-2 Inhalation Exposure (PDF) [Letter to Zients, Walensky, Fauci]. For many months it has been clear that transmission through inhalation of small aerosol particles is an important and significant mode of SARS-CoV-2 virus transmission. The gravity of this problem was emphasized this week by an editorial in the journal Nature [4]. Numerous studies have demonstrated that aerosols produced through breathing, talking, and singing are concentrated close to the infected person, can remain in air and viable for long periods of time and travel long distances within a room and sometimes farther [57]. Gatherings in indoor spaces without adequate ventilation place participants at particularly high risk, an important component of which is driven by asymptomatic and pre-symptomatic viral shedding of infected individuals [8]. In October, the CDC recognized inhalation as a route of exposure that should be controlled to protect against COVID-19 [9], but most CDC guidance and recommendations have not yet been updated or strengthened to address and limit inhalation exposure to small aerosol particles. CDC continues to use the outdated and confusing term respiratory droplets to describe both larger propelled droplet sprays and smaller inhalable aerosol particles. It also confuses matters with airborne transmission to indicate inhalation exposure exclusively at long distances and does not consider inhalation exposure via the same aerosols at short distances. This artificial distinction needs to be replaced with up-to-date terminology [10], as advocated by the National Academies workshop on Airborne Transmission [11], focused on routes of exposure via a) touch, b) large droplets sprayed onto the body, and c) inhalation of small aerosol particles [12].  See CDC School Reopening Guidance Suppresses Aerosols Based on Thin Evidence and Driven by Budgetary Concerns at NC.

New CDC school opening guidelines fail to follow the science [STAT]. This ran in Links, but I want to comment. Yes, but not for the reasons I give (above). The two core pillars of the guidelines  that schools should decide whether to open based on community transmission and that students should strive to be spaced 6 feet apart  arent supported by science. On the first: To justify this tiered approach, the CDC guidelines cite a likely association between community transmission levels and the risk of exposure in the schools. But the evidence for this is flimsy.  I gave two examples (Montreal and the UK). On the second: The CDC guidelines say that schools should try to keep kids 6 feet apart. This guidance, however, appears to be based on decades-old research on the travel distance of large respiratory droplets.  The authors, however (a political scientist and a hematologist-oncologist) dont seem to understand that aerosols will fill a room. They argue for reducing the six foot distance to three, but dont argue for ventilation!

The ventilation and air filtration measures that CDC deemed not essential:

16) Air disinfection for classrooms with portable HEPA is also very affordable cost is just <$10 per student to start and only $11/student for 3 years, according to @CorsIAQ. Much less than cost of most school books. https://t.co/SvJlJjW4pn pic.twitter.com/5RlynnbNeP  Eric Feigl-Ding (@DrEricDing) February 22, 2021

So it turns out the big domes at the National Academy of Sciences who were worried that budgetary stakeholders might balk at the cost of updating aging facilities didnt do their due diligence.

UPDATE Were Just Rediscovering a 19th-Century Pandemic Strategy [The Atlantic]. In retrospect, its remarkable how long it took to say what should be intuitive: A virus that infects the respiratory system spreads through air.  I picked out the snark, which burns with a hard, gem-like flame, but the whole article is an excellent example of architectural and medical history. Also: Science is not a simple linear march toward progress; it also forgets. Another reason why trust the science is such a vacuous and disingenuous slogan.

UPDATE The COVID-19 Vaccine Communication Handbook [HackMD]. A small sample, from the Trust in scientists section: Heindricks and colleagues (2016) argue that peoples judgments about the trustworthiness of scientific information emerge from peoples evaluations of scientists expertise, integrity, and benevolence. Disinformation can contribute to peoples erroneous evaluations of trustworthiness by purposefully attacking scientists credentials, experience, honesty, and altruism. Therefore, basing source judgments on a more reasoned and critical evaluative stance can help people increase their trust in scientists.  I think this is pretty embubbled. I mean, tobacco scientists is a phrase for a reason.

Masks, one year ago (note the date):

19 Feb 2020 "In California's Alhambra Unified School District, where about half of the students identify as Asian, administrators discourage the use of face masks and try to explain to families that they dont protect from disease"https://t.co/7RUaTE8XJv pic.twitter.com/YStszvsYnK  Covid One Year Ago (@YearCovid) February 19, 2021

Anybody who believes or worse, propagates the idea that the virtuous were all pushing masking from the very beginning is at best a food.

The One Area Where the U.S. COVID-19 Strategy Seems to Be Working [The Atlantic]. lthough operation warp speed was successful, at least in comparison with Europes efforts, part of its victory came down to luck. If the vaccines that the U.S. scooped up so many doses of, by Moderna and Pfizer, had failed clinical trials, the U.S. would look extraordinarily stupid right now, [Scott Greer, a health-policy professor at the University of Michigan] says.'  Contra Greer, there were eight companies developing vaccines, not two. There were also companies developing treatments (in my view, underfunded). Operation Warps parallel development architecture and guaranteed market turned out to be a good program design. Who knew, but there we are.

Why Are Only 3.1 Percent of D.C. Residents Fully Vaccinated? [Washington City Paper]. Vaccine providers in the District have fully vaccinated 22,073 D.C. residents and 24,838 non-D.C. residents. Why is D.C. vaccinating so many non-D.C. residents? D.C., like every other state across the country, started vaccinating its health care workforce, which is 85,000 people. Perhaps unlike most other states, 75 percent of D.C.s health care workers do not live in D.C. Vaccine providers are continuing to give shots to essential workers who are not D.C. residents like teachers, firefighters, and grocery store workers. Then again: As of Feb. 20, vaccine providers have administered 92,605 first doses of the 105,575 first doses delivered from the federal government, or 88 percent.

Class Warfare

Amazon Offers $2,000 Resignation Bonuses to Bust Union Drive in Alabama [Payday Report]. Now, Amazon is doing something that labor observers have never seen before in a union election; they are offering $2,000 resignation bonuses to quit. Last night, workers throughout the plant received emails offering them bonuses if they simply quit their jobs. The emails offer workers, who worked for 2 peak seasons, at least $2,000 to quit. If workers have been there at least 3 peak seasons, they are offering them $3,000. Some Amazon workers, who dislike their job at the warehouse, may find the bonuses a tempting bridge to quit their job and seek something better. Workers are even being told that if they quit now that they could regain their jobs later after the union election. However, if workers quit now, they wont be eligible to vote in the ongoing union election. In the meantime, many labor observers expect that Amazon will seek to hire replacements that will vote solidly anti-union. That should be illegal, how can you pay someone to resign, says 48-year-old Black Amazon worker Jennifer Bates They are going all the way, they are pulling out all the stops.'  Given the size of Bezoss hoard, I think whoever wrote that offer put the decimal point in the wrong place.

Ice and blood in Texas [Sick Note]. The same ideology of bloody ignorance that led to the states power grid collapsing in the first place also gave us a country where access to mental healthcare is horribly difficult, even if you have insurance. Its the same ideology that means the guy who lost his truck in Hurricane Harvey doesnt get unemployment benefits. Its the same ideology that says not everyone deserves to have any healthcare at all; that its fine if homeless people linger and starve under overpasses, or if people die for lack of insulin. Its designed to be barer than the bare minimum, to keep you afraid of what could happen, working for a bad boss in case you lose your insurance or cant make rent and end up living under the bridge. Death and suffering isnt an accidental outcome or an oversight; its part of the plan.

UPDATE The Inductive Argument Against Wokism [200-Proof Liberals]. Fun:

A: What do you think of this theory of ideology? W: Oh, I dig it. After all, the US is a racist country founded on racism, and the ideology behind the power structures serves to reinforce and legitimate white supremacy. A: Got it. So, what should we make of it that in the span of a few years, Woke Ideology has become the dominant ideology of corporate boards, the party that controls all branches of government, of universities which serve as gatekeepers of elite status, of publishers, social media platforms, and other media which control the media and content of speech, of hiring boards at regulatory agencies, of high-status and elite celebrities, and so on? What should we make of it that these same groups frequently stifle dissent from Wokism when they can? What should we make of it that dissent from Wokism is generally the province of weak, low status, and low power people? W: Um

It has occurred to me that liberal Democrats hope to save capitalism, like FDR did, by enforcing wokeness. Thats the ideology their form of class consciousness embodies. It wont work.

Race as a dynamic state: triangulation in health care [The Lancet]. However, given Asian Americans relative position in the health-care social hierarchy, there are strategies that they can use to work in solidarity with Black Americans to fight against institutionalised racism and white supremacy. Asian Americans can acknowledge their status as a privileged minority and the benefits that come with that status . They can consider what it feels like to be the non-model minority and call out narratives that reinforce the model minority myth not simply because it damages them but also because it makes life more difficult for other minoritised groups. They can refuse to be used in statistics that flaunt diversity gains, recognising that serving such a function inflicts damage on other minoritised groups.  You know, Asian Americans, a single category that encompasses Filpinx, Chinx, Japanx, Koreanx, Vietnamx, Hmongx In The Lancet, yet.

News of the Wired

Kill it with fire:

This unassuming robot could sneak into your home pic.twitter.com/yZF9Kei8Tw  Mashable (@mashable) February 22, 2021

These are even creepier than the Boston Dynamics dogs.

On missing a place while youre in it [Nishas Internet Tote Bag]. The deck: I miss Manhattan. I miss rowdy bars in the East Village and dark little restaurants in the West Village. I miss the trendy but stupidly-expensive corridor of restaurants around 20th Street. I miss how when you walked around at nighttime it was dark but still incredibly bright from all the lights everywhere. I miss cocktail bars tucked away in hotels. I miss the crushing masses of humanity at the Union Square subway stop. I miss lingering in coffee shops and going to my favorite wine bar where I knew all the staff. I miss that rush you get when you arrive at the subway stop and your train pulls in at that exact moment and you realize you timed it perfectly. I miss. I actually miss the rush of Penn Station! And Times Square is annoying as hell, but walking through Times Square to get to a Broadway show while complaining about the slow-walking tourists is a pastime I realized I took for granted. Manhattan was once a place I went to nearly every single day for seven years. Its a whole part of my life thats now missing, even though its still right there.

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Readers, feel free to contact me at lambert [UNDERSCORE] strether [DOT] corrente [AT] yahoo [DOT] com, with (a) links, and even better (b) sources I should curate regularly, (c) how to send me a check if you are allergic to PayPal, and (d) to find out how to send me images of plants. Vegetables are fine! Fungi and coral are deemed to be honorary plants! If you want your handle to appear as a credit, please place it at the start of your mail in parentheses: (thus). Otherwise, I will anonymize by using your initials. See the previous Water Cooler (with plant) here. Todays plant (TH):

TH writes: Matilija Poppy buds at Heaps Peak Arboretum in Skyforest, CA. Lovely backlighting and depth of field.

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I continued to follow up with Mr. Irving, who was with Mr. Stenger at the time, and he advised that he was waiting to hear back from congressional leadership, but expected authorization at any moment, Chief Sund said in his letter.

Yet it appears that Mr. Irving, who had told Chief Sund days earlier that he did not want National Guard troops at the Capitol on Jan. 6 because of bad optics, waited 30 minutes after hearing from the Capitol Police chief before approaching Speaker Nancy Pelosis staff. Neither Mr. Irving nor Mr. Stenger, who both resigned after the riot, responded to multiple requests for an interview. Mr. Sund resigned on Jan. 7, after pressure from congressional leaders.

At 1:40 p.m., Mr. Irving finally approached Ms. Pelosis chief of staff, Terri McCullough, and other staff members in the Speakers Lobby behind the House chamber  the site where a Capitol Police officer would shoot a rioter an hour later. It was the first time Mr. Irving asked about permission to seek support from the National Guard, according to Drew Hammill, Ms. Pelosis deputy chief of staff.

Ms. McCullough immediately entered the room and passed a note to Ms. Pelosi with the request. Video from inside the chamber shows her approaching the speaker at 1:43 p.m. Ms. Pelosi approved the request and asked whether Senator Mitch McConnell, the Kentucky Republican who was then the majority leader, also needed to approve it. Ms. McCullough said he did, according to Ms. Pelosis office.

Ms. McCullough left the chamber to call Mr. McConnells chief of staff, Sharon Soderstrom, but could not reach her. She then reached Mr. Irving, who explained that he and Mr. Stenger were already meeting with the Senate majority leaders staff in the office of the Senate sergeant-at-arms, according to Ms. Pelosis office.

It was at the meeting in Mr. Stengers office that Mr. McConnells staff first learned of Chief Sunds request for the National Guard, according to a spokesman for the senator. In that meeting, aides to the congressional leaders, including Ms. Soderstrom, were perplexed to learn that the two sergeants-at-arms had not yet approved the request for troops, according to spokesmen for Mr. McConnell and Ms. Pelosi.

There was also confusion about whether approval from congressional leaders was needed to request National Guard troops. Mr. McConnells staff maintains that political leaders are not in that chain of command, and that security officials should have done so as quickly as possible. One former Capitol security official said the two sergeants-at-arms could have made the request themselves, but that even in an emergency, common sense dictates that they would want to consult with congressional leadership.
Hey Blake,

I remember hearing that seeds of some of the trees at Armstrong Park went to the moon as some sort of experiment. Is this true?

Dear reader,

In March 1974, about 100 seedlings and small trees that traveled to the moon and back as part of the Apollo XIV mission three years earlier, were presented to the city for planting in Louis Armstrong Park, which was under construction at the time. The Times-Picayune called them trees as well-traveled as famed jazzman Louis Armstrong (which) will grace a large park to be named for him.

Blakeview: How New Orleans helped Armstrong and Aldrin launch into space for Apollo 11 mission This week, as the nation marks the 50th anniversary of the Apollo 11 mission and Neil Armstrong and Buzz Aldrins July 20, 1969 walk on the mo

According to a March 20, 1974 article in The Times-Picayune, the donation included redwoods, Douglas firs, sweetgums, sycamores and loblolly pines. They were some of the 500 seeds taken into orbit around the moon and distributed across the country. We were interested to see if they would be affected by weightlessness, but they germinated normally, said Dr. John C. Barber, director of the Southern Forest Experiment Station.

Apollo XIV, which took place in January and February 1971, was NASAs third lunar mission. The crew included Cmdr. Alan Shepard, lunar module pilot Edgar Mitchell and command module pilot Stuart Roosa, a former U.S. Forest Service smokejumper, or parachuted firefighter, who coordinated the travel of the so-called moon trees and their seeds.

In July 1976, another moon tree was planted at NASAs Michoud Assembly Facility in New Orleans East to commemorate the seventh anniversary of the first Apollo mission. Former astronaut Wally Schirra was present at the tree planting ceremony, where a time capsule was buried with plans for opening in 2076. Another moon tree was planted near the World Trade Center of New Orleans in 1983 but has since been removed.
Whats close to home, but also a good way to play the emerging opportunities in the green economy? Savannah Resources provides one possible answer.

Its been involved in the lithium space for some time now and is beginning to build up considerable expertise and know-how.

One of the major highlights in the portfolio has long been the Mina do Barroso lithium project in Portugal.

Savannah Resources been involved in the lithium space for some time now and is beginning to build up considerable expertise and know-how

This project has several things going for it, not the least of which is that its a long way down the track towards a development decision.

Back in 2018 a scoping study gave the first indications of how economically robust it might eventually be.

The study highlighted that for a capital expenditure of just $109million Savannah could build a mine likely to deliver an internal rate of return of over 46 per cent and with a net present value of over $240million.

Several things have changed since then, of course, most notably the dip and subsequent significant recovery in the lithium price.

Lithium prices in China are now hovering at an 18-month high and have made up most of the ground lost since 2018.

As Western Europes most significant lithium spodumene project, Mina do Barroso has thus returned to the spotlight in a major way.

Europe, with its huge cluster of automobile manufacturing companies, is set to become the worlds largest lithium market, with local supply still fairly limited.

And with the price on the move, consumers are understandably anxious to lock up supply.

One such, local Portuguese group Galp, has just signed heads of terms for an off-take agreement with Savannah for half of all future-planned lithium production, and looks likely to pump more than $6million of new money into Savannahs Portuguese subsidiary as part of the deal.

The money will go towards the completion of a definitive feasibility study for Mina do Barroso, which is already well advanced.

That study, which ought to make considerable improvements on the one from 2018, will herald the moment when the decision regarding development finally arrives.

There is, to be sure, that matter of the $109million, or whatever updated number the definitive study provides. But that ought not to be too much of a challenge.

On the scale of global mining projects, such a price tag is towards the lower end for construction, and given the support of Galp, which comes to the table not only with an intent to buy, but also with hard cash down, theres clearly every expectation that the project will get built.

Galp, says Savannahs chief executive David Archer, are one of the leading European companies in the energy and renewables space.

And he hints that their involvement in the project might become deeper still, once the two sides get to know each other.

Europe, with its cluster of car manufacturing companies, is set to become the worlds largest lithium market, with local supply still fairly limited (Pictured: electric car lithium battery)

Under the current proposals, a senior Galp figure will go onto the board of Savannahs Portuguese subsidiary with the aim of providing expertise and know-how when it comes to development.

Galp has a wealth of experience in developing large scale projects such as this, says Archer. Their knowledge and experience will be invaluable to Savannah as we further progress the project forward in a responsible and sustainable way into development.

Will Galp provide additional funding when the time comes? Who knows, but the company is worth over $7billion on the Euronext exchange, so it oughtnt to be a problem if it so chooses.

Meanwhile, not content with the prospect of developing one of Europes most viable lithium projects, Savannah is also moving forward with its other major asset, the Mutamba mineral sands project in Mozambique.

Mining concessions were awarded at the beginning of last year, and a pre-feasibility study is now in the works.

Whether Savannah will hold onto this asset into the long-term future remains an open question, though.

Towards the end of last year, the company appointed a consultant to examine all strategic options for the project.

Given that a sizeable asset in Oman was also sold in 2020, it seems a precedent might have been set.

Certainly, if Savannah were to emerge as a one-asset lithium development company it would streamline the investment case and position the company four-square at the centre of the ongoing green revolution.

But David Archer is a canny operator. Hes been in the business for a long time.

So dont expect him to negotiate anything but the best exit from Mutamba, if it finally comes to that.

One way or another, at 5.05p and valued at 72million, this is a company worth watching.
Chinese social media is abuzz with tributes to the four PLA soldiers who died during the Galwan Valley clash in June 2020, after the Chinese government made their names public for the first time. The hashtag "Pure love, only for the country" has gone viral on social media platforms, with many users supporting the country's government and military. These officers were the regimental commander from the PLA Xinjiang Military Command Qi Fabao, Chen Hongjun, Chen Xiangrong, Xiao Siyuan, and Wang Zhuoran.

While the Chinese had played down the loss of life during the deadly clash last year, unconfirmed reports say PLA suffered about 44 casualties. "It is the real thoughts of us youngsters, we really live and breathe with the country," a Sina Weibo user said. Sina Weibo is China's micro-blogging platform like Twitter.

The Chinese government mouthpiece Global Times also quoted an expert saying if "India doesn't appreciate China's sincerity in easing border tensions and engages in aggression further, India will again be the side who pays a heavy price."

Meanwhile, a video of Chinese and Indian soldiers engaging in fists and sticks fighting had also gone viral on Chinese social media recently. Though there's no clarity on the date of the incident, many on Chinese social media are claiming it's the leaked footage from the deadly Galwan Valley clash, in which around 20 Indian soldiers had died. According to The South China Morning Post, the video first appeared online on September 8, 2020.

Indian and Chinese armies have engaged in a series of peace talks since the deadly clash last year. They held the tenth round of talks on February 20, with a focus on the disengagement process at conflict points like Gogra, Despang, and Hot Springs in eastern Ladakh. In the latest round of talks, India insisted on a faster disengagement process in the three areas to bring down tension in the Ladakh region.

The discussion, which lasted for over 16 hours on Saturday and went on till around 2 am on Sunday, took place in Moldo on the Chinese side of the eastern Ladakh border. The focal point of these talks was to bring down the tension at all friction points. Union Defence Minister Rajnath Singh told Parliament on February 11 that India and China agreed on disengagement at the North and South banks of Pangong Lake. This agreement mandates both sides to "cease" forward deployment of troops in a "phased, coordinated, and verifiable" manner.

Also read: India, China hold 10th round of military talks; focus on further disengagement in eastern Ladakh

Also read: Galwan valley clash: After accepting casualties, China releases confrontation video ahead of military talks

Also read: China finally admits casualties during Galwan clash; reveals names of dead PLA soldiers
Under the agreement, Stonehorse will fund its proportionate share - up to 50% of the available working interest - of all costs associated with drilling and completing the Jewell Well to earn its proportionate working interest share of the well.

Black Mesa Energy VP operations Lee Francis and Brookside's David Prentice at the location of Jewell Well in Carter County, Oklahoma

( ) (OTCMKTS:RDFEF) has farmed out a portion of the Jewell Well in the world-class Anadarko Basin to fellow ASX-listed oil & gas company, ( ).

Under the terms of this agreement, Stonehorse has agreed to fund its proportionate share - up to 50% of the available working interest - of all costs associated with drilling and completing the Jewell Well to earn its proportionate working interest share of the well.

The Jewell 13-12-1S-3W SH1 well1 is in the companys SWISH Area of Interest (AOI).

Unlock considerable value

Brookside managing director David Prentice said: We are very pleased to welcome Stonehorse as a partner in the Jewell Well.

"Stonehorse has a strong track record, participating alongside us in our endeavours in the Anadarko Basin, including most recently in the very successful Orion Project Joint Venture and the acquisition and subsequent workover of the Thelma Well.

Our team on the ground in Oklahoma is moving quickly to advance the spudding of the Jewell Well, including work to prepare the all-weather drill pad and lock in the various service companies.

We are all delighted that with funding in place, we can now begin to unlock the considerable value that lies within our tier-one SWISH AOI acreage position.

Black Mesa to operate Jewell Well

The farm-out is limited to the Jewell wellbore only.

Brookside will retain 100% of its working interest in the acreage in the Jewell DSU (outside the wellbore), its interest in the Flames and Rangers Drilling Spacing Units (DSUs) and production from all future wells.

Brooksides controlled subsidiary Black Mesa Energy will operate the Jewell Well.

Transformational for Brookside

Brookside expects the Jewell Well will be transformational and the catalyst to unlocking the very significant value in the companys SWISH AOI acreage, conservatively estimated at 11,606,000 net barrels of oil equivalent (boe) Prospective Resource (best estimate, unrisked).

Jewell Well pre-drill development activities are well advanced and the company looks forward to providing further updates over the next few weeks as it progresses towards spudding of this highly anticipated well.
City officials in Jackson, Mississippi reported late last week that water service had been knocked out indefinitely for most of the city after a devastating winter storm shut down power and froze water lines, resulting in a drop in water pressure last week.

Icy weather conditions created power outages last week for much of the South, including many areas of Texas where freezing temperatures and lack of power have resulted in dozens of deaths. Of the many cities across the Southern US devastated by freezing temperatures last week, Jackson, Mississippis capital and largest city with 160,000 residents, is among the worst hit.

Water main breaks constitute a major cause for concern, with Jackson experiencing 13 breaks in less than a week. Pressure drops and outages and boil water advisories were rampant across the state as the regions old and poorly maintained infrastructure struggled to function under adverse weather conditions. Many of the citys water mains and pipes have not been replaced in decades, with some piping being over 100 years old.

Lineman Harold Armstrong carries ropes to a truck as he and other electrical specialists repair a transformer in Jackson, Miss., Thursday, Feb. 18, 2021. (AP Photo/Rogelio V. Solis)

Mayor Chokwe Antar Lumumba told reporters on Thursday, We do not have a definitive timeline as to when the water will be restored within the tanks.

This becomes increasingly challenging due to the pandemic, Lumumba said. He attempted to blame the outage on COVID-19 restrictions and the closure of schools, claiming, so many residents are at home instead of school, which means people are trying to use water at a higher rate than usual.

However, severe winter weather has caused a strain on Jacksons infrastructure in the recent past, and it is well known that a significant investment in the citys water system is overdue.

During a period of freezing cold temperatures in 2014-15, then Jackson Mayor Tony Yarber issued a state of emergency in an attempt to secure federal funding to update city water mains and roads. Back in 2015 it was estimated by city officials that somewhere between $750 million to $1 billion would be needed to fully replace or repair the citys water mains and roads. Mayor Yarber filed a request for a paltry $2.5 million in repairs as the citys water system crumbled.

Our infrastructure is not prepared to handle this, Lumumba admitted on Thursday. Many people have been without water since Monday. Residents have resorted to gathering snow to melt to create enough water to flush their toilets.

The city set up stations at fire houses, some schools, a mall and other sporadic locations to hand out bottles and jugs of water to people able to go out in the cold and wait, a difficult task for the regions elderly and infirm residents.

Icy roads have prevented water treatment crews from receiving delivery of much needed chemicals to ensure the water being pumped into the city tanks is safe for use. As it stands, there remains a citywide boil water advisory, with residents who have water flowing from their taps instructed to boil their water before use to ensure potability.

As of Thursday, at least 221,000 homes across Louisiana, Alabama and Mississippi were still without power. Louisiana Governor John Bel Edwards stated on Thursday that there were at least one million residents under a boil water advisory, as well as another 245,000 facing water outages entirely.

Betsy Sawyer, a resident of Vidalia in the northeast of Louisiana, spoke to the Associated Press (AP) about having to deal with power and water outages in her area. We knew that the water was going to be shut off so we filled the bathtub up with water, she explained. Everybodys scrambling, just doing their best. Sawyer said she had very low water pressure and was keeping warm using the burners on her stove.

Desperate residents in Louisiana and Mississippi waited for hours in order to claim water handouts at various city government sites. A lot of people have been giving uptheyre tired of waiting, Paul Lee Davis told the AP, as he waited in line at a distribution site in Jackson. Ive been here so long, I figure I might as well wait it out. We need water. The stores all are out. I dont see what choice we have.

Nicole Beard, a resident of Hackberry, Louisiana, told the AP how her hot water pipe burst and days later the water main burst, cutting off water to her area completely. Beard, who had to leave her home last year after it was destroyed by Hurricane Laura, explained that many in her community have still not fully recovered from that devastating storm six months ago. People are still just struggling over here, she said.
The United States will continue firm action against the Myanmar military over its violent crackdown on the anti-coup protesters, assured US Secretary of State Antony Blinken in the aftermath of two demonstrators being shot dead over the weekend on the Southeast Asian nation. Myanmar authorities have been unable to stop over two weeks of daily demonstrations and a civil disobedience movement demanding the immediate release of detained civilian government leaders who were placed reportedly under house arrest on February 1 including State Counsellor and Nobel laureate Aung San Suu Kyi.

In a Twitter post, US Secretary of State said, The United States will continue to take firm action against those who perpetrate violence against the people of Burma as they demand the restoration of their democratically elected government reaffirming that We stand with the people of Burma. Blinkens assurance ca,e nearly ten days after the United States imposed sanctions on the acting president of Myanmar or Burma along withs several military officers.

.@POTUS: The people of Burma are making their voices heard. And the world is watching. https://t.co/vIhwBC9kaq pic.twitter.com/k4sjfb2cz4  Department of State (@StateDept) February 21, 2021

Read - Myanmar Youth Get Word Of Rebellion Out; Will Fight Military Dictatorship 'till The End'

US President Joe Biden had approved the sanctions on Southeast Asian nation on those responsible for the crisis and the ouster of Myanmars civilian-led government including the defence minister and three companies in the jade and gems sector. Further, even the US Treasury Department updated the sanctions on Myanmars top two military officials and accused them of playing a significant role in the coup. US Treasury Secretary Janet Yellen had cautioned on February 11, at the time of announcing the sanctions, If there is more violence against peaceful protesters, the Burmese military will find that todays sanctions are just the first.

Read - Protests Swell After Myanmar Junta Raises Specter Of Force

At least two killed, 20 injured in Myanmar

As per BBC report, at least two anti-coup protesters have been killed as of Sunday when the worst violence was witnessed in several days of demonstrations. The law enforcement officers used live ammunition to disperse the protesters in Mandalay and at least 20 people were injured. Several hundreds of people had gathered for the rally at a shipyard in Myanmars second-largest city. Along with Suu Kyi, the protesters, who are also receiving international backing, are demanding the restoration of the civilian government.

Read - Myanmar Protest Plan For General Strike Draws Junta Threat

Read - Myanmar Coup: Protesters Storm Streets A Day After Military Violence Kills Two
BENGALURU : IT czar Azim Premji on Sunday said more than 90 per cent of the workforce in the technology industry of the country continue to work from home, and lauded the hybrid model of work.

"Within the first few weeks of the (COVID-19-induced) lockdown, over 90 per cent of the technology industry was working from home and even today over 90 per cent of people continue to work from home," he said.

Addressing an interactive session hosted by the Bangalore Chamber of Industry and Commerce, Premji said the IT industry and the government have appreciated the value of a permanent hybrid model where people would work partly from office and home even after the end of the pandemic.

Stating that the hybrid model would have huge comparative advantage, he said it would drive inclusive growth, better participation from all parts of the country and greater number of women who would have flexibility to work from home.

"Technology is becoming the lifeline for us as individuals and also businesses," he said. If there was any doubt, the year 2020 showed how fundamental technology has become.

Technology played an important role in ensuring that the government's social schemes and assistance programmes reached the mass population, according to him.

Availability of digital infrastructure in tier-2 cities has helped greatly many businesses to thrive, Premji said. He emphasised the need for people to engage in some acts of philanthropy and charity.

"The culture of philanthropy is as basic to India as India itself. Charity and philanthropy has always been a part of India's culture and tradition", he added.

Premji stepped down as Wipro chairman and managing director in 2019, handing over the company's reins to his son Rishad. The septuagenarian currently holds the position of Wipro founder-chairman and non-executive director.

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It was just a normal semi-detached house on a quiet street in West Yorkshire.

But in the late 1960s 30 East Drive in Pontefract became the site of what was known as 'Europe's most violent haunting' after the family living there reported being shoved, dragged and slapped by a spirit they named 'Fred'.

And now there are suggestions the home is still inhabited by the supernatural presence - also dubbed the 'Black Monk of Pontefract' - more than 50 years later.

Broadcaster Danny Robins visited the property with a group of ghost hunters for the most recent episode of his podcast Battersea Poltergeist, which is re-examining the case of another ghost that reportedly terrorised a family in south London.

One of the ghost hunters, a woman identified as Jess, reported feeling a presence while sitting blindfolded in a room with Danny.

In the late 1960s 30 East Drive in Pontefract (pictured) was dubbed the location of Europe's 'most violent haunting' and now the infamous story has been re-examined in a new BBC podcast the Battersea Poltergeist

Jean (pictured) and Joe Pritchard moved into the house with their two children Phillip, 15, and Diane, 12, in August 1966 and allegedly began experiencing paranormal occurrences almost immediately

'That has to be the weirdest experience I've ever had,' she says on the podcast. 'I can't explain it, the feeling I had on my left side, there was someone there. I felt it.'

The strange happenings at 30 East Drive started in August 1966 when Jean and Joe Pritchard moved in with their two children Phillip, then 15, and Diane, then 12.

Almost immediately they claimed to be experiencing paranormal occurrences.

Inexplicable events were said to include green foam appearing from the taps, objects being thrown around and levitating, photographs being slashed and even family members being slapped and shoved down the stairs.

It is said that later on in their occupation of the haunted house, Diane's hair stood on end and she was dragged upstairs.

It is said that later on in their occupation of the haunted house (pictured inside), Diane's hair stood on end and she was dragged upstairs

Current owner, film producer Bil Bungay, has also reported unexplained and surreal happenings.

'I know the stories are extraordinary, but the world is extraordinary,' he says on the podcast. 'This is real, this is not made up.

Bil Bungay (pictured) bought the house to promote his movie When the Lights Went Out go out which is based on the hauntings

'There are hundreds of people, if not thousands that have experienced things in this house. Are they all making it up?'

He continues: 'I'm at the sink here, just washing the cups and I just felt the instinct to turn and in that corner this object just materialised in thin air, just popped into existence and it went pop out, bounced off the window and landed on the floor and I looked down and it was a domino. And I just said, what the f***.

'It was a Sunday, I'll never forget it, I spent the next two hours being bombarded by objects. When it hit the window it was a proper clack. I kept it because it's the reality of the object that gives what occurred purchase.

'It's a real object it genuinely just materialised there. My experience, and bearing in mind I have never been scratched, I've never been burned or shoved, I've never been attacked, but there are people who have been carried out of this house and people that have given up ghost hunting as a direct result.'

Also during the trip, Danny spoke to psychic medium Barry John who spent some time in Joe and Jean's daughter Diane's room, who is said to have experienced the majority of the attacks back in the 1960s.

While standing in Diane's room, Barry says: 'Being in here I wouldn't have felt safe in this room at all.

'I think this poor girl didn't get a moment of rest, wherever she went in this house there was always something bothering her.'

The most haunted house in Britain: The history of 30 East Drive Jean and Joe Pritchard moved into 30 East Drive with their two children Phillip, 15, and Diane, 12, in August 1966 and allegedly began experiencing paranormal occurrences almost immediately. Inexplicable events were said to include green foam appearing the taps, objects being thrown around and levitating, photographs being slashed and even family members being slapped and shoved downstairs. Other events also occurred such as the tea dispenser being activated resulting in all the dried tea cascading onto the work surface, lights being turned off and on, plants leaping out of their pots and cupboards shaking violently. It is said that later on in their occupation of the haunted house, Diane's hair stood on end and she was dragged upstairs. The haunting at the house was the subject of the 2012 horror movie When The Lights Went Out and was investigated for the Halloween special of Most Haunted Live in 2015. The house remains open for bookings - though Ouija boards and exorcisms are banned on the property. Advertisement

The Battersea Poltergeist is available on BBC Sounds

Alabama Gov. Kay Ivey said today her state welcomes an official review of the decision to name Huntsvilles Redstone Arsenal the preferred site for the nations permanent Space Command headquarters.

Our state was chosen based on merit, Ivey said in a statement, and an independent review of a decision of this magnitude will confirm this.

Ivey was responding to news that the Department of Defense inspector generals office will open a review of the Air Force decision to put the headquarters in Alabama. That review comes after weeks of complaining and lobbying by Colorado leaders against the decision. The government process that chose Alabama was fundamentally flawed ... and focused on bean-counting, U.S. Rep. Doug Lamborn (R-Colo.) alleged.

Colorado is where the Space Command headquarters was located pending a nationwide search. The five finalist states in that review were Alabama, Colorado, Florida, Nebraska and Arizona. The process Lamborn criticized is the one the military developed to rate locations and remove politics from those decisions.

The Secretary of the Air Force thoughtfully considered all input, feedback, staff analysis, best military advice, changes in the strategic environment and what evaluation criteria is the most important, the Air Force Press Desk said in a statement after the controversy arose. Given the complexity and importance of this decision, she also received feedback from the National Command Authority, defense oversight committees, senior commanders and functional staff experts before making her decision on the preferred location.

Our state was chosen based on merit, and an independent review of a decision of this magnitude will confirm this, Ivey said today. We remain confident that just as the Air Force discovered, Huntsvilles Redstone Region will provide our warfighters with the greatest space capability at the best value to the taxpayers.

The governor pointed out Alabamas integral role throughout our nations defense and civil space programs. Deep space exploration is part of our DNA in Alabama, from building the rockets to first take man to the moon, to producing the Atlas V rocket that took the Perseverance Rover to Mars just last week!

United Launch Alliance builds its rockets to lift government and military satellites into orbit in Decatur, Ala., a short distance from Huntsville on the Tennessee River.

Alabama is winning on every page when it comes to furthering our nations space exploration and defense and we are a natural fit for the permanent headquarters of U.S. Space Command, Ivey said.
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Shimla, Feb 22 : Kalpa, the picturesque tourist resort with the snow-laden Himalayas as its backdrop, recorded its warmest February in the past 28 years, a Met official said here on Monday, blaming the high temperatures to lack of precipitation.

Manmohan Singh, Director of the India Meteorological Department regional centre here, told IANS the highest temperature of the town was 19 degrees Celsius on Sunday, which was 14 degrees above the average.

Before this, the highest maximum in Kalpa was 18 degrees Celsius on February 11, 1993.

However, on Monday, Kalpa, some 250 km from the state capital and is known for growing delicious apples, saw a high of 17.5 degrees Celsius, while the minimum stayed at 1.4 degrees, also four degrees above the average.

Currently, most of the towns in the state have been experiencing "warmer" days with temperature four to five degrees above the average, he said.

Likewise, the highest maximum temperature of the Queen of Hills, as Shimla was called by the British, was 20.1 degrees Celsius on Monday, whereas the minimum was 11.5 degrees. Both minimum and maximum were eight notches above the average.

The official blames lack of snow across the state for the abnormal high temperatures.

The state received 60 per cent deficit in snowfall till date. "This was due to absence of significant western disturbances in the state," he added.

The Met office has forecast snow and rain across the state on February 25 and 26.
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India stood up Chinas disruptive use of technology and my way or no way attitude: CDS

No significant breakthrough during Indo-China talks, but proposals to be taken forward

India

oi-Vicky Nanjappa

New Delhi, Feb 22: India and China exchanged proposals on outstanding issues alone the Line of Actual Control (LAC) in Eastern Ladakh during the 10th round of military commander level talks held on Saturday.

These proposals will be taken forward during the meetings at the political level. Both sides agreed to to continue with talks which will take place at various levels. During the talks the discussion was largely centred around Depsang Plains, Gogra and Hot Springs, which have remained friction points.

At military commander level talks, India-China agree to follow important consensus

The 10th round of talks were held after the complete disengagement at the north and south banks of Pangong Lake. While both sides agreed to continue talks, there was however no significant breakthrough during the talks on Saturday. There was no breakthrough achieved between the two sides at Patrolling point 15 in Hot Springs, PP 17 at Gogra Post, PPs, 10, 11, 12, 11A, 12, 13 in Depsang Plains.

However both sides expressed pleasure with the disengagement at Pangong Tso, sources tell OneIndia.

The talks were held on the Chinese side of the Moldo/Chushul border meeting point. The two sides positively appraised the smooth completion of disengagement of frontline troops in the Pangong Lake area noting that it was a significant step forward that provided a good basis for resolution of other remaining issues along the LAC in Western Sector, a joint statement said.

They had candid and in-depth exchange of views on other issues along the LAC in the Western Sector.

PM Modi: India can be one of the best in defence export | Oneindia News

The two sides agreed to follow the important consensus of their state leaders, continue their communication and dialogue, stabilise and control the situation on the ground, push for a mutually acceptable resolution of the remaining issues in a steady and orderly manner, so as to jointly maintain peace and tranquillity in the border areas, the statement also added.

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Story first published: Monday, February 22, 2021, 8:48 [IST]



$100 Million Placement to Accelerate Construction Yangibana

Perth, Feb 22, 2021 AEST (ABN Newswire) - Australia's next rare earths producer, Hastings Technology Metals Limited ( ASX:HAS ) ( FRA:5AM ) is pleased to announce that it has received commitments to raise $100.7 million through a two-tranche placement to institutional, sophisticated and professional investors (Placement). The net proceeds of the Placement will be used by Hastings to advance development of its world-class Yangibana Rare Earths Project (Yangibana Project) in the Gascoyne region of Western Australia.Canaccord Genuity acted as Underwriter and Sole Lead Manager to the Placement.Upon settlement of both tranches of the Placement, the Company will have a cash balance of approximately $120 million (before costs). The Company also has 127.6 million listed options on issue ( ASX:HASO ), which have an expiry date of 12 April 2022. If all HASO are exercised, the Company's cash balance will be supplemented by a further $31.6 million.As previously announced to the ASX, the equity component of the Yangibana Project's capital cost is $124 million.Hastings Technology Metals' Executive Chairman, Charles Lew, said:"Hastings has been overwhelmed with the strong support from Australian and international investors in our Yangibana rare earths project. Their support in the placement underscores the market's belief that Yangibana will become Australia's next rare earth producer."Yangibana is a world-class rare earths project with an exceptionally high NdPr:TREO ratio and is slated to start production at a time when global demand for neodymium (Nd) and praseodymium (Pr) is growing rapidly on the back of unprecedented demand for electric vehicles.""Securing this quantum of equity capital at this point allows Hastings to advance the Yangibana Project towards first production with high confidence.""We welcome new investors to the Hastings register and look forward to seeing Yangibana brought into production. The Hastings team are focused on the remaining key workstreams, including the project's Mineral Resource upgrades to grow project life and improve financial metrics further, finalising additional offtakes and concluding debt financing."To view more details, please visit:About Hastings Technology Metals Ltd

Hastings Technology Metals Ltd (ASX:HAS) (FRA:5AM) is advancing its Yangibana Rare Earths Project in the Upper Gascoyne Region of Western Australia towards production. The proposed beneficiation and hydro metallurgy processing plant will treat rare earths deposits, predominantly monazite, hosting high neodymium and praseodymium contents to produce a mixed rare earths carbonate that will be further refined into individual rare earth oxides at processing plants overseas.

Neodymium and praseodymium are vital components in the manufacture of permanent magnets which is used in a wide and expanding range of advanced and high-tech products including electric vehicles, wind turbines, robotics, medical applications and others. Hastings aims to become the next significant producer of neodymium and praseodymium outside of China.

Hastings holds 100% interest in the most significant deposits within the overall project, and 70% interest in additional deposits that will be developed at a later date, all held under Mining Leases. Numerous prospects have been identified warranting detailed exploration to further extend the life of the project.

Brockman Project

The Brockman deposit, near Halls Creek in Western Australia, contains JORC Indicated and Inferred Mineral Resources, estimated using the guidelines of JORC Code (2012 Edition).

The Company is also progressing a Mining Lease application over the Brockman Rare Earths and Rare Metals Project.

Hastings aims to capitalise on the strong demand for critical rare earths created by the expanding demand for new technology products.

NEW DELHI : AAP national convenor and Delhi Chief Minister Arvind Kejriwal will address a 'kisan mahapanchayat' at Meerut on February 28 in support of farmers protesting the Centre's new agri laws, the party said on Monday.

The Aam Aadmi Party (AAP) has strongly come out in favour of the farmers protesting the new farms laws. Kejriwal has visited Delhi's Singhu border, a major protest site, twice and expressed his support to the farmers.

"AAP National Convenor @ArvindKejriwal to address a Kisan Mahapanchayat in Meerut, Uttar Pradesh on 28th February, 2021. Aam Aadmi Party has convened a Mahapanchayat to support the demands of the protesting farmers," the AAP said in a tweet.

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Police and health workers wait for arrivals at the COVID-19 testing centre in Terminal 3 at Pearson Airport in Toronto on Feb. 3, 2021. (The Canadian Press/Frank Gunn)

New COVID Travel Rules Violate Canadas Charter

Commentary

Democracies respect the right of citizens to leave and re-enter their own country freely; repressive regimes like China and North Korea do not. Hence Section 6 of the Canadian Charter of Rights and Freedoms protects this right. Any restrictions on the right to leave and enter Canada, such as needing a passport, must be reasonable and minimal.

However, all Canadian citizens returning by air are now required to be locked up in a hotel for up to three nights at their own expense of as much as $2,000 per person, while they await the results of a COVID test they had to take upon arrival back in Canada. These requirements took effect on Feb. 22.

A middle-class couple and their two kids might get a deal on a one-week all-inclusive in Mexico for $8,000 or less. But now they will need to pay thousands more for the privilege of re-entering Canada and being imprisoned in a hotel for three days. Extra costs plus forcible confinement will likely eliminate 90 percent or more of international air travel. Thousands now suffer permanent unemployment: pilots, flight crew, and airport staff.

While requiring returning Canadians to pay $2,000 for their own forcible confinement, the federal government has not provided any empirical data or a reasonable explanation for why people with negative COVID tests cannot quarantine in their own homes. Nor has Ottawa explained why we must still live in fear today, when the initial predictions from March 2020 about COVID being an unusually deadly killer have been thoroughly discredited by government data and statistics. Nor has the government provided scientific evidence to support its belief that asymptomatic people are significant spreaders of the virus. Nor has the government explained what link, if any, might exist between international travel and deaths in long-term care homes, where roughly 80 percent of COVID deaths occur.

Apart from depriving Canadians of joy and employment, these new federal policies violate our Charter rights and freedoms on a massive scale.

A Canadian accused of murder has the Charter right not be arbitrarily detained or imprisoned, the right to retain and instruct counsel without delay, the right to be presumed innocent until proven guilty beyond a reasonable doubt, and the right to a fair trial before an independent and impartial court. Police can forcibly confine a Canadian only after arresting that citizen, and police can only arrest someone after charging them with having committed a crime. When police arrest someone, the person in custody must be brought before a judge or justice of the peace for a bail hearing within 24 hours. When accused persons are detained, their families and lawyers can find out where they are; they are not imprisoned in secret locations, as has happened in some cases as a result of pandemic-related travel measures.

Returning snowbirds and vacationers have none of the rights listed above. Many Canadians are now stranded abroad, terrified to come home.

Under Prime Minister Justine Trudeaus new policies, nobody is charged with a crime, nobody is arrested, people are not told of their right to contact a lawyer, they are detained in secret locations, no one receives a fair trial, and no one is brought before a judge or justice of the peace within 24 hours of her or his detention.

Unfounded fear of a virus that has only a minimal impact on life expectancy (unlike the annual flu, which can kill young children) sustains the perverse belief that governments can do no wrong and cannot go too far if they merely possess the good intention of fighting COVID. In this context, Trudeau panders to voters who see no need for governments to provide evidence that Charter-violating policies are effective, or even necessary.

Like other Charter-violating lockdown policies imposed on Canadians since March 2020, placing Canadians who have committed no crime into solitary confinement will become part of the new normal, unless and until Canadians who cherish our free and democratic society object in sufficient numbers.

Lawyer John Carpay is president of the Justice Centre for Constitutional Freedoms (jccf.ca), which has filed a Charter application to the Federal Court to challenge the new government policies.

Views expressed in this article are the opinions of the author and do not necessarily reflect the views of The Epoch Times.
Children are being put under a huge pressure to catch up with learning lost in the pandemic, educational psychologists have warned.

And if the Government decides to extend the amount of time pupils spend in school, a different, non-classroom approach should be considered the British Psychological Society (BPS) has urged.

The Government is said to be considering a number of options  including summer schools, extended school days and shorter summer holidays  as part of its catch-up plans for youngsters who have missed out.

But educational psychologists are instead advocating a phased return to regular schooling, combined with a quality-over-quantity approach to learning.

Children are being put under a huge pressure to catch up with learning lost in the pandemic, educational psychologists have warned (Stock image)

Dr Dan O'Hare, of the BPS, said it was 'absolutely understandable' parents were concerned children had been missing out.

But he added: 'The notion that children need to catch up or are 'behind' at school due to the pandemic reinforces the idea that children have 'one shot' at their education and puts them under even more pressure to perform academically after what has been a challenging and unprecedented time for everyone.'

Dr O'Hare said formal lessons must continue, but added that creating the time and space for children to express themselves through play is a 'useful tool' to help them process what has been happening.

'Whatever a child or young person's circumstances, we can't assume that the right thing to support their recovery and wellbeing is for them to be in lessons for longer each day,' he added. The Prime Minister has appointed Sir Kevan Collins as education recovery commissioner to oversee the catch-up programme.

Sir Kevan has previously said extra hours for sport, music and drama  alongside additional time for academic study  will be needed to help children catch up following months of disruption.

Last week, Tory MP Rob Halfon, the chairman of the Commons education committee, said the catch-up should 'not just be about algebra and Shakespeare' as children's mental health had become 'fragile'.

Mr Halfon said an extension of the school day  for physical activity, mental health support and tuition  would support children's 'broader recovery'.

A fourth woman has levelled sexual assault allegations at the sacked Liberal Party staffer who is accused of raping Brittany Higgins inside Parliament House.

Ms Higgins claims she was raped by a male colleague inside Defence Minister Linda Reynolds' office in 2019 when she was just 24, but felt pressured to stay silent in order to keep her dream job.

Two more women accused the former government worker of rape after Ms Higgins went public last week, and now a fourth alleged victim has taken her story to Canberra police on Sunday.

Labor frontbencher Michelle Rowland said revelations of a fourth victim were 'deeply disturbing'.

'There now appears [there was] an alleged serial rapist on the loose in the ministerial wing of Parliament House,' she told Sky News on Monday.

'How on earth have we gotten to this position where we now have the Prime Minister saying he didn't know and no-one thought it was prudent to tell him?'

The fourth woman, who wishes to remain anonymous, told the ABC the 'really sleazy' alleged rapist stroked her thigh on a night out in 2017.

Brittany Higgins (pictured) went public last week with the allegation she was raped by a male colleague inside Defence Minister Linda Reynolds' office in 2019

Ms Higgins' claim, which will be formally stated to police on Wednesday, opened the floodgates for others to share their stories.

The latest woman to come forward was with colleagues at Canberra's Public Bar in 2017 when the alleged rapist touched her thigh uninvited.

She said it was not the first or last time she received unwanted advances from male colleagues.

'By that time, I was just so used to sexual harassment I just brushed it off,' she said.

After speaking to officers from the local police station on Sunday afternoon, the woman said she received a call from the Australian Federal Police's Sexual Assault and Child Abuse Team.

They asked her to make a formal statement with them later this week, she said.

The third woman said she was assaulted while working as a coalition volunteer during the 2016 election campaign.

She was barely out of school at the time of the attack, which allegedly occurred after a night out drinking with the then-political staffer.

During the night out, she claims he bought her several rounds of 'double strength' vodkas and three tequila shots.

Scott Morrison also believes the culture within Parliament House has to change as he and his government remain under scrutiny over the handling of the matter. Pictured with Ms Higgins

The boozy night prompted the young volunteer, who had never been drunk before, to vomit in the nightclub bathroom.

When everybody else had left, the woman said she told him she was going to catch an Uber home, and he suggested they go back to his hotel room 'around the corner' instead, and he would 'look after her', she told The Australian.

After they arrived, she passed out while laying on his bed and allegedly woke up with her clothes undone and the staffer allegedly lying on top of her.

The woman, who was a virgin, said she was uncertain as to whether he was conscious or sleeping, but she bolted from the room into the hotel lobby toilet, where she discovered she was 'bleeding'.

Feeling embarrassed and ashamed, the woman made her way home and did not tell police, her family or friends.

'I believe his actions on the night of 29 June and the morning of 30 June constitute sexual assault, because he performed or tried to perform sexual acts on me whilst I was severely intoxicated and unable to provide valid and informed consent,' she told The Australian.

'I later realised I was so drunk, I was not able to give any consent.'

'Hearing Brittany Higgins' story, it was so eerily similar, it made me think this person has a pattern of behaviour.'

Minister for Defence Linda Reynolds is seen during Question Time in the Senate chamber at Parliament House in Canberra last week, after Ms Higgins' allegations were made public

Pictured: Brittany Higgins

The second alleged victim claimed she met the ministerial advisor in 2016 when he was working for Senator Reynolds during the election campaign.

'We went back to my place and we were kissing we were going to have sex and I said he had to wear a condom,' she said.

'He refused and we argued and I told him five or six times that we couldn't have sex unless he wore a condom. I was drunk and he just got on top of me, I said no, and then he was inside of me and I kept saying no.'

A family friend of the woman confirmed to The Australian she had made the same allegations to her after the alleged rape.

Ms Higgins' bombshell allegations have rocked Canberra as the Morrison Government plunges into damage control and calls mount for systematic reform of working conditions for parliamentary staffers.

As Ms Reynolds and the Prime Minister's Office spent the past few days grappling with the political crisis, a second woman came forward to claim the same man assaulted her in 2020 after they went out for a meal and drinks.

An independent review into the workplace culture in Parliament and the Coalition has been launched, as Ms Higgins prepares to make a statement to the Australian Federal Police later this week.

Mr Morrison's office has come under scrutiny after claiming it was not aware of the rape allegations until last week, sparking questions about why Senator Reynold's office had failed to pass on the information.

Senator Reynolds has known about the alleged rape for more than two years but did not inform the prime minister to respect Ms Higgins' privacy and welfare.

Ms Higgins accused Mr Morrison of using 'victim-blaming language' during his response to the revelations, with the Prime Minister later apologising to the former Coalition staffer.

Until recently Ms Higgins worked for Employment Minister Michaela Cash (together in Parliament's Great Hall)

On Saturday, after another woman spoke out, Mr Morrison said he was 'sickened' and that the incident is 'very distressing'.

'These events truly do sicken me,' he said.

'I think we have a problem in the parliament and the workplace culture that exists there that we must continue to improve.'

The second woman was allegedly assaulted by the same man in late 2020.

The woman argued that if the government had adequately dealt with the incident involving Ms Higgins in 2019, her assault would never have occurred.


Egypts President Abdel-Fattah El-Sisi stressed the centrality of the principle of localizing manufacturing and transferring technology in the state's dealings with foreign companies operating in various fields in the country.

The president's comments came during a meeting with heads and representatives of four foreign companies working in the country and state officials.

The meeting was attended by representatives of German KSB Group, Hungarys Ganz Works, Czechs Sigma Group a.s. and Japanese Torishima Pump, Presidential Spokesman Bassam Rady said.

The meeting addressed ongoing work on pumping water to stations carrying irrigation water from Bahr El-Baqar drain for the cultivation and land reclamation works in central and north Sinai, Rady added.

Major international, specialised, highly-experienced companies operating in Egypt are engaged in these efforts, said Rady.

During the meeting, El-Sisi affirmed a broad scope exists for the activities of these foreign companies in Egypt, in light of the huge and diverse investment opportunities made available by ongoing major development projects nationwide.

These projects include agricultural land reclamation, the transportation of water from sewage and water treatment plants, along with other projects, El-Sisi explained.

The meeting was also attended by Presidential Advisor for Urban Planning Amir Ahmed, Head of the Engineering Authority of the Armed Forces Ehab El-Far, and Director of the Water Department at the Engineering Authority Essam Galal.

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How can lecturers avoid one of the classic syndromes of remote teaching: a screen of blank student webcams? Author provided

The COVID-19 health crisis has made remote teaching a reality for all, but not without difficulty. At our University, our students have been learning remotely for almost a year and the successive lockdowns have taken their toll. At the start, we battled with technical difficulties, poor Internet connections and insufficient IT equipment while we struggled to isolate ourselves from others.

We were then quickly faced with even more serious challenges: students confined to tiny bedrooms with intermittent wifi, some dealing with economic and social difficulties, sometimes worsened by psychological strain.

As lecturers, we have all had to get adapted and tweak our teaching methods to compensate for the constraints of remote learning. At Universite Paris-Saclay, we have tried several new tools and methods, testing them with our students and sharing them among ourselves. Here are five tips that have improved (in part at least) our daily lives as lockdown lecturers.

Using platforms differently

During the first lockdowns, we often had to keep things simple. Our lectures were mainly us commenting PowerPoint presentations via our microphones. However, we soon realized that this format had its limits, regardless of the platform used (Zoom, Collaborate, Teams, Meet, etc.) and that students were becoming weary.

This was when we discovered OBS, a software originally used by YouTubers to give their videos more animation. OBS allows speakers to switch easily between different shots, sometimes showing their face full-screen, a notebook they are writing on, their face next to a slide or a video.

Using OBS, a computer and a smartphone, we can reinvent the blackboard. Author provided

In this five-minute tutorial video (in French), we explain how to use the software and become your very own TV director at little cost (a full English tutorial can be found here). Whether they are taught live or recorded ahead of time, lectures are significantly more dynamic with the help of OBS.

The software also means that you can use a second webcam, or a smartphone, to film a sheet of paper you are writing or drawing on live. This new way of managing different shots and perspectives gives you the chance to completely rethink the dynamics of your lectures.

Encouraging interaction

What lecturer has never experienced that painfully awkward moment when they find themselves alone, in front of their camera, with their students' microphones and cameras all switched off? We have tested a few solutions to improve this scenario.

"Write your answers in the chat" is an effective way to get discussion started.

"Draw the answer on the virtual whiteboard" is a good way to make use of this collaborative tool which is available on many platforms.

A few icebreakers: click on where you want to go on holiday/find a yellow object in under a minute/answer a question with your thumbs/draw together on a set theme. Author provided

Sending regular interactive surveys to students is also another option: multiple-choice questions, cards or images to click on, open questions, etc. Numerous solutions are available on a range of platforms. We also use Wooclap and Google Form.

Icebreakers are also another solution to boost interaction. These informal games help to create a welcoming and relaxed atmosphere and encourage students to turn on their webcams when it is possible for them. Examples of short games include asking students to turn their webcams on and off to answer rounds of True or False, or "the most original background" challenge with a set theme. We have come up with some 20 icebreakers which can be used as fun breaks for what can otherwise be rather serious content.

Finally, working in small groups is also a way to avoid an entirely top-down teaching approach and build relationships between students at the same time. For this we use the free platform Discord. Originally created for the world of video gaming, the platform means that you can switch from working as a class to working in small groups with everyone moving seamlessly from one space to another. Everyone can share documents or their screen, even outside of lecture time and it takes just a few minutes to master.

Getting students to stand up

Our students are stuck in front of their computer screens all day. To remedy that, we can offer students activities that force them to use their bodies. Several of us have developed remote experimental activities where we ask students to take measurements using their smartphones.

We have also designed teaching labs (in French) for high school students with the French Ministry of National Education. Aside from their scientific interest, these activities encourage students to move away from a wholly virtual experience, get up and design and experiment for themselves.

Beyond the field of science, similar activities could also be an option for assignments. Instead of asking students for a written report or a slide, why not ask them for a video or a model? In short, anything that forces them to unglue themselves from their screens for a while? Free editing tools, like Youcut for Android, VSDC for Windows or iMovie for Macs, can help them to make videos in just a few minutes.

To get students to move away from their computer screens, ask them to take measurements with their smartphones. Credit: A. Khazina/_Physics Reimagined_, Author provided

Helping students take a break from everyday life

Living in lockdown is monotonousthe same routine and the same backdrop day in, day out, just like "Groundhog Day." To help students escape from the monotony of everyday life, we have come up with teaching methods based on fiction, giving students the opportunity to live in a fictional universe where they have a role to play alongside their lecturers. For example, students are asked to rescue a spacecraft remotely, working at home in teams to create, imagine, design solutions and take measurements for the rescue operation.

Remote learning presents several advantages for this type of activity: no need for fancy backdrops or costumes, a simple virtual background or an e-mail with a header is enough to believe that NASA has contacted them.

We have also experimented with online escape games, like preventing the University from freezing after a liquid nitrogen leak. genial.ly is a simple and effective tool for creating games, thanks to the tutorials produced by the very active educational community, S'Cape.

Sharing with colleagues

Students are not the only victims of remote teaching. Lecturers are also having to deal with this difficult and lonely period. Organizing regular moments when colleagues can discuss and share ideas can help combat feelings of loneliness.

Morgane Parisi/_Physics Reimagined_ and COMPAS., Author provided

At the Institut Villebon-Georges Charpak, we have set up weekly "Zoom cafes," a sort of virtual staffroom for lecturers, where everyone can talk about their difficulties or share their educational tips. We have also organized workshops among colleagues, to learn how to use the tools mentioned above. What could be more conclusive than learning how to use remote teaching methods by testing them working from home!

These five suggestions have their limits. They may not resolve the underlying problems linked to remote learning and their overall effectiveness deserves to be assessed with a formal protocol. But in the meantime, they have truly improved our experience has lecturers, and that is something at least.

Explore further Study: Including videos in college teaching may improve student learning

This article is republished from The Conversation under a Creative Commons license. Read the original article.

General Assignment Reporter

Chris Mays is a general assignment reporter for the Brattleboro Reformer. He has been with New England Newspapers Inc. since 2012.
Parishioners, who can only gather in a group of maximum of 15 people at the same time in the building, attend a mass in Belgium's national Koekelberg basilica, one of the largest churches in the world, amid the coronavirus disease (COVID-19) outbreak in Brussels, on Feb. 21, 2021. (Johnny Cotton/Reuters)

Belgian Catholics Contest 15-At-a-Time Rule in One of Worlds Biggest Churches

BRUSSELSBrussels cavernous basilica is one of the largest churches in the world but COVID-19 rules allow only 15 people at a time to attend mass there, the same limit applied to much smaller religious venues in Belgium.

Dozens of worshippers of different religions and clergy demonstrated in the center of the Belgian capital on Sunday calling for a change to the rules.

Parishioners, who can only gather in a group of maximum of 15 people at the same time in the building, attend a mass in Belgiums national Koekelberg basilica, one of the largest churches in the world, in Brussels, on Feb. 21, 2021. (Johnny Cotton/Reuters)

Here, more than in any other building in Belgium, this law is an incredible absurdity, said the Catholic basilicas priest Marc Leroy who joined the protests on Sunday.

Together with members of other faith groups he has launched an online petition for the restrictions to be made proportional to the size of buildings.

The national basilica, an 8,000 square metre (86,111 square feet) art deco masterpiece which tourist literature describes as the fifth biggest church in the world, towers over the western suburbs of Brussels and can host a congregation of hundreds for mass.

The 15-person limit for places of worship was set by the government in December as the country faced a second wave of COVID-19 infections. Religious ceremonies had been completely forbidden during the worst phases of the pandemic.

A spokeswoman for the interior ministry told Reuters the rules were meant to stop the spread of the virus in enclosed places which are often difficult to ventilate.

She added that a government meeting set for Friday would discuss restrictions.

This house is so big in comparison to a bus, or an airport, or a plane with 300, 400 passengers. I find it absurd to only allow in 15 people in a basilica, worshipper Jacques Jazz said.

Leroy said they had multiplied the number of services in an attempt to accommodate as many people as possible, but added he still had to turn parishioners awaya problem that could get worse as Easter approaches.

Its completely ridiculous, they havent thought about it. Its unjust. And if some people think we dont need to pray right now then theyre wrong, worshipper Michel Beke said.

By Bart Biesemans and Johnny Cotton
In late January, at the end of her first full week as President Bidens press secretary, Jen Psaki went on the radio and bashed the reporters who cover the White House. In Dana Perinos book, she talks about having her middle finger up in the podium underneath when theyre really getting under her skin, so Im holding that out as an option, she said, referring to her Bush-era predecessor who is now a Fox News star. When reporters are getting really loud, or theyre starting to ask crazy questions, I just slow down my pace and I talk very quietly, and I treat them like Im an orderly in an insane asylum. Fortunately, Psaki was joking. She was appearing not on a rabid right-wing talk show, but on NPRs gentle satirical news quiz Wait Wait Dont Tell Me; she bantered with the panelists about Bidens favored Peloton instructor (I really want it to be Ally Love), her habit of answering questions by promising to circle back to you on that, and her Trump-era predecessor Sean Spicers turn on Dancing With the Stars, then answered trivia questions about swimming poolsa punny twist on her work with the White House press pool. A number of people have noted that you have been very generous, professional, Peter Sagal, the shows host, told Psaki, referring to her first press briefings. Were not used to that.

Sagals praise was typical of much early commentary on Psaki: that, after four years of lies, abuse, and gaslighting, it was welcomeoverwhelming, almostto have a professional person back behind the podium. In her first briefing, on inauguration day, Psaki stressed the importance of bringing truth and transparency back to the briefing room and her deep respect for the role of a free and independent press; afterward, CNNs Van Jones said, in reviewing her performance, that there was a human, and that person said words, and the words made sense, and somebody asked a question, and that person answered. Even Spicer praised her: She has done a very good job, he told Politico, and to some degree Im a bit jealous. As the novelty wore off, Psaki was held to at least somewhat higher standards. Observers pointed out her circling habit and political reporters griped at other perceived non-answers and jargon. There were some early controversies, but nothing earth-shaking. Psaki was asked how she would handle the presence of pro-Trump journalists (a group that Spicer, now a host at Newsmax, applied to join, before his bosses cancelled, if you will, his request); her office said theyre welcome in the briefing room, but not if they use it as a platform to spread conspiracies. She arranged for sign-language interpretation of her briefings, which was good, then used an interpreter with apparent links to far-right disinformation, which was less good. (The interpreter has not been invited back; she told the New York Post that she has been cancelled.) In early February, the Daily Beast reported that Psakis team had been asking reporters to preview their questions ahead of briefings, which pissed off some of them. The White House said it was merely trying to prepare better answers. Some media critics defended the practice, noting that briefings should be a place for the productive exchange of information, and not for gotcha questions; the Beast noted that Psaki had, to that point, called on every reporter at every briefing.

ICYMI: The limitations of the news ecosystem metaphor

Then, in mid-February, came a press-shop controversy of a much higher order. It concerned T.J. Ducklo, a deputy press secretary who has, since last year, been in a romantic relationship with Alexi McCammond, a reporter who covers politics for Axios. On inauguration daywhile Psaki was expressing deep respect for the press and Biden was warning his new hires that he would fire them on the spot if he caught them acting disrespectfullyreporters at Politico contacted Ducklo and McCammond for comment on their relationship with a view to covering it. As Vanity Fair later reported, a male Politico journalist left a message with Ducklo, who responded by calling the journalists female colleague Tara Palmeri and berating her down the phone, threatening to destroy her and accusing her of sexual jealousy. Politico eventually ran its story in early February, but not before People magazine broke the news of Ducklo and McCammonds romance in a frothy interview feature. (Were both really happy, and we wanted to do it the right way.) After Ducklos abusive call to Palmeri became public knowledge, Psaki announced that he would be suspended for a weeka punishment, many critics noted, that did not look like an on-the-spot firing. The next day, Ducklo resigned, following what the Washington Post described as a mutual reassessment with his bosses. He also apologized for his abhorrent language.

Outside of the press shop, the relationship between Bidens team and the press has also had its ups and downs (albeit nothing, yet, to match the Ducklo scandal). Reporters have griped about Bidens personal inaccessibility, especially when compared with Trumps reliable lack of filter; so far, Biden has only submitted to one extended exchange with reporters and a handful of interviews, though he did do a high-profile Super Bowl Sunday sitdown on CBS and a CNN town hall from Milwaukee, where his answers were either long-winded or strikingly empathetic, depending on your point of view. He has preferred to leave the media terrain to his surrogates, including public-health experts. Earlier this month, the Post calculated that officials had given more than a hundred interviews to national outlets and thirty or so to local ones, reprising a tactic from Bidens campaign; an official noted to the Post that local news is more trusted than national news, and has allowed Bidens team to highlight the specific benefits of policies like its coronavirus stimulus package, whose broad popularity in the country has often been eclipsed by shallow Congressional unity chatter in DC-centric media. (Theres also a cynical theory, as the Post put it, that local reporters are more easily dazzled by the White House, though that theory often does not match practice.) The administration has also given access to Spanish-language and African-American media, and to specialist publications; Jill Biden, the first lady, spoke to Parents magazine, for instance. And Joe Biden has instituted a series of mini-addresses in which he speaks directly to votersFDR-style fireside chats for the social-media age.

Beyond access, there are some early grounds for concern when it comes to questions of press freedom and transparency. Earlier this month, a coalition of press-freedom and civil-liberties groups called on Biden to drop the Trump-era case against Julian Assange, the WikiLeaks cofounder who faces charges, under the Espionage Act, that effectively criminalize the practice of journalism. The plea appears to have fallen on deaf ears; ten days ago, Bidens Justice Department moved to proceed with an appeal against a judges decision to bar Assanges extradition from Britain, where he is currently incarcerated. Reporters Without Borders accused Biden of a major missed opportunity. The White House has pledged to publish its visitor logs on a quarterly basis, but it has not made an equivalent commitment around virtual meetings, which, obviously, are very common right now. And, as Philip Eil wrote for CJR last week, Bidens early barrage of executive orders did not contain any provisions strengthening the Freedom of Information Act or other open-government lawsan absence, Eil argued, that was itself revealing about transparencys ranking on his list of priorities.

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A month is too soon to tell how Bidens record on the deeper issues confronting the press will shape up. His topline public-relations strategy is already much clearer, both in terms of medium and messaging. Access aside, the most consistent media gripe with Biden so far has perhaps been his administrations tendency to set low bars for itself; as the AP put it on Saturday, a pattern has emerged: The president and his team would deliberately set expectations lowparticularly on vaccinations and school reopeningthen try to land a political win by beating that timetable. Reporters should be alert to such massaging, of course, but we should be careful, too, not to punish Biden for reversing his predecessors terrible habit of making false promises at a time of wildly unpredictable crisis. On a visit to Michigan last week, Biden said that he cant give you a date when this crisis will end, instead pleading that he is doing everything possible to have that day come sooner rather than later. Scrutinizing the doing is more useful than holding him to the date. Beyond Biden personally, we should continue, too, to scrutinize the conduct of officials across his administration, including in the press office. As Ducklos treatment of Palmeri proved, going back to normality can have a dark side.

Below, more on Biden and the press:



Other notable stories:

ICYMI: The devastating Texas-storm story centers Ted Cruz

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Jon Allsop is a freelance journalist. He writes CJRs newsletter The Media Today. Find him on Twitter @Jon_Allsop.
ANN ARBOR, MI  Bernie Kleins wife, Nancy, died of COVID-19 in December while at StoryPoint Saline, an assisted living facility.

He was grieving and needed someone to talk to. Luckily, he found a support system in Perfect Pair, an organization created by University of Michigan students and alumni that fosters one-on-one connections between seniors at assisted living facilities and college students.

One of those connections is Klein and UM junior Daniel Wieczorek.

Matches are made based on mutual interests, shared backgrounds and similar hobbies. Wieczorek is studying biomedical engineering and Klein spent more than 30 years as an engineer. The two now meet for an hour via Zoom every Friday and do different activities like trivia and crossword puzzles, or just talk.

They were supposed to meet on Christmas Day, but Klein emailed Wieczorek to say he didnt want to because his wife had died just three days earlier. Their next meeting fell on New Years Day.

We met on Zoom and I said that what Id like to do today is just talk to you about my wife, just as a way of helping me grieve, Klein said. So, we spent an hour of me telling him how (my wife and I) met.

Instead of flowers, Klein requested people make a contribution to St. Judes Research Hospital in honor of his wife. Wieczorek and his family made a small contribution, and Perfect Pair sent a care package to Klein, complete with brownies and Rice Krispies treats, which Nancy was known for making.

Perfect Pair has helped him immensely in his grieving process, Klein said. Its also been beneficial for Wieczorek, who said Klein is like a grandpa to me.

Hes super funny and has a really good sense of humor, and its just one of those things in the week that you look forward to every week, Wieczorek said.

Emily Lerner, a UM graduate, founded Perfect Pair after volunteering at assisted living facilities throughout her college career. Well before the coronavirus pandemic, Lerner saw that residents at these facilities were lonely and had lost consistent connections with people.

The pandemic added to those problems, but Lerner and her team pushed to build connections.

Its all one-to-one, which is something we think is special and different about this volunteer program, Lerner said. We have over 40 matches right now, and were currently working with five assisted living buildings in southeast Michigan.

Perfect Pair is currently working to add a sixth assisted living facility, which will give it four in the Ann Arbor area, as well as one in Farmington and one in Northville, Lerner said. For now, the plan is to keep the program in southeast Michigan, but Lerner hopes to expand to other schools like Michigan State University.

A lot of the volunteers have said its a really great break from school, and its a connection that they never would have had outside of this program, Lerner said. Some of our pairs are like best friends now, so theyll call each other outside of their meeting times, and theyre like family.

More information on Perfect Pair can be found on the programs website. The program also accepts donations in the form of cash or items on its Amazon wish list.

READ MORE:

STEM at home: University of Michigan alum creates learning kit during pandemic

University of Michigan leaders remain optimistic for much more normal fall 2021 semester

University of Michigan seniors feeling frustrated, defeated after announcement of virtual graduation
Britain's Prime Minister Boris Johnson with quality control technician Kerri Symington, visits the French biotechnology laboratory Valneva in Livingston, Scotland, Thursday Jan. 28, 2021, where they will be producing a COVID-19 vaccine on a large scale, during a visit to Scotland. (Wattie Cheung/Pool via AP)

Two U.K. studies released Monday showed that COVID-19 vaccination programs are contributing to a sharp drop in hospitalizations, boosting hopes that the shots will work as well in the real world as they have in carefully controlled studies.

Preliminary results from a study in Scotland found that the Pfizer-BioNTech vaccine reduced hospital admissions by up to 85% four weeks after the first dose, while the Oxford-AstraZeneca shot cut admissions by up to 94%. In England, preliminary data from a study of health care workers showed that the Pfizer vaccine reduced the risk of catching COVID-19 by 70% after one dose, a figure that rose to 85% after the second.

"This new evidence shows that the jab protects you, and protects those around you,'' U.K. Health Secretary Matt Hancock said. "It is important that we see as much evidence as possible on the vaccine's impact on protection and on transmission and we will continue to publish evidence as we gather it.''

The studies were released as British Prime Minister Boris Johnson laid out plans Monday to ease a lockdown that has shuttered pubs, schools and nonessential shops since early January. The vaccine rollout is critical to returning the country to some sense of normalcy. More than 17.5 million have received one vaccine dose so farmore than a third of the U.K.'s adult population.

Britain has had Europe's deadliest coronavirus outbreak, with more than 120,000 deaths.

Public Health England said its study of health-care workers suggest the vaccine may help prevent virus transmission "as you cannot spread the virus if you do not have infection." The findings are based on COVID-19 testing conducted every two weeks that detects infections whether or not someone shows symptoms.

Broader testing in the overall population showed that the Pfizer vaccine was 57% effective in preventing symptomatic illness in people over 80 three to four weeks after the first dose. That rose to more than 85% after the second dose. Overall, hospitalizations and death should be reduced by over 75% after one dose of the vaccine, Public Health England said.

The agency said it is still monitoring the impact of the AstraZeneca vaccine, but "early signals in the data suggest it is providing good levels of protection from the first dose."

U.K. regulators authorized widespread use of the AstraZeneca vaccine on Dec. 30, almost a month after they approved the Pfizer vaccine.

The Scotland study was conducted by scientists at the University of Edinburgh, the University of Strathclyde and Public Health Scotland.

The preliminary findings were based on a comparison of people who had received one dose of vaccine and those who hadn't been inoculated yet. The data was gathered between Dec. 8 and Feb. 15, a period when 21% of Scotland's population received their first vaccine shot.

"These results are very encouraging and have given us great reasons to be optimistic for the future,'' said Professor Aziz Sheikh, director of the University of Edinburgh's Usher Institute. "We now have national evidenceacross an entire countrythat vaccination provides protection against COVID-19 hospitalizations."

About 650,000 people in Scotland received the Pfizer vaccine during the study period and 490,000 got the AstraZeneca shot, the Usher Institute said. Because hospitalization data was collected 28 days after inoculation, the data on hospital admissions came from a subset of 220,000 people who received the Pfizer vaccine and 45,000 who got the AstraZeneca shot.

Outside experts said while the findings in Scotland are encouraging, they should be interpreted with caution because of the nature of this kind of observational study. In particular, relatively few people were hospitalized after receiving the vaccines during the study period.

Stephen Evans, a professor of pharmacoepidemiology at the London School of Hygiene & Tropical Medicine, urged those making political decisions about the pandemic to be cautious.

"It will be important that euphoria, especially from political sources that do not understand the uncertainty in the numerical values, does not cause premature decisions to be made,'' he said "Cautious optimism is justified."

Earlier this month, Israel reported encouraging results from people receiving the Pfizer vaccine. Six weeks after vaccinations began for people over age 60, there was a 41% drop in confirmed COVID-19 infections and a 31% decline in hospitalizations, according the country's Ministry of Health.

Explore further Follow the latest news on the coronavirus (COVID-19) outbreak

 2021 The Associated Press. All rights reserved. This material may not be published, broadcast, rewritten or redistributed without permission.
Brussels: European Union foreign ministers agreed on Monday (Brussels time) to impose new sanctions against Russian officials linked to the jailing of opposition leader Alexei Navalny, and expressed concern that the government in Moscow appears to see the 27-nation bloc as an adversary.

We reached a political agreement to impose restrictive measures against those responsible for (Navalnys) arrest and sentencing and persecution, EU foreign policy chief Josep Borrell said after chairing their meeting in Brussels. He gave no details about the sanctions, but said that he hoped they would be finalised in about a week.

European Union foreign policy chief Josep Borrell speaks during a media conference after a meeting of EU foreign ministers. Credit:AP

Borrell suggested that those targeted wouldnt include oligarchs close to President Vladimir Putin, as Navalnys supporters have requested.

Navalny, 44, an anti-corruption investigator and Putins most prominent critic, was arrested in Moscow last month upon returning from Germany, where he spent five months recovering from a nerve-agent poisoning that he blames on the Kremlin. Russian authorities have rejected the accusation.
[February 21, 2021] Expedia.com Launches Emergency Accommodations Portal to Help Texans During Recovery

SEATTLE, Feb. 21, 2021 /PRNewswire/ -- To help people find available accommodations now and throughout the recovery process, Expedia.com activated the Emergency Accommodations Portal (https://www.expedia.com/texas) to assist in providing real-time information on hotel availability throughout the state of Texas. The severe winter weather in Texas caused widespread damage and it's become increasingly clear that many residents may be displaced from their homes as they await power, water or for repairs to be made. Expedia teams are working directly with hotel partners to ensure availability is accurate, current and at a fair price in an effort to remove any unnecessary added stress during an already difficult time. "We are happy to put our resources forward to assist those who need to find a safe place to stay now and during the recovery," said Shiv Singh, SVP an GM for Brand Expedia. "Our hearts go out to those who have been impacted by the winter storms across Texas and hope that this can help to make finding a warm place to stay a bit easier as we're working to not only pull through available inventory, but we have also put in price caps to ensure rates remain stable and fair."



To learn more and search for available accommodations, visit Expedia.com/texas. As always, residents should refer to local emergency officials for information on recovery progress in their area. About Expedia.com

Expedia.com is one of the world's largest full-service travel sites, helping millions of travelers per month easily plan and book travel. Expedia.com (https://www.expedia.com/, 1-800-EXPEDIA) aims to provide the latest technology and the widest selection of top vacation destinations, affordable airfare, hotel deals, car rentals, destination weddings, cruise deals and in-destination activities, attractions, services and travel apps.

 2021 Expedia, Inc., an Expedia Group company. All rights reserved. Expedia and the Airplane logo are trademarks of Expedia, Inc. in the U.S. and/or other countries. All other trademarks are the property of their respective owners. CST# 2029030-50. Visit our web site https://www.expedia.com/ or use our mobile app to book flights and hotels. View original content to download multimedia:http://www.prnewswire.com/news-releases/expediacom-launches-emergency-accommodations-portal-to-help-texans-during-recovery-301232135.html SOURCE Expedia.com

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Owing to Pakistan's failure in curbing terror, according to FATF officials, it will remain on the grey list and might even be blacklisted. Additionally, Pakistan was also asked to take action against UN-declared terrorist organisations Jaish-e-Mohammed and Lashkar-e-Taiba but it has failed to do so.

With the beginning of FATF plenary in Paris today, Pakistan remains on the grey list of the Financial Action Task Force (FATF). Last year in October, the FATF had assigned 6 tasks to Pakistan to curb terrorism which it has failed to complete. Sources suggest that no strict action against terrorists Hafiz Saeed and Maulana Masood Azhar (who heads the Jaish-e-Mohammed and Hafiz Saeed, chief of the Lashkar-e-Toiba) can be the biggest reasons for Pakistan remaining on his grey list.

Previously, FATF had set 27 goals for Pakistan to curb terrorism financing, money laundering and aiding terrorist groups, the last six of which had to be reached prior to todays meeting. In fact, Pakistan has not even taken any action against terrorists Hafiz Saeed and Maulana Masood Azhar, nor has it given any clarification on the 400 terrorists who vanished from its watchlist.

Owing to Pakistans failure in curbing terror, according to FATF officials, it will remain on the grey list and might even be blacklisted. Additionally, Pakistan was also asked to take action against UN-declared terrorist organisations Jaish-e-Mohammed and Lashkar-e-Taiba but it has failed to do so.

Also read: Centre starts to clear Chinas FDI plans after a 9-month freeze

Also read: EAM S. Jaishankar reaches Mauritius, hold talks to strengthen bilateral ties

The Financial Action Task Force (FATF) `Digital Action Session` will review Islamabads performance in meeting global commitments and standards in the fight against money laundering and the financing of terrorism. A development official said that the FATF had given Pakistan the responsibility to complete a total of 27 action plans to completely stop the financing of terrorism, of which just 21 have been completed.

Also read: Puducherry govt loses trust vote: CM Narayanaswamy submits resignation
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New Delhi, Feb 22 : National Centre for Disease Control Director, Dr Sujeet Kumar Singh, on Monday that a cluster-based genome sequencing of Covid-positive patients is required to detect any unwarranted spike in cases.

Talking to IANS, he said that his suggestion was given in a review meeting of the Delhi Disaster Management Authority (DDMA) on Monday.

He also cautioned that people in Delhi should not lower their guard against the virus given the volatile situation in disease per se emerging in the country.

"Situation in Delhi is quite under control so far. However, we need to stress again that we remain cautious and not lower our guard, especially when the situation across the country is not in a good scenario. Vigilance is more important in current situations. A cluster-based genome sequencing of the Covid positive people should be adopted," he said.

The DDMA meeting, chaired by Lt Governor Anil Baijal, was also attended by Chief Minister Arvind Kejriwal, Deputy Chief Minister Manish Sisoda, Health Minister Satyendar Jain, NITI Aayog member (Health) Dr V.K. Paul, and AIIMS Director Dr Randeep Guleria and other members of the NDMA.

In a statement issued after the meeting, Baijal stated that surveillance, testing, genome sequencing and strict enforcement of Covid appropriate behaviour is required to contain a possibility of resurgence of the Covid-19 infection.

"As advised by experts, stress upon adoption of cluster-based surveillance, testing and genome sequencing strategy, strict enforcement of Covid compliant behaviour along with maintenance of current levels of RT-PCR testing are required to contain any possibility of resurgence of the infection," he said.

Baijal also advised the Health Department to scale up vaccination efforts in order to enhance immunisation coverage. He also stressed on the need for a campaign to sensitise people about Covid-19 vaccination.

Latest updates on Coronavirus (COVID-19)
The President of Brazil, Jair Bolsonaro, ousted Petrobras chief executive Roberto Castello Blanco, replacing him with former Defense Minister Joaquim Silva e Luna.

The move follows a spat between Bolsonaro and Castello Blanco regarding diesel prices. Petrobras and its chief executive specifically have been calling for diesel and gasoline price hikes to reflect the oil price situation on international markets. However, price hikes like that tend to spark protests, which is why Bolsonaro instituted a two-month cut in diesel price taxes starting March 1.

This happened after Petrobras announced the fourth price increase at the pump since the start of the year, setting its chief executive on a collision course with the president, prompting the latter to say last week that something will happen at Petrobras in the coming days, per a Reuters report. The threat followed comments made by Castello Blanco about the possibility of a truckers strike in response to higher prices.

Roberto Castello Blanco is the second Petrobras CEO who is kicked out of the company for his market-oriented policies. His predecessor, Pedro Parente, also wanted to bring Petrobras prices at the pump closer to international market prices, as Petrobras kept losing money from the long-standing practice of keeping prices much below international benchmarks.

This met with opposition from the Brazilian president and eventually led to Parentes resignation in 2018. The new appointment will be the third military official at a key energy-related post, according to Reuters. The minister of mines and energy is an admiral, and so is the president of the Petrobras board of directors.

If Silva e Lunas appointment is any indication, Brazils president does not want a state oil company that operates under free-market principles. While the prioritization of low gas prices for voters is understandable, however, the departure from market-oriented leadership will cost the government in lost revenues.

By Irina Slav for Oilprice.com

More Top Reads From Oilprice.com:
MOSCOW (UrduPoint News / Sputnik - 22nd February, 2021) Foreign ministers of the European Union will convene for a council in Brussels on Monday under the chairmanship of EU High Representative for Foreign Affairs and Security Policy Josep Borrell.

The ministers will be briefed about current affairs on the regional and international agendas, including in Ethiopia, Iran, Belarus and Hong Kong, as well as in EU-Russia relations. They will also discuss the situation in Myanmar and adopt conclusions.

US Secretary of State Antony Blinken is expected to join the meeting in the afternoon via video conferencing to discuss EU-US relations.

On the domestic agenda, the ministers are expected to discuss the common European security and defense culture within the Strategic Compass initiative, with the emphasis on increasing threats and challenges.
The National Company Law Tribunal (NCLT) will not hear employees of before passing its order on the grounded airlines revival plan.

It said so while rejecting employee union applications for intervention. Hearing on the resolution plan is expected to start on Tuesday.

Taking facts of the case at hand, and the law as it stands today into consideration, we are of the view that the applicants (employee unions) cannot be entitled to the copy of resolution plan or any portion thereof. They would also not be eligible to be heard or intervene in the process of consideration of the resolution plan by this authority. The payments as to their wages, gratuity and other terminal benefits shall be in accordance with the law and in terms of the resolution plan guided by the provisions under the code, Janab Mohammed Ajmal (member judicial) and V Nallasenapathy (member technical) said in their order.

A committee of creditors had, in October, approved of the resolution plan submitted by UAE businessman Murari Lal Jalan and Kalrock Capital.

The consortium hopes to restart it as a premium full service airline in 4-6 months after receiving the NCLTs nod.

Unions representing pilots, engineers, ground staff, and cabin crew had moved seeking a copy of the plan, and for intervention.

The unions argued that natural justice demands that employees remain aware of the plan and how it takes care of their interests or adversely impacts them.

The resolution professional submitted that the resolution plan was a confidential document that could be shared only with the committee of creditors.

Given that employee unions are not part of the committee, they are not entitled to its copy.

We had prayed that at least a portion of the resolution plan concerning employees should be shared with us. However, that has not been accepted. We will review the order and decide on further course of action, said advocate Rahul Oak, who appeared for the Bharatiya Kamgar Sena and Cabin Crew Association.
State legislators renewed their push to expand drivers licenses to immigrants without status, refiling a bill last week.

The bill, HD. 448/SD. 273, would allow residents, regardless of immigration status, to apply for a state drivers license and stipulate what documents someone would need to provide while applying for a license. Sixteen states currently have similar laws on the books.

Rep. Christine Barber, a Somerville Democrat who refiled the bill, said people need access to drivers licenses more during the pandemic as they work essential jobs that cannot be done remotely, particularly immigrants in Massachusetts cities that have seen higher COVID-19 rates.

We know right now without the ability to drive safely, people are limited to public transportation, Barber said. Weve seen some video and some pictures of some really crowded buses because theyre running at reduced schedules because of the pandemic, and they could put workers at greater risk of the virus.

Since COVID, it really has increased the urgency of this bill, where this is really about keeping workers and our neighbors safe, she added. Im hopeful that we can pass this soon.

Barber filed the bill last week with Rep. Tricia Farley-Bouvier of Pittsfield, Sen. Brendan Crighton of Lynn and Sen. Adam Gomez of Springfield, all Democrats. They plan to announce the bills filing in a news conference Tuesday with advocates in the Driving Families Forward Coalition, including co-chairs Dalida Rocha of 32BJ SEIU and Natalicia Tracy of the Brazilian Worker Center.

Philip Korman of Community Involved in Sustaining Agriculture, a Deerfield-based advocacy group, also plans to speak on Tuesday.

Under the bill, people who cant show proof of lawful presence in the United States can apply for a license if they provide other documents proving their identity, birth date and residency in Massachusetts. These applicants would need to show an active foreign passport, an active consular ID or a combination of other documents that shows the persons photograph and birth date.

The registrar would not be allowed to ask people applying for a license, vehicle registration, learners permit or ID about their citizenship or immigration status.

The drivers license proposal has failed to move forward in previous sessions as Republican Gov. Charlie Baker opposed expanding driving privileges to immigrants without status. Legislators packed a two-tiered licensing proposal into a fiscal 2017 budget package, but Baker amended it to prevent drivers licenses from going to people without permission to live in the country. The Legislature did not override the amendment.

The drivers license bill Barber, Farley-Bouvier and Crighton filed last session was approved by the Transportation Committee but never got a vote in the Senate.

The new bill comes as President Joe Biden, a Democrat, pushes for a path to citizenship for certain undocumented immigrants, among other changes, and calls for a review of asylum policies created under his predecessor, Donald Trump, in efforts to limit legal and illegal immigration.

Biden has also come under scrutiny by immigration advocates who note that he was vice president under the Obama administration, which deported more than 3 million immigrants without legal status, including many without criminal records. He also has faced criticism for not lifting a Trump-era COVID rule that let immigration authorities quickly expel migrants crossing the border without authorization.

While many immigration issues come down to federal policy, Barber said its up to the state  not the federal government  to decide whether undocumented immigrants should be barred from obtaining a drivers license.

For people to feel safe and not fear being detained or deported just for driving their child to the doctor or driving to work, this is something that only the state can do, Barber said. The Biden administration cant help us on this issue.

Related Content:
Traditional Owner Ian Waina inspecting a Naturalistic painting of a kangaroo, determined to be more than 12,700 years old based on the age of overlying mud wasp nests. The inset is an illustration of the painting above it. Credit: Photo: Peter Veth and the Balanggarra Aboriginal Corporation, Illustration: Pauline Heaney

A two-meter-long painting of a kangaroo in Western Australia's Kimberley region has been identified as Australia's oldest intact rock painting.

Using the radiocarbon dating of 27 mud wasp nests, collected from over and under 16 similar paintings, a University of Melbourne collaboration has put the painting at 17,500 and 17,100 years old.

"This makes the painting Australia's oldest known in-situ painting," said Postdoctoral Researcher Dr. Damien Finch who pioneered the exciting new radiocarbon technique.

"This is a significant find as through these initial estimates, we can understand something of the world these ancient artists lived in. We can never know what was in the mind of the artist when he/she painted this piece of work more than 600 generations ago, but we do know that the Naturalistic period extended back into the Last Ice Age, so the environment was cooler and dryer than today."

The Kimberley-based research is part of Australia's largest rock art dating project, led by Professor Andy Gleadow from the University of Melbourne. It involves the Balanggarra Aboriginal Corporation, the Universities of Western Australia, Wollongong, and Manchester, the Australian National Science and Technology Organization, and partners Rock Art Australia and Dunkeld Pastoral.

Published today in Nature Human Behaviour, Dr. Finch and his colleagues detail how rock shelters have preserved the Kimberley galleries of rock paintings, many of them painted over by younger artists, for millenniaand how they managed to date the kangaroo rock painting as Australia's oldest known in-situ painting.

The kangaroo is painted on the sloping ceiling of a rock shelter on the Unghango clan estate in Balanggarra country, above the Drysdale River in the north-eastern Kimberley region of Western Australia.

Earlier researchers looked at the stylistic features of the paintings and the order in which they were painted when they overlapped, and were able to work out from there that the oldest style of painting is what's known as the Irregular Infill Animal or the Naturalistic period, which often features life-size animals. This kangaroo is a typical example of paintings in this style.

Dr. Finch said it was rare to find mud wasp nests both overlying and underlying a single painting. For this painting they were able to sample both types to establish the minimum and maximum age for the artwork.

"We radiocarbon dated three wasp nests underlying the painting and three nests built over it to determine, confidently, that the painting is between 17,500 and 17,100 years old; most likely 17,300 years old."

Dr. Sven Ouzman, from University Western Australia's School of Social Sciences and one of the project's chief investigators, said the rock painting would unlock further understanding of Indigenous cultural history.

"This iconic kangaroo image is visually similar to rock paintings from islands in South East Asia dated to more than 40,000 years ago, suggesting a cultural linkand hinting at still older rock art in Australia," Dr. Ouzman said.

Cissy Gore-Birch, Chair of the Balanggarra Aboriginal Corporation, said partnerships were important to integrate traditional knowledge with western science, to preserve Australia's history and cultural identity.

"It's important that Indigenous knowledge and stories are not lost and continue to be shared for generations to come," Ms Gore-Birch said. "The dating of this oldest known painting in an Australian rock shelter holds a great deal of significance for Aboriginal people and Australians and is an important part of Australia's history."

The next step for the researchers, who are aiming to develop a time scale for Aboriginal rock art in the Kimberley, is to date further wasp nests in contact with this and other styles of Kimberley rock art to establish, more accurately, when each art period began and ended.

Explore further Wasp nests used to date ancient Kimberley rock art
Sheela Foam fell 1.13% to Rs 2037.40 after the company said it received an order on 18 February 2021 to close its Jalpaiguri plant from the West Bengal Pollution Control Board.

The company said it holds a valid consent to operate and is established in an integrated industrial township for more than 5 years. The company is reaching out to the competent authority and also seeking legal advice. However, for the time being, it is suspending operations in the Jalpaiguri unit.

The turnover of the unit is 6% of the total turnover of the Indian operations. The company is making arrangements to service the impacted distribution from its other facilities.

Sheela Foam is a leading manufacturer of mattresses in India marketed under its flagship brand 'Sleepwell'.

The company's consolidated net profit jumped 54.4% to Rs 99.28 crore on a 25.5% increase in net sales to Rs 825.88 crore in Q3 FY21 over Q3 FY20.

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The Yogi Adityanath government on Monday presented its biggest-ever budget of Rs 5,50,270.78 crore for the financial year 2021-22 in the state Assembly with a target to make Uttar Pradesh 'Atma Nirbhar'. The state budget includes new schemes worth Rs 27,598.40 crore.

Finance Minister Suresh Kumar Khanna, in the presence of Chief Minister Yogi Adityanath, presented the budget. The size of the budget is Rs 37,410 crore more than the previous year.

Also Read: UP govt allocates Rs 2,000 crore for Noida international airport

This budget aims to bring electricity, roads, water to every household and make every village go digital. The budget is focused on youth, women, poor and farmers, claims the Uttar Pradesh government.

This was the Adityanath government's first paperless budget and the fifth budget of the present government before the next Assembly polls.

Khanna, in his budget speech, said the target was to make Uttar Pradesh "Atma Nirbhar" and ensure the all-round development.

The budget is designed to pull Uttar Pradesh out of the most severe global economic crisis due to COVID-19 and ensure its holistic development, he added.

Here are the key highlights of the Uttar Pradesh Budget 2021:

Rs 10,029 crore has been earmarked for housing

Rs 2,200 crore for Amrit Yojna

Rs 2,000 crore for Smart City project

Rs 1,000 crore for Mukhya Mantri Samagra Sampada Vikas Yojna

Rs 7,000 crore for PM Awas Gramin

Rs 5,000 crore for PM Sadak Yojna

Rs 3,100 crore for farmers' pension

Folk artists facing a financial crisis will get a monthly assistance of Rs 2,000

Education (University in every division; Rs 200 crore for model colleges in 26 districts)

Under Mukhya Mantri Kanya Sumangal Yojana, the government allocated Rs 1,200 crore to give tablets to girl students

Rs 100 crore for metro rail projects in Varanasi and Gorakhpur

Rs 50 crore for Rashtriya Prerna Sthal in Lucknow

Rs 140 crore for the overall development of Ayodhya

Rs 101 crore for the airport in Ayodhya, Rs 2,000 crore for Jewar airport

Rs 750 crore for Gorakhpur Expressway, Rs 1,107 crore - Purvanchal Expressway, Rs 1,492 crore - Bundelkhand Expressway

Rs 400 crore for loans to farmers on subsidised rates

Rs 700 crore allocated for irrigation

Rs 600 crore for Krishi Durghatna Yojana

Rs 100 crore for Atma Nirbhar Krishik Samanvit Vikas Yojana

Rs 50 crore allocated for COVID vaccination

Also Read: No role model: Nirmala Sitharaman speaks up about journey to Finance Minister

Also Read: Over 1 million kirana stores went digital during COVID-19 pandemic in 2020

Also Read: 50 crore Indians can be vaccinated in two months with help from private sector: Azim Premji
A war hero who revealed his bravery overseas cost him his first marriage has found new love and proposed to his girlfriend.

Daniel Keighran, who received the Victoria Cross after serving in the Middle East, popped the question to Casey Nixon at the Magic Millions Raceday, on the Gold Coast, in January.

The pair met in late 2019, moved in together in March 2020 and will tie the knot at Summergrove Estate, in the Tweed Hinterland, later this year.

It will be the second time Mr Keighran is marrying, after his first relationship fell apart from burnout in the military.

Daniel Keighran, who received the Victoria Cross after serving in the Middle East, popped the question to Casey Nixon at the Magic Millions Raceday, on the Gold Coast, in January

Mr Keighran then asked his mother-in-law to take a photo of the couple before he bent down on one knee

Mr Keighran's fight against the Taliban took him around the world, including East Timor, Malaysia, Iraq and Afghanistan

His new fiancee Ms Nixon says she had no idea her soon-to-be husband would pop the question.

The pair had gone to the race day to watch Ms Nixon's horse racehorse compete on the track.

Mr Keighran then asked his mother-in-law to take a photo of the couple before he bent down on one knee.

'Initially this caught me by surprise because Dan never asks for photos,' Ms Nixon told Gold Coast Bulletin.

'As I was getting ready for the picture, Dan dropped to one knee next to me and pulled out the most beautiful ring I have ever seen. It was perfect. I don't think he got the words out because I started crying.'

Mr Keighran released his book 'Courage Under Fire' in 2020 where he detailed the highs and lows of a military career and the toll it took on his personal life.

His fight against the Taliban took him around the world, including East Timor, Malaysia, Iraq and Afghanistan.

His platoon came under heavy fire in 2010 and two years later Mr Keighran would receive a call from the military that his act of bravery had earned him a nomination for a Victoria Cross.

At the time, Mr Keighran was engaged to his first wife Kathryn. The pair had met in 2007, and Mr Keighran was desperately seeking time off to spend with his partner.

Though the army refused and Mr Keighran put in for discharge, before he was finally allowed to leave by mid-2011.

Mr Keighran accepted the Victoria Cross a year later, despite his reservations that he didn't deserve the medal.

Mr Keighran released his book 'Courage Under Fire' in 2020 where he detailed the highs and lows of a military career and the toll it took on his personal life

His new fiancee Ms Nixon says she had no idea her soon-to-be husband would pop the question

'I still don't think I do,' he writes in the book. 'Even now, I don't, no, not at all. I honestly should have been killed for what I did.'

He would later suffer burnout from the subsequent media touring, endless formal engagements, speaking tours and his itinerant job with Australian Defence Apparel.

His marriage suffered because of it and Mr Keighran and Kathryn divorced in 2019.

The war hero admitted in the book he has come a long way since that time.

'I've come out of that now; things have fallen into place that hadn't when I was at the end of writing,' he wrote.

'I've finished uni, I've got a professional career, I'm in a new relationship. I wouldn't have had those things without having the VC.'
In an effort to avoid confrontation with India, Sri Lanka has cancelled a scheduled speech of in Parliament.

According to a report titled 'Sri Lanka avoids clash with India by cancelling Khan's Parliament speech' by Dar Javed published in Colombo Gazette, the Colombo government cannot risk its relations with India when it is getting stuck in the Chinese debt-trap and India being the saviour for the world for distributing Covid-19 vaccines.

India has recently gifted 5 lakh doses of Covishield vaccines to Sri Lanka.

In past recent months, there have been anti-Muslim sentiments in Sri Lanka as Buddhist people have been protesting on issues such as animal sacrifices in mosques.

It is expected that Imran Khan would have used the Muslim card during his visit to Sri Lanka. He had played the same card during his visit to Afghanistan last year.

Javed said that the Pakistan Prime Minister in 2012 had supported the Taliban saying the terror activities were "holy war" that is justified by Islamic law. "He has used the United Nations General Assembly to rake up Muslim cause, which has often been perceived as interference in the internal matters of the other countries. In October 2020, he urged the Muslim-majority countries to protest after French President Emmanuel Macron expressed concerns over the murder of a teacher by an Islamist radical. He wrote to the leaders of Muslim-majority countries 'to counter the growing Islamophobia in non-Muslim states'," the author stated.

Looking at the past incidents, it is evident that "giving him (Imran Khan) a platform like Parliament to speak would be like to dice with death".

He would use the platform to make statements that will have "serious ramifications" for both the Buddhist people of Sri Lanka and the Rajapaksa government at the level.

"The way Imran Khan responded to the requests of Sri Lankan Muslim leader's requests; it had become clear that he would rake up minority abuse issue during Parliament speech," Javed pointed.

Earlier, Rishad Bathiudeen, leader of the All-Ceylon Makkal Congress, had urged the Pakistan government to intervene in the matter of forced cremation policy of the Sri Lankan government for people who died due to COVID-19. The Prime Minister publicly remarked on the issue of the burial of dead bodies in Sri Lanka.

While Imran Khan seems eager to raise the issue of the treatment of Muslims in other countries, the United Nations' Commission on the Status of Women report had stated that the religious freedom in the country has continued to deteriorate.

The commission further noted that the minorities in Pakistan are treated as second-class citizens. Besides, several Buddhist heritage sites in Pakistan were recently demolished.

After Organisation of Islamic Cooperation refused to take up Pakistan's proposal to entertain the Kashmir issue, Imran Khan has become desperate to get support from the Muslim countries and portray himself as the champion of the Muslim world.

Amid this, the refusal of the Buddhist populated country to give a platform to Imran Khan in the Parliament has left the Prime Minister red-faced and frustrated.

(Only the headline and picture of this report may have been reworked by the Business Standard staff; the rest of the content is auto-generated from a syndicated feed.)
Panaji, Feb 22 : The Supreme Court on Monday directed a joint inspection of the controversial Kalsa water diversion project along the Mhadei river basin by officials of the southern state, Goa and Maharashtra, Chief Minister Pramod Sawant tweeted on Monday.

"In a contempt petition filed by Goa Govt against Karnataka on the issue of diversion of water & breach of orders of Mhadei Tribunal & SC, the SC today directed Joint Inspection Committee consisting officers of Goa, MH & KA to inspect Kalsa project & submit report within 4 weeks," Sawant tweeted after Monday's hearing at the apex court.

Mhadei, also known as the Mandovi river in Goa and Mahadayi in Karnataka, is considered a lifeline in the northern parts of Goa. It originates in Karnataka and meets the Arabian Sea in Panaji in Goa, while briefly flowing through Maharashtra.

Goa, Karnataka and Maharashtra are battling out a two-decade-long dispute over the sharing of the Mhadei waters. The Goa government has filed a contempt petition accusing Karnataka of diverting the river's water on the basis of the provisions of the Tribunal's award, which have also been challenged in the apex court by the Goa government through a special leave petition.

Goa has accused Karnataka of diverting water from the Mhadei river, through a recently built canal in Kalsa village, to the water deficit basin of the Malaprabha river.
This blog covers software patent news and issues with a particular focus on wireless, mobile devices (smartphones, tablet computers, connected cars) as well as select antitrust matters surrounding those devices.
Manhattan Dist. Atty. Cyrus Vance Jr. leaves court in New York. (Associated Press)

The Supreme Court on Monday cleared the way for New York prosecutors to obtain eight years of financial records from the accountants and bankers of former President Trump as part of a criminal fraud and tax investigation involving him and the Trump Organization.

Trump faces possible criminal and civil charges on several fronts, but the New York investigation of his business dealings has moved further than any of the other probes.

Without a comment or dissent, the justices issued a one-line order saying they had denied Trump's request to block enforcement of subpoenas from the grand jury in New York.

His lawyers had urged the court to block the subpoenas on the grounds they were overly broad and politically motivated.

Manhattan Dist. Atty. Cyrus Vance Jr. has not revealed what the grand jury is investigating, but in court filings his office said it was looking into potential "protracted criminal conduct at the Trump Organization."

Shortly after the court issued its order, Vance tweeted: "The work continues."

Trump condemned the decision Monday.

"The Supreme Court never should have let this fishing expedition happen, but they did, he said in a statement. This is something which has never happened to a president before, it is all Democrat-inspired in a totally Democrat location, New York City and state.

Michael Cohen, a former lawyer and fixer who worked for the former president, testified that Trump regularly inflated the value of his holdings when he was seeking loans and deflated the value of the same assets to lower his taxes. Making false statements on loan documents or tax filings can be prosecuted as fraud.

During the 2016 presidential campaign, Cohen said, he also arranged hush money payments to two women who had affairs with Trump.

When challenging the subpoenas, Trump had lost before federal judges and U.S. appeals courts in New York and Washington, but he repeatedly won rulings from the Supreme Court to temporarily block the subpoenas from being honored.

Story continues

Monday's order on Trump's taxes did nothing to resolve the mystery of why the justices waited for four months before acting on his final appeal in the case. It's possible they wanted to wait until his term as president had ended.

In July, the justices rejected Trump's broad claim that a president is immune from a criminal investigation. Chief Justice John G. Roberts Jr. spoke for the court and reaffirmed the principle that no person, including the president, is above the law and beyond the reach of a grand jury investigation.

But the 7-2 decision in Trump vs. Vance did not end the legal fight.

Trump's lawyers went back before the same judges in New York to argue that the subpoenas were politically motivated. They lost again in September and again went back to the Supreme Court on Oct. 13 asking for a further delay.

This case involves "the first state subpoena issued to a sitting president," they said at the time. "Its near limitless reach  in time, scope and geographic reach  has all the hallmarks of a fishing expedition."

Usually grand juries acting behind closed doors have broad authority to demand records that could show whether a crime may have been committed.

But Trump's lawyers insisted he was shielded because of his status as president, and they succeeded in winning delays, including after he had lost his bid for reelection.

Separately Monday, the court said it would hear appeals from the American Medical Assn. and abortion rights advocates who object to a Trump administration rule that forbids counselors at federally funded family planning clinics from referring patients for abortion.

Federal law says the funds may not be used in "programs where abortion is a method of family planning," but for decades courts have been weighing disputes over what counselors may or may not say to their patients. President Biden said his administration plans to issue a new rule to revise the Trump policy, but that may take some time.

In upholding the Trump policy, the 9th Circuit Court noted that it allowed counselors to discuss abortion, so long as they did not not encourage women to pursue that option.

The court will not hear arguments in the case  AMA vs. Cochran  until the fall, and the justices may opt to dismiss it if the Biden administration has put a new rule into effect by then.

This story originally appeared in Los Angeles Times.
A bill that would ease restrictions on firearm suppressors is among several firearms-related bills introduced or sponsored by new state Rep. Amy Elik.

House Bill 1891 would allow people to own and use suppressors  commonly referred to as silencers  while hunting or at target ranges.

The Fosterburg Republicans bill was introduced Feb. 16. The following day, state Rep. Andrew S. Chesney, R-Freeport, was added as a co-sponsor and the bill had its first reading and was referred to the Rules Committee. It is among several hundred firearms-related bills that have been introduced, ranging from registration and bans on so-called assault rifles to multiple bills dealing with Firearm Owners Identification card requirements.

Suppressors have been regulated by the federal government since 1934 as part of the National Firearms Act. That law also deals with machine guns and short-barreled rifles and shotguns. To own a suppressor, a person must pass a rigorous background check and pay a $200 transfer tax. Ownership of legal suppressors has dramatically increased from 285,087 in 2010 to nearly 1.5 million in 2018, according to the Violence Policy Center, a gun-control advocacy group.

Forty-two states allow private ownership of suppressors. Supporters maintain their use helps curtail hearing loss, allows conversations at gun ranges, and can reduce problems with recoil.

Opponents counter that easing restrictions would make it more likely they are used in crimes, and is part of a larger effort by the gun lobby and gun manufacturers to increase sales, which had been lagging until the start of the coronavirus pandemic last year.

From a technical standpoint, a gunshots sound comes from three sources: the mechanical sound of the guns action, the sound of exploding gasses coming out of the barrel, and the loud crack from the bullet breaking the sound barrier.

According to information by the National Rifle Association-Institute for Legislative Action, the groups political branch, hearing loss can occur at above 140 decibels. Gunshots range from about 144 decibels for .22 rimfire rounds to 172 decibels for larger rounds. Suppressors can normally reduce that by about 30 decibels.

Silencers are military-bred accessories that make it easier for criminals to take innocent lives and threaten law enforcement, Violence Policy Center legislative director Kristen Rand said. Manufacturers brag that silencers can make guns whisper quiet while increasing shooters accuracy and ability to fire rounds more quickly. These characteristics only make silencers more attractive to mass shooters  as well as to terrorists and common criminals.

The group has called for a ban on suppressors for civilian use.

Elik has introduced House Bill 1892, which would repeal firearm identification card requirements.

Since I first took office, my office has received dozens of calls from constituents that are still waiting to receive their FOID, Elik said Monday. As of today, thousands are waiting to receive their firearm identification throughout the state.

Illinois is one of just four states that require such cards, which she said is a deterrent for law-abiding gun owners as criminals dont adhere to our gun laws and they are not concerned about obtaining firearm identification.

Those supporting the elimination of Firearm Owners Identification card requirements point to federal laws  which mandate waiting periods and background checks for firearm purchasers  as sufficient.

She also has introduced House Bill 1886, which would reduce concealed carry license fees, and said she plans to co-sponsor legislation to allow rifle hunting in Illinois.
Zhang Jingdu (far right) poses for a photo with her comrades and locals in Pakistan, 1970s. Courtesy of Zhang Jingdu

When Zhang Jingdu was 19 years old, the Peoples Liberation Army nurse was assigned to work in a hospital in remote northern Pakistan. She would spend the next five years providing medical care to soldiers tasked with building the Karakoram Highway, a strategic road designed to connect China and its ally, Pakistan. In that time, she would witness firsthand the carnage caused by landslides and other disasters, but also the little acts of kindness binding the workers, doctors, and locals together into a team capable of conquering mountains.This is her story.

I was sent to the far northwestern Xinjiang Uyghur Autonomous Region in 1973 during the Cultural Revolution to help set up a military hospital there. After completing its construction, we held a party to celebrate. It was a festive atmosphere, and we all played tug-of-war and sang together. But that evening, a fire broke out. It raged all night, and our newly finished hospital burned to the ground.

We didnt know it at the time, but that night sealed our fates. Instead of serving at a hospital in Xinjiang, we would spend the next five years in Pakistan, helping to construct the Karakoram Highway.

In the immediate aftermath of the fire, though, we were at a loss. Then, one day in February 1974, shortly after Lunar New Year, our commanders informed us we had a new job: a foreign aid mission. Of course, everyone was ecstatic. We would finally have something to do. Back then, everyone in the army wanted to be assigned to remote areas. Because of the cap on the number of female soldiers, some female nurses even wrote letters in their own blood to prove their ability to handle the hardships of such a post.

On our way to Pakistan, I sat with seven others in an ambulance. I was a member of the first-aid rescue team. We were talking, laughing, and having a good time. But when we arrived at the border and saw the marker, everyone fell silent.

It was just another step, but crossing that line meant putting an unspeakable distance between yourself and home. There was no guarantee we would ever return.

As we crossed the border, I turned and saw one of my colleagues eyes rolling back in her head.

Dont fool around! I yelled. Who are you trying to scare? I thought she was pulling a prank.

She didnt respond. Panicked, I called out to our teams deputy chief.

Its altitude sickness! he shouted back.

We quickly laid our comrade on her back and administered oxygen. Finally, she revived.

When we arrived at the camp in Passu  the lowest point of which is 1,200 meters above sea level  there were already a dozen or so people lying down. As I stepped off the ambulance, I did the same. I felt like I couldnt move.

That evening, I opened my eyes and noticed the director and instructors had come to visit us. At once, I felt grateful. I didnt know why, but I began to cry.

That was my first night in Pakistan.

A view of the staff hospital where Zhang Jingdu worked, Pakistan, 1970s.

Lords of the Flies

It was a tough living environment over there. We couldnt get anything fresh. Everything we ate came from cans. The only other living things around were the flies.

There were so many of them that they completely covered the sides of the kitchen tent. When the cooks lit their fires, steam and smoke would rise up, and flies would drop. I remember picking 17 of them out of my food the first time I ate. It was disgusting. The veteran soldiers were calm: Thats just the way it is here; were used to it. You have to make do.

The three months I spent working in the hospital laundry was my most painful and difficult time. Patients would come from the construction site, their clothes torn and stained with blood and dirt. Every morning Id go down the mountain to fetch water. Not having any detergent, we instead had to cut slivers of soap and then use boiling water to make suds. The bedsheets had pus, blood, excrement, and urine on them, so cleaning them was hard work.

I was the only person at the laundry. From Monday to Thursday, I washed bedsheets. On Friday afternoons, Id do the patients clothes, and then on Saturday it was the workers uniforms. My hands were covered in blisters.

But I was afraid to say anything. If I spoke up, what would other people think? That I couldnt handle a little hardship? We were soldiers: Hardship was part of the job.

On the Job

After my nursing training, I was reassigned to be a surgical assistant.

My first patient had a severe head injury. It was Lunar New Years Eve 1975, and there had been a banquet that evening in celebration. He came in afterward, his head swollen, his face, arms, and legs covered with wounds.

In truth, I hadnt fully finished my training yet, but the head nurse recommended I try to look after him on my own. I was so scared that I bolted to the next ward right after giving him an injection. I only learned later that we needed to stay and observe patients with head injuries to make sure there werent any changes in their condition. Early on, a lot of my work wasnt up to standards.

Eventually, other nurses took over his care. I didnt even recognize him when I saw him in the general ward a week later. His head was actually quite small, maybe half what it had been when I first saw him.

Medical staff donate blood to patients, Pakistan. Courtesy of Zhang Jingdu

In addition to treating those injured building the highway, we also volunteered to treat locals.

One night  I remember there was no moon; it was totally dark  a man burst into the hospital to say his wife was dying. She was in labor, and there were complications.

We quickly found a translator, grabbed a flashlight, and ran over to their home. Inside was pitch-black. Their house didnt have electricity, so we could only hear his pregnant wife; we couldnt see anyone. Shining the flashlight around the house, we saw three or four children get up from the floor, their eyes wide open. There were a few mounds of dirt on the ground. These were their pillows.

Eventually we spotted a woman squatting in the corner in a lot of pain, with sand spread out on the ground beneath her. This was where she was supposed to give birth. After a few basic checks, we rushed her to the hospital.

Usually, the hospitals generator was switched off at midnight, but we made an exception for her. All of a sudden, the hospitals lights lit up, and there were wrenching cries from the tent where she was giving birth.

At last, dawn came, and with it a childs wails. The mother and daughter were both safe. But the mother didnt want a girl. The baby was such a pretty little thing, but the woman refused to look at her.

A staff photo from the hospital where Zhang (front row, first from right) worked in Pakistan, 1970s. Courtesy of Zhang Jingdu

Blood and Soda Pop

Given its remote location, the hospital had almost no blood supply. Each of us was a blood bank. The laboratory tested us to learn our blood types. Then, whenever blood was needed, they would send out an announcement for a specific type. Any time someone needed a transfusion, everyone felt duty-bound to help.

At the time, I was very slim. One of the doctors joked that I had less blood than a cat has piss. I just felt bad that he didnt want my blood. Eventually, though, supplies were so tight that he gave in.

Once, the morning after giving blood, I woke up and went to the ward to find that the floor had been cleaned and all my work had been done. It turned out that some of the patients had heard my name called on the radio and knew Id just donated blood, so they all volunteered to help me.

Looking back, it seems a simpler world. No one had any selfish thoughts. We were united in one purpose: to serve our patients.

It wasnt all work, though. The staff in the pharmacy all knew chemistry, and they would whip up sodas from time to time. They couldnt make enough for everyone, so you had to be sure to stay on good terms with them to get some.

One day, one of these workers, a young man everyone called Xiao Xu, asked me if I wanted some soda. Obviously, my answer was yes. So, he started to make some every day for me and two of my friends.

Later, one of his colleagues came to me and said that Xiao Xu was interested in me and wanted me to be his girlfriend. I was stunned. I had no idea he saw me that way.

I talked it over with a couple of my good friends. I said I didnt want to, but if I turned him down, that would mean an end to the free soda. So the three of us came up with an idea. I told him: This is a big thing. I need to ask my parents for their advice. If my parents agree, then OK. But I need some time.

And so Xiao Xu went on making soda for me and my friends every day, just like before. Thinking back on it, that wasnt very nice of us.

Nightmares

In 1976, as construction work moved south, our command hospital was moved from the northern to the southern section, where there was steeper terrain. Not long afterward, there was a major accident.

That February, a landslide hit a convoy of vehicles, with boulders sending one vehicle off the road down into a canyon, killing two drivers. There was blood everywhere: next to the river, by the rocks, next to the road. Body parts were strewn all over the place. It was a horrifying sight. Some soldiers eventually tied ropes around their waists and lowered themselves more than 180 meters down the cliff to the Indus River below to recover as much as they could. In the end, they brought up two sacks full of remains.

Medical staff perform a surgical operation on an injured highway worker in Pakistan. Courtesy of Zhang Jingdu

To bury these martyrs somewhat intact, as many doctors as could be spared were sent to clean their mutilated bodies and piece them back together. The stifling stench of blood filled the laundry tent. I washed a leg first, then a hand. The doctors stitched in silence; the nurses sobbed as they worked. The washwater, mixed with blood, flesh, and bits of bone, made its way down the sewers and flowed off the mountain. Attracted by the smell of blood, wild dogs started barking and howling all night long. Inside the hospital, an amalgam of fear and sorrow permeated the air.

In the end, the bodies of the two martyrs were put together as best as we could manage, but each was only about 1 meter long. Theyd been assembled into rough approximations of the human figure. That was all we could do.

But the casualties didnt stop there. It was just one wave after another.

Around October 1976, the Chinese government announced it would send a delegation to check on us and our progress for the first time. Wed been abroad for several years at that point. Each unit was expected to have good news to report. Everyone was tense and working hard, when some dynamite that had failed to explode two days previously suddenly went off. Half the mountain collapsed.

A rescue team was immediately dispatched. The road conditions were really bad, and there was no road at all near the cliff: just a small footpath barely wide enough to inch along. At one section, the soldiers held rescue team members hands to lower them down. One of my friends, Gao Lirong, nearly fell off the cliff into the valley.

Only when the team arrived did they discover just how many people had died. The remains of 25 martyrs  not their bodies, just some body parts  were lying in six piles. They were washed, pieced together, and sewn up. After seven or eight hours, the team had managed to repair 22 bodies. The final three victims couldnt be put back together, and were just wrapped up as best as possible.

Three others were severely injured. The rescue team operated on them in the field, then brought them back to the hospital. I was charged with caring for one of them, a young man with a head injury. He came out of his coma, and that same night he wet the bed. I quickly changed and washed everything. When I was done, he slept for a while and then suddenly awoke, having soiled the sheets again.

I didnt understand. Youre not in a coma anymore, why did you soil the bed? I asked.

I was dreaming about the boulder that knocked the head off our squad leader, he replied.

A marker on the Karakoram Highway in Pakistan, 2018. Courtesy of Zhang Jingdu

The Road Back

Starting in August 1978, our team gradually began returning home. I was one of the last to leave. The day before, news came that a section of the road had collapsed in China, so I would have to stay another month. It was frustrating. After almost five years abroad, wed built nearly an entire road in another country. But those in our own country were still a mess.

Finally, the road was cleared, and we all celebrated. The driver, too, was eager to get home and tore along the road. From a distance, I could see the Chinese flag flying over the border checkpoint. It was as if it was waving just for me. I felt a cry well up in my chest: Motherland, Im finally home!

I looked back toward Pakistan one last time. That part of the country is snowed in year-round. The land was white as far as the eye could see.

Because this was a top-secret project, there hadnt been a single piece of news about it anywhere in China. We couldnt breathe a word of what we did to anyone. Eventually life returned to normal. Everyone started getting married, having children, busying themselves with ordinary things. People didnt think back much to their experiences in Pakistan, and it slowly faded from memory.

In fact, we only found out it had been declassified in 2010, when the hospital suddenly informed us that a documentary about the construction of the China-Pakistan Highway was going to be broadcast. That day, we excitedly gathered around the TV to see images of our past life.

In 2018, I decided to revisit the highway with my old comrade, Gao Lirong.

On the bus, she started singing an old Pakistani folk song. All these years later, she still remembered every word. Soon, several young Pakistani guys sitting nearby joined in.

I felt like I was dreaming. Was I really back?

Northern Pakistan had changed beyond all recognition. The highway is smooth and safe, nothing like what it used to be. Where there once was nothing but barren land, there is now lush vegetation and rich colors.

When residents of the village where our hospital was based heard we were visiting, men, women, and children all rushed down to see us. Some, wed never seen before. Others were old friends. The children in the photos I took back then were now all in their 50s. They insisted on giving us a tour of our old quarters: This is where the doctors lived, this was your kitchen

Back in Gilgit, the regional hub, we still had one more thing to do: pay a visit to the Chinese Memorial Cemetery. A total of 88 martyrs were laid to rest there, half of them mutilated beyond recognition. Those whose remains were never found were given empty graves.

Left: A view of the Chinese Memorial Cemetery in Pakistan; right: Zhang Jingdu, Gao Lirong (far left), and the cemeterys keepers pose for a photo in front of a monument to those who died working on the Karakoram Highway, 2018. Courtesy of Zhang Jingdu

The cemeterys original keeper had worked alongside the Chinese workers building the road and had looked after the graves ever since the cemetery was built in 1978. Just before he died, in 2010, he asked his youngest son to return home and continue guarding the martyrs resting place.

This son greeted us when we showed up. These Chinese children will never return to their hometowns, he said. Their relatives are not here to look after them, but well care for them generation after generation. We wont let them be lonely.

Editor's note: A version of this article was first published in podcast form by StoryFM and then edited and published by Sixth Tone.The information, ideas or opinions appearing in this article do not necessarily reflect the views of eng.chinamil.com.cn.
Lucknow: The Yogi government on Monday (February 22) tabled the state Budget 2021-22 proposing a fund of Rs 140 crore for the development of Ayodhya. While Rs 597 crore will be allocated for Kanpur Metro Rail this year. At the same time, the Yogi government has made a provision for the construction of a national inspiration site in Lucknow at a cost of 50 crores.

Rs 140 crore for all-round development of Ram city

140 crore rupees will be provided for the all-round development of the city of Ayodhya including the development of Suryakund. Similarly, a provision of Rs 50 crore has been proposed in the budget for the construction of Rashtriya Prerna Sthal in Lucknow.

The name of the airport under construction in the district of Ayodhya will be Maryada Purushottam Shri Ram Ayodhya Airport. For the airport, a provision of Rs 101 crore was proposed. A budget of 300 crores has been considered for a road from Ram Mandir to Ayodhya Dham and Rs 100 crores for tourism in Ayodhya.

Rs 597 crore to speed up the development of the Kanpur Metro

The proposed budget for the Kanpur Metro Rail project is Rs 11,076 crore. An additional provision of Rs 597 crore is proposed for the project in the budget of the financial year 2021-2022. A date has been decided to conduct a trial run of the metro from Kanpur to Motijheel.

Rs 1326 crores for Delhi-Meerut RRTS

Finance Minister Suresh Khanna announced that Rs 1326 crore has been given for Delhi-Meerut RRTS, Rs 100-100 crores for Gorakhpur-Varanasi Metro.

Jewar airport will get more landing strips

The number of airstrips at Jewar Airport will be increased from two to six landing strips. The Uttar Pradesh government has proposed the budget of 2000 crores for this project. Kushinagar Airport has been declared an international airport by the Central Government. In this way, 4 international airports will be in Lucknow, Varanasi, Kushinagar, and Gautam Buddha Nagar soon.

CM Adityanath made additional provisions for the development of canals as well

A budget provision of Rs 976 crores for the development of canals, Rs 610 crores for Saryu canal project, and Rs 271 crores for the Eastern Ganga Canal project were proposed. Rs 104 crores was also proposed for Ken Betwa interlink canal project.

The budget was also decided for the expressways

To speed up the work of the state's express, the Yogi Adityanath government has increased its budget. Rs 1107 Crore was proposed for the Purvanchal Expressway. Rs 1492 crore of Bundelkhand Expressway has been arranged in this year's budget. A budget of Rs 860 crore has been passed for the Gorakhpur Link Expressway project and Rs 7200 crore for Ganga Expressway.

Live TV

Maharashtra Chief Minister Uddhav Thackeray today laid the foundation stone of Sewri-Worli Elevated Corridor (SWEC) and inaugurated one arm of the flyover at Kalanagar Junction and various other developmental works.

"Mumbai is growing day by day, hence we need to look at tech-enabled, systematic and sustainable development for the city," Thackeray said after laying the foundation stone of SWEC.

Here are the key things to know about Sewri-Worli Elevated Corridor:

The Mumbai Metropolitan Region Development Authority (MMRDA) is implementing the 6-lane Mumbai Trans Harbour Link project (MTHL) having a 22 km length. The total length of the Sewri-Worli connector is about 4.5 km and will cater to 4 lane traffic coming from MTHL Project, according to an official release of the Chief Minister's Office (CMO).

The Maharashtra Coastal Zone Management Authority (MCZMA) and the Maharashtra state Environment Impact Assessment Authority(SEIAA) have accorded approval to the project in their 145th meeting of the MCZMA held on July 7, 2020 and 205th meeting held on September 8, 2020 respectively.

In view to decongest the Kalanagar junction, the construction of flyover is proposed by the MMRDA and awarded the work contract on February 2, 2017, the release said.

"In this project, 2 Lane flyover from Worli Bandra Sea Link towards Bandra Kurla Complex of about 715 meter long (B-arm) and 2 Lane flyover from Bandra Kurla Complex (BKC) to Worli Sea Link of about 604 meter (C-arm) is proposed. Also 2 Lane free left arm flyover having length of about 310 meter. is proposed from Dharavi to Worli Sea Link (D-arm)," it said.

Today, arm C (from BKC to Bandra Worli Sea link side ) was inaugurated by Thackeray. The Chief Minister also inaugurated a cycle track as part of the project of the refurbishment of footpaths and road junctions in the G block of BKC.

"This a pilot project and bifurcated in to 2 phases. The accepted tendered cost for phase-1 is 18.11 crores and for phase-2 it is 14.12 crores. The project includes improving 8 Junctions and in-between streets at G-Block of BKC to have enhanced facilities like a protected cycle track, clutter-free pedestrian realm. Of the total scope, 4 junctions and streets between them are planned to be completed by April 2021," the release said.

He also inaugurated smart parking at BKC. "Driver can park their vehicle in these Parking Slots with minimum human intervention. Owner of the vehicle can book their parking space minimum 3 Hours before parking of the vehicle through mobile app and also Website in the nears Parking Slot in the Bandra-Kurla Complex," the CMO release said.

In the Parking Slot, minimum three electrical bikes would be available for the movement of vehicle owners for moving in the surrounding area of about 3 km from parking slots after parking of the vehicle.

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Washington: Former president Donald Trump has suffered a major legal defeat after the US Supreme Court declined his effort to block a New York grand jury from obtaining his personal and corporate tax records.

Prosecutors in New York City are investigating possible tax, insurance and bank fraud in Trumps hotel and casino business empire.

The Supreme Courts decision came as Trump is preparing to return to the public eye with a speech to conservative activists. Credit:AP

The probe, led by Manhattan District Attorney Cy Vance, is believed to be one of the most serious legal threats Trump is facing in his post-presidential life.

The decision comes as Trump prepares to make his first public appearance since leaving the White House with an appearance at the Conservative Political Action Conference on Monday (AEDT).
Puducherry, Feb 22 : The Congress lost its lone government in south India with the Congress-Dravida Munnetra Kazhagam (DMK)-led alliance in Puducherry losing the trust vote, leading to the resignation of Chief Minister V. Narayanasamy on Monday.

In a day of fast-paced and dramatic developments, the Congress-led government collapsed before facing the floor test in the state Assembly.

After the dramatic walkout by Narayanasamy and his MLAs, Speaker V. P. Sivakozhundu announced that the Congress government had lost its majority.

Narayanasamy drove straight to Raj Nivas to submit his resignation to Lieutenant Governor Tamilisai Soundararajan.

According to a statement from the Lieutenant Governor's Secretariat, Narayanasamy called on Tamilisai Soundararajan and submitted the letter of resignation of the Chief Minister and his Council of Ministers.

"We have submitted the resignation to the Lieutenant Governor. It is now for her to decide," Narayanasamy told the media.

"In the Assembly, we said only the elected members can vote. The Speaker did not agree and we walked out," he said.

Speaking in the Assembly, Narayanasamy maintained that the opposition does not have adequate numbers. He argued that the three nominated MLAs, all belonging to the BJP, have no power to cast their votes in a floor test. He had reportedly pinned his hopes on the Speaker not allowing the nominated MLAs to cast their votes.

The Congress leader even quoted the Chief Election Commissioner in support of his argument that the nominated MLAs can't vote in a floor test. However, the Speaker did not agree with him.

With this the Congress lost its only government in the south. As the Assembly polls in the Union Territory are slated in May this year, it remains to be seen if the Lieutenant Governor recommends President's rule or invites NR Congress-led opposition alliance to form the government.

The opposition has 14 members in the 30-member Assembly whose effective strength is 28. It also enjoys the support of three nominated MLAs.

After his hard-hitting speech, slamming the Centre for colluding with the opposition to topple his government and arguments over voting rights of three nominated MLAs, Chief Minister Narayanasamy and his MLAs walked out of the House.

Addressing the Assembly ahead of the floor test, Narayanasamy alleged that the Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) is derailing India's democratic system.

"What is happening in Puducherry now is political prostitution. But the truth will prevail," he added.

He alleged that former Lieutenant Governor Kiran Bedi and the Centre colluded with the opposition to destabilize his government.

Narayanasamy, whose government was reduced to a minority due to the resignation of six MLAs of the ruling alliance during the last one month, said the MLAs who resigned would not be able to face the people as people would call them 'opportunists'.

"As our MLAs stayed united, we managed to pull off the last five years. The Centre has betrayed people of Puducherry by not granting funds we requested," he added.

He claimed that people of the Union Territory are with the Congress-led government. He pointed out that after forming the government with the support of the DMK and Independent MLAs, the alliance won all by-elections.

"People trust us as our government has been elected by them. The opposition who is unable to win the elections is trying to destabilize the government," he said.

Telangana Governor Tamilisai Soundararajan, who took over additional charge of Puducherry Lieutenant Governor on February 18, directed the Chief Minister to prove his majority in the Assembly.

The development came after the opposition alleged that the government was in a minority after the resignation of four MLAs.

Two more legislators resigned on Sunday, reducing the ruling alliance's strength to 12 in the 30-member Assembly.

The Congress had won 15 Assembly seats during the 2016 elections. It formed the government with the support of two MLAs of the DMK and one Independent MLA.

Congress MLA N. Danavelu was disqualified in July 2020 for indulging in anti-party activities. Four more MLAs resigned from January 13 to February 16.

Puducherry Health and Family Welfare Minister Malladi Krishna Rao quit the ministry on January 13 and resigned as MLA on February 15.

The Public Works Development (PWD) Minister A. Namassivayam resigned both from the ministry and the Assembly on January 25 and subsequently joined the BJP.

Another Congress MLA John A. Kumar resigned on February 16, plunging the government into a crisis.

The last blow for the ruling Congress-led alliance came on Sunday, a day before the floor test, when Congress Legislator K. Lakshminarayanan and DMK Legislator Venkatesan put in their papers.
The suspect in the 2019 fatal shooting of Birmingham police Sgt. Wytasha Carter pleaded guilty Monday to the slain officers death.

Jefferson County District Attorney Danny Carr announced that Jeremy Elwin Owens, 33, today pleaded guilty to capital murder and was sentenced to life in prison without parole. He avoided the death penalty by taking the plea.

He also pleaded guilty to two counts of attempted murder in the wounding of Officer Lucas Allums and for shooting at Sgt. Talana Brown. He received life in the two attempted murder convictions.

Carr said the plea ends the criminal case, but we know the effects of this defendants actions will be felt by the Carter family, the Birmingham Police Department and our community forever.

73 Sgt. Wytasha Carter procession and funeral

We want to continue to give our condolences to the Carter family as well as our commitment to honor the life of Sgt. Wytasha Carter as we continue to serve this community and fight for justice,' Carr said. So many people were affected by the deadly actions of the defendant on that day and we recognize the Birmingham Police Department, in losing Sgt. Carter, lost a brother, a friend, and a mentor to the many young dedicated officers still out there each and every day serving the community.

Police Chief Patrick Smith said the loss of Carter has been a very difficult and traumatic chapter for the Birmingham Police Department. Our officers still mourn the loss of him, just like the Carter family continues to mourn. The plea agreement entered by Jeremy Owens merely ends the court proceedings, but does nothing the mend the pain of his family or BPD officers,' the chief said. My thoughts and prayers continue to focus on Sergeant Carters family. My hope is they find a little more peace with this plea agreement and they are able sleep a little better each night. I know their lives were forever changed.

Smith thanked Carr and his staff, the Alabama Law Enforcement Agency which investigated the case and the many law enforcement agencies who provided assistance and the community for their outpouring of love and support during that difficult time.

Owens was represented by attorneys John Lentine, Wendell Sheffield and Chris Daniel. Sgt. Carters death was the unfortunate result of a chaotic situation that went terribly wrong,' Lentine said. By his pleas today, Jeremy not only took responsibility for his actions that night, but he was also allowed to express his sincere regret and remorse for his actions to Sgt. Carters family. We are thankful and relieved he no longer faces the death penalty and that the cases are over.

The shooting happened at 2:11 a.m. in the 800 block of Fifth Avenue North.

Owens had been seriously wounded in the exchange of gunfire with police and was taken into custody when he was released from UABs Spain Rehabilitation Center. Owens, who has limited mobility since the Jan. 13 shooting, was transported in the slain sergeants handcuffs.

Birmingham Police Sgt. Wytasha Carter, a 44-year-old husband, father and U.S. Air Force veteran, was shot to death Sunday, Jan. 13, 2019 while trying to arrest a suspected car burglar. A second officer was critically injured.

On the Sunday morning of the deadly shooting, Jan. 13, 2019, Birmingham police Officer Aaron Smith was working undercover in the 800 block of Fifth Avenue North near the 4 Seasons Bar & Grill after a rash of car break-ins in the area.

Sometime before 2 a.m., he was doing surveillance from his parked car when a dark-colored Volvo pulled up and three men got out of the vehicle. When he saw them looking into cars and pulling on some door handles, Smith called for uniformed officers to respond to the area.

When marked units began to arrive, two of the men  Owens and 18-year-old Michael Todd  got back into the Volvo. Allums was first to arrive on the scene, followed by Brown and Carter.

Allums and Brown, according to multiple statements, approached Owens in the drivers seat of the vehicle. Carter was at the passengers side with Todd. Officers reported an odor of marijuana and a visible open bottle of Hennessy in the vehicle. Carter ordered both men out of the Volvo, and quickly handcuffed Todd.

At that point, Brown was patting down Owens and felt something in his right front pocket. She asked him what it was, and he said he didnt know. At that point, he was facing the vehicle with his hands on the hood. He kept trying to bring his arms off the vehicle,' an investigator testified at an earlier hearing. There were a couple of instances he was instructed to put his hands on the car. When he first exited, he hit the roof and that got the attention of Sgt. Carter.

Allums was instructed by Carter to cover Owens with his Taser stun gun, which Allums did. He was told that if Owens moved again, he was to be tased. Owens began to move again, and Brown then asked Allums for his handcuffs. Allums lowered his Taser to hand her the cuffs, and Owens tried to run.

Allums and Brown tussled with Owens, and thats when the first shots were fired. By then they were in the roadway. He (Allums) heard gunshots. He realized during that time period he himself was shot,' the agent testified. He felt like he had been shot multiple times in the back,' but continued to wrestle Owens to the ground.

Carter, Officer Lucas Allums and Owens were rushed to UAB Hospitals Trauma Center by Birmingham Fire and Rescue Service. Both of them were shot in very critical areas,' the chief previously said of the officers.

Brown reported she heard gunshots and saw Allums fall to the ground. She pulled her gun and returned fire. Smith got out of his surveillance car at that point and fired three shots. Though wounded, Allums discharged his weapon as well. Brown told investigators Owens said, Im dead, and fell to the ground. She kicked his gun out of the way.

She did not realize that Carter had been shot and went to check on Allums. Moments later she learned that Carter had been shot, but Smith was already aware of that and reported, Sgt. Carter was slumped over on the ground, bleeding from his head. The autopsy showed a bullet went in the front of Carters head, traveled through his brain and exited through the back of his head.

Testimony at an earlier hearing showed four people fired their guns that morning- Owens and three officers  but there is no forensic evidence to show whose bullet killed the veteran lawman.

Still, dash cam video from the morning of Jan. 13 showed multiple muzzle flashes coming from Owens gun toward three uniformed officers, and an 18-year-old who was with Owens at the time of the shooting told investigators he noticed Carter go down after the first couple of shots were fired by Owens.

Owens, who lives in the Center Point area, was arrested in December 2011 after Birmingham police said he robbed another man at gunpoint and shot at him. He pleaded guilty on Nov. 5, 2012 to first-degree robbery and the attempted murder charge against him was dismissed.

Owens was sentenced to 20 years in prison with three years to serve in that case. He was released Jan. 1, 2015, according to an Alabama Department of Corrections spokesman.

He was arrested again by Jefferson County sheriffs deputies on Nov. 28, 2018 on charges of possession of a controlled substance, being a felon in possession of a firearm, possession of marijuana, reckless driving and other traffic violations.

Owens was booked into the Jefferson County Jail and released on his own recognizance Nov. 30. He was set to appear in court on April 3 to give him time to hire an attorney.
The push to create a major memorial to Harvey Milk in the Castro is under way  again.

The neighborhood group that since 2016 has pursued the idea of honoring the slain gay supervisor in the neighborhood where he lived has hired a new design team to craft a vision for what could be done at Castro and Market streets. But first there will be an extensive community outreach  in part to avoid the dissension that scuttled the first proposed design.

Some good things happened, but we didnt end up up where we wanted to be, said Brian Springfield, the interim executive director for the Friends of Harvey Milk Plaza. Everybodys in favor of a memorial, and were going back to that aspiration.

The new design team will by led by SWA, a landscape architecture firm with offices in San Francisco and Sausalito. While the firms work is varied  one recent project is the plaza at Chase Center  SWA is also working on a memorial to victims of the Sandy Hook elementary school shootings in Newtown, Conn., in 2012.

The corner already includes Harvey Milk Plaza, a name given to the landscaped entrance to the Muni subway station in 1985, seven years after Milk and Mayor George Moscone were shot and killed by ex-supervisor Dan White. But in 2017 the group, now headed by Springfield, held an international design competition to remake the plaza and create a more demonstrative memorial that would convey the story of Milk and his legacy.

That competition resulted in a design that essentially would rebuild the above-ground portion of the station and add a gathering space uphill to the west. The scale of the proposed makeover stirred criticism, as did the idea of pulling the grand memorial away from Castro Street, where Milk owned a small camera store after moving west from New York City in search of personal freedom.

The new effort is likely to produce a more modest design, with tweaks to the station rather than a makeover.

We want to bring Harvey Milk and his memorial together with the environment where he was so powerful, the streets of San Francisco, said Rene Bihan, a managing principal at SWA.

According to Springfield, virtual meetings will be scheduled for the coming months. Any memorial will need private as well as public funding, though some details could overlap with upgrades to the station being planned by the citys Municipal Transportation Agency.

The site is really interesting, almost two halves, Springfield said. The Castro Street side is very urban, while the west end is very quiet and meets a residential street.

Everything needs to be considered as part of a whole, Springfield said. A functioning transit center, and a gathering space better integrated into the community, and a memorial with elements that can evolve over time.

John King is The San Francisco Chronicles urban design critic. Email: jking@sfchronicle.com Twitter: @johnkingsfchron
El-Aaiun (Occupied Territories) 22 February 2021 (SPS) - Chairperson of the Sahrawi Organ against Moroccan Repression (ISACOM) Aminatou Haidar called the United Nations (UN) Secretary General to immediately intervene and protect the Sahrawi civilians from the systematic violations committed by Morocco and its repressive practices, holding him and the Security Council responsible for this relentlessness against Sahrawi rights.



In a letter sent to UN SG, the ISACOM wrote: "In view of the reprisals and violations committed by the Occupier State of Morocco against Sahrawi civilians, we call on you and through you, the entire international community, to accelerate the establishment of international protection mechanisms enable the Sahrawi people to enjoy their rights.



Referring to some "serious" violations of the Moroccan occupying forces, with images and videos as evidence, the ISACOM chairperson said that the Sahrawi people "has heard from the UN body no condemnation, nor the expression of any concern in this regard.



She referred to the Sahrawi activist Sultana Brahim Khaya and her family in the occupied town of Boujdour, under house arrest since 19 November 2020 and victims of daily torture and harassment, as well as the detainees Ghali Bouhela and Nafaa Boutsoufra, wrongly accused of drug possession.



Aminatou Haidar also referred to the arrest of the activist Mohamed Selouki in the occupied city of Smara and the Sahrawi civilian detainee Mohamed Lamine Abedine Hedi, who has been on hunger strike for 40 days.



"The authorities of the Moroccan occupation are arresting the activists, charging them with false accusations including the possession of drugs", expressing the wish that "the UN becomes aware through this letter of the injustice suffered by the Sahrawis".



"The Sahrawi people have received no support or protection from the UN and other international organizations specializing in the protection of civilians, such as the International Committee of the Red Cross (ICRC)," regretted Haidar.



Deploring the stalemate in the UN and AU process to resolve the Sahrawi issue, Aminatou Haidar focused on "the procrastination in implementing the resolutions of international legality calling for the organization of a referendum on self-determination in Western Sahara.



ISACOM holds the UN SG personally responsible for the continued violations of the Moroccan occupation against the Sahrawis. (SPS)



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Source: Xinhua| 2021-02-22 22:36:50|Editor: huaxia

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People visit Hebei Museum in Shijiazhuang, north China's Hebei Province, Feb. 22, 2021. Public cultural venues and stadiums in the northern Chinese city of Shijiazhuang, hit by a recent COVID-19 resurgence, resumed operation on Monday. Shijiazhuang cleared all medium- and high-risk areas for COVID-19 on Monday. (Xinhua/Mu Yu)
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Knowing that information, how do you make choices for your family this summer? Here are some tips.

When weighing a choice, always think about the alternative. Whether youre considering sending your child to camp, summer school or to spend time with newly vaccinated family members  think about what the alternative is, said Emily Oster, a professor of economics at Brown University and the creator of the Covid-19 School Response Dashboard. For school, the alternative is remote school. If the summer option youre weighing is camp, what would your child be doing otherwise? What are the benefits and drawbacks of those choices for your family?

Especially this year, its important to weigh social and emotional development as a factor alongside virus risks if your kids are in elementary school and have been remote since March 2020. Another summer of remote school, even if it lets your kid move forward in math, may have less value than a summer of digging in the dirt, Oster said.

Check out health guidelines from trustworthy sources. Dr. OLeary recommended consulting the American Academy of Pediatricss suggestions for camps. The Centers for Disease Control and Prevention also has a list of guidelines for camps and youth programs. Both of these lists can help you assess camps or other in-person activities for your kids, and can give you a set of questions to ask about safety procedures. Here are some to get you started: How big are the groups of children? Do they mix with children outside their group? What happens if there is a case of Covid-19 at camp? Will there be masking, and in what circumstances?

Sleep-away camp is risky, but its still an option. Even last summer, some sleep-away camps stayed open. Dr. OLeary said the C.D.C. studied Covid in camp settings in Maine and Georgia in 2020, with very different outcomes.

Four overnight camps in Maine had no infections, during 6 to 8 weeks of camp, with the following safety measures in place: pre-arrival quarantine; pre- and post-arrival testing and symptom screening; keeping kids in small pods and not mixing with children outside those groups; use of face coverings; physical distancing; and maximal outdoor programming.
MIAMI, Feb. 22, 2021 /PRNewswire/ -- The Food Network & Cooking Channel South Beach Wine & Food Festival presented by Capital One (SOBEWFF) has selected Havas House  the global custom media, content, and publishing division of Republica Havas and the Havas Creative North America Network  as its publishing partner in order to produce the SOBEWFF 2021 Official Guide.

"I am excited to know our 20th anniversary Official Guide is in the hands of the team at Havas House, a seasoned and trusted partner," noted Festival founder and director, Lee Brian Schrager.

Widely recognized as one of America's most prestigious gourmet gatherings, SOBEWFF returns May 20-23, 2021. The Guide provides comprehensive information about the star-studded Festival which showcases the talents of the world's most renowned chefs, culinary personalities and wine and spirit producers.

"It's a privilege for Havas House to partner with one of the most established and renowned culinary festivals in the nation," said Marisa Beazel, president and publisher of Havas House.

Businesses interested in being a part of the Guide should contact Ewald Fuchs, director of sales, at 786-347-4764 or [email protected].

About Havas House

Havas House is a global custom media, content, and publishing company that creates meaningful connections between brands and consumers through innovative, 360-degree marketing solutions. Based in Miami, Florida, Havas House services include custom content, content production, integrated brand campaign development, social media, SEO/SEM, development, and design of digital publishing platforms, digital editions, print magazines, and marketing materials. Havas House is a division of Republica Havas, one of America's leading and fastest-growing creative, media, and communications agencies. For more information, visit havashouseinc.com .

About the Food Network & Cooking Channel South Beach Wine & Food Festival presented by Capital One (SOBEWFF)

EAT. DRINK. EDUCATE. All proceeds from the Festival benefit the students of the Florida International University Chaplin School of Hospitality & Tourism Management who also assist Festival organizers with sponsorship fulfillment, restaurant and exhibitor recruitment, logistics, and inventory as well as working alongside some of the world's greatest celebrity chefs and winemakers. To date, SOBEWFF has raised more than $31.8 million for the School. In September 2018, BizBash named the Festival the #1 Food & Restaurant Industry event in the United States for the sixth year in a row.

The South Beach Wine & Food Festival is produced by Florida International University and Southern Glazer's Wine & Spirits, with the support of the Miami Beach Visitors & Convention Authority and the Miami-Dade County Department of Cultural Affairs. For more information about the Festival, visit sobewff.org or call 877-762-3933. For more information about Florida International University visit fiu.edu , for the Chaplin School of Hospitality & Tourism Management visit hospitality.fiu.edu and for more information about Southern Glazer's Wine & Spirits visit southernglazers.com .

MEDIA CONTACT:

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The Yemeni Maneuver  Biden administration gives a free pass to Iran By Lt. Col. (ret.) Michael Segall

On February 16, 2021, the Biden administration removed the Houthi rebels (Ansar Allah) in Yemen from the U.S. list of terrorist organizations after they were added by the Trump administration in January 2021, shortly before the end of his term. The U.S. Secretary of State, Antony Blinken, announced on February 12, 2021, that the change was made in recognition of the dire humanitarian situation in Yemen. We have listened to warnings from the United Nations, humanitarian groups, and bipartisan members of Congress, among others, that the designations could have a devastating impact on Yemenis access to basic commodities like food and fuel. The new policy took effect just days later, on February 16. However, the U.S. Government decided to maintain the sanctions on Houthi leaders Abdul Malik al-Houthi, Abdul Khalid al-Din al-Houthi, Abd Khaliq Badr al-Din al-Houthi, and Abdullah Yahya al-Hakim, stating: [Because of] acts that threaten the peace, security, or stability of Yemen. We will continue to closely monitor the activities of Ansar Allah and its leaders and are actively identifying additional targets for designation, especially those responsible for explosive boat attacks against commercial shipping in the Red Sea and UAV and missile attacks into Saudi Arabia. Days later, on February 16, the State Department issued another statement calling on the Houthis to halt their advance on Marib and cease all military operations and turn to negotiations. The Houthis assault on Marib is the action of a group not committed to peace or to ending the war afflicting the people of Yemen. Marib is the capital of Marib Province (120 km east of the capital Sanaa) and is controlled by the legitimate government of Yemen, according to the State Department. About one million refugees are located in Marib, one of the focal points of Yemens humanitarian crises. The announcements barely mentioned Irans involvement and direct responsibility for continuing the conflict in Yemen and its longstanding support for the Houthi rebels. [One time, at the end of Secretary Blinkens statement, he said: We remain committed to helping U.S. partners in the Gulf defend themselves, including against threats arising from Yemen, many of which are carried out with the support of Iran.] In recent years, and more so after the crisis in Yemen began, Iran transferred a variety of weapons to the Houthi rebels ground, maritime, and air sectors, the manufacturing know-how, and instructors (including Lebanese Hizbullah members) for the Houthi rebels in Yemen. Yemen is an important front for Irans campaign against Saudi Arabia and Gulf nations, as well as the launching pad for a range of weapons, including GPS-guided armed drones (UAVs), remote controlled Water-borne Improvised Explosive Devices (RC-WBIED), cruise missiles, ballistic missiles, and rockets fired at Saudi and United Arab Emirates territories. Weaponized and intelligence gathering UAVs have been used increasingly by the Houthis in operations against the Saudi-led coalition in Yemen and civilian, critical, and oil infrastructures in Saudi Arabia. Yemen serves as Irans largest testing ground for the practical-operational examination of a variety of weapons such as sniper rifles, IEDs, rocket launchers, anti-tank weapons, missiles, rockets, drones (intelligence-gathering and attack), all as part of its ongoing examination of the asymmetrical fighting strategy it is constantly developing against the United States and Israel. It should be noted that sources in Yemen have also threatened to attack Israeli territory from Yemen. Just minutes after Secretary Blinken posted on the social network Twitter about the decision to remove the Houthi rebels from the list of terrorist organizations, a Houthi military posted a statement that Ansar Allah successfully attacked a sensitive military target at the Abha International Airport (southwestern Saudi Arabia) and its headquarters in the Khamis Mushayt region, launching three Qasef-2K and Samad-3 drones, which hit the targets with great precision. A civilian plane was also hit in the attack on Abha Airport. On February 15, the Houthis returned and attacked the airports of Abha and Jeddah in a similar fashion, stressing that the circle of fire had been expanded against the Saudi depth. (Shortly after a U.S. announcement on the lifting of the sanctions list, the State Department held the Houthis responsible for the Saudi attack.) The Qasef-2K is a copy of the Iranian Ababil drone, which is equipped with a warhead of about 30 kg. The Samad-3 drones were named after the Houthi leader Salah al-Samad who was killed in an Arab coalition air raid in April 2018. In September 2018, a Houthi drone was fired at the Dubai International Airport in light of the UAEs involvement in the military activity of the Arab coalition in Yemen. The Samad-3 has a range of 1,800 km. The Keyhan newspaper, which reflects the Iranian Supreme Leaders positions, wrote on February 14 and 16, 2021, that the airstrikes were carried out in response to Saudi Arabias continued aggression against Yemen. Irans media echoes the announcements of the Houthi military and political spokespersons and serves as one of the Houthis main propaganda trumpeters. As part of the struggle with Saudi Arabia for regional influence over Muslim and Arab public opinion, the newspaper also quoted Mohammad Ali Al-Houthi, spokesman for Yemens Houthi Supreme Council, who warned the Yemeni army and fighters that the Houthis would continue their attacks deep into Saudi Arabia and its regional allies as long as they continued to attack Yemen. Iran has an interest in continuing the fighting in Yemen, which, since the Saudi-led Arab coalition forces were sent to the country has not led to any substantial change in the situation on the ground. The Houthis continue to control most of the territory they have captured, including the important Red Sea port city of Al-Hudaydah and the capital Sanaa. Beyond testing various weapons, the fighting allows Iran to continuously exhaust and attrite Saudi Arabia, its sworn Sunni rival. The U.S. decision to remove the Houthis from the terror list and halt some Saudi military aid used to attack Houthi targets in Yemen with U.S.-made precision-guided munitions plays into Irans hands at the sensitive timing of the possibility of the United States rejoining the nuclear agreement. The decision raises doubt about the seriousness of the United States policy statements to expand and strengthen the Iran deal to address the issues of ballistic missiles and Irans destabilizing actions in country after country  two key issues in which Iran specializes and which it exports Yemen, Iraq, Syria, and Lebanon. A Test for the Biden Administration in Iraq as Well To illustrate the depth of Irans dilemma for American reintroduced policy in the region, pro-Iranian Iraqi Shiite militia linked to Hizbullah-Iraq  Saraya Awlia al-Dam  claimed responsibility for a rocket attack on the Erbil Airport and the adjacent U.S. military base on February 16, 2021. Fragments at the target indicate that 24 Fajr-1 (107 mm) Iranian made rockets were fired. The U.S. Secretary of State denounced the outrageous attack in which a civilian contractor was killed, and a U.S. service member and five more contractors have been injured. Secretary Blinken acknowledged that in the past, Shiite militias under Irans control carried out similar attacks in Iraq, but for now it is too early to determine who is behind the attack and that the incident is under investigation. It is possible that the action is another part of the pressure being exerted by Iran on the United States in the region, and it puts the American administration to its first serious test regarding its willingness to use force against Iran and its allies in the area, alongside its intention to return to the framework of the nuclear agreement. IDF Lt.-Col. (ret.) Michael (Mickey) Segall, an expert on strategic issues with a focus on Iran, terrorism, and the Middle East, is a senior analyst at the Jerusalem Center for Public Affairs and at Acumen Risk Advisors. Home
A Lower Windsor Township man was arrested after he allegedly tried to set a trailer home on fire with four people, including two boys, inside.

Zamian Lavellen Duncan, 28, faces four counts of attempted criminal homicide; four counts of aggravated arson with people inside the property; arson on an inhabited building; risking catastrophe; and criminal mischief damaging property with reckless or negligent intent. All are felonies.

Hes also charged with four counts of misdemeanor recklessly endangering another person. He was arraigned Thursday before District Judge Joel N. Tolubaand is in York County Prison with bail set at $50,000.

A preliminary hearing is scheduled for Friday before District Judge John H. Fishel.

Police said Duncan, of the 100 block of Zeigler Park Road, tried to set the mobile home on fire because he was drunk and upset with the adult occupants.

The male occupant said that on Aug. 6, he went to investigate why smoke was filling the house and found a bottle of accelerant tucked in the insulation under the trailer home, which is in the same block as Duncans residence, according to charging documents.

Lower Windsor Township Police and a state police fire marshal identified Duncan as a suspect. Police said he took a polygraph test Tuesday.

Duncan told police he was upset the male occupant was dating his ex-girlfriend and lived with her and her 12- and 15-year-old sons at the residence. The affidavit notes Duncan lived at the trailer with his grandparents until they died in 2019 and 2020.

Duncan allegedly said he was intoxicated the day of the fire. He said he took a Mountain Dew bottle that contained starter fluid from the trash and walked to the victims house, according to the court records..

(Duncan) related he went there to start a fire and upon his arrival, he heard loud music and knew the victims were inside. He then used a match to ignite the starter fluid in the bottle and put the bottle under the trailer and then kicked it, according to charging documents.

Duncan said he then went to his brothers house and went to sleep, according to charging documents.

___

Harper Ho of The York Dispatch, Pa., wrote this story.

(c)2021 The York Dispatch (York, Pa.)

Visit The York Dispatch (York, Pa.) at www.yorkdispatch.com

Distributed by Tribune Content Agency, LLC.
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The Georgian parliament has approved a new government led by Prime Minister Irakli Gharibashvili following the surprise exit last week of a prime minister from the same ruling party angry over its handling of accusations targeting an opposition leader.



Gharibashvili and his proposed cabinet were supported by 89 deputies with two opposed in the 150-member parliament, where the main opposition United National Movement (ENM) and smaller parties are boycotting proceedings.



The political scene for the Caucasus nation's 4 million people has been on the brink of crisis since October elections dominated by the Georgian Dream party but that independent monitors say were marred by irregularities.



The long-governing Georgian Dream named the Paris-educated Gharibashvili, a former prime minister who was serving as defense minister, to replace outgoing party colleague Giorgi Gakharia.



Gakharia announced his resignation as prime minister on live television on February 18 following a court ruling that ordered the arrest of Nika Melia, the head of the ENM.



Gakharia had warned that Melia's arrest could further escalate Georgia's ongoing political crisis and that polarization that "is the greatest risk for the future of our country [and] its economic development."



A Tbilisi court granted a prosecution request to place Melia in custody in a case denounced by the opposition as a political witch hunt.



In the West, Georgia has been regarded as a potential role model for its democratic trends in a region where democracy is sometimes an afterthought or worse.



International observers said Georgia's national vote in October was "competitive and, overall, fundamental freedoms were respected" but cited pervasive allegations of pressure on voters.



Critics say Georgian Dream founding billionaire Bidzina Ivanishvili has cemented his grip on power over the past seven years of on-again, off-again public leadership of the party.



After Georgian Dream's electoral victory in 2012, Ivanishvili served as prime minister for just over a year before returning to the private sector, though most believe he still wields unrivaled influence over Georgian politics.
Proposals to limit lawyer fees in civil actions and cut legal costs have been adopted by Justice Minister Helen McEntee, the Irish Independent has learned.

An independent body is to start work this year on new scales of legal costs that will detail what litigants can expect to pay when they take a court action.

The initiative, which is due to be formally announced today as part of a wider Justice Plan for 2021, was recommended last year by a civil law review group, headed by former High Court President Peter Kelly.

The plan is also set to include a review of the civil legal aid system, which many commentators believe is excluding deserving cases.

Read More

It will also include proposals to regularise undocumented migrants, measures to reform legal education and remove barriers to becoming a solicitor or a barrister.

If implemented, the costs reforms could open up the courts to people who currently find the prospect of taking a legal action too much of a financial risk in case they lose.

Under the proposals, new scales of legal costs will be independently drawn up. These will not only set limits on what can reasonably be charged but also provide clarity on potential costs .

The move comes at a key time for Ireland as it seeks to capitalise on Brexit by attracting legal work previously done in London  efforts which may be hindered by litigation costs here.

Mr Justice Kellys group found Ireland was a high cost location for litigation and said this was a barrier to access to justice, it was increasing costs in the economy, hampering national competitiveness and imposing a burden on taxpayers where litigation involves or is financed by the State.

One issue still to be worked out is whether the scales will be considered guidelines or if the limits involved will be binding.

The Kelly review group was split on which option should be pursued, with the majority favouring guidelines due to fears mandatory limits would fall foul of EU competition law and be unfair in particularly complex or drawn-out cases.

Ms McEntee said she was giving a clear commitment to introducing new guidelines to help improve the information the public will have about the costs of taking legal actions.

Not knowing how much legal proceedings could ultimately cost currently acts as a barrier to accessing justice and is damaging to our economy and competitiveness, she said.

But we must examine if we should go further and pursue the option of making these scales binding, if that is possible.

"This requires careful legal and economic analysis, which I will commission shortly.

Meanwhile, a separate review of civil legal aid will examine a current limit which excludes people from access if they have a disposable income of more than 18,000.

Ms McEntee also plans to publish a new Sexual Offences Bill by the end of the year.

This will add harassment orders to existing legislation, bring consistency regarding anonymity around a range of sexual offences, and legislate for a reasonable belief of consent defence.
Pupils attending special classes in mainstream primary and secondary schools will return to the classroom today as the phased reopening of schools continues.

Meanwhile, special schools  which have been operating at half capacity since February 11  will reopen from next Monday with all pupils attending for a full five-day week.

The gradual reopening of schools will continue next Monday for Leaving Cert pupils as well as junior infants, senior infants, first and second classes at primary level.

Remaining primary pupils are expected to return in the followi ng weeks. However it is unclear when the rest of second level pupils will return, but many may be waiting until after the Easter holidays.

Read More

The return to the classroom has put the issue of ventilation under the spotlight.

It is understood that school reopening guidelines for next week will not place an increased emphasis on ventilation  despite international advice that highly transmissible Covid-19 variants mean windows should be open.

The Department of Education last night contradicted a senior Government source who said there would be an emphasis on ventilation even if it means the kids and the teacher having to wear their coats in class.

However, a spokesman for Education Minister Norma Foley said: The guidelines have not been finalised and are still subject to discussion with stakeholders. They will be issued after Cabinet.

There has been a previous row between the National Public Health Emergency Team (Nphet) and the department on the claimed need for more ventilation  with an expert group now appointed to advise on the issue. The ventilation advice to schools remains unchanged from last November  before the advent of the more transmissible UK variant as well as the emergence of the Brazilian and South African variants. The ministers spokesman said last night, however: We will always take best public health advice.

The World Health Organisation advises schools to ensure adequate ventilation and increase total airflow.

Clean, natural ventilation (ie opening windows) should be used inside buildings where possible, without recirculating the air, it states.

Nphet discussed updated guidelines on ventilation prepared by the Health Protection Surveillance Centre just last month, but they have since been passed to an expert group for consideration.

One senior Irish scientist said last night: Schools have recognised the importance of ventilation  but they can always do better.

Some have already had the kids in class in their coats.

The Government is hoping the limited reopening of schools goes well so that other classes can return. The return will be closely monitored with school inspections being carried out .

The Cabinet Covid Sub-Committee meets today to hear final Nphet advice before a revised Living with Covid plan goes to Cabinet tomorrow.

The Taoiseach will then address the nation, emphasising the need to remain strong as the vaccine roll-out continues.

The mandatory hotel quarantine red list of 20 countries will be discussed before legislation is introduced in the Dail this week.

Opposition politicians have said mandatory quarantines should apply to all arrivals.

Meanwhile, Cabinet sources said the revised Covid plan would offer no target dates for the relaxation of controls or reopening of particular areas of the economy.

There will be no false promises, said a source.

The current restrictions will apply until Easter (April 4) and a review will take place then.

One further death and 679 new cases of the virus were reported yesterday.

Meanwhile, it could be April before new cases fall below 100 a day, according to Prof Philip Nolan of Nphet.

He said progress in suppressing the virus had slowed, primarily because of the dominance of the more transmissible UK variant.
Credit where it's due, this op/ed from Community Engagement Writer Derek Donovan calls out the former admitted opioid-addict broadcaster for some of his most callous remarks.

However, as we noted previously, given the Missouri GOP super-majority, debate over this culture war legacy mostly serves to distract from more important questions about a sketchy Show-Me economy, worsening roads throughout the state and a slipshod COVID recovery plan from Jeff City.

Here's the money line . . .



Because when he delivered his Homeless Updates about the urban outdoorsmen on the streets, or his AIDS Updates (which he eventually abandoned, only to replace them with Gay Updates), Limbaugh was giving his audience explicit permission to laugh at powerless human beings. It wasnt enough for the fabulously wealthy white entrepreneur to denounce public policy he thought was harmful. He had to demean his fellow Americans to make it funny, too.

His vision was the polar opposite of George W. Bushs compassionate conservatism. And its not hard to draw a straight line from Limbaugh to the insult comic-cum-populist who made his way to the White House while loudly deriding womens looks and lampooning the disabled.

Read more . . .
Family members of Malcolm X have revealed a letter written by a New York police officer that they claim shows the NYPD and the FBI were behind the 1965 assassination of the famed Black leader.

The 2011 letter by the now-dead officer, Raymond A. Wood, stated that Wood had been compelled by his supervisors at the New York Police Department to coax two members of Malcolm X's security team into committing crimes, leading to their arrests just a few days before the assassination. They were then unable to secure the entry to New York's Audubon Ballroom, where Malcolm X had been speaking when he was killed.

Wood maintained that the arrests were part of a conspiracy by the NYPD and the FBI to murder Malcolm X, who had become disenchanted with the Nation of Islam and left the black separatist group to start his own organization, the Muslim Mosque.

"I was a black New York City undercover police officer between May of 1964 through May of 1971," Wood's letter began. "I participated in actions that in hindsight were deplorable and detrimental to my own black people. . . . Under the direction of my handlers, I was told to encourage leaders and members of the civil rights groups to commit felonious acts."

Wood said he was hired by the NYPD to infiltrate the civil rights groups "to find evidence of criminal activity, so the F.B.I. could discredit and arrest its leaders."

He said that he threatened to resign but that his supervisors said if he did, they would charge him with false crimes. His supervisors, Wood said, concocted an alleged plot to bomb the Statue of Liberty that implicated the members of Malcolm X's security detail and led to their arrests.

On the day of the assassination, Wood said, his supervisors ordered him to be at the Audubon Ballroom, where he was identified by witnesses while leaving the scene. Khalil Islam, also known as Thomas Johnson, "was later arrested and wrongfully convicted to protect my cover and the secrets of the FBI and NYPD," he said.

The letter was presented at a news conference Saturday in New York by Malcolm X's three daughters and civil rights attorney Ben Crump. A cousin of Wood's, Reggie Wood, joined them in revealing the letter's contents at the Malcolm X and Dr. Betty Shabazz Memorial and Educational Center, on the site where the Audubon Ballroom once stood.

Raymond Wood, who had written the letter shortly after being diagnosed with stomach cancer, had stipulated to his cousin that he did not want his involvement to be made public until after his death. His cancer went into remission in 2012 and he did not die until Nov. 24, 2020.

Sunday marked the 56th anniversary of the assassination. At her daily press briefing Monday, White House press secretary Jen Psaki was asked about the revelations in the letter. "I have not seen that letter," she said. "If you want to provide it to us, I'm happy to have the right person look into it after the briefing."

Early last year, Manhattan District Attorney Cyrus T. Vance announced that his office would review the convictions of two Nation of Islam members who were held responsible in Malcolm X's death. One of the men who confessed to the killing, Mujahid Abdul Halim(a.k.a. Talmadge Hayer or Thomas Hagan), has maintained since his 1966 trial that the other two Nation members, Islam and Muhammad Aziz (a.k.a. Norman Butler), were innocent.

Halim served 45 years in prison before he was paroled in 2010. Islam, paroled in 1987, died in 2009. Aziz, 83, was paroled in 1985. The Innocence Project, along with attorney David B. Shanies, are fighting to clear Islam's and Aziz's names.

A 2020 documentary series on Netflix, "Who Killed Malcolm X?" and efforts by the Innocence Project prompted Vance to review whether to reopen the case.

After Saturday's news conference, Vance's office released a statement saying its "review of this matter is active and ongoing."

In a separate statement, the NYPD said it "has provided all available records relevant to the case to the District Attorney. The Department remains committed to assist with that review in any way." The FBI has declined to comment.

The assassination of Malcolm X has long been a subject of fascination to historians and activists, given the acrimony between Nation of Islam leader Elijah Muhammad and Malcolm X after his break with the group.

According to witnesses in the Audubon Ballroom on Feb. 21, 1965, a man rushed forward and shot Malcolm once in the chest with a sawed-off shotgun as two other men also charged the stage firing semi-automatic handguns. Malcolm X was pronounced dead that afternoon, shortly after arriving at at the hospital.

Malcolm X's widow, Betty Shabazz, said that she believed current Nation of Islam leader Louis Farrakhan, a protege of Malcolm X, was involved in her husband's assassination. In the Dec. 4, 1964, issue of Muhammad Speaks, the organization's newspaper, Farrakhan wrote: "The die is set and Malcolm shall not escape. . . . Such a man is worthy of death." He later acknowledged that his remarks played a role in the assassination.

After confessing at length to his cousin, Raymond Wood wrote the letter believing he would die soon. Reggie said at the press conference that, on the advice of Crump, he planned to publish a short memoir of Raymond's confessions, which covered other matters as well.

"I am aging and in failing health; recently I learned about the death of Thomas Johnson and [am] deeply concerned that with my death his family will not be able to exonerate him," Raymond Wood wrote in the 2011 letter. " . . . It is my hope that this information is received with the understanding that I have carried these secrets with a heavy heart and remorsefully regret my participation in this matter."

Crump called on Vance's office to launch a full re-investigation of Malcolm X's assassination.

"Who more personified the Black liberation movement in America in 1965 than civil rights icon Malcolm X?" Crump said at the press conference. The F.B.I. "was trying to stop another Black messiah from uniting African Americans. This was orchestrated and the only way we get to justice...restorative justice or otherwise, is with the truth."
MONSON - Police on Sunday evening executed a search warrant for the Magic Lantern strip club after management would not allow police inside as part of an investigation of a reported shooting several hours earlier in the parking lot, police said.

Chief Stephen Kozloski said the shooting occurred at around 1 a.m. at the Boston Road strip club but it was not reported to police for more than 12 hours later.

Police were notified of the incident by bar patrons, not club management.

Kozloski said officers responded to the scene Sunday afternoon and found evidence of gunfire in the parking lot. There were multiple shell casings on the ground in the lot, but nothing to indicate that anyone had been hit. No gunshot victims were admitted at any local hospitals either, he said.

When police tried to go inside the club as part of the investigation, the management told officers they would need a warrant, Kozloski said.

Officers obtained the search warrant from district court and served it at around 9 p.m., he said.

He described management of the club as uncooperative until police served the warrant.

Evidence recovered inside the club is now being reviewed by investigators. Included in that is recorded footage from the clubs surveillance system, he said.

Kozloski said police have notified the town licensing board about the incident, but have not requested a formal hear or filed a complaint against the club. Police have not contacted the state Alcoholic Beverage Control Commission.

The police investigation is considered active, and town police are being assisted by the state police Detective Unit, he said.

Anyone with information about the incident is asked by police to contact Det. Sgt. Adam Szymanski at (413) 893-9500
Armenian News - NEWS.am presents the daily digest of Armenia-related top news as of 22.02.2021:

The search operations in Artsakh (Nagorno-Karabakh) have stopped indefinitely.

No search operations have been carried out since February 15.

The Azerbaijani side has prohibited searches today as well - and without providing any reasons.

This is the first time since the ceasefire last November that the search has stopped for so long.

The bodies of a total of 1,485 fallen soldiers and civilians have been found so far.

Armenian Defense Minister Vagharshak Harutyunyan told RIA Novosti that he does not see the need to deploy a second Russian military base in Armenia.

According to him, the current normative legal basis existing between the countries also determines the status of only one Russian base in Armenia - currently deployed in Gyumri.

He also noted that Yerevan and Moscow are working on the possibility of redeploying a certain formation of the Russian 102nd military base in Gyumri to eastern Armenia, taking into account changes in Armenia-Azerbaijani borders near Syunik province following the Nagorno-Karabakh war.

The march of the Homeland Salvation Movement was held Monday in Yerevan. The opposition representatives keep demanding the resignation of Armenian PM Nikol Pashinyan.

The march was scheduled to conclude at French Square with a protest action of civil disobedience.

Earlier on Saturday, a major opposition rally was held in Armenia.

All opposition structures noted that from now there will be a new wave of civil disobedience actions.

People have gathered at Freedom Square in the center of the Armenian capital. Police vehicles were stationed in the city center. Buses with law enforcement officers and special equipment were standing outside the Armenian parliament building.

According to the opposition candidate for PM Vazgen Manukyan, after 2018, Armenia has had nothing but failures. He noted that the economic situation in the country is "deplorable", but in order to change this, it is necessary to "expel" the government.

For several days now, the Armenian National Security Service has been trying to find the Facebook fake user Gagik Soghomonyan, notorious for criticizing the current government.

Four people have already been detained within this case. While using the IP addresses provided by the same VPN app used by the fake user is the only proof for their links in this case. Meanwhile, after each arrest 'Gagik Soghomonyan' was sharing a post on his page, hinting that the authorities have made a mistake in their searches.

Later, two of the four opposition representatives Ara Saghetelyan and Aram Sargsyan were arrested, while Mher Avagyan and Karen Bekaryan were released.

The representatives of Turkeys Nationalist Movement Party (MHP) have discussed the details of their school to be built in Shushi, Nagorno-Karabakh with Azerbaijan President Ilham Aliyev, during their visit to Baku.

The political wing of the Turkish ultranationalist Gray Wolves organization presented the sketch of this school and stated that it has already been approved by everyone.

Armenia has confirmed 104 COVID-19 new cases and the total number of these cases has reached 170,506.

Also, three more deaths from COVID-19 were registered, making the respective total 3,167 cases.

The number of people who have recovered is 162,098, and the number of people currently being treated is 4,438.
A die-hard NDC activist who took to social media to chastise the Minister-designate for Fisheries and Aquaculture, Hawa Koomson for performing poorly during her vetting is trending for the funny reason.



Maame Gyamfua who was responding to some comments on Facebook sounded worried about the Minister-Designates credibility to head the fisheries ministry.



She doubts Hawa Koomsons competency and maintained that her performance during the ministerial vetting was awful.



We are talking about competency. What prevented her to do a terror [thorough] research before appearing the committee? she questioned



But little did she know that she can equally make mistakes in her submission just like the Kasoa MP.



This took the immediate former Deputy Information Minister, Nana Ama Dokua Asiamah Adjei to draw the attention of the NDC activist to first correct her mistakes before chastising her fellow womans error.



Next time I will talk to her to do a terror research because you asked for it. First, remove the beam out of your own eyes, and then you can see clearly to remove the speck out of your sisters eye. She advised













Source: Peacefmonline.com/Ghana









Disclaimer : Opinions expressed here are those of the writers and do not reflect those of Peacefmonline.com. Peacefmonline.com accepts no responsibility legal or otherwise for their accuracy of content. Please report any inappropriate content to us, and we will evaluate it as a matter of priority.

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Striker Erling Braut Haaland (R) and England winger Jadon Sancho both scored in Dortmund's derby win on Saturday

Borussia Dortmund on Monday accepted a fine of 75,000 euros ($91,260) after their players broke the German league's hygiene rules with an impromptu victory celebration on the team bus after last weekend's derby win against Schalke.

The German Football League (DFL) issued the fine after footage emerged of Dortmund players celebrating Saturday on the team bus without masks and without observing social distancing rules.

The club quickly accepted the fine having issued an apology on Sunday as Germany has been in lockdown since November amid the coronavirus pandemic.

The DFL took a dim view of the incident after around 200 fans were also allowed to gather outside the club's training ground to greet the team bus arriving in Dortmund after Saturday's 4-0 away win.

"There is no question that the derby is a special game. Nevertheless, the club has the responsibility to control and monitor compliance with the rules," the DFL said in a statement.

"All matches must be held in compliance with the currently valid medical-hygienic concept, including the arrival and departure" of teams.

Dortmund said they would consult with police and the relevant authorities to stop similar scenes happening in future.

Star striker Erling Braut Haaland netted two goals, including a spectacular volley, while England winger Jadon Sancho also scored in the emphatic win.

ryj/dmc

Zurich, Switzerland -- (SBWIRE) -- 02/22/2021 -- In 2011, ABN AMRO sold its Swiss Private Banking business to UBP, shortly afterwards Morgan Stanley and Merrill Lynch followed suit, each selling their International Private Banking units to Credit Suisse and Julius Baer. In 2020 this trend continued and more recently, it was broadcasted that Rothschild are set to purchase Banque Paris Bertrand, plus, Intesa Sanpaolo have acquired 69% of REYL. As recruitment leaders in banking and financial services Selby Jennings keep a close eye on acquisitions and consolidations and how they create opportunities from a hiring perspective. For example, where acquisitions and consolidations created opportunities with regards to job-placements, these transitions can also be slow, bureaucratic, and often have internal implications, thus causing prior content bankers to consider new opportunities. On the flipside, as frontrunners in the industry, Selby Jennings are able to identify that those perceived to be a growing bank, committed to Private Banking and on the lookout for opportunities, can be incredibly useful when trying to attract top talent.



Thanks to the firm's global network of bankers, contacts, and client reach, Selby Jennings have outlined some vital recruitment trends for careers in financial services and banking. As a firm they have noted that due to pressures on revenues and the uncertain COVID-19 landscape there will be career opportunities for Private Bankers as a direct result of the rise in acquisitions and consolidations. Thanks to continued remote working, there should also be a rise in digitilisation and tech advancements, furthermore, this will lend itself to those bankers looking to make tactical moves. The pandemic should also increase the gap between the very best and the intermediate Private Banker. Moreover, clients will be looking for specialists who they have had a very strong relationship with, so when hiring throughout 2021, Selby Jennings have noted the importance of identifying Bankers who have exceptionally strong client relationships.



Established in 2004 Selby Jennings works with a plethora of talented people across Switzerland and partners with some of the best organisations to offer a wealth of careers within the financial services industry. As a leading specialist recruiter for banking and financial services, Selby Jennings ensures that they help solve the number one recruitment challenge: talent. By rising to this challenge, Selby Jennings continue to provide permanent, contract and multi-hire recruitment solutions across specialist sectors including; risk management, legal and compliance, investment management, quantitative analytics, financial technology, investment banking, insurance and commodities and sales and trading. Current positions in Switzerland available through the firm include; International Firm, Renewables M&A Associate/VP, Structured Product Sales  Swiss Clients, Senior Legal Counsel, Legal & Compliance Officer and Senior Consultant  AML to name just a few.



With a reach that extends across Switzerland, Selby Jennings works in key cities including Chur and Geneva, Bern, Zurich and Lucerne. The firm is also part of the Phaidon International Group - the recruitment partner of choice to over 70 world-leading companies. This combination of nationwide and international reach means that Selby Jennings can provide an unrivalled service when it comes to financial services and banking careers in Switzerland and across the globe.



"Like many sectors, 2020 marked a defining moment for recruitment. Challenged by uncertainty, but unwavering in our commitment to our clients, we enter 2021 with a sense of duty to clients and candidates", commented Luis Rolim, Global Marketing Director at Selby Jennings. He went onto say, "as we reflect on the challenges of virtually securing and retaining talent, we're inspired by a team who have demonstrated a remarkable ability to adapt and continue to help all our clients secure top talent on a global scale."



To find out more information about financial careers in Zurich visit: https://www.selbyjennings.ch/ .



For any media enquiries please contact Gary Elliott at Iconic Digital  020 7100 0726.



For all other enquiries please contact Selby Jennings on: +41 44 542 12 50.



For more information about Selby Jennings CH services, please go to https://www.selbyjennings.ch.



About Selby Jennings CH

Selby Jennings CH was founded in 2004 and provides both local and international connections and perspective with respect to financial services roles. The firm is a specialist leading recruiter with a wealth of experience and the resources and expertise to ensure peace of mind for both clients and candidates.
New Delhi: In yet another shooting incident in the United States, one person was killed and four others were wounded in southeast Missouri on Sunday.

The shooting continued overnight at an American Legion club, the police said.

According to local media reports, officers found the five victims inside the American Legion Building in Kennett following the report of the shooting before 12:30 am local time on Sunday.

Out of the four injured, two in critical condition were flown to a hospital in Cape Girardeau, Missouri, while the other two victims were taken to local hospitals for treatment.

The police said no additional details on the shooting were available Sunday morning. No arrests were reported immediately in connection with the shooting.

The Missouri State Patrol and Dunklin County Sheriff's office are helping with the investigation.

A day ago in a separate incident, three people were killed and two others were injured in a shooting at a gun store in Metairie in Louisiana.

(With agency inputs)

Live TV
Kyochon F&B's corporate logo / Yonhap



By Kim Jae-heun



Local fried chicken restaurant chains are having a hard time supplying meat to their branches after bird flu ravaged 100 farms nationwide, resulting in the culling of over 28.61 million birds.



Korea's largest fried chicken franchise, Kyochon F&B, recently posted a notice online that two of its menu items, "chicken wings" and "chicken wings and legs," were temporarily out of stock.



Kyochon's best-selling menu items are specific parts of chickens and the bird flu epidemic has made it especially hard for it to supply meat compared to other franchises.



With only two wings per chicken, it takes several chickens to make up the menu item.





Kyochon F&B's popular "Red Original" chicken menu item / Courtesy of Kyochon F&B
The Taoiseachs big test is at hand, and on it rests confidence in the Coalition and even the fate of his Governments whole conflict with Covid.

The revised plan for Living with Covid, to be announced after Cabinet tomorrow, must be clear, cogent and well communicated. And there must be rewards on offer.

With people fed up to the back teeth with lockdown, further compliance can only come with a real belief this is the last tunnel and there truly is sunlight at the end of it, not another oncoming train.

Ministers and the head of Government really have to think hard about the psychology of asking for further suffering, while the least the public can ask for in return is for serious State measures that actually work.

Public confidence has been dented by the slow progress toward mandatory hotel quarantine (announced four weeks ago and will still take weeks to put in place) involving a limited number of 20 countries that can easily be side-stepped, and the detection of the new P1 variant thanks to flight arrivals which involved 2,000 people coming in from Brazil in the space of a month  as revealed by the Sunday Independent yesterday  in a timeframe when the South American country was a known red-alert risk.

Read More

Government spokespersons and spin doctors insist there are not mixed messages, hybrid messages, or confusing and contradictory messages coming down from on high.

One said yesterday: It is the one and the same message. But people dont like that message.

Unrest was being voiced in cloaked terms because the message itself was unpalatable  Level 5 lockdown continues.

Having been horribly ambushed by the B117 variant just when Ireland opened up in December, the Government  and Nphet, with whom it is wedded again  now fears the South African, Brazilian P1 and other versions.

Meanwhile, new cases and new hospitalisations remain stubbornly high, far too high for any relaxation of national controls, which is an annoying circumstance for all involved in studying and adapting to the trends.

This may reflect fraying at the edges of society already under way as those who have lost patience with this sacrifice drop their guard and become infected, which means the agony continues for

everyone.

But the rolling lockdown idea, once it becomes embedded as the perceived sole response, cannot succeed and must inevitably involve more people abandoning the fight as time goes on.

There is also the sight of vaccine supply being too slow, even if Ireland is getting it into arms as quickly as possible, with 100,000 to be jabbed this week, rising to 200,000 a week in April, May and June.

It was last year that Leo Varadkar used the WB Yeats phrase too long a sacrifice makes a stone of the heart, but it is all weighing heavily on society at this time  which is why the Government really now has to convince, especially after a week in which it has been unconvincing at best.

Winter is over, but self-imposed winter is set to continue. The rationale and rewards, and Government resolution in parallel, must be comprehensively set out in one last Grand Bargain with the people.

Polish and perfect every last word of this speech, Taoiseach. The public will hang on every one, as ultimately might your Government.
Dvoress Tops partypoker MILLIONS Online Main Event Day 1a; Staples, Urbanovich And Koon Advance

February 22, 2021 Christian Zetzsche

The first of two starting days for the partypoker MILLIONS Online $5,300 Main Event has wrapped up. Thanks to 591 total entries, the tournament is on track to surpass the $5 million guarantee as another starting day remains one week from now on Sunday, Feb. 28, 2021.

After 9 1/2 hours of poker action, the day ended with just 87 survivors and High Roller regular Daniel Dvoress claiming the chip lead with 30,582,133 in chips.

Not far behind the Canadian are Hermogenes Gelonezi (27,798,834) and Andras Nemeth (27,371,860), as well as 2020 WSOP Main Event international leg finalist Dominykas Mikolaitis (24,489,173).

Head to the NEW partypoker Hub Want to stay up-to-date on all the latest partypoker news right here on PokerNews? Why not try out the new partypoker Hub! Find Out More

partypoker MILLIONS Online Main Event Day 1a Top 10 Counts

Rank Player Country Chip Count Big Blinds 1 Daniel Dvoress Canada 30,582,133 218 2 Hermogenes Gelonezi Brazil 27,798,834 199 3 Andras Nemeth Hungary 27,371,860 196 4 Dominykas Mikolaitis Lithuania 24,489,173 175 5 Arnaud Enselme France 18,339,430 131 6 Simon Nielsen Denmark 18,072,924 129 7 Joshua Hoesel United States 17,591,055 126 8 Endrit Geci United Kingdom 17,498,394 125 9 Pedro Padilha Brazil 16,330,297 117 10 Espen Uhlen Jorstad Norway 15,695,668 112

Some notables that made it through to Day 2 with an above-average stack in the first flight already include Joshua Hoesel (17,591,055), Pedro Padilha (16,330,297), Espen Uhlen Jorstad (15,695,668), Oleg Vasylchenko (13,787,078), Simon Deadman (10,762,859), Christian Rudolph (9,544,082), Bruno Volkmann (9,453,291) and 2019 WSOP Europe Main Event champion Alexandros Kolonias (9,127,932).

Plenty of other well-known names of the international poker circuit locked up a payday and that also includes three partypoker representatives. For Twitch streamer Jaime Staples, it was his first cash in an online $5K buy-in event. The Canadian made it through with a stack of 8,386,939, while sponsored pro Dzmitry Urbanovich (1,984,954) and Jason Koon (1,700,256) were among the shortest stacks at the end of the night.

It wasn't an easy ride by any means for Staples, who scored a lucky double up with king-jack versus kings when he was short. However, once that crucial step was done, the Canadian never looked back and picked up big hands along the way to consistently grow his stack.

All other partypoker representatives were not as fortunate and hit the rail throughout the day including Mikita Badziakouski, Joni Jouhkimainen, Patrick Leonard, Isaac Haxton, and John Duthie.

Related: Check out the FULL partypoker MILLIONS Online schedule

The Action of the Day

There were only a handful of casualties in the first few levels of the day and among them was partypoker Advisory Board member Duthie. On a shorter stack, he got it in with fours and deuces only to run into superior two pair, which held. For Leonard, his second bullet ended against Sergei Koliakov when king-queen suited made an inferior pocket pair versus ace-nine.

Jason Koon's first bullet ended rather early as well after a clash with Guillaume Nolet. However, Koon re-entered and ran up an above-average stack which only faltered late on once the money bubble approached.

Among the many hopefuls were also former MILLIONS Main Event champions. Benjamin Chalot won the 2019 MILLIONS Online which featured a buy-in of $10,300. The Frenchman and Hungary resident fired two bullets on Day 1a and didn't make it through. 2017 MILLIONS UK winner Maria Lampropulos was unable to find any help with a dominated pair to bust after the registration had closed.

Read More: partypoker's Patrick Leonard Looking Forward to "Special" MILLIONS Online

Daniel Dvoress jumped to a big stack when he made the nut flush against Ramon Kropmanns and then knocked out Sergi Reixach with kings versus ace-five suited.

While the pace of eliminations certainly picked up mid-way through the day, it slowed down a ton a few dozen players away from the target. Anatoly Filatov fell victim to the hot run of Dvoress and other big names such as Dario Sammartino, Tomas Jozonis, and Georgios Karakousis, Christopher Frank, and Robert Heidorn all busted during the final stage.

Eventually, the bubble burst when Marco Baldini ran out of chips. However, Joao Simao also crashed out on a different table when he ran pocket eights smack dab into the pocket aces of Dominykas Mikolaitis to miss out on Day 2 and the min-cash.

All 87 survivors have guaranteed a portion of the at least $5 million guaranteed prize pool already. However, with such a solid turnout for Day 1a, the overall prize pool may grow beyond that as the second and final starting day takes place the following Sunday, Feb. 28. The PokerNews live reporting team will be back then to provide all the action from the virtual arena.

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NEW DELHI : India is set to clear 45 investment proposals from China, which are likely to include those from Great Wall Motor and SAIC Motor Corp., government and industry officials familiar with the matter told Reuters, as military tensions between the two countries ease at the disputed border.

The proposals have been held up since last year after India tightened controls on Chinese investment in the country in retaliation against alleged Chinese troop incursions in the western Himalayan region. China blamed Indian troops for the standoff.

About 150 investment proposals from China worth more than $2 billion were stuck in the pipeline. Companies from Japan and the US routing investment through Hong Kong were also caught in the cross-fire as an inter-ministerial panel led by the interior ministry increased scrutiny of such proposals.

A federal home (interior) ministry spokesman did not respond to a request for comment on the proposals to be cleared.

Two government officials who have seen the list said most of the 45 proposals set for early approvals are in the manufacturing sector, which is considered non-sensitive in terms of national security.

The officials did not elaborate but two other government officials and two industry people who are privy to the process said proposals from Great Wall and SAIC are likely to be on the list.

Great Wall and General Motors (GM) made a joint proposal last year seeking consent for the Chinese automaker to purchase the US companys car plant in India, in a deal expected to be valued at around $250-$300 million.

Great Wall, which plans to invest $1 billion in India over the next few years, said earlier that establishing operations in the country is a key part of its global strategy. It had planned to start selling cars in India from this year, and was also mulling bringing in electric vehicles.

Great Wall said it continues to seek relevant approvals and investment clearances.

Should we be granted all relevant approvals, we will push all work forward in India, abiding by the laws and rules laid down by the Indian government," a company spokesman said.

A GM spokesman added: We continue to seek all relevant approvals to support the transaction."

SAIC, which started selling cars in India in 2019 under its British brand MG Motor, has invested around $400 million of the nearly $650 million it has committed to India and would need approval to bring more investment.

SAICs India unit did not respond to an email seeking comment. The change in the Indian governments stance follows an improvement in the border situation. Troops who were in eyeball to eyeball confrontation in territory claimed by both sides have been withdrawn, the two countries announced on Sunday.

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A MAN caught throwing 4,000 worth of cannabis out his car window had the drug for "social supply," a court heard.

Sean O'Doherty (31) was seen discarding the bag of drugs when gardai tried to stop the car on a road in the west of the city after becoming suspicious.

He was fined 250 at Blanchardstown District Court.

O'Doherty, from Holywell Grove, Feltrim Road, Swords, pleaded guilty to possession of cannabis with intent to supply, as well as having a smaller amount of cocaine.

Garda Sergeant Maria Callaghan said officers on patrol at the Outer Ring Road, Clondalkin on December 6, 2019 saw a car acting suspiciously.

When they tried to stop it, a bag was thrown from it.

Gardai eventually stopped and spoke to O'Doherty, the driver.

The gardai got a strong smell of cannabis from the car and searched the occupants.

O'Doherty dropped a bag of cocaine, worth 412, and the cannabis, worth 4,480 was also found.

The accused's plea was on the basis that it was "social supply," his solicitor Damien Coffey said.

After throwing the drugs, he fully complied with gardai.

O'Doherty had previously worked at paving, as a supervisor in a leaflet delivery business and as a labourer on sites.

"It is regrettable he finds himself in this situation but he is the author of that," Judge David McHugh said.








The candidate of Bosnian Serb parties says he has won a repeat of local elections in the town of Srebrenica despite a boycott of the vote by Bosnian Muslims.

Mladen Grujicic declared victory in his mayoral reelection bid in the eastern town that was the scene of the Bosnian war's worst atrocity when 8,000 Muslim men and boys were killed by Serb forces in July 1995.

Elections in Srebrenica and Doboj, in the north of the country, were repeated after numerous irregularities had been reported in the November 2020 local elections, dominated by Bosnian Serbs.

Grujicic told RFE/RL that "even if there had been no boycott by Bosniak (Bosnian Muslim) parties," the difference in the number of votes in his favor "would have been large" and he would have won reelection anyway.

Grujicic won the previous election in 2016, becoming the first Bosnian Serb to become mayor of Srebrenica since 1999.

In Doboj, where Bosnian Serbs make up about 70 percent of the population, incumbent Boris Jerinic of the Alliance of Independent Social Democrats (SNSD) also declared a "convincing" victory.

The SNSD said Jerinic won almost 70 percent of the vote.

In a news conference at midnight, Bosnia's Central Election Commission confirmed Grujicic and Jerinic's victories.

The turnout was almost 43 percent in Srebrenica and more than 55 percent in Doboj, the election commission announced.

The results of the February 21 repeat elections were almost certain to be challenged and exacerbate already high political tensions in the area.

Bosnian Muslims vowed to boycott the rerun in Srebrenica because, they said, officials haven't done enough to rectify the problems that marred first elections in November 2020 such as multiple voting and the discovery of caches of pre-marked ballots before voting began.

Moreover, the Bosniak parties complained, officials weren't including mail-in voters in the new elections.

Bosnia comprises two entities, the Muslim and Croat federation and the Serb-dominated Republika Srpska.

Srebrenica is regarded by some as a potential flashpoint for ethnic tensions because of the massacre, the worst mass killing in post-World War II Europe.

The massacre was labeled as genocide by international courts, but Serbian and Bosnian Serb officials refuse to accept that wording.

The episode came at the end of the 1992-95 Bosnian War pitting the Serbs against Bosniaks and Croats that claimed some 100,000 lives.

The country continues to struggle domestically and internationally under an ethnically based deal -- known as the Dayton Agreement -- that ended fighting among the sides.
Credit: The Korea Advanced Institute of Science and Technology (KAIST)

A new preparation technique fabricates thin, silicone-based patches that rapidly wick water away from the skin. The technique could reduce the redness and itching caused by wearable biosensors that trap sweat beneath them. The technique was developed by bioengineer and professor Young-Ho Cho and his colleagues at KAIST and reported in the journal Scientific Reports last month.

"Wearable bioelectronics are becoming more attractive for the day-to-day monitoring of biological compounds found in sweat, like hormones or glucose, as well as body temperature, heart rate, and energy expenditure," Professor Cho explained. "But currently available materials can cause skin irritation, so scientists are looking for ways to improve them," he added.

Attachable biosensors often use a silicone-based compound called polydimethylsiloxane (PDMS), as it has a relatively high water vapor transmission rate compared to other materials. Still, this rate is only two-thirds that of skin's water evaporation rate, meaning sweat still gets trapped underneath it.

Current fabrication approaches mix PDMS with beads or solutes, such as sugars or salts, and then remove them to leave pores in their place. Another technique uses gas to form pores in the material. Each technique has its disadvantages, from being expensive and complex to leaving pores of different sizes.

A team of researchers led by Professor Cho from the KAIST Department of Bio and Brain Engineering was able to form small, uniform pores by crystallizing citric acid in PDMS and then removing the crystals using ethanol. The approach is significantly cheaper than using beads, and leads to 93.2% smaller and 425% more uniformly-sized pores compared to using sugar. Importantly, the membrane transmits water vapor 2.2 times faster than human skin.

Credit: The Korea Advanced Institute of Science and Technology (KAIST)

The team tested their membrane on human skin for seven days and found that it caused only minor redness and no itching, whereas a non-porous PDMS membrane did.

Professor Cho said, "Our method could be used to fabricate porous PDMS membranes for skin-attachable devices used for daily monitoring of physiological signals."

"We next plan to modify our membrane so it can be more readily attached to and removed from skin," he added.

Explore further Researchers create better material for wearable biosensors

More information: Sunghyun Yoon et al. Wearable porous PDMS layer of high moisture permeability for skin trouble reduction, Scientific Reports (2021). Journal information: Scientific Reports Sunghyun Yoon et al. Wearable porous PDMS layer of high moisture permeability for skin trouble reduction,(2021). DOI: 10.1038/s41598-020-78580-z
Egyptian Minister of Military Production Mohamed Ahmed Morsy participated on Sunday in the inauguration of the International Defense Exhibition and Conference (IDEX 2021) taking place in Abu Dhabi from February 21 until 25,

The ministry is participating for the third time in the exhibition after participating in the 2017 and 2019 editions with its latest production of military equipment, ammunition, and vehicles.

According to a statement by the military production ministry, Morsy toured several of the pavilions set up by the participating countries.

During the event, Morsy met with a representative of Rolls Royce, Tarek Nobar; a representative of TRB, Mile Pejcic, and the head of Thales in the Middle East.

The Egyptian minister is expected to meet with more military officials and representatives of companies in the next few days, where he will invite them to participate in the upcoming edition of Egypt's Defence Expo - EDEX 2021, which will be held later this year.

IDEX 2021 is held under the patronage of President of the UAE, Supreme Commander of the UAE Armed Forces, Sheikh Khalifa Bin Zayed Al-Nahyan.

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Foreign Affairs Minister Bogdan Aurescu said on Monday, ahead of a meeting of Foreign Affairs ministers of the EU Member States, that a "discussion on a more strategic EU approach to Russia was needed", according to AGERPRES.

"Of course we will discuss sanctions today and, as far as I know from my fellow foreign ministers of the Member States, there is a considerable majority in support of the adoption of new sanctions," Aurescu said.

"In the long run, we need to be more united, we need to work better together among the Member States, we need to show unity. We also need to work better with the European institutions and coordinate with our partners, especially the United States. I also think that there is a need for a discussion on a more strategic EU approach to Russia. We have the five basic principles, adopted in 2016, which are a minimum basis for the EU's relationship with Russia, but I think it is not enough, I think we need more, I believe we need more, I believe it is the right time to discuss the adoption of a strategy on the relationship between the EU and Russia," the head of the Romanian diplomacy explained.

Bogdan Aurescu said that on Sunday evening he met with other fellow ministers from the European Union, with representatives of the staff of Russian opponent Alexei Navalny to talk "about the human rights situation in Russia, about the adoption of new sanctions in relation to human rights" .

"We also talked about how the EU could better support democratic civil society in Russia and, in my opinion, the EU needs to strengthen its support for civil society and communication with the Russian public in general," the foreign minister said. .

He went on to say that Romania suggested including the issue of conflicts in the Black Sea region on the agenda of a future Foreign Affairs Council.
Two award-winning actors are to join the cast of a new Netflix film being shot in Belfast.

Charlize Theron and Kerry Washington will star in The School for Good and Evil, based on a best-selling series of novels.

Just last month, Belfast Harbour Studios was announced as the site for the filming of the fantasy drama, which follows a group of girls and boys who are taken to an institution and trained to become fairy tale heroes and villains.

Theron is an Academy Award winner who has appeared in movies such as The Old Guard, Bombshell and Atomic Blonde.

Washington is an Emmy Award winner, having starred in films including The Prom and American Son, and hit Amazon series Little Fires Everywhere.

Director Paul Feig, best known for Bridesmaids and the Ghostbusters remake, said he was "so thrilled" to have both actors in the film.

"I was honoured to work with Charlize back on Arrested Development and have been dying to work with her again ever since," he said.

"And I've been such a massive fan of Kerry's for ever and to finally find something for us to do together is just more proof that 2021 is gonna be way way better than 2020."

Netflix will use the full 125,000 square feet of studio, workshop and office space in Belfast Harbour Studios for its first film where the bulk of the production will be shot in Northern Ireland.

Speaking last month, David Dobbin, chairman of Belfast Harbour, said the announcement was a "great boost for the growing creative industry sector in Northern Ireland".

He added: "We have recently secured planning approval for a major extension to our studios and this news reinforces our confidence that high quality studio space will continue to be in demand due to the ever-increasing requirement to provide viewers with fresh new content."

Richard Williams, chief executive of film development body Northern Ireland Screen, said for another global player such as Netflix to choose Belfast as its base was a "great start to the new year, and a real vote of confidence in Northern Ireland's screen industry".

The School For Good and Evil by Soman Chainani was an instant New York Times bestseller with over 2.5 million copies sold.
(Reuters) - London-listed trading platform IG said on Monday it would withdraw a number of its riskier equities products after a frenzy of stock market bets by small U.S. investors earlier this year triggered huge swings in some share prices. In response to a story by the Financial Times, IG said it would be withdrawing less than 8% of the 12,000 leveraged equities products it offers. Leveraged products allow traders to increase their exposure to the market with a relatively small capital investment. Big bets by individual investors, particularly in the shares of U.S. retailer ...

Sheena Bora murder: Peter Mukerjea walks out after spending four years in jail

Sheena Bora case: Jail report placed in Bombay HC says Indrani Mukerjea stable

India

oi-Madhuri Adnal

Mumbai, Feb 22: The Bombay High Court was on Monday informed by the Byculla womens' prison authorities that the medical condition of Indrani Mukerjea, accused of killing her daughter Sheena Bora, is stable and that she does not suffer from any severe ailments.

A report was submitted by prison authorities following directions earlier this month from HC, which is hearing a plea filed by Mukerjea seeking bail on medical grounds.

She is lodged in Byculla womens' prison since her arrest in August 2015.

As per the jail report submitted before a single bench of Justice P D Naik on Monday, Mukerjea does not suffer from any severe ailments that cannot be treated at the prison.

Sheena Bora murder case: Indrani Mukerjea files application seeking exemption from wearing convict's uniform

It said Mukerjea was taken to JJ Hospital two times and her reports were normal.

The court, after perusing the report. directed CBI, the prosecuting agency, to file its affidavit in response to the bail plea within two weeks, and posted the matter for further hearing on March 8.

The prosecution''s case is that Mukerjea and former husbands Sanjeev Khanna and Peter Mukerjea killed her daughter Sheena Bora in 2012.

Peter Mukerjea was granted bail in February 2020, while Khanna is still behind bars.

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Story first published: Monday, February 22, 2021, 20:24 [IST]
One reason conservatives never saw a culture war they couldnt lose is that they insist on using Queensberry rules, even as the Left fights no-holds-barred. Consider, for example, two scenarios.

When leftists discover someone committing conservatism  such as when former Mozilla CEO Brendan Eich was found to have donated $1,000 to Californias Proposition 8  they accept nothing less than the persons termination. In fact, they never want him to work again. Ergo cancel culture.

When leftists effect something truly outrageous, such as the anti-white Deep Equity school curriculum being implemented nationwide, the reaction is different. Conservatives may fight back against it as they did with Deep Equity in Chandler, Arizona, but theyre generally satisfied if the social engineering is abandoned. They dont go for blood. In fact, so often have I heard prominent conservative figures say in such a situation, Look, I dont want anyone fired.

Well, I do.

I say this not with just a vindictive spirit. Liberals make sure to administer a coup de grace generally driven by anger and hatred, emotions epitomizing them. Yet slightly more thoughtful leftists may have an additional reason and understand something: Culture wars are zero-sum games. And winning a battle but leaving your adversary in place to fight another day is no recipe for victory.

With respect to school indoctrination, consider: If you caught a teacher trying to molest your child, would you be satisfied with an apology and continue leaving your kid in his care?

Why should it be any different when a teacher visits upon your child the rape of mind, heart and soul?

The point apparently missed is that in such a situation, the problem is not that the educator tried to effect a given type of toxic indoctrination.

Its that hes the kind of person who would effect toxic indoctrination.

This wont change just because you successfully mitigate an obvious symptom of his moral disease. Hes still infected; he still is what he is. And while Im no fan of Maya Angelou, some of her words should be heeded here: When someone shows you who they are, believe them the first time.

I remember first hearing these words in my early twenties. I heard them, she continued. I just didnt follow them. Hence, I brought myself a whole lot of painful lessons and needless suffering because I always wanted to give people a second chance, and a third, and a fourth.

Implementing a planned program of leftist insanity isnt just a momentary lapse in judgment such as an angry outburst, regretted soon afterwards, that resulted in calling a child a derogatory name. It bespeaks of a twisted world view, of a lack of virtue. And when you identify a cancerous tumor, you excise it; you dont leave it in place so it can metastasize further and affect the healthy tissue around it.

A teacher imbued with leftism will corrupt everything he touches, whether he wants to or not. For he cannot help being what he is. As with virtues, vices are caught more than theyre taught. Its whats assumed thats learned best, and an educators basic assumptions will always come through to his students one way or another.

This said, a left-wing teacher will usually seek to intentionally indoctrinate his charges even after being caught with his ideological pants down. Hell just be more subtle about it.

If my prescription still sounds harsh, know that theres a difference between being virtuous and being a nice guy  and that nice guys finish last. Id also implore conservatives to stop being conservative, as in being defensive, as in conserving our now leftism-forged status quo.

Id further say, look around you. Do you not realize that our culture is being undone root and branch? Have you not noticed the statues coming down, the traditions torn up, the names of Founders and other historical heroes being stripped from buildings, the history being rewritten, and the morality being turned on its head? Do you not see that were facing our own Year Zero?

This is happening, too, partially because of the educational indoctrination of the past many decades, which conservatives didnt effectively combat because, in part (though there were other reasons), they didnt want to see anyone lose his job.

But conservatives, one might hope, would understand the importance of accountability. In fact, we find it maddening, and complain, when we see conservatives crucified for saying boo (e.g., Roger Stone) while left-wing criminals such as John Brennan and Jim Comey are allowed to skate. Yet are we doing any better?

A threat of merely having to stop your social engineering (perhaps only temporarily) if its discovered is no threat at all. Loss of employment, however, sends a message. And dont confuse a soft head with a soft heart. It matters little here that a propagandizing ex-teacher may have trouble paying the rent; it matters much that our culture is being rent stem to stern.

The accountability being prescribed here should, of course, be applied beyond education and to all our institutions, from government bureaucracies to film studios. But education matters because as the apocryphal saying warns, The teaching in the schools today will become the politics of tomorrow.

Tomorrow is now because yesterday too many of us were distracted, lukewarm, inattentive, and complacent  and too busy being nice guys.

Really, we need to become as intolerant as leftists accuse us of being and 10 percent as intolerant they are.

As the late Archbishop Fulton J. Sheen put it in 1931, America, it is said, is suffering from intolerance  it is not. It is suffering from tolerance. Tolerance of right and wrong, truth and error, virtue and evil, Christ and chaos. Our country is not nearly so overrun with the bigoted as it is overrun with the broadminded.

Tolerance of evil is evil itself. Go Roman, conservative brethren, or go home.

Contact Selwyn Duke, follow him on Gab, MeWe or Parler (preferably) or Twitter, or log on to SelwynDuke.com.

Image: Pixabay / Pixabay License
There may be a psychological 'signature' for extremism  with those who are more dogmatic and slower at decision making being more susceptible to radicalisation.

This is the conclusion of experts from Cambridge, who used a broad range of psychological surveys to identify the mental characteristics common to extremists.

These included a poorer working memory, impulsive and risk-taking behaviour, sensation-seeking tendencies and slower unconscious processing of stimuli.

People with this combination of traits, the team said, were more likely to endorse the use of violence in support of their ideologies  whether social, political or religious.

These findings could pave the way towards new methods to help identify and support those individuals who are more vulnerable to radicalisation.

In fact, the team report, cognitive and personality assessments can improve the prediction of ideological worldviews by 415 times over simple demographic data.

There may be a psychological 'signature' for extremism  with those who are more dogmatic and slower at decision making being more susceptible to radicalisation

'I'm interested in the role that hidden cognitive functions play in sculpting ideological thinking,' said paper author and psychologist Leor Zmigrod of the University of Cambridge.

'Many people will know those in their communities who have become radicalised or adopted increasingly extreme political views, whether on the left or right. We want to know why particular individuals are more susceptible.'

'By examining "hot" emotional cognition alongside the "cold" unconscious cognition of basic information processing we can see a psychological signature for those at risk of engaging with an ideology in an extreme way.'

'Subtle difficulties with complex mental processing may subconsciously push people towards extreme doctrines that provide clearer, more defined explanations of the world.'

This, he continued, makes these people 'susceptible to toxic forms of dogmatic and authoritarian ideologies.'

The new study built upon previous research from California's Stanford University, in which 522 US adults completed a series of 22 different behavioural surveys and 37 cognitive tasks intended to shed light on the origins of self-control.

Dr Zmigrod and colleagues successfully recruited 334 of the participants from the 20167 study, asking them to complete 16 extra surveys designed to determine their attitudes towards ideologies from patriotism and religiosity to authoritarianism.

Based on data from both sets of surveys, the team found that for all the ideologies they examined there was a consistent psychological profile for all those people who endorsed 'extreme pro-group action, including ideologically-driven violence.

The extremist mind, they said, harbours a mix of conservative and dogmatic psychological signatures  and tends to be cognitively cautious, slower at perceptual processing and operates with a weaker working memory.

Extremists were also found to have impulsive traits, such that drive them to seek risky and sensation-driven experiences.

'There appear to be hidden similarities in the minds of those most willing to take extreme measures to support their ideological doctrines,' said Dr Zmigrod.

'Understanding this could help us to support those individuals vulnerable to extremism, and foster social understanding across ideological divides.'

The study revealed the psychological signatures that appear to underpin both fierce political conservatism and dogmatism.

Conservatism, the team said, is linked to what they call 'cognitive caution', with a slower-but-more-accurate unconscious decision making process than the faster-but-less-precise approaches taken in more liberal-minded people.

Along with nationalism, conservatism was found to be linked to traits including greater goal-orientedness, impulsivity and lower social risk-taking.

Both groups were also found to perform what the researchers called 'temporal discounting'  in which rewards are thought to lose value if delayed.

Strong religious beliefs were found to be rooted in similar cognitive traits as conservatism, but with higher levels of risk perception and agreeableness.

The rigid worldviews of dogmatists, meanwhile, appear to be rooted in a combination of slow processing of stimuli with a heightened impulsivity, less social risk-taking and reduced agreeableness.

The full findings of the study were published in the journal Philosophical Transactions of the Royal Society B.
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Copyright  2021 Albuquerque Journal

SANTA FE  Suddenly flush with cash, members of a key House panel on Monday signed off on a $7.4 billion spending plan that would provide state funds to extend the school year by at least 10 days and give modest pay raises to teachers and other state workers.

In all, the budget plan for the fiscal year that starts in July would boost state spending for the coming fiscal year by $332 million  or 4.6%  over this years levels, which had to be pared back due to pandemic-related revenue declines.

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The states revenue outlook has brightened in recent months, due largely to an increase in oil prices and production, giving lawmakers a hefty budget surplus despite concerns about future revenue uncertainty.

Given that backdrop, the House Appropriations and Finance Committee voted unanimously Monday to approve the spending plan, which would boost state spending to near pre-pandemic levels.

And thats not counting additional federal funds  estimates range from $2 billion to around $3 billion  that could be directed to New Mexico under a new proposed stimulus plan.

Rep. Patricia Lundstrom, D-Gallup, the committees chairwoman, said the state budget bill would avoid spending cuts and position New Mexico for a successful recovery.

In this pandemic, it is not the time to attack state government spending, said Rep. Phelps Anderson, DTS-Roswell.

Under the budget plan advanced Monday, lawmakers would use about $1 billion of the states $2.7 billion in projected cash reserves for one-time spending.

That includes $300 million for road repair and construction around New Mexico and, in separate bills, more than $400 million in pandemic relief in the form of cash rebates for low-income workers, small-business grants and other financial aid programs.

In addition, a separate bill being crafted in the Senate would authorize $30 million for broadband improvements and $325 million to replenish the states nearly depleted unemployment fund, legislative staffers said.

I think this is a great budget despite the challenges and circumstances we face, said Rep. Dayan Hochman-Vigil, D-Albuquerque.

Extended learning

The COVID-19 pandemic has affected not only the states economy, but also its public school system.

Many New Mexico school districts have had enrollment declines, with hundreds of students and families struggling under the remote learning format.

School officials and legislators alike have also expressed concern about learning loss, with a recent legislative report finding that students may lose five to nine months of learning by the end of this school year, with students of color disproportionately harmed.

In an attempt to address those issues, the budget plan would appropriate nearly $3.4 billion  or roughly 46% of total state spending  to public schools.

As part of that amount, the bill would provide $110 million for extended learning, with that funding covering the cost for 10 additional instructional days for all K-12 students.

Elementary schools with high-poverty student populations would get additional funding to expand the school year by 25 days, though districts would have the flexibility to schedule those days  either during summer vacation or during the traditional school year.

That program, called K-5 Plus, is part of the states strategy to come into compliance with a landmark 2018 ruling that New Mexico was not meeting its constitutional requirement to provide at-risk students with an adequate education.

Pay raises

Meanwhile, the budget plan would authorize spending $64 million to provide 1.5% pay raises  or cost-of-living adjustments  for state employees, teachers and higher education workers. New Mexico judges would get 3.5% raises.

A budget recommendation released last month by Gov. Michelle Lujan Grisham did not call for across-the-board pay increases.

However, at least one local union leader said the proposed raises would not go far enough for rank-and-file workers.

Dan Secrist, president of Communications Workers of America Local 7076, which represents about 4,000 public employees in New Mexico, said legislators should be doing more for state employees  many of whom are front-line, essential workers.

Most state employees, he said, were in line to receive a 4% or 5% raise last year, but it was pulled back to just 1%  or less  in a round of budget-cutting last summer. Employees making over $50,000 didnt raises.

We feel like theres no reason  theres no excuse  for them to not be restoring our rescinded raise, Secrist said, adding that the state should set a $15 minimum wage for its employees.

The budget bill, House Bill 2, is expected to be voted on by the full House as soon as Wednesday. If approved, it would then advance to the Senate, where changes would likely be made to the legislation.

Both chambers would have to sign off on the same version of the bill to send it to Lujan Grisham for final approval.

Journal Capitol Bureau reporter Dan McKay contributed to this report.
Source: Xinhua| 2021-02-23 00:41:33|Editor: huaxia

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MOSCOW, Feb. 22 (Xinhua) -- The Russian Foreign Ministry said Monday that it welcomes the agreement reached by Iran and the International Atomic Energy Agency (IAEA) on Sunday to continue "essential verification" for up to three months.

"We hope that this step will help improve the general political situation regarding Iran and its nuclear program," the ministry's spokesperson Maria Zakharova said in a statement.

"Thanks to the thoughtful and prudent stance of the Iranian side and the competent actions of the IAEA leadership, much-needed space is created for active diplomatic efforts" to fully revive the Iran nuclear deal, formally known as the Joint Comprehensive Plan of Action (JCPOA), she said.

The IAEA and Iran have made a "tangible" contribution to the formation of conditions for the start of "a substantive conversation" between the current participants in the Iran nuclear deal and the United States, she added.

"We call on all JCPOA partners, as well as the United States, to act without delay," Zakharova said. Enditem
ROME, FEB 22 - Luna Rossa Skipper Max Sirena has said the Italian team is ready to battle all the way in the 36th America's Cup after winning the right to take on holders Team New Zealand by completing a 7- thrashing of INEOS TEAM UK in the final of the Prada Cup on Sunday. "We'll go there with our heads down and we'll fight all the way," Sirena said. "We have lots of new things to try and we cannot relax much. "We'll train in a way so that we don't drop our guard and we keep up the pace. "It's a special moment for the team. "The last time we got to this stage was 20 years ago. "I hope that we have given a few carefree moments to the Italian people who are going through a very difficult situation". (ANSA).
The United States has started to communicate with Iran over the detention of American citizens, White House national security adviser Jake Sullivan said on Sunday.

We have begun to communicate with the Iranians on this issue, yes, Sullivan told CBS "Face the Nation," calling the detention of Americans a "complete and utter outrage."

Our strong message to the Iranians will be that it we will not accept a long-term proposition where they continue to hold Americans in an unjust and unlawful manner. It will be a significant priority of this administration to get those Americans safely back home, he said.

The Iranian Foreign Ministry denied any direct communication with the US government on the detainees had taken place. Ministry spokesperson Saeed Khatibzadeh said some messages were exchanged via the Swiss Embassy in Tehran, which represents US interests in the country.

Our policy is to secure freedom of our countries prisoners in the United States and we are ready for this issue, but we have had no direct talks with the United States, Khatibzadeh said in a televised interview Sunday.

Iran, which has a history of jailing foreigners and dual citizens and using them as bargaining chips, is currently detaining a number of Americans on trumped-up espionage charges.

The Iranian-Americans held by Iran include conservationist Morad Tahbaz, businessman Siamak Namazi and his father, former UNICEF official Baquer Namazi. In mid-January Iranian authorities arrested another dual citizen, businessman Emad Sharghi.

"It will be a significant priority of this administration to get those Americans safely back home," Sullivan said.

Robert Levinson, a retired FBI agent who vanished nearly 14 years ago in Iran, is believed to have died in regime custody. In December the previous administration sanctioned two senior Iranian officials over Levinsons kidnapping, detention and probable death.

The purported talks come amid a deepening standoff over the 2015 nuclear agreement, which President Joe Biden has said the United States will rejoin if Iran resumes full compliance under the deal. Tehran has insisted Washington lift sanctions before it reverses its violations.
TDs are set for a pay rise within months that will push their wages to more than 100,000 a year.

The increase that is also due to higher earners in the public service will be paid by July 1 and means their basic salary of 98,113 will jump to 100,191.

Senators pay will rise to 70,134 a year, as wages are restored to levels last reached in 2008 before pay cuts were imposed during the financial crisis.

Read More

The Department of Public Expenditure and Reform was unable to say exactly when wages will rise.

A spokesperson said the post-FEMPI (emergency legislation that cut pay) rates will be subject to a ministerial order in due course, but by July 1.

She confirmed that deputies would be eligible for another 1pc pay hike in October next year.

This is due under a proposed new public sector pay deal that is set to be ratified by unions tomorrow.

However, legislation prevents the Taoiseach, Tanaiste and ministers from benefitting from the unwinding of pay cuts until the end of next year.

The 2pc increase in July will come less than a year after TDs and senators pay rose by 2pc under the last public sector agreement in October.

Some TDs waived that pay rise back to the State. They claimed it was not appropriate when thousands of workers were depending on wage subsidies and unemployment supports during the pandemic.

In a recent tweet, Sinn Fein leader Mary Lou McDonald said she would not be accepting recent increases.

I have not taken a pay increase of 10,200, she said. This is a time of crisis.

Workers and families are struggling. More money for TDs is just wrong.

The outcome of ballots of over 340,000 public servants on the 906m Building Momentum deal will be announced tomorrow.

It is expected to be ratified by the Public Services Committee of the Irish Congress of Trade Unions. The largest public sector union, Forsa, is due to announce the result of its ballot today.

Building Momentum would mean increases of up to 3pc for state employees by the end of next year.

However, TDs will not be eligible for an initial 1pc pay hike due under the deal in October because they are getting the July payment.

The department spokesperson said under legislation, the minister shall provide for completion of pay restoration to public servants paid an annual basic salary of 150,000 or less by July 1 2021.

This will include TDs.

She said public servants, including TDs, due pay restoration this year would not receive the general round increase of 1pc under Building Momentum.

TDs salary will be fully restored to 2008 level by July 2021 and they will be eligible for the 1pc under Building Momentum in October 2022, she said.

Under Building Momentum, 1pc or 500 a year, whichever is the greater, would be paid to public servants on October 1 this year. Another 1pc would be due on October 1 next year.

There is also potential for another 1pc increase for staff who submit claims to a new sectoral bargaining fund. A fourth-year student nurses yearly wage would rise from its current rate of 21,749 to 22,249 on October 1 this year if the deal is rubberstamped. It would increase further to 22,749 on October 1 next year.

However, a spokesperson for the Irish Nurses and Midwives Organisation said they do not earn the full salary as they only work for 36 weeks a year. He said those in year one to three of their degrees are not paid.

A staff nurse at the top of the pay scale would see their annual salary increase from 46,021 to 47,021 following two 500 pay rises by October 1 next year.

And a garda with 17 years service who currently earns basic pay of 54,469 a year would end up on 55,563 under the deal.

However, these figures do not include additional payments like overtime, premium pay or allowances that can significantly boost earnings.

The ASTI, IMO and Medical Laboratory Scientists Association have rejected the deal.

***

Basic pay after increases due this year and next (due to restoration payments and proposed new pay deal)

TD

100,191 (before July 1, 2021)

101,192 (October 1, 2022)

Senator

70,134 (before July1, 2021)

70,835 (October 1, 2022)

Staff nurse/midwife*

47,021(October 1, 2022)

(Note: long service increment after three years on the max 48,431)

Student nurse/midwife*

(*fourth year nurse, who is paid for 36 weeks of this annual amount)

22,249 (October 1, 2021)

22,749 (October 1, 2022)

Garda*

55,013 (October 1, 2021)

55,563 (October 1, 2022)

Clerical officer* in civil service

41,092 (October 1, 2021)

41,592 (October 1, 2022)

Secretary general

(secretary general 1-most senior grade)

213,859 (October 2021)

The department was unable to provide details of the restoration increase due in 2022

*Examples given are at the maximum level of their payscale

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Country airline Regional Express (Rex) has accused Qantas of predatory behaviour by launching flights on some of its monopoly routes and has threatened to cut off air services to some regional towns in response.

Rexs deputy chairman John Sharp said on Monday that Qantas was trying to weaken the smaller airline in the hope of making it a less formidable competitor when it launches its new Sydney-Melbourne service next week.

Rex has called on the ACCC to stop Qantas from launching new regional services. Credit:AP

Qantas has clearly embarked on a deliberate strategy of moving into Rexs routes that can only support one regional carrier in an attempt to intimidate and damage Rex in its traditional regional market, Mr Sharp said in a statement released to the ASX on Monday.

Qantas, however, said the new services would be financially viable and described the country airline as throwing a classic Rex tantrum.
Last summer, a band of the National Socialist Movement, one of the largest and most prominent neo-Nazi groups in the United States, gathered at a downtown Williamsport park - swastika flags in hand- to spew profanity and white nationalist ideology over a battery-powered bullhorn.

Weeks later, the Loyal White Knights of the Ku Klux Klan targeted several Erie County communities with two-page typed letters containing racist, homophobic, Islamophobic and anti-Semitic language. The same group distributed more notes a few days later, urging residents to Pray for white Americans in 2020, directing them to the KKKs website and radio show.

Incidents like these have become more common in Pennsylvania.

Indeed, in recent years, Pennsylvania has emerged as a hotbed for hate groups, at times ranking among the top five states with the highest concentration of hate groups. The hate-filled rhetoric, attacks and slurs of these fringe groups ranged from the nuisance distribution of leaflets to mailboxes and college dorms to attention-grabbing rallies at landmarks such as the state Capitol and Gettysburg National Cemetery.

In a year dominated by the coronavirus pandemic and one of the most divisive election cycles in modern history, the activities of hate and extremists groups laid bare the concern among experts that the more brazen tactics by these groups signal a deeper saturation across the commonwealth, and indeed, normalization of their ideologies.

There were the traditional extremists groups but there are multiple ones that came to the surface because of all the things happening, the geopolitical and political climate and the economy, even the coronavirus and the attacks on Asian Americans, said Trooper Ismail El-Guemra of the Pennsylvania State Police. A lot of people lost their jobs. All these things contributed. There was not one one thing but multiple factors.

The Southern Poverty Law Center has identified 36 hate groups that were active in Pennsylvania last year. The groups are categorized into general hate, white supremacy, Black separatists, Holocaust deniers, radical traditional Catholicism, anti-Muslim and anti-LGBT. Indeed, Pennsylvania continues to have one of the highest concentrations of anti-government groups in the country.

El-Guemra, who as head of the Heritage Affairs Division monitors hate crimes, said extremists groups last year ratcheted up their tactics.

They seemed emboldened, he said. They were not afraid to become visible. Usually they stay behind the virtual wall but everybody was talking about them in the media, encouraging each other to come out.

Hate crimes are increasing

As the tone of the national discourse descended into divisive vitriol, hate groups across Pennsylvania seized the moment to showcase their growing ranks and acceptance.

Armed militias and fringe extremists groups became standard features at racial justice and Black Lives Matter rallies over the summer. They ponied up to rallies calling for the suspension of pandemic lockdown measures, and then got more brazen as the political tenor intensified.

On Sept. 26, members of the far-right group the Proud Boys marched through Philadelphia wearing body armor and helmets and yelling hateful rhetoric at onlookers. The days event drew strong scrutiny from some activists who were critical that police seemed to extend a friendly escort to the group, which has been characterized by the Southern Poverty Law Center as a hate group, citing its use of white nationalist memes and affiliations with known extremists.

In Pittsburgh, approximately 100 members of a neo-Nazi group the Patriot Front marched down the Boulevard of the Allies, spouting their ideological goal of making America a whites-only country.

And after the election, the so-called Stop the Steal movement held a rally at the state Capitol that was populated by members of armed militias, Proud Boys, neo-Nazi factions and QAnon believers.

You had a confluence of people, said Shira Goodman, Philadelphia regional director of the Anti-Defamation League. You had the Covid quarantine protests, people with legitimate protests, but you also had gun rights and white supremacists taking the opportunity to meet again. Thats why even at the U.S. Capitol you saw so many patches, these symbols of different things getting conflated, and at such moments when people are coming together to protest, these groups are meeting in different ways and finding ways to recruit and connect.

Yet putting numbers to these groups has always been a challenge. Actual data tracking of their activities - or hate crimes - gets muddier.

Correlating hate groups to hate crimes is not an apples-to-apples correlation, and one primary reason is the fact that hate crimes in Pennsylvania are historically under-reported.

Pennsylvania State Police Trooper Ismail El-Guemra, liaison for the Heritage Affairs division, said 2020, with its backdrop of the pandemic, economic and political turmoil, was the perfect breeding ground for extremists groups to flourish. Dan Gleiter | dgleiter@pennlive.com

Thats because the number reported to the FBI by the Pennsylvania State Police is culled from reports submitted by local police agencies. The reporting mechanisms of those local agencies have long been subject to the arbitrary practices of the nearly 1,500 local law enforcement agencies across the state as well as the workings of the court system.

In 2019, the FBI reported 67 hate crimes in Pennsylvania. Last year, in the latest count available, that number had gone down to 41.

Everyone agrees that hate crimes are very much underreported, Goodman said. We know from general trends that hate crimes are increasing. Anti-Semitic incidents - both criminal and non-criminal - have seen a steady increase. Some of this could be attributed to better reporting but we think more people have been emboldened over the last couple of years to act on their hateful beliefs. That is a concerning trend.

In addition to the Proud Boys and an array of white nationalists groups, Pennsylvania has active chapters of groups such as Oath Keepers, Pennsylvania Light Foot Militia, PA Three Percenters and even more fringe groups like the Neo-Volkisch Wolves of Vinland, which are described as a neo-pagan cult of white nationalists.

Social media has largely facilitated the proliferation and recruiting of hate groups.

It makes for different challenges in policing, said Northern Lancaster County Regional Police Police Chief David Steffen. We have to be mindful of everyones constitutional rights whether we agree or not with their motivation. The advent of technology has made it so that people who have antisocial views that arent necessarily within the expanse of acceptivity - it makes it easier for those guys to reach out to like-minded individuals. You see it with pedophiles and hate groups. We have a lot of things that are advantages to technology but also a lot of disadvantages.

Steffen said his jurisdiction last year reported no incidents of leaflet distribution or other activities by fringe hate groups.

We havent had any leaflets or placards for the reporting period that I can even remember, he said. And we are aware of all that because of accreditation requirements, as far as data. We do track all bias-based crimes...We havent seen any increase, but we also havent seen any decrease.

Steffen clarified that the Northern Lancaster County Regionals baseline for hate crimes was zero.

We have not had any active solicitation, he said. It may be happening on social media. But we havent had any overt solicitation.

Emerging in urban areas

Contrary to the popularly held belief that hate groups in Pennsylvania flourish in rural outposts away from the rigors of a diverse populace, hate groups are staking strongholds in suburban and urban centers. In fact, hate groups identified by the SPLC are concentrated in metro areas where diversity is high.

They often are most active in diverse areas, said Stuart Wexler, one of the countrys top investigative researchers in domestic terrorism and radical religious activities. There is this assumption that simply being exposed to people of other races and creeds makes someone more apt to be tolerant over time. I think - or I hope - that may well be true for most people, but I think it may well work in reverse for some people who resent the demographic changes in their area and lash out against them.

Wexler, a New Jersey-based author of such titles as The Awful Grace of God and Americas Secret Jihad, points to the sudden demographic changes seen in parts of the Commonwealth.

Parts of Philadelphia, for instance, went from being heavily white to almost-majority mixed in a matter of 30 years, he said. If you compare that to New York City, that kind of demographic change started decades before Philadelphia. Some people forget - the worst reception Jackie Robinson received when he broke the color barrier wasnt in places like St. Louis, it was against the Phillies.

Pennsylvania is home to geographically focused hate groups, but the vast majority of the groups are white supremacist in nature, and include neo-Nazi, skinhead and racist-Pagan groups, some with long-standing national or regional reach.

It may be that Pennsylvania, because it has a few concentrated areas of great diversity mixed with a large majority of nearly-all white counties, is an attractive state for such groups, Wexler said.

Those less-diverse counties in the middle of the state could be viewed by these hate groups as being more receptive to the ascendant message in white supremacist circles that immigration and mixed-race marriage and multi-culturalism represent an existential threat to whiteness, he said. The assumption would be that a state where such demographic patterns are obvious on the news and within driving distance, such appeals might resonate more.

Some local law enforcement officials insist that their communities have seen no hate group activities.

Deputy Sheriff Brendan Peters of Meadville in Crawford County characterized reports of such activities as historically quiet.

The only thing I can recall in regard to hate groups is we did receive one flyer associated with the KKK, he said. It was a newsletter for their position. And we do receive communication from the Sovereign Citizens groups on a regular basis. Its usually communication towards the sheriff. Grievances. They do recognize the sheriff as a law enforcement agent even though they dont recognize government.

Chad Dion Lassiter, the executive director of the Human Relations Commission of Pennsylvania and a national expert on race relations, cautions that the ideological domain of hate is not confined to narrowly defined extremist groups. Lassiter is pictured here with a man who, he said, identified himself as the Grand Dragon of the KKK in Hershey. The photo was taken at a "No Hate In Our State Town Hall" In York two years ago.

Structural systemic hatred

Chad Dion Lassiter, the executive director of the Human Relations Commission of Pennsylvania and a national expert on race relations, cautions that the ideological domain of hate is not confined to narrowly defined extremist groups.

There is structural systemic hatred, he said. You have the KKK and white nationalists and neo-Nazis in Pennsylvania but you also have employers who engage in white supremacy ideology and overlook women, Jews and African Americans when hiring.

You have presidents of school boards who dont see why people are talking about Black Lives Matter, who dont understand why we have racial justice conversations. Its filtered around whiteness and white privilege. Its structural stuff.

Lassiter points to the case involving former Allegheny County Common Pleas Judge Mark Tranquilli as example of the insidious racism and hate that transcends hate groups and is at times rooted into societal structures.

Tranquilli was suspended last year for making racially insensitive comments during court cases or conferences, including calling a juror in a criminal drug case Aunt Jemima.

If you look at Charlottesville, not one person there had a KKK hood on, Lassiter said. Those individuals were lawyers, doctors, teachers. They were pediatricians and dentists. If you look at the January 6 domestic terrorist attack, not one wore a hood. They were our neighbors, our coworkers and family members. Systemic structural racism is in our schools, its in banking, housing and the court system.

Lassiter takes solace in the fact that even as hate group activity has continued to increase in recent years, the Commonwealth has seen a growing number of municipalities and jurisdictions enact ordinances and resolutions to address protection against discrimination and bias in the workplace, housing and public arena.

We people want to put forth resolutions that speak to truth and reconciliation or speak to racism as a public health issue in the Commonwealth, he said. It goes beyond the numbers to everyday people doing the work.
As the deaths caused by COVID-19 in the United States approach the 500,000-mark, Us President Joe Biden is to honor the fallen with a candle lighting and moment of silence, Monday evening.

Biden to Mark 500,000 COVID-19 Deaths with Candle Lighting

On Sunday, the White House announced that the event to mark the grim milestone will happen at the White House grounds at around 6:15 PM ET. The event will be graced by Vice President Kamala Harris, as well as first lady Jill Biden, and second gentleman Doug Emhoff.

President Biden will deliver a message on the lives lost to the deadly disease before the ceremony. The candle lighting and moment of silence aim to put emphasis on the message of empathy that Biden is seeking to give the American people regarding the COVID-19 response since he took over the White House last month, The Hill reported.

During a press briefing on Friday, Jen Psaki, the White House press secretary stated that the Biden administration was already working on plans on how the President will be able to use his voice to honor those who died due to COVID-19. She also stated that it also seeks to reach out to families of the fallen who are still suffering.

In January, a day before they took office, Biden alongside Harris and their respective spouses also held a ceremony to mark the 400,000 lives claimed by COVID-19 in the country at the time. The ceremony was held at the Lincoln Memorial.

Read also: Vatican Threatens to Fire Employees Who Refuse to Get COVID-19 Vaccine

According to CNN, in a statement during last month's event, Biden emphasized that in order to heal people must always remember those who have fallen. Harris also spoke during January's memorial where she said that it was the time to begin healing together by grieving together.

Biden and Harris' approach was very different from Biden's predecessor, former President Donald Trump who rarely expressed grief for those who died amid the pandemic but always defended the administration's response. Trump also once said that while it is true that many people are dying, it does not mean that the government is not doing its part.

Despite the death toll nearing half a million, the Biden administration has stepped up to help fight COVID-19. It has already surpassed its initial goal to vaccinate 100 million Americans in the first 100 days of the vaccination drive.

However, despite the downward trend in the number of cases and the vaccination rate soaring, the US is still grappling to deal with the threats posed by the virus and its new variants. In a recent statement, Dr. Anthony Fauci, the country's top infectious diseases expert stated that Americans can be wearing masks until 2022.

According to NBC New York, data from Johns Hopkins University show that as of Sunday evening the US has 498,879 COVID-19 deaths. The country is currently in the top spot in the global COVID-19 death toll, with Brazil in second but still having just half the number of deaths that the Us reported.

The candle lighting and moment of silence to honor the 500,000 COVID-19 deaths in the White House on Monday is Biden's way to emphasize his message that to heal people must remember.

Related article: Israeli Bar Offers Free Drinks for Those Who Will Get COVID-19 Vaccines

@ 2021 HNGN, All rights reserved. Do not reproduce without permission.
A new exhibit at the Norman Rockwell Gallery features political cartoons by Pulitzer Prize-winning cartoonist Patrick Oliphant who has been called the most influential editorial cartoonist of his time.

Pat Oliphant has been very influential because he has created extensive visual commentary inspired by the activities and antics of 10 American presidents and many other prominent political figures and events over the course of 50 years. His keen insights were expressed in masterful drawings that captured the essence of every issue that he has broached, commented Stephanie Haboush Plunkett, deputy director/chief curator at the Norman Rockwell Museum.

Oliphants syndicated drawings were distributed to some 250 publications in the United States and beyond.

Through the years, he has spoken on the importance of political cartooning worldwide, producing large drawings while on-stage and in conversation with his audience. He has made his way to venues and university campuses throughout the world. His vision, talent and intellect imbue his work with a sense of authenticity and truth, imbued with the unique humor that is inherent in his art, she said.

Now 85, his career spans more than 60 years. His finely-tuned drawings have reflected on global politics, culture, the economy and scandals; his caricatures of American presidents and other powerful leaders are world renowned.

The exhibit is on view through May 31 at the Norman Rockwell Museum.

The Oliphant collection features more than 300 artworks and an extensive archive focusing on four prominent aspects of the artists work  humorous but hard-hitting editorial drawings from the Nixon and Clinton years as well as personal drawings, paintings and large-scale sculptures inspired by the nations most prominent figures. Newly acquired through a donation by the Louis and Jodi Atkin Family, these works highlight political art as a powerful, persuasive and inspiring form of visual communication.

I am amazed by the volume and quality of Pat Oliphants work, which is simply extraordinary, Plunkett said. His draughtsmanship, conceptualization and dedication to finding and portraying a deeper truth in his art is nothing short of extraordinary, an unrivaled visual record created by one man over the course of five decades.

She contends that political cartooning is an integral aspect of journalism and has been so for centuries. Images speak directly and can be more impactful than words alone because they concepts, issues and personalities into their most recognizable essence, she said. Tinged with humor and sarcasm, political drawings are accessible conversation-starters that make challenging subjects approachable, whether we agree with or push back on the ideas reflected in the art. Clever and amusing, they recast the days events while informing and entertaining us. As in Oliphants work, political cartoons become a potent aspect of the historical record that reflects temperature of the times.

Though political cartoonists have been influential for centuries, she said they are more endangered today. She pointed to a report from Drawn and Quartered, a history of American political cartoons by Stephen Hess and Sandy Northrop, that 2,000 editorial cartoonists were employed a century ago; estimates of the number of staff cartoonists working today may number less than 40. Major and regional newspapers still publish political cartoons, as do such online outlets as Counterpoint, Reddit, Humor Times, Political Tunes and blogs by individual artists.

Since the late 19th century, the editorial cartoon portrait has played a provocative role in presidential politics, countering partisan advertising with irreverence, Plunkett said. Oliphant hones a distinctive, repeatable caricature of each incoming president that evolves during his tenure. When each fails to live up to expectations, exaggerated figures begin to age, sag, shrink, weaken or bloat, impacting the way we understand and see each figure.

His images of Richard Nixon as a haunting and malevolent Napoleon, Gerald Ford as a hollow mask, Jimmy Carter as an insignificant miniature and George H.W. Bush as a wizened horseshoe player, remind us of the powerful impact of satiric portraiture, she added.

Political cartoonists always have seized upon the collective anxiety of the moment, emphasizing the fractious nature of virtually every period in history, she continued. Many political cartoonists consider themselves to be equal-opportunity offenders, though their presence in distinct outlets can reflect their personal leanings. Humor often makes incendiary commentary palatable for those who might find certain viewpoints challenging.

By revisiting the issues of the past through the art of Australian-born Oliphant, visitors to the exhibit might realize that though times were different, many of the struggles that emerged in the past are similar today. The exhibition focuses on two presidents who were impeached, Nixon and Clinton, drawing parallels to today.

Topics that emerge in Oliphants sharply-conceived and drawn cartoons include focus on lack of political leadership and transparency, financial missteps, social inequality, the influence of big business on public policy and many other themes that remain relevant today, Plunkett said.

Advance timed tickets are required, and the museum requires all visitors to comply with the Massachusetts COVID-19 Travel Order.

Online programs focusing on the art of Pat Oliphant will be scheduled for spring; visit NRM.org for more information.

Billy Calzada, Staff / Staff Photographer

U.S. Rep. Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez raised $5 million for Texans after frigid temperatures last week led to power failures throughout the state, leaving many residents without heat and water.

The New York congresswoman, who is often referred to as AOC, had raised $2 million in relief funds by the time she flew into Houston on Friday to join U.S. Rep. Sylvia Garcia in helping local organizations with food and water distribution. She also visited homes impacted by the weather crisis.
Oxford undergraduates are being told that simply not being racist isnt good enough and they must be prepared to take action on the issue.

The revelation from a workshop at St Hughs College comes amid growing scrutiny about anti-racism training across the university, which critics say does not work.

While not mandatory, students were told they were expected to make time to attend the Its About Race event.

While not mandatory, Oxford University students were told they were expected to make time to attend the Its About Race event

Attendees were shown a series of slides during the session last month.

Under the heading Be an anti-racist on one slide, they were told: Are you racist? No isnt a good enough answer.

The slide stated: We need to... stop thinking that injustice going on in the world isnt to an extent are [sic] fault, adding: Stop being a non-racist and start being an anti-racist.

Another slide encouraged a commitment to action, asking the question: What is your individual contribution/commitment/pledge to tackle inequality and racism?

Such courses are meant to question ingrained attitudes.

Theresa May, Amal Clooney and Myanmars detained opposition leader Aung San Suu Kyi are among former St Hughs students

As charities get woke More than 120 charities are wasting money on giving their staff unconscious bias training despite evidence it does not work, an MP says. Parkinsons UK, the Alzheimers Society and the Red Cross are among the major names taking up courses. At least 122 UK charities have used the training or are listed as clients of firms that provide it, a Daily Telegraph probe found. Most did not say how much they spent but day courses are advertised for 300 a person. Tory MP Ben Bradley said: It comes down to a waste of money [which] really should be put toward the purpose of the charity. An official report last year found the training had no impact. Advertisement

But last year an official report found strong evidence that such training has no sustained impact on behaviour and may even be counter-productive  leading many government departments to scrap the practice.

Theresa May, Amal Clooney and Myanmars detained opposition leader Aung San Suu Kyi are among former St Hughs students.

One member of the college who attended the workshop said: I have been let down on several fronts since Ive been here.

Worst of all is the consistent emphasis of how racist our institution is it is a colossal waste of time and money and does nothing but prove that Oxford is increasingly out of touch with the real world. I have seen no inkling of racism since I have been here.

A St Hughs spokesman said: As with all training, we are evaluating and reviewing this course. Last week it was reported that other Oxford colleges were offering unconscious bias courses, despite the Governments scepticism.

Oxfords grandest college, Christ Church, has had compulsory training on the topic in place for several years, while Boris Johnsons alma mater, Balliol College, also offers it.

And students at Margaret Thatchers old college, Somerville, were recently told they had to achieve 100 per cent in a test on the topic, until the policy was challenged by campaigners.
Workforce

AFGE looks to maximize two years of Democratic control on Capitol Hill

Everett Kelley receives an award at the annual National Action Network Martin Luther King Jr. Day Breakfast, Jan. 2019. (Photo courtesy: AFGE)

The largest federal employee union is pressing for some legislative wins with Democrats in charge of both houses of Congress and in control of the White House.

The top priority is ensuring safe working conditions during the pandemic and the provision of COVID-19 paid sick leave benefits for feds, said American Federation of Government Employees National President Everett Kelley during a Sunday press call. But the union also has a long list of other priorities.

"We must operate as if two years is our window of opportunity," he said during a plenary session held as part of the union's annual legislative and grassroots mobilization conference.

AFGE is hoping to see the passage of a 3.2% pay raise for federal employees as part of a bill introduced again this year by Rep. Gerry Connolly (D-Va.), who chairs a key House subcommittee with authority over federal workforce policy.

The union is also hoping for the passage of a bill that would expand the workplace rights of Transportation Security Administration workers; the repeal of legislation that allowed for more outsourcing of care by the Department of Veterans Affairs and another bill that makes it easier to fire VA employees. AFGE is also looking to roll back retirement cuts made in 2012 and 2013, Kelley said.

Finally, AFGE is hoping that Congress will "plug some of the holes" that allowed Trump to issue a series of 2018 orders by passing a federal worker bill reinforcing due process and collective bargaining rights, Kelley said.

The virtual session also hosted comments from a roster of congressional Democrats, who outlined their own federal workforce priorities.

"I bring you a very different message this year from last," said House Majority Leader Steny Hoyer (D-Md.). "No more defense. We're going to be on offense."

He voiced his commitment to expanding paid leave options for feds, referencing a paid family and medical leave bill he and other Democrats introduced with the Chairwoman of the House Oversight and Reform Committee, Carolyn Maloney (D-N.Y.) in January.

He said that he looked forward to bringing that bill to the floor during this Congress.

Senate Majority Leader Chuck Schumer also talked about his commitment to "to finish the job of ensuring that federal employees receive paid parental leave."

Re-opening bargaining to remove Trump-era policies from contract agreements is also a priority, Kelley said.

Federal employee unions are waiting the Office of Personnel Management to issue directives to agencies on the implementation of President Joe Biden's executive order that reversed a series of workplace policies put in place by former President Donald Trump.

In January, AFGE officials said on a press call with reporters that agencies were being slow to implement the Biden executive order, which instructed agencies to reverse actions taken related to the 2018 orders "as soon as practicable."

Not all agencies have new Senate-confirmed officials in place yet, but the union is still reaching out to agencies about implementing the order, said Jackie Simon, AFGE's policy director, told reporters. The union has also been working with OPM itself in writing the implementation of the guidance, which should be "imminent," Simon said.

Union officials have been stressing their interest in the creation accountability measures for agencies to implement the executive order, Simon said.

"There's definitely going to be some resistance [among agencies]. That's why we're pushing so hard for accountability measures for implementing Biden's executive order," Simon said. "We want the Biden administration to be just as aggressive in enforcing its executive order as Trump was in enforcing his."
After a long lunar new year holiday and absence from school because of the Covid-19 pandemic, many provinces have decided to open schools from February 22.

Specifically, students in the northern province of Bac Giang will return to school on February 22, as Covid-19 in the province is under control. Luc Nam Boarding School for Ethnic Minorities will open from March 1.

In the northern mountainous province of Ha Giang, students will also return to school from February 22. The heads of specialized training schools decide the time for the re-opening. Particularly, students in Xin Man district  the home to patient 1976  are going to return to school on March 1.

In the northern mountainous province of Lao Cai, preschoolers will stay home until February 28. However, high school students will return to school on February 22.

Similarly, students in the southern provinces of Bac Lieu and Tra Vinh will come back to school from February 22. Strict measures to prevent Covid-19 epidemic will be applied at schools.

February 22 is also the time for pre-school, secondary and high school students in the northern midland province of Phu Tho and 9th and 12th graders in the northern province of Thai Binh to return to school.

Other provinces, including Kon Tum in the Central Highlands, Binh Duong and An Giang in the southern region and Lai Chau, Ninh Binh in the north, will also open schools on February 22.

Thuy Nga
FORT LAUDERDALE, Fla., Feb. 22, 2021 /PRNewswire/ -- Pure NZ is a bottled water manufacturer that operates out of Pokeno, New Zealand. Just half an hour south of Auckland, the Kiwi brand chose its base of operations for a very specific reason: water. Lots of water. Pure NZ has built a massive state-of-the-art factory in this suburban region due to the fact that it's located on a massive aquifer. This underground cavern is filled with the cleanest liquid that was initially captured by nature and gradually collected over hundreds of years.

Its location, literally directly over a resource equal to gold in much of the world's eyes, has put Pure NZ in a great position to run its aquiferous business. For many companies, this claim to a genuinely pure, natural resource would be enough to launch them into the spotlight.

But ever since its inception over a decade ago, Pure NZ has shown a distinct interest in going above and beyond basic business principles. Rather than playing the markets and buttering up consumers with a single unique selling proposition, the brand has charged ahead, looking for every possible way that it can deliver quality to its customers.

Along with the luxury of naturally collected and purified water, Pure NZ had also focused its efforts on sustainability. The environmentally-conscious enterprise has designed its entire manufacturing plant to create and fill bottles that are made of rPET plastic.

This dual commitment to provide a valuable resource in a luxurious and sustainable manner has enabled Pure NZ to quickly dominate its domestic market. It is recognized throughout New Zealand for its quality products and has won numerous awards for its business practices. Its recent efforts to expand beyond the borders of its home nation continue to bode well for the bottled water brand as it attempts to spread its gospel of accessible, eco-friendly, luxury hydration to all and sundry.

About Pure NZ: Pure NZ was founded in 2010 by two visionaries with over 30 years of beverage industry experience. The brand has already received the ABWI (Australasian Bottle Water Institute) certification and "Order of Excellence." It has also been audited for WSEP (the Woolworths Supplier Excellence Program). Its recent participation in the Efficient Collaborative Retail Marketing (ECRM) Conference bodes well for future expansion, especially in the United States.

Please direct inquiries to:

Marita Somerville

(954) 743-3948

[email protected]

SOURCE Pure NZ
STATEN ISLAND, N.Y.  Local political parties announced their candidate endorsements over the weekend ahead of the June primary elections.

Staten Islands Conservative, Democratic, and Republican parties named their picks for multiple seats around the city, to be ultimately decided in the November general election.

Notably, none of the parties made endorsements for the North Shore City Council seat to be vacated at the end of the year, and only the Republicans announced their preferred candidate for mayor, Guardian Angels founder Curtis Sliwa.

On Saturday, the Richmond County Republican Committee held its annual convention in Dongan Hills announcing endorsements for Sliwa, conservative activist John Tabacco for city comptroller, City Council Minority Leader Steven Matteo for borough president, City Councilman Joseph Borelli to retain his South Shore seat, Matteo Chief of Staff David Carr to fill his bosss Mid-Island seat, and former Staten Island Republican Party Chairman Brendan Lantry for a seat on the New York City Civil Court.

The members of the Staten Island Republican Party are concerned with the current trajectory of the City of New York. Today we make the first step to take back our City, Anthony Reinhart, Lantrys newly elected replacement, said.

Working together, we can stem the tide of progressive socialist policies in our branches of government.

Staten Island Democrats announced endorsements for four local races  Mark Murphy for borough president, Maria Novak for the Civil Court, public school teacher Olivia Drabcyzk in her race for Borellis seat, and 2017 mayoral candidate Sal Albanese to replace Matteo.

James Clinton, the local Democratic partys executive director, said the party may endorse for some of the other citywide seats at a later date, and will be supporting the winner of the June 22 primary election to fill the seat to be vacated by City Councilwoman Debi Rose (D-North Shore).

For the first time in a long time, our Party will run candidates in every contest this year from the North Shore to the South Shore and everywhere in between, Clinton said. We nominated candidates with the experience, integrity and work ethic necessary to not only make our Party competitive in each and every race but to govern and govern effectively on day one.

In addition to its endorsements for the candidacies of Borelli and Lantry, the Conservative Party endorsed longtime local realtor George Wonica to replace Matteo, and controversial businesswoman Leticia Remauro for the office of borough president.

Remauro made national headlines last month when a video surfaced of her saying the phrase Heil Hitler while attending a rally outside Macs Public House last year.

The Grant City business had faced closure related to its flouting of state coronavirus (COVID-19) shutdown orders, and Remauro, who has apologized for using the phrase, said she was making a comparison with the genocidal dictator of Nazi Germany in reference to those orders.

Staten Island Conservative Party Chairman David Mario Curcio said more than 80% of the county committee participated in the endorsement decision process  the most by far in well more than a decade. The party also approved a formal resolution endorsing Staten Islands secession from New York City.

The Conservative Party of Richmond County is proud to endorse each of our nominated candidates for elected office this year, he said. In keeping with our longstanding tradition of using secret ballots, the election was conducted with the highest level of integrity, with a very talented field of candidates competing for the nominations.
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Burma More Than 20 People Arrested as Security Forces Break Up 22222 Protest in Myanmars Capital

Police crack down on anti-military regime protesters in Pyinmana Township, Naypyitaw on Monday. / The Irrawaddy
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HARRISBURG  The states new auditor general  charged with serving as an independent and impartial fiscal watchdog on behalf of taxpayers  has refused to affirm that the 2020 election was fair and accurate, despite his own victory.

Timothy DeFoor became the first Republican in more than two decades to win the row office, a major victory for the party (DeFoor bested Democrat Nina Ahmad, a former deputy Philadelphia mayor, by 3 percentage points). And he was clear, when he recently appeared before a state House committee, that he believes his race was fair and that he is the rightful victor.

As for the other races on the same ballots in the same election? He has nothing to say.

I believe my election was fair, DeFoor said in response to a question from Rep. Malcolm Kenyatta, D-Philadelphia. As far as anybody elses election, thats a conversation that you would have to have with them, but I havent heard any complaints with regards to my specific election.

When pressed this week about the comment, a spokesperson from DeFoors office called it a personal view and declined to elaborate.

Although Pennsylvania Republicans fell short in their efforts to reelect President Donald Trump, the GOP performed extremely well in down-ballot races, maintaining their majority in the state Senate, growing their control in the state House and flipping two statewide row offices.

Despite those gains, party leadership has repeatedly questioned the integrity of the election, while a handful of Republicans have fueled false claims of voter fraud.

The hearing DeFoor attended was one of 14 scheduled by Rep. Seth Grove, R-York, to investigate the 2020 election and evaluate Pennsylvanias Election Code more broadly.

DeFoor said he was only there to testify about a 2019 audit of the states antiquated voter record system, which was overseen by his predecessor, Democrat Eugene DePasquale. He spent much of the meeting deferring questions to two staffers who helped with the audit.

Before Kenyatta could press DeFoor further, Rep. Paul Schemel, R-Franklin,  who ran the meeting as Grove was out with COVID-19-like symptoms  interrupted him.

I think thats outside of the boundaries of the discussion were hearing today, Schemel said.

Asked if DeFoor stood by his comments and would elaborate, his office declined Wednesday.

Auditor General DeFoor was asked an off-topic question by a committee member and expressed his personal view, a spokesperson for DeFoors office said in an email. Because the department may yet be asked to become involved in an official capacity, he must maintain his independence and has no further comment.

At least one lawmaker, Sen. Bob Mensch, R-Montgomery, said hell introduce a bill requiring DeFoors office to audit the processes by which each county handled their elections in 2020. Counties are already required to audit 2% of their ballots.

While the state auditor generals office independently examines how government departments spend taxpayer money, it relies on funding from the legislature. At his swearing-in Jan. 19, DeFoor promised taxpayers accountability, integrity, and transparency.

Pretty disturbing that Auditor General DeFoor cant answer whether the 2020 election was free and fair, but unequivocally believes his personal election which also occurred in 2020 was fair, Kenyatta said in a tweet about the meeting. Make that make sense.
The 6 January incident in Washington DC and its aftermath online can be seen as pivotal events informing conventional wisdom about social media regulation. First, with the exception of free speech absolutists, most people now agree that some level of content regulation is necessary to combat fake news and hate speech. Second, many people think that the de-platforming of ex- President Donald Trump and Parler is proof that social media is too powerful and biased", and needs legislative intervention.

There are valid concerns about what constitutes fake news, who determines this and how much regulation is too much. However, it is difficult to challenge conventional wisdom on the first part, at least on the surface. For Blackstone, writing in the 1700s, freedom of the press was freedom against licensing acts such as those passed by the Stuart kings, which required any book to be cleared by an authority before it was allowed to be printed. The tools largely chosen by social media behemothslabelling questionable posts, and exercising some measure of control over how posts go viral"are not modern-day licensing laws, but merely control the amplification of posts. Uncontrolled dissemination of material to millions of people forms no part of the right to free speech, and these steps are reasonable and proportionate tools for stopping the tide of fake news and hate speech that has imperilled social harmony and our democratic institutions. More drastic action, such as the deletion of some posts, undoubtedly impacts free speech. But, as Columbia professor Tim Wu convincingly argues, many arguments of the traditional free speech doctrine rest on assumptions that simply do not hold good in the modern information age and merit some reconsideration. The information age, with its glut of data, requires a new paradigm of free speech and new definitions of censorship, particularly because these concepts are now being adopted by private companies.

The fact that a mild form of content regulation on social media is necessary does not mean that the state should be doing this. While the state has the right to stop the incitement or commission of crimes, respect for free speech would mandate as minimal a role as is possible in regulating discourse beyond these broad lines. Blocking rules should be a shield against social disharmony but not a sword against dissent. The courts need to draw a careful balance in such cases. Self-regulation of content by social media companies is new and deserves breathing room before heavy regulation is considered.

The second part of conventional wisdom needs some unpacking too. Consider the ban on Donald Trump by Twitter. Civil libertarians see censorship in this, conservatives see cancel culture", and various heads of state see it as an affront. We should just see the facts.

Twitter is a private service that is not reliant on government largesse. It is by no means a public authority. Nor is it the only way to reach the public, though it is certainly convenient. Those banned by it can use other modes of communicationother apps or simply traditional means like mailing lists, press appearances, etc. When I sign on to a private service, I agree to be bound by its terms and conditions, and it isnt scandalous for the service to eject me if I violate them. The political impact of ejection by Twitter may be huge, but as a legal issue, it is difficult to distinguish it from a restaurant that ejects a drunk customer for misbehaviour. Yes, it is disquieting to have a company ban a head of state from using its services, but its for heads of state to ensure that they are not put in such an embarrassing situation. They must either comply with its terms or forgo the service.

The ejection by Amazon Web Services (AWS) of Parler for failing to moderate its content has led critics to bemoan the power of AWS to shut down other businessesyou cant tell people to create their own platform and when they do, compel it to shut down. Yet, the case isnt so simple.

For consumers, access to the internet is a human right, and those providing such access ought to be regarded as public utilities. But there is a difference between denying consumers access to the internet and denying businesses access to a host platform should they fail to comply with the rules laid down by hosting services.

Web hosting services are not dependant on state licenses. There are several companies that offer hosting, though none is as big as AWS. As private businesses, they are entitled to set down rules as long as these comply with competition law mandates. So far, Parler hasnt shown any violation of competition law by AWS in court. Also, there is no human right involved that can compel private firms to host content unacceptable to them. Parler now appears to be back online, through a different service.

The power exercised in both these cases is based on commercial success and comprises the enforcement of usage rules. This is not dependent on any state mandate and does not violate human rights. If the state wishes to have a say on who can tweet or which business should be hosted, it can set up its own social network or web hosting service. Platforms do have the power to regulate content and customers, subject to laws against unfair discrimination. Those who say theyve been unfairly" de-platformed have remedies under antitrust and consumer laws.

In trying to stop the miasma of online disinformation, the state must not punish social media companies for their success based on an incomplete understanding of power.

Rahul Narayan is an advocate on record at the Supreme Court of India who works on technology law, digital rights and privacy.

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Cairn Energy Plc on Sunday said it is working for a swift resolution" in a tax dispute with India in which the Edinburgh-headquartered firm won a $1.2 billion international arbitration award on 23 December.

The move articulating Cairn Energy Plcs position comes after the Centres decision to appeal against the arbitration award and to contest all cases filed by Cairn in international courts. India can challenge the arbitration award before the end of March.

The dispute relates to a retrospective amendment of tax rules in 2012, which gave the government the authority to tax merger and acquisition (M&A) transactions dating back to 1962 if the underlying asset was in India. The Centre had earlier raised a tax demand of around 10,400 crore, besides an equal amount in penalty and interest accrued.

According to Cairn, India seized residual shares in Cairn India, which was acquired by Vedanta Resources, as well as a tax refund due to the British firm, amounting to around 10,570 crore.

Cairn Energy Plcs chief executive Simon Thomson met finance secretary Ajay Bhushan Pandey on Thursday and Friday, with the Centre resolving to defend sovereign rights in taxation.

We have had cordial and constructive discussions in Delhi over the last few days with ministry of finance officials. Notwithstanding and without prejudice to our rights under the international arbitration award, we have discussed proposals with the aim of finding a swift resolution that could be mutually acceptable to government of India and interests of Cairns shareholders," a Cairn Energy Plc spokesperson said in a statement on Sunday.

Assuming such a resolution can be achieved, we look forward to being able to move on to further opportunities to invest in India which continues to import the majority of the energy sources it consumes," according to the Cairn statement on Sunday.

This comes against the backdrop of the Centres willingness to settle the tax dispute if Cairn chooses to do so under the direct tax dispute settlement scheme, Vivad se Vishwas, which gives relief on interest and penalty if the principal tax demand is paid. An email seeking finance ministrys comment on Sunday afternoon remained unanswered till the time of publishing.

The business we created in India has generated over $20 billion in revenue for the government," the Cairn Energy spokesperson said in the statement. The freezing of our assets in 2014 to enforce a retrospective tax measure has been negative for all parties and we are keen to be able to put this matter behind us and move forward positively," the spokesperson added.

The government of India in 2015 terminated 73 bilateral investment protection agreements treaties to negotiate fresh ones that exclude taxation from their purview.

We remain hopeful that an acceptable solution can be found to avoid prolonging and exacerbating this negative issue for all parties. However, we have been clear that we must continue to take all necessary steps to protect the interests of our shareholders," the Cairn Energy spokesperson noted.

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Germany needs to further slow the spread of the coronavirus before the government can consider additional steps to loosen restrictions on Europes largest economy, the countrys health minister said.

Children in 10 of Germanys 16 states are returning to schools and daycares for the first time in weeks on Monday, and authorities will need to evaluate the impact of the move before considering whether other curbs can be eased, Jens Spahn said on Sunday.

Once we have firm footing, we can take another step" after reopening schools and daycares, he said in an interview with ARD television.

Germanys contagion rate reached 61 per 100,000 people over seven days on Monday, the highest level in more than a week and the latest evidence that a steady decline since a peak before Christmas has ground to a halt. The number of infections is still above the target of 50 that Chancellor Angela Merkels government has determined to be manageable.

Hairdressers are set to reopen on March 1 and further easing is tied to local seven-day incidence rates of less than 35.

Amid concerns about fast-spreading variants, Germany imposed border controls with the Czech Republic and Austrias Tirol province in mid-February. Interior Minister Horst Seehofer will seek to extend those measures this week, he told Bayerischer Rundfunk.

Despite concerns about mutations, Merkels government is under increasing pressure to present a path out of the lockdown amid criticism over the sluggish pace of the countrys vaccine program.

Spahn pleaded for patience as the country seeks to strike a balance between easing strains on the pandemic-weary public and health risks from aggressive virus strains.

I know everybody wants a three- and a six-month plan, but thats not possible," he said.

Germanys reproduction factor -- or R value -- rose to 1.25 on Sunday from 1.14 the day before, according to the latest report from the Robert Koch Institute, the countrys public health authority. The number means 100 infected people are estimated to spread the disease to around 125 others, and its recent rise is another sign that the slowdown in infection numbers has ground to a halt.

There were 6,094 new infections in Germany in the 24 hours through Monday morning, according to data from Johns Hopkins University. This compares with almost 50,000 at the peak of the pandemic.

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New Delhi: The waning covid-19 pandemic appears to be taking a U-turn in India with an increase in the daily cases to 15,000 cases in last 24 hours, an indication of a second wave of infection setting in.

The total tally of covid-19 cases on Monday crossed 1.10 crores and the toll reached close to 1,56,500.

On Sunday alone, the country recorded 14,199 cases. Indias cumulative national Positivity Rate is presently pegged at 5.20%. The countrys Active Caseload remained 1,50,055 on Monday which consists of 1.36% of Indias total Positive Cases, the union health ministry data showed.

The data available with the union health ministry further shows that over 86.3% of the new cases are from 5 States. Maharashtra continues to report the highest daily new cases at 6,971. It is followed by Kerala with 4,070 while Tamil Nadu reported 452 new cases. As 83 deaths were reported in the last 24 hours, five States account for 78.31% of the new deaths. Maharashtra saw the maximum casualties (35) and Kerala reported 15 deaths.

Blame it on temperature, humidity, India demography, mutant virus strains, lesser RTPCT tests or non-abiding of covid-19 appropriate behaviour; India is again recording high number of coronavirus infections with some stats such as Maharashtra, Kerala, Tamil Nadu, MP and Punjab being the worst affected.

A study published in the Journal of Epidemiology and Global Health titled --Exploratory Analysis of Demographic Factors and the Temporal Evolution of covid-19 in Indiasuggested that highly urbanized states including Maharashtra, Gujarat and Tamil Nadu are vulnerable during the current pandemic with incoming data from India further showing that hyper-urbanized cities like Mumbai and Delhi are hit hardest, requiring additional health infrastructure sustainability amid challenges in the social environment. Public health experts have warned that the evolving pandemic may pan out in the second wave of infections considering several factors.

Different variants of the virus are floating around in various parts of the world. In India we have had a crore of lab confirmed cases so lot of viruses are in circulation. Larger the number of viruses, more are the chances of new variants emerging. Moreover, immunity after an exposure is of doubtful strength and duration. We still have a large population uninfected by the virus," said Lalit Kant, a scientist and former head of epidemiology and communicable diseases at the Indian Council of Medical Research (ICMR).

The union health ministry has also admitted that over 75% of the Indian population remains vulnerable to the infection and of late it is seen that there has been a spike in the daily cases in Chhattisgarh and Madhya Pradesh also. Punjab and J&K too are witnessing a surge in daily new cases.

In Maharashtra, in the last four weeks, the weekly cases have shown a rising trend and have increased from 18,200 to 21,300; while the weekly positivity has also increased from 4.7% to 8%. Punjab is rapidly assuming critical dimension in respect of the spread of covid-19 infection. In the State, in the last four weeks, the weekly positivity rate has increased from 1.4% to 1.6%, while the weekly cases in the last four weeks have seen a rise from 1300 to 1682, according to the union health ministry.

Union Health Secretary Rajesh Bhushan last week said that the states having higher number of cases are not doing enough RT-PCR tests, the gold standard of covid-19 diagnosis and there has been laxity of adopting the covid-29 appropriate behaviour.

Globally countries are grappling with an increase in infection rates such as USA is having a third wave, Europe a second wave of covid-19 cases. The return to normalcy in daily life with opening up of trains packed to capacity, Covid-19 inappropriate behaviour, large scale social gatherings and weddings without masks, can all lead to a second wave, which as experience from around the world shows, is always much worse and more devastating than the first wave," said Harsh Mahajan, Senior Vice President, NATHEALTH and Founder and Chief Radiologist Mahajan Imaging.





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WINNIPEG, MB, Feb. 22, 2021 /PRNewswire/ - Medicure Inc. ("Medicure" or the "Company") (TSXV: MPH) (OTC: MCUJF), announced today that it will be participating in Renmark Financial Communications Inc.'s live Virtual Non-Deal Roadshow Series to discuss its latest investor presentation on Tuesday, February 23, 2021 at 12:00 PM EST (11:00 PM CST, 10:00 PM MST). Medicure welcomes stakeholders, investors, and other individual followers to register and attend this live event.



The presentation will feature Albert Friesen, Chief Executive Officer & Chairman of the Board. Topics to be covered will include the latest investor presentation followed by a live Q&A. Investors interested in participating in this event will need to register using the link below. As a reminder, registration for the live event may be limited but access to the replay after the event will be on the Company's website (www.medicure.com).

REGISTER HERE:

https://www.renmarkfinancial.com/events/renmark-virtual-non-deal-roadshow-tsx-v-mph/2021-02-23-170000-0

To ensure smooth connectivity, please access this link using the latest version of Google Chrome.

About Medicure Inc.

Medicure is a pharmaceutical company focused on the development and commercialization of therapies for the U.S. cardiovascular market. The present focus of the Company is the marketing and distribution of AGGRASTAT (tirofiban hydrochloride) injection and ZYPITAMAG (pitavastatin) tablets in the United States, where they are sold through the Company's U.S. subsidiary, Medicure Pharma Inc. Medicure also operates Marley Drug, Inc. ("Marley"), a pharmacy located in North Carolina that offers an Extended Supply mail order drug program serving all 50 states, Washington D.C. and Puerto Rico. Marley is committed to improving the health status of its patients and the communities they serve while reducing overall health care costs for employers and other health care consumers. For more information visit http://www.marleydrug.com. To learn more about The Extended Supply Generic Drug Program call 800.286.6781 or email [email protected]. For more information on Medicure please visit www.medicure.com. For additional information about AGGRASTAT, refer to the full Prescribing Information. For additional information about ZYPITAMAG, refer to the full Prescribing Information.

About Renmark Financial Communications Inc.

Founded in 1999, Renmark Financial Communications Inc. is North America's leading retail investor relations firm. Employing a strategic and comprehensive mix of exposure tactics; Renmark hosts Virtual Non-Deal Roadshows as well as in-person corporate presentations and maintains daily communications with thousands of brokers and money managers across Canada and the United States. Renmark empowers its publicly-traded clientele to maximize their visibility within the financial community and strengthen their investor audience.

SOURCE Medicure Inc.

Related Links

www.medicure.com


Photo: Contributed This sign, which warns Trans Mountain workers of galvanized spikes in trees, was found by anti-pipeline activists in the Brunette River area

Trees in the Brunette River area have reportedly had galvanized spikes embedded in their bark in an apparent protest against the Trans Mountain pipeline expansion.

In recent weeks, signs were covertly put up in the area of the now-cleared Holmes Creek protest camp near the Brunette River, where Trans Mountain is preparing to remove hundreds of trees to clear the path for the pipeline.

Many of these trees are inoculated to protect them from greed, the signs, signed by Dr. Anonymous, say. With the health and longevity of trees in mind, much care was given to ensure the galvanized spikes do not penetrate the [trees] vascular tissue. Embedded in the bark, only greedy enterprise will be harmed. If the tree is successfully felled, it will be risky and expensive to process the wood.

Spiking trees is a tactic to protest deforestation, mostly used in cases of logging. In 1987, a mill worker in the U.S. was seriously injured after the saw he was using came into contact with a spike.

However, environmental groups have said the intention is not to harm people but to make processing trees more difficult for logging companies  hence the signs warning of the spikes.

No one has come forward in this case to take responsibility.

An organizer with Protect the Planet Stop TMX discovered the signs in recent days but said the group had nothing to do with the spikes or the signs.

Last week, observers noted laminated signs tacked to trees and signed by Dr. Anonymous. It is unclear who will claim responsibility for the act, and environmentalists wonder if it might be TMX using tactics of slander, Stop TMX said in a written statement.

The NOW has not seen any evidence to suggest Trans Mountain was involved in the spiking of trees.

In a brief email to the NOW, Trans Mountain didnt comment on the spikes, only saying its priority is worker safety.

Trans Mountain has protocols and safety measures in place to protect our workers and will take the necessary precautions to ensure this work can be carried out safely, Trans Mountain said.

Trans Mountain was recently granted the ability to circumvent a section of the City of Burnabys tree bylaw, which requires a permit for anyone to damage or cut down any protected tree  those with 20.3-centimetre diameters or larger  in the city. However, the order, which came from the Canada Energy Regulator, said the project needed to comply with all other sections of the bylaw.

Trans Mountain plans to cut down 1,308 protected trees in Burnaby, not including trees with smaller trunks.

The Brunette River area has been the most recent front line in a dispute between Trans Mountain and anti-pipeline activists, who say the pipeline will make it impossible for Canada to meet its climate targets and removing the trees will disrupt a sensitive ecosystem around the river.

After Trans Mountain began clearing underbrush in the area, activists said last week they expect the confrontation to ramp up as workers move to clear the trees.

A demonstrator is still occupying a tree in the Lost Creek area, the site of the newer tree occupation after Trans Mountain cleared the original Holmes Creek occupation in December.

We will keep coming back, said Timothee Govare, the current occupier of the tree. Our commitment to delay or cancel construction of this project is unshakable.

Christine Thuring, an ecologist and organizer with Stop TMX, said the construction could disrupt the local population of Vancouvers official bird, the Annas hummingbird.

We know that these birds start nesting in December, so cutting shrubbery right now does not bode well for this species, Thuring said in a news release.
Rohtak:

BJP president Amit Shah on Wednesday began his 3-day Haryana visit from Bahadurgarh and is slated to hold a series of meetings and review works undertaken by the M L Khattar government during his stay.

Shah will be camping in Rohtak as the BJP is eyeing political gains from the district, which is considered as the nerve centre of the states politics.

The party chief, who has a packed schedule, arrived at a grand welcome in the morning at Bahadurgarh in Jhajjar district, which is considered the gateway of Haryana.

Bahadurgarh lies adjoining Rohtak, the venue of Shahs three-day stay, which is about 70 km from Delhi.

At Bahadurgarh, Shah, was received by Khattar, some of his Cabinet colleagues including Ram Bilas Sharma, Capt Abhimanyu, Krishan Lal Panwar and state BJP president Subhash Barala.

Shah was honoured with traditional Haryanvi pugri.

The party chief will be camping in Rohtak as the ruling BJP, which came to power for the first time in Haryana, is looking to consolidate its position after being in power for almost three years.

Shah will be attending 27 programmes, including 17 meetings with BJP MLAs and others, State BJP president Subhash Barala said.

En route to Rohtak town, Shah was welcomed by party workers at eight different points. Thousands of party workers also took out a bike rally to welcome him.

Shah has a series of meetings lined up for the first day including with party office bearers, former MPs and ex-MLAs of the party.

During his stay, Shah will also be holding meetings with the state unit core group, various morchas of the party and intellectuals.

He would also inaugurate a library building in the party office at Rohtak, Barala said.

On the concluding day of his visit, Shah will address some meetings where the focus will be to work hard on vistarak yojna (expansion plan) which was initiated across the country to strengthen BJP in view of the 2019 Lok Sabha polls.

Shah will also be presented with a report card highlighting the Khattar governments achievements during its rule, state BJP chief Barala said.

He will also take stock of implementation of the schemes related to poor.

Asked why the BJP has chosen Rohtak as the venue of Shahs visit, Barala said, Rohtak has been our partys headquarter for decades. It is also the political capital of Haryana. Rohtak was also the stronghold of one of our tallest leader, late Mangal Sain.

Notably, Rohtak is considered a stronghold of former chief minister Bhupinder Singh Hooda. Congress had managed to win only one Lok Sabha seat from Haryana in the 2014 parliamentary election as Hoodas son Deepender Singh retained his Rohtak seat.

Haryanas Health minister and senior BJP leader Anil Vij said there was great enthusiasm among party workers in view of Shahs visit.

Taking a dig at opposition Congress and INLD, both of whom have claimed that Shahs Haryana visit will not have much impact, Vij said, Opposition is in a disarray. Wherever Amit Shah goes the opposition goes into hibernation. The opposition tries to hide itself.

With an eye on the 2019 Lok Sabha polls, Shah is travelling across states to strategise and find ways to strengthen the party at the grass-root level.

The BJP president had visited Chandigarh in May.

The BJP chief is on a 110-day country-wide tour which began in Jammu in April this year.

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Over two years, York trekked some 8,000 miles from St. Louis to the Pacific Northwest and back, hunting, tracking, foraging and, at least once, voting as a Black man held in bondage by another, more famous member of the Lewis and Clark expedition.

Last weekend, almost 215 years after the group made it back to Missouri, a large bust of York was raised in a Portland, Ore., park without fanfare or explanation, on the spot where a statue of a prominent conservative had been toppled last year. City leaders, acknowledging that they had no idea who put the monument to York there, said it looked great.

This is what were calling guerrilla public art, but it was a pleasant surprise, said Adena Long, the director of Portlands parks bureau. York, she said in an interview, is a figure that in my mind that we need to do a better job of proactively and thoughtfully celebrating.

Ms. Long said that she was not aware of any message about the bust from those responsible, but that it would be allowed to stand so long as it does not pose any safety risks, in line with a bureau policy regarding tributes. Were hopeful the artists will make themselves known so we can have a conversation, but it will stay, she said.
A third woman has set forth to allege that she was sexually assaulted by the same political staffer accused of raping a colleague inside the Australian Parliament House. According to the woman, she was assaulted while working as a coalition volunteer amid the 2016 election campaign.

Rape Inside Australian Parliament House

She claimed that she was sexually assaulted by the same political staffer accused of raping Brittany Higgins in the Australian Parliament House. She was barely out of school at the time of the incident. It allegedly transpired following a night out of drinking with the former political staffer.

During the weekend, a second woman came forward. The claims come as Brittany Higgins, who stated she was raped inside the parliamentary office in 2019, gears up to make a statement to Australian Federal Police.

Then 24-year-old Higgins alleges the man raped her in a minister's office following an evening of drinking in 2019. For the third woman, who had only recently finished schooling, remarked the man bought her multiple rounds of shots during the evening. She then vomited in the nightclub bathroom as she had never drunk before, reported 7 News.

Higgins was employed by Defense Minister Linda Reynolds at the time of the alleged rape. Prime Minister Scott Morrison and Senator Reynolds are slated to face interrogation regarding when they were made aware of the complaint and the actions they undertook to assist Higgins when parliament resumes today.

The third woman spoke to an Australian newspaper on the condition of anonymity. However, she reportedly provided a statutory announcement to support her allegations.

Also Read: Australia PM Apologizes to Former Staffer Allegedly Raped in Parliament Office

The ongoing claims have rocked the Liberal Party. They have reignited debate regarding the Canberra workplace culture. As a response to the latest allegation, Deputy Prime Minister Michael McCormack stated that it was very unfair to suggest this was a mere Coalition problem.

According to Labor's Senate leader Penny Wong, Senator Reynolds had questions to respond to regarding how the complaint was overseen. Wong stated, "She wasn't being treated as a human being. She wasn't being treated as a rape survivor and she wasn't being treated as a victim of a grave crime. She was being treated as a political problem," reported The Epoch Times.

According to Higgins, she did not take the complaint further before with the police. This is due to being pressured that doing so would impact her career.

Independent MP Zali Steggall stated it was remarkably "distressing" to hear another claim of sexual assault that had been levied against the former Parliament staffer. He said he was "incredibly disappointed" with the handling of the coalition of the matter.

The third woman reportedly suggested to the man that she would catch an Uber home. This was before she claimed he told her that his hotel was nearby. After going to his room, she claimed that she passed out while lying on his bed. She then woke up with her blouse unbuttoned and her jeans down.

Labor MP Joel Fitzgibbon said this problem was one for men and not women to oversee. According to Fitzgibbon, "Men have to understand that if they do these things the full force of the law will come down upon them," reported 1 News.

Related Article: Ghislaine Maxwell's Attorneys Ask Judge to Stop Accusers From Posting Evidence Online

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US scientists have successfully cloned an endangered black-footed ferret using frozen cells from a long-dead wild animal, the first time any native endangered species has been cloned in the country.

Black-footed ferret recovery efforts aimed at increased genetic diversity and disease resistance took a bold step forward on December 10, with the birth of Elizabeth Ann, created from the cells of Willa, a black-footed ferret who lived more than 30 years ago, the US Fish and Wildlife Service said.

Elizabeth Ann, the first cloned black-footed ferret and first cloned US endangered species. Credit:US Fish and Wildlife Service

Although this research is preliminary, it is the first cloning of a native endangered species in North America, and it provides a promising tool for continued efforts to conserve the black-footed ferret, Noreen Walsh, director of the services Mountain-Prairie Region, said.

The species, North Americas only native ferret, was once thought to be extinct but was brought back from nearly vanishing forever after a Wyoming rancher discovered a small population on his land in 1981. They were captured to begin a captive breeding program to recover the species.

Cybersecurity

Biden pledges international cooperation on cyber in speech

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President Joe Biden on Friday called for the United States to work with European allies to advance international norms in cyberspace.

"We must shape the rules that will govern the advance of technology and the norms of behavior in cyberspace, artificial intelligence, biotechnology so that they are used to lift people, not used to pin them down," Biden said in a Feb. 19 speech to the 2021 Munich Security Conference, which was held virtually.

Biden also pledged multilateral commitment on several other issues such confronting Russia's attempts to subvert democracy, addressing the coronavirus and climate change.

In addition to prioritizing cybersecurity, Biden has also made central to his administration the desire to renew alliances among European nations who feel scorned after four years of the Trump administration's "America First" policies.

Biden's comments come as his administration continues to deal with the fallout from a wide-ranging hack involving the SolarWinds Orion IT management software. The president has said in speeches he will prioritize cybersecurity but has not yet detailed actions he might take in response to suspected Russian intelligence agents launching a years-long operation to enter and remain undetected on the federal government's networks.

Anne Neuberger, deputy national security advisor for cyber and emerging technology, has said the White House is planning executive actions in the near future in response to the hack.
Source: Xinhua| 2021-02-22 15:37:27|Editor: huaxia

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ULAN BATOR, Feb. 22 (Xinhua) -- Mongolia will launch a nationwide COVID-19 vaccination campaign on Tuesday, with frontline workers in health and security sectors receiving the first jabs, said Deputy Prime Minister Sainbuyan Amarsaikhan.

Amarsaikhan, also head of State Emergency Commission, made the announcement early Monday while attending the handover ceremony of 150,000 doses of the Covishield, a vaccine co-developed by the University of Oxford and pharmaceutical giant AstraZeneca and produced by the Serum Institute of India.

Meanwhile, 300,000 doses of COVID-19 vaccine produced by Chinese pharma company Sinovac are set to arrive on Monday night, said Health Minister Sereejav Enkhbold.

Enkhbold said that Mongolia is expected to acquire four types of COVID-19 vaccines.

The Asian country planned to vaccinate at least 3.3 million people, or 60 percent of its population, and 20 percent of them will be covered by COVAX, a global initiative for equitable access to COVID-19 vaccines.

As of Monday, the country has registered a total of 2,693 COVID-19 cases, with six deaths. Enditem

New Delhi:

Delhi Court on Wednesday has directed CBI to carry out lie-detector test on arms dealer Abhishek Verma, a witness in a case related to 1984 anti-Sikh riots.

Earlier on July 6 Verma had told a Delhi court that he was willing to take the polygraph test on the condition that he was provided proper security cover and requested for two Protective Service Officers (PSOs) and guards outside his home round the clock,

The 1984 anti-Sikh riots witness had claimed that he faces threat from Congress leader Jagdish Tytler, a suspect in the case. Verma had informed the court that Tytler had Z-plus security and he was being provided security only on the days of court hearing.

The Delhi court then had directed Verma to file in writing the request for security protection.

The Delhi court had asked Tytler and arms dealer Abhishek Verma to appear in person or file an affidavit stating if the duo wanted to undergo a lie detector test or not.

Tytler had refused to go through the test.

The CBI in February had sought the courts permission for lie-detector tests on Tytler and Verma.

The Congress leader is accused of leading a mob in the 1984 Pul Bangash case in which three Sikhs were killed. Tytler was given clean chit by the CBI in the case but was reopened the case in December 2015 after Vermas allegation.

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Posted Sunday, February 21, 2021 7:55 pm

A cluster of small earthquakes far off the southern Oregon coast and atop Mount Rainier in recent days are common events, and would not have triggered a seismic warning system set for a test run later this week ahead of its rollout to the public this spring, a seismologist said.

"Neither of those sequences are of particular concern," said Paul Bodin, research professor at University of Washington and manager of the Pacific Northwest Seismic Network.

The ShakeAlert system, which is designed to give people and automated systems advanced warning before significant shaking starts, would not have sent an alert for either sequence "because no one would've felt them," either because of their small magnitude or distance from population centers, Bodin said.

A handful of quakes, the largest measuring magnitude 5.1, struck about 175 miles west of Bandon, Oregon, on Saturday, with smaller aftershocks Sunday morning. These occurred on a structure called the Gorda Escarpment, at the boundary between the Pacific and Juan de Fuca plates  a strike-slip plate, which, unlike the Cascadia Subduction Zone fault, does not pose a major tsunami risk.

Mount Rainier, meanwhile, let go "a volley of really tiny little earthquakes," Bodin said, calling it a "swarmlet." The quakes, on Wednesday, Thursday and Friday, and measuring no more than magnitude 2.0, are believed by volcano scientists to stem from the movement of hydrothermal fluids that may lubricate faults and release tectonic stresses, he said.

He called both sequences normal and common. Neither changes the likelihood of the kind of major, damaging earthquakes that are overdue in the region.

(And they're nothing like the recent show put on by Mount Etna, one of the Bodin's favorite volcanoes and one of the world's most active. "I just love pictures of it when it's erupting, and there's actually rivulets of lava on it," Bodin said, describing it as "an attractive danger.")

On Thursday, the Washington Emergency Management Division and U.S. Geological Survey will test ShakeAlert, sending a test message at 11 a.m. to wireless devices opted-in to the system in King, Pierce and Thurston counties. The test comes almost exactly 20 years after the magnitude 6.1 Nisqually quake.

The ShakeAlert system, which has been operational in California for nearly a year, is set to become broadly available to people in Oregon in March and Washington in May, after years of development. Information on how to opt-in can be found here.

The system is designed to provide a few seconds or more of advance warning before shaking begins. That's enough time for a person to take protective action, such as ducking and covering, to "really reduce the chance of stuff falling on you, or you falling, which causes the majority of injuries in earthquakes," Bodin said.

Automated systems can also receive the alerts, triggering actions that could protect systems such as municipal water supplies from the forthcoming shaking. Water and gas valves can be shut, fire station doors opened, trains slowed, Bodin said.

"It's kind of prosaic, but it's going to be very important," he said. "It will absolutely save lives and misery and cost after the next big earthquake."

___

(c)2021 The Seattle Times

Visit The Seattle Times at www.seattletimes.com

Distributed by Tribune Content Agency, LLC.


The owner and CEO of German charter carrier Sundair is planning to launch a new airline in Croatia this coming summer. According to the Aero Telegraph, Marcos Rossello expects for the carrier to commence operations over the next few months. The plan is to start at the end of April or the beginning of May. We are currently working on obtaining an AOC [Air Operators Certificate]", Mr Rossello told the German portal. The project involving the launch of the Croatian start-up is entitled Fly Air 41, after the IT aviation company the Sundair boss was once the managing director of. However, its uncertain whether the new airline will bear the same name. We dont want to comment on details yet, Mr Rossello said.





The new airline will not be a subsidiary of Sundair and will not replace the German charter carrier, which will continue to operate separately. Sundair, with bases in several German cities, boasts a fleet of seven aircraft - two Airbus A319s and five A320s. This summer, the airline will inaugurate seasonal flights from both Dusseldorf and Berlin to Brac. According to Mr Rossello, the newly set-up Croatian company is in talks with business partners, as well as the German Schauinsland-Reisen tour operator, which sells holiday packages to Croatia, amongst others.





As a result, Croatia could see two new airlines launch operations from the country this year. In addition to the abovementioned, charter carrier ETF Airways, supported by local Croatian investors, is in advanced stages of setting up operations with a Boeing 737-800 aircraft, which is expected to arrive in the country as early as next month. The carrier is expected to launch services in April, if necessary permits are received by then. The aircraft will be used for charter flights under lease arrangement covering aircraft, crew, maintenance and insurance (ACMI). ETF intends to focus on routes from the Croatian Adriatic coast such as Dubrovnik, Pula, Split and Zadar to airports in France, Germany and the UK.









Indonesian fisherman evacuated from trawler off Durban coast

by Suthentira Govender

February 22,2021 | Source: TIMES Live

A crew member of a Japanese fishing trawler had to be evacuated during the early hours of Saturday after he developed a medical condition.



The National Sea Rescue Institute in Durban and paramedics were placed on alert on Friday night to prepare for the evacuation operation from the trawler which was in deep waters.



A 55-year-old Indonesian fisherman on-board the vessel was reported to have sustained a medical condition ... and it was deemed necessary for the patient evacuation operation to take place as soon as possible.



The vessel was requested to head towards the nearest port: Durban, the NSRI said in a statement.



A rescue crew was dispatched just before 6am on Saturday to meet the vessel five nautical miles offshore, where the fisherman was transferred to a sea rescue craft and then taken to hospital by ambulance.

Theme(s): Others.

New Delhi, Feb 22 : Union Home Secretary Ajay Bhalla on Monday directed the DRDO and the Uttarakhand administration to keep a constant watch on the situation in Chamoli district where flash floods triggered by an avalanche wreaked havoc earlier this month, assuring all assistance from the Central agencies to the state government.

In a multi-agency meeting, Bhalla also reviewed the status of a natural lake formed after the flash floods in the upper catchment of the Rishiganga river in Chamoli district.

The Home Secretary received information regarding reports collected by a joint team of Indo-Tibetan Border Police (ITBP) and the Defence Research and Development Organisation (DRDO), which recently completed inspection of the natural lake formed in the Murenda area.

The lake's frontage is approximately 90 to 100 metres and its length is around 500 metres.

Uttarakhand Chief Secretary, who joined the meeting virtually with his team, informed that based on the physical assessment of the lake made on site by multiple scientific agencies and satellite data, there is no imminent danger as the volume of water is less than expected which is flowing through a natural channel that has been widened.

Bhalla reviewed the action being taken to allow for more flow of water and removal of some obstructions which have formed at the site of the lake.

Both the DRDO and the state administration have been asked to keep watch on the situation in coordination with the Central and state agencies, an MHA statement said.

The Home Secretary also assured continued help and assistance from Central agencies to the state government as and when required to handle the situation arising out of the temporary obstruction.

The meeting was also attended by the Director General of ITBP, Member Secretary of National Disaster Management Authority (NDMA), DG National Disaster Response Force (NDRF), DRDO Chairman, senior officials of the Ministry of Power, officers from the IDS headquarters, and scientists from various Central agencies along with other senior officials of the Union Home Ministry.

The deadly flash floods triggered by a snow avalanche on February 7 had washed away a 520 MW downstream NTPC hydro power project at Tapovan, covering an approximately 14 sq km area. The lake was formed after the flash floods.

Another team of the Geological Survey of India (GSI) and the Wadia Institute of Himalayan Geology is also on the spot since Saturday to inspect the lake.

Nearly 204 persons went missing after the deluge in the Rishiganga river that also completely destroyed the 13.2 MW Rishiganga project.

Meanwhile, scientists and other agencies are continuously observing the Rishiganga lake at a height of 14,000 feet in Chamoli district.
Yuma News

Yuma, Arizona - Arizona's Children Association is joining forces with two Yuma Jersey Mikes Subs restaurants located at 11231 E. Commercial Center Loop and 1580 S. 4th Ave. for the 11th Annual March Month of Giving campaign to fund local charities. During the month of March, customers can make a donation to Arizona's Children Association at these Jersey Mikes restaurants.

The campaign will culminate with Jersey Mikes Day of Giving on Wednesday, March 31, when local Jersey Mikes restaurants will give 100 percent of the days sales  not just profit  to Arizona's Children Association.

On Day of Giving, local Jersey Mikes owners and operators throughout the country will donate their resources and every single dollar that comes in to more than 200 different charities including hospitals, youth organizations, food banks and more.

This March, Jersey Mikes hopes to raise a record-breaking $8 million for local charities striving to fulfill their missions and make a difference.

This March, we celebrate our Month of Giving with a renewed sense of determination to do all we can to raise as much as we can for important local causes, said Peter Cancro, Jersey Mikes founder and CEO. I invite you to come in this month and make a difference in someones life.

Throughout March, customers can make donations through the Jersey Mikes mobile app or onsite. On Day of Giving, Jersey Mikes will offer free delivery through the Jersey Mikes app.

Since Month of Giving began in 2011, Jersey Mikes has raised more than $32 million for local charities.

For a list of participating restaurants in your area and for more information on our charity partners, please visit our charity listing by state.

About Jersey Mikes: Jersey Mikes Subs, with more than 2,500 locations open and under development nationwide, serves authentic fresh sliced/fresh grilled subs on in-store freshly baked bread  the same recipe it started with in 1956. Passion for giving in Jersey Mikes local communities is reflected in its mission statement Givingmaking a difference in someones life.
Ghanaians have taken to social and traditional media to remember and celebrate one of Ghana's traditional and political icon, Nana Bafour Akoto, the Late Senior Linguist of the Asantehene and Founder of the National Liberation Movement (NLM).



Born 117 years ago today, Nana Bafour Akoto, is credited as the Crusader of Ghana's journey to real freedom and multi-party democracy.



He is also the father of the immediate past and current Minister-designate for Food and Agriculture, Dr. Owusu Afriyie Akoto, who is associated with the now famous Planting for Food and Jobs(PFJ) initiative.



The Late Senior Linguist of the Asante Kingdom is also seen as the 'Father' of UP Tradition, having worked hard to bring the Northern Peoples Party to merge with the National Liberation Movement (NLM) to form the United Party which metamorphosed into the now New Patriotic Party.



Nana Bafour Akoto, who suffered political persecution and incarceration by the Government of the Convention People's Party (CPP) led by Dr Kwame Nkrumah, is associated with the popular Re: Akoto and 7 Others, a landmark case that has become the reference point of study for Law Students and everyone interested in studying the legal jurisprudence of Ghana's modern-day multi-party democracy.



On the occasion of his 117th Birthday Anniversary, many high profile Ghanaians have been honouring his memory and celebrating his contribution to Ghana's multi-party democracy.



The former Minister for Education and Minister-designate for Energy, Hon. Dr Mathee Opoku Prempeh wrote on his Facebook page:



"Today happens to be the birthday of Baffuor Osei Akoto. Founder and leader of the National Liberation Movement (NLM). He was also a chief linguist of the Asantehene. Baffour Akoto led the charge for the unification of the parties that formed the United Party (UP) which happens to be the roots of the current New Patriotic Party (NPP). The picture below tells a long story short. It is very sad this unsung hero hasnt been celebrated enough by the NPP.



May his soul continue to rest in peace"



The Member of Parliament for the Kwadaso Constituency and immediate past Executive Director of the Ghana Accreditation Board, Hon. Dr Kingsley Nyarko also eulogized the Late Senior Linguist



"Baffour Akoto was a hero who deserves the best recognition in our politics, especially by the NPP. We cannot and should not bury the name of this great personality in our politics because, but for him, the NPP tradition and her success story couldnt be told"

Source: Peacefmonline.com/Ghana









Disclaimer : Opinions expressed here are those of the writers and do not reflect those of Peacefmonline.com. Peacefmonline.com accepts no responsibility legal or otherwise for their accuracy of content. Please report any inappropriate content to us, and we will evaluate it as a matter of priority.

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Source: Xinhua| 2021-02-22 17:05:05|Editor: huaxia

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SEOUL -- South Korea's export posted a double-digit growth in the first 20 days of February owing to solid demand for tech products and automobiles, customs office data showed Monday.

Export, which takes up about half of the export-driven economy, amounted to 30.4 billion U.S. dollars in the February 1-20 period, up 16.7 percent from the same period of last year, according to the Korea Customs Service. (S. Korea-Export-February)

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PHNOM PENH -- Cambodia's stocks finished lower on Monday, with the Cambodia Securities Exchange (CSX) Index down 0.95 point, or 0.15 percent, to close at 639.54 points.

A total of 13,606 shares worth 65.1 million riels (16,010 U.S. dollars) was traded, the CSX said, adding that 68 percent of the traded stocks belonged to Phnom Penh SEZ, Plc (PPSP), 11 percent to ACLEDA Bank Plc (ABC) and nine percent to Sihanoukville Autonomous Port (PAS). (Cambodia-Share Market-Close)

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SUVA -- Fiji and Japan signed here on Monday an emergency loan agreement, which will allow Fiji to get the 200 million Fijian dollars (about 98.98 million U.S. dollars) loan from Japan.

According to a statement from the Fijian government, during the signing ceremony, Fijian Prime Minister Voreqe Bainimarama said that the best way to build resilience over the long-term is to bring Fiji's COVID-stricken economy fully back to life and this loan will allow the island nation to further strengthen its COVID defences, particularly its public health systems. (Fiji-Suva-Loan Agreement)

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SYDNEY -- The Australian share market closed lower on Monday after swinging between losses and gains throughout the day, reflecting the mixed results from the resource sector as oil producers slumped while iron ore manners gained

At the market close the benchmark S&P/ASX 200 index was down 12.90 points or 0.19 percent at 6,780.90, while the broader All Ordinaries index was down 2.40 points or 0.034 percent at 7,061.60. (Australia-Stock Market News) Enditem
Global developer Lendlease has halved its dividend after suffering a slump in earnings as the pandemic slowed development on its projects around the world.

The construction and development giant has about 20 major projects on the go, many in key European, Asian and American cities that have been disrupted by the pandemic, including its flaghsip $22 billion campus for Google in San Francisco.

Lendleases result was dragged down by the residual impact of COVID-19 which hit development profits, generated weak cash flow and lower income from investments.

The $4 billion One Sydney Harbour project comprises three towers. Credit:

The groups core $205 million net profit after tax was below consensus expectations of $213 million. And its statutory profit of $196 million fell 37 per cent for the six months to December 2020 as the global pandemic and city lockdowns halted work across its office, retail and residential projects.
Gandhinagar, Feb 22 : Rambhai Mokariya and Dineshbhai Prajapati (Anavadia), the BJP nominees for the two vacant Rajya Sabha seats in Gujarat, were declared elected unopposed on Monday. The Rajya Sabha elections were held uncontested after five years as there was no nomination filed by the Congress.

The Returning Officer (RO) for the byelections, Chetan Pandya declared both the candidates from the saffron party as elected and handed them the certificates for the same in the Gujarat assembly premises on Monday.

Rambhai Mokariya, hailing from the Brahmin community, is an old warrior of the BJP based in Rajkot and is the CMD of Maruti Couriers. He was also a member of the Akhil Bharatiya Vidyarthi Parishad (ABVP) from 1974 and later joined the Jan Sangh in 1978. Since then, he's been with the BJP.

Dinesh Prajapati Anavadia hails from the Other Backward Communities (OBC) and is from the northern part of Gujarat, Deesa in Banaskantha. He heads the BJP Bakshipanch Morcha. He was also the former director of the Gujarat State Road Transport Corporation and was the BJP Banaskantha district general secretary.

CR Patil, the Gujarat BJP Chief, has congratulated both the BJP candidates and wished them success in their political careers.

Rambhai Mokariya paid a courtesy visit to Gujarat Chief Minister Vijay Rupani and inquired about his health. The Gujarat CM thanked him and congratulated him and wished him success in his political career. He hoped that Mokariya will connect the welfare schemes by the Modi government to the beneficiaries.

The by-elections to the two vacant seats of the Rajya Sabha in Gujarat were scheduled on March 1. Till the last day of the filing of the nominations, the chief opposition party in Gujarat, the Congress did not field any candidate.

The last day of withdrawal of nominations was Monday, February 22. The Congress withdrew the nomination forms filed by the party's dummy candidates on Monday.

The Election Commission of India had decided to hold two separate by-elections in Gujarat to fill up vacancies owing to the corona deaths of Congress member Ahmed Patel and BJP member Abhay Bhardwaj, both succumbing to the pandemic in November end and December beginning last year.

Senior Congress leader Ahmed Patel was elected to the Rajya Sabha from Gujarat in 2017 and his term was to end on August 18, 2023. He died on November 25 last year.

Abhay Bhardwaj died on December 1 last year. Both the leaders succumbed to the pandemic. Bhardwaj had been elected in June 2020 and his term was to end in June 21, 2026.
Seoul: Donald Trump offered North Korean leader Kim Jong Un a ride home on Air Force One after a summit in Hanoi two years ago, according to a new BBC documentary.

Kim and Trump first engaged in a war of words and mutual threats, before an extraordinary diplomatic bromance that featured headline-grabbing summits and a declaration of love by the former US president.

But no substantive progress was made, with the process deadlocked after the pair's meeting in Hanoi broke up over sanctions relief and what Pyongyang would be willing to give up in return.

According to a BBC documentary, "Trump Takes on the World", the US president "stunned even the most seasoned diplomats" by offering Kim a lift home on Air Force One after the 2019 summit in Vietnam.

If Kim had accepted the offer, it would have put the North Korean leader -- and probably some of his entourage -- inside the US president's official aircraft and seen it enter North Korean airspace, raising multiple security issues.

In the event, Kim turned it down.

"President Trump offered Kim a lift home on Air Force One," Matthew Pottinger, the top Asia expert on Trump's National Security Council, told the BBC, it reported at the weekend.

"The president knew that Kim had arrived on a multi-day train ride through China into Hanoi and the president said: 'I can get you home in two hours if you want.' Kim declined."

For his first summit with Trump in Singapore in 2018, Kim hitched a ride on an Air China plane, with Beijing keen to keep North Korea -- whose existence as a buffer state keeps US troops in the South well away from China's borders -- firmly within its sphere of influence.

During the Singapore summit, Trump gave Kim a glimpse inside his presidential state car -- a $1.5 million Cadillac also known as "The Beast" -- in a show of their newly friendly rapport.

But last month Kim said the US was his nuclear-armed nation's "biggest enemy", adding that Washington's "policy against North Korea will never change" no matter "who is in power".

North Korean official media have yet to refer to Joe Biden -- who beat Trump in last year's election -- by name as US president.
Sophie Monk confirmed her engagement to Joshua Gross in January, revealing her long-term boyfriend had finally popped the question on Christmas Day.

And the Love Island Australia host, 41, almost popped out of her own outfit on Monday while discussing the romantic proposal on Today Extra.

Sophie gave viewers an eyeful of her ample assets as she slipped into a daringly low-cut khaki jumpsuit for her interview with hosts David Campbell and Belinda Russell.

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Too hot for TV! Love Island Australia host Sophie Monk risked spilling out of her low-cut jumpsuit on Today Extra on Monday

Her skin looked beautifully sun-kissed, and she swept a touch of bronzer across her cheeks and applied a peach gloss to her plump pout.

Sophie styled her long, blonde hair in beachy waves, and accessorised with a pair of statement earrings.

During her breakfast TV appearance, the former Bardot star was asked if she planned to take Josh's surname once they get married.

Busty: Sophie, 41, gave viewers an eyeful of her ample assets as she slipped into a daringly low-cut khaki jumpsuit for her interview with hosts David Campbell and Belinda Russell

'Would you be Sophie Monk-Gross?' David asked, to which Sophie replied: 'I don't know yet. Nowadays you can do whatever you want. I'll probably keep it, as I've worked hard.'

'Josh Monk, I like that better!' David responded.

'I don't know if he'll want to do that, but I'll discuss it with him,' Sophie said.

Gorgeous: Her skin looked beautifully sun-kissed, and she swept a touch of bronzer across her cheeks and applied a peach gloss to her plump pout

Sophie and Josh first met on a flight from Europe to Australia in August 2018, and shared a kiss after enjoying 'three champagnes' in business class.

She announced their engagement on January 15.

Reflecting on her long journey to finding love, she told fans on Instagram: 'I honestly can't thank you enough for all the support.

Happy: She announced her engagement to businessman Joshua Gross on January 15

'I know I have the coolest people following me and you've always had my back and I feel so cared about.

'You're absolute bloody legends. I'm not very good at being mushy. I'm trying to say I absolutely adore you. @joshuargross and I are so happy.'

Josh proposed with a $50,000 engagement ring, which he helped design.
Tequila and mezcal: the next 'big thing' in the UK spirits market?

The market for Tequila and mezcal in the UK is on the up, experiencing a move towards craft brands and provenance, according to figures in the industry.

From an export market long dominated by a handful of brands, anecdotal evidence from producers and industry data shows that more craft Tequila and mezcal brands are breaking through onto the international market.

Data from the Consejo Regulador del Tequila (CRT), which protects the product's Denomination of Origin, showed that Tequila had a record year in 2020. Producers made some 374 million litres of liquid, of which 286 million were exported to more than 120 countries. The current export value of Tequila is estimted at US$2 billion.

The CRT report also revealed that 1.7 million litres of Tequila was shipped to the UK in 2020, making it Tequila's eighth export market.

With their heritage, craftsmanship and protected status, Tequila and mezcal are well placed to take advantage of the popularity of craft spirits in the UK, where more drinkers are looking to 'drink better' and turning to premium brands.

The number of cocktail-related releases for Margarita Day (22 February) hints at an increasing popularity that could open the gates for more craft brands: VIVIR distillery has launched a new premium mixto Tequila, El Sueno, designed for mixing in cocktails and long drinks; margarita-making kits and pre-bottled cocktails are available from the likes of The Sun Tavern, Mr Fogg's and Coupette; and Tequila brand Olmeca Altos has unveiled a margarita masterclass and cocktail guide.

Becky Davies, head of commercial at Manchester-based distributor Ten Locks, has witnessed first-hand the growing popularity of agave spirits among Brits. Ten Locks distributes a number of international premium spirits brands in the UK, including El Tequileno and Banhez Mezcal.

Davies said that while Tequila and mezcal had been overshadowed by their reputation as a "stereotypical student drink" in the UK, increasing prominence in the market and high-profile celebrity launches for some brands were helping to raise their profile.

"Both Tequila and mezcal are fun and interesting categories with a vibrant culture that naturally appeals to consumers and adds to the consumption experience. In many ways, the category is just starting to speak for itself," she says.

"Similar to Central and North America, demand over the past four or five years has shown a shift globally towards brands that represent craft and quality, with both Tequila and mezcal a perfect fit to meet this appetite due to the history, heritage and craft intrinsic to both segments. This, along with increased consumer education, is positively influencing Tequila and mezcal acess the board."

Corte Vetusto is one of the smaller brands making the most of Tequila and mezcal's rising international popularity. The brand was founded by David Shepherd, with its spirits made by fouth-generation 'maestro mezcalero' Juan Carlos Gonzales Diaz.

Shepherd said the greater number of people making cocktails at home during Covid-19 lockdowns, as well as "a growing apprciation of authentically hand-crafted products amongst more discerning drinkers", were driving up Tequila and mezcal's popularity.

"There is no doubt that American consumers have taken to craft spirits like nowhere else. They also have the greatest appetite for premium agave spirits and the greatest choice," he explained.

"The UK lags behind in breadth of choice and premiumisation, as the perception of agave spirits as a shooter still persists. That said, due to the incredible amount of effort from craft producers, like ourselves, to educate the trade and consumers, that perception is changing."

In the UK, there is a dedicated core in the on and off-trade trying to draw drinkers' attention to the agave spirits market. A number of consumer events have sprung up in recent years, including Tequila & Mezcal Fest and London Mezcal Week, and the rapid growth of the ready-to-drink category in the past couple of years has put more Tequila-based cocktails, using craft spirits, on the market in an accessible form.

This comes alongside increasing knowledge among bartenders, with many seeking out craft Tequila and mezcals to line their back bars. In London alone, venues such as The Pink Chihuahua, Del 74 and Corazon are championing Tequila and mezcal-based drinks and introducing consumers to lesser-known agave spirits. The increasing popularity of Mexican cuisine in the UK has also helped to push this shift in the on-trade forward.

"The trade - retail and on-trade - has responded fantastically and has been instrumental in educating consumers and changing perceptions," Shepherd said.

"More education is required, but I believe the future is bright for brands who put quality, authenticity and transparency at the core of their business. A great example of this is Tequila Ocho, a brand that has displaced the previously favoured mass-produced brands."

According to Davies, the physical distance between UK consumers and Tequila and mezcal producers in Mexico means there is less understanding of the arduous production process, and so less appreciation of 'craft' agave spirits. As in categories like gin, better consumer education could help to bridge this gap.

"The agave plant takes seven years to mature and so by the very nature of locality and education, there's an appreciation for these incredible plants and the love that goes into the production of spirits that use them [in Mexico]," Davies said.

"UK consumers are fairly far removed from this and so currently tend to get swayed by unusual packaging or celebrity endorsements. Others still have a poor perception of Tequila from lower-quality brands they have tried in the past.

"British consumers like to know what they are drinking and are curious, asking questions and increasingly showing a genuine enthusiasm for Mexican agave spirits.

"Until recently, the on-trade has been leading the demand for Tequila and has really driven education. However, the off-trade is starting to make a real play, with some even looking to extend their ranges. Headway is being made, but more needs to be done to engage with the end consumer across all channels so they can make educated choices on which drinks to try."

Davies added that this growth in education could carve a path for more agave spirits, such as racillia, bacarnora and sotol, to gain a foothold in the UK marketplace, as well as helping to support 'mixto' Tequila brands. "It can be easy to fall into a '100 per cent agave is best' mindset when it comes to Tequila, but in fact, a perfectly crafted and honed mixto can taste better then a 100 per cent agave Tequila," she said.

22 February 2021 - Bethany Whymark
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By RACHEL LA CORTE

Associated Press

OLYMPIA  More than $2 billion in federal COVID-19 relief funding will be allocated across Washington state under a measure signed into law Friday by Gov. Jay Inslee.

The measure, which received strong bipartisan support in both the House and Senate this month, spends $2.2 billion on various efforts, including vaccine administration, rental assistance and money for school districts as they move back toward in-classroom teaching.





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ALBUQUERQUE, N.M.  The Albuquerque Police Department has identified a person shot and killed by police Saturday.

Claude Trivino, 40, of Hernandez, was shot by one or two officers near San Mateo and Copper NE after a confrontation Saturday afternoon, police said. He later died at a hospital.

Rio Arriba County Magistrate Court records show that in December a Veterans Affairs doctor signed an order for an emergency psychiatric evaluation of Trivino. The order said there was a likelihood of serious harm to himself or others and immediate detention was necessary to prevent such harm. According to the court records, Trivino had been diagnosed with schizophrenia and had not been taking his medication, and he used illicit drugs.

We are all failing our community when we fail to provide effective mental health and addiction services to everyone who needs those services, interim APD Chief Harold Medina said in a statement Sunday. This isnt just an Albuquerque problem. I urge legislators from across the state to respond to this crisis and work together to make these services a top priority.

Around 3:30 p.m. Saturday, police responded to reports that a man, later identified as Trivino, was walking in the street and causing drivers to swerve to avoid hitting him.

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APD spokesman Gilbert Gallegos said in a news release Sunday that officers didnt know Trivinos identity when they arrived at the scene.

Medina said at a media briefing Saturday that there was a confrontation and one officer tried to use a Taser on Trivino before one or two officers shot him. An officer was treated for a superficial laceration, and a knife consistent with that wound was found at the scene, Medina said. Video posted on Facebook shows Trivino throwing something at an officer before police open fire. Two officers are now on standard administrative leave. As of Sunday afternoon, they had not been interviewed by Multi-Agency Task Force detectives, Gallegos said.

The Rio Arriba County court records from December show that deputies with the county Sheriffs Office tried to arrest Trivino so he could undergo the emergency evaluation. Trivino sped away from an attempted traffic stop, and deputies decided to call off the pursuit because Trivino was known to carry an AK-47 and they did not know if he was armed, the complaint says.
More than 300 West Australians will receive a COVID-19 vaccination on Monday as the state government opens its first pop-up vaccine clinic at the Hyatt Regency Perth.

Hotel quarantine nurse Antonia Garza was the first person in the state to get the jab just before 9am, receiving a round of applause from health staff watching on.

It was no different than any other vaccine, she said.

Vaccines save lives, they reduce burdens on the healthcare system and all our nurses and doctors.

A BURGLAR who was spared a prison sentence because of injuries he suffered when he was accidentally shot in the face by a garda, has been jailed by the Court of Appeal.

The three-judge court agreed with the Director of Public Prosecutions that the sentencing judge was unduly lenient in suspending the entirety of the sentence imposed on Tomas Mikalajunas.

At a hearing this Monday, President of the Court of Appeal, Mr Justice George Birmingham, said Mikalajunas had travelled to Ireland to carry out well-planned burglaries of high-end goods, and imposed a sentence of two years and nine months.

The 41-year-old, a native of Lithuania, who previously had an address at Cluain Arra, Gortboy, Newcastle West, County Limerick, sustained "life-changing injuries" in the shooting in 2016.

Detailing the background to the case Mr Justice Birmingham said Mikalajunas and an accomplice carried out a "professionally and carefully planned burglary" on a pharmacy in Kinsale on January 30, 2015.

They used a modified, reinforced Audi to force in the front of the premises before three men, wearing balaclavas and gloves and carrying torches, entered. They stole high-end perfumes, particularly targetting Chanel products, and made off with 60,000 worth of goods. The perfume was shipped to Lithuania where it was sold at markets.

The second burglary, in 2016, was at a boutique in Adare that specialised in high-end fashion. 80,000 worth of clothes was taken and although they were retrieved by gardai the following day, they had been kept in conditions that meant they were unusable. The owner of the boutique was uninsured and suffered a devastating loss, the judge said.

Following that burglary gardai identified a Toyota Corolla that was associated with the gang and on June 28, 2016 it was spotted driving from Newcastle West.

A high-speed chase ensued during which the suspects' car exceeded speeds of 120km/h on rural roads. Gardai managed to stop the car but as one garda got out of the patrol car his service firearm accidentally discharged, hitting Mikalajunas in the right side of the face.

He required extensive therapy to regain his mobility and speech and still has difficulty eating solid food. A bullet fragment close to his spine restricts his neck movements preventing him from returning to his former job as a truck driver. Mikalajunas made full admissions to gardai and pleaded guilty to two counts of burglary and one of criminal damage.

Having heard the medical evidence the sentencing judge at the Circuit Criminal Court imposed a prison sentence of five years and six months, suspended in its entirety.

Mikalajunas has since returned to Lithuania and followed today's court proceedings by video link.

Mr Justice Birmingham said the offences were "very serious" and he noted that Mikalajunas appeared to travel to Ireland on both occasions specifically to carry out burglaries.

While he said it was appropriate to take the injuries into account, he said it was excessive to suspend the entire sentence.

Taking the sentence of five years and six months as the starting point, he said it would be appropriate to suspend half and therefore he imposed a sentence of two years and nine months with no part suspended.

He imposed a concurrent sentence of two years for criminal damage. The president sat with Mr Justice Patrick McCarthy and Mr Justice Seamus Woulfe.
Syracuse, NY -- A Syracuse man accused of ambushing and murdering a Tupper Lake man during a drug robbery asked a judge Monday to lower his bail so he could spend time with his newborn baby.

Lazear Coker-Hawkins fiancee was pregnant when he was arrested in June, accused of murdering Corey Hober in the hallway of an apartment complex at 110 Griffiths St. Hober had come to Syracuse to buy drugs from Coker-Hawkins, prosecutors have said.

Now, Coker-Hawkins, 23, is a dad. And on Monday, he asked his lawyer, Patrick Hennessy, to try to sway a judge that he should be home with his newborn.

But state Supreme Court Justice Gordon Cuffy wasnt moved. Referencing Coker-Hawkins charges, his prior criminal record and the fact he left town after the murder and changed his appearance, the judge kept bail high.

RELATED: Tupper Lake man came to Syracuse to buy drugs; his alleged killer now charged with murder, robbery

Its not the first time Cuffy has heard arguments on Coker-Hawkins bail, which stands at $500,000 cash, $1 million bond, or $3 million partially secured bond (requiring a $300,000 payment to the court).

He may as well be held on a trillion dollars, Hennessy said, before the judges ruling. Itll just never happen.

Hennessy had asked for bail to be reduced to $100,000 cash or bond.

But Coker-Hawkins is accused of the harshest murder charge under law: an intentional act during the course of a robbery. Thats punishable, if proven at trial, of a sentence of life in prison without chance of parole.

Hennessy acknowledged that multiple witnesses put Coker-Hawkins near the murder scene. But he argued they were all drug addicts with questionable credibility.

Prosecutor Melinda McGunnigle argued that there was forensic evidence, too, including Coker-Hawkins fingerprints on the victims car.

Theres debate over whether Coker-Hawkins fled after the May 27 homicide. He wasnt arrested for roughly two weeks after spending time in the Binghamton area.

Hennessy said that Coker-Hawkins, who maintains he did nothing wrong, simply went to spend time with his fiancee. He argued that Binghamton wasnt really outside of Central New York. But the judge said thats definitely leaving the area.

Im unpursuaded that the bail is too high, Cuffy said.

Like all court cases, Coker-Hawkins trial date will be delayed by the pandemic. Local judges have signaled that they hope to begin restarting trials in late March, if everything goes as planned.

If that happens, it will still be more than a year since jury trials were held in earnest. An experiment to restart trials last autumn ended after only one trial was completed locally.

Staff writer Douglass Dowty can be reached at ddowty@syracuse.com or 315-470-6070.
Former prime minister Kevin Rudd has denied he was physically restrained from punching the Chinese negotiator during heated climate change talks in Copenhagen a decade ago.

His former British counterpart, Gordon Brown, who sat alongside Mr Rudd and other world leaders during the failed 2009 United Nations Climate Change Conference negotiations, made the allegation in left-wing British newspaper The Guardian.

Former Australian prime minister Kevin Rudd says Gordon Browns account of the climate talks is an urban myth. Credit:WPA Pool

In a review of a new book, How To Avoid A Climate Disaster by software developer and philanthropist Bill Gates, Mr Brown said the talks ultimately failed because of both the reluctance of the United States to make legally binding commitments and a deep suspicion from China, India and other emerging economies of any obligations they believed might threaten their development.

So determined were they to avoid binding commitments that they rejected Europes offer to unilaterally bind itself to a 50 per cent cut in its emissions, Mr Brown wrote.

AFH Financial Group plc- financial investment management firm - Reiterates it believes the GBP224.5 million takeover offer made by Cortina Bidco Ltd is fair and reasonable and urges shareholders to vote in favour of offer. In January, AFH agreed to the takeover by Cortina, a company controlled by funds managed by Chicago-based private equity firm Flexpoint Ford LLC. Under the acquisition's terms, Flexpoint will acquire the wealth manager for 463 pence per share.

Current stock price: 458.00 pence

Year-to-date change: up 34%

By Ife Taiwo; ifetaiwo@alliancenews.com

Copyright 2021 Alliance News Limited. All Rights Reserved.
President Joe Bidens nearly $2 trillion COVID-19 stimulus package will land on his desk before unemployment aid lapses for millions of Americans who lost jobs during the pandemic, top Democrats on Capitol Hill pledged recently.

In the House of Representatives, where provisions to boost vaccinations, businesses and taxpayers bank accounts have been reviewed by the Budget and Ways and Means committees, lawmakers plan to vote by Friday. And Senate Majority Leader Chuck Schumer recently vowed that Senate approval would come before March 14, when jobless aid approved in previous coronavirus aid bills expires.

Based on Democrats timeline, the Internal Revenue Service may start issuing stimulus checks of $1,400 to Americans earning less than $75,000 by late March. To calculate your potential stimulus check, read here.

In coordination with our Senate committees, the House is finalizing the legislation for consideration on the House floor later this week, Schumer said in a letter to colleagues on Friday.

The New York Democrat said that leaders are still open to suggestions and ideas, and noted the bill has already incorporated proposals from Democrats and Republicans alike. The Senate is on track to send a robust $1.9 trillion package to the presidents desk before the March 14 expiration of unemployment insurance benefits. We will meet this deadline, he added.

Democrats are pushing the bill through the annual budget reconciliation process, which only requires a simple majority vote  in other words, it wont require Republican support to make it to the White House. In the case of a tie in the Senate, where Republicans and some conservative Democrats have expressed concerns about the bills price tag, Vice President Kamala Harris can cast the deciding vote.

On top of the stimulus checks, Bidens plan includes hundreds of billions of dollars for vaccine distribution and to help reopen schools, $35 billion to help local governments boost small businesses and a $25 billion restaurant grant program, and more than $300 billion to help state and local governments recover from a crippling decline in tax revenue since the pandemic began.

The provisions in the emergency COVID relief package  to keep families out of poverty, safely reopen schools, distribute the vaccine, crush the virus and more  are broadly popular with the American people and Republicans should not oppose or delay this much needed assistance, Schumer said. If Republicans are ready to work with Democrats on constructive amendments that will improve the bill, we are ready to work. However, we must not allow Republican obstructionism to deter us from our mission of delivering help to Americans who desperately need this relief. Make no mistake: the era of Mitch McConnells legislative graveyard is over.

The package also expands the child tax credit, a proposal from Ways and Means Chairman Richard Neals office, extends federal additional unemployment benefits through Aug. 29 and increases the weekly supplemental jobless aid to $400.

This is a once-in-a-century health and economic crisis.



Senate Democrats are working to quickly pass the American Rescue Plan and deliver urgent, bold relief to Americans nationwide.  Chuck Schumer (@SenSchumer) February 21, 2021

House Republican leaders are urging their caucus to vote against the package.

According to C-SPAN, GOP leaders in a recent memo blasted the bill as House Speaker Nancy Pelosis Payoff to Progressives Act. They argued that Democrats have rejected hundreds of Republican amendments. They say the bill fails to ensure taxpayer dollars do not go toward abortions; causes unemployment by calling for an increase to the minimum wage; and includes a bailout for blue states.

In fact, the state and local aid included in the bill goes to all states regardless of the political affiliation of its leaders.

Pelosi responded by citing polling showing nearly three-quarters of Americans, including a majority of Republicans outside Congress, support the bill.

Americans need help. House Republicans dont care, she said.

Ahead of the House's expected vote late next week on $1.9T COVID-19 relief reconciliation bill, House GOP leaders are contacting their members, whipping against "Pelosis Payoff to Progressives Act":



"Leadership recommends a NO vote." pic.twitter.com/1LSdNMZsvq  Craig Caplan (@CraigCaplan) February 19, 2021

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It was one year ago that Italy became the first country outside Asia to confirm locally transmitted coronavirus infections.

Last year on Feb. 20, Italy confirmed its first COVID-19 infection -- in a 38-year-old man from Codogno. Hours later, a 77-year-old roofer from Vo, in the Veneto region died, becoming the first known fatality from a locally transmitted case in the West. Since then, the virus has circled the globe, infecting more than 111 million people and killing more than 2.4 million.

Pope Francis and Italian President Sergio Mattarella marked the anniversary Saturday by establishing the National Day of Health Care Personnel, an annual day to honor doctors, nurses and other medical providers.

Francis described the health care workers' dedication as "a vaccine against individualism and selfishness" that "demonstrates the most authentic desire that dwells in the heart of man -- be near to those who have the most need and give of oneself for them."

Mattarella said the heroic efforts of the medical workers helped "to avoid the epidemic's precipitating into an irreversible catastrophe."

As nations struggle to vaccinate their populations against the coronavirus-caused disease, New York City finds its vaccine supply down to fewer than 1,000 doses. "Delayed shipments have put our entire vaccination effort at a standstill," Avery Cohen, a spokesman for Mayor Bill de Blasio posted on Twitter Saturday.


NEW YORK (AP) - Gov. Andrew Cuomo says the first case of the South African coronavirus variant has been discovered in a New York state resident.

Cuomo said in a news release Sunday that the South African variant case involved a resident of Nassau County.

"We continue to see a reduction in positivity and hospitalizations throughout the state, which is good news, and this progress is allowing us to reopen the valve on our economy even further," said Cuomo. "But with the discovery of a case of the South African variant in the state, it's more important than ever for New Yorkers to stay vigilant, wear masks, wash hands and stay socially distanced. We are in a race right now  between our ability to vaccinate and these variants which are actively trying to proliferate  and we will only win that race if we stay smart and disciplined."

A Connecticut resident who had been hospitalized in New York City was found to have the South African variant last week.

The states latest COVID-19 numbers show a continuation of the post-holiday season downward trend in hospitalizations and deaths.

New York recorded 75 COVID-19 deaths on Saturday, the first time since Dec. 16 that the daily death toll was under 100.
Former US President Donald Trump had offered North Korean leader Kim Jong Un a ride home on Air Force One after a summit in Hanoi 2 years ago, claims a new documentary by BBC. It further informed that despite Trump's invite, no further substantive progress was made, with the peace process deadlocked after the pair's meeting in Hanoi broke up over sanctions relief and what Pyongyang would be willing to give up in return.

READ | 'Donald Trump Wont Ever Be Back On Twitter', Says CFO Ned Segal

Reports: Trump had offered a ride to North Korea leader

If Kim had accepted Donald Trump's offer, it would have put the North Korean leader and some of his entourage inside the then US President's official aircraft and seeing that aircraft entering North Korean airspace would have caused multiple security issues.

READ | What's Expected As Donald Trump Set To Give First Post-White House Speech

Matthew Pottinger, the top Asia expert on Trump's National Security Council had said, "President Trump offered Kim a lift home on Air Force One. The President knew that Kim had arrived on a multi-day train ride through China into Hanoi and the President said: 'I can get you home in two hours if you want.' Kim declined."

READ | Donald Trump Jr. Backs Ted Cruz' Cancun Trip, Says 'Texas Storm Guv's Job'; Makes Blunder

For his first summit with Trump in Singapore in 2018, Kim hitched a ride on an Air China plane, with Beijing keen to keep North Korea -- whose existence as a buffer state keeps US troops in the South well away from China's borders -- firmly within its sphere of influence. During the Singapore summit, Trump gave Kim a glimpse inside his presidential state car -- a $1.5 million Cadillac also known as "The Beast" -- in a show of their newly friendly rapport.

READ | What's Next For Donald Trump As After Acquittal, His Path To Presidency Becomes Clear
New Delhi: The Delhi Police on Monday (February 22, 2021) arrested Jaspreet Singh, who has been accused of being part of the violence on Republic Day in the national capital.

Jaspreet Singh, 29, a resident of Delhi, was reportedly seen climbing one of the tombs located at both sides of the rampart at Red Fort during the Republic Day violence. He was also seen in a video behind Maninder Singh, who was arrested on February 17.

According to ANI news agency, the Delhi Police recovered two 4.3 feet swords from Jaspreet Singh's house. Besides this, a video showing him swinging swords at Red Fort on January 26 has also been found on his mobile phone.

This is to be noted that the farmer unions had called a tractor rally on Republic Day in Delhi, which had turned violent when the protesters and police personnel clashed. The protestors had also entered the Red Fort and some of them even hoisted religious flags on historic monument's domes and the flagstaff at the ramparts.

Thousands of farmers have been protesting on the borders of the national capital since late November 2020, against the three newly enacted agricultural laws.

Farmers have been protesting against these three farm laws: Farmers` Produce Trade and Commerce (Promotion and Facilitation) Act, 2020; the Farmers Empowerment and Protection) Agreement on Price Assurance and Farm Services Act 2020 and the Essential Commodities (Amendment) Act, 2020.

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My 70-year-old maternal aunt is unmarried and has a house in which she, my mother, younger brother and I have been staying together since 2002. The aunt is my maternal grandfathers sisters daughter. My mother has an elder brother too. My aunt inherited the house from her mother. What will be the status of the house when she passes away? Will my mother still have the right to stay in it? My mother and aunt have an either survivor bank account" and locker, in which they keep their money and valuables. What will happen to that account in case of my aunts death?

Name withheld on request

We assume that all of you are Hindu by faith. Testamentary succession for Hindus is governed by the provisions of the Indian Succession Act, 1925, and intestate succession is governed by the provisions of Hindu Succession Act, 1956.

Note that land inherited from a biological (or adopted) mother (in the present case, your aunt inherited the house from her mother) is not considered ancestral property. Therefore, for the purposes of this response, the property is classified as self-acquired and that title to the house rests solely in her name.

In the event your maternal aunt passes away without executing a will, given that she is unmarried, the property may devolve between heirs of her father, if any.

In the absence of any heirs of her father, it will devolve equally between your mother and her elder brother only (as per Section 15 of the Hindu Succession Act).

Therefore, if the heirs of your maternal aunts father are alive, they would be legitimate heirs of the property after the death of your maternal aunt (in case she does not execute a valid will).

In this case, your mother cannot claim a right to the house. However, if your maternal aunts fathers heirs are not alive, your mother would be entitled to the house along with her elder brother. In other words, your mother will not be the sole legatee of the house.

Accordingly, we strongly recommend that your aunt execute a will in respect of the property. A valid will may be executed by your maternal aunt in the presence of two independent witnesses.

A medical certificate can be obtained from your maternal aunts doctor proving her sound mental capacity. This would be helpful in the future, if the validity of the will were to be contested.

Additionally, a will does not require registration for it to be valid. If your maternal aunt is desirous of solely bequeathing the house in favour of your mother, she would be only able to do so by way of a will.

Further, in relation to an either surviving bank account" and locker jointly held by your mother and aunt, both will stand transferred in favour of your mother. A provision for the same can be made in the will as well.

Rishabh Shroff is partner, Cyril Amarchand Mangaldas. Queries and views at mintmoney@livemint.com

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NUCLEAR, BIOLOGICAL AND CHEMICAL WEAPONS

February 21, 2021: In northern North Korea (Chagang Province) it was recently revealed that a new (late 2020) Ganggye Chemical Factory for producing paint and varnishes was actually producing chemical weapons. This was revealed because the factory was next to the Changja River. The truth about the factory was revealed when people living downstream along the Changja River noted lots of dead fish in the river. Since people get drinking water from and wash clothes in that river this caused some alarm. Complaints were made to local officials and police, who also use the river water, and the initial response was that production of paint and varnish was causing the dead fish. Then some locals who worked at or near the factory revealed that Ganggye Chemical Factory was one of those facilities that really produced chemical weapons and called itself something else because chemical weapons are top-secret items and producing them so close to the Chinese border offends the Chinese. Because the factory is close to the border the news quickly jumped the border because North Koreans living near the border often have Chinese cell phones that can connect with a Chinese cell tower if the user is close enough to the border. This has always been dangerous because it is strictly forbidden and police have an added incentive to catch those with cell phones because they can demand a large bribe from those wanting to avoid arrest and time in a labor camp. The calls are usually to friends, family or business associates in China or anywhere in the world. North Korean cell phones only allow calls with in North Korea and these are monitored by the police. The secret police have special equipment for monitoring Chinese cell phones and that soon revealed that many North Koreans now knew about what Ganggye Chemical Factory produced despite the locals being ordered to keep quiet about that and the dead fish. Anyone who had recently eaten river fish was ordered to appear for a medical exam. By early 2021 North Korean leaders were mainly worried about international condemnation for exposing civilians to toxic byproducts from a chemical weapons plant.

As recently as 2018 North Korea was subjected to international condemnation for their production of chemical and biological weapons. That process began in 2018 when a North Korean soldier who recently defected to South Korea was found to have anthrax anti-bodies in his blood. This came at about the same time as rumors of North Korea planning to equip its long-range ballistic missiles with warheads containing anthrax. The reality is that anthrax does not make a very effective biological weapon, but it is an easy one to obtain and hardy enough to survive delivery via ballistic missile. Moreover, anthrax is not contagious but it does occur naturally in many parts of the world and many people acquire immunity by surviving exposure (not uncommon) or receiving a vaccination (less common).

North Korea could not afford to vaccinate the entire population against Anthrax, or even all its troops. Only those assigned to guard facilities storing Anthrax filled bombs, shells or warheads, or manufacturing facilities would need the vaccination. If used in a combat zone troops moving into the contaminated area would need vaccination to avoid getting sick or dying from the anthrax.

What was not reported was any more details of the North Korean soldier with the Anthrax anti-bodies. That was done to prevent North Korea from figuring out what South Korea knew of their biological and radiological weapons programs. It is known that South Korea gives defectors thorough physical exams, including world class analysis of blood and tissue samples. Over 30,000 North Korean have managed to reach South Korea, most of them in the last twenty years and all have been thoroughly examined. All South Korea will reveal is that the data has been very useful, not only in treating the defectors for the many infections and maladies they have, but also for getting an idea of what, so to speak, is in the air, water and soil up there over time and where.

Another item of information that became public in the last few years involved recent defectors who showed signs of radiation poisoning. Since they came from the area where North Korea tests its nuclear weapons underground, it indicates that rumors of massive radiation leaks were true. The Chinese certainly believed it and ran TV and print ads warning citizens near the border to get checked if they showed certain symptoms. There were also illustrations on how to clean oneself to avoid accumulating enough exposure to develop symtims.

There was another North Korea biological weapon scare in 2015 when a PR video of North Korean leader Kim Jong Un visiting a recently refurbished North Korean Pyongyang Biotechnical Institute became available. Western analysts noted in the background there was some industrial equipment for making large quantities of new biological agents. North Korea said it was doing some research on biological pesticides for some local crops. But that expensive equipment could make biological weapons like militarized Anthrax. North Korea denies that is the case but it was noted that sanctions never banned pesticides or medicine. However North Korea could always have large quantities of some new pesticide made in China much more cheaply than doing it themselves. Then again, a lot of what North Korea does makes no economic sense and they keep doing it anyway. That is likely the case with this Anthrax scare. Then again, there is some danger and whatever is produced in the new Ganggye Chemical Factory appears to be more dangerous than anthrax.

Even the most potent militarized Anthrax isn't that powerful. We know this from a military Anthrax accident in 1979. A Russian biological warfare plant outside the city of Sverdlosk accidentally released some militarized Anthrax. Thousands of people in the area were infected. But fewer than a hundred died. What was particularly discouraging to Russian military bioweapon scientists was that only one of the dead was of military age and he was already ill from other ailments. All of those that died from the Anthrax were old and usually sick. All the victims had weakened immune systems. Many had lung ailments. The Russians initially denied that there was an accident and did not treat the locals for Anthrax. Later they said the deaths were caused by people eating meat infected with Anthrax, which is a common way for people to die from Anthrax. It was only after the Soviet Union fell apart in 1991 that Western researchers were able to get into the area and interview survivors and discover that people with normal immune systems were able to fight off an Anthrax infection.

North Koreans know about the shortcomings of anthrax and other chemical weapons and now the world, not just people along the Changja River or across the border in China, wants to know just what the Ganggye Chemical Factory is producing.
Tehrans broad strategy regarding the U.S. is to seek to push new President Joe Biden back into a non-renegotiated nuclear deal, which favours Iran, whilst at the same time allowing Iran is own backdoor to continue to export its own crude oil and other related products. The past week has seen significant developments on both sides of this equation, with Iran dramatically sharpening its nuclear threat but also putting into place one of the last key pieces that will allow it to export crude directly to its principal oil markets in Asia.

In terms of its nuclear threat, Iran has been waiting since former president Donald Trump unilaterally pulled the U.S. out of the Joint Comprehensive Plan of Action (JCPOA) for a new  and potentially softer  Democrat to take his place, just as they were advised to by John Kerry, Barack Obamas former Secretary of State, according to Trumps former National Security Advisor, John Bolton. Since the new man has been in the Oval Office, Iran has been gradually increasing the pressure on him to re-join the original JCPOA. Even before Biden was formally sworn in as president, Irans Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps (IRGC) seized the 20,000 metric ton South Korean oil tanker the Hankuk Chemi and moved it to an Iranian port between Qeshm and Larak Island under the pretext of the vessel being responsible for oil pollution. More seriously as far as global implications were concerned were the subsequent comments from Irans Foreign Minister, Javad Zarif, that Iran has restarted 20 per cent uranium enrichment at its underground Fordow nuclear facility. This is in direct non-compliance with the terms of the JCPOA, as initially agreed in 2015 and then formally implemented on 16 January 2016. Pointedly, Zarif added: Our measures are fully reversible upon full compliance [with the JCPOA] by all.

Also last week Irans President, Hassan Rouhani, that the U.S. should abide by United Nations Security Council Resolution 2231  which was a multi-lateral 20 July 2015 resolution endorsing the JCPOA  and added that the U.S. should abide by the international regulations. The implementation of rules, laws, obligations and international treaties is one of the human and political duties of all governments, therefore we hope that they [the U.S. government] follow the law and we will be able to conduct our interactions in better condition in the world, especially in the trade sector, he underlined. Related: The Texas Cold Blast Was A Warning To Hydrogen Investors



Shortly after Rouhanis comments, Irans Foreign Ministry Spokesman, Saeed Khatibzadeh, stated that the country will later this month stop abiding by the IAEAs Additional Protocol to the NPT [the Treaty on the Non-Proliferation of Nuclear Weapons which came into force on 15 May 1974] Safeguards Agreement if the other parties to the JCPOA (comprising the U.S., U.K., France, Russia, China, and Germany) do not fulfil their commitments. He added, though, that Iran will continue its cooperation with the IAEA and stressed that all of the three European signatories of the JCPOA should re-commit to the obligations of the deal. Critically, and signalling that Iran will stick to the original draft of the JCPOA agreed  and absolutely not renegotiate a newer (and certainly harder) version that would almost certainly include provisions against missile testing, he added: Missiles and [the] JCPOA are two completely different issues.

Following on from all of these implied and direct threats, Iran further last week informed the IAEA that it plans to install more of its advanced IR-2m centrifuges at its huge underground uranium enrichment plant at Natanz, according to a number of sources. Specifically, Iran told the IAEA that it would add install two additional cascades of 174 IR-2m centrifuges at the fuel enrichment plan (FEP) to enrich up to five per cent U-235. This will bring the total number of cascades of IR-2m centrifuges either planned, being installed, or operating in FEP to six, according to IAEA data. This is in addition to the 20 per cent+ enrichment also now occurring at the Fordow Plant. With these [enrichment] developments and the missile delivery capabilities possible as a result of the [25-year] deal with China, the breakout time [the time it will take Iran to produce nuclear weapons-purity uranium of 90 per cent] for Iran and the time for it to be able to deliver these [nuclear] weapons has significantly reduced from a year ago, a Moscow-based source close to the Iranian government told OilPrice.com last week.

The IRGC  which is now basically in control of foreign policy in Iran, with the full backing of the Supreme Leader, Ali Khamenei  believes that the U.S. has limited options available to it to counter these moves by Iran, with major military options severely constrained by Irans closer relationships with China and Russia. Aside from the specific military elements connected to the 25-year deal with China, it should not be forgotten that Russia too plays a part when necessary in a three-sided relationship. Russia sent a reminder of this last week with joint naval drills in the northern part of the Indian Ocean. Whilst notionally characterised as being aimed at contributing to maritime security and combating piracy and terrorism, the message to the U.S. was very clear indeed, with the exercises comprising naval and air units of the Iran Army Navy and IRGC Navy, and a number of Russian navy vessels and air support. Later this year, OilPrice.com understands, there will be a much bigger set of manoeuvres held off Iran, featuring both Russia and China, in an echo of the joint naval (and air support) drills held in December 2019 between the three countries. As Iranian Navy Rear Admiral, Hossein Khanzadi, stated in November 2019 just ahead of these drills: A joint war game between several countries, whether on land, at sea, or in the air, indicates a remarkable expansion of cooperationand the manoeuvres carry the same message to the world, that these three countries have reached a meaningful strategic point in their relations. Related: Gas Companies Hit the Jackpot On Deep Freeze

On the other side of the equation, Iran is in the very final stage of completing its game-changing Goreh-Jask pipeline project with a major advance last week being the loading in the Khorramshahr Industrial Yard of the crucial single point mooring (SPM), submarine multi-lane, and ancillary equipment required in the Jask Oil Terminal Project. This, together with the earlier commencement of offshore pipe-laying operations puts the entire project on rack for completion by the end of the current Iranian calendar year ending on 20 March this year. After the completion of this first phase of the project, the Goreh-Jask pipeline will begin full pumping tests aimed at ascertaining its capacity to transfer 350,000 barrels per day (bpd) of light, heavy, and ultra-heavy crude oil through the 1,100 km-long, 46 inch diameter pipeline that runs from the Goreh oil terminal in the north-west Bushehr Province to Mobarak Mount in the western Jask region along the Sea of Oman.

After the initial testing of the first phase infrastructure has been completed, with 350,000 bpd transferred, the figure will be increased to a daily delivery capacity 460,000 bpd of heavy crude oil and 254,000 bpd of light crude oil to export terminals. Phase 2 will involve the transfer more than one million barrels of crude oil to export terminals. The oil will then be stored once it has arrived in Jask in one of the 20 storage tanks each capable of storing 500,000 barrels of oil, in the first phase (totalling 10 million barrels) for later loading on to very large crude carriers (VLCCs) headed from the Gulf of Oman and into the Arabian Sea and then on to the Indian Ocean. The second phase will see an expansion to an overall storage capacity of 30 million barrels.

Over and above the technical details, the key point is that the pipeline will allow Iran another method by which it can export huge amounts of oil without being prey to U.S. sanctions and it will also allow Iran to do this whilst at the same time causing chaos for a third of the rest of the worlds oil shipments through blockading the Strait of Hormuz, should it wish to do so again. Additionally positive for Iran is that having a huge oil storage capacity available just a short direct sea journey away from Pakistan and then on into China is likely to result in the final go-ahead for the construction of the Iran-Pakistan oil and gas pipeline, and then put further pressure on the developing India-UAE-U.S. relationship as India may well think that resuscitating the Iran-Pakistan-India pipeline is preferable to the current plans with the UAE. It also means that Iran can send oil supplies  and anything else it wants in the tankers  to the Houthi faction in Yemen to keep a constant threat to the Saudi southern flank and also to militia groupings in Somalia and Kenya.

By Simon Watkins for Oilprice.com

More Top Reads From Oilprice.com:
Local appointments are once again impacted by a statewide structural issue that led to a shortage of second doses of the Moderna vaccine.

The Allentown Health Bureau on Monday announced that it has enough supply to cover Mondays second-dose appointments this week. But anyone scheduled to receive their second shot of Moderna vaccine later this week at the Allentown Fairgrounds Agri-Plex has been rescheduled for next week.

In a news release midday Monday, the city health bureau said it is notifying clients who provided an email address and is attempting to call others.

If your second-dose appointment was scheduled for:

Tuesday, Feb. 23 or Wednesday, Feb. 24, it has been rescheduled for the same time and place on Thursday, March 4.

Thursday, Feb. 25 or Friday, Feb. 26, it has been rescheduled for the same time and place on Wednesday, March 3.

The Moderna vaccine requires two doses to achieve its full effect. The second shot can be administered up to 42 days after the first, the CDC says.

Allentown does not have any first-dose appointments scheduled. City spokesperson Mike Moore said those are not scheduled until the vaccine is in hand.

Last week, the state health department announced that it will be short on Moderna doses after some providers for weeks took shots that should have been reserved for second doses and mistakenly gave them out as first doses  the result of apparent miscommunication on shipments and supply between the state and providers.

Supplies of the Pfizer vaccine, which also requires two doses, have not been affected, health officials said.

The health department estimated that it should be able to compensate for the Moderna shortage within three weeks. But the error may result in 100,000 appointments or more being rescheduled as supplies are shuffled to make up for the shortfall.

Vaccine supplies and appointments have also been disrupted by a series of recent winter storms.

Our journalism needs your support. Please subscribe today to lehighvalleylive.com.

Steve Novak may be reached at snovak@lehighvalleylive.com.
A jealous ex-husband who bound his former wife with gaffer tape, choked her and stabbed her after discovering she had remarried has been jailed for 15 years.

Javad Arabhalvaei, 45, still regarded Parissa Ali-Kaei as his 'property' and flew into a rage when he learned of her new Iranian husband after secretly recording her calls.

He crept up behind her and stuck the tape over her mouth before dragging her to the floor and wrapping his legs around her neck in a choke-hold.

He also stabbed her once with a kitchen knife with a 20cm blade through her left shoulder.

Arabhalvaei then told Ms Ali-Kaei that she 'deserved it'.

Ms Ali-Kaei told the court she was 'about to die' but managed to grab his testicles and wriggle free of his grasp.

Javad Arabhalvaei, 45, still regarded Parissa Ali-Kaei as his 'property' and flew into a rage when he learned of her new Iranian husband after secretly recording her calls

He crept up behind her and stuck the tape over her mouth before dragging her to the floor and wrapping his legs around her neck in a choke-hold. He was today jailed for 15 years at the Old Bailey (pictured)

Arabhalvaei had turned up the sound system at their flat in Camden Town, north London, during the August 20 attack to try muffle her screams.

But the mobile phone he had slipped under the bed to record her calls proved to be a crucial piece of evidence in the trial as it recorded the entire attack - including moments where Arabhalvaei said: 'I will kill you tonight'.

A jury convicted him of wounding with intent - but he was cleared of a further count of attempted murder.

Judge Mark Dennis told him: 'This was a shocking and unforgivable display of violence. There has been to this day, no true remorse by you for what you did.

'I note that in the aftermath your words to Parissa, injured as she was in front of you in the living room, were: ''You deserved it. You deserved it.''

'To the police, who arrived a few minutes later, you said- ''I attacked her; she was cheating on me'' - as if to justify your actions.

'You still regard yourself as a victim and still maintain that you acted throughout in self-defence, persisting with an account which was rejected by the verdict of the jury.'

Judge Mark Dennis QC jailed him for 15 years and made him subject of a restraining order prohibiting him from contacting his Ms Ali-Kaei or her relatives until further order.

Ms Ali-Kaei had sobbed as she recalled the events of the attack at the Old Bailey.

He also stabbed her once with a kitchen knife with a 20cm blade through her left shoulder. Arabhalvaei then told Ms Ali-Kaei that she 'deserved it'

She said: 'He had opened the tape and it was ready to be put on my mouth. He came from behind me and as soon as he entered the bedroom he put it on my mouth.

'I had no time to turn around and see what had happened. While I was on the floor he was on top of me. He was trying to bite me on the top of my shoulder.

'I was trying to defend myself so I just tried to push his face away and that is why I injured my hand.

'He was trying to strangle me and I was trying to defend myself. His fingers were inside my mouth and my lips were tearing apart. The only defence I had was biting his hand.

'I was about to die and the only thing I could do was grab his testicles.'

During the trial Arabhalvaei claimed he was only trying to calm his wife down during the row.

James Thacker, prosecuting, said: 'This case involves the brutal attack of the defendant's ex-partner, Parissa Ali-Kaei, in her own home that she had shared with the defendant.

'The prosecution case is that the defendant had discovered that his ex-partner had remarried another man in Iran but continued to consider that Parissa remained his property to control and do with as he saw fit.

'If he could not have her, no-one else could. He intended to kill her or cause her really serious harm.

'He used gaffer tape across her mouth to prevent her from calling for help and said ''I will kill you tonight. I'm not going to let you go like this.''

'He repeatedly punched her face and the sides of her head. He used his thighs and knees as a vice to hold her head in place whilst he continued to use his fists upon her head.

'He forced his fingers inside her mouth and attempted to rip her mouth open whilst repeating the phrase 'tonight I will kill you'.

'He said: ''You can't go anywhere. The door is locked. Nobody can hear you.'' Parissa opened her bedroom window and was shouting for help.

'The defendant stabbed her in the back. He attempted to stab her again but the blade separated from the handle.'

Jurors were told that during the fight Arabhalvaei revealed to his wife he had been secretly recording her under her bed with his phone.

'Unfortunately for him he didn't know that the police would attend and seize the phones. The entire incident is recorded,' Mr Thacker added.

'The defendant remained silent when he was interviewed later at the police station.

'He replied ''no comment''. However, after his arrest at the scene he said ''whatever I say is not going to be acceptable in this country because this country is different, the culture, everything''.'

Judge Dennis said the defendant's 'dangerousness' will be considered ahead of sentence.

The judge said: 'This is an offence of serious violence, albeit first offence. There is a background. Dangerousness would have to be considered.'

Arabhalvaei, of Finchley Road, Camden, denied attempted murder and an alternative charge of wounding with intent.

He was cleared of attempted murder and convicted of an alternative of wounding with intent.

Judge Dennis jailed him for 15 years.

New Delhi:

A close associate of senior JD(U) leader Sharad Yadav on Wednesday hinted that the latter could form a new party.

However, K C Tyagi, JD(U) principal general secretary and another close aide of Yadav, dubbed it as rumour.

Rift has emerged between Yadav and JD(U) president Nitish Kumar over joining hands with the BJP after pulling out from the coalition.

JD(U), RJD and Congress had formed Grand Alliance and ruled the state for 20 months.

Vijay Verma, a senior JD(U) leader and a trusted aide of Yadav, asserted, Sharadji is in touch with old friends and is pondering over the political situation. Forming a new party is one of the options to which a serious thought is being given.

Yadav had emphatically said that he would continue to be part of the coalition of secular parties and had met Congress leader Gulam Nabi Azad and CPI(M) leader Sitaram Yechury, he told PTI over phone from Madhepura.

Verma said that the veteran socialist leader has ruled out joining the NDA government at the Centre as a minister.

Asked who are the others to whom Yadav has spoken, he refused to take names but said his (Yadavs) social network is widespread.

JD(U) MPs Ali Anwar and M P Veerendra Kumar, who opposed the decision to go with the BJP, have met Yadav over the issue.

Yadav, who is presently a JD(U) Rajya Sabha member, had kept silent over Kumars decision to dump the Grand Alliance over the graft case against Lalu Prasads son and former Bihar deputy chief minister Tejaswi Prasad Yadav.

Also Read | JDU-BJP alliance in Bihar: Sharad Yadav breaks silence, terms Nitish Kumar's actions unfortunate

He had later publicly expressed unhappiness over joining hands with the BJP.

Peoples mandate was not for it (joining hands with the BJP), Yadav had said outside the Parliament on July 31 and termed the disintegration of the Grand Alliance unpleasant and unfortunate.

Bihar JD(U) spokesman Ajay Alok dismissed media reports of Yadav being angry with the party.

According to Hindu calender after current Sawan season comes Bhado and then Sharad...There is no anguish anywhere, he said.

Tyagi, told PTI over phone, Yadav had expressed surprise (over decision to join hands with the BJP) but never said I protest against this.

I have seen Sharadji closely for the past 40 years and know that he had parted ways with Lalu Prasad on the issue of corruption...How can he go with Lalu? he asked.

Kumar had on Monday said, It is not necessary that everybody should always agree on everything. One can have divergent views. The decision to break the Grand Alliance was taken by Bihar JD(U) at its executive meeting which I had to abide by.

The JD(U) is registered with the Election Commission as a regional party in Bihar and hence going against the decision of the state party was not possible for me, he had said and added that the JD(U) national executive meeting here August 19 would deliberate on the issue in detail.

Also Read: Sharad Yadav meets Rahul Gandhi, calls meeting of disgruntled JD(U) leaders

RJD chief Lalu Prasad, who has launched a blistering attack against Kumar after the disintegration of the alliance, in a bid to utilise the situation had appealed to Yadav to come out from there (JD-U) and join hands with secular parties to protect the country from communal forces.

He had, however, clarified that Yadav has not been requested to join the RJD but be part of a country-wide movement against communal forces.

Prasad has also invited Yadav for a RJD rally at Patna on August 27.

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MILTON  The over-the-road truck driver accused of killing a woman at an Interstate 80 ramp earlier this month is scheduled to be returned to Union County on Tuesday to face charges of homicide and abuse of corpse.

Tracy Ray Rollins Jr., 28, of Dallas, Texas, is to be flown from Connecticut, where he was arrested, to the Williamsport Regional Airport and then taken before a district judge in Mifflinburg for arraignment, state police say.

A district judge cannot set bail on a homicide charge so Rollins will be committed to the county prison.

Rollins, who waived extradition, is charged with killing Rebecca Landrith, 47, a model who lived in New York City.

Her body was found just before 7 a.m. on Feb. 7 by a Pennsylvania Department of Transportation worker along the I-80 eastbound exit ramp at the Mile Run interchange near Loganton.

She sustained multiple gunshot wounds to her face, neck and chest area plus two on her hands that state police called defensive.

Eighteen bullets were removed from Landriths body during an autopsy, the arrest affidavit states.

The victims brother, George Landrith, on Sunday gave state police investigators high marks not only for arresting a suspect but in the way they have treated the grieving family.

Police have made it clear social media inferences that she was to blame for running around with truckers have no bearing on their investigation, he said.

They have told the family their daughter and sister was a victim and nothing she had done caused her to be killed, he said.

Family members recently expressed their appreciation to investigators in person when they traveled to Milton state police barracks, Landrith said.

A closeup of a memorial that marks the general area along Route I-80 in Union County where Rebecca Landrith was found dead Feb. 7. It was created by her family.

They also went to the Mile Run interchange and built a small memorial that includes a cross at the approximate location where the body was found, he said.

Her sister Mary wrote this on the cross: Rebecca, you are so dearly loved and missed. I love you with all my heart. Love, Mary.

Landrith has been cremated and plans are to hold a family memorial service sometime in the future, her brother said.

Rollins told investigators, according to the arrest affidavit, he had met a woman named Leslie at a truck stop near Milford, Connecticut, and she had been traveling with him.

Information was obtained from Milford police that Landrith had made hotel reservations in December under the name Leslie Myers, the document states.

According to Rollins, Leslie accompanied him to Maine, back to Connecticut, then into New York and Wisconsin where he picked up a load to be delivered in Maine.

Although Landriths body contained no identification, a note that contained Rollins name, telephone number and email address was found in one of her pockets, investigators said.

Besides being a professional model, Rebecca Landrith was a finalist for Miss Manhattan in 2014, an accomplished violinist and a champion for numerous charities. She was found dead along Route I-80 on Feb. 7.

Using that information, receipts found in her pockets and Rollins cell phone records traced his travel from Wisconsin to Maine with a stop at the Mile Run interchange from 12:11 until 12:26 a.m. on Feb. 6.

The same records showed Rollins was at the Loganton interchange just to the west between 12:48 p.m. Feb. 5 and 12:10 a.m.

Police said it appears the shooting occurred in the cab of Rollins truck because of the discovery there of brain and flesh-like material, bullet holes and casings.

Landrith was born in Alexandria, Virginia, the youngest of five children.

Besides being a professional model, she was a finalist for Miss Manhattan in 2014, an accomplished violinist and a champion for numerous charities.
Credit: Rost9/Shutterstock

When President Bill Clinton took to a White House lectern 20 years ago to announce that the human genome sequence had been completed, he hailed the breakthrough as "the most important, most wondrous map ever produced by humankind." The scientific achievement was placed on par with the moon landings.

It was hoped that having access to the sequence would transform our understanding of human disease within 20 years, leading to better treatment, detection and prevention. The famous journal article that shared our genetic ingredients with the world, published in February 2001, was welcomed as a "Book of Life" that could revolutionize medicine by showing which of our genes led to which illnesses.

But in the two decades since, the sequence has underwhelmed. The potential of our newfound genetic self-knowledge has not been fulfilled. Instead, what has emerged is a new frontier in genetic research: new questions for a new batch of researchers to answer.

Today, the gaps between our genes, and the switches that direct genetic activity, are emerging as powerful determinants behind how we look and how we get illperhaps deciding up to 90% of what makes us different from one another. Understanding this "genetic dark matter," using the knowledge provided by the human genome sequence, will help us to push further into our species' genetic secrets.

Unraveled code

Cracking the human genetic code took 13 years, US$2.7 billion (1.9 billion) and hundreds of scientists peering through over 3 billion base pairs in our DNA. Once mapped, our genetic data helped projects like the Cancer Dependency Map and the Genome Wide Association Studies better understand the diseases that afflict humans.

But some results were disappointing. Back in 2000, as it was becoming clear the genome sequence was imminent, the genomics community began excitedly placing bets predicting how many genes the human genome would contain. Some bets were as high as 300,000, others as low as 40,000. For context, the onion genome contains 60,000 genes.

Dispiritingly, it turned out that our genome contains roughly the same number of genes as a mouse or a fruit fly (around 21,000), and three times less than an onion. Few would argue that humans are three times less complex than an onion. Instead, this discovery suggested that the number of genes in our genome had little to do with our complexity or our difference from other species, as had been previously assumed.

The announcement was first made in a joint press conference between President Bill Clinton and Prime Minister Tony Blair in 2000.

Great responsibility

Access to the human genome sequence also presented the scientific community with a huge number of important ethical questions,underscored in 2000 by Prime Minister Tony Blair when he cautioned: "With the power of this discovery comes the responsibility to use it wisely."

Ethicists were particularly concerned about questions of "genetic discrimination," like whether our genes could be used against us as evidence in a court of law, or as a basis for exclusion: a new kind of twisted hierarchy determined by our biology.

Some of these concerns were addressed by legislation against genetic discrimination, like the U.S. Genetic Information Nondiscrimination Act of 2008. Other concerns, like those around so-called "designer babies," are still being put to the test today.

In 2018, human embryos were gene edited by a Chinese scientist, using a method called CRISPR which allows targeted sections of DNA to be snipped off and replaced with others. The scientist involved was subsequently jailed, suggesting that there remains little appetite for human genetic experimentation.

On the other hand, to deny available genetic treatments to willing patients may one day be considered unethicaljust as some countries have chosen to legalize euthanasia on ethical grounds. Questions remain about how humanity should handle its genetic data.

Disease diversions

With human gene editing still highly contentious, researchers have instead looked to find out which genes may be responsible for humanity's illnesses. Yet when scientists investigated which genes are linked to human diseases, they were met with a surprise. After comparing huge samples of human DNA to find whether certain genes led to certain illnesses, they found that many unexpected sections of the genome were involved in the development of human disease.

The genome contains two sections: the coding genome, and the non-coding genome. The coding genome represents just 1.7% of our DNA, but is responsible for coding the proteins that are the essential building blocks of life. Genes are defined by their ability to code proteins: so 1.7% of our genome consists of genes.

The Chinese scientist He Jiankui announced in 2018 that he had created gene-edited twins. He was jailed in 2019.

The non-coding genome, which makes up the remaining 98.3% of our DNA, doesn't code proteins. This largely unknown section of the genome was once dismissed as "junk DNA," previously thought to be useless. It contained no protein-creating genes, so it was assumed the non-coding genome had little to do with the stuff of life.

Bewilderingly, scientists found that the non-coding genome was actually responsible for the majority of information that impacted disease development in humans. Such findings have made it clear that the non-coding genome is actually far more important than previously thought.

Enhanced capabilities

Within this non-coding part of the genome, researchers have subsequently found short regions of DNA called enhancers: gene switches that turn genes on and off in different tissues at different times. They found that enhancers needed to shape the embryo have changed very little during evolution, suggesting that they represent a major and important source of genetic information.

These studies inspired one of us, Alasdair, to explore the possible role of enhancers in behaviors such as alcohol intake, anxiety and fat intake. By comparing the genomes of mice, birds and humans we identified an enhancer that has changed relatively little over 350 million yearssuggesting its importance in species' survival.

When we used CRISPR genome editing to delete this enhancer from the mouse genome, those mice ate less fat, drank less alcohol, and displayed reduced anxiety. While these may all sound like positive changes, it's likely that these enhancers evolved in calorifically poor environments full of predators and threats. At the time, eating high-calorie food sources such as fat and fermented fruit, and being hyper-vigilant of predators, would have been key for survival. However, in modern society these same behaviors may now contribute to obesity, alcohol abuse and chronic anxiety.

Intriguingly, subsequent genetic analysis of a major human population cohort has shown that changes in the same human enhancer were also associated with differences in alcohol intake and mood. These studies demonstrate that enhancers are not only important for normal physiology and health, but that changing them could result in changes in behavior that have major implications for human health.

Given these new avenues of research, we appear to be at a crossroads in genetic biology. The importance of gene enhancers in health and disease sits uncomfortably with our relative inability to identify and understand them.

And so in order to make the most of the sequencing of the human genome two decades ago, it's clear that research must now look beyond the 1.7% of the genome that encodes proteins. In exploring uncharted genetic territory, like that represented by enhancers, biology may well locate the next swathe of healthcare breakthroughs.

Explore further Study identifies more genes that are likely behind psoriasis and eczema

This article is republished from The Conversation under a Creative Commons license. Read the original article.
A year on, scars of the communal violence that convulsed northeast Delhi last February continue to haunt the kin of victims, many of whom say they remain unaware of the status of police investigations relating to their cases.

The police, however, say they are taking forward over 750 cases registered in connection with the conflagration.

The riots had erupted in northeast Delhi on February 24 last year after clashes between citizenship law supporters and protesters spiralled, leaving at least 53 people dead, around 200 injured and also led to extensive destruction of property, including houses, shops, schools as well as religious places.

As northeast Delhi became the epicentre of violence, clashes also broke out at Jaffrabad, Maujpur, Chandbagh, Khureji Khas, Bhajanpura, Dayalpur, Gokalpuri and other areas.

Nizamuddin, whose younger brother Jamaluddin was killed by a mob in Shiv Vihar, says he has no idea about what is happening in his case.

"They killed my brother near our home in Shiv Vihar. Officials of Delhi Police's Crime Branch call us regarding the investigation, but I have no idea what is happening in the case," Nizamuddin said.

He said he also got injured during the attack and had to be treated with metal plates in his broken hands.

Twenty-year old Salim, a scrap collector, is caught up with the police work related to his elder brother Jameel's killing during the riots and is also taking care of his parents.

"In Jameel's case, police call us to Daryaganj for identification. Apart from this, we have no idea what is happening in our case. After his death, our financial condition has also become very bad," he said.

Trying to control her trembling voice, his mother Noor Jahan says she misses her son everyday.

Jameel (26), who used to work as a labourer, went missing when he had gone out to buy milk. Later, the family got a call from GTB hospital, which said his body was kept there.

Living in Uttarakhand's Paudi Gadhwal, Devender Negi whose brother Dibar Negi's body was disfigured and burnt in Shiv Vihar, is concerned about the poor financial condition of his family.

"The Crime Branch of had called me once but due to the poor financial condition of my family, I could not reach Delhi. Since then, no one has called me or communicated with me. We have less hope in connection with the case as nothing has happened in one year," Negi said.

Negi said he is worried about the poor health of his parents and was looking for an odd job.

Another victim of the riots was IB staffer Ankur Sharma whose body was fished out from a drain close to his house in Chandbagh area.

His brother Ankur Singh said the family has shifted to Ghaziabad now.

"Six months back, we shifted to Ghaziabad as we missed Ankit a lot in that house," he said.

He felt investigation into his brother's murder was progressing "slowly" but expressed faith in the judiciary.

"The government has announced that they will name a road in my brother's name at our village in UP's Muzaffarnagar. They will also install a statue of my brother and a gate with his name inscribed in it. The work of road has started," Ankur stated.

He recalled his brother as a frank man having both Hindus and Muslims as friends.

Among those who lost their lives also include a 42-year-old head constable Ratan Lal. He sustained injury during stone pelting at Gokalpuri and succumbed to injuries.

The then Deputy Commissioner of Police (DCP), Shahdara, Amit Sharma and then ACP (Gokalpuri) Anuj Kumar were also severely injured while trying to quell the protests.

Commissioner S N Shrivastava last week said 755 FIRs were registered in connection with the riots and his force ensured a "free and fair" investigation.

"You are aware of the riots which led to 53 deaths and 581 injuries. Riots reached its peak on February 24 and 25 last year. We made it a point that no one had a grievance that their complaint was not acknowledged," he said.

Delhi Police formed three SITs in its Crime Branch to probe 62 important cases, including 53 cases of murder and rioting.

A separate case was registered to unearth the conspiracy behind the riots, which was investigated by the Special Cell of the Delhi Police while the remaining 692 cases were investigated by northeast district police, police officers said.

"To ensure a free and fair investigation, technology was extensively used and the evidences which are based on science and technology cannot be refuted," the Delhi Police chief had said.

According to the police, overall, 1,818 people have been arrested so far in 400 cases in connection with the riots. They said 342 charge sheets have been filed by Delhi Police by the end of 2020, out of which the trial court has taken cognizance 250 cases.

Of the 1,754 accused arrested, 1,553 have been charge sheeted already, they said.

(Only the headline and picture of this report may have been reworked by the Business Standard staff; the rest of the content is auto-generated from a syndicated feed.)
The state is holding online fireside chats in several languages, opening new sites in Brooklyn and Queens, and continuing to bring pop-up sites to neighborhood organizations, said Rossana Rosado, New Yorks secretary of state and a co-chair of the states Vaccine Equity Task Force.

Still, obstacles remain.

The sign-up system

Walking down Flatbush Avenue in Brooklyn, Derrick Williams, 72, hung up the phone after talking with his daughter, who he said had been trying to get him an appointment. Technology had made it difficult for him to schedule one himself, said Mr. Williams, who immigrated to the United States from Jamaica. Elderly people, we dont understand the phone, the computer, he said, waving his iPhone. They need to make it easier for us.

Many people said they had been stymied by backlogs. Yesenia Abreu, 42, a secretary at Pagan Driving School in Washington Heights in Manhattan, said she had been trying to make an appointment for her aunt. She doesnt know how to deal with technology and the site is always crashing, said Ms. Abreu, who also said the city had not provided enough information in Spanish.

Fear

Many of those interviewed  including people already eligible for the vaccine, like older adults and restaurant delivery workers  said they had not tried to book appointments because they worried about reports of mild side effects, or people who had died after getting the vaccine, even though no direct links have been found.

My family is united on the matter; they dont want me to take the vaccine. Ill stick with wearing a mask, said Ao Gui Qin, 68, an immigrant from China. Ms. Ao has been selling face masks and rubbing alcohol on a sidewalk in Flushing, Queens, for the past year, including, more recently, a $5 mask featuring an image of President Biden.

Twahair Mohammad, who is from Myanmar, stopped to speak with The Times while delivering food in his neighborhood of Elmhurst, Queens. He said he preferred to wait and see if there were side effects of the vaccine. Im scared right now, said Mr. Mohammad, 39, who delivers food for an app on an electric bicycle. I need it, but not right now.

Mariam Diallo, 42, a resident of the South Bronx who is originally from Guinea, said she was not interested in the vaccine and was unlikely to change her mind when her turn came: I dont want to put any bacteria in my body.

Dominic Raab today accused China of 'industrial scale' human rights abuses against its Uighur Muslim minority as he hardens the UK's rhetoric against Beijing.

The Foreign Secretary used a speech to the UN to demand its investigators are allowed in to Xinjiang province, where the Communist regime has been accused of committing genocide.

His speech to the UN Human Rights Council this morning also saw him lash out at the regimes in Russia and Moscow, but it is his string criticism of China that will catch the eye.

Tory backbenchers are furious at ministers' refusal to brand the actions of Xi Jinping's autocratic state as a 'genocide'.

And last night it was revealed by the Guardian that Boris Johnson himself told Chinese business leaders he was a 'fervent Sinophile ... whatever the occasional political difficulties' at an event earlier this month.

The two nations are also in a stand-off over the repression of democracy in Hong Kong, the supposedly autonomous former British territory, with Mr Raab saying that the 'rights of the people are being systematically violated'.

Adressing the plight of the Uighurs, Mr Raab todl the UN today that the actions of China against Muslims in Xinjiang were 'beyond the pale'.

'The reported abuses - which include torture, forced labour and forced sterilisation of women - are extreme and they are extensive. They are taking place on an industrial scale,' he said.

'UN mechanisms must respond. The UN High Commissioner for Human Rights, or another independent fact-finding expert, must - and I repeat must - be given urgent and unfettered access to Xinjiang.'

Mr Raab's address to the 46th Session of the Council marks the UK's return as a voting member.

The Foreign Secretary used a speech to the UN to demand its investigators are allowed in to Xinjiang province, where the Communist regime has been accused of committing genocide.

His speech to the UN Human Rights Council this morning also saw him lash out at the regimes in Russia and Moscow, but it is his string criticism of China that will catch the eye

Last night it was revealed that Boris Johnson himself told Chinese business leaders he was a 'fervent Sinophile' earlier this month

Downing Street said that Boris Johnson and other ministers have 'regular meetings' with companies investing in the UK and did so over Chinese New Year.

The Prime Minister's official spokesman said: 'As you would expect, the Prime Minister, as well as the Secretary of State for International Trade, and others, have regular meetings with companies investing in the UK.

'The Prime Minister met Chinese and Hong Kong companies investing in the UK and British companies investing in China over Chinese New Year to discuss the contribution to the 81 billion UK-China trading relationship.

'But as I said, the Prime Minister has spoken out previously about what is going on in Xinjiang and you have what he has said.'

He also blasted Vladimir Putin's Russia over the detention of opposition leader Alexey Navalny, who was jailed last week having recovered from an attempt to poison him that has been blamed on Moscow.

'We face a truly dire and shocking situation from a permanent member of the UN Security Council,' he said, addressing the meeting virtually.

'It is disgraceful that Alexey Navalny, himself the victim of a despicable crime, has now been sentenced on arbitrary charges.

'His treatment and the violence inflicted on peaceful protesters can only further reinforce the world's concerns that Russia is failing to meet its international obligations.

Members of the Uighur minority group have reportedly been made to pick cotton in Xinjiang province, leading to concerns British consumers could inadvertently be buying tainted goods

The Beijing government has been accused of widespread abuse in the area, home to the Muslim Uighurs, including allegations of forced sterilisation, slave labour and mass internment

'We call on other members of the council to consider whether Russia's actions are in line with its international human rights obligations and the values that we seek and that we have pledged to uphold.'

Mr Raab called on the council to continue with a 'comprehensive investigation' of human rights violations - including accusations of torture, cruel, inhuman and degrading treatment - relating to the rigged presidential elections in Belarus.

He said that president Alexander Lukashenko's 'brutal crackdown' against protesters has resulted in a 'human rights crisis'.

'The UK will support initiatives to keep Belarus on the council's agenda for as long as it is necessary, and until the Belarusian people are able to enjoy their democratic rights and their fundamental freedoms,' Mr Raab will say.

He also demanded the United Nations confront the military coup in Myanmar after more protesters were shot dead.

The Foreign Secretary will also urge the country's army leadership to step aside in a speech to the UN's Human Rights Council.

Yesterday he described the latest shootings in which two died as 'beyond the pale'.

Britain has frozen the assets of three senior military officials while other sanctions are also in place.

The military junta took over after detaining civilian leader Aung San Suu Kyi on February 1.

The funeral of a protester drew thousands of demonstrators onto the streets of the country's second biggest city.

Mya Thwet Thwet Khine, 19, was shot by police on February 9th. Her death was confirmed on Friday.

The military junta took over after detaining civilian leader Aung San Suu Kyi on February 1. Pictured: Protestors hold signs calling for the release of Aung San Suu Kyi

Two protesters were shot dead on Saturday - with 20 people hospitalised after the same incident.

Protests against the military dictatorship have spread across Myanmar amid growing concerns for the safety of those taking to the streets.

Mr Raab will say: 'The position in Myanmar gets worse. The violations and abuses are well-documented, including arbitrary detention and draconian restrictions on freedom of expression. That crisis presents an increased risk to the Rohingya and other ethnic minorities.

'The military must step aside. Civilian leaders must be released. And the democratic wishes of the people of Myanmar must be respected. That is why at this session we will again co-sponsor the resolution renewing the mandate of the Special Rapporteur on Myanmar, so he can continue his essential work.'

Yesterday Facebook announced that it had taken down the page run by the Myanmar military information unit. The Facebook ban came as the internet was shut down by the military for the seventh night in a row.

The military junta took power after detaining Ms Suu Kyi and preventing Parliament from convening, saying elections last November were tainted by voting irregularities.
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Deeply entrenched racism, rooted in the foundation of white supremacy, has had a stronghold in medicine for hundreds of years. Its legacy of harm against Black, Indigenous, and people of color (BIPOC) communities, particularly its atrocities against Black Americans, is undeniable. Yet significant change eludes us. For decades, these communities have borne the disproportionate burden of public health short-comings from police brutality, gun violence, infant and maternal mortality, and most recently  the COVID-19 pandemic. The degree to which explicit and implicit racial bias still affects our nation is undeniable. The mortality and morbidity of structural and systemic racism leave no institution unaffected, and its harmful effects are seen nowhere more clearly than in medicine. The House of Medicine itself has acknowledged this, and both the American College of Physicians (ACP) and the American Medical Association (AMA) have policy declaring racism a threat to public health and stated their commitment to confront racism, end health care disparities, and improve health equity.

Upon this backdrop, we are horrified to read of yet another act of racial and gender discrimination towards a Black doctor, Dr. Princess Dennar. Dr. Dennar was a trailblazer as the first Black female Program Director at Tulane. However, her position as program director of the medicine-pediatrics residency program at the Tulane School of Medicine was terminated after a barrage of discriminatory and abusive behavior spanning several years came to light in her court case.

The repeated acts of race and gender discrimination alleged at the Tulane School of Medicine are deeply disturbing. ACGME reports from a 2018 site visit at Tulane indicate that they were unable to exclude race or gender discrimination, but despite this, Dr. Dennar continued to experience harm until her recent termination. Dr. Dennars court case details a pattern of denigration, harassment, retaliation, and professional abuse despite the accomplishments she was able to achieve for the medicine-pediatrics program. Additionally, the case alleges that actions were taken by institutional leadership that jeopardized the training and wellbeing of her medicine-pediatrics program and the residents in her charge (particularly minority females). Amidst all this, we specifically want to highlight that, during a global pandemic, her health and safety were put at additional risk by removing some of her personal protective equipment (PPE). The entirety of her experience and that of other women and particularly women of color at Tulane School of Medicine is inexcusable.

We have repeatedly seen Black doctors, particularly Black women faculty, be treated with reprehensible behavior by their medical institutions, behavior that violates our oaths and duties as physicians and healers. Dr. Aysha Khourys firing from the Kaiser Permanente School of Medicine and Dr. Susan Moores death from COVID-19 are two recent instances of how racism and sexism have harmed Black women in medicine. Dr. Moores death showed us the devastating reach that racism has on our patients  even a physician was not spared its fatal effects. Dr. Lesley Saketkoos court case further highlights the gender discrimination at Tulane School of Medicine. This harm becomes amplified when it intersects with racial discrimination in Black, Indigenous, and people of color (BIPOC).

The house of medicine is long overdue to confront the racism, sexism, and other discrimination that forms its foundations and pervades its halls. This culture is not one of safety; rather, it is one of the entrenched norms of oppression and is upheld by the pillars of white male supremacy. Academic medicines hierarchical power structures are both grounded in and reinforce this foundation. Our medical institutions continue to marginalize, disenfranchise and harm women, BIPOC communities, and underrepresented in medicine (URiM) learners, faculty, and staff. Dr. Dennar was a program director of a combined medicine-pediatrics program that was providing training to racial minority physicians, who take care of a New Orleans community that is predominantly Black.

We have clear data that racial minority patients have better health care experiences when they share racial concordance with their physicians. Addressing the massive health care disparities and health and health care inequity in the United States firmly relies upon increasing the representation of BIPOC physicians.

Dr. Dennar was not only a positive role model, mentor, and advocate for her trainees, but she also provided vital care to her patient population, and by advancing the diversity of our physician population, it is immeasurable how many patients lives she has positively impacted.

Each time we lose any doctor in our system, we harm our patients. Each time we lose a Black doctor, our harm is magnified in that we add to an already wide chasm of inequity. Our leaky pipeline data clearly shows that race and genders intersection adversely affects Black women in academic medicine. Diverse representation at all levels of academic medicine along with a culture of safety, inclusivity, transparency, and void of discimination of any kind is crucial to combating structural racism and improving health equity.

We, a body of physicians who are entrusted with the care of patients and the training of present and future physicians, will not tolerate, neither in words nor actions, racism or discrimination of any kind, whether it be racial, ethnic, gender, based on sexual orientation, physical ability, religion, or socioeconomic status. Our professional responsibility is to speak out against the harm that we are witnessing and we will not remain complicit with silence.

As leaders and educators within academic institutions, we are deeply concerned about the institutional abuse and harm that has come to light from Dr. Dennars case. We demand transparency and accountability of the actions allegedly taken by the Tulane School of Medicine and every employee that engaged and/or was complicit in said conduct.

We ask the ACGME and The Joint Commission to bring justice to our Black colleagues and all BIPOC faculty, trainees, and staff at Tulane. We specifically demand a full and transparent review by the ACGME of all of Tulanes residency programs, as well as a review by The Joint Commission of Tulanes health care institutions. We also support an independent and external review of the ACGME itself to ascertain if this regulatory body can effectively perform a full and transparent review of the Tulane School of Medicine, or any other academic medical institution with alleged discrimination.

Our concerns extend to all academic medical centers and health care institutions, many of whom may be perpetuating a culture of toxicity, systemic oppression, and harm that have impacted women and BIPOC learners, faculty, and staff for far too long. In accordance with the policy statements put forth by the ACP and the AMA, we ask the ACGME and The Joint Commission to do the necessary work to investigate racism and discrimination at all academic medical centers and health care institutions and send the clear message that discimination of any kind will not be tolerated or condoned.

Sacharitha Bowers is a dermatologist and can be reached on Twitter @SBowersMD. Eve Bloomgarden is an endocrinologist and can be reached on Twitter @evebmd. Regina Royan is an emergency medicine resident and can be reached on Twitter @ReginaRoyan. Angela Weyand is a pediatric hematology-oncology physician. Shikha Jain is a hematology-oncology physician who blogs at her self-titled site, Dr. Shikha Jain. She can be reached on Twitter @ShikhaJainMD.

Image credit: Shutterstock.com
A former senior Labour official today asked the High Court in London to reveal who leaked the party's internal report into anti-Semitism so she can sue them for defamation.

An 860-page report on Labour's governance and legal unit, which found that anti-Semitism was so rife within the party that some members' views were like those of neo-Nazis, was leaked last April.

The probe, carried out in the final months of Jeremy Corbyn's leadership, concluded that 'factional opposition' towards the former leader contributed to 'a litany of mistakes' hindering efforts to tackle the crisis.

The leaking of the dossier, which included emails and WhatsApp messages between several senior Labour officials, prompted new party leader Sir Keir Starmer to launch an inquiry.

Emilie Oldknow - Labour's former director of governance, who is also married to Shadow Health Secretary Jonathan Ashworth - now wants to bring claims for defamation and misuse of private information over the leaking of the report, which contains more than 500 references to her.

Emilie Oldknow - Labour's former director of governance (pictured with Jeremy Corbyn) - now wants to bring claims for defamation and misuse of private information over the leaking of the report, which contains more than 500 references to her

What did the shock internal report into anti-Semitism in the Labour party say? The damning internal report into Labour's governance and legal unit between 2014 and 2019 found that anti-Semitism was so rife within Labour that some members' views were like those of neo-Nazis. Investigators said prejudice against Jews became common within the party. And they revealed former leader Jeremy Corbyn did little to help discipline offenders until two years ago. The report highlighted 'a litany of mistakes and missed opportunities' amid strained relations between Mr Corbyn's office and Labour HQ. Nearly 900 members have been investigated or suspended for anti-Jewish hate in the past three years with 63 expelled. Only ten members were suspended and 22 faced notices of investigation (NOIs) in 2017. But numbers swelled hugely under general secretary Jennie Formby, who took over in 2018. That year, there were 98 suspensions and 185 notices of investigation, and 296 suspensions and 283 NOIs last year. Of more than 300 complaints between November 2016 and February 2018, just 34 resulted in formal investigations. The report said: 'At least half warranted action, many in relation to very extreme anti-Semitism, but were ignored.' Advertisement

At a remote hearing today, her lawyers asked the High Court to grant an order requiring Labour to reveal who leaked the report so she can sue them.

William Bennett QC, representing Ms Oldknow, told the court that the report was a 'politically-motivated hatchet job' which sought to blame Ms Oldknow and others for Labour's 'failure' to deal with allegations of anti-Semitism.

The report also accused Ms Oldknow and her colleagues of 'undermining Jeremy Corbyn's leadership', Mr Bennett said.

He said the party decided the report 'could not be submitted to the Equality and Human Rights Commission because it was deliberately misleading and relied on improperly obtained private correspondence'.

However, last April, 'a faction within the Labour Party published the report to the media', Mr Bennett said.

He told the court Ms Oldknow 'wishes to bring those people to account, who anonymously, surreptitiously leaked the Labour Party report against the wishes of the Labour Party'.

Mr Bennett said in written submissions that Labour has 'reached a clear view as to who was responsible for the leak', but has 'studiously avoided giving any explanation as to what happened'.

He said Ms Oldknow has 'a strong case' to bring claims for defamation and misuse of private information against those who leaked the report.

But she 'needs to know which wrongdoer played what role and whether there is a viable case against some or all of them', Mr Bennett said.

Anya Proops QC, representing the Labour Party, said the leaked report, which 'contained extensive quantities of personal data relating to a wide number of individuals, including Ms Oldknow', was 'highly confidential'.

She said in written submissions that Labour's investigation into the leak is 'now at an end' and that the party has concluded that 'it did not authorise the leak and it is innocent of any responsibility'.

Ms Proops said Labour understood that Ms Oldknow's application was 'a necessary step' for her to be able to 'vindicate her rights' following the leak.

She told the court: 'We are entirely content to disclose to Ms Oldknow effectively the underlying information enabling her to identify the persons responsible for the leak.'

But Ms Proops said Labour did not want to 'provide our subjective opinion on who is legally liable' for the leak.

She asked for the application to be adjourned, to ensure that 'adequate protection is given to those third-party individuals who would be most seriously affected' if Ms Oldknow's application was granted.

Five anonymous individuals who deny any responsibility of the leak were also represented at the hearing.

Their barrister Jacob Dean said in written submissions: 'They have cooperated fully with the various investigations into that leak, providing detailed personal, private and confidential information to those investigations, on assurances of confidentiality.'

The internal probe, carried out in the final months of Jeremy Corbyn's leadership, concluded that 'factional opposition' contributed to 'a litany of mistakes' hindering efforts to tackle the crisis. The leaking of the dossier prompted Sir Keir Starmer to launch an inquiry

Mr Dean argued that 'the potential for injustice is manifest' if Labour was forced to 'disclose a mass of evidence... from which the (party) has drawn certain conclusions in order to allow the applicant to draw her own, possibly different, conclusions'.

He also said: 'It is apparent that the (party) does not know who leaked the report.'

Mr Dean said Labour's statement that it has 'reached a clear view' as to who was responsible suggested that the party 'does not have any direct or admissible evidence'.

The barrister also told the court that the trade union Unite was 'supporting' the five individuals in their case and would 'satisfy any costs order against them'.

At the conclusion of the hearing, Mrs Justice Tipples ruled that the five individuals could not participate in the hearing and said she would give her ruling on Ms Oldknow's application tomorrow.

A Unite spokesman said: 'Unite offers all of our members representation in respect of employment matters.

'This court application is seeking to ask Labour to identify five members of Unite, all of whom deny leaking of the report but who participated in good faith with the Labour Party investigation on the understanding the investigation would be confidential and protect their rights to privacy.'

They added: 'Today's application was a balance between the privacy rights of employees, for whom the employer has a responsibility, and the rights of Emilie Oldknow and others who are named in the leaked report.

'As to be expected, Unite has sought to represent the interests of our members and is disappointed that the court has ruled we cannot be a party to the proceedings. Upholding the employment rights of all of our members is central to Unite's core values.'
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German Foreign Minister, Heiko Maas, on Monday called out China and Russia for persecuting dissenters and minorities, as he addressed the UN Human Rights Council.

Our commitment to the Universal Declaration of Human Rights leaves no room for the arbitrary detention of ethnic minorities like the Uighurs in Xinjiang or Chinas crackdown on civil liberties in Hong Kong, Mr Maas said.

And we will not be silent when peaceful protesters and opposition leaders are attacked and imprisoned, as has occurred in Belarus or Russia, he added, during the online meeting.

However, Mr Maas pushed back against calls from the United States and others that such countries should not have seats on the Human Rights Council.

Having a broad range of members with different views strengthens the credibility of the top UN rights body, the German minister argued.

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Smith College Staffer Resigns Over Alleged Anti-White Bias

A female employee of Smith College has resigned, accusing the elite womens university of creating a racially hostile environment against white people.

Jodi Shaw, who had been a student support coordinator, recently sent a resignation letter to leadership at the Massachusetts college that said the environment left her physically and mentally debilitated.

I can no longer work in this environment, nor can I remain silent about a matter so central to basic human dignity and freedom, according to the letter, which was published by columnist Bari Weiss.

Smith College didnt immediately respond to a request by The Epoch Times for comment.

An alumna of the private liberal arts institution, Shaw said the culture changed significantly after a 2018 incident, in which a black student accused a white staffer of racism for calling campus security on her. While an investigation showed no evidence of racial bias, the college put in place a list of initiatives aimed at fighting systemic racism on campus.

Yet the ideology driving the efforts seemed more concerned with inflaming anti-white sentiment rather than mitigating any form of racism, based on Shaws account.

I endured racially hostile comments, and was expected to participate in racially prejudicial behavior as a continued condition of my employment, Shaw said in her letter.

I endured meetings in which another staff member violently banged his fist on the table, chanting Rich, white women! Rich, white women! in reference to Smith alumnae. I listened to my supervisor openly name preferred racial quotas for job openings in our department. I was given supplemental literature in which the worlds population was reduced to two categoriesdominant group members and subordinated group membersbased solely on characteristics like race.

Every day, I watch my colleagues manage student conflict through the lens of race, projecting rigid assumptions and stereotypes on students, thereby reducing them to the color of their skin. I am asked to do the same, as well as to support a curriculum for students that teaches them to project those same stereotypes and assumptions onto themselves and others. I believe such a curriculum is dehumanizing, prevents authentic connection, and undermines the moral agency of young people who are just beginning to find their way in the world.

She said other staffers she spoke to were deeply troubled by the developments, but were too terrified to speak out about it.

In January 2020, Shaw said, she attended a mandatory staff retreat focused on racial issues.

She said she wasnt comfortable answering personal questions from the hired facilitator about race and racial identity.

Later, the facilitators told everyone present that a white persons discomfort at discussing their race is a symptom of white fragility. They said that the white person may seem like they are in distress but that it is actually a power play, she wrote.

In other words, because I am white, my genuine discomfort was framed as an act of aggression. I was shamed and humiliated in front of all of my colleagues.

I was shamed and humiliated in front of all of my colleagues.  Jodi Shaw , Smith College student support coordinator

She filed a workplace complaint but felt it wasnt taken seriously enough because of her race.

I was told that the civil rights law protections were not created to help people like me, she wrote.

She was stripped of duties, which she suspected was in retaliation for filing the complaint.

Quasi-Marxist Ideology

She blamed the change in environment on critical race theory, a quasi-Marxist ideology that reinterprets history as a struggle between whites and other races, labeling people as oppressors and oppressed on account of their skin color, echoing Marxisms division of society based on class.

Under the guise of racial progress, Smith College has created a racially hostile environment in which individual acts of discrimination and hostility flourish. In this environment, peoples worth as human beings, and the degree to which they deserve to be treated with dignity and respect, is determined by the color of their skin, Shaw said.

It is an environment in which dissenting from the new critical race orthodoxyor even failing to swear fealty to it like some kind of McCarthy-era loyalty oathis grounds for public humiliation and professional retaliation.

Critical race theory has been spreading through U.S. institutions, starting at universities and seeping into K12 education, government structures, the nongovernmental sector, and the corporate world, commonly through supposedly anti-racist training sessions and internal social justice policies.

Former President Donald Trump dealt a significant blow to the ideologys spread last year when he banned trainings based on the ideology from federal government offices, federal contractors, and some grantees. President Joe Biden, however, reversed the order shortly after taking office.

Biden went as far as issuing an order that seems to open the door for instituting the ideology more widely across the federal government.

In Shaws view, the ideology exacerbates divisions among people.

It taps into humanitys worst instincts to break down into warring factions, and I fear this is rapidly leading us to a very twisted place, she said.
Hi Kelowna,

We got a Saturday off.

There was Mega Rally in Vancouver on Saturday. A covid bus of our "Freedom Fighters" went down to it.

Sorry about that Vancouver.

I wandered down to Stuart Park to see if anyone would show up despite that.

A handful of people milled around not quite sure what to do without any guidance. No signs (well one), no speakers, no chanting, no anything. Maybe they weren't invited? Maybe they don't pay attention at the rallies?

I knew they were going.

What struck me is that if freedom really mattered, they wouldn't need their leader (who isn't their leader) to tell them to protest. They would do it no matter what. I know I would. If freedom was my agenda I'd be out there leading the pack despite the leader (who isn't their leader) being in Vancouver speaking.

And yet we're the sheeple. The hypocrisy is overwhelming.

I want to tell you about what happened in Edmonton on Saturday though. At the "Freedom March" there.

Because they are all connected. It is always the same speakers. It is always the same organizations. They run a circuit.

There were tiki torches in Edmonton on Saturday. Big deal you might say. It is a big deal if pay attention. Tiki torches have become a symbol of white supremacy since Charlottesville. Since white supremacists marched with them, chanted antisemitic remarks and then murdered Heather Heyer.

Why did they have tiki torches in Edmonton? To send a message. Plain and simple.

As Kelowna pretends this is about masks because it is easier, I was told yesterday by a white woman that she doesn't care if the people she is standing next to are racist because she supports the message of freedom. I asked if she would care if they were rapists. She called me a nasty woman. Where have we heard that before?

It is so easy for white women to support white supremacy. Because it benefits us. It isn't as easy to support to misogyny. And yet, you can't have one without the other.

"Freedom" is fast becoming synonymous with white supremacy in this country because we've allowed it.

All of us. But especially Kelowna.

These rallies have gone unchecked by not only the RCMP, but by the city, the province, public health and by the community.

It is time to start paying attention to the whole movement. Because they are all connected. They work as one.

We must as well.

The canary in the coal mine has not come back. It won't.

Heather Friesen, Kelowna


PRINCETON, N.J., Feb. 22, 2021 /PRNewswire/ -- Jomsom Staffing Services recently announced its partnership with business services umbrella franchise concept, Loyalty Brands. The companies joined forces to grow the Jomsom Staffing franchise opportunity in 2021 and beyond through strategic and scalable business strategies.

The franchise, founded in 2008, offers a range of staffing solutions to clients through its independently owned and operated franchise partner network. Jomsom Staffing provides full-time, part-time and temporary resources to businesses of all sizes. Currently, their brand footprint sits at 11 units, and is looking to grow with qualified franchise partners in the upcoming year, which led to its partnership with Loyalty Brands.

Founded in 2018 by serial entrepreneur John Hewitt, Loyalty Brands is a consortium of franchise brands with synergistic similarities that can work together to create a portfolio of franchise concepts. The companies can work together or separately to give aspiring franchises the ability to expand their offerings across multiple industries or focus on one specific space. Partnering with Jomsom Staffing will help grow the brand's footprint in franchising, as it launches an aggressive growth strategy that looks ahead to a post-pandemic landscape.

"Joining forces with Loyalty Brands will help us grow credibly and quickly within the franchise space as we continue to see a heightened demand for our services," said Saurabh Agarwal, founder and president of Jomsom Staffing. "We're looking to expand strategically with the right franchise partners, and will benefit from the expertise and guidance of Loyalty Brands to help keep us in the right direction toward continued success."

The staffing franchise is looking for interested franchise partners with a sales, management, and customer-service background to join this recession-resistant industry, projected to be valued at $136 billion in 2021. The franchise is looking to grow to meet the demand and more than 400,000 available jobs.

"We're thrilled to have Jomsom Staffing join the Loyalty Brands family and look forward to helping expand their services into new markets across the U.S.," said John Hewitt, CEO and founder of Loyalty Brands. "With hiring becoming more rapid as we regain our footing amid the pandemic, Jomsom Staffing fills a need in the greater economy to help people find their fit in the job market, setting all parties up for success."

Loyalty Brands is a team of people who have worked together for many years with several different brands, two of which are part of the largest retail operations in the United States  Jackson Hewitt and Liberty Tax. With franchise sales and growth is at its core, Loyalty Brands plans to bring their experiences and earned success to Jomsom Staffing.

About Jomsom Staffing Services

Founded in 2008 and headquartered in Princeton, New Jersey, Jomsom Staffing Services is a certified diversity business that offers staffing solutions from full-time to part-time to its clients. The franchise network helps find solutions for businesses of all sizes for either temporary or permanent situations and aims to deliver operational excellence to all its clients. Jomsom Staffing has been recognized by top franchise publications as an emerging staffing franchise when the company began franchising in 2016. To learn more about Jomsom Staffing Services visit http://jomsomstaffing.com/.

About Loyalty Brands

Headquartered in Virginia Beach, Virginia, Loyalty Brands is an umbrella franchise company founded in 2018 by serial entrepreneur John Hewitt. The Loyalty Brands consist of business brokerage, small business accounting, tax preparation and added services, networking, and bartering. The company maintains a community first outlook, meaning that involvement in local communities and giving back is a core value. The multi-brand concept involves businesses that are synergistic and compatible, so potential franchisees could possibly own one or more of the brands for additional customer acquisition and co-marketing opportunities. To learn more about Loyalty Brands, please visit https://loyaltybrands.com/.

Media Contact: Melissa Salyer, Loyalty Brands, 305-797-5574, [email protected]

SOURCE Loyalty Brands
Last week, Wipro Consumer Care Ventures, the venture capital arm of Wipro Consumer Care & Lighting, invested an undisclosed sum in Onelife Nutriscience , a healthcare firm offering immunity, wellness and nutraceutical products. Set up in 2019, the fund has also invested in male grooming brands LetsShave and Ustraa. With covid-19 having altered consumer behaviour, it is eyeing four to six digital-first brands in packaged food, healthcare, personal care segments this year, said Sumit Keshan, managing partner, Wipro Consumer Care Ventures in an interview. Edited excerpts:

Has covid-19 changed your investment theme?

What has happened is that the pandemic has actually widened our horizon of the target segment. So, while we started with certain segments and sub-segments in mindnow we're actually looking at a broader set. We were looking at personal care, which is our current domain under Wipro Consumer Care, then home care. Were looking at specialized skin-haircare cosmetics companies that are innovative and are primarily e-commerce led. We are also looking at clean beauty companiesnatural, organic, ayurveda based. And now we have broadened to look at wellnessin the nutraceutical, health supplements, immunity building segments. That area is also emerging to be of interest for us.

Also Read | How to make Indias bad bank workable

In that context, we invested in Onelife. We believe consumer demand for immunity products and focus on wellness has gone up significantly. And this will continue. Another sub-segment we could look at it, and it could be a little pandemic related, is the foods sector. We're seeing that in foods, a lot of companies have come up. At-home food consumption has really taken off for a very logical reason and very interesting companies have come to uswere in very early discussions.

How many investments will you look at this year?

This calendar year, we would like to do about four to six investments.

Will these be largely in online-only brands?

Our investment thesis is built a lot around the e-commerce companies. In that sense, we are looking at D2C (direct-to-consumer) as our focus area. So, if there is a company which is largely non-e-commerce or a completely offline company our interest levels are slightly lower from a VC point of view. We see that e-commerce really is an emerging sector, the size is perhaps going to hit about $100 billion in the next four to five years. The share of e-commerce in the total distribution channel business is going to go up significantly.

How do you feel about the investments you've made so far?

Our portfolio is doing quite well. One of them, post our investments, is now 2x of revenue in a short period of time. It is a challenger brand and is quite well-positioned. Male grooming is an area which has really emerged, and both LetsShave and Ustraa have really positioned themselves very strongly in the segments they are in. Ustraa has raised its next round of funding, that too augurs well for the company.

Can you apply some of the learnings from these start-ups to your traditional business, that is, Wipro Consumer Care?

Somewhere we are in the same segment (with brands such as Santoor, Yardley etc) and you are going to a similar kind of consumer.

Ultimately, the FMCG sector is a lot about understanding the consumer requirements and getting the right consumer insights. These companies are also doing similar kind of work. Today, the opportunity, which a new company has as compared to 10 years ago to go and target a smaller set of consumers, and still do a sizable business and make money out of it has really emerged in the last, I would say, five to seven years. Fifteen years ago, you would go by the traditional offline channels and that's very costly. It's a longer process, there is a lot of work involved for you to create a brand. Today, brands are getting created in a shorter span of time. There are companies hitting Rs100 crore of revenue in four years, which in this sector is not easy. And that's what has kind of driven the interest among us also. So, you know, learning is always there from these companies. And of course, they would learn from us and we learn from them.

But digital-first brands have a challenge scaling up.

So, every growth stage has its own challenges. Thats what I tell these companies that looknow that you've done 100 crore, from 100 crore to 300 crore is a very different phase for you. What you did for achieving success and hitting 100 crore will not really help you to make it to Rs3 00 crore. So, for that you have to tweak your strategy, you have to look at things very differentlywhether that is channel or organization. Scale up challenges from zero to 100 crore, and 100 crore- 300 crore are very different. That's when we try to help the company, in terms of using our experience and giving our inputs and achieving the next stage.

So to your question: Can companies get from 100 to 300 crore through D2C or online onlythe answer is yes. Can they hit 500 crorethere are examples of companies which are doing that already which is via majority digital or e-commerce. Can they take it to 2,000 crore, I think that question we have not really dealt with, yet. So, e-commerce can definitely help you create a very strong business till a certain size, and its after if you want to go offline as an additional strategyI dont see any problem in that because it is an opportunity for you to grow and scale further.

Are there enough targets in the market?

The deal pipeline is very strong for us. And this is a mix of new companies as well as slightly mature within the startup ecosystem. We don't do very early stage, we like to look at companies where there is some revenue being clocked, because thats where I think we can add more value as compared to a completely idea stage company. The quality of startups and promoters is really interesting and has surprised us. Even if they are smaller companiestheir approach, thinking, their innovation, consumer insights are extremely high. I don't see any dearth of investment opportunities for us.

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Launching a frontal attack on the government, Prime Minister alleged on Monday it has perpetuated "syndicate raj" in all spheres of life in West Bengal where no work gets done without common people having to pay "cut money".

He accused the TMC government of pursuing "appeasement politics" to protect its vote bank while neglecting its cultural heritage and icons.

"The state government's cut money culture has vitiated the atmosphere to such an extent that you cannot even take a house on rent without paying it....you cannot rent a house without the syndicate's permission," he said.

He attacked the Banerjee government for not allowing central schemes like the PM Kisan Samman Nidhi and Ayushman Bharat, depriving farmers and the poor of its benefits.

"I have been told the house where Bankim Chandra Chattopadhyay conceived and wrote 'Vande Mataram' is in an abysmal condition. The man who injected new life into the freedom struggle amid pervasive gloom of slavery...his house is a victim of neglect. It's an insult to Bengali pride," Modi said addressing a public rally here in Hooghly district.

He also accused the TMC government of neglecting industrial development, including the state's once thriving jute industry.

r"The people of West Bengal have made up their mind to usher in 'asol poribartan' (real change). The BJP will give Bengal a government that will ensure development of all but appeasement of none," he asserted.

Repeatedly attacking the state government, Modi said, "Development of Bengal is not possible as long as cut money culture, tolabaji persists.

"Development of Bengal is not possible as long as the state administration patronises goondas, development of Bengal is not possible as long as the rule of law is not established."



Modi said once the BJP forms its government in Bengal, people will be able to preserve and protect their culture and nobody will be able to scare or suppress them.

He said there was no dearth of potential investors but the threat of the syndicate and cut money dissuaded them from investing in the state.

(Only the headline and picture of this report may have been reworked by the Business Standard staff; the rest of the content is auto-generated from a syndicated feed.)
Vazgen Manukian made the statement in a speech delivered at a weekend rally held by the Homeland Salvation Movement, an alliance of more than a dozen opposition parties.

At any moment -- it could be today, one week later or ten days later -- we must be ready for revolting and taking power at lightning speed, said Manukian.

He described that as Plan B of the opposition campaign for Pashinians resignation involving peaceful protests. We will follow Plan A but must always be ready for Plan B, said the 75-year-old politician whom the opposition alliance wants to head an interim government to be formed after Pashinians resignation.

A spokeswoman for Prosecutor-General Artur Davtian said that the Armenian police launched a criminal investigation into public calls for a violent overthrow of the government. He told RFE/RLs Armenian Service that the criminal case has been sent to the Investigative Committee for further inquiry.

The law-enforcement authorities did not say whether Manukian will be summoned for questioning.

Manukian already floated the idea of an uprising when he met with opposition supporters late last month. His calls have not been officially endorsed by the Homeland Salvation Movement.

The alliance rallied thousands of supporters in Yerevans Liberty Square on Saturday in what its coordinator, Ishkhan Saghatelian, described as a new start of its drive to oust Pashinian. Saghatelian said the opposition forces will stage nonstop street protests in the coming days.

On Monday evening, a smaller crowd of opposition supporters marched to downtown Yerevan from the citys northern Arabkir district. Opposition leaders addressed the protesters after blocking a key street intersection in the city center. They condemned the criminal case opened against Manukian.

We want to save the Armenian nation and this state, declared Manukian. He scoffed at the authorities reaction to his weekend statement, saying that government buildings will fall into our hands like ripe pears.
FCW Insider: Feb. 22

Although workplace safety is top of mind, the American Federation of Government Employees wants Congress to pursue action beyond the reversal of Trump workforce policies.

The company's new report highlights the threats facing healthcare institutions by both criminal and nation state-backed actors.

President Biden's pick of Neera Tanden's to head the Office of Management and Budget is in peril after a powerful centrist Democrat has announced his plan to vote no on the nomination.

Quick Hits

*** A recent think tank report suggests that the U.S. Postal Service could benefit from the addition of robotics systems to sort and even deliver mail. GCN has more on this story.

*** Lumen Technologies is protesting a $157.6 million award that went to Verizon to provide network security services to government agencies. Get more from Washington Technology.
Several dozens gathered Sunday at Beavertons Greenway Park for the latest installation of the Talking Walls community arts project, a partnership between Tualatin Hills Park & Recreation District and the nonprofit Color Outside the Lines.

Sundays event brought together Native foster youth and local youth from around the area to help paint large murals that highlight the heritage and tribes of three Native artists.

Were out here bringing some light, bringing some color, remembering our roots and bringing a Native voice to this area, said Mariah Makalapua, a volunteer with Color Outside the Lines.

The murals were created by Native artists Rudy Serna, a Portlander and member of the Redstone Collective; Toma Villa, a member of the Yakama Nation who grew up in Portland and now lives in Suquamish, Washington; and Pattrick Price, born and raised in southeast Alaska and now living in Eugene.

Hear from each of the artists above what inspired their murals in the video above and see photos and descriptions below. Check out the Native Talking Walls at Greenway Park on the corner of Southwest Greenway Boulevard and Southwest Parkview Loop in Beaverton.

Toma Villa: Those who live along the rivers...

Native artist Toma Villa poses for a photo in front of his mural titled Those who live along the rivers at Greenway Park in Beaverton, Oregon on Sunday, Feb. 21, 2021. Sean Meagher/The Oregonian

This piece is a story that comes from the Northwest region.

Its about Elk and how he wanders the land and over and over again he makes his way back to the Big River and looks across the other side.

He looks into the water and sees all the salmon swimming and thinks he can walk across the backs but his hoofs keep sliding off and he falls into the water.

A sturgeon sees this and swims up and asks Elk what hes doing. Elk replies, " Ive seen everything on this side of the river, I want to see whats on the other side. Sturgeon tells Elk that she could get him across on her back but she would need something from Elk for the ride across the river. Elk pulls a piece of himself and gives it to Sturgeon and the big fish puts it in her mouth. Elk climbs on her back and doesnt fall off because Sturgeons skin is rough. So Sturgeon with Elk on her back began swimming across the river and as she swam the piece of Elk that was in her mouth became her cheeks.

Elk made is across and was able to continue exploring and Sturgeon now has stronger muscles that help her feed on the freshwater clams she so dearly loves.

***

Pattrick Price: Sunset Hummingbird

Pattrick Price, of Alaska, poses for a photo in front of his mural titled Sunset Hummingbird at Greenway Park in Beaverton, Oregon on Sunday, Feb. 21, 2021. Sean Meagher/The Oregonian

This painting depicts a brilliant, multi-colored form line designed hummingbird with an arcing red, orange and yellow gradient background (see the finished version here).

In Native American culture, hummingbirds are seen as healers and bringers of good luck and joy. The hummingbird totem has been used in my culture throughout history to teach us to enjoy life and to keep ourselves light and free. This painting is my depiction of the original form line designs from my Southeast Alaska/Tlingit heritage with warm and colorful inspirations from my residence in Oregon in the fall season.

***

Rudy Serna: Beloved Ancestors

Rudy Serna of the Redstone Collective poses in front of his mural titled Beloved Ancestors at Greenway Park in Beaverton, Oregon on Sunday, Feb. 21, 2021. Sean Meagher/The Oregonian

The mural as a whole is meant to honor and respect the ancestors of the Americas by showing some elements of their diverse and yet common culture. From left to right: the South American condor flies toward the center. The patterns in the background are both Inca (above) and Mayan (below). The pyramid below is from the Guatemalan lowlands and next to it is the quetzal bird flying upward. Next is a Mexica symbol for corn and the pattern behind the tree of life is Aztec. Next is a teepee and in the middle a buffalo skull. Up above is a Chinook basket pattern and next to it is a Kalapuya one. On the right side the American bald eagle flies toward the center to meet the condor. And in the bottom right corner is a lone wolf howling.

***

 Sean Meagher
Rotunda Rumblings

Playing ball: The Browns, Indians, Cavaliers and Bengals stadiums are being considered for mass vaccination sites, Laura Hancock reports. Some of the team officials have reached out to Gov. Mike DeWine to offer their space, and other arenas have been suggested to the Ohio governor by coronavirus vaccine providers who want to partner with the teams for large-scale vaccinations.

Guilty: The nonprofit at the heart of the states largest corruption scandal has officially pleaded guilty to a federal racketeering charge involving House Bill 6, John Caniglia reports. Generation Now, which entered the plea Friday, helped funnel more than $60 million in bribes that FirstEnergy Corp. and its affiliates gave former Ohio House Speaker Larry Householder and his allies in exchange for the bills passage.

Deep freeze: Last week, millions of Texans lost power and heat as temperatures plunged to the single digits for the first time in years. But Ohio experienced similar cold without any major problems -- and its not just because Ohio has weatherized its infrastructure for extreme temperatures. Andrew Tobias took an in-depth look at the differences between the two states, and what risks Ohio still may face in the future.

COVID-19 plummet: Coronavirus indicators have improved dramatically over the past few weeks for everything from cases and hospitalizations to trips to doctors offices and emergency rooms. For example, in the seven-county Cleveland/Akron area, Rich Exner found daily averages for new cases dropped from 1,273 in mid-December to 417 last week, and coronavirus-related doctor visits dipped from 1,275 a day to 128. Plus, use of ICU beds has been cut more than in half.

Vaccines in Black and white: Cameron Fields looked at racial disparities between Black Ohioans, who have received fewer than 5% of coronavirus vaccines but make up 13.1% of the population, and whites, who have received just over 10% of available vaccines and make up 81.7% of the population. There are nuances in data, such as a lower number of older Ohioans who are black.

Weekend numbers: On Friday, Ohio saw 2,306 new coronavirus cases, bringing the total to 949,695, Hancock reports. Saturdays new cases totaled 2,611, and Sundays total was 1,461.

Powering through? Senate Bill 10, which would permanently remove a revenue guarantee provision in 2019s House Bill 6 nuclear bailout bill, has its first hearing in a House committee Tuesday afternoon. Last week, the bill was passed by the Senate -- the first legislative chamber to make changes to HB 6, even though federal prosecutors announced a bribery investigation around the bill more than six months ago.

Eyes on Icahn: Carl Icahn, the billionaire activist investor known for hostile takeovers and getting people he wants on corporate boards, announced hell purchase $184 million to $920 million in FirstEnergy stock. This could spell big changes for the Akron-based company that is in the middle of a federal probe into bribery at the Ohio Statehouse, including potentially the companys sale, the Beacon Journals Jim Mackinnon reports.

Still on board: DeWine reappointed Dennis Deters to the Public Utilities Commission of Ohio on Friday, Jeremy Pelzer reports. Deters, a Republican ex-state appeals court judge, was initially appointed to the PUCO by DeWine in 2019; his new term runs through 2026.

Final four: Following interviews on Friday, the PUCO advanced four finalists to DeWine to consider appointing to another commission seat  that of former Chairman Sam Randazzo, who resigned after the FBI searched his home during the HB 6 investigation. They are: Daniel Shields, Jenifer French, Melissa Shilling and Virginia King. DeWine had rejected finalists provided by the nominating council last month and asked for a list of new names.

Retiring SSAs commissioner: U.S. Sen. Sherrod Brown wants the immediate replacement of President Donald Trumps Social Security commissioner now that Democrats control the White House and Brown has assumed chairmanship of the Senate Finance Committees Subcommittee on Social Security, Pensions and Family Policy, Sabrina Eaton writes. Although many presidential appointees are routinely replaced when a new president takes office. Social Security commissioners are not among them due to a 1994 law that established SSA as an independent agency and gave commissioners six-year terms.

More charges in Capitol riot: Ohio bartender Jessica Watkins, accused last month of storming the U.S. Capitol in military gear on Jan. 6, has been charged in a sweeping indictment of nine members of the Oath Keepers, a far-right group that authorities say sought to impede the certification of Joe Biden as president. As Caniglia reports, Watkins of Champaign County, and other members of the anti-government group were charged with conspiracy to obstruct an official proceeding.

Lobbying Lineup

Five organizations that lobbied on House Bill 305 from the last legislative session, which would have overhauled K-12 school funding in Ohio. The bill died, but legislative leaders have said theyll try to put it into the two-year budget bill. Lobbying forms dont require people to disclose whether they favor or oppose the bill.

1. Apple Inc.

2. School Choice Ohio Inc.

3. Bard College

4. College Board

5. Ohio Association of REALTORS

On the Move

Angelika McClelland joins the Ohio Department of Mental Health and Addiction Services on Monday as deputy director of public affairs, supervising 13 people and overseeing internal and external communications strategies, legislative affairs and policy matters. McClelland most recently served as director of communications for the Ohio Senate Republicans.

Gov. Mike DeWine appointed new judges in Lucas County Common Pleas Court, Ashtabula County Court and Franklin County Municipal Court. They are: Eric Allen Marks in Lucas County, Michelle Fisher in Ashtabula County and Michael King in Franklin County.

Birthdays

State Rep. Juanita Brent; state Rep. Marilyn John; Matt Taylor, legislative aide to state Rep. Mark Fraizer; Ohio Supreme Court Justice Pat DeWine

Straight from the Source

Well, Im not sure how to put this. I took great satisfaction in seeing justice being served.

-Ryan Smith, who lost a bitter battle with now-disgraced Larry Householder for the Ohio House speakers job in 2019. Smith, who left the legislature before the HB 6 scandal broke and is now president of the University of Rio Grande in Gallia County, gave an interview to the Cincinnati Enquirers Jason Williams.

Capitol Letter is a daily briefing providing succinct, timely information for those who care deeply about the decisions made by state government. If you do not already subscribe, you can sign up here to get Capitol Letter in your email box each weekday for free.
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Texas Energy Council, Entergy Accused of Gross Negligence Leading to Boys Death in New Lawsuit

The Texas organization in charge of energy, Entergy, a utility company, are being blamed for a teenagers death amid recent snowstorms in the southern state.

Cristian Pineda, 11, was found dead last week in his familys Houston home, according to a new lawsuit. The family tried keeping warm by huddling in a single room, and Cristian was placed in a bed with his younger brother, but to no avail.

The boy died because grid wasnt a priority, and the energy provider made decisions based on profits, lawyers for the family wrote in the 9-page suit obtained by The Epoch Times.

Lawyers said the Electric Reliability Council of Texas (ERCOT), which manages the flow of electrical power in most of the state, and Entergy should have invested in winterizing their systems and warned people before the storms struck that they could be without power for days, but failed to do so.

The failure to adequately inform Plaintiffs of the length of the black outs prevented them from properly preparing for the lack of power, or leaving the area, the suit states. Accurate information might have saved Cristian Pinedas young life.

When temperatures dropped sharply across wide swaths of Texas, along with loads of snow, on Feb. 15, ERCOT began implementing rolling blackouts as energy generation decreased but demand skyrocketed, as residents tried to stay warm.

Power lines are shown in Houston, Texas, on Feb. 16, 2021. (David J. Phillip/AP Photo)

According to a GoFundMe fundraiser for the family, they were left without electricity for two days. On the morning the boy was found lifeless, temperatures had dropped to 12 degrees Fahrenheit.

The suit accuses ERCOT and Entergy of gross negligence and seeks damages of over $100 million.

Entergy said in a statement to news outlets: We are deeply saddened by the loss of life in our community. We are unable to comment due to pending litigation.

ERCOT added: We havent yet reviewed the lawsuits and will respond accordingly once we do. Our thoughts are with all Texans who have and are suffering due to this past week. However, because approximately 46 percent of privately-owned generation tripped offline this past Monday morning, we are confident that our grid operators made the right choice to avoid a statewide blackout.

ERCOTs CEO said last week that the power grid in the state was minutes from a months-long blackout.

Authorities said Friday that the Texas power grid was back and running at normal operations.

The Federal Energy Regulatory Commission and North American Electric Reliability Corporation, two federal agencies, and multiple state agencies are probing the grid failures experienced in the state amid the storms.
Irans Supreme Leader Ayatollah Ali Khamenei threatened that his country could begin enriching uranium up to 60% purity, a day after Tehran and the United Nations atomic watchdog resolved a standoff over nuclear inspections.

Iran will enrich uranium to any extent that is necessary for the country, an account believed to belong to Khamenei tweeted. Iran's enrichment level may reach 60% to meet the country's needs.

After former President Donald Trump unilaterally withdrew from the nuclear agreement known as the Joint Comprehensive Plan of Action (JCPOA) in 2018 and reimposed harsh economic sanctions, Iran began steadily violating its terms of the deal. In January, Iran announced that its Fordow nuclear plant was enriching uranium to 20% purity, far surpassing the JCPOAs 3.67% limit and bringing Iran closer to possessing weapons-grade fuel.

Khameneis comments come as Iran presses ahead with its plan to suspend implementation of the so-called Additional Protocol, ending the short-notice inspections of its nuclear facilities conducted by the UN's nuclear watchdog, the International Atomic Energy Agency (IAEA).

But in a deal reached with the IAEA on Sunday, Iran agreed that the UN agency can continue necessary verification and monitoring activities for a period of up to three months. Under the agreement, Iran will provide the IAEA with recordings from its cameras inside the facilities if the sanctions are fully lifted.

Otherwise it will be deleted forever, Iran's ambassador to the IAEA Kazem Gharibabadi tweeted.

The IAEAs director general, Rafael Grossi, framed the agreement as a temporary solution that allows us to continue to give to the world the assurances of what is going on there in the hope that we can return to a fuller picture.

Irans deal didnt satisfy parliamentary hard-liners, who passed legislation in December that called for increased nuclear activity and the limiting of UN inspections.

The government has no right to decide and act arbitrarily, said Mojtaba Zolnour, chairman of the parliaments national security committee. This arrangement is an insult to the parliament.

President Joe Biden wants to rejoin the 2015 accord, which offered sanctions relief in exchange for curbs on Irans nuclear program, as a starting point for follow-on negotiations aimed at crafting a stronger deal. But Iran and the United States are at a standoff over who should make the first move, with the Biden administration insisting Tehran return to full compliance under the JCPOA before the United States lifts sanctions.

Iranian leaders, who insist their nuclear program exists for only peaceful purposes, refuse to roll back their JCPOA violations without total sanctions relief. Iranian Foreign Minister Mohammad Javad Zarif repeated the Iranian position in an interview on Sunday with English-language Press TV and accused Biden of continuing the Trump administrations "maximum pressure" campaign.

The United States is addicted to sanctions, but they should know that Iran will not yield to pressure, Zarif said. We are not seeking nuclear weapons.

Zarifs comments follow an announcement from the Biden administration last week that it would be willing to sit down with Iran and other parties to the nuclear deal. White House national security adviser Jake Sullivan told CBS "Face the Nation" on Sunday that Iran had "not yet responded" to the offer.
By Karolina Tagaris

ATHENS (Reuters) - A prosecutor has ordered an investigation into reports that migrant children were taught acting classes by the former artistic director of Greece's National Theatre, now facing child rape allegations, a migration ministry official said on Monday.

Dimitris Lignadis turned himself in on Saturday following an arrest warrant issued after lawsuits were filed against him by two men who say he raped them when they were minors. He has denied wrongdoing and is being held pending a plea hearing on Wednesday.

His case has become the highest profile accusation in a cascade of sex abuse scandals in Greek culture and sport in recent weeks, causing a reckoning which Greeks have compared to the "me too" movement in the United States.

The Migration Ministry's special secretary for the protection of unaccompanied minors, Irini Agapidaki, told Reuters she had asked the prosecutor to investigate reports in newspapers and on social media that children staying in shelters had taken acting lessons with Lignadis in 2017-18.

"I have an institutional obligation and a moral duty to request that these reports are thoroughly investigated," Agapidaki said.

A lawyer for Lignadis could not immediately be reached for comment.

The semi-official Athens News Agency reported that after two or three lessons with Lignadis, some migrant children had "expressed discomfort or refusal to return to the classroom". It said the shelters were run by three charities, which it did not identify.

Lignadis resigned from his position earlier this month after accusations of harassment against him appeared in Greek media. The allegations were among a number that have surfaced in Greece since January, when Olympic sailing champion Sofia Bekatorou testified in court that she had been raped 23 years ago by a sports official.

No case was brought against the man Bekatorou accused, as the statute of limitations had passed. But her testimony won praise from politicians and was followed by similar confessions from athletes, actors, singers and others.

Story continues

The scandals have become a major political issue, with the leftwing opposition calling on Culture Minister Lina Mendoni to resign, accusing her of protecting Lignadis. She denied on Friday that she and the theatre director were friends.

On Monday, Prime Minister Kyriakos Mitsotakis gave his backing to Mendoni. His government is due to outline further measures to combat sexual abuse, a spokeswoman told a briefing. She said Mitsotakis would address parliament on Thursday on the issue.

(Editing by Peter Graff)
February 22, 1921 could be called the day that the dancing stopped in Syracuse.

Well, to be more accurate, that was the day that the vibrant, popular dances associated with the first years of the Roaring Twenties and the Jazz Age could no longer be performed in public in the city.

The day before, hoping to combat an ongoing crimewave, the Syracuse Common Council voted for a series of drastic blue laws, the first in the citys history.

A halo of blue settled down over the city, the Syracuse Journal reported.

Syracuse Orange, which the newspaper said was known the country over as the color most associated with the city, had been replaced by a different shade.

There was a "knockout blow" for many types of dancing in Syracuse according to the Feb. 22, 1921 Post-Standard. Post-Standard, Feb. 22, 1921Post-Standard, Feb. 22, 1921

The Council wasnt satisfied with the lighter hints of blue. They plastered the city with real old indigo.

Bowling alleys, billiard parlors and poolrooms all had to close by midnight.

And most modern dances were all considered taboo.

You shall not dance the naughty dances in Syracuse any more except under pain of penalties, the Syracuse Herald wrote.

The shimmy, the toddle, the camel walk, face-to-face, jazz dances, or any other dances which had similar vulgar positions or movements would now be deemed immoral.

The anti-dance ordinance, first proposed by Alderman Denny Holy Haley, was not just symbolic. There were some real teeth to it.

The law was so long and complete that it took more than 30 minutes to be read aloud.

(The Journal joked that the word prohibited was used so often it was almost left worn out.)

Permits had to be paid to hold public dances at a hotel or dance hall, $75 a year or $5 for an individual dance. Anyone who wished to conduct one had to be of good moral character.

Children under 16 were not allowed. And, of course, there could be no dancing after midnight or on Sundays.

This cartoon from the Feb. 22, 1921 Syracuse Herald had a bit of fun with the new anti-dance ordinance passed in the Common Council the day before. Suggestive modern dances like the camel walk, shimmy, and toddle were all banned from public dances. It was the first blue laws in Syracuse history. Courtesy of World ArchivesCourtesy of World Archives

When a dance was allowed, the lights could not be dimmed and uniformed police or censors of good repute needed to be present to make sure the ordinance was followed.

If the measures were enforced, the Post-Standard declared, the dance halls and hotel ballrooms of Syracuse would be under closer observation and tighter control than any in America.

A party to celebrate George Washingtons birthday at Syracuse Universitys Archbold Gymnasium came to screeching halt on the night that the ordinance became law.

The guests had just decided, a few of them, that the edict relating to the toddle was a bit severe and they might venture to, if not break it, at least dent it a little, the Herald reported.

Then the lights went out.

Officials swore that it was unintentional but those who were there felt they were being punished.

After 20 minutes of standing in the dark, the party broke up in an all-pervading gloom.

On Feb. 25, Syracuse dance instructors were asked to come to City Hall for a meeting with Sebert Friedrich, deputy commissioner of public safety, to discuss the provisions of the new ordinance.

They were told that the new rules were not meant for jokes and warned they would be held strictly responsible for any violations which might occur.

They all agreed to comply.

I understand plainly what Ive got to do to keep my license, one said.

There is no doubt that some of the new dances should be prohibited, said a female instructor. If the police are fair and make everybody observe the law exactly alike, well be all the better for the tightening restrictions.

They did have some questions though.

Sure, they could recognize popular dances like the camel walk and the shimmy, but some wondered what wiggles are legitimate and what come under the ban?

That was a question that the Syracuse police force was also grappling with.

Syracuse policemen, according to the latest information the Post-Standard wrote, have been too busy of late chasing crooks, violators of the Volstead Act and putting the lid generally on the citys crime wave, to keep up with the times and their social duties as pertains to terpsichorean art.

Some at the Common Council actually considered starting a dance academy at the police gymnasium to teach officers how to recognize the offending dances.

Much like the Prohibition laws before, people began looking for ways to skirt the new dancing laws.

Going underground, as private clubs were unaffected, or traveling out to the suburban dance halls in Eastwood and Brewerton, anywhere outside of city lines, were the main options.

Many in Eastwood would grumble about the influx of Syracuse riffraff coming to their village, young people looking for a place to dance like they used to.

Others in the city began singing a new tune: The Syracuse Blues.

Have you heard the awful news, in that Town of Syracuse?

Jane and Jimmie mustnt shimmy 

No more toddles will be showing,

And the camels they are going,

Just because of those Common Council Blues.

This short note appeared in the July 10, 1953 Post-Standard editorial page. It mentions the 1921 dance ordinance as being still on the books and was one of the old laws that the Bureau of Municipal Research hoped to have removed from the books. Courtesy of World ArchivesCourtesy of World Archives

It is difficult to know if the 1921 anti-dance ordinance made any real difference in how Syracusans behaved.

One story from the Post-Standard shortly after the law was passed made it sound like it did very little.

At several large dances held in the downtown section, a careful observer who says he knows the steps and movements of all the latest dances, states that he was unable to discern any difference in the way folks danced before and after the law was passed.

The police who were there to supervise, he thought, could not tell the difference between the shimmy, toddle and camel walk with the fox-trot, two-step, or the old waltz.

What is known is that the law remained on the books for a very long time.

In January 1953, director of Syracuses Bureau of Municipal Research, Laurence OToole, began an enormous project of codifying the citys old laws and ordinances, some of which had been the on the books since the citys founding in 1848. Nearly all were either forgotten or ignored.

He compiled more than 1,000 laws into a 262-page report and asked that they be reviewed and eliminated.

It was unlawful, for example, to blow any steam whistle or discharge steam from any locomotive or from any engine attached to any boat or vessel to the annoyance of horses.

Some laws were good common sense, really.

Manure could not be carried without a tight cover. Gunpowder could not be purchased at night. You could not store hay near a stove. You could not fly a balloon with a fire burning inside of it. Do not trespass in outhouses.

Others were silly.

You could not play an organ or blow a bugle in certain cases without the consent of the Mayor or the Common Council.

Citizens were not permitted to ring bells or gongs on sidewalks and streets, but all sleighs were required to have bells.

And, yes, the dancing law of 1921 was still on the books 32 years later.

Read more

1911: To make city safer, Syracuse considers taking on a public menace: bristling hat pins

Meet Asa Ladd of Brewerton, who once fell through the ice and kept fishing and was shot in the foot and kept hunting

1950: The time a Syracuse movie theater gave away a real-life lion cub.

Stuck inside? Check out our true-crime podcast

An invention from Upstate NY soon became the preferred method of execution across the United States -- the electric chair. In The Condemned, we trace the history of the chair through the stories of five men who were sentenced to death for their crimes. Explore our series here.

This feature is a part of CNY Nostalgia, a section on syracuse.com. Send your ideas and curiosities to Johnathan Croyle at jcroyle@syracuse.com or call 315-427-3958.
He was recently revealed to have furloughed staff at his start-up low alcohol drinks firm, despite being worth an estimated 3million.

And Spencer Matthews looked in good spirits as he enjoyed a day out with his wife Vogue Williams and their son Theodore, two, in London on Monday.

The couple, who are also parents to daughter Gigi, seven months, were joined by Vogue's brother Alexander on the afternoon outing.

Couple: Spencer Matthews and Vogue Williams looked in good spirits as they enjoyed a day out with their son Theodore, two, in London on Monday

Vogue, 35, wrapped up in a black padded jacket as she pushed Theodore in a buggy.

The Heart Radio presenter also sported white trousers along with matching trainers and a pair of shades.

The reality star completed her look for the day by styling her blonde locks into a ponytail.

Spencer, 32, also opted for a laid back look, sporting a navy bomber jacket along with a pair of tan trousers.

Outfit: Vogue wrapped up in a black padded jacket as she pushed Theodore in a buggy

Stroll: The couple, who are also parents to daughter Gigi, seven months, were joined by Vogue's brother Alexander on the afternoon outing

The outing comes after James Matthews and his Made in Chelsea star brother Spencer have both been claiming taxpayers money to furlough staff, MailOnline has learned.

Hedge fund boss James, 45, is believed to have been using the government handouts to pay the six employees of his Scottish shooting estate, Glen Affric.

Younger brother Spencer, worth an estimated 3m, has also furloughed staff at his start-up low alcohol drinks firm, The Clean Liquor Co, established in June 2020.

The state-funded Coronavirus Jobs Retention Scheme (CJRS), running since the first lockdown almost a year ago, is designed to help cash-strapped employers survive the lean months of the pandemic, but eyebrows will be raised at two such high net worth individuals taking advantage of the public money.

Style: The Heart Radio presenter also sported a pair of white trousers along with matching trainers and a pair of shades

Looking good: The reality star completed her look for the day by styling her blonde locks into a ponytail

Casual: Spencer also opted for a laid back look, sporting a navy bomber jacket along with a pair of tan trousers

Both companies appear on the governments published list of firms which made use of the furlough scheme during December, but previous months have not been made public.

Under the CJRS, furloughed workers receive 80% of their wages, up to 2,500 per month. The government website did not reveal what staff at both Matthews companies earn.

The Clean Liquor Co. Ltd lists Spencer as its only director and was only incorporated in June 2020. However, before setting up the limited company he received an investment from a US venture capital firm for 1.45m.

Old Etonian Spencer, who became famous on the upmarket reality show MIC, recently became teetotal, and set up his firm to produce low and no-alcohol rum and gin as a healthy alternative to traditional spirits.

Decision: The outing comes after Spencer was recently revealed to have furloughed staff at his start-up low alcohol drinks firm, despite being worth an estimated 3million

Spencer is also a director of the Eden Rocks gems business, with jeweller Neil Duttson, which he launched in 2019 after helping design an engagement ring for Vogue.

No accounts are publicly available for the Clean Liquor Co. yet due to its recent incorporation.

Racing driver-turned city trader James, who was privately educated at Uppingham School, married the Duchess of Cambridges younger sister Pippa in 2017, having proposed with a 3.5 carat 200,000 diamond ring the previous year.

James, who has also spent lockdown in the capital with his wife, is set to inherit the Scottish courtesy title of Laird of Glen Affric which came with the 10,000-acre estate of the same name near Inverness that his father bought in 2008. James is listed as managing director of Beaufort Glen Affric.

Business: Spencer's older brother James, 45, is also believed to have been using the government handouts to pay the six employees of his Scottish shooting estate, Glen Affric

The estates website lists six employees at Glen Affric, and it is believed they are the furloughed workers, as due to the lockdown, paying guests would no longer be able to hire the impressive mansion for shooting parties or other occasions.

One of James smaller companies, Beaufort Glen Affric Ltd, based in Inverness, was in the red to the tune of 9.95m, according to the latest published accounts in 2019. It is this company, believed to handle the running of the Glen Affric Estate, which has claimed under the CJRS.

Having launched his own hedge fund company, Eden Rock Capital Management Group  named after his father Davids exclusive 1,000-a-night hotel in St Barths - in 2017, James was estimated to be close to to being a billionaire by founder of the Wealth Quotient website, David Friedman. More recent estimates of his wealth have put it at up to 2bn.

He owns a 3m private jet and bought a six-bedroomed, 17m house in 2014, which boasts a car-stacking garage in the basement, along with an underground home cinema and a lift.

Staff: Spencer, worth an estimated 3m, has also furloughed staff at his start-up low alcohol drinks firm, The Clean Liquor Co, established in June 2020

The CJRS scheme was launched on March 20, 2020, initially for three months, then extended several times and will now run until the end of April 2021.

Initially the scheme was only for those workers who were on their company's payroll on or before 28 February 2020; this was later changed to 19 March 2020, making 200,000 additional workers eligible. On the first day of operation 140,000 companies applied to use the scheme and its cost has been estimated at 14 billion a month to run.

Spencer dropped out of a degree in Film and Television at the University of Southern California and went on to dabble in nightclub promotion for London clubs such as Prince Harrys favourite, Boujiis, before going to work as a foreign exchange broker.

Spencer and James brother Michael died at the age of 22 when descending Mt Everest. Both the brothers are directors of the Michael Matthews Foundation, a charity in his memory which supports education projects in Asia and Africa.

Couple: Racing driver-turned city trader James, who was privately educated at Uppingham School, married the Duchess of Cambridges younger sister Pippa in 2017, having proposed with a 3.5 carat 200,000 diamond ring the previous year

A spokesperson for James Matthews and Spencer Matthews declined to comment when approached by MailOnline.

When Victoria Beckham was revealed to have been using the furlough scheme for 30 staff at her fashion company last year, she swiftly performed a U-turn and handed back the cash.

Victoria whose combined 335m fortune with husband David, is a fraction of that of James Matthews wealth, was said to be devastated by the public reaction to her using the scheme.
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Rep. Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez, D-N.Y., is lending her star power to the Lone Star State.

The lawmaker helped raise a whopping $5 million in donations to help Texas recover from the disastrous winter storm that slammed the state.

Ocasio-Cortez volunteered Saturday at a Houston food bank with Texas Reps. Sheila Jackson-Lee and Sylvia Garcia.

The bank REALLY needs helping hands, she tweeted. Can you join a shift?

Texas was slowly getting back to some semblance of normalcy after the fierce snow storm and historic Arctic blast all but brought the nations second most-populous state to its knees.

A warm-up was in full swing with temperatures soaring back toward normal levels across the state after they plunged below zero in many places.

But the damage was already done as millions lost power as the states independently run power grid buckled.

President Joe Biden issued a major disaster declaration for the state and ordered federal agencies to aid the recovery effort.

Biden said Friday that he hopes to travel to Texas next week but doesnt want his presence and the accompanying presidential entourage to distract from the recovery.

Theyre working like the devil to take care of their folks, Biden said of Texas officials.

Gov. Greg Abbott thanked Biden for the aid but noted that he asked for more aid to individuals in all Texas counties, not just the 77 counties that the White House identified.

Ocasio-Cortez flew into Texas two days after Sen. Ted Cruz, R-Texas, sparked a firestorm of criticism when he was caught flying out of frozen Texas to sunny Cancun for a family vacation. She joined a chorus of calls for Cruz to resign, which he has rejected.
Hong Kong: Get COVID-19 jabs early: CE

Chief Executive Carrie Lam today received her COVID-19 vaccination and called on Hong Kong people to get vaccinated as soon as possible.

Mrs Lam, joined by secretaries of departments and directors of bureaus, received her jab at the community vaccination centre at the Central Library this afternoon.

Meeting the media afterwards, Mrs Lam explained that taking the lead in getting vaccinated is the Governments way of kick-starting the citys vaccination programme.

Im extremely pleased that I and my principal officials have come to this community vaccination centre to receive the first dose of COVID-19 vaccine.

We are taking the Sinovac vaccine today - which was developed and manufactured in the Mainland - because this is the first vaccine that arrived in Hong Kong last Friday, with a total one million doses. This act of us receiving the jabs kick-starts a very important vaccination programme in Hong Kong.

We are very determined and very committed to rolling out a free and universal vaccination programme for the people of Hong Kong so that we could get ourselves out of this epidemic as soon as possible.

So I would appeal to all residents in Hong Kong, when your turn comes, please register on the Internet and come forward to receive your jab as soon as possible.

The Chief Executive stressed that it will take the full co-operation of society to make the vaccination programme work.

We have enough vaccines procured. We would do all we could to make it easier for residents to receive the vaccination. But at the end of the day, this job, like all the other efforts we had made in the past year, requires the full collaboration of the people of Hong Kong.

So protect yourself, protect your family and your loved ones and help Hong Kongs society to recover as soon as possible, please come forward to receive the vaccination.

Mrs Lam also reiterated that the Government will ensure the vaccines safety, efficacy and quality.

I need to assure everyone, especially given that we are on the first day of kick-starting this vaccination programme, I have to assure every Hong Kong citizen that the Government is very serious about the safety, efficacy and quality of vaccines. We would only use vaccines which meet those high standards before we put it into the Governments COVID-19 Vaccination Programme.

This story has been published on: 2021-02-22. To contact the author, please use the contact details within the article.
The Governments introduction of mandatory quarantine for people travelling from other countries into Ireland has been way too slow, an infectious disease expert has said.

Professor Sam McConkey said that the Irish government has not been fast enough to pass legislation which makes self-isolating legally necessary.

Mr McConkey, who is the head of the department of International Health and Tropical Medicine at the Royal College of Surgeons in Ireland said a massive investment in public health is needed.

Last Thursday, the government finally signed off on the primary legislation to bring mandatory quarantine into law. First time offenders who break the quarantine could face a 4,000, or even imprisonment.

A second offence could see fines of up to 4,500 or three months in prison, while a third offence could raise fines to 5,000 or six months in prison - or both. In addition, people who have to quarantine will be footing the bill.

Mr McConkey said he wasnt supporting a total travel ban, recalling comments from another infectious disease expert - Professor Paddy Mallon - who said in the early days of the pandemic that the border on the island of Ireland should be completely closed.

I was saying no, we need some travel for business, we should have mandatory 14-day quarantine for everyone, Mr McConkey told Newstalk Breakfast. And those were the two balanced sides of the polemic argument.

Sadly now here we are ten months later and we haven't done either, we're only considering the legislation to do the latter.

He similarly added that a lot more should be done to improve the countrys test and trace services, including the testing of casual contacts. He said testing should come to the people, rather than the other way around.

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The government has also received criticism from other Dail members for how long it took to introduce legislation around mandatory quarantine, with Sinn Fein TD Pearse Doherty saying it was a half-baked attempt to deal with the issue.

While everyone would have to go through a period of self-isolation after travelling in from abroad, most people would be able to free themselves from quarantine after five days with a negative Covid-19 test. However, those travelling in from 19 countries would have to stay quarantined for the full 14 days, even with a negative test.

Both South Africa and Brazil are parts of that list because of the new virus mutations that have arisen there. Mr McCokney described the Brazilian variant as concerning, particularly since three cases of it were identified in Ireland last Friday.

It's not that it transmits more to people, the big concern is that it might escape the protection of the vaccine, he said. These things can spread even in vaccinated people is the absolute terror of all of us.

Maybe they're partially protected, but that partially might be quite small like 50pc protection.

On a final note, he added that: I think there's more we still could do and the government could do to try and take control, particularly this backwards contract tracing, going back 14 days and mapping out every person and every place that the person with Covid has had and then using geocoding and a database to match each individual to Covid and see where are the outbreaks.

Read More












Bloomberg

(Bloomberg) -- Its nearly two months since turbulence erupted around China Huarong Asset Management Co.At the end of March, its 4% perpetual dollar bond was trading at 102 cents on the dollar as investors figured the January execution of former chairman Lai Xiaomin for bribery put a line under past wayward behavior. But the failure of the company to release 2020 results by a March 31 deadline, and a subsequent report by mainland media Caixin that the firm will restructure, sparked weeks of turmoil. The same bond is now at 57 cents.The heart of the matter is whether the central government will rescue a state-owned company thats integral to the smooth running of the financial system. While there are signs Beijing wants to ensure China Huarong can repay its debts on time, uncertainty prevails.Heres a look at the key events for China Huarong:May 28The company has wired funds to repay $978 million of notes maturing within the following week, according to Bloomberg News, the biggest bond payment since the 2020 results delay.May 27Liang Qiang, who currently heads another bad-debt manager, is on track to become president of China Huarong, reports Bloomberg News.May 24China Huarong dollar bonds climb after the managing editor of Caixin Media wrote in an opinion piece that the asset manager is nowhere near defaulting on its more than $20 billion of offshore notes.May 21Some of China Huarongs thinly traded onshore bonds slump after having held up better than the companys dollar-denominated notes, signaling broadening concern about the firms financial health.May 18China Huarong has transferred funds to repay a $300 million note maturing May 20, Bloomberg News reports, the first dollar bond to come due since the delayed 2020 results. Prices for the firms dollar bonds slump earlier in the day after the New York Times reports China is planning an overhaul that would inflict significant losses on both domestic and foreign China Huarong bondholders.May 17The company has reached funding agreements with state-owned banks to ensure it can repay debt through at least the end of August, by which time China Huarong aims to have completed its 2020 financial statements, according to a Bloomberg News report. That as at least two of its onshore bonds see big price declines in recent days, worrying some investors.May 13The firm says its prepared to make future bond payments and has seen no change in the level of government support, seeking to ease investor concerns after a local media report that regulators balked at China Hurarongs restructuring plan.May 6The company says it transferred funds to pay five offshore bond coupons due the following day, its latest move to meet debt obligations amid persistent doubts about its financial health.April 30China Huarong breaks its silence, with an executive telling media it is prepared to make its bond payments and state backing remains intact. The official also says the weeks rating downgrades have no factual basis and are too pessimistic.April 29Moodys Investor Service downgrades China Huarong by one notch to Baa1, adding the firm remains on watch for further downgrade. The cut reflects the companys weakened funding ability due to market volatility and increased uncertainty over its future, according to the statement.April 27China Huarong units repay bonds maturing that day. The S$600 million ($450 million) bond was repaid with funds provided by Chinas biggest state-owned bank, according to a Bloomberg News report.April 26Fitch Ratings downgrades China Huarong by three notches to BBB while dropping the companys perpetual bonds into junk territory. The lack of transparency over government support for the firm may hamper its ability to refinance debt in offshore markets, Fitch said.April 25China Huarong says it wont meet an April 30 deadline to file its 2020 report with Hong Kongs stock exchange because auditors needed more time to finalize a transaction the company first flagged on April 1. Securities and asset-management units said in the days before that they wouldnt release 2020 results by months end.April 22The China Banking and Insurance Regulatory Commission asks lenders to extend China Huarongs upcoming loans by at least six months, according to REDD, citing two bankers from large Chinese commercial lenders.April 21China is considering a plan that would see its central bank assume more than 100 billion yuan ($15 billion) of China Huarong assets to help clean up the firms balance sheet, according to a Bloomberg News report. Peer China Cinda Asset Management Co. was said to be planning the sale of perpetual bonds in the second quarter.April 20China Huarongs key offshore financing unit says it returned to profitability in the first quarter and laid a solid foundation for transformation. Reorg Research reports that regulators are considering options including a debt restructuring of the unit, China Huarong International Holdings Ltd.April 19Huarong Securities Co. says it wired funds to repay a 2.5 billion yuan local note.April 16The CBIRC says China Huarongs operations are normal and that the firm has ample liquidity. These are the first official comments about the companys troubles. Reuters reports Chinese banks have been asked not to withhold loans to Huarong.April 13Fitch and Moodys both put the company on watch for downgrade. The finance ministry, which owns a majority of Huarong, is considering the transfer of its stake to a unit of the countrys sovereign wealth fund, Bloomberg News reports. Chinese officials signal they want failing local government financing vehicles to restructure or go bust if debts cant be repaid.April 9China Huarong says it has been making debt payments on time and its operations are normal. Bloomberg News reports the company intends to keep Huarong International as part of a potential overhaul that would avoid the need of a debt restructuring or government recapitalization. S&P Global Ratings puts China Huarongs credit ratings on watch for possible downgrade.April 8China Huarong is preparing to offload non-core and loss-making units as part of a broad plan to revive profitability that would avoid the need for a debt restructuring or government recapitalization, Bloomberg News reports.April 6Selling gains steam in China Huarongs dollar bonds, following a holiday in China. Huarong Securities says there has been no major change to its operations, in response to a price plunge for its 3 billion yuan local bond.April 1China Huarong announces a delay in releasing 2020 results, saying its auditor is unable to finalize a transaction. Stock trading is suspended and spreads jump on the firms dollar bonds while China Huarong tells investors its business is running as usual. Caixin reports the company submitted restructuring and other major reform plans to government officials and shareholders.More stories like this are available on bloomberg.comSubscribe now to stay ahead with the most trusted business news source.2021 Bloomberg L.P.
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Adding fresh fruits can take margaritas to the next level. Shutterstock

Today is National Margarita Day, and there are plenty of ways to jazz up your typical recipe.

Many margarita recipes call for ingredients you probably already have in your kitchen.

You can easily make a spicy version of a classic margarita using commonly found kitchen ingredients.

Visit Insider's homepage for more stories.

On National Margarita Day, you might be wondering how to make a delicious drink from the comfort of home.

Despite what you may think, making a bar- or restaurant-quality margarita doesn't require a ton of experience in mixology.

"The best cocktail right now is the one you can make with the ingredients you have at hand," David Alan, the director of mixology and trade at PATRON Tequila, told Insider. "The advantage at-home celebrations have given us is the chance to tap into our creativity. Usually, even the 'mistakes' taste good, and your new discovery may taste better than the original."

With a few simple tricks and ingredients you probably already have in your pantry, fridge, or freezer, anyone can take a classic margarita to the next level.

Here are 12 hacks to make your margaritas even better - with things you already have in your kitchen.

Stick your margarita glasses in the freezer for a few minutes.

Margarita. Iralin Irala/Getty Images

Freezing your margarita glass ensures your drinks remain chilled as long as possible.

"Chilling a glass allows the drink to maintain the ideal, chilled temperature for a longer period of time," David Alan told Insider. "It will slow down the dilution of the ice into your drink and keep the drink at its optimal drinking temperature for longer. The frost on the glass also adds a nice aesthetic to the final presentation."

Freezing the glass before serving is also an underrated trick for rimming the glass with salt. While wetting the glass rim with a lime wedge is one surefire method, the condensation on the rim of a chilled margarita glass makes for a perfectly even salted rim every time.

Story continues

Use a cocktail shaker to combine your ingredients, instead of mixing directly in the glass. If you don't have one, use a travel mug instead.

A shaker ensures every sip is perfect. Shutterstock

Margaritas are intended to be shaken, not stirred. Rather than mixing all the ingredients in the glass itself, mix everything in a cocktail shaker before pouring. This will guarantee all the ingredients are perfectly combined.

If you don't have a cocktail shaker on hand, using a to-go travel mug (with the lid completely covered) or two glasses fit together also works in a pinch.

Adding fruits like mango can add a lot more flavor to your margaritas.

Mango margarita. Rimma Bondarenko/Shutterstock

While a classic margarita with lime is certainly tasty, adding other fruits can kick your drinks up a notch.

Simply blend diced mango chunks along with the rest of your margarita ingredients, then pour into a glass of ice.

Other frozen or fresh fruits like pomegranate, strawberries, and pineapple can also take your margaritas to the next level.

Strawberry margarita. yagmradam/Getty Images

You can do the same method with other fresh fruits  watermelon, pineapple, pomegranate, strawberries, and blueberries all make great additions to margaritas.

Using fresh fruit will give margaritas a smoother and more juice-like texture, while frozen fruit will give your margaritas a more slushy consistency.

Juice, such as grapefruit juice, can also freshen up your drink.

Grapefruit slices. parasolia/Shutterstock

A splash of fruit juice can also add some more flavor to your margaritas. Grapefruit juice will give a tart, slightly sour flavor, while pineapple juice creates a more tropical-tasting drink.

"Citrus-based juices are essential for balancing out the sweetness of a margarita," David Alan told Insider. "While lime juice is classic, lemon makes a great substitute. Pineapple juice gives a luscious tropical feel to a margarita, or even just make tequila and pineapple juice on the rocks!"

Using Cointreau instead of Triple Sec can make your margaritas pack more of a punch.

Cointreau. monticello/Getty Images

While Triple Sec is the ingredient most commonly used in margaritas, Cointreau can also be substituted in for a slightly boozier beverage, especially if that's all you have at home.

While both liqueurs have a bright orange flavor, Triple Sec has an alcohol content of between 15% and 30%, while Cointreau is slightly stronger, at 40% alcohol.

Spicy margaritas with jalapenos and chili salt rims are one of the most common - and delicious - ways to enjoy a margarita.

Spicy mango margaritas with jalapenos and chili salt rims. IriGri/Shutterstock

One of the most popular twists on a classic margarita is a spicy margarita. Often topped with jalapenos and served in a glass rimmed with chili salt, these cocktails pack slightly more heat than traditional margaritas.

"Making salt rims is relatively easy and my best advice is to just have fun with it  similar to throwing spices into a pot of soup," Alan said. "For chili salt, you combine 4 teaspoons of kosher salt, 1 teaspoon of chili powder, and 1 teaspoon of cayenne on a flat plate, mix it all together, then rim your glass with a lime and then dip the glass in the mixture."

You can also spice things up by infusing your tequila with jalapeno at home.

Margarita with salt. Shutterstock

Making homemade jalapeno tequila is extremely easy. To make it, simply slice up around three peppers, place in a large jar, and pour in a bottle of tequila  this recipe from the Greatist recommends a 750 ml bottle.

Be sure to include the seeds, as that's where much of the spiciness comes from, and allow the tequila to infuse with the jalapenos for at least 24 hours. Leave the mixture to infuse even longer if you want your tequila to be extra spicy.

Strain out the seeds and peppers, and you've got homemade jalapeno tequila.

Coconut milk is another great addition to any margarita.

Coconut margarita. eyecrave/Getty Images

This tropical take on a margarita is perfect for any celebration or night at home. The coconut cream found at the top of canned coconut milk makes margaritas creamy and rich in flavor.

To further elevate your coconut margarita, rim the glass with coconut shavings instead of salt.

Adding ice and blending your margaritas can turn them into a delicious frozen treat.

Frozen margaritas. Agave NYC

"Frozen drinks sometimes have a bad reputation because there are so many bad ones out there  cheap spirits, artificial mixers, etc. These should be avoided. Just like with anything, if you put in good ingredients, you'll get good results," David Alan told Insider. "A frozen margarita made with PATRON Silver, PATRON Citronge Orange, and fresh lime juice will be absolutely delicious."

Using either ice cubes or frozen fruit, blend your margarita ingredients together on high until you reach your desired consistency.

"An important thing to consider is the balance of the drink  if you just throw a rocks margarita into a blender, the result will be too watery because of the extra dilution from the blended ice. You need to ramp up the spirits, the lime juice, and add a little simple syrup to balance it out," Alan said. "When it's done right, a frozen drink is like air conditioning for your mouth."

Try adding a beer upside down into your drink for a different taste.

Corona. Lucy Nicholson/Reuters

Also called a "Mexican bulldog," a "CoronaRita" is a classic margarita topped with an overturned beer bottle inside the glass. The pressure of the margarita stops the beer from mixing together immediately.

However, as you drink it, the beer and margarita combine, creating a delicious combination of the two beverages.

Adding a frozen popsicle to your margarita is a fun way to elevate your cocktails.

Spicy margaritas with mango popsicles. sveta_zarzamora/Getty Images

This fun hack will make any at-home cocktail night feel like a true celebration. Simply make a classic margarita, and then add in your favorite flavored popsicles.

Not only will the popsicles act as ice cubes, keeping your drink nice and cold, but the flavors will seep into the drink creating a delicious twist on the classic cocktail.

Read the original article on Insider
Washington:

India is allowed to construct hydroelectric power facilities on tributaries of the Jhelum and Chenab rivers with certain restrictions under the 1960 Indus Waters Treaty (IWT), the World Bank has said.

The World Banks comments came as officials from India Pakistan concluded the secretary-level talks over the IWT.

Pakistan opposes the construction of the Kishanganga (330 megawatts) and Ratle (850 megawatts) hydroelectric power plants being built by India in Jammu and Kashmir, the global lender said in a fact sheet issued Tuesday.

Noting that the two countries disagree over whether the technical design features of the two hydroelectric plants contravene the treaty, the World Bank said the IWT designates these two rivers as well as the Indus as the Western Rivers to which Pakistan has unrestricted use.

Among other uses, India is permitted to construct hydroelectric power facilities on these rivers subject to constraints specified in annexures to the treaty, the Bank said in its fact sheet.

It noted that the talks on the technical issues of the IWT took place this week in a spirit of goodwill and cooperation.

The parties have agreed to continue discussions and reconvene in September in Washington DC, it said in a separate statement.

In the lengthy fact sheet, the World Bank said Pakistan asked it to facilitate the setting up of a Court of Arbitration to look into its concerns about the designs of the two hydroelectric power projects.

On the other hand, India had asked for the appointment of a neutral expert to look into the issues, contending the concerns Pakistan raised were technical ones.

The IWT was signed in 1960 after nine years of negotiations between India and Pakistan with the help of the World Bank, which is also a signatory.

The World Banks role in relation to differences and disputes is limited to the designation of people to fulfil certain roles when requested by either or both of the parties, the fact sheet said.

Earlier, in a letter dated July 25, the World Bank had assured Indian Ambassador to the US Navtej Sarna its continued neutrality and impartiality in helping the parties to find and amicable way forward.

The two countries last held talks over the two projects in March this year during the meeting of the Permanent Indus Commission (PIC) in Pakistan.

Pakistan had approached the World Bank last year, raising concerns over the designs of two hydroelectricity projects located in Jammu and Kashmir.

It had demanded that the World Bank, which is the mediator between the two countries under the 57-year-old water distribution pact, set up a court of arbitration to look into its concerns.

The international lender had in November 2016 initiated two simultaneous processes for appointing a neutral expert and establishing of a court of arbitration to look into technical differences between the two countries in connection with the projects.

The simultaneous processes, however, were halted after India objected to it.

After that, representatives of the World Bank held talks with India and Pakistan to find a way out separately.

The talks between the two nations over the treaty come amid tensions between them after a number of terror attacks in India by Pakistan-based terror groups.

For all the Latest World News, Download News Nation Android and iOS Mobile Apps.
Photo: DriveBC Hwy 1, near Parks Headquarters at Glacier National Park, 72 km east of Revelstoke, looking east. (elevation: 1330 metres)

A winter storm warning has been issued for the Trans-Canada Highway - Eagle Pass to Rogers Pass.

Environment Canada indicates a frontal system laden with subtropical moisture which will continue to give snow to parts of the Trans-Canada Highway, hazardous winter conditions are expected.

As snow levels hover around 1200 metres today, rain will fall over most of the highway with snow expected at higher elevations.

The snow is forecast to taper off to a few flurries overnight tonight with total accumulations possibly reaching 35 cm.

Rapidly accumulating snow could make travel difficult over some locations. Visibility may be suddenly reduced at times in heavy snow. Take extra care when walking or driving in affected areas.

Weather in the mountains can change suddenly resulting in hazardous driving conditions.

Please check DriveBC and Castanet cameras for the latest on driving conditions.
COLUMBIA  First Reliance wants to become South Carolinas next billion dollar bank.

As large banks across the Palmetto State have consolidated, moving headquarters across state lines, the Florence-based community bank has been attracting a new team of industry veterans and making moves to elevate its profile across the Carolinas.

Its been enough for some analysts to add it to their watch list this year.

Whats interesting about First Reliance is theyre in a growth spurt, said Chris Marinac, an Atlanta-based researcher for investment advisory firm Janney Montgomery Scott.

In his first report on the bank, Marinac points out First Reliance CEO Rick Saunders lured in chief operating officer Robert Dozier from Federal Home Loan Bank of Atlanta and finance chief Robert Haile from what was formerly Charleston's CresCom Bank.

Most recently Columbia-based Justin Strickland, formerly of Southern First, has joined on as president.

"Their bench has grown deeper and deeper every quarter, Marinac said. I think, as they have added this new leadership, the customers are following."

The bank currently sits at $750 million in loans and other revenue-producing assets. Strickland, who will oversee the commercial business, hopes to reach the $1 billion mark within the next couple years.

Before joining First Reliance, Strickland, as president, took Greenville-based Southern First from $500 million in business in 2006 to $2.5 billion a year ago.

The Florence institution is also hoping to take advantage of gaps created by industry mergers to snap up market share.

"Business is booming and the backyards are booming," Marinac said of the South Carolina market. "They find themselves in a good state with good demographics and less banks."

SunTrust Bank and BB&T Corp., the third- and-seventh-largest banks in South Carolina by business volume respectively, joined in 2019 to become Truist, the sixth-largest U.S. bank with a projected $442 billion in assets and $324 billion in customer deposits. With that, the headquarters were moved from Atlanta and Winston-Salem to Charlotte.

Then, in 2020 there was the $2.3 billion merger of Columbia's South State Corp. and its headquarters move out of the Capital City to central Florida.

And the second-biggest bank once headquartered in the state, CresCom, on an acquisition run recent years itself, was acquired for $1.1 billion last year by United Bank of West Virginia.

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When banks grow past a certain point they must turn their focus to bigger customers, Marinac said, making the best use of their time. So those smaller customers may migrate to smaller but growing institutions, like First Reliance.

"The Truist marriage is still evolving and the systems changeover is only just starting to happen now, Marinac said. "That creates a lot more opportunity."

"South State, I think, is going to have the same issue," he added.

First Reliance already has inroads in Winston-Salem, the fast growing markets of Charleston and Greenville, as well as a presence in Lake Norman near Charlotte.

It really does set the table for big potential for growth over the next 12 to 24 months, Marinac said.

He said the same is true for other banks such as Southern First; First Community in Lexington, which federal data shows has $1.1 billion in deposits; and Grand South in Greenville, with $868 million in deposits.

Marinac said First Reliance has competitive advantages, having invested in the longevity of its home mortgage business that will feed other parts of the company. Its loan portfolio is also clean, with next to no defaults or payment deferrals amid the economic downturn caused by the coronavirus pandemic.

While business for the bank was flat this past year, Marinac is predicting growth in excess of 14 percent in 2021 and 12 percent the year after.

"They have considerable momentum, now they just have to keep executing," he said.

Strickland also said he's hoping for a 15 percent year over year growth rate or higher as he aims for the $1 billion mark.

And as far as future prospects, he said: "the second billion tends to come easier."

Editor's note: This story has been changed to reflect the correct headquarters location of Grand South Bank.
Mumbai, Feb 22 : Actress Fatima Sana Shaikh on Monday informed fans that she has wrapped shooting for her new film, tentatively titled Thar. The film co-stars Anil Kapoor and is scheduled to release on OTT.

The unit has been shooting in various parts of Rajasthan, and the actress posted multiple pictures with the crew and her team.

The actress also tagged the famous "Udaipur sunset" in one of the pictures.

"Fatima just wrapped her shoot for her upcoming project for which she had been traveling extensively, she is part of the star cast along with Anil Kapoor sir," said a source close to the actress.

A few weeks ago, the actress got a Rajasthan-themed birthday bash on location from her team. She cut her cake with a sword as locals played dhol and shehnai. Anil Kapoor attended the celebration, too. The actress had thrown a birthday bash for the cast and crew.

Fatima's last releases are the Diwali films last year. While Ludo dropped on OTT, Suraj Pe Mangal Bhaari hit the theatres.
Both Indian and Chinese troops left the Lake Pangong Tso in the cold Himalayan high country ultimately. The glacial lake is where both armies were facing each other in a tense atmosphere.

The area of Pangong Tso where the Indian Army and the People's Liberation Army have left is complete having been engaged in the frozen lake with continuous tension.

Two armies are recalled as talk happen

In the western Himalayas, both forces with a stiff standoff have now pulled out troops and equipment on both sides. When fights could happen, Pangong Tso was left by Indian and Chinese troops as they separated from the border last Sunday, reported the Epoch Times. Their leaders negotiated that all men and equipment move in a ceasefire.

Since April last year, troops on both sides experienced tension on the Line of Actual Control (LAC). This border runs between China and India, with the LAC going through Pangong Tso glacial lake. Points along the LAC border were located in the Himalayan High Country.

Early in February, the armies of India and China that stayed for a long time in the LAC finally came to a mutual agreement. Prolonged standoff conditions and many talks later with a deal reached on leaving the LAC and reducing tension in other points of the Line of Actual Control.

Recent imagery from Rutog's Military Garrison (developing since late 2019) suggests sections of the disengaged #China PLA troops have been relocated here post the agreement with #India last week, this base however would serve future PLA activity for the #PangongTso area pic.twitter.com/l1hy30qitD  d-atis (@detresfa_) February 22, 2021

Once all the conditions were agreed upon by negotiators, all men and equipment started pulling out a week ago-no less than a full removal of forces at the Pangong Tso. Indian and Chinese troops agreed on the deal struck by their officials, which led to a peaceful withdrawal. Last Saturday, commanders of India and China decided on the terms of withdrawal.

With the withdrawal of tanks completed from the forward areas on the south bank of #PangongTso (lake), India and China have started pulling back troops in large numbers from both the north and south banks. https://t.co/9D8XISzVZE  The Hindu (@the_hindu) February 16, 2021

Also read: China Unhappy About Border Rebuffs and Calls India on Supporting Exiled Tibetan Leaders

The successful pullout from contested areas

Both Indian and Chinese representatives made a press release that said Indian and Chinese Troops left the areas orderly. Their frontline troops keep discipline and follow the withdrawal to the letter when leaving the Pangong Lake area. Officers and high rankers on both sides were pleased the pullout was uneventful.

Officials were pleased that this was a step forward to solve other LAC issues in the western sector. This was the statement of both groups about the pullout.

Parts of the LAC where troops were placed in the Ladakh Region and connecting Chinese-administered Aksai Chin plateau sparked the tension feared to lead to war.

On June 20, the Galway Valley is where skirmishes between the two countries happened first-leading to tensions on the border that was the first in forty years. According to China, four soldiers died in the Galwan skirmishes. Aside from the current pullout, there are more areas where tension is present that must be fixed. These are the Hot Springs, Gogra Post, and the Depsang plains, where more forces are stationed.

Commanders on both sides discussed views on the border, but nothing else was reported. Overall, the commanders on either side were willing to follow their leaders' orders, mostly avoiding Indian and Chinese troops clashing needlessly in the LAC. But the Chinese have exhibited unwanted provocation, which was denied.

Related article: Border Flashpoint Between India and China Shows Chinese Camps Emptying in Satellite Images

@ 2021 HNGN, All rights reserved. Do not reproduce without permission.
VIRGINIA  The Virginia school board is scheduled to meet in regular session at 7 p.m. today in the school cafeteria, 651 S. Morgan St.

Among the items on the agenda are:
Ground Wellbeing and Get The Shifts both say that Local Enterprise Office supports went well beyond funding.

Celebrating Local Enterprise Week launching virtually from Monday, March 1st to Friday, March 5th, this years schedule includes ten free Spotlight events which are organised by individual Local Enterprise Offices and open to every business and start-up  wherever youre based. Here are two of the many companies #MakingItHappen with the help of their Local Enterprise Office.

Ground Wellbeing: Making wellness accessible

Peigin Crowley, founder of Ground Wellbeing, Cork

From her home workshop to Brown Thomas, Peigin Crowley has launched her very own premium Irish wellness business called Ground Wellbeing.

At 6 am Peigin wakes up to create a blend of aromatherapy oils from the comfort of her own home, not far from where she started out as a consultant helping high-end hotels develop their products. But when COVID hit Peigin made the decision to move from the salon arena to retail.

She put together her brand and presentation and pitched it to Brown Thomas, it was a no-brainer, The appetite for wellbeing in our homes was huge as well as the idea of supporting Irish brands. I had the wind behind me, said Peigin.

From the very beginning, Peigins business was supported by her Local Enterprise Office in South Cork, from the Trading Online Voucher and business continuity voucher, they were excellent, and I was approved for a Business Priming Grant. They were very helpful in steering me on strategy and forecasting in terms of business.

GROUND is a collection of natural aromatherapy oils and balms with interwoven wellness rituals to encourage mindful self-care

Peigin also worked with mentor Dennis Casey to iron out obstacles involving Brexit, he talked me through this and bought me time. There was red tape to move through which he fast-tracked with me

For Peigin their support went much further than just grants, LEO provided her with support and solid advice when she needed it most, Its not just a process of filling out forms and getting a grant, theyre actually there when youre behind yourself on things. From a steering and direction perspective, they were brilliant.

Giving exclusive supply to Brown Thomas for six months, Peigin believes this was the best option for her business in terms of brand alignment. It has also given her clear insight into customer engagement and traction, what products were selling fast and how that aligned with social media. Brown Thomas has always been such a beautiful place for me to go to in terms of retail. To go behind the scenes with the buyer, the marketing team, the laughs weve had, the kindness theyve shown, theyve softened everything for me she said.

With a solid foundation, Peigin will begin to sell her products online, I priced it keen and affordable so that wellness could be taken home. I wanted it to feel artisan and accessible but to also have great therapeutic aid.

For Local Enterprise Week, Peigin will be speaking at this year's 'Lets Talk Female Entrepreneurship' virtual event with LEO South Cork on March 4th.

Get The Shifts- A new and exciting staff solution

Hannah Wrixon, CEO of Get The Shifts. Pic Arthur Ellis.

Hannah Wrixon launched her business Get the Shifts in 2016. Her company provides temporary staffing to their clients when and where they need them. Before staffing hospitality superstars to her clients, Hannah started off with a staffing platform called 'Last-minute Minders', but My true love was hospitality, she said.

Get the Shifts grew from strength to strength until 2020, when COVID hit the hospitality industry hard- Hannah had to reassess. As you can imagine every single one of our prebooked and our daily bookings just stopped dead in their tracks in March. Our whole team went out on temporary lay-off. It was shocking for what was supposed to be our best year ever.

But when Hannah reached out to her Local Enterprise Office in Clare, she got the support she needed, Local Enterprise Offices are really good at helping small companies to manage adversity and this was our biggest challenge so far.

The funding provided to her business meant she could grow her company even in times of trouble, We are now coming out of 2020 and into 2021 with a very strong technical product that consists of one web-based app and two mobile apps. Through the flourishing of the technical aspect of the business, Get the Shifts can ditch the paperwork and has made everything much more easily accessible for her clients and those looking for employment, it is the most flexible way of working in Ireland today, she continued.

As well as hospitality Hannah has also launched into other sectors such as the industrial sector, retail, and sales. Without the support of LEO we would be in a very different position. Its not just their financial support, its their emotional support too and you cant put a price on that. Hannah said.

For Local Enterprise Week, Hannah will be speaking at this year's' S.M.A.R.Tech for StartUps' virtual spotlight event with LEO Clare on March 4th.

LEOs are offering a guiding hand to entrepreneurs in 2021

Local Enterprise Week is a major opportunity for SMEs and future start-ups to see the range of supports available, especially during the difficult climate brought about by Covid19, says Oisin Geoghegan, of the Local Enterprise Offices.

Oisin Geoghegan, Chair of the Local Enterprise Offices Network.

One of the key advantages of the Local Enterprise Offices is that we provide a support mechanism for entrepreneurs. Setting up a business can be a lonely place and entrepreneurs do need to feel that they have somewhere to go to that they can trust. All of these services are provided locally from people who understand and know the business landscape in every county in Ireland but also can plug businesses into a national network and advise on international export potential too, he continued.

The programme for 2021 is especially important, as it aims to help entrepreneurs address the key challenges that have impacted their businesses and the challenges that lie ahead of the pandemic.

All our services are available online such as mentoring, training, grant assistance, and so on. Our doors are always open and they have been since the Covid pandemic struck, said Oisin.

The online workshops from the Local Enterprise Offices, which are supported by Enterprise Ireland and the local authorities, include a range of sector-specific learnings such as getting and growing your business online, workshops on how to make your business more sustainable, and many more that are available across the country.

Here is a list of the 10 free Spotlight events taking place virtually from Monday, March 1st to Friday, March 5th

Benefits of Green for your Business  Launching Green for Micro [Organised by LEO Dublin City]- March 1st: How to make your business practices more sustainable and what new supports are now available.

Spring Back & Step Forward: Building Leadership & Resilience [Organised by LEO Donegal]- March 1st: Motivational event, focusing on leadership and resilience to help your business adapt.

Building The New [Organised by LEO Galway]- March 2nd: Dynamic morning session featuring insights from innovators and new start-ups.

Growing Lean: One Small Step or One Giant Leap, Getting Started with Lean [Organised by LEO Kildare]- March 2nd: Introduction to Lean Thinking and how to apply the benefits to your business.

AgriTech Revolution in Farming and Food [Organised by LEO South Cork]- March 3rd: How AgriTech has transformed farming and continues to help the sector thrive.

Creative Connections: Enabling your B-2-B Online Opportunities- [Organised by LEO Carlow]- March 3rd: Opportunities around developing online tools to sell to the trade.

Engage for Growth with David Meade [Organised by LEO Dun Laoghaire- Rathdown]- March 4th: Introducing the psychology of leadership, with a practical toolkit for effective business management.

S.M.A.R.Tech for StartUps [Organised by LEO Clare]- March 4th: For technology start-ups who want to learn more about supports for business growth (virtual tour included).

Masterclass: Health checking your business for its forward journey [Organised by LEO Wexford]- March 4th: Assess the financial health of your business and get to grips with working capital and cash flow management.

Trading Online Voucher Information Webinar [Organised by LEO Fingal]- March 5th: Advice around developing a website, designing a digital marketing strategy, and writing a social media plan for your business.

Local Enterprise Week 2021

For more information about all 200+ events taking place as part of Local Enterprise Week 2021, from Monday, March 1st, to Friday, March 5th, visit: www.LocalEnterprise.ie/week
Well, you have to have perhaps in the West, you have to exclude California because so many voters there, but you would have Idaho, Utah, New Mexico. So that would be one region suggested and that would be the idea of what we do around the rest of the country with regional primaries. I think you could get some traction here.

Biden didnt win Nevada in the Democratic nominating primaries when it was the third state to vote. Would it have made a difference for him if Nevada had voted first?

What saved Joe is in Nevada he came in second. Had he not come in second in Nevada, going into South Carolina in the next few days wouldnt have been great for him. But his having come in second showed viability, and as a result of Clyburns endorsement of him in South Carolina, that propelled him into this nomination for president.

Can you explain a little bit some differences between Nevada voters and Iowa and New Hampshire voters beyond racial diversity?

Racial diversity, of course, is one thing. Union membership is another thing we have in Nevada. Number three, the population center of America is moving west. It used to be that a majority of people in America were east of the Mississippi River. Now its just the opposite. So I think its important that people understand that the West is now heavily populated and is taking over being the center of our country.

The unions are so strong in Nevada politics. Will that warp a first-in-the-nation primary because candidates will be so focused on union endorsements, giving unions more influence there?

I think union political activity is only part of what goes on in the state of Nevada or in any other state. We have union membership, which is important, but you also have the same in other states. Arizona has strong union membership and surprisingly, even a state like Utah, the Salt Lake area is heavily unionized.
New Delhi, Feb 22 : The Supreme Court on Monday agreed to examine a plea against a Calcutta High Court order allowing the CBI to investigate a case of alleged illegal mining and transportation of coal in West Bengal in the absence of consent from the state government.

A bench comprising Justices D.Y. Chandrachud and M.R. Shah also declined to grant protection to Anup Majee, an accused in the alleged illegal coal trading in the Asansol-Raniganj belt in West Bengal. Majee's counsel cited that his client may be arrested on Tuesday, as he has been summoned by the Enforcement Directorate.

Majee, the director of a company involved in buying and selling dry fuel, claimed in his plea that the CBI lacks jurisdiction to register a case after the state government withdrew its general consent in 2018.

Senior advocate A.M. Singhvi, representing the West Bengal government, supported Majee's contention. On the question of law, Singhvi cited that the state had already withdrawn its general consent.

The top court issued a notice to the Centre and the CBI and sought their reply by March 1.

Senior advocate Mukul Rohatgi, representing Majee, submitted before the bench that the CBI's appeal before the division bench of the high court was not maintainable.

He added that the February 12 order was passed without any jurisdiction. Rohatgi said the February 3 order of the single bench was not appealable as it was passed under criminal jurisdiction.

The bench replied that it will examine the matter. Clarifying the proceedings before the single judge, Rohatgi said it was in connection with quashing of an FIR registered by the CBI against the petitioner and others and insisted that allegations against his client were politically motivated. The bench observed that in the present matter, both the state and the petitioner are aggrieved parties.

Addressing Rohatgi's submission seeking protection from arrest for his client, the bench said that nothing would happen to his client at this time.

A division bench of Calcutta High Court had stayed a single bench order, which restricted CBI investigation into alleged illegal mining and transportation of coal to just "railway areas" of the state. Majee's plea seeking grant of protection from any coercive action was also turned down.
HARRISBURG, Pa., Feb. 22, 2021 /PRNewswire/ -- Colonial Park Realty Co t/a Enders ("Enders") recently announced an event that may have impacted the privacy of personal information relating to certain individuals and businesses. While Enders is unaware of any attempted or actual misuse of personal information in relation to the event, Enders provided potentially affected individuals with notice, information about the event and steps individuals could take to help protect their personal information.

On May 7, 2020, Enders became aware of suspicious activity in an employee's email account. Enders immediately changed the employee's email account credentials and began an investigation into the incident. As part of the investigation, which was conducted with the assistance of third-party forensic specialists, it was determined that the employee's email account was subject to unauthorized access from April 13, 2020 to May 7, 2020. Therefore, Enders conducted a thorough and time-consuming review of the account to identify any individuals or businesses whose sensitive information was contained in the account. Through the review, Enders determined that sensitive information related to certain individuals and businesses could be impacted. Although there is no evidence that this information was viewed by an unauthorized individual, Enders provided notice to potentially affected individuals in an abundance of caution.

Enders' investigation determined the information that was potentially subject to unauthorized access included individuals' name, date of birth, Social Security number, driver's license number, passport number, financial account information, payment card information, health insurance information and medical treatment/diagnosis information.

Enders takes the security of personal information in its care very seriously. As part of Enders' ongoing commitment to protecting information in its care, they worked with third-party specialists to reaffirm the security of its systems and to enhance the existing measures in place. Enders has taken and will continue to take steps to help reduce the likelihood of a similar situation from occurring in the future.

Enders recommends you remain vigilant against attempts to obtain sensitive information through social engineering. In addition, as a best practice, individuals should always carefully review their online accounts for unauthorized activity and report any instances of fraud to law enforcement. Enders notified state regulators as required of this incident.

Additional information about the event can be found at Enders website: https://endersinsurance.com.

Steps You Can Take to Help Protect Against Identity Theft and Fraud

Monitor Your Accounts . We encourage you to remain vigilant against incidents of identity theft and fraud, to review your account statements, and to monitor your credit reports for suspicious activity. Under U.S. law you are entitled to one free credit report annually from each of the three major credit reporting bureaus. To order your free credit report, visit www.annualcreditreport.com or call, toll-free, 1-877-322-8228. You may also contact the three major credit bureaus directly to request a free copy of your credit report.

You have the right to place a "security freeze" on your credit report, which will prohibit a consumer reporting agency from releasing information in your credit report without your express authorization. The security freeze is designed to prevent credit, loans, and services from being approved in your name without your consent. However, you should be aware that using a security freeze to take control over who gets access to the personal and financial information in your credit report may delay, interfere with, or prohibit the timely approval of any subsequent request or application you make regarding a new loan, credit, mortgage, or any other account involving the extension of credit. Pursuant to federal law, you cannot be charged to place or lift a security freeze on your credit report. Should you wish to place a security freeze, please contact the major consumer reporting agencies listed below:

Experian PO Box 9554 Allen, TX 75013 1-888-397-3742 www.experian.com/freeze/center.html TransUnion P.O. Box 160 Woodlyn, PA 19094 1-888-909-8872 www.transunion.com/credit-freeze Equifax PO Box 105788 Atlanta, GA 30348-5788 1-800-685-1111 https://www.equifax.com/personal/credit-report-services/credit-freeze/

In order to request a security freeze, you will need to provide the following information:

Your full name (including middle initial as well as Jr., Sr., II, III, etc.); Social Security number; Date of birth; If you have moved in the past five (5) years, provide the addresses where you have lived over the prior five years; Proof of current address, such as a current utility bill or telephone bill; A legible photocopy of a government-issued identification card (state driver's license or ID card, military identification, etc.); If you are a victim of identity theft, include a copy of either the police report, investigative report, or complaint to a law enforcement agency concerning identity theft.

As an alternative to a security freeze, you have the right to place an initial or extended "fraud alert" on your file at no cost. An initial fraud alert is a 1-year alert that is placed on a consumer's credit file. Upon seeing a fraud alert display on a consumer's credit file, a business is required to take steps to verify the consumer's identity before extending new credit. If you are a victim of identity theft, you are entitled to an extended fraud alert, which is a fraud alert lasting seven years. Should you wish to place a fraud alert, please contact any one of the agencies listed below:

Experian P.O. Box 9554 Allen, TX 75013 1-888-397-3742 www.experian.com/fraud/center.html TransUnion P.O. Box 2000 Chester, PA 19016 1-800-680-7289 www.transunion.com/fraud-victim-resource/place-fraud-alert Equifax P.O. Box 105069 Atlanta, GA 30348 1-888-766-0008 www.equifax.com/personal/credit-report-services

Additional Information

You can further educate yourself regarding identity theft, fraud alerts, security freezes, and the steps you can take to protect yourself by contacting the consumer reporting agencies, the Federal Trade Commission, or your state Attorney General.

The Federal Trade Commission can be reached at: 600 Pennsylvania Avenue NW, Washington, DC 20580; www.identitytheft.gov ; 1-877-ID-THEFT (1-877-438-4338); and TTY: 1-866-653-4261. The Federal Trade Commission also encourages those who discover that their information has been misused to file a complaint with them. You can obtain further information on how to file such a complaint by way of the contact information listed above. You have the right to file a police report if you ever experience identity theft or fraud. Please note that in order to file a report with law enforcement for identity theft, you will likely need to provide some proof that you have been a victim. Instances of known or suspected identity theft should also be reported to law enforcement and your state Attorney General.

For Maryland residents, the Attorney General can be contacted at 200 St. Paul Place, 16th Floor, Baltimore, MD 21202, 1-410-528-8662, www.oag.state.md.us.

For New Mexico residents, you have rights pursuant to the Fair Credit Reporting Act, such as the right to be told if information in your credit file has been used against you, the right to know what is in your credit file, the right to ask for your credit score and the right to dispute incomplete or inaccurate information. Further, pursuant to the Fair Credit Reporting Act, the consumer reporting agencies must correct or delete inaccurate, incomplete or unverifiable information; consumer reporting agencies may not report outdated negative information; access to your file is limited; you must give your consent for credit reports to be provided to employers; you may limit "prescreened" offers of credit and insurance you get based on information in your credit report; and you may seek damages from violator. You may have additional rights under the Fair Credit Reporting Act not summarized here. Identity theft victims and active duty military personnel have specific additional rights pursuant to the Fair Credit Reporting Act. We encourage you to review your rights pursuant to the Fair Credit Reporting Act by visiting www.consumerfinance.gov/f/201504_cfpb_summary_your-rights-under-fcra.pdf , or by writing Consumer Response Center, Room 130-A, Federal Trade Commission, 600 Pennsylvania Ave. N.W., Washington, D.C. 20580.

For New York residents, the Attorney General may be contacted at: Office of the Attorney General, The Capitol, Albany, NY 12224-0341; 1-800-771-7755; https://ag.ny.gov/ .

For North Carolina residents, the Attorney General can be contacted at 9001 Mail Service Center, Raleigh, NC 27699-9001, 1-877-566-7226 or 1-919-716-6000, www.ncdoj.gov . You can obtain information from the Attorney General or the Federal Trade Commission about preventing identity theft.

For Rhode Island residents, the Attorney General may be contacted by mail at 150 South Main Street, Providence, RI 02903; by phone at (401) 274-4400; and online at www.riag.ri.gov. There are 0 Rhode Island residents impacted by this incident.

For Washington, D.C. residents, the Office of Attorney General for the District of Columbia can be reached at 441 4th Street NW, Suite 1100 South, Washington, D.C. 20001; 1-202-442-9828; https://oag.dc.gov.

SOURCE Colonial Park Realty Co t/a Enders
The Mobile Medical Intensive Care Unit, inaugurated in October 2020, was closed this week, "checked", disinfected and cleaned, and reopened on Friday, the Marius Nasta Institute manager Beatrice Mahler told Sunday evening private broadcaster Digi 24, according to AGERPRES.

Mahler stated that all patients in the mobile unit are severely infected with COVID, however they are not intubated, but non-invasively ventilated.

"We are talking about COVID patients in the mobile unit. The Marius Nasta Institute has three intensive care units, if we take into account the mobile unit: a non-COVID intensive care unit, a COVID Intensive Care Unit in the hospital and this mobile unit that was extremely useful during the period when the number of cases was high, but now it is at a very low capacity in terms of occupancy. It is necessary for patients with imminent risk of being intubated. Only two patients will go to the COVID Intensive Care Unit, the others will be managed on the ward, but with non-invasive ventilation equipment in the ward. No patient is intubated. Patients are not intubated, they are non-invasively ventilated, but with severe forms," the manager explained.

Dozens of intervention teams arrived, on Sunday evening, at the Marius Nasta Institute of Pneumoftiziology in Bucharest, where a fire broke out at an ICU mobile unit.

"A fire was announced at the intensive care truck, but when the teams arrived there was no fire with flame. There was no smoke or flame inside the truck. There was probably something outside the truck. The teams are there, there aren't any problems. The patients will probably be relocated until the situation is completely verified. There are no problems at this moment," the head of DSU (Emergency Situations Department), Raed Arafat, told private broadcaster Antena 3.

The Ministry of Health informs that there are no victims following the "incident" from the Marius Nasta Institute of Pneumoftiziology.
HONG KONG, Feb. 21, 2021 /PRNewswire/ -- CNOOC Limited (the "Company", SEHK: 00883,NYSE: CEO, TSX: CNU) announced today that the Company made a large-sized oil and gas discovery Bozhong 13-2 in Bohai Bay.

The Bozhong 13-2 structure is located in the south-western Ring of Bozhong Sag in the Bohai Bay with an average water depth of about 23.2 meters. The discovery well BZ13-2-2 was drilled and completed at a depth of 5,223 meters, and encountered oil pay zones with a total thickness of approximately 346 meters. The well was tested to produce an average of approximately 1,980 barrels of crude oil and 5.25 million cubic feet of natural gas per day.

Mr. Zhou Xinhuai, General Manager of Exploration Department of the Company said, "The successful exploration of Bozhong 13-2 structure is another remarkable exploration achievement for the Company to continuously enhancing its efforts in oil and gas exploration and production in offshore China. After obtaining Bozhong 19-6 large-sized condensate gas field, the Company has made significant breakthrough in the exploration of another type of buried hill in Bohai, which not only has important promotion value, but also demonstrates promising exploration prospect in Bohai."

Notes to Editors:

More information about the Company is available at http://www.cnoocltd.com

*** *** *** ***

This press release includes "forward-looking statements" within the meaning of the United States Private Securities Litigation Reform Act of 1995, including statements regarding expected future events, business prospectus or financial results. The words "expect", "anticipate", "continue", "estimate", "objective", "ongoing", "may", "will", "project", "should", "believe", "plans", "intends" and similar expressions are intended to identify such forward-looking statements. These statements are based on assumptions and analyses made by the Company in light of its experience and its perception of historical trends, current conditions and expected future developments, as well as other factors the Company believes are appropriate under the circumstances. However, whether actual results and developments will meet the expectations and predictions of the Company depends on a number of risks and uncertainties which could cause the actual results, performance and financial condition to differ materially from the Company's expectations, including but not limited to those associated with fluctuations in crude oil and natural gas prices, macro-political and economic factors, changes in the tax and fiscal regimes of the host countries in which we operate, the highly competitive nature of the oil and natural gas industry, the exploration and development activities, mergers, acquisitions and divestments activities, environmental responsibility and compliance requirements, foreign operations and cyber system attacks. For a description of these and other risks and uncertainties, please see the documents the Company files from time to time with the United States Securities and Exchange Commission, including the Annual Report on Form 20-F filed in April of the latest fiscal year.

Consequently, all of the forward-looking statements made in this press release are qualified by these cautionary statements. The Company cannot assure that the results or developments anticipated will be realised or, even if substantially realised, that they will have the expected effect on the Company, its business or operations.

*** *** *** ***

For further enquiries, please contact:

Ms. Jing Liu

Manager, Media & Public Relations

CNOOC Limited

Tel: +86-10-8452-3404

Fax: +86-10-8452-1441

E-mail: [email protected]

Bunny Lee

Porda Havas International Finance Communications Group

Tel: +852 3150 6707

Fax: +852 3150 6728

E-mail: [email protected]

SOURCE CNOOC Limited

Related Links

http://www.cnoocltd.com


Unfortunately, our website is currently unavailable in your country. We are engaged on the issue and committed to looking at options that support our full range of digital offerings to your market. We continue to identify technical compliance solutions that will provide all readers with our award-winning journalism.
The Supreme Court Monday asked the National Company Law Tribunal (NCLT) not to pass a final order Future Retail Ltds 24,713-crore asset sale to Reliance Industries Ltd. The apex court also agreed to hear Amazon's plea against the Delhi High Court verdict staying its single-judge directive to maintain status quo on the deal. The e-commerce giant has moved the top court against the order of the high court division bench which paved the way for the Reliance-Future Retail Ltd deal.

Senior advocate Harish Salve, appearing for the Future group, said however that the top court's stay order will prolong the proceedings by the NCLT by at least six weeks. Recording his submission, the Supreme Court bench said, "The NCLT proceedings will go on but will not culminate into any final order on amalgamation of FRL with Reliance."

A bench comprising Justices R F Nariman and B R Gavai issued notices to FRL, chairperson Kishore Biyani and others and sought their replies to the Amazon plea.

The Delhi High Court on 8 February had stayed its single judge direction to FRL and various statutory authorities to maintain status quo on the mega deal. The interim direction was passed on FRL's appeal challenging the 2 February order of the single judge.

The high court division bench had also declined Amazon's request to keep its order in abeyance for a week so that it can explore appropriate remedies.

In August last year, Future had reached an agreement to sell its retail, wholesale, logistics and warehousing units to Reliance.

Subsequently, Amazon took FRL into an emergency arbitration before the Singapore International Arbitration Centre (SIAC) over an alleged breach of contract by the Future group.

Amazon had first filed a plea before the single judge for enforcement of the 25 October, 2020 Emergency Arbitrator (EA) award by the SIAC restraining FRL from going ahead with its 24,713-crore deal with Reliance Retail.

FRL, in its appeal, had earlier claimed that if the 2 February order was not stayed it "would be an absolute disaster" for it as the proceedings before the NCLT for approving the amalgamation scheme have been put on hold.

Amazon also approached the NCLT urging it not to allow convening of any meeting of Future Group's shareholders or creditors for approval.

FRL also moved the high court to restrain Amazon from writing to SEBI, CCI and other regulators about SIAC's order, saying it amounts to interfering with the agreement with Reliance.

(With inputs from agencies)

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Many among overseas Indians have for long been interested in and concerned about developments back home in Mother India. After all, it was an overseas Indian who returned home and pursued a cause that liberated India from its colonial masters. His return made history and it was a Bharatiya Janata Party government that decided to celebrate that day as the Pravasi Bharatiya Diwas -- the day Mohandas Karamchand Gandhi returned home from South Africa to eventually become a Mahatma. Overseas Indians have since felt it their duty and right to be concerned about what happens in India and seek to influence it.

In 2014 hundreds of overseas Indians took time off from their work abroad to visit India and get involved in Narendra Modis election campaign. They manned his social media campaign, they organised the funding and undertook a variety of political activity in India to help Mr Modi win that election. Some of them chose to remain in India and join his government, while many others returned to their jobs abroad. They have since organised public meetings for Prime Minister Modi in their home countries and have mobilised support for his government on a variety of issues.

The 2014 parliamentary elections were not the first instance of the global Indian getting involved in local politics at home. Malayalees in the Gulf have demonstrated a keen interest in the politics of their home state just as much as the Tamils of Malaysia and Sri Lanka did and the Telugus of North America. It had become routine for politicians from Kerala to solicit funds and support from the Malayalee diaspora, and Malayalees in the Gulf have long been demanding the right to vote in elections back home. The Telugu Desam leader, N. Chandrababu Naidu, was the toast of the overseas Andhra community and Narendra Modi became the darling not just of the overseas Gujarati but also the overseas Hindu. Telanganas Telugus based in the United States actively supported the demand for a separate state. Such overseas engagement is inevitable and can spin out in a variety of unpredictable ways.

For over a quarter-century we have seen overseas Indians getting increasingly involved in Indian politics. The huge gatherings at Mr Modis public meetings in New York, London, Houston and so on were testimony to that. Soon these events began to generate concern in some foreign lands.

When Mr Modis fans wanted to stage a similar public event in Singapore, the government there was initially concerned. What if Chinas Xi Jinping were to next land in Singapore and want to address the even larger overseas Chinese community? A Singaporean diplomat confided in me that their government was worried about allowing Indian politics to play out in Singapore. In the event, Mr Modi had his public meeting.

Indias political parties and the government have taken a keen interest in the internal politics of many neighbouring countries and continue to do so. This is in the nature of things. What happens to Sri Lankan Tamils does bother Tamils around the world, including in India. The Narendra Modi government has even changed India's citizenship law to offer a home to disaffected and disenfranchised minorities from neighbouring Muslim-majority countries.

It is, therefore, ironic to see the same Modi government now lecture many among the overseas Indian community against getting involved in Indias domestic political developments. A Sikh in Canada does not have to be a Khalistani to express concern about the fate of fellow Sikhs in India. The Sikh diasporas expression of solidarity with Sikh farmers in India is no different from the Tamil diasporas concern about Tamils in Sri Lanka. The diaspora coin spins both ways.

The social media and Internet connectivity have only facilitated the globalisation of local concerns. The overseas flak that the Narendra Modi government is facing for its handling of the farmers protests is the other side of the same coin that spun in Mr Modis favour when his supporters had organised global support for his election campaign. Those who win through the social media also run the risk of losing through the social media.

Going forward, Indian diplomacy will have to come up with a well-considered response and approach to the Indian diasporas engagement with Indias local political issues. In the past, Indian diplomats have reached out to the diaspora in their effort to promote Indian interests overseas. In return, the diaspora is today reaching back to support causes in India. In trying to prevent the latter, one may end up hurting the former.

Consider, for example, the role played by USINPAC -- United States-India Political Action Committee (usinpac.com) -- an organisation of Indian Americans that has actively engaged US politicians in promoting Indian and Indian American interests in the US. It played an important role in securing US congressional support for the India-US civil nuclear energy agreement in 2005-08 and, in 2014-15, came to the defence of the BJP and Prime Minister Modi against attacks on their politics from critics in India and the United States.

Established in 2002 with the tacit approval of the Atal Behari Vajpayee government and under the leadership of an Indian American, USINPAC has campaigned against US aid to Pakistan, in favour of increased H1-B visas for Indians and a variety of other such causes that could be described, in todays language, as external interference in domestic policies. Indian diplomats have made good use of USINPAC in promoting Indian interests in the US. So Indias objections today to such political advocacy here that is supported by overseas interests sounds a bit hollow.

The challenge for Atma Nirbhar Bharat today is that even as it seeks to become more self-reliant, it has to also have the self-confidence to deal with the fact that there is a global civil society of people of Indian origin and non-resident Indians overseas who have an interest in the welfare of resident Indians and the future of India.
BlackRock headquarters building in New York / Reuters-Yonhap



By Park Jae-hyuk



BlackRock appears to be falling into a dilemma over its strategy to prioritize environmental, social and corporate governance (ESG) criteria after Kakao sparked severe public criticism for an alleged workplace bullying incident, just a few days after the IT firm attracted an additional investment from the world's largest asset management company.



Given that commitment to employee welfare is classified as a "social factor" in ESG criteria, attention is focused on whether or not BlackRock will reconsider its investment in Kakao.



According to its recent regulatory filing, BlackRock became the fourth-largest shareholder of Kakao last Monday, following Kakao Chairman Kim Beom-su, the National Pension Service (NPS) and Tencent's subsidiary Maximo, by increasing its stake to 5.18 percent from 4.96 percent. The Kakao shares held by BlackRock are worth over 2 trillion won ($1.8 billion).



The U.S. asset management firm's decision was interpreted as a recognition of the Kakao chairman's "ambitious plan" to donate half of his wealth and the company's establishment of an ESG committee for transparent corporate governance.



Kakao, however, has come under controversy since a person, who claims to be its employee, uploaded a message last Wednesday on Blind, an anonymous chat app for verified employees, criticizing their colleagues for backbiting and threatening to commit suicide.



The message was removed immediately, but other Blind users claiming to be working for Kakao made remarks on the company's performance evaluation system, saying they have been forced to answer whether or not they want to continue working with their colleagues.



They emphasized the peer review system has resulted in some workers being ostracized by their coworkers. Some Blind users suggested filing a petition with the Ministry of Employment and Labor to ask for an inspection.



BlackRock has remained silent about the controversy, although it has continued to warn of its possible divestment from companies that shun ESG principles.



It is true that the asset manager has focused more on environmental factors than social factors to emphasize the importance of the fight against climate change. However, it has never ruled out labor issues when rating ESG scores of companies in which it invested, said experts.



"The more your company can show its purpose in delivering value to its customers, its employees and its communities, the better able you will be to compete and deliver long-term, durable profits for shareholders," BlackRock CEO Larry Fink said in his letter to CEOs earlier this year.



Local experts also viewed workplace bullying as a major risk to handle to get better ESG scores.



"Workplace bullying brings negative impacts on a company in terms of reputation, human capital and regulation cost," Korea Corporate Governance Service analyst Kim Jin-sung said. "This is a significant example of a company's non-financial factors causing medium- to long-term financial risk."



Kakao said it will continue to improve its performance evaluation system, after taking into account the opinions of its employees. The company also said none of its employees committed suicide after the suicidal message was uploaded.


Democrats begin the final push for President Joe Bidens $1.9 trillion stimulus bill this week, dropping any pretense of bipartisanship to quickly pass the package before an earlier round of benefits runs out.

This will be the first real test for Democrats full control of government since former President Donald Trumps impeachment trial, with implications for the rest of Bidens agenda and the pandemic-battered economy. The House plans to vote as soon as Friday on Democrats stimulus package, setting up a Senate vote as soon as next week.

Resolving the final hurdles, especially disagreement among Senate Democrats about a provision phasing in a $15 per hour federal minimum wage, would clear the way for Biden to give his first address to a joint session of Congress in March outlining his next policy goals, including a multi-trillion dollar infrastructure bill.

The Senate is on track to send a robust $1.9 trillion package to the presidents desk before the March 14 expiration of unemployment insurance benefits" from the last round of stimulus, Senate Majority Leader Chuck Schumer said in a Friday letter to colleagues. We will meet this deadline."

In public, the focus will be on the House this week with a Budget Committee vote Monday and a floor vote on the bill as soon as Friday. The content of the bill is mostly locked in -- the Budget Committee isnt even allowed to make substantive changes -- and theres no sign of a rebellion by the few remaining Democratic deficit hawks imperiling the bill on the floor.

The real action will be behind closed doors in the Senate, where Democratic leaders are hammering out the changes needed to get all 50 Senate Democrats and independents on board.

Biden initially sought some GOP support for his stimulus proposal, which includes $1,400 checks for individuals making less than $75,000, resources for vaccine distribution, funds for schools to reopen, and $400 per week in supplemental unemployment insurance. But Republicans said the plan was too expensive, coming after last years $2 trillion and $900 billion virus-relief packages enacted in March and late December, respectively.

Biden on Friday called on Congress to pass his plan during a tour of a Michigan Pfizer plant thats producing the coronavirus vaccine. He called on Republicans in Congress to listen to their constituents and vote for the bill, citing polls saying a majority of Americans support the measure.

Critics say my plan is too big," Biden told reporters. Let me ask them: What would they have me cut? What would they have me leave out? Should we not invest $20 billion dollars to vaccinate the nation?"

But most Republicans are expected to oppose the bill, with House Minority Whip Steve Scalise telling his GOP conference to vote against it.

Speaking Sunday on ABCs This Week," Scalise said it makes no sense to pass the large package Biden when there are unspent funds from the last relief bill and growing concerns about the nations debt.

The money is still sitting in a bank account, and were going to spend $1.9 trillion of additional spending to bail out failed states, to raise the minimum wage? What does that have to do with Covid? It should be focused on helping families and small businesses who are struggling, not bankrupting our children," Scalise said.

Korea-Sized Savings Hoard Could Propel 2021 U.S. Growth

Democrats have said they didnt have time to negotiate with Republicans. The current federal unemployment supplement of $300 per week expires March 14, though some jobless individuals will continue to receive benefits until April 11. Missing this deadline would cut off assistance for more than 10 million people.

With that in mind, Democrats are using a fast-track budget procedure to enact the bill without needing at least 10 Republicans. That means, though, the bill must comply with instructions in the recently adopted fiscal 2021 budget resolution, the total cost cant exceed the $1.9 trillion, and all provisions must be fiscal in nature.

The Congressional Budget Office also said on Saturday that the bill slightly exceeds $1.9 trillion, which will force House Democrats to make trims before the bill can pass the Senate.

The main provision that might not be eligible is the $15 minimum wage. Senate Budget Chairman Bernie Sanders argues that the measure qualifies as fiscal since the non-partisan CBO found it to increase deficits by $54 billion over ten years. Opponents say the budget impact is merely incidental" compared to the overall labor market impact. The wage provision may also violate Senate rules against adding to deficits after 10 years, and therefore would require offsetting savings or revenue to qualify.

Senate Parliamentarian Elizabeth MacDonough will hear arguments by lawyers for the Democratic majority and Republican minority before ruling. Although a simple Senate majority can overrule her decision, West Virginia Senator Joe Manchin has said he wont vote against her recommendation, denying Democrats the 50 votes they would need with Vice President Kamala Harriss tie-breaking vote.

Once the parliamentarian sets the parameters of what could be allowed in the bill, it will be up to Democrats to decide what provisions to include in the Senate version. Democratic senators Manchin, Kyrsten Sinema of Arizona and Jon Tester of Montana have all expressed doubts about the minimum wage increase. Manchin has also tried to lower the $75,000 threshold for phasing out the $1,400 stimulus checks, but he faced opposition from progressives and from the Biden administration.

Meanwhile, Senate Finance Committee Chairman Ron Wyden has said he wants to extend expanded unemployment benefits for six months, rather than the five months in the House bill, and would like the $400 per week supplemental unemployment insurance be set instead at $600.

Democrats plan to skip formal committee work on the bill, which means their internal talks may produce a substitute amendment for a vote on Senate floor. Once the Senate approves the changes, the House plans to vote again on the bill before the March 14 deadline.

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Last week the City of Laredo and Webb County both issued disaster declarations as a result of the freezing weather and subsequent power and water outages. This qualifies both entities for federal reimbursement.

On Feb. 14, the White House issued a federal emergency declaration for Texas in response to the winter storm. This authorized the Federal Emergency Management Agency to provide direct public assistance for all 254 counties in Texas along with protective measures like shelter and mass care.

However, President Joe Biden has declared a major disaster declaration for only 108 of Texas counties, which means that only residents of those counties qualify for individual assistance. Webb County is not among them. But if enough residents report the need for individual assistance to the Texas Department of Emergency Management, this could change.

FEMA has asked the state of Texas for additional information regarding the amount of damage in the counties that have yet to be declared, and TDEM will continue to present that information until all Texas counties that qualify for federal assistance receive the assistance they need, Gov. Greg Abbotts office said in a news release.

Laredos Rep. Henry Cuellar, along with 26 other members of Congress, wrote Biden on Monday asking he issue a major disaster declaration for all 254 counties.

The services provided by FEMAs Individual Assistance programs are essential to helping states and communities recover from disasters. Although the initial effects of this unprecedented winter storm are beginning to dissipate, the entire state continues to reel from the aftermath that has left millions without power, potable water, and dwindled food supplies, reads the letter.

City and county officials urge residents to report any disaster damages at tdem.texas.gov/warm.

Julia Wallace may be reached at 956-728-2543 or jwallace@lmtonline.com
On this weeks episode of Working, Rumaan Alam spoke with Austin Kleon, the New York Times bestselling author of Steal Like an Artist. They discussed his advice for people trying to jump-start their creativity, why he identifies as a writer who draws, and how fatherhood has transformed his way of looking at art and the world. This partial transcript has been edited and condensed for clarity.

Rumaan Alam: Have you ever thought of yourself as being in the self-help business?

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Austin Kleon: I didnt at first. It concerns me that there are people who want to be a self-help author. I meet these people now and Im like, Why, really? For me its been accidental. When I was 19, I didnt want to be a self-help authorI wanted be an artist, to be a writer. I feel like me coming into this, its really by accident. All I was doing in the beginning was sharing what I was learning while I was trying to get good. Then it turned out that sharing what I was learning turned into the work, the thing that people really wanted from me. Thats still a balance in my life. People come to me for a certain thing now, but what I really want to do is sit around and make collages.

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Its that tension that keeps things interesting for me, but I never wanted to be a self-help writer. Heres the thing about self-help: Someone will be like, Creativity guru Austin Kleon. Or, Creativity expert. I will always be like, No, no, no, because that requires certainty. For me to be a guru or an expert, I have to have something that Im supercertain about to tell you, to impart to yousome sort of wisdom.

Thats not how art works. Art requires not knowing. It requires this uncertainty, to always be questing and always be questioning. The minute youre an expert, its like Milton Glaser said about Picasso: Every time Picasso learned something, he abandoned it. Its like Carlin said: An artist has a responsibility to be en route, to be moving, to be advancing.

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Its that hard thing of being a teacher and remaining a student. It works better for me if I avoid any kind of guru-dom or expertise. When I talk to my readers, Im like, Im a fellow student. Im trying to figure this out. This is just what Im learning. As someone who has artistic pretensions and wants to be an artist, the worst thing in the world for you would be to be onstage talking about art and someone saying, Well, what the hell does he do, though? What does he make?

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When I hear you describe yourself, I usually hear you talk about yourself as a writer who draws, not someone whos engaged in the business of being a guru, as you say. But you are also someone whos had a lot of jobs. You once worked in a library. Youve worked as a web designer. Youve worked as a copywriter. My sense is that, from an early age, youve wanted a life as a writer, and that being cast in this role as a writer who writes about writing itself is a little bit of a surprise even to you. Is that true?

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Yeah, absolutely. My wife always reminds me: Youre primarily a writer. You love art and you love to draw, but thats why you say youre a writer who draws. Your identity really comes from thinking of yourself as a writer. That is true for me. I dont know if thats because so much of what I love is rooted in reading. I dont know if its because the most formal education Ive had is in writing. But I think at the end of the day, I do consider myself a writer more than anything else.

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The reason I ask is that I think there can be a way of demeaning the day job, where somebody yearns to be a painter, but theyre stuck working in real estate. Thats just what they do because they need to have health insurance, they have a family to take care of, they have responsibilities. I am someone who has had a resume not unlike yours. I worked in publishing and then I worked in advertising, and I always like to stress how much I learned in that experience and how much there were tangible things that informed my ability to do my work.

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Yes. No experiences lost. Everything youre into and interested inanything you spend time onthose things will start to talk to each other. I think a day job connects you to the world for better or worse. Youre in the world in a particular way. I think that is so grounding, because my life now is just kids and writing. I have to go out of my way to be connected with the actual world, whether its taking a walk or going to the bank. Especially now during quarantine, its easy to get disconnected, but a day job teaches you so much, but then also connects you to this particular world.

To listen to the full interview with Austin Kleon, subscribe to Working on Apple Podcasts or Spotify, or listen below.
Ukrainian Foreign Minister Dmytro Kuleba and Polish Foreign Minister Zbigniew Rau have appealed to U.S. President Joe Biden to prevent the completion of the Nord Stream 2 gas pipeline from Russia to Germany, which they called a "dangerous, divisive project."



The pipeline would affect Ukraine by depriving it of transit fees from existing pipelines that transverse its territory.



The U.S. Congress last year passed the Protecting Europe's Energy Security Clarification Act (PEESCA) to widen the list of sanctionable services against the project to include providing insurance, reinsurance, pipeline testing, inspection, and certification services. PEESCA became law on January 1.

"Poland and Ukraine have long warned against the dangers associated with the construction of Nord Stream 2. Our calls for vigilance and boldness were heard in the U.S. Congress, which pressed on with measures designed to stop this dangerous, divisive project," Kuleba and Rau said in a joint article published in Politico on February 22.



"We call on U.S. President Joe Biden to use all means at his disposal to prevent the project from completion," the two ministers said.

Some 150 kilometers of pipe under Danish and German waters in the Baltic Sea must be laid to complete the pipeline, controlled by the Russian state-owned energy giant Gazprom. It is expected to carry 100 billion cubic meters of natural gas a year from Russia to Germany.

"On this issue, the U.S. continues to be critically important. It needs to dismiss claims that Nord Stream 2 has become 'too big to fail' and that it simply needs to be finished," they wrote in the article.



"If the project is successful, Russia could try to convince the Ukrainian public that the West doesnt care about its own principles, and ultimately, about the security and prosperity of Ukraine."



Nord Stream 2 is "not about the energy security of Germany, our close ally and partner," Kuleba and Rau said.



"We respect Germany's right to express their point of view. But we also strongly believe that these kinds of projects cannot be viewed narrowly through the lens of bilateral relations, but should instead be approached from a broader perspective of Europe's interests and security as a whole," they said.



The Biden administration on February 19 imposed additional sanctions on a Russian vessel and the ships owner for their work on the pipeline.



However, the move was immediately criticized as inadequate by Republican lawmakers, who denounced the administration for failing to impose sanctions on additional targets and demanded the administration explain what it is doing to oppose the completion of the pipeline.



The two foreign ministers warned that "a lot remains at stake" in the project.



"Autocratic rulers in the Kremlin and elsewhere can and should be held accountable. The West, led by the United States, cannot afford to cower in the face of blackmail that runs counter to everything that we stand for," they concluded.
Champaign, IL (61820)

Today

A mix of clouds and sun during the morning will give way to cloudy skies this afternoon. High 73F. Winds SW at 10 to 15 mph..

Tonight

Cloudy skies. Low 56F. Winds light and variable.
Lines formed around the store. The bakery doubled its baking shifts from two to four, Daczewitz said. She called in all of the employees she could, even former workers, an estimated six to 10 of whom came in to help out. Some employees stayed to work extra hours.
(@ChaudhryMAli88)

ABU DHABI, (UrduPoint / Pakistan Point News / WAM - 22nd Feb, 2021) Mohammed bin Ahmed Al Bowardi, Minister of State for Defence Affairs, today received a number of State guests in separate meetings on the sidelines of the International Defence Exhibition and Conference (IDEX) 2021, currently being held at the Abu Dhabi National Exhibition Centre (ADNEC).

The guests welcomed by the Minister of State for Defence Affairs today included: Defence Minister Nikolaos Panagiotopoulos; Jaroslav Nad, Minister of Defence of the Slovak Republic; Ahmed bin Abdulaziz Al Ohali, Governor of the Saudi Defence Industries Geneal Authority; and Lieutenant General Mohamed Zaki, Commander-in-Chief of the Armed Forces and the Minister of Defense and Military Production, Egypt.

The meeting addressed ways of further promoting cooperation between the UAE and the respective countries of the guests, particularly at the defence level in addition to a number of issues of interest.

The meetings were attended by Mattar Salem Al Dhaheri, Undersecretary of the Ministry of Defence and a number of top brass and ministry representatives.

In a related development, Al Bowardi visited the pavilions of a number of local and international companies participating in this years edition of the global event.

Al Bowardi stressed the importance of IDEX and NAVDEX 2021 in drawing major international companies to showcase their latest products, including equipment, weapons and defence systems. He was also introduced to the latest defence and security technologies on display.

He visited the pavilions of Navantia S.A.S.M.E, Embraer, Thleas, the Naval Group, MBDA, Boeing, and Milker.

At the end of his tour, Al Bowardi thanked the organising committee of the two exhibitions for their work and effective organisation while highlighting the role of the event in developing Emirati defence industries at the national, regional and international levels.

Al Bowardi was accompanied by several senior officers and officials from the Ministry of Defence.
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Restaurants will no longer be allowed to sell pre-packaged meals through arrangements with supermarkets and other outlets, as Prime Minister Dr Keith Rowley definitively closed this loophole yesterday.

Rowley said this would not be allowed to continue, as it defeats the purpose of the public health regulations. Restaurants and street food vendors were among those businesses ordered to close to limit the movement of people and curb the spread of Covid-19.
The Southern Charm and Summer House mashup could use at least one yachtie from the Below Deck franchise to round out the fun on Winter House.

Aesha Scott, Anastasia Surmava |Charles Sykes/Bravo/NBCU Photo Bank

Like Craig Conover and Austen Kroll from Southern Charm, Anastasia Surmava from Below Deck Mediterranean has also partied at the Summer House in the past. Surmava hopped a ride with the Southern Charm cast during the summer of 2019 and headed to the Hamptons.

She attended the Summer House party that featured Kroll, Conover, and Shep Rose last season. Winter House rumors tease that guests will appear this season, so Surmava would easily fit in. Plus, Surmava knows the area well  shes a native to Vermont, which is where the series is being filmed.

Anastasia Surmava shared how she met the Southern Charm cast

Surmava discussed her experience in the Hamptons and how she connected with the Southern Charm cast. Rose had recently appeared on Watch What Happens Live with Andy Cohen and was chatting on Instagram with Surmava, who had also just been on the show.

We were just chit-chatting on Insta and he was like, Hey Im going [to the Hamptons], the more the merrier you should come, Surmava said on the Out in the Wild podcast.

RELATED: Below Deck: What Did Eddie Lucas Do to Ruin It for Everyone, According to Kate Chastain?

When he came to pick me up I didnt know who else was going to be in the car, she continued. But when he came to pick me up Austen and Craig were in the car.

Cameras were ready for the Southern Charm cast at the Summer House. But producers did not anticipate that Surmava would be along for the ride. Krolls sister, Katie was also at the party but did not appear on camera. Thats when producers suggested Surmava have fun at the party but she wouldnt be included in the storyline.

Below Deck meets Winter House?

Surmava said she hung out in the pool with Katie and ate pizza. So when we got there they were like, Anastasia, we love you, but wed just rather not have you on camera, she recounted. Surmava said hearing this made her pretty happy. This is great news! I dont want to be on camera, she remarked.

Rose and Surmava sparked rumors that the two were possibly a couple. Rose posted a photo on Instagram of Surmava lounging in a unicorn pool float at the Summer House. He is also in the photo, handing a giant inflatable engagement ring to her. The two were only playing around and did not date.

This isnt the first time dating rumors surrounded Surmava. Shes been super cozy on the couch with Alex Radcliffe during Below Deck Galley Talk. Fans wondered if the two were a couple. But she told Showbiz Cheat Sheet they were friends  twisted friends.

RELATED: Below Deck: Josiah Carter Reveals He Was Boarding a Plane to Join the Season 8 Crew

Listen, I know so much about Alex, she laughed. I mean, I can never go there. We are like brother and sister, like a really f*cked up brother and sister. Were more like first cousins.

Winter House is rumored to be currently filming in Vermont. Kyle Cooke, Amanda Batula, Paige DeSorbo, Lindsay Hubbard, and Ciara Miller from Summer House will likely join Conover and Kroll on Winter House.
A health worker collects mouth swab of a traveler to test for COVID-19 outside a train station in Bengaluru, India, Monday, Feb. 22, 2021. Cases of COVID-19 are increasing in some parts of India after months of a steady nationwide decline, prompting authorities to impose lockdowns and other virus restrictions. (AP Photo/Aijaz Rahi)

Cases of COVID-19 are increasing in some parts of India after months of a steady nationwide decline, prompting authorities to impose lockdowns and other virus restrictions.

Infections have been plummeting in India since September, and life has already returned to normal in large parts of the country. In many cities, markets are bustling, roads are crowded and restaurants are nearly full.

But experts have been warning that the reasons behind India's success aren't really understood, and that the country of nearly 1.4 billion people can't afford to let its guard down. Public health officials are now investigating potential mutations in the virus that could make it more contagious and render some treatments and vaccines less effective.

The spike has been most pronounced in the western state of Maharashtra, where nearly 7,000 cases were detected in the past 24-hours, accounting for almost half of India's over 14,000 cases confirmed on Monday. The weekly average for infections has nearly doubled to 5,229 in the state in the past two weeks, and most of the cases have been concentrated in a few areas, including India's financial capital, Mumbai.

Lockdowns have been reimposed in some parts of the state and authorities have banned all religious or cultural programs. Another wave of cases was "knocking on our door," state Chief Minister Uddhav Thackeray said in a virtual address Sunday, while warning people that failure to follow public health measures like wearing masks could result in a need for larger and stricter lockdowns.

Members of a family wearing face masks as a precaution against the coronavirus wait outside a train station in Bengaluru, India, Monday, Feb. 22, 2021. Cases of COVID-19 are increasing in some parts of India after months of a steady nationwide decline, prompting authorities to impose lockdowns and other virus restrictions. (AP Photo/Aijaz Rahi)

People wearing face masks as a precaution against the coronavirus arrive at a train station in Bengaluru, India, Monday, Feb. 22, 2021. Cases of COVID-19 are increasing in some parts of India after months of a steady nationwide decline, prompting authorities to impose lockdowns and other virus restrictions. (AP Photo/Aijaz Rahi)

A health worker collects nasal swab of a traveler to test for COVID-19 outside a train station in Bengaluru, India, Monday, Feb. 22, 2021. Cases of COVID-19 are increasing in some parts of India after months of a steady nationwide decline, prompting authorities to impose lockdowns and other virus restrictions. (AP Photo/Aijaz Rahi)

Municipal officials interact with travelers before levying fine for failing to wear face masks outside a bus station in Bengaluru, India, Monday, Feb. 22, 2021. Cases of COVID-19 are increasing in some parts of India after months of a steady nationwide decline, prompting authorities to impose lockdowns and other virus restrictions. (AP Photo/Aijaz Rahi)

A health worker collects mouth swab of a traveler to test for COVID-19 outside a train station in Bengaluru, India, Monday, Feb. 22, 2021. Cases of COVID-19 are increasing in some parts of India after months of a steady nationwide decline, prompting authorities to impose lockdowns and other virus restrictions. (AP Photo/Aijaz Rahi)

Public health officials are also sequencing the virus to see if it has mutated to be able to spread more easily, said state surveillance officer Dr. Pradeep Awate. He said that the virus evolving was natural, but that consequences of it evolving to transmit faster or become more virulent could be "catastrophic."

Federal health officials said that an increase in new infections, albeit not as sharp as in Maharashtra, have also been flagged in Punjab state in northern India, and the central states of Madhya Pradesh and Chhattisgarh.

Officials added that a team of federal health officials has also been rushed to southern Kerala state, where cases have hovered between 4,000 and 5,000 in the past month, which was much higher than other states. Government-funded research has suggested that a more contagious version of the virus could be at play in Kerala, and efforts to sequence its genome are ongoing.

But that could be because Kerala didn't see a spike in infections last year, the way some other states had, said Dr. Amar Fettle, the state's nodal officer for COVID-19. This meant that when lockdown restrictions were relaxed and people started moving about freely, there remained a large proportion of people who hadn't been exposed to the virus already and were susceptible to infections, he said.

Explore further Follow the latest news on the coronavirus (COVID-19) outbreak

 2021 The Associated Press. All rights reserved. This material may not be published, broadcast, rewritten or redistributed without permission.
Ted Cruz, seen here in the Cancun International Airport on Thursday. Photo: MEGA/GC Images

On Thursday, Senator Ted Cruz was seen in the Cancun International Airport, hopping on a flight back to Houston after his apparent plans for a little vacation  as a massive, weather-related crisis engulfed his state  reached the media. On Saturday, Cruz was seen (in images he tweeted) shaking hands and loading water bottles into cars in Texas. Maybe you are asking yourself: What is this man doing outside his home 36 to 48 hours after returning to the U.S. from another country, in the middle of a pandemic? Shouldnt he be in quarantine right now?

If so, you wouldnt be the only one wondering. As Business Insider reports, the pictures were taken in a largely empty parking lot, but Cruz still managed to get some physical contact in there  which (as Jezebel notes) could theoretically escalate the coronavirus transmission risk for everyone involved.

To many, the display looks like a bid to rehab the senators image: When Cruz fled to the Ritz-Carlton Cancun last Wednesday, a deadly winter storm had already downed Texass power grid, leaving millions without water, heat, or access to potable water as pipes burst. At least 58 people have been confirmed dead so far. Shortly after news of the getaway broke, Cruz offered that he had been dropping off his daughters, who wanted to go on a vacation because school had been canceled. He suggested that it had always been his plan to return the next day, although his original flight itinerary reportedly had him out of town into the weekend. As the saga unfolded, New York representative Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez launched a fundraiser that wound up raising millions in relief funds, and flew to Texas on Saturday to volunteer at the Houston Food Bank.

All of which to say: For Cruz, the optics are  not good. Disastrous, even! And arguably not improved by his defiance of public-health protocol. As scientist and MacArthur fellow Peter Gleick  along with a number of others  pointed out on Twitter, a trip to Mexico merits a minimum of seven days in quarantine, plus a negative COVID-19 test within three to five days of arrival back in the U.S., at least per CDC guidelines.

The CDC rules when returning from Mexico require and #COVID19 test AND a minimum 7-day quarantine.@tedcruz is violating these rules. #Texas https://t.co/H1UcwgH1OY pic.twitter.com/5n44R2k1XJ  Peter Gleick  (@PeterGleick) February 21, 2021

Republican Sen. Ted Cruz now appears to be trying to help the Texas relief effort after his Cancun trip  in contravention of CDC guidelines that say he should be in quarantine for seven days upon arrival.  Hugo Lowell (@hugolowell) February 21, 2021

Isn't he supposed to be quarantining? https://t.co/T15yQqXhWX  Brian Tyler Cohen (@briantylercohen) February 21, 2021

So, to answer your original question: Yes, this man should be in his house right now, holed up with his vast trove of canned soups. He definitely should not be helping to prepare and serve food to large teams of first responders, considering that the states crisis is ongoing, and yet here we are. Maddening to think that all of this could be avoided if Cruz would just stay home!

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YEREVAN, FEBRUARY 22, ARMENPRESS. The European Union supports the efforts of the OSCE Minsk Group Co-Chairs for the resolution of the Nagorno Karabakh conflict and is ready to contribute to activating the negotiations in this format, the EU Special Representative for the South Caucasus and the crisis in Georgia Toivo Klaar told the Armenian Defense Minister Vagharshak Harutyunyan during a meeting in Yerevan on February 22.

Defense Minister Harutyunyan briefed the EU delegation on the post-war situation in the region and the process of implementation of the 2020 November 9 armistice terms, the ministry of defense said in a news release.

Harutyunyan stressed that Azerbaijan is not implementing Clause 8 which stipulates the return of POWs and other captives, and is exploiting the process for its political goals to exert additional pressures upon Armenia.

Other issues relating to regional security were also discussed at the meeting.

EU Ambassador to Armenia Andrea Wiktorin also attended the meeting.

Editing and Translating by Stepan Kocharyan
Burma Millions in Myanmar Join Nationwide General Strike Against Military Regime

Anti-military regime protesters in Mandalay during the '22222' (Five Twos) Popular Uprising on Feb. 22, 2021. / The Irrawaddy

YANGONUndeterred by security forces recent deadly crackdowns, millions of Myanmar people joined a nationwide general strike against their countrys military junta on Monday, intensifying their opposition to the men in uniform who overthrew the elected civilian government more than three weeks ago.

Myanmar woke up on Monday to a nation in which many businesses, from markets to restaurants to roadside vendors, were shut downand would remain so for the whole dayas people went out to join the strike, which has become known as the 22222 [Five Twos] Popular Uprising, as it was held on Feb. 22, 2021.

The Southeast Asian country has seen daily nationwide protests against the regime for more than two weeks, since its military staged a coup on Feb. 1. Mondays demonstrations appeared to be the biggest yet, reflecting growing public outrage over the regimes recent willingness to use deadly force against protesters. It was the second nationwide popular uprising in Myanmars recent history, after the one on Aug. 8, 1988 (known as the Four Eights uprising), in which millions of people also took to the streetsin that case to defy the then Socialist regime.

In the countrys biggest city, Yangon, protests were in full swing by 9 in the morning at the downtown flashpoint of Sule Pagoda Road. With more people coming in throughout the morning and afternoon, the downtown section of the road became a sea of people shouting slogans against the military dictatorship. A few miles to the north, Hledan Junction was also flooded with tens of thousands of peopleas it has been throughout the past two weeks of protest. And in the citys other main protest hub, Myaynigone, a band of housewives stood out among their fellow demonstrators, as they staged a sit-in while banging on cooking utensils. Their determination was clearly expressed on a large sign laid in front of them: We wont go back into the kitchen till the dictator fails. (Pray for their husbands, please!)

Similar scenes were reported in cities and towns across the country.

Mandalay, Myanmars second-largest cityand the hardest hit by security forces recent crackdownscame to a standstill on Monday, with nearly every resident seemingly taking to the streets.

Based on his experience in 1988, one of the citys most prominent writers, Hsu Nget, assessed Mondays protest as far larger than the one that took place on Aug. 8 of that year .

The whole city is out in the streets. Only old people have been left behind at home to take care of their properties, he said.

Though the protests across the country were peaceful, as they have been on previous days, Mondays general strike was not without incident.

In the Union government seat of Naypyitaw, police and soldiers heavy-handedly arrested more than 20 people in Pyinmana in an attempt to prevent protesters from entering the capital.

Police also cordoned off the vicinity of the US Embassy in Yangon. Until Sunday, the leafy avenue had been the protesters location of choice for sit-ins calling for international assistance to end the military dictatorship in their country.

However, on Monday, police in riot gear tried to charge the protesters. Maintaining their non-confrontational approach, the protesters retreated and regrouped elsewhere. The scene replayed itself in a separate incident near the Shwedagon Pagoda, where police confronted a protest column marching downtown. When the protesters retreated, commuters nearby placed their cars in the middle of the road, blocking the way and preventing security forces from moving forward.

Unlike a few days ago, protesters in downtown Yangon didnt encounter any intervention by police on Monday. While the Sule Junction was completely occupied by protesters, the portico of the nearbyand currently shuttered due to COVID-19Sule Shangri-La Hotel was converted into a sit-in camp.

Standing amid the protesters on the sidewalk of nearby Sule Square, Ma Nilar Thein of the 88 Generation of Peace and Open Society said the ongoing protest against the junta was quite different from the 88 Uprising, in which she took part 33 years ago.

The young people today seem to have taken lessons from what we faced, she said, referring to the current protesters non-confrontational approaches. She and other members of the society took leading roles back then.

Recalling those of her peers who didnt survive the deadly crackdowns on student protesters in 1988, she said, I couldnt bear to lose these young faces here. Non-confrontation is best for now.

Monday marked exactly two weeks since May Thu joined the anti-military regime protest in downtown Yangon. Mindful of the recent deadly shootings of protesters, the 29-year-old and her friends jotted down their own names, emergency contact numbers and blood types on their forearms in permanent ink before joining Mondays protest.

If something bad happens to us, the information could be helpful to some extent, she said, acknowledging the possibility that she herself could become a victim should any crackdown occur.

Does it mean she has no fear?

No. What I fear is that the protest against this regime will fail. I am more afraid of living under their rule, she said.

The Irrawaddys San Yamin Aung and Nan Lwin contributed to this story.

You may also like these stories:

China Warns West Over Myanmar Coup, Interference

More Than 20 People Arrested as Security Forces Break Up 22222 Protest in Myanmars Capital
Source: Xinhua| 2021-02-21 23:12:36|Editor: huaxia

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UN special envoy to Syria Geir Pedersen is seen upon arriving at the Four Seasons hotel in Damascus, Syria, on Feb. 21, 2021. Geir Pedersen visited Syrian capital of Damascus on Sunday to discuss with the country's officials the work of the Constitutional Committee and the political solution for Syria's crisis. (Photo by Ammar Safarjalani/Xinhua)

DAMASCUS, Feb. 21 (Xinhua) -- The UN Special Envoy to Syria Geir Pedersen visited Syrian capital of Damascus on Sunday to discuss with the country's officials the work of the Constitutional Committee and the political solution for Syria's crisis.

"There are many issues that hopefully we will be able to address. We will also focus on the implementation of the UN Security Council Resolution 2254. I am aware of the difficult situation the Syria people," he told reporters.

Pedersen said his visit to Damascus comes after a shuttling tour to several countries concerned with the Syrian issues such as Russia, Iran, and Turkey.

It's worth noting that the Constitutional Committee was formed in 2019 to discuss and rewrite the Syrian constitution with no progress made so far. Enditem
It has been really impressive to watch the flip as this loose piece of the Polar Vortex goes back to where it belongs.

In the Dallas area it was -1 a few days ago, only to see upper 70s today! Arlington hit 79!

Alice, Texas hit 85 after low teens days ago. Austin was 72-77 after near 0 days ago.

This all shows me that the historic Plains cold wave was largely tied to the ozone & Stratospheric Warming in the Arctic & not any of the ocean sea surface temperatures in the Pacific or Atlantic or any big teleconnectic pattern. Only the Greenland Blocking assisted in enhancing the cold & keeping it so far south (this was tied to warm water around Greenland & ice melt). Some cold waves have strong teleconnectic, ocean & land ties. This was a strictly Stratosphere to Troposphere transfer in the Arctic with the Greenland issues to give it more push.

Mid 50s occurred over western Kentucky, while south-central Illinois' Salem Airport reached 48. Even Chicago got to the upper 30s.

Parts of Nebraska were near 50 after -36 last week. 50 was found in South Dakota & North Dakota with -40 to -45 last week.

Southern Manitoba hit the upper 30s & Edmonton, Alberta rose to 48. In Northern Alberta, Keg River hit 47 as very sudden +EPO shut the Polar Vortex segment north.

Still need to watch a random piece of cold to race southward for a bit in early March as the lingering effects of this Polar Vortex & its Sudden Stratospheric Warming Event (SSWE) will try to flirt (usually 30- to 60-day window of effects after the big SSWE occurs in the Arctic).

See below................

_________________________________________________________________________________________

Highs so far today are running 37-45.

Temperatures as of 9:45 p.m. are running 34-43.

Thawing continues with rain overspreading area. Some wet snow is mixing in or it is briefly all wet snow in far north along the Kankakee River & over our far eastern fringe (brief very minor slush in some locations).

Winds gusting 40 mph to even 44 mph are blowing & drifting snow that is not wet enough yet to be held in place. More of the rain & further melting tonight with milder temperatures will result in blowing & drifting diminishing.

Watch for slick, snow-covered areas where the snow is & has been blowing however in rural areas on mainly east-west roadways.

Peak gusts measured as of 9:45 p.m.:

44 mph 3 E Fowler

44 mph Covington

44 mph 3 E Attica

42 mph Remington

41 mph 2 SW Goodland (new weather station!)

41 mph Crawfordsville Municipal Airport

40 mph 2 W Rochester

38 mph Morocco

37 mph 4 SW Kewanna

37 mph Purdue University Airport

35 mph Athens

35 mph 5 W Delphi

35 mph 2 NW Crawfordsville

34 mph Galveston

34 mph Flora Municipal Airport

33 mph Fickle

32 mph Peru Municipal Airport

32 mph New Market

32 mph Kokomo Municipal Airport

32 mph Frankfort Municipal Airport

31 mph Logansport-Cass County Airport

30 mph 6 NE Monon

30 mph Monticello-White County Airport

29 mph Grissom Air Reserve Base

_____________________________________________________________________________________________

It will remain windy all night with gusts to 40 mph at times with rain.

Rain will taper by early morning to just some patchy drizzle, then patchy flurries/light snow, drizzle & freezing drizzle as temperatures fall to 31-34.

Any accumulation of snow fall at the end early Monday morning of 1-2" will stay north of the viewing area. It is possible that less than 0.5" occurs along the Kankakee River & along the Fulton-Marshall County line.

Given temperatures near 32 & snow on the ground, it wouldn't be difficult for freezing of puddles & moisture on pavement & any slush left on roads from the blowing snow. Watch for some icy areas on roadways.

South to southwest winds will turn to the west & still be strong Monday morning.

A total of near 0.30" of rainfall is expected for much of the area with a few spots seeing 0.50".

Monday is expected to be mostly cloudy otherwise with west winds 15-30 mph & highs 35-41.

A few patches of light drizzle/snow are possible tomorrow night with cloudy skies & lows near 33 with west-northwest to northwest winds 15-25 mph.

Otherwise, expect partly to mostly cloudy skies Tuesday with southwest winds 15-25 mph & highs 39-45, followed by 32-35 Tuesday night.

With partly to mostly cloudy skies & southwest winds to 30 mph Wednesday, highs of 42-48 are expected. Some patchy drizzle & couple light rain to snow showers are possible Wednesday night. Winds will turn to the north at 10-25 mph with lows 30-34.

Thursday will have less wind with partly cloudy skies & highs 35-42 with north to northeast wind at 5-10 mph.

Frost & some freezing fog are possible Thursday night with lows 19-26 with some clearing.

Friday looks partly cloudy with highs 37-43, followed by partly cloudy skies & 46-55 Saturday. Winds will increase from the south to 15-25 mph.

55-60 is expected Sunday with widespread rainfall by late in the day & into the night. Rainfall is likely Monday. Even some t'storms cannot be ruled out.

1-2.5" rainfall is possible Sunday-Monday night.

South to then southwest to northwest winds may gust 35-45 mph.

Severe weather risk will likely occur with robust system, mainly south of our area. We will see if we can get enough CAPE or buoyancy with the shear & strong dynamics for anything isolated severe here or at least very close to here.

Rivers & creeks will be on the rise after a week of snow melt over our area & the region in general.

With continued wetter & warming pattern, especially mid- to late-March then to early April (with increasing severe weather risk), flooding risk will continue to increase.

The only outlier of the warmer, wetter, stormy, spring-like regime is still that fact that SSWE (weakening Polar Votex events follow about 30 days ahead) can have effects up to 60 days after the North Pole warming.

This would mean that we still have the risk of a renegade, sudden, biting, but brief cold snap of winter in early March.

If we play our cards right with a storm system with this cold shot & we may have impactful ice &/or snow.

We will monitor.

I think anything like this would be prior to March 10, then any lingering effects of the SSWE should go away & the La Nina, MJO & other players promoting warmth & wetness here should dominate.

My thoughts are that it would be a big system with rain & storms with warmth of 60s, then we see this sharp core of cold come in with a random snow or ice event with lows 7-15 before we bounce back suddenly. That is the M.O. for these last vestiges of SSWE after a particularly big one.

So, perhaps one last good, potent, stinging shot of winter before earlier spring sets in.

We will monitor.
Four women convicted of murder say in a federal lawsuit that Michigan prison officials violated their rights when they forced them to remove religious headwear for mug shots.

The lawsuit is seeking class-action status on behalf of all prisoners, requesting a judge strike down the Michigan Department of Corrections policy that requires religious headwear to be removed for identification photos that are publicly available on the states offender tracking website.

The question of whether government officials in prisons, police booking rooms or ID issuance offices can legally require the removal of religious headwear, including headscarves or turbans, has spurred lawsuits across the nation, including others pending in Detroit and Flint.

So far, cases have been settled between parties without court rulings, and the question remains largely unresolved, said Amy Doukoure, a staff attorney with the Council on American-Islamic Relations (CAIR) Michigan Chapter, which filed the lawsuit in December on behalf of the prisoners with assistance from the Michigan State University Civil Rights Clinic.

Being forced to remove ones hijab in public ... is a profound defilement of the wearers sincerely held religious beliefs and a violation of her religious practice, the lawsuit said. Requiring a Muslim or Moorish woman to remove her hijab in public is akin to demanding that a secular person strip naked in front of strangers.

Doukoure said forced removal of an article of clothing that represents faith-mandated modesty is degrading. Compounding the issue, she said, prisoners are forced to show their IDs to prison staff and the images without their headwear are published on the internet.

Doukoure equated the prison policy to forcing a non-religious woman to be photographed topless and then publishing the image on a public website without her consent.

Each of the women who filed the most recent lawsuit follow either Islam or the Moorish Science Temple of America, and are all lodged in the Huron Valley Correctional Facility in Pittsfield Township. Each were convicted of murder.

They are:

Jamia N. Robinson , 38, of Flint, convicted in 2018 of second-degree murder and second-degree child abuse for the beating death of her 4-year-old son. Robinson, a mother of eight, told investigators in 2016 that she was so upset with the boys behavior that her head went puffy before she shoved her son into a bath tub. She went to a store, returned to find him dead and delivered the boy to the hospital wrapped in a blanket, authorities said. Robinson is serving a minimum of 18 years in prison with an earliest release date of July 17, 2034.

Semeria Greene , 34, of Detroit, convicted in 2014 of second-degree murder and first-degree child abuse in the fatal stabbing her 8-year-old daughter, which occurred in front of Greenes 4-year-old son. She was sentenced to a minimum of 23 years in prison with an earliest release date of Dec. 28, 2035.

Julia Catlett , 46, of Pontiac, convicted in 2002 of second-degree murder in the shotgun killing of her live-in boyfriend. She was sentenced to a minimum of 35 years in prison with an earliest release date of July 3, 2038.

Tracy M. White, 30, of Detroit, convicted in 2011 of robbing and killing a 63-year-old woman with an accomplice. Detroit firefighters responded to a house fire and found the victim bound and stabbed when they extinguished the flames. White, whose case became the focus of a The First 48 episode on A&E , is serving a minimum of 28 years with an earliest release date of June 28, 2038.

The lawsuit also requests financial compensation for loss of their religious rights and emotional distress suffered due to (the MDOCs) unlawful conduct.

It names as defendants MDOC Director Heidi Washington and other prison officials.

The attorney generals office is representing the Michigan Department of Corrections and has filed a motion for the case to be dismissed based on qualified immunity and other laws that, the state argues, prohibit the claims.

If the prisoners prevail in the federal case, it could require policy changes by jail and prison officials across the state and beyond.

According to the MDOC photo policy submitted as an exhibit with the lawsuit, prisoners shall wear state-issued clothing for the photograph of their face and headgear shall not be worn.

The latest lawsuit isnt the only of its kind pending in Michigan.

Another federal lawsuit was filed by Cora Cave of Detroit in September after she was forced to remove her headscarf while being booked into the Genesee County Jail by state police after a traffic stop in December 2018.

Wearing a headscarf is a constant reminder of her faith and her religious obligations, and to have her hair and neck uncovered in public is a serious breach of faith and religious practice, and a deeply humiliating and defiling experience that substantially burdens her religious practice, reads the complaint in that case.

Zainab Chaaban, a Muslim plaintiff in another case, had a similar experience when she was arrested and booked into the Detroit Detention Center in April of 2019 after a domestic disturbance for which she was later acquitted by a jury.

Despite pleading to keep her religious headscarf on for her booking photo, officers forced her to remove it. Her photo was then used on an ID bracelet and released to members of the public in response to Freedom of Information Act requests, according to her lawsuit.

Chaaban sued Detroit and MDOC officials in federal court last April and is also represented by Doukoure with CAIR. That case is awaiting a judges ruling on a request for dismissal filed by MDOC and Detroit attorneys.

In response to a 2015 lawsuit, the Dearborn Heights Police Department agreed to change its mug shot policy to allow women to wear hijab during photos. Last year, the New York Police Department also settled a federal lawsuit in which it agreed to no longer require the removal of religious headwear for booking photos.

The Oceana County Sheriffs Office, as part of a lawsuit settlement in 2016, altered its policy to ensure male officers are not present if a woman is forced to remove religious headwear, and said it will provide prison-issued headscarves to protect inmates religious modesty.

Outside of jail and prison, other government agencies have amended rules to accommodate religious headwear.

The Michigans Secretary of State allows drivers license photos to be taken with hijab, but not full coverings that obstruct the face.

More on MLive:

Muslim woman sues Genesee County

Hijab ban results in lawsuit against restaurant chain

Corrections officer alleges discrimination

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They are part of the group of 80 big brands accused of doing business with Xinjiang companies that exploit forced labour. Giant Toshiba will close relations by the end of the year. The US and Britain have already imposed restrictions on imports of Chinese cotton.

Tokyo (AsiaNews / Agencies) - At least 12 large Japanese groups are ready to cut off relations with Chinese companies that exploit the forced labour of Uyghurs and other Muslim minorities in Xinjiang. Giant Toshiba will cease all relations with them by the end of the year. This is what emerges from a Kyodo News investigation published yesterday.

According to the Australian Strategic Policy Institute (ASPI), 83 major international brands - including 14 Japanese companies - benefit directly or indirectly from Uyghur workers exploited inside and outside Xinjiang.

China is widely accused of organizing a concentration camp system to keep the Uyghur and Kazakh populations under control. According to expert data, confirmed by the United Nations, over a million Uyghurs and other Turkish-speaking minorities of Islamic faith are arbitrarily detained in Xinjiang, which the local population calls "East Turkestan".

Press revelations have also highlighted the existence of labour camps in the Chinese autonomous region, where hundreds of thousands of Muslims are reportedly employed by force, especially in the cotton harvest. The Chinese deny any allegation, arguing that those in Xinjiang are job training centres and poverty reduction projects.

The United States and Great Britain have already imposed restrictions on imports of cotton and other goods produced in Xinjiang: Tokyo has not so far adopted measures of the same type. Of the 14 Japanese companies accused of exploiting Uyghurs, only Panasonic refused to answer Kyodo News's questions. All of the others denied doing business with Chinese counterparts involved in forced labour or said they could not verify the allegations against their suppliers in Xinjiang.
'Bath salts' are one of the designer drugs consumed widely in Australia. Credit: University of South Australia

The Netherlands, Australia, New Zealand and the United States are consuming the highest amounts of designer 'party' drugs, according to wastewater samples taken from eight countries over the New Year period.

Despite deaths and hospitalisations linked to many new psychoactive substances (NPS), an international wastewater study led by the University of South Australia shows just how prevalent 'party pills' and 'bath salts' are in different parts of the world.

In a new paper published in Water Research, the world's most comprehensive wastewater analysis of NPS shows the pattern of designer drug use in the 2019/2020 New Year in 14 sites across Australia, New Zealand, China, The Netherlands, Spain, Italy, Norway and the United States.

UniSA analytical chemist Dr. Richard Bade says samples were collected over the New Year in each country and shipped to South Australia for analysis.

More than 200 synthetic drugs across all countries were monitored and 16 substances found.

"Of the eight countries studied, only Norway showed no traces of NPS," he says.

New psychoactive substances (NPS) are a range of drugs that have been designed to mimic established illicit drugs, such as cannabis, cocaine, MDMA and LSD.

"The Netherlands recorded the highest usage, followed by Australia, New Zealand and the United States. Spain, Italy and China had the lowest incidence of designer drug use in cities participating in the study."

N-ethylpentylone, which is known to cause fatalities, was seen in Australia, New Zealand and the US. It has previously been detected in forensic samples and at music festivals in Australia and New Zealand.

Another designer drug called mephedrone (often referred to as drone, M-CAT, White Magic and meow meow), was found only in Australia and New Zealand, with the latter country recording a 20-fold spike in usage on New Year's Eve.

"It is a very powerful drug that produces effects similar to those of cocaine and MDMA and is popular among ecstasy and stimulant users in Australia and NZ," Dr. Bade says.

The Netherlands recorded traces of six of 10 quantifiable drugs. Seven additional recreational drugs were also identified in the samples after screening.

Of these, ketamine (a human and veterinary anesthetic) and its metabolite, norketamine, were found in every country.

A newer drug on the marketeutylonewas seen in Australia, New Zealand, the US and The Netherlands. Warnings were issued in 2020 that this designer drug was being incorrectly marketed as MDMA in New Zealand due to its visual similarity to the latter. High doses of it have been linked to intense and particularly dangerous side effects.

Traces of mitragynine, a drug involved in almost half of NPS-related deaths in 2019, were found only in the United States.

Another synthetic opioid, acetyl fentanyl, was also restricted to US wastewater samples. It is also linked to high fatalities in that country.

Of all the drugs, methcathinone was detected in seven countries, followed by N- ethylpentylone and 3-MMC (in three countries each).

"What makes the NPS so dangerous is that they were originally sold as legal alternatives to conventional illicit drugs such as ecstasy and cannabis, suggesting they were safe when, in fact, there was very little information about their toxicity," Dr. Bade says.

"Governments soon intervened after hospitalisations and fatalities were linked to these class of drugs with some countries enforcing blanket bans. However, despite these bans, NPS are still synthesized, transported and consumed across the world, often with fatal consequences."

Dr. Bade says he hopes that wastewater samples will help complement hospital, legal and forensic data, along with global surveys, to identify which designer drugs are the most dangerous in the community.

Explore further Researchers flush out worrying trend of designer drug use

More information: Richard Bade et al. International snapshot of new psychoactive substance use: Case study of eight countries over the 2019/2020 new year period, Water Research (2021). Richard Bade et al. International snapshot of new psychoactive substance use: Case study of eight countries over the 2019/2020 new year period,(2021). DOI: 10.1016/j.watres.2021.116891

Hyderabad, Feb 22 : Almost 65 per cent of all vaccines manufactured in India and exported around the world come from Hyderabad, Bharat Biotech Chairman and Managing Director Dr Kishna Ella said on Monday.

He said that there is no cluster like Hyderabad's Genome Valley anywhere in the world which contributes such huge volumes.

He was speaking after receiving Genome Valley Excellence Award at the inaugural session of Bio Asia 2021, the 18th edition of Asia's biggest life science and healthcare industry conference.

Dr Krishna Ella and Bharat Biotech's Joint Managing Director Suchitra Ella received the award from Telangana's Industry Minister K. T. Rama Rao.

Stating that he is honoured to receive the award, Krishna Ella said this award was for all entrepreneurs who contributed to city's growth.

He said despite Hyderabad being the largest vaccine manufacturing hub in the world, the city is not getting the recognition while Bengaluru gets too much attention.

He pointed out that besides Bharat Biotech, Biological E, Indian Immunologicals and Shanta Biotech were manufacturing vaccines for domestic market as well as exports.

Krishna Ella, whose firm developed India's first indigenous vaccine for Covid-19, said 'pandemic vaccines and everything in future will come from Hyderabad'.

Pointing out that Dr Reddy's and Aurobindo Pharma have joined the vaccine race, he said it is going to be bigger game of vaccines for India and the world.

Thanking Telangana government for all its support, he said Genome Valley was excelling well and it will be great hub for the world.

Bharat Biotech received the award for 'breakthrough, pioneering research, development and commercialization of vaccines that has helped save billions of lives globally and for vision and commitment in developing the first indigenous vaccine for Covid-19 and leading the global fight against the pandemic'. The company is lauded for anchoring the growth of life science sector in Telangana and India.

"Bharat Biotech's remarkable contribution and commitment to develop India's first indigenous vaccine for Covid-19 is laudable. I am personally delighted that we could use this Bio Asia platform to present the prestigious Genome Valley Excellence Award to our very own Krishna and Suchitra, who have made us all proud time and again," said K. T. Rama Rao.
BELLEVILLE  Stephanie Taylor on Monday pondered what-ifs as Gov. J.B. Pritzker signed House Bill 3653 into law.

The criminal justice reform bill includes provisions ending money bail in Illinois, something the 52-year-old Belleville mother of three knows about far too well.

I have spent my life doing my best to protect my boys, she said. So being in a situation where the size of my bank account kept me from being able to help them was heartbreaking.

Im not taking away from what they did or did not do. They should be held accountable for their actions, she said. But I am saying that everyone deserves to be presumed innocent while awaiting trial and, if convicted, to have the opportunity to get their affairs in order before going to prison.

Taylor said her childrens father was regularly in and out of prison when they were growing up. She said she worked hard  sometimes holding three jobs  to keep her boys out of the system and living in a nice area with good schools.

As they became older, I had to turn to the church to get them a mentor because I could not teach them to be men and the streets had begun to call them, she said.

In 2013, her middle son, Antonio, was arrested. She said he was held in jail for more than a year because she couldnt afford his bond of more than $10,000.

Two years later, she said, her youngest son, Terrell, was arrested while driving after learning his uncle had been murdered. His bond was set at more than $10,000, she said. I again knew I would not be able to afford to pay it.

Taylor said she believes that, had the bill signed by Pritzner been in place when her sons went through the system, they would have been able to continue to support their families while awaiting trial.

I am convinced that, if my son had the opportunity to say goodbye to his son and grieve his uncles death, he would have been more mentally prepared for his time in prison and not have wound up spending the first four years of his incarceration in solitary confinement, she said.

Pritzker on Monday said House Bill 3653 marked a substantial step toward dismantling the systemic racism that plagues our communities, our state and our nation and brings us closer to true safety, true fairness and true justice.

The bill addresses pretrial detention, low-level drug crimes, sentencing, officer training statewide standards on use of force, crowd control responses, de-escalation and arrest techniques. It requires body-worn cameras by police departments statewide, addresses processes for decertification of officers and the police departments plans to protect vulnerable people during search warrant raids.

Today we advance our values in the law  progress secured despite the pandemic, because of the passion and push of the Legislative Black Caucus, activists, advocates, and residents intent on leaving a better Illinois for all our children, Pritzker said.

The bills signing was met with criticism. State Sen. McClure, R-Springfield, said it was time for Pritzker to start fighting crime, instead of encouraging it. State Rep. C.D. Davidsmeyer, R-Jacksonville, said the bill makes Illinois less safe and jeopardizes the safety of victims and law-abiding citizens.

State Rep. Avery Bourne, R-Morrisonville, said Pritzker was making life easier for criminals and making life more difficult for law enforcement. House Republican Leader Jim Durkin, of Western Springs, called the signing an insult to our first responders.

A coalition representing Illinois law enforcement groups urged citizens to remember who supported this law.

That would include Taylor, who thanked Pritzker Monday for signing it.

This change was long overdue, and I am so grateful that Illinois will become a national leader in pretrial justice, she said. By eliminating money bail, we are taking an important step towards reforming our entire criminal justice system and making all of our communities safer.
Some 344,181 or a whopping 93.8 percent of all 366,959 people in the top priority group for vaccination will get the jab. Some 186,659 or 92.7 percent of 201,464 patients under 65 and medical professionals in nursing homes agreed to get the AstraZeneca vaccine.

More than 90 percent of the top priority group for coronavirus vaccinations agree to get the jab, health authorities said last week. That includes 90 percent of patients in nursing homes under the age of 65 who say they are willing to accept AstraZeneca's vaccine, which has not been proven for older patients.

But the government is holding a gun to their head, saying anyone who refuses the jab this time, which is overwhelmingly likely to be from AstraZeneca, will not have the opportunity again until after November.

"We won't restrict workers at vulnerable facilities who refuse vaccination from continuing to work there, but we'll make sure that they are tested for the virus once a week," a government official said.

Anyone who at first refuses but changes their mind by the time vaccinations are due at their designated facility will be able to get the injection.

The daily tally of new infections slightly fell below 400 with 332 cases as of Monday morning after it soared above 600 on Feb. 16 and then stood at around 400 for a week.

Twenty more people have been infected with the U.K. variant, bringing the total number of patients with coronavirus variants to 119.

"We will have to wait until the middle of this week to determine whether the current number of infections is stabilizing," Health Minister Kwon Deok-cheol said on Sunday. "If need be, we may have to consider tightening lockdown again."
Egyptian border region Initiative Hemaya (Protection) has continued to deliver medical and humanitarian convoys to Nubian villages in Upper Egypt's Aswan governorate.

The initiative, organised by the Good Makers Foundation for Development, Decent Life Foundation, Banque du Caire, and CSR Egypt, was launched under the patronage of Egypt's Minister of Social Solidarity Nevine El-Qabbaj and Aswan Governor Ashraf Attiya.

An expanded humanitarian convoy was dispatched to other centres in Aswan, days after a host of medical convoys was dispatched on Friday to support the citizens of the Nubian village of El-Mansourieh in Aswan, a statement by the Decent Life Foundation said on Monday.

The initiative offered services to dozens of Aswan's villages, said Aya Omar, the chairperson of the Board of Trustees of the Decent Life Foundation, adding that the foundation will continue its endeavours in the humanitarian front.

Omar noted that the initiative targets supporting citizens in western Egypt, including the Siwa Oasis in Matrouh Governorate, as well as other oases in the New Valley governorate.

Short link:


Justice Clarence Thomas is not backing down from the fight to legitimize Donald Trumps claims that the 2020 election was rife with fraud. On Monday morning, Thomas issued a startling opinion ranting against the alleged dangers of mail voting and declaring that SCOTUS must override state courts that expand vote by mail pursuant to their state constitutions. Trump may be out of office, but his staunchest ally on the U.S. Supreme Court is carrying on his assault on the legitimacy of the election.

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Thomas grievances arise out of two identical challenges to Pennsylvanias election procedures. The state Legislature set a strict deadline for mail voting: Any ballot received after 8 p.m. on Election Day must be thrown out. In September, the Pennsylvania Supreme Court held that, in light of the pandemic and the Postal Service slowdown, this deadline would disenfranchise many voters through no fault of their own. Specifically, the court found that the deadline violated the Pennsylvania Constitution, which requires that all elections be free and equal. To safeguard this right, the majority extended the mail ballot deadline by three days.

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SCOTUSs conservative justices were so furious about the Pennsylvania decision that they attempted to shatter states authority to run their own elections. In October, Thomasjoined by Justices Samuel Alito, Neil Gorsuch, and Brett Kavanaughaccused the Pennsylvania Supreme Court of infringing on the Legislatures authority to set election law. They asserted that, under the U.S. Constitution, federal courts can override state courts interpretation of election codes based on their own sense of what the state legislature prefers. Yet these four justices never found a fifth vote: Amy Coney Barrett joined the court too late to weigh in, and Chief Justice John Roberts refused to go along with this hijacking of state election law. In the end, late-arriving ballots were counted, though they did not change the outcome of any federal race in Pennsylvania, including the presidential contest.

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It makes sense, then, that SCOTUS refused to hear these cases on Monday. They are plainly moot, because the election is over, and there is no longer any live controversy to settle. Still, three justicesThomas, Alito, and Gorsuchdissented from the courts decision to turn away the Pennsylvania cases.

In his dissent, Thomas cast doubt on the legitimacy of the 2020 election by questioning the security of mail voting. Voting by mail was traditionally limited to voters who had defined, well-documented reasons to be absent, he wrote. The current trend toward more permissive mail voting, the justice warned, vastly increases the risk of fraud. Thomas drew heavily from a 2012 New York Times article focusing on Floridas mail voting regime, which focused on a handful of fraudulent schemes involving mail ballots. The justice also pointed to a Republican operatives criminal attempt to steal an election in North Carolina using mail ballots.

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In reality, this kind of voter fraud is vanishingly rare, and its few perpetrators have been caught and prosecuted. An unprecedented number of states allowed everyone to vote by mail in 2020, and election security officials in Trumps own administration deemed it the most secure in American history. This did not stop Thomas from condemning mail voting as a threat to election confidence. In a strikingly cynical move, the justice argued that laws curtailing mail voting may be justified without proof of fraud to prevent the appearance of corruption. He drew this standard from the campaign finance context, in which the court has upheld limits on political spending to bolster public confidence that lawmakers are not corrupt. According to Thomas, that doctrine also allows states to crack down on vote by mail even where allegations of fraud are incorrect. Why? To guard against the mere appearance of corruption. He added:

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We are fortunate that many of the cases we have seen alleged only improper rule changes, not fraud. But that observation provides only small comfort. An election free from strong evidence of systemic fraud is not alone sufficient for election confidence. Also important is the assurance that fraud will not go undetected.

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In other words, the fact that election officials uncovered virtually no fraud in 2020 does not prove that no fraud existed. It might just mean that fraud is difficult to detect. If this line sounds familiar, thats because it is what Trump and his allies argued when seeking to undermine public confidence in the election results.

Somehow, this concern about fraud only applies to elections in Thomas world. The justice actually rejects the argument that campaign finance reforms may be justified to prevent the appearance of corruption. He is transplanting a doctrine that he does not support into a new context to shore up the legality of voter suppression laws. In the process, he is bolstering Trumps paranoid attacks on mail voting, lending judicial credence to two foundational elements of the big lie: First, that vote by mail is inherently unsafe and insecure, and second, that fraudulent mail-voting schemes may be rampant yet undetected, vindicating Trumps ridiculous claims that his voters are right to doubt the outcome of the presidential race.

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Here we have the spectacle of three conservative justices betraying every known principle of conservative jurisprudence.

Even Alito, joined by Gorsuch, was not willing to go as far as Thomas. In a separate dissent, he agreed that SCOTUS should take up these cases because they present an important and recurring constitutional question. We can only guess why Kavanaugh and Barrett declined to side with their fellow conservatives, especially since Kavanaugh has previously expressed Trump-like skepticism about mail voting. Perhaps neither justice wants to take on this controversial issue now that its essentially irrelevant. They may choose to wait until 2022 or 2024, when they can potentially alter the outcome of a raceand when Democrats may no longer control Congress, ruling out the possibility of court expansion.

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Today, of course, Democrats do have the opportunity to expand the court, and those lawmakers who oppose judicial reform should look carefully at Mondays opinions. Here we have the spectacle of three conservative justices betraying every known principle of conservative jurisprudence in an effort to prevent states from safeguarding suffrage in the future. These justices have spent years insisting that federal courts must not alter voting procedures in the run-up to an election; they then tried to alter Pennsylvanias voting rules two weeks before Nov. 3 to nullify thousands of mail ballots (which skewed Democratic). Thomas, Alito, and Gorsuch now wish to exploit a moot case to award themselves immense power to override state courts and state constitutions to restrict mail voting and other reforms.

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This approach is a radical overreach on a subject that was never seriously up for debate before the Trump era. We should not be comforted by the fact these justices are still in the minority: We know Kavanaugh agrees with them on the merits, so they only need Barretts vote to seize a majority, and her views on this subject are simply unknown. And even though they are in dissent, they are handing Republican-controlled state legislatures a rationale for new voter suppression laws by contributing to alleged mistrust in election integrity.

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Democrats currently appear to lack the votes to expand the court. By declining to take action, the party is assenting to decades of rule by crass partisans like Thomas. Democrats may complain about the tsunami of voter suppression laws that Republicans are instituting in the wake of 2020, but they currently have an opportunity to end this wave of disenfranchisement by creating a majority of justices who believe in the right to vote. So far, they have passed it up. This inertia leaves the nation with a Supreme Court with at least four justices who are sympathetic to elements of Trumps big lie. As long as they hold so much power on the bench, every federal election will remain at risk of subversion by judicial decree.
Student loan scammers have a brand-new hook: Biden student loan forgiveness or stimulus forgiveness.

Behind the pitch is the same old fraudster playbook, one that persuades federal student loan borrowers to pay for services they could get for free or to share personal account information in exchange for forgiveness.

The extended pause on federal student loan payments and revived talk in Congress of debt forgiveness make such deceptions easier to believe.

Debt relief scams proliferate when there is a large amount of financial suffering or a lot of confusion, and we have both going on right now, says Persis Yu, a staff attorney at the National Consumer Law Center and director of its Student Loan Borrower Assistance Project.

To be clear, there is no new broad-based loan forgiveness program available beyond the existing, often difficult-to-get options, such as Public Service Loan Forgiveness or Borrower Defense to Repayment. Theres also no application or fee necessary to receive the federal student loan payment pause thats been in effect since March 13, 2020, and will continue through Sept. 30, 2021.

ABOUT THAT STIMULUS FORGIVENESS

Its safe to dismiss any out-of-the-blue offer to discharge debt, consolidate loans or alter your repayment plan as a scam.

There isnt a person or entity on the planet who can get you a better deal on your student loan or access a program that you cant get yourself by working directly with your servicer, says Betsy Mayotte, president and founder of the Institute of Student Loan Advisors.

Mayotte says shes seen an uptick in complaints from borrowers about Biden relief and COVID-19 relief student loan scams.

In one instance, a borrower sent Mayotte the transcript of a fraudulent voicemail making an enticing offer: It looks like your student loan has been flagged eligible for the recent stimulus forgiveness and relief legislation, however, your application needs to be completed.

The caller sounded legit (she provided a name and an agent ID number) and expressed urgency to call back on a dedicated eligibility line. Then the caller further emphasized time sensitivity, saying the discharge would be first come, first served.

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Whats interesting is that this number came in as a D.C. number, which Im sure just adds credibility to their scam, Mayotte says.

Borrowers should continue to be on guard as student loan scams proliferate, largely due to the whack-a-mole effect: As soon as one company is shut down, another pops up in its place, says Michelle Grajales, staff attorney with the Federal Trade Commissions Bureau of Consumer Protection.

RED FLAGS TO WATCH FOR

The maxim If it sounds too good to be true, it is goes hand in hand with spotting scams.

But the most effective ones often mix fact and fiction, Grajales says. Tactics like using of-the-moment phrases or claiming to work for the federal government make false promises more appealing to financially vulnerable people.

Theyve heard something about loan forgiveness, Grajales says. Theyve heard something about the CARES Act. Scammers try to sound legitimate by throwing in words that are very much in the public ear.

The basic structure of student loan scams has remained the same for years, Yu says: Companies promise some kind of forgiveness in a short period of time, charge and pocket a large upfront fee, then get access to a borrowers account to consolidate their debt and enroll them in an income-driven repayment plan.

If they even do something (with the debt), thats what they tend to do, or they just take the borrowers money, Yu says.

Experts say its critical to avoid handing over cash upfront or your Federal Student Aid identification information, or FSA ID, which allows fraudsters to act on your behalf.

What theyre doing is inserting themselves between you and your servicer, says Scott Buchanan, executive director of the Student Loan Servicing Alliance. Oftentimes theyll change your mailing address, email address so all the servicer communication will go to these scam artists. Then when they dont do what theyre supposed to do, you wont know until its too late.

Use caution if a company expresses urgency to apply now or offers to provide a service you could do yourself, such as enrolling in income-driven repayment or applying for Public Service Loan Forgiveness.

When in doubt, contact your servicer directly using a phone number on its website  not a number given to you by a third party.

WHAT TO DO IF YOUVE BEEN SCAMMED

If you were conned, remember that youre not the first student loan borrower whos been victim to predatory tactics.

It has nothing to do with how smart you are; it has more to do with how good they are at their swindle and how vulnerable you are at the time that they reach you, Mayotte says.

Regaining control of your account is the most important first step to take if it happens, experts say. Heres how:

 Sever all ties with the scammer.

 Contact your servicer to report the account breach. You may need to request a new FSA ID.

 Check the contact information on your account and make sure all ongoing correspondence goes to you.

 Contact your bank to stop any automatic payments to the scammer.

 Freeze your credit.

 Seek legal assistance for help recovering any money.

 Report the scam to enforcement agencies.

HOW TO COMPLAIN ABOUT A SCAM

You can, and should, report any scam correspondence to multiple sources. The more complaints these agencies receive, the more ammunition theyll have to pursue legal action against fraudsters. Scams can be reported to and are tracked by:

 Your federal student loan servicer.

 The Federal Trade Commission.

 The Consumer Financial Protection Bureau.

 Your state attorney generals office.

 The U.S. Department of Educations FSA Feedback Center.

__________________________

This article was provided to The Associated Press by the personal finance website NerdWallet. Anna Helhoski is a writer at NerdWallet. Email: anna@nerdwallet.com. Twitter: @AnnaHelhoski.

RELATED LINKS:

NerdWallet: How to avoid COVID-19 student loan relief scams http://bit.ly/nerdwallet-avoid-student-scam

Federal Trade Commission: Report fraud https://reportfraud.ftc.gov/

U.S. Department of Education: FSA Feedback Center https://studentaid.gov/feedback-center/
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Thailand will receive its first shipment of a coronavirus vaccine  200,000 doses of Chinese drug maker Sinovac Biotechs shots  on Wednesday and soon start inoculating Thais against the virus, Prime Minister Prayuth Chan-o-cha announced Monday.

Meanwhile, the Philippines green-lighted the Sinovac vaccine for emergency use, although the government noted that the drug might not be suitable for jabs given to health-care workers due to its low efficacy rate.

With regard to the vaccine, it is confirmed that it will arrive on Feb. 24 and we want two to three days to prepare and deliver shots whenever we can, the Thai PM told the media after a meeting on vaccine preparedness.

Im ready to take a shot, too, said the Thai PM, who along with his cabinet survived a no-confidence vote in parliament on Saturday over his governments handling of vaccine strategies and other policies related to the year-old pandemic.

The first 200,000 doses of an order of two million doses of Sinovacs vaccine are scheduled to arrive from Beijing on a Thai Airways flight on Wednesday, according to the Public Health Ministry.

The remaining doses are expected to arrive in April, said Minister of Public Health Anutin Charnvirakul.

Thailands Food and Drug Administration has yet to approve the Sinovac vaccine, according to the agencys director who added that the approval could be completed by the time it arrives.

The first batch of vaccines will be given to public health personnel and people between 18 to 59 years of age who are considered to be high risk, the health ministry said.

Thailand has so far ordered a total 63 million doses of vaccines from Anglo-Swedish firm AstraZeneca and Sinovac, which are enough to cover about 63 percent of the targeted population of 50 million who will be vaccinated.

The arrival of the vaccine is much anticipated in Thailand, where tourism revenue - which was close to 2 trillion baht (U.S. $67 billion) in 2019 - took a huge hit last year because of the outbreak of COVID-19.

Thailand lost 1.5 trillion baht (U.S. $50 billion) in tourism revenue in 2020 because of travel restrictions, a member of the Move Forward Party told parliament during last weeks no-confidence debate against Prayuth and his nine cabinet ministers.

Prayuth and his cabinet survived the debate with a majority of lawmakers voting in their favor.

Sinovac efficacy in doubt

In the Philippines, Sinovacs vaccine was the third one to be granted emergency-use authorization, after vaccines produced by AstraZeneca and the U.S.-German partnership of Pfizer-BioNTech.

We have finished the last hurdle so that Sinovac can be used by our citizens. The Food and Drug Administration, or FDA, has approved the emergency use authorization of Sinovac, and the Chinese government needs just three days from the approval to ship Sinovac [vaccines] here, Harry Roque, President Rodrigo Dutertes spokesman, said in an online press briefing.

This is very good news on the first working day of the week. Finally, vaccines are expected to arrive.

The government earlier said that Sinovac had promised an initial batch of 600,000 doses.

However, the Chinese vaccines would likely not be given to frontline health workers or to the elderly because of its low efficacy rate based on clinical trials in Brazil, said Dr. Eric Domingo, head of the countrys FDA.

The use of Sinovac vaccines on healthcare workers is not recommended as it has an efficacy of 50.4 percent in this group  the recommendation of our experts is that this is not the best vaccine for them, Domingo said in a separate press briefing on Monday.

What they saw in Brazil is that when it was given to health workers working in hospitals treating COVID-19 patients, the vaccine only had an efficacy rate of 50.4 [percent]. This is better than nothing, but experts recommend that it is not the best vaccine for health workers.

Roque however said that Sinovacs vaccine was not a low quality one.

It is better than no protection. What we are getting rid of is serious sickness and death. Economic frontliners in industries, and troops, may be prioritized. If it cannot be given to senior citizens and frontliners, many critical economic frontliners can receive it, he said.

It is accepted by WHO [World Health Organization] standards. Meaning, [there is a] 50 percent chance you cannot get sick and it is100 percent not deadly.

A virus expert with Chulalongkorn University in Thailand said people need not worry about being receiving a jab of the Sinovac vaccine.

The vaccines made from inactive germs like those of Sinovac and Sinopharm adopted the same processes as the vaccines for rabies, polio or hepatitis A, so you can have a peace of mind about side effects, Dr. Yong Poovorawan, a doctor at Chulalongkorn University, said on his Facebook page on Monday.

For those who fear possible side effect of Sinovac vaccine, just dont worry.

Pfizer-BioNTech was expected to ship 117,000 doses of its vaccine by mid-February to the Philippines, but their arrival has been delayed. The Philippines had committed to procure 17 million doses of AstraZenecas vaccine, most of which are expected to arrive in May.

The Philippines trails only Indonesia in Southeast Asia for cases of COVID-19. The country recorded 2,288 new coronavirus infections on Monday, taking the cumulative caseload to 563,456, the health department said. With six deaths, the total virus-related death toll rose to 12,094, the department said.

Last week, the Inter-Agency Task Force for the Management of Emerging Infectious Diseases recommended further easing coronavirus quarantine rules by March.

Lockdowns have been gradually eased and modified since March 2020. However, tighter restrictions remain in force in places that are still under a general community quarantine.

Cases may indeed spike, but it is also true that we are ready [to ease restrictions]. We are weighing that against the number of those who are starving because many sectors of the economy remain closed, Roque said.

Malaysia poised for vaccination drive

Elsewhere in Southeast Asia, Malaysia on Sunday received its first batch of COVID-19 vaccines, from Pfizer-BioNTech. After the 312,390 vaccine doses arrived, Malaysia moved up its date for launching its coronavirus inoculation campaign to Wednesday, Feb. 24, from Feb. 26.

Prime Minister Muhyiddin Yassin will be the first person in the country to receive a vaccine shot. Malaysia will vaccinate frontline workers in the first phase of inoculations that is expected to run through April.

Nontarat Phaicharoen and Wilawan Watcharasakwet, in Bangkok, and Basilio Sepe and Jeoffrey Maitem, in Manila and Cotabato, Philippines, contributed to this report.
New Delhi: Puducherry Chief Minister V Narayanaswamy on Monday (February 22) submitted his resignation to Lieutenant Governor Tamilisai Soundararajan as his Congress-led government lost the majority ahead of the floor test in the Assembly.

Speaker VP Sivakolundhu announced that the Chief Minister could not prove his majority in the Assembly and adjourned the house sine die. The Treasury benches also raised the issue of voting rights to nominated MLAs.

Ahead of the result of the floor test, Narayanasamy alleged that the Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) was forcibly trying to implement Hindi in the UT, which follows the two-language system.

Addressing the Assembly ahead of the floor test, he alleged that the BJP is derailing India`s democratic system. He said, "What is happening in Puducherry now is political prostitution. But the truth will prevail."

He alleged that former Lieutenant Governor Kiran Bedi and the Central government colluded with the Opposition in a bid to topple his government in the Union territory.

"Former LG Kiran Bedi and Central Government colluded with the Opposition and tried to topple the government. As our MLAs stayed united we managed to pull off the last 5 years. The Centre has betrayed the people of Puducherry by not granting funds we requested," said Narayanasamy in the Assembly.

"We formed the government with the support of DMK and independent MLAs. After that, we faced various elections. We have won all the by-elections. It is clear that people of Puducherry trust us," Narayanasamy added.

Live TV

Flaying the Centre, he said, "We demanded full Statehood to stop the nominated LG from snatching the rights of the people of Puducherry," claiming that the Central government has betrayed the people of Puducherry by not granting the requested funds.

Earlier, Puducherry Lt Governor Tamilisai Soundararajan had ordered a floor test in assembly on February 22. The floor test came amid a spate of resignations including Congress MLAs A John Kumar and Lakshmi Narayanan and DMK MLA K Venkatesan.

The opposition has 14 members in 30-member Assembly whose effective strength is 28. It also enjoys the support of three nominated MLAs, all belonging to BJP.

Naranasamy, whose government slipped into the minority due to the resignation of six MLAs of the ruling alliance during the last one month, said MLAs who resigned will not be able to face the people as people will call them opportunists.

He claimed that people of the union territory are with the Congress-led government, and pointed out that after forming the government with the support of DMK and independent MLAs, the alliance won all by-elections.

Telangana governor Tamilisai Soundrarajan, who took on the additional charge of Puducherry Lieutenant Governor, on February 18 directed the chief minister to prove his majority in Assembly.

Two more legislators resigned on Sunday, reducing the ruling alliance`s strength to 12 in the 30-member Assembly.

With this, Congress lost its only government in the south. As the Assembly polls in the union territory are due in May, it remains to be seen if Lieutenant Governor recommends President`s rule or invite NR Congress-led opposition alliance to form the government.

The UT is going to Assembly polls later this year. The dates are yet to be announced.

(With Agency Inputs)
Only two men remain on Virginias death row. Anthony Juniper was sentenced to death in the 2004 slayings of his ex-girlfriend, two of her children, and her brother. Thomas Porter was sentenced to die for the 2005 killing of a Norfolk police officer. The repeal legislation would convert their sentences to life in prison without parole.
PESHAWAR, Pakistan (AP)  Suspected militants on motorcycles ambushed a vehicle carrying instructors from a private vocational school in northwest Pakistan on Monday, killing four women and wounding the driver before fleeing, police said.

The attack took place in the village of Epi in Mir Ali, a town in North Waziristan district in a former tribal region bordering Afghanistan, said Shafi Ullah Khan Gandapur, a district police chief.

Police said the slain women were sent to the village by private vocational school Bravo Institute of Technology, Peshawar under an agreement with the Sabawon Pakistan charity. They had planned to train 140 residents for skilled occupations that would allow them to open their own businesses.

Arfan Ullah Marwat, a spokesman for the Sabawon charity, said the women were not their employees.

Gandapur said the attack might have been avoided if police had received a request for security in an area where militants have stepped up attacks on troops in recent months.

The wounded driver, Abdul Khaliq, said he saw assailants on two motorcycles open fire and then flee. He said he was hired by the Bravo Institute of Technology, Peshawar to take the women from the town of Bannu to the town of Mir Ali and back.

The attack drew condemnation from rights activists on social media, with most demanding swift action against those responsible.

Pakistani militants have in recent months stepped up their activities in the region, raising fears they were regrouping in the area, which was a former Taliban stronghold.

Militants also often attack Pakistani troops in the former tribal regions bordering Afghanistan.

The North and South Waziristan districts served as the main base for local and foreign militants until the military secured the regions in 2015.
[February 22, 2021] MetLife Investment Management Supports Prince George's County Public Schools With $203.5 Million in Public-Private Partnership Financing

MetLife Investment Management (MIM), the institutional asset management business of MetLife, Inc. (NYSE: MET), today announced it has completed a Public-Private Partnership (PPP) transaction that will provide $203.5 million in funding for Maryland's Prince George's County Public Schools, the second largest public school system in the state and a top 20 public school district in the United States1. Led by MIM's Private Capital team, this unique PPP transaction is believed to be one of the first of its kind involving a public school system in the U.S. The $203.5 million transaction was managed by Fengate Capital Management and Gilbane Development Company and was part of a broader $478.5 million financing package for the district. The $203.5 million loan was split approximately evenly between MetLife's general account and MIM's institutional clients. The $203.5 million loan supports the future education needs of Prince George's County Public Schools, which was seeking financing partners to replace aging school buildings. The design-build project, which is expected to take three years, will involve the demolition of four aging schools and the simultaneous construction of six new schools (five middle schools and one K-8 school), which will provide a modern learning environment for approximately 8,000 students. The project requires at least 30% of the contract value to be allocated to local and minority-owned businesses and will employ approximately 4,100 people. "We're very proud to be partnering with Prince George's County Public Schools on this critical initiative to build new schools for 8,000 Maryland students," said Steven J. Goulart, president of MetLife Investment Management and chief investment officer of MetLife, Inc. "When we talk about how we can help build a stronger, more sustainable future for all, an initiative aimed at enhancing the educational environment for our children is certainly core to tht purpose."



This transaction further underscores MetLife's focus on long-term sustainability and its commitment to serving clients and communities in states across the U.S. and countries all over the world. In Maryland, MetLife had invested more than $500 million as of year-end 2019 in commercial real estate, agriculture, infrastructure, municipal bonds and affordable housing, among other sectors. The company also paid out more than $730 million in claims during 2019, supporting financial security and wellness, jobs, economic growth and ultimately stronger, more sustainable communities. MIM's Private Capital group comprises private placements, infrastructure and structured credit investment management, and is active across a wide range of industry sectors, including general industrial, healthcare, professional services, retail, utilities, electric transmission, renewable power and social housing, among others. As of December 31, 2020, MIM had $130.9 billion in private capital assets under management and $659.6 billion in total assets under management.2

About MetLife Investment Management MetLife Investment Management, the institutional asset management business of MetLife, Inc. (NYSE: MET), is a global public fixed income, private capital and real estate investment manager providing tailored investment solutions to institutional investors worldwide. MetLife Investment Management provides public and private pension plans, insurance companies, endowments, funds and other institutional clients with a range of bespoke investment and financing solutions that seek to meet a range of long-term investment objectives and risk-adjusted returns over time. MetLife Investment Management has over 150 years of investment experience and as of December 31, 2020 has $659.6 billion in total assets under management.2 About MetLife MetLife, Inc. (NYSE: MET), through its subsidiaries and affiliates (MetLife), is one of the world's leading financial services companies, providing insurance, annuities, employee benefits and asset management to help its individual and institutional customers navigate their changing world. Founded in 1868, MetLife has operations in more than 40 markets globally and holds leading positions in the United States, Japan, Latin America, Asia, Europe and the Middle East. For more information, visit www.metlife.com. Forward-Looking Statements The forward-looking statements in this news release, such as "will,", "future", "requires" and "expected" are based on assumptions and expectations that involve risks and uncertainties, including the "Risk Factors" MetLife, Inc. describes in its U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission filings. MetLife's future results could differ, and it has no obligation to correct or update any of these statements. 1 Source (News - Alert) : Prince George's County Public Schools https://www.pgcps.org/facts-and-figures/ 2 At estimated fair value. Includes MetLife general account and separate account assets and unaffiliated / third party assets. View source version on businesswire.com: https://www.businesswire.com/news/home/20210222005666/en/

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Pediatric cancer survivor Hayley Arceneaux has been chosen for the world's first all-civilian space mission.

Arceneaux is the second crew member to be announced for the Inspiration4 mission. She will represent the "Hope "seat on the historic flight, according to a press release.

CHANCE OF A LIFETIME: SpaceX offering chance of a lifetime to join first all-civilian crew to space

The 29-year-old bone cancer survivor and physician assistant at St. Jude Children's Research Hospital will join the commander of Inspiration4, Jared Isaacman, on the mission announced earlier this month.

Its an incredible honor to join the Inspiration4 crew," Arceneaux said in a statement. "This seat represents the hope that St. Jude gave meand continues to give families from around the world, who, like me, find hope when they walk through the doors of St. Jude."

Isaacman, an accomplished pilot and chief executive officer of Shrft4 Payments, donated two of the four seats aboard the historic mission to St Jude's Children's Research Hospital.

Assembling a unique and diverse crew whose personal stories and values will inspire people everywhere is at the heart of the Inspiration4 mission, Isaacman said.

Arceneaux shared the email she received with the exciting news, according to Tom Charlier with St. Jude Storied Lives.

They were being very vague, and I remember going into it being a little suspicious," Arceneaux said. Her response to whether she would like to be launched into space: Yes, yes, thank you. Please send me to space.

Richard C. Shadyac Jr., who heads up awareness and fundraising for St. Jude, praised Arceneaux and said she will be an "incredible ambassador through this mission."

When I was just 10 years old, St. Jude gave me the opportunity to grow up. Now I am fulfilling my dreams of working at the research hospital and traveling around the world," Arceneaux said in a statement.

Two seats representing Generosity and Prosperity remain aboard the SpaceX mission. They will be available to the general public until Feb. 28.
He urged the agitating farm unions to tell the government which provisions in these new laws they find anti-farmers.

New Delhi : Union minister Narendra Singh Tomar on Sunday reiterated that the Centre was ready to talk to the farmers protesting against the new agriculture laws, and said that mere gathering of crowd does not lead to revocation of legislations.

"Considering the issue with sensitivity, the government has held 12 rounds of talks with the farmer unions. But decisions on the basis of talks could be taken when objections (over the new farm laws) are pointed out," the Agriculture Minister told reporters here when asked about the protest.

The unions should tell as to what is anti-farmers in the new laws, he added.

"You flatly say revoke the laws...It doesn't happen that crowd gathers and the laws get revoked," he said.

Farmer unions should tell the government what provisions are against the farmers. The government is ready to understand this and make amendments even today.

The prime minister himself has said this, the minister added.

"Now, if the agitating unions are well-wishers of the farmers, then they should make it clear which provisions are creating problems to them," he said.

Thousands of farmers have been protesting at Delhi's borders with Haryana and Uttar Pradesh demanding the rollback of the Farmers' Produce Trade and Commerce (Promotion and Facilitation) Act, 2020, the Farmers (Empowerment and Protection) Agreement on Price Assurance and Farm Services Act, 2020 and the Essential Commodities (Amendment) Act, 2020.
YEREVAN, 22 FEBUARY, ARMENPRESS. The Central Bank of Armenia informs Armenpress that today, 22 February, USD exchange rate up by 0.62 drams to 525.10 drams. EUR exchange rate down by 0.61 drams to 635.79 drams. Russian Ruble exchange rate down by 0.07 drams to 7.03 drams. GBP exchange rate up by 2.29 drams to 735.88 drams.

The Central Bank has set the following prices for precious metals.

Gold price up by 255.66 drams to 30155.26 drams. Silver price down by 3.09 drams to 454.98 drams. Platinum price up by 497.94 drams to 21845.77 drams.

domnicky/iStockBy BILL HUTCHINSON, ABC News

(HOUSTON) -- Texas power providers Electric Reliability Council of Texas (ERCOT) and Entergy Corporation have been hit with a $100 million lawsuit accusing them of gross negligence in the death of a child whose family suspects he suffered hypothermia when they lost electricity and heat in their mobile home during a historic cold snap.



The mother of 11-year-old Cristian Pineda filed the wrongful death lawsuit in Jefferson County District Court, alleging the utility giants "put profits over the welfare of people" by ignoring previous recommendations to winterize its power grid, which sustained an epic failure last week and left more than four million customers without heat and electricity as temperatures in some parts of the state plunged to single digits.



"Despite having knowledge of the dire weather forecast for at least a week in advance, and the knowledge that the system was not prepared for more than a decade, ERCOT and Entergy failed to take any preemptory action that could have averted the crisis and were wholly unprepared to deal with the crisis at hand," the lawsuit states.



Cristian died on Tuesday in his family's mobile home in the Houston suburb of Conroe while sharing a bed with his 3-year-old brother under a pile of blankets in an attempt to stay warm, according to the lawsuit.



This is a young man who died for no reason other than corporate decisions," the Pineda family attorney Tony Buzbee told ABC News on Sunday. "There are a lot of decisions that were made a long time ago that led to the death of this young man. That is unacceptable."



As of Sunday, more than 30 people had died in Texas in the past week due to the severe weather, including many from carbon monoxide poisoning after people used cars or generators to keep warm during the massive power outage, according to state officials.



Buzbee said he now represents seven families who lost loved ones as a result of the severe weather and said more lawsuits will be filed against the power companies.



"Cristians lawsuit is the first and his lawsuit should be the first," Buzbee said. "This kid is going to change Texas and God bless him for that."



The sixth grader, who migrated to the United States two years ago with his family, was a healthy boy who on the day before his death was playing in the snow for the first time in his life, his mother, Maria Pineda, told the Houston Chronicle.



Maria Pineda found her son unresponsive the next day and called 911 while attempting CPR, according to the lawsuit.



While the Pineda family contends the child froze to death, the official cause of death is pending the results of an autopsy, according to the Conroe Police Department.



Entergy -- which delivers electricity to customers in Texas, Arkansas, Louisiana and Mississippi -- released a statement to ABC station KTRK-TV in Houston saying, "We are deeply saddened by the loss of life in our community. We are unable to comment due to pending litigation."



ERCOT, which manages the electric grid for more than 25 million customers, said in a statement that it had not yet reviewed the lawsuit but "will respond accordingly once we do."



"Our thoughts are with all Texans who have and are suffering due to this past week," ERCOT statement continued.



ERCOT officials said it initiated emergency rolling blackouts on Feb. 15 after a snowstorm blanketed much of Texas and sent temperatures falling to sub-freezing levels. The agency said it took drastic action to avoid a catastrophic statewide blackout.



"Because approximately 46% of privately owned generation tripped offline this past Monday morning, we are confident that our grid operators made the right choice to avoid a statewide blackout," ERCOT said in its statement.



But the lawsuit -- filed on behalf of Maria Pineda and the estate of Cristian Pineda by attorney Anthony Buzbee -- contends that power was turned off for "those who were most vulnerable to the cold."



"Hence, there were images of empty downtown Houston office buildings with power, but the Pineda's mobile home park was left without power," the lawsuit reads.



The lawsuit blamed ERCOT for misleading customers by assuring them the rolling blackouts would be temporary.



"The blackouts instead lasted days. The failure to adequately inform Plaintiffs of the length of the blackouts prevented them from properly preparing for the lack of power, or leaving the area. Accurate information might have saved Cristian Pineda's young life," the lawsuit alleged.



The Pinedas were without power and heat for two days and during that time temperatures plummeted to as low as 10 degrees in their area, the lawsuit states.



Instead of informing customers, like the Pinedas, that the rolling blackouts would be prolonged, ERCOT sent out messages on social media for customers not to do laundry on Valentine's Day and to "unplug the fancy new appliances you bought during the pandemic and only used once," according to the lawsuit, which included an image of ERCOT's Valentine's Day social media post.



The lawsuit also noted that following a severe winter storm in 2011, the Federal Energy Regulatory Commission and the North American Electric Reliability Corporation issued a report informing ERCOT that "additional winterizing of the power infrastructure in Texas was necessary."



A large number of units that tripped offline or could not start during the 2011 storm demonstrated that "the generators did not adequately anticipate the full impact of the extended cold weather and high winds," according to the report cited in the lawsuit.



Because the ERCOT system does not cross state lines, the agency is not subject to federal regulation or oversight, according to the lawsuit.



The recommendations were voluntary at the time, but will become mandatory at the end of next year. In an interview last week with KTRK, an ERCOT official seemed to suggest that at least some of the recommendations were followed.

"In 2018 it was similarly cold, similarly windy, and we had very few generating plants offline," ERCOT's senior director of operations Dan Woodfin told KTRK. "It appeared that those best practices and what the generators were doing in that regard was working."



"Rather than invest in infrastructure to prepare for the known winter storms that would most certainly come and potentially leave people vulnerable without power, the providers instead chose to put profits over the welfare of people, and ERCOT allowed them to do so," the lawsuit states.



Copyright  2021, ABC Audio. All rights reserved.
How it's doing

As the likes of BP and Shell pursue diversified investments into renewable and sustainable energy assets, AIM-quoted small-cap ( ) is similarly making a pivot.

Scirocco - formerly Solo Oil, an investor in early-stage exploration and small scale production in the UK and Tanzania - today told investors that it had expanded its investment strategy, screening opportunities in the energy transition space.

At the same time, Scirocco strengthened its team with the appointment of Muir Miller to the board, bringing valuable experience of the renewable energy sector into the company.

Miller was previously managing director of Peel Energy which developed and sold 121mln worth of renewable assets, clearing around 61mln of cash profits. He will non-executive director and will chair a new Sustainability Committee at Scirocco.

Muir has a proven track record of strategic direction, business plan execution and successful delivery of low carbon assets, so we will benefit from his considerable experience as we progress our strategy within this area, said Alastair Ferguson, Scirocco chairman.

Muir will head up our newly established Sustainability Committee that will be responsible for developing an effective ESG strategy that supports our growth ambitions."

Sciroccos growth ambitions envisages a company with an asset base with an enterprise value of 150mln generating 20mln of cash flow per year.

The company is already advancing its plans, with advanced talks underway for its first transaction in sustainable energy.

Scirocco highlighted that the subject of the possible deal is an energy generation asset.

Presently, the company progressing due diligence.

Commenting on Sciroccos evolving investment strategy, Ferguson added: Both the energy and capital markets have changed considerably since this board set its original strategy around European Energy almost two years ago.

The combination of an abundance of compelling opportunities and wider investor appetite in the low-carbon space with an improved risk-reward ratio has resulted in us increasingly focusing our business development in this area.

We are presently screening a pipeline of opportunities around which we believe we can grow the business and deliver sustainable shareholder value underpinned by steady cash flow, reliable dividends, and a positive ESG story.

Assets

Kiliwani North - Solo has an 8.4% stake in the Kiliwani North field which, in 2016, gave the company its first production generated revenue.

After around 2 years of operation, Kiliwanis single well has just gone through an upgrade programme and is yet to come back onstream.

Ruvuma - Solo also owns 25% of Ruvuma, an expansive and high potential area in Tanzania that hosts the Ntorya gas field development project.

Scirocco also owns an interest in AIM-quoted Helium One which is a non-energy, non-carbon gas exploration play.

Helium One is advancing the exploration of the Rukwa project in Tanzania which could, in time, prove to be one of the worlds largest primary, natural sources of helium  which is a critical component in high-tech medical equipment such as MRI.

What management says
Auckland, New Zealand--(Newsfile Corp. - February 21, 2021) - Besra Gold Inc. ("Besra" or the "Company"), announced today that the special meeting ("Meeting") of holders of 3% unsecured convertible redeemable notes ("Notes") of the Company held at 2pm ET on February 19, 2021 was adjourned in accordance with the terms of the Notes, due to a lack of a quorum until Friday February 26, 2021 at 2 p.m. ET. The purpose of the Meeting is to present a Noteholder Extension Resolution regarding approval of extending the deadlines for completing a reorganization of the Company and recognized stock exchange listing and maturity date of the Notes and amendment to the terms of the Notes, as more particularly described in the Management Information Circular dated January 19, 2021, filed on SEDAR.

The Company will hold the adjourned Meeting in a virtual only format via live webcast online. Details regarding participation at the Meeting are set out in the Management Information Circular.

Online and telephone voting has now been reopened for registered noteholders.

How to Vote:

ahead of time , to be lodged prior to 2:00 p.m. (Toronto time) on February 25, 2021 direct online at www.investorvote.com (enter the 15-digit control number provided on your form of proxy to vote) or by phone via the online proxy (call 1-866-732-8683 toll-free in North America and enter the 15-digit control number printed on their form of proxy. Follow the interactive voice recording instructions to vote), or a pdf scan of a new proxy dated after their old proxy sent to the Company

, to be lodged prior to 2:00 p.m. (Toronto time) on February 25, 2021 vote at the virtual meeting on February 26, 2021, at 2:00 p.m. (Toronto time).

Registered Noteholders have been sent a form of proxy containing a 15-digit control number, which will be required to vote online at the virtual Meeting, by internet, or by telephone. Any Registered Noteholder who wishes to vote and has not received their form of proxy should contact the Company.

For further information: John Seton, Chief Executive Officer, E: john@besra.com, Meghan Lewis, Head, Corporate Development, E: meghan.lewis@besra.com

Besra:www.besra.com

James W. Hamilton

Investor Relations Services

Phone: +1-416-471-4494

Email: jim@besra.com

To view the source version of this press release, please visit https://www.newsfilecorp.com/release/75028
Rather than simply building a third-party monitoring tool as so many other vendors have done, Martello has created a tool that not only imports the data produced by all of your existing monitoring tools, but performs root cause analysis to increase the availability of critical IT services

Martello Technologies Group Inc., (Martello or the Company) (TSXV:MTLO), a provider of digital experience monitoring (DEM) solutions, announced today that its iQ software solution has received a 4.5/5 rating in a product review by Microsoft MVP Brien Posey, published on TechGenix. Martello iQ is a digital experience and IT analytics platform that consolidates and analyzes data from multiple monitoring, IT services management and business applications for a more comprehensive view of how critical services and applications, such as Microsoft 365 are performing.

Rather than simply building a third-party monitoring tool as so many other vendors have done, Martello has created a tool that not only imports the data produced by all of your existing monitoring tools, but performs root cause analysis to increase the availability of critical IT services, said Brien Posey. Multitenancy in iQ is especially valuable, allowing IT teams to monitor multi-cloud environments such as multiple Azure subscriptions. Though multitenancy is becoming increasingly common, relatively few IT tools currently support it, so this is an important differentiator for Martello iQ.

TechGenix, which provides content and reviews to millions of IT professionals globally, published the gold star review this month, highlighting the tools unique value to enterprise IT professionals. The review cited several factors in determining the Martello iQ products score, including the dozens of integrations it supports, ingesting data from all of the disparate tools that an enterprise class organization is likely to be using. The solutions multitenancy is another critical capability highlighted by Posey, allowing IT teams to monitor multi-cloud environments such as multiple Azure subscriptions. The Martello iQ softwares ability to not only ingest but also perform root cause analysis dramatically reduces the time required to solve problems, by reducing the complexity that is inherent in monitoring hybrid cloud resources. This can help organizations increase the availability of critical IT services.

Leiden University Medical Center (LUMC) in the Netherlands uses iQ: Martellos solutions have grown with us and helped us manage our multi domain and hybrid cloud environment more effectively, said Willem Bouwman, IT Specialist, SQL Database and Monitoring Engineer in the Information Technology and Digital Innovation department of Leiden University Medical Center. Read the Leiden University Medical Center Case Study.

Related Resources



About Martello

Martello Technologies (TSXV: MTLO) provides digital experience monitoring (DEM) solutions. The companys products provide monitoring and analytics on the performance and user experience of critical cloud business applications, while giving IT teams and service providers control and visibility of their entire IT infrastructure. Martellos software products include Microsoft 365 end user experience monitoring, unified communications performance analytics, and IT service analytics. Martello is a public company headquartered in Ottawa, Canada with employees in Europe, North America and the Asia Pacific region. Learn more at http://www.martellotech.com

FORWARD LOOKING STATEMENTS: This press release contains forward-looking statements that address future events and conditions, which are subject to various risks and uncertainties. Actual results could differ materially from those anticipated in such forward-looking statements as a result of numerous factors, some of which may be beyond the Corporations control. These factors include: general market and industry conditions, risks related to continuous operations and to commercialization of new technologies and other risks disclosed in the Corporations filings with Canadian Securities Regulators.

Forward-looking statements are based on the expectations and opinions of the Corporations management on the date the statements are made. The assumptions used in the preparation of such statements, although considered reasonable at the time of preparation, may prove to be imprecise and, as such, undue reliance should not be placed on forward-looking statements. The Corporation expressly 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.

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 company, focused on gold and silver in South Korea, has a number of projects on the go and expects a transformative 2021.

The company is exploring seven projects and has made three new discoveries

Southern Gold Ltd ( ) (FRA:UHR) managing director Simon Mitchell has demonstrated his confidence in the companys South Korean gold-silver strategy with the purchase of shares in an on-market transaction.

Mitchell acquired 170,000 shares on February 18 for an indirect interest, increasing the number of securities held in that interest to 1 million shares.

This follows non-executive chairman Gregory Boulton having acquired 100,000 shares on February 3 at 10 cents each in an indirect interest, increasing the number of securities in that interest to more than 3.57 million.

South Korean 2021 drilling program

The company is going all-in on its unique one-country mining strategy, with drilling for gold and silver ongoing at seven projects across South Korea.

SAUs focus is to discover high-grade gold and silver deposits in South Korea, deploying a team of local Koreans targeting epithermal gold-silver  precious metals formed from hydrothermal fluids at shallow levels in the Earths crust.

It is actively exploring seven projects in South Korea, all well south of Seoul: Aphae, Weolyu, Deokon, Beopseongpo, Hampyeong, Dokcheon and Neungj.

On top of these, it has also made three new discoveries - Janghwal, Geum Mar and Daeam Valley - with initial assessments revealing that all three-hold significant potential ahead of scout drilling to be undertaken in the first half of this year.
A head lice removalist has shared skin-crawling footage of an infestation in a young girl's hair after the blood-sucking insects bred unbridled for weeks.

Sherri Richardson rids children and adults of the pesky ectoparasites through her Perth-based business Nitpickers, and frequently posts tips online about how to remain lice-free.

Last week, the mother posted a video to TikTok to show how rapidly an outbreak can get out of control after finding a colony of bugs running rampant on a client's scalp.

Perth mother and professional lice removalist Sherri Richardson shared skin-crawling footage of a lice infestation

'What happens when you refuse to sit so someone can nit comb?' she wrote.

'You get over run in just a few weeks.'

The clip shows Ms Richardson running a comb through a little girl's hair, sifting out hundreds of squirming head lice onto the metal blades.

'This infestation is no more than eight weeks old. Look how many different sizes there are,' she added.

The video quickly went viral, racking up more than five million views and almost 75,000 reactions.

A follow up video posted days later showed the infestation had almost completely disappeared after a week of treatment.

Ms Richardson said nit combing one week later was the best way to catch any missed lice.

'This is the most effective way to end an infestation and keep them from returning,' she said.

'This infestation is no more than eight weeks old. Look how many different sizes there are,' she wrote alongside a close-up of the lice left in the head comb

Head lice are small, wingless, blood-sucking insects that live in human hair and feed off the blood in scalps.

An adult louse is about the size of a sesame seed, according to Healthline, while a nit - the egg of a louse - is roughly the size of a flake of dandruff.

Head lice are highly contagious and spread from head-to-head contact with an infested patient.

Lice can also be contracted by sharing tools such as brushes, combs or towels with someone who has an infestation.

Head lice are most common in primary school children who pass the insects to each other during play.

Symptoms include extreme itchiness of the scalp, a crawling sensation across the scalp and sores or scabs on the scalp from scratching.

Most cases can be treated at home with a fine-toothed comb or over-the-counter medication, but severe infestations should be presented to a professional clinic like Lice Clinics of Australia.

MONTREAL - Quebec is reporting its lowest number of new COVID-19 cases in five months, as well as 15 deaths linked to the virus.

A sign reminds arriving passengers to quarantine against COVID-19 at Trudeau Airport in Montreal, Friday, Feb. 19, 2021. THE CANADIAN PRESS/Ryan Remiorz

MONTREAL - Quebec is reporting its lowest number of new COVID-19 cases in five months, as well as 15 deaths linked to the virus.

Health Minister Christian Dube said on Twitter that the 666 new infections reported today is the "best day" since Sept 23, when the province reported 687 cases.

Hospitalizations also fell by 14 to 686 with 119 patients in intensive care, which is one less than the day before.

Dube warned Quebecers against feeling a false sense of security given the threat of new, potentially more infectious COVID-19 variants.

Quebec has reported 23 confirmed cases involving variants of concern, as well as 329 presumptive cases under investigation.

That figure is up from 286 a day prior.

This report by The Canadian Press was first published Feb. 21, 2021
Pedestrians walk by a mural of Abraham Lincoln outside of Abraham Lincoln High School in San Francisco, Calif., on Dec. 17, 2020. (Justin Sullivan/Getty Images)

San Francisco School Board Halts Plan to Rename 44 Schools, Focuses on Reopening Them

Following local and national backlash, San Francisco Unified School District (SFUSD) said over the weekend that it will put on hold the plan to rename its 44 schools and instead, focus on their reopening.

In a statement released to the San Francisco Chronicle, San Francisco Board of Education President Gabriela Lopez said that reopening schools will be the districts only focus, and that the renaming committee meetings will halt until our children and young people are back in schools.

There have been many distracting public debates as weve been working to reopen our schools, Lopez wrote. School renaming has been one of them. It was a process begun in 2018 with a timeline that didnt anticipate a pandemic. I acknowledge and take responsibility that mistakes were made in the renaming process.

In a unanimous decision three weeks ago, The SFUSD approved a decision to start replacing names of schools named after historical figures who engaged in the subjugation and enslavement of human beings; or who oppressed women, inhibiting societal progress; or whose actions led to genocide; or who otherwise significantly diminished the opportunities of those amongst us to the right to life, liberty, and the pursuit of happiness.

The namesakes to be dropped, in addition to U.S. Presidents George Washington, Thomas Jefferson, James Monroe, Abraham Lincoln, and Theodore Roosevelt, include two-time Secretary of State Daniel Webster, Spanish missionary Junipero Serra, American Revolution patriot Paul Revere, and Francis Scott Key, the author of the lyrics for The Star Spangled Banner.

In response to criticism that the historical explanations for removing those names were flawed or biased, Lopez promised a more deliberative process moving forward, which includes engaging historians at nearby universities in future discussions about the name changes.

Lopez also said the district is working with City Hall to secure vaccinations, testing, and other resources needed to safely reopen school buildings for in-person instructions.

As I talk to parents, I have heard how hard it is to worry about your child shutting down and their struggle to stay motivated in distance learning, Lopez said in a statement. Were in negotiations to get the work on returning to in-person learning done and Im committed to working with city partners to get vaccinations, testing and other resources we need.

Earlier this month, San Francisco Attorney Dennis Herrera, with support from Mayor London Breed, filed an emergency court order against the SFUSD, arguing that it is unlawful that the district administrators dont have plan to reopen schools, which have been closed since the summer of 2020.

A court hearing for the case has been scheduled for March 22.
A big opportunity has come for the youth preparing for government jobs. In Madhya Pradesh, the recruitment of Community Health Officers (CHO) has been started in the, for which applications are now being accepted.

Interested candidates can apply till 28 February for the recruitment to these posts. To apply, you can visit the official website of the Health Department of Madhya Pradesh at nhmmp.gov.in/.

Under the National Health Mission (NHM) in Madhya Pradesh, recruitment has been released for 2850 CHO posts. To apply for these posts, the applicant must be B.Sc Nursing.

The applicant must be between 21 and 40 years of age to apply for these CHO posts. However, the age limit will be relaxed for the applicants of the reserved category.

The selected applicants on these posts will be given a salary of 25000 thousand rupees per month. During the internship, the applicant will be given an incentive on the basis of performance of Rs 15,000 per month.

Applicants for these posts will be selected on the basis of online written examination. The special thing is that the applicant will not have to pay any kind of fee to apply for these posts.
Over 1,000 people logged onto a virtual town hall last week to hear an update on the Great Redwood Trail, the ambitious, expensive 316-mile foot and bike path which, when complete, will be the longest rail-to-trail project in the nation.

This pathway, to be constructed along the right of way overseen by the North Coast Railroad Authority, will stretch from San Francisco Bay to Humboldt Bay, offering hikers, cyclists and equestrians new access to towering redwood forests and the stunning Eel River Canyon.

It will ultimately take its place next to such iconic trails the Appalachian Trail and the Pacific Crest Trail, said Michael Jones, founder of Alta Planning and Design. Jones, of Marin County, was one of the panelists at Thursdays town hall hosted by state Sen. Mike McGuire, D-Healdsburg, who authored the 2018 bill to create the Great Redwood Trail.

Quality journalism doesn't happen without your help We're offering our best deal ever with this Editor's Special. Support local news coverage by subscribing to the Napa Valley Register.

While some segments of the multibillion dollar trail are already in use, its final completion is probably decades away. The next step, McGuire explained, will be the formation of a master plan, a 2- to 3-year process that will determine what the trail will look like in different places: paved, bike paths in some sections, gravel and single-track in others.


Teslounge Bucharest has announced the opening of the first independent showroom dedicated to Tesla cars in Romania, a local media report said.

The showroom, which opened its doors today (22 February), covers 250 square metres and is the largest in southeast Europe, the company told romania-insider.com.

The showroom is in the capital citys District 2.

From March, the Tesla Y model will be available for the first time in Romania.

Im glad that we managed, through Teslounge, to bring Tesla cars to the Romanian market and to make it possible to purchase these models directly from the showroom. Our goal is to offer these cars, which are so coveted internationally, to the Romanian public, but also to support the acquisition process. Now, those interested in a Tesla model can come to the showroom and test the cars. We offer our customers assistance throughout the purchase route, from test-drive to service, Vlad Macelaru, marketing and sales director, Teslounge Bucharest, told romania-insider.com.



Teslounge Bucharest, which imports and sells Tesla models in Romania, is only a partner of the American brand Tesla and has no contractual relationship with EV maker, Economica.net reported.

Over 2,800 electric cars were registered in Romania in 2020 and over 50 were Tesla models, Teslounge Bucharest said.

Tesla itself opened its first office in Bucharest in early February located in a business centre in District 4.

Tesla also plans to install Supercharger stations in four Romanian cities this year, with Timisoara. The others are Bucharest, Pitesti, and Sibiu.
Tutors International welcomes the newest member of their team, Joanna Dunckley Phillips

OXFORD, England, Feb. 22, 2021 /PRNewswire/ -- Elite residential tutoring company, Tutors International, is delighted to welcome aboard their new Account Manager, Joanna Dunckley Phillips.

Joanna has worked as a tutor for Tutors International for over a decade, so she knows the processes, business and ethos very well. Her new role is as part of the central team.

Her position as Account Manager will initially involve looking after specific contracts and liaising with clients and tutors to ensure the smooth running of the close relationships this kind of residential tutoring engenders.

Joanna shares her thoughts about transitioning from the tutoring side of the business to the account management side:

"I have worked as a tutor for TI for over 10 years now and know the process from the 'other side' very well. I understand the dynamics that form between tutors, their charges and the clients. Hopefully, this will allow me to better support the team that are on the ground (parents/clients and tutors) working with the child/ren."

She continues:

"It is very early days, but I'm most looking forward to developing strong working relationships with both the tutors and the clients that I will be allocated. After all, we are all working as a team towards the same goal: what is best for the children!"

Joanna is based in Stirlingshire, Scotland. As with the rest of Tutors International's core team, she will be working from home.

Tutors International was ahead of the curve, with a core team that has always worked from home - even before the COVID-19 outbreak. Its employees are located all across the UK, with some also based in Russia and America.

Employees have always experienced the bonuses of a home office setup: no commute, flexibility, and great communication facilities. Moreover, it allows for recruitment from a global talent pool. In keeping with Tutors International's ethos, it enables the hiring of not just the best candidate in the UK, but the best candidate internationally.

Founder of Tutors International, Adam Caller, welcomes Joanna to the core team:

"After years of exemplary tutoring for Tutors International, it's fantastic to have Joanna's expertise and insight lend itself to the other side of the business. Her experience will be extremely valuable in understanding and accommodating effective client/tutor relationships."

About Tutors International

Tutors International provides an unparalleled bespoke service that matches the right tutor with the right child, in order for the student to fully reach their personal potential and academic excellence. Providing a service for children of all ages at different points in their educational journeys, Tutors International is founded on a commitment to finding the perfect tutor to realise the specific goals and aspirations of each student. Tutors are available for full-time tutoring positions, after-school assistance, and home-schooling.

Founded in 1999 by Adam Caller, Tutors International is a private company based in Oxford, a city renowned for academic excellence. Our select clientele receives a personally tailored service, with discretion and confidentiality guaranteed.

Contact Details

Web: www.tutors-international.com

Email: marketing@tutors-international.com

Phone: +44 (0) 1865 435 135

Tutors International

Clarendon House

52 Cornmarket Street

Oxford

OX1 3HJ

UK

Photo: https://mma.prnewswire.com/media/1441128/Tutors_International_Joanna.jpg

Logo: https://mma.prnewswire.com/media/699064/Tutors_International_Logo.jpg


COVID fueled 2020 cyberattacks

The coronavirus was a driving force behind cyber activities in 2020 from both criminal and nation-state actors who tried to acquire information related to the virus and possible vaccines or extort the health care industry, according to a new Crowdstrike report.

"There's a couple major themes we saw throughout the last year: The most dominant feature I think is obviously COVID. The impact that COVID had in the cyber domain was absolutely mind boggling," Crowdstrike Senior Vice President of Intelligence Adam Meyers said.

The company's "2021 Global Threat Report" outlines activities throughout 2020 by hacking campaigns and other threat actors spanning across 10 different countries as well as groups categorized as being motivated by "eCrime" or hacktivism.

The pandemic-driven remote workforce also created a feeding frenzy for cyber predators spurred on by the windfall of easy access to sensitive data and networks, the report said. Plus, the uncertainty surrounding the spread of the virus provided a perfect cover for a record-setting increase in social engineering attacks from both eCrime actors and targeted intrusion adversaries.

"In the early days of the pandemic, objectives for targeted intrusion actors may have included acquiring information on infection rates or country-level responses to the treatment of COVID-19," according to the report. "The search for a vaccine became of paramount importance, and the scientific information that could lead to a vaccine for COVID-19 was a high-priority collection requirement for many targeted intrusion adversaries."

Meyers noted that early in 2020, there was a noticeable uptick in activity from Vietnam targeting health agencies in China looking for information about the coronavirus. Those activities preceded lockdowns and other precautions to guard against COVID-19 weeks before other countries had begun enforcing similar measures. The relatively lower infection and mortality rates in Vietnam, which shares a border with China, reflect those early precautions, Meyers said.

The company also found a noticeable spike in ransomware cases being used against health care facilities. "CrowdStrike Intelligence confirmed that 18 ransomware families infected 104 healthcare organizations in 2020," the report states.

Ransomware attacks against the medical industry have become particularly controversial in recent months as the coronavirus proliferated. Some hacking campaigns have pledged not to target hospitals or to provide decryption keys if a medical facility is accidentally swept up in an attack.

This article was first posted to FCW, a sibling site to GCN.
The reintroduction of 32 bobcats to an island off the coast of Georgia more than three decades ago created an ideal experiment to examine the accuracy of a genetic-modeling technique that predicts extinction of isolated wildlife populations.

That's the conclusion of Penn State researchers who continue to monitor the bobcat population on Cumberland Island National Seashore, and who conducted a study comparing and contrasting the Cumberland Island bobcats to a population of bobcats on Kiawah Island off the coast of South Carolina.

The research was led by Cassandra Miller-Butterworth, associate professor of biology at Penn State Beaver, and Duane Diefenbach, Penn State adjunct professor of wildlife ecology who, as a doctoral candidate at the University of Georgia in 1989, reintroduced bobcats captured on the Georgia mainland to Cumberland Island. Before freeing the bobcats on the island, he drew blood samples from the animals and froze them. DNA in those samples now serves as a baseline to compare how the population is faring.

The bobcat reintroduction was part of Diefenbach's doctoral research, in which he documented the survival and reproduction of the reintroduced bobcats and collected blood samples from the first litters of kittens born on the island. Since then, he has returned to the island many times over the years with students and volunteers to collect bobcat scat from which to extract DNA to monitor the population's genetic health.

There now are 24 bobcats on Cumberland Island, which is separated from the mainland by open water that prevents bobcats from the mainland from immigrating. DNA from the scat allows the scientists to identify individual bobcats, which enables them to estimate abundance and survival rates and measure levels of inbreeding.

"Because we had DNA from the founding population, we were able to document the loss in genetic diversity over time in the population," said Diefenbach, leader of the Pennsylvania Cooperative Fish and Wildlife Research Unit, which is housed in Penn State's College of Agricultural Sciences. "Over the past 30 years, the population has lost about 15% of its genetic diversity. There appears to be some inbreeding, but generally it is low."

Over the last decade, Diefenbach has collaborated with Miller-Butterworth, a wildlife population geneticist, to analyze the bobcats' DNA. Her laboratory handled all the molecular analyses from the blood samples.

Diefenbach and Miller-Butterworth also assessed the bobcat population on Kiawah Island. After trappers in 2015 and 2016 donated tissue samples from bobcats on the South Carolina mainland, the researchers determined that bobcats do occasionally travel on and off that island, likely over a bridge for vehicles.

"On Kiawah, we studied the genetics and found that about every five years, a bobcat from the mainland contributes genes to the island population," Miller-Butterworth said. "Consequently, genetic diversity on Kiawah Island is lower than on mainland South Carolina, but still higher than on Cumberland Island."

The research findings, recently published in Global Ecology and Conservation, indicate that the probability of Cumberland Island bobcats becoming extinct will continue to increase over time. By 2040, the researchers predicted, the risk of extinction will increase to about 20% without any human intervention to restore the loss in genetic diversity, perhaps by introducing a bobcat from the mainland every four or five years.

However, the findings provide good news for people trying to protect endangered species, Miller-Butterworth pointed out.

"We found that population viability models that predict the fate of the population did a good job in predicting the loss in genetic diversity and the long-term population size," she said. "I was surprised at how closely the modeling data and the empirical data matched -- you don't see that often. When we were running the population viability analyses, the predictions that we got for genetic variation, or heterozygosity, matched almost exactly what we were finding with our empirical DNA data."

The Cumberland Island bobcat study is valuable because it yielded information that may be useful in future research used to rescue endangered felid populations, such as Iberian lynx or Eurasian lynx, for which extinction risk may be high, Miller-Butterworth explained. Bobcats are not threatened as a species, but the isolated population on Cumberland Island simulates an endangered species scenario in which a population becomes isolated due to habitat loss and fragmentation and loses genetic variation over time -- an increasingly common scenario for many endangered species.

"The benefit is we can use this as a case study, or a test case, to figure out what works to re-establish the population's viability, and then that knowledge potentially can be used to extrapolate what would work for an endangered species where the situation is dire," she said. "If we make a mistake in our calculations on Cumberland Island, it would be sad, but it wouldn't result in losing a species."

###

Also involved in the research at Penn State were Jessie Edson, genetics laboratory manager, and Tess Gingery, research technologist, both in the Department of Ecosystem Science and Management. Other members of the team were Leslie Hansen, Los Alamos National Laboratory, Los Alamos, New Mexico; James Jordan, Town of Kiawah Island, South Carolina; and Amy Russell, Department of Biology, Grand Valley State University, Allendale, Michigan.

The National Park Service, the U.S. Geological Survey, the Town of Kiawah Island and Penn State Beaver provided support for this project.

A mother with mental health issues who beat her sleeping seven-year-old daughter so viciously she suffered 'life-changing injuries' is freed after doctors say her psychosis was triggered by cannabis.

The woman, 28, who cannot be identified in order to protect her daughter, unleashed a 'savage' attack on the child as she lay asleep in her bed.

When horrified relatives found the mother, from the Beswick area of Manchester, she was quoting lines from Shakespeare's Macbeth, as well as scriptures from the Bible.

The girl, who is now 10 and in foster care, suffered a severe injuries to her left eye and ear as well as a life-threatening blot clot on the brain during the attack.

She made a recovery after spending three weeks in hospital but was left hard of hearing and has to wear a hearing aid.

The woman was detained under the Mental Health Act, but was later charged with causing grievous bodily harm (GBH) with intent.

But, appearing at Minshull Crown Court in Manchester, the woman was spared a jail term after pleading guilty to the lesser charge of causing GBH - which carries a maximum five year sentence.

She was instead given a three year community order, after a court heard her behaviour was driven by a 'mixture of your mental health issues and your abuse of drugs'.

In sentencing Judge Elizabeth Nicholls told her: 'You savagely set about your daughter as she slept, you dragged her from her bed and beat her and she suffered injuries which were described as life threatening.

Appearing at Minshull Crown Court (pictured) in Manchester, the woman was spared a jail term after pleading guilty to a lesser charge of causing GBH - which carries a maximum five year sentence

'It's not just the physical scars that will remain but the long term emotional trauma the events of that night will have imposed on your daughter.

'But there can be no doubt your mental health has contributed to the commission of this offence - no doubt exacerbated by your use of cannabis and amphetamine.'

The judge added: 'No doubt that behaviour was driven by a mixture of your mental health issues and your abuse of drugs.

'It is sometimes difficult to extrapolate which came first.

'Which ever way you look at this case, it is a tragedy for all concerned, a tragedy for that girl who will have long term physical and emotional issues but also a tragedy for the family as a whole.'

The court heard the attack took place at midnight on August 18, 2018 after the youngster woke up to find the woman attacking her.

The girl's stepfather heard screams and ran upstairs to rescue the girl before calling the woman's sister to say his partner 'had gone mad.'

The sister and her boyfriend arrived at the house to find the woman looking expressionless next to the child's bedroom.

John Kennerley prosecuting said: 'The defendant was behaving strangely and speaking in a monotone voice referring to the Bible and quoting from Macbeth.

'The defendant's partner was terrified and shaking and telephoning for an ambulance and police.

'The sister's partner said he had never seen the defendant behave like that before and it seemed to him she was affected by drugs. She kept passing comment like: 'Did I do this?' The stepfather said he had cleaned up what he had described as a 'bloodbath'.

The girl, who is now 10 and in foster care, suffered a severe injuries to her left eye and ear as well as a life-threatening blot clot on the brain during the attack. Picture: Stock image

'He was upset and told police he heard screaming from upstairs and ran up to see his partner dragging her daughter along the lading. He said this was out of character but said she had been behaving rather weirdly of late.'

The girl was taken to Royal Manchester Children's Hospital where she told officers she woke up in bed to find her mother punching her about the head and dragged her out of the room.

She remembered a 'lot of blood' and her stepfather intervening and recalled her mother had been reading 'spiritual stuff' in the run up to the attack.

She suffered extensive bleeding to the left eye, cuts to her collarbone, chest and shin and severe cut to her ear canal.

Police investigated suggestions the mother used a drill bit or chopstick in the assault but no evidence was found of a weapon.

The woman gave no comment in interview. In a statement her sister told police: 'My niece has suffered life changing injuries but I'm just pleased my sister has pleaded guilty and I hope she will get some help to rebuild some kind of life.'

The court heard the woman had been having successful supervised access visits with her daughter since the attack.

In mitigation, defence counsel Miss Jane Dagall told the hearing her client had since given up cannabis and said: 'She has tried very hard to sort her life out and move on in the knowledge her children have a good future with their aunt.

'Doctors said she suffered from a combination of a schizo-affected disorder and the drugs she had been taking.

'Her drug talking was a partially responsible factor in her condition.'
President Donald Trump and First Lady Melania Trump step out of Marine One at Joint Base Andrews in Maryland on Jan. 20, 2021. (Alex Edelman/AFP via Getty Images)

Supreme Court Allows Release of Trump Tax Records to Manhattan Prosecutor

The U.S. Supreme Court ruled on Feb. 22 that it wont stop a New York prosecutor from obtaining former President Donald Trumps tax returns and other financial records as part of a criminal investigation.

The justices rebuffed Trumps request to put on hold an Oct. 7, 2020, lower court ruling that directs the former commander-in-chiefs accounting company, Mazars USA, to comply with a subpoena to turn over the tax returns and documents to a grand jury convened by Manhattan District Attorney Cyrus Vance, a Democrat.

The New York grand jury will be able to obtain the records and look at them in secret, meaning that the records will not become public any time soon, although the possibility of leaks to news media outlets cant be ruled out.

The court issued a single-sentence ruling (pdf): The application for a stay presented to Justice Breyer and referred to the Court is denied. The justices didnt provide an explanation.

In July 2020, the high court ruled that the president and any other citizen isnt categorically above the common duty to produce evidence when called upon in a criminal proceeding. They suggested Trump could challenge Vances subpoena on other grounds.

Last year, Trumps lawyers said the attempt to review his taxes was done in bad faith and was excessive. The Supreme Court also tossed the former presidents claim of absolute immunity.

Trumps attorneys had also told the Supreme Court that he would suffer irreparable harm if the materials were turned over to the grand jury.

Even if the disclosure of his papers is limited to prosecutors and grand jurors, the status quo can never be restored once confidentiality is destroyed, his lawyers stated in court papers in October 2020.

Manhattan District Attorney Cyrus Vance holds up a bank card scamming machine on Aug 15, 2012. (Courtesy of William Alatriste/New York City Council)

Interim relief is also warranted given the irreparable harm the President will suffer without a stay, they wrote in their 46-page appeal.

But Vance previously said the delay has hampered his investigation.

The former commander-in-chief has had multiple opportunities for review of his constitutional and state law claims, and at this juncture, he provides no grounds for further delay, Vance said around the same time. His request for extraordinary relief should be denied, and the grand jury permitted to do its work.

Vances subpoenas span from January 2011 until August 2019, relating to the Trump Organizations employment of his former attorney, Michael Cohen.

Mazars USA has said it isnt contesting the subpoena and will comply with legal obligations.

Officials at Trumps Save America PAC didnt immediately respond to a request by The Epoch Times for comment.

The Supreme Court case is Trump v. Vance, 20A63.
San Antonio Mayor Ron Nirenberg called for the Electric Reliability Council of Texas  not individual residents  to pay for sky-high electricity bills generated by icy weather that left millions without power.

Some people in Texas who chose to pay wholesale prices for power were charged thousands of dollars after prices, typically as low as a couple of cents per kilowatt-hour, spiked to $9 per kilowatt-hour after the storm.

During a CNN appearance Sunday, Nirenberg said there'd be "hell to pay" if individuals were handed the bill for the crisis.

"It would be unconscionable for bills to go up and bills to be put on the backs of residents of the state that have been suffering and freezing in their homes for the last week through no fault of their own," Nirenberg said. "This was a total failure by the state's energy management, and they need to be held accountable."

READ ALSO: Why some Texans are getting sky-high energy bills

The mayor added that as far as he's concerned, "that bill should be sent to ERCOT."

"There will be hell to pay if there is any notion that the residents of this state should pay for this disaster," Nirenberg said.

Nirenberg's comments followed Texas Gov. Greg Abbott's statement Saturday that it was "unacceptable" for Texans who spent days in freezing temperatures without power to receive astronomical energy bills.

The state has temporarily stopped companies from cutting off power for unpaid bills.

President Joe Biden has declared a major disaster for much of Texas, including Bexar County, making federal funding available to communities.

Nirenberg told CNN the city of San Antonio is working with the state, federal government and private philanthropy to ensure residents do not have to wait to fix busted pipes and other weather-related issues.

The mayor said that city officials, planning for icy roads, "weren't given any notice" before blackouts began. Nirenberg did not anticipate the blackouts would leave people freezing in their homes for days and lamented that officials were given little opportunity to prepare the community.
Johann Josef Loschmidt is a name that might not ring many bells, yet everyone who took chemistry in junior college had surely come across Loschmidts groundbreaking contribution to science. Loschmidt calculated the exact number of elementary units (atoms or molecules) that one mole of a substance containsa number that bears the name of an Italian scientist, which is unfortunate, because even this celebrated Italian scientist didnt know its value. That number is Avogadro's number, or Avogadro's constant.

Avogadro's Number. Photo: Ronnie Pitman/Flickr

Josef Loschmidt was born into a poor Bohemian peasant family in 1821, in a small village in what is now Czech Republic. With the help of the village priest and the Catholic Church, Loschmidt managed to gain an education in a monastery, before moving to Prague where he became a student at the Charles University studying philosophy and mathematics. At the age of twenty, Loschmidt moved to Vienna and took admission at the Polytechnic Institute in physics and chemistry. He graduated in 1846 with the equivalent of a bachelors degree, but was unable to get an academic position. Dejected, Loschmidt briefly considered migrating to the United States to become a settler in the new state of Texas. Instead, he went to work in a paper factory and then started a company near Vienna to produce potassium nitrate. But the company went bankrupt.

Johann Josef Loschmidt

In 1856, Loschmidt became a high-school teacher in Vienna. During his free time, Loschmidt conducted experiments in a small laboratory that the school allowed him to keep. Five years later he published his first important treatise on chemistrya 47-page booklet depicting the molecular structures of more than 270 organic compounds. It included compounds that were yet to be made, such as cyclopropane, whose structure he correctly predicted more than two decades before it was discovered. Furthermore, the style which Loschmidt adopted for graphically depicting these molecular structures is remarkable similar to the style used by modern chemistsdouble lines for double bonds and triple lines for triple bonds.

Figures of molecular structure, as they appeared in Loschmidts 1861 booklet Chemische Studien I. Photo: Alfred Bader

In this same book, Loschmidt discussed benzene, a compound that baffled scientists. Although scientists knew how many carbon and hydrogen atoms a molecule of benzene contains, they couldnt figure out how they were arranged in the molecule. Loschmidt was the first who saw that the atoms had to be arranged in a ring. Unfortunately, Loschmidt got the arrangement wrong, which was corrected by German chemist August Kekule four years later. Kekule insisted that the structure came to him in a dream. Kekule received all the glory while Loschmidts contribution was pretty much forgotten. Ironically, Kekule originally dismissed Loschmidts work, stating that one cannot deduce the molecular structure of organic compounds solely from chemical reactions. Today, he is regarded as the principal founder of the theory of chemical structure.

Proposed structure of benzene. The correct one is right-bottom. Image : Ju/Wikimedia Commons

A great puzzle of the time was the size of molecules. Many scientists tried to measure it indirectly from other physical properties, such as surface tension or tensile strength of liquids, but the problem remained unsolved until 1865, when Loschmidt deduced a relationship between the size of gas molecules to the distance they travel between collisions. Loschmidt came up with a surprisingly good estimateone nanometer, which was only twice as large as the modern accepted value.

While working on the problem of the size of a molecule, Loschmidt realized that its possible to determine the number of molecules in a certain volume of a gas at standard temperature and pressure. The Italian scientist Avogadro had suggested, half a century ago, that if two different gasses at the same temperature and pressure occupy the same volume, they must have the same number of molecules. Avogadro did not know how many molecules that was, but now Loschmidt had an answerapproximately 2.686 1025 per cubic meter at zero degree centigrade and one atmosphere of pressure. That number is now known as Loschmidt constant. Thanks to Loschmidts work, other scientists were able to prove Avogadros hypothesis. They determined Avogadros number, which is defined as the number of molecules contained in one mole of the substance. The Loschmidt constant is barely used, but Avogadro's number (6.0221023) finds wide application in physics and chemistry. The only subtle recognition Loschmidt received for his work is the symbol L, which is sometimes used to denote the Avogadro constant.

Lorenzo Romano Amedeo Carlo Avogadro

Loschmidt also contributed to Maxwell's and Boltzman's work on thermodynamics. His experimental investigations in electromagnetism now bear the names of people who completed them  like Edwin Hall, John Kerr, and Heinrich Hertz. He once joked to his long-time friend Boltzmann that he should start a negative scientific journal to publish his failed experiments.

When Loschmidt died in 1895, Boltzmann spoke of his good friend, His work forms a mighty cornerstone that will be visible as long as science exists  Loschmidts excessive modesty prevented his being appreciated as much as he could and should have been.

References:

# John H. Lienhard, Johann Josef Loschmidt, The Engines of Our Ingenuity

# Alfred Bader, Joseph Loschmidt, Physicist and Chemist, Physics Today


The makers of coronavirus vaccines are learning how to change their vaccines to deal with virus mutations. Experts are looking to influenza, or flu, vaccines to help them understand if and when the shots may need to be changed.

Richard Webby directs a World Health Organization (WHO) flu center from St. Jude Childrens Research Hospital in Virginia. He said that the process will not happen quickly.

Its not really something you can sort of flip a switch, do overnight, Webby said.

Viruses mutate, or change, often. Recent studies have raised concerns that first-generation COVID-19 vaccines are not as effective against a coronavirus mutation that first appeared in South Africa. However, many of the COVID-19 vaccines are made with new technology that permits changes. But it will still be difficult for experts to decide whether the virus has mutated enough to make it necessary to change the vaccines.

Flu offers a model

The WHO and the U.S. Food and Drug Administration (FDA) are looking to the worldwide flu vaccine system for help. Influenza mutates much faster than the coronavirus. Flu shots have to be changed nearly every year.

National centers around the world collect spreading flu viruses and observe how they change over time. They send samples to special WHO laboratories for high-level antigenic testing to decide on vaccine strength. WHO experts and government rule-makers work together to agree on each years new vaccine recipe. Manufacturers then make the necessary changes.

For COVID-19 vaccines, Webby said an important step will be establishing a similar observation and testing network. It can then decide on which mutations are most worrisome. Today, there are wide differences in how nations track and test mutated versions. For example, Britain does more testing of the changing viral genome than the United States does.

Three variants first discovered in Britain, South Africa and Brazil are worrisome because of combinations of mutations that make them spread more easily and quickly.

On Sunday, U.S. researchers reported another mutation found in seven variants that have appeared in several U.S. states. Researchers do not yet know if this mutation makes the virus easier to spread.

Current COVID-19 vaccines and variants

Just because a variant spreads more easily does not mean it will be resistant to a vaccine. But the variant first identified in South Africa is raising concerns.

Columbia Universitys David Ho put blood samples from people given the Pfizer or Moderna vaccines into small containers with the mutated virus. He found that vaccine-produced antibodies still offered protection, but the protection was much less strong.

Early test results of two other vaccine candidates  from Novavax and Johnson & Johnson  supported Hos findings. Both still offered protection. However, that protection was weaker in South Africa than in other places. A much smaller test of the AstraZeneca vaccine in South Africa has raised questions about its effectiveness.

Several of the approved and available COVID-19 vaccines require two shots for full effectiveness. The drugmaker Moderna is about to explore one possible solution: Could a third shot of its vaccine raise immunity enough to fight off some variants?

Ho said it is a good idea to test, because people may still have plenty of cushion if their antibody levels are very high.

Changing the recipe

Major manufacturers also are developing experimental variant vaccines as an extra measure.

COVID-19 vaccines produce antibodies that recognize the spike protein that covers the coronavirus. When the virus mutates, sometimes the spike protein is changed in ways that make it harder for vaccine-produced antibodies to recognize.

The Pfizer and Moderna vaccines are made with a piece of genetic information called messenger RNA (mRNA). It tells the body how to make some harmless copies of the spike protein that train disease-fighting cells. To change the vaccine, the drugmakers can simply change the first version of genetic information with mRNA for the mutated spike protein.

The AstraZeneca vaccine and the one made by Johnson & Johnson are expected to be available in the United States soon. Both are made with cold viruses engineered to introduce a spike protein gene into the body. Making changes to these two vaccines requires growing cold viruses with the mutated gene. The process is a little more complex than the mRNA process. But it is still not as difficult as remaking traditional flu shots.

Testing vaccines, round two

First-generation COVID-19 vaccines were tested in tens of thousands of people to be sure they work and are safe. The research took many months.

Simply changing the recipe to better target virus mutations will not require repeating those studies in thousands of people, said Dr. Peter Marks. He is the vaccine chief with the FDA. He recently told the American Medical Association that the FDA plans to be pretty nimble when it comes to approving vaccine changes. In other words, it will act quickly.

If an updated vaccine is needed, he said, tests in a few hundred people would likely be enough to know if it causes a good immune reaction.

Im Ashley Thompson. And I'm John Russell.

Lauran Neergaard reported this story for the Associated Press. Ashley Thompson adapted it for VOA Learning English. Mario Ritter, Jr. was the editor.

We want to hear from you. Write to us in the Comments section, and visit our Facebook page.

______________________________________________________________

Words in This Story

mutation n. a change in the genes of a plant or animal that causes a different quality to be recognized

flip a switch idiom to easily and quickly make a change

sample n. a small amount of something that is used to give information about what it was taken from

recipe n. a set of directions for making food

track v. to follow and observe, especially in an effort to find evidence

genome n. the total amount of genetic information in the chromosomes of an organism

variant n. something that is different in some way from others of the same kind

cushion n. something extra that can reduce bad effects or problems

spike n. a sharp, thin structure that sticks out from something

Metro Manila (CNN Philippines, February 22)  The Supreme Court has postponed the next oral arguments for the Anti-Terrorism Act after some justices went on self-quarantine as a precaution against COVID-19.

The announcement was made by Clerk of Court Edgar Aricheta in a statement on Monday.

The fourth day of arguments was supposed to be on Tuesday, February 23.

"The Oral Arguments will resume on March 02, 2021 at 2:30 p.m.," the statement said.

READ: Here are the major issues raised against the Anti-Terrorism Act

The oral arguments began on February 2. Thirty-seven sets of petitioners chose 13 representatives to argue why the law should be junked for constitutional violations. The petitions were filed by framers of the Constitution, law experts, and human rights advocates, as well as individuals who claim to have been victims of authorities' terrorist-tagging.

Solicitor General Jose Calida and three other lawyers will defend the measure signed by President Rodrigo Duterte in July 2020.


When many people in the U.S. were forced to work from home in the early days of the coronavirus health crisis, they decided to get a dog.

People say having a dog offers companionship and a reason to get exercise. After all, dogs need to get outside and walk.

Adriana Magarin is a new dog owner in Houston, Texas. She said she got a dog because, you can only read so many books, you can only listen to so many podcasts.

In most cases, dog owners take their animals for walks with a leash. But in some places, there are open spaces where dogs are permitted to play with other dogs without wearing a leash. These places are called dog parks.

Expert dog trainers say social activities that can happen at dog parks are important for the animals, especially young ones, known as puppies. However, putting a young dog and a new dog owner in a completely new situation -- like a dog park -- can be frightening for both.

Some owners worry about letting their dogs off their leash. What if the dogs do not come back when called?

One woman, Josslyn Shapiro, had an idea for getting her dog, Appa, to come when called. If I bring chicken, hes OK, she said.

Darris Cooper is head of national training for pet supply company Petco. He said Shapiros idea is exactly right. The chicken pieces act like a magnet for the dog.

Here are some steps to get your dog to come when called.

Put a treat near the dogs nose. Then walk away.

Call the dog with a repeated noise, like whistling or making another kind of sound with your mouth.

As the dog starts in your direction, make sure to give happy praise, like good girl! Then give the dog a food reward.

Tim Steele is a dog trainer in Sacramento, California. He suggests practicing such steps repeatedly and giving the dog a reward for obeying. If this is repeated a number of times per day, Steele said, you should have a solid recall in about three weeks.

New dog owners also face other problems at the dog park.

One question that often comes up is how to tell whether your dog is playing or fighting with other dogs. How can a new owner tell the difference? Experts say it is important to try to learn the dogs body language.

For example, Cooper said if a dog has his tail down, its best to end any contact with other dogs. He added that if your dog jumps at or bites another dog or person, you should seek help from a trainer.

All this may seem like a lot of effort and concern for a pet. But one expert notes that for Americans, dogs are like members of the family.

Ashley Valm is the director of pet placements for the Humane Rescue Alliance, an animal protection organization in Washington, D.C.

What people tend to value about their relationships with their pets is unconditional love, right? That comes with no strings attached. No judgment, no hesitation, right? That you get home and your animal is just thrilled to see you. And it can be this pure companionship that can be hard to find.

And if you feel like your dog is a member of the family, it makes sense that you would want to be careful when offering a new situation to a young dog.

Valm said a lot of people came to her organization looking to bring a dog into their life at the start of the pandemic. But some were worried that dogs might take too much responsibility. At the same time, her organization was concerned it might have to help dogs whose owners did not have the money to keep them because of problems caused by the pandemic.

But Valm said she later realized that most people are willing to sacrifice things in their own life to remain dog owners.

People will figure it out. They have a pet in their home and they love it. They do everything they can to make sure they dont have to give up their animal.

They also do everything they can to keep their dogs safe at the dog park. Once new dog owners and their dogs feel at ease, the dog park can be a great way for both of them to make new social connections.

Ted Hausman said he is happy to see new owners bringing their dogs to his local park in Brooklyn, New York. Its nice people are experiencing the joy of dog ownership, Hausman said. Its a good silver lining to the pandemic.

Im Dan Friedell.

Beth Harpaz of The Associated Press wrote this story. Dan Friedell adapted it for Learning English. Bryan Lynn was the editor.

What would you do to make sure your dog was safe at the dog park? We want to hear from you. Write to us in the Comments Section and visit our Facebook page.

_______________________________________________________________

Words in This Story

pet- n. an animal (such as a dog, cat, bird, or fish) that people keep mainly for pleasure

companionship- n. the good feeling that comes from being with someone else

leash n. a long, thin piece of rope, chain, etc., that is used for holding a dog or other animal

treat- n. something that tastes good and that is not eaten often

recall- n. the ability to remember what has been learned or experienced in the past

no strings attached- n. something that carries no special conditions

hesitation - n. a pause before during something

thrilled- adj. very excited or happy

figure it out v. to understand or find (something, such as a reason or a solution) by thinking

joy- n. a feeling of great happiness

silver lining- n. something good that can be found in a bad situation
The disruptions brought about by the global pandemic have hit media planning, too, in a major way. The dramatic shifts in consumer behaviour and the way they consumed content have left media planners having to rapidly, and sometimes constantly, evaluate and change their media plans.

The situation is a dynamic one, with consumer behaviour and opinions constantly changing and it is going to remain so at least for the next couple of years. Along with this, the growing media industry also has to bring in new technologies and tools for data-driven advertising as traditional media planning strategies are not able to keep up with clients growing demands.

In this In-depth report, Adgully endeavours to understand the emerging dynamics of media planning in the new normal  what are the challenges and ways to tackle these challenges, operating in a TV ratings dark era, planning for a world of converged TV, the growing importance of cross-media planning, the key lessons from 2020 and much more. For this, Adgully reached out to some leading names in media planning in the country today.

The key challenges & how to tackle them

Given the newer set of challenges facing the media planners today, there is need to adapt to the volatile nature of this domain on a constant basis. Priti Murthy, CEO, OMD India, believes that with the onslaught of analytics tools entering the market, there is a massive expectation for advertisers to provide robust impact assessment and consistently deliver a significant ROI. Campaign performance and consumer attention have come to become measurable entities and this has heightened the pressure on marketers to keep pace with the change. According to her, Hits and misses are not as excusable as they were before. Its also essential to note that while client expectations lie in single source currency of measurement, Indian media is so fast-paced in adapting to changes that a single currency might not hold true. For instance, the shift of TV to CTV and increasing content consumption in Reels and Sharechat formats.

Along with this, it is also important to understand that a little bit of flexibility in media budgeting can be necessary at times. Despite impact assessment endeavours, the volatile nature of this domain requires advertisers to constantly tweak spends in line with the contribution margin levels. This also brings to mind another challenge. For such real-time fine-tuning, one needs superlative and accelerated analytics capabilities. Data provenance and recency, too, are extremely important today. To tackle these challenges head on, it is firstly crucial to disseminate awareness on the limitations of extremely precise budgets and one-time assessments. Alongside that, it is and will continue to be essential for advertisers to possess trusted data sources and thereby up to date and superior quality data, Murthy opines.

Client always looks for the most efficient and effective way to reach its prospects. According to Roopam Garg, Chief Operating Officer, dentsu X, With the growing media fragmentation, the biggest challenge for a planner is to design an optimised solution across media types. Clients want a brand/ media strategy and do not differentiate between offline and an online strategy. However, non-availability of a single source data makes the task tougher for a planner. To tackle such challenges in todays dynamic media landscape, the planner needs to be trained to equip them to design the best solution for their clients.

While noting that marketing is undergoing a paradigm shift, with the consumer lying in the centre of this change, Rajul Kulshreshtha, CEO, Madison Media Plus, says, It is the responsibility of the media planners to align themselves with these changes at the marketing level and provide for meaningful media solutions.

Dhirendra Singh, Senior VP, Initiative India, too, agrees that aligning media solution with the changing and evolving media landscape has always being a challenge for the media planners. With the rapidly changing media ecosystem, it becomes imperative for planners to keep evolving in designing media solutions by keeping the consumer at the centre. And the best way to address is to adhere to a few basic and important planning principles; for instance, to have a presence where the consumers are and to communicate to them in a context when they are most receptive. This implies that while content is king, context is equally important and hence, needs to be planned, he adds.

Major lessons from 2020

The year 2020 has been an unprecedented one for the entire industry and the massive disruptions caused by the global pandemic have forced the industry to quickly adapt to a very dynamic world. There have been several learnings for media planners, which will guide them in the way forward.

For OMD Indias Murthy, one major lesson has been that one cannot ever predict the rate at which consumer behaviour and consumption trends can change. The learning here is to constantly be nimble, adapt to the situation and always focus on larger business numbers. In one year alone, advertising has seen an unprecedented shift. As things continue to recover, it is still a challenge for many to budget and plan with absolute certainty. However, the fact that there has been such a surge in digital channels does make it a little easier to achieve precision in tracking media spends.

Another lesson, perhaps, is that it is advisable for companies to use their competitors spends as a budgeting benchmark. In such a dynamic space, brands need to know what their competition is prioritising in order to avoid over or under-spending. Also, one important learning from 2020 is that addressability can often be underestimated. Spending on addressable channels might gain momentum this year and next, so this is something to look out for, she adds.

dentsu Xs Garg points out that making a media plan is an estimation always on past data trends. With so much of disruptions across media types in this pandemic year, estimating plan deliveries was a challenge and required great skills. He further says that planners were not only dependent on data, but also focused on qualitative parameters. Digital emerged as the most preferred media channel for many advertisers, thus increasing the need for cross channel learning for the media planners. Also, with reduced advertising budget the need for innovations, out of box ideas for sharper targeting had grown across media types. At dentsu X, we weave in brand experience, beyond just media exposures, to drive brand engagement, Garg informs.

Initiative Indias Singh notes that in 2020, media planning became more dynamic with the dramatic change in the media landscape. We saw advertisers putting their best endeavour to recover from the COVID-19 situation. Being a true partner to our clients, it was all the more important for us to build a media strategy that results in better ROI for the media investments. So, one of the most important lessons of 2020 is how we can be more accountable in driving business growth through an effective and prudent media investment strategy.

The consumer is capable of innovating and adapting at a very fast pace  did media planners keep pace with these trends and adapt?, asks Madison Media Plus Kulshreshtha in response.

Addressing the TV ratings dark scenario

Currently, media planners are facing a TV ratings dark scenario, especially for the News genre as there have been no ratings released by BARC India for over 3 months now following the TRP manipulation scam. A few years back, too, TV ratings were on hold for some time during the transition period to the New Tariff order. So, how do media planners address the TV ratings dark scenario?

Murthy responds by citing TAM AdEx numbers, which showed that in the period from October-December 2020, indexed ad volumes for news grew by 12%. She further says, This was the first couple of months of the ratings dark period. Additionally, with the extremely viable option of GECs available to advertisers, I dont think that the TV rating blackout period will affect media planners too adversely.

Meanwhile, Garg admitted that for the last three months, planning for the news genre has certainly become a challenge. He adds that the planners are referring to the past data, which might not be relevant today, but thats a limitation that the entire TV industry is facing. In this scenario without data support, newer programs/ channels may face challenge in selling their inventory, he feels.

Kulshreshtha, too, says that in such a scenario, media planners turn to historical data. Along with this, speaking with consumers on a regular basis  doing online surveys, etc., can always give planners an idea of what is happening. Also, the degree of volatility in TV can be measured and reasonable deductions can be made, he notes.

Planning for the world of converged TV

The growing online viewership across multiple devices has led to traditional TV advertising strategies having to adapt to rapid convergence happening in the media landscape. This has led to a shift to impression-based buying.

According to Murthy, Ultimately, measurement is about business KPIs, so finally all media metrics will invariably have to be aligned to that. One important focus will be to heavily emphasise on omnichannel audience reach, especially to attribute online conversions to CTV campaigns, specifically ones that are cross-device in nature. Also, it might be advisable to shift a little from household-based advertising to device-based advertising, to ensure that there is a degree of frequency capping so that audiences do not feel fatigued with ad repetition. Converged TV is all the more reason for planners and buyers to work in seamless tandem, more so than ever before.

On the other hand, Garg feels that in a market like India, the concept of converged TV is still very small and linear TV has the lions share, however, at the same time he says that it is important to note that the connected TVs are growing rapidly. In Tier 1 towns, the percentage of people having connected TV is rising and cross media planning is the best way to prepare for the future, he adds.

While noting that converged TV is a new development in the media world, Kulshreshtha says that a good place to begin with is to understand from the manufacturers on the scale of how many connected TVs did they make and sell. This will give us a sense on the size of the universe. Thereafter, mapping app data to viewership should not be such a difficult task. Hotstar is already doing it and I am sure others will follow suit, he remarks.

Cross-media planning

Taking cue from Gargs statement about cross media planning in todays media landscape, we asked our industry experts in what ways it can fortify marketers media strategy.

Murthy responds by saying, With a solid impact assessment strategy and with a degree of ROI prediction, I think cross-media planning can enable marketers to reach the widest possible audience for a good price. I think here, TV and OTT make a formidable combination right now with the advent and advancement of CTV.

Reaching the appropriate audience through the relevant channels at the right time with the desired frequency  this is the benefit of cross-media planning. At the same time, Murthy cautions against the pitfall that needs to be navigated smartly, which is to ensure that spends dont get wasted. And thats why data accuracy matters. Because simply considering a plethora of channels will not work. Your cross-media strategy could involve just 3-4 channels, but if your data tells you about your audience with precision and at the same time you can leverage cross-device attribution, then it is bound to fortify the overall strategy, she notes.

Garg, too, believes that with the increase in number of touch points in a consumer journey, it is imperative to be present across all the relevant touchpoints. The end objective is always to reach the right prospect with the right message at the right time and at the most efficient cost. This can only be achieved with an integrated media strategy rather than working in silos.

Technologies available for reaching the consumer have changed and, therefore, it will be myopic on the part of the planner to ignore this basic premise. Multimedia or integrated planning is the need of the hour and is no longer an option, stresses Kulshreshtha.

Singh, too, emphasises that cross-media planning is critical as todays consumers are more flirtatious in consuming media since they have plenty of content choices to make. Cross-media planning gives advertisers a good opportunity to target the consumers from one single lens and build a solution which are media agnostic. It brings in a lot of media efficiency by suggesting an optimum mix and multiplies the communication reach and impact, he adds.

The key to new-age digital media planning

It all boils down to what planners need to do and the things that they need to keep in mind in formulating new-age digital media planning strategies.

OMD Indias Murthys parting words stress on building data capabilities that enable real-time reassessment of performance and spends, cross-device attribution (when it comes to digital), and a consistent and periodic re-evaluation of data quality. According to her, these would be the tenets of new-age digital media planning. She further says, Considering that these 3 key factors would help make better decisions, faster, the rest of the strategy is bound to be bolstered. For instance, we at OMG are tackling these dizzying changes with our in-house single-source, precision-marketing platform OMNI. Data capabilities need to be upgraded at such a rate that we are collectively, as an industry, ready to keep pace in a well-informed manner.

Not only inter media, but also within digital there is a lack of a uniform measurement tool. Unlike TV, planners need to access multiple reports for multiple platforms. If the industry can manage to get a uniform tool it will lead to minimize wastage and planners will be able to optimise the plan on a targeted reach/ frequency. In addition to this, defining a clear brand KPI and not losing focus by chasing multiple metrics at the same time needs to be emphasized. Lesser data with more insights is always better than becoming data rich but insight poor, opines dentsu Xs Garg.

Understanding the consumer journey is critical. Funnel marketing is becoming more and more complicated and at the core of all this is the digital journey. Understanding this is key to arriving at effective media solutions, concludes Madison Media Plus Kulshreshtha.
[February 22, 2021] Dallas Federal Drug Crimes Lawyer John Helms Explains Why You Can Be Responsible if Another Person Flees Law Enforcement

Dallas, TX , Feb. 22, 2021 (GLOBE NEWSWIRE) -- Drug Trafficking Cases

In many drug trafficking cases a person who is part of the drug trafficking organization may try to get away from law enforcement when they come to serve a search warrant or an arrest warrant, or in many other circumstances. If that person flees law enforcement and creates a significant danger to others during flight, can one or more other members of the organization be held responsible for creating this danger? Perhaps surprisingly, the answer is that they can be under some circumstances.

Federal Sentencing Guidelines The Federal Sentencing Guidelines include a specific enhancement for causing dangerous situations during flight from law enforcement. According to U.S.S.G.  3C1.2, a two-level increase in a persons Offense Level applies [i]f the defendant recklessly created a substantial risk of death or serious bodily injury to another person in the course of fleeing from a law enforcement officer. A two-level increase in a defendants Offense Level can increase a persons recommended sentence range under the Federal Sentencing Guidelines between roughly 7 and 14 months, depending on the persons Offense Level and Criminal History. There is not a precise formula to determine whether conduct amounts to reckless endangerment. Courts of appeal normally defer to the trial courts judgment on this issue. See United States v. Hazlewood, 398 F.3d 792, 796 (6th Cir. 2005). One example of reckless endangerment is when someone drives at a very high speed through a residential area. See, e.g., United States v. Heard, No. 17-3062 (6th Cir. Sept. 11, 2018) (affirming finding of reckless endangerment where a driver drove over 60 miles per hour through a residential neighborhood and crashed into a tree). In order for the enhancement to apply, however, it must be shown that the person knew or should have known he was fleeing law enforcement. See United States v. Wright, 747 F.3d 399, 407 (6th Cir. 2014); United States v. Hayes, 135 F.3d 435, 438 (6th Cir. 1998). But what if another person was fleeing? Can the section 3C1.2 enancement apply to you? The Application Notes to section 3C1.2 explain when it can. Application Note 5 states: Under this section, the defendant is accountable for the defendants own conduct and for conduct that the defendant aided or abetted, counseled, commanded, induced, procured, or willfully caused. U.S.S.G. 3C1.2, App. Note 5.



The Sentencing Guidelines therefore make it clear that a defendant can be responsible for more than his own conduct in the right circumstances. But what would be an example where one defendant aided or abetted, counseled, commanded, induced, procured, or willfully caused another defendant to endanger people recklessly during flight?

Car Chase Scenario

Lets consider the car chase scenario. What if law enforcement is about to raid a drug house and one defendant tosses the keys to a car to another defendant and tells him, Grab the money, get in the car, and get out of here fast so the law doesnt get our money! Then, the other defendant does that; drives at a very high speed through a residential neighborhood and almost hits children playing. Under these circumstances a judge could conclude that the defendant who told the second defendant to flee and gave him the keys to the car aided and abetted and commanded, induced [and] procured the reckless fleeing. On the other hand, instead of telling the person to get out of here fast, the defendant just said to hide the money in the car? Then what if the person gets in the car and drives recklessly? In this situation it is much less likely that a judge would believe that the defendant caused the person to drive recklessly because he only told the person to hide the moneynot to drive away. This interpretation is consistent with several federal courts of appeal, which have said that some form of direct or active participation in the flight is necessary to trigger the enhancement. See United States v. Chong, 285 F.3d 343 (4th Cir. 2002); United States v. Cook, 181 F.3d 1232, 1235 (11th Cir. 1999); United States v. Conley, 131 F.3d 1387, 1390-91 (10th Cir. 1997); United States v. Lipsey, 62 F.3d 1134, 1136-37 (9th Cir. 1995). Federal Drug Crimes Lawyer in Dallas The facts of each case are unique. Whether you or someone else could be held responsible for someone elses reckless endangerment during flight from law enforcement depends on the specific facts of the case. As a federal drug crimes lawyer in Dallas I defend people accused of federal drug crimes in Texas and I am able to weigh into any federal court in the United States. I want to investigate the facts to make sure that I present as much favorable evidence for my client as possible in order to persuade the judge of my clients position. One thing is certain though. If you or a loved one has been accused of a federal drug crime in Texas you should consult with a Dallas federal drug crimes lawyer with an extensive experience in defending federal drug cases and understands the nuances of federal law. A Dallas criminal defense lawyer who specializes in drug cases can help federal drug defendants protect their rights and make sure they are treated with the fairness and dignity they deserve. Media contact: R. William 214-666-8010 Source:https://johnhelms.attorney/















This news has been published for the above source. John Helms Dallas Criminal Defense Lawyer [ID=17007] Disclaimer: The information does not constitute advice or an offer to buy. Any purchase made from this story is made at your own risk. Consult an expert advisor/health professional before any such purchase. Any purchase made from this link is subject to the final terms and conditions of the website's selling. The content publisher and its distribution partners do not take any responsibility directly or indirectly. If you have any complaints or copyright issues related to this article, kindly contact the company this news is about.



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MIAMI, Feb. 22, 2021 /PRNewswire/ -- As presented by Bloomberg NEF's 1H 2021 Corporate Energy Market Outlook published on Jan. 26, 2020, Atlas Renewable Energy ranked as the number one clean energy developer selling renewable energy to corporate buyers in Latin America during 2020 and occupied 6th place globally with over half a gigawatt contracted for private offtakers in the region.

This success includes a landmark long-term Power Purchase Agreements (PPA) that Atlas Renewable Energy contracted with Anglo-American, a natural resources multinational, which will procure clean energy to its operations in Brazil from the Casablanca project, Atlas Renewable Energy's 349MW solar plant in Minas Gerais. Casablanca is the largest bilateral solar PPA signed in Latin America to this date.

Similarly, Atlas Renewable Energy signed another groundbreaking project with the Brazilian subsidiary of one of the largest petrochemical multinationals, Dow Chemical. The energy for that project will be sourced from Atlas Renewable Energy's Jacaranda solar plant and will provide clean energy to Dow's operations in the state of Bahia under a novel deal structure that addresses solar intermittency and provides a 24h energy offering by swapping the excess solar energy during the day with other clean energy sources that can produce at nighttime, thereby serving a continuous energy load.

Both projects fall under these companies' strategy to attain ambitious sustainability goals, aiming to reduce a considerable amount of their CO 2 emissions and clean their energy matrix, a trend that is rapidly being adopted and implemented in Latin America by large energy consumers in the natural resources and chemical sectors. And, importantly, both projects are uniquely characterized by equally pioneering and ambitious social community engagement programs promoting diversity and inclusion.

"We are extremely proud of the growth that Atlas Renewable Energy has consistently been able to sustain over recent years, repeatedly offering tailor-made energy solutions to our clients. Going forward, we see ourselves continuing to innovate in this space to reduce the carbon footprint of companies and institutions, while also reducing their energy bill." said Carlos Barrera, Atlas Renewable Energy's CEO. "The private sector is becoming more conscious about the need to operate sustainably. As such, procuring clean energy has become essential for large energy consumers, and Atlas can support them to find creative and smarter solutions to accelerate their adoption of cleaner sources of energy."

According to Bloomberg NEF's report, which tracks corporate clean energy trends, Corporate PPA activity in Latin America in 2020 totaled 1.5GW, of which 1,047MW was procured in Brazil, the region's largest economy and clean energy market. Brazil PPA volumes nearly doubled from 2019 and solar contracts accounted for nearly 80% of this growth, driving a strong trend towards solar energy at the regional level.

With these deals, large mining and chemical companies in Brazil dominated Latin America's corporate procurement landscape in 2020. Global miner Anglo American was the largest corporate offtaker, based on Bloomberg's report, followed by the Brazilian subsidiary of US-based multinational Dow Chemical.

With this major achievement, Atlas Renewable Energy looks to the future to continue supplying clean energy to big energy consumers across the Americas, accelerating the region's transition toward clean energy, while promoting best practices and elevating the industry standards.

About Atlas Renewable Energy

Atlas Renewable Energy is a renewable energy generation company that develops, builds, and operates renewable energy projects with long-term contracts across the Americas. The current company portfolio is 2.2GW of contracted projects in development, construction, or operational stages, and aims to expand by an additional 4GW in the next years.

Launched in early 2017, Atlas Renewable Energy includes an experienced team with the longest track record in the solar energy industry in Latin America. The company is recognized for its high standards in the development, construction, and operation of large-scale projects.

Atlas Renewable Energy is part of the Energy Fund IV, founded by Actis, a leading private equity investor in the energy sector. Atlas Renewable Energy's growth is focused on the leading emerging markets and economies, using its proven development, commercialization, and structuring know-how to accelerate the transformation toward clean energy. By actively engaging with the community and stakeholders at the center of its project strategy, the company works every day to provide a cleaner future.

To know more about Atlas Renewable Energy, visit: www.atlasrenewableenergy.com

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Contact Details:

David Chambers +44 (0)75 5788 7405, [email protected]





1221 Brickell Ave. Suite 1200

Miami, FL 33131, USA

www.atlasrenewableenergy.com

[email protected],

+1 786 358 5614

Related Links

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SOURCE Atlas Renewable Energy
Already in hot water after a trip to Cancun, Mexico, amid a statewide emergency, Sen. Ted Cruz seems to be trying to chill disapproval.

In what appeared to others to be a bid to rehab his image, Cruz, R-Texas, posted photos of himself on Saturday passing out pallets of water bottles to Texans struggling without clean water. On Sunday, he expressed outrage about skyrocketing utility bills, calling for regulatory action. But Cruz's tweets in the wake of his trip have further fanned the flames of criticism, putting him under criticism for his response to the winter storms that devastated his state.

In photos Cruz posted of himself with the caption #TexasStrong, he is wearing a face mask with the Texas flag on it and distributing water bottles to people, shaking a maskless woman's hand in one picture. He appeared to be in Harris County, posting more photos the next day in close contact with first responders, serving them barbecue. Immediately after his initial posts, responses flooded in, condemning Cruz for disregarding federal guidance, which not only advises against traveling to Mexico because of the number of coronavirus cases there but also recommends that travelers stay home for seven days once they've returned to reduce the spread of the virus.

"You should be quarantining right now," the Lincoln Project, group of Republicans who oppose former president Donald Trump, commented in response to Cruz's photos.

People who traveled from Mexico should also get tested for the coronavirus three to five days after their trip, according to the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention.

Cruz flew back to Texas from Cancun on Thursday after outrage about his tropical travels boiled over. A spokesperson for Cruz told The Washington Post that the senator tested negative before his return flight to Texas and on Sunday before he traveled to Washington.

On Sunday, Cruz shared a Dallas Morning News article about people facing skyrocketing electric bills, which were widely blamed on the state's unregulated, independent power grid.

"This is WRONG," he wrote. "No power company should get a windfall because of a natural disaster, and Texans shouldn't get hammered by ridiculous rate increases for last week's energy debacle. State and local regulators should act swiftly to prevent this injustice."

Critics quickly seized on Cruz's comments, pointing out the contrast between his past defense of private companies over governance.

"Success of TX energy is no accident: it was built over many years on principles of free enterprise & low regulation w more jobs & opportunities as the constant goal," he wrote in a 2019 tweet that resurfaced after his Sunday post. "We work to export this recipe for success to more & more states so that all Americans enjoy the same prosperity."

"When you think of regulated monopolies, regulated public utilities, what are the adjectives that come to mind? They're not bold, innovative . . ." he said in 2014.

"Pleased to see a Republican Senator call for governmental regulation of the market," Rep. Ted Lieu, D-Calif., tweeted in response. "We've learned time and time again that industry in many cases is unable to regulate itself."

The Texas Democratic Party said Cruz made his priorities clear when "he ditched Texas during our greatest time of need."

"No amount of pandering is going to change that," spokeswoman Abhi Rahman wrote in an emailed statement. "Cruz has a lifetime of comments that have shown to light twenty years of Republican [deficiencies] that led to the crisis we saw last week. We will hold Cruz accountable in 2024."
Nearly one million unemployed Australians will enjoy a $50 boost to their JobSeeker payments once the coronavirus supplement ends, the government is set to announce on Tuesday.

Scott Morrison is expected to announce a permanent increase to the dole for when the $150-a-fortnight boost to the payment expires on March 31 .

The prime minister is seeking cross-party endorsement for the permanent change, which would mean the payments would never return to their pre-pandemic $40-a-day.

It means dole-seekers will receive more than the original $560-a-fortnight for singles, which was in place before the pandemic, but lower than the current $710.

The government is set to announce the end of the coronavirus supplement first put in place in March of last year (pictured, people are seen in Centrelink queues in Gold Coast)

Mutual obligations will remain in place - meaning the unemployed will have to prove they are looking for a job and take part in work for the dole schemes, according to the AFR.

Those rules are set to get more strict in exchange for the higher payments, reports suggest.

There are 877,600 people unemployed nationally and 166,416 Youth Allowance recipients, according to the Australian Bureau of Statistics's January figures.

The change will mark the end of the fortnightly supplement to JobSeeker first announced when the Covid-19 pandemic took hold last year.

The supplement's original rate was $550 a fortnight - effectively doubling the JobSeeker rate - before being reduced to $250 after six months and $150 from January 1.

The government is adamant the coronavirus supplement will end as scheduled, but confirmed it is looking to increase the rate of JobSeeker rather than allowing it to return to $40 a day.

'In terms of the rate and its future, we will consider that in the normal expenditure review committee process, and that's what we're doing right now,' Treasurer Josh Frydenberg said.

Social advocacy group Anglicare Australia said its polling of service agencies across the country showed 100 per cent of respondents said any cut would see more people needing help.

Pictured: Treasurer Josh Frydenberg. The government is instead expected to announce a small permanent increase to the pre-pandemic dole rate

New figures show 785,000 jobs were created in the past seven months, while the unemployment rate dropped from 7.5 per cent in July to 6.6 per cent

'The old rate of JobSeeker was frozen for decades, leaving hundreds of thousands of people trapped in poverty,' Anglicare executive director Kasy Chambers said.

'When the government raised the rate last year, it righted that wrong.'

The JobSeeker supplement was introduced alongside JobKeeper, with the latter provided as a lifeline to businesses impacted by coronavirus restrictions to help retain staff.

Treasurer Josh Frydenberg (pictured) while welcoming figures showing a decrease in JobKeeper recipients said some sectors will need support once the pandemic-inspired scheme cuts out

Recent figures from the Australian Taxation Office showed more than 2.13 million Australians were no longer receiving JobKeeper payments at the end of December.

There were 1.54 million employees eligible for the wage subsidy between October and December last year, down from 3.6 million between April and September.

The biggest decrease came in Western Australia, the Northern Territory and South Australia while Victoria reported the smallest decrease.

'What these numbers show is a broad based recovery in the Australian labour market much better than we expected, even through the pandemic last year,' Mr Frydenberg told ABC radio.

LATEST JOBKEEPER FIGURES JobKeeper registrations between the first phase (April to September) and second phase (October to December) were down in: - Retail trade (68 per cent) - Accommodation and food services (52 per cent) - Education and training (50 per cent) - Wholesale trade (71 per cent) - Construction (48 per cent) Advertisement

JobKeeper will end on March 28 - six months later than first planned - but Mr Frydenberg conceded sectors like tourism, aviation and international education were still struggling and would need support once the pandemic-prompted scheme cuts out.

Mr Frydenberg said 785,000 jobs had been created in the past seven months, while the unemployment rate has dropped from 7.5 per cent in July to 6.6 per cent in December.

But ACTU secretary Sally McManus said the education, tourism and manufacturing sectors continue to be 'smashed' by the coronavirus pandemic.

'What we say is JobKeeper should be extended for those businesses that are still affected by the coronavirus, through no fault of their own,' she told the ABC.

Ms McManus said the support should continue 'for as long as the pandemic is with us'.

Shadow treasurer Jim Chalmers says the government not only has to focus on supporting businesses through the pandemic but deal with the broader issues of stagnant wages, underemployment and job insecurity.

'It's not a recovery if it's built on the back of less secure work or weaker wages growth.'
An Indiana inmate convicted of a 2002 triple murder has been accused of fatally stabbing one corrections officer and gravely injuring another at the maximum-security Indiana State Prison where he's serving a 130-year sentence.

The wounded Indiana State Prison officers were transported Sunday to St Anthony's Hospital in Michigan City, where Lt Gene Lasco was pronounced dead and his colleague was listed in serious condition, Indiana State Police said.

Inmate Tymetri Campbell, 38, is suspected of attacking the officers in a common area at the Michigan City prison.

Convicted killer Tymetri Campbell, 38 (left), is accused of stabbing to death Indiana corrections Lt Gene Lasco (right) and injuring another guard

An entrance to the maximum-security Indiana State Prison in Michigan City where the deadly attack took place on Sunday

State Police Sgt. Ted Bohner said Monday said he did not know what type of weapon was used in the stabbing and that no additional details, including a possible motive, would be immediately released on the attack, which state police are still investigating.

The Indiana Department of Correction posted a statement on Facebook saying that, 'Our thoughts and prayers are with our staff and their families.'

Lt Lasco, 57, from LaPorte, Michigan, was said to be married with children and grandchildren.

A petition has been launched on Change.org, calling on Indiana Attorney General Todd Rokita to seek the death penalty against Campbell's for Lasco's death.

'Lt. Gene Lasco was loved by everyone he worked with, and well respected by the offenders behind the wall of Indiana State Prison,' the description of the petition reads.

Campbell was sentenced in 2004 after pleading guilty to the killings of Keith Resnover, 45, his brother Karl Resnover, 46, and another man, 26-year-old Anthony P. Johnson, in September 2002.

Aged only 19 at the time of the killings, he was tracked down a month later by US Marshals in Peoria, Illinois, according to WISH-TV.

In a 2007 appeal, Campbell argued that the court did not take into account his remorse, and his drug and alcohol addiction when deciding his punishment.

Campbell apologized for 'being there' at the time of the deaths but claimed he did not kill anyone.

'Im going to stay a whole lot of time in jail to think about it, so I hope thats enough for yall. Im sorry,' he said at the time.

A petition has been launched calling in Indiana's attorney general to seek the death penalty against Campbell for Lasco's death

But the appeals court upheld his sentence, saying he had failed to 'acknowledge responsibility' and that his substance abuse problems did not warrant a reduction.

The Indiana department of corrections gives Campbell's earliest possible release date as February 5, 2066, by which time he would be 83 years old.

The prison in Michigan City is a maximum security prison with about 2,300 inmates that is home to Indiana's death row. It was also the scene of a famous historical escape in 1933 when eight associates of notorious bank robber John Dillinger slipped out of the jailhouse.

Dillinger himself had earlier served a lengthy sentence in the prison before being paroled in 1933, only to immediately rob another bank in Ohio and go back to jail.
A carabiniere and the Italian ambassador Luca Attanasio were killed in an attack in Goma, in the Democratic Republic of Congo.

There was an attack on the car where the Italian ambassador was, who was part of a Monusco convoy (the UN mission in Congo) which also included the EU Head of Delegation.

The matrix of the attack is still unclear, although local media claim the attack was a "kidnapping attempt".

Luca Attanasio was shot and taken to hospital but he didn't make it, the carabiniere who was in the convoy with the diplomat also died.

The news is also confirmed in a note from the Farnesina: "It is with great sorrow that the Farnesina confirms the death today in Goma of the Ambassador of Italy to the Democratic Republic of Congo Luca Attanasio and of a soldier from the Carabinieri. L The ambassador and the soldier were traveling aboard a car in a convoy of Monusco, the United Nations organization's mission for stabilization in the Democratic Republic of Congo ".

Foreign Minister Luigi Di Maio learned the news while he was at the Council of Foreign Affairs (EWC) in Brussels, expressed "immense pain for the incident" and will now speak to the EWC to publicly express his condolences in front of his European colleagues.

(Unioneonline / L)
While the talks around India becoming a $5 trillion economy by 2024 seemed like a distant dream till some time ago, the Union Budget 2021 has laid out the perfect foundation for India to chart its growth trajectory.

The government has envisaged a system of economic growth fuelled by infrastructure spends, with increased allocation to the sector besides an additional support to states for capital expenditure.

Along with budgetary allocations, the government has proposed the establishment of a Development Financial Institution (DFI) to monetise existing assets of public sector entities and reinvest them into greenfield infrastructure projects. Further, to attract retail and foreign investment into Indian infra space, the government has proposed to abolish tax deduction at source on REITs and InvITs along with the issuance of zero-coupon bonds by infrastructure companies.

All the above measures could potentially deliver more jobs and provide forward linkages to other industries, which are a part of the global manufacturing footprint.

While infrastructure is the lever that would deliver economic growth, warehousing and logistics is the backbone that all infrastructural growth hinges on. To aid the development of rapid infrastructure development, warehousing and logistics sector will be expected to grow at an even faster rate.

Keeping the requirements of global manufacturers in perspective, there will be a huge requirement of Grade-A warehousing and logistics facilities in the country. The Indian warehousing sector is at an inflection point and is expected to grow at a CAGR of more than 20%. Of this, the Grade-A warehousing stock has been growing at 35% CAGR with a vacancy rate below 10%. It means that the demand for institutional-grade warehousing is almost outstripping the supply at the moment.

There is still significant untapped growth potential as Indias current warehousing stock stands at less than 0.1 square feet per capita, making the sector very attractive among large investors with long-term capital commitment, due to the sizeable developmental headroom available.

Moreover, significant tailwinds in the economy have positively impacted the sector as well. Since the implementation of GST in 2017, the sector has received inflows of approximately $3.6 Billion, signalling favourable investor sentiment for the sector, with plenty of opportunity to grow further.

The covid-19 pandemic ramped up the demand for e-commerce across the country and it is expected to rise further. E-commerce players need close to three times the warehousing space of traditional retail players, which would speed up the warehousing demand further. Moreover, the growth in demand for e-commerce has been secular compared to what we had seen earlier. Firms are looking at warehousing locations in Tier II & III markets as well.

Modernisation and availability of tech-enabled warehousing facilities will be an area with huge growth potential. This alone would be a prime factor in drawing big manufacturing companies. Application of latest technologies, such as AI, digitisation of supply chain, IoT, Blockchain, robotics and drones to increase the efficiency of the processes is an expectation from Grade-A warehouses.

Land being an expensive and most crucial input, it makes the construction of quality warehousing facilities even more capital intensive. While the need for capital is a reality, for investors it is an opportunity to own a part of this growing pie.

The coming months will see a lot of infra projects getting financed, the latest budget indeed has its heart at the right place. The proposal to release the National Logistics Policy soon will help resolve the long-pending issue of bringing down the logistics costs. Executing the projects within time and within costs is imperative to truly reap economic gains.

(Anshul Singhal is managing director, Welspun One Logistics Parks. Views are personal)

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The Paramount Chief of the Aowin Traditional Area, Beyeeman Tano Kwaw Benbuin III, has dragged three individuals to the Sefwi Wiawso High Court for consistent publications of false news against him.



The defendants in the matter are Nana Banin Kajo (John Kwasi), Bernard Kwame Mussey, a lecturer at the Takoradi Technical University and Louis Yamoah (Nana Kwame Nkansah).



The plaintiff, Beyeeman Tano Kwaw, is praying the court to declare that, the statements made variously by the defendants, mostly in the Twi language, are defamatory against him and is therefore seeking an order of the court to direct the defendants to publish for not less than three times and on the same platforms the defendants used in publishing those defamatory words, an unqualified retraction and apology with the same prominence as given to the issuance of the defamatory words complained of.



The plaintiff is also praying the court for an order for a perpetual injunction, restraining the defendants, their agents, assigns and servants from further publishing any defamatory words against him as well as general and exemplary damages for the malicious conduct of the defendants in allegedly defaming him. Beyeeman is also asking for costs, including legal fees to be slapped on the defendants up to GHC 500,000.



Cybercrime Arrest and Prosecution



Whilst the libel and defamation case is pending before the Sefwi Wiawso High Court, Mr Bernard Kwame Mussey is also in the grips of the Cybercrime Unit of the Ghana Police Service.



On 16th February 2021, Mr Bernard Kwame Mussey was arraigned before Her Worship, Rosemond Agyiri of the Kaneshie District Court 1 for offensive conduct and the publication of false information in the case of the Republic v. Bernard Kwame Mussey. Mr Mussey is accused of using various pseudonyms on Facebook to commit various cybercrimes against Beyeeman meant to lower and tarnish his hard-earned reputation.



He pleaded not guilty and was granted bail upon his lawyers praying to the court for bail for his client. He was subsequently granted bail, with two sureties and depositing his passport with the courts registrar. He will reappear on 18th March 2021.



Presenting the facts of the case to the court, the Prosecutor, Detective Inspector Richard Amoah of the Criminal Investigations Department of the Ghana Police Service Headquarters, said, the complainant, Beyeeman Tano Kwaw Benbuin III, who is the Paramount Chief of the Aowin Traditional Area, reported to the police that, the accused person, Mr Mussey, has constantly been publishing several false and offensive information about him on Facebook since he was enstooled as the Omanhene of the Aowin Traditional Area in March 2019.



The prosecution further told the court that the accused was arrested and during investigations, it was established that he had changed his Facebook account name and created others just to hide his true identity on social media with the express intention of vilifying Beyeeman to the chagrin of well-meaning Ghanaians and his international friends.









Disclaimer : Opinions expressed here are those of the writers and do not reflect those of Peacefmonline.com. Peacefmonline.com accepts no responsibility legal or otherwise for their accuracy of content. Please report any inappropriate content to us, and we will evaluate it as a matter of priority.

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New Delhi, Feb 22 : The Congress has condemned the registration of FIRs by the Uttar Pradesh government against political leaders and journalists for their tweets on the Unnao incident and demanded withdrawal of the cases.

In a statement, Congress chief spokesperson Randeep Surjewala said, "Registration of FIRs against Congress leader Udit Raj, web portal 'Mojo Story' and other individuals is yet another instance of brazen harassment and bullying by the power drunk BJP government to silence the contrarian or dissenting voices." "Congress party demands the immediate withdrawal of all politically motivated FIRs, for such arm twisting will not be able to silence the voice of our leaders who are committed to the cause of the weak, deprived and marginalised," the statement said.

The Congress leader alleged that the law and order situation has completely collapsed in Uttar Pradesh as the state government has failed in its duty to safeguard the people, particularly women and poorer sections of society.

"Instead of going after the perpetrators and culprits of various crimes, the UP government has a unique modus operandi to target the media and political leaders by shamelessly resorting to registration of false FIRs and using other coercive measures to threaten and intimidate the people bringing the truth to light," he said.

Surjewala said FIR filed against former MP Udit Raj, a media portal and some individuals is a clear cut instance of the BJP and its leaders "strangulating democracy".


The program will incorporate a 3D Induced Polarization (IP) survey, as well as ground magnetometry

The survey is scheduled to cover an area of about 8.1km, or about 64% of the concession area

Ltd ( ) (FRA:GPE) (OTCQB:GRSLF) announced Monday the first-ever ground geophysical program on the San Marcial Project in Sinaloa, Mexico.

The company said the program is centered on the San Marcial Resource Area and will incorporate a 3D Induced Polarization (IP) survey as well as ground magnetometry.

And the survey is scheduled to cover an area of about 8.1 kilometers (km), or about 64% of the concession area.

As the key structures and mineralization on the concession are oriented northwest-southeast, GR Silver said the geophysical survey lines are designed perpendicular to these structures in a southwest-northeast orientation. This way, the best geological information is obtained from the geophysical results.

In addition to the Resource Area, the program will also encompass high-priority target areas identified by recent lithogeochemical sampling and follow-up mapping and sampling.

GR Silver said the survey will initially focus on the resource area to characterize the known silver-lead-zinc mineralization therein, which hosts the NI 43-101 resource. A higher line density for the survey is planned over the resource area, which allows higher resolution of geophysical data and geological information.

The company noted that this will deliver a guide as to potential extensions to the mineralization along strike, and the 3D IP will provide additional insight into depth extensions to the deposit. The geophysical response of the resource area will then be used to identify similar buried anomalies that could host hidden silver-lead-zinc resources, particularly along the key contact between the lower dacitic units in the southwest and the upper volcanic units in the north and east.

"We are excited to be undertaking the first major geophysical investigation of the San Marcial Project, said CEO Marcio Fonseca in a statement. "The ground-based survey of 3D IP and magnetometry will assist our technical team to better understand the underlying geology, map key structures  particularly those not apparent at surface  and to identify potentially mineralized zones both in the vicinity of the San Marcial Ag resource, as well as on some of the key target areas identified by the company over the past two years.

He added the company expects new anomalies derived from this study to generate additional drill targets for follow-up later this year.

The survey

GR Silver estimates that the survey will highlight a number of structural and lithological features, in addition to the key contact hosting the San Marcial resource. Recent reconnaissance geological mapping has identified intrusive rocks (granodioritic), particularly south of the resource area.

The survey will also support mapping of mineralized zones that contain chargeable metal sulphide mineralization, which will then allow for interpretation based on the nature of the known mineralized structures on the property.

As the survey moves away from the resource area, the company said it will cover many of the targets already highlighted by previous GR Silver exploration campaigns -- such as Guacamayo and Limoncillos to the south, and Faisanes, Mariposa, Nava, Micuines, and Chachalaca in the west and northwest.

The IP survey is being conducted by DIAS Geophysical of Saskatoon using the company's DIAS32 direct current resistivity and induced polarization distributed array system.

Line cutting for the survey was initiated in December and completed in early February. The field crew is working out of the San Marcial camp, located around the center of the property and grid, under a COVID-19 protocol developed by the company in compliance with the requirements of Mexican authorities.

Contact the author: patrick@proactiveinvestors.com

Follow him on Twitter @PatrickMGraham

A former senior executive of infrastructure giant Leighton Holdings has been charged with conspiring to pay up to $4 million in bribes to high-ranking Tanzanian officials to win an $84 million contract for the Australian company.

The charges against former managing director of Leighton Offshore Russell Waugh come after the businessman was charged in November over separate allegations that he masterminded a bribery plot on behalf of Leighton in Iraq.

Russell Waugh leaving Brisbane Magistrates Court on bail after his arrest on bribery charges in November. Credit:Rhett Hammerton

The latest charges are the result of the Australian Federal Polices longest running and most important corporate bribery probe and which, since 2011, has been targeting Leightons offshore business and its suspected payment of multimillion-dollar bribes in the Middle East and Africa.

Official sources also confirmed that Leighton, which is now called CIMIC and remains responsible for some of Australias biggest infrastructure projects, is bracing to pay massive fines in the United States.

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ALBUQUERQUE, N.M.  Central New Mexicans wanting a more intimate pediatric care provider now have a new option with the launch of Face to Face Pediatrics, a new direct primary care practice.

Owned and operated by Dr. Dionne Cozier Ross, former medical director of pediatrics at Lovelace Westside Hospital, the new practice forgoes the traditional medicine model involving insurance providers and lengthy waits between appointments in favor of a concierge medicine model that provides around-the-clock access. Ross doesnt operate inside of a clinic or doctors office  instead she offers virtual visits or goes directly to her patients homes.

Ross said her practice does not accept insurance. Instead parents can pay a monthly fee of between $150 and $300 for unlimited access to video and in-person appointments, diagnostic tools, vaccinations and general health education.

The whole goal is to keep kids out of emergency rooms and out of the urgent care. Thats my goal, she said. And the way to do that is to have time to educate parents and teach kids how to grow up being healthy.

ADVERTISEMENTSkip



................................................................

While this model of medicine may sound new to some, Ross said it is a part of a growing nationwide trend.

She said she learned about the concept last year and immediately got to work to find ways to make it a reality in Albuquerque.

I always felt like I wanted to do something like this, I just never knew it was possible, Ross said. And I didnt know that other people were already doing it.

The practice, which launched in January, has been a success with her clients, she said.

People are loving it, they love the model, Ross said.  They love the attention, they love that Im listening.

Her model of medicine, which includes home visits, allows children, especially those with sensory issues, to have health care in a safe and familiar setting, she said.

Generally kids are more open and honest when theyre in their own environment, Ross said. Even parents, they just feel way more comfortable talking to you.

Ross said she is still accepting new patients and plans to cap her practice at 200 patients and may end up bringing on an additional doctor if the need is there.

For more information, visit www.facetofacepediatrics.com.

RV store wins in a remote world

Last year wasnt dismal for all companies. In fact, the need for social distance and an increase in working from home caused some businesses, like Aloha RV, to have its busiest year on record.

Our industry saw record growth with COVID-19, said Aloha RV general manager Peter Larson, whose business finished an expansion of the companys location at 8300 Pan American Fwy NE just before the pandemic hit New Mexico.

Larson said despite a several week closure due to statewide health orders, his company finished 2020 and entered 2021 with record sales thanks to the pandemic.

Even though we lost the first months of the year as a company we still ended up having our best year in history, he said. And weve been here for 31 years in Albuquerque.

Larson said the rise of remote working helped fuel the demand.

They dont have to be in town. They felt safer doing that, going into smaller communities or out into the forest as long as they had connectivity and they could get out with their family, he said.

Larson said the company started the expansion of the lot and its service bay several years ago with construction finishing at the beginning of 2020.

With the expansion, Aloha RV is able to service any size of RV and Larson believes the service bay is the first of its kind to be located at a dealership rather than a manufacturing plant.

Boss Security Screens to open

Boss Security Screens, a Nevada based security screen provider, is set to open an Albuquerque showroom this summer, according to a spokeswoman for the company.

The company specializes in manufacturing pry-resistant, shear-resistant and impact-resistant steel screens with a no break-in guarantee, spokeswoman Mallory Zito wrote in a news release.

While the showroom will open this summer, Zito said service representatives are already in Albuquerque and are available to give estimations and install the screens.

Security is a timeless need, and due to the pandemic, people are spending more time at home than ever, founder James Kerr said. Our goal is to make people feel safe, comfortable and secure in their own space.

The Albuquerque location is a part of an expansion into the Southwest with the eventual hopes of expanding nationally, a spokesperson for the company said.

For more information, visit www.bosssecurityscreens.com or call 505-225-3732.

Mtuccis rolls out private cabanas

While diners looking to enjoy a meal out now have the option of indoor and outdoor dining, Mtuccis Restaurants has added a third option  private dining cabanas.

The outdoor cabanas are available at all Mtuccis locations and are available on a first-come first-served basis, said the spokeswoman for the company, Jamie Dickerman.

The great thing about these individual cabanas is they are intimate and allow you to enjoy your experience and company with considerable privacy, said John Haas, Mtuccis Restaurants managing partner, in a news release.

Taco Cabana raises minimum wage

Taco Cabana is increasing its minimum wage for workers to $12 per hour, according to a news release from the company.

The increase will affect all six of the restaurants in Albuquerque and Rio Rancho, said Ed Rodriguez, Taco Cabana president. Employees already earning $12 an hour will receive a raise.

It is essential that we support our staff and their families in these difficult times, Rodriguez said in the news release. Taco Cabana is proud to be able to give back to the people of Albuquerque.

New Mexicos current minimum wage for hourly workers is $10.50.

The small chain of restaurants serves a variety of New Mexican foods made from scratch.

Pilar Martinez covers retail and commercial real estate for the Journal. She can be reached at pmartinez@abqjournal.com.
A teenager and her grandfather saved a frozen 11-year-old boy from drowning after he plunged through ice on a pond in Texas.

Caitlyn Thomas, a senior at Jefferson High School, was walking her Labrador, called Kroger, when she saw the youngster struggling in the ice.

The 18-year-old said she ran and knocked on people's doors in an attempt to get help but found nobody home.

She had also tried to call 911 but could not explain her location to the dispatcher.

But a quick-thinking Caitlyn then called her grandfather Randy Thomas, who is a trained scuba diver and lives just one block away, before filming the proceeding rescue on her mobile phone.

Before the clip began, Randy, arrived and began shouting advice to the youngster who was stranded several metres away from the bank.

He knelt by the side of the frozen pond before throwing a rope out from the back of his pick up truck in the hope the boy could grab hold of it.

But the youngster was too cold to move his arms which forced Randy, who was only wearing a long-sleeved top and jeans, to wade out into the icy water up to his chest.

The footage then begins and shows Randy already immersed in the freezing water as he slowly drags the boy to the water's edge.

Caitlyn Thomas, a senior at Jefferson High School, Texas, had been out walking her Labrador when she saw the youngster struggling in the ice before calling her grandfather Randy Thomas who waded in to save the boy

The footage shows Randy already immersed in the freezing water up to his chest as he slowly drags the boy to the water's edge using a rope attached to his pick up truck

At the same time, Caitlyn moves to help dog Kroger out of the water after he too slipped through the sheet of ice - with the boy's own dog also struggling in the background.

Randy eventually reaches the bank as onlookers rush to help hoist the boy from the water.

Caitlyn uploaded the video to her Facebook page on February 17 alongside a caption that read: 'Well it's not everyday you save a life.

'Please keep this little boy in your prayers I don't know how long he was out there.'

Randy eventually reaches the bank as he attempts to haul the boy out on to the bank of the frozen pond

At the same time, Caitlyn moves to help dog Kroger out of the water after he too slipped through the sheet of ice

Marion County Sheriff's Office has since said that the boy, who has not been identified, had been returned home to his mother.

It also stated that he had been examined by first responders and is expected to be okay.

'The quick thinking of the caller and the actions of the neighbor helped save the juvenile from further harm,' the statement said, according to ArkLaTex.

Onlookers rush to help hoist the boy, who has not been identified, from the water before he was returned to his mother

It comes after President Joe Biden declared a major disaster in Texas after it was hit with record subzero temperatures.

It is thought that 14 million people were left without water and dozens of towns were cut off from the electricity grid for seven days.

Earlier this week military vehicles from the Texas Military Department of the Texas National Guard were tasked with transporting residents to designated warming centers.

Thirty people are known to have died in Texas alone with more than a dozen being those who perished in homes that had lost their heat.
Charles Owusu of the Forestry Commission has asked former President John Mahama, the petitioner in the ongoing election petition to withdraw the case.



He's wondering why the petitioner is still in court when "obviously things are not going well for him"



Contributing to a panel discussion on Peace FM morning show 'Kokrokoo', Charles Owusu said withdrawing the election petition is better than losing the case.



"At this moment, I will plead with Mahama to withdraw the case; it's better than losing"



Listen to him in the video below





The Supreme Court dismissed former President John Mahamas application for review of its earlier decision not to compel the Chairperson of the Electoral Commission (EC), Madam Jean Mensa to testify.Mahama, the petitioner in the ongoing election petition requested that the Apex Court review its February 11 decision which indicated that " . . simply put, we are not convinced and will not yield to the invitation being extended to us by counsel of the petitioner to order the respondents to enter the witness box to be cross-examined, accordingly we hereby overrule the objection raised by the counsel for the petitioner against the decision of the respondents declining to adduce evidence in this petition".According to the lead counsel of the petitioner, Tsatsu Tsikata, the Court made fundamental errors of law and that those errors had occasioned a miscarriage of justice against me (the Petitioner).However, after hearing arguments from all parties during today's hearing, the 9-member panel dismissed the application.The ruling which was delivered by the Chief Justice said the review application has failed.

Source: Peacefmonline.com









Disclaimer : Opinions expressed here are those of the writers and do not reflect those of Peacefmonline.com. Peacefmonline.com accepts no responsibility legal or otherwise for their accuracy of content. Please report any inappropriate content to us, and we will evaluate it as a matter of priority.

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Mark Cook, an experienced director for Cayman Islands and other offshore investment funds will lead the business, which will focus on establishing and operating investment funds domiciled in the United States, Cayman Islands and other offshore financial centres, as well as ensuring ongoing compliance with regulatory obligations including anti-money laundering and tax transparency.

Mark has worked with many globally recognized fund managers and financial institutions since arriving in the Cayman Islands in 2005. After qualifying as a chartered accountant in Australia and spending more than 10 years in public practice there, he obtained fund administration experience with Citco Fund Services in the Cayman Islands and since 2008 has been engaged as an investment fund director.

The Cayman Islands is a world leader in the establishment of offshore funds due to its tax-neutrality, stable economy, sophisticated banking sector, and professional financial service industry. Approximately 70% of non-US domiciled alternative investment funds managed by US SEC-registered advisors are domiciled in the Cayman Islands.

"We are thrilled to be partnering with Mark in the Cayman Islands" said Glen Holding, Channel's co-founder and managing director. "We see this as a natural extension of the support and oversight we have traditionally offered to fund managers in Australia, and is consistent with our strategy to build out a global platform capable of supporting investment managers and their clients in all major jurisdictions".

Executive Director at Channel Capital Cayman, Mark Cook, said: "The Cayman Islands remains by far the most popular jurisdiction for hedge, private equity and infrastructure funds. I'm really looking forward to working with the Channel team and leveraging the platform they have developed. I anticipate opportunities across the spectrum for straight governance services, or to more widely assist with an investment manager's business needs".

About Channel Capital

Established in 2013, Channel has 30 employees across Sydney, Brisbane, Melbourne and Grand Cayman, and currently partners with eight investment management firms. Channel provides incubation, distribution, operational and responsible entity services to a select group of investment management firms and their clients across the institutional, family office, high net worth and advisor-led investor space. Channel's subsidiary entity, CIML, provides responsible entity services to a limited set of funds. https://www.channel.capital

Media Contacts

For Channel Capital: For Channel Capital Cayman: Angela Dovitsas Mark Cook Channel Capital Channel Capital Cayman M: +61 417 277 683 M: +1 345 325 2540 [email protected] [email protected]

Photo - https://mma.prnewswire.com/media/1441657/Mark_Cook.jpg

SOURCE Channel Capital

Related Links

https://www.channelcapital.com.au/


A nightclub bouncer has been jailed for repeatedly assaulting a drunken customer during a fracas in which another doorman was glassed.

Dublin Circuit Criminal Court heard that Galin Genov (54) continued to be employed as security up to last March despite another conviction in 2018 for an assault in September 2015.

Two months after that assault Genov punched Sean McEvoy when he thought the victim had pushed another member of the nightclub security after a third doorman had been glassed.

The doormen were escorting Mr McEvoy and others from the premises at the end of the night when another man, not Mr McEvoy, smashed a glass to the back of one man's head.

During the chaos that followed doormen were focused on the assailant and Mr McEvoy stood back out of the way, the court heard. As the second doorman came to help out his colleagues he lost his footing and fell into the back of the defendant.

Cathal O'Braonain BL, defending, told the court that his client then turned around and saw Mr McEvoy with his hands outstretched and concluded that he had pushed his colleague to the ground,

He reacted by punching Mr McEvoy and made a significant error of judgment, counsel said.

The victim sustained a chipped tooth, soft tissue damage to the face and cuts over his eye. He received 30,000 in a civil claim against the nightclub, the court heard.

Genov with an address at the Russell Court Hotel, Harcourt Street, Dublin 2, pleaded guilty to assault causing harm at Dicey Reillys bar, Harcourt Street, on November 29, 2015.

The court heard that he has not come to any garda attention since this incident.

In 2018 he was convicted in Dublin District Court for an assault committed in September 2015 and also in the course of his duties, the court heard.

Judge Elma Sheahan said she acknowledged the difficult job doormen had in dealing with inebriated people late at night.

She said she accepted that defence submissions that the injured party was mouthing off at Genov a little before the assault are consistent with the CCTV played in court.

However it is the role of the defendant and his training to deal with such situations in a non-aggressive manner and to de-escalate situations such as these, she said.

She noted Genov had succeeding in getting Mr McEvoy to the exit of the premises without reacting to the verbal aggro. She said when a third party attacked another bouncer, Genov believed the victim had contributed to this and punched the victim three times to the head and face.

She noted Genov is a tall, strong individual and the assault had some ferocity.

She said that at the time of this assault the defendant had been involved in a separate assault during the course of his work and this was an aggravating factor.

While he had not being convicted of that assault he was on notice of his behaviour and a need to deal with it in advance of the latter assault.

Mr O'Braonain told the court that Genov continued to work in security with the same employer up until the Covid-19 lockdown began last March.

Judge Sheahan said his plea of guilty, his record of contributing to society with a good work history and testimonials from his employer were mitigating factors to be taken into consideration.

She suspended the final eight months of a prison term of 20 months on condition he be of good behaviour for the full term.
Source: Xinhua| 2021-02-22 13:46:02|Editor: huaxia

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XI'AN, Feb. 22 (Xinhua) -- Chinese scientists are developing a face recognition technology for golden snub-nosed monkeys, an indigenous species on China's top protection list living in the Qinling Mountains.

The research team, composed of scientists from Northwest University in Xi'an, capital of northwest China's Shaanxi Province, is also the country's first to systematically study golden monkeys in the wild.

The monkey face recognition technology aims to establish an identity information database of golden monkeys in the Qinling Mountains by extracting the animals' facial features.

The technology is still in the experimental stage and is currently able to recognize about 200 golden monkeys.

"We take 700 to 800 photos of each monkey, while the recognition rate can reach 94 percent," said Zhang He, a member of the research team.

After being fully developed, the system can be embedded in infrared cameras set in the wild, and automatically spot monkeys, name them and collect their behaviors, noted Zhang.

A sticking point of monkey face recognition is that the animal is hairier than humans with subtle facial feature differences, thus requiring the system to have a higher deep learning ability.

"We need more high-resolution images to improve the recognition rate," said team leader Li Baoguo. "But that is extremely difficult as the monkeys don't 'cooperate' with the cameras in the wild."

The new technology will significantly facilitate the study of the rare species when it matures, as traditionally, it would take scientists one to two years to conduct in-depth behavioral analysis for a specific colony of these monkeys.

"If the monkey face recognition technology is adopted, early studies of the species, including location, identification and the observation of behaviors, will be greatly shortened, thus improving research efficiency," said Li.

The Qinling Mountains house about 4,000 golden snub-nosed monkeys, a typical arboreal animal living all year round in the forests at an altitude of 1,500 to 3,300 meters.

The mountains also house a huge variety of plants and wild animals such as giant pandas and crested ibis. Enditem
BUTLER TWP.

Disturbance call leads to citations

Butler Twp. police say they issued citations after being called to a disturbance Sunday morning.

Police said the incident, which began over a noise complaint between neighbors, resulted in Charles D. Browning, 32, Drums, and also of Barnhart, Missouri, being cited with disorderly conduct. Nicholas C. Domenich, 39, Drums, and also of Arnold, Missouri, was charged with public drunkenness as a result of the incident, too.

Police were called to Fairway Flats Apartment on Lazy Lane in Sand Springs development around 2:40 a.m.

Police investigating

group after theft

Butler Twp. police say they charged several people after more than $1,800 was stolen from a convenience store Sept. 4.

The theft happened around 1:20 a.m. at Fuel On, 6 W. Butler Drive and involved 5 people, police said. Several days after the theft, police stopped the vehicle used during the incident, following a tip from a witness. As a result of the investigation, Sherry A. Wody, 57, of Centre Street in Freeland was charged with conspiracy to commit retail theft, conspiracy to commit theft by unlawful taking and conspiracy to receive stolen property, all felonies, police said. She was also charged with theft and receiving stolen property, misdemeanors, and was arranged by Magisterial District Judge Daniel ODonnell, Butler Twp., who released her on $10,000 unsecured bail Feb. 16. Freeland police assisted with her apprehension.

The day after Wodys arrest, Carrie A. Reese, 42, Main Street, Freeland, surrendered to officers, according to police. She faces conspiracy to commit retail theft, conspiracy to commit theft by unlawful taking and conspiracy to receive stolen property, all felonies; as well as theft and receiving stolen property, misdemeanors. Reese was arraigned by ODonnell, who also released her on $10,000 unsecured bail.

Police said they identified other suspects and arrest warrants have been issued. The investigation is ongoing and those suspects will be identified after their arrest.

HAZLETON

Man faces gun charges after theft

A Hazleton man faces a gun violation and other charges after a package was reported stolen Oct. 20, court papers say.

Edgar Bracero-Olivencia, 42, faces possession of firearm prohibited, receiving stolen property and two counts of theft by Hazleton police. The charges were filed against him Feb. 11 and bail was set at $75,000 Feb. 12 by Magisterial District Judge Joseph Spagnuolo, Plains Twp.

Police said they found Bracero-Olivencia and a woman in the area of Alter and West 19th streets around 3 p.m. and stopped them after noticing that they matched the description of the people involved in the theft at 871 Lafayette Ave. Bracero-Olivencia was wanted for failure to appear in court and was taken into custody. They found a stolen item in a backpack Bracero-Olivencia said belonged to him, police wrote. It also contained two lower receivers, which are frames designed to incorporate the trigger assembly and safety controls and hold the ammunition magazine for an AR platform rifle, court papers state. Bracero-Olivencias criminal history prevents him from having a gun. He told police he found the item on Alter Street, according to officers.

City man charged after allegedly making threats

Hazleton police say a city man tried to get a woman to drop charges in a domestic violence case against him and then threatened her.

Brett E. Williams, 28, faces intimidate witness or victim and terroristic threats. The charges were filed against him Nov. 12 and he was released on $20,000 unsecured bail Feb. 12 by Magisterial District Judge Michael Dotzel, Wilkes-Barre.

Williams was charged with strangulation and simple assault but was released from jail on bail Nov. 5, according to police. Then, on Nov. 11 he contacted the mother of the victim in that case, asking to have the strangulation charge dropped but she declined, court papers state. Shortly after, when the alleged victim went to Pantry Quik, 902 W. Diamond Ave., Williams showed up in the business, asking her to drop the charges and offered her $7,000 to do so, court papers state. She again refused and Williams told her she and her family are dead.

Cops: City man made threats at laundromatA Hazleton man faces charges after an alleged Dec. 10 incident at a laundromat.

Steven Reimiller, 35, faces terroristic threats by Hazleton police who filed the charge against him Jan. 14. His bail was set at $7,500 on Feb. 7 by Magisterial District Judge Joseph Zola, Hazleton.

Police said they were called to Tinee Bubbles Laundromat, 1002 N. Sherman Court, for a woman reportedly being held against her will by a man standing outside with a gun in his waistband. Officers set up a perimeter around the area but when they learned the man left, approached the business and found the woman involved.

She told them she was at a home on Peace Street with Reimiller and decided to leave and head to the laundromat to use their wireless internet.

Reimiller followed her, yelling at her and standing outside the door, preventing her from leaving. Court papers state he threatened to shoot her and burn down her mothers house.

State police incident report

State police at Hazleton reported the following:

 The unidentified driver of a Honda CRV was merging onto Airport Road from Laurel Mall Drive in Hazle Twp. on Feb. 17 at 10:15 a.m. and failed to yield, hitting an eastbound Peterbilt. Neither driver was injured.
The classrooms are empty. Dusty chairs and tables gather cobwebs, as though forgotten in time. The voices of teachers calling out letters and words that would echo in a sing-song child chorus have been replaced by the pings of WhatsApp forwards. For the lucky few whose parents own smartphones, these online messages arrive like unconvincing emissaries who claim that Indian children are still learning.

The pandemic has illuminated the many ways in which India is divided. In urban enclaves, schools have transitioned to digital platforms with only the slightest hiccup, as teachers quickly upskilled to shift their lessons online. In the countrys vast rural swathes, where only 4% of homes own a computer, and where learning acquisition was already a major concern, the picture is far bleaker.

Also Read | Turnout modest for second covid shot

The recently released Annual Status of Education Report(ASER) shows how the multiple hardships of migration, loss of livelihood and school closures have put the already-fragile learning capacity of rural children at further risk. The data points to lower enrolment amid an endless wait for schools to reopen, a large shift away from private schools to government schools, and a disproportionate number of young girls who are dropping out, some possibly never to return.

As teachers and administrators pull together to reach what material they can to children in their efforts to save the academic year and stem a larger learning crisis from overwhelming the system, the infrastructure gaps of inadequate teacher training, low educational resources and a lack of digital access point to how easily the countrys educational network can be decimated by an unexpected turn of events, leaving an entire generation of children at risk.

What, then, is the way out? How do we circumvent the digital divide and rejig educational environments and capacities so that children can keep up their learning through the covid pandemic and continue to get support once restrictions are removed?

Think low-tech: Reports from rural Maharashtra of children seated in socially distant circles, receiving lessons over a loudspeaker, are heartening. They inspire thinking around a curriculum designed for delivery at scale over low-end technologies like radio. It is easy to envision self-sustaining, hyper-local learning communities coalescing around such solutions.

Get parents to play: Studies around the world validate the power of guided play in enhancing learning outcomes. The idea of capitalizing on childrens natural propensity to learn through play is gaining currency in urban areas. However, parents in rural or low-resource homes are still inclined to think of play and learning as two separate realms of experience. By showing parents how to guide their children through play with objects commonly found at home, and how to work play organically into daily busy routines, we open imaginations to the learning opportunities that surround children wherever they are. It is also likely that schools will take some time to hobble back to normal and that parental involvement in learning is here to stay. Learning how to harness the value of play can be empowering to parents who feel ill-equipped to teach their children. The bonus hidden in this approach is that children, families and entire communities stand to gain from the lasting socio-emotional benefits of bonds built over play.

Blended learning: Government schools in rural India have outdone private schools in distributing text books and materials to their students through the pandemic. As the penetration of smartphones increases, embedding digital access into available material through picture recognition or QR codes can open up virtual classrooms at times when physical classrooms are inaccessible, or even enhance learning for children with low reinforcement or mentoring support at home.

Skilling and equipping teachers: The ASER report shows that only about a third of all children in rural areas managed to receive any study material from their teachers. Interestingly, for the ones who did, over 60% of the material that came in was shared over WhatsApp. The lack of resources and training undoubtedly makes it challenging for teachers in rural India to pivot towards using technology to share learning material. Partnerships between governments, education institutions and civil society can address this gap by creating mixed-media content that is easy to use and share, aids multi-sensory learning, and also creates feedback loops for assessment. While such methodologies can never replace the impact and motivation of human interaction, investing in these methods would allow teachers to stay in touch with students and ensure that learning continues despite the frequent interruptions of schooling that are endemic to rural India.

These practices would also be invaluable in ensuring that young children who migrate seasonally or temporarily with parents to distant work places remain connected to a familiar learning ecosystem.

With the extreme hardship that the pandemic has unleashed, it is hard to think of silver linings. But, as with all disruptions, it is forcing us to rethink early education and question whether current models still serve us, or whether a better way might emerge from this crisis.

Sonali Khan is managing director, Sesame Workshop India. Her Twitter handle is @sonalikhan

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A LIMERICK man who damaged four cars belonging to members of the same family after having had words with one of them has been warned he will go to prison if he does not stay out of trouble.

Joe Power, who has an address at Crean, Athlacca had pleaded guilty to four counts of criminal damage at a location in Croom on March 3, 2018.

Newcastle West Court was told that on that date, Mr Power went to a particular premises where there were four cars parked outside and that he "went at the four cars with a hammer".

He broke windows on three cars and caused other damage but was identified at the scene by the family members. Damage totalling around 2,000 was caused.

During a court hearing in 2018, Liam Carroll BL said that Mr Powers grandfather had died just two days before the incident and that he had been drinking heavily. "He was under a lot of stress," he said.

Mr Power, he continued was friendly with a member of the family and went to see them but "words were exchanged". He came under fear of being attacked, Mr Carroll said adding that he had "over-reacted".

Last week, solicitor Daniel Creed said his client has paid full compensation and that he is no longer posting comments on social media.

He added that he has an offer of employment and intends taking up the job post-Covid. "He is anxious to enter employment to stabilise his life," said Mr Creed.

Judge Larkin imposed a four month prison sentence, which she suspended for two years.

In doing so, she described the defendant's efforts since the offence as "laudable".

From the Chairman and Chief Executive Officer

Freightways is a resilient and entrepreneurial business. This has been demonstrated through the most disruptive challenge we have seen in recent times.

Through the latter half of 2020 we have been encouraged by growing eCommerce demand fuelling greater express package volume. This will help our industry grow profitably for those who can meet its challenges. We are also excited by the emphasis on waste reduction and increased sustainability initiatives which our destruction business can leverage. Freightways is well positioned to take advantage of the opportunities that are in front of us with loyal customers, high-performing businesses, a strong balance sheet as well as experienced and adaptable teams.

We will return to paying a dividend in April 2021 based on the strong performance of the business in the first half of FY21.

Outlook

Whilst the immediately foreseeable economic climate remains uncertain, we are encouraged by the strong trade in Express Package and the resilience of our Information Management businesses, as demonstrated in our results over the first half of FY21.

We would expect that:

 In Express Package, our existing volumes will be supplemented by market share gains and the growth of eCommerce while our existing B2B volume will be influenced by macro-economic activity;

 In Information Management, whilst storage revenues will remain resilient, our activity-based revenue streams will be driven by the number of people returning to office environments, noting this could be lower than pre-COVID-19.

We have well-established systems and processes to be able to adapt to any future lockdowns in NZ or Australia and we can reasonably expect that B2C Express Package volumes will accelerate in a level 2 or 3 lockdown and that IM activity will decline as office workers move to working from home.

Our portfolio of services will be continually reviewed with a view to delivering superior long-term value to shareholders by assessing our short, medium and long-term opportunities and applying the best allocation of capital to them.

The company will continue to consider growth or acquisition opportunities that may be complementary to our existing operations and capabilities. We are proud of our achievements to date in growing contractor incomes, developing new services and reducing emissions per item. We will actively explore future opportunities to enhance our position on these key ESG areas. The Freightways directors would again like to acknowledge the efforts of every one of our team across Australasia.

Please see the links below for details:

NZX Results Announcement Dec 20

Distribution Notice - Interim Dividend December 2020

Half Year Presentation December 2020

Half Year Financial Statements - 31 December 2020

Source: Freightways Limited

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Authorities from Khanh Hoa Province in south-central Vietnam have reclaimed over 10,000 square meters of sea surface as well as a popular beach in the tourism hub of Nha Trang City for public use.

Nguyen Tan Tuan, chairman of the Khanh Hoa Peoples Committee, said on Friday that the province is looking to retake the beaches of Nha Trang City, which were previously leased to businesses for commercial tourism use.

It is considered part of the provinces bid to protect the sea environs and elevate the status of Nha Trang Gulf, one of the most revered beaches in the world.

The water area to be recovered from the Nha Trang Gulf is located in the Bai Duong area of Loc Tho Ward, which was previously leased to Sovico Khanh Hoa Co. Ltd. as a private beach for tourists of their two nearby lodging facilities: Ana Mandara Hotel and Evason Ana Mandara Resort.

By 2021, the lease agreement has expired, with local authorities having no intention of renewing it and the Sovico Khanh Hoa Company also willing to return the property.

Considering this, the Nha Trang City Department of Resources and Environment has followed the provinces decision, remapped the landmarks, and handed over the Bai Duong sea area to the Peoples Committee of Loc Tho Ward for use in a public beach project.

On top of that, the seashore along the area which surrounds the Ana Mandara Hotel and Evason Ana Mandara Resort has also been pronounced public property, according to leaders of the Nha Trang City environment department.

Therefore, restrictions put up by the Ana Mandara management that prevented the public from entering the beach will be abolished.

Earlier, many Nha Trang residents and visitors voiced dissent from Ana Mandaras decision to block off the beach.

In May 2015, the management of Evason Ana Mandara was fined VND30 million (US$1,300) by authorities in Nha Trang City for their unlawful blockage of the Nha Trang beach.

According to the Khanh Hoa chairman, the Ana Mandara Hotel and the Evason Ana Mandara Resort must work on their relocation process in order to return the beach site to the authorities upon the completion of the new tourism complex Ana Mandara Cam Ranh, which is expected to take no more than 24 months as per the project permit.

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1 Dead, 4 Injured in MO American Legion Shooting

By The Associated Press

KENNETT - One person died and four others were wounded in an overnight shooting at an American Legion club in southeast Missouri, police said Sunday.

KAIT-TV reported that officers found the five victims at the American Legion building in Kennett following the report of the shooting before 12:30 a.m. Sunday.

Two people were flown to a hospital in Cape Girardeau, Missouri, in critical condition. Two other victims were being treated at local hospitals.

No arrests were reported immediately Sunday morning in connection with the shooting.

The American Legion Post 66 building is located near the Delta Fairgrounds in Kennett, a city of about 10,000 people in Missouri's bootheel, roughly 100 miles north of Memphis, Tennessee. The building is available to rent, and Kennett Mayor Chancellor Wayne told the Delta Dunklin Democrat that a private party was being held there Saturday night.

Police said no additional details on the shooting were available Sunday morning. A man who answered one phone number for the American Legion post Sunday said he didn't know anything about the shooting before hanging up. There was no immediate response to a message left by The Associated Press at a second phone number for the facility.

The Missouri State Patrol and Dunklin County Sheriff's office are helping with the investigation.
New Delhi, Feb 22 : The horse is etched on the Indian landscape and to view the sub-continent's past through the prism of the horse is to be swept up in its power and grace.

In this inspired and singularly erudite debut, "The Tale of the Horse - A History of India on Horseback" (Picador India), Yashaswini Chandra takes the reader on the trail of the horse into and within India. What follows is a surprising and exhilarating journey, covering caravan-trade routes originating in Central Asia and Tibet, sea routes from the Middle East, and the dominions of different sultans and Mughal emperors, the south Indian kingdoms as well as the Rajput warrior states.

Chandra outlines the political symbolism of the horse, its vital function in social life, religion, sport and war, its role in shaping economies and forging crucial human bonds. We learn of the emergence of local breeds such as the Kathiawari, the Marwari, the Zanskari and the Manipuri.

We encounter fabulous horsewomen too, Chand Bibi, Maratha princesses and women polo players among them. We meet grooms, farriers, breeders, traders and bandits. The highlight, of course are the magnificent examples of the horse itself - Rana Pratap's legendary Chetak, Ranjit Singh's much-contested Laili, Pabuji's cherished black mare and those horses captured in paintings and equestrian portraits. The glorious age of the horse would meet its agonised decline with the onset of colonial rule and mechanisation.

In the end, what is most remarkable is that the history of the horse in India, mirroring that of its human inhabitants, is a tale of migration and permanent intermingling. The horse is this an exceptional and fitting vantage from which to appreciate the history of the land, influenced as it was by this most instrumental of animals.

Yashaswini Chandra has a PhD in History of Art from SOAS University of London, where she was also a teaching fellow. She has been a guest/visiting faculty at Jawaharlal Nehru University, New Delhi, and Ashoka University, Sonepat. She worked for Sahapedia, an open online resource on the arts, cultures and histories of India, for many years, managing the multi-volume documentation of the Rashtrapati Bhavan and an institutional collaboration with Rupayan Sansthan. She previously co-edited "Right of the Line: The President's Bodyguard" on the household cavalry of India's Head of State. Chandra is an avid horsewoman; her horse is called Sue.
Couples hoping to wed this year have had their plans thrown into disarray yet again as Boris Johnson warned June 21 is the earliest possible date for full-size weddings.

The Prime Minister announced today weddings with a maximum take place from March 8, increasing to 15 'no earlier than April 12' and to 30 people from May 17.

But couples hoping for a full-sized wedding face an uncertain wait, with June 21 given as the earliest date when they will be given the green light and even then it will be subject to a review of the Government's 'four tests'.

Wedding industry suppliers, venue owners and desperate brides-to-be told FEMAIL how their plans have been left in limbo after the Prime Minister failed to confirm when weddings with no guest limits will be held.

It means thousands of couples face the ordeal of trying to plan their big day without any firm guidelines. Meanwhile suppliers face at least four more months of no weddings or much smaller events that might not even cover their costs.

Under current rules, wedding ceremonies are only permitted to take place in exceptional circumstances - such as a bride or groom being terminally ill - and no receptions are allowed to take place during the national lockdown.

DESPERATE COUPLE: REARRANGING FOR A THIRD TIME

Lara Gill, 32, and Matthew Stokes (pictured together), 40, were set to wed on June 5 and had reduced their numbers to 50 from 70, hopeful they would still be able to go ahead. Today's news is another huge blow for the couple, who'd originally planned to marry on June 6 2020

Lara Gill, 32, and Matthew Stokes, 40, were set to wed themselves on June 5 and had reduced their numbers to 50 from 70, hopeful they would still be able to go ahead.

Lara, who also runs a wedding venue in Cornwall, says the mental health impact for couples is 'horrifying' and says she personally questioned Boris Johnson in December at PMQs, and he told her weddings 'would be back by the summer'.

An emotional Lara told FEMAIL that it was 'exhausting' having to try and rearrange dates again: ''For my own wedding, I'd reduced my numbers down significantly, I really want that celebration, that dance.

'We hoped with rapid testing and the vaccine roll-out, we'd be able to get married as we wanted to. Now, with my wedding day three weeks earlier than June 21, I'm forced to start planning for a third time.'

Lara said there was relief that her own venue would be able to welcome back weddings this summer, but that she would still be forced to move at least 12 couples who'd booked before June, because they now want a larger wedding.

MAKEUP ARTIST: EARNED LESS THAN 4,000 LAST YEAR

Kirsty McCall, 39, from Dartford in Kent, has seen her business effectively stop, with 93 weddings cancelled in 2020 out of the 100 she had booked in. She told FEMAIL that the prospect of weddings with unlimited guests by the summer offers a huge boost

The mother-of-two says her photographer husband Daniel, pictured top right, has been forced to take work as a labourer on 80 a day after wedding work dried up, and she lost 30,000 in work last year (Kirsty with her daughter Beau and son Bruno )

Award-winning hair and make-up artist Kirsty McCall, 39, from Dartford in Kent, has worked in the wedding industry for 15 years and normally travels all over the UK and internationally with her work, alongside her photographer husband, Daniel.

When will weddings resume? MARCH 8, STEP ONE: Weddings will still be able to proceed with six attendees only, but will no longer be limited to exceptional circumstances. APRIL 12, STEP TWO: Weddings and receptions will be allowed to have 15 guests. MAY 17, STEP THREE: Weddings, receptions, funerals, and commemorative events including wakes can proceed with up to 30 attendees. A broader range of stand-alone life events will also be permitted at this step, including bar mitzvahs and christenings. JUNE 21, STEP FOUR: Step 4 will take place no earlier than 21 June, and at least five weeks after Step 3, following a further review of the data against the four tests. By Step 4, the Government aims to remove all limits on weddings and other life events, subject to the outcome of the scientific Events Research Programme. Advertisement

In 2020, she did just seven weddings out of the 100 that were scheduled...earning less than 4,000.

Kirsty, who's a supporter of the #WhataboutWeddings campaign, told FEMAIL that the prospect of weddings with unlimited guests by the summer offers a huge boost.

'I'm over the moon that hair, make-up and beauty professionals who need close contact with clients can re-open in April,' she said.

'It means that my wedding season is back, albeit a few weeks late. I also have the chance to potentially offer brides who had delayed until 2022 the potential for an autumn wedding now.'

PHOTOGRAPHER: PREDICTS SCHEDULING CONFLICTS

Wedding photographer Elena Popa, 30, based in the South East, found the Prime Minister's plans similarly encouraging.

She said: 'I have eight weddings scheduled in April alone. I would expect at least half of my late spring weddings to go ahead, and the rest to postpone into the summer or autumn, which will likely lead to scheduling conflicts for many couples and suppliers.

'The Prime Minister's plan sounds encouraging, but consumer confidence is already shaky due to so many U-turns by the government during the past few months.

'What the wedding industry needs now is financial support and incentives, such as government-backed deposit schemes for couples to feel secure in booking their wedding services without losing more money.'

FLORIST: NEWS IS BITTERSWEET

Elsewhere, florist Jacqueline O Hara, of Suns n Roses Flowers in London, said: 'This news is bittersweet for the wedding industry. For my lovely couples it means chopping and changing again.

'Most couples now have a plan A & B. Its very stressful for everyone concerned. Im hoping we can all look forward to and enjoy some lovely small spring weddings during April and May and that the industry will definitely open up fully in June.'

Wedding photographer Elena Popa (pictured), 30, based in the South East, found the Prime Minister's plans encouraging but said financial help needed to be given

BRIDE: KEEPING FINGERS CROSSED FOR SUMMER GOOD NEWS

Natalie Taylor, 30, from Manchester, already had to postpone her wedding to Russ Jones once and feared having to rearrange her big day a second time.

But thankfully, she's one of the lucky couples who might be able to have their summer ceremonies after all.

'We are so relieved after hearing the Prime Minister's announcement,' she confessed. 'We had to postpone our August wedding last year and it was looking highly likely that we would have to postpone for a second time.

'Obviously we still have to be cautious depending on the data but the fact we can start planning and get excited again is amazing. Our new wedding date is our 10 year anniversary so its going to be super special to be able to spend it with all our loved ones.'

Natalie Taylor, 30, from Manchester, already had to postpone her wedding to Russ Jones (pictured together) once and feared having to rearrange her big day a second time. But thankfully, she's one of the lucky couples who might be able to have their summer ceremonies

WEDDING PLANNER: SMALL STEP FORWARD FOR INDUSTRY

Tamryn Settle, has been a wedding celebrant in Oxfordshire for four years and before that spent 16 years as a wedding planner. She told FEMAIL the decision was a 'step forward' but that it was only a small step for so many people in the industry.

'The level of uncertainty continues because all of the dates outlined are subject to review, we still remain essentially unviable as businesses until June 21st - so there remains a massive problem for the wedding industry.'

Tamryn Settle, a wedding celebrant from Oxfordshire, says while so much uncertainty remains today's news is only a 'small step in the right direction for the wedding industry

From March 8, weddings will still be able to proceed with six attendees only, but will no longer be limited to exceptional circumstances.

At least five weeks after step two, no earlier than May 17, weddings, receptions, funerals, and commemorative events including wakes can proceed with up to 30 attendees.

Step four will take place no earlier than 21 June, and at least five weeks after Step three, following a further review of the data against the four tests.

By step four, the Government aims to remove all limits on weddings and other life events, subject to the outcome of the scientific Events Research Programme.

Last summer, weddings were allowed to resume but with a maximum of 30 attendees - including brides and grooms - as well as social distancing.

Mr Johnson addressed the nation on January 4 and explained England would go into another lockdown the following day, on January 5.

The Prime Minister said in December that he hoped couples would be able to get married again by the summer.

My hope is by summer it really will be a different world for the weddings and events industry, he said. I hope that your potential customers will be full of confidence and optimism as well and will be getting hitched in the normal way.

'I think you should be able to plan for a much more active summer and lots of happy nuptial events all over the UK.
An Olyphant home health agency agreed to settle a U.S. Department of Labor lawsuit that alleged the firm failed to pay overtime to certain employees.

The Labor Department filed the federal lawsuit in 2017, against Revolutionary Home Health Inc., 1619 Main St., alleging it violated the Fair Labor Standards Act from May 2014 to May 2017.

The suit, filed on behalf of 56 current and former employees, alleged the company paid them per each visit with patients. The arrangement meant they were not always paid for all hours they worked, including time spent at their own homes updating charts. That resulted in employees sometimes working more than 40 hours in one week, entitling them to overtime, which they were not paid.

In court papers, Michael Epstein, an attorney for the Labor Department in Philadelphia, said evidence showed the company knowingly violated the labor law, which means the employees are entitled to back wages and additional damages.

Attempts to reach Gerald Hanchulak of Clarks Summit, attorney for Revolutionary, for comment were unsuccessful. He previously denied the allegations in court papers.

Epstein and Hanchulak recently filed documents with the court advising it the case settled.

Details of the settlement were not immediately available.
(Newser)  North Korea is offering rewards of up to $10,000 for information leading to the capture of North Korean construction workers who escaped in Russia, sources tell Radio Free Asia. UN sanctions put a stop to the issuance of new working visas for North Koreans, and required those already working abroad to return home by the end of 2019, but many of the workers entered Russia on student visas rather than returning to North Korea. "These days it is spreading among the ethnic Korean communities in Nakhodka, Khabarovsk, and Ussuriysk that you can receive a bounty if you report a North Korean worker that has escaped from a local construction site," a source says. (More at RFA.)
Armenia Investigative Committee: Fatal road accident, criminal case opened

Armenia deputy FM submits resignation

Chinese authorities allow families to have 3 children

Dollar devalues in Armenia

Stepanakert: Azerbaijan creates bridgeheads for pressure on Karabakh, expansion towards Armenia

Sergey Lavrov says Russia is ready to disconnect SWIFT

Armenia MFA spokesperson resigns

Republican Party of Armenia Vice-President: Our ratings are growing, but we have greater pretensions

Armenia acting PM's spokesperson responds to ex-FM

Armenia parliament majority leader: Refusing to debate with acting PM is manifestation of low self-confidence

Armenia State Revenue Committee, US Department of Justice sign Memorandum of Cooperation

Vardevanyan: Attempts made to create false grounds for obstructing Armenia bloc election offices legal activities

Lavrov says Russia is ready to resume dialogue with NATO

Armenia opposition MP on FM's resignation

India records lowest increase in COVID-19 cases in 50 days

Bright Armenia faction in parliament: No response to acting PM's proposal to deploy observers along Azerbaijan border

Ruling bloc MP: Acting premiers proposal does not limit Armenia in terms of cooperation with CSTO

Acting PM is proud of Armenian servicemens heroism, says parliament majority leader

Parliament majority leader: No border delimitation unless Azerbaijan army units leave Armenia territory

Outgoing Armenia acting FM opens brackets: My decision of resignation was conditioned by that very reason

Harutyunyan, Shoygu discuss tension on Armenia-Azerbaijan border

Iranian MFA says US has not imported oil from country since Clinton era

Court hearing on appeal against decision to drop March 2008 Yerevan tragedy case is rescheduled

Missing soldiers relatives block Yerevan street

Parliament majority leader: Armenia acting FM did not object, at Security Council meeting, to new document

Armenia Police: 2,581,093 people on voters list

Bright Armenia faction of parliament: No corridor through the country should be provided to Azerbaijan

Analyst: Armenia acting PM Pashinyan gave self-confessed testimony

Armenia national security finds about 1 kg of opium, detains Iran citizen driver and 2 others

182 hearing aids and 2 buses by benefactor Mikayel Vardanyan for students of Special Educational Complex

34 new cases of COVID-19 confirmed in Armenia

Updated voters list is posted on Armenia central election commission website

Armenia authorities provide considerable amount of subsidies ahead of snap parliamentary elections

World oil prices on the rise

MP explains his not being on Bright Armenia Party electoral list

UK new flagship set to be named after the late Prince Philip

US man who said he shot neighbor over loud music found guilty of attempted murder

Lamborghini company to be sold for $11.5bn?

China spacecraft docks with future space station

Lawyer: Armenia acting PM Pashinyan grossly abuses administrative resources during Lori Province visit

UN urges to investigate escalation of violence in Colombia

Malaysia to open mega-centers for vaccination against coronavirus

Police find  5 million in cash in London apartment

French citizen to face trial in Iran on spaying charges

Over 60 children in UK undergo surgery due to TikTok challenge

Iranian Central Bank governor dismissed

Armenian opposition: The one who liberated Artsakh will not go to debates with the one who sold it

Iranian energy ministry: Iraq to allocate $ 125 million of frozen funds for vaccines

No new COVID-19 cases reported in Artsakh

Iran and Iraq to intensify cooperation and are ready for joint investment projects

Armenia ex-PM says at least 2 more secret documents signed but not published yet

Indonesia frees Iranian tanker 4 months later

Mortar shelling in Afghanistan kills at least 10 civilians

Fire breaks out at West Virginia oil refinery in US

Second President of Armenia meets with residents of Ararat province

Iran ready to help improve the defense capability of Syria

Armenian acting PM invites ex-presidents for debates

European Parliament head proposes to strengthen sanctions on Russia

UK PM gets married in London

Armenia reports COVID-19 new 81 cases: 4 people die

EU countries invite US to issue joint statement against Russia

2 people die in Armenia road accident

Nigeria: Students taken hostage a month ago are released

61 quakes recorded in Congo per day

Syrian MFA: EU lost credibility due to blind obedience to US policy

Armenia ex-minister of emergency situations hospitalized with heart attack

Mher Grigoryan: Clarification of border points is possible only after withdrawal of Azerbaijani troops from Armenia

Suspicious deal: Whether there was profit from buying DNA IDs?

Armenia ex-president says current authorities are trying to blame Russia for defeat in war

4 people killed in Afghanistani bus attack

Robert Kocharyan: This war could not have happened, it was a consequence of the policy of the authorities

Kocharyan: I have to ask people how it happened that overwhelming majority elected this leader

Armen Gevorgyan presents 'Armenia' bloc program: We offer the concept of a working country

Biden's administration proposed to leave unchanged amount of financial support to Armenia

US Embassy in Baku calls on Azerbaijan to immediately release Armenian POWs

Luxembourg MFA calls on Azerbaijan to immediately release all Armenian prisoners

Russia peacekeepers climb to Armenia Gegharkunik Province village positions

Biden strongly condemns manifestations of antisemitism in US

Iran intensifies its diplomacy amid Armenia-Azerbaijan border tensions

Armenia acting PM on forthcoming snap parliamentary elections: We hope to get 60% of votes
We continue to see our brand earn recognition for its current strength and future potential, and were proud to be included on Franchise Gators lists this year.

Tide Cleaners, the nations leading on-demand dry cleaning and laundry service franchise, is excited to announce its most recent appearances on highly competitive lists of top-performing franchises, including Entrepreneur magazines Franchise 500, Franchise Gators Top 100, and Franchise Gators Fastest Growing Franchises.

This year, Tide Cleaners ranking climbed in the Franchise 500, improving from No. 97 in 2020 to No. 70 in 2021. This is Tide Cleaners eighth consecutive appearance in Entrepreneurs annual list.

Franchise Gator ranked Tide Cleaners at No. 22 on this years list of Fastest Growing Franchises and No. 56 on Franchise Gators Top 100.

Not only earning a spot but also improving our ranking in Entrepreneurs Franchise 500 list demonstrates Tide Cleaners growth and success as a company, says Tide Cleaners Director of Franchising Clare Moore. We continue to see our brand earn recognition for its current strength and future potential, and were proud to be included on Franchise Gators lists this year.

Entrepreneurs Franchise 500 evaluates each brands costs and fees, size and growth, support, brand strength, and financial strength and stability. Similarly, Franchise Gator measures the quality of a franchise over time, focusing on financial stability, growth, transparency, engagement, continuity, and sustainability.

The rankings by Franchise Gator and Entrepreneur magazine are the latest in a string of accolades for Tide Cleaners. The franchise earned a spot in Newsweeks Best Customer Service 2021 list. Tide Cleaners also recently earned placement in the 2020 Franchise Times Top 200+ list, an annual ranking of the 500 largest United States franchise brands, and No. 69 in Entrepreneur magazines first Top Growth Franchises list.

About Tide Cleaners

Tide Cleaners represents Tide, Americas number one laundry detergent, which has been a trusted brand for more than 70 years. Agile Pursuits Franchising, Inc., a wholly-owned subsidiary of Procter & Gamble, launched Tide Cleaners, a brick-and-mortar dry cleaning and laundry concept, in 2008 with headquarters in Cincinnati, Ohio. Tide Cleaners is currently the second-largest dry cleaner in the United States based on number of units and is tracking to be number one by the end of 2020.

The Tide Cleaners business model provides numerous solutions to make getting clean clothes more convenient for busy people. Based in Cincinnati, Ohio, the company has 180 locally-owned and operated locations in more than two dozen states and over 1,800 locker locations across the U.S.

About Procter & Gamble

P&G serves consumers around the world with one of the strongest portfolios of trusted, quality, leadership brands, including Always, Ambi Pur, Ariel, Bounty, Charmin, Crest, Dawn, Downy, Fairy, Febreze, Gain, Gillette, Head & Shoulders, Lenor, Olay, Oral-B, Pampers, Pantene, SK-II, Tide, Vicks, and Whisper. The P&G community includes operations in approximately 70 countries worldwide. Please visit https://www.pg.com/ for the latest news and information about P&G and its brands.
Pennsylvania movie theaters ditch mask mandate

Three chain movie theaters have announced that masks are no longer mandatory for moviegoers who have been vaccinated against coronavirus.

The States human rights watchdog has criticised what it sees as a range of shortcomings in proposed legislation to allow for the exhumation of remains at mother and baby homes.

The Government is under pressure to introduce the legislation as soon as possible to progress exhumations of children buried in a septic tank on the grounds of a former home in Tuam, Co Galway.

The Certain Institutional Burials (Authorised Interventions) Bill will also allow fo r investigations and exhumations at other sites where mass graves have been found.

In a significant intervention, the Irish Human Rights and Equality Commission (IHREC) has recommended 25 changes to the bill and called for survivors and families to have meaningful participation in its drafting.

Among the issues it has raised is the exclusion of sites prior to 1950 from exhumations, despite the Mother and Baby Homes Commission having investigated deaths going back to 1922.

The watchdog also said the legislation needed to be amended so the jurisdiction of the coroner applied to burial sites.

At the very least the new law should be amended to ensure effective investigations are carried out to determine the truth about the cause and circumstances of death, and manner of the burials of the deceased person, it said.

IHREC raised questions over the wide level of discretion the Government will have in deciding whether to intervene in a particular site, saying the State was under a legal duty to investigate mass burials and to preserve and protect evidence at relevant sites.

It also expressed concern that the general scheme of the bill presented memorialisation as a reason not to carry out an investigation or exhume remains from mass graves.

IHREC said this may in turn have an impact on the rights of families and survivors to identify remains of loved ones.

While a memory process is extremely important in the context of commemoration, and may in certain circumstances be an appropriate option, it should not be grounds, in and of itself, to prevent the identification of remains for family members, it said.

The comments were made in a submission to the Oireachtas Committee on Children, which is considering the legislation.

It comes amid mounting criticism of the Mother and Baby Homes Commission report. Some survivors have criticised its tone and language as cold and overly legalistic, while others have questioned its accuracy and said it contradicted their lived experiences

Another controversy has been the destruction of audio recordings of personal interviews given by 550 survivors to the commission.

In the submission, the IHREC called for the bill to be amended to ensure memorialisation complements rather than replaces, the process for addressing mass graves.

It also recommended that any decisions concerning memorialisation include meaningful participation with survivors and family members.

The bill would allow the Government to set up a statutory agency to excavate, exhume and manage the identification and reinternment of any human remains found at a site

The IHREC said any such agency should have to report to the Oireachtas to ensure transparency.




Congressman Henry Cuellar, other Webb County officials and several migrant shelters such as local non-governmental organizations discussed last week the current influx of migrants crossing the border and what response will be made to safeguard the community.

They said the concern over many migrants entering the country is not just because of crime but also because of the pandemic. Although Cuellar noted migrant numbers have gone up significantly in the past few weeks, he said they are not as alarming as rates seen under the Obama Administration. However, he said security is the top priority.

We want to see security without the wall, Cuellar said. So, one of the things that the mayor and I and other folks have been talking about is how do we use, for example, in the Laredo sector they had about $1.2 billion that was appropriated for the wall that we are now saying lets use that for technology, roads, for getting rid of the carrizo so the Border Patrol could see, and also technology for our bridges. In other words, we dont want to see open borders, we want to see security without the wall itself.

Cuellar outlined that anybody who wants open borders or wishes for people to just cross into the country is not aligned with his views or those of officials along the border.

Also discussed was a plan to deal with the influx of people already coming into the country via Laredo and the surround border sectors. NGOs are already seeing an increase in their shelters with people coming through the border and waiting for their immigration hearings.

Local NGOs, mostly those involved with religious services, are worried if they can truly help everyone people due to a lack of resources.

Those antigen tests in Mexico are only good for that point and time, Holding Institute executive director Mike Smith said. Therefore, when somebody comes over here, we want to make sure that they are negative so we can test them again as we dont want to send them to a bus or a plane as we want to stop the spread of the virus here at the border as much as we can. We have a responsibility to our community and the community at large.

Smith said over the past two weeks they had received more than 32 individuals with several pregnant women among them. The average of stay is about three nights in their shelter.

Sister Rosemary Welsh, executive director of the Mercy Ministries of Laredo, said health is their top priority and they are ready to mobilize several national resources to the city to help with incoming migrants.

These shelters still must help local people facing financial burdens along with the large homeless population in the city.

City of Laredo Fire Chief Guillermo Heard said there is a short-term contingency plan to make sure people get tested as they are coming into the shelter. However, he warned this is only temporary and plans are already in place in case anyone tests positive.

According to Cuellar, there are three sectors along the border and close to the Laredo sector that are experiencing an influx of people. For the Del Rio sector, which is approximately 150 miles northwest of the Laredo sector, people from Haiti and Cuba are being seen detained and coming into the country. The Valley sector sees more people from Central American countries as they account for about 70% of those coming into the country.

The Laredo sector is unique in that the main groups of people coming in are from Mexico and single units.

The Laredo sector is a little different as about 73% of the people coming in are Mexicans, mainly male adults, so under Title 42, which is the health, those folks are being returned under Title 42, Cuellar said. Whether you agree or disagree, that is what we are using right now which was used during the former administration and at least being used right now under the new administration and this pandemic.

Cuellar said about 100 individuals have been released in the past month under Title 42 since the new administration began on Jan. 20.

Cuellar said different kinds of people and sizes of family units or individuals entering through different areas is not a coincidence but rather a direct result of criminal organizations mandating how the trafficking of people comes into the country.

Laredo Mayor Pete Saenz said security for the residents and citizens of the Gateway City is the main priority, especially during the pandemic.

This is kind of deja vu again if you recall the fall of 2019, more or less those months, when it was critical for NGOs, Saenz said.

Even though he expressed compassion for the plight of immigrants, he said compassion costs money, and that is where governments must take action to help NGOs and other organizations. Saenz said the federal government never truly reimbursed the city for its efforts and that of NGOs, and he hopes this changes with the current administration hopefully taking more care of the people that come.

Saenz said the city and local NGOs must decide if they can continue being compassionate without opening their doors or what alternatives exist if the federal government does not provide assistance.

Cuellar said the need for more NGOs might grow if Laredo becomes part of a major migration program for those seeking asylum in the country.

He also briefly discussed Migration Protection Protocols and said Laredo is still not under such a program but soon could be. According to Cuellar, all migrants who form part of this program and have an active immigration case will be allowed to enter the country but only once they are tested. If they are found positive, they will not be allowed to come into the country.

We want to be compassionate to the immigrants, but as a member from Congress from the border region we want to make sure that we protect the local community, Cuellar said. We have to worry about the volunteers at the NGOs and the community, because if they are dropping about 1,000 individuals into the Valley, then the mayor of other places are calling us that their hospitals are overloaded and that they need to know what Border Patrol will actually do.

jorge.vela@lmtonline.com
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Fossil Bed Hotbed on Oregon Coast Right Now - Where to Look

Published 02/21/21 at 6:26 PM PDT

By Oregon Coast Beach Connection staff

(Oregon Coast)  Right now parts of the Oregon coast are a hotbed of ancient rock beds, creating not just prime agate hunting possibilities but lots of fossil finds as well. (Above: fossils at Fogarty Beach occasionally show every few years)

It wont last long, as tidal action is starting to diminish. However, a good run of small storms and sneaker wave situations took place earlier this month that kept sand levels from rising, after bigger storms and king tides scoured out many beaches until they were down to bedrock.

This bedrock is extremely old  some 15 to 18 million years old on the north coast, but farther south youre looking at 20 to 30 million years old. Thus, the fossilized skeletons found here average about that old.

Oregon Coast Beach Connection received a bevy of beach reports in recent weeks, indicating places like the Nelscott area of Lincoln City were down to the bone, as well as Moolack Beach at Newport, some areas south of Cannon Beach and Ocean Beach Picnic Ground near Florence (the latter according to CoastWatch). Its not certain that all these are still showing the underside of the beach, however.

Feel a need to go fossil hunting? Now is the time to check those beaches. Theyll also likely yield good agates.

SEE BASIC BEACH SAFETY BEFORE LOOKING FOR FOSSILS

Other spots to look for? See Seal Rock and Ona Beach near Waldport; Sunset Bay near Coos Bay; McPhillips Beach just north of Cape Kiwanda; Harris Beach near Brookings; Arch Cape and Hug Point near Cannon Beach, Bob Creek and Stonefield Beach near Yachats, Fogarty Beach near Depoe Bay and more.



Fossil heaven at Moolack Beach, Newport

Its IMPORTANT to remember it is against the law to dig anything out of the ground that you see: you can only pick them up off the beaches. If you see exposed bed rock and objects embedded in them, its a good bet youll find the good stuff just lying around.

Perhaps the king of fossil finds on the Oregon coast is Moolack Beach near Newport, where those ancient treasures are visible year-round. But when winter sand levels drop because of storms, the bed rock here is especially generous.

What kinds of fossils can you find on the Oregon coast? The Hatfield Marine Science Center in Newport put out the ultimate guide to this, written by local fossil expert Guy DiTorrice (now retired and sadly no longer living on the coast, however).

A lot of the common fossil finds are variations of clams, the most common of which is the Anadara devincta. These look somewhat like todays cockles. Katherinella angustri is another, which has a broad and smooth shell, often found translucent like an agate.



Agatized, translucent snail shell

Crepidula praerupta is a trippy find, as described by DiTorrice. It has a clawlike appearance. These creatures, now long extinct, formed colonies by linking to each other and moving together. This mustve been a wild sight, fit for that British sci-fi show Primeval.

Acila conradi has that distinctive chevron pattern, definitely related to scallops we now find. This is one of the most prolific sights along the beaches, where youll find them embedded just about everywhere. You see in the photo at the very top theres at least three jammed into that glob of rock, found at Fogarty Beach just north of Depoe Bay.



Various kinds of snails are all over the place as well, with squiggly or semi-circle shapes showing these ancient skeletons at odd angles and cutaway sections.

Also frequently found are bits of wood known as teredo. They usually show up as black or brown rocks, write DiTorrice.

Usually rounded at the ends with a Swiss cheese look to them, DiTorrice writes. Fossilized casings from the Teredo marine clam created the pattern when the Teredo, in its larval form, ate its way through chunks of ancient wood. These colonies of small larvae never cross each others borings, making each piece unique in design and appearance.

Another prime example of this is one lodged in a wall at Hug Point, seen here. Its fossilized but doesnt have all the boring marks on it like many types of teredo do.

Other types of fossils include actual bones or even fossilized leaf impressions  all of them a glimpse into this world millions and millions of years ago. MORE PHOTOS BELOW

See Wild Things Embedded in the Rocks of Oregon Coast: Fossils Ahead and Below for more reference

Oregon Coast Hotels in this area - South Coast Hotels - Where to eat - Maps - Virtual Tours





MORE PHOTOS BELOW

















Bed rock at Moolack





Bed rock near Cape Kiwanda



More About Oregon Coast hotels, lodging.....

More About Oregon Coast Restaurants, Dining.....



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LATEST Related Oregon Coast Articles

Fossil Bed Hotbed on Oregon Coast Right Now - Where to Look

Parts of the Oregon coast are a hotbed of ancient rockbeds, creating not just prime agate hunting possibilities but lots of fossil finds. Sciences, geology

Oregon Coast Storms Reveal What's Beneath Cannon Beach at Silver Point

18-million-year-old bedrock that's underneath all of Cannon Beach. Geology, sciences

Parts of the Oregon coast are a hotbed of ancient rockbeds, creating not just prime agate hunting possibilities but lots of fossil finds. Sciences, geology18-million-year-old bedrock that's underneath all of Cannon Beach. Geology, sciences

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Prince William revealed this morning that his 99-year-old grandfather Prince Philip was 'OK' in hospital, adding that doctors were 'keeping an eye on him'.

The Duke of Edinburgh was today spending his seventh day at King Edward VII Hospital in London as his treatment continues for an unspecified issue.

William was asked how Philip was doing during a visit to a vaccination centre in King's Lynn and replied: 'Yes, he's OK, they're keeping an eye on him'.

Two people at the scene claimed William then lightened the mood by giving a playful wink, but this was not visible in video footage of the exchange.

William also spoke to NHS staff and volunteers about being involved in the Covid-19 vaccination programme with Cambridgeshire Community Services NHS Trust.

It comes after Prince Charles made a 200-mile round trip to see Philip in hospital over the weekend, which royal experts claimed may have been to reassure the Duke about his other grandson Prince Harry and the continuing turmoil caused by Megxit.

Charles's surprise visit to Philip's bedside on Saturday afternoon is likely to have touched on the 'momentous' events since he was admitted to hospital last Tuesday.

Prince William visited a vaccination centre in King's Lynn today to speak to volunteers

Prince William today spoke to NHS staff and volunteers about being involved in the Covid-19 vaccination programme in King's Lynn with Cambridgeshire Community Services NHS Trust

Royal author Penny Junor said while she did not know the reason for Charles's visit, Harry is likely to have come up.

She said: 'Momentous things are happening in the family at the moment and I suppose it's perfectly possible that Charles wanted to go and talk to his father and reassure him about Harry.'

The hospital's website states visitors will 'only be considered in exceptional circumstances'. Philip has received no further visits from royal family members since his eldest son, Charles, attended King Edward VII Hospital.

The duke was admitted to the hospital on Tuesday evening as a precautionary measure after feeling unwell. He is said to have walked in unaided. Buckingham Palace said there was no update on the duke's condition, having previously said he was 'in good spirits'.

His eldest son Charles made a 200-mile round-trip from his home at Highgrove in Gloucestershire on Saturday afternoon. Charles was the first member of the royal family to visit the duke and it is understood that his visit was due to his father's extended stay.

There are no further visits to the duke by family members, though police and security cars remained in place at the hospital.

The Duke of Cambridge visits King's Lynn Corn Exchange Vaccination Centre this morning

Prince Philip get into a car as he leaves King Edward VII Hospital in London during a previous visit in December 2019

Sources previously said that Philip was likely to remain in hospital into the coming week for 'observation and rest'.

Heart-shaped balloons and a letter written by a ten-year-old boy from North London, wishing the duke a quick recovery, were tied to the hospital railings.

Philip, who will turn 100 on June 10, is in hospital for an undisclosed reason although it is not coronavirus-related.

Princess Eugenie introduced her new-born son August Philip Hawke Brooksbank to the world over the weekend.

Eugenie, 30, said on Instagram that he was named in part after Queen Victoria's husband Prince Albert, whose full name was Francis Albert Augustus Charles Emmanuel.

The baby's name also includes a tribute to the princess's grandfather Prince Philip, 99, who remained in hospital over the weekend after being admitted for 'observation and rest' last Tuesday.

Eugenie shared a photo on Instagram with husband Jack Brooksbank, 34, and their new arrival wrapped in a blue blanket almost two weeks after his birth on February 9.

Prince Charles, pictured following his visit to the Duke of Edinburgh in London on Saturday afternoon, made a 200-mile round trip to spend half an hour at Philip's side

The Prince of Wales is pictured arriving at King Edward VII Hospital in London on Saturday

The post said: 'Thank you for so many wonderful messages. Our hearts are full of love for this little human, words can't express.'

Baby August  the Queen's ninth great-grandchild  will not have a royal title or role

Meanwhile William is said to have been left 'really sad and genuinely shocked' by his brother's behaviour towards the Queen after Harry and Meghan were cast out as working royals.

The Duke of Cambridge is said to be 'very upset by what has happened' and feels Harry has been 'insulting and disrespectful' to their grandmother.

The relationship between the two brothers was strained before Friday's announcement that the Duke and Duchess of Sussex had been stripped of their remaining roles after their 12-month trial separation from royal life and move to the US.

The couple then issued a sharp rebuke, declaring they would offer 'continued support to the organisations they have represented regardless of official role'.

They signed off: 'We can all live a life of service. Service is universal.'

Sources close to the monarch told The Sunday Times that the riposte was 'petulant and insulting to the Queen'.

A source told the Mail: 'Their statement in response to the Queen's heartfelt sentiment that the couple are still much-loved members of her family was considered highly disrespectful.'

The source added: 'At the end of the day this was all their [Harry and Meghan's] decision.

The Duke was admitted to King Edward VII Hospital in London's Marylebone, pictured today

Prince Harry and Meghan Markle's controversial interview with Oprah Winfey was filmed at their mansion in California, where they are pictured in the garden last September

'They asked to explore an 'alternate way' but the only alternative is that you are either a public servant or you aren't. She made her view clear from the start and hasn't ever deviated from that.

'People [in the household] would have liked a different outcome. Harry and Meghan clearly could have made a very positive contribution to public life in the UK. But from the start they made clear they were only ever interested in pursuing this quasi-royal role.

'It seems Harry genuinely thought he could persuade Her Majesty of the merits of that. But she has always been clear on this point  you cannot pursue commercial interests while undertaking public duties. It is untenable.'

Another source suggested that there has been widespread exasperation at the 'inflammatory' statement and determination to 'always have the last word'.

They said the Queen had no choice but to act as the situation 'wasn't fair' on the charities and organisations that rely on royal patronage.

Sources said William, 38, felt under pressure over the potential increased workload following his brother's decision to step back from royal life. One told the Sunday Times: 'His future looks different because of his brother's choices  it's not easy.'

They added: 'They had shared everything about their lives  an office, a foundation, meetings together most days  and there was a lot of fun along the way. He'll miss it for ever.'

Prince Charles left the hospital shortly before 4pm on Saturday, half an hour after arriving

Harry, 36, and Meghan, 39, have been interviewed by Oprah Winfrey for a 'tell-all' discussion

Sources stressed to the Mail that relations between the brothers 'were not good', adding: 'He's genuinely sad his brother won't be standing shoulder to shoulder with him.' However, William, the Queen and the Sussexes are all said to be eager to ease tensions.

One obstacle to improved relations may prove to be the 'tell-all' TV interview Harry, 36, and Meghan, 39, have agreed to do with Oprah Winfrey.

It is thought they pre-recorded it at their home in California at the start of last week. On Friday Miss Winfrey  a friend and neighbour of the couple who attended their wedding in 2018  was seen boarding her private jet near their 11million home in Montecito.

It remains to be seen whether the couple will carry out any additional interviews with Miss Winfrey in light of Friday's announcement.

The Queen was reportedly 'blindsided' by the interview, which will be shown on March 7.
Ethio Telecom has expanded its 4G coverage to six new regions in Ethiopia while at the same time pledging to extend this reach further in the near future.

Xinhua News Agency reported that during February, the towns of Adama, Awash Melkasa, Bishoftu, Dukem, Gelan and Mojo received 4G coverage. Ethio Telecoms vendor partner ZTE stated that additional urban hubs would be connected within the next three months, noting that until recently, 4G had only been available in the capital Addis Ababa.

Ethio Telecom described its push to deliver 4G to regional towns as one of its major strategic initiatives. The move comes as the Ethiopian Communications Authority prepares to issue two new mobile operating licences to boost competition in a market that Ethio Telecom has long monopolised.

Safaricom last week claimed to have made the shortlist of six candidates for one of the new licences, prompting the ECA to shoot down the suggestion. Local media has reported that new entrants will be pushed  or possibly required  to lease infrastructure from Ethio Telecom.

While this would enable newcomers to offer 4G from launch in the newly covered areas, the World Bank recently cautioned against any move that weighted the playing field in favour of the state-owned incumbent.

Regardless of Ethiopias infrastructure leasing policies, would-be newcomers still have over a month to apply for a licence, giving Ethio Telecom a substantial lead in terms of its data deployment.
A leader of the far-right Oath Keepers group charged in the deadly U.S. Capitol riots said she was in Washington on January 6 to provide security for legislators and meet with Secret Service agents, according to a court filing.

Jessica Watkins, 38, is one of nine associates of the anti-government group charged with conspiring to storm the Capitol to prevent Congress from certifying President Joe Biden's election victory.

Prosecutors said Watkins entered the Capitol building illegally. According to a defense petition filed Saturday: "Ms. Watkins did not engage in any violence or force at the Capitol grounds or in the Capitol."

Watkins, an Afghanistan war veteran, has pleaded not guilty to the conspiracy charges. According to the indictment, Watkins arrived at the Capitol with communication devices, reinforced vests, camouflage helmets and goggles. She forcibly entered the Capitol with a line of individuals wearing Oath Keeper clothing, patches, and insignia," prosecutors said.

But her attorney said, "Ms. Watkins was present not as an insurrectionist, but to provide security to the speakers at the rally, to provide escort for the legislators and others to march to the Capitol as directed by the then-president, and to safely escort protesters away from the Capitol to their vehicles and cars at the conclusion of the protest. She was given a VIP pass to the rally. She met with Secret Service agents."

A Secret Service representative said it worked with government partners for security on January 6, but added, "Any assertion that the Secret Service employed private citizens to perform those functions is false."

Prosecutors allege members of the Oath Keepers conspired as early as November to storm the Capitol and had extensively planned for a military-style attack. More than 200 people have been charged so far for their roles in the assault by followers of then-President Donald Trump that left five dead, including a police officer.

Watkins, who has been detained since mid-January, is asking for the court to release her to home confinement pending trial, noting she is at risk for harsh treatment as a transgender woman.


[February 22, 2021] OneWorld Smart Solutions Holdings Corp. Announces a $5 million USD Investment into iSIGN Media Solutions Inc.

TORONTO, Feb. 22, 2021 (GLOBE NEWSWIRE) -- OneWorld Smart Solutions Holdings Corp. (ONEWORLD), a company involved in the fields of Personal Protection Equipment (PPE) for COVID-19 as well as in the health and medical fields globally, is pleased to announce an agreement has been signed with iSIGN Media Solutions Inc. (iSIGN or Company), a Canadian public company (TSX-V: ISD) (OTC: ISDSF), a leading provider of interactive mobile proximity marketing and public security alert solutions for an investment of $5 million USD.

iSIGNs technology and hardware fits into our existing business model, as well as with other technologies that we are looking to acquire and/or develop, stated Dallas Pokornik, ONEWORLDs Communications Director. We are always looking for new and exciting technologies that have a fit within our operations and we believe iSIGNs mobile messaging and data capture technology is a strong fit.

ONEWORLD has recently enjoyed global and North American sales success in the PPE and related accessories field, through its related company, OneWorld Health Solutions Corp., especially since the start of the COVID-19 pandemic. The company has recently moved its operations to Toronto, Canada and its management were re-introduced to ISIGN due to iSIGNs efforts to use its Safety Alert Messaging (SAM) technology to provide messaging in the medical, health and senior care fields. ONEWORLDs management first became aware of iSIGN in its original early start-up stage, when they were employed at IBMs Global Software Solutions team and initiated a partnership with IBM as a Software Solutions Provider for Mobile Messaging and data capture. Twelve years later ONEWORLD has again found the right SAAS solution at the right time to scale iSIGN technology and sales in its planned introduction of the worlds first Artifical Intelligence (AI) based solution and network supported by IBMs WATSON computing cloud. The product to be introduced will be a small tabletop device able to monitor the Health and Medical Metrics of patients in hospitals, at home and in Senior Care facilities 24/7 with leading edge sensors wirelessly in concert with iSIGNs solutions.



ONEWORLD is scaling far beyond PPE equipment and is planning an entrance into the medical and health care fields globally with a safe, cost effective and lifesaving product to be available within the next six months from iSIGN. ONEWORLD has the financial resources to commit to this new iSIGN investment as well as to the hiring of staff and new management to allow for the scaling of sales and expansion into global markets with new and improved technologies.

The closing of this agreement is subject to review and acceptance by the TSX-V Exchange. About OneWorld Smart Solutions Holding Corp.

OneWorld, a Canadian company based in Toronto, Ontario, Canada is a privately owned holding company that through its related company, OneWorld Health Solutions Corp., operates as a sales agent connecting buyers and sellers in the fields of Personal Protection Equipment (PPE) for COVID-19 as well as in the health and medical fields globally. About iSIGN Media

iSIGN, a Canadian company based in Toronto (Richmond Hill), Ontario is a data-focused, software-as-a-service (SaaS) company that is a pioneering leader in the areas of location-based security alert messaging and proximity marketing utilizing Bluetooth and Wi-Fi connectivity in complete privacy. Creators of the Smart suite of products, a patented interactive proximity marketing technology, iSIGN enables the delivery of messages to mobile devices in proximity, with real-time reporting and analytics on a variety of metrics. 2019 winner of Richmond Hills Innovator of the Year award. Partners include IBM, Keyser Retail Solutions, Baylor University, Verizon Wireless, TELUS and Mtrex Network Solutions. www.isignmedia.com Forward-Looking Statements

This news release may include certain forward-looking statements that are based upon current expectations, and involve risks and uncertainties associated with OneWorld Smart Solutions Holding Corp.s business and the environment in which it operates. Any statements contained in this release that are not statements of historical facts may be deemed to be forward-looking, including those identified by the expressions anticipate, believe, plan, estimate, expect, intend and similar expressions to the extent they relate to the Company or its management. These forward-looking statements are not historical facts but reflect One World Smart Solutions Holding Corp.s current expectations regarding future results or events. These forward-looking statements are subject to risks and uncertainties that could cause actual results or events to differ materially from current expectations. OneWorld Smart Solutions Holding Corp. assumes no obligation to update the forward-looking statements, or to update the reasons why actual results could differ from those reflected in the forward-looking statements. Company contacts: OneWorld Smart Solutions Holdings Corp.

Dallas Pokornik,

Communications Director

dallas@oneworldhealthcorp.com



[ Back To TMCnet.com's Homepage ]
New Delhi: The Dadasaheb Phalke Awards posthumously honoured actor Sushant Singh Rajput. He was given the Critic's Best Actor award.

The late actor was conferred the Critics Best Actor posthumously for his outstanding contribution to Hindi cinema. Sushants last film was Nitesh Tiwaris hit friendship drama Chhichhore, in 2019.

The Dadasaheb Phalke Awards posted about it on Instagram and wrote: Celebrating the dedication youve shown on the way to this achievement. Congratulations to Late @sushantsinghrajput for winning the Critic's Best Actor award at Dadasaheb Phalke International Film Festival Awards 2021. We miss you!

Bollywood superstar Sushant Singh Rajput was found dead at his Bandra residence on the fateful day of June 14, 2020. He was 34.

He made his Bollywood debut with Kai Po Che in 2013, and with that, the actor bagged many roles and left fans stunned with all his performances.

The latest investigation by Mumbai Police has considered it an instance of suicide. The family of Sushant, including his father and sisters, had challenged the same and had documented an FIR in a Patna court against his former girlfriend and actor Rhea Chakraborty, and her brother Showik Chakraborty, for abetment to suicide and siphoning his assets.

Three central agencies - the Central Bureau of Investigation (CBI), Enforcement Directorate (ED), and Narcotics Control Bureau (NCB) - had examined the case from different angles.
By Damali Mukhaye

The opposition Forum for Democratic Change (FDC) has asked the Uganda Police Force to start working independently and desist from involving the UPDF in handling civilians.

Addressing journalists at their office in Najjanankumbi, the deputy party spokesperson John Kikonyogo said such joint operations have often resulted in shedding of the blood of innocent Ugandans.

He said they were also shocked to learn that UPDF was going to release the list of missing Ugandans to police, a job meant to be done by police.

He also cited the recent incident where journalists were battered indiscriminately by military police personnel saying they are not trained to handle civilians.

Kikonyogo has meanwhile asked lawyers to stop looking at foreigners for solutions to gross human rights violations in the country but work on issues affecting their country themselves.

Shenandoah, IA (51601)

Today

A few showers this morning with overcast skies during the afternoon hours. High 71F. Winds SSE at 5 to 10 mph. Chance of rain 30%..

Tonight

A few clouds. Low near 50F. Winds light and variable.
Huyou78.com scored 40 Social Media Impact. Social Media Impact score is a measure of how much a site is popular on social networks. 2/5.0 Stars by Social Team

This CoolSocial report was updated on 26 Feb 2013, you can refresh this analysis whenever you want.

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bucked the falling trend on the National Stock Exchange (NSE) on Monday as they jumped up to 17 per cent at the bourses in the intra-day today. At 10:45 am, the Nifty Metal index was ruling 2.5 per cent higher as compared with a 0.5 per cent cut in the benchmark Nifty50 index. The index earlier hit a high of 3,665 levels, up 3 per cent on the NSE.

Among individual stocks, Hindustan Copper hit a fresh 52-week high of Rs 101 apiece, up 17.4 per cent on the NSE, in an otherwose subded market. That apart, Hindalco jumped 5.6 per cent; SAIL (5.2 per cent); and Nalco (3.6 per cent). JSW Steel, Hindustan Zinc, Ratnamani Metals and Tubes, Tata Steel, MOIL, and Jindal Steel were up in the range of 2 per cent and 3 per cent.

Last week, iron ore prices surged to near 10-year highs in the global market as China returned to the global market after the lunar new year. As per media reports, iron ore with 63.5 per cent ferrous content gained nearly seven per cent since the beginning of the year; while the 62 per cent ferrous content ore has increased 5.61 per cent. In India, steel prices increased 55 per cent between June and December last year.

"We expect China to open up on a positive note post-CNY as a major positive. HRC and rebar prices in China surged 6 per cent and 4 per cent, respectively, while Dalian iron ore futures index shot up 6 per cent amid better demand prospects. All in all, we remain positive on the ferrous space," said analysts at Edelweiss Securities.

The brokerage added: Data points post-CNYthe uptick in bank loans and the sales surge in home appliances are in line with our thesis of accommodative policies and demand growth in China, respectively. We expect higher financing to aid the manufacturing sector. Given not-so-high inventory levels, firm iron ore prices and low profitability levels, we see Chinese steel prices recovering soon from the trough pre-CNY. Besides, lower export rebate (if implemented) is expected to bump up Chinese export price. This would be beneficial for regional prices, which in turn would spill over to domestic prices.

Those at Equirus Securities, meanwhile, forecast a 2 per cent increase in China's steel production in 2021. Assuming similar BOF production as 2019, they estimate incremental BOF production at 72mt for 2021E which would require 115mt of incremental seaborne iron ore.

"We believe seaborne iron ore market demand is likely to increase by 6-8% in 2021E to 1.6bn tonnes, while incremental supply from top-6 players is around 49mt. This translates into a deficit of 67mt in 2021E; we estimate incremental supply from other players at 40mt in 2021E, which is likely to reduce the deficit gap. However, prices are likely to stay elevated for the next 9-12 months. We estimate 2021E seaborne iron ore deficit at 27mt and raise our iron ore price assumptions to US$ 150/100/t for 2021/2022E," it added.

In Indian context, the brokerage says the global steel prices could be at an inflection point as profitability of global steel players are typically hit due to higher ore prices.

"The strongest driver for Indian steel companies, apart from macro-related factors, is rebound in Chinese steel spreads. While we remain structurally constructive on Chinas supply-demand equilibrium, we expect Chinese steel spreads to be at similar levels as in the past 4-5 months, providing tailwinds to integrated steel players," it added.
By Ritah Kemigisa

The judiciary has refuted claims that its top leadership secretly met with President Yoweri Museveni at state house to discuss the presidential election petition that is set to be heard by the Supreme Court.

Reports making rounds on social media show that the judiciarys top leadership recently held a secret meeting with the president at the state house.

Reports further show that a police officer who leaked the a CCTV a video footage and photographs of the judiciarys motorcade drive into and out of the state house for the alleged meeting has been arrested.

In a statement released today by the Judiciary public relations officer Jamson Karemani , such falsehoods with its own hidden agenda are condemned.

He adds that the top leadership of the judiciary was at the statehouse on various occasions which are official.

Karemani says on February 10th, the top administration of the judiciary was at the state house for the swearing in of the newly appointed high court judge, Justice Margaret Apiny, an occasion which the Chief Justice used to present the budget estimates of the judiciary to the president.

He adds that the Chief Justice went to the state house on February 16th for the Janan luwum celebrations, an occasion which was not secret in nature.

The statement by the judiciary comes at a time the supreme is on Tuesday 23rd set to hear an application by Lawyer Male Mabirizi who wants the Chief justice to excuse himself from the Bobi Wine presidential petition arguing he and other top leaders of the administration have secretly met president Museveni.
Feb. 22ROWLEY  A Georgetown man awaiting trial on charges he raped and kidnapped a woman is expected to be arraigned in Salem Superior Court in April, according to an Essex County prosecutor.

David G. Nadeau, 31, was arrested by Rowley police Sept. 29 and charged with rape with threat of bodily injury, aggravated rape while committing a felony, kidnapping, assault and battery with a dangerous weapon (two counts), domestic assault and battery, intimidating a witness, threatening to commit a crime and possession of an electric stun gun.

Nadeau's impending arraignment comes after several failed attempts for a Salem Superior Court grand jury to indict him on the charges. Since November, four indictment dates were postponed due to COVID-19 concerns.

The last postponement took place on Jan. 21, prompting Judge William Martin to schedule a probable cause hearing for Feb. 19. It was at Friday's probable cause hearing that Essex County prosecutor Michelle Belmonte informed Doyle that an arraignment date had been scheduled for April 13. He was eventually indicted Jan. 28.

Doyle then scheduled a status hearing for April 16 in District Court. It's assumed that if the April 13 arraignment takes place, the charges against Nadeau in the lower court will be dismissed that day.

Following Nadeau's arraignment in District Court, Doyle determined him to be potentially dangerous and ordered him held without bail. Doyle later agreed to set bail at $20,000. But unable to come up with $20,000, Nadeau remained incarcerated at the Middleton jail.

If Nadeau posts bail, he must remain in his mother's house around the clock. Nadeau must also wear a GPS tracking device, have no contact with the victim and stay out of trouble with the law.

While the police report detailing the allegations against Nadeau was immediately impounded, an Essex County prosecutor relayed parts of the case during a December hearing.

The prosecutor said Nadeau would force the victim to perform sexual acts against her will and would take her phone so she could not call for help. When she did not do what he commanded, he hit her. During the most recent alleged assault, Nadeau used a stun gun to force her to comply, according to the prosecutor.

Staff writer Dave Rogers can be reached at drogers@newburyportnews.com. Follow him on Twitter @drogers41008.
Kenya Moore stirred up trouble after her friends had a sexy night with a male stripper on Sunday's episode of The Real Housewives Of Atlanta.

She spread a rumor that two women had a threesome with the man, strongly suggesting that it was Porsha Williams, 39, and Tanya Sam, 42.

Porsha had definitely imbibed the night before, and was caught on camera making out with friend of the cast La Toya Ali, 34.

Stirring trouble: Kenya Moore stirred up trouble after her friends had a sexy night with a male stripper on Sunday's episode of The Real Housewives Of Atlanta

All of the women had shed their inhibitions during an incredibly wild bachelorette party for castmate Cynthia Bailey, 54, held at the Isle of Palms, South Carolina.

But when Porsha heard that Kenya, 50, was slinging dirt about her and Tanya, she'd finally had enough.

'F*** Kenya,' she said in a confessional. 'No, really. F*** Kenya.'

Kenya spent much of the episode trying to get to the bottom of the hookup she thought she'd heard the night of the party.

Threesome rumor: The 50-year-old reality star spread a rumor that two women had a threesome with stripper Bolo, strongly suggesting that it was Porsha Williams, 39, and Tanya Sam, 42.

Her friend Kandi Burruss, 44, had organized the sexy event, even supplying everyone with outfits.

To create an atmosphere, each woman had an alter ego.

Kandi was Mistress Angel, Porsha was Peach Juice, LaToya was Trini Gyal, Kenya was Chocolate, Drew Sidora, 35, was Lickety Split, Marlo Hampton, 44, was Diva, Shamea Morton, 38, was Vagena Drip, and Tanya was Dy-Nasty.

Alter ego: Kenya was Chocolate as the women took on an alter ego for Cynthia Bailey's bachelorette party

Sexy outfits: Marlo Hampton called herself Diva as all the women put on sexy outfits

Things would eventually get so out of hand that the cameras were turned off and covered by the women themselves.

In an inspired turn, the show began with Kenya sitting in a chair dressed as Sharon Stone in Basic Instinct, in a tight-fitting dress.

'Ms. Moore,' a producer asked her. 'What is the definition of a freak ho?'

Interrogation scene: In an inspired turn, the show began with Kenya sitting in a chair dressed as Sharon Stone in Basic Instinct, in a tight-fitting dress

'Hmm,' Kenya said icily. 'Someone who will basically be a ho for anyone.'

'Have you ever engaged in any freak ho activity?' the producer asked.

'Wouldn't you like to know, Mr. Producer?' Kenya asked, leaning forward. 'There's not enough holy water or sage in the world to erase what went down in this house. Someone screwed the stripper. It wasn't me, but I'm going to find out who did.'

Stripper sex: 'There's not enough holy water or sage in the world to erase what went down in this house. Someone screwed the stripper. It wasn't me, but I'm going to find out who did,' Kenya promised

As she spoke, a video showed her in red lingerie, writhing on the ground; in another shot, loud laughter could be heard.

The show then backed up a day to the beginning of Cynthia's bachelorette party.

Cynthia had no idea any of this was going on and called her fiance Mike Hill to tell him how much she missed him.

Surprise party: Cynthia had no idea any of this was going on and called her fiance Mike Hill to tell him how much she missed him

Meanwhile, all of her friends had gotten dolled up in sexy, revealing gear by Kandi, who ran what she called The Dungeon.

Cynthia, who came down to find the women wearing lingerie, looked terrified.

She finally adopted her own alter ego: 50 CYNT.

Owning it: The bride-to-be finally adopted her own alter ego: 50 CYNT

Cynthia was even instructed to place a small vibrator in her underwear, on Kandi's orders.

The stripper, Bolo, arrived, and the women marveled at his endowment, which he displayed to them several times throughout the night.

Kandi passed out $4,000 in singles so the women could stuff Bolo's pants, and Porsha flirted with him.

Male stripper: The stripper, Bolo, arrived, and the women marveled at his endowment, which he displayed to them several times throughout the night

Cynthia was then strapped to the wall as Kandi asked her what she planned to do on her wedding night.

After that, Kandi then asked the producers to turn off the cameras so they could 'actually have fun.'

The producers volunteered to wrap soon, as Kandi told a friend, 'I don't give a f*** about those cameras.'

Cameras off: Kandi then asked the producers to turn off the cameras so they could 'actually have fun'

As filming stopped the women then covered the remaining cameras in the house.

Kenya said she heard 'sexy music' coming from one room, and video was shown being shot through the window.

Inside, Bolo was heard telling Cynthia, 'Congratulations, bride-to-be.'

Cameras covered: As filming stopped the women then covered the remaining cameras in the house

'There was no way I was taking my behind upstairs without that receipt,' Cynthia privately reported.

It was then suggested that Bolo revealed himself, at which point Cynthia said, 'Oh my God.'

'Keep thinking that s*** that be on tour be some bulls***,' Bolo told her, as Kenya joined them.

After dark: Bolo returned once the crew left and the remaining cameras were covered

At that point, Kenya saw LaToya straddle Porsha, 'and they were making out and grinding.'

'Now I am a lesbian,' Porsha said, laughing, on tape.

Kenya kept sneaking downstairs to see whether the group had 'cooled off,' but the party kept going and soon it grew unclear as to what was happening to who in the room shot on grainy video.

Fun party: Kenya said she saw LaToya straddle Porsha 'and they were making out and grinding'

'I found myself face-down on a coffee table,' Drew remembered of something that happened at 3:48 a.m. 'And I felt very free.'

'Wait, who's next?' Porsha was heard to call. 'Tanya, have you been with Bolo yet?'

'I cannot go with Bolo,' Tanya said slowly, as Porsha replied, 'Yes you can.'

Audio only: Tanya said she would get in trouble with Bolo, but Porsha said she wouldn't

Kandi observed that she knew her friends loved to party, and 'they definitely enjoyed their night.'

'Six a.m., I was up went downstairs,' Kenya recalled. 'No one was in the living room. And I could hear noises. Moans and groans, and I heard voices coming from the hallway. I'm like, 'Are you serious? Somebody is screwing the stripper?'

At 7:06 a.m., Bolo left.

Taking off: Bolo left about 7 am in the morning

The next morning, Cynthia told Drew that 'it was like WAP in the living room,' referring to the sexy Cardi B and Megan Thee Stallion video. 'Everybody was busting it wide open and I just tapped out.'

Drew remembered 'booties in the faces,' and Cynthia recalled Porsha on LaToya, and Tanya on top of them, 'with Shamea waiting i the wings.'

Drew said Bolo flipped her up on the table 'a few times,' and that she'd learned tricks her husband might enjoy.

Cash tip: Money was tossed by the women at Bolo and tucked into his pants

Kenya caught up with Cynthia over glasses of wine by the pool, and said of the night: 'There was some breasts out, and there was some Bolo.'

She suggested that Drew had been more engaged with Bolo than she let on to Cynthia.

Cynthia admitted she'd been turned on by the 'girl-on-girl action.'

Turned on: Cynthia admitted to Drew that she'd been turned on by the 'girl-on-girl action'

Kenya also grilled LaToya, Tanya and Shamea as they came to the pool.

The rest of the women were heading out on a boat trip to go fishing, and actually caught a shark.

Porsha was not embarrassed by the fact that she'd had a great time the night before.

Shark catch: Kandi and the rest of the women headed out on a boat trip to go fishing, and actually caught a shark

'I can tell you who I interacted with, and I interacted with everyone,' she told the cameras, adding to her pals, 'I don't even know how I got in my room.'

That night, Kenya was still on the case, trying to figure out which women had sex with Bolo.

'It was a certified freak-ho show,' she said in a confessional. 'I heard someone say 'F me harder.'

Freak show: 'It was a certified freak-ho show,' Kenya said in a confessional. 'I heard someone say 'F me harder'

She was sure one of the women was Porsha, and hinted broadly that the other one was Tanya.

When Kenya took a break from stirring the pot, Cynthia decided to try to broker a peace between her and Marlo.

The two old friends had been at odds for some time, insulting and even attacking each other in public.

Peace deal: When Kenya took a break from stirring the pot, Cynthia decided to try to broker a peace between her and Marlo

Amazingly, they spoke to each other genuinely about their hurt feelings, and Marlo apologized for her role in the fight.

Marlo then confirmed that she'd heard the same noises Kenya did.

Elsewhere in the house, Tanya told Porsha that Kenya had been 'making disparaging comments about me and you and a stripper,' which upset the engaged Tanya and angered Porsha.

Making up: Amazingly, Kenya and Marlo spoke to each other genuinely about their hurt feelings, and Marlo apologized for her role in the fight

'I don't give a f*** about Kenya,' she snapped.

'She's making our fun night into a problem,' LaToya agreed when Porsha told her.

Kenya walked down to dinner with Marlo, as everyone looked on in shock.

'Oh look who magically has a new ally in the house,' Porsha said to the cameras. 'F*** Kenya. No, really. F*** Kenya.'

The episode ended with 'To be continued.'
ANN ARBOR, MI - Claims that an Ann Arbor Public Schools principals placement on leave was racially discriminatory have been dismissed from a lawsuit filed against the district and several of its administrators.

In a filing earlier this month, U.S. District Judge Stephanie Dawkins Davis dismissed several of the claims in the lawsuit filed by former Lawton Elementary Principal Shannon Blick, who alleges the district constructively terminated her in April 2019 when it forced her to take leave, in part because of her race.

Judge Davis, however, did not dismiss Blicks claim alleging violation of her First Amendment right to free speech, petition and assembly against the district and the lawsuits defendants.

Blick, who is white, ultimately failed to provide sufficient facts to show she suffered an adverse employment action, Davis said in her ruling.

Because Blick has failed to show that she suffered an adverse employment action, she has failed to state a plausible claim for disparate treatment on the basis of race, Davis wrote in her order. First, as to the removal of her duties, Blick admits that she was placed on paid leave. Moreover, Blick makes no allegation that she lost employment benefits during that time.

Blicks attorney, William G. Tishkoff, originally filed a federal lawsuit in July 2019, claiming district Human Resources Director Shonta A. Langford, Lawton Elementary School Assistant Principal Taneia Giles and others worked together to try and force Blicks resignation.

The lawsuit alleges the effort to remove Blick was racially motivated. Also named in the lawsuit are the district, Ann Arbor School Board, Superintendent Jeanice Swift, Assistant Superintendent Dawn Linden, retired administrator Michael Madison and legal counsel David Comsa.

Davis ultimately dismissed Blicks claim of a civil conspiracy among district administrators because she failed to point to specific evidence of a common plan or objective, in addition to failing to identify which defendants conspired and how they conspired.

Tishkoff declined to comment on Davis latest ruling but noted the lawsuit is moving forward. AAPS could not be reached for comment.

(Blick) appears to allege that all of the defendants conspired, Davis wrote in her ruling. But if she meant to allege that all defendants conspired, then she needed to specify how they conspired and what actions they took in furtherance of that conspiracy.

Exhibits added by the district to the federal lawsuit last June allege Blick had authorized paying custodian Willie Johnson wages to be a lunch room supervisor, in addition to wages he earned through ABM Custodial Company.

An investigative summary the school district submitted to the Ann Arbor Police Department indicated Johnson received $24,879 from the district from the time Blick authorized hiring him as a lunch room supervisor in October 2014 until he was removed from the position in February 2019.

During that time, Ann Arbor Public Schools alleges Johnson submitted time cards claiming he worked up to four hours per day as a lunch room supervisor during the same eight-hour shift for which he was paid by ABM as a custodian at Lawton Elementary.

Blick in a court affidavit alleged the report Ann Arbor Public Schools filed with police was substantially false and was filed a day after the school district received her original federal lawsuit complaint in July 2019.

In her filing, Davis said Blicks arguments alleging an improper police report are unpersuasive.

Indeed, the caselaw that she does cite merely stands for the proposition that placement on administrative leave, with loss of pay, may constitute an adverse action in the context of a retaliation claim, Davis wrote.

The court found, however, that Blick has sufficiently alleged she was restricted from speaking on her absence, which was a matter of public concern.

In the lawsuit, Blick alleges she was deprived of her right to free speech when she was pressured to tell supporters not to comment on her behalf at a public school board meeting.

... the court finds that she has sufficiently alleged that she was restricted from speaking on a matter of public concern, Davis said in her ruling.

In the meantime, Johnson, 63, of Belleville, is scheduled to be back in court at 9 a.m., Feb. 25 for a preliminary exam. The charge carries a maximum penalty of five years in prison.

Blick remains on paid leave. AAPS appointed Rose Marie Callahan as Lawton Elementary School principal last August.

READ MORE:

Janitor charged with stealing from Ann Arbor Public Schools scheduled for preliminary exam

Principal files $5M lawsuit claiming Ann Arbor schools discriminates against whites

Ann Arbor school district files police report after principal files discrimination lawsuit
The $1,500 Stahulak scholarship covers almost 10 hours of in-district credit at MVCC. To be eligible, students must be enrolled in a career program, have a 2.5 grade-point average, write an essay, and provide proof of need. They also must be female and over the age of 40.
Local Enterprise Partnership (LEP), Chamber of Commerce and the Berkshire Business Growth Hub offer free help

TO support SMEs across Berkshire and help improve resilience now that the UK has left the EU, a new three-way collaboration has been launched between the Thames Valley Berkshire Local Enterprise Partnership (LEP), Thames Valley Chamber of Commerce and the Thames Valley Berkshire Business Growth Hub.

Running until the end of March, this new initiative is designed to help SMEs in Berkshire understand and adjust to the changes that came in on January 1.

SMEs can access free one-to-one advice on EU exit with experienced advisers from both the Berkshire Growth Hub and the chamber of commerce, with online guidance readily available via each partners website.

Businesses will also be able to access a dedicated advice line at the chamber of commerce for an initial consultation with an industry expert adviser, resulting in a tailored diagnostic action plan being developed, that can include market-entry strategies, establishing up-skilling requirements and ensuring each organisation has a detailed and flexible approach in place for solving their Brexit challenges.

The chambers head of international trade and compliance Anne White said: Over the last 18 months we have run a series of high level and comprehensive webinars on Brexit, what action should be taken and who businesses should be speaking to ensure they are prepared for the months ahead.

As part of this new initiative, the chamber will be delivering a number of free specialist trade facilitation webinars over the next 12 weeks ,including an export documentation update to support SMEs.

Berkshire Growth Hub manager Peter Fleming said: We are delighted to be working in partnership with the Thames Valley Chamber of Commerce and Thames Valley Berkshire LEP on this new initiative.

By bringing together our considerable expertise, we can ensure Berkshire businesses have fast and easy access to the enhanced support they need to adjust to the new rules, which came in on January 1, 2021, to not only keep their businesses moving, but also capitalise on potential growth opportunities.

Whatever challenges a business is facing, our teams are here to help.

Thames Valley Berkshire LEP chief executive Alison Webster said: This period is a hugely testing time for businesses and putting in place useful, local support has been crucial at a time when businesses have already faced a huge number of changes and challenges due to Covid-19 and Brexit.

This is why Thames Valley Berkshire LEP is working closely with its partners to offer accessible support to help our small and medium-sized businesses.

Im therefore delighted that we are working alongside the Berkshire Growth Hub and Thames Valley Chamber of Commerce to provide this new support programme, Are you EU ready?.

I really encourage businesses, however big or small, to get in touch and explore the range of tools, support and webinars that is on offer that can help businesses adjust to the new rules and seize opportunities.

Businesses wishing to access the service can find out more on the Berkshire Growth Hub website at www.berkshirebusinesshub.co.uk (or call 01344 388005)

or the Thames Valley Chamber of Commerce website www.thamesvalleychamber.co.uk
02/22/2021

Photo (c) FrankvandenBergh - Getty Images After a United Airlines-flown Boeing 777 failed and rained debris over Denver on Saturday, Boeing has recommended the grounding of all 69 in-service and 59 in-storage 777s powered by Pratt & Whitney 4000-112 engines until the FAA establishes an appropriate inspection protocol.

United Flight 328, with 231 passengers aboard, was forced to make an emergency landing at Denver airport. No one was reported injured either on the plane or on the ground.

"The plane started shaking violently, and we lost altitude and we started going down," David Delucia said, adding that he and his wife put their wallets in their pockets "in case we did go down, we could be ID'd".

United suffered a near-identical engine failure on one of its 777s in 2018 on a flight from San Francisco to Honolulu.

Planes grounded and investigations started

If bad things come in threes, then Boeing has to hope that 2021 will be the last of its three-year-long sidelining. It spent 2019 and 2020 trying to recover from the issues and crashes revolving around its 737 MAX aircraft before finally resuming production of the model in Spring, 2020.

In the wake of Saturdays incident, United immediately halted operations of 24 of its 777 aircraft. Japans Civil Aviation Bureau also grounded planes with the Pratt & Whitney engine on Monday, and Korean Air Lines and Asiana Airlines idled theirs without a government mandate.

Japans Civil Aviation Bureau has seen this situation before. The ministry reported that a Japan Air Lines (JAL) flight was forced to return to Naha Airport due to an engine malfunction In December 2020. Interestingly enough, the JAL plane was the same age -- 26-years-old -- as the United Airlines plane in Saturday's incident.

Addressing the situation, Boeing said it is actively monitoring the event that occurred in Denver. Pratt & Whitney said it had dispatched a team to work with investigators. On the U.S. government side, the Federal Aviation Administration (FAA) said it has ordered extra inspections of Boeing 777 jets fitted with the Pratt & Whitney 4000.

"We reviewed all available safety data following [Saturday's] incident," said FAA administrator Steve Dickson in a statement. "Based on the initial information, we concluded that the inspection interval should be stepped up for the hollow fan blades that are unique to this model of engine, used solely on Boeing 777 airplanes."

The good and bad news about engine failure

How bad is losing an engine in an incident like Uniteds? A modern twin-engine airliner suffering engine failure is designed to fly safely for hours with only one functioning engine. An example is a 2017 Paris to L.A. incident in which the crew took the aircraft to a lower altitude and diverted to Goose Bay, Canada, where it landed safely two hours later. Nonetheless, there are potential problems involved with engine failure.

The shrapnel from an uncontained failure, however, can cause serious damage to the rest of the plane, and if it passes through the cabin, it can be lethal. Experts say the failure in the Denver incident appears to have been uncontained, but the damage to the aircraft itself was thankfully minor, said BBC special correspondent, Theo Leggett.

Leggett said it is also worrisome that the incident appears to be markedly similar to the aforementioned United Airlines 2018 incident.

If the cause in this case is found to be the same -- and remember, it may not be -- that would raise questions about why the response to that incident from the manufacturer and regulators was unable to prevent a repeat, Leggett said.

MET Eireann has issued another weather warning for Limerick - the third in less than 24 hours.

The Status Yellow rainfall warning, which was issued this Monday morning, takes effect from 9 O'Clock tonight.

"Heavy rain on Monday night and Tuesday will lead to some river flooding and localised surface flooding. Rainfall totals of 30 to 50mm, higher in mountainous regions," it states.

A separate Status Yellow wind warning, which was issued on Sunday, also comes into effect at 9pm.

"Southerly winds will reach mean wind speeds of 50km/h to 65km/h, with gusts of 90km/h to 110km/h, possibly higher on exposed coasts. Where winds are onshore there is a risk of coastal flooding," it states.

Status Orange Rainfall warnings have been issued for a number of counties including Cork, Kerry, Tipperary and Waterford.
The Maharashtra Police have seized 25 kilograms of mephedrone, a banned drug worth Rs 12.50 crore on Sunday, as it goes in an all-out war against drug syndicates.

A police official said that the incident occurred late on Saturday evening when the Mumbai Police team raided one Bangera's premises at Kalina in Santacruz.

The police raid yielded 25 kilograms of mephedrone worth over Rs 12 crore and three drug peddlers have been arrested.

Representational Image

The three arrested have been booked under the Narcotic Drugs and Psychotropic Substances (NDPS) Act and remanded in police custody till February 25.

A team led by additional police commissioner (south region) Satya Narayn Chaudhry and senior inspector Shabana Shaikh on Thursday first arrested accused Isaq Sayyed (38), and seized 12 grams MD from Dongri.

Representational Image

The police have also arrested Abdul Wasim Shaikh from Vashi and seized 56 grams of MD and other substances.

During the interrogation, the police learnt about the involvement of one more accused, Deepak Bangera and arrested him from Ghatkopar on Sundar.
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EDITORS NOTE: NJ Cannabis Insider is hosting a two-day business and networking conference March 9-10, featuring some of the states most prominent industry leaders. Tickets are limited.

By Amol Sinha

After a century of criminalization and years of advocacy, cannabis is finally legal for adult-use in New Jersey. For New Jerseyans, the final steps  passage in the Legislature and Gov. Phil Murphys signature  have been a long time coming.

In 2015, the ACLU of New Jersey entered the fight to legalize cannabis and helped found New Jersey United for Marijuana Reform, a coalition of advocates, law enforcement, medical professionals and faith leaders, with the explicit goal of advancing racial justice. The criminalization of cannabis has for decades disproportionately targeted and harmed Black and brown New Jerseyans. We knew that undoing and repairing the racist harms of the drug war had to be the reason New Jersey legalized, and with our partners, we kept that at the forefront of the effort.

Black people in New Jersey were three times more likely to be arrested for cannabis possession than white people, despite similar rates of use, a statistic that became a rallying cry after the publication of the ACLU-NJs groundbreaking deep-dive report Unequal and Unfair analyzing 2013 data. Our updated analysis of 2018 data showed the racial disparity had climbed, with Black people now arrested at 3.5 times the rate of white people. The total number of arrests had steeply increased, too.

Aggressive drug law enforcement, rather than serving any function related to safety or deterrence, has served as a tool for policing Black, brown and low-income communities that are already disproportionately harmed by a criminal legal system that is mired with inequities. After passing a ballot question with historic levels of support  and polling that indicated New Jerseyans voted for legalization for racial justice reasons  New Jersey is finally joining the growing list of states that have ended cannabis prohibition. This huge step is a promise for a more just future, and were committed to making sure that promise is fulfilled.

The new legal framework for legalized cannabis makes progress toward creating an inclusive and accessible industry that reflects the diversity of our state. While not perfect, it is a significant first step for decoupling drug use from a criminal legal system that seeks to punish people rather than support them.

New Jerseys framework breaks important new ground for racial and social justice, although it represents just a first step. The entirety of a social equity excise fee and 70% of cannabis sales tax revenue will invest directly into impact zone municipalities most harmed by the drug war. Expungements, which were expanded in another piece of legislation enacted last year, will be available for individuals with cannabis possession records. Most importantly, New Jersey will now end arrests for possession of less than 6 ounces of marijuana, making it one of the most progressive decriminalization schemes in the country.

We have significant work ahead to ensure that New Jersey creates a truly equitable and just cannabis market. The final scheme omitted crucial social justice provisions. The new law created impact zones intending to build equity in the industry for communities most impacted by the criminalization of cannabis. However, the current impact-zone framework can allow wealthy individuals and corporations to gain priority in obtaining licenses by hiring a small number of employees from such areas.

New Jersey has an imperative to create real opportunities for people with cannabis-related criminal records, or for those who are in the legacy cannabis market, to transition into the regulated market. The legislation also overlooks home-grow, an important component of cannabis use with racial justice and economic justice implications. The fight to create the most diverse, most inclusive and best cannabis industry in the country will be ongoing and requires continual, meaningful input from community members, advocates and lawmakers.

Moving forward, we are dedicated to ensuring that the soon-to-be-created Cannabis Regulatory Commission prioritizes access and inclusion. We will urge the Legislature to allocate dollars promised to impact zone communities to truly serve those communities in practice, not just in name. And, whenever legalized cannabis diverges from social justice, we will take action and hold our leaders accountable.

As other states that have legalized cannabis have seen, turning the page on a century of criminalization and building an equitable new industry are massive tasks, and necessary fixes cannot be accomplished in one fell swoop. Lawmakers, regulators, and advocates will have to be vigilant and responsive to community input. We must be willing to fix issues and refine the framework to best serve New Jersey. We must not stop at legalized cannabis  we must continue the work to end the drug war, and shift to a system that centers on harm reduction and public health.

The sheer work that has gone into this  from advocates and lawmakers to members of the public and people whose lives have been derailed by a cannabis offense  has been herculean. Everyone who poured themselves into this effort did so with the hope of creating a more just system for the future. And while we can celebrate this moment as a monumental step toward justice, we stand ready for the next stages of this fight.

We will continue to strive for an equitable, inclusive cannabis industry, we will work to dismantle the systems of oppression that target Black and brown communities, and we will abolish the unjust and racist drug war once and for all.

Amol Sinha is executive director of the ACLU of New Jersey, a founding steering committee member of New Jersey United for Marijuana Reform and a leading advocate for racial justice.

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Ukrainian troops are being trained for urban warfare.

The Armed Forces of Ukraine are preparing for all possible scenarios of developments in Donbas, the country's east.

Commander-in-Chief of the Armed Forces of Ukraine, Colonel-General Ruslan Khomchak announced this at a joint press conference with Defense Minister Andriy Taran, according to an UNIAN correspondent.

"I want to assure you that as part of a new J structure [amid the transition to NATO standards], the General Staff is now working out all the plans, all scenarios for responding to the situation that could unfold," he said.

"All plans are evaluated, all plans are prepared, all plans are reported in due course to the country's leaders, the Ministry of Defense. As [part of preparations for] an offensive scenario, we last year began preparations at all our military units for offensive operations in urbanized areas, since we must be ready for this [option] too. Troops are being trained for all possible scenarios," he added.

He also updated on the situation along the contact line between Ukrainian positions and those of the Russian occupying forces in Donbas.

"There is no such notion as a 'gray zone' in military terminology, there is an interposition zone. It is the area between the enemy's positions and ours. It is no secret today, everyone knows that an interposition zone is between 70 meters to one kilometer along the 409-kilometer-long contact line. Therefore, speaking of threats that someone will occupy the interposition zone, [I can say] that not a single active operation is carried out without a purpose. What is the purpose of the fact that the enemy will reduce the interposition area from 1,000 to 700 meters? To be more vulnerable before our troops? There should a specific goal to launch any operation, and this goal is definitely not 200 meters within the interposition zone," he said.

General Staff's J structures

The following J structures of a Joint Staff are applicable to the General Staff of the Armed Forces of Ukraine: J1 on personnel issues, J2 on intelligence, J3 on operations activity, J4 on logistics, J5 on defense planning, J6 on communications and information systems, J7 troop training, J8 on resources and finances.

The military command and control agencies of the Armed Forces of Ukraine are being routinely transferred to the J structure to achieve better compatibility with the Armed Forces of NATO countries. That is, if a country participates in NATO operations, then its military units, which are allocated for participation in that operation, must have just such a J structure that allows them to effectively interact during operations and warfare.

The structure of the J9 of the General Staff of the Armed Forces of Ukraine is civil-military cooperation (CIMIC).

Other related news reports

Reporting by UNIAN
Why it matters: Hayley Arceneaux, a 29-year-old physician assistant at St. Jude Childrens Research Hospital in Memphis, TN, is on track to become the youngest American to ever orbit Earth. She will also be the first person with a prosthetic body part to visit space and one of the first non-professional astronauts to do so.

Earlier this year, billionaire Jared Isaacman announced he was chartering a private flight from SpaceX. Rather than invite friends or family to join him on the trip, Isaacman elected to donate two of the four seats on the spacecraft to St. Jude Childrens Research Hospital.

The pediatric treatment and research facility was founded by entertainer Danny Thomas in 1962 and provides cost-free care to children and young adults battling cancer and other catastrophic diseases. The hospital is using one of the seats on the trip as a prize for a sweepstakes; the other was to go to a frontline health care worker at the facility. Arceneaux was the lucky recipient.

When Arceneaux was 10, she was treated for bone cancer at St. Jude. Doctors had to install metal rods in place of some of the damaged bones in her left leg, surgery that would normally disqualify her from space travel.

The private flight, scheduled for later this year, isnt destined for the International Space Station. Rather, the spacecraft will orbit Earth for a few days before heading back home. The remaining seat on the flight will go to an entrepreneur as part of a contest being hosted by Shift4 Payments, the business Isaacman owns.

Thumbnail courtesy Elena11
Bridgeport Police / Contributed Photo

BRIDGEPORT  A city teen has been charged after he accidentally shot himself in the arm and then lied about it, according to police.

Kahlis Parker, 19, of Bridgeport, was taken to police headquarters and charged with risk of injury to a minor, carrying a pistol without a permit, stealing a firearm, interfering with a police officer, illegal discharge of a firearm, illegal sale/transfer of a firearm and negligent storage of a firearm.
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The wild moment four youths squeeze out from underneath a smashed up SUV and run away has been caught on camera.

Shocking aerial footage uploaded to Instagram on Monday begins at the scene of a crash where a white SUV lies on its side across a busy Gold Coast, Queensland, intersection.

The video shows a youth in a dark t-shirt and shorts bolting from the vehicle, dodging a passerby who looks as though he is walking in to help.

As he does so a girl with long black hair in a red t-shirt, long black pants and white sneakers slides out from under the car and scuttles off, also avoiding the Good Samaritan walking towards the crippled car.

A third youth in a dark shirt then emerges, jogging from the scene as a fourth girl with long black hair appears, scurrying away.

The video ends with an aerial shot of one of the youths vaulting over the wall of a nearby block of units.

A youth in black can be seen sprinting from the crippled vehicle as a Good Samaritan in a red shirt walks to the car to try to help

The shocking footage was uploaded a day after police arrested four children over the alleged theft of a 2017 white Mitsubishi ASX SUV.

Police say the stolen SUV ran a red light and hit a silver Toyota Camry, causing the SUV to roll on its side.

Police were called to the crash scene at the corner of Gold Coast Highway and Pacific Fair Drive just before 4pm on Sunday.

'It will be alleged upon arrival four teenagers attempted to flee the scene on foot,' police said on Monday.

A white SUV can be seen lying crippled on its side next to a silver sedan (left). Two young people can be seen running from the vehicle (right) as a passerby walks over to help

The footage ends with aerial footage of a youth vaulting over the wall of a nearby block of flats

The SUV was one of two vehicles allegedly stolen from a Solitaire Place home in Robina on Saturday night, police said.

Three girls, all aged 13, were swiftly caught on Sunday while a boy, 12, was caught later at a home in Chairlift Avenue, Mermaid Beach, just after 8pm.

All four children were taken to the Southport Watchhouse where they were charged with unlawful use of a motor vehicle.

They are expected to appear before the Southport Childrens Court.

Investigations are continuing and police have urged the public to help by calling CrimeStoppers with information on 1800 333 000.
In his upcoming Senate confirmation hearing for attorney general, Merrick Garland is almost certain to be asked about his thoughts on cases with distinct political aims, from the pending investigation into Hunter Bidens taxes to a potential investigation into the handling by New York Gov. Andrew Cuomos administration of nursing home deaths to whether former President Donald Trump should be held criminally accountable for his role in inciting the Jan. 6 attack on the U.S. Capitol.

Garland, a former Justice Department prosecutor who has been a federal appellate judge for the past two decades, should respond with a clear signal: The days of the nations top law enforcement kowtowing to political pressure is over.

President Biden said he selected Garland as a straight shooter who would restore the Justice Departments independence at the top levels  and Garlands prepared opening statement, released last weekend, suggested that is exactly what he would do. He said his confirmation would be the culmination of a career I have dedicated to ensuring that the laws of our country are fairly and faithfully enforced, and that the rights of all Americans are protected.

Garlands record is of a consensus-building centrist who has earned the respect of law enforcement and civil rights groups alike. But he also has been around Washington enough to know that stellar credentials and commitment to fairness dont always play in this polarized era. His 2016 nomination to the U.S. Supreme Court by President Barack Obama was squelched in the Senate when then-Majority-Leader Mitch McConnell refused to allow it to advance for eight months on the argument that voters should have a say in the lifetime appointment to succeed the late Antonin Scalia. McConnell then conveniently scrapped that principle last fall in rushing through the nomination of Amy Coney Barrett to succeed the late Ruth Bader Ginsburg.

If confirmed, Garland would be taking the helm as the department pursues the prosecution of hundreds of rioters who stormed the Capitol as the House and Senate were in the process of certifying the Electoral College vote. The violent assault was a grim reminder of the ever-present threat of domestic terrorism in the U.S.

Garland addressed the danger posed by white supremacists in his opening remarks, noting that from 1995 to 1997 he supervised the prosecution of the perpetrators of the bombing of the Oklahoma City federal building, who sought to spark a revolution that would topple the federal government. But he emphasized that a focus on the threat of such terrorists is just a part of the departments wide-ranging commitment to combat environmental degradation and the abuse of market power, from fraud and corruption, from violent crime and cybercrime, and from drug trafficking and child exploitation.

What that portfolio does not include is subservience to a presidents whims and grudges, which characterized former Attorney General Bill Barrs sorry tenure under Trump. Barr at times acted as Trumps appointed henchman, from buffering the impact of Special Counsel Robert Muellers investigation with a highly misleading summary of its findings to meddling in the Michael Flynn case to echoing Trumps conspiracy theories about the prospect of widespread fraud from mail-in voting.

Department morale plummeted during Barrs reign, which ended with his abrupt resignation just before Trump left office. Barr had pledged during his confirmation hearing to make the Justice Department a place where the rule of law, not politics, holds sway. He failed.

Garland now has a chance to uphold that vital principle to not only restore department morale, but the confidence of the American people in the integrity of the system.

This commentary is from The Chronicles editorial board. We invite you to express your views in a letter to the editor. Please submit your letter via our online form: SFChronicle.com/letters.
UPDATE: Amanda Buras was taken into custody Feb. 24, 2021 in Louisiana.

EARLIER: Two people are in custody and two more sought after one of their friends was shot to death during a robbery at a Shelby County motel late last year.

The botched robbery with fatal consequences happened Oct. 16, 2020 at the Harpersville Motel. Justin Bruno, 22, was killed during the ordeal.

Mandrel Jarmane Datcher, a 22-year-old Childersburg man, was booked into the Shelby County Jail Monday afternoon. Morgan Terra Thornton, 31, of Sterrett, was arrested Feb. 11 and remains held on bonds totaling $210,000.

Both are charged with felony murder and first-degree robbery. Another woman, 33-year-old Amanda Joy Buras, is also charged with the same crimes and is on the run. A man whose identity has not yet been released also is sought on the same charges.

Shelby County Sheriffs Maj. Clay Hammac provided this account of what happened that Friday night:

The five suspects  which included Bruno  forced their way into the motel room where the 57-year-old night manager lived. He had petty cash on hand and was targeted for robbery.

As the manager was being beaten by the suspects, he cried out for help. A Good Samaritan in a nearby room heard the managers pleas and responded. He tried to open the door, but it was barricaded. He then fired shots into the ground, hoping to scare the suspects.

That ploy was successful, and Hammac said the suspects moved away from the door and retreated to the rear of the motel room. The Good Samaritan opened the door, was fired on and returned fire, striking Bruno who was killed.

The other four suspects fled the scene before police arrived. The manager was treated for serious injuries.

Harpersville police initially led the investigation with assistance from the Shelby County Sheriffs Office, which took over the lead last year. They were able to identify the four living suspects and obtained warrants against them.

The group is charged with felony murder in Brunos death. Under Alabama law a person can be charged with murder if they are participating in a felony crime that results in death, whether or not that person actually pulled the trigger.

This was an unfortunate tragedy,' Hammac said Anytime there is a loss of life, were grateful to our municipal partners for allowing us to take a proactive role and to ensure the assailants are brought to justice.
Jo Whiley has shared an update on her sister, Frances, after she was taken to hospital with Covid-19.

The BBC Radio 2 presenter had previously shared her concern that she had been offered the vaccine before her sister, who has learning disabilities and diabetes.

On Sunday (21 February), Whiley shared an Instagram video showing her sister waving from the window of her hospital ward.

Today we went to drop off a care package at the hospital where Frances has been fighting Covid, she wrote.

Emotional scenes when we were greeted by this little face coming to the window to wave at us! I told you my sister was special.

Whiley revealed over the weekend that Frances  who has the rare genetic syndrome Cri du Chat  had been offered the vaccine on Saturday (20 February), after an outbreak of Covid at her sisters care home in Nottinghamshire.

However, by then it was too late and Frances tested positive for coronavirus.

Twenty-four hours ago we were talking palliative care and yesterday she rallied round and we are seeing her oxygen levels rise, so at the moment we have got hope, Whiley said in an earlier update.

Twenty-four hours ago we didnt have any hope at all, so she is an amazing fighter, she always has been a great fighter and Im just hoping that her spirit gets her through.

Read more: Jo Whiley flooded with support amid sisters covid ordeal

But Whiley pointed out that it is challenging to treat people with learning disabilities because of their complex needs.

Frances was apparently frightened by medical staff and would not allow them to give her oxygen, causing her levels to plummet.

She added: The fact that my mum was there and was able to talk her down and to be there with her and to try and give her oxygen was crucial, Whiley said.

Last week, Whiley called out a system where she was offered the vaccine before her vulnerable sister, suggesting it may have been because she was classed as Francess carer.

Speaking to Andrew Marr, Whiley said: It felt like the cruellest twist in the world because Ive been asking for her, wanting for her to have her vaccine for a year... to be protected.

Then, for me to suddenly get a call to say that Ive got the vaccine, it just felt hideously unfair.

And she was actually called in for her vaccine last night, my mum got a message to say that she could get vaccinated, but its too late, shes fighting for her life in hospital. It couldnt be crueller.

Whiley said she hoped Francess story would highlight the need to vaccinate people with learning disabilities as quickly as possible.

Health secretary Matt Hancock told Marr: My heart goes out to Jo and to her sister and her whole family.

Asked if he found it strange Whiley was offered the vaccine before her sister, he said it was very important that we follow clinical advice in terms of the order of prioritisation.

And in group six, as its called, thats where we vaccinate both those with learning disabilities and also their carers. And that group is being vaccinated right now.

Whileys fellow BBC presenters have been filling in for her on her Radio 2 show while she helps care for her sister.
Airlines grounded dozens of older aircraft after the failure of a engine showered debris into a Denver suburb and prompted US regulators to order emergency inspections.

halted operations of 24 of its planes in the wake of the incident involving one of its fleet over the weekend, after the US Federal Aviation Administration ordered fan-blade checks on PW4077 engines. Japans transport ministry grounded planes with the engine variant on Monday, while Korean Air Lines and Asiana Airlines idled theirs.

The scare comes at a sensitive time for the global aviation industry, which is trying to emerge from a year in crisis caused by the coronavirus pandemics impact on travel. For Pratt, the United incident came on the same day as a separate emergency in the Netherlands on a 747 cargo jet using the same family of engines. Boeing is only just dusting itself off from the nearly two-year grounding of its best-selling 737 Max jet following fatal crashes in Ethiopia and Indonesia.

Two fan blades were fractured on the United flight, the National Transportation Safety Board said. Most of the destruction was contained to the engine and the plane suffered only minor damage.

While the Denver event doesnt suggest broader problems with the 777, a twin-engine wide-body plane typically used on intercontinental routes, it adds another urgent issue to Boeings to-do list just after the 737 Max was cleared to fly again in markets including the US and Europe.
An Alaska Native group failed to meet a critical deadline as part of its proposal to conduct a seismic survey in the Arctic National Wildlife Refuge, the Interior Department announced. The failure effectively kills the survey, which would have determined the location of oil and gas reserves in part of the refuge in anticipation of drilling there.

A department spokeswoman, Melissa Schwarz, said that the group, the Kaktovik Inupiat Corporation, had not undertaken reconnaissance flights to detect polar bear dens in the proposed survey area as a prelude to sending trucks and other survey equipment rolling across the refuges coastal plain this winter.

The U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service, an Interior Department agency, had required that three flights be conducted before Feb. 13 as part of the corporations request for an authorization that would require extensive efforts to avoid the animals during the full seismic survey.

As a result of the missed deadline, Ms. Schwarz said that the corporation had been advised that their request is no longer actionable, and the Service does not intend to issue or deny the authorization.
Armenia Investigative Committee: Fatal road accident, criminal case opened

Armenia deputy FM submits resignation

Chinese authorities allow families to have 3 children

Dollar devalues in Armenia

Stepanakert: Azerbaijan creates bridgeheads for pressure on Karabakh, expansion towards Armenia

Sergey Lavrov says Russia is ready to disconnect SWIFT

Armenia MFA spokesperson resigns

Republican Party of Armenia Vice-President: Our ratings are growing, but we have greater pretensions

Armenia acting PM's spokesperson responds to ex-FM

Armenia parliament majority leader: Refusing to debate with acting PM is manifestation of low self-confidence

Armenia State Revenue Committee, US Department of Justice sign Memorandum of Cooperation

Vardevanyan: Attempts made to create false grounds for obstructing Armenia bloc election offices legal activities

Lavrov says Russia is ready to resume dialogue with NATO

Armenia opposition MP on FM's resignation

India records lowest increase in COVID-19 cases in 50 days

Bright Armenia faction in parliament: No response to acting PM's proposal to deploy observers along Azerbaijan border

Ruling bloc MP: Acting premiers proposal does not limit Armenia in terms of cooperation with CSTO

Acting PM is proud of Armenian servicemens heroism, says parliament majority leader

Parliament majority leader: No border delimitation unless Azerbaijan army units leave Armenia territory

Outgoing Armenia acting FM opens brackets: My decision of resignation was conditioned by that very reason

Harutyunyan, Shoygu discuss tension on Armenia-Azerbaijan border

Iranian MFA says US has not imported oil from country since Clinton era

Court hearing on appeal against decision to drop March 2008 Yerevan tragedy case is rescheduled

Missing soldiers relatives block Yerevan street

Parliament majority leader: Armenia acting FM did not object, at Security Council meeting, to new document

Armenia Police: 2,581,093 people on voters list

Bright Armenia faction of parliament: No corridor through the country should be provided to Azerbaijan

Analyst: Armenia acting PM Pashinyan gave self-confessed testimony

Armenia national security finds about 1 kg of opium, detains Iran citizen driver and 2 others

182 hearing aids and 2 buses by benefactor Mikayel Vardanyan for students of Special Educational Complex

34 new cases of COVID-19 confirmed in Armenia

Updated voters list is posted on Armenia central election commission website

Armenia authorities provide considerable amount of subsidies ahead of snap parliamentary elections

World oil prices on the rise

MP explains his not being on Bright Armenia Party electoral list

UK new flagship set to be named after the late Prince Philip

US man who said he shot neighbor over loud music found guilty of attempted murder

Lamborghini company to be sold for $11.5bn?

China spacecraft docks with future space station

Lawyer: Armenia acting PM Pashinyan grossly abuses administrative resources during Lori Province visit

UN urges to investigate escalation of violence in Colombia

Malaysia to open mega-centers for vaccination against coronavirus

Police find  5 million in cash in London apartment

French citizen to face trial in Iran on spaying charges

Over 60 children in UK undergo surgery due to TikTok challenge

Iranian Central Bank governor dismissed

Armenian opposition: The one who liberated Artsakh will not go to debates with the one who sold it

Iranian energy ministry: Iraq to allocate $ 125 million of frozen funds for vaccines

No new COVID-19 cases reported in Artsakh

Iran and Iraq to intensify cooperation and are ready for joint investment projects

Armenia ex-PM says at least 2 more secret documents signed but not published yet

Indonesia frees Iranian tanker 4 months later

Mortar shelling in Afghanistan kills at least 10 civilians

Fire breaks out at West Virginia oil refinery in US

Second President of Armenia meets with residents of Ararat province

Iran ready to help improve the defense capability of Syria

Armenian acting PM invites ex-presidents for debates

European Parliament head proposes to strengthen sanctions on Russia

UK PM gets married in London

Armenia reports COVID-19 new 81 cases: 4 people die

EU countries invite US to issue joint statement against Russia

2 people die in Armenia road accident

Nigeria: Students taken hostage a month ago are released

61 quakes recorded in Congo per day

Syrian MFA: EU lost credibility due to blind obedience to US policy

Armenia ex-minister of emergency situations hospitalized with heart attack

Mher Grigoryan: Clarification of border points is possible only after withdrawal of Azerbaijani troops from Armenia

Suspicious deal: Whether there was profit from buying DNA IDs?

Armenia ex-president says current authorities are trying to blame Russia for defeat in war

4 people killed in Afghanistani bus attack

Robert Kocharyan: This war could not have happened, it was a consequence of the policy of the authorities

Kocharyan: I have to ask people how it happened that overwhelming majority elected this leader

Armen Gevorgyan presents 'Armenia' bloc program: We offer the concept of a working country

Biden's administration proposed to leave unchanged amount of financial support to Armenia

US Embassy in Baku calls on Azerbaijan to immediately release Armenian POWs

Luxembourg MFA calls on Azerbaijan to immediately release all Armenian prisoners

Russia peacekeepers climb to Armenia Gegharkunik Province village positions

Biden strongly condemns manifestations of antisemitism in US

Iran intensifies its diplomacy amid Armenia-Azerbaijan border tensions

Armenia acting PM on forthcoming snap parliamentary elections: We hope to get 60% of votes
Arlene Foster has said she hopes the Stormont Executive will revisit the dates for reopening schools.

Northern Irelands First Minister said she wants to give the public optimism when the path out of lockdown in the region is revealed next Monday but cautioned that this must be the last.

Prime Minister Boris Johnson set out a four-stage plan for exiting lockdown on Monday evening.

Expand Close Prime Minister Boris Johnson during a media briefing in Downing Street, London, on coronavirus (Covid-19). (Leon Neal/PA) PA / Facebook

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Whatsapp Prime Minister Boris Johnson during a media briefing in Downing Street, London, on coronavirus (Covid-19). (Leon Neal/PA)

The first stage includes the return to school for all pupils in England on March 8.

In Northern Ireland, some primary school pupils will return to class on March 8, with some older post-primary school children on March 22, but there has been no date given for the full return of the wider school population.

Ahead of a meeting of the Executive on Thursday, Mrs Foster said she hoped that could be revisited.

She said Education Minister Peter Weirs preferred option was to have all children back at school on March 8.

Unfortunately our health advisers didnt think that that was the right way forward and I understand that we have to take a safe and sustainable way forward, but I hope we can now revisit that again because I know full well from my own personal experience that the kitchen table is no substitute for a classroom, she told the BBC.

The First Minister emphasised she wanted to ensure that this is the last lockdown, but said she wants to give optimism.

I very much hope that we can give optimism next Monday, thats what I want to give  brighter days are coming, people do feel a sense of optimism, not least because of our vaccination programme over 32% of our adult population have now been vaccinated, nearly 500,000 vaccines have been deployed and that gives a lot of hope to a lot of people.

Earlier deputy First Minister Michelle ONeill cautioned the public not to expect a rapid exit from lockdown, insisting the route back to normality will be slow and steady.

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Answering Assembly questions on Monday, the Sinn Fein vice president acknowledged that people were looking for some hope around what the future held.

We very much want to give the public the route map and how were going to reverse out of the current restrictive measures which we have in place, she said.

So I think that everybodys looking for some hope and theyre looking towards the future.

We want to spell that out for people and it needs to be a step-by-step process but theres no doubt in my mind that it needs to be gradual.

Its going be slow and steady in terms of lifting of restrictions.

But with the rollout of the vaccine in place now and the fact that its working so well, and we commend all those that are involved in delivering the vaccine, that combined with keeping the virus suppressed for as long as possible, then we need to chart out for people what the future looks like and we hope to do that next week.

Ministers have already agreed to extend Northern Irelands current strict lockdown to April 1, albeit with a review on March 18.

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Whatsapp Glyn Roberts, chief executive of Retail NI, welcomed the Prime Ministers plan (Liam McBurney/PA)

Under the Prime Ministers four-step plan, all limits on social contact could be lifted by June 21.

Retail NI, which represents small retailers in Northern Ireland, said Mr Johnsons plan was realistic and welcome.

Retail NI chief executive Glyn Roberts said: We look forward to the publication of the Executives road map because it is vital, they give less tunnel, more light and above all else hope to our community.

Covid marshals, public hand sanitisers and business compliance scoring with the regulations all need to be in place for the reopening of non-essential retail to reassure shoppers and to limit transmission.

This work needs to start now.

This will require considerable effort from the Executive, local councils and businesses working in partnership to produce a reopening plan for our high streets.

Another four deaths linked to Covid-19 were confirmed by Stormonts Department of Health on Monday.

Another 187 cases of the virus were also notified.

There were 386 Covid positive patients in hospital on Monday morning, 51 of whom were in intensive care.
STATEN ISLAND, N.Y. -- Since the summer, the Staten Island community has been rallying together to call for the history of Sandy Ground to be taught to New York students.

Over half a year later, very little movement has been made toward making that a reality.

Renee Marhong, a Rosebank mother, started a petition to have information about Sandy Ground added to the curriculum when she saw that her sons fourth grade materials about New York history didnt include the historic site.

Since its inception in July, the Change.org petition has garnered more than 2,800 signatures.

Marhong told the Advance/SILive.com that she sent the petition to the Department of Education (DOE), Superintendent Richard Carranza, former District 31 Executive Superintendent Anthony Lodico, while he was still acting, and Mayor Bill de Blasio.

She didnt receive a response from any of them.

Im surprised by the support that the petition has received, but its really not enough, Marhong explained. The DOE really shows that this is not a priority for them by not responding, thats how I see it.

The support for the petition shows that there is a need and demand for this to be added to curriculum, Marhong said.

There is excitement about Sandy Ground being taught. I really wanted the DOE to take initiative in rolling that out, and they really havent done it at all, she said.

Black History Month, which is recognized annually in the month of February, is a great time for Sandy Ground to be introduced to students, she said.

Marhong explained that her son, who is now in fifth grade, has been learning about George Washington Carver and Ruby Bridges to celebrate the month.

I was happy that he had learned about that, and I dont want to replace that in the curriculum, but wouldnt it be really lovely for kids to learn something thats really relevant to them and where they live on Staten Island? she explained.

Theres so many ways that children can learn about this, and not just in the context of Black history. It can be about the economy, geography, the rivers, and the oyster farming - theres so much involved, its such a rich history, she explained.

For all the significance of the Underground Railroad, many are unaware that Staten Island played an important role in... Posted by Classic Staten Island on Wednesday, February 17, 2021

DOE HASNT ASKED FOR HELP CURATING SANDY GROUND MATERIALS

The board of the Sandy Ground historical society is overwhelmed with the response that the petition, board member Tiffany Joy Murchison told the Advance/SILive.com.

Its not always easy for people outside of the [Black] community to see why the history is important. But the history of Sandy Ground is American history, she said. Seeing how many signatures [the petition has] gotten is overwhelming.

Murchison explained that a webinar that was held earlier this month helped garner signatures and financial support for Sandy Ground, and they are trying to build on that momentum.

That webinar that had only 100 people or so in attendance bolstered support for not only the petition, but the GoFundMe, she said. It really makes the board feel like we have space to make headway moving further with getting Sandy Ground in the DOE curriculum.

Despite the support from community members, Murchison said that the DOE has not been as responsive.

Sandy Ground is not in prepared lessons because [the DOE] hasnt asked for it, she told the Advance/SILive.com. I think that there is a place that they default to, and the place of default is not Sandy Ground.

There have not been discussions between the DOE and Sandy Ground leaders since before the petition, she said.

For now, they are working on continuing to update and digitize their curriculum before attempting to present it to the DOE.

Having new board members, including Dr. Georgette Grier-Key and Nirmala Nanes, who work in the education field, are key parts of helping to revitalize their education efforts.

At one time, we recorded educating about 3,000 K-12 students each year, she explained. Were looking to bring that back, starting out in local schools. That then gives us leverage to get that done city-wide, then state-wide.

Murchison called on community members to sign petitions, call local legislatures, and call the Board of Regents in support.

It is very important that this history not be lost, she said. There are stories like this in cities all throughout America, and had this history been told a lot sooner I think we would not be facing the division and discord that were facing today.

A representative from the DOE told the Advance/SILive.com that they are aware of the petition, but schools choose their own curriculum.

However, the DOE does provide material that can be adopted into their curriculum.

Our schools choose their own curricula, but we send resources and lessons to schools for Black History Month, and encourage them to integrate important local history and topics like Sandy Ground into their lessons, DOE representative Danielle Filson explained.

Filson did not share if Sandy Ground material was included in the resources provided for Black History Month.

She also said that professional development sessions were provided to teachers on how to convert field trip-based lessons, such as Sandy Ground, to remote learning.

High School students from Ohio are given a lesson in African-American history by Julie Lewis at the Sandy Ground Museum, Aug. 6, 1998. (Staten Island Advance/Michael Falco)

ASSEMBLYMAN REILLY STEPS UP

One person who did respond to Marhongs call for Sandy Ground to be added to local curriculum was Staten Island Assemblyman Michael Reilly.

Reilly (R-South Shore) has been a vocal advocate for Sandy Grounds inclusion in the states curriculum.

He recently introduced legislation that would amend Section 801 of the education law to direct the Board of Regents to create and implement a lesson plan on the history of Sandy Ground for school districts throughout New York.

The amendment would prompt Sandy Ground to be part of curriculum in the same way the Holocaust and the Irish Potato Famine are instructed in classrooms.

In a phone interview with the Advance/SILive.com, Reilly said Sandy Grounds place in Staten Island is rich in history.

Its just amazing that were standing on a property thats made history, said Reilly.

The bill would have to go through the state assemblys education committee for approval before going to the floor of the assembly for a full vote. If it passes by a majority of votes, a state senate version of the bill would then have to get passed there, said Reilly, who added that he has been in contact with Sen. Andrew Lanza (R-NY) to propose an identical bill to the one hes created.

If that bill makes it through the senate education committee and passes, it would then go to a full senate vote before going to the governors office for approval, where it can be approved, vetoed or modified.

An official from the New York State Education Departments press office said the agency does not comment on pending legislation.

One of the state Education Departments responsibilities is to set student learning expectations for what students should know, said the official, adding that New York State is not a curriculum-setting state.

While acknowledging that its always an uphill battle to get legislation passed, especially as a minority member of the chamber, Reilly said he is hoping to have bipartisan support for the bill to support its passage for approval.

Another route, Reilly said, is the state Education Department and the Board of Regents to adopt the topic of Sandy Grounds history without the need for legislation.

The legislation is just the first step to highlighting the importance, said Reilly. This is not only important to the South Shore of Staten Island and the descendants of Sandy Ground, this is important to New Yorks history and the countrys history altogether.

This is about our community, added Reilly, and this is about all of us taking pride in our community.

Murchison explained that having Reillys support is key in getting Sandy Ground added to curriculum.

One of the reasons why we were glad to speak with Assemblyman Reilly is to get legislators both in and out of Staten Island on board, she explained. Using both his bill, support from other legislators, and the petition that Renee put forth, were hoping that once we get some more ducks in a row, we can then go to the Board of Regents and present a strong case.
1. Roads. The citys roads are a mess. Significant resources are needed to fix them.

2. Public safety. The crime rate is too high. Police pay and resources come first.

3. More city programs. The city must invest more in city programs and services.

4. Comprehensive plan. The city needs to focus on rebuilding and rebranding.

5. Cut city spending. City officials must get serious about trimming the budget.

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Re: If you want to leave Cuba

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Top tech giants like Facebook, Google, Microsoft, TikTok and Twitter have have agreed on adopt the Australian Code of Practice on Disinformation and Misinformation that aims to address the spread of fake news and disinformation on online platforms.

The code, prepared by the Digital Industry Group Inc (DiGi), a non-profit industry association, will be reviewed in 12 months, reports ZDNet.

The code will apply to certain products and services that are delivered to end users in Australia, such as user-generated sponsored and shared content.

Private messaging services, email services, and enterprise services are excluded from the code.

The code was developed in response to government policy where it asked the major digital platforms to develop a voluntary code of conduct outlining what the platforms will do to address concerns regarding disinformation and credibility signalling for news content.

The code provides seven guiding principles, with the first aimed at protecting freedom of expression.

"Signatories should not be compelled by governments or other parties to remove content solely on the basis of its alleged falsity if the content would not otherwise be unlawful," according to the code.

The digital platforms who have signed this code recognise their role as important actors within the Australian information ecosystem and have already implemented a range of measures to tackle the propagation of disinformation and misinformation amongst users of their services and products.

"Any actions taken by digital platforms to address the propagation of Disinformation and Misinformation should not contravene commitments they have made to respect the privacy of Australian users, including in terms and conditions, published policies and voluntary codes of conduct as well as by applicable laws," the code read.

This includes respect for users' expectations of privacy when using digital platforms and in private digital communications. Additionally, any access to data for research purposes must protect user privacy.

Meanwhile, the Australian Broadcasting Corporation's ABC News app shot to the top of Apple's App Store charts in over the course of the last few days, just after banned Australian news sources on its platform.

ABC capitalised on Facebook's news ban with an ad sending users to its app.

Facebook's ban was in response to an Australian regulatory measure that will force tech platforms to pay Australian media for the content users share (and that platforms earn ad revenue from).

--IANS

na/

(Only the headline and picture of this report may have been reworked by the Business Standard staff; the rest of the content is auto-generated from a syndicated feed.)
BEIJING, Feb. 21 (Xinhua) -- The Communist Party of China (CPC) on Saturday launched a campaign on Party history learning and education among all Party members.

Founded in 1921, the CPC has grown into the world's biggest Marxist ruling party with over 91 million members in a century. It has been in power for over 70 years in China, the world's largest socialist country.

Xi Jinping, general secretary of the CPC Central Committee, has set great store by history. He particularly emphasizes the revolutionary history, describing it as "the best textbook" for Chinese Communists.

Over the past eight years, Xi, also Chinese president and chairman of the Central Military Commission, has paid several visits to places bearing milestone significance in the Party's history.

The visits represent the CPC's efforts to rediscover the strength it needs in its unwavering quest for national rejuvenation.

SHANGHAI & ZHEJIANG -- where it all started

In October 2017, the CPC leadership, led by Xi, visited a boat replica in east China where the Party's dream set sail.

In 1921, CPC founders attending the Party's first national congress were forced to leave a small building in the French concession area of Shanghai. They boarded a boat on Nanhu Lake in Jiaxing, Zhejiang Province to continue the congress proceedings.

Visiting the Shanghai and Jiaxing sites, Xi said the aim of the tour was to review the Party's history -- particularly its founding -- to follow the lofty ideals of these predecessors.

"The original aspiration of the CPC members must never change," Xi reminded CPC cadres. He added that only in this way could the Party maintain popular support and accomplish its deeds with an indomitable will.

JIANGXI -- where the epic Long March began

In 2019, Xi chose east China's Jiangxi Province, where the Central Red Army began the Long March in the 1930s, to call for a "new Long March."

In October 1934, Red Army soldiers launched the most epic military maneuver in China's modern history, trekking about 12,500 kilometers across the country.

Describing Jiangxi as a land full of revolutionary history and memories, Xi called for a deep understanding of the hard-earned establishment of the political power of the CPC, the People's Republic of China (PRC), and socialism with Chinese characteristics. He demanded more efforts to carry forward the revolutionary spirit and traditions.

Paying tribute to a monument in Yudu County marking the start of the Long March, Xi noted that China is on a "new Long March." He said the country would depend on the firm faith and strong will of the whole Party and all people to overcome significant challenges at home and abroad and secure new victories in building socialism with Chinese characteristics.

GUIZHOU -- where the Party was saved at the most perilous moment

In June 2015, Xi visited Zunyi in southwest China's Guizhou Province, where the Zunyi Meeting -- "a watershed event in the history of the CPC" -- took place.

The CPC convened the meeting in January 1935, when the Party, the Red Army, and the Chinese revolution -- in Xi's words -- were "saved at the most perilous moment."

Amid severe setbacks at the early stage of the Long March, the meeting established Comrade Mao Zedong as the leader of the CPC Central Committee and the Red Army, heralding a new chapter in history in which the CPC independently solved problems occurring in the Chinese revolution.

Xi visited Guizhou this year again, just ahead of the Chinese New Year. There he reiterated the Party's revolutionary past.

Of all the places the Red Army reached, it spent the longest time and had the most extensive presence in Guizhou, leaving later generations an enduring spiritual legacy, Xi said.

The Zunyi Meeting's distinct features, including the establishment of the correct CPC Central Committee leadership, as well as innovative formulation and implementation of strategies that suited the Chinese revolution's characteristics, still have significance today, he added.

SHAANXI -- where the Party legacy shines

Before the Chinese New Year of 2015, Xi revisited old revolutionary base areas in northwest China's Shaanxi Province. The trip included iconic Yan'an -- the CPC base during the 1930s-40s after the Long March.

Xi called Yan'an a shrine for the Chinese revolution. There, the CPC-led revolutionary cause transited from its low tide to high tide.

He said the excellent conduct of the older generation of revolutionaries and Chinese Communists in Yan'an has left a precious legacy for the Party.

The "Yan'an Spirit" entails sticking to the correct political orientation, whole-heartedly serving the people, working hard in a spirit of self-reliance, among others.

Xi said strength should be drawn from the "Yan'an Spirit" to ensure full and strict governance over the Party.

BEIJING -- where the Party emerged victoriously

In September 2019, Xi visited a revolutionary memorial site in the Fragrant Hills in suburban Beijing ahead of the 70th founding anniversary of the PRC.

In March 1949, the CPC Central Committee made the Fragrant Hills its headquarters for half a year, where the Party led the Chinese People's War of Liberation to a countrywide victory.

It marked the shift of the Chinese revolution's focus from the countryside to urban areas, Xi said, adding that this period holds a very important position in the history of the Party and the PRC.

Xi said that commemorating this part of history is to inherit the spirit of carrying through reforms, being devoted to the people and public service, guarding against arrogance and impetuosity, and working hard.

"We must be clear-headed and determined as preparing for tough tests to deliver performances that can withstand the test of time in the new era," Xi said.
Of course, you can buy high-quality spice blends, but you may get even better flavors if you make them yourself. A good place to begin is with any of these five versatile, beloved blends: garam masala, baharat, zaatar, five spice and a sweet baking blend along the lines of pumpkin pie spice. Many of them are elemental to the cuisines they come from, and you probably already have some, or all, in your spice cabinet. Whether you use them in traditional contexts or otherwise, these seasoning mixes will make whatever you cook shine.

Once you get into the groove of toasting, grinding and mixing, creating your own blends can be its own meditative reward, and highly gratifying to the senses.

And dont limit yourself. If youre new to spice blending, you may want to make these mixes once according to the recipes to familiarize yourself, then change them up to suit your tastes. Licorice despisers can reduce or leave out the fennel seeds and anise; heat seekers can shovel in more pepper or add chile powder.

Cooks should feel free to bring a certain measure of their own personality and preferences to the blending process, said Ethan Frisch, who founded Burlap & Barrel, an importer and online spice shop, with his business partner Ori Zohar in 2016.

Unfortunately, our website is currently unavailable in your country. We are engaged on the issue and committed to looking at options that support our full range of digital offerings to your market. We continue to identify technical compliance solutions that will provide all readers with our award-winning journalism.

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The stars of this dish are, obviously, snails. And sometimes they can be unsightly to look at. However, once you get over the sight, youll know why this dish has gained quite a lot of prominence among the people.

The chilly weather of winter always makes me crave a steamy, and spicy, hot bowl of bun oc (snail rice noodles). While this dish is perhaps not as well-known to foreigners as pho (beef noodles), its a hidden gem that many locals are most definitely in love with.

A bowl of bun oc with full toppings. Photo: Thuy An.

Theres always something intimidating about it though. The stars of this dish are, obviously, snails. And sometimes they can be unsightly to look at. However, once you get over the sight, youll know why this dish has gained quite a lot of prominence among the people.

The highlight of bun oc is the harmony of the flavor and texture. The rich bone broth has a unique tangy taste derived from ripe tomatoes and rice vinegar that will make you crave for more. Its normally topped with some chewy snail and cooked tomatoes. Some places also offer beef, crispy tofu, and Vietnamese sausage (gio tai), so choosing which toppings to add is definitely up to your preference. This dish is always served with a plentiful platter of fresh herbs such as mint and basil. And if you want a more piquant taste, add a few drops of shrimp paste into the broth. A bit of chili oil will also enhance the flavor and make your bowl of noodles look more appetizing.

The space is quite limited, and can house 15 people maximum. Photo: Thuy An.

One of my favorite places to eat bun oc is Bun Oc Co Hue (Miss Hues snail rice noodles), which is located in Nguyen Sieu Street. Ive been eating here for years, and have to say that the quality remains the same and never disappoints me.

Theres so much to love about a bowl of bun oc here; its traditional-style, so you wont find beef, tofu, or anything else except snails. And the snails here are truly excellent! They have a rubbery, meaty texture and take on the rich flavor of the broth with which theyre cooked. If youre a fan of really chewy snails, go for big one. For those whove never tried snails before, I suggest eating small snails since they dont have as strong of a taste as big snails, and the texture isnt too rubbery. Or you can order a mix of both  its totally up to you! Another great news to you - the bowl is packed-full of toppings that youll feel like theres no end in sight.

The broth is also the star of the dish. It strikes a perfect balance between tangy and sweet flavors, and I usually put a bit of chili oil to spice things up a little. What further sets this dish apart from other counterparts is the addition of cha oc (snail cakes), an unorthodox topping that not many places have. They are made with a variety of herbs, have a slightly chewy texture, and taste well-seasoned.

The chewy, meaty snails are the highlight of the dish. Photo: Thuy An.

Usually, bun oc is served piping hot. But this store also sells bun oc nguoi, which is literally translated as cold snail rice noodles. Whats different about this dish is that youll get a bowl of cold broth packed with green onions, tomatoes, and snails and a separate plate of fresh rice noodles. As you eat, dip some rice noodles into the bowl, take a sip of the broth, and feel the flavor spreads through your mouth. This dish is extremely popular in the summer, as it brings a refreshing taste that can slowly dissipates the scorching heat of Hanois weather.

One caveat of this store is that its quite small, and theres only enough space for about 15 people to pack in. The owner usually sets up two extra tables in the sidewalks in front of the store, so you can choose to sit there as well. Also, the parking space is very limited, and maybe able to accommodate a few motorbikes or bikes only.

Regardless, eating at this store is such a pleasant experience. The shop owner, Miss Hue, is cheerful and welcoming. She loves to chat, and will tell you all sorts of stories.

So if you want to try out a dish that exudes a sense of Hanoi culinary elegance and sophistication, pay a visit to Bun Oc Co Hue, 15 Nguyen Sieu, Hoan Kiem District.

Hanoitimes
A terror suspect who cut off his electronic tag before taking a taxi to London has been jailed for more than three years.

The man, who can only be identified as LF, is a senior leader of the banned extremist group Al-Muhajiroun (ALM).

He was sentenced at the Old Bailey today after pleading guilty last week to six counts of breaching a Tpim (Terrorism Prevention and Investigation Measures) order.

Tpim notices allow the authorities to monitor suspected terrorists who are not subject to criminal charges.

The man, who can only be identified as LF, is a senior leader of the banned extremist group Al-Muhajiroun (ALM). He was sentenced at the Old Bailey today after pleading guilty last week to six counts of breaching a Tpim (Terrorism Prevention and Investigation Measures) order

LF was first made subject to a two-year Tpim in October 2016 and was sentenced to two years imprisonment, suspended for two years, in May 2019 after he was convicted of breaching the conditions.

Home Secretary Priti Patel imposed a second Tpim in November 2019 because he had continued to engage in terrorism-related activity, including acting for the benefit of ALM, possessing Islamist extremist material and encouraging terrorism.

He appeared in a documentary called the Jihadis Next Door, praying alongside Khuram Butt (pictured), the leader of the London Bridge terrorist cell, in 2016, but later claimed he did not know him

'LF met with other ALM members in London and elsewhere,' said prosecutor Kate Wilkinson.

'LF twice hosted ALM meetings in his own home.'

The Old Bailey heard that LF had a 'leading role in communications and logistics' for ALM, a banned terrorist group based in the UK, and used online talks to encourage others to travel to Syria to join ISIS.

He appeared in a documentary called the Jihadis Next Door, praying alongside Khuram Butt, the leader of the London Bridge terrorist cell, in 2016, but later claimed he did not know him.

Siddhartha Dhar, another associate, fled the country while on bail and joined ISIS, becoming an executioner for the terrorist group.

The court heard that LF obtained an unauthorised 'burner' mobile phone and 90 in cash to pay for a taxi to London in the early hours of September 15 last year after removing his electronic tag.

When police forced entry to his flat, it smelled strongly of smoke and it appeared that items, including paper, had been burnt. LF was arrested on the morning of September 16 outside a supermarket in south-east London after calling his solicitors, who told police where to find him.

The court heard that checks at UK ports to make sure he did not flee the country caused nine-hour tailbacks for travellers.

Rachid Redouane (left) and Youssef Zaghba (right) also took part in the terror attack

After LFs' first TPIM expired in October 2018, LF returned to London, and in February 2019, used it to set up a new Twitter account and broadcast three videos which described how he had sacked his barrister, his experience in prison, his opinions on Shamima Begum, the jihadi bride, and the reaction of the Western media to the attack on two mosques in Christchurch, New Zealand.

A judge at Kingston Crown Court concluded that the views expressed were 'radical and may be thought by some to be both incorrect and offensive.'

Judge Anthony Leonard QC jailed LF for three years and two months, including concurrent sentences of two years and four months for the Tpim breaches and a 10-month prison term for breaching his suspended sentence.

Butt was shot dead by police after he and his accomplices murdered eight people in June 2017

'The Secretary of State was right to decide you were a senior leader in ALM, having a leading role in communications, including encouraging others to travel to Islamic State-controlled territory, and logistics,' he said.

'You are not suspected of personally carrying out terrorist attacks in this country.'

The judge said LF's fear of his suspended sentence being activated after a probation officer upgraded his risk from 'serious' to 'very serious' had acted as the 'catalyst' to him absconding.

'Fortunately, you came to your senses and probably your best mitigation is that you arranged to give yourself up on September 16,' he told LF, who was appearing by video-link from Frankland Prison in Durham.

Catherine Oborne, defending, said an assessment by the Home Secretary found the breach did not pose a risk to national security.

'The intention was not to engage in terrorist activity or criminal activity,' she said.

'He recognises what he did was a mistake and that he intends to have a better attitude to the order going forward.'

The Derry News is 20 years old today.

The first edition of the paper was published on February 22, 2001.

Since then, the award-winning paper has become a key component of the local media landscape.

However, things certainly did not go to plan with its first edition (below).

Due to the pressures of getting the paper finished, the Derry News was printed late and did not make it into local shops until the afternoon.

Despite this, the paper - the first newspaper to be launched in Derry for many years - made a big impact.

The Derry News was established by members of the McCarroll family who had previously owned the Derry Journal.

The Derry News was initially only published on Thursdays but a Monday edition was later introduced.

The McCarroll family owned the Derry News until 2006 when the paper was sold to the River Media group which owned a large number of newspapers throughout Ireland.

River Media owned the local paper until 2019 when it was bought by Iconic Newspapers.

Iconic also own some of the most prominent local newspapers in Ireland, including the Limerick Leader, Kilkenny People and the Donegal Democrat.

Over the last two decades, the Derry News has received a number of major awards.

In 2011, the paper was named the best local newspaper in the UK in the Regional Press Awards which is run annually by the Society of Editors.

The Derry News was also named the Local Newspaper of the Year at the 2010 Northern Ireland Media Awards.

The paper has also won several other awards for its coverage.

As well as the newspaper, staff at the Derry News also produce content for the Derry Now website which is now the most popular online news and sport source in the local area.

In 2020, Derry Now had more than 20 million page views.

In today's paper there is a look back at some of the Derry News front pages over the last 20 years.

The Italian ambassador to the Democratic Republic of the Congo, his bodyguard and a driver have been killed in an attack on a UN convoy.

Luca Attanasio, 43, Italian military policeman Vittorio Iacovacci, 30, and their Congolese driver, whose name has not been released, died after their convoy was attacked near the city of Goma around 10.15am on Monday.

Attackers fired warning shots at the convoy, killed Attanasio's driver, and then hauled everyone out of their vehicles in an attempted kidnapping, Congolese officials said.

Rangers then opened fire on the kidnappers, sparking a firefight during which Attanasio was shot in the abdomen.

He was rushed to hospital in critical condition, but died of his injuries. Several other members of the convoy were also injured.

Luca Attanasio (left), the Italian ambassador to the Democratic Republic of the Congo, has been killed during an attack on a UN convoy

Dozens of armed groups operate in and around Virunga, which lies along Congo's borders with Rwanda and Uganda. Park rangers have been repeatedly attacked and six were killed in an ambush last month.

The governor of North Kivu province, Carly Nzanzu Kasivita, told Reuters the assailants stopped the convoy by firing warning shots. They killed the driver and were leading the others into the forest when park rangers opened fire. The attackers killed the bodyguard and the ambassador also died, Nzanzu said.

Virunga spokesman Oliver Mukisya said there were no indications yet of who was behind the attack, nor was there any immediate claim of responsibility.

Photos shared on social media showed Attanasio lying in the arms of a man in the back of a park authority jeep and the broken window of a World Food Programme (WFP) vehicle. Reuters has not verified the images.

Attanasio, who was typically based in the capital Kinshasa, had been taking part in a World Food Programme visit to the country's troubled east when he was attacked.

Attanasio, who was married, had been stationed in the country for three years

No information on the attackers was given and no group has yet claimed responsibility. The military said that it is hunting for those responsible.

The diplomat had been based in the DRC for the last three years, Italian officials said. He had undertaken diplomatic postings in Switzerland, Morocco and Nigeria.

In response to the attack, Mambo Kaway, president of a local civil society group in the Nyrangongo territory, said: 'There were five people aboard the vehicle, including the Italian ambassador. The driver died after being shot with several bullets, and others were wounded.

'The situation is very tense.'

A spokesman for the Italian foreign ministry said: 'It is with deep sorrow that the Farnesina confirms the death, today in Goma, of the Ambassador of Italy to the Democratic Republic of Congo Luca Attanasio and of a soldier from the Carabinieri.'

In a separate statement, Foreign Minister Luigi Di Maio expressed his 'great dismay and immense sorrow' and broke off from a meeting in Brussels with EU counterparts to make an early return to Rome.

'The circumstances of this brutal attack are not yet known and no effort will be spared to shed light on what happened,' Di Maio said, paying tribute to the victims as 'two servants of the state'.

EU foreign policy chief Josep Borrell informed the bloc's foreign ministers of the incident at the meeting and presented his condolences to Italy and the United Nations.

'The news (is) extremely worrying, and we are following the situation closely with the EU delegation in Congo,' said EU Commission spokeswoman Nabila Massrali.

Attanasio was awarded a peace prize in October 2020 in a ceremony held in a church in southern Italy. The Nassiriya International Prize for Peace is named in memory of the 19 Italians, including 12 Carabinieri paramilitary officers, five soldiers and two Italian civilians, who were killed in the bombing of the Italian military base in southern Iraq in 2003. Nine others were also killed.

Attanasio died of his wounds at the UN's Level III Indian Field Hospital. An Italian police officer was also killed in the attack

Attanasio was cited for 'his commitment aimed at safeguarding peace between peoples' and for 'having contributed to the realization of important humanitarian projects, distinguishing himself for altruism, dedication and the spirit of service for people in difficulty,' said La Repubblica daily in its account of the ceremony.

La Repubblica quoted Attanasio as saying, 'All that which we take for granted in Italy isn't in Congo, where, unfortunately, there are so many problems to resolve.' Attanasio described the role of the ambassador there is 'above all to be close to the Italians but also to contribute to achieving peace.' Some 1,000 Italians live in Congo.

A vast country the size of continental western Europe, the DRC is grappling with numerous conflicts, especially in its remote, mineral-rich east.

Scores of militias roam the four eastern provinces. Many are a legacy of wars in the 1990s that sucked in countries around central-southern Africa and claimed millions of lives.

Monday's attack occurred north of Goma - a region that includes the UNESCO-listed Virunga National Park, which has also been troubled by violence.

The UN's refugee agency, the UNHCR, said last week that more than 2,000 civilians were killed in North and South Kivu and Ituri last year.

Monday's attack occurred north of Goma - a region that includes the UNESCO-listed Virunga National Park, which has also been troubled by violence

The attacks by brutal armed groups have also displaced millions in what the UN calls one of the world's worst humanitarian crises.

There are 5.2 million people displaced in the DRC, according to the United Nations Children's Agency, which said in a report on Friday that this represents more displaced than in any other country except Syria. In the past year alone, 50 per cent of people have been displaced, it said.

The resource-rich nation suffered one of the most brutal colonial reigns ever known before undergoing decades of corrupt dictatorship.

Back-to-back civil wars later drew in a number of neighbouring countries. And many rebel groups have come and gone during the UN mission's years of operation, at times invading the eastern regional capital, Goma, where the ambassador was killed.

In January 2019, Congo experienced its first peaceful democratic transfer of power since independence in 1960 following the election of President Felix Tshisekedi.

He succeeded strongman Joseph Kabila in a disputed election marked by allegations of large-scale fraud and suspicions of a backroom deal by Mr Kabila to install Mr Tshisekedi over an opposition candidate who, according to leaked electoral data, was the real winner.

The UN peacekeeping mission has been working to draw down its 15,000-troop presence and transfer its security work to Congolese authorities.
President Muhammadu Buhari has expressed great shock and deep concern over the eruption of violence on a chieftaincy tussle in Billiri town in Gombe State.

In a press statement on Monday by his spokesperson, Garba Shehu, the president appealed to the feuding parties to sheathe their swords and allow the civil process to prevail in the matter.

According to an earlier report by The Nation newspaper, violence erupted in Billiri last week over the appointment of a new traditional ruler for the town, the Mai Tangale.

Protesters from Billiri and neighbouring villages had blocked the Gombe-Yola highway for three days, over the delay in the appointment by Governor Inuwa Yahaya.

The obstruction of traffic left people travelling between Adamawa, Taraba, Benue and other parts of the country stranded on the highway.

The protesters alleged that Mr Yahaya intended to appoint someone other than the man who got the highest votes from the kingmakers in the selection process.

They said Musa Maiyamba had received the votes of five of the nine kingmakers while his two rivals to the throne, Ahmadu Maiyamba and Danladi Maiyamba got two votes each.

They demanded the immediate announcement of the winner as the new Mai Tangale.

Curfew

On Friday, the state government imposed a 24- hour curfew on the area after the protests degenerated into violence.

The Secretary to the State Government, Abubakar Njodi, announced the curfew at a press briefing in Gombe.

The government affirmed the need for peaceful coexistence among the citizenry and commitment to the protection of lives and properties. Consequently, the government has suspended all forms of gathering in Billiri Local Government Area.

ALSO READ: Gombe governor appoints new media aides

All security agencies are hereby directed towards ensuring strict compliance with this directive. All citizens are expected to comply with the directive except those personnel providing essential services, Mr Njodi said.

But the state government did not comment on the process for the selection of the new traditional ruler.

Buhari calls for restraint

Reacting to the crisis on Monday in a press statement by his media aide, Garba Shehu, President Buhari decried the resort to violence over the matter.

Mr Buhari said he was seriously disturbed by the outbreak of violence in Gombe State and call on the parties involved to exercise maximum restraint to avoid escalation.

According to the president, the easy resort to violence is uncalled for because there are enough avenues to resolve differences amicably without threatening law and order.

He said in a circle of violence, there are no winners, except losers, advising Muslims and Christians to avoid the temptation of resorting to violence in order to express their grievances.

Nigerians have shed enough blood over issues that could have been peacefully resolved. I appeal to the two parties to sheathe their swords for the sake of peaceful coexistence. Gombe has enjoyed relative religious harmony for decades and you shouldnt allow hoodlums destroy this positive record.

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Mr Buhari appealed to the feuding parties to sheathe their swords and allow the civil process to prevail.
Sen. Johnson: Unequal Enforcement of the Law a Major Concern for Republicans

Sen. Ron Johnson (R-Wis.) expressed his frustration on Feb. 21 over the double standard applied by Democrats when it comes to prosecuting violent acts during riots and protests.

Johnson, a member and former chairman of the Senate Homeland Security Committee, said on Fox News Sunday Morning Futures program that Republicans are troubled by how Democrats fail to equally enforce the law against individuals who commit acts of violence, referring to violent rioters who terrorized cities and destroyed property over the summer during Black Lives Matter protests.

Although Republicans have actively condemned the violent acts perpetrated during the Jan. 6 breach of the U.S. Capitol, Johnson said he hasnt observed the same of his Democratic colleagues in terms of condemning the violence perpetrated by left-wing extremists.

Thats not the same standard that the Democrats use  in many cases [they] encouraged the riots that occurred over the summer, he said.

Whether it was $1 [billion] to $2 billion of property damage, 12 to 19 people killed in those peaceful protests turned to riots, no condemnation. In fact, theres actually encouragement of that, for example, by the vice president [Kamala Harris] to encourage people to donate to a fund that would bail out the rioters.

During the summer riots, then-Sen. Harris asked her followers to donate to Minneapolis Freedom Fund (MFF). She promoted the fund in a Twitter post on June 1, 2020, saying, If youre able to, chip in now to the @MNFreedomFund to help post bail for those protesting on the ground in Minnesota.

The MFF raised about $35 million following the death of George Floyd in late May 2020, Fox 9 reported. According to the MFFs website, the group has spent less than 10 percent of that, or about $3.48 million, to bail people out of jail, with $210,000 of that used for bailing out those who were arrested amid protests since late May.

How does that make sense? So the double standard, the unequal enforcement of the law, is really what troubles an awful lot of people on our side of the aisle, Johnson added.

He commented days before the Senate Committee on Homeland Security and Governmental Affairs is scheduled to hold a hearing about the events of Jan. 6 and to seek accountability for the incident.

Johnson noted that his letter sent to the now-acting and former sergeants-at-arms of the House and Senateseeking information about the security planning done prior to the Electoral College certification on Jan. 6hasnt yet been answered, and that senators are going into the hearing with limited accurate information, other than a letter (pdf) to House Speaker Nancy Pelosi (D-Calif.) from former U.S. Capitol Police Chief Steven A. Sund, in which he explained the actions he took to shore up security for Jan. 6.

Right now, were going to be going into that hearing with what weve read in the newspaper, he said.

We dont have the base of information I would like to have before I would go into a hearing  Im hoping we start getting some information from the people that were actually there and we get a full accounting of what actually happened.

He noted conflicting reports about what the FBI knew prior to Jan. 6, saying that one branch appeared to have received some pretty disconcerting warnings about the breach beforehand. However, Johnson pointed out that in Sunds letter, the FBI and other law enforcement officials didnt provide any intelligence indicating that there would be a coordinated violent attack on the U.S. Capitol.

Perfect hindsight does not change the fact that nothing in our collective experience or our intelligenceincluding intelligence provided by FBI, Secret Service, Department of Homeland Security (DHS), and D.C. Metropolitan Police (MPD)indicated that a well-coordinated, armed assault on the Capitol might occur on January 6, Sund wrote in his letter.

There was really no suspected harmful activity, Johnson said. People really were caught by surprise. This was not predictable. This was not foreseeable as the House managers continue to talk about. I just dont believe it was.

The Senate Homeland Security Committee on Feb. 23 is scheduled to hear from Sund, former Senate Sergeant-at-Arms Michael Stenger, former House Sergeant-at-Arms Paul Irving, and Metropolitan Police Department Acting Chief Robert Contee.

Mimi Nguyen-Ly contributed to this report.
Hyderabad: The first shipment from India under COVAX, the global initiative to ensure rapid and equitable access to COVID-19 vaccines for all countries, is likely to roll out this week, WHO Chief Scientist Soumya Swaminathan said on Monday. "Not in the next couple of months.

This week. (I think) today or tomorrow, the first shipment from India, from the Serum Institute, will be going out to at least 25 or 30 countries and then we hope that this will be followed by the vaccines also that are being manufactured in India. Many countries around the world are waiting for the distribution to happen as they have been watching vaccination programmes beginning and scaling in high-income countries, while their own healthcare workers and other vulnerable groups are still waiting," she said, during a virtual panel discussion.

She said this in reply to the question of whether WHO would start rolling out the COVAX facility officially to other countries in the next couple of months. The panel discussion on 'Immunizing the World' was held during 'BioAsia-2021', the flagship annual life sciences event of the Telangana government.

The role being played by India needs to be recognised and the country has risen to the occasion, expanding its huge manufacturing capacity, she said. Observing that "amazing" Research and Development is also happening in India with a lot of innovative products in clinical trials, she hoped that they would also be successful. Asked what it takes for countries to overcome the pandemic, she said it would be solidarity, global collaboration and unity.

"Because, it's clear that a pandemic cannot be addressed on a country-by-country or a region-by-region basis," she said.

This story has been published from a wire agency feed without modifications to the text. Only the headline has been changed.

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ATLANTA, Feb. 17, 2021 (GLOBE NEWSWIRE) -- Labor SMART, Inc. ( LTNC ) (the Company), a leader in providing on-demand blue collar staffing primarily in the southeastern United States, today announced the decision to accept Bitcoin and Ethereum as payment methods for its services.



As more institutions adopt cryptocurrency into their asset management strategies, the Company believes offering BTC and ETH as payment options will expand client flexibility.

Ryan Schadel, President and CEO of Labor Smart stated, Every week, we generate invoices and send them to our clients. If we take a credit card payment for the invoice, we are paying up to 3% for merchant services. If we take a check as payment, we are waiting 4 or 5 weeks to be paid. If we borrow against the receivable for cash flow, we are paying 2 or 3%. By giving our clients the option to pay in Bitcoin or Ethereum, not only are we giving them more flexibility with how they manage their own cash flow, but we will save on processing fees.

Mr. Schadel continued, Mainstream institutions are embracing crypto for its potential as a value store, payment method, and investment. As we continue to expand our business, we now have another valuable selling point. I believe crypto will be the preferred payment standard of the future and we are proud to be the very first in the staffing industry to accept crypto as payment.

The Company expects the payment method to be live by mid-March via Coinbase.

On February 12, 2021, the Company disclosed its intentions to become current with otcmarkets.com.

About Labor SMART, Inc.

Labor SMART, Inc. provides On-Demand temporary labor to a variety of industries. The Company's clients range from small businesses to Fortune 100 companies. Labor SMART was founded to provide reliable, dependable and flexible resources for on-demand personnel to small and large businesses in areas that include construction, manufacturing, hospitality, event-staffing, restoration, warehousing, retailing, disaster relief and cleanup, demolition and landscaping. Labor SMART believes it can make a positive contribution each and every day for the benefit of its clients and temporary employees. The Company's mission is to be the provider of choice to its growing portfolio of customers with a service-focused approach that enables Labor SMART to be seen as a resource and partner to its clients.

Safe Harbor Statement

This release contains statements that constitute forward-looking statements within the meaning of Section 27A of the Securities Act of 1933, as amended, and Section 21E of the Securities Exchange Act of 1934, as amended. These statements appear in a number of places in this release and include all statements that are not statements of historical fact regarding the intent, belief or current expectations of Labor SMART, Inc., its directors or its officers with respect to, among other things: (i) financing plans; (ii) trends affecting its financial condition or results of operations; (iii) growth strategy and operating strategy. The words "may", "would", "will", "expect", "estimate", "can", "believe", "potential", and similar expressions and variations thereof are intended to identify forward-looking statements. Investors are cautioned that any such forward-looking statements are not guarantees of future performance and involve risks and uncertainties, many of which are beyond Labor SMART, Inc.'s ability to control, and that actual results may differ materially from those projected in the forward-looking statements as a result of various factors. More information about the potential factors that could affect the business and financial results is and will be included in Labor SMART, Inc.'s filings with OTC Markets.com.

Contact:

Labor SMART, Inc.

ir@laborsmart.com
Beyond barbecues and ceremonies: Recognizing Memorial Day

For many, Memorial Day weekend is about gathering with family and grilling or attending a parade. Some find a more personal way to honor the holiday.
HONOR  A Branson, Missouri man is facing charges after a Michigan State Police detective witnessed a man and woman having an argument in the parking lot of a business in Honor last week.

According to a news release from state police on Monday, the detective reported witnessing the argument at about 8:40 p.m. on Feb. 18.

The release stated that the man appeared intoxicated as he got into his vehicle and drove off.

The detective requested a marked patrol unit contact the driver. A trooper from the MSP Cadillac Post was in the area and observed the vehicle on U.S. 31 and Ely Road, reads part of the release. The trooper followed the vehicle as it stopped in the parking lot of a nearby business.

John Ryan Baker, 34, was the driver and he showed signs of intoxication.

Sobriety tests were administered, and Baker was placed under arrest. Baker refused to submit to a chemical test and a search warrant was authorized for a blood draw, reads the release. During the blood draw Baker resisted.

Baker was lodged at the Benzie County Jail and then arraigned in 85th District Court of Benzie County for one count felony operating while intoxicated third offense and one count resisting and obstructing police.

His bond was set at $50,000 10% cash surety. His next scheduled court appearance is at 1:30 p.m. on March 11.
(@ChaudhryMAli88)

ABU DHABI, (UrduPoint / Pakistan Point News / WAM - 22nd Feb, 2021) His Highness Sheikh Mohamed bin Zayed Al Nahyan, Crown Prince of Abu Dhabi and Deputy Supreme Commander of the UAE Armed Forces, today received, separately, Rustam Nurgaliyevich Minnikhanov, President of Tatarstan, and Florence Parly, the French Minister of the Armed Forces, on the sidelines of the second day of the International Defence Exhibition and Conference (IDEX) and the Naval Defence & Maritime Security Exhibition (NAVDEX), now convening in the UAE capital.

Sheikh Mohamed discussed with the two State guests the prospects of promoting friendship ties between UAE and the Republic of Tatarstan and the French Republic, particularly at the defence level.

The discussions addressed the significance of the IDEX and NAVDEX, being a global platform to showcase the latest state-of-the-art-technology in the defence areas and modern, sustainable solutions to the common challenges besetting the world at present.

The meetings also covered ways of strengthening cooperation and forging partnerships in the security and defence fields.

Attending part of the meetings were Mohammed bin Ahmed Al Bowardi, Minister of State for Defence Affairs, Khaldoon Khalifa Al Mubarak, Chairman of Abu Dhabi Executive Affairs Authority, and Mohamed Mubarak Al Mazrouei, the Undersecretary of the Crown Prince Court of Abu Dhabi
Dr. Bradford Towle instructs a class inside the IST Building at Florida Poly. The University is poised for extraordinary growth as it seeks to recruit 25 faculty members for the fall 2021 semester. Now that weve established ourselves as an emerging leader in STEM education, were ready to deepen our instructional expertise and grow in targeted, highly skilled areas.

Florida Polytechnic University, the only state university dedicated entirely to STEM (science, technology, engineering, and math), is poised for unprecedented growth as it seeks to add 25 new faculty members for the fall 2021 semester.

The recruitment effort comes as many universities across the country are shedding faculty positions in the wake of the COVID-19 pandemic. One recent review in the journal Science found that faculty job openings at U.S. institutions were down 70% across STEM disciplines in late 2020 compared with the year before.

Florida Poly is in the fortunate position to continue on its well-planned strategy for growth, especially during this time of national concern, said Dr. Randy K. Avent, Florida Polys president. We are excited to move forward on this robust, targeted initiative to grow our faculty as part of Florida Polys development in the State University System.

The nationally ranked University is seeking experienced, expert faculty members to add muscle to its already formidable ranks of educators. Among the areas of expertise that are being recruited are artificial intelligence and machine learning, cybersecurity engineering, environmental engineering, mechanical engineering, and physics.

Now that weve established ourselves as an emerging leader in STEM education, were ready to deepen our instructional expertise and grow in targeted, highly skilled areas, said Dr. Terry Parker, Florida Polys provost.

Once all positions are filled, Florida Poly will have increased its number of highly qualified faculty members by about 40%.

The growth in faculty staffing comes as the University also enjoys continued growth in student enrollment and academic caliber. Incoming freshmen had an average GPA of 4.25 in fall 2020 with an average ACT score of 30 and average SAT score of 1327.

We have reached a critical point in our faculty staffing efforts and are thrilled to be at this important growth milestone, Parker said. We are putting in the capacity for growth as we continue expanding the number and breadth of our degrees.

Faculty who join Florida Poly build solid connections with highly skilled students in small classroom settings. They are encouraged to pursue their research interests as they work to further the Universitys teaching and research mission.

As Florida Poly continues to grow in capability and capacity, our faculty will play a pivotal role in ensuring we continue to provide a world-class STEM education to some of our nations brightest students, Parker said.

View the open faculty positions here.
"I've never met anyone who had real jerk chicken for the first time and didn't like it," said Kevon Watson, co-owner of Natty's Caribbean Cuisine in Albany. "Black, white, any other ethnicity  everyone likes it."

Aside from reggae music, jerk chicken is Jamaica's most famous cultural export. It can be found throughout the United States, Canada, the United Kingdom, western Europe and beyond, and not just in Caribbean restaurants. The popularity is such that a jerk-flavored sauce is commonly among those offered for chicken wings at pubs, sports bars and family restaurants.

But its origin is wholly Jamaican. And while in the American media and popular imagination "Black" food may first evoke thoughts of the Southern soul tradition  fried chicken, mac-n-cheese, collards, grits  for a segment of the Capital Regions Black population, the food essential to their heritage is a richly flavored, deep, smoky, spicy concoction that dates back more than 350 years.

Albany alone has about 10 Caribbean restaurants, all serving jerk chicken, and more can be found in Hudson, Schenectady and Troy. Two of the mainstays, Kenneths Tastebud Caribbean American Restaurant and Roys Caribbean Restaurant, sit across the street from one another on Henry Johnson Boulevard in Albany and have been open for 40 years and 30 years, respectively.

"There are so many layers of 'Black' culture: Black Americans, Jamaicans, Haitians, Africans, Afro-Latinos, French, and everybody has their own food," said Shaun Freeman, co-owner of Irie Vybez, a Jamaican restaurant in Albany that will celebrate its seventh anniversary in April. "But jerk chicken is the best known."

Freeman said his customer base is 70 percent Black and about 20 percent white, with the remainder a broad mix of other ethnicities.

Jerk chicken has been on the menu at Irie Vybez since it opened, representing about 25 percent of orders. (The restaurant's most popular dish is braised oxtail, selling at a rate of 500 pounds a week, Freeman said.) Traditionally, jerk chicken is marinated with a paste or rub based heavily on fiery Scotch bonnet peppers and allspice, the berry of the pimento tree.

Freeman, who grew up in a Jamaican community in the Bronx, said he doesn't use allspice and is cagey about his jerk recipe, allowing that it includes Scotch bonnets, thyme, scallions and ginger. After an overnight cure in the jerk seasoning, the chicken is grilled over charcoal.

Roadside jerk stands ubiquitous in Jamaica feature outdoor grills, in the past often made from oil barrels, that burn pimento wood and leaves over coals, but Freeman said sourcing them would be logistically difficult and expensive. (Maurice Reid, chef-owner of D&M Jerk Center in Albany, said he tosses pimento leaves and allspice berries into the fire when cooking on an outdoor grill for festivals and catering events but uses a gas grill at the restaurant.)

"You have to cook it low and slow," said Watson of his approach to jerk chicken at Natty's, where the dish accounts for about a third of all orders. After a two- or three-day marinade, chicken parts are grilled. All jerk chicken must have bones, aficionados insist. A sign in D&M Jerk center warns, "No boneless meat!"

"A boneless chicken breast with jerk sauce on a sandwich isn't jerk chicken, said Watson. Thats definitely not authentic.

Though now trendy, jerk as a recipe was born out of privation and necessity. According to the book Provisions: The Roots of Caribbean Cooking, jerk was first developed by Caribbean indigenous people called the Tainos, with later influence by the Maroons, a tribe of enslaved Africans who escaped from Spanish-owned plantations when Jamaica was invaded by the British in 1655.

Finding refuge in a mountainous region on the eastern side of the island, the Maroons are believed by historians to have learned jerk seasoning and cooking with available ingredients including feral pigs, allspice, chile peppers and pimento wood from the Tainos, and the Maroons began the practice of burying whole hogs in fire pits to smoke.

Like oxtail, which was originally food for poor people, jerk was using what they had around them, said Freeman.

Theyd smoke the meat to preserve it, so it wouldnt spoil, said Watson.

As jerk has become more popular, concessions have been made to wider tastes, including moderating spice levels. (Scotch bonnets in abundance will torch most tongues.)

Id say ours is a 4 out of 10 in terms of spiciness, said Freeman.

We purposely did that, because a lot of people come in and say, I dont like it too spicy, Freeman said. Those with capsaicin-craving palates can crank up the heat with housemade bottled sauce thats available for purchase.

Were probably 7 for spicy, said Watson of Nattys, which he opened with a partner in 2019 after 20 years in the restaurant business locally following a move from his native in Jamaica in 2000. But, he said, We can do it at a 10, too. If you like that, well give it to you.
Bryan R. Smith / AFP / Getty

MIAMIAbout three weeks ago, Jane McPherson put her name on a standby list of older folks seeking the COVID-19 vaccine from the health department in Manatee, a county of roughly 400,000 people on the gulf coast of Florida. That list swelled to nearly 158,000 senior citizens, and the 65-year-old resident of Bradenton, the county seat, is still waiting for her shot.

Im stuck in the queue, she told The Daily Beast, referring to the local vaccine lottery system. No one has called me. I guess I need to pursue it harder.

Last week, McPherson tried signing up for a vaccine shot at her local Publix, the Lakeland, Florida-based grocery store chain that Gov. Ron DeSantis administration picked for an exclusive pilot program to inoculate seniors at hundreds of pharmacy locations statewide.

Still no luck. Due to vaccine shipments being delayed by the brutal snowstorms that blanketed most of the U.S., Publix canceled booking windows for people to sign up for immunization appointments. In fact, Manatee County Commissioner Carol Whitmore told The Daily Beast that 5,100 doses the health department was supposed to receive last week were delayed.

The weather screwed things up, McPherson said, dejectedly. These are scary times.

COVID Would Kill Me. Too Bad I Live in a Vaccine Hellhole.

But even as McPherson struggled to get an appointment, DeSantis funneled 3,000 extra doses to seniors residing in two targeted zip codes within Lakewood Ranch, a well-off residential community near Bradenton developed by the Uihlein family. The clans members include GOP and DeSantis megadonor Richard Uihlein, who gave $900,000 to the governors re-election effort in 2018 and 2019, according to the Florida Division of Elections. The Uihleins own Lakewood Ranchs parent company Schroeder-Manatee Ranch, whose CEO Rex Jensen got a call from DeSantis about delivering the goods, as first reported by The Bradenton Herald. (A spokesperson for Schroeder-Manatee told the Sun-Sentinel Richard Uihlein was not himself a shareholder in the company.)

Story continues

Jensen then contacted Republican Manatee County Commission Chairwoman Vanessa Baugh to help set up the pop-up vaccine site, and she gave the final word on who would get the shots, according to local media reports. She even provided a VIP list to county staff that included herself, some of her friends, and Jensen.

The governors decision has not gone over welleven among some of his supporters.

I did vote for him, McPherson told The Daily Beast. I would not vote for him again unless whoever runs against him is a worse person.

Indeed, a routine press conference last week touting the plan as another notch on the vaccine-fixated governors belt went south quickly. From a podium set up at the Lakewood Ranch outdoor pop-up clinic, DeSantis bristled at questions about complaints from residents who were upset he was giving shots to an exclusive group of people. (Residents of the two zip codes are some of the wealthiest people in the region, and have faced lower infection rates than some of their neighbors.)

If Manatee County doesnt like us doing this, then we are totally fine with putting this in counties that want it and were totally happy to do that, DeSantis barked. So anyone thats saying that, let us know, if you want us to send it to Sarasota next time or Charlotte or Pasco or wherever, let us know; were happy to do it.

It was the kind of snarky outburst DeSantis has hurled at reporters throughout a pandemic that has further endeared him to conservative voters in Florida. But the controversy swirling around the Lakewood Ranch vaccine debacle may cost himeven in Bradenton, a Republican-rich city that produced 124,827 votes for Donald Trump in 2020, roughly a 20 percent increase from his vote total there in 2016. DeSantis campaign of politically targeted vaccine distribution, throwing out lifelines to donors and allies even as he blocks localities from enforcing mask mandates, is alienating voters in a state where shots represent the only pandemic safety plan.

Photo by Joe Raedle/Getty Images

He was like a little kid stomping his feet, McPherson told The Daily Beast of DeSantis press conference.

Cindy Dunbar, an 84-year-old with a chronic pulmonary disease and a Republican who also voted for DeSantis in 2018, said the governors comments were childish and irresponsible. Like McPherson, Dunbar has been waiting for weeks for her name to be called, she said.

If he had extra vaccines, DeSantis should have given it to the people in the stand-by pool, not call a developer, Dunbar told The Daily Beast. The whole thing was a scheme to give it to wealthy residents.

Meanwhile, health experts warn that DeSantis is eroding public confidence in Floridas vaccine rollout by seemingly rewarding individuals and companies who support him. Spokespersons for DeSantis did not respond to multiple email requests for comment for this story.

In late December, DeSantis held a press conference at The Villages, the states largest retirement community that overwhelmingly tilts to the GOP. As part of the presser, five Republican Villagers who previously held elected office or positions within local GOP clubs received shots weeks before hundreds of their neighbors were able to get inoculated. In early January, DeSantis announced the pilot program in which Publix would exclusively administer vaccines after the grocer contributed $100,000 to Friends of DeSantis.

DeSantis and Publix have denied any correlation between the partnership and the campaign contributions. But the mere perception of political favoritism can exacerbate the frustration of senior citizens who are trying to get vaccinated, University of South Florida infectious disease professor Dr. Jill Roberts told The Daily Beast. Many elderly people are already facing challenges with having internet access for making appointments and the need to have a vehicle to get to vaccination sites, Roberts added.

Favoritism continues to erode the publics trust in the system which should be providing equality for all, Roberts told The Daily Beast. Obviously, vaccines should continue to go to those with the greatest need and never those with the greatest dollars.

Dr. Marissa Levine, another University of South Florida epidemiology scholar, said having an ethical framework around the logistics of distributing vaccines is critical for helping people and managing a difficult rollout. In this case [involving Lakewood Ranch], there werent any ethics here and it was much more a matter of who you know, Levine told The Daily Beast. It would have been better for DeSantis to take those doses and put them back in the existing [lottery system]. That is the more equitable way.

Why Europes COVID Vaccine Passports Wont Work

During a Thursday county commission meeting, Chairwoman Baugh apologized for her role in organizing the Lakewood Ranch pop-up site. She said she believed she was following the governors directions about selecting areas that had a high concentration of seniors when she picked the zip codes 34202 and 34211. Coincidentally, both zip codes are located in her districttwo areas where the average median income is around $100,000, or double Manatees overall median income, according to The Bradenton Herald. Baugh overruled county staffs suggestion to draw names at random from the standby list, but also insisted that she did not herself get the vaccine at Lakewood Ranch.

I also want to apologize to Gov. [Ron] DeSantis, Baugh said at the meeting. I dont do that because I feel that Im putting him in jeopardy because of Lakewood Ranch. I did exactly what he wanted. I am thankful and appreciate that he brought 3,000 additional doses to this county. Thats 3,000 more than we wouldve had.

Baugh did not respond to messages left on her cellphone, but County Commissioner Whitmore, also a Republican, said the governor did not deserve the brunt of the blame. I dont care what party I am in, I am embarrassed that this happened, Whitmore told The Daily Beast. Now, I have never spoken with the governor and I didnt attend the press conference, but he was set up. Commissioner Baugh took full responsibility.

Whitmore, a registered nurse, said the DeSantis administration has ramped up the amount of doses Manatee received since mid-January after the county and the state health department opened a large vaccination site in Bradentons Bennett Park. Whitmore herself volunteers at the site preparing syringes, she said. According to the most recent update from the Florida Department of Health, 44,333 people have been vaccinated in Manatee County.

We were initially getting 1,500 doses a week and then it went up to 2,000, Whitmore said. In the past month, its gone up from 4,000 a week to 5,100. We have seen an increase without even asking.

Still, seniors like McPherson are stuck without a vaccine in a state where that may be the only hope for survival thanks to an officially sanctioned climate of pandemic rebellion.

I do everything I am supposed to do like wear my mask when I go out, wash my hands constantly, and avoid big groups, she said. Ive lived here 50 years and I know people from out of state who have come here and gotten the vaccine. It pisses me off.

McPherson was impressed with DeSantis leadership during the first year of his term, but her faith in him fell apart during the pandemic.

At first, I thought he was doing a good job, she said. Now, I question some of his decisions. When he said he would send the vaccine to other places, I thought it was very juvenile of him. It was like his feelings got hurt. When you are governor, that is not how it is supposed to work.

Read more at The Daily Beast.

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LOS ANGELES, Feb. 22, 2021 /PRNewswire/ -- The Schall Law Firm, a national shareholder rights litigation firm, announces that it is investigating claims on behalf of investors of Leidos Holdings, Inc. ("Leidos" or "the Company") (NYSE: LDOS) for violations of the securities laws.

The investigation focuses on whether the Company issued false and/or misleading statements and/or failed to disclose information pertinent to investors. Leidos is the subject of a research report by Spruce Point Capital Management published on February 16, 2021. According to the report, "Leidos' $1.0 billion levered acquisition of L3Harris' Security Detection and Automation business (SD&A) is experiencing significant problems, including product defects, that increase the likelihood of a material adverse effect." The report also alleged that the company misstated its financials, citing a $6 million variance between the Company's third quarter 2020 investor presentation and a Form 10-Q which it claims "raises the possibility that Leidos has booked fake revenue, or is keeping two sets of books."

If you are a shareholder who suffered a loss, click here to participate.

We also encourage you to contact Brian Schall of the Schall Law Firm, 2049 Century Park East, Suite 2460, Los Angeles, CA 90067, at 310-301-3335, to discuss your rights free of charge. You can also reach us through the firm's website at www.schallfirm.com, or by email at [email protected].

The Schall Law Firm represents investors around the world and specializes in securities class action lawsuits and shareholder rights litigation.

This press release may be considered Attorney Advertising in some jurisdictions under the applicable law and rules of ethics.

CONTACT:

The Schall Law Firm

Brian Schall, Esq.

310-301-3335

[email protected]

www.schallfirm.com

SOURCE The Schall Law Firm

Related Links

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CALGARY - TC Energy Corp. says it has no intention of again sweetening its bid to buy out the other unitholders of TC PipeLines LP, a U.S. master limited partnership it operates, despite the vow of its largest non-affiliated investor to vote against the transaction.

Pipes intended for construction of the Keystone XL pipeline are shown in Gascoyne, N.D. on Wednesday April 22, 2015. THE CANADIAN PRESS/Alex Panetta

CALGARY - TC Energy Corp. says it has no intention of again sweetening its bid to buy out the other unitholders of TC PipeLines LP, a U.S. master limited partnership it operates, despite the vow of its largest non-affiliated investor to vote against the transaction.

On Friday, Connecticut-based Energy Income Partners said it believes the offer of 0.7 common shares of TC Energy for each unit of TC PipeLines is inadequate and "significantly undervalues" its assets and growth potential.

The dissident unitholder says it owns more than 10 per cent of the partnership and has maintained a position in the company for nearly 15 years. TC Energy owns about 24 per cent of the units.

In its response, TC Energy says the exchange ratio represents a 20.8 per cent premium to the partnership's closing price before the original offer as of Oct. 2.

The board of directors of the partnership's general partner agreed to support the deal in December after TC Energy raised the ratio to 0.7 of a TC Energy share from the original 0.65 of a share, thus valuing TC PipeLines at US$1.68 billion.

A special meeting of unitholders to vote on the merger is set for Friday.

We affirm the exchange ratio and we are confident that the meaningful transaction premium presents the best opportunity for (TC PipeLine's) unitholders to maximize value," said TC Energy CEO Francois Poirier in a statement Monday.

"TC Energy will not increase the exchange ratio or vary any of the terms of the merger. If the merger is not completed, the partnership will remain a publicly traded limited partnership."

This report by The Canadian Press was first published Feb. 22, 2021.

Companies in this story: (TSX:TRP)
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Assemblymember James C. Ramos is a Democrat who represents the 40th Assembly District in San Bernardino County, James.Ramos@asm.ca.gov. He is the first California Native American elected to the Legislature and a lifelong resident of the San Manuel Indian Reservation.
In a blow to Reliance and Future Retail, the Supreme Court on Monday sought responses from the Kishore Biyani-led company and others on e-commerce giant Amazon's plea against the Delhi High Court direction to maintain the "status quo" on the Future-Reliance deal. A bench comprising Justices RF Nariman and BR Gavai issued notices to Future Retail, Kishore Biyani and others, and sought their replies in the next three weeks.

The SC bench said the proceedings before the National Company Law Tribunal (NCLT) will go on, but will not culminate into "any final order on the amalgamation of FRL with Reliance". The SC bench listed the case for hearing after five weeks.

The SC ruling came just a few days after the SC division bench on February 8 stayed the single judge saying FRL was not a party to the share subscription agreement (SSA) between Amazon and Future Coupons Pvt Ltd (FCPL) and the US e-commerce giant was not a party to the deal between FRL and Reliance Retail. Amazon moved the Supreme Court on February 11, challenging the Rs 24,713 crore retail asset sale to Mukesh Ambani-led Reliance Retail Ltd.

As per Amazon, Future violated its contract by signing a retail asset sale agreement with Reliance Industries in 2020. However, Future promoter Kishore Biyani has denied any of this wrongdoing and accused Amazon of playing "dog in a manager" as the multinational e-commerce giant engages in a massive legal battle with FRL.

The Delhi High Court had last month dealt a blow to Amazon by revoking a previous court order on putting a stay on the deal. The court turned down Amazon's request to keep its order in abeyance for a week so that it can explore appropriate remedies. Before that, a single-bench court of Justice JR Midha had blocked Future Group's deal with Reliance Industries after Amazon raised objections, prompting Future to move to a higher court.

Also read: Future vs Amazon: Kishore Biyani's firm to challenge Delhi HC order on deal with Reliance

Also read: How Future Retail is at JioMart's mercy

Also read: Future-Reliance deal: Delhi HC stays single-bench status quo order

Also read: Amazon vs Future Retail: E-comm giant moves SC against Biyani's deal with Reliance
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The global Styrene Butadiene Rubber (SBR) market is anticipated to reach USD 14.74 billion by 2026 According to a new study published by Polaris Market Research.

Styrene Butadiene Rubber (SBR) is a synthetic rubber produced by the co-polymerization of butadiene and styrene. Global Styrene Butadiene Rubber (SBR) market demand is largely driven by the manufacturing of tire and related products. Automotive industry is the largest application segment for this synthetic rubber. Rapid growth in the manufacturing of crossover utility vehicles (CUV), SUVs, and battery electric vehicles (BEVs) have led to higher consumption of SBR in the manufacturing sector.

Get sample copy of this report @ https://www.polarismarketresearch.com/industry-analysis/styrene-butadiene-rubber-sbr-market

Many other applications have also driven the demand for SBR substantially. Footwear, consumer products, industrial hoses, conveyor belts, automotive applications excluding tires, and extruded rubber goods are other applications that consume synthetic butadiene rubber for the end-product manufacturing.

Growing global population coupled with the increase in disposable incomes of consumers has led to growth of many end-use industries that have high consumption of SBR. Strong economic performance, consumer preference for modern & sustainable products such as electric vehicles, falling value of old diesel cars, and steady growth of many middle-income countries across the world are some of the vital growth forces for the end-use rubber industries.

SBR is of two types, emulsion SBR (ESBR) and Solution SBR (SSBR). Though ESBR accounted for the largest market share, but SSBR has witnessed momentum in the recent past. This is on account of the rising demand for low rolling-resistance tires to decrease carbon dioxide emissions and reduce fuel consumption. Moreover, SSBR has efficiently adapted to the growing stringent specifications of the high-performance tires.

Browse for full research summary: https://www.polarismarketresearch.com/industry-analysis/styrene-butadiene-rubber-sbr-market

The most significant growth regions with large consumption of SBR include Northeast Asia, mainly Taiwan and Indian subcontinent. The largest capacity additions in the period of 2012-17 were witnessed in Southeast Asia (Singapore and Thailand), South Korea, China, and Central Europe. Though China witnessed decline in the Styrene Butadiene Rubber (SBR) growth in past five years, but continues to be the largest consumer.

ESBR witnessed decline in most of the Styrene Butadiene Rubber (SBR) markets, including the United States, South Korea, Western Europe, Central Europe, and Japan, losing the market to SSBR. The global consumption of SSBR has witnessed a substantial increase in the past five years with faster capacity additions globally. The mature markets such as Japan, Canada, and Europe are anticipated to witness limited growth rate.

The global styrene butadiene rubber (SBR) market comprises of large number of market players. Some of the key SBR players include Sinopec, LANXESS, China National Petroleum Corporation (CNPC), Kumho Petrochemical, Sibur, JSR Corporation, Trinseo, Eastman Chemical Corporation, Asahi Kasei Chemical Corporation, and Ashland Inc.

SBR Market Size and Forecast by Regions, 2018-2026

North America U.S. Canada

Europe Germany UK France

Asia Pacific China India Japan

Latin America Brazil Mexico

Middle East & Africa

Avail discount on this report @ https://www.polarismarketresearch.com/industry-analysis/styrene-butadiene-rubber-sbr-market/request-for-discount-pricing

About Polaris Market Research

Polaris Market Research is a global market research and consulting company. We provide unmatched quality of offerings to our clients present globally. The company specializes in providing exceptional market intelligence and in-depth business research services for our clientele spread across different enterprises. We at Polaris are obliged to serve our diverse customer base present across the industries of healthcare, technology, semi-conductors and chemicals among various other industries present around the world. We strive to provide our customers with updated information on innovative technologies, high growth markets, emerging business environments and latest business-centric applications, thereby helping them always to make informed decisions and leverage new opportunities.

Contact us-

Polaris Market Research

Phone: 1-646-568-9980

Email: sales@polarismarketresearch.com

Web: www.polarismarketresearch.com
Amid surge in Covid-19 cases in the country, Karnataka government on Monday tightened Covid-19 protocols in the state in order to curb spread of the virus.

According to the new protocols, marshals will be deployed in marriage halls to ensure Covid guidelines are followed. Not more than 500 people are allowed in a gathering and face mask is compulsory for all, said Karnataka Health Minister Dr. K Sudhakar.

Moreover, state's Kalaburagi district administration issued a travel advisory in the wake of rising Covid cases. Five check posts were set up at the Karnataka-Maharastra border in the district. Travellers from Maharashtra, who enter Karnataka through the border at Afzalpura and Aland have to sumbit RT-PCR negative test, as per orders.

Meanwhile, as a move to reinstate stricter control of transit passengers from Kerala in view of increasing COVID-19 positive cases, people in Karnataka, bound to Mangaluru and other parts of Dakshina Kannada for various purposes including medical needs and studies are in a fix again.

Long queues of vehicles could be seen in the border areas since morning as Karnataka authorities sealed many roads including national highways and restricted entry only for those with Covid-19 negative certificates.

The Dakshina Kannada authorities sealed all borders from Monday except four to cross over, sources told PTI.

According to Karnataka officials at the borders, those who wish to enter have to produce Covid-19 negative certificate through an RT-PCR test taken 72 hours prior to their cross over time.

Karnataka on Sunday clocked 413 fresh coronavirus infections and two deaths, taking the total caseload and fatalities to 9,48,149 and 12,294 respectively, the health department said. According to a health bulletin, so far 9,29,800 people, including 353 on Sunday, had been discharged.

There were 6,036 active cases in the state which includes 127 in intensive care units, the department said. More than half of the fresh cases were contributed by Bengaluru Urban district, which reported 248 infections besides both the fatalities. Cumulatively, the city has reported 4,03,762 infections, 4,451 deaths, 3,94,995 discharges, including 206 on Sunday.





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Ukraine counts on IMF funds, confident country to receive them in 2021  Zelensky

Ukraine is counting on the funds of the International Monetary Fund (IMF) and is confident of receiving them in 2021, President Volodymyr Zelensky has said.

"We are counting on this money," Zelensky said during his speech at the "Ukraine 30. Infrastructure" forum on Monday.

He said he is confident that the country will receive the funds from the IMF by the end of this year.
EU foreign ministers on Monday agreed to impose sanctions on Russian officials for the jailing of Kremlin critic Alexei Navalny and to target Myanmar's military over its seizure of power, the bloc's top envoy said.

Russia called the move "disappointing" and "unlawful", while the United States welcomed the decision to take action against Moscow.

Diplomats told AFP the Russia sanctions would target four senior officials deemed responsible for persecuting Navalny, using the EU's new human rights regime adopted last year.

The diplomats did not name the targeted individuals but the limited move looks set to disappoint those calling for a tough response.

Navalny's associates and European lawmakers had urged the ministers meeting in Brussels to go after oligarchs accused of funding President Vladimir Putin's rule.

German Foreign Minister Heiko Maas said the sanctions were intended to send a "statement that we are not prepared to accept certain things".

"But it is also necessary that we continue to have a dialogue with Russia," he said.

EU foreign policy chief Josep Borrell did not confirm the number of people to be targeted.

He said he would officially put forward the names to be sanctioned and hoped the measures would be in place within a week.

"We have to sanction the people who are directly connected to his arrest, his sentencing, his persecution," Borrell said.

Russia's foreign ministry said in a statement that the decision, "under a far-fetched pretext to prepare new unlawful unilateral restrictions on Russian citizens, is disappointing."

The new US secretary of state, Antony Blinken, took part virtually in the EU meeting and "welcomed" the decision, said State Department spokesman Ned Price.

- Diplomatic ambush -

The mood towards Moscow hardened across the EU after Borrell was caught in a diplomatic ambush on a disastrous trip to Moscow this month, during which the Kremlin expelled three European diplomats.

Story continues

The bloc has already hit Russia with waves of sanctions over the 2014 annexation of Crimea and Moscow's role in the conflict in eastern Ukraine.

The EU in October put six officials on a blacklist over the August poisoning of Navalny with Novichok, a Soviet-era nerve agent.

Navalny, Putin's most prominent domestic critic, was this month jailed for almost three years after returning to Russia following treatment in Germany for his poisoning.

His jailing sparked nationwide protests that saw baton-wielding security forces detain thousands of people.

Two of Navalny's closest associates pressed for sanctions against Putin's top circle at a meeting with eight EU foreign ministers in Brussels on Sunday.

"If it's just 10 Kremlin officials who don't travel abroad and don't have assets abroad, then, indeed, it would not be painful," Navalny's key aide Leonid Volkov told journalists.

- Myanmar military targeted -

European ministers agreed to press on as well with sanctions against Myanmar's military over its coup this month and to withhold some development aid.

"We took the political agreement to apply sanctions targeting the military responsible for the coup and their economic interests," Borrell said.

"All direct financial support from our development system to the government reform programmes is withheld."

The military ousted and detained civilian leader Aung San Suu Kyi in a coup that has drawn international condemnation -- and it has launched an increasingly bloody crackdown on demonstrators.

Borrell insisted the bloc would not curb trade ties with the southeast Asian nation as that could hit the general population.

European ministers also added 19 Venezuelan officials to a blacklist for "undermining democracy" and for human rights abuses after the EU rejected legislative elections in December as undemocratic.

The bloc discussed the ongoing repression in Belarus and said it would consider the need for a fourth round of sanctions against President Alexander Lukashenko's government.

Ministers also eyed China's crackdown on Hong Kong as the EU attempts to gauge whether it should beef up its response.

Borrell said Brussels would look to support Hong Kong's civil society as a first step and would consider more measures if the situation deteriorated.

The tough talking on Russia, Venezuela and China came ahead of a first appearance by Blinken before the whole bloc.

Both sides are looking to put the tensions of Donald Trump's tenure behind them as they seek to cooperate on a raft of issues.

Monday's discussion looked at the approach to common adversaries like Russia and China, and efforts to bring the US back into the hard-won 2015 Iran nuclear deal.

The EU is looking to broker a meeting between Washington, Tehran and other signatories -- including Moscow -- to salvage the accord after Trump quit it in 2018.

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The International Atomic Energy Agency (IAEA) Director General Rafael Grossi (C) is seen during a meeting with Iranian Foreign Minister Mohammad Javad Zarif (not seen in the picture) in Tehran, Iran, on Feb. 21, 2021. During the meeting on Sunday between Zarif and Grossi, they exchanged views about Iran-IAEA cooperation in line with the Safeguards Agreement. (Photo by Ahmad Halabisaz/Xinhua)

TEHRAN, Feb. 21 (Xinhua) -- The chief of the International Atomic Energy Agency (IAEA) on Sunday held talks with the head of Atomic Energy Organization of Iran (AEOI) and Iranian foreign minister over the settlement of issues on Iran's nuclear program, as Tehran has decided to stop the IAEA's Additional Protocol on Feb. 23 if U.S. sanctions are not lifted, Press TV reported.

The talks between Rafael Grossi, director general of the IAEA, and Ali-Akbar Salehi, head of the AEOI, revolved around the simultaneous implementation of the IAEA's Safeguards Agreement and Iran's Strategic Action Plan to Counter Sanctions.

"Iran and the IAEA held fruitful discussions based on mutual respect, the result of which will be released this evening," Iran's ambassador to international organizations in Vienna Kazem Gharibabadi tweeted after the meeting.

During the meeting between Iranian Foreign Minister Mohammad Javad Zarif and Grossi, they exchanged views about Iran-IAEA cooperation in line with the Safeguards Agreement.

The Iranian parliament approved in December 2020 the Strategic Action Plan to Counter Sanctions that mandates the Iranian government to relaunch 20-percent uranium enrichment, and stop implementing the IAEA's Additional Protocol if sanctions that should be lifted under the 2015 international nuclear agreement continues to be in place.

In response to the U.S. withdrawal from the Iranian nuclear deal in 2018 and re-imposition of sanctions, Iran has suspended parts of its commitments under the deal.
Calvin E. Tyler Jr. grew up in what he recalls as "very humble beginnings" in Baltimore, went to Morgan State University in his home city in the early 1960s, left school without finishing his degree for want of money, became a driver for United Parcel Service, jumped into management and retired in 1998 as senior vice president after a long and successful run with UPS.

Then he and his wife, Tina, started giving to Morgan State in what has now become a landmark run of philanthropy for the nation's historically Black colleges and universities.

Their first donation arrived in 2000, $42,744 toward fulfilling a $500,000 pledge. The Tylers kept giving, and their pledges kept rising: another $500,000, another $1 million, another $3 million.

"I wanted to make it possible for a lot of kids from the inner city to go to college on scholarships," Tyler said.

On Monday, Morgan State announced a new pledge from the Tylers of $15 million. Their lifetime total now stands at $20 million. All will be dedicated to financial aid, with a goal of helping students graduate with little or no debt.

What sets these gifts apart is the source. The $20 million appears to be one of the largest total pledges that any historically Black school has received from a former student (and, in this case, a spouse).

For many predominantly White institutions, spanning the Ivy League, other private colleges and public universities, eight-figure donations from former students are major events but not rare or unknown. The situation for HBCUs, given the nation's profound racial gaps in economic circumstances, is very different. Their alumni, on the whole, have not amassed the same levels of generational wealth. Many borrowed to pay college bills.

By the former-student measure, the Tyler gifts "will be a record or near-record" for HBCUs, said Harry L. Williams, president and chief executive of the Thurgood Marshall College Fund, which supports HBCU students. Morgan State officials think the total pledge sets an alumni giving record for the sector. Authoritative and comprehensive data on such philanthropic records for the roughly 100 public and private HBCUs is scarce, Williams said.

He predicted that the gifts will electrify HBCU alumni around the country. "Hopefully there will be others out there that do this," Williams said.

Tyler said he wants others to follow his lead. "You know that old saying: Don't ever forget where you came from," he said in a telephone interview from his home in Las Vegas. Tyler, 78, and his 76-year-old wife split time between there and a residence in Contra Costa County, Calif.

"I want to set an example so that others should feel obligated," he said. "I'd like to see more people come back and support HBCUs."

Many of the largest gifts to HBCUs have not come from their own former students. Billionaire MacKenzie Scott last year gave $560 million to numerous HBCUs, including record-shattering sums of $50 million to Prairie View A&M University in Texas, $45 million to North Carolina A&T State University, and $40 million each to Howard University in D.C., Norfolk State University in Virginia and Morgan State.

Scott, the ex-wife of Amazon founder and Washington Post owner Jeff Bezos, graduated from Princeton University.

Among former HBCU students, data from the Chronicle of Philanthropy and other sources suggest landmark donations to their schools have tended to be in seven figures - around $1 million to $3 million. One exception: News accounts in 1992 show that attorney Willie E. Gary pledged $10 million to his alma mater, Shaw University in North Carolina.

The Tylers reached the $5 million mark at Morgan State in 2016.

Although Calvin Tyler did not graduate with his Class of 1965, Morgan State regards him as one of its most distinguished alumni. The university awarded him an honorary doctorate in 2004, and it named a new student services building for him and his wife. Tyler Hall, built with state funding, is expected to be dedicated next fall.

"The quintessential Morganite is Calvin Tyler," Morgan State President David Wilson said. Wilson described the philanthropist as a self-effacing leader and barrier-breaker. "His time at Morgan was cut short, but his dream was not," Wilson said. "His dream endured."

Wilson said Morgan State, like other colleges and universities, is "open for investments of any magnitude" and welcomes funding from "the philanthropic community far and wide." But the Tylers, both Baltimore born, have become a powerful symbol for the university, he said.

"Our students at Morgan, they can touch Calvin Tyler," Wilson said. "They can leave the campus at Morgan and go two miles into west Baltimore and get to the neighborhood that produced him."

So far, 222 Morgan State students have received tuition aid as "Tyler Scholars," according to the university. The new pledge will expand those numbers, targeting students in financial need who keep a grade-point average of at least 2.5.

Morgan State, founded in 1867 for religious education, became a public college in 1939 and is now a research university with about 7,600 students. This year, tuition and fees total about $7,600 for Maryland residents and about $18,000 for those from out of state. Those totals don't include meals, housing and other expenses.

Most students don't pay the full price. More than half of Morgan State's undergraduates have enough financial need to qualify for federal Pell grants. Many are first-generation college students.

By Tyler's account, he was the first in his family to go to college. His father, he said, was a lineman for the telephone company and his mother a nurse's aide. He isn't sure whether either of them graduated from high school. There wasn't much talk of college in Tyler's family in the 1940s and '50s. But he was a strong student and graduated from the prominent public high school known as Baltimore City College.

From there, he said, the obvious choice for an academically driven African American in Baltimore was Morgan State. He enrolled in 1961.

"I had ambitions of getting a degree in business, but I had to pay my own way," Tyler said. "I didn't have a scholarship. My parents couldn't afford to pay tuition. I was basically paying my own way, working several jobs."

Tyler said he recalls that professors were caring as he took courses in business, accounting, French and other subjects. But he acknowledged that he grew distracted in the pursuit of a bachelor's degree. He had little time for extracurricular campus activities. Money worries weighed him down when he left the university in 1963. "I lose track of exactly how many credits I had," he said. "I like to assume I was halfway there."

He saw a half-page advertisement for UPS in the Baltimore Sun. It intrigued him because it said the company promoted from within. He started driving a truck in 1964, delivering to country clubs, brokerage houses, Johns Hopkins University and other places of wealth far removed from his upbringing in west Baltimore. "A lot of things I had never seen before," he said.

He stayed with the company, and his career took off. Eventually he oversaw U.S. operations and served on the UPS board of directors and other prominent boards.

Tyler said he knows his own narrative, thriving in the end without a bachelor's degree, provides a somewhat complicated view of higher education.

"One of the reasons I don't like to publicize my story," he said, "is because some young kid might take from that, 'Boy, I don't need to go to college.' That would be the biggest mistake of all. I wish I'd finished. I would encourage young people to get all the education they can."

He also wants graduates to give back to their schools as soon as possible, without waiting to become rich. "I don't care if it's 10 bucks, 20 bucks," he said. "If you get them in the habit of giving, it will grow over time."
Tehran, Iran  Iran will begin to offer United Nations inspectors less access to its nuclear program as part of its pressure campaign on the West, though investigators will still be able to monitor Tehrans work, the U.N. atomic watchdogs chief said Sunday.

Rafael Grossis comments came after an emergency trip to Iran in which he said the International Atomic Energy Agency reached a technical understanding with Tehran to continue to allow monitoring of its nuclear program for up to three months. But his remarks to journalists underlined a narrowing window for the U.S. and others to reach terms with Iran, which is already enriching and stockpiling uranium at levels far beyond those allowed by its 2015 nuclear deal with world powers.

The hope of the IAEA has been to stabilize a situation which was very unstable, Grossi said at the airport after his arrival back in Vienna, where the agency is based. I think this technical understanding does it so that other political consultations at other levels can take place and most importantly we can avoid a situation in which we would have been, in practical terms, flying blind.

Grossi, the IAEAs director general, offered few specifics of the agreement he had reached with Iranian leaders. He said the number of inspectors on the ground would remain the same but that what changes is the type of activity the agency was able to carry out, without elaborating further. He stressed monitoring would continue in a satisfactory manner.

Iranian Foreign Minister Mohammad Javad Zarif, who under President Hassan Rouhani helped reach the atomic accord, said the IAEA would be prevented from accessing footage from their cameras at nuclear sites. That came during a state TV interview Sunday even before his meeting with Grossi.

This is not a deadline for the world. This is not an ultimatum, Zarif told the government-run, English-language broadcaster Press TV. This is an internal domestic issue between the parliament and the government.

We have a democracy. We are supposed to implement the laws of the country. And the parliament adopted legislation  whether we like it or not.

Zarifs comments marked the highest-level acknowledgement yet of what Iran planned to do when it stopped following the so-called Additional Protocol, a confidential agreement between Tehran and the IAEA reached as part of the landmark 2015 nuclear deal. The IAEA has additional protocols with a number of countries it monitors.

Under the protocol with Iran, the IAEA collects and analyzes hundreds of thousands of images captured daily by its sophisticated surveillance cameras, the agency said in 2017. The agency also said then that it had placed 2,000 tamper-proof seals on nuclear material and equipment.

In his interview, Zarif said authorities would be required by law not to provide the tapes of those cameras. It wasnt immediately clear if that also meant the cameras would be turned off entirely as Zarif called that a technical decision, thats not a political decision.

The IAEA certainly will not get footage from those cameras, Zarif said.

Grossi didnt address Zarifs camera remarks Sunday night, but stressed that European and U.S. leaders needed to salvage the situation through negotiations.

What we have agreed is something that is viable. It is useful to bridge this gap, Grossi said. It salvages this situation now, but, of course, for a stable, sustainable situation there will have to be a political negotiation and that is not up to me.

There are 18 nuclear facilities and nine other locations in Iran under IAEA safeguards.

In 2018, then-President Donald Trump pulled the U.S. unilaterally out of the nuclear deal, known as the Joint Comprehensive Plan of Action, saying it needed to be renegotiated.

Even as Iran has backed away from restrictions of the deal since then to put pressure on the other signatories  Germany, France, Britain, Russia and China  to provide new economic incentives to offset U.S. sanctions, those countries have insisted its critical to keep the deal alive so that inspectors are able to continue to verify Irans nuclear activities.

From Washington, U.S. National Security Adviser Jake Sullivan said President Joe Biden remained willing to negotiate with Iran over a return to the nuclear deal, an offer earlier dismissed by Zarif.

He is prepared to go to the table to talk to the Iranians about how we get strict constraints back on their nuclear program, Sullivan told CBSs Face the Nation. That offer still stands, because we believe diplomacy is the best way to do it.

On U.S. citizens being held by Iran, Sullivan added: We have begun to communicate with the Iranians on this issue.

Iranian Foreign Ministry spokesman Saeed Khatibzadeh told state TV late Sunday night responding to Sullivan that there are no direct talks between Iran and the U.S. in any field. However, Khatibzadeh said the Swiss Embassy in Tehran, which has looked out for American interests in the decades since the 1979 hostage crisis, has passed messages between the countries on prisoner issues since Biden took office.

Grossi met earlier Sunday with Ali Akbar Salehi, the head of Irans civilian nuclear program.

Irans parliament in December approved a bill that would suspend part of U.N. inspections of its nuclear facilities if European signatories do not provide relief from oil and banking sanctions by Tuesday.

Already, Iran has slowly walked away from all the nuclear deals limitations on its stockpile of uranium and has begun enriching up 20%, a technical step away from weapons-grade levels. It also has begun spinning advanced centrifuges barred by the deal, which saw Iran limit its program in exchange for the lifting of economic sanctions.

An escalating series of incidents since Trumps withdrawal has threatened the wider Mideast. Over a year ago, a U.S. drone strike killed a top Iranian general, causing Tehran to later launch ballistic missiles that wounded dozens of American troops in Iraq.

A mysterious explosion also struck Irans Natanz nuclear facility, which Iran has described as sabotage. In November, Iranian scientist Mohsen Fakhrizadeh, who founded the countrys military nuclear program some two decades earlier, was killed in an attack Tehran blames on Israel.

Zarif brought up the attacks in his interview with state TV, saying the IAEA must keep some of its information confidential for safety reasons.

Some of them may have security ramifications for Iran, whose peaceful nuclear sites have been attacked, Zarif said. For a country whose nuclear scientists have been murdered in terrorist operations in the past  and now recently with Mr. Fakhrizadeh  confidentiality is essential.

The Minority Leader, Haruna Iddrisu has lauded Information Minister Designate, Kojo Oppong Nkrumah for his excellent job at handling the governments communication. He said though the nature of Mr Oppong Nkrumah's work as Information Minister was not an easy one, he has managed to streamline government's communication effectively.



He passed the comments at Parliament's Appointments Committee sitting on Thursday, February 18, 2021, when Mr Oppong Nkrumah appeared before the committee to be vetted as Minister for Information.



The nominee who is also the MP for Ofoase Ayirebi provided answers to several questions posed by members of the committee. He called for increased support for the media in the country emphasizing that the media plays a critical role in our democratic dispensation and hence must be assisted to go about their activities in a free and independent manner.



Mr Nkrumah also proposed the drafting of legislation against the advocacy of LGBT activities. He said, given the current advocacy around the legalization of homosexuality in the country, the country needs to consider passing a law that bans the promotion of the act.



In his concluding remarks, the Tamale South MP praised the Information minister-designate for  communicating well.



Generally, I will acknowledge that you are communicating well it is just that it is difficult. So I wish you well as you prepare and we will see what you are able to do he said.

Source: Peacefmonline.com/Ghana









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Hyderabad, Feb 22 : For the first time in India, police in Telangana are deploying 'cyber warriors' at police stations across the state to fight cybercrime.

Director General of Police M. Mahender Reddy on Monday launched the new initiative under which two to five police personnel from each police station will be provided training to act as 'cyber warriors' to prevent and investigate cyber crimes, as well create public awarenesss.

Keeping in view the increasing number of cyber crimes, the state police embarked on the new initiative. The DGP launched the week-long training programme for 1,988 officials selected as 'cyber warriors'.

There will be two 'cyber warriors' in each police station in rural areas while their number will be three in each police station in semi-urban areas. However, in each of the police stations coming under police commissionerates or cities, five cops will be trained as 'cyber warriors'.

Speaking on the occasion, the DGP noted that as human life is increasingly becoming digital, cyber crimes are also on the rise. He said this was the first of its kind initiative undertaken anywhere in the country.

The police chief said since 4G mobile services have been extended to even remote villages, cyber crimes can be committed from any part of the world. He hoped that the 'cyber warriors' will play a key role in preventing cyber crimes and also in ensure effective investigations into such crimes.

The DGP said 17 functional verticals were already been prepared for day to day functioning of all police stations. Cyber crimes will now become the 18th functional vertical to assess the performance of the police force.

Mahender Reddy said since cyber crimes are very different in nature from the conventional crimes, special training will be provided to 'cyber warriors' not only to prevent cyber crimes but also to create awareness among people and also investigate such crimes.

He also noted that every crime which takes place will have some cyber-related component, and if 'cyber warriors' help the police officers investigating conventional crimes, the investigations can be completed expeditiously.

The DGP pointed out that day by day, cyber criminals are using modern techniques and said the state police should also keep itself abreast with the latest technological developments to tackle cyber crimes.

The police chief said 2021 has been declared as cyber safety year and as part of this, Inspector General of Police Rajesh Kumar was appointed as the special officer in the cyber cell. He said the IG will coordinate with Central government departments and police officials of various states about cyber crime.

The DGP released a booklet titled 'cyber warrior' at the programme, which was attended by Additional DGP Govind Singh and IG Rajesh Kumar.
Early morning, Coralie Adam sits in a Los Angeles suburb and opens her notebook to steer her space probe a few meters closer to Bennu, a slightly rugged-looking asteroid some 321 million kilometers from Earth. It is all done very professionally. Directing a real spacecraft from my own home is something completely different from sitting at a games console, admits Adam, a flight navigator for the U.S. aviation and aerospace company KinetX. This is especially true now that her team are not sitting together in the control center, as they normally would, but are working dispersed throughout the USA because of Covid-19. However, thanks to digital technology and a lot of organization, Adams team were ultimately able to take rock samples  and to complete their mission for NASAs OSIRIS-REx project after all.

The discovery that location-independent working is far from rocket science is an experience that Adam has shared with employees, as well as school and college students worldwide. While offices, factory floors and educational institutions were abandoned during the first wave of the global pandemic, work colleagues and students swiftly linked up with each other virtually from their living rooms or kitchens using video conferencing, chats or messengers.


Indonesian President Joko Widodo said on Monday local authorities should get prepared for potential forest fires later this year as hot spots had been detected on the island of Sumatra.

The Southeast Asian country has suffered some of the biggest tropical forest fires outside the Amazon and Congo in recent years, putting at risk endangered animals like orangutans and tigers and sending choking haze across the region.

"Ninety-nine percent of forest fires are perpetrated by humans, whether intentional or out of negligence," Jokowi, as the president is widely know, said in a virtual meeting with officials.

Farmers often used fire as a cheap land clearing method, the president said, calling on local governments to get forest fire containment infrastructure ready.

Jokowi said Sumatra is facing a rising risk of forest fires this month and warned that the Kalimantan region on Borneo island, as well as Sulawesi island, could also start seeing forest fires in May to July, with the peak expected in the August to September period.

The president said the fires could cause considerable financial losses and "not to mention the damage to our ecology and ecosystem."

Fires, sometimes set to clear land for palm oil plantations in the worlds top producer of the commodity, were the most damaging in years in 2015, with the World Bank estimating they caused $16.1 billion of damage.

Meanwhile, fires in 2019 caused total damage and economic loss amounting to at least $5.2 billion, equal to 0.5% of gross domestic product, the World Bank said.

State news agency Antara, citing a meteorology official, reported that number of hot spots in Riau province on Sumatra island has jumped to 63 as of Monday, from nine a day earlier.

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Chandigarh: The Punjab Government has provided Rs 21,000 to the daughters of the economically weaker section of the state on the occasion of their marriages Shagun. Rs 39 crore has been released to 19082 daughters of the state as financial assistance under the Ashirwad Scheme.

Punjab Social Justice, Empowerment and Minorities Minister Sadhu Singh Dharmsot said that as many as 10873 girls belonging to Scheduled Castes had been given the benefit to the tune of Rs 22 crore under Ashirwad Scheme during the year 2020, while Rs 17 crore was handed over to 8209 girls of Backward Classes and economically weaker sections at the time of their marriages.

Sadhu Singh Dharmsot

The Minister pointed out that the Punjab Government has notified its new Dr. B.R. Ambedkar SC Post Matric Scholarship Scheme on October 27, 2020, which had been applicable from the academic session 2020-21. The benefit of this scheme would be given to those students of Scheduled Castes, who passed matriculation from Punjab State and Chandigarh.

Under this scheme the income limit (both of mother-father) had been enhanced from Rs 2.50 lakh to Rs 4 lakh. The benefit under the scheme had also been extended to Central and State level institutes of higher education of Punjab and Chandigarh.

Punjab government

The Minister said that the State Government has run three welfare schemes to grant benefits to minority students. These schemes are pre-matric scholarship scheme, post-matric scholarship scheme and merit-cum-means based scholarship, said the Minister adding that during 2020 benefit to the tune of Rs 76.14 crore were extended to 4,68,622 under pre-matric scholarship scheme, while under post matric scholarship scheme 56664 students got benefit of Rs 30.18 crore, whereas under merit-cum-means based scholarship scheme as many as 2404 students received scholarships worth Rs 6.45 crore through DBT mode.
Boeing 777s with the same type of engine as a plane which caught fire after take-off in the US this weekend have been banned from entering UK airspace.

The Civil Aviation Authority (CAA) said the restriction applies to 777s with Pratt & Whitney 4000-112 engines.

This configuration is operated by airlines in the US, Japan and South Korea.

Plane-maker Boeing said there were 69 in service and another 59 in storage.

It has urged airlines to ground all of these planes.

No UK carriers are affected.

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Transport Secretary Grant Shapps described the UK airspace ban as a temporary measure and said he will continue to work closely with the CAA to monitor the situation.

The US Federal Aviation Administration has ordered United Airlines to ramp up inspections of the aircraft.

The incident involved a Pratt & Whitney 4000-112 engine exploding after take-off from Denver, Colorado on Saturday, with pieces falling onto residential areas below.

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The plane returned to Denver International Airport to make an emergency landing.

No crew or passengers were hurt and the flight landed safely.
[February 22, 2021] Alliance Memory Appoints Viorel Toadere as Regional Manager for Eastern Europe

KIRKLAND, Wash., Feb. 22, 2021 (GLOBE NEWSWIRE) -- Alliance Memory today announced the appointment of Viorel Toadere as the companys regional manager for Eastern Europe. In his new role, he will be responsible for expanding Alliance Memorys sales coverage in Romania, Hungary, the Czech Republic, Bulgaria, and Slovakia.

Mr. Toadere brings over 25 years of experience in the electronics manufacturing industry to Alliance Memory, specializing in semiconductors. He comes to the company from Future Electronics, where for 13 years he served as country manager for Romania  building the sales team in the country and driving revenue growth. Previously, he served as department manager at Vitacom Electronics and commercial manager at Telezimex SA. Mr. Toadere holds an engineering degree from Universitatea Tehnica din Cluj-Napoca and a management diploma from The Open University. Were thrilled to welcome Viorel to the Alliance Memory team, said Sue Macedo, managing director, EMEA, at Alliance Memory. With his wealth of experience in the electronics manufacturing industry, background in management, and deep understanding of the Eastern European market, he will play an instrumental role in increasing our customer base in the region. Its an exciting time to join Alliance Memory, which has experienced significan growth in both its market share and product portfolio over the past few years, said Mr. Toadere. The company is poised to continue this trend in 2021 and beyond through new products, categories, and industry partnerships. I look forward to contributing to this success by expanding Alliance Memorys presence in the Eastern European market.



Mr. Toadere is based in Cluj, Romania, and reports to Sue Macedo. He can be reached at Viorel@alliancememory.com. About Alliance Memory Inc.

Alliance Memory is a worldwide provider of critical and hard-to-find memory ICs for the communications, computing, consumer electronics, medical, automotive, and industrial markets. The companys product range includes flash, DRAM, and SRAM memory ICs with commercial, industrial, and automotive operating temperature ranges and densities from 64Kb to 8Gb. Privately held, Alliance Memory maintains headquarters in Kirkland, Washington, and regional offices in Europe, Asia, Canada, and South America. More information about Alliance Memory is available online at www.alliancememory.com.

Link to photograph of Viorel Toadere:

https://www.flickr.com/photos/alliancememory/50957544781/sizes/l/ Agency Contact:

Bob Decker

Redpines

+1 415 409 0233

bob.decker@redpinesgroup.com



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VIENNA: The Covid-19 vaccination is picking up momentum in Austria due to growing delivery quantities, the country's Health Minister Rudolf Anschober said on Sunday. Over 200,000 people have been fully immunized all over the country, according to the minister, Xinhua news agency reported citing the APA.

Currently, one person gets vaccinated every 5.5 seconds on average in the Alpine country, said Anschober in a press release published by the Austrian Press Agency

The Health Minister expected that more than a million vaccine doses would be available in March, and in the second quarter, the delivery volume would almost triple compared to the first quarter.

Of the vaccination doses delivered so far -- including those already booked for next week -- over 500,000 doses were delivered by BioNtech/Pfizer, over 150,000 by AstraZeneca and 36,000 by Moderna, according to the press release.

Anschober cited the falling rates of infections in nursing homes as "the first positive result of the vaccination," noting that at the end of November there was a peak of 4,300 active cases while today there are only 359. The number of deaths in nursing homes has also fallen dramatically at the same time, he added.

As the world is struggling to contain the pandemic, vaccination is underway in many countries with already-authorized coronavirus vaccines.

Union Minister Kiren Rijiju, Manipur CM praises captain SM Rangnamei for showin bravery during Galwan Valley clash

Covid-19: UK records another 9,834 cases, lowest daily death toll for eight weeks

Worldwide Covid cases top 111.3 million: Johns Hopkins

San Antonio police are investigating a suspicious death after a woman was found dead in her home Monday morning.

Officers were called to the 5500 block of Little Creek Drive on the Southwest Side just before 8 a.m. for a cutting in progress. The womans juvenile son called 911, said Cory Schuler, a spokesperson for the San Antonio Police Department.

Schuler said police found the woman dead when they arrived but would not confirm how she died. He also would not not say if there was a suspect in custody or what may have led to the woman's death.

The woman is between the ages of 30 and 55, Schuler said.
Shes an Oscar-nominated actress whos been candid about the treatment shes experienced in Hollywood over the decades.

And Salma Hayek shared an effortlessly beautiful selfie to her Instagram feed on Sunday, showcasing her flawless and natural good looks.

The From Dusk Till Dawn star, 54, posed in what looked to be a black bra top, with her beautifully unkempt light brown hair blowing in her face.

Flawless: Salma Hayek shared an effortlessly beautiful selfie to her Instagram feed on Sunday, showcasing her natural good looks

Salama gazed at the camera with her lips pouted slightly apart.

She appeared to have no makeup on at all, with her skin glowing from the inside out.

She captioned the image with a simple hashtag, #selfiesunday.

Hayek is married to billionaire French businessman Francois-Henri Pinault.

Seen recently on Instagram for Valentine's Day: Hayek is married to billionaire French businessman Francois-Henri Pinault

The pair have been married since 2009, and share 13-year-old daughter Valentina Paloma.

Recently, the performer most well-known for having played Frida Kahlo revealed that when she was just starting out in Hollywood, she was discouraged from pursuing starring roles as a Mexican actress.

She reflected on that time, before she landed her first major starring role opposite Antonio Banderas in 1995s Desperado, in the recent issue of Wonderland magazine.

Seen here in 2019: Recently, Salma revealed that when she was just starting out in Hollywood, she was discouraged from pursuing starring roles as a Mexican actress

Timeless beauty: She reflected on that time, before she landed her first major starring role opposite Antonio Banderas in 1995s Desperado, in the recent issue of Wonderland magazine

Much more recently, Salma appeared in the new sci-fi misfire Bliss, costarring Owen Wilson.

The trippy and reality-bending film, which premiered this month on Amazon Prime, has been getting consistently negative reviews, with a dismal 29 percent on Rotten Tomatoes.

The film is especially a disappointment as it comes from brilliant filmmaker Mike Cahill, who previously directed strong sci-fi genre entries Another Earth in 2011, and I Origins in 2014  both starring The OAs gifted Brit Marling.

Up Next for Hayek are two promising new films: the Ryan Reynolds/Samuel L. Jackson sequel The Hitmans Wifes Bodyguard, along with epic MCU installment Eternals costarring Angelina Jolie.

Much more recently: Hayek appeared in the new sci-fi misfire Bliss, costarring Owen Wilson

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The team I inherited were all rock stars, says Fred Studer, CMO at Tibco. The veteran Valley company that aims to unlock and join up enterprise data value. The building blocks were all there, they just hadnt been rationalised and put together.

Thats pretty much the way that Denver-born Studer sees the role of the modern CMO: assembling optimised teams, monitoring and constantly tuning. But he has been around the block long enough to know that it can be a tough and crazy gig too.

We have the role with the lowest life expectancy. As CMO, its shortened to 12 to 18 months and its very unforgiving, says this previous marketing chief at NetSuite, FinancialForce.com and Gigamon.
New York, Feb. 09, 2021 (GLOBE NEWSWIRE) -- Reportlinker.com announces the release of the report "United Arab Emirates Chocolate Market - Growth, Trends, and Forecasts (2021-2026)" - https://www.reportlinker.com/p06020234/?utm_source=GNW



- The rise in consumption for countline chocolates in the country has stimulated market growth. The United Arab Emirates is emerging as one of the potential markets for chocolates, due to the increase in international chocolate companies and domestic players, and the changing snacking preferences of customers.

- Additionally, the consumers in the United Arab Emirates are preferring to gift premium boxed chocolates, which are available in varied shapes and sizes and in attractive packaging, over traditional sweets. This is further elevating the influx of premium chocolate global brands, such as Godiva, in the country.

- The UAE chocolate market was severely affected by the low sales volume due to the COVID-19 pandemic, including supply-side issues linked to quality and certification. The public sector is providing support to the strengthening partnership relationships between fine cocoa producers and premium chocolate companies to enhance the resilience of marketing infrastructure. This is expected to provide an important means of assistance to the recovery of this sub-sector.

- However, as the supply chain of raw materials required for the production of chocolates is improving, the market is expected to flourish during the forecast period with no further negative impact of the COVID-19, with online channels remaining the fastest-growing distribution channel.



Key Market Trends

Rising Expenditure on Sugar Confectionery Products In The Country



The UAE market witnessed a consistent rise in the consumption of sugar confectionery over the past few years, and the industry is predominantly driven by the consumption of chocolate products in the country. Due to international companies setting up factories in the country, to the emergence of local small-scale organizations, there is an awareness of an expanding market and demand for standard and luxury chocolate, that serves the gifting purpose as well as for personal/individual consumption. The premium packaging of chocolates opened new avenues for products under the luxury gifting categories. Chocolate producers are focusing on manufacturing new chocolate flavours that cater to changing consumer demands. For instance: In 2019, Nestle has launched a limited edition green tea matcha KitKat in selected GCC markets including United Arab Emirates, Saudi Arabia and Kuwait. The product is combined with white chocolate to provide a sweet and fragrant flavour without artificial colour, flavours or preservatives. Such product launches are not just supporting the consumers demand for premium chocolates but are also meeting the on-going trend of organic/chocolates with no artificial food ingredients.



Box Assortments Fastest Growing Product Category



Gift giving is customary in the United Arab Emirates and regarded highly in business dealings, as well in festivals and family gatherings. Many occasions have incorporated chocolate as part of the festivities. These include the Holy month of Ramadan, Eid, weddings, births, and social gatherings. Thus, the association of box assortment chocolates with countrys gifting culture, followed by consumers indulgence in sugar confectionery products, is one of the major factors driving the segment in the country. Key players in the market have been observed to introduce unique products in the market to meet this seasonal demand. It plays an essential role in the growth of the segment and is anticipated to aid in the markets growth over the forecast period. For instance, Forrey & Galland introduced a premium range of Ramadan gift boxes, whose design was inspired by the Sheikh Zayed Grand Mosque in Abu Dhabi. Notably, box assortment chocolate category is projected to witness growth rate greater than 8% during the forecast period.



Competitive Landscape

The UAE chocolate market is fragmented and comprises numerous regional and international competitors. Mars Inc. is the market leader in this market study, capturing more than one-third share of the market. With a huge global presence and wide distribution networks, key players, such as Mars Incorporated, Mondelez International, Ferrero Group, Lindt & Sprungli AG, and Nestle, hold prominent shares in the UAE chocolate market. Major players, in order to retain their position within the market or gain an advantage over their competitors, have set their focus upon R&D.? Furthermore, the market for artisanal chocolate is expected to grow, particularly in some regions. Thus, new and evolving domestic companies are trying to increase their production and the overall sales by extensively marketing these products in newer markets.



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Read the full report: https://www.reportlinker.com/p06020234/?utm_source=GNW



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__________________________
Are Cities Finished? Project Syndicate

The Brains Background Noise May Be Meaningful After All Wired

What would a truly wild Ireland look like? BBC

When Engineers Were Humanists New York Review of Books

Postures of Transport Public Domain Review

NYC backtracks on de Blasios plan to close Trump-owned ice rinks New York Post

Entire California School Board Resigns After Chewing Out Parents on Accidental Zoom Broadcast Gizmodo. Oops!

Boeing Calls for Global Grounding of 777s Equipped With One Engine Model NYT

A tale of two provinces: how coal mining plowed ahead in the B.C. Rockies while Alberta hit the brakes The Narwhal

A Friendly Debate About Herbert Marcuse, with R.J. Eskow Matt Taibbi. Hoisted from comments (flora)

#COVID-19

Texas Deep Freeze

Big Brother IS Watching You Watch

Biden Transition

Beyond the standard Dem interest groups, Bidens AG nominee, Merrick Garland, is receiving vocal support from police groups across the US. Obama chose him for the Court because he was known as being a very pro-police judge & thought GOP would approve him.https://t.co/lDqXFuAvza pic.twitter.com/7HqKrzv2fO  Glenn Greenwald (@ggreenwald) February 21, 2021



Class Warfare

Brexit

Brexit red tape ramped up on British sausages destined for Northern Ireland Independent

The New Cold War

EU: Germany urges sanctions against Russia Deutsche Welle

Syraqistan

IAEA, Iran agree temporary deal for inspections with less access Al Jazeera

On Not Being a Princess Craig Murray

Rulers Are Leading a Campaign of Terror Against Journalists and Activists: Al Jazeera Anchor The Wire. Meanwhile, the U.S. media focuses on being woke uber alles

Myanmar

Myanmars largest garment worker union calls on all brands who produce in Myanmar: Denounce the coup

Announce military regime will threaten future investment

Cut ties with military-connected business

Ensure no workers are dismissed for participating in CDM Brands below. pic.twitter.com/xR7onYEM7e  Andrew TS (@AndrewTSaks) February 18, 2021

India

Antidote du Jour (via):

See yesterdays Links and Antidote du Jour here.
Editor,

Republican Congressional representative Adam Kinzinger of Illinois is no ones idea of a progressive. He opposes abortion and the Affordable Care Act and supported Trumps border wall. Given such sterling conservative credentials, one would think that his party would at least tolerate his following his conscience when he voted to impeach the former president after the latter stirred up the disastrous riot at the Capitol on Jan. 6.

Silly me. Instead, he shortly received a letter signed by 11 members of his family rebuking him for making horrible, rude accusations of President Trump and calling him a disappointment ... to (them) and to God. The letter further described him as having joined the devils army.

Similarly, other Republicans who voted to impeach Trump (Liz Cheney) or to convict him (Richard Burr, Bill Cassidy and Pat Toomey) were promptly censured by their state parties. In Toomeys case, Washington Countys Republican Chairman Dave Ball told a local CBS affiliate that we did not send him (to Washington) to vote his conscience or to do the right thing, or whatever he was doing. We sent him there to represent us.

Excuse me? A senator is NOT supposed to do the right thing? NOT supposed to vote his conscience? What is this, the Soviet Politburo? The Nazi Reichstag? Do the members of Washington Countys Republican Committee give a stiff-armed salute when they see a picture of Trump?

They might as well. Ive never seen a political movement devolve so quickly and terrifyingly into an outright cult, where reasoned discourse, thoughtful deliberation and even objective facts go out the window, and only absolute fealty to the Dear Leader matters. Trump took understandable fears about our changing economy and demographics and whipped them up into a sick unreality where anything reported by the mainstream media is presumptively false, where he is Christs representative on Earth, where expertise is devalued as elitism, where vicious autocrats are to be admired for their strength, where creeps like Rush Limbaugh deserve the Medal of Freedom, where fair play is for suckers, where supporting international institutions is a sellout.

Like most autocrats, he knows how effective it can be to push the BIG LIE  say something often enough  I won by a landslide!  and people start to believe it. We saw where this mass delusion led in 1930s Germany, and I frankly see disturbing parallels in modern-day America.

So for those who still think Trump can do no wrong, how far down this slippery slope do you want to go, where you surrender all rational thought and blindly trust this monster you have made into an icon? Where you vilify congressmen who actually vote to put country first and say enough is enough? Where garbage from the dark corners of the internet pass as indisputable facts?

Germans once believed that their leader was precisely what their country needed to become great again, so they handed him their unquestioning allegiance. We all know where it went from there.

If you dont see parallels here, you should.

Thomas K. Noonan

Barnesville
(Natural News) President Joe Bidens policies toward global warming, unfortunately, skew in favor of China. The presidents policy team is of the belief that cooperating with the Chinese regime is a necessity to fight global warming. Even more contradictory is the fact that Biden is taking a seemingly tough stance against Chinas human rights violations. But his climate change policies appear to give the regime the upper hand when it comes to negotiations.

In a Feb. 10 op-ed piece for the American Thinker, The Heartland Institute Senior Fellow H. Sterling Burnett pointed out the contradiction with Bidens approach toward China.

First, Burnett said the Biden administrations move to re-join the Paris climate agreement puts the U.S. at a disadvantage. The agreement calls for the U.S. to reduce its greenhouse gas emissions  which is only achievable by slashing overall energy use. But it does not impose any restrictions on China, which the communist country has taken advantage of by building hundreds of coal-fueled power plants for reliable and inexpensive energy.

Second, Bidens revocation of oil and gas projects approved by former President Donald Trump weakened Americas energy independence. The current president withdrew permission for a number of gas and oil projects upon his tenure  including the Keystone XL pipeline. Aside from this, Biden also banned new oil and gas leases for public lands and revoked 70 existing permits for oil and gas production.

Third, Biden also revoked an executive order by Trump that prohibited electric utilities from buying key energy distribution equipment made in China. Burnett said the revocation violates the presidents own Made in America policy and exposes the U.S. power grid to a Chinese attack.

Lastly, the Biden administration approved a deal by Chinese firm Shandong Xinchao Energy Corp. to buy U.S. oil and gas assets currently producing an equivalent of 9,000 barrels of oil and gas daily. These assets also have proven reserves of 65 million barrels. Had the deal occurred under the Trump administration, it would surely be blocked given that Shandong Xinchaos operations are subject to the whims of the Chinese government.

The Biden administration now has to balance its stance on human rights and climate change

According to the senior fellow, Biden believes that greenhouse gas emissions  China being the largest producer  are causing climate change. As such, he has made fighting climate change the cornerstone of the governments domestic and foreign policies. Secretary of State Anthony Blinken and Special Presidential Envoy for Climate Change John Kerry are of the belief that global warming can be addressed through collaboration with China.

The Biden administration issued a formal invitation to the representative of Taiwan to attend the presidential inauguration in January. It also said that arms sales to and previously planned naval exercises in the South China Sea with the island nation will push through. Furthermore, Blinken seconded his predecessor, former Secretary of State Mike Pompeo, in condemning Chinas human rights abuses. Pompeo branded the Chinese regimes oppression of Muslim Uighurs as genocide.

However, Chinese Ministry of Foreign Affairs Spokesman Zhao Lijian said the countrys cooperation on climate matters would depend on the U.S. ceasing to intrude on what the regime deemed as internal matters. He said Jan. 28: I would like to stress that China-U.S. cooperation in specific areas  is closely linked with bilateral relations as a whole. China has emphasized time and again that no one should imagine they can ask [the country] to understand and support them in bilateral and global matters, when they blatantly interfere in  domestic affairs and undermine  [Chinese] interests.

Zhao continued that the Biden administration should create favorable conditions for climate cooperation.

Ultimately, Burnett warned that millions will suffer if the Biden administration rescinds its predecessors positions on various human rights issues in China. The people of Hong Kong, Taiwan, Tibet and Xinjiang will suffer the repercussions if the U.S. walks back on its position to secure Chinese cooperation on climate change. Furthermore, the senior fellow remarked that Bidens potential moves will diminish the U.S.s standing as the worlds leader in defending individual liberty and fundamental human rights from political oppression. (Related: New report by Republican lawmakers warn of Chinese Communist Party as a generational threat.)

The Biden administration now has to balance its next move. Will it rescind its stance on human rights just to ensure Chinese cooperation against climate change?

Visit CommunistChina.news to read more about the Biden administrations plan to cooperate with China against climate change.

Sources include:

LifeSiteNews.com

AmericanThinker.com

GlobalTimes.cn
JASPER COUNTY, Ind. (WLFI)  Authorities in Jasper County are currently investigating a child molestation case. According to the Jasper County Sheriff's Office, the case involves a teacher and a student at Kankakee Valley School Corporation.

Deputies say Matthew Hostetler allegedly touched and spoke to a student in an inappropriate manner. Police say the allegation was made on Friday morning.

was taken into custody, transported to the Jasper County Detention Center and incarcerated for the following charge, Child Molestation (Level 1 Felony)

JASPER COUNTY, Ind. (WLFI)  d

In the morning hours of February 19th, 2021, a Jasper County Sheriff's Office School Resource Officer for the Kankakee Valley School Corporation was made aware of an allegation of inappropriate communication and touching between a faculty member and a student.

The School Resource Officer immediately elicited the assistance of a Jasper County Sheriff's Office Detective at which time they began an investigation. During their investigation, they met with the suspect, identified as Matthew T. Hostetler from Valparaiso, Indiana. After the interview of Matthew T. Hostetler, it was determined that his statements were consistent with that of which the victim had provided and Matthew T. Hostetler was taken into custody, transported to the Jasper County Detention Center and incarcerated for the following charge:

 Child Molestation (Level 1 Felony)

This is an on-going and "active" investigation. The Kankakee Valley School Corporation has been engaged and cooperative throughout the investigation.

Arrests and criminal charges are mere accusations. Every person is presumed innocent unless and until proven guilty in a court of law.
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Tawazun Economic Council and Saudi Arabias General Authority for Military Industries (GAMI) today (February 22) signed a MoU on the sidelines of the ongoing International Defense Exhibition and Conference (IDEX 2021) in Abu Dhabi.

The agreement aims to build strategic relations of cooperation, partnership and integration between the two sides and to help enhance the capabilities of the defence industries sector, explore potentials for joint projects and identify areas of cooperation in defence industry-related Research & Development (R&D).

The MoU stems from the deep-rooted relations between the two fraternal countries, said Jassem Mohammed Bu Ataba AlZaabi, Chairman of the Abu Dhabi Department of Finance and Secretary General of Tawazuns Board of Directors, after signing the deal with Ahmed bin Abdulazis Al-Ohali, Governor of GAMI in the presence of Tawazun CEO Tareq Abdulraheem Al Hosani and other officials.

"This agreement for joint cooperation sets the course for a new era of joint cooperation between the two brotherly countries in all domains, particularly in R&D, technology transfer, FDIs and joint defense industries," noted Al Zaabi.

He pointed out that drawing from its vast experience and strong relations with ecosystem players, as well as its qualified and highly skilled Emirati talents, Tawazun is positioned to play a pivotal role in enabling the defense industry and boosting its contribution to the UAEs sustainable development drive.

Lauding the Tawazun Economic Program as one of the regions most successful systems, Al Zaabi expressed his willingness to exchange expertise and best practices with the Saudi counterpart.

On the Tawazun tieup, Al Ohali said this comes in line with the strong ties and continuous cooperation between the UAE and Saudi Arabia, emanating from the two countries shared vision, goals and aspirations for economic integration and for a brighter future.

"Under the MoU, we will work to accelerate joint action for implementation of the Tawazun Economic Programs. The GCC region has huge potentials to build sustainable capabilities in defense and military industries, building on the long-standing and mutually beneficial relations with the worlds leading industry and technology players. Our objective is to transfer technology and know-how and to build an integrated base for defense industries in the Gulf," he stated.
Maharashtra Lockdown-like Covid curbs to continue beyond June 1, unlocking to be in phased manner

Maharashtra lockdown: Full list of what is permitted and what is not

Maharashtra imposes further restrictions in Buldhana district as Covid cases surge

India

oi-Madhuri Adnal

Buldhana, Feb 22: Maharashtra district administration of Buldhana on Monday imposed restrictions in Buldhana city, Chikahli, Khamgaon, Deulgaon Raja, and Malkapur areas of Buldhana following a rise in COVID-19 cases since early February.

Buldhana District Collector S Ramamurthy told news agency ANI,''Essential services will be permitted between 8 am and 3 pm. Strict action will be taken against people who would violate the guidelines. Home isolation is not permitted.''

Bengaluru: Ten people in SJR Watermark apartment found infected with COVID-19

With 199 fresh cases recorded on Tuesday, the COVID-19 in the district has mounted to 14,944.

Maharashtra recorded 5210 new cases of Covid-19, registering a slight dip in the number of Covid-19 cases on Monday. Mumbai too witnessed a similar decline after registering 761 new cases, and zero fatalities. The total number of cases in the state now stands at 21,06,094.


Elementary schools and kindergartens in more than half of Germany's 16 states reopened Monday after two months of closure due to the coronavirus pandemic.

The move comes despite growing signs that the decline in case numbers in Germany is flattening out again and even rising in some areas.

Germany's education minister, Anja Karliczek, has defended the decision to reopen schools, saying younger children in particular benefit from learning together in groups.

Karliczek told German news agency dpa that schools should use ``all available means to prevent virus transmission'' and expressed confidence that state education officials - who are in charge of school matters in Germany - would consider infection numbers when deciding where to reopen.

Germany's disease control agency say there were 4,369 newly confirmed cases and 62 deaths in the past day, though Monday's numbers are often low due to reporting delays over the weekend.

Education unions have called for teachers and kindergarten workers to be moved into a higher priority group for vaccinations, an idea that government officials have said they will consider.

Short link:



Korean southpaw Yang Hyeon-jong, who recently signed a split contract with the Texas Rangers, left for the U.S. last week.

After quarantining himself for a period of time upon his arrival, he will join in the Rangers' spring training in Arizona.

Yang is not guaranteed to play in Major League games, so he needs to make an impression during training to make the team's big league roster, which would allow him to earn up to US$1.85 million.

"I know there are more concerns than excitement or expectations. But it's my decision [to challenge myself to play in the U.S.] and I don't want any regrets when I come back to Korea. I will do my very best to show myfans that I made the right decision," Yang said.


The Nagol is Back! VTOs guide to this years Nagol, plus where to stay and play in south, central and north Pentecost.
There were unanimous elections in 90 panchayats. In the remaining 18 panchayats, YSRC supporters won the polls hands down on Sunday. (Representational Photo: DC)

Kadapa: The ruling YSR Congress has won all the panchayats in Pulivendula assembly constituency represented by Chief Minister Jagan Mohan Reddy, in this district. The panchayat elections proved that the support for the YSRC and Jagan here has not diminished.

Pulivendula has a total of 109 panchayats. Election could not be held for one panchayat  Velamavaripalle in Vempalli mandal. Five candidates had filed nominations there but all of them withdrew the papers later. There were unanimous elections in 90 panchayats. In the remaining 18 panchayats, YSRC supporters won the polls hands down on Sunday.

In a measure of his continuing popularity, Chief Minister Jagan has claimed cent per cent victory in his constituency.

The constituency has seven mandals -- Pulivendula, Vemula, Lingala, Simhadripuram, Thoduru, Chakraypeta and Vempalli. There were six gram panchayats in Pulivendula mandal, of which five saw unanimous elections. Elections were held for one panchayat, which was bagged by a YSRC supporter.

In Vemula, 13 out of the total 16 GPs saw unanimous elections while polling was held for three GPs. YSRC supporters bagged all the three. There were 15 GPs in Thondur and 16 in Chakrayapet, which saw unanimous elections.

In Simhadripuram, out of 20 panchayats, 12 saw unanimous elections while polls were held for eight panchayats, all of which were bagged by YSRC supporters. In Vempalli, out of the 17-gram panchayats, 16 saw unanimous elections and one panchayat did not have election.

District Collector Chevuru Harikiran thanked all parties, leaders and voters for their cooperation in holding the polls in a peaceful manner.
An attacker in a black ski mask punched a stranger commuting to work and slashed his face inside a Bronx subway station without any apparent provocation.

The incident took place at the Morrison-Soundview Avenue No 6 train stop shortly before 6am on February 12 amid an increase in violent assaults in New York City's subway system.

According to the NYPD, the unidentified masked assailant followed his 49-year-old victim to the top of the staircase leading up to the street and struck him with his fist.

Wanted: Police in New York City are looking for this masked man who is suspected of punching and slashing a commuter at a subway stop in The Bronx on February 12

The suspect is accused of following the 49-year-old victim up the stairs, hitting him and then using a sharp object to slice his face and neck

He then pulled out a sharp object and sliced his face from his right cheek to the back of his neck.

The attacker took off running from the scene in an unknown direction, while the bleeding victim flagged down a police cruiser for help.

The man was taken to Jacobi Medical Center to be treated for his injuries. He has since been released.

Police have since released surveillance images of the suspect, showing the man in a dark-colored jacket, a black ski mask and red gloves.

News of the Bronx attack comes amid a spate of violent incidents that have occurred in New York City's sprawling subway system in recent months.

The random attack took place at the Morrison-Soundview Avenue No 6 train stop

On Saturday, a female panhandler with a neck tattoo punched a two-year-old boy in the head as the toddler was riding a northbound C train in Manhattan with his mother.

The 21-year-old mother told the New York Post that the attacker stepped on her foot after she asked her to stay 6 feet away from her, and then hit her child in the face and ear, leaving the boy injured and traumatized.

The following day, a 32-year-old man was slashed on a northbound 2 train near the 110th Street stop in Manhattan.

Earlier this month, 21-year-old Rigoberto Lopez, a mentally ill homeless man, was charged with going on a violent rampage on an A train and stabbing four people, two of them fatally.

Ridership on subway trains and buses is down 70 per cent and 50 percent, respectively, due to the coronavirus pandemic, but MTA and police say that felony assaults in the transit system are up more than 25 per cent, according to ABC7.

Rigoberto Lopez, 21, is accused of murdering two homeless people and slashing two others on an A train earlier this month

The police presence in the subway is growing, though the MTA is asking for an additional 1,000 officers to curb crime

The spike in attacks has been attributed to growing numbers of homeless and mentally ill people riding trains.

The NYPD has assigned an additional 500 officers to patrol subway stations and trains, but MTA officials say 1,000 more officers are needed to curb crime, NBC New York.

'We request teams of uniformed officers be assigned to every station and that officers ride the system throughout the day and during the overnight to ensure the safety of our customers and colleagues,' Metropolitan Transportation Authority CEO Patrick Foye and New York City Transit interim president Sarah Feinberg said in a letter to Shea and Mayor Bill de Blasio on last week.

Anyone with information on the Bronx subway attack is being asked to call Crime Stoppers at (800) 577-TIPS.
Facing intense pressure on multiple fronts including school reopenings and a recent decision to halt merit-based admissions at Lowell High School, San Franciscos school board president has signaled that its members are pausing controversial efforts to rename 44 district schools.

In an opinion piece published Sunday on SFChronicle.com and in Mondays print editions of The Chronicle, Gabriela Lopez acknowledged mistakes in the process that have resulted in a potential lawsuit and recall efforts targeting several board members, including Lopez.

There have been many distracting public debates as weve been working to reopen our schools, she wrote. School renaming has been one of them. It was a process begun in 2018 with a timeline that didnt anticipate a pandemic. I acknowledge and take responsibility that mistakes were made in the renaming process.

Lopez said working to reopen schools will be the boards only focus, and renaming committee meetings will be canceled in the meantime. She said the board plans to make the process more deliberative by getting local historians involved.

In the meantime, this is the last time Ill comment publicly on renaming until schools are reopened, she wrote. We will not be taking valuable time from our board agendas to further discuss this, as we need to prioritize reopening.

Other board members declined to comment.

On Feb. 10., San Francisco attorney Paul D. Scott sent a demand letter addressed to Lopez alleging a violation of the Brown Act, Californias open-meeting law. He argued that the board did not properly notify the public that it was making a final decision to rename the school sites and provided advance notice only that it would decide on a list of potential schools to be renamed.

He said families and the public were denied due process, and the matter instead should be handled on a school-by-school basis. The letter gave the board 30 days to reverse the decision or legal action would be taken. On Tuesday, the board held a seven-hour closed special meeting that presumably addressed the legal challenge and renaming issue.

In response to the opinion piece, Scott said he is glad the board has evidently seen reason, but he wants specifics in writing before deciding whether to continue with any legal action.

Changes of this magnitude should not be imposed from on high on our local communities, he said. Parents, students, teachers, alumni and others connected to each school are the true stakeholders. They should be trusted to make good judgments for their particular school and have their point of view be respected.

On Jan. 27, the school board voted 6-1 to rename 44 schools because they bear the names of historical figures said to be linked to racism and oppression, from Dianne Feinstein Elementary to Jefferson Elementary to Abraham Lincoln High School.

Critics of the renaming cited errors made by the committee appointed to recommend schools to be renamed based on connections to slavery, oppression, racism and colonization. In several cases, the committee members relied on Wikipedia to make a decision on whether a name met criteria.

In the case of Alamo Elementary, the committee cited the Battle of the Alamo and its connection to the taking of Mexican land during the Texas Revolution. But in reality, the school was more likely named after the Spanish word for cottonwood tree, based on the tree that identified a travelers rest station in the city, which is now Alamo Square.

Im delighted to hear that the school board has an understanding of how flawed the process was, said Terence Abad, executive director of the alumni association for Lowell High School, which was also on the list for renaming. Like most people, I do think the process on renaming is important, and I welcome doing it in an orderly and appropriate way.

Abad noted that because of the renaming process, additional research has shown that Lowell likely wasnt named after James Lowell, the poet, but rather just Lowell, perhaps based on Lowell, Mass., given a letter from the district superintendent in 1894 referred to the schools new name as only Lowell High School.

The decision garnered national attention and has been criticized by leaders and parents for being poorly timed while families struggle during the pandemic. In October, Mayor London Breed slammed the renaming plan.

Meanwhile, pressure has been building on school officials to reopen classrooms, which have been shut for almost a year. At a news conference Wednesday, Lopez and San Francisco Unified Superintendent Vincent Matthews said officials are trying to resume in-person learning as soon as possible, but declined to guess when the first students might be back. The district said recently the goal is to have six weeks of partial live instruction before the school year ends June 2.

San Franciscos city attorney has sued the school district, alleging that officials failed to create a specific reopening plan as required by state law, and violated the state Constitution and equal rights laws by not providing in-person instruction despite the ability to do so.

The controversy helped fuel an effort to recall three members of the board, including President Lopez, Vice President Alison Collins and Commissioner Faauuga Moliga.

The effort, officially launched Friday with the submission of papers to election officials, will need 70,000 signatures for each of the three members to get the recall on the ballot. Organizers Autumn Looijen and Siva Raj, who are parents of five children, said they wanted to get politics out of education.

San Francisco Chronicle staff writer Lizzie Johnson contributed to this report.

Editors note: A previous version of this story incorrectly stated that residents had signed a petition to recall school board members. They had in fact signed an expression of interest in a recall.

Kellie Hwang and Jill Tucker are San Francisco Chronicle staff writers. Email: kellie.hwang@sfchronicle.com, jtucker@sfchronicle.com Twitter: @KellieHwang, @jilltucker
NEW DELHI : Paul Dupuis wore a blue suit, his lucky tie, brown shoes, a black mask and a cycling helmet before he hopped onto a vintage Indian bicycle. The managing director and CEO of staffing firm Randstad India, who lives and works in Bengaluru, was riding to office after 300 days.

Never has purpose been more important than right here, right now," he wrote on business networking site LinkedIn, posting three pictures of him on the cycle.

Randstad India is testing the waters; testing the new world of work, one where there would be far fewer people on the office floor than what used to be the norm in pre-pandemic months. For its test run early in February, Randstad asked the companys senior leaders to report to work. An app will manage the companys workflow. Employees wanting to be in the office have to seek permission and reserve a desk through the app; a QR code that gets generated has to be scanned at the point of entry.

We wanted to test the technology and the logistics. It went well. Leaders came back to the office after over 300 days. It was quite a moment," Dupuis told Mint.

Randstad India has been conservative in reopening offices, unlike, say, manufacturing companies that got employees back to offices in June 2020. Those who rushed to open early were often hit hard. As employees contracted covid-19, it led to more business disruptions. A second wave of office openings followed in September-October. As we near the end of the fiscal year, more corporates, particularly those in services, are grappling with transition againthe journey back to near-empty offices.

Despite nascent signs of a second wave in some parts of the country, the pandemic appears to be under control in most Indian cities. Meanwhile, senior employees in many companies have been reporting fatigue over the work from home arrangement, which is compelling organisations to re-think their cautious stance.

Yourdost, an emotional wellness company, analysed data from 1,000 Indian professionals in December 2020 to understand how they feel about returning back to offices. About 49% of Indias working professionals were bored of work from home; 41% said they would prefer working from the office but only 19% were willing to return immediately; nearly half of the professionals polled who were in leadership positions preferred the office.

People are saying they have work from home fatigue. They face social alienation. So, we are going in for rotational shifts," said Shuchi Nijhawan, senior vice president, global human resources and new verticals at Eka Software Solutions, a Bengaluru-based commodity management software company. We will begin with 30% attendance in the month of April and go up to about 50% in September if all things are okay," she added.

There is a reason why those in leadership positions want to get back to the office. For decades, Indian managers have thrived on micromanagement. They like to surround themselves with people and exert more physical control over what they do. In some cases, companies dont have the systems and processes yet to access the performance of managers when they work remotely.

Younger professionals, meanwhile, appear happier working from home. They seem anxious about getting exposed to the virus. There is fear about passing it on to family members. There is also apprehension about using public transportation. Services companies that employ thousands may be following all the government-laid protocols on sanitisation and social distancing, but they have little control over how people get to work.

Without vaccines, public transport can increase the number of cases. The pandemic is very much (still) here," Arjun Vaidyanathan, chief operating officer of KPMG in India, warned. Covid-19 cases in Mumbai, for instance, have shot up ever since local trains re-started operations on 1 February. Alternative modes of transport are expensive for many employees. After vaccination, we will be able to call a higher number of people to the office," Vaidyanathan added.

KPMG has about 10% of its employees reporting to offices across the country today. And like Randstad, KPMG has developed an app for employees to book seats, which will remain in place after the vaccination drive is over. This, by extension, signals the end of the permanent work desk as we know it. Not encouraging news for office real estate developers who lived through a tough 2020gross absorption in major cities fell by over 40%.

Collaborate and celebrate

Reliance Securities, a financial services company in Mumbai, signed an agreement for a new head office in Goregaon three months before the lockdown. The plan was to host 220 workstations. In the post-pandemic world, the company reorganised the space for 100-120 to avoid crowding. In the middle of the office is a lounge with open spaces. Once in a while, karaoke sessions are organised here.

We shifted to the new office in October," Meenaa Sharma, chief human resources officer at Reliance Securities, said. We want to allay fears by organising such events.We want to give a feel that things are coming back to normal," she added.

The new normal, nevertheless, will be about using offices as a space to collaborate, besides celebrations. The pre-pandemic paradigmwhere offices were spaces largely for people to report to workmay no longer hold water.

Collaborations, in a physical space, lead to innovation and better outcomes, leaders believe. The magic happens when you put people in a room together; when they gather around a white board and brainstorm and come up with a solution. Its a rallying point that builds camaraderie, teamwork and loyalty. We dont want to lose that," Dupuis of Randstad India said. When collaboration leads to outcomes and impact, it is time to celebrate," he added.

Most corporations are also planning to adopt a hybrid work policy in the months ahead, where a certain number of people may permanently work from home but attend offices only when absolutely necessary. Hybrid model will be the new game," said Kaustubh Sonalkar, group director of human capital management, general affairs, and CSR at Welspun Group. A hybrid model works well for everybody, especially in metros like Mumbai where you spend a lot of time travelling. We are giving people a choice," he said.

Welspun has about 70% of its employees working from home at the moment. By next month, about 40-45% will start reporting to the office. Sonalkar said that the share of the workforce in office will never go beyond 60-65% even after the pandemic is well and truly over.

Lure of the office

Welspun, meanwhile, is working on a rotational system that ensures that all teams dont land up in the office at the same time. In March, the closing month of the Indian calendar year, accounting and finance teams get busy and need to be in office. Similarly, during appraisal cycles, the human resources teams will come into the office more regularly. When we launch a new product, marketing teams can meet more often," Sonalkar said.

Software companies sense that developers are doing well with work from homethey are a younger demographic. Senior managers and above are being asked to report to the office. Management roles are not optional. They have to come back to work. We have seen fatigue at these levels," Shuchi Nijhawan of Eka Software said. Employees on the product side and development side dont need to be in office."

Manufacturing companies have less flexibility. In a plant, both white- and blue-collar workers must be present to run the machines, inspect, pick, package and dispatch the products that are made. Those involved in research and development work cant afford to be at home either.

Our people who are in R&D are in the office. There are many involved in development and the computing power required to do modelling and simulation is very high. They cant do it from home," Alok Kirloskar, director at Kirloskar Brothers Ltd and the managing director at SPP Pumps Ltd, said.

Older manufacturing companies, in the meantime, want their senior non-production professionals back at work since they may not have the right key performance indicators (KPIs, or measurable values) to judge those working from home. Junior sales executives, for instance, have weekly targets to meet and can be evaluated easily. Nonetheless, middle managers are expected to bring in value addition, such as nurturing a client or mentoring a team. These are more subjective outcomes and are difficult to access in a work from home situation.

It gets difficult as you go up the people chain," Kirloskar explained. The vice president may have to talk to vendors and maintain relationships. I dont know if he is meeting vendors while working from home."

Kirloskar added that old world manufacturers carry a lot of people" primarily because the KPIs are not clear enough. Now, we are forced to build well-graded KPIs so that we understand if these executives are making progress," he said.

Real estate conundrum

On 19 March last year, this writer visited Worldmark, a 1.5-million sq ft commercial development in Aerocity, near Delhis Indira Gandhi international airport. Indias lockdown was still a few days away but the landscapedotted with three corporate towers, 41 cafes, restaurants and barsalready resembled a ghost town. Covid-19 cases were spiralling out of control and the Delhi government had already ordered a closure of dine-in restaurants.

The scenes at Worldmark this year, on 15 February, are a good indicator again. While people are back at the restaurants, corporates have been shy. Atelier, a plug-and-play office suite, still resembles a ghost office. Apart from butlers and a lone Japanese worker in a cabin, almost no one else is around. Bharti Realty, the developers of Worldmark, claimed that currently about 30% of the people are back at the developments offices; tenants have indicated a higher number will return by the end of March.

The jury is still out on the future of office real estate though. A hybrid working model doesnt sound very encouraging for office developers. Many companies are in the process of consolidating offices. Our real estate portfolio has been reviewed and where it can be rationalised, we have either already rationalised or are in the process of rationalising it. We are not adding any more real estate footprint than what we have," Vaidyanathan of KPMG said.

Little surprise then, 2020 turned out to be one of the worst years for Indian office real estate. Gross absorption fell 41% to 34 million sq ft across the top six citiesBengaluru, Chennai, Delhi NCR, Hyderabad, Mumbai and PuneColliers International, a real estate services firm reported. The company, however, expects leasing activity to pick up by 25-30% in 2021.

Large developers may be doing better than the smaller ones. Anarock Property Consultants, another real estate services company, too remains hopeful of a better 2021 and said that despite work from home, large developers have been able to collect over 95% of their rentals in 2020.

One lingering question remains. Corporate offices are closed spaces with centralized air conditioning currently. In the context of covid-19, most health experts would recommend open windows and better airflow. But thats nearly impossible in regions like north India, where summer temperatures can shoot up to beyond 40 degree Celsius. What can companies do?

Akshat Bhatt, principal architect at Architecture Discipline, a design studio, said that companies need to start using different filters, such as high-efficiency particulate air (HEPA) filters and other anti-bacterial filters. Installing ultraviolet (UV) filters, for instance, are known to inactivate viruses and bacteria.

Some firms are doing it people who are sensible about such things. None of these technologies are new. They have always been around. But people never took it seriously. Now, they are being forced to do so," Bhatt said.

There is a cost implication to such retrofitting, of course. Bharti Realty installed UV filters recently at the Aerocity Worldmarks common areas. It cost the developer 19 lakh. At Airtel Centre, the telecom service providers corporate office in Gurugram, which has 7 lakh sq ft of leasable area, retrofitting UVs cost 1 crore.

But thats a small price to pay for the health and safety of employees and their families. As the journey back to the office picks up in earnest, more companies will be forced to make such choices.

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(Alliance News) - The World Trade Organization agreed Monday to establish a dispute resolution panel on the new US rule that all goods imported from Hong Kong must be stamped "Made in China".

The WTO's Dispute Settlement Body accepted a second request from Hong Kong to establish a panel "to rule on US origin-marking requirements for goods", a Geneva trade official said.

Hong Kong made a first request for arbitration at the Geneva-based global trade body on January 25, but the move was blocked by the US.

Under WTO rules, a second request is, in practice, automatically accepted. However, a resolution is far from near, as the settlement of trade disputes at the WTO usually takes years.

In July last year, then-US president Donald Trump announced the end of the preferential conditions granted by Washington to Hong Kong, after the imposition by Beijing of sweeping new security laws on the semi-autonomous territory.

A month later, US customs announced that goods imported from Hong Kong would have to be stamped "Made in China" rather than "Made in Hong Kong".

The new rules came into effect in November.

Hong Kong said the measures were inconsistent with a raft of WTO regulations including the rules of origin agreement and the technical barriers to trade agreement.

The territory described the requirements as "arbitrary, unilateral, unnecessary and unjustifiable", the trade official said.

source: AFP

Copyright 2021 Alliance News Limited. All Rights Reserved.
A California man was arrested last week after traveling to New Jersey in December and twice having sex with a 14-year-old girl, authorities said.

Justin R. Ganutan, 22, was taken into custody in his hometown of Stockton, California and charged with sexual assault and endangering the welfare of a minor, the Somerset County Prosecutors Office said in a statement.

Ganutan and the girl met online before he came to Franklin Township, officials said. Authorities found out about Gantuan after receiving a CyberTipline report.

The Alameda County Sheriffs Office Transit Crimes Unit and Stockton police arrested Ganutan and brought him to the San Joaquin County Jail, where he is being held ahead of an extradition hearing.

Jeff Goldman may be reached at jeff_goldman@njadvancemedia.com. Follow him on Twitter @JGoldmanNJ.

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In less than a decade, worldwide sales of tequila have doubled, while sales of premium and ultra-premium brands have shot up by 292 percent and 706 percent, respectively.

In recent years, you may have heard of tequila tastings and walked by a new mezcal bar  and wondered about the difference between the two. Or youve seen a headline proclaiming that a shot of tequila a day will keep the doctor away.

As a food historian, I hope to debunk some myths and explore some little-known aspects of the Mexican spirit thats become a global phenomenon.

1. Whats the deal with the worm?

Walking through the tequila section of your local liquor store, you may see a bottle with a worm floating in it. But if you see one, youre looking at a bottle of mezcal  not tequila.

While all tequila is mezcal, all mezcal is not tequila: To be labeled as tequila the spirit must be distilled from at least 51 percent blue agave (Agave weberii) and made within a region around the Mexican town of Tequila.

Mezcals, on the other hand, can be made from any of 30 aloe-like succulents and can be made in a number of Mexican states.

As for the worm, its the larva of the maguey moth, an animal that lives and feeds on agave plants.

It was originally inserted into bottles of Gusano Rojo mezcal as a marketing gimmick. The worm isnt a psychedelic as fraternity lore would have it, but it is edible and is sold as a delicacy in food markets across central Mexico.

2. Can tequila actually be good for you?

Tequila has long been thought of as a cure for various ailments.

During the influenza pandemic of 1918, Mexican doctors would prescribe tequila with lemon and salt to treat flu symptoms. To this day, Mexicans stir it into hot tea with honey to assuage sore throats.

In recent years, you may have come across articles giddily announcing that a shot of tequila a day can lower bad cholesterol and blood sugar.

But the study showing lower cholesterol levels was conducted on mice, and theres been no evidence showing the same effect on humans. (In fact, the findings for mice couldnt be replicated in a similar study.) Meanwhile, agave has been shown to have a higher fructose content than sugar  and even high-fructose corn syrup.

Story continues

In the end, your tequila benders arent likely to have any inadvertent health benefits.

3. Is the margarita named after a woman?

Tequila is mixed with lime juice, salt and liquor to make the margarita, one of the more popular summer cocktails.

Most of the margaritas origin stories claim it was named after a girl named Margarita. One version of the legend says that the drink was named after dancer Marjorie King: On a trip to Mexico, she asked a bartender near Tijuana to make her a drink with tequila since she was allergic to grain-based spirits. Another version traces the drink to Ensenada, Mexico, where, in the early 1940s, a bartender concocted the drink to honor Margarita Henkel, the daughter of the German Ambassador to Mexico.

Neither story is probably true. Before Prohibition, a very popular cocktail in California was the Brandy Daisy, a mix of brandy, Curacao liqueur and lemon juice. As people drifted over the border into Mexico to evade Prohibitions restrictions, its likely that bartenders began making the drink with Mexicos national spirit, which would have been more available and cheaper.

Margarita is Spanish for daisy, so when Americans ordered a daisy, it would have been natural for the bartender to reply, One margarita, coming up.

This article is republished from The Conversation, a nonprofit news site dedicated to sharing ideas from academic experts.

Read more:



Jeffrey Miller 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.
Uganda, 21 February 2021 (SPS) - Pan African Club, through its branch in Uganda, has condemned harassment of the Saharawi human rights activists by occupying Moroccan forces, confirming that the Forum is following with interest the state of Moroccos ongoing abuses in the occupied territories of Western Sahara.



The Forum, in a statement received by SPS, noted that Morocco has turned the occupied territories of Western Sahara into a vast prison, with torture and abuses being widespread after Moroccos violation of ceasefire agreement on 13 November 2020.



The statement called upon the African Union, Pan-African Parliament, United Nations and global civil society to play their role in rapidly putting an end to this humanitarian tragedy sooner rather than later.



By surrounding the house of the family of Saharawi activist Sultana Jaya, who suffered serious head and facial injuries, the Forum underlined that occupying Moroccan authorities are trying to dissuade Saharawi activists from demanding their basic rights, namely rejecting the injustice imposed by occupying Moroccan state on their people.



Condemning strongly the impunity enjoyed by the perpetrators of those humanitarian crimes, the statement described as an unacceptable practice in such a civilized world the torture, harassments and suppression of freedoms of the Saharawi people.



It, moreover, noted that there are certainly numerous unreported violations of human rights, dangerously taking place in the occupied territories of Western Sahara.



Pan African Forum is a Uganda-based think tank center bringing together activists from across the African continent, who fight for justice and peace. (SPS)



089/090/T
Fuller Book Collection Donated to SIU

By The Associated Press

CARBONDALE - Southern Illinois University has received a collection of books belonging to the late inventor and designer R. Buckminster Fuller, who also taught at the school.University officials said the roughly 3,000 volumes are part of a recent donation of artifacts and furniture to a nonprofit dedicated to restoring Fullers dome-shaped home in Carbondale. Fuller, known for his futuristic inventions, lived at the home from 1960 to 1971. He died in 1983.University archivist Matthew Gorzalski said that some volumes will go to Fullers home and others will go to Morris Library.More than 100 boxes containing the books will be catalogued starting next month. Many books contain notations and drawings within the margins.The real value for the library is the books that are annotated for researchers. We will make a note of this in the cataloging record so people can learn more about it, what he thought, if it influenced his work, Gorzalski said.
New Delhi, Feb 22 : Ladakh-based engineer Sonam Wangchuk, who inspired the character of 'Phunsukh Wangdu' in Bollywood blockbuster "Three Idiots", has developed a mobile solar-powered tent, accommodating 10 soldiers, for use by the Indian Army in high-altitude locations.

On how he came up with the idea, Wangchuk said that he decided to come up with the innovation after he came to know that around 50,000 Indian troops were deployed at high altitude areas in harsh winter conditions.

"Indian and Chinese troops are being withdrawn from friction points. Disengagement is happening. It is good thing for both. Around 50,000 troops were deployed at high- altitude areas in harsh winter conditions. It was a difficult situation," he said.

When soldiers are deployed in harsh freezing temperature, they stayed in tents made of cloth or in iron containers, and lakhs of litres of kerosene are used. It is a very costly affair as it also adds pollution to the environment and affect glaciers at high altitude areas, Wangchuk said.

"The soldiers too face problems using kerosene... many even suffer winter injuries," the engineer said.

He said that at the Himalayan Institute of Alternative Ladakh, they innovate on ways for comfortable living at higher altitudes.

"As our soliders were living at high altitude areas, so we decided why should we not develop solar-heated shelters for them," said Wangchuk, who has carried out research on solar-heated houses for last 25 years.

He said that 15 years ago, he had developed a mobile shelters for nomad shepherds in the Changtang region of Ladakh.

"We started working on a project of a passive solar-heated tent in the varsity. It took a month to develop the tent," he said.

The tent he came up for the army is divided into two parts: 'green house' which is also known as solar lounge and a sleeping chamber where soliders sleep. The two parts are divided by a portable wall that is called the heat bank.

Highly insulated, the tent is covered by a water proof 'windcheater'.

Soliders can sit and work in the green house part during the afternoon, while in the sleeping chamber, temperature is maintained at 15 degrees Celsius.

The cost of tent is Rs 5 lakh.

"While making this tent, we kept it in mind that these are portable. It is made also keeping in mind hilltops like Black Top, Rezang La and Siachen. When we open up this tent, it turns out into 30 to 40 parts and each part is less than 30kg," Wangchuk said.

He said that he designed the tent in close coordination and cooperation with the Indian Army.

Defence Secretary Ajay Kumar thanked Wangchuk and said that the innovation was very timely, absolutely relevant and perfect as usual.

Neighbours actress Jodi Gordon confirmed her relationship with banker Sebastian Blackler back in November.

And it appears the couple are still madly in love after a tumultuous start to their relationship last year.

Jodi and banker Sebastian stepped out for dinner at upmarket Asian fusion restaurant China Doll on Woolloomooloo Wharf on Thursday.

Glam lunch: Former Neighbours actress Jodi Gordon, 36, looked loved-up with new boyfriend Sebastian Blackler as they step out for a bite to eat at China Doll eatery in Sydney

The soap star and Sebastian looked radiant as they casually dined with each other while sitting on the finger wharf.

Jodi kept her look high-glam wearing a graphic gold-and-black high-neck frock which was emblazoned with leaves on it.

She paired the dress with black thigh high boots along with a designer handbag she wore slung over one of her shoulders.

Ritzy bite: The soap star and Sebastian looked radiant as they enjoyed a bite to eat together while sitting on the finger wharf

Jodi wore her trademark brunette tresses down while also opting for a glossy makeup palette which included a matte lipstick.

Sebastian looked smart in a tailored black suit which he paired with a crisp white shirt he wore slightly unbuttoned.

He finished his look with black lace-up dress shoes.

Glammed-up: Jodi kept her look high-glam wearing a graphic gold-and-black high neck frock which was emblazoned with leaves on it. Sebastian wore a black suit

Jodi shares daughter Aleeia with her ex-husband, former NRL star Braith Anasta.

They married in 2012, welcomed their daughter in 2014, and separated a year later.

Jodi previously played Elly Conway on Neighbours.

She became Instagram official with Sebastian on November 21, 2020.
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Frontline workers across the country have received their first dose of the Covid-19 vaccine as the largest inoculation program in the nation's history was rolled out on Monday.

World War II survivor Jane Malysiak was the first person to be vaccinated in Australia as a group of 20 people including Prime Minister Scott Morrison got their first jab in Castle Hill in Sydney's north-west on Sunday.

In Queensland, Gold Coast nurse Zoe Park received her state's first dose of the Pfizer vaccine at Gold Coast University Hospital on Monday morning.

Gold Coast nurse Zoe Park receives Queensland's first COVID-19 vaccine from clinical nurse consultant Kellie Kenway at Gold Coast University Hospital on Monday

The COVID-19 ward nurse is one of 180 people who will receive a jab of the Pfizer vaccine at Gold Coast University Hospital on Monday

Registered nurse Maddison Williams receives the first jab of the Biotech Pfizer COVID-19 vaccine at the COVID-19 surge centre in Canberra on Monday

Masked frontline workers leave a vaccination room after receiving their first Pfizer vaccine dose at the Royal Adelaide Hospital in Adelaide on Monday

South Australian Premier Steven Marshall gives a two-finger victory salute after receiving the vaccination at the Royal Adelaide Hospital in Adelaide

Frontline worker Annabel Thomas receives the Pfizer Vaccine from a COVID-19 Vaccinator Health Care Worker at the Royal Adelaide Hospital in Adelaide

The Covid-19 ward nurse said the jab will give her more confidence about keeping the virus away from the public and about going home to her family after shifts.

'It's a very serious thing - I've seen families being torn apart from it,' Nurse Park told reporters.

'It's really sad what it has done to the patients affected and their families.

'It's really scary for healthcare workers to be going home and potentially exposing their family to that as well, so [the vaccine is] very exciting.'

Gold Coast University Hospital planned to administer 100 jabs on Monday but is now aiming for 180. The vaccine will be rolled out in north and south Brisbane on Wednesday and then Cairns on Friday.

The first Victorian to roll up her sleeve was Rhonda Stuart, the head of infection control at Monash Health.

Gayathry Vellangalloor Srinivasan was the first person in NSW to receive the Pfizer vaccination at the Royal Prince Alfred Hospital on Monday

Ms Park poses with her plaster after receiving Queensland's first vaccine dose. She is pictured alongside Queensland Chief Health Officer Jeannette Young (left) and Queensland Minister for Heath Yvette D'Ath (right)

COVID-19 screening clinic nurse Grace Gibney shows her vaccine certificate at the Austin Hospital, Heidelberg in north-eastern Melbourne on Monday

A nurse receives the jab at Austin Health in Melbourne on Monday. Thousands more Australians - including 1,200 in New South Wales - will roll their sleeves up on Monday as the Pfizer vaccine is rolled out nationwide

What will next happen in each state NSW The Pfizer jab will be administered to 35,000 frontline workers in NSW over the next three weeks including those employed at quarantine hotels, people screening airport arrivals, health staff, cleaners, police and security. All quarantine hotel workers in NSW - about 6500 people per week - will be included in the initial rollout of the jab. Victoria Victoria's first 12,000 doses of the Pfizer vaccine arrived on Sunday at Monash Hospital in Clayton. The roll-out begins on Monday morning, with high-risk frontline health staff first in the queue. Other recipients in line to receive the jab include hotel quarantine, airport and port workers, as well as aged care staff and residents. The federal government is expected to allocate 59,000 Pfizer vaccine doses to Victoria over the first four weeks of the program. South Australia The southern state will receive weekly deliveries of vaccines, with plans to inoculate 12,000 people in the first three weeks. Queensland More than 1000 hotel and health workers will be jabbed this week Western Australia More than 290 hotel quarantine staff and medical professionals are expected to receive the Pfizer BioNTech jab. 3392 invitations sent to workers who qualify for Phase 1a WA's 2500 hotel quarantine workers, 2500 Perth Airport staff and 170 Fremantle Port employees have been prioritised to get the jab first, with at least 556 currently booked in to get it next week. Advertisement

About 100 health care workers will be vaccinated at Monash Medical Centre on Monday, one of the state's three active vaccine hubs.

The federal government is expected to allocate 59,000 Pfizer vaccine doses to Victoria over the first four weeks of the program.

About 1,200 NSW health workers and uniformed police officers at Sydney's Royal Prince Alfred, Westmead and Liverpool hospitals started receiving the Pfizer vaccine from about 8am on Monday.

The NSW Government plans to vaccinate 35,000 frontline workers in the next three weeks, including those working in health and quarantine hotels

NSW Premier Gladys Berejiklian said the vaccinations would not be mandatory at this stage, but she encouraged everyone to get the jab.

Nurse manager Sue McGrady receives the Pfizer vaccination at the Royal Prince Alfred Hospital Vaccination Hub in Sydney. The NSW government plans to vaccinate 35,000 frontline workers in the next three weeks

NSW Premier Gladys Berejiklian gives a thumbs up to environmental services supervisor Gayathry Vellangalloor Srinivasan as she receives the states first Pfizer vaccination

VACCINE HUBS FOR FRONTLINE WORKERS NSW: Royal Prince Alfred Hospital, Westmead Hospital, Liverpool Hospital VIC: Monash Medical Centre Clayton, Sunshine Hospital, Austin Health, University Hospital Geelong QLD: Gold Coast University Hospital, Cairns Hospital, Princess Alexandra Hospital SA: Royal Adelaide Hospital, Flinders Medical Centre WA: Perth Children's Hospital TAS: Royal Hobart Hospital ACT: Canberra Hospital NT: Royal Darwin Hospital Advertisement

'I don't want to make vaccines mandatory in NSW but I do want to provide incentives. I think if people do take the vaccine they will have opportunity for greater freedom,' Ms Berejiklian told reporters.

She said the vaccine represented a new phase in fighting the pandemic, and said restrictions could ease if a critical mass of the population took up the vaccine.

'It does mean we can start thinking about overseas travel, we can start thinking about easing of restrictions,' she said.

'It definitely means there's light at the end of the tunnel, and it definitely means I'm hoping we've come through the worst part of the pandemic.'

In Western Australia, hotel quarantine nurse Antonia Garza received the state's first vaccine at a pop-up vaccine clinic at the Hyatt Regency Perth.

The Royal Australasian College of Physicians earlier claimed a landmark day for Australia's Covid-19 rollout strategy.

'Today marks an incredible achievement in our battle against the global Covid-19 pandemic,' college president John Wilson said.

'The vaccines being rolled out have gone through rigorous approval processes by the Therapeutic Goods Administration, which is one of the best regulators of its kind in the world.'

Pfizer's managing director for Australia and New Zealand, Anne Harris, hailed Sunday as 'momentous... for Australians, for science, and a proud day for Pfizer'.

She said Pfizer had already delivered more than 80 million doses of vaccine in 60 countries and had a 99.9 per cent success rate in getting them to their destination within the required temperature of -70 degrees.

Health Minister Greg Hunt confirmed he and the head of the Health Department and former chief medical officer Brendan Murphy will get the alternative AstraZeneca jab when it becomes available at a later date.

The rollout commences with around 60,000 Pfizer vaccine doses to be administered to priority groups.

Australian Health Minister Greg Hunt holds up a pair of socks depicting a syringe and a virus particle after the start of the Biotech Pfizer COVID-19 vaccine rollout

Aged care resident Jane Malysiak (left) was the first Australian to receive the Pfizer vaccine on Sunday as Prime Minister Scott Morrison (right) watches on

The first shipments of coronavirus shipments have arrived in Australia. Pictured is the first shipment arriving in the Northern Territory

The government is committed to offer Covid-19 vaccines to all Australians by the end of October.

The government has set up a simple, multi-language vaccine eligibility checker - australia.gov.au - for people to learn an approximate time frame for when they will be able to get a jab.

Both the Pfizer and AstraZeneca vaccines require two separate doses for a person to be fully immunised  Pfizer 21 days apart and AstraZeneca 12 weeks apart.

There were no locally acquired Covid-19 cases reported across the country on Sunday, but there were three infections in NSW quarantine, two in South Australia and one in Western Australia.

Northern Territory Chief Minister Michael Gunner left self-isolation after testing negative for Covid-19 after becoming unwell on Friday at a Bombing of Darwin Day commemoration.

In Victoria, the Andrews government announced $143 million in relief for businesses unable to operate during a recent five-day lockdown, which included the usually-profitable Valentine's Day.

Around 60,000 Australians will receive their first dose of the coronavirus vaccine this week. Pictured is aged care resident John Healy being vaccinated on Sunday
The Cullman County Coroner says John T. Sigman, a 70 year old man from Dyersburg, Tennessee, was the person who died after a deadly plane crash in Cullman Saturday night. Sigmans body is being sent to Huntsville for an autopsy at the forensics lab to be positively identified.

The Cullman County Airport General Manager says Frederick Dawson Holloway, who goes by Noah, was the second passenger in the plane. He says Holloway was seriously injured.

Right now, it's not clear who the plane belonged too.

Previous Story:

The Federal Aviation Administration (FAA) is investigating a deadly plane crash in Cullman County.

Cullman County Coroner Jeremy Kilpatrick said that one person is dead and another injured following the crash near Cullman Regional Airport. The crash happened near County Road 1371 and County Road 1360.

According to the FAA, a Piper PA-32 crashed around 6 p.m. after catching fire. FAA officials said that local authorities will release the names and medical condition of the person who survived the crash.

Harrison was not able to give out approximate ages or genders of those who were aboard the plane during a press conference at 8 p.m.

The FAA will investigate the crash and the National Transportation Safety Board (NTSB) will determine the probable cause of the accident.
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Veteran Nollywood actor, Victor Olaotan, best known for his role as Fred Ade-Williams in the popular TV series, Tinsel, has been bedridden for five years after he was involved in a ghastly accident.

The actor was driving to a movie set in 2016 when the accident took place around Apple Junction, in Festac, Lagos.

He has also been battling for his life in a Turkish hospital for almost three years.

In 2018, the actor requested financial aid to facilitate his treatments outside the country, after two years of being incapacitated. Shortly after, Nigerian billionaire, Femi Otedola, agreed to settle his bill of about N39m.

The actors wife confirmed that the money was paid directly into the account of the hospital in Turkey.

Three years ago, PREMIUM TIMES reported that the actor required financial assistance to receive medical treatment outside Nigeria in a bid to avert the amputation of his legs.

In this interview , the wife of the 69-year-old actor, Julia Olaotan, talked about how the need for a second phase of the medical procedure came and how the hospital is threatening to throw her husband out because she could not pay for the second procedure.

PT: What is the update on your husbands health?

MRS OLAOTAN: Medically, he is improving, and there has been a lot of improvement. His recent picture was what was used to do his birthday wish on social media so there has been a lot of improvement.

The major challenge is financial and that has been a struggle. We have come out occasionally to ask for funds and we are not ignorant to the fact that there are challenges. With the COVID pandemic, everybody has been affected, locally and internationally. But I have bills to pay. His hospital bill is $7,500 a month, and the main reason he is there, I actually havent done it, is to get his procedure done. We have done the first stage of the medical procedure, it was that first phase that Mr Otedola paid for.

When Otedola paid that bill, the bill that the hospital sent, he paid everything, every single dime that was on that bill.

Since I had never been in that situation before then, it was until we got there (Turkey) that we realised that we needed much more than what we were told we needed. They gave us bills for just one stage of his treatment, on getting there, they now gave us a bill for the second stage. That was when I freaked out and I was like wow, where am I going to see this kind of money? Unfortunately, he had already been flown out of the country. So he was already stranded there and he has to do the second procedure so that he can return.

I am stuck now, because now, he is taking daily treatment which is regular physiotherapy, care, food, drugs, and all but the main reason he is there. We have not been able to raise the funds and the debts are piling up. As of last month, it was 70,000 in US dollars and if I add the bill for February now, that is 70,000 plus another 7,500 USD. It is only God that can deliver me.

Now, there are some documents that I have been sent because they have been threatening me all these while that they are going to take legal actions but I have just been waiting. I said well, if it is jail they want to send me to because at this point, we have appealed and people have given what they can give. People have been a blessing, we did the GoFundMe, and the money was also used up.

I was reading something yesterday where someone was asking why I didnt cut costs by being the caregiver. I dont mind to cut cost but he has a caregiver and the hospital specified that must have medical experience because, in his situation, you need a medical person to handle him. They have nurses and all that but there must be somebody on my side that pays attention to what is being done to him.

PT: Is there any family member with him at all?

MRS OLAOTAN: No, apart from his caregiver. The guy has been with him since the accident. We went with his caregiver who was with him even when he had the accident. He was with him in the hospital here in Nigeria. He has come to understand his case inside out.

PT: When was the last time you saw him?

MRS OLAOTAN: Since I came back in May 2019, I have not been able to go back. I have not seen him since 2019, I only talk to him on video calls.

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The reason is that if I go there, once they see me if I am owing you so much, wont you think that they will think I have come to pay his hospital bills? I cant arrive and be seeing bills that I have not paid. It is riskier for me to go empty-handed just because I want to see him and now get tied up there. I may have to go through legal battles out there and I have children.

Going there would even translate to incurring more bills because first and foremost, there is COVID and I have to isolate in an apartment and pay the bills before I am allowed into the hospital. Throughout the COVID period, the hospital has said I would not be allowed into the hospital premises.

PT: How has this experience affected you personally?

MRS OLAOTAN: Its been very trying for me, I wont lie to you. At a point, I thought I was strong and I could handle this but right now, I dont know. Sometimes, I just lose hope but the thought of my children has kept me going and when we called him recently, he has been looking better.

He is getting better but he also needs his family to reassure him and give him reasons to hang on and keep fighting.

His doctor had told us that I need to come around with his children because, in spite of his treatments, he needs to have a reason to want to live, he needs to have a reason to fight. But I am here struggling to pay his bills, how can I afford to travel with the children?

PT: What is the hospital saying now?

MRS OLAOTAN: I have been told that since I am refusing to pay the bills, they will be forced to dump him at the Nigerian Embassy in Turkey and from the Embassy, I should do whatever I want to do with him. My fear is that that would mean that the battle will be lost. I am not sure any sick person wants to find themselves in that kind of trauma where you are homeless as a sick man in a strange land.

I dont know if that is still a threat because they have sent me some documents to sign and when I showed it to lawyers, they said the documents mean that they are looking for what they can legally hold on to. It is a legal document absolving them of any kind of responsibility. They want me to sign it and send it back to them.

PT: So, who has been footing some of his bills so far?

Mrs Olaotan: It is actually the agency that we went through. They arranged his treatment and they have been wonderful because when the hospital was still treating him, they were paying his bills. Now, the hospital said they have taken him off his personal ventilator that they use for his lungs because of COVID. The hospital has sent a message that they have withdrawn his own. It is used for his breathing and since I am not paying bills, where will they see money to get it for him?

They have only informed me of their plans that if I am not forthcoming with my bills, they will be forced to take him in an ambulance and dump him at the Nigerian embassy because they are not legally bound to take care of him.

It is irresponsible of me that is how I look at it. Starting this was a good initiative and I beg God that people have given. You see, when I receive an alert of N500, it breaks my heart. It means for somebody who is sending you N500, the person is saying I wish I could do more, the person is saying I want to be a part of this thing concerning this person. So, I look back and say, people who have given their last, is this where it is going to end?

I dont know where to go to. It is like I have reached my last bus stop. I dont know who else to talk to. And I have to pretend to my children that everything is fine. When they come to me and say, Mummy, what are we going to do about daddy? I would smile and tell them all is well. But we are grateful to God that he is still alive.

We cannot even bring him back to the country without clearing the bills already on ground. I am stuck between the devil and the deep blue sea. If I decide I want to bring him back, the cost of bringing him will be like the cost of taking him there in the first place. The whole effort now is just for him to complete the second procedure so that he can come back home.

PT: Have his colleagues been keeping in touch?

MRS ODUTAN: They are keeping in touch. They are responsible for all the social media posts and updates. All the people in Tinsel are the ones that have been running around to make sure that the story is always on social media and people are contributing. The person who facilitated the GoFundMe was Gbenro Ajibade and RMD took it up from there through Otedola.

I think one of the challenges we had was when we went to town announcing that Otedola has picked up all of his bills. I had a few people that called me to say I am not sure you know what is wrong with your husband, you can never say that you have enough. Even if truthfully the money is okay, what about post-medical when he returns? But I was looking at it like what are these people saying?

Sometimes I just feel like taking a long walk to nowhere. I wake most mornings to their calls. When I see the calls, my BP just skyrockets and I start to feel headaches. So I just feel like taking a long walk but when I take that walk, will I not come back?

Meanwhile, while I worry about the big money, there are people who pray for us and randomly think about us and wonder if we have had anything to eat and just bring stuff for us. It mostly happens at the point where I dont know where the next provision would come from. It would just come out of the blue from people saying I was just thinking about you.

Account details Victor Olaotan Recovery fund ECOBANK 0040006665

OR

STANBIC BANK 0001101396 Julia Olaotan
Rep. Randy Bridges Legislative Update

By Rep. Randy Bridges

PADUCAH - As you know by now, the first votes taken when we returned to Frankfort earlier this month were to override the vetoes of six bills passed during the January portion of the session. The bills vetoed include pro-life legislation, a measure that changes an archaic law that limits where Kentuckians can file suit against the state, and legislation that redefines the emergency powers of governors. Each of these vetoes passed with an overwhelming majority, and I know that my vote reflected the phone calls, messages, and conversations I have had with the people of this district over the past year.Shortly after we cast our votes, the bills were signed and filed by the Secretary of State. While all six measures contain emergency clauses that make them effective immediately, the Governor filed suit to stop three of them within minutes of their delivery to the Secretary of State. The Governor is challenging HB 1, SB 1, and SB 2. HB 1 creates a framework to help businesses, schools, nonprofits, and other organizations remain safely open throughout the rest of the COVID-19 pandemic. Other provisions of HB 1 give employers some relief in making their unemployment insurance payments and provides for visitation of those in long-term care as well as children in state custody.SB 1 and SB 2 are specifically aimed at increasing oversight and transparency, as well as strengthening the separation of powers called for in the Kentucky Constitution. SB 1 recognizes the need for Kentucky to act quickly in an emergency but also prevents a governor from overstepping his or her authority and attempt to legislate through executive orders during a long-term emergency. Similarly, SB 2 prevents the executive branch from effectively making laws by issuing regulations rather than going through the legislature. Under the provisions of SB 1 and SB 2, the Governors COVID-related emergency orders will expire on March 4. At that point, the General Assembly will decide whether to extend these mandates past March 4.The day after the Governor filed suit, a Franklin Circuit Court Judge granted the administrations request to temporarily block a section of HB 1 from becoming law. That section specifically allows any business, school, church or local government to remain open if they adopt an operating plan that is consistent with guidance from the Center for Disease Control (CDC) or executive branch. The injunction on this provision continues after the judge met with attorneys from both the legislative and executive branch last week. During that hearing, the same judge stated he hopes to issue a final ruling on the case before the end of February. At that time, we will learn if we must continue to defend the legislatures authority.While the Governor and others claim this legislation is motivated by politics, in reality it is part of a national trend. State legislatures across the country are reexamining how existing laws define the boundary between legislative and executive authority called for in the separation of powers. It is happening in states where the legislative and executive branches are led by the same political parties as well as those where they are split, so it is misleading to frame this action as one political party going after another. It is happening in every region  including Louisiana, New York, California, and in neighboring states like Indiana and Ohio. This is not about reining in the Governors authority but rather about making sure the line between the legislative and executive branch is clear.In addition to the national trend, Kentuckys legislature has less authority to act as a check to the executive branch when compared to other states. Previous legislatures have given Kentucky governors broad authority in a state of emergency, and we are in session only three or four months a year. The COVID-19 pandemic has exposed many areas that need improvement and we have an opportunity to use this experience to make sure that our statutes reflect the peoples will and the need for good government. It is our responsibility to do so because, as the old saying goes, there is no education in the second kick of a mule.We have just three weeks of legislative days left in this years legislative session and must adjourn by March 30. I will continue to update you on our progress, but in the meantime, I can be reached here at home anytime or through the toll-free message line in Frankfort at 1-800-372-7181. If you would like more information, please visit the legislature's website at www.legislature.ky.gov or you can email me at Randy.Bridges@lrc.ky.gov.
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Courtesy of San Francisco Police Department / Courtesy of San Francisco Police

San Francisco police are asking the publics help in finding a 14-year-old girl who left her city residence last week without telling her family, police said.

Katlin Gallaread has not been heard from since leaving her home sometime between 8 p.m. Tuesday and 1:30 p.m. Wednesday, police said. On Sunday afternoon, police said they had no updates on the case.
Washington: Former president Donald Trump has suffered a major legal defeat after the US Supreme Court declined his effort to block a New York grand jury from obtaining his personal and corporate tax records.

Prosecutors in New York City are investigating possible tax, insurance and bank fraud in Trumps hotel and casino business empire.

The Supreme Courts decision came as Trump is preparing to return to the public eye with a speech to conservative activists. Credit:AP

The probe, led by Manhattan District Attorney Cy Vance, is believed to be one of the most serious legal threats Trump is facing in his post-presidential life.

The decision comes as Trump prepares to make his first public appearance since leaving the White House with an appearance at the Conservative Political Action Conference on Monday (AEDT).
Bharti Airtel Ltd will meet global fixed income investors on or after 23 February to decide on the issuance of foreign currency bonds, the company said in an exchange filing on Monday.

The board of the telco had earlier this month approved fundraising of up to 7,500 crore through debt instruments such as debentures and bonds in one or more tranches.

The company will meet global fixed income investors on or after 23 February, following which and subject to market conditions, the company will take a final decision on the issuance of foreign currency bonds/notes and a deal may or may not follow," it said.

A special committee of directors will likely meet anytime on or after two working days to consider the issuance and its detailed terms and conditions, subject to the final decision.

The fundraising has been announced when the telecom sector prepares for the upcoming spectrum auction in March and the rollout of 5G wireless service later this year.

Airtel on 28 January had announced that it is Indias first telecom operator to conduct live 5G demonstration, calling its network ready for the next-generation wireless service and beating Reliance Jio Infocomm Ltd, which is yet to hold trials on a commercial network.

On 17 February, Airtel said it will buy back US private equity firm Warburg Pincus 20% stake in its direct-to-home television unit for 3,126 crore. Warburg Pincus had in December 2017 acquired the 20% stake in Bharti Telemedia Ltd for 2,258 crore.

The board of Airtel, Indias second-largest telecom operator by market share, also approved setting up a special committee to unlock the value of its digital businesses.

The committee will evaluate the rejig of subsidiaries to increase focus on digital and non-telecom businesses, including music streaming app Wynk, content platform Xstream, cloud-based communication service Airtel IQ, among others.

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The rapid spread of severe acute respiratory syndrome coronavirus 2 (SARS-CoV-2) has infected over 111 million individuals worldwide and has resulted in the COVID-19 pandemic. Many pangolin and bat-derived viruses are closely related to SARS-CoV-2, which suggests its likely zoonotic origin.

Researchers have found a 96% similarity in nucleotide sequence between bat coronavirus (RaTG13), isolated from

s in China in 2013, and SARS-CoV-2 and ~97% amino acid similarity with the Spike (S) protein. This S protein performs two essential roles, i.e., mediates receptor-binding and membrane fusion. Hence, spike protein is regarded as a key coronavirus determinant of host tropism.

ddd

Similarly, a high percentage of similarity was also found in viruses present in Manis javanica (pangolins). A 97.4% amino acid concordance has been reported to be present in the receptor-binding domain (RBD) of the spike protein found in the pangolin virus.

A study of various epidemics over a couple of decades, i.e., the emergence of swine acute diarrhea syndrome coronavirus (SADS-CoV), severe acute respiratory syndrome coronavirus (SARS-CoV), and Middle East respiratory syndrome coronavirus (MERS-CoV) have shown the world the epidemic potential of coronaviruses.

Scientists have explained that a minor change in the virus's genetic sequence may play a crucial role in its adaptation to a new host. A minor modification in only two amino acids established a necessary change in SARS-CoV and MERS-CoV spike proteins required to adapt to human beings.

Fig 1. Selective sweeps analysis. (a) Selective sweep regions (shown as red blocks) identified in 182,792 SARSSARS-CoVCoV-2 genomes, using OmegaPlus (blue lines) and RAiSD (yellow lines). The common outliers (0.05 cutoff, purple dots) from the two methods were used to define selective sweep regions. (b) Non-synonymous difference (Thr372Ala) between SARS SARS-CoVCoV-2 and four other Sarbecovirus members found in the putative selective sweep region (22,529 22,529-22,862).

A similar change was also found in many other viruses, such as Ebola, where a single alanine-to-valine mutation at position 82 in the glycoprotein initiated their human adaptation, which caused the outbreak. Many recent outbreaks associated with an RNA virus, for example, West Nile virus, Zika virus, and Chikungunya virus, also occurred due to a single amino acid change in the virus nucleotide sequence.

In the case of SARS-CoV-2, a single mutation at position 614 in the S protein caused a change in the production of single aspartic acid to glycine, which has resulted in an increase of replication vigor in humans. However, the genetic determinants of SARS-CoV-2 responsible for the change of its host from animal to human remained unknown.

Scientists believe a strong signature of positive selection occurs when a virus changes its host through rapid evolution or cross-species transmission.

Such incidence was reported for the brief SARS epidemic that took place in 20022003. During this period, a series of adaptive changes or mutations occurred in SARS-CoV genomes characterized based on dN/dS tests.

These tests are designed for the comparison of eukaryotic interspecies. However, the limitation of these tests is that they cannot detect the hallmark signature of positive selection in viral lineages with small sequence divergence.

Recently, researchers have used highly sophisticated methods that are capable of detecting selective sweeps. In this method, a selectively favorable mutation spreads through the population, causing a reduction in the level of sequence variability at nearby genomic sites.

With the help of unprecedented statistical tools, scientists have analyzed more than 182,000 SARS-CoV-2 genomes and found that positive selection plays a vital role in the adaptive evolution of SARS-CoV-2. Considering the coronavirus host tropism, researchers provided strong evidence that the spike protein residue 372 contributes to adaptive mutation, which in turn aggregates their replication in human lung cells. The research by scientists in the U.S and Israel is posted online on the bioRxiv* preprint server.

The genetic modification, i.e., threonine-to-alanine change, may enable the virus to replicate more vigorously within human cells. This also promotes an efficient human-to-human transmission.

Prior computation-based research and the study of pseudotyped viruses have identified positive selection in SARS-CoV-2.

Even though a study of the pseudoviruses provided vast volumes of useful information, the entire life cycle of the virus or the interactions between different viral proteins and the host were not obtained. Recently, the use of live viruses has helped the development of hamster models that recapitulate human-to-human transmission.

In summary, current research shows the presence of a distinct footprint of positive selection around a non-synonymous change (A1114G; T372A) within the RBD of the SARS-CoV-2 spike protein. This plays a vital role in incapacitating species barriers and also achieving interspecies transmission from animals to humans.

Further, the structural analysis also indicates that the change of threonine with alanine in SARS-CoV-2 removes the glycosylation site at N370. Such changes indicate a favorable binding of the virus to the cellular receptor in humans (ACE2).

Another interesting suggestion was that, unlike previous assumptions, the Huanan seafood market, China, might not be the origin point of the novel SARS-CoV-2. The transmission may have occurred unnoticed elsewhere for a period that provided the ancestor virus enough time for their adaptation to human replications.

*Important Notice

bioRxiv publishes preliminary scientific reports that are not peer-reviewed and, therefore, should not be regarded as conclusive, guide clinical practice/health-related behavior, or treated as established information.

With millions of Texans grappling with water restrictions, spiking energy bills and other havoc left behind by last week's winter storm, White House officials said Sunday that President Joe Biden is "eager" to visit and could head there as soon as this week.

The majority of the 58 deaths linked to the Arctic outbreak have occurred in Texas, according to tracking by The Washington Post. As of noon Sunday, more than 11 million Texans were under orders to boil tap water before drinking it and another 120,000 were without any water at all because public water utilities remained hindered, according to figures from the Texas Commission on Environmental Quality.

Many in the state were being hit with extraordinarily high utility bills - many times higher than normal - with experts blaming the state's lightly regulated energy markets for the prices, which spiked when the storm caused shortages.

"He is eager to go down to Texas and show his support," White House press secretary Jen Psaki said Sunday on ABC News's "This Week." "But he's also very mindful of the fact that it's not a light footprint for a president to travel to a disaster area. He does not want to take away resources or attention.

Houston Mayor Sylvester Turner, a Democrat, said Sunday that Biden "certainly can come now."

"We certainly would welcome him," Turner said on CBS News's "Face the Nation," adding: "He would not be a distraction, neither a burden."

Photo for The Washington Post by Sergio Flores

The storm, which has killed people in at least eight states, also knocked out power for millions in brutally cold weather. Many of those initially considered fortunate because their lights stayed on are now facing jaw-dropping electric bills because they had opted for one of the state's increasingly popular variable-rate plans.

Such electricity plans offer a potentially lower-cost alternative to traditional fixed-rate energy payments, but in a crisis situation can saddle customers with outsize bills. As wholesale energy prices soared, some have charged thousands of dollars for a few days of power.

One company, Griddy, said it was forced to raise its prices as much as 300 times the normal wholesale rate, meaning a typical $2-a-day household would face more than $600 in daily charges.

The spike in prices left many Texans with dizzying bills in the wake of the storms - ranging from four digits to more than $17,000.

"We are about to see a wave of bankruptcies, foreclosures, and evictions as these bills hit consumer and retailer mailboxes," said Robert McCullough, a consultant and former utilities executive who has testified before Congress.

McCullough noted that electric companies are profiting from the price spikes. Those serving Texas's main power grid - the portion managed by the Electric Reliability Council of Texas (ERCOT) - garnered $40 billion in revenue, according to his estimates.

"Somebody won big," McCullough said. "That's not all profit, but I suspect most of it will be."

ERCOT, which manages about 90% of the state's electric load, is facing a state investigation and two lawsuits arguing that its preparation, or lack thereof, for extreme cold left residents freezing and in the dark.

Texas Attorney General Ken Paxton, a Republican, said Friday that he was launching an investigation into how ERCOT and power companies had "grossly mishandled" the winter storm.

An ERCOT official defended the decision to trigger rolling outages, saying in a statement Saturday that it had been the "right choice to avoid a statewide blackout."

With Biden signing a major disaster declaration that will allow much of the state to tap vast reserves of federal aid, Rep. Michael McCaul, R-Texas, suggested that the federal assistance would be used to help those facing spiking power bills.

"The current plan is, with the federal assistance, to be able to help the homeowners both repair - because we have a lot of water leaks, a lot of water damage, pipes bursting - but, also, their electricity bills as well," McCaul said Sunday on CNN's "State of the Union."

He said federal assistance is "what Texas needs right now so desperately. A lot of people are hurting right now."

Turner agreed that consumers should not be saddled with the astronomical power bills.

"For these exorbitant costs, it's not the consumers who should assume that cost," he said on "Face the Nation." "They are not at fault for what happened this week. The bills should go to the state of Texas."

Griddy officials knew the storm would drive up prices, and the company sent an email to customers Feb. 14, warning them to find new providers. But when customers went shopping, the other companies were not offering plans.

One resident, Ty Williams, told local TV station WFAA that he saw the email from Griddy and tried to switch to a new company, but that no one would accept him as a new customer until Feb. 26.

Williams said that he normally pays $660 a month across three electric meters - home, guesthouse and office - but that his bill shot to more than $17,000 in the past week. "How in the world can anyone pay that?" Williams told the station. "I mean you go from a couple hundred dollars a month . . . there's absolutely no way . . . it makes no sense."

Gov. Greg Abbott, a Republican, said Saturday that he was convening an emergency meeting with state lawmakers to discuss the spikes, saying in a statement that "it is unacceptable for Texans who suffered through days in the freezing cold without electricity or heat to now be hit with skyrocketing energy costs."

"The catastrophic winter storm was expected to become the "largest insurance claim event in [Texas] history," said the Insurance Council of Texas, a trade group, which estimated that the damage would far outpace the $19 billion in claims from Hurricane Harvey in 2017.

The White House's disaster declaration followed similar state-of-emergency notices in Louisiana and Oklahoma, which will allow the general public and business owners to apply for temporary-housing grants, home-repair loans and other emergency aid.

It offers individual assistance to 77 of 254 counties, including the areas around Houston, Dallas and Austin, but does not cover the entire state.

Abbott said Saturday that the White House's "partial approval is an important first step." The White House and the Federal Emergency Management Agency said more counties could be covered as government officials continue assessing the damage. Michael Hart, a spokesperson for the agency, told The Post that major disaster declarations "routinely begin with an initial set of counties for which damage information is available."

In recent days, the Federal Emergency Management Agency has provided generators, food, water and other supplies statewide.

Asked about the partial declaration on ABC News's "This Week," Psaki said the White House has been in "very close touch with Governor Abbott."

"What happens here is the governor requested a federal disaster declaration. The president asked his team to expedite that," she said. "And FEMA determined where the counties should be - where it should focus the immediate resources, where the counties that are hardest hit, so that they can make sure they get to the people in most need."

- - -

The Washington Post's Brittany Shammas, Marisa Iati and Drew Harwell contributed to this report.
Alhaji Inusah Fuseini has highlighted some interesting observations on the establishment of the Lesbians, Gays, Bisexuals, Transgender, and Queer Intersex (LGBTQI) offices in the country.



According to the former National Democratic Congress (NDC) Tamale Central Member of Parliament (MP), he will not support the activities of the LGBTQI in the country but he shares a different view as a lawyer of good standing.



Speaking on Okay FMs Ade Akye Abia Morning Show, Inusah Fuseini posited that those who are fighting the activities of Homosexuality in the country will not succeed; as eventually, the country's cultural practices will give way.



As a Muslim, I cannot support the activities of the Lesbians, Gays, Bisexuals, Transgender, Queer Intersex but if you ask me as a lawyer, I think that we are fighting a losing battle. If we want to create a right-based society, it means that if someone has the right to do something, you cannot prevent that person from doing it, he opined.



If you prevent the person, then you are not creating an open society. Even in our criminal code which we borrowed from our colonial masters, we have unnatural canal knowledge introduced by the British, but now that law is no longer in Britain, new ones were born. They said that that law violates some rights, he stressed.



He further indicated that inasmuch as the cultural set up in the country does not accept and tolerate, and even considers homosexuality as an abomination, it is also a known fact that homosexuality has been happening underground in the country.



Within the cultural context, many things happen. Let me say that homosexuality within our homes, it happens but it happens underground because the cultural set up does not accept or tolerate and considers homosexuality an abominable, he indicated.



But as times go on, some cultural practices will give way. Once upon a time, people could not smoke wee in the whole world over but today we have found a way to make wee medicinal . . . in Ghana, Akpeteshie used to be a banned substance initially but as time went on, the people accepted it. As new knowledge begins to emerge people will begin to understand, he argued.



To him, the many books he has read depict that the practice of homosexuality, queerness, and lesbianism started in the pre-history era and not a recent engagement as it can be traced in the Old Testament.



I have read a lot of books about homosexuality, queerness, lesbianism, so on. It is not something that started recently; it is a stone-age issue that can be traced in the Old Testament, but there has been a determined effort to keep society cohesive and to ensure that the God-right to multiply is not hindered. There have always been those practices, even in pre-historic time, he stated.



"As a Muslim, I cannot be seen to be practicing it but that is me as a Muslim, but as a lawyer, new rights are emerging and it is time that we recognize the existence of those new rights," he entreated.





Watch video below





Source: Daniel Adu Darko/Peacefmonline.com/[email protected]









Disclaimer : Opinions expressed here are those of the writers and do not reflect those of Peacefmonline.com. Peacefmonline.com accepts no responsibility legal or otherwise for their accuracy of content. Please report any inappropriate content to us, and we will evaluate it as a matter of priority.

Featured Video
The UK antitrust tribunal ruled on Monday that Epic Games, the creator of popular game Fortnite, will not be allowed to pursue its case against Apple Inc in the United Kingdom over its App Store payment system and control over app downloads until the case has been decided on in the U.S.

The UK tribunal said Epics suit against Alphabet Incs Google could move forward, but deemed that the United States would be a better forum for its case against Apple.

Epic Games sent out a statement in response to the tribunals ruling relaying that "Epic will reconsider pursuing its case against Apple in the UK after the resolution of the U.S. case." For more, read the Reuters report.

In preparation for the Apple vs. Epic Games battle, it was made public last week that Apple is seeking sensitive pricing information from Valve regarding their Steam PC Game platform in respect to Fortnite to determine what the platform charges Epic Games for having it listed in their store.

The court document further noted that 'As this Court recognized with respect to Samsung, this information is "relevant to showing the extent of competition" among digital distribution platforms available to distribute Fortnite, including the Apple App Store."

The precedent will likely force Valve to comply. Epic knows that this information could cripple their case with Apple if it's revealed that Valve is charging them a price comparable with the App Store.
Suffolk sheep graze on grass in a field outside Lacken, Co. Wicklow with Blessington lakes in the background. Pic credit; Damien Eagers Photography 31/12/2020

A spate of sheep thefts has caused alarm among rural communities in west Wicklow.

There have been reports of thefts from flocks in Hollywood, Dunlavin and Shillelagh. Farmers and people living in rural areas have been urged to be on the lookout for suspicious activity, particularly at night time.

Tomas OConnor, IFA county chair for Kildare/west Wicklow, said he had heard reports of several incidents in west Wicklow. Its very worrying for farmers, he said.

A spokesperson for Baltinglass garda division said investigations were continuing into two separate thefts of a substantial number of sheep in the area in recent months.

In the first incident, 102 sheep were taken from Shillelagh at a date between November 15 and December 20. These animals had a red mark on the back of their neck.

At Friarshill in Dunlavin 44 sheep were taken from a flock of 360 on an outfarm belonging to Owen Brady on a date between November 1 and January 1. These animals had a PB marking on their right flank.

The spokesperson said local gardai were working with the Department of Agriculture to look into these incidents and appealed for anyone with information to come forward.

Extra measures have also been put in place at checkpoints to respond to the issue.

Mr Brady said: We carried out a sheep inspection in mid-November and they were all there. Due to poor weather, they were not counted again until early January. We were getting ready to put some in the shed as it was close to lambing when we noticed 44 were missing.

He looked for the missing Cheviot mountain ewes and checked with neighbours, before contacting the gardai. He estimates the value of the stolen sheep at between 8,000 and 10,000.

I felt sick and fed up. Its taking my livelihood, he said.





Suffered

John Malone of Wicklow Cheviot Sheep Owners said the group is working with the gardai to highlight the issue of sheep theft.

Weve arranged for text alerts to be sent to the community, he said.

Wed ask people to report any suspicious activity. This is a serious issue.

The issue of sheep thefts was raised during a recent meeting of Wicklow County Councils Joint Policing Committee.

Chief Superintendent Denis Ferry highlighted the importance of farmers reporting stolen sheep early to investigations.

There can be a delay in farmers contacting the gardai about stolen sheep as they may think the animals have wandered off.

Mr Malone urged farmers to report any concerns to the gardai as soon as possible, adding: Wed encourage farmers to secure their premises and to report losses straight away.
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Third Point Reinsurance Ltd. has announced additional executive and senior underwriting roles at SiriusPoint Ltd., the new company created as a result of the anticipated merger of Third Point Re and Sirius International Insurance Group Ltd.

The leadership team announcements are:

Dan Malloy , president, Global Distribution and head of Runoff. Malloy will be responsible for distribution and business development, and broker and client engagement. He will also oversee SiriusPoints runoff division. He will be based in Bermuda, subject to Bermuda Immigration approval. Malloy is the current chief executive officer at Third Point Re.

, president, Global Distribution and head of Runoff. Malloy will be responsible for distribution and business development, and broker and client engagement. He will also oversee SiriusPoints runoff division. He will be based in Bermuda, subject to Bermuda Immigration approval. Malloy is the current chief executive officer at Third Point Re. David Govrin , global chief underwriting officer and president, Americas Reinsurance. Govrin is currently president, Third Point Reinsurance (USA) Ltd. and head of Business Development, Third Point Reinsurance Ltd. He is based in the U.S.

, global chief underwriting officer and president, Americas Reinsurance. Govrin is currently president, Third Point Reinsurance (USA) Ltd. and head of Business Development, Third Point Reinsurance Ltd. He is based in the U.S. Monica Cramer Manhem , president, International Reinsurance. SiriusPoint International branch managers, including the European, Miami and Singapore offices, will report to Cramer Manhem, who is based in Stockholm and is currently president of Global Reinsurance at Sirius Group.

, president, International Reinsurance. SiriusPoint International branch managers, including the European, Miami and Singapore offices, will report to Cramer Manhem, who is based in Stockholm and is currently president of Global Reinsurance at Sirius Group. Ming Zhang , chief investment officer. Zhang, who is based in New York, is currently chief investment officer at Third Point Re, having joined from MetLife.

, chief investment officer. Zhang, who is based in New York, is currently chief investment officer at Third Point Re, having joined from MetLife. Vievette M. Henry, chief people officer. Henry joins SiriusPoint on March 1, 2021, from American Insurance Group (AIG) in New York, where for the past three years she has served as global head of Talent, Organizational Effectiveness, and chief diversity officer.

The SiriusPoint executives will report to SiriusPoint chairman and chief executive officer Sid Sankaran, who is currently Third Point Res non-executive chairman of the board.

The executives will join the previously announced senior appointments:

Prashanth Gangu , chief operating officer and president of Insurance and Services

, chief operating officer and president of Insurance and Services Rachael Dugan , general counsel

, general counsel David Junius , chief financial officer

, chief financial officer Steve Fass, vice chairman

SiriusPoint will launch as a top 20 global (re)insurer writing a worldwide portfolio of insurance and reinsurance, including accident and health (A&H), liability, property and specialty.

The underwriting leaders at SiriusPoint have been announced as:

Jan Onselius , chief underwriting officer, International Reinsurance. Onselius is currently chief underwriting officer, Global Reinsurance, at Sirius Group in Stockholm.

, chief underwriting officer, International Reinsurance. Onselius is currently chief underwriting officer, Global Reinsurance, at Sirius Group in Stockholm. Nick Campbell will become global head of Specialty and will lead SiriusPoints Bermuda operations. Campbell is currently chief risk officer and EVP, Underwriting, at Third Point Re.

will become global head of Specialty and will lead SiriusPoints Bermuda operations. Campbell is currently chief risk officer and EVP, Underwriting, at Third Point Re. Patrick Chamberland , EVP International Reinsurance in addition to leading SiriusPoints office in Liege.

, EVP International Reinsurance in addition to leading SiriusPoints office in Liege. Stuart Liddell , global president of Accident and Health (A&H). Liddell is currently global head of A&H, Sirius Group, based in London.

, global president of Accident and Health (A&H). Liddell is currently global head of A&H, Sirius Group, based in London. Ian Sawyer , global head of Casualty. Sawyer currently holds the same role at Sirius Group. He is based in London.

, global head of Casualty. Sawyer currently holds the same role at Sirius Group. He is based in London. Warren Trace, head of U.S. and Canada. Based in New York, Trace is currently president, North America Reinsurance and deputy chief underwriting officer for the Americas, Sirius Group.

Tim Mardon will become SiriusPoint global head of Property Reinsurance, joining the company from Chubb Tempest Re Bermuda. He will be based in Bermuda, subject to Bermuda Immigration approval.

I am delighted with the exceptional team we have formed to lead SiriusPoint, said Sankaran. SiriusPoint brings together two companies with an abundance of talent, which is highlighted by these latest appointments. We have a strong leadership team of executives and underwriting talent from within and outside the existing organizations, each bringing outstanding credentials and experience to the business and culture we are building.

Third Point Re expects to complete the previously announced merger transaction with Sirius International Insurance Group, Ltd. on or about February 26, subject to the satisfaction of the closing conditions.

Source: Third Point Re

Topics Leadership
Protesting farmers have announced a series of events February 23-27 to further intensify their agitation against the three new agricultural laws.

From 'Pagadi Sambhal Diwas' to 'Daman Virodhi Diwas, farmers will protest the "repressive" measures against them adopted by the government.

They also said they will soon devise a strategy to keep the protest going for long and will make their plans public on February 28.

Reuters

The Samyukt Kisan Morcha (SKM), which is spearheading the protests, told a press conference here that under their proposed escalation programme, February 23 will be observed as 'Pagadi Sambhal Diwas' and February 24 as 'Daman Virodhi Diwas', essentially to underline that farmers must be respected and no "repressive measures" should be taken against them.

"The 'Pagdi Sambhal Diwas' will be celebrated on February 23. This day will be celebrated in memory of Chacha Ajit Singh and Swami Sahajanand Saraswati. On this day, farmers will be wearing their regional turbans.

"On February 24, 'Daman Virodhi Diwas' is announced in which the farmers and citizens will protest against overall suppression against the farmers' movement. On this day, memoranda will be given to the President of India via Tehsil and district headquarters," said Darshan Pal, a farmer leader.

AP

The Morcha said February 26 will be observed as 'Yuva Kisan Diwas' (youth farmers day) and February 27 as 'Mazdoor Kisan Ekta Divws' (farmer-labourer unity day).

"On February 26, honouring the contribution of youth in this movement, a 'Yuva Kisan Diwas' will be organised. On this day all the stages of SKM will be operated by the youth. Youth from various states are requested to join the protesters at Delhi Borders.

"On January 27, on Guru Ravidas Jayanti and martyrdom day of Shaheed Chandrasekhar Azad, 'Kisan Majdoor Ekta Diwas' will be celebrated. All the citizens are appealed to strengthen this movement by joining the protesters Delhi borders," Pal said.
Foreign media and international institutions say that Vietnam is an attractive choice for manufacturers and investors who are seeking to diversify supply chains in Asia.

According to Nikkei, Intel has invested $475 million in its Intel Products Vietnam (IPV), the largest chip assembling and testing center in the world.

The additional investment was made in the second half of 2020. It aims to produce 5G products and Intel Core processors with Intel Hybrid technology, and the 10th Intel Core processor.

IPVs CEO Kim Huat Ooi said IPV had manufactured more than 2 billion products to provide to clients all over the world as of the end of 2020. The figure showed the important role played by IPV in helping Intel satisfy customer requirements. This also explains why Intel continues to develop facilities and staff in Vietnam.

IPV is one of Intels 10 production facilities in the globe. The plant in the HCMC High-Tech Park (SHTP), with 2,700 workers, is an ATM (assembly, test and manufacturing) plant with the largest cleanroom in Intels system. Its export value has reached $50.2 billion in the last 10 years.

Export turnover reached a record high of $13.1 billion in 2020, which accounted for 68 percent of export turnover of SHTP.

Intel is the biggest hi-tech investor in Vietnam. The American company has poured $1 billion into Vietnam since 2006 and another $475 million in the last 17 months.

Vietnam is becoming an increasingly important link in the global technology supply chain with the presence of many manufacturers, from Samsung to Pegatron, in the country.

Foreign media and international institutions say that Vietnam is an attractive choice for manufacturers and investors who are seeking to diversify supply chains in Asia.

Nikkei reported that Apple is speeding up the diversification of production activities with two major destinations, namely Vietnam and India. The US technology giant will make iPads in Vietnam, slated for mid-2021.

It will also expand the production line of HomePod mini smart speakers. The product has been made in Vietnam since the day it hit the market last year. AirPod output is also expected to increase in 2021.

In late 2020, Foxconn, an Apple vendor, spent $270 million to build a plant in Vietnam. Luxshare Precision Industry, which assembles iPhone and AirPods, is also moving ahead with the plan to make HomePods in the north of Vietnam.

According to Savills Vietnam, the Taiwanese electronics manufacturer Pegatron has invested $19 million in Hai Phong for the first phase of its expansion plan in Vietnam.

When the Covid-19 pandemic broke out, some multinationals announced plans to relocate to Vietnam or scale up production in Vietnam. These included Sharp, Nintendo and Komatsu from Japan and Lenovo from Hong Kong.

Multi-billion dollar investment wave

In its report titled "Rising star: Vietnam's role in Asia's shifting supply chains", EIU commented that Vietnam remains an attractive option for manufacturers and those who seek to diversify supply chains in Asia.

The 2020 Vietnam Real Estate Market Report also says foreign enterprises are stepping up investment relocation and Vietnam is one of the alternative destinations.

The Vietnamese industrial real estate market has favorable conditions to develop, including the stable growth of the economy, Vietnams membership in many FTAs, and investment incentives offered by the government.

CEO of JLL Vietnam Stephen Wyatt commented that Covid-19 is a catalyst accelerating the relocation process. He said Southeast Asia in general and Vietnam in particular will become more attractive in the future.

JETRO (Japan External Trade Origanization) affirmed that the shift will improve supply chain efficiency, fill the gap created by pandemic effects, and strengthen economic relations with ASEAN countries.

According to John Campbell from Savills, in order to attract investors, some factors need to be improved, including infrastructure, logistics and land prices. Land prices have been escalating in recent years as many foreign investors have been heading for Vietnam.

Duy Anh

Vietnams industrial export still relies on FDI sector Vietnam posted an estimated trade surplus of $1.3 billion in January, according to a report recently announced by the Ministry of Industry and Trade (MoIT).
While working with my colleague Jeff Pfeffer, I was alarmed to find data saying that more than half our private sector employees in India suffer from depression, anxiety and stress. Then I found a survey that had nearly 80% of them admitting increased stress ever since the covid outbreak. We have all experienced some of this: a work-from-home-induced blurring of work/life, ambiguity in performance indicators, anxiety over finances, and an always on mobile phone for ones boss to call. Add to that sleep apnea, relationship issues, unhealthy eating habits, lack of exercise, and monthly loan repayment pressure.

Management toxicity is affecting more and more Indians, who are already prone to cardiovascular ailments and diabetes.

Weve found that employers who attract, retain and motivate a productive workforce, keeping employees physically and mentally healthy, dont do so by offering cute amenities such as free food or sleep pods, or a dog creche, etc. Rather, what employees need are less stressful work environments.

Research suggests that close relationships with family and friends can buffer the effects of psychosocial stress. Those who are less socially integrated seem more vulnerable to illness and show a higher mortality rate. A major survey of over 200,000 people found that over 75% have no reliable friend at work. This raises the question of how companies can promote a culture of strong interpersonal relationships and social support.

Yet, many of my C-Suite colleagues vehemently support a ban on social-media access at work. Their reasons range from security threats and lower productivity to bandwidth clog-ups and political and religious acrimony. But the truth is that most of us cannot keep our fingers off random WhatsApp gossip while at work. Want data? About 77% of employees use social media at work.

Allowing employees access to Twitter, Facebook, Telegram, etc., is beneficial in many ways: An occasional break for the mind aids productivity; professional networking internally and externally can be helpful to both business and personal progress; it may encourage seeking answers and resolving business issues quicker; and it can forge stronger bonds with co-workers.

Good employers aim for harmony among and mental peace for their employees. It helps to deploy a sense of community within the organization. Cohesion ups morale and enhances productivity, as workers try to deliver their best efforts. They are also more likely to stay with the company longer, even if their emoluments are cut. To achieve this, I propose the following:

One, take a relook at your corporate vision with ample inputs from employeeseven if the chief executive thinks its already great. The exercise will earn the respect of every employee. Ask people at every level to participate. A driver or security guard also counts as human capital.

Two, ensure that employees at all levels comply with your corporate policy. No one should be seen as being above the rulesnot even the chairperson. When rules are bent for some positions, dissonance raises its head in various parts of the organisation, which results in workplace disharmony. People feel valued only if the same rules apply to all.

Three, bring as much diversity as possible into the organization. Not just nominal representations along fashionable themes that can be seen through as PR gimmicks. Nice campus-recruitment posters are not nearly enough. Not only should you recruit people of all castes and religions, but also make sure they feel respected, especially in the current political climate. Train people against biases, and ensure zero tolerance of hate or offensive comments or behaviour. As Unilever and IBM have done, constitute a diversity directorate. Conduct training at every level and also social events that embrace diverse cultures in fun settings.

Four, let people speak their minds without fear of consequences. Managers must encourage subordinates to open up and share their frustrations at work. Take complaints seriously and have a whistleblower system thats seen as more than a mere formality. Those who needlessly spread vibes of discontent should be either brought around or eased out. It may be a good idea to reward consistent productivity by employees and teams.

Five, constitute an employee recognition programme that honours those who live up to corporate values. The promotion of internal candidates to higher positions would also help consolidate a firms value system. The Tata Group paid a price for its breach of this principle when a bunch of non-Tata folks took over key positions about half a decade ago. It has reverted to its norm since.

Six, encourage employees to align what they see as their lifes purpose with that of the community, to the extent possible. As one of my batch mates says, it is important to drive this purpose for people to achieve a good work-life balance and for the firm to achieve harmony. If human capital is vital for your organisation, as it should be, then nurture and align it with your enterprise strategy and vision. Those whose values and purpose match those of their employers will stay happier and perform much better.

M. Muneer is co-founder of the non-profit Medici Institute and a stakeholder at the Silicon Valley-based deep-tech firm Rezonent Corp. His Twitter handle is @MuneerMuh

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Head of Monitoring Unit of the Forestry Commission, Charles Owusu has called on President Nana Addo Dankwa Akufo-Addo to assist traders by reducing import duties.



He noted that prices of commodities have suddenly shot up due to the huge charges at the port.



Charles Owusu revealed that charges on commodities at the various ports have rapidly hiked up, making it difficult for the traders to clear their goods and those able to clear it too are challenged to increase the prices.



To him, just as the President cushioned Ghanaians by providing freebies during the lockdown season, he equally wishes for the President to come to the aid of the traders.



He believed reducing import duties will help alleviate the financial burdens on Ghanaians.



"The government should address these concerns. There are people whose commodities have remained at the port because they can't clear it and those who can clear their goods too are faced with huge charges...Prices of commodities are rapidly rising, so I plead with the government to take measures to ensure the prices reduce. We will be much grateful to the President to address these issues; we have confidence in President Nana Akufo-Addo to resolve this issue," he appealed on Peace FM's ''Kokrokoo'' morning programme.





Source: Ameyaw Adu Gyamfi/Peacefmonline.com/Ghana









Disclaimer : Opinions expressed here are those of the writers and do not reflect those of Peacefmonline.com. Peacefmonline.com accepts no responsibility legal or otherwise for their accuracy of content. Please report any inappropriate content to us, and we will evaluate it as a matter of priority.

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A Houston attorney has filed a $100 million lawsuit against Entergy Texas and the Electric Reliability Council of Texas claiming that widespread blackouts contributed to the suspected hypothermia death of an 11-year-old Conroe boy.

A lawsuit filed Saturday by Houston attorney Tony Buzbee alleges that the suspected hypothermia death of Cristian Pineda would not have happened if ERCOT and the energy company had properly guarded the energy grid against severe winter weather or warned residents of prolonged outages at the outset of this week's deadly weather crisis.

The lawsuit, filed on behalf of the family in Jefferson County district court, accuses ERCOT and Entergy Texas of negligence and gross negligence. The Pineda family is seeking damages, funeral expenses and a judgement of more than $100 million, according to the suit.

"This is a tragedy, and our thoughts and prayers are with the family," ERCOT said in a statement. "We havent reviewed any pending lawsuits yet and will respond accordingly once we do."

A spokesperson for Entergy Texas said the company could not comment due to pending litigation.

"We are deeply saddened by the loss of life in our community," the company said.

The petition accuses both defendants of failing to warn people of a known hazard, failing to properly guard against winter storms, failing to follow published industry practices and procedures, and failing to inform customers they would be without power for days, among other things.

ERCOT and Entergy's actions involved an "extreme degree of risk," Buzbee claims in the lawsuit. Their negligence was the "proximate cause" of injuries sustained by the child, the attorney argues in the suit.

ERCOT, which manages 90% of the state's electric load, instructed energy providers to conduct load shed as demand for heat and power soared during severe winter weather, cutting power to millions of Texans. More than half of Houston-area households lost power.

In a Conroe mobile home park, the Pineda family of five huddled to stay warm after losing power Monday morning. Cristian shared a bed with his younger brother, trying to warm him Monday night. Nearby, his mother and stepfather comforted his baby brother. Maria Pineda found her son unresponsive the next day. She called 911 and attempted CPR, but the boy was dead.

Family members organized a GoFundMe to raise money to send Cristian's body for burial to Honduras, where his grandparents reside.

An autopsy was performed but it will be several weeks before the cause of death is determined, Conroe police spokesman Sgt. Jeff Smith said. The boy appeared to be a healthy child, Smith said.

Buzbee alleges in the lawsuit that energy providers "put profits over the welfare of people" by ignoring recommendations to winterize power infrastructure following a 2011 severe winter storm.

As an independent grid, ERCOT is not subject to federal regulation or required to winterize the electric grid.

"Of course, just because it is not legally required to do so, does not mean that failing to do so is reasonable behavior," the lawsuit alleges. "ERCOT failed all Texans, and allowed providers to fail Texans."

Instead of giving residents a warning that they would be without power for days, the lawsuit claims, ERCOT posted on Facebook light-hearted messages about skipping laundry and unplugging kitchen appliances, according to screen shots.

"Accurate information might have saved Cristian Pinedas young life," the lawsuit said.
A tiny, round adhesive plaster on Eliza Attwoods upper arm marks her place in history.

When I go home tonight Im going to tell my children about this, said the St Vincents Hospital wards-person supervisor moments after she walked out of the Royal Prince Alfred Hospitals COVID-19 vaccination hub on Monday.

St Vincents Hospitals Eliza Attwood, right, and Rachel Macfarlane, left, (left) after receiving their COVID-19 vaccination on Monday. Credit:Kate Geraghty

Ill tell my great-grandchildren that I was there, that I was one of the first people to get the shot. She missed too many of her childrens sports games and concerts to work through the pandemic, she said.

About 1200 frontline quarantine and healthcare workers received the COVID vaccination on Monday. Within three weeks more than 35,000 frontline personnel will have had their first dose of the Pfizer vaccine via Sydneys three vaccination hubs run by RPA, Westmead and Liverpool hospitals.
The company now owns 100% of its projects across the Tanami, Leonora and Kalgoorlie areas.

PVW Resources Limited ( ) has completed the acquisition of the Tanami Project in Western Australia from Orion Metals Limited ( ) following the final payment of $120,000.

The company now holds 100% interest in the seven tenements across three project areas - Tanami, Leonora and Kalgoorlie - as part of the sale agreement.

Commencing exploration in June quarter

PVW Resources executive director George Bauk said: This completes the acquisition of the companys tenement holdings across the three project areas.

The company has 100% ownership of all tenements allowing us to explore across all the regions.

The Tanami Project has significant potential, and we look forward to commencing our on-ground exploration efforts early in the June quarter.

We have some exciting results to follow up from the last exploration on this ground in the early 2010s including 12 metres at 2.94 g/t from surface and 5 metres at 6.99 g/t also from surface.

Tanami Project location plan.

Seismic data review

Southern Geoscience Consultants (SGC) has been engaged to compile and interpret the publicly available gravity, seismic and remote sensing data.

The use of these geophysical and remote datasets will assist in ensuring future drilling campaigns are effective, with satellite data an excellent tool for the discrimination of various geological bodies and unites in undisturbed areas.

A depth to magnetic basement analysis will also be completed over a small area to assess the application of the technique in predicting the cover depth, again aiming to improve the effectiveness of future drilling campaigns.

SGC will also commence planning for a detailed airborne survey for quarter two of 2021.
(Natural News) In early January, the World Health Organization (WHO) concurred that pregnant women should not receive experimental mRNA vaccines, due to insufficient safety data. By the end of the month, WHO reversed its recommendation and joined the U.S. CDC in promoting experimental mRNA vaccines for pregnant women. Great Britain is already getting the green light to serve up pregnant women and newborn infants to the altar of vaccine science. Johnson and Johnson have already enlisted their subsidiary, Janssen, to convince pregnant women that they should sign up their body for the new mRNA vaccine studies to promote the greater good of future generations. According to Janssens Hanneke Schuitemaker, the goal is to ultimately get the shots in babies. Oxford-AstraZeneca is moving forward with their experiments and will begin jabbing children as young as six years old in the coming months.

Deadly experiment to be pushed onto pregnant women

This experiment could acutely injure up to 20 percent of pregnant women and have compounding negative effects on the womans child, who is connected to the mothers blood supply via her placenta. The clinical trials for the Moderna vaccine were performed on a meager forty-five people, who were separated into three groups of fifteen people. Each group received either low dose, medium dose, or a high dose of the mRNA vaccine. Astonishingly, three people (20 percent) in the high dose group were hospitalized after the first shot. There was even an issue in the low dose group, with one person needing hospitalization after the vaccination. These problems came up in a carefully selected cohort of people who do not have any history of health problems, underlying conditions, or adverse reactions to vaccination. The clinical trials used exclusionary criteria to select the healthiest candidates, but there were still hospitalizations after the vaccine was administered!

Instead of figuring out the issue with the vaccine, the concoction was rushed into the next clinical trial and ultimately given emergency use approval for populations around the world. As the vaccine injuries are extrapolated across the population, hospitals are forced to deal with waves of vaccine injuries and vaccine-induced mortalities. Introducing these same problems into the bodies of pregnant women will ultimately cause needless miscarriages and spontaneous abortions, while adding complications to the already fragile process of pregnancy. In the UK, there are already reports of pregnant women subverting guidelines and getting the vaccine. There have been six known cases of spontaneous abortion caused by these shots.

Dangerous vaccine experiment not safe for humans, let alone humans in critical developmental stages

Millions of doses have been received in the population now and thousands of problems have already cropped up. As the vaccine is pushed forward onto pregnant women, this experiment can now be called a dangerous vaccine experiment because the risks are now recorded and known. Notwithstanding, pregnant women are physiologically different than a normal cohort of healthy people, are undergoing significant changes in their body, and are more sensitive to contraindications. Their cardiovascular system is different, as well as the hemodynamics, their nutrient absorption, their immunology and their pharmacodynamics. The mRNA technology has never officially been licensed as safe for humans, let alone humans in the most crucial developmental stages, with a low blood volume and body weight.

The push to inoculate pregnant women is unethical and scientifically absurd. Even the WHO and the American College of Obstetricians and Gynecologists recognize that the risk of severe covid-19 infection for pregnant women is low. With the proper treatment and prenatal care, pregnant women can face this potential infection as they face several other potential infections during pregnancy, with greater understanding and faith. But vaccine companies are abandoning informed consent about treatment and prenatal care, and instead, they are scaring pregnant women into thinking they need the experimental vaccines. The last time an experimental drug was used on pregnant women was during the 1950s and 1960s. During that time, thalidomide was used off label to quell morning sickness. The drug was later found to cause birth defects; some offspring were born without arms and legs.

For more on the dangers of this experiment, check out VaccineDamage.News.

Sources include:

BigLeaguePolitics.com

TheVaccineReaction.com

NaturalNews.com

HealthImpactNews.com

NaturalNews.com

NaturalNews.com
Haryana's Department of School Education announced on Monday that schools in the state will reopen for students of Classes 3 to 5 from Wednesday, i.e. February 24. The state school education department has issued orders for the reopening of private and government schools for Classes 3 to 5. Schools in Haryana and the rest of the country were closed in March 2020 due to the coronavirus pandemic, with classes migrating the online medium.

The state order has stated that schools can function for the specified classes from 10:00 am to 1:30 pm. Students will have to submit a written consent letter signed by their parents to the school before they can start attending offline classes, according to Times Now. The order also says that students who wish to continue with online classes are permitted to do so. Students opting for offline classes will have to show a COVID-19 negative certificate to the school.

All schools will have to follow protocols established by the government for dealing with COVID-19. Schools have been ordered to check the temperature of each student and teacher before they enter the school's campus. Those with a high temperature will not be allowed to enter the campus. It will also be mandatory for students and staff to wear masks and to sanitise their hands. Classrooms will be sanitised regularly. Schools are expected to have a seating arrangement that maintains social distancing. School administrations are expected to submit a daily report to the Haryana School Education Department.

Schools in Haryana had reopened for higher classes in December 2020. Students of Classes 6 to 8 were allowed to attend school from February 1 of this year.

Also read: Delhi schools to reopen for Classes 9, 11, diploma institutions from Feb 5
TWO former solicitors who operated a so-called 'identity factory' as part of an elaborate 400,000 fraud against Irish banks and credit unions were jailed for a total of six years.

Keith Flynn (46) and Lyndsey Clarke (37) were warned by Judge Sean O Donnabhain that they had engaged in "a devious and criminally purposeful scheme to target Irish financial institutions.

He jailed Flynn for four years and Clarke for two years  stressing that the varying sentences reflected the different personal circumstances involved.

Cork Circuit Criminal Court heard the duo created more than 60 fake identities, paid homeless people for their PPS numbers and even wore elaborate disguises, including wigs, to support their financial charade.

The pair, both with addresses at Blarney Street in Cork, admitted conspiracy to commit fraud following a Garda investigation into suspicious loans.

Gardai launched the investigation after an alert Bank of Ireland security official became suspicious of patterns in loan applications in late 2017.

The charges related to various dates stretching over an 18-month period. Irish banks and credit unions were at a loss of 394,804.

Last October, Detective Garda Alan McCarthy revealed the pair created 80 fake accounts using 60 false identities in order to defraud Bank of Ireland, AIB, Ulster Bank and a number of credit unions by dishonestly obtaining personal loans.

The couple got to know each other when Ms Clarke went to work for Mr Flynn at his legal practice nine years ago.

Siobhan Lankford SC, for the State, said the pair were essentially operating an identity factory.

Det-Garda McCarthy said the pair applied for loans using fake driving licences obtained online, fake bank statements and fake payslips.

They even paid members of the homeless community for their PPS numbers in order to use them in their criminal activity.

Both also used fake Virgin Media, Airtricity, and Electric Ireland bills and had 30 Sim cards with various contact numbers.

In September 2017, the Financial Crime Unit in Bank of Ireland became suspicious of activities in six accounts and alerted gardai.

An investigation was subsequently launched and in July 2018 a search was carried out at an apartment used by the duo in Sundays Well in Cork.

Gardai recovered laptops, wigs used as disguises when they went to banks and ATMs, and a locked safe.

More than 92,000 was recovered from the safe which was opened after the duo voluntarily handed over a key.

That sum will now be divided between the financial institutions that suffered a loss over the fraud.

In the safe, gardai also found 21 fake Irish driving licences, 19 fake bank cards and 16 credit union books in different names.

Det-Garda McCarthy said the duo had opened 19 fake accounts with Bank of Ireland in Cork and Dublin, 19 fake credit union accounts,19 fake accounts with AIB and three fake accounts with Ulster Bank.

They also had fake accounts with An Post, Permanent TSB and KBC but no loans were approved on those accounts.

Flynn opened his first law practice in 2006 in Cork before opening a second in Dublin in 2012.

The duo were struck off as solicitors in 2018 for separate and unrelated matters. Both had initially been suspended as solicitors in 2016.

A review of their practice at the time had found it to be "chaotic".

Ms Clarke is an unsuccessful former Fine Gael candidate in the 2014 Cork City Council local elections for the North West ward.
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Researchers Learn that Pregnant Women Pass Along Protective COVID Antibodies to their Babies

Antibodies that guard against COVID-19 can transfer from mothers to babies while in the womb, according to a new study from Weill Cornell Medicine and NewYork-Presbyterian researchers published in the American Journal of Obstetrics and Gynecology.

This discovery, published Jan. 22, adds to growing evidence that suggests that pregnant women who generate protective antibodies after contracting the coronavirus often convey some of that natural immunity to their fetuses. The findings also lend support to the idea that vaccinating mothers-to-be may also have benefits for their newborns.

"Since we can now say that the antibodies pregnant women make against COVID-19 have been shown to be passed down to their babies, we suspect that there's a good chance they could pass down the antibodies the body makes after being vaccinated as well," said Dr. Yawei Jenny Yang, an assistant professor of pathology and laboratory medicine at Weill Cornell Medicine and the study's senior author.

Dr. Yang and her team analyzed blood samples from 88 women who gave birth at NewYork-Presbyterian/Weill Cornell Medical Center between March and May 2020, a time when New York City was the global epicenter of the pandemic. All of the women had COVID-19 antibodies in their blood, indicating that they had contracted the virus at some point even though 58 percent of those women had no symptoms. Furthermore, while antibodies were detected in both symptomatic and asymptomatic women, the researchers observed that the concentration of antibodies was significantly higher in symptomatic women. They also found that the general pattern of antibody response was similar to the response seen in other patients, confirming that pregnant women have the same kind of immune response to the virus as the larger patient populationsomething that hadn't previously been known for sure, since a woman's immune system changes throughout pregnancy.

In addition, the vast majority of the babies born to these women78 percenthad detectable antibodies in their umbilical cord blood. There was no evidence that any of the infants had been directly infected with the virus and all were COVID negative at the time of birth, further indicating that the antibodies had crossed the placentathe organ that provides oxygen and nutrients to a growing baby during pregnancyinto the fetal bloodstream. Newborns with symptomatic mothers also had higher antibody levels than those whose mothers had no COVID symptoms.

This data implies that pregnant women could pass along vaccine-generated antibodies in the same way, potentially shielding both mother and child from future infection. However it is not yet known exactly how protective these antibodies might be, or how long that protection might last. Dr. Laura Riley, chair of the Department of Obstetrics and Gynecology at Weill Cornell Medicine, obstetrician and gynecologist-in-chief at NewYork-Presbyterian/Weill Cornell and one of the study's co-authors, is still advising pregnant patients who decide to get vaccinated to continue to follow current safety guidelines to prevent the spread of the disease. Dr. Riley, Dr. Yang and their colleagues are leading follow-up investigations that are currently enrolling pregnant women who receive the vaccine, as well as vaccinated mothers who are breastfeeding, to assess the antibody response in those groups after vaccination. That information could help guide maternal vaccination strategies moving forward.

"The $1 million question is: Will the group of women who are now being vaccinated get the same type of protection? We don't know that yet," Dr. Riley said. "Getting those answers is going to be really important."

Explore further Follow the latest news on the coronavirus (COVID-19) outbreak

More information: Jeffrey M. Kubiak et al. Severe acute respiratory syndrome coronavirus 2 serology levels in pregnant women and their neonates, American Journal of Obstetrics and Gynecology (2021). Journal information: American Journal of Obstetrics and Gynecology Jeffrey M. Kubiak et al. Severe acute respiratory syndrome coronavirus 2 serology levels in pregnant women and their neonates,(2021). DOI: 10.1016/j.ajog.2021.01.016

Press Release

22 February 2021

Whilst we appreciate the need to be careful about when and how the hospitality industry, and specifically the accommodation sector, reopens, we also need to make sure that no business is disadvantaged in the meantime and that we work together to make 2021 a year to make up as much of the lost ground caused by the pandemic as we can.



We have four specific asks of Government:
Source: Xinhua| 2021-02-22 12:43:41|Editor: huaxia

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TOKYO, Feb. 22 (Xinhua) -- Japan's Ministry of Land, Infrastructure, Transport and Tourism has ordered domestic carriers to halt flights of Boeing 777s after an incident involving the aircraft sparked concern, local media reported Monday.

The transport ministry here was alarmed when a Boeing 777 jet engine failed shortly after the plane had taken off in the United States. The United Airlines' Boeing 777-200 aircraft, on a flight from Denver, Colorado, lost large engine parts that fell onto a residential area. The plane managed to land safely, local officials and media reports said.

The transport ministry's order to halt operations of Boeing 777s was given to All Nippon Airways, which has 19 Boeing 777 jets with the same type of engine among its fleet, and Japan Airlines which has 13 of the jets.

While the ministry ordered the carriers to ground their Boeing 777s until checks and other measures are being carried out, both companies said other models would replace them and regular flight schedules would remain unaffected.

In December last year, after a Japan Airlines Boeing 777 was forced to make an emergency landing due to engine damage at Naha airport in Japan's southernmost prefecture of Okinawa, the transport ministry ordered Japanese airline companies to increase inspection work on all of their Boeing 777s.

The ministry is also working with the U.S. Federal Aviation Administration and gathering information on the incident. Enditem
The Imo State government on Monday gave reasons why a former governor of the State, Rochas Okorocha, was let of the hooks at the state com...

The Imo State government on Monday gave reasons why a former governor of the State, Rochas Okorocha, was let of the hooks at the state command headquarters around 11.30 on Sunday night.

Speaking to The PUNCH, the state Commissioner for information and strategy, Declan Emelumba, said that Okorocha, who now represents Imo West at the Senate, was released by the police on medical grounds.

Emelumba said that the release of Okorocha didnt mean he wont answer to the offence he Committed.

Emelumba said, Okorocha was released on Sunday by the police on medical grounds. The man was purging and stooling consistently, the police had to release him on medical grounds to enable him to take care of his health. His release doesnt mean he will not answer his case.

But Okorocha who reacted to the claim while addressing his supporters at his Spibat mansion in Owerri on Monday said that the presidency intervened in the matter.





Okorocha said, They kept me there ( police headquarters) and about 11:30pm they asked me to go. I want to thank the presidency for intervening in the matter. Governor Hope Uzodinma shouldnt take my peaceful disposition for granted.

He should remember that he will not be remembered by how many people he fought by how many projects he built.

If you run a cursory internet search for M.K. Gandhis relationship with Sarala Devi Chaudhurani, you are likely to come across articles with headlines referring to a love affair between them, even salaciously pointing to the Mahatmas lust for her. The reality was far more complicated, as a newly published collection of letters between them shows.

Born in 1872, Sarala Devi was three years younger than Gandhi, and died in 1945. In all her 72 years, she knew the Mahatma closely for a little more than 12 months. In 1919-20, when India was pushed to a tipping point by the twin horrors of the Rowlatt Act and Jallianwala Bagh massacre, Gandhi came in contact with Sarala Devi and her husband Rambhaj Dutt Chaudhary, who was called Panditji" by all and sundry. The couple was living in Lahore at the time, far from Sarala Devis family home in Bengal. Soon after the three met, the couple entrusted Gandhi with the care of their 12-year-old son Dipak, who moved to Sabarmati ashram to live with the Mahatma.

The freedom movement, driven by a greater common good, brought people from disparate walks of life together. The meeting between the Chaudharys and Gandhi was one such occurrence. Sarala Devi came from perhaps the most illustrious Indian family of her timethe Tagores of Jorasanko in Bengal. She was the niece of Rabindranath Tagore, daughter of his elder sister Swarnakumari Devi, and was raised with modern feminist values. Growing up under a canopy of privilege, with attendants at her beck and call, Sarala Devi had no reason to learn any housework. She was allowed the special privilege of studying physics at a time when the discipline was not open to women students in Calcutta (now Kolkata). Her brothers sat next to her in class, the sole woman in a sea of male students.

View Full Image Sarala Devi Chaudhurani.





Even though she had no need for a job, Sarala Devi took off to Mysore (now Mysuru) in 1892 to work for a while. Later, as an influential and highly educated woman married to a wealthy and powerful man, she became involved in the struggle for independencemostly through her work of empowering women. However, her politics was different from Gandhis dictum of non-violence. This clash of opinions would turn into a major point of contention between them eventually.

To Gandhi, Sarala Devi appeared as a revelation. She had an electric effect on his senses, as historian Geraldine Forbes points out in her fine new book, Lost Letters And Feminist History: The Political Friendship Of Mohandas K. Gandhi And Sarala Devi Chaudhurani. A work of careful scholarship, the volume includes Gandhis surviving correspondence with Sarala Devi, which throws new light on the nature and intensity of their relationship.

The bond between the two has intrigued historians for years. Gandhi was besotted by her and she was also flattered by his attention," historian Ramachandra Guha told Mint in 2018, speaking about the final volume of his two-part biography of the Mahatma. Forbes acknowledges the attraction between the two but allows the letters to do most of the talking. It is through these lettersonly a fraction of the many that are believed to have survivedthat a measure of their attachment begins to emerge.

Gandhis relationship with his disciple Madeleine Slade, christened Mirabehn by him and fictionalized by psychoanalyst Sudhir Kakar in Mira And The Mahatma, raised hackles. As did historian Joseph Lelyvelds book, Great Soul: Mahatma Gandhi And His Struggle With India, which insinuated that Gandhis relationship with his friend Hermann Kallenbach was not platonic. Compared to such posthumous brouhaha, Sarala Devis presence in his life caused much uproar during Gandhis lifetime itself. She was disliked by his close associates, especially C. Rajagopalachari. Many of them painted her, in Forbes words, as an ambitious vamp".

The scandalous taint on Sarala Devi was fortified by Gandhi scholar Martin Green, whose psychoanalytic misreadings of the relationship threw up some preposterous claims: such as Gandhi was willing to divorce Kasturba in order to be able to marry Sarala Devi. The surviving letters between them dont convey such a heady mood of teenage romance, though Gandhis intensity of feeling for her is unmistakable.

The most obvious indication of the Mahatmas growing affection for Sarala Devi comes through in the sign-offs in his letters: Yours sincerely" turns into With love" in the span of a handful of exchanges, as does the address. From My dear Sarala Devi", he quickly sheds the Devi, before switching to the superlative dearest". If he describes her as his spiritual wife" (in a letter to Kallenbach) and declares himself her Law Giver", he also addresses her as My dear sister" in one epistle, Shakti" in another and Mataji" in a third. The letters, too, are described as love letters" and loving letters". Once, he signs off, With love that I cannot describe". Another time, in a confessional mood, he paints a vivid picture of desolation: I had a disturbed night. You haunted me the whole of it."

The evidence before us does not allow for any definitive conclusions but Gandhis desire to mould Sarala Devi into the goddess he wanted her to be is fairly evident. He rebukes her in almost every letter for not being able to keep pace with his epistolary demands. He wanted Sarala Devi to write to him daily, if possible in Hindi, as also to Kasturba and Dipak separately. On 13 May 1920, for instance, he mentions that he has sent Sarala Devi 25 letters in 16 daysthe bar for mutual devotion was clearly set very high.

Gandhi also severely reprimands Sarala Devi for not doing gendered household workthe very same chores she had been given a reprieve from thanks to her privileged upbringing. A scathing indictment follows in a letter when Gandhi learns Sarala Devi had been enjoying her hair being groomed by a maid. When she champions the khaddar sari, made of coarse hand-spun textile, he is happy but also does not miss a chance to drop an arch remark. It is nothing for monied women to buy a few yards of Khaddar and even wear it occasionally."

In accordance with the experiments he conducted during his life, Gandhi did not want to keep his letters to Sarala Devi a private affair. He repeatedly urges her to show them to her husband, seeks his permission whenever he wants her to come down to act as his nurse" or secretary", and does not hesitate to upbraid her for behaving like a child. Reading these letters leaves one with a sense of listening to only one side of a telephone conversation, with an importunate litany of praises and complaints being aired relentlessly.

Gandhis role in galvanizing women to take part in the struggle for independence is a much noted fact of Indian history. Its true that he urged women to abjure foreign clothes and only wear swadeshi textiles, encouraged them to take up spinning on the charkha (spinning wheel). Yet, in the end, he did not manage to throw off the yoke of his gendered sensibility and the power he enjoyed as the patriarch of the nation. He acted as a tough taskmaster to Manu Gandhi, his orphaned grand-niece who grew up under his care at Sevagram, but also pushed the limits of their relationship by making her a part of his unsavoury personal experiments. After spirited opposition from his associates and Manus objection, Gandhi decided to stop sleeping naked with her at night in order to test his own will power.

With Sarala Devi, who was much older than Manu when she met Gandhi, there was not much scope for him to control her so egregiously. Still, it is evident from the letters that he did not take kindly to her criticismseven as he rapturously called her a goddess". He also did not want her to escape the cycle of daily domestic labour that women of his time were meant to shoulder. He liked to be her Law Giver", not an equal in the fight for justice. All of this was of a piece with Gandhis overall attitude towards women. In 1930, for instance, when he picked 78 people to join him in the Dandi March to protest against the British salt law, he did not include a single woman. He claimed to have been apprehensive that the British would accuse him and his followers of hiding behind women.

For all his progressive visions, Gandhi was not as much of a believer in the equality of genders as he could have been. His letters to Sarala Devicharting the course and end of their relationshipshow up this truth starkly.

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ANZs defence lawyer Tim Game SC has threatened to quash the public prosecutions indictment against the bank and its senior executive Richard Moscati, in the latest setback in the landmark criminal lawsuit over alleged cartel activity.

Tim Game, SC, of Forbes Chambers, is acting on behalf of ANZ. Credit:Peter Rae

ANZ, Citi and Deutsche Bank AG and six individual bankers stand accused of breaching anti-cartel laws by hatching a plan to offload $791 million of ANZs shares after a botched capital raise in 2015. The bankers and banks deny this and will defend the matters.

After pressure from Justice Michael Wigney last December, the Commonwealth Director of Public Prosecutions filed an indictment this month that outlined 42 charges against the banks and bankers, excluding JPMorgan who was also working as an investment banker on the capital raise but was granted whistleblower immunity.

The indictment is the legal document that formally charges the parties, officially kickstarts the criminal proceedings and will be seen by a jury once the matter reaches trial in April 2022.
Raggi says electric scooters are good for Rome but not everyone agrees.

In just seven months, more than 2.2 million journeys were made in Rome with electric scooters and bicycles operated under the city's sharing schemes, from June to December 2020.

This was announced by the mayor Virginia Raggi who hailed it as a "great result that is good for our city, which in this way can also compete with other European capitals in terms of sustainability."

Raggi highlighted that "in recent months more than 176,000 people" used electric scooters to get around the capital, after several private companies arrived on the scene last year with the mayor's enthusiastic support.

There are now more than "17,000 vehicles, including scooters and bicycles, available to citizens and tourists," said Raggi, in a sector that "gives work to many people and families."

While the numbers prove the success of electric scooters, the vehicles are not without their critics, as evident from the sea of negative comments by Romans under the mayor's Facebook post

Testaccio, February 2021. Photo Wanted in Rome.

Many people highlighted the danger posed by the e-scooters, both to users and pedestrians, questioning how many traffic accidents have been caused by the electric vehicles since their arrival on the city's streets.

Some commentators highlighted the everyday sight of users (illegally) carrying passengers, travelling at speed on sidewalks or in the wrong direction on streets, and the anti-social "parking" of scooters blocking pavements.

Electric scooters recently made the news in Florence after an order by the mayor obliging users to wear helmets was overturned by the courts.

Cover photo Colosseum, July 2020. Photo Wanted in Rome.
Kolkata, Feb 22 : A team of the Central Bureau of Investigation (CBI) recorded the statement of Trinamool Congress MP Abhishek Banerjee's sister-in-law Menka Gambhir in connection with its probe into the illegal coal smuggling case.

According to CBI officials, an eight-member team of the CBI led by Investigation officer Umesh Kumar along with two women officers arrived at the residence of Gambhir and recorded her statement for over two and half hours.

CBI sources said that the agency questioned her about few banking transactions.

The development comes a day after CBI summoned Gambhir on Sunday to record her statement in the case, which it registered in November last year.

Meanwhile, Abhishek's wife Rujira Banerjee, who was delivered a summon at her residence on Sunday afternoon also responded to the CBI and agreed to be question on Tuesday between 11 a.m. and 3 p.m. at her residence.

Abhishek is the nephew of West Bengal Chief Minister and Trinamool Congress supremo Mamata Banerjee.

The CBI action comes ahead of the high octane Assembly polls scheduled later this year where the ruling Trinamool Congress and the BJP are in a bitter contest.

Following the CBI action, Abhishek on Sunday said that he has full faith in the law of land, but asserted that he would not be cowed down.

"At 2 p.m. today, the CBI served a notice in the name of my wife. We have full faith in the law of the land. However, if they think they can use these ploys to intimidate us, they are mistaken. We are not the ones who would ever be cowed down," he said in a tweet.

Reacting to the development, Trinamool Congress spokesperson Kunal Ghosh had said that there is nothing new in it as the Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) was trying everything to unseat the Trinamool Congress-led government in West Bengal.

"They are using central agencies to malign the image of Abhishek Banerjee ahead of the state Assembly elections. The CBI notice is just a step towards that," he said.

The CBI had registered a case of illegal theft of coal last year in November. The agency had registered a case against coal mafia Anup Majhi alias Lala, his deputy J. Mondal, and other unidentified people, including some employees of the Eastern Coalfields Ltd. and of other Central government offices. It was alleged that Majhi was involved in coal theft from the leasehold mines of the ECL in Kunustoria and Kajora areas.

On November 28 last year, the CBI had conducted raids at 45 locations in West Bengal, Bihar, Jharkhand, and Uttar Pradesh in connection with the coal smuggling racket.

On February 19, the CBI team carried out searches at 13 locations in four districts of West Bengal, including the premises of coal mafia Jaidev Mondal.
A Maryland-based company accepted blame for last week's crash of its vaccine appointment signup software. "We were very displeased with the performance by PrepMod," said Health and Human Services Secretary Marylou Sudders.
President of Ukraine Volodymyr Zelensky has introduced into action the decisions of the National Security and Defense Council of Ukraine, by which Ukraine joined the sanctions imposed by the UN Security Council against the Republic of Mali and the Republic of Yemen.

The decision provides for the application of sanctions against individuals. The Cabinet of Ministers and the Security Service of Ukraine are instructed to ensure the implementation and monitoring of the effectiveness of the sanctions, the Ministry of Foreign Affairs is to inform the UN Security Council and the competent authorities of the European Union, the website of the President of Ukraine reported on Saturday.

A personal list of persons against whom sanctions have been imposed is contained in the order of the Cabinet of Ministers dated January 20, 2021.
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I enjoy talking politics about as much as I enjoy licking an ashtray, which is to say I avoid it at all costs. Occasionally, however, something is said to you as a Christian that mixes politics with theology and you have no choice but to engage.

Such was the case when I was conversing with someone a while back who suddenly said to me that Jesus was a leftist. They went on to try and defend their position by saying Jesus was a rebel, a fighter for the common person, and someone who bucked the system.

While theres no doubt Christ embraced those who were outcasts in His ancient near eastern culture and spoke strongly against the hypocritical religious framework constructed by the Jewish elite, equating those things with historical and current leftism is, how shall I put this, nuts. It reminds me of the famous statement made by physicist Wolfgang Pauli who said, when handed a bad paper from a student, This is not right. It is so not right, it is not even wrong.

Lets look at just a few of the bare-boned differences between Jesus and the left, and why Scripture said prophetically (and just a little bit amusingly) thousands of years ago, The foolish persons heart directs him toward the left (Ecc. 10:2).

Jesus honored God; the left hates God

I doubt that I have to provide evidence for the truth claim that Jesus taught everyone to revere, honor, fear, and put God first in their life. If evidence is required, a quick read of what is normally called the Lords prayer (Matt. 6:9-13) should do the trick.

The position on God taken by atheist leaders of the historic left are diametrically opposed to Christs. Perusing Karl Marxs feelings on Christianity or reading Denis Diderots statement, Men will never be free until the last king is strangled with the entrails of the last priest are just tip-of-the-iceberg examples of a movement that despises God and His authority.

Jesus esteemed Scripture; the left mocks the Bible

Jesus embraced and elevated Scripture. All Scripture.



Jesus said Scripture cannot be broken (John 10:35), that it is divinely authoritative (Matt. 4:1-10), imperishable (Matt. 24:35), historically accurate (Matt. 24:37-39), truth (John 17:17), and that it has ultimate supremacy (Matt. 15:6).

The lefts opinion of the Bible is much different. One of the lefts godfathers, Voltaire, and his lover (Emilie du Chatelet), concluded their formal examination of the Bible by saying it was nonsense. They called Jesus Sermon on the Mount trite, ridiculous, absurd and His resurrection comedy.

You wont get much better from todays leftists; the only verse they have committed to memory (and fail to fully understand) is: Do not judge (Matt. 7:1).

Jesus embraced truth; the left embraces post-truth

Being full of grace and truth (John 1:14), Jesus is truth in His essence (John 14:6) and came to testify to the truth (John 18:37) asking His Father to Sanctify [us] in the truth; Your word is truth (John 17:17).

In stark contrast, the left practices the philosophy of post-truth. Post-truth adherents view facts as irrelevant or less important than individual beliefs, opinions, political agendas, social causes, and emotional appeals when it comes to considering a truth claim. For them, this becomes easy once God and the idea of any transcendent / absolute truth is kicked to the curb.

Jesus prescribed peace; the left prescribes violence

Blessed are the peacemakers, for they will be called sons of God (Matt. 5:9), said Jesus. The Prince of peace (Is. 9:6) never directed His disciples to act violently towards those who disagreed with His teachings.[1]

But the left is a movement born out of violence; it is stamped into their DNA and historically verifiable with stark examples like the French revolution, which Ann Coulter describes with dark humor as come for the beheadings, stay for the rapes. A more current illustration is last years violent riots that occurred in the U.S., carried out by the left, which resulted, according to the Insurance Information Institute, in catastrophic levels of damage and became the costliest in American history.

Jesus practiced loving enemies and forgiveness; the left hates and never forgives

Then Peter came up and said to Him, Lord, how many times shall my brother sin against me and I still forgive him? Up to seven times? Jesus said to him, I do not say to you, up to seven times, but up to seventy-seven times (Matt. 18:21-22). Because God forgives us in the extreme, Christ commanded the same for us when it comes to others, even saying love your enemies (Matt. 5:44) and telling us not to cast stones at others unless were without sin ourselves (John 8:7).

Not so with the left. The left hates their enemies (see their recent rejoicing over the death of Rush Limbaugh) and will search furiously, going back multiple decades in the past if they have to, for any perceived infraction of their code. If one is found, they reach for their cancel culture pile of stones and demand permanent, public blood in the form of loss of reputation, job, business, etc. No one is safe from their universal solvent of hate and unforgiveness, which they will quickly pour on even their own should some poor leftist soul say or do the wrong thing.

Jesus is virtuous; the left virtue signals

Then Pilate said to the chief priests and the crowds, I find no guilt in this man (Luke 23:4). No matter how hard His enemies tried to smear Him, Jesus remained the epitome of virtue and was blameless, having fully practiced what He preached.

But the left? While the leftist social justice warriors work themselves into a frenzy trying to out virtue signal each other, they prove themselves to be hypocritical and mirror the type of person Jesus referred to as a whitewashed tomb (Matt. 23:27). Psychiatrist M. Scott Peck describes their behavior this way: The words image, appearance, and outwardly are crucial to understanding [their] morality. While they seem to lack any motivation to be good, they intensely desire to appear good. Their goodness is on a level of pretense. It is, in effect, a lie. This is why they are the people of the lie.[2]

Jesus taught servanthood; the left aspires to power

Jesus said, The greatest of you shall be your servant (Matt. 23:11). Not only did Jesus teach servanthood, but He modeled it constantly throughout His life on earth, saying I am among you as the one who serves. (Luke 22:27).

The left has no interest in serving, but rather in being served as those who are in power. This, again, comes naturally from their origins. The French Revolution of 1789, for example, pursued absolute power and a secularism that included a mob-driven and forceful de-Christianization campaign. Noting this and many sad other examples throughout the past, historian R. J. Rummel, in his book Death by Government, says: It is though our species has been devastated by a modern Black Plague. And indeed it has, but a plague of Power, not germs.

So, is Jesus a conservative?

Although plenty of other contrasts can be made, we can clearly see that Jesus is no leftist. But is He instead a conservative; a person on the right?

No, Hes not, and heres why.

We need to remember that Jesus is God, and as such is transcendent over His creation. He warns us not to make the mistake of confusing us with Him when He says, You thought that I was just like you (Ps. 50:21).

Jesus is neither left nor right wing because He resides in a holy class by Himself. Given that truth, it appears that the best thing to do, where Christ is concerned, is to stop trying to make Him part of us and instead be much more focused on having Jesus make us one of His.

[1] When Jesus said, Do not think that I came to bring peace on the earth; I did not come to bring peace, but a sword (Matt. 10:34), it was not a message of condoning violence, but rather an admission of the reality that the gospel message sometimes brings to families in the form of division.

[2] M. Scott Peck, People of the Lie (Touchstone, 1998), pg. 75.


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An American Airlines flight travelling from Cincinnati to Phoenix on Sunday shared a bizarre close encounter with what its pilot described as a fast-moving, long cylindrical object.

The encounter, which occurred at 36,000 feet above the remote northeast corner of New Mexico, west of Des Moines yesterday, involved AA Flight 2292, an Airbus A320, according to The Drive.

In a radio transmission intercepted by Steve Douglass, who runs the Deep Black Horizon blog, the pilot can be heard telling Albuquerque Air Traffic Control: Do you have any targets up here? We just had something go right over the top of us.

I hate to say this but it looked like a long cylindrical object that almost looked like a cruise missile type of thing - moving really fast right over the top of us.

The plane was said to be travelling at around 460 miles per hour at the time.

In a statement to DailyMail.com, American Airlines confirmed the authenticity of the audio clip obtained by Douglass.

The encounter, which occurred at 36,000 feet above the remote northeast corner of New Mexico, west of Des Moines yesterday, involved AA Flight 2292 (file photo)

According to Douglas, no significant military aircraft presence was noted in the area at the time, reported to be just at 1pm local time.

Flight AA2292 went on to land in Phoenix without any further incidents.

The apparent encounter shares various similarities with another incident that occurred in the same area just under three years ago.

In that incident, two pilots on different air craft  a Learjet and an Airbus  reported having close encounters with a mysterious object flying above them.

The sightings occurred within minutes of each other on February 24, in 2018, 37,000 feet above southern Arizona, close to New Mexico.

The pilot of a Learjet 36 belonging to Phoenix Air, with the tail number N71PG, reported the initial sighting, telling Air Traffic Control: Was anybody above us that passed us like 30 seconds ago?

When the dispatcher replied no, the pilot laughed insisting it must be a UFO.

I don't know what it was, it wasn't an airplane but it was - the path was going in the opposite direction,' the pilot went on.

Moments later, the pilot of American Airlines Flight 1095, reported a similar encounter, announcing: Yeah, something just passed over us, like a - I don't know what it was. But it was at least two, three thousand feet above us. Yeah, it passed right over the top of us.

American Airlines Flight 2292's flight path is seen above. The Airbus A320 was making its way from Cincinnati to Phoenix on Sunday

According to The Drive, the incident happened not too far from the sprawling White Sands Missile Range (above), and New Mexico itself is home to a number of military facilities and restricted areas

In the 2018 incident, pilot Blenus Green told local media: It was very bright but it wasnt so bright that you couldnt look at it  It didnt look anything like an airplane'

When asked if the object was in motion or hovering, the pilot said: Couldn't make it out whether it was a balloon or whatnot. But it was just really beaming light or could have had a big reflection and was several thousand feet above us going opposite direction.

That pilot, Blenus Green, later told local media: It was very bright but it wasnt so bright that you couldnt look at it  It didnt look anything like an airplane. You know, most airplanes, youre going to see some kind of wing surface, some type of a tail, really no matter what type of airplane it is.

What was weird about it, normally, if you have an object and the sun is shining this way, the reflection would be on this side, but this was bright all the way around. It was so bright that you really couldnt make out what shape it was.

In Sundays incident, the pilots description of a missile-like object matches a number of encounters US Navy Fighter pilots have reported having with anomalous objects off the eastern seaboard over the last 15 years.

Many of such encounters were revealed in a 2019 New York Times report, in which Navy pilots spoke out for the first time about how strange craft would appear in their training airspace, sometimes for days on end  defying known propulsion and aerodynamic capabilities.

The state of New Mexico is no stranger to strange encounters, with the city of Roswell reporting one of the nations most infamous UFO sightings in 1947

What the pilots aboard AA Flight 2292 may have seen on February 21 remains unclear.

According to The Drive, the incident happened not too far from the sprawling White Sands Missile Range, and New Mexico itself is home to a number of military facilities and restricted areas.

The likelihood that a missile may have gone off the reservation during a test, or any other kind of military exercise, is slim, as procedural practice would mean the pilots wouldve been pre-notified to any such safety hazard.

The incident also occurred near the Mount Dora Military Operating Area (MOA), but again pilots wouldve been alerted that the airspace was hot  or that military activities were being conducted in the area at that time.

The state of New Mexico is no stranger to strange encounters, with the city of Roswell reporting one of the nations most infamous UFO sightings in 1947.

Questo comunicato e stato pubblicato piu di 3 mesi fa. Le informazioni su questa pagina potrebbero non essere attendibili.

The global hydrogen fuel cell vehicle (HFCV) market size is expected to reach USD 28.82 billion by 2026 according to a new study by Polaris Market Research. The report Hydrogen Fuel Cell Vehicle Market Share, Size, Trends, Industry Analysis Report By Technology (Proton Exchange Membrane Fuel Cell, Alkaline Fuel cell, Solid Oxide Fuel Cell); By Vehicle Type (Commercial Vehicle, Passenger Car); By Regions, Segments & Forecast, 2020  2026 gives a detailed insight into current market dynamics and provides analysis on future market growth.

In contrast to conventional gasoline, petrol or diesel vehicles, a hydrogen fuel cell incorporates oxygen and hydrogen, which in turn produce energy for the car. There are numerous factors affecting the forward momentum of the market. Developing varied technologies in the automotive industry generates new opportunities for growth. Furthermore, a hydrogen fuel cell vehicles enhanced cargo capacity and longer range contribute to its growth. Since hydrogen fuel cell cars can generate their own energy, many eco-conscious clients opt for fuel cell vehicles over domestic electric cars. Growing environmental awareness is expected to increase the global HFCV market during the forecast period. This is because of decreased carbon emissions from HFCVs, unlike conventional vehicles operating on petrol, diesel or petrol.

Request for a sample of this research report @ https://www.polarismarketresearch.com/industry-analysis/hydrogen-fuel-cell-vehicle-market/request-for-sample

Many government organizations and concerned authorities and industry partners have initiated plans to such advanced infrastructure networks to spur the market at a global level. The leading automakers such as Toyota, Audi, and Honda have developed a range of hydrogen cell-based fuel cars for the global market. Owing to an increase in electric vehicles, there is a large number of such fueling stations being established in the parts of North America, Europe, and Asia-Pacific. In 2017, there were over 330 hydrogen fueling stations operating across the globe, with over 50 each in California, Germany, and Japan. There is around 35 retail hydrogen fueling station being built in California and nearly 15 hydrogen-fueling stations are operating in the UK in 2017. Moreover, the government authorities such as the US Department of Energy (DOE) are investing public funds for the rollout of hydrogen fueling stations, is further augmenting the growth of the global market.

Furthermore, according to the International Energy Agency, Germany has around 23 operating hydrogen fueling stations in 2017. These numbers are to be outnumbered by more than 50 as the country is constructing 25 more such stations, and at the end of 2017 around 60 stations are estimated to be operational. The National Organization Hydrogen and Fuel Cell Technology (NOW) coordinated Germanys National Innovation Programme (NIP) to establish 50 stations with $134 million. Public and private stakeholders are convened by the Clean Energy Partnership to create this initial network. H2Mobility, a consortium of Air Liquide, Daimler, Linde, OMV, Shell, and Total, is planning and constructing this network. The consortium plans to have 100 stations by 2019, with around 10 stations each in Hamburg, Berlin, Rhine-Ruhr, Frankfurt, Stuttgart, and Munich metropolitan areas, and the remaining 40 as connectors and destination stations. This infrastructure backbone supports both light-duty and light commercial fuel cell vehicles, with the additional stations expected to grow with the rising growth of the global market.

Since January 2016, the Research Centre for Gas Innovation (RCGI) has been working to offer technology for obtaining fuel cells in 5 years. The center has the mission to investigate the use of the resource in terms of increasing their partnership in the Brazilian energy matrix. It is also making a contribution to the mitigation of greenhouse gas emissions. They have also emphasized that Brazil along with the US, Japan, and Germany, advanced programs to produce hydrogen-operated buses. Hence, this project will support the development of such vehicles.

Browse for full research summary: https://www.polarismarketresearch.com/industry-analysis/hydrogen-fuel-cell-vehicle-market

Polaris Market research has segmented the HFCV market report on the basis of:

Hydrogen Fuel Cell Vehicles Technology Outlook (Revenue, USD Billion, 2015  2026)

Proton Exchange Membrane Fuel Cell

Alkaline Fuel cell

Solid Oxide Fuel Cell

Hydrogen Fuel Cell Vehicles Vehicle Type Outlook (Revenue, USD Billion, 2015  2026)

Commercial Vehicle

Passenger Car

Hydrogen Fuel Cell Vehicles Regional Outlook (Revenue, USD Million, 2015  2026)

North America U.S. Canada

Europe UK Germany France Italy

Asia Pacific Japan China South Korea

Latin America

Middle East & Africa

Avail discount on this report @ https://www.polarismarketresearch.com/industry-analysis/hydrogen-fuel-cell-vehicle-market/request-for-discount-pricing

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New Delhi, Feb 22 : Priyanka Gandhi Vadra is set to address a Kisan Panchayat in Palikheda in Uttar Pradesh's Mathura district, which is considered to be a stronghold of the Jat community in the state.

The meeting to be held on Tuesday, was rescheduled due to the demise of captain Satish Sharma on February 19.

The Tuesday meeting is in continuation of a series of Kisan Panchayat that the party is organising in 27 districts of Western Uttar Pradesh against the farm laws, even as the agitation of farmers continued at Delhi borders 90th day.

The Congress General Secretary while addressing the 'Kisan Mahapanchayat' in Muzaffarnagar district on February 20 had lashed out at Prime Minister Narendra Modi.

She said, "In our old stories, kings and queens became arrogant after they won power. After becoming Prime Minister twice, the PM is also showing arrogance." "The Central government should respect the farmers. Why is Modiji not talking to the farmers who elected him as Prime Minister? Dialogue should be initiated with the farmers and their problems must be solved," she further said.

During the Muzaffarnagar Panchayat, Priyanka Gandhi Vadra said Prime Minister Modi had promised that there will be a settlement of pending dues on sugarcane. She also asked the farmers assembled there about the payment of dues of sugarcane.

-- The story has been published from a wire feed without any modifications to the text
UP class 10 exams cancelled, abridged version proposed for class 12 in July

UP eases covid restrictions: Shops allowed to open on weekdays in districts with less than 600 active cases

Watch: Chaat vendors clash over customers in Uttar Pradesh's Baghpat

India

oi-Madhuri Adnal

Baghpat, Feb 22: Shopkeepers, armed with sticks, thrashed each other in a free-for-all in Uttar Pradesh's Baghpat district over the issue of attracting customers to their shop.

''Eight people have been arrested on Monday in connection with the clash that broke out between two groups of shopkeepers in Baraut area of Baghpat earlier today,'' Baghpat Police said.

Dishoom Dishoom .

This is straight out of a 90s Bollywood film.#Baghpat #UP

pic.twitter.com/93zMAlBDyY  Thakur S P Parmar  (@IamErSPSingh) February 22, 2021

The UP Police said competing for customers resulted in the clash.

The video is being widely shared on social media with some users calling the clash 'hand-to-hand combat'.

For Breaking News and Instant Updates Allow Notifications

Story first published: Monday, February 22, 2021, 23:13 [IST]
The complaint, filed in the U.S. District Court for the District of Columbia, alleges that Lindell exploited false claims about election fraud to support sales of his own business. Representatives for MyPillow could not immediately be reached to comment on the suit.
NEW DELHI : Heres a list of top 10 stocks that could be in focus on Monday:

Jet Airways: The consortium of asset management firm Kalrock Capital and entrepreneur Murari Lal Jalan, which is currently awaiting bankruptcy court approval to restart Jet Airways, will continue to keep the grounded airline public. The consortium hopes to restart operations within four to six months of getting an approval from the tribunal, which is set to hear the resolution plan on Monday.

Tata Consumer Products: The Tata group company has successfully completed the acquisition of 100% of the equity share capital of the Kottaram Agro Foods Private Limited. Consequently, Kottaram Agro Foods Private Limited has become wholly owned subsidiary of Tata Consumer Products.

Jubilant FoodWorks: Food services major Jubilant FoodWorks said will fully acquire Fides Food Systems Cooperatief UA Netherlands (Fides) for an agreed investment of 24.8 million pounds (about 250 crore) through its wholly-owned subsidiary Jubilant FoodWorks Netherlands BV.

Amara Raja Batteries: India's second-largest automotive battery maker has opened the country's maiden technology hub to develop lithium-ion cells, at its Tirupati facility in Andhra Pradesh.

Torrent Power: The company has emerged as the highest bidder for 51% stake in a power distribution company in the Union Territory of Dadra & Nagar Haveli and Daman & Diu.

Thomas Cook: Travel services firm Thomas Cook India plans to raise up to 450 crore via issue of Optionally Convertible Cumulative Redeemable Preference shares (OCCRPS) through private placement.

PNB Housing Finance: Punjab National Bank (PNB) will not participate in capital raise plans of its housing finance subsidiary, PNB Housing Finance, but the company will continue to scout for raising equity from other sources, according to a regulatory filing. In August last year, PNB Housing Finance Ltd had informed about its plan to raise tier I capital up to 1,800 crore.

Aarti Drugs: Pinnacle Life Science LLC, a wholly-owned subsidiary of the company, incorporated at International Free Zone Authority, Fujairah, UAE, has been closed.

NTPC: State-owned NTPC has announced commissioning of 5 megawatt (MW) solar capacity at a project in Auraiya, Uttar Pradesh. The capacity is part of its 20 MW Solar PV Project located in Auraiya, about 200 km from the state capital Lucknow.

Karnataka Bank: Private sector lender Karnataka Bank has reported to the RBI a fraud of about 34.16 crore in credit facilities extended to IL&FS Transportation Networks, which is a dud account now.

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DENVER  Police in Denver were looking for four suspects in a home invasion that left two people with gunshot wounds.

Three of the suspects entered a home in south Denver at around 8 p.m. Saturday night and ordered the occupants to get on the ground, KUSA-TV reported.

A person then came out of a bedroom and engaged in a gunfight the one of the suspects who was armed with a semi-automatic rifle, police said. Two people in the home were shot.

The three suspects then exited the home and left the scene with a fourth person who had waited outside, police said.

One of the victims had non-life-threatening injuries, police said. The condition of the other victim was unknown.

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Once upon a time  just a few weeks ago  Republicans in the great state of Texas were talking about seceding from the union. If memory serves, their state attorney general concocted a crackpot lawsuit that sought to overturn the free and fair presidential election, arguing that Joe Bidens win was illegitimate.

Yep, it looked like Texas wanted to be its own red independent country, practicing its freedom far from the clutches of the socialist White House.

But suddenly, a few days ago, Texas Republican leaders did a 180-degree turn. They fell on their knees to President Biden, begging and pleading for his help. Suddenly, Biden was legit!

What the heck happened?

Reality happened.

MAGA propaganda about a stolen election, and all the rhetoric about secession, is grist for weak minds most of the time. But when real life intrudes in the cruelest of ways  for instance, when mother nature dumps a killer winter storm on a state that cant handle it and puts peoples lives in peril  all that idiot talk blows away in the wind.

Texas Gov. Greg Abbott essentially said: Please help us, President Biden. Within hours, Biden answered the call. And on Feb. 14, oozing gratitude, Abbott shared the good news at home: I thank President Biden for quickly issuing a Federal Emergency Declaration  This disaster declaration provides Texas with additional resources and assistance that help our communities respond to this winter weather.

Isnt that special. By the way, Sen. Ted Cruz also pleaded for federal help. This is the same Ted Cruz who opposed federal help for blue Northeastern states that were hammered by Hurricane Sandy. Perhaps Biden should have promised federal storm aid on the condition that Cruz be shipped to NASA in Houston and strapped onto the next rocket launch.

One of the reasons Texas urgently needs federal help is because its main power grid cant handle the storm. The reason its main power grid cant handle the storm is because its not linked to the rest of the nation. The reason its not linked to the rest of the nation is because it was set up to defy the feds and avoid federal regulation. I kid you not.

And by the way, raging against Washington  then pleading for help  is a longstanding Texas two-step.

Back when the governor was Rick Perry (remember him?), he nurtured his presidential ambitions by fuming that the oppressive federal government was always interfering with the affairs of our state. Which was amusing, because he was always in constant pursuit of federal bucks  for farmer drought assistance, for local law enforcement, for disaster cleanups, for whatever federal money his Washington lobbyists could scavenge. (He paid those lobbyists 30 grand a month).

But this was my favorite Texas two-step: On April 9, 2009, Perry put out a statement boasting about Texas sovereignty and states rights. On April 10, he put out another statement: Gov. Perry Calls on FEMA to Assist the State in Fighting Wildfires.

Anyway, one facet of the latest episode is particularly noteworthy. President Biden approved the plea for federal relief with all deliberate speed  without telling the state to buzz off because it hadnt voted for him, without ranting that the red governor runs things horribly, without fuming that the states election lawsuit didnt treat him nice, without offering to throw paper towels, without telling Texans who dont like him to just rake the snow.

Instead, Biden just did his job  as he promised. This is what its like to have a president who believes hes responsible for helping red and blue states alike  without favor, without partisan tantrums.

And his quick action should blunt the windbag Texas talk about secession and oppression. Until next time.
New Delhi: The Bombay High Court on Monday granted interim bail to poet Varavara Rao who is being probed by the National Investigation Agency (NIA) in the Elgar Parishad case. Rao was granted bail on medical grounds for a period of six months.

The 82-year-old is an accused in the Bhima-Koregaon violence which occurred after the Elgar Parishad conclave held in Pune on December 31, 2017. He has been in custody since August 28, 2018 awaiting trial.

Rao is currently undergoing treatment in the Nanavati Hospital in Mumbai. He was taken to the hospital after he complained of difficulties in breathing. He was admitted following the high court's intervention.

A bench of Justices S S Shinde and Manish Pitale directed that once Rao is discharged from the hospital, he should be immediately released on bail.

The HC said if it did not grant Rao medical bail, it would be abdicating its duty to protect the principles of human rights, and a citizen's fundamental rights to life and health.

While allowing bail, the court imposed strict conditions requiring him to stay within the jurisdiction of the Mumbai NIA court. Rao will have to submit his passport before the NIA court and has been forbidden to contact any of the co-accused in the case.

Rao is required to furnish a personal bond of Rs 50,000 and two sureties of the same amount.

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Fatigue, loss of smell and chest pains are all some of the better known long-term effects that persist months after coronavirus infection.

But according to a new scientific paper, almost a quarter of Covid-19 survivors may have to adjust to hair loss too.

The study, published in The Lancet, reveals that 359 out of 1,655 patients hospitalised in Wuhan, China  22 per cent  had experienced hair loss six months after being discharged.

Dermatologists say hair loss is a normal physiological response to a stressful event like an infectious illness and is only temporary  but Covid could be linked to conditions like alopecia, which can lead to irreversible hair loss.

Researchers at Chinese Academy of Medical Sciences found 22 per cent of people who recovered from Covid-19 experienced hair loss within the six months after leaving hospital

The Chinese authors wanted to investigate the long-term health consequences of Covid-19  dubbed 'long Covid'.

These symptoms, they say, 'remain largely unclear'  although the NHS lists 14 symptoms including fatigue, shortness of breath, insomnia, dizziness, joint pain and depression and anxiety.

'Hair loss' is absent from the NHS's list, however.

'The aim of this study was to describe the long-term health consequences of patients with Covid-19 who have been discharged from hospital,' say the authors, from the Chinese Academy of Medical Sciences.

Alopecia areata develops when the body attacks its own hair follicles (where hair grows from), which can cause hair loss anywhere on the body (stock image)

TOP 10 LONG COVID SYMPTOMS - Fatigue or muscle weakness: 63% - Sleep difficulties: 26% - Anxiety or depression: 23% - Hair loss: 22% - Smell disorder: 11% - Palpitations: 9% - Joint pain: 9% - Decreased appetite: 8% - Taste disorder: 7% - Dizziness: 6% Source: The Lancet/Chinese Academy of Medical Sciences Advertisement

'To our knowledge, this is the largest cohort study with the longest follow-up duration assessing the health consequences of adult patients discharged from hospital recovering from Covid-19.'

Covid-19 patients looked at for this study had been discharged from Jin Yin-tan Hospital in Wuhan between January 7 and May 29, 2020.

Six months later, patients were interviewed with a series of questionnaires for evaluation of symptoms and health-related quality of life, underwent physical examinations and a six-minute walking test, and received blood tests

Researchers found that the survivors were mainly troubled with fatigue or muscle weakness, sleep difficulties, and anxiety or depression  but hair loss was also one of the primary outcomes.

In all, 63 per cent had experienced fatigue or muscle weakness, 26 per cent had had sleeping difficulties and 23 per cent had had anxiety or depression, as well as 22 per cent with hair loss.

The findings follow an investigation into 'long hauler' Covid symptoms, published last summer by Dr Natalie Lambert from Indiana University School of Medicine.

Dr Lambert collected 1,567 responses in an online survey from people with long Covid symptoms.

She found 423 of this total had experienced hair loss  the 21st most commonly cited symptom on a list of the 50 (which was topped by fatigue).

Long haulers' Covid-19 symptoms are 'far more numerous' than the 11 currently listed on the website of the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, she pointed out.

'While the impact of Covid-19 on the lungs and vascular system have received some media and medical attention, the results of this survey suggest that brain, whole body, eye, and skin symptoms are also frequent-occurring health problems for people recovering,' Dr Lambert said.

Results from the survey by Dr Natalie Lambert from Indiana University School of Medicine. Numbers on the x-axis refer to how many survey respondents said they had the symptoms along y-axis. The red-shaded symptoms are those listed by Centers for Disease Control and Prevention

What is telogen effluvium? Telogen effluvium is a condition in which a person sheds more hair than normal, and it can be triggered by childbirth. It is normal for someone to be in the process of shedding about 10 per cent of the hair on their head at one time, because it grows continuously to make sure the total number of hairs remains constant. Telogen effluvium occurs when that number rises to 30 or more per cent, and the person is losing noticeable amounts of hair. The condition occurs because of a disturbance to the normal hair growing cycle. It can be triggered by childbirth, trauma or illness, stress, extreme weight loss, medications, or a skin condition affecting the scalp. Telogen effluvium usually clears itself up within three to six months, but it may take longer for hair to regrow to its normal length. Source: British Association of Dermatologists Advertisement

According to the American Academy of Dermatology (AAD), Covid-induced hair loss is due to telogen effluvium (TE)  a shedding condition caused by a disturbance in the hair growth cycle.

TE results in a high percentage of anagen follicles (follicles which are actively growing hair), going into their resting phase prematurely across the scalp

TE lasts somewhere between six to nine months before hair returns to its normal thickness and appearance, it says.

'It happens when more hairs than normal enter the shedding (telogen) phase of the hair growth lifecycle at the same time,' AAD says.

'A fever or illness can force more hairs into the shedding phase. Most people see noticeable hair shedding two to three months after having a fever or illness.'

Specialists at the Belgravia Centre in London have also reported an uplift in cases of telogen effluvium since the start of the pandemic.

Nearly two thirds (64 per cent) of male patients and over a third of women (38 per cent) diagnosed with TE at the Belgravia Centre reported having experienced Covid-19 related symptoms, they found last year.

'It's quite common for TE-related hair loss to present around three months after a period of severe trauma, illness or stress, which fits with our findings,' said Rali Bozhinova, superintdent trichologist at the Belgravia Centre.

'The spike in diagnoses shows the extent of stress that the virus places on the body, not only causing temporary TE, but also potentially exacerbating other hair loss conditions which can have long lasting effects if left untreated.'

Another expert suggested Covid-19 could be linked to alopecia areata, which leads to coin-sized bald patches on the scalp.

Alopecia areata can result in total hair loss, called alopecia universalis, and it can prevent hair from growing back.

In these cases, Covid-19 may trigger an auto-immune response, where the body attacks its own hair follicles, switching them off, according to trichologist Iain Sallis, who wasn't involved in the Chinese study.

'Covid, as many other febrile illnesses, have the ability to confuse our auto-immune system,' Sallis told MailOnline.

'Any type of shock be it, physical, emotional or psychological can cause alopecia, so it can most certainly be classed as a possible trigger.'

There is currently a joint effort by dermatologists called SECURE-DERM to look at the effects of Covid on hair loss on a global scale.
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A female cop is pushing to overhaul archaic consent laws amid a rise in rapes from dating app meetups.

New NSW Police child abuse and sex crimes squad boss Stacey Maloney said the state must change its definition of consent because only three per cent of rape cases are convicted.

Laws in Victoria and Tasmania protects victims of rape who freeze in fear, stating a person cannot consent to sex if they don't say or do anything.

Consent is a grey area in NSW with 20-year-old laws stating a person has to be awake, conscious, and able to think clearly to agree to sex.

New Child Abuse and Sex Crimes Squad boss Stacey Maloney (pictured) believes the NSW consent laws need to change

But a person cannot be convicted of rape if they genuinely believed the victim was consenting because they didn't say 'no', irrespective of whether they were too scared to speak.

Ms Maloney believes the murky definition is the reason behind why only 28 per cent of alleged rape victims in NSW come forward.

'Consent shouldn't be a confusing area, it should be quite clear that you need to ask for consent essentially. In terms of other jurisdictions, they certainly make that clear,' she told 9 News.

The top cop also said there has been a rise in sexual assaults on dating apps.

'Someone might swipe right, but that doesn't mean they swipe left on consent,' she said.

She told the Sunday Telegraph: 'It doesn't mean because you're on the app that's what you are up for.

'You should still be asking for consent in any situation whether it be on an online dating app, if you've met someone at the pub or you're going out on a date.'

The top cop also said there have been a rise in sexual assaults on dating apps (stock image of Tinder)

Ms Maloney wants to speak with the heads of dating apps, such as Tinder, to gain access to rapist's contact information.

An alarming report by NSW Police came out in 2019 that revealed 20 per cent of sexual assault cases around Sydney stemmed from online dating.

The figure doesn't capture unreported crimes or situations where the victim decided not to go ahead with an investigation.

Tinder previously told Daily Mail Australia they have been rolling out improvements to their app to enhance user safety - including a 'photo verification' feature to ensure users are who they say they are.

Of the incidents that were reported to state police in 2018 and 2019, only three per cent ended in a guilty conviction.

The NSW Attorney-General is considering how it will respond to findings of a Law Reform Commission report on consent laws, released last year.

Luke Lazarus (pictured) served 11 months' jail before being granted a fresh trial after a successful appeal

The report came after the landmark ruling in 2017 where Luke Lazarus, accused of raping 18-year-old virgin Saxon Mullins at 4am in a Kings Cross alleyway in 2013, was acquitted.

Mr Lazarus admitted he and the woman had anal sex in the alley and that the woman was down on all fours.

The pair had gone outside Soho into Hourigan Lane within three minutes of meeting on the dance floor.

In two trials, the now 29-year-old pleaded not guilty to one count of sexual intercourse without consent, saying the woman was encouraging and never told him to stop.

Lazarus told the District Court it was not the only time he had sex in the laneway behind Soho, or the first time he had sex with a woman minutes after they had met.

Ms Mullins said she was ordered to get 'on all fours and arch her back' against a wall behind the club

He insisted he had every reason to believe the teenager was happy to have sex with him and that her mood only changed when he asked her to add her name to a 'trophy list' in his phone.

The judge ruled that Lazarus had no reasonable basis for believing Ms Mullins had not consented, despite accepting that she had not consented in her mind.

Ms Maloney said high-profile cases where there is no conviction often deter victims from coming forward.

'Those victims are really brave. If we don't have victims coming forward we will see people out in our community who are committing serious offences,' she said.
Boris Johnson has been warned that failing to reopen international travel for the summer would blow an 18billion hole in the economy.

The prime minister has been facing growing pressure to include international travel in his roadmap for easing lockdown, due to be published today, Monday.

On Thursday, the bosses of some of Britain's biggest airlines and package holiday firms urged Mr Johnson to have a 'can-do' attitude to reopening travel by summer or face tens of thousands more jobs being destroyed.

Boris Johnson has been warned that failing to reopen international travel for the summer would blow an 18billion hole in the economy. Pictured: Heathrow on Sunday

And a study by a group of cross-party MPs lays bare the scale of the potential hammer blow if current restrictions continue over the summer months, saying it would be 'beyond devastating'.

The figures project the hit to inbound tourism, integral to the recovery of shops, bars, restaurants, hotels and tourist destinations, would be at least 7.5billion.

And for outbound travel, which generated around 37.1billion for the UK economy in 2019, the hit would be at least 10.5billion.

The figures, compiled by Parliament's Future of Aviation group, relate to the potential hit for June, July and August this year.

They are based on the amounts inbound and outbound travel were worth to the UK economy for these months in 2019 and the impact if current historically low passenger numbers continue over the summer.

On Thursday, the bosses of some of Britain's biggest airlines and package holiday firms urged Mr Johnson to have a 'can-do' attitude to reopening travel by summer or face tens of thousands more jobs being destroyed. Pictured: Heathrow on Sunday

Tory MP Henry Smith, chair of the Future of Aviation group, said: 'Our aviation, travel and tourism industries have faced the hardest 12 months in their history and have been devastated by a collapse in passenger numbers and delays to the promised recovery package.

'These figures lay bare the brutal reality that without further financial support and a clear pathway out of the restrictions, these industries who are already running on empty will be left in a battle for survival.

'The pandemic has been disastrous for our aviation, travel and tourism sectors and the consequences of a lost summer season will be beyond devastating not only to the businesses involved, but their employees, their communities and the UK economy as a whole.

'That is why it is so vital that the Government meets this challenge through a clear roadmap out of the restrictions and brings forward a serious and significant package of support that protects these essential industries for the challenging months ahead.'

Tory MP Henry Smith, chair of the Future of Aviation group, said: 'Our aviation, travel and tourism industries have faced the hardest 12 months in their history'

Joss Croft, CEO of UKInbound, a trade body of 400 businesses, said: 'Since the removal of travel corridors and the introduction of quarantine hotels, our members have received hundreds of cancellations for 2021, and as long as quarantine is in place, cancellations will continue and people will be put off booking a trip to the UK this year.

'This is why we need the Prime Minister to publish a roadmap to reopening the tourism sector today.'

He also called for Chancellor Rishi Sunak to extend furlough and business rates relief as long as travel restrictions are in place to keep them afloat or face hundreds of firms being wiped out.

The travel industry has been ravaged by the pandemic, with air passenger numbers plummeting by around 90 per cent by the end of last year.

It takes us a number of weeks to go from no activity to providing flights and holidays for our customers. We need to make sure pilots, people in safety roles are trained, we've got to recruit people for the summer and it takes a lot of organisation for us to operate and not just operate in any way, but operate safely Steve Heapy, CEO of Jet2.com

A raft of new measures in recent weeks, including pre-departure testing, quarantine hotels and the scrapping of 'travel corridors', has compounded the crisis and heightened fears for the future of the industry.

Mr Johnson's route out of lockdown on Monday is not expected to include a timeline for easing restrictions on holidays, but will give a broad outline of the Government's ambitions.

However, travel chiefs are concerned it may not be enough to give the sector the time it needs to prepare if holidays are to go ahead in the coming months and to create enough confidence for would-be holiday-makers to book.

They want Mr Johnson to harness the success of the vaccine roll-out and indicate when travel restrictions can be expected to start being lifted.

Steve Heapy, CEO of Jet2.com, said: 'It takes us a number of weeks to go from no activity to providing flights and holidays for our customers.

'We need to make sure pilots, people in safety roles are trained, we've got to recruit people for the summer and it takes a lot of organisation for us to operate and not just operate in any way, but operate safely.

'It's not like getting in your car after you've not driven it for a few weeks and just driving off. There are a lot of things that need to happen. We need certainty.'

Shai Weiss, CEO of Virgin Atlantic, said: 'We believe travel can be safely re-started through a risk-based phased easing of border restrictions.

'We need to be planning forward, it can take weeks and months to get operations fully up and running safely and consumers need confidence to be able to book.

'People want to know when they can look forward to being re-united with their families, re-establishing vital business links and going on a well-deserved family holiday.'

On Friday, the Save Future Travel Coalition  made up of 12 leading travel trade organisations  wrote to Mr Johnson urging him to include a blueprint for reopening travel in his roadmap.

It called for the introduction of 'vaccine passports' so restrictions can be relaxed for travellers who have been inoculated.

The letter said: 'We urge you to use your announcement on February 22 to provide a route out of the crisis for the travel industry, to help safeguard the livelihoods of the hundreds of thousands of people employed in the sector and rebuild the 80billion contribution the sector makes to the UK economy.'

A total of 7,000 UK-based pilots also signed a letter to the prime minister urging him to include international travel in his roadmap.
A spectator looks at a newspaper photograph of Steve Smith of Australia on Jane McGrath Day during day three of the 3rd Test match in the series between Australia and India at Sydney Cricket Ground in Sydney, Australia on Jan. 9, 2021. (Ryan Pierse/Getty Images)

Australians Believe Mainstream Media More Focused on Ideology Than Objectivity: Survey

A recent survey has revealed high levels of scepticism at how objective Australian media outlets are, as more people begin placing trust in their own research and other institutions.

Research from Edelmans 2021 Trust Barometer (pdf) found 68 percent of Australians believed local news organisations were more concerned with supporting an ideology or political position than they were with informing the public.

While 59 percent believed the media was not doing well at being objective or non-partisan.

Lastly, 64 percent believed journalists and reporters were purposefully trying to mislead the public by saying things they knew were false or exaggerated. This finding came despite the responses indicting an 11-point increase in trust for journalists.

Edelman Trust Barometer 2021  Australia. (Supplied)

The Edelman Trust Barometer survey was conducted globally online across 28 countries, between Oct. 18, to Nov. 18, 2020. There were 1,150 respondents in each country across the general population and higher socio-economic class.

Overall trust in traditional media and search engine sources has seen a steady decline since 2018 to 2019. In contrast, information from social media, and media owned by companies, governments, and organisations, saw a significant increase since last year.

The barometer classifies a source as trusted when it scores 60 points or higher on the scale. No source reached this benchmark.

Edelman Trust Barometer 2021  Australia. (Supplied)

The research reflects findings last year from the News and Media Centre at the University of Canberra, who found trust in mainstream media in Australia was on a downward trend, only to receive an upward swing during COVID-19.

Respondents in the Edelman survey say going forward they are prioritising improving media literacy and political awareness.

According to David Flint, former head of the then-Australian Broadcasting Authority and current Epoch Times contributor, It is not surprising that trust in traditional media sources has been steadily declining. This reflects a change which began in the United States in particular (with the reporting on former U.S. President Donald Trump).

The media has always been entitled to an editorial position, but the traditional view is expressed best in the adage, Comment is free, but facts are sacred,' he told The Epoch Times.

What we have seen in recent times is that it is very difficult for the average reader or viewer to distinguish between the two.

The Trust Barometer did find however that trust levels towards various institutions increased across the board. However, it was the employer-employee relationship which became the clear winner.

Employers were the most trusted institution, with 78 percent of Australians trusting their employer over businesses (63 percent), NGOs (62 percent), government (61 percent) and media (51 percent).

Australians more than ever turned to their employers for guidance, reassurance and information they can trust, Michelle Hutton, CEO Australia and Vice-Chair of Asia Pacific at Edelman, said.

The workplace-home divide has been broken down, and employers have embraced a new role in their employees lives. In an environment that demanded empathy and transparency, a strong bond of trust has resulted between organisations and their people.
(HealthDay)Pulse oximeterssmall devices that clip onto fingertipscan seem like a handy way to gauge oxygen levels while monitoring a case of COVID-19. But people of color should be cautious about relying on them because they're more likely to give inaccurate readings when used on darker skin, the U.S. Food and Drug Administration announced Friday.

The warning was based on a study published recently in the New England Journal of Medicine. It found Black patients had nearly three times the frequency of "occult hypoxemia"low oxygen levels in the bloodas detected by "gold standard" blood gas measurements but not detected by pulse oximetry, when compared to white patients.

The FDA is now cautioning patients and health care providers that although widely used pulse oximeters can be useful, they also can be inaccurate.

"Although pulse oximetry is useful for estimating blood oxygen levels, pulse oximeters have limitations and a risk of inaccuracy under certain circumstances that should be considered," the agency said in a statement.

Pulse oximeters use light beams to estimate oxygen saturation of the blood and pulse rate. As the fear of COVID-19 infection rose among Americans, many have rushed to buy the relatively cheap, over-the-counter devices to help determine if they need to go to the hospital when the illness strikes.

Oxygen saturation values are between 95% and 100% for most healthy individuals, but sometimes can be lower in people with lung problems, the FDA said. They also are generally slightly lower for those living at higher altitudes.

Any level in the low 90s is considered the threshold for illness that may need hospital care.

Still, "these devices are not intended to be the sole or primary use of information to make a clinical diagnosis or treatment decision," Dr. William Maisel, director of the Office of Product Evaluation and Quality at the FDA's Center for Devices and Radiological Health, told CNN in an interview. "Someone shouldn't overly rely on a pulse oximeter reading, even if it's the most accurate product."

And although in many cases the level of inaccuracy may be small, there is a risk that an inaccurate measurement could result in unrecognized low oxygen saturation levels, the FDA said. That could keep a person who truly needs hospital care from reaching out.

Not a new finding

The NEJM study involved more than 10,000 patients and was led by Dr. Michael Sjoding at the University of Michigan. It found that in White patients, the pulse oximeter gave a misleading number 3.6% of the time, but in Black patients inaccuracies occurred 11.7% of the time. The reason: Because the devices rely on light, skin tones can alter the results.

Studies reaching back to the early 2000s have found similar race-based discrepancies with pulse oximetry, but many doctors may not be aware, Sjoding said.

Speaking with CNN, he said, "I am a pulmonary and critical care physician. One of our coauthors is a prominent Black physician from the University of Michigan. None of us knew this. None of us knew about these studies from the mid 2000s. It was not a part of our training."

The FDA reviews prescription pulse oximeters, which are most often used in hospitals and doctors' offices, but not over-the-counter oximeters sold directly to consumers for general wellness or sports/aviation.

Though the over-the-counter devices are not intended for medical purposes, some people use them to monitor COVID-19 at home.

The advisory suggests that patients who are monitoring conditions such as COVID-19 at home should pay attention to all their symptoms and not only blood oxygen readings. Not only skin pigmentation can affect a pulse oximeter reading, but also skin thickness, poor circulation, skin temperature, current tobacco use and even use of nail polish.

What to do?

According to the FDA, to get the best reading when using a pulse oximeter, remove any nail polish and make sure your hand is warm, relaxed and held below your heart level. Sit still. Wait a few seconds until the reading displays a steady number.

Pay attention to whether the oxygen level is lower than earlier measurements or is decreasing over time. Changes or trends in measurements may be more meaningful than one single measurement.

Not everyone who has low oxygen levels shows all or even any of the typical signs, but most common are bluish coloring in the face, lips or nails; shortness of breath or difficulty breathing; a cough that gets worse; restlessness; discomfort; chest pain or tightness, and fast or racing pulse rate.

It's important to contact your health care provider if you're concerned about your pulse oximeter readings or other symptoms. Also contact your doctor or your local health department if you think you may have COVID-19, so you can get a diagnostic test.

The FDA advised doctors to be aware of the limitations as well. Different brands of pulse oximeters and even different sensors may have varying accuracy levels, the FDA said. Pulse oximeters are least accurate when oxygen saturation is less than 80%.

Consider accuracy limitations when using the pulse oximeter to assist in diagnosis and treatment decisions. Use pulse oximeter readings only as an estimate of blood oxygen saturation, the FDA advised. For example, a pulse oximeter saturation of 90% may represent an arterial blood saturation of 86% to 94%.

The pandemic may finally be getting the FDA to better safeguard pulse oximeters. According to CNN, a group of U.S. senators sent the FDA a letter late last month urging them to investigate the issue.

Right now, the agency requires pulse oximeters to be tested on a variety of skin tones, meaning "at least two darkly pigmented [test subjects] or 15 % of the subject pool, whichever is larger," CNN said.

Explore further More health inequality: Black people are 3 times more likely to experience pulse oximeter errors

Copyright  2020 HealthDay. All rights reserved.

Opposition politician Aleksei Navalny's regional office in the Siberian city of Irkutsk has published an audio recording of a disciplinary conversation between the dean of the biotechnology department of Irkutsk State Agricultural University and student activist Yevgenia Ivanchenko.

Ivanchenko had posted photographs on social media showing herself participating in protests last month over the jailing of Navalny, who was arrested upon his return to Russia from Germany on January 17. It was unclear when the conversation with the dean, Olga Ilina, took place.

In the recording, posted on February 18, a voice identified as belonging to Ilina seems to justify the use of chemical weapons against Navalny, who she asserts is "destabilizing" Russia.

"Chemical weapons are a government containment policy," Ilina says. "You know what kind of world we have -- it has been unipolar, bipolar, tripolar. We must protect ourselves as a state. We will develop any type of weaponry in order to resist. And people like Navalny are against. They are in favor of destabilizing the situation in Russia."

'Destabilizing' Kyiv, Minsk, Moscow...

Navalny fell violently ill in August while flying from the Siberian city of Tomsk to Moscow. After emergency medical intervention in Omsk, where the plane landed, he was medically evacuated to Germany, where he spent several weeks recovering.

German specialists have determined that he was poisoned with the nerve agent Novichok, and the Bellingcat open-source investigative group has linked the poisoning to a group of Federal Security Service (FSB) operatives. Navalny has alleged that the poisoning was ordered by President Vladimir Putin.

The Russian government has denied involvement despite the evidence, and the authorities have refused to open a criminal investigation into the incident.

When Ivanchenko objects that "the situation in Russia is already unstable," Ilina continues her line of thought.

"It is stable," she says. "But people like Navalny and his supporters are destabilizing it. And the state is correct not to allow anyone to destabilize it. Look what they did in Ukraine."

The dean then goes on to repeat unsubstantiated Kremlin allegations that the United States was behind the mass protests in Ukraine that drove Moscow-friendly President Viktor Yanukovych from power in 2014.

"And now what is happening in Belarus?" she concludes, apparently referring to persistent protests against authoritarian leader Alyaksandr Lukashenka following an August election that extended his long rule but was seen by millions as rigged in his favor.

It is not known whether Ivanchenko was punished for her political activity.

The administration of the Irkutsk State Agricultural University refused RFE/RL's request for comment. A local news website in Irkutsk reported that it had been told Ilina "is on vacation."

Retribution Against Protesters

During the protests on January 23 and 31, police detained thousands of people in cities across the country. In Irkutsk, at least 74 people were punished for administrative offenses such as attending an unsanctioned rally or disregarding the instructions of a law enforcement officer.

Since the protests, participants in many cities have alleged that they have been targeted for retribution. Navalny activist Ruslan Ablyakimov was attacked by a group of unknown assailants in Daghestan on February 20 and badly beaten.

Authorities in Krasnodar on February 21 launched an administrative case against Navalny supporter Anastasia Panchenko for "propagandizing nontraditional sexual relations." She posted photographs apparently showing same-sex couples kissing during a February 14 protest in support of Navalny using the slogan "Love is stronger than fear."

An unknown person threw a Molotov cocktail into a car belonging to a Navalny activist in Novosibirsk on February 19.

Numerous companies whose managers participated in the demonstrations have reportedly been targeted for inspections by the Interior Ministrys Economic Security Department.

Written by Robert Coalson based on reporting by the Siberia Desk of RFE/RL's Russian Service
Monson police and State Police detectives are investigating an early morning shooting incident at a Monson strip club.

Monson authorities said the shooting at the Magic Lantern on Route 20 occurred at about 1:00 Sunday morning, but police were not aware of the incident until sometime Sunday afternoon when bar patrons contacted them.

In a press release, police did not describe the shooting or indicate if anyone was injured.

Officers said the bar management is not cooperating with the police investigation.

Anyone with information is asked to contact Monson Police at 413-267-5136.
Addressing a press conference in Visakhapatnam, Ganta Srinivasa Rao said after meeting central BJP leaders in Delhi, the partys state unit president and other senior leaders have changed their tack. (Photo: DC)

VISAKHAPATNAM: Former minister and Visakhapatnam North MLA Ganta Srinivasa Rao on Sunday criticised the Andhra Pradesh wing of Bharatiya Janata Party for changing its stance on proposed privatisation of Visakhapatnam Steel Plant (VSP).

Addressing a press conference in Visakhapatnam, the senior TD leader said after meeting central BJP leaders in Delhi, the partys state unit president and other senior leaders have changed their tack. They are now stating that the centre is yet to take a final decision on the steel plant. Basis this, BJP leaders are accusing TDP and YSRCP of misleading public with their agitation.

The centre has said in too many words that VSP will be privatised. Union steel minister Dharmendra Pradhan even informed Rajya Sabha member Vijaysai Reddy about the MoU between POSCO and VSP in this regard. Even the Cabinet Committee on Economic Affairs has cleared total disinvestment in the steel plant, Ganta pointed out.

He maintained that the agitation against privatisation of VSP started with his resignation from assembly, followed by an indefinite fast by former MLA Palla Srinivasa Rao and maha dharna organised by all political parties and trade unions. The agitation has picked up momentum. It has been joined in by all political parties, trade unions and people, except BJP and Jana Sena, he stated.

The former minister Ganta appealed to Jana Sena chief Pawan Kalyan to pressurise Prime Minister Narendra Modi and other central leaders into dropping the privatisation plan, as the steel plant is not a mere factory but symbolises sentiments of AP people.

On the forthcoming Visakhapatnam Municipal Corporation elections, the MLA said he has completed his first round of campaigning in all 15 divisions of his assembly constituency. He is sorting out all differences with rebels with the TDP. TD winning the mayors post is imminent, as his party will win majority of wards in Visakhapatnam, he asserted.
A cab ride in Mumbai city is now going to cost more to commuters. The Mumbai Metropolitan Region Transport Authority (MMRTA) reviewed the fares and announced the hike today. Base fares of taxis and auto-rickshaws across Mumbai Metropolitan Region (MMR) have been hiked by Rs 3.

Mumbai's famous kaali-peeli taxis will cost Rs 3 more to travellers as the base price has been hiked to Rs 25. Similarly, minimum fare for auto-rickshaws have been raised to Rs 21 from Rs 18.

The hike comes amid continuously rising fuel prices in the country. Petrol prices have touched Rs 97 in Mumbai, while diesel prices are at Rs 88. The increase in fares come as a respite to taxi and rickshaw drivers who have been burdened with overpriced transportation fuel.

Finance Minister Nirmala Sitharaman on February 20 called the rising fuel price a "vexatious issue". She said that the Centre and states should engage in talks to bring down prices adding that barring a fall in price, no other answer will convince people.

Earlier Prime Minister Narendra Modi held the previous governments responsible for not reducing India's import dependence. He said the middle-class would not have been burdened if the previous governments worked to reduce energy import dependence.

Fuel prices have been steeply rising for the past two weeks. Petrol prices have already touched the Rs 100 mark in some places like Sri Ganganagar in Rajasthan and Madhya Pradesh.

Opposition parties including Congres, have criticised the price hikes, blaming it on the Centre.

Also read: Cut indirect taxes on petrol, diesel: RBI Governor to Centre, states
New Delhi: In a heart-wrenching incident, a 22-year-old man in Delhi allegedly stabbed his mother to death over money to buy liquor.

The incident occurred on Sunday night in the Khajoori Khas area of the national capital. The accused has been identified as Sushil Pandey. He used a screwdriver to stab his 64-year-old mother, Ram Lalli Devi.

The Delhi police have arrested the perpetrator and started an investigation into the matter.

In a separate incident, a 24-year-old son of a jeweller allegedly murdered his mother and looted valuables worth over one crore rupees in Aligarh.

The accused, Yogesh, and his three associates, including two women, were arrested on Sunday. Stolen gold, diamond and silver jewellery was recovered from them.

According to the police, jeweller Kuldeep Verma's son Yogesh, a commerce graduate, was living separately in a rented accommodation for the past six months after he tied a knot with a married woman, Sonam, against his parents' wishes. He was also jobless.

He had asked his mother Kanchan for money on several occasions but she refused.

Facing financial issues, Yogesh chalked a plan to loot his own house. His wife, Sonam, friend, Tanuj Chaudhary and Tanuj`s girlfriend, Shehjal Chauhan, were all part of the plot.

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Toolkit: Nikita, Shantanu to join probe today

India

oi-Vicky Nanjappa

New Delhi, Feb 22: Nikita Jacob and Shantanu Muluk will join the investigation in the toolkit case being probed by the Delhi Police.

The police had contacted both over phone and notices have also been served to them to join the probe. Police sources say that both agreed that they would join the probe today at 11.30 am.

They will be questioned over their alleged role in the case. There are many unanswered questions and the police will look to get further leads into the case. Both of them will be questioned simultaneously, the source cited above said.

The toolkit tweeted by Greta Thunberg was uploaded from locations in Maharashtra and Karnataka. The police are verifying the addresses with the internet service providers.

Bombay HC grants 3 weeks transit bail to Nikita Jacob in toolkit case

Earlier the Delhi Police said that Disha Ravi had sent the toolkit document to Greta Thunberg through the Telegram application. Addressing a press conference, the police said that Disha was arrested in the presence of her mother in Bengaluru and due procedure was followed.

Further the police said that Disha Ravi along with another activist, Nikita Jacob and Shantanu created the toolkit and sent it to others. Nikita was one of the editors of toolkit, the police also said.

The police said that there was a zoom meeting before Republic Day which was attended by Mo Dhaliwal of the Poetic for Justice Foundation, a pro-Khalistan group. The meeting was also attended by Nikita, Disha and Shantanu. It may be recalled that violence broke out on Republic Day, when the farmers had arranged a tractor protest.

The meeting was aimed at creating a storm on Twitter, the police also said.

Disha, Nikita, Shantanu, PJF were part of WhatsApp group to discuss creation of toolkit

PM Modi: India can be one of the best in defence export | Oneindia News

Further the police also found that Disha had deleted the WhatsApp group she had created to spread the toolkit.

For Breaking News and Instant Updates Allow Notifications

Story first published: Monday, February 22, 2021, 8:35 [IST]
ANN ARBOR, MI  Gregory Agnew will continue to spend the rest of his life behind bars after losing his first appeal to the states high court.

Stating there were no errors made by the trial court warranting a reversal, the Michigan Court of Appeals affirmed Thursday, Feb. 18, the conviction of Gregory Agnew, 53, who was found guilty, Sept. 6, 2019, for the first-degree premeditated murder of his estranged wife Martha Agnew.

Gregory Agnew gets life in prison for wifes murder

Martha Agnew, 49, was found dead of strangulation February 17, 2018 in the bed of an Ypsilanti Township home she was sharing with Gregory Agnew while the two were going through a divorce.

Investigators also discovered she had suffered a blunt force trauma to her head and police believed the scene was staged to look like an overdose.

Prosecutors said Gregory Agnew killed his wife amid their divorce to keep her quiet about the disappearance of his on-and-off girlfriend, Tammy Niver, in 1993 and to keep marital assets.

In his appeal, Gregory Anew argued the trial court errored when it allowed jurors to hear details regarding Nivers disappearance.

The appellate court disagreed.

The facts related to Nivers disappearance were important for the jury to understand because of the reasonable inference that (Gregory) Agnew killed Martha to stop her from testifying against him as related to that disappearance, the court wrote in its decision.

Gregory Agnew has long been suspected of being involved in Nivers disappearance but has never been charged in the incident.

His ex-girlfriend vanished 25 years ago. Now his wife is dead

Testimony at trial showed Martha Agnew once agreed to wear a wire to help police catch him, but then the two started dating and eventually got married, precluding her from testifying against him if charges were filed.

Gregory Agnew was charged with murder five months after Martha Agnews death. He has maintained his innocence, arguing police sought to pin the death on him as revenge for a $45,000 settlement in an unlawful arrest lawsuit connected to the Niver case.

11 new details revealed during Gregory Agnews murder trial

Following his conviction, Gregory Agnew was sentenced to life without the possibility of parole. The Niver case remains open.

More from The Ann Arbor News:

Judge dismisses several claims in Ann Arbor school principals lawsuit

Alro Steel doubles storage, adds more processing at Toledo warehouse

10-year-old Ypsilanti boy explores love of books and reading on new podcast
Sanctions against Sportmaster Operations Pte. Ltd (Singapore), which directly belongs to Sportmaster-Ukraine LLC, were imposed on the basis of information about the chain's operation in the temporarily occupied Crimea, the press center of the Ukrainian State Security Service (SBU) told Interfax-Ukraine.

"The sanctions against the Singapore company Sportmaster Operations Pte. Ltd (founder of the relevant Sportmaster chain) were imposed on the basis of information about the operation of the chain in temporarily occupied territories of Crimea," the ministry said.

It is noted that the Ministry of Foreign Affairs of Ukraine "has repeatedly applied with the relevant notes to the government agencies of Singapore, which were left without consideration and proper response."

As reported, Sportmaster Operations Pte. Ltd (Singapore), which directly owns Sportmaster-Ukraine LLC is the largest, according to its website, retail chain of sporting goods in Ukraine, was included in the sanctions list by the decision of the NSDC and the decree of the President of Ukraine dated February 19, 2021.
Indosuez Wealth Management, the global wealth management brand of Credit Agricole Group, announces the appointment of Fouad Nicolas Trad as Global Head of Middle East.

Based in Dubai, Fouad will report within CA Indosuez (Switzerland) SA to Isabelle Jacob-Nebout, Head of Wealth Management. In his role, Fouad Nicolas Trad will lead the coordination of all wealth management activities in the region and drive Indosuezs Middle East business, which is operated primarily by CA Indosuez (Switzerland) SA.

Commenting on the appointment, Isabelle Jacob-Nebout said: We are delighted to welcome back Fouad Trad to Indosuez. With a 24% growth in UHNWIs over the next five years, according to Knight Franks latest Wealth Report 2020, the Gulf is a key market for us and Dubai is the hub for one of the fastest growing regions. We continue to see an increased demand from Middle East clients for highly sophisticated investment and financing solutions that Indosuezs global expertise can fully meet. With Fouads wealth of experience, we are confident that he will help us strengthen our leading position in this important market and drive growth in the Middle East.

Trad brings more than 30 years of experience in the banking sector to Indosuez, with most of his career within the Credit Agricole Group, serving private and corporate clients in the Middle East. Prior to joining Indosuez, he was the CEO and Chairman of the Management Committee of Byblos Bank Europe and was based in Brussels. -- Tradearabia News Service
While a good portion of New Jersey wont see any snow on Monday, several northern counties will get as much as inch of snow per hour starting later this morning and could wind up with as much as 4 inches of accumulation.

The bullseye for this fast-moving winter storm is northwestern New Jersey with Sussex, Warren, Morris and parts of Passaic County expected to be the hardest hit. Western Bergen and western Essex will join those counties under a winter weather advisory until 6 p.m.

The snow will last only a few hours and is expected to move out this afternoon, but many school districts in those counties have shifted to remote instruction for the day with roads likely to be slippery.

Want to see how much snow is predicted to fall in your area?

Using data from the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration, weve created a map where you can see what to expect over the next 48 hours, based on the latest forecast from the National Weather Service.

Enter your town in the search bar to get an up-close look. Press the play button to watch how the storm is forecast to overtake the region.

NOTE: The snowfall forecast map below predicts snowfall expected over a 48-hour period. It updates automatically every six hours. Click the play button to begin the hour-by-hour forecast. Tap anywhere on the map to see the local forecast total. You can get specific forecasts for your neighborhood by entering your address in the search window at the top of the map. The map, which is exclusive to NJ.com, is designed to be accurate down to a 2-mile radius.

Jeff Goldman may be reached at jeff_goldman@njadvancemedia.com. Follow him on Twitter @JGoldmanNJ.

Our journalism needs your support. Please subscribe today to NJ.com

Congress leader on Monday said Narendra Modi, who "ridiculed" when he took over as Prime Minister in 2014, was "forced to accept" the fact that the ambitious rural job scheme brought in by the previous UPA government played the role of "saviour" of people of the country during the COVID-19 pandemic.

Inaugurating a Kudumbasree Sangamam at Poothadi Grama Panchayat in his constituency here, the Congress leader said the Congress works for the empowerment of the poor and alleged that the idea of the ruling BJP was to empower the most powerful.

"When Modi became Prime Minister, in the Parliament House, in front of all of us, he ridiculed He said was an insult to the Indian people," Gandhi alleged, as he began his two-day visit to his constituency in poll- bound Kerala.

He said the Prime Minister was forced to increase the work and money of the scheme during the spread of coronavirus in the country.

"And he was forced to accept during COVID-19 that only MGNREGA played the role of saviour of our people," Gandhi said.

He noted that the demand for MGNREGA, which provides social protection for the most vulnerable people living in rural India by guaranteeing wage employment opportunities, "skyrocketed" during COVID.

The Wayanad MP said both SHGs and the MGNREGA were brought in by the UPA government not as a "gift" but as "tools for empowerment for making our people stronger."



He said when the MGNREGA was brought in to provide at least 100 days of guaranteed wage employment in a financial year to every rural household whose adult members volunteer to do unskilled manual work, lots of people questioned it asking why we are spoiling our people by giving charity.

Many claimed MGNREGA scheme was going to ruin the people but the same people are not saying anything while the government is "giving lakhs of crores of rupees to the big business" and "privatising huge public sector companies," Gandhi alleged.

He also said implementation of the MGNREGA scheme was the major reason for the "tremendous economic growth" during the UPA period.
Prosecutor General of Ukraine Iryna Venediktova has approved a report on the suspicion of the former deputy head of the board of PrivatBank of committing a crime under Part 5 of Article 191 (misappropriation, embezzlement of property or taking possession of property through abuse of office) of the Criminal Code of Ukraine, according to the National Anti-Corruption Bureau Ukraine (NABU).

"According to operational information, the former official planned to leave Ukraine on a private jet in the direction of Vienna, having departed from Dnipro. Due to the efforts of the head of the group of detectives and the director of the NABU, who contacted the State Aviation Administration, the plane landed at Boryspil airport, where urgent investigative actions have been started," the department said on Monday.

At the same time, NABU does not name the former official.

Sources in law enforcement agencies told Interfax-Ukraine that they are talking about former first deputy head of PrivatBank Volodymyr Yatsenko.
Authorities in Thailand deported more than 200 Cambodian migrant workers on Monday as both Bangkok and Phnom Penh began enforcing new regulations to stem the spread of COVID-19 in their nations.

The move prompted rights groups to call for assistance from Cambodian Prime Minister Hun Sens government to offset expected financial difficulties for the deportees.

Um Sophal, the police commissioner for Banteay Meanchey province  which borders Thailand  told Radio Free Asia (RFA), a sister entity of BenarNews, that all of the deportees returned by foot to Cambodia through the OBey Chorn and Malai border checkpoints.

They were all taken to places to isolate for 14 days in the various districts and the seat of Banteay Meanchey province, Serey Sophorn, he said.

Earlier this month, Thailands Ministry of Labor reported that nearly 120,000 Cambodian workers have registered to work for up to two years in the country since announcing the requirement on Jan. 15 and warned it would take action against any foreigners who fail to do so by Feb. 14. The ministry said the move is part of efforts to prevent the spread of the coronavirus within Thailands borders.

Dy Thehoya, a migration program official with Cambodian labor watchdog Central, told RFA at the time that more than 400,000 Cambodians are believed to be working illegally in Thailand and said about three-fourths of them could be thrown out of the country or detained after the registration deadline passes.

On Monday, Sum Chankea, human rights coordinator for local rights group Adhoc in Banteay Meanchey, said the Cambodian migrant workers were returned because they faced economic hardship amid the pandemic and unemployment for many months in Thailand.

Returning by themselves costs money. Therefore, if they surrender themselves to the Thai authorities, the Thai police will transport them to the border areas free of charge, he said.

The return comes as Hun Sen issued an order to arrest and hold in pre-trial detention people who cross the border to find work in Thailand and return home.

People end up working abroad without receiving wages, subject to humiliation and imprisonment, because of human traffickers and labor exploiters, the prime minister said.

We must take strict measures to apprehend them all and minimize the problem. This is a way to respect human rights. Then, let human rights workers deal with these bad guys.

Recent restrictions

In the past several days, Hun Sen has ordered a high-alert troop deployment along the Thai-Cambodian border in Pailin, Battambang, Banteay Meanchey and Udor Meanchey provinces to stop people from crossing the border and to enforce a 14-day quarantine policy.

From the end of 2020 to Feb. 15, 35,665 Cambodian migrant workers have been returned to Cambodia from Thailand. Among them, the Ministry of Health determined that 90 had contracted COVID-19  the disease caused by the coronavirus.

Because of the pandemic, hundreds of thousands of Cambodian migrant workers, especially undocumented workers, have found themselves stuck in Thailand. Many have lost their jobs and face strict controls on movement.

Officially, there are about 1.8 million Cambodians working in Thailand, of which more than 400,000 labor illegally  mostly for plantations, landscaping companies, and private homes. The Center for Alliance of Labor and Human Rights (CENTRAL) has said that undocumented workers bring the total to more two million.

Thailands strict immigration measures already left many illegal Cambodian migrant workers unable to earn enough to feed or house their families.

Even those who are registered to work in Thailand say it has been difficult earning a living during the pandemic, as the economy struggles, and jobs have dried up.

Adhocs Sum Chankea called on the government to assist Cambodian returnees saying they will otherwise face difficulties earning a livelihood. He added that the government should send agricultural and economic experts to help train them to farm and start businesses so that they can fend for themselves back home.

Posted Monday, February 22, 2021 2:35 am

Feb. 5, 2021, our beloved Klazina Dobbe passed away peacefully in the presence of her husband and best friend of over 50 years.

Klazina was adored by her family, she is survived by her loving husband, Benno; her three children, Nicolette (Rob), Ben (Jennifer), Stefan (Jodi); 10 grandchildren; and one great-grandchild, all who lovingly called her Oma.

Klazina Wilhelmina Looij Dobbe was born July 3, 1952, in Den Helder, the Netherlands. She met the love of her life, Benno, Dec. 26, 1965, and they married Dec. 18, 1970. Benno and Klazina had a beautiful love story that only grew stronger celebrating 50 years of marriage this last December. Their three children Nicolette, Ben, and Stefan, were born in the Netherlands, after which the family of five immigrated to the United States July 20, 1980, where they started a new life in Woodland, Wash.

Benno and Klazina started Holland America Bulb Farms in Woodland, Wash., now known as Holland America Flowers, since 1987. She loved the flowers they grew all through the years, always having fresh flowers abundantly in her home. Klazina loved to learn and share her knowledge, she earned a Masters Degree in Acupuncture and Herbal Medicine in 1998. She opened a local Acupuncture practice, which Klazina ran for eight years. She later opened a clinic located next to the family house. Klazina is known to have been a great healer, helping countless people with their illnesses, guiding patients through cancer treatments and also with mental issues. She wrote a book, Visitors Along My Cancer Journey, which was a great accomplishment and was read by many. Klazina started a Prayer Circle with the Sisters of the House of Balance, forming forever bonds, deep friendships and focused prayers to heal many.

Klazina was loved and cherished by her family, and anyone who knew Klazina was inspired by her kindness, generosity and strength, creating many dear friends. She brought calmness and peace to everyone around her, she exuded a warm personality and a heart of gold. Klazina was a great cook, in particular when she prepared an old fashioned Dutch meal. She loved life and cherished every day she lived. Klazina liked traveling, visiting 60 countries, all 50 States in America and enjoyed 10 cruises with her beloved Benno. One of her most memorable trips was a visit to the Netherlands with the entire family in 2015, a wonderful memory that we will always remember.

To have known Klazina was to have loved Klazina. We are forever grateful for the time we had with her as she blessed our lives abundantly. We will always keep her in our hearts and know that she is watching over us.

A private family service remembering our treasured Klazina will be held Saturday, Feb. 27, 2021. We will be holding a celebration to honor Klazinas beautiful life with extended family and friends when restrictions are lifted.
Malcolm Noonan T.D., Minister of State for Heritage and Electoral Reform has announced that he has approved grant funding of just under 230,000 to 25 local community groups and organisations for a variety of peatlands related projects across Ireland.

Included in this is 20,000 to upgrade the existing wooden trackway at Killaun Bog looped walk. Offaly Senator Pippa Hackett welcomed the announcement.

She said: Our relationship with the bog is changing from one of extraction to one of protection and its wonderful to see local groups in the Midlands finding a new appreciation for this fundamental part of our heritage.

"Under the Peatlands Community Engagement Scheme, the Abbeyleix Bog Project volunteers are receiving 12,605 towards equipment and software to map 3,000 peat dams, while St. Brendans Community School in Offaly is to get 20,000 to upgrade the Killaun Bog looped walk. The Mountrath Scout Group are receiving 2,315 to run awareness and education days at Knockacoller Bog and toward wildlife cameras and drone surveys. I applaud the community groups who have applied for this funding and I look forward to seeing the results of their efforts.

Announcing the funding under the Peatlands Community Engagement Scheme, which has been operating for the last number of years, Minister Malcolm Noonan stated that he was delighted to see the diverse range of initiatives put forward by such active community and volunteer groups and environmental organisations. The Minister stated that the amount of high quality applications received for 2021 was impressive and he was delighted there was such a geographic spread  with projects in 15 counties set to benefit.

He said: The high volume and quality of applications to the Scheme shows just how much communities care about and value their local peatlands, and how much enthusiasm there is across the country for local people to work together to protect, explore and enjoy these precious habitats. These kinds of bottom-up initiatives are inspiring and Im proud to have the opportunity to support them.

This funding allocation - a two-fold increase on last years allocation to the scheme - will support various projects in local peatland areas from boardwalks, maintenance of bog trails, peatland restoration plans, information signage and way finder markers, the surveying of bog habitats and birds, promotional material and publications, oral history projects, invasive species control and peatland education programmes to nature awareness, wellness and sensory experiences.

The Minister went on to praise the important peatland work being done by communities and organisations; I know from my own experience that hands-on local action can have enormous positive impacts - not just for nature and biodiversity, but also for people in terms of physical and mental health and wellbeing. Investments in nature deliver enormous social value, which is especially important in these challenging times.

Projects to benefit include five in Roscommon, four in Galway, two in Westmeath and Laois and one apiece in counties Kildare, Offaly, Kerry, Clare, Cavan, Monaghan, Dublin, Carlow, Wicklow, Tipperary and Louth.
CAIRO - Despite the cold relations between Italy and Egypt due to the cases of Giulio Regeni and Patrick Zaki, and with all the economic difficulties of a private structure, an Italian-led art gallery in the heart of Cairo is continuing to pursue its long history of cultural mediation between the two shores of the Mediterranean.

The contemporary art gallery Mashrabia, founded in the Egyptian capital in the 1970s, has been led for about three decades by Italy's Stefania Angarano.

Its website recalls that "the gallery has undertaken a pioneering role in the promotion of plastic art through the presentation of non-Egyptian artists in Egypt and the promotion of young local talents both in the North African country and abroad".

"By breaking with the dominating artistic tradition, the predilection for innovative languages devoid of any decorative component as well as the originality and strength of artwork have always been the criteria for a rigorous choice of artists and their oeuvres", the website noted. "The constant promotion of affirmed artists and the search for new talents has permitted the creation of a permanent collection that is rich and diversified and of a service of artistic consulting both for private clients and for businesses".

"Mashrabia was mainly born from the desire to create a bridge between Europe, the West and Egypt", Angarano told ANSAmed. She arrived in Cairo in 1990 with a scholarship in Arabic studies, with a degree in aesthetics and work experience in art galleries in Italy.

The only gallery that can be described as 'Italian' in Cairo, Mashrabia deals with a very conservative public of collectors that buys few works of art by youths and tries to find the work of already consolidated artists, the gallerist noted.

The works on display in her gallery, which is located close to the iconic Tahrir square, are paintings, new media, installations and sculptures", or "nearly all the aspects of the contemporary", said Angarano, admitting however that she loves paintings in particular.

Despite bureaucratic and economic obstacles, Mashrabia has worked with passion to promote cultural exchanges, inviting to exhibit in Cairo artists from Italy - like sculptor Marco Magrini - from the rest of Europe, from Iraq, Syria and Morocco.

The gallery has also presented for the first time in 2015 Egyptian artists at the Bologna Art Fair, which was also a success in terms of sales, said Angarano. Since then Mashrabia has participated several times in the Beirut Art Fair and the 1:54 African Art Fair in London and Marrakesh, with a new selection of artists.

A memorable exhibit in Cairo was Invisible Presence: Looking at the Body in Contemporary Egyptian Art organized by Angarano in 2009 at the complex Samaa Khana, renovated by another Italian, professor Giuseppe Fanfoni, with installations, videos and performances held in the wooden theater by rotating dervishes.

The cultural mediation of the Milanese gallerist also extends to books through the publishing house "Beba Editions" which she has founded. It has translated into Arabic prominent contemporary writers like Valeria Parrella, Francesco Piccolo, Gianrico Carofiglio, Niccolo Ammaniti and many others.

LAKELAND, Fla. -- At full attendance, the Detroit Tigers will have 72 players: 40 on the roster, 19 non-roster invitees and 13 mini-campers.

But it might be a while before they reach full strength.

Tigers manager A.J. Hinch said at least six position players will be absent for Mondays practice, the first full-squad workout and the first session open to the media.

Outfielders Nomar Mazara and Victor Reyes and infielders Jonathan Schoop, Isaac Paredes, Renato Nunez and Aderlin Rodriguez will be arriving late due to visa or travel issues, Hinch said.

Nunez and Reyes are from Venezuela; Mazara and Rodriguez are Dominican; Paredes is from Mexico; and Schoop is from Curacao.

Hinch said it might be five to seven days before the players are cleared to enter, which would make it all but impossible for them to be ready to play for the Grapefruit League opener on Feb. 28.

On the pitcher side, Franklin Perez is now on the field after missing the first few days due to administrative delays in the medical intake process.

Jose Urena and Gregory Soto are now in the United States and completing the intake process. Gerson Morenos arrival is pending.

It should also be noted that the signing of pitcher Julio Teheran hasnt even been announced yet; its unclear when the Colombian will arrive in camp.

In a perfect world, Id love to have them all here on my first day having a full squad, Hinch said. But a lot of these guys Im not remotely concerned about at all about being ready. These guys will be ready to go. But I cant wait to get the whole camp here.
The continuing closure of car showrooms until at least mid-April is deeply disappointing, an automotive industry body has said.

Prime Minister Boris Johnson announced on Monday that non-essential retail venues in England will not be allowed to welcome customers until April 12 at the earliest.

Mike Hawes, chief executive of the Society of Motor Manufacturers and Traders, said the industry understands that the priority must be to get the virus under control.

But he added: Nevertheless, the fact that retail showrooms must remain closed until April at least is deeply disappointing given these facilities are Covid-secure, large premises with low footfall and able to operate on an appointment-only basis.

Whilst click and collect can continue, this does not replace the showroom experience on which so many retail customers depend, especially in the all-important March plate change month that represents one in five of annual new car registrations.

Unfortunately, the continuing decline in retail business will translate into reduced production volumes as well as giving rise to other operational issues.

We look to Government to work with the sector to provide ongoing support and clarity so the industry can plan its reopening and recovery.

The UKs automotive industry has suffered its weakest start to a year since 1970, with demand for new cars down by 40% last month compared to January 2020.
Strokes are a leading cause of poor quality of life or even death in Japan and the world over. Since its characterization, several researchers have been working tooth and nail to identify drug-accessible and effective therapeutic targets for this debilitating condition. One such region of interest for drug targets is the blood-brain barrier (BBB).

The BBB is a structure located around the brain, which prevents the entry of unnecessary circulating cells and biomolecules into the brain. The blood vessels in the BBB are coated with a distinct and protective layer of sugar, called the endothelial glycocalyx, which prevents their entry. However, in the event of a stroke, which results in the blockage or severance of blood vessels in the brain, studies have shown that this glycocalyx and, in turn, the integrity of the BBB, get compromised. In addition, damage to the blood vessels leads to neuronal death and the build-up of toxic byproducts like acrolein.

A group of researchers from Japan and the United States wanted to explore how the degradation of the glycocalyx takes place during an ischemic stroke. Junior Associate Professor Kyohei Higashi from Tokyo University of Science, one of the researchers, explains the motivation behind the research, "When brain tissue becomes necrotic due to ischemia, the function of the BBB is disrupted and immune cells infiltrate the brain, exacerbating inflammation, but the details of this process are still unclear." For the first time, as detailed by the study published in Journal of Biological Chemistry, the group of scientists, led by Dr. Higashi, have identified a possible mechanism that links acrolein accumulation to glycocalyx modifications, which results in damage to the BBB. The team, also comprising Naoshi Dohmae and Takehiro Suzuki from RIKEN Center for Sustainable Resource Science, Toshihiko Toida from Chiba University, Kazuei Igarashi from Amine Pharma Research Institute, Robert J. Linhardt from Rensselaer Polytechnic Institute, and Tomomi Furihata from Tokyo University of Pharmacy and Life Sciences, used mouse models of stroke as well as in vitro ("in the lab") experiments using cerebral capillary endothelial cells to accurately study the mechanisms behind the breakdown of the BBB.

The researchers initially identified that the major sugars in the glycocalyx, heparan sulphate and chondroitin sulfate, showed decreased levels in the 'hyperacute phase' after a stroke. They also found the increased activity of glycocalyx-degrading enzymes like hyaluronidase 1 and heparanase. Upon further in vitro investigation using cell lines, they found that acrolein exposure led to the activation of the precursor of heparanase (proHPSE). Specifically, they found that the acrolein modified specific amino acids on the structure of proHPSE, activating it. They concluded that this mechanism possibly led to the degradation of the glycocalyx, and the subsequent disruption of the BBB.

The team's discovery is critical, as the acrolein-modified proHPSE could be a novel and potentially effective drug target for post-stroke inflammation. As Dr. Higashi, who is also the corresponding author of the study, speculates, "Because proHPSE, but not HPSE, localizes outside cells by binding with heparan sulfate proteoglycans, acrolein-modified proHPSE represents a promising target to protect the endothelial glycocalyx."

Indeed, we hope that the further investigation of this mechanism would lead us to therapies that are more effective in tackling stroke-related illnesses!

###

About The Tokyo University of Science

Tokyo University of Science (TUS) is a well-known and respected university, and the largest science-specialized private research university in Japan, with four campuses in central Tokyo and its suburbs and in Hokkaido. Established in 1881, the university has continually contributed to Japan's development in science through inculcating the love for science in researchers, technicians, and educators.

With a mission of "Creating science and technology for the harmonious development of nature, human beings, and society", TUS has undertaken a wide range of research from basic to applied science. TUS has embraced a multidisciplinary approach to research and undertaken intensive study in some of today's most vital fields. TUS is a meritocracy where the best in science is recognized and nurtured. It is the only private university in Japan that has produced a Nobel Prize winner and the only private university in Asia to produce Nobel Prize winners within the natural sciences field.

Website: https:/ / www. tus. ac. jp/ en/ mediarelations/

About Dr. Kyohei Higashi

Dr. Kyohei Higashi is a Junior Associate Professor at Tokyo University of Science, Japan. His areas of research interest include the physiological function of polyamines, acute cerebral infarction, and structures of glycosaminoglycans derived from biological samples.

Funding information

This study was supported by a Grant-in-Aid for Scientific Research (C) (15K08068) from the Japan Society for the Promotion of Science, the Research Foundation for Pharmaceutical Sciences, and the Chiba Foundation for Health Promotion and Disease prevention, to Junior Associate Professor Kyohei Higashi. In addition, this study was supported by the Smoking Research Foundation, to Professor Toshihiko Toida.


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An undated photo of Italy's ambassador to the Democratic Republic of Congo, Luca Attanasio, who was killed in an attack on a UN convoy, Feb. 22 / AFP-Yonhap



Italy's ambassador to the Democratic Republic of Congo and two other people were killed on Monday in an attack on a United Nations convoy in eastern Congo, Italy's foreign ministry and park authorities said.



The convoy was attacked at around 10:15 a.m. (local time) during an attempted kidnap by assailants near the town of Kanyamahoro, a few kilometers north of the regional capital Goma, the Virunga National Park told Reuters.



The Italian ambassador, Luca Attanasio, and a military policeman travelling with him were killed, the Italian foreign ministry said in a statement.



The park had said earlier that two people in the convoy had been killed and the ambassador wounded. The third person killed was a driver, diplomatic sources said.



It was not immediately clear who was behind the attack. There was no immediate claim of responsibility.



"It is with deep sorrow that the Foreign Ministry confirms the death today in Goma of the Italian Ambassador to the Democratic Republic of Congo, Luca Attanasio, and of a policemen from the Carabinieri," the foreign ministry statement said.



"The ambassador and the soldier were travelling in a car in a convoy of MONUSCO, the United Nations Organization Stabilization Mission in the Democratic Republic of Congo," it said.



According to the ministry website, Attanasio had been Italy's head of mission in Kinshasa since 2017 and was made ambassador in 2019.



Dozens of armed groups operate in and around Virunga, which lies along Congo's borders with Rwanda and Uganda. Park rangers have been repeatedly attacked, including six who were killed in an ambush last month. (Reuters)


A fundamental flaw in the freewheeling Texas electricity market left millions powerless and freezing in the dark this week during a historic cold snap.

The core problem: Power providers can reap rewards by supplying electricity to Texas customers, but they arent required to do it and face no penalties for failing to deliver during a lengthy emergency.

That led to the fiasco that left millions of people in the nations second-most-populous state without power for days. A severe storm paralyzed almost every energy source, from power plants to wind turbines, because their owners hadnt made the investments needed to produce electricity in subfreezing temperatures.

While power providers collectively failed, the companies themselves didnt break any rules. Texas officials dont require plant owners to prepare for the worst by spending extra money to ensure they can continue operating through severe cold or heat. The high prices operators can reap from such periods of peak demand were supposed to be incentive enough for them to invest in safeguarding their equipment from severe weather.

Bill Magness, chief executive of the Electric Reliability Council of Texas, or Ercot, which operates the states power grid, explained during a Thursday news conference how the system was supposed to work: High peak prices provide the incentive for producers to keep operating in all weather. Generators that cant produce power when it is most needed risk missing out on windfalls. Theyll face financial consequences in the marketplace," he said.

Texas Gov. Greg Abbott, facing a political uproar as the state of 29 million people virtually ground to a halt, tacitly acknowledged in a statewide address Thursday that these market incentives werent sufficient. He called upon legislators to mandate that power generators prepare for extreme winter storms. The state, he said, should also supply the funding to make it happen.

What happened this week to our fellow Texans is absolutely unacceptable and can never be replicated again," he said. His office didnt respond to requests for comment.

The system broke down this week when 185 generating units, including gas and coal-fired power plants, tripped offline during the brunt of the storm. Wind turbines in West Texas froze as well, and a nuclear unit near the Gulf of Mexico went down for more than 48 hours. Another problem emerged: Some power plants lost their pipeline supply of gas and couldnt generate electricity even if they wanted to capture the high prices.

Such mechanical problems might have been avoided if operators had chosen to equip their plants like those that operate in traditional cold-weather states.

It was a policy failure that state and federal officials are already scrutinizing as electricity, a public necessity as critical as water and heat, becomes even more important as more vital functions become electrified.

Nationwide, the grid is evolving to support more renewable energy and the emerging demand for power for electric vehicles. That makes balancing supply and demand more complex. Many climate scientists expect an increase in extreme weather events, which would further test the systems vulnerabilities.

The U.S. is becoming more reliant than ever on electricity, but has no perfect model for running a power market in the 21st century. Before this weeks meltdown, the Texas market had been widely regarded as one of the best. Now, most everyone agrees that major changesincluding more regulatory interventionwill be needed to keep it working.

The Ercot breakdown affected millions of Texans, many of whom resorted to desperate measures to stay warm. The outages shut down hundreds of stores and businesses, limiting supplies of food and water. Cities including Austin, Houston and San Antonio are under boil-water notices until Monday after a wave of burst water pipes caused shortages.

While Texas is now the most prominent U.S. power market failure, others have faced serious challenges in recent years. Californias grid operator last summer resorted to rolling blackouts when a severe heat wave swept the West, reducing the states ability to import power and pushing demand into the evening hours after solar production declined.

Energy markets have moved away from the monopoly-style power-delivery systems that once were common. The current system has roots in the 1990s and early 2000s, when fossil fuels supplied the majority of the nations electricity and extreme weather risks were more predictable.

The premises of that paradigm have changed," said Bernard McNamee, a former Federal Energy Regulatory Commission member who is now a partner at law firm McGuireWoods LLP. Renewable-energy sources cannot be turned on and off like a power plant, making it harder to ensure sufficient supply at any one time. Thats why public policy makers and electricity officials need to address some of the shortcomings."

William Hogan, an energy economist at Harvard University who helped design the Texas market, said this weeks blackouts werent indicative of a major design flaw, but rather inevitable imperfections stemming from extraordinary weather challenges.

I dont know of any market design that exists anywhere that would have anticipated and have been prepared for something of this scope and scale," he said.

The Texas power grid is essentially an electrical island. That is by design. Because it doesnt ship power across state lines, the grid doesnt fall under federal oversight, a status state leaders have sought to preserve for decades.

Ercot runs the hourly market to set power prices and ensure sufficient generation. It is regulated by the Texas Public Utility Commission, a three-member body appointed by the governor and overseen by the state legislature. Ercot, the grid operator, is required to maintain a balance between electricity supply and demand, but has no regulatory authority.

Some critics of the states system say the alphabet soup of Texas energy oversight bodies, which includes other agencies regulating oil and natural gas, resulted in inaction.

The real factor is not anticipating what needed to be done to the infrastructure," said Texas Rep. Donna Howard, a Democrat from Austin. That had to do with a failure of multiple agencies to address how things work together in a deregulated market."

Texas has long prided itself on its wholesale power market. It was born from a legislative effort in the 1990s that broke up the states utility monopolies, introducing competition among a larger universe of power generators and retail electricity providers.

The result was a laissez-faire market design that rewards those who can sell power inexpensively and still recover their capital costs. That keeps prices low when demand is steady. When demand spikes, however, so do prices, which can climb as high as $9,000 per megawatt-hour to incentivize power plants of all kinds to fire up.

If an electricity producer agrees to supply power into the market and then fails to deliver, the producer has to pay for the cost of replacing it. But if a plant trips offline and stays out of the market for an extended period, as happened this week, there is no penalty besides lost revenue.

Electricity supply crunches tend to occur during extreme temperature swings, when customers crank up their heat or air conditioning. That makes it critical for power plants to be able to function in severe weather.

In Texas, the system has largely worked during the sweltering summer months, when air conditioners are blasting. But it hasnt always worked in winter because the equipment remains vulnerable to less-common cold snaps.

In February 2011, a severe winter storm barreled through Texas and knocked out nearly 200 power plants, many of which ran on coal. Ercot called for rolling blackouts that affected millions of Texans for about eight hours. In 2014, another January cold snap forced power plants offline. The emergencyand rolling blackoutslasted for about four hours.

Ercot devised a set of best practices for power-plant owners to prepare for the possibility of extreme cold. But the guidelines remain suggestions. The grid operator has no authority to mandate them, although it does do some spot checks. The state utility commission doesnt even employ inspectors to visit the plants and check on whether they are winterized.

Mr. Magness, Ercots chief executive, said that regulatory authority falls in part to the North American Electric Reliability Corporation, a nonprofit overseen by the Federal Energy Regulatory Commission that develops standards for utilities and power producers. The organization last year began drafting requirements for power-plant owners to prepare for polar vortexes, but hasnt completed them.

Steve Wolens, a former Democratic state representative who helped lead the effort to deregulate the Texas power system, said lawmakers are responsible for stepping in to fix any problems emerging in the market they created.

Their duty is to find out why it happened and keep it from happening again, and ensure that Texas is prepared for future growth, which means enormous demands for electricity," he said.

Within the competitive Texas power market, there is a strong incentive for generators to keep costs down to recoup their investments. The rapid buildout of wind and solar power, which are now among the cheapest sources of electricity, have pushed prices even lower in recent years, making it more difficult for gas and coal plants to compete.

For plant owners, that presents a paradox: Should they add to their capital costs by preparing for severe cold snaps that occur only occasionally, or skip the preparation and risk tripping offline, missing out on high prices and exacerbating a potential supply shortage?

With everything there is a trade-off," said Ari Peskoe, director of the Electricity Law Initiative at Harvard Law School. More resilience is potentially more expensive, but electricity is an essential service. These are hard decisions."

Texas deregulated its power market at a time when policy makers across the country were considering ways to reduce electricity costs by modernizing the utility model. For most of the 20th century, utilities were vertically integrated, controlling every aspect of electricity supply from generation to delivery.

That remains the model through much of the Southeast, where utilities remain responsible for grid reliability. State regulators oversee their investments in power plants and grid improvements and allow them to recoup costs through customers. That has sometimes resulted in cost overruns that drive up the price of electricity.

Other market designs have emerged elsewhere. PJM Interconnection, an electricity market serving 13 states from Virginia to Illinois, runs a capacity market" meant to ensure enough power is available to meet peak demand three years in the future. It is an insurance policy against uncertainty and extremes. Power producers who promise to show up are paid for that commitment, and penalized if they fail to deliver.

Critics of that model say it is more expensive than others because it pays for power that might never be needed. And PJM has fewer wind and solar farms in its territory than some other markets, making it easier to contract for resources that can fire up on demand. Gas plants can start up on demand, but wind and solar production depends on weather, time of day and storage.

Texas has what is known as an energy only" market. Producers are paid only for the power they generate. If they were paid to be on standby for all weather conditions, that would encourage investments to ensure they are ready to go, electricity-market veterans say.

Regardless of the model, all power markets face a common challenge: how to prepare for the possibility of extreme events that are statistically unlikely and difficult to predict.

This weeks Texas breakdown began Sunday night when a powerful winter front began to move over the entire state, plunging temperatures well below 20 degrees in a state where many homes and businesses arent insulated for extreme cold.

Residents blasted the heat. Electricity demand topped 69 gigawatts, a winter record, Ercot said. For the grid operator, the paramount objective was to keep supply and demand in line. A major imbalance could damage critical pieces of equipment and cause the grid to be inoperable for weeks.

In rapid succession, power plants tripped offline, many hobbled by frozen parts. Demand threatened to exceed supply. At 1:25 a.m. on Monday, the grid operator called on the states electricity providers to begin rolling blackouts to reduce strain on the grid.

Around 5:30 a.m., one of the two units of the South Texas Project, a nuclear-power plant near the Gulf of Mexico, shut down. The units water supply froze, causing two pumps to fail, according to Nuclear Regulatory Commission officials and the plants operator. The pumps delivered water that is turned into steam and used to generate electricity.

More plants followed, paralyzed by subfreezing temperatures. Natural gas pipelines froze at the wellheads, reducing the amount of fuel available to supply power plants. Wind turbines built for the heat of West Texas froze under coats of ice.

Ercot called for more outages, leaving millions of homes without power. Electricity providers typically rotate outages among customers so that no one is in the dark for too long. But they would soon prove unable to rotate and spread the pain.

Ercot ordered the electricity providers to shed as much as 14 gigawatts, enough to serve about 2.8 million households. The grid operator said that about 46 gigawatts of natural gas, coal and wind generation wasnt workingroughly 40% of what it had expected to be available.

On Thursday, companies began restoring power as Texas started to thaw, but millions remained without water because of frozen pipes and damaged municipal water systems. As residents began to assess the damage and search for provisions, the Texas Public Utilities Commission issued an order mandating that electricity providers do more to rotate future blackouts.

Electricity customers, the agency said, couldnt be without power for more than 12 hours. By that point, some Texans had been without light or heat for nearly 72 hours.

This story has been published from a wire agency feed without modifications to the text.

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COVID-Defying Nun Toasts 117th Birthday, Is Believed to Be Worlds Second-Oldest Person

How does one cram enough candles onto a birthday cake for one of the worlds oldest survivors of the CCP virus? With 117 candles, you cant.

A French nun who is believed to be the worlds second-oldest person celebrated her 117th birthday in style on Feb. 11, with multiple treats and well-wishes, cards, and flowers to fete her exceptional longevity through two world wars and a recent CCP virus infection.

Sister Andre also got a Mass in her honor and a feast with Champagne, red wine, and port. Then came a nap followed by more festivities, including an afternoon snack of baked Alaska, her favorite dessert.

Sister Andre, born Lucile Randon, waits for the birthday lunch in Toulon, southern France, Thursday, Feb. 11, 2021. (Sainte-Catherine Laboure care home/David Tavella via AP)

It made me very, very, very, very happy, the birthday girl said. Because I met all those I love and I thank the heavens for giving them to me. I thank God for the trouble they went to.

Sister Andres big day got rolling with a morning video call with her great-nephews and great-great nephews, followed by a Mass in her honor led by the local Catholic bishop, said David Tavella, the communications manager for the care home in the southern French city of Toulon where the nun lives.

Her birthday feast included a starter of foie gras, followed by capon with fragrant mushrooms. All of it washed down with red wine, because she drinks red wine. Its one of her secrets of longevity, Tavella told The Associated Press. There was also port and Champagne because 117 years have to be toasted, he said.

Sister Andre speaks on the phone in Toulon, southern France, Thursday, Feb. 11, 2021. (Sainte-Catherine Laboure care home/David Tavella via AP)

She skipped dessert because she was tired, but got it served to her later after a napwith three candles and the numerals 117 on top.

Packing on 117 candles would have been impossible.

We stopped trying a long time ago, Tavella said. Even if we made big cakes, Im not sure that she would have enough breath to blow them all out. You would need a fire extinguisher.

Sister Andres birth name is Lucile Randon. The Gerontology Research Group, which validates details of people thought to be 110 or older, lists her as the second-oldest known living person in the world, behind only a 118-year-old woman in Japan, Kane Tanaka.

Tavella told French media earlier that week that Sister Andre tested positive for the CCP virus in mid-January, but she had so few symptoms that she didnt even realize she was infected. Her survival made headlines both in France and beyond.

I didnt even realize I had it, she told French newspaper Var-Matin.

Lucile Randon folds her hands at mass at the chapel of the care home in Toulon, southern France, Thursday, Feb. 11, 2021. (Sainte-Catherine Laboure care home/David Tavella via AP)

When the whole world suddenly started talking about this story, I understood that Sister Andre was a bit like an Olympic flame on a round the world tour that people want to grab hold of, because we all need a bit of hope at the moment, Tavella said.

When Tavella talked to her about celebrating her next birthday in 2022, she replied: I wont be here next year, he quoted her as saying, adding: But she has been saying that for 10 years.

By strange coincidence, Tavella celebrated his 43rd birthday on Feb. 11 also.

We often joke that she and I were born on the same day, he said. I never tell myself that she is 117 because she is so easy to talk to, regardless of age. It is only when she talks about World War I as though she lived through it that I realize, Yes, she did live through it!

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It's safe to assume that Ted Cruz won't be in anyone's good graces any time soon  especially not in Texas.

The senator has managed to burn a lot of bridges over the years, but his seemingly spur-of-the-moment escape to Cancun as millions of Texans  and his rescue poodle Snowflake  sat in the cold and dark last week seems to be where both Republicans and Democrats draw the line.

ALAS: This Ted Cruz tweet is obviously too good to be true

Cruz has been a trending topic on social media since photos of him heading out of the country went viral on Feb. 17, and a recent statement just placed him in an even deeper hole.

The phrase "So I Went To Cancun" began trending late Sunday night after Vox reporter Aaron Rupar brought attention to a statement Cruz's office gave over the weekend to "Face The Nation" regarding his trip.

"Before the storms hit, Senator Cruz spoke with a meteorologist about the seriousness of the projected storms," according to the statement. "Senator Cruz connected the meteorologist to Governor Abbott, and warned Texans early on to take the storm seriously."

It didn't take long for people to call out Cruz for his "fake compassion," claiming he only handed out water and food in Texas as a way to make himself look better for a photo-op.

The memes and GIFs certainly didn't stop there.

Politico's Daniel Lippman reports that United Airlines is investigating how internal records of Cruz's amended travel plans ended up in the hands of journalists last week.
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Newly recruited JMPD officers have been given the command to breathe harder down the necks of criminals, as the City pushes through measures to revitalise its grand crime-fighting master plan.









The Executive Mayor, Cllr Geoff Makhubo says the #Joburg10Plus, a citywide crime-fighting strategy requires the JMPD alongside other law enforcement agencies to use tougher tactics to improve the efficiency of law enforcement as a deterrent to crime and grime.

The systematic multi-agency approach, which involves environmental health inspectors and members of the South African Police Service (SAPS), Community Policing Forums as well as Private Security companies is designed to increase police visibility across all quadrants of the municipality.

The aim is to stop all crime and improve the quality of life and personal safety of all people in Johannesburg, says Makhubo.

The ward-based law enforcement programme aims to improve compliance with the Citys by-laws and reduce actual incidences of violent crime by deploying at least 10 metro police officers as part of the rapid response unit to combat crime across all 130 wards in Johannesburg.





We have adopted the Growth and Development Strategy (GDS2040) to build a liveable, sustainable and resilient City. Our residents must be able to work and live in a safe environment, he explains.

Through the #Joburg10Plus initiative, Cllr Makhubo says all crime will be targeted, from felony crimes to bag snatching, pickpocketing, cellphone theft, smash-and-grab attacks, indecent assault, robbery and hijackings.

#Joburg10Plus also aims to address social issues, including the proliferation of liquor outlets and alcohol abuse, endemic poverty, the high concentration of illegal drug manufacturing plants, hijacked buildings and environmental conservation. Itll address traffic management, basic service delivery, crime prevention, by-law enforcement and engage in proactive policing through improved community relations.

The Executive Mayor concedes that Johannesburg has turned into a hub of criminal activity and this was worrying.

As the Government of Local Unity, we are duty-bound to defeat crime in our City, he says.

The revitalised #Joburg10Plus covers the Citys geographical space through increased police visibility, timely responses and decisiveness to reduce the fear of crime and encourage residents and visitors to utilise public spaces and other amenities.

Ward by Ward, we are reclaiming our City from criminals who are terrorising our communities, he adds.

The joint policing strategy is also tailored to address persistent urban management challenges, which lead to crime and grime and to improve the effectiveness of dealing with bylaw infringements by increasing police patrols.

An increase in police visibility in our wards is pivotal to the fight against the scourge of crime, he says.




Systematic Investment Plan (SIP) is immensely popular among mutual fund investors for its easy operation. Mutual fund experts believe that SIPs are the best way to invest periodically in the market. Under SIP, a fixed amount is deducted from a specified savings account every month towards a mutual fund chosen by the investors. It comes in handy to people who do not have a large sum of money to put in the lumpsum investment. There are various schemes which allow the investor to start a SIP with as low an amount as 500.

Here are a few easy steps in which you can start a SIP online:

1) To start a SIP you would just need your PAN card, an address proof, a passport size photograph and a cheque book.

2) It is mandatory to comply with the Know your Customer (KYC) requirements for investing in mutual funds.

3) Once your KYC is complete, you can visit the website of the fund house and choose the SIP of your choice.

4) Look for 'Register Now' link to register a new account

5) An application form will pop up in which you need to fill in all the personal details and contact information. Submit the form.

6) Choose a username and password for transacting online.

7) Provide details of the bank account from which the SIP payments will be debited.

8) Just log in with your username and select the scheme you want to invest in.

9) Once the registration is complete and the fund house has sent a confirmation, the investment can start.

10) The SIPs usually start after a gap of 35-40 days.

Also Read | Turnout modest for second covid shot

Advantages of SIP

For those who have just entered the world of investment, SIP is one of the best options to put their money as it mitigates the risk of a potential market crash.

SIP is very convenient as it allows investors to put in smaller amounts every month without any hassle. In fact, one can also give Standing Instructions (SI) to the fund house for auto-debit from your bank account.

One big benefit of investing in the mutual fund via SIP is that your returns multiply by compounding interest. Which means you earn interest on the principal amount and the interest gained on that amount. Suppose you invest  1000 in a mutual fund at a 10% rate of return. After a year, interest earned would be  100. From the next year, youll earn interest on  1,100.

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Anzac Day dawn services and marches will return to Queensland on April 25 after traditions honouring the Diggers were disrupted because of COVID-19 restrictions last year.

Premier Annastacia Palaszczuk announced on Tuesday the services would go ahead as normal.

The city of Brisbane was a ghost town last year as ANZAC Day marches and services were cancelled. Credit:Tertius Pickard NEWS

In times of strife, Queenslanders do what it takes to protect each other, she wrote on Facebook.

Weve done it in wartime, and were doing it now through the global pandemic.
Beyond barbecues and ceremonies: Recognizing Memorial Day

For many, Memorial Day weekend is about gathering with family and grilling or attending a parade. Some find a more personal way to honor the holiday.

The work continues, Mr. Vance said in a statement.

In his own lengthy statement, Mr. Trump lashed out at the Supreme Courts decision and the investigation. He characterized the inquiry as a politically motivated attack by New York Democrats, calling it a continuation of the greatest political Witch Hunt in the history of our Country. He also falsely asserted, again, that he had won the 2020 election.

The Supreme Court never should have let this fishing expedition happen, but they did, Mr. Trump said. He added, For more than two years, New York City has been looking at almost every transaction Ive ever done, including seeking tax returns which were done by among the biggest and most prestigious law and accounting firms in the U.S.

Prosecutors in Manhattan now face a monumental task. Dozens of investigators and forensic accountants will have to sift through millions of pages of financial documents. Mr. Vance has brought in an outside consulting firm and a former federal prosecutor with significant experience in white-collar and organized crime cases to drill down into the arcana of commercial real estate and tax strategies.

The Supreme Courts order set in motion a series of events that could lead to the startling possibility of a criminal trial of a former U.S. president. At a minimum, the ruling wrests from Mr. Trump control of his most closely held financial records and the power to decide when, if ever, they would be made available for public inspection.

The courts ruling concerned a grand jury subpoena issued by Mr. Vances office in August 2019 and sent to Mr. Trumps accountants, Mazars USA. The firm has said it will comply with the final ruling of the courts, meaning that the grand jury should receive the documents in short order. On Monday, Mazars issued a statement saying it remains committed to fulfilling all of our professional and legal obligations.
A former Minister of Energy, Mr Boakye Agyarko, has dismissed allegations that he terminated an energy contract between the government and the Ghana Power Generation Company Limited (GPGC) which has resulted in a $137.9 million judgment debt.

He said it was the decision of Cabinet to terminate the Power Purchase Agreement and that the Electricity Company of Ghana and the Attorney Generals Department were instructed to negotiate the termination with the contracting party.



At about that time, I left office, he stated.



Reaction



Mr Agyarko was responding to accusations by the Minority that he (Agyarko) and other government officials should be blamed for causing a $137.9 million financial loss to the state.



He said after months of negotiations, the contracting party broke off and went to arbitration under the guise that the government was not negotiating in good faith.



This was on August 11, 2018. How does Agyarko become responsible after Cabinet has taken a decision on a matter, he asked.



Minority



At a press conference last Friday, the National Democratic Congress (NDC) Member of Parliament for Yapei-Kusawgu, Mr John Jinapor, accused the former minister of terminating an Emergency Power Agreement (EPA) between the government and the GPGC.



According to the minority, the government terminated the EPA against expert advice, which it said had resulted in what it described as an embarrassing ruling by the International Court of Arbitration (ICA).



The $134.35 million represents early termination payment claim, which itself is made up of $69.36 million as early termination fee, $58.49 million for mobilisation costs, $6.46 million as demobilisation cost and $32,448 as preservation and maintenance cost.



The tribunal also awarded $614,353.86 against the country as cost of the tribunal, and also awarded costs of $3 million against Ghana, being the legal fees expended by the GPGC during the arbitration.



The three-member arbitration tribunal delivered its decision on January 26, this year.



No appeal



According to the PCA Rules, awards are final and binding, there is no right of appeal and the awards are to be executed without delay.



In agreeing to arbitration under the PCA Rules, the parties undertake to carry out the awards without delay, the rules indicate.









Source: Graphiconline.com









Disclaimer : Opinions expressed here are those of the writers and do not reflect those of Peacefmonline.com. Peacefmonline.com accepts no responsibility legal or otherwise for their accuracy of content. Please report any inappropriate content to us, and we will evaluate it as a matter of priority.

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Source: Xinhua| 2021-02-22 15:35:44|Editor: huaxia

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LAGOS, Feb. 22 (Xinhua) -- Governor of Nigeria's central-north Niger State Abubakar Sani Bello said on Sunday that the state government has managed to secure the release of all the 53 passengers abducted by gunmen on Feb. 14 at village Kundu of the state.

The incident happened three days ahead of the widely known abduction of scores of students and staffers of the Government Science College in town Kagara of the Niger State.

Addressing journalists in Minna, the state capital, the governor said that the bus passengers were released after "a series of dialogue, consultations and hard work."

"Out of the 53 released abductees, 20 are women, 24 men and nine children," said Bello, adding that they will receive medical checkups and evaluation before reuniting with their families.

The governor also said that efforts are still ongoing to rescue the college students, who were kidnapped by a group of unidentified gunmen following an attack on the school Wednesday. Enditem
Elisank79/iStockBy PIERRE THOMAS, VICTOR ORDONEZ and ELIANA LARRAMENDIA, ABC News

(WASHINGTON) -- The first time Harry Dunn stepped inside the U.S. Capitol also happened to be his first day as a Capitol Police officer.



The rotunda  you just look up and it just goes up forever -- it's just an amazing architectural building, Officer Dunn told ABC News Chief Justice Correspondent Pierre Thomas. It's hard to not be in awe of it when you see it.



Dunn said the rotunda no longer resembled the room he once knew on Jan. 6, the day of the siege on the Capitol.



This time you look up, it's just a cloud of smoke, fire extinguishers have been going off, Dunn recalled walking into the room soon after fighting off a mob of angry rioters. The floors are covered in white dust, water bottles, broken flagpoles, mask, empty canisters of pepper spray, helmets, Trump flags, everything in the rotunda, just laying there on the floor.



Dunn recalls gasping for air through the pepper spray and bear mace, blood on his knuckles and the relentless noises from the rioters. He soon found himself in tears, being consoled by a fellow officer who asked him what had happened amidst the chaos.



"I got called a [N-word] a couple dozen times today protecting this building, Dunn recalled telling his colleague. Is this America? They beat police officers with Blue Lives Matter flags. They fought us, they had Confederate flags in the U.S. Capitol.



Dunn is a 13-year veteran in the U.S. Capitol Police Department. Speaking only for himself and not the department, Dunn is the first U.S. Capitol Police officer to speak publicly about the events of Jan. 6.



The exclusive interview will air Monday morning on ABC News' Good Morning America and next Tuesday at 10 p.m. ET on a new ABC News primetime magazine called Soul of a Nation, a series that examines the Black lived experience in America.



During former President Donald Trump's second impeachment hearing, Rep. Jamie Raskin, D-Md., quoted Dunn from a Buzzfeed article, in which Dunn shared his story anonymously a few days after the insurrection.



Is this America? said Rep. Raskin, echoing Dunns words on the Senate floor.



It took me back to a dark place because I didn't say it for a catchphrase -- I wasn't trying to create a slogan, said Dunn. I struggle should I be proud? No, not at all.



Dunn does not know if his words were effective during the trial, but he wishes they did not have to be said at all.



Those were my feelings and that was my truth -- it wasn't a proud moment. It took me back to a dark place," he said.



Dunn does not mince words when describing the pro-Trump rioters who stormed the Capitol.



They were terrorists, Dunn told ABC News. They tried to disrupt this country's democracy -- that was their goal... And you know what? Y'all failed because later that night, they went on and they certified the election.



Dunn praised his fellow officers, including officer Brian Sicknick, who died during the insurrection -- describing him as a brave and dedicated officer." Dunn also lent praise to officer Eugene Goodman, whose heroics were caught on camera that day.



There were dozens of Eugene Goodmans that day, said Dunn. Eugene got caught on camera and I'm not surprised that he did the right thing, the brave thing, the heroic thing -- there were so many Eugene Goodmans that weren't caught on camera that day.  and I'm proud to work with all of them.



The Capitol Police Department has fallen under scrutiny since the attack. Many are questioning whether there was a lack of preparedness and the actions taken, or not taken, from top management in the days and moments leading up to the Jan. 6 attack.



The Capitol Police Office of Professional Responsibility is investigating 35 Capitol Police officers for their actions on Jan. 6, according to a statement issued by the department. Six officers have been suspended with pay and Acting Chief Yogananda Pittman has directed that members of the department whose behavior is not in keeping with the Capitol Police rules of conduct will face appropriate discipline, the statement said.



Former Capitol Police Chief Steven Sund, Metropolitan Police Chief Robert Contee, former Senate Sergeant at Arms Michael Stenger and former House Sergeant at Arms Paul Irving are expected to appear before a Senate hearing in what will be the first public testimony on the Capitol breach to date.



Pittman is scheduled to appear before a House Appropriations Committee on Thursday.



Everybody wants to know what could have been done differently, because that shouldn't have happened, said Dunn. [Ill] wait for the investigation to be completed officially and not draw conclusions about something of this magnitude -- I'll just leave it at that.

Copyright  2021, ABC Audio. All rights reserved.
American Federation of Teachers president Randi Weingarten visits with striking Chicago teachers at Oscar DePriest Elementary School in Chicago on Oct. 22, 2019. (Scott Olson/Getty Images)

No Perfect Solution to Reopening Schools: Teachers Union Head

Randi Weingarten, the head of one of Americas largest teachers labor unions, says that there is no perfect solution for safely reopening schools for in-person teaching amid the CCP virus pandemic.

Theres no perfect solution, but frankly I think New York City has done a pretty good job in terms of showing the way, said Weingarten, president of the American Federation of Teachers, which represents some 1.7 million teachers, including 1 million for pre-K12.

Big school district, lots of issues in terms of old buildings, and we learned a lot from what New York City did in September and October, she told NBCs Meet the Press on Feb. 21.

During a CNN town hall in Milwaukee last week, President Joe Biden clarified that his aim is now to reopen the majority of K8 schools for in-person learning five days a week by the end of his first 100 days in office.

Theres a roadmap now, and so, you actually can follow that roadmap in terms of defining those risks, Weingarten said. And I think between the CDC guidance as well as the resources President Biden is trying to get in the $1.9 trillion package, we have the highway or the roadmap that allows us to reopen schools safely for in-person learning.

The president has listed a number of measures he believes must be taken in order to safely reopen schools for in-person learning, including smaller class sizes and wearing personal protection such as masks.

Teachers should also be prioritized even further for vaccinations against COVID-19, the disease caused by the CCP (Chinese Communist Party) virus, Biden said.

Bidens $1.9 trillion relief proposal includes a federal minimum wage increase, a round of $1,400 stimulus checks, and extended unemployment benefits. The president is asking Congress for nearly $130 billion for K12 schools in his relief bill to support schools in safely reopening.

It comes down to three things  the layered mitigation strategies, the testing, so you can actually see asymptomatic spread, and vaccine prioritization, Weingarten said. Not that every single teacher needs to be vaccinated before you open any schools, but you should align the vaccine prioritization with the reopening of schools.

Rochelle Walensky, director of the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) has said that more space for children, fewer children in classrooms, more nurses and staff, and screening are among some of the measures needed in schools in order to mitigate the spread of the CCP virus.

CDC officials earlier released a summary of recent studies that looked at the effect of school reopenings on transmission of COVID-19.

Research both inside and outside the United States shows little evidence that schools have contributed meaningfully to increased community transmission, they said.
McDonalds to Slash Executive Bonuses If They Dont Place More Minorities in Senior Leadership Roles

McDonalds announced it will slash executives bonuses if they dont place more minorities in the firms senior leadership roles.

Were implementing policies that hold our leaders directly accountable for making tangible progress on our [diversity, equity, and inclusion] goals, McDonalds stated in a Feb. 18 press release, titled Allyship through Accountability.

McDonalds added that it expects to increase representation of historically underrepresented groups in leadership roles (Senior Director and above) located in the U.S. to 35 percent and to increase representation of women in leadership roles globally (Senior Director and above) to 45 percent by the year 2025. The figures are currently 29 percent and 37 percent, respectively, the statement said.

And 15 percent of the senior executive vice presidents bonuses will be contingent on quantitative human capital management-related metrics, and theyll be judged with an inclusion index thats designed to measure their hiring practices and inclusivity, according to the Washington Examiner, citing the release.

In addition to the Companys financial performance, executives will be measured on their ability to champion our core values, improve representation within leadership roles for both women and historically underrepresented groups, and create a strong culture of inclusion within the Company, McDonalds stated.

McDonalds CEO Chris Kempczinski, on LinkedIn, echoed some of the press releases statements and wrote that we recognize these issues weigh heavily on our people and have heardloud and clearthat diversity, equity, and inclusion are priorities for our entire team, from our crews to our senior leaders.

Allyship, which is in the title of the McDonalds press release, is a term associated with critical race theory, a Marxist-inspired supposition that posits that people are defined as either oppressed or oppressors. McDonalds, along with a number of other large multinational corporations, pledged to donate to Black Lives Matter following George Floyds death and the resulting protests and riots last year. McDonalds and other large corporations largely didnt acknowledge the violence and riots sparked by the Black Lives Matter protests last year.

The release echoes sentiments that were included in a training held by Coca-Cola, according to photos released by a whistleblower last week, that calls on workers to be less white. The training was laden with critical race theory-inspired terminology. Be less oppressive, be less arrogant, be less certain, be less defensive, be less ignorant, be more humble, listen, believe, break with apathy, break with white solidarity are listed as ways to become less white, according to the training slides.

Coca-Cola issued a statement on its website appearing to distance itself from the content of the training.

The video and images attributed to a Coca-Cola training program are not part of the companys learning curriculum, reads a statement from the company titled Statement on The Coca-Cola Company Diversity, Equity & Inclusion Training.

The Epoch Times has reached out to McDonalds for comment.
In this episode:

As vaccines become more widely available, many pregnant people are being asked to decide whether they're ready to trust and receive a shot. For some, that decision could be the difference between life and death. False claims tying vaccines to infertility are driving doubts among women of childbearing age. Health officials worry their hesitation may affect efforts to reach immunization targets.

Read More

Biden and his aides work to ignore Trump - but it won't be easy

Should the rich pay for the pandemic? Argentina thinks so. Other countries are taking a look.

Deadly floods in India point to a looming climate emergency in the Himalayas

Subscribe to The Post Most newsletter for the most important and interesting stories from The Washington Post.

Syracuse, N.Y.  Todd Caputo, who bills himself in his frequent TV commercials as the used car king, has sold his three Syracuse-area used-car dealerships to Sonic Automotive Inc., one of the nations largest automotive retailers.

Caputos Cicero and Cortland dealerships are now part of the EchoPark Automotive network, a Sonic subsidiary that specializes in pre-owned vehicles that are no more than four years old. His Elbridge location, which opened early last year, was closed after its acquisition by Sonic and its employees transferred to the other two dealerships.

Terms of the sale were not disclosed.

Sun Chevrolet in Chittenango, Caputos only new-car dealership, was not included in the sale and is still owned by him.

Sonic said Caputo will be involved in a key role with the broader EchoPark business, but the company did not provide details about that role.

Since the day my father Joe Caputo opened Sun Auto Group in 1978, weve been providing value to our customers and there is no doubt in my mind that EchoPark Automotive is ahead of the curve, Caputo said in a statement Friday. We couldnt be happier to have the Used Car King brand join the EchoPark family as we both share the same goal -- to make our customers happy by offering them great cars at excellent prices.

In an email, he declined to comment further, citing the terms of the sale.

Sonic said all 38 Used Car King employees were retained and have become employees of EchoPark. An additional 25 people have been hired, and EchoPark is looking to fill another 12 positions immediately, the company said.

We anticipate additional hiring needs as the business matures into the second and third quarter of 2021 and beyond, said Dan King, general manager of EchoPark Automotive.

King said the Cicero location on Route 11 will serve as a retail hub store, where used cars will be lightly reconditioned before being sold in markets throughout the Northeast as EchoPark expands its footprint. Caputo demolished his dealership in Cicero in 2017 and built in its place a $9 million, 43,600-square-foot dealership that is bigger than many new-car dealerships.

Todd Caputo has sold his used-car dealerships, including this one in Cicero, to Sonic Automotive Inc.Rick Moriarty | rmoriarty@syracuse.com

Caputo is the third well-known local car dealers to sell a part of his portfolio in recent weeks, joining Billy Fuccillo and Bill and Jane Fox.

Sonic, a Fortune 500 company based in Charlotte, North Carolina, launched EchoPark in 2014. Its acquisition of Caputos used-car dealerships brings to 18 the number of EchoPark locations.

The company plans to expand its EchoPark footprint to 140 locations nationwide by 2025. They are expected to sell 575,000 vehicles annually and generate $14 billion in revenues by that time, Sonic said.

EchoParks dealerships -- the company calls them stores -- utilize a haggle-free pricing strategy in which vehicles are sold at what the company calls firm but fair market prices with zero hidden fees, eliminating the usual time-consuming, back-and-forth bargaining. Much of the sales process can be done online.

EchoParks brand promise is centered around offering below-market pricing, high vehicle quality and an extraordinary guest experience, said Sonic and EchoPark President Jeff Dyke.

Rick Moriarty covers business news and consumer issues. Got a tip, comment or story idea? Contact him anytime: Email | Twitter | Facebook | 315-470-3148
Queensland GPs are calling on the federal government to ensure they are properly resourced before the major rollout of the coronavirus vaccine.

The first people received doses of the Pfizer vaccine on Monday on the Gold Coast, with more rollouts in Brisbane and Cairns scheduled for later in the week.

Queenslands COVID-19 vaccine campaign was launched on the Gold Coast on Monday. Credit:Queensland Government

The first cohort to be vaccinated will be frontline health workers and staff of quarantine hotels, as well as staff and residents of aged-care facilities.

As supplies of the vaccine increase with the AstraZeneca vaccine being manufactured in Australia, more people will become eligible to receive the jab.
The United States will seek to strengthen and extend the agreement between world powers and Iran aimed at curbing its nuclear programme, Secretary of State Antony Blinken said on Monday. The UN nuclear watchdog said on Sunday it had struck a deal with Iran to cushion the blow of steps Tehran plans to take this week that include ending snap inspections, with both sides agreeing to keep "necessary" monitoring for up to three months. The announcement by International Atomic Energy Agency (IAEA) chief Rafael Grossi, made at Vienna airport after a weekend trip to Iran, ...
BERLIN (AP) - A 95-year-old former Nazi concentration camp guard deported from Tennessee has agreed to be questioned by German prosecutors as they re-examine whether there is enough evidence against him to bring charges, authorities said Monday.

Friedrich Karl Berger arrived Saturday in Frankfurt on a special flight from the U.S. after being ordered deported to his native Germany by a court in Memphis last year.

He was met by Hesse state police detectives at the airport and told them he would be willing to be questioned by investigators with a lawyer present, said Bernd Kolkmeier, spokesman for the Celle prosecutor's office, which is handling the case.

Organizing counsel and ensuring they are up to speed on the facts will take time, however, so the earliest such an interview would take place would be next month, Kolkmeier said.

A U.S. immigration judge ordered Berger deported a year ago after finding that his "willing service as an armed guard of prisoners at a concentration camp where persecution took place" constituted assistance in Nazi-sponsored persecution.

The court found that Berger, who had been living in the U.S. since 1959, had served at a camp in Meppen, Germany, near the border with the Netherlands, which was a subcamp of the larger Neuengamme concentration camp near Hamburg.

This 1959 photo released by the U.S. Department of Justice shows Friedrich Karl Berger. Authorities say the 95-year-old former Nazi concentration camp guard deported from Tennessee has agreed to be questioned by German prosecutors as they re-examine whether there is enough evidence against him to bring charges. Berger arrived Saturday, Feb. 20, 2021, in Frankfurt on a special flight from the U.S. after being ordered deported to his native Germany by a court in Memphis last year. (U.S. Department of Justice via AP)

It said during the winter of 1945, prisoners in Meppen were held in "atrocious" conditions and were exploited for outdoor forced labor, working "to the point of exhaustion and death."

Berger admitted to American investigators that he served in Meppen as a guard for a few weeks near the end of the war but said he did not observe any abuse or killings. The Memphis court found, however, that Berger had helped guard prisoners during a forced evacuation that took nearly two weeks and claimed the lives of 70 people.

Celle prosecutors shelved their initial investigation of him in December, however, saying they had been unable to refute his account. They're now having another look, with him back on German soil, Kolkmeier said.

"Nothing has changed except that he is now in Germany and we can talk with him," Kolkmeier said. "We can personally question him, which is naturally different than reading a transcript."

Kolkmeier would not say whether Berger still had family in Germany nor where he was residing.

Berger, who was born in 1925 in the tiny northern town of Bargen, was serving in the German Navy when he was assigned to guard prisoners in Meppen in 1945, according to the Neuengamme Memorial's website.

He served between Jan. 28, 1945 and April 4, 1945, as an auxiliary attached to the SS command of the camp, according to Celle prosecutors.

Berger is being investigated under a precedent established in 2011 with the conviction of former Ohio autoworker John Demjanjuk as an accessory to murder on allegations that he served as a guard at the Sobibor death camp in German-occupied Poland. Demjanjuk, who denied the allegations, died before his appeal could be heard.

German courts previously required prosecutors to justify charges by presenting evidence of a former guards participation in a specific killing, often a near-impossible task.

However, prosecutors successfully argued during Demjanjuks trial in Munich that helping a camp function by serving as a guard was enough to convict someone of accessory to murders committed there.

A federal court subsequently upheld the 2015 conviction of former Auschwitz guard Oskar Groening on the same reasoning.

Since the Demjanjuk conviction there have been a steady stream of new prosecutions and trials in Germany.

Earlier this month prosecutors charged a 100-year-old man on 3,518 counts of accessory to murder on allegations he served as a guard at the Sachsenhausen concentration camp outside Berlin, and a 95-year-old woman on 10,000 counts of accessory to murder on allegations she served as the secretary to the former SS commandant of the Stutthof camp.
Vijayalaxmi performed special rituals at the GHMC office before she took charge.  DC Image

Hyderabad: Mayor-elect Gadwal R. Vijayalaxmi and her deputy Mothe Srilatha Reddy assumed office amid fanfare and jubilation here on Monday. Covid19 protocols were breached as TRS leaders from across the state thronged the event.

The spirited event was held at the Mayors chambers in the Greater Hyderabad Municipal Corporation (GHMC) headquarters near Tank Bund.

Several senior leaders including home minister Mahmood Ali, minister Talsani Srinivas Yadav, MP K. Keshava Rao, MLC Prabhakar Rao and former mayor Bonthu Rammohan were present.

However, very few were seen wearing face masks and cared two hoots about social distancing and use of sanitizers even as the number of Covid19 cases saw a fresh increase in the state in recent days. Some leaders even breached the Model Code of Conduct (MCC) unmindful of the presence of the returning officer just 100 metres away.

The GHMC staff with strong political leanings made it a point to prominently place photographs of Chief Minister K. Chandrashekar Rao and Municipal Administration and Urban Development minister K.T. Rama Rao, in the backdrop.

Vijayalaxmi performed special rituals at the GHMC office before she took charge. A second-time corporator and daughter of TRS parliamentary party leader Keshava Rao, the 56-year-old Vijayalaxmi retained the Banjara Hills division in the GHMC polls on December 1 by defeating former BJP MLA Baddam Balreddys son Mahipal Reddy.

In the mayoral elections held on February 11, Vijayalaxmi and Srilatha Reddy, both TRS nominees, secured 100 votes (56 of TRS and 44 of MIM) and walked away with the Mayor and deputy Mayor posts.

The Mayor did not speak to the media after the event. Information was passed on that she would interact with them three days later, after acquainting herself with the problems of various wings of the GHMC.
Crossing guard Alva Mitchell came inside after her duties ended and said it felt great to be back. Shes been on the job for about 15 years, but said she didnt assist too many students Monday.
South Africa: William Hlakoane appointed Denel acting CEO

Denel has appointed William Hlakoane as the acting Group Chief Executive Officer, effective from today.

This comes after Talib Sadiks contract ended, the State-owned company announced on Monday.

Hlakoane, who is currently the Chief Operating Officer, is a mechanical engineer by trade, with an MBA from Milpark Business School.

His appointment allows for a seamless transition into the role. He has a wealth of experience in the manufacturing sector, backed by a solid career track record that adds value to Denel, the company said.

Denel has described him as an experienced executive in operations management with in-depth technical abilities, project management and business development.

Board chair, Monhla Hlahla, has since thanked the outgoing Sadik for the enormous value he has added over the years, especially in his acting period.

Hlahla has assured employees, suppliers, customers and all stakeholders that while the board is dealing with the difficult financial challenges facing Denel, the focus remains on the business turnaround towards sustainable growth and profitability.

The board welcomes Mr Hlakoane as the interim Group CEO and looks forward to working with him on a successful transformation of Denel, said Hlahla.

Meanwhile, the entity said the recruitment process of the permanent CEO is underway and the appointment will be communicated to all stakeholders in due course.  SAnews.gov.za

This story has been published on: 2021-02-22. To contact the author, please use the contact details within the article.
From Mupa: The word 'romantic' means 'novelistic', and it is no coincidence that Romantic music is often narrative or depictive in character, sometimes in a more concrete sense, and sometimes more abstractly.

This concert will present two Romantic works, along with a third one positioned on the boundary between Romanticism and Modernism, although with many Romantic features - along with a strong power to narrate and depict... Mussorgsky, Stravinsky and Dvorak constitute the offering at this concert, which will be conducted by the ensemble's first conductor, Guido Mancusi.



The performance will be broadcasted on Mupa's website and YouTube channel .



Date and time:

Saturday, 27 February, 7:30pm
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India stood up Chinas disruptive use of technology and my way or no way attitude: CDS

At military commander level talks, India-China agree to follow important consensus

India

oi-Vicky Nanjappa

New Delhi, Feb 22: India and China held the 10th round of military commander level talks on February 20.

The talks were held on the Chinese side of the Moldo/Chushul border meeting point. The two sides positively appraised the smooth completion of disengagement of frontline troops in the Pangong Lake area noting that it was a significant step forward that provided a good basis for resolution of other remaining issues along the LAC in Western Sector.

LAC disengagement: India, China to solve issues in steady and orderly manner

PM Modi: India can be one of the best in defence export | Oneindia News

They had candid and in-depth exchange of views on other issues along the LAC in the Western Sector. The two sides agreed to follow the important consensus of their state leaders, continue their communication and dialogue, stabilise and control the situation on the ground, push for a mutually acceptable resolution of the remaining issues in a steady and orderly manner, so as to jointly maintain peace and tranquillity in the border areas.

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Story first published: Monday, February 22, 2021, 8:16 [IST]
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WEST LAFAYETTE, Ind.  Purdue University's Presidential Lecture Series will return on Wednesday (Feb. 24) with a virtual discussion on "American Democracy: Where Do We Go From Here?" featuring former U.S. Speaker of the House Paul Ryan and former Sen. Heidi Heitkamp.

Purdue President Mitch Daniels will moderate an hourlong discussion among Ryan, Heitkamp and members of the Purdue University Political Discourse Club and other student political organizations. The discussion will be held at 6 p.m. ET via a livestream on Purdues YouTube channel. The event is free and open to the public, although registration here is recommended.

This event is conceived and co-sponsored by the Purdue University Political Discourse Club, a nonpartisan student organization that provides a platform for students to have civil political discussions.

Launched in 2014, the Presidential Lecture Series exposes Purdue students and the broader community to inspiring ideas, courageous leadership, and models of civic engagement and civil discourse.

We are fortunate to have these two admirable public servants join us for this important discussion, and I applaud the students of the Political Discourse Club for their partnership in fostering this type of civil discourse on our campus and a healthier political process overall, said Purdue President Mitch Daniels.

Ryan, as a representative from Wisconsin from 1999 to 2019, chaired two major House committees  the Ways and Means Committee and the Budget Committee -- and served as the 54th speaker of the House from 2015-2019. He was the 2012 Republican vice presidential nominee, running alongside Mitt Romney.

Today, Ryan is on the board of directors of Fox Corp. Hes also a guest lecturer in political science and economics at the University of Notre Dame. In 2019, he founded the American Idea Foundation to connect local community organizations to researchers and policymakers.

Heitkamp was a U.S. senator from North Dakota from 2013-2019. She had been the states attorney general from 1992 to 2000 and tax commissioner before that. In addition to Senate committee assignments in agriculture and banking, she sat on the Committee on Homeland Security and Governmental Affairs.

Heitkamp worked with former Sen. Joe Donnelly of Indiana in 2019 to launch One Country Project, an organization helping Democrats connect with rural voters. Heitkamp also is a visiting Pritzker Fellow at the University of Chicago Institute of Politics and a contributor to both ABC News and CNBC.

Receive invitations for future Presidential Lecture Series events by signing up online.

About Purdue University

Purdue University is a top public research institution developing practical solutions to todays toughest challenges. Ranked the No. 5 Most Innovative University in the United States by U.S. News & World Report, Purdue delivers world-changing research and out-of-this-world discovery. Committed to hands-on and online, real-world learning, Purdue offers a transformative education to all. Committed to affordability and accessibility, Purdue has frozen tuition and most fees at 2012-13 levels, enabling more students than ever to graduate debt-free. See how Purdue never stops in the persistent pursuit of the next giant leap at https://purdue.edu/.

Writer: Kelsey Lefever, kschnied@purdue.edu

Media contact: Matthew Oates, 765-586-7496 (cell), oatesw@purdue.edu, @mo_oates

Free vaccinations against COVID-19 guaranteed to all citizens of Ukraine; military doctors, JFO participants to be among the first to be vaccinated  President

President of Ukraine Volodymyr Zelensky notes that military doctors and members of the Joint Forces Operation (JFO) in eastern Ukraine will be among the first to be vaccinated with the COVID-19 vaccine, which is to arrive in Ukraine in the near future, the website of the head of state reported.

"According to the schedule of vaccine delivery, vaccination will be guaranteed to all citizens of Ukraine. It will be free of charge from the state. Military doctors and JFO participants are among the first to receive vaccinations along with doctors who are at the forefront of the fight against COVID-19, the elderly and other citizens from the risk group," Zelensky said during a traditional conference call.

At the same time, he noted that in the issue of vaccination, Ukraine adopts the experience of other countries.
BOLOGNA, FEB 22 - A woman thought to be around 50 was found dead in her home near Ferrara on Monday in a suspected murder, local sources said. Police at the scene at Bondeno said they thought she had been hit in the head with a blunt object. Carabinieri are still examining the scene. An autopsy has been ordered. (ANSA).
Ford Motor Company is issuing two safety recalls in North America.







 Ford Motor Company is issuing two safety recalls in North America.

Safety recall for select vehicles that may have had obsolete Takata service parts installed in collision and theft repairs after the Takata recall was completed

Ford identified that certain Takata airbag modules were not purged from service stock after the parts for the permanent service fix became available. Following extensive investigation and tracing, Ford could not account for some of the obsolete Takata service parts, indicating they may have been installed on vehicles as part of collision or theft repairs.

Ford is not aware of any reports of accident or injury related to this issue. This recall involves two distinct vehicle populations:

Population 1

Ford used dealer records to identify 1,117 vehicles with collision repairs that may have been done with an obsolete service part after the Takata recall was completed. This involves 1,067 vehicles in the U.S. and federal territories, 49 in Canada and one in Mexico.

The group comprises certain 2004-11 Ford Ranger, 2005-14 Ford Mustang, 2006 Ford GT, 2008-12 Ford Fusion, 2009-11 Mercury Milan, 2010-12 Lincoln MKZ, 2007-10 Ford Edge and 2007-10 Lincoln MKX vehicles.

Dealers will inspect the driver or passenger airbag inflator or module and replace, if necessary.

Population 2



Ford was unable to locate 45 single-stage inflators that are compatible with 2004-06 Ford Ranger vehicles. It is possible that these obsolete Takata service parts were installed for repairs after collision damage or theft.

This population involves 2004-06 Ford Ranger vehicles that had the Takata recall permanent repair performed before the service parts were purged, including 144,340 in the U.S. and federal territories, 8,762 in Canada and five in Mexico.

At the request of the U.S. National Highway Traffic Safety Administration, Ford is issuing a safety recall for all 153,107 of these vehicles, notifying owners that they can visit their dealer for an inspection and, if necessary, an airbag inflator replacement.

Customer notifications will begin the week of March 8. The Ford reference number for this recall is 21S05.





Safety recall for 1,666 Ford Bronco Sport vehicles

Affected 2021 Ford Bronco Sport vehicles were produced with rear suspension modules that may not be fully secured to the subframe. Rear suspension modules with loose or missing bolts may affect the vehicles stability, increasing risk of an accident, and may result in reduced rear impact crash performance, increasing the risk of injury.

This action affects 1,640 vehicles in the U.S. and federal territories, 24 in Canada and two in Mexico.

Ford is not aware of any accidents or injuries related to this condition.

Affected vehicles were built in Mexico at Hermosillo Stamping and Assembly Plant from July 22 to Nov. 24, 2020.

Dealers will confirm that the rear suspension bolts are secured properly and replace them, if necessary. The Ford reference number for this recall is 21S04.
Dave Gilliard, a strategist working on the recall, said high-dollar contributions in recent weeks have allowed the campaign to hire professionals to collect signatures on the streets, although most of the operation's work is still being done by mail. At this point, he's "very confident" the measure will qualify.

Gilliard said he thinks it's likely Democrats will try to manipulate the timing, but the campaign still projects the election would be held in late summer or early fall.

Could the recall be delayed until 2022?

Economy said he's concerned the Democrats will try to push the recall into 2022, but he said that type of "political stunt" won't sit well with voters.

That would theoretically be possible if Democrats who control the Legislature passed a law to move the state's June 2022 primary elections earlier in the year. State law allows recall elections to be consolidated with regularly scheduled elections if they would occur within 180 days of a scheduled election.

But delays in the federal census will likely block Democrats from moving up the primary. That's because the state must redraw its state and congressional districts in time for the 2022 elections.
Mitt Romney and Susan Collins, both moderate Republican senators, announced Monday they will vote against Neera Tandens nomination to run President Joe Bidens White House budget office.

The OMB needs steady, experienced, responsive leadership. I will vote against confirming Ms. Tanden, Collins, who represents Maine, released in a statement Monday morning.

A spokesperson for Romney released a statement Monday saying: "Senator Romney has been critical of extreme rhetoric from prior nominees, and this is consistent with that position. He believes its hard to return to comity and respect with a nominee who has issued a thousand mean tweets."

Tanden in a now-deleted tweet called Collins the worst and attacked her in another tweet for her questioning of Dr. Christine Blasey Ford during Supreme Court Justice Brett Kavanaughs confirmation hearing.

'Susan Collins' terrible treatment of Dr. Ford should haunt Collins the rest of her days,' Tanden tweeted during Kavanaughs confirmation hearings, when Blasey Ford raised allegations against him.

She also deleted a slew of other offensive tweets aimed at lawmakers from both parties.

The White House, however, is not backing down on Tandens nomination  instead bolstering support for her confirmation.

"Neera Tanden is an accomplished policy expert who would be an excellent Budget Director and we look forward to the committee votes this week and to continuing to work toward her confirmation through engagement with both parties," White House Press Secretary Jen Psaki said Monday.

Senator Joe Manchin, the most centric Democrat in the Senate, came out against Tanden on Friday, saying he would not vote to confirm the nominee to head the Office of Management and Budget after a series of harmful tweets came to light.

The decision by the West Virginia senator effectively sank Tandens chances of sailing to confirmation.

With a 50-50 split Senate, Manchin defecting means Democrats now need one Republican senator to cross the line. But they wont be able to count on Collins or Romney for that.

Moderate Republican Senators Susan Collins of Maine (left) and Mitt Romney of Utah (right) said Monday they will vote against confirming Neera Tanden  Joe Biden's pick to run the White House Office of Management and Budget

Tanden deleted more than 1,000 tweets with harsh messages for Republican lawmakers, including calling Collins 'the worst' in the midst of the contentious confirmation hearing for Supreme Court Justice Brett Kvanaugh

In a now-deleted tweet, Tanden attacked the Maine senator for her questioning of Kavanaught's accuser

Collins and Romney are two of the few Republican senators who occasionally voted with Democrats  most recently both voted in favor of Donald Trumps impeachment conviction.

No other Democrats have said if they plan to vote against Tandens nomination. Her best hope for a successful confirmation lies with gaining support from Senator Lisa Murkowski of Alaska, both moderate Republicans who also voted for Trumps conviction earlier this month.

Manchin and Collins are close. In 2020, the West Virginia senator endorsed Collins' reelection and they also worked together on the most recent COVID-19 relief package.

Manchin has also entertained moderates, including Collins, on 'Almost Heaven'  his houseboat docked in the Potomac.

In the 2020 election, the Senate became split down the middle giving any Democratic defector veto power over legislation they don't like and effectively making moderate Manchin the most influential lawmaker in the upper chamber.

The White House is sticking by Tanden despite revelations of her deleting a slew of tweets attacking Republican lawmakers. Biden does not plan to withdraw her nomination.

'Congress has to be able to trust the OMB director to make countless decisions in an impartial manner, carrying out the letter of the law and congressional intent,' Collins wrote in her statement denouncing Biden's pick. 'Neera Tanden has neither the experience nor the temperament to lead this critical agency. Her past actions have demonstrated exactly the kind of animosity that President Biden has pledged to transcend.'

'In addition, Ms. Tanden's decision to delete more than a thousand tweets in the days before her nomination was announced raises concerns about her commitment to transparency,' she continued.

'Should Congress need to review documents or actions taken by OMB, we must have confidence that the Director will be forthcoming.'

Collins and Romney's announcement came after centrist Democratic Senator Joe Manchin of West Virginia said on Friday he wouldn't support her nomination

Neera Tanden, President Joe Biden's nominee for Director of the OMB was revealed to delete harmful tweets upon news of her nomination

In announcing his opposition to Tanden's nomination, Manchin cited the 'toxic' impact of her tweets insulting fellow lawmakers.

It was the first major party defection of the Biden administration, although it notably came from a centrist lawmaker who voted with his party on convicting Trump of inciting the Capitol riot and plans to vote for Biden's $1.9 trillion coronavirus relief bill.

Tanden is Biden's choice to head the Office of Management and Budget, a policy post that touches on nearly every aspect of major policy.

Biden told reporters as he returned to Washington from a trip to Michigan Thursday he was not pulling her nomination.

'I think we are going to find the votes and get her confirmed,' he said.

Tanden has been criticized by Republicans over her past harsh comments on social media, such as calling Mitch McConnell, the party's leader in the Senate, 'Moscow Mitch' and saying 'vampires have more heart than (Senator) Ted Cruz.'

'I have carefully reviewed Neera Tanden's public statements and tweets that were personally directed towards my colleagues on both sides of the aisle from Senator Sanders to Senator McConnell and others,' Manchin said in a statement.

Tanden has tangled with Democratic socialist Vermont Senator Bernie Sanders, who chairs the Budget Committee

Tanden's comments have made adversaries on the right and the left

'I believe her overtly partisan statements will have a toxic and detrimental impact on the important working relationship between members of Congress and the next director of the Office of Management and Budget,' he said.

Many Democrats scoffed at such concerns, noting near-unanimous Republican support for former President Donald Trump, who was accused of inciting a deadly attack on the U.S. Capitol partly via inflammatory comments on Twitter and was known for blasting those he saw as opponents - particularly women - as 'nasty' or criminals who should be locked up.

Manchin cited Tanden's 'public statements and tweets' in his decision not to confirm.

If every Senate Democrat supported Tanden, she could have been confirmed without Republican votes since Democrats control 50 seats in the chamber and Vice President Kamala Harris can break a tie.

Tanden has a limited number of Republicans who might bail out her nomination. Just seven GOP senators voted to convict President Trump in his impeachment trial.

She already burned a bridge with Collins.

'I recognize the concern. I deeply regret and apologize for my language, and some of my past language,' Tanden said at her confirmation hearing.

When Biden picked Tanden, chief executive of the left-leaning Center for American Progress think tank in Washington, Republicans pointed to her past strong comments on Twitter, such as referring to Senate Republican Leader Mitch McConnell as 'Moscow Mitch' and saying 'vampires have more heart than (Senator) Ted Cruz.'

Tanden referred to GOP Sen. Mitch McConnell of Kentucky as 'Voldemort' in one tweet

Following reports that she regretted 1,000 tweets, Tanden said she did so 'because I regretted the tone.'

As OMB head she will interact with Senate Budget chair Vermont Sen. Bernie Sanders, who reminded her of their past at her hearing.

'Your attacks were not just made against Republicans. There were vicious attacks made against progressives, people who I have worked with, me personally,' he told her.

Sen. Lindsey Graham of South Carolina read one of them, which referenced the bitter 2016 nomination fight between Hillary Clinton and Sanders.

'Russia did a lot more to help Bernie than the DNC's random internal e-mails did to help Hillary,' Tanden wrote, siding with Clinton.

In addition to calling Cruz a vampire, she once referred to Senate Minority Leader Mitch McConnell 'Voldemort' from the Harry Potter series by JK Rowling.
We are still working with the vendor on our financial remedies but have issued the vendor a notice of default, as per our contract. The maximum amount of time our website can be down, per contract, is 72 hours, said Jennifer Maltas, Buffalo Grove deputy village manager. Due to our complete lack of confidence in the current vendor, staff evaluated a number of vendors  and have already signed a new contract with a company named Revize.
The Cisco Systems logo is displayed at the Mobile World Congress (MWC) in Barcelona, Spain on Feb. 25, 2019. (GABRIEL BOUYS/AFP via Getty Images)

Cisco Investigating Former Staff in China for Taking Part in Self-Enrichment Scheme

U.S. tech giant Cisco Systems is investigating its former employees in China for allegedly taking part in a self-enrichment scheme, the firm wrote in a recent filing to the SEC (Securities and Exchange Commission).

Some of those employees are also alleged to have made or directed payments from the funds they received to various third parties, including employees of state-owned enterprises, the filing stated.

Cisco Systems, a San Jose-headquartered company, entered the China market in 1994 and has about 4,000 employees, spanning sales, customer service, research and design, and manufacturing, according to Cisco Systems Chinas official website.

The company didnt provide details about the amount or the method that these former employees used to pay the Chinese firms.

We take such allegations very seriously and we are providing results of our investigation to the DOJ (Department of Justice) and SEC, the filing stated.

In an email, a Cisco spokesperson said that the firm could not elaborate beyond the details of the SEC filing due to the ongoing investigation.

In China, doing business often requires building guanxi, or social networks and relationships with influential people that can facilitate business and other dealings. That often includes developing guanxi with senior government officials and local powerful businesspeople.

The practice has facilitated the widespread phenomenon of bribery and graft. In recent years, the Chinese regime has sought to crack down on such corruption, with many Chinese officials being sacked or punished for bribery crimes.

In an ironic example, Liu Jianye was the former director of Maanshan citys anti-corruption bureau in eastern Chinas Anhui Province.

According to authorities official announcement, Lius wife was hired by a local businessman surnamed Chen, for a job that earned a high salary from 1996 to 1998. But she didnt do actual work. In exchange for giving his wife a lucrative job, Liu helped Chen to win contracts by launching anti-corruption investigations into Chens rivals.

Liu was sentenced to 10.5 years in prison on Dec. 31, 2020.
Advertisement

The Cecil Hotel is not known for giving its guests the most peaceful night's sleep.

Its 600 rooms in downtown Los Angeles have hosted two serial killers - as well as at least 16 grisly murders, mysterious deaths and suicides since it was built in the 1920s.

The building's notoriously gruesome past has inspired movies, plays, podcasts and even Netflix's new series, Crime Scene: The Vanishing at the Cecil Hotel, which premiered earlier this month and focused on the 2013 disappearance and death of 21-year-old Canadian college student Elisa Lam, whose naked body was found in the hotel's water tank.

But soon it may be possible to again book a room at one of America's most notorious hotels after luxury developers submitted fresh documents to the Los Angeles City Council as part of long-delayed plans to refurbish and re-ope - potentially by the end of this year.

Despite several years of delays and the arrival of the pandemic, new documents were filed in June, noting an application for an alcohol license for 299 in-room mini bars, a roof top bar and restaurant in the 14-story, 150,753sqft hotel.

Spooky subject: The Cecil Hotel in Los Angeles is the focus of Netflix's new true-crime series Crime Scene: The Vanishing at the Cecil Hotel

The Cecil, which was re-branded as Stay on Main in 2011, was bought for $30million in 2014 by New York-based developers, Simon Baron Development, which owns the Bowery, the Maritime, the Ludlow, and the Greenwich hotels in New York City.

In 2016 the company, which purchased a 99-year lease, announced a grand refurbishment of the hotel's 299 hotel rooms and 301 longer-term apartments, as reported by LA Curbed. The hotel closed in 2017.

After a lengthy delay the developers resurfaced again in 2019 with more detailed plans, including restoring some of the historical interiors of the hotel, which is a City of Los Angeles Historical Monument. At the time, the hotel said it would open in October 2021.

Then on June 24 last year, developers filed a further notice to be exempt from The California Environmental Quality Act (CEQA), in which they mentioned an application for a license for 'a full-line of alcoholic beverages...with 299 in-room mini-bars, ground floor restaurant, lobby bar and roof top bar with 349 indoor seats and 312 outdoor seats.'

It added: 'Hours of operation of the restaurant, lobby bar and roof top bar are from 6:00 a.m. to 2:00 a.m., daily.'

Simon Baron Development and the Los Angeles Planning Department didn't respond to multiple requests from DailyMail.com for additional comment or for any updates on the hotel's opening date.

The hotel was built in 1924 by William Banks Hanner, Robert H. Schops, and Charles L. Dix, costing $1.5 million to complete.

Its 600 rooms and marble lobby were designed with tourists and business travelers in mind, but it was only open a few years before the county was rocked by the Great Depression.

The blocks surrounding the Cecil Hotel became known as 'Skid Row' after an influx of homeless people inundated the area. The hotel became associated with transients, sex workers and criminals, but it was already plagued by untimely deaths.

Yikes: There have been at least 16 deaths at the Cecil Hotel since it opened in 1927

Haunted history: Six people reportedly committed suicide in the hotel in the 1930s alone, while a teen mom threw her newborn baby out of the window after giving birth in 1944

Murder: 'Pigeon' Goldie Osgood, a retired telephone operator, was found raped, strangled, and fatally stabbed at the Cecil Hotel in 1964

At least six people committed suicide in the hotel in the 1930s alone. Two ingested poison, one shot himself in the head, and others jumped from the building itself.

In July 1934, Army Medical Corps Sergeant Louis D. Borden was found dead in his room at age 53 after he slashed his throat with a razor.

The hotel's following decades boast an equally violent history, with a teenage mother throwing her newborn baby out her window in September 1944.

Questionable: Elizabeth Short, also known as the Black Dahlia, was allegedly spotted having a drink at the Cecil hotel days before her murder in 1947, though the claim remains heavily disputed

Dorothy Jean Purcell, 19, had no idea she was pregnant when she woke up with stomach pains while staying at the hotel with her boyfriend Ben Levine, 38.

She gave birth to a baby boy in the bathroom and threw the live infant out the window onto the roof of the building next door, thinking he was dead. She was charged with murder but was found not guilty by reason of insanity.

Elizabeth Short, also known as the Black Dahlia, was allegedly spotted having a drink at the Cecil Hotel days before her murder in 1947, though the claim remains heavily disputed.

The aspiring starlet's body was found beside a sidewalk in a vacant lot in a southern Los Angeles suburb. The 22-year-old had been viciously mutilated, with the trunk of her body completely severed, and a satanic smile cut into her face.

Short's gruesome murder case has never been solved.

Reputation: 'Throughout its history, the Hotel Cecil has always had a dark persona,' one woman explains in the trailer to the new Netflix series

Infamous guests: Serial killers Richard Ramirez, better known as 'The Night Stalker,' (left) and Jack Unterweger (right) lived in the hotel in 1985 and 1991, respectively

Chaos: Ramirez would reportedly dump his bloody clothes in the hotel's dumpster and walk through the lobby after murdering someone

Changes: The Cecil, which the series American Horror Story: Hotel is based on, was rebranded as the Stay on Main in 2011, though it's still often referred to as its original name

Nearly two decades later, 'Pigeon' Goldie Osgood, a retired telephone operator, was found murdered in her room at the Cecil Hotel on June 4, 1964.

Osgood, who earned her nickname by feeding the pigeons at nearby Pershing Square, was raped, strangled, and fatally stabbed to death. A suspect was found walking nearby in bloodstained clothes, but he was later cleared. The crime remains unsolved.

Focus: The show investigates the hotel's most recent mystery, the 2013 disappearance and death of Canadian college student Elisa Lam

Two of the hotel's most infamous guests were Richard Ramirez, better known as 'The Night Stalker,' and Austrian serial killer Jack Unterweger, who once called the Cecil home.

'Throughout its history, the Hotel Cecil has always had a dark persona,' one woman explains in the trailer to the new Netflix series.

'This is a place where serial killers let their hair down, like Richard Ramirez, who had come back covered in blood, and no one's got a problem with that.'

Ramirez killed 13 people in California in the mid-1980s, and he lived in a room on the hotel's 14th floor in 1985 before he was caught.

Richard Schave, who runs Esotouric bus tours in Los Angeles with his partner Kim Cooper, told CNN in 2013 that while Ramirez was staying at the Cecil, he was 'just dumping his bloody clothes in the dumpster at the end of his evening and going in the back entrance.'

Meanwhile, Unterweger was working as a journalist covering LA crime for an Austrian magazine when he checked into the hotel in 1991. He killed three sex workers in the city while staying there.

Vanished: The bulk of the trailer for Crime Scene focuses on Lam's disappearance and the puzzling CCTV footage of her last moments

Confusing: The 21-year-old was last seen in surveillance footage on February 1, 2013, behaving strangely in the hotel elevator, appearing to hide from someone or something

'We believe he was living at the Cecil in homage to Ramirez,' Schave said.

The Cecil, which the series American Horror Story: Hotel is based on, was rebranded as the Stay on Main in 2011, though it's still often referred to as its original name.

The bulk of the trailer for Crime Scene focuses on Lam's disappearance and the puzzling CCTV footage of her last moments.

She checked into the hotel on January 26, 2013, after traveling from British Columbia, Canada, where she was studying, on her way to Santa Cruz.

On January 31, Lam stopped using her phone. She was last seen in surveillance footage on February 1, behaving strangely in the hotel elevator, appearing to hide from someone or something.

Mystery: Lam's naked body was found float in the hotel's water tank on the roof on February 19, 2013, after hotel guests complained the water tasted and smelled bad

No clues: Lam's death was officially ruled accidental but how she died and the details leading up to it remain a mystery. Firefighters are pictured leaving the hotel after removing her body

Eerie: In the show's trailer, a former Cecil Hotel manager recalls being asked: 'Is there a room here that maybe somebody hasn't died in?' She admits: 'I never got used to that that'

'The last footage we have of her was inside the elevator,' one man explains in the trailer. 'That's where the case starts to go askew.'

Lam's naked body was found float in the hotel's water tank on the roof on February 19, 2013, after hotel guests complained the water tasted and smelled bad.

Police believe Lam, who was bipolar and had been staying at the hotel, had been there for two weeks by the time she was found.

No other information about her final movements  including how she got onto the roof and into the tank  has been confirmed. Lam's death was officially ruled accidental but how she died and the details leading up to it remain a mystery.

'Bad things keep happening here, over and over again,' someone says of the hotel towards the end of the trailer, while another adds: 'This hotel is hiding something.'
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Fauci says Americans could still need to wear face masks in 2022

America's highly regarded infectious disease expert Anthony Fauci has warned that US citizens might still need to wear masks a year from now. However, he predicted the US would return to a significant degree of normality by fall. I want it to keep going down to a baseline thats so low there is virtually no threat, Fauci said at a CNN programme, referring to the number of cases nationally that would make him comfortable enough to stop recommending universal masking. If you combine getting most of the people in the country vaccinated with getting the level of virus in the community very, very low, then I believe youre going to be able to say, for the most part, we dont necessarily have to wear masks. Read here

Let's look at the global statistics Global infections: 111,373,620 Global deaths: 2,466,444 Nations with most cases: US (28,134,143), India (11,005,850), Brazil (10,168,174), United Kingdom (4,127,574), Russia (4,117,992). Source: John Hopkins Coronavirus Research Center

Variants deliver fresh blow to Europes open borders

The pandemic has totally upended the European Union's fundamental idea of open borders. As new variants spread, more and more countries are closing their borders and restricting public movement. Germany and Belgium announced border curbs in view of the new strains and rising cases. The European Union sees free movement as a fundamental pillar of the continents deepening integration, but after a decade in which first terrorism and then the migration crisis tested that commitment, countries easy resort to border controls is placing it under new pressure. Read here

Geopolitics cloud Irans vaccination drive

Iran's vaccination programme is being questioned by many local experts and scientists even as it is pressing ahead with the incoulation for frontline and health workers. It is giving medical staff Russia's Sputnik V vaccine, which has an efficacy of about 91 per cent in preventing the disease. Iran refused to buy vaccines from Western nations including US and UK. Rather, it is relying on countries like India, China, Russia and WHO-led Covax initiative to get more shots and meet the domestic demand. With one of the highest death count in the middle-east region, the country's vaccine strategy has been met with severe backlash from experts and the public in general. To counter the narrative, Iran is also ramping up efforts to make home-grown vaccines. Read here

A pandemic of abuses, says UN head

United Nations (UN) chief Antonio Guterres expressed concern over the global crackdown on freedom and the rolling back of decades of progress in human rights, by using virus as a pretext. "The world is facing a pandemic of abuses," he said, adding that authoritarian regimes had imposed drastic curbs on rights and freedoms. "Abuses had thrived because poverty, discrimination, the destruction of our natural environment and other human rights failures have created enormous fragilities in our societies, he added. A recent report by Human Rights Watch found that at least 83 countries had used Covid-19 as a justification to attack free speech. Read here
(Natural News) Hundreds of migrants seeking asylum in the United Kingdom received the first dose of the coronavirus vaccine during a mass vaccination operation on Thursday, Feb. 11.

Some 320 migrants are currently staying at the four-star Crowne Plaza hotel near Heathrow Airport in London courtesy of the U.K. government while they await a decision on their asylum claims.

Only 80 of those who received a shot of the vaccine were over 70 years old, marking them a high priority as per government guidelines. The remaining 240 migrants were young and healthy, leading critics to believe that the local general practitioners who performed the vaccinations did so without informing health authorities.

Among those who were vaccinated was a young asylum seeker from Sudan named Abdul. He said he was so far pleased with his new life in the U.K. Showing the site of his injection, Abdul shared with the Daily Mail that he was vaccinated so he wouldnt catch the virus. There are 400 migrants living here and we nearly all had it, he added. No one I know refused [the vaccine.]

Abdul also said that none of them had to pay for the vaccine. They were simply told to queue up at the hotel for a shot. Two other migrants from Sudan aged 27 and 35 years said they were happy to have received the vaccine regardless of their age.

Migrants receive vaccine ahead of vulnerable groups

Unfortunately, asylum seekers staying at the Crowne Plaza may be completely unaware that they received their shots ahead of vulnerable groups. In a statement to the Daily Mail, one government spokesman said it was totally unacceptable for the healthy young migrants to be receiving vaccines contrary to guidelines.

The spokesman said the National Health Service (NHS) was taking action to ensure such an operation will not happen again. According to the NHS, it will prioritize giving the vaccine to people aged 65 years and over, people who are at a high risk of infection, people who work in care homes and healthcare workers.

The order in which people will be given the vaccine is based on advice from the governments Joint Committee on Vaccination and Immunisation (JCVI).

Peter Bone, the Tory Member of Parliament for Wellingborough, said the government has been clear on giving the coronavirus vaccine to those four priority groups first. My constituents will find it amazing if we are vaccinating asylum seekers before vulnerable people at greatest risk.

The Crowne Plaza is just one of many hotels in the U.K. housing migrants who came to the U.K. illegally either by lorry from Europe or by boat from the northern coast of Africa. (Related: Europeans no longer welcome in Germany due to coronavirus; only MIGRANTS allowed.)

Before the U.K. government designated the Crowne Plaza for migrant accommodation, it was a popular haunt of business people coming and going through Londons premier airport. During peak seasons, its rooms go up to 100 a night.

Being a four-star hotel, many of the asylum seekers staying at the Crowne Plaza have had no complaints. They report that the bedrooms are wonderful and that the complimentary English breakfast was very good.

One Sudanese man said he had a rough life in Calais, France until he decided to come to the U.K. by boat. The man said he was relieved when he was given a room at the hotel to stay in. Meanwhile, a woman from Eritrea said she had been trying to get into the country for seven years. She said she was grateful for the hospitality.

New arrivals to stay in a lower-grade hotel

The migrants staying at the Crowne Plaza, like the woman from Eritrea, can leave the hotel as they wish. They can even wander into nearby West Drayton and visit the food shops open.

This lenient, all-expense-paid stay at one of the countrys finest hotels is a far cry from what is awaiting British travelers flying into Heathrow Airport and four other airports from 33 countries included on the governments red list.

New arrivals will need to quarantine for 10 days at the three-star Ibis Styles London Heathrow East. They will be confined to their rooms and afforded short breaks outside for exercise or fresh air under the supervision of security guards. Their entire stay costs 1,750 per head, a rate set by the government.

Throughout their stay, new arrivals will receive airline-style food left outside their bedroom doors. They need to change their own sheets and towels as well to prevent possible transmission. Their stay does not come with complimentary vaccines either.

Recent guests said their rooms were nice and quiet while others said their beds were comfy. But one guest who recently stayed at the hotel said the rooms were cold and that the heater did not work. The guest, who wrote of the experience on a travel website, also said a complaint to the hotel staff resulted in nothing.

Go to Pandemic.news for more articles with updates on the coronavirus pandemic.

Sources include:

DailyMail.co.uk

NHS.uk
Workers in Tennessee raced Sunday to fix water mains that failed in freezing temperatures, and COVID-19 vaccine shipments resumed as the South carried on with efforts to recover from the winter weather that paralyzed parts of the nation.

In Texas, where millions of people endured days of bitter cold without power, officials urged President Joe Biden to visit as soon as possible.

Ten inches of snow fell in Memphis last week, followed by a sustained cold snap. With the forecast calling for temperatures to climb into the 50s, the city expected to see significant melting of the snow and ice that accumulated on streets, sidewalks and roofs. The storms also left more than 330,000 from Virginia to Louisiana without power.

At least 76 deaths have been attributed to the weather across the country. The Tennessee Department of Health on Saturday confirmed two weather-related fatalities in Sumner County, bringing the states current weather fatalities to 10.

Now the problem is not enough water.

Memphis remained under a boil advisory Sunday after officials said they were concerned that low water pressure caused by problems at aging pumping stations and a rash of water main ruptures could lead to contamination. Memphis, Light, Gas & Water has not said when it expects to lift the advisory, which has been in place since Thursday.

The utilitys president and CEO, J.T. Young, compared the situation to a hospital patient in critical condition.

We are in the red status, if you will, Young said Saturday.

About 260,000 homes and businesses were under the advisory. Hospitals and nursing homes switched to bottled water. The Tennessee National Guard was supplying St. Francis Hospital with water.

Nearby Baptist Memorial Hospital took on some of St. Francis patients, particularly those who need dialysis, said Dr. Jeff Wright, a pulmonary and critical care physician at Baptist. That hospital has a water purification system for dialysis and has water reserves for tasks such as cooking and bathing patients, he said.

City officials distributed water bottles at several locations Sunday. Grocery stores struggled to keep shelves stocked with bottled water. Many restaurants remained closed.

Flights resumed Saturday at Memphis International Airport after everything was grounded Friday because of water pressure problems. Some problems still lingered, but airport officials set up temporary restrooms.

Meanwhile in Kentucky and West Virginia, workers grappled with repairs to broken utility poles and downed lines.

About 37,000 customers in West Virginia were still without electricity Sunday, down from a peak of 97,000, according to Appalachian Power. The utility planned to use helicopters and drones Sunday to identify problems in remote areas. Some homes have been without power since back-to-back ice storms on Feb. 11 and Feb. 15.

The company has identified roughly 1,500 separate locations that need repairs and warned that while repairs are being made, the work remains difficult. In Wayne County, workers had to replace the same pole three times because trees kept falling on it.

About 30,000 customers remained without power Sunday in Kentucky, including more than 14,000 Kentucky Power customers in the states eastern reaches, according to poweroutage.us, a website that tracks outages.

Utility officials said some of their customers are still recovering from the recent paralyzing winter weather, particularly in Boyd, Carter and Lawrence counties. More than 2,000 Kentucky Power employees, foresters and assessors were working to get power restored.

Meanwhile, in middle Tennessee, power outages remained for approximately 3,300 residents as of Sunday.

Water issues plagued parts of Mississippi as well. In Jackson, most of the city of about 161,000 had no running water on Friday. Crews pumped water to refill city tanks but faced a shortage of chemicals for treatment because icy roads made it difficult for distributors to deliver them, Mayor Chokwe Antar Lumumba said.

He said the citys water mains are more than 100 years old and not built to handle the freezing weather that hit the city as multiple storms dumped record amounts of snow across the South.

We are dealing with an extreme challenge with getting more water through our distribution system, said Lumumba.

The city was providing water for flushing toilets and drinking, but residents had to pick it up, leaving the elderly and those living on icy roads vulnerable.

Meanwhile, the White House said about a third of the COVID-19 vaccine doses delayed by the storm were delivered over the weekend. The weather created a backlog of about 6 million doses as power outages closed some vaccination centers and icy weather stranded vaccine in shipping hubs.

White House press secretary Jen Psaki told ABCs This Week that about 2 million of the 6 million doses have gone out.

We expect to rapidly catch up this week, she said.

In Nashville, Tennessee, local COVID-19 task force leader Dr. Alex Jahangir said more than 2,300 seniors and teachers got vaccinated Saturday as the city resumed offering shots after days of treacherous weather.

Due to the wintry mess, local health officials last week vaccinated more than 500 people with doses that otherwise would have expired, including hundreds at homeless shelters and residents of a historically Black neighborhood who were mostly seniors with underlying health conditions.

President Joe Biden is eager to visit Texas, which was hit especially hard by the weather, Psaki said. Biden hopes to travel to the state this week but doesnt want to take away resources from the response, she said.

He is eager to go down to Texas and show his support, she said. But he is also very mindful of the fact that its not a light footprint for a president to travel to a disaster area.

Houston Mayor Sylvester Turner told CBS Face the Nation that Biden can come anytime.

We certainly would welcome him, Turner said.

Texas Rep. Michael McCaul told CNNs State of the Union that federal disaster relief can be used to help Texans hit with skyrocketing energy bills, repair burst pipes and repair flood damage.

___

Associated Press writers Jonathan Mattise in Nashville, Tennessee, John Raby in Charleston, West Virginia, Hope Yen in Austin, Texas, Leah Willingham in Jackson, Mississippi; and Zeke Miller in Washington contributed to this report.

Copyright 2021 Associated Press. All rights reserved. This material may not be published, broadcast, rewritten or redistributed.

Oil surged as traders and investment banks see global supplies rapidly tightening in response to a vaccination-led recovery this summer.

Futures in London jumped 3.7% on Monday, its largest daily gain since early January, as a range of bullish calls and upward revisions to price forecasts boosted optimism over oil demand. Goldman Sachs Group Inc. sees Brent reaching $75 a barrel as consumption continues to recover faster than supply from OPEC+ and shale. Meanwhile, Morgan Stanley also boosted estimates as it sees oil heading for what may be the tightest quarter since at least 2000.

The market is looking at a more constructive view from a demand perspective and a tighter view from a supply perspective, said Rob Haworth, senior investment strategist at U.S. Bank Wealth Management. With economies reopening and vaccinations accelerating, the market has to question if theres enough oil at the moment as we head into peak demand season.

The loss of crude production from the unprecedented polar blast in the U.S. will help further firm oil markets heading into the summer as much of the world emerges from lockdowns, Trafigura Groups co-head of oil trading Ben Luckock said in a Bloomberg Television interview. Some 40 million barrels of February oil output, largely from the Permian Basin, will not be produced due to the freeze, Luckock said.

Global benchmark crude has gained over 25% this year after a January pledge from Saudi Arabia to deepen production curbs turbocharged a rally triggered by Covid-19 vaccine breakthroughs. Brents prompt timespread has firmed in a bullish backwardation structure, signaling a tighter market and helping to unwind global stockpiles built up during the pandemic. Crude oil stored at sea fell to an 11-month low last week, according to Vortexa, in another sign of dwindling supplies.

Joining the chorus of bullish calls on oil, Socar Trading SA sees prices hitting $80 a barrel this year as the glut of excess oil inventories built up in response to the pandemic gets fully drawn down by the summer. Even with Saudi Arabia and Texas producing, the fear is that in 12 months there will be a shortage, Socars chief trading officer said.

Still, the supply picture is far from certain. Saudi Arabia and Russia are heading toward an OPEC+ meeting next week with differing opinions on whether to add more supply to the market in April. The kingdom wants to hold output steady, according to delegates, but Moscow is indicating that it still wants to proceed with an increase.

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FALL RIVER, Mass., Feb. 22, 2021 /PRNewswire/ -- Millstone Medical Outsourcing, the industry partner of choice for medical manufacturers' post-manufacturing and aftermarket services, is proud to announce it has reached the milestone of 600 employees for the first time in company history. This comes as Millstone posted year-over-year growth of 16% in its twentieth year in business.

Reaching the 600-employee mark comes just 18 months after the milestone of 500. With innovation in the industry focusing on supply chain integration and resiliency, Millstone's expanded staffing includes additional manufacturing and senior positions in supply chain and operations.

Employee milestone, facility growth

These markers of continued strategic growth come just six months after Millstone announced the completion of construction on its Fall River, Massachusetts Headquarter Campus. The expansion added 60,000 square feet of state-of-the-art warehouse and office space to the Fall River facility, bringing the campus to over 124,000 square feet of production space. The addition included 4,500 square feet of mechanical inspection, 31,000 square feet of warehouse area, and 6,000 square feet of kitting space, in addition to expanded and upgraded office, conference, and meeting room areas for continued staff growth. These additions complemented the existing 15,000 square feet of class 10,000/ISO7-rated cleanroom space for medical device packaging operations.

"Facility buildout and staffing growth go hand-in-hand with giving us greater capacity to meet the industry's growing and changing needs," CEO Karl Neuberger said. "As a high-growth company, we are committed to employee growth at a pace that readies us to meet our clients' evolving demands, while always managing risk and upholding quality to deliver on the promise to the patient."

Mr. Neuberger noted that for more than 20 years, Millstone has navigated change and growth in the industry by building capacity and skills. "We've seen growth in both geographic areas of our business, Fall River, MA and Olive Branch, MS, as our clients look to us for revenue-generating services like our reverse logistics programs. We've also expanded our staffing and expertise to support the industry's growth trend in robotic procedures, in addition to other service areas like pre-validated packaging, sterile and non-sterile packaging, pharmaceutical device distribution, validations, and more."

Emphasizing facility growth, Mr. Neuberger added that "Our expansion helped us navigate some of the new challenges in the time of COVID-19. With more space, we could store excess critical items to smooth out the supply chain and better manage the peaks and valleys of demand."

About Millstone Medical Outsourcing

Millstone Medical Outsourcing is a leading provider of customized outsourcing solutions to the medical device industry with a client roster of over 50 prominent companies in the orthopedic sector alone. Millstone delivers superior quality service, unparalleled expertise, and guaranteed ROI. The company offers advanced inspection, sterile and non-sterile packaging, loaner kit processing, and distribution services to device and product manufacturers worldwide. Millstone is privately held and operates state-of-the-art facilities in Fall River, MA, and Olive Branch, MS. The company is FDA registered and ISO certified by BSI, Inc. to ISO 13485: 2016. For more information, please visit www.millstonemedical.com.

SOURCE Millstone Medical Outsourcing

Related Links

http://www.millstonemedical.com


River otters are increasing their population and expanding their range in Pennsylvania every year.

While the aquatic mammal remains extremely elusive, more Pennsylvanians are getting glimpses of them.

Sarah Lindgren, park manager at Kettle Creek State Park, near Renovo in Clinton County, had one of the most recent encounters February 19 along an icy and snowy Kettle Creek in the state park. It was an extended encounter and Lindgren had her camera with her to capture photos of the trio of river otters hunting along the creek.

The 3 otters almost certainly are the result of the Pennsylvania River Otter Reintroduction Project, headed by Thomas Serfass, professor of wildlife ecology at Frostburg State University, from 1982-2004.

The project reintroduced 153 river otters successfully to 8 water systems in central and western Pennsylvania, including 4 in Kettle Creek.

The otters came from Louisiana, Maryland, Michigan, New Hampshire, New Jersey, New York and the remaining native population in northeastern Pennsylvania.

Pennsylvania was one of 21 to reintroduce more than 4,000 otters during that period. Some of the growing population in Pennsylvania came from the movement of otters reintroduced in border areas of Maryland, New York and Ohio.

Before Europeans arrived, river otters were found in every major watershed of the state, and across North America. But by the mid-1900s, habitat destruction, water pollution and unregulated harvest had removed the species from much of its former range, including all of Pennsylvania except the northeastern corner.

The restoration efforts launched in 1982 led to the return of the otter to much of the state and a population increase for the species that now extends nearly 40 years.

Prior to the start of a limited trapping season for otters in 2016, incidental catch reported by trappers pursuing other furbearers like beavers was one gauge of the otter population in the state. Pennsylvania Game Commission monitors noted a generally increasing trend, led by northeastern Pennsylvania, but also significant in the central and northwestern parts of the state.

In addition, except for scattered districts in the southern half of the state, state game wardens reported well established otter populations throughout the state.

The commissions Pennsylvania River Otter Management Plan 2013-2022, written in 2012, noted, All data suggest that otter populations are currently increasing in density and expanding geographically throughout Pennsylvania.

Otter populations occupy all major river systems. The Delaware, Susquehanna, Allegheny and Youghiogheny rivers support sustained otter populations and act as travel corridors from which new populations disperse and expand geographically. The Potomac and Lake Erie watersheds maintain less dense populations but continue to increase in otter numbers annually.

The 2016-17 river otter trapping season was the first in 65 years. There were 1,047 otter permits sold for the February 21-28 season in Wildlife Management Units 3C and 3D in northeastern Pennsylvania. The trappers harvested 46 otters. The top otter-harvest counties were Pike, Wayne, Susquehanna and Monroe.

Subsequent harvests under much the same parameters have been 36 in 2017-18, 35 in 2018-19 and 28 in 2019-20, and the area of the state open to otter trapping has been expanded to also include WMUs 1A, 1B and 2F in northwestern Pennsylvania.

The 8-day 2020-21 season for other trapping in Pennsylvania closed Saturday, February 20.

The commission is in the midst of a 3-year otter monitoring study to gauge the population in the northeast and northwest regions, and possibly expand opportunities for trappers.

The agency is collecting data on otter numbers by using trail cameras set up at latrine sites and crossovers (trails between two bodies of water).

Contact Marcus Schneck at mschneck@pennlive.com.
A Democratic state lawmaker is demanding hearings into COVID-19 deaths at nursing homes in New York State as Governor Andrew Cuomo comes under more pressure to appoint an independent investigation.

We need to get to the truth, State Senator Leroy Comrie was quoted as saying by the New York Post on Sunday.

Clearly mistakes were made. We want full disclosure on what the hell happened from A to Z.

The state senator who represents the 14th State Senate District in Queens said: Im personally pushing for the Legislature to hold hearings on the nursing home mess, Its a mess. No doubt about it.

We need to drill down to find out what happened so it doesnt happen again.

DailyMail.com has reached out to both Comrie and Cuomos office seeking comment.

State Senator Leroy Comrie (left) of Queens is demanding hearings into COVID-19 deaths at nursing homes in New York State as Governor Andrew Cuomo (right) comes under pressure.

New York State Assemblyman Ron Kim (above), who also represents Queens, has also called for an independent inquiry into the nursing home scandal. Last week, Kim accused Cuomo of threatening to 'destroy' him

New Yorks attorney general issued a report that said the Cuomo administration minimized the number of nursing home residents who died of COVID-19 by excluding those who died elsewhere, usually a hospital.

This was significant because of a Cuomo administration directive in March that nursing homes should not deny admission or readmission to a patient because they had COVID-19. The policy was rescinded two months later.

Keeping the true number of nursing home residents who died hidden would theoretically deflect any blame for a bad policy choice.

The governor has blamed staff entering nursing homes for spreading the virus to the vulnerable population, not patients brought in with COVID-19.

He has said it would be discriminatory not to let those patients into nursing homes.

Last week, it was revealed that an aide to Cuomo told New York legislators that the true picture of nursing home deaths wasnt revealed for fear it would be used against the governor during an investigation launched by Trumps Justice Department.

Another state lawmaker, Assembly Member Ron Kim, said last week that Cuomo had vowed to destroy him during a recent private phone call for criticism he felt was unfair.

Cuomo denied the allegation, then used a call with reporters on Wednesday to blast Kim, one of nine Democrats who signed a letter seeking support for the proposal to limit his emergency powers, which are set to expire this spring.

Gov. Cuomo's nursing home strategy directly caused 1,000 COVID-19 deaths, says watchdog New York Governor Andrew Cuomo's nursing home policy may have led to the deaths of 1,000 vulnerable people from COVID-19, according to a new study. Cuomo and his administration are in increasingly hot water for allegedly hiding the amount of nursing home deaths early in the pandemic, and a study by the Empire Center for Public Policy validates the concerns around the numbers reported. In the study, which was obtained by the New York Post, Cuomo's original strategy that told nursing homes to take COVID-19 patients from the hospital is linked to 'several hundred and possibly more than 1,000' deaths. The study said: 'The findings contradict a central conclusion of the state Department of Health's July 6 report on coronavirus in nursing homes, which said, among other things: 'Admission policies were not a significant factor in nursing home fatalities,' and 'the data do not show a consistent relationship between admissions and increased mortality.'' There were reportedly 5,780 deaths in New York nursing homes from late March to early May. Cuomo's directive could be tied to one in six of those deaths, according to the study by the nonprofit watchdog. The policy was in effect from March 25 to May 10. Advertisement

The letter, sent to Assembly members Tuesday, said Cuomos administration 'deliberately covered up' the extent of deaths in nursing homes and 'engaged in an intentional obstruction of justice.'

Cuomo said earlier this week the state didnt cover up deaths, but should have moved faster to release information.

'No excuses: I accept responsibility for that,' he said at a news conference.

He said its a 'lie' that he obstructed justice, and told reporters Wednesday that he had a 'long hostile relationship' with Kim.

The governor accused Kim of being 'unethical' for backing nail salon owners as lawmakers discussed safety and wage reforms of the industry in 2015.

Kim had initially supported the reforms, but later opposed some of them after getting support from salon owners.

'I didnt say anything about Assemblyman Ron Kim. He attacked me,' Cuomo said.

'He attacked me and said that I obstructed justice in a letter.'

Kim told The Associated Press on Wednesday that Cuomo called him on the phone February 11 and shouted at him.

'He went off on, I have not seen his wrath, that he had bit his tongue about me for months,' Kim said.

'And I heard, "I can go out tomorrow and I will destroy your career. I will start telling the world how bad of an Assembly member you are and you'll be finished".'

Richard Azzopardi, a top Cuomo aide who was on the call, accused Kim of lying in a statement Wednesday and said no one threatened to 'destroy anyone with their wrath.'

In addition to the nursing home scandal, Comrie also wants to look into claims that a veterans home in his district in southeastern Queens gave COVID-19-positive residents there drug cocktails without their consent.

Earlier this month, it was learned that the New York State Veterans Home at St. Albans in Queens gave at least 62 residents the antimalarial drug hydroxychloroquine in addition to the antibiotic drug azithromycine last spring.

The facility, which is run by the New York State Department of Health, administered the drugs despite the fact that the federal government warned of adverse effects caused by the medications, according to THE CITY.

'Allegations that the Department of Health participated in Hydroxychloroquine experimentation with residents at New York State Veterans Homes are simply not true,' Gary Holmes, a spokesperson for the department, told DailyMail.com on Sunday.

'No resident of a veterans home was ever a part of any state supported study of this medication.

Cuomo during a press conference Friday where he attempted to defend his handling of COVID in nursing homes

'It was used only as a treatment and not as part of an experiment, in the early days of this pandemic when people were dying, no other therapies existed, and Hydroxychloroquine seemed like the only hope.

'Patient privacy precludes us from commenting about specific cases, but it was the practice of the Veterans' homes to discuss use of this therapy with patients who were mentally competent, or for those who were not, with their designated healthcare proxy or legal surrogate.

'New York State Veterans Homes had already discontinued use of this treatment for COVID-19 before the FDA revoked the emergency use authorization in June 2020.'

Several families said they didnt learn their loved ones were given the experimental treatments until after the fact.

They said some residents at the facility have dementia and were unable to give consent to the unproven drugs.

Colleen Hanley told THE CITY that her 85-year-old uncle, Stephen Durnin, who was a resident at the facility, died on April 22.

'I've only had a five-minute chat with him': Infectious diseases expert denies Cuomo's claim he was his 'chief advisor' amid cover-up A top member of President Joe Biden's COVID panel is distancing himself from New York Governor Andrew Cuomo, denying Cuomo's claim that he was a 'chief advisor'. Dr. Michael Osterholm, an infectious disease expert with the University of Minnesota, was the latest to distance himself from Cuomo as fallout grows from the governor's nursing home deaths scandal. Cuomo's administration had claimed Osterholm was a 'chief advisor' who spoke with the governor on a 'regular basis' -- claims the epidemiologist was quick to deny on Thursday. 'I've had one, five-minute conversation in my entire life with Governor Cuomo, just a few weeks ago when he called me, just to congratulate me on a TV program appearance,' Osterholm told the PBS program Firing Line. Advertisement

The primary cause of death listed on his death certificate was cardiac arrest due to pneumonia and presumed COVID-19.

Hanley alleges that her uncle, who had vascular dementia, was given the drug cocktail without her consent even though she was his health care proxy.

If it was a doctor-patient decision, what made the doctor believe that severely ill patients understood they were being given an experimental treatment? Hanley told THE CITY.

Earlier this month, Cuomo was asked about the states role in administering the drugs to residents of veterans homes under its watch.

The state doesnt do that, Cuomo said.

The patients doctor orders a medication, and thats between the patient and the doctor.

Dr. Howard Zucker, the state health commissioner, said that at the time the drugs were reportedly administered, there was a surge in COVID-19 cases and medical officials were desperate to stem the skyrocketing hospitalizations.

We had little information, Zucker said.

Initial indications showed that the hydroxychloroquine and azithromycin might be a life-saving treatment.

When we realized that the data did not pan out, we stopped using it.

Cuomo last week faced mounting challenges to his leadership on the coronavirus pandemic as state lawmakers threatened to strip him of the power to issue emergency orders and federal investigators scrutinized his administrations handling of nursing home data.

The Justice Department has been examining the governors coronavirus task force and trying to determine whether the state intentionally manipulated data regarding deaths in nursing homes, two people familiar with the matter told The Associated Press.

The people, who werent authorized to discuss the investigation and spoke on condition of anonymity, said the Cuomo administration had not been cooperative with prosecutors, especially in the early stages of the probe, and for months had not produced documents and other data the Justice Department had requested.

The inquiry began months ago in the Justice Departments civil division, and parts of it have previously been disclosed publicly.

On August 26, federal prosecutors gave Cuomos administration 14 days to provide data on nursing home deaths.

More data was sought in October.

The Times Union of Albany reported on Wednesday that prosecutors in the US attorneys office in Brooklyn had also become involved in an inquiry.

Over the summer, Cuomos administration assailed the investigation as politically motivated.

Just a few weeks ago, New York said less than 9,000 nursing home residents died of COVID-19

Due to the recent scandal, however, that number has been revealed to be more than 13,000

There was also some resistance from career prosecutors inside the Justice Departments civil rights division who viewed the investigation as political, the two people told the AP.

The investigation moved back into the public spotlight in recent weeks after revelations that Cuomos administration had given the public, and state lawmakers, an incomplete accounting of the number of deaths at nursing homes and assisted living facilities.

In recent weeks, the administration revealed that 15,000 long-term care residents have died, up from the 8,500 previously disclosed.

Cuomos top aide, Melissa DeRosa, also told Democratic lawmakers that the administration delayed releasing data to the legislature about the deaths because officials 'froze' over worries the information was 'going to be used against us' by the Justice Department.

Azzopardi said on Wednesday that it wasnt true that the administration had withheld records from the Justice Department, though he acknowledged that some data requested in October had taken time to collect and produce.

What are Cuomo's emergency powers and how could they be rescinded? In March 2020, the New York State Legislature granted Cuomo emergency powers to address the coronavirus pandemic. This effectively allows the governor to change any local or state law with the stroke of a pen. He has issued 94 such executive orders including including limiting gatherings in public and private spaces closing or reopening businesses, mask mandates and expanding hospital capacity. Cuomo has also issued orders indirectly related such as making a second wedding license available for free if the first one expired. The executive powers are set to expire on April 30, but the New York State Legislature has the power to revoke these powers before the deadline with a simple majority in both houses. There are 150 members in the Assembly so a simple majority would entail 76 members voting to rescind or 75 members and a tie-breaking casting vote by the Lieutenant Governor. In the Senate, there are 63 members so they would need 32 Senators for a simple majority. Advertisement

'We responded to the entire August request and have been in the process of responding to the October request on a rolling basis as suggested by the Department of Justice at the time, with a production as recent as January 8, 2021,' Azzopardi said.

'As we publicly said, DOJ has been looking into this for months. We have been cooperating with them and we will continue to.'

In response to reports about DeRosa's comments, House Rep. Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez joined other Democrats to call for a 'full investigation.'

'Thousands of vulnerable New Yorkers lost their lives in nursing homes throughout the pandemic,' the Democratic lawmaker said in a statement.

'Their loved ones and the public deserve answers and transparency from their elected leadership, and the Secretary to the Governors remarks warrant a full investigation.'

Meanwhile, Cuomo was dealing with a fresh challenge in the state Senate, where top Democrats, including Majority Leader Andrea Stewart-Cousins, prepared to vote in the coming days on a proposal that would require the governor to consult with legislators before issuing emergency orders.

Cuomo has used those powers, granted to him last spring, to limit public gatherings, close businesses and schools, and then unilaterally loosen those restrictions when he felt it would help the state.

Stewart-Cousins said the situation had changed since the early months of the crisis.

'We certainly see the need for a quick response but also want to move toward a system of increased oversight, and review,' she said.

'The public deserves to have checks and balances. Our proposal would create a system with increased input while at the same time ensuring New Yorkers continue to be protected.'

It wasnt clear whether the proposal had support in the state Assembly.
Q. My wife and I are considering moving from New York City to New Jersey. We earn $110,000 from our New York City pensions that are excluded from state and city taxes. How much extra state tax from New Jersey would we expect to pay annually if we move to New Jersey?

 Thinking about it

A. There are a few items to consider here.

As a New Jersey resident you are taxed on your income regardless of which state its from.

Your New York pension is not excluded and would be taxable on your resident New Jersey return once you move here, said Cynthia Fusillo, a certified public accountant with Peapack Private Wealth Management in New Providence.

New Jersey does have a pension exclusion available to taxpayers with income under certain levels.

For a married couple filing jointly, that income level is $100,000, meaning that once total income reaches this point, the exclusion is gone, Fusillo said. This is whats known as a cliff in terms of the point up to which this particular exclusion may be used. Since your pensions total $110,000 annually, its safe to say you will not qualify for the pension exclusion.

Youve asked how much extra state tax you will pay if you move to New Jersey. This is really a two-pronged question.

First, Fusillo said, you will not pay tax on the pension income to both New York and New Jersey once you move here. If any portion of your pensions are currently taxable in New York State and New York City as residents there, they will no longer be taxable in New York once you move out, she said.

As far as how much tax you will actually pay, it is impossible to answer without having your complete picture.

As you may know, tax rates are bracketed for certain income levels. For illustrative purposes, lets say your taxable income fell at $200,000, she said. Your marginal tax rate in both states would be virtually the same, falling at approximately 6.5%.

But you would no longer be subject to the added New York City tax.

There is no provision for itemized deductions in arriving at New Jersey taxable income, Fusillo said. We do allow a property tax deduction and a portion of qualified medical expenses. In New York, you may still be itemizing. I mention this so that youre aware that coming up with your taxable income is different in each state.

Email your questions to Ask@NJMoneyHelp.com.

Karin Price Mueller writes the Bamboozled column for NJ Advance Media and is the founder of NJMoneyHelp.com. Follow NJMoneyHelp on Twitter @NJMoneyHelp. Find NJMoneyHelp on Facebook. Sign up for NJMoneyHelp.coms weekly e-newsletter.
The US is ready to interact with Russia on strategic stability issues, US Secretary of State Anthony Blinken said addressing the participants of the UN Conference on Disarmament.

"We are ready to involve Russia in negotiations on strategic stability regarding arms control and emerging issues [related to] security," TASS quotes him as saying.

The diplomat added that Washington wants to interact with everyone, including Moscow and Beijing, in developing norms of behavior in space.
DELTA, BC, Feb. 22, 2021 /PRNewswire/ -- ChocXO, the Canadian, 100% organic, low sugar and keto-friendly chocolate company announced today that Corey Bowen will be joining the team as Sales Director, Eastern Canada, Scott Sulz as Sales Director, Western Canada, and April Trojanowski as Sales Director, Northeast. The three new hires will be responsible for the strategic expansion of the brand's presence in retailers in Canada and the United States.

Corey Bowen joins the ChocXO team as Director of Sales, Canada East, overseeing all Eastern Canadian markets. Bowen previously served as the National Business Development Manager at Walmart, where he was responsible for Walmart National total business in the plant-based dairy and creamers category. With a wealth of experience managing top retail accounts in the Canadian market, Bowen is dedicated to breaking down barriers and fostering collaboration both internally and externally, while pushing company strategies to meet their objectives.

With over 20 years of experience in natural food and grocery distribution, Scott Sulz will serve as Director of Sales, Canada West at ChocXO. With expertise in every level of the sales chain, from store to distribution, Sulz most recently served as a sales manager at Left Coast Naturals, where he was responsible for creating go-to-market strategies for new brands. Throughout his career, Sulz has been responsible for rebuilding and developing numerous national sales teams and, most recently, launching seven on-trend brands to bring trend-focus to Left Coast Naturals' portfolio.

As Sales Director, Northeast, April Trojanowski has over 24 years of sales experience. Trojanowski has managed numerous multi-million dollar brands including American Licorice, T H Foods and Vita Foods, and with her commitment to real change and sales excellence, increased growth for each brand year over year. Recognized as a "Women of Influence in the Food Industry" by the Griffin Report, Trojanowski will use her results driven approach to increase ChocXO's retail presence throughout the Northeast United States.

"As we strategically grow throughout the US and Canada, we're thrilled to welcome these new, experienced members to the ChocXO sales team", said Richard Foley, CEO of ChocXO. "With their individual expertise in their respective markets, we have no doubt Corey, Scott and April will be instrumental in helping us reach new target markets and help bring ChocXO's delicious, naturally low sugar dark chocolate to more households."

ChocXO strives to make people feel good about eating chocolate, which is why all of their products are Keto Certified and made with pure, simple, and natural ingredients. Their low sugar chocolates come in a variety of flavors including Dark Chocolate Almond Butter Cups, 85% Dark Chocolate Coconut, Almond + Sea Salt Snaps and 85% Dark Chocolate Raspberry + Quinoa Snaps.

For more information, visit www.chocxo.com or check out @Chocxochocolatier on Instagram, and @ChocxoChocolatiers on Facebook.

About ChocXO

ChocXO is a Canadian chocolate company, focused on providing a better-for-you chocolate. The ChocXO chocolatiers developed a great tasting 85% cacao dark chocolate, with pure, simple, and natural ingredients for those looking to consume less sugar, while still enjoying sweets. ChocXO chocolate is sourced from the best cacao beans, USDA Organic 85% Cacao, Non-GMO, Certified Gluten Free, Keto Certified, kosher and made with Fairtrade ingredients as well as packaged in responsible portion sizes for the best quality better-for-you chocolate. ChocXO's mission is to present a delicious chocolate made with sustainably sourced ingredients that also gives consumers peace of mind that their nutritional goals won't be sacrificed.

Media Contact:

Olivia Carroll, Konnect Agency

[email protected]

505-670-3585

SOURCE ChocXO

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Leaders of the state branch of the NAACP asked Louisiana education leaders Monday for a meeting to air their concerns about public school operations during the coronavirus pandemic.

The group made the request after a session with "concerned education stakeholders across Louisiana school systems."

NAACP officials said community leaders "have noted a lack of consistency, as well as disproportionate adherence, specifically within the schools serving marginalized populations such as African Americans and low income."

"We have seen the Louisiana State Board of Elementary and Secondary Education give local school districts the right to gamble with the lives of students and educators across the state," according to a statement by the group.

"As this pandemic has become more deadly, local school districts have ramped up the return of students to schools."

BESE in July approved minimum safety standards for local school districts to follow to combat the coronavirus.

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Reopening rules of Louisiana public schools: BESE votes in face mask, social distancing policies Backed by medical experts and education groups, Louisiana's top school board Tuesday approved minimum safety standards for the reopening of pu

School systems can enact stricter rules.

State officials say 67% of the state's roughly 700,000 public school students are attending in-person classes.

The rest are relying on a combination of virtual and in-person classes or distance learning alone.

The NAACP also asked BESE to suspend testing for the rest of the school year, to allow districts to close schools when COVID-19 numbers exceed 10% of the district and to "engage" with officials to craft an "apolitical plan" for the opening of schools for the 2021-22 school year.

Neither BESE nor state school leaders could be reached for immediate comment.
The federal government is opening a mass COVID-19 vaccination site at the Tampa Greyhound Track on Waters Avenue near I-275 on March 3, operating 7 days a week from 7 a.m. to 7 p.m. It will, alongside three others in Florida, be capable of administering about 12,000 shots a day.

Why it matters: FEMA has been working with states to open several large-scale vaccination sites around the country. Florida is one of five states to get a federal site.

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Those wanting to get vaccinated should use the states pre-registration system, myvaccine.fl.gov, or call the designated county phone number.

Those in line for a second dose can find information here.

Context: Gov. Ron DeSantis was initially negative about President Bidens idea of using FEMA to build vaccination clinics, calling it a "big mistake." He later said he would help with distribution.

The big picture: The White House said the sites were chosen based on each areas score on the CDCs Social Vulnerability Index.

What they're saying: Mayor Jane Castor told Axios that the site, near Tampa's Sulphur Springs community, was selected to allow easy access for walk-up vaccinations from an area with many Black residents.

"It is absolutely wonderful," Castor said. "We wanted to choose a location ... so we could provide vaccinations to neighborhoods that had the most highly affected COVID-19 populations."

This story first appeared in the Axios Tampa Bay newsletter, designed to help readers get smarter, faster on the most consequential news unfolding in their own backyard.

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Bright Armenia faction of parliament: No corridor through the country should be provided to Azerbaijan

Analyst: Armenia acting PM Pashinyan gave self-confessed testimony

Armenia national security finds about 1 kg of opium, detains Iran citizen driver and 2 others

182 hearing aids and 2 buses by benefactor Mikayel Vardanyan for students of Special Educational Complex

34 new cases of COVID-19 confirmed in Armenia

Updated voters list is posted on Armenia central election commission website

Armenia authorities provide considerable amount of subsidies ahead of snap parliamentary elections

World oil prices on the rise

MP explains his not being on Bright Armenia Party electoral list

UK new flagship set to be named after the late Prince Philip

US man who said he shot neighbor over loud music found guilty of attempted murder

Lamborghini company to be sold for $11.5bn?

China spacecraft docks with future space station

Lawyer: Armenia acting PM Pashinyan grossly abuses administrative resources during Lori Province visit

UN urges to investigate escalation of violence in Colombia

Malaysia to open mega-centers for vaccination against coronavirus

Police find  5 million in cash in London apartment

French citizen to face trial in Iran on spaying charges

Over 60 children in UK undergo surgery due to TikTok challenge

Iranian Central Bank governor dismissed

Armenian opposition: The one who liberated Artsakh will not go to debates with the one who sold it

Iranian energy ministry: Iraq to allocate $ 125 million of frozen funds for vaccines

No new COVID-19 cases reported in Artsakh

Iran and Iraq to intensify cooperation and are ready for joint investment projects

Armenia ex-PM says at least 2 more secret documents signed but not published yet

Indonesia frees Iranian tanker 4 months later

Mortar shelling in Afghanistan kills at least 10 civilians

Fire breaks out at West Virginia oil refinery in US

Second President of Armenia meets with residents of Ararat province

Iran ready to help improve the defense capability of Syria

Armenian acting PM invites ex-presidents for debates

European Parliament head proposes to strengthen sanctions on Russia

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Armenia reports COVID-19 new 81 cases: 4 people die

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Written by ACM









*Strasbourg/Angelo Marcopolo/- During a landmark CoE Electoral Legal Experts' Video-Conference accessible to Journalists, several Keynote Speakers from allover Europe and well Beyond, Replying to "Eurofora"s Questions, gave clear Critical Alerts on Many Flaws Typical of the 2020 US Presidential Vote's Controversy about alleged Fraud and/or Gross Irregularities, Starting from Elections' "Accessibility"principle, which Includes Votes' and Counting's "Transparency" as well as Independent "Observers", as it was Topicaly stressed, (See Facts Infra).





The Event was Organized by CoE's prestigious "Venice Committee" for "Democracy through Law", where USA is a Full Member, since that PanEuropean Organisation's outreach exceptionaly Extends, here, Far Beyond its usual PanEuropean scope, with 47 Member States (including Russia), going up to ...62 Member Countries accross the World, including Canada, USA, Mexico, Brazil, Kazakhstan, Kyrgyzstan, South Korea, Costa Rica, Chile, Peru, Morocco, Tunisia, (etc), with "Observer" Status for Japan, Holy See, Argentina and Uruguay, while Today, Exceptionaly, was also actively present even India...

Significantly, the move came While USA's Supreme Court has Not Yet Decided on the course to give to several Post-Electoral Legal Complaints on the 2020 US Presidential Vote's Row, including 2 Lodged by former US President Don Trump, (on Pennsylvania and Wisconcin crucial "Swing" States, whose Great Electors would be Numericaly Sufficient in order to Affect the overall Electoral Result), as well by the GOParty itself (on anOther Issue concerning the Biggest "Swing" State Pennsylvania, insufficient alone in order to Change the overall Result), etc.

The Chosen Date is, Even, very Close to February 19, when SCOTUS is Expected to Announce, at Washington DC, its Intentions on those Unique remaining Chances to Examine, Discuss and Pronounce itself on the Merits of at least some Key Parts of that UnPrecedented US Presidential Election Row, (since an Earlier Legal Complaint, lodged by Texas and 18 Other States was Droped for Exclusively Procedural Claims of "Locus Standi", provoking Dissending Views from Experienced Associate Justice Alito and SCOTUS' vice-President, Associate Justice Clarence Thomas).

+ This is, probably, the Reason for which, even OAS' expected Final Report on the 2020 USA Elections, initialy Due on January 2021, has Not Yet been Published until Now (mid-February 2021), since the treatment of Post-Electoral Legal Complains is an integral Part of any International Observers' mission to Monitor an Electoral Process.

And Today's CoE's "Scientific Electoral Experts Debate", (the 3rd in a Series), brought Together Senior Legal Experts from about 70 European and Other Countries accross the Globe, in an International Cooperation with Romania's Permanent Electoral Authority (ROAEP), which Traditionaly Publishes the Only Review exclusively dedicated to Electoral Law in Europe, as "Venice Commission"'s competent Head of Elections and Political Parties' Division, Pierre Garrone, from Switzerland, pointed out from the outset. Among various Practical Innovations by ROAEP for Local + Parliamentary Elections during Later parts of Virus' Emergency on 2020 was also the Registration of "Electronic Signatures", added to a Special "App". ready to use in the Future, pointed out its President, Constantin Mituletu-Buica.

--------------------------



- However, Kick-Starting the Beginning of CoE's Video-Conference Today, Garrone gave it from the outset a Timely "Spicy" Tone, by Stressing, in particular, the Importance of "the Post-Electoral Phase", sometimes full of "Conflicts" and "Disputes' Resolution", on which "Staline had boasted in the Past that <<the Most Important is Not Who Votes, But Who Counts>>, while a Nicaraguan Dictator had warned adversaries that <<You Won the Election, But I Won the Count>>"...

------------------



An Obviously Relevant Point to the above-mentioned Trump - Biden Controversy on alleged Electoral Fraud in the 2020 US Presidetial Vote, since it concerned Mainly Legal Voters' Identification, (particularly at "Mail-in" Ballots, "Drop-in" Boxes, Delayed Mails, Signature Verification on Absentees' Ballots, etc), Serious Doubts on Electronic Machines' Counting Reliability in Counting, and Lack of Transparency vis a vis Independent (National and/or International) Observers.

----------------------------------------

- For the 1st Key Note Speaker, Austrian Katharina Pavel, Professor of Vienna University, the particular issue of this year's Conference : how to ensure a better "Accessibility" of the Electoral Process, was Key to Citizens "Participation" and "Trust", in general, as she stressed from the outset.

------------------------------------------

- In a Question raised by "Eurofora", subsequently, on this occasion, we Observed that, indeed, recently, "there were Interesting Developments on Accessibility", "But", also the Fact that "a Topical Issue, Now, particularly after the latest US Elections of Nov. 2020, was that on occasion of the Virus, Many Efforts, of Various kinds, Controversial (f.ex. too many "Mail-in" Ballots, etc : See Infra), and Non-Controversial (f.ex. "Early Voting", etc), emerged for a More Accessible Vote, so that, Sometimes, this provoked Problems and/or occasions to Contest the Security of that Vote", "Claiming f.ex. Fraud, or Irregularities, or Technical Problems of such Voting" processes, "including also for Hacking, even from Abroad", etc., (Points on which Professor Pabel noded her Agreement).

=> - "Do you think that there will be any Possibility to Speak about Concrete Points in this Direction at this (CoE's 2021) Debate, or to Ask certain Concrete Questions about What Could be done in order to have the Opinion of the Speakers on that very "Hot" and Topical Issue about How to Succeed to be Accessible, But in Security", "Eurofora" asked the Speaker on "Accessibility during a Period of Emergency", Professor Oliver Kask, from Esthonia, President of CoE's "Council for Democratic Elections", competent for relations between the "Venice Commission" and CoE's Parliamentary Assembly, and Congress of Regional/Local Authorities, as well as the EU, OSCE and OAS, which are Monitoring also Elections in the USA.

Inter alia, OAS' own Credibility is at Stake, here, since the PanAmerican Organisation has Notoriously Denounced, on 2019, Bolivia's former Long-Time President Morales ("Left"), for Suspicion of Electoral "Fraud", based Mainly on the Fact that a Negative for him Initial Result's Trend, Suddenly, ...Vanished, and was even Reversed, by a Sharp "U-Turn" in Ballots Counted, Later-on, in the Middle of the Electoral Night, almost at the Last Minute, in a DisProportionate Move, of so High imProbability that it appeared Fake... I.e. precisely a Similarly Late Surprizing Artificial MidNight "Zig-Zag" as it Occured, Also, Several Times, during Many among USA's crucial "Swing" States, at the November 2020 Presidential Election ! (See relevant Photo + Graph. Document, attached herewith, as it was Afterwards shown on Video-Screen by President Trump himself).

+ To this, was Added, Later-on, also a -comparatively Secondary- Criticism about Wrongdoings related to an Electronic Machines System in Bolivia on 2019, (as it was Notoriously done Even in USA's case on 2020, by the Republicans, with the "Dominion" Machines' alleged various Discrepancies), and some Other, punctual, OAS' Critical Findings, quite Less Impressive than those allegedly Denounced by the GOP in the USA, just 1 Year Later...

=> In Consequence, an UnPrecedented Political Change occured on 2019 in Bolivia, practicaly implementing OAS' Findings against Morales' alleged Electoral Fraud, (Even if the Supreme Electoral Court of that Country had Officialy "Certified" Morales' Contested "Victory"...), After Not 1 (Contrary to what has happened until now in the USA, with Jan. 6, 2021 Wash. DC Popular Demostration), But ...Many Popular Protests at Various Regions in Bolivia, throughout a 1,5 to 2 Months-Long Period since that Contested Presidetial Election of 2019, Culminating up to a Crucial Point When the Chiefs of the National Army and Police were reportedly Convinced to Warn Morales that they did Not Intend to Oppress the Bolivian People's further protests, de facto Obliging him to Abandon Power and Leave the Country, (after which, a President of the Right was Elected, with Official Aim to lead into a New and Fair Presidential Election asap, according to OAS' main proposals) !

So that, Nowadays, Obviously, it remains to be seen If and How OAS' Final Report on the Subsequent, 2020 US Presidential Election Controversy, (which Clearly presents Striking Similaities to that of the Previous, 2019 Bolivian Presidential Election, from the point of view of Main Principles : Comp. Supra), might, eventualy, lead to, more or less Similar, or, on the Contrary, Different Conclusions by the PanAmerican Organisation's Elections Monitoring, just 1 Year Later, and Why...

---------------------------------------

=> Meanwhlle, at any case, Today's Reply of Professor Oliver Kask, (President of CoE's "Council for Democratic Elections", which includes CoE - OAS' relations, while the PanAmerican Organisation has a Special "Observer" Status at CoE's "Venice Committee", where USA is full Member : comp. Supra), to the abovementioned Relevant "Eurofora"s Question (Comp. Supra), appeared Crystal-Clear and Adamant on main Principles :

- "It's a very Good Question !", Acknowledged from the outset President Kask, on "Eurofora"'s Query about How to have "Both Accessibility and Security" (i.e. No Fraud/Gross Irregularities/Hacking Risks) in Elections during the Current Pandemic situation (Comp. Supra).

- But, "there are Not yet very Clear and Good Answers to it", at least for the moment, he observed. Because, "Otherwise, we would have had a much Better Situation, in different Countries", while, on the Contrary, this has been a Very Big Problem, in various Countries, quite Recently", (he Regretted, obviously Implying also that mainly USA's current Post-Electoral Developments should have been "much Better", than what they Notoriously became lately...).

- Speaking on Concrete Matters, as "Eurofora" had Invited (Comp. Supra), President Kask, -"First of all", Pointed out that, "the Transparency (i.e. including the Notorious Big Row in the USA about National and/or International Independent Observers' Access in the 2020 Elections organized by Each Federated State, etc), and the Openess of the (Electoral) Procedures, of the Work of Election Management Bodies", i.e. "If there is enough Information on What has been done, what Will be done, and Why", then, "I think that the Level of Trust in the process, in General, Would Raise !"... (Given, Indeed, the well Known Fact that, inter alia, as Revealed also a Series of Public Hearings organised by the Parliaments of the 6 Crucial "Swing" States, including Thousands of written and signed "Affidavits" by Eye-Witnesses, Many simple People were Shocked by various Obstacles, excessive Distances, Exclusions, Interferences, etc., reportedly Opposed to accredited Electoral Observers throughout Nov. 3, 2020 Votes and Counting, sometimes Even in the Total Absence of Any Independent Observers, Overnight, f.ex. as a notorious Official Video Revealed in Pennsylvania, for Many Thousands of Votes' Counting, etc)...

+ "Ir concerns also the (stricto sensu) Security", (as "Eurofora" had observed : Comp. Supra) : Indeed, "If we have More Postal ("in-Mail") Voting", (Notoriously, the Most Controversial Matter in the USA, both Before and After the Nov. 2020 Elections, which Provoked a lot of Legal Complaints by the GOP, Systematicaly "Rejected on [Political] Partisan Lines", mainly by Dems-Appointed Judges, at least Until SCOTUS' Composition Changes recently, as "OSCE"'s Preliminary Report Criticized, since Nov. 2020), "more Internet Voting, or Mobile Ballot Boxes", (including so-called "Drop-In" Boxes, etc), or Hospital-Voting" (sometimes, reportedly, even ..."Parc-Voting", and/or "Drive Through Voting" etc, sic !), i.e. "in those Places Where the Possibility to Observe the Elections is Lower, (Comp. Supra), then, "I think that the Rate of (Citizens') DisTrust Raises !", President Kask Denounced... (A Key Problem, which in Other Countries stays there, but in the US it's even Worse, because several Legal Complaints have Also Criticized the Supplementary Fact that such Controversial and Obviously Dangerous for Fraud Measures, were Not Decided by the Competent, Parliamentary Bodies of the Federated States, as the US Constitution requires, But Only by some ..."State Secretaries" a.o. local Executives, in Violation of the Federal Constitution, as LawSuits at the SCOTUS clearly Denounced, including still Pending ones).

=> - As one of the Consequences of such a state of affairs, "due to the Emergency situation, and to the Pandemic, we just have to Take into Account that Trust to the Electoral Process might be Lower" Nowadays, he Warned.

>>> Otherwise, "this is why many Countries might be enclined to Postpone Elections, until just the Pandemic is over", (i.e. at an UnDetermined yet Future, given the Recent Worsening of the Virus' Spread Risks), President Kask further pointed out, underlying the Seriousness of what is really at Stake.

- Meanwhile, in particular, "concerning Transparency, one of the Key Issues is Observation". he went back to stress, on one of the "Hotest" Problems in the 2020 US Elections, (Comp. Supra). Indeed, -"We have to Guarantee that Observation, Both by the International Community (i.e. f.ex. EU, CoE, OSCE, OAS, etc) and by the Civil Society in the Country, is Still Possible !" And this, "Even with the "Drive-in" Polling Stations, or Mobile Ballot "Boxes", etc. (Comp. Supra and Infra), "we have to Give Enough Possibilities for Observers to be Nearby", Kask Urged, Demanding almost to make the Impossible..., "Even if they are Limited in their Number", "there Should, Still, be Possibilities to take Part in the Observation Missions". Among Various Practical Measures, f.ex., "for the International Community, we May find it necessary to take some Special Regulations, as the Number of Observers is Limited : Maybe we should Get Rid of some long Isolation Periods after Entering the Country or Leaving", as one of the concrete means for "the Trust and the Transparency of the (Electoral) Procedures to be SafeGuarded", he Concluded, in his Reply to "Eurofora"'s Question.

------------------------------------------------------

+ Interestingly, while Kindly "Thanking" "Eurofora" "for that Question", Professor Tonea, from Romania's Police Academy, who Chaired that 1st Session of this CoE's 2021 Video-Conference of Electoral Experts, seized a Timely Opportunity to "Conclude" by observing that "All" this "underlines the Importance of (CoE's Venice Commission's) CODE for Good Practices in Electoral Matters".

>>> Indeed, that landmark "Reference Document of the CoE in the field of Elections", (adopted on October 2018), as the Official "Concept Paper" for this "Scientific Electoral Experts"' 2021 Video-Conference stresses from the outset, should serve to "Address" the "Main Principles of Electoral Law" Nowadays, (Applying also to the USA, as CoE's full Member), And that Includes, in particular, "Voting Modalities, in a Period of Emergency", such as, f.ex., "Remote Voting", with Controversial "Postal ("Mail-in") Voting, Electronic Voting, Mobile Ballot Box", etc., where "the Question could be raised Whether it Should be Admitted in General, or for Certain Categories of Voters" Only..., and, "If Specific Modalities are Introduced during a Period of Emergency", whether "they should be Limited to that Period, or could they apply on a Permanent basis ?"

=> In particular, under that CoE's "Code", as a matter of General Principle,:



(1) "Voting" "should Always" take place "in a Polling Station", and "Other Means of Voting" might become "Acceptable" Only "Under ...Conditions" :

= F.ex., "Postal ("Mail-in") Voting" might be "Allowed Only where the Postal Service is Safe (i.e. withOut "Intentional Interference") and Reliable" (i.e. "Functions Properly"), while, even then, it "May may be Confined to people who are in Hospital or imPrisoned, or to persons with Reduced Mobility or to electors residing Abroad". + According to that CoE's "Code"'s "Explanatory Report" (CER), "Postal Voting" needs "a Special Procedure", "a few Days BEFORE the Election", (i.e. withOut Late Posting, arriving ...After the Electoral Day, as Dems Scandalously did on 2020 in Pennsylvania and other "Swing" States in the US !...)

= On the Contrary, "Mobile Ballot ("Drop In") Boxes" are "Only ...Allowed under Strict Conditions, Avoiding all Risks of Fraud". + And according to that CoE's "Code"'s "Explanatory Report" (CER), "the use of Mobile Ballot Boxes is UnDesirable, (sic !), Because of the attendant Serious Risk of Fraud", unless under "Strict Conditions ...Imposed to Prevent Fraud"... If Necessary, "Postal Voting ...would Dispense with the need for a Mobile Ballot Box, which Often causes Problems and Risks of Fraud", CoE's norms stress, (i.e. Contrary to what was Scandalously done in several "Swing" States in the USA back on 2020)...

(2) "The presence of Observers, appointed by the candidates, must be permitted during Voting and Counting". "Observers, candidates' Representatives and the Media, must be allowed to be Present" during "the Counting", which "Must be Transparent", and "have Also Access to the Records". "The Places where Observers are Not entitled to be present should be Clearly specified by Law" and Not Foggy desiderata of local Executives.

(3) "Electronic Voting" could be permited "Only IF it is Safe and Reliable", if "Voters" can get "Confirmation of their Votes, and Correct them", while "Respecting Secrecy of Suffrage" and "Transparency" of "the System". Even OSCE's Final Report on US 2020 Election observed "a Problem of using Machines that do Not provide a Meaningful possibility for Audit", noting "a Tendency to Move Away from using Entirely Electronic Voting Machines, and Towards Paper-Based ... Solutions", which Facilitate "for Voters to "Verify their Votes have been Recorded as Cast", and "for Authorities to establish that Votes have been Counted as Cast, through a Post-Election Audit", "Crucial for Ensuring Integrity and Trust". But in "Georgia" (a Notorious Controversial "Dominion" Machines Hotspot), and Other States, it's "Ballot Marking Machines (BMDs)" that are used to Mark the Choice made by the Voter, and their "Complexity" "may Lead to Confusion", inter alia, Also because "Only Machine Readable (rather than Human Readable) Codes are scanned", withOut any Possibility for the Voter to Verify that the generated ...Code Matches his Choice" !...

(Etc...)

+ Obviously, these are Only Some among the Various and Numerous Questions Raised Nowadays about the Controversial use of "Dominion" Machines in Georgia and Other Crucal "Swing" States, Including, f.ex., Repeated alleged "Glitching" "Errors", Connexions at the Internet, "Hacking" Vulnerabilities, Refusals of Audits, etc., which have Not Yet been seriously and comprehensibly Examined by the Courts...

-----------------------------------------------

+ But Issues Raised by the most Controversial US 2020 Presidential Elections Extend also to Various Other Key Matters, including, inter alia, the Notorious Massive Censorship of mainly Conservative Politicians and even Citizens' Freedom of Expression at the Internet, even US President Don Trump himself, by "Twitter" and Other "Big Tech" Oligo-Monopolistic Corporations, which Obviously Challenge the Indispensable "Fair" character, or Not, of a given Election : A Topical Question that "Eurofora" raised, subsequently, during the 2nd Session of Today's CoE's Video-Conference, on the occasion of the introductory Intervention, by Professor Bordan Tonea, on relevant "National Law and European Regulations" :

- Professor Tonea had just Warned, in particular, about Current Risks by various Threats to "Attack European Democracy", (while Also making manifold Topical References to Recent Developments in the USA, including, particularly, the recent Aquital from a 2nd Attempt to Impeach former US President Trump), emerging Both from Internal and External Forces of Manipulation, resulting in a Battle where Freedom of Expression, Education, and "Truth", would play a Key Role, (concerning also the Opposition's role to Check the Government in a Democratic Society), during the foreseable Future.

----------------



- "You spoke very much and well also about the Freedom of Expression, and Other Related Issues, but, Recently, the German Chancellor, Mrs Angie Merkel, (currently President-in-office of the CoE, for the Period of November 2020 - May 2021), as it is well known, Found "Problematic" the Fact that, in some Countries, as in the USA, even if that Concerns us All, because of Obvious Reasons at the Internet, some Private Companies, sometimes were Accused to Go Too Far into Limiting the Freedom of Speech of some Key Players in the Political Game, (on the occasion of the Notorious Exclusion of former US President Trump from his "Twitter" Account, "Followed" by more than 83 Millions of People), either During or at the Aftermath of Elections, when, as you said, it's very Important", said to Prof. Tonea "Eurofora".

=> + "This was Recently Debated also at the Council of Europe, that you know well, in the Parliamentary Assembly", we reminded, (See Debate on Freedom of Speech versus Big Tech., at the End of Jan. 2021 : ..., etc). "Do you Find this to be a really Interesting Issue ? And How would you advise to Solve it ? Perhaps, by a kind of Principles, or Norms, to be set up by the International Organisations ?", we asked him.

--------------------------------

- "Thank you for the Question. I Think that, in order to have some Success into Solving that Issue, in my view, I believe that the Solution should be at the European Level : Not at the National Level", stressed from the outset, Professor Tonea, Replying to "Eurofora".

- "Because the Freedom of Expression is a Universal issue. It's Regulated in the Same Way, at the National Constitutions, and Also Other European Countries, at the PanEuropean Convention of Human Rights, etc. So, in my opinion, this is a Discussion which can be held at the European level, and have, as Results, some European Guidelines, or Normes, which would be Applicable to All Europe : Not Country by Country, in a Different way in Each of the Countries", he Concluded.

The very Popular Issue of Free Speech versus Big Tech at the Internet had, initialy, Started in the USA by former US President Don Trump's Help to various simple Citizens' Censorship by Oligo-Monopolistic Corporations, as Twitter, FaceBook, Google, Amazon, etc, in Meetings organized at the White House, after a 1st Fight between Free Citizens' Web and Establishment's Medias during the 2016 US Presidential Election, (See, f.ex.: ... + ..., etc). But Trump's attempt to Reform an Old Legislation which had Initialy tried to Help Boost former Innovative Start-ups to Create popular Web Platforms withOut being bothered with Responsibility Issues for their Content in the Past, by Bringing them back to Editorial Liability whenever they Dictated which Content they accept on Citizens' Accounts Hosted in their Networks, meanwhile Grown into Powerful and often abusive Giants, Delayed and Backfired recently, when an Opposed Block of "Socialists"/Dems and RINOS Refused to Vote in US Congress a Bill Drafted by Trump and Backed by Conservative Senator Kruz up to even Leftist Top Politicians as Sanders and Warren, Journalist Greenwald, etc., (See : ..., etc). On the Contrary, it was, now, Trump himself who became, more and more, Target of various Harassments by Big Tech Oligo-Monopolistic Networks, until "Twitter" a.o. Recently Shut Down completely his own Private Accounts, amidst a Wider Attempt to Muzzle and Terrorize Millions of Dissident Citizens, Lawyers, Activists, etc., and Even Alternative Web Competitors (as "Parler", etc), who Dared Contest the Controversial 2020 US Presidential Election, notoriously accused for alleged Fraud/Gross Irregularities, (and still, Never Yet seriously Discussed on the Merits by Any Neutral Court)...

=> Such an UnPrecedented, Massive Oppression against Free Speech at the Internet, Stricking even at the Highest Political level of an Elected and Popular US President while still in Office, orchesrated by Only a Few Private Companies of a Handful of UnElected and IrResponsible Individuals, Inevitably Started to Provoke a Growing Series of various Opposed Reactions, not only in the USA, But Even in Europe and Worldwide... Going, initialy, from German mainstream Chancellor Angie Merkel, to Russian President Vladimir Putin, Brazil President Jair Bolsonaro (who Already Transfered +6,6 Millions Followers to "Telegram"), Mexican President Lopez Obrador (who Urged to Mobilize even the "G7" -currently Chaired by Italy, with a Foreign Minister from Bepe Grillo's Web Activist's Blog-Party "5 Stars"-- against Blocking Free Speech at the Internet), etc.

So that, after Trump Spectacularly chose to Focus on "Free Debate" Democratic Values at his Last Official Speech a the White House as US President, (See : .., etc), it's, UnExpectedly the PanEuropean CoE's Parliamentary Assembly, in Strasbourg, which Suddenly decided to hold a "Current Affairs" Public Debate on Free Speech versus Big Tech, last January 2021, (See : ..., etc), Followed, Soon, Also by various Key Officials' Calls f.ex. from Slovenia, Hungary, Poland (UPDATED), now Romania, etc., to Take concrete Measures in order to Defend, at least, European Citizens and/or Friends from such Oppressive Abuses by those 4 "GAFA" Oligo-Monopolies, (some of whom Started to have, Already, Various Problems Worldwide, f.ex. "Twitter" losing Customers and Falling at StockMarkets, "Facebook" Closing its News in Australia because of a Disagreement with its Conservative Government, etc)... In this regard, Warsaw's threat to Tax 13,5 Millions $ such Abuses against EU Citizens by Web's "Big Tech" (UPDATED), naturaly goes towards a right direction...

--------------------------------------

+ Last, But Not Least : Recent Elections and Mainstream Medias (of the Establishment)...

>>> An "Ideal" Opportunity for "Eurofora" to Raise a Question on the, unfortunately, Notorious Topical Issue of Establishment Medias frequent "Biais" against any real Alternative, at the "Left" or the "Right" Side of the Political Spectrum, even During crucial Elections' Time, was given, soon afterwards :

Indeed, the President of Mexico's "National Electoral Institute", Lorenzo Vianello, was speaking about the "Understandability of the Electoral Process", and this was Followed by a "Session of Questions/Answers", according to the Official Programme. But, as "Eurofora"'s Readers, already Know, (See : http://www.eurofora.net/newsflashes/news/usasupremecourtandvotefraud.html), Mexico is also Famous for a landmark, Pedagogical Satyric Film, Titled "the Perfect Dictatorship", (i.e. "Dictadura Perfecta" : sic !), inspired by the Reality of the Controversial Presidential Elections mainly of 2006 and partly 2012, largely Denounced for massive Fraud and Corruption, (particularly the 1st). It Pictures a Corrupted Politician (in fact a Puppet of some Hidden "Powers To Be"), making a Deal with an even More Corrupted, mainstream Media Group, in order to Systematicaly Manipulate the People, Starting by those Elections, and Continuing with a lot of Various, Artificialy "Staged" Events, in order to Serve some unnamed, Dark and Ruthless Interests. The Current Mexican President, Andres Lopez Obrador, had personaly Faced such kind of "Rigged" Elections in that Past, that he had Scandalously Lost, Despite a lot of Popular Protests, Lawsuits, etc, finaly Winning only much Later-on, at 2018, so that he Notoriously Remembers well what Medias' Biais and/or Censorship means, being, Nowadays, a Strong Supporter of Freedom of Speech and Pluralist Information, (to the point that he has, even, Notoriously Backed Recently the former US President Trump, (Despite Other, Unrelated, Political Differences), when he also Faced, mutatis-mutandis, a Scandalous Mainstream Medias' Biais and/or Censorship nowadays about the November 2020 US Presidential Elections, (and had even Vowed to Bring the Issue at the "G7" and/or Other Regional or International Instances : Comp. Supra)...





=> In Consequence, when Chairman Vianello completed his overview about the Need to make "the Whole of an Electoral Process Crystal-Clear for the Citizens", as he stressed, in orde, also, to Succesfuly Fight against "MisInformation", "Fake News", etc., "Eurofora" reminded that interesting Mexican Film about the Key Role of Mainstream Medias, and the Need to Avoid Risks of Political Manipulation, (i.e. "the Perfect Dictatorship" : Comp. Supra), and Asked him What he Advises to do in order to Prevent such Dangers of "Collusion" between some Politicians and Establishment's Big Medias, with "Absence of Pluralism", which Obviously make very Difficult for real Democracy to thrive in Elections' Time...

------------------------------

- At First, Chairman Vianello Stressed the Priority, in his view, for a Clear Understanding with "Social Medias" at the Internet about Elections' issues, Urging, f.ex., inter alia, also to Clearly and Simply Explain the way that Conflicts between Opposed Political Parties are Treated, as well as various other such Challenges for Electoral Management Bodies.

+ Then, when he arrived to "Eurofora"s above-mentioned Reference to "Mainstream Medias" and Problems of Lack of "Pluralism", when Establishment's Medias Impose Only one Side's viewpoints, Censoring the Others, Vianello immediately Acknowledged that Problem, too...

- Indeed, that's a Real Problem, particularly in Countries "like Mexico", he Denounced, "where, unfortunately, the Traditional Medias are Monopolized Only by a Few Broadcasting Companies" : F.ex., in Recent Years, "a Great Step Forward in Mexico was to Pass from 2 Mainstream Broadcasting Companies to ...3 Big Broadcasting Companies", he Joked, with Black Humour... "So, we have a Problem, because we must also Regulate the Political Information between Radio and TV", and "this puts us (Mexico's "National Electoral Institute") in position of Permanent Conflict", with such Traditional or other Big Medias, he added.

=> Concerning his "Advise" on how to Deal with that, Chairman Vianello mainly Focused on the Need to "Act as an Authority", while "Avoiding to be Seen as Part of a Conflict". I.e. "you must Not Appear, in the Eyes of Citizens, as linked to One Partie, f.ex. With the Government, with some Political Parties, with this or that Broadcasting Media Company", etc., then, "it's Not Good, for your Task to Regulate Elections", he Warned... "You Must be Straight in Applying Regulations, But Avoid to be Seen as Part of a Conflict !", Because, at the End of the Day, If you do that, you can Provoke that some them, could Claim that the whole Electoral Process was Corrupted, because you did Not have, throughout the Election, an ImPartial EMB", he Warned...

----------------------------

+ Indeed, "that's a Big Challenge for All EMBs (Election Monitoring Bodies), in All Countries" : I.e. "to Avoid be Considered as a Party of this, as a Political Party", "whether one is against the Political System, or if one Takes Position on this or that, Already Risks to be considered by some as Trustfull, But by Others, Less"... , Agreed also the Chairman of this 2nd Session of CoE's Video-Conference, President Kask, Backing the main substance of Vianello's above-mentioned Reply to "Eurofora"s Question.

However, even if Public Officials Keep a Welcome "Neutral" Look during Elections, nevertheless, this obviously does not, ipso facto, Settle the Problem of Mainstream Medias' Biais and/or Censorship... And, sometimes, that Problem is much Bigger than expected :

- F.ex, according to OSCE's Final Report on the Nov. 2020 German Presidential Election, (just Published on 2021)...All the Mainstream Medias were "very Critical" against Trump, while, on the Contrary, vis a vis Biden, they were All ..."Neutral" (sic !), i.e. complacent !

This Time (on Feb. 2021), in Comparison to the Previous, Nov. 2020 OSCE "Preliminary Report", it's Even the former Unique Exception of "Fox News", (Alone to be "Neutral" vis a vis Trump, Back in the Past...), Disappeared Now, After a Notorious "U-Turn" from the Millionaires who Funded it, which Notoriously send all Trump's Fans Running Away, and Denouncing "Fox" as a "renegate", "traitor", "turn-coat", etc... (So that, in real Practice, the Only Possibility for Pluralist Free Speech, remaining in the USA, was Limited Only to ...Citizens' "Social Medias" Publications - a Phenomenon Already Visible Since 2016 Elections, But considerably Aggravated on 2020 - which have, Notoriously, Become ...Even More Oppressive than ever, Nowadays, under the Joug of a Few "Big Tech" Companiess : Comp. Supra !)

=> In Consequence, converging Facts Obviously Reveal an UnPrecedented Worsening of the Situation against Medias' Pluralism and Free Speech in the USA, between the 2 Latest Presidential Elections of 2016 and 2020, with a Worrying Trend to be Aggravated Even Further (Comp. Supra)...

-------------------------------------------------------

+ However, almost at the Same Time, a Different, Encouraging Trend, is what Looks well to be, Despite all that, a kind of Resilient character of many American People themselves :

Already particularly Active Since 2016, (when they had Succeeded, for the 1s Time, to Bellie almost All Fake Polls then), as they Also did, Even More Nowadays, by Bellying 2020's aggravated Fake Polls, by Giving an Historic High, and UnContested ...75 Millions Votes to President Don Trump ! And, Nowadays, given that UnDeniable Recent Aggravation to the Detriment of Medias Pluralism and Free Speech (Comp. Supra), it's certainly Interesting to see what Might, perhaps, UnExpectedly Emerge in History from such Sharper than Ever, Anti-Democratic Contradictions, Given the Fighting Spirit and the Creativity of American People, Tohether with the Solidarity and Conscience of the Europeans and Other People in Nowadays World, given that Their Future is also at Stake...

------------------------------------

Meanwhile, at any case, Despite so many "Hard Facts" to Debate Today, (Comp. Supra), Nevertheless, the Overall Collective Spirit of this Meeting was quite Positive.

Among others, f.ex., since a Specific Key Point of this 2021 CoE Experts' Video-Conference was to Boost the "Accessibility" of Elections, Manifold Attention was put also on issues Including Practical Accessibilty, such as, f.ex., by Handicaped People, Mentaly ill, etc., as well as Isolated Old People trying to Connect at Electronic Voting Networks for the 1st Time, Peasants struggling through Snow to reach a Remote Polling Station on a Mountain, etc...

But, Suddenly, the Participants were visibly Shocked to see that Even an Experienced On-Line Editor based at CoE's Headquarters in Strasbourg, at the Heart of Europe, could Not simply make his Voice Heard at just another Video-Conference among many, for unknown reasons ! Gloomy... Unfortunately, that was ..."Eurofora", whose Microphone was Hindered to Connect, 2 or 3 Times, (Perhaps because of some Cyber-Attack, or any other cause)...

Such an Incident had Only occured at our 1st Press-Briefing by Video-Conference with Brussels' EU Council for a Heads of State/Government Summit, Last Year, resulting in a Sadly Lost Opportunity, after the EU Press Officer in charge Kindly Tried 3 Times to Reach us..., Obviously Hindered by a Cyber-Attack, as it was Found Later-on. But Never Before, Neither After that...

=> In Consequence, when, after 2 or 3 Attempts, "Eurofora", Upset, Threw a Useless Micro-phone Casque Away, and, at last, ...suddenly Succeeded to Connect his Voice to the Video-Conference, then, ALL CoE's Legal Experts participating, Spontaneously Smiled or Laughed ! (Obviously Happy to see that their PanEuropean/International Election Network was Working well) ... (as a relevant PHOTO of that unforgetable Event, attached herewith, clearly shows)...

+ Surprizingly, Many CoE's Electoral Experts kept their Smiles Going on, Even when "Eurofora", (initialy withOut any Political AfterThought), Glad, at last, to be Free to Speak, proclaimed : - "Ah! That's BETTER DIRECTLY !" (i.e. "withOut" that useless and blocking "Intermediary" MicroPhone Casque : Comp. Supra), in what have been Percieved by some as an Hypothetic Reference to ..."Direct" Democracy, (not Consciously, in this case)...

Interestingly, that Event was closely Followed also by an UnExpected, Last-Minute Re-Appearance of CoE's Experienced Head of Elections and Political Partes' Division, Pierre Garrone, from Switzerland, to Kindly -"Thank (you) for the Intellectual Input" "Eurofora" and others, with an Exceptionaly Bright Smile, (as shows a Screenshot of the Original Video, Later curiously Skiped by a Web-Publiched Version).

So that Nobody Knows yet, whether it might have been the Topical References to the Nov. 2020 US Presidential Election Row, and/or to Chancellor Merkel's Reaction against excessive "Big Tech" Censorship of Freedom of Expression at the Internet, and/or, perhaps, Mexico's Satyrical Flm, "the Perfect Dictature", against Mainstream Medias' Lack of Pluralism, (etc), which might have motivated most... (Comp. Supra, on those 3 Questions raised by "Eurofora" during this CoE's Video-Conference on Electoral Law recent developments)...

(../..)

("Draft-News")

------------------------------------




Police are currently at the scene of a security alert at Huguenot Drive in Lisburn.

Police are currently at the scene of a security alert in Coleraine.

Part of the Agivey Road is closed.

Diversions are in place on the Agivey Road at the junctions of the Mullaghinch Road, Drumeil Road and Clagan Park.

There are no further details at this time.

On Saturday night a controlled explosion was carried out following a security alert in Newry which saw families forced to leave their homes overnight.

Police first reported the discovery of a suspicious object in the Ashgrove Road area on Saturday afternoon which required a number of roads to be closed.

Around 15 families had to be evacuated from their homes and at least five needed shelter in a nearby leisure centre.
Income Tax (I-T) Department on February 18 seized unexplained cash of over Rs 8 crore and Rs 44 lakh in various foreign currencies from 22 premises of a Betul-based soya products manufacturing group.

I-T department had carried out search and seizure operations at these premises which were located in- Betul and Satna in Madhya Pradesh, Mumbai and Solapur in Maharashtra, and Kolkata in West Bengal. The I-T department also discovered nine bank lockers during the operations.

"The group has introduced unaccounted income to the tune of Rs 259 crore by way of introduction of Share capital at a huge premium from Kolkata based shell companies," said a Ministry of Finance press release. "The group has also introduced undisclosed income of Rs. 90 crore in its books of accounts by way of sale of paper investments in shell companies to another set of shell companies of Kolkata," the release added.

Finance Ministry has stated that none of these companies were found to be operational at their listed address. The group was also not able to confirm the identities of these companies nor was it able to identify their directors. Many of these "paper" companies were found to have been struck off by the Corporate Affairs Ministry.

"During the search, it was seen that bogus loss to the tune of Rs. 52 crore has been claimed by the group to suppress their profits, by indulging in intra-group out-of-exchange contract settlement. Various companies were formed in the name of employees to carry out these transactions, while there was no actual business carried out between them. Directors of these companies were not aware about any such transactions," read the press release.

The group had incorrectly claimed 'Long Term Capital Gains' exemption of over Rs 27 crore on sale of shares. Later, the investigation revealed that the purchase of these shares was not genuine. The group directors had purchased these shares at nominal value from the non-existent Kolkata based shell companies.

I-T department has seized incriminating evidence in the form of digital media such as laptops, hard drives, pen drives etc. Till now, undisclosed income over Rs 450 crore has been detected, according to the press release.

Also Read: 30 km a day! Highway construction races towards record high in FY21

Also Read: Centre made Rs 100 crore by sharing vehicle data with private companies: Nitin Gadkari
One was a mother and grandmother there to pick up a gun she had ordered for protection.

Another was a firearms enthusiast working one of his two jobs. The third was there for target practice.

LATEST: After 3 dead in Jefferson Gun Outlet shooting, sheriff doesn't know 'if we'll ever know the why' | JPSO shares details, video footage Monday

All of them were killed inside Jefferson Gun Outlet in Metairie on Saturday afternoon when an argument over a purported violation of a safety rule devolved into a shootout that sent Veronica Billiot, Herbert Noah Fischbach and Joshua Williams to the morgue and two others to the hospital with injuries, officials and loved ones said Sunday.

Details about those who were slain during the bloodshed at the gun shop and indoor shooting range at 6719 Airline Drive emerged a day later, as Jefferson Parish Sheriffs Office investigators combed through surveillance video, ballistics evidence and witness statements to reconstruct what happened amid the carnage.

Belle Chasse woman who went to pick up gun among slain at Jefferson Gun Outlet Veronica Billiot had gone into Jefferson Gun Outlet in Metairie on Saturday afternoon to pick up a gun she had ordered for protection when an 

Investigators are scrutinizing a key exchange. Williams, 27, brought a pistol with an extended magazine into the shop and argued with staff when they told him to unload his weapon to comply with a rule prohibiting patrons from having a loaded gun when not in a booth at the target range, multiple law enforcement sources told The Times-Picayune | New Orleans Advocate.

Detectives suspect things escalated so drastically that Williams  who had gone there to use the range, according to relatives  fired a warning round into the ceiling.

The sources said investigators believe Williams then fatally shot Fischbach, 47, the shop clerk. Williams and 59-year-old Billiot  who was there to collect a gun she had ordered ahead of time, according to her family  were then mortally wounded while armed employees and customers in the store began firing.

+3 New Orleans man, 27, at center of Jefferson Gun Outlet shootout that left him, 2 others dead: sources A 27-year-old New Orleans man sparked the gun battle that left him and two others dead inside of Jefferson Gun Outlet in Metairie on Saturday 

Williams died after running out to the parking lot, which investigators would later find was littered with spent gun cartridges. Billiot died just inside the front entrance of the store, whose glass front doors were shattered. Two other people were injured during the gunbattle and taken to the hospital, though their wounds were not thought to be life-threatening.

Jefferson Coroner Gerry Cvitanovich released the names of Williams, Fischbach and Billiot on Sunday morning. But little new information was available about who at the store fatally shot Williams and Billiot, with investigators still working to establish exactly which of the myriad weapons at the scene were discharged and whom they may have struck.

Whatever the case, three families spent Sunday grieving the devastation wrought by a bloodbath that within hours had made the national news.

Linda Billiot said all indications are that her older sister Veronica had no clue whatsoever what was going on when the argument involving Williams started.

She was completely innocent, Linda Billiot said during a telephone interview Sunday.

With her voice breaking at times, Linda Billiot remembered how Veronica Billiot stepped up to help raise her two younger sisters because their mother was not in the picture while they grew up in Algiers Point.

She made her living as the military housing property manager at Naval Air Station Joint Reserve Base New Orleans in Belle Chasse, Linda Billiot said. Besides her sisters, Veronica Billiot had also raised three children and had six grandchildren.

Top stories in New Orleans in your inbox Twice daily we'll send you the day's biggest headlines. Sign up today. e-mail address * Sign Up

Linda Billiot said Veronica Billiots son was horrified to hear of the quintuple shooting at Jefferson Gun Outlet, knowing his mom had gone there to pick up a weapon she had ordered for self-defense about the time the gunbattle had erupted. Soon, officials confirmed that his mom was among the dead, Linda Billiot said.

Its shocking  Im not processing it, Linda Billiot said. I havent slept since I learned what happened.

'He was amazing': Family describes Jefferson Gun Outlet employee after fatal shooting A 47-year-old gun and film special effects enthusiast and loving husband and father was among those killed Saturday during a shootout that eru

The president of New Orleans Navy Housing and Patrician Management  Billiot's employer  said she had "led a full and successful life both at home and work" and was "dedicated to her employees."

"She served our company and the military families at Naval Air Station Joint Reserve Base Belle Chasse for 15 years," Patrician Management president Alex Lewis said in an emailed statement. "She was a tireless worker with a passion for excellence along with a deep respect for our military families."

Fischbachs widow remembered her husband as a devoted partner and father with ambitions to climb the film industrys career ladder. He worked as a special effects specialist and an armorer, who supervises the proper and safe use of all weapons on a film set.

Because of coronavirus restrictions on the film industry, Fischbach had been spending more time working his other job at Jefferson Gun Outlet, said Nancy Fischbach, his wife of 14 years.

Yet he also made time to be a devoted husband, such as when he planned a day full of surprises such as wine, pastries and other treats for their recent anniversary.

He was amazing, Fischbach said of her husband, with whom she was raising a 13-year-old son, Ethan. Words cant describe the person he was. He was so genuine, so real, so true. He was my soulmate.

Williams family, for their part, pushed back against statements that he was to blame for the violence at Jefferson Gun Outlet.

He went to the store with his brother and some children, a relative of Williams said Saturday. That relative, who declined to be named, doubted Williams would have shown up spoiling for a gun fight at a place he knew to be frequented by off-duty law enforcement officers and ex-military personnel.

Family members noted Williams has gone to other gun ranges in the region and never had a problem. Also, a woman on social media who said she was Williams mother posted a message on social media saying he didnt go into the range shooting and that he was fired at by employees of the business.

My son  was MURDERED, wrote the woman, who identified herself as Trudy Edwards.

A knock on the front door of Williams home address went unanswered Sunday.

Jefferson Gun Outlet principal Michael Mayer jumped to the defense of Fischbach and his other employees on Sunday.

Mayer said he had to limit his comments because the Jefferson Parish Sheriff's Office and other officials are still conducting investigations, but he issued a statement accusing Williams of assailing his stores employees after they asked him to unload his handgun.

Our store was attacked by Joshua Williams, Mayers statement said, in part. One customer as well as one employee perished in the (ensuing) gun battle. Joshua Williams, the gunman, is also dead.

POTTSVILLE  A Luzerne County man is headed to state prison after a Schuylkill County judge sentenced him Thursday on two charges resulting from a November 2018 incident in Pottsville.

Braxton J. Moore, 38, of West Hazleton, must serve one to two years in a state correctional institution, President Judge William E. Baldwin ruled.

You werent reporting. You were using drugs, Baldwin said to Moore, who had asked to serve his sentence in the county prison.

Baldwin imposed the sentence after revoking Moores probation, which the defendant admitted violating by failing to report to his supervising officer, being charged with new crimes, using drugs, not making payments on his court-ordered costs and fees and not completing counseling.

Moore originally pleaded guilty on June 25, 2018, to recklessly endangering another person and simple assault. prosecutors withdrew charges of aggravated assault, strangulation, unlawful restraint and harassment.

At that time, Baldwin sentenced Moore to serve six to 23 months in prison and 12 additional months on probation, and pay costs and $50 to the Criminal Justice Enhancement Account.

Pottsville police charged Moore with committing his crimes on Nov. 19, 2018.

Moore already is an inmate at the county prison, and Baldwin conducted the hearing by videoconference.

Also on Thursday, Baldwin revoked the probation of Roger J. Williams, 34, of Pottsville, and sentenced him to serve three to 12 months in prison and undergo drug and alcohol treatment.

Williams, who admitted violating his probation by failing to report to his supervising officer and committing new crimes, originally pleaded guilty on Sept. 23, 2020, before Magisterial District Judge James K. Reiley, Pottsville, to possession of a controlled substance and possession of a small amount of marijuana.

At that time, Reiley placed Williams on probation for 12 months, and also sentenced him to pay costs, $100 to the Substance Abuse Education Fund and a $50 CJEA payment.

Pottsville police charged Williams with possessing drugs on June 26, 2020, in the city.

Williams already is an inmate at the county prison, and Baldwin conducted the hearing by videoconference.

In another Thursday case, Baldwin sentenced Tegan L. Olson, 32, of Pottsville, to serve one to 12 months in prison.

Olson originally pleaded guilty on May 21, 2020, to accident involving damage to attended vehicle or property. Prosecutors withdrew charges of operating vehicle without required financial responsibility, disregarding traffic lane, stop sign violation and careless driving.

At that time, Baldwin placed Olson on probation for 12 months, and also sentenced her to pay costs, a $50 bench warrant fee and $835.94 restitution.

State police at Schuylkill Haven charged Olson with causing the accident on June 3, 2019.

Baldwin revoked Olsons probation Thursday before imposing the new sentence.

Olson already is an inmate at the county prison, and Baldwin conducted the hearing by videoconference.
Those of us who believe in equality argue women should not need to modify their behaviour, it must be men who are made to behave like decent humans.

I do not think we can wait for men to stop raping women. It breaks my heart to write this. It should not be the role of women to be forced to live their lives differently but I cant think of another solution after a long week of reading stories about young women being sexually assaulted where alcohol has been part of the mix. The researchers tell me to be patient. I cant be.

Women are wary of date rape drugs - but they should also be wary of alcohol. Credit:Michel O'Sullivan

We know it is not all men. There are many decent men who always do the right thing, who would no more have sex with a comatose woman than plunge their body parts into boiling metal but, still, too many men who wield power and privilege use violence against women, and far too many men who dont and wont do anything about it.

If the age of male power is to end, then women will have to take action. I write this in despair; and know and understand it looks like I am making women repair men. But I cant think of anything else that will work in the short term. I just cant. Let us all, including men, continue to work on changing behaviour but that wont protect women this Saturday night.
A recent pull-back in hydrogen equipment companies share prices was not directly related to hydrogen fundamentals, analysts at Citigroup also said this week

The pipeline of investment in projects focused on developing hydrogen production, distribution or applications by 2030 current exceeds US$300bn, according to the latest report from the Hydrogen Council and McKinsey.

With the acceleration in hydrogen project developments last year and into 2021, leading to renewable hydrogen production costs falling rapidly, one of the main conclusions of the report was that a major hurdle for governments and industry now is to improve transmission and distribution costs.

New green renewable and grey hydrogen costs are expected to reach parity with fossil-fuel energy sources by 2028 in some countries, reaching $1.4 per kg in regions with optimal conditions to $2.3 per kg in average regions between 2032 and 2034, the report said, making hydrogen cost competitive in 20 different applications.

Longer-term, a hydrogen pipeline network offers the most cost-efficient means of distribution, the report said, noting that pipelines can transmit 10 times the energy at one-eighth the costs associated with electricity transmission lines and have capex costs similar to those for natural gas.

The industry can partially reuse existing gas infrastructure, but even newly constructed pipelines would not be cost prohibitive (assuming leakage and other safety risks are properly addressed).

It was estimated, as an example, that the cost to transport hydrogen from North Africa to central Germany via pipeline could amount to about USD 0.5 per kg of H2  less than the cost difference of domestic renewable hydrogen production in these two regions.

With the momentum in the hydrogen market in the past year, more than 30 countries now have hydrogen roadmaps, with governments around the world have committed over US$70bn of funding and 228 large scale hydrogen projects having been announced across the value chain.

The US$300bn figure comes from all the planned hydrogen projects around the world through to 2030, based on government production targets, project announcements and spending projections.

Given the industrys early stage, the vast majority (75%) of these investments involve announcements but not committed funding, the report said, of which to date there are an estimated US$80bn in the late stage of planning or being/already realised.

It is worth noting, said analyst Adam Collins at City broker Liberum, that the US$300bn of hydrogen projects still represent only 1.4% of global energy funding, so there is more to go for and that many of the projects are still in planning stage.

That said it's worth highlighting that in 2019 the Hydrogen Council estimated that between 2020 and 2030 $100bn of funding would reduce green hydrogen costs by 70%.

Hydrogen Council members include , BMW, Microsoft Corp and Sinopec.

Hydrogen homes

Giving a glimpse of what the world could be like once the abovementioned hydrogen distribution network is in plan, the first hydrogen-powered boilers and cooking hobs are being installed in a UK pilot scheme.

Two semi-detached houses in Gateshead will from April use only hydrogen for their boilers, hobs, ovens and heaters under the governments new Hy4Heat innovation programme.

The government said the aim is to create hydrogen neighbourhoods and even a hydrogen town by 2030 as part of the UKs net-zero carbon plans.

Gas companies Northern Gas Networks and Cadent have both put in 250,000 of funding each to run the two-home pilot scheme, with 250,000 coming from the government.

The homes will not be occupied but will be available for the public to visit, to showcase the use of hydrogen in a real-world setting.

Hydrogen, which produces no carbon at the point of use, is one of several solutions being sought to reduce household carbon emissions, with natural gas being responsible for more than 30% of the UKs carbon emissions.

While Downing Street has made its support for hydrogen clear but with a debate in the energy market about whether hydrogen is the right tool to combat climate change, the government has committed to undertaking more research before making any decisions about major projects.

A UK hydrogen strategy is expected this spring.

Hydrogen company news

At the company level this week, there were also some positive developments, including a trading update from fuel cell technology maker ( ).

The AIM-listed group, which has deals including with German giant Bosch, Chinese group Weichai and Koreas Doosan, said revenues in its upcoming results would beat market expectations while its order book heading into 2021 was also very strong.

Ceres said it had orders of 54mln at the end of the year and a pipeline of 44mln, up from 22mln and 50mln a year ago.

Its expansion into green hydrogen electrolysis for industrial applications is also making good progress following a successful initial R&D stage, said chief executive Phil Caldwell, who said the past 18 months have been one of the most important periods in our history.

Solid-oxide electrolysis, as the company is developing, remains in its infancy but these are encouraging comments, said broker Berenberg added, suggesting that further investment could be required to capitalise on this potentially significant opportunity.

Winning more headlines was Jaguar Land Rover as the Indian owned carmaker unveiled its plans to step up its emissions-free vehicle production.

As well as turning Jaguar into an all-electric brand over the coming years, the group said it is preparing for when the hydrogen economy is more mature, with development already underway of a vehicle powered by hydrogen fuel cells.

This prototype will be arriving on UK roads within the next 12 months as part of the long-term investment programme, new boss Thierry Bollore said.

In the mass transit market, where hydrogen is seen as potentially having a bigger role, ( ) signed a contract with a train leasing company.

In a deal to supply hydrogen fuel cell systems for passenger trains, TP Group is acting as the prime contractor for the integrated hydrogen fuel system, building upon its preliminary consulting work.

CEO Phil Cartmell said: This is an excellent opportunity for our hydrogen business and seeks to leverage our significant expertise created over many years operating atmosphere and gas management solutions, where we focus particularly on the safety aspects of working with gases such as hydrogen.

It is very exciting to see the uptake of hydrogen fuel in new markets such as rail transport, where operator and passenger safety are such critical factors.

A recent pull-back in hydrogen equipment companies shares was not directly related to hydrogen fundamentals, said analysts at Citigroup this week.

They suggested it offered investors a better entry level to get access to the hydrogen story.

Broadly, the share prices of hydrogen equipment companies covered by the bank were 10% below their late January peak before being hit by de-grossing and a pause in clean energy fund inflows.

In our view, the key drivers remain supportive, the analysts said, noting that firm growth in orders had been reported.

We see FY21 as another strong year for catalysts at the national policy and at the company order-book and activity levels.

Ceres and Norways Nel were among the companies highlighted.

Offshore hydrogen

With wind generation sometimes higher than demand, such as was seen in the first lockdown last year, there are attempts being made to develop offshore hydrogen electrolysers to store this excess energy.

UK consultancy ERM told the BBC it is looking to fit floating wind turbines with desalination equipment to remove salt from seawater and electrolysers to produce hydrogen from the resulting freshwater.

A prototype system of the Dolphyn project plans to use a floating wind turbine of close to 10 MW capacity offshore Scotland, with first hydrogen pencilled in by 2024 or 2025.

Other offshore hydrogen projects are also in development, including the Oyster project set up by a consortium of companies including Denmark's rsted and London-listed ITM Power; UK based Neptune Energy is also planning to convert an oil platform into a hydrogen production station; while Siemens has set aside 120mln of (105m) to invest into the development of an offshore turbine with a built-in electrolyser.
Legislators of opposition parties staged a massive protest on the Budget day in the Assembly on Monday.

They protested in and outside of the Assembly over various issues including closed sugar mills, paper leak of class 10 board, farm laws, and high petrol and diesel prices, during Question Hour. At one point, they reached the well of the House.

The issue of closed suger mills in Siwan was raised by RJD leader Awadh Bihari Chaudhary. Sugarcane Minister Pramod Kumar appropriately replied and said that the sugar mills in Siwan were closed during RJD tenure.

"The NDA government is affected by your bad work and under the leadership of Nitish Kumar, we are trying to rectify things," Pramod Kumar said.

Congress leader Pratima Das demanded lifting of the ban on liquor in as the state government is unable to implement Liquor Prohibition Act. Hence, it is better lift the ban and add extra tax on it, Das said.

Congress leaders also demanded from state government to clarify on fake corona tests. They wanted clarifications from the Chief Minister and health minister in the House.

RJD leaders shouted slogans against CM Nitish Kumar and Education Minister Vijay Chaudhary following paper leak of class 10 board. They demanded sacking of Anand Kishore, chairman of School Examination Board.

The Bihar Budget will be tabled by Deputy CM and Finance Minister Tar Kishore Prasad on Monday.

--IANS

ajk/kr

(Only the headline and picture of this report may have been reworked by the Business Standard staff; the rest of the content is auto-generated from a syndicated feed.)
New Delhi, Feb 22 : Samsung Electronics on Monday said over 130 models of Galaxy devices will now receive regular security updates for a minimum of four years after the initial phone release.

Galaxy products launched since 2019, including the Z, S, Note, A, M, XCover and Tab series, will now receive at least four years of security updates, the company said in a statement.

"At Samsung, our number one priority is offering the best and most secure mobile experience to our users, and we're constantly optimizing the security of our products and services," said Seungwon Shin, VP and Head of Security Team at Mobile Communications Business, Samsung.

"Thanks to the latest technology advancements, we're committing to securing Galaxy devices for even longer, so that everything that should be kept protected stays protected." By extending support for security updates delivered on a monthly or quarterly basis, Samsung is giving users peace of mind knowing their data is protected for as long as they use their Galaxy device.

Samsung worked closely with its OS and chipset partners, as well as over 200 carriers around the world to ensure that billions of Galaxy devices receive timely security patches.

Samsung said it has worked closely with over 1,000 partners to establish security standards for all Android devices, including the first-of-its-kind regular security update programme in 2015.
Doctors in South Korea have threatened a protest strike against legislation to strip them of licences following criminal convictions, sparking fears about possible disruption of a coronavirus vaccination effort set to begin this week.

Healthcare workers are scheduled to receive the first batch of AstraZenecas vaccine from Friday, as South Korea looks to protect 10 million high-risk people by July, on its way to reaching herd immunity by November.

But over the weekend, the Korean Medical Association (KMA), the largest grouping of doctors, said it would go on strike if parliament passed a bill to revoke the licences of doctors getting jail terms.

The bill might result in ordinary, innocent doctors being stripped of their licences and falling into hell because of an accident that has nothing to do with their job, or lack of legal knowledge, spokesman Kim Dae-ha said in a statement on Monday.

Association president Choi Dae-zip has called the bill cruel, saying its passage into law would destroy current cooperation with the government to treat the virus and carry out the vaccine campaign.

No date has been set yet for the strike, the KMA told Reuters, however.

The standoff stoked concern that any strike of doctors could slow the rollout at a time when authorities are scrambling to allocate medical personnel to about 250 inoculation centres and 10,000 clinics nationwide.

Discord over the bill was undesirable ahead of the vaccine rollout, the health ministry said, adding that the doctors association was in the grip of a misunderstanding about it.

Parliament has been seeking to revise the Medical Service Act to ban physicians guilty of violent crimes, such as sexual abuse and murder, from practicing their skills.

Ruling party lawmakers pushing for the bill denounced the association, saying it was trying to take public health hostage to maintain impunity from heinous crimes.

VACCINATION TIMELINE

AstraZeneca shots enough for about 750,000 people will be distributed from a production facility of SK Chemicals unit SK bioscience to immunization centres across the country from Wednesday, Korea Disease Control and Prevention Agency (KDCA) director Jeong Eun-kyeong said.

The first inoculation is set for Friday 9 a.m. (0000 GMT), Jeong told a briefing on Monday.

South Korea will begin administering the first of 117,000 doses of Pfizers coronavirus vaccine on Saturday to around 55,000 healthcare workers in COVID-19 treatment facilities.

The governments goal of reaching herd immunity by November will only work if the public responds in good measure to the vaccination programme and if authorities are able to secure enough doses on time, as well as control the more transmissible new variants, Jeong said.

The medical association, with nearly 140,000 members, has a long history of policy disputes with the government.

Many hospitals were depleted of staff during the pandemic last year when the group steered weeks-long walkouts over plans to boost the number of medical students, build medical schools, ease insurance coverage and increase telemedicine options.

That action spurred hundreds of thousands of Koreans to file presidential petitions urging punishment for the doctors, as polls showed 58% of respondents opposed the strike. There are no surveys yet on the latest stalemate.

Last week, a government poll showed almost 94% of 367,000 healthcare workers aged 64 or younger in priority groups said they were ready to take the AstraZeneca vaccine, despite concerns over its efficacy in older people. About 95% said they would accept Pfizer products.

South Korea reported 332 new virus infections by Sunday, taking its tally to 87,324, and a death toll of 1,562.

(REUTERS)
Her life was one long slow-motion train wreck. Trouble and heartache seemed to follow her where ever she went. The depths of her inner emptiness dwarfed the Grand Canyon, while the river bed of her soul was a mere trickle next to the Colorado River.

She had more lovers than Mountain Dew has flavors. Each new relationship brought a fresh glimmer of hope that she might finally find true love and acceptance. As she dragged her bag of dirty garments to the laundromat at midnight on a rainy night, her soiled clothes were a fitting metaphor for her grief-stained heart.

As she switched loads, a man walked in the door who had a certain presence about him. Somehow she just knew she was not worthy of his company, yet his kind eyes and gentle smile put her at ease. Then he asked the woman for a strange favor.

Would you mind sharing some of your bleach to help get this stain out of my shirt? the stranger asked.

The woman, quite shocked at this bold request, said, You are clearly a man of importance in expensive clothes, and I am just a poor woman from the wrong side of the tracks. Why do you ask me for such a favor? (For such people tended to avoid each other in this town.)

The man responded, If you knew the gift of God and who it is that asks you for this favor, you would have asked him and he would help you remove your own deeper stain.

She put another coin in the machine and swallowed hard at his soul piercing words. A fluorescent bulb flickered in the corner as the man continued to speak with a warmth that lowered her defenses:

Everyone who comes to this laundromat with soiled clothes will need to keep coming back weekly to wash. But whoever washes themselves with the cleansing water I give them will never be dirty again. They will be spotless and clean, inside and out, forevermore.

With tears welling up in her eyes, the woman said to him, Sir, give me this cleansing water so that I wont feel dirty anymore.

The man then took his expensive white shirt with the stain that somehow represented the brokenness of every human heart, he poured water into a basin, knelt down and began to wash the womans feet.

He said, I know you dont understand now what I am doing, but someday you will.

A damn burst in her wounded heart, and tears cascaded down onto the man below as she said, Then wash my hands and head as well, Sir, not just my feet! And he did.

She had heard rumors all her life about the kind of grace and love this man was showing her, but she never felt clean enough to go to the places such cleansing was to be found. Her life was forever changed the night the Living Waters came looking for her in a lonely laundromat on the wrong side of the tracks in the pouring rain at midnight.

Jeremy Berg

Lead Pastor

MainStreet Covenant Church

www.mainstreetcov.org

www.jeremyberg.org

Metro Manila (CNN Philippines, February 22)  President Rodrigo Duterte may decide later if he would allow the Department of Agriculture's proposal for higher pork imports in an attempt to address the pork price crisis, according to his spokesperson Harry Roque.

During a Palace briefing on Monday, Roque said Duterte will hold a Cabinet meeting today to discuss the National Economic and Development Authority's call to put the entire country under the most relaxed modified general community quarantine, and to explore ways to further boost public trust in COVID-19 vaccines.

The issue on the Philippines' pork supply may also be touched, Roque added.

"Pagdating po sa usaping ng baboy, inaasahan natin na ma-pipirmahan ng president 'yung pagtaas ng MAV (minimum access volume), ang pag-import ng mas maraming baboy," he said.

[Translation: When it comes to the pork issue, we expect the President to sign the increase in MAV (minimum access volume), the importation of more pork products.]

Roque, however, noted the issue of tariffs on imported pork would be up for another discussion.

During a House hearing last week, Agriculture Secretary William Dar said the department already submitted the MAV advisory council's resolution to Malacanang.

The DA is seeking to hike the MAV to 404,210 metric tons from the current 54,000 MT.

Earlier this month, Roque said an imported pork meat per kilo only costs about 114, including the tariff, while local producers have to cough up 171 for a kilo of pork.

Given this, Roque stressed the government is cautious about increasing pork imports as this move may kill the local hog industry, which has been suffering from the African Swine Fever.

RELATED: Pork supply tightens amid price free

According to the DA, the country has a deficit of about 400,000 metric tons due to ASF and market manipulators. Because of this, pork prices have skyrocketed from 320 to 400, forcing the government to impose a price ceiling.
Krithi Shetty seems to be the toast of Tinsel Town. Much before her Telugu debut film Uppena released, the actress had signed two others  Shyam Singha Roy and another untitled film opposite Sudheer Babu.

After Uppena released last week and set the cash registers ringing, Krithi has become the blue-eyed girl of Tollywood.

We hear the actress has signed a Ram Pothinenis film under director Lingusamy for producer Srinivasaa Chhitturi.

Apparently, Krithi loved the way the director had designed her character, and felt that it would be the right follow-up after the success of Uppena.

Moreover, Lingusamys films have strong characters for leading ladies and Krithi felt that such intense roles would elevate her graph in the industry. She came on board quickly after listening to the script, a source says.
Kinshasa, DR Congo (PANA) - The Italian ambassador to the Democratic Republic of Congo (DR Congo), a World Food Programme (WFP) staff member, together with an Italian embassy official and one other person, were killed on Monday in an attack on a UN convoy in the east of the country, the agency has said
While it obviously presented challenges, 2020 is looking like it may not have been such a bad year for workers compensation insurers and insureds after all.

Insurers took in less premium but paid fewer claims. They managed to achieve one of the lowest combined ratios in history. An increasing number of workers were able to be treated via telemedicine, meaning they did not have to travel. Injured workers, including COVID-claimants, appear to have received their medical care without much delay. And the vast majority of COVID-19 claimants needed only limited treatment.

On the down side, 2020 may have seen a return of opioid over-prescribing.

Experts from the industrys data and rating organization, the National Council on Compensation Insurance (NCCI), recently shared their preliminary analysis of 2020 claims data. In a virtual roundtable, COVID-19 and Workers Compensation: Data and Insights, Donna Glenn, chief actuary at NCCI, was joined by colleagues Len Herk, executive director and senior economist; Raji Chadarevian, director of medical regulations and informatics; and Vicky Mayen, director and actuary, to discuss what early workers compensation data reveal about the nature of COVID-19 claims, medical care, claimants and costs to date.

Some highlights of the year include:

The pandemic has put gas on a fire that was already burning, that is, workers compensation loss costs have been on a downward trend for years and expense ratios have been climbing.

The percentage of COVID-19 claims among all workers compensation paid claims has varied greatly among states and occupations, as has the decrease in non-COVID claims, according to research from the Workers Compensation Research Institute (WCRI).

While at least 17 states have passed laws or issued orders that expanded access to workers compensation benefits for employees who contract COVID-19, many of those directives are creating new exposure for only a sliver of the workforce, new research by the WCRI shows.

Although the nations focus may have shifted to the coronavirus pandemic, the opioid crisis not only remains a challenge, but also may have worsened due to COVID-19, according to speakers at a forum sponsored by the American Property Casualty Insurance Association and the U.S. Chamber of Commerce.

Written premium for the full calendar year of 2020 is expected to be the lowest since 2012.

NCCI looked at results through the third quarter of 2020 and extended those through the end of the year. NCCI uses data from private carriers and state funds in 41 jurisdictions but its data does not include many public entities such as first responders or health care entities including hospitals and nursing homes that are largely self-insured.

The NCCI figures are calendar year and do not reflect the full costs of treating COVID-19 or other health conditions with long-term effects.

Overall for 2020, NCCI projects an 8% decline in premium to $38.6 billion, the lowest since 2014. That is accompanied by a 7.6% decline in losses and a favorable 86% calendar year combined ratio.

COVID-19 Claims

Worker claims due to COVID-19 have ranged from no symptoms to critical care, hospitalizations and, unfortunately, fatalities in some cases.

The overall COVID-19 claims picture is by no means dire. The larger majority of the cases that we see are small and have only required the injured worker to miss work and quarantine or recover at home, reported Chadarevian.

The workers compensation system typically sees few indemnity-only claims and that has continued. While there have been some indemnity-only claims from the COVID-19 experience, hospitalization and the use of the intensive care unit are key cost drivers, he said.

While about 80% of the COVID claimants received very limited treatment, 20% of the injured workers were admitted to the hospital, and those have been the costliest and most complicated cases. The typical COVID inpatient stay lasts on average about seven to eight days and costs just under $40,000, Chadarevian said.

The most severe cases are ones where the injured worker needed to be in an intensive care unit for at least parts of their hospital stay, he said. Overall ICU cases, which make up just under 20% of the hospitalized workers, last about 12 days on average and they cost just over $62,000.

There have been some extreme cases where workers were hospitalized for an extended period of time leading to costs far above the average. There has been one situation where an injured worker was there for multiple months and the total costs exceeded a couple of million dollars.

The data reveal some demographics on those workers who filed COVID-19 claims. The large majority, almost 70%, are women. These claimants are also generally older than the typical injured worker, with a large share age 55 years and older.

Also, injured workers who contracted COVID-19 and required medical treatment were more likely to have comorbidities such as hypertension and chronic pulmonary disorder, Chadarevian said.

This provides some perspective, but we recognize that this is not the whole story, he cautioned.

Glenn said that COVID-19 claims are predominantly among frontline workers including first responders, healthcare and other essential workers. However, she said, teachers are another class of workers thats has been significantly impacted.

They are the ones that are showing up earlier in the data, Glenn said, affirming Chadarevians observation that many of those hospitalized also are older with comorbidities.

Medical Care

While the workers compensation industry may be slow to hop aboard the latest healthcare trends, the pandemic has accelerated its use of telemedicine in what panelists suggested could be a lasting change.

Chadarevian said NCCI medical data shows that the share of active claims with at least one telemedicine service has increased from almost nothing at less than a third of a percent before 2020 to approximately 14% in the second quarter of 2020. The usage varies by state from about 5% in Arkansas to more than 30% in Maine.

The most notable increase in telemedicine in workers compensation has been for evaluation and management, things that are done in office visits, at almost 12%. There has also been an increase of 10% in the use of telemedicine for psychological evaluations.

While some have been concerned about delays in medical treatments for injured workers due to the pandemic, NCCI said its early analysis shows only minimal delays.

At the same time, the share of active claims with either major or minor surgery remained steady (between 12% and 13%) over the last two years and into the second quarter of 2020, with no apparent delay in procedures performed. There is, however, some preliminary indication that the mix of surgeries may have changed, according to Chadarevian.

There is a potentially troubling trend in prescribing patterns, Chadarevian continued. The drug share of medical costs started to climb in 2020 back to levels not seen in a couple of years. This seems to be partly driven by opioid experience. The use of opioids had been declining at roughly 3% per quarter since 2018, but in 2020, the use of opioids started increasing, he said.

In the second quarter, opioid utilization was up 10%.

This is a signal of what I would call a very concerning trend, said Glenn.

At the same time, Insurance Journal has reported some are concerned that quarantine and social distancing have disrupted treatment and recovery services for those battling addiction who may also be more susceptible to COVID-19 than other workers.

NCCI also said active medical claims with at least one medical service or encounter in the workers compensation system went down in the second quarter by 15%. New claims in the second quarter decreased about 26%, but even activity on older claims dropped about 9%. This was a time when many businesses were closed or had restricted activity.

Theres clearly more to it and the story will continue to develop with additional data, he said.

Loss Data

While workers comp incurred loss data can vary from quarter to quarter, the change in the second quarter last year with its lockdowns and virus spread was even more dramatic.

According to Mayen, for private carriers countrywide, direct incurred loss increased by almost 9% in the first three months of 2020 compared to the first three months of 2019. Then they decreased drastically in the second quarter, bringing the cumulative incurred loss change through second quarter to about negative 8%.

An NCCI survey last fall of large private workers comp carriers suggested that decreases in non-COVID loss dollars appear to have more than offset increases directly attributable to COVID. Mayen said these NCCI survey results are consistent with the decline in incurred loss as observed during the second quarter of 2020. Since the second quarter drop, after which the economy began to show signs of recovery, cumulative changes through third quarter 2020 appear to have stabilized at negative 7.6%.

Mayen estimated that given the reductions in both the losses and premium and assuming that expense ratios will remain at the same level as 2019, the industry will have an 86% combined ratio for workers comp calendar year 2020. That, she said, would be the third lowest combined ratio in history and the seventh consecutive year of underwriting gains.

Topics COVID-19 Workers' Compensation Talent




South Korea's two biggest carriers  Korean Air Lines Co. and Asiana Airlines Inc.  said Monday they will ground all Boeing 777 passenger jets following a recent engine failure incident in the United States.





A B777-200 plane suffered an engine failure after taking off for Honolulu on Saturday (local time), with an engine cowling and other parts from the plane found to be scattered on the ground in Denver, according to foreign media reports.





The United Airlines, Inc. flight reportedly landed safely without any injuries on the plane or the ground.





Boeing Co. recommended its clients ground 777 jets mated with the Pratt Whitney PW4000 engine.





Korean Air currently operates six out of 16 B777 jets with the same type of engine on routes to Japan and Southeast Asia, and Asiana runs seven out of nine B777s on short and mid-haul routes to meet business travel demand.









"We are in consultations with Boeing and the transport ministry on the suspension of the planes. There is no recommendation from the authorities to halt the planes' operation," a Korean Air spokeswoman said.





Asiana has voluntarily grounded nine B777 jets mated with the Pratt Whitney PW4000 engine since Monday afternoon. Korean Air is expected to ground some B777 jets from late Monday or early Tuesday.





Jin Air Co., the budget carrier unit of Korean Air, operates four B777 planes on domestic routes. The carrier said it awaits a recommendation from the ministry.





Local airlines have suspended most of their flights on international routes since early last year as countries strengthen entry restrictions to stem the spread of COVID-19 pandemic.





The U.S. National Transportation Safety Board (NTSB) began an investigation into the accident. The NTSB will focus on what caused the engine failure, the reports said. (Yonhap)


His dog Kuma has become the real star of his Instagram account.

And Justin Theroux gave his 875K followers more of what they wanted on Sunday night with some sweet videos of him pit bullmix snapping up some penne pasta.

The 49-year-old Leftovers star served himself a tasty batch of pasta e fagioli while leaving some of the sauceless noodles for his beloved dog to eat.

Best buds: Justin Theroux, 49, put on a sweet display with his pit bullmix Kuma as the tired-out pooch went to bed with him after scarfing down some penne past he cooked for her on Sunday

Justin shared a closeup of his pasta, which paired the penne with beans and greens, but he panned the camera to show Kuma perched expectantly by the table.

Then the actor pushed back a chair for her, where a bowl of plain penne was waiting for her.

She didn't even pause and just began inhaling the pasta, which was gone within seconds.

Justin joked that he was making an 'ASMR' video based on the sounds of her chewing and snarfing up the pasta.

Yum! Justin shared a closeup of his pasta, which paired the penne with beans and greens, but he panned the camera to show Kuma perched expectantly by the table

She's hungry: Then the actor pushed back a chair for her, where a bowl of plain penne was waiting for her

Noisy eater: She didn't even pause and just began inhaling the pasta, which was gone within seconds. Justin joked that he was making an 'ASMR' video based on the sounds of her chewing and snarfing up the pasta

After she finished, the American Psycho actor posted a photo of her looking downtrodden while waiting for more food.

'That's it?' he jokingly captioned it in her voice. 'Ugaddahbef***inkidn me.'

It turns out the dog didn't need any more, as she was totally conked out on her back on a doggy bed in a follow-up snap.

'Post pasta,' Justin wrote.

Kuma was fast asleep and cradled in Justin's arm while he was shirtless in bed in the final photo.

'Pasta la vista,' he joked.

The actor regularly poses with Kuma, and he often posts about animal rights issues on his social media accounts.

Please, sir, I want some more: After she finished, the American Psycho actor posted a photo of her looking downtrodden while waiting for more food. 'That's it?' he jokingly captioned it in her voice

Passed out: It turns out the dog didn't need any more, as she was totally conked out on her back on a doggy bed in a follow-up snap. 'Post pasta,' Justin wrote

Dog father: The actor regularly poses with Kuma, and he often posts about animal rights issues on his social media accounts

Justin's night in with Kuma comes just days after the first trailer dropped for his upcoming Apple TV+ series The Mosquito Coast.

The show is a remake of the 1986 Peter Weir film The Mosquito Coast, which starred Harrison Ford in the lead role as an idealist who flees American culture to move his family to Latin America.

The first season of the show will serve as 'sort of prequel' to the original, Theroux said during a panel at the Television Critics Associations Winter 2021 Press Tour.

Although he enjoyed a 'tequila-filled dinner' with Ford in Mexico city while he was filming the first season, Theroux never talked about the role with Ford.

Teaser: Justin's night in with Kuma comes just days after the trailer dropped for his upcoming Apple TV+ series The Mosquito Coast

Modern classic: The show is a remake of the 1986 Peter Weir film The Mosquito Coast, which starred Harrison Ford in the lead role as an idealist who flees American culture to move his family to Latin America

'I would never try to crib from him,' he said. '[But] I have to think there were some similar things [in the character] that maybe we both found on our own.'

He added: 'Ive seen the movie many times, from the age of 15 on, and [Ford] did such a fabulous job.'

He has an even closer connection to the character, though, as the original novel was written by his uncle, the acclaimed novelist and travel writer Paul Theroux, who has seen several episodes of the new series.
Armenia Investigative Committee: Fatal road accident, criminal case opened

Armenia deputy FM submits resignation

Chinese authorities allow families to have 3 children

Dollar devalues in Armenia

Stepanakert: Azerbaijan creates bridgeheads for pressure on Karabakh, expansion towards Armenia

Sergey Lavrov says Russia is ready to disconnect SWIFT

Armenia MFA spokesperson resigns

Republican Party of Armenia Vice-President: Our ratings are growing, but we have greater pretensions

Armenia acting PM's spokesperson responds to ex-FM

Armenia parliament majority leader: Refusing to debate with acting PM is manifestation of low self-confidence

Armenia State Revenue Committee, US Department of Justice sign Memorandum of Cooperation

Vardevanyan: Attempts made to create false grounds for obstructing Armenia bloc election offices legal activities

Lavrov says Russia is ready to resume dialogue with NATO

Armenia opposition MP on FM's resignation

India records lowest increase in COVID-19 cases in 50 days

Bright Armenia faction in parliament: No response to acting PM's proposal to deploy observers along Azerbaijan border

Ruling bloc MP: Acting premiers proposal does not limit Armenia in terms of cooperation with CSTO

Acting PM is proud of Armenian servicemens heroism, says parliament majority leader

Parliament majority leader: No border delimitation unless Azerbaijan army units leave Armenia territory

Outgoing Armenia acting FM opens brackets: My decision of resignation was conditioned by that very reason

Harutyunyan, Shoygu discuss tension on Armenia-Azerbaijan border

Iranian MFA says US has not imported oil from country since Clinton era

Court hearing on appeal against decision to drop March 2008 Yerevan tragedy case is rescheduled

Missing soldiers relatives block Yerevan street

Parliament majority leader: Armenia acting FM did not object, at Security Council meeting, to new document

Armenia Police: 2,581,093 people on voters list

Bright Armenia faction of parliament: No corridor through the country should be provided to Azerbaijan

Analyst: Armenia acting PM Pashinyan gave self-confessed testimony

Armenia national security finds about 1 kg of opium, detains Iran citizen driver and 2 others

182 hearing aids and 2 buses by benefactor Mikayel Vardanyan for students of Special Educational Complex

34 new cases of COVID-19 confirmed in Armenia

Updated voters list is posted on Armenia central election commission website

Armenia authorities provide considerable amount of subsidies ahead of snap parliamentary elections

World oil prices on the rise

MP explains his not being on Bright Armenia Party electoral list

UK new flagship set to be named after the late Prince Philip

US man who said he shot neighbor over loud music found guilty of attempted murder

Lamborghini company to be sold for $11.5bn?

China spacecraft docks with future space station

Lawyer: Armenia acting PM Pashinyan grossly abuses administrative resources during Lori Province visit

UN urges to investigate escalation of violence in Colombia

Malaysia to open mega-centers for vaccination against coronavirus

Police find  5 million in cash in London apartment

French citizen to face trial in Iran on spaying charges

Over 60 children in UK undergo surgery due to TikTok challenge

Iranian Central Bank governor dismissed

Armenian opposition: The one who liberated Artsakh will not go to debates with the one who sold it

Iranian energy ministry: Iraq to allocate $ 125 million of frozen funds for vaccines

No new COVID-19 cases reported in Artsakh

Iran and Iraq to intensify cooperation and are ready for joint investment projects

Armenia ex-PM says at least 2 more secret documents signed but not published yet

Indonesia frees Iranian tanker 4 months later

Mortar shelling in Afghanistan kills at least 10 civilians

Fire breaks out at West Virginia oil refinery in US

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February is Black History Month and to continue learning about the establishing, evolution, and culture of the Black Church, I spoke with African-American Christian leaders and educators to guide us through the history of the Black Church and the critical purpose it serves as part of the full Kingdom. Our American history is rarely told from the perspective of African Americans because it can be an uncomfortable narrative for the majority population in our nation to hear and understand, but when we highlight one part of the church, it sheds more light on the whole church.

I spoke with Dr. Anthea Butler, the Associate Professor of Religious Studies and Africana Studies at the University of Pennsylvania. Shes frequently involved in important discussions on religion, race, politics, and popular culture. Dr. Butler provided an overview of the origins of The Black Church from the time Africans were enslaved and brought to the Americas up to Emancipation, painting a clear picture of the early defining moments of The Black Church.

1. Enslavement of Africans in the Americas

The Age of Discovery occurred during the early modern period as European nations voyaged around the world in exploration. This era encompassed the Trans-Atlantic Slave trade which is responsible for the introduction of African enslavement in the Americas: the Caribbean, Mexico, and the United States. In 1619, the first Africans were sold in the English settlement of Jamestown, Virginia, beginning slavery in the colonies.

Christianity was prominent in the colonies because many settlers arrived with beliefs they learned about and developed through the Church of England. The exploitation of enslaved Africans was deemed permissible by Christians because of their mindset about the Catholic faith. They believed that if Africans were not willing to convert to Catholicism, then they were not considered worthy of their humanity and freedom.

Africans were ripped from their home, their unique culture, and different faith backgrounds and sent to a life as an enslaved person with little tolerance about attending church or gathering for fellowship. They were not provided with religious materials because slave owners did not believe it would be beneficial for them to learn how to read. Yet, they formed a faith culture based on spoken language and memorization. This was the foundational structure of the African community coming together for Christian worship that eventually lead to the establishment of what we call The Black Church. This beginning still influences The Black Churchs desire for deep interpersonal connection, a thread of hope through trial, and a community of support for spiritual, physical, and emotional needs.

2. Establishment of The Black Church

A major impact on the formation of The Black Church took place during the early 19th century through the Second Great Awakening. This was a religious revival in America brought on by widespread preaching and many reform movements that unified citizens and significantly boosted church growth. The awakening was a comforting movement in the midst of the concerning socio-political changes going on, and it brought a number of converts to new Protestant denominations. Slaveholders and enslaved Africans in the South attended sermons during this time period, predominantly preached by Baptist and Methodist pastors.

Richard Allen and Absalom Jones became influential authority figures for The Black Church when they organized the Free African Society of Philadelphia, which eventually split into two historical congregations, the African Methodist Episcopal Church (AME) and St. Thomas Episcopal Church in Philadelphia, Pennsylvania. These were some of the first physical churches designated for free and enslaved Africans. The congregations welcomed Africans as members and pastors, and their attendance numbers steadily increased as they became more well-known. The success and popularity of Black churches in Philadelphia inspired a multitude of other locations to be constructed.

3. Emancipation of The Black Church

Once The Black Church became officially established in the United States, it began to craft its identity in numerous communities, but it was not entirely widespread and accepted for quite a long time. The invisible institution remained prevalent across the country in areas with no organized church option available, so they were quietly meeting in secluded places to share their experiences. They also discussed what they heard happening in white churches, whether it be biblical stories, baptisms, or sermons by white preachers. These gatherings were equally as important to the formation of The Black Church because they set the precedent for how information would be circulated in future physical churches. It also set a culture of deep connection between attendees since these meetings were a private, small group of people deeply dedicated to growing their faith.

Although a lot of progress was transpiring, enslaved preachers were still common at this point in history. They would join the secretive meetings to preach and some would choose to recite specific scripture from the Holy Bible to reinforce and justify slavery. These enslaved preachers spoke about how slaves should be obedient to their masters and would frequently tell the liberation story of Moses freeing the Israelites because it was relatable and hopeful to their situation. The enslaved Africans were able to turn these Bible stories into inspirational and hope-filled songs and begin to truly have faith in the Gospel even though their perspective was drastically different from most white believers.

This was the backbone of Black life since education institutions were still not accessible to them. They used the church as a way to disseminate information and begin to have conversations about their freedom. The role of the Black Church today is similar in how it provides an opportunity for African Americans to connect and uplift each other, offer assistance, as well as ensure a safe place to feel validated in their experiences.

At Vanderbloemen, we value constant improvement and invite you to walk alongside us as we learn more about how to better love and serve the whole church. Be sure to check out our first episode and the full podcast episode with Dr. Butler. Stay tuned as we release a new episode in our History And Evolution Of The Black Church series each week throughout the month of February.
OPEC, US Oil Firms Expect Subdued Shale Rebound Even as Crude Prices Rise

LONDON/HOUSTONOPEC and U.S. oil companies expect a limited rebound in shale oil supply this year as top U.S. producers freeze output despite rising prices, a decision that would help the organization and its allies.

OPEC this month cut its 2021 forecast for U.S. tight crude, another term for shale, and expects production to decline by 140,000 barrels per day (bpd) to 7.16 million bpd. The U.S. government expects shale output in March to fall about 78,000 bpd to 7.5 million bpd and also sees an annual drop.

The OPEC forecast preceded the freezing weather in Texas, home to 40 percent of U.S. output, which has shut wells and curbed demand by regional oil refineries.

The lack of a shale rebound could make it easier for OPEC and its allies to manage the market, according to OPEC sources.

This should be the case, said one of the OPEC sources, who declined to be identified. But I dont think this factor will be permanent.

While some U.S. energy firms have increased drilling, production is expected to remain under pressure as companies cut spending to reduce debt and boost shareholder returns. Shale producers are also wary that increased drilling would quickly be met by OPEC returning more oil to the market.

More Discipline

In this new era, (shale) requires a different mindset, Doug Lawler, chief executive of shale pioneer Chesapeake Energy Corp., said in an interview this month. It requires more discipline and responsibility with respect to generating cash for our stakeholders and shareholders.

That sentiment would be a welcome development for the Organization of the Petroleum Exporting Countries, for which a 20142016 price slide and global glut caused partly by rising shale output was an uncomfortable experience. This led to the creation of OPEC+, which began cutting output in 2017.

OPEC+, which includes OPEC, Russia, and their allies, is in the process of slowly unwinding record output curbs made last year as prices and demand collapsed due to the pandemic. Alliance members will meet on March 4 to review demand. For now, it is not seeing history repeat itself.

U.S. shale is the key non-OPEC supply in the past 10 years or more, said another OPEC delegate. If such limitation of growth is now expected, I dont foresee any concerns as producers elsewhere can meet any demand growth.

Still, OPEC is no rush to open the taps. Saudi Arabian Energy Minister Prince Abdulaziz bin Salman said on Feb. 17 that oil producers must remain extremely cautious.

$60 Oil Helps

Shale output usually responds rapidly to price signals and U.S. crude has this month hit its highest level since January 2020, topping $60 a barrel.

While shale companies have added more rigs in recent weeks, a tepid demand recovery and investor pressure to reduce debt has kept them from rushing to complete new wells.

At this price point, any oil production is profitable, especially the relatively high-cost U.S. shale patch, said Stephen Brennock of broker PVM Oil Associates.

Yet, despite these positive growth signals, U.S. tight oil production is far from recovering its pre-COVID mojo.

The chief executive of shale producer Pioneer Natural Resources Co., Scott Sheffield, recently said he expects small companies to increase output but in the aggregate U.S. output will remain flat to 1 percent higher even at $60 per barrel.

Production Freeze

Last weeks severe cold will wreak havoc on oil and gas production as companies deal with frozen equipment and a lack of power to run operations. The largest U.S. independent producer, ConocoPhillips, said on Feb. 18 the majority of its Texas production remained offline.

But J.P. Morgan analysts said in a Feb. 18 report that rising oil prices might prompt a quicker shale revival.

As long as operators have sufficient drilled but unfracked well inventory to complete, they should be able to easily grow production while keeping capex in check, the bank said, using a term for drilling spending.

Forecasts for 2022 such as from the U.S. Energy Information Administration are for more U.S. supply growth, although perhaps not enough to cause problems for OPEC+ for now.

U.S. oil output will not go back to pre-COVID levels any time soon, said PVMs Brennock. But that is not to say that U.S. shale will not one day return as a thorn in OPECs side.

By Alex Lawler and Jennifer Hiller

Las Vegas Raiders cornerback Kemah Siverand was arrested in Houston over the weekend in an alleged street racing incident.

Houston police chief Art Acevedo told media Monday that Siverand, 24, was one of three people arrested in connection to the illegal racing, which took place after midnight on Saturday.

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Police said Siverand first stopped for officers, but then drove on for an additional mile before halting again. That's presumably why Siverand was charged with felony evading arrest, while the other two drivers were charged with racing on a highway. Five cars were involved in the racing, but police were able to catch up with three.

Raiders CB Kemah Siverand was arrested over the weekend in a Houston street racing incident. (Photo by Scott Winters/Icon Sportswire via Getty Images)

Siverand tried to sneak a woman into team hotel

In the span of less than a year, Siverand has made some unique headlines. You don't hear about street racing arrests in the NFL very often, but Siverand's first brush with "fame" was even wilder.

Siverand was cut by the Seattle Seahawks in August after he was caught on video trying to sneak a woman dressed in Seahawks gear into the team hotel. Due to COVID-19 health and safety protocols, hotel visitors were strictly regulated. Siverand was trying to get around the rules by camouflaging the woman in Seahawks gear, which  shocker!  didn't work.

Siverand apologized for the incident several weeks later.

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Siverand, a rookie out of Oklahoma State, remained on the job market until late October when the Raiders signed him to a practice squad deal.

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Honouring its commitment to the health and safety of its employees and customers, Emirates today has become among the first airlines in the world to operate a flight with fully vaccinated frontline teams servicing customers at every touchpoint of the travel journey.



This morning, the full airport and onboard customer experience for flight EK215, which departed Dubai at 0830hrs for Los Angeles, was safely supported by check-in, security, Business and First Class lounge and boarding gate employees, as well as engineers, pilots and cabin crew who made the choice to be fully vaccinated.



Also supporting the flight's operations were fully vaccinated aircraft appearance, loading and special handling teams from dnata, as well as Emirates SkyCargo teams working on the cargo and logistics requirements for EK215.



The Emirates Group rolled out its vaccination drive at pace just over a month ago, and since then, close to 26,000, or 44%, of the Group's UAE frontline aviation workforce have received both doses of either the Pfizer-BioNTech or Sinopharm vaccines.



Adel Al Redha, Chief Operating Officer, Emirates Airline said: "Our operational workforce are at the aviation frontline, helping people get to where they need to be, and moving essential goods to global communities. Protecting our people with vaccinations is important  for them, for our community, for the smooth running of our operations, and also for our customers as it introduces of an additional layer of protection when they travel with us. We've seen a very positive response with high demand and take-up of the Covid-19 vaccine from our colleagues at the operational frontline, and there's continued momentum in the rate of vaccinations across the business. We would like to thank the UAE's leadership for making three types of vaccines available in the country, and for their proactive commitment to championing an extensive National Vaccination Programme."



Nearly 5,000 Cabin and Flight Deck Crew have opted to receive both doses of the Covid-19 vaccine. In addition, thousands more Emirates Group employees in other roles have taken their COVID-19 vaccine through the company's clinics and vaccination centres, while others have opted to take their vaccine at one of the many vaccination centres across the UAE.



Al Redha added: "At the outset of the pandemic, Emirates implemented robust safety measures to protect and prioritise the safety of our customers and employees at all stages of the travel journey, and with the rapid progress of our own vaccination programme and high rates of take-up, more of our flights will soon be operating with fully vaccinated frontline employees. We are also confident that with more people being vaccinated, combined with strong safety measures in place, we can all look forward to the easing of border entry guidelines for many countries."



The Emirates Group vaccination programme is the latest in its series of safeguards and protections to deliver on its health and safety promises to its customers, employees and the communities it serves around the world. The Group's vaccination centres have been running 12 hours a day, every day of the week to prioritise and provide aviation frontliners with the vaccine.



The UAE currently has one of the world's highest rate of vaccinations for its citizens and residents as it fights to curb the spread of Covid-19. So far, the UAE has administered over 5.4 million doses of the Covid-19 vaccine, and Our World In Data, a research website based at Oxford University, recently reported that the country's distribution rate stands at 55.27 doses per 100 people, ranking it the second highest in the world.





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CAIRO  Egypt is seeking to move forward in the implementation of new seawater desalination projects in cooperation with the Russian Rusnano Group, which specializes in this field, to fill the countrys water deficit that exceeds 20 billion cubic meters per year amid the faltering negotiations on the Grand Ethiopian Renaissance Dam (GERD).

Tripartite negotiations over the GERD continue to stall as the last round of talks held Jan. 10 failed to make any progress between Egypt, Ethiopia and Sudan.

In a Jan. 22 statement, Abdel Moneim al-Terras, chairman of the Arab Organization for Industrialization, said that Egyptian President Abdel Fattah al-Sisi directed the government to boost cooperation among the states industrial and research institutions and exploit the national manufacturing capabilities to promote local manufacturing of water desalination plant equipment.

Terras statement came during a video conference held between the Rusnano Group and the University of Alexandria in Egypt in order to discuss cooperation in the field of seawater desalination. The two parties agreed during the talks to further discuss the establishment of a specialized factory in Egypt for the manufacture of seawater desalination membranes in partnership with the Russian side. They also agreed to localize this industry in order to reduce the price of a cubic meter of water and achieve added value for the national industry.

President of Alexandria University Abdulaziz Konsowa stressed during the meeting that the establishment of seawater desalination plants comes within the framework of the governments approach to seek nontraditional alternatives to water resources.

Egypt suffers from a water deficit of up to 20 billion cubic meters annually, Eman Sayed, head of the planning sector at the Egyptian Ministry of Water Resources and Irrigation, told Sky News Arabia Feb. 10.

She explained that 97% of Egypts water resources come from the Nile River, and Egypts water needs reach 80 billion cubic meters annually.

Osama Salam, a professor at the governmental National Water Research Center and water expert at the Environment Agency in Abu Dhabi, told Al-Monitor, Egypt needs to develop its nonconventional water resources to meet the challenges of population growth, and one of the most important nontraditional resources is seawater desalination.

He explained that the population growth over the next 20 years requires an additional 5 billion cubic meters of drinking water.

Salam said, Egypt is in need of additional water resources to meet its current and expected future water deficit  be it to meet the needs of a growing population or for any external reasons, including the GERD. It would be a great achievement if it can manage to desalinate seawater to cater to the needs of the coastal governorates and cover the future demand for drinking water.

He added, Working to localize the seawater desalination industry in cooperation with the Russian side during such times is very important as far as owning and developing these technologies is concerned, because such projects help Egypt secure its water needs.

However, he said, "The desalination cost is still high, and the use of desalinated water will be strictly limited to meeting the drinking and domestic use needs. In the event of a decrease in the costs of desalination in the future, the use [of water] in agriculture may be extended to some types of crops that need little water and are of high economic value.

He said he believes that the development of nontraditional water resources  including desalination  is very important to face the water challenges in general.

However, Mohammed Nasreddin Allam, former Egyptian minister of water resources and irrigation, told Al-Monitor, Water desalination projects will not be able to bridge the water deficit that Egypt suffers from and that exceeds 20 billion cubic meters.

Allam said, This [desalination project] will not help resolve any water shortages. The projects that we are carrying out are trying to provide drinking water to coastal cities or new cities [only].

He pointed out that water desalination and irrigation rationalization projects mainly aim at coping with the water crisis in Egypt.

Allam stressed, Egypt relies on its historical share of the Nile water to meet its various needs in all fields, and will continue to commit to the negotiation track [on the GERD crisis] to obtain its right.

Abbas Sharaki, head of the Natural Resources Department at Cairo Universitys African Research and Studies Institute, told Al-Monitor, The main purpose behind seawater desalination is to deliver water to new cities or to industrial or tourism projects.

However, he believes that the Egyptian water desalination projects are not directly linked to the stalling GERD negotiations.

Hanan Omar, head of the drinking water sector in the south Sinai governorate, said in a Feb. 15 statement that two seawater desalination plants are to be built within two years to offer a permanent solution to the drinking water crisis in the tourist city of Sharm el-Sheikh.

Having a growing population  poses a big problem for the Egyptian government, which is trying to find alternative ways to meet the Egyptian water needs, Sharaki said. During the past years Egypt would desalinate about 100 million cubic meters of water per year, but with the desalination plants in the Sinai Peninsula, Marsa Matruh and on the Red Sea, we are currently producing 400 million cubic meters per year. The government is aiming for 1 billion cubic meters of desalinated water by 2030.

Asked about the currently stalled GERD negotiations, Sharaki noted, Egypt wants to reach an agreement with Ethiopia and Sudan  be it through the African Union or through external mediation, but having negotiations go on like this is only a waste of time. If the crisis is not resolved within the coming months, we must resort to the UN Security Council.
[February 22, 2021] ALP.Lab and Cepton Deploy Lidar Intelligence to Enable Smart Intersections and Road Safety in Europe

Cepton, a leading provider of intelligent, lidar-based solutions, and the Austrian Industry and Testing Alliance ALP.Lab have partnered to build lidar-equipped testing environments for studying complicated road driving situations. For the first time in Austria, this project will deliver real-world traffic data from complex urban and rural alpine intersections. This press release features multimedia. View the full release here: https://www.businesswire.com/news/home/20210222005304/en/ ALP.Lab has deployed Cepton's Helius Smart Lidar System to capture real-time, 3D traffic data to support the training of AI algorithms used for the scenario-based testing of ADAS and AV features. Courtesy of ALP.Lab. As an alliance of automotive suppliers such as Magna and AVL, and as a partner to scientific organizations like Virtual Vehicle Research, Joanneum Research and Graz University of Technology, ALP.Lab delivers real-life data on complex traffic situations to test the capabilities of the autonomous driving systems, and helps enable solutions to reduce accidents and improve traffic flows. From narrow, foggy streets covered in snow, to cyclists overtaking a tram in the middle of an intersection, Austria, with its mountainous landscape, sees varied road driving scenarios and faces unique challenges in ensuring vehicle and pedestrian safety. Difficult traffic scenarios could pose obstacles for the seamless deployment of autonomous mobility solutions. Compiling a realistic database of different driving scenarios is, therefore, pivotal to the testing and verification of advanced driver assistance systems (ADAS) and autonomous vehicles (AVs), to ensure that they work well in complex environments. Through this new partnership, ALP.Lab has deployed Cepton's Helius Smart Lidar System to capture real-time, 3D traffic data to support the training of artificial intelligence (AI) algorithms used for the scenario-based testing of ADAS and AV features. Additionally, the collected data will make it possible to predict vehicle trajectories at intersections and enable traffic data analysis for traffic flow optimization. As part of the Helius system, a number of Vista-P60 lidar sensors from Cepton have been installed at the corners of road intersections and traffic roundabouts, complementing other sensor types including radar and other types of optical sensors. For traffic monitoring and analysis applications, lidars perform well in many critical cases where other sensor types struggle. Lidars offer 24/7 availability thanks to their superior perception capabilities in various lighting conditions, such as night-time, shadows and the glare of strong headlights. Lidars also offer much higher angular resolution compared to radars and minimize false negatives and false positives. The Vista-P60 lidars, powered by Cepton's patented Micro Motion Technology (MMT), offer a high detection range of 200 m at 30% reflectivity and an angular resolution of 0.25, making it possible to accurately detect each arriving and departing vehicle and pedestrian at a distance of upto ~170 meters around the intersections.



The advanced Helius perception software adds an additional layer of intelligence to the lidar data from the Vista-P60. Helius takes the point cloud data from a connected network of Vista-P60 sensors and delivers real-time, 3D information on object dimensions, locations and velocities. This enables Helius to accurately track and classify the different objects involved in a traffic situation. As Helius and the other sensors used by ALP.Lab only capture anonymized data, it protects the privacy of pedestrians and vehicles while feeding ALP.Lab rich traffic data for deeper analysis. The Helius Smart Lidar system offers optimal ease of integration. The rotation-free, mirrorless and frictionless design makes Vista-P60 sensors very durable and embeddable. The rugged sensor housing is designed to withstand harsh outdoor environments and cold climates, resulting in product robustness and longevity to drive down maintenance costs. With the pre-installed Helius software running on an edge computer, which connects a scalable network of lidar sensors, Helius is a truly plug-and-play system that is extremely easy to set up and scale up.

"We primarily selected Cepton's lidar solutions because of their durability and precise detection capabilities even at high vehicle speeds. With the information the lidar sensors provide, our data is as close to real-life as it gets. Therefore, we are able to create enhanced simulation and AV testing environments as well as detailed analyses of the traffic flow," said Christian Schwarzl, Director of Testing and Validation from ALP.Lab. "There is amazing synergy between Cepton and ALP.Lab, as we share the same goal of making ADAS and AV features available to the mass market and to improve the safety of vulnerable road users." "Lidar plays a crucial role in the future of autonomous mobility, by not only serving as the 'eyes' of vehicles but also bringing intelligence to the traffic infrastructure supporting safe autonomy. In order to make ADAS and AV capabilities available to the broader public, it is crucial to gather information on traffic scenarios that all vehicles are likely to be confronted with, in order to generate proper testing environments and ensure safer roads," said Dr. Jun Pei, CEO of Cepton. "So, we are excited to partner with ALP.Lab in this endeavor, and we are gratified that our technology can contribute significantly to its success." About Cepton Technologies, Inc. Cepton provides state-of-the-art, intelligent, lidar-based solutions for a range of markets such as automotive (ADAS/AV), smart cities, smart spaces and smart industrial applications. Cepton's patented MMT-based lidar technology enables reliable, scalable and cost-effective solutions that deliver long range, high resolution 3D perception for smart applications. Founded in 2016 and led by industry veterans with over two decades of collective experience across a wide range of advanced lidar and imaging technologies, Cepton is focused on the mass market commercialization of high performance, high quality lidar solutions. Cepton is headquartered in San Jose, California, USA, with a presence in Germany, Canada, Japan and India, to serve a fast-growing global customer base. For more information, visit www.cepton.com and follow us on Twitter and LinkedIn. About ALP.Lab ALP.Lab is the Austrian Light Vehicle Proving Region for Automated Driving and provides comprehensive services for safe and secure testing of automated driving technologies. Founded in 2017, ALP.Lab provides an integrated test chain for automated driving functions and vehicles, enabling testing activities in both the virtual and real world. ALP.Lab offers a holistic traffic monitoring solution to create testing scenarios out of real-life driving behavior in primary, secondary, and urban road networks. Further, ALP.Lab provides a professional testing team for Euro-NCAP-compliant ADAS/AD testing, including extensive testing equipment and different proving grounds. A unique mobile HIL (hardware-in-the-loop) system facilitates complex sensor testing and validation. A strong network of industrial and scientific partners support the capabilities of ALP.Lab for safe and secure testing of any autonomous mobility solutions. Creating value for their customers by providing high-end testing facilities and real-time traffic data is the main driver for the Austrian Light Vehicle Proving Region for Automated Driving. For more information, visit www.alp-lab.at and follow us on LinkedIn. View source version on businesswire.com: https://www.businesswire.com/news/home/20210222005304/en/

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The end of the pandemic feels tantalizingly near as vaccines arrive and the pace of new infections slows. But a new coronavirus mystery is set to keep researchers busy in the Bay Area and across the country for years to come.

Doctors call the medical conundrum post-acute COVID syndrome. Scientists prefer post-acute sequelae of SARS-CoV-2 infection. But those suffering from the multitude of frightening symptoms that dont go away just call themselves long-haulers.

Thousands of researchers across the United States are going to be developing projects to study this problem, said Dr. Michael Peluso, an infectious disease expert who manages a UCSF study of long-haulers with funding for 250 participants. There will be a huge effort to do this now, and it will far exceed the small studies that have existed so far.

Terrifying for sufferers and frustrating for physicians, post-COVID syndromes questions far outnumber answers. Scientists dont know how common it is, what causes it, and who is likely to get it.

A cough that wont quit, shortness of breath, exhaustion, headaches and brain fog are the most common symptoms reported by long-haulers  people who no longer test positive for the coronavirus yet, months later, still feel ill. Scientists cant predict how long people will suffer, and they dont know if they should study everyone together or group people by symptoms.

The only thing we know is that this syndrome is real, said Dr. Steve Deeks, who works with Peluso on the UCSF study.

The National Institutes of Health is calling post-COVID syndrome a public health priority and will soon invite proposals for studies. Grant money will be awarded in late March and early April, financed by $1.15 billion allocated in the latest coronavirus relief package to study the long-term effects of COVID, officials said.

Understanding post-COVID syndrome is critical because it may strike millions of people.

More than 110 million people around the world have been infected, and small studies suggest that 1 in 3 of them could suffer long-term effects. On Friday, a University of Washington study published in JAMA found that 30% of 177 patients reported symptoms up to 9 months after their illness. In July, the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention reported that 35% of 292 patients interviewed had symptoms two to three weeks after diagnosis.

To Fred Marziano, answers cant come soon enough. A sergeant with the Marin County Sheriffs Office, he worked side by side with Public Health Officer Matt Willis last March at the county Emergency Center handling the new coronavirus crisis. Both got COVID-19  but their outcomes couldnt have been more different.

Willis, 55, tested positive for the virus on March 22. He told The Chronicle in May that he suffered mightily from nausea, diarrhea, numbness and vasculitis for more than a week before improving on day 12. He returned to work on April 20.

More Information Help for post-COVID syndrome The Osher Center for Integrative Medicine is enrolling people, including non-UCSF patients, for mindfulness training to alleviate post-COVID symptoms: https://osher.ucsf.edu/ See More Collapse

Marziano began coughing on March 19. That night, feverish with chills and sweats, he called Kaiser. Four days later, he tested positive for the virus.

A gym rat who loved hiking with his teenage daughter, Marziano, 50, now needs a walker. He often feels dizzy and has to sit down. His oxygen is low, his blood pressure is high, and he has trouble remembering words. He needs nebulizers and inhalers to breathe and has developed sleep apnea. On Feb. 10, he retired.

COVID researchers are considering numerous possible explanations for the phenomenon: Virus fragments lingering in the body. The immune system attacking the body even after the infection is gone. The loss of olfactory nerves that govern taste and smell may also cause psychological symptoms. Microscopic blood clots, persistent inflammation, or both wreaking havoc.

If I had to put my money down, Id say its going to be some combination of factors, including some we havent thought of yet, Peluso said.

The post-COVID clinics popping up around the country reflect that tapestry of ideas. California has at least six, some equipped to treat hearts, lungs and brains. Others focus on nutrition, exercise or psychology. Unlike traditional hospitals that evaluate those areas independently of one another, post-COVID clinics treat groups of symptoms  the syndrome  across all of that territory.

Patients often arrive at the UC Davis post-COVID clinic frustrated that previous tests revealed nothing wrong  yet they feel anything but normal, said Dr. Christian Sandrock, an infectious disease and pulomonary expert who helped start the clinic. So doctors there hunt for suspects that may evade the usual tests.

The clinic might perform a breathing test of a patients diffusing capacity to see how well oxygen and carbon dioxide move across the lungs, Sandrock said. An abnormal result may indicate the presence of microscopic blood clots. To see if those minuscule culprits exist in the heart and brain, the clinic might do an MRI of those areas. The doctors also check patients level of C-reactive protein, which the liver produces in response to inflammation that damages healthy cells.

But if doctors can pinpoint why a COVID survivor still feels ill, can they fix the problems?

Thats the million-dollar question. What the heck do we do with these people? Sandrock said.

They arent altogether out of options. Some patients with microscopic blood clots, for example, receive blood thinners.

And theyve gotten a lot better. But thats totally anecdotal, he said.

At UCSF, 20 of the first 100 people in the study of long-haulers reported persistent brain fog  including forgetfulness, trouble thinking of words, and disorganized thinking that led to missed deadlines. Of the 20, 14 had never been to the hospital for their COVID, so the changes couldnt be blamed on side effects often associated with immobility or drugs administered during a long stay for treatment.

Dr. Joanna Hellmuth, a neurologist, took a closer look at the 14, whose median age was 39.

Cognitive symptoms in patients recovering from COVID-19 may last months or longer after acute illness, Hellmuth and her colleagues reported in a study published Feb. 2 on the online site SpringerLink. They also found that traditional tests for detecting dementia in elderly people showed nothing wrong with this group.

Instead, the problem looked similar to the kind of brain fog associated with HIV, which is linked to inflammation and an overactive immune system.

But questions remain. Is this a direct impact of the virus? Or an indirect impact of the inflammation? What if the immune system is instead making antibodies against the brain  a postinfectious autoimmune process? The neurologist has submitted a grant proposal to find the answers.

Meanwhile, thousands of post-COVID sufferers say waiting for such answers is nearly as excruciating as the symptoms, and they have turned to one another for relief. One popular gathering place is Body Politic, a Slack forum open only to those with the syndrome.

Im on there every day, said Joy Wu of San Carlos, a medical device engineer who got sick in March after visiting the Galapagos and spending time on a yacht.

I thought my heart was going to explode, said Wu, who landed in the emergency room. But Wu wasnt given a coronavirus test until early May, and by then it came back negative. So did an antibody test, which can have a false negative rate of 20% to 30%, studies show.

Wu has since been to the emergency room seven times. Shes had chills, low oxygen, elevated heart rate and now walks with a cane, though she is just 37. Like Marziano, shes stopped working. For state disability, her doctor listed chronic fatigue syndrome because no test has proved she was infected with the coronavirus.

I do believe I have post-COVID, Wu said. But post-COVID is not recognized yet.

UCSF doctors Juliet Morgan, a neurologist, and Meghan Jobson, an internist, not only recognize post-COVID syndrome but are trying to help sufferers through free mindfulness training so they can better relax and tamp down symptoms.

In their group is Tom Seck, 45, a Kansas pediatrician and patient at UCSF. He believes he caught COVID last spring from a patients family. Seck has had trouble breathing since day 9 and suffers from blurry vision, a fluctuating heart rate, debilitating brain fog, and headaches that mimic two prior concussions. Doctors say he has viral-induced autonomic dysfunction, or damage to his nervous system from COVID. He hasnt been able to work since September.

I want you to appreciate the light in the room, Morgan says in a soothing voice over Zoom. Go ahead and close your eyes. Seck, a slender man with curly hair and a brown checked shirt, closes his eyes. So does Jobson. Well allow that light into the soles of your feet. That light can give you energy. It can give you relaxation. It can melt away tension.

For five minutes, Morgan directs Seck to imagine the light traveling through his body, healing it and lubricating his joints. She tells him to breathe deeply. Then, after directing Seck to send the light deeply into his brain and asking if any part of his body might want more light, Morgan says to gently open your eyes.

Tom, how did that feel? Morgan asked.

Great. Very relaxing. Great, Seck said before leaping up and racing out of the room, calling: I need to go let my dog out!

Awkward conclusion notwithstanding, Secks sessions have helped him, he said, and he and others requested that they continue beyond the initial four that began in December.

Morgan and Jobson will enroll a new group in April, including for non-UCSF patients. Those interested can visit the Osher Center for Integrative Medicine website for information.

Nanette Asimov is a San Francisco Chronicle staff writer. Email: nasimov@sfchronicle.com Twitter: @NanetteAsimov
WYOMING  Democrats lined up in the parking lot of the Midway Shopping Center on Saturday for a drive-thru signature-gathering event inspired by the COVID-19 pandemic.

Co-organizer Thomas Bindus, a Luzerne County Democratic committeeman, said the drive-thru event organized by Luzerne County Democratic Women was being held out of necessity because door-to-door signature gathering is not practical this year.

They stay in their cars so nobody has to get cold, and everybodys double-masked, he said. Everybody is aware that the safety protocols will be in place.

Candidates working the line in front of the shuttered Bon-Ton at the end of the strip mall included judicial candidates attorney Jim Bobeck and Magisterial District Judge Alexandra Kokura Kravitz; Luzerne County Council candidates Jimmy Sabatino, Sheila Saidman, Maryann Velez, Matt Vough and Jane Walsh Waitkus; Luzerne County incumbent Controller Michelle Bednar; and Kingston council candidate John Chernesky.

The candidates said they came out to get to know voters in a safe environment.

I think its important to reach out to voters in the best and safest way that we can, Kokura Kravitz said. This is campaigning during the time of COVID, so were all adapting as every family is adapting to everyday events in their lives. This is a safe way to have people come to you to help support your campaign.

Bobeck agreed that the event was a good way to safely gather the needed signatures on nominating petitions, which must be turned into the county election bureau by March 9.

We need to do this in a safe way, Bobeck said. If we made one single person get sick, it is not worth it to run for office. That is a detriment to what were trying to do. So we want to get out, we want to meet people, for me personally I just want to get my message out.

Shavertown resident Mike Callahan, a registered Democrat, said he came out to sign petitions to show his support.

I just thought it was a great way to do something to encourage the democratic process in a safe way, Callahan said. This was just a safe way to do it. And you get a pen and Hershey Kisses. How could you go wrong?

The Luzerne County Democratic Party is also planning a similar series of walk-through petition signings at its headquarters at 60 Public Square in Wilkes-Barre.

The schedule is 5 to 7 p.m. both Friday and March 4.
The strikers poured onto the streets of Myanmar on Monday knowing that they might die. But they gathered by the millions anyway, in the largest rallies since a military coup three weeks ago. Their only protection came from hard hats, holy amulets and the collective power of a newly called general strike.

The generals had tried to halt Mondays dissent with barricades and fleets of vehicles parked in strategic urban locations. Armored vehicles patrolled, while snipers took their stations on rooftops. An ominous warning had been issued hours before on state television: Protesters are now inciting people, especially emotional teenagers and youth, toward a path of confrontation where they will suffer a loss of life.

But the militarys show of force did little to quell Mondays general strike, which proceeded peacefully in hundreds of cities and towns. Columns of people extended to the horizon near a traffic junction and a pagoda in Yangon, the largest city in Myanmar, and at the railway station in Mandalay, the second-largest city. They congregated on Martyrs Street in Dawei, a seaside city, and by the clock towers in Monywa and Hpa-An, in the countrys center and east.

I will sacrifice my life for our future generations, said Ko Bhone Nay Thit, a 19-year-old university student in Mandalay who left home Monday morning armed with his mothers prayers and the effects of a holy water ritual. We must win.
Councillor Emma Coffey has called the Land Development Agency Bill a direct attack on Local Government Democracy.

Cllr Coffey at the Louth County Council meeting held last week raised her grave concerns about Section 49 and 56 of the Land Development Agency Bill, which with the stroke of a pen removes the County Councillors democratic powers and imposes an unprecedented obligation on a democratically elected individual Local Authority Member to co-operate with this new body.



Speaking about these issues in the Chamber Councillor Coffey stated: There has never been any legislation which obliges an individual Councillor to co-operate with a body outside of her or his local authority.

"Furthermore I am sure that the democratically elected members of the Oireachtas, whether TDs or Senators, would not accept such an obligation being placed on them and therefore neither should Councillors.



Cllr. Coffey also highlighted further issues in relation to Section 56 of this Bill, in particular the fact that as Councillors we are directly elected by the people and therefore have a democratic mandate to ensure that the Local Authority will get the best value and/or that the sale or transfer of such lands is in the best interest of the citizens of our County.

Cllr. Coffey on commenting on the matter after the meeting believes that Section 49 & 56 in its current draft, whether intentionally or not, is in direct contravention of the Programme for Government, in particular the heading Local Government where it states that The new government is committed to making Local Government stronger, more accountable and more responsive to the community it serveswe willexamine devolving more powers to Local Authorities through the legislative process to strengthen and enhance local democracy.

"It is quite clear that should these sections remain within the bill that this will be a removal of Councillors democratic powers and in fact is a direct attack on Local Government democracy.

"I am very surprised about the inclusion of Section 49 and 56 in the Bill.

"I wholeheartedly do not believe that it will be in the best interest of the country and as a result of these concerns I have written to all my fellow Fianna Fail Councillors in the country to contact their constituency party colleagues in the Oireachtas reminding them, that the majority of them started their political careers in the Council Chamber and that given the very clear undertakings specified by all Government Parties in the Programme for Government published in June 2020, Sections 49 & 56 should not proceed and indeed should it pass will weaken the democratic voice of the local Councillor even further."

Cllr Coffey also urged her fellow Council members to bring this particular issue to the floor of their respective Council Chambers in order that it can be debated amongst their fellow local County Councillors and to engage with the national representative bodies of the elected members to communicate these concerns.
Bhubaneswar, Feb 22 : Odisha Chief Minister Naveen Patnaik on Monday hailed the annual budget for 2021-22 while the opposition BJP and Congress criticised it for having nothing for the farmers and migrant returnees.

"It is a pro-people, pro-growth and transformative budget in our journey towards 'New Odisha - Empowered Odisha'. Most of last year we lost in Covid lockdowns. From that scenario to presenting a holistic, fiscally prudent budget for Rs 1.76 lakh crore is nothing short of brilliant. Congratulations to everyone involved," said the Chief Minister.

Finance Minister Niranjan Pujari presented the annual budget for 2021-22 with an outlay of Rs 1.7 lakh crore in the state Assembly on Monday.

However, the opposition parties said that the budget ignored the concerns of farmers while it did not focus on infrastructure development.

"The state government has presented a rosy picture in the budget. It is the worst-ever budget. It has nothing for the farmers," said Congress MLA Santosh Singh Saluja.

Bishnu Charan Sethi, deputy leader of the BJP legislature party, said the budget has ignored infrastructure development while it has failed to address the concerns of the migrants, who returned to the state during the Covid-19 pandemic.
TERRE HAUTE, Ind. (WTHI) - Three women with ties to Terre Haute and Indiana State University are being honored this Black History Month.

You can watch an original concert, recognizing their accomplishments and service Monday.

A local historian wrote the script and the music is original.

The concert will pay tribute to Willa Brown Chappell an aviator and activist, Dr. Cynthia Shepard Perry a united states ambassador...

and Z Mae Jimison the first black woman to serve as a judge in Marion county, Indiana.

"I think it's always important to tell the story, tell the history of people of a different race, different culture, a different religion, that kind of thing. It just helps us as a whole be better citizens I believe," says music arranger Dr. Roby George.

This concert is presented by the Indiana State University school of music.

It will be streamed on Youtube from 7 to 9 tomorrow evening.
SPRINGFIELD  Longmeadow High senior Anthony Marino and West Springfield High senior Meghan Pinter have both been members since seventh grade of the teen board of Rachels Table, a long-established initiative of the Jewish Federation of Western Massachusetts which collects surplus food from businesses like restaurants for redistribution to area outlets that include food pantries and shelters.

The two, both officers on the 50-member board, have volunteered time toward projects that address food accessibility and to understanding the complex issues of what makes a household food insecure.

Their latest project is the boards ArtsFest21, which is virtual this year because of the COVID-19 pandemic, and currently seeking submissions by March 10 for the online exhibit whose theme is health and food insecurity. The exhibit is open to all ages, and the ArtsFest 21 website has related resources developed by the teen board in conjunction with the College of Nursing at the University of Massachusetts-Amherst.

Entries must be submitted electronically and may be paintings, graphic art, poetry, song, small sculpture, storytelling, dance, photography or CANstruction.

I dont think people really know anything about the realities of food insecurity. I know that I did not have much deep knowledge on how many people actually struggle with food insecurity, but after learning that it is 1 in 5 families, I will never forget this, said Pinter of statistics U.S. households have faced during the pandemic.

I feel like getting teens to research and learn about food insecurity and then be able to express it through art is super important in just getting the knowledge out there in any way. Hopefully this will be a really eye- opening experience for people.

Pinter said she liked the fact that ArtsFest 21 is open to different forms of artistic expression.

I think that food insecurity can be seen in many different ways, so I think it is best that we accept any form of art to show that food insecurity comes in many different forms, just like art, Pinter said.

It also reaches out to a greater bandwidth of people, I know personally I am more interested in expression through live art and music, so having those as options will open up the opportunities for more people to get involved and learn about food insecurity.

She added, We are hoping for teens to learn about food insecurity and understand that it is so much more common than one might think.

Marino, who has served as teen board president for the last two years, said he grew up never needing to worry about where my next meal is coming from, said that his participation has made him aware that for many others, that isnt the case.

Ive been able to help distribute food and educate myself on how diverse our community truly is, and help myself to understand the issues in society, not just my own, Marino said.

He said he was surprised to learn how stringent federal income guidelines for the Supplemental Nutrition Assistance Program (formerly the Food Stamp Program) can impact households and their food choices.

There are many families or individuals that are in need of healthy and nutritious foods, however because of their jobs pay, they dont qualify, said Marino, a reference to the fact that a family of three gross income must not exceed around $28,000 a year to qualify.

Although they are making money, lots of it is going towards bills such as: electrical, medical, housing, etc. There isnt much money left over to be buying healthy, nutritious foods, so they tend to get more sugary and fatty substances since those items are cheaper than fresh greens, etc.

Marino described the Rachel Tables Teen Board as such an easy thing for any teen to get involved with, and such a great extracurricular if you have the time.

Due to the pandemic this year, our meetings have been virtual over Zoom, instead of at the Jewish Community Center in Springfield, Marino said.

However, weve been able to hold a few in-person activities, such as our Holyoke Backpack Program, where we pack around 250 backpacks full of food for students and their families.

He added, I dont think people know much about food insecurity unless youre actually living in it.

I feel with this experience being involved with the teen board, it has opened my eyes up to the many different people and their situations that they might be facing< said Marino who is headed to the University of Vermont in the fall.

You never know what someone might be going through, so being able to understand and share some sort of connection with someone is so beneficial and youre able to understand on a personal level.

Interested participants in ArtsFest 21 are advised to email Mitrani Marmor at rebeccam@jewishwesternmass.org to reserve a spot.

All entries become the property of the Jewish Federation of Western Massachusetts and will not be returned.

A $75 gift card will be awarded the top entry in its age category - 13 and under, 14 through 18, 19 and above - during a virtual ceremony on the evening of March 21.

ArtsFest 21 is made possible through a special grant from the Harold Grinspoon Foundation.
(Natural News) An article from the website Revolver indicated that the acquisition of customer data from the Bank of America by the Federal Bureau of Investigation (FBI) might have been illegal.

The governments sweeping list of demands for Bank of America wasnt meant to detect criminal activity. It was meant to identify people simply for attending the rally on Capitol Hill. Most of those people broke no laws whatsoever. Instead, they simply traveled to Washington to show support for President Donald Trump and his efforts to remain in office, the article said.

The FBI retaliated against this political speech by launching a far-ranging fishing expedition against them, an expedition it knew would rope in many people suspected of no crime at all. This is a direct attack on the First Amendment, in violation of existing Supreme Court precedent.

The relevant Supreme Court case the article was referring to was the National Association for the Advancement of Colored People (NAACP) v. Alabama in 1958.

Alabama Attorney General John Patterson was harassing the NAACP at the time in an effort to make it cease its bus boycott and civil rights activities in the state. He demanded the NAACP to hand over the names and addresses of its members, along with other information like its bank statements.

The Supreme Court ruled that Alabama, by demanding the identities of people who were organizing for controversial political purposes, was inherently mounting an attack on their constitutional rights. Demands for information must be linked with explicit, alleged criminal behavior or else wholly detached from the exercise of constitutional rights.

The provisions of federal law that allow financial records to be turned over to the government are limited. The Revolver article noted that the Fourth Amendment to the Constitution explicitly protects the persons, houses, papers and effects of Americans from all unreasonable searches and seizures.

According to the article, a financial institution is only allowed to give customer information only if the particular customer is believed to be breaking the law. Even then, the financial information of that customer couldnt be turned over. The institution could only inform the federal government of the persons name and the crime it believes it has evidence of.

Bank of America could not possibly have such evidence about its customers because the activities it reported to the federal government were legal.

On the other hand, the government must present a written request, a subpoena or a warrant to get private financial information. The account owner must be notified in case they wish to contest having his or her information handed over.

Apparently, the Bank of America was simply contacted by the FBI and replied by handing over the personal information of its customers. (Related: Yes, the deep state is real and its watching you: FBI caught running 3.1 million covert searches of U.S. citizens in latest abuse of power.)

Bank of America in the spotlight following revelation

Tucker Carlson of Fox News revealed in his opinion article on Feb. 4 that Bank of America handed over customer data to the FBI following the Jan. 6 Capitol riot.

He said that his show Tucker Carlson Tonight has exclusively obtained evidence that Bank of America is actively but secretly engaged in the hunt for extremists in cooperation with the government.

Bank of America is, without the knowledge or the consent of its customers, sharing private information with federal law enforcement agencies. Bank of America effectively is acting as an intelligence agency, but theyre not telling you about it, Carlson wrote.

Bank of America is the second-largest bank in the country with more than 60 million customers and over $2 trillion assets, next only to JPMorgan Chase.

According to Carlson, the bank combed through its own customers financial and transaction records in search of people that fit a certain profile.

These were the private records of Americans who had committed no crime; people who, as far as we know, had absolutely nothing to do with what happened at the Capitol. But at the request of federal investigators, Bank of America searched its databases looking for people who fit a specific profile, Carlson wrote.

The bank searched for customers who have made a confirmed transaction either through bank account debit card or credit card purchases in Washington, D.C. between Jan. 5 and Jan. 6; made a purchase for hotel/Airbnb RSVPs in Washington, D.C., Virginia and Maryland after Jan. 6; purchased weapons or anything at a weapons-related merchant between Jan. 7 and their upcoming suspected stay in Washington, D.C. area around inauguration day; or made airline-related purchases since Jan. 6.

Carlson pointed out that the profile is remarkably broad.

Any purchases of anything in Washington, D.C.; any overnight stay anywhere in an area spanning three jurisdictions and hundreds of miles; any purchase not just of legal firearms, but anything bought from a weapons-related merchant, T-shirts included; and any airline-related purchases  not just flights to Washington, but flights to anywhere, from Omaha to Thailand. That is an absurdly wide net, he wrote.

But with the coronavirus pandemic limiting purchases and transactions of people, that wide net only caught 211 customers. Bank of America turned over the results of its internal scan to federal authorities, apparently without notifying those customers that fit the profile.

Federal investigators had interviewed and cleared at least one of the 211.

Carlsons report has triggered outrage among customers and the general public whose privacy and private information have become increasingly vulnerable.

Many have tweeted their displeasure and some said they would close their Bank of America account immediately.

A spokesperson for Bank of America said the bank would not comment on its communications with law enforcement.

All banks have responsibilities under federal law to cooperate with law enforcement inquiries in full compliance with the law, the spokesperson said.

The Bank Secrecy Act requires banks to notify law enforcement to deter and detect money laundering, terrorist financing and other criminal acts and the misuse of our nations financial institutions.

Follow FBICorruption.news for more news and information about the bad and illegal practices of the FBI.

Sources include:

Revolver.news

FoxNews.com
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Australia will not change proposed laws that would make Alphabet Inc's Google and Facebook pay news outlets for content, a senior lawmaker said on Monday, despite vocal opposition from the Big Tech firms. Facebook has strongly protested the laws and last week abruptly blocked all news content and several state government and emergency department accounts. The social media giant and Australian leaders continued discussing the changes over the weekend.

But with the bill scheduled for a debate in the Senate on Monday, Australia's most senior lawmaker in the upper house said there would be no further amendments. "The bill as it stands ... meets the right balance," Simon Birmingham, Australia's Minister for Finance, told Australian Broadcasting Corp Radio.

The bill in its present form ensures "Australian-generated news content by Australian-generated news organisations can and should be paid for and done so in a fair and legitimate way". The laws would give the government the right to appoint an arbitrator to set content licencing fees if private negotiations fail.

While both Google and Facebook have campaigned against the laws, Google last week inked deals with top Australian outlets, including a global deal with Rupert Murdoch's News Corp. "There's no reason Facebook can't do and achieve what Google already has," Birmingham added.

A Facebook representative declined to comment on Monday on the legislation which passed the lower house last week and has majority support in the Senate. Lobby group DIGI, which represents Facebook, Google and other online platforms like Twitter Inc, meanwhile said on Monday that its members had agreed to adopt an industry-wide code of practice to reduce the spread of misinformation online.

Under the voluntary code, the companies commit to identifying and stopping unidentified accounts, or "bots", disseminating content, informing users of the origins of content, and publishing an annual transparency report, among other measures.

Also read: Facebook scrubs Australian news feeds as content payment row escalates
The Irish Community Rapid Response Air Ambulance was tasked to 490 incidents across 13 counties during 2020, which was its first full year in operation.

The ICRR Air Ambulance, based in Rathcoole in Co Cork, works in tandem with the National Ambulance Service to provide both paramedic support and transport to hospital for seriously ill patients.

Figures from the ICRR show that July was the single busiest month, with the Air Ambulance being tasked a total of 59 times. Road traffic accidents account for the most incidents, with a total of 94 taskings throughout the year.

Amongst the other incidents responded to were;

81 cardiac arrests

74 general trauma calls

73 general medical calls

46 farming accidents

29 falls from heights



While Cork, Kerry and Waterford were the counties most likely to require the service, the Air Ambulance also provided support to Counties Tipperary, Clare, Wexford, Limerick, Leitrim, Kildare, Kilkenny, Offaly, Roscommon and Galway.

ICRR Chief Executive Micheal Sheridan says, The statistics show the demand that exists for an Air Ambulance based in the south of the country. The ICRR Air Ambulance is airborne in under four minutes of being tasked by the National Ambulance Service, and is thirty minutes away from most of the areas within its catchment. Dozens of lives have been saved as a result of the hard work of the crew, and care administered in a timely manner to hundreds of others. Ireland needs this service, and this service needs the continuing support of our community fundraisers and corporate supporters.

The ICRR Air Ambulance can bring casualties to the hospital that best suits their life saving needs, not just the closest geographically. From the base in North Cork, the ICRR Charity Air Ambulance can put a 25,000km2 area within 30 minutes of emergency medical care. The ICRR Air Ambulance is staffed by advanced paramedics and EMTs from the National Ambulance Service.

Director of the National Ambulance Service, Martin Dunne, says, The ICRR Air Ambulance has been a great addition to our emergency response capacity. Our dispatch teams have the option of either the Aer Corps service from Tullamore, or the ICRR service from North Munster. This provides much needed and timely support to our on-road response teams operating across the country. Equally, the provision of these services ensures that critically ill patients can be brought to emergency trauma centres faster, which improves the likelihood of a successful outcome.

The ICRR Air Ambulance currently has two helicopters at its medical aerodrome in Rathcoole, County Cork, only one of which is operational at any one time, the other acting as a backup. A new faster helicopter with longer range capacity is due to be delivered later in the year.

Micheal Sheridan says We already possess an additional helicopter asset, and we know that there will always be a demand for the service across the country. A priority for us in 2021 is to work with other partners to ensure everyone on the island of Ireland is within 30 minutes of an air ambulance service either provided by ICRR or the Irish Aer Corps.

ICRR recently launched its new Further Faster campaign to help raise the 1.5 million needed this year to fund the service and its new Air Ambulance helicopter.

The appeal started with A 310,000 steps challenge Marching Through March where the public and companies are asked to participate in the challenge and to fundraise. Full details are available at www.icrr.ie
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Fish & Game New Zealand is welcoming a move from the government to reject commercial trout farming.

A recently released Government response to the Primary Production Committee has declined to review the legislation that prohibits trout farming, citing that there is no analysis on the benefits of farming trout or what risks it presents to wild fishery.

The Government's decision to reject will come as welcome news to the 150,000 freshwater anglers throughout the country, says Fish & Game New Zealand.

"Trout fishing is a highly valued recreation for so many New Zealanders, with family traditions stretching back generations, and is also of significant economic value to the country, says New Zealand Fish and Game Council Chair Ray Grubb. New Zealand is widely recognised as the premier trout fishing destination in the world, something the country can genuinely be proud of."

Ray continued: "During Covid restrictions and in the absence of international anglers, we've seen a significant increase in Kiwis buying angling licences and travelling around their own country fishing for trout. They contribute millions to the regions when accommodation and service providers are struggling and desperately need the income.

Fish & Game New Zealand believe the move to reject trout farming is a responsible decision by the Government.

"It makes no sense putting at risk the recreational fishery, and all it contributes to the economy and people's wellbeing, as well as our international image, for questionable gains from commercial speculators, says Ray.

"Trout are an iconic clean water species and a healthy wild population in New Zealand is an ideal and important fit with our international brand."

Currently, wild trout and salmon cannot be bought or sold in New Zealand and it remains illegal to farm trout.

Source: Fish and Game NZ
Minister for Foreign Affairs Marise Payne has reaffirmed the Australian Governments support for the OSCE Minsk Group process, highlighting equal rights and self-determination of people as one of the three equal principles that must guide Nagorno-Karabakh (Artsakh) to permanent peace following the bloody war of 2020, Asbarez reported, citing the Armenian National Committee of Australia.

In a letter responding to relentless advocacy by the Armenian National Committee of Australia and the Armenian-Australian community, Minister Payne welcomed the break to hostilities as a result of the agreement while highlighting the need for both sides to observe the Helsinki Final Act, which calls for respect of the principles of the non-use of force, territorial integrity, and equal rights and self-determination of people.

Minister Payne further called on both Armenia and Azerbaijan to support the efforts of the Organization for Security and Cooperation in Europe (OSCE) Minsk Group to achieve peace in the region.

The source recalled that recently, over 3,000 Australians signed an Australian Parliamentary Petition calling for Australian to recognize the Republic of Artsakh.

Workers walk by the perimeter fence of what is officially known as a vocational skills education centre in Dabancheng in Xinjiang - Thomas Peter/Reuters

Dominic Raab has called on the United Nations to investigate Chinas industrial scale human rights abuses in Hong Kong, Tibet, and Xinjiang.

The Foreign Secretary said in an address to the UN Human Rights Council on Monday that Chinas treatment of its Uighur Muslim minority was beyond the pale and called on the body to pass a resolution granting access to investigators.

The remarks came as he launched a verbal broadside against Russia, Belarus, and Myanmar over human rights abuses.

No one can ignore the evidence anymore, Mr Raab said. In Hong Kong, the rights of the people are being systematically violated... In Tibet the situation remains deeply concerning.

The situation in Xinjiang is beyond the pale. The reported abuses  which include torture, forced labour and forced sterilisation of women  are extreme and they are extensive. They are taking place on an industrial scale. It must be our collective duty to ensure this does not go unanswered.

The UN High Commissioner for Human Rights, or another independent fact-finding expert, must  and I repeat must  be given urgent and unfettered access to Xinjiang.

The strongly worded remarks are likely to provoke fury in Beijing which has repeatedly condemned British criticism of its human rights record as interference in its internal affairs.

Activists and UN rights experts have said that at least 1 million Muslims are detained in camps in the remote western region. China denies abuses and says its camps provide vocational training and are needed to fight extremism.

Mr Raab also called on the body to take on what he called the dire and shocking behaviour of Vladimir Putins government in Russia.

It is disgraceful that Alexey Navalny, himself the victim of a despicable crime, has now been sentenced on arbitrary charges, he said referring to the opposition figure head who has been jailed after surviving an attempted assassination.

We call on other members of the Council to consider whether Russias actions are in line with its international human rights obligations and the values that we seek and that we have pledged to uphold.

Story continues

He attacked Belarus for a human rights crisis following the brutal crackdown on pro-democracy demonstrators there and demanded that Myanmars military junta release Aung San Suu Kyi and return the government to civilian control.

He said the UK wants to co-sponsor a resolution renewing the mandate of Tom Andrews, the UN Special Rapporteur on the Southeast Asian country.

Last week, Mr Andrews warned he was terrified that a torrent of fresh violence, disappearances and detentions looms as protests continue against the military takeover of the government. .

Mr Raabs speech came as the UK returns to the Geneva-based Human Rights Council, which is made up of 47 member states, as a voting member. Britain was re-elected in October for a three-year term.

At the upcoming session, which runs from Monday until March 23, the UK will lead resolutions on Syria, marking the tenth anniversary of the conflict, as well as Sri Lanka and South Sudan.

Mr Raabs long-term focus will be promoting girls education, championing freedom of religion and belief, defending media freedom, and advocating the values of liberal democracy.
An Australian clothing store is selling loungewear sets that are almost identical to a best-selling design from Kim Kardashian's SKIMS label more than three times the price.

Cotton On's $60 'Fluffy Lounge' tank and shorts are a clever dupe of the $187 'Boucle' top and shorts from the Cozy Collection, one of the most popular ranges from the 40-year-old reality star's intimate fashion brand.

Both sets have strappy, sleeveless tops and shorts with high-cut waistbands, while even the colours are strikingly similar.

Cotton On's 'fairytale pink' is just a shade brighter than SKIMS 'dusk', which Kardashian modelled in a recent Instagram story filmed in the walk-in closet of her $76million (AUD) Hidden Hills home.

Scroll down for video

Kim Kardashian wears the SKIMS Cozy Collection set in 'dusk' (left) and a model poses in the Cotton On bargain version in fairytale pink (right)

The biggest difference is the material.

The discount retailer's sets are made from nylon and acrylic while Kardashian's are made from boucle, an exceptionally soft, lightweight fabric that is naturally stretchy.

'It's thick, but it's not a material that adds weight to you,' the makeup mogul said.

Cotton On customers are already stripping the shelves of the designer dupe, with only sizes small and medium left in stock.

The cut-price imitation - which is sold in pink, lilac and beige floral print online and in stores across Australia - can also be bought as separate tops and shorts for $29.99 each.

The 40-year-old reality star turned businesswoman (pictured) has described the fabric of her intimates line as thick without adding weight to your body

Cotton On customers are already stripping the shelves of the designer dupe (pictured), with only sizes small and medium left in stock

Photos of the sets on Cotton On's Instagram feed have drawn delighted responses, with many noting the likeness to the SKIMS original.

'Looks as good as it feels,' one woman wrote.

'I need this in my life,' added a second, while a third tagged her friend and said: 'Imagine shaving and then putting this on and getting into fresh sheets.'

One American customer begged Cotton On to bring the sets to the US as they are currently only available in Australia.
KABUL  Deputy Foreign Minister for Political Affairs Mirwais Nab, met with the Deputy Chief of Mission of the US Embassy in Kabul, Mr. Ian J. McCary.

Referring to the strategic relationship between Afghanistan and the United States, Mr. Nab expressed hope that the US review of the Doha Agreement would be useful in the peace process and lead to peace, stability and security in Afghanistan.

During the meeting, both sides discussed bilateral relations between Kabul and Washington and the importance of a regional consensus in support of peace talks. They also talked and exchanged views on the preparations for the Ninth Ministerial Conference of the Heart of Asia - Istanbul Process, co-hosted by the Islamic Republic of Afghanistan and the Republic of Tajikistan towards the end of March this year.

Reaffirming his country's continued support for Afghanistan and the peace process, the US Deputy Chief of Mission in Kabul said that the United States would participate in the 9th Ministerial Conference of the Heart of Asia - Istanbul Process.
CENTERVILLE, Va., Feb. 22, 2021 /PRNewswire/ -- Parsons Corporation (NYSE: PSN) has been awarded a task order by the National Geospatial-Intelligence Agency (NGA) on the MOJAVE Functional Area 2 (FA2) indefinite-delivery indefinite-quantity (IDIQ) contract. This award is the seventh task order Parsons has won on the MOJAVE FA2 contract since 2017, totaling more than $200 million.

"We are excited to continue our partnership with NGA and its insider threat program," said Laurie Ternes, senior vice president of Parsons' threat intelligence directorate. "We appreciate NGA's confidence in our ability to apply our knowledge, insight, and Scaled Agile Framework approach and deliver innovative solutions which mitigate the threats they face."

The recompete contract from NGA has a six-month base with two option years and will continue providing security and engineering to the larger NGA mission as they seek to strengthen the nation's counter insider threat mission. The MOJAVE FA2 contract provides a variety of security operations support including polygraph support, security specialist support, clinical psychology, counterintelligence support and insider threat analysis to assist NGA in executing their mission to the fullest.

Parsons has supported the NGA insider threat program since 2012, helping to implement large-scale analytics that automate the review of big data. The delivered technology and analytic solutions drive efficiencies that enable NGA to increase the volume of data being reviewed while reducing the time it takes to detect patterns of activity indicative of an insider threat. Parsons' insider threat services have advanced NGA's insider threat program and helped NGA to achieve multiple awards from the National Counterintelligence and Security Center.

To learn more about Parsons' leading space capabilities, please visit:

https://www.parsons.com/capabilities/space/

About Parsons Corporation

Parsons (NYSE: PSN) is a leading disruptive technology provider in the global defense, intelligence, and critical infrastructure markets, with capabilities across cybersecurity, missile defense, space, connected infrastructure, and smart cities. Please visit parsons.com and follow us on LinkedIn and Facebook to learn how we're making an impact.

Forward-Looking Statements

This document contains forward-looking statements within the meaning of the Private Securities Litigation Reform Act of 1995, Section 27A of the Securities Act of 1933, as amended, and Section 21E of the Securities Exchange Act of 1934, as amended. Forward-looking statements are based on our current expectations, beliefs and assumptions, and are not guarantees of future performance. Forward-looking statements are inherently subject to uncertainties, risks, changes in circumstances, trends and factors that are difficult to predict, many of which are outside of our control. Accordingly, actual performance, results and events may vary materially from those indicated in the forward-looking statements, and you should not rely on the forward-looking statements as predictions of future performance, results or events. Numerous factors could cause actual future performance, results and events to differ materially from those indicated in the forward-looking statements, including, among others: any issue that compromises our relationships with the U.S. federal government or its agencies or other state, local or foreign governments or agencies; any issues that damage our professional reputation; changes in governmental priorities that shift expenditures away from agencies or programs that we support; our dependence on long-term government contracts, which are subject to the government's budgetary approval process; the size of our addressable markets and the amount of government spending on private contractors; failure by us or our employees to obtain and maintain necessary security clearances or certifications; failure to comply with numerous laws and regulations; changes in government procurement, contract or other practices or the adoption by governments of new laws, rules, regulations and programs in a manner adverse to us; the termination or nonrenewal of our government contracts, particularly our contracts with the U.S. federal government; our ability to compete effectively in the competitive bidding process and delays, contract terminations or cancellations caused by competitors' protests of major contract awards received by us; our ability to generate revenue under certain of our contracts; any inability to attract, train or retain employees with the requisite skills, experience and security clearances; the loss of members of senior management or failure to develop new leaders; misconduct or other improper activities from our employees or subcontractors; our ability to realize the full value of our backlog and the timing of our receipt of revenue under contracts included in backlog; changes in the mix of our contracts and our ability to accurately estimate or otherwise recover expenses, time and resources for our contracts; changes in estimates used in recognizing revenue; internal system or service failures and security breaches; and inherent uncertainties and potential adverse developments in legal proceedings, including litigation, audits, reviews and investigations, which may result in materially adverse judgments, settlements or other unfavorable outcomes. These factors are not exhaustive and additional factors could adversely affect our business and financial performance. For a discussion of additional factors that could materially adversely affect our business and financial performance, see the factors included under the caption "Risk Factors" in our Registration Statement on Form S-1 and our other filings with the Securities and Exchange Commission. All forward-looking statements are based on currently available information and speak only as of the date on which they are made. We assume no obligation to update any forward-looking statement made in this presentation that becomes untrue because of subsequent events, new information or otherwise, except to the extent we are required to do so in connection with our ongoing requirements under federal securities laws.

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Staff at one of England's largest NHS trusts have been threatened with disciplinary action if they try to get their second Covid vaccine early.

University Hospitals Birmingham Foundation Trust sent an email today warning staff that they could be 'considered deliberately attempting to deceive the NHS' if they tried to get second dose before their scheduled appointment.

The email, seen by the HSJ, said: 'Any staff trying to obtain a second dose ahead of their booked sessions could be considered deliberately attempting to deceive the NHS in order to obtain medicines and, as such will be a professional conduct issue which may result in disciplinary action and/or regulatory action being taken against you.

University Hospitals Birmingham Foundation Trust sent an email today warning staff that they could be 'considered deliberately attempting to deceive the NHS' if they tried to get second dose before their scheduled appointment

'Second doses will begin in March, just a few weeks away therefore we ask for your patience.'

The new note indicates the trust may have had a particular problem with staff seeking and/or getting second doses.

The email said that if they attended vaccination centres, staff would be refused a second dose, and be asked to leave.

Staff were also asked not to try and book another appointment at a different vaccination centre or 're-enter' the system through other means.

The email added: 'The current supply of vaccines is allocated to us to ensure all priority groups can receive their first dose and provide protection to as many as possible.'

The new note indicates the trust may have had a particular problem with staff seeking and/or getting second doses

In December the trust's executives were heavily criticised by unions for getting their first vaccine doses after patients didn't show up for appointments.

The government's decision at the end of last year to move to a longer, 12 week gap, between first and second doses, was highly controversial at the time and unpopular with many staff. Emerging evidence now appears to suggest the first dose offers substantial protection, and that the longer gap is safe, but some staff remain concerned.

NHS England wrote to trusts early last month reiterating a strict requirement for a 12-week gap for both staff and patient vaccinations.

In a ray of hope for Britain's lockdown-easing plans, results showed the jabs slashed the risk of hospital admission from Covid by up to 85 and 94 per cent, respectively, four weeks after the first dose. The graph above shows how the vaccine worked in different age groups

Health Secretary Matt Hancock claimed yesterday that the first dose was reducing transmission by two-thirds. Data from Israel has also showed that one dose of Pfizer's jab can cut transmission by up to 75 per cent.

Britain is dishing out almost 400,000 Covid vaccine doses each day, on average, as it races to inoculate the top nine priority groups who are most at risk from the virus.

Almost a third of all adults in the UK have now been vaccinated, or 17.5million.

Mr Zahawi added on BBC Breakfast today that once the over-50s are covered the Government will 'absolutely' follow the recommendations of its scientists in expanding the roll-out.

'The Joint Committee on Vaccination and Immunisation (JCVI) are looking at that and we will absolutely follow what they recommend,' he said.

'The recommendation for phase one has been correct because it's based on clinical assessment of who is most vulnerable to be hospitalised or have serious infection and sadly death in some cases.

'So we'll go back to the JCVI and they will make that recommendation and we will follow that recommendation.'

Reports suggest the committee will recommend the drive continues by age groups, meaning over-45s would be next in line.

The Government is confident it has the supplies to vaccinate all adults by July 31 and has pledged to offer first doses to all 32million in the top nine groups by April 15.
Joe Biden, who blamed President Trump entirely for all 300,000 (at the time) deaths in the U.S. from COVID during his campaign, has gone strangely silent about the revelations that New York's Gov. Andrew Cuomo ordered nursing homes in New York to accept COVID patients from hospitals and then covered up the 15,000 deaths that predictably came as a result of sticking the sickest people into the same living quarters as the most vulnerable. He's more than silent, actually; his spokesweasel, Jen Psaki, has refused to condemn Cuomo:

Bidens press secretary repeatedly refuses to condemn Andrew Cuomos actions that led to the deaths of thousands of elderly New York nursing home residents. pic.twitter.com/0VPApRtUV2  Arthur Schwartz (@ArthurSchwartz) February 21, 2021

Biden, recall, called Cuomo "the gold standard" in COVID response and care, so it made sense for the press to ask. Here's a transcript of the whole hypocritical affair, with ABC chief Washington correspondent Jon Karl asking Psaki three times and getting weaseled every time:

KARL: Okay, I want to turn to another controversy that raged this week. Andrew Cuomo under fire for allegedly not being transparent and misleading on his  on the number of nursing home deaths in New York. Last spring, President Biden cited Andrew Cuomo as the gold standard for leadership during the pandemic. Take a listen. (BEGIN VIDEO CLIP) JOSEPH R. BIDEN, PRESIDENT OF THE UNITED STATES: Your governor of New York has done one hell of a job. I think he's sort of the gold standard. (END VIDEO CLIP) KARL: So, now, we've seen that Governor Cuomo has allegedly undercounted nursing home deaths, misled legislators in New York. He called the New York assembly  I mean, Ron Kim, raising questions  you know, basically threatening to destroy him, I think was his actual words. So, does President Biden still consider Andrew Cuomo the gold standard when it comes to leadership on the pandemic? PSAKI: Well, Jon, we work with Governor Cuomo, just like we work with governors across the country. He's also chair of the NGA. So, he plays an important role in insuring that we're coordinating closely and getting assistance out to people of his state and to states across the country. And we'll continue to do that. And there are, of course, will be a process. There are investigations. We'll leave that to others to determine  the appropriate law enforcement authorities to determine how that path is going to move as we look forward. But we're going to continue to work with a range of governors including, of course, Governor Cuomo because we think the people of New York, the people of states across the country, need assistance not just to get through the pandemic but to get through this difficult economic time, and that's where our focus remains. KARL: All right. But, Jen, my question was, does President Biden still believe that Andrew Cuomo is the gold standard  represents the gold standard on leadership during this pandemic? Just a yes or no. Does he still consider him a gold standard? (CROSSTALK) PSAKI: Well, Jon, the president  the president  well, it doesn't always have to be a yes or no answer, Jon. I think the president is focused on his goals, his objectives as president of the United States. He's going to continue to work with Governor Cuomo, just like he'll continue to work with governors across the country. And I'm not here to give new labels or names from the president. I'm here to communicate with you about what our focuses are and what his objectives are as president.

She said it with that little smile, that sly little liar's smile, that she's getting famous for:

You'd think a guy so focused on hamming away about the empty place settings at dinner tables, the missing grandmothers, the terrible human losses of COVID to win votes, falsely pinning them on Trump, would be more than a little concerned about Andrew Cuomo's 15,000 utterly preventable nursing home deaths in New York.

Cuomo's health department officials sent out a memo on March 25 ordering nursing homes to accept COVID patients returning from hospitalizations into nursing homes, presumably as a means of taking pressure off hospitals, which needed the beds for incoming sick patients. They were threatened with loss of license if they couldn't care for these patients (turns out no one can in a congregate setting) and forbidden from testing these patients on discrimination grounds. Of the existing COVID cases that were admitted, Cuomo blamed staff for bringing it in.

Worst of all, it happened as President Trump dispatched the U.S. Navy's famed hospital ships to New York's doorway, ready and waiting to care for the hospital overflow, and virtually no one got sent there.

Cuomo and his aides then hid the result of this lethal seeding of nursing homes with COVID patients on the nation's most vulnerable people, with its predictable result, by claiming at least half were hospital, not nursing home deaths. When the truth came out, the total nursing home deaths effectively ordered by Cuomo were not about 8,000, but closer to 15,000, one of the nation's worst totals and a terrible reflection on New York City's and State's management of COVID.

Patients died alone in New York, denied hydroxychloroquine and other effective early-stage treatments, who didn't need to, while, to put this in perspective, anyone with COVID in Africa or India managed to live. Those countries have wide availability of hydroxychloroquine and other treatments, no ordered lockdowns, no seeding of nursing homes, and nothing anything reflective of Cuomo's policies as was seen in New York. Same with small well run Asian states such as Taiwan and Singapore, and same as places that defied conventional wisdom, such as Sweden.

States that had no Cuomo running things, such as Florida and South Dakota, had pretty limited lethality, too. But Cuomo's New York accelerated deaths, and against all "science" and common sense. Anyone with a brain knows you don't stick COVID patients to cough, sneeze, touch doorknobs, go to the bathroom, and otherwise spread COVID in nursing homes housing the most vulnerable people.

But Cuomo's aim was to Get Trump. He didn't want anyone giving Trump credit for moving heaven and earth to save New Yorkers from COVID.

Neither did Joe Biden, who spent day after day claiming that Trump was responsible for every last COVID death.

Seems Joe's blame-gaming in the name of all those lost Americans stops at the Democrat's edge. This is Joe in action, hypocrite to his bones.

Images: Screen shot from ABC News video uploaded to shareable YouTube.
India and Mauritius on Monday signed free trade agreement along with five key pacts. This is the first such agreement with an African country.

The agreement was signed during the visit of External Affairs Minister S Jaishankar to the island nation.

Jaishankar, who addressed the media with the Prime Minister of Mauritius, said India is privileged to have entered the Comprehensive Economic Cooperation and Partnership Agreement (CECPA) with Mauritius.

"This Agreement is India's first-such Agreement with an African country as noted by the Prime Minister. It will provide a timely boost for the revival of our post-COVID economies and also enable Indian investors to use Mauritius as a launch-pad for business expansion into continental Africa helping the prospect of Mauritius emerging as a 'hub of Africa'," he said.

CECPA will provide preferential access to Mauritius for the bulk of trade and also for many "aspirational items" in future in the Indian market of over a billion people, he said.

These include frozen fish, speciality sugar, biscuits, fresh fruits, juices, mineral water, soaps, bags, medical and surgical equipment, and apparel. Mauritius will get preferential access for the export of 40,000 tonnes of sugar into India at an early time frame.

Similarly, there will also be access for the export of 7.5 million pieces of apparel. As regards trade in services, India has offered 95 sub-sectors from 11 broad services sectors and this contributes 76 per cent of GDP of the island country.

The minister said CECPA will surely boost the dynamism of the services sector in Mauritius.

"The CECPA could also facilitate Indian investment in the services sector in Mauritius, especially in the ICT sector as Indian companies could benefit by leveraging the bilingual prowess of Mauritius for investments in Francophone Africa," Jaishankar said.

India delivered 100,000 doses of Made in India COVID-19 vaccines today. It had supplied 100,000 doses earlier.

India- Mauritius inked another agreement according which India will provide a Dornier aircraft and Advanced Light Helicopter 'Dhruv' on lease to Mauritius on a gratis basis for two years.

An agreement for a special US$ 100 million Defence Line of Credit has was also signed today. (ANI)

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Denver-based Dominion Voting Systems made good Monday on its indication it would sue a prominent ally of former President Trump, My Pillow founder and pitchman Mike Lindell.

Lindell, like Trump lawyers Rudy Giuliani and Sidney Powell earlier, stands to lose $1.3 billion in the defamation lawsuit for his aggressive promotion of a theory that the election was stolen because Dominion voting equipment flipped votes to Democratic nominee Joe Biden.

Dominion is used across the country, including in 62 of Colorado's 64 counties.

Twitter has permanently banned Trump and Lindell for making the false claims, which were the basis of the Jan. 6 insurrection at the U.S. Capitol that left at least five people dead. (Two Capitol police officers committed suicide in the days following the riot.)

This month Lindell bought three hours of airtime to promote the claim on One America News Network this month. News networks that once touted the "stolen election" story have backed off and aired disclaimers to distance themselves, as litigation began in December.

Dominion filed its claim in U.S. District Court in Washington, D.C., on Monday. The company has signaled others would face lawsuits to prove their conspiracy and vote-flipping allegations.

Lindell's motivation was to sell more pillows, Dominion countered Monday, citing his heavy advertising on other Trump-friendly media networks.

"After hitting the jackpot with Donald Trumps endorsement for MyPillow and after a million-dollar bet on Fox News ads had paid out handsome returns, Michael Lindell exploited another chance to boost sales: marketing MyPillow to people who would tune in and attend rallies to hear Lindell tell the 'Big Lie' that Dominion had stolen the 2020 election," the lawsuit states. "As when MyPillow previously faced legal action for deceptive marketing campaigns, Lindell knew there was no real 'evidence' supporting his claims. And he is well aware of the independent audits and paper ballot recounts conclusively disproving the Big Lie.

Denver's Dominion having hard time tracking down Sidney Powell Dominion said in a court filing that it had incurred unnecessary expenses and taken extraordinary measures to reach Powell, even hiring private investigators and following Powell across state lines.

"But Lindella talented salesman and former professional card counter  sells the lie to this day because the lie sells pillows."

Dominion CEO John Poulos said Monday that that the company gave Lindell ample warning, yet he used those warnings to amp up his claims and promised to come forward with proof, but he has not done so.

"These claims have caused irreparable harm to Dominions good reputation and threatened the safety of our employees and customers," Poulos said in the statement. "Moreover, Mr. Lindell's lies have undermined trust in American democracy and tarnished the hard work of local election officials.

"No amount of money can repair the damage that's been done by these lies, which are easily disproved. Hundreds of documented audits and recounts have proven that Dominion machines accurately counted votes. We look forward to proving these facts in a court of law."

The lawsuits so far are at the center of a sprawling amount of coming litigation over claims by Dominion and another election software company, Smartmatic, of conspiring with foreign interests to throw the election.

Smartmatic announced it would sue the Fox News networks and three of its prominent hosts who promoted the claims for more than $2.7 billion. The three Fox News  Maria Bartiromo, Lou Dobbs and Jeanine Pirro asked the court to dismiss the lawsuit, countering the media has First Amendment protections.

Separately, in December Eric Coomer, Dominion's security director, filed a lawsuit in U.S. District Court in Denver against local and national conservative figures who have singled him out as a chief conspirator. The claims have forced him and his family into hiding, he said.

Coomer's suit names the Trump campaign, Newsmax, One America News Network, Giuliani, Powell, conservative columnist Michelle Malkin, who lives in El Paso County, and conservative Colorado activist Joe Oltmann, who claimed to have heard Coomer on a phone call with Antifa activists.

Oltmann told Colorado Politics in December he failed to tape the calls he was surreptitiously monitoring for the liberal activist organization's activities.
New Delhi: The e-learning program launched in Delhi government schools by the Arvind Kejriwal government, amid the COVID-19 pandemic, gained international recognition. Users from 20 countries have accessed the e-learning contents of the Delhi government schools during the coronavirus pandemic. The online classes are being accessed in approximately 20 countries including the UK, the USA, Germany, Singapore, New Zealand, Canada, Philippines, Malaysia, and Nepal, among others.

Delhi government schools attain a 98% pass percentage in Class 12 CBSE exams: For the first time in the history of Delhi, the Kejriwal government schools got a result of 98% in CBSE 12 examinations. Delhi government schools have ranked among the top 10 government schools in India for 202021. Around 53 Delhi government school students qualified in JEE Advance & 569 students qualified for NEET.

The Kejriwal government has continued to bolster school infrastructure with the formation of new classrooms. As a result, the school infrastructure of the Delhi government schools has improved manifold.

Dry ration: As the schools were shut down the Delhi government school students were not getting the mid-day meal. It is to be noted that most of these students come from families of lower economic strata. To provide the midday meal the Delhi government came up with a scheme equivalent to the mid-day meal. The Kejriwal government provided dry ration kits to students of classes Nursery to class 10 enrolled in all government, government-aided, and MCD schools. By this scheme, the Delhi government is providing dry ration to more than eight lakh students.

Delhi Education conference: In a bid to study and discuss school education in the post-COVID-19 era, to shape the New Education Policy (NEP) and improve the education system from elementary school to college level, the Delhi government conducted the 'Delhi Education Conference' on an international level with 22 education experts as panellists from across the country and abroad. The international level education conference was organized between January 11-17 and had education experts from India, Finland, Germany, Singapore, Canada, and the US.

Delhi achieves the highest NAS score in Niti Aayog's National Innovation Index: In the recently released government think tank Niti Aayogs National Innovation Index, the Arvind Kejriwal government schools have topped the list. The government-aided schools in Delhi have achieved the highest National Achievement Survey (NAS) score. This achievement has been lauded for being the landmark transformation of the government school system.

Delhi Skill and Entrepreneurship University: The Kejriwal government launched the entrepreneurship curriculum, and to take this initiative forward it has been organizing live interactions with industry leaders to provide insight on entrepreneurship. In 2020, the Kejriwal government has also established the Delhi skill and entrepreneurship university that will ensure fresh graduates get jobs easily or pursue business as soon as they pass out. The university will have the capacity of enrolling at least 1,25,000 students.

HAMBURG (Reuters) - German brewers have been forced to throw away unsold beer and have asked the government for financial aid as the coronavirus lockdown reduces demand, they said on Monday.

German pubs, hotels and restaurants have been closed since November in the countrys second lockdown following the first one earlier last year.

The brewers called on the German government to give beer breweries aid under the countrys programmes to help industry recover from the impact of the coronavirus crisis. Germany's government has given financial aid to pubs and bars but not breweries.

"From week to week, ever more breweries, brewery-owned pubs and wholesalers are facing a threat to their existence through no fault of their own and are threatened by insolvency," said an open letter from about 300 breweries released by the brewers associations DBB and VPBD.

The letter was signed by breweries including Carlsberg Deutschland, a unit of Danish brewer Carlsberg, the Bitburger Braugruppe, Krombacher and Paulaner Brauerei.

"The lockdown and the collapse of the draught beer market this created meant breweries lost a large part of their economic foundations overnight," the letter said.

"Stock worth many millions of euros that has exceeded its sell-by date has had to be thrown away."

Sales of bottled beer in shops were nowhere near enough to compensate for lost sales to the hospitality sector and weak exports, the breweries said.

(Reporting by Michael Hogan, editing by Ed Osmond)
Admin gears up as Hisar farmers get set to protest today

Punjab MLA Navjot Singh Sidhu hoists black flag at his residence in support of protesting farmers

Toolkit case: Disha Ravi sent to 1-day police custody

India

oi-Deepika S

New Delhi, Feb 22: Climate activist Disha Ravi has been sent to fresh one-day police cutody in connection with an online toolkit which the cops claimed was created by her in support of farmers protesting against Centre's farm laws.

The police had asked for a fresh five-day custody of Ravi.

The police said that they require Ravi's custody to question her along with two other accused on the case - activists Nikita Jacob and Shantanu Muluk.

The police had told the court that the activist had allegedly edited the "toolkit" on February 3 and many other people were involved in the matter.

A "toolkit" is a document created to explain any issue. It also provides information on what one needs to do to address the issue.

Farmers announce series of events to further escalate protest

This might include information about petitions, details about protests and mass movements. Earlier, the Delhi Police had asked Google and some social media giants to provide information about email id, URLs and certain social media accounts related to the creators of the "toolkit" shared by Swedish climate activist Greta Thunberg and others on Twitter in connection with the farmers' protest.

The Cyber Cell had lodged an FIR against "pro-Khalistan" creators of the "toolkit" for waging a "social, cultural and economic war against the government of India".

The case against unnamed persons was registered on charges of criminal conspiracy, sedition and various other sections of the Indian Penal Code (IPC).

PM Modi: India can be one of the best in defence export | Oneindia News

The "toolkit" was aimed at spreading disaffection and ill-will against the government of India and creating disharmony among various social, religious and cultural groups, the police had claimed.

For Breaking News and Instant Updates Allow Notifications

Story first published: Monday, February 22, 2021, 17:03 [IST]
Dominic Raab has offered to visit Beijing in an effort to calm tensions between UK and Chinese authorities over what critics say has been an erosion of rights and freedoms in Hong Kong.

Relations between London and Beijing have soured since last summer when China imposed a national security law on the city following months of protests.

Activists said the move was used to stifle dissent and curb media freedom and other liberties that were promised to the former British colony when it returned to Chinese rule in 1997.

Ive offered to go to Beijing, Mr Raab said during a call organised by the Conservative Friends of the Chinese to mark the Lunar New Year.

For me its not more difficult to talk when we have a challenge. Thats the time the foreign secretary must engage in dialogue.

Recommended Hong Kong joins China with ban on BBC World Service radio in apparent retaliation for Ofcom ruling

We will always have the door of diplomacy open and will always look for the positives.

While the UK considers Chinas actions in the semi-autonomous financial hub to be in violation of the 1997 Sino-British Joint Declaration, Mr Raab said there is always a course on which we can chart back.

His remarks, first reported by the South China Morning Post, have not been publicly acknowledged by Beijing.

The Independent has contacted the UK foreign office for comment.

The Chinese government maintains that Hong Kong's rights and freedoms, guaranteed under the handover agreement, remain intact.

Dominic Raab will raise the issue of Chinas treatment of the Uighur minority with the UN Human Rights Council (REUTERS)

The law punishes anything China considers subversion, secession, terrorism or collusion with foreign forces with up to life in prison. Some songs and slogans have been banned and anything that may be considered political activity in schools is outlawed.

Since the law was introduced, many prominent pro-democracy activists and politicians have been arrested.

Others have fled to the UK, where the government has offered residency and work permits and a pathway to citizenship for holders of the Hong Kong BN(O) passport  another source of tension between the two countries.

Nearly 5,000 Hong Kong citizens have already applied to live, work and study in Britain using the new visa scheme, which only opened on 31 January, The Times reported.

But China has described the visa as a violation of international law and claimed it interferes with their internal affairs.

On Monday, Mr Raab will risk further souring relations with Beijing when he will raise the issue of Chinas treatment of the Uighur minority with the UN Human Rights Council, describing allegations of abuses against those living in Xinjiang as beyond the pale.

He will tell the council: The reported abuses  which include torture, forced labour and forced sterilisation of women  are extreme and they are extensive. They are taking place on an industrial scale.
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To ease the daily commute of customers, Mercedes-Benz Research and Development India (MBRDI) has collaborated with Get My Parking to assist end-users in searching and navigating to an available parking lot. Under its flagship Startup Autobahn India programme, the company has been working closely with the IoT-driven platform, to embed this feature into all Mercedes-Benz cars equipped with Mercedes me connect, introduced in October 2019. Through this partnership, MBRDI has gone a step ahead by leveraging the startup ecosystem to reaffirm its commitment towards adding value to the Mercedes-Benz car users.

The Parking solution seeks to address the challenge posed by traffic congestions and limited parking space. It is worth noting, that as per a recent research released by TomTom Traffic Index, Mumbai is the second-most congested city in the world, followed by Bengaluru and New Delhi, at sixth and eighth ranks, respectively. Now, starting January 2021, this new feature is built-in to the cars MBUX head unit to provide navigation to Points of Interests (PoIs) across Bengaluru, Hyderabad, Mumbai, New Delhi, and Pune. Further, the solution will extend itself to 45 additional cities in the upcoming months.

This development aims to offer a seamless experience across both, the Mercedes me mobile app and the in-car infotainment system, thus, enhancing the car users convenience, including offstreet parking lots. While providing an integrated user experience that will run a quick view of the nearby available parking spaces or garages overlaid on the map, the solution also gives the option to initiate route towards these spaces.

Commenting on MBRDIs role in bringing world-class innovations as part of the Daimler group, Manu Saale, Managing Director & CEO  MBRDI, said, Daimler is committed towards moving the world with cars that resonate with the need of the future, and we, at MBRDI, are at the forefront of enabling this objective. This innovation will help us layer the user experience with intuitiveness around available parking info into our MBUX head units itself, to save needless hassle for customers. He further added, Our partnership with Get My Parking is a result of our Startup Autobahn 2020 programme, launched to showcase our focus on disruptive technologies and to make world-class innovations, come alive. This association will not only benefit end-users, but shall also lend fillip to the startup space that receives our leading-edge support through the flagship programme.

Commenting on this collaboration, Rasik Pansare, Co-founder and CMO  Get My Parking, said, As pioneers of smart parking in India, we have always wanted to help urban citizens to experience hassle free parking. This collaboration with MBRDI has accelerated us towards our mission, wherein the users can access detailed data on relevant parking lots from the ease of their in-car dashboard.

MBRDI is committed to consistently add value to the connected car technology segment, while tailoring features for the Indian market. Last year, for instance, MBRDI equipped the third generation of the new GLS with fully packed connected services through its latest MBUX multimedia infotainment system. As a thoughtful innovation during the pandemic, the infotainment system enabled users to navigate to the nearest COVID-19 testing centres using the most updated information provided by ICMR (Indian Council for Medical Research). This enabled the cars enabled with Mercedes me connect to provide important information to its users at the time of need, through its connected services.
We wanted to thank our employees for their unwavering commitment to our residents throughout this pandemic. They are all heroes, said Mark Berger, CEO of Villa Healthcare.

Throughout the trauma and challenges of the COVID-19 pandemic, employees of Villa Healthcare have worked tirelessly to serve nursing home residents every day. To show appreciation for that hero-level commitment, Villa stepped up to create several initiatives to recognize employees contributions on the front lines of health care.

We wanted to thank our employees for their unwavering commitment to our residents throughout this pandemic. They are all heroes. Their dedication and service to our residents is just as laudable as the efforts of doctors, nurses and aides in a hospital setting, said Mark Berger, CEO of Villa Healthcare. Today, our heroes dont wear capes. They wear scrubs and face masks.

The pandemic has severely stressed both the long-term care industry and the people who work in it. Many long-term care organizations have faced financial losses. Employees have learned to work in the midst of the pandemic, wearing Personal Protective Equipment, caring for patients with the virus and sometimes contracting COVID-19 themselves. Some employees families have struggled economically through the pandemic.

When the pandemic started, Villa pledged to its employees that it would stand by them and support them. At Villa, we respond with action to ensure that nobody suffers any more than what theyre dealing with already as a result of the pandemic, Berger said. To provide support, Villa created several initiatives.

Villa Hero Foundation:

Villa leadership felt it was imperative to provide staff, those who give of themselves day in and day out to help others, access to emergency assistance when they are in need. And with that, the Villa Hero Foundation was established, an independent non-profit charitable organization. The Foundation, through donor and employee contributions, provides financial support to help Villa Healthcare heroes cope with the consequences of unexpected financial hardships or disasters. Villas ownership committed to match all initial employee contributions to get the fund started in the right direction.

The Villa Hero Foundations very first grant recipient, Peggy, shared some encouraging words with her fellow healthcare heroes. Heroes helping heroes! When you receive a call from a doctor sharing news with you that you were not expecting, life stops for a moment. Whatever the situation, mine was breast cancer, you will get through it. I received a grant from the Villa Hero Foundation, and I was able to apply the money towards an outstanding bill. Thank you, fellow heroes for contributing to this Foundation. I will be eternally grateful for your support. Now Im able to be a contributing hero!

Peggys story is just the start of what is soon to be many Villa Healthcare heroes who have benefited from the work of the Villa Hero Foundation. Were heroes helping heroes.

Other Initiatives:

In addition to creating the Villa Hero Foundation, Villa also:



Implemented COVID units with Hero Pay for staff.

Supplemented sick time for any employee who needed time off for illness, no matter what reserves they had.

Set up a COVID-19 purchasing department to ensure there was always enough PPE to supply staff and residents.

Allowed staff who had cancelled vacations and time off to help support resident care to roll over their time to 2021 or receive a financial payout.

Distributed bonuses to employees when holiday parties were cancelled.

The appreciation continues as we move forward into 2021. Villa is launching initiatives to ensure a strong Villa culture is number one. These initiatives are designed to keep staff on our team, help them grow in their careers and ensure they are supported in their work. According to a recent survey, over 80% of Villa staff take pride in their work and ability to care for our residents. Villas culture initiatives aim to nurture this quality. Villa staff will see these cultural initiatives through changes in recruitment, orientation, employee reviews, and center-leadership. Villa staff will continue to be recognized for their work to live the Villa culture and to celebrate their work to Make People Better.

Were Villa, and we make people better. Of course, were focused on quality care and good outcomes. But were here to do so much more. Villas leadership has a vision of rising above the status quoof never settling, and of shattering the old image of this industry. Weve always wanted to be a part of something greater, and were making that a reality. Our commitment to our people, our environment and clinical programs will allow us to fulfill our mission of making people better. For more information, please visit http://www.VillaHC.com.

Dr. Anthony Fauci, President Bidens chief medical advisor for COVID-19, said on Sunday that its possible Americans will still being wearing masks until the end of the 2021, but he quickly clarified that this is not for certain, and specific predictions are difficult.

Fauci spoke with CNN host Dana Bash about what Americans should expect about life returning to normal in 2021. When asked if Americans will still be wearing masks in 2022, he said it was possible.

It depends on the dynamics of the virus in the community, Fauci said. If you see the level coming down really very low, I want it to keep going down to a baseline thats so low that theres a minimal, minimal threat that you will be exposed to someone who is infected.

The dynamics of the virus in American depend on successful vaccines rollouts, along with continued social distancing and personal protective equipment (PPE) use in the coming months.

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So if you combine getting most of the people in the country vaccinated with getting the level of virus in the community very low, then I believe well be able to say for the most part we dont have to wear masks.

Last week the Centers for Disease Control (CDC) updated its mask guidelines with 7 tips for effective mask use, including specific instructions for double-masking and using a mask brace.

Faucis comments came just one day before the United States COVID-19 death toll reached 500,000, according to an NBC News tally. The U.S. fatalities account for approximately one-fifth of the 2.46 million deaths worldwide, and is just shy of the 675,000 people killed by the 1918 flu pandemic. Fauci responded to the grim benchmark by telling ABC that the United States response to the pandemic has been worse than most any other country.

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In recent weeks, two new COVID variants have been identified in the United States: One, originally identified in South Africa, was detected in Long Island, New York. Another, first identified in the United Kingdom, was found in West Virginia.

Further complicating matters, severe weather in parts of the country has slowed vaccine rollout.
NAPLES, FEB 22 - Four noted businessmen close to two top clans in the Casalesi branch of the Neapolitan Camorra mafia were arrested Monday in a probe into the Naples Mob's penetration of the economic fabric of the province of Caserta. A Capua council official and a bank clerk at Santa Maria Capua Vetere were also arrested on suspicion of allowing transfers of cash on bank accounts linked to the Zagaria and Schiavine clans. Police seized over 15 million euros in the probe. The Casalesis, from Casal di Principe near Caserta, are the mafia families who have forced writer Roberto saviano into police protection with their death threats following the publication pf his 2006 expose Gomorra. (ANSA).
The National Investigation Agency (NIA) on Monday filed a supplementary charge-sheet before the NIA Special Court in Bengaluru, Karnataka, against two accused persons in the Bengaluru Lashkar-e-Taiba (LeT) conspiracy case. The two accused are-- Sabeel Ahmed aka Motu Doctor (resident of Bengaluru) and Asadulla Khan aks Abu Sufiyan (resident of Hyderabad, Telangana).

The supplementary charge-sheet has been filed under Section 120 B of the Indian Penal Code (IPC), Section 18, 38, 39 of the UA(P)A in the case. The case was initially registered at Basaveshwaranagar Nagar Police Station, Bengaluru City on August 29, 2012, and pertains to a conspiracy hatched by members of the proscribed terrorist organizations Let and Harkat-ul-Jehad-e-Islami (HuJI) to commit subversive activities and wage war against the government.

They had procured illegal arms and ammunition for targeted killings of important personalities of the Hindu community in Bangalore and Hubli in Karnataka, Nanded in Maharashtra and in Hyderabad, Telangana to disturb the communal harmony and strike terror in society. NIA had re-registered the case on November 25, 2012. The NIA had earlier charge-sheeted 17 accused persons in this case after completion of the investigation.

Further investigation has established that accused persons are members of proscribed terrorist organisation LeT. They were involved in the criminal conspiracy along with other accused persons in supporting and furthering the cause of LeT in Damam and Riyadh, Saudi Arabia. They had actively participated in conspiracy meetings in which terrorist activities like targeted killings of important personalities of the Hindu community in Bangalore and Hubli in Karnataka and Nanded in Maharashtra were planned.

In this case, the NIA court Bengaluru had earlier convicted thirteen accused persons on September 16, 2016, with five years imprisonment and with a fine for their involvement in offences u/s 10A, 13(1) b, 17,18, 38, of UA(P)A, sec.120 B, 115, 153A, 399,465, 466, 471of IPC, sec.3(1) r/w 25( 1B) (a) of Arms Act, sec.3, 5(1), of Official Secrets Act.

The trial is continuing against earlier charge-sheeted three accused persons. A further investigation of six absconding accused persons continues.
Haas demonstrates to a participant what will be happening inside the fMRI machine at the Center for Brain, Biology and Behavior in 2017, before the COVID-19 pandemic. Credit: Craig Chandler | University Communication

In a time of extreme political polarization, hearing that a political candidate has taken a stance inconsistent with their party might raise some questions for their constituents.

Why don't they agree with the party's position? Do we know for sure this is where they stand?

New research led by University of Nebraska-Lincoln political psychologist Ingrid Haas has shown the human brain is processing politically incongruent statements differentlyattention is perking upand that the candidate's conviction toward the stated position is also playing a role.

In other words, there is a stronger neurological response happening when, for example, a Republican takes a position favorable to new taxes, or a Democratic candidate adopts an opinion critical of environmental regulation, but it may be easier for us to ignore these positions when we're not exactly sure where the candidate stands.

Using functional Magnetic Resonance Imaging, or fMRI, at Nebraska's Center for Brain Biology and Behavior, Haas and her collaborators, Melissa Baker of the University of California-Merced, and Frank Gonzalez of the University of Arizona, examined the insula and anterior cingular cortex in 58 individualsboth regions of the brain that are involved with cognitive functionand found increased activity when the participants read statements incongruent with the candidate's stated party affiliation. The participants were also shown a slide stating how certain the candidates felt about the positions.

"The biggest takeaway is that people paid more attention to uncertainty when it was attached to the consistent information, and they were more likely to dismiss it when it was attached to the inconsistent information," Haas, associate professor of political science, said. "In these brain regions, the most activation was to incongruent trials that were certain.

"If you definitely know that the candidate is deviating from party lines, so to speak, that seemed to garner more response from our participants, whereas if there's a suspicion that they're deviating from party line, but it's attached to more uncertainty, we didn't see participants engaged in so much processing of that information."

Haas said these trials didn't examine what the voter might decide to do with this information, but that participants were paying more attention to incongruent statements overall.

"We didn't look at whether they're less likely to vote for the candidate, but what we show is increased neural activation associated with those trials," Haas said. "They are taking longer to process the information and taking longer to make a decision about how they feel about it. That does seem to indicate that it's garnering more attention."

The research raises a possible answer to the perennial question of why politicians are frequently less explicit in their opinions, or why they may flip-flop on a stated position.

"Our work points to a reason why politicians might deploy uncertainty in a strategic way," Haas said. "If a politician has a position that is definitely incongruent from the party's stated position, the idea is that rather than put that out there, given that people might grasp onto it and pay more attention to it, it might be strategic for them to mask their true positions instead."

The article, "Political uncertainty moderates neural evaluation of incongruent policy positions," was published Feb. 22 in a special issue of Philosophical Transactions B, "The political brain: neurocognitive and computational mechanisms."

More information: Ingrid J. Haas et al, Political uncertainty moderates neural evaluation of incongruent policy positions, Philosophical Transactions of the Royal Society B: Biological Sciences (2021). Ingrid J. Haas et al, Political uncertainty moderates neural evaluation of incongruent policy positions,(2021). DOI: 10.1098/rstb.2020.0138
[February 22, 2021] More than 300 households in Saint-Gabriel-de-Valcartier now have access to high-speed Internet

QUEBEC, Feb. 22, 2021 /CNW/ - Thanks to a combined investment of close to $365,000 from the Government of Canada, the Government of Quebec and Bell, 326 households in the municipality of Saint-Gabriel-de-Valcartier now have better access to high-speed Internet. Completion of the construction of fibre-optic backbone networks means that the community of Valcartier can now benefit from quality Internet service at a reasonable price. This infrastructure project was carried out as part of a large intergovernmental initiative to provide connectivity to up to 24,000 households in 58 regions of Quebec. Will Amos, Parliamentary Secretary to the Minister of Innovation, Science and Industry (Science), along with Gilles Belanger, Parliamentary Assistant to the Premier of Quebec (high-speed Internet), Eric Caire, Member of the National Assembly for La Peltrie and Minister for Government Digital Transformation, and Charles Gosselin, Director of Government Affairs at Bell, today announced the completion of the project. The COVID-19 pandemic has highlighted the degree to which our regions, and especially more rural communities, rely on the Internet to function every day. Given the constant evolution of the technological tools that are now part of daily life, this need will only increase over time. Access to high-speed Internet service is therefore essential for everyone, whether it's for working, learning or communicating with loved ones. Quotes "High-speed Internet service is key to the success of residents in rural regions of Quebec. The COVID-19 crisis has shown us how important it is to be able to access the digital world. By investing in this project through the Connect to Innovate program, we are continuing to bridge the digital divide so Quebecers in the regions can also benefit from all the advantages the digital world has to offer. To date, the Government of Canada has invested over $213 million in 54 projects, which will connect up to 250,293 households in Quebec."



 Will Amos, Parliamentary Secretary to the Minister of Innovation, Science and Industry (Science) "We have an ambitious goal: Our premier has committed to ensuring that all Quebecers can connect to highspeed Internet by autumn 2022. I highlight the work of Bell, which has delivered this project on schedule. There is still much work to do to ensure that Quebec households are connected by 2022; we are doubling our efforts and working tirelessly. I am confident that we will increase the pace of announcements of completed projects over the next year. We hope to be leaders in Canada and a benchmark for the world in terms of connectivity."

 Gilles Belanger, Parliamentary Assistant to the Premier of Quebec (high-speed Internet) "Bell is pleased to collaborate with the governments of Canada and Quebec to provide highspeed Internet access to more citizens in the municipality of Saint-Gabriel-de-Valcartier. The COVID-19 crisis has highlighted the importance of fast, reliable, high-capacity broadband network connections in all spheres of society, and Bell is proud to use its network leadership to help transform the way Quebecers communicate with each other and the world."  Charles Gosselin, Director of Government Affairs, Bell Canada Quick facts The Government of Canada's $585-million Connect to Innovate program aims to improve high-speed Internet services in Canada's rural and remote communities.

Connect to Innovate program aims to improve high-speed Internet services in Canada's rural and remote communities. The Government of Canada has allocated billions of dollars toward Internet infrastructure in rural and remote regions, including through the $1.75-billion Universal Broadband Fund.

Universal Broadband Fund. The goal of the $100-million Quebec branche program is to provide high-speed Internet services to rural areas that are currently underserved or without service. Stay connected Follow Innovation, Science and Economic Development Canada on social media.

Twitter: @ISED_CA, Facebook: Canadian Innovation, Instagram: @cdninnovation and LinkedIn SOURCE Innovation, Science and Economic Development Canada

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The renaming of 44 schools in the San Francisco Unified School District is apparently being put on hold after intense local and national blowback.

In a statement first released in the San Francisco Chronicle on Sunday, SF school board president Gabriela Lopez said it would make reopening schools during the pandemic the only focus, and that renaming committee meetings will be cancelled for now.

(SFGATE and the San Francisco Chronicle are both owned by Hearst but operate independently of one another.)

In response to widespread criticism that the school board had not consulted historians before the near-unanimous decision, Lopez promised a "more deliberative process moving forward, which includes engaging historians at nearby universities to help" with future name-change discussions.

"I acknowledge and take responsibility that mistakes were made in the renaming process," Lopez said in her statement.

The school board approved three weeks ago the renaming of schools in seeking to exclude affiliations with racism, slavery, colonization and other troubled legacies. The namesakes included presidents Abraham Lincoln, George Washington and Thomas Jefferson; Democratic Sen. Dianne Feinstein and others. The historical explanations for removing their varied widely and were roundly judged as flawed. (See SFGATEs story on the decision for more details.)

San Francisco Mayor London Breed condemned the renaming decision for its timing: What I cannot understand is why the School Board is advancing a plan to have all these schools renamed by April, when there isnt a plan to have our kids back in the classroom by then, she said after the boards decision.

Since the school boards decision, Lopez has struggled to justify the move in interviews. The Chronicle also reported Sunday that Lopez and two other board members are facing a recall petition.
Donald Trumps post-presidency return to public speaking is finally confirmed. Blessed with his presence will be the Conservative Political Action Conference, or CPAC, the annual convention that pulls together the USs right-wing elite to strut their stuff or blow off steam, depending on their mood.

Now approaching its 50th birthday, CPAC is a project of the American Conservative Union, one of the USs oldest right-wing lobby groups. Designed to bring together conservatives from all over the country to exchange ideas and forge useful relationships, its ostensible main function today is to galvanise the movements disparate groups around their shared issues.

But the conference also has other key functions: it helps sharpen the line between establishment and counter-establishment, tightens the connections between Republican officials and the partys donor class and interest groups, and gives rising stars a chance to show off as they climb the ladder.

On that last point, this years schedule features some telltale names: South Dakota governor Kristi Noem, Arkansas Senator Tom Cotton, Texas Senator Ted Cruz and Missouri Senator Josh Hawley all have solo speaking slots. But with Mr Trump the headline slot on the final day, the four of them are for now being kept firmly in line.

The conference has always been a useful platform for airing out the rights culture war grievances, albeit in an upbeat spirit. Regular speakers over the years have included not just elected officials but leaders from the NRA and other conservative pressure groups, Fox News pundits, and the likes of Ann Coulter, a right-wing provocateur known for adopting incendiary views on race and immigration.

Some of the speakers and groups attending have gone even further beyond the fringe, periodically threatening to derail the conferences reputation. In 2017, CPAC was forced to disinvite Milo Yiannopoulos over remarks he made about intergenerational sex (though his previous antisemitic, racist and misogynistic statements had been no problem).

Its also an ideal stage for Republicans looking to maintain or salvage their national profiles, or at least to stay in touch with the base between election cycles. Back in 2013, coming off Barack Obamas victory over the relatively mainstream campaign fought by Mitt Romney, proto-Trump Tea Party heroine Sarah Palin  not yet relegated to has-been status  gave one of her reliably earthy, free-associative speeches.

Hes got the rifle, Ive got the rack, she quipped as she discussed her and her husbands Christmas gifts. Then she pulled from under the podium an extra-large Big Gulp cup full of an unidentified substance and took a sip. Venting their rage at Michael Bloombergs proposed cap on large-size soda servings, the crowd went wild.

Sure, its just pop with low-cal ice cubes in it! Ms Palin riffed. I hope thats okay.

Contained in that brief moment is everything that CPAC has become: a forum for venting cultural and political grievance, a chance for leaders to shore up their credibility, and a multi-day rally that gets useful TV coverage for a cheering conservative crowd.

The priorities of the conservative movement shifted radically over the course of the second Obama term. A month into Mr Trumps presidency, the CPAC of 2017 saw Steve Bannon, the far-right co-mastermind of Mr Trumps victory, take the stage for a rare public appearance where he laid the administrations agenda bare for all to see.

Talking of economic nationalism and the imperative to defend sovereignty at all costs, Mr Bannon explained that Mr Trumps cabinet had been chosen to spearhead the deconstruction of the administrative state in favour of consolidated executive power.

But he also laid out the nationalistic creed to which Mr Trump openly pandered as he steadily took over the Republican Party: We are a nation with a culture and a reason for being.

It was at CPACs 2011 meeting, in fact, that Mr Trump gave his first major political speech. At the time, he was aggressively pushing the racist fiction that Mr Obama was not born in the US and therefore could not be considered a legitimate president; on the stage, he took digs at the candidates lined up for the next election and ranted about issues that would animate his campaign when it kicked off four years later, in particular trade with China.

Nine years on, he gave a rambling address to the conference just as the US was starting to feel the impact of the coronavirus pandemic. And not long after the conference closed, it became clear that at least one guest had tested positive for Covid-19.
(Natural News) An Arizona state lawmaker is pushing a bill that would make it optional for businesses to enforce state or local Wuhan coronavirus (COVID-19) mask mandates.

House Bill 2770 was introduced by newly-elected Republican Rep. Joseph Chaplik of the Arizona House of Representatives 23rd District. This bill would protect peoples freedom and liberties, he said during an interview with a Tucson radio show.

Businesses get to make the choice if they want to enforce it or not, said Chaplik. We shouldnt have to force it on everyone.

Chapliks one-page bill amends Title 44 of the Arizona Revised Statutes by adding a 38th chapter to the statutes. The full text of this new Chapter 38, titled Businesses Exempt From Mask Mandate, is as follows:

Article 1. General Provisions: Notwithstanding any other law, a business in this state is not required to enforce on its premises a mask mandate that is established by this state, a city, town or county or any other jurisdiction of this state.

This proposal directly undermines the executive orders signed by Republican Gov. Doug Ducey requiring certain businesses like restaurants and gyms to mandate mask use indoors. Not only that, but it would also undermine city and county mask mandates as well.

At 2 p.m. local time on Tuesday, Feb. 16, Chapliks bill was presented to the House of Representatives Commerce Committee.

Since introducing HB 2770, Ive heard from countless people who feel like their liberties are being stolen and being ordered to cover up their faces even when they are healthy, said Chaplik in a statement. Worse yet, business owners have been thrust into the unwanted role of mask police on their customers, something creating heated confrontations.

The bill, which Chaplik claims has 21 co-sponsors (out of 31 GOP members in the House), was easily approved by the Commerce Committee by a vote of six for and four against, with all 10 members of the committee voting along partisan lines.

The next step for the bill is to be forwarded to the House for a full vote. The Republicans hold a slim majority, so unless several members vote against the partys wishes it is expected to pass without much hassle.

Bill faces criticism from Democrats, state health organizations and other groups

We cant be flippant with these types of bills, said Robin Reed, chief executive of the Black Chamber of Arizona. He is critical of the bill because, according to him, COVID-19 cases in the state increased after the state rolled back certain lockdown restrictions. He fears making masks optional could have the same effect. (Related: Analysis shows mask mandates do NOT curb surge in coronavirus cases.)

We owe our citizens to research what would happen if these mask mandates werent in place.

Multiple health care organizations have come out against HB 2770, including the Arizona Medical Association and the Arizona chapter of the National Association of Social Workers. The League of Arizona Cities and Towns has also made its opposition to the bill clear.

The Arizona Medical Association, with the help of the Arizona Chamber of Commerce and Industry and several other business groups, has similarly made it clear that it supports mask-wearing and other coronavirus lockdown protocols that they believe help businesses continue operating while keeping customers and employees safe.

They even launched a website that offered businesses guides for how to safely operate, with the first step to require face coverings at all times.

The medical association and the Chamber of Commerce sent a joint letter to the Maricopa County Board of Supervisors back in September urging it not to rescind its countywide mask mandate after the board faced pressure from county residents to roll back the order.

Safety is key to ensuring employees can work, children and young adults can learn, businesses and healthcare providers can operate and our economy can continue to thrive, said the letter.

While the chamber has so far refused to take a position on Chapliks bill, it reiterated its support for mask-wearing, with Executive Vice President Garrick Taylor saying it is the right thing to do.

We know that the vast majority of businesses are doing their very best to curb the spread of the virus in an extremely challenging business environment, he added.

Arizona House Democrats have also voiced their opposition to the bill.

Ridiculous, they said. Persistently maskless GOP Rep. Joseph Chapliks HB 2770 to prevent cities from imposing mask mandates during a pandemic passes on party lines in House Commerce Committee. In other news, COVID-19 deaths will top 15,000 before this week ends.

Chaplik has, on multiple occasions, talked about how masks should not be forced on people and how businesses should not be put in the difficult position of being given the responsibility of policing their customers.

He said that hes talked to multiple business owners and employees and heard that many are tired of wearing their masks, no longer believed masks were useful or did not want to force others to wear one.

Learn more about how Republicans and other organizations are fighting back against coronavirus lockdowns and mask mandates by reading the latest articles at Pandemic.news.

Sources include:

AZCentral.com

AZLeg.gov

AZFamily.com
The APD helped the fire department with the background checks for their candidates, and all 15 were interviewed by the fire department. The official start date for the new hires is March 1, Fritz said, and they will spend two weeks in orientation with the fire department, doing paperwork. They are slated to report to the New York State Academy of Fire Science in Montour Falls by March 13.

Academy graduation is scheduled for June 4 and after that, they will spend six months in an engine company or a truck company with the fire department. They will then be in the other company for another six months, so they will gaine experience with both. These firefighters need to have positive evaluations from both companies.

In addition to bringing in three new hires, Friz said, another benefit is that the AFD now has a new civil service list of eligible recruits to hire off of. Those lists can used for up to four years. He said he was happy so many came out for the recent written test and did well.

"Now we have a list with a lot of people and we have a list with a lot of people that scored well, so those are good for us. Because it allows us to continually get good people when openings come up," Fritz said. "It gives us more people to choose from."
Credit: Pixabay/CC0 Public Domain

People with COVID-19 may lose their sense of smell and taste for up to five months after infection, according to a preliminary study released today, February 22, 2021, that will be presented at the American Academy of Neurology's 73rd Annual Meeting being held virtually April 17 to 22, 2021.

"While COVID-19 is a new disease, previous research shows that most people lose their sense of smell and taste in early stages of the illness," said study author Johannes Frasnelli, M.D., of the University of Quebec at Trois-Rivieres in Canada. "We wanted to go further and look at how long that loss of smell and taste lingers, and how severe it is in people with COVID-19."

The study involved 813 health care workers who tested positive for COVID-19. Each person completed an online questionnaire and home test to evaluate their sense of taste and smell on average five months after diagnosis. They rated their senses of taste and smell on a scale from 0 to 10. Zero meant no sense at all, and 10 meant a strong sense of taste or smell. Researchers found the average person did not regain their sense of smell entirely.

A total of 580 people lost their sense of smell during the initial illness. Of this group, 297 participants, or 51%, said they still had not regained their sense of smell five months later, while 134 participants, or 17%, had persistent loss of smell when evaluated with the home test. On average, people ranked their sense of smell at a seven out of 10 after the illness, compared with a nine out of 10 before they had gotten sick.

A total of 527 participants lost their sense of taste during the initial illness. Of this group 200 people, or 38%, said they still had not regained their sense of taste five months later, while 73 people, or 9%, had persistent loss of taste when evaluated with the home test. On average, people ranked their sense of taste at an eight out of 10 after the illness, compared with a nine out of 10 before they had gotten sick.

"Our results show that an impaired sense of smell and taste may persist in a number of people with COVID-19," Frasnelli said. "This emphasizes the importance of following up with people who have been infected, and the need for further research to discover the extent of neurological problems associated with COVID-19."

Explore further Follow the latest news on the coronavirus (COVID-19) outbreak
February 22, 2021





Technological innovation, for all of its wonderful effectiveness in helping various industries extend their capabilities, has taken some time to produce a similar influence on the field of therapy, though much of that is due to the nature of therapeutic work.







After all, the field has traditionally consisted of one-on-one, personal, private sessions between the therapist and patient, providing a non-judgmental, open space for the interactions to occur within. While that remains the case and technology certainly cannot make therapists expendable, it is offering greater insight and access to a patient's specific circumstances.

Kathryn Diaz, a passionate therapist from Santa Monica, California, who is intent on connecting people with their shadows and helping them integrate with their true self, shares the numerous ways in which technology has constructively affected the therapy industry.

Remote Sessions

Manpower is a huge challenge in the therapy industry, Kathryn Diaz notes, as there is simply an insufficient number of therapists in many parts of the world. More than half of the globe's countries have four or less therapists per 100,000 people and even the United States, a nation with a higher income, has 65% of its non-metropolitan counties functioning with zero psychiatrists in the area. Zoom, the highly download app that allows for digital meetings, has made it possible for sessions to be conducted remotely. Telemedicine creates an atmosphere that is equally private to an in-person consultation and offers vital services to all patients, but it is particularly useful to those who are living in communities that are both devoid of professional assistance and a considerable distance away from the nearest option.

Sensors and Wearables

Through the implementation of sensors and wearables, people are already accustomed to gathering real-time data on their tendencies, Therapist Kathryn Diaz states. Activity levels, stress measurements, heart rate, sleeping patterns, speaking habits and general movements; these are all monitored by handheld, or attached, devices that serve to shine a light on a person's overall lifestyle. Naturally, this technology has, at last, reached the therapeutic sphere, in the form of affordable products that can observe shifts in one's behavior and mental states. Research is strongly supporting the merit of these measures and the hope lies that, within a few years, the real-time tracking will be perfected, giving patients concise information that simplifies their care regimen.

Delivering Hard Data

Technological platforms are also supplying critical data, according to Kathryn Diaz, that can be incorporated into the training of computer models that uncover the ideal methods of therapy to ensure superior patient outcomes. With more data collected, therapists can better understand what aspects of the practice are suitable for different age groups, genders, and cultural backgrounds. Then, when the data is secured and additional discoveries are gained, specialists can create personalized treatment protocols for an individual patient, a path to recovery that was developed precisely for their personal needs.

Therapist Kathryn Diaz on Improved Record-Keeping

Electronic health records (EHRs) are found in the majority of mental healthcare providers; however, professionals are looking at technology to enhance its efficacy, since data is mostly uncoded and there is a lack of patient-accessible health records. Adjusting these EHRs, therapists can be more decisive and accurate in their means of supporting patients, relying on predictive tools. For service advancements, clinicians can utilize the data as well, while researchers will certainly find it advantageous in supporting their proposed trials. Patient health records (PHRs) are also bound to boost patient and therapist engagement with mental health services.
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Healthcare IT Market Research Report: By Products & Services (Healthcare Provider Solutions, Healthcare Payer Solutions) Component (Services, Software) End-User (Healthcare Providers, Healthcare Payers, Research Centers)  Global Forecast Till 2023

Global Healthcare IT Market Segmentation:

By products and services, the global Healthcare IT Market can be segmented into healthcare provider solutions, healthcare payer solutions, HCIT outsourcing services, and others.

The sub-segments under Healthcare provider solutions can be categorized into two major segments, viz. clinical solutions and nonclinical-healthcare IT solutions.

The clinical solutions segment is bifurcated into electronic health records/electronic medical record systems, picture archiving and communication systems and vendor neutral archive systems, computerized physician order entry systems, clinical decision support systems, e-prescribing solutions, radiology information systems, radiation dose management, specialty management information systems, medical image analysis systems, population health management solutions, patient registry software, healthcare IT integration systems, practice management systems, laboratory information systems, mobile health applications, telehealth solutions, and, infection surveillance solutions.

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The nonclinical  healthcare IT solutions segment has been further segmented into pharmacy information systems, medication management systems, healthcare asset management software, Workforce Management Systems (WFM), revenue cycle management solutions, medical document management solutions, financial management systems, Healthcare Information Exchange (HIE), supply chain management solutions, healthcare analytics, and, Customer Relationship Management (CRM).

Healthcare payer solutions segment is segmented into pharmacy audit and analysis systems, claims management solutions, analytics and fraud management solutions, member eligibility management solutions, provider network management solutions, billing and accounts (payment) management solutions, customer relationship management solutions, population health management solutions, and, others.

HCIT outsourcing services segment has been segmented into provider HCIT outsourcing services market, payer IT outsourcing services, operational IT outsourcing services, and, IT infrastructure management services.

By component, the global healthcare IT market can be segmented into services, software, and, hardware.

By end-user, the global healthcare IT market is segmented into healthcare providers, healthcare payers, research centers, third-party administrators, and, government institutions.

Healthcare providers segment is further segmented into hospitals, ambulatory care centers, home healthcare agencies, nursing homes, assisted living facilities, diagnostic, imaging centers, and, pharmacies. Healthcare payers segment has been segmented into private payers, and, public payers.

Competitive Dashboard:

The key players profiled by MRFR in its report are Cerner Corporation (U.S.), McKesson Corporation, (U.S.), Infor, Inc. (U.S.), athenahealth, Inc. (U.S.), McKesson Corporation (U.S.), GE Healthcare (UK), Wolters Kluwer (Netherland), 3M health Information Systems (U.S.), Kronos Incorporated (U.S.), Lexmark Healthcare (U.S.), CSI Healthcare IT (U.S.), Spok Inc. (U.S.), Allscripts Healthcare Solutions, Inc. (U.S.), Oracle Corporation (U.S.), Cognizant Technology Solutions Corporation (U.S.), Dell Technologies (U.S.), United Healthcare Group (U.S.), Koninklijke Philips N.V. (The Netherlands), IBM (U.S.), Conifer Health Solutions (U.S.), Anthelio Healthcare Solutions Inc. (U.S.), Orion Health (New Zealand), Syntel Inc. (U.S.), and, Epic Systems Corporation (U.S.). The players cross the healthcare IT spectrum employ strategies such as innovative collaboration, agreements, partnerships, acquisitions & mergers, etc. to gain a competitive edge.

Royal Philips, a pioneer in health technology, has forged a long-term strategic partnership with Jackson Health System, one of the leading public health systems in the U.S., based on an Enterprise Monitoring as a Service (EMaaS) model. By the application of the software as a service model, the partnership is expected to re-invent how health systems adopt technology. The model has been designed to enhance the safety of patients and seamless monitoring across the network for a per-patient fee. The unique model will standardize monitoring of the patients at all acuity levels for each care setting across its network.

Market Synopsis:

Healthcare IT Market Size is set to witness spiraling demand in the next couple of years. The recently published report by Market Research Future (MRFR) states that the global healthcare IT market will exhibit growth at 15% CAGR during the forecast period 2018 to 2023.

The large-scale penetration of electronic gadgets, bullish trend in the healthcare sector, rising demand for better healthcare facilities, etc. are the factors responsible for the growth of the market. The initiatives undertaken by the governments to escalate digitalization of healthcare sector are also fueling the demand for healthcare IT. The innovations introduced and implemented by the major market players assuring efficiency, saving in time, and, cost-effectiveness have pushed the adoption of the technology all across the world.

The major restraints hampering the growth of the market are high deployment costs, reluctance by medical professionals to adoption of advanced healthcare IT, etc.

Regional Analysis:

By region, the market has been segmented into Americas, Europe, Asia Pacific, and the Middle East and Africa. North America market accounts for the largest share of the market owing to its early adoption of technology. The growth in this region can also be attributed to the large-scale prevalence of prominent players in the market. Other factors responsible for the expansion of market in this region are increased research & development activities, technological advancements, etc.

Europe holds the second spot among regional markets and is expected to thrive saliently throughout the assessment period. The mass penetration of social media into healthcare IT has fueled the demand in this region. According to the Medtech Media, over 31% of healthcare providers are using social media for professional networking in this region. Asia Pacific trails Europe in terms of market share and will exhibit the fastest growth during the projection period. The factors contributing towards the growth in this region are initiatives taken by governments, booming healthcare sector, increased healthcare expenditure, the presence of emerging economies, etc. Middle East & Africa market will see an upward trend in market growth due to the thriving healthcare sector, rising demand for better healthcare facilities, increased prevalence of chronic diseases.

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Market Research Future (MRFR), enable customers to unravel the complexity of various industries through Cooked Research Report (CRR), Half-Cooked Research Reports (HCRR), Raw Research Reports (3R), Continuous-Feed Research (CFR), and Market Research & Consulting Services.
Vallarta Living



'Raise for R.I.S.E.' - A COVID Friendly Fundraiser



Join in the fun on Sunday, March 7, 2021 from 5:00 to 7:00 pm for an 'Off the Menu' culinary event hosted by legendary entertainer and Chef Sol Rose of Cafe Bohemio to benefit R.I.S.E. Puerto Vallarta, Mexico - 'COVID Friendly Fundraiser'... Some may find the title an oxymoron, but let's not focus on that, let's get to the interesting part. On Sunday, March 7, 2021 from 5:00 to 7:00 pm, Broadway entertainer and Puerto Vallarta Chef Sol Rose will host a virtual culinary event to benefit to benefit the Refugio Infantil Santa Esperanza (R.I.S.E.) children's shelter.



restaurant owner Sol Rose is not only one of Vallarta's zaniest characters, but also a talented chef who's more than willing to share his popular restaurant's recipes, and that's just what he'll do as he hosts



That's right, you do not need to leave the comfort of your own home to enjoy some of your favorite CafA Bohemio dishes! This special online event gives you the opportunity to cook some of the most popular items on the restaurant's menu, along with the legendary Sol Rose, who will entertain participants with his velvety voice throughout the evening.



For $750.00 pesos per person ($40.00 USD) local guests will receive a basket of Puerto Vallarta's freshest ingredients, recipes and the Zoom log in. Because this event is virtual guests anywhere in the world can join in via zoom for $750.00 pesos ($40.00 USD) per household. You will receive the recipes and list of ingredients to join in the event. For more information, menu options and to register for this unique online experience, please visit



"Singing and cooking are my two passions and to be able to combine them into an online event for a good cause is a dream come true," Sol says.



The Cause



RISE (Refugio Infantil Santa Esperanza) is a home to 30+ at risk children ranging in ages from birth to 11 years. RISE has a combination of a great staff and a team of volunteers that keep RISE running. However, through a pandemic the needs for the children do not change. RISE is funded through private donations and fundraising is a huge part of our ability to provide these children with nutritional food, education, activities clothing and so much more. Learn more and donate at - 'COVID Friendly Fundraiser'... Some may find the title an oxymoron, but let's not focus on that, let's get to the interesting part. On Sunday, March 7, 2021 from 5:00 to 7:00 pm, Broadway entertainer and Puerto Vallarta Chef Sol Rose will host a virtual culinary event to benefit to benefit the Refugio Infantil Santa Esperanza (R.I.S.E.) children's shelter. Cafe Bohemio restaurant owner Sol Rose is not only one of Vallarta's zaniest characters, but also a talented chef who's more than willing to share his popular restaurant's recipes, and that's just what he'll do as he hosts 'Off the Menu'. That's right, you do not need to leave the comfort of your own home to enjoy some of your favorite CafA Bohemio dishes! This special online event gives you the opportunity to cook some of the most popular items on the restaurant's menu, along with the legendary Sol Rose, who will entertain participants with his velvety voice throughout the evening.For $750.00 pesos per person ($40.00 USD) local guests will receive a basket of Puerto Vallarta's freshest ingredients, recipes and the Zoom log in. Because this event is virtual guests anywhere in the world can join in via zoom for $750.00 pesos ($40.00 USD) per household. You will receive the recipes and list of ingredients to join in the event. For more information, menu options and to register for this unique online experience, please visit risepv.com/off-the-menu. "Singing and cooking are my two passions and to be able to combine them into an online event for a good cause is a dream come true," Sol says.RISE (Refugio Infantil Santa Esperanza) is a home to 30+ at risk children ranging in ages from birth to 11 years. RISE has a combination of a great staff and a team of volunteers that keep RISE running. However, through a pandemic the needs for the children do not change. RISE is funded through private donations and fundraising is a huge part of our ability to provide these children with nutritional food, education, activities clothing and so much more. Learn more and donate at risepv.com.



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COLUMBIA, Md., Feb. 22, 2021 /PRNewswire/ -- USRA's Dr. Erick Young is among the 232 astronomers and astrophysicists honored as Legacy Fellows of the American Astronomical Society (AAS). The honor recognizes "contributions toward the society's mission of enhancing and sharing humanity's scientific understanding of the universe."

AAS established an initial group of 200 Legacy Fellows, chosen by its Board of Trustees, to recognize several outstanding scientists. These include past recipients of certain awards from the AAS or its topical Divisions, distinguished AAS elected leaders and volunteer committee members, and previously unrecognized individuals with long histories of outstanding research, teaching, mentoring, and service. Erick was a recipient of the prestigious Van Biesbroeck Award for Astronomy.

Dr. Jeffrey A. Isaacson, President and CEO, Universities Space Research Association said, "We are very proud to have such a distinguished scientist on our staff. Erick Young's scientific and technical achievements and his invaluable contributions to the Stratospheric Observatory for Infrared Astronomy (SOFIA) are just some examples of the impact he has left on the science community."

Among his many accomplishments at USRA, Dr. Young served as Director of the SOFIA Science Mission Operations from 2009to 2016. There he led the transition of the Stratospheric Observatory of Infrared Astronomy from a development project to a fully functioning observatory; established the first community observations in 2010; oversaw the commissioning of the first two generations of scientific instruments; and led the Science Mission Operations activities on the first two Southern Hemisphere deployments to New Zealand.

About USRA

Universities Space Research Association is an independent, nonprofit research corporation where the combined efforts of in-house talent and university-based expertise merge to advance space science and technology. USRA works across disciplines including biomedicine, planetary science, astrophysics, and engineering and integrates those competencies into applications ranging from fundamental research to facility management and operations. USRA engages the creativity and authoritative expertise of the research community to develop and deliver sophisticated, forward-looking solutions to Federal agencies and other government sponsors.

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Source: Xinhua| 2021-02-22 18:44:43|Editor: huaxia

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ISIOLO, Kenya, Feb. 22 (Xinhua) -- Kenyan police said Monday they are interrogating two suspects who were arrested with two hand grenades, one AK-47 rifle and 128 rounds of ammunition in the country's Isiolo county.

The two men tried to flee after their vehicle was stopped by Directorate of Criminal Investigations (DCI) detectives patrolling Duma-Yamicha road, the DCI said in a statement.

"Spotting two suspicious vehicles..., the joint team of officers from DCI Merti and Yamicha Police Post signaled them to stop, but instead the two vehicles sped off," the statement said.

A hot pursuit followed, before two occupants in one of the cars opened fire at the officers, who shot back in self-defense.

The suspects later surrendered after being cornered; the other vehicle, with an unknown number of occupants and possibly more arms, managed to escape, the DCI said.

Police said they also recovered five magazines, nine magazine pouches, one military jungle belt, two mobile phones, and several pen knives.

The area is seen as a hotbed of radicalism and terrorism at large and authorities have since boosted police presence there.

Officers drawn from various special units are deployed in the entire northern region, including Isiolo and Marsabit, authorities said. Enditem

The world's largest vaccine manufacturer, the Indian company Serum Institute, will additionally supply Ukraine with 5 million doses of the NovaVax coronavirus vaccine, Ukrainian Health Minister Maksym Stepanov said.

"Another positive piece of news from the Indian Pune and the world's largest vaccine manufacturer Serum Institute. We have successfully completed negotiations to increase the supply of the American vaccine NovaVax to Ukraine. We have been confirmed the possibility of supplying an additional 5 million doses of vaccines from this manufacturer. We will approve the agreement by signing the contract," Stepanov said on Facebook on Monday.

He also said that the total volume of the NovaVax vaccine, which is expected in Ukraine, is currently 15 million doses. The first deliveries of this drug to our country are scheduled for July 2021.
Mainline pastors (39%) are more than three times as likely as evangelical pastors (12%) to say they did not meet in person in January.

Even among those who are holding in-person services, few are near pre-pandemic attendance levels. Around 3 in 10 pastors (31%) say their attendance in January 2021 is less than half what it was in January 2020, months before the coronavirus prompted national lockdowns.

A new study from Nashville-based Lifeway Research found 76% of U.S. Protestant pastors say their churches met in person in January, down from 87% who said the same in September .

Almost 9 in 10 Protestant pastors (88%) say a church attendee has been diagnosed with COVID-19, up from 28% in July 2020. Close to 3 in 10 (29%) say a member died from COVID-19, compared to 5% last summer.

Not surprisingly, pastors of churches with 200 or more in attendance are the most likely to say someone in their congregation died from COVID-19 (51%), while pastors of churches with fewer than 50 are the least likely (15%).

Younger pastors (18- to 44-years-old) are the most likely to have lost a church attendee to the coronavirus (41%), as well as pastors in the South (38%).

The respect pastors in specific regions had last summer for the devastation of this pandemic has now spread throughout the nation, said McConnell. For a growing number, the loss of life has reached a dear saint or regular attendee in their own congregation.

Much of the financial challenges remain the same. Similar numbers from July 2020 say an attendee lost their job (50%) and had income impacted by reduced work hours (72%) at any time during the coronavirus pandemic.

Despite those difficulties, pastors say the pandemic has provided opportunities for their church to serve others and even reach new people.

Almost all pastors (90%) say people in their church have helped each other with tangible needs during the pandemic, while almost 3 in 4 (73%) report attendees meeting tangible needs in the community connected to the pandemic.

Close to 9 in 10 pastors (88%) say new people who have not attended their church in the past have attended or connected online during the pandemic. A quarter (25%) say an attendee has seen someone make a commitment to follow Christ after sharing the gospel.

Small group survival

When asked to estimate what percentage of small groups or Sunday school classes that existed in their church before the pandemic are currently meeting, have stopped meeting temporarily, or no longer exist, pastors say most of their churchs small groups (62%) are still meeting in some way.

Pastors estimate more than a third of groups (36%) are meeting in person, while 25% are meeting online or by phone. Another third of church classes are not currently meeting, and 6% of classes no longer exist.

Mainline pastors (56%) are more than twice as likely as evangelical pastors (26%) to say none of their groups are meeting in person.

Each group of adults faces the same questions as the church about when and how to meet, said McConnell. Technology has allowed a majority to meet in some form, but many are waiting or need help knowing how to restart.

More than a third of pastors (38%) say none of their small groups are meeting in person. Around 3 in 10 (30%) say most of their groups are in-person.

Some churches have not been able to adapt to using technology to meet, as 41% of pastors say none of their groups are meeting online or by phone.

One in 5 pastors (20%) report having a small group end since the start of the pandemic. Fewer than 1 in 20 (4%) say most of their groups no longer exist at all.

Among the pastors of churches where a majority of adult small groups are not meeting, there remains significant questions about when most groups will start meeting again. Only 3% believe that will happen this month. Nearly a quarter (22%) think sometime in March, April or May.

Others are looking for this summer (17%) or the fall (20%) before most groups will start back. More than a third (36%) say they are not sure when most groups will start to meet again.

Varied approach to student and kids ministries

Among churches that had student ministry activities prior to the pandemic, 4 in 5 are meeting in some way, and most are holding some in-person activities.

Around a third (32%) of pastors who had student ministries before the pandemic, say all of their student ministry activities now are meeting in person. A quarter (25%) say only some activities are in-person. Another 22% say the only activities currently happening are online. Slightly fewer (21%) say they arent holding any student activities in-person or online now.

Among those that are holding some in-person gatherings, more than 3 in 4 (77%) say their attendance is at least half what it was prior to the pandemic, including 5% who say theyve grown.

For those that arent meeting at all or only online, more than a quarter (28%) expect to resume in-person student ministry activities by May. Others are aiming for this summer (18%), this fall (19%) or next year (4%). Around 3 in 10 (31%) say theyre not sure when theyll start meeting in person again.

Kids ministries are similarly divided in how they are approaching the pandemic and future planning, though pastors are more likely to say they arent having any kids activities.

Among pastors who say their church had kids ministry activities prior to the pandemic, 25% say all of their activities are in person, and another 24% say some events are in-person. One in 5 (21%) say the only activities happening now are online, while 30% arent having any kids ministry activities currently.

For those that are hosting in-person kids activities, 71% say they have at least half of their pre-pandemic attendance, including 2% who say they have more now than they did prior to the pandemic.

Among the kid ministries not meeting at all or holding only online activities, 25% expect to resume in-person events by the end of spring, 17% say this summer, 26% are looking toward this fall, and 1% aim for 2022. Three in 10 pastors are not sure when theyll start back in-person kids ministry activities.

Aaron Earls is a writer for Lifeway Christian Resources. For more information, visit LifewayResearch.com or view the complete report.

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Editors note: This story contains graphic descriptions of sexual assault.

This article was reported in partnership with Type Investigations.

Around 2009, a 16-year-old girl went to a clinic in New York City for her first gynecology exam. The doctor, a middle-aged man, disarmed her with awkward, self-deprecating jokes. Dr. Robert Hadden had delivered the girl years earlier. He allegedly instructed her to undress, climb onto the table and get on all fours, according to court documents related to a lawsuit that was filed in April 2019. After a prolonged exam, Hadden proceeded to rub both of his ungloved hands up and down her body, according to the suit, which claims that Hadden penetrated the girl with his hands during two appointments. Neither Hadden nor his lawyer responded to questions for this story.

In 2016, Hadden was convicted in a separate case of a criminal sexual act in the third degree, a low-level felony, and forcible touching, a misdemeanor. He served no jail time but he surrendered his license as part of the plea deal. A group of 25 women, including the former patient who says he assaulted her at age 16, is suing Columbia University and affiliated hospitals for allegedly covering up Haddens abuse of dozens of women and girls over two decades. More than 140 additional women have come forward with their own Hadden stories, according to Anthony DiPietro, the plaintiffs' attorney. (The university said in a statement that nothing is more important than the safety of patients, and NewYork-Presbyterian Hospital called Haddens actions abhorrent and horrific.)

But the lawsuit, while focused on the university and hospitals, also points to another key issue: New York states shortcomings when it comes to complaints against doctors and the role of a little-known investigative branch of the New York state Department of Health: the Office of Professional Medical Conduct (OPMC). City & State and Type Investigations spent more than a year investigating long-standing concerns about the agency and how it handles such complaints. We spoke with former agency employees, reviewed hundreds of documents, and analyzed data on doctor disciplinary actions. These interviews and materials depict an agency slow to hold doctors accountable.

The attorney for the women accusing Hadden said that between 2012 and 2014, years before Hadden lost his license, at least two of the alleged victims complained to the OPMC, which is required to investigate complaints against doctors and physician assistants; in Haddens case, records show that he remained undisciplined until he surrendered his license.

The OPMC did not respond to questions about how it handled the complaints. Speaking more generally, Jonah Bruno, the Department of Healths director of communications, said, Any notion that OPMC does not consistently act in the interests of patient safety and the integrity of the medical profession is baseless and ridiculous.

In September 2020, a federal prosecutor brought new charges against Hadden for enticing victims to cross state lines for sexual abuse.

One plaintiff, Marissa Hoechstetter, testified at a joint hearing of state Senate and Assembly committees on sexual harassment in the workplace in May 2019. I know now that what happened to me was allowed to transpire because of a lack of action by his employers and a lack of oversight by regulators, she said.

Critics say that the OPMCs structure is flawed: that it relies too much on peer review of complaints, that it is overly deferential to doctors testimony, and that investigators are overworked and offices are understaffed. Former employees say that the agencys Manhattan office has struggled to retain investigators. Data from the Federation of State Medical Boards show that the number of investigative staff across the agencys offices dwindled between 2014 and 2018, but increased significantly in 2020.

Last year the governors state budget proposal included a handful of OPMC reforms, which would have allowed the commissioner of health to publicly disclose some investigations and lowered the bar for summarily suspending a doctors license in cases where the doctor presents a risk to the health of the public, among other changes. The executive branch also proposed requiring all New York hospitals with emergency rooms to have a sexual assault forensic exam program.

"The first responsibility of any medical professional is do no harm, and when someone violates that oath they must be held appropriately accountable," Gov. Andrew Cuomo said at the time. These reforms give state health regulators more tools to investigate and penalize providers for dangerous, unethical or illegal behavior.

But after public opposition from the Medical Society of the State of New York, which represents 30,000 doctors and physicians in training, the Legislature rejected all these reforms. In October 2020, the governor signed a separate law that requires medical offices to post information about how to file a complaint with the OPMC. It also requires the agency to post information on its website detailing patients reporting rights regarding sexual misconduct. The governors 2021 proposal includes similar OPMC reforms as last year. The Legislature will vote on the budget this spring.

Staffers speak out

Concerns about OPMCs oversight go back a long time. In 2009 alarmed OPMC investigators wrote a memo, obtained by City & State and Type Investigations, which asserted that the system was skewed toward the physician and that many alleged sexual offenders walk away with little or no impact. It described a revolving door of repeat offenders.

The 2009 memo, penned by a team of five investigators and a secretary  and revealed here for the first time  was sent to the OPMC director and other members of the management team, former employees said. It included a 1996 report that the New York State Board for Professional Medical Conduct commissioned to address the rising number of sexual abuse and harassment complaints. That earlier report noted a favorable bias toward physicians that can lead to overlooking, minimizing or excusing physician sexual misconduct and to a reluctance to impose appropriate discipline. It recommended a broad range of reforms, from a legislative overhaul of state laws to training for investigators, intake staff and the board itself.

As of 2009, the new memo asserted these reforms either were not implemented at all, or not implemented to a degree that changed the Agency process significantly. In interviews conducted between 2016 and 2021, five former OPMC staff said that the agencys approach to sexual misconduct cases often fell short. Together, the reports and interviews with former OPMC employees paint a picture of an office culture that placed more weight on testimony from doctors than from patients and prioritized closing cases rather than conducting thorough investigations.

(All the OPMC sources we spoke with used to work as investigators or supervisors within the OPMCs Manhattan office but no longer do so. They spoke on condition of anonymity; they said they had signed confidentiality agreements and feared lawsuits.)

Four of the former investigators and supervisors we spoke with said OPMC leadership seemed to care less about protecting patients than boosting the agencys public image by closing cases, often prematurely. It's all about the numbers, said a former investigator. It wasn't about the victims, it wasn't about the patients. It was about closing cases.

Of the 3,755 penalties the board issued from 2007 to 2018 for all complaints, almost three-quarters were negotiated agreements without hearings, according to our analysis of annual reports. In years past, doctors' attorneys often were able to convince the board not to mention the sexual nature of misconduct in public records, said Michael Kelton, an attorney who defends physicians. He said that the board's position has evolved, though, and that consent agreements now reference sexual misconduct more openly.

Most questions posed to the OPMC for this story went unanswered  about accusations that bosses protect doctors, disregard patients claims and routinely close sexual misconduct cases prematurely. OPMC institutes a formalized staff training program to ensure that investigators fully understand the extensive review process that is necessary to protect patients, Bruno said, while still affording due process for physicians as is their right under the law. Later Erin Silk, another Health Department spokesperson, added, The Department does not comment on matters that appear to be unsubstantiated hearsay from former and/or current employees."

Go/no go

To understand how investigations reach their conclusion, its important to know how the process works. The OPMC investigates complaints and the board adjudicates its findings. The OPMC acts like the police and prosecutor for doctors accused of professional misconduct, while the board is more like the judge and jury.

There are various points at which people in the chain can recommend advancing or closing the case, or go/no go points, in the terminology of an undated OPMC operational manual we obtained.

At the central OPMC office in Albany, intake staff review incoming complaints from across the state. Complaints cover a range of misconduct, from bad record keeping to negligence. They dismiss roughly half of an average 8,500 complaints each year, sending the rest to one of OPMCs six regional offices. There, the complaint, along with a list of previous investigations into the doctor, is assigned to an investigator, who conducts interviews, gathers medical records, and sometimes speaks with the accuseds co-workers.

In OPMCs downstate office on Church Street in lower Manhattan, former employees recalled, managers offices faced cubicles for investigators and clerical staff. Around 2009, a Superman logo hung above one desk with an A instead of an S, referring to the tongue-in-cheek nickname of a six-woman unit of investigators: the A-team. The moniker was invented because they handled sexual misconduct cases, which management deemed priority A.

There were three units in the Manhattan office in the late aughts, former employees said. The A-team was the only unit run by a woman, a former nurse practitioner who worked at the OPMC for 17 years. Co-workers described her as a spitfire who took the mission to protect the public personally. She visited hospitals to give presentations about the OPMC and was frequently reprimanded for refusing to rush investigations. (The) supervisor felt very strongly about the sex cases, and that nothing was being done about them, said a former investigator.

The A-team supervisor requested that her unit handle sexual misconduct cases because they had heard insensitive comments from male counterparts, said former employees. Once a male supervisor asked a complainant what color underwear she was wearing at the time of the abuse, according to two former OPMC employees. Sometimes these male investigators were perverts and they liked to ask these questions, said a former investigator. That's why we pushed for the women to get the sex allegations. We felt like the guys didn't get it, didn't take them seriously.We reached out to the OPMC as well as the investigator who allegedly asked a complainant this question, but our questions went unanswered.

Despite the A-teams efforts, the majority of sexual misconduct cases ended without punishment, said three former employees. On average the agency received about 8,500 complaints per year between 2007 and 2018, the latest data available. However, the number of complaints related to sexual misconduct remains unknown; in response to a public records request, the agency said sexual misconduct complaints data are not stored in a way that allows for practical retrieval. The agency has punished 279 doctors for sexual misconduct in this period, an average of 23 per year.

The process of evaluating cases involves input from physicians at every step: Doctors review complaints, assist investigators and hear cases. Peer-review is the cornerstone of this process, explained then-OPMC Deputy Director Paula Breen in a 2015 presentation on doctor discipline at the University at Albany School of Public Health.

At almost every go/no go stage, considerableweight is given to the opinion of a consulting doctor, called a medical coordinator, according to the OPMC operational manual and former employees. These physicians, who are from the same specialty as the accused, help determine the litmus test of misconduct: deviation from standard medical care.

The medical coordinator reviews the investigators notes to help determine whether the accused met a minimal standard of care. His or her opinion is included in the case file, which goes to the unit supervisor or program director and then up to the OPMC leadership, which decides with a legal team whether to close the case or advance it to the board.

One former medical coordinator we spoke with said that if a coordinator knows the accused doctor, they don't pass judgment. Medical coordinators dont protect the accused, he said.

But some of the former staff we interviewed described an old boys club mentality in the OPMC, with medical coordinators and the accused sometimes on friendly terms: In interviews, we heard about coordinators reminiscing with the accused doctor about their shared alma mater, or defending a psychiatrist who did a breast exam by pointing out that the psychiatrist was technically an M.D. You find that the medical consultant ... is really looking to rescue the physician, one of the former investigators said.A doctor who had served on the board and had been a medical coordinator disagreed with this characterization.I found over the course of 25 years, by and large sex cases were adjudicated appropriately, said Dr. Alvin Rudorfer.

Two former investigators said the OPMCs leadership rarely passed sex cases on to the board without a written record or other witnesses to back up the patients account. In 2015, Keith Servis, who was OPMC director from 2007 until 2019, emphasized the importance of written notes and third-party witnesses in proving misconduct. While I wouldn't go so far as to say, if it was not written down, it didn't occur, absent any other evidence, that's all that we have, Servis said during a presentation to doctors and medical students about the medical disciplinary process. He has since retired and did not respond to requests to be interviewed.

About 4% of complaints ended in board actions between 2007 and 2018, according to our analysis of publicly available annual reports. Sexual misconduct complaints are not broken out in the data, but sources said those cases were very hard to prove and that the vast majority were closed without discipline.

Escaping discipline

When physicians are disciplined in New York, its often after a medical board in another statehas disciplined them first. Of the 122,000 physicians and physician assistants licensed in New York, roughly 24% live in other states. Roughly half of OPMCs sexual misconduct punishments from 2007 to 2018 began after a doctor licensed in New York but practicing elsewhere was disciplined by another states medical board, according to our analysis of disciplinary action records. Theres an old joke in the office: The only doctors that are disciplined are doctors in other states, said a former supervisor. It skews our numbers to the public. Other sanctions are triggered by criminal convictions. In 2014, about a third of all board disciplinary actions were the result of OPMC-initiated investigations, Breen explained at the 2015 presentation.

During the same presentation, Servis said the board sometimes deemed an investigation itself enough of a punishment when evaluating sexual abuse cases in which it was the patient's word against the doctor's. Sometimes we'll see dismissal in a situation where a physician is clearly guilty, if you want to use that term, of misconduct, he said in a presentation to a group of doctors. But the physician has already, in the eyes of the (boards) hearing committee, suffered enough.

In a 2014 report, the New York Public Interest Research Group Fund, a watchdog nonprofit, looked at what happened to doctors disciplined for negligence, which can sometimes include sexual misconduct. Roughly three-quarters of doctors disciplined in the prior decade kept seeing patients, the report found.

Bruno defended his agencys record on disciplining physicians. In 2016, 79% of final actions taken against doctors found to have committed misconduct resulted in serious sanctions, including the revocation, surrender or suspension of a physicians medical license, or a limitation or restriction placed on the doctors license. But critics say grouping those sanctions as serious obscures the fact that many of them are suspensions, some of which are stayed, rather than license revocations or surrenders.

In the past, former employees say, some sexual misconduct cases were closed with relatively quiet sanctions. These might include two-call closures, in which the doctor is contacted by OPMC but the patient agrees to drop the complaint, or PIMV letters  which stands for Physician Informed of Minor Violation. We used it to tell them, Boy, you did something wrong, dont do it again, said a former OPMC manager. Former employees also said that some cases involving sexual abuse or harassment were closed through administrative warnings, which are issued by the board.

Articles written by board members and OPMC staff published in a medical discipline journal in 2004 and 2006 shed additional light on administrative warnings and closures. Two-call closures, one article stated, could be used when allegations do not rise to the level of professional medical misconduct, including crude behavior or minor boundary violations by a physician. Administrative warnings were described as appropriate in cases in which there was substantial evidence of wrongdoing, but a doctor's actions did not meet the legal standard for misconduct. Such cases, the article stated, could include inappropriate physical examinations (perceptions) or a minor violation of boundaries.

While the board includes the number of administrative warnings on annual reports, the actual warnings and related misconduct remain private. PIMVs and two-call closures are not included in the OPMCs annual reports or the agencys public database of board disciplinary actions.

The agency did not respond to questions about whether PIMV letters were ever sent to perpetrators of alleged sexual misconduct or whether two-call closures were ever used in such cases. Warnings are not issued in cases of alleged sexual misconduct, Bruno wrote. If sufficient evidence of misconduct exists, then the matter is referred to the Board for further administrative action, and if there is a reasonable belief that criminal conduct occurred, then the case is also immediately referred to law enforcement for criminal prosecution.

Trauma in silence

By 2009, the A-team was sick of being ordered to close cases by superiors. The team supervisor gathered her unit in a windowless conference room where they had heard countless women describe alleged abuse. There was the graduate student whose doctor allegedly abused her when she was 13 years old, the 56-year-old banker who was so angry after realizing she essentially paid to get sexually abused, the woman who said her doctor turned off the lights and probed her upper vulva and rectum with his fingers, saying everything feels OK, and the domestic abuse victim whose psychiatrist wanted to work on trust issues by blindfolding the woman and instructing her to open her mouth.

Something had to be done, the supervisor said. The supervisor laid out her plan to write a memo, an analysis of policy failures. At least one investigator resisted because it wasnt their job to reform a failing system, and they were already overworked. Former employees remember having 35-60 cases each. But the supervisor felt compelled to alert management.

Each woman took one area of research and worked during lunch hours and nights to keep up with their caseloads. Some read reports from medical societies. Some reviewed materials from a workshop held by a rape crisis center to learn about victims typical reactions to trauma. Others gathered case files and handwritten complaints from the past few years, collecting snippets or whole complaints that had stayed with them for months or even years. An intern conducted a statewide survey to gather investigators experiences on sexual misconduct cases. After about six weeks, the investigator who initially resisted the assignment took all the findings home. On a Sunday, she formatted them; later, on a workday, she printed copies at an office supply store.

Their resulting memo was unapologetic in laying blame at the agencys door: Our system is skewed toward the physician, it read. The physician gets a slap on the wrist while the victim suffers a lifelong trauma in silence. It is almost like the victim receives the sentence.

The memo collected excerpts of 14 patient complaints, ranging from inappropriate comments to groping to penetration. Patients said these violations shattered their trust in the whole medical field, the memo stated. I didnt want to believe that this doctor was touching me like that, but he was rubbing my clitoris as if he was looking for my vagina, one patient wrote.

The memo noted that the recommendations from the 1996 report had been largely ignored and outcomes hadnt changed. A repeat offender simply goes through our revolving door with the empirical expectation of low or meaningless consequences.

The OPMC did not respond to specific questions based on the findings in the 1996 report and 2009 memo, which admonished the agency for failing to meet standards detailed in its own policy statement on physician sexual misconduct. That statement had been posted on the DOH website, and declared that the board would not tolerate physician sexual misconduct, that allegations would be dealt with effectively, and that, by definition, patients cannot give consent to sexual contact with their own doctor. Sometime between 2015 and 2017, the OPMC removed the policy statement from its website. The agency did not respond to a request for comment on that decision.

The A-team sent their memo around to a handful of key people at the DOH. Servis made a rare trip down to the city to meet with them, along with Breen, the DOH's associate commissioner, and the OPMC's regional director. The investigators waited on one side of a large conference room table for the executives to arrive, according to a source who attended the meeting. The team members felt apprehensive but proud of what they had produced: an extensive report showing the agencys systemic failure to punish sexual predators.

When everyone showed up, according to sources in attendance, Servis congratulated the authors on an excellent white paper, and repeatedly asked two questions: Why had they written it and who had they shown it to? The team members responded that they were concerned sexual offenders werent being punished adequately, and they hadnt shared it outside the health department.

Three of the former employees we spoke with said Servis committed to sending the memo to then-Gov. David Paterson. The A-team left elated. They joked about getting awards for outstanding public service. But no reforms or public service awards came. They never heard about their memo from leadership again. It was all fluff, said a former investigator.

In early November 2009, after the memos presentation, orders came down from management that investigators needed to close more than 200 cases by New Years Eve, and they should focus only on closure paperwork, according to meeting notes. Servis was pushing staff to close cases; his colleagues took to calling him the bean counter. He did not respond to requests for an interview for this story.

The following year, the A-teams supervisor retired. Four former managers and investigators said that as Servis demands trickled down, the Manhattan office grew more and more hostile. One manager kept a scoreboard of investigators case closures on a whiteboard. Investigators said hed berate them in the open office if they fell to the bottom of his scoreboard. We reached out to the supervisor, whos now retired, but he did not respond to requests for comment.

In 2007, Servis took over the OPMC with a manage-by-the-numbers approach, a matrix of case milestones, ambitious caseload targets and closure goals, according to interviews and old meeting notes. But former investigators said it was not a fit for investigative work. According to our analysis of annual reports, the average time it took to close cases increased by nearly 40% during Servis tenure, from seven months when he arrived to 10 months by the time he left.

However, that longer time doesnt seem to indicate deeper investigations. The agency continued to close roughly the same number of cases per year, on average, but the number of full field investigations being closed has plummeted. In 2018 (Servis last full year before retirement), there were 30% fewer full field investigations closed than in 2011, the first year annual reports included this metric. The mission is a farce, one former investigator said. Management single-handedly ruined that agency.

OPMC did not respond to a request for comment about Servis track record at OPMC.

Another chance at reform

Some 24 years after the 1996 report on the agencys handling of sexual misconduct complaints recommended a slew of reforms, Cuomo included substantial ones in his 2020 budget. They included changes to public health law to strengthen disciplinary actions, eliminate lifetime licensure, and to make some investigations and private warnings public.

A few weeks after Cuomos announcement, Breen and the state commissioner of health met with the Medical Society of the State of New York (MSSNY), the physician advocacy group, according to a public newsletter from February 2020. The organizations president at that time, Arthur Fougner, voiced due process concerns, and he wrote in the newsletter that Breen had reassured him that the concerns were largely unfounded. The group then urged members to write state lawmakers and attend its upcoming meeting with legislators in Albany.

Though only the requirement to post information passed last year, then-Assembly Member Aravella Simotas, who sponsored the bill, said shes confident other reforms will eventually be enacted. Look, any organization can improve itself, she said, and I look forward to when the reforms are actually implemented. Simotas, however, lost in the Democratic primary in 2020 to Zohran Mamdani. The issue will need a new champion in Albany.

In January 2021, the governor reintroduced the same OPMC reforms that failed last year. MSSNY then echoed similar concerns as last year, and organized a virtual meeting with legislators in early March. The Legislature will approve or once again reject these reforms by April 1.

As things stand now, however, one former investigator said if they were abused they would not trust the OPMC to serve justice. If I were a person who was violated and I knew that system, I would never go in and tell my story, said the former investigator. Never, never.

Research assistance by Nina Zweig.
Predicted vaccine supply issue starts to hit area due to production levels centrally

This article is old - Published: Monday, Feb 22nd, 2021

Just under a quarter of all vaccines administered so far Wales have been in North Wales, however just 136 were administered yesterday.

Data released today by Public Health Wales shows that 862,248 first dose of either the Oxford AstraZeneca or Pfizer BioNtech vaccines have been issued across Wales.

Of that 202,321 have been administered by Betsi Cadwaladr University Health Board.

New data released by the health board today shows a breakdown of doses:





Older adult, care home residents: 4,326

Care home workers: 9,357

Those aged 80 year of age and over: 37,753

Health care workers: 21,314

Social care workers: 7,253

All those 75 years of age and over: 30,093

All those 70 years of age and over: 40,629

High risk adults under 70 years of age: 14,372

All those 65 years of age and over: 22,987

Other (All North Wales residents under the age of 65 not included in the priority groups shown above): 13,154

Last week also saw the health board start to administer the second dose of Pfizer vaccines to frontline health care staff, staff at residential homes and social care staff.

A more precise geographic breakdown is also published, with a per-county breakdown given out: Anglesey: 22,547, Gwynedd: 34,583, Conwy: 39,263, Denbighshire: 30,562, Flintshire: 37,745, Wrexham: 32,394, Other: 5,227.

Although an exact breakdown of this figures hasnt been released, data published by Public Health Wales today shows that across Wales 42,725 people have now received their second coronavirus vaccine.

Yesterday saw a significant slowdown of doses carried out in North Wales, with health board data showing that just 136 were administered across the entire of North Wales.

We asked why this was the case, and spokesperson for Betsi Cadwaladr University Health Board referenced back to an update published on the 18 February.

The update says: As has been announced at a Wales-wide level, the supplies of vaccine available to all health boards for the next fortnight is lower than what we have been receiving.

This is due to production levels centrally. This week BCUHB will receive a total of 23,430 vaccines (10,530 doses of the Pfizer vaccine and 12,900 doses of the AstraZeneca vaccine). Most of our Pfizer vaccine supply will be used to administer second doses.

In addition to providing second doses, we have made a positive start to vaccinating people in priority group 5, with over a third of people aged 65-69 having received their first dose of the vaccine, and more people booked in over the coming days.

We now have vaccine supply data four weeks in advance and this helps us to plan ahead. According to the supplies that we expect to receive, we should be in a position to start vaccinating priority group 6 (individuals aged 16-64 with underlying health conditions) in March.

Speaking a week ago Health Minister Vaughan Gething said that there are planned vaccine shortage supplies, which at the time were expected to last for the next two weeks.

Last week he said: We expect when we get back into March were going to see a return to increased levels of vaccination supply available to us.

That will mean we will be able to stand up all of those arrangements, as well, theyve been making greater use of local pharmacy as well, because weve yet to maximise our ability and our capacity to to deliver vaccinations across Wales.

So we can go even faster if we have the supply in place and if we have the certainty of the future supply, thats why the next two weeks are not something that I think people should be overly concerned about, youll still see tens of thousands of people vaccinated each week, but will then return to an even more significant upswing after that.

Again, thats why we can have some confidence, I think that well get to everyone in groups one to nine by the end of April, if supply lines remain as we expect.
"Herff Jones' reputation of excellence in the yearbook market enters a new era with the addition of Canva's simple drag-and-drop interface and their powerful image editing capabilities along with access to their vast collection of created content  including illustrations, backgrounds, infographics and more," said Herff Jones President Steve Down.

"For our yearbook customers, this collaboration  a meeting at the crossroads of tradition and modernity  will offer the flexibility and the simplicity of transitioning their designs from the platform to print with ease and quality as they capture the essence of the year's student experience in their books. More generally, our partnership with Canva  with their more than 30 million monthly active users in 190 countries and 7 million in the K-12 space already  strongly affirms that Herff Jones' commitment to innovation and serving our customers is as strong as ever."

Aaron Day, Global Partnership Lead at Canva, added, "In partnering with Herff Jones, Canva is aligning with the most trusted name in capturing and celebrating student milestones in North America. Yearbook is a powerful storytelling medium, capturing the history of one year to be shared for generations, and it is often in yearbook where many designers begin their journey. We are excited about the opportunity to bring even more value to K-12 schools through this collaboration, fueling our passion for making design accessible for all, while also inspiring creativity and teamwork."

Existing Herff Jones customers should work with their local sales office to learn more about the advantages of this partnership. More information can also be found online via herff.ly/canva.

ABOUT HERFF JONES

Indianapolis-based Herff Jones is the leading provider of handcrafted graduation and educational products and services designed to inspire achievement and create memorable experiences for students. A division of Varsity Brands, Herff Jones' range of quality products include class rings and jewelry, caps and gowns, yearbooks, diplomas, frames and announcements as well as motivation and recognition programs. Focused on building long-term relationships through a nationwide network of over 2,000 employees and sales partners, the professionals at Herff Jones have been helping elevate the student experience throughout the lifelong journey of education for more than 101 years. For more information about Herff Jones or Varsity Brands, please visit www.herffjones.com or www.varsitybrands.com. Varsity Brands is a portfolio company of Bain Capital Private Equity.

About CANVA

Launched in 2013, Canva is an intuitive online design and publishing platform with a mission to empower the world to design. Featuring a simple drag-and-drop user interface and access to a vast library of design templates ranging from presentations, social media posts, invitations, brochures to posters, a huge collection of fonts, stock photography and illustrations, anyone can take an idea and create something beautiful. Canva is available on desktop, iOS and Android.

MEDIA CONTACT

Jonathan Morgan, Kekst CNC  [email protected] or (212) 333-5525

SOURCE Herff Jones

Related Links

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Mumbai, Feb 22 : In a case of purported suicide, Dadra & Nagar Haveli MP Mohan S. Delkar was found hanging in a Mumbai hotel room on Monday morning, officials said.

The prima facie cause of death of Delkar, the leader of the Bharatiya Navshakti Party, is suspected to be suicide by hanging, and police have recovered a suicide note from the death scene, said an official.

Police are investigating when and why he arrived in Mumbai and checked into the Hotel Sea Green South, a sea-facing hotel on Marine Drive, where his body was recovered this morning, who was with him or he had interacted with, and other details.

"The Marine Drive Police team is at the spot. A suicide note has also been recovered Investigation is being carried out. Prima facie, it's a case of hanging, but the exact cause of death will be known only after the post-mortem is conducted," a Mumbai Police spokesperson told IANS.

A former Congress leader, Delkar, 58, was a seven-term Lok Sabha MP representing the Union Territory of Dadra & Nagar Haveli, adjoining Maharashtra-Gujarat, from 1989 to 2009 and again since 2019.
Ireland is investing in its diplomatic footprint right across Britain in to response to the dislocating effects of Brexit, the Taoiseach said today.

A new Consulate General to the North of England will be opened in Manchester this summer.

It will bring the number of Irish diplomatic missions in Britain to four, comprising existing outreach in Scotland, Wales and to the heart of government in Westminster.

The new Consulate will join the recently opened Enterprise Ireland office there in Manchester, the Taoiseach told the British Irish Parliamentary Association.

It will deepen our collaboration with the Northern Powerhouse of the UK that British Prime Minister Boris Johnson says he is building.

It will also enhance Irelands engagement with regional and local government on behalf of diaspora communities, Mr Martin said.

The UKs departure from the EU is a moment of dramatic and profound change. It requires us to rethink and reinvigorate the British-Irish relationship, he told the body.

Ireland is also committed to deepening Irelands relationships with the devolved administrations in Cardiff and Edinburgh, Mr Martin said, carefully avoiding any comment on agitation for a second Scottish independence referendum, known as Indyref2.

But he said the Government had launched a Joint Review of Ireland-Scotland relations.

It will enhance our cooperation and collaboration over the coming five years, he said, even though Scottish First Minister Nicola Sturgeon is targeting a second plebiscite on independence for next year, aiming to dominate the local elections in May on the basis of that aim.

Ireland looks forward to a similar programme of cooperation with Wales in the near future, Mr Martin said, with the Government determine to strengthen East-West relations given that Britain and Ireland will no longer be partners among member states in Brussels.

Mr Martin said changes had been seen since the beginning of the year on trade flows and supply chains between Britain and Ireland as a result of Brexit.

"While we will continue to work to minimise disruptions where possible, the reality is that the UK is now outside of the EUs single market and customs union, and the flow of goods between the UK and its neighbours is now subject to controls on both sides, he said.

"This brings serious new complexities and challenges, but Britain is and will remain a key trading partner and an important market for Ireland.

Referring to new talks between the EU and Britain on the operation of the Northern Ireland Protocol, Mr Martin said it was in the interests of all to help our businesses manage this change.

There was a particular need to support small and medium sized enterprises, which provide so much employment across all jurisdictions on these islands, he added.

But he warned that there was no version of Brexit that did not mean change  especially in Northern Ireland where the Executive has been operating for little over a year following a long hiatus, and where there are many other important challenges on the agenda.

The Taoiseach did not mention recent Loyalist threats to customs officers and veterinary inspectors at the ports of Belfast and Larne, which led to a weekend warning by Lord Trimble that there could be an outbreak of paramilitary violence.

But he said he warmly welcomed work between Brussels and London to move forward and to find ways of easing implementation. 

This was in a context where both sides have underlined their commitment to the Good Friday Agreement and the full implementation of the protocol, the Taoiseach added.

The deal provided many benefits and opportunities for Northern Ireland, he noted. The six counties will now have unfettered access to the EU market while also remaining in the UK customs areas.

It is right that we all work closely together to ensure that the Protocol works and that disruption is minimised to the greatest extent possible, Mr Martin said, appearing to refer to red tape and bureaucracy rather than the threatened physical disruption of those who say they are opposed to a border in the Irish Sea.
Edvard Munchs The Scream, from 1893, is one of the worlds most famous paintings, but for years art historians have mostly ignored a tiny inscription in pencil at the upper-left corner of its frame, reading: Could only have been painted by a madman.

Who wrote the sentence there? Some thought a disgruntled viewer might have vandalised the work; others imagined it was the artist himself. But if so, why?

Edvard Munchs The Scream, owned by Norways National Museum of Art, Architecture and Design.

Curators at Norways National Museum of Art, Architecture and Design, which owns the artwork, announced on Monday in Oslo that they have determined the text was written by the artist.

Its been examined now very carefully, letter by letter, and word by word, and its identical in every way to Munchs handwriting, said Mai Britt Guleng, the museums curator of old masters and modern paintings, who was in charge of the research. So there is no more doubt.
ROCHESTER, Minn. - It's been about one month since restaurants were allowed to open for in-person dining at 50% capacity.

One local restaurant owner says he is ready for 75% capacity.

Hollandberry Pannekoeken owner Tasos Psomas says this past month has gone well.

The restaurant has had a few days when a waiting list was needed.

He says weekends are getting back to normal, but Monday through Thursday are still slower.

Psomas adds takeout and muffin orders have been steady, but he feels his food is best when the waiter brings it to the table.

"I talked with the health department on Friday and they're waiting for the governor too to open it up a bit. They're not willing to tell us to go forward obviously. They're doing what the governor says, so we need the governor to loosen it up a little bit and make people feel more comfortable," says Psomas.

Starting March 1st, the restaurant will expand its hours a bit and stay open until 8 p.m.
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by Fady Noun

The cardinal met with the Saudi ambassador, who returned to Lebanon after two months of absence. Prime Minister-designate Saad Hariri is relegated to the margins of the negotiations. Doubts and uncertainties surround the investigation into the explosion at the port following the removal of Judge Sawan. An outside investigation is needed.

Beirut (AsiaNews)  The call for a UN-sponsored international conference to get Lebanon out of its current constitutional crisis, issued by the head of the Maronite Church, Cardinal Beshara Al-Rahi last summer, is gaining traction at home and abroad.

It received indirect support from Saudi Arabia yesterday. Back in Lebanon after a noticeable absence of two months, seen by Lebanese political circles as a sign of Saudi disinterestedness of the fate of Lebanon, the Saudi ambassador to Lebanon, Walid Boukhari, is actively working to renew talks with Lebanese political leaders, from which the Prime Minister-designate, Saad Hariri, is still excluded for now.

At the Patriarchal See in Bkerke, which he visited last Friday, the Saudi ambassador renewed his country's support for Lebanons national unity, civil peace and the Taif Accords.

The national and international community are paying attention to the views expressed by the Patriarch on national issues, the ambassador said before stressing the need for the proper application of the Taif agreement (1989) guaranteeing national unity and civil peace in Lebanon.

The Kingdom of Saudi Arabia wants Lebanon to regain its former glory and its pioneering role, Boukhari explained, and will always remain the closest friend of the Lebanese people and their constitutional institutions. The countrys political memory is evidence that the Lebanese people never tire of fighting for the preservation of their living together in unity.

Saudi Arabia has accused the prime minister-designate of complacency towards Hezbollah, and has joined the United States in demanding that this party be excluded from the new mission government demanded by President Emmanuel Macron, in exchange for structural economic aid to prevent the countrys economic collapse. Since late 2019, the Lebanese pound has lost 80 percent of its purchasing power.

For his part, the Patriarch assured the diplomat of his attachment to the Taif agreements and to internal peace, informed sources close to Bkerke said. What is more, his call for an international conference to resolve Lebanons crisis, under the aegis of the UN, is peaceful in nature.

In a recent homily, the head of the Maronite Church said that an international conference sponsored by the UN is now essential to save Lebanon and prevent it from sinking into obscurantism and capitulating to transnational projects contrary to the essence of Lebanon, a clear reference to extremist ideologies professed by certain Islamist groups.

The Patriarchate has always endeavoured to give priority to civilised, political and diplomatic solutions, not military solutions, cutting short any objection raised against the Patriarchs initiative by Hezbollah or Islamist circles.

It is not known whether the two men discussed the proposal made last summer in the aftermath of the catastrophic explosion of 7,500 tonnes of ammonium nitrate at the port of Beirut, but some observers noted that one of the first diplomats Mr Boukhari met on his return to Lebanon was the French ambassador, Anne Grillo, and that there is talk of a tour of President Macron in the Gulf, in particular in Saudi Arabia.

Yesterday, the head of the Maronite Church also met with two opponents of President Michel Aoun's regime, Fares Souhaid (Saydet el-Jabal rally) and Ahmad Fatfat (national initiative rally). The two men informed him of their intention to form a united front, and to go next week as a single delegation to the Patriarchal See to offer their support for his cross-community positions.

According to visitors to the Baabda Presidential Palace, the removal of the judge investigating the catastrophic explosion of August 4 at the port of Beirut, which killed 208 people with thousands wounded and homeless, is a further sign that Lebanese institutions are not working. This proves that an international conference is needed to get the country out of its existential crisis, just as was the case to end the civil war (1975- 1990), or the Israeli war of July 2006 thanks to Security Council resolution 1701.

Card Al-Rahi on the removal of Judge Sawan

The removal of Judge Sawan reinforces our call for cooperation with international investigators, Cardinal Beshara Al-Rahi said in his Sunday homily yesterday, adding that, The sole objective of an international conference is to enable the Lebanon to be reborn, to regain its vitality, its identity, its positive neutrality, its impartiality and its role as a stabilising factor in the region.

Moreover, isnt the French initiative a form of internationalisation, asked some visitors to the Patriarchal See quoted in the press? In fact, we are not moving towards a Constituent Assembly, but towards a reaffirmation of the two great constants of Lebanon: the Taif Agreement and respect for the current Constitution.

The initiative of the head of the Maronite Church is in favour of Lebanese, Arab and international constitutional bodies, and does not seek to modify the regime or the Islamic-Christian partnership, the visitors to Bkerke said.
A Personal Perspective on Ion Mihai Pacepa

Commentary

A man walked into the American Embassy in West Germany in late July, 1978. He said he was a senior officer in an Eastern European Intelligence Service and wanted to defect to the United States. Would he be accepted?

The CIA people needed his name. If he identified himself, he said he could never return home. He walked outside and pondered his future. Finally, he went back in and told them he was Lieutenant General Ion Mihai Pacepa, Acting Director of the Romanian Foreign Intelligence Service, the DIE.

Few were familiar with his name, and no one knew what he looked like. It was a poser.

At the time, I was a Special Agent in the FBI in the Washington Field Office, having attended language school a few years before and was a fluent Romanian speaker. Fortunately, my partner, Warren Rowlands, and I had been on surveillance the previous April when the Romanian diplomatic corps in Washington held a picnic where the general was present. On a wooded pathway, I had seen him up close.

The CIA flew him around the world in a C-151, arriving at Andrews Air Force Base on a sunny day. Two-dozen dignitaries were there to meet the man with a red carpet laid out. The plane landed and a gangway was rolled over to the door. The general stood on the platform and breathed in his new country. The head of the CIAs resettlement branch rushed back to Warren and me, stuttering, Is it him?

We could not help but toy with him. Warren said, I dont know, he is pretty far away, and we saw him so long ago. This went on a moment longer, then I nodded, Hes your man.

The official was ecstatic, and so began Ion Mihai Pacepas life in America.

Debriefing began the next day. Defectors are asked their knowledgeability, what topics they know best. As the head of Romanian Foreign Intelligence, Pacepa said, In five years I will begin to forget things you havent asked me. He was right. It went on three days a week for months, writing our interviews on the off days. He personally knew every senior-ranking bad guy in the world, including Chairman Mao, North Koreas Kim, Yasser Arafat, and a string of Soviet and KGB leaders. His knowledge was encyclopedic.

When he made the decision to defect, he visited the directors of the other Eastern European intelligence services so he would have more information on our Cold War enemies.

His opinion was so valued he became a tacit advisor to presidents of the United States, beginning with Jimmy Carter.

There are two sounds in the English language that appear in no other. The th sound from the, and the r, as in run. One of the hardest words for any new English speaker is the number three, putting both sounds together.

Pacepa had a real problem with this, and his language instructor couldnt get past it. During one session, I explained that the teeth are separated and the tongue is put out just past them, then quickly withdrawn, thus giving the th sound.

He practiced a couple of times, then we moved to a mirror. He pronounced it perfectly, but became upset, which I did not understand. He said, I will not stick out my tongue at the President of the United States! From then on, all his threes were trees.

When he left Romania, no one knew his plans. That didnt stop a very paranoid President Nicolae Ceausescu from believing it had all been a grand conspiracy. Pacepa had been both his intelligence chief and closest advisor. Ceausescu even had a nervous breakdown.

People back then, and even internet trolls today, are quick to toss around terms like plant, and double agent, describing any defector, including General Pacepa. They have read too many Robert Ludlum novels and watched too many Tom Cruise Mission Impossible movies, with no understanding of the real world of counterintelligence. If you want to send a plant, try a Colonel, but not the man in charge.

A Man of Principle

Here is an example of Pacepas moral compass. I had recruited an intelligence officer in the embassy who told us of the DIEs intelligence plan to destroy the reputation of the head of the Romanian Orthodox Church in America, Bishop Valerian (Trifa). Romanian Intelligence General Gheorghe Anghelescu provided the Department of Justice with information fabricated by DIE technicians.

The Office of Special Investigations (OSI), tasked with ferreting out former Nazis in the United States, had eaten it up, ignoring our sensitive source. But when Pacepa arrived, he added more details, including how they created documents and faked photos of Trifa wearing Nazi insignias. OSI did not want a record made of any of this.

However, with General Pacepas full cooperation, I wrote a nine-page letterhead memorandum because we both saw this as a travesty of justice. No matter, OSI pursued the case relentlessly, not disclosing the exculpatory information to Trifas attorneys and even convincing the judge not to review it. Eventually, they were successful in having the Bishop deported.

Writing the memorandum was akin to biting-the-hand-that-feeds-you, for both the general and me, but we agreed it was the right thing to do. (Trifas reputation was never properly rehabilitated, and current recorded history still bears the scars of this miscarriage of justice.)

The senior OSI attorney wanted to have me fired, which only further inspired the general. We discussed his writing a book when his language ability improved. It would tell the devastating truth about communism in his homeland. That eventually became Red Horizons, a worldwide bestseller that President Reagan said was his guide to dictators. It was read, chapter-by-chapter, over Radio Free Europe. The evils of Ceausescus regime were revealed to his people.

More than Lech Walesa and Pope John Paul II in Poland, Pacepa was the first to light the fuse in Romania, which finally exploded into their revolution, taking down their horrible leader. General Pacepa was a very significant piece of the puzzle that brought down the Berlin Wall and ended the Cold War. We should all be very grateful to him.

Wayne A. Barnes was an FBI agent for 29 years working counterintelligence. He had many undercover assignments, including as a member of the Black Panthers. His first spy stories were from debriefing Soviet KGB defectors. He now investigates privately in South Florida.

Views expressed in this article are the opinions of the author and do not necessarily reflect the views of The Epoch Times.
UPDATE: The National Weather Service office in Mount Holly, New Jersey, issued a special weather statement just after 8:30 a.m. Monday: Watch for rapid reductions in visibility as snow moves into the region this morning. Snowfall rates of 1 to 2 inches per hour may result in reduced visibility down to a quarter of a mile or less at times. This will make travel difficult at times as roads become quickly snow-covered.

INITIAL POST: The Lehigh Valley and northwest New Jersey could get 3 to 5 inches of snow on Monday, beginning mid-morning and tapering off early in the afternoon, the National Weather Service reports.

There could be a one- to three-hour burst of heavy snow, with rates up to an inch an hour, the weather service said.

EPAWA Weather Consulting meteorologist Bobby Martrich is forecasting a total of 1 to 3 inches for most of the Lehigh Valley and Warren County, and it could start as late as 11 a.m., he said in his morning weather video. Some areas at elevations above 1,500 feet could get 3 to 5 inches, he said.

The snow will arrive ahead of a cold front driven by a trough in the jet stream from the west, meteorologist Sarah Johnson said from the Mount Holly, New Jersey, office. Slippery roads are expected.

After 4 p.m. it should be moving out pretty quickly, she said. The winter weather advisory is in place from 9 a.m. through 6 p.m., the weather service said. Martrich figures on four to five hours of precipitation.

It will be cold enough for snow during the brief storm with it warming up a bit later in the day once the snow passes, she said. The high of 37 degrees could be reached by early evening, she said.

The EPAWA Weather Consulting snow forecast for Feb. 22, 2021.EPAWA Weather Consulting

The areas that get 5 inches of snow will be localized, she said. The snowfall record for the date at Lehigh Valley International Airport is 8.6 inches in 1948.

So far this winter there has been 53.2 inches of snow measured by the weather service at the airport.

There is a 20% chance of snow showers on Tuesday and then no precipitation again until rain on Saturday, the weather service said. Martrich said the weekend precipitation could start wintry before changing over.

Thank you for relying on us to provide the journalism you can trust. Please consider supporting lehighvalleylive.com with a subscription.

Tony Rhodin can be reached at arhodin@lehighvalleylive.com.
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So far, based on clinical data, patients with cystic fibrosis (CF) don't appear to be especially susceptible to COVID-19, and when they do get infected, they don't seem to get sicker. But Ruobing (Ruby) Wang, MD, a physician-scientist in the Division of Pulmonary Medicine at Boston Children's Hospital, cares for patients with CF and thinks there is more to the story.

"We know that when patients with CF got H1N1, some got very sick," she says. "The CF community as a whole has been so effective at social distancing that there is a lack of information on how they respond to SARS-CoV-2."

Based on the experience with H1N1 and other infections, Wang suspects that patients with CF may have different susceptibility, a dysregulated immune response to COVID-19, or both. Under a grant from the Cystic Fibrosis Foundation, she is putting the question directly to the test.

Using patients' blood cells, stem cell technology, and gene-editing technology, Wang and her colleagues at Boston University have engineered an airway lining that reproduces CF in a dish, and are testing what happens when they expose it to SARS-CoV-2. For comparison, they are also testing the virus in a companion model, in which the CF defect has been genetically corrected through CRISPR-Cas9 gene editing.

"We did this to create a clean experiment," explains Wang. "We corrected the CF mutation, but otherwise, the cells come from the same patient with the same genetic background, to ensure that any observed difference in response to the virus is due to the CF defect."

Building a CF airway

Wang's team built on an airway model developed last year by her collaborators, including Darrell Kotton, MD, and Finn Hawkins, MB, BCh, in BU's Center for Regenerative Medicine. Created from induced pluripotent stem cells (iPS cells) made from blood cells, the model contains all the major airway cell types, including stem-like airway basal cells, ciliated cells, and secretory cells.

For the new model, Wang generated the airways using stem cells derived from some of her own patients with CF. In experiments, the model reproduced the defect in ion transport that is the hallmark of CF. But when her team corrected the CFTR gene in the stem cells -- with the help of Thorsten Schlaeger, PhD, and George Daley, MD, PhD, in Boston Children's Stem Cell Program -- the airway cells made from the corrected cells were free of the defect.

"This provided us with a perfectly matched set of control samples to investigate the role of CFTR in health and disease, including in response to COVID-19 infection," says Wang.

A coronavirus challenge

As the next step, Wang's team, together with Hawkins and Kotton, has begun exposing its CF airway model to live SARS-CoV-2. For safety purposes, this work is being conducted at the National Emerging Infectious Disease Laboratories (NEIDL) at the BU School of Medicine, with Elke Mulberger, PhD, Mohsan Saeed, PhD, and other researchers at NEIDL's Biosafety Level 3 facility.

"To our knowledge, this is the first time an airway derived from iPS cells is being used to model the effects of SARS-CoV-2," notes Wang.

Thus far, the researchers have shown that the cells in the model CF airway can be infected by SARS-CoV-2 and can be potentially used to assess antiviral drug responses. They believe this airway-in-a-dish could be a stand-in for modeling the effects of SARS-CoV-2 in patients with CF and testing a patient's personalized response to antiviral treatments. In future research, Wang hopes to compare responses to the virus -- and drugs used to treat it -- in model CF airways versus genetically corrected, "non-CF" airways.

"Information from these studies may generate useful insights to guide therapy for CF patients during the COVID-19 pandemic," Wang says.

Down the road, the platform could also be used to test the airway effects of other viruses, toxins, or diseases. "I'd love to see how an asthmatic airway responds to the coronavirus too," she says.

###

About Boston Children's Hospital

Boston Children's Hospital is ranked the #1 children's hospital in the nation by U.S. News & World Report and is the primary pediatric teaching affiliate of Harvard Medical School. Home to the world's largest research enterprise based at a pediatric medical center, its discoveries have benefited both children and adults since 1869. Today, 3,000 researchers and scientific staff, including 8 members of the National Academy of Sciences, 21 members of the National Academy of Medicine and 12 Howard Hughes Medical Investigators comprise Boston Children's research community. Founded as a 20-bed hospital for children, Boston Children's is now a 415-bed comprehensive center for pediatric and adolescent health care. For more, visit our Discoveries blog and follow us on social media @BostonChildrens, @BCH_Innovation, Facebook and YouTube.
After light refreshment and tea in the dining hall we sauntered outside. Outside the gate, we met a Chinese gentleman wearing a three-piece black suit and sporting a shiny embroidered tie. I smiled at him. He smiled back, bowing a little. We shook hands. I introduced myself. He bowed again, his right hand on his chest and spoke very politely Welcome to China, hope your journey was good. It was suave and impressive English from Wang. Yes, that was the name. We chatted about life in India and China.

In the middle of the conversation, Wang mentioned that a great Indian army General is buried atop that hill. Taken aback by his statement, I couldnt understand which Indian Army General could it be. India hasnt had a war with China in this region. Who? I asked. The great General Zorawar Singh, came the answer from Wang. Oh my my! He was talking of the events going back some 150 years. I focused my eyes against the sun trying to find any signs of a memorial. My immediate question was Can you take us there, please? No. Sorry, he retorted.

Wang told us that the Samadhi was shaped like a chorten and the last remains of the Dogra warrior were buried at the same spot by the Tibetan forces with full military honours. The chorten was about three kilometre from our place and about 300 feet high on a hill top. Thanking Wang for the information we took his leave and headed to the shops where everyone wanted to buy small gifts for friends and family back home with whatever cash was left in our pockets.

It is a peculiar rarity that a defeated army honours a General of the enemy army. There is no other similar example in the world. Not just that, the defeated army also raised a memorial to the General killed in battle as also mentions him with great respect in its history. General Zorawar Singh (1786-1841) was one such great warrior who incited fear in the hearts of its enemies. General Zorawar Singhs memorial or samadhi is venerated even today. Colourful flags flutter over the mound of rocks on a hill in Toyo where he was cremated by his men. Toyo is about four kilometre east from Taklakot.

Also referred to as Conqueror of Ladakh and the Napoleon of India, Zorawar Singh was initially a General of the Sikh Empire. He is honoured for his conquests in the Himalayas including Ladakh, Tibet, Baltistan and Skardu. Born into a Hindu Rajput Dogra family in Kahlur, Hamirpur, Himachal Pradesh, his family migrated to the Jammu region where, Zorawar served under Raja Jaswant Singh of Marmathi. Later, Zorawar Singh was employed by the Dogra king Raja Gulab Singh of Jammu.

Zorawar proved to be a great administrator, a valiant fighter and a strategic Commander of forces under him. The Rajputs of Jammu and Himachal have traditionally excelled in mountain fighting; therefore Zorawar had no trouble in crossing the mountain ranges and entering Ladakh through the source of the Suru River where his 5,000 men defeated an army of local Botis. In 1835 he defeated a large Ladakhi army of Banko Kahlon and forced them to surrender. He built a fort outside Leh. Moving deeper Zorawar invaded Baltistan in the winter of 1839-40 and annexed the entire region as also added a large contingent of Ladakhis to his army.

A year later, Zorawar Singh turned his sight eastward, towards Tibet. In May 1841, with 6,000 men, most of them Dogras, he invaded Tibet. Spreading his men in various contingents, he mounted multiple attacks from various directions marching up to the Kailash Range south of the river Indus. Sweeping all resistance before his men, he passed the Lake Manasarovar and converged at Gartok, defeating the Tibetan force. The enemy commander fled to Taklakot but Zorawar stormed that fort in September 1841. Emissaries of rulers of Tibet and the Maharaja of Nepal, met him in Taklakot asking for reconciliation.

View Full Image Kailash: Jewel of the Snows published by Nirala Publications; Rs. 895

On my arrival at Taklakot a force of only about 1,000 local troops could be mustered, which was divided and stationed as guards at different posts. A guard post was quickly established at a strategic pass near Taklakot to stop the invaders, but these local troops were not brave enough to fight off the Shen-Pa (Dogras) and fled at the approach of the invaders. The distance between Central Tibet and Taklakot is several thousand li...because of the cowardice of the local troops; our forces had to withdraw to the foot of the Tsa Mountain near the Mayum Pass. Reinforcements are essential in order to withstand these violent and unruly invaders.

- Records of the Tibetan General defeated by Zorawar Singh <Wikipedia>

Having won the battle, Zorawar and his army went on a pilgrimage to Manasarovar and Mount Kailash. He created a network of communication and supplies over a very large area of inhospitable Tibetan terrain by building small forts and check points along the way. Chi-Tang fort was built by his men near Taklakot. However, with the onset of winter all the passes were blocked and roads snowed in. The supplies for the Dogra army over such a long distance failed despite Zorawars meticulous planning and preparations.

In spite of their best abilities, his men succumbed to intense cold for months, many losing their fingers and toes to frostbite while some starved to death. Meanwhile, the Tibetans and Chinese regrouped and attacked his army bypassing the Dogra Fort of Chi-Tang. Zorawar and his men faced the joint armies on 12 December 1841. In the exchange of fire Zorawar was wounded in his right shoulder but he continued fighting with a sword in his left hand. The Tibetan horsemen then charged the Dogra position and one of them thrust his lance in Zorawar Singhs chest, leading to his death.

Six months later during the Battle of Chushul (August 1842) Sikh and Dogra army executed the enemy General to avenge the death of Zorawar Singh.

Excerpted from Kailash: Jewel of the Snows by Rajinder Arora with permission from the author and publisher.

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Democratic leaders of the Colorado House Monday morning addressed the first week that lawmakers returned to the state Capitol, and in particular, some of the less-than-cordial behavior displayed by lawmakers on both sides of the aisle.

On Tuesday, the first day back after a monthlong recess, Rep. Don Valdez, D-La Jara, abused a moment of personal privilege to attack Rep. Ron Hanks, R-Penrose, for his participation in the Jan. 6 incident at the U.S. Capitol. Valdez, amidst hissing from fellow lawmakers, first called for Hanks to be kicked off committees and then for his expulsion.

Speaker of the House Alec Garnett, D-Denver, then forced Valdez to stop. Speaker Pro tem Adrienne Benavidez, D-Adams County, escorted Valdez off the floor for a talking-to. But Valdez doubled down later in the day, sending out a press release with a transcript of his remarks.

During the House Democrats' weekly Monday press conference, Garnett said the incident between the two lawmakers "had been resolved." Hanks and Valdez had a conversation, and "we've moved on," Garnett said.

The second incident, on Friday, was when Rep. Tom Sullivan, D-Centennial, went to the House podium during announcements and introductions to talk about gun violence, also not an appropriate use of that privilege. Sullivan noted that it had been 448 Fridays since his son, Alex, was murdered in the Aurora theater shooting in 2012, and that he was there as a daily reminder of gun violence. It led Rep. Richard Holtorf, R-Akron, to follow Sullivan to the podium and to tell him to get over it.

Garnett said Holtorf's comments were "really insensitive" and that Sullivan's feelings were hurt. "We stand behind Tom and what he stands for, why he's here and the tragic experiences in his life."

But the broader issue, of using announcements and introductions to discuss policy issues, is still a discussion within and between the caucuses, Garnett said. That is not the place to make digs at the other side, he explained. "Let's move into getting the work done, not get caught having partisan disagreement in the well ... I'm confident we can figure this out."

Garnett also put a period, full stop, on legislative measures seeking to limit the governor's authority during the COVID-19 pandemic.

The legislative branch must preserve its power for future pandemics, Garnett explained. But what Republicans want is to have that discussion right now, in the middle of the current pandemic. The governor has done a good job of working with the legislature during the interim, and the system is built to give him executive power, he added.

The time for a discussion on limiting the governor's authority is after it's over with. He indicated he would support such a conversation looking back, "but let's not have that in the midst of it right now."
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It would have been prudent for any superstitious bosses at HSBC to have avoided washing their clothes, eating porridge or sweeping floors on February 12, Chinese New Year. Tradition dictates that doing any of these things on that day could bring bad luck, and HSBC will be hoping for all the good fortune it can get as it plans its future around the worlds second largest economy.

As the Year of the Ox begins, HSBC is doubling down on its push into China.

HSBC is betting its future on China. Credit:Bloomberg

The London-based bank, which already makes most of its money in mainland China and Hong Kong, is this week expected to defy critics who say it has become too cosy with Beijing by outlining its plans to accelerate growth in Asia.

It has already opened an office this month in southern Chinas Greater Bay Area, designed to rival Silicon Valley, and is debating whether to relocate some key executives out of London and into Asia. Ahead of its annual results this week chairman Mark Tucker has privately signalled the cold financial logic: follow the money by expanding in China. Meanwhile, it is exiting less lucrative businesses such as retail banking in France and the US. The International Monetary Fund expects China to be confirmed as the only major economy to expand in 2020 after containing coronavirus, and HSBC wants to make sure it is at the front of the queue.
Also Monday, the committee approved a deal for Chicago to provide water to the city of Joliet for up to 100 years, despite concerns from some aldermen who said they want evidence that Chicago residents who have seen their water rates rise quickly in recent years will get better rates than those enjoyed by Joliet under the contract.
European ambiguity was on display in March 2019, shortly after the designation of China as a systemic rival. Xi Jinping flew to Paris and, after a champagne toast with German Chancellor Angela Merkel, then-president of the European Commission Jean-Claude Juncker and French President Emmanuel Macron, he tested their seriousness.

A threshold moment was the European Commissions 2019 formal designation of China as a systemic rival. Still, Europe was reluctant to abandon its collective dream of Chinese money as the source of its future prosperity.

And while China is a formidable presence in Europe, the snub by the leaders of Bulgaria, Romania, Slovenia, Lithuania, Latvia and Estonia is just one of many indicators of a growing European wariness of Beijing.

Access to the Chinese market was another sore point for several. Polish President Andrzej Duda said his country was dissatisfied with the speed of Chinas market opening to farm produce.

Did the Europeans really mean it, calling China a systemic rival, Xi wanted to know? As The Wall Street Journal reported it, first Merkel demurred with a compliment for Mr Xi, saying the language showed Europe recognised Chinas growing strength and influence. Next, Juncker cut the tension with a joke about the EUs inability to agree on what China was, said the Journal. But Macron was blunt. Its true, the French President said. You are a rival. Within weeks, a French naval ship sailed through the Taiwan Straits in defiance of Xis wishes.

Since then, Europe has become more like Macron, less like Merkel. The pandemic, and Chinas conduct, hardened mounting suspicion of Beijing. The percentage of people saying they had no trust in Xi Jinping to do the right thing in world affairs across six European nations grew by between 9 per cent and 21 per cent in a Pew poll published last October. The total with no trust in Xi now stood at 70 per cent in the Netherlands, 78 in Germany and 80 in France. If 2019 was the year when Europeans began having serious doubts about Beijings geopolitical intentions, 2020 may go down in history as the moment they turned against China in defiance, wrote Andreas Kluth, former editor in chief of Handelsblatt Global.

Because China, by trying to capitalise on the pandemic with a stunningly unsophisticated propaganda campaign, inadvertently showed Europeans its cynicism, he wrote for Bloomberg. For example, in France when the Chinese embassy published a wild accusation that French retirement homes leave old people to die. Or in Italy when Chinese sockpuppets insinuated that the virus had originated in Europe. Or in Germany when Chinese diplomats urged government officials to heap public praise on China.

Under its new, tougher stance, the EU is shutting China out of its signature new research initiative, Horizon Europe, which aims to lift EU science spending by 50 per cent to some 100 billion euros ($153 billion) between now and 2027.

The EU aims to exclude nations that dont share EU values, according to Maria Cristina Russo, director for international co-operation in research and innovation at the European Commission, the executive branch of the EU. Similarly, the commission is drawing up guidelines to limit foreign interference in universities and research institutes. Governments increasingly are challenging Chinas Huawei, too.
A hunter from South Africa has posed with a giraffe's heart after her husband paid for her to shoot the animal as a Valentine's Day gift.

Merelize Van Der Merwe, 32, from South Africa's Limpopo province, shot and killed the 17-year-old bull giraffe on February 13 in the north of the country.

She then posed with the animal's heart and posted the grisly images to Facebook, boasting that she was 'over the moon' with her present.

Merelize Van Der Merwe, 32, a hunter from South Africa, posed with a giraffe's heart after her husband paid 1,500 for her to kill the animal as a 'Valentine's gift'

Van Der Merwe, a mother-of-one who has been hunting since age five, wrote: 'I set out in 2016 on a quest to hunt a big black giraffe bull but none was what I was looking for.

'I contacted almost everyone I knew who had black bulls old enough to fit the bill.

'In 2017 I found a bull but unfortunately one of my friends got to him first and jokingly we said we had dual custody over it.

'I had but all given up hope the last 2 years, filtering through 60+ photos of bulls.

'Two weeks ago a dear friend Chrisjan Bakker contacted me regarding my request for a big old bull and I couldn't believe my eyes, BIG BLACK and 0LD, so old that he was way over his time and the owner didn't know if he will last another 3 months!!!'

She explained that husband Gerhardt Nell had been expecting to take her to a five-star hotel in Sun City for Valentine's Day, but the news forced a change of plans.

Instead, he stumped up 1,500 to allow her to track the giraffe through the bush before shooting it dead.

A video of the hunt shows how she encountered the inquisitive animal among tall foliage, before shooting it through the front of the neck.

Van Der Merwe said she was planning to spend Valentine's Day in a five-star hotel wit her husband, but plans changed after a friend told her about the giraffe

The mother-of-one said hunting a large male giraffe has been a dream of hers for the last five years, and said she was 'over the moon' after making the kill

She then walked to the spot where the 17-year-old giraffe had collapsed, before firing a second shot which killed it.

As a team moved in to skin the animal, Van Der Merwe posed with its heart - an image that she then posted on Facebook for her 90,000 followers.

Reminiscing on the hunt, she wrote: 'I was literally like a little child for two weeks and counted down the days.

'Afterwards I was flooded with emotions as I've been waiting years to have this opportunity!!'

The images quickly caused a stir online, but an unrepentant Van Der Merwe lashed out at her critics, branding them 'triggered liberals' while vowing that nothing would stop her hunting big game.

The citrus farm owner, who refers to animal activists as a 'mob', wrote: 'I will put this offer on the table - want to come kill [me] like you said, I'll come and pick you up at the airport and give you the opportunity.

Van Der Merwe's pictures caused a backlash online but she remained unrepentant, branding her critics 'triggered liberals' while vowing never to stop hunting

'But if you fail to do so, just make sure you leave your family a big life insurance!!! Because there will not be a return ticket.

'I ain't scared of s*** especially animal rights activists who still lives with mommy because they get triggered by everything so they go to the supermarket and buy their meat because no animal gets hurt there!

'I've been hearing the same old mob stories for years and yet I'm still here and still hunting.'

Van Der Merwe is a well-known hunter who is thought to have killed some 500 animals over the course of her life, including lions, leopards and elephants, according to the Daily Mirror.

She claims that trophy hunting helps conserve species by removing older animals from the population while providing funding for conservation.

Conservationists dispute this, saying that trophy hunting encourages people to breed animals for sport, which disrupts ecosystems and harms the environment.

Removing wild animals, particularly large males, damages the herds in which they live, animal activists argue.

Dr Mark Jones of the Born Free Foundation told the Mirror: 'Trophy hunting is not a conservation tool, nor does it contribute significant funds to local communities.'
Superheroes of Science is Purdues College of Science program that highlights STEM content, provides professional development opportunities for teachers, and delivers learning experiences for students.

The focal point of the Superheroes of Science program is a podcast of the same name. The podcast, which releases content weekly, is hosted by K-12 outreach coordinators Sarah Nern of the Department of Chemistry and Steven Smith of the Department of Earth, Atmospheric, and Planetary Sciences.

Each episode highlights a professional who conducts research in science, technology, engineering or mathematics (STEM). Additionally, these professionals share highlights about their career, research and experience. Garnering over 10,000 views in the last 12 months, the Superheroes of Science podcast has provided Purdue faculty, alumni and other STEM professionals with a platform to showcase their research while allowing listeners to learn about new and cutting-edge science research.

Nern takes pride in bringing new STEM content to a platform that is so accessible, saying, Superheroes of Science demystifies these STEM careers and provides all students with an accessible way to interact with these professionals. Students can hear and see what research faculty and STEM professionals look and sound like. This helps students identify with them and realize that they could one day become one of these professionals. This is a program for everyone and anyone with a potential interest in all things science, STEM and innovation.

Two years ago, the Superheroes of Science program consisted of only an audio podcast. Due to popular demand, the project expanded to YouTube and now recipients can see the scientists that they are learning from. The program also includes additional resources that guide the learning promoted through the videos and follows a weekly schedule:

Mondays  New STEM content interviews are released via podcast and YouTube. These 20- to 30-minute episodes let listeners learn about new research and innovations.

Fridays  The "Teaching Science podcast  available on all podcast platforms  provides content geared specifically toward science teachers.

Laura Swessel, STEM teacher at Our Lady of Providence High School in Clarksville, Indiana, explains how the resources provided by the Superheroes of Science program has aided in the classroom experience during the pandemic. Her curriculum, typically involving a semester STEM assignment where students complete activities outside the classroom, couldnt occur due to the cancellation of class field trips and engagement opportunities.

Swessel says, Because of the pandemic and the switch to online classes, I decided to put together a list of virtual STEM engagement options, including the Superheroes of Science. I have been receiving the accompanying worksheets as the students go through the episodes and have heard from several of my students that they are really enjoying the episodes.

The Superheroes of Science podcast can be found on Apple, Spotify and Google Podcast or on the YouTube channel. Additional learning material can be found on the Superheroes of Science website. Readers can follow the Superheroes of Science social media accounts, @PurdueSOS, to keep up to date on content.

Writer: Bella Vina, ivina@purdue.edu
Metro Manila (CNN Philippines, February 21)  The national capital region has once again recorded an upward trend in COVID-19 cases, the independent research group OCTA said on Sunday.

In its latest monitoring report, OCTA said the daily average new cases in Metro Manila over the past three days have climbed to 563. This is up by 45% from the daily average of 388 recorded from the week prior.

The regions reproduction number, a statistic used to measure the rate of virus transmission, also grew to 1.22 from the 1.00 listed two weeks ago.

The positivity rate in NCR  or the percentage of those infected out of all tested  has meanwhile breached 5% over the past week. This is based on around 16,000 RT-PCR tests conducted daily. The group noted that the last time the region exceeded 5% was November 2020. The World Health Organization recommends that the positivity rate be kept below that percentage.

A huge contributor to this reported increase was Pasay City, which saw a 203% spike in infections in the last three days. OCTA said that from the 28-daily average recorded from Feb. 11 to 17, the city recorded an average of 86 cases daily from Feb. 18 to 20.

Following this surge, the Pasay City government has locked down 33 barangays and one business establishment  a commendable swift response, according to OCTA.

The next biggest rise in NCR was seen in Malabon which had a 166% increase, followed by Las Pinas with 116%. OCTA said Pasay and Malabon now fall under the high-risk classification as per the Health departments guidelines, while Las Pinas remains at moderate risk.

Nine other local government units in the region also posted at least a 20% rise in cases over the same period. Pateros, Navotas and Muntinlupa, on the other hand, reported a decline. Meanwhile, the positivity rate in Marikina and Paranaque remained high at 14% and 10%, respectively.

This recent spike in cases indicates that the virus remains as a public health threat in NCR, and the local governments and public cannot afford to be complacent, OCTA said.

OCTA experts are among those rejecting the National Economic and Development Authority's proposal to shift the entire country to the least stringent form of community quarantine starting March 1. The group called the move "risky and premature," noting that the Philippines has not yet even started its vaccination program. It said the government should first prioritize immunization of healthcare workers, strengthen biosurveillance efforts to detect new variants, and improve testing and tracing capacity before moving to ease quarantine rules.

As of Feb. 21, the Health department has tallied 561,169 COVID-19 cases nationwide, with 12,088 deaths and 522,843 recoveries.
The University of Vaasa, Skogstekniska klustret and Adopticum are together researching how optical measurement technologies and satellite data can be used to increase the efficiency of the activities of the forestry's value chain

A boost to innovation and competitiveness

The joint project researches how increasing the efficiency of forestry's value chain can benefit from optical measurement technology and satellite data. The partners are researching concrete applications and mapping which actors would be able to utilise the new technologies in their operations.

- We have noticed that companies in many sectors should speed up their digitalisation activities and find new ways of utilising technology that would support this process. Both optical measurement technology and satellite data can offer new solutions that increase the efficiency of various functions and thus drive both innovation and competitiveness, both of which are important particularly in a pandemic situation, says Adopticum's CEO Kenth Johansson.

Companies in the sector on both sides of the Kvarken in Finland and in Sweden are welcome to participate in the project and to learn more about the opportunities offered by satellite data and optical measurement technology.

- It is great to get to carry out this preliminary study together with our Umea-based partners. Forestry is an important sector in both all of the Ostrobothnian regions as well as in the province of Vasterbotten. Various kinds of data received from satellites are already now utilised in the forestry sector, but certainly, there are more new opportunities for utilisation to be found, says Heidi Kuusniemi, Director of University of Vaasa's Digital Economy research platform and Professor of Computer Science.

Cross-border cooperation

The preliminary study, Optisk matteknik i den skogliga vardekedjan, now launched will be carried out on both sides of the Kvarken supported by European Union's Interreg Botnia-Atlantica programme, and it will last for nine months.

The preliminary study will be carried out by Skogstekniska klustret, a developer of forestry sector companies, and optical measuring technology expert Adopticum, from both Sweden, as well as the University of Vaasa's Digital Economy research platform that studies utilisation methods of space-based data among other data sources. The partners hope to continue studying the subject also after the preliminary study.

The project will begin at the start of April, and it will continue until the end of 2021.

###

The project is financed by the European Regional Development Fund via the Interreg Botnia-Atlantica programme, as well as the Regional Council of Ostrobothnia, University of Vaasa, Region Vasterbotten, Umea kommun and Skelleftea kommun.

The cluster of forest technology

The Cluster of Forest Technology is an association comprising 10 member companies. The heart of our work is our innovation system, where we connect our member companies with researchers, students, start-ups, forest companies and funders. We transfer knowledge, arrange events, develop projects and help find funding - while supporting equality and sustainability. With our help, the forestry industry reduces lead times new solutions, innovations and products.

Adopticum

Adopticum is a foundation specializing in optical measurement technology. Adopticum has expertise in both hardware and software development and runs projects together with businesses in need of technical solutions, product owners and other specialists. The aim is to develop new and innovative solutions that are at the forefront of technology. The goal is to contribute to increased competitiveness to companies in northern Sweden and give rise to new products and services.

University of Vaasa / the Digital Economy Platform

The Digital Economy platform of the University of Vaasa is an open research platform for interdisciplinary research on innovations enabled by new technology as well as their impact on individuals, organizations, industry and society. Research objects include AI, machine learning, automation and the impact of digitalization on ways of working, communicating and building business.

Contact

University of Vaasa: Heidi Kuusniemi, Head of sub-project, heidi.kuusniemi@univaasa.fi and Johanna Haveri, Coordinator of sub-project, johanna.haveri@univaasa.fi

Skogstekniska klustret: Aline Karrback, Project Manager, aline.karrback@skogstekniskaklustret.se

Adopticum: Maria Strand, Head of sub-project, maria.strand@adopticum.se
Earlier, pharmacist Samira Hamidi arrived at Sunshine Hospital before sunrise to help deliver vaccine vials from an ultra-cold freezer to the new vaccination hub run by Western Health at Melbourne Airport. We placed it in the fridge straight away  between 2 and 8 degrees  and we checked the log to see if there had been any temperature breaches, and there wasnt, she said. From there we were good to go and I started to prepare or reconstitute the vaccine. I was a bit nervous the first time, but once I started to get into the routine, it was fine I was more excited than anything. The vaccination hub at Melbourne Airport opened on Monday. Credit:Penny Stephens / Western Health A team of six pharmacists worked throughout the day at stations, diluting the vaccine, drawing up six doses from every vial and constantly monitoring the fridge.

Victoria will initially receive 11,000 doses of Pfizers vaccine each week, to be given to the vulnerable and those in high-risk jobs, including aged care residents and front-line health workers. Vaccination of hotel quarantine workers began on Monday, and the Melbourne Airport clinic, constructed at an unused departure lounge, will give hundreds of airline flight crew, customs workers, cargo handlers and other airport workers the vaccine each day. Among them on Monday was Qantas A330 captain Dean Peters, who along with his colleagues has been periodically stood down due to a reduction in flights. A Qantas pilot receives his vaccination from registered nurse Hedi Soleiman. Credit:Penny Stephens / Western Health They share in the remaining work, a combination of freight and passenger services, and isolate for 14 days at home after any international travel.

After receiving the vaccination at Melbourne Airport at 10.30am, he said it was painless in every sense. Its a very small needle, I didnt even feel it  15 minutes later, I drove home and Im at home now, and theres no issues whatsoever. Loading Replay Replay video Play video Play video The federal government plans to complete the vaccination rollout to all adult Australians who wish to have the jab by October. Travel industry leaders expect COVID-19 immunisation will become mandatory for international flights once vaccines have been widely distributed, with Qantas chief executive Alan Joyce saying in November it would be a requirement to fly on his airline. Incoming travellers to Australia already have to provide evidence they tested negative to COVID-19 within 72 hours of their departure.

Air New Zealand will be one of the first airlines to use the International Air Transport Associations Travel Pass app, which passengers link to their e-passport and will carry verified copies of test results and  in the future  vaccination records. Once borders reopen, travel is going to look very different, with customers health data needing to be verified at check-in, said the airlines chief digital officer, Jennifer Sepull. The April trial will be for passengers leaving Auckland and those on return flights from Sydney. Singapore Airlines, Emirates, Etihad, Qatar Airways and British Airways have all said they plan to use the IATA travel pass. With the exception of New Zealand, people travelling to Australia from overseas currently have to undergo a mandatory 14-day quarantine.

The director of the Burnet Institute, Brendan Crabb, said as things stood, travel bubbles between other low-risk green countries might be quite common in the second half of the year. But he cautioned that much of the world still has a lot of COVID and wouldnt be classified as green. Loading Experts say restrictions will remain if the vaccines do not end up stopping transmission of the disease to the extent expected or if variants emerge that are significantly resistant. Victorian Health Minister Martin Foley visited the Austin Hospital on Monday morning, where about 30 staff were being inoculated. He described the rollout of the vaccine as complex and said it would be the largest logistical medical program in the nations history. This is about a first-step pathway out of this pandemic, he said. It adds to our public health tool kit and to make sure we are in a position to look at the light on the other side. Theres still some time to go.
Local workers speak up for fair wage policy that's disputed by critics as thwarting overall job growth.

Here's their pitch as we prep for the work week . . . Read more:
Boeing has recommended that airlines ground all 777s with the type of engine that blew apart after takeoff from Denver this past weekend, and most carriers that fly those planes said they would temporarily pull them from service.

This Saturday, Feb. 20, 2021 photo provided by Hayden Smith shows United Airlines Flight 328 approaching Denver International Airport, after experiencing "a right-engine failure" shortly after takeoff from Denver. Federal regulators are investigating what caused a catastrophic engine failure on the plane that rained debris on Denver suburbs as the aircraft made an emergency landing. Authorities said nobody aboard or on the ground was hurt despite large pieces of the engine casing that narrowly missed homes below. (Hayden Smith via AP)

Boeing has recommended that airlines ground all 777s with the type of engine that blew apart after takeoff from Denver this past weekend, and most carriers that fly those planes said they would temporarily pull them from service.

The U.S. Federal Aviation Administration ordered United Airlines to step up inspections of the aircraft after one of its flights made an emergency landing at Denver International Airport on Saturday as pieces of the engine's casing rained on suburban neighbourhoods. None of the 231 passengers or 10 crew were hurt, and the flight landed safely, authorities said. United is among the carriers that has grounded the planes.

FAA Administrator Steve Dickson identified the focus on the stepped-up inspections as hollow fan blades unique to the Pratt & Whitney PW4000 engine model and used solely on Boeing 777s. Dickson's statement said the conclusion was based on an initial review of safety data and would likely mean grounding some planes.

Robert Sumwalt, chairman of the National Transportation Safety Board, said during a virtual news conference Monday night that a fractured fan blade found in the engine had visible signs of damage consistent with metal fatigue. The broken blade hit and fractured the blade next to it as the engine broke apart, according to a preliminary investigation.

A part from a United Airlines jetliner sits in the middle of Elmwood Street in the street near a home peppered by parts from a plane as it was making an emergency landing at nearby Denver International Airport Saturday, Feb. 20, 2021. (AP Photo/David Zalubowski)

Sumwalt said the blade that fractured first was being flown on a private jet to Pratt & Whitneys headquarters Monday night to be examined under the supervision of NTSB investigators.

Our mission is to understand not only what happened, but why it happened, so that we can keep it from happening again, he said.

Boeing said there were 69 777s with the Pratt & Whitney 4000-112 engines in service and another 59 in storage and affirmed they should be grounded until the FAA sets up an inspection regime.

United had 24 of the planes in service; it is the only U.S. airline with the engine in its fleet, according to the FAA.

Two Japanese airlines have another 32. Japan ordered the planes out of service, according to the financial newspaper Nikkei, while noting that an engine in the same family had trouble in December.

In this image take from video provided by Chad Schnell, the engine of United Airlines Flight 328 is on fire after after experiencing "a right-engine failure" shortly after takeoff from Denver International Airport, Saturday, Feb. 20, 2021, in Denver, Colo. Federal regulators are investigating what caused the catastrophic engine failure on the plane that rained debris on Denver suburbs as the aircraft made an emergency landing. (Chad Schnell via AP)

In South Korea, Asiana Airlines grounded nine, seven of which were in service, and Korean Air said it grounded 16 aircraft, six of which are in service.

We are working with these regulators as they take actions while these planes are on the ground and further inspections are conducted by Pratt & Whitney," Boeing said in a statement, referring to American and Japanese regulators.

The engine maker said it was sending a team to work with investigators.

The emergency landing this past weekend is the latest trouble for Boeing, which saw its 737 Max planes grounded for more than a year after two deadly crashes in 2019 and is suffering amid the huge reduction in air travel due to the coronavirus pandemic. The Max planes began returning to the skies late last year  a huge boost for the aircraft maker, which lost billions during the grounding because it has been unable to deliver new planes to customers.

Video posted on Twitter from Saturday's emergency showed the engine fully engulfed in flames as the plane flew. Freeze frames from different video taken by a passenger sitting slightly in front of the engine and also posted on Twitter appeared to show a broken fan blade in the engine.

Passengers, who were headed to Honolulu, said they feared the plane would crash after an explosion and flash of light, while people on the ground saw huge chunks of the aircraft pour down, just missing one home and crushing a truck. The explosion, visible from the ground, left a trail of black smoke in the sky.

United says it will work closely with the FAA and the NTSB to determine any additional steps that are needed to ensure these aircraft meet our rigorous safety standards and can return to service.

The NTSB said the cockpit voice recorder and flight data recorder were transported to its lab in Washington so the data can be analyzed. NTSB investigations can take up to a year or longer, although in major cases the agency generally releases some investigative material midway through the process.

Japans Ministry of Land, Infrastructure, Transport and Tourism said an engine in the PW4000 family suffered trouble on a Japan Airlines 777 flying to Tokyo from Naha on Dec. 4. The airline has said the plane had engine trouble after takeoff and returned to Naha. An inspection showed damage to the engine case and missing fan blades, according to the airline. Stricter inspections were ordered in response.

Japan Airlines and All Nippon Airways will stop operating a combined 32 planes with that engine, Nikkei reported. ___

This story has been updated to correct the name of one of the Japanese airlines mentioned. It is Japan Airlines, not Japan Airways.
By Colin Packham

CANBERRA (Reuters) - Australia will quickly deliver the result of a planned independent inquiry into parliament's workplace culture, the government said on Monday, as pressure grows after a newspaper published a third accusation of rape.

Two female employees of Prime Minister Scott Morrison's Liberal party said last week they had been raped by the same man in 2019 and 2020.

Both have yet to make a formal police complaint, but Brittany Higgins, who has spoken publicly about her alleged rape, said last week that she would do so, though it is unclear if she has lodged one with police.

Finance Minister Simon Birmingham, who is leading an internal inquiry into workplace culture, said he wanted an investigation that is to be set up next week to be impartial.

"I want complete independence," he told Australian Broadcasting Corp radio. "I want people to have full confidence that this enquiry is genuinely an independent (one)."

The complaint process is expected to be a central element of the investigation, he said, adding, "This is not something that I expect to drag on for weeks."

Fuelling pressure on Morrison, the Australian newspaper published on Monday the account of a third woman, who said she had also been raped by the unnamed former Liberal party worker on the night of June 29 and the morning of June 30 in 2016.

"I believe his actions constitute sexual assault, because he performed or tried to perform sexual acts on me while I was severely intoxicated and unable to provide valid and informed consent," the unidentified woman told the paper.

The incident happened outside parliament, she added.

Already dogged by accusations of improper behaviour towards women, Morrison's Liberals face a barrage of criticism about the way it handled Higgins' internal complaint to Linda Reynolds, who is now defence minister.

Higgins has said she felt pressure not to proceed with a formal complaint for fear of losing her job.

Story continues

Reynolds last week apologised to Higgins but denied that she or her staff pressured her not to pursue a police complaint.

Morrison said he only learnt of the alleged complaints last week, and has sought to placate public anger with an inquiry.

(Reporting by Colin Packham; Editing by Clarence Fernandez)
People in Germany and France are refusing to take the Oxford AstraZeneca vaccine after their leaders warned about its efficacy.

Only 150,000 out of 1.5million doses of the jab had been used in Germany on Friday, with many deliberately skipping appointments after learning they would receive the Oxford vaccine.

Politicians across Europe including Emmanuel Macron stoked fears the vaccine is 'quasi ineffective' among people aged over 65, despite minimal data to support this and many health authorities approving its use.

Germany and France have vaccinated just six per cent of their populations, while the UK has handed out doses to more than 26 per cent of people

Politicians across Europe including Emmanuel Macron stoked fears the vaccine is 'quasi ineffective' among people aged over 65

People in Germany and France are refusing to take the Oxford AstraZeneca vaccine after their leaders Macron and Angela Merkel warned about its efficacy

But leaders are now urging people to take the Oxford jab, with the lack of uptake threatening to further derail Europe's vaccination rollout, which still lags way behind the UK.

Germany and France have vaccinated just six per cent of their populations, while the UK has handed out doses to more than 26 per cent of people.

In Berlin, the Tegel vaccination centres, which only offer the AstraZeneca jabs, say 200 people are keeping the 3,800 daily appointments, The Times reported.

In France, health workers have also been refusing the vaccine after Macron's comments during the heated row over its effectiveness.

But leaders are now urging people to take the Oxford jab, with the lack of uptake threatening to further derail Europe's vaccination rollout, which still lags way behind the UK

The European Medicines Agency approved it for all adults but Germany ruled that it should not be given to the over-65s.

It is only being administered to healthcare workers and people under 65 with pre-existing conditions.

There are now growing calls in Europe for the Oxford jab to be given to anyone who wants it so the vials are not wasted.

Karl Lauterbach, an epidemiologist and Social Democrat MP in Germany, said: 'The vaccination booths are ready, the vaccine is there and so are the vaccination teams.

'But the vaccine remains unused because not enough people show up for the appointment. This is an absurd and unbearable situation.'

The mayor of Berlin, Michael Muller, has threatened to send people to the back of the vaccine queue if they refuse the Oxford jab in favour of the Pfizer one.

In Berlin, the Tegel vaccination centres (pictured), which only offer the AstraZeneca jabs, say 200 people are keeping the 3,800 daily appointments

He told Tageepiegel: 'I won't allow tens of thousands of doses to lie around on our shelves while millions of people across the country are waiting to be immunised.'

Germany's health minister, Jens Spahn, also backed the jab, saying it was a 'privilege' to be offered an injection with the 'safe and effective' British vaccine.

Other countries including Spain, Hungary, Sweden and Norway have also suggested they won't give the jab to anyone over 65.

Scientists admit there is a lack of data definitively proving the vaccine works for elderly people but the data they do have suggests it doesn't affect them any less than it does younger people, in whom it is proven to prevent Covid-19.

Boris Johnson previously said he was not concerned by the European countries' move, adding the UK's world-leading regulator had 'made it clear' the shot was 'very good and efficacious'.

The issue that European countries have taken with the study is that the vaccine was only trialled on 660 people over the age of 65 in results that have been published so far.
Teachers were no more likely to catch the coronavirus than farm workers during England's second wave, official data revealed today.

Education unions have joined forces to demand that Boris Johnson scrap his plan to reopen all schools in England on March 8 and are calling for a phased return instead.

Although there are fears coronavirus will spread out of control again when schools reopen, a report by the Office for National Statistics said there was 'no evidence of a difference' between infection rates among teachers and other jobs.

As well as farm workers and builders  classed as 'elementary occupations'  the risk was similar among other tradespeople, sales workers, health workers, drivers, secretaries and security guards.

The data add to growing evidence that schools appear not to be the hotbeds for transmission that they are for other viruses such as flu. Most have been closed for the majority of the past year, however, making comparisons difficult.

Nine teaching unions in England have banded together to urge Boris Johnson to drop his plans to have a big bang reopening of schools on March 8, and to phase the return instead, with primary schools first followed by older pupils.

Scotland and Wales will begin opening their schools to all children from tomorrow, while Northern Ireland and England will go back next month.

Meanwhile, the NASUWT teachers union today reiterated its call for teachers and other education staff to be given priority access to coronavirus vaccines. This has been turned down previously because teachers don't face a higher than average risk of death.

Schools across England will reopen on March 8 under Boris Johnson's lockdown exit strategy

ONS figures showed 'teaching and education professionals' had an average coronavirus infection rate of 4.39 per cent between September 1 and January 7.

But this risk may in fact be as low as 3.99 per cent, analysis showed, below the level for those in 'elementary occupations'  including farmers  who work outdoors.

Experts had claimed the similar infection rate among teaching staff compared to other professions was linked to school closures and online lessons previously.

But these figures suggest they are not at increased risk even while in the classroom.

NO EVIDENCE SCHOOLS TRIGGER LOCAL OUTBREAKS, STUDY FINDS There is no evidence having schools open drives the spread of coronavirus in the wider community in the UK, SAGE advisers said last week. In a study of pupil and teacher absences caused by positive Covid tests, researchers said confirmed infections in schools did not lead to bigger outbreaks. Instead, they said there were small signs that the opposite was true, and that schools tended to get worse hit when the cases around them had rocketed. Many pupils have been home-schooling for almost all of the past year, except for a brief period between September and December before the second wave spiralled out of control. But education bosses fear rushing back to normal classes could lead to an explosion in cases, leading to more closures and greater disruption. Neither pupils nor staff will have been routinely vaccinated against the virus. Dr Mike Tildesley and Dr Ed Hill, members of SAGE sub-group SPI-M and Warwick University experts who did the study published today, said the reopening should be cautious and that it was important to 'mitigate' the inevitable risks of doing it. The team admitted their paper was 'an absence of evidence rather than evidence of absence' of risk. And they conceded it probably underestimated how many Covid cases there actually are in schools because many people don't get tested. The Warwick study found Covid cases among teachers fell during the November lockdown, even though schools remained open. And in December, cases in schools appeared to rise in tandem with outbreaks in the community, with bigger outbreaks in London and the South East, where the new variant was surging, and fewer cases in more rural regions. Evidence showed that the numbers of people taking time off appeared to track alongside general outbreaks in the area around the school. But there was no sign cases in schools would predict an outbreak in the community. Instead, there was 'weak' evidence that the opposite was true, suggesting pupils and teachers were more likely to get infected elsewhere. Secondary schools appeared to see more confirmed cases in pupils and teachers, the study found, compared to primaries. Dr Tildesley said in a briefing: 'We need to approach the data with an element of caution  this will be an underestimate of the true number of cases within schools. 'There will be some children with very mild symptoms or no symptoms at all.' Advertisement

The ONS study swab-tested more than 130,000 Britons for the virus from September to the beginning of this year and identified 5,156 positive cases.

This took place over the second national lockdown  from November 5 to December 1  when teachers were still required to attend the classroom but work from home orders remained in place for all 'non-essential' workers, and also over Christmas.

Participants wrote down their professions before taking the test, and their results were then split to reveal the estimated risk of catching the virus by job type.

There were 25 professions in the report  including nurses, builders and security guards  which had an average positive test rate of 3.4 per cent.

Teachers had the fourth highest risk of becoming infected with the virus on average, the report said.

But analysis revealed their overall risk was not significantly different from 18 other professions on the list  that is, the differences between them were not large enough for random error to be ruled out.

The results for teachers were also broken down by type of educational establishment, which showed those in secondary education were most likely to test positive for the virus (5.42 per cent).

This was followed by primary school staff (5.21 per cent), senior professionals at education establishments (5.1 per cent) and special needs education staff (4.6 per cent).

The risk was lowest among higher education professionals such as university lecturers (2.48 per cent) and further education teachers (2.93 per cent).

Previous reports from the ONS have also suggested teachers are not at higher risk from the virus than those working in other professions.

The conclusion from the report for September 2 to October 16 said: 'This analysis did not find statistical evidence of a difference in the positivity rate between primary and secondary school teachers, other key workers and other professions.'

Despite a lack of evidence that schools are high-risk, teaching unions are still demanding that Boris Johnson takes a more cautious approach to sending pupils back.

They want the Government to only proceed with any reopening on March 8 if the scientific evidence is 'absolutely clear' that it is safe to do so.

They also said that at that point ministers should 'go no further than a phased return of children and young people' to allow time to assess the impact on coronavirus infection rates of bringing back limited numbers of pupils.

The National Education Union said in its proposed recovery plan that the return to schools should see numbers allowed on-site limited while there should also be increased use of face coverings.

It said masks should be worn by secondary school pupils in classrooms as well as in all other areas of the school.

Union bosses are urging Mr Johnson to follow the example of Scotland and Wales where the phased return of some young children to classrooms started this morning.

There is growing speculation that teaching unions could strike if the premier refuses to back down.

But former head of Ofsted Sir Michael Wilshaw today demanded unions 'do as much as is possible' to get children back into classrooms as he warned of a 'lost generation'.

Meanwhile, Sir Keir Starmer warned against industrial action as he said Labour would not support such a move.

Teaching unions warned the PM at the end of last week that it would be 'reckless' to send all children back to school at the same time amid warnings it could cause coronavirus infection rates to spike.

But the Government is set to push ahead with a full reopening, with Vaccines Minister Nadhim Zahawi telling ITV's GMB programme: 'March 8 is the date that we want to see all school children being back at school.'

Sir Michael said this morning that unions must work with the Government and teachers to ensure there is a smooth return to in-person learning.

He told GMB: 'The Government has appointed what they are calling a catch-up tsar, someone called Kevin Collins, who... will be co-ordinating schools' efforts and pointing to good practice.

'I'm looking forward to the teacher unions really supporting this, and encouraging their members to do as much as is possible and to go the extra mile to support children.

'It's really important that this generation of youngsters is not seen as a lost generation  youngsters who feel that fate has given them a very, very bad hand, and they have suffered accordingly.

'It's important they get their confidence back and their self-esteem back and they look forward to the future with optimism.

'That is why teachers and heads really need to pull together, and the unions as well supporting them, to make sure this generation is no longer seen as a lost generation.'

Sir Keir told LBC Radio this morning that Labour supports reopening all schools in England on March 8.

He said: 'I want all of our schools ideally open on the 8th of March. That is what the Prime Minister has said and we want to see that ideally happen.'

Asked if he would support unions going on strike over the issue, he replied: 'I don't think there should be industrial action.

'But I do think, the teaching unions are right to stick up for their members who have been through a really hard time in the last 12 months.

'The stop start schooling, they have been obviously in schools for key workers and there has been a lot of stress and strain on school staff and they feel they haven't been listened to by the Government.

'I think Gavin Williamson should get on the phone to the unions and tell them what his plan is so everybody can get round the plan to get our children back to school as soon as possible.'

Union bosses said the Government's 'big bang' approach to bringing back all children at the same time was 'difficult to understand'.

Geoff Barton, general secretary of the Association of School and College Leaders (ASCL), said: 'We share the Government's aim of bringing all children back to the classroom as soon as possible, but we remain concerned about the idea of a 'big bang' approach of a full return of pupils all at the same time.

Mr Johnson's plans for easing lockdown have been bolstered by the latest data whihc shows Covid-19 infection rates have continued to drop, with 9,834 more cases reported - a fall of 10 per cent on last week - while the 215 new daily deaths brought Britain's total up to 120,580

'This is very different from the plans in Scotland, Wales, and Northern Ireland in which a phased return is planned, and it is difficult to understand why the approach in England would go so much further.

Mr Barton added: 'It is crucial that the return of all pupils to face-to-face education is safe and sustainable and that we don't end up prolonging a cycle of disruption.'

Paul Whiteman, general secretary of the NAHT school leaders' union, said Mr Johnson needed to make a 'compelling case' for his plan.

He said: 'School leaders want nothing more than a safe return to school for all children but, crucially, that return has to be sustainable.

'It is better to be cautious than to risk further closures and yet more disruption to children's education. A third lockdown for schools would be more devastating than taking our time now.'

But Russell Viner, professor of adolescent health at UCL, said it is 'plausible' that schools in England can fully reopen on March 8 while keeping the pandemic under control  if the lockdown is maintained for other parts of society and the rapid vaccine rollout continues.

He said: 'Reopening secondaries fully brings the greatest risk for increasing infections, but may bring the greatest benefits for the mental health and life chances of our children.

'Schools should be the first part of society to reopen after lockdown. The risks of not reopening schools are high.'

Prof Viner added: 'Schools undoubtedly play a role in transmission of this pandemic, particularly secondary schools. Yet the evidence suggests that transmission can be very much reduced when effective control measures are used in schools.'

The return of schools in Wales today will see children aged three to seven head back to classrooms. Some vocational college students are also going back.

The Welsh government is planning for the remaining primary school pupils as well as those in years 11 and 13 facing exam years to return from March 15 in a 'flexible way'.

A similar approach is being taken in Scotland, with children in primaries one to three due back in Scottish schools from today along with some senior secondary pupils who need to do practical work for qualifications.

All children under school age in early learning and childcare are also returning.
GOVERNMENT received a total of $7.37 billion from oil, gas and quarrying/mining companies in fiscal 2018, with the largest payment of $2 billion coming from majority State-owned National Gas Company (NGC).

However, for the period 2019 to 2020, unaudited figures indicate a declining trend in revenue.
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ALBANY  Although coronavirus vaccine supply to New York has increased and the state is working to expand opportunities for getting the shot, there remains a subset of public-facing government workers who are ineligible.

Highway and sewage treatment plant workers, Department of Motor Vehicles staff and county clerk employees providing legal and other essential administrative services are among sectors that often times provide an essential service to New Yorkers but are not explicitly included in the states 1b phase of vaccination.

Putnam County Clerk Michael C. Bartolotti, who is also president of the New York Association of County Clerks, said including these public employees in the latest vaccination phase will help ensure they can continue to provide essential services without interruption.

Throughout the pandemic our staff have diligently reported to work to serve the public, providing critical DMV and legal services to the people of New York, Bartolotti said in a letter sent to Gov. Andrew M. Cuomo from the county clerk association. I would argue that their exposure exceeds many whose occupations are already included on the 1b list such as court personnel, public safety dispatchers and in-person college instructors and is at least equal to public-facing grocery store employees.

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Vaccinations have faced a variety of hurdles, from a limited supply of vaccines that has caused long wait times for scheduling an appointment, to general confusion over who is eligible for the shot that has created a patchwork approach to inoculating New Yorkers. State officials have primarily placed blame for the backlog on the limited supply and the states large population, and have urged residents to remain patient and not to show up to a vaccination clinic without an appointment.

Roughly 10 million New Yorkers are currently eligible to receive the vaccine. So far, just over 3 million residents have received both doses of the COVID-19 shot, according to the governors office.

Various sectors and special interest groups sought to be included in earlier vaccination phases, and there have been some adjustments made to include people with comorbidities, as well as elderly inmates in state prisons.

A county clerk in Western New York who spoke to Capitol Insider on the condition of anonymity said these employees are providing essential services that could be shut down if employees get sick.

We know the supply is short and there are lots of issues, but it can definitely be frustrating when you see the expansion of the list and there seems to still be exclusions, the clerk said.

Whether someone working at a local DMV office is considered a public-facing employee depends on where you live and wind up scheduling a vaccination appointment, local government employees said.

Employees may schedule an appointment believing they are eligible for the vaccine, but upon arriving, are told they do not qualify, the Western New York clerk said.

Indeed, Capital Region communities reported a variety of approaches to vaccine eligibility. Rensselaer County has hosted multiple vaccine clinics for government employees, both local and county, regardless of whether they are first responders, said Rich Crist, county operations manager.

We just did a vax clinic where we included highway workers - county, town and (Department of Public Works) workers and Department of Public Utility workers - from the county and all 16 municipalities had an opportunity to participate, Crist said. Because we recognized that they are often times essentially emergency workers as well, if there is a water main break, if there is an ice storm or if there is a bridge that goes out or there is some other unforeseen issue that arises.

The county also vaccinated its Department of Motor Vehicles employees and has worked with school districts and adult homes for people with disabilities, but Crist said more work needs to be done on vaccinating those with disabilities along with the essential workers who assist them. He said a vaccination clinic to inoculate sewage treatment plant workers  whether employed by the county or a local government  is in the works.

In neighboring Saratoga County, they are adhering to the states guidelines on vaccine eligibility, a spokesman for the county said.

Though a county employee may be deemed essential, unless they are among a state defined eligibility group, they cannot be vaccinated, spokesman Andrew Mangini said in an emailed statement.

The Civil Service Employees Union (CSEA) and the Public Employees Federation (PEF) both have members who are in public-facing roles but are not yet eligible for the vaccine. Union leaders said they believe all employees should be able to get the vaccine.

"CSEA believes all of the government workers we represent doing essential work in public-facing roles should be eligible for vaccination as quickly as possible, and weve been working with the governors office and local government leaders around the state to get more workers added to the eligibility list," CSEA spokesman Mark Kotzin said. "We recognize, however, that getting more workers on the list is not going to solve everyones frustrations, when theres still not enough vaccine to go around."
TJ (Thomas Joseph) Walshe, Springfield, Clondra, Longford



The death occurred, peacefully, at home surrounded by his loving family, following an illness bravely borne, on Saturday, February 20 of TJ (Thomas Joseph) Walshe, Springfield, Clondra, Longford and formerly of Athlone, Co Westmeath. Beloved husband of Noeleen (nee Gately), much loved Dad to Rosie, Sarah and Eimear. He is predeceased by his parents Jack and Sadie, and brothers Dick and Michael. TJ will be sadly missed by his loving family, granddaughters Cara and Robin, son-in-law Mark Sheehy, mother-in-law Maisie Gately, brothers Sean and Seamus, sisters Madeleine, Mary, Jacqueline and Rose, along with his aunt, nephews, nieces, extended family, good neighbours and his many friends.

TJ's Funeral cortege will leave Connell's funeral Home, at 12 noon on Monday, February 22 to arrive at St Brendan's Church, Clondra, for Funeral mass at 12.30pm, followed by cremation in Lakelands Crematorium, Dublin Road, Cavan. Funeral Mass and cremation is restricted to 10 people only, Mass will be live-streamed on the following link: https://www.facebook.com/110475537547731/videos/231609938358987/

Family flowers only please, donations, if desired, to Longford Palliative Care or COPD Support Ireland, c/o Connell Funeral Directors or any family member. Due to the current restrictions against social gatherings, we ask you to leave a message of comfort and support for T.J.'s family using the condolence book on RIP.ie.Family home private at all times please (due to Covid).

Eileen Wright (nee Grealy), Gurteenorna, Newtownforbes, Longford



The death occurred, peacefully, on Sunday, February 21 of Eileen Wright (nee Grealy), Gurteenorna, Newtownforbes, Longford. Predeceased by her beloved husband William. Eileen will be sadly missed and remembered with love by her family, son John, daughters Olive and Louise, grandchildren Allison, Sarah, Emma, Celine, Killian, Laura, Nathan, Cathal and Clodagh, daughter-in-law Margaret, nieces, nephews, relatives and friends. May she rest in peace.

Eileens funeral cortege will leave Glennons Funeral Home on Wednesday, February 24 at 12.30pm to arrive at St Marys Church, Newtownforbes for Mass of the Resurrection at 1pm, interment afterwards in Newtownforbes Cemetery. Given the exceptional circumstances and in accordance with government guidelines and social distancing protocols and to protect everyone dear to Eileen and her family, the Mass will be restricted to 10 people only. The Mass will be streamed live please click here.

Those who would have liked to attend but due to the current restrictions are unable to, may leave their personal messages in the condolences section on RIP.ie.

The family very much appreciates your support and consideration at this time.

Emma Lannon (nee Lannon), Tully, Strokestown, Roscommon



The death occurred, peacefully at Portiuncula Hospital, Ballinasloe, in her 97th year, on Saturday, February 20 of Emma Lannon (nee Lannon), Tully, Strokestown, Roscommon. Predeceased by her husband Hubert and daughter Vera. Loving mother of Mary and Gerard. She will be sadly missed by her sorrowing daughter, son, son-in-law Michael, grandchildren Lorraine, Paul and Annabell, great-grandchildren Fiadh and Roisin, nephews, nieces, relatives, neighbours and friends. Rest In Peace.

Removal from McHugh's Funeral Home, on Tuesday, February 23 to St. Brigid's Church, Four Mile House, to arrive for Funeral Mass at 11am. Burial afterwards in Ballinderry Cemetery. Owing to current restrictions, Emma's Funeral Mass is private to family only, limited to 10 people. Condolences may be left on RIP.ie. Thank you for your cooperation.

Robert (Bob) Maguire, Ballysallagh, Ballynacargy, Westmeath



The death occurred, peacefully, at home surrounded by his loving and devoted family, aged 77 years, on Saturday, February 20 of Robert (Bob) Maguire, Ballysallagh, Ballynacargy, Mullingar, Co Westmeath. Predeceased by his wife Maureen and brothers Jim and Pat. Bob will be very sadly missed and lovingly remembered by his sons Robert and Kevin, daughters Caroline and Lorraine, daughters-in-law Margaret and Bridget, sons-in-law Tony and Martin, sister Mary, brothers Ned and Tom, his adored grandchildren, great-grandchildren, sisters-in-law, nieces, nephews, relatives, kind neighbours and friends. May his gentle soul rest in peace.

In keeping with current government guidelines, a private family funeral will take place on Tuesday, February 23 at 11am in the Church of the Nativity, Ballynacargy, followed by burial in Sonna Cemetery. Friends and neighbours are welcome to stand along the route to the church and to the cemetery while following social distancing rules. House private, please.

Bobs funeral Mass will be streamed live on 'Midlands Funerals Live' Youtube channel. Family flowers only. Donations, if desired, to Palliative Care, Mullingar Primary Care Centre, who provided wonderful care to Bob in his final days. Those wishing to send messages of condolence to the family may do so in the Condolence section on RIP.ie.

The family would like to thank you for your understanding and support at this sad time.

Gerry Doonan, Bray, Wicklow / Carrigallen, Leitrim



The death occurred, peacefully surrounded by his family in the tender loving care of the staff at Wicklow Hospice, on Thursday, February 18 of Gerry Doonan, Bray, Co Wicklow and late of Carrigallen, Co Leitrim. Will be sadly missed and lovingly remembered by his devoted wife Carmel, his sons Stephen and Justin, his daughters Lorraine, Jennifer and Lucinda, sons-in-law, daughters-in-law, grandchildren, brothers, sisters, extended family and friends.

Reposing at Thomas Murphy and Sons Funeral Home, Boghall Road, Bray on Sunday afternoon, February 21 from 3pm to 4pm. Please be mindful of social distancing and wear face coverings at all times. In line with government restrictions a private Funeral Mass for family only will take place on Monday morning, February 22 at 10.30am in the Church of Our Lady Queen of Peace, Putland Road, Bray followed by interment in Shanganagh Cemetery. Family flowers by request. Donations, if desired, to The Wicklow Hospice. The Funeral Mass can be viewed live on the church webcam www.churchservices.tv/brayqueenofpeace

May he rest in peace

Rev Fr Tom Sheridan, Drumcrow, Ballinagh, Cavan



The death occurred, peacefully in the USA, on Monday, February 15 of Rev Fr Tom Sheridan, Casper, Wyoming, USA and formerly of Drumcrow, Ballinagh. Predeceased by his brothers Sean, and Seamus, sisters Ann and Christina, Sadly missed and fondly remembered by Eaman, Charlie, Paddy, and Gerry, sisters Julia, and Madge, sisters-in-law, brothers-in-law, nephews, nieces relatives and friends. May he rest in peace.

Funeral Mass in the USA on Monday, February 22 in Casper Wyoming. It will be streamed live.

Link to view Funeral Monday, February 22 at 6pm Irish time is https://urldefense.com/v3/__https:/m.youtube.com/channel/UCkR6u9v-a36nmhGr80AfsBQ/featured__;!!BhdT!xdU-4Ez6Wj9JIMx3O_f0blJDPWBt3nd_ddhdu6tLJiqCSRa_LVBAS371z3SmEw$

Anyone wishing to add a condolence can do so on RIP.ie

If you wish to have a death notice published on www.longfordleader.ie you can email it to newsroom@longfordleader.ie

And if you wish to submit an obituary for publication in the Longford Leader, you can submit it along with a photograph of the deceased to newsroom@longfordleader.ie

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Agencies | Kuwait City

The Daily Tribune  www.newsofbahrain.com

The Central Bank of Kuwait has asked local banks and companies there not to deal with or create direct or indirect investments in digital currencies like Bitcoin or similar currencies.

An AlAyam report, quoting an unnamed source, said the Central Bank does not permit to finance any person or institution to invest in Bitcoin like currencies.

The source also confirmed that the Central Bank of Kuwait and Capital Markets Authority had instructed companies and bank not to invest in these currencies.

Some local banks have internal policies prohibiting dealing in virtual currencies, according to the Al-Anba newspaper.

Bitcoin is a cryptocurrency that was started in 2009 by an unknown person or group of people using the name Satoshi Nakamoto.

The price of bitcoin had hit an all-time high on Friday as the market value of bitcoin reached above $1 trillion.

One bitcoin currently costs around $55,000, and there are about 18.6 million bitcoins in circulation according to the coin base.

Earlier this month, Elon Musk announced that Tesla has acquired $1.5 billion in bitcoins in January and that it could accept the asset for payments in the future.

Musk on Thursday via a tweet defended Teslas purchase of Bitcoin.

Tesla also said that it was thinking of letting consumers use bitcoins to buy its cars and SUVs.

Musk has previously shared a series of tweets promoting Dogecoin.

Musk had tweeted that, The future currency of earth.

Elon Musk tweeted, I just set up some little Doge mining rigs with my kids.

It was fun.

With this, dogecoins prices briefly shot up to $0.58990.

Musk has been a staunch supporter of cryptocurrency use.
SpiceJet promoter Ajay Singh and two other investors are said to have shown interest in acquiring Air India. Singh is interested in buying 100 per cent in Air India in personal capacity. He is likely to be supported by investors, one of which is a foreign fund.

It is one of the multiple overtures the government has said it has received, as mentioned in a report in The Economic Times. A person in the know told the daily that if the airline goes to this group then it is unlikely that Singh would be the largest shareholder.

Singh co-founded SpiceJet in 2005 and then sold it to Kalanithi Maran in 2010. He returned in 2015 to turn around the ailing airline.

According to the daily Kolkata-based businessman Pawan Ruia has also expressed interest in bidding for the national carrier. Tata Group too has shown interest through its holding company Tata Sons and an employee consortium.

Tata Group has planned to bid for Air India with Singapore International Airlines but it fell through after SIA disagreed with the proposal.

Other investors have also shown interest but not all of them are serious parties and not all of them will qualify for the later stage, when they will be asked to submit their bids, people in the know told the daily.

Moreover, the government has also unofficially asked people to show interest for bidding as it wanted to avoid a repeat of 2018 when it failed to get a bid for 76 per cent stake. Following this, the government decided to sell 100 per cent of Air India and its low-cost international subsidiary AirIndia Express. The EoI deadline was extended multiple times because of the pandemic. Air India is under Rs 38,366 crore debt after the government moved the working capital debt to a state-owned special purpose vehicle.

Also read: Centre may get around Rs 15,000 crore from Air India sale

Also read: Air India sale: Govt gets a surprise bid for national carrier, who's it?
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Five years ago, Kshitiz Sharma read about the Financial Independence, Retire Early (FIRE) movement. The success stories of individuals who achieved their goals got him interested in financial planning. That got him reading about mutual funds, and he started investing to be financially independent in the next 15-18 years.

If everything goes as planned, the 30-year-old lecturer in Hyderabad should be able to semi-retire and achieve financial independence by the time he turns 48.

The idea is to work on my terms without worrying about money, spend more time with family and travel more often," said Sharma. Most individuals who have joined the FIRE movement stay frugal and invest as much as they can.

While he is not frugal, Sharma avoids buying unnecessary things like expensive gadgets. He invests the majority of his salary towards his goals.

He is also concerned about the changing dynamics of different professions. For example, evolving technology and consumer preferences are making many jobs redundant. The education industry, which I am part of, has changed a lot in the past year with edtech becoming prominent," he said.

When he started at 25, he invested through a mutual fund (MF) distributor. Three years later, he read about fee-only advisers and the way they function. He took stock of his MF portfolio and got an impression that the fund distributor probably suggested funds that helped him earn a commission.

In 2018, I decided to opt for a fee-only adviser as I wanted to be organized about savings and investments and didnt have the time to do it myself. I came across an adviser on an online investment forum, liked his suggestions, and opted for his services," said Sharma.

The first thing that Chandan Singh Padiyar, a Sebi-registered investment adviser, asked Sharma was to stop investing through the regular route and start direct investments to save on commissions.

Sharma had invested in six equity MFs via the distributor. The portfolio was entirely equity-oriented and comprised of two mid-caps, one multi-cap and three large-cap funds.

Sharmas portfolio now has an index fund that tracks the Nifty50 for large-cap investment. Another based on the Nifty Next 50 Index to get exposure to quality large and mid-cap funds. Theres a multi-cap fund and Padiyar asked him to continue with the aggressive hybrid fund he had earlier. For debt, Sharma has a money market and arbitrage scheme.

We continued with the aggressive hybrid funds as it has returns similar to a large-cap scheme and volatility is low. Part of his debt investment is in an arbitrage scheme as Sharma is young and doesnt have kids. As his priorities change, he may need to alter the portfolio, which is equally distributed between equity and debt. Arbitrage funds are more tax-efficient than debt funds while returns are in the same range as short-duration schemes," said Padiyar.

Padiyar also advised Sharma to buy adequate life, health and personal accident insurance policies.

After taking the help of a financial planner, Sharma is investing higher amounts towards his goal than before. He sticks to a budget, tracks his expenses and knows the funds available for travel or other discretionary expenses.

The adviser also helped him realize the benefit of taking insurance that Sharma had never paid attention to. Padiyar shaped his portfolio the way he wanted ittake limited risk while keeping things simple.

Earlier, Sharma was investing 15-20% of his salary. Around the time he took the services of a financial planner, he also got married. Despite the increase in responsibilities, he invested 75% of his salary towards his early retirement goal before the coronavirus lockdown.

When the lockdown started, Sharmas investment plan did take a hit. As the market fell, he used his emergency fund to invest more in it, which left him with money that could only sustain him for two months. Earlier, he had an emergency fund worth six months of expense. He took the risk of using his emergency funds to increase his investments as professionally things looked fine then.

But a few months later, the education institute where he works cut his salary as students were not coming for classes. The future looked uncertain while he had dipped into his emergency fund.

I had to stop my investments for some time to replenish the emergency fund that could sustain me for at least 6-8 months," said Sharma.

An emergency fund was important during the uncertain times. So, we decided to first focus on it," said Padiyar.

In February, Sharma resumed his investments. But due to the pay cut, he is unable to invest as much as he did before. However, he hopes that things will improve in the coming months, and he will be on his savings journey.

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On Monday, the Supreme Court finally cleared the way for a criminal probe into Donald J. Trumps taxes to move forward, rejecting a last-ditch appeal from the former president in a terse one-line order with no noted dissents.

In 2019, Manhattan District Attorney Cy Vance sought to subpoena eight years of Trumps tax returns from his former accounting firm, Mazars USA, as part of a probe into hush money payments to Stormy Daniels and Karen McDougaltwo women who claimed to have sexual relationships with Trumpduring the 2016 presidential election that landed former Trump fixer Michael Cohen in prison.

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The case has stretched on since the Supreme Court ruled last year that Trump did not have absolute immunity from state investigations as president but punted on the question of whether Trump had other grounds to try to block the subpoenas.

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After that Supreme Court ruling, the case went back to a federal district judge. Vances office then confirmed in a legal filing that its investigation had expanded beyond the hush money payments to possible insurance fraud and bank fraud by the Trump organization and its officers. The district judge ruled in August that Trumps follow-up request to block the subpoena was still essentially seeking presidential immunity and he rejected it. A three-member panel of the U.S. Court of Appeals for the 2nd Circuit upheld the lower court ruling in October during the heat of the presidential election, but the Supreme Court delayed ruling on Trumps records until after he left office.

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Mazars USA, Trumps former accounting firm, has said it would follow whatever the court ultimately decided, which presumably means it will now cooperate with Vances office. According to the New York Times, prosecutors in that office will now get tax records and financial statements since 2011, the engagement agreements with the accountants who prepared them, the underlying raw financial data and information about how the data were analyzed.

The former president is facing a lengthy list of legal woes that includes: a Fulton County criminal probe into Trumps attempts to interfere with Georgia election officials after he lost the state to President Joe Biden; a defamation lawsuit by E. Jean Carroll over Trumps response to her allegation that he raped her; a separate defamation lawsuit by former Apprentice contestant Summer Zervos over his response to her claim that he sexually assaulted her; a lawsuit from Rep. Bennie Thompson and the NAACP over Trumps role in the Jan. 6 insurrection and any potential civil and criminal liability Trump might have for his role in allegedly inciting that riot.

And that list is likely still growing. On Monday, during a confirmation hearing before the Senate Judiciary Committee, Sen. Sheldon Whitehouse asked Biden attorney general nominee Merrick Garland if he would not rule out investigation of funders, organizers, ringleaders, or aiders and abettors who were not present in the Capitol on Jan. 6. Garland responded that were he to be confirmed, his Department of Justice would pursue these leads wherever they take us.
What is your assessment of climate coverage at the moment? Is there any story that journalists are missing?



Climate change coverage has improved since the Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change released its 2018 special report on global warming. But that coverage still doesnt reflect the threat climate change poses. Were talking about a phenomenon that could result in the premature deaths or displacement of millions of people, along with the extinction of one-third of plant and animal life.

Thats not hyperbole. Thats just a scientific estimate. And were already seeing the beginnings of those impacts around the world: from wildfires in Australia and the Arctic Circle to heatwaves in Siberia and extreme rainfalls in Texas. By that measure, if newsworthiness means anything, climate change should be the number one story in the world today. But its not being treated that way in many too many places.



In your opinion, what is the nexus between climate change and coronavirus? What are the main similarities between the media coverage of the climate crisis and the pandemic?



Both these stories have demonstrated just how intractable the problem of misinformation and disinformation has become. The health of a democracy depends on citizens using shared sets of facts to make rational and empathetic decisions about the world around them. After all, if the facts cant change someones behaviour, then the only recourse to do so is force or faith - both of which are profoundly undemocratic. But climate change and the pandemic show too many people are making irrational and un-empathetic based on fictions. We see that in the anti-masking protests that have happened around the world. And we see that in our continued refusal to take personal and political action that is commensurate with the threat posed by climate change. And that should deeply concern journalists. After all, in a society that becomes unbound from the truth, what is our role?



Is there a lesson that journalists and media outlets can learn from COVID-19 in order to improve future coverage of climate-related issues? What would be your main advice to journalists covering the climate crisis during the pandemic?



In an emergency, the news media doesnt just provide the public with information about that disaster. They also provide the public with information about what they can do about it - how they can keep themselves and their loved ones safe. We resolve their feelings of uncertainty by telling them to move to higher ground when theres floods, stay indoors when theres wildfire smoke, or - in the case of the pandemic - social distance and wear a mask.

But we dont do that when we cover climate change. As a result, its not surprising when our audience tune out of that coverage. Its simply making them feel more uncertain and out of control in an already uncertain and uncontrollable world. So we need to help resolve those feelings by explicitly telling our audiences what they can do about climate change whenever we report on that phenomenon - from private to public action. This isnt about bias. This is about serving our audiences, providing them with the information they need during an emergency.



Journalists are always in a rush and audience attention is a finite resource. In a moment where the world faces simultaneous crises - health, economic, environmental - how can journalists and media include them in their stories so none of them is muted?



We have never been able to do this and I dont think we can. So, as journalists, we must use our best news judgement to determine whats the most important story for our audiences. Its the kind of triaging we do i newsrooms and on our beats every day. But the problem is we too often seem to diminish the importance of climate change. Perhaps its because we believe its one of those stories everyone already knows about, where theres nothing new to report on? So the challenge is to find new angles that havent been reported on. And the good news is theres lots of them. Thats because climate change isnt just an environmental story. Its a story that affects almost every beat we cover. And weve only just started to appreciate the implications of that.

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The attacks by bandits on communities in Kaduna continued on Sunday as a church and two houses were razed.

The Sunday attack occurred in Kikwari village, Kajuru Local Government Area, an official said.

Samuel Aruwan, the Kaduna commissioner for internal security, said a Holy Family Catholic Church and two houses were razed in the Sunday attack.

Earlier on Saturday, in an attack on a community in Igabi Local Government Area, bandits killed a man and his son and abducted many others.

The bandits, operating in groups, also abducted a number of persons, mostly women and children, Mr Aruwan had said of the Saturday incident.

Some of the kidnapped victims were, however, rescued by security operatives, he said.

There was no record of abduction in Sundays attack but buildings were set ablaze by the armed bandits.

Residents of the community reportedly fled the area on receiving information that some bandits were sighted outside the village.

On getting to the location the armed bandits set ablaze the place of worship and the two houses, Mr Aruwan said.

The commissioner said Governor Nasir El-Rufai has condemned the attack while commiserating with the entire community.

Mr El-Rufai empathized with the church and assured that the government under his watch would continue to work hard in the fight against banditry and other crimes, he added

The governor charged worshippers to remain strong in their faith and devotion, and see it as an act perpetrated by enemies of peace, humanity and diversity who will not succeed but will be defeated by the grace of God.

According to the commissioner, Mr El-Rufai has directed the Kaduna State Emergency Management Agency to urgently assess the damage done and take appropriate action.

Security agencies will sustain patrols in the area, he said

The attacks on Kaduna communities have continued despite the heavy deployment of security operatives to the state.

Kaduna, like many other states in the North-west and North-central, continues to suffer from attacks by the bandits who kill and kidnap at will as officials express divergent views on how to address the problem.

While Governor Bello Matawalle of Zamfara State calls for dialogue with the bandits, his Kaduna counterpart, Mr El-Rufai says the bandits should be treated as criminals and the State should use maximum force to deal with them.
Keelung migrant fishermen form union, second of its kind in Taiwan

February 22,2021 | Source: The News Lens

The Keelung Migrant Fishermens Union is the second migrant fishermens union to gain legal status in Taiwan, after cases of abuse against Southeast Asian migrant fishermen came to public attention.



A group of about thirty people packed inside an Indonesian restaurant in downtown Keelung on an unseasonably warm and sun-soaked Sunday morning before the Lunar New Year holiday. The group, consisting of Indonesian migrant workers, Taiwanese activists, local government officials, and cultural and education workers, gathered to inaugurate the Keelung Migrant Fishermens Union (KMFU).



Headquartered at Secretary General Mei-hua Lees restaurant, the KMFU is the second migrant fishermens union to gain legal status in Taiwan after the Yilan Migrant Fishermens Union (YMFU) in 2013.



The formation of the KMFU is the most recent milestone in an ongoing struggle with exploitative working conditions in Taiwans US$2 billion fishing industry. The issue has been well documented by mainstream media, but the government has yet to take aggressive action to protect migrant fishermen.



But the Taiwanese government hastily responded when the European Union slapped a yellow card for illegal, unreported, and unregulated (IUU) fishing in 2015. The threat of sanctions in one of Taiwans major export markets pushed the government to adopt a set of legal reforms to regulate fishing practices in its distant water fisheries in 2017. These measures were largely perfunctory, however, and meant to placate international observers rather than end abusive industrial practices.



While the Taiwanese government worked furiously to rescind the EUs yellow card, cases of deadly physical violence and abuse o Southeast Asian migrant fishermen came to public attention. Supriyanto, an Indonesian migrant fisherman, died under suspicious circumstances after spending just four months at sea in 2015. YMFU members received word that Supriyanto had been repeatedly and viciously beaten prior to his death.



In 2016, the YMFU and the Environmental Justice Foundation (EJF) released shocking photographs and videos obtained through interviews with fellow crew members in Indonesia showing Supriyantos rapid deterioration in health and agonizing death. The evidence called into question the initial ruling of the death as an accident. After successfully forcing the local prosecutors office to reopen an investigation, the EJF and YMFU formed the Human Rights for Migrant Fishers coalition with a number of other labor and social movement organizations, demanding that the Taiwanese government address not only IUU fishing, but also labor and human rights violations.



The Human Rights for Migrant Fishers coalition consists of groups focused on advocacy and service such as the YMFU, Serve the People Association, and the Taiwan International Workers Association, as well as groups focused on research and lobbying such as the EJF, Taiwan Association for Human Rights, and Greenpeace Taiwan. Coalition members and faith-based organizations such as the Rerum Novarum Center, Stella Maris, and the Seamens/Fishermens Service Center have been instrumental in exposing exploitation and abuse aboard Taiwanese fishing vessels.



In Taiwan, employers and labor brokers are notorious for routinely deporting migrant workers who complain of degrading and dangerous living and working conditions. In 2018, local organizations played a key role in gathering evidence of inhumane labor conditions and health and safety violations aboard the Taiwanese-flagged Fu Sheng No. 11, the first ship detained under the International Labor Organizations Work in Fishing Convention No. 188.



Working with the American Institute in Taiwan, coalition members and human rights groups successfully lobbied the U.S. Department of Labor to include Taiwanese-caught fish on its List of Goods Produced by Child Labor or Forced Labor in 2020. The U.S. Customs and Border Patrol subsequently banned shipments from the Da Wang and Yu Long No. 2 for credible reports of forced labor based in part upon testimonies provided by the coalition.



The KMFU was officially recognized at the beginning of this calendar year after two tumultuous years.



The KMFU, composed of over one hundred members working at Zheng-bin, Badouzih, and Changtanli Harbors, joins the YMFU as the second labor union within the constellation of the Human Rights for Migrant Fishers coalition. The idea of establishing a new migrant labor union in Keelung originated in conversations between officials of the YMFU and Indonesian migrant workers based in northern Taiwan.



In Taiwan, unionizing migrant workers involves a series of challenges. For example, union organizers often encounter difficulties recruiting members whom the organization seeks to protect.



For one thing, KMFUs membership is restricted to migrant fishermen employed in Keelung. Allison Lee, YMFUs Secretary General (no relation to KMFU Secretary General Mei-hua Lee), said the exclusion of migrant workers from the union due to their place of residence created tensions in the group and hampered the organizing drive.



Two of the most active leaders of the Indonesian fishermen community in Taiwan were barred from joining the union because of these restrictions. It was a real problem. We tried to make the union for seafarers, but the local government said this wasnt a valid occupation. Then we found out that people from Shenao [Harbor] couldn't join. It caused a lot of trouble. Many people left and we had to keep starting all over, said Mei-hua Lee.



Indonesia, Vietnam, and the Philippines are the main sources of migrant fishermen for Taiwan. Although fishermen gained the right to unionize in 2011, they are denied a wide range of basic protections, as other migrant workers are. Employed in one of the most dangerous industries in the world, these migrant fishermen tend to turn to hometown associations and faith-based organizations for help.



Frustrating as it is, Lee spoke of how forming a union with the Indonesian fishermen community proved to be rewarding. She said, A lot of people didnt believe that we could do it. I almost gave up too, but there were others who said that we really need a union. So we kept talking with people and collecting signatures and documents.



At the heart of the KMFUs success is a belief in the capacity of the union as a vehicle for challenging routine labor rights violations. President Tori Hartono pointed to the unions institutional power to pressure employers and labor brokers to obey the law as a key element of supporting migrant fishermen.



Asked about her next steps, the KMFU Secretary General envisions strengthening relationships with local groups to advocate for the rights of union members and migrant fishermen more broadly.



Already, KMFU members have partnered with local high school students to spread awareness of the conditions of life and labor in the fishing industry. Lee hopes that it will benefit migrant fishermen by building a sense of community and shared humanity across the divisions of class, ethnicity, and nationality.

 2021 TNL Media Group

Theme(s): Communities and Organisations.
Metro Manila (CNN Philippines, February 22) Health Secretary Francisco Duque III on Monday expressed optimism that Metro Manila hospitals would be ready for a possible surge in COVID-19 cases should the capital region be placed under the more lenient modified general community quarantine.

So far tingin natin, kakayanin, kakayanin naman (We think they can do it), Duque said in an interview with CNN Philippines The Source. We will never be able to know until that situation actually evolves, whether the system is ready.

Well see. The important thing is we are nimble, we are agile, he added, noting that NCR can always revert to stricter measures, including implementation of localized lockdowns, if the data supports an escalation of restrictions.

According to Duque, Metro Manilas health care utilization rate for COVID-19 currently stands at 34%, which is perceived as low-risk.

Health experts and government officials have conflicting views on the proposal to place the entire Philippines under MGCQ as questions arise on how the country can effectively balance health and economic aspects amid the COVID-19 crisis.

Independent research group OCTA earlier warned that relaxing quarantine restrictions in Metro Manila will lead to a surge of up to 2,400 new cases per day by March 26, equaling its daily tally when the region was placed under modified enhanced community quarantine in August last year.

Duque expressed hope that this projected spike would not happen, saying that the country and local government units are now wiser and more effective in containing virus infections.

That was really terrible. But now were smarter. We know what can be or should be done, he said.

The health chief also underscored the importance of constantly monitoring metrics including the COVID-19 attack rate and health care capacity, which he stressed is an important data that guides the Inter-Agency Task Force in its quarantine recommendations.

Simultaneous approach

While a number of lawmakers and government officials, including Vice President Leni Robredo, questioned the idea to ease quarantine restrictions prior to the arrival of vaccines, Duque believes the country should maintain a broad and simultaneous approach when it comes to the pandemic response.

Dapat malawakan ang pamamaraan. Hindi mutually exclusive kung bakuna, bakuna muna, tapos magbubukas ng ekonomiya, Duque argued. Hindi, sabay sabay na nating gawin ito.

[Translation: We should have a broad approach. It shouldnt be mutually exclusive that when theres a vaccine, vaccine first, before we open the economy. We should do these simultaneously.]

Duque added the proposal to declare a nationwide MGCQ first floated by the National Economic and Development Authority in a bid to bounce back from economic losses will be the main agenda item during President Rodrigo Dutertes Cabinet meeting tonight.
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Paul and Mary Liz Stewart, founders of the Underground Railroad Education Center, want to set one thing straight: The Underground Railroad did not go under ground.

A lot of people still have the notion that it had something to do with tunnels and sneaking around at night, Paul said in a recent interview. In fact, freedom seekers traveled by day and took many different routes Northon foot, in wagons and by boat.

To reach the Capital Region, the most efficient mode of travel was via the Hudson River. This area was a junction point; some freedom seekers headed north to Montreal or spread out across the state and New England, while others settled in Hudson, Albany or Troy. Those who stayed are the focus of the Stewarts 20-plus years of study.

The couple, who are independent researchers and Scholars in Residence at Russell Sage College, share their findings and answer questions in a virtual talk on Thursday at 6 p.m., as part of the Hudson Area Librarys series of local history, curated by program director Brenda Shufelt. Titled People of Courage, People of Hope, Seekers of JusticeThe Underground Railroad Revisited, the talk will explore the work of the many 19th-century activists who called the Capitol Region home.

Among these were the Black abolitionists Harriet and Stephen Myers, leaders of the Vigilance Committee, which collected donations to support freedom seekers as they headed north to Canada. The Stewarts led a 15-year effort to restore their home in Albany, at 194 Livingston Ave., which is now on the National Register of Historic Places.

Harriet Tumban and Frederick Douglass are not the only characters in the story, Paul said. We wanted to tell the lesser-known stories of the Myers, William Henry Johnson, Lydia and Abigail Mott and the main characters in the Underground Railroad story, the fugitives.

Another long-held misconception that the Stewarts work refutes is the idea that once freedom seekers arrived in the North, their problems were over.

The standard canon paints the Northern states as lovely places where life was good and everybody was safe and happy, and the reality was so different, Mary Liz said. Federal laws allowed for the pursuit and apprehension of people who (enslavers) claimed had escaped, and those claims were not always based on facts. So even though Stephen Myers was given legal freedom in 1818, as a free man of color he was still liable to be apprehended and put into conditions of enslavement.

New York state was the second to last of the Northern states to abolish slavery, in 1827, she said, and still had a vested interest in supporting the institution for the benefit of New York state businesses who profited from itranging from insurance carriers to companies that made clothes

and farming implements used by enslaved people in the South. Along with the fear of being captured and returned to enslavement, freedom seekers often had difficulty finding jobs and housing.

Harriet Myers referenced this state of affairs in a letter that is one of the many original documents the Stewarts sourced in their research. She writes, The prejudice against our people grows stronger every day, Mary Liz said. This is in the state of New York, supposedly a free state, and yet she recognizes and writes (this statement). The letter opens a window into the role of women in activism, and also reminds us that life was not a bed of roses here.

Perhaps the most impactful aspect of the Stewarts research, which they share with young people through their Young Abolitionist Leadership Institute, is how it relates to activism today. Black abolitionists, they note, not only strategized on how to abolish the institution of slavery, they also attempted to address issues of equity in housing, voting rights, healthcare, jobs and educationissues that have not gone away.

The legacy of the Underground Railroad movement is one that emphasizes the fact that local people can make the commitment to work together for equity and justice, Mary Liz said. There is a history of people working together in a movement led by people of color, working with white allies, to change systemic situations.

***

Information

When: 67:30 p.m. Thursday [Feb. 25] via Zoom Info: 828-1792 ext. 106, https://hudsonarealibrary.org or brenda.shufelt@hudsonarealibr
Source: Xinhua| 2021-02-23 00:48:00|Editor: huaxia

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KATHMANDU, Feb. 22 (Xinhua) -- Nepal on Monday initiated the testing process of the tunnel for the country's largest drinking water project, a senior official of the project office said.

Water Supply Minister Mani Chandra Thapa on Monday inaugurated the testing process by releasing water into the tunnel of the Melamchi Drinking Water Project after the Chinese contractor Sinohydro Corporation Limited completed digging the tunnel.

The project office said it would take around 17 days for the 27.5-km tunnel to be fully filled with water and then the tunnel will be in a full-load state for two months to see if there is any leakage or other problems.

"If no problem is seen in the tunnel during the testing process, the Kathmandu Valley will get water from the project after two months," Rajendra Pant, spokesperson at the Melamchi Water Supply Development Board, an implementing agency of the project, told Xinhua on Monday.

The existing sources of water available in the Kathmandu Valley are insufficient to meet the rising demand with growing population. The drinking water project was launched in 2000 in a bid to address the shortage of water.

As per the population census of 2011, the population of Kathmandu Valley is around 2.5 million and the population is estimated to have grown much higher now.

The project aims to supply 170 million litres of fresh water per day. Together with available water supply, the commissioning of the Melamchi project is expected to largely relieve the water shortage in the valley, Nepali officials said.

The project was delayed due to a number of factors including the devastating earthquake in 2015.

In September 2019, Sinohydro was awarded a contract of completing the remaining works of both tunnel and the headworks.

"The Chinese contractor was doing most of the work as per the schedule. But, the COVID-19 pandemic affected the works to some extent as some construction materials could not be arranged during the lockdown imposed in early last year to tackle the pandemic and technical human resources could not be brought from China," said Pant.

The tunnel work was supposed to be completed in October last year. Most of the works of headworks will be completed by April, according to Pant. Enditem
WHHS senior is named high school journalist of the year

Sarah Monoson

West Henderson High School senior Sarah Monoson has been named the 2021 Rachel Rivers-Coffey North Carolina High School Journalist of the Year, the North Carolina Scholastic Media Association announced.



Monoson is the co-editor-in-chief of the West Henderson school newspaper, Wingspan. Judges noted her clarity and expressiveness in writing and design, as well as the quality and variety of sourcing.

Alternates for Journalist of the Year were Cassie Honeycutt of First Flight High School in Kill Devil Hills, Ella Sullivan of Northwood High School in Pittsboro and Tierney Reardon of J.H. Rose High School in Greenville.

Honeycutt is the co-editor-in-chief of her schools newspaper, Nighthawk News Magazine; Sullivan is the co-editor-in-chief of her school newspaper, The Northwood Omniscient; and Reardon is the co-editor-in-chief of her school newspaper, Rampant Lines.

Since 2001, the North Carolina Press Foundation (NCPF) has funded the annual scholarship award in memory of Rachel Rivers-Coffey, former N.C. Press Association president.

NCPF will award a $3,000 scholarship to Monoson. The three alternates will each receive $1,000.

The foundation will also award grants to the winners journalism programs. West High will receive $500. The three alternates programs will each receive $250.

Monoson will now represent the state in the National High School Journalist of the Year scholarship competition. Winners will be announced virtually at the National High School Journalism Convention.

The Rivers-Coffey state scholarships and awards will be presented during the N.C. Scholastic Media Institute, a summer journalism workshop open to students and teachers across the state.




Some of the bandits who carried out the abduction have become media celebrities. Kagara is an expected consequence of Kankara. If Kagara goes the way of Kankara, the stage is set to deify armed banditry in Nigeria and tacitly give it consent as an industry.

The recent abduction of 27 pupils and 15 workers of Government Science College, Kagara, Niger State by armed bandits is another demonstration of the dilapidated state of security in Nigeria and the Nigerian states failure to secure the lives and ensure the safety of her citizens. According to news reports, the bandits have demanded N500 million to release the abducted students and workers held in a forest that connects Kebbi, Zamfara, Niger and the Kaduna States. Kaduna-based Islamic cleric, Ahmad Gumi is said to be negotiating with the bandits. Niger State Governor Abubakar Bello Sani has vowed to do everything within his powers to ensure the students are released unhurt.

This incident comes on the heels of the heinous abduction of about 400 students of government secondary school, Kankara, Katsina State, by bandits last December. Many Nigerians scoffed at government claims that it did not pay any ransom for the release of the Kankara boys.

Interestingly, there is no record of any official inquest, arrest or prosecution relating to the Kankara incident. Some of the bandits who carried out the abduction have become media celebrities. Kagara is an expected consequence of Kankara. If Kagara goes the way of Kankara, the stage is set to deify armed banditry in Nigeria and tacitly give it consent as an industry.

Northern Nigeria, especially the North-West, which used to be the bastion of security and stability, has been hit hard by rural banditry, becoming a more significant security threat to the country than the Boko Haram insurgency. While terrorists seem more organised and carry out well coordinated attacks, bandits are a loose bunch of armed criminals operating on an incredible expanse of territory. They attack villagers daily and keep tens of millions of Nigerians in perpetual fear and angst. About 21 million Nigerians living in Zamfara, Kaduna, Niger, Sokoto, Kebbi and the Katsina States are exposed to insecurity from the activities of bandits.

The incidents of banditry in North-West Nigeria began as a crop farmer/herder conflict in 2011. It intensified between 2017 to 2018 to include cattle rustling, kidnapping for ransom, sexual violence, and mass murder. Innocent Nigerians are currently bearing the scourge of banditry in about 35 out of 92 local government areas in five states.

The problem further exacerbated with the discovery of gold mines, which brought about illegal miners competing to control gold reserves. According to a news report, by March 2020, more than 210,000 people had been internally displaced from their communities by the bandits. Since this instance of insecurity began, more than 35,000 people have crossed communal borders to Maradi in the Niger Republic seeking refuge.

The bandits are very deadly too. According to the West Africa Network of Peacebuilding (WANEP), from January to December 2019, armed bandits were responsible for more than 1,000 civilian deaths in the North-West. This figure is more than that of civilians killed by Boko Haram over the same period (though not more than those killed in all, including soldiers and Boko Haram members). In the last decade, more than 8,000 people were murdered in the states of Kebbi, Sokoto, Niger and Zamfara, according to the International Crisis Group.

The armed bandits of North-Western Nigeria are hardened criminals taking advantage of geography, illegal mining, inadequate security, ungoverned spaces, and small arms proliferation. The situation is also related to the vexatious farmer-herder imbroglio.

In Nigerias North-West, we have a vast, rugged, and hazardous terrain grossly under-policed. Some of the forests in this area run alongside the various porous borderlines on the regions frontiers. The borders are poorly demarcated, unsecured and thus not well-governed. Consequently, there is an abundance of nefarious activities in the region, often facilitated by criminal syndicates.

Most of the countrys poorly governed rural communities, with little or no government presence, are remote. In most of these places, houses are separated by and interspersed with forest areas. This fact renders them vulnerable to banditry, and the situation is made worse by the absence of useful community policing mechanisms capable of addressing the hinterlands peculiar security challenges.

When criminals get public recognition and some leaders try to justify or pamper their odious behaviour and possibly reward them financially, as the government allegedly did over the kankara incident, they get more brazen and try to hold the country to ransom.

Some bandit attacks are rooted in decades-long competition over resources between herders and crop farming communities. The nomadic herders sometimes get into deadly clashes with farmers, which lead to the formation of armed self-help groups, called vigilantes, by both the crop farmers and herders for protection.

In some instances, these herders, initially armed to protect their cattle, often use their guns and ammunition for criminal activities, especially kidnapping, which is more lucrative than herding. While a big cow can fetch about N200,000 in the market, one successful kidnapping can fetch tens of millions of naira. This is the economic incentive for banditry.

Allegedly, the bandits based in North-West forests are the latest to join Nigerias lucrative kidnap-for-ransom industry and are the most daring in their operations. Kidnapping for ransom is widespread in Nigeria, but the bandits seem to have redefined it. Between 2017 and 2018, they organised themselves into more than 20 different groups that perpetrated more than ten daily kidnappings in the central road connecting Abuja and Kaduna. Since last year, they rose to another level, targeting schools and abducting students. They draw local and international attention as they negotiate with government authorities for the release of their abductees.

Last year, their crass brazenness became apparent when they attacked President Buharis home state of Katsina, just as the president was visiting for a vacation. They had already killed more than 100 people in Katsina in attacks between April and June 2020.

The Kagara incident and prevalence of rural banditry in North-West Nigeria raises fundamental questions about the governments ability to govern effectively. The state security machinery has so far failed to tackle the scourge of banditry. At the same time, it is understandable that the prevailing socio-economic and existential conditions in North-Western Nigeria complicate the areas security situation. Some Nigerians assume that the government is waving a white flag in the face of the criminal activities of bandits.

I suggest that the Federal Government should adopt a kind of carrot-and-stick approach to bringing the problem of banditry to an end. On the carrot side, there should be a recognition that some of the factors leading to banditry include youth unemployment, poverty, and inequality. The government should strive to build trust with local communities by addressing the structural inequalities that drive people to violence, such as poverty, the lack of education and opportunity, and government ineptitude at various levels.

This solution will only work when government ensures that critical infrastructure like roads, clean water, schools, and hospitals are in the local communities. Those who genuinely want to thrive should have the opportunity to do so.

On the stick side, the government must decisively deal with bandits. Criminality is unlawful and should be treated according to the provisions of our laws. The crucial issue is the reassertion of the supremacy of the Nigerian state in the control of the power of coercion. Sovereign power should never be shared with non-state actors.

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In 2019, the governors of Katsina, Sokoto, and the Zamfara States agreed on a peace deal with armed bandits, which involved disarmament, the release of kidnapped victims, and an amnesty for them. A Northern State governor shocked many Nigerians when he appeared in a photo standing next to a bandit wielding an AK-47 rifle, and justified the deal by stating that negotiation was the best way to achieve lasting peace. Expectedly, the agreement did not survive as the bandits reneged on the terms of the contract.

The bandits are simply criminals taking advantage of our security and institutional failures to terrorise the populace and enrich themselves in the process. They should not be treated with kid gloves. When criminals get public recognition and some leaders try to justify or pamper their odious behaviour and possibly reward them financially, as the government allegedly did over the kankara incident, they get more brazen and try to hold the country to ransom.

The Federal Government must coordinate this security effort efficiently, and all leaders, including opposition party leaders, must work together to improve the situation. This is not the time to score cheap political points whilst our country burns. We must save our country from this tragedy. We must save ourselves from ourselves!

Most criminals lack moral compulsion and negotiating with them is useless, as they are not known to keep to agreements. It is always dangerous to allow kidnappers of innocent school children to glamourise their evil deeds, as it has been happening recently. This inspires other wannabe abductors to plan and execute the next despicable soap opera, whereby a part of the actors (bandits) gets money and fame. The other part (victims and their families) lives a life of pain and anguish.

Some bandits have sponsors and collaborators in low and high places. They should be exposed and prosecuted accordingly.

More coordinated efforts by local authorities and security forces are needed to curtail banditry. This also brings to the table the question of state police. The affected state governments should forge a common front in dealing with the problem. The Federal Government should put in place forceful inland and frontier policing to deal with the peculiar circumstances of various borderlines, forestlands, and the North-Wests hinterlands.

The governments current counter-banditry effort has not been impactful because of the operational challenges arising from insufficient knowledge of the terrain. It is essential to engage local vigilantes and community watch groups who understand the terrain better.

What is required is a tactical synergy between grassroots vigilantes and the state security operatives. The bandits are a transnational syndicate of renegade nomads who know the forest very well. No amount of military deployment can check their activities without the involvement of locals through vigilantes. The vigilantes are the ones who know the terrain and the people and would know when bandits are around the corner.

Vigilantes should undergo rigorous training and be under constant supervision to guard against their possible excesses and abuse. Overall, emphasis should be put on grassroots policing, enriched by local personnel and intelligence.

The Civilian Joint Task Force, which comprises local vigilantes and volunteer neighbourhood watchers, has been useful in combating the Boko Haram insurgency in the lower Lake Chad Basin. This fact shows community policings possible value and should be modified and deployed to tackle armed banditry and herder issues.

Nigeria must secure its borders. Some of the bandits are from neighbouring countries. It is a well-known fact that our borders are porous, and the vast forest reserves in the border regions have become operational bases for bandits.

Nigerians expect the government to solve the insecurity problem. Although citizens have their role to play, the bulk of the responsibility to provide security stops at the table of government (the executive, legislature, and judiciary). With the appointment of new service chiefs, Nigerians expect an improvement in national security and will not accept anything less. The governments farce of claims and counterclaims of the release of kidnap victims harms its reputation. Progress report is needed, now more than ever, to calm the frayed nerves of Nigerians.

I urge the executive and legislative arms of government to call for a war against insecurity. They must channel adequate resources, both human and material, to end this scourge. The Federal Government must coordinate this security effort efficiently, and all leaders, including opposition party leaders, must work together to improve the situation. This is not the time to score cheap political points whilst our country burns. We must save our country from this tragedy. We must save ourselves from ourselves!

Dakuku Peterside is a policy and leadership expert.

Following its annual board meeting this month, Lee Universitys Board of Directors has awarded tenure to five faculty members. The new tenured faculty members are Dr. Joseph Daft, Dr. Rebecca Hergert, Jordan Holt, Dr. Christopher Stephenson, and Dr. Charlotte Webb.

Dr. Daft joined Lees College of Arts and Sciences as an assistant professor of biology and health science in 2015. He teaches courses in health science, microbiology, and anatomy. Dr. Daft earned a Doctor of Philosophy (PhD) in pathology with a focus on diabetes-based pathology and immunology from the University of Alabama at Birmingham (UAB) and his Bachelor of Science (BS) from Juniata College. While at UAB, Dr. Daft served as a graduate research assistant and teaching assistant. He has also been a research fellow at the University of Toledo and an adjunct professor at the University of Montevallo.



Dr. Hergert is an assistant professor of nursing and joined Lees School of Nursing faculty in 2015. Prior to Lee, Dr. Hergert taught at Tennessee College of Applied Technology (TCAT), where she was also a clinical nurse for the Henry County Medical Center in Paris, Tennessee. Dr. Hergert is a certified nurse educator with the National League of Nursing and recently passed her exam to become a diplomat from the American College of Lifestyle Medicine. Dr. Hergert earned her Doctor of Nursing Practice (DNP) from Southern Adventist University and her Master of Science in Nursing Education (MSN) and Bachelor of Science in Nursing (BSN) from Western Governors University.

Mr. Holt joined Lee University as an assistant professor of graphic design in 2015, where he teaches courses in graphic design, illustration, art history, and theory, along with advising students. Prior to joining Lee, Mr. Holt served in a variety of commercial and non-profit graphic design and currently maintains a freelance illustration business. Mr. Holt received his Master of Fine Arts in illustration from Academy of Art University and his BS from Lee University.

Dr. Stephenson joined Lees full-time faculty as an assistant professor of systematic theology in 2012 after serving four years as a part-time lecturer in the School of Religion. Along with teaching theology courses at Lee, Dr. Stephenson is an internationally recognized scholar of Pentecostalism and ecumenism. He is the author of Types of Pentecostal Theology: Method, System, Spirit, and his current research includes a monograph with Oxford University Press, tentatively titled Redeeming Rituals: Baptism and Lords Supper in Pneumatological Perspective. He earned his PhD in theology and ethics from Marquette University and his Master of Arts and Bachelor of Arts from Lee University.

Dr. Webb, the associate dean of the School of Nursing, joined Lees full-time faculty as an assistant professor of nursing in 2015. Prior to Lee, she was an associate professor of nursing at Chattanooga State Community College and an adjunct professor for East Tennessee State University School of Nursing. As a member of several nursing professional affiliations, she has made numerous presentations regarding medication safety, nursing education, and faculty mentoring. Dr. Webb earned her DNP from University of Tennessee, Knoxville, her Master of Science in Nursing from Southern Adventist University, and her BSN from University of Tennessee at Chattanooga.
CCP Narrative Doesnt Represent the Chinese People and Is Repeated by Biden: Gen. Robert Spalding

The Chinese Communist Party (CCP) manages the narrative that it represents the people of China and the nation, but in fact, it only functions for a few leaders within the regime, said Gen. Robert Spalding, a former senior strategist in the Trump administrations National Security Council, and retired Air Brigadier General.

Spalding gave his insight into the CCPs operations and influence in an interview with NTDs Focus Talk.

Spalding is also a leading expert on China and the author of Stealth War: How China Took Over While Americas Elite Slept.

The expert on China said in the interview that President Joe Biden repeated the CCP narrative in a recent speech at the CNN Town Hall.

He also mentioned that under the Trump administration, Americans were able to see what the CCP really was, and people on both sides have woken up.

President Donald Trump returns to the White House in Washington on March 25, 2018. (Samira Bouaou/The Epoch Times)

President Biden was repeating essentially the narrative that the Chinese Communist Party has created about China. And that is whatever the Chinese Communist Party says about China is really the reality when, in truth, they have created this narrative to basically serve their own ends, Spalding said in regards to the controversial speech about the Chinese cultural norms applied to Uyghur concentration camps.

The NTD host started off by asking him about his realization of the increasingly apparent transgressions of the CCP.

Its very interesting because I lived in China from 2002 to 2004. I didnt know anything about the government or the Party. I got to know the people, I traveled to the country, I spoke the language. It was really a wonderful experience, Spalding said.

He wanted to go back and hadnt realized from his visit what the CCP was until he became involved with U.S. national security.

It wasnt until later, when I was involved in China foreign policy and national security policy, that I began to understand what the government was, and more particularly what the Chinese Communist Party was, he said.

It was then about 2014 as I was at the Pentagon advising the chairman of the Joint Chiefs on China that I began to change my view with regard to China.

Spalding noted that China had changed a lot since 2016 when he revisited the country. In the early 2000s, China was much more open after it had just entered the World Trade Organization.

Of course, the things that the Chinese Communist Party does to the people is really hidden from our outsiders view. But when I went back in 2016, it was a fundamentally different country, far tighter in terms of the repression [by] the government. People did not seem as enthused or happy, Spalding said.

They even had guards at the subway with automatic weapons, which really seemed odd to me.

The second time Spalding visited China, he was impressed by the digital surveillance that was not just in terms of the cameras around Beijing, but also in terms of how they use smartphones for everything and how the data within those smartphones was accessed by the government.

The host asked Spalding if he noted any changes in the United States related to the CCPs infiltration and aggression after Stealth War was published in late 2019.

It seemed that the Trump administration was beginning to create challenges for the Chinese Communist Party in terms of its influence over the American people, Spalding said.

He further explained how the CCP virus, which causes the COVID-19 disease, actually gave China an upper hand to reverse the confrontation of the Trump administration in various areas, in particular, the medical field.

But since the coronavirus, youve seen a reversal of that. I think that the Chinese Communist Party has actually accelerated its ability to influence societies through, of all things, the medical profession. So I was surprised at how pervasive the influence of the Chinese Communist Party was in medical institutions like the World Health Organization, our own Center for Disease Control, and the pharmaceutical industry.

It really was a shock to me how they were able to really change and really influence policy with regard to the coronavirus all over the world, in spite of the fact that in Taiwan, they had a completely different approach to the virus, [yet] no free societyeven given the fact that Taiwan is a democracyfollowed them.

The P4 laboratory (L) on the campus of the Wuhan Institute of Virology in Wuhan, Hubei Province, China, on May 27, 2020. (Hector Retamal/AFP via Getty Images)

The host then inquired about the reasons that allow for the CCP to be able to infiltrate so deeply in the United States.

Understanding how humans interact really helps us understand the power of the Chinese Communist Party. Humans are responsive to greed and fear, and the Chinese Communist Party uses both. They use [both] to influence our decisions. In fact, they use greed to influence nearly every institution in the West, whether they be our domestic institutions like academia, like the political system, like our corporate enterprises, like our financial enterprises, or internationally, like the United Nations or the World Trade Organization or World Health Organization, Spalding said.

The way they do that is by providing some kind of financial incentive or deal that in that brings in those elites of those institutions in ways that sometimes are very imperceptible. It may be a family member, it may be through an investment. It happens in so many ways. There is graft, there is straight bribery, but for the most part, its the Chinese Communist Party finding ways to help enrich the elites and free societies that really unlocks their loyalty, he said.

U.S. Vice President Joe Biden (R) and Chinese Vice-Chair Xi Jinping talk during an expanded bilateral meeting with other U.S. and Chinese officials in the Roosevelt Room at the White House in Washington on Feb. 14, 2012. (Chip Somodevilla/Getty Images)

Spalding concluded by saying that if Americans are able to thrive through seeking political reform starting at the grassroots level and then moving to the state and federal levelsif the reforms are successfulthey will create challenges to the idea that the Chinese model is one to emulate, and America would become a beacon for the world about what government system would be most suitable.

Ahmedabad: Counting of votes polled in elections to six municipal corporations of Gujarat, including major cities of Ahmedabad and Vadodara, will be held on Tuesday with all eyes on the performance of the BJP which is in power in these civic bodies, officials said on Monday.

The counting will start at 9 am.

Polling for 576 seats in 144 wards across six civic bodies - Ahmedabad, Surat, Rajkot, Vadodara, Bhavnagar and Jamnagar - was held on Sunday (February 21).

All these civic bodies are being currently ruled by the BJP.

"Designated staff would begin the counting of votes from 9 am on Tuesday at various counting centres in these six cities. People can watch live updates on our website," said MV Joshi, secretary, State Election Commission.

The State Election Commission (SEC) has said an average 46.08 per cent turnout was registered during voting which was held between 7 am and 6 pm on Sunday.

Ahmedabad recorded the lowest turnout of 42.51 per cent, while Jamnagar saw the highest turnout of 53.38 per cent, followed by 50.72 per cent in Rajkot, 49.46 per cent in Bhavnagar, 47.84 per cent in Vadodara and 47.14 per cent in Surat.

Of the total 1.14 crore voters registered in these major cities of Gujarat, 52.83 lakh had cast their ballots, the SEC said in a release.

Elections to 81 municipalities, 31 district panchayats and 231 taluka panchayats are scheduled on February 28.

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The issue of expanding and reinforcing the Russian military base in the Republic of Armenia has always been on the agenda and the Armenian side has always been interested in that, Harutiunian told the RIA Novosti news agency in an interview published on Monday.

Of course, the leadership of Russias Defense Ministry has taken into account existing military-political realities in the region and taken right steps towards strengthening and rearming the base, and Im sure that this is going to be a long-term process, he said without elaborating.

Harutiunian stressed that there is no need to open a second Russian base in Armenia. Its probably more correct to speak about the possibility of a redeployment of a detachment of the [existing] Russian base, given its expansion, to Armenias eastern direction, he said, adding that Moscow and Yerevan are already working on that.

Harutiunian referred to Armenias Syunik province bordering districts southwest of Karabakh which were retaken by Azerbaijan during and after the six-week war stopped by a Russian-brokered ceasefire on November 10. Russia deployed soldiers and border guards to the region to help the Armenian military defend it against possible Azerbaijani attacks.

Yerevan announced plans to further deepen Russian-Armenian military ties shortly after the war. Prime Minister Nikol Pashinian stated on New Years Eve that his country now needs new security guarantees. Pashinian reaffirmed those plans at a January 11 meeting in Moscow with Russian President Vladimir Putin.

Later in January, a delegation led by Colonel-General Sergei Istrakov, the deputy chief of the Russian militarys General Staff, visited Yerevan for nearly weeklong negotiations with the Armenian armys top brass.

Harutiunian told RIA Novosti that the talks were aimed at assisting us in the reform and modernization of Armenias armed forces. The two sides worked out concrete recommendations on how to modernize the Armenian army in the current circumstances, he said.

A very serious emphasis was put on the military-technical component of the matter, the minister added in reference to arms acquisitions.

Russian military officials are thus already involved in Armenian defense reforms in in the most direct way, he said.

Armenia has long received Russian weapons at knockdown prices and even for free thanks to its bilateral defense agreements with Russia and membership in the Russian-led Collective Security Treaty Organization.
Beyond barbecues and ceremonies: Recognizing Memorial Day

For many, Memorial Day weekend is about gathering with family and grilling or attending a parade. Some find a more personal way to honor the holiday.
Australia has joined France in pushing Internet giants like Google and Facebook to share their advertisement revenue with news outlets. It is time India did, too, to redress a situation in which Internet companies have been getting richer by the day for over two decades by selling advertising linked to news media reports but without having to pay a paisa. News outlets gather, curate, fact-check and validate news before publishing it while incurring recurring costs in paying reporters and editors. Big Tech has grown fat exploiting such content by routing it to Internet surfers while claiming it is doing a service by generating traffic for news websites.

Australia squeezed the hand of Big Tech for it to sign agreements to pay publishers. It was France that had shown the way two years ago. While Google fell in line, Facebook, which pays US media organisations, was defiant in trying to block users from viewing or sharing news Down Under before Zuckerberg realised the folly of such actions as Internet giants do not run any country. However seamlessly global the world market of Big Tech may seem outside of China, regulation still lies in the hands of governments and legislation as in France cannot be far away if governments act to support the media, as they must.

In the wake of the massive farmers strike, the Government of India may have been too busy intimidating the media and criminalising dissent to pay more attention to what Big Tech is doing to Indian media in completely ignoring its call for revenue sharing. Accuracy in news publishing is too important in the fight against fake news and harmful dissemination of dubious news. There is a move in Australia from the unions calling for any revenue shared by the Internet giants to go into newsrooms rather than board rooms. Long before we enter into such arguments, the government must first plan legislation to make online platforms pay news publishers, both print and online.
Amazon Quietly Removes Book Criticizing Transgender Ideology

Amazon has apparently removed from its offerings a book that discusses issues with transgender ideology. The author said he wasnt notified and the company has offered no explanation.

The book, When Harry Became Sally: Responding to the Transgender Moment by Ryan Anderson, was removed by Amazon around Feb. 21. The exact timing is hard to pinpoint since the author, who is president of the Washington-based think tank Ethics and Public Policy Center, only learned about the move when people informed him that they couldnt find the book in the online retailers inventory, he told the Daily Caller.

I hope youve already bought your copy, cause Amazon just removed my book When Harry Became Sally: Responding to the Transgender Moment from their cyber shelves, Anderson wrote in a Feb. 21 tweet.

As of the afternoon of Feb. 22, Amazons links to both the hard and electronic copies of the book result in error messages.

Published three years ago, the book argues that the push to encourage individuals who feel like a different gender to undergo sex-change procedures is driven by ideology rather than sound medical advice, according to Princeton University politics lecturer Matthew Franck, who reviewed it in 2018.

Ryan T. Anderson has written the definitive book on the transgender phenomenonranging across medicine, psychology, culture, sociology, law, and public policy, Franck said. In doing so, he may have saved the minds and bodiesindeed, the very livesof people he will never know.

Amazon didnt respond to a request by The Epoch Times for comment by press time.

The book disappeared around the same time Anderson published an op-ed in the New York Post critical of a bill pushed by the Biden administration that would insert sexual orientation and gender identity as protected categories under the Civil Rights Act of 1964.

The bill would act as a swordto persecute those who dont embrace newfangled gender ideologies, Anderson wrote. It would vitiate a sex binary that is quite literally written into our genetic code and is fundamental to many of our laws, not least laws protecting the equality, safety, and privacy of women.

Congress may act on the bill as early as this week.

Transgender ideology has become one of the focal points of far-left, progressive politics. It fits the model of the quasi-Marxist intersectional critical theories that divide society into oppressors and the oppressed, based on characteristics such as race and gender identity.

Last month, President Joe Biden signed an executive order tasking the government with redefining all its policies and regulations regarding discrimination based on sex to include gender identity.

The language of the order indicates that women-only sports, bathrooms, and locker rooms at federally funded institutions, such as schools, will have to be open to biological men who consider themselves female and vice versa. It also injects gender identity into the definition of sex discrimination in housing, workplace, and health care settings.

In progressive nomenclature, gender identity refers to a fluid concept that includes anything one identifies as at a given moment, based on subjective feelings.

About 2.1 percent of college students identify themselves as transgender, according to the spring 2020 National College Health Assessment survey (pdf). Only some 0.3 percent identify as transgender male-to-female or female-to-male. For the other 1.8 percent, the most popular gender identities were Non-binary, Genderfluid, Genderqueer, and My identity is not listed.

Online discussions between individuals who consider themselves one of the new genders indicate that their self-identification may change from day to day. Sometimes, they may consider themselves women, other times men, androgynous, or one of many other alternative genders.

Andersons case isnt the first time that Amazon appears to have engaged in censorship on this topic.

Last year, journalist Abigail Shrier said Amazon refused paid advertising for her book, Irreversible Damage: The Transgender Craze Seducing Our Daughters.

Amazon didnt respond to a previous request for comment on that decision.

In November 2020, Target removed Shriers book from its offerings after transgenderism activists complained about it online.

Target reversed the decision following public backlash.
Source: Xinhua| 2021-02-22 14:18:43|Editor: huaxia

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QUITO, Feb. 21 (Xinhua) -- Andres Arauz, Ecuador's leading presidential candidate, on Sunday called on the international community to be "vigilant" during the voting process for the second round of presidential elections on April 11.

"We call on the entire world to remain vigilant about what is happening in Ecuador (...) There are hidden intentions, with the interference of parts of the state in the electoral process," said Arauz in a virtual press conference.

The candidate from the progressive coalition Union for Hope, who won the highest number of votes in the first round of presidential elections held Feb. 7, made the remarks after lawyers from his political organization presented a complaint to the Contentious Electoral Tribunal.

The complaint said the Comptroller's Office and the State Attorney General's Office were attempting "to affect the second electoral round" through an audit of the computer system that has been used in the Feb. 7 elections.

"This is not a time to politicize electoral institutions," said the 36-year-old economist, who also served as Minister of Knowledge and Human Talent during the presidency of Rafael Correa.

Arauz, backed by Correa, obtained 32.72 percent of ballots, while center-right candidate Guillermo Lasso won 19.74 percent in the first round of vote. Ecuador's National Electoral Council announced on Sunday that the two will face off in April's run-off. Enditem
NASA's Swift helps tie neutrino to star-shredding black hole

For only the second time, astronomers have linked an elusive particle called a high-energy neutrino to an object outside our galaxy. Using ground- and space-based facilities, including NASA's Neil Gehrels Swift Observatory, they traced the neutrino to a black hole tearing apart a star, a rare cataclysmic occurrence called a tidal disruption event.

"Astrophysicists have long theorized that tidal disruptions could produce high-energy neutrinos, but this is the first time we've actually been able to connect them with observational evidence," said Robert Stein, a doctoral student at the German Electron-Synchrotron (DESY) research center in Zeuthen, Germany, and Humboldt University in Berlin. "But it seems like this particular event, called AT2019dsg, didn't generate the neutrino when or how we expected. It's helping us better understand how these phenomena work."

The findings, led by Stein, were published in the Feb. 22 issue of Nature Astronomy and are available online. Neutrinos are fundamental particles that far outnumber all the atoms in the universe but rarely interact with other matter. Astrophysicists are particularly interested in high-energy neutrinos, which have energies up to 1,000 times greater than those produced by the most powerful particle colliders on Earth. They think the most extreme events in the universe, like violent galactic outbursts, accelerate particles to nearly the speed of light. Those particles then collide with light or other particles to generate high-energy neutrinos. The first confirmed high-energy neutrino source, announced in 2018, was a type of active galaxy called a blazar.

Tidal disruption events occur when an unlucky star strays too close to a black hole. Gravitational forces create intense tides that break the star apart into a stream of gas. The trailing part of the stream escapes the system, while the leading part swings back around, surrounding the black hole with a disk of debris. In some cases, the black hole launches fast-moving particle jets. Scientists hypothesized that tidal disruptions would produce high-energy neutrinos within such particle jets. They also expected the events would produce neutrinos early in their evolution, at peak brightness, whatever the particles' production process.

AT2019dsg was discovered on April 9, 2019, by the Zwicky Transient Facility (ZTF), a robotic camera at Caltech's Palomar Observatory in Southern California. The event occurred over 690 million light-years away in a galaxy called 2MASX J20570298+1412165, located in the constellation Delphinus.

As part of a routine follow-up survey of tidal disruptions, Stein and his team requested visible, ultraviolet, and X-ray observations with Swift. They also took X-ray measurements using the European Space Agency's XMM-Newton satellite and radio measurements with facilities including the National Radio Astronomy Observatory's Karl G. Jansky Very Large Array in Socorro, New Mexico, and the South African Radio Astronomy Observatory's MeerKAT telescope.

Peak brightness came and went in May. No clear jet appeared. According to theoretical predictions, AT2019dsg was looking like a poor neutrino candidate.

Then, on Oct. 1, 2019, the National Science Foundation's IceCube Neutrino Observatory at the Amundsen-Scott South Pole Station in Antarctica detected a high-energy neutrino called IC191001A and backtracked along its trajectory to a location in the sky. About seven hours later, ZTF noted that this same patch of sky included AT2019dsg. Stein and his team think there is only one chance in 500 that the tidal disruption is not the neutrino's source. Because the detection came about five months after the event reached peak brightness, it raises questions about when and how these occurrences produce neutrinos.

"Tidal disruption events are incredibly rare phenomena, only occurring once every 10,000 to 100,000 years in a large galaxy like our own. Astronomers have only observed a few dozen at this point," said Swift Principal Investigator S. Bradley Cenko at NASA's Goddard Space Flight Center in Greenbelt, Maryland. "Multiwavelength measurements of each event help us learn more about them as a class, so AT2019dsg was of great interest even without an initial neutrino detection."

For example, tidal disruptions generate visible and UV light in the outer regions of their hot accretion disks. In AT2019dsg, these wavelengths plateaued shortly after they peaked. That was unusual because such plateaus typically appear only after a few years. The researchers suspect the galaxy's monster black hole, with a mass estimated at 30 million times the Sun's, could have forced the stellar debris to settle into a disk more quickly than it might have around a less massive black hole.

AT2019dsg is one of only a handful of known X-ray-emitting tidal disruptions. Scientists think the X-rays come from either the inner part of the accretion disk, close to the black hole, or from high-speed particle jets. The outburst's X-rays faded by an unprecedented 98% over 160 days. Stein's team doesn't see clear evidence indicating the presence of jets and instead suggests rapid cooling in the disk most likely explains the precipitous drop in X-rays.

Not everyone agrees with this analysis. Another explanation, authored by DESY's Walter Winter and Cecilia Lunardini, a professor at Arizona State University in Tempe, proposes that the emission came from a jet that was swiftly obscured by a cloud of debris. The researchers published their alternative interpretation in the same issue of Nature Astronomy.

Astronomers think radio emission in these phenomena comes from the black hole accelerating particles, either in jets or more moderate outflows. Stein's team thinks AT2019dsg falls into the latter category. The scientists also discovered that the radio emission continued steadily for months and did not fade along with the visible and UV light, as previously assumed.

The neutrino detection, combined with the multiwavelength measurements, prompted Stein and his colleagues to rethink how tidal disruptions might produce high-energy neutrinos.

The radio emission shows that particle acceleration happens even without clear, powerful jets and can operate well after peak UV and visible brightness. Stein and his colleagues suggest those accelerated particles could produce neutrinos in three distinct regions of the tidal disruption: in the outer disk through collisions with UV light, in the inner disk through collisions with X-rays, and in the moderate outflow of particles through collisions with other particles.

Stein's team suggests AT2019dsg's neutrino likely originated from the UV-bright outer part of the disk, based on the fact that the particle's energy was more than 10 times greater than can be achieved by particle colliders.

"We predicted that neutrinos and tidal disruptions could be related, and seeing that for the first time in the data is just very exciting," said co-author Sjoert van Velzen, an assistant professor at Leiden University in the Netherlands. "This is another example of the power of multimessenger astronomy, using a combination of light, particles, and space-time ripples to learn more about the cosmos. When I was a graduate student, it was often predicted this new era of astronomy was coming, but now to actually be part of it is very rewarding."

###

Goddard manages the Swift mission in collaboration with Penn State, the Los Alamos National Laboratory in New Mexico, and Northrop Grumman Innovation Systems in Dulles, Virginia. Other partners include the University of Leicester and Mullard Space Science Laboratory in the United Kingdom, Brera Observatory, and the Italian Space Agency in Italy.

By Jeanette Kazmierczak

NASA's Goddard Space Flight Center, Greenbelt, Md.

This story has been published on: 2021-02-22. To contact the author, please use the contact details within the article.
Armenia Investigative Committee: Fatal road accident, criminal case opened

Armenia deputy FM submits resignation

Chinese authorities allow families to have 3 children

Dollar devalues in Armenia

Stepanakert: Azerbaijan creates bridgeheads for pressure on Karabakh, expansion towards Armenia

Sergey Lavrov says Russia is ready to disconnect SWIFT

Armenia MFA spokesperson resigns

Republican Party of Armenia Vice-President: Our ratings are growing, but we have greater pretensions

Armenia acting PM's spokesperson responds to ex-FM

Armenia parliament majority leader: Refusing to debate with acting PM is manifestation of low self-confidence

Armenia State Revenue Committee, US Department of Justice sign Memorandum of Cooperation

Vardevanyan: Attempts made to create false grounds for obstructing Armenia bloc election offices legal activities

Lavrov says Russia is ready to resume dialogue with NATO

Armenia opposition MP on FM's resignation

India records lowest increase in COVID-19 cases in 50 days

Bright Armenia faction in parliament: No response to acting PM's proposal to deploy observers along Azerbaijan border

Ruling bloc MP: Acting premiers proposal does not limit Armenia in terms of cooperation with CSTO

Acting PM is proud of Armenian servicemens heroism, says parliament majority leader

Parliament majority leader: No border delimitation unless Azerbaijan army units leave Armenia territory

Outgoing Armenia acting FM opens brackets: My decision of resignation was conditioned by that very reason

Harutyunyan, Shoygu discuss tension on Armenia-Azerbaijan border

Iranian MFA says US has not imported oil from country since Clinton era

Court hearing on appeal against decision to drop March 2008 Yerevan tragedy case is rescheduled

Missing soldiers relatives block Yerevan street

Parliament majority leader: Armenia acting FM did not object, at Security Council meeting, to new document

Armenia Police: 2,581,093 people on voters list

Bright Armenia faction of parliament: No corridor through the country should be provided to Azerbaijan

Analyst: Armenia acting PM Pashinyan gave self-confessed testimony

Armenia national security finds about 1 kg of opium, detains Iran citizen driver and 2 others

182 hearing aids and 2 buses by benefactor Mikayel Vardanyan for students of Special Educational Complex

34 new cases of COVID-19 confirmed in Armenia

Updated voters list is posted on Armenia central election commission website

Armenia authorities provide considerable amount of subsidies ahead of snap parliamentary elections

World oil prices on the rise

MP explains his not being on Bright Armenia Party electoral list

UK new flagship set to be named after the late Prince Philip

US man who said he shot neighbor over loud music found guilty of attempted murder

Lamborghini company to be sold for $11.5bn?

China spacecraft docks with future space station

Lawyer: Armenia acting PM Pashinyan grossly abuses administrative resources during Lori Province visit

UN urges to investigate escalation of violence in Colombia

Malaysia to open mega-centers for vaccination against coronavirus

Police find  5 million in cash in London apartment

French citizen to face trial in Iran on spaying charges

Over 60 children in UK undergo surgery due to TikTok challenge

Iranian Central Bank governor dismissed

Armenian opposition: The one who liberated Artsakh will not go to debates with the one who sold it

Iranian energy ministry: Iraq to allocate $ 125 million of frozen funds for vaccines

No new COVID-19 cases reported in Artsakh

Iran and Iraq to intensify cooperation and are ready for joint investment projects

Armenia ex-PM says at least 2 more secret documents signed but not published yet

Indonesia frees Iranian tanker 4 months later

Mortar shelling in Afghanistan kills at least 10 civilians

Fire breaks out at West Virginia oil refinery in US

Second President of Armenia meets with residents of Ararat province

Iran ready to help improve the defense capability of Syria

Armenian acting PM invites ex-presidents for debates

European Parliament head proposes to strengthen sanctions on Russia

UK PM gets married in London

Armenia reports COVID-19 new 81 cases: 4 people die

EU countries invite US to issue joint statement against Russia

2 people die in Armenia road accident

Nigeria: Students taken hostage a month ago are released

61 quakes recorded in Congo per day

Syrian MFA: EU lost credibility due to blind obedience to US policy

Armenia ex-minister of emergency situations hospitalized with heart attack

Mher Grigoryan: Clarification of border points is possible only after withdrawal of Azerbaijani troops from Armenia

Suspicious deal: Whether there was profit from buying DNA IDs?

Armenia ex-president says current authorities are trying to blame Russia for defeat in war

4 people killed in Afghanistani bus attack

Robert Kocharyan: This war could not have happened, it was a consequence of the policy of the authorities

Kocharyan: I have to ask people how it happened that overwhelming majority elected this leader

Armen Gevorgyan presents 'Armenia' bloc program: We offer the concept of a working country

Biden's administration proposed to leave unchanged amount of financial support to Armenia

US Embassy in Baku calls on Azerbaijan to immediately release Armenian POWs

Luxembourg MFA calls on Azerbaijan to immediately release all Armenian prisoners

Russia peacekeepers climb to Armenia Gegharkunik Province village positions

Biden strongly condemns manifestations of antisemitism in US

Iran intensifies its diplomacy amid Armenia-Azerbaijan border tensions

Armenia acting PM on forthcoming snap parliamentary elections: We hope to get 60% of votes
Kerala: Fishermen to intensify protests

February 22,2021 | Source: The Times of India

In a show of strength, traditional fishermen unions and boat owners associations joined hands with peoples representatives to take their battle against the government decision on the signing of MoU with an American company for the fisheries sector. They formed an umbrella forum, Matsya Mekhela Samrakshana Samithi, to spearhead the agitations next week which will culminate in a coastal hartal on Feb 27. On Monday, we will stage a protest in front of the KSINC (Kerala Shipping and Inland Navigation Corporation) office in Kochi and march to the fisheries ministers residence at Thiruvananthapuram, said Charles George, general convenor of the Samithi. MPs Hibi Eden, and T N Prathapan were also present at a meeting held in Kochi on Saturday to discuss the issue. Fishermen unions have in the last few weeks raised objections against the MoU signed between an American company EMCC International and KSINC for a Rs 2950 Cr project for the fishing sector. The project will include building 400 deep-sea fishing trawlers and port development activities in Kerala. Currently, foreign trawlers are more in use in the state making it one of the largest foreign investments in the state.



Meanwhile, KSINC in an official statement termed the controversy as regrettable. As a commercial entity in the shipping industry, we bag construction orders just like any builder or Shipyard does. Our company has an untarnished reputation as a trustworthy vessel builder and is a fast-growing company in the maritime sector. KSINC is not a fishing company and we are interested only in furthering our business in the manufacturing and maritime side. The clients can operate the constructed ships/vessels only based on the law, license and regulations laid down by the state/central governments for which they have to go through a procedure laid down. The client is yet to remit the advance or detailed drawings or their plans. The current discussions are premature and based on a wrong understanding of the role of KSINC. It is requested that unwanted controversy be kindly avoided by all concerned, the statement said. The Centre had withdrawn the Meenakumari Committee report on deep sea fishing following widespread protests from the fishing community. The state had objected with foreign vessels permission suggested in the report and now it has taken such a decision, the Samithi said.

 newindianexpress.com 2021
WORTH COUNTY, Iowa - A woman arrested for burglaries in Mitchell County is now facing charges in Worth County.

Tomi Clarke, 48, of Cedar Rapids, is facing felony burglary and criminal mischief charges in connection to reported burglaries in Joice and Kensett.

According to court documents, Clarke broke into the library/city hall in Joice and used a crowbar to gain access. The same method was used at Kensett's city hall. In that break-in, a petty cash bag was stolen. Both buildings sustained damage during the break-ins.

The same truck that was used in the Mitchell County burglaries was used in the Worth County burglaries, documents state.

Clarke and Michael Todd Dolenzal were arrested Feb. 18 in St. Ansgar after reported burglaries in Carpenter.
The West Bank has been witnessing over the past few weeks intensive arrest campaigns by the Israeli army against dozens of Hamas cadres and leaders, members of the Palestinian Legislative Council (PLC), political leaders, as well as students and union activists.

Most recently, Khaled al-Hajj and Adnan Asfour, both Hamas leaders in the West Bank, and Hamas member in the PLC Yasser Mansour were arrested Feb. 16.

The Israeli army has in the past carried out periodic arrests of members of Palestinian factions in the West Bank, especially Hamas, to thwart their plans to carry out armed operations. However, ever since Palestinian President Mahmoud Abbas announced Jan. 15 the general election dates, Israel has been increasingly arresting and summoning Hamas cadres as part of an intimidation campaign to prevent them from running in the elections.

In January alone, the number of detainees amounted to 461.

The Israeli arrest campaign against Hamas in the West Bank aims to derail the movements plan to run in the upcoming legislative elections, by keeping Hamas leaders and cadres behind bars until after the elections are held in May. Meanwhile, Israel is also threatening other potential Hamas candidates with arrest if they end up deciding to run on the movements list.

Nayef al-Rajoub, former minister of endowments in the Hamas-run government and a PLC member, told Al-Monitor, The recent Israeli arrests are aimed at tampering with the upcoming elections while intimidating the potential candidates. These arrests adversely affect candidates and voters, and their effect lingers for several years. We have yet to forget our bitter experience of the 2006 legislative elections. I have spent nearly 100 months in Israeli prisons since these elections without charge, just because I am a member of the PLC representing Hamas. [The recent arrest campaign] may spark concerns among the potential candidates on the movements lists over having the same scenario unfold again. The Palestinian Authority [PA] is practicing the same security policy against Hamas cadres to influence the elections.

Hamas said in a press statement Feb. 16 that the Israeli arrest of movement leaders in the West Bank is aimed at targeting the electoral process. It added, however, that this campaign will neither bring the movement down nor affect its efforts to put an end to the Palestinian division on the basis of partnership and resistance against Israel.

The Palestinian Prisoners Center for Studies revealed Jan. 21 that the number of PLC members whom Israel has arrested since 2006 has reached 60, most of whom were repeatedly arrested while 10 members remain in detention currently.

Khalil Assaf, a member of the Public Freedoms Committee in the West Bank, which is a national group that includes representatives of all factions formed following the 2011 Cairo Agreement, told Al-Monitor, The Israeli arrests of Hamas leaders will only increase in the lead up to the legislative elections slated for May, as Israel wants to prove that it is the main player in the West Bank. This will further complicate Hamas attempts to persuade candidates to join its electoral lists. I advise Hamas not to run for the elections through an electoral list under its name, as this list could be directly targeted by Israel. It is important for the movement not to endanger its citizens and cadres, which will result in the disruption of the PLC.

In conjunction with the Israeli arrests of Hamas cadres in the West Bank, Israeli intelligence officers have been recently calling Hamas leaders to warn them not to participate in the upcoming elections. They have also sent messages threatening with arrest to anyone who considers running on the Hamas electoral list.

On Jan. 25, Omar al-Barghouti, a prominent Hamas leader in the West Bank, revealed that the Israeli authorities had summoned him to Ofer Prison outside Ramallah in the West Bank and warned him against running in the legislative elections. According to Barghouti, Israeli officers told him that he would immediately be arrested if he announced his candidacy. Barghouti, 67, was released from Israeli prison in late December 2020, where he had been detained since March that year.

At a time when the PA kept mum about the Israeli arrests of Hamas members and leaders, Wasfi Qabha, who served as minister of prisoners affairs in the Hamas-run government, said in a Feb. 6 statement to Donia al-Watan website that Hamas activists and supporters received threats from the PA security services that summoned them against the background of the elections and sent them threatening messages to prevent them from participating in any mass events in preparation for the upcoming elections.

Imad Abu Awwad, a researcher at Al-Quds Center for Palestinian and Israeli Studies, told Al-Monitor, Israel will continue its arrests of Hamas cadres to prevent the movement from influencing the election results and ultimately reduce the number of Hamas representatives in the PLC while portraying it as a small political Palestinian current. Potential Hamas candidates know that they will be subject to Israeli targeting and arrests, which is why Hamas must organize its ranks in the West Bank and push forward cadres for electoral propaganda, supervise the ballot boxes and make sure to practice its constitutional right to run for the elections and be elected.

The Israeli arrests of dozens of Hamas cadres and leaders in the West Bank raise many questions as they are taking place in conjunction with the movements preparations for the upcoming elections and are hindering Hamas efforts to mobilize the Palestinian masses or launch electoral campaigns. This may lead some potential candidates to think twice before joining a list formed by the movement for fear of Israeli arrest.

Mahmoud Mardawi, a member of Hamas' National Relations Office, told Al-Monitor, The movement considers the election project as part of its national vision, one that entails heavy costs such as Israeli arrests and security prosecutions. But this should not stop us from taking part in the elections. Our candidates shall not be affected despite the Israeli threats. Hamas has a panoply of options to confront the continuing Israeli arrests, including increasing the number of its candidates in the Gaza Strip at the expense of the West Bank to avoid being targeted there.

The legislative elections will be held May 22. During this period, many developments could take place and more Israeli arrests of Hamas cadres in the West Bank could be carried out as Israel tries to avoid a replica of the 2006 elections, when it was surprised by a sweeping Hamas victory.

A Palestinian official close to Abbas told Al-Monitor on condition of anonymity, Israel will definitely intervene in the Palestinian elections because it does not want us to experience democratic life and seeks to keep us under its military control. But we will continue on the electoral path despite the Israeli practices. We are in contact with international parties to pressure Israel not to intervene in the Palestinian elections, but we still dont have any guarantees in this regard.

The Israeli arrests in the West Bank undercut the Hamas campaign, as more voters are registered in the West Bank than in the Gaza Strip.
Mike Pences decision to decline an invitation to the upcoming Conservative Political Action Conference (CPAC) has been backed by Twitter users who commented that most attendees want him dead.

Dozens tweeted in support of the former vice president on Sunday following the announcement that he would not deliver an address to conservative leaders at the annual conference, having done so on previous occasions.

Notably, the decision to turn down CAPCs invitation came a day after Donald Trump was reported to be due to attend, and is expected to use the platform to set-out a 2024 presidential run with an address to conservative leaders on Sunday, Axios reported.

One Twitter user wrote of Mr Pences decision: Most of the attendees want him to be executed but yeah, I'm sure Mike Pence will be happy to show up.

Trump speaking at CPAC not Mike Pence tells you all you need to know about the direction that the GOP has decided their future is and [that] it's for the overthrow[ing] of our current government, another wrote.

Those who ignore what Trump tried to do are complicit in the insurrection, the Twitter user added.

Matt Schlapp, chairman of the American Conservative Union and a primary organiser of CPAC, confirmed to multiple outlets on Sunday that Mr Pence, who has been keeping a relatively low profile since the 6 January attack on Congress, had been asked to address conservative leaders but declined.

In an apparent plea for Mr Pence to change his mind, Mr Schlapp told USA Today that his conservative record is well respected, and conservatives want to hear his take on the current threats posed by socialism and this radicalised Democrat party.

Aides to Mr Pence remarked to Fox News that the former vice presidents relations with his former boss were limited because there was some bitterness" and a sense of "ultimate betrayal about Mr Trumps actions on 6 January.

Mr Trump wrote on Twitter that Mike Pence didn't have the courage to do what should have been done to protect our Country and our Constitution by overturning the 2020 vote, while Congress was stormed by a mob. The former president had falsely claimed that Mr Pence had the power to overturn the result of the election during that days business.

Some rioters were chanting Hang Mike Pence while others had set up a gallows outside the Capitol. Mr Trump ignored desperate pleas from Republican lawmakers to call off the mob for several hours. Five people lost their lives during the attack on the Capitol.

Conservatives have since been divided on how to manage Mr Trump and his future influence over the Republican party, following his acquittal at an impeachment trial for inciting the Capitol riot.

The former president said in a statement last week: Our historic, patriotic and beautiful movement to Make America Great Again (MAGA) has only just begun.

In the months ahead I have much to share with you, and I look forward to continuing our incredible journey together to achieve American greatness for all of our people. There has never been anything like it!"
STATEN ISLAND, N.Y. -- On Saturday, February 27th, from 10:00 AM to 1:00 PM, Canvas Institute will host Island Voices 15th Annual Youth Empowerment Summit.

The Youth Summit is the only free event of its kind in Staten Island that brings our youth together to amplify their voice and awaken the power that they have to change their community and world, according to the Canvas Institute.

Founder of the Canvas Institute, Bobby Digi, describes the summit as arriving with a sense of particular urgency this year. He referenced 16-year-old Jasier Kelly of Stapleton who committed suicide earlier this month as an example of the concerning mental health challenges that youth are experiencing during the pandemic. According to Kellys family, the social isolation that came with remote learning and spending a majority of time inside due to COVID-19 took an extreme toll on Jasiers mental health.

Its important during the pandemic to ensure that the mental health of our young people and our families are being addressed and that tools and practices to help empower them to meet the challenges are shared and provided. As always, Island Voice and Canvas Institute, we are here to provide that support to our communities, said Digi.

The summit, which has been held in various places on Staten Island, including the St. George Theatre and Wagner College in previous years, will take place virtually via Zoom this year.

William "Starda" Perry addressing the crowd gathered on the top floor of Santander Bank at the 11th annual Island Voice Youth Summit in St. George on April 13, 2018. (Staten Island Advance/Vincent Caputo)Staten Island Advance

This years theme is How are you doing? Growing together! with two main focuses: the mental health challenges that so many of us have experienced during the pandemic and ways to get involved in the community to solve complex social problems, such as racial, gender inequity and climate change, according to the Canvas Institute.

The event will begin with an introduction to mindfulness with activities such as journaling and grounding followed by two sessions of workshops. During each session, attendees will be able to choose from eight workshops about mentorship and cultural responsiveness, entrepreneurship, womens empowerment, climate change, spoken word, fitness, and more. There will also be small breakout groups for discussion as well as some art performances.

While a majority of attendees are expected to be between the ages of 10-18, all ages are welcome  educators, parents, and general community members alike. Digi described the summit as being an event where everyone will learn something.

Audience members look on during Island Voice Inc.'s 6th Annual Youth Empowerment Summit at Wagner College's Spiro Hall on February 25, 2012. (Staten Island Advance/Hilton Flores)Staten Island Advance

What theyre going to learn that day, everyone can benefit from. And whats learned on that day can be transferred and taught to other folks as well, said Digi.

The idea is to get the resources to the community, he continued.

Attendees must register online in order to access the summit.

The Canvas Institute has partnered with the Center for Systems Awareness, My Sisters Keeper, Nigerians in Diaspora Organisation, Staten Island Performing Provider System, and Urban Hope NYC to produce this event.
Dominion Voting Systems has filed its defamation lawsuit against MyPillow CEO Mike Lindell - who claimed the company rigged the election for Joe Biden by tampering with ballot machines - and is seeking $1.3billion in damages.

Lindell, a staunch Trump van who claims the election was 'stolen' for Biden, accused Dominion of rigging its voting machines across the country to count more ballots for Biden than for Trump.

The company has been threatening to sue him for weeks.

On Monday morning, lawyers filed papers in the District of Columbia which claimed Lindell defamed the company by making the claims.

'He is well aware of the independent audits and paper ballot recounts conclusively disproving the Big Lie.

'But Lindellsells the lie to this day because the lie sells pillows,' the complaint reads.

Lindell told The Wall Street Journal that he welcomed the lawsuit and has 'evidence' the company rigged the election.

Dominion Voting Systems has said it will 'imminently' sue MyPillow CEO Mike Lindell, pictured at the White House in January, for 'tripling down' on his election fraud claims

A monitor showing Dominion Voting Image Cast Central display tab is seen as Cobb County Election officials count ballots on a machine, Tuesday, Nov. 24, 2020, in Marietta, Ga

'I have all the evidence on them. Now this will get disclosed faster, all the machine fraud and the attack on our country,' he said.

Dominion say they wrote to the businessman in December and January over his false claims that their machines stole 'millions of votes from' Trump.

But Lindell continued to push his unfounded claims of election fraud. He said Tuesday he would be sharing another video on the matter in the coming days.

Earlier this month Newsmax host Bob Sellers stormed off camera as he tried to fact-check Lindell and stop him pushing unfounded claims about Dominion Voting Systems rigging the presidential election.

Sellers later made a groveling apology, calling Mike 'a friend of the network'.

Twitter permanently banned Lindell's account after he continued to perpetuate the baseless claim that Trump won the 2020 U.S. presidential election.

The social network decided to ban Lindell due to 'repeated violations' of its civic integrity policy, a spokesperson said in a statement.

YouTube and Vimeo then pulled his 'documentary' Absolute Proof from their platforms due to policies regarding the sharing of election misinformation.

Throughout the movie, Lindell offers no proof of the claims he makes, including the unsubstantiated allegations that Dominion software was manipulated to delete votes for Trump.

And major retailers such as Bed Bath & Beyond and Kohl's have said that they would stop carrying My Pillow's products.

Dominion is also suing Rudy Giuliani over similar claims.
After 2020 everyone has been looking forward to a more positive 2021. Indias most trusted and loved jewelry brand, Tanishq wanted to add a special sparkle to everyones desire by bringing Shagun for 21, to give an auspicious start to 2021. Shagun signifies new beginnings full of hope and optimism. The popular practice of adding Rs 1 to any amount as a mark of Shagun has been adopted by Tanishq to bring a special offer to celebrate adding 1 to 2020. As per this offer, customers can now avail up to 21%* off on the value of Diamond jewelry. Tanishq is also offering additional discounts on diamond jewelry valued above Rs. 12 lacs and 100%* exchange value on old gold jewelry for upgrading to exquisite diamond jewelry.



Diamond jewelry is precious to everyone and can make any occasion special. Hence, Tanishq offers the widest range of diamond jewelry for Shagun. Customers can choose from an assortment of splendid designs in rings, earrings, pendants, bangles, bracelets and neckwear sets, at attractive prices.



Tanishq and Laqshya Media Group have executed some of the most iconic campaigns in 2020 like Ekatvam and Moods of the Earth. 2021 was kicked off with the auspicious Shagun for 21 campaign in Top 10 Cities - Mumbai, Delhi NCR, Bangalore, Kolkata, Hyderabad, Chennai, Ahmedabad, Pune, Lucknow and Patna. The OOH campaign is a part of their 360-degree campaign for their newest offering and has two very distinct and attractive creatives. Encompassing a total area of 1,28,000 Sq ft, the 45-day campaign encompasses a mix of iconic large format media units, cluster brandings and other unconventional mediums across all cities that has been utilized to create maximum impact and reach for Tanishqs target audience.



Speaking about Shagun for 21, Mr. Arun Narayan, VP-Category, Marketing & Retail, Tanishq, Titan Company Limited, said, "Shagun for '21 is a token for an auspicious good beginning. The idea of Shagun stems from the practice of adding one as a token of good wishes for a new start. As we step into the year 2021, each one of us is looking to a year abundant in its promise of hope and anticipation. To add a little sparkle to this sentiment, we are offering a Shagun of our own to make your New Year sparkle even brighter. Tanishqs Shagun for 21 brings you the widest range of diamond jewellery at incredible offers. On behalf of Tanishq, we wish everyone a very Happy New Year



Amarjeet Hudda, COO, Laqshya Solutions said, With the start of the vaccination drive, we see a ray of hope to get over the year that was. Life has gotten back to normal to a great extent. At this juncture Tanishq has come up with the brilliant Shagun for 21 campaign. We hope 2021 brings positivity and growth for everyone. We at Laqshya are proud to have executed this campaign by utilizing our scientifically planned proprietary OOH Planning Tool called SHARP (Strategic Hyperlocal AI-aided Reach Planner) and Laqshya Medias experienced media planning team to deliver the most effective plan to give Tanishq best results for their sales campaign. We have strategically taken large format premium media units and created dominance zones in all the cities to establish high visibility and impact in each city. Innovations were made in some selected media in Mumbai, Delhi, Bangalore, Chennai, Kolkata, Pune and Lucknow by the Laqshya team which grabbed more eyeballs.


Indiana has an idea to copy here

Ive been a truck driver for 12 years, and Ive seen many accidents and things that work and dont. In construction zones, most signs arent effective because the roads are too narrow and drivers cant look at the signs.

In Indiana, flashing signs display the speed limit, and drivers tend to obey it. If Fort Worth would install such signs, they could be remotely turned on when there are dangerous road conditions or accidents, and drivers would slow down.

- Erling Lea, Arlington

They work so we can live

A tip of the hat and prayers of thanksgiving for all the men and women who have braved this treacherous weather to ensure that our electrical lines have been maintained and repaired. Our lives are blessed by countless unseen and unknown faithful servants who labor in obscurity.

- Rick Schwab, Fort Worth

Back to the reliable well

It didnt take long for our Republican governor, Greg Abbott, to go on Fox News and complain about the Green New Deal. Fossil fuel generators suffered from lack of winterization (and failed) as did some wind turbines.

If wind turbines can operate in the North Sea, they can certainly operate here. Also remember that the largest refinery in the state shut down, so the flow of oil to some of those fossil fuel-fired plants was curtailed as well.

Texas Republican leadership sure is quick to sue, quick to blame and quick to ask for federal disaster money even while bashing the federal government.

- James Bradley Klein, Richland Hills

Stuck to facts, not politics

Thank you for the Feb. 17 editorial about the Texas power grid failure. (11A, Texas knew for years power grid was at risk but did little about it) I appreciated the non-political assessment of the situation and the actions needed to address the states infrastructure. I hope your words are heeded by state leaders.

- Whitney Tong, Southlake

Texas passed, dropped the buck

Its natural to feel proud of ones state. But go-it-alone Texas pride led to a freestanding electrical grid. And nutty judgment by elected officials only makes difficult situations worse.

Story continues

Texas handling of the COVID-19 pandemic and the grid collapse hold up a mirror to our leaders. The reflected image is not flattering.

Citing data never publicly disclosed, Gov. Greg Abbott reopened bars last year, and that supercharged the pandemic. His only aggressive action was to countermand Dallas and El Paso officials trying to enforce tighter pandemic measures.

Now we have Sen. Ted Cruz fleeing to the warmth of Cancun while millions go without heat. (Feb. 19, 13A, While youre freezing in your Texas home, Sen. Ted Cruz took off for Cancun. Really.) And Abbott embarrasses Texas nationally by falsely claiming that wind turbines caused the grid collapse.

The ineptitude would be laughable if these leaders missteps didnt add to our misery.

- Barry Shlachter, Fort Worth

This is the thanks we get?

During the past year, Texas leaders have asked us all to stay home and close our businesses. They asked our children to educate themselves at home while their teachers struggle to provide appropriate direction. Theyve asked us to wear masks, social distance and stand in long lines to get vaccinated.

Texans have complied, and many have struggled through a year like no other.

Now, when we need our leaders to get the power, heat and water back on, theyve failed, thrown up their hands, offered free water and warming stations and pointed fingers at one another.

Id say that the vast majority of Texans are gravely disappointed in these efforts. People have suffered and even died, and countless homes are damaged and destroyed. We can certainly do better.

- Steve Bjelland, Fort Worth

Police went above and beyond

Regarding the story and video on your website Thursday about the Southlake police officers efforts to rescue a dog that had fallen through pond ice: Without hesitation, an officer entered freezing water up to his chest. (Feb. 18, star-telegram.com, Watch as this Labrador is rescued from an icy pond by his owner, Southlake police)

These officers are the same that the racial justice crowd wants to defund? I dont think so.

- Stephen Arlington, Granbury
Thiruvananthapuram, Feb 22 : People in Kerala, who live near the entry points to Karnataka got a rude jolt after the authorities on Monday decided to close 13 points of entry in districts Wayanad and Kasargode.

These open borders provide a huge succour to the people living on either side. They move freely for various needs, especially the farming community who regularly move from Kerala to engage in such activities on the lands they either own or take on lease in Karnataka.

N.A. Nellikunnu, senior opposition Legislator representing Kasargode Assembly constituency, said this is an unwarranted action by the authorities of Karnataka and is a violation of the unlock guidelines of the Centre.

On date there are around 58,000 active Covid cases in Kerala.

"We are given to understand that their authorities are now insisting on the RT-PCR test results from all those travelling from Kerala and entering Karnataka. Fail to understand the logic, while people in Kerala strictly follow Covid protocols and wear masks, no such thing is happening in Karnataka and yet they do this unlawful act. We expect immediate intervention of the Kerala government," said Nellikunnu.

Incidentally, this act by Karnataka comes hours after the visiting Uttar Pradesh Chief Minister Yogi Adityanath went hammer and tongs against the flawed Covid measures of Kerala, and while flagging of the statewide Yatra of Kerala BJP president K.Surendran said, "Today the whole world is laughing at Kerala as Covid is widely prevalent in the state".

Similar scenes were witnessed at the entry points to Karnataka in the Wayanad district, where people were caught unawares after vehicles were stopped by the Karnataka authorities.

"We have no clue on this sudden decision to close the borders and are insisting on RT-PCR tests. This is going to create untold miseries to all those who used to freely cross the borders for various needs," said angry Wayanad residents, who were unable to move freely.

Playing down the incident, Surendran said this might be an act done by Karnataka authorities as a measure of caution with Covid continuing to rage in Kerala.

Latest updates on Coronavirus (COVID-19)

-- Except for the title, this story has not been edited by Prokerala team and is auto-generated from a syndicated feed
Queensland has moved to plug any of the remaining gaps in its hotel quarantine program, codifying a range of measures from mask use to travel involving taxis and ride-share vehicles.

Under the public health direction that came into force at noon on Monday, people in hotel quarantine are required to only open the door to their room if everyone inside is wearing a mask.

Ambulances ready to transport hotel quarantine guests from the Hotel Grand Chancellor in January. Credit:Attila Csaszar

The direction also stipulates that travel from hotel quarantine to hospital must be in an ambulance, not in a taxi or ride-share vehicle.

Previously ambulances were considered best practice but at least some patients were allowed to use hire cars to make hospital visits, including an infamous case where a man allegedly stopped for food on the way back to quarantine, sparking a health alert.

The Hamilton County Health Department has added a total of 1,150 new first dose and 4,914 new second dose Pfizer appointments to the schedule.

New First Dose Appointments :



 March 3 at Enterprise South Nature Park



New Second Dose Appointments:



 Feb. 26, March 1 and 4 at the CARTA Bus Barn



 March 1, 2 and 4 at the Tennessee Riverpark

People in the eligible phases are encouraged to visit https://vaccine.hamiltontn.gov/ and make their appointment online. Those who do not have access to the internet can call the appointment call center for assistance:



 First dose appointments: 423-209-5398



 Second dose appointments: 423-209-5399

A Spanish vaccine webpage and Spanish appointment call center are available for residents who speak Spanish.



 Spanish appointment line: 423-209-5384



 Spanish vaccine webpage: https://vaccine.hamiltontn.gov/ (Click the Spanish tab at the top of the page).

All three call center lines are open Monday-Friday from 8 a.m.-4 p.m. Due to high call volume, callers may experience a busy signal and need to hang up and call back.



General COVID-19 questions may be directed to the Health Departments hotline at 423-209-8383. Hours are Monday-Friday from 8 a.m.-4 p.m. and Saturday, from 10 a.m.-3 p.m. Bilingual representatives are available.



Current Phases/Eligibility



The COVID-19 vaccine is currently available to Phases 1a1, 1a2, 1B and individuals 65+ according to the Tennessee Department of Healths Vaccination Plan. Appointments are for people who live or work in Hamilton County.



Age Group Bracket :



 65 years or older, must be a Hamilton County resident

 No specific medical conditions are required

Phase 1B includes:

Childcare, pre-school, and kindergarten through twelfth grade teachers

School staff

School bus drivers

Other first responders (including dispatch, administrative personnel and other emergency communications personnel not included in Phase 1a1)

Airfield operations personnel employed by primary commercial and cargo service airports

Phase 1a2 includes:



Other Health Care Workers with Direct Patient Exposure

 Primary care providers and staff



 Outpatient specialty providers and staff working with acute patients

 Pharmacists and staff

 Patient transport

 Outpatient therapists

 Urgent visit center providers and staff

 Environmental services

 Oral health providers

 Behavioral health providers

 Outpatient laboratory staff working with COVID-19 specimens

 Funeral/mortuary workers with direct decedent contact

Phase 1a1 includes:



 Hospital/Free-Standing Emergency Department Staff with Direct Patient Exposure and/or Exposure to Potentially-Infectious Materials

 Home health care staff

 COVID-19 mass testing site staff

 Student health providers

 Staff & Residents of Long Term Care Facilities (Skilled Nursing Facilities, Assisted Living Centers, Homes for the Aged, DIDD Residential Centers, Group Homes)

 First Responders with Direct Public Exposure including Jailers

 Individuals >18yrs who cannot live independently due to serious chronic medical condition or intellectual or developmental disabilities

Important Information to Know Prior to Appointment



 Do not arrive more than 15 minutes prior to your scheduled appointment.



 Wear appropriate clothing to get a shot in upper arm

 Bring proof of Hamilton County residency (if applicable)

 Bring proof of Hamilton County employment (if applicable)

 Bring proof of age (if applicable)

 Bring COVID-19 Vaccine Encounter form (if possible; form available for download on registration page)

 Be prepared to wait 20 minutes after shot

 Be prepared for the entire process to take an hour or more

Vaccination Record Card



When patients receive their first dose with the Health Department, they will receive a Vaccination Record Card with the following important information.



 The vaccine manufacturer (either Moderna or Pfizer)



 The date the first dose of vaccine was given

 The date the second vaccine dose is due.

It is important to keep the Vaccination Record Card because when making the appointment for the second dose of vaccine, it helps ensure the correct product is received and in the correct timeframe. The current recommendation is that second dose vaccinations be received either on or after the recommended date on the Vaccination Record Card, not before. This card is a reminder of the date, so you must make a second dose appointment when appointment slots become available.



Additional Resources



 Stay up-to-date on new vaccine appointment information. Follow the health department via their email newsletter and social media accounts, available at this link: http://health.hamiltontn.org/AllServices/Coronavirus(COVID-19)/ConnectWithUs.aspx.



 Transportation is available to the vaccination site. Call 423-209-8383 to schedule a ride.

 Visit the Health Departments new vaccine FAQ page, updated regularly: http://health.hamiltontn.org/en-us/allservices/coronavirus(covid-19)/frequentlyaskedquestions(faq).aspx
U.N. Secretary-General Antonio Guterres has denounced the military coup in Myanmar and demanded an immediate return to democratic rule. Guterres condemned Myanmars repressive actions in his opening address to the 46th session of the UN Human rights Council.

Guterres departed from his lengthy speech on COVID-19 related violations to blast Myanmars military for its takeover of the countrys democratically elected government.

"We see the undermining of democracy, the use of brutal force, arbitrary arrests, repression in all its manifestations," Guterres said. "Restrictions of civic space. Attacks on civil society. Serious violations against minorities with no accountability, including what has rightly been called ethnic cleansing of the Rohingya population. The list goes on.

US Secretary of State to join foreign ministers meeting in Brussels via videoconference

Guterres said coups have no place in our modern world. He praised the Human Rights Council for its recent and timely focus on this critical situation.

The council held an emergency session on the Myanmar crisis on February 12 and demanded the immediate and unconditional release of all detained people, including the countrys de facto leader, Aung San Suu Kyi.

Over the coming month, the council will examine the human rights records of Myanmar and many other countries accused of gross violations of human rights. The council will focus on ways in which COVID-19 has accelerated inequalities, setback progress on poverty reduction and deepened discrimination and racism.

Guterres said the pandemic has triggered a vicious circle of violations. He said unscrupulous leaders are using COVID-19 as a pretext to entrench their power and criminalize fundamental freedoms.

He said the virus has spurred resurgent neo-Nazism and white supremacist movements, as well as racially and ethnically motivated terrorism.

"The danger of these hate-driven movements is growing by the day. Let us call them what they are," Guterres said. "White supremacy and neo-Nazi movements are more than domestic terror threats. They are becoming a transnational threat. These and other groups have exploited the pandemic to boost their ranks through social polarization and political and cultural manipulation.

UN Chief Guterres warned these extremist movements represented the number one internal security threat in several countries. He said global coordinated action was needed to defeat this grave and growing danger.

He noted similar global coordinated action was needed to defeat the pandemic, which has killed millions of people and ruined many more lives.
Metro Manila (CNN Philippines, February 22)  The Philippine government was not required to sign an indemnification agreement with Chinese company Sinovac to receive its COVID-19 vaccines, Presidential Spokesperson Harry Roque said on Monday.

Asked by a reporter if the government signed an indemnification clause with Sinovac  similar to the requirement of Western vaccine developers  Roque replied no. He did not elaborate.

This week, Congress is set to pass bills  certified by President Rodrigo Duterte as urgent  that seek to establish an indemnification fund to compensate Filipinos who may experience serious side effects after being vaccinated against COVID-19.

"There will be an indemnity fund. In case of side effects, there is no obligation on the part of the claimant to prove fault or negligence. They can recover from the P500-million indemnification fund," Roque said in a media briefing.

Several pharmaceutical companies, such as Pfizer and AstraZeneca, have demanded that governments shoulder the cost of treatment in case of possible adverse effects caused by vaccination to spare the firms from legal cases.

The absence of this law and late submission of an indemnification deal delayed the delivery of 117,000 doses of Pfizer vaccines through the World Health Organization-led COVAX facility.

Meanwhile, Health Secretary Francisco Duque III said the Health Department will use its savings to purchase an initial 50,000 doses of Sinovac's CoronaVac vaccines. This will be on top of the 600,000 doses of Sinovac vaccines donated by China seen to arrive this week after receiving the Food and Drug Administration's approval on Monday.

"Meron pong savings na puwedeng magamit para sa bakuna, at tinitignan po natin iyong Sinovac para sa karagdagan o sa labas ng donated ng 600,000 (doses). Diyan gagamitin yan, he said in a separate briefing.

[Translation: There are savings that can be used to buy vaccines. We are looking at additional doses from Sinovac, aside from the 600,000 doses that will be donated.]

He added this amount was not included in the loans from the World Bank and Asian Development Bank since Sinovac's emergency use application took a while to be approved.

Last month, the national government secured 25 million doses of the Sinovac vaccine.

In a Senate hearing also on Monday, Senator Sonny Angara said the agreement is expected to be signed in two weeks following the emergency approval. This would mean an initial batch of 1.5 million doses from the supply deal can be expected in the country "before the end of March," the senator added, citing information from the National Task Force Against COVID-19 officials.

Sinovac received its emergency use authorization, but FDA Director General Eric Domingo advised against using the vaccine on healthcare workers and elderlies due to low efficacy rate in clinical trials. FDA recommended that the vaccines only be used on healthy people aged 18-59.


[February 22, 2021] Knowledge Services Announces FedRAMP Ready Designation

FISHERS, Ind., Feb. 22, 2021 /PRNewswire/ -- Knowledge Services, a leader in government workforce management solutions, today announced it has achieved the Federal Risk and Authorization Management Program (FedRAMP) Ready designation and is now listed in the FedRAMP Marketplace for federal agencies and government contractors. "Our solutions require the processing of confidential personal and health data. We believe it is our responsibility as stewards of this data and for the governments we serve to uphold the highest security standards and to be a partner in preventing cyber breaches," said Joe Bielawski, President at Knowledge Services. "Achieving the FedRAMP Ready status is a testament to our company's commitment to security and to our clients." The FedRAMP Ready designation applies to the proprietary cloud SaaS technology, dotStaff. Since its launch in 2003 as one of the first government cloud-based vendor management systems, dotStaff has been enhanced specifically to better serve government clients wih added modules to manage workforce, vendors, consortiums, credentials, surveys, and reporting.



"As government continues to transition services to the cloud, the importance of ensuring cloud security is critical. We appreciate the dedication of our InfoSec, IT and Development teams, who work every day to keep our systems secure and who embrace a culture of continual improvement," said Bielawski. To achieve FedRAMP Ready status, Knowledge Services had to demonstrate compliance with FedRAMP's NIST-based cyber security framework. Knowledge Services worked with experts from Coalfire and A-Lign to reach this milestone. The FedRAMP Ready designation is a first step in Knowledge Services' commitment to achieving a FedRAMP Authorization.

FedRAMP is a federal government-wide program that provides a standardized approach to security assessment, authorization, and continuous monitoring for cloud products and services. FedRAMP's stated goal is to protect US citizen data in the cloud by ensuring vendors meet government's most rigorous security compliance framework. Knowledge Services joins 303 companies and products nationwide to be listed on the FedRAMP Marketplace, and only the third Indiana-based company to be currently listed on the FedRAMP Marketplace. About Knowledge Services Serving those who serve others is the cornerstone of Knowledge Services' mission, a mission that has led to dedicated partnerships with government and private industry for more than 20 years. Knowledge Services leverages the expertise and experience of its people and the agility of its proprietary, secure cloud platform to deliver transformative workforce management solutions. Knowledge Services is a woman-owned and family run business that has grown since its founding in 1994, but the mission has not changed. Knowledge Services builds solutions that help better serve our fellow citizens. Learn more at www.knowledgeservices.com. View original content to download multimedia:http://www.prnewswire.com/news-releases/knowledge-services-announces-fedramp-ready-designation-301232602.html SOURCE Knowledge Services

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Even with more than 1.5 million Americans receiving a COVID vaccine each day, officials estimate it will take many more months before enough people are protected from the deadly virus. Until then, and potentially beyond, experts agree that opening up schools, restaurants and other public places as safely as possible will rely on widespread testing for SARS-CoV-2, the virus that causes COVID-19.

As of June 2020, the U.S. Food and Drug Administration (FDA) had granted emergency use authorization for more than 85 different viral DNA test kitsor assayseach with widely varying degrees of sensitivity and unknown rates of accuracy. However, with no existing gold standard test for the novel coronavirus, there's little data on which to judge these various tests' usefulness to municipalities' efforts to safely re-open for business.

A team of researchers at Beth Israel Deaconess Medical Center (BIDMC) has developed a mathematical means of assessing tests' false-negative rate. The team's methodology, which allows an apples-to-apples comparison of the various assays' clinical sensitivity, is published in the journal Clinical Infectious Diseases.

"For getting back to business as usual, we all agree we've got to massively ramp up testing to figure out who's negative and who's infectiousbut that's only going to work optimally if you can catch all the positive cases," said co-corresponding author James E. Kirby, MD, Director of the Clinical Microbiology Laboratories at BIDMC. "We found that clinical sensitivities vary widely, which has clear implications for patient care, epidemiology and the social and economic management of the ongoing pandemic."

"These results are especially important as we transition from testing mostly symptomatic individuals to more regular screening across the community," said co-corresponding author Ramy Arnaout, MD, DPhil, Associate Director of the Clinical Microbiology Laboratories at BIDMC. "How many people will be missedthe false negative ratedepends on which test is used. With our model, we are better informed to ask how likely these people are to be infectious."

COVID test results are usually reported as simply positive or negative. However, positive individuals can harbor radically different amounts of virus, or viral load, depending on how long they've been infected or how severe their symptoms are. In fact, viral load can vary as much as a hundred million-fold among individuals, said Kirby.

Using data from more than 27,000 tests for COVID-19 performed at Beth Israel Lahey Health hospital sites from March 26 to May 2, 2020, Kirby, Arnaout, and colleagues first demonstrated that viral loads can be dependably reported. "This helps distinguish potential superspreaders, at one extreme, from convalescent people, with almost no virus, and therefore low likelihood of spreading the infection," Arnaout said.

Next, the researchers estimated the clinical sensitivity and the false-negative rate first for the in-house testwhich was among the first to be implemented nationwide and considered among the best in class. Analyzing repeat test results for the nearly 5,000 patients who tested positive allowed the researchers to determine that the in-house test provided a false negative in about 10 percent of cases, giving the assay a clinical sensitivity of about 90 percent.

To estimate the accuracy of other assays, the team based their calculations on each tests' limit of detection, or LoD, defined as the smallest amount of viral DNA detectable that a test will catch 95 percent or more of the time.

Arnaout, Kirby, and colleagues demonstrated that the limit of detection can be used as a proxy to estimate a given assay's clinical sensitivity. By the team's calculations, an assay with a limit of detection of 1,000 copies viral DNA per mL is expected to detect just 75 percent of patients with COVID-19, providing one out of every four people with a false-negative. The team also showed that one test available today misses as many as one in three infected individuals, while another may miss up to 60 percent of positive cases.

While not every COVID positive patient missed by sensitive PCR and antigen detection tests will be infectious to others, some will, the researchers note.

"These misses will undermine public health efforts and put patients and their contacts at risk," said Arnaout. "This must give us pause, and we really need to benchmark each new test even in our rush to increase testing capacity to understand how well they support our testing goals."

Explore further Follow the latest news on the coronavirus (COVID-19) outbreak

More information: Arnaout et al,The Limit of Detection Matters: The Case for Benchmarking Severe Acute Respiratory Syndrome Coronavirus 2 Testing. Clinical Infectious Diseases. academic.oup.com/cid/advance-a  cid/ciaa1382/6127024 , DOI: 10.1093/cid/ciaa1382/6127024 Journal information: Clinical Infectious Diseases Arnaout et al,The Limit of Detection Matters: The Case for Benchmarking Severe Acute Respiratory Syndrome Coronavirus 2 Testing.


The UN Special Envoy for Syria has paid a reluctant visit to Damascus, amid tensions over the stalled Constitutional Committee, according to Al-Watan.

The UN Special Envoy Geir Pedersen arrived in the Syrian capital, Damascus, on Sunday afternoon, after he participated in the Sochi meetings in the Astana process and held political and military discussions in the Russian capital, Moscow, to discuss the future of the talks of the Constitutional Committee in Geneva, and the possibility of scheduling a sixth round of talks in March.

Pedersen, who was reluctant to visit the Syrian capital, had hinted regarding the conclusion of the fifth round of the Constitutional Committee meeting to the UN Security Council, that the rounds were disrupted by the national delegation [the government]. There have been talks that Pedersen was a persona non grata in Damascus, although Damascus welcomed his visit with open arms, saying the government has nothing to fear.

Al-Watan learned that Pedersen had gone out of his way during the fifth round to impose what he called the beginning of a draft constitution, which was not on the agenda of the session in the first place. The session was aimed at discussing constitutional principles after it had discussed national principles in previous rounds and did not reach any agreement.

Diplomatic sources in Geneva, whom Al-Watan established contact with, said that a team of Pedersens advisors is constantly pressuring him to embarrass the Syrian state and accuse it of hindering the talks and threatening to end the Geneva diplomatic path, which has led to the failure to set a date for the sixth round. Pedersen does not have enough arguments, according to the sources, as he realizes that he and his advisors are responsible for the lack of tangible progress and that the Syrian government finds his interference in the negotiations process unacceptable. The Syrian government sees Pedersen as a facilitator of the talks and not a party to them.

The sources confirmed that Pedersen hesitated a lot about visiting Damascus after the conclusion of the fifth round, and refused to send a written request to visit, simply sending a verbal request to which Damascus responded favorably, saying that the envoy is welcome to visit whenever he deems appropriate.

The sources concluded that Damascus has nothing to hide or fear regarding the Geneva talks, as there are mechanisms that have already been agreed upon, which everyone must respect. According to the sources, if Pedersen wants to accuse the national delegation of obstructing the talks, he should be ready to bear the consequences of his statements and reveal to the world the truth of what happened in these meetings, and how he diverted from his agenda and tried to impose a preliminary drafting of the constitution.

This article was translated and edited by The Syrian Observer. The Syrian Observer has not verified the content of this story. Responsibility for the information and views set out in this article lies entirely with the author.
This is great news for BinJin fans in the Philippines! The power couple is confirmed to visit the country as soon as the pandemic eases.

On Valentine's Day (February 14), the Philippines' giant telecommunications company, Smart Communications, gave us Valentine's Day treat by releasing their newest TVC featuring the famous Korean Couple Hyun Bin and Son Ye Jin. Fans were left with butterflies in their bellies upon viewing the just-released commercial film!

Hyun Bin and Son Ye Jin's Commercial Film with SMART

According to reports, the commercial film was shot before the couple admitted their real-life romance earlier this year. It was filmed last January, and this was actually the couple's first endorsement and project together since they both confirmed their relationship.

Although this commercial film was not for a Korean company, it has been getting a lot of attention from the Korean Netizens and has been circulating around the Korean online communities. Everyone was amazed by the Philippine wireless provider company (SMART Communications) at how they were able to spend a huge amount of money just to get the famous couple as their product endorsers.

Of course, fans are quick to post their thoughts about the commercial film and expressed the following, "Wow! The Korean companies can't even afford to pay Hyun Bin and Son Ye Jin to do a commercial together", "The company's marketing team must be big fans of their drama 'Crash Landing on You,'" "The commercial film was dropped on Valentine's Day, good strategy," and more.

Recently, a press briefing was held for their 5G plan offers, and the Senior Vice President of SMART communications, Jane Basas, revealed that the commercial was shot during a snow storm in Korea. Son Ye Jin arrived on set a little late because of the heavy downpour. Well, it was definitely worth the wait because seeing the two stars reunited on set made everyone's hearts flutter.

Check out the commercial film below!



Hyun Bin and Son Ye Jin Confirmed to Visit the Philippines Soon!

Good news! SMART also confirmed during the press briefing that they would be sending Hyun Bin and Son Ye Jin to the Philippines once it is safe to travel once again! The telecommunications company guarantee's their subscribers that the Korean celebrity couple's visit to the Philippines is part of their contract with SMART.

Of course, we have to make sure that it is safe to fly them in the Philippines. So, once the pandemic eases, Filipino fans can expect their arrival in the country! Jane Basas (SMART Communications Vice President) shared that as of the moment, they're working on a public online event with Hyun Bin and Son Ye Jin. Surely, Filipino fans can't wait to meet their favorite stars!

In addition, Son Ye Jin was able to leave a message for their Filipino fans in an exclusive video for SMART. She stated, "Hope to see you soon. Stay safe and healthy!"

Kdramastars owns this article.

Written By Liza Parker
One would think that movie stars would be above dabba envy but my partner once returned from a shoot with a grievous complaint. I was sending him chauli and tendli, while his co-star, a long-standing bachelor, was unpacking lunch boxes filled with prawns and lobster," writes Twinkle Khanna in the foreword of her new book, Whats In Your Dabba?.

As a reader, its interesting to know that celebrities are just like everybody else, although lobsters in a lunch box is the kind of stuff superstar dabbas are made of. This essence of keeping it real" holds the cookbook together. With easy and non-boring ideas for lunch and snacks, it has recipes from Khannas friends, who reveal the fuss-free food in their dabbas. Katrina Kaif is an idli-chutney girl, Bhumi Pednekar packs in a homely chicken curry and Akshay Kumar shares his take on avocado toast.

View Full Image Sonali Bendres sweet potato khichdi.





The surprise element and fascinating recipes in the book are not by A-listers but by bloggers and readers of Khannas digital publication Tweak India. There is food entrepreneur Rhea Mitra Dalals aamer luchi (mango puri), chefSucheta Sehgals black forest pudding and mompreneur" Tarana Mavs chocolate dhokla.

Earlier this year, perplexed by the question of how to keep the dabba menu interesting, Khanna launched a social media campaign with the hashtag #WhatsInYourDabba. She posted a recipe for beetroot tikkis on Tweak Indias Instagram page and tagged Akshay Kumar, Malaika Arora and Sonali Bendre, to share dabba food recipes; a classic case of crowdsourcing ideas on social media. It caught on, with people sharing recipes and tagging their friends. A quick search with this hashtag will reveal a few recipes, but to get to the gold (read, aamer luchi), the book is the best bet. It is the first book published under the Tweak Books imprint, in association with Juggernaut.

View Full Image Whats In Your Dabba? Tweak Books, 192 pages,  499.





In an interview, Khanna reveals what qualifies as dabba food on days that dont include tendli (ivy gourd) and how the recipes were shortlisted. Edited excerpts:

What would you consider as the opposite of tendli for your partners lunch box?

Tendli just gets a bad rap. Its pretty delicious. I would say its when I send him khow suey or bhutta curry. Our bhutta curry recipe is in the book. Its a coconut-based dish with large pieces of corn on the cob.

What is the ultimate dabba for you?

Like everyone else, I would have to confess that its what my mother sends me every once in a while. Its a family speciality; a meat dish called kichdra. It has accompaniments like a chilli sauce, mint leaves, a lemon sauce, strands of fried onions in separate bowls and a special crisp roti.

What food did you discover while digging into your friends dabbas?

I tried most of them and now they are part of my meal plans. I have a big spreadsheet that I make, about two weeks worth of meals so that I am not hassled on a daily basis; from Sonali Bendres tweak to the traditional Maharashtrian sabudana khichdi by adding sweet potatoes, to Gauri Devidayals Udon noodles stir-fry, I have been busy adding them to my weekly menus.

What was the dabba of your school days?

I studied in a boarding school, so we didnt really have a dabba. Instead, we had packets of Maggi that we would put in a mug and leave in the sun so that it could supposedly cook". It was considered a great treat.

What is your signature dabba for your children?

It would be pretty boring compared to what I believe other moms do. I usually put in a sandwich, sweet potato fries and a home-made muesli bar. Theres also a paratha or a thepla with vegetables mixed into the dough.

On a scale of 1 to 10, rate your dabba expertise.

I am still a novice. I have never been particularly interested in food and can survive on eggs for weeks on end. Honestly, I dont have a deep love for food that would reflect in my drummed-up dabbas.

How did you shortlist the recipes and people for this book?

It began as a social media challenge. Initially, the people who were giving us these recipes were my friends. Over time, as it went on, we got a bunch of chefs, nutritionists and Tweak readers who sent in their recipes. The criteria for recipe selection involved looking at parameters like nutrition, and each had to be fairly uncomplicated to recreate.

What do you pack in your dabba in the following situations:

Post a mean workout: A coffee and a muesli bar.

After completing a book deadline: Chocolate, a gin and soda, a packet of soya chaklis, anything that can be called indulgent.

On time-crunched mornings: A black coffee seems to be enough.

When the cook is on leave: Scrambled eggs, cheese sandwiches and get the kids to cook. My son is an excellent young chef.

Sonali Bendres Sweet Potato Khichdi

Ingredients

2 sweet potatoes, boiled and diced

1 cup roasted and ground peanuts

2 tbsp olive oil

Half tsp cumin seeds

Half tsp mustard seeds

56 curry leaves

2 green chillies, finely chopped

2 tbsp coconut, grated

A handful of finely chopped

coriander

Salt to taste

Method

Heat olive oil in a pan. Add the cumin and mustard seeds.

Once they begin to crackle, add the green chillies and curry leaves.

To this add the peanuts.

Next, add the sweet potatoes and salt to taste. Mix well.

Garnish with coconut and coriander and serve.

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A caller notified police about a suspicious woman on Roberts Road. Police spoke with the woman who said she was knocking on various doors because of the temperature outside, requesting a ride to Jasper, Tn. Police verified the woman's identity and transported her to the Waffle House, 4343 Highway 58, to wait for her ride.



* * *



Police responded to South Window & Gutters, 4295 Cromwell Road, where an employee said that someone unlawfully entered the side compartments to a company box truck and stole $2,000 worth of miscellaneous tools. She did not know if the compartments were locked or not. No suspect information is known and no damage was done to the vehicle.



* * *



An employee of U.S. Express, 4080 Jenkins Road, told police that 28 trailer tags were stolen from the company's parking lot that morning. She did not have any of the tag numbers nor VINs, but did have all 28 trailer numbers. No suspect information is known.



* * *



An employee of Penske Truck Leasing, 4139 S. Creek Road, called police to report the catalytic converters were stolen from two trucks on the company parking lot. No suspect information is known and no other damage was done to the vehicles.



* * *



A woman on Westside Drive called police and said that someone unlawfully entered her unlocked vehicle, ransacked it and stole a black Samsung Galaxy 10 cell phone. She said the phone was located in the glove box. No suspect information is known, and no damage was done to the vehicle.



* * *



Police responded to an apartment fire at Arbors Signal Mountain Apartments, 751 Runyan Dr. After Chattanooga Fires Quint 17 unit took care of the fire, officers spoke with the apartment manager who said she was told by the fire department that the dryer ducts in their laundry room were clogged, causing the running dryer to heat up and start a fire. The woman said her maintenance team told her she would have to replace the whole dryer duct system and sections of the interior of the laundry room.



* * *



Police observed a man sitting in a wheelchair in the middle of the roadway at 6000 E. Brainerd Road panhandling. The man is aware that it is illegal and has been told numerous times to stop, but he continues to do so. Police informed him that if he is observed doing this again, he will be arrested due to the continuation of the offense.



* * *



Police spoke with a woman in an apartment on W. Martin Luther King Boulevard. The woman wished to make a report in reference to her now ex-friend. The woman said throughout the recent past she has helped the ex-friend move, taken her to the doctor and invited her over for company and prayer. She said one day the ex-friend told her, "Leave me alone," while in the main lobby of the apartment complex. The woman said while on the elevator, the ex-friend also said, "You are not a Christian." The woman said the ex-friend has written her biblical letters and even offered cash as an act of kindness. The woman asked police to speak with the ex-friend and ask her to leave her alone. Police responded to the apartment of the ex-friend and knocked on her door, but no one answered. Police asked the woman to call back for any reason. Police also recommended that she speak with management about the issue as well. The woman asked that police specifically mention the following in this report, "I feel she is threatening me with Christianity beliefs."



* * *



A woman at a residence on Hamilton Mill Drive told police she has a wildlife reserve in her back yard. She said a bobcat sometime last night or this morning had its tail cut off. She said there are workers working on her house, but they denied seeing or knowing anything.



* * *



Police got a call about harassment on Central Drive. A woman said she was dating a man and no longer wants him to come around her house. She told police that the man has told her he will keep coming around the house until he is able to get his items out of her house. The woman was only wanting to make a report in case the man continued to show up at her home.



* * *



Officers spoke with a man from Tyner United Methodist Church, 6805 Standifer Gap Road, who said that someone cut the catalytic converter from the church van. No suspect information is known and no other damage was done to the vehicle.



* * *



A man on Viston Avenue told police that someone unlawfully entered his unlocked vehicle and ransacked it, cracking a section in the dash. No suspect information is known.



* * *



An employee of Academy Sports, 2220 Hamilton Place Blvd., called police and said a black male stole a Jacket ($90) and a pair of Nike Air Max shoes ($129) and left the scene in a Pontiac. Police observed video footage of the man exiting the store with the stolen merchandise.



* * *



A woman on Vance Avenue called police and said she had just arrived home and saw a black male walk off her property with a package, and walk down the street to another house. The woman said she believed the package that was taken was a mattress topper worth $60. Officers went down the street to the house the woman pointed out and spoke with a man there to see if he knew anything regarding the theft. The man was very uncooperative and said he knew nothing about the theft.



* * *



An employee at Ace Hardware, 8150 E Brainerd Road, told police two white males entered the store and one man exited without making a purchase. He said the other man gathered paint ($40), drain cleaner ($15) and tools ($45) and fled the scene with the items. He said the man then entered a white car and fled the scene. The store manager showed police camera footage of the tag of the vehicle and a picture of both suspects. An anonymous caller later called police identifying the two men and said they both were asleep in a bedroom at an address in Chickamauga.



* * *



A woman called police and said that while she was parked at Hamilton Place Mall, 2100 Hamilton Place Blvd., someone stole the tag off her vehicle. The tag was entered into NCIC.



* * *



A woman said she left her vehicle, a black Lexis E35, in the Unum parking lot, 300 Vine St. She said when she returned she saw her glove box was open and contents were pulled out. She said some change, an iPhone charger and an aux Bluetooth connection were the only items stolen from the vehicle. She said she did not observe any damage on her vehicle consistent with forced entry. She did not have any suspect information, however she does wish to prosecute.



* * *



Police responded to a call from a woman at a residence on E. 51st Street, who they found standing outside naked. The woman said her boyfriend woke her up and began hitting and cussing at her. Police observed no visible marks on either the woman or the man, and both were intoxicated. The woman later expanded on her statement, adding that she was just trying to give her boyfriend some "lovin" that he did not want, and that he did not actually strike her. Police are familiar with these two and they are usually intoxicated during interactions. Police transported the woman to her

daughter's apartment for the night.



* * *



Police initiated a traffic stop on a dark Camaro for speeding on Dorris Street. The driver rolled down the window and the officer could see that it was a darker-skinned person driving the vehicle. The officer went to approach from the passenger side, but before he could make contact with the vehicle, it took off at a high rate of speed. The information the officer had on the vehicle was then BOLO'd over the radio.



* * *



Police conducted a traffic stop at 5211 Central Ave. While the driver retrieved his ID, police noticed an unlabeled pill bottle with a clear baggie in a bag. Police also noticed the vehicle smelled of marijuana. The vehicle was a blue Ford Taurus. The driver's license was suspended and police asked him to exit the vehicle, to which he complied. After retrieving the pill bottle and searching the driver's bag, police found a scale with residue on it. Also in the vehicle was another man and his girlfriend. Police searched the vehicle and found more baggies in the driver's door and a small amount of marijuana in a cigarillo pouch in the back seat. Police confiscated the items and turned them into Property.

* * *

A Hamilton County Sheriff's Office deputy observed two males walking around vehicles at an apartment complex, 900 Mountain Creek Road. When the deputy circled around to make contact with the men, he noticed that they had removed a backpack and they said they were walking to the gas station. The men were detained as other officers arrived on scene. The backpack was hidden in the bushes where the deputy originally saw the men. Inside the backpack was a Dewalt battery-operated sawzall with several batteries and metal blades. The men were identified. One man was in possession of the backpack and a Red Bank Police Department officer on scene recognized him from arresting him the week before when he was observed by police actively cutting a catalytic converter off a vehicle. The man said he lives nearby on Glendale Drive. The other man said he lives on Mountain Creek Road in an apartment with his brother. Officers later discovered from property management that the man from Mountain Creek Road is not allowed on the property and was previously banned. The sawzall had metal shavings under the blade guard indicating its use to cut metal objects. The 10 or more sawzall blades in the backpack were all blades designed to cut metal. An operational flashlight was also found in the backpack. The deputy will be taking the suspicious items associated with catalytic converter thefts to HCSO property as he was the primary officer. Officers noted that the CubeSmart Storage next door to this location has had several catalytic thefts, and both suspects live within walking distance.



* * *



A woman on Taylor Street told police that her fence was damaged. She said the night before when her husband got off work he notified her that it was damaged. She said she took a look at it in the morning and confirmed that it was down. Neither the woman or her husband knows what happened to the fence, and no witnesses have told them anything concerning the fence.



* * *



A grandmother on Central Drive called police and said that her 19-year-old grandson was being disrespectful and she wanted him out of the house. The grandson was already in the process of leaving when police arrived and he left without incident.






(@FahadShabbir)

NEW DELHI, (UrduPoint / Pakistan Point News / WAM - 22nd Feb, 2021) International travelers arriving at Indian airports from the middle East, Europe and the UK have been advised by the Ministry of Civil Aviation here to brace for longer wait times from tomorrow, Tuesday.

This is in view of more stringent rules being introduced at entry points to minimize the risk of importation of new, mutant strains of Coronavirus. "All three variants of the virus, from the UK, South Africa and Brazil, have demonstrated increased transmissibility," the Ministry warned.

Airlines operating flights into India have been advised that effective tomorrow, they should keep passengers informed about the need for transit time of a minimum six to eight hours at their airports of entry for connecting domestic flights. Many passengers arriving in India on transit flights through the Middle East connect to domestic flights to airports, which are not served by international airlines.

From tomorrow, all international travelers transiting on flights from the Middle East the UK and Europe are also required to declare their travel history of the previous 14 days in a self-declaration form at the Delhi airport portal before the scheduled travel.

This is also required for travelers originating from these points if they have a history of travel in the previous fortnight.

The portal for self-declaration is www.newdelhiairport.in even for passengers whose destination in India is an airport other than Delhi.

The wide-ranging new rules require airlines to identify international travelers arriving from or transiting through the UK, Brazil and South Africa and segregate them in-flight or while disembarking to enable the authorities to follow the protocols in respect of countries with mutant and more contagious strains of Coronavirus.

"All travelers arriving from or transiting through flights from the Middle East, Europe or the UK, shall be mandatorily subjected to self-paid confirmatory molecular tests on arrival at Indian airports," the Ministry has ordered.

Travelers from the UK, Brazil and South Africa who are found negative upon being tested at the airport shall be allowed to take their connecting flights followed by quarantine at home for a week at their final destination. These travelers shall be tested after seven days and if negative, released from quarantine, with their health monitored for a further seven days.

Other requirements from arriving passengers such as a negative COVID-19 RT-PCR report of 72 hours validity which have been in force since India allowed a limited resumption of international flights in August last year shall continue to be enforced, the Ministry said.
SPRINGFIELD  House Ways and Means Committee Chairman Rep. Richard E. Neal said Monday he expects President Joe Bidens $1.9 trillion American Rescue Plan COVID relief package  which includes a $1,400-per-person payment  to go to an up/down House vote Friday.

From there its on to the Senate.

I expect Americans will start feeling it in March, the Springfield Democrat, told reporters gathered outside his office at the U.S. District Court.

Thatll be before some COVID relief programs passed last year  including unemployment extensions and enhancements  expire on March 14.

The CARES Act saved the American economy, Neal said, referring to the spring 2020 legislation he, former Treasury Secretary Steve Mnuchin and House Democrats wrote in just eight days. But now the economy is starting to stall. This should build us a bridge to a full recovery.

That recovery, Neal said, depends on a massive infrastructure and public works program now being crafted by the White House and congressional leaders. That public works program could fund highways, roads, bridges, east-west rail through Springfield and  in a timely move  enhancing electrical grids.

President Biden has said he wants to go big, Neal said. And we want to go right along with him.

For the American Rescue Plan, the powerful Ways and Means Committee chaired by Neal is responsible for $941 billion  more than half  of the $1.9 trillion legislation.

The Ways and Means provisions:

Give working families an additional direct payment of $1,400 per person  bringing their total relief to $2,000 per person counting $600 approved in December.

Extend temporary federal unemployment and benefits through Aug. 29. The money increases the weekly benefit from $300 to $400.

Enhance the Earned Income Tax Credit for workers without children by nearly tripling the maximum credit and extending eligibility. It would be the largest expansion to the credit since 2009.

Expand the Child Tax Credit to $3,000 per child ($3,600 for children under 6), and makes it fully refundable and advanceable, meaning it it could be a monthly payment.

Increase the tax credit for child care.

Reduce health care premiums for low- and middle-income families by increasing the Affordable Care Acts premium tax credits for 2021 and 2022.

Stabilize the pensions for more than 1 million Americans, often frontline workers, who participate in multiemployer plans that are rapidly approaching insolvency.

Neal said hes been advocating for the expanded Earned income Tax Credit for many years and it, along with some other tax provisions, are things hed like to see made permanent.

It works, he said. I encourages work and it works.

Many of the tax provisions are aimed at families and women. He said its troubling how many women have dropped from the workforce because they cant find child care or because schools have closed.

Schools will get help from the $350 billion in support for state and local government, money that would also be available to first responders, police, firefighters and health workers. Neal specifically cited the need for better ventilation in school buildings.

That provision is under fire from Republicans who call it a blue-state bailout. But Neal, whos appeared with Republican Gov. Charlie Baker talking about the $350 billion, said there are protections in the package. It cant be used for pensions, for instance.

He said hes found over the years that some are opposed to spending like this in the whole, but support specific provisions.

They may not be on board with the topline, he said. The pandemic is not a Democratic problem or a Republican problem. Its a health issue.

Projections show a an extraordinary economic recovery in the second half of this year.

Before we get there. Weve got to solve the pandemic, Neal said.

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Have You Seen This? Baby calmed by Imperial March



Supreme Court Dismisses Slew of 2020 Presidential Election Lawsuits

The Supreme Court threw out a series of legal challenges on Feb. 22 to voting processes and results in several states left over from the recent presidential election cycle.

The high court didnt explain why it refused to hear the cases, but three justices dissented from the decision not to hear one of the cases from Pennsylvania.

On Jan. 11, with Inauguration Day just over a week away, the high court denied requests from the litigantsPresident Donald Trump, Republicans, and Trump supportersto expedite several of the lawsuits, which concerned the presidential elections held in the battleground states of Arizona, Georgia, Michigan, Pennsylvania, and Wisconsin. The court, as is its custom, didnt explain why it dismissed the emergency applications seeking to fast-track the lawsuits.

President Joe Biden, a Democrat, was inaugurated on Jan. 20, alongside Vice President Kamala Harris after Congress voted Jan. 7 to reject objections by senators and representatives challenging Electoral College votes from disputed states won narrowly by Biden. That vote took place after a breach of the U.S. Capitol by hundreds of protesters delayed the certification process for hours.

Some of the lawsuits challenged the election results on the basis of allegedly unconstitutional changes made to state election procedures. Article II of the U.S. Constitution states that Each State shall appoint [electors for president and vice president] in such Manner as the Legislature thereof may direct. Litigants point out that the legislative power here is plenary, meaning unqualified and absolute.

State officials, they say, arent allowed to modify election procedures without the consent of the legislature.

One of the now-dismissed appeals, Republican Party of Pennsylvania v. Degraffenreid, court files 20-542 and 20-574, was originally known as Republican Party of Pennsylvania v. Boockvar, but then respondent Kathy Boockvar resigned as Pennsylvanias secretary of state and was replaced by Veronica Degraffenreid. The case dealt with the perceived overreach of the states Supreme Court when it unilaterally changed election rules without the consent of the state legislature.

The GOP argued in its petition that important questions of federal law [were] implicated by the Pennsylvania Supreme Courts 43 decision extending the General Assemblys Election Day received-by deadline and mandating a presumption of timeliness for non-postmarked ballots.

This is the case in which Justice Samuel Alito ordered on Nov. 6, three days after Election Day, that all ballots received by mail after 8:00 p.m. on November 3 be segregated, away from other voted ballots.

Justices Alito, Clarence Thomas, and Neil Gorsuch dissented from the Supreme Courts decision not to hear the appeal.

On Feb. 22, Alito wrote in his dissent, joined by Gorsuch, that the case presents an important and recurring constitutional question: whether the Elections or Electors Clauses of the United States Constitution  are violated when a state court holds that a state constitutional provision overrides a state statute governing the manner in which a federal election is to be conducted. That question has divided the lower courts, and our review at this time would be greatly beneficial.

In his dissent, Thomas expressed frustration, writing that the court failed to settle this dispute before the election, and thus provide clear rules. Now we again fail to provide clear rules for future elections.

Another now-dismissed appeal, Kelly v. Pennsylvania, court file 20-810, was brought by Rep. Mike Kelly (R-Pa.), a strong Trump supporter who challenged Bidens victory in the Keystone State. Kelly had asked the Supreme Court to consider his lawsuit which challenged mail-in voting policies in his home state of Pennsylvania. Kelly argued that Act 77, the 2019 state statute that authorized universal, no-excuses mail-in voting, violated the Constitution.

Although support for challenging Electoral College results evaporated in Congress after the breach of the Capitol, Kelly held firm, objecting to the certification of the Pennsylvania electors early on Jan. 7. The challenge failed.

The Supreme Court denied another petition from Pennsylvania, Donald J. Trump for President v. Degraffenreid, court file 20-845. Boockvar was originally listed as the respondent.

Trump campaign attorney John C. Eastman of Anaheim, California, told The Epoch Times in mid-January that he still held out hope the nations highest court would take up the case because it concerned important issues.

There is a well-recognized exception to mootness called capable of repetition yet evading review, he said at the time.

It is invoked quite frequently in election litigation, as oftentimes the issues are as applicable to the next election as to the current one. Our legal issuewhether non-legislative election and judicial officials in the state have the ability to ignore or alter state election law in the manner of choosing presidential electors violates Article II of the U.S. Constitution, remains important and in need of the Courts review.

Another dismissed case was Wood v. Raffensperger, court file 20-799, brought by Trump supporter and lawyer L. Lin Wood against Georgia Secretary of State Brad Raffensperger. Wood argued that Raffensperger, a Republican, usurped the plenary authority of the Georgia Legislature by entering into a Settlement Agreement with the Democratic Party earlier this year and issuing an Official Election Bulletin that modified the Legislatures clear procedures for verifying the identity of mail-in voters.

The March 2020 settlement with the Democratic Party of Georgia, the Democratic Senatorial Campaign Committee, and the Democratic Congressional Campaign Committee violated voters rights by setting forth totally different standards to be followed [by] a poll worker processing absentee ballots in Georgia.

A case from Arizona, Ward v. Jackson, court file 20-809, also was dismissed.

That lawsuit, brought by Arizona GOP chief Kelli Ward, claimed that the lower courts hadnt allowed sufficient time to those challenging the states election results.

In this case, the lower courts allowed only two full days of inspection and discovery into the validity of the presidential election in Arizona, in which  [3,333,829] ballots were cast.

A case from Michigan, King v. Whitmer, court file 20-815, was dismissed.

The petition stated that there were widespread voter irregularities and fraud in the State of Michigan in the processing and tabulating of votes and absentee ballots, and that the trial court completely and utterly ignored the dozens of affidavits, testimonials, expert opinions, diagrams and photos that supported the petitioners claim.

A case from Wisconsin, Trump v. Biden, court file 20-882, also was dismissed.

The Trump campaign challenged a ruling by the Wisconsin Supreme Court that allegedly violated Article II of the Constitution by upholding the counting of 50,125 absentee ballots cast in two counties pursuant to the decisions of election officials to ignore or circumvent state statutes requiring that absentee ballots be delivered only by mail or by hand delivery to the clerk.
The Department of Basic Education has confirmed that it plans to move ahead with the introduction of coding and robotics at South African schools.

Briefing parliaments portfolio committee on Education, the department said that it is awaiting feedback from regulator Umalusi on the proposed curriculum for the subjects.

The department said that it then plans to introduce a pilot project with grades R-3 in 200 schools across all provinces, and with grade 7 in 1,000 schools across all provinces.

A national training team is expected to be trained in March 2021, whowill then train teachers in April.

The department stressed that no additional teachers will be hired, with the new curriculum to be taught by existing teachers, following training.

Seliki Tlhabane, chief director of Maths, Science, Technology and ICT in the Department of Basic Education said that a number of factors needed to be considered when introducing any new subjects into schools.

This includes:

There must be a written and approved curriculum.

There must be trained subject advisors and orientated and trained teachers to teach the curriculum.

There must be Learning, Teaching, Support Materials (LTSM) such as workbooks or digital resources.

The schools that are offering the subject must be ready and equipped with the necessary resources (workshops, labs) depending on the subject.

There must be clear guidelines on how the subject will be assessed.

Tlhabane said that the department plans to take on board any suggestions made by Umalusi for the curriculum, and that it will be made available for public comment.

He said this feedback from the public, as well as input from teachers, will be introduced into the curriculum. It will then become part of the Curriculum Assessment Policy Statements (CAPS) and an official subject that schools can offer.

The chief director said that during the initial phase there will be three teachers per pilot school, while provinces have submitted the list of teachers to be trained from the foundation phase, and grade 7.

He said that teachers will be trained in face-to-face lessons as well as online through an initiative with Unisa.

Tlhabane said that unlike subjects such as science, this new curriculum does not need dedicated rooms at schools, which will make it easier to implement.

Now read: How to get the 2020 matric results
The two most practical alternatives to Smith Bay for handling chip, log and pellets are the existing ramp facility at Kingscote wharf, and the SeaLink passenger ferry service from Penneshaw.

The dispatch via the Sealink ferry is part of KPTs plan to establish alternate routes to market

( ) dispatched the first trial load of softwood logs via the Sealink ferry from Penneshaw to the mainland on February 19 2021, for sale to a South Australian domestic customer.

If this trial is successful, the company contemplates regular orders will be dispatched via the Sealink ferry service to domestic customers, and newly emerging export markets from Port Adelaide.

Background

Following the fires of December 2019-January 2020, KPT accelerated plans to build its proposed seaport at Smith Bay to realise the residual value of the fire-affected crop.

In December 2020, KPT was successful in its application for a $5 million Commonwealth grant to develop a pellet mill to consume fire-damaged logs not capable of being sold into conventional mainland and export markets.

The announcement noted that all forest products, including logs, chips and pellet product, would be exported via the proposed seaport at Smith Bay.

The dispatch via the Sealink ferry is part of KPTs plan to establish alternate routes to market while the company continues to await advice from government on the approval process for the proposed seaport at Smith Bay.

Barging of logs from Kingscote

The two most practical alternatives to Smith Bay for handling chip, log and pellets are the existing ramp facility at Kingscote wharf, and the SeaLink passenger ferry service from Penneshaw.

KIPT is in advanced negotiations with its construction partner, Adelaide-based Maritime Constructions, to start barging of logs from Kingscote in order to meet impending market orders for logs.

The barging service will occur from an existing ramp facility which is subject to a long-term lease held by Maritime Constructions.

Maritime Constructions has recently submitted a development application to state government for the upgrade of the ramp and associated piles, but this does not prohibit immediate use with the appropriate configuration.

All practical options to export logs off the island

KPT managing director Keith Lamb said: The announcement today will not come as a surprise to shareholders and stakeholders of KIPT.

Following the fires of 2019-20, and while the Company awaits state governments decision for Smith Bay, we must pursue all practical options to export logs off the island.

The two most practical routes to market via Kingscote and Penneshaw, will present greater impacts to the community and environment compared to our proposed seaport at Smith Bay.

Neither are capable of handling the entire resource in the time required.

While we are pursuing these in the short-term, KIPT reaffirms its commitment to developing its proposed seaport at Smith Bay as the best all-round permanent solution for the company and the community of Kangaroo Island.
[February 22, 2021] Cytta CEO Announces Great Strides in SUPR and IGAN Product Development and Market Introductions

Las Vegas , Feb. 22, 2021 (GLOBE NEWSWIRE) -- -- Cytta Corp (OTCPINK: CYCA ) Cyttas CEO, Gary Campbell is pleased to share the following open letter to all shareholders. The letter provides an update on Cytta Corp. product development, business operations and partnership activities in conjunction with future plans for making the Company a success as we emerge from the COVID-19 pandemic, in 2021 and beyond.



Dear Cytta Corp. Shareholders and Supporters; Initially I want to thank everyone for their patience and cooperation as we dealt with the extreme difficulties of operating Cytta during the pandemic. We were subjected to multiple challenges not the least of which were travel and demonstration issues along with various supply chain disruptions. Our Team has been diligently busy showcasing multiple use case demonstrations for our technology featuring the new IGAN Incident Command Vehicle, while coordinating and assisting First Responders and Emergency workers with social distancing, COVID-19 vaccination programs, and remote provision of emergency services to keep workers safe. Let me now take this opportunity to share with you the tremendous progress of Cytta this past year and the exciting enhancements to our SUPR Intelligence, Surveillance and Reconnaissance (ISR) proprietary compression technology and the IGAN Incident Command System (ICS) video and audio omnidirectional connectivity solution. We have unlocked greater capabilities, created easier connectivity, and generated global interest for our uniquely scalable platforms that offer multiple advantages!



As video resolution increases, the compression technology market has evolved remarkably in the past three years, consistent with our strategic plan. Experience now shows the Cytta SUPR platform is a paradigm shifting compression platform for HD, 4K and higher resolution capabilities, giving the consumer, industry and government unprecedented access to high resolution video streaming technological innovation. SUPR Compression embedded in any hardware or software unlocks the highest quality video streaming capabilities with ultra-low latency, bandwidth and power consumption. Our IGAN ICS is Cyttas signature new connectivity development and affords Government, First Responders, Emergency Medical Services, and Industrial Inspection & Environmental groups full control and access to their live, remote video streams and voice interaction. Incident Global Area Network (IGAN) provides police, fire, industry, and first responders with real-time situational awareness by connecting all assets omnidirectionally; including: drones, phone cams, body cams, bomb robots, video feeds, and 2-way radios with sub-half-second latency high-quality video streaming. In addition, we have utilized the opportunity of the last few months to create additional use case dependent variations of our technologies and products. We have created instant global omnidirectional video and audio access by conjoining our superior and disruptive data compression technology with multiple models of our IGAN connectivity solution for a full and viable turnkey solution in any market. Cyttas SUPR and IGAN technologies have now been acquired by multiple reference clients and orders for second generation began in late 2020. As stated, our technologies create a first-of-its-kind solutions that we initially brough to the First Responder and Defense markets in 2019 and 2020 and are now poised to expand it into many other industry applications in 2021 and beyond. We are also engaged in discussions with interested parties from multiple industries and groups regarding pilot programs utilizing our technologies for Environmental. Social and Governance applications. Advisors Cytta enjoyed alot of new interest and attention from First Responders, Emergency Management, Emergency Medical Services, Security and Defense, and Industrial & Environmental Solutions during 2020. As a result, we gained support from many potential Advisors eager to help contribute to our programs. Cytta by attracting some of the brightest and relevant minds available today, will over the next few months, create and implement Boards of Advisors to assist in advancing our products and in developing markets for same. Please look at our updated website in the next few weeks for a list of these exceptional people and their backgrounds. We are immensely proud that so many have agreed to join the Cytta Team to pursue our important common goals.



Operations Beyond the several new agreements and partnerships that give Cytta its market advantage, we are also excited to recognize another year of successful integration by highly capable technical team. They initiated and developed a specific consumer strategy and product suites that complements our enterprise solutions. Together, these two solutions (SUPR and IGAN) capture all of todays streaming and interconnectivity requirements and they set the stage for Cyttas market dominance as our industry segments mature.

Corporate and Regulatory Cytta has determined, as a company objective, that we will become a Reporting Issuer under the Securities Act 1934 as soon as practical. To this end the company has prepared draft financials and engaged Auditors to complete Audited Financial Statements for the company for 2020 and 2019. Completion of these Audited Financials will allow the Company to file the regulatory documentation to become a Reporting Issuer once again under the 1934 Securities Act. Additionally, a very reputable Investment Banking firm has agreed to partner with the Company moving forward and will be assisting with our ongoing capital requirements. In Summary The Cytta technologies are market ready solutions for todays communication needs and we are positioning our technologies to provide numerous industries with new mechanisms for increasing their communications capabilities. We are also experiencing outreach from several exceptional new partners ready to implement and market our products and help tell our story. Cyttas immediate results and longer-term strategy map are focused on these market drivers that will evolve from forces such as video streaming, increased resolution and need for realtime connectivity of multiple parties. First Responders, Emergency Services, Industrial and Environmental services, Medical Service Providers, and Defense and Security groups will drive all groups to change their less advanced connectivity delivery models, to our proactive, technology-enhanced solutions. Cytta envisions its total array of customers to include all the above groups in transformative collaboration for communication and connectivity solutions, in America and, ultimately, internationally. For us, the way forward for Cytta is clear. We are continuing to develop our unique technological platforms that create increased and superior connectivity while increasing demonstrate corporate value through sales of our proprietary products, creative implementations, collaborative partnerships, as well as fundamental, revenue and profit. We are also continuing to seek channel distribution partners in multiple industries and options to augment our sales and marketing programs. We are also exploring opportunities to quickly enter the rapidly emerging connectivity markets by opening our platform to products that are based on technologies as compelling as our own. We continue to strive to build a sustainable emerging growth company that provides lasting value to our customers and to you, our shareholders. Thank you for your ongoing support and we look forward to a successful 2021 and beyond. About Us Cytta Corp ( OTCPINK: CYCA) develops industry advancing products utilizing paradigm shifting technology. Our proprietary SUPR ISR technology is the most powerful codec in the world and is the technology at the core of our products, designed specifically for streaming and storing HD, 4K, and higher resolution video. The IGAN ICS system seamlessly streams and integrates omnidirectionally all relevant video and audio during emergency situations. This creates real-time video and audio situational awareness for police, firefighters, first responders, industry, military and their command centers.



Cytta Corp products work in size, weight, and power-constrained (SWaP) operating environments, and evolved through use in the military by meeting the need to stream multiple HD, 4K, and 4K+ video feeds with ultra-low latency, bandwidth, and power consumption. Cytta is taking this streaming, storage, and transfer technology to enterprises that would like to send more high-quality videos with fewer resources. Cytta manufactures all their products in the USA. For more information, please visit Cytta.com and/or the Cytta Video Channel on YouTube for our new Video highlighting Cyttas IGAN Incident Command Vehicle during Stormageddon - Texas Edition 2021. Cytta Media humbly requests that you Click the link, View, Like and Subscribe to our channel. Safe Harbor Statement / Forward-Looking Statements Statements included in this press release, which are not historical in nature, are forward-looking statements made pursuant to the safe harbor provisions of the Private Securities Litigation Reform Act of 1995. Statements relating to the future performance of the Company are subject to many factors including, but not limited to, the customer acceptance of the products in the market, the introduction of competitive products and product development, the impact of any product liability or other adverse litigation, working capital and availability of capital, commercialization and technological difficulties, the impact of actions and events involving key customers, vendors, lenders, competitors, and other risks. Such statements are based upon the current beliefs and expectations of the Company's management and are subject to significant risks and uncertainties. Actual results may differ from those set forth in the forward-looking statements. When used in this press release, the terms "anticipate", "believe", "estimate", "expect", "may", "objective", "plan", "possible", "potential", "project", "will", and similar expressions identify forward-looking statements. The forward-looking statements contained in this press release are made as of the date hereof, and we do not undertake any obligation to update any forward-looking statements, whether as a result of future events, new information, or otherwise.

Cytta Corp www.cytta.com Office (855) 511-4426 info@cytta.com Gary Campbell, CEO Direct (702) 900-7022 Gary@cytta.com Michael Chermak, Chief Administrative and Investment Officer Cell: (619) 977-7203 Chermak@Cytta.com Corporate Communications Contact: Complete Advisory Partners Office: (586) 228-2290 Cell: (586) 801-9002 Email: CapInc@comcast.net

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Homebuyers are opting for ready-to-move-in properties due to the uncertainties of getting possession of under-construction projects. As per a Real Insight Residential-Annual Round-up-2020 report issued by PropTiger, the share of ready-to-move-in properties in total sales has gone up from 7% in 2015 to 21% in 2020.

The share has been consistently going up as homebuyers dont want to take the risk of delayed property possession.

Also Read | Inside the five-year battle food companies have fought to resist stricter labelling norms

A large number of projects have been delayed, making buyers wary of under-construction properties.

Developers generally offer favourable payment plans for under-construction properties, which make them relatively cheaper than ready-to-move-in properties.

View Full Image Graphic Mint





Risk-averse homebuyers are increasingly opting for ready-to-move-in flats. Even in under-construction properties, the preference is towards branded developers or those with an impeccable track record of execution," said Dhruv Agarwala, group CEO, Housing.com, Makaan.com & PropTiger.com.

As per the report, a total of 182,640 units were sold in 2020 calendar year, of which 21% were in the ready-to-move-in category and 79% were under construction.

In 2019, a total of 347,590 units were sold, of which 18%, or 62,566 units, were in the ready-to-move-in category.

Among various cities, the share of ready-to-move-in units in total sales was the highest in Chennai at 32% and lowest in Hyderabad at 12% during 2020. The share of ready-to-move-in units in total sales increased the most in Delhi-NCR at 27% in 2020 from 17% in the previous year.

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Addressing farmers at Nagulavancha in Chintakani mandal, Bhatti said that Congress is fighting for the continuation of Indira Kranthi Patham centres and other departmental purchase centres. (Photo: Facebook @BhattiVikramarkaMallu)

KHAMMAM: Congress Legislature Party (CLP) leader Mallu Bhatti Vikramarka said that the TRS government will face the music if it closes farm produce purchase centres.

Addressing farmers at Nagulavancha in Chintakani mandal, Bhatti said that Congress is fighting for the continuation of Indira Kranthi Patham centres and other departmental purchase centres. He said that farmers will be subject to more distress in the absence of such centres.

He said that the style and mannerism of Chief Minister K Chandrashekar Rao changed after his meetings with Prime Minister Narendra Modi and home minister Amit Shah. He said that Rao took a U-turn on the three farm laws after his Delhi tour and is worried to talk against the BJP-led Union government.

Farmers who raised sanna rakalu (fine rice) on the advice of the Chief Minister lost Rs10,000 per acre. There is no truth to his claim that Telangana peasants are happy with Rythu Bandhu. Not only paddy farmers but even those into turmeric, maize and red gram suffered substantial losses, he said.

The Congress leader said many farmers wanted the government to provide loans at 25 paise interest, drip irrigation systems, seeds and fertilisers on subsidized rates instead of Rythu Bandhu. The farmers want only the minimum support price for their produce, he said.

Nearly 37 lakh bank accounts of farmers are in shambles due to the haphazard loan-waiver implementation, he said. Bhatti said that ministers from the district are resorting to corruption at every level. He said that the TRS government turned every department into money-spinners for themselves. He challenged the Chief Minister for a public debate on the debts that were made for Kaleshwaram irrigation project.

On the three farm laws, he said that the corporate sector will be benefited while farmers will lose out.
The Lagos4Lagos movement, a group within the All Progressives Congress (APC) in Lagos State, has said it is time for the state to resist the imposition of political office holders by a supposed godfather in Lagos.

Abdul-Azeez Adediran, the convener of the group, spoke at a press conference in Lagos.

Mr Adediran said it is time for Lagosians to begin to choose their leaders themselves, and not allow some people to select for them.

Although the group did not name anyone, it was apparently referring to Bola Tinubu, the national leader of the APC and a former governor of Lagos, who has largely been instrumental in choosing the partys candidates for elections in the state.

We want, for the first time, a party that will be that of the people; not a party of an individual; a party that we can all call our own, Mr Adediran said at the press conference.

We want a party where I can contest in my constituency if I am popular, and get the peoples vote to fly our partys flag, not a party where somebody will say, no, sit down, irrespective of your level of popularity, and let another person go.

It is time for Lagos to work for Lagosians, hence the mantra, Lagos4Lagos. For many years, Lagos has only worked for a few individuals, he said.

Mr Adediran said political affairs in Lagos will experience a change in 2023 and the ugly trend in which a man imposes candidates since 1999 will stop.

Speaking about registration and revalidation of APC party members, the group said it will actively commence registration to identify its own people.

We have put up a committee of 852 members across the 20 local governments and 25 wards to begin registration.

This new registration happens to be one of our prayers to the national body of the party to say look, we are ready to populate the party with young energies, the youth.

But there are things we believe we need to do at the level of the party, we need to press a reset body in the party because we have been running a party where we cant even say this the three numerical strength, he said.

The APC membership registration started on February 9 and was expected to last for two weeks.

Other members of the Lagos4Lagos group present at the conference are Rasheed Osanyinpeju, the Public Relations Officer, Funke Ijaiye-Kunle, the central coordinator, and Seun Soyinka, the publicity secretary.

Mr Adediran said during the partys primary elections, the state records millions of votes but when the actual election comes, 500,000 to 700,000 are being recorded which shows that there is a deficiency.

He said Lagos4Lagos is a movement that aims to rebuild the party.

We are infiltrating the party to bring about a change, he said.

We are not unmindful that there are some elements within the party resisting or trying to frustrate the process.

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NEW DELHI: Actor Mohit Chadda, who was last seen in 2010 released Bollywood film 'Dulha Mil Gaya', is set to hit the silver screen after a hiatus of 11 years. He will next be seen in the action thriller film 'Flight'. Recently, UFO Moviez had announced on social media that the film directed by Suraj Joshi will be released on March 19, 2021.

The makers also released a teaser of the film on social media to give audiences a peek into the film's story. The short trailer garnered mixed reactions. While some people praised the teaser, others expressed doubts about the authenticity of the movie.

A Twitter user tweeted, "Is Mohit Chadda's upcoming film Flight a remake of Chinese film 'The Captain'?" Surprisingly, Chaddha took it upon himself to reply to the curious user and said, "We have made an original film, my friend. It is not a copy of any other film."

For the unversed, 'Flight' revolves around the fascinating story of a man Ranveer Malhotra, played by Mohit Chadda, who fights for his survival on a dangerous plane ride. The film is directed by debutant director Suraj Joshi and features Mohit Chadda, Pavan Malhotra, Zakir Hussain, Viveck Vaswani, Shibani Bedi in pivotal roles.

The film is all set to be released on March 19, 2021.
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The two-stage Antares rocket, developed with the participation of the Ukrainian side, has successfully launched the Cygnus cargo spacecraft into orbit, the State Space Agency of Ukraine reported on Facebook on February 20.

"Today [on February 20], at 19:36 Kyiv time, the Antares rocket was successfully launched from Wallops Island (the United States)," the report reads.

According to the report, the two-stage Antares rocket was developed by American company Northrop Grumman with a third optional stage, and today it is Cygnus.

The main design of the first stage of the rocket was developed by the Yuzhnoye Design Office and manufactured by Yuzhny Machine-Building Plant (Yuzhmash).

Acting Head of the State Space Agency of Ukraine Mykhailo Lev congratulated the specialists of the Yuzhnoye Design Office, Yuzhmash and Hartron-Arkos on the successful launch of the rocket.

"The successful launch of the Antares rocket has once again shown the high efficiency of cooperation between the domestic space enterprises Yuzhnoye Design Office, Yuzhny Machine-Building Plant, Hartron-Arkos, Kyivprylad, Hartron-Yukom, Chezara, RAPID, and others. The high class of our specialists helps provide real-time technical support for the launch, receiving and processing telemetric information, without any hindrances, from the territory of the Yuzhnoye Design Office," he said.

Lev also expressed the hope that cooperation between Ukrainian enterprises would soon help produce a wholly domestic product - a medium-class launch vehicle, which will be the flagship of the Ukrainian rocket industry for the coming years.

According to NASA, the Cygnus spacecraft docking to the ISS is scheduled for February 22.

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By Sarah N. Lynch and Doina Chiacu

WASHINGTON (Reuters) - President Joe Biden's attorney general nominee, Merrick Garland, vowed on Monday to protect the integrity of the Justice Department from partisan influence, in an effort to restore confidence after President Donald Trump repeatedly sought to bend the department to his will.

Trump, a Republican who lost to Biden in November, for years attacked Justice Department investigations of his 2016 campaign and Russian election interference as a "witch hunt" or a "hoax."

Garland, in his confirmation hearing before the Senate Judiciary Committee, also vowed to make the investigation of the Jan. 6 riots at the U.S. Capitol a top priority.

The next attorney general will inherit a few investigations that began during the Trump administration of the origin of those probes and also of Hunter Biden, the new president's son.

"I would not have taken this job if I had thought politics would have any influence over prosecutions or investigations," Garland told the panel.

"The president has promised that those decisions will only be made by the attorney general, and that is what I plan to do. I do not plan to be interfered with by anyone. I expect the Justice Department will make its own decisions in this regard."

Garland's promises marked a contrast from previous Attorney General William Barr, who was criticized for his willingness to intervene in criminal cases in ways that benefited Trump's political allies, from Michael Flynn to Roger Stone.

Garland pledged to sit down with department staff, who have suffered from low morale for the past four years amid partisan attacks and accusations by Trump they were part of a "deep state."

"I want to make clear to the career prosecutors...that my job is to protect them from partisan or other improper motives," Garland said, adding that for now his visits with them will need to be over Zoom due to the pandemic.

Story continues

Garland, a federal appellate judge and former prosecutor, is widely expected to be confirmed as the nation's top U.S. law enforcement official.

He was nominated to lead a Justice Department in the midst of intensive investigations into the Jan. 6 attack on the U.S. Capitol by a mob of Trump supporters - an incident Garland called "heinous."

Some of the more than 200 people arrested in the siege were associated with groups such as the Oath Keepers and Proud Boys, underscoring rising concern about future violence from right-wing extremists.

Garland has experience in tackling such threats, having managed the sprawling investigation into the 1995 Oklahoma City bombing by anti-government extremists and supervising the prosecution of the so-called Unabomber Theodore Kaczynski after a deadly bombing spree.

Garland told the committee he fears the Jan.6 riots were "not necessarily a one-off" and vowed to devote resources to the probe.

"We must do everything in the power of the Justice Department to prevent this kind of interference with policies of American democratic institutions," Garland said.

Garland's pledge to maintain the independence of Justice Department investigations will also encompass ongoing cases that may cast members of Biden's family or former Obama officials in an unfavorable light.

Amid questioning by Republicans, Garland said he had not discussed the Justice Department's investigation into Hunter Biden's taxes with the White House.

Biden has made clear that decisions about investigations and prosecutions will be left to the Justice Department, Garland told lawmakers. "So the answer to your question is no."

He told Republicans he expects to allow John Durham, who was appointed by Barr to investigate the origins of the investigation into Trump's 2016 presidential campaign, to continue his work.

"I understand that he has been permitted to remain in his position and sitting here today I have no reason to think that that was not the correct decision," Garland said.

EQUAL JUSTICE FOR ALL?

Apart from the Justice Department's focus on combating domestic terrorism, Garland said he intends to prioritize enforcing the civil rights laws, an area advocates say was decimated during the Trump administration.

The Justice Department has faced pressure to take steps to hold police departments accountable for civil rights violations, after a white police officer killed African American George Floyd last year in Minneapolis.

The killing sparked nationwide protests, but those did little to motivate the Justice Department to open probes into systemic police misconduct or other civil rights violations.

Unlike Barr, who told Congress last year he did not believe systemic racism plagued the criminal justice system, Garland was unequivocal on whether the system treats Americans equally.

"Sadly, and it's plain to me, that it's not, that it does not," Garland told Democratic Senator Cory Booker.

Garland said he would resume using court-ordered consent decrees to hold police departments accountable, a tool largely abandoned during the Trump administration.

He also told Congress his support for the death penalty has eroded amid concerns it disproportionately affects Black Americans and other communities of color and that too many are wrongfully convicted.

Garland stopped short of saying he will advocate for commuting all federal death sentences, but he did embrace Biden's support for eliminating mandatory minimum sentences as part of criminal justice reform.

(Reporting by Sarah N. Lynch and Doina Chiacu; Editing by Will Dunham and Alistair Bell)
Vaccine passports could be required to enter pubs, restaurants and other venues after Boris Johnson announced a review into their use.

He said that one of four official investigations will look at whether to introduce 'Covid status certification', despite Downing Street insisting for weeks that such domestic documents would not be supported.

It was one of four reviews announced by the Prime Minister in the Commons today.

Announcing the move to MPs Mr Johnson said the review would examine whether the certificates would be useful 'in helping venues to open safely - but mindful of the many concerns surrounding exclusion, discrimination and privacy'.

Senior ministers have frequently appeared to dismiss the idea of introducing vaccine passports in the UK.

Nadhim Zahawi, the Government's vaccines minister, labelled them 'discriminatory' as ministers looked to persuade the public to take up the offer of a jab without the threat of being barred from entering hospitality or other venues if they do not get inoculated against Covid-19.

He said that the work will look at whether to introduce 'Covid status certification', despite Downing Street insisting for weeks that such domestic documents would not be supported.

The roadmap itself states: 'Covid status certification involves using testing or vaccination data to confirm in different settings that people have a lower risk of transmitting COVID-19 to others.

'The Government will review whether Covid-status certification could play a role in reopening our economy, reducing restrictions on social contact and improving safety.

'This will include assessing to what extent certification would be effective in reducing risk, and the potential uses to enable access to settings or a relaxation of Covid-Secure mitigations.

'The Government will also consider the ethical, equalities, privacy, legal and operational aspects of this approach and what limits, if any, should be placed on organisations using certification.

'It will draw on external advice to develop recommendations that take into account any social and economic impacts, and implications for disproportionately impacted groups and individuals' privacy and security.

'The Government will set out its conclusions in advance of Step 4 in order to inform the safe reopening of society and the economy.'

Officials recognise that there are moral and ethical questions as well as practical ones for any such move, which has been highly controversial in Westminster.

As well as looking at whether vaccines could enable people to return to a sense of normality, the review will also look at the viability of allowing people to show evidence of a negative test to gain access to a venue.

Former prime minister Tony Blair has, through his institute, regularly called for vaccine passports to be used to reopen society.

The Health Secretary Matt Hancock has previously said people will be able to request their vaccination record from their GP to allow them to travel to countries that required proof of inoculation status but that the UK had 'no plans' to roll them out domestically.

A research programme will use pilot schemes involving testing and other measures to run events with larger crowd sizes.

International travel rules will also be reviewed, with May 17 targeted as the earliest possible date for a foreign holiday.

A further piece of work to conclude by June 21 will examine social distancing requirements - including hugs with friends and relatives - the use of face masks and requirements to work from home.

The measures are expected to be put to a Commons vote before the House rises for Easter in late March.

Mr Johnson continued: 'In view of these cautious but, I hope, irreversible changes, people may be concerned about what these changes mean for the various support packages for livelihoods, for people and the economy.

'So I want to reassure the House we will not pull the rug out - for the duration of the pandemic the Government will continue to do whatever it takes to protect jobs and livelihoods across the UK.

'And the Chancellor will set out further details in the Budget next Wednesday.'
John McAreavey has spoken at length for the first time about his grief following the murder of his late wife, Michaela Harte.

Michaela was tragically killed at 27-years-old while the two were honeymooning in Mauritius in 2011.

John is now married to Tara Brennan and they welcomed their first child last October.

The GAA player said he would never use the term moving on when it comes to his late wife, and the trauma from her death leaves him worried that Tara will be taken from him.

Expand Close John McAreavey and his late wife Michaela McAreavey on their wedding day / Facebook

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Speaking to Brian Dowling on his podcast Death Becomes Him, he said: I haven't really spoken publicly about my grief in that many settings in the past 10 years.

"It was a worldwide story. I think the fact that it was so tragic, that's what caught people's attention. We were only married a number of days before.

"At a time when you should be in the most perfect bliss of your life, your honeymoon, for something so tragic to happen, it's almost incomprehensible to people. People just felt so sorry for me and for our families.

He said nothing can prepare you for grief and that 10 years after the death of Michaela he would never use the term moving on.

He explained that he would never move on with his grief but move forward with this in my life.

"This concept or notion of moving on in life, always really bugged the life out of me, John said.

"For me, it was always about moving forward with this being a part of my life. Trying to actually move forward in life, and have a place for this grief in my life, and it didn't give me the guilt that if I was trying to move forward in life, trying to have a life after the death of Michaela that I wasn't putting it into a box.

During the conversation about grief, the Co Down man spoke about the trauma of Michaelas murder on him.

"I had visions of what happened to Michaela come to me every day for a long, long time, he said.

They would come at the most random times, there didnt have to be something that triggered them. I could just be in class and they would come to me.

Rather than trying to block them out, after a while, I said, Im going to think about this for a while now that its come into my mind. Im going to think about it. Im going to give it two or three minutes and then Im going to say Im done thinking about that now and Im going to move forward with my day.

He said he was a very sad person for a long time after Michaelas death, and that while the wound will always be there he is now in a place where there is calmness, there is love, there is joy.
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Iranian Central Bank governor dismissed

Armenian opposition: The one who liberated Artsakh will not go to debates with the one who sold it

Iranian energy ministry: Iraq to allocate $ 125 million of frozen funds for vaccines

No new COVID-19 cases reported in Artsakh

Iran and Iraq to intensify cooperation and are ready for joint investment projects

Armenia ex-PM says at least 2 more secret documents signed but not published yet

Indonesia frees Iranian tanker 4 months later

Mortar shelling in Afghanistan kills at least 10 civilians

Fire breaks out at West Virginia oil refinery in US

Second President of Armenia meets with residents of Ararat province

Iran ready to help improve the defense capability of Syria

Armenian acting PM invites ex-presidents for debates

European Parliament head proposes to strengthen sanctions on Russia

UK PM gets married in London

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EU countries invite US to issue joint statement against Russia

2 people die in Armenia road accident

Nigeria: Students taken hostage a month ago are released

61 quakes recorded in Congo per day

Syrian MFA: EU lost credibility due to blind obedience to US policy

Armenia ex-minister of emergency situations hospitalized with heart attack

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Armenia ex-president says current authorities are trying to blame Russia for defeat in war

4 people killed in Afghanistani bus attack

Robert Kocharyan: This war could not have happened, it was a consequence of the policy of the authorities

Kocharyan: I have to ask people how it happened that overwhelming majority elected this leader

Armen Gevorgyan presents 'Armenia' bloc program: We offer the concept of a working country

Biden's administration proposed to leave unchanged amount of financial support to Armenia

US Embassy in Baku calls on Azerbaijan to immediately release Armenian POWs

Luxembourg MFA calls on Azerbaijan to immediately release all Armenian prisoners

Russia peacekeepers climb to Armenia Gegharkunik Province village positions

Biden strongly condemns manifestations of antisemitism in US

Iran intensifies its diplomacy amid Armenia-Azerbaijan border tensions

Armenia acting PM on forthcoming snap parliamentary elections: We hope to get 60% of votes
This week is President Joe Biden's first big test, as his massive relief Covid-19 relief bill comes together on the Hill with very little bipartisan support.

On the cusp of 500,000 deaths and nearly one year into the pandemic that has devastated the economy, spiked unemployment, shuttered businesses and shattered families, Democrats will try to remain united and pass one more massive $1.9 trillion relief bill testing the party's ability to deliver for their new President and lead together.

Bottom line: The next three weeks will give an early glimpse into how the Democrats' moderates and progressives work together, who is willing to make good on their threats to torpedo legislation and who is willing to set aside their political grievances in the name of the bigger picture.

The goal is to pass this bill and get it signed by March 14. Everything has to go smoothly for that to happen. One party having the House, Senate and White House is never as easy as it looks, and that's true even when talking about legislation that is overwhelmingly popular with the American public. When you ask members on the fence why they are voting for a bill that includes provisions they may not be so keen on, their answer is simple: you cannot vote against Biden's first big ask and you certainly can't vote against it when it polls like this package does.

What you'll see in the House this week

The House Budget Committee is going to meet at 1 p.m. ET on Monday to mark up their 591-page bill and work to pass it out of Committee. The markup will be an opportunity for Republicans to message against the bill, rail against the increase in health care subsidies, attack provisions that provide funding to humanities, the arts and the preservation of Native American languages -- which they will argue have nothing to do with coronavirus -- and rail against the overall price tag of the package. They'll offer amendments that we don't expect to pass and then, when everyone has had enough, there will be a vote to advance the bill out of committee and send it to the floor.

The final vote on the package on the floor will be later this week likely Friday or Saturday.

The dynamics for Pelosi

Since taking the gavel in the 117th Congress, House Speaker Nancy Pelosi has led her narrow majority with precision. The next five days are going to be the highest-wire act of the new Congress yet. Pelosi has just about a five-vote margin. That means that she cannot afford to lose a group of progressives nor can she afford a moderate rebellion on this bill.

There's no sign that is coming, but a week is an eternity on Capitol Hill. Dynamics shift and the more time a bill sits out in public, the more time there is for scrutiny. Moderate lawmakers I've talked to have repeatedly hinted that Pelosi has made it clear to the caucus that this bill is a priority for the President and what's in is a carbon copy of what he has asked House Democrats to deliver. In other words, there isn't much room for changes at this point, and for most moderates that's OK. Will they always go along this easily? Probably not. But this time around as one Democrat put it to CNN, the bill is popular and there's no point in sinking it.

'She is not fighting city hall here,' the Democratic moderate member told CNN. 'There will be plenty of time for things to get more complicated on infrastructure and immigration.'

The Republican offense

Republican leaders in the House have made it clear to their members they don't want them voting for Biden's Covid relief package. They've urged a 'no' vote, and are doing everything they can to ensure Biden's administration doesn't get the satisfaction of the legislation passing with bipartisan support. They want this to be a story about Biden promising unity only to ram his first big bill through without a single Republican vote.

They want to make this a process argument, and that's because as CNN reported over the weekend, it's hard to launch a full-on campaign against a bill that provides direct checks, an increase in the child tax credit, expanded unemployment and more money for vaccines.

For Republicans who do attack the merits of the bill, expect them to argue that the legislation includes provisions that aren't at all related to coronavirus relief. Republicans are also blasting Democrats for changing the formula for state and local funding so that it is more heavily weighted toward states with higher unemployment rates. Those states tended to be places that had stricter coronavirus protocols and therefore are more likely to be controlled by Democratic governors. The formula before was a base of $1.25 billion for every state plus more money for every city in the state with a population over 500,000. That skewed in favor of bigger population states. This skews in favor of those who might have shuttered businesses longer to protect against the pandemic.

What you will see in the Senate

In the Senate, the work on the bill is going to be more behind the scenes, but it's perhaps the more interesting story to watch this week as the events of the next few days may ultimately shape whether this bill can get through the Senate at all. As soon as Tuesday, Democratic and Republican staffers will sit down with Senate Parliamentarian Elizabeth MacDonough to hash out whether the $15 minimum wage is allowed under the budget reconciliation process.

That process is a double-edged sword: On the one hand, you can pass a bill in the Senate with just 51 votes. On the other, you have to comply with a strict series of rules about what is allowed.

You've seen Sen. Bernie Sanders and his staff expressing a lot of confidence that they are going to win this fight. A note of caution: it's not up to them. It's up to the parliamentarian. Yes, it's true that the same parliamentarian allowed a provision to drill in ANWR to pass through this process during 2017, but every provision is unique, and given none of us are complete experts in Senate rules, it's hard to predict which way this shakes out. As one aide put it to me last week when Democrats initially met with MacDonough, 'she was stoic' in the meeting and didn't tip her hand one way or the other.

Let's talk about the Byrd bath

The meeting Tuesday is formally called a 'Byrd bath' (in actuality there is more than one bath because Republicans and Democrats will hash out a series of issues in multiple meetings all week. But for the purposes of the minimum wage, the Byrd bath starts tomorrow.) The process is named after the late West Virginia Sen. Robert Byrd who established a set of rules that governed the budget reconciliation process. The rules were intended to ensure that the majority party didn't just go and use reconciliation to pass any old thing through the Senate with just 51 votes. The rules include things like the provision has to have more than just an 'incidental' impact on the country's budget.

The parliamentarian will use those guideposts as well as precedent to make a 'ruling' about whether she thinks the minimum wage is allowed using this process. The ruling will likely be handed down via email hours or even days after the meeting. That means we could get a ruling as early as Tuesday evening or Wednesday morning, but maybe later given it will be up to the committee to share it with us. Other items we expect to undergo strict scrutiny by the parliamentarian includes a multi-employer pension provision, potentially paid leave,

Why it matters

As arcane as a ruling from the parliamentarian might sound, this matters because it could ultimately determine if this bill will have the votes to pass or not. Two moderate Democrats, Sens. Joe Manchin of West Virginia and Kyrsten Sinema of Arizona, have made it clear they can't support the Covid-relief bill with the $15 minimum wage. Progressives are counting on it being included. Quietly, Democratic senators and aides CNN is talking to all over the caucus argue that the parliamentarian stripping it out may be the only way to avoid a major, intra-party schism on Biden's first big piece of legislation.

President Volodymyr Zelensky has announced a number of disagreements with the International Monetary Fund (IMF) over the High Council of Justice (HCJ) and the Constitutional Court.

"We agree with some things, and with some we do not. As a guarantor of the state, I defend the independence of Ukraine," Zelensky said during his speech at the Ukraine 30. Infrastructure forum on Monday.

"There are many amendments to the laws on the HCJ, the Constitutional Court. We must draft a bill, which the Constitutional Court later recognizes as constitutional. And we understand that some things may be unconstitutional," the president said.
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Senate President Anca Dragu said on Monday that the possibility of opening a direct air route between Bucharest and Skopje will be considered, when the epidemiological context allows the relaunch of air transport at an optimal capacity.

Anca Dragu had a meeting with Gabriel Atanasov, the ambassador of the Republic of North Macedonia to Romania.

"I conveyed to him (...) that our country remains a firm and active supporter of Macedonia's integration into the European Union. Although the negotiation process is currently blocked, I hope that a common solution with the Republic of Bulgaria will allow Macedonia to advance its course. At the same time, we have considered the possibility of opening the direct air route between Bucharest and Skopje, when the epidemiological context allows the relaunch of air transport at an optimal capacity," Dragu wrote on Facebook after the meeting with Ambassador Atanasov.
Iran has given Western nations three months to see if the beginnings of a new diplomatic initiative with the United States and Europe will restore the 2015 nuclear deal, walking back its threats to block inspections of its nuclear facilities.

This comes as Jake Sullivan, US President Joe Bidens national security advisor, said the release of US citizens from detention would be a significant priority in future discussions.

US national security adviser Jake Sullivan says freeing Americans in Iran is a significant priority. Credit:AP

After a weekend trip to Tehran, Rafael Grossi, the director general of the International Atomic Energy Agency, said on Sunday that his inspectors would have less access as of Tuesday this week, but that they could still monitor the sites where Iran has declared that it is making nuclear material. He did not describe what form those new limits would take, but he said there would be a three-month hiatus on some of Irans new restrictions.

At the same time, Irans foreign minister, Mohammad Javad Zarif, said that under a law passed by the countrys Parliament, Tehran would no longer abide by an agreement with the nuclear agency that gives the inspectors the right to demand access to any site where they suspect nuclear activity may have taken place. He also said inspectors would be blocked from obtaining footage from security cameras that keep some of the sites under constant surveillance.

Cybersecurity

Crowdstrike: Pandemic drove 2020 uptick in cyberattacks

A significant boost in cyber activities in 2020 from both criminal and nation state actors was primarily driven by attempts to extort the healthcare industry as well as acquire information related to the coronavirus and possible vaccines, according to a new Crowdstrike report.

"There's a couple major themes we saw throughout the last year: the most dominant feature I think is obviously COVID. The impact that COVID had in the cyber domain was absolutely mind boggling," Adam Meyers, senior vice president of intelligence at Crowdstrike, told FCW.

The company's "2021 Global Threat Report" outlines activities throughout 2020 by hacking campaigns and other threat actors spanning across 10 different countries as well as groups categorized as being motivated by "eCrime" or hacktivism.

"In the early days of the pandemic, objectives for targeted intrusion actors may have included acquiring information on infection rates or country-level responses to the treatment of COVID-19," according to the report. "The search for a vaccine became of paramount importance, and the scientific information that could lead to a vaccine for COVID-19 was a high-priority collection requirement for many targeted intrusion adversaries."

Meyers noted that early in 2020, there was a noticeable uptick in activity from Vietnam targeting health agencies in China looking for information about the coronavirus. Those activities preceded lockdowns and other precautions to guard against COVID-19 weeks before other countries had begun enforcing similar measures. The relatively lower infection and mortality rates in Vietnam, which shares a border with China, reflect those early precautions, Meyers said.

The company also found a noticeable spike in ransomware cases being used against healthcare facilities.

"CrowdStrike Intelligence confirmed that 18 ransomware families infected 104 healthcare organizations in 2020," the report states.

Ransomware attacks against the medical industry have become particularly controversial in recent months as the coronavirus proliferated. Some hacking campaigns have pledged not to target hospitals or to provide decryption keys if a medical facility is accidentally swept up in an attack.
London has reclaimed top spot in the annual rankings of the world's best cities to invest in put together by fund house Schroders, This is Money can reveal.

Britain's capital rose to the number one position in Schroders' Global Cities Index from second place last year thanks to scoring highly on environmental and social factors.

The investment firm has tweaked its rankings system to place more emphasis on these aspects. This has proved costly for last year's winner Los Angeles, which has plummeted to fourteenth place.

London has reclaimed top spot in Schroders' Global Cities Index after being the runner-up last year

The index is based on four metrics: economic, environmental, innovation and now, transport.

Schroders said the ranking identifies cities with 'a combination of economic dynamism, excellent universities, forward-thinking environmental policies and excellent transport infrastructure.'

The newly-introduced 'transport score' measures how good each city's mass transportation system is, and in the case of LA the answer is not very.

The UK capital's score increased from 8.19 to 8.53 on the Schroders system. London's scores were particularly strong in the innovation and transport categories because the city has a number of high ranking universities and good public transport.

San Francisco took the runner-up spot by virtue of being 'an important tech hub where some of the world's leading companies are located'. It also boasts high quality universities and centres of innovation such as Stanford, Schroders noted.

San Francisco's high quality universities and centres of innovation such as Stanford took it to second place

Fellow US city Boston took third place in large part due to its elite universities; Massachusetts Institute of Technology and Harvard. It also scored well on transport.

Paris in fourth place was the highest ranked European city after London with New York taking the last spot in the top five.

Schroders noted that medium-sized cities in Europe rank higher this year due to good public transport systems and improving environmental policies. Stockholm, Madrid, Copenhagen, Munich and Manchester are examples of this.

Here is the full top 30:

Schroders' Global Cities Index for 2020 City 2020 Score 2020 Rank 2019 Score 2019 Rank Change London 8.53 1 8.19 2 1 San Francisco 8.4 2 7.97 6 4 Boston 8.29 3 8.06 4 1 Paris 8.27 4 7.63 14 10 New York 8.19 5 7.95 9 4 Hong Kong 8.11 6 8.15 3 -3 Toronto 8.1 7 7.62 16 9 San Jose 8.06 8 7.94 10 2 Seattle 8.03 9 7.98 5 -4 Melbourne 8.01 10 7.73 12 2 Singapore 8 11 7.7 13 2 Stockholm 7.99 12 7.32 31 19 Sydney 7.98 13 7.96 7 -6 Los Angeles 7.97 14 8.23 1 -13 Montreal 7.88 15 7.3 34 19 Manchester 7.85 16 7.35 28 12 Zurich 7.81 17 7.29 35 18 Copenhagen 7.81 18 6.96 64 46 Shenzhen 7.79 19 7.18 44 25 Munich 7.77 20 7.27 40 20 Washington 7.77 21 7.58 17 -4 Perth 7.75 22 7.48 24 2 Hangzhou 7.75 23 7.57 20 -3 Vancouver 7.74 24 7.31 33 9 Beijing 7.73 25 7.57 19 -6 Madrid 7.7 26 6.87 78 52 Nanjing 7.7 27 7.24 41 14 Shanghai 7.7 28 7.51 21 -7 Brisbane 7.69 29 7.49 22 -7 Chengdu 7.67 30 7.08 52 22

Hugo Machin, portfolio manager and co-head of Global Cities at Schroders commented: 'We weren't surprised to see London regain first place in the Index. Whilst there has been uncertainty generated by Brexit and the resulting political environment, its underlying fundamentals remain attractive to investors.'

'With an economy that continues to attract multi-national companies and highly skilled talent, a high quantity of green spaces, access to clean and reliable water, as well as reliable energy and dependable public transport, London has retained its popularity with investors.'

Paris in fourth place was the highest ranked European city after London

'The Covid-19 crisis has had a profound impact on global cities,' Machin continued. 'With many people forced to work from home during the pandemic, office owners will now have to compete even more aggressively for customers. Improved broadband speeds and communication platforms, as well as the rise of flexible office providers, threaten traditional landlords.

'Cities are responsible for more than 70 per cent of global CO2 emissions and how they respond to the demands of rapid global urbanisation, as well as environmental and social concerns, represents both a challenge and opportunity for policy makers, residents and investors.'
It is to refreshing to see a president who immediately offers aid to Texas, a state that didnt vote for him, without whining about how Texans run their state. President Joe Biden could have scolded them about not insulating their equipment, not plowing the snow well enough, or maybe not raking the forest floors. I hope he doesnt fly down there to throw paper towels at them, as President Donald Trump did in 2018 while delivering aid in Puerto Rico.

Christopher Marshall,

Lakewood
Press Release

February 22, 2021 Drilon blames PAO mishandling of Dengvaxia case, gov't mismanagement for delays in arrival of COVID-19 vaccines Senate Minority Leader Franklin M. Drilon said the mishandling of the Dengvaxia case by the Public Attorney's Office (PAO) contributed to the delays in arrival of COVID-19 vaccines in the country. "To me, the indemnification requirement is borne out by the events that transpired in Dengvaxia controversy. Why suddenly the manufacturers required an indemnity clause? Because of their experience on the way the Dengvaxia controversy was handled against Sanofi," Drilon stressed in an interview with ANC on Monday. Vaccine Czar Carlito Galvez had earlier said that manufacturers are seeking an indemnity agreement following the news of warrants of arrest against Sanofi officials involved in the Dengvaxia. "It should be looked at in the context of the way PAO Chief Persida Acosta handled the Dengvaxia controversy," he added, lamenting how the PAO chief's handling of the case burdened the poor health workers who were made defendants in the cases filed all over the country. Drilon said that given the unfortunate experience of health workers in the Dengvaxia case, it is only proper to include a provision in Senate Bill No. 2057 or the Expediting the Procurement and Administration that Congress is expected to pass this week that will shield volunteers, like health workers, who are authorized to carry out the COVID-19 vaccination program from suits and liabilities, except arising from willful misconduct. However, Drilon clarified that the free and harmless clause would apply only to vaccines validly procured, not to smuggled vaccines. But the minority leader said the indemnity issue is not the only reason for the delay as he cited mismanagement in the country's COVID-19 vaccination strategy. "To me, this is not the only reason. I think just like the way COVID-19 pandemic was handled, there is mismanagement in handling the supply agreements," he said. "Even the President asked, where are the vaccines? This is already a sign of exasperation," he added. Drilon asked: "Bakit wala pa ang bakuna hanggang ngayon kung saan yung ibang bansa na mas mahirap pa sa atin ay mayroon ng vaccines?" Among the 10 countries in Southeast Asia, six countries are already inoculating their citizens, namely: Singapore, Indonesia, Cambodia, Vietnam, Laos, and Myanmar. Only the Philippines together with Malaysia, Brunei and Thailand have not started the vaccination, he noted. Drilon added that another factor, the refusal of the government to make advance payments, contributed to the delays. "This advance payment is authorized under the law. We have to cue and we are last in the cue because of our failure to make an advance payment early enough," he pointed out. Under existing laws, Drilon said the government, including local government units, are allowed to make an advance payment beyond the mandated 15 percent cap particularly in emergency situations such as the continuing COVID-19 pandemic. Drilon also defended Congress against criticisms that the delay is caused by its inability to pass a measure that will provide for an indemnity fund. "That's totally unfair. There are indemnity agreements that have been signed in some instances and that was without a law. It is the mismanagement of this entire process that caused the delay in our procurement," he said. The former justice secretary said that the President does not need a law to hold the manufacturers free and harmless except when they are negligent, emphasizing that the President has full power to bind the country. He added that the government can easily tap into its billions of pesos contingent fund to fund an indemnification system. Nevertheless, Drilon agreed that putting it clearly in the law will help improve the confidence level of the citizenry on the vaccines as he vowed support for the measure that will fast-track the procurement and administration of the COVID-19 vaccines. "Even if I am in the opposition, this is a bipartisan measure and we will support it. We will support it with proper safeguards and correct principles. In fact, I have requested that I be made co-author even though I am the minority leader, because we want to show our people that when it comes to this matter there is unity in government," Drilon said.
A thorough search by police of waterways and a vast area of parkland in Melbournes north-east has failed to find any sign of missing mother Ju Zhang, who was allegedly murdered by her partner three weeks ago.

Dozens of police scoured thick bushland in Heidelberg West and Ivanhoe on Monday as they searched for the body of Ms Zhang. The 33-year-old, also known as Kelly, was last seen at her home on Winchester Avenue in Epping about 5.30pm on February 1.

Police wade through chest-deep water in the search for missing mother Ju Zhang on Monday. Credit:Justin McManus

Her boyfriend, Joon Seong Tan, 35, of Doncaster, was charged with her murder on February 11. Despite several significant searches, Ms Zhangs body has not been found.

The head of the missing persons squad, Detective Inspector Andrew Stamper, said the search failed to return any significant clues on Monday.
After a lengthy delay, Judge Merrick Garland finally received a hearing on Monday from the Senate Judiciary Committee about his nomination to be the next attorney general. Republicans never had much against Garland, even back in 2016, when they wanted to steal the Supreme Court seat to which President Barack Obama had nominated himwhich was why they refused to hold hearings at all then, rather than try to come up with reasons to vote against him.

Now, most of the Republicans criticism was still essentially about Obama, as they nitpicked Garland for having stated he needed to learn more before deciding how the Department of Justice should handle special counsel John Durhams Crossfire Hurricane inquirythat is, the Trump administrations investigation into the Obama administrations investigation of the Trump campaigns involvement with Russia.

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But the hearing had a newer and larger potential presidential scandal to discuss: how Garland plans to handle the Justice Departments investigation and prosecution of those responsible for Trump supporters Jan. 6 attack on the Capitol. Particularly, the question hanging over the proceeding was whether or not Garland would allow prosecutors to consider targeting Donald Trump, Rudy Giuliani, and other Republican political leaders who may have incited the attack.

Garland mostly kept his cards close to his vest. Heres what he did say when asked about how he plans to handle the assault on the Capitol.

Garland said he would directly supervise the investigation.

In his opening statement, he said:

If confirmed, I will supervise the prosecution of white supremacists and others who stormed the Capitol on January 6a heinous attack that sought to disrupt a cornerstone of our democracy: the peaceful transfer of power to a newly elected government.

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Garland said the investigation appears to be going well so far, but his first priority will be to get a briefing on the probe and commit whatever resources are necessary.

In response to a question by Judiciary Committee Chairman Dick Durbin, Garland said:

It looks like an extremely aggressive and perfectly appropriate beginning to an investigation.  I dont yet know what additional resources would be required by the department, I can assure you that this will be my first priority and my first briefing when I return to the department if I am confirmed.

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In response to questioning from Sen. Dianne Feinstein:

I think that this was the most heinous attack on the democratic processes that Ive ever seen and one that I never expected to see in my lifetime.  I intend to give the career prosecutors who are working on this matter 24-7 all of the resources they could possibly require to do this.

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In response to an offer for additional resources from Sen. Lindsey Graham:

Im eager to have an invitation from the Senate to ask for more resources.

In response to questioning from Sen. Cory Booker:

We  have to allocate our resources towards the biggest threat.

Garland said that his DOJ would look beyond those directly involved in the attack on the Capitol if thats where the investigation leads.

In response to questioning from Feinstein, Garland said hed examine white supremacist groups beyond those who attacked the Capitol:

I intend to make sure that we look more broadly to look at where this is coming from, what other groups there might be that could raise the same problem in the future and that we protect the American people.

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Sen. Sheldon Whitehouse asked him if hed possibly roll up those who attacked the Capitol to go after bigger targets:

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With respect to Jan. 6, Id like to make sure that you are willing to look upstream from the actual occupants who assaulted the building in the same way that in a drug case you would look upstream from the street dealers to try to find the kingpins and that you will not rule out investigation of funders, organizers, ringleaders, or aiders and abettors who were not present in the Capitol on Jan. 6.

Garland responded that he would be open to taking the inquiry in whatever direction it leads:

I began as a line U.S. attorney and as a supervisor. We begin with the people on the ground and we work our way up to those who were involved and further involved and we will pursue these leads wherever they take us.

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Sen. Alex Padilla explicitly blamed Trump for the attack on the Capitol in asking Garland how he would deal with the case. The nominee responded that he would cast a wide net in looking at domestic extremists, but did not address the former presidents role:

We also have to have a focus on what is happening all over the country and on where this could spread or where this came from. And that does require a lot of resources.

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Garland suggested that he does not think additional legal authorities, such as new domestic terror laws, will be necessary.

In a response to Sen. Amy Klobuchar:

The department is probably always looking for new tools, but the first thing we have to do before we look for new tools is figure out whether the tools we have are sufficient. And that will be part of this briefing that I want to have to determine whether the lawswhich are quite capable, which were capable of the charges against [Oklahoma City bombers Timothy] McVeigh and [Terry] Nichols and many other terrorists over the yearswhether they are sufficient.

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In response to questioning from ranking minority member Sen. Chuck Grassley:

I cant yet say we have all the resources.  We certainly have authorities to look into it. Whether we have the money and the person-power, I just dont know yet.

Garland views white supremacist groups as the principal current threat to national security.

In response to Padilla:

I couldnt agree more that extremist groups, particularly white supremacist groups, do pose a fundamental threat to our democracy and they have posed that threat throughout our history as I recounted and that was the reason the Justice Department was originally established to fight the first incarnation of the Ku Klux Klan.  Im very pleased to have read that the director of the FBI believes that this kind of extremism is the most dangerous threat to the country and thats where hes putting FBI resources. And that is where I would put Justice Department resources.

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Garland views the sort of extremist violence that culminated in the attack on the Capitol as an ongoing threat and views it in historical context.

In response to Durbin:

I dont think that this is necessarily a one-off. FBI Director [Christopher] Wray has indicated that the threat of domestic terrorism and particularly of white supremacist extremists is his number one concern in this area. This is coupled with an enormous rise in hate crimes over the past few years. There is a line from Oklahoma City and theres another line from Oklahoma City all the way back to the experiences that I mentioned in my opening with respect to the battles of the original Justice Department against the Ku Klux Klan.

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Garland promised to recommit additional resources to combating white supremacist violence that had been reportedly blocked by the Trump administration.

In response to questioning from Sen. Mazie Hirono, Garland said:

If anything was necessary to refocus our attention on white supremacists, that was the attack on the Capitol and I expect to put all departmental resources necessary to combat that problem into this area to make sure both our agents and our prosecutors have the numbers and the resources to accomplish that mission.

Overall, Garland issued a very strong promise to pursue the Jan. 6 cases without making any explicit promises about who the department would be pursuing. If the investigations ever do reach all the way to the former president, it wont be because Garland publicly committed himself to that course of action.
YouTube censored former President Donald Trump's recent interview, claiming that it violated the website's standards about election fraud allegations.

YouTube removed Trump's first post-presidency interview

Newsmax anchor Greg Kelly conducted an interview, including Trump's claims that he was the rightful winner of the 2020 election. Trump has consistently insisted that the scales in favor of Joe Biden during the campaign were tilted by systematic voter fraud and vote-rigging.

YouTube removed the video because of violations of its new "presidential election integrity policy," it told the Epoch Times. Following the 2020 election, the company created the policy forbidding content producers to post videos alleging voter fraud changed the recent presidential election result.

The tech company said they have clear Community Guidelines governing videos that could stay on Youtube. They enforce it consistently regardless of the speaker and without political viewpoints.

The new political integrity policy of YouTube bans uploads of new videos claiming systemic electoral fraud in 2020. The policy would not extend to past videos in which Democrats argued that Trump stole the election in 2016 through "Russian collusion," as per the Tennessee Star.

Read also: Donald Trump's Letter to Joe Biden Before Leaving Office Goes Viral; But It's Not Genuine

Trump wants to be "somewhat quiet"

Besides, the former President paid tribute to Rush Limbaugh in Newsmax's interview. Trump, who has kept a relatively low profile since leaving the office late last month, has not discussed issues such as US ties with China, his rivalry with top Republican Mitch McConnell, and the election in 2020.

On Newsmax TV, former President Donald Trump said he had to fight the temptation to speak out when Biden's administration got off the ground, Real Clear Politics reported. Trump told Kelly, "I really wanted to be somewhat quiet. It hasn't been that quiet, but I wanted to be somewhat quiet."

Read also: Trump, McCarthy Conversation Allegedly Shows Former President Unwilling to Call Off US Capitol Riot

Trump's first TV interview of his post-presidency

In his first TV interviews as former President, Trump emerged with Fox News Channel, Newsmax, and One America News Network tied to Rush Limbaugh's death. According to Fox4, no interviewer insisted on asking about the 2020 election, except for Kelly. Each questionnaire strictly focused on the subject of Trump's relationship with Limbaugh.

Kathryn Limbaugh, Rush's wife, revealed that the conservative icon had died after a year-long fight with advanced lung cancer. Limbaugh has been well known since his 2016 campaign as one of the most prominent traditional leaders and a strong defender of the President.

Trump told Fox News' Outnumbered, "I think he did," when asked if Limbaugh made a "difference" to him as he was the one who promoted the former President's policies and positions.

"I've heard as many as 39 million people [listen to his show]. He is a legend. There aren't too many legends around, and those people who listen to him every day, it was like a religious experience for many of people."

Limbaugh has the highest audience of any conservative radio personality. In May, Limbaugh said the EIB network's model predictions showed that 43 million people listened to the broadcast over a three-hour period. At around 15.5 million, Nielsen placed his listeners, Newsweek via MSN projected.

Read also: Third Stimulus Check: Lawmakers Start Considering Biden's Proposal Following End of Trump's Impeachment Trial

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Today we celebrate the anniversary of the birth of George Washington. Of all the great men of the revolutionary era to whom we owe our freedom, Washingtons greatness was the rarest and the most needed. At this remove in time, it is also the hardest to comprehend.

Take, for example, Washingtons contribution to the Constitutional Convention of 1787. Washingtons mere presence lent the undertaking and its handiwork the legitimacy that resulted in success. The conventions first order of business was the election of a presiding officer. Washington was the delegates unanimous choice.

Presiding over the convention during that fateful summer, Washington said virtually nothing. In his excellent book on Washington, Richard Brookhiser notes: The esteem in which Washington was held affected his fellow delegates first of allWashington did not wield the power he possessed by speaking. Apart from his lecture on secrecy, Washington did not address the Convention between the first day and the last.

The esteem in which he was held by his fellow citizens was similarly crucial to the implementation of the Constitution during his presidency. In 1790 Rhode Island became the thirteenth state to ratify the Constitution. To mark the occasion, President Washington made a ceremonial visit to Newport when Congress recessed in August. Newport welcomed Washington with open arms. In Newport on August 18, according to James Thomas Flexner, Washington completely fatigued the company by briskly walking, fortified by the wine and punch served in four different houses along his route, from nine in the morning until one in the afternoon.

In anticipation of Washingtons visit to Newport, the members of Americas oldest Jewish congregation prepared a letter welcoming Washington for presentation to him at a public event on the morning of August 18. The letter was authorized by the congregations board and signed by its president, Moses Seixas. It is Washingtons magnificent letter responding to Seixas that that has become famous as one of the classic statements of religious toleration in America.

The congregations letter to Washington is not so well known, although the most prominent line in Washingtons letter echoes that letter. By far the most striking feature of the congregations letter is its expression of sheer gratitude to Washington himself and to America for the freedom and equal rights the congregants had attained as American citizens. Here is the congregations letter:

Permit the children of the stock of Abraham to approach you with the most cordial affection and esteem for your person and merits ~~ and to join with our fellow citizens in welcoming you to NewPort. With pleasure we reflect on those days ~~ those days of difficulty, and danger, when the God of Israel, who delivered David from the peril of the sword, ~~ shielded Your head in the day of battle: ~~ and we rejoice to think, that the same Spirit, who rested in the Bosom of the greatly beloved Daniel enabling him to preside over the Provinces of the Babylonish Empire, rests and ever will rest, upon you, enabling you to discharge the arduous duties of Chief Magistrate in these States. Deprived as we heretofore have been of the invaluable rights of free Citizens, we now with a deep sense of gratitude to the Almighty disposer of all events behold a Government, erected by the Majesty of the People ~~ a Government, which to bigotry gives no sanction, to persecution no assistance ~~ but generously affording to all Liberty of conscience, and immunities of Citizenship: ~~ deeming every one, of whatever Nation, tongue, or language equal parts of the great governmental Machine: ~~ This so ample and extensive Federal Union whose basis is Philanthropy, Mutual confidence and Public Virtue, we cannot but acknowledge to be the work of the Great God, who ruleth in the Armies of Heaven, and among the Inhabitants of the Earth, doing whatever seemeth him good. For all these Blessings of civil and religious liberty which we enjoy under an equal benign administration, we desire to send up our thanks to the Ancient of Days, the great preserver of Men ~~ beseeching him, that the Angel who conducted our forefathers through the wilderness into the promised Land, may graciously conduct you through all the difficulties and dangers of this mortal life: ~~ And, when, like Joshua full of days and full of honour, you are gathered to your Fathers, may you be admitted into the Heavenly Paradise to partake of the water of life, and the tree of immortality. Done and Signed by order of the Hebrew Congregation in NewPort, Rhode Island August 17th 1790. Moses Seixas, Warden

Today, as we contend with the contemporary equivalent of the Babylonish empire, let us send up our thanks to the Ancient of Days for this indispensable man. (First posted February 2006.)
We give you the down low on the new In the Heights movie!









What is it?

The multi-award-winning musical is set in New York's Washington Heights, and tells the story of a Hispanic-American community threatened by gentrification. It has music by none-other than Lin-Manuel Miranda (you know, the rather renowned musical chap), alongside a screenplay by Quiara Alegria Hudes (who also wrote the original book).





When was it on stage?

After running on Broadway from 2008 to 2011, the piece had its UK premiere at Southwark Playhouse in 2014 before transferring to the King's Cross Theatre, where it ran from 2015 to 2017 and won a variety of awards. Songs include "96,000", "It Won't Be Long Now", "In the Heights", "Breathe" and "Blackout".





Anthony Ramos

( Macall Polay)





When is it being released?

There are two stories for either side of the Atlantic here. In the US, the film is being released both in-cinemas and on-demand in June as part of a strategy by Warner Brothers while uncertainty remains over the pandemic.

UK audiences will also have to wait over a month longer for the cinematic release of the eagerly anticipated musical film  as it is currently set for a 30 July 2021 release. We don't know if any on-demand access will come at the same time, but when we asked the publicity team they said not to expect it.





Leslie Grace, Corey Hawkins, Melissa Barrera and Anthony Ramos

 Cristobal Vivar





Who's in it?

The film stars Anthony Ramos in the lead role of Usnavi alongside a cast of musical greats including Leslie Grace, Dascha Polanco, Stephanie Beatriz, Corey Hawkins, Melissa Barrera and more, with Miranda also appearing as Piraguero. Other Hamilton and In the Heights cast members are set to appear!





Can I see a trailer?

Be our guest!





Why should I be excited?

This was a musical film set to be released last summer but had its plans largely derailed. We visited the set back in 2019 and, while we're heavily under embargo, will be giving you a whole wad of reasons to be excited later this year  so be sure to follow us for more!

Also  there is at least one new musical number, which is certainly an exciting prospect. It's directed by Jon M Chu, who did great things with Crazy Rich Asians and has recently signed on to helm the Wicked movie.
Decades after the assassination of Malcolm X shook the civil rights movement in America, his family has called for the case to be reopened over new evidence allegedly implicating the New York police and FBI.

Malcolm X was assassinated on 21 February, 1965 during a public address. All three attackers who fired bullets at the stage were detained and convicted of murder in 1966, handed a life sentence.

A letter has now resurfaced, however, attributed to an officer with the New York Police Department (NYPD) at the time of the killing named Raymond Wood. According to the Malcolm X family, the letter details the role played by the NYPD and the FBI in the killing.

Woods deathbed letter was released by the former officers family members on Saturday and read to the press. They and their lawyer say that in it, Wood claims he was ordered to lure Malcolm Xs security guards into committing crimes in order to get them arrested, days before the assassination took place.

Under the direction of my handlers, the letter reportedly states, I was told to encourage leaders and members of the civil rights groups to commit felonious acts.

According to the circumstances depicted by the letter, the arrests of Malcolm Xs guards meant that he had reduced security at the venue where he was speaking on the day of his assassination.

Speaking to reporters, Ilyasah Shabazz, one of Malcolm Xs daughters, said: "Any evidence that provides greater insight into the truth behind that terrible tragedy should be thoroughly investigated."

In a statement, the NYPD said it has provided all available records relevant to that case to the district attorney, and remains committed to assist with that review in any way."

The FBI has so far not issued any statement on the issue.

The death of Malcolm X has been surrounded by theories of a larger conspiracy for years, amid questions over the conduct of the original murder investigation.

A six-part Netflix documentary entitled Who Killed Malcolm X released last year also investigated the role of the men accused in the case, and whether they were actually innocent.

The three men arrested were believed to be members of the Nation of Islam political and religious movement, for which Malcom X had been a vocal spokesperson before parting ways and easing his militant views. He continued to be a strong voice for black unity.
A former governor of Imo State, Rochas Okorocha, says his successor, Governor Hope Uzodinma, may not end well as governor of the state. Addr...





A former governor of Imo State, Rochas Okorocha, says his successor, Governor Hope Uzodinma, may not end well as governor of the state.

Addressing his supporters at Spibat mansion in Owerri, the state capital, Okorocha, who now represents Imo West at the Senate, said that Uzodinma had left governance and is now pursuing shadows.

Okorocha accounted what happened at the Royal Spring Palm Estate, Owerri, alleging that Uzodinma sent over 1,000 thugs to attack him and his aides.

Okorocha said, The way Governor Hope Uzodinma is going, he may not end well as governor. Insecurity is ravaging all. Over ten houses were burnt in Oguta yesterday. He knows what he is doing. He wants everybody to fear him. Instead of him to face governance and pay salaries and secure the state, he is busy chasing shadows of violence.

The Senator called on the Inspector-General of Police, Muhammed Adamu, to immediately arrest Uzodinmas Special Adviser on Special Duties, Chinasa Nwaneri, and the governors Senior Special Assistant on Youth Affairs, Eric Uwakwe, who he alleged led thugs to attack him at the estate.

Okorocha said, I immediately call on the Inspector-General of Police to immediately arrest Chinasa Nwaneri and Eric Uwakwe. They are the aides of Governor Hope Uzodinma. They shot my aides and destroyed all my cars. If the police cant arrest Chinasa Nwaneri who the bad record is known for, they have no right to arrest any citizen of this country. As a senator, I am going to put a formal petition to that effect.

Hope Uzodinma wants to rule Imo State by intimidation. He is busy demolishing all my projects without building anyone. Uzodinma has taken a personal attack on me and my family. Uzodinma has reported to the EFCC and ICPC and there are probe against me yet he is bent on fighting me.

Uzodinma used the police against me yesterday (Sunday). I therefore call on the IGP to probe the actions of Government house, Owerri policemen. Their actions were questionable. Chinasa Nwaneri shot my aide and my son-in-law, Uzor Anwuka.

Everybody knows that I was not poor before I became governor. Talking about the estate, I was the one who begged my wife to come back home and invest in our state so that our people will have employment.

More than 200 gunshots were shot at my aides yesterday. Uzodinma must be called to question. The governor was using his position to aid thuggery. Before I went that estate on Sunday, I called the CP and the Director of DSS and they said they were not aware of the sealing of the estate, therefore, I went there to find those who sealed the estate without the approval of the police and the DSS and moreover, there was no court order. Uzodinma should not take my peaceful disposition for granted.
Source: Xinhua| 2021-02-23 01:19:14|Editor: huaxia

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UNITED NATIONS, Feb. 22 (Xinhua) -- United Nations Secretary-General Antonio Guterres on Monday urged the international community to put the health of the planet at the center of plans and policies.

"We must put the health of the planet at the center of all our plans and policies," the UN chief said in his video message to the fifth session of the United Nations Environment Assembly (UNEA), which kicked off virtually Monday.

"The economics are clear. More than half of global Gross Domestic Product depends on nature," said the secretary-general. "Yet our natural capital has declined 40 percent in just over two decades."

That is the reason why the World Economic Forum lists biodiversity loss and ecosystem collapse as one of the top five threats humanity will face in the coming 10 years, Guterres explained.

"The urgency for action has never been clearer. This meeting needs to generate a global will for action - a transformation of our relationship with nature," he noted.

The top UN official called on countries to come forward with more ambitious nationally determined contributions, with 2030 targets that are consistent with carbon neutrality by 2050, show how they will reverse species and ecosystem loss with concrete targets and means of implementation, ensure a strong post-2020 framework for the sound management of chemicals and waste and work to prevent the decline of oceans.

"With leadership, determination and commitment to future generations, I am convinced we can provide a healthy planet for all humanity to not just survive, but to thrive," said the secretary-general.

The fifth session of the UNEA, the world's top environmental decision-making body attended by government leaders, businesses, civil society and environmental activists, met virtually on Monday under the theme "Strengthening Actions for Nature to Achieve the Sustainable Development Goals." It concludes on Wednesday. Enditem
Iranian state television has confirmed that the country has ended its implementation of the Additional Protocol, which allows for so-called snap inspections of nuclear-related sites, signaling the further disintegration of atomic safeguards in place since a 2015 nuclear deal with world powers.



The move on February 22 came after Tehran floated the possibility of dramatically escalating uranium enrichment as Washington and its Western partners scrambled to salvage the so-called Joint Comprehensive Plan Of Action (JCPOA) that the previous U.S. administration abandoned in 2018.



Word of the imminent breakout from the Additional Protocol followed defiant statements by Iranian Supreme Leader Ayatollah Ali Khamenei that included a vow to "not back down on the nuclear issue."



Khamenei also suggested that Tehran could boost uranium enrichment as high as 60 percent -- below the 90-percent level for a bomb.



But it is well above the 20-percent enrichment announced by Tehran last month and many multiples above the 3.67-percent limit agreed as part of the JCPOA.

A U.S. State Department spokesman was later quoted as saying that 60-percent enrichment sounded "like a threat" but that Washington would not respond to hypotheticals and posturing.



Earlier, White House press secretary Jenn Psaki said that the United States' European allies were still awaiting a response from Iran on an offer to host an informal meeting of current members of the JCPOA.



Newly inaugurated U.S. President Joe Biden's administration vowed on February 22 that it will return to "strict compliance" with the JCPOA if Tehran does the same.

U.S. Secretary of State Antony Blinken told a UN-sponsored Conference on Disarmament in Geneva in a pre-recorded speech that Washington hopes to extend and bolster the nuclear deal that has come under intense pressure lately.



"Working with allies and partners, we will also seek to lengthen and strengthen the JCPOA and address other areas of concern, including Iran's destabilizing regional behavior and ballistic-missile development and proliferation."



At the same conference, German Foreign Minister Heiko Maas called on Iran to fully comply with the pact and said compliance was in Tehran's interest.

"It is in Iran's best interest to change course now, before the agreement is damaged beyond repair," Maas said.

Maas said that Germany expected "full compliance, full transparency and full cooperation" from Iran with the International Atomic Energy Agency (IAEA), whose chief Rafael Grossi reached a temporary agreement in Iran on February 21 on site inspections that he called a "significant achievement."

That deal effectively bought time with inspections continuing as all sides try to salvage the agreement, which was pushed to the brink of collapse when U.S. President Donald Trump withdrew nearly three years ago and reimposed tough sanctions.

The United States and other governments have accused Iran of secretly trying to build a nuclear weapons capability, a charge that Tehran has consistently rejected despite years of what the IAEA said was obfuscation and deception.

Khamenei, who has the final say on political and religious affairs in Iran, said on February 22 that "we will act to the point that is needed and the country requires" and that "we could bring enrichment to 60 percent" for a number of purposes.



"The Islamic Republic will not back down on the nuclear issue and will strongly continue down the path of what the country requires for today and tomorrow," the AFP news agency quoted him as saying.



A day earlier Press TV quoted Khamenei as saying that Iran will never move toward the development of nuclear weapons.



The so-called Additional Protocol allows IAEA inspectors to visit undeclared sites in Iran at short notice.

Tehran is demanding that Washington remove punishing sanctions Trump reimposed in 2018, while Washington has called on Iran to first return to all of its nuclear commitments.

"Iran must comply with its safeguards agreements with the IAEA and its international obligations," Blinken said on February 22.



"The United States remains committed to ensuring that Iran never acquires a nuclear weapon," the top U.S. diplomat said. "Diplomacy is the best path to achieve that goal."

Meanwhile the commander of U.S. forces in the Middle East, General Kenneth McKenzie, was quoted as warning Tehran against any provocation.



"I would think this would be a good time for everybody to behave soberly and cautiously, and see what happens," McKenzie said during a visit to Oman, according to AFP. "I do believe we will be prepared for any eventuality, however."

In the standoff, Iran's conservative-dominated parliament has demanded that the country limit some inspections by the IAEA from February 23.

Grossi hammered out a temporary technical deal with Tehran during his visit, whereby Iran will continue to allow access to UN inspectors to its nuclear sites -- but will for three months bar inspections of other, non-nuclear sites.

Grossi said afterwards that the "temporary solution" enables the IAEA to retain "a necessary degree of monitoring and verification work."

Iran's Foreign Ministry spokesman, Saeed Khatibzadeh, said on February 22 that the talks had "resulted in a very significant diplomatic achievement and a very significant technical achievement."

Khatibzadeh stressed that the outcome was "within the framework of parliament's binding law."

Under the agreement reached over the weekend with the IAEA, Iran will temporarily suspend so-called "voluntary transparency measures" -- notably inspections of non-nuclear sites, including military sites suspected of nuclear-related activity.

Tehran will for "three months record and keep the information of some activities and monitoring equipment" at such sites, Iran's Atomic Energy Organization said.

This means that cameras will keep running at those sites, "but no footage will be given to the IAEA," Khatibzadeh said.

The footage will be deleted after three months if the U.S. sanctions are not lifted, Iran's atomic body has said.

With reporting by Reuters, AFP, and dpa




(Newser)  A woman received two new lungs in a double transplant last year, but it turns out the lungs were unknowingly infected with COVID-19, reports Kaiser Health News. The unidentified woman died last fall, two months after the operation in Michigan. It's the first confirmed case of the virus being transmitted via transplant, and it's leading to calls for more thorough screening of donors. In this case, staff at University Hospital in Ann Arbor conducted the usual tests on nose and throat samples from the donor, who died in a car accident, and both were negative. What they didn't realize was that the virus was present deep within the donor's lungssomething that was confirmed in saved samples only after the transplant recipient started having breathing and heart troubles, spiked a fever, and went into septic shock. In their report in the American Journal of Transplantation, researchers say that level of testing should become part of transplant protocol.

story continues below

"We would absolutely not have used the lungs if we'd had a positive COVID test," Dr. Daniel Kaul, director of Michigan Medicine's transplant infectious disease service and a co-author of the report, tells Kaiser. The recipient's troubles began three days after the operation, and her complications escalated from there. The surgeon who conducted the operation also tested positive for COVID days later but recovered. Genetic screening revealed that both were infected by the donor. It's a "tragic case," says Kaul. WCJB, meanwhile, reports on a transplant case with a happy outcome. Utah ICU nurse Jill Holker contracted COVID herself and was taken to Florida for a double lung transplant of her own. Last week, Holker walked out of UF Health Shands Hospital in Gainesville after months of rehab as hospital staff cheered her on. (Read more lung transplants stories.)
YEREVAN, FEBRUARY 22, ARMENPRESS. In line with the imports of protective items amid the COVID-19 pandemic, the Armenian businessmen have also launched their own production and even exported their products abroad. One of these companies, after the successful course of accreditation works, will start exporting protective items to Germany, Deputy minister of economy Varos Simonyan told Armenpress.

We are also exporting protective items. Moreover, in addition to the exports to the third countries, we are also trying to sell our production in the territory of the Eurasian Economic Union. In other words, we have viewed the coronavirus and the current restrictions as an opportunity, and our businessmen, by using this chance, have created enough capacities for meeting the domestic market demands and then exporting the products, he said.

For instance, the Armenian-made protective items, such as face-masks, have been exported to Georgia and Ukraine.

A company producing face-masks is currently at the accreditation stage and is going to export the items to Germany. This company has started its production from zero.

The deputy minister stated that before COVID-19 Armenia has mainly imported the face-masks. However, in a very short period of time a production of disinfectants, face-masks has launched in the country. During the pandemic Armenia has also provided help to Iran assisting in the production establishment process. Our economic entities have sold them the alcohol, based on which the Iranian economic entities have created local productions of disinfectants, Varos Simonyan said.

Interview by Anna Grigoryan

Editing and Translating by Aneta Harutyunyan
Senate candidates have different takes on Burr's impeachment vote

As N.C. Republicans grappled with how to respond to Sen. Richard Burrs surprise vote to convict former President Trump, the leading GOP prospects for Burrs seat in 2022 had starkly different reactions, with sharp differences in tone.

Former Congressman Mark Walker, the one announced Republican candidate seeking to replace the retiring three-term senator, was quick to pounce and attack.



Wrong vote, Sen. Burr," he said in a tweet just minutes after Burrs vote became public. Twitter. "I am running to replace Richard Burr because North Carolina needs a true conservative champion as their next senator.





Walker later spoke with CNN about the race, Trump and his condemnation of the Burr vote.



Where there are some places to create some separation on what I believe, I am going to continue to do it, but at the same time, I am a big enough person to separate the policies from the person.



On his Charlotte area radio show, former Gov. Pat McCrory criticized both Republicans and Democrats for failing to hold anarchists on the left and the right accountable for the violence in American cities this summer and at the Capitol.



The rush to quickly impeach and to complete a trial of our former president has only further divided our country, McCrory said. This happened while our current Uniter President sat on the sidelines and let it happen while deflecting attention away from some of the most radical executive orders in our nations history and ignoring the most serious question: Why are political leaders afraid to investigate anarchists from the left and right?



U.S. Rep. Ted Budd said, I disagree with Senator Burrs vote, and the hardworking volunteers of the N.C. GOP are rightfully upset by it. All of us in elected leadership are accountable to our consciences, the Constitution, and our constituents. The sooner we unite behind our conservative ideals the better. So, lets get to work building on the timeless principles of America First.



CNN also linked current N.C. GOP Chairman Michael Whatley to a possible 2022 Senate bid. Whatley was the first to criticize Burr, but he did so on behalf of the state Republican Party.



North Carolina Republicans sent Senator Burr to the United States Senate to uphold the Constitution, and his vote today to convict in a trial that he declared unconstitutional is shocking and disappointing, Whatley said.



Whatley has tried to walk a tightrope, however, acknowledging Burrs years of service to the party.



Richard Burr has been a leader in the North Carolina Republican Party for over 20 years; he will continue to be a leader in the North Carolina Republican Party, Whatley told CNNs John Bergman last week. I dont think this is a statement against Richard Burr as a senator, I think this is a statement that we disagree with that particular vote.

Police did not 'cover themselves in glory' in training exercises prior to the attack

Police did not 'cover themselves in glory' during multiple terror training exercises before the Manchester Arena bombing, the public inquiry into the attack heard.

Instead the police service focused on their 'bit' during training in isolation of other emergency services, the hearing was told.

John Fletcher, Greater Manchester Fire and Rescue Service (GMFRS) group manager at the time of the bombing, was questioned about his experience in dealing with Greater Manchester Police (GMP) during training drills for terror attacks, carried out by the emergency services.

The inquiry, sitting in Manchester, is currently looking at the emergency services' response to the attack and those in charge of preparing for the response to a mass casualty incident.

The hearing was told on Monday that the police were focused on doing their 'bit' in isolation, but were not interested in what the other emergency services were doing.

John Fletcher, former Greater Manchester Fire and Rescue Service group manager

The inquiry is currently examining the emergency services' response to the Manchester bombing on May 22, 2017

Training exercises dealing with the scenario of a major incident involving a bombing or a marauding terrorist firearms attack, were carried out so that police could practise how to 'neutralise' the threat, enabling paramedics, ambulances and the fire service, who have specialist rescue equipment and training, to get to those injured.

But GMP had a 'lack of understanding' of the capabilities of the other emergency services, the hearing was told.

In Exercise Winchester Accord, a major drill at the Trafford Centre in May 2016, a GMP inspector had refused to allow North West Ambulance Service (NWAS) and GMFRS access, leading to a delay of 90 minutes on that exercise.

And on the night of the Arena bombing, on May 22, 2017, fire crews did not arrive at the scene until two hours after the attack, and only one paramedic was at the City Room, where the bomb was detonated, for the first 40 minutes after the blast.

The scene outside the Manchester Arena following the bombing on May 22 2017

The inquiry has heard of a lack of communication and some confusion over whether an armed terrorist was on the loose after the bombing, which meant the fire service did not immediately attend the scene.

At an exercise in January 2014, at an 'iconic' site in Manchester, which was not disclosed, the police took part but 'left when they did their bit', the inquiry heard.

Mr Fletcher said there was disappointment over this and 'strong words expressed'.

The same thing happened on a second exercise later that year, with GMFRS carrying on without the police to test their own capabilities, Mr Fletcher said.

John Cooper QC, representing a number of the families of those murdered in the attack, said: 'The common denominator was the police? Whenever there was issues, it was the police?'

Suicide bomber Salman Abedi (pictured) killed 22 people in May 2017 when he detonated an explosive after an Ariana Grande concert

His brother Hashem Abedi, 23,(pictured) also admitted his involvement in planning the Manchester Arena bombing

Mr Fletcher replied: 'There were issues with the police at times. Yes sir.'

Mr Cooper suggested the failure of police to integrate and be involved with other services was a longstanding problem, dating back to 2001, and an exercise called Trump Card where police failed to share information.

He added: 'The police have not covered themselves in glory, have they?'

Sir John Saunders, chair of the inquiry, interjected: 'I will decide that Mr Cooper. We have heard the evidence.'

Mr Cooper asked Mr Fletcher if what happened to the emergency services was a failure of process, leadership or culture.

Mr Fletcher replied: 'Process, yes sir. I think it was a failure of process and communications.'

Suicide bomber Salman Abedi, 22, exploded his rucksack bomb in the foyer of the Arena, killing 22 people and injuring hundreds more following an Ariana Grande concert.

The inquiry continues.
Bidding for G4S has closed, with GardaWorld and Alliance Universal both saying their offers for the firm are final (John Linton/PA)

Canadian security giant GardaWorld and US rival Allied Universal have said they will not be increasing their respective 3.7 billion and 3.8 billion bids for G4S, bringing an auction process to an end.

GardaWorld said anything higher than 235p-a-share would overvalue G4S due to a series of unspecified corporate governance issues at the firm.

Allied Universal confirmed its 245p-a-share offer, which has already been accepted by G4S, is final.

Shares in G4S fell 26.5p, or 9.85%, to 242.5p on Monday morning as shareholders hopeful for a higher offer were left disappointed.

Stephan Cretier, founder, chairman and chief executive of GardaWorld, said: There can be no better owner for G4S than GardaWorld, but we are disciplined buyers and we will not overpay for a company with systemic ESG (environmental, social and corporate governance) issues that continue to come to light.

He added: A successful integration of G4S, a 530,000-employee platform operating in 85 countries, will require sizeable resources, addressing its issues will require greater investment, and, without satisfactory engagement from G4S, we have been unable to complete our due diligence.

G4S has previously rejected GardaWorlds bid but the Takeover Panel, a body which regulates mergers and acquisitions mainly of listed firms, said the two rivals would be given a chance to make bids for the company in the week beginning February 22.

It said previously that on the basis that neither offeror has declared its offer final, such that either offer may be increased or otherwise revised, a competitive situation continues to exist.

The Panel has today released Panel Statement 2021/4. Please visit our website https://t.co/29S6mIycHG to view it.  The Takeover Panel (@TakeoverPanel) February 22, 2021

But, on Monday morning, the Takeover Panel said the auction process has ended with both sides confirming their positions.

The race for G4S was kicked off in late September last year when GardaWorld made its first bid, valuing the company at nearly 3 billion.

Two months later it upped its offer to just under 3.7 billion, and reduced the acceptance rate it needed from shareholders to 50% and one vote from 90%.

A week later, Allied Universal entered the race with a 3.8 billion bid which needed 90% acceptance.
Live cattle imports from the US to Canada were up in 2020 which is the fourth year-over-year increase in a row, states Jason Wood, livestock market analyst with Alberta Agriculture and Forestry. The numbers for the January to December 2020 period shows just over 272,000 non-purebred cattle were imported to Canada. This is up 1.5% compared to 2019.

Woods adds that Alberta non-purebred cattle imports were over 156,000 head for the January to December 2020 period - down 2.2% compared to 2019 when just under 160,000 head were imported.

In 2020, Alberta saw 57% of the cattle imported to Canada come into the province, says Woods. This is above Albertas 53% average share over the last five years.

Woods says 2020 Canadian cattle exports were also up 2% for slaughter cattle (steers, heifers and cows) over 2019 and 8% higher than the 5-year average. Feeder cattle exports in 2020 were down 36% year-over-year and 39% lower than the 5-year average.

Image 1: U.S Cattle Imports to Canada and Alberta

While imports have trended higher Woods say Canadian exports of live cattle to the U.S. trended downward. We saw a 9% drop from 2019 and 7.6% below the 5-year average.

Image 2: Canadian Live Cattle Exports to the U.S.

Contact

For more information, connect with Jason Wood:

Hours: 8:15 am to 4:30 pm (open Monday to Friday, closed statutory holidays)

Phone: 780-422-3122

Toll free: 310-0000 before the phone number (in Alberta)

Email: [email protected]

For media inquiries about this article, call Alberta Agriculture and Forestrys media line:

Phone: 780-422-1005
A Swedish tech consultant has been charged with espionage for allegedly selling information about truckmakers Volvo and Scania to Russia that put Sweden's security at risk, prosecutors said on Monday.

The 47-year-old man, whose name was not disclosed, was arrested in dramatic fashion in February 2019 while dining at a restaurant in central Stockholm with a Russian diplomat suspected of being an intelligence officer.

The Russian diplomat was briefly detained but released on account of his diplomatic immunity.

The arrest led to a diplomatic row between Sweden and Russia, with Stockholm subsequently denying visas to two Russian envoys. Moscow responded by expelling two Swedish diplomats.

In a statement on Monday, prosecutor Mats Ljungqvist said that at the time of his arrest, the Swedish consultant had just received 27,800 kronor ($3,355, 2,770 euros) for passing information to Moscow.

'As a consultant at his former workplaces, I allege that he has obtained material with the purpose of providing information to a foreign power, in this case Russia," he said.

' He has been well-paid for this information, and this shows the value the Russians place on the information provided,' he added.

Ljungkvist told AFP the companies concerned were truckmakers Volvo and Scania, and the information regarded "manufacturing, such as source codes and construction of products in the automotive sector."

According to the indictment, the man illegally transferred material from his work computer to his private computer and thereafter to USB memory sticks.

In order to hide his activities from being logged by the IT system, he also photographed material from the screen of his work computer.

'In the prosecutor's view, this case concerns a crime that places Sweden's security at risk,' the statement said, adding that 'Sweden is the injured party in this case and not the companies.'

The statement did not elaborate on why national security was at risk. However, both Scania and Volvo also have military contracts.

Ljungqvist said that disseminating company secrets which a person has access to in their position is not a crime in itself, but can amount to espionage.

The suspect risks a maximum of six years in prison if convicted.

In its latest annual report published in 2020, Sweden's intelligence agency said Russia, along with China, posed the biggest intelligence threat to the Scandinavian country.

Short link:


Metro Manila (CNN Philippines, February 22)  The House of Representatives has yet to refer the impeachment complaint against Supreme Court Associate Justice Marvic Leonen to the Committee on Justice more than two months after its filing, but one House leader said it will be referred at the right time.

The complaint was filed last December 7 by Filipino League of Advocates for Good Government Secretary General Edwin Cordevilla. It was endorsed by Ilocos Norte Rep. Angelo Marcos Barba, a cousin of former Senator Ferdinand "Bongbong" Marcos Jr.

Cordevilla had accused the magistrate of failing to file his Statement of Assets and Liabilities, and of delaying the resolution of cases, including the ones pending before the House of Representatives Electoral Tribunal, where Leonen serves as chairperson.

During Monday's plenary session, Anakalusugan Party-list Rep. Mike Defensor asked for an update on the status of the complaint filed against Leonen.

"Under our rules, there should be ten session days. The Office of the Speaker should refer to it the Committee on Justice. I just like to know the status because we have gone beyond the days stipulated in the rules," he said.

Senior Deputy Majority Leader Jesus Crispin Remulla said the complaint has yet to be referred to the committee level. He explained that the House was officially just on its third session day since it has only adjourned twice before Monday's session.

"We are only on our third session as we have adjourned twice before this session day. It will be a matter of time," he said.

Remulla assured Defensor the complaint will be referred to the House Committee on Justice when the "time is right." However, he did not give a specific date or a timeline.

Deputy Speaker Rufus Rodriguez, one of the vice chairpersons of the committee then, has said the panel will not be able to discuss the complaint as Congress was about to go on a Christmas break that time. He added the panel then was also waiting for the committee referral of the complaint.

Leonen is the one in charge of the junked electoral protest of Marcos against Vice President Leni Robredo before the Presidential Electoral Tribunal.

The magistrate earlier said the issues raised in the complaint were for "personal or vindicative reasons."

CNN Philippines Correspondent Xianne Arcangel and Multi-Platform News Writer Vince Ferreras contributed to this report
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UPDATE: Authorities Monday afternoon found the body of the man who fell through the ice on the reservoir in Wareham.

________________

The search for a person who authorities believe fell through the ice on a Massachusetts reservoir over the weekend is expected to continue into its second day Monday.

Personnel from Warehams public safety agencies were working to rescue a person who may have fallen through the ice on a small bog reservoir near 786 County Rd., the towns fire department said over social media around 5:30 p.m. Sunday. Plymouth County Technical Rescue Team divers assisted in the search.

First responders were beginning to clear out around 11 p.m. and were expected to return in the daylight hours Monday to resume their search, according to the fire department.

We stopped searching around midnight yesterday, and were going to resume in about an hour, a dispatcher for department told MassLive around 6:45 a.m.
Human remains have been discovered in an archaeological dig at the sit of a historic African American church in Colonial Williamsburg, experts announced Monday.

A worn upper front tooth and what is probably a finger bone were unearthed during excavation at the site of the old First Baptist Church, one of the oldest such churches in the country and the earliest African American church in Williamsburg, experts said.

The remains were found in what was left from an excavation at the site in the 1950s and probably came from a grave that was inadvertently disturbed in that process, experts said.

The dig has located what appear to be two graves. Archaeologists believe there may be more.

The grave shafts have not been explored, but descendants of the church's earliest members said they want the archaeology to continue to try to learn who the deceased were, and honor them.

The church was organized in 1776, and had buildings on the site in 1855, and perhaps as early as 1818.

Colonial Williamsburg bought the church and tore it down in 1955. A new church funded by the sale was built about eight blocks away in 1956. The original site was paved over in 1965.

The bell from the old church was used to dedicate the Smithsonian's National Museum of African American History and Culture in Washington in 2016.

The remains were discovered this month, Jack Gary, Colonial Williamsburg's director of archaeology, said Monday.

The spot is an area where oral tradition holds that past church members probably were buried behind the old structure on Nassau Street.

The announcement came during an online meeting with Gary; Michael Blakey, director of the Institute for Historical Biology at the College of William & Mary; Connie Matthews Harshaw, president of the church's Let Freedom Ring Foundation; and descendants of church members.

"We would like to know as soon as possible how many grave shafts there are," Harshaw said. "At the end of the day we want to find out who they are and if possible connect any surviving descendants to those burials."

Gary and Blakey said that that could be difficult but that they were honored to have the community's approval to continue the dig.

Community member Donald Hill asked whether the experts knew when the graves were dug.

One way to tell would be "to excavate down to the remains themselves and see what materials are inside the grave shafts," Gary said. "Looking at things like coffin hardware, the handles that are on coffins, they can give us dates."

"Looking at, also, any clothing remains on the individual could give us a potential date for when they were buried," he said.

Dennis Gardner, who was born two blocks from the dig site and attended the old church, said: "I think we should explore for additional graves and see what we . . . find and then after that I think we should determine what we want to do with the remains."

Blakey said about 70 small bone fragments had been recovered from the site. In most cases it was not clear whether they were human or animal. "These are . . . unidentifiable, tiny fragments," he said.

But they also found what is probably a finger bone, "very likely a human bone," and the lone upper front tooth, he said. Wear on the tooth was "extreme," he said.

The dig at the site began in September.

In November, archaeologists announced that they had found evidence of at least two graves, along with artifacts such as a fragment of an ink bottle, a porcelain piece of doll's foot and a building foundation.

In 1953, when the church planned to build an adjacent annex, a member of the congregation, "Sister Epps" (most likely Fannie Epps) said her great-grandfather was buried where the annex was supposed to go, researchers have written.

The graves were found right where the annex was started, but never finished.

The dig paused for several weeks in late fall 2020 and resumed in January. Gary said Monday that it would continue "as soon the rain stops."

According to the congregation's tradition, the church goes back to the time when enslaved and free Black people began meeting secretly in the woods nearby to pray and listen to a minister named Moses.

Williamsburg was the capital of Virginia from 1699 to 1780, and by 1775, more than half of its 1,880 residents were Black, most of them enslaved, according to historian Linda Rowe.

The church congregants had to meet in remote locales outdoors because it was dangerous for Black people to gather in numbers anywhere, for fear of arousing White suspicions of revolt.

Church tradition has it that a local White businessman, Jesse Cole, while walking his lands one day, came upon the congregation meeting and singing in an outdoor shelter made of tree limbs and underbrush.

Moved by the scene, he offered them a carriage house he owned on Nassau Street, according to Rowe. On that a spot in 1855, a stately new brick church was built with a steeple and Palladian windows. On that site, the archaeologists are now trying to resurrect a vanished past.
Selling on same day

Since the stock market was established in Vietnam, there have been many changes in trading regulations. Previously, although the buyer had to pay the full cost immediately on buying shares, the buyer could hold the stock until T+3 to trade in the seller. After that, the regulation changed and T+3 was revised down to T+2, supporting increased liquidity and capital turnover for the market. From 15 February, Circular 120 will allow transactions in the afternoon to sell on the day they are bought in.

This new regulation frees buyers, because a decision to buy stocks sometimes incurs huge losses while waiting for stocks to recover. There can be a sudden instability in the general market or sudden changes in the stock market itself. Although the market has ceiling prices, when there is a sudden incident, as with the current T+2 regulation, from buying to selling, investors could lose more than 20% if they traded on the HSX and more than 30% on the HNX.

In the short term, according to Circular 120, investors need to sign a contract to open an account, or a sub-account, to manage and record daily transactions. Securities companies will choose which securities code can be traded T+0. Besides the fact that the investor must have enough money to pay, the securities companies must also ensure enough securities to be transferred within the payment day. T+0 trading depends on the equity of the securities company that investors are using. In addition to direct management and capacity of the securities company, the transaction of T+0 will not be possible within five working days before the last transaction date to exercise shareholder rights, or when SSC requests to stop T+0 trading in the context of stabilizing the overall market.

End of passive trading

After opening a short sale account, an investor is allowed to short sell listed shares and fund certificates. The stock codes are traded T+0 depending on the securities company, while the stock codes which are allowed to trade short first depend on the list announced by the SSC, then on the securities company that investors are trading.

Thus, not all stocks are allowed to buy and sell short, which is a form of trading in which the seller does not have to buy in first, does not need to hold the stock at the time of the transaction but still can join the selling side. This means the market supply and demand are untied for both the buyers and the sellers. Buyers can sell out right after assessing stocks that are no longer attractive, and sellers can also jump to increase supply at any time, ending the period of one-way passive trading, which has many disadvantages for retail investors.

Short selling helpful

If you look at the VN Index which is currently hovering above 1,000 to 1,200 points, T+0 seems smaller than the appearance of short-sellers. However, from a different perspective, the short sellers are the force that help increase demand when they take profits or cut losses. From there, the strong support points of stocks will increase demand, and in the medium and long term, it creates the basis for sustainable growth. It can be said that short selling will support a lot of stocks with good fundamental intrinsic and long-term growth trend. Without short selling, it is very difficult for the market to grow in the long term, which usually is going up and down.

Another very obvious benefit that T+0 trading and short selling brings in is to help increase market liquidity. Although recently, the regular trading system did not respond when the liquidity reached beyond VND 16,000 bn. This continual rise could be a new challenge when a more advanced trading system can be put to use by the end of 2021. However, short selling, in addition to benefits for good fundamental stocks in the long term, is a threat to hot-growing stocks, hotter than fundamental factor gains, and growth in the short term, because short selling calls for always hunting a prey.

Short selling is really helpful in keeping cash flow in the market. There were times when the market surged close to 1,200 points, and it was difficult to find few good stocks with the right price to open a position. Therefore, experienced cash flow often rejects hot profits, goes out of the market to wait for the adjustment process and for another time. The reason is also because they can only participate in buying, while they are passive in the selling due to the T+2 regulation and short selling. This often causes liquidity to decline when prices rise.

Although there has not been aggressive short selling, like in developed markets, short selling is guaranteed to support not only retail investors, but also the market maker, especially securities companies, and self-employed blocks to increase services to develop profits. Besides, short selling is also a challenging financial service for risk management in securities companies. Since the margin of short-selling is unlimited, a stock that goes down the maximum can only drop to zero, or cancel listing. While on the upside, for example with shares of Apple and Tesla, the losses for short sellers are boundless.

inh Ha Van
LEAD, a major EdTech player in India's K-12 education segment, today launched its new video campaign  KalKeLiyeKabil  that prioritises the company's vision to empower students, especially in areas with little or no access to quality education, resources and infrastructure for a quality learning experience.

Created by WATConsult, the film introduces the concept of propulsive learning and showcases how LEAD is bridging the gap in learning outcomes to ensure that every child receives a world-class learning experience irrespective of constraints. In the film, the protagonist isa young student who reveals how propulsive learningis both affordable and accessible, LEAD to all kinds of possibilities in life, and make the studentsfuture ready. The film ends with the anxious parents of a preschooler being convinced that they have come to the right school.

The TVC further reiterates how LEADs students are encouraged to understand conceptsand engage with their lessons, train them in implementing their knowledge, and prepare them for the future. The TVC is based on keen consumer insights: While parents are excited about the opportunities that lie ahead for their children, there is an underlying anxiety that comes with the burden of wanting to do more and equip children with new tools forgrowth and success.

LEAD Chief of Marketing Anupam Gurani said, With over 100 million students studying in Affordable Private Schools in India, years of conditioning and rote learning have only measured their academic performance in marks and percentages, thereby limiting their thought processes and lowering their confidence. We, at LEAD, aim to bridge this gap by providing students with a new impetus to learn through redefined technologies, world class curriculum and superior pedagogy, and ensuring their success in the ultimate Exam of Life. Our latest ad campaign strives to put parents and students at ease, as they seek higher learning and advanced careers beyond geographical boundaries.

Speaking on the ad film, Heeru Dingra, CEO,WATConsult said, LEAD has been at the forefront of ensuring a hassle-free and enriching study experience. I believe, this TVC will ease all the concerns parents as well as children have around obtaining quality education. True to LEADs compact yet effective tonality, we have showcased theirone-of-a-kind offerings and delivered the 'KalKeLiyeKaabil' messaging in 30 seconds.

The TVC is being aired across multiple GEC channels and will be a part of LEADs 360-degree integrated campaign supported by print, outdoor and BTL activation.
An Instagram model who began abusing drugs and alcohol when she was just 15 years old has opened up about her journey to sobriety and how she finally got clean.

Holly Valentine, 26, from Los Angeles, California, is no stranger to sharing details and photos from her life to 1.5 million followers on Instagram - but she has now opened up for the first time about her harrowing experience with drug and alcohol abuse that started when she was in her teens.

The model turned to substance abuse to combat feelings of 'vulnerability' and 'loneliness', having started hanging out with the 'wrong' crown, many of whom were much older than her, and according to Holly, took advantage of her innocence.

Then and now: Instagram model Holly Valentine is speaking out about how she overcame a lengthy battle with drug and alcohol addiction that started when she was just 15

Bright future: The 26-year-old, from Los Angeles, began using drugs as a teenager to help her overcome feelings of 'loneliness' after she fell in with the 'wrong' crowd

Holly spent six years battling her addictions, during which time she put herself in a number of highly dangerous situations - including confrontations with violent gang members, jail time, and even a near-fatal overdose.

The influencer began working to get sober in 2012, but it has been a long road to recovery - and she is only now sharing her story in the hopes of helping anyone else who is struggling with substance abuse.

'I started using drugs at 15,' Holly told Jam Press. 'I have a really amazing and irritatingly stable family [and] I just wanted to see some s***.

'I used to be drug friends with this girl who would consistently try to pimp me out or just basically use me as an offering to get whatever she wanted.

'I was just a teenager who thought a bunch of cool older people wanted to be my friends, and I was vulnerable and lonely.

'Thankfully nothing unfixable happened but that girl for sure would have trafficked or kidnapped me if I didn't get sober.'

Holly says her addictions further escalated due to her need to fit in and be accepted by her peers.

She would use a variety of drugs, including cocaine, MDMA and pills, as well as drink alcohol on a regular basis.

The model added: 'I was always really uncomfortable in my own skin and very easily overwhelmed when I was younger.

'I was using cocaine, molly, drinking and using pills in high school which I'm embarrassed to admit  but at the time I thought that's what everyone was doing.

'Then when I was 17 I tried speed  thinking it was cocaine  and I went home and stayed up all night cleaning and getting ahead in all of my classwork.

'I was already taking ADD meds that had been prescribed to me and it honestly just felt like the same feeling but at a higher dose.

Upset: Holly (pictured during her addiction) spent years abusing all manner of drugs, and ended up suffering a near-fatal overdose when she was 19

Heartbreaking: The influencer (pictured as a teen addict) spent 12 hours in a coma after her overdose - from which ER doctors had to resuscitate her

New beginnings: In 2012, Holly started a 12-step rehab program that helped her to turn her life around, and she has since forged a new career as an influencer, with 1.5 million fans

'I liked the feeling of having 24 usable hours in the day and I didn't realize how high I was actually getting.

'Even after high school and in university I was holding onto this narrative that I had my life together and I was somehow not going to turn into a tweaker.

'I wasn't as good-looking then as I am now but I was definitely a decent looking young girl who wanted to hang out with 30-somethings.

'My presence validated them because I was still more "together" than the rest of them and they paid me in drugs and protection for that validation.'

Holly continued using various drugs such as cocaine, speed and weed for six years  but says she drew the line at crack and heroin.

The model said: 'If it was drinkable, poppable or smokable I was all over it.

'I didn't use everything every day but I don't think a day went by that I wasn't on something.

'I was also extremely malnourished and wasn't getting sleep which adds an extreme edge to whatever drug you're doing.'

At the height of her addiction, when she was 19, Holly overdosed on what she thought was GHB but was actually GBL - a drug that is similar to GHB, but can be lethal if stored in the wrong way.

She said: 'They both give similar highs but if you store GBL in the refrigerator like you would with GHB, it separates the formula and makes it lethal.

'I was walking to my car with my friends. I was going to drive us to a party and I felt extremely disoriented and was stumbling.

'I tripped on a step  and the next thing I remember was waking up in the ER.

'The doctors had been forced to resuscitate me and pump my stomach  I'd been in a coma for 12 hours.

'At this point, picking me up from the hospital, my mom knew something was wrong.

'She tried taking away my privileges and keeping me at home but wasn't sure if I was just a troublemaker or if I had a substance abuse problem and needed help.

Trouble: The model began her journey to sobriety after being arrested in 2011, when she spent a week in jail and was ordered to undergo six months of rehabilitation

Danger: Prior to that, Holly put herself at serious risk while doing drugs - including a confrontation with dangerous gang members

'When I first started drinking and doing drugs, I was still in high school  but even though I was irritable and distracted a lot, I still passed all my classes, held jobs and participated in multiple varsity sports.

'On the surface, my behavior and habits didn't look suspicious until after I got out of high school.

'That's when I started slowly distancing myself from people who weren't supportive of my drug use and recklessness.

'My family have always been there for me  even at the worst of it  and although some friends couldn't cope with it, I don't blame them.

'It was pretty obvious that there was a problem but no one really knew what to do.

I didn't have a formal intervention like they do on TV but a lot of people tried to get me to stop.'

On a different occasion, Holly found herself alone in a room full of 'gang members', while attempting to pick up drugs.

She said: 'I was a 17-year-old girl surrounded by five very big scary gang members at a trap house in a spot that is now known for kidnapping and human trafficking.

'I tried to leave and two of them stood between me and the door and I just started screaming as loud as I could.

'Eventually, they jumped away from the door because they were probably scared someone would hear as it was a small thin-walled apartment complex and I didn't stop screaming until I got in my car alone.

'I don't know exactly what their plan was for me that night but I can guarantee it wouldn't have gone well for me if I didn't listen to my gut and just stayed there.'

In the fall of 2011, Holly was arrested following a night out in Southern California.

When police were called, the model was found carrying drugs and was subsequently held in jail for a week before being sentenced to six months of rehabilitation.

She said: 'My mom, dad and my lawyer basically decided for me that I was going the treatment route and at the time I was very upset but now I'm grateful.

'I have probably the most innocent family in the world and they didn't see the signs of drug addiction, just erratic behavior.

'They definitely caught on once I escalated to more serious drugs but thankfully my parents and family did a lot of work on their end in therapy to understand what addiction actually is and today they are my biggest support.'

The jail time was the wake-up call the model needed and helped her get on the right track again.

The following year, on June 8, 2012, Holly went sober  going through the 12-step rehab program.

Under cover: Holly says she managed to hide the true extent of her drug abuse from her family for years - until she suffered her overdose and was arrested

Sharing: She hopes that by opening up about her own recovery story, she can inspire other addicts to turn their lives around

Now, after a long journey to recovery, she has gone years without touching a drop of alcohol or any drugs, barring weed  which she has been smoking for the past eight months, but only to help with medication side effects.

She said: 'During my treatment, I was put on a seizure medication to help with my withdrawal symptoms.

'Getting off of that particular medication has proven to be very difficult and one of the side effects are seizure-like effects such as shivers, a rapid heartbeat, and even vertigo.

'I've had days where I couldn't open my eyes for four hours because the room was spinning and that's just from the medication withdrawals.

'THC is honestly the only thing that has worked with it but I don't think I'll always want to smoke weed and now that I'm in the ending stages of getting off of it, I don't see myself wanting to continue to smoke.'

Holly also tackled her mental demons and while she contemplated calling out the people who had taken advantage of her in the past, decided to focus on her happiness instead.

She said: 'After sober living, I realized I could no longer enjoy doing drugs or spent time with the people I thought I missed so much in rehab.

'I'd always been nothing to them but now they were nothing to me. I got sober and started my journey on discovering how to validate myself. Happiness and success is the best revenge.

'At the beginning I was angry and wanted to have a word with anyone who ever hurt me but I quickly realized there are millions of other things I can do with my life and that was that.'

Despite her personal struggles, Holly went to university and started a marketing career, in addition to her modelling. She now looks back on her addiction as something that has helped make her successful.

The model said: 'I saw how bad life can get and nothing motivates success more than fear and spite. I will never let anyone else tell me who I am or what I'm capable of.

'My addiction also prepared me as a businesswoman and as an artist, and nothing bad that happens in my life today remotely compares to my old life. As a result, nothing surprises or scares me, or feels unsolvable.'

Holly also makes sure to keep a regular routine and maintains a healthier perspective on life.

She added: 'Nowadays I've learned that staying really objective and getting outside yourself through helping others makes you feel instantly better if you're going through a hard time.

'I'm also aware that I need to make sure I have a way to ground myself quickly, if I have a panic attack.

'Keeping a regular daily routine and having things that keep me accountable also keeps me on track.'

It will include a "mix of tools seen and unseen."

U.S. national-security adviser Jake Sullivan has warned that the United States will respond within "weeks, not months" to a suspected Russian cyberattack, discovered in December, that targeted branches of the U.S. government and other key institutions.

Sullivan was talking about the breach -- which kicked off with malicious code slipped into updates of the SolarWinds software used by the government and thousands of businesses -- on CBS's Face The Nation program on February 21, RFE/RL reports.

He said the response was likely to include "a mix of tools seen and unseen" and "it will not simply be sanctions."

"We're in the process of working through that, and we will ensure that Russia understands where the United States draws the line on this kind of activity," Sullivan said.

SolarWinds attack: Background

The SolarWinds breach is believed to be among the biggest and most sophisticated cyberattacks in history, which experts suggest could only have been pulled off by a state actor.

It targeted the U.S. Department of Homeland Security, the U.S. Treasury and Commerce departments, in addition to thousands of other entities.

Suspected Russian government hackers behind the massive intrusion of government and private company networks discovered in December were able to gain access into Microsoft's source code, a key building block for software or operating systems, the tech giant said on December 31.

Reporting by UNIAN
Berger said when he read the findings of the first probe, "it was pretty clear to me we needed to do a follow-on...
Armenia will carry out army reforms after the recent battles in Karabakh (Artsakh), optimize the number of the army, and switch to new systems of armaments and military equipment. Armenian Defense Minister Vagharshak Harutyunyan stated this in an interview with RIA Novosti.

"Military reforms in Armenia are not only planned, but are already being carried out. Moreover, our Russian partners are most directly involved in this process," he said.

According to him, the process of military-building continues in Armenia in principle, and today the military and political situation in the South Caucasus determines that the reform of the national armed forces is an irreversible and indisputable priority.

The Armenian defense minister recalled that a delegation from the Russian Ministry of Defense was in Armenia, from January 25 to 30, to assist in the reform and modernization of the Armenian Armed Forces.

"Based on the results of the joint work, proposals were developed on further actions and measures within the framework of the modernization of the Armenian Armed Forces. Moreover, a very serious emphasis was placed on the military and technical component of the process," the minister added.
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Vogue's former editor-at-large Andre Leon Talley has claimed he is being forced out of his $1 million New York home by the ex-CEO of Manolo Blahnik who is alleging he actually owes $500,000 in rent.

Talley, 72, has been living at the 11-room colonial home in White Plains, just outside of Manhattan, since 2004 and claims that he is now the rightful owner.

He says his former friend George Malkemus, who is the ex-CEO of Manolo Blahnik USA, originally bought the home for him for just over $1 million and they had a 'gentleman's agreement' that he would pay him back over time.

It is the latest in a series of dramas for Talley, who detailed in his 2020 memoir how he had fallen out with his former mentor and friend Anna Wintour.

Talley, who was appointed creative director of Vogue by Wintour back in 1983, retired from editing in 2014 after a lengthy and high profile career in the fashion industry.

In his memoir, he revealed how he thought the love of his fashionista friends would last for ever but that they cruelly dropped him when he was no longer useful to them.

Vogue's former editor-at-large Andre Leon Talley, 72, has been living at the 11-room colonial home (pictured above) in White Plains, just outside of Manhattan, since 2004 and claims that he is now the rightful owner

Talley says there is no lease agreement for the home and that he made episodic payments over time depending on his income, which he believed were equity repayments that would lead to the title transfer

In court documents seen by the New York Post, Talley claims he provided the $120,000 down payment for the home and had paid back $1,075,588 by January 2020.

He also alleges that he personally invested more than $200,000 for home improvements over time.

He says former friend George Malkemus (above in 2012), the ex-CEO of Manolo Blahnik USA, originally bought the home for him for just over $1 million and they had a 'gentleman's agreement' that he would pay him back over time. Talley now claims Malkemus is trying to evict him

Talley claims that under the 'gentleman's agreement', Malkemus and his husband Anthony Yurgaitis were meant to transfer the title of the home to him after he paid back the purchasing price.

He now alleges, however, that Malkemus and Yurgaitis are trying to evict him from the home so they can sell it for their own profit.

In their own court documents, Malkemus and Yurgaitis have launched non-payment proceedings against Talley in order to evict him, alleging the former Vogue editor owes $515,872 in rent.

Talley says there is no lease agreement for the home and that he made episodic payments over time depending on his income, which he believed were equity repayments that would lead to the title transfer.

'The parties agreed that Talley would exclusively own, occupy and care for the home. It was agreed and always understood that Talley would, over time, 'pay off' the balance of the purchase price paid by the defendants at which point title would then formally be transferred to Talley,' his court documents say.

'The timing and amount of these episodic payments were based on Talley's cash flow Talley never made these payments to the Defendants on a monthly basis, and was not asked to.'

In court documents, Talley claims he provided the $120,000 down payment for the home (above) and had paid back $1,075,588 by January 2020. He also alleges that he personally invested more than $200,000 for home improvements over time

Talley was appointed creative director of Vogue by Anna Wintour back in 1983. Talley revealed in his memoir that his friendship with Wintour, who was once him mentor, was over

According to his court documents, Talley and Malkemus had previously assisted each other in personal and business matters.

Talley claims he was renting a property in 2004 but needed to move promptly after encountering a mold issue. He says he couldn't obtain traditional financing at the time because of his demanding work schedule.

He alleges that Malkemus and Yurgaitis, who were long-time, trusted friends, agreed to help him buy the home.

Talley argues that Malkemus and Yurgaitis first started talking to him about selling the property in March last year.

Talley says the couple asked him to make additional payments or vacate the home so they could sell it.

He claims these discussions took place just before a bankruptcy petition was filed against Manolo Blahnik USA.

Talley says the couple then filed the non-payment lawsuit against him in November.

'Since 2004 Talley has always operated with the understanding the home was his, and that the arrangement could be formalized upon his repayment of the purchase price of the home,' Talley's court documents say.

Talley claims that under the 'gentleman's agreement', Malkemus and his husband Anthony Yurgaitis were meant to transfer the title of the home to him after he paid back the purchasing price

In his lawsuit, Talley is demanding that he be allowed to stay in the property and that the title be transferred in his name.

An attorney for Malkemus and Yurgaitis said he is preparing a counterclaim that will address their side of the story.

'Remember, the initial complaint was for eviction in Greenburgh Town Court. Malkemus and Yurgaitis are the record owners of the house and want to sell it,' the attorney said.

'He is desperate to stay and they concocted their 'story'.'

Talley retired from editing back in 2014.

He was taken on by Anna Wintour at American Vogue in 1983 and was promoted to creative director. Talley stayed working there for 30 years.

Talley revealed in his memoir that his friendship with Wintour, who was once him mentor, was over.

He said he has 'huge emotional and psychological scars' from his decades long friendship with the magazine's notoriously icy editor.

The editor described being frozen out by Wintour in 2019 because he was 'too old, too overweight, too uncool' for her.
PHOENIX, Feb. 22, 2021 /PRNewswire/ -- WorldHotels announced today that Olivier Berrivin has been appointed Managing Director of WorldHotels Asia Pacific (APAC). The region also sees company veterans Roland Jegge and Melissa Gan assume expanded responsibilities in their new roles as Senior Advisor and Chief Commercial Officer respectively.

Berrivin has decades of experience in the hospitality industry and is a 4th generation hotelier who grew up in his family's hotel business that included four properties. He has extensive industry experience having started his career with the Lucien Barriere Hotel Group in France and having held various positions with Accor Asia.

Berrivin joined BWH Hotel Group, WorldHotels' parent company, in 2015 as Managing Director  Asia, and has played a pivotal role in dramatically growing the company's presence with particular success in driving development of upscale brands across APAC. During his tenure with BWH Hotel Group, Berrivin has helped to grow the company's presence, especially in the upscale and boutique segments. He also implemented several key initiatives to drive improved results to the regional hoteliers, including improved Revenue Management services, sales and marketing support, new architectural and design services, and additional training for upscale properties.

In his new role with WorldHotels, Berrivin will be responsible for all aspects of the operation of WorldHotels in the region and will focus his efforts on hotel development and growing brand awareness.

"I am delighted to welcome Olivier to our seasoned team of WorldHotels APAC leaders," said David Kong, President and CEO of WorldHotels. "WorldHotels will benefit tremendously from Olivier's extensive experience, deep industry relationships and proven leadership within the region. Olivier is joining a group of truly accomplished leaders who, together, will undoubtedly drive WorldHotels to even greater success in the years ahead."

"I am honored and excited to have the opportunity to lead WorldHotels efforts in Asia Pacific," says Berrivin. "The team in place has done a phenomenal job of serving our rich and diverse collection of hotels across the region. I look forward to working alongside my colleagues in APAC as we support our existing portfolio of hotels while also welcoming even more exceptional properties to WorldHotels in the future."

In addition to Berrivin's appointment, WorldHotels has further elevated its APAC senior leadership team with the expansion of responsibilities for Roland Jegge and Melissa Gan. Jegge will continue his 25-year tenure with WorldHotels as he migrates from his current role of President  APAC to become the Senior Advisor to the CEO of WorldHotels. Gan, who has been with the company since 2005, will assume increased responsibilities in the newly created role of WorldHotels Chief Commercial Officer APAC.

Under this experienced leadership team in Asia Pacific, WorldHotels will continue its focus on driving superior revenue to its hoteliers, expanding its portfolio of offerings in premier global destinations and providing exceptional travel experiences to its guests.

Click here to learn more about WorldHotels: www.worldhotels.com.

About WorldHotels Collection

Newly relaunched, the WorldHotels Collection delivers proven soft brand solutions for a curated global offering of over 300 of the finest independent hotels and resorts. Founded by hoteliers dedicated to the art of hospitality, only WorldHotels curates the best independent properties around the globe, each reflective of the locale by offering intuitive service, and a refined sense of character. WorldHotels' proprietary 'Start With Why' philosophy helps each hotel identify their unique set of assets that distinguish and elevate their guest experience and revenue generation performance from the competition. Geared to both business and leisure travellers, the WorldHotels Collection is classified into four tiers allowing guests to select the offering that meets their needs: WorldHotels Luxury, WorldHotels Elite, WorldHotels Distinctive and WorldHotels Crafted Collection.

For reservations or information, visit www.worldhotels.com.

Media Contact:

Katie Ray

Senior PR Manager

602.957.5526

[email protected]

SOURCE WorldHotels

Related Links

http://www.worldhotels.com



The Michigan Department of State will launch new online and self-service options in March, including drivers license and ID renewal and replacement services.

The state is combining tens of millions of driver and vehicle records into a customer service record system, transitioning from a decades-old legacy system that needed improvements. In February 2019, the state modernized its vehicle records system and began upgrades shortly after.

Once the the upgrades are complete, customers can renew or replace drivers licenses and IDs at 135 self-service stations or online.

We have continuously expanded and improved customer options and service, even during the pandemic, and this upgrade will truly make our operations better than ever, said Secretary of State Jocelyn Benson.

New online services on the Secretary of State website will include options to renew a standard or enhanced drivers license or state ID if no new photo is required, view the status of a requested drivers license or ID, request and obtain a driving record, add a motorcycle endorsement to a drivers license and access streamlined business services, Bensons office said.

New self-service station transactions will include options to renew a standard or enhanced drivers license or state ID if no new photo is required, request a replacement and print out a temporary license or ID, add a motorcycle endorsement to an eligible drivers license and sign up for the states organ donor registry.

The agency plans to open more self-service stations in branch offices and other locations, including select Meijer and Kroger grocery stores. These stations offer services in English, Spanish, Arabic and Vietnamese. Self-service stations accept credit cards, and some accept cash.

Several more customer service improvements are also in the works, Bensons office says..

The agency will start an electronic lien and title program, making such information available online for lienholders in place of a paper certificate of title if their financial institution participates in the process.

Additionally, the state is simplifying its graduated driver licensing process to reduce customer visits to branch offices. Students will not need to return to branch offices for their Level 2 or Level 3 licenses and their operators license after getting a photo license hard card for Level 1, rather than a paper license.

The Secretary of States Dearborn location at 5094 Schaefer Road will be closed from Feb. 22 to Feb. 26 to accommodate moving into an adjacent suite. The new office will open on March 1.

Four Upper Peninsula offices located in the Central Standard Time zone will shift their hours from 8 a.m. to 4 p.m. CST to match the operating hours of the agencys other offices at Eastern Standard Time.

More information on the changes can be found on its website.

February 22, 2021 - Widely used medications for benign prostatic hyperplasia (BPH) - also known as enlarged prostate - may be associated with a small, but significant increase in the probability of developing heart failure, suggests a study in The Journal of Urology, Official Journal of the American Urological Association (AUA). The journal is pub lished in the Lippincott portfolio by Wolters Kluwer.

The risk is highest in men taking a type of BPH medication called alpha-blockers (ABs), rather than a different type called 5-alpha reductase inhibitors (5-ARIs), according to the new research by D. Robert Siemens, MD, and colleagues of Queen's University, Kingston, Ont., Canada. "While no one should stop taking their BPH medications based on these results, our study contributes new evidence for understanding the complex interaction of factors affecting heart disease risk in men with BPH," Dr. Siemens comments.

Do BPH drugs affect heart failure risk? New long-term, follow-up data

Benign prostatic hyperplasia is a very common condition in men, especially at older ages. It occurs when the prostate gland becomes enlarged, causing urinary symptoms (such as frequent and difficult urination). Millions of men take medications to reduce BPH symptoms - most commonly ABs, 5-ARIs, or a combination of the two.

Both BPH and cardiovascular disease are common in older men, which may reflect shared risk factors or causes. Clinical trials have suggested that men taking ABs or 5-ARIs might be more likely to develop heart failure: a chronic condition where the heart can't pump enough blood to keep up with demand. However, other studies have found no such link.

To clarify the association between BPH medications and heart failure, Dr. Siemens and colleagues used Ontario health data to identify more than 175,000 men diagnosed with BPH. About 55,000 patients were being treated with ABs alone, 8,000 with 5-ARIs alone, and 41,000 with a combination of ABs and 5-ARIs. The rest were not taking either type of BPH medication.

On analysis of follow-up data, men treated with ABs and/or 5-ARIs were more likely to be diagnosed with heart failure. The risk of developing heart failure were increased by 22 percent in men taking ABs alone, 16 percent for those taking combination therapy, and 9 percent for those taking 5-ARIs alone, compared to the control group of men not taking BPH medications. The associations were significant after adjusting for other characteristics, including heart disease risk factors.

Heart failure risk was higher with older "nonselective" ABs compared to newer "selective" ABs. Risk was higher in men taking ABs for a prolonged time: 14 months or longer.

Dr. Siemens and coauthors emphasize that while the increased probability of developing heart failure was statistically high, the absolute risk was relatively low. Risk factors such as previous heart disease, high blood pressure and diabetes had a much greater impact on heart failure risk compared to BPH medications. The researchers also note the control group of patients not taking 5-ARIs or ABs may have had less severe BPH symptoms, with possible differences in heart disease risk factors.

"Our study suggests men taking ABs and/or 5-ARIs are more likely to be diagnosed with heart failure," Dr. Siemens comments. "This is an important finding, given that BPH is so common among older men, and that these medications are so widely used."

Dr. Siemens adds: "Since men with BPH may continue these medications for several years, it is important physicians be aware of this risk, including both primary care physicians and urologists, perhaps especially in patients with previous heart disease or cardiovascular risk factors."

###

Click here to read "Cardiac Failure Associated with Medical Therapy of Benign Prostatic Hyperplasia: A Population-Based Study."

DOI: 10.1097/JU.0000000000001561

The Official Journal of the American Urological Association (AUA), and the most widely read and highly cited journal in the field, The Journal of Urology brings solid coverage of the clinically relevant content needed to stay at the forefront of the dynamic field of urology. This premier journal presents investigative studies on critical areas of research and practice, survey articles providing brief editorial comments on the best and most important urology literature worldwide and practice-oriented reports on significant clinical observations. The Journal of Urology covers the wide scope of urology, including pediatric urology, urologic cancers, renal transplantation, male infertility, urinary tract stones, female urology and neurourology.

About the American Urological Association

Founded in 1902 and headquartered near Baltimore, Maryland, the American Urological Association is a leading advocate for the specialty of urology, and has nearly 24,000 members throughout the world. The AUA is a premier urologic association, providing invaluable support to the urologic community as it pursues its mission of fostering the highest standards of urologic care through education, research and the formulation of health care policy. To learn more about the AUA visit: http://www. auanet. org .

About Wolters Kluwer

Wolters Kluwer (WKL) is a global leader in professional information, software solutions, and services for the clinicians, nurses, accountants, lawyers, and tax, finance, audit, risk, compliance, and regulatory sectors. We help our customers make critical decisions every day by providing expert solutions that combine deep domain knowledge with advanced technology and services.

Wolters Kluwer reported 2019 annual revenues of 4.6 billion. The group serves customers in over 180 countries, maintains operations in over 40 countries, and employs approximately 19,000 people worldwide. The company is headquartered in Alphen aan den Rijn, the Netherlands.

Wolters Kluwer provides trusted clinical technology and evidence-based solutions that engage clinicians, patients, researchers and students with advanced clinical decision support, learning and research and clinical intelligence. For more information about our solutions, visit https:/ / www. wolterskluwer. com/ en/ health and follow us on LinkedIn and Twitter @WKHealth.
S&P Global Ratings said ratings on insurers in the GCC will remain broadly stable in 2021, mainly due to the robust capital buffers despite ongoing economic uncertainty relating to the COVID-19 pandemic.

Real GDP in the GCC countries will likely recover to about 2% in 2021 on average, after the sharp contraction in 2020, but we believe that key sectors, particularly real estate, hospitality, and retail, will remain under pressure this year, stated S&P in its "GCC Insurers In 2021: Robust Capital Supports Credit Quality" report.

Ongoing high competition, a contraction in population of about 4% across the GCC on average, and economic uncertainty will weigh on growth prospects and earnings, while elevated asset risk could lead to further volatility in the coming quarters, said the expert.

With the relatively large number of insurers in the region, some of which are small or posting losses, we expect to see further capital raising and consolidation, particularly in Kuwait and Saudi Arabia where regulators may introduce higher capital requirements, it added.

The report cites the main risk for GCC insurers as a potential return of volatility in capital markets, which could weaken credit conditions for insurers in 2021, particularly if central banks gradually lift forbearance measures later this year.

Among the opportunities for GCC insurers is a large uninsured population; higher awareness of insurance products and the need for protection among the population could increase the demand for medical and critical illness policies covering Covid-19 and other pandemics.
Experiencing the changes of space and time, yet Hoi An ancient streets still keep their old beauty, and relic complexes are maintained intact along with a huge intangible cultural base.

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Hoi An is an ancient town of the Vietnamese. It is located in the lower reach of Thu Bon River in the coastal plain in Quang Nam province, about 30 km south of Da Nang city.

Hoi An also boasts a natural environment which is healthy and peaceful with small suburban villages engaged in crafts like carpentry and pottery.

The cultural and economic exchanges that ran from the 16th to the 19th centuries have left in Hoi An ancient town most of the forms of Vietnams ancient architectures, grouping traditional national arts enriched with sketches of foreign arts.

Hoi An has been recognised by the UNESCO as a worlds cultural legacy and honoured by many famous travel magazines. In July 2019, Hoi An was elected by the Travel and Leisure travel magazine as the most attractive city in the world in the year./.VNA
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The man worked for four federal Coalition politicians over four years before landing in Senator Reynolds office. One former politician who knew the man, but spoke on the condition of anonymity, said the man was among the ranks of staffers who filled the corridors of Parliament House like clones with their pointy shoes and skinny ties. Another politician said the man was uber-ambitious and had moved on quickly to another job, giving only one days notice of his departure. Loading Replay Replay video Play video Play video Ms Higgins said last week the alleged perpetrator had been a rising star in Senator Reynolds office and a favourite of the minister, but others painted a picture of a man who had moved swiftly between offices.

One said he had been reasonably good at his job but probably a rising star only in his own mind. The Sydney Morning Herald and The Age have established the name of the alleged rapist but have chosen not to name him on legal grounds. In a series of interviews with politicians and advisers, those who knew him in Parliament House described him as ambitious but relatively junior. He began his career in Parliament as a staff member for a Coalition backbencher in 2014 before moving into a low-ranked position in a cabinet ministers office, where colleagues said he manned the front desk and answered phone calls. By the end of 2017 he had moved out of the cabinet ministers office and into a position with a minister outside cabinet, a transfer that did not appear to be a promotion. He moved quickly to another ministers office before joining Senator Reynolds.

Senator Reynolds became assistant minister for home affairs at the end of August 2018, starting a process to hire her first ministerial team. She was made minister for defence industry the following March, then Defence Minister in May. The staffer was sacked on March 26, 2019, four days after the alleged rape, for breaching security at the office. Labor challenged Senator Reynolds over her handling of the matter last week by asking whether she had stayed in touch with the staffer after his termination, a question she side-stepped in the Senate on Wednesday but answered the next day. Defence Minister Linda Reynolds says she did not provide a reference for the accused after he was sacked from her office for a security breach. Credit:Alex Ellinghausen Since the individual in question left my office I have had no contact with him and I have provided no references, she said.

Others who knew the accused at Australian National University in 2016 said he had more confidence in his own skills than warranted. He was not a nice person overall, he didnt work hard, he just wanted ... all the praise for doing pretty much nothing. A real lads lad, said one former student who fell out with him. He just thought more of himself than any of us did, he did literally nothing, just showed up for the drinking, the socialising. A second person who knew the man during the same era at university said he was quite socially awkward around women.

He definitely had a fair few friends but no female friends whatsoever, they said. On Monday, Senator Reynolds told Parliament she had sought a meeting between Ms Higgins and Australian Federal Police after she learnt of the rape allegations. It was the assistant commissioner who came up to my office and met briefly with me, alone, Senator Reynolds said. Then I took all advice, again, I took all advice, and then the AFP met with Brittany and that was the conclusion of my engagement. The minister said she had not told Prime Minister Scott Morrison about the rape allegations, but did not directly answer questions about whether she had told his staff or any other ministers.

It is not my story to tell and I have always, and I continue, to respect [Ms Higgins] privacy and her story, she said. Loading Mr Morrison has announced an independent inquiry into the workplace culture of Parliament House, with Finance Minister Simon Birmingham speaking to Labor, the Greens and crossbenchers to seek a consensus on its terms. But Mr Morrison side-stepped questions on Monday about whether he would release results to the public, given he has four inquiries under way and one of them is into his own office. The four reviews are into Liberal Party culture; the federal department structure for handling complaints; the workplace in Parliament; and when Mr Morrisons office knew of the incident. The last of these is being done by Phil Gaetjens, the secretary of the Department of Prime Minister and Cabinet and Mr Morrisons former chief of staff.

Labor leader Anthony Albanese asked Mr Morrison if he would release the Gaetjens review as soon as it was received, but the Prime Minister would not say. When Labor health spokeswoman Tanya Plibersek asked what steps he had taken to make sure he was informed of serious crime in Parliament in future, the Prime Minister said he had instructed his staff that he would expect to be told. Loading Thats what youd expect me to do and thats what I have done, he said. Mr Morrison expressed frustration last week that he had not been told of the rape allegation even though Senator Reynolds had known of it in April 2019. Professor Kim Rubenstein and Trish Bergin, the co-directors of the 50/50 by 2030 Foundation at the University of Canberra, called on Mr Morrison to name Sex Discrimination Commissioner Kate Jenkins to the independent inquiry into the workplace in Parliament.
CHICO, Calif. - Two students were selling their second-hand wares and decor items on the street during the pandemic until Orange Street Consignment opened up their doors to assist.

The consignment shop has been in Chico for 20 years. But there is a new vibe and energy now, says owner Josh Mull.

Mull says it was difficult during the pandemic. He said he had a lot of extra space in his lofty location at 514 Orange Street. He said the students were selling their items curbside until he opened up his business to them.

The students "have done a great job of curating clothing that is intriguing to our younger clientele," said Mull.

He said the layout is so large that they are able to social distance easily.

The new arrangement with the students, who call their business "Second Bloom," is helping everyone involved, including customers looking for some interesting items and a lower-than-new cost.
Sir,

Joshua 21: 43, So the Lord God gave to Israel all the land He had solemnly promised to their ancestors. The plight of the Palestinian people is one of the most contentious issues the world is faced with; with many countries (and people) accusing the Jewish people of illegally occupying Palestine. But it is necessary to go back in history to fully understand how this situation arose to begin with.

Palestine was the name given to the land of Israel by the Roman empire during the time of Jesus. It was during the Roman occupation of Israel that the Jewish people were exiled from the promised land for the third time in their history. Following the collapse of the Roman empire, another great empire emerged and took control of Israel  the Ottoman empire.

Ruled

The Ottomans ruled Israel for over 1 000 years, resisting attempts by the Vatican-sanctioned crusaders to expel them. It would only be in 1918, during the First World War, that the Ottomans were eventually expelled from Israel by another mighty empire  the British empire. The British themselves would also be expelled from Israel in 1948 when Jewish nationalists began their war of independence against Britain, but not before the British allowed mostly European Jews to return to Israel under the Balfour Declaration, and that is when Arab settlers, who came to be known as Palestinians, began to demand an end to the so-called illegal occupation of Palestine.

Recognised

There were never any calls for an end of the Ottoman occupation of Palestine, perhaps due to the fact that the Ottomans were also Muslims, with the Jewish city of Jerusalem also being one of Islams holiest sites. It was only during former US President Donald Trumps administration that Jerusalem was finally recognised as being the rightful capital city of Israel, as previous administrations refused to do so, demanding, instead, that Israel should handover large portions of her territory to her sworn enemies  the Palestinians  in what became known as the unworkable two state solution.

It is obvious that doing so would make Israel vulnerable to being attacked by neighbouring states, and it wouldnt be the first time, as Israel has suffered several attacks from her hostile neighbours in the past 70 years.

Perhaps those American presidents who refused to recognise Israels sovereignty over Jerusalem forgot is that America itself is a country founded as a white settler colony after being illegally occupied by the same British who also previously occupied the land of Israel, believing that it was their divine right to do so, because they considered themselves, together with their Germanic and Nordic brethren, to be the real Jews, as claimed by the Brit-Am and Nordic Israelism movements. This is how the British justified their Illegal occupations of North America, Australia, India and much of Africa.

Instead of demanding that Israel handover the land God promised their ancestors to people who wish to drive them into the sea, why dont the Americans and Australians handover their illegally occupied territories back to their rightful owners?

LiSwati citizen
A plastic surgery addict has revealed how she was granted a 'medical exemption' to break lockdown travel restrictions and fly to Belgium for her fifth boob job.

Star Delguidice, 31, from Birmingham, has spent 23,500 on operations to change the size of her breasts over the last 14 years.

The first four procedures were augmentations but the most recent one, carried out last month, was a reduction, bringing her GG cup breasts down to a D cup.

When lockdown travel restrictions were enforced, Star refused to cancel her appointment at a Belgian clinic and applied for a medical exemption, claiming her breasts were causing crippling back pain and anxiety.

Rules state UK citizens are allowed to travel abroad under a medical exemption is 'urgent medical care' is needed or if it is for a pre-planned procedure.

Star Delguidice, 31, from Birmingham, has spent 23,500 changing her breast size since the age of 17. She is pictured following latest surgery

Star is pictured aged 17 before plastic surgery, the self-confessed addict has spent thousands on treatments

Star was granted a 'medical exemption' after claiming her giant boobs were causing anxiety and crippling back pain. She is pictured before the reduction

After the success of her first surgery, she's planning on travelling to Colombia later this year for Brazilian Bum lift surgery.

Star travelled to Belgium on January 21 to undergo a breast reduction and uplift. Star spent just 48 hours in the country and travelled via the Eurostar.

She said she self-isolated for two weeks on her return to the UK. It came just weeks before Boris Johnson introduced strict hotel quarantine restrictions for those returning to the UK from high risk countries.

Can you travel for plastic surgery under lockdown restrictions? Rules state UK citizens are allowed to travel abroad under a medical exemption is 'urgent medical care' is needed or if it is for a pre-planned procedure. There is no hard and fast rule on what comes under 'urgent care' and it can vary on a case-to-case basis. On return to the UK, those coming from high-risk countries need to isolate in a government approved hotel and take two Covid tests. Those travelling from lower-risk countries will need a letter from their healthcare provider and the place you are staying in the UK. They will otherwise be required to self-isolate. Healthcare means all forms of healthcare including mental and physical health. There are also exemptions for live donors and those accompanying the individual, for example a carer or a child. Advertisement

Now, three weeks after her operation, Star is recovering from her operation and says it's her last breast surgery as she's now thrilled with her smaller chest.

Star, who forked out 7,500 on her fifth breast surgery, said: 'I have been respectful of the lockdown rules as since returning to the UK I have self-isolated.

'I had to go abroad for this surgery as the cost was half of the price here.

'The surgeon was the best and I could barely walk without being in pain before my surgery.

'My breast size had ballooned to a 32GG and I couldn't go out and about without being laughed at.

'I've had five boob jobs in total now as I had my first ever operation aged 17.

'My first four breast surgeries cost 16,000 as they were 4,000 each.

'But my latest one was 7500 as it was a much bigger job.

'I needed to have a reduction and uplift at the same time.

'If I had this surgery in the UK it would have cost more than 15,000 and I would have needed two operations not one.

'I'm hoping this is now my last as I have spent a small fortune all together.'

Despite only just returning from Belgium, Star, is hoping to book Brazilian butt lift (BBL) surgery later this year in Columbia.

She added: 'After the nightmare I had with my bum implants, which left me looking like I was wearing a nappy, I do now need a bum lift.

Stare avoided the lockdown travel restrictions by going abroad for her fifth boob job after being laughed at for her 32GG breasts

Star is pictured in Brussels after the surgery. After the success of her first surgery, she's planning on travelling to Coloumbia later this year for Brazilian Bum lift surgery

Swapping her 32GG cup size for a more modest D, Star says that for the first time in months has she been able to walk pain free

Star spent just 48 hours in the country and travelled via the Eurostar. Now, three weeks later, Star is recovering from her operation and says it's her last breast surgery as she's now thrilled with her smaller chest

Star, pictured at her home in Birmingham, who forked out 7500 on her fifth breast surgery, said: 'I have been respectful of the lockdown rules as since returning to the UK I have self-isolated.

Star's old implants are pictured. She has gone from a 32GG to a more modest D cup

'I won't be having any more silicone added in there but my bum doesn't have a shape.

'I had a date for my corrective surgery in Columbia but it was cancelled due to coronavirus.'

Star is now adjusting to life with her smaller 32D bust and hopes to give others hope who are struggling to get cosmetic surgery dates abroad.

She added: 'If you desperately need the surgery like I did then there's options.

Despite only just returning from Belgium, Star, is hoping to book Brazilian butt lift (BBL) surgery later this year in Columbia. She poses with her old implants

Star Delguidice poses with her new boobs holding her old implants which she kept

'I had a last minute appointment crop up and it was an opportunity that I couldn't miss.

'As I own more than one property I save for all of my surgeries myself.

'I have had more than 150 procedures on my face and body since I was a teenager and I'm not finished yet.

'I don't want any other boob jobs though, I think five is enough.

'Now my breast size is much smaller than before I'm hopeful that once I'm recovered I won't have an more aches and pains.'
The Louisiana Department of Health reported 443 more confirmed coronavirus cases and 10 more confirmed deaths in its noon update Monday.

The number of hospitalizations decreased by 16, and the number of patients in need of ventilators decreased by seven.

There are also 58,342 total "probable" coronavirus cases in Louisiana, according to the agency's dashboard.

Since the last update on Thursday, 45,001 more people have received the vaccine in Louisiana. The total number of distributed vaccines is now 857,963.

More than 1.6 million people are now eligible for the vaccine in Louisiana.

Click here for a list of eligible people and where the doses are available this week.

These are another few key statewide statistics as of Monday:

Total confirmed cases: 366,302

Total "probable" cases: 58,342

Total confirmed deaths: 8,808

Currently hospitalized: 740

Currently on ventilators: 113

Vaccine series initiated: 563,731 (updated twice weekly)

Vaccine series completed: 294,232

Presumed recovered: 396,834 as of Feb. 15 (updated weekly)

Vaccine news in your inbox Once a week we'll update you on the progress of COVID-19 vaccinations. Sign up today. e-mail address * Sign Up

Note: The Advocate and The Times-Picayune staff calculates daily case count and confirmed death increases based on the difference between today's total and yesterday's total of confirmed coronavirus cases and deaths. The Louisiana Department of Health releases a daily case count on its dashboard that includes probable cases as indicated by a positive antigen test. That case count can be different than the one listed here.

Louisiana COVID numbers: Data on cases, deaths, hospitalizations, vaccines Editor's Note: Due to changes in the importance of various metrics used to track the pandemic, The Times-Picayune | The New Orleans Advocate r

Here are some of the parishes with the highest single-day increase in confirmed coronavirus cases, based on the Monday report:

Jefferson: 42

St. Tammany: 37

Orleans: 30

Lafayette: 30

East Baton Rouge: 28

You can view more graphs and charts breaking down the data by clicking here.

Louisiana began reopening for Phase 1 on May 15-16 then moved to Phase 2 on June 5. Louisiana Gov. John Bel Edwards extended Louisiana's Phase 2 restrictions twice in August before moving the state to Phase 3 on Sept. 11. The governor then moved the state back to a modified Phase 2 near the end of November.

This is a developing story. More details and analysis to come.
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Nollywood actress, Mide Martins, has begged to be granted custody of her youngest brother, Damilare Peters, who she was accused of neglecting since her late mum, actress Funmi Martins death.

Martins was a popular Nigerian actress, who passed on in 2002.

She welcomed her third child, Damilare, who is her alleged love child with Shina Peters, a few months before her death.

Mides reaction is coming shortly after the Juju music maestro addressed allegations that the late Nollywood actress bore him a son, whom he has abandoned.

PREMIUM TIMES reported that the veteran musician addressed the allegations in a video where he said that he had not been in his sons life for some reasons he would not disclose, but has decided to take responsibility for his welfare, going forward.

Mrs Martins-Abiodun appreciated the people who have reached out to her on the issue and apologised for disappointing her fans, in a statement she released on Sunday evening.

The actress, who is married to a popular movie director and her late mothers manager, Afeez Abiodun, explained that she had severally been denied the custody of her brother, even before the passing of her grandmother, who raised him.

Like the alleged father, the actress also confirmed that the story is not as simple as it seems but she would not be disclosing more than is already known.

She, however, asked that she be granted custody of her brother and promised to take proper care of him.

She said, Damilare was living with my grandma back then in Abeokuta and I was doing all that I could to take care of him until a few years ago when she also passed on and Damilare was taken away to live with my uncle. I had requested custody of my brother Damilare several times, even before grandma died but was denied.

Damilare is my blood brother. It is not possible for me to neglect him but theres much more to this story than you all know which Im sorry I will not go into details about because its a family matter.

I am not a heartless person despite the fact that I dont have it all the little I have I give wholeheartedly. However, I just want to ask for a favor!! Can Damilare be finally released to me? Can I have my brother Damilare? I promise to take good care of him in my own little way, may God help me so.

The 41-year-old mother of two said she had chosen to remain quiet about the issue before now because she believes it is a family issue that should have been resolved in-house rather than being brought on social media.

She added that she has always been a private person who does not like bringing private family matters to social media.

I didnt want to say anything about this all the while because I believe its a family issue which should rather be settled amicably between ourselves rather than being dragged on social media.

Anyone who knows me very well would know that I am a private person. I personally do not really like sharing or celebrating on social media some things relating to my family, like the annual remembrance ceremony of my late mother Funmi Martins, which I duly observe every year in honour of her memory.

When my mum, late Funmi Martins, passed away 19 yrs ago, my whole world was shattered, devastated, crumbled, broken, lonely  without anyones support. How I managed to survive through the storm is only by the special grace of God, she said.
WASHINGTON  Neera Tanden, President Bidens nominee to head the Office of Management and Budget, suffered a significant setback on Monday as two moderate Republicans said they would not support her nomination, potentially dooming her chances for confirmation.

The statements of opposition from Senators Susan Collins of Maine and Mitt Romney of Utah, two Republicans with a professed willingness to work with the Biden administration, further winnowed Ms. Tandens chances in an evenly divided Senate. Three senators in four days have announced plans to vote against her, after Senator Joe Manchin III, Democrat of West Virginia, became the first to publicly oppose her confirmation.

A White House official said on Monday that the administration continued to stand behind Ms. Tandens nomination, but her path to confirmation was increasingly narrow. Her failure to win confirmation would be the first casualty for Mr. Biden, who has so far been able to win Senate support for several other cabinet picks, though many nominees have yet to face full Senate votes.

Ms. Tandens fate consumed the White House on Monday, as continued questions about her history of attacking both Republicans and progressive Democrats threatened to undercut Mr. Bidens promise to bring a unifying tone to Washington. When pressed repeatedly about whether Mr. Biden had any problems with Ms. Tandens social media practices, Jen Psaki, the White House press secretary, avoided answering directly and focused on the nominees qualifications.

New Delhi, Feb 22 : Delhi Deputy Chief Minister Manish Sisodia on Monday said that the AAP-led Delhi government has initiated a mass registration process of construction workers in the city. A month-long registration process will start from Monday at several locations in the city.

The move aims to provide benefits of Delhi government's welfare schemes to poor construction workers and labourers. "Majority of them are not aware about the welfare schemes being provided by the Delhi government. We have decided to launch a mass registration and awareness programme for such workers so that they can avail welfare schemes. There are nearly 10 lakh labourers and construction workers in Delhi but of them only 2.12 lakh are registered. Around 29,000 workers were registered last year and the registration process for around 50,000 is underway," Sisodia said.

He further informed that mass awareness and labour registration will be held at 262 locations where construction workers and other labourers assemble every day in Delhi. "Apart from it, the registration process will also be run at 45 places, which includes schools and other government premises in the city. There would be four to five counters at each registration centre," Sisodia added.

Highlighting the welfare schemes, the minister said the Delhi government provides Rs 30,000 as one-time financial aid to women labourers under maternity scheme. Those aged above 60 get a benefit of Rs 3,000 per month as pension. For labourers who want to buy homes in Delhi, the government provides Rs 3 to 5 lakh as one-time financial assistance to them.

The Deputy Chief Minister further stated that the Delhi government provides many welfare schemes for the children of labourers and construction workers for their education.
Gigi Hadid recently welcomed her first child, along with partner Zayn Malik.

And the model is enjoying the seclusion of her mom Yolanda's Pennsylvania farm, as she raises her growing family.

She shared a glimpse at daughter Khai's nursery Saturday, as she posted some rare photos of her and partner Zayn Malik's life with their baby girl, during a Q&A on her Instagram Story.

Baby's room: Gigi Hadid shared a glimpse at daughter Khai's nursery Saturday, as she posted some rare photos of her and partner Zayn Malik's life with their baby girl

Rare photos: The 25-year-old dropped several unseen photos during a Q&A on her Instagram Story

The 25-year-old posted a throwback photo of her pregnancy from back in September, as she took a mirror selfie in the orange-painted room, adorned with wicker birds.

Stuffed animals and framed scenic paintings lined a long wall shelf, above a daybed, made up with throw pillows in neutral earth tones.

She also posted a photo of all the paint color samples she pulled while designing her baby girl's nursery.

Gigi previously posted a photo of Khai's tiny feet in a snowflake-printed onesie, writing: 'khai is napping .... let's do a little session of "post a picture from this date"'

Taking suggestions: Gigi previously posted a photo of Khai's tiny feet in a snowflake-printed onesie, writing: 'khai is napping .... let's do a little session of "post a picture from this date"'

Play date: The model also revealed a playroom area she set up in her home office for the baby girl

Color palette: She also posted a photo of all the paint color samples she pulled while designing her baby girl's nursery

Baby bump: She posted a few photos of her baby bump in a variety of looks, including a sexy bikini and an artsy white button-down shirt with a hand-drawn print

Pregnancy cravings: The Vogue cover star dropped an image of Zayn's inked arm prepping some barbecue, writing: 'ribz - big pregnancy craving'

Gorgeous view: She revealed a gorgeous sunrise view from their country quarantine from August, writing: '6am , sleeping was getting hard at this point'

As her 64.1million followers wrote different dates in the answer box, she shared some chic black-and-white outtakes from a maternity shoot.

She posted a few photos of her baby bump in a variety of looks, including a sexy bikini and an artsy white button-down shirt with a hand-drawn print.

The Vogue cover star dropped an image of Zayn's inked arm prepping some barbecue, writing: 'ribz - big pregnancy craving.'

She revealed a gorgeous sunrise view from their country quarantine from August, writing: '6am , sleeping was getting hard at this point.'

Gigi graced her fans with an adorable photo from November of baby Khai in a brown onesie with fuzzy socks.

Another sweet snap showed their only child in a snow-ready look, rocking a pink hooded puffer onesie, with her name embroidered on the back.

Tiny feet: Gigi graced her fans with an adorable photo from November of baby Khai in a brown onesie with fuzzy socks

Snow bunny: Another sweet snap showed their only child in a snow-ready look, rocking a pink hooded puffer onesie, with her name embroidered on the back

Proud mom: She later gave another glimpse at their bundle of joy, as she held her tiny hands, writing: 'nap time is over g2g'

Walk with dad: The Victoria's Secret model also posted a photo from December of Zayn, 28, pushing her stroller, while they took a family stroll through the country

She later gave another glimpse at their bundle of joy, as she held her tiny hands, writing: 'nap time is over g2g'

The Victoria's Secret model also posted a photo from December of Zayn, 28, pushing her stroller, while they took a family stroll through the country.

She recently debuted a cute new tattoo dedicated to her daughter, as she appeared in a makeup tutorial video for her Vogue cover.

Gigi subtly flashed a small piece of body art on her forearm, depicting her firstborn's name in Arabic.

It comes after Zayn showed off his tattoo on Instagram Live, flashing a glimpse at the symbol in red on his wrist.

Gigi previously announced the name when she updated her Instagram bio to read: 'Khais mom.'

Insta official: Gigi previously announced the name when she updated her Instagram bio to read: 'Khais mom'

Proud dad: It comes after Zayn showed off his tattoo on Instagram Live, flashing a glimpse at the same symbol in red on his wrist

New addition: She and the One Direction alum welcomed their first child back in September, as she wrote on Instagram: 'Our girl joined us earth-side this weekend and she's already changed our world. So in love'

The name appears to be a nod to her grandmother, inspired by her father Mohamed Hadid's mother Khairiah.

She and the One Direction alum welcomed their first child back in September, as she wrote on Instagram: 'Our girl joined us earth-side this weekend and she's already changed our world. So in love.'

The native Angeleno recently opened up about her home birth in Vogue, revealing that Zayn caught the newborn: 'It didn't even click that she was out. I was so exhausted, and I looked up and he's holding her. It was so cute.'

She took to Instagram with her first solo Vogue cover, as she enjoyed the moment with Khai, who was 'rockin in her Nemo bouncer' at the time.

Gigi wrote: 'Who would have thought I'd be feeding my baby girl her morning bottle as we share my first @voguemagazine solo cover ?!

'I am emotional and honored to take my first professional step, in this new chapter of womanhood, with this dream come true!'

Cover mom: Gigi recently took to Instagram with her first solo Vogue cover, as she enjoyed the moment with Khai, who was 'rockin in her Nemo bouncer' at the time

Serving looks: Gigi also shared some interesting looks from past events, including an NYC shopping spree and a red carpet outtake

Be mine: The proud mom also played around with a face filter in a Valentine's Day throwback

Pre-lockdown: She shared a clip of her leaving a Prada fashion show from before the lockdown

Motherhood goals: Another image showed mom Yolanda washing sister Bella's hair after a New York Fashion Week show

Devil in the details: She teased some outfit details from a couple of occasions, including a visit to the Chanel office in Paris and a frozen yogurt outing from when she found out she was pregnant
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In honor of this year's theme, Gift It Forward , Talbots is introducing a limited-edition keepsake necklace, meant to be gifted as a symbol of gratitude for women who have helped them along the way. The necklace, encircled with shimmering flowers, retails for $99 with 100% of the net proceeds to benefit Dress for Success. Thank the woman who has helped guide you in your career, the friend who always gives you the best advice, your next-door neighbor who babysat so you could take a business call and the teacher who inspired you to pursue your dreams. This necklace is for her! Each necklace comes in a branded gift box with a personalized note card to "gift it forward."

"This year, because of the pandemic, it is critical that we all work together to help the women who have been disproportionally impacted during these challenging times," said Bill Miller, Talbots Senior Vice President of Brand Marketing. "We are proud to support Dress for Success for the 7th year and are grateful for our 9,000 Talbots associates and thousands of dedicated customers who have generously donated and supported this partnership. This year's Gift It Forward campaign is about acknowledging and thanking the women in your life who have helped you along the way and made a difference."

In March, Dress for Success will also launch its annual global campaign, Your Hour, Her Power, in honor of Women's History Month and International Women's Day in partnership with O, The Oprah Magazine. This year's campaign will celebrate and highlight the impact and importance of female leadership at a time when we need it most. Talbots CEO, Lizanne Kindler, is among the women leaders being honored; she will be celebrated on March 8, International Women's Day. Participating companies are encouraging their employees and customers to donate the equivalent of one hour of their pay to help the mission of Dress for Success.

"We are extremely indebted to Talbots for their generosity and support," said Joi Gordon, CEO of Dress for Success Worldwide. "Their participation in the Your Hour, Her Power campaign that celebrates global female leadership during Women's History Month is a powerful component of their commitment to our mission. We are especially thrilled to spotlight Talbot's CEO, Lizanne Kindler in the campaign."

Visit www.YourHourHerPower.org for more information

Talbots Call to Action: Shop, Give and Gift it Forward!

- Talbots nationwide will also accept monetary donations both in-store and online at www.talbots.co m /dressforsuccess.

- On Monday, February 22 - Monday, March 1, Talbots will host Shop For A Cause at all Talbots stores nationwide and online at Talbots.com, with 10% of the net proceeds from the sales benefitting Dress for Success, (up to $50,000). Plus save 25% on your purchase during this time.

- The Talbots Gratitude Necklace retails for $99 with 100% of the net proceeds (up to $50,000) to benefit Dress for Success. It will be available at Talbots stores and online from February 22  March 21, 2021.

DATES:

Monday, February 22  Sunday, March 21 : Talbots Gratitude Necklace in stores nationwide and online

Talbots Gratitude Necklace in stores nationwide and online Monday, February 22  Sunday, March 21 : Monetary donations accepted in stores nationwide and online

Monetary donations accepted in stores nationwide and online Monday, February 22  Monday, March 1 : Shop For A Cause in stores and online, 10% of net proceeds from the store and online sales goes directly to Dress for Success

For information on Dress for Success, go to https://dressforsuccess.org/

To follow along on Instagram, visit: @TalbotsOfficial ; @DressforSuccess , and follow #TalbotsXDFS, #GiveConfidenceHopeStyle.

About Talbots

Established in 1947, Talbots is a multi-channel retailer of women's apparel, shoes and accessories. Currently the Company operates over 500 Talbots stores throughout the U.S. and Canada. Its online shopping site is located at www.talbots.com.

About Dress for Success

Dress for Success is a global nonprofit organization that empowers women to achieve economic independence by providing a network of support, professional attire, and development tools to help them thrive in work and life. Since starting operations in 1997, Dress for Success has expanded to nearly 150 cities in 25 countries. To date, the organization has helped more than 1.2 million women work towards financial independence. Visit www.dressforsuccess.org to learn more.

SOURCE Talbots

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Nigerias exit from recession is a key indicator of the success of the ongoing Economic Sustainability Plan (ESP) approved by the Federal Government, the presidency has said.

Laolu Akande, spokesperson for Vice President Yemi Osinbajo, said Nigerians should expect more as the implementation of the plan is gathering greater momentum.

Mr. Akande made these claims while updating the media on ESP progress and reacting to the latest GDP figures for the last quarter of 2020.

The president and the Federal Executive Council approved the ESP plan last June and the Vice President was asked to lead the implementation of the plan.

The plan is aimed, among others, at preventing a deep recession and putting cash in the hands of Nigerians after the economic fallouts of the pandemic.

Nigeria slipped out of recession in the last quarter of 2020 as a GDP growth of 0.11 percent was recorded.

Rebound

Mr Akande noted that right from Q3 2020, the economy was already on a rebound adding that the latest fourth-quarter figures show that the recovery of the Nigerian economy is a steady one.

Like we explained late last year after the release of the third-quarter figures, the Economic Sustainability Plan, which was a calculated intervention by the Buhari Presidency, is driving the Nigerian economy in the right direction-upwards, and Nigerians can expect more because the administration is unrelenting in its determination to pursue the steady recovery and growth of our economy, Mr Akande noted.

The Presidential spokesperson said the Economic Sustainability Plan is entering into an even more potent phase with the revving up of plans to install 5 million solar installations across the country and the social mass housing plan that will result in hundreds of thousands of affordable houses for ordinary Nigerians. Both aspects, he noted, will yield several hundreds of jobs besides giving the national economy a significant spur like never before.

He explained that the Survival Fund is making waves with MSMEs, artisans, transport workers, hundreds of thousands receiving cash stimulus, and the payroll support where an equal number of people running into hundreds of thousands employed by businesses are collecting N50,000 monthly.

He said the payroll support covers three months salaries for beneficiaries.

He argued that about 311,000 employees have received the payroll support coming from 64,000 businesses nationwide and over 165,000 artisans have also benefited from the Survival Fund. In all, the Survival Fund is on course to safeguard at least 1.3million jobs.

The Government Off-take Scheme, GOS, where the Federal Government will pump an additional N15billion to support Nigerian-owned businesses by off-taking a number of products in a bid to keep businesses alive and create jobs is also underway, he said.

The GOS will cover products such as facemasks, liquid soaps, disinfectants, hand sanitizers, and other processed foods and spices. Altogether, he said the GOS will benefit 100,000 MSMEs, while an additional 100,000 Nigerians will also be benefiting from a one-off N50,000 MSME grant different from those already paid to artisans, transport workers and separate from the payroll support.

GDP Figures

Commenting on the quarter 4 GDP figures, Mr Akande quoting a Presidency review on the latest GDP figures, said that the Gross Domestic Product (GDP) grew by 0.11% in Q4 2020 following two consecutive quarters of negative growth, showing an exit from the pandemic induced recession.

This positive quarterly growth in Q4 2020 contributed to overall GDP, which contracted by -1.92% for the full year in 2020, he said.

This GDP report is important for a number of reasons. It is a reflection of the growing importance of the non-oil sector, as its contribution to GDP has increased from 92.68% in Q4 2019 to 94.13% in Q4 2020. The non-oil sector performance was mainly driven by growth in Information and Communication, as the pandemic meant greater use of ICT services.

Growth in Agriculture, Manufacturing, Mining, Construction, and Real Estate also contributed to the improvement of the non-oil sector.

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The Presidency review noted that however in contrast, the oil sector fell by -19.76% in Q4 2020 (6.36% in Q4 2019) as average oil production declined to 1.5 million barrels per day (1.5mbpd). This can be attributed to Nigerias compliance with OPEC+ quotas.

It was observed that the report indicates that Nigerias response to the COVID-19 induced shocks, the Economic Sustainability plan and the timely revision of the Federal Government budget, were effective.

Mr Akande explained that the Nigerian Economy outperformed various analysts expectations like the IMF and World Bank. In addition, Nigerias quarter on quarter growth of 9.7% surpassed China (2.6%), USA (4%), and Japan (3%) despite these countries having larger stimulus packages.

In conclusion, he said the review stated that the Nigerian economy performed reasonably despite the earlier lockdown, trade disruptions, #EndSars protests, and oil price volatility. There is optimism as oil prices continue to stabilize, COVID-19 cases reach a plateau, success of an imminent vaccine rollout, and continued effective implementation of the Economic Sustainability Plan.
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The current year is already shaping up to be a good one for Venn Life Sciences ( ), though the foundation work for todays 3.4mln order was done in 2015, the company said.

The contract research group, which provides clinical trial management and resourcing for the drugs industry, has struck the deal with an unnamed by leading US-based biotechnology client.

The work is an extension to an existing phase II clinical trial, so it will start immediately and run to the end of 2017.

Venn chief Tony Richardson said: "During 2015, I commented that executing our work to a consistent high standard would bring significant rewards and I am delighted to be able to show the concrete evidence of this.
Between 2011 and 2015, an astounding 952,000 people moved out of New York Cityand another 265,000 New Yorkers died. At that rate, it would take just 35 years for the nations largest city to be left to the rats.

Fortunately, more than a million people arrived in New York during those five yearsbabies, immigrants, dreamers from around the country.

Think of those numbers every time you hear about the supposed pandemic exodus afflicting American cities. New Yorkers leave; New Yorkers arrive. New Yorkers die; New Yorkers are born. The churn is constant, not just there but in every city. Like the ship of Theseus, the city retains its identity even as its residents turn over, and over, and over.

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Big cities have clearly lost some verve during the pandemic. The signs are everywhere, from vacant storefronts to idle stages to muted downtowns. A weekly drumbeat of data, on sales tax receipts and school enrollment and home prices and rents, offers bits and pieces of evidence to back this up. This time, its the suits at McKinsey who report on a very McKinsey metric, the ratio of arriving workers to departing ones as captured by LinkedIn profiles. That ratio is down 27 percent in New York, 24 percent in San Francisco, 13 percent in Boston, and 11 percent in Los Angeles and Seattle. This could be driven either by a greater number of workers leaving these areas or by fewer people entering these areas in 2020 compared to 2019, the researchers note.

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Thats a huge either/or. If the populations of the nations largest cities are truly plummeting, they are in big trouble. In the short term, theyll have to cut public services and manage mass unemployment as the service sector withers. In the long term, theyll have to confront the fact that the model behind the urban renaissance of the last 30 yearsimmigrants and yuppiesis dead.

Its intuitive that urban American neighborhoods would be less appealing right now. Their smaller housing units were a tight squeeze in a year of remote work and Zoom school. Their access to amenities stopped mattering when everything shut down. Crime rates have gone up. And in a world where fewer people have to commute, its not clear if living close to the office justifies the high rent. In a plague year, who would want to stay?

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But what if all these departures arent actually out of step with historical patternsthere will always be people who move to the suburbsand the problem is instead that no one is coming to take their place? With national borders closed, universities remote, job onboarding taking place online, and most big-city amenities in hibernation, it would make sense if the typical incoming fleet of U-Hauls were not on the horizon. If thats the case, cities would have more reason to hope for a quick rebound as mass vaccination arrives this summer.

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New research from the Cleveland Federal Reserve, published this month, suggests this is indeed whats happening. Economist Stephan Whitaker tracked a decade of monthly in- and out-migration from urban neighborhoods in big cities, using an anonymous survey that tracks Americans with a credit file (which includes 9 out of 10 adults). His dataset shows urban neighborhoods did indeed experience an exodus during the pandemic.

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The number of people leaving urban neighborhoods each month between March and September of 2020 rose by 10,000 from its three-year average, to 276,000 from 266,000. Thats a very modest percentage change. More substantial, in absolute and percentage terms, was the faucet of new arrivals being shut off. Monthly in-migration fell from a monthly average of 238,000 to 220,000a loss almost twice the size of the departures.

Because it hinges on credit scores, Whitakers dataset is likely to show in particular people who move for jobs (rather than college freshmen moving onto urban campuses, for example). The strongest correlation is that the drop in inflow is higher where you have more of your occupations that are telework-capable, he told me. I think whats happening is people are changing jobs, but because no one is at the office, theres no point moving to be near the office. Whenever people go back [to work], people will start to lease and move. There may be a bit of a step down if some of the remote work becomes permanent.

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In Los Angeles, Chicago, Washington, Seattle, Denver, San Jose, Dallas, Philadelphia, and Minneapolis, for example, inflows have dropped at more than twice the rate than outflows have risen, according to the Cleveland Fed analysis. Among the largest cities, only in New York and San Francisco did departures make up a larger factor than people not arriving. Heres the overall picture:

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Youll notice that, overall, departures have always exceeded arrivals in large cities. This is in part because some walkable, central neighborhoods in cities like Chicago, San Francisco, and New York have been, on net, losing people for years as rents go through the roof. Manhattans Upper West Side, for example, lost 12 percent of its population between 2006 and 2018 as median household income rose.

But that is only part of the story. Go beyond the gentrifying neighborhoods and youll still find more Americans moving out than moving in. That too is the natural order of things. New York City, even during its growth spurt after the Great Recession, suffered a net loss of 60,000 to 90,000 movers to the rest of the country every year. Los Angeles, Chicago, and Philadelphia are also domestic people-exporters.

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Along with natural increase (thats demographer for making babies), immigrants have historically made up the difference, even if they havent pushed big cities to grow on net. New York City, for example, saw a net gain of 60,000 immigrants per year as recently as 2010. A handful of American cities have been dependent on foreign arrivals for almost all their population growth in recent years, including Cincinnati, Birmingham, and Miami. In many larger cities, such as Los Angeles and Chicago, immigrants have for many decades helped stabilize urban neighborhoods and jump-start local economies.

Immigration went down during the years of the Trump administration and contributed to bigger losses or lower gains depending what city youre talking about, especially big metro magnets like New York and L.A., said William Frey, a demographer at the Brookings Institution.

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But whatever declines came from Trumps refusal to admit refugees, inhumane border policies, and reluctance to issue visas and green cards were dwarfed by the pandemic-era immigration drop. Monthly green cards issued to immigrants abroad fell from about 40,000 a month in 2019 to fewer than 5,000 in April, May, June, and July of 2020. From April to September of 2020, the U.S. government issued fewer than 400,000 nonimmigrant visas, compared with 5.6 million during the same period in 2016. It may take years to clear that backlog, which means it may take years to get gateway cities up and humming again.

All of this suggests that while the pandemic may indeed be accelerating out-migration from cities, the key to survival will not be focusing on those who have leftthey always did want that yardbut on those who have not yet arrived. That means instead of heeding complaints from departing suburbanites about law and order or parking, pols ought to double down on the things that make dense urban neighborhoods attractive to the people who still want to live in them. More housing. Strong tenant protections. A humane social safety net. Clean streets. Better public space. An easy road for small businesses. Think not about those who have come to the end of their time in the city, but those who are yet to arrive.
The agitation of farmers at the three borders of Delhi is entering its fourth month. A month has passed since their unsuccessful dialogue with the government. How long will this deadlock last?

Is this why the farmers wanted to observe Bharat Bandh and Rail Roko Andolan to put pressure on Delhi for resuming the dialogue? However, neither was the Bharat Bandh successful at an all-India level nor the Rail Roko efforts. Has it not proved once again that this agitation is only by the farmers of a few north Indian states? It is true that similar anger can be found among the sons of the soil of Tamil Nadu, Telangana, and Maharashtra, but they have not yet taken to the streets. On the other hand, strength has also reduced at the Ghazipur, Singhu and Tikri borders. Does it mean that this three-month-old non-violent and unique movement is losing its steam? It would be far too early to reach this conclusion.

The main reason for saying this is that at the mahapanchayats being convened in different areas of Uttar Pradesh, Uttarakhand, Rajasthan and Haryana, the crowd is increasing. Political leaders of different parties are now also going there to grace the occasion. Now can it be assumed that even though this battle of the farmers is not breaking any new ground in other states, at the same time the agitation is spreading and strengthening in the remaining parts of the six states?

Farmers leaders claim that due to the wedding season and busy schedule of Rabi crop in the fields the numbers have been decreased at the sit-in sites on the three borders of Delhi. Now they are doing it by turn, one batch of agitators leaves, while the other takes its place. They claim that they are ready for a long battle. Rakesh Tikait even says that farmers all over the country are dissatisfied with their plight and there are big farmer rallies in other states, I am also getting an opportunity to participate in these. Is it possible that the dharna like Delhi will now be seen in some other states too?

Only the future will answer this question, but the results of the municipal elections in Punjab have given a new twist to the entire issue. On Wednesday, the Congress won an unprecedented victory and the Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP), which broke away from the Akalis at the beginning of this year, finished fourth. To understand how terrible this victory is, let us look at these figures. Out of a total of 2,165 wards of the municipal council and Municipal Corporation, 1,484 won by Congress, 294 by Shiromani Akali Dal (SAD), 57 by Aam Aadmi Party (AAP) and BJP won only 47. The Congress won 68.5% of the wards, while the SAD won 13.5%, AAP 2.6% and the BJP 2.1%. While the Congress succeeded in capturing Bathinda Municipal Corporation after 53 years, whereas the BJP lost even its strongholds. These results also force the AAP to introspect.

Have the civic elections started writing the script for the next years assembly elections? It is too early to say so. The Congress emerged victorious here in 2017, but the results of the 2015 civic elections were mostly in favour of the SAD-BJP alliance. Politics is a game of odds and chances, no one knows when the wind may turn! But those who are singing the farewell songs for BJP after these results, let me remind them that in December 2020 elections were held for local bodies in Kerala also, and the Congress-led front was defeated there by the ruling Left Front.

However, there is a lot of difference between Kerala and Punjab. Like north India, there are no peasant agitations and the BJP is nowhere in the fight. Rajasthan is another example of the political impact of farmer agitation. The Congress won the civic elections there, held last month. Farmers are agitating in a large part of this state too.

The next test of its impact will be in Uttar Pradesh. As per the order of the high court, elections for panchayats in Uttar Pradesh are to be held before 30 April. Assembly elections are also only a few months away. Western UP has become the epicentre of farmer discontent. Rakesh Tikait also belongs to this part of the state and since the time of his late father, there is a long tradition of farmers agitation.

On Wednesday, when the election results of local bodies were being declared in Punjab, on the other hand, a meeting of important BJP leaders from western UP was going on in Delhi with Union minister Sanjeev Balyan. It was decided there that the BJP leaders would go to talk to the farmers and other community leaders to explain the benefits of new agricultural laws, but their path is not going to be easy.

While Balyan was meeting these leaders in New Delhi, at a mahapanchayat in Muzaffarnagar of western UP, Naresh Tikait, president of the Bharatiya Kisan Union, was making a call for socially boycotting the leaders of the party in power. He even told that not to extend them any wedding invitation. It is for sure that the Muzaffarnagar model of the BJP, which once paved the way for its thumping victory in 2014, is under threat. Priyanka Gandhi Vadra, Akhilesh Yadav and Mayawati have also started trying their bets. The AAP is also seeing a possibility for itself in Uttar Pradesh.

Is this the political end of a social movement that once began for some economic reasons?

Shashi Shekhar is editor-in-chief, Hindustan. The views expressed are personal

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Nifty futures on the Singapore Exchange traded 38.50 points down at 14,956, around 8.35 am, indicating a tepid start for benchmark indices on Monday.

Here are the top stocks that are likely to be in focus today:

Torrent Power: The company emerged as the highest bidder for 51 per cent privatisation of Power Distribution Company in Dadra & Nagar Haveli and Daman & Diu.

Narayana Hrudayalaya: The company said its subsidiary plans to come up with a new 50-bed facility in Cayman Islands entailing an estimated investment of $100 million (around Rs 725 crore).

Amara Raja Batteries: The company has opened the country's maiden technology hub to develop lithium-ion cells, at its Tirupati facility in Andhra Pradesh.

PNB Housing Finance: Promoter PNB said that it will not participate in PNB Housing Finance's capital raising plans.

Jagran Prakashan: The board of Jagran Prakashan will meet on March 2, 2021 to consider buyback of equity shares.

Inox Leisure: The company commenced commercial operations of multiplex Cinema taken on leave and license basis in Kolkata. The said multiplex has two screens and 422 seats.

Marico: The FMCG company expects to deliver "mid-teen growth" in volume terms in the next couple of quarters helped by "strong revival" in consumer demand as well as sentiments, and to continue "good growth" from the rural markets, said a top company official.

Thomas Cook India: The company plans to raise up to Rs 450 crore via issue of Optionally Convertible Cumulative Redeemable Preference shares (OCCRPS) through private placement.

NTPC: The company announced commissioning of 5 mega watt (MW) solar capacity at a project in Auraiya, Uttar Pradesh. The capacity is part of its 20 MW Solar PV Project located in Auraiya, about 200 km from the state capital Lucknow.

State Bank of India: SBI Payments, a subsidiary of India's largest lender State Bank of India, will launch YONO Merchant App to provide low-cost digital payments infrastructure to merchants , the bank said on Saturday.

Karnataka Bank: The bank has reported to the RBI a fraud of about Rs 34.16 crore in credit facilities extended to IL&FS Transportation Networks, which is a dud account now.

IndianOil Corporation: K Sailendra has taken over as the new executive director (regional services) of the company for the Southern Region.

Jubilant FoodWorks: The wholly-owned subsidiary Jubilant Foodworks Netherlands B.V. has entered into a purchase agreement to fully acquire Fides Food Systems Cooperatief U.A.

Aarti Drugs: Pinnacle Life Science LLC, a wholly-owned subsidiary of the company, based in UAE, has been closed.

Adani Ports & SEZ: The company has incorporated a wholly-owned subsidiary Aqua Desilting to carry out business of dredging, desiltation and sale or disposal of such desilted material from sea, river, dams and other water bodies.

Jet Airways: Jalan Kalrock Consortium, the winning bidder for Jet Airways, expects to restart operations of the defunct airline in four to six months after receiving approval from the NCLT for its resolution plan.
The humanitarian and infrastructure disaster that followed Texas winter storm illustrates that catastrophic weather events may soon become less freak occurrences and more part of an unremitting new normal.

It should also remind us of how a new era in which extreme weather is normal will push  or force  some to migrate to new locations less impacted by this weather.

As a report resulting from a partnership between ProPublica and The New York Times Magazine, with support from the Pulitzer Center, found:

Across the United States, some 162 million people  nearly one in two  will most likely experience a decline in the quality of their environment, namely more heat and less water. For 93 million of them, the changes could be particularly severe, and by 2070, our analysis suggests, if carbon emissions rise at extreme levels, at least four million Americans could find themselves living at the fringe, in places decidedly outside the ideal niche for human life.

The United States alone  not to mention other areas around the world  is likely to see millions of climate migrants in the coming decades.
It is an honor to recognize the achievement of BarcodeShack and their commitment to Wasps solutions, stated Larry Goldsticker, channel sales manager, Wasp Barcode Technologies. The ongoing and tireless efforts of BarcodeShack in ensuring a positive sales and implementation experience for our cli

BarcodeShack today announced it has been selected as the 2020 Wasp Link Partner of the Year by Wasp Barcode Technologies.

The BarcodeShack team is thrilled to receive this award from Wasp Barcode Technologies, said Bob Hogan, President & CEO of BarcodeShack. As a long-term partner in the Wasp Link program, weve recommended, sold, implemented and supported Wasps solutions to customers across multiple industries, including government agencies, hospitals and other medical care providers, educational institutions and manufacturers. We find great satisfaction in helping our customers improve their ability to achieve their business goals, and were continually inspired by the innovative technical solutions and support we get from our partners at Wasp. BarcodeShack looks forward to serving as a strong partner to Wasp and our customers in 2021 and beyond.

The Wasp Link Partner of the Year Award recognizes the Wasp Barcode Technologies partner that demonstrates an outstanding commitment to customer success and satisfaction based on sales and implementation of Wasps turnkey tracking solutions that improve customers productivity, profitability and accountability.

It is an honor to recognize the achievement of BarcodeShack and their commitment to Wasps solutions, stated Larry Goldsticker, channel sales manager, Wasp Barcode Technologies. The ongoing and tireless efforts of BarcodeShack in ensuring a positive sales and implementation experience for our clients and their ability to deliver first class customer service ensures our shared customer success. Im proud to recognize BarcodeShacks achievement and look forward to working with them in the future to deliver best-in-class, cloud-based asset management and inventory control solutions.

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Kolkata, Feb 22 : A day after the Central Bureau of Investigation (CBI) summoned Trinamool Congress MP Abhishek Banerjee's sister-in-law Menka Gambhir, a team of the central agency sleuths arrived at her residence here for questioning in connection with its probe into the illegal coal smuggling case.

According to CBI officials, an eight member team of the agency led by Investigating Officer Umesh Kumar and two women officials reached Gambhir's residence.

The officials said that they will question her in connection with a few banking transactions.

Meanwhile, Abhishek's wife Rujira Banerjee, who was delivered a summon at her residence on Sunday afternoon also responded to the CBI and asked the officials to question her between 11 a.m. to 3 p.m. on Tuesday at her residence.

Abhishek is the nephew of West Bengal Chief Minister and Trinamool Congress supremo Mamata Banerjee.

The CBI action comes ahead of the high octane Assembly polls scheduled later this year where the ruling Trinamool Congress and the BJP are in a bitter contest.

Following the CBI action, Abhishek on Sunday said that he has full faith in the law of land, but asserted that he would not be cowed down.

"At 2 p.m. today, the CBI served a notice in the name of my wife. We have full faith in the law of the land. However, if they think they can use these ploys to intimidate us, they are mistaken. We are not the ones who would ever be cowed down," he said in a tweet.

Reacting to the development, Trinamool Congress spokesperson Kunal Ghosh had said that there is nothing new in it as the Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) would trying everything to unseat the Trinamool Congress-led government in West Bengal.

"They are using central agencies to malign the image of Abhishek Banerjee ahead of the state Assembly elections. The CBI notice is just a step towards that," he said.

The CBI had registered a case of illegal theft of coal last year in November. The agency had registered a case against coal mafia Anup Majhi alias Lala, his deputy J. Mondal, and other unidentified people, including some employees of the Eastern Coalfields Ltd. and of other Central government offices. It was alleged that Majhi was involved in coal theft from the leasehold mines of the ECL in Kunustoria and Kajora areas.

On November 28 last year, the CBI had conducted raids at 45 locations in West Bengal, Bihar, Jharkhand, and Uttar Pradesh in connection with the coal smuggling racket.

On Friday, the CBI team carried out searches at 13 locations in four districts of West Bengal, including the premises of coal mafia Jaidev Mondal.

-- The story has been published from a wire feed without any modifications to the text

Paducah Woman Jailed on Meth, DUI Charges

By West Kentucky Star Staff

MCCRACKEN COUNTY - A traffic stop Sunday afternoon in McCracken County led to a Paducah woman's arrest on drug and DUI charges.The McCracken County Sheriff's Office said a deputy conducted a traffic stop on a car for traffic violations. The deputy said the driver, 34-year-old Heather Lynn Mason, showed signs of being under the influence of intoxicating substances. Mason's license was also suspended.

During a search of the vehicle, the deputy reportedly found marijuana, methamphetamine and items of drug paraphernalia. Mason was arrested and lodged in the McCracken County Regional Jail.

She's charged with possession of methamphetamine, possession of marijuana, possession of drug paraphernalia, operating a motor vehicle under the influence, operating on a suspended or revoked license, failure to produce an insurance card, no tail lamps and failure to signal.

The war of words between the and over a makeshift Hanuman temple at Chandni Chowk continued Monday with each attacking the other over the PWD filing a police complaint in which it termed the structure an "obstacle" in executing a beautification project.

Senior leader Durgesh Pathak charged that the exerted pressure through the LG office to get the Public Works Department (PWD) to lodge a police complaint against the structure, an allegation the termed "hilarious".

A prefabricated, steel-made structure was installed by unknown persons on central verge of Main Chandni Chowk on February 18.

The structure has come up close to the spot where an old temple of the deity was demolished after court order to pave way for Chandni Chowk beautification project being carried out by PWD.

Delhi BJP spokesperson Praveen Shankar Kapoor found Pathak's statement "hilarious" and reflective of his frustration.

"After getting exposed that Arvind Kejriwal government's PWD has written a letter to the Delhi Police against the re-established Mandir, it clearly stands established that Aam Aadmi Party right from the beginning did not want to see this Hanuman Mandir in Chandni Chowk," he said.

Pathak, however, hit out at the BJP alleging the North Delhi Municipal Corporation (NDMC) ruled by the party first paved the way for demolition of old Hanuman temple and was now indulging in "dirty" politics over the new temple.

"The BJP through LG office, forced the PWD engineer to file the police complaint and now it's enacting drama over the whole issue and blaming the Delhi government," Pathak charged.

The PWD in a complaint to Kotwali police station, asked for action on the prefabricated structure kept in Chandni Chowk.

"This structure is basically an obstacle in the theme of (the) project and placed without intimation and permission from project executing authorities. In this regard, it is requested to take necessary action at the earliest so that the project can be executed within the timeline," stated the complaint.

Police had said that "legal action" in the matter was taken although no case was registered.

(Only the headline and picture of this report may have been reworked by the Business Standard staff; the rest of the content is auto-generated from a syndicated feed.)

Upstate New York was a hotbed in the 19th century for the abolitionist movement and the Underground Railroad. Names like Harriet Tubman, Frederick Douglass and Gerrit Smith are familiar. But there were also valiant figures from the region, white and Black, who fought for the end of slavery whose names have faded into history.

During this Black History Month, after searching through old newspapers and websites, we take a look back at some of Upstate New Yorks forgotten abolitionists.

***

There was perhaps no greater weapon for the abolition cause than the written word.

Frederick Douglass wrote his autobiography describing his life in bondage. Abolitionist newspapers, like William Lloyd Garrisons The Liberator spread the word. And the novel Uncle Toms Cabin, by Harriet Beecher Stove, changed hearts and minds like nothing had before.

A former Upstate New York slave, Austin Steward, told his story as well, after learning to read and write in secret. His 1857 autobiography, Twenty-Two Years a Slave, is considered one of best slave narratives ever written.

In the final paragraph of his memoir, Steward lays out why he had written his story, writing about himself in the third-person:

In his old age he sends out this history - presenting as it were his own body, with the marks and scars of the tender mercies of slave drivers upon it and asking that these may plead in the name of Justice, Humanity, and Mercy, that those who have the power, may have the magnanimity to strike off the chains from the enslaved, and bid him stand up, a Freeman and a Brother!

Steward was born into slavery in 1793 at a plantation with more than 100 slaves in Prince William County, Virginia.

As was the usual custom, we lived in small cabin, built of rough boards, with a floor of earth, and small openings in the sides of the cabin were substituted for windows, was how he described his surroundings.

When Captain William Helm was forced to sell his property to pay for his gambling debts, he moved north, to Sodus Bay and then Bath in western New York State.

To earn extra money, Steward was often rented out by Helm to other farms after arriving in New York. This small taste of freedom allowed his horizons to be broadened. He developed a thirst for reading.

But it was dangerous.

When it was discovered that Steward had been learning to read, Helm had him beaten, his precious books burned before his eyes.

In 1814, Steward secretly reached to the New York Manumission Society to aid in securing his freedom.

The group informed Steward that he was legally free because Helms renting him to other farms constituted a violation of New Yorks slave laws.

He ran away to Rochester while his status was being determined and worked odd jobs, eventually earning enough money to open his own butchers shop. His business became so successful he was able to acquire considerable property around the area.

His former master went the other way. He lost all of his property and was attempting to sue Steward for both his money and freedom when he died, living off the charity of the town.

Steward used his success to pay it forward, helping to establish a colony for former slaves in Canada in 1831.

Poor leadership and a lack of funds doomed the experiment.

Steward returned to Rochester and later Canandaigua, where he became active in the abolition and temperance cause.

He taught school, aided runaway slaves looking for their freedom, and lectured, traveling all over New York State speaking out against the Fugitive Slave Act of 1850.

His autobiography proved so popular that a second edition was printed in 1859, followed by further printings in 1861 and 1867.

He died in 1869 and is remembered fondly in Rochester.

A bronze bust of Steward resides on the second floor of the Radisson Hotel, where his old business was once located.

He closed his autobiography this way, wishing for a new America, devoted to freedom and equality:

Gladly I leave that unpleasant subject, hoping that nothing in our past history will serve to becloud the bright future beginning to dawn on the prospects of our disfranchised and oppressed countrymen.

Our series

See all of our profiles of Upstates forgotten abolitionists here.

Black History Month

Black History Month in Upstate NY: Historical sites, monuments and more

Black History Month movies: 20 great films to stream right now on Disney+, Hulu, Prime Video, more

Peterboros Abolition Hall of Fame and Museum offers free daily videos during Black History Month

CNY Jazz brings L.A. to Syracuse for Black History Month cabaret

Send your ideas and curiosities to Johnathan Croyle at jcroyle@syracuse.com or call 315-427-3958.
KYODO NEWS - Feb 23, 2021 - 03:08 | All, Japan

U.S. Secretary of State Antony Blinken said Monday that he and President Joe Biden hope to visit Japan as the two countries continue to deepen their ties, issuing a message of congratulations for the Japanese emperor's 61st birthday.

Recalling with "great fondness" previous visits to Japan during their respective former tenures as deputy secretary of state and vice president, Blinken said the two are "eager to visit Japan again."

He also said the U.S.-Japan alliance is "the cornerstone of peace and prosperity in a free and open Indo-Pacific," referring to a concept that has evolved amid China's rise.

Noting that the two countries' common values and shared interests include upholding democracy, human rights and confronting security challenges, Blinken said, "We applaud Japan's global leadership and look forward to further strengthening the bonds between our two countries in the year ahead."

Biden took office on Jan. 20. The two have not yet visited any country amid the coronavirus pandemic.
EMILY ST. LAWRENCE, Chariho girls lacrosse, senior: St. Lawrence tied a school record for goals in a game with nine in a win over Smithfield. St. Lawrence scored 17 goals for the week and has 32 for the season.

CARLY CONSTANTINE, Stonington softball, sophomore: Constantine singled home Shea OConnor with the winning run to hand Waterford, the states No. 2 ranked team at the time, its first loss of the season. For the week, Constantine was 5 for 15.

GREG GORMAN, Westerly baseball, junior: Gorman, a junior, hit a massive home run in a win against Barrington. The homer went over the fence in center field and landed in a nearby road. Gorman was 3 for 3 with four RBIs in the game. He is hitting .571 with 10 RBIs for the season.

BRADIN ANDERSON, Wheeler baseball, freshman: Anderson, a freshman, pitched a complete-game shutout to beat Grasso Tech. Anderson struck out three to earn the first win of his varsity career.

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He is a passionate animal rights activist who has campaigned against cruelty for decades.

Now Sir Paul McCartney has shared a photo of an unwanted animal he rescued to mark Americas Love Your Pet Day.

The former Beatle, 78, posted a photo on Instagram of himself with wife Nancy Shevell, 61, and dog Rose.

The couple, who have been married since 2011, are shown sitting on stairs with Rose looking into the camera with piercing eyes.

Sir Paul McCartney has shared a photo of an unwanted animal he rescued to mark Americas Love Your Pet Day. The former Beatle, 78, posted a photo on Instagram of himself with wife Nancy Shevell, 61, and dog Rose

It is the first photo Sir Paul has released of Rose.

The caption alongside it read: Its #LoveYourPetDay! Here are Paul and Nancy with their rescue dog, Rose. Photos taken from the McCartney III artwork.

In a second image, Rose can be seen on her own looking up to the camera - and she looked just the part with a American flag printed neckerchief on.

Fans were delighted by the rare glimpse into the pairs life, which they try to keep out of the public eye.

In a second image, Rose can be seen on her own looking up to the camera - and she looked just the part with a American flag printed neckerchief on

One person commented: A perfect little family! I love you guys so much, wow.

Another wrote: What a beautiful photo of you both and your pet dog is gorgeous.

Sir Paul, who famously wrote about his English sheepdog Martha in Beatles song Martha My Dear, has been the owner of several dogs since his childhood and has been a long time outspoken dog activist.

One of his recent protests was in 2019 when he hit out at a university in Texas for allegedly doing muscular dystrophy experiments on golden retrievers.

Credit: Pixabay/CC0 Public Domain

A team of researchers at security firm Red Canary has found evidence of a new kind of malware infecting Apple brand computers. They claim on their website that they have found evidence of the malware, which they have named Silver Sparrow, infecting up to 30,000 Mac computers.

Just last week, security researcher Patrick Wardle reported that he had found an instance of malware that was targeting Apple computers running the M1 chipset. In that instance, the malware was an adware-type web browser extension called GoSearch22in this new finding by Red Canary, the malware runs on the macOS (including M1 chipset machines) using a LaunchAgent to allow it to persist on a host computer.

The team at Red Canary found the malware to be unique in initial testing, mostly in the way it used JavaScript. And thus far, the malware does not appear to do anything once it installs itself on a host machine. This is worrisome, because it suggests that it is waiting for a specific event before going live.

In consulting with another security firm, Malwarebytes, the researchers found evidence of the malware infecting 29,139 Mac computers in multiple countries, mostly in the U.S., Canada, the U.K. and Europe. They also acknowledge that they do not know yet what sort of payload the malware might be set to deliver. But they suggest the malware could present a major security threat to Mac ownersthey note that because it has been designed to run on all Mac platforms (including the M1 machines) and because of its far-reaching infection history and high infection rate, it could very well be poised to create problems for people whose machines are already infected and for others yet to come in the future.

They note that it appears likely that the malware could unleash a payload upon receiving a command from whoever wrote the software for it. They also note that the malware has another unique featureit can erase itself from a host computer, a feature generally only seen in very high-end stealth software. They also note that the malware uses Amazon Web Services as well as the Akamai content delivery network to ensure that it can receive commands from the malware creator.

The team at Red Canary has outlined the known technical details of the malware on their website.

 2021 Science X Network
Shocking footage has emerged of a man confronting a woman before allegedly attacking her in a Sydney cafe after an road rage incident.

Police have released CCTV as part of their ongoing investigations in the hope witnesses may come forward and assist with their inquiries.

Cops were called to Wattle Street, Ultimo around 1.45pm on Sunday February 14 following reports a woman had been assaulted.

Police allege a man followed a woman into a Sydney cafe after a road rage incident (pictured, a man who can assist with inquiries)

Officers were told the woman was crossing a road when the driver of a black SUV beeped the horn and hurled verbal abuse at her.

It's alleged the man followed her into a nearby cafe where he assaulted her before throwing her bike into the street and smashing her mobile phone.

CCTV shows a man wearing a black T-shirt, pants and sunglasses walking into a cafe, with police believing he may be able to assist with inquiries.

Police alleged the man verbally abused the woman before following her into the Ultimo cafe (pictured, a man police are seeking to help with inquiries)

The woman, 37, suffered minor injuries to her wrists and hands during the alleged assault.

Sydney City Police Area Command have launched an investigation into the circumstances surrounding the incident.

Inquiries are ongoing.

Anyone with information is urged to call CrimeStoppers on 1800 333 000.

Officer-Involved Shooting in Southern Illinois

By West Kentucky Star Staff

HARDIN COUNTY - Illinois State Police are conducting an independent investigation at the request of the Hardin and Pope County sheriffs departments into an officer-involved shooting that took place Sunday in Hardin County.

Police said a deputy responded Saturday night to a possible burglary in the 900 block of Illinois Route 43 in Pope County. As the male suspect fled the scene, he was alleged to have stolen the deputys vehicle, an unmarked squad car.

Deputies from the Hardin and Pope County sheriffs departments found the vehicle abandoned Sunday morning on Illinois Route 34 at the north edge of Eichorn. Deputies from Pope and Hardin County Sheriffs Departments located the suspect near the squad car and attempted to take him into custody.



After a brief encounter, the deputies fired at the suspect, who was struck. The subject was flown directly from the scene to an area hospital with non-life-threatening injuries.

No officers or bystanders were injured during the incident. The name of the subject is not being released, pending further investigation and potential charges.
The Copyright Society of Nigeria (COSON) is mourning the death of the veteran Nigerian musician, Chris Ajilo.

He was 91.

The Eko O Gba Gbere crooner died in his Ijebu-Ijesha hometown in Osun on Saturday, after a brief illness.

The chairman of COSON, Tony Okoroji, in a statement, while paying tribute to the highlife veteran, said that Nigeria had lost an irreplaceable music icon.

I worked with the great Chris Ajilo in so many endeavours. In each case, his dedication, humility, and contributions were first class.

He was a member of my Executive Council in the golden years of PMAN. He was also the General Manager of Performing & Mechanical Rights Society (PMRS) while I was the chairman.

There is no doubt that Chris Ajilo laid the foundation stone on which COSON was built.

While he had retired before the transition of PMRS to COSON, he remained an unflinching member of COSON.

He was attending and participating actively in every major event of the society and giving total support toward the progress of COSON.

In 2017, when Lagos State celebrated 50 years of the creation of Nigerias most vibrant state, Ajilos music: Eko O Gbagbere was chosen as the iconic song that captured the essence of Lagos, its spirit, and the beauty of its people.

Lagos went for the song that year. Decade after decade, the song has become the anthem of Lagos. Eko O Gbagbere was composed in the early 60s by the master musician, Chris Ajilo.

He was the man who led the Independence Band at the Federal Palace Hotel in 1960.

He was the peoples saxophonist, a music teacher by calling, artiste and a repertoire manager with a difference, a producer of numerous hit songs and numerous hit artistes and the quintessential copyright man.

On November 5, 2017 at the COSON Song Awards at Eko Hotel, the music industry and many lovers of music stood up to celebrate the anthem of Lagos, Eko O Gbagbere.

This evergreen song will never die and so also the creative genius behind the song, the master musician, Chris Ajilo.

The warm spirit of Chris Ajilo will be missed. His support (for) budding artistes will be missed. The sweet-sweet sound of his saxophone will be missed.

His total commitment to music will be missed. His dedication to the copyright cause will be missed.

Yes, all of us on the Board, membership, management and staff of COSON will miss the irreplaceable Chris Ajilo.

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Until his retirement in 2007, as General Manager of the Performing and Mechanical Right Society, (PMRS) of Nigeria, Mr Ajilo was a force to be reckoned with in the music industry

(NAN)
A bankrupt diamond dealer who was forced to repay $66,000 to Geelong captain Joel Selwood after a legal dispute over an engagement ring has been charged with allegedly defrauding creditors.

Ron Bensimon, 42, was charged by the Australian Financial Security Authority with six offences including allegedly making false declarations, disposing precious stones and other property to defraud creditors and failing to disclose his financial affairs to a trustee.

Jeweller and diamond dealer Ron Bensimon. Credit:

It is also alleged that Mr Bensimon transferred large sums of money and gambled significant amounts prior to his bankruptcy, yet failed to provide details of the transactions when requested by the trustee.

Mr Bensimon, who was declared bankrupt in 2016 when his diamond business collapsed with debts of $6.9 million, appeared before the Downing Centre Local Court in Sydney on February 2.
State officials know at least 50 people have been infected with a variant of the coronavirus in New Jersey, a strain that appears to be more transmissible  and more deadly.

What they dont know is just how many other people across New Jersey could be spreading the more dangerous variant, which came from the United Kingdom. State officials wont say how many total virus samples theyve tested, and a spokeswoman for the state Health Department said its unclear even what percentage of samples are being tested for the strain.

The number of variant cases is almost surely underreported, public health experts say, and without knowing how many or how often samples are tested, they worry it could present a big setback in the fight against COVID-19.

Its really, at this point, hard to know when we dont have the data to support it, said Stephanie Silvera, an epidemiologist at Montclair State University. Those numbers are likely higher than whats been reported, she said.

Were opening up indoor dining and increasing capacity, so the variant in the state is concerning. And if we are letting our guard down, it can quickly become the dominant strain.

So far, the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention is reporting 1,523 cases of the U.K. variant in 42 U.S. states, though, again, that number is likely a fraction of the actual number of infections. The CDC is also reporting 21 cases of a South African variant in 10 states and five cases of a Brazilian variant in four states.

New Jerseys Department of Health is working with the federal government and local officials to sequence samples of the virus and detect the strains. Spokeswoman Donna Leusner said the DOH is focused on sequencing outbreaks with an atypical transmission pattern, cases with international travel to areas where variants are prevalent and random samples of COVID-19 positive cases from all over the state.

The state is working with the CDC and private labs, including Princeton University and Hackensack Meridian Health, to find the variants, Leusner said, adding that the DOH is still trying to expand its efforts.

As these efforts are ramping up, the department has reported more variant cases. In a little more than two weeks, the number of cases of the U.K. variant has more than quadrupled, from 11 on Feb. 3 to 50. No cases of the South African or Brazilian variants have yet been reported in N.J.

But because the sequencing of coronavirus samples is being done by labs at the state and federal levels, and in the private sector, Leusner said its difficult to estimate what percentage of samples are being checked for variants on a daily basis.

Samuel Wang, a Princeton University neuroscientist who has been studying the virus, said its less important to know the exact number of variant cases in the state than to know how often the variants are showing up in the samples.

Yes, of course the real number (of cases) is higher, Wang said. But since it costs extra money and resources to sequence, it is OK that they didnt catch all of them.

It would be more useful for public health authorities to say what percentage of samples show the U.K. variant. That would be very helpful in putting the threat in perspective.

But the state Health Department either doesnt know that percentage.

So the relatively low number of variant cases reported in New Jersey, and other states, is likely making the situation look better than it really is, said Preeti Malani, the chief health officer in the Divisions of Infectious Diseases and Geriatric Medicine at the University of Michigan.

Were a little bit like we were last winter, (saying) Oh we dont have any COVID, because we havent looked, Malani said about tracking the virus variants.

Despite the lack of specific data around tracking the variants in N.J., Malani said the states strategy of following anomalies in how the virus is spreading is a smart way to potentially identify different variants.

If youre seeing people come in with severe illness, you probably want to sequence that, people with a travel history, Malani said. As people get vaccinated, if there are fully vaccinated people who are coming down with COVID, you want to sequence that. If something doesnt make sense, or if theres a cluster among younger, healthier people.

It was inevitable the coronavirus would mutate. Virus mutations are common. Think organic evolution in hyper-speed. In a study published earlier this month, a group of scientists identified seven variants they believe mutated in the United States. Still, the CDC is paying most attention to the variants from the U.K., South Africa and Brazil.

Those three variants are believed to spread more easily than the strain that has brought much of the world to a halt over the past year, though the CDC acknowledges it has much to learn. The vaccines now being mass produced are still believed to be effective in preventing severe illness even in the variants.

But until more people are vaccinated, the variants present a real threat. British scientists are now saying that the U.K. variant, called B.1.1.7, is likely hospitalizing and killing people at a higher rate than the dominant strain of the virus.

Neil Ferguson, an epidemiologist who advised the British government, told The New York Times this month that the U.K. variant appears to have a 40% to 60% increase in the risk of hospitalization and death.

That increased risk has made tracking the variants all the more important for states and the federal government.

We know its here and we are going to be doing more sequencing, but it does not change that we need to be following the same preventive measures, including vaccination, Leusner said.

Each day brings reports of more coronavirus variants being detected across the country. But health experts say the instructions for the public remain the same: wear masks and stay away from people. With vaccine access expanding, the variants could still be held in check.

If we can encourage people to just stick with it a little bit longer, Silvera said. Were going into one full year now.

But if we can get through the next few months and really ramp up the vaccine process, the new variants arent going to be as much of a concern because well have gotten it under control.

Our journalism needs your support. Please subscribe today to NJ.com.

Payton Guion may be reached at pguion@njadvancemedia.com.

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Cytomegalovirus. Credit: CDC/Dr. Edwin P. Ewing, Jr. (PHIL #958), 1982.

A potential new treatment to protect immunosuppressed patients from human cytomegalovirus (HCMV) has been discovered by scientists at the University of Cambridge. Their study shows that certain epigenetic inhibitors expose and help to destroy dormant HCMV infections, which often reactivate to cause serious illness and death in these vulnerable groups. Subject to clinical trials, their proposed 'shock and kill' treatment strategy offers hope to transplant patients across the world.

Around 80% of the UK population is currently infected with human cytomegalovirus (HCMV) and in developing countries this can be as high as 95%. The virus can remain dormant in our white blood cells for decades and, if it reactivates in a healthy individual, does not usually cause symptoms. But, for people who are immunocompromised, HCMV reactivation can be devastating.

HCMV reactivation has been identified in COVID-19 patients, though scientists do not yet understand the relationship between the two viruses. Reactivation or re-infection in transplant recipients can lead to severe illness, including organ rejection and, in some cases, death.

More than 200,000 kidney, lung and stem cell transplants take place globally every year and HCMV reactivation occurs in more than half of these cases. For reasons scientists don't yet fully understand, immunosuppressants appear to encourage the virus to reactivate as well as compromising the patient's ability to fight it. There remains no effective vaccine against HCMV and anti-viral therapies often prove ineffective or detrimental.

Now, a team from the University of Cambridge's School of Clinical Medicine has identified a drug type and treatment strategy that could dramatically reduce these devastating reactivation events. The study, published today in the journal PNAS, describes how scientists exposed HCMV-infected blood samples to a wide-range of 'epigenetic inhibitors' - drugs widely used in cancer treatmenthoping to prompt the latent virus to produce proteins or targetable antigen that are visible to our immune system.

They discovered that a particular group of these drugs, 'bromodomain inhibitors', successfully reactivated the virus by forcing it to convert its hidden genetic instructions into protein. This then enabled T-cells in the blood samples to target and kill these previously undetectable infected cells.

The study is the first to identify the involvement of human host bromodomain (BRD) proteins in the regulation of HCMV latency and reactivation but also proposes a novel 'shock and kill' treatment strategy to protect transplant patients.

Lead author Dr. Ian Groves said: "We're looking to purge the patient's viral reservoir before they go into the operating theatre and before they start taking immunosuppressants, when they would become extremely vulnerable to the virus reactivating. In other words, we're proposing a pre-emptive strike.

"Prior to transplantation, many patients will have a relatively healthy immune system, so when the virus puts its head above the parapet, its cover is blown, and the immune system will see it and kill the cells it's been hiding in. Ideally, donors would also be treated to avoid re-infecting recipients."

There are similar drugs in Phase 1-3 clinical trials around the world for other intended uses, mainly in the treatment of cancers but also Type 2 diabetes-related cardiovascular disease.

Dr. Groves said: "This would be the first type of treatment to reduce HCMV infection levels pre-transplant in order to lower the chances of virus reactivation during immune suppression after transplantation. Our findings could lead to thousands of lives being saved every year."

"In addition to the terrible human suffering this virus causes, treating its effects adds enormously to the high costs already incurred by transplantation. It's a really serious issue for health services in wealthy nations and a desperate one in developing countries. Our findings offer an opportunity to transform this horrible situation."

The study builds on over 25 years of extensive research into the molecular biology of HCMV and its immune evasion tactics (funded by the Medical Research Council). The researchers hope their study could eventually help doctors fight HCMV on other fronts, including in maternity and neo-natal care. HCMV affects at least 1% of all live births in developed countries, and many more in developing countries. These children can be left with brain damage and hearing loss, but congenital infection during pregnancy can also lead to miscarriage.

Explore further Let the immune cell see the virus: Scientists discover unique way to target common virus

More information: Ian J. Groves el al., "Bromodomain proteins regulate human cytomegalovirus latency and reactivation allowing epigenetic therapeutic intervention," PNAS (2021). Journal information: Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences Ian J. Groves el al., "Bromodomain proteins regulate human cytomegalovirus latency and reactivation allowing epigenetic therapeutic intervention,"(2021). www.pnas.org/cgi/doi/10.1073/pnas.2023025118
Kerala on Monday logged 2,212 new COVID-19 cases, including two who returned from the U.K and 16 deaths, taking the total caseload to 10,37,218 and the toll to 4,105.

Recoveries at 5,037 outnumbered the new infections.

Health Minister, K K Shailaja said 38,103 samples have been tested in the last 24 hours and the test positivity rate was 5.81 per cent.

Till now, the state has tested 1,10,68,239 samples, she said.

Two persons who came from the UK tested positive for the virus in the last 24 hours.

With this, the total number of UK returnees who tested positive has risen to 88.

Among them, the testresults of 72 persons returned negative later.

Only 10 of them were diagnosed with the genetically modified virus, the minister added.

Among the districts, Kozhikode reported the highest number of cases on Monday-374, followed by Alappuzha-266 and Ernakulam-246.

"Out of those infected today, 34 people reached the state from outside while 1,987 persons contracted the disease through contact.

The sources of infection of 169 people are yet to be known," she said.

With the discharge of 5,037 people, the total number of those cured now stands at 9,77,012.

Currently, there are 55,468people under treatment.

There are 2,42,070 people under observation, out of which8,446 are in isolation wards of various hospitals, the minister said.

One new place was added to the list of hot spots, and another region removed, taking the total number to 372.
Cayuga County Legislature Chairperson Aileen McNabb-Coleman will appear on "Inside Government with Guy Cosentino" this week.

In an episode being recorded on Tuesday, Feb. 23, McNabb-Coleman will be asked about the countys response to COVID-19, the recently passed budget and plans for the spring, as well as her new responsibilities.

The show first airs at 7 p.m. Tuesday on Spectrum channel 12 and then at 8 p.m. Thursday, Feb. 25. It will replay on Spectrum channels 12 and 98 and Verizon FiOS channel 31 at 5 p.m. Saturday, Feb. 27, and Sunday, Feb. 28, via the Auburn Regional Media Access feed.

Tuesday's new show will be followed by rebroadcasts of "Inside Government with Guy Cosentino" with state Sen. John Mannion giving a state budget update at 7:30 p.m. and Cayuga County Public Health Director Kathleen Cuddy discussing the countys response to COVID-19 at 8 p.m. All three shows will rebroadcast in the same order on Thursday.

On March 2, Auburn Mayor Michael D. Quill will give a city update. On March 4, Auburn Police Chief Shawn Butler, who is retiring this year, will be the show's guest.

The shows are all rebroadcast starting at 10 a.m. each Saturday morning on CCCs radio station, WDWN89.1 FM.
Smithfield Foods buys Penta's meat-processing business

Mecom will fit into their growth plan in Europe, the buyer said.

The Penta financial group agreed to sell the Mecom Group, which unites meat-processing companies in Slovakia and Hungary, including the biggest Slovak meat processing plant in Humenne.

The buyer is a global leader in the meat business, the U.S.-based company Smithfield Foods. An earlier version of this story read that Smithfield Foods is an American company. The company, founded in the USA in the 1930s, was in fact bought by Hong Kong-based WH Group in 2013.

Both sides agreed that the sum of the transaction will not be made public and the transaction will be concluded once the respective authorities in Slovakia and Hungary approve it.

The parties to the transaction are the meat holding compnay Carnibona, which belongs to Penta, and Smithfield Foods. Several strategic investors competed for Mecom Group in a tender.

I am pleased that our belief in quality production and the efficient management of the Mecom Group has been confirmed by the great interest of the world's leading players in the meat processing industry, Marian Slivovic, partner in Penta Investments, said as quoted by the SITA newswire.

Growth plan in Europe

With the announcement of the acquisition of the Mecom Group, Smithfield Foods is strengthening its brand portfolio and continues to invest in its European operations.

"Mecom will fit into our growth plan in Europe and complement our existing brand portfolio," said Luis Cerdan, Executive Vice President, Smithfield Foods Europe.

Largest in Business rankings bring unexpected findings about firms in Slovakia Read more

The Mecom Group has two meat processing plants in Slovakia, in Lucenec and Humenne. Together they can process 5,000 tons of meat monthly.

It also controls two smaller plants in Hungary. The plant in Szolnok specialising in the production of salami with noble mould can process 220 tons of meat per month.

The production plant in Bekescsaba produces 350 tonnes of salami per month under the traditional Csabai brand.

Mecom exports up to 54 percent of its production. Its largest export markets are Hungary, the Czech Republic and Germany. The group has more than 1,400 employees. In 2020, Mecom Group's revenues reached a value of more than 138 million.

Disclaimer: The Penta financial group has a minority share in Petit Press, the publisher of the Sme daily and the co-owner of The Slovak Spectator.

22. Feb 2021 at 17:20 | Compiled by Spectator staff
At least two Jewish organizations are demanding an apology from Michael Che after a joke he made on Saturday Night Live this weekend.

During the 'Weekend Update' segment, which Che co-hosts with Colin Jost, Che made light of the vaccination efforts taking place in Israel.

'Israel is reporting that they've vaccinated half of their population,' Che says as he sets up the joke.

'I'm going to guess it's the Jewish half,' Che concluded.

Scroll down for video

Michael Che is in hot water for a joke on Saturday Night Live deemed to be anti-Semitic

The joke immediately started an uproar, with accusations that the joke was anti-Semitic.

The American Jewish Committee (AJC) quickly began circulating a petition Saturday Night Live 'retract its outrageous claim and apologize immediately.'

'The claim is categorically false: every Israeli, regardless of religion or ethnicity, is eligible for the COVID vaccine, and more than two thirds of Israel's Arab citizens over 60 have already been vaccinated,' the petition reads.

'Saturday Night Live's 'joke' isn't just untrueit's dangerous, a modern twist on a classic antisemitic trope that has inspired the mass murder of countless Jews throughout the centuries.

'In the Middle Ages, thousands of Jews were burnt at the stake after being blamed for the Black Death and accused of protecting only themselves.

'In the 20th century, the Nazis accused Jews of spreading disease and seized on that falsehood to justify imprisoning Jews in ghettos and carrying out the mass murder of European Jewry.

'Words have consequences, and Jews are at risk when a major American TV company joins with those who claim Israel is favoring only a portion of its citizens in its admirable efforts, praised by Dr. Anthony Fauci and others, to vaccinate all of its residents.'

StandWithUs, a pro-Israel advocacy group, is also demanding an apology.

As of Sunday night, Saturday Night Live has not issued any sort of apology or retraction.

'Unsurprising coming from SNL as they have a long history of antisemitism', tweeted former New York State Assemblyman Dov Hikind.

'But Michael Che or whoever wrote that 'joke' is obviously also ignorant of fact that Israel has Arab citizens whove received the vaccine according to the same qualifications as Jews! @nbcsnl is the joke!'

'Last nights @nbcsnl segment by #MichaelChe was not funny. It only perpetrated age old Antisemitic stereotypes & blood libel. Was also an outright lie. I hope #SNL take action now, starting with immediate, unreserved apology & program of education for Che & the writers involved,' tweeted Arsen Ostrovsky.

David Harris tweeted the joke was 'totally outrageous' and 'an antisemitic lie.'

Israel is seen worldwide as one of the vaccination leaders against the COVID-19 virus.

The Christian Science Monitor reports 43 percent of Israel's Arab residents 60 and over have been vaccinated, compared with 75 percent of Jewish residents belonging to the same age group.

Vaccinations are ongoing in Israel, which is seen as a leader in the fight against COVID-19

The disparity is likely linked to either the Arab population's mistrust of the Israeli government or the geographical divide.

Nevertheless, Israel is attempting to improve their vaccination rates for various religious groups.

Reuters reports that Israel has agreed to vaccinate around 100,000 Palestinians who cross into Israel for work.

'From a medical perspective, we think vaccinating the Palestinian workers is very much the correct thing to do,' said Nachman Ash, who is leading Israel's COVID-19 response.
Pump prices are so high in India that some of the gasoline and diesel exported to neighbouring countries is being smuggled back through porous land borders.

A large oil truck loaded with 1,360 liters (359 gallons) of diesel that was being smuggled to India, where pump prices are at a record, was held last week in Nepal, the police said in a statement.

Pump prices of gasoline, which have breached the 100 a liter mark in several parts of India, are the highest in the South Asian region, according to data compiled by GlobalPetrolPrices.com. Thats resulting in illegal trade as Indians grapple with soaring fuel prices. Ironically, Nepal gets all its petroleum fuels from India, which also exports to neighbours Bangladesh and Sri Lanka.

Smuggling has become rampant as prices are cheaper in Nepal because of tax differentiation," said Ravi Bharti, who operates a gas station at Adapur in eastern Indias Bihar state, less than 3 kilometers (2 miles) from the Nepal border. This is severely impacting our sales."

While the increase in pump rates is the result of a sharp recovery in the prices of global crude oil, taxes have remained stubbornly high, making up closer to 60% of what consumers pay in India. Prime Minister Narendra Modi and his oil minister Dharmendra Pradhan have been fending off criticism by shifting the blame for high prices on previous governments and production cuts by some oil exporting nations.

In the wake of Covid-19, both the federal and state governments need to generate taxes for increasing spending and generating more jobs, Pradhan told ANI explaining why fuel prices are high. This is why we need this tax but there is also the need for balance. I believe Finance Minister can find a way," he said.

Daily sales of gasoline and diesel at his refilling station have dropped to 1,200 liters from 1,800 liters earlier, Bharti said. Vehicles are now refilling from roadside vendors, who are selling the smuggled fuels much cheaper."

Modi has drawn criticism for the rise in fuel prices, a politically sensitive subject, not only from his rivals but also from some members of his own Bharatiya Janata Party. India imports 85% of its crude oil requirements, making it the worlds third-biggest buyer.

This story has been published from a wire agency feed without modifications to the text. Only the headline has been changed.

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Hyderabad, Feb 22 : The move by the Telangana Rashtra Samithi (TRS) to field former Prime Minister P.V. Narasimha Rao's daughter S. Vani Devi as its candidate for the Telangana Legislative Council is another attempt by the state's ruling party to own the legacy of the late leader considered the father of India's economic reforms.

Vani Devi's choice as the candidate for Hyderabad-Rangareddy-Mahabubnagar graduates' constituency is being seen as a masterstroke by TRS President and Chief Minister K. Chandrasekhar Rao to kill many birds with one stone.

Facing a resurgent BJP following its recent electoral success, the TRS came out with a surprise to counter the saffron party and wrest the seat from it.

The BJP has again fielded Ramachandra Rao from this constituency which is going to polls on March 14 along with Nalgonda-Warangal-Khammam graduate constituency.

Over 5.17 lakh graduates in the state capital and surrounding districts are eligible to cast their votes.

Congress has fielded its senior leader and former legislator G. Chinna Reddy for Hyderabad-Rangareddy-Mahabubnagar seat. The grand old party, already in disarray due to series of defections and poll defeats, is hoping to bounce back.

However, political observers say that the choice of a woman and that too daughter of a former Prime Minister will make it tough for both the BJP and the Congress.

As Vani Devi is a Brahmin like Ramachandra Rao, the TRS will be looking to wean away the voters from the saffron party.

The TRS choice is also significant as Vani Devi is an artist, an educationist and a social activist. The ruling party will be banking on her background to counter eminent academic Professor Nageshwar Rao, a former member of Council who is likely to contest an independent and expected to be backed by the Left parties and Telangana Jana Samithi (TJS).

"Nominating Vani Devi as TRS candidate is another step of KCR appropriating late Prime Minister Narasimha Rao's legacy. This follows numerous actions of the Chief Minister in owning PV, who during his last days was allegedly ignored by the Congress party," said political analyst P. Raghavenra Reddy.

He believes that the main contest is likely to be between incumbent Ramchandra Rao and Nageshwar Rao, who is most popular among all contestants. "Considering the scenario, the TRS move, though symbolic in nature, will serve the purpose of making a statement in Telangana," Reddy said.

Ever since formation of Telangana, Chandrasekhar Rao tried to own the legacy of Narasimha Rao, the first leader from south and the only Telugu to become the Prime Minister.

Highlighting the achievements of 'Telangana's beloved son', the TRS chief demanded that country's highest civilian honour Bharat Ratna be conferred on the late leader for his contributions to the nation as the architect of economic reforms.

KCR's move was seen as an attempt to counter Congress, which faces criticism from rivals for dumping its own leader.

KCR always tried to rekindle the Telangana sentiment by invoking legacy of Narasimha Rao, who was born in Vangara village in Karimnagar district, now a part of Telangana state.

Narasimha Rao, who also served as the Chief Minister of undivided Andhra Pradesh and as a Central minister, was known as a scholar, statesman, a polyglot and an author.

Despite objections from Muslim groups and his friendly party Majlis-e-Ittehadul Muslimeen (MIM), KCR went ahead with the former Prime Minister's birth centenary celebrations.

KCR, who launched the centenary celebrations on June 28, released Rs 10 crore for year-long celebrations. He also announced that the celebrations will be organised in 51 countries, where Narasimha Rao has admirers.

If Vani Devi gets elected to Telangana Council, she will be the first member from his family to be elected to the legislature in the new state.

Earlier, Narasimha Rao's eldest son P.V. Ranga Rao had served as minister in undivided Andhra Pradesh.

A Congress leader, he served as Education Minister in the cabinet of Kotla Vijaya Bhaskara Reddy (1992-94).

He was twice elected to the Andhra Pradesh Assembly from Hanamkonda in Warangal district of Telangana region. He also served as a member of the Legislative Council.

Narasimha Rao's other son Rajeshwar Rao was elected to Lok Sabha from Secunderabad in 1996.

Meanwhile, Vani Devi filed her nomination on Monday but the election officials informed her that her nomination papers were not in the correct format. She will now file her nomination on Tuesday.

Earlier, she paid tributes to her late father at PV Gnana Bhoomi on the banks of Hussain Sagar. She was accompanied by TRS leader K. Keshava Rao and state minister T. Srinivas Yadav, who appealed to all other parties to show respect to the late leader by ensuring unanimous election of his daughter.

Vani Devi thanked KCR for nominating her as TRS candidate. "I will do my best to live up to his expectations," she said.

She also called on KCR to thank him and collect the B-form. She then visited Gun Park near the Assembly to pay tributes to Telangana martyrs.

Meanwhile, Narasimha Rao's grandson and Telangana BJP leader N.V. Subhash criticized KCR for fielding his aunt in MLC polls. He alleged that the TRS chief is trying to split Brahmin votes.

He said it was a desperate attempt by the TRS as it knows very well that Ramachandra Rao is going to win the seat.

The BJP candidate said the TRS was making her a scapegoat by fielding her in MLC elections. He said even if KCR or his son KTR contest against Ramchandra Rao, they will be defeated. He wanted to know why KCR has not nominated Vani Devi to the Rajya Sabha.
Myanmar protests could pose virus threat, say cops

THAILAND: The Immigration Bureau (IB) is in talks with Myanmar migrants to deter them from organising protests in Thailand against the neighbouring countrys military junta, fearing such actions will worsen the local COVID-19 situation.

CoronavirusCOVID-19healthimmigrationMyanmarviolence

By Bangkok Post

Monday 22 February 2021, 09:23AM

Sompong: No fallout from protests. Photo: AFP.

Authorities are on alert for more unrest in the Myanmar border town of Tachileik after anti-coup protesters in the neighbouring country reportedly vowed to step up rallies following reports of several activists being shot and killed by security forces in Myanmar over the weekend.

Thousands of Myanmar citizens have been protesting against the coup that overthrew the government of Aung San Suu Kyi on Feb 1.

IB commissioner Pol Lt Gen Sompong Chingduang said he was ordered by national police chief Pol Gen Suwat Jangyodsuk to inspect border areas in the upper North to ensure Thailand does not experience the fallout from the protests in Myanmar.

Pol Lt Gen Sompong is leading an inspection team consisting of senior IB officers.

The team is due to visit Chiang Rai, Chiang Mai, Mae Hong Son and non-border zones in Lamphun. They will work with local authorities to stem potential COVID-19 infections spilling over from the long border with Myanmar.

He said the IB has learnt that some Myanmar migrant workers in Chiang Rai and Chiang Mai may be organising their own anti-junta protests in Thailand, adding it could aggravate the COVID-19 outbreak situation.

The ongoing unrest in Tachileik, a town located on the opposite side of Mae Sai district in Chiang Rai, could also escalate and force people to flee to Thailand.

This notion is coupled with concerns about an uncontrollable spread of COVID-19.

The commissioner said no more foreign labourers can be accepted to work in the kingdom after its latest round of migrant employment registration has closed.

The IB has vowed to swiftly act in pushing back people illegally entering the country.

Pol Lt Gen Sompong said he has instructed investigators from Immigration Division 5 and the IB to monitor the movements of migrants and get in touch with their leaders in northern provinces.

The officers are expected to remind migrant workers that staging protests on Thai soil is forbidden under the law. If they break the law, they will be liable to legal action, he said.

Meanwhile, the Tachileik-Mai Sai border pass reopened yesterday after Myanmar authorities closed it in response to growing tensions stemming from the anti-junta protests in Tachileik.

It was reported that border trade resumed about 1:30pm yesterday to allow freight trucks stranded on both sides to cross.

The protests in Tachileik have been sporadic and at times have moved close to the second Friendship Bridge which connects Thailand with Myanmar.

Tensions flared there after three students, core members of a local protest group, were arrested by police.

On Saturday, the protesters rallied near the bridge, preventing more than 100 vehicles from crossing the border.

This prompted the Thai Border Committee (TBC) to coordinate with its Myanmar counterpart to resolve the issue.

TBC chairman Col Samrit Chattharawattanasakul said an arrangement was made for stranded drivers to help them cross on foot, noting authorities on both sides will return the vehicles at a later time.

Businesses on both sides have been monitoring the border situation. Pagaimas Viera, deputy chairwoman of the Chiang Rai chamber of commerce, said anti-junta protesters often converged near the second Friendship Bridge.

A 39-year-old Phillipsburg man, who had threatened to kill his fiancee earlier in the day, pulled out a 10-inch ice pick and struck the drivers side window of a vehicle the woman was driving late Sunday afternoon in Palmer Township, police say in court papers.

Before the incident on Edgewood Avenue, Tyrone Michael Henry, of the first block of Davis Street, was texting threats to the woman as she worked in Bethlehem Township and he drank at home, court papers say. Their children were in the home, court papers say.

Concerned about the children, the woman had her niece pick them up and take them to womans mothers house on Edgewood Avenue, township police said.

The woman then went to her mothers house and as she was driving away about 5:15 p.m. with her niece, she saw Henry arriving, court papers say. After Henry walked up and hit the drivers side window with the ice pick, the woman drove off and Henry fell to the ground, police said.

Henry then got into a vehicle and crashed into a ditch near Park Avenue and Gruver Avenue, police said. The vehicle became stuck in a snow bank in the Palmer Park Mall parking lot, police said.

Standing outside the vehicle, Henry appeared unsteady on his feet and his breath smelled of alcohol, police said.

Henry refused a blood test after a search warrant was presented to check for the amount of alcohol in his blood, court papers say.

When the woman got to the crash scene, she found the ice pick in the vehicle Henry was driving and gave it to an officer saying it was the weapon that Henry was using, police said.

Henry was arraigned before District Judge Jacqueline Taschner of charges of terroristic threats, recklessly endangering another person, harassment, possession of an instrument of crime, obstructing the administration of law or other government function, two counts of DUI and two vehicular violations, court papers say.

Henry, who has a previous criminal record, was housed in Northampton County Prison in lieu of $250,000 bail, records show.

Henrys preliminary hearing is tentatively scheduled 9 a.m. March 8 in Taschners court in Palmer Township. Court papers did not indicate an attorney for Henry.

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Tony Rhodin can be reached at arhodin@lehighvalleylive.com.
John Krasinski, famous for his portrayal of Jim Halpert in The Office for nine seasons, recently took the reins of Saturday Night Live for the January 30, 2021 episode, which was his first appearance on the show.

In one very memorable moment during his monologue, he kisses Pete Davidson, and its all because of The Office. We have all the details about the situation that you need to know.

John Krasinski talks to audience members about The Office on Saturday Night Live

John Krasinski and Pete Davidson in Saturday Night Live | Will Heath/NBC/NBCU Photo Bank via Getty Images

Krasinski spent nine years in The Office, a mockumentary about a group of employees working together at Dunder Mifflin Paper Company in Scranton, Pennsylvania. His character Jim started a romance with his co-worker, Pam Beesly (Jenna Fischer). They eventually married in season 6 and went on to have two children together.

In Krasinskis opening monologue for season 46, episode 10 of Saturday Night Live, audience members, and by that we mean actors on the show, talk to him. Alex Moffat gets his attention, and he says he has a question.

I guess were doing questions now, Krasinski says. Moffat goes on to ask if he is Jim from The Office, and Hey, wheres Pam?

Another audience member and cast member on the show, Ego Nwodim, says he looks different, calling him Jim as well and telling him to stop working out for his role as Jack Ryan in the series with the same name because Jim sits all day at work.

Next, we have yet another audience member, this time Kenan Thompson, saying, Kiss Pam.

Alright, none of these things are really questions though, are they? Krasinski says.

I need you to kiss Pam, Thompson says. That is what I need to see today.

Alright. Guys heres the deal, Krasinski attempts to explain. Pams not real. Shes played by Jenna Fischer. We are friends, and we are married to other people. He laughs, and Thompson asks if Krasinskis wife is there, which he explains she isnt, as shes in the United Kingdom.

Well then kiss Pam, Thompson explains.

In an episode of SNL, John Krasinski kisses Pete Davidson because of The Office

John Krasinski and Pete Davidson kissing on Saturday Night Live | Will Heath/NBC/NBCU Photo Bank via Getty Images

RELATED: The Office: Jenna Fischer Reveals the One Thing She Has in Common With Pam Beesly

Then Pete Davidson strolls onto the stage, saying, Hey John, how you doing? Whats up man?

Krasinski explains that its going good and its going great, thanking him for being there. Davidson goes on to explain what he thinks is going on. Im sorry man about this. I think whats happening is everyones been stuck inside for a year watching The Office nonstop. So Jim and Pam are like really real for them. You know?

Thompson asks if Davidson is Pam. No, clearly this isnt Pam, Krasinski says. This is Pete Davidson.

I think uh, I think they really need for someone to be Pam, Davidson explains.

Krasinski questions that, saying he tried to explain to them the truth of the matter, but Davidson says, I think uh, I think weve gotta give them what they want, Jim. Jim, youve gotta kiss Pam.

The audience members all chant kiss Pam, and Krasinski looks at the camera with his sideway smirk hes known for on The Office, and kisses Davidson on the stage while holding his head at the same time.

The audience cheers and Krasinski says, That did feel really good. Wow, thank you Pam.

It was an interesting moment during John Krasinskis memorable appearance on SNL. He ends up kissing Pete Davidson because of The Office when the show gets brought up.
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In expressing its solidarity to Minister Bashaga, and the members of his staff, Italy calls on all Libyan actors to abstain from any actions capable of jeopardising the pathway towards the stabilisation of the country, as outlined by the Libyan Political Dialogue Forum with the appointment of the members of the transitional unified executive authority called to take the country to the elections of 24 December 2021.

Italy remains by the side of Libya at this crucial stage of the path towards security, stability and prosperity, in the interest of the Libyan people, and reasserts its full support to the UNSMIL Mission and the work of the Special Envoy of the United National Secretary-General, Jan Kubis.
Armenia Investigative Committee: Fatal road accident, criminal case opened

Armenia deputy FM submits resignation

Chinese authorities allow families to have 3 children

Dollar devalues in Armenia

Stepanakert: Azerbaijan creates bridgeheads for pressure on Karabakh, expansion towards Armenia

Sergey Lavrov says Russia is ready to disconnect SWIFT

Armenia MFA spokesperson resigns

Republican Party of Armenia Vice-President: Our ratings are growing, but we have greater pretensions

Armenia acting PM's spokesperson responds to ex-FM

Armenia parliament majority leader: Refusing to debate with acting PM is manifestation of low self-confidence

Armenia State Revenue Committee, US Department of Justice sign Memorandum of Cooperation

Vardevanyan: Attempts made to create false grounds for obstructing Armenia bloc election offices legal activities

Lavrov says Russia is ready to resume dialogue with NATO

Armenia opposition MP on FM's resignation

India records lowest increase in COVID-19 cases in 50 days

Bright Armenia faction in parliament: No response to acting PM's proposal to deploy observers along Azerbaijan border

Ruling bloc MP: Acting premiers proposal does not limit Armenia in terms of cooperation with CSTO

Acting PM is proud of Armenian servicemens heroism, says parliament majority leader

Parliament majority leader: No border delimitation unless Azerbaijan army units leave Armenia territory

Outgoing Armenia acting FM opens brackets: My decision of resignation was conditioned by that very reason

Harutyunyan, Shoygu discuss tension on Armenia-Azerbaijan border

Iranian MFA says US has not imported oil from country since Clinton era

Court hearing on appeal against decision to drop March 2008 Yerevan tragedy case is rescheduled

Missing soldiers relatives block Yerevan street

Parliament majority leader: Armenia acting FM did not object, at Security Council meeting, to new document

Armenia Police: 2,581,093 people on voters list

Bright Armenia faction of parliament: No corridor through the country should be provided to Azerbaijan

Analyst: Armenia acting PM Pashinyan gave self-confessed testimony

Armenia national security finds about 1 kg of opium, detains Iran citizen driver and 2 others

182 hearing aids and 2 buses by benefactor Mikayel Vardanyan for students of Special Educational Complex

34 new cases of COVID-19 confirmed in Armenia

Updated voters list is posted on Armenia central election commission website

Armenia authorities provide considerable amount of subsidies ahead of snap parliamentary elections

World oil prices on the rise

MP explains his not being on Bright Armenia Party electoral list

UK new flagship set to be named after the late Prince Philip

US man who said he shot neighbor over loud music found guilty of attempted murder

Lamborghini company to be sold for $11.5bn?

China spacecraft docks with future space station

Lawyer: Armenia acting PM Pashinyan grossly abuses administrative resources during Lori Province visit

UN urges to investigate escalation of violence in Colombia

Malaysia to open mega-centers for vaccination against coronavirus

Police find  5 million in cash in London apartment

French citizen to face trial in Iran on spaying charges

Over 60 children in UK undergo surgery due to TikTok challenge

Iranian Central Bank governor dismissed

Armenian opposition: The one who liberated Artsakh will not go to debates with the one who sold it

Iranian energy ministry: Iraq to allocate $ 125 million of frozen funds for vaccines

No new COVID-19 cases reported in Artsakh

Iran and Iraq to intensify cooperation and are ready for joint investment projects

Armenia ex-PM says at least 2 more secret documents signed but not published yet

Indonesia frees Iranian tanker 4 months later

Mortar shelling in Afghanistan kills at least 10 civilians

Fire breaks out at West Virginia oil refinery in US

Second President of Armenia meets with residents of Ararat province

Iran ready to help improve the defense capability of Syria

Armenian acting PM invites ex-presidents for debates

European Parliament head proposes to strengthen sanctions on Russia

UK PM gets married in London

Armenia reports COVID-19 new 81 cases: 4 people die

EU countries invite US to issue joint statement against Russia

2 people die in Armenia road accident

Nigeria: Students taken hostage a month ago are released

61 quakes recorded in Congo per day

Syrian MFA: EU lost credibility due to blind obedience to US policy

Armenia ex-minister of emergency situations hospitalized with heart attack

Mher Grigoryan: Clarification of border points is possible only after withdrawal of Azerbaijani troops from Armenia

Suspicious deal: Whether there was profit from buying DNA IDs?

Armenia ex-president says current authorities are trying to blame Russia for defeat in war

4 people killed in Afghanistani bus attack

Robert Kocharyan: This war could not have happened, it was a consequence of the policy of the authorities

Kocharyan: I have to ask people how it happened that overwhelming majority elected this leader

Armen Gevorgyan presents 'Armenia' bloc program: We offer the concept of a working country

Biden's administration proposed to leave unchanged amount of financial support to Armenia

US Embassy in Baku calls on Azerbaijan to immediately release Armenian POWs

Luxembourg MFA calls on Azerbaijan to immediately release all Armenian prisoners

Russia peacekeepers climb to Armenia Gegharkunik Province village positions

Biden strongly condemns manifestations of antisemitism in US

Iran intensifies its diplomacy amid Armenia-Azerbaijan border tensions

Armenia acting PM on forthcoming snap parliamentary elections: We hope to get 60% of votes
GENEVA (Reuters) - Britain's foreign secretary Dominic Raab on Monday denounced torture, forced labour and sterilisations that he said were taking place against Muslim Uighurs on an "industrial scale" in China's Xinjiang region.

Activists and U.N. rights experts have said that at least 1 million Muslims are detained in camps in the remote western region. China denies abuses and says its camps provide vocational training and are needed to fight extremism.

Raab, in a recorded speech to the U.N. Human Rights Council, said that the rights of people in Hong Kong - a former British colony - were being "systematically violated". The national security law imposed by China was inhibiting freedoms, he said, calling for free and fair legislative elections to take place.

"The situation in Xinjiang is beyond the pale," he told the Geneva forum where China is among the 47 member states.

"The reported abuses  which include torture, forced labour and forced sterilisation of women  are extreme and they are extensive. They are taking place on an industrial scale," he said.

Raab called for U.N. High Commissioner for Human Rights Michelle Bachelet or another independent expert to be given "urgent and unfettered access" to Xinjiang and said that there should be a resolution at the council to this effect.

The Biden administration has endorsed a last-minute determination by the Trump administration that China has committed genocide in Xinjiang and has said the United States must be prepared to impose costs on China.

Raab told the rights forum the situation in Myanmar was worsening after a military coup on Feb. 1.

"The military must step aside. Civilian leaders must be released. And the democratic wishes of the people of Myanmar must be respected," he said.

(Reporting by Stephanie Nebehay; editing by Michael Shields)


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Cyberattacks are increasing in frequency, ramping up the data privacy threats they pose to government agencies and businesses alike. Governments both domestic and foreign need to step up efforts to pass legislation that bolsters technological defenses this year, warn privacy groups.

Stiffer privacy laws are gradually being reviewed and signed into the U.S. market. But that process is mostly taking place at the state level.

Meanwhile, cyberattacks present IT experts and legislators with a war on two fronts. The software industry struggles with security issues that make cyberattacks viable. Government officials and business execs struggle with complicated legal issues involving outdated or missing privacy protections.

Bigger and more successful incursions into government, business, and personal computers are common events. Phishing campaigns and ransomware attacks are finding new victims regularly. The situation is much like a game of Whack-a-Mole.

Privacy advocates see better opportunities for privacy laws taking hold as they focus on pushing federal legislators to enact stronger consumer privacy laws in the coming years. These new laws need to pay prime attention to emerging technologies such as artificial intelligence (AI), machine learning (ML), cloud computing, and blockchain.

"I expect increasing regulation, especially when it comes to state laws that focus on sensitive personal data," says Scott Pink, special counsel in the Silicon Valley office of the international law firm O'Melveny & Myers, and member of the firm's Data Security and Privacy Group.

Pink regularly advises media and technology companies on how to comply with the current patchwork of state and industry-specific privacy regulations. He believes that 2021 could mark a new era in privacy laws aimed to safeguard a wide array of valuable digital information.

"COVID-19 health data is of immediate concern as we move into the pandemic's next phase. Governments and health care systems are collecting vast amounts of contact tracing and vaccine-related information. Implementing laws, policies, and procedures to ensure the integrity of that data will be key," Pink told TechNewsWorld.

Cyberattacks are a significant risk, especially as remote working and the increasing sophistication of phishing and social engineering attacks create more vulnerabilities than ever before, he emphasized. Cyberattacks and their impact on data privacy can severely impact the operations of government agencies, companies, schools, and beyond.

RATs in the Attack Mix

The most prevalent threats lurking in 2021 are RAT infestations. The acronym RAT stands for Remote Access Trojan, a form of malware that allows hackers to control devices remotely.

Once a RAT program is connected to a computer, a hacker can look at local files, acquire login credentials and other personal information, or use the connection to download viruses that can then, unbeknownst to the user, be spread to others.

Remote access intrusions can be problematic, especially with millions of people now working from home, noted Robert Siciliano, cyber social identity protection instructor at ProtectNow.

"Microsoft's remote desktop protocol and numerous third-party remote access technology services dramatically increase the attack surface for hackers wanting to break into corporate and government networks," he told TechNewsWorld.

Some of the cyberattacks are based on escalated tactics made available since the pandemic and are different from those prior to last year, he noted. Neither corporate America nor local, state, and federal governments never saw this coming.

The Cloud Factor Counts Too

Still, hackers are not succeeding strictly by using modern-day- high-tech tactics. Today's threats are an escalation of existing threat methods that have been around for years and that have been accelerated by even more prevalent use of cloud computing and agile development, according to Naama Ben Dov, associate at YL Ventures, an American-Israeli venture capital firm that specializes in seed stage cybersecurity investments.

The cloud migration is a big part of the data privacy troubles we are seeing today. Data remains the highest value target for attackers. As such, data theft is the most prevalent threat this year, insisted Eldad Chai, co-founder and CEO of Satori Cyber, a data access and governance firm in Tel Aviv that is one of YL Ventures' portfolio companies.

"Through access to a corporation's data, attackers can inflict reputation, legal and operational damages that are disproportional to any other attack vector," he told TechNewsWorld.

Of course, much of that data is in the cloud. The trend of moving data to the cloud has accelerated over the past years and is now at a record high with the success of platforms such as Snowflake and the boost 2020 provided to cloud migration programs, Chai noted.

"The massive migration of data to the cloud, the democratization of data within an organization, and the work-from-home environment have expanded the attack surface for data and make it extremely hard to operate an effective data protection program," said Chai.

WFH Also Problematic

The work-from-home scenario has made the hacker's job so much easier. Attackers follow where their targets go, observed Ben Dov. Right now, more than ever, that data is dangling between home workers' computers, in-office workspaces, and cloud storage banks.

Conventional wisdom has always been workers are more productive in an office environment; and when COVID hit, IT managers were mostly unprepared, Siciliano said.

Although some companies deployed tech help to those employees using their own computers and routers at home to address security with devices outside the network, it simply was not enough.

"Work at home devices connecting to company networks with misconfiguration is an IT manager's greatest fear," he said.

Too Little, Too Late

In the U.S., existing federal laws such as the Telework Enhancement Act of 2010 never quite anticipated this level of work at home, for example. The federal government is unlikely to make any significant changes anytime soon with so many other life-threatening existential concerns, in Siciliano's view.

One growing threat to data privacy incursions is ransomware. But it is an effect and not the cause of privacy loss. Ransomware ultimately ends up being an effect of a remote access Trojan or technology, he noted.

"IT managers must be more proactive with hardware, software configurations, and security awareness training," said Siciliano about preventing data privacy disclosures.

Shifting Tech Threatens Effectiveness

Among the most prevalent privacy threats we faced in 2021 comes from a reliance on third-party IT services that increasingly displace, or replace, applications historically deployed on-premises, according to YL Ventures' Ben Dov.

"Like the SolarWinds incident, many supply chain attacks target IT management systems that were in use long before the rise of the cloud. Organizations still depend on these tactics, and this attack will force a rethink of the extent of IT supply-chain exposure," she told TechNewsWorld.

The same applies to software applications, she continued. Recent years have seen an explosion in the amount of third-party software. This reality makes organizations lose visibility into the risks entailed with being exposed to said third party components.

That situation will no doubt get worse before it gets better, Ben Dov warned. Increased data privacy breaches, particularly private data, is increasingly on the sprawl.

"As long as there is a lack of meaningful technological approaches to identifying and securing data, many leakages are bound to happen," she said.

Fix What's Broken

Many existing solutions focus on data governance and adherence to compliance. These goals are important but do not aim at the root of the problem. They are only good to the extent that certain regulations go, according to Ben Dov.

"We need solutions that are able to track and monitor data through an entire lifecycle, in a way which will meaningfully integrate with existing business units of organizations and enable them to execute rather than stifle R&D, sales, and marketing. Security should be a cross-enterprise interest and goal which supports business processes," she countered.

Currently, the lawmaker is mostly focused on our rights as individuals to privacy. While this is welcomed and needed, it overlooks the implementation of privacy programs, and every company has its own way of meeting the privacy requirements, offered Satori Cyber's Chai.

"Focusing the laws on the outcomes, such as if data is lost you get fined, does not deal with many of the underlying issues in actually protecting individuals' privacy," he said.

Chai is not sure it is likely to happen this year. But he hopes that governments will do a better job in defining and standardizing data protection programs in a manner that will guide the industry in implementing effective and sustainable programs.

New Privacy, Security Wrinkles

With adoption of both cloud infrastructure and cloud services (SaaS), more attacks tailored and customized to circumventing the existing guardrails of the cloud will occur. Hackers will seek ways to circumvent cloud authentication mechanisms, suggested Ben Dov.

A related concern involves the trend of companies developing their own in-house applications, becoming their own software company. That opens the door to application-specific attacks, she cautioned.

"Hackers will always choose the easiest path in, and until 2020 exploiting bugs in old operating systems to install malware or social engineering people to install malicious software on their laptops was an easy path in," added Chai. "With data and servers moving to the cloud, we will eventually see less such attacks and more attacks focused on the cloud environments."

A key element that needs to be addressed, according to Siciliano, is a lack of concern for the security role employees need to play. That is especially true regarding phishing. Employees need a better understanding of how their ineffectiveness could result in calamity.

"Security awareness training as it pertains to phishing simulation by itself is absolutely not enough and will not solve the problem. The discussion needs to shift from security awareness to security appreciation, and right now most organizations are not doing that," he complained.

Final Thoughts

The main gap Chai sees today regarding data security and privacy is that existing solutions are not suitable to a model that leverages the legal context of the data. Models for existing data protection tools are mostly black or white. Either you have or you do not have access to data, he explained.

However, the privacy and legal context of data is much more complex, he reasoned. A piece of data could be authorized for usage based on the consent given when collecting the data, the geographical location of the data, the size and nature of the data set, the way the data will be used, and a set of other considerations.

"Until the legal and privacy context are integrated into existing models for data protection, we will still be behind," he said.

That process will need increased industry-government-academic cooperation and partnerships to share data pertaining to cybersecurity threats. It will also take knowledge about the threat to counter them, added Ben Dov.

Jack M. Germain has been an ECT News Network reporter since 2003. His main areas of focus are enterprise IT, Linux and open-source technologies. He is an esteemed reviewer of Linux distros and other open-source software. In addition, Jack extensively covers business technology and privacy issues, as well as developments in e-commerce and consumer electronics. Email Jack.


The issue of possible scenarios was again considered at the latest NSDC meeting on February 19.

Ukrainian Foreign Minister Dmytro Kuleba says Ukraine is still adhering to the first scenario for the reintegration of Donbas, which is an attempt to peacefully resolve the crisis.

In an interview on Ukraine's Pryamiy TV channel, he was asked about the five scenarios for the reintegration of Donbas, which were again considered at the latest meeting of the National Security and Defense Council (NSDC) on February 19.

"Today our scenario could be called 'a bad peace is better than a good war.' And we're following it. We learned certain information at the latest NSDC meeting, and it was decided to revisit, look more closely at those five scenarios, and clearly analyze them for compliance with what we have now, de facto," Kuleba said.

At the same time, the foreign minister added he could not provide details of all the scenarios that were on the table, referring to their classified nature.

Read alsoUkraine to "revise" scenarios for Donbas reintegrationFive scenarios for Donbas reintegration: Background

On November 28, 2019, Danilov said the NSDC had five scenarios on the table for the reintegration of occupied Donbas.

On December 3, 2019, the President's Office approved the said five scenarios.

On December 7, 2019, the NSDC at a meeting behind closed doors approved one of the reintegration scenarios. Back then, the NSDC secretary stopped short of disclosing any details. Scripts have their "derivatives," Danilov said, adding that the final solution will depend on progress in Normandy Four talks.

On February 19, 2021, NSDC Secretary Oleksiy Danilov during a meeting said the Council had decided to revise the existing five scenarios for the reintegration of temporarily occupied Donbas.

Reporting by UNIAN
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The global hemodynamic monitoring devices market is anticipated to reach over USD 1523.65 Million by 2025 according to a new research published by Polaris Market Research.

The hemodynamic monitoring devices are majorly used for the medical analysis of cardiac health, quality, and durability of life of individuals suffering and recovering from cardiovascular surgery. These parameters are measured using photometric, electrical, pressure transducing equipment and invasive and noninvasive devices. The hemodynamic monitoring system also involves a use of various intravascular catheters.

Complete Summary with TOC Available @ https://www.polarismarketresearch.com/industry-analysis/global-hemodynamic-monitoring-devices-market

The global hemodynamic monitoring devices market is majorly driven by growing demand for the analysis of critical congenital heart disease (CCHD), growing occurrence of respiratory disease, increasing incidence of lifestyle-related diseases, rising private as well as government sector initiatives to decrease healthcare costs and growing geriatric patient population. Advancement in technology in noninvasive or minimally invasive methods used for hemodynamic monitoring are another factors driving the global hemodynamic monitoring devices market growth. In addition, continuous R&D efforts by market key players to comprehend life-threatening diseases leading to the development of effective treatment products are anticipated to mark a significant growth during the forecast period.

The global hemodynamic monitoring devices market is segmented on the basis of product, type, end use, and geography. On the basis of product, the global hemodynamic monitoring devices market is segmented into Monitoring systems and disposals. On the basis of monitoring systems, the global hemodynamic market is further segmented into Cardiac output monitors, Pulmonary artery catheters, and others. On the other hand, the disposables are further segmented into Probes, Airflow Sensors, and Circuits.

Get sample copy of this report @ https://www.polarismarketresearch.com/industry-analysis/global-hemodynamic-monitoring-devices-market/request-for-sample

On the basis of type, the global hemodynamic monitoring devices market is segmented into Non-invasive Hemodynamic Monitoring System, Minimally Invasive Hemodynamic Monitoring System, and Invasive Hemodynamic Monitoring System. Non-invasive devices are expected to display the fastest growth during the forecast period majorly due to the growing product expansion and increasing demand for proper care by people for such technology. On the basis of end use the global hemodynamic monitoring devices market is segmented into hospitals and catheterization laboratories. In 2017, the hospital segment is estimated to dominate the market by end-use segment.

On the basis of region, the global hemodynamic monitoring devices market is segmented into North America, Europe, Asia Pacific, Latin America, and Middle East & Africa. North America was estimated to dominate the global hemodynamic monitoring devices market. The dominance is majorly attributed to the high growth of sales in the U.S. for these devices. Moreover, growing assurance of specialists in the forthcoming non-invasive technologies is expected to aid in supporting this dominance during the forecast period. However, Asia Pacific is expected to dominate the global hemodynamic monitoring devices market during the forecast. The rising governmental focus on quality healthcare, increasing occurrences of cardiovascular ailments and growing geriatric population are the factors anticipated to significantly boost the hemodynamic monitoring devices market in the Asia Pacific.

Competitive Landscape

Some major key players in global hemodynamic monitoring devices market include includes Deltex Medical, Edward Lifesciences, Philips Medical, GE Healthcare, Hemo Sapiens, Inc., OsypkaCardiotek GmbH, LiDCO, and Drager Medical GmbH among others.

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Hemodynamic Monitoring Devices Market Size and Forecast by Type Non-invasive Hemodynamic Monitoring System Minimally Invasive Hemodynamic Monitoring System Invasive Hemodynamic Monitoring System

Hemodynamic Monitoring Devices Market Size and Forecast by End Use Hospitals Catheterization Laboratories

Hemodynamic Monitoring Devices Market Size and Forecast by Regions North America U.S. Canada Europe Germany UK France Italy Asia Pacific China India Japan Australia Latin America Brazil Mexico Middle East & Africa



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(Alliance News) - The US Supreme Court on Monday allowed the release of Donald Trump's tax records to criminal prosecutors, rejecting a last-ditch bid by the former president's lawyers to keep them secret.

Trump, 74, has been waging a protracted legal battle to prevent his tax records from being handed over to New York prosecutors probing hush payments to women and possible fraud.

The nation's highest court denied the request filed by lawyers for Trump without comment, paving the way for the documents to be handed over to Manhattan District Attorney Cyrus Vance.

The prosecutor, a Democrat, has been fighting for over a year to obtain eight years of Trump's tax returns as part of an investigation into the ex-president's finances.

Monday's ruling concerns a subpoena that Vance had issued to Trump's accountants Mazars USA in August 2019 ordering it to furnish documents stretching back to 2011.

"The work continues," Vance said in a three-word statement issued after the ruling.

Vance's probe was initially focused on payments made before the 2016 presidential election to two women who claim they had affairs with Trump, including porn star Stormy Daniels. But the state-level investigation is also now examining possible allegations of tax evasion, and insurance and bank fraud.

Trump, who left the White House last month, called the investigation "a continuation of the greatest political witch hunt in the history of our country."

"The Supreme Court never should have let this 'fishing expedition' happen, but they did," he said in a statement following the ruling.

US presidents are not required by law to release details of their personal finances but every US leader since Richard Nixon has done so.

Trump repeatedly said he would release them pending an audit but ultimately broke with the tradition.

Vance's investigators have interviewed Trump's former personal lawyer Michael Cohen, who received a three-year prison term after admitting making hush payments to the two women. The ex-lawyer had testified to Congress that Trump and his company artificially inflated and devalued the worth of their assets to both obtain bank loans and reduce their taxes.

If Trump were charged and convicted he could face a possible jail term. Unlike federal offenses, state crimes are not subject to presidential pardons.A

Investigators also recently interviewed employees of Deutsche Bank,A which has long backed the former president and the Trump Organization, US media reported. They spoke to staff at Trump's insurance broker Aon, too.

Vance's investigation is taking place behind closed doors in front of a grand jury.

It is unclear if and when it will lead to a prosecution, which would be the first of a former US president.

In July, the Supreme Court rejected Trump's argument that as a sitting president he was immune from prosecution.

Trump's lawyers then challenged the scope of the requested documents, saying it was too broad.

Ahead of the November 3 election, The New York Times alleged that Trump had avoided paying federal taxes in 11 out of the 18 years for which it had obtained returns.

The newspaper also reported that Trump paid just USD750 in federal income taxes in 2016 and 2017, a claim the former president denies.

New York state's Attorney General Letitia James is also investigating allegations of bank fraud and insurance fraud through civil proceedings.

Trump's legal troubles may not end there.

Senate Republican leader Mitch McConnell has said that as a civilian Trump "is liable for everything he did while he was in office."

At his historic second impeachment trial, the US Senate acquitted Trump of inciting the crowd that stormed the US Capitol in January, but McConnell suggested Trump could face criminal and civil action over the riot.

In February, prosecutors in Georgia opened an investigation "into attempts to influence" the presidential election in the state.

Trump had pressured officials to overturn his loss in the key battleground.

source: AFP

Copyright 2021 Alliance News Limited. All Rights Reserved.
LIVINGSTON, N.J., Feb. 22, 2021 /PRNewswire/ -- Since the COVID-19 outbreak and the development of vaccines to combat it, the news has been nonstop about how medical facilities are now being entrusted with, and sometimes compromising, doses they are newly being required to store and administer. There have been numerous incidents where freezers have failed or immunizations have been compromised and the reliability of the equipment storing these vaccines and the people operating them has been brought into question so, in response, AI Medical will offer 12-hour extended support to stand by healthcare workers relying on its equipment for their life-saving efforts.

Ultra Low Temp Freezers for Vaccine Storage by AI Medical

In a recent incident in a hospital in Mendocino County, California, a freezer storing Moderna's temperature-sensitive COVID-19 vaccine broke down. The staff relying on that freezer for vaccine storage did not find out until the following morning. The freezer's alarm the staff relied on to alert them of any temperature malfunction failed to do just that. This situation created panic among the hospital staff. They tried to connect with the freezer and vaccine manufacturer, but there was no reply.

Why Extended Hours of Support Service Matter for the Medical Industry

Critical situations like these where there is a matter of life and death need immediate support. The unexpected freezer breakdown resulted in a critical situation and would have wasted a life-saving vaccine if the authorities hadn't mobilized the staff immediately to administer it to as many people as possible.

The reliability and robustness of the medical products themselves and the support structure of the manufacturer that stands behind them play a vital part in this respect. Hence, companies that provide extended hours of support to their customers can save them from heavy and serious losses, especially in emergency situations.

Guaranteed 12-Hour Support Service from AI Medical, the Healthcare Division of Across International

Equipment purchased from AI Medical comes with guaranteed 12-hour support services to back it from the company's New Jersey and Nevada locations. Emergency on-call service is also available. Whether as urgent as a freezer not working or as simple as a question with programming, AI Medical's customer service is always available to help, whether an emergency or, often, an easy fix. AI Medical's expert support replies to any questions and concerns immediately via phone. If the situation calls for a prompt visit by Across International technicians, the company will schedule it as soon as possible.

AI Medical deep freezers and refrigerators pass through various quality tests, assuring top-notch operation before the products make it to vaccine storage and distribution facilities all over the world. If any issue is encountered with AI Medical deep freezers, there is nothing to worry about. AI Medical backs all products with a 12-hour support service and offers temperature data loggers with text and email alerts to give healthcare workers complete peace of mind and confidence in these trying times that the industry is enduring.

Trusted, knowledgeable, and experienced partners are crucial to taking care of the healthcare infrastructure communities rely on in any time of need, especially as the demand for aid in the COVID-19 immunization effort is on the rise. Doctors, nurses, pharmacists, and other professionals on the front line can rely on AI Medical's expertise whenever facing any issue with AI Medical products or equipment to avoid situations like what was seen in Mendocino County and elsewhere during this vaccination effort. With reliable support, healthcare workers can dedicate time to the most important aspects of fighting this pandemic. AI Medical understands the values of these vital healthcare professionals and adopts the best customer service practices to deliver a timely and exceptional response. This ensures that any emergency, such as those we are faced with amidst the COVID-19 pandemic, is addressed with prompt corrective action, saving time, money, and the temperature-sensitive specimens and vaccines patients and communities rely on.

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[February 22, 2021] Kinder Morgan and Brookfield Infrastructure Announce Minority Interest Sale in Natural Gas Pipeline Company of America LLC

Kinder Morgan, Inc. (NYSE: KMI) and Brookfield Infrastructure Partners L.P. (NYSE: BIP; TSX: BIP.UN) (Brookfield Infrastructure) today jointly announced that they have agreed to sell a 25% minority interest in Natural Gas Pipeline Company of America LLC (NGPL) to a fund controlled by ArcLight Capital Partners, LLC (ArcLight) for $830 million. The proceeds will be shared equally between KMI and Brookfield Infrastructure. The value of the minority interest implies an enterprise value of approximately $5.2 billion for NGPL, which is approximately 11.2 times 2020 EBITDA. Upon closing, KMI and Brookfield Infrastructure will each hold a 37.5% interest in NGPL, and KMI will continue to operate the pipeline. "Kinder Morgan and Brookfield Infrastructure are pleased to welcome ArcLight into the NGPL joint venture," said Kinder Morgan Natural Gas Pipelines President Tom Martin. "We believe this investment shows the value of natural gas infrastructure both today and in the decades to come." For this transaction, NGPL is served by RBC Capital Markets as the exclusive financial adviser and King and Spalding as the legal advisor. Barclays served as the exclusive financial advisor to ArcLight and has provided a committed debt financing to ArcLight to support the transaction. Latham & Watkins LLP served as legal advisor to ArcLight. The transaction is expected to close in the first quarter of 2021. NGPL is the largest transporter of natural gas into the high-demand Chicago-area market as well as one of the largest interstate pipeline systems in the country. It is also a major transporter of natural gas to large liquefied natural gas (LNG) export facilities and other markets located on the Texas and Louisiana Gulf Coast. NGPL has approximately 9,100 miles of pipeline, more than 1 million compression horsepower and 288 billion cubic feet (Bcf) of working natural gas storage. NGPL provides its customers access to all major natural gas supply basins directly and through its numerous interconnects with intrastate and interstate pipeline systems. About Kinder Morgan, Inc. Kinder Morgan, Inc. (NYSE: KMI) is one of the largest energy infrastructure companies in North America. Access to reliable, affordable energy is a critical component for improving lives around the world. We are committed to providing energy transportation and storage services in a safe, efficient, and environmentally responsible manner for the benefit of people, communities and businesses we serve. We own an interest in or operate approximately 83,000 miles of pipelines and 144 terminals. Our pipelines transport natural gas, refined petroleum products, crude oil, condensate, CO 2 and other products, and our terminals store and handle various commodities including gasoline, diesel fuel chemicals, ethanol, metals and petroleum coke. For more information, please visit www.kindermorgan.com. About Brookfield Infrastructure Partners L.P. Brookfield Infrastructure Partners is a leading global infrastructure company that owns and operates high-quality, long-life assets in the utilities, transport, midstream and data infrastructure sectors across North and South America, Asia Pacific and Europe. We are focused on ssets that have contracted and regulated revenues that generate stable and predictable cash flows. Investors can access its portfolio either through Brookfield Infrastructure Partners L.P. (NYSE: BIP; TSX: BIP.UN), a Bermuda-based limited partnership, or Brookfield Infrastructure Corporation (NYSE, TSX: BIPC), a Canadian corporation. Further information is available at www.brookfield.com/infrastructure.



Brookfield Infrastructure Partners is the flagship listed infrastructure company of Brookfield Asset Management, a global alternative asset manager with approximately US$600 billion of assets under management. For more information, go to www.brookfield.com. About ArcLight Capital Partners, LLC

ArcLight Capital Partners, LLC (ArcLight) is one of the leading energy infrastructure firms. Founded in 2001, the firm helped pioneer an asset-based approach to investing in the energy sector. ArcLight has invested approximately $23 billion in 111 transactions since inception. Based in Boston, the firm's investment team employs a hands-on value creation strategy that utilizes its in-house technical, operational, and commercial specialists, as well as the firm's 1,500-person asset management affiliate. More information about ArcLight, and a complete list of ArcLight's portfolio companies, can be found at www.arclight.com. Important Information Relating to Forward-Looking Statements This news release includes forward-looking statements within the meaning of the U.S. Private Securities Litigation Reform Act of 1995 and Section 21E of the Securities and Exchange Act of 1934. Generally the words "expects," "believes," "anticipates," "plans," "will," "shall," "estimates," and similar expressions identify forward-looking statements, which are not historical in nature. Forward-looking statements in this news release include express or implied statements concerning the transaction, including the expected closing, its timing and the anticipated benefits, and the long-term value of natural gas infrastructure. Forward-looking statements are subject to risks and uncertainties and are based on the beliefs and assumptions of management, based on information currently available to them. Although KMI believes that these forward-looking statements are based on reasonable assumptions, it can give no assurance as to when or if any such forward-looking statements will materialize or their ultimate impact on KMI's operations or financial condition. Important factors that could cause actual results to differ materially from those expressed in or implied by these forward-looking statements include the ability of the parties to satisfy customary conditions to closing of the transaction; and the other risks and uncertainties described in KMI's reports filed with the Securities and Exchange Commission ( SEC (News - Alert) ), including its Annual Report on Form 10-K for the year-ended December 31, 2020 (under the headings "Risk Factors" and "Information Regarding Forward-Looking Statements" and elsewhere) and its subsequent reports, which are available through the SEC's EDGAR system at www.sec.gov and on KMI's website at ir (News - Alert) .kindermorgan.com. Forward-looking statements speak only as of the date they were made, and except to the extent required by law, KMI undertakes no obligation to update any forward-looking statement because of new information, future events or other factors. Because of these risks and uncertainties, readers should not place undue reliance on these forward-looking statements. View source version on businesswire.com: https://www.businesswire.com/news/home/20210222005795/en/

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CAPE TOWN, South Africa  A Rwandan opposition figure was shot and killed in South Africa on Sunday in what the police said was most likely a robbery but that political allies said resembled earlier assassinations of government critics.

Seif Bamporiki was shot in Cape Town sometime after 4 p.m. while making a delivery, his political party, the Rwanda National Congress, said in a statement.

Accompanied by a friend, Mr. Bamporiki, a 49-year-old Rwandan exile, arrived in Nyanga township to hand over a bed from his store to a client when two men approached his truck and one of them shot him, the party said. The men took him out the vehicle and fled with it along with some belongings, the South African police said.

Mr. Bamporikis friend, another Rwandan, was reported to have escaped unharmed.

On Monday, the police said they were investigating the circumstances surrounding the killing and had yet to apprehend any suspects. We have reason to believe that the motive for the murder was robbery, Col. Andre Traut, the provincial commander for media communication for the Western Cape province, said in a statement.
By Robin Emmott and Sabine Siebold

BRUSSELS (Reuters) - European Union foreign ministers agreed on Monday to impose sanctions on four senior Russian officials close to President Vladimir Putin in a mainly symbolic response to the jailing of Kremlin critic Alexei Navalny.

The agreement, which is expected to be formally approved by the EU in early March, came after France, Germany, Poland and the Baltic states urged the 27-member bloc to send a message to Putin that debate and protest must be allowed in Russia.

Navalny was arrested after returning to Moscow last month from Germany, where he had been recovering from a near-fatal poisoning in Siberia with what Western nations said was a nerve agent. His arrest sparked protests across Russia.

German Foreign Minister Heiko Maas said the decision was taken to go ahead with sanctions quickly, but gave no details.

"The relations (with Russia) are certainly at a low, there is no other word for it," Maas said.

One EU diplomat said the proposed new travel bans and asset freezes would target, among others, Alexander Bastrykin, whose Investigative Committee handles investigations into major crimes and reports directly to Putin.

Bastrykin is already under British human rights sanctions.

Also to be targeted, the diplomat said, is Igor Krasnov, who became Russia's prosecutor-general a year ago.

The third official on the draft list is Viktor Zolotov, head of Russia's National Guard, who publicly threatened Navalny with violence in September 2018. The fourth man named by the diplomat is Alexander Kalashnikov, head of the federal prison service.

The sanctions will be imposed under a new framework that allows the EU to take measures over human rights violators worldwide, EU foreign policy chief Josep Borrell told reporters. He said he hoped the sanctions would be ready in about a week.

The EU has already sanctioned six Russians and a state scientific research centre in response to the treatment of Navalny.

Story continues

OLIGARCHS

The proposed new listings fall far short of the demands made by Navalny's allies, who have drawn up a list of 35 people including members of Russia's business leaders- the so-called oligarchs - they want to see targeted.

EU governments say sanctions against senior state officials can better withstand legal challenges, while it is more difficult to prove business executives' involvement in any human rights abuses.

Before the EU meeting, Leonid Volkov, a senior Navalny aide, said in Brussels that sanctions against oligarchs might be a way to weaken Putin if they came to feel that association with the president was more of a liability than a source of protection.

But Volkov welcomed Monday's decision.

"Even if it's too little ... it's the first time personal sanctions are applied with regard to human rights violations, so it opens a way for further negotiation on this with Europe," he said.

Navalny says the Kremlin was behind last August's poisoning, but it denies this. He was jailed on Feb. 2 for violating the terms of parole on what he says was a politically motivated conviction. He lost an appeal on Saturday.

Russia accuses the EU of meddling in its affairs. It levelled the same accusation against the European Court of Human Rights, which is not an EU body, after it also demanded Navalny's release in a ruling on Feb. 17.

Pressure in Europe for new sanctions has grown since Moscow expelled German, Polish and Swedish diplomats on Feb. 5 without telling Borrell, who was visiting Moscow at the time.

(Reporting by Robin Emmott in Brussels and Sabine Siebold in Berlin, Editing by William Maclean, Gareth Jones and Timothy Heritage)
New Delhi: The country witnessed as many as 14,199 new COVID-19 cases in the last 24 hours with 83 deaths, according to the Union Ministry of Health and Family Welfare (MoHFW) data on Monday (February 22). With new coronavirus cases, the COIVD-19 tally in the country has now reached 1,10,05,850 including 1,50,055 active cases and 1,06,99,410 discharged so far.

In the last 24 hours, the death toll has mounted to 1,56,385 with the loss of 83 lives across the country, which has been witnessing a rise in the active coronavirus caseload over the past few days.

Over 74 per cent of cases of the country are in Kerala and Maharashtra, while there has also been a spike in the daily cases in Chhattisgarh and Madhya Pradesh. Punjab and Jammu and Kashmir too are witnessing a surge in daily new cases, the government said.

As per the Health Ministry, 1,11,16,854 COVID-19 vaccines had been given till Sunday evening. The total number of samples tested up to Sunday was 21,15,51,746, according to the Indian Council of Medical Research.

The ICMR also said that 6,20,216 samples were tested on February 21. The Centre has advised States to work on improving overall testing by focusing on an increasing proportion of RT-PCR tests, all negative Rapid Test results to be mandatorily followed by RT-PCR test and refocusing on strict and comprehensive surveillance among others amid rising concerns over the upsurge in COVID-19 cases across the country.

India's COVID-19 tally had crossed the 20-lakh mark on August 7, 30 lakh on August 23, 40 lakh on September 5 and 50 lakh on September 16. It went past 60 lakh on September 28, 70 lakh on October 11, crossed 80 lakh on October 29, 90 lakh on November 20 and surpassed the one-crore mark on December 19.

547 new COVID-19 cases in Thane, 3 more deaths in Maharashtra

With the addition of 547 new cases of coronavirus, the infection count in Maharashtra's Thane district has gone up to 2,60,725, an official said on Monday, adding these new cases were reported on Sunday.

The coronavirus also claimed the lives of three more persons, raising the death toll in the district to 6,238, while the mortality rate in the district stands at 2.40 per cent, the official said.

So far, 2,50,200 patients have recovered from the infection in the district, reflecting a recovery rate of 95.96 per cent, he said, adding that there are 4,287 active COVID-19 cases in the district at present.

Notably, Maharashtra Food and Civil Supplies Minister Chhagan Bhujbal on Monday said he has tested positive for coronavirus. Bhujbal is the seventh minister to be infected by the novel coronavirus this month. In a post on Twitter, Bhujbal said his health is fine.

Odisha govt's fresh guidelines to check rise in COVID-19 cases

Odisha government on Sunday, however, issued guidelines to ensure strict implementation of COVID-19 safety protocols in view of a fresh spike in the number of COVID-19 cases in some states, fear of new variants, and complacency in people for observing the basic safety protocols.

District and Police authorities were advised to check and ensure strict observance of COVID-l9 safety protocols such as the mandatory wearing of masks, maintaining physical distancing in all public places including workplaces and educational institutions.

Live TV

Global COVID-19 cases top 111.3 mn: Johns Hopkins

The total number of global coronavirus cases has topped 111.3 million, while the deaths have surged to more than 2.46 million, according to the Johns Hopkins University.

In its latest update on Monday morning, the University`s Center for Systems Science and Engineering (CSSE) revealed that the current global caseload and death toll stood at 111,338,617 and 2,465,846 respectively.

The US is the worst-hit country with the world`s highest number of cases and deaths at 28,133,627 and 498,879 respectively, according to the CSSE.

India, however, comes in second place in terms of cases at 10,991,651.

(With Agency Inputs)
Students in U.S. high schools can get free digital access to The New York Times until Sept. 1, 2021.

Do you think old technology is cool? Do you appreciate vinyl records, for example, or Polaroid cameras? Eight-track tapes or printed newspapers? What do you find appealing about these items that our modern world has already made  or may still make  obsolete?

In the 2016 article Why Vinyl Records and Other Old Technologies Die Hard, Nick Bilton wrote:

For a glimpse of what teenagers are into these days, all you have to do is visit Abbot Kinney Boulevard in the Venice neighborhood of Los Angeles. On weekend nights, the half-mile shopping drag is packed with style-conscious kids who traipse past coffee shops, ice cream parlors and boutiques, often while taking selfies. Yet one of the most popular destinations for these teenagers is a white, single-story building with big pink letters on the roof that spell Vnyl. The store sells vinyl records, and the kids who gather there are often in awe. Id say half of the teens who hang out in my store have never seen a record player before, said Nick Alt, the founder of Vnyl. They will walk up to the turntable, and they have no concept where to put the needle. But once they figure out that the needle goes into the outermost groove, those smartphone-toting teenagers are hooked.

In a Style article from this past weekend, Hannah Selinger writes about the demand for old VHS tapes:

The last VCR, according to Dave Rodriguez, 33, a digital repository librarian at Florida State University in Tallahassee, Fla., was produced in 2016, by the Funai Electric in Osaka, Japan. But the VHS tape itself may be immortal. Today, a robust marketplace exists, both virtually and in real life, for this ephemera. On Instagram, sellers tout videos for sale, like the 2003 Jerry Bruckheimer film Kangaroo Jack, a comedy involving a beauty salon owner  played by Jerry OConnell  and a kangaroo. Asking price? $190. (Mr. OConnell commented on the post from his personal account, writing, Hold steady. Price seems fair. It is a Classic.) If $190 feels outrageous for a film about a kangaroo accidentally coming into money, consider the price of a limited-edition copy of the 1989 Disney film The Little Mermaid, which is listed on Etsy for $45,000.

The article explains why VHS tapes are special to the people who collect them:

Anything that you can think of is on VHS tape, because, youve got to think, it was a revolutionary piece of the media, said Josh Schafer, 35, of Raleigh, N.C., a founder and the editor in chief of Lunchmeat Magazine and LunchmeatVHS.com, which are dedicated to the appreciation and preservation of VHS. It was a way for everyone to capture something and then put it out there. There is, Mr. Schafer said, just so much culture packed into VHS, from reels depicting family gatherings to movies that just never made the jump to DVD. Mr. Schafer owns a few thousand tapes himself, and his collection, he said, includes a little bit of everything, including other peoples home videos. Michael Myerz, 29, an experimental hip-hop artist in Atlanta, who has a modest collection of VHS tapes, finds the medium inspirational. Some of what Mr. Myerz seeks in his work, he said, is to replicate the sounds from some weird, obscure movie on VHS I would have seen at my friends house, late at night, after his parents were asleep. He described his work as mid-lo-fi. The quality feels raw but warm and full of flavor, he said of VHS. For collectors like April Bleakney, 35, the owner and artist of Ape Made, a fine art and screen-printing company in Cleveland, nostalgia plays a significant role in collecting. Ms. Bleakney, who has between 2,400 to 2,500 VHS tapes, views them as a byway connecting her with the past. She inherited some of them from her grandmother, a childrens librarian with a vast collection. Ms. Bleakneys VHS tapes are huge nostalgia, she said, for a child of the 1980s. I think we were the last to grow up without the internet, cellphones or social media, and clinging to the old analog ways, she said, feels very natural.

Students, read both articles, then tell us:

What technologies from the past hold the most interest for you? Why?

Why do you think there is still so much interest in obsolete technologies like Polaroid instant cameras, record players, Atari game systems or VHS tapes?

Would you ever want to collect old tech like vinyl records or CDs? Why or why not?

In your opinion, what old technologies are likely to make the biggest comeback in the future? Why?

The two articles discuss the role that nostalgia plays for many collectors. Do you think you might be nostalgic for any technology from your own childhood in 20, 40 or 60 years? What tech, and why?

In your opinion, which is better: todays technology or that of the past? Why? What are the advantages and disadvantages of each?

About Student Opinion

 Find all of our Student Opinion questions in this column.

 Have an idea for a Student Opinion question? Tell us about it.

 Learn more about how to use our free daily writing prompts for remote learning.

Students 13 and older in the United States and the United Kingdom, and 16 and older elsewhere, are invited to comment. All comments are moderated by the Learning Network staff, but please keep in mind that once your comment is accepted, it will be made public.
Aarushi Kilawat isnt sure what shes feeling. Three weeks from now, she will be presenting her womens collection, for the first time, at one of Indias biggest fashion events, the Lakme Fashion Week (LFW). Lets just say I have butterflies in my stomach," laughs the designer, 25, as she gives the final touches to the eight ensembles she has created under The Loom Art brand while cooped up in her Jaipur home owing to the pandemic.

She confesses shes nervous, or maybe I am just thrilled", or maybe anxious". The reason for the roller-coaster of emotions is that her debut comes at a unique time in history. The pandemic has hit the $2.5-trillion global fashion industry so hard that luxury sales are set to contract up to 45% this year, with industry growth unlikely to return to pre-pandemic levels until at least 2024, estimates a Boston Consulting Group report. At the same time, however, it has also given fashion weeks an opportunity to look beyond presenting for a room full of 500-odd people and realize the full potential of digital technology in a post-covid world. The pivot could also help the industry reduce its carbon footprint by reducing the number of jet-setting visitors and disposable, larger-than-life stage sets.

View Full Image Falguni and Shane Peacocks bridal collection at the recent India Couture Week.





HOW GREEN CAN YOU GET?

Last months New York Fashion Week, the first such major event in the covid-19 era, had a mix of online presentations of clothes and a physical event, with only 30 people in attendance. The London Fashion Week that followed also live-streamed collections, with some designers in masks organizing in-person appointments. Milan, too, opted for the hybrid route. The Indian fashion industry, meanwhile, has stuck to the digital space, at least for now.

The recently concluded India Couture Week (ICW) was the countrys first fashion show to go all virtual, with pre-made shoots showing models in designer wedding wear in a sanitized environment. And people across the world are expected to watch the LFW showcase season-fluid collections over five days, starting 21 October, all on a specially designed virtual platform. It will be a lot of people watching Between The Lines," says Kilawat with a nervous laugh, referring to her collection, which reflects the simplicity of the daily routine in breezy shades of handwoven silk with colourful stitches in sujini and kantha. But I am glad a virtual show would mean less pollution (than a physical show)."

Thats the tantalizing promise of digital fashion shows. They might not offer the charm and glamour of A-listers packing the front rows but they might help in achieving what the fashion industry has long been struggling for: cutting its carbon footprint.

View Full Image An ensemble from Aarushi Kilawats debut collection at the forthcoming Lakme Fashion Week.





Each year, when buyers, designers and celebrities move from continent to continent attending fashion weeks, they end up contributing 241,000 tonnes of carbon dioxide emissionsthats enough to light up New Yorks Times Square for 58 years, according to a February report by the fashion technology firm ORDRE and Carbon Trust, a climate change consultancy. Overall, the UN Environment Programme estimates that the fashion industry is responsible for 10% of annual global carbon emissions, more than international flights and maritime shipping combined.

Besides garment production, waste generation and carbon-intensive supply chains, air travel is one of the big reasons for the pollution, points out sustainability expert Linda Greer, who has been working to improve the global apparel sector for decades. Digital shows will have a much lower carbon footprint than ordinary shows because people will not be flying thousands of miles from all over the world to go to shows," she says, on email.

While theres no scientific study yet to estimate how sustainable the digital format is, one cant overlook the energy-guzzling invisible infrastructure behind a show, from the computers and laptops to the massive servers. But even then, says Greer, virtual shows are greener". The use of tech tools does contribute to greenhouse gases but it is much less than emissions from air travel, she says. Virtual shows are the best way forward for the fashion world."

Looking ahead

Sunil Sethi, president of the Fashion Design Council of India, calls the lower environmental cost of digital fashion weeks an icing on the cake". When we spoke on 18 September, just hours before the council was to present the first digital ICW, Sethi was busy, replying to messages. Honestly, I am very nervous about the response," he said. We dont have to reinvent the wheel in physical shows. The sets, the glamour, the parties. Its always the same elements in some form. With digital, we are still learning. But the good thing is there wont be any sets to discard. We have become a little green without even trying."

Despite covid-19, Sethi said it wasnt the best idea" to skip the annual event. We are two months late (the ICW is usually held in July, before the wedding season). But we had to do it. The designers have to pay their mall rents, the people who work with the industry need their salaries. And the bride and groom need to see the collections to decide their wedding outfits. We have to present a show that catches peoples attention quickly."

This is exactly what Falguni and Shane Peacock hoped to achieve with the digital presentation of their bridal collection at the ICWfull of motifs inspired by the architecture and heritage of their home-town Jaipur. Our film shows the controlled chaos behind a runway show. As it is, attention spans are so short now; we wanted to create more than just a runway," Falguni said before her collection was presented. While she missed the craziness" of a physical show, shes glad the digital avatar opens up the entire world to the designer. Its funny how it took a virus for us to pivot."

The other plus of a digital show is that only the product is the hero, says Raw Mangos Sanjay Garg, who will present a collection of handwoven textiles at the LFW that brings together the simplicity and luxury of embroidery and bandhani as a tribute to home". In physical shows, we mostly focus on the photo of the dress a celebrity wore towards the end. A virtual show would mean the garment will be the showstopper (not the person wearing it)," says the designer. Anyway, the physical runway is not the only medium to show clothes. You have to think outside the box to show the culture, the story behind them. Digital can definitely help here."

Jaspreet Chandok, head (lifestyle businesses), IMG Reliance Ltd, the LFW organizer, believes the digital sphere can redefine the fashion industry. While Sethi predicts the future of fashion will be a mix of physical and digital events, Chandok believes it can never go back to normal".

The LFW has created digital infrastructure that will offer the viewer a 360-degree experience. Its website has a virtual showroom where buyers and designers can interact with ease. One can even buy clothes off the ramp after seeing them from any angle. Its like a fashion show just for you, and its green," says Chandok.

Kilawat is happy her debut show will create a larger narrative around sustainability, something shes trying to advocate through her handloom-focused brand. Will she miss being part of a physical show? The applause and the ramp walk towards the end."

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More than 700 holders of investing Isas that rank at more than a million pounds have one clear thing in common - a hefty weighting towards investment trusts, according to a leading Isa platform.

Interactive investors has revealed that among the 731 pots of a million pounds or more that are held with it, closed-ended funds account for 54 per cent of the average portfolio.

This compares to just 7 per cent held in open-ended funds. The next most popular instrument after investment trusts was company shraes, making up 36 per cent of the average seven-figure pot.

Exchanged-traded products accounted for 2.4 per cent while just 0.2 per cent of the average Isa portfolio was in bonds.

There are currently some 731 'Isa millionaires' using DIY investing platform Interactive Investor

This may come as no surprise to some as investment trusts are tend to outperform funds over the long term and 2020 saw the largest ever outperformance of the FTSE All Share by investment trusts.

Investment trusts were also the biggest portion of Isa millionaire pies in last year's survey at an average of 46 per cent. Much of the increase in that percentage seen in the last year is probably down to the stellar growth of some investment trusts like Scottish Mortgage, Baillie Gifford US Growth and JPMorgan China Income and Growth.

Of the 731 Isa millionaires at II today, around a third are women while the average age is 71 - a demographic that doubtless began investing well before the inception of Isas.

Moira ONeill, head of personal finance at the platform, said it is inspiring to see how the Isa millionaires achieved their success.

'With an average age of 71, most will have started out with Personal Equity Plans (PEPs), when ISAs were just a twinkle in policymakers eyes,' she said.

'So, the number one lesson is patience  even the millionaires didnt get there fast. Lesson two is the importance of portfolio diversification  and dont forget investment trusts.

Where are the Isa millionaires invested compared to other Isa customers Investment Average millionaire Isa (%) Average Isa (%) Investment trusts 53.8 29.1 Unit trusts 7.4 26 Bonds 0.2 0.3 Equities 36.1 39.2 Exchanged-traded products 2.4 5.4 Gilts 0.2 0.1 Source: Interactive Investor as at 15 February

'Their ability to gear (borrow) to enhance returns, means they can give a portfolio a turbo charge over the long term  but this can also drag down performance further in volatile times, so be prepared for a bumpy ride. Globally diversified trusts are a good place to start.'

It is likely that II's Isa millionaires also have the luxury of being able to use their full Isa allowance each year, which currently stands at 20,000 per year.

The most popular investment trusts held by II's Isa millionaires are Scottish Mortgage, Alliance Trust and Witan Investment trust, all three of which are well-diversified, investing in a range of sectors all around the world.

These were the top three investment trusts bought by Isa millionaires in last year's survey too, though with Alliance trust in first place, followed by Scottish Mortgage.

Top ten holdings of Isa millionaires Scottish Mortgage Alliance trust Royal Dutch Shell GlaxoSmithKline Witan investment trust Lloyds Banking Group RIT Capital Partners National Grid BP City of London investment trust

Top ten holdings of all Isa customers Lloyds Banking Group BP GlaxoSmithKline Royal Dutch Shell Scottish Mortgage Vodafone Group Aviva Alliance Trust National Grid Barclays

Other top-bought trusts this year include RIT Capital Partners and City of London investment trust, the latter of which is well-known for its annual increasing dividend, now in its 54th year.

For all Isa customers, Scottish Mortgage and Alliance Trust also featured in the top ten most popular holdings.

However the remaining eight positions were made up of shares including Lloyds Banking Group in first place, followed by BP, GlaxoSmithKline and Royal Dutch Shell.

While these names are indeed UK companies, much of their earnings come from overseas.

Myron Jobson, personal finance campaigner at Interactive Investor, added: 'Home bias is somewhat of a misnomer.

'When it comes to international diversification, investors are more likely to use funds, investment trusts and ETFs.

Interactive Investor's Jobson said overseas exposure can be very rewarding for investors

'Even where investors invest directly in the UK in direct shares, around 75 per cent of FTSE 100 company earnings are from outside the UK.

Nevertheless, Jobson agrees that having international exposure can be very rewarding for active investors.

In the US, for example, investors have benefited from the double whammy of a strong US market and the weakness in sterling.

How long could it take to become an Isa millionaire?

The length of time it takes to become an Isa millionaire depends on the amount you can invest and your investment return.

It would take 25 years to reach the 1million mark - 1,002,269.08 to be exact - were you to start investing the full 20,000 annual Isa allowance every year from today ( assuming the allowance stays the same) with 5 per cent annual growth excluding fees.

If your investments grew by 7 per cent net of fees, you could trim three years off that period, and make 1,048,722.82 in 22 years.

But if your investment experienced annual growth of just 3 per cent, it would take 31 years to reach a seven-figure sum of 1,030,055.17.
Today, the Minister of Foreign Affairs and International Cooperation Luigi Di Maio will attend the Foreign Affairs Council meeting in Brussels.

The meeting will focus on major international current events. The agenda includes the situation in Myanmar, EU-Russia relations, the latest developments in Hong Kong and strengthening the common security and defence policies.

The Ministers will also discuss the outcome of the recent G5 Sahel summit and the developments regarding Iran and Ethiopia.
On Thursday, it will have been 115 years since Upton Sinclair published the first installment of The Jungle, in the Feb. 25, 1905 issue of Appeal to Reason. Sinclairs novel about abuses in the meatpacking industry, collected in a single, revised volume a year later, led directly to the passage of both the Meat Inspection Act and Pure Food and Drug Act. As we all know, those bills permanently reformed the meatpacking industry, providing laborers with safe working conditions, living wages, and a dignified retirement, a standard that ultimately became the foundation of the socialist utopia Americans share today. Im just kidding: As soon as the American public was assured that Armour lard would no longer contain any accidentally-rendered Lithuanian immigrants, the Eloi went back to fussing over cancel culture or its 1906 equivalent and the Morlocks returned to their abattoirs. This week, Last Week Tonight took a look at the current state of the meat industry, more than a century after Sinclair first raised the alarm. Spoiler alert: Its still not great.

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Of all the disgusting things in this segment, the most nauseating is the footage of the way Tyson Foods pampers their mostly-white salaried employees with on-site fitness sessions and meditation classes, while the mostly non-white hourly workers have to wear diapers because theyre not allowed to leave the line. This isnt an issue of Tyson Foods or the other meatpacking giants being vicious employers in general: They know exactly which workers they have to treat like human beings and which ones they can abuse and exploit. That kind of corporate culture doesnt happen by accident: Its depravity, pure and simple.

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Oliver lays out a series of reforms that could improve things, including emergency regulations from OSHA to slow the spread of the coronavirus at meatpacking facilities, tighter rules from the USDA on safety and line speeds, and federal minimums for workers compensation. As Upton Sinclair could tell you if he hadnt died in 1968, though, systemic reform can take an extremely long time, if it happens at all. While were waiting, here is a list of the brand names controlled by the worst offenders Oliver identified: JBS, the company that is denying compensation to employees who died of COVID-19, and Tyson Foods, home of the COVID-19 betting pool. Maybe dont buy them?

JBS USA

 1855 Black Angus Beef

 5 Star Beef

 Aspen Ridge Natural Angus Beef

 Blue Ribbon Beef

 Blue Ribbon Angus Beef

 Cedar River Farms Natural Beef

 Certified Angus Beef

 Chefs Exclusive Beef

 Clear River Farms Beef

 Country Pride

 Del Dia

 Four Star Beef

 Gold Kist Chicken

 Goldn Plump

 Grass Run Farms

 Imperial American Wagyu Beef

 Just Bare Chicken

 Moy Park

 OKane Poultry

 Pierce Chicken

 Pilgrims

 Showcase Premium USA Beef

 Swift Black Angus Beef

 Swift La Herencia Natural Pork

 Swift Premium Pork

 To-Ricos

Tyson Foods

 Advance Pierre Foods

 Aidells

 Ball Park

 Barber Foods

 Big AZ Sandwiches

 Bonici

 Boscos

 The Bruss Company (Tyson Fresh Meats)

 Bryan

 Chairmans Reserve Meats

 Fast Fixin

 Gallo Salame

 Hillshire Farm

 Hillshire Snacking

 IBP Trusted Excellence

 Jimmy Dean

 Lady Aster

 Landshire

 Like Moms

 Mexican Original

 Nature Raised Farms

 Nudges Natural Dog Treats

 Open Prairie Natural Meats

 Original Philly Cheesesteak Co.

 Raised & Rooted

 Reuben Corned Beef

 Russer Brand Deli Meats

 Sara Lee

 Star Ranch Angus Beef

 State Fair

 Steak-EZE

 Top Chews 100% Natural Dog Treats

 True Chews 100% Natural Dog Treats

 Tyson

 Wright Brand

 Wunderbar Brand Deli Meats
YEREVAN, FEBRUARY 22, ARMENPRESS. Boeing Co said it recommended suspending the use of 777 jets with the same type of engine that shed debris over Denver at the weekend after U.S. regulators announced extra inspections and Japan suspended their use while considering further action, Reuters reports.

The moves involving Pratt & Whitney PW4000 engines came after a United Airlines 777 landed safely in Denver on Saturday local time after its right engine failed.

United said the next day it would voluntarily and temporarily remove its 24 active planes, hours before Boeings announcement.

The manufacturer recommended airlines suspend operations until U.S. regulators identified the appropriate inspection protocol.
The Health Care Workers who do not get vaccinated to boost their immunity for COVID-19, despite being given repeated opportunities and in case they get the infection at a later stage, they will have to bear the cost of their treatment and they will not be allowed to avail quarantine/isolation leave. It was today stated by Punjab Health & Family Welfare, Balbir Singh Sidhu in a press communique.

Pointing out the recent few days have seen an uprising trend in the number of COVID-19 cases in Punjab he said that with 358 cases being reported on February 20, now about 3000 COVID positive cases are active in State while there were only 2,000 active cases (33% rise) three weeks back.

He said that there is a dire need to get vaccinated for all Health Care Workers to deal with any unprecedented situation. He said that Punjab is among the 6 States of our country where COVID cases are rising and we should prepare to fight it like a second wave.

These rising cases indicating that COVID-19 is not over yet and Punjab may witness a surge in the number of COVID cases, this highlights the need for following COVID Appropriate Behaviors like social distancing, wearing of a mask, hand sanitization, and respiratory etiquettes, he said.

Urging Health Care Workers, Mr. Balbir Sidhu said that they should shun hesitancy and come forward to get vaccinated at the earliest for the sake of their own safety and that of their family members and near and dear ones.

Expressing concern over the low rate of vaccination among HCWs and FLWs, Mr. Sidhu further said that so far 2.06 Lakh Health Care Workers and 1.82 Lakh Front Line Workers have been registered for COVID-19 vaccination. He said that about 79,000 (38%) HCWs and 4,000 FLWs have been vaccinated and this coverage has not been up to the mark.

The vaccine is safe and effective and not even a single case of death or any serious adverse effect has reported in Punjab regarding vaccine administration so far. He said that no one should be misled by rumors and misinformation.

He informed that the last date of the availing first dose of vaccination for HCW has been extended from 19th February to 25 February. Every HCW and FLW must get vaccinated. He said that we all are at risk of getting infected and Health Care Workers being Front Line Workers dealing with patients are at higher risk of getting an infection.

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Metro Manila (CNN Philippines, February 22)  A Filipino student has been recognized abroad for his mission to promote reading and writing literacy among Filipino children.

Qjiel Mariano, a second year nursing student at the University of Santo Tomas, founded the Ladders to Literacy initiative to help less fortunate Filipino children learn how to read and write.

"Reading and writing is a fundamental human skill. If they are not able to read and write when they're adults, imagine how much future is at stake for us. Imagine how they will not be able to be proactive citizens to our country," Mariano told CNN Philippines' The Final Word on Monday.

Mariano's passion in making Filipino children literate earned him an award as an Education Hero by Youth Service America. He emphasized the recognition reinforces his belief that literacy is not just a right, but an important survival factor for humans.

Mariano shared they adjusted to online storytelling classes during the pandemic to continue serving the children in their organization.

"This was a very big platform because we didn't only get storytellers from the Philippines, but we also got storytellers from Brazil, from Turkey, from the US, so it was a global initiative to bring reading and writing to every Filipino," he said.

Mariano hopes their work will serve as an inspiration for many society leaders to realize the importance of investing on the youth for the world's future.

"We have to invest in young people so that they can also create programs like these and also be part of the change when they grow up to be citizens. After all, change takes a lot of time, which is why we have to start young," Mariano said.

He added they are currently developing a children's rights gaming app to help spread their group's works in promoting literacy to children. They recently published a book entitled "Literate Lila" which narrated the importance of literacy in a child's development.

The Philippines recently suffered a drop in the 2020 English Proficiency Index. From being 20th in the world, the country finished at 27th place in the global rankings, but was still given a "high proficiency" rating after getting a score of 562 out of 700.
Bidens HHS nominee Xavier Becerra is worse-case scenario for people of faith, pro-life groups warn

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Republican senators and pro-life groups have raised concerns about President Joe Biden's pick for Health and Human Services secretary, Xavier Becerra, who they warn has a record of using his power to go after his enemies, including people of faith and pro-lifers.

Over 60 pro-life advocates sent a letter to ranking members of the U.S. Senate HELP and Finance Committees urging them to reject Becerra, calling him an "enemy to every pro-life policy and law" who "has demonstrated complete disregard for the religious and moral convictions of those opposed to the brutal act of abortion."

The letter was spearheaded by the pro-life lobbying group Susan B. Anthony List and signed by leaders such as Southern Baptist Convention Ethics & Religious Liberty Commission President Russell Moore, Ethics and Public Policy Center President Ryan Anderson and the heads of other pro-life organizations.

On the issue of abortion, Xavier Becerra has a decades-old track record of siding with the abortion lobby whenever possible and using the power of whatever office he is in to try and force others to share his enthusiastic support of abortion up until the moment of birth, said Kristan Hawkins, president of the pro-life campus organization Students for Life of America.

Hawkins, who signed the letter, moderated a panel last Wednesday that featured Sens. Tom Cotton, R-Ark., Steve Daines, R-Mont., and SBA List President Marjorie Dannenfelser.

Hawkins maintained that the confirmation of Becerra to the position of secretary of HHS was something that every single pro-lifer should be concerned about.

Becerra, who formerly served as a congressman in the U.S. House from California, currently serves as the state's attorney general and must be confirmed by the Senate before he can serve as Biden's HHS secretary.

Hawkins said that as secretary of HHS, Becerra would oversee over $87 billion of our taxpayer funds and discretionary budget authority and over $1.2 trillion in mandatory funding.

Dannenfelser added that when every other state that did something bold by passing pro-life measures, he would lead all the other AGs in trying to shut down every pro-life measure that every other state was doing. She also recalled how Becerra prosecuted David Daleiden, the pro-life activist journalist who exposed Planned Parenthoods selling of aborted baby body parts.

When he was told just very recently  by the Trump administration that well take $200 million away of Medicaid funding unless you comply with the Weldon Amendment that would require you to obey the consciences of Californians and  not force health care workers and taxpayers to pay for abortion, he (Becerra) said Id rather give up that funding  for California than to enforce the Weldon Amendment, she continued.

He was the one who was spearheading all of the amicus briefs to the  courts to make sure that during COVID, that there could continue to be mail-order abortions, chemical abortions, Dannenfelser added.

Hawkins expressed disgust that Becerra was uniting 20 other attorney generals across the country to sue the FDA to dispense the abortion pills without a doctor ever seeing a woman, without a woman ever getting a blood test because that was his number one priority amidst the COVID pandemic.

Cotton, who previously served in the House with Becerra, said he knew what a far-left radical he was, but only once he became Californias top law enforcement officer did he have the power to act unilaterally on those radical ideas.

The common thread of Xavier Becerras tenure as attorney general of California is that he abuses the law to target his enemies, which curiously enough always seem to be people of faith and pro-lifers and other social conservatives. If hes done it with the power he has as attorney general of California, of course he will do it with the vastly greater power he would have as the Secretary for Health and Human Services, Cotton warned.

While any nominee to HHS by this president is going to be bad, according to Dannenfelser, Becerra is the worst-case scenario.

I do think its important to put a marker down and say there is some line that we must draw, that an advocate, an extreme abortion absolutist advocate as the head of HHS, is a bridge too far even for an administration like this.  We choose this nominee to say  no and send a message when the Senate is so close, the House is so close, that whoever is heading HHS needs to be closer to those margins than this person is, she said.

Cotton agreed with Dannenfelser that were not going to get a great secretary of Health and Human Services out of Joe Biden. He predicted that if efforts to stop Becerras confirmation to the post are successful, Bidens subsequent nominee will have watched what happened to Xavier Becerra though and recognize that if he crosses these far-left radical lines, that he is apt to face political blowback as well.

Much of the panel's conversation focused on outlining a strategy that pro-life Americans can use to persuade elected officials to oppose Becerras confirmation in light of the balance of power in Washington.

Democrats hold a narrow 50-50 majority in the Senate, with Vice President Kamala Harris serving as the tie-breaking vote. Any effort to block Becerras confirmation would require the support of all 50 Senate Republicans and at least one Senate Democrat.

According to Cotton, Some Democrats may be troubled by some of the most extreme steps hes taken or the most extreme ideas of the far-left when it comes to advocating for abortion, but theres a whole host of reasons to oppose Xavier Becerra in addition to his extreme views on abortion.

He cited Becerras lack of experience in the health care industry as well as his support for Medicare for All as reasons that might lead some of the more moderate Democrats in the Senate to oppose his confirmation.

So there are ample grounds to oppose Xavier Becerras nomination. We dont need 51 senators to all agree on why they say no; we just need 51 senators to say no, Cotton said.

Dannenfelser mentioned pro-life Sen. Joe Manchin, D-W.Va., as the most important senator that pro-lifers should contact and urge him to oppose Becerras confirmation.

She also highlighted the importance of contacting Sens. Susan Collins, R-Maine, and Lisa Murkowski, R-Alaska, pro-abortion Republicans who might be more disposed to support Becerras confirmation than the rest of their Republican colleagues.

She also listed Sens. Kyrsten Sinema, D-Ariz., and Jon Tester, D-Mont., as lawmakers who pro-lifers should try to convince to vote against Becerras confirmation. Tester represents a state that routinely votes Republican in presidential elections, while Sinema represents a swing state that narrowly voted Democratic in the 2020 presidential election.

Daines, the other senator on the panel, suggested that Sen. Bob Casey, R-Pa., could be receptive to arguments against Becerra because he has sided with us in the past on some critical pro-life votes.

Casey serves on the Senate Finance Committee, which, owing to the close margin in the Senate, has an equal number of Democrats and Republicans. Should Casey vote with all Republicans to oppose Becerras confirmation, that would be enough to prevent his nomination from going to the full Senate.

Becerra will appear before the Senate Committee on Health, Labor, Education and Pensions on Tuesday and an additional hearing will take place in the Senate Finance Committee on Wednesday. While Casey also serves on the Senate Committee on Health, Labor, Education and Pensions, so do Murkowski and Collins, the two Republicans most likely to support his confirmation.

During the Trump administration, a small number of former presidents cabinet nominees were opposed by all members of the opposing political party and at least one member of his own party. Secretary of Education Betsy DeVos was opposed by all 48 Senate Democrats as well as Collins and Murkowski.

DeVos was confirmed to the position, but Vice President Mike Pence had to cast the tie-breaking vote. Trumps first nominee to serve as director of the Office of Management and Budget, Mick Mulvaney, was opposed by all 48 Democrats and Collins.

So far, Bidens cabinet nominees have been confirmed with varying degrees of bipartisan support. With several confirmation votes pending, the cabinet member who received the slimmest margin of support was Homeland Security Secretary Alejandro Mayorkas, who was supported by all 50 Senate Democrats and six Senate Republicans.

With Becerras confirmation hearings expected to take place this week, Ethics and Public Policy Center President Ryan T. Anderson issued a statement warning about the consequences of Becerras confirmation: Xavier Becerra is simply unqualified to be Secretary of HHS. He has no relevant medical expertise, rendering him particularly unsuited to assume this position amid a pandemic.

Indeed, his only health care qualifications seem to be his attacks on pro-life medicine, his persecution of the Little Sisters of the Poor, and his defense of an unlawful California abortion mandate. President Biden promised to heal and unify the country, but his nomination of an ideological culture warrior like Becerra will only drive us further apart, he added.

EPPC Senior Fellow Roger Severino, who previously headed the HHS Office for Civil Rights during the Trump administration, recalled, When I was head of Civil Rights at HHS, I twice held Becerra in violation of laws protecting conscience in health care resulting in a $200 million disallowance of HHS funds to California.

He called the idea of Becerra leading the HHS the very agency that investigated him and found he broke the law an astounding conflict of interest.
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A Pfizer-BioNTech COVID-19 vaccine shipment is offloaded from an Emirates Airlines Boeing 777 that arrived from Brussels to Dubai International Airport in the United Arab Emirates, Feb. 21. AP-Yonhap



The belly of the Emirates plane that touched down in Dubai early Sunday from Brussels was stuffed with precious cargo: tens of thousands of doses of the Pfizer-BioNTech vaccine.



The arrival was part of an effort by the Middle East's biggest airline to pivot from shuttling people to shipping cargo  and grabbing a central role in the global vaccine delivery race.



As the coronavirus pandemic continues to clobber the aviation industry, the disaster has hit long-haul carriers like Emirates hardest. So the airline is ferrying around the very substance it hopes will get passengers back into its seats and revive the flagging travel sector.



Over the weekend, workers scurried around the tarmac at the Dubai International Airport, unloading several aluminum containers crammed with vaccine vials and dry ice into a vast florescent-lit cargo terminal. The key transit hub, previously used for the global shipment of pharmaceuticals, is now at the center of a growing vaccine supply network based in the United Arab Emirates. State-owned carrier Emirates already has delivered millions of doses to Latin America, South Africa and Egypt from major manufacturing hubs in India and elsewhere.



With 15,000 square meters (161,458 square feet) of refrigerated storage space, the sprawling facility can help maintain the required temperature controls for two of the leading COVID-19 vaccines that use the new vaccine technology messenger RNA, or mRNA. The Pfizer-BioNTech vaccine, reported as being 95 percent effective, must be preserved at the frigid temperature of negative 70 degrees Celsius (minus 94 degrees Fahrenheit).



On the one hand, the federation of seven emirates is accelerating efforts to import vaccines despite supply lags. The country, which boasts the world's second-fastest inoculation drive behind Israel, relies most on a vaccine made by state-backed Chinese firm Sinopharm. It also offers residents a variety of other choices, including Pfizer, Russia's Sputnik V and most recently AstraZeneca-Oxford University's jab made in India.



Emirates also is assembling a wide-ranging supply chain across the world, catering particularly to countries in Africa and the Middle East that lack the proper infrastructure to store and transport the shots. Vaccine inequality has become a growing concern as wealthy countries vacuum up the lion's share of doses, leaving poorer ones even farther behind in combating the public health and economic effects of the pandemic.



Earlier this month, Dubai's international port operator DP World and Emirates announced the creation of a "vaccine logistics alliance," which plans to move millions more doses around the world via the company's vast network of ports and Dubai's airport, a crucial east-west transit point.



"I think we're in a key strategic location to be able to deliver these vaccines to the developing countries that really can't get them," said Julian Sutch, commercial development manager at the Emirates cargo storage facility. "We know in the first world we'll be able to get a hold of these vaccines, but it's critical that everyone does."



The UAE's push comes as vaccine diplomacy gains traction around the world, with countries like China doling out doses as part of ambitious political and business efforts.



The oil-rich UAE, seeking to deepen its influence and draw positive headlines abroad, has delivered free Sinopharm shipments to Egypt, a key Arab ally, and the Indian Ocean island nation of the Seychelles. On Sunday, with the help of an Emirati-based rival to Palestinian President Mahmoud Abbas, 20,000 doses of the Sputnik V vaccine landed in the impoverished Gaza Strip from the UAE. (AP)



Metro Manila (CNN Philippines, February 22)  President Rodrigo Duterte has thumbed down proposed trials of face-to-face classes as he doesnt want to risk the lives of teachers and students given the national vaccination drive yet to be launched, the Palace said Monday.

During a virtual briefing, Presidential Spokesperson Harry Roque said the President told him he didnt want to endanger learners and educators given that the national vaccination drive has not yet started. The order covers classes under the Education Departments jurisdiction, namely ones held in elementary and high schools, he added.

Roque likewise said Duterte is open to the conduct of a pilot of face-to-face classes in August especially in areas with low numbers of COVID-19 cases.

I guess what he is anticipating that since we will begin vaccination this month, we would be way ahead of our vaccination program in August to give us the confidence to resume at least limited face-to-face education, said the spokesman.

RELATED: Roque: Face-to-face classes, once approved, may only be conducted for few hours

Doses of Chinese firm Sinovacs CoronaVac vaccine may arrive in Philippines within three to five days after Monday's announcement by the Food and Drug Administration that it has approved an emergency use authorization for the Chinese-made shots.

Roque expressed hope the delivery will be within the week.

RELATED: FDA OKs emergency use of Sinovac, says China-made vaccines not ideal for frontliners

Around mid-December last year, Duterte approved the pilot implementation of face-to-face classes in January in schools situated in areas tagged as low-risk for COVID-19. However, he recalled his order days after in light of the threat posed by the coronavirus variant first discovered in the United Kingdom and reported as more contagious.

The President banned face-to-face classes earlier last year sans the availability of COVID-19 vaccines. Eventually, he allowed ones in medical and health allied health programs offered by higher education institutions in areas under general community quarantine and modified GCQ areas.

Basic education classes have resumed in October under blended learning, which combines virtual sessions, radio and TV broadcasts, and printed modules for self-learning.
Israeli nationalist hardliner Naftali Bennett (left) has said he will join a governing coalition that could end the rule of the country's longest-serving leader, Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu (right). 'I will do everything to form a national unity government with my friend Yair Lapid (inset), so that, God willing, together we can save the country from a tailspin and return Israel to its course,' Bennett said after a meeting with his own party, Yamina. Centrist Lapid has been tasked with forming a new cabinet by Wednesday 11:59pm local time (2059GMT). He and Bennett have until then to complete a deal in which they are expected to each serve two years as prime minister in a rotation agreement. The announcement by Bennett brings Netanyahu's rivals a step closer towards ending his 12-year rule. Bennett, a former Netanyahu aide turned rival, said he had made the decision to prevent Israel from sliding into a fifth consecutive election in just over two years. He added that there was no feasible way for the hard-line right wing to form a governing majority in parliament. 'A government like this will succeed only if we work together as a group,' he said. Everyone 'will need to postpone fulfilling all their dreams. We will focus on what can be done, instead of fighting all day on what's impossible,' he said. Netanyahu responded to the news by saying that a Lapid-Bennett government would weaken the country and insisting that a right-wing government is still a possibility.
U.S. Sen. Ted Cruz (R-Texas) carries his luggage at the Cancun International Airport before boarding his plane back to the United States, in Cancun, Mexico, on Feb. 18, 2021. (Reuters/Stringer)

Cruz Delivers Water in Texas After Returning From Cancun

Sen. Ted Cruz (R-Texas) on Saturday delivered water to people in need, after returning from a trip to Cancun.

Cruz was seen in photographs he posted online carrying water and placing it in vehicles. The lawmaker was also seen visiting with people who drove to a location to get water.

Packs of water bottles have been a common sight in Texas in recent days, as the state suffers from an unusual stretch of freezing temperatures, leading to an overstressed power grid and issues with water supply.

Cruz used the hashtag Texas Strong with the photographs. And he shared a post from the city of Austin that told the public the city was distributing nearly 11,000 cases of water to critical facilities and vulnerable populations.

A day later, Cruz helped serve Houston barbecue to firefighters, reporters, and law enforcement officers to thank them for their work during the snow storms.

Cruz faced criticism last week for jetting to Cancun, a Mexican resort town, while his state was reeling from the inclement weather.

Served some delicious #Houston bbq to @FirefightersHOU, @IAFFNewsDesk, & local law enforcement yesterday with @TheNew93Q to thank our first responders following these unprecedented snow storms. pic.twitter.com/vn396kTgFR  Senator Ted Cruz (@SenTedCruz) February 21, 2021

Cruz flew back the next day.

Cruz said he wanted to be a good dad and flew to Mexico to accompany his daughters, who expressed a desire to take a trip with friends after school was canceled for the week.

After his return, he said the excursion was obviously a mistake.

In hindsight, I wouldnt have done it, Cruz said. I was trying to be a dad and all of us have made decisions, when you have two girls who have been cold for two days and havent had heat or power and theyre saying, Hey look, we dont have school, lets get out of here.'

The furor over the trip started when photographs circulated of a man who resembled Cruz at an airport. The story developed further when reporters, citing sources within United Airlines, shared details of Cruzs trip.

United is investigating the leak of the details.

Members of both parties criticized Cruz for flying out of Texas when he did, and some Democrats called for him to resign.

Ted Cruz jetting off to Mexico while Texans remain dying in the cold isnt surprising but it is deeply disturbing and disappointing, Texas Democratic Party Chair Gilberto Hinojosa said in a statement. The party noted that it was the 21st time that Texas Democrats have called for Cruz to step down or be expelled from office.
Beyond barbecues and ceremonies: Recognizing Memorial Day

For many, Memorial Day weekend is about gathering with family and grilling or attending a parade. Some find a more personal way to honor the holiday.

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Today, Edify Labs (edify.cx), the software company thats redefining the way businesses manage customer engagement and cross-team collaboration, announced announced today that TMCnet, the leading website building communities online, in person and in print for communications and technology markets, has named them a recipient of the 2020 Tech Culture Awards.

At Edify, we believe culture is key to a business success and are continually working to ensure our people are motivated and excited to come to work each day, said Cameron Weeks, co-founder and CEO of Edify. While we are deeply committed to delivering an exceptional product and service to our customers, we are nothing without our people. And thats why this recognition is so validating -- it proves that the culture we are creating, something completely intangible, is a success.

The mission of these Tech Culture Awards is quite simple. We have surveyed and selected companies who are looking for the best and brightest tech talent and are willing to go the extra mile to provide what they believe is the ideal tech culture," said Rich Tehrani, TMCs CEO and Group Editor-in-Chief for TMCnet.

Edify has demonstrated to the editors of TMCnet that they are committed to growth through providing a truly distinct and upbeat environment, rewarding employees for their contributions, and focusing on work-life balance. For that, we applaud and recognize them," added Tehrani.

The complete list of Tech Culture Award winners for 2020 are now posted on the Tech Culture blog on TMCnet. Winners will also be featured on TMCnet.

About Edify Labs, Inc.

Edify connects businesses with customers and employees with each other. The companys Business

Communications as a Service (BCaaS) platform, Huddle, is the only one uniting contact center (CC), unified communications (UC), and real-time communications platform (API) functionality in a single, cloud-native software solution that lets users move seamlessly among channels within one conversation. Edify removes all the risk of using its cloud-based platform with five free users forever, global availability, real-time redundancy, usage-based pricing, and a 100% SLA uptime guarantee. Learn more at edify.cx.


Company Presentation - UK & Europe Investor Briefing

Perth, Feb 22, 2021 AEST (ABN Newswire) - Western Australia (WA) is largest gold producing state with ~400 million ounces discovered to date.Wiluna is located right in the middle of WA and is the most attractive mining investment jurisdiction in the world, with the most richly gold endowed land globally.Wiluna owns a vast 1600 km2/1000 mi2 of this blue chip real estate, surrounded by multiple million ounce mines and excellent infrastructure.To view the presentation, please visit:About Wiluna Mining Corporation Ltd

Wiluna Mining Corporation (ASX:WMX) (OTCMKTS:WMXCF) is a Perth based, ASX listed gold mining company that controls over 1,600 square kilometres of the Yilgarn Craton in the Northern Goldfields of WA. The Yilgarn Craton has a historic and current gold endowment of over 380 million ounces, making it one of most prolific gold regions in the world. The Company owns 100% of the Wiluna Gold Operation which has a defined resource of 8.04M oz at 1.67 g/t au. In May 2019, a new highly skilled management team took control of the Company with a clear plan to leverage the Wiluna Gold Operation's multi-million-ounce potential.
Meet Jordan West, our guest for this episode of the Ecwid E-commerce Show. Hes an e-commerce business owner, a podcaster, and the founder of Mindful Marketing agency.

Jordan explains the mechanics and psychology of gated launches for e-commerce brands. His business leverages their Facebook VIP group to increase sales, and Jordan spells out how other sellers can do the same. His method is worth paying attention to: Jordan used it to make $250,000 of e-commerce sales in 24 hours without Facebook ads or discounts.

On todays show, Jordan also touches upon:

the power of limited availability

making your customers VIPs

understanding levels of traffic

nurturing brand advocates

building brand excitement leading up to the launch

maintaining trust as a critical aspect in fostering long-term clients.

Bonus: E-commerce Sales Launch Checklist from Mindful Marketing.

Highlights:
The recent $1.5-billion bet by the US electric car-maker Tesla Inc notwithstanding, a majority of global finance executives, including chief financial officers, have said they do not plan to ever hold bitcoin as a corporate asset, according to a survey by Gartner Inc.

Tesla on 8 February 2021 had disclosed that it had parked $1.5-billion worth of spare cash in bitcoin last month, making it by far the biggest company to invest in the digital asset. Bitcoin had surged 18% reacting to the news. Moreover, US-based enterprise software company MicroStrategy Inc on Tuesday said it will buy additional bitcoin. The company is already holding around 72,000 units of bitcoin worth around $3.6 billion.

Also Read | Life lessons from Covidian era start-ups

These developments are a departure from a usual trend where companies invest their cash in high-quality instruments that are relatively safe and give lower returns.

According to the survey, while the worlds oldest cryptocurrency continues to grow in popularity and as well as prices, a poll of 77 finance executives, including 50 chief financial officers (CFOs) this month showed that 84% of respondents said will not buy bitcoin. Moreover, just 5% of the finance executives polled said they planned to hold bitcoin as a corporate asset in 2021.

Even the 16% of respondents willing to adopt the cryptocurrency as part of their organizations financial strategy appeared in no rush. Five per cent of respondents indicated they would begin to hold bitcoin in 2021, 1% said theyd hold bitcoin at some point in 2022-2023, and the remaining 9% who indicated they would begin holding bitcoin said it would be 2024 or later," Gartner said in a report, which was released on Tuesday.

The crypto assets surge to the $40,000 levels earlier this year had come on the back of demand from retail investors, while the recent interest from institutions was the key force behinds bitcoin rise above the $50,000 level for the first time on Tuesday. The digital currency continued to rise on Wednesday and hit a fresh lifetime high of $51,615.93, up 5% at around 5pm IST, according to cryptocurrency tracker CoinGecko.

However, according to experts, further bitcoin rally may depend on more institutions adopting into their ecosystems.

Eighty-four per cent of the respondents said that bitcoins volatility posed a financial risk. It would be extremely difficult to mitigate the kind of price swings seen in the cryptocurrency in the last five years," said Alexander Bant, chief of research in the Gartner Finance practice.

Volatility was the top concern by a large margin, but other big issues that respondents had were board risk aversion, slow adoption as an accepted form of payment, regulatory concerns, and a lack of expertise in cryptocurrencies.

There are a lot of unresolved issues when it comes to the use of bitcoin as a corporate asset," said Bant. Its unlikely that adoption will increase rapidly until we get more clarity on these challenges."

However, driven by the developments such as MasterCard, PayPal and Apple starting to accept payments in bitcoin, industry professionals are bullish on the digital asset.

In the last few hours, a lot major developments happened in the crypto world. Continuing its unshakable faith in bitcoin, Michael Saylors MicroStrategy is doubling down on bitcoin and plans to invest an additional $600 million. German Giant Deutsche Bank is also exploring cryptocurrency custody," said Ashish Singhal, chief executive officer and co-founder, CoinSwitch Kuber, cryptocurrency investment platform.

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San Francisco school board president Gabriela Lopez issued a statement Sunday

The San Francisco school board has said it is putting the renaming of 44 schools on hold after coming under fire for prioritizing the issue over reopenings and using Wikipedia as a reference point to determine which names were racist.

In a statement president Gabriela Lopez acknowledged discussions on re-branding the institutions named after figures such as Abraham Lincoln and George Washington had been 'distracting' and 'mistakes have been made'.

The board first came under fire last month when it emerged committee members allegedly used references from Wikipedia and other non-scholarly sources to determine which personalities were racist and problematic.

Lopez, 30, said Sunday: 'Were canceling renaming committee meetings for the time being. We will be revising our plans to run a more deliberative process moving forward, which includes engaging historians at nearby universities to help.'

Parents and residents had become concerned when it emerged that historians had not been consulted by the renaming committee.

Instead, several citations used in the debate have now been proven to be factually incorrect, including a false claim that American poet James Russell Lowell did not want black people to vote and that Paul Revere's military activities were tied to 'the conquest of the Penobscot Indians'.

Lopez, who has been in the job just six weeks, added Sunday: 'We recognize we need to slow down. And we need to provide more opportunities for community input.'

She said reopening amid forced closures as a result of the coronavirus 'will be the only focus' until children are back in schools.

'We will not be taking valuable time from our board agendas to further discuss this, as we need to prioritize reopening,' Lopez added.

The Abraham Lincoln High School in San Francisco; Lopez acknowledged discussions on re-branding the institutions named after historical figures had been 'distracting' and 'mistakes have been made'

Roosevelt Middle School in the Richmond neighborhood of San Francisco; The school board came under fire last month when it emerged committee members allegedly used references from non-scholarly sources to make decisions

Dianne Feinstein Elementary; 'Were canceling renaming committee meetings for the time being,' Lopez said She said reopening schools amid COVID-19 'will be the only focus'

George Washington High School; Parents and residents had become concerned when it emerged that historians had not been consulted by the renaming committee

Lopez had defended the earlier work of the committee in an interview with The New Yorker telling the magazine she did not want to discredit the work that this group has done despite their use of inaccurate information.

She claimed that she did not believe the names had been selected in a haphazard way, even after being read a list of the misinformation that was used in some of the decisions.

No, because Ive already shared with you that the people who have contributed to this process are also part of a community that is taking it as seriously as we would want them to, Lopez argued about the errors made in the research process.

ERRORS MADE BY THE SAN FRANCISCO SCHOOL RENAMING COMMITTEE: Committee members allegedly used references from Wikipedia and other non-scholarly sources to determine which personalities were racist and problematic. Several of those citations has now been proven to be factually incorrect: 1. One committee member urged that the name of acclaimed American poet James Russell Lowell should be stripped off a high school because a Wikipedia citation stated that he did 'not want black people to vote'. However, that claim is false - and scholarly articles assert that Lowell 'unequivocally advocated giving the ballot to the recently freed slave'. 2. The committee concluded that Paul Revere's name should be removed from a middle school after citing an article from the History Channel website. Members alleged that Revere's military activities were tied to 'the conquest of the Penobscot Indians', which was untrue. 3. James Lick - who resided in San Francisco - was also deemed 'racist' after members failed to critically read an article about the famous 19th century businessman. The committee stated that Lick had funded a sculpture showing an American Indian lying at the feet of white men. However, in actuality, Lick died 18 years before the sculpture was created, and it was only partially funded by his posthumous estate. Advertisement

She had also pushed back on the complaints that historians were not consulted as part of the process.

Are you thinking then theres no allowing for there to be that process? she asked, when questioned about the renaming committees comments on not needing a historian.

I think that thats not the process that they created. They included a diverse set of community members, people with a set of experiences that contribute to these discussions, people from different backgrounds who are also educated in their own rights.

So, I think that was the makeup of the committee.

But by Sunday Lopez had acknowledged the need for professional help in the process, writing: 'We are working with educators at all levels to involve and educate our school communities about the renaming process. We are realizing, especially now, it will take time and energy to get that right.'

Among the other criticism received by the citys board of education was that it had voted on the renaming when there appeared to be no plan in place to bring students back to in-person learning.

What I cannot understand is why the school board is advancing a plan of all these schools renamed by April when there isnt a plan to have our kids back in the classroom by then, San Francisco Mayor London Breed had said.

On that, Lopez said Sunday: 'Were in negotiations to get the work on returning to in-person learning done and Im committed to working with city partners to get vaccinations, testing and other resources we need.'

Among the names included on the list that had provoked pushback from residents and historians was President Abraham Lincoln.

Lopez had said that she did not believe Lincoln was a person she would admire or see as a hero. I think that the killing of indigenous peoples and that record is something that is not acknowledged, she said.

Its something that people are now learning about, and due to this process. And so, we just have to do the work of that extra learning when were having these discussions.

Lopez also had claimed that the renaming was only facing criticism because people will always have a problem with the discussion of racism, not because of the inaccurate information.

That is what I know. That is why Im getting death threats. That is why people arent open to other possibilities. Because when we have this discussion, thats the outcomes no matter how good its set up, no matter how open we are,' she said.

No matter what, people are going to have an issue with that. That is what I know, given my experience. Of course, Im hearing what youre saying, but I dont think its going to change the outcome. People are still going to be up in arms when were doing this.

She said Sunday: 'We are deeply grateful for the work of the renaming committee and many schools are as well. They are excited about the opportunity to uplift communities that have previously been underrepresented.

'Our students need to attend schools where they feel valued and seen. This work is anti-racist and were proud of that.'

Lopez was the youngest woman ever elected to office in San Francisco, aged 28, and the youngest school board member elected to the San Francisco Board of Education when she was sworn into office in January of 2019.

She is also a core organizer in the group Teachers 4 Social Justice, which was founded by Jeremiah Jeffries, the man appointed as the chairman of the renaming committee.

Lopez said reopening amid forced closures as a result of the coronavirus 'will be the only focus' until children are back in schools. 'We will not be taking valuable time from our board agendas to further discuss this, as we need to prioritize reopening,' Lopez added

Among the other criticism received by the citys board of education was that it had voted on the renaming when there appeared to be no plan in place to bring students back to in-person learning

Jeffries, whose parents are prominent members of the Nation of Islam and set up their own Islamic school, previously led San Francisco's largest school boycott when he encouraged 200 families to send their children to protest the closure of a school, rather than to lessons in 2006.

In 1999, Jeffries also hit headlines nationwide when he held a protest against teachers spending their own money on school supplies.

School Board Commissioner Mark Sanchez, another founder of Teachers 4 Change and Teachers 4 Social Justice, was also on the renaming committee.

The San Francisco Board of Education voted 6-1 last month to rename a third of the city's schools, nearly three years after the board started considering the idea.

The resolution had called for removing names that honored historical figures with direct or broad ties to slavery, oppression, racism, or the 'subjugation' of human beings.

They include the nation's first president, George Washington, the third U.S. president Thomas Jefferson and the man credited with abolishing slavery, Abraham Lincoln, the 13th president of the United States.

Thomas Edison was set to be scratched off Thomas Edison Charter Academy due to his 'fondness for electrocuting animals'.

George Washington's name was going to be removed from the high school named after him. The father of the nation owned slaves and ordered Indians killed.

Herbert Hoover Middle School was to be renamed over the namesake's role in redlining - the segregation of black families - when he was secretary of commerce.

And Roosevelt Middle School faced a rebranding over President Theodore Roosevelt's opposition of civil rights and black suffrage for black people.

Modern figures had not been spared from the cut either.

Dianne Feinstein, who was Mayor of San Francisco from 1978 to 1988 and has since served as a Democrat California Senator since 1992, was set to have her name removed from Dianne Feinstein Elementary because she 'allowed police dogs to attack Filipino veteran elders', the committee ruled.

Jeffries said Feinstein has never made amends for these failings.

George Washington's name was set to be removed from the high school named after him. The father of the nation owned slaves and ordered Indians killed. San Francisco Unified School District had been criticized for voting by 6-1 last month to change the name of one-third of the city's schools including those named after President Lincoln

Roosevelt Middle School could also be rebranding over President Theodore Roosevelt's (left) opposition of civil rights and black suffrage for black people. Senator Diane Feinstein, right, allowed the Confederate flag to fly in front of San Francisco City Hall in the 1980s

Jeremiah Jeffries, the man in charge of school renaming, whose Nation of Islam parents inspired him The man behind the renaming of 44 of San Francisco's schools is a first grade teacher who was influenced by his parents - both prominent members of the Nation of Islam - who set up their own Islamic school. Jeremiah Jeffries, chairman of the renaming committee, revealed in an interview his mother told him 'There's nothing mysterious about progression. It's working instead of wishing.' She and her husband set up the Sister Clara Muhammad School that serve a predominately African-American Muslim population. The Nation of Islam, which is defined as an organized hate group by the Southern Poverty Law Center for its racist, anti-Semitic and anti-gay teachings and rhetoric of black superiority over whites. Jeffries also led San Francisco's largest school boycott when he encouraged 200 families to send their children to protest the closure of a school, rather then to lessons in 2006. In 1999, Jeffries hit headlines nationwide when he held a protest against teachers spending their own money on school supplies. The San Francisco School District increased the school supply budget for the first time in decades as a result. He has also carved out a reputation as a power-broker for the district's Board of Education, using his influence to get at least four candidates - teaching professionals - appointed. Jeffries grew up in Philadelphia as one of seven children. At the age of 12, after his sister was shot dead, Jeffries had his first taste of working in education as a janitor at a childcare center. He later went to the University of Virginia, where he first got involved in racial justice activism with the Black Student Alliance including getting the first black woman into student office. When he moved to San Francisco he cofounded Teachers 4 Change and, later, Teachers 4 Social Justice activism groups alongside Mark Sanchez - who is also on the renaming committee. Teachers 4 Social Justice was set up to 'help teachers build their practice and become better teachers', holding annual conferences and social justice workshops each year and pushing for education policy reforms. Currently, he is overseeing the name change for 44 of the district's schools after the renaming committee ruled the namesakes are inappropriate or racist. Advertisement

Activist and teacher Jeffries is said to have 'ridiculed' a proposal to bring in historians for consultation.

Jeffries reportedly stated: 'What would be the point? History is written and documented pretty well across the board. And so, we don't need to belabor history in that regard. We're not debating that. There's no point in debating history in that regard. Either it happened or it didn't.'

He added: 'Based on our criteria, it's a very straightforward conversation. And so, no need to bring historians forward to say  they either pontificate and list a bunch of reasons why, or [say] they had great qualities. Neither are necessary in this discussion.'

The committee had concluded that Paul Revere's name should be removed from a middle school after citing an article from the History Channel website.

Members alleged that Revere's military activities were tied to 'the conquest of the Penobscot Indians', which was untrue.

In another example cited by Mission Local, James Lick - who resided in San Francisco - was also deemed 'racist' after members failed to critically read an article about the famous 19th century businessman.

The committee stated that Lick had funded a sculpture showing an American Indian lying at the feet of white men. However, in actuality, Lick died 18 years before the sculpture was created, and it was only partially funded by his posthumous estate.

Last month, several of the nation's leading historians blasted the renaming committee in a Mission Local article titled: 'The San Francisco School District's renaming debacle has been a historic travesty.'

The scholars assert that Jeffries appeared eager to ignore nuance and academic debate in favor of pursuing his own 'political agenda'.

'The decision not to include historians in the process seems misguided  and assumes a political agenda that is not necessarily fair,' Professor Nicole Maurantonio at the University of Richmond told Mission Local.

'To ignore historians suggests that the actors involved are intent on privileging a version of the past that might fit a particular set of interests that might or might not align with history,' she added.

The decision to rename had also received push back from residents with more than 24,000 signing a petition to have it stopped.

A group called Families for San Francisco had also opposed the vote calling it a 'top-down process' in which a small group of people made the decision without consulting experts and the wider school community.

'We think it is very important for the community at large to be engaged to figure out who should be honored with public school names,' said Seeyew Mo, the group's executive director.

'We would like to have historical experts to provide historical context as we are evaluating people from the past with todays sensibilities,' he said.

It is estimated that the cost of renaming each school will be $100,000, with schools needing to replace signs, school gear and other branding if their names are forced to change.

In total, the committee is hoping to rename almost a third of the district's 125 schools.

The renaming of the schools comes as part of a nationwide reckoning around racial justice that has seen Confederate flags banned, military bases renamed and statues toppled of racist and Confederate figures across America in the wake of the police killing of George Floyd

Armenia Investigative Committee: Fatal road accident, criminal case opened

Armenia deputy FM submits resignation

Chinese authorities allow families to have 3 children

Dollar devalues in Armenia

Stepanakert: Azerbaijan creates bridgeheads for pressure on Karabakh, expansion towards Armenia

Sergey Lavrov says Russia is ready to disconnect SWIFT

Armenia MFA spokesperson resigns

Republican Party of Armenia Vice-President: Our ratings are growing, but we have greater pretensions

Armenia acting PM's spokesperson responds to ex-FM

Armenia parliament majority leader: Refusing to debate with acting PM is manifestation of low self-confidence

Armenia State Revenue Committee, US Department of Justice sign Memorandum of Cooperation

Vardevanyan: Attempts made to create false grounds for obstructing Armenia bloc election offices legal activities

Lavrov says Russia is ready to resume dialogue with NATO

Armenia opposition MP on FM's resignation

India records lowest increase in COVID-19 cases in 50 days

Bright Armenia faction in parliament: No response to acting PM's proposal to deploy observers along Azerbaijan border

Ruling bloc MP: Acting premiers proposal does not limit Armenia in terms of cooperation with CSTO

Acting PM is proud of Armenian servicemens heroism, says parliament majority leader

Parliament majority leader: No border delimitation unless Azerbaijan army units leave Armenia territory

Outgoing Armenia acting FM opens brackets: My decision of resignation was conditioned by that very reason

Harutyunyan, Shoygu discuss tension on Armenia-Azerbaijan border

Iranian MFA says US has not imported oil from country since Clinton era

Court hearing on appeal against decision to drop March 2008 Yerevan tragedy case is rescheduled

Missing soldiers relatives block Yerevan street

Parliament majority leader: Armenia acting FM did not object, at Security Council meeting, to new document

Armenia Police: 2,581,093 people on voters list

Bright Armenia faction of parliament: No corridor through the country should be provided to Azerbaijan

Analyst: Armenia acting PM Pashinyan gave self-confessed testimony

Armenia national security finds about 1 kg of opium, detains Iran citizen driver and 2 others

182 hearing aids and 2 buses by benefactor Mikayel Vardanyan for students of Special Educational Complex

34 new cases of COVID-19 confirmed in Armenia

Updated voters list is posted on Armenia central election commission website

Armenia authorities provide considerable amount of subsidies ahead of snap parliamentary elections

World oil prices on the rise

MP explains his not being on Bright Armenia Party electoral list

UK new flagship set to be named after the late Prince Philip

US man who said he shot neighbor over loud music found guilty of attempted murder

Lamborghini company to be sold for $11.5bn?

China spacecraft docks with future space station

Lawyer: Armenia acting PM Pashinyan grossly abuses administrative resources during Lori Province visit

UN urges to investigate escalation of violence in Colombia

Malaysia to open mega-centers for vaccination against coronavirus

Police find  5 million in cash in London apartment

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Iranian Central Bank governor dismissed

Armenian opposition: The one who liberated Artsakh will not go to debates with the one who sold it

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No new COVID-19 cases reported in Artsakh

Iran and Iraq to intensify cooperation and are ready for joint investment projects

Armenia ex-PM says at least 2 more secret documents signed but not published yet

Indonesia frees Iranian tanker 4 months later

Mortar shelling in Afghanistan kills at least 10 civilians

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Armenia ex-president says current authorities are trying to blame Russia for defeat in war

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Stormont ministers are set for crunch talks with the UK Government over who will foot a potential 1.2 billion bill for a delayed Troubles victims payment scheme.

Several ministers from the powersharing executive will have a meeting with Northern Ireland Secretary Brandon Lewis on Tuesday as the clock continues to count down on a court deadline for a resolution to the funding impasse.

Deputy First Minister Michelle ONeill, who will take part, told the Assembly on Monday that ministers had been trying to secure the meeting with Mr Lewis for five months.

She said she wanted Tuesdays exchanges, which will also involve First Minister Arlene Foster, Finance Minister Conor Murphy and Justice Minister Naomi Long, to deliver an outcome to the funding dispute.

Earlier this month, the Court of Appeal in Belfast ruled that Stormont was under a legal duty to fund the payment scheme for those who suffered physical and psychological injuries during the Troubles.

It made no finding on the source of that funding and gave the executive and Northern Ireland Office four weeks to find an agreed solution.

Expand Close Deputy First Minister Michelle ONeill (Liam McBurney/PA) PA / Facebook

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Whatsapp Deputy First Minister Michelle ONeill (Liam McBurney/PA)

Ms ONeill said the executive was maintaining its position that the UK Government should fund the new scheme.

During Assembly question time, Ms ONeill said: It remains our firm view that the scheme should be funded by the Westminster Government as an addition to the block grant.

Without additional funding for the scheme through the block grant the executive will be faced with very significant funding pressures.

Ms ONeill said the executive would continue to fund required set-up costs for the scheme while the negotiations with Government continued.

She said the remit and costs of the scheme had widened significantly from those agreed by Stormont parties in 2014.

She said the executive had received costing predictions from the Governments Actuary Department based on numbers provided by the Executive Office.

Ms ONeill said those ranged from 600 million to 1.2 billion, with a central estimate of 848 million.

That shows the level of challenge which this executive would have to face in terms of trying to fund the scheme, which is why we need the British Government to fund something which they themselves brought forward policy for and took policy decisions on, she said.

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Whatsapp Finance Minister Conor Murphy (Presseye/PA)

The deputy First Minister highlighted that the UK Governments own policy was to fund initiatives it legislated for.

The Government has insisted that the executive needs to pay for the scheme, insisting that it was only legislated for at Westminster because the powersharing institutions were collapsed at the time.

The executive is absolutely committed to paying and delivering upon the scheme  how the scheme is resourced however is a political question and its a question that needs that urgent focus from the British Government and from Brandon Lewis in particular, Ms ONeill said.

It also requires an immediate political solution because, as Ive said earlier, victims have had to wait for far too long.

Later, Finance Minister Mr Murphy said: Clearly those costs make it hugely challenging if not unaffordable for an Executive to carry this burden alone, not to mention the fact that it is contrary to the British Governments own policy, having set the policy and legislated for it, he told MLAs.

Mr Murphy said the Executive paying for the whole scheme will have a serious knock-on implication for other public services.

Thats not to play off victims and what they deserve and need against public services, because that would be a very cruel thing for the Government to try and do on us, he said.

Mr Murphy said he and his Executive colleagues are committed to ensuring the delivery of the victims payment scheme, and has allocated 6.7 million towards preparation costs for the scheme in the coming year.

The wider payments issue required urgent attention, he said.

The scheme should have been open for applications at the end of May last year.

The Victims Payment Scheme is estimated at costing between A600million to A1.2billion: RFJ responds https://t.co/HXFrm09J5J  Relatives 4 Justice (@RelsForJustice) February 22, 2021

It was first delayed when Sinn Fein refused to designate a Stormont department to administer it, after objecting to Government eligibility criteria that excluded former paramilitaries convicted of causing serious harm.

Ms ONeill eventually agreed to nominate a department last August following a highly critical court judgment that found she had been acting unlawfully.

However, the separate stand-off involving the Government and the wider Stormont Executive over funding remains unresolved.

Relatives for Justice chief executive Mark Thompson called on Mr Lewis to stop stalling.

Across the globe transitional societies have embraced the principle of reparation for conflict harms, yet the Westminster Government has stubbornly refused to act on its obligations to our injured from our recent conflict, he said.

It has acted particularly perniciously by incorporating numerous discriminations in the scheme regulations.

It is clear that the scheme requires significant funding that far exceeds block grant capacity.

It is time for the British secretary of state to sit down and make fiscal commitments to this scheme and put an end to its obfuscation.

A UK Government spokesperson said: The Secretary of State has been consistent in his support for the Victims Payments Scheme. He has always been clear that the devolved funding settlement means that the Executive is funded through the block grant, together with its own revenue-raising capabilities to deliver its statutory responsibilities, including this scheme.

The UK Government has provided unprecedented levels of funding to the Northern Ireland Executive this year. The spending review for 21/22 provides a further increase in funding for the Executive of more than 900 million.


KYODO NEWS - Feb 22, 2021 - 12:27 | All, Japan, Coronavirus

Japan is considering introducing waiting lists for COVID-19 vaccinations to avoid waste, the minister in charge of inoculation effort said Sunday as the country prepares to expand the program's scope.

"We should prioritize not wasting vaccines, rather than sticking to the priority order" of inoculation, when scheduled vaccinations are canceled at the last minute, administrative and regulatory reform minister Taro Kono said on an evening TV program.

Kono indicated the central government will call on municipalities tasked with administering shots to come up with waiting list systems.

Related coverage:

Japan minister warns of slower pace of COVID vaccine shots for elderly

Hives, chills reported following COVID-19 vaccination in Japan

Last week, Japan launched its initial phase of inoculation for 40,000 health care workers with a vaccine developed by U.S. drugmaker Pfizer Inc. and its German partner BioNTech SE.

A further 4.7 million frontline health workers are to begin receiving shots in March, followed by 36 million people aged 65 or older from April. Then, people with pre-existing conditions such as diabetes or heart disease and those working at elderly care facilities will come next, and finally the general population.

Kono also cast doubt on the idea of using COVID-19 vaccine certification for official purposes, including using it as a kind of vaccine passport to permit international travel, saying to do so would discriminate against those who cannot be inoculated against the respiratory disease caused by the novel coronavirus because of allergy.

"I don't think the international community will introduce a system preventing people from doing something unless they get shots," the former foreign minister said.
Summer is far from over as large swathes of Australia are blasted with sweltering 40C-plus temperatures.

Much of Queensland has been hit by a severe heatwave as temperatures soared by up to 10C degrees above the February average in southern and central regions.

There's also no relief in sight for the week-long heatwave in Western Australia, where Perth will reach a scorching top of 39C on Monday.

Maximum temperatures in Western Australia's capital are forecast to remain above the mid 30s until at least next Sunday with no sign of rain on the horizon.

Queenslanders have been urged to stay cool and hydrated as sweltering conditions continue to blast the state for the next two days.

Rockhampton in the state's central region is on track to record its hottest February day in 52 years on Monday with the mercury tipped to hit 41C.

Many Queenslanders will flock to rivers and beaches to escape the heat on Monday. Pictured is Upper Stoney Creek at Byfield near Rockhampton, where the mercury will hit 41C

The last time Rockhampton Airport recorded 41C in February was in 1969.

'The temperature will be 10C above Rockhampton's February average of 31.4C,' Bureau of Meteorology forecaster Rosa Hoss told Daily Mail Australia.

The city's hottest day on record was in November 1990 when the mercury reached 45.3C.

Rockhampton won't be the hottest place in Queensland on Monday with outback towns further inland such as Bedourie, Birdsville and Windorah all tipped to soar past 43C.

Queenslanders closer to the coast will flock to the beach with the Gold Coast tipped to hit 31C and Brisbane to reach a high of 34C, five degrees above the month;y average.

Rockhampton will drop to 38C on Tuesday before cooling down to 33C from Wednesday onwards.

'The heatwave is the result of very warm inland air moving closer to the coast, which will gradually ease in the state's southern and central regions,' Ms Hoss said.

Large swathes of Australia (in red) will swelter in 35C-plus temperatures on Monday, including much of Western Australia and Queensland.

Not all of Australia is feeling the heat.

South of the Queensland border, Sydney will reach a 27C on Monday while Canberra will reach 28C

A cold front is expected to sweep across NSW late Monday, with temperatures dropping by about 10C.

A low pressure trough sitting off the NSW coast continues to dump rain on the state's north and mid-north, with little relief in sight for two days.

A marine wind warning remains in place for the NSW north coast along with a hazardous surf warning for much of the state.

Thousands of Queenslanders will flock to the beach on Monday. Pictured is a packed beach on the Gold Coast, where the temperature will hit 31C

Melburnians are enjoying a cool reprieve from the recent warm weather with a top of a 21C and a 40 per cent chance of showers.

Adelaide will be partly cloudy with a top of 23C as will Hobart which will only reach 20C.

A broad trough and lows across the tropics has seen heavy rain and storms in the Northern Territory.

Residents in the outback town of Katherine are on alert after heavy rain pushed the local river to its highest level in four years.

More than 250mm of rain fell in the Katherine River catchment has fallen over the past three days.

A week-long heatwave continues in Western Australia with Perth to hit 39C on Monday. Pictured are visitors cooling off at Rottnest Island
[February 22, 2021] Retired U.S. Army Colonel and Medal of Honor Recipient Jack H. Jacobs Joins Quantum Xchange's Advisory Board

BETHESDA, Md., Feb. 22, 2021 /PRNewswire/ -- Quantum Xchange, a leader in quantum-safe products and services for crypto agility and quantum readiness, today announced that Jack H. Jacobs has joined the company's advisory board. Jacobs is a retired colonel in the United States Army and a Medal of Honor recipient for his actions during the Vietnam War. He serves as a military analyst for NBC News and MSNBC and previously worked as an investment manager. After retiring in 1987 from a highly acclaimed military career where he earned three Bronze Stars, two Silver Stars and the beforementioned Medal of Honor, the nation's highest combat decoration, Jacobs began a successful career in investment banking holding Managing Director positions at Bankers Trust, and subsequently, Lehman Brothers. His memoir, "If Not Now, When? Duty and Sacrifice in America's Time of Need" won the 2010 Colby Award. Jacobs has also held faculty positions at the U.S. Military Academy and the National War College and was inducted into the New Jersey Hall of Fame in 2016 for his contributions to society and the world beyond. "We are delighted to welcome Jack Jacobs to Quantum Xchange's board of advisors," said Eddy Zervigon, CEO of Quantum Xchange. "Jack's impressive career as both a military commander and business leader will be extremely valuable to the company as we work to educate, partner, and sell our quantum-safe security to leading commerial enterprises and government agencies. Jack's first-hand national security experience will help direct our efforts to shape U.S. policy on quantum information science and win the Sputnik-like race for quantum dominance against our adversaries."



Advancements in emerging technologies like quantum information science, are considered critical to the country's national security position, including military, intelligence, and economic interest. The power of a quantum computer will bring tremendous commercial, scientific, and social breakthroughs but are also fraught with the potential for nefarious use. To remain competitive and safeguarded from the risks associated with global advances is computing and mathematics, the U.S. must prioritize the development of quantum computers while also increasing its ability to defend against them. Quantum Xchange makes this easy with its groundbreaking Phio Trusted Xchange (TX) key distribution system  that allows organizations to dramatically enhance the security of their existing crypto environment and be quantum-ready for the cyberattacks of tomorrow. Jacobs's advisory role is the latest in a series of announcements made by Quantum Xchange illustrating high-profile interest in the company and its innovative approach to future-proofing the security of data by helping organizations easily prepare for the quantum age and Q-Day  when a quantum computer breaks the encryption standards that protect most of our digital world and national secrets. This includes the recent appointment of John N. Stewart, former Senior Vice President and Chief Security and Trust Officer at Cisco to the Quantum Xchange board of directors, an initial close on $13.5 million in Series A financing, and the appointment of new leadership to the roles of CEO, CFO and CTO.

About Quantum Xchange

Quantum Xchange gives commercial enterprises and government agencies the ultimate solution for protecting data in motion. Its key distribution system, Phio Trusted Xchange (TX), is uniquely capable of making existing encryption keys quantum safe and supports both post-quantum crypto (PQC) and Quantum Key Distribution (QKD) for true crypto agility and quantum readiness. With Phio TX's dynamic security infrastructure in place, organizations can enhance their existing encryption environment, meet evolving data security and privacy requirements, select the level of protection needed based on their risk tolerance, and if desired seamlessly scale to QKD at any time, across any distance, between multiple transmission points. To learn more about being quantum-safe today and quantum-ready for tomorrow's threats, visit QuantumXC.com or follow us on Twitter @Quantum_Xchange #BeQuantumSafe. Media Contact:

April H. Burghardt

VP of Corporate Communications

646-246-0484

april.burghardt@quantumxc.com View original content:http://www.prnewswire.com/news-releases/retired-us-army-colonel-and-medal-of-honor-recipient-jack-h-jacobs-joins-quantum-xchanges-advisory-board-301232353.html SOURCE Quantum Xchange

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The French government has accused the mayor of Lyon of insulting the country's farmers after he removed meat from school lunches in the city.

Mayor Gregory Doucet said the meat ban was to ensure a streamlined menu against the backdrop of Covid-19 restrictions during school lunchtimes.

He promised school menus in France's second largest city would still include fish and eggs.

But the French government has accused Mr Doucet, a Green party member, of trying to promote vegetarianism.

Agriculture Minister Julien Denormandie said on Twitter: Lets stop putting ideology on our childrens plates.

Lets just give them what they need to grow well. Meat is part of it.

Arretons de mettre de lideologie dans lassiette de nos enfants !

Donnons-leur simplement ce dont ils ont besoin pour bien grandir. La viande en fait partie.

Jai saisi le Prefet du Rhone. https://t.co/Kiw0v5ZaNC  Julien Denormandie (@J_Denormandie) February 21, 2021

Interior Minister Gerald Darmanin added that it was an 'unacceptable insult' to the country's farmers and butchers.

We can see that the moralising and elitist policy of the Greens excludes the popular classes.

"Many children often only get to eat meat at the school canteen.

Mr Doucet hit back on Sunday (21 February) by saying his right wing predecessor introduced the same measure during the first wave of the pandemic, in 2020.

France has had a rocky relationship with vegetarianism: in 2018, the government passed a law preventing vegetarian products from being labelled in the same way as traditional animal products.
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In a shocking footage, a man caught on CCTV, can be seen snatching a gun from shopper's pocket and then holding him at gunpoint in Detroit, U.S.

According to WDIV-TV, the robbery happened at a gas station. Police said two unknown suspects exited a black car and entered the gas station. Once they were inside, one suspect held the door open while the other grabbed a gun from a 53-year-old man speaking to the cashier.

Fox News

The suspect then aimed a different handgun and pointed at the victim before fleeing the scene.



The suspect, who appears to be with an accomplice who held the door open, rushes out of the convenience store and into a black car with no license plate.

On February 12, the suspect who has been identified as Marcus Brown, was charged in connection with a shooting that left a 19-year-old man critically wounded at a different gas station on January 27, as per The Detroit News.

Also read: 24-Year-Old Man Robs Auto Rickshaw Driver Of Rs 85 At Gun Point, In South Delhi

Fox News

The victim told police that three men in black masks confronted him at a gas station on Eight Mile and Glastonbury just before midnight on January 26.



One of the men was armed with a handgun and shot him, according to the outlet. The three men were then seen fleeing south on Glastonbury.

The victim was rushed to a nearby hospital, where he was listed in critical condition. Brown was arrested on February 9 during a traffic stop near the West McNichols and Stout area.

Also read: Not Toilet Paper, Americans Are Panic-Buying Guns And Ammo In Response To Coronavirus

Representational Image/Detroit News

The Detroit Police Department released a video of the January 28 incident, asking the public for help in finding the man seen stealing a gun from a licensed man.



Police later realized, however, that the man they were looking for was in custody for a separate crime.

As per the report, Brown has been charged with one count of assault with intent to murder, one count of assault with intent to do great bodily harm less than murder, one count of weapons firearms possession by felon and three counts of weapons felony firearm.

Also read: Here's Why Police Officers In Japan Keep Forgetting Their Guns In Public Restrooms
On the occasion of the 176th anniversary of the first arrival of Indian immigrant labourers to these shores, I intend to comment briefly, through a couple of letters to the press, on the current status of Indo-Trinidadians after their presence here for over a century and a half. They may be regarded as ethnic-focused, divisive and contentious, or may be deemed irrelevant and inconsequential in these times.





The Daily News-Miner encourages residents to make themselves heard through the Opinion pages. Readers' letters and columns also appear online at newsminer.com. Contact the editor with questions at letters@newsminer.com or call 459-7574.

Community Perspective

Send Community Perspective submissions by mail (P.O. Box 70710, Fairbanks AK 99707) or via email (letters@newsminer.com). Submissions must be 500 to 750 words. Columns are welcome on a wide range of issues and should be well-written and well-researched with attribution of sources. Include a full name, email address, daytime telephone number and headshot photograph suitable for publication (email jpg or tiff files at 150 dpi.) You may also schedule a photo to be taken at the News-Miner office. The News-Miner reserves the right to edit submissions or to reject those of poor quality or taste without consulting the writer.

Letters to the editor

Send letters to the editor by mail (P.O. Box 70710, Fairbanks AK 99707), by fax (907-452-7917) or via email (letters@newsminer.com). Writers are limited to one letter every two weeks (14 days.) All letters must contain no more than 350 words and include a full name (no abbreviation), daytime and evening phone numbers and physical address. (If no phone, then provide a mailing address or email address.) The Daily News-Miner reserves the right to edit or reject letters without consulting the writer.
London: Britain will on Monday, local time, call for the United Nations to be given urgent and unfettered access to Xinjiang to investigate reports of abuses in the Chinese region. China, meanwhile, has called for a reset in Sino-US relations with Biden administration.

British Foreign Secretary Dominic Raab will also mark Britains return to the UN Human Rights Council as a voting member by condemning the rights record of fellow council members China and Russia and will raise concerns about Myanmar and Belarus, his office said.

Dominic Raab, UK Foreign Secretary, in London on Tuesday. Credit:Bloomberg

On China, Raab will refer to reports of abuses in Xinjiang, including torture, forced labour and forced sterilisation of women. They are taking place on an industrial scale, he will say, according to his office.

The UN High Commissioner for Human Rights, or another independent fact-finding expert, must  and I repeat must  be given urgent and unfettered access to Xinjiang, he will say.
The Egyptian market is set to witness an expansion of transportation projects based on the public-private partnership (PPP) to achieve inclusive and sustainable development, Minister of Finance Mohamed Maait announced on Sunday.

Maait said that the achievements that Egypt attained over the past five years have led to the country to shoot up more than 50 places on the Doing Business reports transport sector index.

The private sector is the key driver of Egypts growth through financing the projects that create hundreds of thousands of job opportunities, which increases the consuming average and pushes the production process and uplifts citizens living standards, said Maait.

He added that a new draft law has been submitted to parliament that includes amendments to the law that organises partnership with the private sector in infrastructure, services and public utilities with the aim of increasing cooperation with the private sector in implementing development projects and lightening the load on the state budget.

Minister of Transport Kamel El-Wazir asserted the imperative role the private sector plays in Egypt in implementing the states developmental projects.

He added that the ministry has a significant number of projects in which the private sector should participate and invest, including establishing logistic centres and dry ports in New Beni Sweif, 10th of Ramadan City, New Sohag, and El-Salloum.

Short link:


New Delhi, Feb 22 : The Supreme Court on Monday expressed dissatisfaction withh the Centre for not submitting a response for more than a year, on a plea by senior Congress leader Jairam Ramesh challenging the 2019 RTI Amendment Act.

A bench comprising Justices D.Y. Chandrachud and M. R. Shah noted that a notice was issued in the matter in January last year. Advocate Kanu Agarwal, representing the Centre, sought time to file reply. Citing the notice last year, the bench asked why no counter-affidavit has been filed in over a year.

"This is a very important matter," it noted. After a brief hearing in the matter, the top court granted two weeks to Centre to file a reply and fixed the matter for final disposal after two weeks.

Ramesh had claimed the amendment to the RTI Act violates the object of the parent statue, by altering the architecture of independence of Information Commissioners, and also infringed fundamental right to information guaranteed under the Constitution.

The plea, filed through advocate Sunil Fernandes, also contended that assuming the RTI Amendment Act merely delegated rule-making power to the Central government without thwarting the independence of Information Commissioners, "its accompanying RTI Rules complete the destruction of the independence of Information Commissioners".

The Right to Information (Amendment) Act 2 gives power to the government to prescribe tenure, allowances and salary of Information Commissioners, and run contrary to the statement of objects and reasons (SOR) of the RTI Act, 2005, it said.

"The decision of the Central government is binding upon the Information Commissioners. This allows unbridled and uncanalised discretionary power to the Central Government that jeopardises the independence of Information Commissioners," said Ramesh's plea.

The plea cited Rule 22 of the amendment RTI Act, which empowers the Centre with the discretionary "power to relax" the applicability of the provisions of RTI Rules for any class or category of persons in the Central Information Commission (CIC) and State Information Commission (SIC). This is an alarming concern about the government's potential to invoke excessive powers to determine selective tenures, terms and conditions for different Chief Information Commissioner and Information Commissioners at the time of appointment, as per its whims and fancies.

Citing Rule 23, the petition said: "Under this rule, the final interpreter of all the rules rests with the Central government. This grants the Central government excessive power over governing the salaries, allowances and service conditions of Information Commissioners."
Stormy Daniels (Stephanie Clifford) and Michael Avenatti, attorney for Stormy Daniels, speak to the media as they exit the United States District Court Southern District of New York for a hearing related to Michael Cohen, President Trump's longtime personal attorney and confidante, in New York City on April 16, 2018. (Drew Angerer/Getty Images)

Supreme Court Rejects Stormy Danielss Defamation Lawsuit Against Trump

The Supreme Court on Feb. 22 turned down hearing a defamation lawsuit filed by Stormy Daniels against former President Donald Trump.

Daniels sued Trump in 2018 and alleged that he defamed her. Trump previously publicly denied her previous allegations amid heavy media coverage of Danielss claims.

The Supreme Court (pdf) didnt offer an explanation for why it dismissed the case.

Daniels, whose real name is Stephanie Clifford, filed the lawsuit after Trump ridiculed a sketch of a man who she said threatened her in 2011 about her claims about Trump.

Trump at the time in 2018 reposted a womans tweet featuring the sketch alongside a photo of Stormy Danielss husband, Glendon Crain, whom the woman said resembled the sketch. Trump wrote: A sketch years later about a nonexistent man. A total con job, playing the Fake News Media for Fools (but they know it)!

Danielss suit pertained to the former presidents tweet, which was deleted along with Trumps account last month by Twitter.

Danielss lawsuit was rejected in lower courts before it reached the nations highest court.

The case was dismissed in the 9th Circuit Court of Appeals, which stated that because his tweet could not reasonably be read as asserting that Ms. Clifford committed a crime, this theory of defamation is not viable.

Viewed through the eyes of an objectively reasonable reader, the tweet here reflects Mr. Trumps opinion about the implications of the allegedly similar appearances of Ms. Cliffords ex-husband and the man in the sketch, the 9th Circuit panel wrote, adding that Trumps social media remark was an an opinion and said that statements of opinion cannot form the basis of a defamation claim.

The court also rejected Danielss allegation that Trumps con job reference was tantamount to accusing her of fraud.

It would be clear to a reasonable reader that the tweet was not accusing Clifford of actually committing criminal activity, the opinion said. Instead, as used in this context, the term con job could not be interpreted as anything more than a colorful expression of rhetorical hyperbole.

Daniels, who is now 41, was previously represented by lawyer Michael Avenatti, who claimed he would run for president in 2020 but was convicted last year for attempting to extort millions of dollars from Nike. His sentencing is in May.

Also on Feb. 22, the Supreme Court ruled that Trumps taxes and other financial records can be released to a grand jury convened by Manhattan District Attorney Cyrus Vance, a Democrat. Trumps lawyers had argued that the assertion that his taxes should be reviewed was done in bad faith and amounted to overreach.

The case is Clifford v. Trump, 20-602.

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Today, the ancient Tiwa Pueblo at Kuaua has a museum and visitor center. Coronado State Monument was changed to the current Coronado Historic Site by the state of New Mexico. In August 2017, a metal detection survey revealed evidence of such artifacts as lead balls, crossbow arrow tips, copper and chain-mail armor. New discoveries by archaeologist Dr. Clay Matthews confirm Coronados presence in 1540. Coronados own testimony concerning his expedition as found in his written journals include his battles at pueblo sites. At his battle at Arenal, 200 pueblo Indians were burned at the stake. At Moho, Coronado ordered the hands and noses of his victims be cut off.

The Spanish battle cry Santiago! echoes an eternity of human suffering justified in the name of Saint James. Coronado was later put on trial for war crimes and acquitted. Historians note that in 1554, eight and a half years after his acquittal, Coronado died of a contagious disease at the age of 43. Poetic justice.

It is only right that demand be made to change the name of the Coronado Historic Site to its original Tiwa name of Kuaua. The name Coronado will forever symbolize political power and will greet visitors with a brutal history of violence. Francisco Vasquez de Coronado does not deserve to be honored. Shame on New Mexico.

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In this day it is possible to be proud of our ancestors sacrifices, determination and resolve. The oral history of the Pueblo of Santa Ana, as recounted in The People, the Pueblo and the History of Tamaya by Bayer & Montoya, UNM 1994, tells the story. Floyd Montoya, a tribal member, died years ago. His contributions to that book are greatly appreciated.

In 1709 and continuing through the 18th century, Santa Ana was the first pueblo to successfully purchase its former lands back from the Spanish. The best documented purchase in 1763 is of the Ranchito Grant from Quiterra Contreras, the widow of Cristobal Martinez Gallego, and her son Mariano Martinez, who were willing to sell to Santa Ana Pueblo. The purchase brought the reservation to its present size of about 79,000 acres on both sides of the Rio Grande. Documents relating to Santa Anas purchase are in the official records of the Spanish archives.

Our ancestors made wise decisions so we might retain what little land we now hold in trust. Now it is time for the younger generation to carry on the struggle to protect our sacred lands from the encroachment of the outside world.

Spanish archives indicate there were 99 Indian pueblos in New Mexico. Eighty pueblos were destroyed and never repopulated. There was a 90% decrease in population within a period of only 20 years. Today the 20 pueblos remain intact  the Tigua Nation in El Paso is the 20th member of the All Pueblo Council of Governors. By 1690 the Santa Ana population was at 90 survivors. The 2020 Census now totals 900 tribal members.

A testament to our survival is a written narrative in an official scenic historical marker that needs to be revised to tell our story. Change the narrative.

The effects of historical traumas are still evident today by the secrecy under which our religious beliefs are practiced. After four centuries of resistance, our ceremonies are still strong and vibrant. The Keres language is still spoken. The sacred kivas are still intact. We are now battling this new challenge  the coronavirus pandemic, COVID-19  to protect our people, our elders. We are fulfilling our ancestors wishes, with their core values guiding us spiritually as it did them in 1540. Ammu Hanu Sicti, Ammu Hanu Sicti. We mourn for our people. We are still here among the living.

The opinions expressed in this commentary do not represent the Santa Ana Tribal Council nor the All Indian Pueblo Council of Governors.

Armenia Investigative Committee: Fatal road accident, criminal case opened

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Nearly three in five (58%) Irish businesses face a number of significant barriers in relation to the adoption of technology, despite a willingness to invest. This is according to a report published by Vodafone Ireland working in collaboration with economist, Stephen Kinsella.

The report, which follows a study of 500 SMEs operating in rural and urban areas in Ireland and across a wide range of industries, examines how the sector has adapted to the COVID-19 crisis. Though cost is the highest obstacle (37%), trust in suppliers (36%), integration with older systems (32%), and having the right in-house capabilities (28%), are also common issues for Irish SMEs wanting to invest.

Ireland sits mid-table for the level of digitalisation of its firms versus other European countries  behind Denmark, Croatia, Malta, Latvia and Lithuania. Nearly half (49%) of Latvian firms, for example, are described as having a high use of technology, versus only 31% of Irish firms. According to the report, only 19% of smaller Irish firms are highly digitalised, while just 24% of larger firms are.

According to a Eurofound study in 2019, just 30% of small firms in Ireland (10-49 employees) report that they sell online. For larger firms (50-249 employees) that number jumps to 38%. This compares to 53% for larger firms in Finland, and in Slovakia, where smaller firms sell more online (42%) than larger firms (39%). Interestingly, however, sentiment in Ireland appears much more certain in relation to economic policy than other markets.

The report also shows that while Ireland experienced large amounts of volatility caused by COVID-19, both Germany and the wider EU experienced a degree more since February 2020. The latest Economic Policy Uncertainty Index shows Ireland at 285, Europe at 327, and Germany at 387, highlighting a strong difference in the levels of uncertainty in Ireland, relative to Germany.

This suggests Ireland was able to communicate policy certainty more adequately than its EU counterparts, due to strong policy supports by the Government. According to the survey, more than 80% of SMEs accessed a Government service during the period and interestingly, 27% felt that the Government was providing enough support.



Vodafone says Ireland has much to learn from small, highly digitalised EU countries like Denmark, Croatia, Malta, Latvia, Lithuania, and Estonia. These countries feature highly digitalised SMEs which use lots of different technologies to build, buy, and sell.

In addition to challenges to the adoption of new technologies, Vodafone warns Irish SMEs require a significant need to upskill employees in the coming years, especially in relation to digital skills. One quarter of SMEs lack confidence in the digital skills of their employees and almost half plan to invest in digital skills training and development. This rises to 65% for larger SMEs.



Commenting on the report, CEO of Vodafone Ireland, Anne OLeary said, "The tenacity, determination and innovation of Irish SMEs to carry on and to turn uncertainty into opportunity came through strongly in our study. After some big changes to the way we work, many organisations are now doing business safely and successfully and thinking about what comes next. Digitalisation was identified as a key driver for this recovery, with noteworthy growth potential for Irish SMEs who engage in digital transformation."

She added, "However, as has been captured, due to the demographic make-up of Irish SMEs, of which the vast majority are micro-businesses, their ability to make the capital investment required is challenging. Therefore, as the cornerstone of Irelands economy and a core driver of post pandemic economic recovery, it is of the utmost importance that financial support and practical policies are in place to allow SMEs invest in digitalisation and compete with EU and global SMEs within the digital economy."

Source: www.businessworld.ie
Prime Minister Narendra Modi on Monday inaugurated the extension of Kolkata Metro's North-South Line from Noapara to Dakshineswar, famous for temple of Goddess Kali.

Modi had earlier called the project (Noapara to Dakshineswar metro railway extension) special as "it will improve access to the sacred Maa Kali Temples at Kalighat and Dakshineswar."

The prime minister was in the state of West Bengal to flag off several development projects including the Kolkata metro line, which is a 4.1 km stretch constructed at a cost of 464 crore.

He flagged off a train from Noapara to Dakshineswar from a programme in the Hooghly district.

Modi also dedicated to the nation the third line between Kalaikunda and Jhargram, doubling of Azimganj to Khagraghat Road section, fourth line between Dankuni and Baruipara, and the third line between Rasulpur and Magra.

He said the new lines will reduce congestion and ensure better connectivity.

The inauguration will help connect thousands of people in the 4.1 km stretch between Noapara and Dakshineswar.

Apart from regular passengers, devotees intending to visit Dakshineswar Kali temple will also be facilitated with a fast and pollution-free travel mode following the extension of the Metro Railway in its north-south axis.

Passengers from Kavi Subhash station in the southern end will be able to travel to Dakshineswar in just over an hour, traversing 31.3 km, a Metro official said.

The prime minister is also scheduled to hold a public meeting at Dunlop Maidan in Hooghly.

While addressing a public meeting in Hooghly, Prime Minister said, "Today, Bengal is taking a big step to prove its resolve for fast development. Last time I came here to give you the gift of gas connectivity and infrastructure projects. Today, important works to strengthen rail and metro connectivity are going to be inaugurated," PM Modi said.

"Modern highways, railways, airways, infrastructure of many countries helped those nations to become modern, where it became a major cause for positive change. Our country should have done the same thing decades ago. But it did not happen," he added.

Addressing the huge crowd at the meeting, PM Modi said, "This enthusiasm and energy by all of you is sending a message from Kolkata to Delhi. Now West Bengal has made up its mind for 'poriborton' (change)."

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WASHINGTON  Beijing wasted no time in greeting the new U.S. administration with an escalation of Chinas high-risk obnoxiousness. On the fourth day of Joe Bidens presidency, Chinese fighter and bomber aircraft simulated an attack on the USS Theodore Roosevelt aircraft carrier group as it sailed into the South China Sea.

The pugnacious 26th president for whom the carrier is named would have applauded several of the 46th presidents initial decisions regarding China. Biden got Beijings attention by inviting Taiwans representative in Washington to attend the inauguration, the first such invitation since U.S.-China relations were normalized in 1979. And Roosevelt would have loved Bidens sending of the carrier group. Later this year, a British carrier will participate in exercises with the U.S. Navy. Allies matter.

Biden has an appropriate secretary of state. Antony Blinkens first conversation, by telephone, with his Chinese counterpart, Yang Jiechi, was so sandpapery that Yang blustered to Blinken, No one can stop the great rejuvenation of the Chinese nation. Nations prickly about their need for rejuvenation (Deutschland, erwache!  Germany, awake!  was a Nazi mantra) betray a truculent sense of inferiority. China today has much to feel inferior about.

Blinkens predecessor as secretary of state, Mike Pompeo, formally designated as genocide Beijings treatment of more than 1 million Uighurs in concentration camps. Pompeo thereby made national policy of a judgment that candidate Biden voiced in August 2020, and that Blinken affirmed during his confirmation hearing.

Blinkens warning to Yang that Washington would hold Beijing accountable for its abuses occurred three days after a BBC report on gang rapes and torture (including electric prods inserted in vaginas and rectums) of Uighurs in rooms without cameras, as well as forced sterilizations, forcible implantations of IUDs and denials of food to those who inaccurately memorized passages from books praising President Xi Jinping. Chinas Goebbelsesque embassy in Washington says the minds of Uighur women are being emancipated, that Beijings measures are promoting gender equality and reproductive health, and are making Uighur women more confident and independent and no longer baby-making machines.

The Convention on the Prevention and Punishment of the Crime of Genocide says the crime includes inflicting on a group conditions of life calculated to bring about its physical destruction in whole or in part and imposing measures intended to prevent births within the group. Signatory nations are committed to imposing effective penalties.

These should begin with an immediate announcement of a boycott of the 2022 Winter Olympics in Beijing, whose current viciousness is comparable to that of Germany at the time of the 1936 Summer Olympics in Berlin. And there should be at least public shaming of U.S. corporations which, while ostentatiously woke at home, seem not to think that Uighur lives matter. Let us identify corporations that import goods made with forced Uighur labor or export to China goods (e.g., surveillance technologies) that could facilitate Beijings genocide.

Twenty percent of the worlds cotton comes from Xinjiang, the region of the genocide: How many U.S. clothing brands are using products of forced labor? The Uyghur Forced Labor Prevention Act, which last year had 87 co-sponsors in the House and 33 in the Senate, would create a statutory presumption that products from Xinjiang are produced by forced labor. Which U.S. corporations will lobby against this bill?

While China screws down the lid of tyranny on Hong Kong  making schools instruments of political indoctrination; removing library books that endanger national security  Beijing continues to add to the (at least) 380 Uighur re-education camps. If U.S. transactions  diplomatic and commercial  with China are unaffected by the finding of genocide, this will, in the words of Eugene Kontorovich of George Mason Universitys Scalia Law School, make a joke out of genocide.

Primo Levi, an Auschwitz survivor, said: It happened, therefore it can happen again. U.S. policy insists that genocide is happening in a nation woven into the fabric of world commerce. China is crucial to globalizations supply chains, but these chains are also crucial to China. They can be instruments of political leverage for the United States and other signatories to the aforementioned convention who are committed to take measures to prevent and to punish genocide.

Americans usual preference regarding foreign policy is to have as little of it as possible. Presidents, however, do not have that luxury. Biden is keeping his promise of sturdy resistance to China. But his difficult choices have just begun.

GEORGE WILL writes for The Washington Post.
Habitat for Humanity of Greater Chattanooga joined hundreds of affiliate organizations and home affordability advocates last week for Habitat for Humanitys annual legislative conference, held virtually for the first time: Habitat on the Hill 2021: For home, from home.

The three-day event, normally held in Washington, D.C., provided advocates an opportunity to speak with congressional leaders and discuss actionable solutions to the rally with one another. Habitats Cost of Home advocacy campaign deepens their role in addressing home affordability challenges that have been further exacerbated by COVID-19. Habitat on the Hill meetings focused heavily on historic and systemic racism in housing policy and how the pandemics economic disparities have created a critical need for immediate and long-term housing relief.

In some way, 2020 has impacted us all, said David Butler, president and CEO of Habitat for Humanity of Greater Chattanooga. However, the past year was particularly hard for many Americans who were already struggling with a growing housing crisis amidst a global pandemic. The conversations we had with Senator Blackburn and Senator Hagertys staff along with Rep. Fleischmann last week were extremely encouraging. We hope these conversations will lead to changes throughout our community and nation.

The federal legislators were encouraged to invest in housing affordability as part of any future economic recovery and infrastructure measure by prioritizing foreclosure prevention, neighborhood revitalization and housing production for low-income homeowners. These investments are critical for preventing major losses in homeownership and in wealth for communities of color, as well as expanding access to new affordable homes for all.

We appreciated the productive conversations we had with Senator Blackburns and Senator Hagertys staff and especially with Rep. Fleischmann, said Mr. Butler. They listened to our concerns and offered constructive feedback that we believe will lead to additional conversations and actions to support our efforts.

Rep. Fleischmann said, Habitat for Humanity of Greater Chattanooga makes such a positive impact not only in our community but also on our local economy. Habitat homeowners hold jobs and pay property taxes. Through the Habitat process, they learn that the stability of homeownership changes the trajectory of their family for the future. Chattanooga is fortunate to have such an active affiliate here and I look forward to continuing to assist them in their efforts.

Each year, Habitat on the Hill is made possible by the support of Habitat for Humanitys partners. The Home Depot Foundation returned as this years premier sponsor and has sponsored the event for the last five years. The foundation has donated more than $4.7 million to Habitat for Humanity International, including this years contribution of $2 million to assist in building, repairing or rehabilitating veterans homes. To date, the Home Depot Foundation has invested more than $350 million in support of veterans in need.

Habitats Cost of Home campaign works to create policies that will allow at least 10 million American families to have access to a stable, affordable place to call home. Follow Habitat for Humanity of Chattanooga to learn more about the effort.






Reconstruction of the cosmic web (shaded areas in gray in the left panel) based on a distribution of galaxies (in red in the left panel) and the primordial fluctuations (right panel). Credit: Francisco-Shu Kitaura (IAC).

The Instituto de Astrofisica de Canarias (IAC) has led an international team which has developed an algorithm called COSMIC BIRTH to analyze large scale cosmic structures. This new computation method will permit the analysis of the evolution of the structure of dark matter from the early universe until the formation of present day galaxies. This work was recently published in the journal Monthly Notices of the Royal Astronomical Society (MNRAS).

The IAC researcher, a co-author of the article and leader of the group of Cosmology and Large Scale Structure (LSS) Francisco-Shu Kitaura explains that one of the key aspects of this algorithm "consists in expressing the observations as if they had been detected in the early universe, which simplifies many of the calculations."

"Our algorithm uses sampling techniques designed to deal with high dimensional spaces, and is the product of more than four years of development. That is why I thank the funding programs Ramon y Cajal and Excelencia Severo Ochoa which have allowed us to make scientific journeys which are such a challenge and a risk," he adds.

"It is fascinating to use the methods of classical mechanics to reconstruct the large scale structure of huge cosmic volumes," says Monica Hernandez Sanchez, a doctoral student at the IAC and the University of La Laguna (ULL), and first author of another linked article, who has shown that an idea of the particle physicists from 30 years ago has proved useful in the present context.

VUDS survey. The red areas are the well sampled areas on the sky. The lower panel shows how these observations would have been made in the primitive Universe, distorted by gravity. Credit: Metin Ata and Francisco-Shu Kitaura (IAC).

"It has been exciting to explore, using Big Data techniques, the structures which include the formation of galaxy clusters emerging at "cosmic noon." That is the moment when the Universe lit up the galaxies with stars," notes Metin Ata, a researcher at the Kavli Institute for Physics and Mathematics of the Universe (IPMU), in Japan, and leader of the application of the COSMIC BIRTH algorithm to the combination of five studies of distant clusters in the COSMOS (Cosmic Evolution Survey) fields.

Reconstruction of the dark matter structures underlying the COSMOS field (Metin Ata) with the COSMIC BIRTH code (Francisco-Shu Kitaura). Credit: Metin Ata/Francisco-Shu Kitaura (IAC).

The authors have dedicated this last work to the French astrophysicist Olivier Le Fever, who participated in the study and who unfortunately died while it was being completed.

Explore further Has the hidden matter of the universe been discovered?

More information: Francisco-Shu Kitaura et al, cosmic birth: efficient Bayesian inference of the evolving cosmic web from galaxy surveys, Monthly Notices of the Royal Astronomical Society (2020). Journal information: Monthly Notices of the Royal Astronomical Society Francisco-Shu Kitaura et al, cosmic birth: efficient Bayesian inference of the evolving cosmic web from galaxy surveys,(2020). DOI: 10.1093/mnras/staa3774
It was a February day so overcast that noon looked like dusk, and Frances McDormand felt a little rattled. She told me this as we ambled down the main street of the small coastal town where she lives, a modest, hidden place so far from Hollywood that studio searchlights would have a hard time finding it. Still, someone had managed.

Earlier that day, the phone rang at McDormands house, and while she didnt recognize the man on the other end, he certainly knew who she was. When the caller told her he was watching Three Billboards Outside Ebbing, Missouri, the 2017 movie in which she plays an avenging mother named Mildred, McDormand realized she was on the phone with a fan who had tracked down her unlisted landline.

It was the first creepy call Ive gotten in 16 years here, she told me. Though she hung up right away, McDormand now wondered what she might have asked him: OK, what part were you watching? The scene where I threw the Molotov cocktail at the police station?

Maybe the fan had hoped to speak with righteous Mildred, who harangues priests and cops and hurls fire bombs in the pursuit of justice. Instead, he reached Frances McDormand, a 63-year-old woman who chats up everybody she comes across in her small town, doesnt like to think of herself as famous, and has won two Oscars.
NASHVILLE, Tenn., Feb. 22, 2021 /PRNewswire/ -- Page One Legal, an eDiscovery services and litigation support firm, celebrates an important milestone anniversary. February 2021 officially marks Page One's 15 years in business in Nashville, TN.

Since its inception in 2006, Page One has provided its clients with digital forensic collections, online database hosting, technology assisted review, and advanced data analytics through their eDiscovery department. Their litigation support center offers several print services to accommodate any document needs.

Page One COO, Andrew Kent says, "Reaching our 15 year anniversary is more than just an achievement, it's an inspiration. We look back on the progress we've made with both our clients and our community, and we're excited. We've been adding new team members, increasing our resources, and featuring the two gold standard eDiscovery platforms of Relativity Server and Relativity One. We can't wait to show what we can do next."

Page One credits its success and reputation to its clients, its network of partners, and especially all its team members who are committed to providing first-rate service. Because of the company's commitment to client success, Page One confidently looks forward to the next 15 years of providing innovative discovery services to law firms and corporations across the country.

For more information on Page One and their eDiscovery and data forensic services, please visit www.pageonelegal.com or email [email protected].

About Page One

Page One is a Nashville-based, national eDiscovery and litigation support provider founded in 2006. We are known for our commitment to continually improving our services, providing first-rate data security, and always delivering the highest quality of work to our clients. Our legal and eDiscovery experts provide innovative solutions to Top AM Law firms and corporations across the country to achieve their goals.

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Will Karnataka lockdown be extended till June 30? CM Yediyurappa to take call

COVID-19 protocols: Karnataka closes borders with Kerala again

India

oi-Deepika S

Kasaragod, Feb 22: With the Karnataka government reinstating stricter control of transit passengers from Kerala in view of increasing COVID-19 positive cases, people here bound to Mangaluru and other parts of Dakshina Kannada for various purposes including medical needs and studies are in a fix again.

Long queues of vehicles could be seen in the border areas since morning as Karnataka authorities sealed many roads including national highways and restricted entry only for those with Covid-19 negative certificates.

The Dakshina Kannada authorities sealed all borders from Monday except four to cross over, sources said.

Coronavirus cases: India records over 14,000 new COVID-19 cases, 83 deaths in last 24 hours

According to Karnataka officials at the borders, those who wish to enter have to produce Covid-19 negative certificate through an RT-PCR test taken 72 hours prior to their cross over time.

Health and police personnel are on duty at the four borders, viz.Talapady in Mangalore taluk, Saradka in Bantwal, Nettanige-Mudnuru in Puttur taluk and Jalsoor in Sullia, to verify and allow people's entry into Karnataka.

The residents in and around Kasaragod, the northernmost district of Kerala, have been thronging Mangaluru in Karnataka for decades for treatment at the speciality hospitals there.

While Mangaluru is just about 10 to 50 kms from anywhere from Kasaragod, the nearest available facility is in Kannur, which is as far as 100 km.

People in and around Kasaragod had struggled a lot during the initial days of the lockdown when the Karnataka authorities restricted movement of people into their territory.

Strict guidelines on producing medical certificates to get an entry for the critically ill-patients had also turned out to be a nightmare for follow-up treatments during those days.

There were instances of death of patients as the authorities disallowed their entry even for critical medical care.

However, the intervention of the apex court had facilitated permission to critically ill patients to cross over to Mangaluru for treatment.

PM Modi: India can be one of the best in defence export | Oneindia News

Now, the plight of the poor but critical patients from the district is much pathetic as they need to undergo a Rs 1,700 RT-PCR test to enable entry into Mangaluru for follow-up treatment, local people complained.

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Story first published: Monday, February 22, 2021, 13:41 [IST]


The Work Zone

A lot of folks will go to work this morning, and not be happy about it. I hope I can give you some ideas today that will help make sure youre Read more
Source: Xinhua| 2021-02-23 01:03:37|Editor: huaxia

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BEIJING, Feb. 22 (Xinhua) -- Chinese President Xi Jinping said Monday that China stands ready to work with Kyrgyzstan to grasp the trend of the development of bilateral relations and lift the comprehensive strategic partnership between the two countries to new levels.

Xi made the remarks in a telephone conversation with his Kyrgyz counterpart, Sadyr Zhaparov.

Since China and Kyrgyzstan established diplomatic relations 29 years ago, the bilateral relationship has withstood the test of the changing international landscape and maintained the momentum of sound and stable development, Xi said.

The two sides, he added, firmly support each other on issues concerning their respective core interests, have achieved fruitful results in Belt and Road cooperation, and have carried out close coordination and cooperation in international affairs.

China sincerely hopes that Kyrgyzstan will achieve stable development, he said, adding that China supports it pursuing a development path suited to its national conditions, and supports its government safeguarding national independence, sovereignty and security.

Xi emphasized that China is quickening its pace in fostering a new development paradigm and continuing to promote opening-up at a higher level, which will provide more development opportunities for countries around the world, including Kyrgyzstan.

China and Kyrgyzstan, he suggested, should push for sustained and stable development of their practical cooperation, jointly pursue high-quality Belt and Road cooperation, deepen cooperation in such fields as economy, trade, interconnectivity and agriculture, and ensure the smooth implementation of major cooperation projects.

China, Xi said, encourages Chinese enterprises investing and doing business in Kyrgyzstan, and welcomes more imports from Kyrgyzstan such as high-quality agricultural products.

The two sides also need to strengthen security cooperation and safeguard the security and stability of both countries as well as the region at large, he added.

Meanwhile, China is ready to support Kyrgyzstan's fight against the COVID-19 epidemic and deepen bilateral cooperation in such areas as vaccines, Xi said.

For his part, Zhaparov expressed appreciation for China's valuable help for his country's economic and social development and sincere support in Kyrgyzstan's fight against COVID-19.

China is a good neighbor, good friend and good partner Kyrgyzstan can always trust, he said.

Kyrgyzstan firmly supports China's stance on issues concerning its core interests, including affairs related to Hong Kong, Xinjiang and Taiwan, and firmly abides by the one-China principle, Zhaparov said.

Kyrgyzstan, he added, welcomes investments by Chinese companies, and is willing to work with China to advance major cooperation projects such as railway construction and promote high-quality Belt and Road cooperation.

Recalling Xi's call at the recent World Economic Forum Virtual Event of the Davos Agenda for upholding multilateralism and building an open world economy, Zhaparov said Xi's proposal is of great importance and has particular relevance under the current circumstances.

He added that his country stands ready to work with China to build a community with a shared future for mankind.

He also expressed confidence that under Xi's strong leadership, the Chinese people will achieve even greater success. Enditem
?? En vivo | Entrevista a la presidenta del Consejo de Ministros, @VBermudezV, en el programa @atv_noticias edicion matinal, de @atvpe. pic.twitter.com/AobE1tZkCb
The World Trade Organization agreed Monday to establish a dispute resolution panel on the new US rule that all goods imported from Hong Kong must be stamped "Made in China".

The WTO's Dispute Settlement Body accepted a second request from Hong Kong to establish a panel "to rule on US origin-marking requirements for goods", a Geneva trade official said.

Hong Kong made a first request for arbitration at the Geneva-based global trade body on January 25, but the move was blocked by the United States.

Under WTO rules, a second request is, in practice, automatically accepted.

However, a resolution is far from near, as the settlement of trade disputes at the WTO usually takes years.

In July last year, then-US president Donald Trump announced the end of the preferential conditions granted by Washington to Hong Kong, after the imposition by Beijing of sweeping new security laws on the semi-autonomous territory.

A month later, US customs announced that goods imported from Hong Kong would have to be stamped "Made in China" rather than "Made in Hong Kong".

The new rules came into effect in November.

Hong Kong said the measures were inconsistent with a raft of WTO regulations including the rules of origin agreement and the technical barriers to trade agreement.

The territory described the requirements as "arbitrary, unilateral, unnecessary and unjustifiable", the trade official said.

This story has been published from a wire agency feed without modifications to the text.

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New Delhi, Feb 22 : In his fresh call to make India 'Aatmanirbhar' (self-reliant) in the defence sector, Prime Minister Narendra Modi on Monday invited private sectors to come forward in manufacturing as well as in the design and development of defence items to spread the country's glory worldwide.

Speaking at a webinar for effective implementation of Union Budget provisions in the defence sector, the Prime Minister said a part of the money has also been reserved for domestic procurement in the defence capital budget.

"I would urge the private sector to come forward in manufacturing as well as in design and development, waving India's glory worldwide," the Prime Minister said.

The Prime Minister said the defence corridors being currently built in the country will also "help local entrepreneurs for local manufacturing".

Modi further gave a call for "Aatmanirbharata" (self-reliance) in the defence sector and urged to focus on empowerment of both 'Jawan Bhi' and 'Naujawan Bhi" fronts.

Noting that the Micro, Small and Medium Enterprises (MSMEs) are like the "backbone for the entire manufacturing sector", the Prime Minister said the reforms being done by the government for giving more freedom to MSMEs to encourage them for their expansion.

The Prime Minister said that India has made a list of 100 important items related to defence and these can be manufactured only with the help of the country's local industry.

For this, Modi said the government has fixed a timeline so that our industry can plan to achieve the capability to meet these needs.

"It is a negative list in the official language but in the language of self-reliance it is a positive list. This is the positive list on the strength of which our own manufacturing capacity is going to increase. This is the positive list that will do job creation in India itself," Modi said.

"This is the positive list which is going to reduce our dependence on foreign countries for our defence needs. This is the positive list, because of which products made in India are guaranteed to be sold in India." Mentioning that the country used to have hundreds of ordnance factories before Independence and that large-scale weapons were sent from India in both world wars, the Prime Minister said how this system was not strengthened after independence.

"Our government relied on the capabilities of its engineers-scientists and Tejas and today Tejas is gracefully flying in the sky. A few weeks ago, an order of Rs 48,000 crore was placed for Tejas," Modi said.

The Prime Minister said the ruling Central government's endeavour has been to maintain transparency and predictability with ease of doing business since 2014, and that "we are moving forward in this (defence) sector.

"We have taken one step after another in this (defence) sector with de-licensing, de-regulation, export promotion, foreign investment liberalization."

-- Except for the title, this story has not been edited by Prokerala team and is auto-generated from a syndicated feed
The miner is trying to restore trust with the Aboriginal community after dynamiting heritage areas in Australia, but is going ahead with a US project that is angering Native Americans

( ) has highlighted its effort to restore trust with the Puutu Kunti Kurrama and Pinikura people after dynamiting the Juukan Gorge heritage areas to access iron ore.

The FTSE 100 group commented it does not underestimate the time and effort it will take for us to help restore trust and rebuild our reputation following the blast of 46,000-year-old rock shelters in Australias Pilbara region.

It has almost completed implementing the recommendations of the board review of cultural heritage management alongside other measures.

Rio Tinto has collaborated with the Puutu Kunti Kurrama and Pinikura people for a rehabilitation programme for the rock shelters, as well as assessing ways to protect the area for the future, including a permanent mining moratorium.

The artefacts previously uncovered from the rockshelters were moved to a purpose-built facility.

In the long-term, the mining giant is looking to build a more inclusive and diverse work culture and has committed to invest US$50mln to increase employment opportunities for Indigenous Australians.

However, Rio Tinto is going ahead with the Resolution Copper project in Arizona, which is being contested by the Apache people.

From the Juukan Gorge of the Puutu Kunti Kurrama and Pinikura (PKKP) people in the Pilbara region of Western Australia to the Oak Flat site of the Apache, Rio Tinto is at it again. https://t.co/PsO5O2VreD  ???????????????? ???????????????????? ???????????????????????? (@AdamDavidMorton) February 15, 2021

Oak Flat would be turned into a two-mile wide crater over a thousand feet deep, where the Native Americans say they wont be able to practice their religion.

The area will become private property on March 11, so the protestors note that Apaches praying there will be subject to arrest and prosecution for criminal trespass.

Last week, District Court Judge Steven Logan denied a request by non-profit organisation Apache Stronghold to prevent Rio Tinto from going ahead with plans because they are not officially designated as a sovereign nation.

He added that they are not being "coerced to act contrary to their religious beliefs by the threat of civil or criminal sanctions".

Barbaric. The Judge uses genocidal language in their decision to not stop the US Forest Service from giving sacred Oak Flat to Rio Tinto to be destroyed by mining & signs off on the unconstitutional unilateral breaching of treaties by the US with Native Nations. https://t.co/rIR9UuQ1U7  Ruth H. Hopkins, B.S., M.S., J.D. (@Ruth_HHopkins) February 13, 2021

"To say that we are not being coerced is not accurate as I am living there, we are praying there, yet if Rio Tinto gets Chi'chil Bildagoteel and the land becomes private property on March 11, we will be arrested for criminal trespass on our own Sacred Land, said Apache Stronghold leader and former San Carlos Apache Tribal Chairman Dr. Wendsler Nosie, Sr.

On Wednesday, the miner said that it is committed to ongoing stakeholder engagement in our effort to seek consent to progress the project consistent with the International Council on Mining and Metals Statement on Indigenous Peoples and Mining.

"My new executive team and wider leadership of the company are all committed to unleashing Rio Tinto's full potential, said chief executive Jakob Stausholm, the successor of Jean-Sebastien Jacques, who left after the scandal at Pilbara.

We will increase our focus on operational excellence and project development and strengthen our ESG credentials.

Ben Davis, analyst at Liberum, told Proactive there is no reason why the project should harm Rio Tintos ESG credentials if its done correctly.

That being said there will nearly always be opposition to mining, but it is up to the local authorities whether to permit the project or not, he added.

Peter McNally, global sector lead for industrials, materials & energy at research house Third Bridge, said that the new senior management is "keenly aware of the reputational and environmental risks in their operations".

"Capital spending is on the rise at Rio Tinto and with that, so are the risks of a failure similar to what happened at Juukan Gorge in Australia," he told Proactive.

Rio Tinto did not reply for comment.
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Bully boy Kevin Dunleavy was driven straight back to the county where he bashed and harassed his ex-partner after being released from prison on Friday.

Our pictures show Dunleavy, the first man in Ireland to be convicted of the coercive control of his partner, walking free from Castlerea prison after serving just 16 months of his 21-month prison sentence.

The woman-beater, who bombarded his ex-partner with almost 6,000 phone calls over a three month period, had the conditions of his release altered at Letterkenny Circuit Court two weeks ago to allow his return to the county where she still lives.

Spotting our photographer as he emerged from the prison, Dunleavy yelled out: 'You f**king c**t' before getting into a Cork registered car and being driven from the scene.

Expand Close Dunleavy was angry when we snapped him being collected from the prison. / Facebook

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Sources have confirmed to the Sunday World that within two hours of leaving the Roscommon prison, Dunleavy was back in Kerrykeel, Co Donegal.

Two weeks ago, Letterkenny Circuit Court altered conditions set down as part of Dunleavy's original sentence which prohibited his return to the county where the injured party still lives.

Advantage

The change was made after the court accepted submissions on his behalf that the 33-year-old has nowhere else to live.

Speaking with the Sunday World, the woman , who requested she not be named in the media in the future, described the decision by the Circuit Court to lift the ban as a disgrace.

"Getting out nine months early was bad enough," she said, "but for him to be allowed back into Donegal is a disgrace.

"He has used Covid to his advantage ... if it hadn't been for Covid he wouldn't have had a chance of getting it overturned.

"I've had a lot of support and a lot of people contacting me since this came up again at the Circuit Court.

"But I'm getting on with my life ... I'm putting what he did behind me."

Dunleavy was given a 21-month prison sentence in February last year after he pleaded guilty to harassing his ex-partner by bombarding her with almost 6,000 phone calls in just a three-month period in 2019.

The 33-year-old Co Donegal man became so obsessed with his girlfriend and mother of his son that he forced her to take her phone everywhere with her so he knew where she was.

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He called on her on Facetime and made her scan the place she was at so he knew exactly where she was.

He pleaded guilty to a number of charges including coercive control, harassment and making threats to damage property.

Coercive control is the way an abusive person, currently or previously an intimate partner, gains and maintains power and control over another person by subjecting them to psychological, physical, sexual, emotional or financial abuse, regardless of gender or sexuality.

During the original sentence hearing in 2019 at Letterkenny Circuit Court, Detective Garda Darren Carter had revealed family and friends of the woman, a mother of three, were genuinely fearful for her safety from Dunleavy.

He gave a detailed account of a number of incidents in which the accused threatened and attacked her.

On one occasion, he came into a bar and pulled her out by the collar of her jumper and gave her a severe beating.

He also burnt her clothes and broke her hair straighteners to prevent her from going out.

The couple had known each other since they were both 14 years old and had been going out since 2012.

In what was the first successful prosecution of coercive control in the country, Judge John Aylmer sentenced Dunleavy to a total of two-and-a-w half years but suspended the final nine months of the sentence.

Address

As part of his release conditions, Dunleavy was due to live and work in Dublin with his uncle who operated a painting and decorating company.

However, an application was made by Dunleavy's barrister, Mr Peter Nolan, at Letterkenny Circuit Court that he be allowed to reside at his family home in Kerrykeel because the offer of the original address and job in Dublin was no longer there.

Mr Nolan said that his client had no problem with all the other conditions imposed by the court, including having no contact with the victim and remaining under the care and supervision of the probation services. However, he now found himself homeless and jobless as a result of the collapse of his uncle's decorating business in Dublin due to the downturn from the Covid pandemic.

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Mr Nolan argued that the victim in the case now lives in Letterkenny which is 20 miles from Kerrykeel and that his client is prepared to give any undertaking the court required not to go near her or her family.

However, Garda Darren Carter strongly objected to the application, saying that this condition had been of great comfort to the victim.

Safety

"Our main concern is the welfare and safety of the victim," he said.

"We still believe he poses a risk and he has shown previously that he will not abide by the conditions imposed."

He added that although the victim is living in Letterkenny she is originally from Milford and her family is from the wider Milford and Kerrykeel area and she depends on them for a support network.

"We believe it is best if Mr Dunleavy is not resident in the county," he added.

A letter read out in court from Jerry Williams, the Resettlement Officer at Castlerea Prison, said that he was concerned that Dunleavy may be at risk of coming to harm if he had nowhere to go once released and asked if the condition made "pre-Covid" could be changed.

Barrister Nolan suggested that it would be "draconian" to allow Dunleavy to leave prison with no support, saying there is a way around this.

Judge John Aylmer said that when the decision was made that Dunleavy would reside in Dublin it was made pre-Covid but that everything is so different and "unfortunately that has changed".

He said the court had to now go a different way to devise a different end for Dunleavy's release.

Access

To that end, he imposed a number of conditions including that Dunleavy does not come within 10km of Letterkenny unless he is enjoying pre-arranged access to his son and that he not come within 50 metres of his victim and two other named parties.

Addressing Dunleavy directly, Judge Aylmer said: "I want to impress upon Mr Dunleavy that if there is any breach of that order then the probation service must bring the matter back to me.

"This will mean that it is capable of triggering the balance of the nine-month sentence so you better be very careful and not to be in any breach."

Anyone affected by the contents of this article can contact Women's Aid on 1800 341 900 or womensaid.ie. A list of regional domestic violence services can be found at safeireland.ie

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JOHANNESBURG, Feb. 22, 2021 /PRNewswire/ -- Sasol delivered a good set of results for the six months ended 31 December 2020. Our earnings increased by more than 100% to R15,3 billion from R4,5 billion in the prior period.

Despite a 23% decrease in the rand/barrel oil price, our adjusted EBITDA decreased by only 6%. This achievement is as a result of a strong cash cost, working capital and capital expenditure performance in response to the challenging environment.

Our earnings were positively impacted by the following non-cash adjustments:

Gains of R4,6 billion on the translation of monetary assets and liabilities due to a 15% strengthening of the closing rand/US dollar exchange rate compared to June 2020 ;

; Gains of R5,0 billion on the valuation of financial instruments and derivative contracts; and

R3,3 billion gain on the realisation of the foreign currency translation reserve (FCTR), mainly on the divestment of 50% interest in the US LCCP Base Chemicals business.

Key metrics Half year

31 Dec 2020

Half year

31 Dec 2019

Change % EBIT (R million) 21 650 9 853 >100 Adjusted EBITDA1(R million) 18 608 19 839 (6) Headline earnings (R million) 11 858 3 670 >100 Basic earnings per share (Rand) 23,41 6,56 >100 Headline earnings per share (Rand) 19,16 5,94 >100 Core headline earnings per share2(Rand) 7,86 9,25 (15) Dividend per share (Rand)





- Interim (Rand) - - - - Final (Rand) - - -







1. Adjusted EBITDA is calculated by adjusting EBIT for depreciation and amortisation, share-based payments, remeasurement items, movement in environmental provisions due to discount rate changes, all unrealised translation gains and losses and all unrealised gains and losses on our derivatives and hedging activities. The comparative periods have been restated to include all unrealised translation gains and losses and all unrealised gains and losses on derivative and hedging activities. We believe Adjusted EBITDA is a useful measure of the Group's underlying cash flow performance. However, this is not a defined term under IFRS and may not be comparable with similarly titled measures reported by other companies. (Adjusted EBITDA constitutes pro forma financial information in terms of the JSE Limited Listings Requirements and should be read in conjunction with the basis of preparation and pro forma financial information as set out in the full set of reviewed interim financial results). 2. Core headline earnings per share (Core HEPS) is calculated by adjusting headline earnings per share with once-off items such as the translation impact of closing exchange rate, all realised and unrealised derivatives and hedging gains/losses, the implementation of the Khanyisa B-BBEE transaction and losses attributable to the LCCP while still in ramp-up phase. The comparative period has been restated to include all unrealised translation gains and losses and all realised and unrealised gains and losses on derivative and hedging activities. (Core HEPS constitutes pro forma financial information in terms of the JSE Limited Listings Requirements and should be read in conjunction with the basis of preparation and pro forma financial information as set out in the full set of reviewed interim financial results.)

Our key metrics were as follows:

Working capital ratio of 14,9% compared to 14,6% for the prior period. Investment in working capital was R27,3 billion;

Capital expenditure of R7,5 billion;

Normalised cash fixed reduced by 10% (R3,2 billion) compared to the prior period;

Profit before interest and tax (EBIT) of R21,7 billion compared to R9,9 billion in the prior period;

Adjusted EBITDA declined by 6% from R19,8 billion in the prior period to R18,6 billion;

Basic earnings per share (EPS) increased to R23,41 per share compared to R6,56 in prior period; and

Headline earnings per share (HEPS) increased by more than 100% to R19,16 per share compared to the prior period.

Turnover (R million)

EBIT (R million) Half year

31 Dec 2019 Half year

31 Dec 2020

Half year

31 Dec 2020 Half year

31 Dec 2019 10 348 10 807 Mining 1 732 1 374 2 635 1 988 Exploration and Production International 897 1 023 41 206 30 178 Energy 5 098 6 743 24 642 27 409 Base Chemicals 3 624 (1 488) 32 933 33 750 Performance Chemicals 1 754 1 294  6 Group Functions 8 545 907 111 764 104 138 Group performance 21 650 9 853 (12 594) (12 170) Intersegmental turnover

99 170 91 968 External turnover

Net asset value Half year

31 Dec 2020 Full year

30 Jun 2020 Change % Total assets (R million) 397 516 479 162 (17) Total liabilities (R million) 236 473 319 914 26 Total equity (R million) 161 043 159 248 1

Rights issue

A decision was made not to pursue a rights issue given the current macroeconomic outlook, and the significant progress made on our response plan initiatives.

The balance sheet deleveraging pathway will continue to be prioritised to ensure that we operate within our financial covenants and maintain adequate liquidity headroom, whilst delivering the Sasol 2.0 transformation programme.

Balance sheet management

Cash generated by operating activities decreased by 40% to R11,7 billion compared to the prior period and our net cash on hand decreased from R34,1 billion as at 30 June 2020 to R27,6 billion.

Although our cash flows were impacted by low crude oil prices, softer chemical prices, plant downtime and the impact of COVID-19, our cash conservation initiative and asset divestment programme enabled us to repay approximately R28 billion (US$2 billion) of debt. In addition, we repaid ZAR banking facilities of approximately R4 billion.

Actual capital expenditure amounted to R7,5 billion compared to R21,4 billion during the first six months of 2020. The free cash flow for the period was R0,4 billion in a low US$43,62/barrel average oil price environment.

To create flexibility in Sasol's balance sheet during this peak gearing period, our lenders agreed to lift our covenant from 3,0 times to 4,0 times of Net debt: EBITDA (bank definition) when measured at 31 December 2020. This provided additional flexibility, subject to conditions, which were consistent with our capital allocation framework (i.e. prioritising debt reduction through commitments to suspend dividend payments and acquisitions while our leverage is above 3,0 times Net debt: EBITDA). We are appreciative of the continued support from our lenders during this challenging period.

Our Net debt: EBITDA ratio at 31 December 2020 was 2,6 times (bank definition), significantly below the threshold level.

At 31 December 2020, our total debt was R126,3 billion compared to R189,7 billion as at 30 June 2020. During the period, we utilised proceeds from our asset divestments to repay the US Dollar syndicated loan, as well as a portion of our revolving credit facility, reducing our US dollar denominated debt by almost R28 billion (US$2 billion) to R121 billion (US$8,2 billion).

Through our comprehensive response plan and planned asset divestments, we intend to further reduce our net debt to achieve a Net debt: EBITDA ratio of less than 2,0 times and gearing of 30% by 2023.

Our gearing decreased from 114,5% at 30 June 2020 to 76% at 31 December 2020 mainly due to repayment of US dollar debt (20%) and a stronger closing Rand/US dollar exchange rate (7%).

As at 31 December 2020, our liquidity headroom was in excess of R53 billion (US$3,6 billion) well above our targeted liquidity of at least US$1 billion, with available rand and US dollar-based funds improving as we advance our focused management actions. We continue to assess our mix of funding instruments to ensure that we have funding from a range of sources and a balanced debt maturity profile.

We have no significant debt maturities before November 2021 when the R2,2 billion (US$150 million) term loan becomes due. In terms of the covenant waivers with the lenders that existed at 30 June 2020, we remain obliged to use certain planned disposal proceeds to settle debt. As a result, R14,3 billion (US$975 million) has being classified as short-term debt.

We continue to actively manage the balance sheet with the objective of maintaining a healthy liquidity position and a balanced debt maturity profile.

Dividend

Given our current financial leverage and the risk of a prolonged period of economic uncertainty, the Board believes that it would be prudent to continue with the suspension of dividends. We expect the balance sheet to regain flexibility following the implementation of our comprehensive response plan strategy.

Mozambique Production Sharing Agreement (PSA) progresses

On 19 February 2021 the Board approved the final investment decision (FID) on the Mozambique PSA license area. The total estimated project cost is US$760 million.

Importantly, this project will entail Mozambique in-country monetisation of gas through a 450 megawatt gas-fired power plant and a liquefied petroleum gas (LPG) facility in the same time frame. The balance of the gas produced will be exported to South Africa to sustain our operations.

The PSA development underpins Sasol's gas transformation strategy by securing additional gas supply from southern Mozambique into Sasol's gas value chain starting 2024 and serves as a cornerstone in addressing Sasol's sustainability agenda.

Note to Editors:

The full announcement and the reviewed interim financial results will be available on the Company's website at https://www.sasol.com/investor-centre/financial-reporting/annual-integrated-reporting-set .

The pre-recorded presentation will be available on the following link:

https://www.corpcam.com/Sasol22022021

The President and Chief Executive Officer and Chief Financial Officer will host a conference call via webcast at 15h00 (SA time) to discuss the results and give an update of the business.

Conference call details:





Monday, 22 February 2021 Time



South Africa 15:00



United Kingdom 13:00



United States (ET) 08:00



Live conference call link: https://www.corpcam.com/Sasol22022021Questions

Issued by:

Matebello Motloung, Manager: Group Media Relations

Direct telephone: +27 (0) 10 344 9256; Mobile: +27 (0) 82 773 9457

[email protected]

Alex Anderson, Senior Manager: Group External Communication

Direct telephone: +27 (0) 10 344 6509; Mobile: +27 (0) 71 600 9605

[email protected]

SOURCE Sasol Limited
I attended a gun show this weekend. Normally, my social activities aren't worthy of note, but this one is because the show spoke so perfectly to who we really are as Americans  and we are not the racist, hate-filled, stupid killers of leftist caricatures.

To set the stage, I need to go back to the early 1980s, when a longtime friend of mine confessed to me that he was gay. I wasn't surprised, having figured out the truth years before. I then told him my greatest fear about his being gay, which was that I would lose him to the gay lifestyle. I predicated that he would soon define himself by his sexuality rather than by his interests, skills, and values. He denied that that would ever happen, but within a year, he was "a gay man," rather than a smart, funny, interesting man who happened to be gay.

Forty years later, leftists are doubling down on stripping individuals of their unique attributes and, instead, defining them by external characteristics over which they have no control or, alternatively, by their sexuality or "gender identity." The notion that the content of a person's character should be his defining quality is anathema to the left.

A historian is no longer someone who is interested in history, regardless of color, sex, or sexuality. If he's Black, he is now a Black historian, and his "Blackness" defines the filter through which he views history. You can substitute gay, transgender, feminist, Hispanic, Asian, or any other leftist identity group for the word "Black" in the preceding sentence, and you'll have the same outcome.

The left has a different measurement for White. If you're White, you're not a historian who happens to be White. Instead, you're a White supremacist, a racist, an imperialist, a colonialist, or some other "bad thing." You're not a person; you're a walking, talking, hate-filled member of an inferior racial group that is genetically drawn to evil. How nice.

The gun show, however, revealed a collection of people drawn together, not by race (or genetic evil), but by a shared belief that every American has an inherent right to self-defense. At a rough guesstimate, the people at the show attended roughly in proportion to their racial representation in my Southern state at large. There were couples, families with children of all ages, older people of all ages, and groups of friends, all brought together by a shared love for the Second Amendment.

The salespeople did not have signs saying, "No Blacks served here" or "No Whites served here." Instead, whether Black or White themselves, they were happy to talk about and sell their wares to anyone interested. I was interested and ended up buying an exquisite handmade knife made the old-fashioned way.

The event was an utterly congenial gathering of like-minded people. It was what most of America was before 2008. The big question is whether, in 2021, Americans will push back against the leftist effort to destroy our common American culture.

Right now, leftists seem determined to revisit Charles Manson's "Helter Skelter" idea. For those of you too young to remember events in 1969, that was when the Charles Manson cultists brutally slaughtered seven people. Manson intended that the murders would spark a violent race war, which he called "Helter Skelter." He imagined that Blacks would kill every White person in America. At the end of the slaughter, Manson and his all-White followers would emerge from hiding and become the rulers in this new world.

Right now, we're seeing a primarily White leadership class diligently fomenting racial schism in America. These leaders  Biden, Pelosi, Schumer  seem to imagine that, after they've created the circumstances in which Americans do battle, they will be there to rule over some purified class of survivors. I don't see that happening, but I do see a lot of horrors accruing as leftists systematically divide us, unless we Americans forcefully push back on this segregationist view and focus on our shared interests and values.

And that gets me to the gun show. Shared interests, especially shared interests in constitutional rights, are the way to get America back on track. It's not about what we look like; it really is about what we value.

Image: Internet meme by Docrock.

A significant date in the history of the University of the South at Sewanee has almost been unnoticed in the long history of the school that was originally chartered in 1858, survived the burning of the school during the Civil War and the second founding on March 22, 1866 and its growth to the present which has earned the school on the Cumberland Plateau recognition as one of the outstanding liberal arts universities in the nation.

Prior to advent of radio and television coverage, a special visitor came to Sewanee on Nov. 9, 1911 with very little fanfare but at the request of a Sewanee graduate.

Major Archie Butt was the Military Aide to President William H.

Taft and persuaded his Chief to make a stop on his trip from Nashville to Birmingham for a speaking tour. He was traveling on the Nashville and Chattanooga Railroad which would travel through the Cowan railway tunnel several times a day.

After transferring to the Mountain Goat Railroad and making a stop at Sewanee, the train would continue to Monteagle and several other stops at the coal mining towns of Tracy City, Coalmont, Gruetli-Laager and Palmer.

The Mountain Goat Railroad was constructed in 1853 as a spur of the Nashville and Chattanooga line and would carry coal and passengers until 1885 when it was decommissioned.

President Taft disembarked at the Sewanee depot from the Mountain Goat at 8:15 a.m.

It was a typical fall day at Sewanee with a fine drizzle falling and the unpaved street from the railroad station to the University rough and muddy.

Local hack operator Harry Hoskins had decorated one of his rigs in red, white and blue bunting for the President to ride in but an alternative source of travel was used when the only automobile on the mountain was commandeered from its Tracy City owner who happened to arrive on the scene.

President Taft, Bishop Gailor, Vice Chancellor William Bonnell Hall and two Secret Service men rode in the automobile while Major Butt and additional Secret Service agents rode in the Hoskin hack.

The opportunity to participate in the protection and safety of the President by the local Volunteer Police almost got out of hand.

One observer raised the question of whether Sewanee was attempting to honor the President or whether the crowd was following in the wake of a wonderous caravan.

The uniforms of the volunteer law enforcement personnel were described as picturesque and Police Chief McBee had deputized 12 men to assist him in protecting the President.

Several rode on stately horses and the Chief donned a uniform remnant of King Charles the First, complete with a Vandyke beard and buskin leather boots.

Armed with the nether portion of a billiard cue, he had a sackful of handcuffs attached to the knob of the saddle of his horse. Carrying four revolvers about his person he was a living protector under Tennessee law.

Prior to the Presidential train, Chief McBee handed out to his volunteers as many guns and ammunition as their clothing would hold.

The pageantry and appearance of the horses aroused such admiration that offers to buy the steeds came in on the telegraph wire which, if they had been accepted, would have brought more money to the mountain.

From the porch of the chapel Mr. Taft gave a short speech expressing his appreciation of Sewanee and his good wishes for her future.

The President then visited the library with the Vice Chancellor and a few of the University faculty and their families.

A pleasant and informal reception was held at the request of the President as he had asked that his visit be entirely without ceremony and a compliment to Major Butt.

Although one observer described the Presidents visit as the greatest day of Sewanee political history, it did not get much publicity as the Associated Press reporter travelling with President Taft was ignored until the entire ceremony was half over and he refused to leave the train car after being snubbed.

One negative incident did occur as one Sewanee resident, an avowed and dedicated Democrat, refused to go to her window to review the parade as it passed her house because he was a Republican President.

* * *



Jerry Summers



(If you have additional information about one of Mr. Summers' articles or have suggestions or ideas about a future Chattanooga area historical piece, please contact Mr. Summers at jsummers@summersfirm.com)

Barry Le Va, a sculptor who never bowed to the conventions of his medium, opting instead for temporary arrangements of ephemeral materials like felt and flour spread across the floor and, more flamboyantly, for works made by hurling meat cleavers, bricks and even his own body at walls, died on Jan. 24 in hospice care in the Bronx. He was 79.

The cause was congestive heart failure, according to the David Nolan Gallery, which has represented his work since 1989.

Mr. Le Va (pronounced luh-VAY) was a member of the Post-Minimalist generation that emerged in the late 1960s. Partly in reaction to Minimalisms sleek metals, the Post-Minimalists played down or completely abandoned finished art objects, branching out instead into performance, earthwork, video and process art.

Mr. Le Va worked in the process art mode, along with the artists Richard Serra, Keith Sonnier, Lynda Benglis, Alan Saret and Dorothea Rockburne. They began their careers working with temporary installations that were executed anew each time they were exhibited. This would be Mr. Le Vas practice for his entire career.
Melissa Caddick's own parents and older brother are allegedly among the victims of her financial trickery - as her 'toy boy' husband's $1,700 a week allowance is cut off.

Court documents seen by Daily Mail Australia revealed Adam Grimley and parents Ted and Barbara paid the Sydney 'financial adviser' from their savings to buy them shares.

But the money was apparently never returned, according to a letter from lawyers acting for the receivers who have taken control of Caddick's estate.

The shocking twist comes as Anthony Koletti - the suspected conwoman's unemployed hairdresser and DJ lover - was stripped of his weekly allowance he was using to pay for his and Caddick's teenage son's living expenses.

Caddick's fourteen bank accounts had just $5,600 left in them for Koletti's use, according to Stephanie Fendekian, a lawyer for the corporate regulator ASIC.

Justice Brigitte Markovic ordered 'no further payment' be made to Caddick's family, in a move that may please furious investors who have argued Caddick's assets shouldn't be used to keep her family in the pleasant lifestyle they are accustomed to.

The joy ride's over: Melissa Caddick's husband Anthony Koletti (above, behind the wheel of a left hand drive luxury vehicle) will be stripped of his $1,700-per-week allowance when his wife's remaining bank balance is exhausted, the Federal Court has heard

New South Wales's most wanted woman was said to boast about her 83 carat black sapphire necklace (above) being worth $250,000. Above, the couple on Caddick's birthday last year

Caddick is believed to have misappropriated more than $25million in funds plunged into her company by investors.

Many of her alleged victims were known to be close family friends and wealthy associates.

But a February 1 letter from Michael Hayter, a lawyer for the receivers, indicated her parents and brother lost money too.

'Could Mr Adam Grimley urgently provide to us details of the monies he and his parents have paid Ms Caddick to invest in shares which have not been returned to them,' Mr Hayter asked, also requesting any documents Ms Caddick gave them in relation to the investments.

The dozens of investors who handed Caddick their savings for her company, Maliver Pty Ltd, to invest may be disappointed by the return they get, the court heard.

Ms Fendekian told Justice Brigitte Markovic that provisional liquidators and receivers had found a 'significant' shortfall between Caddick's assets and what investors claim to be owed.

The majority of Caddick's assets were in real estate, shares and luxury goods, which were held in her name, rather than in her company's, the court heard.

Ms Fendekian said both Caddick and her company were likely to have violated corporate and criminal law.

Melissa Caddick's own brother Adam Grimley (above, left) and parents could be among her victims - with receivers requesting details of shares they paid Caddick for which hadn't been returned

Caddick stands accused of using much of her allegedly misappropriated funds to fuel an extravagant lifestyle.

Caddick was a known aficionado of prestige Sydney jeweller Simon Canturi, boasting to friends about her alleged $250,000 83 carot black sapphire necklace.

She owned a $6.2million Dover Heights home, paid more than $2million for an Edgecliff penthouse for her elderly parents to live in and drove around in a $300,000 Audi R8 (as well as a Mercedes). The family holidayed in Aspen, Colorado, each year and had a fit, young personal chef cook them organic meals about four nights a week.

The court's ruling on Mr Koletti's living expenses is likely to come as a dire financial blow.

Mr Koletti provided this screenshot to the Federal Court showing his balance as of December 4

The 38-year-old previously told the court had just $1.95 in his bank account in early December, about three weeks after Caddick went missing.

A source close to the investigation confirmed the consequences of the court order, which was quietly handed down last Friday.

'It is correct that the payments (to Mr Koletti) will end imminently,' they told Daily Mail Australia.

Caddick's representatives could still apply to the court to have the funds reinstated with three days' notice.

As for his R8, The Sydney Morning Herald reported on Monday that it is believed to have already been repossessed by authorities.

It was also revealed in court that Mr Koletti and Caddick's brother Adam Grimley were last week compelled to attend interviews with ASIC investigators.

During the 'examinations' last Thursday and Friday, the pair were required to answer questions under oath under Section 19 of the ASIC Act.

Flash sportscar: Mr Koletti drives a $300,000 electric blue Audi R8. Above, the former Joh Bailey hairdresser poses with his pride and joy in front of the Sydney Harbour Bridge

Living like royalty: Caddick and Koletti lived in a $6.2million Dover Heights mansion with sweeping views of Sydney Harbour (real estate photo above)

Lavish holidays: Caddick with her brother Adam Grimley and husband Anthony Koletti holidaying in Fiji, above. The Federal Court heard Mr Grimley and Mr Koletti were compelled to appear at an examination with ASIC investigators last week

ASIC has been assisting the NSW Police Force in its investigations. State Crime Command's Financial Crimes Squad recently opening a probe into Caddick.

Currently, there is no warrant out for the 49-year-old's arrest and Caddick is simply considered a missing person by police. But that could soon change.

Ms Fendekian reported that ASIC has been working closely with detectives. Significantly, she said receivers and provisional liquidators have found a 'number of possible contraventions of the Corporations Act and criminal law' by Caddick and her company.

Ms Caddick has been missing for more than three months, meaning police consider her among the 'long term' disappeared - a category that makes up just two per cent of missing Australians.

Melissa's last sighting: Caddick was last seen in her activewear on November 11 when her home was raided by ASIC and Federal Police investigators. Above, seen in her office

Caddick was last seen at her Dover Heights home on November 11 as ASIC and Federal Police investigators pored through her financial records and closed circuit security camera vision.

She disappeared in the hours that followed with her teenage son reportedly hearing the door 'click' about 5.30am the next morning.

However, police are treating her appearance during the raid as her final sighting. Bondi Police investigators aren't ruling out any possibilities as to what happened to her, but detectives are working on the theory she is alive, and intentionally disappeared as law enforcement closed in and her alleged scam unraveled.

The civil case against Caddick and her business will return to court on April 7. An application is expected to be made to wind her company up.

Do you know more? Email tips@dailymail.com
A batch of the Indian vaccine CoviShield may arrive in Ukraine on the morning of February 23, Deputy Head of the Office of the President of Ukraine Kyrylo Tymoshenko said.

"The vaccine is on the way. I hope it will be in Ukraine in the morning. It is already on the plane. But the plane has its own route. Unfortunately, the first batch does not fly directly, there are some logistical problems," Tymoshenko said during his speech at the all-Ukrainian forum "Ukraine 30. Infrastructure" on Monday, February 22.
Smile Telecoms Holdings Ltd. ("Group") Announces Significant Changes in its Leadership
A side-by-side comparison of the fruitless gene in the female (left) and male (right) mosquito brain. Credit: Rockefeller University

Male mosquitoes won't bite you. For one thing, they cannotmales are hopelessly bad at finding humans and lack a specialized stylet to pierce your skin. But even if they could bite you, they would not want to. They refuse blood meals served to them in the lab through netting, even as their female counterparts engorge on what must appear to be a free lunch.

Now, a new study from the laboratory of Rockefeller's Leslie Vosshall helps explain why. It appears that both mosquito sexes share the same neurons and brain structures needed to find humans, but that this hardware is hidden in the male mosquito brain, locked behind a simple genetic switch. Mutate the right gene, the researchers discovered, and male mosquitoes begin buzzing toward human scents in search of a prize that they do not even want.

Beyond clarifying why the male insects don't naturally swarm toward humans, the findings might also contribute to our understanding of how female mosquitoes spread diseases that claim millions of lives.

"This opens up a path into the mosquito brain," says lead author on the study Nipun Basrur, a Ph.D. student in Vosshall's lab. "We really had no idea what circuits in the brain might dictate how female mosquitoes sense humans and make decisions to bite them. Now that we know which gene is controlling them, we can look inside the brain and investigate further."

Basrur and colleagues began their work by examining a gene called fruitless, which is known to control courtship behavior in fruit flies. When they knocked out the analogous gene in male mosquitoes, these insects, like fruit flies, failed to mate effectively with females. But the scientists chose to investigate further, suspecting that the mutation might also impact male mosquitoes' desire for blood.

When offered warm blood through a net, however, mutant males abstained just like non-mutant males, even as female mosquitoes partook. When exposed to body heat, females liked what they felt. Mutant males, true to their sex, remained unimpressed by the promise of a blood mealsuggesting the corrupted gene doesn't play a role in feeding behavior, per se.

But when the scientists offered these mutant males a human arm, they suddenly swarmed. "This was a truly unexpectedand spectacularfinding," says Vosshall, who is the Robin Chemers Neustein Professor as well as an HHMI investigator. "We had never seen males interested in the scent of a human before."

Later tests confirmed that, while mutant male mosquitoes still lacked the desire to drink blood and the ability to sense body heat, turning off the fruitless gene had allowed their brains to process the unique smell of a live humanactivating a repressed urge to seek out humans just like a female. "This suggests that male mosquitoes actually possess the neural circuits required to hunt humans," Basrur says. "Removing fruitless appears to reveal this latent behavior in males."

An exciting, if theoretical, application would be one day using this information to masculinize female mosquitoes, blocking their ability to spread disease. Initial attempts to do so in the lab, however, rendered the female mosquitoes unviable due to blood-feeding and egg-laying defects. Of more immediate interest is the discovery that the neural circuits that females use to detect humans lie dormant in the male mosquito brain, guarded by a single gene.

Future studies from the Vosshall lab will investigate these latent neurons, continuing to explore how sex differences are encoded in the brain and determined by genes. "For a long time, the assumption was that sex-specific behaviors came from sets of neurons entirely specific to that sex," Basrur says. "But recent work, including our study, has shown that both sexes often have the same neurons and that genetics controls how they are used."

Explore further Mosquito brain atlas aims to reveal neural circuitry of behavior

More information: Nipun S Basrur et al. Fruitless mutant male mosquitoes gain attraction to human odor, eLife (2020). Journal information: eLife Nipun S Basrur et al. Fruitless mutant male mosquitoes gain attraction to human odor,(2020). DOI: 10.7554/eLife.63982
President Joe Biden said in a 2007 appearance on David Letterman that he was arrested at the U.S. Capitol when he was 21 years old, according to a report. He was a Democratic senator of Delaware at the time.

Fox News reported that Letterman asked Biden what it was like to walk into the U.S. Senate chamber when he was elected at the age of 29. Biden replied that he had walked into the Senate chamber when he was 21 and got arrested.

Biden said he was visiting some friends at Georgetown University on a Saturday when he decided to visit Washington as he was fascinated with the Senate.

"In those days, no guards stopping you everywhere. And they just got out of session. I walked in the back, all of a sudden I found myself in the chamber. I was stunned. I walked up, sat down in the presiding officer's seat, guy grabbed by the shoulder, said: 'you're under arrest'," Biden told Letterman in the interview.

Oh the irony. Biden said that he was arrested for trespassing at the Capitol. pic.twitter.com/cUid5QAIQ6  Michael Moore (@mbracemoore) February 21, 2021

Biden recounted the events and said nine years later, as he walked onto the Senate floor, the same police officer asked him if he remembered him, and he admitted that he does not.

The police officer then told Biden that he arrested him nine years ago and welcomed him back at the Capitol.

The report noted that it was unclear whether Biden was indeed arrested at the age of 21. However, it said that Biden had been caught claiming other arrests that turned out not to be true, including one claiming that he was arrested while visiting Nelson Mandela in South Africa during the apartheid era.

Biden then later said that by "arrested," he meant not being able to move.

Related story: Disturbing Inauguration Glitch Shocks Viewers as Joe Biden Delivers Message to Americans

Ongoing Investigations of the Capitol Riot

Meanwhile, federal authorities probing on the Jan. 6 Capitol riot are looking into whether high-profile supporters of former President Donald Trump, including Roger Stone and Alex Jones, played any role in instigating the violence.

According to an NBC News report, the possibility of Stone, Jones, and Ali Alexander being linked to the riot was first reported by The Washington Post.

The law enforcement source said that charges were unlikely, but investigators said they want to get a broad understanding of any possible instigators.

Trump was known to have pardoned Stone in 2019 for his conviction of making false statements, obstruction, and witness tampering. Stone is a long-time adviser and is a right-wing conspiracy theorist, claiming that the Sandy Hook Elementary School shooting in Newton, Connecticut did not happen.

Acting U.S. Attorney Michael Sherwin said the scope and scale of the probe of the cases regarding Capitol riot are unprecedented in Federal Bureau of Investigation (FBI) history, and probably in DOJ history, CBS News reported.

So far, around 235 people have been charged for their alleged roles in the Capitol riot. Seventy of those arrested were already indicted by grand juries, according to CBS News. Federal prosecutors also opened more than 400 investigations into possible criminals.

Sherwin earlier said that prosecutors would move away from charging identifiable defendants, such as those who appeared in photos and social media and will focus on building more complicated conspiracy cases connected to militia groups' coordinating the attack.

At least 18 have been charged with conspiracy for allegedly coordinating with others to commit an offense. On the other hand, over 20 people were charged with the destruction of government property statute.

Read more: President-Elect Joe Biden's Inauguration to Spend Astounding $7.5 Million on Security Company
Wind turbines are silhouetted against the sun at Black Law wind farm, in Black Law, Scotland, on Jan. 29, 2010. (Jeff J. Mitchell/Getty Images)

A Moms Research (Part 2): Texas Freezing and Global Warming

Commentary

A few days ago, my husband and I were chatting about the freezing weather in Texas and the resulting blackouts. My daughter got grumpy when she heard us and said, So you dont believe in global warming?

Not necessarily. If you want to convince me, answer my questions, my husband said. First, is it true that we have global warming? See how cold Texas gets and how much snow we are getting.

Scientists said these are caused by global warming! I can find out, said my daughter.

OK. Second, if global warming is true, is it caused by carbon dioxide or by human activities? Third, would it help if the United States and Europe stopped emitting carbon dioxide, while China can do whatever it wants? You know, the emissions from China are more than those from the United States and Europe combined.

Global warming is an interesting topic for my writing, I guess, I interjected.

No! You can write about anything but global warming! my daughter yelled.

Why?

Because its stupid!

Why is it stupid? I am going to research it.

The scientists  the United Nations  NASA said global warming is true! If you doubt it, it is like you are saying the earth is flat!

Well, I dont think the earth is flat, and I will do some research on global warming, I said.

But what you write is about socialism stuff. Thats politics. Global warming is SCIENCE!

OK, if it is a science, people should be allowed to debate about it, based on evidence and data, right? Why are you so upset? I am just curious to find answers to your dads questions. I dont think you would be upset if I wrote about whales and sea turtles, and checked which of them swims faster.

At that point, I made up my mind to do the research and find out why my daughter was so nervous about this topic.

Explaining Texas Freezing as Symptom of Global Warming

Since my daughter mentioned NASA, I researched NASA first. Theyve published a video showing the global surface temperature changes from 1880 to 2020. It looks like the global surface temperatures are rising, especially since 2005. The temperature increase at the North Pole is most obvious.

But why is Texas, in the Sunshine Belt, getting so cold? According to mainstream media, such as The New York Times, a warmer Arctic Sea and thinner Arctic sea ice is the reason for colder continents in lower latitudes of the Northern Hemisphere. Thats because the warmth weakens the circulating jet stream holding the cold polar air, so the frigid air escapes to the lower latitude areas.

Although this is the medias standard answer, in scientific circles, its still considered a hypothesis and has been challenged by prominent climate scientists.

John Wallace, Isaac Held, David Thompson, Kevin Trenberth, and John Walsh wrote in a 2014 letter published in Science: Its an interesting idea, but alternative observational analyses and simulations with climate models have not confirmed the hypothesis, and we do not view the theoretical arguments underlying it as compelling. 

Coincidence does not in itself constitute a strong case for causality. Cold air outbreaks even more severe than occurred this winter affected the United States in the early 1960s, the late 1970s (most notably 1977), and in 1983, back when the Arctic sea ice was thicker and more extensive than it is today.

Russell Blackport and James A. Screen wrote in a 2020 letter published in Nature: Over the past six or so years, there has been a surge of modelling studies suggesting only a weak influence of Arctic warming on mid-latitudes. The magnitudes of the simulated responses are consistently weaker than observations might imply, for reasons that are uncertain and contentious.

Apparently, scientists havent found a compelling explanation for the extreme winter chill in Texas in the context of global warming. Thats quite inconvenient for climate apocalypse advocates.

Global warming has been held as the culprit for all kinds of miseries, such as hurricanes, droughts, flooding, wildfires, heatwaves, malaria, and rising sea levels. Therefore, extreme winter cold has to be caused by global warming somehow, right?

Just as Liz Sherwood-Randall, President Joe Bidens homeland security adviser, told reporters on Feb. 18, The extreme weather events that were experiencing this week  do yet again demonstrate to us that climate change is real and its happening now, and were not adequately prepared for it.

Global Warming Versus Hurricanes

Hurricanes have been depicted as the literal poster-child of the harmful impacts of global warming.Christopher Landsea, U.S. meteorologist

In reading The Epoch Times book How the Specter of Communism Is Ruling Our World, I was shown a gateway to an ocean of knowledge about climate change.

Christopher Landsea is an American meteorologist and hurricane expert. On his webpage on the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration website, I found an article on the relationship between hurricanes and global warming.

In the article, Landsea indicates that he believes that global warming has occurred, and human activities have contributed to the warming. However, according to his research, the overall impact of global warming on hurricanes is currently negligible and likely to remain quite tiny even a century from now.

Global warming increases both ocean temperature and air temperature. According to Landsea, higher ocean temperature contributes to the formation of tropical storms or hurricanes, while higher air temperature aloft impedes the storms. Other factorssuch as air moisture, thunderstorms, and windmight play bigger roles than ocean temperature.

Landseas prediction isif the global temperature increases by a significant 2 to 3 degrees Celsius (4 to 6 degrees Fahrenheit) by 2100that the number of hurricanes may decrease by 25 percent, the intensity may increase slightly (approx. 3 percent), storm surges may increase by 3 percent, and rainfall may increase by 10 percent per hurricane.

Wait a second! Arent we getting more hurricanes and bigger damage in recent years? Some studies show that the number of hurricanes and tropical storms has increased from six to eight per year in the 1870s, to 14 to 16 per year in the 2000s, while the sea surface temperature increased by more than 0.78 degrees C (1.5 degrees F) during the 100-year period.

Landsea argued that the increase of hurricanes can be attributed to the more advanced technologies to detect and monitor the storms. Tropical storms and hurricanes form above the oceans, so most or all of their power would be dissipated above the oceans. Nowadays, researchers have aircraft, satellites, radar, buoys, and automated weather stations to monitor hurricanes. Because many of these technologies werent available decades ago, its impossible to get accurate historical data on the actual number of hurricanes.

An alternative way to evaluate the trend is to check those storms and hurricanes that have struck land. By this measure, more hurricanes made landfall in 1933 than in 2005, and the long-term upward trend in numbers disappears significantly.

As for the increased damage by the hurricanes, Landsea explained that it is caused by more wealth we own per capita, and much more population along U.S. coastlines. From Maine to Texas, the coastal population has increased to almost 50 million in 2000 from 10 million in 1900. If these factors are taken into consideration, or, if we calculated the damage of the historical hurricanes based on todays society, Hurricane Katrina in 2005 wasnt as powerful as the Great Miami Hurricane of 1926, and the hurricane damage from 1996 to 2005 would be equivalent to that between 1926 to 1935.

There have been no peer-reviewed studies published anywhere that refute this. However, this normalized record of damages does provide us with some indications of hurricane climate variations that likely are unrelated to global warming, Landsea wrote.

Inconvenient Truth

In his celebrated 1974 Cargo Cult lecture, the late Richard Feynman [1965 Nobel Prize in Physics Laureate] admonished scientists to discuss objectively all the relevant evidence, even that which does not support the narrative. Thats the difference between science and advocacy. Steven E. Koonin, theoretical physicist, director of the Center for Urban Science and Progress, New York University

Steven E. Koonin is a former undersecretary for science for the U.S. Department of Energy. In an article he wrote for The Wall Street Journal in November 2017, he lamented that many climate scientists show data out of complete historical context in order to support their narratives. This practice, however, violates basic scientific norms.

He pointed out that, in the U.S. governments Climate Science Special Report to be published in November, the description of sea-level rise was questionable.

The report ominously notes that while global sea level rose an average 0.05 inch a year during most of the 20th century, it has risen at about twice that rate since 1993. But it fails to mention that the rate fluctuated by comparable amounts several times during the 20th century. The same research papers the report cites show that recent rates are statistically indistinguishable from peak rates earlier in the 20th century, when human influences on the climate were much smaller, he wrote.

This isnt the only example of a misleading omission in the report.

The reports executive summary declares that U.S. heat waves have become more common since the mid-1960s, although acknowledging the 1930s Dust Bowl as the peak period for extreme heat. Yet, buried deep in the report is a figure showing that heat waves are no more frequent today than in 1900, he wrote.

This governmental report was written by a team of about 30 scientists. The artifice revealed by Koonin also appeared in other official climate reports for the U.S. government and the United Nations.

The Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change (IPCC) of the United Nations has promoted the theory that malaria and other insect-borne diseases are getting more widespread as the climate warms. However, according to a 2011 Forbes article, The World Health Organization reports global malaria deaths have declined by nearly 40% during the past decade, even as the earth experienced its hottest decade on record.

An article published in Nature in 2011 presented a scientific study that found that warmer temperatures seem to slow transmission of malaria-causing parasites, by reducing their infectiousness.

As for the relationship between droughts and global warming, David Legates, former director of the Center for Climatic Research at the University of Delaware, testified to a Senate committee in 2014 that droughts in the United States are more frequent and more intense during colder periods.

William Happer, a research physicist and former vice president for research at Princeton University, testified to a Senate subcommittee that in spite of the drumbeat of propaganda, CO 2 is not carbon pollution, but brings increased agricultural yields. He also pointed out that various mainstream climate models have predicted much more warming than observed.

Current climate researchers rely almost entirely on computer models to do their studies, because the complexity of the climate problem makes it impossible to experiment and validate under controlled conditions in the laboratory. However, the climate models are far from perfect. According to Joanne Simpson, an award-winning NASA atmospheric scientist, We all know the frailty of models concerning the air-surface system.

The late Princeton physicist Freeman Dyson pointed out that while clouds are a very important factor that affects the climate, climate models cannot simulate them realistically because they are far too small and too diverse. He also said, You can learn a lot from [models], but you cannot learn whats going to happen 10 years from now.

Global Warming Versus Carbon Dioxide Versus Humans

The earth has gone through cycles of warming and cooling throughout history. According to Takuro Kobashi and other Japanese researchers, 11,270 years ago the temperatures in the northern hemisphere rose about 4 degrees C (7 degrees F) within a few years. Some 8,000 years ago, the Greenland temperature cooled by about 3 degrees C (5 degrees F) in less than 20 years, followed by a warming that lasted for about 70 years.

Chinese scientist Zhu Kezhen pointed out that the annual average temperature in China 3,000 years ago was about 2 degrees C (4 degrees F) higher than the current temperature. Elephants were roaming the plains at the same latitude as Little Rock, Arkansas. One thousand years ago, Europe experienced 300 years of the Medieval Warm Period, followed by a 400-year cold period called the Little Ice Age ,  which resulted in a wide range of food shortages and famines.

Whether the current warming is largely caused by humans, or part of a natural climate fluctuation, is a debatable topic in scientific circles. Some scientists believe that galactic cosmic ray flux or solar activities play bigger roles in climate change than man-made carbon dioxide emissions.

In addition, according to Modeling Climatic Effects of Anthropogenic Carbon Dioxide Emissions: Unknowns and Uncertainties, a research paper published in the journal Climate Research in November 2001, scientists found that the warming effect of greenhouse gases (mainly carbon dioxide, methane, and nitrous oxide) can be mitigated by factors such as stratus clouds.

A 4% increase in the area of stratus clouds over the globe could potentially compensate for the estimated warming of a doubled atmospheric CO 2 concentration, the authors wrote.

In 2013, German climate scientist Hans von Storch reported a phenomenon that cant be explained by the current climate models.

Recent CO 2 emissions have actually risen even more steeply than we feared. As a result, according to most climate models, we should have seen temperatures rise by around 0.25C (0.45F) over the past 10 years. That hasnt happened. In fact, the increase over the last 15 years was just 0.06C (0.11F), he wrote.

The Sacred Consensus and Canceled Scientists

IPCCs establishment in 1988 signified the entry of global warming into the political realm.

Every five years, IPCC publishes an authoritative report for policymakers involved in the U.N. Framework Convention on Climate Change (UNFCCC). The objective of the UNFCCC is to stabilize greenhouse gas concentrations in the atmosphere at a level that will prevent dangerous human interference with the climate system. Apparently, the assumption here is that humans are the culprit creating interference with the climate system.

In her testimony to the U.S. House of Representatives in March 2017, Judith Curry, a climate scientist at Georgia Tech University, pointed out that with the mandate of the UNFCCC, the climate community has prematurely elevated a scientific hypothesis on human-caused climate change to a ruling theory through claims of a consensus.

Frederick Seitz, the 17th president of the U.S. National Academy of Sciences, published an article in The Wall Street Journal in 1996 that criticized the newly released IPCC Assessment Report. He discovered that the published report didnt contain any statements expressing uncertainty about humans roles in climate change, although these statements were in the final peer-reviewed version approved by the contributing scientists.

A Forbes report revealed that the report used selective data, a doctored graph, in addition to the omissions mentioned by Seitz. It also mentioned that several tens of thousands of scientists have lodged formal protests regarding unscientific IPCC practices. Some critics include former supporters.

With practices like this, a consensus is established: Climate change is caused by human activities; extreme weather events will result; substantial and increasing damage will occur.

Stephen Schneider, an advocate of the consensus and a lead author of IPCCs Third Assessment Report, was quoted by Jonathan Schell in a 1989 Discover magazine article talking about the strategy for spreading the consensus.

Like most people wed like to see the world a better place, which in this context translates into our working to reduce the risk of potentially disastrous climate change. To do that we need to get some broad based support, to capture the publics imagination. That, of course, means getting loads of media coverage. So we have to offer up scary scenarios, make simplified, dramatic statements, and make little mention of any doubts we might have, Schneider was quoted as saying.

As science becomes the servant of politics, scientists who stood their ground against the consensus tasted the chilling cancel culture. Quite a lot of examples were given in the book How the Specter of Communism Is Ruling Our World.

Physicist Michael Griffin, the NASA administrator in 2007, expressed in an interview with NPR that year that higher temperatures arent necessarily bad for humans. He was immediately criticized by the media and some climate scientists and had to apologize to NASA employees for the controversy the following week.

Swedish meteorologist Lennart Bengtsson, then-director of the European Centre for Medium-Range Weather Forecasts, was heavily criticized in 2014 because he joined the board of The Global Warming Policy Foundation, a think tank promoting open-mindedness on the science of global warming. He had to resign from the foundation within two weeks because of tremendous pressure.

The late David Bellamy, a famous British botanist, stated publicly that he didnt believe in the consensus. As a result, in 2004, he lost his leadership roles at Plantlife International and the Royal Society of Wildlife Trusts. The BBC also stopped working with him on nature programs. He was even spat on in a London street by activists.

Similarly, Dutch meteorologist Hendrik Tennekes lost his position as the director of research at the Royal Dutch Meteorological Institute in 1995, after publishing an article criticizing the accuracy of climate models.

The list goes on. Many researchers also lost their funding because of their stance against the consensus.

At a 2015 Senate hearing, Judith Curry testified , A climate scientist making a statement about uncertainty or degree of doubt in the climate debate is categorized as a denier or a merchant of doubt, whose motives are assumed to be ideological or motivated by funding from the fossil fuel industry.

Curry herself was labeled as a climate heretic because of her expression of concerns on the consensus.

Political-Scientific Alliance on Climate Change

Now, I started to understand my daughters fear. The label of being a denier of climate change makes people think of Holocaust deniers.

How dare you not care about the future of mankind? How dare you not worry about a scorching earth with rampant fires and horrific hurricanes? In addition, the risk of being canceled socially or professionally is scary.

But whats behind the very obvious political-scientific alliance on climate change?

In a 2010 interview, IPCC official Ottmar Edenhofer gave some startling confessional statements: Basically, its a big mistake to discuss climate policy separately from the major themes of globalization.  One must say clearly that we redistribute de facto the worlds wealth by climate policy.  One has to free oneself from the illusion that international climate policy is environmental policy. This has almost nothing to do with environmental policy anymore, with problems such as deforestation or the ozone hole.

Sound familiar? Globalization. Wealth Redistribution. Green New Deal. The Great Reset. Climate Change is their common denominator.

This is a new form of socialism. Actually, its not that new. Eco-Marxism and eco-socialism arent new concepts. From the end of the 19th century to the beginning of the 20th century, British scientist Arthur Tansley, who originated the concept of ecology, and Darwinian zoologist Ray Lankester were both Fabian socialists. Lankester was even a friend of Karl Marx. While Marx labeled capitalists as the enemies of workers, Tansley and Lankester labeled capitalism as the enemy of nature.

Environmentalism is a convenient storefront for communists to continue the fight against the free world.

The Paris Climate Agreement is the result of climate change advocacy. According to the agreement, by 2025, developed countries must commit $100 billion annually to developing countries to help them reduce emissions and adapt to climate change. This is a brilliant wealth redistribution strategy.

Besides, the United States, which has 12 percent of the worlds greenhouse gas emissions, is supposed to cut emissions by 2628 percent by 2025, while China, which has the highest share (23 percent) of emissions, is only required to PEAK carbon emissions no later than 2030. In other words, the Chinese Communist Party can do whatever it wants until 2030, without an upper limit for emissions.

This kind of rule would definitely weaken the economy of the free world while boosting Chinese communist power.

Concepts such as carbon neutrality (balancing carbon dioxide emissions with removal), carbon credits (tradable permits for emission), and the carbon market are floating around and gaining momentum. A developed country whose carbon credits are used up can buy carbon credits from developing countries. These carbon credits can be a new form of currencyand a new way for wealth redistribution!

In November 2019, Bloomberg published an article with a chilling title and subtitle: Climate Changed. Earth Needs Fewer People to Beat the Climate Crisis, Scientists Say. More than 11,000 experts sign an emergency declaration warning that energy, food, and reproduction must change immediately.

Apparently, the social movements driven by the climate change theory are changing the world. Based on a glorified hypothesis and computer models, its becoming a tyranny, a way to take away our freedom. I am going to share my research results with my daughter, and I hope it helps you as well to know more about the theory.

Jean Chen is originally from China and writes under a pen name in order to protect her family members there.

Views expressed in this article are the opinions of the author and do not necessarily reflect the views of The Epoch Times.

Update: All of the nursing home bills passed the Senate this afternoon. Sen. Rachel Mays bill to designate caregivers to visit during health crises, even if the nursing home is closed to the public, passed 63-0.

Syracuse, N.Y.  State senators are expected to approve legislation today meant to require more oversight and transparent reporting about nursing home residents during health crises such as the coronavirus pandemic.

The package of 11 bills is also meant to explore and create better ways to care for older people  and to ensure that nursing home residents can have pre-approved visitors even during a health crisis.

People really are dying from isolation, said Sen. Rachel May, D-Syracuse, who is sponsoring three of the proposals.

The votes come as Gov. Andrew Cuomo continues to face criticism and questions from federal prosecutors into the way his administration classified Covid-19 deaths among nursing home residents.

The effort also is happening as more Democrats, who control the states Senate and Assembly, have sharpened their disapproval of how the Democratic governor pushed aside requests for a clearer understanding about pandemic-related fatalities among nursing home residents.

For months, Cuomos Department of Health attributed deaths to nursing homes only if the resident died inside a facility. If the resident died elsewhere, such as at a hospital, that data wasnt counted among nursing home fatalities.

That decision didnt change the states overall reported death toll, which on Sunday was at nearly 38,000.

But it did mask the true death toll among residents at the congregant living facilities until recently, when pressure from a lawsuit, the attorney general, lawmakers and the public prompted the governor to provide a more complete look at the losses among nursing homes.

The Senates proposals would force a more transparent accounting, dating back to March 2020.

At the same time, many of the bills look ahead to how New York should care for seniors, both in a crisis and during less dangerous times.

I think the pandemic has forced us to think about what we do right and what do we do wrong, May said Sunday.

One of her bills would allow more people to visit nursing home residents during a pandemic. It would allow residents to designate one or two people to be specified caregivers. Those people would be able to enter a nursing home, even if it was closed to the public, so long as the caregivers met the same testing safety standards as the staff.

Having regular visitors, she said, is about more than passing the time. This is about saving lives, she said. Residents often rely on family or close friends to help with daily personal care and to notice changes or problems that can lead to worse outcomes.

Currently, nursing homes are open to visitors only if the facility  residents and staff  have gone without a positive case for 14 days. Last week, Cuomo said the state would send nursing homes free rapid testing kits to help keep the virus out of the facilities.

Thats a help, May said. But it doesnt guarantee visits if someone inside the nursing home tests positive.

Another bill sponsored by May means to bolster an ombudsman program for all nursing homes. It would require staff to let residents know the program exists and set up a hotline so the volunteer advocates could call the Department of Health to report concerns.

Her third bill would create a task force to present proposals to improve senior care in the long term. That report would be due in May 2022.

If passed and signed by the governor, the visitation change would take effect in 45 days, according to the most recent version of the legislation.

But its unclear if the governor supports the changes, May said. She added the effort has support from AARP, other senior groups and families of nursing home residents.

We hear almost every day from someone in the district who are anguished over this, she said of the lack of contact families have had with nursing home residents during the pandemic.

The bills would also need support from the Assembly. Mays three bills have companion legislation in the Assembly, her legislative director confirmed this morning.

Heres a look at the proposed legislation, as provided by Mays office:

Reimagining Long-Term Care Task Force: This bill, This bill, S.598 sponsored by Senator Rachel May, enacts the Reimagining Long-Term Care Task Force to create a task force studying the state of both home-based and facility-based long-term care services in the state, and to make recommendations on potential models of improvement to long-term care services for older New Yorkers.

Long-Term Care Ombudsman Program Reform Act: This bill, This bill, S.612 sponsored by Senator Rachel May, Creates The Long-term Care Ombudsman Program Reform Act by amending the current program to be more accessible and available to seniors and their families, while ensuring volunteers and advocates have the same rights and responsibilities as Long-Term Care Ombudsmen.

Allowing Compassionate Care-Giving Visitors: This bill, This bill, S.614A sponsored by Senator Rachel May, allows for personal care and compassionate care visitors at nursing homes.

Patient Care Ratio Reporting: This bill, This bill, S.4336 sponsored by Senator Gusatvo Rivera, bill directs the Commissioner of Health to establish a Direct Patient Care Ratio that would require all nursing homes to spend at least 70% of a facilitys revenue on direct patient care.

Publication of Nursing Home Ratings: This bill, This bill, S.553 sponsored by Senator James Sanders Jr., requires that the most recent Center for Medicare and Medicaid Services (CMS) rating of every nursing home to be prominently displayed on the home page of the Department of Healths website and at each nursing home facilitys website and displayed at the facility for view by the general public. that the most recent Center for Medicare and Medicaid Services (CMS) rating of every nursing home to be prominently displayed on the home page of the Department of Healths website and at each nursing home facilitys website and displayed at the facility for view by the general public.

Infection Inspection Audit: This bill, This bill, S.1783 sponsored by Senator James Skoufis, Directs the department of health to establish and implement an infection inspection audit and checklist on residential care facilities, nursing homes and long-term care facilities.

Quality Assurance Committees: This bill, This bill, S.1784 sponsored by Senator James Skoufis, Requires adult care facilities to include quality assurance committees in their quality assurance plans

Requirements for transfer, discharge and voluntary discharge: This bill, This bill, S.3058 sponsored by Senator Gustavo Rivera, Creates requirements for transfer, discharge and voluntary discharge of residents from residential healthcare facilities

Standards for Ownership of Nursing Homes: This bill, This bill, S.3060 sponsored by Senator Gustavo Rivera, Requires stricter standards for ownership of Nursing Homes through CON process - including consideration of past violations by owners and requires more notice to public during the CON process

DOH Death Records: This bill, This bill, S.3061 sponsored by Senator Gustavo Rivera, Require DOH record deaths that occurred in hospitals of nursing home residents to be recorded as a nursing home death and require DOH to update and share data it receives with hospitals and nursing homes on communicable diseases and require

Transparency of Violations: This bill, This bill, S.3185 sponsored by Senator James Skoufis, requires residential health care facilities to disclose to potential residents and their family members information on where a list of violations and other actions taken against the facility can be found, and requires such facilities to inform certain persons on where they can locate the list.

Got a story idea or news tip youd like to share with a Syracuse-area reporter? Please contact me through email, Twitter, Facebook or at 315-470-2274.
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ALBUQUERQUE, N.M.  A new business association is working to promote Albuquerques long-overlooked West Side.

We do want a higher quality of life for our residents, and we want to ensure that our area businesses are successful, said Melissa Sanchez, founder and executive director of the Albuquerque Westside Business Association.

During a virtual event on Tuesday, Sanchez discussed the new group and answered questions from listeners.

She said the West Side faces a variety of challenges, from infrastructure to simple recognition, but added that the neighborhood has momentum with several large companies announcing or breaking ground on new facilities in recent years.

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All of these big companies that are locating to New Mexico and choosing the West Side  that is really a tremendous boost to our economy, Sanchez said.

Albuquerques West Side has long lacked the base of jobs that other districts have. Sanchez, who said she has lived on the West Side since moving to Albuquerque in the early 2000s, said many residents end up commuting to other parts of town, which means a lack of foot traffic for local restaurants during the day. Sanchez said the problem has only gotten worse since the COVID-19 pandemic began.

Additionally, she said the region, which the business association defines as west of the Rio Grande and north of Central Avenue, struggles with name recognition, as she said many Burquenos conflate it with Rio Rancho.

Still, the region has momentum, with a number of companies, including Amazon and Ben E. Keith, choosing the West Side to expand in Albuquerque in recent years. This has led to more West Side workers being able to work and patronize businesses in the area, Sanchez said.

Theyre spending their entire day on the west side of the river, she said.

The Westside Business Association formed last year, but Sanchez said the pandemic has slowed its development.

The organization is advocating for businesses in the region to county and state officials. Sanchez said shes monitoring bills, including the paid sick leave proposal, that will impact businesses in the area.

The organization is also offering an online job board that businesses may use for free, and member promotion through social media. Anyone interested in learning more can visit www.ABQWestside.org.
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BOSTON  Kroger Co. says personal data, including Social Security numbers of some of its pharmacy and clinic customers, may have been stolen in the hack of a third-party vendors file-transfer service.

The Cincinnati-based grocery and pharmacy chain said in a statement Friday that it believes less than 1% of its customers were affected  specifically some using its Health and Money Services  as well as some current and former employees because a number of personnel records were apparently viewed.

It says it is notifying those potentially impacted, offering free credit-monitoring.

Kroger said the breach did not affect Kroger stores IT systems or grocery store systems or data and there has so far been no indication of fraud involving accessed personal data.

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The company, which has 2,750 grocery retail stores and 2,200 pharmacies nationwide, said Sunday in response to questions from The Associated Press that an investigation into the scope of the hack was ongoing.

A Kroger spokeswoman said via email that affected patient information could include names, email addresses, phone numbers, home addresses, dates of birth, Social Security numbers as well as information on health insurance, prescriptions and medical history.

Federal law requires organizations that handle personal healthcare information to inform the Department of Health and Human Services of any data breaches.

Kroger said it was among victims of the December hack of a file-transfer product called FTA developed by Accellion, a California-based company, and that it was notified of the incident on Jan. 23, when it discontinued use of Accellions services. Companies use the file-transfer product to share large amounts of data and hefty email attachments.

Accellion has more than 3,000 customers worldwide. It has said that the affected product was 20 years old and nearing the end of its life. The company said on Feb. 1 that it had patched all known FTA vulnerabilities.

Other Accellion customers affected by the hack include the University of Colorado, Washington States auditor, Australias financial regulator, the Reserve Bank of New Zealand and the prominent U.S. law firm Jones Day.

For Washington States auditor, the hack was particularly serious. Exposed were files on 1.6 million claims obtained in its investigation of massive unemployment fraud last year.

In the case of Day, cybercriminals seeking to extort the law firm dumped an estimated 85 gigabytes of data online they claimed to have stolen.

Former President Donald Trump is among Days clients but the criminals told the AP via email that none of the data was related to him. The AP reached out to the criminals with questions via email on the dark website where they posted documents stolen from the law firm.

It is not known if the criminals extorting Day were also responsible for the Accellion hack.

The main priorities will be the return of the destructive forces to the constitutional order and framework, the introduction of vaccines and the drafting of a new 10-year development plan,- stated the candidate for the post of Prime Minister of Georgia, Irakli Gharibashvili, InterPressNews reports.

Gharibashvili stated about it at the sitting of the Georgian Dream faction in the parliament.

"During the first 100 days, the main priorities will be to establish order in the country and return a number of destructive forces to the constitutional order and framework. Of course, our main priority will be to introduce vaccines to the population and draft a new, ambitious 10-year development plan, which I will do with your involvement and with my team", - Gharibashvili said.

According to the PM candidate, he is ready to be personally involved in any decision-making process to stimulate business.

"We understand that the main challenge today is the pandemic, as well as the economy. Businesses need maximum support and I am fully prepared to be personally involved in any decision-making process related to business incentives and support to create more jobs. We need non-ordinary approaches, more creativity, sharper decisions", - Gharibashvili said.
San Antonio Mayor Ron Nirenberg called for the Electric Reliability Council of Texas  not individual residents  to pay for sky-high electricity bills generated by icy weather that left millions without power.

Some people in Texas who chose to pay wholesale prices for power were charged thousands of dollars after prices, typically as low as a couple of cents per kilowatt-hour, spiked to $9 per kilowatt-hour after the storm.

During a CNN appearance Sunday, Nirenberg said there'd be "hell to pay" if individuals were handed the bill for the crisis.

"It would be unconscionable for bills to go up and bills to be put on the backs of residents of the state that have been suffering and freezing in their homes for the last week through no fault of their own," Nirenberg said. "This was a total failure by the state's energy management, and they need to be held accountable."

READ ALSO: Why some Texans are getting sky-high energy bills

The mayor added that as far as he's concerned, "that bill should be sent to ERCOT."

"There will be hell to pay if there is any notion that the residents of this state should pay for this disaster," Nirenberg said.

Nirenberg's comments followed Texas Gov. Greg Abbott's statement Saturday that it was "unacceptable" for Texans who spent days in freezing temperatures without power to receive astronomical energy bills.

The state has temporarily stopped companies from cutting off power for unpaid bills.

President Joe Biden has declared a major disaster for much of Texas, including Bexar County, making federal funding available to communities.

Nirenberg told CNN the city of San Antonio is working with the state, federal government and private philanthropy to ensure residents do not have to wait to fix busted pipes and other weather-related issues.

The mayor said that city officials, planning for icy roads, "weren't given any notice" before blackouts began. Nirenberg did not anticipate the blackouts would leave people freezing in their homes for days and lamented that officials were given little opportunity to prepare the community.
You may say this is the wrong time to say it. This month, the Indian government used disproportionate force against a 22-year-old climate-change activist by interpreting her call for protest as a war against the Republic, and put her in jail. Other young activists, too, face serious consequences for their rebellion against Indias farm reforms. But then, the wrong time to say something is also the best time to test the tenor of a difficult argument. And the argument is this: Indias young, who are of sound mind, and this is an important classification, should quit full-time activism, refuse to work in non-profit organizations, sack themselves as humanitarians, and develop a suspicion for the hyper-morality that emanates from the West. They should instead make money, or do well in the material world in other ways, or at least start a doomed business.

I do not say for a moment that the young should not be interested in the welfare of other people, or that they should quietly tolerate despots. In fact, the only moral basis on which all my columns in this space stand is: We have only one job: if we are lucky, we must take care of the unlucky; everything else is merely an argument about the best way. It is just that I feel the best way that the young, especially those of privilege, can serve their nation better is by encashing their luck in the for-profit material world, rather than choosing the easy option of festive grandstanding and do-gooding, which is often harmful, at best useless or an inefficient way to make the world a better place.

There are good arguments against such a view. Material success is tough, a mere lottery, and often rigged. Why should the young be trapped in the unhappiness of ambition; why should they waste their lives in dull corporate slavery? And, no amount of taxes deposited with the government or invisible jobs you create by expanding the economy can match the excitement and meaning of direct intervention in a social cause. Even so, my argument against early activism rests on these thoughts.

There is a crisis that some activists whisper about but cannot state in public. Humanitarianism has become a magnet for the unstable who wish to see unhappiness in everything. It is not a place where the happy and the sane can thrive. This is a dangerous atmosphere for the suicidal or merely the gloomy, like young people often are, as there is a perpetual over-articulation of all that is bad in the world.

Last year, Barack Obama exhorted the youth to create change by asking them to make good trouble", borrowing the phrase from a legendary American civil rights activist. Good trouble" is not as naive as Obamas imagination of moderate Taliban". The young can make good trouble". What is toxic", to deploy a useful modern term, is full-time idealism. The joy of giving" is a pleasure that radiates from an emotional feudal system in which some people feel a sense of importance over the miserable. And that joy of facile validation can be an unmatched intoxicant.

As in the case of any drug, it has its risks. And activists do get into trouble with the state for their dependence on it.

When this happens, what is the moral responsibility of people who exhort the young to become good trouble"? In the US, the human rights establishment can go to great lengths in taking care of its own. But its travesty in India cannot. The young who hope to be good trouble" can be ruined by the state, and their handlers, who use them to achieve political and ideological ends, cannot always save them. India is merely an electoral democracy; it is not really a democracy in a Western sense, nor headed that way.

Much of what is going on in India in the name of humanitarianism is a part of the global industry of Western idealism with its identical values. It is a new form of evangelism. That is why a Greta Thunberg or Rihanna, or conscientious comedians like Trevor Noah, appear not to think they have an obligation to read the dense prose of a nations agrarian economy, at least on Wikipedia, before commenting on what a nation ought to do about its own farmers. As this column has maintained, Indias agricultural reform is a bold humanitarian effort, but to Western social evangelism, an agitating farmer on a tractor has to be the victim. In that way, once again, the global posh, in the euphoria of do-gooding, are actually sabotaging Indias poor. This is exactly how exotic socialism impoverished India, offering us tragic proof that good intentions can kill millions, and that the liberation of greed can lift one-fourth of a gigantic nation out of poverty in a single generation.

The Indian governments claim that foreign agents are trying to sabotage its farm reforms does sound silly, but there is substance in the paranoia. The young do not always realize who is funding their agitation and why. After all, Americas Central Intelligence Agency has been revealed to have not only funded uprisings around the world, but also sponsored Gloria Steinems feminism, and the globalization of Russian literature.

To be honest, if I were Indias prime minister and worried about Chinas rise, I would summon my secret service chief and wonder how to promote humanitarian agitations among Chinas well-fed youth, and how to smuggle into that country the drug of joy of giving. That would help Chinas rich, who are in search of meaning, inadvertently sabotage the rapid rise of its poor. I know this sounds somewhat funny. But then again, that is always an omen of truth.

Manu Joseph is a journalist, and a novelist, most recently of Miss Laila, Armed And Dangerous

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United Nations Atomic watchdog has said the office agreed with Iran to proceed with its "necessary" check and observations for as long as a quarter of a year, however, there will be less access and no more snap reviews from Tuesday.

The head of the United Nations atomic watchdog has said the office agreed with Iran to proceed with its necessary check and observing exercises for as long as a quarter of a year, however, there will be less access and no more snap reviews from Tuesday. Addressing correspondents in Vienna on Sunday following his return from Tehran, the International Atomic Energy Agency boss Rafael Grossi said his discussions with Iranian authorities had created a great, sensible outcome that rescues the circumstance for the present.

Grossis visit preceded a February 23 cutoff time set by Irans parliament for new US President Joe Biden to lift devastating assents forced by former US President, Donald Trump, or Tehran would end snap IAEA examinations. The IAEA boss was mindful so as to say that there still would be a similar number of monitors, however, there would be things we lose. He didnt offer numerous points of interest, however, Iranian Foreign Minister Mohammad Javad Zarif prior said that would remember impeding the IAEA from accessing footages at atomic sites.

Grossi told the media the law passed by Irans parliament would be applied, in any case, which implies the additional provision that permitted the IAEA to do snap assessments would be suspended. Many believe that the announcement would potentially give a greater amount of time for a diplomatic process to get under way between the US and Iran.

Joint statement by the Vice-President of the Islamic Republic of #Iran and Head of the AEOI and the Director General of the IAEA @RafaelMGrossi.

 https://t.co/EpEg0IZGxg pic.twitter.com/3juVR3rvCw  IAEA  International Atomic Energy Agency (@iaeaorg) February 21, 2021

US Acting Permanent Representative to the UN Richard Mills announced that Washington withdrew ex-president Donald Trump administrations request to reimpose all UN sanctions against Iran.
After former President Donald J. Trump was acquitted last weekend, both local party chairs offered their thoughts on what they think of the presidents acquittal, his legacy and possible future in politics.

As is expected in the political sphere, the countys party chairs view his legacy disparately. However, both agree that the president will continue to have a major role in politics.

I think this is great for our country, said Tyler Kraus, chair for the Webb County Republican Party. We can finally move on. President Trump never should have been impeached for the insurrection at the Capitol. The individuals who stormed the Capitol building acted on their own free will. They were never explicitly told to storm the Capitol building by President Trump. This was a political sham perpetrated by individuals that wanted to get revenge on President Trump at the cost of unity.

Kraus Democratic counterpart does not share these views, and believes that the acquittal of the former president was expected due to party politics more than anything else.

Unfortunately (Im) not surprised, the grand majority of the Republican senators already having shown their inclination to choose their personal political agendas over their duty to the Constitution of the United States, said Sylvia Bruni, chair for the Webb County Democratic Party. As a citizen, on the other hand, deeply ashamed of what this demonstrates  this group having deliberately chosen to ignore the facts, they themselves victims of that insurrection.

Bruni, however, expects that the legal troubles for the former president are not over yet. She expects the president to be held accountable for his actions in other courtrooms around the country as several lawsuits against him still loom.

Given the trail of misdeeds that is his record, I expect that justice will still prevail, other lawful entities waiting to hold the former president accountable for his unlawful behaviors, Bruni said. My hope, that in those courts, where the rule of law is protected and still prevails, we will soon see justice realized.

Bruni hopes that the impeachment process, however, serves as a learning experience for people to see how the president should not be considered above the law.

This lesson learned (is) spurring us to become more vigilant, more actively engaged in protecting our country from those who serve themselves, not us. And sooner than later, demonstrating our vigilance by voting those who have failed to protect our Constitution out of office, she said.

As for the future, Kraus believes Trump will have a large influence on politics for years to come.

If anyone knows President Trump, they know he will not be leaving the political scene, Kraus said. As soon as President Trump is allowed back onto social media, I expect him to be chiming in on the decisions the Biden Administration is making. President Trump may decide to run again in another four years. We will see how things play out.

Bruni believes Trumps legacy has already been affected, with recent polls showing Americans think he is the countrys worst president.

Both local party chairs agree that impeachment should not become the norm in a presidency.

Bruni states that this was only necessary under Trump because his presidency demanded it. such She believes that impeachment will not become a common practice as long as the president, whether Democrat or Republican, does not exceed the bounds of their power.

I dont see the impeachment process becoming the go to mechanism for our Congress, Bruni said. Unfortunately, we had a former president who caused great harm in the four years that he held the office, and impeachment became the only recourse. But, that chapter is closed, and my certainty is that we now have a POTUS who is truly committed to serving his country, not his own personal agenda.

Kraus alo believes that impeachment should not become the tool for the country to use whenever they disagree with a president, no matter their political party.

The entire impeachment process has been abused by the Democratic leadership, Kraus said. It is a shame what they have done to politicize the impeachment process. Both times that President Trump was impeached he was subsequently acquitted. He was impeached both times as an attempt to ruin his legacy. I really hope that no other president is unjustly impeached as President Trump was. However, the Democratic leadership did a great job at setting a dangerous precedent for future generations to follow.

Nevertheless, Kraus hopes that the end of the impeachment and the former presidents tenure leads to the country becoming more united in the long run.

We cant achieve anything as a nation when we are so starkly divided, Kraus said. President Biden has a tough road ahead of him, and he is already starting out on a bad foot with his job-killing decision to cancel the Keystone Pipeline. President Biden talked a big talk about unity, now its time for him to back up that talk with results.
In winter, Siberias Lake Baikal becomes the scene of a rare natural phenomenon known as Baikal Zen. Large stones balance on thin ice legs above the surface of the lake, making it seem like they are floating in the air.

Lake Baikal is a fascinating body of water. Its so large it can easily be mistaken for a sea, it is also the deepest and oldest lake on Earth, as well as the largest freshwater lake by volume. But these are only the most well-known facts about Lake Baikal. There are other more mysterious things going on there, some of which give the place a mystical, almost magical aura. Take the phenomenon known as Baikal Zen, for example  large, Zen-like pebbles balancing precariously on a thin ice pillar, above the frozen surface of the lake. Scientists have been studying this rare phenomenon for years, and we still dont have a unanimously accepted explanation for it.

Photo  Elena Vtorushina

Photos capturing the Baikal Zen phenomenon started circulating online about four years ago, but people originally dismissed it as the result of digital manipulation. However, it was soon proven that the images were genuine and that such natural works of art can form on the surface of Lake Baikal, during winter, but only when certain conditions are met.

View this post on Instagram A post shared by M a r i n a D u v i d z o n (@soulreflected)

So what is Baikal Zen exactly? Well, it can simply be described as flat, Zen-like stones perched on thin slivers of ice, a few centimeters above the frozen surface of the lake. Its a stunning sight, to be sure, and one that scientists all over the world have been scratching their heads about for some time. It was actually the subject of a presentation by Team Ukraine at the 2018 International Physics Tournament. If you have 40 minutes to spare, and are curious to hear a scientific explanation of the phenomenon, you can watch the presentation below.

View this post on Instagram A post shared by David Handler (@davidhandlermusic)

It is believed that Baikal Zen occurs when these flat Zen stones freeze on the surface of the lake, and are then heated by the suns rays, to the point where the ice underneath them begins to melt. However, the heat is not the only cause of this phenomenon. If it were, the ice would melt uniformly, and there would be no ice pillar to rest on.

View this post on Instagram A post shared by Sebastian Klammer (@sebastianklammer)

The strong winds that sometimes blow on Lake Baikal also plays a big part in the creation of Baikal Zen formations, as it prevents the melting of the central pillar of ice. So while most of the ice under the rocks melts from the heat, creating a concave surface, the central pillar remains as support. So the winds has to be blowing in order for this amazing phenomenon to occur.

View this post on Instagram A post shared by grand deux (@twosecondsinaminute)

But how do these Zen stones wind up on the surface of the lake to begin with? Well, according to Russian photographer Elena Vtorushina, who took some pics of Baikal Zen formations in 2018, they are blown on to the ice by the strong winds and wind up freezing in place.

View this post on Instagram A post shared by Osservatorio Raffaelli 1883 (@osservatorioraffaelli)

It is not clear if the poetically-named Baikal Zen occurs on other bodies of water, if the right weather conditions are met, but there are some who suggest that the clear water of the Siberian lake also influences the phenomenon somehow, as no photos of white ice pillars (water mixed with air) have been published so far.

Connecticut-based Pratt & Whitney is at the center of a National Transportation Safety Board investigation into the weekend failure of its PW4000-112 engine mounted on a United Airlines passenger jet that rained debris on a Colorado town.

On Sunday, NTSB ordered the grounding of Boeing 777-200 jets with the Pratt & Witney engines. Japans aviation regulatory body followed suit after a PW4000 engine had a similar failure last December during a Japan Airlines flight.

The United Airlines 328 engine failure was reminiscent of a 2018 incident when a PW4000 fan blade broke free during a United Airlines flight to Honolulu, resulting in similarly uncontained engine damage and fire. As the case with the Colorado and Japan flights, pilots made emergency landings relying their remaining engine with no injuries.

Pratt & Whitney offered no comment beyond a general statement pledging to continue to work to ensure the safe operation of the fleet and that investigative updates will be at the discretion of the NTSB in its words.

The PW4000-112 is one of three PW4000-series engines of varying sizes and thrust that Pratt & Whitney has manufactured since 1984, under former parent company United Technologies  which was acquired last April by Waltham, Mass.-based Raytheon Technologies.

It is the largest engine produced by Pratt & Whitney with a diameter of 112 inches. Boeing 777-200 and 777-300 aircraft are the only models that use the engine, with smaller PW4000 engines used for other Boeing jets as well as Airbus planes and McDonnell Douglas MD-11 models.

With its headquarters plant in East Hartford and another major facility in Middletown, Pratt & Whitney is Connecticuts second largest private-sector employer with about 11,000 employees split between the two facilities at last report. Raytheon CEO Greg Hayes initiated massive job cuts last year at Pratt & Whitney as the COVID-19 pandemic ground air travel to historic lows, but with only hundreds of job cuts for its Connecticut workforce.

Pratt & Whitney is counting on the newer PW1000 engine for future orders. The engine features a geared turbofan design with design efficiencies it calculates as saving airlines $1 million annually for each aircraft. The company also makes jet engines for the F-35 Joint Strike Fighter.

Boeing had 10 orders last year for the 777 series of airplane, with its outlook dominated by the 737 with 130 on order despite hundreds more canceled orders. As of the end of January, Boeing lists only about 30 unfilled orders for airplanes powered with Pratt & Whitney engines, with GE Aviation and its CFM International joint venture with Safran the dominant engines used on Boeing models today.

Global fleets for the Boeing 737-MAX were grounded in early 2019, after investigators attributed a pair of crashes to faulty sensors that recorded lower air speeds than was actually the case; and software that pushed the aircraft into steep descents to recover air speed, over the efforts of pilots unaware of the glitch as they struggled to pull the nose of the aircraft back up.

General Electric reported a $10.8 billion decline in GE Aviation revenue last year to $22 billion, with airlines having canceled 1,500 of the Leap-1B engines used on the 737-MAX but thousands more remaining on order.

Boeing replaced former CEO Dennis Muilenburg with Dave Calhoun, who earlier in his career led GE Aviation.

Alex.Soule@scni.com; 203-842-2545; @casoulman
More than 100,000 doses of Covid-19 are set to be administered this week, as supplies of the vaccine are to be ramped up over the coming weeks.

Health Service Executive (HSE) boss Paul Reid said the light is beginning to emerge as the State scales up its vaccine programme.

The CEO of the HSE said that it delivered some 40,000 to 45,000 doses every week, but that increased to 80,000 vaccines last week.

He said that 13,500 of those vaccines went to people aged over 85, while 25,000 were delivered to healthcare workers and 40,000 to residents and staff in long-term residential facilities.

This week, were heading up to over 100,000, Mr Reid told RTEs Today with Claire Byrne.

COVID-19 vaccines are already bringing hope to our communities. People who are most at risk from COVID-19 will get the vaccine first. For factual, expert information you can trust, visit the HSE website. #VaccinesWork #CovidVaccine #HoldFirm pic.twitter.com/sLzNVDle5z  HSE Ireland (@HSELive) February 22, 2021

He said that includes 40,000 people over the age of 85.

There are around 72,5000 people aged over 85 living in the State, and half a million people over the age of 70.

Over the course of the next two weeks we will have completed the 85 years age plus group, Mr Reid added.

Health officials say they will vaccinate the over 70s age cohort with both doses by May.

We will go through the age brackets over each couple of weeks, so in two weeks we will be starting the 80 to 85 age groups, Mr Reid said.

Everybody in that group will receive the first vaccine in April and second by the middle of May.

If supply comes through as they are committed to us, we will start to get over a million a month, and thats 250,000 (doses) a week.

Mr Reid urged the public to hold on to their guard, but said the vaccines gives the public a sense of a way out and of strong hope.

Mr Reid said the HSE will continue to monitor cases as schools reopen next month.

He warned parents and guardians not to mix together at school buildings, avoid going for coffee together and sharing car journeys.

We have always strongly advocated that the return to schools is safe, it is important to us. Our role will continue to be with mass testing like we did from September onwards, he added.

Mr Reid also said that the country is still seeing a high number of cases, but that the restrictions are working to help reduce the spread of the infection.

If youare aged 85 or over, you will be offered a free COVID-19 vaccine next. This has started and will continue as vaccines are supplied us. You don't need to register in advance. When your vaccine is available, your GP will let you know. #HoldFirm pic.twitter.com/x5FQXpcYmP  HSE Ireland (@HSELive) February 21, 2021

Meanwhile, it has emerged that people in all counties are increasingly travelling more than 10km from their homes.

Data from the Central Statistic Office (CSO) indicate that there has been some relaxation of mobility behaviour across the country.

It also shows that an estimated 66.7% of the population stayed within 10km of their home during the week ending February 12.

The Staying Local Indicator (SLI) shows that Dublin continues to be the county with the highest percentage of the population staying local at 79.7%.

The CSO said this reflects its urbanised nature and access to services compared to other counties.

An estimated 66.7% of the population stayed local (within 10k of home) during the week ending 12 February 2021 according to the Staying Local Indicator (SLI), a seven-day rolling averagehttps://t.co/HuVdYQys9a #CSOIreland #Ireland #COVIDIreland #Health #SocialImpact pic.twitter.com/RrNSvDOJZo  Central Statistics Office Ireland (@CSOIreland) February 22, 2021

The SLI data shows travel patterns in different counties over seven days.

Roscommon saw the highest decrease in mobility adherence for the week ending February 12.

A spokesman for SCO said: Propensity to stay within 10km of residence tends to differ by county, as movement is impacted by local circumstances and conditions, such as access to services and levels of urbanisation.

For example, Dublin, with a high level of urbanisation, consistently shows the highest percentage of persons staying local, while Mayo and Roscommon, with low levels of urbanisation, have the lowest percentage of persons staying within 10km of home.
New Delhi:

At least 20 people were killed and 30 injured in an explosion in front of Jawadia Mosque in Afghanistan's Herat city, the police said.

As per media reports, the blast took place late in the evening and 20 bodies have been brought to the hospital. The incident happened in a Shite mosque.

The people of the Shite community are the minority in Afghanistan and they often targeted by the ISIS operatives in the region.

At least 20 killed, 30 wounded in an explosion in front of Jawadia Mosque in Afghanistan's Herat city, reports TOLO news  ANI (@ANI_news) August 1, 2017

It is said that the two attackers had detonated bombs in the mosque which led the incident.

Also Read | Kabul attack: Suicide attacker detonates car bomb; 24 dead, several injured

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Source: Xinhua| 2021-02-23 00:51:54|Editor: huaxia

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YAOUNDE, Feb. 22 (Xinhua) -- At least eight people were killed and at least 25 others were injured when a bus collided head-on with another vehicle on a highway in Cameroon's West region early Monday, police said.

Several passengers were ejected in the accident that happened in Fossang locality of the region along the Koutaba-Yaounde highway.

More than 25 people were taken to hospitals after sustaining serious injuries, according to local police.

Road accidents are common in Cameroon often caused by reckless driving, poor state of vehicles and roads as well as overloading.

In January, at least 53 people were killed and 21 others seriously injured in an accident in the western village of Santchou. Enditem
Saved, then swayed by science

When somebody in a white coat tells you something you dont want to hear, its easy to decide theyre full of beans  especially when nothing seems amiss.

Id never felt healthier in my life than the day I was diagnosed with cancer (10 years ago this month). I had no fatigue, no lingering cough, no unexplained weight loss, not even a dang lump. All I had was a tiny tuck on one breast. But the doctors said they both had to go. They said I was stage 3 and needed chemo and radiation and then would have to take hormone-squelching drugs for the next 10 years.

Getting that news was like having a piano fall out of the sky and land on my head. You may recognize the feeling from last March when a concert grand called SARS-CoV-2 landed on all of ours. Part of me desperately wanted to ignore the surgeon, the scans, the histopathology, those microscopic images of my suffering tissue. That part wanted to run off to Mexico and bury my feet  and my head  in the sand.

Instead, I talked to friends and family and to other women whod been down this road. Then I took a deep breath and trusted the science, even though I only understood a fraction of it. And I soon discovered cancer treatment was much less awful than Id anticipated. Top-notch anti-emetics meant zero nausea; problematic low white cell counts were boosted with a belly shot of Neulasta (and no, not the kind you did in college). My regular jogs, which I thought of as therapy, actually were, according to the epidemiological studies I was now reading on the reg.

I was swayed. Science was something I needed to stay alive.

Eventually, I came to work for Fred Hutchinson Cancer Research Center so I could better understand my disease and help others understand theirs. Why was I diagnosed with cancer? Why is anyone? Whats taking so long to beat this? Can we truly prevent it?

News flash: Cancer is much more complicated than you could ever imagine  ditto for diseases driven by viruses. Thats why there are so few cancer vaccines, although the big one we have for HPV has practically eliminated cervical and other cancer types in Australia where its uptake is high.

Thats also why theres no vaccine for the far more problematic HIV, though there have been huge strides in prevention and treatment.

As for cancer cures, theyre starting to materialize thanks to gene therapy, immunotherapy and treatments that target the mutations and genetic misspellings that lead to disease. Whole genome sequencing can now be done in a fraction of the time  and at a fraction of the cost  unlocking crucial information to better inform treatment.

We are getting there. But science is about knowing and understanding. Its about gathering evidence. So, yes, it is slow. Trials for treatments or protocols or vaccines can take years. And rigor reigns. Thats why scientists papers and talking points often come with qualifiers; their aim is to give you 100% accurate information and nothing more. To the public, though, qualifiers can sound like waffling or uncertainty. Especially in a time when so many people are so certain about so much. Confused by studies and statistics? Check out our Spinning Science series.

After seven years among the scientists, much has sunk in and, admittedly, much has slid off. One thing I have learned is that scientists may be intimidating and at times incomprehensible, but theyre also just people. Some are celebrities (paging 'Emperor' author Siddhartha Mukherjee); others can barely make eye contact. They may be a little reserved, but theyre not evil.

The last scientist I interviewed was much more keen on getting kale chips into people than microchips. And yes, some do want to track you, but its usually with an accelerometer for an epidemiological study on physical activity. The researchers I work with are passionate, devoted, brilliant and generous: Theyre dedicating their lives to saving us saps. And they do amazingly cool things like develop cancer vaccines and track deadly pathogens and occasionally, I dont know, send mice to space.

And I was never more grateful to be surrounded by brainiacs than when this virus hit.

Warp speed suspicion

Are you getting vaccinated soon? I asked the checker as he rang up my groceries. Youre an essential worker so you should be eligible.

No way, he told me. I saw a video on YouTube where a woman got the vaccine and a half hour later developed cerebral palsy.

Do you mean Bells palsy? I said, trying not to sound too pushy or patronizing. I heard about that. It was a temporary side effect and it may not have even been associated with the vaccine. People just get that sometimes.

But he looked unconvinced. My neighborhood UPS driver had lots of questions, too.

Im not getting it, not yet anyway, he said when I asked his plan. Have they even done studies so people of color know its OK? I dont even know where the research was done. And it was done so fast. How could it be that effective if it was done so fast?

I told him a lot of the research had been done at Fred Hutch here in Seattle, about two miles from where we stood. And that the researchers had spent a ton of time and effort to make sure underserved populations, particularly people of color whove been hardest hit by COVID-19, were enrolled in the vaccine clinical trials. And that people of color like coronavirus researcher Dr. Kizzmekia Corbett helped develop these vaccines.

As for how was it done so fast? Science, thats how! The whole infrastructure was already built, thanks to decades of clinical trials on HIV and other viruses. Weve all been investing in science for decades through our tax dollars and the National Institutes of Health. We just we dont always hear about it. Or maybe understand it.

Coronaviruses specifically have been under study for over 50 years (that's not a typo). Thats part of the reason scientists were able to design the vaccines so quickly. And the mRNA vaccines  like Modernas and Pfizers  are new, yes, but the technology has been under study for a long time. Scientists worldwide have been working to outsmart our sneaky cellular adversaries for decades, so we can all get on with the important business of life, like arguing politics with our family. Meet the Hutch scientists working to crack the coronavirus.


Shanghai (Gasgoo)- SVOLT Energy Technology Co., Ltd. (SVOLT), a leading Chinese EV battery manufacturer carved out of Great Wall Motor, signed an agreement on Feb. 19 with the government of Huzhou, Zhejiang province to establish a power battery base in South Taihu New Area, Huzhou.

Under the agreement, SVOLT will pump 7 billion yuan ($1.079 billion) in the new base, which is designed to feature an annual capacity of 20GWh.

SVOLT has been vigorously pushing ahead with the investment in product R&D and construction of new production lines. It has to-day deployed seven R&D hubs around the world. Signing the agreement with South Taihu New Area marks an important step for SVOLT's capacity expansion and realization of its strategic goal, said Yang Hongxin, president of SVOLT.



SVOLT signing agreement with Huzhou government; photo credit: SVOLT



Aside from the Huzhou base, SVOLT last month inked an agreement with Suining, Sichuan province to set up power battery manufacturing facilities with a capacity of 20GWh per year.

The EV battery maker endeavors to rapidly expand its capacity. According to Yang Hongxin, SVOLT expects its global capacity to reach 200GWh by 2025 from the current 100GWh.

SVOLT is emerging as a leading force for China's power battery industry by launching many innovative products and technologies. The company launched the jelly battery at the 2020 Battery Day held on Dec. 2, 2020, attempting to improve the battery quality through innovating in cathode and electrolyte material.

The jelly battery is part of the Cold Bee solution announced at the same time. The solution still contains a thermal barrier battery pack and an EV monitoring platform dubbed Bee Cloud.

Based on the cell of the jelly battery, the developer adopts such methods as pressure relief, eruption control, cooling, alarm and heat insulation to protect the battery pack, so as to prevent the risk of thermal runaway. That is how the thermal barrier battery pack works.

Moreover, SVOLT developed the Bee Cloud platform which had monitored over 90,000 EVs and analyzed more than 1.6 billion data.

Source: Xinhua| 2021-02-22 18:38:34|Editor: huaxia

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TEHRAN, Feb. 22 (Xinhua) -- Iran's Foreign Ministry spokesman said Monday that the United States should first announce its commitments to the 2015 nuclear agreement to be able to return to the deal.

"The United States not only left the nuclear deal (commonly known as the JCPOA), but also set a trap" by imposing sanctions against Iran, said the spokesman Saeed Khatibzadeh in his weekly press conference.

"The United States must first announce its commitments to the JCPOA so as to be able to return to the agreement," Khatibzadeh said.

Washington has to remove anti-Iran sanctions, so that they can enter dialogue within the framework of the JCPOA, he added.

Last Saturday, Iranian Deputy Foreign Minister Abbas Araqchi said that Iran was considering the European Union's offer to attend an informal meeting between Iran and other parties to the 2015 nuclear deal, with the United States also attending as a guest.

In response to the U.S. withdrawal from the JCPOA in 2018 and re-imposition of sanctions, Iran has suspended implementing parts of its obligations under the deal. Enditem
Harun Maalim Hassan is the Executive Director at the National Council for Persons with Disabilities (NCPWD). He also co-founded the Northern Nomadic Disabled Persons Organisation (Nondo), an organisation focusing on persons with disabilities in nomadic communities.

Maalim also served as a Commissioner with World Disability Union (WDU), Ford Fellow, Indiana University (USA) and is a member of US-based global think-tank Association for Research on non-profit and Volunteer Association (ARNOVA) and continental think-tank Association for Research on Civil Society in Africa (AROCSA).

He is also a certified Motivation-UK peer educator. Hassan writes extensively about disability and does talks on the same globally. He has also authored a book that seeks to tell the story of disability differently. He shared his Career Path with nation.africa.

My name is Harun Maalim Hassan. I was born, brought up and schooled in Mandera. Im married and a family man who lives in Nairobi. I am currently the Executive Director at the National Council for Persons with Disabilities (NCPWD), a state agency established by the Persons with Disabilities Act of 2003 that endeavours to promote and protect the rights of persons with disabilities. Im new in this role, barely two months in office.

I come from a polygamous family. My father in his lifetime got married 11 wives, four at any one time according to Islamic faith. We were many children, but I am the lastborn of my mother.

I schooled in Mandera Boys Town Primary School, and did my KCPE in 1992 and emerged top of my class. My dream school was Starehe Boys Centre. They paid for my school fees but did not admit me, so I did my KCSE at Mandera Secondary School. Ours was a large class, perhaps the largest in that school at that time. Out of 128 students, five went to university. I was one of them. Two went to Kenyatta University, two to Moi University and one to University of Nairobi.

The Joint Admissions Board had earlier sent me to Maseno University to do Bachelor of Arts in Drama and Theatre Studies. However, I transferred to Kenyatta University and graduated with a Bachelors Degree in Environmental Planning and Management.

Share with us your career journey

I have worked and volunteered in various areas including non-governmental organisations. I would later become a District Officer and worked for many years. It is during this time that I was involved in a terrible road accident through which I suffered a spinal cord injury and became a wheelchair user. I spent one year in hospital, and another in our rural home confined in a small room, depressed and feeling hopeless.

What do you remember most about your career journey?

I was a young man conflicted with career choices. From the drama and theatre studies, to environmental studies, turned down a job opportunity as environmental officer at NEMA, became a public administrator and environmentalist, then the accident happened.

That accident revealed where I truly belong career-wise, and that of understanding disability and its management in diverse institutions such as government, civil society etc. I became engrossed in reading on disability issues.

This process served as a therapy for me, because it shifted the focus from me to something bigger  a greater purpose. I started dropping my profession as a public administrator, and immersed myself into the world of disability movement and understanding disability lifestyle.

Alongside others, I then formed an organisation with a focus on persons with disabilities in nomadic communities called Nondo (Northern Nomadic Disabled Persons Organisation). This has provided a platform to raise awareness for people with disabilities in the most marginalised parts of Kenya.

I write extensively about disability in the media and do presentations and talks on the subject around the world.

I have authored a book which is currently being published by the Kenya Literature Bureau for the schools. The Kenya Institute of Curriculum Development will be evaluating it very soon. This book tells the story of disability differently, and how it can be incorporated not just as an issue of disability mainstreaming but also as a whole subject and career in colleges and universities, just the same way we study subjects such as gender and youth affairs.

What has been the key driver to your growth? Lessons learnt, highlights and failures?

The key drivers in my life are my parents. My mother brought me up away from our rural home, while my father stayed in our rural home with our animals, goats and sheep. Since I was away from my father, my mother didnt tell me why my father was away. She was protecting me from growing some sort of a grudge with my dad. She therefore strived to give the very best of what my dad couldnt since he was not around. She always told me, Aspire always to be the best among your peers and friends.
America's #1 Cannabis Oil Brand is now available in 17 States

WAKEFIELD, Mass., Feb. 22, 2021 /PRNewswire/ -- Curaleaf Holdings, Inc. (CSE: CURA) (OTCQX: CURLF) ("Curaleaf" or the "Company"), a leading U.S. provider of consumer products in cannabis, today announced that it would expand its line of Select brand products into Utah, starting with the brand's popular Select Elite cartridges.

Select, America's #1 Cannabis Oil Brand, was acquired by Curaleaf in February 2020, and is currently available across 17 states including Arizona, California, Colorado, Connecticut, Florida, Illinois, Maine, Massachusetts, Michigan, Maryland, New York, Nevada, Ohio, Oklahoma, Oregon, Pennsylvania, and Utah.

Select Elite will be accessible to patients at medical cannabis pharmacies across the state in the coming weeks, starting with immediate availability at the Curaleaf pharmacy in Lehi, UT. As one of the fourteen licensed retailers to operate within Utah's medical market, Curaleaf Lehi has proudly served thousands of Utah's 18,400+ active patient cardholders and looks forward to providing more accessibility to high-quality medical cannabis products, innovative consumption formats, and leading national brands to the state's growing patient base.

Select Elite cartridges deliver an activated, broad-spectrum oil and a smooth vaping experience made possible by the brand's proprietary distillation process. As an industry leader in the vape market, Select sets superior quality control and testing standards while delivering consistent, premium experiences. Curaleaf looks forward to introducing more offerings from Select's diverse product line in the coming months that will cater to more medicinal needs.

"Select has been part of Curaleaf's family of brands since early 2020; our team has seen firsthand how well-received the brand has been in every market we've entered, and we are delighted to introduce Select Elite to Utah's medical cannabis community," said Joe Bayern, CEO of Curaleaf. "Our passion for serving our patients is reflected not only in our commitment to providing high-quality products but also in our mission to educate our patients so they make empowered choices throughout their cannabis journeys."

During the COVID-19 outbreak, cannabis businesses have been deemed an essential service in most states, including Utah. Curaleaf remains committed to serving patients with the products and service they rely on while implementing heightened safety and sanitation measures in all its facilities. To find a Pharmacy near you that carries Select products, go to https://shop-lehiut.curaleaf.com/ and click "Find Us" for an interactive map of locations.

About Curaleaf Holdings, Inc.

Curaleaf Holdings, Inc. (CSE: CURA) (OTCQX: CURLF) ("Curaleaf") is the leading vertically integrated U.S. multi-state cannabis operator with a mission to improve lives by providing clarity around cannabis and confidence around consumption. As a high-growth cannabis company known for quality, expertise and reliability, the Company and its brands, including Curaleaf and Select, provide industry-leading service, product selection and accessibility across the medical and adult-use markets. Curaleaf currently operates in 23 states with 101 dispensaries, 22 cultivation sites and over 30 processing sites, and employs over 3,000 team members across the United States. Curaleaf is listed on the Canadian Securities Exchange under the symbol CURA and trades on the OTCQX market under the symbol CURLF. For more information, please visit www.curaleaf.com.

INVESTOR CONTACT

Curaleaf Holdings, Inc.

Investor Relations

[email protected]

MEDIA CONTACT

Curaleaf Holdings, Inc.

Tracy Brady, VP Corporate Communications

[email protected]

FORWARD-LOOKING STATEMENTS

This media advisory contains forwardlooking statements and forwardlooking information within the meaning of applicable securities laws. These statements relate to future events or future performance. All statements other than statements of historical fact may be forward-looking statements or information. Generally, forward-looking statements and information may be identified by the use of forward-looking terminology such as "plans", "expects" or, "proposed", "is expected", "intends", "anticipates", or "believes", or variations of such words and phrases, or by the use of words or phrases which state that certain actions, events or results may, could, would, or might occur or be achieved. More particularly and without limitation, this news release contains forward-looking statements and information concerning the expansion of the Select brand and its product offerings in Utah. Such forward-looking statements and information reflect management's current beliefs and are based on assumptions made by and information currently available to the Company with respect to the matter described in this new release. Forward-looking statements involve risks and uncertainties, which are based on current expectations as of the date of this release and subject to known and unknown risks and uncertainties that could cause actual results to differ materially from those expressed or implied by such statements. Additional information about these assumptions and risks and uncertainties is contained under "Risk Factors and Uncertainties" in the Company's latest annual information form filed September 23, 2019, which is available under the Company's SEDAR profile at www.sedar.com, and in other filings that the Company has made and may make with applicable securities authorities in the future. Forward-looking statements contained herein are made only as to the date of this press release and we undertake 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 law. We caution investors not to place considerable reliance on the forward-looking statements contained in this press release. The Canadian Securities Exchange has not reviewed, approved or disapproved the content of this news release.

SOURCE Curaleaf Holdings, Inc.

Related Links

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The state borrowed Rs 332.58 crore from the Japan International Cooperation Agency (JICA) but did not channel funds to the municipal authority in the last four financial years.  By arrangement

Hyderabad: The Hyderabad Metropolitan Development Authority (HMDA) is knocking on the doors of the state government, seeking repayment of the money it spent for the construction of the Outer Ring Road (ORR). The HMDA had borrowed the money, and needs to repay it.

The HMDA said that it had not received a penny in the past four financial years despite spending Rs 332.58 crore every year from its kitty. Covid-19 has severely affected the Authority's financial condition and it cannot sustain itself if the long-pending dues are not cleared by the government, it has said.

During the current financial year, the HMDA had expected special allocations for the long-pending major projects, including for the Rs 125 crore Hyderabad Habitat Centre (HHC) and the Rs 100 crore Eco Park at Kothwalguda in 85 acres.

Besides this, within the HMDA budget, the municipal authority has asked for release of Rs 1,600 crore for the ORR. Five packages of ORR have been given under the buid-operate-transfer pattern. As the works in all the packages were completed, money will need be released on an annuity basis to concessionaires. This amounted to Rs 332.58 crore annually.

A senior HMDA official said the state borrowed Rs 332.58 crore from the Japan International Cooperation Agency (JICA). Yet, the government did not channel funds to the municipal authority in the last four financial years. The HMDA has spent the amount from its own funds.

The official said the HMDA is in dire need of Rs 1,600 crore during the current financial year. The remaining payments could be made in bits and pieces later, as the government itself is the counter guarantee, he said.

This apart, the Hyderabad Metropolitan Water Supply and Sewerage Board proposed to introduce its draft budget of Rs 2,000 crore for the 2021-22. The lion's share of the budget includes Rs 1,000 crore for the ring main project, `500 crore for free drinking water scheme for the peripheral areas and Rs 500 crore for the most-awaited sewerage master plan.

As against a previous state budget allocation of Rs 1,000 crore, the Water Board has asked the government to double the budgetary allocation this time to execute the ongoing and future mega projects in the city. The HMWS&SB also made clear that the government should bear the expenditure of all infrastructure projects taken up by the water board including implementation of free drinking water supply, 20 kilolitre per month.

"The financial condition of all nodal agencies would further deteriorate since the government has to repay all the loans with principal amount and interest. It did not make the payment for the past three financial years. Overall, the government has to allocate a minimum of Rs 1,500 crore per nodal agency to rescue them from bankruptcy," officials said.
Interior Secretary-designate Deb Haaland's opposition to fracking, early endorsement of the Green New Deal and participation in protests against an oil pipeline in South Dakota have made her one of President Joe Biden's most controversial cabinet nominees.

Haaland, a Democratic representative from New Mexico, will face questions about those and other positions during a confirmation hearing Tuesday, with some Republicans already warning she's unlikely to get their support.

"I have serious concerns with Rep. Haaland's radical views and support for the Green New Deal," Senator Steve Daines, a Montana Republican and member of the Energy and Natural Resources Committee vetting her nomination, tweeted after a meeting with Haaland. "Unless my concerns are addressed, I will not only oppose her confirmation for Interior, I will do all I can to defeat it."

The Senate ultimately is still expected to confirm Haaland, 60, but the slim control Democrats have means Haaland needs every vote she can get. Joe Manchin, the West Virginia Democrat who is chairman of the committee considering her nomination, threw into doubt the fate of another Biden nominee last week. Manchin said he would vote against Neera Tanden to be budget director though the president vowed to press on with the nomination.

Early Monday, a moderate Republican -- Senator Susan Collins of Maine -- also said she would object to Tanden, making her path to confirmation even more difficult.

Haaland's nomination has become a target for oil industry advocates, who question whether her past views will get in the way of legal obligations to advance energy development on territory under the Interior Department's control. The agency runs the national park system and oversees grazing, recreation, energy development and other activities on about a fifth of U.S. land.

Haaland, who is a member of the Laguna Pueblo tribe west of Albuquerque, New Mexico, would become the first Native American member of a president's cabinet.

Haaland's past stances and statements, however, have unnerved the oil industry.

"It is one thing to hold those views" as a lawmaker and political organizer, said Anne Bradbury, head of the American Exploration and Production Council which represents oil developers. "But it is a very different constituency and a very different responsibility to then transition over to running a large federal bureaucracy that is charged with executing -- not making -- the law."

Policies Haaland charts at Interior could have a dramatic effect on U.S. energy development. Federal lands and waters made up roughly 22% of U.S. crude and 12% of U.S. natural gas in 2019, according to the Energy Information Administration.

"That supply is really the difference between greater energy security and going back to the past where we were more reliant on on foreign energy," said Frank Macchiarola, senior vice president of the American Petroleum Institute.

Haaland's supporters say her nomination has drawn criticism because she's not beholden to Big Oil.

"Representative Haaland makes people uncomfortable because she has opinions," said Raul Grijalva, a Democratic congressman from Arizona. "And she makes gas and oil uncomfortable because she's not a cheerleader for them."

Biden nominated Haaland after a months-long campaign by Native Americans and environmental activists, who have said she would reset the Interior Department's relationship with tribal nations and would bring a fresh perspective to the agency most frequently led by White, male Western politicians.

The department holds trust title to more than 56 million acres for tribal nations, and its Bureau of Indian Affairs works directly with 578 federally recognized tribes.

Haaland cuts a different figure as a single mother who at times relied on food assistance. She was a tribal administrator of the San Felipe Pueblo as well as the operator of a small salsa-making business. She's represented New Mexico in the U.S. House since 2019.

"She's going to bring a commitment to environmental and climate goals to an agency that under Trump was run by actual folks who had worked for fossil fuel corporations," said Julian Brave NoiseCat, vice president of policy and strategy at the liberal advocacy group Data for Progress.

In 2016, Haaland brought food to Standing Rock Sioux protesters camped along the route of Energy Transfer's Dakota Access oil pipeline. She was an early sponsor of the Green New Deal resolution in the House, which outlines a progressive vision for rapidly decarbonizing the American economy. Haaland also has said she's "wholeheartedly against fracking and drilling on public lands."

Haaland has "radical views" that "are squarely at odds with the responsible management of our nation's energy resources," said Senator John Barrasso of Wyoming, the top-ranking Republican on the Energy and Natural Resources Committee.

"Representative Haaland must demonstrate that she will follow the law, protect the multiple uses of our public lands and reject policies that will force energy workers into the unemployment line," Barrasso said in an emailed statement. "I won't support her nomination otherwise."

Senator Dan Sullivan, a Republican from Alaska, said in an interview he would press for Haaland to recuse herself from decisions on those issues. "She's already committed to certain policy approaches that I think go against the law."
Related Plane in Nigeria crash part of kidnap rescue op

Egypt has extended condolences to Nigeria on Sunday night after a military plane crashed near the capital Abuja killing all seven people onboard.

Egypt affirms its sincere condolences to the families of the innocent victims, reiterating its solidarity with the sisterly state of Nigeria in this painful incident, a statement by the Egyptian foreign ministry read.

The Nigerian Air Force (NAF) plane crashed on Sunday en route to the Abuja Airport after reporting engine failure, Air Vice Marshal Ibikunle Daramola wrote on Twitter.

The Nigerian authorities have launched an immediate investigation into the accident.

Short link:


Dominion Voting Systems filed a defamation lawsuit Monday against MyPillow chief executive Mike Lindell, accusing him of seeking to boost pillow sales by promoting false claims that Dominion's voting machines were manipulated to rig the 2020 election against President Donald Trump.

In interviews and other public appearances, the lawsuit says, Lindell repeatedly spread those claims while viewers were urged to buy his products. His company has offered discounts to customers who use the promo codes "QAnon" and "FightforTrump," according to the lawsuit.

The lawsuit says Lindell contributed to a "viral disinformation campaign" about Dominion on social media, in broadcast interviews, at pro-Trump rallies and in a two-hour documentary about supposed election fraud - titled "Absolute Proof" - that he created and paid to have aired 13 times this month on One America News.

The lawsuit against Lindell and his company, one of several that Dominion has filed in recent weeks, seeks more than $1.3 billion.

At a virtual news conference with reporters Monday, Megan Meier, an attorney representing Dominion, described Lindell as a canny business executive with an interest in algorithms and game theory. "We don't think he really believes it," she said of the election fraud misinformation he has spread. "We think he's making money off of it."

Reached by phone Monday, Lindell said he was "very happy to hear" that Dominion had sued him.

"Now I can get to the evidence faster. It's going to be amazing," he said. He added that he plans to continue releasing "more movies, more documentaries" about alleged election fraud.

He scoffed at the notion that he has tried to use his election fraud claims to market pillows, saying his efforts have in fact harmed his business. "I've lost 22 retailers. It has hit me financially like crazy," he said.

Multiple courts have dismissed cases alleging that the election was marred by widespread fraud, and a statement distributed by the Department of Homeland Security in the days after the election said there was no evidence that voting systems had been manipulated. The statement called the 2020 election "the most secure in American history."

The 115-page complaint, filed in federal court in the District, outlines several instances in which Lindell used appearances on conservative media to hawk his products.

On Jan. 16, for example, Lindell claimed without evidence that Dominion machines were "built . . . to cheat" in an interview on Right Side Broadcasting Network. According to the complaint, the host then urged "everyone watching right now to go to MyPillow.com" and offered a code for 66% off. "We have 110 products now," Lindell said, repeating the promotional code. (Also on that day, the complaint says, MyPillow offered a $45 discount - "a not-so-subtle nod to the 45th President of the United States" - for anyone using the promo code "QAnon.")

During another Lindell media appearance, on Feb. 4, the host of the Victory Channel show "FlashPoint" urged viewers to buy from MyPillow. "We've got to support patriots, folks," said the host, Gene Bailey. "I don't care if you don't need a pillow. Go order one and give it to somebody else. But we've got to support each other because this is the life and death of America."

The complaint says Lindell persisted in making false claims about Dominion even after the company sent him multiple letters warning that he was putting himself in legal jeopardy by spreading misinformation.

"Despite having been specifically directed to the evidence and sources disproving the Big Lie, Lindell knowingly lied about Dominion to sell more pillows to people who continued tuning in to hear what they wanted to hear about the election," the complaint says.

The complaint alleges that election fraud falsehoods have helped MyPillow's bottom line, citing tweets from Trump supporters who said they were buying MyPillow products to support Lindell's campaign against the alleged fraud.

"Mike Lindell is defeating Satan with a pillow fight. He's spending millions collecting evidence of dominion voting systems election fraud," one Twitter user wrote.

The complaint also refers to Lindell's own statements in recent weeks. On Jan. 18, Lindell told Right Side Broadcasting that his business had gone up 30 to 40% in recent days, the complaint says. And on Feb. 19, he said on Rudy Giuliani's podcast that in the previous three to four weeks, he had sold 300,000 copies of his autobiography, "What Are the Odds? From Crack Addict to CEO."

The lawsuit against Lindell is the latest salvo in Dominion's legal battle to recover its reputation, which it says has been badly damaged by election fraud falsehoods that were endorsed by Trump and amplified in conservative media.

The company has already sued Giuliani, Trump's personal lawyer, and pro-Trump lawyer Sidney Powell, and has sent retraction demands or preservation notices - often precursors to litigation - to dozens of individuals and businesses. As in its complaint against Lindell, Dominion alleges that both Giuliani and Powell capitalized on their false election fraud claims.
Chinese Foreign Minister Wang Yi speaks at the Lanting Forum on China-US relations in Beijing, China on Feb. 22, 2021. (Greg Baker/AFP via Getty Images)

China Lists Four Red Lines to Biden, Demands US Lift Tariffs and Sanctions

Chinese foreign affairs minister Wang Yi urged the United States to meet four requirements from Xi Jinpings regime at the Lanting Forum, a video conference organized by the Chinese foreign affairs ministry on Feb. 22.

The requests include: ending support for Taiwan, Hong Kong, Xinjiang, and Tibet; resuming the U.S.-China dialogue; ending the tariffs on Chinese products and sanctions on Chinese enterprises; and removing all restrictions on Chinas news agencies and cultural entities such as the Confucius Institutes.

After President Joe Biden announced that he won the presidential election, Chinese leader Xi Jinping and his senior diplomats urged the United States to change its China policy and criticized the United States for being unilateral and holding prejudice against China.

To say that were unilateral is just completely untrue, said Miles Yu, the former senior China policy adviser to former Secretary of State Mike Pompeo. In an interview with The Epoch Times American Thought Leaders program. The China challenge was the global challenge, our number one global challenge  We [used a lot of effort] to form that multilateral coalition  to forge a multilateral alliance to face the China challenge.

Chinas Four Red Lines

Wang claimed at the conference that the communist one-party totalitarian regime is a democratic system, and that the United States misunderstood China in past years.

Wang then listed four suggestions to the new U.S. government as preconditions for healthy China-U.S. relations.

Stop the wrong behavior and speeches that condone or even support Taiwan independence separatists, Wang announced in the first request. Stop meddling in Hong Kong, Xinjiang, and Tibet related Chinese internal issues.

Taiwan is a region with an elected government, legislative system, and judicial system, as well as its own military, currency, and more. But Beijing sees it as a breakaway province and regularly interferes with Taiwans efforts to join the international community.

The Chinese regime was internationally condemned for breaking its promise to maintain Hong Kongs one country, two systems policy until 2047 by launching a national security law on June 30, 2020. In Xinjiang, the Chinese regime continues to detain millions of Uyghur Muslims in concentration camps, while in Tibet, the regime tortured people for their faith and destroyed their cultural heritage.

Police patrol a village in Hotan prefecture, in Chinas Xinjiang region, on Feb. 17, 2018. (Ben Dooley/AFP via Getty Images)

The second request from Wang is to resume a U.S.-China dialogue.

The third is ending additional tariffs on Chinese products, lifting the sanctions on Chinese enterprises and institutes, and supporting Chinas technology development.

In past decades, the Chinese regime has engaged in a comprehensive campaign to acquire advanced technologies from the United States. A large number of Chinese spies have been detained and even sentenced in the United States after they stole samples, designs, and classified documents from laboratories, factories, and the military. Meanwhile, U.S. officials have also sounded the alarm on the spying risks posed by Chinese technology, given that Chinese law compels companies to work with intelligence agencies when asked.

Wangs fourth request is to remove all restrictions on Chinese educational, cultural, news, and foreign affairs entities.

The Trump administration designated several Chinese organizations, such as state media outlets and the Confucius Institute U.S. Center, as foreign missions, recognizing their roles organs of the Chinese Communist Party (CCP). These entities are part of the CCPs propaganda system or United Front Work Department that serve to further the CCPs interests abroad.

Guests including Former US treasury secretary Henry Paulson (top C), former Australian prime minister Kevin Rudd (top R), Chinese Ambassador to the US Cui Tiankai (bottom R) are seen on a screen via a live video link at the Lanting Forum on China-US relations in Beijing on Feb. 22, 2021. (Greg Baker/AFP via Getty Images)

US Response

White House press secretary Jen Psaki responded to Wangs speech at a Feb. 22 press briefing: Around the time when the president had a conversation with President Xi, we believe the relationship with China is one of strong competition.

Psaki reiterated that Bidens authorities would coordinate with our partners and allies around the world, Europeans, other partners in the region, also with Democrats and Republicans in Congress to deal with U.S.-China relations.

She said she didnt have any updates related to tariffs.

State Department spokesman Ned Price also responded to Wangs requests on Monday, I think his [Wangs] comments reflect the continued pattern of Beijings tendency to avert blame for its predatory economic practices, its lack of transparency, its failure to honor its international agreements, and its repression of universal human rights.

On Feb. 7, Biden said on CBS: Theres going to be extreme competition [between U.S. and China]. And Im not going to do it the way that he [Xi Jinping] knows and thats because hes sending signals as well.

On the Xinjiang issue, Biden believes that the Chinese regime has committed genocide and crimes against humanity against Uyghur Muslimsa designation that was announced by the Trump administration a day before the presidential inaugurationaccording to National Security Council spokesperson Emily Horne.

So far, theres been no clear information about Bidens policy on Taiwan, the South China Sea, and sanctions on Chinese enterprises.
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The dividend cuts were most severe in the UK and Europe, which together accounted for more than half the total reduction in payouts globally, mainly owing to the forced curtailment on banking dividends by regulators. Photo: Thomas Krych/SOPA Images/LightRocket via Getty Images

The coronavirus crisis last year saw global dividends fall to $1.26trn in 2020, down 12.2% on a headline basis.

That's according to the latest Global Dividend Index from Janus Henderson. Although an alarming fall, this was better than the best-case forecast of $1.21trn thanks to a less severe fall in Q4 payouts than anticipated.

On an underlying basis, dividends were 10.5% lower in 2020, a smaller decline than after the global financial crisis.

Janus Hendersons index of global dividends fell to 172.4, a level last seen in 2017.

The dividend cuts were most severe in the UK and Europe, which together accounted for more than half the total reduction in payouts globally, mainly owing to the forced curtailment on banking dividends by regulators.

But even as payouts in Europe and the UK fell below the levels seen in 2009 when the index began, they rose 2.6% on a headline basis in North America to a new record.

North America did so well mainly because companies were able to conserve cash and protect their dividends by suspending or reducing share buybacks instead, and because regulators were more lenient with the banks.

READ MORE: Dividends in focus as earning season begins for UK banks

In Asia, Australia was worst affected, thanks to its heavy reliance on banking dividends, which were constrained by regulators until December. Elsewhere, China, Hong Kong and Switzerland joined Canada among the best performing nations.

Q4 payouts fell 14.0% on an underlying basis to a total of $269.1bn while the headline decline was just 9.4%.

This was less severe than expected as companies like Sberbank (SBRCY) in Russia and Volkswagen (VWAGY) in Germany restored suspended dividends at full strength, while others like Essilor (EL.PA) in France brought them back at a reduced level.

Special dividends were also larger than expected, while in the US the dividends announced for the next four quarterly payments were better than expected.

Although the cuts and cancellations totalled $220bn between April and December 2020, companies nevertheless paid their shareholders $965bn, still far outweighing the reductions.

Story continues

READ MORE: Coronavirus: Number of poor performing dog' funds soars by a third

One company in eight cancelled its payout altogether and one in five made a cut, but two thirds increased their dividends or held them steady.

Banks accounted for one third of global dividend reductions by value, more than three times as much as oil producers  the next most severely affected sector.

Six in 10 consumer discretionary companies cut or cancelled payouts, but the classic defensives - food retail, pharmaceuticals and personal products - were well insulated.

Among the worlds larger stock markets, the impact in Spain and France was particularly widespread with 71% of companies making reductions compared to just 9% in Canada.

READ MORE: UK banks given green light to restart dividends with 'guardrails'

Jane Shoemake, Investment Director for Global Equity Income at Janus Henderson said: Although the pandemic has changed the lives of billions in previously unimaginable ways, its impact on dividends has been consistent with a conventional, if severe, recession.

The disruption in some countries and sectors has been extreme, but a global approach to income investing meant the benefits of diversification have helped mitigate some of these effects. Crucially, the worlds banks (which usually pay the largest share of the worlds dividends) mostly entered the crisis with healthy balance sheets.

"Bank dividends may have been restricted by regulators in some parts of the world, but the banking system has continued to function, underpinned by robust capital levels, which is vital for the smooth operation of economies."

Watch: Will interest rates stay low forever?
Northern Ireland actress Thaddea Graham is to star in a major new series loosely based on Sir Arthur Conan Doyles Sherlock Holmes characters for Netflix.

The Irregulars is set in Victorian London and tells the story of a gang of troubled street youths who are manipulated into solving crimes for the sinister Doctor Watson and his mysterious business partner, the elusive Sherlock Holmes.

The streaming giant reveals as the crimes take on a horrifying supernatural edge and a dark power emerges, it will be up to the Irregulars to come together to save not only London but the entire world.

Graham plays Bea, the groups leader, in what is her first major role since appearing in BBC mini-series, Us  the adaptation of the hugely successful David Nicholls novel of the same name.

In the series she played the free-spirited and quirky busker Kat tagging along with Tom Hollander and Saskia Reeves couple-at-the-crossroads who are attempting to rescue their marriage on a trip across Europe.

For Grahams latest screen venture she stars alongside Henry Lloyd-Hughes (Killing Eve, The Inbetweeners, Indian Summers) as Sherlock Holmes, and Royce Pierreson, whose credits include Judy, The Witcher and Line of Duty.

Writer Tom Bidwell, who produced C4s hit My Mad Fat Diary and had helmed Netflixs Watership Down, has described the programme as my dream project and my oldest idea and it takes a different view of Holmes and his relationship to the Irregulars.

The shows premise, he has revealed, takes the original stories in which Holmes used the Baker Street gang to help him gather clues

For The Irregulars, the deerstalker wearing detective is a drug addict who allows the troubled teens to solve the crime while taking the credit.

Netflix yesterday confirmed that all eight episodes of The Irregulars, which was partly shot in Liverpool, will be available to stream globally on March 26.




Two San Antonio police officers were disciplined in December for behavior related to domestic violence, the latest in a handful of high-profile cases involving law enforcement.

Police Chief William McManus issued Officer Jonathan Montalvo an indefinite suspension, which is tantamount to firing, for allegedly punching his girlfriend as they drove on Interstate 10, according to records released Monday.

In a separate matter, Officer Nicolette Muniz received a 15-day suspension for insubordination after she violated a chiefs direct order to cease communication with her estranged boyfriend, a fellow police officer with whom she had a volatile relationship.

The disciplinary actions come as city and Bexar County officials grapple with the growing problem of family violence. According to the San Antonio Police Department, at least 30 people died because of family violence last year, many of them women killed by their male partners.

McManus long has maintained that domestic violence is unacceptable in the department, especially among the rank and file, and has sought to weed out police officers accused of misconduct.

On ExpressNews.com: Three San Antonio police officers disciplined for behavior related to incidents of family violence

In 2018, he fired Officer Justin Ayars, who was accused of striking his then-fiance with a rock, fracturing her face in three places.

The next year, he fired a 25-year veteran of the force, Detective Emanuel Keith Jr., after he allegedly sent his estranged girlfriend a slew of profanity-laced text messages and voicemails threatening to kill her.

Emmanuel won his job back through the arbitration process outlined in the citys contract with the police union.

Montalvo, 24, and Muniz, 30, have each faced allegations of family violence before.

Second arrest, firing

Montalvo, who had been with the department about three years, was first accused of family violence in November 2019 after a neighbor called 911 to report that there was yelling and screaming coming from a nearby apartment.

When officers arrived, Montalvos girlfriend told officers he had grabbed her by the neck during an argument, threw her on the bed and placed his hand over her mouth, constricting her breath.

Montalvo was arrested and charged with strangulation assault, a felony, and released on bail. He is currently awaiting indictment.

In June, Montalvo was arrested again  this time after an unidentified motorist traveling behind Montalvos vehicle on I-10 saw him punch a woman in the face.

On ExpressNews.com: Fired S.A. police officer faces fourth allegation of family violence after girlfriend, also a police officer, is observed with bruising, bite marks

Montalvo lost control of his gray Dodge vehicle and crashed into a guardrail, records state. When officers arrived, they found Montalvo and his girlfriend inside.

Montalvos girlfriend had injuries consistent with a vehicle accident and denied another assault, SAPD said at the time. But during questioning, both admitted they had been living together despite a no-contact order issued by a judge. Such an order requires an alleged abuser to stay away from the applicant or face charges.

Montalvo was arrested for violating the terms of his bail, a misdemeanor, before being released on bail again. That case is pending, according to court records.

In July, Montalvo received an indefinite suspension for the first incident. Then came his second firing in December.

Montalvo is appealing both through arbitration. No hearing has been scheduled yet.

Volatile relationship

Muniz first faced allegations of family violence in April 2019 after a woman  who was also in a romantic relationship with Munizs boyfriend, a fellow SAPD officer  told police that Muniz had punched her in the face and neck.

Muniz was arrested on suspicion of assault bodily injury married, a misdemeanor. She was placed on administrative leave as officials conducted a separate review to determine if she violated department rules.

Her criminal case was later dismissed for insufficient evidence. It is not clear if she was ever disciplined administratively.

A few months after her arrest, a deputy chief issued the written order prohibiting Muniz from contacting her boyfriend, Officer Kenneth Moreno, who has also been accused of domestic violence.

In June of last year, Muniz told another police officer that she had been with Moreno and that they had gotten into an argument, disciplinary records state.

Muniz told the officer that her shoulder was injured after Moreno grabbed and twisted her arm, pushing her to the ground. It was that incident that led to her 15-day suspension.

eeaton@express-news.net
A new variant of coronavirus has been detected in the UK prompting authorities to initiate door to door testing. As per a report published by the University of Edinburgh, the new strain has also been detected in 12 other countries including Nigeria and the US. The variant has been named B.1.125 and contains a specific mutation in spike protein that might make the existing vaccines jabs less effective.

As per a report by the Guardian, the mutation-E48K- has also been found in the previously detected UK, South African and Brazilian variant. Speaking to the British media outlet, Simon Clarke, an associate professor of cellular microbiology at the University of Reading said that it was because of the E484K variant that the South African variant has been resisitant to the vaccine adding that it could be similar for this new variant too.

Read: UK Variant Of COVID-19 Is Probably More Lethal, Scientists Say

Read: Japan Confirms Cases Of New Coronavirus Variant

This is the second variant of COVID-19 detected in Britan with the first being detected in December last month. Earlier this month, British scientists said that the new variant of the COVID-19 virus, first detected in the United Kingdom, is likely linked to the increased hospitalisation and higher mortality rate. In a new study, British government scientists have supported the earlier theory that the new variant is not just highly contagious but also more lethal, contributing to increased deaths in the country. Scientists had earlier said there is a "realistic possibility" the new variant may be contributing to increased deaths, now they say it is "likely" it is causing more deaths than all other previous mutations of the virus.

Read: UK Variant Of COVID-19 Detected In Auckland, Confirms PM Jacinda Ardern

Read: COVID-19: Amazon Variant 'three Times More Contagious,' Says Brazilian Health Minister

COVID-19 situation in the UK

The UK is witnessing a second wave at the moment, which is likely being fuelled by the new strain of the COVID-19 virus. As of February 20, the UK has recorded more than 4,095,269 and over 119,920 COVID-19 related deaths. The UK has passed its peak from recording an average of over 50,000 new cases to now at 15,000 cases per day. However, the infection rate is still high compared to some of the other nations in the most affected countries' list.
In 1982, the U.S. Supreme Court said a government whistle-blower couldnt sue President Richard Nixon for allegedly getting him fired, because Nixons acts were official and within the outer perimeter of his authority.

That is the standard  broad, but not limitless  that courts will use in deciding whether a congressman, or anyone else, can sue former President Donald Trump for his role in the deadly mob attack on the U.S. Capitol.

In a lawsuit filed Feb. 16 in a Washington, D.C., federal court, the NAACP, on behalf of Rep. Bennie Thompson, D-Miss., accused Trump of conspiring with the far-right groups Proud Boys and Oath Keepers, and attorney Rudy Giuliani, to incite an assembled crowd to march upon the Capitol on Jan. 6 and try to prevent Congress from recording the electoral votes that ended Trumps presidency.

By disrupting the vote count and promoting violence, Trump acted beyond the outer perimeter of his official duties and therefore is susceptible to suit in his personal capacity, the suit declared.

Thompson, 72, chairman of the House Homeland Security Committee, said in the suit that he feared for his life while hiding from the rioters. He seeks damages for emotional distress, as well as punitive damages.

But the question the courts must first address is whether Trump was exercising his authority as president, which would make him immune from civil suits, or was acting as an individual and a disgruntled candidate.

We dont want government officials to worry unduly that choices they make in their jobs would lead them to be sued for damages, said David Levine, a law professor at UC Hastings in San Francisco. We dont know how involved Trump was in planning, in encouragement to get people to come. (Thompson) will have to tie him into an actual conspiracy, a meeting of the minds to avoid dismissal of the suit.

We expect his lawyers to argue that the presidents duties to enforce the law include a duty to protect the integrity of elections, said David Sklansky, a Stanford law professor. But egging on a mob to march to the Capitol doesnt sound like the exercise of presidential duty.

So far, Trumps response to the suit has been to deny any responsibility for the riot.

President Trump did not plan, produce or organize the Jan. 6 rally on the Ellipse and did not incite or conspire to incite any violence at the Capitol, his spokesman Jason Miller said.

Such factual disputes are usually matters for a jury to resolve once a case goes to trial. But in this case, legal commentators said, Thompson may need evidence of Trumps involvement with the organizers or participants in the riot to take his case to trial.

One veteran attorney with that view is Roberta Kaplan, whose past cases included the 2013 Supreme Court ruling making same-sex married couples eligible for federal benefits. Kaplan is currently suing Trump for defamation on behalf of E. Jean Carroll, an advice columnist whom Trump called a self-serving liar in 2019 after she accused him of raping her in the mid-1990s.

Asked about Thompsons suit, Kaplan said he appeared to have a potentially legitimate case but his lawyers faced a real challenge to find evidence of a pre-riot conspiracy since Trump will claim that all his administrations communications that day are subject to executive privilege.

Sklansky said the presidents contacts with other government officials may be privileged, but documents involving the Proud Boys and other rioters may not be. Along the same lines, said UC Hastings Levine, there is some evidence that Trump himself, before his speech, had authorized rally-goers to march from the White House Ellipse to the Capitol, beyond the bounds of their original permit.

Levine also noted that a judge in Carrolls case had found Trumps alleged defamation of his accuser to be beyond the outer perimeter of his official authority, the standard set in the 1982 Nixon case.

That case involved a suit by Ernest Fitzgerald, an Air Force employee who was removed from his job, allegedly by Nixon, after testifying to Congress in 1969 about aircraft cost overruns. In a 5-4 ruling dismissing Fitzgeralds suit against the former president, Justice Lewis Powell said that, because of the special nature of the chief executives office and duties, the court must grant absolute Presidential immunity from damages liability for acts within the outer perimeter of his official responsibility.

Fifteen years later, however, the court unanimously allowed former Arkansas state employee Paula Jones to sue President Bill Clinton for allegedly harassing and defaming her while he was governor, a suit that courts later found without merit. Stephen Vladeck, a University of Texas law professor, said the court allowed the suit to proceed not only because Clinton was not yet president, but also because it was based on conduct beyond the scope of his official duties.

Levine said the Supreme Courts standard gives presidents lots of wiggle room, but its not absolute authority.

A related question is whether Trumps words  including a December tweet promising the events will be wild, and his calls to the crowd to march to the Capitol and fight like hell  were protected by the First Amendment guarantee of free speech.

The Supreme Court ruled in 1969 that speech advocating violence can be punished only if it was aimed at inciting imminent lawless action that it was likely to produce. That is also the test courts would use if a future prosecutor filed criminal charges against Trump or Giuliani, who while standing next to the president called for trial by combat.

Under that standard, a court may find that Trump skirted the very edge of incitement without crossing the constitutional line, Noah Feldman, a Harvard law professor, said in a Bloomberg Opinion column.

The first decision on whether the case can continue will be by U.S. District Judge Amit Mehta, assigned by random draw. In an earlier case, Mehta ruled in 2019 that Congress was entitled to see financial records held by Trumps accounting firm, Mazars, that the president wanted to withhold.

A federal appeals court agreed, but the Supreme Court set those rulings aside in July and said Congress must first explain the documents connection to proper legislative goals, like passing laws or investigating wrongdoing, and lower courts must weigh those goals against the unique position of the president. The high court will most likely get another look at the scope of presidential authority if Mehta allows Thompsons suit to proceed.

Bob Egelko is a San Francisco Chronicle staff writer. Email: begelko@sfchronicle.com Twitter: @BobEgelko


Another 9,834 people in Britain have tested positive for Covid-19, bringing the total number of coronavirus cases in the country to 4,115,509, according to official figures released on Sunday. The country also reported another 215 coronavirus-related deaths. The total number of coronavirus-related deaths in Britain now stands at 120,580. These figures only include the deaths of people who died within 28 days of their first positive test, Xinhua news agency reported. The latest figures were revealed as more than 17.5 million people in Britain have been given the first jab of a coronavirus vaccine. Earlier on Sunday, Health Secretary Matt Hancock told Sky News that the first dose of a coronavirus vaccine appears to reduce the chances of transmitting the virus by "about two-thirds." Prime Minister Boris Johnson has pledged that every adult in Britain will be given a jab of the Covid-19 vaccine by the end of July. According to Johnson, people aged 50 and over and those with underlying health conditions will now be offered a jab by April 15. The prime minister is set to unveil his "roadmap" exiting the current coronavirus lockdown on Monday. It is widely expected that schools in England would start to open on March 8. England is currently under the third national lockdown since outbreak of the pandemic in the country. Similar restriction measures are also in place in Scotland, Wales and Northern Ireland. Johnson has said he would take a "prudent" approach to the easing of lockdown to ensure the process is "irreversible".




49 migrants were picked up attempting to cross the Channel today in four separate small boat incidents, the Home Office has said.

The intercepted crossings were made following a night that saw 126 people picked up by French authorities in eight overnight incidents.

Their arrival brings the total number of migrants who have risked their life to cross the Channel to Britain this year to more than 300.

Chris Philp, Minister for Immigration Compliance and the Courts said: 'Since the start of the year, through the joint operational and intelligence deployment shared by our two countries, the French authorities have prevented more than 70 per cent of attempted Channel crossings.

'Overnight a further 126 migrants were stopped from crossing from France to the UK.

More than 60 migrants arrived in Britain overnight after crossing the Channel from France

The migrants were escorted across the busy waterway by French authorities, sources say

'The Government continues to undertake substantial measures to tackle this unacceptable problem of illegal migration. In January we introduced new rules which mean we can treat asylum claims as inadmissible if they have travelled through safe countries to get to the UK.

'Criminals are exploiting migrants for profit and are selling false dreams of life in the UK. That is why we are pursuing the facilitators behind these crossings, returning migrants who have no right to stay in the UK to safe countries and continuing to do everything we can to make this route unviable.'

A lull in bad weather and warmer temperatures saw the boats make the crossings through the night.

Boats began arriving from midnight onwards, with dozens making the crossing in the dark.

The migrants were reportedly escorted across the Channel by French authorities and handed to the UK Border Force half way across the busy waterway.

They were then reportedly handed over to UK Border Force half way across the Channel

Another 30 migrants including women and children were rescued last night and taken to France after their boat's engine failed as they attempted the treacherous Channel crossing.

The group were about seven miles north of Calais when they called CROSS Gris-Nez emergency teams for help.

French Navy public service patroller Pluvier collected the 27 migrants. But its services were required again as another group of migrants called to say their boat's engine had also failed.

Some were seen arriving in Britain with towels wrapped around them and wearing masks

They were escorted to shore by UK Border Force and handed over to immigration officials

Some small boats were seen near shore shortly after the rescue. Pictured: A boat with the cover removed

The Pluvier picked up 23 people eight miles north of Escalles while the Escaut patrol craft of the maritime gendarmerie saved a further 10.

All 60 migrants were brought back to Calais shortly before 11am where they were taken care of by firefighters and border police.

Of the migrants who made it to Britain last night , the first group were brought into Dover Marina, Kent on the back of a small black Border Force vessel at around 4am.

Many were pictured arriving to shore wearing lifejackets and towels on top of warm clothing, such as hats and hoodies.

They were also seen wearing masks as they were helped out of boats onto the moorings by immigration enforcement officers to be processed.

Many appeared to be men of African origin with one young teenage boy spotted among the groups.

A grey rigid hulled inflatable boat with the engine cover removed and showing an outboard motor was seen being pulled into the Marina shortly afterwards.

February has seen 62 people cross the Channel in four boats so far.

The last crossing came on February 6 when 49 migrants in three boats made a desperate dash to arrive before Storm Darcy hit.

A total of 223 asylum seekers made it to the UK last month in 15 boats with more than 950 Channel crossings attempted in the past six weeks alone.

This man was seen wearing a large orange lifejacket as he was escorted to shore by an official

At least 60 migrants are understood to have been rescued from the Channel overnight

They arrived in Britain this morning after being escorted to shore by French and British authorities

Border force and French security services have been forced to take on a winter surge in migrants, The Telegraph reports, with up 50 per cent more travelling across the busy waterway than the same period last year.

In early 2020, there were 630 migrants who attempted the crossing to Britain from France.

A record 8,410 migrants made the dangerous journey across the Channel over the year.

A total of 211 people made it to UK shores in December 2020 alone with 33 arriving on New Year's Eve.

In early 2020, there were 630 migrants who attempted the crossing to Britain from France. Pictured: Migrants arriving into Dover last night

Their arrival comes amid a break in the wintry conditions bought in by Storm Darcy last week

Immigration officers can be seen leading the migrants onto shore for processing

A record 8,410 migrants made the dangerous journey across the Channel over 2020

But figures from The Telegraph released on Friday show that Anglo-French border forces have managed to prevent 70 per cent of the crossings.

It comes after Home Secretary Priti Patel announced a 28m cash injection which helped the French authorities fund additional police patrols on beaches.

Drone and CCTV camera numbers were also boosted by the investment.

The Home Office has been contacted by Mail Online for comment.

A statement from the French maritime authorities said: 'The maritime prefect of the Channel and the North Sea warns migrants who plan to cross the Channel [that it is] one of the busiest areas in the world and where the weather conditions are often difficult and therefore dangerous for human life.'
ALEXANDRIA, Va., Feb. 22, 2021 /PRNewswire/ -- NATSO, representing truckstops and travel plazas, and a diverse coalition that includes restaurants, fuel retailers, city governments, trucking firms and blind entrepreneurs today urged lawmakers to oppose efforts to commercialize Interstate rest areas as Congress considers infrastructure legislation.

The groups, which represent hundreds of thousands of mostly small businesses that operate near the Interstate Highway System, urged lawmakers to reject proposals to carve out any exceptions to the longstanding ban that prohibits state departments of transportation from unfairly competing against the private sector by selling food, fuel or other commercial services, including electric vehicle charging, at Interstate rest areas.

America's cities, restaurants, hotels, travel plazas, fuel retailers, convenience stores and blind merchants have been economically harmed by the COVID-19 pandemic. Fiscal losses by the nation's businesses have led to unprecedented unemployment and massive municipal deficits. The private sector's ability to operate in a competitive and robust marketplace ensures its ability to provide jobs, generate critical tax revenues and further enhance investments in alternative fuels, the groups said in a letter to the members of the House Transportation and Infrastructure Committee.

"Offering food or fuel, including electric charging services at rest areas, would allow states to enter into a monopoly in which they unfairly compete with the private businesses already operating near the interstate exit interchanges to meet the needs of the motoring public," said NATSO President and CEO Lisa Mullings. "If state governments preempt consumer demand, they will effectively destroy the incentive for private sector investment."

"The ban on commercial services at Interstate rest areas exists in order to encourage private commercial activities in off-highway communities," said NATSO Vice President of Government Affairs David Fialkov. "Carving out an exception for EV charging infrastructure would not only discourage existing refueling stations throughout the country from investing in charging infrastructure, but it will signal to prospective EV drivers that they will not be able to access the same amenities and fueling experience to which they are accustomed. This is the wrong signal for Congress to send."

Upending long-established policy prohibiting commercial rest areas also threatens the livelihood of the nation's blind merchants, who service the vending machines at rest areas, and would hinder the Department of Transportation's goal of expanding commercial truck parking capacity nationwide.

Congress effectively privatized highway services in 1960, when Congress prohibited states from offering commercial services at rest areas along the Interstate Highway System specifically so that private sector entities would grow and provide services to the traveling public. This includes the establishment of fees for electric vehicle charging. Established businesses including travel plazas, convenience stores, restaurants and hotels are already meeting the needs of highway travelers.

In many rural communities located near Interstates, gas stations, restaurants, convenience stores, truckstops, and hotels represent the largest local taxpayers, contributing more than $22.5 billion in state and local taxes. These funds help support schools, police and fire departments and other vital public services.

"Any efforts to commercialize rest areas threaten the livelihoods of blind entrepreneurs in the United States who depend on revenue from rest area vending machines," said Mark Riccobono, President of the National Federation of the Blind. "With unemployment among blind Americans exceeding 70 percent, permitting state-financed food operations that will cause blind entrepreneurs to lose their businesses is unconscionable. Congress enacted the Randolph-Sheppard Act to provide blind people with remunerative employment, enlarge our economic opportunities, and encourage self-support through the operation of vending facilities. Commercializing rest areas is contrary to that intent, and the National Federation of the Blind joins with other stakeholders in fighting these ill-conceived efforts to do so."

"Many cities and towns across the nation rely on sales and income taxes, which have been reduced sharply during the pandemic, leaving communities facing unprecedented losses," said Clarence E. Anthony, CEO and Executive Director of the National League of Cities (NLC). "Allowing state-run competition against local businesses would further harm small towns and undermine their ability to pay to maintain roads, build schools and keep their communities safe."

"The restaurant industry was the first forced to shut down and will be the last to fully reopen. So far, 1 in 6 restaurants has closed during the pandemic and the industry has lost $255 billion in expected sales," said Sean Kennedy, Executive Vice President for Public Affairs at the National Restaurant Association. "As people slowly start to move around the country again in the coming year, the money spent in the restaurants and other small businesses along the way will help put people back to work and will be crucial to rebuilding local economies. Commercialization of rest areas would create more chaos for the industry and slow efforts to fuel our recovery."

Congress reaffirmed its commitment to helping exit-based businesses thrive and to supporting local communities as recently as 2012, when the Senate voted 86 to 12 to uphold the longstanding federal law prohibiting the sale of food, fuel and other convenience items from Interstate rest areas.

The letter to Congress was signed by NATSO, Asian American Hotel Owners Association, Energy Marketers of America, Franchise Business Services, International Franchise Association, National Association of Convenience Stores, National Automatic Merchandising Association, National Federation of the Blind, National Franchisee Association, National League of Cities, National Restaurant Association, National Retail Federation, National Tank Truck Carriers, Natural Gas Vehicles for America, and the Society of Independent Gasoline Marketers of America.

NATSO is the professional association of America's travel plaza and truckstop industry. Founded in 1960, NATSO represents the industry on legislative and regulatory matters; serves as the official source of information on the diverse travel plaza and truckstop industry; provides education to its members; conducts an annual convention and trade show; and supports efforts to generally improve the business climate in which its members operate.

CONTACT: Tiffany Wlazlowski Neuman

Phone: (703) 739-8578

SOURCE NATSO, Inc.

Related Links

http://www.natso.com


An investigation by the Florida Department of Financial Services Division of Investigative and Forensic Services (DIFS), Bureau of Workers Compensation Fraud, has led to the arrest of two business owners for allegedly failing to pay more than $300,000 in workers compensation premiums.

According to DFS, Jerson Geovanny Quiroz and Reyna Elizabeth Quiroz, owners of Quiroz Carpentry Corporate, were arrested for workers compensation premium fraud and grand theft for knowingly misrepresenting or concealing their payroll to avoid paying a higher workers compensation premium, investigators allege.

Detectives discovered that Quiroz Carpentry Corporate had cashed more than $1.9 million in labor for carpentry work instead of the $55,500 they had originally reported when obtaining their policy. Had the payroll been properly reported, Quiroz Carpentry Corp would have been charged a total of $307,636 in workers compensation premium, DFS said.

To date, the companys insurer Norguard Insurance has only collected roughly $7,500 in premiums. Quiroz Carpentry effectively avoided more than $300,000 in workers compensation premiums based on the owners alleged fraudulent actions, DFS claims.

Jerson Geovanny Quiroz and Reyna Elizabeth Quiroz were arrested on Feb. 17, 2021 and booked into the Turner Guilford Knight Correctional Center in Miami-Dade County. Both face charges of workers compensation premium fraud and grand theft. If convicted, they each face up to 20 years in prison. Individuals charged with a crime are presumed innocent until proven guilty.

It is critical that Florida businesses carry the required insurance coverage for their employees. Having insufficient coverage is a serious crime that puts employees at risk, takes business away from reputable contractors, and raises insurance rates for businesses across the state, CFO Jimmy Patronis said.

Source: Florida Department of Financial Services

Topics Workers' Compensation
In March 1896, Hilaire and his mother sailed for New York. Hilaire paid for their passage with money lent to him by a friend. To his benefactor he wrote, I had no conception till I got here of what those five years had been. My soul had frozen  a little more and I should have done nothing with my life. Thank you for the 100 Dollars. They will form the most useful of wedding gifts...

While his mother stayed in Philadelphia, Hilaire traveled westward aboard a train. His trip was an anxious one as he had not heard from Elodie for some time. Upon his arrival in Napa, April 1896, he discovered the reason. While recuperating well, Elodie had been seriously ill.

Their engagement ended on June 15, 1896, when they married at St. John the Baptist Church in Napa. The newlyweds were the honored guests at a lavish wedding brunch hosted by the jubilant Hogan family.

Hilaire sent a piece of the cake to his mother accompanied by a letter detailing the wedding. He wrote, We have been married in as Catholic a way as could be, with a Nuptial Mass and Communion and all sorts of rites and benedictions by an old priest called Slattery. Years before in 1868, Elodie had been baptized at St. Johns.

Chariot has signed a Collaboration Agreement with Subsea Integration Alliance to work together to enable the front-end design, engineering, procurement, construction, installation and operation of the Anchois Gas Development project in Morocco.

WTI $59.24 -$1.28, Brent $62.91 -$1.02, Diff -$3.67 +26c, NG $3.07 -1c, UKNG 41.32p -3.17p

Oil price

After all that hullabaloo the oil price was almost static last week, in the end WTI lost just 23 cents and Brent gained 48 cents. In the same boat the US rig count showed overall rigs unchanged at 397 with oil down 1 at 305.

But the Covid numbers are falling and the UK has today announced a slow step back from lockdown, international markets are still however in the red.

Chariot Oil & Gas

Chariot has signed a Collaboration Agreement with Subsea Integration Alliance to work together to enable the front-end design, engineering, procurement, construction, installation and operation of the Anchois Gas Development project in Morocco. Subsea Integration Alliance is a nonincorporated strategic global alliance between Subsea 7 and OneSubsea, the subsea technologies, production, and processing systems division of Schlumberger.

Chariot and Subsea Integration Alliance will adopt a One-team, integrated and collaborative approach to safely fast-track first gas to maximise the return on investment. The team will also handle the operations and maintenance of the facilities and maintain Chariots commitment to ESG and the importance of contributing to social development through the creation of direct and indirect jobs in Morocco.

Stuart Fitzgerald, CEO, Subsea Integration Alliance commented:

We are pleased to be starting a journey with Chariot on the exciting Anchois gas development in Morocco. We believe the Subsea Integration Alliance One-team collaboration with Chariot will help unlock the planning and execution of the development and uncover the true value of the project for all stakeholders.

Adonis Pouroulis, Acting CEO, Chariot Oil & Gas Limited commented:

This Collaboration Agreement with Subsea Integration Alliance further endorses our view that the Anchois development is a high value project. With the recent announcement on potential project finance, Chariot is clearly showing that it is delivering on what it said it would do, namely, advancing the commerciality of the Lixus asset and generating value to shareholders in the process.

We believe that 2021 will be an exciting year for the business, as we look to commence with our operational plans at Anchois and further enhance our portfolio to include other commercial opportunities along the theme of energy transition. We look forward to keeping our investors updated on progress with these initiatives over the coming months.

I read this to be excellent news from Chariot who are powering on at the Anchois gas project in Morocco, this time for the FEED, EPC installation and operation of it as well as pre-commissioning and commissioning work. The fact that they have gone with SIA is also a positive sign in terms of partner quality and efficiency and clearly for ultimate delivery.

The economics of the project are looking very positive with an NPV 10 of $500m on revenue of $1.5bn and repaying capex within two years. With 361 BCF of 2C resources in the initial phase, there are up to 3 TCF of total remaining recoverable resources which could mean 7 additional core developments.

This agreement covers all parts of the development except the drilling and completing of the wells. It is anticipated that the appraisal well will drill the A+B discovery sands as well as further previously undrilled but low risk sands. If you assume that the well will be suspended as a producer the the value for money is very good as the well will be an appraisal, production and exploration play and rig availability is good and at reasonable rates.

There has been much going on at Chariot under the new management regime and as I understand it there is still much to come. Obviously more work at Anchois and Lixus, indeed the whole of the wider Rissana licence but also on other ventures which are currently being worked on. Accordingly it is going to be an interesting time as a shareholder in Chariot over the coming months and at what looks like a very modest risk for the potentially high return on capital invested.

Angus Energy

has announced, further to the RNS of 19 January 2021 that the Company has received a best efforts expression of commitment in the form of a conditional Mandate Letter, for between 8 and 9 million toward the proposed 12 million Saltfleetby Equipment Finance and Field Development Loan Facility from a major multi-national institution. The Mandate commitment is conditional also on the participation of other institutions and investors for the balance of 3 to 4 million.

The Company has also been informed of indications and soft commitments for the same Loan Facility of approximately 11 million from an identified group of investors led by Aleph Energy (Aleph). In each instance the terms of the Loan Facility are substantially unchanged from those disclosed in the RNS of 19 January 2021.

Additionally, the group of investors has expressed a strong interest in funding Anguss planned geothermal and solar projects, in continued support of the Companys Energy Transition plans and revenue diversification.

The Mandate includes a 45-day exclusivity period for this joint financing effort until 5 April although it is the stated intent of all parties to conclude legal documentation, perfect security and satisfy conditions precedent, including, inter alia, regulatory approval of the Field Development Plan by the OGA, consequential amendments to the Farm-out Agreement, the Joint Operating Agreement and the existing Knowe Properties Loan Note, with a view to making disbursements during the month of March.

A further condition of the Mandate is that the debt provider will also provide hedging services on market terms for a proportion (no greater than 70%) of a low case production estimate during the four year life of the Loan Facility.

It should be emphasised that the Mandate Letter is not a firm offer of funding and completion of the Loan funding remains subject to the satisfaction of those various conditions that currently remain outstanding.

George Lucan, Angus CEO, comments: We are very pleased to have attracted the support of a group of institutional investors and family offices some of whom have also expressed genuine interest in funding Anguss pipeline of Energy Transition projects. We look forward to closing this Loan Facility within a realistic timeframe and thank shareholders for their continued support in developing our portfolio of assets in line with the highest ESG standards. We will be following this announcement with updates on our other assets over the coming days.

Im not surprised to see that George Lucas is very pleased with regard to this news about the loan funding, it is massively oversubscribed if anything like all these interested parties stay involved and he gets a potential funder for the geothermal projects as well as someone to provide hedging services. The share price has yet to realise that this is good pretty much whatever the terms.

Angus- Take 2  Re-evaluation of Lidsey Field (PL 241)

Angus Energy plc has announced an update and adjoining presentation on recent work done by the Company on reprocessing and reinterpreting the Lidsey seismic data. One of the conclusions of the work is that previous seismic mapping both underestimated the aerial extent of the reservoir and most importantly its shape. As a consequence of which, the presentation addresses the likelihood that both wells X1 and X2 have been addressing the flank or edge of the structure rather than its crest.

The Company therefore intends to acquire a new line of seismic data and reprocess the existing seismic lines. Angus will reinterpret and remap the field using the new data with the aim of identifying a new drilling target. Assuming the further seismic line does not result in a wholly unexpected remapping, the Company will then explore farm-out or other financing for a short side-track back to the crest of the structure, subject to Planning, EA and other regulatory permissions.

George Lucan, Angus CEO, comments: Lidsey was one of the two oil fields which supported the launch of Angus onto the AIM at its initial public offering in 2016. Expectations were for over 250 barrels a day and the disappointment at low flow rates in late 2017 was one of two defining moments for the Company in its early years on the market.

The Company believes that the Field has more potential than previously considered and that our technical view concerning depth conversion and seismic interpretation will shortly be incontrovertibly confirmed by the addition on further short seismic line. This has already been budgeted for.

The second announcement is also positive for the company, further, fully funded seismic work must have every chance of success from what I read into the Lidsey RNS.

President Energy

A 2020 update and 2021 outlook from President today which goes along with an investor presentation.

For 2020 numbers were as pretty much already detailed, turnover of approximately $28 million, a reduction of 32% year on year driven primarily by average oil price realisations falling 33% to $37 per barrel. However, average net Group production up 12% year on year to over 2,700 boepd and December average net Group production of circa 3,300 boepd demonstrating the early impact of the new wells drilled in late Q4.

Over $10 million of free cash generation from operations (after workovers) and treasury income gave adjusted EBITDA of approximately $3 million. Well operating (excluding royalties and workovers) and administrative costs were successfully reduced by 19% year on year to circa $20 per boe and capex incurred (including capital leases) of over $11 million.

Net debt reduced by 25% year on year to approximately $16 million, including the $5 million loan secured at the end of the period to fund development of the new treatment plant in Puesto Flores. Trafigura, one of the largest commodity traders in the world, and an important offtaker of President, became a major strategic shareholder.

Robust Group net 2P reserves of over 24 MMboe as at the year end with additional 9 MMboe of 2C contingent resources convertible to reserves on licence extensions.

This years drilling programme is expected to kick off as scheduled at end of March with four new gas wells in the Las Bases and Estancia Vieja fields, Rio Negro Province, all due to come on stream by end May. In H2, a further three oil well drilling programme planned at the Dos Puntitas field, Puesto Guardian Concession, Salta Province, Argentina, all due to come on stream towards the end of 2021.

New 3D seismic data acquisition planned over Canada Grande, a formerly prolific but now non-producing oil field also at Puesto Guardian and a new treatment plant and infrastructure set to start first phase operations in Rio Negro by end June bringing immediate cost savings. In Paraguay, farm-in discussions are ongoing, targeting completion during H1. Initial well planning to drill the high impact Delray complex exploration well within next 12 months.

Guidance for full year average production is projected to be between 3,600 and 4,000 boepd, based on Group capex spend of circa $18 million. This is planned to be funded through cash generation complemented by additional non-equity sources as required. The full benefit of capex will only be fully felt from the start of 2022 when all Salta new wells are expected to be on stream.

Atome Limited, a new alternative energy subsidiary was formed to focus on developing a hydrogen and ammonia production business.

Peter Levine, Chairman, commented

In an unprecedented year of so much personal tragedy and pain for the World which we must humbly acknowledge, the President family pulled together and not only survived but by the end of the year became stronger. We successfully controlled what we could and the key performance metrics bear witness to this. We are sincerely grateful to everyone within the business for their efforts. We have a lot of work to do this year but we are very much up for it and relishing the prospects.

The energy landscape has changed even faster and more dramatically than anticipated. President, as an energy company focused on long term goals, embraces this. Any action has to be considered carefully, seriously and be planned with the ultimate objective of delivery for the Group in key relevant areas. It takes time. We are pleased to announce the incorporation of Atome Limited, a first step in respect of one of those actions.

2020 Trading review

Last year, one that no-one could have foreseen, was incredibly hard for the industry as a whole given the material decline in commodity prices and demand that ultimately resulted in significantly reduced revenue and associated financial performance.

However, notwithstanding the challenging macro environment, Presidents average production for the year increased modestly and operating costs reduced by almost 20% with over $10 million of free cash generation being $6 million from operations after taking into account workovers and over $4 million from astutely managed treasury income, taking advantage of market volatility.

This demonstrates the robustness of Presidents oil and gas business and sets the Group up well to benefit from the improving financial climate in 2021.

In summary, for the industry it was a year more to survive than thrive but in which the stability of President prevailed. Having gone, as stated before, some two years without drilling new wells, President was the only company to drill in H2 2020 in Rio Negro, Argentina, post the start of the pandemic. The foundations were laid for a significantly more active 2021 where an important mission is to exploit the assets of the Company, increase consistent average production and enlarge the well stock to mitigate the continued effect of production being disrupted by older wells going down or in need of constant repair.

2021 will be a very busy year for the Company with a record number of wells to be drilled and a return to growth. Seven new production wells are projected either side of the half year. The drilling will kick off with the first four gas wells scheduled at the end of March in Rio Negro. These will be followed by three vertical oil wells in the Dos Puntitas field at Puesto Guardian.

Later in H2, there is a planned 3D seismic data acquisition programme over a formerly prolific Canada Grande field within the Puesto Guardian Concession, Salta Province to find new well locations to target and drill the productive A6 sand there. An initial land survey by potential contractors is currently underway. The best wells in Canada Grande produced initially as much as 1,000 boepd from the clean A6 sands. If the data indicates commercially viable well locations, then it would be Presidents objective to drill in Canada Grande following on from the H2 drilling in Salta.

The return to activity in Puesto Guardian is significant with the real beneficial impact on the Company only occurring in all material effects from the start of 2022 when it is projected all wells will be on stream. Puesto Guardian is a long term Concession to 2050 and 100% owned and operated by President. Its current production is stable and showing good reservoir properties albeit low in volume due directly to the fact that there has been no new successful drilled wells there for some 10 years.

Unproduced reserves of scale are unquestionably present and there is significant potential to grow. The hard lessons that have been learnt from unsuccessful drilling in the past has given President a determination to succeed with the Company now having the resource and a drilling and engineering design team that have proved themselves able to deliver in action. Moreover with higher oil prices mitigating the greater discount for Salta oil and all necessary infrastructure in place to cope with greater volume, there are potentially materially enhanced margin barrels to be had.

Along with drilling and workover operations, President continues with the infrastructure projects previously announced including the treatment plant set to be commissioned by end June which will result in an estimated $4/boe reduction in operating costs.

As announced on 8 February 2021, President is seeking to renew its core Puesto Flores/Estancia Vieja Concession by a further ten years before the end of the year, thereby allowing for the conversion of some 9 MMboe of contingent oil and gas resources into reserves in due course.

With regards to Paraguay, the farm-in discussions continue with the previously identified party, a substantial national energy company from a non-Paraguayan, democratic, economically stable and technologically advanced country. The Main Board and technical committee of the proposed partner have approved its participation in the project, including the main financial and commercial terms. The parties are now finalising the definitive legal agreements.

Although it was stated in the RNS dated 22nd December 2020 that President hoped to conclude matters before the end of Q1 2021, patience is required in these pandemic restricted times which affect legal due diligence and negotiating final form agreements in two languages. Nevertheless, the target for both parties is to complete the farm-in during H1 2021 and in that event, drilling is expected to commence in the first part of 2022 at the high impact Delray complex of prospects internally estimated to contain 230 MMbo of unrisked oil in place.

As to oil prices, whilst our modest Louisiana operations approximately track WTI and Louisiana Light prices, Argentina realisation prices are always subject to a discount from Brent and also depend on geographic location. In February, in Rio Negro, Presidents realisation price is currently estimated at just over US$52 per barrel whilst in Salta, the realised price for this month is approximately US$46.

Gas prices reflect the current modest supply squeeze which is expected to exacerbate over the winter. Current spot prices are US$2.40 per MMBtu with President projecting higher winter prices of US$3.60 per MMBtu.

President is an energy centric company. As such, as a long term business it has to embrace and develop in energy outside both its present geographic core area of Argentina and also its oil and gas business whilst not neglecting the same. So whilst recently forming President Nuevo Energia SAU, a new renewables company in Argentina to consider opportunities in that country, President, after careful research has determined that it is appropriate to step out in a more concrete and definite direction.

The Company has formed Atome Limited as a UK intermediate holding company focusing on developing a hydrogen and ammonia production, marketing and sales business as distinct from an OEM (original equipment manufacturer). It will leverage on the international contacts and experience of Presidents management and is being seeded out of cash flow. In due course, it will have an independent board experienced in alternative energy. President is pleased to announce that the first of such directors has now been appointed being Mary Rose de Valladares, former long standing General Manager of the IEA (International Energy Agency) Global Hydrogen Collaboration Programme. It is too premature to make further comment save that Atome which has already started detailed research work represents a serious step for President and updates on progress will be made as matters develop later in the year.

Todays statement from PPC was much more extensive than usual and I havent covered it in full, for that it is possible to read the detailed announcement and of course listen to the trading update. The company is clearly in very good nick and still remarkably cheap compared to the sector with its oil and gas flow. As Peter Levine says, this is a serious company and to add my own tilt, is without doubt delivering the goods.

Echo Energy

Echo Energy has announced, further to the Companys announcement of 1 December 2020, that following positive and constructive discussions with certain holders of the Companys Luxembourg listed EUR 20.0m 8.0% secured notes it has published its proposals in respect of a restructuring of the Notes and that a meeting of the holders of the Notes has now been convened to consider the Proposals for 10.00 a.m. (London Time) on 15 March 2021.

Pursuant to the Proposals, the Company is seeking Noteholder consent to extend the maturity of the Notes by three years to 15 May 2025; and remove all cash interest payments on the Notes prior to the Maturity Date.

If approved by the requisite majority of Noteholders any and all interest on the Notes accruing from 31 December 2019 shall be paid in cash on the Maturity Date save that Noteholders will be provided with the ability, from 30 September 2021, to elect to receive Note interest payments in respect of the immediately preceding quarter in new ordinary Shares in the Company, subject inter alia to the Company having the required share issuance authorities in place from time to time to satisfy Elections and to Noteholders holding at least 50 per cent. of the Notes having made Elections in respect of the relevant quarter. Any new ordinary shares issued as a result of Elections will be issued at an effective issue price equal to the volume weighted average price of an Echo ordinary share for the 10 Business Days before the relevant interest conversion date.

In putting the Proposals to Noteholders the Company has agreed, subject to Noteholder approval of the Proposals at the Noteholder Meeting that it will not, without the prior consent of Noteholders by way of a simple majority of those Noteholders then voting, drill an exploration well with a budgeted cost to the Company of in excess of EUR 5.0 million for so long as the Notes are outstanding and that it will not, in the last 18 months prior to the Maturity Date, make an acquisition of an interest in an oil and gas property, lease or licence if the cash consideration for such acquisition exceeds EUR 10.0 million.

Subject to the passing of the Proposals at the Noteholder Meeting, the Company will make a payment to Noteholders of an aggregate of EUR 100,000, payable to Noteholders voting in favour of the Proposals at the Noteholder Meeting pro rata to votes cast at the Noteholder Meeting, to be satisfied by the issue of new ordinary shares in the Company at an issue price equal to the average mid-market closing price per Echo ordinary share for the five days ending, and including, 18 February 2021.

Total Market Solutions

On Friday afternoon I spoke to Doc Holiday of TMS and we talked about selected oil & gas stocks. The following names came up : RKH, SEY, TLW, KIST, LBE, JOG, SQZ, UJO, SAVE, RBD, EDR, EOG, PTAL, PRD, HE1, ZPHR, SCIR, BLOE and BPC. The link is here:

Total Market Solutions interview: Malcy Talks Oil & Gas XXIV

And finally

In the Prem on Saturday the Saints held Chelski 1-1, Burnley and the Baggies drew 0-0, the Cottagers secured three valuable points against the Blades and in the Scouse derby the Toffees nicked all the points at fortress Anfield winning 0-2.

On Sunday talking of gritty derbies the Hammers held on to beat Spurs 2-1, the Foxes visited the Grealishless Villa and won 1-2, the Gooners entertained the Noisy Neighbours who beat them 0-1 and the Magpies went to the Theatre of and lost 3-1.

Tonight its another grudge game also known as the M23 derby as the Eagles head to the Seagulls.

Team Ineos failed in its attempt to win the Prada Cup and therefore no opportunity to challenge Team New Zealand in the Americas Cup sailing. The winds were too light for the UK boat that needed heavier weather.
The document, published by the State Council, Chinas cabinet, noted that Communist party committees will also shoulder responsibility for food security, in addition to local government.

China will put greater pressure on its regions to boost grain yields and step up support for its domestic seed industry as it strengthens its focus on food security after the COVID-19 pandemic, a major policy document issued over the weekend shows.

The annual rural policy blueprint, known as the No. 1 document, placed greater emphasis on food security than in prior years, calling for all provinces to improve grain yields during the 2021-2025 period.

Beijing, which has long prioritised food security for its population of 1.4 billion, has strengthened its focus on the issue since the pandemic hit major food exporting nations last year and raised concerns about stability of food supplies.
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Laws Would Legalize Driving Into Protestors

Laws Would Legalize Driving Into Protestors - An Alternative Immunity For Striking Protestors Updates Older Legal Doctrine

WASHINGTON, D.C. (February 22, 2021) - Bills are being considered in Iowa, Missouri, Oklahoma, Utah, and about a dozen other states to deal with the increasingly common tactic of protestors who deliberately and illegally stand or sit on streets and highways to block traffic, including measures to legally permit drivers to run into them.

Indeed, a bill granting drivers immunity for hitting protestors recently cleared an Oklahoma Senate committee on a 8-1 vote.

Such measures appear to be a modern version of the old legal doctrine of "outlawry," according to public interest law professor John Banzhaf, who suggests that there is a better and more humane way to deal with the problem.

Under early Roman law, and throughout the Middle ages under German law and the common law of England, a person found guilty of certain wrongdoings was declared an "outlaw" - literally a person "outside the law," and no more entitled to any legal protection than a wolf - so it was not only completely lawful but considered meritorious for others to kill him.

Granting legal immunity to drivers who run down protestors illegally blocking a street or highway seems to be an updated version of the concept; i.e., that a person who intentionally and criminally blocks a road for the purpose of inconveniencing others surrenders the legal protections to which he would otherwise be entitled.

Those proposing and supporting such legislation argue that existing laws which prohibit deliberately blocking traffic obviously are not preventing the increasing use of this frustrating and illegal tactic, apparently because police often tolerate such conduct, or at least decline to make arrests.

Moreover, suggests Banzhaf, prosecutors often refuse to prosecute, or let the criminals off with only a small fine and/or probation - all of which do little to deter such illegal conduct.

But legislation which would make it easier for anyone who is delayed by a road blockage to sue the offenders, and to hold each person who participated liable for the entirety of the damages from all drivers, under the existing legal doctrine known as "joint and several liability," would probably be far more effective as well as more humane.

Actually, says Banzhaf, such civil legal actions can be brought under existing law, since deliberately blocking cars on a road - so that drivers cannot then readily leave them - constitutes the civil tort of "false imprisonment."

Indeed, this constitutes a so-called intentional tort, for which the plaintiff can be awarded punitive damages as well as damages for the time he was effectively stuck on the street.

In fact, law suits based upon this concept - inspired by Prof. Banzhaf - are currently pending against those who illegally blocked the George Washington Bridge, thereby effectively imprisoning hundreds in their cars.

But legislation to clarify and codify this cause of action, providing minimum damages (e.g. $1000 for each person falsely imprisoned), and making anyone found liable pay the attorney fees of the plaintiffs, would be preferable, and better than authorizing a "purge" (as in the movie) on our streets and highways, he argues.

If our legislators are going to update the outlawry concept to deal with modern problems, let's limit it to minor property damage rather than risks to life and limb - e.g., providing that a person who parks in a "no standing anytime" lane on a busy street during rush hour cannot sue if irate drivers damage his car - suggests Banzhaf.
The third wave of Oregon seniors -- those who are 70 and older -- will get their first chance Monday to try to schedule coveted COVID-19 vaccination appointments.

In the Portland area, 7,300 new appointments will open for booking at 9 a.m. Residents ages 70 to 74 years old will be competing for appointments with older seniors who became eligible in the first two waves over the past week or two.

The fourth and final group of seniors -- those 65 and older -- will get their first opportunity to book appointments statewide starting March 1.

The process for securing appointments can be confusing. Most counties have their own, unique systems for scheduling, which are usually outlined on their county websites.

Pharmacies also have started offering appointments -- but booking one can requiring calling multiple pharmacies or visiting the websites of multiple stores that house pharmacies.

Heres what else you need to know:

How do I book an appointment?

Starting at 9 a.m., Oregonians in some counties -- including those in the Portland area -- can use 211 to schedule appointments.

But for the internet savvy, booking online probably will be the quicker and easier path. For residents of the Portland area -- which includes Multnomah, Washington, Clackamas and Columbia counties -- visit covidvaccine.oregon.gov. Then click on the blue rectangular Lets get started box and use the chat tool to answer questions about eligibility and ultimately reach a Schedule now button to secure appointments.

Portland-area residents who book through this process will get appointments at either the Oregon Convention Center or Portland International Airports red economy parking lot.

Marion County residents also can book online using this process. But residents of other counties should visit covidvaccine.oregon.gov and click on the blue rectangular box COVID-19 Vaccine Information by County to learn their countys process for securing appointments.

Oregonians in every county also may call 211 or email ORCOVID@211info.org with questions. Residents who are unsure if theyre eligible can find out if they qualify by visiting getvaccinated.oregon.gov.

Whats the difference between the Convention Center and the airport sites?

The Convention Center in Northeast Portland requires vaccine recipients to walk in or use wheelchairs. Its typically open seven days per week.

Most senior appointments will be at the airports drive-through site, in recognition of a sizable portion of seniors who might have trouble walking or standing for extended periods of time. Those wanting to visit the drive-through site should answer in the affirmative when asked during the booking process if they have mobility issues.

On Monday, 4,900 appointments will be available for scheduling at the Convention Center for time slots from Wednesday, Feb. 24, to Tuesday, March 16.

Another 2,400 appointments will be open for scheduling at the airport for time slots on Sunday, Feb. 28.

The combined 7,300 appointments are open for seniors as well as members of phase 1a, which includes health care workers and people who receive assistance from caregivers at home.

The airport site is typically open Saturday and Sunday, but officials plan to open it daily when Oregons vaccine allocation increases, said Tamara Hargens-Bradley, a spokeswoman with Oregon Health & Science University, which is running the site. She said the site regularly administers 3,000 doses per day but has the capacity to scale up to 7,500 doses each day.

Can I book at my local pharmacy?

Yes, appointments are available at more than 120 pharmacies as of last week, depending on the pharmacies vaccine supplies. Participating pharmacies are in 27 of the states 36 counties. Those pharmacies include 103 Safeway and Albertsons stores and 13 Costco stores.

Albertsons offers sign-ups at www.albertsons.com/COVID-19, Safeway at www.safeway.com/COVID-19 and Costco at https://www.costco.com/covid-vaccine.html.

Many pharmacies received shipments of 100 doses during the second week of February and were expecting more regular shipments to come.

How soon can I get my shot?

Operators of the Portland area mass vaccination sites say seniors who schedule appointments starting at 9 a.m. Monday could get vaccinated as early as Wednesday.

Those who schedule shots at pharmacies might find earlier appointments.

Is the backlog created by the winter storm over?

Operators of the Portland areas mass vaccination sites say theyve offered new appointments to everyone who experienced cancellations because of the ice and snow storms. The last of the rescheduled appointments took Sunday, Feb. 21.

How competitive will it be for seniors who want appointments?

Over the past two weeks, online appointments in the Portland area have all been taken within the first 45 minutes to three hours that theyve been open for booking. Its unclear how long available appointments on 211 lasted.

Theres not enough appointments to meet demand, and state officials have said that based on recent vaccine shipment estimates from the federal government, it will probably be early April before 75% of residents 65 and older have been offered a first shot. Itll likely be early May before 75% get their second shots, officials said.

How many people are seniors competing against for first doses?

Up to 212,000 Oregonians ages 70 to 74 will become eligible for appointments Monday.

They join up to 300,000 people 75 and older who already have been eligible -- for a total pool of about 512,000 people.

But the actual number is likely about 312,000, because approximately 200,000 of these seniors already have been vaccinated with one or two doses. Some have qualified for vaccinations since December because they live in long-term care facilities or receive assistance from a caregiver in their own individual homes. Others have been vaccinated in the past two weeks.

What about my second dose?

Those who are vaccinated at the Portland areas sites will be scheduled for their second-dose appointments at the time they receive their first shots, the sites operators say.

Do I need a MyHealth account to sign up for an appointment at the Oregon Convention Center?

No. Some seniors whod never received care from Legacy Health ran into this roadblock when they tried unsuccessfully to schedule appointments at the Oregon Convention Center: They didnt have a Legacy MyHealth account and werent able to create one. Others who had received Legacy care in the past encountered trouble because they didnt know their usernames and passwords.

Maili Boynay, Legacys vice president of information services, said in an email that people wanting to make vaccination appointments arent required to have a MyHealth account, but it is suggested and in many ways can be beneficial for second dose scheduling and tracking purposes. To be clear, the system will let non-Legacy patients schedule appointments without one, Boynay said.

Is there a dependable schedule for when appointments will be opened for booking each week?

Yes, at least in the Portland area. Operators of the regions two sites say new appointments will be opened for scheduling at 9 a.m. every Monday and Thursday.

Coronavirus in Oregon: Latest news | Live map tracker |Text alerts | Newsletter

-- Aimee Green; agreen@oregonian.com; @o_aimee
Kolkata: Months ahead of the West Bengal assembly polls, Prime Minister Narendra Modi on Monday (February 22, 2021) visited the state and said that the people have made up their mind for a 'poriborton' (change).

Prime Minister Narendra Modi during his public rally in Hooghly said, "West Bengal has made up its mind for 'Poribortan' (change)."

PM Modi stated that the formation of a Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) government in West Bengal isn't just for a change in power, but for 'Ashol Poriborton'.

West Bengals development will happen with Ashol Poriborton, when: Syndicate Raj is over. Cut culture finishes. State patronage of criminal elements ends. Rule of law prevails. pic.twitter.com/MP0R6d4MVn  Narendra Modi (@narendramodi) February 22, 2021

"Our youth is living with the hope of this 'Ashol Poriborton' and thus, we need to form the BJP government in West Bengal," the Prime Minister said.

He attacked the Mamata Banerjee-led Trinamool Congress government and said that the Centre had provided Rs 1,700 crore for relief work after the Cyclone Amphan to West Bengal, but the state government has only spent Rs 609 crore.

He alleged that the leftover Rs 1,100 crore has been siphoned off by TMC and said, "This proves that the TMC govt does not care about the poor, needy and women of Bengal."

He added, "Those parties who ruled West Bengal for decades did not devote attention towards Hooghlys development. BJP will serve Hooghly with vigour and ensure qualitative development."

Those parties who ruled West Bengal for decades did not devote attention towards Hooghlys development. BJP will serve Hooghly with vigour and ensure qualitative development. pic.twitter.com/nVlQGyu0uB  Narendra Modi (@narendramodi) February 22, 2021

He stated that there was a phase when jute mills of Bengal fulfilled most of the needs of the entire country, but this industry has been left for survival, with a huge number of people affected.

The Prime Minister also said that lakhs of needy people in West Bengal have not been able to receive free treatment worth Rs 5 lakh under the Ayushman Bharat.

"This is the kind of hurdle Mamata Ji's government has formed between people of Bengal and development," he said.

PM Modi said that better infrastructure, agriculture, industry, tourism - employment opportunities need a lot of right reforms and that the infrastructure associated with connectivity is the priority of the Centre.



West Bengal has the potential to be a powerhouse of industry and innovation. A BJP Government in the state will undo the stagnation caused by those parties who ruled the state for years. pic.twitter.com/rVdw2ONjip  Narendra Modi (@narendramodi) February 22, 2021

"In the last few years, we've focused on highway, waterway, airway and e-way. Thousands of crores have been spent in Bengal in this regard in the last few years," PM Modi added.

This is to be noted that West Bengal will have its assembly elections in the coming months.



Live TV
ROME, FEB 22 - Italy's ambassador to the Democratic Republic of Congo, Luca Attanasio, and a Carabiniere, Vittorio Iacovacci, were killed in an attack on their UN peacekeeping convoy travelling from Goma to Bukavu in the African country on Monday, well-informed sources told ANSA. Attanasio, 43, from Limbiate near Monza, died in hospital of gunshot wounds to the abdomen after arriving in hospital in critical condition, a high-ranking diplomat told AFP in Kinshasa. He is survived by his mother, wife and three young daughters. Iacovacci was 30 and from Sonnino near Latin south of Rome. He had been serving at the Italian embassy in the DRC since September. Iacovacci was stationed with the 13th Carabinieri regiment in Gorizia, In the past, he had served with the crack Folgore regiment. The envoy's car was part of a MONUSCO UN peacekeeping mission convoy including the EU's delegation chief, sources said. It was attacked with light weapons by a terrorist commando, local sources said. The attack was an attempted robbery, rangers at Virunga National Park told various media outlets including The Jerusalem Post. The attack took place at around 10 o'clock local (09:00 Italian time), near the town of Kanyamahoro. Several armed groups operate in the area of the Virunga Mountains, between Congo, Rwanda and Uganda, and often target the rangers in the park, which is famous for its mountain gorillas. The Italian foreign ministry confirmed the killings of Attanasio and the Carabiniere with "deep grief". Foreign Minister Luigi Di Maio voiced "immense grief" after learning of what happened while he was at an EU foreign ministers' meeting in Brussels. He voiced Italy's grief at the foreign ministers council meeting, before returning from Brussels to Rome. He said Italy would make every effort to shed light on the incident. He described Attanasio and Iacovacci as "two servants of the State who have been torn (from life) with violence while doing their duty. "Today Italy mourns the loss of two of its sons and embraces their families, friends and colleagues at the foreign ministry and in the Carabinieri", he said, adding that he would report to parliament as soon as possible. President Sergio Mattarella said the whole of Italy was "in mourning" for the deaths of two brave servants of he State". The Italian premier's office said Premier Mario Draghi voiced the government's deep grief for Attanasio and Iacovacci's tragic deaths and they embraced the two men's relatives, and colleagues at the foreign ministry and in the Carabinieri. Draghi is following developments with the utmost attention, the note added. The mayor of Sonnino announced a day of mourning for the slain Carabiniere. Defence Minister Lorenzo Guerini condemned the "cowardly and barbaric attack". European Commission spokesperson Eri Mamer said the news of the attack was "extremely concerning, and we are following (the case) closely. The high representative (for foreign affairs, Josep Borrell), has conveyed his condolences to Italy. The (Italian) foreign minister is sharing information with his EU colleagues". The United Nations Organization Stabilization Mission in the Democratic Republic of the Congo or MONUSCO, an acronym based on its French name, is a United Nations peacekeeping force in the Democratic Republic of the Congo (DRC) which was established by the United Nations Security Council to monitor the peace process of the Second Congo War, though much of its focus subsequently turned to the Ituri conflict, the Kivu conflict and the Dongo conflict. The area has been racked by armed conflict for years. (ANSA).
The family of Malcolm X released a letter Saturday purportedly written by a now-deceased police officer alleging that the New York Police Department and FBI were behind the 1965 assassination of the Black civil rights leader.

Why it matters: Scholars and civil rights advocates have long said men charged with killing Malcolm X, later known as el-Hajj Malik el-Shabazz, in New Yorks Audubon Ballroom were wrongly convicted. Some have alleged police and federal agents played a role in his death.

Driving the news: The family made public the letter attributed to Raymond Wood, a former undercover NYPD officer, who confessed before dying that the NYPD and FBI conspired in the assassination.

Wood wrote that he was ordered to see that Malcolm X would have no door security in the Harlem building where he was scheduled to speak.

Daughters of Malcolm X released details of the letter at the former site of their father's assassination and said they waited until Wood's death to speak about it over fears of retaliation from authorities.

"Any evidence that provides greater insight into the truth behind that terrible tragedy should be thoroughly investigated," Ilyasah Shabazz, one of Malcolm X's daughters, said at the press conference.

Flashback: Muhammad Aziz, Mujahid Abdul Halim and Khalil Islam were convicted of killing the civil rights leader and sentenced to life in prison.

Aziz and Islam denied they were connected to any plot to kill Malcolm X. Halim had said the two were not involved.

Malcolm X was killed after he publicly broke with Nation of Islam leader Elijah Muhammad and while he was being closely monitored by the FBI.

Between the lines: Manhattan District Attorney Cyrus Vances office announced last year his office would revisit the 1965 assassination following the release of a Netflix series questioning the investigation into Malcolm X's death.

Who Killed Malcolm X? dives into questions surrounding his accused killers and allegations of a botched investigation.

NYPD said in a statement it has provided all available records relevant to that case to the District Attorney."

"The department remains committed to assist with that review in any way."

The FBI declined to comment.

The big picture: Malcolm X is seeing a renewed interest amid the Black Lives Matter movement and calls from advocates to diversify school history lessons to tackle systemic racism.
The Irish government will tomorrow announce cautious and caveated plans for reopening their economies as their vaccination programmes reach a critical mass of the population. Owing to the faster rollout of vaccines in the UK, it may be about one month ahead of Ireland in its reopening.



Details on the plan in Ireland are less clear than the UK, with a phased reopening of schools from March 1st, but the reopening of hospitality mooted for mid-summer by the Taoiseach over the weekend. The difference in the reopening timelines is due to the slower progress of vaccine rollout in the EU. Twenty five percent of the UK population has received at least one vaccine dose to date, relative to just 4% in Ireland.



Goodbody Stockbrokers say given the uncertainty around the virus and possible mutations, the UKs plan to base its reopening around several key metrics makes perfect sense. According to Goodbody Stockbrokers, "The dance that governments are performing now is attempting to maintain caution while offering hope. It is patently clear though that there will be no big bang in the journey back to normal. A cautious reopening thus requires a cautious removal of government supports."

Source: www.businessworld.ie

ATLANTA, Feb. 22, 2021 /PRNewswire/ -- Insurance Risk Services of Georgia (IRSG) Ranks Tow Atlanta as One of the Best Towing Companies in the United States. Tow Atlanta has also been voted Atlanta's Best Towing Service for the last four consecutive years. They are an industry leader, constantly finding ways to improve the Towing Industry with their unique, customized towing equipment like the zero-degree load angle truck that lays flat on the ground and TARVA Machine that carries a vehicle out of a parking garage or other tight areas. Their equipment, abilities and expertise are unique and unparalleled.

Syre Perkins Manager of Tow Atlanta Answering Technical Questions from New York City Officials about TARVA-Eastract Machine

Due to their expertise and unique equipment, Tow Atlanta has become of the top tow providers in the United States. They provide Emergency Roadside Towing for any vehicle in need, but specialize in the towing of luxury, exotic, and antique vehicles. Tow Atlanta has been identified multiple times by the Insurance Industry as the best company to use for towing unique, high-value specialty automobiles that include the James Bond1964 DB5 Aston Martin, 1935 Duesenberg SSJ and a 1956 Aston Martin DBR1 (three vehicles towed with an insured value over $55,000,000).

Tow Atlanta has been branded as the most technologically advanced towing company in the United States. Their custom equipment helps them complete tasks that no other tow provider can complete. All their trucks have a six-camera video system that records the loading/unloading of the vehicles into the cloud, providing documentation available when needed. All trucks possess manufacturer specialty equipment that is used for Luxury, Exotic, and specialty vehicles. They use eight-point tie-downs, customized straps, and drivers possess manufacturer training with National TRAA Certification. With their approach of specialized attention to detail, they are the only towing company in Georgia that meets all insurance recommendations and requirements needed to possess the high on-hook/cargo insurance coverage for vehicles that are valued at more than $150,000.

Because of Tow Atlanta's stellar reputation in the towing industry, the New York City Police Department (NYPD) and other New York City officials had Tow Atlanta come to the Big Apple in November 2020 to demonstrate their TARVA machine and provide consultation to the NYPD to help them come up with a plan to resolve problematic issues. The NYPD was looking at the possibility of using a parking garage with a 6'2" clearance as the new police tow impound facility.

Although Tow Atlanta does not perform vehicle impounding or police towing, the Insurance Industry considers them the leading experts in the Automotive Towing Industry. They have the training and skills needed in dealing with unique, complex/complicated situations due to their specialized equipment and expertise. With the City of New York requesting their expert advice, Tow Atlanta has again proved why their reputation and expertise make them one of the Best Towing Companies in the United States.

The TARVA Machine is manufactured in Italy under the Eastract name. It has been in use throughout Europe for 10 years. It can carry a vehicle out of tight, confined, low-ceiling parking garages by picking the vehicle up by all four-wheels without needing keys or having to place the vehicle into neutral. With the advancements in automotive technology and the new electric vehicles not capable of shifting into neutral, this technology has already been identified by European Automakers as the future for damage-free towing. This unique machine has been engineered to pick-up a vehicle and carry it onto a truck and then drive away without having to unload until reaching the final destination. According to Eastract North America, the Eastract Machine will be available for purchase in the United States in April 2021.

Insurance Risk Services of Georgia

[email protected]

Related Images

tow-atlanta-answering-technical.png

Tow Atlanta Answering Technical Questions

Syre Perkins Manager of Tow Atlanta Answering Technical Questions from New York City Officials about TARVA-Eastract Machine

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TARVA loaded on ZLA Flatbed

Tow Atlanta's specialized unique equipment; TARVA Robot carrying a Tesla S Model, loaded onto their unique Zero Load Angle Flatbed Truck. The Tesla was pulled out of a 6'2" Parking Garage.

Related Links

New York Vacates Tow Pound

Tow Atlanta Equipment

SOURCE Insurance Risk Services of Georgia (IRSG)

Saudi Arabias Jeddah Islamic Port has received the first and largest container ship in the world completely powered by environment friendly liquefied natural gas (LNG).



This marks the container ship's first visit to Saudi Arabia and Jeddah Islamic Port, which is characterized by its high capacity to receive the world's largest ships, reported Saudi Press Agency (SPA).



The container ship has a capacity of 23,000 standard containers, with a length of 400 meters and a width of 61 meters. The French CMA CGM container ship was completed and entered service in September 2020.



This pioneering event comes as a continuation of the strategic partnership between Saudi Ports Authority (Mawani) and CMA CGM, a leading shipping and logistics firm, with the support of the Saudi logistics system and the follow-up from the Minister of Transport Saleh bin Nasser Al-Jasser, to increase the power of linking Saudi ports with international ports.
For a man who scarcely covered himself for most of his life, preferred walking barefoot, sported a bald pate and an emaciated frame, M.K. Gandhi cut a wildly photogenic figure. Not only was he the most photographed Indian of his time, he also inspired generations of artists to paint, sketch and sculpt him and create works that drew on his teachings and philosophy.

View Full Image Who Deviated First? (2010), Gigi Scarias acrylic and serigraph on canvas, shows Mahatma Gandhi walking on determinedly, while his followers are distracted and go astray.





In Gandhi In The Gallery, Sumathi Ramaswamy chronicles the history of obsession with the Mahatma among visual artists, sculptors and photographers during his lifetime and after his death. Apart from her vast richness of resources, Ramaswamy takes an inspired leap by studying the material thematically. Of the five chapters, the ones that deal with the Mahatmas body, his love for walking vast distances, and the scenarios (real and imagined) around his death are particularly riveting. Through her careful reading of visual idioms, Ramaswamy shines a light not only on Gandhi but also on Indias political, social and cultural histories.

View Full Image Mahatmaji Meeting The King-Emperor In Buckingham Palace, a chromolithograph c.1931, produced by an unknown publisher.





Revered in India as the Father of the Nation, Gandhi was observed with dispassionate interest by foreigners. In 1920, Frieda Das, the first woman and foreign artist allowed to sketch him from close quarters, was intrigued by Gandhi. Gandhi is ugly," she said bluntly, but also admitted, I see him smile and think him beautiful." Her Indian counterparts, such as Nandalal Bose (whom Gandhi favoured the most among his contemporaries), were struck by the leaders pledge of simplicity. The sparseness of Gandhis material possessionsfortified by his vow, I must reduce myself to zero"posited a visual challenge. How to capture the richness of a life that left so few traces? Artists like Haku Shah, S.H. Raza and Atul Dodiya grappled with it by making Gandhis minimalism a part of their aesthetics, by turning the meagreness of his earthly belongingsa pair of spectacles, stick, pen, loinclothinto icons.

View Full Image Dandi March, 1930 (1930) by Nandalal Bose, tempera on wood.

View Full Image pGandhi (An Untold Story) (2019), acrylic on canvas by Naval Kishore.









The bareness of Gandhis body was also often set in contrast with the opulence of others. A chromolithograph from the 1930s shows him semi-naked, sitting casually next to the stiff excess of the royals, attired in their regal best, during a visit to England. For artists, Gandhis wasted body supplied a minefield of inspiration. Some striking prints by Dhiren Gandhi from the 1940s draw the eye to his skeletal frame, worn away by the many fasts he kept. There is an air of stoic nobility in his bearing, an aura of Christ-like suffering, almost fashioned by the subject himself. It may not entirely be a coincidence that Gandhi was deeply moved by the sight of a particular crucifix during a visit to the Vatican art galleries in Italy.

View Full Image Gandhi And His Things (2013), oil on canvas by Haku Shah.

View Full Image Untitled (1986) by K.G. Subramanyan, mixed media on paper.









The final section of the book, which surveys Gandhis martyrdom, is the most haunting. Ramaswamy not only distils the meanings, metaphors and myths that have accrued around Gandhi since he fell to the assassins bullets, but also raises ethical questions about the politics of representation. As the world moves away from Gandhis teachingsa truth that is brilliantly depicted by Gigi Scaria in a serigraph, where Gandhi marches ahead, as his followers go astrayGandhi In The Gallery gives us a fresh perspective on the man.





View Full Image Gandhi In The Gallery: By Sumathi Ramaswamy,Roli Books, 224 pages,  1,495.

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Palm Beach County says it is investigating an airport Hilton hotel for not forcing the crowd at a campaign event for Gov. Ron DeSantis to wear masks - even though it's illegal for them to be forced on individuals across Florida.

The event was on Friday morning at the Hilton at the Airport Hilton in West Palm Beach. There was a crowd of between 100 and 150 and many were not wearing masks.

Across the state of Florida, individuals cannot be fined or punished for refusing to wear masks as stated in an executive order signed by DeSantis.

Individual counties can enforce other COVID rules and can technically fine establishments - as opposed to individuals - but it raises a dilemma for local businesses in parts of the state that have tried to enforce certain virus-related rules.

The mostly-maskless crowd at a Governor Ron DeSantis campaign event on Friday Feb 18 at the Hilton Airport Hotel in Palm Beach

The county says there were between 100 and 150 people at the event, many without masks

Another view of the event at the Hilton. Seats were spaced apart but the county says it is still investigating

Palm Beach County is one of the few Democratic counties in Florida.

Typically, COVID rules have been far stricter in Democratic states and cities than in other parts of the country.

It's unclear what option the hotel had other than to tell the guests to wear masks under the county law but respect the state law if they refused to wear one.

No one at Palm Beach County's offices responded to that inquiry on Monday afternoon.

A spokesman for the hotel told DailyMail.com: 'We are aware of the event held by the Governor at our hotel and concerns that have been raised regarding the lack of masks at the event.

'While we welcome the Governor and all of our guests to our hotel, we are in strong support of all federal, state and local guidelines associated with the COVID-19 pandemic, and we do our best to ensure the health and safety of our guests through compliance with those guidelines.

'Since the event ended, we have been made aware of video that appears to show a group of individuals within close proximity of one another and not wearing masks.

We are disappointed in their apparent failure to comply with our mask regulations which are prominently displayed throughout the hotel. Moving forward, we will continue to do our best to monitor and enforce these guidelines as long as they remain in place.'

The Governor's office said: 'Governor DeSantis executive order suspending the collection of fines and penalties associated with COVID-19 enforced upon individuals remains in place.'

A statement released by the county earlier read: 'Approximately 15 minutes before the Governors 10:00 am press event this morning at the Airport Hilton, we were informed that a large audience (approximately 100-150) was in attendance and numerous individuals were not wearing facial coverings or masks.

'We immediately dispatched a CECT representative to the event.

DeSantis issued an executive order banning local governments from imposing fines on people for not wearing masks

The Hilton hotel near the airport in West Palm Beach, where the event was held on Friday

'We have spoken to Hilton management and will be following up with them and event organizers in accordance with our normal compliance procedures.'

County officials in Palm Beach also have previously tried to stop former president Donald Trump from making it his permanent residence. The former president's Mar-a-Lago resort is in Palm Beach.

Photos of Friday's campaign event emerged last week and outraged some who accused DeSantis of 'trying to kill us'.

Since the start of the pandemic, Florida has had more relaxed rules on COVID-19 than almost every other state in the US.

Cases there rose in the summer but they are now falling along with everywhere else, including states like California and New York, where distancing and other virus-related rules have been more strict.
Fisheries Transparency Initiative: Promoting Sustainable Fisheries in Small Island Developing States

News

Through our support to the Fisheries Transparency Initiative, Ireland is committed to supporting Small Island Developing States and the Blue Economy.

Fisheries are an important resource for many Small Island Developing States (SIDS), contributing to food and nutrition security, as well as employment for fishing communities. However, a lack of credible, publicly available information often results in poor fisheries management, contributing to the over-exploitation of stocks and socio-economic loss for fishing communities.

Working with governments, business and civil society, the Seychelles-based Association of the Fisheries Transparency Initiative (FiTI) aims to increase transparency and participation in fisheries governance. This includes gathering and publishing data on stocks, fishing agreements and the effects of fishing on the environment, helping countries to manage fisheries and marine resources more effectively and sustainably.

The Embassy of Ireland is contributing to the FiTI with a grant of 205,734, to support promotion and outreach activities in the four SIDS of Comoros, Mauritius, Cabo Verde and Sao Tome and Principe. Under this two-year grant, FiTi will work with these four countries to raise awareness about the FiTI International Standard, and to support increased levels of transparency and multi-stakeholder collaboration in their marine fisheries sector.

As a small island, Ireland recognises the challenges similar islands face. Small islands often share vulnerabilities, most times climate-related, including sea-level rise and droughts, which can threaten their survival.

SIDS face particularly unique sustainable development challenges, including small populations, vulnerability to natural disasters and external shocks, and limited financial and human resource capabilities for effectively managing the fisheries sector, impacting the sustainable management of fisheries.

Irelands Strategy for Partnership with Small Island Developing States (SIDS), launched in 2019, showcases Irelands commitment to supporting and working together with fellow island states in achieving the Sustainable Development Goals, mobilising the international community behind these efforts and further strengthening long-term partnerships with SIDS. This grant is part of Irelands commitment to work closely with SIDS in addressing shared challenges on climate change and the blue economy.

Speaking in response to the grant, Sven Biermann, Executive Director of the FiTI International Secretariat stated that We are extremely thankful to Irish Aid for this support. Fisheries are critical for the development and well-being of Small Island Developing States, accounting for a large proportion of total employment and food and nutrition security.

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Egypt is focused on localising manufacturing and transferring technology in the defence and various related industries, said head of Egypts Arab Organisation for Industrialisation (AOI) Abdel-Moneim El-Terras on Monday while attending the UAE's International Defence Exhibition and Conference (IDEX 2021).

The exhibition is being held in Abu Dhabi from 21 to 25 February with the participation of Minister of Defence Mohamed Zaki and Minister of Military Production Ahmed Morsy.

El-Terras said leading international companies taking part in IDEX 2021 have requested to meet with the AOI delegation within the framework of industry localisation, exchanging experience in defence industries, and research and training, a statement by the AOI read.

The AOIs participation in IDEX 2021 is an opportunity for the organisation to open a window on the world through showcasing its technological and technical capabilities used in defence fields, and to get up to speed on the latest technologies of the participating countries in the fields of defence and arming systems, the statement added.

Participating in the exhibition on Sunday, the military production minister met with the representative of Rolls Royce Tarek Nobar, the representative of TRB Mile Pejcic, and the head of Thales in the Middle East.

More meetings with military officials and international company representatives are scheduled for the coming days.

Short link:



(Alliance News) - A volley of rockets on Monday targeted the high-security zone in the Iraqi capital that is home to the US embassy, the military and security sources said.

The attack is the third in a week to target Western diplomatic, military or commercial installations across Iraq after months of relative calm. At least two rockets landed within the perimeter of the Green Zone, where the American and other foreign embassies are based, according to a statement by Iraq's security services.

A security source within the Green Zone said the C-RAM anti-rocket defence system deployed at the US embassy did not fire because the rockets were not projected to land within the diplomatic compound.

A security source told AFP at least one rocket hit the headquarters of Iraq's National Security Service near the US diplomatic mission, damaging several cars parked there.

A US-led coalition deployed in Iraq since 2014 to help local forces fight jihadists also operates a base near the American embassy.

"The coalition reports no damages or injuries," coalition spokesman Wayne Marotto said on Twitter.A

At least one other rocket crashed into the nearby residential district of Harithiya, the military said.A A resident of the area told AFP the rocket damaged a multi-storey parking complex just a few metres from his home.A

There was no immediate claim of responsibility for the attack, but the military said it had located the launchpad in a northern district of Baghdad.A

The attack comes one week after more than a dozen rockets targeted a military complex at the Arbil airport in northern Iraq where US-led coalition troops are based.A Two people were killed, including one foreign contractor based at the airport, who died immediately, and a civilian, who succumbed to his wounds on Monday.

On Saturday, another wave of rockets hit the Al-Balad airbase north of Baghdad, where Iraq keeps most of the F-16s it has purchased from the US in recent years. Security sources said at least one local contractor for Sallyport, the US company that maintains the planes, was wounded.

The attacks are usually claimed by shadowy groups that both Iraqi and US officials say are "smokescreens" for hardline pro-Iran factions inside Iraq.A

Iraq's Prime Minister Mustafa al-Kadhemi has pledged to put a halt to rocket attacks but struggled to hold the groups to account, infuriating the US.

In October, the US threatened to close its embassy in Baghdad if the attacks did not stop, so hardline groups agreed to an indefinite truce.

There have been several intermittent violations since, but the past week has seen the most attacks in months.

The US said it would hold Iran to account for its Iraqi allies but insisted it would not be drawn into an escalation.

State Department spokesman Ned Price said the US was "outraged" by recent attacks in Iraq and said, "We will hold Iran responsible for the actions of its proxies that attack Americans."

"What we will not do is lash out and risk an escalation that plays into the hands of Iran and contributes to their attempts to further destabilize Iraq," Price told reporters.

source: AFP

Copyright 2021 Alliance News Limited. All Rights Reserved.

By now most of the employers would have asked their employees to submit investment proof. Companies generally ask employees to submit the related document on investment declarations made at the beginning of the year. Employers do this to deduct tax deducted at source or TDS from the employees salary and submit it to the tax department.

It is possible you may not have done your tax-saving investments yet. It is also possible that your life insurance premium or health insurance premium is due in March and you are not able to submit the payment slip to your employer. What should you do in a situation like this?

Also Read | Why bitcoin wont become like money

You can still claim these while filing your income tax return. You can claim deduction of up to 1.5 lakh against the life insurance premium paid, education fees paid for up to two children, investment made to public provident fund (PPF) etc. For the health insurance premium paid you can claim a deduction of 25,000 in a financial year. This includes up to 5,000 spent on preventive health checkup.

You can also claim the house rent allowance (HRA) deduction while filing your income tax return in case you forgot to submit the rent receipts with your employer.

However, do remember that you cant claim the deduction on leave travel allowance (LTA) while filing the tax return. You can claim LTA twice in the block of four years. The current block is 2018-2021. You need to submit the proof related to LTA with the employer to claim the deduction.

To claim these deductions while filing the tax return, you are not required to submit any proof with the tax department. However, it is advisable to keep the document safe as the tax department may send you some notice or the assessing officer may ask for it.

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Pakistan's conspiracy against Bangla language still continuing: experts

Dhaka, Feb 21 (UNI) Conspiracy against Bangla language and culture by Pakistan started since the partition. We gave befitting reply to them by launching language movement and war of liberation.

But the conspiracy by Pakistan and their followers against Bangla language and culture is continuing till now, said speakers at a programme on Sunday.

They remarked while addressing a discussion at ERF auditorium in the city.
Already in hot water after a trip to Cancun, Mexico, amid a statewide emergency, Sen. Ted Cruz seems to be trying to chill disapproval.

In what appeared to others to be a bid to rehab his image, Cruz, R-Texas, posted photos of himself on Saturday passing out pallets of water bottles to Texans struggling without clean water. On Sunday, he expressed outrage about skyrocketing utility bills, calling for regulatory action. But Cruz's tweets in the wake of his trip have further fanned the flames of criticism, putting him under criticism for his response to the winter storms that devastated his state.

In photos Cruz posted of himself with the caption #TexasStrong, he is wearing a face mask with the Texas flag on it and distributing water bottles to people, shaking a maskless woman's hand in one picture. He appeared to be in Harris County, posting more photos the next day in close contact with first responders, serving them barbecue. Immediately after his initial posts, responses flooded in, condemning Cruz for disregarding federal guidance, which not only advises against traveling to Mexico because of the number of coronavirus cases there but also recommends that travelers stay home for seven days once they've returned to reduce the spread of the virus.

"You should be quarantining right now," the Lincoln Project, group of Republicans who oppose former president Donald Trump, commented in response to Cruz's photos.

People who traveled from Mexico should also get tested for the coronavirus three to five days after their trip, according to the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention.

Cruz flew back to Texas from Cancun on Thursday after outrage about his tropical travels boiled over. A spokesperson for Cruz told The Washington Post that the senator tested negative before his return flight to Texas and on Sunday before he traveled to Washington.

On Sunday, Cruz shared a Dallas Morning News article about people facing skyrocketing electric bills, which were widely blamed on the state's unregulated, independent power grid.

"This is WRONG," he wrote. "No power company should get a windfall because of a natural disaster, and Texans shouldn't get hammered by ridiculous rate increases for last week's energy debacle. State and local regulators should act swiftly to prevent this injustice."

Critics quickly seized on Cruz's comments, pointing out the contrast between his past defense of private companies over governance.

"Success of TX energy is no accident: it was built over many years on principles of free enterprise & low regulation w more jobs & opportunities as the constant goal," he wrote in a 2019 tweet that resurfaced after his Sunday post. "We work to export this recipe for success to more & more states so that all Americans enjoy the same prosperity."

"When you think of regulated monopolies, regulated public utilities, what are the adjectives that come to mind? They're not bold, innovative . . ." he said in 2014.

"Pleased to see a Republican Senator call for governmental regulation of the market," Rep. Ted Lieu, D-Calif., tweeted in response. "We've learned time and time again that industry in many cases is unable to regulate itself."

The Texas Democratic Party said Cruz made his priorities clear when "he ditched Texas during our greatest time of need."

"No amount of pandering is going to change that," spokeswoman Abhi Rahman wrote in an emailed statement. "Cruz has a lifetime of comments that have shown to light twenty years of Republican [deficiencies] that led to the crisis we saw last week. We will hold Cruz accountable in 2024."
According to a Pentagon report almost 75% of US troops refused taking the COVID-19 vaccine . Addressing the allegation of a cover-up, the spokesperson for the agency, John Kirby informed the news outlets about the reason for the lack of exact data.

According to the latest reports issued by the Pentagon, one-third of the US troops have refused to take the vaccination to shield themselves from the coronavirus.

The statement issued by the Pentagon on 17th Feb 2021 points to the low acceptance rate of the virus.

Major General Jeff Taliaferro, the top official in the US military has indicated the two-third acceptance rate of the virus.

The Joint Chiefs of Staff has pointed that the data obtained only indicates the initial look.

It is not conclusive data and can vary by different groups.

He also suggests that some troops are refusing the vaccination because it is not compulsory for them to take it.

While the army believes taking the vaccination is the right course of action to take, it remains a personal choice.

The National Guard Bureaus head of operation told the panel regarding the acceptance rate of the National Guard that reflects the military to a great extent.

According to Bob Salesses, the homeland defense and global securitys acting defense secretary, DOD (Department of Defense) received around 916,000 doses of the vaccination.

In that, around 359,000 personals have received at least one dose of the vaccination, while one lakh forty-seven thousand personals received full vaccination dose.

The report published in the Military times also suggests the DOD will complete the vaccination process of its military, civilian, and contractor workforce only by late July or early August.

The defense force that tackles enemies with their power is not feeling safe to get the shots with no approval from the FDA.

It will take another two years for the FDA to approve the vaccination.

Both Moderna and Pfizer vaccination have only approval to use it for emergencies.

So, the authorization provided by the FDA indicates its lack of full clearance.

The release of the data comes after the failure to release the exact number of soldiers declining the shots.

Addressing the allegation of a cover-up, the spokesperson for the agency, John Kirby informed the news outlets about the reason for the lack of exact data.

The agency has no system in place to track the soldiers who have received vaccination.

The agency says it respects the privacy of the people who are declining to get the vaccine for whatever reason.

Is the troops reaction a reflection of the interests of the public?

The Pentagon has yet not commented on the issue.

As reported by GreatGameIndia earlier, according to a survey more than half of Americans do not want COVID-19 vaccine.

The study has also looked into the concerns among people reluctant to receive the jabs, with 68 per cent of people saying they are worried about the long term effects of the vaccines.

Even the CEO of Facebook, Mark Zuckerberg said that COVID-19 vaccines will change your DNA and that he does not know what would be its long-term effects.

Recently, even the former Vice President of Zambia, Dr. Nevers Mumba declared that COVID-19 vaccines made by foreign manufacturers should not be injected into any Zambians if it cannot be verified and validated by local Zambian scientists.
Fraser Seitel

Governor Andrew Cuomos book, American Crisis: Leadership Lessons from the COVID-19 Pandemic, debuted at number seven on The New York Times best seller list in October and remained on top through the year's end.

Three months later, his sequel, Gubernatorial Crisis: Failed Leadership Lessons from the COVID-19 Pandemic, ought to be mandatory reading for every public relations counselor.

The New Yorkers dizzying fall from gracefrom first to worst among U.S. governorsprovides a cautionary tale not only for public figures but also for those who advise them.

The reason, in a word, for the once-respected Governors rapid decline in esteem, trust and credibility is hubris, i.e., excessive pride, conceit or arrogance.

And Gov. Cuomos unbridled hubrisdemonstrated over nine months of preening, preaching and self-promoting followed by three months of back-pedaling, blaming and alibiinghas landed the erstwhile Democrat darling squarely in the middle of an untenable, unwinnable and, for Andrew Cuomo himself, unimaginable, public relations disaster.

For those unwilling to wait for the sequels publication, here is the CliffsNotes version of the public relations rules Cuomo violated on his way to political purgatory.

Violation one: Cuomo took full credit

Early on as the virus spread, Cuomo took to the airwaves to assure the nation that he, like Al Haiglook it upwas in charge.

Cuomos daily press conferences, wherein the media-savvy Governor held forth with a mix of COVID updates, personal anecdotes and homespun wisdom, quickly became must-see TV both on eager liberal networks CNN and MSNBC and reluctant conservative network Fox.

The Governor, a consummate showman, dutifully dodged a daily dose of mainly softball questions from distancedbut still mostly awedreporters, while taking full credit for New Yorksi.e. his!handling of the COVID crisis. As he humbly recounted on opening night of the August virtual Democratic Convention, For all the pain and all the tears, our way worked. And it was beautiful.

Just as Cuomo was oblivious to his cringe-worthy choice of describing the pandemic as beautiful, so, too, was he loathe to share the stage with any of his underlings. This stood in stark contrast to his New Jersey counterpart, Gov. Phil Murphy, who understood the importance of crediting others, and every day at his COVID press conferences called on subordinates to report and commended them effusively.

At Cuomo's press conferences, ironically, the only subordinate who dared speak when not called upon was the Governors top assistant, Melissa DeRosa, who in January ultimately lowered the boom on Prince Andrew with damning leaked remarks to legislators.

Violation two: Cuomo believed his own publicity

As the crisis wore on and the more the media fawned over Cuomos virtuoso daily performances, the more his acclaim ascended. And the Governor reveled in his grandiosity.

His daily press conference that began as a deadly serious news briefing morphed into a variety show, with Andrew as the gregarious MC. He beamed in Chris Rock and Rosie Perez to talk up New York, Sean Penn to discuss new COVID relief centers and his duller fellow governors, Murphy in New Jersey and Ned Lamont in Connecticut, to express their togetherness.

The Cuomo coup de grace was live interviewing his CNN brother Chris, who had contracted COVID. The brothers were so entertaining, trading playful family banter and praising one anothers dedication and resolve, that the Academy of Television Arts & Sciences awarded the Governor an Emmy for his TV service to humanity.

And then, eight months into the crisis in the blunder of all blunders, Andrew decided to write a 320-page book to share with a grateful COVID-ravaged nation his hard-won lessons in leadership and his vision for the path forward.

Cuomos vainglorious publishing victory lap, like President George W. Bushs mission accomplished declaration three years before the end of the Iraqi War, would backfire ferociously three months later.

Violation three: Cuomo feigned empathy

In early February, after DeRosa let slip that Cuomo purposely withheld New Yorks skyrocketing COVID-19 nursing home death count, the Governor sprang into full damage control mode to try to tamp down the mounting furor.

It hasnt worked. Try as he might, Andrew Cuomo has a tough time expressing true empathy.

Typical were his comments at his first post-DeRosa bombshell press conference, when he tried to relate to loved ones of nursing home victims by citing the loss of his own father.

I still go through it over and over and over again. What should I have done? What could I have done? What should I have said to the doctor? I probably always will.

Cuomos father, of course, died six years ago from heart problems at the age of 82, with his family by his side. Mario Cuomos demise stood in stark contrast to most of the 15,000 New York nursing home COVID victims who were prohibited from seeing their loved ones when they died. Andrews comparison to his father was ill-conceived, if not simply tone-deaf.

Compare that attempt at empathy to Gov. Murphys inclusion at every press conference of real-life stories and photos of at least three randomly-selected and mostly unknown New Jersey COVID victims. The latter is empathetic; the former is manipulative.

Violation four: Cuomo accepted no blame

Finally, Prince Andrew, like King Donald before him, was quick to point fingers at others, rather than accepting blame himself, when things went horribly wrong.

Faced with scorn from both parties, criticism from the mediaexcept for Chris Cuomo, who CNN, on second thought, suddenly barred from reporting on his brothers travailsand looming state and federal investigations, Cuomo reluctantly acknowledged that his administration should have provided more information faster.

But 

The truth is, everyone did everything they could do. The truth is you had the best medical professionals and advice on the globe. The truth is it was in the middle of a pandemic. The truth is COVID attacks senior citizens, the Governor explained.

He then went on to blame social media, 24-hour news stations, Republicans with agendas and evenin an admirably-inventive deflectionpointed to his own state public health director, Howard Zucker, as a possible culprit.

You couldnt find a more qualified man to do this at this time than Dr. Zucker, the Governor intoned, even though nobody asked. I would trust him with my mothers care. I cant offer a more ringing endorsement than that. And its his decisions that people now question with no credential.

Oh boy.

In the end, Andrew Cuomo is as ambitious and chameleonic a political creature as ever there was. And no doubt this crisis, too, will pass. But Andrew and his legacy have been mightily wounded.

Going forward, Gov. Cuomo might consider the advice proffered in another book, admittedly far less noteworthy than Leadership Lessons from the COVID-19 Pandemic. That book was the Bible. And the advice: Pride Goeth Before a Fall.

***

Fraser P. Seitel has been a communications consultant, author and teacher for 40 years. He is author of the Pearson text The Practice of Public Relations, now in its 14th edition, and co-author of Rethinking Reputation" and "Idea Wise. He may be reached directly at yusake@aol.com.
On Monday, a Ukrainian serviceman was killed and another was wounded in the area of the Joint Force Operation in Donbas as a result of shelling from Russian-occupation forces, Commander-in-Chief of the Armed Forces of Ukraine Ruslan Khomchak said.

"In the 72nd brigade, unfortunately, after two shots from an anti-tank grenade launcher, the enemy at the observation post was seriously wounded and during the provision of medical assistance one serviceman was killed, and another one was wounded," Khomchak said at a press conference in Kyiv in Monday.

Later, the Trilateral Contact Group (TCG) on resolving the situation in Donbas said that Russian-occupation forces fired at the positions of the Armed Forces of Ukraine near Avdiyivka (Donetsk region).

"Today, on February 22, at about 14:00 in the Avdiyivka area, as a result of enemy shelling of our positions, one was killed and another serviceman of the Armed Forces of Ukraine was wounded. The Ukrainian side of the JCCC sent a relevant note to the OSCE SMM," the TCG said on Facebook.
(@FahadShabbir)

Iran's foreign ministry said Monday a visit by the UN nuclear watchdog chief resulted in a "significant achievement," a day before a law limiting inspections comes into force

Tehran, (APP - UrduPoint / Pakistan Point News - 22nd Feb, 2021 ) :Iran's foreign ministry said Monday a visit by the UN nuclear watchdog chief resulted in a "significant achievement," a day before a law limiting inspections comes into force.

International Atomic Energy Agency (IAEA) chief Rafael Grossi's meetings "resulted in a very significant diplomatic achievement and a very significant technical achievement", foreign ministry spokesman Saeed Khatibzadeh told reporters.
Napoli forward Victor Osimhen will remain overnight in hospital under observation after being knocked unconscious during the final minutes of Sunday's Italian league match at Atalanta.

Osimhen fell awkwardly after a collision with Atalanta defender Cristian Romero and hit his head on the field. The Nigerian international was conscious as he was stretchered off and rushed to the hospital.

Napoli released a brief statement saying that 'following his injury and head trauma ... he had undergone tests with negative results.'

Victor Osimhen will remain in hospital overnight after being knocked unconscious on Sunday

The Napoli star collided with Cristian Romero as the Parthenopeans fell to a 4-2 defeat

The southern-based club said Osimhen would remain under observation in Bergamo until Monday.

The incident occurred in stoppage time of Atalanta's 4-2 win over Napoli.

Osimhen joined Napoli from Lille at the end of July for a fee of around 80 million euros. He was injured on international duty in November and then tested positive for coronavirus over the winter break.

The 22-year-old was stretchered off the pitch and tests returned negative results

Osimhen has had a slow start to life in Italy with injuries and covid-19 keeping him sidelined

The 22-year-old only returned to action in late January after an absence of more than two months.

The Nigeria international has played just 16 games across all competitions for Napoli this season, scoring twice and providing one assist for Gennaro Gattuso's side.

Sunday's defeat sees the Parthenopeans drop to seventh in the league table, 13 points adrift of league leaders Inter while they trail Atalanta, who occupy fourth position, by three points.
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A grief stricken mother has described how a blaze ravaged her Texas home, killing her three 'amazing' children and their grandmother after they lit a fire to keep warm during the storm.

Olivia, Edison and Colette Nguyen and their 75-year-old grandmother Le Loan died in the early hours of Tuesday morning at their Sugar Land home during the statewide blackouts and water outages.

Authorities are still investigating how the fire started. They say the family had been using their downstairs fireplace to keep warm but it is unclear yet if that was the source of the blaze.

The children's mother, 41-year-old Jackie Nguyen, survived the fire.

She has since recalled the last moments she can remember about the tragic night and how she was trapped downstairs during the fire screaming her children's names.

Jackie Nguyen's three children - Olivia, Edison and Colette Nguyen - and their grandmother Le Loan, 75, died in a fire last week that was lit to keep them warm amidst the Texas blackouts. Pictured: Jackie Nguyen, with burns on her face, on February 21, 2021

Her mother Le, the children's grandmother (pictured with the three children), had always taken care of them, Nguyen said, often picking them up from school and their various activities to help her daughter further her career in finance

The young family are among the victims of the storm that also claimed the life of 11-year-old Cristian Pavon who froze to death in his home. Texas Senator Ted Cruz has been heavily criticized after it emerged he fled to Mexico as those in his state were dying.

The tragic ordeal involving the Nguyen family unfolded last week after the children's grandmother Loan Le lost power at her home in the Houston suburb of Sugar Land on Monday.

She went over to her daughter's house around five miles away where Nguyen and her three children still had power.

'We thought we were really lucky because we still had power until the early evening,' Nguyen said.

But their power soon went out as well.

The family hunkered down for the night, lighting the fireplace and playing board games and card games.

At around 9.30 p.m., her eight-year-old son Edison went to his 11-year-old sister's room, which had bunk beds, while their grandmother planned to sleep with the youngest of the children, five-year-old Colette. Nguyen went to her room.

The next thing Nguyen says she can remember properly is waking up in hospital.

'Tucked my kids into bed and really the next thing I know I'm in the hospital,' Nguyen told CNN. 'A few hours later the fireman and police officer came and said that no one else made it.'

Sugar Land firefighters responded to the fire at around 2 a.m. after a neighbor saw the family's home up in flames, according to Doug Adolph, a city and department spokesman.

The family had been without power at their Sugar Land home for eight hours when the fire broke out

The three children were pictured playing in the snow outside their home six days ago

Authorities are still investigating how the fire started. Nguyen's two daughters are pictured outside their home six days ago

She recalls being on the first floor of the house where her bedroom was but was unable to get upstairs to her children.

Nguyen said she screaming their names hoping they would appear.

'I was just standing there screaming and screaming and screaming their names hoping they would come out of their rooms and basically jump over so that we could get out,' she said.

'I just remember feeling like it was so dark and I can still kind of hear everything crackling around me.'

Adolph said that the mother of three 'had to be physically restrained from running back into the house', and that it took nearly and hour to get the fire under control.

He also said there were no updates on the on-going investigation into the cause of the fire nearly a week later, only saying the family had been trying to keep warm with a fire place based of posts on their social media accounts.

'We can't say for sure that was the cause of the fire. We just don't know yet,' he explained. 'It's possible that the investigation may never identify an exact cause.'

'Obviously they were trying to stay warm,' Adolph said at the time. 'We can't say that's what the cause was, we just think we know they were using a fireplace.'

The neighborhood had been without power for at least eight hours, Adolph said.

The three children and their grandmother died. Nguyen and a friend were taken to hospital having suffered injuries including smoke inhalation and burns.

'My heart is broken, I'm never gonna be the same. 'I'm in this crisis tactical mode now and I'm just really focused on all this final arrangements because this is the last sort of thing I'm going to do for my kids,' the grieving mother said.

'My kids were such phenomenal, amazing, little badass humans,' saying that Olivia and Colette - who the family called Coco - would have celebrated back-to-back birthdays on March 27 and 28.

'Colette is just a little firecracker and she has so much charisma,' Nguyen told the network. 'She also, as a 5-year-old, had that level of confidence. She was never afraid, totally unapologetic, not intimidated.'

Edison, Nguyen's middle child, was a 'sweet boy' with a flair for art and an interest in architecture, while, she said, her daughter was mature and 'ahead of her peers.'

Olivia, center, Edison, left, and Colette, right, Nguyen and their grandmother Le Loan, 75, died in the early hours of Tuesday morning during the blackouts

Firefighters were called out around 2 am and tackled the blaze but the four victims were confirmed dead. The children's mom Jackie Nguyen and a friend were also injured and taken to hospital

Her mother Le, the children's grandmother, had always taken care of them, Nguyen said, often picking them up from school and their various activities to help her daughter further her career in finance.

Le had arrived in Kansas as a refugee from Vietnam with nothing, and Nguyen credits her for sacrificing to give her a better life.

'My parents did everything for their kids, like, as immigrants, and coming to this country and then, that love that they gave me, it was tenfold when it came to the grandkids,' Nguyen said. 'I think grandmas are unsung heroes and untold stories.'

A GoFundMe page for the children had already raised over $300,000 with donations still coming in a week after the tragedy.

Other family of the three young children had previously hit out at officials 'who should have been prepared' for the Texas storm.

The children's aunt, Vanessa Kon, told The Daily Beast: 'We don't know what happened. We don't know why the lights went out like that. The city should have been prepared for it. Why was the power off? If the power wasn't off, this wouldn't have happened.'

The children's father, Nathan Nguyen, is separated from Jackie and he lived elsewhere.

Kon's comments come as Joe Biden's press secretary on Sunday confirmed the president may visit Texas 'as soon as this week'.

Jen Psaki said the president is 'eager' to help but added: 'He's also very mindful of the fact that it's not a light footprint for a president to travel to a disaster area. He does not want to take away resources or attention.

'And we're going to do that at an appropriate time in coordination with people on the ground. Could be as soon as this week.'

Biden had declared a major disaster in the state where 14million were without water at one point with towns cut off from the electricity grid for seven days.

The move - announced on Saturday - makes federal funding available to individuals across the state, including assistance for temporary housing, home repairs and low-cost loans for losses on uninsured property.

Volunteers prepare to load food into cars during the Houston Food Bank food distribution at NRG Stadium on Sunday. Thousands of people lined up to receive food and water at a mass distribution site for Houston residents who are still without running water and electricity following winter storm Uri

Shoppers are seen wandering next to near empty shelves in a supermarket in Houston, Texas following winter storm Uri on Saturday

The Houston Food Bank is pictured Sunday. Joe Biden's press secretary on Sunday confirmed the president may visit Texas 'as soon as this week'

At least 30 lives have been lost in the Lone Star state amid the storm.

Other victims of the crisis include 11-year-old Cristian Pavon, who perished of hypothermia in his family's mobile home in Conroe, near Houston, a day after he was pictured enjoying the snow - the first he had ever seen in his life.

Another man reportedly froze to death in his recliner chair with his 'nearly dead' wife by his side and a mother and daughter died from carbon monoxide poisoning as they bundled in their car in a garage.

Two older men were also found dead in their homes in the small West Texas town of Buffalo Gap in Taylor County, officials said.

Texas is the only state in the continental United States with an independent and isolated grid. That allows the state to avoid federal regulation - but also severely limits its ability to draw emergency power from other grids.

ERCOT, which operates the grid, saw 4.5 million of their customers without power during the cold snap.

Texas had experienced a similar, though less severe, disruption during a 2011 cold snap. Still, Texas power producers failed to adequately winter-proof their systems.

Vehicles drive down East 7th Street amid power outages in East Austin, Texas on Wednesday

Before dawn on Monday, the state's grid operator was 'seconds and minutes' away from an uncontrolled blackout for its 26 million customers, ERCOT CEO Bill Magness has said.

More than 14.5 million Texans endured a related water-supply crisis as pipes froze and burst. About 65,000 customers remained without power as of Saturday afternoon, even as temperatures started to rise, according to website PowerOutage.US.

Senator Ted Cruz has been mocked for sharing photos of himself handing out bottled water in a 'shameless' photo-op just days after he jetted off to Cancun with his family.

Late on Saturday night Cruz posted a series of pictures of himself on Twitter showing him delivering water to those in need together with the hashtag #TexasStrong.

The senator was forced to return from his Mexican beach resort vacation while millions of fellow Texans were left dealing with horrendous conditions.

At one hospital, workers stood outside to collect rainwater. Others stood in line at a running tap in a park. A mother of three took her children to shelter in a furniture store after she could see her breath forming in the familys trailer. University professors fundraised so their students could afford meals.

Senator Ted Cruz tweeted a photo op late on Saturday night with the hashtag #TexasStrong. It only served to generate further anger online from those furious at the senator's recent behavior that saw him leave Texas for the beach in the midst of a crisis

It comes after Cruz decided to take take a trip to Cancun while his state was in crisis - he returned after a day

Senator Cruz caused himself a huge backlash from people for leaving the Lone Star State for sunnier climes during an unprecedented winter event which shut down most of the state for five days and left at least 30 dead

The states Republican leadership has been blamed for ignoring warnings that winter could wreak the havoc that it did, and for not providing local officials with enough information to protect residents now.

Power outages spiraled through the day Monday, ultimately cutting off more than 4 million people. Grocery stores shut down, and hotel rates skyrocketed.

Things got worse Tuesday; by Wednesday, some started to get their power back, but a new shortage emerged - drinkable water.

Frozen pipes burst across the state. And the water that did come out of taps was often undrinkable due to dangerously low water pressure levels. At one point, an estimated 13 million people were under a boil-water order, nearly half of Texas population.

At weeks end, as the cold weather began to loosen its grip, the power came back for most Texans.

But the effects linger: Some Texans on variable-rate power contracts faced electric bills in the thousands of dollars, leading the governor to hold an emergency meeting Saturday with lawmakers.

As Heidi marched out of the Houston airport with her kids and an unidentified boy - all of whom were wearing masks - at 6pm on Saturday night, DailyMail.com asked her several questions, all of which she refused to answer
The English have some of the best pubs in the whole world. Sadly, they are usually closed. The words of the late great sportswriter Con Houlihan can be too easily transposed to our the pint lovers slough of despondency.

The bad news, purveyed by the Taoiseach via Raidio na Gaeltachta on Saturday, is that you can forget about a public house pint until deep into the summer at very earliest, as Covid-19 lockdown extends another nine weeks and well beyond that for bars. The less bad news, conveyed via the Sunday Independent on behalf of the Justice Minister, is that whenever our pubs do re-open there will be longer opening hours and easier drink-selling rules for theatres, galleries and the like.

On the prospect of a gargle in a gallery, we can already hear the reprobate ghost of Brendan Behan slurring: Stupid place to leave a painting... recalling his storied desperation stakes visits to the Dublin Dog Show one Good Friday in the 1950s as the only place to wet his whistle. Many of the workers and proprietors in the pub and restaurant trade are by now understandably at their wits end with the lockdown putting many of them out of business since early October, and maybe for good.

But as many of our own world-beating bars remain sadly locked and shuttered, we can only soldier on and hope. Strangely, bar the resolution of the real Irish question in spring 2018  when we found out just where you can get a drink on Good Friday  the licensing laws have remained largely untouched for precisely two decades.

Of course, the answer to the perennial Irish question had suddenly become, try any pub, anywhere. The end of the 90-year-old Good Friday closure came thanks to the initiative of Independent Senator Billy Lawless and the compliance of then Justice Minister, Frances Fitzgerald.

But, bar that, you have to go back to somebody called John ODonoghue and his ground-breaking Intoxicating Liquor Bill of 2001. The Fianna Fail Justice Minister, famed around those times for urging zero tolerance to crime, was a far more tolerant man when it came to extended pub opening hours.

His legislation was the first time in over 40 years that our strange laws had been changed. This writers father once remarked that before the relative liberalisation of drink laws in 1959 he had three illegal pints for every one legal one. Up to then pubs were officially closed all day Sunday and all of St Patricks Day, among a host of other restrictions.

Yet John ODonoghues legislation in spring 2000 was not without its big controversies. His draft law was denounced by Louth Fine Gael TD, Brendan McGahon, for helping spread more social ills. .

And at the end of it all, he was denounced by some for failing to make access to the licensed trade more open as publicans were for a time being investigated for price fixing. The Justice Minister was told anybody fit according to law to hold a liquor licence, should be issued with one.

Fianna Fail was dubbed the publicans party in a facile play on its more usual subtitle. Even the irrepressible Independent TD, and long-time Kilgarvan publican, Jackie Healy Rae publicly lamented his own failure to use his leverage supporting a minority government to get Sunday night closing time extended to 11.30pm.

The reality is that some of the 1959 liquor laws strangeness did end. These included different summer and winter closing times, an end to the so-called holy hour of 2pm to 4.30pm on Sundays, which ruled out a pint and an All Ireland on the telly among other things.

The O'Donoghue changes also meant extended closing to last orders before 12.30 am on Thursdays, Fridays and Saturdays and a further half-hour drinking-up time. Mondays, Tuesdays and Wednesdays closing time became 11.30pm while Sundays went to 11pm.

After all that you will note there were three different witching hours spanning the seven days. That challenged the most dedicated pub aficionado to keep track, especially after a few pints.

Then, mysteriously the 12.30am on Thursdays, was quickly put back to 11.30pm. The Leinster House legend was that it followed complaints from employers and those running training courses that absenteeism on Friday mornings, after a Thursday pay day, was on the rise. In classic Irish fashion, collective punishment was applied rather than carpeting the tardy and the absent from their work and training obligations.

Some of us will have seen that same collective punishment being applied during the brief times of pub opening since this virus hit us 11 months ago. Lurid online video footage contributed to swifter collective pub closures where applying the law to transgressors would appear a much fairer outcome.

All of that being said, the announcement about liquor law changes due to be announced today by Justice Minister Helen McEntee will be listened to with interest. Granted the politics of pub opening hours  in recent times a most vibrant topic  may look like a dead duck just now. But the reality is that this issue is, like Lazarus, merely sleeping.

There surely is scope to end the three different closing times over the seven days. As things stand also, pubs and off-licences cannot sell alcohol until 12.30pm on Sundays, off-licences must stop at 10pm and pubs at 11pm, while nightclubs can continue until 1am.

Ms McEntee will look at the 1935 Dance Halls Act, a product of de Valeras Ireland which is still with us  and worthy of a major study unto itself. Hard to argue with updating that one all of 86 years on.

Micheal Martin has given us a best pub-reopening date as June. So, the Justice Minister is correct to slate draft legislation for this summer. But history teaches us that debate will be keen on this always controversial issue.
BERLIN (Reuters) - Germany is considering deploying the armed forces to give thousands of government officials the AstraZeneca coronavirus vaccine, Der Spiegel reported, after many essential workers refused the British-Swedish shot.

The news weekly reported on Monday that junior health minister Thomas Steffen had written to Defence Minister Annegret Kramp-Karrenbauer asking her to make available personnel to carry out the mass vaccination programme.

The defence ministry declined to comment on the report. The health ministry did not immediately respond to a request for comment.

Vaccination efforts in Germany have faced widespread reluctance to take the AstraZeneca vaccine after clinical trials showed it to be less effective than an alternative shot from Pfizer vaccine, developed by Germany's BioNTech, that accounts for most doses administered so far in the country.

Health Minister Jens Spahn said on public television that he would be happy to take the AstraZeneca vaccine, a gesture seen as an attempt to strengthen public confidence in it.

A programme to vaccinate all government and ministry officials in "system-relevant" jobs would carry the same message, and could potentially ensure that vaccine doses declined by the public do not go to waste.

The latest round of skittishness over the vaccine was triggered when Germany's medicines agency declined to approve AstraZeneca's product for use on the over-65s, citing a lack of trial evidence that it was effective on that age cohort.

To date, Germany has administered around six doses of vaccine per 100 residents, lagging nations like Britain and the United States that have rolled out more aggressive campaigns. The vaccines Germany is administering require two doses.

(Reporting by Thomas Escritt, Sabine Siebold and Joseph Nasr; Editing by Douglas Busvine and Mark Heinrich)
Locals evacuate Rohingya from a boat after it arrived on the coast of North Aceh, Indonesia, June 25, 2020.

United Nations refugee agency UNHCR appealed to maritime states along the Andaman Sea on Monday to rescue a group of Rohingya in distress, while the director of a group that monitors the refugees said eight had died aboard the boat.

Also on Monday, the Bangladeshi foreign minister said his country could not take in any more Rohingya refugees from Myanmar. Southeastern Bangladesh has become home to about 1 million Rohingya who fled violence in the country next-door and live in 34 refugee camps in and around Coxs Bazar district.

Indrika Ratwatte, director of the UNHCR Regional Bureau for Asia and the Pacific, said his agency had received reports on Saturday about an undetermined number of Rohingya who were on a boat in distress after they departed Coxs Bazar about 10 days ago.

Many are in a highly vulnerable condition and are apparently suffering from extreme dehydration. We understand that a number of refugees have already lost their lives, and that fatalities have risen over the past 24 hours, Ratwatte said in a news release on the UNHCR website.

We appeal to all governments to deploy their search and rescue capacities and promptly disembark those in distress, Ratwatte said.

Chris Lewa, director of the Arakan Project, which monitors the Rohingya humanitarian crisis, said members of her group had been in contact with the Rohingya on the boat since Saturday and had been talking to some of their relatives. She said those on the boat have a satellite phone.

Three died on Saturday (two women and one man), she told BenarNews, an RFA-affiliated online news service,adding that a total of six women and two men had lost their lives, citing information from witnesses on the boat.

They also told us the boat was carrying 65 women and girls, five children under 2 years of age, and 20 men, she said, adding that they sailed from Bangladesh on Feb. 11, but their engine broke down two days later.

Soon after, they ran out of food and water. They were so thirsty that many drank sea water, she said.

Lewa said her group had reached out to UNHCR, embassies, and others to push for the Indian Navy to rescue the Rohingya.

This morning they said that Indian Navy vessels were close to their boat, observing them as they shouted for help, but doing nothing, not even providing food assistance, she said.

Lewa said she had also contacted the media and by 3 p.m. (local time), the Indian Navy sent ships with personnel, including doctors.

They are currently being attended to and given food and treatment, but on their boat, Lewa said, expressing concern that the Rohingya would be barred from disembarking.

Apparently that decision will be taken by the Indian government in Delhi, not by the navy, she said.

Reuters news service reported that the Indian Navy did not provide details on Lewas comments but would issue a statement later.

We have taken enough

In Bangladesh, Foreign Minister A.K. Abdul Momen called on other countries to accept Rohingya who leave Myanmar.

The Kutupalong Rohingya camp in Coxs Bazar is home to about 84,000 people per square kilometer. Is there such a thing anywhere in the world, he told reporters in Dhaka. We have taken enough.

Last May, 279 Rohingya were taken to the Bhashan Char, an island in the Bay of Bengal, after their boat was unable to land in Malaysia and was spotted adrift in Bangladeshs territorial waters. They joined 29 Rohingya who had been taken to the island where the government built housing and other infrastructure for about 100,000 of the refugees.

Since December, the government has moved nearly 10,000 Rohingya from the camps in and around Coxs Bazar to the island.

Maritime officials in Bangladesh and Malaysia, meanwhile, said they did not have information about the boat.

I am not aware of any boat sailing from Teknaf to the sea in the last 10 days. We have no information in this regard, Lt. Cmdr. Habibur Rahman told BenarNews. Rahman is staff officer for operations for the Bangladeshi coast guards Chittagong East Zone.

The Malaysian Coast Guard referred requests for comment to the National Task Force in charge of border security. The task force, in turn, noted that it had received and was monitoring the information but had not detected the boat in Malaysian waters.

Meanwhile in Indonesia, officials at the Maritime Security Agency (Baklama) could not be reached for comment.

Hundreds of Rohingya arrived in the countrys Aceh province last year. Nearly 300 Rohingya arrived in September 2020, the largest group to arrive in the country since 2015, according to the International Organization for Migration (IOM), another U.N. agency. One of the arrivals told the IOM that she and the others had been at sea for more than seven months after leaving Bangladesh.

Last June, 99 Rohingya arrived on another boat. That same month, Malaysian Prime Minister Muhyiddin Yassin told a summit of Southeast Asian nations that his country could not take any more Rohingya.

Reported by BenarNews, an RFA-affiliated online news service.
She is irreplaceable and I could never thank her enough for all shes done for me not only as an employee, but also as a friend. I hate to lose her as an employee, but I know she will do wonderful things with her retirement and I wish her the very best.

Boak & Sons, Inc. is a residential and commercial exterior contracting company based in Youngstown, Ohio that specializes in roofing, siding, insulation, gutters and sheet metal. President and Founder, Sam Boak, built this business with his father as an insulation company over 45 years ago, providing affordable insulation options to the local community. Since then, the business has grown rapidly into one of the top exterior contracting companies in Northeast Ohio and Western Pennsylvania. Many of Sam Boaks early employees have stuck beside him as the business grew, working along side him for decades. This spring, one of those employees has announced her retirement after 30 loyal years at Boak & Sons.

Cindi Premec started off at Boak & Sons in 1991 as our receptionist, the first voice and face our customers received when they called or visited. Over time, she worked her way up and has served as our Safety Director/Office Administrator for the majority of her career with the company. Her husband also works for the company as a lead estimator in the insulation department.

Cindi has been one of my most loyal employees here at Boak & Sons, said Sam Boak. She is irreplaceable and I could never thank her enough for all shes done for me not only as an employee, but also as a friend. I hate to lose her as an employee, but I know she will do wonderful things with her retirement and I wish her the very best.

Boak & Sons is notorious for its loyal employees. Many of those who work at Boak & Sons have been doing so for multiple years, some even decades. These employees contribute this to the loyalty and care they receive from Sam Boak and the benefits of working for Boak & Sons, both through financial benefits and the family environment the business embodies.

Cindi is a part of the Boak family whether she is retired or not, said Chris White, vice president, operations of Boak & Sons, Inc. When someone works here, they become a Boak family member. Especially when you work here as long as Cindi has. She will be incredibly missed here, but were proud to see her achieve such a monumental accomplishment.

To learn more about Sam Boak or Boak & Sons, Inc., visit http://www.boakandsons.com.

Samsung has announced a big step forward with regard to its device updates, at least where security is concerned. In fact, even much older devices from as far back as 2019 can expect to see regular security updates. And those updates will arrive for a minimum of four years from the initial device release, Samsung says.

Samsung hasnt provided many details about how it is tackling the new policy. But it does indicate that, like a certain other companys recent update news, the announcement comes down to partnerships. Namely, its ongoing effort with more than 1,000 partners on both the OS and chipsets. In addition to more than 200 carrier partners and others.

Which devices will benefit from the new Samsung updates for security?

Now, this promise from Samsung will ultimately ensure updates will be delivered quickly to billions of devices. The company shipped, by some estimates, just under 300-million devices in 2020. And, with consideration for 2019  and for phones that it will ship in the future  the figure cited by Samsung seems reasonable. But which older Samsung devices, exactly, will see these security updates? Samsung has listed them all out for convenience.

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Of course, the flagship handset from the Galaxy Foldable, Galaxy Note, and Galaxy S line-ups will be included. So the Samsung Galaxy Fold, Fold 5G, Z Fold 2, Z Fold 2 5G, Z Flip, and Z Flip 5G are covered. As are all devices from the Samsung Galaxy S10, S20, and S21 lines  including the Lite and FE variants. The Note series, from the Samsung Galaxy Note 10, follows suit.

None of that is necessarily surprising since Samsung Flagships already see a higher-than-average number of and speed of updates. However, other devices, including those from more budget-tier handsets and tablets are part of the news here too. More surprising, is that the Galaxy A series, from the Samsung Galaxy A10 through the Galaxy A71 5G and including the e, s, and 5G designations are going to see four years of updates. As are the M series devices from the M10s through the M51.

Samsung Galaxy XCover series devices, including the XCover 4s, XCover FieldPro, and XCover Pro, as well as Samsung Galaxy Tab devices will see four years of security updates too. That includes the Galaxy Tab Active Pro, Tab Active 3, Tab A 8 Tab A with S Pen, Tab A 8.4, Tab A7, Tab S5e, Tab S6 variants, and Tab S7 variants.

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In effect, as long as the device was released in 2019 or later, it will see four years of updates for security. Giving Samsung Galaxy devices just one more perk to help keep them at or near the top of the collective pile.

And how often?

Now, the timeline for when devices will see the updates is less certain. But Samsung indicates that devices will receive updates from monthly to quarterly. And that will vary on a per-device-model basis. Presumably, with flagships seeing updates more frequently and quickly than others.
Kinshasha: The Italian ambassador to the Democratic Republic of Congo, an Italian carabineri police officer and their Congolese driver have been killed in an attack on a UN convoy in an area that is home to myriad rebel groups.

The ambush occurred on Monday, local time, as the convoy was travelling from Goma, the countrys eastern regional capital, to visit a World Food Program school feeding project in Rutshuru, the UN agency said in a statement.

Congos Interior Ministry said four others in the convoy were kidnapped, but one person has since been found by the army.

Luca Attanasio, Italys ambassador to the country since 2017, carabinieri officer Vittorio Iacovacci and their driver were killed. Other members of the convoy were injured.
Indian business tycoon and former Wipro chairman Azim Premji has suggested the Centre to allow private sector participation in order to speed up the vaccination process against coronavirus. At a post-budget interaction with Finance Minister Nirmala Sitharaman, the philanthropist said with the involvement of the private firms and institutions in the COVID-19 vaccination drive, over 50 crore people can be inoculated within two months (60 days).

India can swiftly take up the COVID-19 vaccine doses at a shorter time and at a reasonable cost if private firms enter to vaccination process, he added.

"Deploying and administering the vaccine in large proportion is the key requirement today. The government is doing its best. But I would strongly suggest they should supplement the effort by involving private parties," Premji said at the event organised by the Bangalore Chamber of Industry and Commerce.

He also added that government must consider engaging private industry as a major quick supplement to the effort.

In making vaccine prices more affordable for the common man, Premji suggested: "There is a possibility that we can get the Serum Institute to supply vaccines at about Rs 300 a shot. Hospitals and private nursing homes can administer this at the cost of Rs 100 a shot".

Previously, Infosys chairman Nandan Nilekani has also said that India has the opportunity to become a role model on how to vaccinate billion of people at scale, speed, and in a trusted manner.

Meanwhile, the Union Health Ministry has directed all states and union territories to enhance the pace of vaccination amid the recent surge in COVID-19 active cases, especially in five states.

Till February 21, a total of 1,10,85,173 vaccine doses have been administered through 2,30,888 sessions, as per the provisional report. These include 63,91,544 healthcare workers (1st dose), 9,60,642 healthcare workers (2nd dose) and 37,32,987 frontline workers (1st dose).

Also read: Over 1 million kirana stores went digital during COVID-19 pandemic

Also read: What's in a name? BigBasket slaps notice on Daily Basket for use of 'basket' in name
The North Atlantic Treaty Organization (NATO) Secretary General Jens Stoltenberg addresses an online press conference at the NATO headquarters in Brussels, Belgium, Feb. 17, 2021. A two-day video conference of NATO defense ministers started from Wednesday. (NATO/Handout via Xinhua)

It is reported that defense ministers of the 30 NATO member states held a meeting in video format on February 17-18, the highest level and also the first of its kind since Joe Biden was elected US president, during which the so-called China and Russia threats were among the key topics. Apparently, NATO could not wait to turn its spears toward China and Russia even when the COVID-19 pandemic was still raging  a move that reflected some western countries intention of resolving their internal problems by fabricating external enemies.

Being a military alliance formed during the Cold War to counter the Soviet Union and the Warsaw Pact, NATO is an important bond across the Atlantic Ocean, but the international situation has long changed. With the Collapse of the Soviet Union, NATOs legitimacy is challenged with the imaginary enemy gone. Besides, since the nature of this military bloc makes it a square peg in a round hole in todays world, themed with peace and development, NATO must re-form new adversaries to get itself out of the awkward position.

On the one hand, NATO continues to label Russia as a rival; on the other hand, the military bloc has turned its eyes to China which is marching onto the center of the international stage with a brand new outlook.

For a very long time, there was not much intercourse between Beijing and Brussels. In the new century, however, with the fast-changing international environment and Chinas rapid development, NATO had gradually realized that Chinas growing influence and its diplomatic policy had become the alliances common challenge, and it is glad to tag along when the US vowed to get back to major power competition. NATO put China on the meeting agenda and statement for the first time at the London Summit in December 2019.

The report titled NATO 2030 released on December 1, 2020, outlining the pathway for the blocs reform in the next decade, stressed that NATO must think more carefully about how to cope with China and its military build-ups even though Russia will most likely remain the main military threat to the alliance in the next ten years. NATO Secretary-General Jens Stoltenberg said before the defense ministers meeting that the meeting would have broad discussions about threats from China and Russia because they are at the forefront of an authoritarian pushback against rules-based international order. He also claimed NATO members should consult more extensively when dealing with a more assertive Russia and the consequence of the rise of China, including consultations on the military, economic, technological, and security issues within the alliance. Clearly, NATOs policies have remained consistent and viewing China as a threat may become its long-term policy.

That the NATO defense summit mentioned China and Russia threats again had a lot to do with Bidens election. Trump presidency insisted on America first, called NATO outdated, asked its allies to bear all expenses for Americas stationed troops, and linked their sharing of responsibilities with Americas fulfillment of its commitment to NATO  moves that have seriously damaged US relations with its allies. After Biden took office, however, his promise to strengthen cooperation with allies gave NATO hope to mend their relations. Reuters quoted American officials as saying that the US defense secretary Austin will emphasize Washingtons commitment to NATO and how much it values the trans-Atlantic partnership.

NATO believes that highlighting its anti-China and anti-Russia stance will not only cement its internal cohesion but also tighten the ties with the US. What it doesnt see is that such a move may expedite its internal split. There are many people of vision within the alliance. Some member states dont see China as a threat. Although they feel disturbed by its competition in the economic domain, the country is far away as far as traditional security is concerned. Some European countries have adopted a policy different from Americas regarding the development of the 5G mobile communications network and in many other fields. Germany and France, in particular, two important US allies in NATO, have made clear on several significant occasions that they would not be at Americas beck and call. French President Macron even said bluntly NATOs common enemy is terrorism, not Moscow or Beijing.

That being said, NATOs decision to target China and Russia to solve its problems runs counter to the development trend of times and will cost the alliance more than it gains.

(The author is a research fellow at both Yuan Wang think tank, a Beijing-based military science and technology institute, and Charhar Institute, and also a member of the Chinese Institute of Command and Control.)

Editor's note: This article is originally published on www.china.com.cn, then translated from Chinese into English and edited by the China Military Online. The information, ideas or opinions appearing in this article do not necessarily reflect the views of eng.chinamil.com.cn.
New Delhi: Former Madhya Pradesh Chief Minister Kamal Nath had a narrow escape after a hospital lift he was in came crashing down.

The incident occurred on Sunday in Indore's DNS Hospital, where Nath along with other party leaders including Sajjan Verma, Jitu Patwari, MLA Vishal Patel and city Congress chief Vivek Bakliwal came to visit ailing party leader Rameshwar Patel.

The lift plunged from a height of about 10 feet following which its door was jammed for some time. Nath and others who boarded the lift were safe.

"Former Chief Minister Kamal Nath and other party leaders had gone to DNS Hospital to inquire about the condition of Rameshwar Patel. They had boarded the lift when it crashed down around 10 feet and was engulfed with dust and smoke. The lift doors got automatically locked and it took 10-15 minutes before instruments were found to open the lift`s doors," Narendra Saluja, Nath's media coordinator, said.

He added that the incident was a grave security lapse and hospital administration must take a stern view of the issue and punish those responsible.

Following the incident Nath, in a tweet, said, "Hanumanji ji ki kripa sada se rahi hai... Jai Hanuman (the grace of Lord Hanuman has always been with me... Praise to Lord Hanuman)."

Chief Minister Shivraj Singh Chouhan called up Nath to inquire about his health. He ordered Indore Collector Manish Singh to probe the incident, according to officials.

Earlier this month, Chouhan had got stuck in a lift of the Mantralaya after which two engineers related to the maintenance work were suspended. The chief minister was going to his chamber on the fifth floor when the lift got stuck abruptly midway.

Live TV
A 43-year-old Monroe County man was arrested Saturday after a traffic stop yielded 1.7 ounces of crystal methamphetamine in the vehicle the man was driving in Bethlehem, city police report.

Salvatore Tomazzolli, of the 100 block of Blackfoot Lane in the Tobyhanna section of Coolbaugh Township, was driving a red Chevrolet Cruze just after noon heading east on Daly Avenue when an officer notified apparent suspicious behavior behind the wheel, police said. Tomazzolli stopped at the red to make a left onto the Minsi Trail Bridge and he abruptly turned his head and looked straight forward and his body appeared stiff and rigid, police said in court papers.

The officer ran the vehicles registration and it expired in September, police said.

Tomazzolli crossed the bridge onto Stefko Boulevard, moving from the far right lane, crossing the center lane into the left turn lane and was staring in the rear view mirror in my direction before Tomazzolli moved onto East Broad Street, the officer said in court papers.

The car was soon pulled over and Tomazzolli said his drivers license was suspended, police reported. As Tomazzolli was asked if he had firearms, other weapons or narcotics in the car, his hands were trembling  his breathing appeared shallow, and he kept staring at a small zippered bag on the passenger floorboard, the officer said in court papers.

It was determined Tomazzolli had a probation violation warrant out of Idaho, police said. Tomazzolli then granted the officers request to search the car, court papers say.

The zippered bag contained a clear pink container that had large rocks that field tested as crystal meth, police said. The search also turned up a digital scale and other paraphernalia consistent with drug sales, police said.

When searching Tomazzolli, the officer found three Alprazolam (the generic form of Xanax) pills and more than $30,000 in cash, police said.

Tomazzolli was arraigned before District Judge Jacqueline Taschner on charges of possession with intent to deliver drugs, possession of a controlled substance, possession of drug paraphernalia and traffic violations, records show. Bail was set at $100,000 and Tomazzolli was housed in Northampton County Prison pending a preliminary hearing tentatively scheduled 9 a.m. March 5 in District Judge Nicholas Englessons court in Bethlehem.

Court papers did not show an attorney for Tomazzolli.

Thank you for relying on us to provide the journalism you can trust. Please consider supporting lehighvalleylive.com with a subscription.

Tony Rhodin can be reached at arhodin@lehighvalleylive.com.
EDWARDSVILLE  The importance of elections and the long road for the right to vote will be highlighted in a special exhibit from the Smithsonian Institution that will come to the Madison County Historic Museum in July.

Voices and Votes: Democracy in America is tentatively set to be on display July 17  Aug. 21 in the atrium at the Madison County Administration Building.

The exhibit, part of the Smithsonians Museum on Main Streets program, was originally set to appear in June, but has been pushed back because of the coronavirus, according to Madison County History Museum Superintendent Jon Parkin.

More Information "Voices and Votes: Democracy in America" includes five major themes. The Great Leap: "The Great Leap" introduces visitors to the context and main controversies behind America's democratic system. It poses central questions such as: What were the principles and events that inspired the writers of the Declaration of Independence and the Constitution? Just how revolutionary was our new democracy led by the people? And who would be included as "the people?" How would they make their voices heard? A Vote, A Voice: We have a diverse body of voters today, but not every American has had the right to vote. When America was founded, voters made up a small fraction of the population. The founders only saw a world where propertied men voted on behalf of everyone else. Over the years, those who were shut out of the polls showed their desire to be heard. The fight for fair representation and a voice at the polls brought struggle and changes to our country since our founding. The Machinery of Democracy: We participate in the political system through state and national parties, nomination conventions, and stomping for our candidate of choice. These informal institutions and activities that are not specified in the Constitution are nevertheless all a part of the machinery that keeps democracy running. It all comes down to getting people to go out and vote. Beyond the Ballot: Americans of every ethnicity, class, and state share the revolutionary spirit of rising up and speaking out. The First Amendment to the Constitution guarantees this right to peaceably assemble and petition the government. Whether by carrying signs and petitioning with our feet or lobbying our representatives, there are many ways citizens can make their voices heard. Creating Citizens: What does it mean to be a citizen? What are the rights and responsibilities of American citizens? Does America need a shared national identity? These are basic questions that our founders left unanswered. Future generations of American citizens have faced these questions ever since. In schools, public forums, and even popular culture, we debate whose history gets to be told. The conflict between multiculturalism, assimilation, and discrimination plays out every day in America. And we all must balance our rights as well as our responsibilities as citizens. What does being a citizen mean to you? Source: The Smithsonian Institution. See More Collapse

Five kiosks will cover the 200-plus years of democracy in America, he said. From the birth of our republic in the late 18th century, up until the present.

He called it an ambitious display.

We need to know the history of our republic in terms of voting, how we got here and what were the contributing factors, he added. This was obviously put together before the run-up to the last election, and some of the differences that were expressed in interesting ways and other events. I think if this exhibit was produced today it would have a different look and a different focus.

According to information provided by the Smithsonian, Voices and Votes: Democracy in America examines questions stemming from the leap of faith taken by the American revolutionaries who established a government that entrusted the power of the nation not in a monarchy but in its citizens. Who has the right to vote? What are the freedoms and responsibilities of citizens? Whose voices will be heard?

The display is divided into five sections: The Great Leap, which details the context and main controversies behind voting in the United States; A Vote, A Voice, a look at how the right to vote expanded from just propertied men to include those originally shut out of voting; The Machinery of Democracy, a look at the institutions that have developed to support voting, from parties to political conventions; Beyond the Ballot, focusing on the First Amendment and the many ways citizens can make their voices heard; and Creating Citizens, which looks at basic questions about what it means to be a citizen and how to balance rights and responsibilities.

Voices and Votes is based on a major exhibition at the Smithsonians National Museum of American History called American Democracy: A Great Leap of Faith. It includes a number of dynamic features, such as historical and contemporary photos; educational and archival video; engaging multimedia interactives with short games and additional footage, photos, and information; and historical objects like campaign souvenirs, voter memorabilia, and protest material.

Voices and Votes also offers an exciting educational component called American Experiments. This companion traveling trunk will have a collection of activities designed to engage visitors inside the exhibition as well as students in the classroom.

Parkin said the Smithsonians exhibit will not include any artifacts, but the County Museum may supplement the display with some of its own.

Although the Smithsonian would have the artifacts to support that, they would be fragile and desirable by a lot of people, he said. This is really more images and narrative. I think there will be a couple of opportunities for interactive elements for people to share their thoughts.

Were still looking at ideas, he said, noting many of the countys voting-related items deal with the womens suffrage movement.

He also said they were looking at other ways to promote the display, but the ongoing pandemic makes solid planning difficult at this stage.

Partners in bringing the exhibit to Madison County include Illinois Humanities, the County Museum and the Smithsonian.

It is also set to be on display at the General John A. Logan Museum in Murphysboro, the Savanna Museum and Cultural Center in Savanna, the Bryan-Bennett Library in Salem, the Jacksonville Area Museum in Jacksonville, and the Vespasian Warner Public Library District in Clinton.

For information visit https://www.ilhumanities.org/program/museum-on-main-street/, or https://museumonmainstreet.org/.

WASHINGTON - Democratic leaders have a potent dynamic on their side as Congress preps for its first votes on the partys $1.9 trillion COVID-19 relief bill: Would any Democrat dare cast the vote that scuttles new President Joe Bidens leadoff initiative?

FILE - In this Feb. 9, 2021, file photo Sen. Kyrsten Sinema, D-Ariz., and Sen. Raphael Warnock, D-Ga., right, arrive as the second impeachment trial of former President Donald Trump starts in the Senate, at the Capitol in Washington. (AP Photo/J. Scott Applewhite, File)

WASHINGTON - Democratic leaders have a potent dynamic on their side as Congress preps for its first votes on the partys $1.9 trillion COVID-19 relief bill: Would any Democrat dare cast the vote that scuttles new President Joe Bidens leadoff initiative?

Democrats' thin 10-vote House majority leaves little room for defections in the face of solid Republican opposition, and they have none in a 50-50 Senate they control only with Vice-President Kamala Harris tiebreaking vote. Internal Democratic disputes remain over raising the minimum wage, how much aid to funnel to struggling state and local governments and whether to extend emergency unemployment benefits another month.

Yet with the House Budget Committee advancing the 591-page package Monday, Democrats across the party's spectrum show little indication they're willing to embarrass Biden with a high-profile defeat a month into his presidency.

Such a setback would deal early blows to Biden, new Senate Majority Leader Chuck Schumer, D-N.Y., and California Democrat Nancy Pelosi in what could be her last term as House speaker. It could also wound congressional Democrats overall by risking repercussions in the 2022 elections if they fail to unite effectively against clear enemies like the pandemic and the frozen economy.

You think very seriously before casting a deciding vote against your own party's president's legislative agenda, said Ian Russell, a Democratic consultant. But he cautioned that lawmakers must decide for themselves how their vote is going to play out" at home.

The issue that's provoked the deepest divisions is a progressive-led drive to boost the federal minimum wage to $15 hourly over five years. The current $7.25 minimum took effect in 2009.

It was the No. 1 priority for progressives, Rep. Pramila Jayapal, D-Wash., chair of the Congressional Progressive Caucus, said in an interview last week. This is something we've run on and something we've promised to the American people.

FILE - In this Feb. 12, 2021, file photo Senate Majority Leader Chuck Schumer, D-N.Y., returns to the chamber as the defense finishes arguments in the impeachment trial of former President Donald Trump, in Washington.. (AP Photo/J. Scott Applewhite, File)

An overall relief bill, including the minimum wage boost, is expected to clear the House, and likely the Senate as well. But the minimum wage boost's fate is shaky in the Senate, where Joe Manchin of West Virginia, perhaps the chamber's most conservative Democrat, has said $15 is too expensive. Sen. Kyrsten Sinema, D-Ariz., has suggested she might oppose it, too.

More ominously, the Senate parliamentarian is expected to rule soon on whether the minimum wage provision must be tossed from the bill. Under expedited procedures Democrats are using, items that aren't principally budget-related cant be included, and it's unclear if Democrats would have the votes to overturn such a decision.

Yet with every Democrat having leverage because virtually all votes are needed, there have been no overt threats to take the entire bill down unless they get their way.

Senate Budget Committee Chair Bernie Sanders, I-Vt., his chamber's chief minimum wage sponsor, said Democrats must act boldly and approve a package with the minimum wage increase. He answered indirectly when asked if he'd be willing to compromise to keep the plan in the overall bill.

Every Democrat understands that at this moment in history, this unprecedented moment of pain and suffering for working families, it is absolutely imperative we support the president, that we do what the American people want and we pass that package, he said in an interview.

Rep. Brad Schneider, D-Ill., a leading House moderate, also signalled distaste for intractable demands. The pathway to success is to push as hard as you can to get as much as you can now that you want, not compromise your principles and know that tomorrows another day, he said.

The House Budget Committee advanced the bill Monday by a near party-line 19-16, setting up House passage at perhaps week's end. Rep. Lloyd Doggett, D-Texas, voted no, but an aide said he misunderstood the vote after disembarking from a plane and supports the measure.

Aggressive, bold action is needed before our nation is more deeply and permanently scarred, said Budget Committee Chair John Yarmuth, D-Ky., citing evolving coronavirus strains.

Republicans said the measure's higher minimum wage and increased unemployment benefits would cost jobs or discourage people from seeking work, and said much of the spending was wasteful.

This is the wrong plan for Americas working class, said Rep. Jason Smith, R-Mo., the budget panel's top Republican. Across the Capitol, Senate Minority Leader Mitch McConnell, R-Ky., said Democrats were pushing Band-Aid policies like theyre planning for another year of stagnation, instead of trying to set up success.

The bill would provide $1,400 payments to millions of low- and middle-income people, increase child tax credits and offer extra $400 weekly federal unemployment benefits through August. It would provide hundreds of billions of dollars for state and local governments, shuttered schools, COVID-19 vaccines and testing, and struggling airlines and other businesses.

History has rich examples of lawmakers who faced pivotal decisions on whether to back priorities of their parties presidents, with mixed results.

Three GOP defections in 2017, most famously a post-midnight thumbs-down by Sen. John McCain, R-Ariz., brought down President Donald Trumps trademark effort to repeal the Obama-era Affordable Care Act. McCains vote sparked unending enmity from Trump. Of the other two, Maine Sen. Susan Collins was reelected last year, and Alaska Sen. Lisa Murkowski faces reelection in 2022.

In 1993, President Bill Clintons $500 billion deficit-reduction plan passed the House by a single vote after first-term Rep. Marjorie Margolies-Mezvinsky agreed to support it. Mezvinsky, whod previously criticized the measure for insufficient spending cuts, voted yes after Clinton called her in the House cloakroom during the vote.

I told him I knew how important it was and I wouldnt let it go down, but I said I would only be the tiebreaking vote, she recalled last week in an interview. She said she told him, If I pull you over the top, youll lose this seat.

Both scenarios played out.

The package passed 218-216, saved by her decisive vote. And the lawmaker, whose last name is now Margolies following a divorce, lost her reelection two years later from what was a heavily GOP district in Philadelphias suburbs. She never returned to Congress.

But one of her children, Marc Mezvinsky, married Clintons daughter, Chelsea, in 2010.
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Scientists of the P. N. Lebedev Physical Institute of the Russian Academy of Sciences (LPI RAS), the Moscow Institute of Physics and Technology (MIPT) and the Institute for Nuclear Research of RAS (INR RAS) studied the arrival directions of astrophysical neutrinos with energies more than a trillion electronvolts (TeV) and came to an unexpected conclusion: all of them are born near black holes in the centers of distant active galaxies powerful radio sources. Previously, only neutrinos with the highest energies were assumed to be obtained in sources of this class.

It is believed that there are massive black holes in the centers of active galaxies in our universe. They are the heart of these objects with a luminosity of hundreds of millions of suns. Active galaxies, they are also "simply" quasars, are clearly visible from the earth with both optical and radio telescopes.

Earlier, Russian scientists Alexander Plavin, Sergey Troitsky and the Kovalevs (father and son, both Yuri) have found a connection between the origin of neutrinos of the highest energies (above 200 trillion electronvolts, that is, TeV) and radio quasars. This was quite surprising, because theoretical papers of the 1990s indicated that astrophysical neutrinos would only be born at energies above 1000 TeV.

Neutrinos are tiny elementary particles with a mass barely above zero, but they can cross the universe without interacting with matter and without any delays on their way. Millions of neutrinos per second pass through every person on earth, completely unnoticed. To register neutrinos, an international collaboration of scientists has built a special ice telescope in Antarctica: the Cherenkov IceCube detector with a volume of 1 cubic kilometer. In Russia, INR RAS and JINR are now completing the construction of the Baikal GVD water telescope in Lake Baikal, the volume of which has already reached 0.4 cubic kilometers. Now data acquisition is underway on the running part of the facility, which had already been put into operation. These installations study the sky in different hemispheres: North and South.

After analyzing data collected over 7 years on the IceCube telescope, the scientists initially chose to analyze a range above 200 TeV to study which direction these neutrinos came from. It turned out that a significant part of them was born in quasars, identified by radio telescopes by their high brightness. More precisely, neutrinos were born somewhere in the centers of quasars. There are massive black holes feeding their accretion disks, as well as ultra-fast ejections of very hot gas. Moreover, there is a connection between the powerful bursts of radio emission in these quasars and the registration of neutrinos by the Ice Cube telescope. Since neutrinos travel through the universe at the speed of light, flares come to us at the same time as neutrinos.

Now in their new article published in The Astrophysical Journal, Russian scientists argue that neutrinos of energies in the tens of TeV are also emitted by quasars. As a result, it turns out that all -- well, almost all -- high-energy astrophysical neutrinos are born in quasars. Note, in addition to them, there are neutrinos that are born in the earth's atmosphere, and even in the Ice Cube detector itself during the interaction of cosmic rays with matter.

"It is amazing, since for the production of neutrinos with energies that differ by a factor of 100-1000 different physical conditions are required. The mechanisms of neutrino production in active galactic nuclei discussed earlier worked only at high energies. We have proposed a new mechanism for neutrino production in quasars, which explains the results obtained. While this is an approximate model, it is necessary to work on it, to carry out computer simulation", -- says the chief researcher of INR RAS, corresponding member of the Russian Academy of Sciences Sergey Troitsky. The co-author of the discovery from LPI and MIPT, corresponding member of the Russian Academy of Sciences, Yuri Kovalev, explained the results in the program Hamburg Account on OTR.

In September 2020, a consortium led by the Institute for Nuclear Research of the Russian Academy of Sciences has won a three-year grant from the Ministry of Education and Science with funding of 100 million rubles per year on the topic "Neutrino and Astrophysics of Particles." Seven organizations united together: INR RAS, JINR, LPI, MIPT, SAO RAS, SAI MSU, Irkutsk State University. About 100 scientists will work on solving the problem of the origin of neutrinos, as well as studying their properties. The project also includes other studies aimed at understanding the nature of high-energy astrophysical neutrinos, including the search for photons of the same energy range at the Carpet-3 installation of the Baksan Neutrino Observatory, INR RAS (North Caucasus).

The connection between neutrinos and radio quasars has aroused great interest in the world. The joint work of Russian scientists with the ANTARES neutrino experiment in the Mediterranean Sea begins. A recent article by European and American scientists independently confirmed the discovery of the Russian team using radio telescope data in the United States and Finland. New events of the arrival of astrophysical neutrinos are now tracked by the world's largest radio telescopes and antenna arrays.

In 2021, Russian scientists will collect the first data from the Baikal GVD telescope and analyze it together with the data from RATAN-600 and the world's radio telescope networks, which will allow them to examine the centers of quasars in detail. A lot of interesting things await us.

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The site plan for the proposed studio at Victoria Quay which uses the existing C and D sheds. Credit:Home Fire Studios Finance decided to go with Home Fire Creative Industries  which was registered two days after the call-out, with its only shareholder Hesperia Property  and invited it to the second stage of the process. Stage two saw the company develop a detailed business case with the Department of Local Government, Sport, and Cultural Industries, and progress to the third and final step. Home Fire has now been invited to final negotiations and to submit a final binding offer as part of stage three, according to the WA governments main website. Once negotiations are complete, a recommendation will be made to the cabinet of the next government following the election.

Hesperia has another project, which is in stage two of the market-led proposal process, to establish an innovation hub at Ainslie House in East Perth. Developer a Labor donor Hesperia, which was the entity formed by the merger of companies run by developers Ben Lisle and Adrian Fini, made $50,067 worth of donations to WA Labor in 2019-20. Mr McGowan said donations were a matter for the Labor Party which was separate from himself and the process for selecting a proponent to go through the market-led proposal stages that had been run by the Department of Finance. What the government did is we put out a problem and opportunity statement last year. We said we would like to see someone come forward with a concept for film studios in WA, he said.

A range of proponents came forward, one of which was Home Fire, it was an independent process run by the Department of Finance that selected Home Fire as having the best proposition. Thats how we landed at that group. Queensland has banned donations by property developers in recent years but Mr McGowan has shown no interest in replicating the rule in WA. There was a bill introduced by Labor late in 2020 which would have lowered the declaration threshold, forced parties to report any donation greater than $1000 by closing a federal loophole, and changed the reporting period from annual disclosures to quarterly ones. Labors bill was introduced late in the governments first term and lapsed when Parliament was prorogued in December, after being introduced to the upper house in August. Mr McGowan continues to blame the Liberal Party for the donation changes not passing Parliament last year.

Actor Kate Walsh speaks at the Labor Party announcement for a $100 million pledge to build a film studio in Fremantle alongside composer Tim Minchin, director Ben Elton, and WA Premier Mark McGowan. Credit:Peter de Kruijff Mr McGowan and Culture and the Arts Minister David Templeman were out on Saturday to spruik that Labor would commit to paying for the whole film studio project, which they say is worth $100 million. The government has not officially struck a deal with Home Fire  which will see the consortium build and run the studio  but Labor has now set the price. Mr Templeman said he was confident the project could be delivered without going over the budget. Incorporated in the proposal are all the additional facilities that are required to produce film and produce movies, documentaries, television etcetera, he said.

Home Fire representative Howard Caerns, who co-founded Little Creatures, was jubilant at Saturdays press conference. I sincerely want to thank the Premier of the West Australian government in investing in what is truly economic diversification of the state, he said. The homework weve done and the conversations weve had over the last year or two suggest that we can be very confident and even the last 24 hours of knowing this is going to happen. The interest that weve had knowing its real, the projects interested in coming here just gives us this great confidence, the sooner we can get this up and running the sooner we can make it happen. The WA government will keep the land the studio is built on but it is uncertain at this stage what kind of lease terms are on the table.

Mr Cearns and the Premier were confident the studio could be built by 2023-24. Does a film studio even stack up? The film studio project proposes to use Crown land and old government infrastructure, such as the C Shed and D Shed at Fremantle Port, to build a production lot with four sound stages. The largest of these stages is a 40,000-square-foot shed, which is critical for attracting any large-scale content production including Hollywood blockbusters and would put WA on a level playing field with east coast facilities. But some film studios in Australia have had a rough time starting up and run at a loss thanks to a depreciation of assets and lack of work.

The first decade of the Docklands Studios in Melbourne was marred by a proponent pulling out of running the facility and the Victorian government having to fork out for the upkeep. But work has picked up across the major studios in Australia thanks to streaming and pent-up demand for content after the COVID-19 pandemic halted productions around the world. Mr Cearns said he was confident there would still be enough demand when the studio was built to make it a worthwhile operation. WA Premier Mark McGowan with Culture and the Arts Minister David Templeman. Credit:Peter de Kruijff Mr Templeman said the studio was about encouraging ongoing investment and activity with 580 construction jobs as well as 2800 film production and local hospitality workers to be supported per year as a result.

Theres going to be thousands of workers in the industry who are going to work through this facility, creating jobs and creating opportunities for hospitality, tourism, and facilities around it, he said. Loading Its going to be a generator of a whole raft of other activity because they are here. English-born writer and director Ben Elton, who lives in Fremantle, said WA already had the homegrown talent to work on the type of productions that would be made possible by the studio. The missing link really is a home base, an infrastructure, a place to grow from, he said.

WA composer Tim Minchin said the studio would stop the leak of talent out of the west. Perth is like the LA [Los Angeles] of Australia, he said. Its west coast, its dry, the weather is perfect, the locations are stunning, the crews are incredible, we have amazing stories. We do not lack a lot, we lack a lot. Liberals claim studio deal is an election sweetener



UPDATE: The Idaho County Sheriff's Office reports the family has been found safe.

RIGGINS - According to the Idaho County Sheriff's Office, Everette Vannatta and his family left on Sunday to go sledding up Allison Creek off of Big Salmon Road in the Riggins area. He made had made a comment about trying to see how far they could make it up Allison Creek. They never returned home. An Idaho County Deputy searched Allison Creek but was only able to make it 3 miles up before having to turn around as the snow was too deep. There were tracks continuing on in the snow. The family is likely traveling in a white 2004 Ford F350 pickup.

Missing are 32-year-old Everette Vannatta, 37-year-old April Sorrell, and 4 juveniles including a 14-year-old male, a 8-year-old female, a 6-year-old and 3-year old.

There were Idaho County Posse members headed up to the area with UTV's on Monday morning to search farther up Allison Creek. If anyone has any information on where the family might be, or if they make contact with her or her vehicle, police ask that you call the Idaho County Sheriff's Office at (208) 983-1100.
A nurse treating COVID-19 positive patients on the Gold Coast said the start of the vaccine campaign on Monday marked a day of hope for Australia.

Ian Cook, one of the first six Queenslanders to receive the Pfizer vaccine at the Gold Coast University Hospital, said there was definitely a lot of hope and just feeling that we are getting out of this in the air.

Zoe Park (centre), the first Queenslander to receive the COVID-19 vaccination, with (left) Chief Health Officer Jeannette Young and Health Minister Yvette DAth. Credit:Lydia Lynch

I think that it has been a long road through this and it is just a feeling of relief that we are moving toward normalcy, he said.

I am just happy that maybe we can look at moving to other countries, maybe we can be travelling again and start to live a normal life.
The Government is considering a proposal to build a tunnel from England to Northern Ireland via the Isle of Man, according to a report in the Sunday Times newspaper.

The project would take considerably longer than a direct tunnel or a bridge between Larne and Portpatrick in Scotland, but would avoid Beaufort Dyke, a deep trench in the North Channel which was used as a massive munitions dump after World War Two.

The distance from England to the Isle of Man is around 50 miles.

From the island to here it is just over 30 miles.

This tunnel would not be vulnerable to bad weather, high winds or shipping accidents, which could close any bridge across the North Channel.

An Isle of Man route would also remove the expense of upgrading transport connections from central Scotland and from the M6 at Carlisle to the small Mull of Galloway port.

Prime Minister Boris Johnson is said to be keen on the idea of a physical link between Northern Ireland and Britain.

He has asked experts led by Network Rail chairman Sir Stephen Hendy to advise on the viability of a range of options, including bridges and tunnels, for spanning the Irish Sea.

It's thought the Isle of Man route would begin with a tunnel from the Co Down coast to the island, and then two further tunnels would link the Isle of Man to Heysham and Liverpool. The plan is an elaboration of a scheme first put forward last year by the Institution of Civil Engineers.

Bill Grose, lead author of the ICE report, told the Sunday Times in 2020: "A tunnel starting north of Liverpool that surfaced in the Isle of Man and then went back under to reach Belfast would solve all the problems.

"Tunnels are less prone to bad weather, and construction is getting faster and cheaper every year."

Mr Grose, a former chairman of the British Tunnelling Society, added: "As prices continue to fall, tunnels will become increasingly attractive as a way of connecting the UK.

"It costs about 50m per kilometre for a twin rail tunnel, but costs are falling.

"When we reduce them by another 50%, tunnelling will become popular and very long tunnels become feasible.

"Tunnels and bridges cost much the same, but tunnels are not prone to bad weather."

Spanning the Irish Sea, whether by bridge or tunnel, is a major civil engineering challenge and would cost many billions of pounds.

Initial estimates put the bill at around 15bn. Critics say the money could be better spent on more pressing infrastructure needs.

The world's longest railway tunnel is the 35-mile St Gotthard Base tunnel under the Swiss Alps, which opened in 2016.
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Debris from the failed engine of a United Airlines airplane in the Denver suburb of Broomfield

Dozens of Boeing 777 planes were grounded worldwide Monday following a weekend scare on a United Airlines' plane that suffered engine failure and scattered airplane debris over suburban Denver.

The incident on the flight out of Denverwhich quickly returned to the airport after part of the engine caught fire and broke offprompted United and other airlines to ground planes with the same Pratt & Whitney engine.

While no one was injured in the Denver incident, the episode is the latest setback for Boeing, which only recently resumed deliveries of the long-grounded 737 MAX following two fatal crashes of that plane.

Aviation experts said the incident especially raised questions about Pratt & Whitney and United over engine maintenance.

"It's nothing like the MAX," said Teal Group aviation analyst Richard Aboulafia. "After all these years of service it is unlikely to be a design issue with the engine, certainly it is something to do with maintenance."

The Denver incident followed a Japan Airlines 777 incident in December involving the same type of engine, as well as an engine problem in February 2018 on a United flight.

"There might be a common theme" among the three incidents "but until the investigation is complete, we don't know that," said Scott Hamilton of Leeham News, an aviation news site.

Boeing said all 128 of the 777s with Pratt & Whitney engines were grounded following Saturday's emergency landing of United flight 328 to Hawaii.

Of the 128 planes, only 69 were in service while 59 were in storage.

Besides United, which removed 24 planes from service, affected carriers included Japanese carriers, Japan Airlines and All Nippon and South Korean airlines, Asiana and Korean Air.

Egyptian state newspaper Al Ahram reported Monday that national carrier Egyptair is grounding four planes with this type of engine. However, those aircraft were not presently in service, a source close to the manufacturer said.

British Transport Secretary Grant Shapps announced a temporary ban on jets with Pratt & Whitney 4000-112 series engines from entering UK airspace.

Engine on fire

A video shot from inside the United aircraftwhich had 231 passengers and 10 crew on boardshowed the right engine ablaze and wobbling on the wing of the Boeing 777-200.

Residents in the Denver suburb of Broomfield found large pieces of the plane scattered around their community.

The US Federal Aviation Administration (FAA) has ordered extra inspections after the incident.

FAA chief Steve Dickson said a preliminary safety data review pointed to a need for additional checks of the jet engine's fan blades, unique to the model and only used on 777 planes.

FAA officials met with Pratt & Whitney and Boeing representatives Sunday evening, he added.

There were no injuries on the plane or on the ground

The US National Transportation and Safety Board (NTSB) said a preliminary investigation indicated two fan blades fractured on the number 2 engine on the plane.

"The airplane sustained minor damage," the NTSB said Sunday. "The examination and documentation of the airplane is ongoing."

In a briefing Monday, NTSB chair Robert Sumwalt reiterated that two fan blades were damaged but there had been "no structural damage" to the plane.

"Our mission is to understand not only what happened but why it happened, so that we can keep it from happening again," he said.

Pratt & Whitney said it was cooperating with the NTSB probe and "will continue to work to ensure the safe operation of the fleet."

United said it was removing the aircraft from its schedule, "and will continue to work closely with regulators to determine any additional steps."

Japan's transport ministry earlier said it had ordered stricter inspections of engines after a Japan Airlines 777 plane flying from Haneda to Naha experienced trouble with "an engine in the same family" in December.

Navigating industry downturn

The engine failure is unwelcome news for Boeing, which also faces a fresh investigation in Holland after a Boeing 747-400 cargo plane showered a small townwith debris injuring two peoplethe same day as the Denver incident.

"We have started a preliminary investigation," said Luisa Hubregtse of the Dutch Safety Board. "However, at this stage it's too early to draw any conclusions."

Boeing only recently resumed deliveries of the 737 MAX following a 20-month global grounding after two tragic crashes killed 346 people.

The MAX began returning to commercial service in late 2020, a time when airline travel remains depressed due to the coronavirus pandemic.

Boeing executives said last month they expect it will take about three years for activity to return to pre-pandemic levels.

Michel Merluzeau, an expert at consultancy AIR, agreed the latest problem did not appear to result from poor plane design.

"It's not really a problem for Boeing," he said. "It's more an issue of maintenancehow United or Pratt & Whitney is maintaining engines that have been in use for a while."

Hamilton of Leeham News said the episode "is an embarrassing headline, but as a practical issue, it will have no impact on Boeing."

Noting the weak demand for longer-service planes during Covid-19, Hamilton predicted some carriers could opt to retire the planes rather than return them to service.

Shares of Boeing fell 2.1 percent to $212.88, while Pratt & Whitney's parent company Raytheon Technologies fell 1.7 percent to $73.00.

United rose 3.5 percent to $49.70, joining other carriers in rallying after a positive note from Deutsche Bank about the industry's prospects amid improving Covid-19 trends.

Explore further Boeing lands few orders but delivers 26 Max jets to airlines

 2021 AFP
Greg Sukiennik has worked at all three Vermont News & Media newspapers and was their managing editor from 2017-19. He previously worked for ESPN.com, for the AP in Boston, and at The Berkshire Eagle in Pittsfield, Mass.
Armenia Investigative Committee: Fatal road accident, criminal case opened

Armenia deputy FM submits resignation

Chinese authorities allow families to have 3 children

Dollar devalues in Armenia

Stepanakert: Azerbaijan creates bridgeheads for pressure on Karabakh, expansion towards Armenia

Sergey Lavrov says Russia is ready to disconnect SWIFT

Armenia MFA spokesperson resigns

Republican Party of Armenia Vice-President: Our ratings are growing, but we have greater pretensions

Armenia acting PM's spokesperson responds to ex-FM

Armenia parliament majority leader: Refusing to debate with acting PM is manifestation of low self-confidence

Armenia State Revenue Committee, US Department of Justice sign Memorandum of Cooperation

Vardevanyan: Attempts made to create false grounds for obstructing Armenia bloc election offices legal activities

Lavrov says Russia is ready to resume dialogue with NATO

Armenia opposition MP on FM's resignation

India records lowest increase in COVID-19 cases in 50 days

Bright Armenia faction in parliament: No response to acting PM's proposal to deploy observers along Azerbaijan border

Ruling bloc MP: Acting premiers proposal does not limit Armenia in terms of cooperation with CSTO

Acting PM is proud of Armenian servicemens heroism, says parliament majority leader

Parliament majority leader: No border delimitation unless Azerbaijan army units leave Armenia territory

Outgoing Armenia acting FM opens brackets: My decision of resignation was conditioned by that very reason

Harutyunyan, Shoygu discuss tension on Armenia-Azerbaijan border

Iranian MFA says US has not imported oil from country since Clinton era

Court hearing on appeal against decision to drop March 2008 Yerevan tragedy case is rescheduled

Missing soldiers relatives block Yerevan street

Parliament majority leader: Armenia acting FM did not object, at Security Council meeting, to new document

Armenia Police: 2,581,093 people on voters list

Bright Armenia faction of parliament: No corridor through the country should be provided to Azerbaijan

Analyst: Armenia acting PM Pashinyan gave self-confessed testimony

Armenia national security finds about 1 kg of opium, detains Iran citizen driver and 2 others

182 hearing aids and 2 buses by benefactor Mikayel Vardanyan for students of Special Educational Complex

34 new cases of COVID-19 confirmed in Armenia

Updated voters list is posted on Armenia central election commission website

Armenia authorities provide considerable amount of subsidies ahead of snap parliamentary elections

World oil prices on the rise

MP explains his not being on Bright Armenia Party electoral list

UK new flagship set to be named after the late Prince Philip

US man who said he shot neighbor over loud music found guilty of attempted murder

Lamborghini company to be sold for $11.5bn?

China spacecraft docks with future space station

Lawyer: Armenia acting PM Pashinyan grossly abuses administrative resources during Lori Province visit

UN urges to investigate escalation of violence in Colombia

Malaysia to open mega-centers for vaccination against coronavirus

Police find  5 million in cash in London apartment

French citizen to face trial in Iran on spaying charges

Over 60 children in UK undergo surgery due to TikTok challenge

Iranian Central Bank governor dismissed

Armenian opposition: The one who liberated Artsakh will not go to debates with the one who sold it

Iranian energy ministry: Iraq to allocate $ 125 million of frozen funds for vaccines

No new COVID-19 cases reported in Artsakh

Iran and Iraq to intensify cooperation and are ready for joint investment projects

Armenia ex-PM says at least 2 more secret documents signed but not published yet

Indonesia frees Iranian tanker 4 months later

Mortar shelling in Afghanistan kills at least 10 civilians

Fire breaks out at West Virginia oil refinery in US

Second President of Armenia meets with residents of Ararat province

Iran ready to help improve the defense capability of Syria

Armenian acting PM invites ex-presidents for debates

European Parliament head proposes to strengthen sanctions on Russia

UK PM gets married in London

Armenia reports COVID-19 new 81 cases: 4 people die

EU countries invite US to issue joint statement against Russia

2 people die in Armenia road accident

Nigeria: Students taken hostage a month ago are released

61 quakes recorded in Congo per day

Syrian MFA: EU lost credibility due to blind obedience to US policy

Armenia ex-minister of emergency situations hospitalized with heart attack

Mher Grigoryan: Clarification of border points is possible only after withdrawal of Azerbaijani troops from Armenia

Suspicious deal: Whether there was profit from buying DNA IDs?

Armenia ex-president says current authorities are trying to blame Russia for defeat in war

4 people killed in Afghanistani bus attack

Robert Kocharyan: This war could not have happened, it was a consequence of the policy of the authorities

Kocharyan: I have to ask people how it happened that overwhelming majority elected this leader

Armen Gevorgyan presents 'Armenia' bloc program: We offer the concept of a working country

Biden's administration proposed to leave unchanged amount of financial support to Armenia

US Embassy in Baku calls on Azerbaijan to immediately release Armenian POWs

Luxembourg MFA calls on Azerbaijan to immediately release all Armenian prisoners

Russia peacekeepers climb to Armenia Gegharkunik Province village positions

Biden strongly condemns manifestations of antisemitism in US

Iran intensifies its diplomacy amid Armenia-Azerbaijan border tensions

Armenia acting PM on forthcoming snap parliamentary elections: We hope to get 60% of votes
Guo Huaide pays respects in Lanzhou, Gansu province, on Saturday to Chen Hongjun, one of the four martyrs who died during the border clash with India in June. Chen was a college classmate of Guo. WEI DEZHAN/FOR CHINA DAILY

Chinese netizens have paid tribute to four servicemen who died during a border clash with Indian troops in June last year.

Topics related to the four members of the People's Liberation Army Ground Force soon sparked a swarm of sentiment on the Sina Weibo social media platform after the Chinese military published details of the conflict with India, including the number of casualties and their names, for the first time on Friday.

The four servicemen were Chen Hongjun, commander of a border defense regiment motorized infantry battalion, and three regiment soldiers: Chen Xiangrong, Xiao Siyuan and Wang Zhuoran. Another officer, regiment commander Qi Fabao, was severely injured.

The details were revealed in a report by PLA Daily, the Chinese military's flagship newspaper. It said the border tension escalated in June after Indian troops blatantly violated a bilateral agreement and crossed the Line of Actual Control.

Qi led several soldiers to negotiate with Indian troops at first, only to be deliberately attacked by the opposition, which caused his injuries. In a video released on Saturday for the first time by China Central Television, which recorded some of the clash, Qi can be seen bleeding from his head.

Chen Hongjun, Chen Xiangrong and Xiao rushed to rescue their comrades and died during the confrontation. Wang Zhuoran drowned in the icy river on the plateau while he was trying to save another comrade.

Chen Hongjun was awarded the honorary title "Hero Safeguarding the Motherland and Protecting Borders" by the Central Military Com-mission, the highest award given by the PLA. The other three each received a first-grade service citation, the second-highest award granted.

As soon as the news was released online, associated topics began trending on Sina Weibo. On Saturday, at least 12 still topped the list of the platform's 50 top-trending topics.

Millions of netizens commemorated the deceased soldiers by reposting, leaving comments and composing their own posts.

The most searched hashtag was "they died for me". A Weibo user using the name Yuedingchengshu wrote in a poetic format: "Dusk arrives. Steamed rice in my bowl. Soft drink in my hand. Can't fathom why sturdy soldiers die. I woke up in the middle of the night, startled to realize: They died for me." The post was widely circulated online.

Some other trending topics read"10 details of the border clash scene", "One soldier is one boundary marker", "Not an inch of the motherland can be lost" and "The diaries and letters of the five border heroes".

The trending topic "Netizens pay tribute to border heroes with moving messages" had garnered more than 46 million views by Saturday.

A user going by the name Yunshangyouqingtian wrote under the topic: "Some people died for us. Some people are ready to die for us. So we must live harder."

Pictures of the four soldiers were also widely circulated online. In one, Chen Xiangrong smiles at the camera with a half-peeled orange in his hands.

"If there is an afterlife, I hope you will have an endless supply of sweet oranges at the wonderful age of 20. When you open your arms again, you will no longer be facing swords and spears, but the warm embrace of your family," wrote another person using the name RedaQmancy.

On Saturday evening, the Ministry of Veterans Affairs announced more details of the pensions and preferential treatment for family members of the four martyrs.

The ministry set up a special team and accompanied the martyrs' relatives to attend the grand memorial ceremonies during which the martyrs' remains were returned and buried in mausoleums in their hometowns in Gansu, Henan and Fujian provinces. The veterans affairs departments of the three provinces have distributed commendation awards and lump-sum pensions to the four martyrs' families.

The veterans affairs departments of Fujian, Henan, Gansu and Shaanxi province, where their families and relatives now live, also assigned special personnel to stay in touch with the family members and help with the timely resolution of difficulties.

Chen Xiangrong's mother has been working outside Fujian to make a living. After learning the situation, the local government offered both her and Chen's older sister jobs in their hometown.

In Henan, where Wang Zhuoran and Xiao Siyuan were born, the local authorities helped Wang's younger sister get into a vocational high school and offered her an internship.

Chen Hongjun's wife, who lives in Xi'an, capital of Shaanxi, was more than five months' pregnant when he died. The departments of veterans affairs in Shaanxi and Gansu provided her with maternity services. As she graduated with a master's degree in vocal music, the Shaanxi veterans affairs department worked with the local education department and offered her a position as a teacher at the Xi'an Conservatory of Music.
LIN SCAN, a Pipecare Group company, has won the top award in the first edition of the Abu Dhabi Chamber SME Awards.

Embracing excellence and as a company with an exceptional approach, the Pipecare Group successfully emerged as the leading contender of this important event.

Wolfgang Krieg, Pipecare Group's President, said: "We are delighted to win this prestigious award as a leading provider of integrity services that ensure high-quality, efficient, accurate, and environment-friendly solutions for the oil and gas industry. For over 20 years, the Pipecare Group has been committed to the UAE's ethos of innovation and growth, and we are positive that this recognition exemplifies our track record."

Pipecare Group is a Swiss-based pipeline integrity company providing quality services to the oil and gas industry utilising in-house developed high-technology systems.

The company operates in over 75 countries and has extensive experience in providing In-line Inspection Services, assisting pipeline operators in handling their challenges, and adhere to the pipeline industry's most stringent requirements.

Pipecare's commitment to excellence is driven by providing the client with the best possible solutions for pipeline inspection and pipeline integrity management services.

The Abu Dhabi Chamber SME Awards were held in Abu Dhabi on the February 16, 2021 and was broadcast live over the Internet.

The Abu Dhabi Chamber SME Awards were initiated to help support businesses thrive and achieve sustainable growth, effectively contributing to the realisation of the Abu Dhabi Economic Vision.

By empowering small to mid-size companies in Abu Dhabi, the awards are a full-fledged programme that enables entrepreneurs to appropriately plan and prepare their businesses through adoption of an internationally practiced, model leading to success and excellence. --Tradearabia News Service
After completing his 2-day visit to the Maldives, External Affairs Minister reaches Mauritius on Sunday to hold discussions with key leaders and to further strengthen the bilateral ties.

External Affairs Minister, Mr. S. Jaishankar arrives in Mauritius on Sunday after concluding his visit to the Maldives. Tweeting about his visit, he thanked FM Alan for the warm welcome and said that he looks forward to the fruitful visit. He will also attend a meeting with the ministers of foreign affairs, regional integration & trade, minister for land transport & light rail, and will also call on Prime Minister Pravind Jagnauth and President Prithvirajsing Roopun.

During the visit, EAM will review all aspects of the bilateral relations, the ongoing implementation of many infrastructure projects between the two countries. Mr. Jaishankar will be in the country for 2 days and hold discussions on regional, bilateral and global issues which will also include Indias assistance to Mauritius with key leaders of the country.

Mr Jaishankar arrived in Mauritius after concluding his visit in the Maldives where he signed a $50 million defence Line of Credit with the vital Indian Ocean Island region to bolster its maritime capabilities. Nearly 70% of the population in Mauritius consists of people belonging to the Indian Origin as their ancestors went there as indentured labours during the British rule in India.

Also Read:

Both Mauritius and Maldives are Indias significant maritime neighbours in the Indian Ocean region and holds an important place in Prime Minister Narendra Modis vision of SAGAR- Security and Growth of All in the region. Mr. Jaishankar had visited Mauritius in August 2018 and Mauritius PM Pravind Jagnauth had arrived in India in the year 2019 on a private visit.

Also Read:
After winter weather delayed shipments of the coronavirus vaccine, New Jersey has started to receive its back shipments, state officials said Monday.

All six mega-sites received some of the overdue Pfizer vaccines on Saturday, state Health Commissioner Judith Persichilli said at the states latest COVID-19 briefing in Trenton. The state expects the additional backlog of Pfizer shots to be delivered on Monday.

The state is still waiting to hear when this weeks allocation of the Pfizer vaccine will be delivered, she said.

Of the Moderna vaccine, Persichilli said most sites will receive deliveries on Monday.

Also half the vaccine sites are to receive this weeks allocation of Moderna first doses today, she said.

We know these shipping delays have caused some appointments to be rescheduled, Persichilli said. The scarcity of vaccine is a national issue and the delayed shipments were also felt nationwide. We continue to ask for your patience.

She said all the sites will be working hard to ensure that everyone who had an appointment canceled will be rescheduled, noting that federal allocations of the vaccines will be increasing in the weeks to come.

Persichilli said the state is making progress in vaccinating its most vulnerable populations.

Thirty-three percent of people age 80 and older have received at least one dose of the vaccine, she said, and 13% of those have received both doses. People in that age group make up 47% of the mortalities from the virus, she said.

Of those aged 65 through 79, 33% have received at least one dose of the vaccine, Persichilli said.

Persichilli also addressed the ongoing troubles with the call center, saying there is no hard date on when agents will be able to start making appointments for people.

We are still having some system issues. They are being worked out, she said, noting a system update from late last week went well.

Gov. Phil Murphy also called the update a success.

We had a successful chapter with the vendor at the end of last week. That has been a spirited and challenging reality, he said. Lets hope that chapter at the end of last week will bode well to more and better chapters.

Please subscribe now and support the local journalism YOU rely on and trust.

Karin Price Mueller may be reached at KPriceMueller@NJAdvanceMedia.com.
With the recent union budget proposing a bad bank to clean up bank NPAs, the issue of evergreening by banks has come to the fore. The evergreening of loans is a well-known exercise, in which banks revive a loan on the verge of default by granting further loans to the same firm. The consequences of evergreening are well known: a reduction in reported defaults in the short run, followed by an eventual explosion in default rates. The pattern has manifested in all major economies, including the US, the European Union, Japan and India. In most cases, the process of evergreening is direct: a troubled bank lends to a troubled borrower, and therefore, is detectable with some effort. In a recent paper, Nishant Kashyap, Sriniwas Mahapatro and I highlight what we call indirect evergreening, in which banks and firms use related entities to evergreen loans. Worryingly, both markets and regulators seem to miss this phenomenon.

In the research paper, we examine the phenomenon of indirect evergreening using related entities in the Indian context. We examine 44,196 large corporate loans lent over a decade. The modus operandi can be explained through a stylized example. Consider a borrower B, who has a loan from a bank L. Assume that borrower B is in trouble and is not in a position to repay the loan. To hide this expected default, bank L could directly grant a loan to borrower B. However, such a transaction is easily detectable. The bank could be asked by the sectors regulator to justify repeated lending to a borrower in trouble. To avoid scrutiny, the bank lends the subsequent loan, intended to rescue the loan on the verge of default, to an entity, say B1, which is a related party of B. It could be a shell firm run by the promoters of B, or even an existing subsidiary. B1 then passes on the funds to B, who then uses the same to repay bank L. Thus, a loan from bank L gets used by a financially insolvent borrower to repay Ls earlier loan.

Such indirect evergreening is more dangerous than direct lending to poor-quality firms, both because of its opaque nature and its consequences. First, we find that close to 5% of all large loans we studied were indirectly evergreened. Therefore, the phenomenon is economically meaningful.

Second, we find that both financial markets and regulators do a poor job of unearthing and preventing indirect evergreening. While bank stock prices react negatively to the renewal and/or restructuring of low-quality debt by banks that have large bad loans on their books, indirect evergreening seems to escape the markets radar. Thus, borrowers and lenders engaged in the exercise need not fear an immediate decline in stock prices, and hence, are likely to prefer this route over direct lending to troubled borrowers or formal debt restructuring.

Third, the phenomenon in question seems to have escaped regulatory scrutiny even though a detailed asset quality review (AQR) was conducted by the bank regulator. Banks were required to report divergences between the provisions made for loan losses by them and what the Reserve Bank of India (RBI) considered appropriate after the AQR. We find that these divergences are positively correlated with direct evergreening done by way of loan restructuring. However, our measure of indirect evergreening is not significantly associated with the reported gaps. In other words, banks that engaged in indirect evergreening were not asked to make additional provisions after the AQR.

We further find that the practice of indirect evergreening accelerated after the AQR, as direct evergreening through restructuring or lending became difficult on account of increased RBI supervision.

The practice of indirect evergreening cannot go on forever. Ultimately, either when depositors realize what is going on, or when the economy faces a shock such that banks cannot keep lending for want of capital, the chain of indirect evergreening will break down and borrowers will start defaulting. We find that evergreened loans eventually end up in default.

It is not surprising, therefore, that banks like Yes Bank, which was relatively less hurt by the AQR, saw an explosion of default rates and reached a point of technical failure. The buildup of toxic assets by indirect evergreening could be one possible explanation for this. In fact, going by our measure, Yes Bank ranked No. 1 among banks in terms of the proportion of indirectly evergreened loans just before its collapse.

The implications of indirect evergreening go beyond banking to the industrial economy. Industries that are dominated by firms that are beneficiaries of indirect evergreening see a significant distortion in credit, with zombie firms cornering most of the credit and leaving startups and other productive firms high and dry for want of credit. The process of Schumpeterian creative destruction gets halted, with firms that should have ceased to exist lingering on longer and firms that should have taken their place not being able to obtain resources. Thus, overall productivity and employment end up being far lower than their likely levels in the absence of evergreening.

Our data sets show a rising trend in the country of indirect evergreening with time. The practice seems to be prevalent among many cooperative banks and non-banks as well. Indian regulators must take up this issue and act before it is too late. They will have to enhance their audit toolkit to be able to detect indirect evergreening. Even a bad bank solution will not work if bad assets are not identified properly in the first place.

Prasanna Tantri is assistant professor of finance at the Indian School of Business

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Access Garage Doors, an industry leader with more than 15 years of experience in residential and commercial garage door repair and installation, is proud to welcome a new location in South Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania, owned by seasoned business entrepreneur, William Tompkins.

Access Garage Doors offers customers a comprehensive selection of new garage door and opener products, as well as installation and repair services. Access prides itself in being one of the first companies in the nation to back up its installation and repair services with a lifetime warranty. Access is a Master Authorized Clopay dealer and an Authorized Service Provider for LiftMaster, Home Depot, Genie, Clopay, and Amarr.

The low-overhead brand with a proven franchise model offers entrepreneurs around the country the opportunity to bring the Access Garage Doors name and dedication to customer service to their communities. The newest location in South Pittsburgh welcomes a 10th nationwide location to the Access family.

We have awarded nine new locations within a 13-month period, said Jesse Cox, President and CEO of Access Garage Doors. Its fair to say were not just in the southeast and that our brand is growing rapidly in the United States. We attribute our rapid success to remaining humble and affordable with regard to franchise fees. We look forward to a bright future with the brand and remaining an affordable option for people to create their own destiny.

The Access business model is proven, scalable, recession-resistant, and very lean, providing its franchised business partners with the tools and corporate support to operate with low overhead. An industry-leading training program, which includes 10 days of hands-on instruction in repairs and installations, sales, marketing, and more at the company headquarters in Chattanooga, Tennessee, also opens the door to success for new franchise owners.

Most families come and go through their garage several times a day, so a working garage door is an essential part of any home, said Tompkins. People are not going to put off that repair. Theyll want the job completed quickly and theyll want it done right. That attitude and attention to customer service is something that Access prides itself in, and Im excited to bring this level of professionalism, service, and products to my community.

For more information about Access Garage Doors franchise opportunities, please visit: https://accessdoorcompany.com/franchise/.

To learn more about Access Garage Doors, please visit: https://accessdoorcompany.com/.

About Access Garage Doors

Founded in 2005, Access Garage Doors provides service, installation, and sales of state-of-the-art residential and electric openers. Based in Chattanooga, Tennessee, Access is a top-tier Master Authorized Dealer for one of the largest garage door manufacturers, Clopay, and is a top-tier LiftMaster ProVantage Dealer. Access also carries brands such as Amarr Doors, Genie, Craftsman, Chamberlain, Marantec, and Sommer, and services Hormann, Wayne Dalton, CHI, Raynor, Sears, Linear, Lynx, Overhead Door, Ideal Door, Windsor Door, Stanley, Door Link, and Ryobi brands. Access is a long-term member of the International Door Association as well as the Home Builders Association of Greater Chattanooga.
Somalia is tied with South Sudan as the two most corrupt places on the planet. The extent of this corruption can be seen in the international surveys of nations to determine who is clean and who is corrupt. For 2020 Somalia shared last place among 180 nations in international rankings compared with sole possession of last place in 2019.

These ratings and ranking are updated each year for the annual Transparency International Corruption Perception Index. Corruption is measured on a 1 (most corrupt) to 100 (not corrupt) scale. The most corrupt nations (currently Venezuela and Yemen at 15, Syria at 14, South Sudan and Somalia at 12) have a rating of under 16 while of the least corrupt (New Zealand and Denmark) are both 88.

For 2020 the least corrupt nation in region was UAE (United Arab Emirates), which ranked 21st out of 180 nations. The current UAE score is 71 (same as 2019) compared to 21 (28) for Kenya, 38 (37) for Ethiopia, 27 (28) for Uganda, 27 (30) for Djibouti, 61 (61) for Israel, 67 (69) for the United States, 33 (35) for Egypt, 25 (26) for Nigeria, 44 (44) for South Africa, 21 (20) for Iraq, 40 (39) for Turkey, 53 (53) for Saudi Arabia, 33 (30) for Ukraine, 47 (45) for Belarus, 56 (58) for Poland, 80 (80) Germany, 65 (65) for Taiwan, 40 (39) for Turkey, 40 (41) for India, 30 (28) for Russia, 61 (57) for South Korea, 42 (41) for China, 18 (14) for North Korea, 36 (37) for Vietnam, 85 (85) for Singapore, 74 (73) for Japan, 37 (40) for Indonesia, 38 (38) for Sri Lanka, 34 (34) for the Philippines, 31 (32) for Pakistan, 26 (26) for Bangladesh, 25 (26) for Iran, 19 (16) for Afghanistan, 28 (29) for Burma, and 25 (28) for Lebanon.

Both Somalia and UAEs corruption score have not changed much since the 2011 Arab Spring revolution when it was 8 for Somalia and 68 for the UAE. The UAE achieved the most favorable corruption score in the region because it has long depended on foreign trade to survive and to make money in that business you must be known as an honest trading partner. The UAE is also different in that it is a federation of formerly independent emirates that realized the wisdom of joining forces. Laws and customs vary somewhat among the emirates and some are more gangster than others. But overall the UAE is a place where foreigners feel comfortable doing business. The UAE has also partnered with Turkey to provide foreign aid to Somalia. This has proved very difficult to carry out and Somalia is definitely not a place most foreigners want to do business in. Somalia is also a federation of seven (including separatist Somaliland and Puntland in the far north) clan-dominated regions that have never achieved the degree of unity and prosperity of the UAE.

Bad Neighbor

In the southeast, across the border in Kenyas Mandera county residents are feuding with their national government over just how bad the security situation in along the Somali border. Visitors to Mandera note that many of the main roads are regarded (by the locals) as unsafe. Vehicles are frequently stopped by al Shabaab gunmen demanding a bribe or a portion of the cargo. If people in a vehicle are Christians they may be kidnapped or murdered. Some routes are considered so dangerous that police offer a schedule of escorted convoys that al Shabaab is reluctant to attack. Towns and villages near the border complain of losing many of their Christian residents over the last few years because of growing al Shabaab death threats against Christians, especially teachers in local schools. Over a hundred Mandera schools are unable to open this year because of staff shortages or al Shabaab threats to burn down the schools.

The federal government tends to play down or ignore the problems in Mandera as long as there is no Islamic terrorist violence outside of Mandera county. Counter-terror efforts have largely kept al Shabaab out of the capital (Nairobi), which is a thousand kilometers from Mandera, and that is what national politicians focus on. There have been two al Shabaab attacks in Nairobi since 2013. The latest one was in 2019. Politicians have priorities and problems get more attention the closer they are.

Al Shabaab has long sought to drive all non-Moslems out of northeastern Kenya because a lot of ethnic Somalis and Moslems live there. Over 80 percent of Kenyans are Christian and only twelve percent Moslem, most of them ethnic Somalis. There are also tribal problems in Mandera. One area along the Somali border has long been the scene of fighting between the Kenyan Murule (ethnic Somali Moslems) and the Marhan from across the border in Somalia. In 2015 about a hundred armed Marhan crossed the border and raided Murule territory. Despite Kenya sending more soldiers and police to Mandera the violence continues. The Marhan have long been accused of supporting al Shabaab while the Murule oppose Islamic terrorism and al Shabaab efforts to chase Christians from the Mandera region.

Somali refugees and ethnic Somali Kenyans living in Kenya near the Somali border have been a major source of al Shabaab recruits for raiding and terrorism in Somalia as well as Kenya. Somali violence, both from al Shabaab and clan disputes, is less frequent throughout Somalia but persists on both sides of the Kenya border. On the Somali side is the autonomous Somali region of Jubaland. Across the border are the Kenyan counties (provinces) of Mandera, Garissa, Isiolo, Wajir and Marsabit. Occasionally the violence extends to cities elsewhere in Kenya. What is keeping al Shabaab active here, and not elsewhere in Somalia, are the lucrative smuggling operations Islamic terrorists dominate along the border.

In addition to bordering Somalia there are several other reasons for all the Somali violence in this part of Kenya. First there is the pervasive corruption in Kenya, and Africa in general. In addition, Somalia is recognized as the most corrupt nation in the world. Al Shabaab takes advantage of the police corruption in Kenya, where the largely Christian police are particularly brutal towards ethnic Somali Kenyans. Similar attitudes are directed at the Somali refugees. That brutality and discrimination makes Kenyan Somalis reluctant to cooperate with police in finding al Shabaab terrorists or smugglers. About 76 percent of the four million Kenyan Moslems are ethnic Somalis who are citizens. Kenyas Moslem minority has been known to harbor Islamic terrorists. Most Kenyan Moslems live in coastal cities like Mombasa, where about a third of the 1.1 million population is Moslem. A lot of ethnic Somalis and Moslems live in northeastern Kenya and that is a problem when most of the soldiers and police are Christians and non-Somali. Al Shabaab exploits this friction to continue recruiting in Kenya and enjoying some local support in the Kenyan border areas.

On the Somali side of the border the situation is worse. Currently there are five somewhat autonomous federal states in Somalia; Puntland in the far north, Galmudug just south of Puntland, Hirshabelle (Central State), Southwest State and Jubaland on the Kenya border.

Jubaland is something of a special case because it contains Kismayo, the second largest city, and port, in Somalia. Jubaland also borders the more peaceful and prosperous Kenya. Jubaland leaders never got along with the Somali government in Mogadishu.

Since late 2019 the Somali federal government has been cutting economic aid to the Jubaland. The federal government accuses Ahmed Madobe, the popular elected Jubaland state president, of corruption. That includes rigging recent elections. The federal government believes Ahmed Madobe is pursuing a long-term plan to turn Jubaland into an independent state like Puntland and Somaliland up north.

The federal government concept was put into operation during 2016 and has only been partially successful. It was agreed that the federal states would have some autonomy and the ability to elect local leaders, especially the state president. But the current de facto local leaders throughout Somalia dont trust the national government and believe the central government will interfere with the state elections and otherwise limit the autonomy of the states. The federal form of government is supposed to provide the states with a lot of autonomy. In return the central government would provide muscle to help control bandits and warlords throughout the country. The central government also controls most of the foreign aid coming in. There was growing acceptance for the federal form of government but many politicians prefer to try and concentrate maximum power in the central government.

February 20, 2021: Mogadishu residents who participated in the peaceful demonstrations yesterday claimed that one reason the demonstrations turned violent, and left five dead and many more wounded, was because the Turkish trained Gorgor Special Division special operations troops led the attack on the demonstrators. Outside the city there is a Turkish military training center compound Al Shabaab is particularly hostile to the Turks because the Turks will not pay protection money to the Islamic terrorists to avoid violence. The Turkish training facility has, since 2017, trained five Somali infantry battalions. The Turks ran separate training programs for officers (over 200 graduates so far) and NCOs (over 300 grads so far). The Turkish military reputation is respected by Somalis and the training is tough, thorough and effective. The Turk trained battalions are visibly more effective against al Shabaab and the Islamic terrorists would like to see it shut down.

February 19, 2021: There was another round of large anti-government demonstrations in Mogadishu. They began peacefully, as the organizers promised but the police responded with force anyway and that was met with return fire by armed militiamen who accompanied the demonstrators just in case the police attacked. These demonstrations were about how the next round of elections should be conducted.

The electoral crisis began in June 2020 when the National Independent Electoral Commission told parliament that it was impossible to hold elections for parliament and a new president as scheduled on November 27. That current presidential term expires on February 8th, 2021. The delay was blamed on the usual suspects; political deadlocks, poor security (bandits and Islamic terrorists), bad weather (floods this time) and covid19. To assure a minimum level of legitimacy the six million eligible Somali voters must be registered biometrically and requires special equipment that has not yet been obtained because the Electoral Commission does not have enough money and needs at least $70 million to set up 5,000 polling stations and carry out the biometric registration. More time is also required but it is not going to be enough. None of this is a surprise.

The first parliamentary elections finally took place in 2016 and the new legislature was installed at the end of 2016. This was supposed to have taken place months earlier but did not because too many of the current politicians regard elections as a threat to their income (from corruption). Some foreign donors correctly saw the delays as a ploy so the interim government could stay in power longer and steal more aid money. This led to threats to halt aid if elections for parliament and president were not held. That worked, sort of, and the electoral process lurches forward, if only to keep the free money coming.

The presidential election (or selection, by the parliament) was supposed to take place by the end of January 2017 but took a lot longer. Part of the problem was political with many of the clans (tribes) maintaining armed militias and refusing to abide by a one man, one vote system. That is, some clans demand more (foreign aid and other resources) than their numbers justify. A compromise was worked out to accommodate that. In effect the new parliament was created by a selection rather than a national election. The national parliament has 275 members who were elected by 14,025 voters selected by 135 clan elders. The 54 members of the upper house of parliament are selected by local (state or regional) assemblies.

A Western style election (in which all adult citizens can vote) was not expected until the early 2020s, if ever. The current president was selected by the 2016 parliament and what means all manner of deals were made in return for support of one candidate or another. The major aid donors quietly made it clear that if the new government did not curb the rampant theft of foreign aid, there will be a lot less of it and thus the new president is expected to be more effective in curbing corruption. The current government did not do much to reduce the corruption and foreign aid declined.

Somalia has a hard time pleading poverty because so much foreign aid gets stolen by Somalis before it can reach the people who need it and whose desperate plight caused foreign donors to donate in the first place. The failed, so far, election preparations can be expected to continue failing with or without additional time and money. No one wants to admit that Somalia is a failed state, but fewer and fewer donors want to keep sending aid to Somalia only to find that most, or all of it was stolen. There are many other needy areas where most of the aid gets to those who need it.

Elsewhere in Mogadishu flight operations resumed at the airport outside the city after being halted for several hours because of the violent demonstrations in the city.

February 8, 2021: Al Shabaab attacked an army base 30 kilometers north of Mogadishu. The attack failed and no defenders were injured. The attackers found themselves pursued by peacekeepers on alert to respond to such situations. The al Shabaab force suffered some casualties but managed to take their dead and wounded with them.

February 7, 2021: An American destroyer intercepted two dhows (small coastal freighters) off the Somali coast and seized thousands of assault rifles, RPGs and machine-guns headed for Somali arms dealers.

February 6, 2021: In central Somalia (400 kilometers north of the capital) eight soldiers were killed by an al Shabaab roadside bomb.

February 2, 2021: In the Lower Shabelle (40 kilometers southwest of Mogadishu) al Shabaab ambushed a convoy carrying charcoal to the coast for export. Soldiers were guarding the convoy and repelled the attackers. Al Shabaab retreated taking their dead and wounded with them. Six soldiers and two drivers were killed and several other people wounded. Al Shabaab controls, or taxes much of the charcoal production and exporting. The government is trying to change this by providing soldiers to guard production and transportation of the charcoal, which is a major export to the Persian Gulf Arab states, especially the UAE.

January 31, 2021: In Mogadishu al Shabaab attacked a luxury hotel popular with affluent Somalis and killed five people, including a former army general. The four attackers were also killed by police and army reinforcements.

January 29, 2021 : In central Somalia (the Bakool region) an American airstrike, using missile armed UAVS, attacked a meeting of al Shabaab leaders and killed several of the leaders present and badly wounded others. The U.S. said it had been tracking each of the leaders for months and when a number of them appeared to gather in the same place an airstrike was ordered.
In the name of the cyclone

Cyclones may be named after women because they are capricious as women may have been at the turn of the century, said a Bureau of Meteorology spokesman in response to letter published in the Herald. The practice was begun in 1898 by a government astronomer and meteorologist, Clement Wragge, who did not call his cyclones after women only  he also named them after politicians he didnt like.

Endeavour II abandoned

Heavy seas have lashed the abandoned wreck of the Barque Endeavour II in Parengarenga Harbour, New Zealand. Built in Canada, the 94 ft ship sailed to Australia last year to commemorate the bicentenary of Captain Cooks landing at Kurnell. The master of the Endeavour retained command until the vessel was abandoned, in spite of a broken wrist. She cost me million dollars to build, said the Canadian owner, Ron Craig.

Captain orders haircuts
The EU is willing to take a flexible approach to the Northern Ireland Brexit protocol including considering further easing customs rules, but will not scrap any part of the deal.

MEPs and EU officials have appealed for calm in the wake of a planned legal challenge by unionists and others to the Northern Ireland protocol contained in that deal.

"We want to work on practical solutions, said German MEP David McAllister, who chairs the European Parliaments UK coordination group.

He told reporters on Monday that the bloc would continue to explore all flexibilities in EU rules but remain firm on our principles.

What we now expect is to implement the rules of the protocol. It is not about a thorough review of the protocol or even amending what was negotiated.

EU and UK officials are to meet on Wednesday in a joint committee to discuss how to ease trade disruptions between Great Britain and Northern Ireland.

Northern Irish shoppers continue to face empty shelves despite three- and six-month grace periods for supermarkets importing processed meat and other foods.

The UKs Brexit point man, Michael Gove, wrote to the EU earlier this month asking for an extension of the grace periods until 2023, but the EU is not considering a lengthy extension.

A spokesman for the European Commission said it would take a constructive attitude and a solutions-driven attitude to the talks.

We are fully committed  fully committed  to the Good Friday/Belfast agreement and to the proper implementation of the protocol in Ireland and Northern Ireland, protecting the gains of the peace process, protecting and maintaining stability, avoiding a hard border on the island of Ireland, and importantly, minimising the impact of Brexit on the everyday lives of communities north and south of the border, the spokesman said.

Fianna Fail MEP Barry Andrews, who sits on the Parliaments trade committee, said there was no reason why the grace periods could not be extended.

"Theres a 12-month grace period for medical products within the protocol, and I think there should therefore be capacity for further flexibilities of grace periods, Mr Andrews told reporters on Monday. I see no reason why we couldnt extend existing three-month and six-month grace periods.

He said it was important to be sensitive to moderate unionists but said there was no alternative to the protocol.

There are moderate unionists who want to make the protocol work, said Mr Andrews.

The EUs temporary triggering of Article 16 in the Northern Ireland protocol  a move it immediately reversed  has emboldened unionists to call for it to be scrapped.

Mr McAllister said it was important now that both sides continue to de-escalate, that we calm tension.

Meanwhile, the European Parliament has decided to postpone a vote on the EU-UK trade deal, originally scheduled for Tuesday, as the document has yet to be translated into all EU languages.

Seventeen parliamentary committees have been involved in drafting MEPs final position on the trade deal, which its co-author, Kati Piri, says is ready to go.

But MEPs are waiting for the EU and UK to sort out technical issues with the provisional application of the deal, which is due to expire on Sunday.
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Italys ambassador to the Democratic Republic of Congo was killed on Monday after a UN convoy was attacked in Goma, the Italian foreign ministry said in a statement.

Luca Attanasio died alongside an Italian soldier, Vittorio Iacovacci, after their car was attacked as they traveled in a World Food Programme (WFP) convoy.

Mr Attanasio, who had been appointed to the DRC in early 2018, suffered gunshot wounds to the abdomen, AFP reported.

It is with deep sorrow that the Farnesina confirms the death, today in Goma, of the Ambassador of Italy to the Democratic Republic of Congo Luca Attanasio and of a soldier from the Carabinieri, the ministry said in a statement shared on its Facebook page.

Min. @luigidimaio: "Ho appreso con grande sgomento e immenso dolore della morte oggi del nostro Ambasciatore nella Repubblica Democratica del Congo e di un militare dellArma dei Carabinieri." [] https://t.co/VEdmhplxqp pic.twitter.com/6qYqn4xakT  Farnesina  (@ItalyMFA) February 22, 2021

The convoy was attacked around 10:15 a.m. Monday in eastern Congo, Al Jazeera reported.

Four other people died in the attack, including the envoys driver and bodyguard, AFP noted, quoting sources and Guillaume Djike, the armys spokesman in North Kivu province, a conflict-prone region in the central African nation.

The three fatalities have been identified as the Italian Ambassador to DRC, Luca Attanasio, an Italian embassy official, and a WFP driver, the WFP said in a statement

The delegation was travelling from Goma to visit a WFP school feeding programme in Rutshuru when the incident took place.

The DRCs army said its troops were searching the area for the assailants, the newspaper added.

While it was not immediately clear who was behind the attack, WFP said it was seeking information from national authorities to determine the details behind the attack, which occurred on a road that had previously been cleared for travel without security escorts.

WFP is in close contact with the Italian authorities through its offices at its Rome headquarters and in the DRC.

Italys foreign minister, Luigi Di Maio, described the ambush on its ambassador as a dark and sad day for Italy.

Africas second largest country, DRC, has, since the 2000s been grappling with military conflict with scores of militias, especially around the Kivu region, which was a major battleground in the first and second Congo wars.

The conflicts in the region, and by extension the four eastern provinces in DRC  South Kivu, North Kivu, Ituri, Haut-Uele  have claimed millions of lives and displaced thousands.

Human Rights Watch and the New York University-based Congo Research Group estimated that armed troops in DRCs eastern Kivu region have killed over 1,900 civilians and kidnapped at least 3,300 people since June 2017 to June 2019.

Despite being home to 70 per cent of the worlds coltan, a third of its cobalt, more than 30% of its diamond reserves, and a tenth of its copper, Congolese citizens are among the poorest in the world.
A young man was shot dead on Monday during a protest in the capital of Iraq's southern Dhi Qar province over poor public services, a local medical source told AFP

Nasiriyah, Iraq, (APP - UrduPoint / Pakistan Point News - 22nd Feb, 2021 ) :A young man was shot dead on Monday during a protest in the capital of Iraq's southern Dhi Qar province over poor public services, a local medical source told AFP.

Dozens of demonstrators had gathered in front of the governorate to demand the dismissal of governor Nazem al-Waeli over a deterioration in public services, an AFP correspondent in the provincial capital of Nasiriyah said.

They set tyres alight and threw stones at the administrative building, before security forces arrived and used both tear gas and live fire to break up the demonstration.

"A demonstrator who was under 20 years old was shot dead," the medical source in Nasiriyah told AFP, saying another four protesters and 12 security forces were wounded.

Dhi Qar authorities announced a strict curfew in all major cities across the province to prevent further rallies.

Decades of war, government graft and slim investments have left Iraq's water, electricity and other public works thoroughly lacking.

Many households have only a few hours of state-provided electricity per day or complain of polluted tap water, and the resulting anger has erupted into protests in the past.

In late 2019, public frustration over poor services, unemployment and corruption morphed into an unprecedented anti-government movement across southern Iraq as well as the capital Baghdad.

Nearly 600 people have been killed in protest-related violence since then, including in mass violence at demonstrations but also in targeted assassinations of activists.

Among them are more than a dozen security forces.

In January, a policeman was shot dead and dozens more people wounded during a rally in Nasiriyah, which has long been a hotspot of protests.
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Emily Bleiberg is a junior at Williams College in Williamstown, Mass., majoring in history and English. The opinions expressed by columnists do not necessarily reflect the views of the Brattleboro Reformer.
Ben Carson expressed that Trump running in 2024 is welcome for good reasons. A former Trump official carried out policies in housing.

After the acquittal in the second impeachment, the forward motion to 2024 has more speed. The Democrats fueled Trump's bid and the Republicans in the 2022 midterms through their failure to impeach him.

Trumpism is revving up!

According to Ben Carson, former Housing and Urban Development Secretary in Trump's cabinet, the expected run in 2024 is crucial. The stage is almost set to retake the Senate and Lower House; then the White House reported the Epoch Times.

When the Washington Examiner interviewed the ex-Trump official, should Trump make a political comeback, he answers 'Of course,' he and many see Trump as the GOP's future.

One of many whom Trump spoke to in so many days added that his former commander-in-chief is targeting the 2022 midterms to reduce the dominance of Democrats. Another is to keep himself connected to social media and not be shut out again. Choices are to join one platform or to have one that he owns.

Carson says the Democrats are their worst enemy

The ex-Urban Development Secretary Ben Carson said that Democrats ensure they will never get in power so quickly again. DEMs show what they can do when in the White House, which was not realized until now. All the actions of the Biden administration are counter-productive, and they are losing support.

Also read: Trump's Acquittal Creates Aftershocks to the Republicans, Democrats in American Politics

Trump's run will get support as the DEMS make it easier for whatever happens in the midterms. The resistance exists now, but it will be more significant when the time comes. Over the first days of power, the DEMS act like totalitarian regimes across the world, specifically how the Democrats are launching assaults to diminish all Americans' First Amendment rights.

Carson said that America is the beacon of Democracy for many individuals all over the world. They are running from tyrants ruling nations that want mindless citizens who accept and follow. He criticizes the path of the encroaching Democrats who want more power.

Election integrity

Former secretary Carson started a conservative advocacy group, 'American Cornerstone Institute,' to give conservatives a voice against the left-leaning elements. They are focusing on election integrity which the election allegedly does not have. Many lawsuits have challenged the electoral results for November, but DEMS say there was no fraud.

Adding that election integrity is important as the center of all actions, he said. He warns that election integrity must be recovered as a priority because Democrats are a threat. They are citing their moves to monopolize politics in their favor and dominate.

Polls have found out that Trump is the top choice of GOP voters (73%), which seems to grow more. The DEMS are also willing to do everything to stop him from a 2024 run because people ask leaders to be like Trump.

"Which of these statements is closer to your belief: "Donald Trump is still the kind of leader the Republican Party needs," or "Republicans need to get away from the legacy of Donald Trump"?"



Republican Likely Voters:

73% Leader more like Trump

24% Less like Trump

3% Not Sure https://t.co/aF28JGNogY  Rasmussen Reports (@Rasmussen_Poll) February 19, 2021

Opening the Pandora's box

Another survey from Rasmussen Reports have some interesting insights that should make the DEMS think twice, be the trial. About 42% said the sham trial means nothing to them, leading to never Trumpers gloating over nothing but another 28% have a better opinion of Trump's integrity. Ben Carson is one of many wanting Trump back in the White House.

Related article: New Poll Reveals Most Americans Think President Biden More Responsible for Capitol Riots

@ 2021 HNGN, All rights reserved. Do not reproduce without permission.
ROME, FEB 22 - ISTAT said Monday that Italy's GDP could be 2.3 percentage points higher in 2025 than under its base scenario thanks to the impact of the EU COVID-19 Recovery Fund. According to an initial simulation of Italy's recovery plan, the PNRR, the economy could have around 275,000 more jobs than it would have otherwise and the unemployment rate would be lower by 0.7 of a percentage point. The simulation was presented by the national statistics agency at a joint hearing of the Senate budget and EU policies committees. (ANSA).
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SIMEC Atlantis Energy is a global sustainable energy company, aiming to become the leading independent sustainable power generator in the UK.

The company is a global developer of renewable and sustainable energy projects with more than 1,000 megawatts of power projects in various stages of development, including the worlds largest flagship free-stream tidal power project, MeyGen.

In addition to project development, the Atlantis Turbine and Engineering Services division designs, supplies and maintains world leading tidal turbines and subsea connection equipment.
Family and friends gathered in Schuylkill Haven for a surprise send off for Kevin Shire, who will be leaving for Air Force basic training on March 1.

Shire, 20, a 2019 Blue Mountain High School graduate, had wanted to join the Air Force for years. He did not initially meet the weight requirement, so he started going to the gym to try to gain weight. When he finally met the requirement, the pandemic hit and pushed his plans back again.

After two years, he is finally heading out to San Antonio, Texas, for boot camp.

Michele Yob, Shires mother, organized a surprise COVID-style event to send him off, in which family and friends lined up in the St. Ambrose Roman Catholic Church parking lot to surprise Shire.

We usually have big family parties, but we couldnt do that, Yob said.

Yob reached out to the church to see if the family could have a gathering in the parking lot.

Monsignor Edward Zemanik, St. Ambrose pastor, said the church honors veterans and the military during Mass, but the parishs usual Veterans Day event could not happen last year because of COVID-19, so he was happy to get involved.

When the family approached me about honoring an active service member, it just made sense, Zemanik said. Its nice to bring God and country together.

Shire is a volunteer firefighter with Liberty Fire Company No. 4 in Schuylkill Haven, so Yob also asked the department to help with the surprise.

He is arriving in a fire truck and thinks hes going to a special birthday party, Yob said.

Shire was brought in a parade of fire trucks from Liberty Fire, Rainbow Hose Company and Schuylkill Hose Company No. 2.

Hes one of our own, so we wanted to show support for him before he goes off to serve the country, Keith Sweigert, Liberty fire chief, said.

Shire, who teared up when he arrived, said he had no idea anything like this was going to happen.

Im speechless, Shire said. Its really emotional. Ive waited so long for this, so Im really excited.

Yob said his family is excited for him, as well.

Were so proud of him, but sad at the same time, Yob said. Hes so happy, and he wants to serve his country.
When the deadline to clear the tent encampment arrived, it was a more subdued scene than the harried week that preceded it would have suggested.

Shortly before 5 p.m. Friday, the homeless camp just outside uptown Charlotte mostly was left with deserted tents and debris. Nearly everyone was gone, either into one the countys offered hotel rooms or having slipped away to another unsheltered area.

A small army of volunteers helped load vehicles and marshal supplies as nearly all of the residents had left ahead of a county order to clear the camps of a pervasive rat infestation.

By Friday afternoon, county staff, nonprofits and grassroots groups had moved more than 200 people to a hotel room, County Manager Dena Diorio said.

As quietly as the deadline passed, the preceding days were anything but.

It began Tuesday evening with an abruptly-announced county health order, followed by plans for a rapid removal and public bickering among government leaders over responsibility for relocation of a vulnerable community.

About 15 to 20 people remained on site as of 2 p.m. Friday, according to a canvassing of the area by Roof Above.

This is a community problem and I am extremely proud and humbled by the support we have received from the community, Diorio said.

She thanked area shelter providers and community organizations that helped with the relocation, as well as taxi services who helped get people to the hotels, free of charge.

The relocation efforts were meant only for those with previous ties to the encampment, Diorio said, and the plan was not capable of solving overall homelessness in Mecklenburg.

But in a sign of the areas pervasive need, 12 families with no ties to the camp showed up needing a hotel room, she said, and were referred to the Salvation Army for shelter.

County officials said they had no firm count of those who turned down a hotel room or left to camp elsewhere.

A woman, left, takes a break from moving her personal belongings as a companion, right, moves a few items to be taken from the homeless encampment near Graham Street in Charlotte, NC on Friday, February 19, 2021. Residents of tent encampment were required to vacate the area after health risks from rodent infestation were found in the area.

A home in Tent City

Conditions at the tent encampment on the north edge of uptown have deteriorated in recent weeks, though the loose affiliation of tents has been growing for a year, as the pandemic heightened economic instability and drew more people close to resources like the nearby day services center run by Roof Above.

Story continues

The clusters of tents, tarps and personal belongings grew for months, in contrast to the gleaming skyline just on the other side of Interstate-277.

And then, the order this week ended nearly all of it, with concerns from some community groups that the removal was too fast, despite the countys assertion the infestation was a dire public health concern.

The last few hours, like the last three days, have been extremely stressful, said Jessica Lefkowitz, founder of Hearts for the Invisible Charlotte Coalition, one of the groups working on the effort. Many of those working on the ground expressed gratitude that many people who had spent months outside in increasingly unsanitary conditions, were going to sleep in a bed Friday night.

Still, the rushed maneuver to shut down the camp  a place some called an eyesore, the countys order deemed a nuisance, and many in Charlotte simply named Tent City  exacted an emotional toll for the people whod arrived there and called this place home.

Its been a very traumatic process for a lot of people, Lefkowitz said.

The next few days, she said, will be spent assessing peoples needs to replenish essential items or things that were left behind at the camps.

Its our mission to make this transition as easy as possible for our neighbors, she said.

What happens now?

The most immediate action now will come from the property owners covered under the order: Roof Above, NC Department of Transportation, the city of Charlotte, Morningstar Storage and wireless communications company American Towers.

Theyre now required to find pest control services and ensure their properties are clean within 72 hours of the Friday deadline, and then submit an eradication plan to the county for approval.

No one is allowed to return to the site to camp during the infestation removal process, according to the countys order.

Beyond that, many community groups are calling on government leaders to invest in long-term solutions for permanent housing beyond the initial 90 day hotel stays.

The hotel rooms and related services will be paid for with a combination of FEMA funding and money routed to Mecklenburg County from the federal coronavirus relief package.

While no plans have been released publicly, Diorio alluded to plans during a Thursday news conference. The county is exploring a number of options, she said, including some type of tiny houses and the use of county owned land.

Quest to clear Charlotte homeless camp: Officials squabble. Residents face uncertainty.

Heres how to help people affected by closure of uptown homeless camp in Charlotte

Despite drop in Charlotte COVID cases, positivity rate still higher than NC average
Researchers have called on European policymakers to make adequate resources available to tackle pancreatic cancer, a disease that is almost invariably fatal and where little progress has been made over the past 40 years.

In the latest predictions for cancer deaths in the EU and UK for 2021, published in the leading cancer journal Annals of Oncology [1] today (Monday), researchers led by Carlo La Vecchia (MD), a professor at the University of Milan (Italy), say that pancreatic death rates are predicted to remain approximately stable for men, but continue to rise in women in most EU countries.

The researchers predict that 42,300 and 5,000 men in the EU and UK respectively will die from pancreatic cancer by the end of this year. After adjusting for differences in age distribution in the population, the age standardised rate (ASR) of deaths in men will be eight per 100,000 and 6.5 per 100,000 in the EU and UK respectively this year [2]. This represents a 0.8% decline in death rates since 2015. Among women, six per 100,000 are predicted to die from the disease in the EU, representing a 0.6% increase since 2015. In the UK, five women per 100,000 are predicted to die, representing a 4% decline in the death rate.

In contrast, the researchers predict that in nine out of ten of the other major cancers death rates will decline by 7% in men and 5% in women between 2015 and 2021 in most EU countries and the UK.

Prof La Vecchia said: "Among the major cancers, pancreatic cancer is the fourth most common and remains the only one showing no overall fall in death rates over the past three decades in Europe in both sexes. It is important that governments and policymakers provide adequate resources for the prevention, early diagnosis and management of pancreatic cancer in order to improve these trends in the near future.

"If the cancer is detected early, it is easier to treat successfully, but most cases are advanced by the time of diagnosis. Avoiding smoking and excessive alcohol consumption, controlling weight and, hence, diabetes are the main ways we know to help to prevent the disease, but they only account for a proportion of cases. New, targeted drugs are leading to some improvement in treatment, but it's difficult to quantify their potential impact at present."

The researchers analysed cancer death rates in the EU 27 Member States [3] as a whole and added the UK in order to be able to compare with previous years when the UK was still a member of the EU. They also looked at the six most populous countries - France, Germany, Italy, Poland, Spain and the UK - for all cancers, and, individually, for stomach, intestines, pancreas, lung, breast, uterus (including cervix), ovary, prostate, bladder and leukaemias for men and women [4]. This is the eleventh consecutive year the researchers have published these predictions. Prof La Vecchia and his colleagues collected data on deaths from the World Health Organization and Eurostat databases from 1970 to 2016.

They predict there will be a total of 1,443,000 deaths from the ten cancers in the EU (1,267,000) and the UK (176,000) by the end of the year. This corresponds to age standardised death rates of 130 per 100,000 men (down 7% since 2015) and 81 per 100,000 women (down 5%) in the EU. In the UK, the death rates will be 114 per 100,000 men (down 7.5% since 2015) and 89 per 100,000 women (down 4.5%).

Compared to a peak rate of cancer deaths in 1988, over 4.9 million cancer deaths will be avoided in the EU and over one million deaths avoided in the UK during the 33-year period up to 2021. In 2021 alone, 348,000 and 69,000 cancer deaths will be avoided in the EU and UK respectively.

Changes in smoking patterns, improved food storage and better treatments are driving many of the reductions in death rates for cancers such as lung, stomach and breast. However, although lung cancer death rates are falling in men, they are still rising in women in many countries, reflecting the fact that women tended to start smoking later in the twentieth century than men. In the EU, death rates from lung cancer are estimated to be 32 per 100,000 in men (down 10%), but in women it will be 15 per 100,000 (up 7%). The UK is different, with lung cancer death rates down 11.5% at 24 per 100,00 men and down 5% with a death rate of 19 per 100,000 women.

Co-author, Dr Fabio Levi (MD), emeritus professor at the Faculty of Biology and Medicine, University of Lausanne (Switzerland), said: "Lung cancer death rates in men are 25% lower in the UK than in the 27 European countries because of earlier and larger decreases in smoking prevalence in UK men. This is also reflected in the lower predicted death rates for all cancers in UK men. In the EU, men are stopping smoking, though later than in the UK, which explains the predicted fall in male lung cancer death rates in these countries.

"Lung cancer death rates in UK women are higher than those in the EU countries and this is mirrored in higher female death rates from all cancers in the UK. However, our predictions show a favourable downward trend in UK female lung cancer deaths, in contrast with persistent upward trends in EU women where rates could reach 16 or 18 per 100,000 women in the next decade."

Co-author, Professor Paolo Boffetta (MD), the Annals of Oncology associate editor for epidemiology. professor and associate director for population sciences at Stony Brook University, New York (USA), and professor at the University of Bologna (Italy), said: "Cancer remains the second major cause of death in Europe after cardiovascular disease. Although we predict that death rates in many cancers will decrease this year, the absolute number of deaths from the disease will continue to rise due to aging populations. This underlines the increasing public health importance of the issue. Delayed cancer diagnosis and treatment due to the COVID-19 pandemic may increase the cancer burden over the next several years.

"The results we report this year are particularly important because they stress the fact that trends in mortality from pancreatic cancer and female lung cancer do not show the positive pattern of other major cancers, underlying the need for further efforts for research and control of these neoplasms.

"Measures to continue to improve cancer death rates should include stopping smoking, particularly in women, controlling overweight and alcohol consumption, optimising screening and early diagnosis for breast, bowel and - in central and eastern Europe - cervical cancer too. Up-to-date data management needs to be adopted throughout Europe, particularly in central and eastern Europe, and vaccinations should be widely available for women to eliminate cervical cancer, which is caused by the human papilloma virus, and against hepatitis B, which is linked to liver cancer. Effective treatment of hepatitis C will also contribute to controlling liver cancer."

In an accompanying editorial [5], Professor Jose Martin-Moreno, from the University of Valencia, Spain, and Ms Suszy Lessof, from the European Observatory on Health Systems and Policies, Brussels, Belgium, write that Prof La Vecchia and his colleagues are to be commended for their 11 years of mortality predictions and that "the key to understanding the past and how to approach the future is data". They believe the analysis gives cause for hope; however, they highlight potential problems from COVID-19 as cancer is a "severe risk factor for COVID-19 infected patients, carrying as it does a higher probability of ICU admission, mechanical ventilation and mortality".

"The positives [from Prof La Vecchia's paper] - the concrete evidence that there is scope for effective action which, over time, leads to positive outcomes - should not mask the shadow of the COVID-19 pandemic. Its impact on cancer patients (and the fear of that impact) is looming. Beyond the direct harm of this new coronavirus to immunocompromised and particularly vulnerable people, there is the blow to comprehensive clinical care and the interruption of research. Perhaps most worrying for the long term is the paralysis of prevention programmes, screening and early diagnosis. Since March 2020, all of the activity linked to progress over recent decades has come to a screeching halt. It is, of course, too early to characterize the impacts, but it seems inevitable they will have marked, if not dramatic, consequences," they write. They conclude: "The possible impact of the COVID-19 pandemic on actual consolidated mortality for 2020, for 2021 and beyond, demands vigilance."

###

[1] "European cancer mortality predictions for the year 2021 with focus on pancreatic and female lung cancer", by G. Carioli et al. Annals of Oncology: https:/ / doi. org/ 10. 1016/ j. annonc. 2021. 01. 006

[2] Age-standardised rates per 100,000 of the population reflect the annual probability of dying.

[3] At the time of this analysis, the EU had 27 member states, with Croatia joining in 2013 and the UK leaving in 2020. However, Cyprus was excluded from the analysis due to excessive missing data.

[4] The paper contains individual tables of cancer death rates for each of the six countries.
Culture Secretary Oliver Dowden has requested a meeting with Facebook after the social media giant banned news on its platform in Australia, according to reports.

Facebook began to take down news content from its platform in Australia on Thursday over proposed legislation which they said fundamentally misunderstands the relationship between our platform and publishers.

The ban doesnt just affect Austalians access to home news but it has also had an effect on their access to international news and their exposure to potentially misleading news content.

The countrys new code would create an arbitration panel to set a binding price for news in situations where Google and Facebook do not reach deals with media businesses whose original journalism they link to.

According to The Times and The Daily Telegraph, the culture secretary will hold talks with Facebook later in the week over what Mr Dowden has called a worrying development, reported The Times.

MP Julian Knight who is chairman of the Digital, Culture, Media and Sport (DCMS) Committee, said: Facebooks actions in Australia should be of great concern in the UK at a time when our own government is bringing forward legislation to regulate social media companies.

Facebook has shown its absolute disregard for the public interest, being all too ready to use its power to further its own agenda.

Mr Knight added that the committee was deeply concerned about combatting the scourge of misinformation and worried that trusted news sources should be promoted in order to do this.

There have been further concerns over whether or not Facebook users in the UK may face similar bans, should relationships grow sour between tech companies and publishers.

Social media consultant Matt Navarra, speaking to the PA news agency, said the UK faces no immediate threat of a similar situation developing. However, he did suggest that this could change in the future, should Australia and other countries set an example.

A Facebook company spokesperson said: The UK has taken a very different approach to Australia which has allowed us to strike commercial deals with almost every major UK publisher.

We are now paying tens of millions of pounds to national and local outlets in the UK to be part of Facebook News, the dedicated tab for quality journalism we launched last month.

Weve also extended the Community News Project, which funds 80 trainee reporters in local newsrooms across the country.

Additional reporting by agencies
BLACKPINK member Lisa is, without a doubt, one of the most followed K-Pop idols today. So, it comes as no surprise that the co-member of Jennie, Jisoo, and Rose has been tapped to become the official face of numerous brands.

BLACKPINK Member Lisa Endorses Vivo S9 Smartphone in New Advertisement

On Monday, Feb. 22, 2021, the newest advertisement of the Vivo S9 smartphone was released on the official Weibo channel of the tech giant. Several BLINKS were stunned after seeing BLACKPINK member Lisa being launched as its official endorser.

In the video, Lisa was seen donning a blue-colored top and black-colored shorts. As usual, the stunning BLACKPINK member sported her signature perfect bangs as she tries to convince the viewers to purchase the new Vivo S9 smartphone, which would be released on March 3 in China.

The teaser showed the taglines "Illuminating My Beauty" and "Very Night Soft Light Selfie," which means that the technology company has put its focus on the front-facing camera. Reports have it that the Vivo S9, which BLACKPINK member Lisa currently endorses, would come with a 6.44-inch display and a 44-megapixel dual camera setup on the front side.

The forthcoming Vivo S9 smartphone is also reported to pack up a total of 12GB RAM with a 4,000mAh battery. Screenshots of the latest Vivo S9 advertisement, featuring BLACKPINK member Lisa, were spread on social media.

More advertising materials for the Vivo S9 smartphone are expected to come out in the coming days - of course, with the face of BLACKPINK member Lisa. So, devoted supporters of the co-member of Jennie, Jisoo, and Rose should stay tune.

BLACKPINK Lisa's YouTube Channel Projected to Surpass 6 Million Subscribers

Meanwhile, BLACKPINK member Lisa is predicted to achieve another major feat as the total number of her subscribers on YouTube continues to increase by the day. As of this writing, LiLi FILM has reached more than 5.9 million subscribers already and it is expected to reach the 6 million mark very soon.

The "LiLi Film [The Movie]" video of BLACKPINK member Lisa also surpassed the 26.3 million views on YouTube already. The said clip, which was directed by Anthony King with Cheshir Ha as its official choreographer, already amassed more than 2.5 million likes and more than 256,000 comments. It is also the No. 13 trending video on the video streaming website as of press time.

The news came after the co-member of Jennie, Jisoo, and Rose was confirmed to become one of the guest jurors to select the next winner of the French fashion prize called ANDAM. BLACKPINK member Lisa, for starters, was also an honoree of Asia's Most Stylist 2020 list by Tatler and serves as the brand ambassador for Bulgari, Celine, and MAC.

Aside from BLACKPINK member Lisa, other personalities who were tapped to be part of the guest jurors list are fashion designers Phobe Philo and Kerby Jean-Raymond. Of course, the permanent jurors -- Lisa Loppa, Marie Chaix, and Jurgen Teller - would join the guests judges in choosing this year's winners.

For more K-Pop news and updates, always keep your tabs open here on KpopStarz.

KpopStarz owns this article.

Written by Nica Vaughn
The Telegraph

Alex Salmond has accused the Duke of Cambridge of displaying "poor judgement" by meeting Gordon Brown last week in Scotland and urged the Royal Family to stay out of the independence debate. The former First Minister said it would be "extraordinarily foolish" for the monarchy to get dragged into the row over Scottish separation and questioned what on earth Prince William thought he was doing by meeting Mr Brown. He said the Royal Family should beware unscrupulous Unionist desperation to use them for political ends and urged other members to follow the Queen's "very wise" example to "keep the monarchy over and above politics." The Duke and Duchess of Cambridge met Mr Brown and his wife, Sarah, after the former Labour Prime MInister relaunched his Our Scottish Future think tank as a pro-Union campaign movement. Kensington Palace later confirmed the Royal couple had listened to differing political views during their week-long tour, which was said to be part of a charm offensive to turn Scots away from independence. Nicola Sturgeon has unveiled plans for another separation vote by the end of 2023, after the immediate health crisis has passed but while Scotland is still recovering from the Covid pandemic. But, in a video message to supporters of his Alba Party, Mr Salmond it would be "infinitely better" for his former protegee to "seize the moment and strike while the iron is hot." He claimed the Tories "are surprised that they are not already facing a renewed constitutional challenge" after the SNP clearly won the Holyrood election but fell one seat short of a majority. Mr Salmond was humiliated when the Alba Party failed to win a single seat. The duke and duchess, who are known in Scotland as the Earl and Countess of Strathearn, met Mr Brown and his wife in an unpublicised meeting at the Palace of Holyroodhouse in Edinburgh last Thursday.
What it does

( ) has a portfolio of gold, copper and silver production and exploration assets in Azerbaijan.

Its key operations span three contract areas in Azerbaijan covering 1,062 square kilometres: Gedabek, Gosha and Ordubad.

Three additional contract areas covering 900 square kilometres are held in occupied territories which will be developed when the political situation allows.

In July 2020 it entered Ireland via a joint venture with .

How it is doing

In January, the firm said it will pay a special dividend of US$0.015 per share in March.

It also made a new copper-gold discovery at Zafer, within the central region of its Gedabek Contract Area in western Azerbaijan.

Work included a significant drill hole intersection of copper-gold mineralisation at 113 metres grading 0.5% copper and 0.7 grammes per tonne gold.

In 2020 it reported record revenues as higher gold prices offset disruption from coronavirus and the new outbreak of fighting between Azerbaijan and Armenia.

The AIM-listed groups Gedabek mine in Azerbaijan produced 69,000 ounces of gold equivalent ounces during 2020 compared to 82,800 a year earlier, but this decline was offset by a 26% rise in the average gold price achieved from sales to US$1,777 per ounce.

Revenues for the year topped US$100mln as a result, Anglo Asian said, while cash generation was also strong with the group paying off all of its debt and ending the year with net cash of US$21.2mln.

What the boss says: Reza Vaziri, chief executive

"I am delighted to announce the declaration of a special dividend in respect of 2020 of US$0.015 per ordinary share."

The company executed on its plans in the last quarter of 2020 and, helped by good metal prices, delivered the expected strong cash generation.

Video

Inflexion points

By Benjamin Jumbe

A section of Members of Parliament says the judiciary should now brace for more election petitions after names of MPs for 11th Parliament were gazetted yesterday.

They say numerous petitions are arising from the malpractice and election violence during the 2021 general elections.

One of them is outgoing MP for Arua Municipality Kasiano Wadri who says the courts should now expect hundreds of petitions because the January 14th elections were marred by wide spread malpractice and were not free and fair.

He adds though, that until the courts of law become totally independent, not much should be expected by those intending to file petitions.

The Judiciary has however often maintained that it is independent, urging that if Ugandans did not have confidence in the courts, they would not go there in the first place.

Meanwhile, the Electoral Commission says individuals who were dissatisfied with the parliamentary election results are now free to seek redress in the courts of law.

The commissions acting spokesperson Paul Bukenya however says they are still working on results for local government council elections which will also soon be gazetted.
The future of travel

Now back in Napa, I take time to reflect upon my pilgrimage to the remote Azores and Portugal. While travel remains limited due to COVID, more than 50 countries now allow U.S. citizens to visit, and some have no restrictions. With the roll-out of vaccines, travel could start to see a comeback as soon as mid-spring (at the earliest).

Much will depend on slowing down the spread of the virus, and the effectiveness of vaccines now becoming available throughout the world. Experts agree that if you take the necessary precautions, relatively uncrowded destinations like the Azores offer a lower risk for infection.

As to whether it will be safe to travel early in the vaccine period, thats up to individual comfort level. A brand new set of rules will be in place and strictly enforced. Will traveling to distant lands on planes, trains and ships ever be the same? Perhaps, but it will take time.

It isnt easy to predict the future. For me, being one of the first post-COVID travelers to safely visit the Azores and mainland Portugal, without a blemish in my journey, instilled confidence that we can all travel safely  as soon as vaccines are in place, allowing restrictions to slowly be lifted.
LONDON, Feb. 22, 2021 /PRNewswire/ -- S&P Global Platts ("Platts"), the leading independent provider of information and benchmark prices for the commodities and energy markets, announced that it will reflect WTI Midland in Dated Brent and its related components, and that the benchmark complex will be amended to a delivered Rotterdam basis. These changes, which include Cash BFOE (Brent/Ninan Blend, Forties, Oseberg, Ekofisk, Troll and WTI Midland) will become effective from July 2022 cargo deliveries.

Vera Blei, Head of Oil Markets Price Reporting, S&P Global Platts said: "Following extensive feedback and engagement with market participants, we are pleased to announce this important decision as part of our active stewardship of Dated Brent, which is the world's most important oil benchmark. During the consultation, we heard widespread support on the addition of WTI Midland to the basket of crudes reflected in Dated Brent and for keeping strong connectivity to the forward Cash BFOE contract. We have also acted on strong feedback supporting a simplified fully delivered CIF assessment method that will better reflect the evolution of flows into Northwest Europe. These changes provide significant additional volume and will ensure the continued robustness of the Brent complex for the next decade and beyond".

With daily export volumes of over 1 million barrels per day (b/d), WTI Midland is now a baseload grade for the European trading community and its refiners. It has become a core part of the North Sea oil market with similar characteristics to the rest of the five grades  Brent/Ninian, Forties, Oseberg, Ekofisk, and Troll that make up the basket.

Since October 2019, Platts has incorporated the fives grades that make up the Dated Brent complex on a delivered Cost, Insurance & Freight (CIF) Rotterdam basis and these delivered volumes now regularly help to define the assessment. Both the inclusion of WTI Midland and the move to a fully-delivered benchmark better reflect the recent evolution of the European crude oil market. By focusing on a delivery hub and removing the complexity of freight adjustments, the change will create a more simplified benchmark that better reflects the broad range of crudes that price against Dated Brent.

"The steps we took at the start of 2019 to reflect competitive CIF Rotterdam offers of grades within the Dated Brent complex enabled them to play the fullest possible role in establishing the value of the benchmark and also paved the way for the inclusion of grades from outside the North Sea, such as WTI Midland. The move to make the Dated Brent complex fully-delivered will simplify the assessment process for market participants," added Joel Hanley, Head of Crude & Fuel Oil Pricing, S&P Global Platts. "We recognize that a new set of trading terms will be required to underpin Cash BFOE deals on a delivered basis and we will organize targeted industry workshops to define these contractual arrangements over the next three months".

The schedule and details for the industry workshops to investigate and specify Cash BFOE contractual arrangements will be released shortly, with the first session being held online on March 3, 2021.

Full Details of the subscriber note are here.

Notes to editors

WTI Midland is a light, sweet crude oil with a typical average monthly export volume of 1.078 million barrels per day during 2020, of which around 443,000 b/d arrived in Europe. WTI Midland is typically sold into Europe on a delivered basis.

S&P Global Platts currently assesses cargoes of WTI Midland for delivery DAP basis Rotterdam. In line with other grades already in the Dated Brent benchmark, Platts will launch an assessment of WTI Midland on a CIF Rotterdam basis ahead of implementation.

Platts will reflect bids, offers and transactions of Cash BFOE where the buyer is willing to accept a cargo of delivered Brent/Ninian, Forties, Oseberg, Ekofisk, Troll, or WTI Midland on a delivered basis from July 2022.

Trading in the forward Cash BFOE market is typically governed by the Shell UK 1990 (SUKO 90) terms, which refer to cargoes being delivered on a free-on-board (FOB) basis. Platts is aware that a new set of trading terms will be required to underpin Cash BFOE deals on a delivered basis and will organize a targeted industry working group to investigate and specify these contractual arrangements.

Media Contacts:

Americas: Kathleen Tanzy + 1 917-331-4607, [email protected]

About S&P Global Platts

At S&P Global Platts, we provide the insights; you make better informed trading and business decisions with confidence. We're the leading independent provider of information and benchmark prices for the commodities and energy markets. Customers in over 150 countries look to our expertise in news, pricing and analytics to deliver greater transparency and efficiency to markets. S&P Global Platts coverage includes oil, gas, LNG, power, petrochemicals, metals, agriculture and shipping.

S&P Global Platts is a division of S&P Global (NYSE: SPGI), which provides essential intelligence for individuals, companies and governments to make decisions with confidence. For more information, visit www.platts.com.

SOURCE S&P Global Platts

Related Links

http://www.platts.com


Upcoming political events in the Bay Area. Events take place online unless otherwise noted:

THURSDAY

Rep. Mark DeSaulnier: Concord Democrat holds town hall meeting on gun violence. 3 p.m. Submit a question in advance here; join meeting here.

The Purpose of Power book club: Black Lives Matter co-founder Alicia Garza discusses her book The Purpose of Power. Hosted by Mannys. 5 p.m. More information is here.

Eugenics: A discussion on the history of the eugenics movement in the U.S., featuring excerpts from the documentary A Dangerous Idea: Eugenics, Genetics and the American Dream. Hosted by the Asian Art Museum of San Francisco. 6:30 p.m. More information is here.

FRIDAY

CSU chancellor: Joseph Castro, chancellor of the California State University system, in conversation about priorities for higher education in California. Hosted by the Public Policy Institute of California. 11 a.m. More information is here.

Anti-racist classrooms: A discussion on creating an inclusive and anti-racist educational climate during the pandemic. Participants include Shawn Ginwright, professor of Africana studies at San Francisco State University; Oakland schools Superintendent Kyla Johnson-Trammel; and Alison Briscoe-Smith, director of diversity, equity and inclusion at the Wright Institute Clinical Program. Hosted by the Commonwealth Club. Noon. More information is here.

SATURDAY

Stand for Asians: A rally and march in opposition to anti-Asian American hate crimes. Speakers include San Mateo City Council Member Amourence Lee, Millbrae Anti-Racist Coalition founding members Steve Hom and Katie Nolan-Stevaux, and @FromHerePodcast host Dawn Lee. 1 p.m. at San Mateo Central Park (back of bleachers), 50 East Fifth Avenue, San Mateo. More information is here.

Climate change: Citizens Climate Lobby holds a California regional conference with plenaries, panels and workshops on achieving carbon fee and dividend investment goals to drive sustainable policies. 1 p.m. Saturday and Sunday. More information is here.

Health justice: Santa Clara County community leaders hold a forum on inequities in the health care system and how to fix them. Hosted by the Santa Clara County Single Payer Health Care Coalition. 2 p.m. More information is here.

TUESDAY

Extremism in the U.S.: A discussion on the spread of extremism and what can be done about it, with Seth Brysk of the Anti-Defamation League. Hosted by the Commonwealth Club. 5:30 p.m. More information is here.

MARCH 3

Bolstering the African American community: A discussion with San Francisco Mayor London Breed and Board of Supervisors President Shamann Walton. Hosted by the Commonwealth Club. Noon. More information is here.

MARCH 4

Reopening schools: A discussion about school-reopening issues in California. Participants include Joe Boyd, executive director of the California Teachers Association; Ricardo Cano, education reporter for CalMatters; Suzanne Kitchens, president of the California School Boards Association; and Ron Williams, president of the Association of California School Administrators. Hosted by the Public Policy Institute of California. 11 a.m. More information is here.

Obamacare: HuffPost senior national correspondent Jonathan Cohn on his new book, The Ten Year War: Obamacare and the Unfinished Crusade for Universal Coverage. Hosted by the Commonwealth Club. 3 p.m. More information is here.

Women in science: A discussion on women in science to mark International Womens Day. Participants include Chrissy Garcia, collections manager of geology for the California Academy of Sciences; Alejandra Hernandez-Agreda, research fellow at the academy studying coral-microbe interactions; Melanie Malone, assistant professor at the University of Washington, whose research focuses on the social complexities of environmental policies; and Suzanne Pierre, lead investigator of the Critical Ecology Lab, a research and social change collective. Hosted by the California Academy of Sciences. 7 p.m. More information is here.

MARCH 6

Womens March event: A webinar on building community and equity, hosted by the Womens March Foundation. Noon. More information is here.

To list an event, please email Chronicle politics editor Trapper Byrne at tbyrne@sfchronicle.com

Trot Insider has learned that stakes-winning pacer turned stallion Lost For Words has been exported for stallion duty.

Lost For Words, a near-millionaire son of Well Said, has shipped to Ireland according to his former trainer Brian Brown, who recently acquired the champion Irish mare Rainbow Writer. Brown said the horse arrived in Ireland just over a month ago.

Highlights from Lost For Words' racing career include victories in the Bluegrass and International Stallion Stake as a two-year-old and winning an elimination for the Little Brown Jug in 2015, the year in which he and Wiggle It Jiggleit battled to the finish of a 1:49.3 mile. He also finished second in the $150,000 American National, $450,000 Tattersalls Pace and $405,000 Carl Milstein Memorial. He finished third in the 2015 Breeders Crown and Woodbine Mohawk Park as well as in the $400,000 Adios.

Lost For Words was retired to stallion duty in 2018 and stood the past three seasons at Cool Winds Farms in Lima, Ohio. His first full crop of two-year-olds will hit the track in 2021.
In 1967, one of the worlds oldest particle accelerators, built in the 1930s, was sent from the University of Rochester, USA to be housed at Panjab University, Chandigarh. Invented by American nuclear scientist Ernest O. Lawrence in 19291930 at the University of California, Berkeley, this particular type of particle accelerator, also known as a cyclotron, is an apparatus in which charged atomic and subatomic particles are accelerated by an alternating electric field while following an outward spiral or circular path in a magnetic field. Cyclotrons are built on the same principles as more famous particle accelerators, such as the Large Hadron Collider at the European Organization for Nuclear Research (CERN), but on a smaller scale, used not only for conducting experiments in nuclear physics but also for imaging in nuclear medicine; Lawrence was awarded the 1939 Nobel Prize in Physics for this invention.

While nuclear physics has advanced phenomenally over the past 90-odd years, the cyclotron currently housed at Panjab University still works and is used by researchers and a dedicated team of technicians that keeps it runningmaking it the worlds oldest functional particle accelerator. Science historian Jahnavi Phalkey, director of Science Gallery Bengaluru, started studying the cyclotron and its history as part of her doctoral research, and this has culminated in a recently released film called Cyclotron about the device and its history. Mint spoke to Phalkey about the film, which explores the life and legacy of the machine as well as the struggles and triumphs of its technicians, researchers and students. Edited excerpts from an interview:

What evoked your interest in this particular particle accelerator? How did you go about tracing its origin and history? How well known was it when you first heard of it?

Phalkey: This film grew out of my doctoral research on the beginnings of experimental nuclear physics in India. Between 2003-06, I studied six laboratories that wanted to build or acquired particle accelerators before and after Independence. I studied no less than six because there was no way to know if I would have enough archival material on any one to write a hundred-thousand word thesis. Luckily for me, two new archives opened up during my researchthe TIFR archives and the Indian Institute of Science Archives and the personal papers of a physicist in Bangalore, which meant I was able to write my thesis, and later my first book (Atomic State: Big Science in Twentieth Century India), based on the first three laboratories in IndiaCalcutta (Kolkata), Bangalore (Bengaluru) and Bombay (Mumbai)to attempt experimental nuclear physics.

Chandigarh was one of the remaining three that I had researched. I first became aware of its existence, if I remember correctly, in late 2002 or early 2003 during a late-night-all-night online search on particle accelerators in India: all I found was a brief story in a Physics Today article. In April of that year, I visited the University of Rochester to meet Professor Harry Fulbright, who enabled the transfer of the cyclotron to India. That same summer, I took a trip to Chandigarh to meet Professor Harnam Hans and to see the cyclotron. Some of my photographs from that trip are in the film.

I met many of the nuclear physics community in India during my research and most were aware of the Chandigarh cyclotron. However, I dont think this is well known outside of the nuclear physics community. I have recently met many young physicists who do not know about it at all!

What was your motivation behind making this film?

Phalkey: This is a story of everyday science in a regional Indian university with a historically extraordinary machine. My own colleagues in history of science hardly knew about the story, leave alone any such story in the public domain even in India. Having met the warm, generous and incredibly hard-working people who re-built the machine to keep it going for more than 50 years, I was keen to tell the story through their eyes and their words. A film now seems to be the most appropriate form to do so. But that decision emerged serendipitously.

My research on the three laboratories that did not make it into the book Chandigarh, Kanpur and Calcuttawas begging attention. If I was a good academic, I would have written three academic papers or a new book on the American Decade of nuclear physics in India, something I sort of promised and did not fully deliver on during my postdoctoral fellowship at Imperial College London. Instead, I allowed myself to get distracted by the history of aeronautics and of statistics, which I have enjoyed tremendously.

By then, I had joined Kings College London in 2011; we were given small annual grants and I used mine to join a documentary filmmaking course at University College London. It was an amazing course because it came with a complete entry-level film making kit. Most of my coursemates took sensible decisions and filmed shorts in and around London. By the end of that four-month course, I knew what I was going to do: I took my kit to India and asked my cinematographer friend Neeraj Sahay, if he was up to taking an all-costs-covered-but-no-fees filming trip to Chandigarh. He agreed!

View Full Image Professor Harnam Hans, whose idea it was to bring the cyclotron from the United States to India

Why do you think the world should know about this device?

It was audacious to think that one could simply ship a cyclotron to India from the United States in the mid-1960s and establish an experimental nuclear physics facility. This was not a Government of India initiative, nor was it an initiative of the government in the United States. This was an ambitious young physicist wanting to return to India, wanting to pursue nuclear physics in a university setting as opposed to a Department of Atomic Energy facility, and he took the initiative to bring the equipment to India and let it become the kernel of research and training in experimental nuclear physics in northern India. I want this audacity, ambition and struggle to create an experimental research culture to be appreciated

Second, it is no mean feat to assemble any cyclotron anywhere. It was an even more difficult task to re-build one from the 1930s, after having dismantled it completely and shipped it far away from people who knew how it worked. This difficult task was accomplished largely by a group of technicians and engineers most of whom had never seen a working cyclotron before! And they have kept it running for over 50 years with less than adequate funding or support.

Given that you're not a trained filmmaker, what kind of help did you have in terms of the technical aspects of filmmaking?

Phalkey: Finding the right editor for this film wasnt easy. How to make a film about people who also do science and how to make a film about science that is about the people who make it possible? In the first instance, I was a debutant, first-time filmmaker who had learned to think in words and not images. Second, this film ran the danger of being seen as a science documentary" of niche interest that would not appeal to larger audiences. The first editor that I approached did not think I had a film and suggested an art installation instead (I might still do that!) and then I wasnt able to fully communicate the complexity of the film to the next two. I met Tanya Singh in London more than two years after filming and serendipitously, she came with extremely strong connections to Chandigarh through her parents. She plunged into the film, pushed me to think harder about why I was making the film, took me seriously when I told her why and helped make a film out of a historians footage of words, words and more words. I could not have made this film in this way, without her.

Two small grants helped fuel the project: I received a small grant from the American Institute of Physics which helped with the editors fees, and my own research grant at the India Institute, Kings College London, which allowed me embark on this project. Other than that, I have funded this film myself.

Why was the accelerator dismantled and sent from the USA to India? Was its first home at the Punjab University or did it have any other home in India as well?

Phalkey: The University of Rochester's story of decommissioning the accelerator is the story of particle physics in the 1960sthe accelerators got bigger and bigger and the small ones were cannibalised for building other equipment or decommissioned and sold for scrap: Rochester acquired a bigger accelerator. The shipment was first sent to Kurukshetra University in 1967 from where it was transferred very quickly, without unpacking, to Chandigarh where Professor Hans was appointed to the Department of Physics.

Over the years, in what ways has the cyclotron been used?

Phalkey: By the time the cyclotron was in Chandigarh, it had been in existence for three decades and was no longer an instrument for use at the cutting edge of research frontiers. It was, however, still quite good to carry out further experiments in basic nuclear physics, replicate earlier experiments for training purposes, and applications in material sciences. It is important to remember that, if one wanted to do any nuclear research at the time a machine of this kind was a necessity, not a luxury.

In the early years of its functioning in Chandigarh, at one point, the team likely produced the largest number of papers globally on Coulomb excitation (a technique in experimental nuclear physics to probe the electromagnetic aspect of nuclear structure). While that might not have provided breakthroughs, it still provided robust research outcomes.

What is the particle accelerator used for today? Is it still useful or an anachronism that has been kept going for sentimental reasons?

Phalkey: Today, the primary use of the cyclotron is threefold: first, it is used to study materials (no longer basic nuclear physics experiments) with PIXE (Proton Induced X-ray Emission Spectroscopy or Particle Induced X-ray Emission Spectroscopy) and PIGE (proton induced gamma-ray emission) both analytical techniques for identifying the elements in any given sample. Second, it is used for hands-on-training of postgraduate students which prepares them to work with machines of higher energy elsewhere. Last, and not the least, it is used for science teaching of young adults who are invited to see the cyclotron and get a sense of the engineering that makes basic research possible.

What are the conclusions you draw after having researched the accelerator's history? What do you think it says about research facilities in Indian universities especially in big science like particle physics? Do you think Indian students and researchers have adequate infrastructure to do world-class research?

Phalkey: Universities in India are not adequately resourced at all. This is equally true for both the human and the natural sciences, and, therefore, not simply a matter of pumping some extra resources alone. Our institutions of national importance are better resourced but work in silos. This has a significant impact on the kind of training we are able to give to our students across the board and its full impact is felt negatively on our ability to cultivate a vibrant research culture all round. It also reflects on the near absence of industrial research on the scale required and possible in a country the size of India. This will have to change if we want to nurture world-class research in India.

Watch Cyclotron, directed by Jahnavi Phalkey and edited by Tanya Singh, here.

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Photo: (Photo : Miguel Schincariol / Stringer / Getty Images)

The CDC's new guidance on safe school reopening amid the pandemic could result in more than 90 percent of schools partially closed.

The long-awaited guidance on school reopening by CDC is now being criticized, and doctors are now pointing out the guidance's notable flaws, claiming it would prohibit more than 90 percent of schools from completely reopening in almost all of the nation's 50 largest counties.

Doctors say that if the CDC advice is strictly followed, schools will not completely reopen for months for in-person instruction, even if they believe that schools should reopen safely much earlier, as they stated their reasons.

The first is due to limiting metrics. The CDC's resolution to tie reopening decisions to how badly the virus spreads in the surrounding region is the primary reason for the criticisms. The guidance notes that only in counties with low to moderate transmission levels can school completely reopen for in-person instruction, which suggests less than 50 new cases per 100,000 people over seven days or a test-positivity rate lower than eight percent. Technically, that is 90 percent of the total population. Schools in counties that do not meet the level are advised to transition into blended learning.

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Second, the CDC is in a tough spot. Dr. Megan Ranney, an emergency physician, and director of the Brown-Lifespan Center for Digital Health, agreed that much of the nation is in the most stringent reopening tier of the CDC.

She noted that most of the schools are also entirely unable to put the safety precautions in place. The safeguards required are expensive and need more funding, Dr. Ranney said. Without additional funding, it is impractical to believe that most schools would ensure that desks in classrooms are six feet apart, improve ventilation, and reopen safely in areas with a large distribution.

The third would be the prevention of infections instead of virus spread. According to Dr. Bill Schaffner, a Vanderbilt University epidemiologist, the CDC should have made it easier to reopen K-12 schools. He said the guidance was "not bad" overall. Given the need to reopen schools now, the CDC could have been less stringent on its group transmission directives and should have concentrated more on ensuring that schools are aware of what steps to adopt to prevent infection and less on the extent of community spread.

The fourth point is the absence of ventilation interventions. Noticeably, only one paragraph in the CDC's guidelines on ventilation said, "improve ventilation to the extent possible, such as opening windows and doors to increase outdoor air circulation." There is evidence that the coronavirus can spread effectively through air accumulated since the beginning of the pandemic.

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So, instead of school reopening, how about considering improving virtual classrooms?

Given those four points, an improved virtual classroom seems more realistic now, rather than school reopening.

A Vermont college professor, Narine Hall, thought her online teaching resources fell short when teaching first went remote, so she created her own. And now, with the backing of investors, her tech start-up hopes to continue to expand far beyond its New England roots. Hall launched InSpace and a long-time friend and coding partner in her native Armenia, which describes itself as an educator's virtual classroom for educators.

Teachers can transmit to their entire community and then travel around in the virtual space to interact with learners via video more naturally, either one-on-one or in small rooms.

Students may also switch their bubbles around to interact with peers or mimic the experience of posing a question.

The platform had its first trials on the Champlain campus but is now used at more than 85 U.S. universities and K-12 schools.

The co-founder said that the new funding would help InSpace enter many more colleges, but she knows that COVID-19 has suddenly made virtual meetings a competitive area. InSpace plans to unveil several more characteristics to help it keep standing out in the educational room, Hall said.

The Vermont-born start-up wants InSpace to be today's classroom tomorrow, with online learning expected to stick around and expand long after the pandemic.

READ MORE: On School Reopening: Should You Let Your Kids Go Back to School? An Analyst Helps You Decide
Chief Medical Officer Chris Whitty tonight insisted the risk posed by coronavirus to children at school is 'incredibly low' as he 'categorically denied' a claim he opposed a full return to classrooms on March 8.

The Government's top medical advisor said there are 'huge advantages' to reopening schools across England in terms of the mental and physical health benefits for children as well as for their education.

He said falling infection rates meant that 'there is some headroom' to resume face-to-face lessons next month and that 'everything is strongly in favour of children, whether primary or secondary, of going to school'.

Professor Whitty's comments came after Prime Minister Boris Johnson revealed that secondary pupils will undergo a 'testing blitz' and be required to wear face masks in classrooms 'for several weeks' in his lockdown roadmap.

Secondary pupils will be tested three times at school and once at home during the first fortnight before being asked to continue testing themselves twice a week at home, according to the Government's exit strategy.

They will be allowed to return to class as soon as they have received a negative test result, while all teachers at primary and secondary level - as well as early years - will be entitled to twice-weekly testing at home.

Mr Johnson revealed his roadmap out of the third national lockdown in a statement to the Commons this afternoon, promising a 'cautious but irreversible' easing of lockdown and calling it 'a one way road to freedom'.

However, the Prime Minister's plans were immediately criticised by teaching unions who wanted a phased return to classes and accused Mr Johnson of 'failing to learn the lessons of his previous mistakes'.

In other coronavirus developments:

Covid cases have risen for the first time in six weeks with 10,641 new infections in 24 hours, while deaths tumbled to 178 in the lowest toll since December 13. The UK's vaccine rollout also dished out just 150,000 jabs in its worst performance yet;

Couples and suppliers must wait until March 8 to have weddings and receptions with up to just six people - with unrestricted big days not set to occur before June 21;

Teaching unions have demanded Boris Johnson scrap his plan to reopen all schools in England on March 8 in favour of a more cautious phased return to classrooms;

Mr Zahawi said that the government was hoping this will be the last 'severe' coronavirus lockdown in England;

Labour has insisted it supports schools reopening in full on March 8 despite opposition from teaching unions and Sir Keir Starmer saying there must be a considered approach;

One in three adults have received a Covid jab as the government brings forward its target for vaccinating the whole population to July;

Scientists have hailed early data showing the vaccines reduce transmission of coronavirus as well as easing its effects;

The funeral of Captain Sir Tom Moore will be held on Saturday, in what the family said would be a 'small' service;

Surge testing was introduced in Brentwood, Essex, following the discovery of the South African variant in the area.

Professor Chrrs Whitty tonight said he 'categorically denied' reports that he was opposed to a 'big bang' reopening of schools in England on March 8

The first steps to freedom from lockdown will prioritise reopening schools and reuniting families, Boris Johnson confirmed to the Commons, with all secondary school pupils expected to wear masks in the classroom

Boris, Whitty and Vallance dismiss Tory and business fury at ultra-cautious lockdown 'roadmap' saying the country wants 'certainty not urgency' - with shops, salons and drinks outside from April 12 but no foreign travel before mid-MAY or hugs until June Boris Johnson batted away complaints from Tories and business tonight after unveiling an ultra-cautious 'roadmap' out of lockdown by June - with schools reopening in a fortnight but little else set to change for months. Flanked by Chris Whitty and Patrick Vallance as he defended his long-awaited four-phase exit strategy at a No10 briefing, the PM stated that 'Covid zero' was not possible and the return to normality must begin even though cases will rise. However, Mr Johnson made clear he was prioritising 'certainty over urgency', saying he is being as 'dynamic as possible in the circumstances' and the 'crocus of hope' is starting to appear. Prof Whitty and Sir Patrick said there are still very significant numbers of people infected with Covid and going to fast risked the outbreak spiralling again. The premier confirmed that all schools in England will reopen from March 8 as the first step on the 'one-way road to freedom'. But secondary pupils will need to wear masks in class for 'weeks' after the move - and there are precious few other easings until Easter, with scientists seemingly having won the battle for a slow approach. Advertisement

Reports at the weekend suggested Prof Whitty was opposing the 'big bang' return but he told a Downing Street press conference tonight that he had 'categorically denied' the claim.

Setting out why he supports the return to classrooms next month, he said: 'First thing is, it is absolutely universally accepted that there are huge advantages for children to be at school from a health point of view, mental and physical, as well as from educational and from a life course point of view.

'Those are overwhelming, they are not in any dispute, everyone accepts that and if you keep children out of school, every single one of the children you keep out of school is disadvantaged.'

He continued: 'The second point we made at that time which is still the case is the risk to children is incredibly low from going to school and indeed from catching Covid.

'Covid, one of the few good things about Covid is the risk to children, whilst not zero, nothing in Covid the risks are zero, the risks are so much smaller than they are for adults and others.

'Therefore we are confident that schools, given the huge benefits of schools, the very small residual risk is strongly in favour, from the child's point of view, everything is strongly in favour of children, whether primary or secondary, of going to school and the data on that I think are unambiguous.'

Prof Whitty said that falling case numbers and the R rate of infection meant the Government had some 'headroom' to reopen schools.

'The third question is, and this is the one that led to having to close schools this time around, as it did indeed on the first wave, is the impact this can have on R,' he said.

'And the view is that as things are falling down rapidly at the moment there is some headroom to go ahead and the first priority as the Prime Minister has repeatedly said is for schooling and I think everyone would agree with that.'

The reopening of schools is the first step to freedom in Mr Johnson's lockdown exit roadmap.

The PM said the strategy will 'guide us cautiously but irreversibly towards reclaiming our freedoms'.

Outlining the wearing of masks in schools the Government's Spring 2021 Covid-19 response document released today states: 'The Government also recommends that the use of face coverings in Higher Education, Further Education and secondary schools is extended for a limited period to all indoor environments - including classrooms - unless 2m social distancing can be maintained.

'Face coverings are now also recommended in early years and primary schools for staff and adult visitors in situations where social distancing between adults is not possible, for example, when moving around in corridors and communal areas.

'All children will once again be expected to attend school, as they were in the autumn term.'

The Prime Minister told the Commons: 'I can tell the house that two weeks from today pupils and students in all schools and further education settings can safely return to face to face teaching'.

Mr Johnson also said the return of students will be supported by twice weekly testing of secondary school and college pupils.

He told MPs: 'All the evidence shows that classrooms are the best places for our young people to be and that's why I've always said that schools would be the last to close and the first to reopen.

On March 8, all pupils will return to the classroom as part of the first of four steps towards getting the country back on its feet

'And based on our assessment of the current data against the four tests, I can tell the House that two weeks from today, pupils and students in all schools and further education settings can safely return to face-to-face teaching, supported by twice weekly testing of secondary school and college pupils.

'Families and childcare bubbles will also be encouraged to get tested regularly.'

However, the plans were immediately attacked by teaching unions who claimed the testing process may take at least two weeks, meaning some children could still be learning from home on March 22.

Geoff Barton, general secretary of the Association of School and College Leaders, said the mass return, instead of a phased reopening, was 'hugely problematic'.

It 'may prove counterproductive and lead to more disruption', he said, adding: 'Nevertheless, we will, of course, now work with the Government to try to make this plan work as safely and sustainably as possible.'

Dr Mary Bousted, joint general secretary of the National Education Union, said Mr Johnson had 'failed to learn the lessons of his previous mistakes'.

'A 'big bang' school reopening brings 10million people back into crowded buildings with no social distancing and inadequate ventilation,' she said.

'Headteachers should have been given the flexibility offered in the other nations to plan for a phased school return.'

Breakfast and after school clubs can also reopen, as well as sports clubs, with Mr Johnson saying this was essential to allow parents to return to work.

The new rules on masks for secondary school pupils comes as the Government seeks to build up parents' confidence that their children are safe to return to the classroom.

Sir Daniel Moynihan, chief executive of the Harris Federation of 48 primary and secondary schools in and around London, said the testing regime for schools would mean not all pupils could return on March 8.

He told BBC Radio 4's PM programme: 'Although the Prime Minister announced that the students in secondaries would do two tests per week, we're hearing offline that what this will be is four tests in the first two weeks, three of which will be onsite and one at home, and then after those two weeks it will switch to two tests a week at home.

'If that's the case, and we think it is, it will mean a staggered start - it is impossible to have every secondary child back on (March) 8 and test them all.

Mr Johnson's plans for easing lockdown have been bolstered by the latest data whihc shows Covid-19 infection rates have continued to drop, with 9,834 more cases reported - a fall of 10 per cent on last week - while the 215 new daily deaths brought Britain's total up to 120,580

Mr Johnson said the return of students will be supported by twice weekly testing of secondary school and college pupils

Nine unions unite to scupper school reopening: Militant leaders demand PM ditch plan to reopen all classes in England on March 8 and call for phased return The NASUWT teachers union today reiterated its call for teachers and other education staff to be given priority access to coronavirus vaccines. Dr Patrick Roach, General Secretary of the NASUWT, said: 'The NASUWT believes it is in the national interest for the government to prioritise teachers and education staff for access to vaccination.' The National Education Union said in its proposed recovery plan that the return to schools should see numbers allowed on-site limited while there should also be increased use of face coverings. It also agreed that masks should be worn by secondary school pupils in classrooms as well as in all other areas of the school. Schools are set to return from March 8 for all pupils in all year groups in England - rather than a staggered approach. Union bosses are instead urging Mr Johnson to follow the example of Scotland and Wales where the phased return of some young children to classrooms started this morning. Senior secondary pupils will need to stick to two-metre social distancing within schools and on school buses under the rules on returning to school. Advertisement

'We think we can test probably 150-200 a day in a big secondary school, so we will probably have to stagger the start over a few days so different year groups will come in on different days.

'In fact, we aim to get the top-end year groups - Year 11 and 13, the A-level and GCSE groups - in on the Friday before to get them tested and then we can speed up the process of return.'

Sir Daniel called the testing criteria a 'logistical headache' but one that was 'worthwhile' to identify Covid-19 cases and resume face-to-face education.

Mr Johnson tweeted this morning: 'Our priority has always been getting children back into school which we know is crucial for their education and wellbeing. We'll also be prioritising ways for people to reunite with loved ones safely.

'Our decisions will be made on the latest data at every step, and we will be cautious about this approach so that we do not undo the progress we have achieved so far and the sacrifices each and every one of you has made to keep yourself and others safe.'

This afternoon he told the Commons that the threat from Covid 'remains substantial' with numbers in hospital only now falling below the peak of the first wave in April.

After speaking about the success of the vaccine roll out, he added: 'It is a fact lifting lockdown will result in more cases, more hospitalisations and more deaths.'

As such, he promised a 'cautious but irreversible' easing of lockdown, calling it 'a one way road to freedom'.

His statement confirmed that the tier system would be dropped with restrictions being eased in all areas across the UK at the same time.

Mr Johson called for a 'data not dates' approach, and said all the evidence showed that the classroom was the 'best place for our children to be'.

Further changes to the current restrictions will be reviewed during the Easter holidays on March 29.

The Prime Ministers plan was met with mixed reaction.

Teachers from the NASUWT Union agreed that masks should be worn by secondary school pupils in classrooms as well as in all other areas of the school.

But they also reiterated their calls for teachers to be prioritised in the vaccine roll out.

But Ian Noon, Head of Policy at the National Deaf Children's Society, called the mandatory masks rules 'devastating' for deaf pupils.

He said: 'With England's 35,000 deaf pupils close to a return to education, the goalposts on face masks have moved yet again.

'Public health must take priority, but bringing face masks into classrooms will have a devastating effect on deaf children's studies, mental health and ability to take part in lessons.

'The Government cannot make an announcement and expect this to be enough.

'It must move quickly to show exactly how it will guarantee deaf children can still access their lessons.

'We cannot have a situation where thousands of deaf children and young people are unable to understand their teacher, leaving many with little point in even attending class.

'The future of their education is at stake and the clock has already started.'

Labour leader Sir Keir Starmer also addressed the Prime Minister over Nightingale classrooms and extra capacity.

He said in the Commons: 'Can the PM please confirm that the chief medical officer and the chief scientific officer support the full reopening of all schools on March 8 and will he commit to publishing all the relevant medical evidence on this issue?'

He added: 'Will the PM see what more can be done to speed up the vaccination of teachers and school staff to ensure that children and young people not only return to school on March 8 but stay in school having returned.'

Mr Johnson replied that he appreciated his rival's support over the plans to get pupils back to school, but added that 'bitter experience' has taught him that support from Sir Kier is 'very far from irreversible'.

He told MPs: '(Sir Keir) is right to say that it's a priority to get schools back safely and I'm delighted that he agrees with that, and I can certainly say that that plan for March 8 is supported by the chief medical officer and chief scientific adviser, and it would be a good thing if he could perhaps persuade some of his friends in the unions to say so as well and finally to say that schools are safe.

He added: 'Overall, I think we can safely say that we've had cautious support from the leader of the opposition today, but bitter experience has taught me that his support is very far from irreversible. Who knows what he will be saying next week, but I'm glad of it today.'
Police were called to one of the UK's quarantine hotels when isolating guests refused to go back to their rooms.

Security guards called in officers when international travellers staged a peaceful protest in the car park of Heathrow's Radisson Blu hotel when they were ordered back inside at the end of their 15 minute cigarette or fresh air breaks.

In the footage police can be seen talking to the disgruntled guests, who are having to isolate for ten days after returning to Britain from one of 33 red list countries.

Police officers were called to the Radisson Blu hotel at Heathrow on Sunday when guests having to isolate there for ten days after visiting red list countries refused to go to their rooms

One of those involved in the confrontation, businessman Wayne Kelly, told MailOnline: It was a beautiful and sunny day and people were fed up.

We are already riled at being banged up in hotel rooms for very little reason and then the security guys started annoying us by forcing us back to our rooms.

Mr Kelly, 37, who works in real estate and is from Birmingham, added: People were out for some fresh air or a cigarette.

Businessman Wayne Kelly, from Birmingham, was one of those unhappy about having to go back to his room on day six of his isolation

To go out into the back yard, we already have to phone down and be escorted down by a security guard and then back up to the room again.

When I got down there to have a cigarette, the atmosphere had got a bit heavy as some of the guys were not going to their rooms and saying they were being treated like prisoners.

So I joined in and stayed out. It was all a bit ridiculous. But people are fed up of this.

Our human rights are being abused. We should be allowed out 24/7 to get some air, especially when it is a lovely day.

Another protester added: Some of us are beginning to lose our nerve. I dont like being caged up when all I did was fly into my country and then find myself in this place with no choice.

Mr Kelly said the police chatted to them and the security officials and left soon after without any further action.

The cops realised there had been no trouble and left.

Once they had gone, we decided to go to our rooms as we had made our point.

After being confronted by officers, the guests agreed to return to the hotel, having 'made their point' over their unhappiness at being cooped up at the hotel on a fine Spring day in London

We have set up a group chat and there are 20 people in it and we had messages that they were only going to allow us out of the rooms for 30 minutes a day in two 15-minute breaks. That hasnt improved the atmosphere.

Travel agent Anthony Pium,30, of Leyton, East London, said: There was a stand-off between us and the security people.

They wanted me to come inside after 15 minutes, but I stayed for nearly two hours. I kept telling them I was a hotel guest and not an inmate.

The police were fine and chatted to us quite nicely and I appreciated that.

People are getting more and more angry as the days go by. We need to be allowed home now.

Travellers have told of their boredom and frustration at having to isolate for ten days at one of 16 quarantine hotels saved for those arriving for one of 33 'red list' countries

Travellers arriving in the UK from 33 red list countries are being charged 1,750 each to quarantine in a hotel for ten days.

The first passengers arrived on Monday February 15 and they will be allowed to return home on Thursday.

Arrivals who lie about where they have been - and their possible exposure to new Covid variants - could be jailed for a maximum of 10 years.

And if they leave their hotel before the end of quarantine they could be fined up to 10,000.

Both Scotland Yard and Radisson Hotels have been contacted for comment.

ALBANY  Eleven members of the state Democratic Committee have offered a resolution to have their organization vote to formally censure Gov. Andrew M. Cuomo for what they claim was his attempt to deceive the public and the Legislature about the number of fatalities in New York's nursing homes due to the coronavirus.

"The Cuomo administration repeatedly stymied and refused to comply with requests for information regarding COVID-19 in nursing homes from the New York state Senate and Assembly ... (and) admitted to legislators that its lack of cooperation with the aforementioned information requests was due to fear of political accountability from the public and legal accountability due to an investigation by the United States Department of Justice," the resolution states.

The resolution also criticized Cuomo for recent alleged verbal attack of Queens Democratic Assemblyman Ron Kim, saying the governor had "inappropriately threatened members of the Legislature with retribution if they do not cease examining the nursing home tragedy and working towards accountability."

Patrick Nelson, a Stillwater village trustee who last year unsuccessfully challenged incumbent state Sen. Daphne Jordan, R-Halfmoon, is among the small group that announced the resolution on Monday.

"This is not connected to my employment and is only in my capacity as a state committee member," said Nelson, who is a state Senate aide. "It doesn't reflect the view of the Senate or any member. I'm standing solely on my own two feet with my part in this."

Richard Azzopardi, a spokesman for Cuomo, deferred comment to state Democratic Party Chair Jay Jacobs.

"I always advise the state committee that the purpose of the state committee is to recruit and nominate candidates for state office and to assist in the campaigns to elect Democrats," Jacobs said. "Thats our job. When we get into other issues, as members often like to do, I think it is a distraction. These are matters that the Legislature and governor's office are handling."

Jacobs noted there has been similar political unrest in the Republican Party with state parties across the nation trying to censure Republican elected officials who opposed former President Donald J. Trump.

"It's the job of the voters to make those determinations, not individuals who are looking to jump into a situation ... maybe search for some relevance. I dont agree with it."

Jacobs said there is "overwhelming support generally for the governor" in the state Democratic Committee, which has about 450 members.

The resolution put forth by the group of 11 committee members also accuses Cuomo of conduct unbecoming his office, including an alleged "failure to protect nursing home residents from COVID-19 ... (and) covering up of the number of deaths from COVID-19 in nursing homes."

"Honesty, dignity, respect and the well-being of our state and country must always come before party allegiance," said Nelson, who is the only Capital Region committee member supporting the resolution. "When a member of the Democratic Party does wrong, we seek to ensure that they are held accountable no matter how powerful they are, unlike in the Republican Party."
The LG W41 series has officially launched in India as the successors to the W31 lineup from 2020. The LG W41, W41+ and W41 Pro have been announced with quad cameras, large capacity battery and are aimed at the affordable segment. All three smartphones have the same feature set including the same processor, display, cameras, battery and more. The company differs between the three based on the RAM and storage variants.

Keeping up with the latest trends our W41 range of smartphones tick all the right boxes. The latest smartphone range is an embodiment of LGs commitment towards meaningful innovation to provide consumers with a stylish and powerful smartphone that caters to todays audience. Our Make in India efforts have resulted in producing innovative smartphones, compelling enough to be truly yours, said Advait Vaidya, Business Head- Mobiles, LG India.

LG W41 series pricing and availability

The LG W41 is priced starting at Rs 13,490 in India and has 4GB RAM and 64GB storage while the W41+ is available with 4GB RAM and 128GB storage and is priced at Rs 14,490. The W41 Pro has 6GB RAM and 128GB storage and is priced at Rs 15,490.

LG is offering the W41 series in two colours: Laser Blue and Magic Blue and the phones are available in major offline and online stores across India.

LG W41 series specifications

The LG W41 series has a plastic build that measures 9.3 millimetres in thickness and weighs 201 grams. The W41, W41+ and W41 Pro feature a 6.55-inch HD+ (1600 x 720 pixels) resolution display with a punch-hole cutout in the top-left corner.

The phones are powered by the MediaTek Helio G35 processor with PowerVR graphics. This is paired with upto 6GB RAM and 128GB storage options to choose from. Additionally, the phones support a microSD card of upto 512GB. It runs on Android 10 out-of-the-box.

The W41 series has quad cameras on the back that consists of a primary 48MP camera, an 8MP ultra-wide-angle camera, a 2MP depth sensor and a 5MP macro camera. On the front, there is an 8MP selfie camera housed within the notch cutout.

The LG W41 series is equipped with a 5,000mAh battery with fast charging support via USB Type-C.
He shares his famous father's love of bodybuilding.

And Joseph Baena looked just like his dad Arnold Schwarzenegger when he stopped during a road trip on Sunday to show off his impressive muscles.

The 23-year-old was joined by some of his friends in the enormous Badwater salt basin as they made a stop on their road trip through Death Valley National Park.

Lookalikes: Joseph Baena, 23, looked just like his father Arnold Schwarzenegger in a video posted Sunday to his Insta Stories from a road trip he took with friends to Death Valley National Park

Joseph was dressed casually in a black T-shirt that showed off his bulging biceps, along with slim black jeans and gray suede shoes.

He stood in the salt flat with the craggy mountains rising up dramatically behind him.

The bodybuilder was having some fun and flexed his arm in a way that made him look even more like his father.

Picture perfect: Joseph had his arm flexed in a way that made him look like his dad at the height of his bodybuilding career in the 1970s; seen in 1977 at the Cannes Film Festival

Having a laugh: But Joseph revealed that he wasn't just flexing, but was parodying the pose made by the Turkish chef Nusret Gokce, better known in English-speaking regions as Salt Bae

Deep cut: The chef became famous from a viral video of himself salting meat in an oddly sensual manner, which involved sprinkling salt onto his bent arm before it fell onto the food

But Joseph revealed that he wasn't just flexing, but was parodying the pose made by the Turkish chef Nusret Gokce, better known in English-speaking regions as Salt Bae.

The chef and butcher became famous after a video of him salting meat went viral due to his odd posturing, which involved sprinkling salt onto his bent arm before it fell onto the food.

He also developed an oddly sensual manner of cutting and tenderizing meats that became fodder for parody.

Joseph had picked up some of the salt from the ground and sprinkled it into the wind, before sticking out his tongue to try to catch some of it.

A friend off camera gave him a surprise by throwing a snowball-size chunk of salt at him.

Seasoning: Joseph had picked up some of the salt from the ground and sprinkled it into the wind, before sticking out his tongue to try to catch some of it

Stunning: Another photo was captioned 'Desert Boiz' and showed him and three of his friends starring out at the array of rippling hills and mountains

'Why so salty?' he captioned the humorous video.

Another photo was captioned 'Desert Boiz' and showed him and three of his friends starring out at the array of rippling hills and mountains.

Earlier in the day, Joseph shared a black-and-white photo of himself stepping off of an old steam train in the park.

Olden times: Earlier in the day, Joseph shared a black-and-white photo of himself stepping off of an old steam train in the park

In January, Joseph showed off his thick arms in an Instagram post featuring Arnold in front of a mural of the actor from her bodybuilding days.

Although Joseph usually doesn't socialize with Schwarzenegger's other children from his marriage to Maria Shriver, he regularly spends time with his father, both in and out of the gym.

He'll soon be following in his dad's footsteps with his first acting role in the science fictioncomedy The Chariot.

Twins: In January, Joseph showed off his thick arms in an Instagram post featuring Arnold in front of a mural of the actor from her bodybuilding days

According to The Hollywood Reporter, the film 'tells the story of a corporation that oversees the process of reincarnation, and a young man who becomes a glitch in this system when he encounters a woman he loved in a previous life.'

'I'm following my father's footsteps because I'm doing my own thing,' Joseph told DailyMailTV in an exclusive interview.

'I'm pursuing acting because I want to pursue acting. So really the pressure is just from myself,' he explained.

The upcoming film has an impressive cast, including John Malkovich, Thomas Mann and Alita: Battle Angel's Rosa Salazar.
The appointment of highly acclaimed and experienced Dr Karen Smith boosts the companys global clinical trial and regulatory approval expertise to accelerate drug registration initiatives.

( ) has appointed global pharmaceutical expert Dr Karen Smith as chair of its Strategic Advisory Board.

The appointment boosts Emyrias global clinical trial and regulatory approval expertise to accelerate drug registration initiatives.

Smith has overseen more than 100 clinical trials and more than 20 regulatory approvals leading to product launches across diverse therapeutic areas including neuroscience, rare disease, oncology, cardiology, dermatology, oncology and anti-infective.

The news was welcomed by investors as shares have been as much as 14.5 per cent higher intra-day to A$0.235 cents.

Highly acclaimed executive

Emyrias managing director Michael Winlo said: Were delighted to welcome Karen Smith to chair our Strategic Advisory Board.

Dr Smith is a highly acclaimed and respected pharmaceutical executive, who has overseen multiple successful drug registrations.

She has held key chief executive officer and chief medical officer roles at some of the most innovative biotech and pharmaceutical development companies in the world including holding the role of CMO and head of R&D at Jazz Pharmaceuticals, which recently acquired GW Pharma for $7.2 billion.

GWs FDA approved product is a formulation of CBD for a type of epilepsy.

Drug development pipeline

Emyrias Strategic Advisory Board will meet regularly to support Emyrias drug development pipeline and its digital remote monitoring and Real-World Evidence (RWE) initiatives.

The appointment of Dr Smith is likely to support innovation across Emyrias drug development programs and evidence-generating care models

Winlo said: We believe Dr Smiths background in successful product registration and strategic partnerships in biopharma will benefit Emyrias globally-focused drug registration initiatives, including our EMD-003 product candidate for psychological distress and the symptoms of anxiety, depression and stress.

Multiple directorships

Dr Smith holds multiple directorships with innovative pharmaceutical companies and was previously working as a chief medical officer and global head of research & development at Jazz Pharmaceuticals.

In addition to Emyrias scientific advisory board, Dr Smith will also serve as chief medical officer of Emergent BioSolutions - a multinational speciality biopharmaceutical company developing and manufacturing therapeutics and devices for public health threats, including COVID-19.

She is also a director at Antares Pharmaceuticals - developing novel drug delivery technologies and Sangamo Therapeutics and Acceleron Pharmaceuticals - both developing novel treatments for rare diseases, and TeeFib  developing novel treatments for Fibrosis.

Previously, she served as executive vice president, global head R&D and chief medical officer of Jazz Pharmaceuticals and was also the founding chief executive officer of the Minderoo Foundations Eliminate Cancer Initiative supported by Andrew Forrest and remains an advisor to that program.

Supporting innovative ways

Dr Smith said: Im passionate about supporting innovative ways to accelerate drug development.

Emyria has built a unique clinical service and evidence-generating model that has the potential to accelerate drug development for patients with unmet needs.

I look forward to assisting the team make progress on its global drug registration goals.

Dr Smith has also held senior leadership positions at plc, and Bristol-Myers Squibb.

She has an MD from the University of Warwick (UK), PhD in Molecular Oncology from UCLA (USA) and University of Western Australia (Australia), an MBA from the University of New England in Australia and an LLM (Masters in Law) from the University of Salford (UK).
Hontiveros to NBI:

Pin down travel agency involved in new pastillas scam

Senator Risa Hontiveros on Monday called on the National Bureau of Investigation (NBI) to identify the travel agency involved in the new pasillas scam, in which Chinese nationals allegedly pay P550,000 each for seamless entry into the country.

"Akala ko COVID-19 lang ang nagmumutate, pati pastillas scam narin pala. Dati pang kasabwat sa korapsyon sa Bureau of Immigration (BI) ang mga travel agencies sa ilegal na pagpapasok ng mga Chinese. May pandemya na, nagpapakasasa pa rin ang mga nansasamantala," Hontiveros said.

During an operation conducted by the NBI, the agency entrapped Vivian Lara, a liaison officer who was caught receiving P900,000 to process the papers of three Chinese nationals inside the office of BI prosecutor Atty. Arnulfo Maminta. The Chinese nationals, Lara said, are clients of a travel agency.

"Mga Chinese na may mga criminal record nakakapasok dahil sa sabwatan ng travel agency at ng mga korap sa BI. I've called for a BI overhaul before and this needs to happen now as it seems the new scam features the same cast of characters," the senator added.

Last year, Hontiveros led a series of Senate investigations on the pastillas scam, revealing that corrupt officials at the BI receive P10,000 for every unchecked entry of a Chinese national. The senator also previously uncovered that the travel agencies involved in the scam offer to help Chinese who want to get their names off the BI's blacklist for a price.

"This is a direct threat to our national security. We've already established that Chinese syndicates have exploited our women and children, among many other unspeakable crimes. Isa sa mga pasimuno ng pagpapasok sa kanila ay mga travel agencies na dati pa ay nagbebenta na ng fake passorts at iba pang pekeng government documents para sa mga Chinese," Hontiveros said.

The senator then reiterated her call to permanently abolish the Visa Upon Arrival (VUA) system for Chinese nationals, which is what most syndicates use to traffic women into the country. She added that Chinese visitors should enter the country through channels monitored by the Department of Foreign Affairs.

"Dapat matapos na ang VUA. Dapat masibak na ang mga bulok na opisyal sa BI. Dapat mapanagot na ang mga travel agencies. Dapat magkaroon na bakuna kontra korapsyon dahil baka ito pa ang ikamamatay ng Pilipino," Hontiveros concluded.
Netflix have released a teaser for the new supernatural Sherlock Holmes series which is scheduled for release next month.

The Irregulars will see a group of misfits working to solve supernatural crimes in 19th-century London.

The trailer shows a series of 'demonic' murders occurring in the city, with the fate of London resting on the shoulders of five youngsters.

New: Netflix have released a teaser for the upcoming supernatural Sherlock Holmes series The Irregulars which is scheduled for release next month

The group are based on the Baker Street Irregulars, a street gang who the detective employs and who feature in a number of books by Sir Arthur Conan Doyle, the creator of legendary sleuth Holmes.

They will be the focus of the series and have been brought to life by creator Tom Bidwell to save the city.

The group is made up of leader Bea (Thaddea Graham), her younger sister Jessie (Darci Shaw) and their friends Billy (Jojo Macari), Spike (McKell David), and Leopold (Harrison Osterfield).

Gang: The Irregulars will see a group of misfits working to solve supernatural crimes in 19th-century London

The plot will follow a strong female lead, as Bea fights to save her sibling, a choice made by the creator, according to EW.

Tom said: 'We set out with that intention, why can't they go into what is predominantly a man's world and kick a bit of a**?

'I wanted to make it feel exciting and scary and very, very fresh so these characters are very accessible to a modern audience.'

Thriller: The trailer shows a series of 'demonic' murders occurring in the city, and the fate of London rests on the shoulders of five youngsters

The series will feature a 'supernatural element' which the team have got to battle to save London.

Tom added: 'The supernatural element brings a kind of Victorian horror to the show that's very different to what you'd expect in the Sherlock Holmes novels.'

Henry Lloyd-Hughes, best known for his role as Mark Donovan in The Inbetweeners, will star as Sherlock Holmes while sidekick Dr Watson will be played by Line of Duty's Royce Pierreson.

The Irregulars is set to premiere on March 26th.
India's vaccine capacity will generate 1.1 billion doses for WHO-led COVAX scheme

India

pti-Madhuri Adnal

New Delhi, Feb 22: India has so far supplied about 230 lakh doses of vaccines against COVID-19 to friends and partners across the world and the country's vaccine capacity will generate another 1.1 billion doses for the WHO-led COVAX scheme that distributes them to developing countries, Foreign Secretary Harsh Vardhan Shringla said on Monday.

In his address to the Haryana Institute of Public Administration, Shringla also said India believes in the vision of an open, free, rules-based Indo-Pacific region supported by inclusive global and regional institutions that promote prosperous, stable and sovereign states on the basis of shared interests.

The concept of Vasudaiva Kutumbakam is central to India's civilisational ethos as "we believe that the universe is one", he said, asserting that this places upon "us the responsibility of being responsible global citizens".

"We put this teaching into practice during the pandemic. Vaccine Maitri, the global health diplomacy operation in which we have supplied vaccines - made in India - to nations across the world is a practical demonstration of our belief and our approach," Shringla said.

India is the largest producer of vaccines in the world with about 60 per cent of the global share and it has used these strengths not just to launch the world's largest vaccination drive in the country, but has also delivered on Prime Minister Narendra Modi's promise at the UN General Assembly to make Indian manufactured vaccines affordable and accessible to all of humanity, he said.

UN to rich nations: Don't undermine COVAX vaccine program

"We have so far supplied about 230 lakh doses of vaccines to friends and partners across the world. Indian vaccine capacities will generate another 1.1 billion doses for the WHO-led COVAX scheme that distributes them to developing countries across the world," the foreign secretary said.

The aim of COVAX is to accelerate the development and manufacture of COVID-19 vaccines, and to guarantee fair and equitable access for every country in the world. Underlining that 'Vaccine Maitri' is not an isolated undertaking, Shringla said it takes place in the aftermath of another large operation to provide essential medicines and medical supplies to over 150 countries during the pandemic.

India has established its credentials as the pharmacy to the world during the crisis as medications such as Hydroxychloroquine and Paracetmol made in India were shipped to destinations across the world in daunting logistical circumstances imposed by lockdowns, he pointed out.

Noting that Indian rapid response teams were deployed in eight countries, Shringla said Indian naval vessels and air force airplanes delivered supplies along a wide arc to friends and partners. "We have to make every effort to keep the wheels of globalisation moving safely. That is why we launched the Vande Bharat Mission. It is the largest evacuation and air movement exercise in history and has transported more than 4 million Indian nationals in nine phases back and forth from multiple points across the world to India," he said.

The mission's current form that involves air bubbles with 24 countries and continuing evacuation flights is built upon earlier phases that involved movements of millions of people by air, sea and land, he said. Asserting that the COVID pandemic has had a far-reaching impact on the geo-political and geo-economic landscape, Shringla said it is the greatest shock to the international system since the Second World War. "We were also confronted with the most severe economic slowdown in living history. The human cost of the pandemic has been substantial. Lives and livelihoods both have been lost," he said.

Go for COVID vaccine or forget quarantine leave: Punjab minister to health workers

Noting that every facet of national life has been affected by complexities and difficulties, Shringla said Indian diplomacy and India's external policies are no exception. "India has acted with resolve during this unprecedented crisis. A series of public health measures and carefully calibrated lockdowns have produced an unique epidemiological profile," he said.

Noting that several major economies are still living through a deadly second wave of infections, he said in India, the rate of spread of infections, the number of fatalities and the number of cases requiring hospitalisation and critical care, have all shown a consistent decline during the same period. He said the government has also reacted boldly on the economic front.

"Its initial reaction was to launch one of the largest and boldest fiscal stimulus packages in recent economic history. This was accompanied by a simultaneous focus on building an Atmanirbhar Bharat," he noted.

There is enough evidence to indicate that India has turned the corner in economic terms with the IMF projecting 11.5% growth rate for India in 2021, Shringla said.

This would make India the only major economy of the world to register double-digit growth amidst the pandemic, he said. Talking about India's foreign relations, Shringla said the country continues to build on its relationship with the United States.

"We continue to have a special strategic partnership with Russia. We have a rapidly growing and changing relationship with the European Union and with European countries such as the United Kingdom, France and Germany," Shringla said. "We recently entered into our first Green Strategic Partnership with Denmark. Japan is another vital partner with whom we have a mutli-dimensional relationship," he said adding that "we are committed multilateralists".
Massachusetts public health officials on Sunday reported 1,316 new COVID-19 cases and 46 new coronavirus-linked deaths.

Since the pandemic began about a year ago, 539,644 Massachusetts residents have been infected and 15,508 have died as of Sunday, the Department of Public Health said. There are roughly 35,874 active infections statewide.

The latest data is based on 87,420 new molecular tests. Cases, hospitalizations and deaths continue to trend downward since cases reached their peak in January, according to DPH.

There are now 927 patients hospitalized with COVID-19 in Massachusetts, including 234 in intensive care. Another 153 are currently intubated. Friday marked the first time there were fewer than 1,000 COVID patients across the state since November.

The seven-day average rate of positive tests has dropped to 1.86%. Excluding test results from higher education institutions, which have tested frequently and maintained low case totals, the percent positivity stands at 3.2%.

The latest totals come as Dr. Anthony Fauci, the nations top infectious disease expert, noted the stunning and terrible death toll across the U.S., now at more than half a million.

Its horrible, Fauci told NBC News. I mean if you look at what has gone on now and were still not out of it a half a million deaths, its just terrible.

Last week, the state opened up vaccinations to Massachusetts residents 65 and older, or who have two or more health conditions considered high risk for more serious COVID illness. But Gov. Charlie Baker said those eligible groups may have to wait up to a month to book an appointment amid an ongoing vaccine shortage, noting that the state only knows how many doses it will receive one week at a time.

With more than a million Massachusetts residents now able to sign up for an appointment, the states call center and appointment website crashed for several hours on Thursday.

Fauci told CNN that wearing a mask to blunt the spread of COVID-19 may remain a part of Americans routines into 2022 if active case counts remain relatively high even as more people are vaccinated.

I think its possible that thats the case, Fauci said after being asked when Americans can expect normality in the wake of the pandemic. It really depends on what you mean by normality. If normality means exactly the way things were before we had this happen to us, I cant predict that.

Total COVID cases by county:

Barnstable County: 9,808

Berkshire County: 4,806

Bristol County: 54,825

Dukes County: 849

Essex County: 82,488

Franklin County: 1,953

Hampden County: 40,740

Hampshire County: 7,104

Middlesex County: 109,679

Nantucket County: 1,150

Norfolk County: 44,360

Plymouth County: 38,453

Suffolk County: 76,787

Worcester County: 64,147

Related Content:
Charles Owusu has commended Adwoa Safo for comments made on the legalization of Lesbian, Gay, Bisexual, Transgender and Queer Intersex Rights (LGBTQI).



The Minister-designate for Gender, Children and Social Protection, Sarah Adwoa Sarfo during her vetting in Parliament said: Mr Chair, the issue of LGBT is an issue that when mentioned, it creates some controversy but what I want to say is that our laws are clear on such practice. It makes it criminal. Section 104 of the Criminal Code prohibits one from having unnatural carnal knowledge with another person. So, on the issue of its criminality, it is non-negotiable. On the issue of our cultural acceptance and norms, these practices are also frowned upon. So, for me, these are two distinct clarities on the matter and that is what I strongly stand for.



Prior to this US President Joe Biden has threatened to sanction countries that are yet to legalise LGBTQI.



A memo from Joe Biden read: When foreign governments move to restrict the rights of LGBTQI+ persons or fail to enforce legal protections in place, thereby contributing to a climate of intolerance, agencies engaged abroad shall consider appropriate responses, including using the full range of diplomatic and assistance tools and, as appropriate, financial sanctions, visa restrictions, and other actions."



All human beings should be treated with respect and dignity and should be able to live without fear no matter who they are or whom they love."



The United States belongs at the forefront of this struggle  speaking out and standing strong for our most dearly held values.



Charles Owusu speaking to this, sent a strong warning to Joe Biden.



Listen to him in the video below







Source: Peacefmonline.com









Disclaimer : Opinions expressed here are those of the writers and do not reflect those of Peacefmonline.com. Peacefmonline.com accepts no responsibility legal or otherwise for their accuracy of content. Please report any inappropriate content to us, and we will evaluate it as a matter of priority.

Featured Video
John Cena was snapped on Sunday in Vancouver, Canada, preparing for a workout as he continues production on Peacemaker, an HBO Max spinoff series of The Suicide Squad.

The 43-year-old pro wrestler/actor held a cup of coffee as he ventured into his workout donning a white T-shirt with black shorts and black trainers.

The West Newbury, Massachusetts native's brown hair was cut short as he toted a black leather bag into a the facility where he was headed to work out. He had a black face mask on amid the ongoing COVID-19 pandemic.

The latest: John Cena, 43, was snapped on Sunday in Vancouver, Canada, preparing for a workout as he continues production on Peacemaker, an HBO Max spinoff series of Suicide Squad

The 16-time WWE world champ will be playing the titular role in Peacemaker, who will debut in this summer's upcoming The Suicide Squad, directed by Guardians Of The Galaxy filmmaker James Gunn.

The WWE superstar-turned-Hollywood action hero last week posted he was 'incredibly grateful to work with such talented folks under the direction of our writer/director @JamesGunn on @DCPeacemaker.

He continued, 'Working with this team (and these questionable lawn ornaments) makes every day on set fun ... cannot wait for you all to see!'

The Peacemaker character has an alter ego of Christopher Smith, and is a diplomat who wages war on dictators and warlords.

On the move: The pro wrestler/actor held a cup of coffee as he ventured into his workout donning a white T-shirt with black shorts and black trainers

The WWE superstar-turned-Hollywood action hero earlier posted he was 'incredibly grateful to work with such talented folks' on the production

The film will have Margot Robbie reprise her role as Harley Quinn, and Joel Kinnaman as Rick Flag, amid a loaded ensemble cast including Viola Davis, Idris Elba, Pete Davidson and Sylvester Stallone.

Cena was seen earlier this month in a colorful Super Bowl commercial for Mountain Dew's new Major Melon soda line.

The Suicide Squad is slated to be released August 6. Before that, Cena will make his first appearance in the Fast And Furious films in F9, set for release on May 28.
LONDON  Prime Minister Boris Johnson of Britain said Monday that schools in England would reopen on March 8 and that people would be allowed to socialize outdoors starting on March 29, the tentative first steps in a long-awaited plan to ease a nationwide lockdown prompted by a highly contagious variant of the coronavirus.

Mr. Johnsons road map was intended to give an exhausted country a path back to normalcy after a dire period in which infections skyrocketed and hospitals overflowed with patients. At the same time, Britain rolled out a remarkably successful vaccination program, injecting 17 million people with their first doses.

That milestone, combined with a decline in new cases and hospital admissions, paved the way for Mr. Johnsons announcement. But the prime minister emphasized repeatedly that he planned to move slowly in reopening the economy, saying that he wanted this lockdown to be the last the nation had to endure.

Under the governments plan, pubs, restaurants, retail shops and gyms in England will stay closed for at least another month  meaning that, as a practical matter, daily life will not change much for millions of people until the spring.
Brothers Joziah, 2, and Aaron, 19, were among the first patients to be seen in the new building by their specialty physician, Dr. Jacqueline Casillas , pediatric hematologist/oncologist and medical director of the Jonathan Jaques Children's Cancer Institute at Miller Children's & Women's. The brothers share the same rare genetic disorder called X-linked lymphoproliferative (XLP) disease that causes the immune system to overreact to infections.

This disease is characterized by a life-long vulnerability to Epstein-Barr virus (EBV), a common type of virus that usually does not cause symptoms other than a brief infection, but people with XLP can have severe reactions to EBV infections that can lead to death due to development of bone marrow failure and development of malignant lymphoma. As a result, they have been under the expert care of Miller Children's & Women's since birth.

"Because of the type of condition my sons have, we have to visit the doctor and the lab often," says Desiree Nagao, mother of Joziah and Aaron. "We have been going to Miller Children's & Women's for 18 years and it's been most of the same staff that entire time. They have always taken such good care of my kids. Knowing that my kids are in the same caring hands, but just in a new, more convenient place that meets all of our needs is so nice."

Many children like Aaron and Joziah have complex health conditions or may have more than one health issue, which previously required families to travel to various specialty medical offices scattered around Long Beach. Now, all the specialty care and services they need are centralized in the Children's Village.

The Children's Village is the only building of its kind in Los Angeles and Orange Counties with a one-stop-shop approach to outpatient specialty care for kids. In one kid-friendly location, families have access to a pharmacy, laboratory, imaging services, rehabilitation gyms, family resource center, education center and more.

"Many illnesses affect kids differently than adults, which is why children need health care designed for their unique needs that is delivered by specially trained clinicians in environments created just for kids," says Graham Tse, M.D., chief medical officer, Miller Children's & Women's. "With the Children's Village we have created that and established a new benchmark for children's health care."

Every member of the Children's Village care team is specially trained to care for kids and teens and address their unique health care needs, including its roster of physicians that are expertly trained in more than 30 pediatric specialties, such as orthopedics, pulmonology and oncology.

Families can learn more about the Children's Village by taking a virtual tour or by visiting millerchildrens.org/Village.

About MemorialCare Miller Children's & Women's Hospital Long Beach:

MemorialCare Miller Children's & Women's Hospital Long Beach provides specialized pediatric care for children and young adults, as well as maternity care for expectant mothers. Only five percent of hospitals are children's hospitals, making them unique not only to children's health care needs in the community, but across the region. Miller Children's & Women's is one of only eight free-standing children's hospitals in California  treating more than 14,000 children each year  and has become a regional pediatric destination for more than 65,000 children, who need specialized care in outpatient specialty and satellite centers. With maternal-fetal medicine specialists and neonatologists available 24/7, Miller Children's & Women's cares for women with high-risk pregnancies and premature infants under one roof. Learn more millerchildrens.org.

SOURCE MemorialCare Miller Childrens & Womens Hospital Long Beach

Related Links

https://www.millerchildrenshospitallb.org


An international collaboration among researchers from Finland, Sweden, UK and the USA has captured ribosomes translating messenger RNA expressed from the maternally inherited mitochondrial genome. Utilising the latest advances in cryo-electron microscopy, the group discovered a novel mechanism that mitochondrial ribosomes use for the synthesis and delivery of newly made proteins to prevent premature misfolding. Disruptions to protein folding can lead to devastating human diseases.

There is a familiar saying, "It's all in the genes". As modern archaeology reveals, the DNA that encodes genes can be found among the remnants of our ancestors and from any organism, small and large, that once roamed the earth. The genetic blueprint alone is not sufficient; life requires the faithful expression and translation of our genomes. Basic research in molecular biology has revealed in beautiful detail the mechanisms by which these fundamental processes operate. One of these pioneering discoveries was that of Nobel Prize winners Francois Jacob and Jacques Monod, who established the paradigm that we now know as cellular gene expression, whereby the information in our genome is transcribed, read and converted into functional proteins. Since then, researchers young and old have been filling in the details of these incredible processes to uncover the complexity of biology.

In a recent study published in Science an international collaboration of researchers, involving University of Helsinki researchers Dr. Brendan Battersby and Dr. Uwe Richter, built upon this tradition by revealing the specialized mechanism for translation of the mitochondrial genome into proteins.

Within the cells that make up the tissues and organs of our bodies, mitochondria compartmentalise the breakdown of nutrients with oxygen into the conversion of cellular energy. As a result, it is best known as the powerhouse of the cell. This function is dependent upon the faithful expression of the maternally inherited mitochondrial genome. Disruptions to the process underlie a large group of human diseases that can strike at any age, differing in the affected tissue and severity. Despite the importance, the molecular mechanisms of these processes have remained obscure. However, the breakthrough in biological imaging brought about by cryo-electron microscopy now provides researchers with the tools to investigate the functions of individual proteins at unprecedented resolution and detail.

By combining forces with Dr. Alexey Amunts at Stockholm University and Karolinska Institutet and Professor Antoni Barrientos at the University of Miami Miller School of Medicine, the group used their collective know-how to capture the mitochondrial ribosome translating messenger RNA (mRNA) into a protein. The structure revealed a unique gating mechanism to prevent newly made proteins from prematurely misfolding. For proteins to be functional within our cells requires coordinated folding processes to obtain a correct 3D shape. Disruptions to protein folding can have profound biological implications for all organisms and in humans lead to devastating diseases.

"Getting a direct picture of a biological process that we investigated for several years by biochemical and genetic tools is absolutely electrifying!" says Uwe Richter, a shared first author and Principal Investigator at the University of Helsinki and Newcastle University.

"This study highlights the power and brilliance of international collaborative basic science driven from the bottom-up," says Research Director Brendan Battersby, who is one of the corresponding authors. "There is a worrying trend among scientific funding agencies to direct research from the top towards goal-oriented tasks pursued by large consortia, and in the process deprive research funds away from individual investigators who are the cornerstone of scientific discovery. The best scientists will always seek each other out to follow the creativity of their ideas, which the track record shows unquestionably leads to real innovation in the end."

"Understanding the fine details of these cellular mechanisms has important considerations for human diseases but also for the side-effects of commonly prescribed antibiotics. Mitochondrial gene expression has many overlaps with that of bacteria and as a result many antibiotics used to treat bacterial infections can also disrupt our cellular powerhouses, accounting for side-effects of these medications. Solving these ribosome structures is integral to the development of effective and safe new antibiotics in the future. In the end, this highlights the importance of basic bottom-up research and how it continues to drive innovation and we cannot afford to lose it," highlights Dr. Battersby.

###
By Tong Kim





Not much is known about how the Biden administration is doing in developing a new strategy to address the threats of North Korea's nuclear and missile programs. It is widely known that in the course of formulating a new policy, Biden's security team will coordinate closely with U.S. allies and partners in the region.



There has been no communication or engagement between Washington and Pyongyang since Biden took office. Last week, the State Department said that North Korea is "an urgent priority" for the United States and Washington remains committed to the denuclearization of the North.



North Korea has been quiet, with no provocative activities. General Secretary Kim Jong-un said during the eighth party congress in January that his regime would respond to the U.S. in kind with "tough on tough" and "good for good": He also vowed to bolster his nuclear deterrent, calling the United States "the biggest enemy of his country." However, he did not exclude dialogue with Washington.



Maybe, Pyongyang is waiting for Washington to come up with a new strategy. Maybe, it is too pressed attending to its urgent economic and other domestic problems. The North depends more than before on China for economic survival, while turning to deeper isolation from the rest of the world.



Domestic control is a top priority for the regime. It is tightening up central control over quasi-state and private economic activities. It is shutting off loopholes for cultural influxes from the South. It is focused on an existential battle to fight a devastated economy due to the COVID-19 border closures and the accumulative impact of crippling sanctions. It keeps an alert for the COVID-19 pandemic.



If history were a guide, North Korea may still launch a missile or nuclear test at an early period of the Biden administration that may aim to remind the world of its existence or to leverage its position. This specter of provocation can be mitigated if Washington communicates a message to Pyongyang through the DPRK mission in New York or by a public announcement that the United States will engage North Korea upon completion of a policy review.



North Korea will not easily dismantle its nuclear arsenal that it has built with scarce resources for decades. The North lived under the threat of U.S. nuclear weapons for many years. The United States deployed hundreds of tactical nuclear warheads to South Korea between 1958 and 1991. Later, Washington started providing the South with a nuclear umbrella, by mobile strategic forces.



The North is aware that the U.S. nuclear arsenal is at least 100 times larger than its own. The North may not be able to strike the homeland United States with an accurate nuclear missile yet, but it can strike the U.S. forces in South Korea and Japan. The North believes its nuclear arsenal helps deter a preventive strike against it.



There are no good options on North Korea. Military action should be excluded as an option. Deliberate disregard of the North does not reduce its threat. Ultimately, diplomacy remains the only viable option. The main goal of diplomacy is to negotiate a peaceful solution to disputes between states.



There is a good argument that the most pragmatic approach to the denuclearization of the Korean peninsula should follow "a long-term, phased and reciprocal process," in which both sides first agree on capping and containment of the North's arsenal, and gradually moving toward the reduction and dismantlement of Pyongyang's nuclear and missile programs.



Progress should be transactional, action for action. It should proceed in line with a cycle of agreement to implementation, from implementation to trust building, and trust to further agreement. A minimum goal is to assure a safer environment for the region and the United States.



Perhaps for the sake of substance apart from process, the 2018 Singapore agreement on improved relations, settlement of peace and denuclearization can be a starting point, as an agreed agenda for a new round of negotiations with the DPRK. This column advocated this approach in November, long before the Seoul government embraced it.



It is a good thing that the Biden administration has restored a transparent style of policy discussion, with daily briefings at the White House and the State Department, and frequent discussions by the president and his key advisors on major foreign policy issues. All should remember that without peace, there will be no chance for the development of democracy and human rights.



This writer hopes that the same veteran members of the Biden team who failed on North Korea before will transform themselves in terms of thinking, approach and policy so that they will succeed this time.





Tong Kim (tong.kim8@yahoo.com) is a visiting professor with the University of North Korean Studies, a visiting scholar with Korea University, a fellow at the Institute for Corean-American Studies, and a columnist for The Korea Times.














The number of new Covid-19 cases for Laois this Monday has dropped for the second day running, while nationally the number of new cases has also fallen today.

After a poor weekend which saw a spike of 29 cases on Saturday and 13 on Sunday in Laois, there are 10 more cases reported for the county by the the National Public Health Emergency Team (NPHET) this Monday, February 22.

Laois still has the fifth highest incidence rate of all Irish counties however, with Offaly still ranking the highest for new cases per 100,000 population in the past 14 days.

Laois is at 294 per 100,000 population today on the back of 249 cases in the past two weeks.

Offaly is at 437.4 after 341 cases in the past fortnight. The national average incidence rate has dropped to 240.

The five day average for new cases in Laois is at 17 per day.

The total official number of confirmed Laois cases up to February 22 is now 3097.

Nationally, the Health Protection Surveillance Centre is today notified of 1 additional death related to COVID-19.

There has been a total of 4,137 COVID-19 related deaths in Ireland.

As of midnight, Sunday 21st February, the HPSC has been notified of 686 confirmed cases of COVID-19. There is now a total of 215,743 confirmed cases of COVID-19 in Ireland.

Of the cases notified today:

325 are men / 354 are women

66% are under 45 years of age

The median age is 34 years old

278 are in Dublin, 49 in Limerick, 37 in Kildare, 32 in Louth, 31 in Donegal and the remaining 259 cases are spread across all remaining counties.*

As of 8am today, 726 COVID-19 patients are hospitalised, of which 156 are in ICU. There were 33 additional hospitalisations in the past 24 hours.

As of February 19th, 340,704 doses of COVID-19 vaccine have been administered in Ireland:

214,384 people have received their first dose

126,320 people have received their second dose

NPHET said COVID-19 Dashboard provides up-to-date information on the key indicators of Covid-19 in the community including daily data on Irelands COVID-19 Vaccination Programme.

Dr Ronan Glynn, Deputy Chief Medical Officer, Department of Health said hospital cases have reduced as people continue to comply with the ongoing Level 5 restrictions.

We continue to see really high levels of compliance amongst the population and this is having a positive impact on the levels of disease in our communities. It is also having a positive impact on our hospitals  while last week there were 269 cases in healthcare workers and 4 outbreaks in our hospitals these represent a very significant reduction compared with the 839 cases and 15 outbreaks in the week to the 7th of February.

"In time, vaccination will be our most powerful tool against COVID-19 and over the coming weeks those who are highest risk in our families and communities will get vaccinated. For now, each of us has a range of tried and trusted tools at our disposal - by keeping our distance, washing our hands, wearing face masks and staying at home we will continue to drive down transmission of this disease. Our collective efforts move us closer to the continued re-opening of our schools and the resumption of non-COVID healthcare services.
Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky has signed a decree enacting the decision of the National Security and Defense Council (NSDC) on sanctions against 19 companies and eight individuals, including Opposition Platform  For Life Party MP Viktor Medvedchuk.

The text of the decree, dated February 19, has been published on the website of the head of state.

"To enact the decision of the National Security and Defense Council of Ukraine of February 19, 2021 'On the application of and the introduction of amendments to personal special economic and other restrictive measures (sanctions)',"the document reads.

According to the report, NSDC Secretary Oleksiy Danilov has been tasked with exercising control over the implementation of the decision.

The decree comes into force from the date of its publication.

According to the NSDC decision, the sanctions have been imposed for a period of three years against five Russians, three Ukrainians, and 19 legal entities, the President's Office said.

The NSDC at a meeting on February 19 decided to apply restrictive measures to 19 legal entities and eight individuals, including MP Viktor Medvedchuk and his wife, Oksana Marchenko.

According to Danilov, sanctions have been imposed on all of Medvedchuk's property.

Restrictive measures have also been imposed against companies owning five aircraft on which flights were performed between Kyiv and Moscow, as well as companies that serviced these aircraft.
Unfortunately, our website is currently unavailable in your country. We are engaged on the issue and committed to looking at options that support our full range of digital offerings to your market. We continue to identify technical compliance solutions that will provide all readers with our award-winning journalism.



A Seattle, Wash., woman had an appointment to get a COVID-19 vaccination and she wasnt going to miss it because of snow.

According to the Seattle Times, Fran Goldman, 90, said the walk through almost a foot of snow was nothing compared to the trouble she had even finding a vaccination appointment. Goldman had a hip replacement last year.

Goldman told the newspaper she would get on the phone every morning with the Washington state Department of Health and ask them to help her find something.

Nada. Nothing, Goldman said. Every day.

Walking six miles through nearly a foot of snow to get her first COVID-19 vaccine appointment was nothing, compared to what 90-year-old Fran Goldman went through to secure it. https://t.co/CO7hGQg9Kh  The Seattle Times (@seattletimes) February 16, 2021

On Friday, Feb. 12, she finally got lucky and found an appointment for Sunday, Feb. 14, at Seattle Childrens hospital.

On Saturday, with snow on the ground, she practiced - she dressed in layers and using walking sticks she walked about two-thirds of the way to the hospital, confident she would be able to make it the next day.

Sunday morning she set out wearing fleece pants, a fleece top, down coat and rain jacket. She made it - only five minutes late.

Goldman told the newspaper that her inspiration during the challenge was to be able to hold her great-grandson who was born six months ago, another great-grandson, who is 2, along with five grandchildren.

According to the New York Times, that weekend was one of Seattles snowiest weekends on record with more than 10 inches of snow.

Goldman told the Times she will receive her second dose next month and hopes to drive there.

When Fran Goldman, 90, got a coronavirus vaccine appointment in Seattle, she didnt intend to miss it  even if it meant braving the elements alone. https://t.co/KtC96X5nCK  The New York Times (@nytimes) February 18, 2021

READ MORE
TORONTO, Feb. 22, 2021 /PRNewswire/ -- For immigrants living abroad, it's very important to stay connected with their family and loved ones back home. Occasionally it gets hard to keep seamless communication due to the barriers that arise while sending top-up back at home. The newly launched online recharging service, swiftrecharge.com promises a simple and fast mobile recharging facility that is intended to help the migrants living abroad to send mobile recharge to their families living back home. The service is extremely easy to use and it's available anywhere and anytime on the web portal. The company has established its services on a global scale. It covers 600 major mobile operators in 160 countries worldwide offering its perfect service.

send mobile top-up mobile loads to Philippines

Not everyone who is using their services is a tech genius. Bearing this in mind, the company has set up an easy-to-follow process that can be handled by anyone. The users are required to follow four simple steps to recharge phones of their family or friends back at home. First, they need to select the country where the mobile number is from and then enter the mobile number on the website. Next, their system will validate the phone number to see if it's accurate and exists. Then the users need to enter the amount of the top-up that they want to send. Finally, after they make the payment, they will get confirmation of the top-up immediately.

swiftrecharge.com is built with the slogan to help people living far from home to stay connected with their loved ones back at home. The swift and easy services provided by the company are helping millions to communicate through mobile phones at very affordable rates and without any hidden fees. With its special services, the company has acquired numerous positive feedbacks by making international communication smoother than ever. The company always puts its accent on the needs and requirements of the customers and try to exceed their expectations. In its quest to connect more and more people every hour, the company is touching millions of lives bringing joy and happiness regardless of their place.

The global network at www.swiftrecharge.com reaches over 600 mobile operators across 160 countries. The company works with the top mobile operators such as Digicel, MTN, Airtel, Ethiotel, Tigo, Globe, Smart, and many more. From the US to Mexico, to China, Philippines, India, or Ethiopia, the mobile recharge can be sent to a wide range of countries all over the world to any prepaid mobile number. the swiftrecharge.com is optimized for mobile devices in order to provide a positive user experience. With their cutting-edge technology, they are offering a reliable and secure way of connecting by availing the users to send mobile recharge back at home instantly within a minute. Visit https://swiftrecharge.com

Media contact:

Alex Brighton

[email protected]

905-904-2880

Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/SwiftRechargeCom

Twitter: https://twitter.com/swiftrecharges

Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/swiftrecharges

SOURCE SwiftReload Inc
Are Digital Pills in Your Future?

New pills raise privacy and ethical concerns over their ability to send a signal to up to 5 people when taken

In November 2017, the FDA approved the digital pill Abilify MyCite to treat schizophrenia, depression, and bipolar disorder(1); a one-month supply costs $1,500, well out of range of affordability for many suffering from schizophrenia(2).

The pill includes a digital sensor that reacts with stomach acid when taken, sending a signal to a patch worn by the patient that then sends a signal to a smartphone app notifying up to five people that the pill was taken.

At the time of approval, concerns arose over how this new capability opened the door to various abuses, though there was little discussion of the worrying possibility of how such technology could be used by repressive governments.

The cost is nearly 30 times the cost of the generic pill for a 30-day supply. Schizophrenia affects approximately 1 percent of the population, yet a meta-analysis of 31 studies involving 51,925 people who were homeless found there is a significantly higher prevalence of schizophrenia, schizophreniform disorder, and schizoaffective disorder in the homeless population.(3)

There were also questions at the time of approval over why a drug targeting schizophrenia was the first to include the technology, given that many people with this condition suffer delusions and paranoia. A drug that sends a signal from inside their body seems especially unattractive to this population.

The drug is the creation of Proteus Digital Health.(5) Although the system was intended to improve drug adherence at the time it was conceived and developed, there was no evidence to prove it raised medication compliance.

More than three years later and under new leadership by etectRx, which acquired Proteus when Proteus went into bankruptcy, there is renewed focus on determining whether it improves patient adherence.(6) Now called the ID Cap System, the technology is set to make remote patient monitoring easier and to allow real-time intervention of doctors with their patients.

Digitals Pills Scheduled for an Upgrade

As CEO for etectRx, Valerie Sullivan talked about the differences between etectRx, Proteus, and other companies in the market. Reiterating that her company is different because their focus is almost exclusively on patient compliance, including branding and clinical trials, Sullivan said:(7)

This pandemic era were in has ramped up interest in telehealth generally. The remote patient monitoring that ID-Cap System enables can reduce clinical trial costs, eliminate non-adherence among patients, and allow for real-time intervention with them.

In early January, MedCity News reported that etectRx teamed up with Pear Therapeutics to develop products combining the technology from both companies.(8) They announced the initial project will be on medication related to mental health. In a phone interview with MedCity News, Sullivan commented on the value in having patients see for themselves and feel empowered that when they take their medication, they feel better.(9)

The new version of these digital pills will contain wireless sensors embedded in the medication to communicate with a wearable lanyard device, as opposed to a patch stuck to your stomach. Pear and etectRx havent yet partnered with pharmaceutical companies to produce the technology for existing medications.

Digital Medicine May Be a Tough Pill to Swallow

Sullivan anticipates there may be some pushback from patients, doctors, and even drug makers. Digital Commerce reported that British consulting firm L.E.K. Consulting found the technology may not be as well-received as the digital pill companies hope.(10)

Speaking with a journalist from The New York Times, Ameet Sarpatwari from Harvard Medical School expressed concern about the technology, saying it has the potential to improve public health, [but] if used improperly it could foster more mistrust, instead of trust.(12)

Patients would be able to decide if their doctor and up to four other people could receive the data showing when the pills were taken. Patients would also have access to a cellphone app that could let them change their minds and block recipients later. Of course, it isnt inconceivable that future situations could emerge in which the patient didnt get to make that choice themselves. The more benign scenarios include mental health patients who can be discharged from involuntary admissions based on drug regime adherence and possibly even parolees who must take specific drugs to be released from a psychiatric facility.

More common concerns around this technology are the potential invasion of privacy and whether individuals may feel pressured to allow their doctors to monitor their medication. Dr. Peter Kramer, psychiatrist and author, believes digital technology may be ethical for a fully competent patient, but questions whether a digital drug may potentially become a coercive tool.(13)

Some experts believe that older adults, who wish to have help remembering to take their pills, may welcome these devices. Other potential uses for this type of technology can be expanded as well as incentivized by insurance providers to monitor opioid use and clinical trial participants.

On a different note, in 2019, Proteus announced it was testing a chemotherapy digital pill on patients with colorectal cancer.(14) Again, the idea was to improve outcomes by ensuring medication adherence. The difference between this pill and the one for schizophrenia was that it wasnt necessary for the chemotherapy pill to go through a round of regulatory approval based on the way in which the sensor was packaged within the capsule.

Technology Meant to Provide an Answer for Compliance

The chemotherapy drug was administered through Fairview Health Services in Minnesota, where the health care system paid Proteus in the hopes that it would help save them money by improving patient outcomes. The contract stated that Fairview would be paid when cancer patients took their chemotherapy as prescribed by their physician 80 percent of the time.

When patients didnt meet the threshold, the digital pill company didnt get paid. Despite plans to become a high-tech generic drug manufacturer, Proteus vision ended with its bankruptcy. Some experts saying the failure was on the part of the company and not the result of failed technology.(15)

Specifically, according to digital health venture fund and research group Rock Health, Proteus may have paid the price for a tactical choice by picking a therapeutic area with a degree of difficulty thats an eight or nine out of 10.(16) Even so, while the digital pill companies are taking aim at medication adherence, it may not be a fiscally responsible direction.

When medication is the only intervention sought, poor adherence can result in health complications and increased costs.(17) This means that medication adherence and patient compliance are health care challenges the system seeks to overcome.

Data show some of the reasons why older adults dont adhere to their medication schedule include a lack of meaningful communication with health care providers, cost, fear of addiction, cognitive decline, and medication side effects.(18) Thats why chronic conditions, such as diabetes, high blood pressure, asthma, and depression, require ongoing changes in lifestyle and nutrition to control the conditions.

The extent to which nonadherence affects patient outcomes varies widely across studies, having been reported as high as 92 percent and as low as 10 percent.(19) Data show approximately 50 percent of non-adherence is intentional and the other half happens when patients arent aware they arent taking the medication as prescribed.

However, a team of doctors and pharmacy professionals believe that while medication adherence is a problem in Western medicine, it isnt the only problem and may account for only the third most frequent type of medication-related problem.(20) One pharmacist argues that science should not be solely aimed at compliance but, rather, adherence as a segment of medication optimization.(21)

Tied to medication optimization is adherence and a number of other factors that affect downstream costs such as adverse drug reactions, drug interactions, therapy failure, and dosing problems.

Seek Out the Root of Your Health Condition

Many health conditions respond to lifestyle and nutritional choices. For instance, there is data to show people with schizophrenia who are low in vitamin D,(22) folic acid, and vitamin B12(23) have more severe symptoms. In other words, there are nutraceutical interventions that help reduce symptoms of schizophrenia,(24) depression,(25) anxiety(26), and many other health conditions.

Before becoming at risk for polypharmacy, or the use of multiple medications at one time to treat an ailmentand the side effectsseek out and work to correct the root of the health condition. Many times, there are lifestyle and nutritional changes you can make that have a significant impact on your overall health, and the symptoms or treatment of your health condition.

Dr. Joseph Mercola is the founder of Mercola.com. An osteopathic physician, best-selling author, and recipient of multiple awards in the field of natural health, his primary vision is to change the modern health paradigm by providing people with a valuable resource to help them take control of their health. This article was originally published on Mercola.com

References

1 Food and Drug Administration, November 13, 2017

2 GoodRx, Abilify MyCite

3 BMC Psychiatry, 2019;19:370

5 LiveScience, November 16, 2017

6, 7 Pharmaceutical Commerce, August 25, 2020

8, 9 Med City News, January 14, 2021

10, 11 Digital Commerce, March 29, 2018

12, 13 The New York Times, November 13, 2017

14 StatNews, January 17, 2019

15, 16 Medical Futurist, July 21, 2020

17 U.S. Pharmacology, 2012;37(4)

18 Pharmacy Times, 2011;4(59):12 Table 1

19 Oman Medical Journal, 2011;26(3)

20 Journal of Managed Care and Specialty Pharmacy, 2016;22(5)

21 The Digital Apothecary, November 1, 2019

22 Schizophrenia Bulletin, 2018;44(6)

23 CNS Drugs, 2014;28(7)

24 Therapeutic Advances in Psychopharmacology, 2014;4(6)

25 Journal of the American Osteopathic Association, 2020;120:100

26 Nutrition Journal, 2010;9(42)
An Upstate New York man has died in an explosion while making a bomb for his childs gender reveal party.

New York State Police said they responded to a report of an explosion in the Sullivan County town of Liberty around noon on Sunday. An investigation determined that 28-year-old Christopher Pekny was killed at his home while building an explosive device to be used at a baby gender reveal party.

State police confirmed Pekny was the father-to-be of the child.

Trooper Steven Nevel, Troop F spokesman, told the Times Herald-Record that the device was not being built or made for malicious purposes.

Peknys brother, 27-year-old Michael Pekny, also of Liberty in the Catskills/Hudson Valley region, was also injured in the blast. He was transported to Garnet Medical Center in Middletown for treatment.

This incident remains under investigation by the New York State Police and the NYS Police Bomb Disposal Unit.

Addition details have not been disclosed.

Peknys death is far from the first tragedy related to a gender reveal party. A smoke-emitting pyrotechnic device, which typically shoots off blue or pink smoke to announce a babys gender, caused a large wildfire in California last year. In 2019, a grandmother was killed when a homemade explosive device went horribly wrong outside a rural Knoxville, Iowa, home, shooting metal shrapnel towards a pregnant womans family standing 45 feet away.

Gender reveal parties first became a social media phenomenon about a decade ago, mostly focusing on couples popping balloons with pink or blue confetti, or cutting into cakes filled with pink or blue icing. However, the trend has grown into more creative, and sometimes dangerous, ways of telling the world the sex of the baby theyre expecting in hopes of going viral online.
WASHINGTON -- The U.S. development bank has said it remains committed to supporting private investment in the Balkans amid talk that officials have discussed closing its Serbian office.



David Marchick, chief operating officer of the U.S. International Development Finance Corporation (DFC), told RFE/RL in a statement on February 19 that the bank was dedicated to investing in the region -- including in critical infrastructure and renewable energy -- in light of efforts by China and Russia to gain influence in the region.



We are eager to build on the DFCs recently renewed Investment Incentive Agreements with Kosovo and Serbia, which we remain committed to, and continue our enhanced focus that began last year with the establishment of a regional DFC presence based out of the U.S. Embassy in Belgrade, he said in the statement.



Suggestions that the new leadership at the DFC contemplated shutting the Belgrade office as part of a new strategy to focus more resources on lower income nations sparked concern among Balkan advocates in the United States.



Endy Zemenides, the executive director of the Hellenic American Leadership Council, which seeks to promote U.S.-Greek relations, sent a letter to the DFC and the administration of Joe Biden on February 18 to advocate against such a closure, saying it would only serve the interests of Washington's adversaries.



"This is not the time to create confusion with regards to the U.S.'s commitment to the [Balkan] region. Russia and China will be the only beneficiaries of a reduced DFC presence," he said, according to a copy of his letter.



"We are eager to hear the DFC's new leadership make a public commitment to continued support of the Aegean and Western Balkans, including a pledge to maintain its Belgrade office," Zemenides' letter said.

'Tension' Within The Bank



Marchick, who worked on reconstruction in the Balkans following the Bosnian wars of the 1990s, said DFC officials in Washington will continue to work with embassy staff and others to identify investment opportunities in the region.



Former DFC officials have told RFE/RL on condition of anonymity that there has been tension within the development bank between those who want to focus investment on lower income nations, such as those in Southeast Asia and Africa, and those who believe it should also invest in projects in middle- and higher-income nations that promote U.S. foreign policy goals.



Trump in 2018 authorized the creation of the DFC based on the Overseas Private Investment Corporation (OPIC) and other U.S. agencies with a view to better compete with China for influence in developing nations.



China has been spending tens of billions of dollars on infrastructure and energy projects in emerging nations, including the Balkans, through its Belt and Road Initiative as it seeks to expand its geopolitical influence and challenge U.S. global dominance.



Trump expanded the banks firepower and financial instruments compared with the OPIC, authorizing it to provide up to $60 billion in loans, loan guarantees, equity, and insurance to U.S. companies willing to do business in nations with a higher risk profile.



A 2019 bill gave the DFC permission to invest in strategically important energy-related projects in higher income nations like Greece, which is considered a gateway to the strategically important Western Balkans.



The United States is also seeking to reduce the Balkans' energy dependence on Russia.



Trump agreed in September to open a DFC office in Belgrade as part of a larger deal brokered by his administration to normalize economic relations between Serbia and Kosovo.



The Trump administration believed that boosting economic ties between Kosovo and Serbia could help resolve their decades-old conflict. The Belgrade office's mandate, however, went beyond the two countries to include the entire Balkan region.

Growing Russian, Chinese Influence



Some analysts viewed the Washington-brokered agreement as a preelection maneuver by Trump. The talk about closing the office comes weeks after Biden took office and ousted the Trump appointee running the DFC.



The office is the DFCs first in Europe and is designed to counter growing Russian and Chinese influence in Balkans by helping bring American investment to the region.



Marko Cadez, the president of the Serbian Chamber of Commerce and head of the Western Balkans 6 Chamber Investment Forum, which brings together all six chambers of commerce in the region, called the DFC Belgrade office a "sign of Americas long-term commitment" to the region.



"It tells the countries of the region that the United States is invested, quite literally, in their success," Cadez said in a statement to RFE/RL.



Greek Development and Investment Minister Adonis Georgiadis said on February 17 that the DFC has already played a "key role" in helping to attract the interest of American companies to the nation's strategic infrastructure.



Greece is privatizing many state assets, including its ports and shipyards, which have become a geopolitical playground as Chinese, Russian, and U.S. investors jockey for ownership.



Greece is also expanding its energy infrastructure to become a transit hub for the Balkans.

U.S. investment in the Balkan region has been sorely lacking, say politicians like former Croatian President Kolinda Grabar-Kitarovic.



She recently called on the U.S. to step up its presence.



"I must say that I've been disappointed by the sort of disinterest that I've seen in the past years" from the United States, Grabar-Kitarovic told Stanford University's Hoover Institution on February 17.



"If you want to really prevent others from political interference in a certain area then you have to be involved yourself," she said.



She also criticized the United States and Europe for dragging their feet on integrating the Balkans into the EU and NATO, saying the slow action in doing so has enabled Russia and China to expand their influence in the region.
Police nab two for black-marketing of oxygen in Delhi

No proof of fraud against Srinivas, Gambhir: They were helping, Delhi Police tells HC

Delhi crime branch to further probe case related to Chhatrasal Stadium brawl

Delhi Police arrests Jaspreet Singh, accused in Red fort violence

India

oi-Madhuri Adnal

New Delhi, Feb 22: As per the latest development in the Red Fort Violence, Delhi Police arrested Jaspreet Singh on Monday.

The Delhi Police have arrested Jaspreet Singh, a resident of Delhi, who climbed up one of the tombs located on both sides of ramparts of Red Fort during Jan 26 violence.

He is seen in offensive gesture holding steel tensile installed at Red Fort.

On January 26, thousands of protesting farmers who reached ITO from the Ghazipur border clashed with police. Many of them driving tractors reached the Red Fort and entered the monument. A religious flag was also hoisted.
ROME, FEB 22 - Italy's ambassador to the Democratic Republic of Congo, Luca Attanasio, and a Carabiniere were killed in an attack on their convoy at Goma in the African country on Monday, well-informed sources told ANSA. Attanasio died in hospital of gunshot wounds, a high-ranking diplomat told AFP in Kinshasa. The envoy's car was part of a MONUSCO UN peacekeeping mission convoy including the EU's delegation chief, sources said. The attack was an attempted robbery, rangers at Virunga National Park told various media outlets including The Jerusalem Post. The attack took place at around 10 o'clock local (09:00 Italian time), near the town of Kanyamahoro. Several armed groups operate in the area of the Virunga Mountains, between Congo, Rwanda and Uganda, and often target the rangers in the park, which is famous for its mountain gorillas. The Italian foreign ministry confirmed the killings of Attanasio and the Carabiniere with "deep grief". Foreign Minister Luigi Di Maio voiced "immense grief" after learning of what happened while he was at an EU foreign ministers' meeting in Brussels. He will now voice Italy's grief at the foreign ministers council meeting. The United Nations Organization Stabilization Mission in the Democratic Republic of the Congo or MONUSCO, an acronym based on its French name, is a United Nations peacekeeping force in the Democratic Republic of the Congo (DRC) which was established by the United Nations Security Council to monitor the peace process of the Second Congo War, though much of its focus subsequently turned to the Ituri conflict, the Kivu conflict and the Dongo conflict. The area has been racked by armed conflict for years. (ANSA).
According to recent data from the U.S. Census Bureau, African Americans have the lowest rate of homeownership compared to other racial groups. In the first quarter of 2020, the rate for African Americans was about 44 percent, compared to 74 percent for Non-Hispanic White Americans. For Hispanic Americans, the rate of homeownership was approximately 49 percent, and it was about 59 percent for Asians, Native Hawaiians, and Pacific Islanders. While these statistics vary depending on location, in many cities across the country, it's becoming more challenging for many African Americans to become homeowners.

Brian M. Paris, a REALTOR with Keller Williams City View and the president of the San Antonio Association of Real Estate Brokers, wants to change this trend. He and other SAAREB members would like to see more African Americans purchase homes. Helping African Americans create generational wealth is also part of the goal that real estate trade organizations SAAREB, The Texas Association of Real Estate Brokers Inc. (TAREB), and the National Association of Real Estate Brokers Inc. (NAREB) have been working hard to achieve. The trade organizations have set a national goal to add 2 million new Black homeowners in five years.

NAREB, known as the oldest professional organization for Black and minority real estate professionals, was established in 1947. Its purpose was to fight for the rights of African American real estate professionals and homeowners. Its members are called REALTISTS. A title early advocates chose because, at that time, African Americans were not allowed to join the National Association of REALTORS. NAREB continues to push for fair housing policies and assist African Americans seeking to become homeowners.

"I don't personally feel that there is the same level of hurdles that they were dealing with back in the '60s when there was redlining and other legal barriers to homeownership," Paris said. "I don't see that hurdle anymore, but I still see some challenges when it comes to the interaction." He said it's the little things that can discourage a buyer, such as being asked questions like, 'Are you sure you can afford this?'

"Yes, there still is a benefit and reason why, NAREB, TAREB, and SAAREB are on this earth because there's still work to be done," he said. Paris joined SAAREB in 2017 and became the board president the following year. The New York native moved to the Alamo City in 1994 and has been a REALTOR for 12 years.

Before his career in real estate, Paris spent 29 years at Citibank where he was a representative and a training manager. He's a big proponent of financial education and encourages people to sign up for SAAREB's online financial literacy series. The sessions are designed for youth and adults and cover topics such as car and homeownership, investment, banking, budgeting and more. For more information, visit saareb.com.

Paris said he would like to change how people think about homeownership. Whether it's the retiree who doesn't have stellar credit or the millennial with a great credit score and enough income to buy a home but chooses not to. This year, he aims to work on not only showing people how to obtain a home but also how to maintain and retain it. It's a lesson in how to build generational wealth, which is a huge part of SAAREB's mission.

"You buy a home and live in it for a couple of years and instead of selling it, you rent it out," Paris said. "Now you have income that you can use toward your next place."

ALSO READ: Key steps in the homebuying process

Former SAAREB president Maudel Nolan Hardie, who has been an active member since 1990, has spent her career helping her community and colleagues. Hardie grew up on San Antonio's East Side, and when she became a sales agent in 1985, there weren't many African American agents in San Antonio. Hardie also became a paralegal and has a degree in criminal justice. Although she faced discrimination and had a hard time finding a broker to sponsor her at first, she was determined to succeed in the real estate industry  and she did. In her first year, she became the highest producing part-time agent in her office. In 1990, she earned her broker's license and opened her brokerage, Hardie & Associates, REALTORS. Hardie always encourages agents in her brokerage to get their broker's license within five years, just as she did. So far, she's helped 18 agents become brokers and been a mentor to many more. "If you have the will, you'll have support from people who are mentors to you," she said. Even her daughter and granddaughter have followed in her footsteps. Hardie's daughter works with her as an agent and her granddaughter will soon have her sales license.

After more than 30 years in the real estate industry, Hardie said she still loves what she does and is not planning to retire anytime soon.

"It's amazing that as a REALTOR you can share that happiness with them and hand them their key to their first home," she said.

For more information about the San Antonio Association of Real Estate Brokers, go to saareb.com.

Lisa.harrison@express-news.net
Source: Xinhua| 2021-02-22 18:23:31|Editor: huaxia

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A Chinese engineer examines a new well constructed under the Phase II of China-aided rural water supply and rural road projects in Cambodia in Kampong Speu Province of Cambodia, Jan. 15, 2021. (Xinhua/Zhang Zhao)

by Mao Pengfei, Nguon Sovan

PHNOM PENH, Feb. 22 (Xinhua) -- The Ongoing China-aided rural water supply and rural road projects have been playing a crucial role in supporting socio-economic development and alleviating poverty in rural Cambodia, a Cambodian senior official said recently to Xinhua.

From 2017, the projects, in Phases I and II, under the management of Cambodia's Ministry of Rural Development (MRD) have been proved successful, MRD's secretary of state and spokesman Chan Darong told Xinhua in an exclusive interview.

He said the China Jiangxi International Economic and Technical Cooperation Co., Ltd. (CJIC) has been the contractor for the rural water supply project, while the Shanghai Construction Group Co., Ltd. (SCG) and Yunnan Construction and Investment Holding Group Co., Ltd. (YCIH) have been the contractors for the rural road project.

"These companies have obtained recognition and support from the government, local authorities and people of Cambodia," he said, adding that these Chinese companies, besides digging wells and constructing roads, have donated medical products to rural families and teaching materials to rural schools during the pandemic.

During the implementation of the projects, Chinese friends also trained hundreds of Cambodian engineers and technical workers, he said. "This socially responsible behavior is a concrete manifestation of cultural interlinkage."

According to the official, since the outbreak of COVID-19, most of the China-aid localized projects under the MRD have not been affected by the pandemic.

GREATLY BENEFIT RURAL PEOPLE

Darong, who is also the project director of the China-Aid Cambodia Rural Water Supply and Rural Road Projects Phase II, said the projects have played a vital role in improving national economy and rural people's livelihoods in Cambodia.

"Previously, women and children in rural areas usually went to collect water far from their houses for their daily consumption, but now they no longer need to do that because wells and ponds dug by the China-aided project are available near their houses," he said.

"For the rural road project, it has greatly benefited rural people, allowing them to use reliable and convenient roads and providing them a year-round access to markets and other social services," he said. "There is neither dust during the dry season, which affects their health, nor mud during the rainy season."

The official praised China for having paid more attention to small-and-medium-sized social welfare projects and public facilities, saying that these projects directly helped improve the livelihoods of rural people in Cambodia.

He said when he participated in the site inspection, many villagers told him that the completed roads and water supply facilities had improved both their livelihoods and health.

Darong said that during the projects' implementation, the Chinese companies have also given opportunities to local Cambodians to get employment.

"The people offered the jobs have got three advantages: knowledge learnt from Chinese engineers, wages, and jobs that were adjacent to their houses," he said.

BIG THANKS

Darong said the friendship between Cambodia and China has a long history of brotherhood and that China's help is sincere and pragmatic.

"These projects are clear evidence of our cooperation towards building a community of shared future between Cambodia and China," he said.

"I'd like to express my sincere appreciation to the Chinese government for its contribution and to the Chinese companies for their dedicated hard work," he said. "I sincerely hope that all Chinese employees keep safe during this pandemic."

He said the MRD will continue to cooperate with the Chinese counterparts to manage the current and subsequent projects based on the general framework of the rural water supply and rural road grant agreement reached by the two governments.

Darong has a strong conviction that China will continue to support Cambodia until the Southeast Asian country achieves its goal of supplying clean water to all rural residents by 2025.

"It is hoped we can work together for Cambodia's 12 million rural residents to obtain clean water by 2025 and to construct as many rural roads as possible in Cambodia," he said. "I have found that this is a significant contribution to the development of the national economy in Cambodia," he added. Enditem
Metro Manila (CNN Philippines, February 22) Health Secretary Francisco Duque III on Monday appealed to the public for patience amid the delayed arrival of coronavirus vaccines in the country.

In the governments Laging Handa briefing, Duque pointed to the global supply shortage of vaccines as the main reason behind the delay, but assured Filipinos that the products would be arriving soon.

Konting pasensya po ang aking pinapakiusap, umaapela po ako sa taumbayan, Duque said. Makakaasa kayo na darating at darating na po ang mga bakunang iyan. Pero dapat ipaliwanag ko din na ang pangunahing dahilan kung bakit wala pang bakuna ay talaga naman iyong global supply shortage, he explained.

[Translation: Im asking and appealing to the public for a little patience. You can expect the vaccines to arrive soon. But I would like to explain that the main reason why the vaccines have yet to arrive is really because of the global supply shortage.]

In a separate interview with CNN Philippines, Duque also cited the inequitable access to vaccines as another roadblock, citing a United Nations report that revealed around 130 countries have yet to receive a single shipment of the vaccines.

So yan talaga ang malaking problema natin (thats our big problem) global shortage of the supplies, inequitable access, vaccine nationalism in the first world countries that tend to corner the chunk of the vaccine supplies, the health chief told The Source.

Duques pronouncement echoes the earlier appeal of vaccine czar Carlito Galvez Jr., who on Friday also apologized and asked for patience after the delay in the arrival of vaccines. Like his colleague in the task force, Galvez likewise noted the current conditions in the global market, saying the government doesn't have control on the supply chain.

Government officials previously announced that the first batch of vaccines to be supplied by the World Health Organization-led COVAX facility may arrive by the middle of February. But the delivery got delayed due to the absence of an indemnification deal, which Galvez later confirmed had already been submitted to the concerned manufacturers Pfizer and AstraZeneca.

Aside from the products coming from COVAX, the country is also expected to receive vaccine doses from Chinas Sinovac Biotech, which recently gained emergency use authorization from the Food and Drug Administration. Officials earlier said the Sinovac doses were ready to be shipped anytime pending the EUA grant.
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New York City sheriffs have broken up an illegal party of more than 300 people at a Queens restaurant that had already lost its license for breaching Covid restrictions last year.

Hundreds of maskless revelers were found packed into Sueno Americano restaurant in Jackson Heights on Sunday morning, smoking hookah and drinking alcohol without a license.

The eatery was ticketed for violating the state emergency order and several health code violations, and was also charged with operating without a liquor license. Sheriffs also charged the DJ and several patrons with misdemeanors for breaching coronavirus restrictions.

It's the second time that officers have busted Sueno Americano for hosting indoor gatherings that were in violation of pandemic rules, after it lost its license in September last year.

Photos posted by New York sheriffs on Twitter showed a busy dance-floor lit up with colorful lights.

The parties are the latest in a string of illicit gatherings broken up by New York authorities in recent months.

Indoor dining is set to increase to 35% in New York on February 26, after being re-opened on February 14.

Police busted Queens restaurant Sueno Americano early on February 21 and found more than 300 people packed into a basement, in violation of COVID restrictions

The mostly maskless revelers were packed onto a dance-floor filled with colorful lights and smoking hookah

Police conducted a covert operation, observing more than 220 people entering the restaurant, which was busted once for a similar violation in September last year

Police blocked off all four exits before moving in and charging five people with health code and emergency COVID violations

The restaurant was known in pre COVID times for hosting wild parties on the weekends and Friday nights, pictured a poster from parties hosted before pandemic restrictions came in around March last year

The police busted the restaurant around 2.25am Sunday after a three-hour stake-out in which they observed more than 220 people entering the dark and shuttered restaurant, as reported by The New York Post.

They closed off all four exits to prevent a stampede before moving in.

Inside they found at least 305 people, not adhering to social distancing or indoor gathering guidelines.

Police charged five people with misdemeanors and tweeted that it was a 'violation of emergency orders...health code violations' and liquor licensing laws.

The event 'posed a significant risk to health and safety' and was in violation of Governor Andrew Cuomo's executive order that bans nonessential mass gatherings, the sheriff's office said.

Current New York City restrictions prevent indoor gatherings of more than ten people, to try and curb the rise of the virus.

According to government figures, earlier this month Queens has an average of 981 cases a day, down from around 1,400 in early February.

There have been more than 278000 recorded deaths in the city so far and nearly 500,000 across the US.

Governor Cuomo is currently under fire over an alleged 'cover-up' of COVID-related nursing home deaths last year, as reported by The New York Post.

New York Governor Andrew Cuomo, pictured at a conference on February 19, is currently under fire for an alleged scandal over COVID related deaths at nursing homes

Vaccines hope to slow the virus but social distancing remains in place. A Registered Nurse gives Maria Hernandez, left, of Manhattan, the first dose of the coronavirus vaccine at a COVID-19 vaccination site at NYC Health + Hospitals Metropolitan, Thursday, Feb. 18.

The restaurant was first busted on September 12 last year after NYPD officers responding to noise complaints found more than 75 people in the basement.

In a statement at the time they said: 'Officers gained entry to find approximately 75 individuals being herded out of an indoor basement bar area, operating in flagrant violation of the Governor's Executive Order in place since March 16, 2020 restricting indoor dining in New York City.'

They added: 'Officers report no food being served and employees not wearing facial coverings, while pictures reflect dozens of patrons present without facial coverings and ignoring social distancing regulations. Officers also witnessed DJ's packing up equipment even though this licensee is not permitted to have a DJ or operate as a nightclub.'

Last month police broke up two more illegal parties in Queens and the Bronx.

On January 30, deputy sheriffs were doing surveillance on a Bronx hall, in Westchester Square, around 11pm on a Saturday, when they saw about 70 people pour into the place through a side door.

New York police shut down a large party on Westchester Avenue in the Bronx on January 30 after finding more than 400 people packed into a hall, including children

On January 24, police broke up an illegal nightclub in Roosevelt Avenue, Queens, where 75 people were smoking hookah and not all wearing masks

On January 21 sheriffs closed an illegal bottle club in Prince Street, Manhattan, where more than 145 people were in violation of the city's emergency orders

Current government statistics on cases and deaths related to the pandemic show where the hot spots, and success stories currently lie

Deaths in the US from COVID have nearly risen higher than 500,000, according to government data

Deputies found more than 400 people inside, many drinking booze sold without a license, not wearing masks and packed too tightly to socially distance.

Several hours later on Sunday morning, police broke up up an underground nightclub without a liquor license in Jackson Heights, Queens.

They found more than 225 people drinking, smoking hookah and not wearing masks inside. Two DJs, Felix Zeferino and Roque Jimenez, and a bouncer were also hit with violations.

In December in Queens a karaoke party was attended by 300 people, many of whom were not wearing masks, and was broken up by deputies.

The owner of the lounge, Man Phan, 37, and his wife, He Bin Wang, 37, were charged with violation of an executive order, violation of an emergency measure, and failing to protect health and safety and fined $15,000.
The United States has lost more than 500,000 lives to COVID-19, just over a year after the pandemic claimed its first known victim in Santa Clara County.

The painful milestone reached Monday underscores the coronaviruss deadly persistence even as thousands are getting vaccinated and new infections worldwide have waned.

The scale of death in the U.S. as the pandemic moves into its second year is on par with losing the entire population of a major city  half of the residents of San Jose, or more than everyone in Oakland.

The death toll steadily rose throughout 2020 and spiked steeply after the Thanksgiving and Christmas holidays and through January.

From the first confirmed fatality in Santa Clara County on Feb. 6, and the early days of the emergence of coronavirus infections, it took until the end of May before the country recorded its first 100,000 deaths. The pandemic has since swept across the world and the U.S., stressing the nations health care system, rattling its economy and rewriting the rules of everyday society.

The death toll reached 400,000 on Jan. 19, meaning the last 100,000 deaths occurred in just over a month.

These numbers are stunning, Dr. Anthony Fauci, the nations top infectious disease expert told ABC News Good Morning America program. If you look back historically, weve done worse than almost any other country and were a highly developed, rich country.

The U.S. accounts for 19% of the total global coronavirus deaths but just 4% of the worlds population.

o commemorate the loss of life due to COVID-19, President Biden ordered that flags at federal buildings fly at half-staff for five days to mark the 500,000 deaths White House Press Secretary Jen Psaki told reporters.

Biden also joined Vice President Kamala Harris for a candle lighting ceremony at the White House.

Let this not be a story of how far we fell but how far we climbed back up, Biden said in an emotional speech. To heal, to grieve, we must remember. I know its hard.

Biden referred to his own experience with grief and loss of family.

For those who have lost loved ones, this is what I know: They are never truly gone, he said, before leading a national moment of silence for those lost. They will always be part of your heart. The day will come when the memory of the loved one you lost will bring a smile to your lips before a tear to your eye. Thats when you know youre going to be OK.

He used the occasion to urge Americans to find purpose and unity in honoring the dead and to protect each other by remaining vigilant, maintaining social distance, wearing masks and getting vaccinated when they can.

This nation will smile, Biden said. This nation will know joy again.

Speaker Nancy Pelosi of San Francisco held a moment of silence Monday on the House floor.

Andy Slavitt, the White House coronavirus senior adviser, said Monday that the milestone makes us more determined to turned the tide of COVID-19.

Confronting the grim milestone directly and publicly, Biden is trying to strike a balance between gravity and hope, while Donald Trump generally avoided constructs of collective grief for the deaths on his watch.

Trump invariably looked to play down the total, initially claiming the virus would go away on its own and later locking into a prediction that America would suffer far fewer than 100,000 deaths. Once the total eclipsed that mark, Trump shifted gears again and said that scale of loss was actually a success story because it could have been much worse.

In audiotapes released last fall, Trump told journalist Bob Woodward in March that I wanted to always play it down. I still like playing it down because I dont want to create a panic.

Life expectancy in the United States dropped a staggering one year during the first half of 2020, the most dramatic drop since World War II, as pandemic deaths mounted, health officials said last week.

Minorities suffered the biggest impact, with Black Americans losing nearly three years, and Latinos, nearly two years, according to preliminary estimates from the CDC. Experts say it shows the profound impact of COVID-19, not just on deaths directly due to infection but also from heart disease, cancer and other conditions.

Outside of perfunctory tweets marking the milestones of 100,000 and 200,000 deaths, Trump oversaw no moment of national mourning, no memorial service.

California has lost close to 50,000 lives to the virus, and the Bay Area death toll recently surpassed 5,000.

The states seven-day test positivity rate was 3% as of Monday compared to 8.9% a month earlier, he said. Daily deaths totaled 233, well below the high of 764 a month earlier. Hospitalization and ICU counts were also significantly improved.

Gov. Gavin Newsom said Monday that California is building an infrastructure to deliver 4 million vaccine doses a week, even while supply constraints continue.

Theres not enough vaccines to accommodate the need and demand, Newsom said during a stop in Long Beach on a tour of vaccination efforts around the state. Sites all across the state of California are toggling back based on limited supply. Thats a manufacturing issue.

California anticipates receiving 1.4 million doses this week and 1.5 million next week, he said.

Its simply not what were capable of administering. We could do exponentially more, but nonetheless, we are seeing modest improvement week to week, he said.

With the expected emergency use approval of Johnson & Johnsons vaccine, he said vaccinations will ramp up by the end of March, April.

May, June, July  game-changer, Newsom said. All of a sudden were at a completely different level.

Biden seemed less optimistic than projections made by others, including those in his own administration, such as Fauci, who has suggested a summer comeback.

I believe well be approaching normalcy by the end of this year. And God willing, this Christmas will be different than the last, Biden said Friday while touring a Pfizer vaccine manufacturing plant in Michigan.

But I cant make that commitment to you, he was quick to add. There are other strains of the virus. We dont know what could happen in terms of production rates. Things can change, Biden continued. But were doing everything the science has indicated we should do, and people are stepping up to get everything done that has to be done.

The Associated Press contributed to this report.

Erin Allday and Aidin Vaziri are San Francisco Chronicle staff writers. Email: eallday@sfchronicle.com avaziri@sfchronicle.com
Since her childhood cancer diagnosis, Baton Rouge native Hayley Arceneaux has been a spokesperson for how St. Jude Childrens Research Hospital saved her life and countless others.

Now, shell take her story to the ultimate platform  outer space.

Arceneaux has been chosen to be part of the first all-civilian space flight, named Inspiration4.

On the history-making flight, the 29-year-old will set lots of other records: the first American civilian woman in space, the youngest American in space, the first person with an artificial joint, the first cancer survivor and, she believes, the first Cajun.

What an incredible honor this is for me to represent cancer survivors in this way, Arceneaux said. Until now, astronauts have been physically perfect. This mission is changing the mindset of what an astronaut has to look like. Not only is it going to mean so much to the kids to know that all of the people that are donating are helping them but also being able to see a survivor in space.

I never thought Id able to go to space this mission is changing things.

Hayley Arceneaux, a 29-year-old cancer survivor who has been selected as a civilian member of the @SpaceX Inspiration4 crew, joins us for her first official interview as a civilian astronaut. pic.twitter.com/kJucPacAma  TODAY (@TODAYshow) February 22, 2021

Arceneaux and three others who have never been in space will be launched on SpaceXs two-stage Falcon 9 rocket from the Kennedy Space Center and orbit Earth for about three days before a water landing off the Florida coast. The date is yet to be determined but could come as early as October.

I just cant think of a better brand ambassador representing St. Jude and representing the spirit of hope on this mission than Hayley, said Jared Isaacman, who arranged and will command the voyage.

This mission is the brainchild of Isaacman, the 37-year-old founder and CEO of Shift4 Payments, a payments processing company. The billionaire also is a commercial- and military-rated jet pilot, and, in 2008 and 2009, he flew Speed-Around-The-World flights that raised money and awareness for the Make-A-Wish Foundation.

This time, its to benefit St. Jude.

Isaacman, who purchased the flight from SpaceX for an undisclosed sum, has already donated half of the $200 million fundraising goal to St. Jude, which performs cancer research and offers medical services at no charge to patients. He offered two of the three other seats to a front-line worker  Arceneaux  and to a St. Jude donor. For a chance to join Arceneaux and Isaacman, donate through the inspiration4.com/donate portal in February. The last seat will go to a yet-to-be-chosen entrepreneur.

+3 UL Lafayette professor takes gardening to new heights by growing radishes in space with NASA University of Louisiana at Lafayette professor Karl Hasenstein is growing radishes. But instead of sprouting in his backyard, the root vegetab

I just know how lucky Ive been in life, said Isaacman, who has no childhood cancers in his family. Some dont get a chance to grow up and experience anything like what Ive been fortunate to experience, and that bothers me. Thats a big problem, and I feel like we need to do something about it.

Arceneaux was one of those children cured at St. Jude in Memphis, Tennessee, where she now works as a physician assistant helping patients with leukemia and lymphoma. She said she learned about the space mission in December from officials with the hospitals fundraising organization.

They asked if I wanted to be on board, and I was shocked but immediately said, Yes, yes, please! said Arceneaux, who then called her mother and broke the news.

She said, You cannot pass this up. This is a once-in-a-lifetime opportunity, Arceneaux recalled.

The daughter of Colleen and the late Howard Arceneaux, she grew up in St. Francisville and was 10 years old when she was diagnosed in 2002 with osteosarcoma in her left femur just above the knee. Her treatment at St. Jude included chemotherapy and a then-breakthrough surgery in which most of her femur was removed and replaced with a prosthetic device that can expand without more surgery as she grew.

While at St. Jude, Arceneaux became an ambassador for the organization, telling her story to raise funds and awareness for the research hospital. She returned to the hospital for continuing care and became a summer intern in the Pediatric Oncology Education program in 2013 before becoming a physician assistant, which she calls her dream job.

Arceneaux said she's had no second thoughts since agreeing to the trip.

There is nothing they could have told me that would have kept me from going, she said. I realized how monumental it was but also what a big honor it was and what an incredible honor this is for St. Jude.

Arceneaux has spent time with Isaacman twice at SpaceX headquarters in California going over plans for the mission. SpaceX will guide the mission from the ground, but Isaacman will be in charge should the spacecraft need to be controlled while in space.

Hes making safety his No. 1 priority, Arceneaux said. Hes just such a natural commander and leader. He was born to command a mission in space. I just completely trust him.

Training will begin in earnest once the final two astronauts are chosen, Arceneaux said. During the mission, Arceneaux said she expects to contact her patients from space, providing them with a vivid example that cancer doesnt mean they cant have a great future.
BEIJING/WASHINGTON (Reuters) - Senior Chinese diplomat Wang Yi said on Monday the United States and China could work together on various issues if they repaired their damaged bilateral relations, but Washington accused Beijing of trying to avert blame for its actions.

Wang, a Chinese state councillor and foreign minister, said Beijing stood ready to reopen constructive dialogue after ties sank to their lowest in decades under former president Donald Trump.

But he urged Washington to respect China's core interests, stop "smearing" the ruling Communist Party, stop interfering in Beijing's internal affairs, and stop "conniving" with separatist forces for Taiwan's independence.

He called on the United States to remove tariffs on Chinese goods and abandon what he said was an irrational suppression of the Chinese tech sector.

In response, State Department spokesman Ned Price told reporters: "His comments reflect a continued pattern of Beijing's tendency to avert blame for its predatory economic practices, its lack of transparency, its failure to honour its international agreements, and its repression of universal human rights."

White House press secretary Jen Psaki told reporters separately that the United States viewed the relationship with China as one of "strong competition."

Before Wang spoke at a forum sponsored by the foreign ministry, officials played footage of the "ping-pong diplomacy" of 1972 when an exchange of table tennis players cleared the way for then-U.S. President Richard Nixon to visit China.

"Over the past few years, the United States basically cut off bilateral dialogue at all levels," Wang said in prepared remarks translated into English.

"We stand ready to have candid communication with the U.S. side, and engage in dialogues aimed at solving problems."

Wang pointed to a recent call between Chinese President Xi Jinping and U.S. President Joe Biden as a positive step. Biden succeeded Trump as president on Jan. 20.

Story continues

Washington and Beijing have clashed on multiple fronts including trade, accusations of human rights crimes against the Uighur Muslim minorities in the Xinjiang region, and Beijing's territorial claims in the resources-rich South China Sea.

The Biden administration has signalled it will maintain pressure on Beijing. The president has voiced concern about China's "coercive and unfair" trade practices, and endorsed a Trump administration determination that China has committed genocide in Xinjiang.

Confronting China is one of the few areas where Democrats and Republicans in the U.S. Congress find common ground.

U.S. House Speaker Nancy Pelosi, in a statement on China's crackdown on the once semi-autonomous Hong Kong, on Monday urged considering strict consequences for Beijing.

"The Chinese government must know that the world is watching its strangulation of human rights  and that we must put all options on the table for holding China accountable," said Pelosi, a Democrat.

(Reporting by Gabriel Crossley in Beijing, and Jeff Mason, Humeyra Pamuk, and Patricia Zengerle in Washington; Writing by Se Young Lee and Michael Martina; Editing by Christian Schmollinger, Jane Wardell and Howard Goller)
The on Monday said it will "gherao" the Vidhan Sabha when the Budget session begins on March 1 in protest against the state government for its alleged failure in honouring its poll promises.

The (SAD) also attacked the BJP-led government at the Centre for denying permission to a "jatha" to visit Nankana Sahib in Pakistan, claiming it as an assault on religious sentiments of Sikhs.

The party on Monday held its core committee meeting led by its chief Sukhbir Singh Badal here.

Harcharn Bains, principal adviser to Badal, said the party described as "an outrageous assault on the religious sentiments of the devout Sikh masses" by the Centre by "blocking" their pilgrimage to Nankana Sahib in Pakistan, using the COVID-19 pandemic as an excuse at a time when the government itself has been claiming success against it.

"It is clear that the present regime in Delhi is power drunk and has scant respect for the religious sentiments of people, especially of the Sikhs and other minorities in the country," he said in a statement.

"All other travel activity of the government and private citizens is proceeding unaffected by the virus. But the government sees only a Sikh pilgrimage as a health hazard," he added.

A group of pilgrims led by Akal Takht Jathedar Giani Harpreet Singh was to travel to Pakistan from February 18 to 25 to mark the centenary of the Nankana Sahib massacre.

However, the Union Home Ministry denied permission to 600 Sikh pilgrims intending to visit gurdwaras in Pakistan, citing the security and COVID-19 situation in that country.

Bains said the SAD will "gherao" the Vidhan Sabha on the opening day of the Budget session on March 1 "to give voice to the widespread popular resentment against Amarinder Singh's act of breaking his oath of promises made to the people".

The protest will highlight the alleged "illegitimacy of the present regime which was formed by misleading the people of Punjab". he said.

Amaridner had pledged a complete loan waiver of farmers, at least one government job in every family, old-age pension of Rs 2,500 to every senior citizen, free mobile phones to every youth, free education to girls up to PhD levels, said Bains.

The party also slammed the ruling party for winning the recently held civic body polls through "unleashing violence and repression".

(Only the headline and picture of this report may have been reworked by the Business Standard staff; the rest of the content is auto-generated from a syndicated feed.)
THE funeral mass has today taken place for Dr Emer Holohan.

Dr Holohan (nee Feely), the wife of Chief Medical Officer, Dr Tony Holohan, died peacefully at Our Lady's Hospice, Harold's Cross on February 19, in the company of her husband Dr Holohan and children, Clodagh and Ronan.

She had been battling a form of blood cancer since 2012 and last year her husband took time away from his work to look after her.

She was a specialist in public health medicine and a medical graduate of UCD.

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Expand Close Ireland's chief medical officer Dr Tony Holohan (left) prays by the casket of his wife, as it arrives for her funeral mass at St Pius X Church, Terenure, Dublin. Picture date: Monday February 22, 2021. PA Photo. Dr Emer Feely had been living with a terminal form of blood cancer since 2012. Photo credit should read: Damien Storan/PA Wire / Facebook

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Whatsapp Ireland's chief medical officer Dr Tony Holohan (left) prays by the casket of his wife, as it arrives for her funeral mass at St Pius X Church, Terenure, Dublin. Picture date: Monday February 22, 2021. PA Photo. Dr Emer Feely had been living with a terminal form of blood cancer since 2012. Photo credit should read: Damien Storan/PA Wire

Paying tribute to his wife, Dr Holohan said she was someone who lived for her family.

With his two children by his side, Dr Holohan described Dr Feely as a "loving, caring, warm, witty and sunny person".

"Emer, this is the day that was always coming, we knew that, we all did," he said.

"After that dreadful day in September 2012, you and I both knew you would leave us before your time, and you have.

"Your suffering is over, the pain, the anguish and the tears are at an end.

He said they gathered in a cruelly constrained way to mark her passing, in word, prayer and in song.

"This is not going to be a chronology of your life, I think too much of you to try summarise you in a few short minutes of words for people who may not know you.

"For those who do know you, they don't need me to set it out," he said.

Dr Holohan praised his wife in how she handled her long illness.

"Once upon a time, I worried about how you would ever cope with the adversity we met along the way of our lives.

"I thought your soft and sensitive nature might mean you would find some of life's tests too much for you.

"How little did I know," he said..

Expand Close Ireland's chief medical officer Dr Tony Holohan (centre) embraces family members as they arrive for the funeral mass of his wife Dr Emer Feely, at St Pius X Church, Terenure, Dublin. Picture date: Monday February 22, 2021. PA Photo. Dr Feely had been living with a terminal form of blood cancer since 2012. Photo credit should read: Damien Storan/PA Wire / Facebook

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Whatsapp Ireland's chief medical officer Dr Tony Holohan (centre) embraces family members as they arrive for the funeral mass of his wife Dr Emer Feely, at St Pius X Church, Terenure, Dublin. Picture date: Monday February 22, 2021. PA Photo. Dr Feely had been living with a terminal form of blood cancer since 2012. Photo credit should read: Damien Storan/PA Wire

He spoke of how she faced the illness without fear or anger.

"Sure, you asked the usual questions about why us and why me, but you didn't dwell on them. You didn't let it rule you or define you, no matter how it impacted you.

"Amazingly, it was in how on the countless occasions we received the proverbial bad news, you would get up the next day and simply choose to put it to one side, to get on with things and to be there for Clodagh and Ronan.

"For it was Clodagh and Ronan that kept you going, and in them and the people they are, all that they have and will achieve in their lives, that your greatest legacy will be felt."

Dr Holohan said his wife amazed the medical professionals who looked after her and defied their predictions through "sheer determination" to live for as long as she could.

"Your passing leaves a legacy and a void, a legacy that can never be destroyed and a void that will never be filled.

"The legacy you leave me, Clodagh and Ronan is how you made us feel, loved, valued, appreciated, understood and supported."

Their daughter Clodagh, who is in college, described her mother as a "ray of sunshine".

"Throughout our childhood mom was always there for us," Clodagh added.

"I remember the day when we were told that mom was sick, which was a complete shock to us all.

"The fear of the unknown was the worst bit.

"She epitomised the word brave.

"In the last number of years this horrendous disease took so much from her, her freedom, her independence, her mobility and her ability to do some of the things she loved, but it never took her strength."

Dr Feely's son, Ronan, who is studying for his Leaving Certificate exams at Terenure College, said his mother was "extremely important" to their family.

"She was truly one of a kind.

"She was one of those people who had the ability to click with every person she met, she had such a sharp wit and her sense of humour was like no other," he added.

"I have always admired her so much for her strength and resilience whenever an obstacle came her way.

"She always had that special ability to put on a brave face even when it got tough.

"She said to us the other day, 'I have fought my best fight', and she really did."
Duck Dynasty alum Sadie Robertson and her husband Christian Huff first revealed they were expecting their first child together back in October 2020.

Fast forward four months and the couple looked to be overjoyed when the expectant mother got showered with gifts at her baby shower.

Both the pending mom and dad each shared a series of photos taken during the intimate gathering on their respective Instagram pages over the weekend.

Baby showered: Sadie Robertson, 23, and husband Christian Huff, 22, each shared a series of photos on Instagram Saturday taken during her intimate baby shower

'Baby's 1st shower was the SWEETEST,' Robertson began in the caption.

'Thankful for our sweet sweet friends who threw us the shower and just continue to shower us and now her with so much love and kindness. Thankful our daughter will grow up with people like all of you! so happy rn.'

Robertson, 23, kept it stylishly simple in the fashion department for the festive event in a beige sweater dress that came down to her knees and hugged her figure.

With an electrifying glow only a pregnant woman can exude, the Louisiana native flashed a big beaming smile as she cradled her growing baby bump, a baby girl, in nearly all of the photos.

Form fitting: Robertson kept it stylishly simple in a beige sweater dress and ankle boots

Celebration! The couple each rested their hands on her growing baby bump

Family affair: The couple posed alongside their respective mothers -- Cheri Huff (left) and Korie Robertson (right)

Memorable: The mother-to-be also snuggled up with some of her close friends

In one solo snap, Robertson almost looked to be laughing as she cradles her burgeoning belly with both arms.

There's also an image the couple posed alongside her mother, Korie Robertson, and her husband's mom, Cheri Huff.

Huff, 22, shared his own Instagram post featuring photos of the parents-to-be posing together at the shower.

'I love my wifey and love celebrating our lil girl :-) thanks so much to our friends for hosting the best shower for us!' he gushed in the caption.

First-time parents: Robertson and Huff, who have been married since November 2019, are expecting a baby girl

Beaming: In one solo snap, Robertson almost looked to be laughing as she cradles her burgeoning belly with both arms

Small but sweet: The former reality star sunk her fingers into her husband as they got playful during the intimate baby shower that included a choice few friends and family

The father-to-be did in fact attend the baby shower with a choice few friends and family dressed casually in grey pants with a brown sweater and white sneakers.

Robertson, who also appeared on season 19 of Dancing With The Stars in 2014, and her husband started dating in September 2018.

They went on to announce their engagement in June 2019, and eventually got married on her familys farm in West Monroe, Louisiana, on November 25, 2019 in front of more than 600 guests.

Robertson starred on the A&E show Duck Dynasty during its 11 season run from 2012 to 2017.
Australians will be restricted from traveling abroad for a holiday in 2021, despite the launch of the COVID-19 vaccine program.

Australians would not be authorized to travel abroad

Hubs have already been set up to deliver the Pfizer vaccine in every state and territory, with health and border force personnel and elderly care patients being the first to receive the shot on Monday. Senior cabinet ministers have downplayed the possibility of Australians being allowed to go abroad for a holiday this year, despite the vaccination having a 95% effectiveness score.

Finance Minister Simon Birmingham was reluctant to announce the state border closures' end, Daily Mail reported. Birmingham told Sky News interviewer Peter Stefanovic on Monday, "We hope that there aren't virus outbreaks. We have to deal with the reality that that could happen."

Nonetheless, Senator Birmingham, whose wife Courtney Morcombe is South Australian Liberal Prime Minister Steven Marshall's chief of staff, hoped that COVID-19 vaccines would end the restriction of state borders to avoid the spread of the virus. The Senator added that there would be talks regarding the changes in dealing with COVID-19 once they see all vulnerable and older Australians and those at high risk become vaccinated.

Meanwhile, Health Minister Greg Hunt said Australians would not be authorized to travel abroad until there were no more local COVID-19 deaths. On Sunday, Greg told ABC's Insiders program that their first goal is 'protection.'

"What we see is with both the two initial vaccines, the AstraZeneca and the Pfizer vaccine, the international evidence is that the safety impact for prevention of severe illness, hospitalization, death has been determined to be up to 100%."

On Monday, Hunt also declared that Australian travelers would still be required to quarantine in a hotel, even if they received COVID-19 vaccines abroad. The Pfizer vaccine is reserved for border force workers, frontline healthcare workers, and elderly Australians.

Last week, the AstraZeneca COVID-19 vaccine, which has 62% efficacy, received Therapeutic Goods Administration approval and is set to be administered from March to Australians younger than 65. Prime Minister Scott Morrison was the second Australian to receive the Pfizer vaccine on Sunday.

Read also: YouTube Removes Former President Trump's Interview After Repeating Election Fraud Claims

Could Australia open for vaccinated tourists?

Australia, which has followed a "zero-COVID" campaign for a year, could be available to foreign visitors by 2022 but only to those who have been vaccinated. Prime Minister Scott Morrison told reporters: "I think it's a reasonable expectation that as time passes on, you should rightly expect change to happen and how we control the virus as the vaccination rolls out worldwide, including Australia."

According to Independent via MSN, Morrison said that airlines will be closely involved with vaccine passport plans and that the type of COVID-19 vaccine could be crucial. Vaccinations start on Monday in the Australian state of New South Wales.

Foreign visitors are currently barred from Australia, and in response to COVID-19 outbreaks, there have been several border closures between nations. A hotel quarantine was launched on March 28, 2020, for returning residents.

Comments from the prime minister followed calls from Tourism Australia's managing director, Phillipa Harrison, that the country should learn to deal with the coronavirus. She said at a "State of the Nation" travel conference at the Sydney Opera House: "We will only open if we accept that COVID-19 is going to be in this community."

Read also: Dubai's Missing Princess Latifa Reportedly Being Cared at Home, Royal Family Says

Australia's one-way travel with New Zealand gets back

On Saturday, Australia's Chief Medical Officer, Professor Paul Kelly, advised that 'green zone' flights from New Zealand to Australia could resume yesterday, with a few entry conditions attached. All passengers traveling on a green zone flight that has been in Auckland for some time within the last 14 days, except the airport for flying, are required to provide proof of a negative PCR test performed within 72 hours of their scheduled departure at check-in.

Routine pre-departure and arrival checking will proceed, and it is recommended that travelers planning to fly domestically to Australia check all existing restrictions in their final destination state. These requirements will extend until March 1, 2021. Professor Kelly claimed that the latest COVID-19 cases found in New Zealand posed a low risk of spreading to Australia, as per Travel Weekly.

Read also: Health Secretary Matt Hancock Says UK Prioritizes COVID-19 Fight Over Transparency

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WASHINGTON  When Representative Deb Haaland was tapped in December to be President Bidens interior secretary, the decision was hailed as historic. She was the first Native American ever nominated to serve in cabinet  in this case to head a department that, for much of the nations history, has mistreated and neglected Indigenous Americans.

On Tuesday, when she faces her confirmation hearing, another label will be applied to her nomination: embattled.

No other Biden nominee to head a cabinet department has divided the political parties as sharply. To her considerable number of supporters, she embodies the hope of the Biden era, an activist second-term representative from New Mexico who would break ground like no other member of the cabinet, ethnically and politically.

Her detractors have zeroed in on her activism, especially her forthright denunciations of any and all oil and gas exploration on public land and her fierce opposition to the natural gas extraction method known as hydraulic fracturing, or fracking.
by Bernardo Cervellera

This year's work program for Catholics has been drawn up by bishops and the Patriotic Association. Deepen the history of the Party, the Long March, Socialism, aligning with the leadership of Xi Jinping. A Theological Forum on Sinicization is also planned. More than a "pastoral" program, it is a political program in which the "independent and autonomous Church" is exalted.

Rome (AsiaNews) - July 23, 1921 is the date of the founding of the Chinese Communist Party. The event occured in Shanghai in what was once the French Concession. One hundred years after that date, in 2021, the Catholics of China will hold a symposium "in memory of the centenary of the founding of the Chinese Communist Party" and will deepen their understanding of "the moving events during the period of the Long March", which laid the foundations for the definitive victory of Mao Zedong over Chiang Kai Shek.

The information is reported in an article published in the state-Catholic magazine "The Church in China", by a certain Hui Jing, citing a preparatory meeting between the Chinese bishops and the leaders of the Patriotic Association, held in early February.

The symposium and the study of the Long March are just some of the events that will characterize the program of ecclesial commitments drawn up by the Council of Bishops and the PA for this year.

The article lists "formation courses in collaboration with the Central Institute of Socialism"; preparatory courses for the national gathering of the "Chinese People's Political Consultative Conference" (held in March); the "construction of the Patriotic Association", and much more.

Naturally, Catholics are firstly required to deepen "the guidelines of the 19th National Congress of the Chinese Communist Party and the 5th Plenary Session of the 19th National Congress", as well as assimilate "Xi Jinping's thinking on socialism with Chinese characteristics for a new era, strengthening our awareness of the need to maintain political integrity, to think in general terms, to follow the heart of the leadership and keep in line with the central Party leadership."

If there are those who find this lacking in pastoral and religious terms, the program provides for the assimilation of the Party's vision of the Catholic religion: in 2021 believers will also be called upon to familiarize themselves with "the laws and regulations concerning the Regulation on religious affairs and Measures for the administration of religious communities, carrying out the principles of love for the homeland and love for religion, the independent and autonomous Church, the democratic management of the Church."

Beyond the titles and slogans, 2021 will be a period in which the Catholic Church in China must "assimilate" the vision of a "State Church", subject in all respects to the orders of the Patriotic Association and to the Party vision. And despite the provisional agreement between China and the Vatican, with the so-called recognition of the Pope as head of the Church, the principle of the "independent and autonomous Church" and of "democratic management" is reaffirmed, which actually means the submission of bishops to the Patriotic Association.

In this political (rather than pastoral) program, the only element vaguely linked to the mission of the Church is that of Sinicization, of bringing Christian theology closer to Chinese culture. And indeed, the program includes the convening of a "Theological Forum on Sinicization, [whose] topics will include rites, sacred music and art, etc.".

What a pity that this too is under the supervision and control of the Patriotic Association, an organization linked to the Communist Party which for the most part is made up of atheist officals. And in fact, far from being an attempt to nurture faith within Chinese culture (a fact that has existed for a long time), Sinicization is only a nationalist translation of the Partys political control over the Catholic Church.
UPDATE: Lafayette College reports armed robbery in college-owned home

INITIAL POST: An intruder with a knife early Monday morning fled a Lafayette College property in the 400 block of McCartney Street in Easton, authorities report.

An alert, provided to lehighvalleylive.com by college President Alison Byerly, said the man was wearing a T-shirt and shorts.

The college will have a statement later, Byerly said just before 5:30 a.m. There were no initial reports of injuries.

The location was a home, not a dormitory, Byerly said.

Easton police served as backup as college police investigated the 3:52 a.m. incident, a city sergeant said.

The colleges exterior alert system -- which includes alarms and loudspeaker announcements -- went off about 4:30 a.m.

About 5 a.m., police were in a dormitory in the 200 block of McCartney Street and before clearing said it may have been another issue with the alert, according to emergency radio reports.

College Police Chief Jim Meyer couldnt immediately be reached just after 6 a.m. for more information.

Thank you for relying on us to provide the journalism you can trust. Please consider supporting lehighvalleylive.com with a subscription.

Tony Rhodin can be reached at arhodin@lehighvalleylive.com.

Socialite Kim Kardashian might have filed for divorce with rapper Kanye West recently, but according to sources, trouble in paradise started as back as 2018 when Kanye made the controversial statement that slavery was a choice.

A source told US Weekly, "The turning point in Kim Kardashian and Kanye West's marriage was when he said that slavery was a choice."

"They went through a really rough patch in the aftermath of that. Kim Kardashian was completely mortified by Kanye West's ridiculous and outrageous comments," the source added saying that it took a lot for them to move past it, but they were able to eventually.

Things took a turn for worst when Kanye started sharing details of their personal life with the media.

"But when Kanye West told the world that he and Kim Kardashian had discussed aborting North (in July 2020), it was the breaking point in their marriage," said the source.
In spite of tall claims of improved education system in Bihar under the Nitish administration, in reality things are no better than what it used to be during the Lalu-Rabri regime when education took a back seat while corruption and financial bungling took the centerstage.

The latest scandal to hit the current NDA government is the time-honored question-leaking matter as papers of several subjects including English and social science for the final matriculation exams were leaked in Bihar just a few days ago.

Not to let an opportunity go to waste, Rashtriya Janata Dal (RJD) leader Tejaswi Yadav slammed the Nitish government saying Bihar continued to remain in the bottom of the list when it came to education.

Questions are leaked every day. One hour before the exam begins, I get a screenshot of the test paper on my Whatsapp. I had the English paper before the second sitting of the exam yesterday, the former Deputy Chief Minister claimed while showing his message on the Whatsapp.

Demanding a full enquiry into the question-leak scandal, Yadav said the same bureaucrats that Nitish Kumar never tires of praising will be responsible for his downfall.

Kumar, in the meantime, has said that Bihar School Examination Board (BSEB) chairperson Anand Kishore was looking into it and three men have been arrested in the case.

Following the leak, test for Social Science has been canceled and now it will be held on March 8, Kishore said.

The RJD leader, who, incidentally, is not even a high school graduate, however, said that the Chief Minister believes punishing the culprits somehow absolves him of his failures whereas everyone agrees that education in Bihar has been gutted by Kumar and his men and is in need of a massive rehaul.
(@ChaudhryMAli88)

Brussels, (UrduPoint / Pakistan Point News - 22nd Feb, 2021 ) :The EU on Monday warned Myanmar's military rulers it was ready to impose sanctions over this month's coup, as foreign ministers also prepared to target those behind Russia's crackdown on Kremlin critic Alexei Navalny.

The ministers from the 27-nation bloc met in Brussels for a packed agenda that includes a wide-ranging videoconference with new US Secretary of State Antony Blinken.

Shortly after the start, they issued a statement on Myanmar, saying "the EU stands ready to adopt restrictive measures targeting those directly responsible for the military coup and their economic interests".

They called for "a de-escalation of the current crisis" triggered by the February 1 military coup in Myanmar and demanded that the overthrown civilian government be restored.

The ministers did agree to move ahead and add 19 Venezuelan officials to a blacklist for "undermining democracy" and human rights abuses after the EU rejected legislative elections in December as undemocratic.

There were also expectations they would pull the trigger on sanctions against Russian officials over the jailing of opposition leader Navalny and repression of his supporters.

Any such move would come two weeks after EU foreign policy chief Josep Borrell was caught in a diplomatic ambush in Moscow that enraged member states.

Capitals are eyeing using the EU's new human rights sanctions regime for the first time to hit individuals responsible for the Russian clampdown with asset freezes and visa bans, diplomats said.

"It's clear that Russia is on a confrontational course with the European Union," Borrell said, calling for a "united and determined" response.

- Targeted sanctions - Diplomats said they expect a political agreement to be reached on punishing Russian officials -- with the list of Names to be worked out in the coming days.

"There is a very large majority supporting the adoption of new sanctions," Romania's Foreign Minister Bogdan Aurescu said.

Two of Navalny's closest associates called for the targeting of President Vladimir Putin's closest allies -- including oligarchs -- after meetings with eight EU foreign ministers in Brussels.

"If it's just ten Kremlin officials who don't travel abroad and don't have assets abroad, then, indeed, it would not be painful," Navalny's key aide Leonid Volkov said.

European diplomats say only those directly implicated in the clampdown can be targeted because the list needs to withstand any court challenge.

The mood towards Moscow has hardened in the wake of Borrell's disastrous trip to Russia, during which Moscow announced the expulsion of three European diplomats and rebuffed talk of cooperation.

The EU has already hit Russia with waves of sanctions over the 2014 annexation of Crimea and Moscow's fuelling of the war in Ukraine.

The bloc in October slapped six officials on a blacklist over the August poisoning of Navalny with Novichok, a nerve agent.

Putin's most prominent domestic critic was this month jailed for almost three years after returning to Russia following treatment in Germany.

His sentencing sparked nationwide protests that saw baton-wielding security forces detain thousands of people.

- Blinken calling - The ongoing repression in Belarus is set to feature as the EU weighs whether it needs to introduce a fourth round of sanctions against President Alexander Lukashenko's regime.

Ministers are also set to discuss China's crackdown on Hong Kong and see if the EU needs to beef up its response as Beijing tightens it grip.

The focus will pivot to cooperation when Blinken joins for his first full talks with the bloc, with all sides looking to put the tensions of the Trump era behind them.

The discussion looks likely to range from a joint approach to common adversaries like Russia and China to the pressing issue of trying to bring the US back into the Iran deal.

The EU is currently looking to broker a meeting between Washington, Tehran and other signatories -- including Moscow -- to try to work out how to salvage the accord after Trump quit it in 2018.
Source: Xinhua| 2021-02-21 03:14:58|Editor: huaxia

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RABAT, Feb. 20 (Xinhua) -- Morocco registered 444 new COVID-19 cases on Saturday, taking the tally of confirmed cases in the North African country since March 2 to 480,948, the health ministry said in a statement.

The total number of recoveries from COVID-19 in Morocco increased to 464,043 after 772 new ones were added.

The death toll rose to 8,548 with eight new fatalities during the last 24 hours, while 423 people are in intensive care units.

Meanwhile, 2,447,716 people have been vaccinated so far against COVID-19 in the country.

Morocco received on Tuesday a second batch of 500,000 doses of China's Sinopharm COVID-19 vaccine.

The North African country launched a nationwide vaccination campaign on Jan. 28 after the arrival of the first shipment of the Chinese coronavirus vaccine. Enditem
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ARIZONA CITY, Ariz.  A military parachutist who dropped onto high-voltage power lines in southern Arizona had to dangle for several hours before he could be safely rescued by firefighters and utility crews.

Firefighters arranged to have the lines de-energized before crews using a ladder truck could get near the parachutist and pull off the rescue Friday, Eloy Fire District Assistant Chief Robert Maestas said. He called the man extremely lucky.

The jump went awry south of Arizona City near a small private airport that had been the planned landing point for the training jump. That area of southern Arizona is popular for parachute jumps, including training for military personnel.

The parachutist was making in the jump with other members of a small group of military personnel from a foreign country, Ian Mackenzie, military operations director for Airborne Support Group, an Arizona company that runs the drop zone, told The Associated Press on Saturday.

Citing security reasons, Mackenzie declined to identify the foreign country.

A statement issued by the fire district said crews had to carefully disentangle the parachutist from the power lines as a quick release would have caused a slingshot effect on the power lines already under tension.

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On one hand, we didnt want him to make too much contact with the energized power equipment, and then, on the other hand, we didnt want him to fall, Maestas told KSAZ-TV.

The man was taken to a hospital for evaluation, but he wasnt seriously injured, Maestas said. He was awake and alert and extremely lucky.

The lines are owned by the Western Area Power Administration, which is run by the U.S. Department of Energy, the Casa Grande Dispatch reported.

Arizona City is nearly 60 miles (90 kilometers) northwest of Tucson.
Ambassador of Belarus A.Konyuk meets the Minister of Economy of Armenia

On February 22th, 2021, Ambassador Extraordinary and Plenipotentiary of the Republic of Belarus to the Republic of Armenia Aleksandr Konyuk met with Minister of Economy of the Republic of Armenia, co-chair of the Intergovernmental Belarusian-Armenian Commission on trade and economic cooperation Vahan Kerobyan.

The Parties discussed the current state and prospects for the development of the Belarusian-Armenian cooperation in trade and economic spheres. An agreement was reached to hold in Minsk in April-May, 2021 the next meeting of the bilateral Intergovernmental Commission and to organize side business events.

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Peshawar, Feb 22 (PTI) Four women working for a local non-government organisation were killed and a man was seriously injured when unknown gunmen ambushed their car in Pakistan's restive Khyber Pakhtunkhwa province on Monday, police said.

The incident took place in Eppi village of Mir Ali tehsil in North Waziristan district, near the Afghanistan border. No group has claimed responsibility for the attack.

The victims worked for Sabawoon Charity, which trains women to run small-scale businesses and spreads awareness on rights, police said.

The driver was critically injured in the attack. He has been shifted to the Tehsil Headquarters Hospital. The deceased and the injured belong to Bannu district of Khyber Pakhtunkhwa.

A fifth woman was also in the car at the time of the shooting. However, she had a miraculous escape as she managed to jump out of the vehicle and hid in nearby houses.

Police said investigation is on in the case. No arrests have been made so far. Onlookers said the militants had escaped into the hillside jungle.

Meanwhile, the Human Rights Commission of Pakistan has condemned the attack. 'HRCP condemns the killing of four women social workers in #NorthWaziristan. The state must bring to book the perpetrators of this heinous crime. The re-emergence of terror groups in the area is a matter of grave concern,' the independent non-profit organisation said.

'It is the responsibility of the authorities to protect the lives and property of citizens at all costs. HRCP shares the grief of the families and colleagues of the four women who lost their lives,' the commission added. PTI AYZ IND AKJ IND
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Press Release

February 22, 2021 Lacson Pushes Greater Private Sector, LGU Participation in Vaccination Program More at: https://pinglacson.net/2021/02/22/lacson-pushes-greater-private-sector-lgu-participation-in-vaccination-program/ The private sector and local government units (LGUs) should be treated as partners and not competitors in the national government's COVID-19 vaccination program by being allowed to actively and even proactively procure and administer vaccines, Sen. Panfilo M. Lacson stressed Monday. Lacson said this is as long as they are in close coordination and under the supervision of the Department of Health and National Task Force Against COVID-19. "One common mistake that every administration commits is treating the private sector as competitors through over-regulation instead of partners especially during the time of crisis such as this pandemic that we are confronting now," he said. "Let's face the reality that the private sector does not go through the same bureaucratic delays that their counterpart in the public sector suffers from," he added. During his interpellation of Senate Bill 2057, the proposed COVID-19 Vaccination Program Act of 2021, Lacson said the national government should treat the private sector as partners rather than competitors through over-regulation. Lacson noted a proviso in Section 5 of the bill, where private entities cannot get more favorable terms than the government in procuring vaccines. "If we allow the private sector to go ahead and procure vaccines and administer vaccines, it would accelerate further the rollout and accomplishment of our vaccination program," he said. Lacson also cited a Straits Times report that the Indonesian government allowed the private sector to help inoculate the population to reach herd immunity faster. "This is with safeguards of course, with close coordination with the national government particularly the NTF and DOH. The point is, we have the same target population. Why not be partners in our vaccination program? I don't think we'll lose much, we'll gain more if we allow the private sector to help," he said. Lacson cited his experience as the then Presidential Assistant for Rehabilitation and Recovery under the Aquino administration, where the private sector played a major role in alleviating the suffering of those affected by Super Typhoon Yolanda (Haiyan). "Right after I took my oath on December 10, 2013, I was told to attend the full cabinet meeting to formulate the government's strategic plan contained in the Reconstruction Assistance on Yolanda (RAY). While reading through the draft of RAY, no mention was made on the private sector participation, which I asked to be reconsidered. As it turned out, the private sector contributed so much and with such speed and efficiency that greatly helped alleviate the suffering of our countrymen in the 171 cities and municipalities devastated by Typhoon Yolanda," he said. Meanwhile, Lacson questioned the Food and Drug Administration's issuance of an Emergency Use Authorization for COVID vaccines from Sinovac, but advising against its use for health frontliners. "It's like a chef who refuses to eat the food he just cooked because it is not good, but which he serves to the customers. How can a vaccinator convince the one that he is about to inoculate if he/she himself/herself is being discouraged by the government to use the Sinovac vaccine? This raises more questions and issues than what the National Task Force (NTF) Against COVID-19 is already busy grappling with," he said.
One current and one former City Hall official confirmed Ms. Hintons account. The governors office said neither it or the anecdote about the Working Families Party was true, characterizing the negative comments about Mr. Cuomo, a third-term Democrat, as coming from political adversaries. The office also said the governor was direct with people if their work is subpar.

The people of this state have known and given the governor their trust for the last 14 years, have heard him and looked into his eyes during the darkest period, Richard Azzopardi, a senior adviser to Mr. Cuomo, said in a statement. Yes, they have seen him get impatient with partisan politics and disingenuous attacks, and New Yorkers feel the same way. They know you must fight to change the status quo and special interests to make progress, and no one has made more progress than this governor.

Even Mr. Cuomos detractors will concede that the governors heavy-handed approach has often been effective in delivering concrete liberal accomplishments, including legalizing same-sex marriage, raising the minimum wage and enacting criminal justice reforms.

Others describe the governors use of anger as an executive skill, employed to cut through niceties and other time-wasters  skills of particular use during a pandemic response.

The governor understands the political value of taking action and creating the perception of strength, even if it occasionally seems cocksure or bullying, said Eric Phillips, a former spokesman for Mr. de Blasio. He called the governor a master of brutalist political theater, though he said those skills were less effective in a moment demanding contrition or even a modicum of self-critique.

Defenders also say that New Yorkers  who have elected Mr. Cuomo three times, commandingly  know what the governors personality is like. Its well-worn territory for the press and the public, said Josh Vlasto, Mr. Cuomos former chief of staff. Those traits are there, but they are part of a broader perception of him that the voters like and are comfortable with.

Ken Sunshine, a veteran public relations executive and a longtime friend of the governors, noted that the nature of New York politics is tough. Has he raised his voice on calls with me? Im sure he has, Mr. Sunshine said. Have I done it sometimes? Sure. And by the way, were from a place called New York. Its not for the timid.
[February 22, 2021] TSU joins nation's first quantum education and research initiative through partnership with tech giant IBM

NASHVILLE, Tenn., Feb. 22, 2021 /PRNewswire/ -- Tennessee State University says it looks forward to students being on the cutting edge of technology in the fields of finance, digital manufacturing, and military affairs now that the institution is a member of the IBM-HBCU Quantum Center. TSU announced today that it has joined the nation's first?quantum education and research initiative?for historically black colleges and universities. The aim of the center is to help students and faculty build skills in quantum computing and increase diversity and inclusion in the field. "With the creation of Big Data, Artificial Intelligence (AI) and aerospace designing just to name a few, quantum computing has quickly become an emerging technology," said TSU President Glenda Glover. "The IBM-HBCU Quantum Center partnership helps TSU prepare our students and faculty to be innovators in this field. It is an absolute game-changer when we consider our current climate and how research could lead to new discoveries in medicine and drug development." TSU is one of 10 newly added institutions that comprise the 23 HBCUs that have joined the Center to date. As part of the initiative, TSU will have access to IBM quantum computers on the cloud, as well as opportunities for joint collaboration on research, education, and community outreach programs. "IBM's priority in launching the Center is to support and facilitate quantum research and education for HBCU faculty and students as part of the growing quantum workforce," said Dr. Kayla Lee, Product Manager for Community Partnerships, IBM Quantum. "We're proud to continue building on the momentum of the founding institutions and looking forward to collaborating with Tennessee State University to build a quantum future." Established in September 2020, the IBM-HBCU Quantum?Center?is a multi-year investment designed to prepare and develop?talent at HBCUs from all STEM disciplines for the quantum future.?It?emphasizes the power of community and focuses on developing students through support and funding for rsearch opportunities, curriculum development, workforce advocacy, and special projects.?



Jeia Moore, a junior from Memphis, Tennessee majoring in business information systems at TSU, said she's glad the university is now part of the Center. "IBM has opened opportunities for me, my peers, and my university," she said. "Having a firsthand experience of the nation's first?quantum initiative?for HBCUs will allow me to grow and develop in the computing world. I am grateful to see companies invest in me, my peers, and Tennessee State University."

IBM continues to deliver on the Center's goal to build a sustainable quantum research and education program by increasing the number of black students educated in Quantum Information Science and Engineering (QISE), strengthening research efforts of faculty at HBCUs in QISE, providing opportunities for scholarships, fellowships and internships, and empowering HBCUs to lead in the quantum workforce and broader black communities. The 25 HBCUs participating in the Center?were prioritized based on their research and education focus in physics, engineering, mathematics, computer science, and other STEM fields. "Tennessee State University is proud to be invited to partner in the IBM-HBCU Quantum Center," said Dr. Michael Harris, Interim Provost and Vice President of Academic Affairs at TSU. "This partnership will provide our faculty and students with excellent opportunities to pursue research and specific tasks in quantum and its impact on computing, a leading technology guiding fields across business and industry." Iris Ramey, Director of Corporate and Foundation Relations at TSU, agreed. "Our students and faculty are anxious to begin the high level of research and learning that the Center will require," said Ramey. "We are grateful to IBM for this opportunity." For more information about the IBM-HBCU Quantum Center, read HBCU Center Driving Diversity and Inclusion in Quantum Computing Tennessee State University

Founded in 1912, Tennessee State University is Nashville's only public university, and is a premier, historically black university and land-grant institution offering 39 bachelor's degree programs, 24 master's degree programs, and eight doctoral degrees. TSU is a comprehensive research- intensive institution with a R-2 Carnegie designation, and has a graduate school on its downtown Avon Williams Campus, along with the Otis Floyd Nursery Research Center in McMinnville, Tennessee. With a commitment to excellence, Tennessee State University provides students with a quality education in a nurturing and innovative environment that prepares them as alumni to be global leaders in every facet of society. Visit the University online at tnstate.edu. View original content to download multimedia:http://www.prnewswire.com/news-releases/tsu-joins-nations-first-quantum-education-and-research-initiative-through-partnership-with-tech-giant-ibm-301232690.html SOURCE Tennessee State University

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For only the second time, astronomers have linked an elusive particle called a high-energy neutrino to an object outside our galaxy. Using ground- and space-based facilities, including NASA's Neil Gehrels Swift Observatory, they traced the neutrino to a black hole tearing apart a star, a rare cataclysmic occurrence called a tidal disruption event.

"Astrophysicists have long theorized that tidal disruptions could produce high-energy neutrinos, but this is the first time we've actually been able to connect them with observational evidence," said Robert Stein, a doctoral student at the German Electron-Synchrotron (DESY) research center in Zeuthen, Germany, and Humboldt University in Berlin. "But it seems like this particular event, called AT2019dsg, didn't generate the neutrino when or how we expected. It's helping us better understand how these phenomena work."

The findings, led by Stein, were published in the Feb. 22 issue of Nature Astronomy and are available online. Neutrinos are fundamental particles that far outnumber all the atoms in the universe but rarely interact with other matter. Astrophysicists are particularly interested in high-energy neutrinos, which have energies up to 1,000 times greater than those produced by the most powerful particle colliders on Earth. They think the most extreme events in the universe, like violent galactic outbursts, accelerate particles to nearly the speed of light. Those particles then collide with light or other particles to generate high-energy neutrinos. The first confirmed high-energy neutrino source, announced in 2018, was a type of active galaxy called a blazar.

Tidal disruption events occur when an unlucky star strays too close to a black hole. Gravitational forces create intense tides that break the star apart into a stream of gas. The trailing part of the stream escapes the system, while the leading part swings back around, surrounding the black hole with a disk of debris. In some cases, the black hole launches fast-moving particle jets. Scientists hypothesized that tidal disruptions would produce high-energy neutrinos within such particle jets. They also expected the events would produce neutrinos early in their evolution, at peak brightness, whatever the particles' production process.

AT2019dsg was discovered on April 9, 2019, by the Zwicky Transient Facility (ZTF), a robotic camera at Caltech's Palomar Observatory in Southern California. The event occurred over 690 million light-years away in a galaxy called 2MASX J20570298+1412165, located in the constellation Delphinus.

As part of a routine follow-up survey of tidal disruptions, Stein and his team requested visible, ultraviolet, and X-ray observations with Swift. They also took X-ray measurements using the European Space Agency's XMM-Newton satellite and radio measurements with facilities including the National Radio Astronomy Observatory's Karl G. Jansky Very Large Array in Socorro, New Mexico, and the South African Radio Astronomy Observatory's MeerKAT telescope.

Peak brightness came and went in May. No clear jet appeared. According to theoretical predictions, AT2019dsg was looking like a poor neutrino candidate.

Then, on Oct. 1, 2019, the National Science Foundation's IceCube Neutrino Observatory at the Amundsen-Scott South Pole Station in Antarctica detected a high-energy neutrino called IC191001A and backtracked along its trajectory to a location in the sky. About seven hours later, ZTF noted that this same patch of sky included AT2019dsg. Stein and his team think there is only one chance in 500 that the tidal disruption is not the neutrino's source. Because the detection came about five months after the event reached peak brightness, it raises questions about when and how these occurrences produce neutrinos.

"Tidal disruption events are incredibly rare phenomena, only occurring once every 10,000 to 100,000 years in a large galaxy like our own. Astronomers have only observed a few dozen at this point," said Swift Principal Investigator S. Bradley Cenko at NASA's Goddard Space Flight Center in Greenbelt, Maryland. "Multiwavelength measurements of each event help us learn more about them as a class, so AT2019dsg was of great interest even without an initial neutrino detection."

For example, tidal disruptions generate visible and UV light in the outer regions of their hot accretion disks. In AT2019dsg, these wavelengths plateaued shortly after they peaked. That was unusual because such plateaus typically appear only after a few years. The researchers suspect the galaxy's monster black hole, with a mass estimated at 30 million times the Sun's, could have forced the stellar debris to settle into a disk more quickly than it might have around a less massive black hole.

AT2019dsg is one of only a handful of known X-ray-emitting tidal disruptions. Scientists think the X-rays come from either the inner part of the accretion disk, close to the black hole, or from high-speed particle jets. The outburst's X-rays faded by an unprecedented 98% over 160 days. Stein's team doesn't see clear evidence indicating the presence of jets and instead suggests rapid cooling in the disk most likely explains the precipitous drop in X-rays.

Not everyone agrees with this analysis. Another explanation, authored by DESY's Walter Winter and Cecilia Lunardini, a professor at Arizona State University in Tempe, proposes that the emission came from a jet that was swiftly obscured by a cloud of debris. The researchers published their alternative interpretation in the same issue of Nature Astronomy.

Astronomers think radio emission in these phenomena comes from the black hole accelerating particles, either in jets or more moderate outflows. Stein's team thinks AT2019dsg falls into the latter category. The scientists also discovered that the radio emission continued steadily for months and did not fade along with the visible and UV light, as previously assumed.

The neutrino detection, combined with the multiwavelength measurements, prompted Stein and his colleagues to rethink how tidal disruptions might produce high-energy neutrinos.

The radio emission shows that particle acceleration happens even without clear, powerful jets and can operate well after peak UV and visible brightness. Stein and his colleagues suggest those accelerated particles could produce neutrinos in three distinct regions of the tidal disruption: in the outer disk through collisions with UV light, in the inner disk through collisions with X-rays, and in the moderate outflow of particles through collisions with other particles.

Stein's team suggests AT2019dsg's neutrino likely originated from the UV-bright outer part of the disk, based on the fact that the particle's energy was more than 10 times greater than can be achieved by particle colliders.

"We predicted that neutrinos and tidal disruptions could be related, and seeing that for the first time in the data is just very exciting," said co-author Sjoert van Velzen, an assistant professor at Leiden University in the Netherlands. "This is another example of the power of multimessenger astronomy, using a combination of light, particles, and space-time ripples to learn more about the cosmos. When I was a graduate student, it was often predicted this new era of astronomy was coming, but now to actually be part of it is very rewarding."

###

Goddard manages the Swift mission in collaboration with Penn State, the Los Alamos National Laboratory in New Mexico, and Northrop Grumman Innovation Systems in Dulles, Virginia. Other partners include the University of Leicester and Mullard Space Science Laboratory in the United Kingdom, Brera Observatory, and the Italian Space Agency in Italy.

By Jeanette Kazmierczak

NASA's Goddard Space Flight Center, Greenbelt, Md.
Have You Seen This? Baby calmed by Imperial March
Denton, TX (76205)

Today

Showers and thunderstorms. High 79F. Winds SSE at 10 to 20 mph. Chance of rain 100%. 1 to 2 inches of rain expected. Locally heavier rainfall possible..

Tonight

Thunderstorms early, overcast overnight with occasional rain. Low near 65F. Winds S at 5 to 10 mph. Chance of rain 90%. 1 to 2 inches of rain expected. Locally heavier rainfall possible.
Updates on CCP Virus: Hundreds Rally Against Arrest of Canadian Pastor Who Defied Lockdown

Hundreds of protesters rallied outside the Edmonton Remand Centre on Feb. 20 to show their support for pastor James Coates, who remained in custody after being charged with breaking Albertas COVID-19 rules and refusing to comply with his conditions of release.

In December 2020, GraceLife church in Edmonton was fined CA$1,200 ($950) when it hosted more people than the 15 percent limit mandated by the Alberta public health measures for faith-based services. The church was then issued a closure order in January, but Coates, the churchs pastor, continued holding services and was charged with one count of breaking the Public Health Act earlier this month and was later released on bail. He later broke the conditions of his release and was again charged.

Coates turned himself in to the Parkland RCMP on Feb. 16 and remains in custody.

US Crosses 500,000 Virus Deaths

The United States on Monday crossed the 500,000 milestone for CCP virus deaths just over a year since the pandemic claimed its first known victim in Santa Clara County, California.

The country had recorded more than 28 million CCP (Chinese Communist Party) virus cases and 500,054 lives lost as of Monday afternoon, according to a Reuters tally of public health data, although daily cases and hospitalizations have fallen to the lowest level since before the Thanksgiving and Christmas holidays.

English Schools to Reopen on March 8 as UK Eases Lockdown

Schools in England will reopen on March 8 as part of the governments four-step roadmap to lift the CCP virus lockdown, British Prime Minister Boris Johnson announced on Monday.

Addressing the House of Commons, Johnson laid his roadmap out of the lockdown, which includes four stages with five weeks in between.

As part of the first stage, Johnson said, I can tell the House that two weeks from today pupils and students in all schools and further education settings can safely return to face-to-face teaching, supported by twice-weekly testing of secondary school and college pupils.

UK Shopper Numbers Rise for Fifth Straight Week Despite Lockdown

The number of people heading out to shops across Britain increased by 6.8 percent last week versus the previous week, a fifth straight week of uplift despite the national lockdown, market researcher Springboard said on Monday.

It said shopper numbers, or footfall, in the week to Feb. 20 was up 10.5 percent in high streets, 4.5 percent in shopping centers, and 1.2 percent in retail parks.

California Death Toll Tops 49,000

Californias death toll during the CCP (Chinese Communist Party) virus pandemic has topped 49,000, even as the rates of new infections and hospitalizations continue to plummet across the state.

California reported another 408 deaths Sunday, bringing the total since the outbreak began to 49,105the highest in the nation.

CDC Was Unwilling to Partner With Industry for Rapid Sequencing: Former Trump Adviser

The deputy national security adviser during the Trump Administration, Matthew Pottinger, said Sunday that during the onset of the CCP virus pandemic, the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) was unwilling to partner with industrial labs that could provide rapid COVID-19 sequencing.

He suggested that one of the reasons for the lack of collaboration is that over the years, the CDC has developed an academic kind of mindset, and prefers to run tests internally.

Hong Kong Leader Gets Chinas Sinovac Vaccine in Bid to Bolster Confidence

Hong Kongs leader Carrie Lam received Chinas Sinovac vaccine on Monday together with top officials at a live televised event in a bid to bolster public confidence ahead of the vaccines rollout in the global financial hub this week.

Sinovac is the first COVID-19 vaccine to be introduced in Hong Kong, ahead of the Pfizer/BioNTech vaccine set to arrive in the Chinese special administrative region before the end of February.

The vaccine was found to be 50.4 percent effective, according to the results of a late-stage trial in Brazil.

Stricter Public Health Measures Now in Effect at Canadian Borders, Airports

A mandatory three-day hotel quarantine for most travelers landing at Canadian airports comes into effect today, along with a suite of measures meant to prevent contagious COVID-19 variants from entering the country.

Prime Minister Justin Trudeau has said the tighter border controls are meant to keep everyone safe, not punish travelers. Anyone flying into the country will be required to foot the bill for their hotel stays. Travelers will also have to complete multiple COVID-19 tests in the days after they arrive in Canada.

Alexander Zhang, Isabel van Brugen, The Canadian Press, The Associated Press, and Reuters contributed to this report.
Chief of the Naval Staff, Admiral Muhammad Amjad Khan Niazi visited Pakistan Maritime Security Agency (PMSA) Headquarters at Karachi. Upon arrival, the Naval Chief was received by DG PMSA, Rear Admiral Muhammad Shuaib

Karachi (UrduPoint / Pakistan Point News - 22th Feb, 2021) Chief of the Naval Staff, Admiral Muhammad Amjad Khan Niazi visited Pakistan Maritime Security Agency (PMSA) Headquarters at Karachi. Upon arrival, the Naval Chief was received by DG PMSA, Rear Admiral Muhammad Shuaib. The Admiral was presented Guard of Honour by smartly turned out contingent.

Thereafter, Chief of the Naval Staff was given briefing on roles & tasks of PMSA. The Naval Chief visited Maritime Rescue Coordination Centre (MRCC) where he was apprised regarding operational readiness of PMSA to enforce laws in the maritime zone of Pakistan.

While interacting with the officers and staff members of PMSA, Chief of the Naval Staff, Admiral Muhammad Amjad Khan Niazi lauded the commitment and efforts of PMSA in maritime domain.

Naval Chief emphasized that being the only maritime law enforcement agency, PMSA has responsibility to safeguard national maritime interests. The Admiral stressed that PMSA has to play an active role in Governments initiatives related to development of Blue Economy. Naval Chief also appreciated the agencys efforts in facilitating fishermen community and ensuring their safety and security at sea.

The Admiral expressed satisfaction over operational capabilities tasks performed by PMSA. He also assured that Pakistan Navy will continue to provide all out support to PMSA.
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At the rally, protesters in Yerevan threw eggs at the building of the Special Investigative Service of Armenia, media reports.

According to RIA Novosti, when the crowd approached the building, the demonstrators began loudly calling on its employees to disobey the authorities. At the same time, several activists threw eggs towards the department.

Law enforcers did not react to this provocation.
Hi there, Eagle readers! Welcome to the first installment of The Cannabis Consultant, a new, sponsored column that aims to educate and help cl
At the moment, Democrats in Washington appear to be in danger of sleepwalking their way toward a major policy and public relations debacle.

The problem? With tax season underway, millions of Americans who lost their jobs thanks to the coronavirus crisis might soon discover that they unexpectedly owe thousands of dollars to the IRS. Lawmakers could prevent this wave of surprise tax bills by adding a fix to the $1.9 trillion coronavirus relief package thats currently moving through Congress. But so far, efforts to do so seem to be stalling out.

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A senior Democratic aide told me that, as of now, he thought the chances legislators would act were slim to none, and described the failure as political malpractice.

While unemployment benefits have long been considered taxable income, recipients are often unaware of that fact until its time to file. Under normal circumstances, this is not necessarily a disaster, since people tend to stay on unemployment for relatively short stints of time. But the past year has been different. A historic number of households fell back on unemployment insurance to survive the pandemic, and some have collected well over $10,000 or even $20,000 in aid thanks to the enhanced benefits Congress enacted.

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Already stories are beginning to trickle in from people who have hit send on their returns, only to be blindsided by a tax bill. Take this example, courtesy of a great piece from HuffPost reporter and Slate Money co-host Emily Peck:

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Julie Evans thought shed get a refund from the IRS this year, so she got to work on her taxes first thing in January. A former administrative assistant, Evans was out of work for all of 2020. To save money, she is living with her adult children in Kent, Washington, and scraping by on unemployment benefits. The idea of $400 or so [refund] was enticing, she said. Instead, Evans got a shock: a $1,600 tax bill. I dont know where Im going to come up with the money, the 59-year-old told HuffPost.

It is not entirely clear how many households will be affected by this issue, but a recent report by the Century Foundation suggests the total could be quite large.

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By law, states are required to give applicants the choice to withhold some of their unemployment benefits for tax payments. Some people turn down the opportunity, either because they need the money immediately or because they simply fail to notice the option. But in the bureaucratic fog of the pandemic, some states didnt offer withholding at all for federal unemployment benefits created specially for the crisis.

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Ultimately, the Century Foundation reports authors estimate that states only withheld taxes on 40 percent of jobless payments, meaning a whole lot of people could unknowingly owe money.

It does not take a political savant to figure out why this is problematic. From the standpoint of basic decency, struggling families dont need the hardship of a surprise tax bill. From the standpoint of economic policymaking, it doesnt make any sense to tax back billions in unemployment benefits while simultaneously spending massive amounts of money on a new round of aid. And from the standpoint of pure politics, people are obviously going to be pissed off if they get whacked with a tax bill they cant pay, or if their new stimulus check essentially gets eaten by the IRS. Voters are going to feel angry and cheated, and as one after another is paraded across cable news, it could well undo a lot of the goodwill the COVID bill might otherwise generate for Democrats and the Biden administration.

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Again, some Democrats are trying to head off this issue before it potentially explodes by including a fix in the $1.9 trillion COVID relief bill currently making its way through Congress. Senate Majority Whip Dick Durbin and Iowa Rep. Cindy Axne, for instance, introduced legislation that would forgive taxes on up to $10,200 in unemployment benefits. But the House Ways and Means Committee chose not to include the provision. And its unclear, at best, whether the idea will make it into the Senate version. While there is support for tax forgiveness, there are many priorities members are fighting for, another Democratic aide told me. Conversations are ongoing.

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Why wouldnt Democrats just fix this? Part of the answer has to do with the arcane rules governing budget reconciliation, the procedure Democrats are using to skirt the filibuster and pass their COVID bill with just 50 votes in the Senate. Under the process, each committee is assigned a section of the legislation, along with a ceiling on what they are allowed to spend. If the Senate wanted to add a UI tax fix, the chambers Finance Committee would have to cut something else from its section of the bill, since the issue would fall under its jurisdiction. And finding things to cut is tricky.1

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But there might be one obvious place where Democrats could trim. At the moment, Democrats are planning to give state and local governments $350 billion in unrestricted aid to help patch up their budgets, on top of additional money for schools and transit. As I wrote last week, thats likely a bit more than they need at this point, and conveniently, the state and local funding is assigned to the Senate Finance Committee section of the bill. Democrats could almost certainly get away with shrinking the pot by $50 billion, which is how much Goldman Sachs estimates Americans will owe in taxes on their jobless benefits. If it turns out states do need more help down the line, Democrats can add it to a bill next year.

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If Congress fails to act, its possible that the Biden administration could step in. The Century Foundation report argues that the unemployment benefits passed to deal with the pandemic never should have been considered taxable to begin with because the IRS code excludes government payments made in connection with a qualified disaster in order to promote the general welfare. Under the Trump administration, the Treasury Department decided that unemployment benefits were subject to tax anyway. But under the new regime of Secretary Janet Yellen, it could potentially reverse course.

So far, the White House hasnt shown any signs that its willing to do so. Instead, Democrats seem to be ambling toward a completely foreseeable and utterly avoidable self-own.
An elderly woman allegedly held captive as a slave for eight years by a couple claims she was cruelly beaten with frozen chickens in front of her captors' own children.

The woman, who along with the couple accused of keeping her a slave cannot be named due to a court-imposed gag order, has appeared on video again on Monday before a Supreme Court of Victoria jury in Melbourne.

'She will take the chicken and put it on my head, or she will, ah, hit my face,' the alleged slave told a federal agent after her rescue in 2015.

A woman accused of being a slave driver would 'throw things' if she was not satisfied with the quality of her alleged slave's work

A man accused of being a slaver enters the Supreme Court of Victoria

The woman twice came to Melbourne from her home in Tamil Nadu, in southern India, to care for the couple's three children (pictured), then disappeared for eight years, the court heard

'She will take a chicken, frozen chicken, and hit on my head and all that.'

The couple are accused of 'crimes against humanity' by allegedly keeping the woman a slave for eight years.

On Monday, the jury was played the third of six video-recorded interviews the woman participated in.

The jury heard the woman, speaking through a Tamil interpreter, explain how she was 'tortured' by her female captor even after sustaining a broken wrist in a fall.

'Like then there was problems and, um, that she would ask me to do all the job, you know work like, quickly,' she told the agent.

'If I don't act quickly then she will beat me here, beat me there, she will beat my head and, like, how can I do fast because I can't because my fingers won't function because of the - it's broken there, and my hands were like this.'

The woman claimed her captor would kick her injured leg and routinely beat her.

'It was swollen. And then she kicked me on my swollen leg, and my legs gone,' she said. 'I have this much hair, and she was pulling my hair, so now its all gone.'

The woman said she was allowed to sleep just one hour a night and was forbidden from speaking.

'She won't let me sleep. Um, if I fold the clothes and put away, she will just, you know, tip it over and then say, "Okay, fold again. This is not, you know, nicely folded. Do it again, do that, do this,",' she said.

The female slaver has been accused of throwing things when unhappy with her alleged slave

The couple accused of imprisoning her allegedly lied about how they knew her when she collapsed in their Melbourne home, a court heard

When the woman did eventually fall asleep, she was cruelly awoken, the jury heard.

'Then if I go and sleep then she will come and pour the water on me and then put the light, and she won't let me sleep,' the woman said.

'And without sleep, how can I function the next day? No sleep at all, and then she will abuse me saying that, "You are an orphan, you're, um, you're a beggar, you don't have anybody here ... So this is all she treated me like really ill-treated, and she tortured, and tortured, and tortured.'

The woman claimed the beatings went on for years at a time.

The husband and wife, whose home she was found at, are accused of intentionally possessing the woman as a slave between July 2007 and July 2015

'First time I dont know. Its, like, almost every day. Like, um, when she is not happy she will just throw it on my face. Tea, she will throw it on me,' she told the agent.

'Like, hot water. When its bubbling, she will put it on my leg. Then I would get like, big boils there and she wont look at it. Shell be drinking and then she will throw it on my face. Whatever it is, she will just pick up and throw  ah, pour it on my head.'

The woman claimed to suffer humiliating attacks at the family table.

'She will put her fingers and pull everything out of my mouth,' the woman said.

'And also she will pick all the vegetables and she will put it in my mouth and she will stuff it, and she will say, Eat, eat, eat." ... And she will kick me or punch me.'

Further allegations of torture including beatings with a stone pestle.

The woman was discovered in 2015 after she collapsed inside the couple's Glen Waverley home.

She had been found in a pool of her own urine weighing just 40kg with a temperature of just 28.5C and suffering from sepsis.

Traumatised and with serious medical conditions, she spent more than two months in hospital recovering - and for much of that time nobody knew her real identity.

The husband and wife have pleaded not guilty to intentionally keeping the woman as a slave between July 2007 and July 2015.

The jury heard the alleged slave was doomed to fail no matter how hard she worked for the couple.

'Even when there was nothing, she would find fault with this and that  when I was clipping nails, she would rush me asking why I was taking so long  and would hit me. Couldnt hold the hand like this would be swollen,' she said.

'I was not cook quick enough. Plus the kids need to be fed. But if she just, um, you know, um, throw everything, whatever I cook, how can I cook again?'

An alleged slaver leaves court in 2017. She faces years behind bars if convicted of the 'crime against humanity'

The alleged slaver denies the allegations and claims her supposed victim made up the story to save her own skin

The woman said she was unable to defend herself against the attacks and had little assistance from her male captor, whom she claimed sat idly by.

'If I open my mouth, she will just hit me like that,' the jury heard.

'Husband did nothing to stop: Just the kids, her and her husband. And he will just sit at the  um, in front of the computer afterwards.'

Even the presence of her captor's own children failed to stop the abuse, the woman said.

'When the father shouts or curse them, you know, they dont care. They are okay. But when she will yell at the kids and she will beat them ... theyre all very scared,' she said.

The woman told police her female captor was the predominant tormentor and would shut down her husband if he tried to intervene.

'Because I was strong. I was able to suffer. For four years I was telling that my legs were hurting, hurting. If I ask him and he did bring any medication, she would scold him. Like, Im also feeling not great, my leg is also hurting. Why are you buying medication for her?,' the woman told police.

So concerned was the woman about her legs, she believed doctors needed to amputate them.

The female accused's barrister, Dr Gideon Boas, had earlier told the jury his client actually considered the woman as family and referred to her affectionately as 'grandmother'.

He claimed the only crime his client had committed was harbouring the woman after her one-month travel visa had expired.

It was fear of prosecution over the visa violation that not only caused the woman to lie to authorities, but the alleged victim to lie about her captivity, the court heard.

Dr Boas said the alleged victim had 'crucial motivation' to make up the story after being questioned by police and Australian Border Force officers.

'There is very much another side to the story,' Dr Boas said.

The trial continues.
Today, the Artsakh (Nagorno-Karabakh) State Service of Emergency Situations issued a statement saying that the Azerbaijani side is obstructing the search and rescue operations, which had started after the ceasefire last November and were never interrupted for a long time. Ani Samsonyan, a member of the opposition Bright Armenia parliamentary faction, on Monday wrote about this on Facebook.

"It is inadmissible for this work to stop because any delay creates unfavorable conditions for searching and finding the bodies of the victims. The families of the victims should not be deprived of the right to know the fate of their relatives.

The Armenian side must demand justifications from Azerbaijan as to why they are obstructing this work. Otherwise, it is assumed that Azerbaijan once again intends to violate international humanitarian law with impunity and try to reap benefits from it," Samsonyan added.

People wait to receive as health technicians prepare Pfizer-BioNTechs vaccines at the Alcabideche sports complex, in Cascais, Portugal. Photo: Anadolu Agency/Anadolu Agency via Getty Images

New data from the United Kingdom on Monday suggests that one shot of Pfizers vaccine being used across the world provides a great deal of protection after the first shot. The findings come as experts debate ways to get the most protection as quickly as possible from the limited vaccine supply, such as delaying second doses in favor of administering more first doses.

Researchers at the University of Edinburgh compared outcomes for people in Scotland who had received a first shot with those for people who had not, collecting data from 5.4 million subjects, almost the entire population of the country. Four weeks after they had gotten their first dose, hospital admissions had dropped 85 percent among those who had been given the Pfizer vaccine. With the AstraZeneca vaccine, the reduction was even greater, cutting the risk of hospitalization with COVID by 94 percent. Among people aged 80 and over, one of the highest risk groups, the combined results for both vaccines showed an 81 percent reduction in hospitalization. (The study had its limitations: Researchers did not look at whether people who were vaccinated passed it on or whether immunity waned over time, and the paper has not yet been peer-reviewed.) These results are very encouraging and have given us great reasons to be optimistic for the future, said Professor Aziz Sheikh, director of the University of Edinburghs Usher Institute. We now have national evidence  across an entire country  that vaccination provides protection against COVID-19 hospitalizations.

On the same day, England released initial study data on more than 23,000 medical workers that suggests that a single jab of the Pfizer vaccine cuts the risk of infection by more than 70 percent. After two doses, that rises to 85. This high level of protection even extended to the more infectious B.1.1.7, a variant of the coronavirus first found in the U.K. last fall, which has become widespread in the country and elsewhere.

The findings bolster those from Israel published last week showing the Pfizer vaccines effectiveness. Health-care workers who received one shot were 75 percent less likely to get COVID 15 to 28 days after the shot than their unvaccinated peers. These are the latest in a series of positive results to emerge from Israel, which has administered more vaccines per capita than anywhere else in the world, turning the country into real-life laboratory to understand if vaccines can end the pandemic.

According to Mary Ramsey, head of immunization at Public Health England, a single dose provides robust protection from the virus, which she said supports the argument for delaying the second jab and freeing up doses to inoculate more people. The good sign is, overall, we are beginning to see a decline in hospitalizations and deaths in those vaccinated age groups, [and] at least some is attributable to the vaccination program, Ramsay said during the press conference. She added that the findings reinforce the policy of giving that single dose to more people to prevent more deaths and more admissions now and then going back later and getting the second dose, which will give them longer lasting protection.
SUV

The SUV is being towed out of North Park Lake. pic.twitter.com/o7B0wEKWL5  Kristina Serafini (@KristinaS_Trib) February 18, 2021

This is one of those times: police would like to kindly remind drivers not to drive their cars on the surface of frozen lakes, especially if said lakes come with various warnings and messages that no type of leisure activity except ice fishing is allowed.This happened at the end of last week, on the North Park Lake in McCandless Township, just outside Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania. A 24-year-old man at the wheel of a 2010 Subaru Forester thought it would be fun if he drove off the boat ramp and onto the lake . He soon got to find out it really wasnt.Hisdidnt make it all the way to the shore and became partially submerged when the ice broke, swallowing the rear end. Luckily, the driver was able to get out of it and run to the shore without being injured.Asked why hed think driving across the frozen lake at night was a good idea, he first told police he thought itd be fun, according to Allegheny County Police Lieutenant Scott Scherer speaking to CNN/CBS . Later on, perhaps realizing he was in trouble for it, he changed his story to say he got confused and thought the lake was an empty parking lot. The second version is even funnier than the first, given the many warning signs that dot the area.He was lucky to get out and we hope this serves as an example to stay off the ice in north park. It is dangerous without a doubt, Lt. Scherer tells the media.The SUV was eventually towed off the lake, but it wasnt without plenty of effort from local enforcement and plenty of manpower. It is believed to be a total write-off and, not surprisingly, the driver is facing charges at the end of the investigation.So, yes, maybe try to resist the urge to drive on frozen lakes
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An exhibit shows a Neanderthal family at the Neanderthal Museum in Krapina, Croatia, in February 2010. Reuters/Nikola Solic

Earth's magnetic poles flipped 42,000 years ago, which may have triggered a global climate crisis, a new study found.

The resulting changes in temperatures and radiation levels may have killed off many large mammals.

The event may have ultimately contributed to the extinction of Neanderthals.

Visit the Business section of Insider for more stories.

Related: What extreme winter weather looks like around the world

Earth saw a lot of commotion when its magnetic poles flipped 42,000 years ago.

Scientists have known about the flip since the late 1960s. Earth's magnetic poles aren't static - they're generated by electric currents from the planet's liquid outer core, which is constantly in motion. As of late, Earth's magnetic North pole has wandered considerably on a path toward northern Russia.

But for the most part, scientists didn't think the last pole flip had a major environmental impact. Sure, the planet's magnetic field got weaker, allowing more cosmic rays to penetrate the atmosphere, but plant and animal life wasn't known to have been greatly affected.

A new study now suggests a more dramatic phenomenon occurred: The additional cosmic rays may have depleted ozone concentrations, opening the floodgates for more ultraviolet radiation in the atmosphere. Shifting weather patterns may have expanded the ice sheet over North America and dried out Australia, prompting the extinction of many large mammal species. A solar storm, meanwhile, might have driven ancient humans to seek shelter in caves.

As competition for resources grew, our closest extinct human relative, Neanderthals, may have died out.

"It would have been an incredibly scary time, almost like the end of days," Chris Turney, an Earth scientist at the University of New South Wales, said in a video describing the new research.

Scientists have not come to agree on a definitive theory about why Neanderthals disappeared. Some research suggests their extinction happened naturally, as Neanderthals inbred with modern humans or the population became too small to hunt, mate, and raise children. Other scientists have posited that Neanderthals may have been out-competed for resources as modern humans started to populate Europe.

Story continues

But it's probably no coincidence that Neanderthals died out following a major shift of Earth's magnetic poles, Turney's study suggests.

"It was only when you started talking between different areas of science, you could see the connections," his co-author, Alan Cooper, said. "Before that, none of the different fields had worked out 42 [42,000 years ago] was the key event."

Ancient trees and caves hold clues about a possible climate disaster

A scientist takes measurements in the Bruniquel Cave in southwestern France. Thomson Reuters

To find out what happened to Earth's climate 42,000 years ago, scientists asked a native New Zealander who was alive at the time: the ancient kauri tree. The tree's rings serve as a record of radiocarbon levels - a radioactive isotope - in the atmosphere over tens of thousands of years. Indeed, the rings showed evidence of rising radiocarbon at the time when the magnetic fields flipped, an event known as the "Laschamps excursion."

The event isn't unique in the history of our planet: The British Geological Survey estimates that four or five pole flips occur every million years.

During these reversals, the magnetic shield that protects our planet from solar wind (charged particles streaming off the sun) gets weaker. Earth's magnetic North and South poles - not to be confused with the planet's northernmost and southernmost geographic points - switch places.

The Laschamps excursion, the most recent example of this magnetic flip, likely took place over a period of 1,000 years. That's a blip in Earth's lifetime, but long enough to alter the fates of those living on the planet.

"In that process of flipping from North to South and South to North, effectively the Earth's magnetic field almost disappeared," Turney said. "And it opened the planet up to all these high-energy particles from outer space."

If the sun spewed extra-high levels of radiation in a solar storm during that time, Neanderthals may have needed to seek cover.

Indeed, the Laschamps excursion coincided with a rise in cave use across Europe and Southeast Asia. In particular, researchers have found red ocher handprints in the regions' caves that date back some 40,000 years. According to the new study, this pigment could have served as an ancient form of sunscreen.

Red ocher handprints in Spain's El Castillo cave may represent the use of an ancient form of sunscreen. Paul Pettitt, Gobierno de Cantabria

Another magnetic reversal could be 'imminent'

Not all researchers are convinced by Turney and Cooper's analysis. Chris Stringer, an anthropologist at the Natural History Museum in London, told The Guardian that although the Laschamps excursion could have contributed to Neanderthals' demise, it's hard to know exactly when they died out.

"They did survive longer and ranged more widely than just Europe, and we have a very poor fix on the timing of their final disappearance across swathes of Asia," Stringer said.

James Channell, a geologist at the University of Florida, told NPR that historical records of ice cores dating back 42,000 years don't indicate a global climate crisis. Still, he added, "there does appear to be a linkage" between the extinction of large mammals and the weakening of Earth's magnetic field.

At the very least, the new study offers a hint about what could happen if magnetic north and south flip again.

Scientists know that Earth's magnetic field has weakened about 9% in the past 170 years. The magnetic North pole has also been drifting more rapidly since the 1990s, at a rate of 30 to 40 miles per year.

This has "increased speculation that a field reversal may be imminent," the researchers wrote. Such an event could potentially topple power grids and satellite networks. An increase in radiation could also expose more people to diseases like cancer.

But scientists suspect that any possible magnetic reversal would be in its early stages. Earth's magnetic field is still far stronger than it was the last time the poles flipped.

Read the original article on Business Insider
Weve all heard the phrase, when in Rome. But in the 1960s the most scintillating action was 114km away, on an island youve probably never heard of.

Introducing: Zannone. Also known as Italys hidden orgy island. Sitting off the coast between Roma and Naples, it was once a licentious destination for the rich and famous.

Zannone is part of the cluster of Pontine Islands. It was leased from the Italian government by a Roman aristocrat  Marquis Camillo Casati Stampa di Soncino  and his actress wife  Anna Fallarino  in the 1960s.

They stayed in a villa built in the 1930s, passed from one noble family to the next.

The two welcomed all sorts of visitors. for all sorts of parties. The guest list included celebrities, billionaires and even members of the Italian nobility.

View this post on Instagram A post shared by Jolanta Bruzaite (@jolanta_jb69)

According to Wanted In Rome, The couples villa, situated on the summit of the rugged red-light island, was the scene of heavy drinking and wild parties, with orgies also taking place in surrounding bushes and on the beach below.

The villa allegedly had a hidden mirror room where the marquis could spy on sex sessions, many of them involving his wife, who enjoyed swimming naked with guests.

Interestingly enough, the villa was built atop what used to be a medieval monastery. Holy ground indeed

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Former fisherman Giorgio Aniello told CNN Travel of the Marquis: He was a lewd man, a voyeur who liked to watch and photograph his starlet wife get kinky having sex with other younger guys.

Perhaps the nuns were kicking in their graves over the new use for Zannone; on the 30th of August 1970, the islands debauchery was savagely stopped. The Marquis  furious after discovering his wife had fallen for one of her young lovers  shot them both dead and then killed himself.

The double murder-suicide happened in the couples apartment on Via Puccini in Rome, and brought the goings-on at Zannone to light when authorities found Marquis secret diary and a locked drawer of 1,500 indecent photographs of Fallarino.

View this post on Instagram A post shared by phlaps (@phlaps)

Since then, the villa has fallen into disrepair. Zannone is now inhabited only by the islands mouflon wild sheep, a protected species, as well as the odd team of biologists, scientists and birdwatchers, who are the only ones allowed to  occasionally  spend the night, camping in tents, CNN Travel reports.

Zannone was classified as part of the Circeo National Park in 1970.

Tourists are also allowed to visit  and bathe in the same waters Anna Fallarino once capered about in.

CNN Travel reports that, from the tour boat, its possible to dive in and swim below the villa to the private pebble beach that the marquiss wife once enjoyed.

Fallen tree trunks, palms and fluorescent green seaweed make it look like a Seychelles-style paradise.

Zannone is reachable only by boat from sister-isle Ponza, CNN Travel reports, with former fishermen taking visitors on day boat trips a few times a week.

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A judge has refused to vary the bail conditions of a 28-year-old man charged with possessing the firearm used in the murder of journalist Lyra McKee, who was shot dead during disturbances in the Creggan area of Derry in April 2019.

The defendant, father of two Niall Sheerin from Tyrconnell Street in the Bogside area of the city, was charged with possessing the Hammerli X-Esse .22 pistol and with possessing the weapon with intent to endanger life after his DNA was found on the weapon. He denies committing the offences.

The pistol was found wrapped in bin bags and hidden in a hollow beside a telegraph pole following a police search of a field beside the Ballymagroarty Estate in the city last July. The police also found ammunition and a command wire explosive device during the same search operation.

At the defendant's court appearance following his arrest last July a police officer said the gun had been used to kill Ms McKee and that it had also been used in four other paramilitary-style shootings.

The defendant was released on bail last July and ordered to report to the police five times per week. However, the High Court increased that to seven days per week.

At the Magistrates Court in Derry, solicitor Paddy MacDermott applied for a variation in the defendant's bail conditions to reduce the seven-day reporting condition.

However, Deputy District Judge Liam McStay said it was "not within my purview to change that.

"I am refusing the bail variation application because the High Court must have good reasons to put that in", he said.





New Delhi: A Delhi Court on Monday (February 22, 2021) sent activist Disha Ravi on a one-day Police remand. According to ANI news agency, the 22-year old was produced before the Chief Metropolitan Magistrate Dr Pankaj Sharma' court at the end of her judicial custody and the Delhi Police had sought a five-day remand.

Disha Ravi was arrested from Bengaluru on February 15 for her alleged connection with the toolkit case related to the ongoing farmers' protests and has been in police custody since then.

The Chief Metropolitan Magistrate Pankaj Sharma also allowed custodial interrogation of Disha Ravi after police said she was required to be confronted with co-accused.

Meanwhile, as per the latest reports, the other accused namely Nikita Jacob and Shantanu Muluck are being interrogated by the Cyber Cell of the Delhi Police for over 6 hours now. They were first questioned individually and then together.

Earlier on Saturday, a Delhi court heard Ravi's bail plea in the toolkit case and Additional Sessions Judge Dharmender Rana reserved order for February 23 on activists' bail application.

During the hearing, Ravi's defence counsel told the court that there is no evidence that links the document to the violence during the farmers' march on January 26 in the national capital.

The activist's counsel also said that there is nobody arrested in connection with the violence at Red Fort who has said that he was inspired for the same because of the toolkit.

However, additional Solicitor General SV Raju, appearing for the Delhi Police, told the court that the hyperlinks in the toolkit connected people to Khalistani websites that propagate hatred towards India.

He said, "This was not just a toolkit. The real plan was to defame India and create unrest here."

It was also stated that Disha Ravi was preparing the toolkit with those advocating Khalistan and alleged that the 22-year old activist deleted WhatsApp chats, emails and other evidence and was aware of legal action that she could face.

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The UP government led by Chief Minister Yogi Adityanath has earmarked Rs 2,000 crore for the Noida international airport as the state presented its first paperless budget on Monday.

The state government also increased the number of runways of the airport to six from the proposed two earlier.

UP Finance Minister Suresh Khanna today presented Rs 5.50 lakh crore budget for the financial year 2022 in the state assembly. Reading out the budget speech from a laptop, FM Khanna said the target was to make Uttar Pradesh "Aatma Nirbhar" and ensure all-round development of the state.

Post budget, CM Adityanath said the state's budget is for youth, women, poor, and farmers. He also added, "With 'Sabka Saath Sabka Vishwas', this budget aims to bring, taps, electricity, roads, water in every household, alongside making every village digital".

Some of the key fund allocation in the UP budget includes Rs 10,029 crore for housing, Rs 7,000 crore for PM Awas Yojana, Rs 5,000 crore for PM Sadak Yojana, Rs 3,100 crore for farmer's pension, Rs 100 crore for metro rail projects in Gorakhpur and Varanasi, Rs 140 crore for Ayodhya, and Rs 50 crore for coronavirus vaccination.

Last Saturday, CM Adityanath held a review meeting at Lucknow regarding the Noida international airport in Jewar area.

The Uttar Pradesh government has appointed Yamuna Expressway Industrial Development Authority (YEIDA) as the implementing agency for the airport in Jewar. Zurich Airport International AG was earlier selected as the concessionaire for developing the Noida international airport.

The first phase of the airport will be spread over 1,334 hectares and would cost Rs 4,588 crore. It is expected to be completed by 2023.

Also read: Kochi-based pharma firm's new drug shows 'promising' results against COVID-19

Also read: Vote against outgoing independent directors' family members, advisory firm tells investors
New York Gov. Andrew Cuomo directed his states three toll agencies to start an Office of the Toll Payer Advocate more than a year ago. They helped hundreds of drivers with disputes in 2020, including some from New Jersey.

How well have they worked? And do New Jersey toll payers need one?

In Dec. 2019, Cuomo ordered the three major toll authorities  the Port Authority of New York and New Jersey, The Metropolitan Transportation Authority and the NY Thruway Authority  to start toll payer advocate offices. Cuomo ordered it as the agencies transitioned to cashless toll collection with some issues.

The advocate is a court of last resort for drivers whove reached an impasse with the toll agencys customer service center. Drivers who have a toll issue with a New York-based toll authority cant go directly to the advocate for help. Instead, they first must go through customer service center channels.

New Jersey drivers have complained on social media and in emails to NJ Advance Media that it is hard just getting through to its customer service center.

Seriously NJ E-ZPass can go somewhereeeeeee. By FAR, the worst to get a hold of. My tag {DESPITE being in my car} wasnt detected 2x in 1 weekend. So they THINK theyre charging me $300+ oh no you will not. On hold for 35 minutes so farrrrr  M. Hostnik (@rocksANDglitter) October 26, 2020

How did New Yorks toll payer advocates perform in the first year?

New Jersey drivers turned to two of New Yorks three toll payer advocate offices for help.

The Port Authority of New York and New Jerseys Toll Payer Advocate handled 490 cases in 2020, and 89 were from New Jersey residents, said Amanda Kwan, an authority spokeswoman. The top issues it handled included claims of financial hardship, settlement and toll disputes. Approximately 13%, or 65 cases, were related to E-ZPass, she said.

How did customers like it?

The Toll Payer Advocate received positive feedback from customers during its first year, but did not formally conduct customer satisfaction surveys, Kwan said.

The MTA Bridges and Tunnels Toll Payer Advocate handled 587 customers, and 56 were from New Jersey, said Meredith Daniels, a Metropolitan Transportation Authority spokeswoman. More than 90% of the cases concerned help paying violation fees, which were usually due to insufficient E-ZPass funds or a declined payment method, she said.

Other resolved issues included incorrect license plates being charged in cashless tolling, Daniels said. Another less frequent issue was a misapplied payment due to user error at the Customer Service Center. That is when a payment was applied to the tolls and fees for the wrong agency or the wrong accounts, she said.

Using the Service Center record and information from the customer, the Toll Payer Advocate creates settlements, with reduced fees or payment plan, for many customers, Daniels said.

Toll violations also were the primary issue handled by the New York Thruway Toll Payer Advocate, said Jonathan Dougherty, a Thruway Authority spokesman.

While the vast majority of Thruway customers pay their tolls, there are some who require additional assistance to resolve outstanding violations, he said. The Office exists to assist customers resolve complicated issues, not overrule the (customer) service center.

Statistics concerning how many cases were handled in 2020 were not available.

Despite the success of New Yorks toll payer advocates, it is not likely to be replicated in New Jersey.

A spokesman for Gov. Phil Murphy declined to say if the governor would consider order such an office here and referred questions to the New Jersey Turnpike Authority, which operates the New Jersey E-ZPass group.

hey @NJGov how can i get in touch with NJ E-ZPass to cancel my account? i tried emailing in may and called the office during hours last week without any answer. help!  n1babyfoxtrot (@n1babyfoxtrot) August 24, 2020

The Turnpike Authority already has a customer service office that performs the same functions as the office New York calls (the) toll payer advocate, said Tom Feeney, a spokesman.

One complaint, about long on-hold times for drivers calling the customer service center, is due to the coronavirus, he said.

The first message customers hear when they call the Customer Service Center tells them that COVID restrictions are causing longer-than-usual wait times. I understand that causes frustration, Feeney said. But nobody needs to reach out to a third party to access the Customer Service Center. They need to have the patience to wait on hold for 30 minutes, or they need to call back when its less busy.

The New Jersey Customer Service Center works the same way as the New York Office of the Toll Payer Advocate does, Feeney said.

It is the first point of contact. Its their phone number and web address on the violation notices, Feeney said. If a customer has a Turnpike or Parkway issue that cant be resolved at the Customer Service Center, the issue is escalated to the NJTAs customer service staff. The NJTA customer service staff handles 1,000-plus calls or emails in an average week.

Cases are also referred to the center from other government agencies, including consumer affairs, the department of transportation and legislators offices, he said.

An advocate for drivers would be helpful, said Steve Carrellas, National Motorists Association state policy director. It could also go a step further, representing drivers interests when tolls or other fees are increased.

Aside from helping with hard-to-resolve problems, Ive taken a Toll Payer Advocate role further to be more in line with the BPUs Rate Payer Advocate, he said. That advocate actually gets involved when rate increases are proposed and that would translate for a TPA to dealing with toll increases.

Such a role would probably have to be created by the state legislature and not by executive order, Carrellas said.

While a toll road authority or Governor can define a TPA to deal with operational issues with toll payers, the legislature would have to create a TPA role for it to do more than what a NY TPA does now  like for the scope of the Rate Payer Advocate, he said.

Our journalism needs your support. Please subscribe today to NJ.com.

Larry Higgs may be reached at lhiggs@njadvancemedia.com.



New Delhi, Feb 22 : Union Minister of State for Development of North Eastern Region, Jitendra Singh, met Assam Governor Jagdish Mukhi at the Raj Bhavan in Guwahati on Monday and told him about the wide range of issues, including the ongoing development projects in the northeastern state, besides discussing the various projects launched by Prime Minister Narendra Modi during his visit to Assam.

Mukhi appreciated the developmental initiatives that have taken place in the state and also praised the Prime Minister for having paved the way for restoration of peace that has enabled uninterrupted development in the state of Assam.

Mukhi also appreciated the innovative methods adopted by the Ministry of Development of North Eastern Region (DoNER) for speeding up various infrastructure projects and ensuring optimum utilisation of funds.

Singh also informed the Governor about the initiation of innovative techniques of procuring UCs (utilisation certificates) through the space satellite imaging technique.

Singh said that the submission of detailed project reports and other relevant documents have been made totally online and automatic reminders and alerts are sent to the respective state governments whenever required.

"Despite the Covid pandemic, the DoNER was able to accomplish full utilisation of allocated funds much before the month of March," Singh said.

He further stated that due to the lockdown, some disruptions in work were caused, but the ministry's works were not interrupted for a single day because it was the first ministry which switched to the e-office mode five years ago.

The Governor was also informed about the recent decision taken for the allocation of certain portion of the North Eastern Council (NEC) funds for the development of the neglected areas and deprived sections of society.
Looks like Stylish Star Allu Arjun is all set to make his Kollywood debut with Gautham Vasudev Menon's upcoming project. If reports have anything to do with reality, the actor is currently in talks with the makers of the film, which will be helmed by the celebrated director.

Reportedly, the film will go on floors next year and the massive announcement regarding the duo's big collaboration will be made on the special occasion of the actor's 38th birthday on April 8.

Interestingly, Allu Arjun, who was born in Madras (present-day Chennai) has time and again expressed his love for Tamil films. Notably, the actor has a huge fan following in Tamil Nadu and the ongoing buzz has definitely thrilled his innumerable fans and followers. Though there is no official confirmation regarding the project, we will have to wait and watch to see what unfolds in the days to come.

Meanwhile, Allu Arjun has a string of movies in his kitty including Sukumar's Pushpa and AA 21 with Koratala Siva. Touted to be an out-and-out action thriller, Pushpa will have National Crush Rashmika Mandanna as the leading lady. Backed by Mythri Movie Makers, the film will be released in 5 different languages- Hindi, Telugu, Tamil, Malayalam and Kannada. On the other hand, cast and crew details regarding Koratala Siva directorial are yet to be confirmed. The multilingual movie is bankrolled by Sudhakar Mikkilineni and co-produced by Sandy, Swathi and Nutty.

Talking about Gautham Vasudev Menon, the director was previously seen in Tamil anthology film Kutty Story. His upcoming projects are Joshua Imai Pol Kaakha starring Varun and Raahei and Dhruva Natchathiram featuring Vikram, Ritu Varma and Aishwarya Rajesh.

Also Read: Pushpa Shoot Update: Makers Of Allu Arjun Starrer Announce Wrap Up Of Two Hectic Schedules

Also Read: Rashmika Mandanna On Kannada Audience's Wish To Acknowledge Her Roots: I'm The Epitome Of Breaking Barriers
Pakistani court orders release of 13-y-o Christian girl tortured by Muslim kidnapper

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A court in eastern Pakistans Punjab province has finally ordered the release of a 13-year-old Christian girl who was abducted, forced to marry one of her kidnappers, tortured and chained up in a cattle pen for up to five months.

A session court in Faisalabad city on Tuesday allowed Farah Shaheen, who had been living in a shelter house as per earlier court order, to rejoin her family, according to UCA News.

The court order comes weeks after police dropped charges against Khizar Hayat, a 45-year-old Muslim man, and his two associates after Farah, who was abducted by them from Faisalabad last June, testified she willingly married Hayat, The U.K. Times reported at the time, adding that police ignored her parents complaint that she had been abducted and tortured.

She wants to live with her father. Since the marriage between Farah Shaheen and Khizar Hayat has not been registered and nikah (marriage contract) has not been verified by the Union Council concerned, she cannot be kept in Dar ul Aman (shelter house) for an indefinite period, Judge Rana Masood Akhtar was quoted as saying.

The petitioner, father of Mst. Farah Shaheen, also has given an undertaking that he and his family members shall properly take care of Mst. Farah Shaheen and that they will not allow anybody else to cause any harm to her life and liberty, the judge added.

Bishop Iftikhar Indrias of the Apostles of Gospel Ministries International, who helped Farahs family with legal aid, is demanding that Hayat be arrested.

We thank all Christians for raising their voice against the insult and injustice. We shall make this success a reference to stop forced conversions of our daughters. It is our responsibility as their parents and protectors to ensure their security and support such victims of violence upon their return back home, Indrias was quoted as saying.

An earlier police report suggested the girl was aged 16 or 17, investigating officer Musaddiq Riaz claimed, while the birth certificate confirmed her age was 12 at the time of her abduction.

On Dec. 5, police rescued Farah, who had marks of abuse on her body, and a local court later sent her to a shelter home, according to the U.S.-based persecution watchdog International Christian Concern.

Officials first brought (Shaheen) to the police station after negotiations with the criminals, Lala Robin Daniel, a local activist, told UCAN earlier. Her ankles and feet were wounded. They were bandaged at the police station. She was in trauma and couldnt talk about the torture.

Farah's parents said she was forcefully married to Hayat and converted to Islam.

(She) has told me she was treated like a slave, the girls father has said, according to The Daily Mail. She was forced to work all day, cleaning filth in a cattle yard. 24X7, she was attached to a chain.

Her marriage, forceful conversion, and injured feet speak of the horror, Daniel wrote on social media at the time. Underage girls from religious minorities are unsafe due to faulty and incomplete lawmaking. Police, judiciary, and weak laws make fun of poor parents.

A 2014 study by The Movement for Solidarity and Peace Pakistan estimated that about 1,000 women and girls from Pakistans Hindu and Christian community were abducted, forcibly married to their captor, and forcibly converted to Islam every year.
GHENT, Belgium, Feb. 22, 2021 /PRNewswire/ -- EyeSee kicks off 2021 by broadening its global reach and capabilities with a new sales office in Singapore and an operations office in Mexico City. The award-winning company has been steadily doubling in size every year to meet the growing demand for agile & scalable behavioral research from clients such as Twitter, Microsoft, Colgate-Palmolive, J&J, Bayer, Disney, and many more.

Relying exclusively on online research technology (remote eye tracking and emotion tracking through facial expression) EyeSee was able to serve clients in all geographies from its beginnings, conducting research in 40+ countries. However, the fruitful relationships EyeSee forged with its clients drive demand for further global growth in exciting markets such as the APAC region and real-time support in North America.

Joris De Bruyne, EyeSee's partner explains this step: "We are moving into Singapore to follow our clients, and we have already done projects with our blue-chip clients in Asia."

It is not just about scaling the operations - for Olivier Tilleuil, EyeSee's founder and partner: "The ability to attract and help develop top-notch behavioral research experts in any market we do business in, is one of the most exciting and fulfilling aspects of this." He continues: "As our organization grows into a true global leader we have a chance to create true experts in our teams and a recognizable brand that stands for cutting-edge behavioral research."

The Singapore office will continue to develop EyeSee's key accounts in the APAC region. It will be lead by Tom Vande Moortel, and the Mexican office setup is underway with Diego Adolfo Chavez Terrazas, an experienced researcher, who previously worked for Walmart, Colgate-Palmolive, Turner Media and Kantar - as the Country lead and Insights Director.

Tom Vande Moortel explained what sets EyeSee apart in a market brimming in innovation in a hub such as Singapore: "We are very excited to enter into a market with highly developed digital commerce, and our product portfolio is perfectly matched for clients in such an environment."

Diego Adolfo Chavez Terrazas sees the biggest opportunity in a new generation of researchers in Mexico: "We seek smart and talented people who will add value to our clients. For those talents who want to settle the new way of doing Marketing Research in a cooperative and innovative environment - EyeSee Mexico is the place to be."

https://eyesee-research.com/


Omans Ministry of Health has urged citizens and residents to avoid travel abroad during the current period, unless under extreme necessity due to the emergence of new variants of Covid-19.



It also stressed the importance of abiding by precautionary measures to help limit morbidity rate in the Sultanate, reported Oman News Agency (ONA).








Nicola Walker has been on a rollercoaster ride, filming the new series of ITV's acclaimed crime drama Unforgotten - and the journey's not quite over yet.

She's well aware that speculation will be rife as to who the killer is, over the next seven or eight weeks, and is living in fear of revealing their identity!

'You have no idea how much I worry about doing so,' confesses Nicola, who plays troubled detective DCI Cassie Stuart in the long-running, cold case whodunnit.

'It's like my nerves are buzzing and there's a part of me which is going to reveal the killer's identity at any moment during an interview, quite possibly on live TV.'

Nicola is actually keeping many secrets in her head, not just the identity of the person who killed Matthew Walsh, a young man who went missing in March 1990 and whose decapitated body is found in a freezer at a scrapyard in the first episode.

Nicola Walker, who plays DCI Cassie Stuart (pictured with Sanjeev Bhaskar, DI Sunny Khan) in ITV's Unforgotten, admits she 'worries' about accidentally revealing the identity of the killer

Like the previous three series of Unforgotten, which attracted audiences in excess of seven million and brought BAFTA success for guest actors Sir Tom Courtenay and Mark Bonnar, Chris Lang's six-parter is littered with carefully concealed surprises, all of them relevant to the Walsh case, all of them slowly revealed in the TV equivalent of a forensically-peeled onion.

The murderer appears to come from a group of people to whom viewers are introduced in episode one.

Father-of-two Ram Sidhu is a successful businessman, who lives with his wife Anna in London. They are expecting their first child together.

Academic Liz Baildon (Susan Lynch) and her fiancee Janet are based in Cambridge, where she rides around on a sit-up-and-beg pedal bike and combines work and home life with the considerable demands of her ageing mother, played by Sheila Hancock.

Therapist Fiona Grayson has a practice in the Peak District, where she lives with her partner Geoff and their children.

Dean Barton, another successful businessman, shares a palatial home in Rochester, Kent, with his wife Marnie, their disabled son, Jack, and his younger brother, Casper.

The murderer appears to come from a group of people that viewers see in episode one - Ram Sidhu, academic Liz Baildon (above), therapist Fiona Grayson and Dean Barton

Father-of-two Ram Sidhu (above) is a successful businessman, who lives with his wife Anna in London. They are expecting their first child together

All in their late forties, the four of them appear to be in a good place, but the investigation into Matthew Walsh's death has the potential to shatter their reputations, family relationships and the lives they've built over the last 30 years.

To begin with, the hunt for Matthew's killer is led by Cassie Stuart's colleague DI Sunny Khan (Sanjeev Bhaskar).

As Nicola explains, Cassie is off work, the stress of nearly 30 years in the police, much of it solving brutal, cold case murders, taking a huge toll on her mental health.

'When we left Cassie at the end of the last series she felt it necessary to stop, she definitely had what would have been loosely termed 'a breakdown' and we were wondering if she were ever coming back.

She doesn't really want to but she is in this terrible position where she will lose a massive amount of her pension pay out on a technicality if she doesn't complete several more months of service. So she returns - reluctantly.'

Dean Barton (above), another successful businessman, shares a palatial home in Rochester, Kent, with his wife Marnie, their disabled son, Jack, and his younger brother, Casper

Nicola, twice a BAFTA nominee for her performance as farmer Gillian Greenwood in BBC1 drama Last Tango In Halifax, also had reservations about returning to work, when filming on Unforgotten resumed post-lockdown in September.

'We'd got to within five or six weeks of completing filming, before we locked down last March, and I was really nervous about coming back, scared because I didn't know how filming was going to be handled. I wasn't sure I was going to feel safe.

'But the whole thing was handled brilliantly and by the end of the first day I was thinking, "Ok, this is good, they've gone above and beyond the call of duty to ensure we aren't going to come to any harm." It was a huge relief.'

Nicola counts her blessings that they were able to complete filming but accepts that things were not perfect. Physical interaction between characters, for example, went out of the window - so too close contact with co-stars.

Therapist Fiona Grayson (pictured) has a practice in the Peak District, where she lives with her partner Geoff and their children

The actress has become good friends with Sanjeev Bhaskar and former Ever Decreasing Circles actor Peter Egan, who plays Cassie's father Martin, during the five years of filming the series and was desperate for hugs with both of them.

'During the first three series of Unforgotten, I'd spend a lot of my time just grabbing Sanjeev at every opportunity so I did find it incredibly strange to be socially distanced from him on set, we both did.

'And Peter is just the most extraordinary man. Day one, series one, we were sat upstairs at Cassie's house, by a small plug-in heater, waiting for the scene downstairs to be set up, and within 15 minutes of starting to talk to Peter I was in love with him and crying because both of us were talking about our respective parents and. well, he's just the sort of man you tell things to!

'I felt sorry for him because an actress he'd just met had started weeping over him! But he could take it - his shoulders are very broad and his compassion is endless.'

Sadly, that isn't the case with Peter's character. The onset of dementia has been accompanied by the emergence of a more cynical side in the personality of Martin Stuart, which manifests itself during a fractious dinner party in episode one, during which he accuses his daughter of being a sponger and trying to cheat the taxpayer by taking her police pension a little before she reaches 30 years of service.

'Her father's condition is breaking her heart and - coupled with the problems she has with the police - making life very difficult for her,' says Nicola, who refuses to be ground down by playing such a troubled character.

She also said that she has become good friends with Sanjeev Bhaskar (both pictureed) during the five years of filming the series and was desperate to hug them amid social distancing

'I draw a line between her and me - always have done. There's no doubt I carry Cassie around with me during filming and there is a feeling of something coming off your shoulders when the job ends.

'But if what she is going through affects me, in any way, I want to show that on camera and through my acting, not in real life.

'That said, my family - my husband and my son - definitely know when I'm playing the part. I'm just not as available to them as I normally am, because I am giving so much time to the work and half my brain is thinking about what I am going to be doing on set the next day.

'Trying to be on top of the words and the trajectory of the story, that is what is taking up a lot of my head space.'

The six-month hiatus, during the two blocks of filming, allowed Nicola to free up some of that head space, as she locked down with actor/writer husband Barnaby Kay and their teenage son, Harry.

'Barnaby and I realised that we had to make the most of having our son with us 24 hours a day at a time when, naturally, he would be pulling away from us and spending more time with his friends. I think we made the most of that time and continue to do so.'

If a bonus year with her son has been a gift of lockdown, so too the chance to celebrate her 50th birthday last May without the slightest hint of fuss or performance.

'We're not big in our family on birthday celebrations and I'm certainly not,' says Nicola. 'But I think, under normal circumstances, I might have been expected to do something celebratory for my 50th.

'As it was, I really got away with it! I did absolutely nothing for it, apart from spend time with my husband and son, and go on a massively long dog walk. That was it and it was the best birthday I've ever had, an absolute delight!'

Unforgotten starts on Monday, February 22 at 9pm on ITV


A Buddhist temple in Queens, New York, is helping the local community by providing healthy foods to those in need.

While monks lead religious ceremonies in front of a golden statue of the Buddha, people outside the temple wear face masks as they wait in long lines to get basic food items.

The United Sherpa Association, which is based in the temple, started the food program last April when the coronavirus was at its worst in New York City.

The temple also serves as a community center for all people, including immigrants living in the country without legal permission. The center has helped unemployed people and provided assistance to Nepalese college students living far from their families.

Urgen Sherpa is president of the United Sherpa Association. He calls students the group helps unknown victims of the coronavirus. They dont have unemployment insurance. They dont have homes here. They are far away from home, he explained.

Coronavirus restrictions forced some students to leave their universities, which were also providing them meals. International students did not receive federal checks that went to help legal residents and citizens. Student visas do not permit them to work full-time or outside of the university.

Jyoti Rajbanshi is a nursing student from Nepal studying at Long Island University. She started going to the temple weekly to get food after she lost her job and had to use her credit card to pay all her living costs.

Its really a big help because you get all fresh and organic food, she said. This greatly helps students to spend less money in a very costly city.

Rajbanshi said her parents both had COVID-19 and her uncle died from it. She hasnt seen her family in Nepal in three years, and she worries about them. Her story is similar to many people who are concerned about their families back home.

Nepal, a country that greatly depends on foreign visitors, has been struggling economically during the pandemic. Because of this, many students cannot ask their families for any financial help. During most of 2020, the country was closed to international travelers. This damaged the tourism industry and many businesses closed.

Tshering Chhoki Sherpa is a 26-year-old student who attends New Yorks Baruch College. She says her family back in Nepal had to close the hotel they ran near Mount Everest because of the pandemic.

She survives with some savings and gets food from the temple. She also volunteers for the program. It feels good being a part of it, she said, and also getting help.

Experts say about 2 million of New York Citys 8 million residents are facing food security issues. The city is also experiencing the highest unemployment rate since the Great Depression.

Many people living in the Queens neighborhoods surrounding the temple are immigrants. They have tested positive for COVID-19 in greater numbers than people in other parts of the city.

Early on in the pandemic, the Sherpa Association began reaching out to contacts across the world in an attempt to import face coverings and other protective items not available at local stores. Additionally, more than 30 Nepalese students were given $500. Volunteers also took protective equipment and boxes of food to families in the area.

Many community members learned about the food program through social media. Students have been volunteering to give out food every Friday.

Mina Shaestha is a 23-year-old student from Nepal. She decided to wait before starting her studies at LaGuardia Community College because of the pandemic.

In Nepal, every day I hear harder news, she said. People are dying of hunger. They are staying in the same room because of quarantine.

Her partner works part-time, but there is little money coming in, Shaesta said. The food they receive from the temple helps them feed themselves and their 2-year-old son.

We save the money from the food and we can pay the extra things, like rent, Shaesta said.

Im Armen Kassabian.

Luis Andres Henao and Jessie Wardarksi from The Associated Press. Armen Kassabian adapted it for Learning English. Bryan Lynn was the editor.

_______________________________________________________________

Words in This Story

temple  n. a building for worship

insurance  n. an agreement in which a person makes payments to a company and the company promises to pay money if the person is sick, injured or dies

organic  adj. of food: grown or made without the use of artificial chemicals

tourism  n. activities related to travel to a place for pleasure

positive  adj. in a medical test, positive means the person being tested has a disease or condition

quarantine  n. the period of time during which a person or animal that has a disease or that might have a disease is kept away from others to prevent the disease from spreading

rent  n. to pay money in return for being able to use (something that belongs to someone else)

residents  n. someone who lives in a particular place

Are there any community groups helping people in need in your country? We want to hear from you. Write to us in the Comments Section
NEW DELHI : India is working hard to enhance its capabilities and capacities in the defence-manufacturing sector at a fast pace, Prime Minister Narendra Modi said on Monday, noting that there were hundreds of ordnance factories before independence with large-scale weapons export from the country in both world wars but this system was not strengthened.

Addressing a webinar on the effective implementation of the Union Budget's provisions in the defence sector, the prime minister listed a series of measures taken by his government to boost self-reliance in the defence sector and rued the fact that the country is amongst the biggest defence importers in the world.

"An India that has the capacity to reach Mars could have made modern weapons also, but it became an easy way to import weapons from abroad," he said.

But now, the country is working hard to change the situation and also to enhance its capacities and capabilities at a fast pace, the prime minister asserted.

"Before independence, we used to have hundreds of ordnance factories. In both the world wars, weapons at large scale were exported from India. But for various reasons, this system was not strengthened as much as it should have been after independence," he said.

"The condition is such that even for small arms, we have to look at other nations. India is amongst the biggest defence importers and this is not a matter of pride," Modi stressed.

On the defence budget, the prime minister said a part has been reserved for domestic procurement even in the capital budget of defence.

A total amount of 4.78 lakh crore has been earmarked for the defence ministry in the 2021-22 budget, with a nearly-19-per cent increase in capital outlay, he said.

Modi urged the private sector to come forward and take up both designing and manufacturing of defence equipment.

He said it is not that the people of India do not have the talent or capability and pointed out that the country did not make ventilators before the coronavirus pandemic, but now manufactures thousands of those.

Modi also cited the example of the indigenously-developed Light Combat Aircraft (LCA), Tejas. He said his government has relied on the capabilities of the country's engineers and scientists on developing Tejas and today, it is flying gracefully in the skies.

A few weeks ago, an order worth 48,000 crore was placed for Tejas, he noted.

Modi said with initiatives like de-licensing, de-regulation, export promotion, foreign investment liberalisation, the government has taken several measures to give the defence-manufacturing sector a boost.

He said with the establishment of the chief of defence staff post, bringing uniformity in the procurement process and induction of equipment has become easy.

The prime minister said India has made a list of 100 important items related to defence, which can be manufactured indigenously with the help of local industries.

He said it is called a negative list in the official language, but it is a positive list in the language of self-reliance.

This is the positive list on which the country's manufacturing capacity is going to increase, Modi asserted.

This is the positive list that is going to reduce India's dependence on foreign countries for defence needs and it guarantees the sale of indigenous products in India, he observed.

Describing the medium, small and micro enterprises (MSMEs) as the backbone of the entire manufacturing sector, Modi said reforms that are taking place today are giving more freedom to the MSME sector and encouragement for expanding.

The prime minister said the defence corridors that are being built in the country will also help local entrepreneurs and local manufacturing.

"Self-sufficiency in our defence sector has to be seen as the empowerment of these two fronts -- jawan as well as youth," he said.

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Two Florida women were recently caught trying to get their second doses of the Covid-19 vaccine by disguising themselves as old ladies, to pass as eligible for the sought-after jab.

Florida Department of Health in Orange County recently reported the bizarre case of two women, aged 34 and 44, who went to a coronavirus vaccination site dressed up as grannies, in order to appear over 65, and thus eligible for a vaccine. Speaking at a conference, last Thursday, Dr. Raul Pino, the health administrator for Orange County said that the women were wearing bonnets, gloves, and glasses in an attempt to make themselves look older. Staff at the center noticed that they looked funny, and police were called.

When staff checked the two womens paperwork, it was discovered that even though their names matched their registration, their ages did not. Interestingly, the two women had valid vaccine cards from their first vaccine shots, and while authorities cant explain how they were able to get their first vaccine, its very likely that they managed to trick vaccination staff with their disguises.

The moment that the two imposters are confronted was recorded by one of the police officers body cam and the footage was recently made public.

You know what youve done? Youve stolen a vaccine from somebody who needs it more than you. And now youre not going to get your second one. So thats a whole waste of time we just wasted here on this, one officer can be heard telling the women. If you come back, youll be arrested. Youre lucky youre not being arrested right now.



The officers issues trespass warnings, but no other action was taken against the offenders. Dr. Pinto warned that such attempts to get in front for a Covid-19 jab may become more frequent.

This is the hottest commodity that is out there right now, the doctor said of the vaccine. We have to be very careful with the funds and the resources that we are provided.
Dustin Brennan, of Midland, started working at his fathers store, Brennan Appliance Center, while attending Dow High School.

From 2012-2015, he was an appliance technician there. His duties included taking phone calls, selling appliances and working on repairs at the shop.

Aside from the skill sets that Dustin gained, it was the opportunity to spend time with the owner that appealed to him the most.

My favorite part was working with my dad, he said.

Dustin's father, Gary Brennan, has since moved to North Carolina.

After that job, Dustin worked at Scratched Bread in Midland, from 2015-2017, where he picked up several more skill sets.

His responsibilities at the wholesale bakery included baking bread and managing orders, although he would step in wherever he was needed.

His math skills were especially helpful.

What I liked the best was figuring out the size of the batch, Dustin said.

He would determine the batch size, how many batches would complete an order and how much time the entire process would take.

After a few years at the bakery, a friend told Dustin that a company called Osmose Utilities Services, out of Georgia, was hiring.

So, in 2017, Dustin accepted a job as a crew member, welding for the company. He worked steel-side, helping to repair utility structures at various locations throughout the U.S.

About a year ago, he was promoted to foreman. As foreman, he receives instructions about each job from his supervisor. Then, he gathers the materials and the tools he will need and hires the crew that will complete the work.

When Dustin gets to the job site, he and his team inspect the structures and then assess corrosion levels.

If they are corroded beyond a certain percentage, well make the repairs based on the blueprints, he said.

Dustin's regular crew consists of his brother, Kyle Brennan of Midland, and someone out of Pennsylvania.

Kyle is a 2019 graduate of Dow High who is studying mechanical engineering at Michigan Technological University.

Outside of those two, Dustin usually hires a few more crew members until he has the team he needs for each job.

During his free time, one of his hobbies is working on cars. He owns a 1986 BMW E30 and a 1999 Mitsubishi Eclipse convertible.

Dustin has spent several years rebuilding and repairing the Eclipse. So far, he has turbocharged and rewired the car, converted it to all-wheel drive and rebuilt the engine. Currently, he is repainting the car, inside and out.

Dustin also makes music. He can play the piano as well as create digital music using his keyboard and his computer.

He might also be found riding dirt bikes, kayaking, snowboarding or working out in his free time.

Eventually, Dustin hopes to purchase some property where he can have space and a workshop for his various projects.
Credit: Pixabay/CC0 Public Domain

The Philippines' drug regulator gave emergency approval Monday to the Chinese-made Sinovac coronavirus vaccine, with the first doses set to arrive this weekbut health workers will not get the jab due to its comparatively low efficacy.

CoronaVac is the third vaccine approved for emergency use in the country, but so far none have been delivered and President Rodrigo Duterte's government is under fire over the delayed rollout.

Beijing has agreed to donate 600,000 doses, which will arrive in the next three to five days, officials saiddespite misgivings over its safety and effectiveness.

"It is decided... that the benefit of using the vaccine outweighs the known and potential risks," said Eric Domingo, head of the Food and Drug Administration.

The CoronaVac can be given to "clinically healthy" adults aged 18 to 59, but was not recommended for frontline health workers or the elderly, he said.

Presidential spokesman Harry Roque said workers considered essential to the economy and soldiers were likely to receive the first jabs.

Although trials in Turkey found CoronaVac to be 91.25 percent effective, other, more robust trials in Brazil only demonstrated an efficacy rate of around 50 percent.

Roque defended the push to use the Sinovac vaccine, saying "it's better than not having protection at all."

Many world leaders have been among the first in their countries to receive jabs to boost public confidence.

But Duterte preferred to wait for a different Chinese vaccine made by state-owned Sinopharm, Roque said, citing the president's old age.

The Sinopharm vaccine was secretly given to members of Duterte's security team last year even though it had not been approved for use.

Appeal for patience

The government is in talks with seven vaccine makers, including Sinovac, in the hope of securing enough doses to inoculate 70 million peopleabout 60 percent of the populationthis year.

But the lack of transparency and delays in delivery of the first doses have fuelled criticism of the government over its handling of the health crisis.

More than 560,000 cases of coronavirus have been recorded in the country, including over 12,000 deaths. Social distancing rules and travel restrictions have crippled the economy.

Carlito Galvez, a retired general overseeing vaccine procurement, recently admitted the government had not yet signed any supply agreements, only non-binding "term sheets" for potential deals.

More than 100,000 doses of the Pfizer-BioNTech vaccine were supposed to be delivered mid-February through the Covax global vaccination programme.

But Galvez said the delivery had been held up over indemnification agreements that would protect the vaccine makers from legal claims over any side effects.

"I appeal for a little more patience to my fellow Filipinos," Health Secretary Francisco Duque said Monday.

Even when vaccines do arrive, it is not clear how many people will want them.

A recent survey by pollster Pulse Asia showed nearly half of Filipinos would opt out.

Explore further Serbia gets Chinese-made Sinopharm jabs

 2021 AFP
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AN autism-friendly learning resource developed by Mary Immaculate College, in collaboration with AsIAm and SuperValu, has been re-issued to assist students with additional needs as they return to the classroom over the coming weeks.

The Bridge Back to School booklet was first launched in July 2020 and is now available for free in SuperValu stores in Limerick and across the country. It will also be distributed to every primary school in the country as they re-open.

The booklet aims to support families in re-establishing routines that may have been disrupted due to the closure of schools. It offers guidance on preparing students for the return to school and focuses on areas such as sensory integration, how to deal with worry and anxiety, ways in which to explain the new normal, social skills, self-regulation, the use of visuals, and the importance of clear communication.

Welcoming the re-issuing of the booklet, Professor Emer Ring, Dean of Education at MIC, said: "Every person around the country has experienced some obstacle to their routine due to the pandemic, however many do not consider how the changes that may seem minor to some, can pose serious stress to others in their community. The second closure of schools will have impacted autistic children and their families again and it's important that we support them through this time. This resource offers essential guidance for those who may experience particular challenges in transitioning back to school.

Prof Ring says she's delighted that the booklet will be widely available. "Were delighted that not only will the resource be available in SuperValu stores again but that it has also been sent to every primary school in Ireland, building on the long tradition at Mary Immaculate College of promoting research in education and supporting schools. Our work here at MIC continues to be enriched by schools all over the country through facilitating our research and supporting our students on placement. We are delighted to be able to reciprocate in a small way and hope that schools and teachers throughout the country will find this resource useful to their work.

The booklet was collated by MIC PhD researcher, Maria Dervan and it also contains contributions from Dr Lisha OSullivan, Head of the Department of Reflective Pedagogy and Early Childhood Studies; Dr Margaret Egan, lecturer in the Department of Educational Psychology, Inclusive and Special Education and as Dr Niamh Moore, a recent graduate of the Professional Doctorate in Educational and Child Psychology programme at MIC.

For Maria Dervan, who is also a teacher at St. Michaels Infant School in Limerick, the resource is a valuable, inclusive, cross sectoral guide.

Commenting on its re-issuing she said: "It is an evidence-based resource designed to provide students, teachers, SNAs and parents with information on strategies and supports to assist autistic students transition back to the classroom following school closure. The user-friendly booklet is packed with activities and useful information with additional support material available free on the AsIAm website.

Adam Harris, CEO of AsIAm said: "Not only have the changes in routine and lack of support been a challenge for autistic students but re-establishing routine will be just as challenging. The Bridge Back to School resource can support teachers, SNAs and family members to help understand, prepare and manage the return to school for young people.

Further information on the Bridge Back to School learning resource can be found here.
Among the key takeaways from a new report on race in the workplace is this surprise: To address inequality inside organizations, some companies may need to open offices in new locations.

Blacks are a relatively small part of the population in some U.S. cities expected to see the highest job growth over the next decade, such as Seattle, and nearly 60% live in the South, according to a sweeping new analysis by researchers at the consulting firm McKinsey & Co.

Workers need to be connected to the opportunities being created and have the skills for the in-demand roles," says James Manyika, a senior partner at McKinsey who is a director of the McKinsey Global Institute and helped lead the research. But jobs are often concentrated in counties that arent necessarily accessible to Black workers. Companies considering opening additional offices and dedicated to more hiring diversity can bridge this gap by locating new facilities in areas where there are a large concentration of Black workers who have the relevant skills."

McKinsey studied detailed employment data for more than 3,000 U.S. counties and cross-referenced it with internal corporate data and interviews inside companies. What emerges is a comprehensive picture of Black representation in corporate Americaand the challenges that remain for both workers and organizations.

Mr. Manyika recently spoke with The Wall Street Journal. Here are edited excerpts of the conversation.

WSJ: You talk with CEOs all the time. How have the questions that executives ask you about diversity changed?

MR. MANYIKA: The general sense for most companies now is We want to do this" as opposed to Does this matter?" Theres still a lot of work to do; you dont solve it in hiring five people or 10 people.

Where Id like to see the questions move to is less Id like to hire the best African-American senior vice president, can you help me find one?" to How do we train 100,000 African-Americans into managerial roles?"

WSJ: Given what we already know about the uphill battle that many Black professionals face at work, what stood out to you in this research?

MR. MANYIKA: It was quite striking how a lot of Black employment in the private sector is concentrated in the South. Something like 60% of Black private-sector workers are in just 10 states. Population is a big part of that, but also history. Texas, Florida, Georgia and North Carolina make up about 30% of all Black employment. New York, California and Illinois add another 17%.

We went down to the level of cities and counties. In the counties that have higher employment rates in generalthat are growing jobsAfrican-Americans are very underrepresented. They tend to be in the areas where theres either no job growth or declining occupations.

WSJ: Why is this important for companies to understand?

MR. MANYIKA: If you want to solve this issue of race and employment in the private sector, its actually an opportunity. In some of the low-growth counties, you have strong pipelines of talent, just not enough economic activity or investment by companies. So as companies think about Where do we find talent?" they could be missing out.

Often, some of those counties are very close to large cities. So it could easily be putting up an office in those counties next to a very large city and having access to talent thats there, but somehow companies havent quite recognized that. If I was a CEO of a company, Id literally want to overlay that county map on my own footprint to figure out: Are there places I should be targeting because the talent is there and I just havent opened an office there and I havent taken advantage of it in a way that matches my business?

For example, Clayton County, Ga. It has a majority Black population, and much of the Hartsfield-Jackson Atlanta International Airport is located there. Clayton County also claims to have the largest amount of available real estate next to a major airportpotentially marrying an attractive location with a relevant and diverse workforce.

WSJ: Do you expect well actually see offices open up in new places?

MR. MANYIKA: I hope so, particularly at a time when were coming out of Covid-19. The geography of work is shifting. Ive been quite struck in some of the conversations weve been having with companies and CEOs who havent quite realized this micro aspect of it.

WSJ: Companies have had diversity programs for a long time. Are they doing them wrong?

MR. MANYIKA: Certainly the companies in our survey, theyre all trying to do the right thing. Part of the challenge may be not doing it enough at scale. Its quite striking that if you look at the boards of directors and the C-suite, representation actually looks a little bit better than the middle of organizations. At some level, boards are easy; you chase around the same candidates and you appoint them. But if youre having to do this for hundreds of people or even thousands in the managerial ranks, thats harder. You kind of have to grow them. Its a real challenge.

Part of what I would encourage from this research is more targeting. Especially of that earlier set of transitions to managerial roles. Really aim a lot of the firepower or initiatives at that group. I would also target how you create a sense of belonging. A lot of African-American workers want to succeed, work very hard and want to stay. So how do you create a certain environment that is inclusive enough so that theyll want to do that?

People leave because they dont see themselves progressing to the next level or are leaving to try to start their own businesses.

WSJ: Diversity efforts are sometimes criticized as tokenism. How can companies address that?

MR. MANYIKA: If you go to the data and the facts, I think its hard for anybody to argue tokenism. If you look at the resumes of the African-Americans and other minorities and women at the top, theyre extraordinarily accomplished. So I think we have to get past this idea that theres tokenism in these appointments.

Having said that, I recognize thats a more difficult thing to do early in peoples careers when people are still trying to make these transitions from front-line and first jobs to managerial work, because there isnt quite as much of the fact base you can use to counter these arguments of tokenism. So its much harder there to explain why is it this person is having more opportunities than that person. There, youre mostly relying on performance reviews, which can be quite subjective.

Mr. Cutter is a Wall Street Journal reporter in New York. He can be reached at chip.cutter@wsj.com.

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Hear executives from Silo Pharma and Lobe Sciences at Proactive's psychedelic-themed virtual showcase event on Tuesday, February 23

Aion Therapeutic Inc ( ), ( ) and ( ) ( ) will be presenting at Proactives next virtual showcase event on February 23.

The psychedelic-themed event will be hosted by Proactives Christine Corrado and kicks off on Tuesday at 1.00pm ET.

Silo Pharma: bridging the gap

Silo Pharma is bridging the gap between traditional pharmaceuticals and the emerging psychedelics space.

The developmental-stage biopharmaceutical companys mission is to identify assets to license and fund the research which it believes could transform both the well-being of patients and the healthcare system at large.

In these uncertain times, the mental health of the nation and beyond is being put to the test. More than ever, creative new therapies and lines of thought are needed to address health challenges of today, Silo has said Combining our resources with world-class medical research partners, the company looks to make significant advances in the medical and psychedelic space.

The companys management and founders have played key roles in numerous successful biotech companies. CEO Eric Weisblum will share the companys story and strategies for success at Tuesdays event.

CLICK HERE TO REGISTER

Lobe Sciences: advancing transformational treatments for brain injuries

Lobe Sciences is mastering the development of transformational medicines and devices as it builds a growing portfolio of intellectual property to support wellness and improve mental health.

The Vancouver-based company is currently advancing unique medicines and devices to treat mild traumatic brain injury and post-traumatic stress disorder, as well as other indications. With five provisional patents, a pre-clinical study underway and a drug delivery device in engineering development, Lobe is quickly making a name for itself in the world of psychedelics.

In December, Lobe sold its cannabis asset Cowlitz County Cannabis Cultivation to Ionic Brands, netting $23 million and a stake in the latter company to keep a foothold in the red-hot US cannabis space.

CEO Phil Young will share the companys plans for the proceeds and Lobe's other strategic initiatives for 2021 with event participants on Tuesday.

CLICK HERE TO REGISTER

Aion Therapeutic: using artificial intelligence to create a full lineup of psychedelic and cannabis therapies

Toronto-based Aion Therapeutic Inc ( ) recently filed five patent applications with the US Patent and Trademark Office related to the combination of medical cannabis with edible and psychedelic mushrooms.

The applications include formulations designed to treat a variety of conditions, including cancer, psychiatric disorders, addiction, viral diseases, obesity and inflammatory disorders.

Aions combinatorial treatment formulation discovery platform relies on artificial intelligence (AI) techniques. By utilizing AI, the company plans to create a full line of therapeutic products that includes combinatorial pharmaceuticals, nutraceuticals and cosmeceuticals, as well as individualized treatments for personalized medicine using human genome and other data.

Executive chairman Dr Stephen Barnhill will take participants through the firms pharmaceutical research and product development. Aion also operations in Jamaica, where psychedelics are more available.

CLICK HERE TO REGISTER

About the event:

Ours is an audience of astute high net worth investors, fund managers, private client brokers and analysts

We look beyond the numbers and meet the people creating the value for shareholders

The format:
Metro Manila (CNN Philippines, February 22)  Senators are questioning the emergency use authorization granted to China's Sinovac vaccine after the Food and Drug Administration said it is not the most ideal to immunize healthcare workers and senior citizens with due to its lower efficacy rate.

How can a vaccinator convince the person that he is about to inoculate if he/she himself/herself is being discouraged by the government to use the Sinovac vaccine? Senator Panfilo Lacson said on Monday. This raises more questions and issues than what the NTF (National Task Force) is already busy grappling with.

While the FDA allowed Sinovac emergency use, the regulatory agency said the vaccine is not recommended for people constantly exposed to the virus. This came after the vaccine showed a relatively low 50.4% efficacy rate in late-stage trials in Brazil, which involved healthcare workers.

FDA Director General Eric Domingo said Sinovac should only be used on healthy individuals aged 18 to 59, noting that it had a 65.3% to 91.2% efficacy rate when used on healthy people within the recommended age range.

Lacson likened giving Sinovac to the public despite the vaccine's less-than-ideal performance to "a chef who refuses to eat the food that he just cooked because it is not good but which he serves to the customers."

Senator Joel Villanueva is likewise skeptical of the emergency use approval, saying medical workers should only be administering what they have tried on themselves.

If Sinovac is not recommended for health workers, are we not practicing class vaccination by giving it to others? Villanueva asked.

Similar questions are being thrown by netizens, with one Twitter user saying: Hindi rekomendado sa healthcare workers o sa seniors dahil mababa ang efficacy ng Sinovac. Bakit inaprubahan? Kanino gagamitin? [Sinovac is not recommended for healthcare workers or seniors because of its low efficacy. Why was it approved? To whom will it be administered?]

For another Twitter user, discouraging the use of the vaccine on medical frontliners "is an admission that there's something wrong with Sinovac. Meanwhile, one took a swipe at Presidential Spokesperson Harry Roque after the official defended the vaccine brand, saying it is acceptable under the World Health Organization's standards.

"Why settle for low efficacy when you can have better at a cheaper price? Were talking about lives, Harry," the user wrote.

For Senator Ralph Recto, there are more preferrable brands, but Senate President Tito Sotto expressed his confidence in the China-made vaccines Sinovac and Sinopharm.

Those are the two vaccines with no human intervention or possible human error because it's 'one vial, one dose' and the syringe is attached," Sotto said. "The others are five-dose vials that have to be diluted and dispensed very carefully to avoid overdose or underdose. Then we have to buy syringes separately. I hope people realize that."

Despite the lower efficacy rate on healthcare workers, the FDA chief said Sinovac is a good option for those with allergies because there is a low possibility that a person will develop severe allergies or anaphylaxis after inoculation. He also said the vaccine is halal-certified since it was tested in Indonesia.

China is donating a total of 600,000 Sinovac doses to the Philippines. This is apart from the 25 million doses the national government has also secured from the same vaccine firm.
22.02.2021: Borregaard ASA (Borregaard, OSE ticker: BRG)



Reference is made to the stock exchange notice of 19 February 2021 where Borregaard announced the intent to repurchase up to 250,000 of its outstanding common stock.

Borregaard has today purchased 13,000 own shares through broker at an average price of NOK 166.33 per share.

After this transaction Borregaard holds a total of 393,579 own shares, representing 0.39% of total shares outstanding.

Contact:

Lotte Kvinlaug, Investor Relations Officer, +47 922 86 909

This information is subject to the disclosure requirements pursuant to Section 5 -12 of the Norwegian Securities Trading Act.





Source: Xinhua| 2021-02-23 01:27:13|Editor: huaxia

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Photo taken on Feb. 22, 2021 shows the U.S. Supreme Court Building in Washington, D.C., the United States. The U.S. Supreme Court ruled against former President Donald Trump's effort to shield his financial records from prosecutors in New York, clearing the way for Manhattan District Attorney Cyrus Vance to get them. (Photo by Ting Shen/Xinhua)

WASHINGTON, Feb. 22 (Xinhua) -- The U.S. Supreme Court ruled against former President Donald Trump's effort to shield his financial records from prosecutors in New York, clearing the way for Manhattan District Attorney Cyrus Vance to get them.

The decision, which marked the second time the nation's highest court intervened in the longtime dispute, dealt a blow to Trump's last-ditch bid to conceal his financial records, including years of tax returns.

Per its custom, the Supreme Court didn't issue any opinion along with the order to deny Trump a stay that could have further delayed the criminal probe led by Vance, who can now require the former president's accountants to turn over eight years of the former president's personal and corporate tax returns.

Vance, who has been seeking the records through a grand jury subpoena since August 2019, issued a terse statement after the Monday ruling, saying on Twitter: "The work continues."

The Supreme Court in July rejected Trump's contention that as a sitting president then, he was immune from any part of the criminal justice system, including grand jury investigations. The justices said he could go back to the lower courts to fight the subpoena.

A federal judge in New York ruled against Trump a month later, followed by the Second U.S. Circuit Court of Appeals in Connecticut affirming the ruling.

The next phase in the inquiry will begin in earnest this week when investigators for Vance's office collect the records from Mazars USA, the law firm that represents Trump's accountants, according to The New York Times.

It's still possible that the full tax return documents, or portions of them, would become public. That happens only if Vance brings criminal charges against Trump and seeks to introduce them as evidence. Enditem
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Mohan Delkar, a seven-time Member of Parliament (MP) from the Union Territory of Dadra and Nagar Haveli was found dead in a Mumbai hotel on Monday.

It is suspected that Delkar died by suicide at the Marine Drive hotel. His body has been sent for postmortem.

Police reached the Sea Green Hotel at Marine Drive where Delkar was found dead. They have also found a suicide note written in Gujarati from his hotel room. An investigation has been initiated in the case.

58-year-old Delkar was an Independent Member of Parliament and had left the Congress ahead of the 2019 Lok Sabha election.

Delkar was in May 2019 elected to the 17th Lok Sabha, his seventh term in the House.

Last year, Delkar had tied up with the JDU for the local election in Dadra and Nagar Haveli after a meeting with Bihar Chief Minister Nitish Kumar. His support to the JDU resulted in a loss of seats to the Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) in the local polls in Dadra and Nagar Haveli.

Sources have told India Today TV that Mohan Delkar had gone to Mumbai in connection with some work.

Also read: Odisha issues fresh guidelines to avoid resurgence of COVID-19 cases
The delivery is scheduled for July 2021.

Ukrainian Health Minister Maksym Stepanov has said the country completed negotiations to increase the supply of U.S. NovaVax vaccine and agreed on five million additional doses.

"Another positive news from the Indian Pune from the world's largest vaccine manufacturer Serum Institute. We have successfully completed negotiations to increase the supply of the U.S. NovaVax vaccine to Ukraine. We have sealed confirmation on the possibility of supplying additional five million doses of vaccines from this manufacturer. We will approve the deal by signing an agreement," he wrote on Facebook.

Read alsoUkraine expects first batch of AstraZeneca vaccine to arrive any day nowAs per Stepanov, the total volume of the NovaVax vaccine, which is expected in Ukraine, is 15 million. Its delivery is scheduled for July 2021.

Vaccination against COVID-19 in Ukraine

On February 5, Ukrainian Health Minister Maksym Stepanov said the vaccination against COVID-19 in Ukraine would start after February 15.

First to get vaccinated will be healthcare workers, the elderly, and seriously ill patients.

At the same time, he stressed the vaccination would be carried out exclusively with safe vaccines. According to Stepanov, Ukraine will use vaccines from at least three or four different producers.

The minister assured the situation is the same almost all over the world where the vaccination is carried out with the use of vaccines from several producers.

Reporting by UNIAN
Patna, Feb 22 : Bihar Deputy Chief Minister and Finance Minister Tar Kishore Prasad tabled the state Budget worth Rs 2,18,303 crore for 2021-22 in the Assembly here on Monday.

Prasad said this Budget was prepared with the aim of achieving an "Aatmanirbhar Bihar". It has a provision for works under Chief Minister Nitish Kumar's ambitious programme 'Saat Nishchay'.

"We have allocated Rs 4,671 crore for this purpose. Besides this, we have allocated adequate funds for education, health, agriculture, and industries as well," Prasad said.

Nitish also appreciated the Budget. He said it is a balanced Budget which addresses all sections of society and the aim of this Budget is to achieve growth.

"We have maintained good growth since 2005 and a Budget like this will give momentum to develop the state further," Nitish said.

"This Budget has been prepared with futuristic planning to create 20 lakh jobs between 2020 to 2025. We will expend Rs 200 crore to create jobs in 2021-22. We will start tool and training rooms in every division. Besides modern technology will be introduced in polytechnic and ITI colleges. There is also a provision to provide long term training to students of class 10," Prasad said.

"We are committed to provide jobs to women. Hence, 35 per cent reservation was given to them in government jobs. Besides, we will give interest-free loans of Rs 5 lakh to women to establish industries. The state government will also give Rs 25,000 scholarship for intermediate pass and Rs 50,000 for graduation pass unmarried women," Prasad said.

"In a bid to double the earning of farmers, the state government has provision of Rs 550 crore. We have also allocated Rs 1,500 crore for solar lights in villages," he said.

"The state government has a plan for cattle farming and fisheries. We have allocated Rs 500 crore for animal husbandry and fisheries. The health services to animals will be available at door step. A call centre for animals will also be established in Bihar," Prasad said.

"With a view to address waterlogging, we have allocated Rs 450 crore to make quality drainage system in all cities of the state," he said.

"The state government will also prepare shelter homes for elderly persons and Rs 90 crore is allocated for it," he said.

"Under Gram Sadak Yojna of CM Nitish Kumar, we have allocated Rs 250 crore to make approach roads in villages across the state. Besides, Rs 200 crore is allocated for bypasses and flyovers in urban areas," he said.

"We are expecting Rs 9,195 crore in revenue for financial year 2021-22 in the state. The fiscal deficit of 2021-22 is expected to be Rs 22,510 crore," he said.
When parts of Texas independent power grid went offline last week because of unusually extreme cold weather in the south, the amount of expected energy production lost was equivalent to the amount of electricity used to keep the lights on in the entire state of Illinois.

During the winter months, Illinois uses about 20 gigawatts to produce the energy needed at peak times of the day, Andrew Barbeau, president of Midwest-based consulting firm the Accelerate Group and spokesman for the Illinois Clean Jobs Coalition said in an interview.

The Electric Reliability Council of Texas manages the flow of electric power for the vast majority of Texas. According to the Dallas Morning News, by Wednesday, the council reported 45 gigawatts total were offline, with 28 gigawatts from coal, gas and nuclear plants and 18 gigawatts from renewable sources such as wind and solar.

In an interview with Bloomberg News, Dan Woodfin, a senior director for the council, said wind shutdowns accounted for 3.6 to 4.5 gigawatts, or less than 13% of the 30-35 gigawatts of total outages. Only 25% of the states energy capacity is wind energy, while more than half is natural gas.

The extreme colds caused the energy infrastructure for a variety of sources to freeze.

Rep. Ann Williams, D-Chicago, chief sponsor of the Clean Energy Jobs Act, which aims to overhaul the states energy landscape, said claims that renewable energy sources are not reliable have been discredited. The renewable energy sources in Texas were not equipped for extreme cold, but neither were the thermal sources.

The issue isnt with wind turbines, its with the state of Texas, and its failure to plan and make investments in the event of an extreme weather emergency, Williams said.

Williams said that energy efficiency should be at the foundation of the conversation as Illinois prepares its grid to face increasingly extreme weather situations as a result of climate change.

But the way energy operates in Texas is also vastly different from Illinois. The Electric Reliability Council of Texas is not federally regulated because its energy does not travel in or out of the state.

In Illinois, the energy grid is part of a multistate transmission entity. Northern Illinois is part of PJM Interconnection, a regional transmission organization, and the rest of the state is part of the Midcontinent Independent System Operator.

Those organizations procure energy and capacity, which means that the power generators are paid in advance to ensure that the energy capacity will be available when its needed at peak usage times for years in advance.

The Clean Energy Jobs Act would pull northern Illinois from PJMs capacity auctions, allowing it to prioritize sources that are not carbon-emitting for capacity payments, but it would remain on the PJM grid.

In the event of a crisis, Illinois can rely on other states for power, while Texas is on its own.

Nuclear power is also a much larger contributor to Illinois grid than it is to the one in Texas. The states generators are also largely more equipped for the cold.

Illinois has also increased its efforts to weatherize power plants and wind turbines following a 2014 polar vortex which stressed energy grids.

Texas did not do any such preparations even after they had the deep freeze back in 2011, Barbeau said. Ultimately, they took the cheap way out.  I think the big difference in Texas is theres nobody in charge. Theres no central planning agency, theres no one whos there to oversee and make sure that the resources are there.

In times like these, thats what we have to take away from the Texas situation  its really a significant national event that I think is going to have waves for years to come, he said.

Because gas prices have been low in recent years, some areas of the country, including Texas, have become increasingly reliant on natural gas resources.

Abe Scarr, director of Illinois Public Interest Research Group, said he thinks that the crisis in Texas is revealing problems with that strategy as gas prices rise.

There are risks inherent in relying on fossil fuels that are commodities whose price can fluctuate quite greatly based on supply and demand and in particular when weather conditions make it so we just dont have access to those fuels, Scarr said.

Scarr said there are needed investments in energy infrastructure and that Texas is a good example of bad investment.
LWI map of Region 7. Credit: Louisiana State University

Often local and regional regulations impact the natural environment beyond the jurisdiction for which they were developed. Scientists in LSU's College of the Coast & Environment are analyzing Louisiana's patchwork of regulations to get a big picture view of how they are influencing current conditions in the coastal watershed. This research is part of the Louisiana Watershed Initiative, or LWI, and will assess how to improve deficiencies in Louisiana's approach to floodplain management and community planning across all levels of government.

According to Thomas Douthat, principal investigator on the project and assistant professor in the LSU Department of Environmental Sciences, "Flooding doesn't affect just one house or just one part of a system. If you want to address it systematically, you can't do that from a single jurisdictional perspective."

LWI is a statewide, watershed-based floodplain management program that was established in the aftermath of two historic rain events Louisiana experienced in March and August 2016. These floods produced trillions of gallons of rainwater and impacted 56 of Louisiana's 64 parishes. LWI has identified eight watershed regions as a starting point to coordinate efforts among parishes and distribute project funds. Research from Douthat's team will cover all of Region 7, a loose triangle that encompasses all the parishes between West Feliciana, Washington and St. Charles, including the Greater Baton Rouge area.

Graduate student Lindsey Lamana from Port Barre, Louisiana, and undergraduate Victoria Nguyen from Baton Rouge are working with Douthat to gather and tabulate Region 7's data in the following categories: transportation, flood control, emergency response, infrastructure development and environmental conservation. They want to understand whether these regulations are working synergistically across jurisdictions to improve environmental conditions or whether they conflict with one another in a way that is harmful to the people and ecosystems within the watershed.

Douthat's background as a lawyer and urban planner enables him to see the bigger picturemapping regulations and best practices in the region that can then be compared to others. At the conclusion of his team's network analysis and planning evaluation, they will provide data-driven visualization tools to the Capitol Region Planning Commission that will illustrate the network within which the various local and regional regulatory bodies and some private sector organizations operate. This framework will form a foundation from which they can identify existing patterns of collaboration and build upon them in order to further reduce negative impacts on the environment, property damage and flooding and increase resilience and sustainability.

"We can use the approach of network analysis and planning evaluation, which we call NAPE, not only to address watershed governance, as we have done in this study, but also to address coastal change, regional pollution management and other areas that involve multi-scalar and multi-thematic environmental planning challenges," Douthat said.

Preliminary results show that more developed regions, like East Baton Rouge Parish, have more robust networks that are working together whereas regulatory bodies in rural areas are more isolated.

"The main thing I've found so far is that parishes usually interact within their parish instead of outside their parish. And, rural areas are less connected to urban areas as well because they have less capacity. So, for the Louisiana Watershed Initiative, I can see the need for some type of entity to help the different parishes coordinate with each other," Lamana said.

According to Nguyen, who is a junior in the Coastal Environmental Science program, "Working on this project opened a whole new door for me in understanding environmental regulation and how it applies to my stateto Louisiana. It applies to everythinghow we live from day to day, so this really fueled my interest in environmental policy analysis."

Explore further NASA creates a flood proxy map of areas affected by tropical storm Barry
Photo: The Canadian Press

In a significant defeat for former President Donald Trump, the Supreme Court on Monday declined to step in to halt the turnover of his tax records to a New York state prosecutor.

The courts action is the apparent culmination of a lengthy legal battle that had already reached the high court once before.

Trumps tax records are not supposed to become public as part of prosecutors' criminal investigation, but the high courts action is a blow to Trump because he has long fought on so many fronts to keep his tax records shielded from view. The ongoing investigation that the records are part of could also become an issue for Trump in his life after the presidency. Trump has called it a fishing expedition and a continuation of the witch hunt  the greatest witch hunt in history.

The Supreme Court waited months to act in the case. The last of the written briefs in the case was filed Oct. 19. But a court that includes three Trump appointees waited through the election, Trumps challenge to his defeat and a month after Trump left office before issuing its order.

The court offered no explanation for the delay, and the legal issue before the justices did not involve whether Trump was due any special deference because he was president.

The courts order is a win for Manhattan District Attorney Cyrus Vance Jr., who has been seeking Trumps tax records since 2019 as part of an investigation. Vance, a Democrat, had subpoenaed the records from the Mazars accounting firm that has long done work for Trump and his businesses. Mazars has said it would comply with the subpoena, but Trump, a Republican, sued to block the records release.

Vances office had said it would be free to enforce the subpoena and obtain the records in the event the Supreme Court declined to step in and halt the records turnover, but it was unclear when that might happen. In a three-word statement, Vance on Monday said only: The work continues.

Representatives for Trump did not immediately respond to a request for comment.

The case the high court ruled in involves a grand jury subpoena for more than eight years of Trumps personal and corporate tax records. Vance has disclosed little about what prompted him to request the records. In one court filing last year, however, prosecutors said they were justified in demanding the records because of public reports of possibly extensive and protracted criminal conduct at the Trump Organization.

Part of the probe involves payments to two women  porn actress Stormy Daniels and model Karen McDougal  to keep them quiet during the 2016 presidential campaign about alleged extramarital affairs with Trump. Trump has denied the affairs.

Source: Xinhua| 2021-02-22 23:10:06|Editor: huaxia

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BEIJING, Feb. 22 (Xinhua) -- Chinese President Xi Jinping said Monday that China stands ready to work with Egypt to expand cooperation in such areas as infrastructure construction, production capacity, and science and technology, and lift their comprehensive strategic partnership to new levels.

In a telephone conversation with his Egyptian counterpart, Abdel-Fattah al-Sisi, Xi added that China supports more Chinese businesses investing in the Middle East country. Enditem

MILWAUKEE, Feb. 22, 2021 /PRNewswire/ -- Ademi LLP is investigating Cooper (NYSE: CTB) for possible breaches of fiduciary duty and other violations of law in its transaction with Goodyear.

Click here to learn how to join the action: http://ademilaw.com/case/cooper-tire-rubber-company or call Guri Ademi toll-free at 866-264-3995. There is no cost or obligation to you.

Ademi LLP alleges Cooper's financial outlook is improving and yet Cooper shareholders will receive only $41.75 per share in cash and a fixed exchange ratio of 0.907 shares of Goodyear common stock per Cooper share. The merger agreement unreasonably limits competing bids for Cooper by prohibiting solicitation of further bids, and imposing a termination penalty if Cooper accepts a superior bid. Cooper insiders will receive millions of dollars as part of change of control arrangements. We are investigating the conduct of Cooper's board of directors, and whether they are (i) fulfilling their fiduciary duties to all shareholders, and (ii) obtaining a fair and reasonable price for Cooper.

If you own Cooper common stock and wish to obtain additional information, please contact Guri Ademi either at [email protected] or toll-free: 866-264-3995, or http://ademilaw.com/case/cooper-tire-rubber-company

We specialize in shareholder litigation involving buyouts, mergers, and individual shareholder rights throughout the country. For more information, please feel free to call us. Attorney advertising. Prior results do not guarantee similar outcomes.

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Jerusalem: Forget about oil and arms. Coronavirus vaccines are emerging as the newest currency of choice in the Middle East.

Israels murky prisoner swap with Syria and the arrival of a batch of vaccines in the Gaza Strip have all underscored how those with access to the vaccines have political power in the turbulent region.

Israel has faced international criticism for largely excluding Palestinians in the occupied West Bank and Gaza Strip from its ambitious vaccination campaign, the fastest rollout in the world.

Yet Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu reportedly showed little hesitation in agreeing to pay Russia some $US 1.2 million to buy coronavirus vaccines for arch-enemy Syria as part of a deal last week to release an Israeli woman held captive in Damascus.
iStock/Vladimir Vladimirov(NEW YORK) -- As part of his daily coronavirus-related press conference, embattled New York Governor Andrew Cuomo announced that movie theaters in the Big Apple will be allowed to reopen March 5.

However, there's a catch: Movie houses will be capped at 25% capacity -- with no more than 50 people allowed in each theater at the same time.

Masks, social distancing and increased sanitizing procedures will also be mandated.

The movie theater announcement comes days after Cuomo, currently under federal investigation for allegedly hiding the death toll caused by his COVID-19 nursing home mandate, allowed similar limited openings for sporting arenas.

Copyright  2021, ABC Audio. All rights reserved.
There are a lot of words you can use to describe Microsoft. You could say, for example, that it is one of the most dominant tech companies of the past 40 years. That's true both in terms of its market value, as well as the prevalence of its software with consumers and business customers.

You could also say that it is, in many ways, one of the most respected and trusted tech companies. The company consistently ranks near the top of lists of which tech companies people trust.

Now you can add another word: troll.

That's not usually a word you could use with any degree of affection. A troll, at least as we think of the online version, is someone who sticks their nose into something purely for the purpose of agitating someone else to get a reaction. That's exactly what Microsoft has been doing lately.

In this case, however, it turns out it just might be a brilliant PR move. Microsoft, despite being one of the four most valuable companies on the planet, and having had its own history of legal battles with antitrust regulators, has largely avoided the scrutiny facing its peers this time around. And the company is happy to make that point at just about every opportunity it gets.

Take the company's president and chief legal counsel, Brad Smith, who last week suggested that the U.S. should adopt a similar media code to the one Australia is implementing. The Australian proposal prompted Google to enter into a deal to pay the country's largest news organizations for appearing in its products.

"I think the Australian government has found a way to redress the imbalance between news publishers and big-tech gatekeepers," Smith told Insider in an interview. "News content is creating real benefits for these platforms. At the same time, the use of these platforms is eroding the traditional economic base for independent journalism."

Smith also suggested it was a "mistake" for Facebook to block all sharing of links from Australian news sites. And, earlier this summer, Smith encouraged regulators on both sides of the Atlantic to look into Apple's control over the iOS App Store.

"I do believe the time has come, whether we're talking about Washington, D.C., or Brussels, for a much more focused conversation about the nature of app stores, the rules that are being put in place, the prices and the tolls that are being extracted, and whether there is really a justification in antitrust law for everything that has been created," Smith said.

That sentiment conveniently ignores the fact that Microsoft operates two different app stores, one for Windows, and one for Xbox--the latter of which is about as closed a system as there is. In fact, that's a point that Apple has made in defense of its own App Store.

Every company tries to differentiate itself from the competition by whatever means it can. In Microsoft's case, the company is capitalizing on the fact that it has largely flown under the radar as far as regulators are concerned. The message is essentially "look at these tech companies causing all of this trouble. Someone should really do something about their unfair monopoly power."

Despite the obvious pot calling the kettle a monopoly, it's interesting that Smith's role as president seems to be to act as the snarky cop to CEO Satya Nadella's calm and composed cop. For now, if the goal is to point an unflattering light in the direction of Microsoft's competition, it's a strategy that seems to be working.

There is just one problem, and it makes the strategy risky for Microsoft. No one likes a troll. And, in the case of Australia's media code, Microsoft is pretty transparently disingenuous. Clearly, the company would be thrilled if something were to disadvantage Google Search since that would almost surely benefit Bing, Microsoft's competing search engine.

As for Facebook, which I've argued was right for taking the position it did in response to the law in Australia, Microsoft's position looks a lot like political convenience. In that sense, the company seems to be piling on to the anti-Facebook sentiment, despite the fact that the law in Australia is just bad.

Finally, in regards to Apple, Microsoft has as much to lose--especially when it comes to the iPhone maker's public spat with Epic Games, which makes the popular Fortnite game. Does anyone think that Xbox won't be next on the list if Epic is able to force Apple and Google to change the way they operate their respective app stores?
Canadian federal plans to close fish farms stir emotions on Vancouver Island

by Dirk Meissner

February 22,2021 | Source: The Canadian Press

As a commercial fisherman and salmon farmer, James Walkus says he sees the merits of both industries and he's convinced the two can coexist.



The 81-year-old Indigenous leader and entrepreneur from Port Hardy said wild salmon has provided him with a way of life for decades, but he supports the expansion of aquaculture and opposes the federal government's decision to phase out almost 20 salmon farms on northern Vancouver Island within 18 months.



Fisheries Minister Bernadette Jordan's announcement last December to phase out open-net fish farming in the Discovery Islands area has stirred emotions in Vancouver Island communities, with some fearing dire economic consequences and others saying the survival of wild salmon stocks is at stake.



Walkus said the bulk of his business is now with aquaculture companies, but he has been fishing waters off Vancouver Island since 1954 and wild salmon stocks have been declining due to a variety of factors. To blame it all on fish farms is not fair, he said.



Our wild stocks have so many predators - the sea lions, the harbour seals, commercial fishermen, climate change, no feed.



The Cohen commission on the decline of Fraser River sockeye in 2012 said the Discovery Islands act as a bottleneck along wild salmon migration routes and eliminating the fish farms was a key recommendation.



The recommendation was also contingent on Fisheries and Oceans finding more than a minimal risk to migrating sockeye by September 2020.



Last fall, the department reported finding nine pathogens from farmed Discovery Islands salmon, but said they posed minimal risk to wild stocks.



The industry, believing it was meeting the recommendation of the commission, did not expect the federal minister's decision to phase out the farms, said John Paul Fraser, executive director of the B.C. Salmon Farmers Association.



Innocent people, companies, small businesses and Indigenous communities are sitting on a potentially catastrophic impact that will at the very least contribute to significant job loss and tension in communities when it doesn't need to be there, Fraser said.



The association cited a preliminary analysis of the economic impact of the closure of the Discovery Islands farms as up to 1,500 lost jobs and an annual direct and indirect income loss of about $380 million.



But Fisheries and Oceans Canada said in a statement the communities, leaders and industries knew a decision on the future of fish farm operations was imminent.



The decision to phase out fish farms in the Discovery Islands was made by minister Jordan after much consultation, the statement said. Those in the region and those involved would have known months prior, if not years, that a final decision would be made by December 2020 regarding the future of the farms.



The statement said Fisheries and Oceans completed nine risk assessments in the area and announced last September that Jordan would consult with seven First Nations about the future of the fish farms before their December 2020 licence renewal dates.



The statement also cited the Cohen commission's 2012 recommendation that fish farm licences only be renewed on an annual basis.



Bob Chamberlin is an Indigenous leader who helped negotiate a B.C. government fish farm policy in the Alert Bay area of Vancouver Island and served as a consultant to First Nations involved in the Discovery Islands talks. He said industry leaders knew since the last federal election, and as far back as the Cohen commission, that the future of the farms was not certain.





What (industry leaders) are doing is playing to the emotions of people, he said. They're unhappy with the decision. I think there were plenty of signals that they should have been perhaps preparing an alternative business plan than status quo.



Chamberlin called on the federal government to provide assistance packages and retraining options to the people who will lose jobs with the closure of the fish farms.



Mayor Martin Davis of the small west Vancouver Island village of Tahsis said his community adopted a resolution more than a decade ago to reject fish farming within its municipal boundaries as an environmental policy.



Most people in my town are opposed to fish farms, he said. I'm reflective of the majority in our community for sure. Really, in my opinion, the writing's been on the wall that things were going to start to move this way and the companies should have been repositioning themselves.



Campbell River Mayor Andy Adams said as the leader of the city that bills itself as the salmon capital of the world, the phase-out decision appears short-sighted.



The city employs the majority of the salmon farm workers and the federal government should have considered a forward-looking approach to the industry, he said.



Amanda Luxton, an assistant manager at the Big Tree Creek Hatchery near Campbell River, said the government should look to find a balance between rebuilding wild salmon stocks and supporting aquaculture.



Luxton, 29, said she and the 16 other people working at the hatchery, which raises young Atlantic salmon for the farms, are worried about their futures.



I'm 100 per cent nervous, as is everybody else, she said. I recently bought a house in Campbell River. I put down roots here and to have that possibility of uncertainty that I may have to go back east, that is a tough reality.

 2021 Bell Media. All rights reserved.

Theme(s): Fisheries Development and Aquaculture.
Texas Agriculture Commissioner Hoists Red Alert for Food Supply Chain

Feb. 21 , 2021 (EIRNS)In a brief interview on Fox News this morning, Texas Agriculture Commissioner Sid Miller (R), repeated his warnings of Feb. 16, stating that Texas faces a food shortage in the midst of the devastating low temperatures and lack of energy infrastructure.

In his interview, Miller said that much of the blame for the crisis can be placed on the lack of leadership from the states political officials. It was poor management ... us Republicans run Texas, and its on our shoulders, we messed up!

Miller issued an official warning on Feb. 16 about the emergency condition of agriculture in the state. It concluded with an urgent appeal: Governor Abbott must make ag industries a priority for electricity and gas just like hospitals, first responders, fire and police. I salute all our hospital workers and first responders as they deal with this natural disaster, but they wont have food to eat if our farmers are left without power.

In his warning, he said,

Im getting calls from farmers and ranchers across the state reporting that the interruptions in electricity and natural gas are having a devastating effect on their operations. In just one example, dairy operations are dumping $8 million worth of milk down the drains every day because the plants that process that milk dont have power. Grocery stores are already unable to get shipments of dairy products. Store shelves are already empty. Were looking at a food supply chain problem like weve never seen before, even with COVID-19.

According to the U.S. Department of Agriculture, in December 2020, Texas had 2.9 million cattle on feedlotsthe largest number in the nationand has the fifth-largest dairy herd, and is the sixth-biggest chicken producer.

The Wall Street Journal reports that Sanderson Farms, Inc., one of the biggest U.S. chicken processors, estimated that at least 200 of their 1,900 chicken houses were without power; feed mills were struggling to produce feed; shipments of feed and of processed chickens have been delayed by icy roads.

Dairy farms are in crisis. The CEO of Select Milk Processors, Rance C. Miles stated,  You just have this system thats all based on time, deadlines, and cows that never stop milking. Its just a disaster for the dairymen.

Cattlemen have emphasized the biggest challenge has been keeping their cattle watered, which involves having to drive across their land to break the ice on top of troughs or ponds, since Texan cattle arent used to snow and dont see it as a source of water.
Members of the ruling Democratic Party of Korea hold a rally urging the National Assembly to pass a special bill for the construction of an airport on Gadeok Island in Busan, Feb. 7. Korea Times file



By Kang Seung-woo



The rival parties and their candidates running in the upcoming mayoral by-elections in Seoul and Busan are raising eyebrows for their ill-advised promoting of vote-buying social overhead capital (SOC) projects.



Critics say given that the winning candidate will stay in office until the next local elections, scheduled for June 2022, such large construction plans, pursued recklessly without reviewing their economic feasibility, would lead to a waste of taxpayers' money with many of them likely to remain central and local government liabilities.



The mayoral posts of the nation's largest- and second-largest cities have been vacant following the resignation of former Busan Mayor Oh Keo-don and the suicide of former Seoul Mayor Park Won-soon amid accusations of sexual harassment.



A recent National Assembly committee's approval of a special bill aimed at constructing a new international airport on Busan's Gadeok Island, among others, is taking flak for being pork-barrel politics in desperate bids by the two main parties to win the elections.



As part of efforts to woo voters, the ruling Democratic Party of Korea (DPK) and the main opposition People Power Party (PPP) agreed to skip a preliminary feasibility study on the airport plan, although it is estimated that the government will have to spend up to 10.7 trillion won ($9.66 billion) on the project.



According to relevant laws, any state infrastructure project costing 50 billion won or more, including at least 30 billion won of state funding, is required to have such a study performed to ensure its economic viability and prevent the waste of taxpayers' money.



In addition, given that studies on the airport plan have already proven it to be economically unfeasible under the two previous administrations, their blind pitch for a new airport in Busan is putting the two parties in the hot seat.



Some politicians admit that the plan has degenerated into a politic issue to curry favor with voters in the region.



Rep. Sim Sang-jeung of the minor opposition Justice Party denounced the move as "vote-buying."



"As anybody knows, the passage of the special bill is aimed at currying favor with voters and it is a product of the rival parties' collusion," Sim said.



In the race for the Seoul mayoral post, some questionable SOC pledges are also being made as potential PPP candidates are vowing to build a landmark building of 100 stories or more.



Oh Se-hoon, a former Seoul mayor, unveiled his plan to erect a 133-story tower in Digital Media City in western Seoul, while Na Kyung-won, a former four-term lawmaker, also proposed building a skyscraper of more than 100 stories, labeling it as a long-cherished business wish in the western region.



DPK contenders are also absorbed in pitching eye-catching yet nonsensical housing pledges amid growing complaints about the Moon Jae-in administration's failure to curb skyrocketing prices.



Park Young-sun, a former minister of SMEs and startups, pledged to build 300,000 public houses within five years, while Rep. Woo Sang-ho, a former DPK floor leader, also promised to provide 160,000 public houses.



Ahn Cheol-soo of the minor opposition People's Party who is a leading contender in multiple public polls, also said he would build 746,000 houses after easing regulations on reconstruction and redevelopment.


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WASHINGTON, Feb. 22, 2021 /PRNewswire/ -- Fragrance Creators Association issued a statement today from President & CEO Farah K. Ahmed signaling the association's support for the reintroduction of H.R. 5, The Equality Act, intended to empower all peopleregardless of sexual orientation or gender identityto pursue their dreams. Passed by the House of Representatives in 2019 with bipartisan support, the bill would amend several provisions of the Civil Rights Act of 1964 to provide affirmative, statutory non-discrimination protections for LGBTQ Americans with regard to employment, housing, credit, education, public spaces and services, federally funded programs, and jury service.

Fragrance Creators Association

"Fragrance Creators stands with the LGBTQ community as we continue our direct leadership and decisive action at the industry level in support of The Equality Act. We are leveraging our unique advocacy infrastructure to build awareness and solidify support among the association community and other stakeholders. We support the Biden Administration's commitment to its passage during its first 100 days and call on Congress to pass the bill swiftly.

"Across the country, lesbian, gay, bisexual, transgender, and queer Americans still lack basic legal protections, leaving them vulnerable to harassment and discrimination. This is plainly unacceptable. The American democracy is built upon the dream of equality of opportunity, a dream that makes our nation exceptional. All people have a right to pursue a life of dignity, including employment, without fear of intolerance.

"The beauty of the fragrance industry lives in the creative artistry of our peopleevery scent creation is a celebration of authentic human expression that connects us with our emotions and memories and brings us closer to one another. It is the essence of what drives Fragrance Creators' unwavering support of The Equality Act."

Fragrance Creators Association is the principal fragrance trade association. The organization represents the majority of fragrance manufacturing in North America. The association also represents interests along the fragrance value chain. Fragrance Creators' membership is diverse, including companies that create, manufacture, and use fragrances and scents for home care, personal care, home design, fine fragrance, and industrial and institutional products as well as those that supply fragrance ingredients, including natural extracts and other raw materials that are used in perfumery and fragrance mixtures. Fragrance Creators produces The Fragrance Conservatory, the comprehensive digital resource for high-quality information about fragrance. Learn more about Fragrance Creators at fragrancecreators.orgfor people, perfume, and the planet.

Contact:

Lia Dangelico

[email protected]rs.org

+1 571 317 1504

Related Images

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Related Links

Fragrance Creators Association

SOURCE Fragrance Creators Association
Caverion Corporation Investor news 22 February 2021 at 1.00 p.m. EET

HELSINKI, Feb. 22, 2021 /PRNewswire/ -- Caverion and the City of Helsinki have signed an agreement on the implementation of the Myllypuro campus of the Helsinki Vocational College and Adult Institute. Caverion will implement the project in partnership with Fira, using the life cycle model. For Caverion, the value of the agreement is approximately EUR 13 million, and Fira's share is approximately EUR 22 million.

Fira will be in charge of the design and construction of the new building, and Caverion will provide the total technical solutions, including design and all building solutions. The building will be completed by summer 2023, after which Caverion will assume responsibility for the technical maintenance of the property, as well as ensuring its targeted energy consumption, for a period of 20 years. This is the first vocational college campus project to be implemented using the life cycle model in Finland.

"The goal of the city is to create the smartest campus for construction studies and we expect it will generate international attention. The new campus will, together with Metropolia campus, create a new kind of knowledge hub where future employees and employers meet," says Pia Pakarinen, Deputy Mayor, Education Division, City of Helsinki.

Real-life learning environment for future experts

The Myllypuro campus contains facilities for studies in building construction and building solutions technology. Once the new property is completed, approximately 1,100 students will commence their vocational qualification studies there. The building itself will serve as a learning environment, where students will be acquainted with its building solutions that are partly placed in sight behind glass walls. In addition, information about the technical solutions and materials can be produced in illustrative format for study purposes. Up-to-date data transmitted from the Caverion SmartView portal to the campus info TV system means future professionals can learn about the building automation of the campus in practice.

"We are very pleased with this opportunity to build and maintain a campus for future experts in our own industry. I am convinced that they will have an excellent setting to gain solid professional skills and learn about the contemporary technology at their own campus. The life cycle model emphasises cooperation between the implementors and, together with Fira, we have developed some well-functioning solutions for the project implementation," says Ville Tamminen, Head of Caverion Finland division.

"This is our first project using the life cycle model, and we are very enthusiastic about implementing it together with Caverion and the City of Helsinki. Building a campus for future builders is a particularly pleasant task, and it is a natural continuation of the positive cooperation we have conducted with Caverion in several projects," says Jari Koivu, CEO, Fira Oy.

High level energy efficiency and use of renewable energy sources

The building is designed and implemented to comply with the requirements of the energy label rating A and the 4-star rating in the Finnish RTS Environmental Classification system. The energy efficiency of the building solutions is very high, and more than 15% of the total energy needs of the property will be generated using renewable energy sources. The building will include green roofs, and solar energy and heat pump technology will also be used for its energy supply. The gross area of the campus is around 9,700 square metres.

Illustrations: P&R Arkkitehdit Oy

CONTACT:

Further information:

Ville Tamminen, Head of Caverion Finland division, ville.tamminen@caverion.com, tel. +358 50 390 0129

Jari Koivu, CEO, Fira Oy, jari.koivu@fira.fi, tel. +358 40 502 4268

Kari Pehkonen, Project Director, Urban Environment Division, City of Helsinki, tel. +358 9 310 31813, kari.pehkonen@hel.fi

Maria Sarkkinen, Head of Vocational Education, City of Helsinki, tel. +358 9 310 23149, maria.sarkkinen@hel.fi

This information was brought to you by Cision http://news.cision.com

https://news.cision.com/caverion/r/new-generation-learning-environment-for-future-experts---caverion-and-fira-to-build-and-maintain-a-n,c3293178

The following files are available for download:

https://mb.cision.com/Main/14078/3293178/1376989.pdf Release https://news.cision.com/caverion/i/stao-new-myllypuro-campus-helsinki-2,c2880122 STAO New Myllypuro campus Helsinki 2 https://news.cision.com/caverion/i/stao-new-campus-helsinki,c2880124 STAO-New-campus-Helsinki

SOURCE Caverion
Americas major tech companies have chosen sides. Thus the news that big tech employees contributed more to Joe Bidens campaign than any other sector of the economy:

Employees at Microsoft, Amazon, Apple, Facebook and Alphabet, Googles parent company, donated at least $15.1 million to President Joe Bidens presidential campaign, according to Open Secrets. The donations eclipsed the amount given from employees in the banking and legal sectors, according to The Wall Street Journal. The five companies were also the largest fundraising sources for Bidens campaign.

Far more important than political contributions are the efforts by the social media platforms and other tech giants to suppress conservative speech. These seemingly-coordinated efforts represent by far the biggest threat to free speech in America today.

It seems clear that the most effective avenue to stop this suppression of conservative speech (or, really, any speech that doesnt fit the narrative of the moment) is through action at the state level. Legislation intended to protect speech on social media platforms, and on the internet generally, has been introduced in at least 15 or 20 states. Here in Minnesota, I participated in drafting a bill that takes an anti-discrimination approach. It bars discrimination against users or user content on the basis of race, sex, religion or political orientation and provides minimum statutory damages of $50,000, along with attorneys fees.

That bill has now been introduced in the Minnesota Senate with multiple sponsors, including the Senate Majority Leader. It soon will be introduced in the House. The bill, S.F. 1253, is recorded here and is embedded below.

I am happy to consult with legislators or others in states where similar legislation might be introduced, and can be reached at [email protected]
RECORDATI: PRELIMINARY 2020 RESULTS CONFIRM CONTINUED GROWTH OF OPERATING INCOME AND NET INCOME. EBITDA +4.7% AND ADJUSTED NET INCOME +7.3%.

Consolidated revenues  1,448.9 million, -2.2% (+0.4% at constant exchange rates).

EBITDA (1)  569.3 million, +4.7%.

 569.3 million, +4.7%. Operating income  469.0 million, +0.8%.

Net income  355.0 million, -3.8%; excluding the non-recurring "Patent Box" tax benefits, net income increased by +3.2%.

Adjusted Net income (2)  410.4 million, +7.3%.

 410.4 million, +7.3%. Net financial position (3) : net debt of  865.8 million, with positive underlying cash generated, excluding dividends and payments associated with new licenses and milestones, of approximately  360 million.

: net debt of  865.8 million, with positive underlying cash generated, excluding dividends and payments associated with new licenses and milestones, of approximately  360 million. New product launches, combined with portfolio expansion through new commercial agreements, lay the foundation for solid future growth.

2021 objectives include continued growth in revenues, EBITDA (1) and adjusted net income (2) .

and adjusted net income . Approved a share buy-back program to service the stock options plans.

Payment dates of the 2020 dividend balance and the 2021 interim dividend announced



Milan, 22 February 2021 - The Board of Directors of Recordati S.p.A. reviewed the preliminary consolidated financial statements for 2020 and the 2021 objectives. The company's final consolidated annual financial statements will be submitted to the Board for approval on 18 March 2021.

Financial highlights

Consolidated revenues , at  1,448.9 million, fell by 2.2% compared to 2019, reflecting also the devaluation of almost all currencies against the euro, which was especially notable during the second half of the year. At constant exchange rates, the Group's sales grew slightly by +0.4%. Revenues for the new drugs acquired at the end of 2019, Signifor and Signifor LAR and initial sales of Isturisa totalled  79 million.



, at  1,448.9 million, fell by 2.2% compared to 2019, reflecting also the devaluation of almost all currencies against the euro, which was especially notable during the second half of the year. At constant exchange rates, the Group's sales grew slightly by +0.4%. Revenues for the new drugs acquired at the end of 2019, Signifor and Signifor LAR and initial sales of Isturisa totalled  79 million. EBITDA (1) was  569.3 million, an increase of 4.7% over 2019, thanks to expense controls and a better gross margin, at 39.3% of sales, up compared to 36.7% in 2019.



was  569.3 million, an increase of 4.7% over 2019, thanks to expense controls and a better gross margin, at 39.3% of sales, up compared to 36.7% in 2019. Operating income was  469.0 million, an increase of 0.8% over the previous year, lower compared to EBITDA growth due to the increase in amortization associated with new products, a margin of 32.4% of sales compared to 31.4%.



was  469.0 million, an increase of 0.8% over the previous year, lower compared to EBITDA growth due to the increase in amortization associated with new products, a margin of 32.4% of sales compared to 31.4%. Net income, equalled  355.0 million, at 24.5% of sales, compared to  368.9 million in 2019; excluding non-recurring "Patent Box" tax benefits, equal to  2 million in 2020 and to  27 million in 2019, net income increased by 3.2% thanks to the progress in operating income and the decrease in financial expenses.

Adjusted net income (2) , equal to  410.4 million, grew by 7.3% compared to 2019, at 28.3% of sales, higher than the previous year, which as 25.8%.



, equal to  410.4 million, grew by 7.3% compared to 2019, at 28.3% of sales, higher than the previous year, which as 25.8%. Net financial position(3) at 31 December 2020 recorded a net debt of  865.8 million, which was lower compared to the net debt of  902.7 million at 31 December 2019. In the period, dividends of  212.7 million were distributed and payments were made for milestones and licenses for new products for a total value of approximately  99.1 million. Treasury shares were purchased for a total disbursement, net of sales for the exercise of stock options, of  12.2 million. Net of these effects, the Group's solid cash generation was confirmed at approximately  360 million.

Management Comments

"In 2020, our Group faced and successfully overcame various challenges, some of which were expected, such as the loss of exclusivity for some corporate products, others which emerged during the year at the onset of the COVID-19 pandemic. Despite the influence these events had on the market and therefore also on our business, the Group demonstrated resilience and the ability to react in a challenging environment. This allowed us to achieve absolutely positive results, with EBITDA of  569.3 million, up by +4.7%, and Adjusted net income of  410.4 million, up by +7.3%. This was possible thanks to all the Group employees who ensured the continuation of business even in the most acute stages of the epidemic", stated CEO Andrea Recordati. "We were able to limit the impact of the pandemic by carefully managing costs and successfully increasing our business in the rare diseases sector, by adding Signifor and Signifor LAR to our portfolio and launching Isturisa, products acquired from Novartis in 2019. We also continued to work towards the growth and consolidation of our Group, with the launch of Cystadrops in the United States, and finalising new agreements to expand the portfolio. To this end, we added a license and supply agreement with ARS Pharmaceuticals, signed in September, for ARS-1, an epinephrine-based nasal spray, and an additional deal with Tolmar International Ltd, finalised at the beginning of 2021, for a license and supply agreement to market Eligard (leuprolide acetate), a marketed medicinal product for the treatment of hormone dependent advanced prostate cancer.

All of these transactions lay the foundation for the Group's continued and solid growth. In 2021, with the help of the transactions already disclosed and assuming a gradual recovery of our reference markets after COVID-19 in the second half of the year, we expect revenues between  1,570 million and  1,620 million, EBITDA between  600 million and  620 million, and adjusted net income between  420 and  440 million".

(1) Net income before financial (income) expense, provision for taxes, depreciation, amortization and write-down of property, plant and equipment, intangible assets and goodwill, and non-recurring items.

(2) Net income excluding amortization and write-downs of intangible assets (except software) and goodwill, and non-recurring items, net of tax effects.

(3) Cash and short-term financial investments less bank overdrafts and loans, which include the measurement at fair value of hedging derivatives.

Approved a share buy-back program to service the stock options plans

Today, the Board of Directors also approved to launch a share buy-back program under art. 5 of (EU) Regulation no. 596/2014 for a maximum of up to 1,500,000 ordinary shares - within the maximum cash outlay of EUR 75 million - in execution of the resolution adopted by the Shareholders' meeting held on 29th April 2020, for the servicing of current and future stock option plans in favour of the Recordati Group's management. Such program will be executed through an intermediary - which will operate in full independency ("riskless principal") - whose identification is on-going, further to a specific delegation of powers.

Dates of payment of dividends during 2021

As a follow-up to - and consistently with - the press release on 2021 corporate events calendar, published on 30 November 2020, Recordati S.p.A. announces that the payment of the balance of the 2020 financial year dividend is planned for 26 May 2021, on each outstanding share at 24 May 2021 (ex-dividend date) and record date 25 May 2021, while payment of the interim dividend for the 2021 financial year is planned for 24 November 2021, on each outstanding share at 22 November 2021 (ex-dividend date) and record date 23 November 2021(*).

Declaration by the Manager responsible for preparing the company's financial reports

The manager responsible for preparing the company's financial reports, Luigi La Corte, declares, pursuant to paragraph 2 of Article 154-bis of the Consolidated Law on Finance, that the accounting information contained in this press release corresponds to the documentation evidence, books and accounting records.

Conference Call

Recordati will be hosting a conference call today, 22 February, at 4:00 p.m. Italian time (3:00 p.m. London time, 10:00 a.m. New York time). The dial-in numbers are:

Italy +39 02 805 8811, toll free 800 213 858

UK +44 1 212 818 003, toll free 800 015 6384

USA +1 718 705 8794, toll free +1 855 265 6959

France +33 1 70 918 703

Germany +49 69 17415713

Callers are invited to dial in 10 minutes before conference time. If conference operator assistance is required during the connection, please dial* followed by 0 or call +39 02 806 1371. A recording of the conference call will be placed on the website www.recordati.com.

A set of slides which will be referred to during the call will be available on our website www.recordati.com under Investors/Company Presentations.

(*) Recordati S.p.A. specifies that this press release is not a forecast of the existence of the conditions for the dividend distribution.

Recordati, established in 1926, is an international pharmaceutical group listed on the Italian Stock Exchange (Reuters RECI.MI, Bloomberg REC IM, ISIN IT 0003828271), with a total staff of more than 4,300, dedicated to the research, development, manufacturing and marketing of pharmaceuticals. Headquartered in Milan, Italy, Recordati has operations throughout the whole of Europe, including Russia, Turkey, North Africa, the United States of America, Canada, Mexico, some South American countries, Japan and Australia. An efficient field force of medical representatives promotes a wide range of innovative pharmaceuticals, proprietary and under license, in a number of therapeutic areas, including a specialized business dedicated to treatments for rare diseases. Recordati is a partner of choice for new product licenses for its territories. Recordati is committed to the research and development of new specialties, with a focus on treatments for rare diseases. Consolidated revenue for 2019 was  1,481.8 million, operating income was  465.3 million and net income was  368.9 million.

For further information:

Recordati website: www.recordati.com

Investor Relations Media Relations

Federica De Medici Studio Noris Morano

(39)0248787146 (39)0276004736, (39)0276004745

e-mail: investorelations@recordati.it e-mail: norismorano@studionorismorano.com



Statements contained in this release, other than historical facts, are "forward-looking statements" (as such term is defined in the Private Securities Litigation Reform Act of 1995). These statements are based on currently available information, on current best estimates, and on assumptions believed to be reasonable. This information, these estimates and assumptions may prove to be incomplete or erroneous and involve numerous risks and uncertainties beyond the Company's control. Hence, actual results may differ materially from those expressed or implied by such forward-looking statements. All mentions and descriptions of Recordati products are intended solely as information on the general nature of the company's activities and are not intended to indicate the advisability of administering any product in any particular instance.

Attachment
Kuwait has extended an entry ban for non-Kuwaiti citizens until further notice as part of its coronavirus (Covid-19) restriction measures, the Kuwait's Civil Aviation Authority has announced in its Twitter account.

Citizens are still allowed to enter but they must spend a week in quarantine at a hotel and another week at home.
Kerala: The controversy over deep sea fishing contract with US firm

by Rejimon Kuttappan

February 22,2021 | Source: The News Minute

On February 19, Friday, Opposition Leader Ramesh Chennithala called out the Pinarayi Vijayan-led government in Kerala for entering into a Memorandum of Understanding (MoU) with a US-based company for deep sea fishing in the state. However, Minister Mercykutty Amma said that the Fisheries Ministry, which is in charge of giving license for deep sea trawling, has not signed any MoU with EMCC International India. Though the fisheries department may not have signed an MoU, two were signed between government public undertakings and EMCC. Documents accessed by TNM showed that the first MoU was signed between Kerala State Industrial Development Corporation Limited or KSIDC (for the government of Kerala) and EMCC in February 2020. Another MoU was signed between Kerala Shipping Inland Navigation Corporation Limited (KSINC) and the firm in February 2021.According to the MoUs, EMCC International India will invest Rs 5,324 crore in fisheries research and development for upgrading and promoting the deep sea fishing industry in Kerala. The company will build 400 ships and five mother vessels at Rs 2 crore and Rs 74 crore each respectively. Accusing the Kerala government of engaging in large-scale corruption, Ramesh Chennithala pointed out that fishermen and political parties, including the CPI(M), have opposed foreign deep sea trawlers on the Kerala coast in the past. According to the Opposition, the move to allow foreign trawlers will impact the fishermen and lead to unscientific deep fishing. The state Cabinet approved the draft fisheries policies in 2019, which protects deep-sea fishing from local and foreign trawlers, in addition to improving scientific methods of fishing and allowing fishermen to fix the price of the catch and sell it in the market. The opposition has said that these MoUs will go against the spirit of the fisheries policy.



How the project came about



In 2018, EMCC claimed to have met Kerala Fisheries, Harbour Engineering, and Cashew Industry Minister J Mercykutty Amma in New York and discussed the project Fisheries Research and Development for the Up-gradation and Promotion of Deep-Sea Fishing Industry in Kerala, India. On August 2, 2019, the EMCC said it submitted its concept note (summary of proposal) for the project to KR Jyothilal IAS Principal Secretary at the Department of Fisheries, Harbour Engineering, and Cashew Industry, requesting a letter of intent (initial proposal for a project) from the Kerala government. On February 28, 2020, the EMCC signed an MoU with the Kerala government on Fisheries Research and Development for the Up-gradation and Promotion of Deep-Sea Fishing Industry in Kerala, India at ASCEND2020-Kerala global investors meet in the state. According to this MoU, the government of Kerala will assist EMCC to invest Rs 5,000 crore in the state for Fisheries Research and Development. On October 30, 2020, EMCC submitted a request for land allotment in Kerala State Industrial Development Corporation (KSIDC) Mega Food Park at Pallipuram in Ernakulam for setting up a seafood processing centre. On February 2, 2021, EMCC signed an MoU with Kerala Shipping Inland Navigation Corporation (KSINC) to build 400 ships and five mother vessels. On February 3, 2021, EMCC received a letter from KSIDC, stating the allotment of 4 acres of land to set up a seafood processing unit. On February 11, 2021, EMCC sent a letter to Kerala Industrial Minister EP Jayarajan, requesting Cabinet Approval for the project.



What the firm proposes



In the letter to Industrial Minister EP Jayarajan, the US firm said that the proposal was based on Clause 2.9 of the Kerala governments Fisheries Policy 2018. It says that to reduce the stress on overfishing in Continental Shift area, deep-sea fishing vessels will be encouraged to move to Continental Slope area. A coastal nation has control over its resources within a continental shelf, which extends from the coastline of a continent to a point called a shelf break. Beyond this, the shelf descends towards the deep ocean floor called the continental slope. Clause 2.2 in the same policy, however, asserts that pressure will be put on the central government to stop local and foreign trawlers from doing deep-sea fishing to preserve the marine wealth. The company said that the project will provide jobs for 23,000 people in various categories in the project, logistics and merchandising resources, quality assurance professionals, researchers and scientists, technologists and marketers. It also said that approximately 16,000 fishermen will be trained and deployed across 40 pilot prototype vessels and 1,500 men and women will be trained and employed in 200 plus processing and retail outlets to be launched across the state. Although the MoU makes no mention of the funding, the concept note said, The project funding will be based on the BOOT (Build, Own, Operate and Transfer) system, and US-based EMCC Global Consortium through its Indian subsidiary EMCC International India shall be the source and guarantor of the funding.



Kerala government denies signing MoU



Alleging that it was a corrupt deal, Chennithala appealed to the Pinarayi Vijayan government not to proceed with the project, saying it will adversely affect lakhs of fishermen. There is a shortage of fish in the sea. How can the government come into an agreement with an American company for deep-sea fishing? This is against the interest of fishermen. This is corrupt and a high-level committee should probe the matter, he said. On the same day, responding to questions from reporters on Chennithalas charges, Mercykutty Amma called the allegations baseless and with no merit. The Opposition leader is speaking of an imaginary contract. No agreement has been signed by the government to allow fishing by the US firm, she said. Releasing a letter from EMCC, Chennithala had also alleged that Minister Mercykutty Amma had met the EMCC officials. On February 20, Saturday, Chennithala also released a picture that purportedly showed EMCC officials meeting Mercykutty Amma at her office. On Saturday, Kerala Chief Minister Pinarayi Vijayan stated that neither the state government nor any of its departments have signed an MoU in this regard. It is normal for public sector undertakings like the KSINC to sign MoUs in any conferences or investment meets. It would come for the consideration of the government only later. A policy decision in this regard would be taken only then, Pinarayi Vijayan said. Chennithala alleged that the Chief Minister is not revealing the conditions of the deep-sea fishing contract. Incidentally, in an interview to a television channel on February 20, Saturday evening, EMCC president Shibu said, As the project is not in compliance with the Kerala fishing policy, they have decided not to invest Rs 5,000 crore in the fisheries research and development, but will go ahead with a Rs 100 crore project in the seafood processing unit (in Ernakulam).

 2021 The News Minute
Argentina President Alberto Fernandez denounces the scandal surrounding the COVID-19 vaccine. The country's health minister Gines Gonzales Garcia stepped down from his post after reports emerged that he had helped people in the country jump the waiting line to receive the vaccines.

Fernandez said that Garcia was a great minister and that he personally likes him.

"But what he did was unforgivable," Fernandez was quoted in an Aljazeera report.

Fernandez added that politics is ethical, and they have to end these types of practices, citing the Argentine culture of liveliness, craftiness, and the management of influences.

The president has reportedly asked Garcia to resign as health minister after the vaccine scandal was reported.

Garcia wrote a letter addressed to the president, saying that he is presenting his resignation as a response to the president's express request. The resignation letter was also shared on social media.

Related story: 'Vaccine-Gate' Scandal: Over 400 Peruvian VIPs Secretly Got COVID-19 Shots Before Official Rollout

The Vaccine Scandal

Garcia was replaced with 48-year-old Carla Vizzotti, a former deputy minister responsible for securing the Russian Sputnik V vaccine for Argentina, according to a Channel News Asia report.

The Argentina vaccine scandal was released after a 71-year-old journalist, Horacio Verbitsky, announced on the radio that he had been able to get vaccinated in his office ahead of the general population. He cited his long-standing friendship with Garcia.

Argentina has started vaccinating its people. However, health care workers had only been the ones who had received the jab until Wednesday. Over-70s in Buenos Aires province were also invited to be vaccinated.

"I don't tolerate things like this, nor do I do things like this. I drive my own car; when I wasn't a government official and I was invited to skip the queue via the VIP lounge, I refused it. As president, I cannot allow these privileges to be granted," said Fernandez was quoted on a report.

Local media said that the public prosecutor's office had opened an investigation into the vaccine scandal. Vizzoti then insisted on Sunday that there was no VIP immunization program.

Argentina has received 1.2 million Sputnik V vaccine doses so far, with 580,000 doses of COVISHIELD from the Serum Institute of India.

Peru's "Vaccine Gate"

Meanwhile, this is not the first time that a Latin American country has received backlash after prioritizing well-connected people for immunization. In Peru, the media has called the vaccine scandal in their country a "vaccine gate."

The vaccine gate claimed to have the previous Peruvian president, his wife, and other well-connected citizen vaccinated against COVID-19, before the Chinese-developed shots were available to the public, according to a Los Angeles Times report.

The scandal prompted resignation of Peru's foreign and health ministers. About 500 people are said to have received the early courtesy doses.

The former health minister of Peru, Pilar Mazzetti, said that nothing excuses what she did. She added that she took this decision with the fears and limitations of a human being, and she recognized the situation as the worst mistake of her life.

The vaccine in question was produced by Sinopharm, which is one of the several Chinese pharmaceutical companies marketing COVID-19 vaccines in the Latin American region.

Related story: US Signs $2 Billion Contract With COVID-19 Vaccine Makers to Reserve 100 Million Doses For Americans

Trump Jr. uses guns as a backdrop in a video in which he attacked teachers' unions, uploaded on February 20, 2021. Donald Trump Jr. / Rumble

Donald Trump Jr. uploaded a video over the weekend using a backdrop of a wall of guns.

Trump criticized teachers and teachers' unions in the video, saying they were trying to avoid a return to school.

The reason for Trump Jr.'s decision to film the video in front of multiple guns was unclear.

Donald Trump Jr. posted a video on social media channels over the weekend in which he attacked teachers' unions while using a backdrop of what appeared to be a large collection of guns on a wall.

The video, titled "These Teachers [sic] Unions are OUT OF CONTROL," was originally posted to Rumble, a Canadian video site favored by Trump supporters, and later shared by Trump Jr. on his Twitter page.

In the footage, Trump Jr. - a prominent gun rights advocate - attacks President Joe Biden as well as teachers' unions for what he said was their failure to advocate for a timely reopening of schools, many of which remain shuttered due to the COVID-19 pandemic.

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Trump echoed his father's repeated calls during his presidency for schools to be reopened, claiming that teachers and their unions were doing "whatever they can to avoid going back."

"You've seen the way in the last couple of months the way they've basically held up progress [and] prevented schools from opening," Trump said in the video. "The teachers' union and those representing them have definitely failed our children in terms of education and everything else."

The largest US teaching unions have largely advocated remote learning during the pandemic on safety grounds, and last week endorsed a roadmap by the Centre for Diseases Control and Prevention for the gradual reopening of schools, NBC reported.

The video appears to be filmed in front of multiple hunting rifles which are hanging on a wall. The reason for Trump's decision to film the video in front of that backdrop was unclear.

Story continues

Insider contacted the Trump organization for clarification on why Trump filmed the video in front of several rifles, and whether they belonged to him personally.

Trump Jr. became well-known for his love of guns during President Trump's tenure in the White House. When he contracted coronavirus in November, he said he spent the time quarantining in his cabin and cleaning his gun collection.

The former president called his eldest son "my gun expert" and said "he knows more about guns than anyone I know," the Wall Street Journal reported.

Trump Jr. was also reported to have lobbied his father against expanded background checks on gun owners, a measure several members of Congress pushed for during Trump's presidency after two fatal mass shootings.

The gun-themed backdrop used by Trump Jr. is also similar to that used by GOP congresswoman Lauren Boebert during a House Committee meeting last week.

Boebert, a vocal Trump supporter and gun rights advocate who pledged to carry a handgun around the Capitol building, appeared via video-conference during a House Natural Resources meeting in front of two military-style assault rifles which were displayed on shelves behind her.

Read the original article on Business Insider
Megan Fox was spotted without a face covering after shutting down rumors she had made an anti-mask statement on her Instagram account.

The 34-year-old actress had her face on display while running errands in Calabasas, California on Sunday afternoon.

Clad in a green-striped wool cardigan, the Jennifer's Body star looked comfortable and bundled up as she made her way out of her black Range Rover.

Full display: Megan Fox was spotted without a face covering in Calabasas on Sunday after shutting down rumors she had made an anti-mask statement on her Instagram account

The star's stylish street wear also included a belly-baring black crop top and high-waisted wide cut pleated black slacks.

Megan had a full face of makeup and her signature scarlet-colored lips for the outing.

She paired the look with white sneakers and a black Prada purse as she quickly made her way from her car into the building.

Casual style: The 34-year-old star's stylish street wear also included a belly-baring black crop top and high-waisted wide cut pleated black slacks

Quick trip: She paired the look with white sneakers and a black Prada purse as she quickly made her way from her black Range Rover to the building

The red carpet favorite wore wavy brunette as they loosely hung out of a cute black beanie.

Her hair perfectly sat atop the red and silver chain necklaces adorning her collar bone.

Megan stayed warm by keeping her left hand in her pocket for the trek.

Picture perfect: The Jennifer's Body starlet's wavy brunette locks stunned as they loosely hung out of her cute black beanie, perfectly sitting next to her red and silver chain necklaces

On the record: Megan appeared to have forgotten her face covering days after setting the record straight when a recent statement - that appeared to be posted by her - sparked a bevy of online backlash

Megan appeared to have forgotten her face covering, just days after setting the record straight when a recent statement - that appeared to be posted by her - sparked a bevy of online backlash.

She said she was 'socially crucified' over the photoshopped Instagram post, which declared a stance against wearing face masks, amid the COVID-19 pandemic.

'I've never made my statements regarding wearing masks. Scary that you can go viral and possibly be socially crucified for something you haven't done. The internet is so FUN,' wrote the 34-year-old via her Instagram Story on Friday.

Megan's truth: She was 'socially crucified' over the photoshopped Instagram post, which declared a stance against wearing face masks, amid the COVID-19 pandemic

Socially crucified: Megan wrote on her Instagram Story: 'I've never made my statements regarding wearing masks. Scary that you can go viral and possibly be socially crucified for something you haven't done. The internet is so FUN'

It came after a falsified screenshot of an Instagram post began circulating online, which stated: 'It is ultimately my decision to trust the universe to keep me and my family safe.'

The pop culture Twitter account Pop Crave later posted a side-by-side of the post with a post from 2014, which featured a quote with the same caption.

One thing Fox did write was a poem for boyfriend Machine Gun Kelly, 30, which she recently posted on Instagram for Valentine's Day.

Copy and paste: The pop culture Twitter account Pop Crave later posted a side-by-side of the post with a post from 2014, which featured a quote with the same caption

Love poem: One thing Fox did write was a poem for boyfriend Machine Gun Kelly, 30, which she recently posted on Instagram for Valentine's Day

She mused: 'there goes my heart. manifest outside of my body. draped in the towering silhouette of a most unusually handsome boy.

'magical and haunted. kinetic and tortured. ethereal and dangerous. cosmic. lawless. eternal. creative genius. the journey will likely be perilous. but there is no destination without him. happy valentines day rehab barbie,' she added.

It came as Kelly revealed that he wears his girlfriend's blood in a necklace, sharing a photo to Instagram of the unique transparent jewelry with a red smudge, captioned: 'i wear your blood around my neck. my bloody valentine.'

The caption appeared to be a nod to his single Bloody Valentine, from his fifth album Tickets to My Downfall, after he and Fox first sparked rumors of their romance when they appeared together in the music video last May.

Handsome boy: She mused: 'there goes my heart. manifest outside of my body. draped in the towering silhouette of a most unusually handsome boy'

Bloody Valentine: It came as Kelly revealed that he wears her blood in a necklace, sharing a photo to Instagram of the unique transparent jewelry with a red smudge, captioned: 'i wear your blood around my neck. my bloody valentine'

Fox and the Hotel Diablo artist met last March, on the set of their upcoming crime thriller Midnight in the Switchgrass.

The couple recently sparked engagement rumors when she was seen sporting a rock on her left hand, but they're reportedly not ready for matrimony just yet.

A source told People earlier this month: 'They are very serious and plan on spending the future together. There will be an engagement at some point, but they are not engaged now.'

It comes after Megan filed for divorce from husband of 10 years Brian Austin Green, 47, in November: 'Megan needs her divorce to be finalized before she can fully move on. She is very happy though.'

The couple tied the knot in June of 2010, sharing sons Noah Shannon, eight, Bodhi Ranson, seven, and Journey River, four, and they announced their latest split last May.

Green has also moved on to a new relationship, as he was first romantically linked to Sharna Burgess, 35, back in November, making it Instagram official last month.

Burgess recently commended Green and Fox as co-parents, stating on The Morning Show: 'I think they're doing a great job with managing their situation, so I'm grateful that I've been able to fit into it  into their world.'

The celeb dancer added: 'He's a wonderful dad, and he and his wife  uh, ex-wife  have raised three beautiful children. And they are so wonderful and sweet and kind and considerate, and they've done such an amazing job.'

Calling it quits: It comes after Fox filed for divorce from husband of 10 years Brian Austin Green, 47, in November: 'Megan needs her divorce to be finalized before she can fully move on. She is very happy though'

In the wake of the COVID-19 crisis, India sent 13 boxes of COVID-19 vaccine to Mongolia on Sunday.

The vaccine was sent from the Chhatrapati Shivaji Maharaj International Airport (CSMIA), Mumbai to Mongolia.

Meanwhile, External Affairs Minister S Jaishankar announced that 25 nations across the world have already received Made in India vaccines and 49 more countries will be supplied in the coming days, ranging from Europe, Latin America, and the Caribbean to Africa, South-East Asia and the Pacific Islands.

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An AFL WAG and fashion designer whose bikinis are loved by A-list stars has pleaded guilty to stealing an iPhone 6 during a dispute over damage to her Porsche.

Rebecca Jane Klodinsky, the girlfriend of Geelong Cats star Lachie Henderson, fronted Southport Magistrates Court on Monday over the incident at a Gold Coast carwash in 2015.

The court heard the 30-year-old mother-of-one refused to pay the cleaning bill for her black Porsche coup after claiming it was scratched by staff, the Courier Mail reports.

Police prosecutor Sergeant Reece Forte said an argument broke out between Klodinsky and the manager, who confiscated her car keys until the fee was finalised.

Rebecca Jane Klodinsky, the girlfriend of Geelong Cats star Lachie Henderson (pictured together), pleaded guilty to stealing an iPhone in Southport Magistrates Court on Monday

'[Once the keys were returned] the defendant has then grabbed the mobile phone from the counter and said, "Ill take the phone for the damage", 'Sgt Forte said.

Klodinsky was ordered to pay $860 restitution for the phone, which was never recovered, and placed on a $500 six-month good behaviour bond, with no conviction recorded.

Defence lawyer Claudia Arbon said her client was 'embarrassed and ashamed' by the incident and willing to pay restitution of the phone's value, which she suggested would only be $200 to $300 given the model was now outdated.

But magistrate Catherine Piri ordered Klodinsky to pay the estimated cost of the phone at the time it was taken.

'At the time it was stolen it was an iPhone 6 but in 2015, it wouldnt have been worth $200 back then, would it?' she said.

'Your client does not get the benefit of saying, Oh well, now its useless. She stole it, it was a new phone, and she hasnt returned it, that loss was suffered by the owner.'

Klodinsky was 24 years old when she launched IIXIIST, then called Frankie Swim, in December 2013 while working in retail full-time.

The brand became an international success, with the likes of Bella Hadid, members of the Kardashian-Jenner clan and Rihanna all donning the minimalist bikinis on social media, turning over a whopping $7million per year.
The Otumfuo Osei Tutu II Foundation, in partnership with the Ashanti Professional Club, has donated hundreds of exercise books and bags to eight selected junior high schools (JHS) in deprived remote communities in the Atwima Nwabiagya South District of the Ashanti Region.



Each student received a schoolbag and five exercise books to support their education.



Beneficiaries



The beneficiary schools were Nkwakom M/A JHS, Kyereyaase M/A JHS, Nkontomire, Asakraka, Amadum Adankwame, Ahwiaa, Ntabanu and Akuapem MA/ JHS.



The newly appointed Executive Director of the Foundation, Nana Afia Kobi Prempeh, urged students to adhere strictly to the COVID-19 protocol because it was the wish of the Ashanti king, Otumfuo Osei Tutu II, to see all of them alive to pursue their academic dreams.



She praised Otumfuo for his commitment towards education, especially to deprived communities.



Nana Prempeh said the Ashanti King was steadfast in the face of the global COVID-19 pandemic to provide global educational standards to pupils within his kingdom.



"One very important massage Otumfuo asked me to give to you is that he wants you all alive to accomplish your dreams of becoming medical doctors, lawyers, teachers and managing directors of companies in the future," she said.



Circuit supervisor



The Circuit Supervisor for Atwima Nwabiagya South and Manhyia South, Mr Edward Adjei Twum, expressed appreciation on behalf of all the beneficiary schools to Otumfuo.



He described the donation by the king as "amazing", calling on others to assist the deprived communities.











Source: Graphiconline.com









Disclaimer : Opinions expressed here are those of the writers and do not reflect those of Peacefmonline.com. Peacefmonline.com accepts no responsibility legal or otherwise for their accuracy of content. Please report any inappropriate content to us, and we will evaluate it as a matter of priority.

Featured Video
The continued burgeoning success of technology firm Learning Pool is yet another clear indication of the growing strength of the talent base in the north west.

The Derry-based business, founded by Paul McElvaney in 2006, has surged to a workforce of more than 260  now working remotely  and has expanded organically and through several major acquisitions, alongside the help of Ulster Bank, which Paul says has been a key partner.

The company develops products for digital and remote learning.

Its now working with a host of international giants, including one recent major deal with a firm which boasts a workforce of more than a million people  equivalent to more than half the population of Northern Ireland.

We have 260 people in the team now following an acquisition in the US just before Christmas and the intention is to continue to grow, Paul says. We have about 1,100 customers across the portfolio  ranging from small local authorities right up to some of the biggest brands in the world which use our technology to train staff and stakeholders.

A typical customer uses our solution. The first part is the learning content that users interact with which we either create or give the client the tools to create themselves.

The second part is the hosted software which is used to publish that content. Customers use us to solve compliance problems, to onboard new staff, to deliver leadership training and train people about new products and services which they are launching.

Customers are looking for something which they can use to deliver a message quickly and consistently. A lot of times we are working with clients which are saying we can do this face-to-face but its going to take me too long and lots will get lost in the messaging.

Having an online delivery gives you the ability to roll that out in minutes and hours, rather than weeks and months.

The latest expansion, which saw it taking on US-based Remote Learner, has been backed by its banking partner Ulster Bank  and is helping meet growing demands across the Atlantic.

The US is a key growth area for us and the acquisition gets us to just shy of 30% of revenues coming out of North America, which is quite a material step-change for the business, Paul says.

We are increasingly seeing a shift towards the US in terms of the business which we are winning.

Ulster Bank has been our company bank since 2016 and it has helped us on a daily basis, and done a great job. It has also helped us fund our acquisitions.

The relationship with Ulster Bank has been fantastic they have been able to get to grips with what our opportunities are, how the business works and what dynamics are at play, and they have been able to give us what we need to grow the business.

They are a really key partner for us as part of our growth strategy.

And Paul says as a digital business, its own switch to remote working was fairly seamless. And while he says he sees the future of Learning Pool as a work anywhere business, that Derry will always be the firms home.

When we go to recruit we are less precious or concerned about where people are now because we know we can do this, he said. But Learning Pools home is in Derry and it will continue to be here.





Ulster Bank supporting technology, media, and telecoms sector

By Kenton Hilman, head of corporate and property, Ulster Bank

Expand Close Kenton Hilman Kelvin Boyes / Press Eye / Facebook

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The switch to remote working has emphasised the importance of connectivity which goes hand in hand with having good technology. Imagine how difficult the past year would have been had it not been for advancements in technology and all the various ways we have to keep in touch.

While many of us may be suffering from Zoom fatigue at this stage, its worth remembering how all of these tools and online resources have enabled workforces right across Northern Ireland to transition out of the office and work from home. Its increasingly clear that those businesses who had already invested in good IT systems found this transition to be much more seamless than those who had not but its fair to say everyone will now recognise the value that this investment can bring.

Of course here in Northern Ireland we have an additional challenge; regardless of how good your IT might be, too many areas are still unable to access high quality broadband. Significant strides have been made in this area but the rural / urban disparity is still causing problems.

Fortunately we have a number of companies who are stepping up to tackle this challenge and when you look across this sector, its remarkable just how well local businesses are performing. Even before the pandemic set in back in March 2020, our teams recognised the importance of this sector and the high growth it was experiencing and began to think carefully about the role we can play in its advancement.

Today we have a dedicated team working solely with the technology, media and telecoms sector. Their expert knowledge and specialist skills are helping these companies make the right financial decisions and our local presence is an obvious attraction to many in the industry. We have taken the time to get to know this convergent sector; the key players, the challenges, the opportunities, and are now in a strong position to help these businesses achieve their aims and bring their product to the global stage.

A fitting testament to this is the work we have done with Learning Pool. Since being introduced to the company in 2016, our team has guided them through a number of significant acquisitions, both locally and internationally. We understand Learning Pools strategy is to continue to grow its customer base and geographic footprint, fuelled in part by the increasing demand for remote learning products, so we are working hard with them to identify opportunities in this area and ensuring our team always remains ahead of the curve.

The team at Ulster Bank, supported by our colleagues in NatWest, is the leading supporter of the TMT (technology, media, and telecoms) sector and we are committed to always looking for new ways to support these businesses. Our aim is to grow alongside the sector and ensure our team of relationship managers are continually upskilling and developing their experience in this area.

We want to deliver services that are expertly tailored to our network of partners and ultimately to you and your business.

If you are interested in finding out about the work that we do or the value we can bring to your team then please get in touch and start, what could be, a very useful conversation.
In 2021, Women@Work will continue to offer Capital Region women access to virtual networking, education and mentoring programs designed to spark and support professional and personal development. Until recently, these digital events have been made available to the public. Going forward, participation in these forums is now exclusive to Women@Work members. Members who register will be sent a link the day before the event.

Those who register but are not active members will receive an email with instructions on how to join or rejoin the network committed to supporting and empowering women in business and the workforce. Once registered, current, new and renewed members will be granted access to the event.

To learn more about membership or to check the status of your membership, please email magazines@timesunion.com.

Women Who Lead Breakfast Series

Many members of the Women@Work network are balancing educating their school-age children along with professional responsibilities as we all cope with the pandemic. Our third monthly breakfast of 2021 will feature Kaweeda G. Adams, superintendent of the City School District of Albany, and Gladys I Cruz, district superintendent of Questar III BOCES, in a conversation with Times Union education reporter Rachel Silberstein about educating children and keeping them safe during the COVID-19 pandemic.

March 10: State of the Schools with Kaweeda G. Adams and Dr. Gladys I. Cruz.

Details: The program begins at 8:30 a.m. and will be held on Zoom. Register for the event and youll receive a link to attend.

Note: The program will feature an interview and Q&A with the featured guests from 8:30 a.m. to 9:15 a.m., followed by a half hour of networking from 9:15 a.m. to 9:45 a.m.

The breakfast series is sponsored by Bank of America.

Save the date for Women@Work breakfasts on April 14 and May 12. Keep an eye out for programing details in your weekly Women@Work newsletter email or by visiting http://womenatwork.eventbrite.com.

GOOD READS

The last gasp of winter coupled with the lingering pandemic restrictions will present some more time to catch up on reading or add some new titles to the stack of books sitting on your bedstand or saved on your Kindle. Here are a few that are worth your consideration:

Ida B. The Queen. The name of journalist, suffragist and anti-lynching crusader Ida B. Wells was in the news in 2020 when she was awarded a posthumous Pulitzer Prize for the her courageous and pioneering work. With this biography, author Michelle Duster, great-granddaughter of Wells, tells the story of an extraordinary woman who was born into slavery and, though often overlooked and underestimted, became a leading light in the fight for racial justice.

White Feminism: From the Suffragettes to Influencers and Who They Leave Behind. Author Koa Beck examines the history of feminism and how how elitism and racial prejudice has driven the narrative of feminist discourse and what can be done to change that for younger generations.

Power Moves: How Women Can Pivot, Reboot, and Build a Career of Purpose. Career Contessa website founder Lauren McGoodwin has penned this guide to help readers figure out what theyre seeking in their careers an in life  whether theyre just starting out or looking to make a change for the better. If youre feeling stuck or unfulfilled, this may be the read for you.

CAMPAIGN FOR WOMENS EQUALITY

International Women's Day is March 8. Observed globally, this is a day to celebrate the social, economic, cultural and political achievements of women. Advocates also note its a day to call for accelerating women's equality.

A social media campaign featuring the hashtags #IWD2021 #ChoosetoChallenge has been launched to gather women and their supporters to challenge and call out gender bias and inequity.

Campaign organizers are asking people to post on social media photos of themselves raising their right hand  like youre making a pledge  to show that you choose to challenge inequity. You may learn more about this effort at www.internationalwomensday.com .

Join Women@Work Not a member yet? Join or renew your membership before signing up for events at https://womenatworkny.com .
New Delhi, Feb 22 : People in Myanmar have been pouring on to the streets in protests against the coup by the Myanmarese army - the Tatmadaw. Myanmar's big towns are witnessing daily rallies and protests asking for democratically elected leader Aung San Suu Kyi to be released.

Exclusive photographs and video obtained by IndiaNarrative show that anti-coup demonstrators have effectively mobilised tens of thousands of people in Mandalay against the army.

Photographs show a flood of people marching to Myanmar's downtown areas despite the army's crackdown on pro-democracy protests.

The video obtained by India Narrative shows how the military is trying to scare citizens by firing randomly. A posse of soldiers are seen marching along railway tracks in Mandalay and firing in the dark.

Sources say that many people were killed over the last two days in Mandalay protests and scores have been hospitalised. Hundreds have been arrested, claim sources.

A former capital of Myanmar, Mandalay is the second-largest city and is an economic powerhouse. Located on the Irrawaddy River, it has historical links with India.

The Myanmar military imposed emergency late last month for one year after arresting Suu Kyi and senior members of her government. Her party, the National League of Democracy (NLD) had recently won a landslide victory in elections. The military, however, dismissed her popular government after alleging irregularity in elections.

The army issued a statement after the coup, saying, "... there have been a lot of protests going on in townships and cities in Myanmar to demonstrate their mistrust toward UEC. Other parties and people have also been found conducting different kinds of provocations including displaying flags which are very damaging to national security."

Image Source: IANS News

The statement said: "... the state of emergency is declared in accordance with article 417 of the 2008 constitution.In order to perform scrutiny of the voter lists and to take action, the authority of the nation's law making, governance and jurisdiction is handed over to the Commander in Chief in accordance with the 2008 constitution article 418, sub article (a)." However, protestors allege that China is supporting the military regime in suppressing protests by helping the junta in curbing internet and communication facilities. The military is also threatening civilians with severe punishments for opposing their rule.

China has been one of the long-standing supporters of the military regime. In the nearly two decades of military rule, it was China that supported the Myanmar generals when the West had imposed sanctions against the junta. China retains interest in Myanmar owing to its strategic location - a link between South Asia and South-East Asia, where China is trying to access the Indian Ocean for easier routes for its oil imports bypassing the Malacca strait.

Image Source: IANS News

Over the last few years with the advent of democracy, both the elected government as well as the Myanmar army, had established strong ties with India in defence relations and strategic cooperation.

(This content is being carried under an arrangement with indianarrative.com)

-- Syndicated from IANS

Surfskate event held to boost Phuket tourism

PHUKET: Phukets business community launched a new tourism campaign on Saturday (Feb 20) to help attract more young people to the island as part of the efforts to help struggling tourism businesses to survive.

tourismCOVID-19economics

By The Phuket News

Monday 22 February 2021, 03:25PM

The campaign, "Amazing Thailand Phuket Surfskate Series 2021", was launched at Queen Sirikit Park in Phuket Town, with surfskaters taking to the streets  namely along Thalang Rd and Phang Nga Rd  from 5pm to 7pm.

Present at the launch were Vice Governor Phichet panaphong, Tourism Authority of Thailand (TAT) Phuket office Deputy Director Thapanee Kiatpaiboon, Phuket Tourist Association (PTA) President Bhummikitti Ruktaengam and Phuket Provincial Administrative Organisation (PPAO, or OrBorJor) President Rewat Areerob.

The surfskating campaign is just one of the first of its kind to be held this year under the banner #HaveYouEver, an initiative launched earlier this month to help boost domestic tourism to Phuket.

The sport surfskating was chosen due to its rising popularity, Mr Bhummikitti told the Bangkok Post.

"After domestic tourism took another hit from the second wave of COVID-19, we thought about adding more vibrant activities to revive the sector," he said.

"There is strong demand for surfskating, and the island has just the right places for such activities."

The surfskating initiative was launched with support specifically from the PPAO and Thailand Surfing Federation.

The PPAO was announced at a meeting at Phuket Provincial Hall on Feb 8 as now taking a proactive role in helping to launch a slew of domestic tourism campaigns to help restart Phukets ailing tourism industry.

More events are to be held under the #HaveYouEver campaign, with the focus moving to support businesses struggling in key beach resort towns along the islands west coast.

Karon Beach will host the next event on May 23, Patong Beach on Aug 14, and Surin Beach on Nov 13, it was announced on Saturday.

Before those events, the PPAO will host a Seafood Festival on March 26-28, and the Phuket Night Run on April 4-6.

With vaccines being rolled out worldwide, businesses in Phuket hope that the government will allow vaccinated foreign tourists to enter without having to quarantine by October, Mr Bhummkitti said.
The claim: The Texas power grid is not part of the U.S. power grid because they wanted to avoid federal regulation.  Facebook post.

The winter blackouts that have forced millions of Texans to bear freezing temperatures without heat or power have drawn attention to the fact that Texas is the only state in the continental U.S. with its own power grid.

PolitiFact rating: True. An aversion to federal regulation was one of the main reasons that Texas energy companies opted for a power grid that didnt cross state lines. Texas has resisted regulation in major court cases.

Discussion

In the 1930s, Texas energy companies opted for a power grid that didnt cross state lines to prevent federal regulators from interfering in electrical sales.

In 1935, President Franklin Delano Roosevelt signed the Federal Power Act, which tasked a regulatory agency called the Federal Power Commission with overseeing electricity sales that crossed state lines. Congress enacted the law in response to market domination and shady business practices by huge utility holding companies during the 1920s and 30s.

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ABOUT POLITIFACT PolitiFact is a fact-checking project to help you sort out fact from fiction in politics. Truth-O-Meter ratings are determined by a panel of three editors. The burden of proof is on the speaker, and PolitiFact rates statements based on the information known at the time the statement is made. See More Collapse

Texas electric companies and energy authorities immediately sought ways to stave off federal interference under that law. To do so, they elected to keep the power grid entirely within Texas borders, creating an electric Alamo, in the words of U.S. Circuit Judge Richard D. Cudahy. Since federal regulators had jurisdiction only over interstate sales, the gambit prevented them from subjecting Texas electrical companies to any rules.

So eager were the Texas utilities to maintain traditional Texas independence that they memorialized the policy of isolation into a written agreement, binding themselves to intrastate operation, Cudahy wrote in a 1995 account of an energy-related court battle.

This agreement formed the foundation of the electrical grid thats still in place today.

Five years after a 1965 blackout shut down much of the Northeast U.S., the Electric Reliability Council of Texas, called ERCOT, was formed to oversee the Texas grid. ERCOT still operates the grid, which is still out of the reach of federal regulators.

Several attempts have been made to integrate the Texas grid into the broader U.S. power system. In 1976, a Texas utility company, hoping to bring the state under federal jurisdiction, allowed power to flow to another one of its properties in Oklahoma for several hours in an event known as the Midnight Connection. The incident set off a fierce legal battle to subject Texas to federal oversight. But the case was decided in ERCOTs favor, and the grid remained independent from the rest of the system.

ERCOT has since championed its freedom from the rest of the United States in promotional videos. The states energy independence has been jealously guarded, I think both by policy makers and the industry, said Bill Magness, CEO of ERCOT, in one of the videos.

However, the freedom from regulation has also come with disadvantages.

By isolating its grid, Texas has hindered its ability to import power from either the Eastern or Western energy systems, said Carey King, assistant director of the Energy Institute at UT Austin.

ERCOT isnt completely separate from other U.S. grids, said King. As a result of the Midnight Connection, it has two minor ties to the Eastern grid, which can be used to pipe power in during emergencies. However, this connection isnt powerful enough to meet demand in the event of a blackout like the one thats just occurred.
Maria Piparinen and other elderly residents of Ikhala were relieved when they heard that doctors were finally bringing a few doses of the vaccine to their remote, snowy village in the Russian region of Karelia, near the border with Finland.

Otherwise, the 75-year-old said she would have had to hire a car to take her 10 kilometers (6 miles) to the town of Lakhdenpokhya, because the bus no longer runs there.

And besides, I called the clinic in Lakhdenpokhya, but they told me (all the slots in) February were booked already, Piparinen told The Associated Press.

The village of wooden houses carved out of a dense forest of fir trees about 20 kilometers (12 miles) from the Finnish border and 100 kilometers (60 miles) north of St Petersburg is one of several in the Karelia region where Russia's vaccination campaign has arrived in recent weeks.

More than 18,000 people have gotten their first dose of the Sputnik V vaccine in the region of 600,000 that was hit hard by COVID-19.

At one point in December, Karelia recorded a daily average of 75.7 cases per 100,000 people, the highest rate in as a whole, which had been averaging 18.8 recorded cases per 100,000.

When you watch TV and see how people are suffering you don't want that. You want to live a little longer, said 74-year-old Galina Shilova, one of Ikhala's nearly 700 residents.

Some of those getting the shots last week at the makeshift clinic had to make their way cautiously along snowy footpaths.

The goal is to vaccinate 290,000 people, or 60 per cent of the region's adults, by summer, said Karelia Deputy Health Minister Galina Matveyeva.

took pride in being the first country to approve a vaccine, although it faced criticism for doing it before completing the advanced testing necessary to ensure Sputnik V's safety and effectiveness.

It began vaccinations in December, another global first, but now lags behind a dozen nations that have been using vaccines developed in the West and China.

Russian authorities don't regularly release data on vaccination rates, but the number who have gotten at least the first shot appears to be somewhere between 2 million and 3.2 million.

On February 10, Denis Logunov, deputy director of the Gamaleya Center that developed Sputnik V, said 2.2 million Russians, or less than 2 per cent, had received their first dose of the two-shot vaccine and more than 1.7 million had gotten both shots. An analysis of regional media reports by AP found that some 3.2 million had gotten their first shot as of last week.

That compares with over 43 million people in the U.S., or about 13.2 per cent, who have gotten their first shot, and 18.8 million who have gotten both in a campaign that has had its own difficulties.

Russia's slow rollout has raised questions in the West as more countries have agreed to buy millions of doses of Sputnik V.

The Russian Direct Investment Fund that bankrolled the vaccine's development and is marketing it abroad didn't respond to a request for comment on how many doses are going to other countries.

Media reports indicate about 20 countries ordered a total of over 200 million doses, said Elena Subbotina, consultant with Central and Eastern European Team of CBPartners, a global health care strategy consulting firm.

On Friday, an African Union-created task force said has offered 300 million doses of Sputnik V.

I must say we still wonder why Russia is offering theoretically millions and millions of doses while not sufficiently progressing in vaccinating their own people, said European Commission President Ursula von der Leyen on Feb. 17.

Kremlin spokesman Dmitry Peskov said Russia's vaccination campaign is going at normal rates.

The drive has picked up speed but is still rather slow, said Alexander Dragan, an independent data analyst who monitors regional vaccination rates.

Between the beginning of January and now, the vaccination rate has increased 10 times. During the New Year holidays, some 13,000 people a day were being vaccinated, and over the past nine days, I estimate that shots were being given to 135,000-145,000 people daily, Dragan said.

In absolute numbers, it looks impressive ... but in proportionate numbers, it's very modest, because one should keep in mind Russia's population of 146 million.

Dragan's estimate suggests the vaccination rate last week was about one-fourth of that in the U.S.

Health Minister Mikhail Murashko has announced plans to vaccinate 60% of the population by the end of June.

Experts and the media point to limited supply, distribution logistics complicated by its having to be stored and transported at minus-18 degrees C (minus-0.4 F), and hesitance among those wary of its rushed approval.

It's supply-side or demand-side issues, and my guess is, it's a little of both, said Judy Twigg, a professor of political science at Virginia Commonwealth University specializing in global health.

Logunov, of the Gamaleya Center, said 7 million doses have been released for domestic use, another 1 million are expected by the end of February, and 10 million are planned to be produced in March.

(Only the headline and picture of this report may have been reworked by the Business Standard staff; the rest of the content is auto-generated from a syndicated feed.)

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SEATTLE  Taiwan-based shipping company Wan Hai Lines announced Seattle will be its first U.S. port of call for its new independent service that will begin in mid-March. The company will use the Northwest Seaport Alliance's Terminal 18 for its local operations.

The new route will start at the Port of Kaohsiung in Taiwan, then make stops in China in the Yantian District, Shanghai and Ningbo before crossing the Pacific Ocean to Seattle and finally Oakland.





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BLANCHARD, MI - An armed man barricaded himself in a barn before dying Sunday night in Montcalm County, state police said.

Troopers responded to reports of an gunman at 4:32 p.m., Feb. 21 in the 9700 block of North Wyman Road in Blanchard, said the Michigan State Police.

When troopers arrived, the suspect opened fire at them, police said. They returned fire, and then the suspect barricaded himself in a nearby barn, police said.

Troopers remained on scene for several hours before confirming at 9:09 p.m. that the suspect died. State police said during the elongated barricade that the suspect was not a threat to the public.

It is unknown at the moment how the suspect died, police said. The incident is under further investigation.

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A police force has been slammed for its 'utterly chilling, North Korean-style' hate crime awareness campaign.

Merseyside Police were heavily criticised on social media after using the slogan, 'Being offensive is an offence' on a mobile billboard driven around the Wirral on Saturday.

The force tweeted images of their new slogan board alongside the Rainbow Flag to show their support for LGBTQ people.

But the campaign immediately faced heavy criticism online over their wording, with many saying it is an attack on free speech because there is nothing illegal about merely 'causing offence'.

Merseyside Police were heavily criticised on social media after using the slogan, 'Being offensive is an offence' to promote their stance on hate crime on Saturday

The campaign immediately faced heavy criticism online over their wording, with many saying it is an attack on free speech

The grey areas around whether 'being offensive is an offence' General offensive comments are not crimes. To be 'hate crime', the perpetrator must be 'motivated by hostility or demonstrating hostility towards the victim' based on their 'protected characteristics'. These can include disability, race, religion, sexual orientation or transgender identity. A hate crime can include verbal abuse, intimidation, threats, harassment, assault and bullying, as well as damage to property. The perpetrator can also be a friend, carer or acquaintance who exploits their relationship with the victim for financial gain or some other criminal purpose. However, even comments that do not qualify as hate crimes can be logged by police as 'non-crime hate incidents'. Reports of non-crime hate incidents can show up in criminal record checks for six years, yet there are no grounds to appeal against them. Some 120,000 people have received them so far. Advertisement

One Twitter user posted beneath the force's announcement: 'Utterly chilling. In a free society the right to be offensive is fundamental. This isn't North Korea!'

Stephen Jenkins took issue with the 'being offensive is an offence' slogan, commenting: 'Is it really? It's usually unnecessary to be offensive, and it's might be considered unpleasant, but I wasn't aware that it's actually against the law.

'Still, on the plus side, the crisis in Police numbers must be over, if they have time for this.'

Kevin Core : 'Merseyside Police are hawking a sign around saying being offensive is an offence. It isn't.'

An another Twitter user added: 'I often wonder if I'm being paranoid in my worries around virtue signalling and identity politics. Then I see drivel like this. Absolutely shameful.'

Merseyside Police has since apologised and removed the post from Twitter.

The full campaign on the advertisement van reads: 'Lots of positive discussion was had with the essential shoppers and together we will defeat hate in our community.'

Images attached to the post show a reiteration of the Merseyside Police crest which has been adorned with the Rainbow Flag, which is used by the LGBTQ community.

Below the crest are the words: 'Police with pride.'

Other pictures show a large digital advertising board park outside a local supermarket which cycled through multiple different slogans.

One read 'Being offensive is an offence'.

In smaller text the digital board said: 'Merseyside Police stand with and support the LGBTQ+ community, we will not tolerate hate crime on any level.'

The Merseyside Police van visited different locations as part of the campaign involving several officers

This tweet from Merseyside Police Wirral was removed from Twitter following the free speech backlash

Today Merseyside Police apologised for the controversial wording on the campaign.

Merseyside Police Superintendent Martin Earl said: 'We would like to clarify that ''being offensive'' is not in itself an offence.

'A message on an ad van and social media this weekend by the Local Policing Team on the Wirral to encourage people to report hate crime although well-intentioned was incorrect and we apologise for any confusion this may have caused.

'Hate crime is an offence and will not be tolerated. Hate crime can come in various guises that can include assault, criminal damage, verbal and written online abuse.

'Our Hate Crime Co-ordinators draw on a wealth of experience and expertise to provide effective and above all sensitive and appropriate support for victims.

'We would also like to remind people we have a number of third party reporting centres including fire stations and activity centres which enable people who feel more comfortable discussing their issues with an independent party to come forward.'
The state is holding online fireside chats in several languages, opening new sites in Brooklyn and Queens, and continuing to bring pop-up sites to neighborhood organizations, said Rossana Rosado, New Yorks secretary of state and a co-chair of the states Vaccine Equity Task Force.

Still, obstacles remain.

The sign-up system

Walking down Flatbush Avenue in Brooklyn, Derrick Williams, 72, hung up the phone after talking with his daughter, who he said had been trying to get him an appointment. Technology had made it difficult for him to schedule one himself, said Mr. Williams, who immigrated to the United States from Jamaica. Elderly people, we dont understand the phone, the computer, he said, waving his iPhone. They need to make it easier for us.

Many people said they had been stymied by backlogs. Yesenia Abreu, 42, a secretary at Pagan Driving School in Washington Heights in Manhattan, said she had been trying to make an appointment for her aunt. She doesnt know how to deal with technology and the site is always crashing, said Ms. Abreu, who also said the city had not provided enough information in Spanish.

Fear

Many of those interviewed  including people already eligible for the vaccine, like older adults and restaurant delivery workers  said they had not tried to book appointments because they worried about reports of mild side effects, or people who had died after getting the vaccine, even though no direct links have been found.

My family is united on the matter; they dont want me to take the vaccine. Ill stick with wearing a mask, said Ao Gui Qin, 68, an immigrant from China. Ms. Ao has been selling face masks and rubbing alcohol on a sidewalk in Flushing, Queens, for the past year, including, more recently, a $5 mask featuring an image of President Biden.

Twahair Mohammad, who is from Myanmar, stopped to speak with The Times while delivering food in his neighborhood of Elmhurst, Queens. He said he preferred to wait and see if there were side effects of the vaccine. Im scared right now, said Mr. Mohammad, 39, who delivers food for an app on an electric bicycle. I need it, but not right now.

Mariam Diallo, 42, a resident of the South Bronx who is originally from Guinea, said she was not interested in the vaccine and was unlikely to change her mind when her turn came: I dont want to put any bacteria in my body.
A view of London, where off-plan home sales tend to be highest (Steve Parsons/PA)

Around one in three new homes that were completed last year were sold off-plan  meaning they were bought before or while they were being built rather than afterwards, according to estimates.

Across England and Wales, 33% of new home completions were sold off-plan, marking the lowest proportion since 2014 when the figure was 29%, Hamptons said.

In 2019, 35% of new home completions were off-plan, it added.

Securing off-plan sales is fundamental to the health and profitability of most new developments David Fell, Hamptons

The overall decline in off-plan sales masks a shifting trend of fewer flats, but more houses, being sold off-plan, Hamptons said.

However, flats are still more likely to be sold off-plan than houses.

The share of flat completions sold off-plan fell from 58% in 2019 to half (50%) in 2020, while the share of off-plan house completions increased from 29% in 2019 to 30% in 2020.

In the North East of England, four in five (80%) flat completions last year were sold off-plan while the North West also had a high proportion at 68%.

Hamptons said, most notably, nine in 10 (91%) flat completions in Newcastle-upon-Tyne last year were sold in advance, usually with a large buy-in from investors.

Expand Close Nine in 10 flats completed in Newcastle last year were sold off-plan, according to Hamptons (Owen Humphreys/PA) / Facebook

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Whatsapp Nine in 10 flats completed in Newcastle last year were sold off-plan, according to Hamptons (Owen Humphreys/PA)

Historically, homes in London are the most likely to be sold off-plan  and this trend continued last year.

More than half (52%) of new homes built there last year  including both flats and houses  were snapped up by buyers before completion.

New-build homes in the South West and Yorkshire and the Humber were least likely to be sold off-plan, with just 22% of 2020 completions bought before construction finished.

David Fell, senior analyst at Hamptons, said: Securing off-plan sales is fundamental to the health and profitability of most new developments.

By selling some homes before they are built, developers can reduce the sales period and generate an income before the scheme is complete, often using the money to fund ongoing works and repay loans.

While overall fewer new homes were sold off-plan last year than in 2019, there was an increase in houses sold off-plan.

The post-pandemic space race which has driven country markets, has also fuelled off-plan house sales. Owner-occupiers have proved increasingly likely to commit to a house off-plan, although typically this tends to be months rather than years before completion.

The index combines new home sales data from Hamptons and the Countrywide group with Land Registry figures to make the calculations.

Here are the percentages of new home completions sold off-plan in 2020, according to Hamptons:

 London, 52%

 North West, 42%

 North East, 35%

 Wales, 34%

 West Midlands, 31%

 East Midlands, 30%

 East of England, 27%

 South East, 26%

 Yorkshire and the Humber, 22%

 South West, 22%
Boeing said it recommended suspending the use of 777 jets with the same type of engine that shed debris over Denver at the weekend after US regulators announced extra inspections and Japan suspended their use while considering further action.

The moves involving Pratt & Whitney 4000 engines came after a United Airlines 777 landed safely at Denver International Airport on Saturday, US time, after its right engine failed.

United Airlines Flight 328 approaches Denver International Airport after experiencing a right-engine failure shortly after take-off. Credit:Hayden Smith

United said the next day it would voluntarily and temporarily remove its 24 active planes, hours before Boeings announcement.

Boeing said 69 of the planes were in service and 59 were in storage, at a time when airlines have grounded planes due to a plunge in demand associated with the COVID-19 pandemic.

WASHINGTON, Feb. 22, 2021 /PRNewswire/ -- Since the start of the COVID-19 pandemic, the time spent on digital platforms for adults jumped to over 16 hours a day. Companies recognized this opportunity to connect with customers. In fact, 38% of small businesses increased their ad spend in 2020, according to a new report from The Manifest , a how-to guide for small businesses.

Only 22% of small businesses reported a decrease in their 2020 ad spend.

According to new data from The Manifest, 38% of small businesses increased their ad spend in 2020, despite effects of COVID-19. (PRNewsfoto/The Manifest) 45% of small businesses plan to do more social media advertising in 2021, according to The Manifest. (PRNewsfoto/The Manifest)

Many companies found that the pandemic helped them strengthen their connection with customers.

Kamaldeep Singh, founder of digital advertising agency Zhoustify , said his team's advertising budget continues to grow as everyone stays at home.

"Despite what some experts may say, marketing is at an all time high for many industries  the pandemic has actually improved results for our clients," Singh said.

As social distancing protocols continue, small businesses can expect to see increased opportunities for digital advertising.

Most Small Businesses Choose to Advertise on Social Media

Over half of small businesses (55%) already advertise on social media.

With social media platform usage rates on the rise, more companies recognize the importance of a strong social media presence.

In fact, 45% of small businesses plan to increase their investment in social media advertising in 2021.

Both B2B and B2C companies have a lot to gain from social media, especially during COVID-19.

"Companies can no longer rely on traditional advertising strategies like trade shows or in-person events," said Eric Clay, CEO of digital marketing firm Vale Creative . "The most important thing small businesses can do is make sure they are advertising on the right social channel for their business."

Clay recommends companies focus on platforms that align with their target audience  Facebook and Instagram for B2C firms and LinkedIn for those in the B2B space.

Video Advertising Will Be More Popular in 2021

Video advertising allows small businesses to blend strong copywriting with rich visual content.

While nearly one-third of small businesses (32%) already advertise on digital video platforms, 35% plan to increase their investment in the new year.

By 2022, videos are expected to account for 82% of internet traffic .

Dave Nilsson, founder of SEO agency The Converted Click , believes small businesses should leverage channels like YouTube, TikTok, and Snapchat to support existing marketing efforts.

"Businesses can add a fun element to marketing campaigns through TikTok videos or partner with creators to boost brand visibility through user-generated content," Nilsson said.

Video advertising can help small businesses connect with customers and build brand awareness.

The Manifest's 2021 Small Business Survey included 500 U.S. small business owners and managers.

Read more about small business advertising trends in the full report here: https://themanifest.com/sem/advertising-trends-small-business

For questions about the survey, comments on the findings, or an introduction to the sources included in the report, contact Shelby Jordan at [email protected] .

About The Manifest

The Manifest is a business news and how-to website that compiles and analyzes practical business wisdom for innovators, entrepreneurs, and small and mid-market businesses. Use The Manifest as an approachable tour guide through every stage of the buyer journey. With three main offerings  data-driven benchmarks, step-by-step guides, and agency shortlists  The Manifest strives to make your business goals a reality.

Contact

Shelby Jordan

[email protected]

(202) 350-4344

SOURCE The Manifest
US State Department Spokesman Deflects Questions About Facebook News Ban in Australia

The U.S. government is not likely to be assisting Australia in its negotiations with Facebook after the U.S. tech giant moved to cut off Australians from sharing or accessing news on its platform last week, according to U.S. Department of State spokesperson Ned Price.

At a press briefing on Feb. 19, Price deflected questions about whether the United States would join in with other world leaders to support or take a position on Australias News Media Bargaining Code that will see tech giants Facebook and Google pay news publishers for content.

Price noted that the situation involved business negotiations between multiple private companies and the Australian government.

Any questions on the status and implications of private business decisions should be directed towards those companies, Price told reporters. As I think you know, the United States Government, we do regularly engage in support of U.S. companies, but we dont generally share the specifics of that engagement.

While Price was vague about where the United States stands between supporting its greatest ally and one of its most successful private enterprises, other world leaders have voiced their support for Australia, including in Canada and the United Kingdom.

Minister of Canadian Heritage Steven Guilbeault holds a press conference in Ottawa, Canada, on Nov. 3, 2020. (Sean Kilpatrick/The Canadian Press)

Canada is drafting similar legislation to Australias code, and its heritage minister, Steven Guilbeault, said Facebooks actions would not deter them.

Canada is at the forefront of this battle  we are really among the first group of countries around the world that are doing this, Guilbeault said. I suspect that soon we will have 5, 10, 15 countries adopting similar rules  is Facebook going to cut ties with Germany, with France?

The head of the British parliamentary committee overseeing the media industry said Facebook was bullying Australia.

I think its staggeringly irresponsible at a time when we are facing a plethora of fake news and disinformation in relation to the COVID vaccine, he said. This is not just about Australia. This is Facebook putting a marker down, saying to the world that if you do wish to limit our powers  we can remove what is for many people a utility.

Prime Minister Scott Morrison in the House of Representatives on February 18, 2021, in Canberra, Australia. (Sam Mooy/Getty Images)

Meanwhile, Prime Minister Scott Morrison said on Feb. 20 that his government was pleased it had received strong international support from world leaders for the countrys stance on Facebook, and noted that Facebook had tentatively friended us again.

In every way, Australia has led the way when it comes to this issue, as we have on other occasions, Morrison declared. When it comes to the tax treatment of goods that Amazon were selling in Australia, or the display of violent extremist material on social media platforms, we led that charge together with New Zealand, particularly Australia, through the G20. And so were no strangers to taking the lead on this.

Facebook has returned to the Australian governments mediation process after one of its executives apologised to Australia for the blackout.

In an interview with the Sydney Morning Herald on Friday, Simon Milner, Facebook vice president of public policy in the Asia-Pacific, said, This is a really hard thing to do. Weve never done it before. We are sorry for the mistakes we made in some of the implementation.

Milner noted that instead of using human reviewers of content, Facebook had chosen to utilise an artificial intelligence program to identify what was news in Australia.

Theres still some pages that were looking at, but some of its really difficult in that the law isnt clear and therefore there may be some pages that were clearly not news but actually under the law they might be, Milner added. Thats one of the challenges for us. Were sorry for the mistakes that we made on that front.
Domestic shares plunged on Monday with the Nifty falling below the 14,700 mark. Rising COVID-19 cases and negative global cues spoiled sentiment. Metal shares bucked the weak market trend on firm copper prices.

As per provisional closing data, the barometer index, the S&P BSE Sensex, slumped 1145.44 points or 2.25% to 49,744.32. The Nifty 50 index lost 306.05 points or 2.04% to 14,675.70.

In the derivatives market, the NSE's Volatility Index (VIX), a gauge of market's expectation of volatility over the near term, surged 14.17% to 25.47.

In the broader market, the S&P BSE Mid-Cap index slipped 1.52%. The S&P BSE Small-Cap index fell 1.06%.

The market breadth was tilted towards the sellers. On the BSE, 1039 shares rose and 1984 shares fell. A total of 156 shares were unchanged.

COVID-19 Update:

Amid a spurt in Covid-19 cases, Maharashtra chief minister Uddhav Thackeray on Sunday held a televised conference to address the Covid-19 situation in the state. "If the (COVID-19) situation deteriorates, then we have to impose lockdown. Those who want lockdown can roam around without mask while those who don't want it must wear mask and follow all the rules," he said.

Total COVID-19 confirmed cases worldwide stood at 11,13,43,040 with 24,65,882 deaths. India reported 1,50,055 active cases of COVID-19 infection and 1,56,385 deaths while 1,06,67,741 patients have been discharged, according to the data from the Ministry of Health and Family Welfare, Government of India.

Meanwhile, a total of over one crore 11 lakh people have been administered Covid-19 vaccines in the country so far. Union Health Ministry said that 31 thousand 681 people have been inoculated with Covid-19 doses in the last 24 hours. The country's COVID-19 recovery rate reached 97.22% with the total recovery of more than nine thousand patients in the last 24 hours.

Buzzing Index:

The Nifty Metal index rose 1.26% to 3,596.75. The index declined 1.96% in the previous session.

Hindustan Copper (up 14.89%), Ratnamani Metals Tubes (up 8.87%), JSW Steel (up 2.339%), Hindalco Industries (up 2.27%) and MOIL (up 1.84%) advanced.

Shares of metal and mining companies were in demand after copper prices in London jumped on Monday to cross the $9,000 a tonne level for the first time since September 2011. Base metals prices are soaring on expectations that post-crisis demand will outstrip near-term supply.

Stocks in Spotlight:

Larsen & Toubro (L&T) fell 3.77% to Rs 1450.95. The power transmission & distribution business of L&T has won 'large' orders across its spectrum of offerings. According the company's classification, the value of 'large' orders lies between Rs 2,500 crore and Rs 5,000 crore.

Vivimed Labs hit an upper circuit of 20% to Rs 17.80. The company said it received approval for paracetamol 125mg/5mL + Chlorpheniramine Maleate 2.5mg/5ml syrup under brand name Febril syrup 100ml from Uzbekistan Government.

Sheela Foam fell 1.58% to Rs 2028.15 after the company said it received an order to close its Jalpaiguri plant from the West Bengal Pollution Control Board.

Jubilant Foodworks rallied 5.22% to Rs 3105 after the fast-food chain operator said will fully acquire Fides Food Systems Cooperatief UA Netherlands (Fides) for an agreed investment of 24.8 million pounds, through its wholly-owned subsidiary, Jubilant FoodWorks Netherlands BV. Fides is the beneficial owner of 32.81% of equity shares of DP Eurasia N.V. (DP Eurasia). DP Eurasia is a public company listed with London Stock Exchange and is the exclusive master franchisee of the Domino's Pizza brand in Turkey, Russia, Azerbaijan and Georgia. DP Eurasia (together with its subsidiaries) offers pizza delivery and takeaway/ eat-in facilities at 771 stores (568 in Turkey, 190 in Russia, 9 in Azerbaijan and 4 in Georgia as on 31 December 2020).

Torrent Power jumped 4.41% to Rs 380.90. The company emerged as the highest bidder for acquisition of 51% stake in the power distribution company in the Union Territory of Dadra & Nagar Haveli and Daman & Diu.

Karnataka Bank fell 4.03% to Rs 66.60. The bank reported to Reserve Bank of India (RBI) a fraud in the credit facilities extended earlier to IL&FS Transportation Networks with an outstanding balance of Rs 34.16 crore. IL&FS Transportation Networks availed credit facilities from Karnataka Bank during 2016 under multiple banking arrangement wherein, Karnataka Bank was one of the member banks and during 2018, the borrowing account was classified as Non-Performing Asset (NPA) and has been fully provided for.

Global Markets:

Shares in Europe declined across the board while Asian markets ended mixed on Monday. Developments surrounding the pandemic and vaccine rollout remain in focus. The UK is set to detail later on Monday how it plans to lift lockdown measures gradually in the coming months, as its vaccination rollout maintains its good pace.

Meanwhile, China kept the one-year loan prime rate (LPR) unchanged at 3.85%, largely in line with expectations. The five-year LPR was also kept steady at 4.65%. The LPR is a lending reference rate set monthly by 18 banks.

Stocks on Wall Street closed near break-even on Friday as investors sold technology shares that have rallied through the pandemic and rotated into cyclical stocks set to benefit from pent-up demand once the coronavirus pandemic is subdued.

The House of Representatives will try to pass a $1.9 trillion coronavirus relief plan before the end of February, Speaker Nancy Pelosi said Thursday. Democratic Congressional leaders may try to pass a package without votes from Republicans.

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Police said they found a man in the parking lot with a gunshot to the head, later identified as 24-year-old Tyree Rials, who was pronounced dead at the scene by paramedics.
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Check out comedians doing a Bling Empire live-read and fundraiser. Explore afroLAtinidad. Listen to Talib Kweli discuss his new memoir. Catch a screening of a documentary about legendary L.A. fight venue the Olympic Auditorium. Watch Q&As with the cast and creatives behind films Never Rarely Sometimes Always and The Father.

Monday, Feb. 22; 9 a.m.



Films.Dance

The new global film series with a focus on international dance films features 150 artists from 25 countries participating in 15 short films that were shot during the COVID-19 pandemic. Released weekly at Films.Dance, on Instagram and on Facebook, the latest work to debut is Edging Normal, a metaphorical tale of a man shedding his past. Choreographed by Jacob Jonas and directed by Andre Bat, the film stars Desmond Richardson and features music composed by Steve Hackman and Dave Koz.

COST: FREE; MORE INFO

Talib Kweli performs at The Apollo Theater on September 7, 2018. (Marc Millman/Getty Images for Dayglo Presents)

Monday, Feb. 22; 5 p.m. PST



Talib Kweli: Vibrate Higher

The California African American Museum welcomes the musician, rapper and activist to discuss his memoir. The book sheds light on his upbringing, his artistry and how hip-hop is a political force. The conversation will be held via Zoom.

COST: FREE with RSVP; MORE INFO

Monday, Feb. 22; 7 p.m.



The Father

In the next installment of KCET's Cinema Series, Anthony Hopkins plays a man battling dementia and Olivia Coleman co-stars as his daughter in this filma by Florian Zeller. The three of them will participate in a conversation after the screening, at approximately 8:40 p.m.

COST: $10; MORE INFO

Mourners gather at the funeral of Virginia Tech shooting victim Erin Peterson at Mt. Olive Baptist Church Church in Centreville, Virginia on April 24, 2007. ( Francine Orr-Pool/Getty Images)

Tuesday, Feb. 23; 6 p.m. PST



'We Can Teach You That' with Photographer Francine Orr

Los Angeles Times photographer Francine Orr leads an online course about capturing images in challenging and sometimes dangerous situations. Orr shares photos from the past year and discusses how she approaches her work. The webinar also includes a Q&A session.

COST: FREE with RSVP; MORE INFO

LACMA presents the Cauleen Smith Confabulations Series with Tisa Bryant. (Courtesy of LACMA)

Tuesday, Feb. 23; 6 p.m. PST



Cauleen Smith Confabulations Series with Tisa Bryant

Confabulations (from the Latin fabula, meaning "conversation" or "story") is a series of intimate conversations with L.A. artist Cauleen Smith. For the second event, Smith speaks with Tisa Bryant, writer and director of the MFA Creative Writing Program at CalArts. They'll discuss spirituality, creativity and utopianism in Smith's LACMA exhibition Cauleen Smith: Give It Or Leave It.

COST: FREE with RSVP; MORE INFO

Tuesday, Feb. 23; 5 p.m. PST



Never Rarely Sometimes Always

Deadline Hollywood presents a virtual screening and Q&A of writer-director Eliza Hittman's film about two girls on a journey to deal with an unintended pregancy. Panelists include Hittman and actors Sidney Flanigan and Talia Ryder.

COST: FREE with RSVP; MORE INFO

California Department of Corrections officer looks on as inmates at Chino State Prison exercise in the yard December 10, 2010 in Chino, California. (Kevork Djansezian/Getty Images)

Wednesday, Feb. 24; 1 p.m. PST



Has California Ended Mass Incarceration?

Over the last decade, California has reduced its prison population and changed criminal sentencing and other law enforcement practices to give more people a second chance. This Zocalo Public Square event welcomes UC Berkeley public policy professor Steven Raphael to examine how criminal justice reform is working and where it falls short. The conversation is moderated by Abbie VanSickle of The Marshall Project. Audience participation via live chat. Register for updates and the streaming link.

COST: FREE with RSVP; MORE INFO

Wednesday, Feb. 23; 7:45 p.m. PST



Harold and Maude

Glendale Sears Parking Lot

211 W. California Ave., Glendale

The Secret Movie Club's Cult Classic Night screens an unconventional love story from 1971. The hilarious and moving film by Hal Ashby stars depressed 20-year-old Harold (Bud Cort) who meets and falls for 79-year-old free spirit Maude (Ruth Gordon). On Thursday, the Secret Movie Club screens Coming to America at the same place and time.

COST: Tickets start at $23; MORE INFO



Wednesday, Feb. 24; 6 p.m. PT



Bling Empire: A Live Reading Fundraiser

In support of Asian communities throughout the country and in celebration of the Lunar New Year, this event features a night of comedy and culture. Bowen Yang, Joel Kim Booster, Sherry Cola, Jes Tom, Peter Kim, Kiko Soiree, Nori Reed, Jared Goldstein, Fumi Abe and Irene Tu participate in a reading of "What's In Anna's Shower?" aka Episode 3 of reality show Bling Empire. Proceeds benefit Chinatown Community for Equitable Development (in L.A.) and Send Chinatown Love (in NYC).

COST: $10 suggested donation; MORE INFO

A farmer takes tobacco leaves to a drying barn at a tobacco plantation in Vinales, Cuba, on January 29, 2021. (YAMIL LAGE/AFP via Getty Images)

Wednesday, Feb. 24; 7 p.m. PT



A Risky Evening

Theatre 40 presents two short comedies via Zoom. The first is Anton Chekov's one act On the Harmfulness of Tobacco, performed by David Hunt Stafford. (A henpecked husband is forced to give a lecture on tobacco's evils.) The second work is Nine Point Eight Meters Per Second Per Second, written by Pete Barry and performed by Daniel Leslie. (An executive makes and receives calls even as his airplane seat plummets from the sky.)

COST: FREE but donations accepted; MORE INFO

The Armory Center for the Arts presents a talk with artists Dina Abdulkarim and Hugo Hopping, moderated by Harry Gamboa Jr. (Courtesy of The Armory)

Thursday, Feb. 25; 6 p.m. PST



In Conversation: Dina Abdulkarim and Hugo Hopping, Moderated by Harry Gamboa Jr.

Armory Center for the Arts hosts a conversation with artists Dina Abdulkarim and Hugo Hopping centered around themes from the 2019 Armory exhibition exhibition Non-Perfect Dwelling by The Winter Office. Moderated by fellow artist Harry Gamboa Jr., the pre-recorded talk touches on L.A.'s urban landscape, the dissolution of public space and housing inequities.

COST: FREE; MORE INFO

Julia Holter performs at the 2016 FYF Fest in Los Angeles on August 28, 2016. (Matt Winkelmeyer)

Thursday, Feb. 25; 7 p.m. PST



Julia Holter

Holter performs a livestreamed concert from the Lodge Room in Highland Park as part of Audiotree's Staged series. Tickets include 24-hour rebroadcast access.

COST: $21 - $32; MORE INFO

Thursday, Feb. 25, 4 p.m.



The Care We Create

The Fowler Museum hosts a discussion with artist Audrey Chan, whose latest work, a massive mural that covered the ACLU SoCal's downtown L.A. headquarters, was unveiled last month. Chan will discuss the work and the role of art in social change with Janaya Future Khan and Marjan Vayghan, two activists featured in the mural, and Marcus Benigno, ACLU SoCal's chief communications and marketing officer.

COST: FREE with RSVP; MORE INFO

Crowd favorite Ruben Navarro, 'The Maravilla Kid' from East Los Angeles, circa 1970, is featured in '18th & Grand: The Olympic Auditorium Story.' (Photo by Theo Ehret, courtesy Willard Ford)

Thursday, Feb. 25; 7:30 p.m. PST



18th & Grand: The Olympic Auditorium Story

Vineland Drive-In

443 Vineland Ave., City of Industry

The ArcLight partners with the Slamdance Film Fest for its first film event of 2021. The festival closes with the world premiere screening of a documentary that tells an L.A. story of an audacious fight palace and the woman who ran it. The movie includes interviews with Roddy Piper, John Doe, James Ellroy and Julio Cesar Chavez. Gates open at 6:45 p.m. Tickets include all passengers in the car and a complimentary popcorn.

COST: $40 per car; MORE INFO

'afroLAtinidad: mi casa, my city,' is an exhibition of images and artifacts, including this Bahaina Doll, at LA Plaza de Cultura y Artes online. (Mario A. Hernandez)

Ongoing



afroLAtinidad: mi casa, my city

LA Plaza de Cultura y Artes presents the exhibition that had to close last year due to the COVID-19 pandemic. Now online, it examines the history and experiences of L.A.'s Afro-Latinx community. The show includes personal objects and art as well as online companion programs such as a 3D tour, a video walkthrough and recorded sessions of virtual performances and presentations. This Wednesday, Feb. 24 at 7 p.m., there's a talk on Afro-Peruvian Culture with Nadia Calmet, educator and choreographer, accessible via Zoom or on Facebook.

COST: FREE; MORE INFO

Pulitzer Prize-winning composer and sound artist Ellen Reid has created a GPS-enabled work of public art in Griffith Park. (Courtesy of CAP UCLA)

Ongoing



Ellen Reid: Soundwalk

Griffith Park

4730 Crystal Springs Dr., Griffith Park

Last week, UCLA's Center for the Art of Performance (CAP UCLA) launched a free app that can be used to illuminate the natural environment of Griffith Park in a GPS-enabled work of public art. Created by Pulitzer Prize-winning composer and sound artist Ellen Reid, the listener chooses the path which dictates the music and sound art. No two walks or hikes will be the same. Listen to music by the Kronos Quartet and the Soundwalk Ensemble. The installation will be available through 2023.

COST: FREE; MORE INFO





TV / Streaming Pick

Superman & Lois

The CW's latest DC Comics series stars Tyler Hoechlin and Elizabeth Tulloch as Clark Kent and Lois Lane. Part of the Arrowverse franchise, the series is set in Smallville where Lois and Clark are parents to two teenage boys. Superman & Lois premieres on Tuesday, Feb. 23, at 8 p.m. on The CW.

Chef Ray Garcia brings back Broken Spanish to a NeueHouse pop-up residency. (Courtesy of Broken Spanish)





Dine & Drink Deals

Who doesn't miss going out to eat or stopping by a bar for a drink? Here are a few options from restaurants and bars as we work our way back toward normal.

WE LOVE TO ANSWER YOUR QUESTIONS
China has increased its production quota for rare-earth metals by close to 30% for the first half of this year, according to a report by the Nikkei.

Chinas Ministry of Industry and Information Technology and Ministry of Natural Resources jointly announced that the production quota for the first half of this year will be 84,000 tons, a major jump from the 66,000 tons last year and the highest target to date for the first half.

Although it is the worlds dominant producer of rare earths, China still imports the minerals from abroadprimarily from Myanmar, Malaysia and Vietnam. Imports accounted for 47,000 tons, or about a quarter, of Chinas rare-earth market last year.

The Nikkei said the quota increase is likely an effort to curb dependence on imported materials, especially in light of growing trade tensions with the US.

The quota for certain rare earths such as dysprosium, used to make magnets for EV motors, were raised by 20%.

The Chinese government gradually lifted its annual quota for rare-earth mining to 140,000 tons from 100,000 tons under its five-year plan through 2020. It announces a quota twice a year. The full-year total could end up breaking records as well, the Nikkei said.

The push is driven largely by growing domestic demand. China wants electric vehicles, hybrids and other eco-friendly vehicles to account for all new cars sold in the country by 2035, and is also looking to boost production of robots.
Credit: Pixabay/CC0 Public Domain

The United States stood on the brink of 500,000 COVID-related deaths on Monday, while the vaccination rollout picked up pace globally including with the first shots in Australia.

The catastrophic US toll comes as some signs of hope are emerging in the world's hardest-hit country, with millions of people now vaccinated and winter's massive spike in infections dropping.

But deaths are still coming, and President Joe Biden last month warned that "well over" 600,000 people in the US could die from the virus.

"It's terrible. It is historic. We haven't seen anything even close to this for well over a hundred years, since the 1918 pandemic of influenza," Biden's chief medical advisor Anthony Fauci told NBC's "Meet The Press."

"It's something that is stunning when you look at the numbers, almost unbelievable, but it's true," Fauci added.

The US toll stood at 498,897 by Monday morning, according to Johns Hopkins University. Globally, the figure was approaching 2.5 million.

Normal 'by end of year'

After America's first COVID-19 death was announced in February last year, it took about three months to pass the 100,000 mark, during a first wave that hit New York particularly hard.

But as the outbreak surged across the country, the pace of deaths increased, with the toll jumping from 400,000 in just over a month after a spike fueled in part by holiday gatherings.

Fauci noted the number of daily new infections was on a steep decline after peaking in January, but he added normal life may still be some way off.

"I think we'll have a significant degree of normality... as we get into the fall and the winter, by the end of the year," Fauci said on CNN's "State of the Union."

Meanwhile India, the world's second worst-hit nation in terms of infections, passed a bleak threshold on Monday by registering its 11 millionth case following a renewed rise in cases.

Fresh restrictions on gatherings came into force in the western state of Maharashtra, home to financial capital Mumbai, which has logged almost 52,000 deaths since the start of the pandemic.

The vast nation's inoculation drive is creeping slowly, and India's Serum Institutethe world's biggest vaccine makerhas urged other countries to be "patient," saying it has been told to prioritise the home market.

In the capital New Delhi, vegetable vendor Radhekrishna Negi spoke for many around the world, telling AFP: "I am fed up of corona."

Vaccination rollouts

According to the US Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC), more than 61 million people have received at least one shot of vaccine in the United States, with some 18 million getting the full two doses.

Biden has made it a priority to get 100 million people vaccinated within the first 100 days of his administration.

In Australia, top officials Sunday were among a small group receiving the first vaccinations, a day before the program starts in earnest.

Prime Minister Scott Morrison got the Pfizer/BioNTech vaccine at a medical center in Sydney, in what the government said was a bid to boost public confidence after some anti-vaccine protests.

And in Gaza on Sunday, some 20,000 Russian-made Sputnik V vaccine doses arrived from the United Arab Emirates.

The jabs came via the Rafah crossing with Egypt, meaning they did not pass through Israel, which has maintained a tight blockade on Gaza since 2007.

Britain's government has vowed to offer a first dose to every adult by the end of July. More than 17 million people have now received at least a first vaccine doseone third of the adult UK population.

Prime Minister Boris Johnson was on Monday set to start unwinding England's third lockdown as a quickening UK-wide inoculation drive relieves pressure on hard-hit hospitals.

Johnson is expected to confirm the reopening of all English schools on March 8 in the first big step towards restoring normal life, nearly a year after he imposed the first stay-at-home order.

In Hong Kong, leader Carrie Lam received a shot of the Chinese Sinovac drug after the financial hub last week fast-tracked its approval.

Explore further Follow the latest news on the coronavirus (COVID-19) outbreak

 2021 AFP
Source: Xinhua| 2021-02-22 06:16:14|Editor: huaxia

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The Atomic Energy Organization of Iran meets with Director General of the International Atomic Energy Agency Rafael Grossi on Feb. 21, 2021. (IRNA/Handout via Xinhua)

TEHRAN, Feb. 21 (Xinhua) -- A temporary agreement was reached on Sunday in Iran's capital Tehran between the Atomic Energy Organization of Iran (AEOI) and the International Atomic Energy Agency (IAEA) to continue "essential verification" for up to three months.

The agreement was announced shortly before midnight in a joint statement by the AEOI head Ali Akbar Salehi and the IAEA Director General Rafael Grossi published on the AEOI's official website, after a one-day visit of Grossi to Tehran.

The joint statement acknowledges that Iran will on Feb. 23 halt voluntary measures set on the 2015 international agreement over the Iranian nuclear program, formally known as the Joint Comprehensive Plan of Action (JCPOA).

The Feb. 23 deadline is imposed by the Strategic Action Plan to Counter Sanctions (SAPCS), a law passed in December 2020 by the Iranian parliament that mandates the Iranian government to stop implementing the IAEA's Additional Protocol if sanctions on Iran that should be lifted under JCPOA continue to be in place by the date.

For the IAEA to continue its verification tasks in this context, the AEOI and the IAEA have agreed that the AEOI will "continue to implement fully and without restrictions" its safeguards agreement with the IAEA, according to the joint statement.

A "temporary technical agreement compatible with the (SAPCS) law" has been reached, under which the IAEA will continue its "essential verification and oversight activities ... for up to three months," the statement said.

The AEOI and the IAEA have also agreed to "regularly review" the technical agreement to ensure its goals are achieved, it added.

The agreement was made public after intensive talks in Tehran between Salehi and Grossi who also met Iranian Foreign Minister Mohammad Javad Zarif during his visit.

The IAEA chief said in a statement on Friday that the aim of his visit to Tehran was to find a "mutually agreeable solution" for the UN agency to continue to carry out its verification work under the JCPOA.

Earlier on Sunday, Zarif reiterated in an interview with Press TV that Iran will "go back to full compliance" with JCPOA immediately after its counterparts "come back to full compliance."

U.S. President Joe Biden has rejected his predecessor Donald Trump's Iran policy of "maximum pressure" only in words, but in practice he is following the same course of action so far, Zarif said.

Tehran and Washington have been engaged in an apparent diplomatic stalemate for weeks over which side should be the first to take effective action to revive the JCPOA. 
BJP IT Cell chief Amit Malviya on Monday took a dig at West Bengal Chief Minister Mamata Banerjee after she said she cannot be intimidated by jail or anything else and that she would fight from jail as Sheikh Mujibur Rehman did. This comes after CBI on Sunday summoned the wife of Chief Minister Mamata's nephew Abhishek Banerjee in connection with the high-profile coal smuggling scam.

Mocking WB CM for invoking Sheikh Mujibur Rehman in her speech, Malviya said, "Yesterday Pishi (aunt) said, like Bangabandhu (Sheikh Mujibur Rehman) she would fight from jail and win. Why doesnt Pishi want to fight like Netaji or Aurobindo or Rasbehari Bose or Khudiram? Mujibur created Bangladesh, what does she want? Or is there a message for her Muslim vote bank?"

READ | Actor Yash Dasgupta Ready To Contest WB Polls For BJP; Reveals 'free Hand' From Amit Shah

READ | 'TMC Will Win West Bengal Elections easily; BJP's Only Allies Are ED & CBI': Sougata Roy

CBI summons Abhishek Banerjee's wife

In a massive development involving the ruling Trinamool Congress in Bengal, the Central Bureau of Investigation (CBI) on Sunday summoned the wife of Chief Minister Mamata's nephew Abhishek Banerjee in connection with the high-profile coal smuggling scam. Arriving at the TMC MP's residence with a notice on Sunday, the Kolkata CBI officers asked Banerjee's wife to join the probe. Notably, the summon has come days after the central agency conducted raids across five locations in poll-bound West Bengal namely  Kolkata, Asansol, Raniganj, Bardhaman, and Purulia in connection with the case.

In the run-up to the elections, the BJP has been alleging that the money from coal sales is whitewashed through shell companies and siphoned into the funds of the ruling party. TMC leader Abhishek Banerjee, who is also a Lok Sabha member and the nephew of Chief Minister Mamata Banerjee, has been named as the main beneficiary of the scam by the saffron party.

Meanwhile, reacting to the development, Abhishek Banerjee called the summons a ploy to 'intimidate' them. "At 2 pm today, the CBI served a notice in the name of my wife. We have full faith in the law of the land. However, if they think they can use these ploys to intimidate us, they are mistaken. We are not the ones who would ever be cowed down," he said. His wife has since written to the CBI asking them to record her statement at her home on Tuesday, which the agency has agreed to.

READ | CBI Summons Wife Of Bengal CM Mamata's Nephew Abhishek Banerjee In Coal Smuggling Case

READ | 'Centre Only Sent Rs 1.13 Lakh Cr': Bengal FM Disputes Amit Shah's 'Rs 3.59 Lakh Cr' Claim
on Monday sought India's support in facilitating an early exit from the grey list to restore its international reputation, saying it has agreed to address the deficiencies identified in its anti-money laundering and counter terrorism financing regimes.

Prime Minister Pravind Jugnauth said this while jointly addressing the media with External Affairs Minister S Jaishankar who is in the country on the last leg of his two-nation tour.

Mauritius, which has become a global tax haven, was put on the grey list' of the Paris-based Financial Action Task Force (FATF) -- an inter-governmental policy making body that sets anti-money laundering standards, in February last year.

A significant percentage of foreign portfolio investors (FPIs) investing in the Indian market is registered in Mauritius, which is the second largest foreign portfolio investor in India.

Prime Minister Jugnauth said: Based on the respect for the rule of law, in that context, we reviewed the latest developments in respect of the completion of the decolonisation of Mauritius, a matter on which India has given its unflinching support right from the beginning of our struggle.

Similarly, we are confident of the support of India in facilitating an early exit of from the grey list of the Financial Action Task Force based on our good records of implementation of the action plan.

We have agreed to address the deficiencies identified in our anti-money laundering and counter terrorism financing regimes, Jugnauth said.

He said that an early exit will restore the country's international reputation and jurisdiction of choice and substance supported by its excellent credentials of the ease of doing business.

I have no doubt that the visit of Jaishankar will give a new impetus to the excellent relationship between Mauritius and India and our partnership focused on purposeful action is to take a more strategic orientation in the future.

I had the opportunity to again thank India whose continuous support for the resolution of the matter in accordance with international law and to reiterate that the completion of the decolonisation process of Mauritius will have no implications for the maintenance of the defence operations in Diego Garcia, the Prime Minister said.

Addressing the media, Jaishankar said: I had today the honour of calling on the Prime Minister. Spending time in a lengthy review of our comprehensive and important bilateral relationship. Our discussions, I believe, were very productive and forward looking, and we really reviewed all aspects of the relationship as well as status of implementation of various projects.

Prime Minister and I also discussed the issue of Chagos Archipelago today. I assured Prime Minister of India's steadfast principled support on this issue as has been demonstrated in the past.

India backs Mauritius over its claim on the disputed Chagos islands, which is home to Diego Garcia -- the key military base of the UK and the US in the Indian Ocean. New Delhi says its decolonisation process remains incomplete as long as the atolls continue to be under British control.

Both Mauritius and the UK are engaged in a diplomatic and legal war over the atolls located in the strategic Indian Ocean.

For several years, there have been apprehensions about Mauritius being a money laundering route for FPIs due to its limited regulatory oversight. But, the Indian Ocean island nation has been taking several steps in recent years to address the concerns.

Last year, the European Commission included Mauritius and 11 other countries in its revised list of high-risk countries, with strategic deficiencies in their anti-money laundering and counter-terrorist financing frameworks.

(Only the headline and picture of this report may have been reworked by the Business Standard staff; the rest of the content is auto-generated from a syndicated feed.)
A burglar who was spared a prison sentence because of injuries he suffered when he was accidentally shot in the face by a garda, has been jailed by the Court of Appeal.

The three-judge court agreed with the Director of Public Prosecutions that the sentencing judge was unduly lenient in suspending the entirety of the sentence imposed on Tomas Mikalajunas.

President of the Court of Appeal, Mr Justice George Birmingham, said Mikalajunas had travelled to Ireland to carry out well-planned burglaries of high-end goods, and imposed a sentence of two years and nine months.

Mikalajunas (41), a native of Lithuania who had an address at Cluain Arra, Gortboy, Newcastle West, Co Limerick, sustained "life-changing injuries" in the shooting in 2016.

Detailing the background to the case, Mr Justice Birmingham said Mikalajunas and an accomplice carried out a "professionally and carefully planned burglary" on a pharmacy in Kinsale on January 30, 2015.

They used a modified, reinforced Audi to force in the front of the premises before three men, wearing balaclavas and gloves and carrying torches, entered.

They stole high-end perfumes, particularly targeting Chanel products, and made off with 60,000 worth of goods. The perfume was shipped to Lithuania where it was sold at markets.

The second burglary was in 2016 at a boutique in Adare, Co Limerick, that specialised in high-end fashion. In that raid, 80,000 worth of clothes was taken and although they were retrieved by gardai the following day, they had been kept in conditions that meant they were unusable.

The owner of the boutique was uninsured and suffered a devastating loss, the judge said.

Following that burglary gardai identified a Toyota Corolla that was associated with the gang and on June 28, 2016, it was spotted driving from Newcastle West.

A high-speed chase ensued during which the suspects' car exceeded speeds of 120km/h on rural roads. Gardai managed to stop the car but as one garda got out of the patrol car his service firearm accidentally discharged, hitting Mikalajunas in the right side of the face.

Mikalajunas required extensive therapy to regain his mobility and speech and still has difficulty eating solid food.

A bullet fragment close to his spine restricts his neck movements preventing him from returning to his former job as a truck driver.

Mikalajunas made full admissions to gardai and pleaded guilty to two counts of burglary and one of criminal damage.

Having heard the medical evidence, the sentencing judge at the Circuit Criminal Court imposed a prison sentence of five years and six months, suspended in its entirety.

Mikalajunas has since returned to Lithuania and followed today's court proceedings by video link.

Mr Justice Birmingham said the offences were "very serious" and he noted that Mikalajunas appeared to travel to Ireland on both occasions specifically to carry out burglaries.

While he said it was appropriate to take the injuries into account, he said it was excessive to suspend the entire sentence.

Taking the sentence of five years and six months as the starting point, he said it would be appropriate to suspend half and therefore he imposed a sentence of two years and nine months with no part suspended.



He imposed a concurrent sentence of two years for criminal damage. The president sat with Mr Justice Patrick McCarthy and Mr Justice Seamus Woulfe.
External Affairs Minister on Monday called on former prime minister of Sir Anerood Jugnauth, who was awarded the Padma Vibhushan last year, and briefed him on the progress in the bilateral relations.

Jaishankar, who arrived here in India's strategically key maritime neighbour in the Indian Ocean region on Sunday night from the Maldives on the last leg of his two-nation tour, met the 90-year-old leader after concluding talks with his son and current Prime Minister Pravind Jugnauth.

"Called on former PM Sir Anerood Jugnauth and Lady Sarojini. Congratulated him on being awarded the Padma Vibhushan last year. Briefed him on the progress in India- relations, guided by his vision and leadership," he tweeted.

Jugnauth was given Padma Vibhushan - India's second highest civilian award - in the field of public affairs. He served both as president and prime minister of

"Thankful always for his insights, advice and his rock-solid support to our ties," Jaishankar said in another tweet.

The minister also visited the new Supreme Court building constructed under the Special Economic Package announced in 2017.

"Impressed by the excellent management & execution of the project. Thank Chief Justice Hon. Asraf Ally Caunhye for receiving me," he tweeted.

Symbolising the unceasing nature of bilateral cooperation, the Prime Ministers of the two countries had inaugurated the new Supreme Court building virtually on July 30 last year, when the COVID-19 pandemic was at its peak.

"Despite challenges, it is impressive that all five development projects announced by India in 2017 under the Special Economic Package, have been completed," Jaishankar earlier said while addressing the media.

(Only the headline and picture of this report may have been reworked by the Business Standard staff; the rest of the content is auto-generated from a syndicated feed.)
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Electrophotocatalytic amination of CH Bonds. (A) Generic electrophotocatalytic cycle with trisaminocyclopropenium (TAC) 1. (B) Ritter-type CH amination reaction. (C) Electrophotocatalytic vicinal CH diamination reactions reported in this work. Sub, substrate; subox, oxidized substrate; Me, methyl; Et, ethyl; Ac, acetyl; Eox, oxidation potential; lmax, wavelength of maximum absorption. Credit: Science, 10.1126/science.abf2798

In organic chemistry, the conversion of inactivated carbon-hydrogen (C-H) bonds to carbon-nitrogen (C-N) bonds is a highly valued transformation. Scientists can accomplish such reactions at only a single C-H site since the first derivatization can diminish the reactivity of the surrounding C-H bonds. In a new report now published in Science, Tao Shen and Tristan H. Lambert at the department of chemistry and chemical biology, Cornell University, New York, showed that alkylated arenes could undergo vicinal C-H diamination reactions to form 1,2-diamine derivatives using an electrophotocatalytic strategy. During the synthetic process, they used acetonitrile as a solvent and nitrogen source. They catalyzed the reaction using a trisaminocyclopropenium (TAC) ion, which underwent anodic oxidation to furnish a stable radical dication (any cation), while the cathodic reaction reduced protons to molecular hydrogen. When they irradiated the TAC radical dication with a white-light compact fluorescent light, they generated a strongly oxidizing photoexcited intermediate. Based on the electrolyte used, the team obtained either 3,4-dihydroimidazole or aziridine products.

A new synthetic process

Ubiquitous chemical reactions that convert inert carbon-hydrogen (C-H) bonds to valuable carbon-nitrogen (C-N) bonds can greatly accelerate the construction of complex molecules relevant to the biomedical enterprise. Researchers have therefore derived a series of C-H amination reactions, but despite their power and scope, many synthetic campaigns must install numerous C-N linkages. A major challenge to developing chemical such reactions is that heterofunctionality tends to deactivate surrounding bonds toward the typical mechanistic modes of CH activation. Only a few reaction technologies have thus far therefore accomplished multipotent functions on proximal C-H bonds. Shen et al. described a strategy for potent oxidation chemistry by combining the energy of light and electricity within a single catalyst in a process known as electrophotocatalysis (EPC). During this strategy, the team used electrochemical oxidation of trisaminocyclopropenium (TAC) ion under a relatively mild electrochemical potential and concomitant visible light irradiation to excite the resultant radical cationic intermediate. The photo-excited radical dication was an extremely potent oxidant that demonstrated challenging reactions including oxidative functions of benzene and other electron-poor arenes or the regioselective C-H functionalization of ethers.

Substrate scope of electrophotocatalytic vicinal CH diamination. All yields are of isolated products. Products were obtained as racemic mixtures; wedge and dash depictions indicate relative stereochemical relationships. (A) Diamination of secondary alkylbenzenes. (B) Diamination of primary alkylbenzenes. Experimental details are provided in thesupplementary materials. An asterisk indicates run at 2.2 V; a dagger symbol () indicates work-up with NaHCO3 (aq) and CH3OH; and a double dagger dymbol () indicates nBu4NPF6 instead of Et4NBF4. SM, starting materials. Compound 36 was deacylated upon workup. Credit: Science, 10.1126/science.abf2798

The team hypothesized the oxidizing power of TAC to also enable other C-H bond activation manifolds. Under the right conditions, the electrophotocatalytic approach could generate carbo-cation intermediates to facilitate Ritter-type functionalization of C-H bonds without an external chemical oxidant. Typically, during Ritter-type reactions generate a carbocation with subsequent trapping by a nitrile to form nitrilium ion intermediates followed by amide products after hydrolysis. The team assumed that the strongly oxidizing, yet selective conditions offered by TAC (trisaminocyclopropenium) EPC (electrophotocatalysis) could allow a sequence of multiple Ritter-type C-H functionalization reactions, where the initially formed acetamide group facilitated a second amination reaction at an adjacent position. If feasible, the method could facilitate the regioselective amination of two C-H bonds simply using visible light, a mild electrochemical potential and a common solvent as the nitrogen source instead of nitrene precursors. Shen et al. reported the realization of the electrophotocatalytic deamination of C-H bonds to furnish dihydroimidazoles or aziridines, depending on the type of electrolyte used during the experiments.

Electrophotocatalytic vicinal CH aziridination. Detailed reaction conditions for each substrate are provided in the supplementary materials. Products were obtained as racemic mixtures; wedge and dash depictions indicate relative stereochemical relationships. An asterisk indicates run at 2.2 V. i-Pr, isopropyl. Credit: Science, 10.1126/science.abf2798

The synthetic products

After extensively screening, the reaction conditions including the cell potential, electrolyte, acid additive and reaction time, Shen et al. identified conditions to assist the efficient conversion of a variety of benzylic hydrocarbons of the corresponding N-acyl-4,5-dihydroimidazole adducts. In the reaction setup, the scientists used visible light irradiation with a white compact fluorescent light of a solution of the substrate containing TAC in a divided electrolytic cell under controlled potential. The team added the TAC catalyst and substrate within the anodic chamber where the C-H deamination chemistry occurred. The resulting redox by-product was effectively traceless. Based on similar conditions, a variety of benzylic hydrocarbons underwent vicinal C-H diamination to form diverse products. In all cases, the researchers noted how the function of methylene carbons occurred in preference to methyl carbons, even when in the presence of a sterically demanding group or electron-withdrawing group. Since the --diaryl amines formed a valuable substructure in biomedically relevant compounds, the team also investigated the transformation on gem-diaryl substrates. They found that the 1,1-diphenyl ethane reacted efficiently to furnish a secondary alkyl benzene compound with 80 percent yield. The compatibility of alcohol, ester, alkyl fluoride and amide substituents allowed the synthesis of more highly functionalized adducts.

Synthetic applications of electrophotocatalytic vicinal CH diamination. (A) Bioactive compound analogs prepared by means of electrophotocatalytic vicinal CH diamination or aziridination. (B) 1,2-Diamine synthesis. (C) Dihydroimidazole synthesis. (D) Bioactive compound synthesis. Detailed reaction conditions are provided in the supplementary materials. Products were obtained as racemic mixtures; wedge and dash depictions indicate relative stereochemical relationships. Products 80 and 81 were isolated as bis tosylate salts. Ph, phenyl; Tf, trifluoromethanesulfonate. Credit: Science, 10.1126/science.abf2798

Functionalizing ring systems

The team further studied the potential of this reaction to functionalize ring systems. The reaction of phenyl cyclopentane led to the bicyclic compound in 85 percent yield. The scientists produced six- and seven-membered ring products as regioisomeric mixtures, alongside eight- and 12-membered ring products as single isomers. They improved some of the yields for cyclic substrates by using tetrabutylammonium phosphate (TBAF 6 ) as the electrolyte. In addition to acetonitrile, the researchers used other nitriles to give rise to diaminated products derived from propionitrile, butyl nitrile or benzonitrile as the nitrogen source. The scientists also tested the diamination process using unbranched benzylic substrates. As a result, imine and halogenated derivatives gave rise to aziridines in low to modest yields with nearly equal yields of diaminated products.

Mechanistic rationale for electrophotocatalytic vicinal CH diamination. Voltages were measured in a 5:1 mixture of CH3CN and TFA to mimic the reaction conditions and are relative to SCE. Credit: Science, 10.1126/science.abf2798

Since late-stage C-H functionalization processes offered powerful tools for the diversification of medicinal compound libraries, Shen et al. tested the difunctionalization chemistry on several molecules that are close analogs of known biologically active molecules. The team diaminated a dibromoisatin derivative to produce a bioactive molecule analogue in 42 percent yield. For example, Isatin derivatives have been investigated in the past due to their medicinal properties including antitumor and antiviral activities. The scientists also found that celecoxib analogs could produce 56 percent yield under standard conditions. They then converted an analog of thalidomide with antiproliferative activity into another bioactive analog with 50 percent yield. The team further found how a small modification to the electrophotocatalytic procedure could lead to the isolation of free 1,2-diamines in good yields. Shen et al. believe the mechanisms to have originated with Ritter-type amination of the substrates benzylic C-H bond in a process that accords with known electrochemical Ritter-type reactions. In this way, Tao Shen and Tristan H. Lambert noted the compatibility of deamination with a reasonable diversity of functionality for the practical applications of this reaction. The scientists used the power of combined light and electrical energy to conduct the reactions in the functionality of a single catalyst with advancing synthetic capabilities.

Explore further Well connected through amides

More information: 1. Shen T. and Lambert T. Electrophotocatalytic diamination of vicinal CH bonds, Science, 10.1126/science.abf2798

2. Richter M. F. et al. Predictive compound accumulation rules yield a broad-spectrum antibiotic, Nature, DOI: 10.1038/nature22308

3. Zhang L. et al. Photoelectrocatalytic Arene C-H Amination. Nature Catalysis, 10.1038/s41929-019-0231-9 Journal information: Science , Nature , Nature Catalysis 1. Shen T. and Lambert T. Electrophotocatalytic diamination of vicinal CH bonds,, 10.1126/science.abf27982. Richter M. F. et al. Predictive compound accumulation rules yield a broad-spectrum antibiotic,3. Zhang L. et al. Photoelectrocatalytic Arene C-H Amination., 10.1038/s41929-019-0231-9

 2021 Science X Network
San Diego, Feb. 22, 2021 (GLOBE NEWSWIRE) -- The Feb. 22-25 virtual Power of Engagement Summit, hosted by the National University System (NUS), is bringing together educators, universities and nonprofit professionals around the globe to offer approaches aimed at strengthening relationships on behalf of our diverse communities and youth. Reflecting current societal issues, the Summit will feature sessions on how to support pre-K-12 students social and emotional development both in person and online, and offers breakout sessions for participants to engage in meaningful dialogue. A special track of sessions is available to address current needs of the fundraising community.

"The National University System is pleased to bring together a dynamic group of experts, researchers and practitioners dedicated to education and serving our communities through the Power of Engagement Summit," said Dr. Michael R. Cunningham, Chancellor of the National University System, which includes National University, Northcentral University and City University of Seattle. "The Power of Engagement Summit is designed to strengthen relationships among teachers, leaders of youth organizations and nonprofit fundraising professionals, empowering them to better support the diverse communities they serve. The Summit builds on the powerful foundation provided by the Harmony, Inspire and Fundraising Academy programs and reflects our commitment to providing lifelong learning opportunities and professional development support for our nation's pre-K-12 educators and nonprofit leaders."

The four-day online conference will explore innovative implementation solutions from leaders in social and emotional learning (SEL), professional development partners, university partners, educators, and professionals in nonprofit fundraising. A recurring theme and area of focus will be in social and emotional learning, with sessions that include educators talking about ways to advance relationship building strategies online that support expanding racial understanding, distance learning and more.

NUS is a leader in providing distance learning and professional development. In addition to offering a Master of Arts in Social Emotional Learning, NUS offers three research-based online resources available at no cost to educators and nonprofits: Harmony, a pre-K-6 grade social and emotional learning program that has been recognized as being an effective SEL program by the national organization CASEL; Inspire, which provides research-based professional development for inspiring teaching practices; and Fundraising Academy, which provides resources and training on proven, relationship-driven fundraising principles for nonprofits.

Keynote speakers for the Power of Engagement Summit include David Adams, Sr. Director, Strategy with the Urban Assembly; Mary Helen Immordino-Yang, Ed.D., Professor of Education and Psychology with the University of Southern California; and Jacqueline Jodl, Ph.D., Sr. Vice President, Special Olympics. More than 30 sessions are offered during the Power of Engagement Summit and feature education leaders and teachers representing communities from New York City to Alaska. A few examples of the sessions include:

Creating a Culture of Harmony: Strengthening Our SEL Approaches & Practices. Susan M. Green, Ed.D., Senior Administrator for SEL, New York City Department of Education. Susan M. Green will present information on blending components of Harmony and other SEL-based resources in virtual platforms and the Material on Power Theory Framework Tool for Measuring Implicit Bias.

New Focus on Relationships. Larry Taylor, Senior Director of Youth Development, YMCA of Greater Houston. Larry Taylor will demonstrate how to introduce SEL to a team, and how to incorporate SEL into your current curriculum.

Trauma-Resilient Expanded Learning: A Vision for Transformational Change. Eric Gurna, President & CEO, LA's BEST Afterschool Enrichment Program. Eric Gurna will share promising practices for integrating a trauma-resilient-informed approach into learning programs and schools, and the importance of mental health partnerships.

Relationship-building is key to learning and growing. The pandemic has created great challenges for our communities, and this ultimately impacts how our children learn and relate to each other in the online environment and in person, said Dr. Nick Yoder, Director of Strategic Initiatives for the National University System programs of Harmony, Inspire and Fundraising Academy. Through the Power of Engagement Summit we want to bring together educators and community-based organizations to share ideas that highlight the need for and impact of strong social and emotional connections in our schools and communities.

The Power of Engagement Summit offers a chance to connect with thousands of educators and fundraising leaders nationally, while creating opportunities for small-group breakout sessions to encourage meaningful discussions and relationship-building. It will be hosted via the CVENT platform. To learn more about the speakers and sessions being offered, visit the Power of Engagement Summit webpage.

About the National University System. Established in 2001 to meet the emerging challenges and demands of education in the 21st Century, the National University System is a network of accredited nonprofit education institutions serving higher education and K-12 students including National University, Northcentral University, and City University of Seattle. Initiatives of the System include Workforce Education Solutions and the affiliate programs Harmony SEL, Inspire Teaching & Learning, and the Fundraising Academy Cause Selling Education. Learn more at https://www.nusystem.org/.

About Harmony SELHarmony is a social and emotional learning program for pre-K-6 grade students designed to foster communication, connection, and community both in and outside the classroom and develop boys and girls into compassionate and caring adults. An affiliate of the National University System, Harmony is accessible online and at no cost. Learn more at HarmonySEL.org.

About Inspire Teaching & Learning. An affiliate of the National University System, Inspire celebrates and develops inspirational educators through on-demand courses and resources at no cost. Through teacher training, Inspire supports social and emotional learning and inspirational instruction in the pre-K-12 classroom and with our partner universities. Learn more at InspireTeaching.org.

About Fundraising Academy Cause Selling Education. An affiliate of the National University System, Fundraising Academy prepares nonprofits and their fundraisers for greater, measurable impact by providing learning opportunities designed to enhance their cause, their communities, and the world. Through peer-to-peer instruction, our participants develop time-tested, relationship building skills they can apply to their operations now and in the future. Learn more at Fundraising-Academy.org.
Vote Percentage of Parties in Puducherry2021: How did the parties fare

Puducherry political crisis: Narayanasamy resigns as CM after Congress govt loses majority

India

oi-Deepika S

New Delhi, Feb 22: Chief Minister V Narayanasamy on Monday submitted resignation as Congress govt lost trust vote, necessitated after the resignation of Congress MLAs.

Puducherry Congress-led govt falls | CM loses trust vote | Oneindia News

After staging a walkout from the Assembly before the motion seeking confidence vote was put up for voting in the House, Narayanasamy proceeded to the Raj Nivas and submitted his resignation to Lt Governor Tamilisai Soundararajan.

"Myself, ministers, Congress and DMK MLAs and independent legislator have tendered resignation and sought it be accepted," Narayanasamy after meeting Tamilisai.

"A government elected by the people has been toppled by the BJP, NR Congress and the AIADMK, In the coming elections, the people of Puducherry will teach the opposition parties a lesson," said Narayanaswamy.

The Congress-led government in Puducherry lost the confidence vote sought by Chief Minister V Narayanasamy, in the face of its depleted strength of 11 against the opposition''s 14 following resignation of ruling dispensation MLAs, including a DMK legislator.

Though Narayanasamy moved the motion seeking the confidence vote minutes after the Assembly met for a special one-day session, he and his ruling side MLAs later walked out before the motion was put for voting.

Subsequently, Speaker VP Sivakolundhu declared that the motion stood defeated, even as it was said Narayanasamy was headed to the Raj Nivas, possibly to meet Lt Governor Tamilisai Soundararajan.
There were no casualties in the past day.

The Command of Ukraine's Armed Forces has reported one violation of the latest ceasefire agreement committed by Russia-controlled armed groups in the Donbas warzone on Sunday, February 21.

"In the past day, February 21, one ceasefire violation was recorded in the Joint Forces Operation (JFO) zone," the press center of the Ukrainian JFO Command said on Facebook in an update as of 07:00 Kyiv time on February 22, 2021.

In particular, the Russian occupation troops fired sniper rifles toward Ukrainian positions near the town of Svitlodarsk.

The violation was reported to OSCE representatives through the Joint Center for Control and Coordination (JCCC) on the ceasefire and stabilization in Donbas.

Read alsoDay in Donbas: Enemy employs artillery and proscribed mortarsThere were no casualties in the past day.

Since midnight, enemy forces have not attacked Ukrainian troops.

Ukrainian military say the situation is under full control.

Donbas ceasefire: Background

Participants in the Trilateral Contact Group (Ukraine, Russia, and the OSCE) on the peace settlement in Donbas on July 22 agreed on a full and comprehensive ceasefire along the contact line from 00:01 on Monday, July 27, 2020.

On the very first day of the newly-agreed truce, Russia's hybrid military forces mounted three attacks on Ukrainian positions in Donbas, eastern Ukraine. Ukraine has reported more such violations over the latest period.

Reporting by UNIAN
Hundreds of thousands of leaseholders of flats entitled to help from the Governments cladding fund face missing out because of a fundamental flaw in the scheme.

Housing Secretary Robert Jenrick recently announced an extra 3.5billion to replace unsafe cladding on high-rise buildings.

He is already facing a backlash over plans to exclude more than two million leaseholders living in low and medium-rise blocks  the vast majority of those affected.

Housing Secretary Robert Jenrick (pictured) recently announced an extra 3.5billion to replace unsafe cladding on high-rise buildings

But the Daily Mail can today reveal that even those in eligible blocks could be denied cladding funds unless they stump up millions of pounds to fix other safety defects. Repairs would be put on hold if families cannot find the extra cash.

Industry leaders warned the contract terms could torpedo the Governments programme, while leaseholders claimed they were being held to ransom by ministers.

The Mail is calling for all unsafe homes to be fixed by June 2022 and for leaseholders to be spared all of the crippling financial burden.

Just 216 out of a possible 11,760 dangerous buildings have been fixed since the Grenfell tower inferno killed 72 in June 2017.

Just 216 out of a possible 11,760 dangerous buildings have been fixed since the Grenfell tower (pictured) inferno killed 72 in June 2017

The Government has said its overall pot of 5billion will ensure that leaseholders in high-rise buildings will not have to pay to replace unsafe cladding similar to that on Grenfell, in west London.

My 50k repair bill A woman is facing an anxious wait to find out if her block of flats will receive vital funds to replace unsafe cladding. Advertising worker Stephanie Lamb, 32, lives in an eight-storey block that has flammable cladding and is eligible for the Governments 5billion fund. However, it also has other safety defects that are not covered, such as combustible insulation and missing fire-breaks. Advertising worker Stephanie Lamb, 32, lives in an eight-storey block that has flammable cladding The total repair bill could be around 50,000 per flat. Miss Lamb, of Croydon, south London, said: Leaseholders have been left in the dark and we cant even prepare for how much this might cost us. I dont know how they expect us to pay for the kinds of bills that are being talked about. She said her housing association, Clarion, was initially reluctant to apply for funding as it knew it would not cover non-cladding defects. Clarion said it was working to ensure repairs were completed as quickly as possible. Advertisement

But inspections carried out in the wake of the disaster have identified hundreds of buildings with safety defects apart from cladding, such as missing fire-breaks and timber balconies.

These faults are excluded from the Government fund  and the housing ministry has inserted a contract clause that says leaseholders cannot claim aid for cladding repairs without proving they have sufficient funding ... to complete all the works.

The clause in the contract makes clear these works cover non-cladding related safety defects.

The average cost per flat of replacing unsafe cladding is estimated to be 22,500 and leaseholders face another 25,600 bill for other defects, according to the Association of Residential Managing Agents (Arma).

Ministers have said building owners  not leaseholders  should pay these bills.

However, critics say this is meaningless because leaseholders are legally liable.

Clive Betts, Labour chairman of the Commons housing committee, said the clause was outrageous.

He added: It means every leaseholder in the block is going to have to prove that they can pay their share of the additional work before any repairs will be done.

'Its totally unfair, its fundamentally wrong and it needs changing straight away.

Campaign group End Our Cladding Scandal said: This clause is clearly a fundamental flaw and we are concerned that the Government is effectively trying to hold us to ransom by forcing us to take whatever funding is available and make us pay the rest, meaning we will still receive bills running into tens of thousands, and in some cases hundreds of thousands, of pounds.

'This provides further evidence of the Governments inadequate, piecemeal and unfair approach.

Nigel Glen, of Arma, said the clause could torpedo the remediation programme.

A Government spokesman defended the clause, saying it relates only to other non-cladding works which applicants choose to carry out as part of the same project as cladding work covered by Government funding.

He said it meant repairs were not delayed if applicants ran out of cash to complete the non-cladding works halfway through.
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MUMBAI : Amidst an unprecedented rise in cyber frauds and manifold jump in online financial transactions, the Reserve Bank, in a quirky bid to drive its public awareness campaigns, has roped in Punjabi singer-rapper Viruss to drive home its points this time.

Launched officially over the weekend on its Twitter handle, the campaign features popular Punjabi rapper Viruss whose 2017 Indie hit 'Bam Bhole' was recreated for the Akshay Kumar-Kiara Advani starrer 'Laxmii' recently.

.@RBI Kehta Hai..

A little caution takes care of a lot of trouble.

Never respond to requests to share PIN, OTP or bank account details.

Block your card if stolen, lost or compromised.#rbikehtahai #StaySafe#BeAware #BeSecurehttps://t.co/mKPAIp5rA3 pic.twitter.com/V3PRYl5351  RBI Says (@RBIsays) February 19, 2021

RBI has the largest Twitter followers among major central banks. What's interesting about the latest campaign is that the central bank, which since the lockdowns has been very active on social media, has deployed a peppy rap music to issue its latest directives to the public on how they can and should protect themselves against cyber crimes and identity theft. Significantly, Viruss has done the video pro bono for the central bank.

The campaign appeals and encourages the public, especially the tech-savvy netizens who tends to transact online, on staying 'satark' or alert against some common fraudsters and cyber security threats. The Reserve Bank since 2016 has been running a campaign 'RBI Kehta Hai' (RBI Says) on social media accounts on Twitter, Facebook and Youtube apart from the traditional media but was never as peppy and musical as this time. What is unique about the present campaign is that it has used the medium to issue its latest public directive that warns netizens against cyber frauds, including those on the UPI.

Since 2016 when it created the tagline RBI Kehta Hai, the central bank's communication has been centred on financial literacy and public awareness towards frauds, etc. The RBI uses the media to talk about the facilities it offers for senior citizens, cyber security, digital banking, and setting limits on card transactions. The RBI's twitter handle is the largest among the major central bankers with over 1 million followers.

Apart from the official twitter account, Governor Shaktikanta Das, who assumed office in December 2018, has a separate twitter handle with 1.35 lakh followers. Since March 2019, the count of followers has more than doubled from just about 3,42,000 to over 7,50,000 by March 2020. And during the first seven-week lockdown that began on March 25, the followers increased by over 1.5 lakh, according to an RBI official.

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The Miss Ireland competition has come under fire from contestants and former winners who have blasted the rules banning mothers from entering.

Blue Scannell, 19, who was waiting to find out if she would represent Dublin in the Miss Ireland competition, took to Instagram to explain she had decided to withdraw because of the contest's 'outdated' restrictions - including rules that state entrants should have never been married or had children.

She has since racked up almost 2,000 signatures on a petition in just two days arguing that Miss World, which sets the guidelines, should allow the competition to be inclusive of all women.

Blue applied for the Miss Ireland competition back in September and had been competing as a Dublin entrant since October last year before withdrawing just weeks before finding out if she would represent Dublin.

Meanwhile the current Miss Ireland Chelsea Farrell has cut ties with their organisation over the controversy, while former Miss Limerick Kyla McGowan, 19, had her title stripped after she backed the petition and criticised the rules.

MailOnline has contacted Miss Ireland for comment.

Blue Scannell, 19, (pictured) who is a finalist for Miss Dublin, has blasted the Miss Ireland pageant for insisting on the rules put in place by the Miss World competition

Chelsea Farrell (pictured left) who is the current Miss Ireland, has shown support for Blue's petition and appears to have cut ties with the organisation

The online petition was set up last week after Blue, who is training to be a midwife, emailed Miss Ireland explaining their rules forbidding women who've given birth were concerning her.

The organisation responded by arguing she had various opportunities to raise concerns before progressing through the selection stages for Miss Dublin.

She had entered the competition back in September last year, before the final deadline of September 27, and had been competing as a Dublin contestant since October.

Blue's Instagram post and petition came just weeks before she was set to find out whether she would represent Dublin in the Miss Ireland final, before potentially representing Ireland at Miss World this year.

They continued to give her an ultimatum to decide if she wanted to withdraw from the running from the Miss Ireland contest completely.

Blue confessed she was surprised by the organisation's response and posted on her Instagram story saying: 'I know girls out there who have babies or who have given birth and they are so inspirational.

Kyla (pictured) who is the current Miss Limerick, has given up her title after being blasted for supporting Blue's petition

Contestants have reportedly received abuse for continuing to compete in the pageant. Miss Dublin finalist Katie Cooley (pictured) said people should instead sign Blue's petition

'They're no different from me just because they have a baby and I thought Miss Ireland would see that as well. But they don't and they basically asked me to leave.

'It feels like they've said if I don't agree, and it's something that I feel this way about, then how could you really go ahead in a competition that you don't agree with.'

Visibly emotional, she continued: 'So it feels like I've been asked to leave rather than for change to happen. I will leave, but for other girls who want to do it who have children or have been through a birth.

'I don't have a baby, it doesn't affect me personally but I just think it's wrong and that's why I spoke up about it. But it looks like it's not going to change. I won't be going ahead in the competition.

'The last thing I want to do is come on and bash the organisation. They do amazing work and raise so much awareness for important topics.'

Blue posted her correspondence with Miss Ireland on Instagram, revealing the organisation have argued she could've voiced concerns sooner

Blue's honesty has received a stream of praise from former winners and fellow contestants alike.

According to Her, the current Miss Ireland Chelsea has cut ties with the organisation over the ruling.

MISS WORLD FACES CONTROVERSY OVER 'OUTDATED' ENTRY CRITERIA Beauty queen Veronika Didusenko, 24, launched legal action against the UK-based Miss World contest in 2019 because she was banned from taking part for being a mother. Veronika, 24, was crowned Miss Ukraine in 2018 but was stripped of her title four days later after it was revealed she was divorced and had a son called Alex. She was also banned from entering the Miss World finals. In November last year, she launched legal action in London claiming organisers are in breach of the Equalities Act 2010 and demanded they change their 'outdated' entry criteria to reflect the modern world. Miss Didusenko previously accused organisers of discrimination and leaving her 'publicly humiliated'. At the time, the international model admitted wrongly declaring she fit the criteria but claims Miss Ukraine chiefs asked her take part because of her high profile. She has since set up a petition, which has racked up more than 23,000 signatures, for Miss World and Miss Universe to allow mothers to compete. Advertisement

Meanwhile Kyla McGowan, 19, who was awarded the Miss Limerick title, penned a lengthy Instagram post showing support for Blue's concerns about the pageant discriminating against groups of women.

She captioned the post: 'While I do whole heartedly understand that the rules of eligibility are out of Miss Irelands control and I was aware of them (that doesnt mean I agreed with them) at the time, the response @bluescannell received was not something I am happy to stand behind and be a representative of.'

She continued: 'I never have and never will be the type of person to sit down quiet and accept something Im not happy with it. There can be no change without a voice to back it.

In a follow-up post, Kyla revealed she had been asked to 'have her title and crown stripped', saying: 'I will not be Miss Limerick anymore. If this is something that the Miss Ireland organisation want, then I will respectfully hand it over.

'I would just like to say that this further reinstates the belief that you cannot stick up for yourself and other women under the current management. I really do hope things change soon.

'It was my intention that I could keep my title for the year but just not enter the final. I am sorry that this, unfortunately, is not the case.

'There is not many people who would forfeit their role because they believed in someone but that is exactly what @iammcloughney has done. Truly a man of his word I cannot thank you enough for your support.'

Other social media users have rallied around both beauty queens, with one person commenting: 'Well done Blue! What you are doing is just amazing. Being a mam at 21 is one of my greatest achievements in life. I am appalled this is something we need to fight at this day and age! You've gotten the conversation started and that's amazing'

'Fair play to you Blue! About time someone spoke out against such a bizarre 'rule'. Means a lot to all us mammys,' another said.

Veronika Didusenko was crowned Miss Ukraine in 2018 (pictured right with Alexandra Kucherenko) but was stripped of her title as she was divorced and had a son called Alex

Kyla penned a lengthy post on Instagram explaining it was her childhood dream to compete in the Miss Ireland competition

A third added: '1000 per cent agree with this, women feel down after giving birth as it is our bellies have stretch are bellies have scars, we should be allowed to preach and spread the look of a woman's body!'

However according to Extra.ie, contestants have received streams of abuse for continuing to compete in the pageant.

Miss Dublin finalist Katie Cooley explained: 'I have a very thick skin, I can take it. But I know a lot of girls who have been dropping out because people are putting pressure on them, saying that they should rethink their life. Its just inappropriate.

'If you want to put your energy into something, sign Blues petition or email Miss World, dont be sending me or any other contestants messages.'


Bihar Chief Minister Nitish Kumar while talking to the media on deaths due to suspected poisonour liquore in Muzaffarpur, Gopalganj and Kaimur said that despite a section of people involved in the mess, majority of people of the state are in favour of liquor ban.

Nitish Kumar has been facing criticism over deaths due to suspected poisonous liquor in Muzaffarpur, Gopalganj and Kaimur.

"Incidents like Muzaffarpur and Gopalganj are happening in other states too despite strict ban on liquor due to liquor traders and mafias. People have to understand that consumption of liquor is injurious to health," he said.

"The liquor prohibition unit and Bihar Police are alert and are regularly updating us about the developments," the CM said adding that we have also urged the people to become eyes and ears of the agencies, click photographs, make videos and inform them. "Strict action will be taken against the violators," he added.

He told the reporters that the liquor prohibition law in the state is so stringent that if a government officer is found drunk we start the process of his dismissal.

For Subscribers Why South Dakota county officials are shirking state-given water rights

Grant County could be the thirteenth county to repeal their drainage ordinance in the past decade.
Community News Editor / Librarian

Jeannie Maschino is community news editor and librarian for The Berkshire Eagle. She has worked for the newspaper in various capacities since 1982 and joined the newsroom in 1989. She can be reached at jmaschino@berkshireeagle.com.
A man caught on surveillance camera snatching a gun from a shopper at a convenience store in Detroit and then aiming a different weapon at him before fleeing has been arrested for shooting another man in a separate incident.

Video footage released by the Detroit Police Department shows a suspect in a red hooded sweatshirt entering a convenience store at the BP gas station at West Seven Mile Road and Wyoming Avenue on January 28.

The suspect notices a 53-year-old man standing at a nearby counter with his back turned while speaking to the cashier. Within seconds, the suspect grabs a gun from the mans pocket, WDIV-TV reported.

The man appears to take a few steps toward the suspect, who then points a different gun at the mans face.

Detroit police said that the man seen in the red Nike hooded sweatshirt during a robbery at a gas station convenience store on January 28 has been arrested for a shooting unrelated to this incident

The suspect is seen above reaching for a gun inside the pocket of a 53-year-old man who is licensed to carry a concealed firearm, according to police

The image above shows the suspect quickly grab the gun from the unsuspecting shopper's pocket

The suspect then points a different firearm that he had in his possession at the 53-year-old man before fleeing with the help of an accomplice who is seen right holding the door open

Detroit police said that the man in the red sweater (left) is Marcus Brown (right), who was charged on February 12 in the non-fatal shooting of another man in a separate incident on January 27

The suspect, who appears to be with an accomplice who held the door open, darts out of the convenience store and into a black Pontiac G6 with no license plate.

On February 12, Marcus Brown was charged in connection with a shooting that left a 19-year-old man critically wounded at a different gas station on January 27.

The victim told police that three men in black ski masks confronted him at the Project Green Light Citgo gas station on Eight Mile and Glastonbury just before midnight on January 26.

One of the men was armed with a handgun and shot him, according to The Detroit News. The three men were then seen fleeing south on Glastonbury.

The incident on January 28 took place at the convenience store next to the BP gas station located at West Seven Mile Road and Wyoming Avenue

The victim was rushed to a nearby hospital, where he was listed in critical condition.

Brown was arrested on February 9 during a traffic stop near West McNichols and Stout.

The Detroit Police Department released a video of the January 28 incident, asking the public for help in finding the man seen stealing a gun from a licensed concealed carrier.

Police later realized, however, that the man they were looking for was in custody for a separate crime.

Brown has been charged with one count of assault with intent to murder, one count of assault with intent to do great bodily harm less than murder, one count of weapons firearms possession by felon and three counts of weapons felony firearm.

He was given a $100,000 cash bond.
Port Louis: External Affairs Minister S Jaishankar on Monday (February 22) called on Mauritius Prime Minister Pravind Jugnauth and held talks with Foreign Minister M Alan Ganoo during which they reviewed the "excellent bilateral relations and successful development partnership.

Jaishankar, who arrived in India's strategically key maritime neighbour, Mauritius, in the Indian Ocean region on Sunday night from the Maldives on the last leg of his two-nation tour, also reiterated that India will be a ready partner in Mauritius' economic recovery and revival efforts.

Jaishankar took it to his official Twitter account to reveal that, India provides USD 100 million defence Line of Credit to Mauritius to facilitate procurement of defence assets. Read the tweet here:

SAGAR policy reaffirmed.

Pleased to witness, along with PM @JugnauthKumar, the exchange of USD 100 million Defence Line of Credit. Will facilitate procurement of defence assets, guided by the needs of Mauritius. pic.twitter.com/ksdiYDZs7v  Dr. S. Jaishankar (@DrSJaishankar) February 22, 2021

"Delighted to begin Mauritius visit with a meeting with FM Alan Ganoo. Reviewed our excellent bilateral relations & successful development partnership. Reiterated that India will be a ready partner in Mauritius' economic recovery & revival efforts," Jaishankar tweeted.

Later, Jaishankar called on Prime Minister Jugnauth, who is of Indian-origin, and handed him over 100,000 additional doses of commercially procured Made in India' COVID-19 vaccines.

"India's helping hand - always over the horizon. Symbolically handed over 100,000 additional doses of commercially procured Made in India Covid vaccines," he tweeted.

Indias helping hand - always over the horizon. Symbolically handed over 100,000 additional doses of commercially procured Made in India Covid vaccines.#VaccineMaitri pic.twitter.com/nI8QB5AK1h  Dr. S. Jaishankar (@DrSJaishankar) February 22, 2021

He also conveyed warm greetings from Prime Minister Narendra Modi to Prime Minister Jugnauth. "Commend management of the pandemic under his leadership," Jaishankar tweeted.

"Comprehensive discussions on the status of implementation of various infrastructure projects. Appreciate the efficiency of the Mauritius side in taking them forward," he said in another tweet.

He will also call on President Prithvirajsing Roopun, who is also of Indian-origin.

During his visit, Jaishankar will review all aspects of bilateral relations, ongoing implementation of various infrastructure projects being carried out by India in Mauritius, and hold discussions on bilateral, regional and global issues of mutual interest including India's assistance to Mauritius.

Indian-origin people constitute nearly 70 percent of the population of Mauritius. Their ancestors were sent there as indentured labourers during the British rule.

Before arriving in Mauritius on Sunday, the External Affairs Minister had visited Maldives and met the top leadership of the key Indian Ocean island nation.

Both Maldives and Mauritius are India's key maritime neighbors in the Indian Ocean Region and occupy a special place in Prime Minister's vision of SAGAR' (Security and Growth for All in the Region).

The minister's visit is testimony to the importance that India attaches to its close and friendly relations with the Maldives and Mauritius and is expected to lend further momentum to substantive cooperation and robust people to people ties between the two countries, the Ministry of External Affairs (MEA) said in New Delhi ahead of his visit.

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Feature Article

One minute with Arden Warner, accelerator physicist

DOE/Fermi National Accelerator Laboratory

How long have you been at Fermilab?

I'm coming up on 26 years in March. I've been with the Department of Energy national labs for a little over 32 years overall. I did my graduate work at Brookhaven National Lab on the Relativistic Heavy Ion Collider, then I came to Fermilab. I worked in operations here for a little bit, then I worked on electron cooling and FAST/IOTA, and now I'm working on the PIP-II accelerator project.

What do you do for PIP-II?

I'm responsible for machine protection systems to make sure that the accelerator won't have excessive beam loss or issues that will cause damage to the very expensive cryogenic systems. The protection system is critical in order to operate the test bed for PIP-II, called PIP2IT.

What's the most rewarding part of your job?

When things work! Systems don't often work the way you expect them to work the first time, so when you put a lot of effort in, and it works and you actually deliver, that's a really good feeling. It's really rewarding to look back and see where you started, all the difficulties you had and how you solved them.

How did you get involved in accelerator physics?

I got involved through the summer programs as an undergraduate. I was a summer student at Brookhaven in New York and at SLAC National Accelerator Laboratory in California. It really opened me up to the idea of doing accelerator physics -- which eventually led me here to Fermilab.

Is that why you're part of the Summer Internships in Science and Technology committee?

Yes. I've been part of the committee for 20 years off and on, but I've been involved with training and mentoring students since I started at Fermilab. The program is very competitive, and as its current chair, I'm pushing to make it as inclusive as I can.

I think there's a big need for inclusiveness at the laboratory. To work in engineering and science can be intimidating, especially for students from underrepresented groups, so I want to make the students feel comfortable and help them understand that they have a contribution to make. I think it's very important to reach students who wouldn't have as much opportunity at their smaller institutions or who haven't had access to research, to give them an opportunity to come to the lab and work with our scientists and engineers and get introduced to what we do at Fermilab.

What do you do when you're not working on accelerators?

I have a small startup company, Natural Science, LLC, that does environmental technology to clean up oil and chemical spills. We formed the company in about 2015, but I got involved in environmental issues long before that. I'm very concerned about the environment. I'm from an island, Barbados, and environmental issues are very real there.

A trip to Malawi several years ago with my wife really piqued my interest in environmental technology. I got involved in a project there building small wind turbines that can be easily serviced and set up in a rural village setting where they can deliver power for students to learn to read at night.

What do you do for fun?

I love music -- jazz, reggae, everything. I like to party and cook, and I love to read. I've got a huge library of books on almost every topic. I really love reading about history, especially Black history. I find there's so much not known about it.

I studied the 1619 project - 1619 is when the first enslaved Africans arrived in America -- which really puts a lot into perspective. In high school, back in Barbados, we had a very different approach to history. I was exposed to history from the point of view of Africans. I learned a lot about the history of the Americas and the influence that the Caribbean had on developing America. If you go to the Carolinas, a lot of the places there are named after parishes in Barbados because the English took a number of Barbadians there to develop the beet sugar industry. I also study a lot about African American scientists and entrepreneurs. I'm amazed at what people did under very, very tough circumstances over many years.

***

Accelerator research at Fermilab is supported the DOE Office of Science.

Fermilab is supported by the Office of Science of the U.S. Department of Energy. The Office of Science is the single largest supporter of basic research in the physical sciences in the United States and is working to address some of the most pressing challenges of our time. For more information, please visit energy.gov/science.
Debra Heine, writing at American Greatness, reports:

The Supreme Court on Monday struck down a Republican challenge over absentee ballots received up to three days after Election Day in Pennsylvania.

Republicans in the Keystone State had sought to block a state court ruling that allowed the Nov. 6 deadline extension in the 2020 election.

The decision prompted dissents from three conservative justices; Justices Samuel Alito, Clarence Thomas, and Neil Gorsuch. The trio argued that while the legal questions in the case may not have affected the outcome of the November election, the Supreme Court should taken the opportunity to clarify election law because the same legal issues could impact future elections.

Throughout his dissent, Thomas characterized the Courts refusal to take cases challenging the election as inexplicable, befuddling, and baffling.

These cases provide us with an ideal opportunity to address just what authority nonlegislative officials have to set election rules, and to do so well before the next election cycle. The refusal to do so is inexplicable, Thomas wrote.

The Constitution gives to each state legislature authority to determine the Manner of federal elections, Thomas argued. Yet both before and after the 2020 election, nonlegislative officials in various States took it upon themselves to set the rules instead.

As a result, we received an unusually high number of petitions and emergency applications contesting those changes. The petitions here present a clear example. The Pennsylvania Legislature established an unambiguous deadline for receiving mail-in ballots: 8 p.m. on election day. Dissatisfied, the Pennsylvania Supreme Court extended that deadline by three days. The court also ordered officials to count ballots received by the new deadline even if there was no evidencesuch as a postmarkthat the ballots were mailed by election day. That decision to rewrite the rules seems to have affected too few ballots to change the outcome of any federal election. But that may not be the case in the future.

Thomas went on to stress that the judicial system is not well suited to address these kinds of questions in the short time period available immediately after an election, thus the Court should have used available cases outside that truncated context to address these admittedly important questions.

Here, we have the opportunity to do so almost two years before the next federal election cycle. Our refusal to do so by hearing these cases is befuddling. There is a clear split on an issue of such great importance that both sides previously asked us to grant certiorari. And there is no dispute that the claim is sufficiently meritorious to warrant review. By voting to grant emergency relief in October, four Justices made clear that they think petitioners are likely to prevail. Despite pressing for review in October, respondents now ask us not to grant certiorari because they think the cases are moot. That argument fails. One wonders what this Court waits for. We failed to settle this dispute before the election, and thus provide clear rules. Now we again fail to provide clear rules for future elections. The decision to leave election law hidden beneath a shroud of doubt is baffling. By doing nothing, we invite further confusion and erosion of voter confidence. Our fellow citizens deserve better and expect more of us. I respectfully dissent.

In his dissent, which Justice Neil Gorsuch joined, Alito argued that the cases present an important and recurring constitutional question: whether the Elections or Electors Clauses of the United States Constitution are violated when a state court holds that a state constitutional provision overrides a state statute governing the manner in which a federal election is to be conducted. That question has divided the lower courts,* and our review at this time would be greatly beneficial.

Now, the election is over, and there is no reason for refusing to decide the important question that these cases pose, Alito wrote. While a decision in these cases would not have any implications regarding the 2020 election, it would provide invaluable guidance for future elections.

Alito also rejected the argument that the decision only arose from the  extraordinary and unprecedented confluence of circumstances of the COVID-19 pandemic and that such a perfect storm is not likely to recur. He wrote that the argument fails for three reasons. First, that it does not acknowledge the breadth of the Pennsylvania Supreme Courts decision which used a constitutional provision guaranteeing free and equal elections to override even very specific and unambiguous rules adopted by the legislature for the conduct of federal elections.

Alito noted that in order for a question to be capable of repetition, it is not necessary to predict that history will repeat itself at a very high level of specificity.

Second, the suggestion that we are unlikely to see a recurrence of the exact circumstances we saw this fall misunderstands the applicable legal standard. In order for a question to be capable of repetition, it is not necessary to predict that history will repeat itself at a very high level of specificity. See Federal Election Commn v. Wisconsin Right to Life, Inc., 551 U. S. 449, 463 (2007). Third, it is highly speculative to forecast that the Pennsylvania Supreme Court will not find that conditions at the time of a future federal election are materially similar to those last fall. The primary election for Pennsylvania congressional candidates is scheduled to occur in 15 months, and the rules for the conduct of elections should be established well in advance of the day of an election. We may hope that by next spring the pandemic will no longer affect daily life, but that is uncertain. In addition, the state courts decision was not based solely on the pandemic but was also grounded in part on broader concerns about the operation of the Postal Service, App. to Pet. for Cert. 34a 35a, 47a, and concerns of this nature may persist or resurface. As voting by mail becomes more common and more popular, the volume of mailed ballots may continue to increase and thus pose delivery problems similar to those anticipated in 2020.

For these reasons, the cases now before us are not moot, Alito concluded.

Original source: Justices Thomas, Alito and Gorsuch Blast Supreme Courts Inexplicable Refusal to Hear Pennsylvania Election Lawsuit - American Greatness (amgreatness.com)
Source: Xinhua| 2021-02-23 01:25:41|Editor: huaxia

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MOGADISHU, Feb. 22 (Xinhua) - Somali President Mohamed Farmajo on Monday called on two federal member state leaders to join the consultative talks aimed at resolving the deadlock on delayed elections.

Farmajo said Jubbaland and Puntland leadership should join the talks which he has convened based on the recommendations reached last week by a technical committee appointed by both government and federal member states on the election impasse.

"The completion of the electoral process based on dialogue and compromise is vital," he said in a statement issued in Mogadishu.

The president's call came after holding talks with leaders from Galmudug, Hirshabeelle, South West State and the governor of Benadir region Sunday to seek ways of ending the election deadlock.

Jubbaland President Ahmed Madobe and Puntland President Said Abdullahi Deni, however, have ruled out joining the talks until their conditions are met.

In separate statements, the two leaders vowed not to attend the consultative talks in Mogadishu convened by Farmajo, saying the Somali leader's term expired on Feb. 8 and should stay out of the election talks.

"The expired president Farmajo should not have a role in the process of election in order for all political stakeholders to have confidence in it," Madobe said.

Among other demands the Jubbaland leader wanted from Farmajo is an apology to opposition candidates for Feb. 19 armed clashes in Mogadishu and a new venue to discuss delayed elections to be attended by all political stakeholders.

Puntland's Deni has similar demands including exclusion of Farmajo from the talks, saying that the Somali leader at one time boasted about having money, troops and patriotic forces that supported him.

Political analysts say failure by the two leaders to attend the talks could further plunge the Horn of African nation into political crisis.

Meanwhile, the opposition leaders have written a letter to the UN Security Council calling for swift intervention to counteract alleged systematic effort by Farmajo to subvert democracy and use military forces to unlawfully remain in office.

"Action is urgently needed now," said a group of 15 presidential candidates calling itself the Council of Presidential Candidates (CPC).

The opposition urged the UN Security Council which was due to meet later Monday, currently chaired by Britain to intervene in ending Farmajo's extended stay in office.

The presidential candidates called for the formation of a Transitional Council to oversee the preparation of elections and for Farmajo, who is seeking another four year term after his term in office ended on Feb. 8, to hand over power.

Somalia on Dec. 1 2020 missed a deadline to hold its parliamentary elections which were due to begin as agreed by the government and six regional states in September 2020.

Parliamentary and presidential elections were to be held between last December and February, respectively. Enditem
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Another layer of Brexit red tape associated with the Northern Ireland Protocol has come into effect, with health certificates on Great British sausages and mince now required.

The UK Government-designed export health certificates to allow such products to enter Northern Ireland are only temporary, as from July 1 they are set to be banned from the region altogether under strict EU laws on animal and plant health.

Sausages, mince and pate-type products made in GB are currently only allowed into Northern Ireland under the terms of a six-month grace period.

That will expire at the end of June unless the EU and UK can strike a deal on the issue in the interim.

Bans on other GB agri-food products  including seed potatoes, certain seeds, and plants potted in soil  have already been in force since the start of the year.

Expand Close New checking facilities for agri-food goods entering Northern Ireland from GB (Liam McBurney/PA) PA / Facebook

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Whatsapp New checking facilities for agri-food goods entering Northern Ireland from GB (Liam McBurney/PA)

Under the terms of the protocol, which governs the movement of goods in and out of the region post-Brexit, all non-prohibited agri-food goods arriving from GB require an EU export health certificate (EHC) declaring that they pose no risk.

They are a consequence of a Brexit deal that has resulted in Northern Ireland remaining in the EU single market for goods while the rest of the UK has left that regulatory zone.

There are hundreds of different types of EHCs, with different forms for different products  and some products having multiple certificate versions.

As sausages and other chilled meat products are not ordinarily allowed to be imported into the EU under the blocs tight SPS (sanitary and phytosanitary) regulations, there is not an EHC covering those goods.

As a result, the Department of Environment, Food and Rural Affairs (Defra) has developed its own temporary version, to satisfy EU requirements during the six month grace period when their import is still permitted.

There was no initial requirement for certifications on these restricted products when the protocol came into operation on December 31 after the Brexit transition period ended.

On Monday that changed, with traders now requiring Defras version of an EHC for sausages and mince.

Aside from those prohibited list items, from December 31 EHCs have been required for non-retail agri-food products entering Northern Ireland from GB.

That has included unprocessed food stuffs  such as chicken carcasses, tankers of milk and sides of beef  being imported into the region to undergo processing.

Expand Close New regulatory barriers between Northern Ireland and the rest of the UK have caused unionist anger. (Brian Lawless/PA) PA / Facebook

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Whatsapp New regulatory barriers between Northern Ireland and the rest of the UK have caused unionist anger. (Brian Lawless/PA)

Retail products have been exempted from this requirement under a grace period that will expire on April 1.

From that date, GB-made agri-food products that are usually found on supermarket and shop shelves in Northern Ireland will need an EHC to be shipped to the region.

This includes all food of animal origin, some foods of non-animal origin (nuts, spices etc), live plants, other plant-based products and fish. Live animals and animal based food products require a vet to sign off the EHCs.

During the three month grace period for retail produce, traders have instead been asked to complete a single operator declaration for each lorry-load of goods crossing the Irish Sea.

This is signed by a representative of the company shipping the goods, declaring that they comply with EU standards and regulations.

The shipping requirements will increase dramatically from April 1 when EHCs will be required for individual agri-food product lines on a lorry.

Products going to multiple destinations will also require multiple certifications.

In theory, that could see a single lorry of retail goods requiring hundreds of EHCs.

However, the grace period was in part agreed to give traders time to adjust their shipping models to reduce the regulatory processes required.

Packing containers with larger quantities of a limited number of product lines, rather than loading them with small quantities of multiple products, would potentially achieve that, as would ensuring the lorry only goes to one destination.

There was no grace period on retail agri-food goods entering the Irish Republic from GB and there is evidence those traders have already made such adaptations.

Supermarket lorries arriving in Northern Ireland from GB for onward transport south of the border have been registering around a dozen EHCs per load in recent weeks.
He flew back into Australia after a brief trip to Dubai on Friday, and on Sunday, Zac Efron received an order of takeaway food as he quarantines at a home in Sydney.

The 33-year-old Hollywood heartthrob has been quarantining in a multimillion dollar Spanish-style mansion since arriving back in Sydney under heavy police guard.

Police and security guards were seen patrolling the property, with one burly guard spotted returning with a lunch order for The Greatest Showman star.

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Making an exception: He flew back into Australia after a brief trip to Dubai on Friday, and on Sunday, Zac Efron (pictured) received an order of takeaway food as he quarantines at a home in Sydney

Temporary fences had been erected around the property for additional privacy and security, with a guard seen entering via an opening marked 'GATE A'.

Meanwhile, Zac's younger brother, Dylan Efron, is also in Australia, and revealed he was into day three of hotel quarantine in Sydney in a video posted to Instagram on Sunday.

Shortly after posting the video, Dylan, 29, attracted criticism from angry Aussies who have been left stranded overseas amid the coronavirus pandemic.

Feeling hungry? Police and security guards were seen patrolling the property, with one burly guard spotted returning with a lunch order for The Greatest Showman star

Close watch: The 33-year-old Hollywood heartthrob has been quarantining in a multimillion dollar Spanish-style mansion since arriving back in Sydney under heavy police guard

He's since apologised and said he 'will do my best to raise awareness of what the locals are facing'.

'Please educate yourself and speak up for stranded Aussies!!!' wrote one angry follower.

'If you're going to take a valuable spot desperately needed by Aussies in the hotel quarantine system, the absolute least you can do is raise some awareness of what they're facing.

Privacy please: Temporary fences had been erected around the property for additional privacy and security, with a guard seen entering via an opening marked 'GATE A'

'If you need help being pointed in the right direction to learn more, I'm happy to do that. There are a bunch of FB groups filled with stranded Aussies in dire situations.'

Dylan thanked the woman 'for pointing me in the direction to learn more', before explaining his situation.

'The last thing I'm trying to do is be unsympathetic to the local families who are unable to be together right now,' he wrote.

Making an entrance: Zac's younger brother, Dylan Efron (pictured), is also in Australia, and revealed he was into day three of hotel quarantine in Sydney in a video posted to Instagram on Sunday

Backlash: Shortly after posting the video, Dylan, 29, attracted criticism from angry Aussies who have been left stranded overseas amid the coronavirus pandemic

'I'm very thankful to be able to work here and will do my best to raise awareness of what the locals are facing.'

The adventurer flew into Sydney to assist with the second season of Zac's Netflix docuseries, Down to Earth.

Responding to another critic, Dylan said he had a work visa, which had taken 'months of planning'.

Saying sorry: Dylan (left) has since apologised and said he 'will do my best to raise awareness of what the locals are facing'. Pictured with Zac

Working it: Responding to another critic, Dylan said he had a work visa, which had taken 'months of planning'

'I came to Oz on a work visa for a project I'm working on, it took months of planning and was a difficult process but thankfully I was approved and am incredibly grateful to be able to work here,' he wrote.

Meanwhile, Zac has been based in Australia since March last year, and has been living in Byron Bay.

He flew to South Australia late last year to film the upcoming Stan Original movie, Gold.

Ready for action: The adventurer flew into Sydney to assist with the second season of Zac's Netflix docuseries, Down to Earth

In December, it was reported Zac had purchased land in Tweed Valley, a town on the Tweed River in north-eastern NSW, for $2million, where he plans to build a home.

The retreat, known as Glen Eden, is set on a 128.7 hectare block of land, and has incredible views of mountains, cliffs, valleys, streams, and a rainforest, according to The Daily Telegraph.

In yet another sign the Hollywood star is here to stay, Zac also recently put his Los Angeles property on the market for $7.8million, which he bought seven years ago for $5.8million.

Watch Gold on Stan in Australia later this year.
South Africa: Minister to release matric results today

Minister of Basic Education, Angie Motshekga, will announce the results of the National Senior Certificate (NSC) examinations in Pretoria on Monday.

The matric exams concluded on 15 December 2020 after a strenuous academic year. The release of the matric results have been approved by Umalusi, the Quality Council in General and Further Education and Training.

The Department of Basic Education said result queries should be submitted for investigation within 30 days after the release of results.

Candidates must ensure that names and identity numbers reflect correctly on their statement of results and report any required corrections to the department before 30 June 2021.

A candidate may apply at the prescribed fee for the re-mark/re-check of his/her examination scripts. Registration can be done at either the school or district office in the province (all instructions appear on the reverse side of the Statement of Results), the department said.

Closing date for applications for manual and online applications is 10 March 2021.

The fees for re-marking is R120 per subject and its R290 for re-checking a subject.

Viewing of scripts may only be done after a re-mark or re-check of results. The closing date for applications is seven days after release of re-mark or re-check results. The fee for viewing is R234, the department said.

The supplementary examination in February/March has been phased out and is therefore no longer available.

A new examination is available during May/June where candidates can improve their results or complete outstanding results. The closing date for application is 31 March in the current year.

The event for the matric results will be hosted by the Ministry of Basic Education in partnership with the MTN SA Foundation.

MTN SA awarded 183 Gauteng-based information and communications technology (ICT), (Computer Applications Technology (CAT) and Information Technology subjects) and Special Needs category learners with laptops for their future studies.

Gauteng Premier David Makhura and Gauteng Province Department of Education MEC Panyaza Lesufi are expected to attend the event.  SAnews.gov.za

This story has been published on: 2021-02-22. To contact the author, please use the contact details within the article.
Participants for the AIDS walk prepare to begin their walk around downtown on Saturday, November 3, 2018 in Athens, Georgia. The Athens Area AIDS walk has been going on for three years. It was originally held in Atlanta, and has happened a total of six times. (Photo/Sidhartha C. Wakade)
The was on Monday granted a day's custody of 21-year-old climate activist Disha Ravi by a court in the toolkit case after it said that she has to be confronted with the two other suspects -- Nikita Jacob and Shantanu Muluk -- who were questioned by the cyber cell here.

Chief Metropolitan Magistrate Pankaj Sharmasent Ravi for custodial interrogation even as a sessions court is likely to give its order on Tuesday on Ravi's bail plea.

Ravi, who was produced before the court on expiry of her three-day judicial remand, through her lawyer opposed the plea of the investigators, saying those she had to be confronted with are on bail, but the prosecution said that Jacob and Muluk can be arrested if needed.

Police sought five days of custodial interrogation contending that during her interrogation, Ravi shifted the entire blame on Jacob and Muluk who cannot be arrested because they are currently on transit bail".

They need to be confronted with Ravi. Nikita was served with a notice to join the probe but she did not join the interrogation.

It is a case which has transnational ramifications, with the involvement of those who have expressed their disaffection for this country, the prosecution told the court.

The probe agency said that they may arrest Jacob and Muluk as well in the future if there is a requirement.

There was the involvement of all three accused. We have to confront all three. We only have seven days more to seek custodial interrogation, the prosecution told the court referring to the provisions of the law in the FIR that mandate custodial interrogation only up to 15 days post-arrest.

Lawyer Nikita Jacob and Muluk, an engineer, were on Monday questioned at the Delhi Police's Cyber cell office in Dwarka, a senior police officer said.

The Delhi Police, probing the "toolkit Google doc" backing the farmers' agitation that was shared by climate activist Greta Thunberg, had arrested Bengaluru-based activist Disha Ravi on February 13 while Jacob and Muluk were granted pre-arrest bail by the Bombay High Court.

Police had alleged that the toolkit was part of global conspiracy to create unrest and trigger violence in India in the garb of the farmers' protest against the agri laws.

Both Jacob and Muluk were served notice to join the probe, the officer said.

Police were, however, tight-lipped on other queries related to questioning, including the duration.

The Delhi High Court had on Friday directed the police not to leak any probe details and asked media houses not to broadcast any such material, following a plea by Ravi.

Ravi's counsel on Monday opposed the police plea for remand, saying why did the police wait till February 22 to call the other two suspects, when Ravi had been arrested on February 13.

The counsel also said that she can be confronted with the two even in judicial custody.

What was I (Ravi) doing for the last five days in custody? They did not take me to my hometown for the probe. They have a valid requirement to confront, but that may be met while I am in judicial custody. Two accused are already on bail, the lawyer said.

The defence counsel also informed the court that a sessions court, a superior court than that of a magistrate's, has reserved its order on Ravi's bail plea for Tuesday.

I have moved a bail application, order on which is reserved for tomorrow. Right now seeking police custody means overreaching the sessions court, that has reserved order on bail, the defence said.

The public prosecutor opposed the submission, saying, It's wrong to say we are trying to influence sessions court. This is strange to say that just because sessions court has reserved order, this court should not hear the remand plea.

We have our right to seek (police custody), they have their right," the lawyer said.

We are not saying Disha was not a part of Zoom meeting, we are probing if she was. We did not seek police custody after five days because we did not need it then. We are seeking now because there is a requirement, police said.

The police further questioned as to why the accused is treating police custody as punishment and that it was just for the purpose of investigation,



The defence, however, said that even law disfavours police custody.

Regarding summoning the co-accused late, police said, We had sent the summons to Jacob on February 12, but she did not join and evaded.

On Friday, Ravi was sent to three days' judicial custody after police had said her custodial interrogation was not required for the time being.

The agency had said that it would seek her further interrogation once Jacob and Muluk join the interrogation on February 22.

The Delhi High Court, in its Friday order, had asked media houses to ensure that no leaked investigation material is broadcast as it could affect the probe and directed to abide by its stand on affidavit that it has not leaked nor intends to leak any probe details to the press.

Ravi was arrested by a Cyber Cell team of the from Bengaluru and brought to Delhi. She was booked on sedition and other charges.

(Only the headline and picture of this report may have been reworked by the Business Standard staff; the rest of the content is auto-generated from a syndicated feed.)
Despite or due to the COVID-19 pandemic, remittances to Ho Chi Minh City soared last year

This was shared by Nguyen Hoang Minh, deputy director of the State Bank of Vietnam's Ho Chi Minh City branch. This came as somewhat of a surprise because the figure was initially expected to be $5.5 billion. In the first seven months, remittances reached $3 billion only, down 1.2 per cent on-year. Furthermore, the World Bank for the first time forecasted that the remittances in Vietnam would decrease in 2020.

The growth is doubly impressive in the context of the COVID-19 outbreak which has affected the incomes of overseas workers.

Remittance inflows soared in Ho Chi Minh City at the time leading up to the Lunar New Year, when Vietnamese people living abroad could not return home for the festival due to travel restrictions.

Normally, recipients prefer receiving foreign currency in cash, however, due to COVID-19, they are encouraged to receive Vietnamese currency to their via bank accounts.

Almost all remittances came from the US, Australia, and Canada, which are home to the largest Vietnamese communities, as well as Japan, Taiwan, and South Korea which are the main labour export markets of Vietnam.

Historically, during the 2009 global financial crisis remittance inflows also soared on-year to Vietnam thanks to the increasing number of overseas Vietnamese and Vietnamese people working abroad.

Statistics from the State Committee on Overseas Vietnamese Affairs under the Ministry of Foreign Affairs shows that 5.3 millionoverseas Vietnamese are living in about 130 countries and territories, 80 per cent of whom are in developed nations with a high level of GDP per capita such as the US, Australia, Canada, France, and Germany.

About 3,000 businesses run by overseas Vietnamese have been operating abroad, which also contributes to pushing up remittances to the country.

In addition, about 580,000 Vietnamese labourers are working abroad, also contributing to these inflows.
uschools/iStockBy ALEXANDER MALLIN and LUKE BARR, ABC News



(WASHINGTON) -- President Joe Biden's nominee for attorney general, Merrick Garland, at his confirmation hearing Monday, told senators his first briefing once he takes office at the Justice Department will be on the Jan. 6 assault on the U.S. Capitol.



Garland, currently a federal appeals court judge who worked previously in the Clinton Justice Department overseeing the prosecution of convicted Oklahoma City bomber Timothy McVeigh in the 1990s, said the threat from domestic terrorism is even greater now.



"It looks like an extremely aggressive and perfectly appropriate beginning to an investigation, all across the country in the same way our original Oklahoma City investigation was. Many times more," Garland told members of the Senate Judiciary Committee. "I certainly agree that we are facing a more dangerous period than we faced in Oklahoma City at the end at that time."



He called the attack on the Capitol the most "heinous attack on a democratic process" that he's ever seen and said that he will pursue all leads in the investigation.



"We begin with the people on the ground and we work our way up to those who are involved and further involved and we will pursue these leads, wherever they take us," he said.



Besides overseeing the prosecution into the Oklahoma City bombing, Garland later played a key role in prosecuting domestic terror cases involving Unabomber Ted Kaczynski and the bombing at the 1996 Olympics in Atlanta.



When asked by Sen. Chuck Grassley, R-Iowa about the investigation into President Joe Biden's son Hunter Biden, Garland says he hasn't discussed it with the resident.



"The president made abundantly clear in every public statement before and after my nomination that decisions about investigations and prosecutions will be left at the Justice Department," Garland told Grassley.



Hunter Biden, the president's son, announced in December that federal prosecutors in Delaware are investigating his "tax affairs."



Garland also was asked about the Trump administration policy on family separation at the southern border.



"I think that the policy was shameful," he said. "I can't imagine anything worse than separating parents from their children."



Asked whether he will let special counsel John Durham finish his investigation into the origins of the probe into Russian interference in the 2016 election, Garland said he knows of no reason to think Durham should be removed.



Durham was named special counsel in the waning days of former Attorney General William Barr's tenure.



"I don't have any information about the investigation. As I sit here today and another one of the very first things I'm going to have to do to speak with Mister Durham and speak about how his investigation is going. I understand he has been permitted to remain in his position, and sitting here today, I have no reason to think that that was not the correct decision," Garland said. "I don't have any reason to think that he should not remain in place."

Copyright  2021, ABC Audio. All rights reserved.
The Telegraph

Ministers have failed to take advantage of the UK's freedom from EU regulations since Brexit, despite the Prime Ministers pledge to take back control of red tape, a new think tank report has said. A new report from the Institute for Government (IfG) argues that Whitehall departments are too "siloed" from each other, preventing ministers from changing laws to reflect Britain's departure from the EU. The think tank points to Mr Johnsons declaration on Christmas Eve last year that the UK had taken back control of every jot and tittle of our regulation in a way which is complete and unfettered. But despite that promise, most EU legislation is still on the UK statute books, after being copied over into domestic law during the Brexit process. Experts say a "bonfire" of regulations in the coming years is unlikely because of costs associated with changing them in UK law. The report's authors said the Government had approached regulatory divergence from Europe "like a game of Space Invaders  played blindfolded," risking costs to British businesses and unintended consequences. They called for Downing Street to issue clear guidance to government departments on how they should approach the freedom to set out new regulations, and reform the processes for approving them. They also point out that, over time, the UK will diverge from the EU in its regulations as European standards change and are not automatically in line with Britains. The UK should develop a system to keep track of regulatory developments in the EU that will affect Britain to avoid any unintended consequences from that process, they argue. Joe Marshall, a researcher at the IfG, said: "Gaining the ability to do things differently from the EU was a key aim of Brexit  and there are clear benefits to be won. But the governments siloed approach to regulatory reform risks ad hoc changes and unintended consequences that threaten businesses with new costs and could destabilise the union. Jill Rutter, another author, said: The government must ensure it invests the time and effort needed to make the necessary trade-offs involved and avoid unintended consequences.
Federal aviation regulators have ordered United Airlines to step up inspections of all Boeing 777s equipped with the type of engine that suffered a catastrophic failure over Denver on Saturday.

United said it is temporarily removing those aircraft from service, as meanwhile Boeing recommended grounding aircraft with that model engine until the Federal Aviation Administration sets an inspection regime. Pratt & Whitney, maker of the engine, said it was sending a team to work with investigators while coordinating with airlines and regulators.

The announcements come a day after United Airlines Flight 328 had to make an emergency landing at Denver International Airport after its right engine blew apart just after takeoff. Pieces of the casing of the engine, a Pratt & Whitney PW4000, rained down on suburban neighborhoods.

The plane with 231 passengers and 10 crew on board landed safely, and nobody aboard or on the ground was reported hurt, authorities said.

The Federal Aviation Administration FAA Administrator Steve Dickson said in a statement Sunday that based on an initial review of safety data, inspectors concluded that the inspection interval should be stepped up for the hollow fan blades that are unique to this model of engine, used solely on Boeing 777 airplanes.

Boeing said it supported decisions by the Japan Civil Aviation Bureau and FAA to suspend operations of all 777 aircraft powered by Pratt & Whitney 4000-112 engines. It said there were 69 of the engines in service and another 59 in storage.

We are working with these regulators as they take actions while these planes are on the ground and further inspections are conducted by Pratt & Whitney, it said in a statement issued Sunday.

The National Transportation Safety Board said that two of the engines fan blades were fractured and the remainder of the fan blades exhibited damage. The NTSB did caution that it was too early to draw conclusions about how the incident happened.

Video posted on Twitter showed the engine fully engulfed in flames as the plane flew through the air. Freeze frames from different video taken by a passenger sitting slightly in front of the engine and posted on Twitter appeared to show a broken fan blade in the engine.

United is the only U.S. airline with the Pratt & Whitney PW4000 in its fleet, the FAA said. United says it currently has 24 of the 777s in service.

United says it will work closely with the FAA and the NTSB to determine any additional steps that are needed to ensure these aircraft meet our rigorous safety standards and can return to service.

Pratt & Whitney said it was actively coordinating with operators and regulators to support revised inspections of the engines.

The NTSB said the cockpit voice recorder and flight data recorder were transported to its lab in Washington for the data to be downloaded and analyzed. NTSB investigations can take up to a year or longer, although in major cases the agency generally releases some investigative material midway through the process.

Japan Airways and All Nippon Airways decided to stop operating a combined 32 planes with that engine, according to the financial newspaper Nikkei.

Nikkei reported that Japans Ministry of Land, Infrastructure, Transport and Tourism also ordered the planes out of service, and the ministry said an engine in the same PW4000 family suffered unspecified trouble on a JAL 777 flying to Haneda from Naha on Dec. 4. It ordered stricter inspections in response.
David Adams Will Become CEO of Urban Assembly on March 1st "David Adams is the right combination of vision, ability, empathy, and leadership for this time in our city. We need his grit and his grace to conquer these challenges."

The Urban Assembly (UA), a leader in innovative school support solutions that boost school and student performance, will transition to new leadership on March 1st. CEO Kristin Kearns-Jordan announces that after nearly five years at the helm, she will step down. The board has appointed the UAs current Senior Director of Strategy David Adams, a well-known expert in social-emotional learning and business development strategy, as CEO.

Kearns-Jordan, who will remain with the UA as a member of the board, led the organization through a transition that shifted its primary impact strategy from creating small career-themed public schools to becoming a model provider of school support. After succeeding founder Richard Kahan as CEO, Kearns-Jordan built a diverse team of experts to develop and codify data-focused and student-centered programming in academics, social-emotional learning, postsecondary access, and alumni success. The UA team worked with school leaders and educators across a network of 20 UA-founded schools to create equitable programs and practices that raise rates of achievement for schools and students. The network eventually expanded to include 23 unscreened schools in New York City that outperform the rest of the system. The UAs graduation rate of 86% is seven percentage points higher than the citywide average (79%), and almost 80% of UA students enroll in college within six months.

"What I have learned leading the UA is the power of a school network to drive excellence and innovation, says Kearns-Jordan. Principals, teachers, counselors, and deans build trust and learn from one another, with accountability to the community as well as to their students. They also try new things together, and whether the innovation comes from inside a school or from a partner like the UA, the network provides the opportunity to hone and scale what works.

Under Kristins leadership, the Urban Assembly grew in size, reached new heights, and gained respect and admiration nationwide, says Richard Kahan. She has built an unparalleled staff and with them created a strong strategy for the future.

The UAs Resilient Scholars Program (RSP), a social-emotional learning initiative developed by Adams, became the first UA program to be adopted by schools and districts outside of the Urban Assembly. Supported by the Carnegie Corporation of New York and the Ford Foundation, RSP was first adopted by a set of elementary, middle and high schools in the Los Angeles Unified School District in 2017. By 2019, RSP was implemented in the KIPP and CUNY schools and District 75 schools in New York City, as well as schools in Houston, Syracuse, and Tennessee. In 2020, Adams was promoted from Director of Social-Emotional Learning to Senior Director of Strategy to work with the UAs other teams to scale their programs for national expansion. Under his leadership, the RSP program has continued to expand to schools and districts in New Jersey and Wisconsin, while the UAs Postsecondary team has been contracted by DC Public Schools and the Alumni Success team has been contracted to work with schools in Chicago.

When Kearns-Jordan was ready to step-down, she recommended Adams as the natural choice to take the leadership role, and the Board of Trustees unanimously agreed.

Dave is the right person to lead the UA into our post-COVID chapter because he knows how to nurture innovation and build systems to scale it, says Kearns-Jordan. I cannot be more hopeful about the impact the UA will have on public schools under his leadership.

His strong sense of mission, character, and leadership skills that he developed in the education system and the military, has prepared him for the next challenge, says Kahan. He has earned the respect and affection of his coworkers, education leaders, and the UAs partners. David is ready to take the UA to the next level.

Under David Adams leadership, the UA has a new opportunity to bring its programs and services to more schools outside of our local network, says Anthony Kiser, UA Board Chairman. We can focus more on creating a national program that improves academic performance for public school students.

"David Adams is the right combination of vision, ability, empathy, and leadership for this time in our city, says Reverend Jacques Andre DeGraff, Social Justice Activist and Former UA Board Chair. We need his grit and his grace to conquer these challenges."

Adams looks forward to building on the accomplishments of Kearns-Jordan, while continuing to push the UA towards national expansion and impacting education policy.

Under my leadership the UA will continue to work with our 23 schools in NYC to develop innovative approaches for school improvement, while also offering these approaches to schools and districts nationwide, says Adams. We're moving from our kids to all kids in the pursuit of a public education system that drives social and economic mobility.

###

About the Urban Assembly:

The Urban Assembly is a model provider of innovative school support services. For more than 20 years, the UA has been raising rates of achievement for public school students through support services that help school leaders and educators with data-focused and student-centered programming in academics, social-emotional learning, postsecondary access, and alumni success.

Founded in 1997, the UA created more than 20 small, career-themed middle and high schools in collaboration with the New York City Department of Education. Today the UA network includes 23 schools, serving 9,000 students, and 4,000 alumni. The Urban Assembly outperforms other schools in the system with higher English and math college readiness scores, a higher graduation rate, and more UA graduates enrolling in college within six months.

With the success of UA schools in NYC, the Urban Assembly is now a model provider of school support services, serving schools and districts in Los Angeles, Washington DC, New Jersey, Wisconsin, and Tennessee.

About Kristin Kearns-Jordan:

Kristin Kearns-Jordan has worked to advance equity and quality in New York City education since graduating from Brown University in 1991. She has served as the Chief Executive Officer of the Urban Assembly for the past four years. Previously, she served as the Executive Director of the Tortora Sillcox Family Foundation, investing approximately $3.5 million annually in organizations that provide education opportunities and support to New York City students. Kristin is also the founder and served from 2000-2007 as Executive Director of the Bronx Preparatory Charter School, a college preparatory middle and high school serving young people selected by lottery in the South Bronx.

Kristin began her career working at the Student/Sponsor Partners, a mentoring and financial aid program for high school students in New York City. With a group of donors she founded the School Choice Scholarships Foundation to provide similar opportunities to elementary school students. During her 25 year career in education she has consulted with not-for-profit organizations in education and served on several boards, including the Student/Sponsor Partners, the READ Foundation, Friends of Bronx Prep, and the Cathedral School of St. John the Divine.

About David Adams:

An expert in Social-Emotional Learning, David Adams has spearheaded multiple initiatives to support the social-emotional development of more than 9,000 students at Urban Assembly (UA) schools in New York City. Starting as Director of SEL in 2014, David created the Resilient Scholars Program (RSP), a unique approach to integrating SEL into curriculum and classroom practices across the UA network. Under his leadership the UA has partnered with organizations like the Black Man Can Inc. and Dangers of the Mind to invest in positive identity formation for youth of color while organizing systems to reduce disproportionality in discipline and graduation rates. RSP has grown into a national program, serving schools and districts in Los Angeles, Houston, Syracuse, and other cities. Now the Senior Director of Strategy, David is leading the expansion of the organization into a model provider of school support, with an emphasis on innovation and equity in public education. David sits on the board of CASEL and is an author of The Educators Practical Guide to Emotional Intelligence, and co-author of a chapter in the textbook, Challenges to Integrating Diversity, Equity, and Inclusion Programs in Organizations. David has spoken and written extensively about the intersection of social emotional development and equity, and is a co-organizer of the Lift Every Voice: The Global Forum on SEL & Antiracism. He is a Civil Affairs Officer in the Army Reserve and holds an M.Ed in Educational Psychology from Fordham University.
Air Vice-Marshal Harv Smyth, a former fighter pilot, never imagined as a 16-year-old from Northern Ireland that his career path with the RAF would lead him to the 'coolest job in the world' and a hotline to No 10.

"Yes, people often say I have the coolest job title in the world," said Air Vice-Marshal Harv Smyth CB, OBE, DFC, Director Space UK MoD.

Having become the first person to hold the newly-created position almost a year ago, it has been quite the career journey for a young lad from Lurgan and he accepts the title with typical good grace, pride and more than an air of humility.

Thirty years since he got his first career break, by being accepted into the RAF scholarship programme aged 16, he has gone where no man has gone before. Not boldly, though. For Harv, everything fell into place with a bit of hard work, dedication to the Royal Air Force and a drive to make the best of the opportunities as they presented themselves.

"It's hard to believe it's 30 years," he said. His career, it seems, has gone by as fast as a Tornado jet, and now it has shot him to infinity and beyond, with the future policy of the UK in space at his fingertips.

And he has got his work cut out.

"It's a fantastic opportunity to shape the future of the UK space programme," he said. "And we're at a time in history when big things are just starting to happen. I'm always happy to get out of bed in the morning to do what I do. It's all I hoped it would be and more.

"If you look back to the end of the First World War, commercial air travel was just about to start. Pretty soon there was so much traffic in the skies that we needed air traffic controllers. Now we see space filling up quickly too."

These days, Harv is right in the thick of it, working alongside the UK Space Agency and the UK Government on writing the National Space Strategy which will shape the future space programme of the UK for decades to come.

"Meeting with Number 10, taking directions straight from the top in the Cabinet with the National Space Council, it's an exciting time. You feel right at the heart of something really important, and it is," he said.

Mars landings and the UK's search for a new astronaut have made headlines in recent days, but there is so much more out there amongst the stars.

"People might think of space as all rockets and satellites, but might not realise that what goes on up there shapes almost everything we do in our lives," said Harv.

"Traffic lights are controlled, how we take money out of cash machines, co-ordinating home deliveries, and where would we be without the internet? It all has to be managed and it's all enabled from space.

"Space traffic has been growing for the past couple of decades, but it's really taken off in the last year. The laws to protect what goes on in space have been around since the 1960s but we have to make sure it remains a safe, secure and stable environment.

"We need to understand, protect and defend the space domain, just like we do with airspace and the sea and it's getting harder all the time as more and more nations are becoming involved. In money terms, if the GPS system goes down for just a single day, it'll cost 1 billion to the nation, that's how serious it's become. Managing space is as vital as managing air space over Belfast today.

"Now we have big companies like Elon Musk's SpaceX. He's rapidly bringing the cost of utilising space within the reach of so many more.

"There are currently around 3,300 satellites orbiting the earth. SpaceX is planning for 107,000 more over the next 10 years. It's going to become a crowded place and much harder to manage. It might not be long before we need space traffic controllers."

Harv's flight path to the top started when he was 14-years-old at a careers day in his school at Lurgan College. He remembers the moment well.

"The military was there," he said.

"I didn't know much about it all, but I really liked the sound of the Royal Air Force. My English teacher, Miss Molly Edgar, overheard me talking about it and took an immediate interest. She was a big encouragement. In fact, she helped set up my very first interview with the RAF when I was 15, which led to me being awarded the RAF Sixth Form and Flying Scholarships.

"Very quickly I found myself at Woodgate Aviation at Aldergrove, where at the age of 16, I was taught to fly."

Through that training, Harv was flying planes before he could drive. He also joined the Army Cadets through school, which he quickly became addicted to, and so the die was cast.

"I got direct entrance to the RAF when I was 18, and started officer training not that long after finishing my A-levels," he said.

"I still write to Miss Edgar now to let her know how I'm getting on. She's a key reason why I'm sitting in this position today, and I'll always be very grateful for that."

Fighter pilot training was typically tough, he said.

Harv explains: "It was almost four years, and at the end there was only four of us left who got our Wings, but the time literally flew by, and before I knew it, I was on my first frontline Harrier squadron, Number 3 (Fighter) Squadron, and deployed on combat operations over Bosnia."

That was the beginning of thousands of military missions. From Harriers - their single seat designs meaning pilots were left on their own when in combat - or when landing on aircraft carriers like the Ark Royal, Invincible and Illustrious, to the Tornado deep-strike aircraft and the Typhoon superiority fighter, Harv has flown them all.

"I was a frontline fighter pilot for 15 years," he said, moving up through the ranks before the final Harrier Force was disbanded in 2010. I finished as one of the final frontline Squadron Commanders, and had the immense privilege of commanding my squadron on combat operations in Afghanistan.

"I've actually served on multiple combat operations, all over the world. I have absolutely loved it. I'm not sure my poor wife would agree with me though!"

But there was never a moment when he thought he was in the wrong job.

He adds: "Of course there were risks, especially on combat operations, but frontline service has always appealed to me. I'd happily go back and do it all again."

Those risks saw Harv eject from an exploding plane after a catastrophic birdstrike at very low level, get shot at by enemy air defence systems in Iraq - where he was awarded the Distinguished Flying Cross for gallantry - and return with near empty fuel tanks to a spot in the ocean only, to find his aircraft carrier had moved position.

"All part of the job, and whilst it sounds risky, our training is absolutely second to none, so the risks are managed and we instinctively know how to calmly work through any problems, and come up with the correct responses," he said.

These risks, of course, don't come with every job. But the skills Harv picked up in his career journey served him very well as he flew in hostile airspace over Iraq, Bosnia, Kosovo, Serbia, and Afghanistan - wherever the skills of the RAF's top pilots were needed.

With Harriers consigned to history, it was time for Harv to embark on a new phase of his career, and very soon he was overseeing the development and arrival of the latest line in aircraft technology, F-35 Stealth fighter planes. That opened the door to a three-year stint in Washington DC where he coordinated the arrival of the new fleet, endless tests, evaluations and training.

In recent years Harv held the coveted role of Air Officer Commanding Number 1 Group, effectively commanding the whole combat arm of the RAF. He has also been back in the Middle East, this time as the director of the main Air HQ in Qatar at the height of the counter-Isis campaign, where at one point he was organising and authorising upwards of 1,000 sorties per day.

"It was a pretty big role," he said, and for his efforts throughout his career the US afforded him the highest honour they could bestow on a non-US citizen, the Legion of Merit, and he was granted permission to wear the award by the Queen on April 5, 2019.

By that time he was already acquainted with Her Majesty, having served as her aide-de-camp, a military adviser, from 2013-15. Just when he thought his RAF career had reached a peak, the opportunity for another lift-off arrived in the shape of the newly created role as Director Space UK. He now sits at the heart of government policy, a hotline to the Prime Minister, and he describes Number 10's approach to space as "infectiously enthusiastic".

It is always an exciting time in space, and there was more news over the last week with the European Space Agency (ESA) on the lookout for new astronauts, and UK citizens of any walk of life are invited to apply.

"I'd be there in a shot," said Harv. "Sadly, though, I'm over the age limit now. Twenty years ago, well..."

But one thing he would do given the opportunity, is sample life as a space tourist.

"Oh, I'd be off," he said. "No doubt about it. The biggest challenge would be getting me to come back!"

From looking to the skies, to looking to the stars, Harv's journey continues, but he still has an eye on what is coming through the ranks behind him.

"I'm still the very proud patron of the Ulster Aviation Society, and everyone should go and have a look at their fantastic museum at the old Long Kesh site. And, I'm the senior mentor for the Northern Ireland Universities' Air Squadron, which provides students with a great opportunity to sample what's on offer from the RAF."

But there is one more question Harv has been asked frequently since becoming Director Space UK and again it harks back to his childhood.

"The sci-fi generation want to know if I'm in the Star Wars or Star Trek camp," he laughs.

"Truthfully, I was never a sci-fi fan when I was younger. I was a fan of the Clint Eastwood's Spaghetti Westerns. At a push, I like the way Chewbacca does his business, so I'd swing to Star Wars. But Top Gun was the movie for me. I know every line. My wife and now my two daughters know every line.

"There will be a lot of people queuing to get back into the pub when this lockdown ends. But what I'm looking forward to is Top Gun 2 being released in the cinema. Once a fighter pilot, always a fighter pilot I suppose."
Bengaluru, Feb 23 : About 50 per cent of vehicles owned by the Karnataka government will be electric in the next 2-3 years to promote e-mobility and curb pollution, Deputy Chief Minister C.N. Ashwath Narayan saud on Monday.

"We will replace 50 per cent of all petrol/diesel government vehicles with a electric version to encourage e-mobility and reduce air pollution," he said at a virtual panel discussion on 'future of sustainable mobility', held as a part of the 'Harvard-India Conference' here.

Noting that the state was ready for partnership in the e-mobility sector, Narayan said battery-charging points would be set up in high-rise buildings, at metro rail stations, malls, IT parks and apartments for powering electric vehicles, including cars and buses.

"As absence of charging points in cities and towns is a major constraint, the state government is working to increase them for promoting greater use of e-vehicles," he said.

The state government will also improve and expand the infrastructure for electric vehicles at public places, set up dedicated parks for e-cabs and making EV-charging points mandatory, said Narayan.

"Electric charging points will also be installed on state/national highways between Bengaluru and Mysuru, Chennai and other cities and towns across the state," he added.

A high-tech Karnataka Electric Mobility Research and Innovation Centre will be set up in this tech city for creating an ecosystem for e-mobility in the state, he said.

"E-vehicles will be safe, sustainable and affordable. As India is a power surplus country, EVs will improve energy utilisation," added Narayan.

The Central government has been supporting the e-mobility efforts across the country through funding research and providing a platform for design, development and demonstration of EV projects.

As a tech-savvy state, Karnataka plans to increase its market share of the digital engineering innovation economy to 50 per cent from 30 per cent, with clean tech, EVs, aerospace, med tech and construction offering opportunities to spur growth.
Brasilia:

The Brazilian Congress has voted not to send President Michel Temer to face trial for corruption. Opposition lawmakers in the lower house of Congress failed to obtain the two-thirds majority needed to send the case to the Supreme Court.

Temer has been accused of receiving $12m (9m) in bribes from the boss of a giant meatpacking firm, JBS. He has denied the allegation.The Congress session was marred by scenes of chaos and angry exchanges.

Brazilian lawmakers began voting on Thursday morning to authorise a corruption trial for President Michel Temer, with the centre-right leader confident he can avoid becoming the countrys second leader in 12 months to be forced from office.After more than nine hours of raucous debate, the lower house of Congress finally began the procedure.

Given that each lawmaker was due to vote one by one, live on national television, a result was not expected immediately.If two thirds of the house authorises a trial and the Supreme Court accepts the case, Temer would be immediately suspended for 180 days. The house speaker, Rodrigo Maia, would take over. Temer, a deeply unpopular veteran of the ruling PMDB party, is accused of taking bribes from a meatpacking industry executive.

The scandal is part of the enormous Car Wash graft probe targeting major politicians of every stripe in Latin Americas biggest country. But analysts believe Temer has easily enough support to bury the charge. The government will defeat the motion to investigate the president by a wide margin, Eurasia Group consultants said.

The upheaval comes only a year after Congress ejected Temers leftist predecessor Dilma Rousseff in an impeachment trial for breaking budget rules. Temer, the first sitting president to face a criminal charge, now faces blowback from his leftwing opponents who also fiercely oppose his business-friendly economic reforms.

Expectations are that top prosecutor Rodrigo Janot could file at least one more criminal charge, including for obstruction of justice, in the coming weeks. A thief is a thief and needs to be treated as a thief, Major Olimpio, a deputy with the leftist Solidariedade party, told the assembly before the voting.

The debate was interrupted repeatedly by yelling and occasional scuffles.At one point, opposition deputies fought a Temer supporter who was brandishing an inflatable doll showing former president and leftist icon Luiz Inacio Lula da Silva in prison garb. Temer opponents also showered fake dollar bills showing the presidents face.

Temer was due to make a statement later, the presidential palace said.In the current charge, Temer is alleged to have agreed to receive millions of dollars in bribes from the JBS meatpacking giant.

A close aide was filmed by police running through Sao Paulo with a suitcase stuffed with the equivalent of $150,000 in Brazilian reaismoney that the prosecutor says was intended for Temer.In a separate investigation, prosecutors cite a secretly recorded late-night meeting between Temer and one of JBSs owners, Joesley Batista.

In the recording, Temer allegedly is heard authorising hush money payments to a onetime senior politician convicted of corruption, Eduardo Cunha.

Batista gave prosecutors the recording as part of his cooperation in a plea deal, one of the many that Car Wash investigators have used to build graft cases. Temer has denied any bribe-taking and says the secret recording does not include anything incriminating.

With PTI inputs

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India is making tens of thousands of free Covid-19 shots available to Caribbean countries left behind by rich nations in the race to procure vaccines.

The Indian-made shots offer poorer countries an alternative to Chinese vaccines, which Beijing has been pushing across the region.

Indias Foreign Ministry says it plans to supply vaccines -- mostly free of charge -- to 49 countries in Latin America, the Caribbean, Asia and Africa. So far, the country has distributed 22.9 million doses under its Vaccine Friendship" program.

Also Read: How to make Indias bad bank workable

On Thursday, Dominican Republic Vice President Raquel Pena said that India had donated 30,000 doses to her country. Thats on the heels of 100,000 doses India donated to Barbados and the 70,000 doses donated to Dominica earlier this month.

In a text message Saturday, Barbados Prime Minister Mia Mottley said 12,000 people had been vaccinated on the island, mainly the elderly and those with chronic illnesses.

The Serum Institute of India, one of the worlds largest vaccine producers, is producing Covishield, developed by AstraZeneca Plc.

Poorer countries have been unable to compete for vaccines with wealthier nations which quickly sealed deals with drug makers, and many parts of the Caribbean and Central America are still weeks away from starting their campaigns. Jamaicas Prime Minister Andrew Holness last month accused rich countries of hoarding" vaccines.





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Floridas top insurance regulator has a busy year ahead, and it wont just include overseeing his own states insurance market, one of the most dynamic and complicated insurance markets in the world. Rather, for the next year, Insurance Commissioner David Altmaier has another job as president of the National Association of Insurance Commissioners. Its a job he says he is ready for after serving as president-elect behind former NAIC President and South Carolina Insurance Director Ray Farmer, with whom he has a shared understanding based on leading insurance markets in catastrophe-prone states.

Altmaier was appointed commissioner of the Florida Office of Insurance Regulation (OIR) in 2016. He joined the department 2008 and has served in several roles, including as chief analyst of the Property and Casualty Financial Oversight unit and deputy commissioner of Property and Casualty Insurance. He previously worked as an insurance agent with an agency in Kentucky.

Altmaier talked with Insurance Journal about his priorities leading the NAIC, including carrying on Farmers NAIC work on cyber risk and the newly developed Committee on Race & Insurance, as well as climate change and insurance innovation. The following interview with Altmaier has been edited for clarity and brevity.

Insurance Journal: What are your priorities for NAIC and what effect will the new Congress have on those?

David Altmaier: A lot of them are going to look very familiar to people that have been following the organization for a while. Were certainly going to continue work on our Special Committee on Race and Insurance and our executive level task force on climate and resiliency, and long-term care is another good example of some classic hits from the prior year I think we are going to continue through 2021. But were looking forward to finishing up some of the planning discussions that we have and then engaging with our stakeholders around the country on some really pivotal issues for consumers.

IJ: What is the direction of the Race Insurance Committee that was formed last year amid the Black Lives Matter movement?

Altmaier: We expect that those reports are going to highlight some areas across our lines of business as well as across the industry and regulatory agencies about areas that we can spend our time on in 2021 to make a difference.

IJ: What insurance sectors could make a difference in increasing diversity in the industry?

Altmaier: [The work streams] have spent a lot of time engaging with a number of industry stakeholders and consumer stakeholders and everybody in between to really understand which lines of business can have some areas that we can work on. I think thats one of the pivotal things that were looking forward to receiving from the work stream so that we can establish some constructive and meaningful pathways forward on addressing some of those things.

IJ: Why is this work so important right now?

Altmaier: Over the summer, we started to have conversations amongst the membership about some of the things that were happening around the country and a lot of the unrest that we were seeing. It really became very evident that members of the NAIC found it so incredibly important for us to spend some time working on this issue and  if any of these kinds of things existed with the insurance industry, within the insurance industry or within regulatory agencies even, that we were proactively working to identify those things and address those things. And so this has been a very member driven initiative.

IJ: Have you had much response from the industry on this issue so far?

Altmaier: We have. I think the industry we found as we got into these discussions, the industry had almost simultaneously started their own conversations about this. As we got into the work streams and started to engage with the industry and they really came to the table with some thoughts and some ideas.  Its one of those committees that we didnt have to really look too far for people that were interested in coming and sharing their thoughts and ideas with us on this issue, and its been pretty encouraging to see the level of dialogue has taken place on this.

IJ: Being from Florida, you are quite familiar with natural catastrophes and the importance of mitigation and resilience. What are your goals around that with the NAIC this year?

Altmaier: This has been an important work stream as you said for us here in Florida, just given our propensity for hurricanes and many of my colleagues in the Southeastern zone have found it to be critical for them, as well. Weve had some ongoing work at the NAIC on the C committee side  thats our Property and Casualty Committee. I had the opportunity to chair the Catastrophe Working Group for a while and was able to accomplish some pretty good work there. But over the past several years, weve seen that catastrophes come in all sorts of shapes and sizes not just hurricanes in 2021 really underscored that for everyone.

We had catastrophes in all four corners of the country, from wildfires in the West to hurricanes in the Southeast to derechos in the Midwest, and so we really wanted to elevate this work stream at the NAIC so that it got the attention that it deserved. And, that we were taking into consideration how can we make our communities and our insurance markets more resilient  [and] minimize the amount of disruption that consumers face as a result of dealing with the insurance side of things. I think as we work on some of the work streams that are under the climate resiliency task force, those will be the kinds of things that we look to accomplish. So this is one Im really excited about.

IJ: Another topic that was of great importance to former NAIC President and South Carolina Insurance Director Ray Farmer was cyber risk. He spearheaded the committee for NAIC and worked on cyber model legislation for states to use. Is that something you will continue to work on?

Altmaier: Absolutely, and that work stream has kind of morphed in a couple of different ways. Director Farmer really did some great work with the Cybersecurity model law. Thats really kind of at the implementation phase and so now were counting on state regulators around the country to start working on adopting that in state houses. We do expect this to be a topic of discussion in D.C., as well. Well be working to liaise with congressional leaders on this issue  and explaining the importance of state insurance regulators and the role that we play in this area.

But its also picked up steam on the innovation and technology side, as well.

IJ: Do you envision more of a state-by-state role with cyber legislation or it becoming federal law?

Altmaier: We are hoping that we can pass consistent laws [on cyber] around the country in the state houses. Thats one of the main reasons why we adopted the model law so that we can do that consistently and I think that we have demonstrated in the past on key issues that were able to leave those kinds of things up to the states while at the same time, maintaining consistency across jurisdictions so that carriers know the playing field and they know the rules and regulations, and they can count on that being somewhat consistent throughout the states. But one of the things that we have to make sure that were doing is not only talking the talk but also walking the walk, showing the federal folks that this is something that were capable of doing and interested in doing and doing quite well.

IJ: What have you learned as Floridas regulator that you will bring to this role?

Altmaier: One of the things that has been so critical as Floridas Insurance Commissioner is just communication. As we have worked on a variety of different issues over the years, making sure that we are looping in as many stakeholders as we can get our hands on, so that we have a solid understanding of everyones viewpoints so that as we move forward on particular items, we are fully aware of the ramifications of the decisions that were making and who those are impacting.

Itll be no exception at the NAIC as we undertake so many critical work streams, ensuring that were inviting as many viewpoints at the table as possible and allowing everybody to transparently share their viewpoints on certain issues and make us all aware of what were getting into and the benefits of those things and the consequences. At the end of the day, as regulators, we can make consumer driven and data driven decisions that promote solid and stable markets for consumers to rely on.

IJ: One of the criticisms of insurers is how they communicate with customers  how they put out information and a lack of transparency. Is that something you want to work on?

Altmaier: Weve been encouraging that a lot in Florida and well continue to do that at the NAIC. Weve had a lot of Floridians going through the claims process for the first time and we have really seen how important it is for the industry to really over-communicate with their consumers about the claims process  what happens next, what the adjusters role is and when theyre going to come and when theyre going to call.  A lot of the anxiety that we have seen on the consumer side when they go through that process is really due to just a lack of communication from the insurance carriers about what theyre going to see next.

Weve been stressing for a while now to the companies that once you think that youve communicated enough with your consumer, call them several more times after that, just to make sure that they are very well aware of whats coming next. Weve seen that play a huge role in consumer satisfaction. Well continue to look for opportunities of improving not just industry communication but for us as well as regulators, making sure were telling consumers our story and how were looking out for them.

IJ: What have you learned from other NAIC leaders?

Altmaier: So much. Its hard to really even begin to quantify how much Ive learned from my colleagues around the country and thats one of the things that Ive cherished the most about my involvements with the NAIC.  You usually dont have to look very far for a commissioner that has experienced the same challenge or a similar challenge [in their states] that theyve worked through. The guidance and direction that they might be able to provide us been really insightful and Ive certainly appreciated the comradery of the Southeastern zone.

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Boeing on Monday (IST) said it was recommending air carriers halt flights of 777 airplanes like the United Airlines plane that suffered a right engine failure until the Federal Aviation Administration (FAA) issued inspection protocols.

The engine failure comes as a fresh blow for Boeing.

In a statement, Boeing said it recommends "suspending operations of the 69 in-service and 59 in-storage 777s powered by Pratt & Whitney 4000-112 engines until the FAA identifies the appropriate inspection protocol."

The US aviation body has said that it will issue an emergency airworthiness directive ordering stepped-up inspections of Boeing 777 airplanes with the PW4000 engines.

That directive may not be issued until Monday, as per reports. United said earlier in the day that it was temporarily halting all flights from its 24 777s with PW4000 engines.

Here's Boeing's statement on United Airlines Flight 328

"Boeing is actively monitoring recent events related to United Airlines Flight 328. While the NTSB investigation is ongoing, we recommended suspending operations of the 69 in-service and 59 in-storage 777s powered by Pratt & Whitney 4000-112 engines until the FAA identifies the appropriate inspection protocol.

"Boeing supports the decision yesterday by the Japan Civil Aviation Bureau, and the FAAs action today to suspend operations of 777 aircraft powered by Pratt & Whitney 4000-112 engines. We are working with these regulators as they take actions while these planes are on the ground and further inspections are conducted by Pratt & Whitney.

"Updates will be provided as more information becomes available."

FAA orders extra inspections of some Boeing 777s

The US FAA has ordered extra inspections of some Boeing 777 passenger jets, after a United Airlines flight suffered engine failure a day earlier, scattering debris across a Colorado community.

FAA Administrator Steve Dickson said the order meant some 777s would "likely" be removed from service.

He said he had consulted with his team of aviation safety experts following Saturday's engine failure aboard a Boeing 777 airplane shortly after it took off from Denver.

"I have directed them to issue an Emergency Airworthiness Directive that would require immediate or stepped-up inspections of Boeing 777 airplanes equipped with certain Pratt & Whitney PW4000 engines," Dickson said in a statement released on Twitter.

Parts fall from sky in plane scare

A video shot from inside the aircraft -- which had 231 passengers and 10 crew onboard -- showed the right engine ablaze and wobbling on the wing of the Boeing 777-200, its cover entirely missing as the aircraft returned to Denver airport.

There were no injuries on the plane or on the ground, authorities said.

Flight UA328 had been headed from Denver to Honolulu when it experienced an engine failure shortly after departure.

Residents in the Denver suburb of Broomfield found large pieces of the plane scattered around their community, including a giant circular piece of metal that landed in someone's yard.

The pilots were able to return safely to Denver -- also known as the Mile High City.

With agency inputs

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Kim Kardashian celebrated her longtime friend Jonathan Cheban's 47th birthday on Sunday with a hilarious cake commemorating the time her sister Kourtney slapped him.

The 39-year-old Keeping Up With The Kardashians star shared a short video to her Insta Stories as she and some of her family members presented the cake to the Foodgod.

Jonathan originally got an open palm to the face from Kourtney during an argument that was broadcast on Kourtney & Kim Take Miami in 2013.

Classic: Jonathan 'Foodgod' Cheban celebrated his 47th birthday on Sunday with a cake from Kim Kardashian and family referencing the time Kourtney Kardashian slapped him

Kim shared a short closeup of the cake, which was decorated with a blurry still of Foodgob post slap.

It had a speech bubble for when Kourtney shouted, 'You're shoved so far up Kim's a**...,' and Kim wrote 'Happy Birthday Food God!' below it.

'Love you forever!' she added in her caption.

'It's Jonathan getting smacked in the face by Kourtney,' Kim can be heard saying off camera.

'You really came up with a good one,' Jonathan adds.

Hilarious: The cake had a speech bubble for when Kourtney shouted, 'You're shoved so far up Kim's a**...,' and Kim wrote 'Happy Birthday Food God!' below it; seen together in 2019 in NYC

Vicious: The poorly aged fight featured Kim and Jonathan arguing with Kourtney because they thought she wasn't doing enough publicity work because she was focusing on caring for her two young children

Let's get physical: Kourtney ended up administering a nasty slap to Jonathan after he shouted, 'Now I know why Scott's never going to marry you. Because you're a b****'

The slap occurred when Jonathan joined in a poorly aged argument in which Kim was berating Kourtney for skipping out on publicity work for their Kardashian Kollection in order to care for her two young children.

'Ever since Kourtney has had the two babies, she has tried to bail out of work situations,' Kim said earlier in the episode.

Jonathan joined in a later argument, saying, 'Without Kim you'd be nothing. She'd been working 360 days while you've been pregnant and doing nothing [sic].'

'Your entire job is following Kim all the time,' Kourtney replied, furious. 'You are shoved so far up Kim's a**.'

Jonathan shouted back: 'Now I know why Scott's never going to marry you. Because you're a b****'

That was the line that earned him the slap, though the two had made up by the end of the episode.

Halloween fun: Kim also included a 2017 photo of the herself and Jonathan dressed up as Sonny and Cher for Halloween

Yum! Her mother Kris Jenner also paid tribute to Foodgod on his birthday with a multiple throwback photos, including one of the two enjoying a kitchen-sink sundae together

The whole gang: Another image showed him with all of the KardashianJenner women except for Kendall

Sweet: 'Happy Birthday Jonathan!!! You are truly the greatest ride or die and the best friend to my family!!' she gushed in her caption

Good times: 'Thank you for all the years of friendship, memories, and the greatest times ever! Sending you so much love on your special day! Xoxox'

Kim also included a 2017 photo of the herself and Jonathan dressed up as Sonny and Cher for Halloween.

Her mother Kris Jenner also paid tribute to Foodgod on his birthday with a multiple throwback photos, including one of the two enjoying a kitchen-sink sundae together.

Another image showed him with all of the KardashianJenner women except for Kendall.

'Happy Birthday Jonathan!!! You are truly the greatest ride or die and the best friend to my family!!' she gushed in her caption.

'Thank you for all the years of friendship, memories, and the greatest times ever! Sending you so much love on your special day! Xoxox.'

Those were the days: Khloe Kardashian kept it simple with a sweet collage of photos featuring Jonathan and various members of her family

Kourtney Kardashian commemorated her classic slap with another video of the cake presentation, this time with her reading her original quotation aloud.

Khloe Kardashian kept it simple with a sweet collage of photos featuring Jonathan and various members of her family.

For his own birthday celebration, Jonathan was joined by his friends Marc Anthony and Dave Grutman for a party that was not socially distanced and didn't appear to have a mask in sight, despite the fact that 500,000 Americans have now died from Covid-19.

'Blessed to have another birthday!! Especially when @marcanthony is singing Happy Birthday and the [goat emoji] @davegrutman for always making it perfect!!' he wrote.

'My cake didnt fall this year!! @divinedelicaciescakes always comes thru with the most original and fun cakes (thanks for the abs),' he added

Risky business: For his own celebration, Jonathan was joined by Marc Anthony and Dave Grutman for a party that was not socially distanced and didn't have a mask in sight, despite 500,000 Americans having died from Covid-19

Opulent: The giant cake was shaped like a mouth-watering pizza, with a giant frosted Foodgod standing atop it

Jonathan was dressed casually in a black T-shirt with slim black jeans and a yellow and black checker shirt as he watched his cake being brought out while Marc and Dave stood at his sides.

The opulent cake was shaped like a mouth-watering pizza, with a giant frosted Foodgod standing atop it.

He mimed biting off his own arm before taking a slice of the delicious pizza cake.
The Covid-19 vaccine developed by Pfizer and BioNTech appears to be highly effective in limiting the spread of the virus, according to reported data from Israel, in a development that could alter the course of the pandemic.

A study conducted by Pfizer and the Israeli Health Ministry shows that the vaccine is 89.4 per cent effective at preventing infections, whether symptomatic or not.

The results have not yet been publicly released or peer reviewed but come from a draft publication that was obtained by Ynet, an Israeli newspaper, and have also been confirmed by Bloomberg, the Financial Times and Der Spiegel.

The findings, taken from Israels ongoing vaccine rollout, provide the first real-world indication that transmission of the virus is likely to be curbed through immunisation.

Previous data from Israel and elsewhere have already shown that the Covid-19 vaccines are effective in preventing serious disease, admittance to hospital and death from the virus.

But a reduction in the spread of Sars-CoV-2 - the virus that causes Covid-19 - offers hope that the acute phase of the pandemic can be brought to an end by the summer.

Israel is leading the way with its inoculation programme, having delivered at least one dose of the Pfizer/BioNTech jab to nearly half of its population.

The latest study from the country - others have similarly highlighted the efficaciousness of the vaccine - was conducted in the three weeks up to 6 February.

Over this period, 27.4 per cent of people aged 15 and over were fully immunised using two doses of the Pfizer jab, which had been the only available Covid-19 jab at the time.

Among those admitted to hospital in a severe or critical condition during the study, 4.4 per cent had received both shots and 5.7 per cent of those who died from the disease were fully vaccinated.

Overall, the vaccine was 93 per cent effective in preventing hospitalisation and death.

During the observation period of the study, the UK variant - known as B117 - was found in 81.5 per cent of Covid-19 test samples, pointing to its high prevalence in Israel.

This suggests the Pfizer vaccine is effective in providing high levels of protection against the highly transmissible B117, which drove a winter wave of infections across Israel and led to a third national lockdown on 8 January.

Previous laboratory-based studies have shown that its ability to neutralise the South African variant is diminished - though scientists have said there is no clinical evidence to suggest people vaccinated with the jab lacked protection.

Separately, Israels health ministry said on Saturday that the risk of becoming ill with coronavirus falls by 95.8 per cent after a second dose of the Pfizer vaccine.

The vaccine is also 98 per cent effective in preventing breathing problems or a fever, the ministry added.

On the back of its vaccine rollout, Israel reopened sections of its economy on Sunday, including malls and leisure facilities.

Shops are open to all but access to gyms, hotels and theatres is limited to people with a "Green Pass": those who have had both doses of the vaccine more than a week prior, or recovered from the disease with presumed immunity.

Pass holders could prove their status by presenting a vaccination certificate or downloading a health ministry app linked to their medical files.


25 years ago: Anti-Castro group aircraft shot down over Cuba

Jose Basulto in 2010

On February 24, 1996, Cuban fighter jets shot down two planes flown by the Miami-based anti-Castro exile group Brothers to the Rescue. It was the end result of a provocation calculated to induce US economic, political and military retaliation against Cuba.

The Clinton administration, the Republican Party and the big-business media had all presented the aerial confrontation over the Straits of Florida as an illegal and unprovoked act of cold-blooded murder and aggression. They cited international statutes prohibiting the use of military force against civil aircraft and touted the supposedly humanitarian mission of Brothers to the Rescue. The CIA insisted that Jose Basultopilot of the aircraft which escapedand the other pilots were not paid US intelligence agents.

In fact, the civil aircraft flown by the organization were used to conduct repeated hostile overflights of Cuban territory, on occasion buzzing Havana and dropping leaflets calling on Cubans to rise up against the Castro government. The humanitarian intentions of the Brothers to the Rescue group were belied by the records of its leaders. Basulto participated in the abortive CIA-organized Bay of Pigs invasion, and later participated in other armed attacks on Cuba, including the shelling of a Havana hotel from a boat. Later he took part in CIA-directed support for the Contra terrorist movement which sought to overthrow Nicaraguas Sandinista government.

The groups activities were aimed at provoking an incident which could be used as a pretext for US retaliation against Cuba. As such, the shoot-down incident was a near-success. Though the Clinton administration did not respond with a direction military attack, it reversed its previous opposition to the Helms-Burton bill, imposing new and even more severe sanctions against foreign corporations doing business in Cuba, and prohibited the lifting of the US economic embargo against the island nation short of the overthrow of the Castro government. It was signed by Clinton in March.

In endorsing the legislation, the Clinton administration was responding to domestic political considerations. It was determined to secure the support of the Cuban exile lobby in Florida, a crucial state in the 1996 elections. The legislation, pushed through as part of a presidential campaign ploy, had far-reaching international implications. It amounted to the imposition of US law on foreign governments, companies, and citizens.

The Clinton administration was the ninth American administration that sought to topple the Castro government since the 1959 Cuban Revolution, following those of Eisenhower, Kennedy, Johnson, Nixon, Ford, Carter, Reagan, and George H. W. Bush.

50 years ago: New York City proposes 7,000 teacher layoffs

Photo of New York Citys old Stuyvesant High School

On February 26, 1971, the President of the New York City Board of Education, Murry Bergtraum, announced a series of major cuts to the city school budget, including the layoff of 7,000 teachers. The plan included the rollback of teaching services, a freeze on the hiring of substitute teachers, reduction of office personnel, elimination of all after-school activities, indefinite postponement of school repairs and maintenance, and cutbacks in the use of transportation passes by New Yorks students.

New York Mayor John Lindsays office issued a statement endorsing the $40 million in education cuts. The Mayor shares the Board of Educations pain in making their announcement today, as well as the pain of our entire school community, the memo said. As extremely difficult as it is, the Mayor believes the Board has taken the only responsible course.

The attack on teachers and public education in the nations largest city was bound up with the shift toward austerity by the ruling class, spearheaded by the Nixon administration, driven by the declining profit rates and the erosion of the position of American capitalism on a global scale. To meet this onslaught, united working class action was needed, and a political struggle against the two major parties, which controlled New York City, New York state, and the federal government. This the trade union bureaucracy opposed with all its might. Its refusal to unite workers in even a single industry was underscored by the fact that, while Lindsay attacked workers in New York City, across the state line in neighboring New Jersey, teachers in Newark were in the midst of a bitter strike against austerity.

Teachers in Newark remained on strike for their fourth week despite vicious union busting. The strike was declared illegal and Newark Teachers Union president Carol Graves, along with two other union officials, were arrested and held for a bail of $1,000 each. Teachers braved harassment on the picket lines from right-wing thugs. From the Democrats, racialist appeals were used in a bid to divide the striking teachers, with members of the Board of Education effectively accusing white teachers of racism. Teachers, white and black, voted down a proposed black contract in which all white teachers would be removed from the Newark school system.

75 years ago: Ho Chi Minh appeals to Truman administration

Ho Chi Minh, circa 1946

On February 28, 1946, Vietnamese leader Ho Chi Minh sent a telegram to American President Harry Truman, asking the US to urgently intervene against French colonial forces in Vietnam. The unsuccessful overture was one of a series of maneuvers directed towards the major powers by the Vietnamese Stalinists as they sought to consolidate a nationalist government.

The defeat of Japan in World War II touched off political upheaval in Vietnam. Japan had displaced Vichy France as the colonial power ruling over Indochina in March 1945. As Tokyo surrendered to the Allied imperialist powers, Japanese forces in Indochina were hit by mass revolutionary uprisings in August 1945.

In line with its Stalinist program, the Vietminh, led by Ho, sought to prevent this movement from developing into a struggle for the overthrow of capitalism. It sought alliances with sections of the Indochinese capitalist class and acceded to the return of French and British troops in September, while viciously persecuting the Trotskyist movement.

Ho accepted the deal struck by Stalin with British and US imperialism at the Tehran Conference of 1943, under which Indochina would be partitioned after the war between the right-wing Chinese Kuomintang in the north and the British in the south. At the Potsdam Conference of Stalin and the Allied leaders in 1945, this was confirmed, with the recognition that British troops would serve as a ground force for the reestablishment of French colonial rule in the south.

Sections of the independence movement clashed with French forces in late 1945 and early 1946, as French authorities sought to stamp out opposition and consolidate the brutal colonial administration that had existed prior to the war. There were also indications that the French forces were seeking to extend their dominance beyond the south.

Hos telegram to Truman referenced fears that the French were preparing to secure control of Hanoi, in the countrys north, where his Vietminh forces were based. It begged Truman to compel the French to respect the charters adopted by the imperialist powers at the end of the war, nominally upholding the right to self-government for peoples who had been occupied.

Hos appeal was not answered by Truman. Two weeks later, on March 6, Ho signed an accord with the French. It recognized his Vietminh government as a free state in an Indochinese federation controlled by the French Union. The French agreed to a limit of no more than 15,000 troops north of the countrys 16th parallel and a referendum on unifying the country but had no intention of honoring either pledge.

Ho would seek to justify his accommodation with the French, and his overtures to the US, by invoking the danger posed by the Chinese Kuomintang, which also had a large troop presence in the north.

100 years ago: Publisher repudiates obscenity ruling on James Joyce novel

On February 24, 1921, Margaret Anderson, the publisher of the Little Review, said that her journal would continue to publish excerpts from Irish author James Joyces novel Ulysses despite a finding by the New York Court of Special Sessions that the material was obscene.

Magazine cover of Little Review issue from 1921 that featured Joyces Ulysses

The passage in question, a section in the chapter of the book usually known as the Nausicaa episode, depicts the sexual thoughts of the novels main character, Leopold Bloom, as he watches three girls by the shore.

Anderson told the press: Anything may be written about if it is expressed by an artist. A nude statue cannot be obscene and art at the same time.

Anderson and Little Review editor Jane Heap had been brought to court by the New York Society for the Suppression of Vice and the case was tried by three judges under the notorious Comstock Laws, a series of federal acts that prohibited material that was deemed obscene to be circulated by the United States Postal Service.

The trial began on February 14. One of the judges did not want the offending passage to be read in front of Anderson because she was a woman. When someone pointed out that she had probably read the passage because she had published it, the judge said, she didnt know the significance of what she was publishing. The trial was postponed for a week since the judges had difficulty understanding the incomprehensible cubist work of art, as the New York Tribune put it.

When the trial resumed, the judges ruled that the material was obscene. Anderson and Heap were then fingerprinted and fined $50 each. Despite her best intentions, Anderson was forced to stop publication of Ulysses. She and Heap removed the motto Making No Compromise with the Public Taste from the journals masthead.

Sylvia Beachs Shakespeare and Co. published the entire Ulysses the next year in Paris. Copies caught entering the United States were burned by the Post Office. The book was published in 1929 by an American publisher but copies were seized and destroyed by the New York Society for the Suppression of Vice in a raid on the publishers offices. The novel was the subject of a second trial in the US in 1933, when a judge ruled that it was not obscene. Ulysses was banned in Britain until 1936 and not available in Ireland until the 1960s.
Mere, the supermarket chain that has been dubbed 'the Russian Lidl', is planning to open 40 stores across Spain - including Malaga - before the end of the year.

These are stores with a business model that promises prices up to 30 per cent cheaper thanks to the savings in local costs, personnel and also in packaging and size. "We do not need shiny and attractive wrapping," says the company that explains that its supermarkets do not have shelves or sales assistants. Everything is sold without frills from pallets or boxes, a model that is reminiscent of other supermarket chains such as Lidl and Aldi.

The company explains on its website, "The objective is to open supermarkets in all major cities in Spain and establish solid relationships with national suppliers and throughout Europe."

"We are already in Spain"

The first supermarkets will be opened in Catalonia, but according to the trade magazine Inforetail, stores in Madrid, Valencia, Alicante, Murcia, Leon, Soria, Palencia and Malaga will follow and the company's goal is to have 40 stores open in Spain by the end of the year, with the first being inaugurated in May.

Mere is the commercial name chosen by the Russian 'hard discount' operator Svetofor, founded in 2009 in the Siberian city of Krasnoyarsk, for its expansion in Western Europe. With more than 800 supermarkets in Russia, it is the third largest chain in the country after the giants X5 and Magnit. At present, in addition to the Romanian market, it has stores in Germany, Poland, Ukraine and Lithuania.

"We are already in Spain," says the official website of the discount chain inviting shop owners and suppliers of consumer goods to "cooperate".

Mere is looking for store locations in towns or a short distance from them, in industrial areas or near busy roads with easy access to the premises and the possibility of parking for 30 to 40 vehicles. The sales area of its stores is between 800 and 1,200 square metres and it intends to establish business hours from 9am to 9pm every day of the week.
The Commemorative Air Forces Mississippi Wing recently received a generous donation in the form of a beautiful Stinson L-5G Sentinel, restored as as an Army Air Forces air ambulance. Nicknamed Doctors Orders, this particular aircraft is reportedly a Mississippi native through-and-through, having originally been constructed at Stinsons factory in Wayne, Mississippi.

As many readers will know, the L-5 is the military version of a civilian Stinson 105 Voyager. The U.S. Army Air Forces purchased six Voyagers for testing in 1941, designating them as YO-54s. Quantity orders for L-5 Sentinels began in 1942, with the USAAF eventually procuring 3,590 L-5s before wars end, making it the services second most widely used liaison type.

The unarmed L-5, with its short field takeoff and landing capability, enjoyed great versatility in the field, serving in a variety of capacities from aerial reconnaissance, to front-line aeromedical evacuation, delivering supplies, laying communications wire, spotting enemy targets, personnel transport, rescue and even as a light bomber. In Asia and the Pacific, L-5s remained in service with the U.S. Air Force until as late as 1955.



As already noted, the subject aircraft of this article, registered as N8829, is configured as an air-ambulance, although such variants could also serve in the light cargo role. The wider and deeper rear fuselage section of this configuration, coupled with a large, downwards-folding rear door allowed the quick-loading of a litter patient or 250 pounds of cargo.

For more information on the Mississippi Wing, please follow them on their Facebook page.
Tesla has removed the cheapest version of its Model Y from its website and configurator, weeks after launching the Standard Range and days after reducing the price of the entry-level Model Y by $2,000, making the new model more unattainable for the average car buyer.

Tesla launched the Standard Model Y for pre-order last month, with an estimated range per EPA at 244 miles. Elon Musk had said on Twitter in July last year that the Standard Range Model Y would not be made because its range would be would be unacceptably low (< 250 mile EPA).

However, at the start of this year, Tesla did launch the cheaper Standard Range Model Y version, only to take it down from its configurator a month and a half later.

The Standard Range Model Y was priced in January at $41,990, and the price was cut by $2,000 last week, making the Standard Range Model Y priced at $39,990, only $3,000 more than the Model 3 standard range plus.

On Sunday, Electrek reported that the Model Y Standard Range had been taken down from the configurator as the EV manufacturer has apparently stopped taking orders for the cheapest Model Y.

According to Electrek, its not clear yet whether Tesla is canceling the cheapest Model Y or whether this is just a temporary pause in taking orders.

One of the reasons for trying to sell higher-priced cars now could be the possibility of new federal tax credits for electric vehicles that would make Teslas eligible for tax credits again and push profit margins lower if Tesla were to sell more of its cheapest model versions, according to analyst Andy Slye quoted by InsideEVs.

Tesla is often changing the prices of its vehicles in all markets.

Most recently, Tesla has slashed the prices for the standard and long-range versions of Model 3 in Japan by 24 percent, Bloomberg reported last week, as the EV maker is still struggling to meaningfully boost its sales in the country despite being present there since 2014.

The price reduction for Tesla Model 3 in Japan is the first time the EV maker has slashed prices for the model. The new pricing policy coincides with the start of Model 3 vehicles imported into Japan from Teslas Gigafactory in Shanghai in China instead of from the United States, a source with knowledge of the matter told Bloomberg.

By Charles Kennedy for Oilprice.com

More Top Reads From Oilprice.com:


The vampire squid has been hiding for 30 million years in the shady corners of the ocean. A recent analysis of long-lost fossil uncovers vampyroteuthis infernalis, a current-day vampire squid that can flourish in intense, oxygen-poor ocean water, unlike several other squid species that need deeper habitat along with continental racks.

Few fossil ancestors of recent vampire squid have lived, although researchers aren't certain when these ingenious cephalopods grew the means to survive with minor oxygen.



Prague Charles University's paleontologist and study co-author, Martin Kostak explained that the recent fossil investigation assists to cover a 120-million-year void in vampire squid development. He disclosed that the ancestors of nowadays vampire squid already survived in the lower oceans during the Oligocene, 23 million to 34 million years, the adjustments to little-oxygen water since the Jurassic.

Living in little-oxygen levels carries evolutionary benefits - little predation pressure and less rivalry.

Fossil Re-uncovered

Kostak uncovered the long-lost fossil with his colleagues in the compilations of the 2019 Hungarian Natural History Museum, while searching for ancestors of fossil cuttlefish. The fossil was initially uncovered by Hungarian paleontologist Miklos Kretzoi in 1942, who recognized it as a squid going back across 30 million years and called it Necroteuthis hungarica.

Later scientists, though, contended that it was an ancestor cuttlefish. During the Hungarian Revolution in 1956, the murine caught fire, and the fossil was believed to have been eradicated. Re-uncovering was a delighted amazement.



Kostak explained that it was a huge moment to see something initially indicated to be definitely lost. Himself and his colleagues researched the fossil using scanning electron microscopy and performed a geochemical examination.

They first discovered that Kretzoi's previous uncovering was correct: the fossil is not a cuttlefish ancestor but a squid.

The animal's gladius or inside shell, which creates the backbone of its body, was almost 15 centimeters (6 inches) long, indicating the squid grew to about 35 centimeters (13.7 inches) long with arms involved.

That's just a little bigger than the modern vampire squid, which extends about 28 centimeters (11 inches) in entire body length.

ALSO READ: Cuttlefish Can Elude Sharks With Crafty Arm-Tossing [WATCH]

The Remnants Surrounding the Fossil

The remnants enclosing the fossil revealed no tracks of microfossils often discovered on the seafloor, indicating that the squid was not surviving in shallow waters. The scientists also examined levels of differences in carbon, in the remnants and discovered that the remnants possibly came from a little-oxygen or anoxic, environment.

Those conditions are typical of the lower ocean floor. By glancing at rock layers where the fossils were laid outside of what is now modern Budapest, the scientists were also qualified to demonstrate that the squid couldn't have likely lived at the time in the deep waters. The deep waters residues indicated elevated levels of specific plankton that blossoms in little-salt, huge nutrient habitats - climates that nowadays vampire squid can't condone.

Adjusting to the Deep

Kostak recent research, released in the Biology Communications journal reminds us of how vampire squid ancestors learned to survive where another squid couldn't. Glancing at the deeper fossil record, the oldest fossil from this group of squid is based on the Jurassic period, between 174 million years ago. They are typically discovered in anoxic remnants.

RELATED ARTICLE: Jurassic 10-Armed Squids Were Swift Swimmers, Researchers Say

For more news, update about squids and similar stories don't forget to follow Nature World News!
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In an online post last week, Stella Moris, the partner of Julian Assange and mother of his two young children, outlined the ongoing denial of the WikiLeaks founders fundamental legal and democratic rights, even after a British Magistrates Court ruled early last month against his extradition to the United States.

Moris provided a succinct summary of the issues of democratic principle at stake, in the US attempt to prosecute Assange for lawful publishing activities that exposed war crimes, and updated his supporters on the current stage of the legal campaign to secure his freedom.

The January 4 verdict, forbidding extradition, had taken into account the extensive medical evidence presented during last years trial, Moris explained.

Assange and Moris in the Ecuadorian embassy (Credit: WikiLeaks)

Assanges dispatch to the US had been blocked on the grounds that it would be oppressive. His health issues, including serious depression, and the brutal character of the US prison system, meant there would be a great risk of Assange taking his own life if he were extradited.

The US immediately responded, in the final days of the administration of President Donald Trump, by formally signalling an appeal. Trumps Democratic Party successor, President Joe Biden, in his first weeks in office, rejected calls by civil liberties and press freedom organisations for the US Department of Justice to drop its pursuit of Assange, demonstrating the bipartisan character of the persecution.

The High Court will decide after March 29 whether prosecutors, acting on behalf of the US state, will be permitted to proceed with their appeal. Moris stated that the next stage for the defence was to submit a response to the US grounds of appeal.

She then reviewed the anti-democratic implications of Judge Vanessa Baraitsers January 4 ruling. It had denied Assanges extradition on health grounds, but did not side with him on the wider public interest arguments.

Baraitser had upheld virtually all of the prosecutions substantive arguments, effectively green-lighting future attempts by governments to prosecute journalists and publishers for exposing material that they deem to be classified and of national security significance, regardless of the public interest of what is exposed.

Baraitser rejected the defences insistence that the decade-long US pursuit of Assange, culminating in the laying of Espionage Act charges, was politically-motivated, and that a successful prosecution would constitute an attack on press freedom.

Moris wrote: We wanted a UK court to properly quash the extradition and refute the other grounds too. We wanted a finding that the extradition is an attempt to criminalise journalism, not just in the US but in the UK and the rest of the world as well; and that the decision to indict Julian was a political act, a violation of the [US-UK extradition] treaty, a violation of his human rights and an abuse of process.

Julians extradition team is considering all these issues, and whether they can be cross-appealed, she stated.

There are undoubtedly complex issues of legal strategy and tactics that Assanges expert defence team is weighing. The fact that the team is considering an appeal of the anti-democratic elements of Baraitsers ruling underscores the determination of Assange and WikiLeaks to fight the broader assault on press freedom, and further shines the spotlight on the wide-reaching implications of the US attempt to extradite and prosecute him.

The politically-calculated character of Baraitsers verdict was demonstrated, not only by her acceptance of the dangerous precedent that the US Department of Justice is seeking to establish, but also her refusal to grant Assange bail, just two days after extradition was blocked.

Baratiser rejected a bail application, siding with prosecutors claims that Assange posed an unacceptable flight risk, even though travel routes have been severely impacted by the COVID-19 pandemic. The extraordinary verdict means that Assange is being held in the maximum-security Belmarsh Prison, solely on the grounds of an extradition request that has been rejected by the first court in which it was heard.

Julianwho is an unconvicted innocent manremains on remand in the high security Belmarsh Prison where he has been for over 500 days, Moris wrote. He should be home with his kids, but he was refused bail.

As the WSWS has repeatedly noted, his ongoing detention endangers Assange with possible COVID-19 infection, and even death, as the virus has circulated at undisclosed levels within Belmarsh.

There are many terrible things about Belmarsh, not least how cold it has been over the last couple of weeks, and that he is isolated in a cell practically all day long, Moris commented.

She added, the most pressing problem for Julian is that conditions in detention continue to obstruct his ability to prepare his legal case, a case on which his life depends. He is denied proper access to his lawyershis legal team is unable to do in-person visits because of Covid, and there are months of waiting lists for video conferencing.

There are delays in legal papers reaching him, and the laptop issued by UK authorities for the court case is read-only, it has no text editing programs, and the keys are glued down to prevent him from typing. This makes it all but impossible for him to provide adequate feedback to his team, with regards to the materials required for the appeal.

The update is the latest proof that in addition to seeking to physically destroy Assange, by indefinitely detaining him without charge, the British authorities are doing everything they can to hamper his defence and to aid the US attempts to secure the WikiLeaks founders extradition.

This is an international operation involving the Conservative government and the Labour opposition in Britain, the Democratic and Republican parties in the US as well as the Australian government and political establishment as a whole, which have facilitated the persecution of Assange by refusing to uphold his rights as an Australian citizen.

Moris comments have been reported by only a handful of independent media outlets. As has occurred so often over the past decade, the corporate press is playing a linchpin role in the assault on Assange, by blocking any broader discussion, or even knowledge, of his dire situation.

Meanwhile, the major publications in the US, Britain and Australia have been full of column space decrying alleged attacks on democratic rights in countries locked in conflict with the major imperialist powers, especially China and Russia. The official press is deeply concerned about the plight of dissidents in those countries being targeted by the US and its allies, but is indifferent to the fate of a journalist being subjected to an unprecedented legal and political attack in the heart of London.

This again underscores the fact that the fight against Assanges extradition, and for his immediate freedom, must be connected to the broader struggle against the turn by governments and the ruling elites to authoritarian and dictatorial methods, amid a major crisis of world capitalism, triggered by the pandemic.

New Delhi: In line with its plans to go public in 2022, fintech firm MobiKwik has appointed investment banks ICICI Securities and IIFL, besides a few law firms, to kickstart the work on the draft red herring prospectus, two people in the know said, seeking anonymity.

MobiKwik is also in talks with a few more investment banks to bring them on board to manage the initial public offering (IPO), said one of the two people cited above. They will go for a domestic IPO."

Several Indian startups in the fintech and consumer payments space, such as Paytm and PhonePe, are planning to go public.

Valued at $16 billion, Paytms IPO is expected in 2022, while PhonePe, which is currently valued at $7 billion, may go public in 2023, according to news reports.

Mint reported on 16 February that online insurance aggregator PolicyBazaar is in the process of hiring investment banks to manage its proposed 4,000-crore IPO.

View Full Image Several Indian startups in the fintech and consumer payments space, such as Paytm and PhonePe, are planning to go public

Several other consumer internet companies, such as Zomato, are also working on their IPOs.

The IPO will help the company raise fresh funds to continue its growth trajectory, but also provide an exit for its earlier investors. A large part of the IPO is expected to be sale of shares by existing investors," said the second person cited above.

MobiKwik, ICICI Securities and IIFL declined to comment on Mints queries.

To prepare for its IPO, MobiKwik has been making changes to its top management. Senior vice president Chandan Joshi was named as a co-founder, though he was not part of the founding team of Bipin Preet Singh and Upasana Taku.

Joshi will assume the role of chief executive of the payments business, which drives 75% of the companys revenue, said MobiKwik.

The Gurugram-based company reported strong financial results in FY20 with net revenue growing at 133% year-on-year to 379 crore and cash Ebitda loss reduction of 91% year-on-year to 8.5 crore. Ebitda is earnings before interest, taxes, depreciation and amortization.

According to media reports, the company is eyeing profitability in FY22 with a revenue target of more than 750 crore.

The company has so far raised $110 million ( 797 crore) in funding since its inception. Last December, it had raised 52 crore led by Hindustan Media Ventures, the investment arm of HT Group.

MobiKwik was started in 2009 as a consumer payments platform. It has evolved into a fintech company offering financial products including loans, gold investment and mutual funds. It also has its own payment gateway, Zaakpay.

Credit products have been a key area of interest for the company in recent years.

In January, MobiKwik announced Home Credit money app, a joint venture with Home Credit India, to provide instant interest-free loans of 1,500-10,000.

Since 2018, MobiKwik has pre-approved 15 million users for its digital credit card.

Currently, MobiKwik has more than 120 million users and 3 million merchants, the company said.

MobiKwik entered the mutual fund space with the acquisition of Mumbai-based startup Clearfunds in 2018.

The companys consumer payments revenue in FY2020 was 230 crore, up from 89 crore a year ago, while fintech revenue rose to 91 crore in FY2020 from 29 crore a year ago.

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Since the pharmaceutical breakthroughs were first announced in late 2020 there has been real hope that vaccinations could bring about the end of the coronavirus pandemic. Numerous different vaccines reported extremely promising study results but the main challenge is now the distribution effort.

The American Rescue Plan will provide billions of dollars to assist the national effort but the recent spell of extreme weather in the south has disrupted the rollout. Officials face a race against time to get the life-saving shots in peoples arms, and the most vulnerable age groups have been prioritised for the early stages.

Elderly Americans the first to receive covid-19 vaccines

In January the Trump administration recommended that the vaccine rollout should be extended to everyone aged 65 and over. Initially the shots were only reserved for frontline healthcare workers, long-term care facilities and those with medical conditions that make them particularly vulnerable.

The recommendation was not enacted universally, but by 1 February 29 states and the District of Columbia had widened vaccine eligibility to everyone aged 65 and over. This has seen the vaccine rollout pick up pace and by 21 February 63.1 million doses had been given in the United States. In the last week, health officials were administering over 1.3 million shots per day.

Across the country, there are 53 million Americans who are 65 and older and 110 million who have comorbid conditions who would be able to receive the coronavirus vaccine if all states were to adopt this guidance.

Israel lead the world in rapid vaccine rollout

Both the infection rate and the number of deaths from covid-19 have fallen substantially in Israel where the nation has focused on vaccine distribution, giving a glimpse at what to expect in the US. Israel began with very similar high-risk groups to those prioritised in America and is reaping the rewards.

By 6 February Israel had managed to get both doses of a coronavirus vaccine to 80% of individuals aged 60 or older. As of 21 February they have managed to get a massive 32% of their population fully vaccinated. In comparison, just 5% of Americans have received both doses of the vaccine.

The results speak for themselves, after hitting a peak in mid-January the infection rate amongst those aged over 60 has fallen by 66% in the following month. As a particularly high-risk group, hospitalisations have dropped by 57% and the national death rate has fallen accordingly.

Vaccine distribution disrupted by winter storms

Health officials in the US are attempting to up the speed of vaccine rollout but have been halted in their tracks in much of the south over the last week as they battle against severe winter storms. Texas and surrounding states have been particularly badly hit, with millions going without electricity and clean running water for days.

Understandably this has had a knock-on effort on the vaccination effort, with around 6 million doses delayed according to Dr Anthony Fauci. But while the situation is far from ideal Dr Fauci was optimistic about the prospects of catching up on lost time by speeding up the process.

On Sunday he told NBC News: Obviously, it is a setback because you'd like to see the steady flow of vaccine getting out there to get into peoples arms. But we can play pretty good catch-up.

The number was 6 million doses got delayed. Weve gotten two million out, and we project that by the middle of the week, we will have caught up.
February 22 : Akshay Kumar starrer Bachchan Pandey shoot is nearing its end. Its female lead Kriti Sanon wrapped up the Jaisalmer schedule and took to her Instagram handle to announce it. While Kriti returned to Mumbai on Saturday, today, she dropped a new picture from the film and announced the schedule wrap for herself. Bachchan Pandey went to floors on January 6 in Jaisalmer.

Taking to social media, Kriti shared a still from the film, in which the actress can be seen with Akshay Kumar in his scary avatar. Sharing the picture, the Bareilly ki Barfi actress wrote that she has wrapped up the schedule. Sharing her fun moments on the sets, the actress wrote that she had a lot of fun with the cast and crew on the sets and time just flew amidst laughter, gaming sessions, lunches and dinners. She also felt sad to leave the beautiful Suryagarh Palace, where the flick was filmed.

And its a schedule wrap for me with @akshaykumar for #SajidNadiadwala s #BachchanPandey directed by @farhadsamji ..  @wardakhannadiadwala One of the bestest, most fun and memorable schedules i have had so far.. Time just flew and we ended up making a film in between the echoing laughters, gaming sessions and neverending lunches and dinners as we all became one family! It was surely the saddest Goodbye from the beautiful Suryagarh Palace.. but we shall meet again soon! Cant wait to see you guys in Cinemas! Kriti wrote.

Besides, Akshay and Kriti, Bachchan Pandey also stars Jacqueline Fernandez, Arshad Warsi and Prateik Babbar. Backed by the Sajid Nadiadwala production, the film is directed by Farhad Samji of Housefull 4 fame.

While Akshay will play the role of a gangster who aspires to become an actor, Kriti will essay the role of a journalist who wants to become a director. Arshad will be seen as a member of Akshays gang and his friend. Abhimanyu Singh will play the villain in the film. Bachchan Pandey will hit the cinemas on January 26, 2022.
The Ohanaeze Ndigbo Youth Council, on Monday, condemned in strong terms the arrest of the former Governor of Imo State, Senator Rochas Okoro...





The Ohanaeze Ndigbo Youth Council, on Monday, condemned in strong terms the arrest of the former Governor of Imo State, Senator Rochas Okorocha.

Okorocha was arrested by the operatives of the Imo State Police Command on the order of Governor Hope Uzodinma of Imo State.

This has been seen as the height of the on-going power tussle between the two political leaders in Imo State, who are both members of the ruling All Progressives Congress, APC.

In a statement issued Monday morning by the OYC President-General, Mazi Okwu Nnabuike he said Uzodinma should get prepared to face the wrath of Igbo youths.

He said it was shameful that Uzodinma was descending to the arena merely because of the governors interest in Igbo presidency.

According to him, it is now clear that Hope Uzodinma has a single agenda- to destroy Igbo land. This has clearly manifested in his sending of military men to Orlu Imo State where several lives were wasted and properties destroyed.

As if that was not enough, just a few days after, he now ordered the arrest and humiliation of Owelle Rochas Okorocha, a distinguished Igbo son.

It is on record that Owelle Rochas Okorocha has done for Ndigbo what any other single person was able to do. A visit to Ohanaeze Ndigbo secretariat will show the gigantic edifice he single-handedly constructed for Ndigbo, well befitting, a pride of place.

It is also on record that even before Owelle Rochas Okorocha became Governor of Imo State, he had already established himself and was already building educational structures and empowering the youths here and there.

One, therefore, wonders how a man imposed on Imo people as governor will suddenly wake up and decide to attack Okorocha for no just cause. It appears that the same people who brought this man to power through the back door, the instrumentality of the Supreme Court, are also behind this dance of shame Uzodinma is involved in.

But certainly, we are not going to sit by and watch Hope Uzodinma destroy Igboland all in a bid to satisfy the ego of his political masters. He should get ready to face our music; he should get ready to contend with millions of Igbo youths home and beyond.

Igbo youths call for the immediate release of his Excellency Owele Rochas Okorocha and demand an end to any further harassment of this noble Igbo leader.

We have also reliably gathered that Hope Uzodimma has no single investment in any part of Imo State, not to talk of Owerri, and this is the reason he is not interested in protecting lives and properties.

The Royal Spring Palm has been under investigation by EFCC and the matter already in the court; why cant he await the outcome of court verdict? Its actually a shame, a vendetta and pull him down syndrome by this agent of wickedness called Gov. Hope Uzodinma.

To say the least, the youths of Ndigbo will do everything within our purview and reach to stop this embarrassment being meted on Senator Rochas by Hope Uzodinma and other presidential aspirants.

There is no doubt that this act is heinous, barbaric and abominable by every standard and in every ramification, he declared.
Source: Xinhua| 2021-02-23 02:04:24|Editor: huaxia

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Staff members prepare to unload COVID-19 vaccines donated by China at the Chinggis Khaan International Airport in Ulan Bator, Mongolia, Feb. 23, 2021. Mongolia on Monday night received 300,000 doses of Sinopharm COVID-19 vaccine donated by China. (Xinhua/Asigang)

ULAN BATOR, Feb. 22 (Xinhua) -- Mongolia on Monday night received 300,000 doses of Sinopharm COVID-19 vaccine donated by China.

The vaccine donation was welcomed at the Chinggis Khaan International Airport in Mongolia's capital city of Ulan Bator by Mongolian Deputy Prime Minister Sainbuyan Amarsaikhan and Chinese Ambassador to Mongolia Chai Wenrui.

"On behalf of the Mongolian government and people, I would like to express my deep gratitude to China, our friendly neighbor and comprehensive strategic partner, for extending its helping hand during this difficult time," said Amarsaikhan.

"There is a Mongolian saying that goes, 'Close neighbors have one life, far away neighbors have one mind.' Since the start of the COVID-19 outbreak, Mongolia and China have provided each other with material and emotional support, which is a real example of how neighboring countries are overcoming difficulties together," he said.

For his part, Chai said, "The current global vaccine supply and demand are very tight. China has overcome difficulties when its own vaccine supply is not sufficient, and has not hesitated to give 300,000 doses of vaccine to Mongolia free of charge, which shows that China attaches great importance to China-Mongolia relations and the friendship between the two peoples."

The Chinese ambassador expressed confidence that these vaccines will contribute to the protection of people's lives and the fight against the pandemic in Mongolia.

Mongolia is planning to vaccinate at least 60 percent of its 3.3 million people, or all adults in the country, against the coronavirus, with 20 percent of them to be vaccinated under COVAX, a global initiative to ensure quick and equal access to vaccines against the virus, according to the country's health ministry.

The Asian country is expected to launch a nationwide COVID-19 vaccination campaign on Tuesday.

As of Monday, the country recorded 2,693 COVID-19 cases, with six deaths. Enditem

JERSEY CITY, N.J., Feb. 22, 2021 /PRNewswire/ -- Through the expansion of new subspecialities and singular programs in Hudson County, CarePoint Health ("CarePoint") is providing leading-edge services to the region and is proud to be recognized nationally as one of the top health care providers in the Northeast for delivering safe and superb care.

The pandemic, which created unprecedented conditions across the global healthcare system, brought out the best in physicians and staff across CarePoint's three hospitals: Bayonne Medical Center, Christ Hospital in Jersey City, and Hoboken University Medical Center. CarePoint treated more than 2,500 COVID patients with state-of-the-art medicine, established the first COVID care clinic to give follow-up care and address the long-term effects of COVID, and vaccinated more than 11,000 people to date in the region.

Because of CarePoint's nimbleness in reacting to the pandemic and ability to adapt under extreme conditions, multiple hospitals from across the region transferred COVID-positive patients into CarePoint's care. Throughout the system, the staff has responded with incredible distinction and will continue to expand care capabilities to communities during the pandemic.

While simultaneously addressing the pandemic, CEO Dr. Achintya Moulick led CarePoint through the implementation of several specialty programs that elevate the system to the preeminent position it now enjoys in the region. CarePoint began the only ECMO (extracorporeal membrane oxygenation) program in Hudson County to treat patients with severe symptoms brought on by COVID. It launched a new telecritical care unit using robots for remote monitoring. It developed the only interventional stroke program in Hudson County. It is cultivating a multispecialty robotic surgery program across its three hospitals.

More is on the way. CarePoint plans on announcing two major affiliations with nationally renowned partners in the next few weeks. It is forming a Center of Innovation to transform patient and provider experience across inpatient and outpatient settings and establishing a Center for Precision Medicine. These developments will further cement CarePoint's distinguished place in delivering top quality healthcare across the region.

A neonatal heart surgeon of international repute, Dr. Moulick understands healthcare and has emphasized it as CarePoint's first and last priority. He has served as a physician leader for decades, established and scaled clinical programs domestically and internationally, created innovative products in health-tech, and built one of the largest healthcare systems in the world, Fortis Healthcare. He brings this breadth and depth of experience now to renew and reinvigorate CarePoint.

"CarePoint Health's hospitals are providing excellent quality of care across the region. Our staffs and physicians have done tremendous work saving lives and responding to COVID-19. While managing the pandemic, we also continue to launch innovative programs to improve the quality of care for our patients and bring new services to the region," said Dr. Moulick.

With the eminent domain process moving forward in Hudson County, CarePoint leadership supports the proceedings and trusts it will ultimately offer clarity as it continues to serve the community.

Dr. Moulick has asked hospital leadership to not be drawn into the desperate attempts to derail and demoralize CarePoint physicians. The staff will ignore any frivolous attempts at distraction and focus on what has now made CarePoint one of the top-quality healthcare systems in the region  delivering innovative and distinctive care for patients emphasizing Healthcare First and Healthcare Only.

COVID PANDEMIC RESPONSE

CarePoint was at the center of the COVID-19 pandemic in Northern NJ and led in developing best-in-class testing and treatment for Hudson County residents. The three hospitals experienced an influx of COVID patients. The acuity and mortality of these thousands of patients was significant and required immediate expansion of capacity and staffing. CarePoint's noteworthy actions during the pandemic include the following:

Treated more than 2,500 COVID patients from around the region.

Having developed excellence in COVID care, CarePoint received patient transfers from half a dozen hospitals for advanced COVID services.

Utilized advanced, evidence-based treatments including monoclonal antibodies.

Participated in clinical trial for Remdesivir before it was approved for Emergency Use Authorization.

Ran Exosome clinical trial in April 2020 and published results in Stem Cells and Development.

and published results in Established the only ECMO Program in Hudson County .

. Enacted one of the region's first COVID testing drive-thru in the region at Bayonne Medical Center.

Opened the first COVID triage tent in Hudson County at Christ Hospital.

at Christ Hospital. Administered more than 11,000 vaccinations since December.

Installed the world class Zyter ThermalAlert scanning and imaging system at its hospitals for mass temperature screening to create a safe environment for patients, families, and staff.

PROGRAMS

CarePoint's recently developed programs include the following:

Developed the only interventional stroke program in Hudson County , including tele-stroke consultations and use of AI for stroke detection.

, including tele-stroke consultations and use of AI for stroke detection. Cultivated multispecialty robotic surgery program in orthopedics, OB/GYN, urology, and other specialties.

Launched a new telecritical care unit using robots for remote monitoring.

Began a Center of Innovation to transform patient and provider experience across inpatient and outpatient settings.

Began an Endometriosis Center led by nationally recognized surgeon

Opened a new Heart Burn Center offering Capsule endoscopy, pH testing, and Esophageal Manometry.

Launched a new Population Health Initiative to drive early screening and detection of lung, colon, breast, and liver cancer.

Renovated lobbies in Christ Hospital and Bayonne Medical Center.

RECOGNITION

CarePoint has been nationally recognized for providing top quality care including the following:

Hoboken University Medical Center (HUMC) was recognized by the esteemed think tank Lown Institute as the number one hospital in New Jersey for Commitment to Providing High Value Care.

for Commitment to Providing High Value Care. HUMC was 4th in the nation for the best safety net hospital by Lown Institute.

HUMC Transitional Care Unit (TCU) maintained Centers for Medicare and Medicaid Services 5-Star rating.

HUMC received Get with the Guidelines for Stroke Gold Plus Achievement Award for 2020.

HUMC Maternal Fetal Medicine recognized as an accredited Ultrasound Practice in the Areas of Adjunct Detailed Fetal Anatomic US for 1 st , 2 nd and 3 rd Trimesters by the American Institute of Ultrasound in Medicine (AIUM) Ultrasound Practice Accreditation Council.

, 2 and 3 Trimesters by the American Institute of Ultrasound in Medicine (AIUM) Ultrasound Practice Accreditation Council. HUMC's Endometriosis Center of America was nationally recognized

Christ Hospital: Surgical Review Corp.  Center of Excellence for Robotic Surgery.

Christ Hospital: Gold, Quality Achievement Award 2020.

Christ Hospital: American Heart Association (AHA): Gold level recognition 2020.

Bayonne Medical Center (BMC) awarded an "A" grade by Leapfrog Group's report card measuring safety and protecting patients.

BMC's Transitional Care Unit (TCU) received 5-Star by US News & World Report.

BMC received Antimicrobial Stewardship Center of Excellence by Infectious Diseases of America.

BMC: Gold Plus Award Stroke Care American Heart Association/ American Stroke Association.

BMC: American Society for Gastrointestinal Endoscopy Recognition.

About CarePoint Health

CarePoint Health brings quality, patient-focused health care to Hudson County. Combining the resources of three area hospitals, Bayonne Medical Center, Christ Hospital in Jersey City, and Hoboken University Medical Center, CarePoint Health provides a new approach to deliver health care that puts the patient front and center. CarePoint Health leverages a network of top doctors, nurses, and other medical professionals whose expertise and attentiveness work together to provide complete coordination of care, from the doctor's office to the hospital to the home. Patients benefit from the expertise and capabilities of a broad network of leading specialists and specialized technology. At CarePoint Health, all medical professionals emphasize preventive medicine and focus on educating patients to make healthy life choices. For more information on its facilities, partners and services, visit www.carepointhealth.org.

SOURCE CarePoint Health

New Delhi: The Supreme Court on Monday allowed Congress MP Karti Chidambaram, who is facing criminal cases that are being probed by the ED and the CBI, to travel abroad.

A bench, headed by Justice Ashok Bhushan, asked Chidambaram to deposit Rs 2 crore with the registry and submit details on the places to be visited and the place where he would stay.

Karti Chidambaram Opposing the application, Additional Solicitor General S V Raju said Chidambaram was earlier allowed to travel abroad, but with a deposit of Rs 10 crore.

Senior advocate Kapil Sibal, who was appearing for Chidambaram, said the condition was not justified for a member of Parliament and he would not run away anywhere.

Karti and P ChidambaramThe apex court said the amount be deposited in a nationalised bank and allowed Chidambaram to travel for six months. Earlier, it had allowed him to travel to the UK, the US, France, Germany and Spain.

The Congress leader is facing several criminal cases related to the Aircel-Maxis deal and the Foreign Investment Promotion Board clearance to the INX Media for receiving foreign funds of Rs 305 crore when his father, P Chidambaram, was the Union finance minister. The cases are being probed by the ED and the CBI.

Source: Xinhua| 2021-02-22 21:35:58|Editor: huaxia

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KUALA LUMPUR, Feb. 22 (Xinhua) -- The United Nations High Commissioner for Refugees (UNHCR) appealed on Monday for the rescue of a group of Rohingya refugees adrift in the Andaman Sea, many of whom it said were sick and suffering from dehydration.

The agency said several of them had already died. They are on a boat that left Bangladesh about 10 days ago but have been adrift at sea since engine failure, UNHCR said in a statement.

"In the absence of precise information as to the refugees' location, we have alerted the authorities of the relevant maritime states of these reports and appealed for their swift assistance, should the vessel be found in their area of responsibility for search and rescue. Immediate action is needed to save lives and prevent further tragedy," it said. Enditem

BRIDGEPORT  Police are investigating a potential shooting near the 300 block of Lyon Terrace.

Officers were responding to a preliminary report of a person with a gunshot wound to the arm around 1:39 p.m., police said.

Reports from the scene were that the person was grazed in the arm, police added. City spokesperson Scott Appleby wrote in an email Sunday that it was a [n]on-life threatening graze.

Anyone with information regarding the gunshot is asked to call the Bridgeport Police Department at 203-581-5100 or, for an emergency, call 911.
(ANSA) - ROME, FEB 22 - Italy's ambassador to the Democratic Republic of Congo, Luca Attanasio, and a Carabiniere were killed in an attack on their convoy at Goma in the African country on Monday, well-informed sources told ANSA.

Attanasio died in hospital of gunshot wounds, a high-ranking diplomat told AFP in Kinshasa.

The envoy's car was part of a MONUSCO UN peacekeeping mission convoy including the EU's delegation chief, sources said.

The attack was an attempted robbery, rangers at Virunga National Park told various media outlets including The Jerusalem Post.

The attack took place at around 10 o'clock local (09:00 Italian time), near the town of Kanyamahoro.

Several armed groups operate in the area of the Virunga Mountains, between Congo, Rwanda and Uganda, and often target the rangers in the park, which is famous for its mountain gorillas.

The Italian foreign ministry confirmed the killings of Attanasio and the Carabiniere with "deep grief".

Foreign Minister Luigi Di Maio voiced "immense grief" after learning of what happened while he was at an EU foreign ministers' meeting in Brussels.

He will now voice Italy's grief at the foreign ministers council meeting.

The United Nations Organization Stabilization Mission in the Democratic Republic of the Congo or MONUSCO, an acronym based on its French name, is a United Nations peacekeeping force in the Democratic Republic of the Congo (DRC) which was established by the United Nations Security Council to monitor the peace process of the Second Congo War, though much of its focus subsequently turned to the Ituri conflict, the Kivu conflict and the Dongo conflict.

The area has been racked by armed conflict for years. (ANSA).


A major legal fight waged by environmentalists seeking to bolster regulations protecting Floridas springs from pollution has resulted in a ruling favoring state authorities.

Filed by a coalition of advocates for some of the states best-known springs  including Silver Springs, Blue Spring and Wekiwa Springs  the challenge played out within the Florida Division of Administrative Hearings, which hosts court-like proceedings for people who challenge state actions.

At issue were state pollution-prevention rules for springs issued in 2018 and called Basin Management Action Plans. Coalition members deemed the action plans as so weak that even if they succeeded as intended, springs would continue to deteriorate, turning black with harmful algae and losing ecosystem richness.

The judge ruled that the states only requirement was to fill in the blanks, regardless of whether or not what they wrote was credible or backed by science, said Ryan Smart, executive director of the Florida Springs Council., which coordinated efforts of groups from five springs systems.

We will be filing exceptions to the judges ruling and are considering all options going forward, Smart said This case is not over.

The judges final order issued Thursday does not address whether the states Basin Action Management Plans will succeed, but asserts that the plans complied with the applicable statutory framework and legislative intent.

The ruling came after an extraordinarily long delay of more than a year, leading springs advocates to fear mounting and unchecked pollution woes of springs and to distrust the states hearing process.

The legal fight started in 2019, with final arguments coming as the year ended, and the case remained under a judges review for nearly 13 months.

A full year is more than long enough for careful consideration, said Mike Cliburn, secretary of Friends of the Wekiva River, earlier this year. Every day the ruling is delayed represents another day badly damaged Florida Springs like Wekiwa Springs must wait for the states restoration efforts.

Story continues

John Jopling, president of the Ichetucknee Alliance, a group protecting the treasured Ichetucknee Springs and River near Gainesville, worried state authorities may have influenced the ruling.

This lack of transparency is troubling, Jopling said Whats going in the back room?

The hearings division employs what it calls independent and neutral judges to hold hearings for someone who contests a state regulation or action. The division usually adopts a judges findings, according to the agencys public disclosure, but may under certain circumstances reject or modify certain legal conclusions issued by the judge.

The controversy stems from a state law passed in 2016 called the Florida Springs and Aquifer Protection Act, requiring the Florida Department of Environmental Protection, or DEP, to establish specific targets and tactics for removing nitrogen pollution related to sewage and fertilizer from 30 of the states most celebrated springs systems.

DEP issued its pollution plan  the Basin Management Action Plans  in 2018.

Many springs advocates immediately deemed the plans to be woefully inadequate, not meeting the states own requirements and cobbled together with poorly presented science and little ambition for rescuing springs from the influx of nitrogen pollution that has fed harmful invasions of algae in spring waters.

The plans were implemented for many springs but for five of the states most famous springs systems, local environmentalists were able to gather resources, including lawyers and environmental experts to fight the plans.

Over and over again, DEP misinterpreted the law, science and data to make its job easier, with apparently no concern over whether the plans would actually work, said Florida Springs Council board member Bob Palmer when the challenge was mounted. The challenged BMAPs fail to meet water quality goals, fail to account for future growth in population, and fail to provide serious recommendations and the required information to make these plans successful.

State authorities countered that the BMAPs are aggressive and adjustable according to changing circumstances.

The five springs systems presented in the legal challenge are: the manatee hot spot of Blue Spring in Volusia County; and Wekiwa and Rock Springs of north Orange County; the Ichetucknee and others flowing to the Sante Fe River; Manatee, Fanning and other springs flowing into the lower Suwannee River; and the huge Silver and Rainbow springs.

Springs advocates have been frustrated by Gov. Ron DeSantis focus on the states celebrated nature south of Interstate 4, the greater Everglades ecosystem that extends across some of Floridas most vote-rich regions.

But a large share of the states unique collection of springs are hidden in rural places north of Interstate 4, which runs from Orlando to Tampa.

Springs also are threatened by diminishing flows, resulting from urban and agricultural pumping of water from the Floridan Aquifer, also the source of spring flows.

kspear@orlandosentinel.com
Foreign Ministry Spokesperson Wang Wenbin's Regular Press Conference on February 22, 2021

2021/02/22

The high-level segment of the 46th session of the UN Human Rights Council will be convened from February 22 to 24. On behalf of the Chinese government, State Councilor and Foreign Minister Wang Yi will address the segment on the night of February 22.

Xinhua News Agency: You just announced that State Councilor and Foreign Minister Wang Yi will deliver a speech via videoconference at the high-level segment of the 46th session of the UN Human Rights Council. This is the first time for a leader of the Chinese government to address the Human Rights Council. Can you tell us about China's considerations behind this and your expectations for the Council's work?

Wang Wenbin: Promotion and protection of human rights is a common cause for mankind. The Chinese government attaches high importance to the promotion and protection of human rights, sticks to the people-centered vision of human rights, and has blazed a successful path of human rights development in keeping with our national realities and achieved remarkable progress in this regard. China actively participates in the work of multilateral human rights institutions and contributes Chinese wisdom and propositions to global human rights governance. Last year China was elected as member of the UN Human Rights Council for the term 2021-2023, the fifth time that China got elected, which testifies to the international community's recognition of China's human rights cause.

Faced with the world's major changes and the COVID-19 pandemic, both unseen in a century, the international community is contemplating the protection and promotion of human rights. At the Human Rights Council, State Councilor and Foreign Minister Wang Yi will share China's vision, practice and experience in human rights protection. On behalf of China, he will put forward important views and propositions on global human rights governance so as to foster a community with a shared future for mankind. China is ready to work with the international community to encourage the Human Rights Council to pursue the principle of impartiality, objectivity and non-selectivity, stick to the purposes and principles of the UN Charter and the basic norms governing international relations, attach equal importance to all categories of human rights, reject interference in other countries' internal affairs and double standards under the pretext of human rights, and jointly promote the sound development of the international human rights cause.

NHK: The authorities in Myanmar fired at protesters and caused four deaths. As a responsible major country, does China criticize the military in Myanmar?

Wang Wenbin: As a friendly neighbor, China follows the situation in Myanmar. We hope all parties in Myanmar can take into account the big picture of national development and stability, exercise restraint, properly manage differences under the constitutional and legal framework, and uphold political and social stability.

Nippon TV: A follow-up on that. Are you saying that China approves of what Myanmar's military has done?

Wang Wenbin: I have made clear China's position. We hope all parties in Myanmar can take into account the big picture of national development and stability, exercise restraint, properly manage differences under the constitutional and legal framework, and uphold political and social stability. This is our stance.

Reuters: I wanted to ask a question about something that happened at the end of last week. On Friday at the Munich Security Conference, U.S. President Joe Biden said we have to push back against the Chinese government's economic abuses and coercion that undercut the foundations of the international economic system. What's the Chinese side's comment on this?

Wang Wenbin: I believe most countries agree that China's development brings an opportunity to the world economy, not a threat. As the world's second largest economy, through deepening reform and opening up, China has promoted win-win cooperation and boosted international confidence in and impetus of world economic growth. China has been contributing over 30 percent to world growth for many years in a row. Our contribution is universally recognized by the international community.

In the meantime, I'd like to point out that China, the United States and Europe, as important forces to keep world peace, stability and prosperity, should join hands in practicing and upholding multilateralism. Multilateralism is about having international affairs addressed through consultation, not practicing group politics or forming cliques against specific countries based on ideology. China is ready to continue working with all sides to pursue openness and inclusiveness, stick to consultation and cooperation, promote a new type of international relations, and foster a community with a shared future for mankind.

Beijing Youth Daily: According to reports, Director General of the International Atomic Energy Agency (IAEA) Rafael Mariano Grossi and Head of Atomic Energy Organization of Iran (AEOI) Ali Akbar Salehi had consultations in Tehran on February 21. On the same day, the two sides issued a joint statement on reaching a temporary bilateral technical understanding for IAEA's verification and monitoring activities. What is China's comment?

Wang Wenbin: The IAEA and Iran reached a technical plan on the verification and monitoring activities that is feasible and acceptable to both sides. China welcomes and commends this and hopes that the two sides continue to work toward the same direction and earnestly follow through on this consensus. We also call on relevant sides to play a constructive role in this process.

China holds that the return of the United States to the JCPOA is the only correct approach to resolve the impasse on the Iranian nuclear issue. All parties should act with greater urgency, work together to implement consensus reached at the foreign ministers' meeting last December, and bring the JCPOA back on track at an early date. Meanwhile, we urge relevant parties to remain calm and exercise restraint, avoid taking actions that will escalate the situation, and leave room for diplomatic efforts.

Tass: Prime Minister Justin Trudeau of Canada said on Friday that leaders of G7 countries during their summit agreed to coordinate multilateral approach in dealing with China's treatment of its Uyghur population and other mostly Muslim minorities in Xinjiang. I wonder if China has any comments on this?

Wang Wenbin: Earlier I stated China's position on human rights. Here I'd like to add a few words on it.

China always protects and promotes human rights. As the largest developing country, China pursues a people-centered vision, regards the rights to subsistence and development as the primary, basic human rights, and works hard to promote the comprehensive and coordinated development of economic, social, cultural rights as well as civil political rights. Since the PRC was founded more than 70 years ago, China's per capita GDP has grown from less than $30 to over $10,000, and more than 800 million people have been lifted out of poverty. For the first time in our nation's history, absolute poverty is eradicated. Xinjiang, Tibet and other areas where ethnic minorities live in clusters are examples of the progress in China's human rights cause. Let's take Xinjiang for instance. Over the past 60-plus years, Xinjiang's aggregate economy grew over 200 times, per capita GDP nearly 40 times, and people's life expectancy from 30 to 72 years. During the fight against COVID-19, the Chinese government has made all-out efforts to protect every citizen's right to life and health at all costs, contained the spread of the virus at the earliest time possible, did our best to raise the cure rate and lower the fatality rate, and guaranteed rapid economic and social recovery.

Meanwhile, I would like to point out that those in the best position to judge a country's human rights condition are its own people, instead of people or agencies in other countries. According to authoritative international research, the Chinese people's overall satisfaction toward the Central Government has been over 90 percent for many years. We urge the Canadian side and relevant countries to respect facts, set aside bias, and stop interfering in China's internal affairs under the pretext of Xinjiang-related or human rights issues.

I would also like to point out that the Canadian side's launch of the so-called "declaration against arbitrary detention" with some other countries is very hypocritical. There can be no better definition of arbitrary detention than the detention of Ms. Meng Wanzhou. What is more despicable is that even though some countries unequivocally said they do not approve of or participate in the joint signing of the so-call "declaration", Canada put them on the endorsement list against their will. Such cheating and fraudulent deeds should be condemned as they run counter to diplomatic ethics, show a lack of trustworthiness, and violate the norms of international exchanges.

Reuters: Chinese state broadcaster CGTN has applied for a broadcasting license in France, according to the Financial Times, apparently to circumvent the recent ban in the UK. Does the ministry have a comment on this?

Wang Wenbin: I'm not aware of the specifics you mentioned. News outlets are like bridges that promote people-to-people bond through mutual understanding and friendly exchanges. CGTN is an international, professional media agency with an open and inclusive culture where there are staff hailing from over 60 countries and regions. It is committed to news coverage based on the principle of objectivity, equity, truth and accuracy. Its professionalism has been well recognized globally.

Beijing Media Network: The international community is increasingly paying attention to the humanitarian situation in Ethiopia's Tigray region after the conflict. The Ethiopian government said that it is focusing on rebuilding Tigray region and providing humanitarian assistance, and called on the international community to provide support in this regard. What is China's comment?

Wang Wenbin: As a good friend to Ethiopia, China hopes that all Ethiopian people including those in Tigray enjoy peace, stability and prosperity. We support the Ethiopian government's effort in providing help and assistance to people in Tigray and restoring local life and production. Given the shortage of basic living materials in Tigray, China will offer emergency food assistance including rice and wheat to relieve the difficulties faced by the local people. We also call on the international community to give more support and make joint contribution to restoring normal life and work in Tigray.

South China Morning Post: India holds the rotating chairmanship of BRICS this year. I would like to ask what China expects of the grouping this year. Does the border clash between China and India affect BRICS cooperation?

Wang Wenbin: BRICS, consisting of emerging markets and developing countries, is a cooperation mechanism with global influence. In recent years, with growing cohesion, stronger practical cooperation and rising influence, BRICS has become a constructive force for stability in international affairs.

China attaches high importance to the BRICS cooperation mechanism. It stays committed to consolidating BRICS strategic partnership and the positive momentum in BRICS solidarity and cooperation. We support India in hosting this year's BRICS meetings and stand ready to work together with it and other members to strengthen communication and cooperation in various fields, advance the three-pillar-driven cooperation in economic, political and cultural sectors, and expand "BRICS Plus" cooperation to realize solid, sound and sustained progress in BRICS cooperation and to contribute to the international community's efforts to defeat COVID-19, resume economic growth and improve global governance.

Shenzhen TV: On February 19 local time, speaking at a special meeting of the Munich Security Conference, French President Macron said that Europe and the United States should deliver enough COVID-19 vaccine doses to Africa as early as possible, or the African countries will "procure the doses from the Chinese or the Russians", and the power of the West will be "only a concept, and not a reality". Do you have any comment on this?

Wang Wenbin: We welcome and support the statement by France and other Western countries to supply vaccines to Africa to help them defeat COVID-19.

China's assistance and provision of vaccines to African countries is a vivid demonstration of China-Africa traditional friendship, and a concrete step to implement President Xi Jinping's pledge of making vaccines a global public good. As of February 21, China has delivered vaccine aid to Equatorial Guinea and Zimbabwe in Africa. In the next phase, we will provide doses to 19 African countries in need, and more to come in the future. Besides, we also support relevant companies in conducting joint R&D and manufacturing with foreign partners, and in exporting vaccines to countries that are in urgent need of vaccines, have certified Chinese vaccines, and authorized their emergency use.

By participating in international cooperation on vaccines, China seeks to make vaccines a global public good. Doing the best we can, we will continue supporting and assisting African countries based on their need so that we can defeat the virus together.

Global Times: U.S. independent news website The Greyzone published an article on February 18 that says the U.S. government's accusation of China's "genocide" relied on data abuse and baseless claims, that a close review of the research reveals outright falsehoods, and that the author Adrian Zenz is a far-right Christian fundamentalist employed by a foundation that functions as a US intelligence cut-out. Do you have any comment?

Wang Wenbin: We noticed The Greyzone's article citing a lot of data and facts that reveal how Adrian Zenz abused data, distorted materials, made up cases, used clumsy patchwork and contradicted his own words in his report. It exposes what kind of person Adrian Zenz really is and proves how "Chinese government committed genocide against ethnic monorities in Xinjiang" is an utter lie. This U.S. news report shows that facts speak louder than words, and that justice can always prevail.

For some time, out of hidden political agenda, Adrian Zenz and some anti-China forces outside our country have been fabricating rumors and lies on Xinjiang, trying to catch eyeballs by making fake news to smear China. However, the falsehoods in their words and deeds can never defeat facts and truth. There will be a day when Adrian Zenz and other flagrant slanderers are punished by justice. We hope the international community can see through the nature of these anti-China forces and avoid being misled by their rumors and lies. More and more visionary people worldwide are getting to know more about Xinjiang, understanding China's Xinjiang policy, and speaking up for us. We hope more foreign media can cover news on Xinjiang based on objectivity and impartiality.

We hope some countries and people can acknowledge the fact that Xinjiang enjoys stable development, heed the call of the 25 million Xinjiang residents of various ethnic groups, and read more objective reports on Xinjiang instead of turning a blind eye to the facts or fooling themselves.

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I'd like to share some good news with you today. The social media presence of the MFA Spokesperson's Office is further expanded today with the official launch of its Bilibili account. We look forward to receiving your continued attention on and support for China's diplomacy on various social media platforms including WeChat, Weibo, Douyin, Kuaishou, WeChat video channel and Bilibili. Thank you.
Thank you for reading!

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